Ch.9

The night before the impending battle was still weighing on everyone's minds. But even if those things still swirled around, proper sleep was needed if they were to fight against the thirteen of darkness. The only issue was if sleep was even possible in the first place.

Aqua wasn't too sure about everyone else, but she was struggling gravely to fall asleep. Within the guest bedrooms of Yen Sid's tower, Aqua was tossing back and forth. At first she wanted to assume it was the bed that was throwing her off. She had gone so long without such a comfort and her last time sleeping was on the cold ground. But after a while she did find she enjoyed the softness of the bed so she knew it couldn't have been that.

The second thought she had was maybe the night light coming from the window was too much. After all she had been in the Realm of Darkness so long she had forgotten who the bright real stars were. But they were pretty to look at even if they did feel too bright. Eventually she decided to pull the curtains closed. Barely any light was seeping into the room now and she was left in the darkness.

Darkness.

That was something she had not forgotten. She could not forget just how dark the Realm of Darkness could actually get. Sure there was some form of glow from the dark that illuminated much of the land, but most was encased in thick darkness.

Aqua suddenly felt a shiver run down her back, warranting her to pull the covers tighter. She couldn't shake off this uneasy feeling that she felt in the back of her mind. It was growing slowly and she wasn't sure how to deal with it. For whatever reason she felt more on edge than she did compared to when she was back in the Realm of Darkness.

"What could have caused this…?" she thought to herself. "What's wrong with me…"

Sitting up, Aqua let out a long lasting sigh. She knew that she had to try and get some sleep but if she was unable to rest her active mind then she wasn't sure whatever she could do. As her eyes searched the dark room, she almost swore that she saw shadowy figures in the corner of her eyes.

Gasping she looked around but she never did find anything of the sorts, but the sheer thought of it was already raising her heart rate. Any moment now she was sure the walls would close in on her or worse let the Heartless crawl in towards her. Any second she would blink and the warm comforts would be gone and she would be back in the Realm of Darkness.

Breathing in heavily she tried to shake away the thoughts, but everything still felt like it was closing in. The thoughts swirled around and around in her head and soon she was finding it hard to breath. She felt like she was going to drown in the darkness that had seeped into her room… crawling its way back into her heart.

Suddenly there was a knock on her door and all of those thoughts went away for the time being. Stepped out of the bed she grabbed the night robe that was on the nearby chair and headed towards the door. When she opened it she saw that Zack was standing there, dressed in a sleeping shirt and shorts. He stood there looking tired but also a little worried. His eyes were shifting from Aqua to the floor and back again, almost as if he was too nervous to stare at her even if he was wearing the robe.

"U-Uh hey Aqua… I'm sorry to bother you. You were probably sleeping right? I shouldn't have knocked. I'm just a little tired I guess…"

"It's okay, Zack. Is something on your mind?"

"Ah no… I mean maybe? I don't know. I just am having trouble falling asleep. Room feels too empty… or too…"

"Too dark?" Aqua finished for him, feeling that maybe they were both awake for the same reason.

"Yeah that's it. It just felt too dark and being by myself wasn't doing me any good."

Aqua nodded at him, feeling a little relief that she was not alone in this seemingly long night. "That's all right, I couldn't seem to sleep as well."

"Oh really? Well, is it okay if I come in for a bit? Maybe we could just talk or something till we sleep? Or get sleepy really."

"That's fine by me, come in," Aqua said as she held the door open and let Zack walk in.

As he made his way over to the chair, she went over to sit down on the bed, turning on the nightstand light. The two of them sat there quietly at first, neither of them knowing what to say to one another. Before Aqua even realized it, she was twiddling her thumbs, hoping something would happen.

"So," Zack said to break the silence. "Why couldn't you sleep? Ah I mean if I can ask that?"

Aqua chuckled. Zack seemed to be more flustered than usual. Perhaps it was because of the late hour where they were less likely to think before they said. But either way this shyer more embarrassed side of Zack she found to be kinda cute.

"I'm not entirely sure…" Aqua placed her hands down at her sides. "I thought once we were out of the Realm of Darkness that everything would be okay. But there is this feeling I have… something I can't shake off. I keep having to look in every corner, thinking there is a Heartless waiting there."

"That's how I was feeling…" Zack agreed softly. "I guess I'm just afraid I'm imagining this. Can we even say this is real?"

"Zack…" Aqua started to say, but soon she found that she didn't have any reassuring words. She wanted to be the voice of reason that she usually was but now she found herself without that confidence to say the right thing. She was having similar thoughts and feelings like Zack was so how could she even try to know what to say? She felt completely and utterly lost on how to go about this now and it made her feel worse than she did before.

