Chapter 10: Work hard, play harder

Author's note:

Heyy guys, looks like we're at the same spot…in my living room XD So anyway, I got Mai, Aqua, Terra and Ventus here. The reason Kura isn't here today is that he and Ven had a fight in my kitchen – Mai went to break it up but ended up breaking Kura's nose, and in rage he broke all of my mum's dishes and refused to pick them up, so Ven and Terra had to do it XD

Ven: He started the damned fight, anyway. I still don't get why I was yelled at – I got punched! *pointing at his black eye*

Terra: And I still don't get why we had to pick them up -,-''

Well, would you big boys like to see us lovely young ladies get cut by pottery?

Ven and Terra:…guess not ¬.¬

Heh, good ^-^ Just be happy that my mum kicked him out and he's not allowed back here until he apologis-

Kura: HEYY BITCHES, I'M BACK!

…how the fu-

Kura: I just told your mom I was sorry and helped her clean the dishes.

…Who the hell are you and where is the real Kura? O.o

Kura: Ha XD Y'really think I'd even allow myself to get cloned? Let alone get kidnapped by 'im.

…Good point. Well, I'm not too sure I actually wanna question why you cleaned the dishes with my mum and apologised, other than…*glances at Mai*

Mai:…what?

Nothing~ :P Anyway, I guess – Kura, if you wanna sit up on the sofa next to Terra so we can check the reviews from the last chapter.

Aqua: Yay! I wasn't here the last time ^-^

Terra: Yeah, me neither.

…Guttin'. So, let's start off with…

Kura: Azura Soul Reaver? Hey, check it; she's actually reviewed quite a few chapters.

Yeah, she has. And aww, this one's about you, Ven~ *tilts laptop screen to Ventus*

Ventus:…huh, thanks. Which chapter was that for?

*facepalm*#9.

Kura: *reaches over Terra and slaps Ven on the back of the head* Dumbass.

Ventus: *Glaring* Heyy!

Kura, stop it.

Kura: :-(…

…

… fine -,-

Mai: Oh, I missed chapter 9, what happened? *grabs laptop and starts searching for Ch. 9*

Ventus: *grabs laptop* Y-You don't need to see it!

Mai:…Ven, why are you staring at me like a predator?

Kura: HAHA!

Ven: Wha-? I am not!

*Takes laptop* can we please get on with this Author's note? At this rate we won't get anything done.

Everybody: *sigh* Okay.

Good. Thank you.

Ven: *sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck* Heh, yeah. And thanks, Azura Soul Reaver, I kinda find that I get the crap beaten outta me in the making of this story.

MAN UP!

Ven:…

Aqua: Aw, Ven. You don't get beat up. You just get…mistreated ^-^

Ven: Jeez, thanks -,-

TROLOLOL! So, Yeah. Thanks for all of your reviews, Azura Soul Reaver, we really appreciate them ^-^

Terra: Yeah…thanks…yeah.

...You're not the social type, are you? Anyway, onto the next one; jkls39 :P Mistakes happen, you're right -,-

…LOL, heyy, check it Ven; she thought it was the best chapter ever ;P

Ventus: *blushing* D-Don't like at me like that!

;P Lol, who knows, Ven; you might actually need Terra's prese-

Ventus: *covering my mouth* No-No I don't!

Terra: Whoa, who did Ven kiss?

Ven: How did you-

Aqua: Was it that girl on the bus? Y'know, she was pretty cute.

Ventus: N-No it wasn't!

And can I say; she was only staring at Ven 'cause she actually knows him from KH…I know that because I kinda know her, too. Hrm, anyway; I know. I was searching for something with this kinda theme before I decided to write my story, but when I couldn't find anything I just thought 'why not? I can't find one, might as well do one myself' ^-^

I'm really glad that it's easily understood, 'cause sometimes I feel like the scene is going by too fast and it's really messy. I tried my best to tidy it up as much as I could in the last chapter, I'm just glad that it worked. I'm really sorry about the grammatical mistakes D: I kinda fail in my English classes…I blame the boys for talking to me -,- even if it's me that talks to them they will still be blamed!

But yeah, I'm trying to work on that ^-^ whether it be spelling or my sentences I do attempt at fixing them, I guess sometimes I just fail, or I accidently miss them :S I'll be sure to make this chapter reach that standard of my previous chapter, maybe better, if I can.

Okay, next up – we have a new reviewer; Guest. Why, thanks ^-^ I'm really glad that you like it and I hope you read my future chapters.

Okay guys, let's get on with this. I'll be looking forward to what you have to say about this chapter and hopefully it'll be good enough and I haven't let anybody down with it :D

Oh, and my mum has pre-ordered DREAM DROP DISTANCE FOR ME 8D! AND THE BEST PART IS THAT I DON'T EVEN HAVE A 3DS TO PLAY IT ON XD

Ventus walked ahead of Mai in the new, colourful world, leaving the brunette to trail behind in her thoughts - but Ven always made sure he could still hear her footsteps; if she was too far away for him to hear her walking then he would stop, glancing at her from over his shoulder until she reached his side and then would continue on his way.

The ride on the Glider was probably the most silent fifteen minutes of his life. It was painfully quiet, but Ventus knew that Mai was feeling a little remote about what happened back at Radiant Garden, and if Ventus was being honest to himself he was feeling guilty for pulling something like that on her. If he hadn't done it right after they'd had a fight then maybe it would've been fine, but Ven began to regret it.

