A/N: First of all, sorry for not replying to your reviews just yet! I'm multitasking with homework at the moment and I'll get back to it as soon as I finish it. So like...an hour or two from now. Haha! Thank you to the new followers for giving these drabbles a chance. I also appreciate the favorites...I'm not really sure what it is you guys like exactly, but I'll do my best to keep it up! Please enjoy this chapter (:.

Disclaimer (Sorry, I forgot to add this!): Kingdom Hearts and it's characters do not belong to me. Just the plots.

Chapter 4

The night seemed to be dragging on for Terra, who was struggling to stay awake in his slightly uncomfortable rolling chair. At the moment, he was in the middle of a four way video chat on his desktop computer. He sat frozen stiff with his arms crossed over his chest and a stern expression plastered on his lightly tanned face. He was half listening to his three fellow second years chatter nonstop, trying not to seem bored of their random conversation. However, in all honesty, Terra was bored out of his mind. He didn't care about gossip amongst his classmates and despised talking about them behind their backs even more. He strongly believed in the saying 'If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all'. Unfortunately for the brunette, the group of people who dragged Terra into their online session was doing the exact opposite of him. He couldn't stop them once they got started and so he zipped his mouth shut and pretended to care about their gruesome comments. Silently, the football player took note of the names that he heard, tempted to approach them one day and engage in a friendly conversation with these poor students as an internal apology for letting his companions speak so rudely of them. Well, if he could strike up a conversation at all.

Terra swiftly glanced at his computer's digital clock, which read 12:15 a.m. He needed to get to bed.

"Hey, Axel. You still haven't answered my question."

"Sorry, could you repeat that?" A lanky, red-head asked, unenthusiastically. He cupped his chin onto his hand through the webcam, obviously not interested in where their conversation was suddenly going, which got a sympathetic smile from Terra. "I seem to have not gotten it memorized."

Axel was a reliable person to Terra. Sure, the thin man was a bit immature and attracted to odd things, but the brunette liked Axel's sense of humor and charm. Something Terra felt he lacked. They both met on their first day of Twilight High, when they had disbanded from the opening ceremony assembly. Everyone was so focused on following their friends and classmates back to the classrooms that Terra was frozen stiff in the middle of the confusing traffic. The very uncomfortable freshman couldn't even mutter an apology whenever he stepped on someone's foot or collided with a shoulder. To make matters worse, not too far from where he stood, Terra could hear the beginnings of a loud argument unraveling and he could guess that from what he could make out, one of the two people involved didn't appreciate the other walking into him. Thankfully, the towering brunette was able to jump into the fight and scare off the instigator before anyone got hurt. There, he met the vibrant red streaks and deep emerald eyes who thanked him, kindly. "Whoa, you're really huge." The male who introduced himself as Axel had to admit as he let out a whistle. He grinned and slapped his new bashful friend playfully on the shoulder as he said, "You're definitely football material, big guy."

Terra still couldn't believe that he became invested in their school's football team because of a joke.

"Why do you hang out with that blond kid from Destiny Middle?" A blonde and blue eyed female hissed, not fond of being ignored. The expression quickly changed as she flicked her gaze from Axel to Terra, suddenly, a smirk tugging at her pale lips. "He actually looks a lot like Terra's little brother." A pause. "…do you even call each other brothers?"

"Yeah. Do you?" Axel echoed, bouncing with anticipation now that he wasn't in the hot seat. Terra eyed his betraying friend, taking note to remember this when the red-head needed his help.

"We live under the same roof, don't we?" The football player sighed. He didn't mind answering questions about his relations with Aqua and Ventus, since it would seem weird to outsiders that three teenagers who didn't look anything alike lived together. He didn't mind, but the word 'brother' and 'sister' didn't seem to be the right words for them. He preferred friends, best of friends, but he wouldn't deny that the younger members of the household were like family to him, either. Terra guided Ventus like an older brother would to his younger, and he watched over Aqua protectively like she was his sister. He couldn't deny the blonde's words when he thought of it that way. He just couldn't really say it. "Stop being nosy, Larxene. Curiosity killed the cat, you know." He decided to add.

"Oh! Terra told you!" Axel barked. He crouched down to the bottom left of his screen as he laughed uncontrollably. Larxene shot death glares at the red-head, probably resisting the urge to throw her laptop at her green wall.

Terra rolled his eyes, muttering an apology for having said too much, though it was more out of habit than it was meaningful. Despite having a video chat with her, the brunette really didn't know Larxene that well. During a break at school, one day, Axel caught Terra in the hall and introduced the female to him from out of nowhere. Out of politeness, Terra tried to be nice to her whenever she was around, but the football player knew from the first day they met that that was as far as their relationship would go. For one, she was attracted to-and sometimes the instigator of-school gossip and drama, things that Terra tried his best to stay away from. Then, besides Aqua, he was also not very good at striking conversations with girls. So, the lack of things to talk about limited their chances of getting to know each other further, which was fine since Terra wasn't all that eager to, anyway. As long as she wasn't causing trouble, Terra was fine with having Larxene around.

