Kalli's Journal

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Baubles

"Kairi!"

Kairi looked up from contemplating the hem of her shirt and where the tiny bit of dirt on it had come from. She had ruled out lunch, but nothing else - possibly it could have been from Sora flicking a not-quite-clean paintbrush at her at lunch after swiping it from one of the artsy kids.

"Hey," she replied, wondering why Selphie had her hands behind her back. It couldn't be anything good. But Selphie had told her to wait after school, and waiting she was.

"Lookit all of this!" Selphie exclaimed as she held out her hands to reveal charms and silver chain. "The school hasn't banned accessories yet, so..."

"We're going to try to make them?" Kairi interrupted. "Just like the boys..."

"Well, the teachers can't make them wear jackets in this weather," Selphie retorted quickly. She crouched down, spreading the cheap metal on the ground. "And the boys have good reason for wallet chains."

"They can still get away with more." Kairi knelt down as well, settling onto her knees to poke at Selphie's stash. "Where did you get all of this?"

"A little babysitting, a little trading with some of the other girls..." Selphie picked out a jingling necklace and held it out. "Okay, try this one."

"Wait!" But Selphie didn't, reaching forward quickly to clasp it behind Kairi's neck without even needing to look at the latch.

"Hmmm." Selphie leaned back, slipping until she ended up cross-legged on the ground and laughing. Kairi wondered if Selphie's purple spotted panties were part of the rebellion. "Ooh, that wasn't good."

Kairi shook her head. "Better than falling from that tree. Or sliding off the roof out on..."

"Okay, I get the point!" Selphie tried to frown, but failed. "Gotta fix your necklace."

"Huh?" Kairi glanced down just in time for Selphie's hands to quickly undo her tie and the top buttons of her shirt. "Selphie!"

"Rules say that you have to wear the tie," Selphie said as she pulled it from around Kairi's neck. "Rules don't say where."

"Selphie..." Kairi said flatly. Her bra was showing. And she was a little lost for words.

"The upperclassman girls are all doing it," Selphie replied with a pout. "We've gotta out-do them!"

"No we don't," Kairi stated as she reached back to undo the necklace. For junk jewelery, it was nice looking, but...

"Keep the necklace," Selphie said softly as she began scooping up the rest of the baubles to shove into her schoolbag. "I'm sure you can wear it with something."

Kairi sighed as she got to her feet. She hadn't quite meant to completely shut down Selphie's enthusiasm. One of her hands idly wound around the charm on the necklace - a painted heart not entirely unlike the abstract, primitive one that Sora had drawn with the stolen paintbrush.

But that hadn't been for her, after all. They'd worked through that - they were friends, close enough to sleep in the same bed but horrified at anything that would come after.

So the heart around her neck, now...

"Selphie?"

Selphie scrambled to her feet. "What?"

"My tie," Kairi replied, pointing to where Selphie had draped it around her own neck to keep it out of the way.

"You were just gonna take it off anyway." Selphie stuck her tongue out. "So... come over to my house and borrow a bathing suit. We can go swimming."

Kairi laughed. After all, the edge of her bra was still peeking out from the edge of her shirt and Selphie had finally stopped flashing the school campus. The obvious thing to do was run around in bathing suits, all the way through town and down to the shore.

"Okay!" she agreed. Scooping up her own bookbag, she reached to fix the one button of her shirt. "But, Selphie...?"

"What?" Selphie questioned, frowning.

"Why a heart?"

"Because it fits you, I guess," Selphie said. "You are a special princess and all that, right?"

"Not in this world," Kairi replied as she double-stepped to catch up to Selphie. "Here, I'm just me."

"Well, if you ever need a royal bodyguard, I want to apply," Selphie stated. "Though... I'd need to practice more. I haven't been a very good royal bodyguard in the past."

"Those weren't normal bad guys," Kairi said as she reached up to run her fingers over the warming metal of the heart charm. "Normal bad guys... I'm sure you could kick their..."

"Asses!" Selphie finished gleefully. "Thanks."

Kairi paused for a second as Selphie reached over and grabbed her hand. And squeezed, tightly.

"What?" Selphie asked as she pulled Kairi along. "If I'm going to be your royal bodyguard, I have to start right now."

"I know," Kairi said softly, wondering just when the idea had suddenly become so much more appealing. But the feeling that fluttered in her stomach from the contact obviously meant something. Something she needed to pay more attention to.

"Remember that cute bathing suit I got last year? The black and white one?" Selphie asked suddenly, breaking the almost overwhelming silence. "You've got to wear that one because I have a new one. Yellow!"

"Yellow?" Kairi giggled. "Half of your clothing is yellow!"

"Yep," Selphie replied. They turned the corner to the road Selphie's house was on. "So I'm going to need a yellow uniform, too, to be your bodyguard. One that shows off my muscles."

"What muscles?"

"These!" Selphie let go of Kairi's hand and pushed up a sleeve before flexing. Sure enough, practice was paying off.

Without thinking twice, Kairi reached to squeeze Selphie's arm, feeling the hard muscle with her own fingers. "Yep, you'll be able to beat the bad guys."

"Of course!" Selphie skipped to the front door of the house and held it open. "After you, your Highness."

Kairi shook her head. "Don't you start with that. I'm not..."

Selphie pouted. Kairi sighed.

"Oh, okay. But not in public. I mean, most people don't even remember when I was gone, let alone..." Kairi trailed off as she stepped into the silence of Selphie's home. Her aunt, Ellone, was still at work.

"Let's use that to your advantage then," Selphie said as she slung her bag onto one of the chairs near the door. "Because everyone would be horrified to see a princess in a bikini."

"Would they?" Kairi asked. "Wouldn't it depend on the world? I don't think anyone here would be surprised. It's warm here, and there's water."

"Well what would horrify them?" Selphie asked, her eyes shining with mischief.

"I don't..." Kairi reached to again slider her fingers over the warm, smooth metal of the heart necklace. She was going to have to ask.

"How about this?" Selphie asked quickly, the words wrapping themselves into Kairi's mind a split second before hesitant lips met hers in a soft, chaste kiss.

"Scandalous," Kairi replied with a giggle. Selphie was blushing. And that question had been answered. "But... now we're going to have to do that where someone can see us."

For once, Selphie seemed speechless. And as she tugged off her shirt to trade it for a bikini top, Kairi didn't mind at all.