Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

A whistle. Long and loud pierced the silent night.

Sora blearily opened his eyes. He glanced over at the clock on the bedside table. 01:43 was what it read. He glared at it, before snuggling back down against Riku’s warm body.

The whistle sounded again, longer this time.

Sora slowly lifted himself up from the bed, careful to not disturb the two figures curled up beside him. He inched himself out of the bed as carefully and gently as possible. Kairi’s hand reached out and flopped down onto where Sora had been laying. Sora held his breath, he didn’t dare move. Kairi snuggled against Riku, curling up against his side. Sora let out his breath, and lifted himself away from the bed. Now standing up, he crept as slowly as possible towards the window. Luckily, no floorboards creaked, or groaned. Now standing at the windowsill, he opened the curtains and peered out. He stared out at the street in front of him, gently illuminated by the street lights. A minute of silence, and then another. Sora turned back towards the bed before there was another whistle. Instead of long this one was shorter and much quieter.

It sounded lonely.

He stared out towards the source of the noise. From the whistle to the feeling in his heart he just knew. Something was calling out to him.

He glanced back at the bed one last time, watching Kairi and Riku as they slept. Riku had an arm around Kairi as she lay next to him, her hand on his chest. Sora couldn’t help the warm smile that spread on his face. His heart rate increased and the warm feeling that bloomed on his cheeks was a welcome one.

Another whistle sounded.

Sora left the room, closing the door as gently as he could. He crept down the stairs, glancing occasionally towards the room he knew his mothers were asleep in. The sound of quiet snoring signaled that no one else was awake. The front door was locked, and Sora reached out to summon his keyblade. He froze, remembering the sound that came out when he tried to unlock a world’s keyhole. He brought his hand back to his side, and lifted the set of keys off the hook next to the door.

The rest of the journey was much easier. Every street was barren. The docks too, were empty, and it was easy enough for Sora to borrow one of the rowing boats tied up at the pier. He’d bring it back, so it was fine right? The waves on the small channel between the town’s island and the uninhabited one were gentle, a far cry from the frothing mass Sora could see out at sea. The whistle sounded again, stronger this time. Sora frowned, rowing harder. “I’m coming, don’t worry,” he muttered to himself.

The rowing boat was now neatly tied at the docks with the complicated knot he had learned in the Caribbean. Being on the island at night was not like it was in the day. There was a haunting atmosphere surrounding everything. Not even the tree houses looked familiar in the dim moonlight.

The whistle sounded again, slightly weaker this time, and the pull on his heart flared up. Sora glanced up towards the thick forest that covered the back of the island. Barely anyone went there, everything overgrown with vines and bushes. He grimaced. This wouldn’t be fun.

It wasn’t. By the time Sora entered a tiny clearing, he had scratches and scrapes covering his arms and legs, stray twig and leaves caught in his messy hair. He had summoned his keyblade to slash away some of the branches in his path. A fat lot of good that did him. He sighed, ruffling his hair so as to dislodge the bird’s nest of stuff up there. Glancing up he stopped, noticing something rather odd. A set of train tracks were there in the center of the clearing, starting out of nowhere and leading off into the deeper parts of the forest.

He tilted his head. “Weird,” he muttered to himself. “Those shouldn’t be there. As far as I know no one’s ever tried to build a railway here.” Why would they want to? he thought. There was no whistle this time, but he now noticed that the pull he felt had gotten stronger, he stepped towards the tracks. The pull got stronger. Interesting.

Sora followed the winding tracks for a good five minutes. He felt like he'd gone all around the island at this point, with all the twists and turns he'd taken. He paused to catch his breath, and looked up.

He was in a small grotto, the trees curling around as if they were making a cocoon around the area. And in the center, was a pair of ratchet, old buffers.

Chapter Text

Sora stared hard at the rotten buffers, as his Keyblade disappeared from his grasp. They were covered in ivy, the grass underneath almost dislodging it from its bolting. And yet it endured. The odd whistle that had seemed to call Sora in was now silent, the only sound that surrounded him was the gentle breeze blowing through the trees around him.

Sora frowned, taking a step forward as he kept looking in the buffers’ direction. There’s something fishy going on here. He thought. Even though this place is abandoned, the tracks are all twisted yet sturdy, and these buffers look ready to break and have this weird magical pull. Come to think of it, why in the name of Kingdom Hearts is a railway line doing here?! The only railway I know of is in Twilight Town. The ever present question of why weighed on Sora’s mind as he bent down to look more closely at the rickety structure. He didn’t know why, but he felt some kind of connection to the thing. As if there was some invisible energy that tugged on his heart. 