Once the laughter had ceased and he tried to catch his breath, Axel sat up straight while he wiped tears from his eyes. "That was incredible. Am I right, Demyx? …Demyx?"

Everyone simultaneously shifted their gaze toward the screen of their fourth member. Terra couldn't spot the aspiring musician anywhere and squinted through the pixelated mess of a room to see any signs of him. Just when he was going to assume that Demyx may have slipped away to the restroom or some other personal matter, Terra identified thin, brown spikes poking up from the bottom of the screen which kind of resembled grass. The teenager couldn't help but stifle an amused chuckle as he realized that their companion fell asleep on his desk.

"Is he really sleeping? It's only past midnight!" Larxene huffed, glowering at-what Terra had to assume was-the musician's screen. Demyx was also a friend of Axel's who was introduced to Terra later on in their freshman year. Unlike Larxene, though, Terra liked having Demyx around when the opportunity presented itself. He was pretty wimpy for a guy, but also very down to earth.

"Some people just have to obey their internal clocks, girlie." Axel stretched, relieving his stiff muscles for a second. Terra noticed that once Axel resumed focusing on the screen, the red-head's face seemed to light up in his direction. Raising an eyebrow, the brunette was about to ask what was wrong, until he studied the green eyes and found that he wasn't the object of surprise. Even Larxene noticed something new and flashed a bored look past Terra's shoulder. Did they see something in Terra's deep brown themed room?

"Looks like someone decided to break curfew and join in on the slumber party."

Confused, cobalt eyes strained away from the computer monitor to examine his dull-lit room. He had turned off the ceiling light and turned on the desk lamp so as to not bother the other members of the house with the blaring brightness. It took a while for his eyes to adjust to the darkness, but once it did, Terra immediately spotted the object that caught the teenagers' gaze.

Standing slightly behind the doorway, Ventus could be seen poking his head in and watching the brunette quietly. The older male quickly spotted a pillow and blanket in the boy's arms as he stared thoughtfully. He knew where this was going.

"Hey, Ven. Come on in." Terra whispered, flashing a quick smile as he flicked his wrist for the junior to enter. He wondered how long he had been there, but disregarded the question since he didn't have anything to hide, really. If anything, he should have been more worried about his classmates' vulgar vocabulary, but thought better of it since he trusted Ventus not to pay attention to such things. He quickly turned back to his friends. "I'm going to get off now. See you tomorrow."

"You mean 'later today'." Axel corrected, waving his hand off to the side for Ventus to see. The football player didn't have to turn around to know that the dirty blond haired boy would wave back, eagerly.

"Hey, you still have the blow horn I gave you for that football game last year?" Larxene intervened, already forgetting the existence of the player and his 'brother'.

As if reading her mind, Axel brought up the said blow horn that Terra recognized in his last game as a freshman into view. He held a devilish smirk as his lying words said, "How immature do you think I am?" He quickly winked towards Terra and Ventus, signaling them farewell for the time being.

"Wake that loser up on the count of three."

"One…"

"Two…"

"Thr-"

With a single click of the mouse, Terra closed the window and ended the four way conversation.

"I didn't interrupt anything, did I?" Ventus asked, lying on the carpeted floor on his stomach. He hugged his pillow and looked up at the older male, watching him fiddle with the alarm clock on his mattress.

"You didn't, Ven." Terra chuckled. He must have been reassuring the boy at least ten times now. "You sure you don't want to sleep in your room? I can sleep on your floor."

"I'm fine."

The brunette eyed his sheets and patted the bed with his hand. "Want to sleep on my bed?"

"No."

Terra felt his shoulders stiffen as he stifled a laugh at the unusually quiet form. Shortly after shutting down his computer, Terra had learned that Ventus couldn't sleep. The younger male tried and tried to push his mind into slumber, but had no success. After two hours passed, Ventus reluctantly went to the restroom across from his bedroom and heard whispers. It was then that he peeked into the chocolate colored room and noticed Terra was still up and occupied on the computer. The hopeful junior decided then to grab his pillow and blanket and wait until Terra finished his business on the computer to ask if he could sleep over. Thinking back on it now, Terra felt guilty for making Ventus wait for a whole hour.

"At sleepovers, the guests have to sleep on the floor." Ventus explained, thoughtfully. The brunette wondered if he could see through him despite how dark the room was.

'Technically, this isn't a sleepover since we both live here', Terra thought, not able to bring himself to voice them. He truly thought Ventus' idea was admirable in some sense, and it had a nice ring to it. To sleep in another person's room and call it a sleepover made the experience much more thrilling and worth the effort when he thought about it. He couldn't even remember when either of them had been to a real sleepover last.

"Hey, Terra?"

"Yeah?" The older male laid himself on the single sized mattress with his back side facing the ceiling. He couldn't help but let out a groan as his back was straightening out from the hours of slouching in his seat.

"Do you think of us as brothers?" The blue eyes beamed at the bed. He quickly mumbled an apology for overhearing the four way conversation, though, that didn't bother Terra.

It took a moment for Terra to fully absorb the question. When it did, the teenager had to wonder if his and Larxene's conversation had made Ventus feel worried. He didn't exactly answer Larxene's question aloud, after all. The brunette arched his back toward the air and used his arms to hold his upper body up and into place. He looked down at the shadowed figure of his best friend and flashed a warm smile.

