Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts. (But a girl can dream, right?)

Sweetdreams and N I G H T M A R E S

"All worlds begin in Darkness," cold, menacing orange eyes glared at him – right into his soul. "And all so end."

He whacked away at Heartless, sweat dripping down his limbs. His muscles screamed for a reprieve. His chest burned with each breath. Raising his Keyblade, he launched a Fire spell, incinerating a group of hell's spawns.

"The heart is no different."

With a quick break in the endless fighting, he used the time to cast a Cure spell on himself and Donald and Goofy. Feeling rejuvenated, he whacked away with newfound intensity.

"You see, Darkness is the heart's true essence."

One swing brought down ten Heartless. Jab, pivot, slash, dodge, roll, Blizzard, guard, hit, jump, whack – it was never ending. For every one Sora and his companions defeated, five more would pop up in its place.

But they had to trudge on. If they gave up now, everything would be lost. All the worlds that Darkness had already claimed – they would never see the Light again. And all the words that they were fighting to defend now, they were depending on the trio.

Ansem eyed the battle from above, a sinister smirk plastered on his face. Just glancing at him sent anger burning through Sora. This guy – this monster – was the cause of all of this. There was no way he could let him win. He had to come out victorious.

The distance between him and the source of destruction suddenly seemed a million miles wide. His feet wouldn't move, his arms felt like lead as he tried to lift them. Magic wouldn't come as he tried to defend himself. He could feel the life draining from his body.

"Kingdom Hearts," Ansem's voice boomed, summoning a shining white door – Kingdom Hearts.

"No!" Sora choked out. He fell to his knees. This wasn't happening, couldn't be happening, there was just no way…

He looked to his friends for help. Donald was being tackled by a group of Heartless. He blasted them back with a Blizzard spell. The duck smiled at his small victory, unaware of the foe creeping up from behind.

"Donald!" Sora screamed, his voice barely scrapping out a whisper.

The Large Body jumped – and for the longest second of Sora's life he watched on the sidelines, dying to help, as the body descended down onto his friend, slamming him to the ground, a puddle of blood swimming from under the large stomach.

Sora tried to scream, but no sound escaped. Tears blinding his eyes, he searched madly for his other friend, praying to any and every god that might be out there that Goofy was okay. The scream confirmed his worse fears.

Turning, dreading the scene he was about to behold, Sora zeroed in on the oversized dog. Two Soldiers held Goofy by the arms while a Pirate repeatedly stabbed him in the abdomen over and over and over and over and –

Sora closed his eyes, desperate to block out the gruesome image. His hands found his ears and clamped over them, a feeble attempt to block out the sounds of battle and his companions dying. This wasn't happening, couldn't be happening, there was just no way…

"Fill me with the power of Darkness!"

Sora opened his ocean eyes to see Kingdom Hearts open, and a wave of Darkness poured out, flooding the valley, powering Ansem. The Heartless suddenly grew larger, more menacing, shaking the ground.

Ansem was floating in the air, his orange eyes glowing, insanity sparking within them, drunk by the Darkness. He smiled, bone-chilling and blood curling, and spoke the words of his death,

"Kill him."

The Heartless rained down.

"NO!" Sora screamed, sitting up in bed. His chest was rising and falling rapidly to match his haggard breathing. Beads of sweat dotted his pale forehead. Lifting a shaking hand, he gently wiped his face clean.

Wits slowly coming back about him, Sora calmed as he realized he wasn't battling Ansem and the Darkness – he was back at home on Destiny Islands safe and sound, reunited with Riku and Kairi.

With a sigh that carried more woe than any 15-year-old should have, Sora collapsed back onto his bed.

The three friends had returned home three months ago, but Sora was still having nightmares about his past adventures. Sighing again, he turned on his side and tried to get more comfortable.

He had beat Ansem's Heartless, then came back a year later to defeat his Nobody, which turned out not to be Ansem at all but his apprentice Xehanort. The Darkness was kept at bay and worlds were restored. All was at peace.

