#Sokai day 2020 | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

phoenix-downer · 10 months ago

Text

What Really Matters

~2020 words. SoKai. Set Post-Canon. Sickfic. Kairi POV. Established Relationship. Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Cuddling, Romance, Happily Married Characters.

Summary: Kairi has grand plans for Valentine's Day that are derailed when she gets sick. But Sora takes care of her and surprises her with a special present to make it up to her.

Valentine’s Day meant making elaborate chocolates for Sora and giving them to him so she could see his big, beautiful smile. He’d always got her flowers and would explain what each one meant in the secret language they’d created. After that, they’d celebrate with a delicious dinner, spend the evening together, then end the day with a nice, hot bath before falling asleep in each other’s arms.

Getting sick was not part of the plan.

Of course, leave it to Kairi to get sick right on Valentine’s Day. She woke up with a scratchy throat and achy feelings in her arms and legs, and by the time she was melting the chocolate in her trusty double broiler, she couldn’t dismiss it as allergies anymore.

Sora was supposed to come home today, and she’d already put up the Valentine’s Day banner and streamers with pink, red, and white hearts for his arrival. This latest mission had taken him away for two weeks, and she was anxious to see him again and enjoy however much time they had together before he was whisked away once more or she was given another assignment.

Still, she soldiered on, sucking on cough drops to keep the nasty cough she’d developed at bay and going through copious amounts of facial tissues to deal with her runny nose. A runny nose was better than a stuffy nose at least, and she would get these chocolates done.

By the time she’d finished decorating the chocolates and putting them on a heart-shaped platter, she was burning with fever. She hastily wrapped the platter, grabbed a glass of water and her tissue stash, and stumbled to the couch, passing out almost immediately.

The day was spent in a fitful state of consciousness that was not very restful as she alternated between too hot and too cold, too much snot and not enough tissues, and stumbling to get more water and sighing when she realized they were out of cold and flu medicine.

By the time Sora got home, she was completely and utterly miserable. Her chest ached, she’d coughed till she was hoarse, and her nose was red from how many times she’d had to blow it. She’d never changed out of the t-shirt and sweatpants she’d worn to bed last night and hadn’t showered yet either because she was planning to do that after making the chocolates.

“Kai, I’m home!” she heard Sora’s cheerful voice calling. His face was like a ray of sunshine on a cloudy day, and she felt like the clouds trying to hide the sun with her illness.

“Welcome back,” she said miserably, not wanting this at all. She looked and felt like a slob, there was a pile of snotty tissues on the floor by the couch, and their special plans for the day were ruined. Sora had seen her sick before, but not like this. They’d been married for less than a year and hadn’t been at the house at the same time often enough for him to.

“Kai? What’s wrong?” he asked, by her side in an instant. He held a beautiful bouquet of flowers in his hands, but unfortunately they just made her sneeze. He hastily set them on the coffee table and hovered near her, placing the back of his hand on her forehead and gasping when he felt how hot it was.

“I got sick,” she muttered, feeling terribly sorry for herself. “I’m sorry, everything is ruined.”

“Shhhh, it’s okay, don’t worry about that. We’re together and that’s what matters.” He gently cupped her cheek and smiled as if she wasn’t a walking germ factory right now.

“I had such good plans,” she said as he sat her up and peeled her disgustingly sweaty t-shirt off.

“I put up the decorations and made you chocolates and—”

“Thank you,” he replied as he shimmied her sweatpants down her legs. “I’m sure I’ll love them.”

Her eyes watered. “No don’t, if you eat them, you’ll get sick too. You’ll get sick just from touching me like this, I know you will, my sweat and snot has to be crawling with germs at this point.”

He smiled and planted a tender kiss on her lips. “Don’t care, I get to be with my wife.”

“I’m sorry I’m sick,” she choked out, her voice sounding hoarse and scratchy.

“Kairi, let me take care of you,” he said softly, finding her hand and weaving their fingers together. “I promised, remember? In sickness and in health.”

Her eyes watered some more. She had to admit, it would be nice to be taken care of, and she was too weak to take care of herself on her own right now.

He gave her some more water and held the cup as she drank, then found a thin sheet to drape over her. He told her about his latest adventures as he cooked up an herbal remedy and his mom’s famous rice gruel with egg drop soup. He gave her the medicine first, which made her cough more at first because it was very pungent but effective, and then he spooned her mouthfuls of the soup. She was struck by how very vulnerable she was right now, completely dependent on him even to eat. It was a scary feeling, and yet she didn’t feel unsafe, either. Just very, very loved and taken care of.