He always thought of his first kiss to be special, under the stars with water reflecting the light in its ripples; reflecting the moon's light onto the face of the girl he was about to kiss. All would be calm and they would be staring into each other's eyes as Ventus slowly drew his face closer to hers; his heart beating against his ribcage in excitement.

He wanted to feel her hot breath on his lips, their noses tenderly touching before he would gently graze his lips over hers before he would seal his first kiss - not after an argument in broad daylight on bright orange stairs!

Ventus sighed harshly; allowing a small growl of annoyance to heedlessly fall passed his lips.

Mai glanced up, hearing the strange sound coming from the taller – and older – blonde in front of her. She glanced down at his hands, seeing them swinging by his sides rather quickly and his hands balled up into fists, his steps were also small but quick whilst he firmly kept his gaze ahead.

Mai couldn't help but feel guilty; she knew that after Ventus kissed her he wanted her to kiss him back, but how could she when she was so upset with him? Surely he couldn't have expected her to turn around and confess some kind of unmistakeable love for him – Mai was so confused; she was too busy wondering on what Scrooge had said to him, too hurt by their argument and the words that Ven had said to her…she even allowed Kura to unwittingly plague her thoughts for a moment or two.

Besides, he caught her by surprise! It wasn't like she was annoyed by it; it wasn't exactly her first kiss, after all - but how would anybody else react if their best friend suddenly turned around and kissed them? Maybe she should've at least tried to make some kind of conversation during their ride on the Glider.

Too many thoughts plagued her mind and it was starting to give Mai a headache. She reached up and tenderly rubbed her temples in order to soothe the ache as she and Ventus walked into what looked like the town square; there was a colourful band stand in the centre and shops lined the square, also on the other side of the square there was a large gate, with a beautiful white castle on the other side.

Mai found herself lost within the castle's beauty as she came to stand beside Ventus after he'd stopped walking and glanced around.

"Tada!" An unfamiliar voice called out as a large blur of white and orange suddenly appeared in front of the teens, startling them. Mai inattentively reached out and grabbed Ven's sleeve before she flung herself behind him, causing the blonde to stutter unexpectedly.

"Wearin' the mask of peace and hope…" The large figure in front of Ventus started, causing him to look back over at it. The figure spun around, showing himself to be some kind of tall, overly-fat cat dressed up for Halloween, or something, "comes the fearless defender and hero of this town!" He cheered. "It is me – Captain Justice!" The cat said with a small ballet-like twirl.

Upon hearing the truly harmless introduction, Mai awkwardly stepped out from behind Ventus, tugging at her sleeves as she bowed her head in embarrassment. Ventus paid no attention to the brunette, and instead stuttered at 'Captain Justice'.

The large cat made his way over to the teens. "Young fellows! Do my hero-senses detect that you got troubles? Just say the word, and Captain Justice will make all your problems disappear!" He exclaimed, stopping in front of them.

Mai glanced up at his words in mild surprise. "A-Are you talking to us?" She asked sheepishly. Captain Justice nodded, a rough 'yep' passing his buck toothed mouth. Mai sighed. "We're just trying to-…" Her voice trailed off as she tried to think of why she and Ven were still scouring the world; now that she and Ventus had found Terra – and knew that he wasn't going to return home anytime soon - what was the actual point of continuing on their journey? Mai sighed deeply and shook her head. "Never mind." She said.

Captain Justice laughed. "Oh, don't be intimidated by my magnificence." He said, causing Mai to glance up at him with a small frown. "Excuse me?" She questioned, but the 'hero' simply ignored her words. "Go on and spit it out. Then…remember to vote Captain J." He added.

Ventus, seeing Mai beginning to glare at the cat, stepped forward. "Vote?" He asked before Mai burned the cat for being so ignorant. Captain Justice shook his head, glancing off to the side as he crossed his arm over his fat chest. "Oh! Well, uh, forget that." He told Ventus. "How can I help? That's the only reason I'm here." The cat exclaimed.

Ventus looked down at his feet and crossed his arms over his chest, humming in thought. He finally glanced up at Captain Justice. "I know! Tell me about your town." He suggested, scanning his cerulean eyes over the town square, and spotted a rather big – yet skinny – yellow dog walking around. "Everything's so festive. Is it always like this?" He asked curiously.

Captain Justice raised a brow at him. "Huh? That's it – nothin' else?" He questioned. "Well, the festivities are on account of the Dream Festival –" He said as he turned away from Ventus and started to walk away, "which is why I've made sure there's carnival stuff all over town." He said.

Ventus' eyes followed him. "Really, like what?" He asked, starting to get excited.

Captain J stopped in his steps at Ven's words and crossed his arms over his chest. "Ho ho, you gotta see it for yourself." He told Ven with a strange chuckle. "Wouldn't be much of a dream if I just told ya." He said.

Ventus nodded. "Right, thanks." He said.

Captain Justice turned around to face Ventus. "And kids, don't you go forgettin'…Captain Justice is the one who solved all your problems – that would be Justice with a J!" He quickly added.

Ventus chuckled awkwardly and rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh, sure. I got it, Captain Justice." He said with a small smile before he turned to Mai, only to see her looking down at her clasped hands. His smile fell, feeling guilt building up in his stomach for making Mai feel like that. He let out a small sigh.