Except Sora.

The hero lay in his bed, waiting for sleep to take him again but was disappointed. Angered, he ripped the covers off of him and rose out of bed. He turned to look out his window, at the island floating off in the distance.

Slipping on his sneakers, Sora quietly left his house, and ran over to the docks where boats rested in the water. Untying the rope anchoring his own boat, Sora hopped in and paddled over the calm waters to his private get-away.

A serene smile graced his tan face, something that had been escaping him as of late. Placing his hands to rest behind his head, he lazily walked over to the Papou tree. Once there, he sat on the trunk and lost himself in the sea that seemed to expand on to forever.

It was warm out, it was always warm on Destiny Islands. The moon was full and shone on the waters, making it sparkle to match the stars in the sky above. A light breeze sighed every now and then.

Sora took a deep breath. Despite the calm of the night and peacefulness of his surroundings, Sora still felt on edge. His hands gripped the tree tightly, ready to summon the Keyblade at the first sign of an enemy lurking the shadows.

Sora and Riku had been lucky enough to not have to explain much to their parents when they returned from their over a year absence. They had faded from their parents' memories just like they did from everyone else who had been connected to them. When they returned, people thought they had only been gone the whole day at the island, lost in their games.

But his parents started to give him odd looks when he almost karate chopped the neighbor's dog after it had surprised Sora. Nor did he have an excuse for why he would wake up screaming and crying at night, yelling about hearts or something.

He would just laugh it off and say him and Riku had taken to watching scary movies. The boy wished it was really that simple.

What made it worse was that Riku seemed fine since their return. He hadn't spoken a word about nightmares or being afraid of shadows. Sora didn't expect him to. Riku was tough, like stone – something as childish as being afraid of the dark wouldn't affect him.

And Sora couldn't bring himself to confide in his older friend about his issues. He felt that if he did he would be admitting something shameful, a weakness he shouldn't have. It wasn't like he had anyone else to talk to anyways – King Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Leon – they were all in different worlds.

A certain redhead popped into his mind. He smiled, a reflex from whenever he thought of Kairi. Talking to Kairi had crossed his mind several times, but once the occasion would occur, the words died on his tongue. Who was he to taint something so pure, so perfect and innocent with his burdens? It was blasphemy.

Kairi. His smile widened. It kind of went unspoken since their return that the two childhood friends were more than that. They would travel to the island without Riku or Selphie – just them two – and stay till late in the night, enjoying their time together. It was only around Kairi that Sora felt truly at ease.

He wished his pain reliever was with him now.

"Sora?"

Wishes do come true.

The boy turned, spiky hair shaking wildly, and gave a toothy grin at the object of his affections. Kairi returned his smile with a wide one of her own, and jumped up to sit next to Sora, their hands brushing against each other.

Sora's hands relaxed once he looked into her blue eyes, caught a whiff of her light perfume, and felt her hand next to his. He laced his fingers with hers. For a second they just stared into the other's eyes, captivated, till Sora broke eye contact.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, staring out at the sea again.

Kairi shrugged. "I was just up, and for some reason I felt like coming here." She turned to him. "Looks like I found the reason."

Sora blushed a bit and smiled at her. "I'm glad you came."

She leaned her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes. "Me too."

They stayed in that position for a while, basking in the moonlight and the other's presence. Sora stared at Kairi admiringly, loving the way the moon softened her features and the feel of her head against him.

"Sora?" Kairi said.

"Yeah?"

"Why are you staring at me?"

Sora choked on the breath he had been taking. He blushed richly now, and with his free hand scratched the back of his head as he stammered, searching for an excuse.

"O-oh, well, sorry about that, I was just – well you know –"

Kairi giggled.

Confused, Sora looked at her again. Eyes the same shade of blue locked. "You're really cute when you're embarrassed." She teased.

He smiled sheepishly. They continued to gaze at each other. Suddenly Sora felt his body go hot all over, hotter than the temperature outside. His breathing quickened, and his gaze dropped to Kairi's lips. Slowly, hesitantly, he leaned in, and his eyes drooped shut, just as their lips met.