Some of the soup got on her chest and the sheet, so once she was fed, he carefully lifted her into his arms like she weighed nothing and took her to the tub. Normally he would’ve tried to help her rinse off first with the shower on the wall, but they were both worried she was too sick for that right now.

He started running the water for the bath, carefully adjusting the temperature till it was just right.

“Tell me if it gets too hot, okay?” he said, then gave her more water to drink to keep her hydrated.

The tub filled up little by little, and by the time it was full, the warm water covering her chest felt really, really nice. Sora rooted around for something in their cabinets, then found an unidentified bottle to pour into the tub. Herbal extracts, going by the scent.

When he set the bottle down, she weakly grasped his hand. “Join me?”

His expression softened, and he nodded and kissed her forehead. “Hold on.”

A few minutes later, he was soaking in the water with her, his back leaning against the tub as she leaned against him. His arms were around her, and she felt so safe and protected.

“This feels really nice,” she murmured as he kissed her cheek.

“See? So long as we’re together, that’s what matters.”

She nodded sleepily and closed her eyes. She dozed on and off as they enjoyed the time together, then woke up again as he gently started cleaning her. This felt so much more intimate in some ways than a normal Valentine’s date would’ve been.

Once they were both clean, he carefully extracted himself from her and got out of the tub, then helped her out of it. He dried her off and gently laid her on their bed, and she felt much better after dinner and their bath. The food had restored some of her strength, plus the warm, herbal-infused bathwater had cleared her nostrils and made her chest feel lighter. And being around Sora was the best medicine anyone could ask for.

“Thank you,” she said, smiling softly at him.

He leaned down to kiss her again, then said, “I got us something. A special treat for Valentine’s Day.”

“Oh? What is it?”

“Hang on a sec,” he said, disappearing into the living room. A few moments later, he reappeared with two sets of fluffy pajamas. His pajama top was black with red cuffs and a red hood plus pajama pants with red bands around the knees. Her top was pink with black cuffs and accents and cute little Chirithy ears with matching shorts that were pink and black with plaid on one of the legs. Both outfits had matching slippers that would be nice to wear around the house.

“The perfect PJs for Valentine’s Day cuddles,” he proudly declared. They looked remarkably like their clothes when they’d faced down Xehanort all those years ago. That was one of her favorite looks for Sora, plus she’d liked her look back then too, so she wasn’t about to complain about this fun, fluffy trip down memory lane.

“The fairies made them for us,” Sora explained. “I was feeling nostalgic and asked for something similar to our outfits back when we first shared the paopu fruit.”

“I love them,” she said, running her hands over the soft fabric. Then a playful imp entered her brain and refused to leave. “But I want to wear yours.”

He raised an eyebrow. “And what, pray tell, will I wear?”

“Mine,” she said as sweetly as she could manage in her sickly state. “They look baggy enough that you could pull them off. Or you could just stay as you are. That works too.”

He laughed. “Hey, if me wearing your pajamas will cheer you up, I’ll happily do it.”

He helped her into his new pajamas after that, and they were very loose on her, which was perfect for her current fever. If she got too hot Sora could help her take them off.

Then he put her pajamas on, Chirithy hood and all, and she giggled and nodded her approval. “They look good on you. Pink really suits you, and black is one of your best colors.”

He grinned and slowly turned in a circle for her, a mischievous expression on his face. “Well? Like what you see?”

“I always do. And those shorts look great on your legs and butt. Thank you for the show.”

He looked back at her and winked. “You’re welcome.” With that he turned the lamps on their bedside tables on and turned the overhead light off.

He certainly had the confidence…and the figure…to pull this outfit off. That was one of the things she loved about him. He was so secure in himself that he didn’t care how much anyone teased him about how smitten he was with her or the lengths he would go for her. Wearing her pajamas didn’t even faze him if it meant making her laugh when she was sick.

He’d sacrificed so much more for her before. A silly outfit swap was nothing in comparison.

“What is it?” he softly asked, noticing the change in her expression.

She sniffled and grabbed a tissue off the nightstand. “I’m sick and emotional because I’m thinking about all you’ve done for me. All you’ve sacrificed for me. Your strength, your memories, your dignity…your life…”

“Small prices to pay to be with you,” he said, joining her on the bed. “And you’ve sacrificed a lot for me too.”