"Aww, phooey! This stinks!" A small high pitched voiced cried out from the small stage in the town square. Ventus looked over to the stage, seeing three small ducks; one dressed in red, the other in blue, and then one in green – there was also a small mouse with them, it appeared to be a girl because she was dressed in a pink ball-grown and had a small tiara sitting on her head between her large circular ears. "Now we can't open the ice cream shop!" One of the ducks yelled in annoyance.

Captain Justice glanced over at the ducks, seeing them all standing around some kind of colourful machine. Captain Justice took off towards them. "Trouble? Rescue is on the way!" He exclaimed as he ran over to them.

Ventus stood there and crossed his arms over his chest. "A festival, huh?" He questioned with a look of mild excitement on his features.

A small nudge on his arm caused Ventus to glance over his shoulder, seeing Mai looking up at him. "Maybe we could go on some of the rides?" She suggested with a small shrug. Ventus stared at her for a moment before a smile spread across his lips and gave a firm nod. Mai smiled up at him with a breathy giggle. "Maybe we can make some new friends, too." She said.

Ventus chuckled at her and nodded again before he looked over at the small ducks and posh-looking mouse. "Definitely - why don't we see what's going on?" He asked, gesturing over at the animals as he looked back at Mai. The brunette nodded before she and Ven started for the animals.

When they reached them, Captain Justice turned to face them. "Well, if it ain't the last kids Captain Justice saved." The cat boasted. "'Fraid you'll have to get in line. I'm working on another catastrophe here for these fellahs – Huey, Dewey, and Louie, my good friends." He said; the ducks turning to the teens at the sound of their names.

At his words, the small mouse glanced up at Captain J with a small frown. "Now, I'd hardly call it a catastrophe." She said in such a sweet voice, despite the frown on her face.

The duck in red – Huey – jumped where he stood. "Yeah, all we were tryin' to do was make our own special recipe ice cream." He clarified.

The duck in blue – Dewey – nodded in agreement. "And we had a little trouble." He added.

The last duck in green – Louie – followed. "Come on, it's not really that big a deal." He claimed, but Captain J disagreed. "I'm 100% positive you're the victims of sabotage!" He exclaimed in such confidence.

Dewey shook his head in annoyance. "Not even close! Quit makin' stuff up." He quaked bitterly. Louie jumped around to face the colourful machine behind them all. "It's just the ice cream machine." He said.

Huey and the others glanced over at the machine as well. "Unca Scrooge left it for us…" The duck clad in red started, "but we can't figure out how it works 'cause it's so complicated." He specified.

Louie glanced over at the higher class mouse with a solemn expression on his feathery face. "Aw, we're sorry, Queen Minnie. We wanted you to be the first to try our special recipe ice cream." He said sorrowfully.

Mai and Ventus stuttered; now understanding why the mouse was dressed so nicely. The aforementioned animal turned her attention to the ducks, a sweet smile on her lips. "Oh boys, it was very sweet of you to think of me." She said, trying to raise their spirits, but Louie simply bowed his head. "We tried." He told the Queen.

Captain Justice stomped his large foot on the ground to gain attention. "Say no more. Leave it to me – one bowl of ice cream comin' right up!" He exclaimed, but the ducks just glared at him. "You're just gonna make a mess. Leave it alone, Pete!" Dewey yelled at him.

'Pete' growled. "That's Captain Justice!" He corrected, stomping his foot in a tantrum. The ducks continued to glare daggers at him, but remained silent as Captain J made his way over to the machine and started pressing some random buttons.

Mai and Ventus watched curiously as the machine began to shake to life before many different flavours of ice cream started shooting out of the nozzle of the machine and onto the stage in front of it. Captain Justice turned to the shorter animals with a smug look on his face. "What did I tell ya-" He was cut off by the machine making a strange sound, causing everybody to look at it.

The machine began to rattle and shake as ice cream started shooting out of the nozzle uncontrollably, causing Captain J to stutter as he tried to settle it down. Seeing a large red button on the side, the cat quickly pressed it carelessly, not knowing what it did.

The button began to glow before the machine itself began to spin, still shooting ice cream and causing it to fly in different directions. Ventus gasped as the machine turned to face him, but didn't have enough time to move out of the way before a scoop of ice cream shot out towards him, hitting him square in the face with the cold treat.

Mai glanced at Ven with wide eyes and quickly covered her mouth with her palm to hide her laughs, but her efforts were proven futile when she burst into hysterics as the ice cream melted from Ven's face, showing his purely shocked face before he let out a shudder. "Ah, crap, that's cold." He complained in a high pitched voice as the melted ice cream dripped off his chin.

Mai couldn't help but laugh at his reaction, causing him to glance at her, wiping the frozen treat out of his eyes to see her clearer. Her glared at her, but his face twisted to that of amusement when a scoop of ice cream shot out and hit Mai in the side of her head, ceasing her giggles almost immediately.

Ventus bit down on his tongue to keep his laughs back, but he couldn't hold them for long and burst into chuckles, leaning forward and clutching his stomach. Mai glanced down at him, a painfully amused look on her face before she wiped the ice cream off the side of her face and reached over, smearing the chocolate substance into Ventus' jacket.

The blonde gasped; jumping up and glanced down at his jacket, seeing it stained brown. He playfully glared up at Mai, only to see a toothy grin playing on her lips as she shook her ice cream covered hand. At the sight of her smile, Ventus couldn't help but chuckle; he gripped Mai by the shoulders and quickly leaned his face towards hers, startling Mai as she gasped – but a small scream emitted from her lips when Ventus rubbed his vanilla cheek against the ice cream free side of Mai's face.