"I don't know…" Aqua admitted without even thinking. "I'm afraid too. I'm afraid that I'll go to sleep and wake back up in the Realm of Darkness. What if we're still there and this is just some illusion again? What if I'm just dreaming all of this and…"

Zack moved from the chair to sitting next to her on the bed. He gently placed an arm around Aqua's shoulder and pulled her into an embrace. "Hey hey… I know we're both afraid, but we're here together. There is no dreaming that up. No matter what happens we will stick together okay?"

Aqua found herself to be smiling. Zack's words were so kind and sincere and they touched her heart. She looked at him, seeing an equally kind smile on his face. "How can you feel so afraid one moment then say something so strong and kind the next?"

Zack shrugged. "I dunno. Just one of the perks of being me I guess. I know when to say the right thing… most of the time." He laughed a little sheepishly at the end.

"I think what you said was nice though. You're right after all. We've been through so much together that I suppose being separated makes us worry for the other. But I know," she yawned for a moment as she leaned against Zack's chest. "When you are here I feel a whole lot safer than before."

Zack hummed softly before he suddenly cleared his throat. "Oh um Aqua. We're sitting a bit close I know… but if you wanted I could stay in the room? Like just to give you the reassurance that I am still here. I'll just sleep in the chair."

"Won't that be uncomfortable?" Aqua asked as she looked back up at Zack.

"Ah I'll manage. Can't be worse than the cold hard ground. But what matters is that we will be here for one another, right?"

"Right."

"Good!" Zack said as he jumped off the bed. "Then that'll be the plan."

When Zack moved away from Aqua, she felt that same chill she felt before. Despite Zack being right in front of her there was a coldness that was trying to seep into her skin. It was trying to freeze her up and cloud her mind with doubt and loneliness. She wasn't going to let it win though. She breathed in and reminded herself that Zack was there and she did agree with him that it was better if they stuck together.

"Well as long as you are comfortable," Aqua commented.

She stepped off the bed though to place her robe over on the dresser. On her way back to the bed she averted her eyes from looking over to Zack. It wasn't that her sleepwear was scandalous or anything of the sorts, but it had been so long since she had worn anything else but her regular clothes. But even when she was training back with Ventus and Terra, she had a separate room in a different hallway than the boys did. She always had her own privacy, but now Zack was here with her. She trusted him at least, but the idea of someone else sleeping in the room was new and strange.

She got back into bed soon enough and switched off the light. The darkness was still there like before but she felt better knowing Zack was just a few feet away. "Good night, Zack."

"Night Aqua."

She closed her eyes and tried to drift off, hoping now her mind could rest easily. But after a little while she heard sounds of discomfort. Slowly she opened her eyes and looked over to Zack, her eyes now adjusted again to the darkness of the room. Zack was in the chair, with his legs hanging over the edge, but he was shifting and turning.

"Zack?"

Zack stopped his shifting and looked over to her. "Aw no did I wake you up?"

"No, I haven't drifted off yet, but is something wrong?"

"Ah it's just this chair. Not super comfort for sleeping in. Maybe I could just grab my pillows from the other room and sleep on the floor instead."

"No Zack, you shouldn't have to do that," Aqua replied. She thought for a moment what she could do to help Zack. There was one thought that came to her mind, but the mere idea of it made her cheeks grow warm. She couldn't really sit there forever and decide on it though. It needed to be said now or never.

"Zack this bed is king sized. You could also sleep here."

"What?"

"A-Ah… I just mean that you shouldn't have to sleep on the floor!" Aqua nearly shouted as she fumbled over her words. "The bed is big that's all. We can just face away from each other. Back to back. You shouldn't be sore before a battle because of a poor night's sleep."

"Yeah you're right," Zack chuckled in agreement. "Wouldn't want a stiff neck before I go jumping around fighting Heartless and stuff. So… it's really okay?"

"Just face back to back… it'll be fine," Aqua whispered. It was not how she expected this night to go, but for some reason all her cares and feelings towards Zack were most active in her mind. Maybe if she wasn't so tired she would better understand those feelings. But right now there was no attempt to focus clearly.

"Okay then, if you say so."

Aqua laid on her side, her back facing the rest of the bed. Soon she felt Zack's weight sink into the bed. Tilting to the side slightly, she saw that Zack was facing away from her like she had suggested. With one final deep breath she went back to the side she was laying on and closed her eyes again.

"Goodnight again, Zack."

"Goodnight Aqua, and thanks."

Finally with the knowledge that Zack was there with her, Aqua's mind felt more relaxed than ever before. He was there for her and she was there for him and that was what she needed to remember. Now with that out of the way the only thinking left to do was finally sleep. She could already feel sleep taking hold of her mind and before she even realized it she had fallen fast asleep.

Welcome back everyone! I know I got a lot of new stories and various things going on like school but here I am again with another update! Finally getting to the Zack/Aqua moments :D