DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN KINGDOM HEARTS OR ANY OF IT'S CHARACTERS!

I'd like to inform you all that I will also be uploading this fic on AO3 for any of you who'd prefer to read it there for whatever reason.

I'd also like to thank all of you who read this/leave reviews. I greatly appreciate it :)

V

The castle was quiet, at least it was until the clock struck one, the chiming half drowned out by a piercing wail that echoed throughout the front hall. Ven had been pacing around humming, singing and rocking her for what felt like ages, dead on his feet. He'd moved away from the wing that held their rooms after he'd realized Annabeth wasn't going to calm down anytime soon to avoid waking Terra and Aqua.

Normally, he knew exactly what was wrong with her when she got fussy, but this time was different. He wasn't entirely sure Annabeth knew what was wrong herself, just that she wasn't happy.

Ventus continued to sing quietly to try and usher the disconsolate infant back to sleep. He paused his pacing and held her out in front of him, her crying mellowing down for a few seconds as she examined his face in the dimly lit hall only resume full force once she realised he didn't have the answer to why so was currently so miserable.

"What has gotten into you tonight?" He whispered, holding her close once more. "You're usually so docile at night."

Ventus glanced at the grandfather clock at the far end of the hall and grimaced. The hour hand was itching uncomfortably close to the two. He'd been at it for almost an hour now and he had to help prep for the party come morning. Maybe Aqua would overlook him slinking away for a nap halfway through. That would be nice.

Lost in his thoughts he almost didn't notice Annabeth start to settle down and snuggle against his shoulder. She was still crying a bit, though, so kept up his musical pacing until she fell completely silent, her eyelids twitching as she dreamed what he hoped were happy dreams.

"Now that that's said and done," Ventus murmured as he turned on his heel and headed towards the stairs. "Let's get back in bed."

"You okay, bud?" Terra asked as he poked Ventus's cheek with his fork. "You look like you're still sleeping."

Ventus lowered his head, resting it on the table beside his plate. "I wish I was."

"Annie was fussy, I take it?" Aqua asked as she set a glass of juice down on the other side of his head. He peered at Terra's blurred form through the glass, the brunette grinning and throwing up a peace sign.

"Mhmm."

"What time did you get to sleep? You look like you're running on fumes," Aqua stated before instructing him to eat his food before it got cold.

"Which time? I had to get up with her a million times last night," He replied into the table, a groan escaping him. He had, in fact, gotten up with the unusually irritable baby a good five times before she finally decided to settle down for the remainder of the night, or morning rather.

Aqua hummed thoughtfully as she glanced down at Annabeth from where she snoozed in her basket. Terra had wanted to toss it, but both she and Ventus argued that it could act as a bassinet until they could find something more suitable. The only other thing they had in terms of baby furniture was a bouncer she'd picked up a few days after Annabeth had unexpectedly arrived, an item she didn't exactly dig. She seemed to prefer being held or propped up on pillows.

"I'll let you take a quick cat nap after we finish setting up. We can't have guests arriving before we're done. Not only will it look bad, but they'll get in the way, making it take that much longer," Aqua informed him, stroking his hair. "You could've asked one of us," she paused, glancing at Terra blankly. That would've been a bad idea. Terra had been getting better at the baby thing, but he was nowhere near being able to go solo. "You could've asked me to get up with her a few times. I wouldn't have minded."

Deep blue eyes that reminded her of the sky on a starry night peered up at her before vanishing once more. "You have more you have to do today than me. You have to cook all that food."

"And Mickey's sending people to help with that. He doesn't expect us to do everything," Aqua argued, biting into a piece of bacon. The king himself was even planning on dropping by and helping them set up until they convinced him he should spend the morning with his queen instead, Terra throwing in an inappropriate wink that caused Ventus to elbow him in the ribs while Aqua verbally scolded him.

"I wonder who's all coming. If the amount of food is anything to go by, then it's gonna be a full house," Terra commented, leaning back in his chair. He nudged Ventus's leg playfully with his foot, earning a muffled grunt from the blond. "All of which are from different worlds. Isn't that against the rules?"

"Not if they leave by their own means. We're just not allowed to chauffeur people between worlds," Aqua explained, Terra nodded in understanding. That made much more sense seeing as how he'd come across quite a few people outside of their homeworlds over the years. He hadn't really questioned the fact until just now.

Ventus propped his head on his fist, dragging a pancake off of his plate and stuffing it in his mouth, too tired to bother cutting it up or applying syrup. The older two of the trio stared at him, eyebrows shooting to their hairlines.

"Damn, dude. You normally put enough syrup on your pancakes to kill a bear," Terra announced, wincing as Ventus's foot slammed into his shin. "Ow! Foul play, foul play! No sleep makes you pissy."

"Oh, I'll show you pissy-"

"Would you two cut it out," Aqua fussed, chuckling. They never fought over sensible things, which made it hard not to laugh. "Ventus, you finish eating, Terra, go ahead and start putting streamers up and unlock the front doors so people can come in. Mickey's help should be here soon. Send them to the big kitchen, not this one. I'm gonna go ahead and put the finishing touches on the cake."

"Right oh," Terra replied before opening the cupboard he stuffed the streamers in. They fell out on him and he wandered out like that, looking like some sort of rainbow monster. He rounded the corner and there was a crash followed by mild swearing and a muffled "I'm okay."

Ventus smirked. "And I think he just tripped over the coffee table."

"Without a doubt," Aqua deadpanned, sighing as she walked out. "Terra, please get those off your face and watch where you're going. I don't know how to fix broken bones or tables."

Ventus ate a few more things off his plate before downing his juice, a sleepy sigh escaping him as grabbed Annabeth's basket and hoisted it up. He smiled down at the sleepy babe. "You are so lucky I love you. Now come on. We got a party to start."