The green eyed beauty laughed as she tried to push him away, but lost the strength to when she laughed.

Captain Justice growled in annoyance. "Agh, this machine is busted!" He exclaimed, pounding his large fists onto the colourful device in pure irritation. "It just needs a good poundin'…" He trailed off as he punched down on the machine.

The teens glanced up, seeing the frozen treats scattered all over the stage and all of the animals now covered in different flavours of ice cream, much like themselves. Minnie glared at Pete angrily. "It does not!" She snapped; her fists clenched.

Ventus and Mai exchanged a quick glance, and by the look the blonde was giving her she knew what he was thinking; causing her to shrug lazily in agreement. The blonde sent Mai a toothy grin before he looked down at the shorter animals. "Hey, do you think we could give it a shot?" He asked, earning their attention.

Captain Justice glanced over at the teens with a heavy scoff. "No, if Captain Justice can't fix it, there ain't nothin' you can do, kid." He said, aiming his words at Ventus.

Mai crossed her arms over her chest, sending Captain J a light sneer as she strode over to him, allowing her hips to sway with each slow step as she came to stand in front of the large cat; causing him to look down at her. Mai glanced up to meet his gaze. "Listen, Captain J; nobody calls Ventus a kid, but me." She said bluntly, standing on her tip toes to make herself appear taller, but against the cat's height it made no difference.

Ventus saw the scowl twisting Captain J's face and quickly swooned in, snaking his arm around Mai's shoulders. "She's right," he said and pointed to his chest with his thumb, "unless you got a licence then you can't call me anything of the sort." He said with a wide, cheeky grin.

Ventus could see the cat's shoulders beginning to shake and steam coming from his ears; he took that as his cue to end the conversation; he turned toward the ducks and mouse, pulling Mai around with him without releasing her. "Besides, even if we can't make a difference, then there would be no harm in trying." He said with a small shrug, aiming his words at the ice cream machine.

Huey nodded, jumping on the spot. "Yeah! Better you than him." He exclaimed with a grin before he walked over to the teens as he pulled a leaflet out of the big pocket in his shirt. "Here ya go. These are the instructions for the machine." He said, handing Ventus the paper.

The blonde reached down and took the paper, briefly looking over the instructions before he gave a firm nod, passing the paper to Mai before he ran around Captain Justice and jumped into the seat on the machine. "I call dibs on the machine!" He exclaimed, earning a small grown from Mai.

The brunette turned around and glared at the blonde. "No fair, I didn't get to see the instructions!" She yelled, carelessly dropping the instructions before she ran around Captain J as well and jumped up onto the seat. "Budge over." She said, and in return Ventus let out a small chuckle before he scooted over in the normal sized seat, not leaving much room for the brunette.

Mai tried to squish her butt in the small gap between Ven and the edge of the chair, but the furthest she got was half of her butt on Ven's legs and the rest hovering in the gap. The blonde laughed and placed his hands on Mai's hips. "Just sit like this." He exclaimed, shifting Mai to sit perfectly in his lap and tilted her torso to the right so he could see the stage.

Mai felt her face beginning to heat up as she tilted her head towards Ven, seeing his own cheeks stained a little pink - but she quickly shook it away and switched her gaze to the stage, seeing the three little ducks readying themselves on the stage in a line with empty ice cream cones in their hands; Huey standing on a small podium between his brothers.

Ventus leaned toward the left so he could see the stage clearer. "I'll manage the ice cream shooting; you do the nozzle!" He exclaimed in excitement, trying to shake away his rapidly beating heart as he positioned his fingers on the triggers.

Mai nodded and clutched the joystick with both hands; moving it around in a circle she saw that the nozzle in front of them moved as well.

Huey jumped with excitement. "You guys ready?" He called. Both teens exchanged a quick glance before they nodded at the ducks, and at that moment a light, childish tune began to blare out of the speakers hanging from either side of the stage.

A few minutes later, the song came to an end and left the teens in a laughing heap in the chair; what they had to do was watch the ducks clap in a certain order and to the beat of the song and then shoot ice cream at the correct duck at the correct time to the right beat. The pair found it a little difficult at first – resulting in hitting the brothers in their faces with ice cream a few times – but they soon got the hang of it and even found it to be a competition between each other somehow.

Mai leaned back against Ventus, resting her head against his shoulder as she giggled whilst Ventus rested his arms on her and rested his head against Mai's, feeling his stomach beginning to ache with laughs. Huey stepped down from the podium and off the stage; his ice cream still in his hand before he gave it to Minnie. "Here y'are, Queen Minnie." He said with a wide smile as his brothers came to stand beside him.

Minnie happily took the treat with a polite 'thank you' before she bit into the ice cream, and almost immediately a pleasant hum came from her small body. "Mmm, how yummy." She mused happily before she took another bite, savouring its taste. "What a wonderful treat!" She exclaimed happily.

Mai quickly regained herself before she pushed herself off Ven's lap and jumped onto the ground. "C'mon then, kiddo," she breathed heavily, trying to regain her breath before she turned toward Queen Minnie, who was happily enjoying her ice cream.

