Sora waltzed over to Ventus, who looked at him with an interested smile "What are you thinking about?"
"Nothing." Sora said innocently, then grinned "Just close your eyes, follow me, and be really, really quiet."
Ventus laughed "Even after all this, you want to play a game like that?" Of course, by "this" Ventus meant the Xehanort shebang that was finally settled.
Sora just grabbed his hand "Just do as I say, you'll thank me."
Ventus sighed and went along with it, closing his eyes. As always after waking from his "long sleep" (he HATED calling it a coma or near death experience or anything like that) he had a small surge of panic, but feeling Sora's steady grip was reassuring. He heard a door open, then close,and Sora paced for a second. Ventus cocked his head: was that other people breathing? He was pretty sure that it was... He swallowed, trying to calm himself-
"You three can open your eyes now."
Ventus snapped his eyes open at Sora's small comment. THREE? Did he just hear THREE? No, no he didn't hear it, he was just having trouble hearing things right-
Yes, yes it was three.
Terra, Aqua, and Ven stared at each other, finally seeing their dearest friends for the first time in what was almost forever. Sora rocked on his heels a little, his confident smile fading a bit. He hadn't expected things to be like this. He laughed nervously and backed out of the room "I'll give you guys some space."
But no one moved. Even after the door clicked shut they continued staring, slack jawed, eyes wide, hardly breathing.
Ventus was the first to recover, and sighed as he ran a hand through his hair, bowing his head with one hand on his hip. He looked back up at Terra and Aqua "I... I've fallen... asleep... again..." He tried swallowing his tears and added on "Haven't I?"
Terra bit his lip, then laughed a little "You're one to say..." He wiped his face with his hands, resting his fingertips on the bridge of his nose while smiling giddily "I'm dreaming. That's the only answer."
Aqua looked at them both, then broke down sobbing "It's been a dream this whole time..." Ventus and Terra watched her completely collapse emotionally. She covered her face with her hands, her voice rising and quickening with hysteria "I'm just dreaming it's all been a dream and I'm just gonna wake up still wandering all alone in the darkness-"
"No." Terra finally composed himself and gently grabbed her hands "No, Aqua no." He paused a moment, then smiled a little, letting a tear or two fall "I don't care if this is real or not... but real or not you shouldn't think like that..." He gently brushed away her tears and a strand of hair "You're a Keyblade Master, you're strong and smart and beautiful and you SURVIVED. You survived all the garbage we had to go through and..."
He trailed off, then gently rested his head against hers "Please, don't lose hope. That was the best part of you."
Ventus then interjected with a sobbing laugh "Yeah, I've fallen back into sleep." He started crying "I don't think I was ever awake in the first place-"
Terra quickly murmured a series of rapid fire nos and and utterances of Ven's name and backed away from Aqua to grasp Ven's shoulders. "No, Ven, please, no don't say anything like that, please." Ventus laughed- the sound that Terra remembered as bright and happy now mournful and broken "Oh sure you'd say that you're not even real-"
"Real or not, I think you aren't sleeping... or whatever you really mean." Terra cut him off firmly. He then took a deep breath and said shakily "Please tell me you didn't mean what you said..." Ventus looked confused until Terra's tears really rushed forth and his voice started cracking with grief
"Please don't tell me you really wanted us to kill you..."
Ventus then watched as Terra slowly sank to the ground, sobbing with his head against his chest "You didn't mean that... you didn't mean that..."
Ventus then looked at Aqua and softly said "This is real..." he started grinning, his voice bursting with glee "THIS IS REAL!"
Terra lifted his head, smiling "Yeah, it probably is..." Aqua looked stunned. Ventus grabbed both of them and dragged them into a fierce hug "This is real!" Terra and Aqua returned it just as fiercely, and the three sank completely to the ground in a twisting, loving embrace of reunion.
AHHH OT3 DRABBLES THIS MAKES ME SO HAPPY AND SAD