Being home again was weird sometimes. Sure, Sora was glad to be back, but it didn't feel completely real. There were a lot of nights where he dreamed he was still stuck in Quadratum. Only when the dreams were over and he woke up in his own bed, covered in a cold sweat, did he remember that yeah, he really was back home on Destiny Islands.

He'd woken up from one such dream just now. A quick glance out his window told him it was still dark outside, and he sighed deeply and reached for his Gummiphone. Yep, sure enough, it was only 1 AM. He'd barely slept two hours before waking up this time. Sighing, he pressed a few buttons to start a call with the two people who always understood what he was going through.

"Nightmares again?" was Kairi's quick reply as she joined the video chat. Dark shadows were under her eyelids, and her room was dimly lit.

"Yup. Just the usual."

No need to explain more than that, because they both already knew what the nightmares were about. The same trauma affected them all, and while it manifested slightly differently for each of them, Kairi understood what he and Riku were going through as well as she understood her own nightmares.

"Me too. Can't sleep again, so I've just been trying to write," she said.

"So you two are awake too, huh?" came Riku's response as he joined the conversation. "I can't sleep either."

Riku's dreams, from what he'd told them, were fragmented memories of his waking moments, Sora's dreams, and Kairi's nightmares, pieced together to form vivid scenarios as he slept. Sometimes not sleeping at all was easier for him to deal with, and insomnia was a constant companion.

"You know what we haven't done in a long time?" Kairi asked.

"What?" Sora said, wondering what she had in mind.

"Gone camping."

"That's true, it has been a while," Riku said.

And it had. When they were kids, they used to go camping on the beach of the Main Island, and then as they'd gotten older and more responsible, they'd started camping on the Play Island. But they hadn't gone since their adventure had begun, and Sora realized how much he missed it.

"Let's do it," he said. "Let's go camping."

Kairi tilted her head. "Right now?"

"Sure, why not? We've got nothing to lose. It's not like we're gonna sleep much tonight."

It would be nice, too, to hang out with them in person. Swap scary stories and silly jokes and reminisce over everything that had happened in the time they'd spent apart. Sure, he got to see them both every day now, but after all the separations they'd endured, every moment spent together was precious.

Kairi chewed her lip. "I guess we could. The camping supplies are probably still in the Seaside Shack, right?"

"They were the last time I checked," Riku said. "And I've still got the s'mores stakes. Either one of you have marshmallows, chocolate, or graham crackers?"

It took some time to figure out the logistics of everything, but a couple of hours later, they were gathered around a warm campfire on the beach, wrapped in blankets and readying the s'mores supplies. Kairi broke the chocolate into manageable squares while Riku did the same for the graham crackers and Sora opened the bag of marshmallows. They were the really big ones that got all hot and gooey in the middle when you cooked them just right, and Sora couldn't wait to eat one.

Grabbing one of the stakes, he put two marshmallows onto it, then handed it to Riku. Kairi was next, and then he prepared his own stake. The three of them sat in silence for a while as they slowly cooked their marshmallows over the embers. Sure, they could stick the marshmallows straight into the fire, but that would just make them catch on fire. As entertaining as that was, the burnt-to-a-crisp marshmallows didn't taste as good as the golden-brown ones.

The crackling of the fire, the stars shining in the sky overhead, his two best friends in all the worlds here by his side… Sora couldn't think of a better way to spend a sleepless night.

"Thanks, guys," he said after a while, when his marshmallows were about done. "I really missed this."

"So did we," Riku said as he carefully crafted his first s'more. "Just wasn't the same without you around."

"Riku and I promised we'd hold off on doing stuff like this until we got you home," Kairi added. "After everything you've done for us, it just… didn't feel right."

She bit into her s'more as Sora thought about what she'd said. Yeah, he'd known they'd put their lives on hold for him, but still. Not even allowing themselves simple pleasures like this? That wasn't what he'd wanted. It wasn't what he'd sacrificed himself for. He hadn't abused the Power of Waking over and over again, only for his friends to do nothing but grieve in his absence.