Sora summoned his Keyblade once again, maybe unlocking it will work? The Keyblade wielder stepped back as he pointed the weapon in the dead centre of the buffers. As he focused, a small ball of energy began to gather at the tip, before it fired off in a beam towards the buffers. Now normally, when Sora did this, a large shape of a keyhole would be present, and the action of unlocking or locking access to the world he was into would happen. However, instead of the light piercing the buffers as it would a keyhole, it instead glanced off. 

Of a bright gold barrier that suddenly appeared around it.

Sora blinked. That was...unexpected.  

The barrier appeared to be made of tiny glowing particles, the light they put out illuminating the entire glade. Despite the cold nighttime air, the barrier seemed to give off a pleasant warmth, something Sora noticed as he approached. Before he could get too close however, it faded, the warmth it brought cooling as well. 

He stopped, and stared at the buffers again, internally trying to figure out it’s mystery. Questions swam through his head, desperate answers unable to be formed from both the lack of information, and the drowsiness beginning to spread. Sora shivered, and yawned. He had forgotten how tired he was, the whistle, railway and buffers distracting him from any sleep. He paused, before reaching out and putting his hand on the worn wood. Surprisingly, it still felt mildly warm, most likely residual heat from the barrier.

Sora lay down on the grass, curling up against the thankfully warm buffers. Despite both his thin pjs, and the cold air, he was comfortable. As he was slowly lulled to sleep, a few thoughts still lingered in his mind, the most forefront being, I hope Riku and Kairi won’t be too worried .

Kairi and Riku were fucking terrified. Well at least, Riku was. The teen was desperately running around like a headless chicken, screaming out Sora’s name. It had started when Riku awoke, used to not sleeping too late due to his time in the Realm of Darkness. The morning sun streamed through the slightly opened curtains, and Riku blinked, glaring slightly at the brightness. 

He glanced over to his right, smiling warmly at the sleeping figure of Kairi next to him. He then turned to his left, expecting to see a snoozing Sora. But there was nothing.

Riku sat up, now wide awake as he stared, wide-eyed at the empty spot on the bed next to him. His mind began to race, immediately thinking of the range of possibilities that could have occured. Riku could feel his body tremble slightly until a hand rested over his. He looked back. Kairi was smiling at him from the bed, her warm eyes glinting. 

“Good morning Riku” she said with a smile. Riku couldn’t help but smile back. Kairi’s happiness was almost as infectious as Sora’s though while his was more about boundless energy, Kairi’s had a softness to it that Sora could never possess. It made cuddling one of the best things. Riku turned and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek.

“Morning” He murmured, before glancing back at the spot next to him, the smile quickly slipping from his face. Kairi slowly pushed herself and placed her hand on his arm. 

“What’s wrong?” Riku swallowed before answering.

“Sora’s gone”. A quiet chuckle sounded behind him as Kairi leaned against his body.

“Is that all? He’s probably gone down for breakfast, the greedy guts.” Riku took a deep breath as he processed Kairi’s words. She was right! She always was. She was the sane one, the person with the brain cell when her two himbo boyfriends fucked off into danger without a second thought. At least that's what she had told them when they had recounted their stories together one night. Riku smiled and pressed a soft kiss to her lips, feeling her smile through it. 

“Come on then” Riku muttered, pulling himself from Kairi’s grasp with only a quiet whine from her as he did so. “Let’s go get him” The two began trudging out of Sor- their room and slowly descended the stairs that led to the kitchen. Kairi clung unto Riku’s arm like a baby, mumbling incoherent words as the two headed down.

A soft hum came from the kitchen as they approached, the melody calm and familiar. They walked in to see one of Sora’s mothers, Farriage, humming as she cooked breakfast. Both teens breathed deeply as they entered, smiles dragged out onto their faces from the incredible scent. 

“Pastry” Kairi murmured to Riku

“Nah, Pancakes” He retorted immediately, as Farriage turned to them

“Well, Well! Nice to see you two up.” She grinned. “You’re just in time! I’m making pancakes”. Riku smirked over at Kairi, as she frowned, glaring good-naturedly back at him.  