She cuddled up next to him as he figured out the blanket situation and turned off the lamps. “I’m just glad we’re together,” she said. For so long that hadn’t been any guarantee but now, at last, it was true. Everything they’d been through was worth it now that he was by her side.

“I am too. Happy Valentine’s Day, Kairi.” He kissed her goodnight, not caring one single bit that she was sick.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Sora.” She rested his head on her chest, his heartbeat the lullaby she needed to fall asleep.

As they slipped off into the realm of dreams together, Kairi was completely content, her symptoms just an irritation and her exhaustion and sense of peace overriding them. She always slept so much more soundly in Sora’s arms and he likewise slept like a baby in her embrace, their bodies regulating each other when they were together, their hearts beating as one.

The day might not have gone as planned, but it was still a very nice Valentine’s Day all the same. Sora was right. So long as they were together, that was what really mattered.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: I couldn't not write a SoKai fic about those new pajamas that Square released. I'd been wanting to write a sickfic where Sora takes care of Kairi anyway, and it aligned perfectly with the announcement of those pajamas.

Thank you for reading, and Happy Valentine's Day!

#kingdom hearts #kh fanfiction #sokai #sora #kairi #sora x kairi #sora/kairi #phoenix writes #phoenix-downer #long post #kh #sickfic #hurt/comfort #fluff #cuddling #romance #valentine's day #happy valentine's day

11 notes · View notes

oveliagirlhaditright · 4 years ago

Text

For SoKai Day/my headcanon day for Kairi’s birthday. Aqua intentionally bequeaths Kairi the Keyblade upon their first meeting, which gives her the Keyblade at four-years-old--that she then uses to force Apprentice Xehanort to stop torturing her and send her to Destiny Islands faster than he would’ve liked--but she can’t summon it when she loses her memory. But the night the Islands fell, Destiny’s Embrace returns to Kairi and she doesn’t lose her heart. Thus she gets to go with Sora on his journey from the get-go, and the story shifts. AU. Canon divergence.

https://www.archiveofourown.org/works/26506168

Hero

Chapter One

Kairi—when she eventually remembered this had happened—would always be thankful that Aqua had decided to bequeath her with a Keyblade in the moment that she had saved her...

Initially, Kairi had had her Destiny’s Embrace Keyblade when she was four and five. And she had even used it against Apprentice Xehanort to the best of her ability, when he had kidnapped. And she now thought that was what had allowed her to get to Destiny Islands (where it was safe and beautiful, and not painful and horrendous like Radiant Garden had become).

After that, she had lost her Keyblade for years. Probably because she had lost her memories. But it would appear again when Sora and Riku both needed her to have it, and that mattered more than anything in the world to her.

Three Years Earlier

The fourteen-year-old Kairi, who was now looking out at the sea and trying her best to reminisce, did not recall much from when she’d washed up on the shore of Destiny Islands and Sora had found her. She vaguely thought she might have had some sort of weapon in her hand, maybe, but it had vanished the moment her best friend had found her... and so she’d for a long time believed him, when he’d said it had just been a water gun that the ocean had carried away again.

And while a future Kairi would laugh at this—and wonder how Sora had been so blind in that moment. But, hey. Memories became hazy over time—she still became friends with him after he doubted her. And his best friend Riku, too.

And speaking of Riku… it wouldn't be until Riku went into a secret place on the Island and sought out a mysterious door there—for the second time, he would tell Kairi when she followed him in there—would the Keyblade return to her, and Kairi attempt to seal a Keyhole (after Riku had already left) and be unable to.

After that scary moment (as Kairi tried to focus on the pretty lights and colors she’d just seen from the Keyhole and not the larger parts of what was happening), some memories returned to Kairi. And she didn’t want them at all! Not of these ones, anyway, of her grandmother screaming and her being ripped away from her as she did so.

And as Kairi ate dinner with her family that night, getting ready to go on their great draft adventure, she dreaded the other shoe dropping next, as that always seemed to happen for her.

So Kairi tried to focus on the good things while she could—that it seemed like Sora was starting to realize it was okay to like orange more than red... That Riku seemed to be seeing that there was more to Selphie, after all... That she was about to be a class representative—and focused on them when Riku, later, seemed to be looking at her angrily, as she held her Keyblade in the storm. And he then tried to kidnap Sora before he fended him away with his own Keyblade: Kingdom Key, if Kairi was hearing its name right in her heart.