Ventus leapt off the chair, landing firmly on his feet beside Mai before the pair walked over to Minnie – who'd just finished her small treat. She smiled at them. "I don't think I've ever had such delicious ice cream. Thank you-" She bowed, but quickly cut herself short when she realised that she didn't know the teens' names. "Uh, oh, oh dear…"

Ventus stuttered. "Oh, Ventus. Just Ven is fine." He introduced before both him and Queen Minnie turned to face the brunette.

Mai smiled down at the Queen. "Mai-Lin, but I prefer Mai." She said.

At her words Minnie gawked. "Oh, my…I thought I could see some of her in you." She said before her small face broke out into a smile – confusing the duo. Minnie looked over at the blonde. "Well, thank you, Ventus." She said before glancing over at the confused green eyed girl. "Mai."

Huey jumped over to them whilst his brothers inspected the machine. "Way to go, guys!" He exclaimed. Louie gawked. "Oh, I see…" He mused, flicking a switch back and forth. "We had to push this thingamajig the other way." The duck explained.

Dewey had an idea suddenly pop into his head, causing him to jump. "Hey, I just got an idea!" He announced, catching his brothers' attention. "We could let our customers make up their own favourite flavours of ice cream!" He suggested.

"Not with that machine!" Captain Justice butted in, causing Dewey and Louie to glare at him before they jumped off the machine as the cat walked over to the device, stopping in front of it. "Well…those brats mighta got it to work this one time. But junk like that needs to get junked!" He exclaimed, preparing himself to jump the 'broken' machine.

Minnie glared at him. "Don't you dare, Pete!" She yelled angrily, catching the cat's attention. Meeting his gaze, Ventus sunk down into his fighting position, showing 'Pete' that he would use force if he had to, earning a strange glance from Mai.

Captain Justice growled, crossing his arms over his fat chest like a child. "Fine. But Captain Justice will return!" He exclaimed before he turned on his heel, running off in some random direction.

Ventus stood up straight, watching after the cat before he turned to Minnie and the ducks. "About 'Captain Justice' – you said his name is Pete?" He questioned.

Huey nodded. "Yeah, he's the biggest trouble maker in town!" He warned, a small snarl pulling at his bill at the thought of the cat.

Dewey nodded in agreement. "I bet he's just callin' himself Captain Justice 'cause he wants to win the Million Dreams Award." He added.

Mai raised a chocolate brow at Dewey's words. "What's the Million Dreams Award?" She asked curiously, pulling her legendary thinking pose – causing Ventus to smile.

Minnie stepped forward to explain. "That's one of the Dream Festival events. Everyone votes for who they think is the town's most exemplary citizen." She answered with her usual sweet smile.

Ventus nodded in understanding and crossed his arms over his chest. "I get it. So that's what he meant by 'vote'." He thought aloud.

Louie nodded. "And if ya win the award, ya get a really cool prize!" He added, but Minnie couldn't help but giggle at his words. "Oh, it's just a small token, nothing elaborate." She corrected modestly as she turned away from everybody's gaze. "The event is supposed to help us appreciate how much we all look out for each other every day. That's the spirit of the award." She explained.

Ventus rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Well, that sounds nice enough…" He mused, smiling over at Mai, who happily returned the gesture.

"Pete just wants to get his grubby hands on the prize." Huey accused. Dewey joined in, "and he knows that nobody's gonna vote for him if he puts his own name on the ballot!" He added.

"But nobody's fooled!" Louie exclaimed. His brothers agreed, tilting their heads to the side playfully before they burst out laughing.

Mai giggled, contaminated by the duck's laughter before she remembered something. "Wait, isn't there carnival rides around?" She asked Queen Minnie.

The animal in question turned to Mai with a smile. "Why, of course." She answered.

Mai felt a toothy grin pulling at her lips before she turned to Ven, nudging his ribs with her elbow to catch his attention. "How much do you wanna bet they have go-karts?" She asked, and she could practically see her words sinking into Ven's system by how large his grin got.

Mai laughed, her hair bellowing in the wind as the hot air slapped against her face from the sped she was going in her little aeroplane on the race track. Seeing something moving in her rear view mirror Mai looked over at the reflected glass and saw Ventus riding on his Glider, catching up to her.

She could see the grin on his lips, which only made her laugh harder as she tilted her steering wheel to the left, cutting Ventus off so that he couldn't over take her and win the race.

The blonde let out a light chuckle and titled to the right and hit the boost, coming up beside Mai almost immediately. "Having fun!" He called over the wind and the sound of the engine coming from Mai's aeroplane.

The brunette nodded, briefly glancing over at Ventus before she looked out to the bend coming up. "Yeah!" She screamed as she turned the steering wheel as far as it would go to pass the bend without a hitch, but Ventus cut into the shorter lane and overtook Mai, and seeing the finish line up ahead he quickly hit the boost - but it failed to work.

Mai laughed as she came up beside him. "You only get three boosts a game; looks like you used all of yours!" She yelled. Ventus cried out, repeatedly hitting the boost button in hopes that it would work one last time.

Mai caught sight of his frantic actions and felt a wicked smirk tugging at her lips before she reached forward, allowing her finger to hover over the big red, flashing button that had the words 'BOOST' on it.

She glanced over at Ventus one last time before she pushed down on it, feeling her engines rumble violently beneath her before a surge of energy burst through the exhaust pipe, sending her forward and giving Mai a clean win, allowing her to cheer as she relaxed her foot on the acceleration pedal.

Ventus groaned; crossing over the finish line merely seconds later. He hid his face in his palms, but parted his fingers so that he could see the pure look of triumph on Mai's face.