Kairi began to let go of her death grip on Riku’s arm and move towards the table, clearly intent on getting some breakfast before he reached out to stop her. Kairi turned her head, raising an eyebrow in confusion. Riku indicated to Farriage beside them, and Kairi nodded.

“Um, Miss Farriage?” she asked, causing the older woman to turn toward them. “Have you seen Sora this morning? He wasn’t in bed when we woke up” Farriage paused, tilting her head as she thought back.

“I’m afraid not, I haven’t seen him since last night,” Riku clenched his fists, a sure sign of his stress returning. Kairi placed a placating hand on his arm as Sora’s mother continued. “The keys to outside were in the door though, so he’s most likely left the house.”

That was the last straw. Riku stared, wide-eyed for a moment, before bolting out of the door. 

“Wait Riku!” Kairi tried calling out to him, but he had already left, unable to hear her in his manic state. She sighed, shaking her head. “ My boyfriends are such idiots sometimes, ” she smiled inwardly before looking back at Farriage. She had a warm smile plastered across her face as she looked out to where Riku had run off to. She glanced down at Kairi.

“Thank you” Kairi blinked, before tilting her head. 

“Thank you?”

“For caring about Sora where we can’t. It’s wonderful to see people who love him so deeply.” Kairi’s face practically burst into flames at the words, her hands wringing in embarrassment. A comfortable silence descended upon the two, before a distant screech that sounded a lot like Riku was heard. Both women looked up, before bursting out into laughter. Farriage covered her mouth with her hand, as Kairi lent against the doorframe for support. 

It took a moment for Kairi to regain her balance, and to stop giggling for a second. She took a deep breath, before turning back over to Farriage.

“I should probably go and make sure that Riku doesn’t do anything too stupid, we’ll try and be back for breakfast.” Farriage nodded

“I’ll put some pancakes aside for you all.” Kairi said her thanks, and then waved as she headed out the door. As she left, she could hear Sora’s other mother, Léas, muttering as she entered the kitchen. 

Kairi had made it to the town square, dragging Riku along with her. She had found him on top of a tree, with his keyblade out, most likely going to glide around the island to find him. She managed to slap some sense into him before he could. She sat down on a bench, forcing Riku to sit beside her.

“You’re such an idiot sometimes, you know that?” Riku, thankfully, had the dignity to look sheepish, as he rubbed his arm and looked away. A quiet muttered sorry was what she got in response. Kaiir sighed, rubbing her eyes. “Did you even have a plan?” the tense silence was taken as a yes. Kairi sighed again, leaning back and staring up at the sky. 

“You could have used your dream eater connection.” Riku’s head flicked up, before he turned to Kairi. 

“What”

“You heard me, knowing Sora he’s probably asleep, and since you’re his dream eater you can find his dreams and so him.” Riku’s mouth opened, and then shut. He stared hard at Kairi, looking as if she hadn’t just spoken the only sane thing this entire morning. 

“I...could do that.”

“So do it dummy.” Kairi turned and opened her eyes, a mischievous glint clear in each. Riku sighed before closing his eyes, and focusing. His abilities as a dream eater had grown with his own strength, and ever since he, Kairi and Sora finally got together, his ability to sense them had appeared. It was particularly useful when out on a mission, when Sora goes off exploring before deciding to just, fall asleep wherever. 

Riku’s breathing slowed, as he searched for Sora’s heart and dreams. 

It didn’t take too long, he could feel him, just a few kilometres away. Oddly enough he could feel some...confusion? Most likely something in his dream. Riku blinked open his eyes, and glanced down at Kairi. 

“He’s on Destiny Island”

Chapter Text

Sora opened his eyes. He groaned and squinted at the sun, sending off death glares as he woke up. He slowly lifted his head up, lifting his body up from the ground. He stretched his arms up, hearing the slight crack as he did so. He paused, turning his head as he surveyed the area around him. “Where…am I?” he muttered to himself.

“Morning sleepy head.” He whipped his head around at the unexpected voice. Behind him, smiling down, were Kairi and Riku. Sora immediately relaxed, a calm smile spreading onto his face. 

“Hey guys, what are you doing here?” Sora grinned at them, as Riku raised an eyebrow, Kairi placing her hands on her hips and playfully glaring at him.

“Looking for you,” she sighed. “You crept out in the middle of the night and didn’t come back.” Sora froze, the memories of the previous night coming back to him in a rush. A blush crept up his neck as he rubbed the back of his head. 