And as the redhead saw strange shadows all around her now… to say that she felt horrible for doubting Sora when he’d talked about these sorts of things earlier, would have been an understatement.

She should 've known it was real—even if it had just seen them in a dream—and that even though Sora had dismissed the reality of it easily when she had somewhat pressured him to... he had only done so because of his trauma of it, much like what she had done with her own memories.

"I'm sorry, Sora!" Kairi yelled out to him now, as she was almost blown off the paopu islet by the wind whipping all around them. She wanted him to know that, in case something unseemly happened to one of them on this awful night.

But Sora, being Sora, didn't seem bothered by their earlier argument at all.

Instead, he grinned at her through this tornado—grinned!—and caught onto Kairi's hand so they wouldn't lose each other. "That's okay, Kairi. But you know how you can make it up to me? By admitting that I'm cooler than Riku right now!"

And before Kairi could really react to his joke at all, Sora was already charging into battle against the massive shadow with his Keyblade in hand.

And Kairi could tell that this was something he wanted to do before he died, if it came down to it: defend her to his last breath.

And so far, he was doing a pretty good job of it! He'd somewhere gotten the clever idea to run up the monster’s arm and attack its head, which was doing some substantial damage. Kairi could tell this by how it seemed to be taking the creature more and more of its leftover strength to summon more of its minions.

Thought now there were homing lasers coming from the beast, that Sora seemed to have no idea about and were heading right for him!

But not being one to be undone, Kairi ran towards Sora as fast as she could. She meant to just wrap her arms around him and sacrifice herself for her dear friend, but she'd accidentally positioned her Keyblade just so, so that she deflected the lasers... into the monster's head, no less!

And Sora noticed what she’d accidentally done, the same moment that Kairi did and he beamed at her. "Kairi, see if you can do that again! Let's work together and try and beat the boss!"

"Okay!"

Since Sora was still more agile than her, he continued to rest on the abomination’s arm and attack its head.

Kairi, meanwhile, was attacking its one hand—being sure to steer clear of the one sphere it sometimes made—and trying to deflect lasers (Sora was, too, and he probably managed to send back one-in-ten for her every one-in-twenty).

But when their enemy found a last bout of strength to summon more and more of its minions, that was almost too much for Kairi. She had cuts all over her from where they’d attacked. And then there was darkness on the ground that tried to pull her into it like quicksand?!

"Sora, it's too much!" Kairi complained, just as the two of them har miraculously landed their final blows on the boss.

But they didn't get too much time to celebrate; the gust that had almost taken Kairi into the air before, grabbed both her and Sora now and they were thrown into the ether.

As they flew, Kairi told a misty-eyed Sora, "I'm glad I was finally able to stand by your side, Sora! I've secretly always wanted to do that, and I'm so glad that I did!"

Kairi may have heard Sora say her name after that, but she couldn't really be sure. Because soon, she knew nothing.

…

Kairi did not pass out upon entering a new world like Sora did—and how amazing it was, to think that they were in another world!—Instead, she landed on her feet... which was probably why she stayed awake, because after landing on them from the height that she did... she nearly snapped her legs in half. And oh, the pain there was great.

Sora was unconscious at the end of the small alley they were on. And once she’d deemed that she was able to walk, without hurting herself—because there had been no guarantee she hadn’t twisted her ankle from such a fall—she’d been walking over to where he was to wake him up, but a yellow dog licking his face beat her to the punch.

"Eww! Gross, doggy!" Kairi cried out for Sora’s sake. "I swear I actually like dogs—and you, I’ll bet—but I’m sure Sora won’t appreciate being slobbered on like that!

And just as Kairi had exclaimed that, and Sora began to stir, she heard a voice before her insulting their companion? And another one... calling for a Pluto? Oh! Pluto must've been the dog, Kairi realized numbly. For as soon as the puppy had heard that name, he had darted off.

And even Sora, who had only just woken up, was reaching for him; and it made sense to the redhead, because if anyone adored canines it was Sora.

"Kairi, what's going on?!" Sora asked her with a very tired voice, the moment it became clear that the little guy wasn't coming back. "Where are we?"

"...We're in another world, Sora, if you can believe it. And it’s as advanced as our home’s become! It has cobblestones and lights that I can see just above us. Impressive, huh?" While Kairi said all of this this like a teacher telling their student something, she partly hated herself for it... Sora and Riku had wanted to see other worlds more than she had, so shouldn't they have been the ones to figure all of this out and tell her?