Despite being together for three months now, this was their first kiss. Kairi wasn't a pushy girl and Sora, while charming, was slow and not very romantic. Still, both enjoyed the kiss, thinking it was well worth the wait.

After a few seconds, Sora slowly pulled away, his heart racing and his lips tingling in delight. Kissing Kairi was better than he had ever imagined or dreamed. He wanted to do it again and again and again – he always wanted to have the taste of her on his lips.

He opened his eyes to stare into Kairi's once more. She had a smile on her face accompanied by a slight red tint on her cheeks. She giggled again.

"Hi," She whispered.

Sora smiled. "Hey."

Something stirred in the shadows behind Kairi. Adrenaline racing, Sora grabbed Kairi and ignored her startled yelp as he jumped, swinging her behind him and summoning the Keyblade into his hand. He crouched, tense, waiting, ready.

"S-Sora?" Kairi squeaked.

He didn't answer as he scanned the trees. He saw movement again and launched himself at the enemy. With a yell, he swung the Keyblade with all his might down onto the foe. A bird, startled, gave flight while screeching at Sora.

Sora stood motionless for a second, staring at where, a second ago, a Heartless was supposed to be, meaning Ansem – or Xehanort – was back and they'd have to fight again and leave and travel to different worlds and be separated from Kairi and Riku again and and and –

"Sora?" An angelic voice broke through his thoughts.

Shaking, Sora collapsed, falling onto his butt, dropping the Keyblade beside him.

"Sora!" Kairi exclaimed, running over to his side.

The boy was slouched, eyes wide and frightened as he stared off at nothing, tremors racking his body. Kairi wrapped her arm around his shoulder comfortingly. She started to rub his back in calming circles, hoping to cease his shaking she knew wasn't from being cold.

"Sora? Sora! What's going on? Talk to me, please! Sora!" Kairi pleaded, trying to catch his gaze, to snap him out of whatever was plaguing him. He didn't seem to hear her.

"Sora!" She cried, reaching for his face to force him to look at her.

Mistaking her incoming hand for another enemy, Sora knocked it out the way, pushed her to the ground, grabbed his Keyblade and brought it to her throat.

Kairi didn't make a sound, didn't fight back, just stared back at him with wide, frightened eyes. "S-Sora?"

"Kairi!" Sora realized, and jumped off of her to start backing away, looking afraid.

"Oh God, Kairi, I'm so sorry!" Sora whispered as he dropped the Keyblade again. "I would never hurt you, you know that! That was just – I just – I didn't mean to!"

Slowly, Kairi picked herself up from the ground. She was still silent, eyeing him like he was a bomb that could explode at any second.

"I understand if you never want to talk to me again. I mean, I almost hurt you!" Sora continued to ramble on. "It'll never happen again, I promise, but you can make sure of it by leaving me alone, I won't be offended! Its oka-"

"Sora?" Kairi interrupted, taking a step forward.

He took a step back. "Y-yes?"

She approached again. "What's going on?"

Sora gulped. "N-nothing! Honest! I just had a bad dream and well…" He trailed off, still backing up from the advancing girl. His back hit a tree. "… I guess it spooked me more than I realized. I've had them before, I mean, and they never affected me this bad…"

"You've been having nightmares?" Kairi interrogated, moving to stand right in front of him now, having him pinned.

Damn his big mouth. "Um, yeah… kinda sorta… but it's nothing, really! Just silly dreams!" He explained, raising his hands up in defense.

She grabbed his hands desperately. "Nothing? You expect me to believe that? How can you call that nothing?" Kairi exploded, referring to his spontaneous attack. Her accusing gaze softened as she brought his trapped hands up to her mouth. "You know you can tell me anything, Sora." She mumbled against his knuckles.

Feeling the walls he bad built up, his pride, crumble at her eyes and feel of her lips, Sora released his hands to cup her face. "I'm so sorry, Kairi, I should've told you…" He whispered as he leaned his forehead against hers, closing his eyes.