"What do you think, Ven?"

"I think it's kind of complicated. You and Aqua are my best friends, but we do live with each other like siblings would." He paused for a moment. "I mean…I think best friends suit us better than anything. But I also think of us as family. I guess either way is fine, but I might just be more used to saying 'best friends'."

"You know, I thought the same thing when Larxene asked." The football player chuckled, imagining the surprised look on the smaller form.

"What's all this whispering about?"

A bit surprised, Terra and Ventus turned their attention toward the open doorway where a dark figure stood. There, the figure had her arms crossed over her chest and wore a tired expression which meant that she just woke up. Terra let out a huge sigh of relief as he recognized the new guest.

"Aqua!" Ventus loudly whispered. "Want to join our sleepover?"

"Sleepover?" The woman echoed, eyeing the older form on the bed.

"Ven couldn't sleep and thought a sleepover would help." Terra explained, shrugging his shoulders as if it were no big deal, which it wasn't.

"A sleepover, huh." Aqua muttered, more to herself than the two boys she was standing in front of. Terra wondered if the only female here was thinking of the same thing as he did in that this wasn't actually a sleepover, but couldn't bring herself to say it as he couldn't. "Okay, I'll be right back, then." She quickly flashed a smile as she disappeared into the hallway.

"Cool! Aqua's joining!"

'So much for a good night's sleep', Terra chuckled to himself. He returned into a lying position so he could relieve the tension of his arms. He could pass out right now if he wanted to, but with all the excitement going on, he couldn't miss such a rare opportunity, really.

"So, are there any girls at school that you like, Ven?"

"What? No!" The youngest member of the household yelled. Terra had to hold his breath so as to not let a fitful of laughter escape at his innocent friend. He quickly held a finger to his lips and winked at the boy sitting next to the bed. "It's okay. I won't tell Aqua. It'll be our secret."

"I don't have any though!" Ventus whined, his voice rising in an attempt to get pity from the teasing football player.

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry, Ven."

As if on cue, Aqua returned into the room. Under one arm, she held a pillow that most likely was from her own room. Under the other arm, the female held two puffy, almost worm-like objects that looked deflated in her hold. Terra was about to ask what they were until the girl moved Ventus out of the way to lay the objects on the floor side by side and next to the bed. They were sleeping bags. "Where'd you find sleeping bags?" He decided to ask, surprised at how serious the third member of the house was about Ventus' sleepover idea.

"They were under my bed, actually." Aqua answered, more awake now than she was the first time she entered the room. "Okay, Ven. Pick whichever one you want to sleep in."

"Wow." Was all Ventus could say as he slowly made for the sleeping bag next to the bed. This way, the boy was going to sleep between Terra and Aqua. "Why do we have these? I don't remember ever using them."

"Well, it was a long time ago." Aqua giggled, guiding Ventus into the bag and zipping him up so he looked more like a worm with his face poking out. "Eraqus bought these for us when we moved in. Even though you moved in a year after me, he insisted on getting you your own sleeping bag before you got your bed. Just like me."

"What? I wish I could remember this."

"It's okay. You were kind of out of it for the first few weeks."

"You mean I was brain dead?"

"No!" The girl laughed as she zipped herself into her own bag. As she tried to gasp for air, the zipper kept getting snagged to the material. "You just had a hard time adjusting to everything."

"Oh. What else happened?"

Terra watched quietly as Aqua explained story after story about their past with an attentive Ventus listening and imagining every detail. He helped the blue-haired girl out with a few parts that seemed blurry to her, but ultimately listened to their conversation as he himself went through memory lane. Yes, he remembered when Aqua had been introduced into his life and how it took a very long time for either of them to open up to each other. He also remembered when Ventus had moved in, as well, and how excited he felt to have a boy, besides himself, grow up beside him like a brother.

Then, Eraqus had to move away for business that required him to leave for months on end when Terra made it to junior high. It was during those lonely days that made the brunette realize that he was glad, and practically thankful, to have Aqua and Ventus in his life. Yes, he remembered all the good and the bad days that came after their lives had been intertwined, but it was all worth the struggle in the end. Especially the ones he had wished could last forever. Eventually, Ventus was able to recall later events in their past and they both went on and on about their own takes on shared experiences. All the while, Terra smiled down at his worm-shaped friends until their voices became distant and almost faint. He let himself lose to slumber with the reminder that they would be right there next to him when he would wake up later that morning.

A/N: Any themes or ideas you want to throw out there for me to possibly write about? I can't promise I'll use any of them, but it'd be nice to have some inspiration. It's not definite, but I'm aiming to write a chapter for the upcoming holiday. If not, then I'll just resume to trying to think of personal experiences as my themes like I have been so far (which isn't much since I'm an indoor cat). Either way, thank you for sticking this far into my drabbles. I'm loving the characters more and more and I hope you are, too. If you ever laughed, smiled, connected to the characters, or just felt anything within a positive light from reading this story...well, I'm deeply grateful. Until next time!