Three and a half hours later…

Mai and Ventus walked into the town Square, Mai having a Minnie Mouse hat on her head, and a large brown teddy bear under her arm as she nibbled into her sky blue candyfloss. Ventus came up beside her with a fairly similar hat, only it didn't have the big red bow between the ears - like on Mai's – and a large bag of small teddies in his hand whilst he ate the last of his own candy floss.

The pair had gone around the whole town, checking out every ride they came across and participating in all of the games - snacking up on food all the way, of course.

Ventus glanced over at Huey, Dewey, and Louie's ice cream parlour, seeing lots of people sitting on their own little tables outside of it – almost like a food court, but ice cream. The blonde turned to Mai, only to see her too enticed in her cotton candy to notice anything around her. Ventus simply rolled his eyes and nudged her with his elbow, earning her attention. "Why don't we get some ice cream and relax?" He suggested with a small shrug.

Mai glanced over at the ice cream parlour, spotting an unoccupied table she looked up at Ven with a nod. "Alright, kiddo - I could do with a break." She answered in a strained voice as she pushed her tense chest out, stretching her torso.

Ventus grinned in delight before he began to skip over to the spare table, earning a light giggle from Mai as she trudged behind, making sure that her large teddy didn't pick up dust from the floor as she went.

Ventus sat down in his new chair lazily and sunk into the seat. "Ugh, my legs are killing me!" He complained with a heavy groan as he leaned his head back, allowing the warm Sun to heat up his face. "Do you want me to go and get you an ice-cream?" He asked, glancing down at Mai, his eyes squinted to block out the excess light.

Mai opened her mouth to answer, but before she could say anything all of the colourful characters around the pair began to cheer, getting up from their seats and heading over to the stage where Mai and Ven had played with the ice-cream machine.

Mai glanced over, seeing Queen Minnie standing on the stage – there was another person standing next to her; it was a duck wearing a lilac purple ball grown, she also had a little tiara atop her head. Queen Minnie smiled warmly as everybody gathered around the stage. "Hello, everyone, and thank you for waiting." She announced.

Mai glanced over at the blonde with a raised brow – Ventus answered her silent question with a shrug. "C'mon, let's check it out." He said, placing all of the prizes that he'd won onto the table before he stood up, waiting for Mai to do the same.

The brunette nodded and placed her own things on the table – hoping that nobody would steal their stuff whilst they were away from the table – and followed Ventus into the crowd of people that surrounded the stage.

Ventus glanced back at Mai as he walked; only to see her being bumped around in the crowd. He reached back and clasped her small hand within his, earning her gaze for a brief moment before he turned and started for the front of the stage.

Once they were settled in a fairly spacious spot – spacious still being pressed against strangers, but not to the point where they could be squished to death – they glanced around, trying to listen in on what all of the people were mumbling about, but due to the volume of their words and so many different voices it was hard to hear what anybody was saying.

Queen Minnie raised both of her hands without saying a word, and was surprisingly able to quieten down the crowd. When she was happy with the silence she rested her hands by her sides. "Now, it's time to begin the main event of our Dream Festival – the Million Dreams Award presentation." She explained.

Mai nodded in understanding. "Oh, so that's why everybody's so worked up." She mumbled to the blonde beside her and finally pulled her hand out of his.

Ven nodded in agreement, but remained silent as the duck in the purple ball grown beside Minnie handed her an white envelope. The mouse gratefully took the paper and gently ripped it open, pulling out a smaller piece of paper inside and looked over it. "Oh, how very exciting!" She exclaimed in surprise. "This year we have multiple winners. The Million Dreams Award goes to…" her voice trailed off, catching the suspense and stretching it as far as she could – and with a bright smile she managed to catch Ven's gaze within the crown, "Ventus, Aqua, and Terra. All three of you!" She exclaimed.

At the sound of the blonde's name, both teens gasped silently in shock. Mai looked over at the blonde with wide eyes, only to see him staring straight back at her with an equal expression. The crowd began to cheer, and those who recognised Ventus – much like the duck trio and the carnival game owners that saw Ven, patted him on the back.

Ven's face broke out into a large grin. "When were Aqua and Terra here?" He asked. Mai shrugged, her eyes scanning the crowd for any sight of their familiar friends, but all she saw were colourful characters that resided in Disney Town. Mai continued to look around, but her eyes soon landed on a head of ebony black hair that was spiked into every direction – but even though it was only the top of the head, Mai gasped upon recognising the hair.

"Whaddaya mean!" A familiar voice yelled out, causing Mai to look back over at the stage for a brief second; seeing none other than Captain Justice pushing passed everybody in the crowd and charging toward the stage.

Mai quickly shook it off and looked back over her shoulder, trying to find the familiar head of spiky hair, but she couldn't see any sign of him; causing her shoulders to slump as she solemnly switched her gaze back to the stage.

Captain Justice skipped the steps of the stage and jumped straight onto the platform, stopping right in front of Minnie and her duck friend. "There's gotta be a mistake. Everybody voted for Captain Justice. I made sure!" Captain Justice yelled before he turned toward the crowd. "Now, go on, tell her!" He exclaimed, but the amusing part was that everybody stayed silent – to the point where crickets could be heard chirping in the background and a tumbleweed rolled on by.