"But I didn't want that for you," he told them. "I wanted you to be happy."

"Sora, you know we couldn't be happy without you here with us," Kairi said softly. Her face was somber, and the light from the flames flickered across it.

"Kairi's right," Riku said. "Did you really think we could just move on and live our lives without you? You're our friend. After everything you've done for us, saving you was the least we could do."

Sora felt a lump built in his throat. "Riku, Kairi—"

Kairi smiled, and Riku gave him a half-grin. Ever since he'd gotten back, it was like his emotions were so much stronger now. Something that would've made him smile made him laugh out loud, and something that would've made him a little sad had him on the verge of tears. Truth was, he'd missed his friends more than he could bear, and having them back still seemed too good to be true. Especially when they said nice things to him like this. He really couldn't hold out against their kindness.

"But you know what else?" Kairi said, a mischievous look in her eyes as she exchanged glances with Riku.

"What?"

"Your marshmallows are on fire," Riku said.

Sora yelped and yanked them out of danger. Kairi giggled and Riku laughed as he blew out the flames as quickly as possible. Thankfully, they were only a little blackened, and his friends handed him chocolate and graham crackers.

"Some things never change," Sora said as he scratched his cheek. "Thanks for having my back."

"Anytime." "Always."

He grinned and made his first s'more, the marshmallows nice and crispy on the outside with gooey insides, the chocolate melting nicely on top of it, the graham cracker pieces holding the sweet sandwich all together. He couldn't wait to bite into this thing. Sure, his hands were already sticky, but that just came with the package.

"Bet you can't put it in your mouth all at once," Riku said as Sora held the s'more just inches away from his mouth.

"Bet I can," he said.

"Bet you can't."

"Oh, I'm gonna do it, just you watch. And so are you. First person to swallow an entire s'more wins."

Kairi giggled and then fished her Gummiphone out of her pocket. "Whatever happens, I'm getting this on video," she said as she held the phone in front of her. "Get ready," she said as Sora and Riku held their s'mores up. "Get set… go!"

Sora opened his mouth as wide as he could, then shoved the s'more inside all at once. He glanced at Riku, who was doing the same thing, then at Kairi, who was giggling and cheering them both on, and he couldn't help but grin. This was what he had missed. The silliness, the goofiness, the friendly competition, the not-having-to-take-themselves-too-seriously. All the battles they'd fought in had been too serious, too scary, and now it was time to unwind and enjoy a few moments with each other.

"And we have a winner!" Kairi crowed. "Congratulations, Riku!"

Riku grinned and wiped his mouth. "Better luck next time, Sora."

Sora shrugged and swallowed the last of his s'more. "What can I say? I let myself get distracted."

"Oh, you let me win, huh? Is that how it is?" Riku said with a grin as he nudged Sora's shoulder.

Sora laughed. "I really did get distracted. It's been happening a lot lately. I start thinking about something, and then I just zone out."

"What were you thinking about this time?" Kairi asked as she handed the two of them a new set of marshmallows to roast.

Sora's fingers were all sticky as he took the stake from her. "About how much I missed being a goofball. When we're fighting, I have to be serious. I have to focus. But when I'm with you guys, I can let loose and be myself."

"I feel the same way," Riku said. "When I'm with you guys, I stop being the responsible one and start following my heart more. It's a nice change of pace."

"Good, sounds like we're finally rubbing off on you," Kairi said with a smile.

They all had a good laugh about that, and Sora grinned. It had taken a long time to reach this point, longer than he would've liked, but at long last, he and Riku and Kairi were together again. It was funny how they'd wanted nothing more than to see other worlds as kids, but now they all wanted to be home for a little while. No doubt some new adventure would come along and whisk them away before too long, but the important thing was that they'd get to be together from now on, no matter where they were.

That was one dream that always stayed the same, no matter how much time passed.

A/N: Thank you for reading, and thank you to the mods for putting this zine together and to the other contributors for making such fun and creative pieces!