Despite being in the middle of Fall, the weather was wonderful, ideal for a picnic. And that's what the whole crew decided to do. Not only all the keyblade wielders, but basically all who could travel through worlds. They even had considered bringing Hayner, Pence and Olette, but Donald had made them promise to keep the world order before going back to spend the weekend with his lovely wife.

They had settled in a beautiful world where the leaves were so bright it looked like the trees were on fire. Many people around them were sharing a meal as well, enjoying this lovely evening with music and laughters.

"Now, close your eyes, Riku, and don't open them until I tell you to."

"That thing tickles, though," he grumbled.

"Don't move."

Naminé was really focused, painting Riku's face. He had agreed after she had asked him with her big puppy eyes (and after he noticed Kairi's murderous glare behind her if he dared say no), and she was now painting a skull on his face, full of colours and flowers, the way people did here. He patiently waited, his face a canvas for her imagination, not caring much as long as she was happy.

"Don't move. Don't even blink."

"Hurry up, then. It won't stay here all night."

"I'm trying to find the right angle!"

Xion was very carefully moving around Isa, her gummi phone in hand. A vibrant green bird had settled in Isa's hair, and Xion was trying to take a picture of it, very worried it would fly away. Isa wasn't exactly ecstatic about being a nest, but it was the first time Xion was so relaxed around him and he didn't want to ruin that. He had troubles forgiving himself for what he did as Saïx, and he could tell that even though she was trying hard, she still feared him a lot. Having her gawk, giggle, and basically trust him was something he would never have expected to see happening. Click. He heard the sound of the camera, and turned his head a little bit too harshly, causing the bird to realise his nest wasn't exactly in a tree and fly away.

"Oh, I… Sorry. Did you get it?"

"I did! Look at that!" She beamed at him while showing the picture, and he felt his throat tighten. She wasn't looking at him with anxiety, she wasn't slightly hiding behind Lea. She was smiling at him, the way she smiled at all of her friends. When she said he should use the photo as his profile picture, he couldn't say no.

"Al~right… Who's who?"

Lea squinted, staring at them both. "Ven on the right and Roxas on the left!"

"Explain your choice," one of the boys said.

"Random pick isn't allowed," the other completed.

"Easy!" Lea gave them his confident smirk. "Ventus looks at me in the eyes, but Roxas always look at my missing marks under them! I know I'm right!"

"And yet," Ventus said, "you are wrong," Roxas added. "Too bad, you're a poor excuse of a friend!" They said together, laughing at a gawking Lea. The young man sighed, shrugging, then in a flash grabbed one of the two boys and tickled his ribs.

"Axel, stop that, please!" begged the boy, laughing even harder. But Lea didn't let go.

"I knew it! That was Roxas all along! You both are little liars, I will wash your lying mouth with soap and you will feel sorry!"

All three were laughing really loudly, but no one could blame them. This was a happy place.

Aqua was smiling, hearing all that joy around her. She had her eyes closed, her head resting on Terra's shoulder, one of his hand holding hers, the other one on her hip. She would never get tired of feeling the sun on her skin or of hearing people laugh. And she would never get tired of having Terra gently rocking her, dropping kisses in her hair when he thought no one was watching.

"I brought some blankets if you are cold," he gently whispered when he felt her shiver. She shook her head.

"Not yet. I want to feel the wind a bit longer." He chuckled, knowing she would fall asleep very soon anyway.

"You make me un poco loca, un poquititito loca..."

Kairi was cheerfully playing her guitar, and Sora couldn't take his eyes of her. Naminé had painted bright flowers all over her face, using orange rather than black to circle her eyes, and she was glowing. She was still training really hard with Lea, but in her free time, she had began to learn to play the guitar - and she had been really excited to show Sora her progress. The melody was still sometimes a bit hazardous, but she had a beautiful voice that covered most of her mistakes. And Sora wasn't the most objective listener either. He was captivated, completely under her spell, smiling candidly as she played, drinking every second of the time he spent with her, absorbing every detail of her. Once she finished her song, she looked at him, embarrassed. "I've still a long way to go."

He shook his head. "That was perfect. That was the most beautiful song ever, Kairi."

"Don't tell her that or she'll believe it and play it all day long!" Lea yelled, still fighting with Ventus. "You're not the one who had to endure her training!"

"Hey, watch it when you're talking about her!" Riku said with a fake frown.

"Oooh, my bad, I always forget the etiquette when talking about princesses!"

"Everyone seems happy," Sora said with a smile. "It was a long way, but it was worth it. Years of sacrifices, but everyone's smiling again."