Captain Justice growled, his shoulders beginning to shake in anger before his face fell, punching his own fist as an idea popped into his head. "Better try the other one…" He mumbled; but due to the microphones on the stage his voice could be heard throughout the entire crowd. Captain J turned and ran off stage, causing everybody to question him before he ran back out, only this time he was dressed in a dark purple outfit. "The rogue racer, Captain Dark!" He announced, but everybody simply ignored him and turned away, starting their own conversations.

Minnie glared at the large cat. "Pete, we counted the votes very carefully. Ventus, Aqua, and Terra won." She established before she allowed her face to soften. "Oh, Pete, I think you tried to do something good, but you were doing it for the wrong reasons, and you went about it the wrong way." She said. "Still, a couple of citizens must have thought you had goodness in you, because you actually got a few votes." Queen Minnie smiled warmly at him as the cat turned to face her. "They knew you were looking out for them."

Pete took a moment to take in the mouse's words before he scoffed. "Big whoop! I don't need their lousy votes. Just cough up my prize!" He demanded selfishly.

Minnie growled. "Pete!" She snapped, startling the crowd as well as the aforementioned animal. "They voted for you because they believe in you and care about you. How could you look down on that?" She questioned in disgust. "I've tried to forgive a lot of things you've done, but this is too much! Now you've finally crossed the line." Minnie said angrily.

Pete simply rolled his eyes carelessly. "Like that matters to me. Besides, what are you gonna do about it?" He mocked.

Minnie smirked devilishly as she turned towards the crowd. "Ha! I'm gonna let you cool off for a while." She retorted smugly. "Guards!" She called.

At her yell, six brooms came from behind the curtains of the stage; they had arms on their sides and walked on their bristles. They made their way over to Pete, and - with unbelievable strength – managed to pick him up onto his back before they started for back stage, simply ignoring Pete's complaints as he was carried out of sight.

Minnie smiled in solace, switching her gaze to the citizens of Disney Town. "Now, shall we continue the ceremony?" She asked rhetorically, catching everybody's attention. "Would the three winners; Ventus, Aqua, and Terra, please come up and join me on the stage?" She said politely, almost as if that fiasco with Pete seconds ago had never happened.

Ven and Mai exchanged a quick glance before the blonde's face broke out into a smile. "Coming with me?" He asked, clasping Mai's hand.

The brunette blinked at Ven for a second before she shook her head, a timid smile on her lips. "N-No way." She declined, trying to free her hand – but Ventus tightened his grip, not allowing her to escape.

He chuckled. "C'mon, I can't see Terra or Aqua here and I don't wanna go up on my own." He pleaded, pouting his lips like a little child.

Mai stuttered, nervously tucking her hair behind her ear. Ventus mouthed another plea, causing Mai to groan as she finally nodded. "Fine," she muttered.

Ven chuckled in delight before he started for the stage, pulling Mai closely behind him as he walked up the steps.

Minnie smiled upon seeing the brunette, but didn't pay any attention to the fact that Mai hadn't won anything and instead continued with the ceremony. She glanced out to the crowd, a small frown tugging at her brows. "Oh dear, it looks like our other two winners couldn't make it here to be with us today." She announced.

Ven's shoulders slumped as he slowly released Mai's hand. "They already left." He confirmed quietly to himself.

Minnie turned back to the teens with a hopeful smile. "Perhaps you would accept the award on their behalf." She suggested. "After all, you've been so kind to so many here at the Dream Festival." Minnie said with a sweet giggle. "So now, I hereby present the Million Dreams Award…as a token of how much you matter to us. Congratulations!" She exclaimed.

At her words, the entire crowd burst out into cheers, causing Ventus to shy away with a timid chuckle.

Minnie smiled, now holding a yellow bowl with a delicious looking ice cream inside it. "And as an extra treat, we've created something special – and ice cream flavour just for you." She said as she held up the strawberry ice cream; it had to chocolate circles on top of it, much like Minnie's ears, and it had two keys poking out of each end of it with various fruit surrounding it. "Double Crunch ice cream!" She exclaimed.

Ventus gave a light laugh before he reached down and took the bowl in both of his hands, noticing the small metal spoon in the bowl with the handle sticking out. He turned to Mai. "You wanna try it?" He asked.

Mai quickly shook her head with a dark blush. "N-No, I'm good." She exclaimed.

Ventus shrugged and glanced down at Minnie. "Thank you." He smiled, to which Minnie eagerly returned.

Mai fell back into her seat and placed her things on the floor beside her, making room for Ven's new ice cream as he placed it on the flat surface before he took his seat. "Well, I was not expecting that." He said with a dry chuckle and rubbed the back of his neck.

Mai couldn't help but laugh. "You're telling me! And did you really have to pull me up there?" She glared playfully.

Ventus simply rolled his eyes at her and leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table as he looked down at the ice cream, inspecting it for a moment before he reached forward and picked up the long spoon. "Hm, I wonder what it tastes like." He mumbled, scooping up some of the frozen treat before he placed it into his mouth.

Mai watched with a raised brow as Ven's face softened and he let out a soft hum. "Mm, that's really good – and crunchy!" He exclaimed, the spoon still in his mouth before he pulled it out. "Want some?" He asked, holding out the cutlery.

Mai stuttered, reluctant for a moment before she reached out and took the spoon from Ven's hand, their skin touching for a brief moment and caused Mai's face to heat up. A small stutter fell passed her lips as she stuffed the spoon into the ice cream and quickly placed it into her mouth, trying to push away the taunting thought of the indirect kiss.