“Sorry, I didn't mean to worry you guys...” The two glanced at each other, before shaking their heads. Kairi wandered up and placed a kiss on his cheek, causing Sora to turn even more red than before. 

“It’s fine, silly. Just leave a note next time you go wandering, kay?” Sora, in his love-induced stupor could merely nod. He glanced over at Riku, who was surveying the glade they were in.

“What is this place? How in the name of Kingdom Hearts did you find it?!” Sora tilted his head back, putting his hands behind it as he did that pose, and both Kairi and Riku smiled.

“Well, I was woken up in the middle of the night by a whistle.” Sora mused, closing his eyes as he thought.

Kairi tilted her head in confusion, “A whistle?”

“Yeah, I know, It’s weird. It sort of felt like it was calling out to me, like it needed someone. So I snuck out and began to follow the sound. As soon as I landed here though, I felt something...pull me. I- don’t really know how to describe it, it’s like some kind of power had latched onto my heart.” Kairi and Riku shared a glance at that, exchanging worried looks. Sora continued on, unhindered. “Eventually, I found myself here, and the pull stopped. The only thing here was those buffers.” Sora indicated to said structure, causing his enthralled audience to turn. Riku approached them, crouching down to get a closer look before reaching out to touch them.

“They’re...warm.” He stated, an air of confusion clear in his voice. 

“Why on earth would they be, it’s early morning!” Kairi exclaimed beside him, having crept over for a closer look. 

Sora shrugged, “They were like that last night. I tried to figure out what was up with them by firing an unlock beam-” Both parties snorted, turning to him with an incredulous look.

“A what?” they both asked him, staring at him as Sora floundered for an explanation.

“You know!! That beam of light that appears when a world's keyhole is locked or unlocked.” 

Riku chuckled, “You could have come up with a better name for it than...that.” Sora huffed, and crossed his arms, making sure to pout for increased cuteness. Riku’s smile turned warm at that, reaching out to his cheek. “I was joking you know,” he smiled, as he stroked Sora’s cheek. The boy in question was now blushing up a storm, the red spreading down to his neck. “It’s cute, just like you.” Riku’s smile turned into a smirk as Sora immediately pushed his arm off, covering his face with his arms. A low strangled screech came from his direction.

“I’m too bi for this.” He muttered as Kairi and Riku began to laugh their asses off. He glanced back, smiling minutely at the two of them giggling together. He’d missed their laughs. “Can I finish the story now?” He demanded, facing them with a raised eyebrow and his hands on his hips. A small giggle escaped Kairi’s mouth, before she nodded. Sora grinned, “Perfect. So after I fired the beam a weird kind of barrier appeared.” His captive audience raised eyebrows at that. 

“What kind of barrier?” Riku asked. Sora paused for a moment to think, before glancing back at the buffers.

“Well, it's nothing we’ve ever seen. It seemed to be made of some kind of...golden dust. It caused the beam to dissipate before fading away.” Kairi a finger to chin, thinking deeply. Riku, too, seemed deep in contemplation, folding his arms and closing his eyes. “In the end,” Sora continued “I felt way too sleepy to head back so I fell asleep here and so, here we are.” A hush fell over the glade as Kairi and Riku thought over Sora’s words. After a moment, Riku looked up at him with an odd glint in his eye.

“So I was running around town and panicking because you decided to sleep outside? Without telling either of us?” Riku asked, playfully raising an eyebrow. Sora blinked, before snorting.

“You were running around town looking for me?” He asked, faking innocence as a smirk crept up on his face.

“Like a headless chicken,” Kairi piped up. Riku glared at her as she smiled back, innocently. Sora smiled even brighter than before, running up to Riku and tackling him in a hug. Riku stumbled a bit, before stumbling more as Kairi joined in. He glanced down at his boyfriend and girlfriend. The two stared up at him pleadingly. Riku never stood a chance. He sighed, before returning the hug. The three of them stayed there like that for a moment, enjoying each other's warmth. 

“So, what are we going to do about the buffers?” Kairi asked, snuggling closer to Riku. 

“Nothing, yet. We can ask the king about it later, for now, let’s head back. Your moms are making pancakes Sora.”

As the trio left the grove, no one noticed a tiny rainbow portal opening up just in front of the buffers. And no one saw the small stream of golden dust that flew out of it, before dispersing into the air.