"All thanks to you," Kairi said, winking at him.

"All thanks to all of us. Alone, I'm worthless."

"To me, you're worth everything," she whispered, looking right into his eyes. They fell silent, completely oblivious to the world around them, until they heard someone chuckle nearby.

"Must be nice, being able to say such things so seriously. Aaah, I miss being young."

"Terra, you say this kind of things on a daily basis. And don't interrupt them, they're having a romantic moment!"

The magic was broken, and the two teenagers laughed, not embarrassed in the least. They had come to terms with their feelings. Love wasn't something to be embarrassed of, Sora had told them, and of course no one could have said otherwise.

The sun finally set, and the moon replaced it, high in the sky. Ventus took bottle of hot chocolate from the picnic bag and offered some to all that were still awake - everyone, but Aqua. Terra threw blankets around them, and they sat in a circle, chatting, Kairi sometimes playing a bit of music, Sora trying to know as much as he could about how everyone's training was going. He proved himself able to tell Ven from Roxas very easily -I know them by heart- he chuckled, to which Lea repeated to whomever cared that he did too and was just tricked, and showed a lot of kindness to Isa who still wasn't used to it. But it was a fact, Sora had no place in his heart for useless grudges. Isa was trying to repent and Sora had given him forgiveness.

They talked all night long, losing people one by one. Naminé fell asleep, quickly followed by Roxas. Xion didn't take long either to fall asleep on Lea's lap. The young man boasted he could last longer than Isa, but they both fell asleep at the very same time. Terra had dozed off somewhere along the way, and Riku lasted almost the whole night. Ventus could barely sleep at all these days, claiming that he had slept enough for another decade, but he was kind enough to pretend he was sleeping too, cuddled against Terra, leaving some room for Kairi and Sora.

"You can sleep too, you know," the boy said, but she shook her head.

"I'll sleep once I'm home."

"Oh, I see, Princesses do not sleep on the ground," he teased, and she gasped.

"Now you sound just like Lea! Princess this, Princess that, I have a name!"

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry Kairi. You're right. You are a Queen, anyway."

"Hmpf, I like that better, thank you very much."

They exchanged a smile, their fingers intertwined.

In the tree next to them, a bird started chirping. Sora sighed. "The sun is about to rise, huh? Well, the picnic is officially over! It was a lot of fun!" He jumped to his feet, helping Kairi up.

"Aren't you forgetting anything, though, Sora?" Riku was looking at him with sleepy eyes. Everyone was waking up, even though it was clearly harder for some than others. Lea had to kick Roxas to wake the boy up for real.

"Mmh, I don't think I do?" Sora said, confused, tilting his head to the side. "Is… Is it someone's birthday?"

"I think what Riku meant was that it was rude to leave without saying goodbye," Kairi whispered to him.

"Oh! Right! I didn't want to wake you guys, you all have some training tomorrow and need to rest. Ah, but since you are all awake now… It's hugging time!" he yelled, throwing his arms around Aqua, who hugged him back with a laugh.

And everyone got their hug. Even Isa, who was probably hugged for the first time since he was a child, stiffening, having no idea what to do. Terra actually picked Sora off the ground, making him fly in circles, leaving the boy screaming of joy just like a child. When Terra finally put him back down, Sora had sparkles in his eyes and threw his arms around the big man quickly.

There was only Kairi left. He took her hand, drawing closer, wrapping his arms around her and holding her tight.

"Thank you for today, Kairi. It was wonderful. The gates only open once a year, so please come back next year as well. You promise?"

Kairi stiffened, letting a very loud sigh out.

"You are aware we are trying to find a way to not have to come back next year, right?"

"You mean you don't want to see me?"

"I mean we will find a way to see you everyday, not once a year in a very specific world that required a picture of you we had to sneak on someone's ofrenda, Sora."

The boy chuckled, slowly letting go of her. "I was just teasing you. Of course I know. And I'm sure you will find a way. But if you don't… Bring cookies next time, I'm allowed to bring some food back with me!"

Kairi rolled her eyes, and Sora winked. "Sun is really about to rise now, so I absolutely have to go! See you later guys! I love you all! Even you, Isa, so stop looking as if no one cared about you, everyone does!" Whatever advice he gave next was taken away by the wind, as he ran farther and farther away from them, following the line of spirits going back to the Land of the Dead.

They all packed up their things, ready to leave. The picnic was over. Now they all had to find a solution to make sure there would be no next one.

I wrote this one a couple of days before watching Coco again! I still cry everytime T_T

Nineteenth theme will be "Nightmare" (we had Dream a few days ago after all~)