And speaking of Riku... Kairi had temporarily wanted to exclude him from her and Sora's trip... and now he had fallen. Was it her fault? If so, Kairi wasn’t sure how she could ever forgive herself. She had to make it right!

Sora must have noticed that Kairi had lost some of her initiative… because linking her arm with his, he began leading her into the city. "Come on, Kairi. Let's see if we can find any adults here who can help us."

And Kairi nodded sadly, as she let Sora take her away. But she tried to find some of her usual fire again, by the time they found an establishment. The last thing she wanted right now was for Sora to worry, after all. He—and they—had already been through enough.

"Yo, mister!” Kairi called out, taking a page out of Riku and Sora’s book. “Could you give us some shelter, and perhaps help us find our friends?" She and Sora had just strolled into a shop painted in green.

Before they'd come here, Kairi and Sora had gone up one story in this town, and Kairi had seen another store that was sealed off.

And when Kairi—being more daring than she even had been on the Islands for some reason—had gone atop its roof and looked down the chimney, she'd seen the most adorable little creatures!

The redhead had then been struck by the desire to try and go down the chimney like Santa Claus, in order to get to the cuties. But Sora had pulled her away from it faster than she could blink, sighting that since they didn't know if Riku was injured somewhere or not, the last thing they needed was for her to get hurt. It was then that they’d realized they needed some sort of semblance of reality.

So here they were: at another shop in this small town. And was it Kairi... or was Sora looking at her with an amused but happy expression on his face after her outburst?

But Kairi didn't have time to focus on any feelings Sora might or might not have for her right now. Instead, she was paying attention to the man coming from behind the tan counter, with a band on his waist that matched it. Kairi wondered what that was about...

"Well, if you aren't a fire cracker for a child. You remind me of someone else I know. So what can I do for you, again?”

"We-we're looking for a friend of ours,” Sora supplied, now seeming lost in thought. “Way taller than Kairi and I, with silver hair and green eyes and a huge attitude problem. This is gonna sound crazy... but we think we're in another world from our home one,"

This blond man—with hair that looked like an ice cream dip to Kairi, like Wakka's—gave Sora a sympathetic look, before sighing and returning his attention to her. "I hate to break it to y'all, but I guess I better prepare ya for this new, cruel world yer in... If your star—your world—blinked out, there's a good chance many o' your loved ones are dead."

"No, I don't believe it!" Sora exclaimed, banging his fist on the counter as he did so. And Kairi instantly put a reassuring hand on his back and leaned into him some, as she tried to not cry herself.

She wouldn't believe her friends and family from Destiny Islands were gone, any more than she believed her grandma from her home world was dead. She just wouldn't.

"Why don' ya two have another look around town, and see if ya can't find yer loved ones. Now that you've explored a little, the magic keeping the doors to the other districts sealed should be open. And then if ya still can't find anyone older ta take care of ya, I’ll do it. I’m Cid.”

“I’m Sora.”

And after Sora had introduced himself, Kairi found he didn’t have to be told twice. The two fourteen-year-olds went back outside and tried to find the door to the next district.

And as they went through said door, Kairi would spy two strange fellas who seemed to be looking for someone… just as another stranger summoned a monster!

Author’s Note: When I first played Kingdom Hearts, it wouldn’t let me go to the other districts until I explored thoroughly—I think my game was glitching some, when it did this even when I’d been all over the first district—so I decided to make that canon here.

I wish this chapter was longer, but I sadly don’t have the time at the moment.

This is the story I’ve mentioned about Kairi getting to be a hero and part of things from the get-go—that wasn’t supposed to have any shipping, as I feel fans attach Kairi to a relationship too much—but SoKai is of course in here, because it’s me. But at canon levels. Like canon KH1 levels here.

And the first part of this chapter is more telling, not showing. But I mean to have flashbacks about those parts later, that are more showing.

And while Kairi is the hero here, I’m trying to have her develop that way realistically (and not completely outshine Sora), since I still doubt Kairi ever sparred on the Island and whatnot. So she still has to learn the ropes, but she will.

#sokai #Sokai day 2020 #kairi #fanfiction #au #alternate universe #universe alteration #canon divergent #canon divergence #kairi-centric #kh1 au #kairi goes on the adventure from the get-go #Shanna writes #my writing #mine #my work #it's still fifteen minutes away from midnight where I'm at. but oh well. posting anyway.happy sokai day y'all #and I'm saving my ultimate creation for tomorrow #sokai day

10 notes · View notes