"You can tell me now," She whispered, turning to kiss the palm of his hand.

He didn't answer and continued to stand there for a second, till he finally let out a long breath and opened his wary eyes. "Ok,"

And Sora told her. Everything – his nightmares that increased in intensity every night, him feeling weak and stupid for being so afraid, and him always feeling like something bad was about to happen.

Kairi held strong through out his whole tale, never once interrupting, keeping her eyes on his and their hands intertwined, gripping them tightly whenever it got to a particularly hard part. Sora had never been so thankful to have her with him as he did then – she was truly his beacon of Light that kept him from falling into the Darkness.

When Sora was finished he sighed, feeling like the weight of the world had just been lifted off of his shoulders. Nervous, he glanced at Kairi to see her reaction. Would she be disgusted? Saying how he was a coward and she deserved better, someone strong like Riku?

There was no animosity in her gaze, however. Her cerulean eyes were shiny with unshed tears, and she looked so heartbroken that Sora was afraid. Had his story done something worse than he feared? Did he break her?

Kairi surprised him by strangling him in a bone crushing hug.

"Oh, Sora," She breathed out, her voice tickling his neck.

Unsure, Sora wrapped his arms around her midsection, enjoying the embrace.

"You should have told me sooner!" Kairi continued. "Don't ever keep something like that to yourself again! I'm always here for you, don't you ever forget that!"

She took in a shaky breath. "I-I love you, Sora."

The word love sent him whirling. Caught up in the many emotions raging inside him at the moment, Sora answered by gripping her tighter, burying his face in her shoulder as he whispered, "I love you too, Kairi."

She started to rub his back again, and Sora felt his eyes drooping shut, with Kairi's smell clouding his thoughts – preventing any bad ones from coming in – and the warmth of her body next to his, protecting him from anything and everything.

That night, Sora had another dream.

He dreamed of flying through the air, the sun shining down on him, warming his face. There was nothing around, only the sea below him and the sky above him, and he laughed out in joy.

He twirled in the air, performing loops and flips, diving down dangerously close to the water and turning up at the last second, soaring higher into the sky, so high he thought that if he just kept going for a little longer, he'd touch the sun, or the moon, or maybe travel to one of the many other worlds out there.

He was lost out in the world, enjoying the freedom, nothing being able to touch him here. He never wanted to stop flying, why would he? What else could be out there that was better than this?

"Sora." A voice called out to him.

He looked down, and saw an auburn haired angel waving up at him. Her smile captivated him, her beauty made him forget his own name, and suddenly he wanted to stop flying if it meant being with her.

He shot down to her, flying faster than he ever had before, eager to get the angel. He practically crashed landed on the shore, tumbling on the ground like a fool. Standing up, he brushed sand off his clothes. The sound of giggling made him look up.

The angel was smiling at him, her ocean blue eyes blessing him with their stare. He smiled back and held his hand out to her. The angel grasped it and Sora had a stroke of genius: he could have both, flying and the angel.

Grinning, he held the angel to him, and jumped off into the air to soar towards the horizon beyond. The angel laughed with him, smiled with him, flew with him. He never wanted this moment to end - he was prepared to fly for eternity with his angel.

As he gazed at the angel, hair flying about her like a halo, it was suddenly blonde instead of red, and he felt that his had changed too. It was themselves, and yet it wasn't. Maybe it wasn't them, but they felt the same happiness, same pleasure, same joy as they held their own angels and sailed off into the sun.

Sora awoke that morning in Kairi's arms, his head resting on her arm and his face in the crook of her neck. He smiled, closing his eyes and wanting to go back to sleep, for he had never had such joy and sweetdreams as he did when he was in Kairi's arms.

Sorry, at the end I had to put a Naminé and Roxas reference in there. It just didn't feel right without it. Also, sorry if it got cheesy there at the end :D I got so carried away in this story – my, oh my. I think one-shots are my thing! What do you think?

Review! :D