At the taste of the treat tickling on her taste buds, Mai found her mind cleared and her face fell. Ventus chuckled. "It's good, isn't it?" He asked rhetorically before he reached over and tugged the spoon out of Mai's mouth, causing her to groan in disapproval – seeing as she still had ice cream between her lips.

She quickly swallowed down the cold treat. "Hey, I wasn't finished!" She complained, snatching the spoon right back out of the blonde's hand with a cheeky grin.

Ventus was a little shocked by Mai's sudden action, but when he saw the toothy grin on her lips he couldn't help but chuckle. "So? We'll take it in turns, then." He suggested, reached out for the spoon, but the brunette held it back – out of his reach.

The green eyed girl giggled childishly. "Well, if you want some that badly…" her voice trailed off. Mai pushed Ven's hand away and scooped up some ice cream with the spoon before she held it up in front of her face, placing her finger on top of the spoon whilst keeping a firm hold of the handle with her other hand.

Ventus stuttered, unable to find enough time to move out of the way before Mai pulled at the top of the spoon and released it quickly, causing the ice cream to fly off and hit Ventus on the cheek – causing him to pause in his small movements.

Mai tried to keep her smile down, but failed when a light giggle passed by her lips, causing her to break out into small chuckles. Ventus sighed, crossing his arms and resting them on the table as he looked down at the ice cream on his cheek – but he could only see the outline of it due to him being unable to see it from someone else's eyes.

The blonde couldn't help but chuckle. "That was cruel," he commented before he stuck out his tongue and tried to lap up some of the sweet strawberry tasting ice cream with his candy pink tongue. Mai saw him trying to lick the ice cream on his cheek and couldn't help but laugh harder, causing her to drop the spoon on the table in front of them.

After a while Ventus simply gave up and wiped the frozen treat with his fingers, but then he unexpectedly popped his fingers into his mouth. Mai grinned. "Is it weird that I've actually forgotten about why we were awkward earlier?" She questioned allowed.

Ventus took his tasty fingers out of his mouth and picked up a napkin that was on the table, wiping his hand on it. "It was 'cause I kiss-" he quickly cut himself off, glancing up at Mai with wide eyes before he shook his head. "I-I can't remember, either." He said quickly, trying to regain himself.

Upon remembering herself, Mai felt her face suddenly grow hot, and her heart rate increased. "Oh," was all she could say. The pair sat there in painful silence for what felt like a life time – even though it was only a few minutes – before Mai suddenly felt something familiar in her lower region, causing her eyes to widen. "Shit." She muttered, catching Ven's attention.

The blonde glanced up at her in alarm. "What?" He asked.

Mai shook her head and pushed her chair out from under the table and stood up, reaching her hand out to Ventus. "Nothing, just give me my Moogle Crystal. Quick." She demanded, not wanting to waste another second.

Ventus raised a brow at her. "Wha-" He quickly cut his voice off when Mai sent him a quick, yet cold, glare. The blonde stuttered as he quickly shrugged his back pack off his shoulders and placed it into his lap, rummaging around its contents in search of the familiar Crystal.

Only a few seconds later did Ven pull the jewel out of his bag, and Mai quickly snatched it out of his hand and ran into the ice cream shop without a word. Ventus' eyes followed her like a magnet, a small frown etched on his soft face before he saw Mai make a turn for the bathroom inside the ice cream parlour.

He sat there for a second or two, weighing out his thoughts to find out what Mai had rushed off for, but a light bulb soon flickered on above his head as he figured it out. "Oh." He mumbled in realisation.

Ventus sat there awkwardly for a few moments, waiting silently for Mai to come back before his eyes landed on the delicious ice cream in front of him. Spotting the long spoon next to the bowl, Ventus stared at it for three blank seconds before he reached out for the spoon. "Better eat as much as I can before she gets back." He confirmed to himself before he began to stuff his face with the crunchy ice cream before Mai came back from the bathroom.

Hehe ^-^ well, I don't really have much to say for the Author's note now – just that I'm really sorry for the late update, and if the chapter sucks then I'm so sorry DX it's just that I've been drowned in stupid school stuff and I've been like the walking dead for a few weeks -,- no motivation at all.

Mai: Well, I hope you get out of your slump soon.

Heh, I should ^-^ I FINISHED YEAR 10 TODAY 8D now I got an amazing six weeks off that time should allow me to update many new chapters! If I'm being honest I'd like to finish this story by 2013 – but that don't mean I'll start rushing this story, no sir ree ^-^

In fact I think it should give me more motivation to update quicker…but knowing me the only thing that motivates me is Nutella 8D I love the stuff!

Ventus: I know -,- you smacked me with a fly swatter when you found out I had the last of the jar before.

I taxed it! Understand what that means, will you?

Kura:…don't you mean 'you called dibs'?

No! Because I'm British and that is what my family uses ^.^

Well, either way – I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and I'm sorry but Ven and Mai are just too cute for there to be so much tension that they barely say a word to each other D: I have to have them smutting, it's like a need!

Aqua: Am I the only one who gets scared when she does that? O.o

Terra: It makes me shiver -,-

Hehe, oh well ^-^ I'll see you guys next time when we visit the Olympus Coliseum :D and we'll be seeing some of a certain ebony haired male there ;P and no, I'm afraid I'm not talking about Kura. Right, ENOUGH OF THE SPOILERS!

I'LL SEE YOU ALL NEXT TIME!