ZzZzZzZzZzZzZz . . .

[ex_ventus850]

Who: Ven and anyone!
Where: The park
When: Afternoon-ish?
Style: Whichever
Status: Open!

A good question, because there was a very short, very lanky blond boy asleep in the park. He lay sprawled out, limbs akimbo and mouth open while he snored none too silently. Years and years ago his friends would've called him a hopeless sleepyhead. Nothing had changed since then at all, except that his slumber was deeper than any he'd partaken of in the past. Not to mention dreamless. And he was shivering thanks to it still being a little too cool outside for a t-shirt.

Not very fun. So if anyone wanted to prank him while he was asleep, he wouldn't notice a thing.

Until he woke up, anyway. Luckily for anyone thinking of it, Ven was a heavy sleeper.

Comments

sorry for the slow! ;w;

[unbendable]

She sees those wobbly legs, Ventus, and she frowns a little at that at first. It made sense that Ven would have some trouble standing after being comatose for so long ... she could only imagine how his body had suffered for his inactivity. Aqua pushed herself to a standing position, taking one of her arms and helping by holding him up as carefully as she could. Her other hand took one of his into it, squeezing it as though to let him know that she was there, and wasn't leaving his side.

Right now, he needed the help ... and she was always more than happy to offer it.

"Let's take this slowly," she advised, wanting to make sure that he was going to make the trip safely, however short it may have been. She looked around for a suitable place to rest for the time being, and began to push Ventus gently in the direction of that place.

In her head, she was thinking of all of the things Ven would possibly need before they headed back to where she was staying for the time being: a towel, first and foremost. New clothing, at least a couple sets of it, was near the top of her list as well. She would have to get some more food, as well ... she wasn't sure how much of it she had, and she needed to be able to feed a teenage boy who hadn't eaten in about ten years. She was anticipating quite the appetite for this one ...

She would have rather had Ventus rest while she did some shopping, but something told her that he wouldn't take kindly to that idea. This time, she wasn't going to argue it. After all, she knew she wanted to spend as much time with him as she possibly could, now that they were together again.

no worries bb. /holds

[ex_ventus850]

Ten years, and he had no idea. To him, it'd help like a few days at most. And yet he knew Sora a lot better now than he had at first. There were memories there, and that was why Riku's presence was so familiar; because each of Sora's friends were part of his heart which Ven had been sharing. Also, it explained why that last battle stood out obscenely against the backdrop of his other memories, clear and horrible as though it'd just happened yesterday.

To him, it had. But ten years had passed, and he was woefully out of shape. He'd need to work with her constantly to regain the muscle and skill he'd lost. But first, all he wanted to do was stand there and squeeze her hand. It was a comfort he felt she needed more than he did, as he'd never truly been alone as part of Sora's heart.

"Sure. I'm not going anywhere." It was to reassure her, because she looked as though she hadn't seen him in a long, long time. And there was no way he was going anyplace again without her. Or Terra. So he took her hand, and stumbled with her toward the place she'd deemed they could sit for a bit.

With his free hand, he rubbed the back of his head. "Aqua... how long's it been?" It was still hard-ish to see after so long of not being exposed to sunlight. His blue eyes were slitted, squinting over at her almost comically.

thank yoooou ~ ♥ /cuddles

[unbendable]

Aqua held him upright and slowly helped him as they made their way to a nearby place; it was the same cafe that Yukari had taken her to when she had first arrived. It was a warm place, and it had food and drink, which was something she figured the both of them needed.

Okay. Change of plans. Food first.

As Ven asked his question, Aqua was quiet for several moments; partly because she was focused on helping Ven with moving, but also partly because she wasn't entirely sure how to break the news to him. It was still pretty hard to believe, herself, though she knew she had no reason whatsoever to doubt Mickey's words.

"I saw Mickey here, when I first arrived," she started to explain. It wasn't a direct answer, but hey, she was getting there.

"He told me it had been ten years since he had last seen either of us."

[ex_ventus850]

"Mickey's here?" He looked up sharply, about to grin when a wave of dizziness hit him and caused him to look downward toward the ground. Grabbing more firmly at Aqua's hand, he breathed in and out slowly before it passed and he was able to look up at her again.

Thankfully, by then they'd reached the café and he was able to sink down gratefully into one of the chairs.

Mickey was here. It made sense, since Queen Minnie was also in this place. For some reason, it increased his sense of relief. At least if they were stuck here, they were mostly all together. Now all they were missing were Terra, Master Eraqus and Mickey's two buddies.

Speaking o-- wait. WAIT WAIT WAIT. Ven's mouth dropped open at Aqua's next words, and he stammered for a few seconds before he could parrot: "Ten years?!" He rubbed his eyes, and shook his head.

"I had no idea I'd been asleep for that long. I'd thought..." He trailed off, and then picked back up again: "I wasn't sure if I'd even be able to wake up again after that fight."

And then, urgently, as he met her gaze: "Aqua... what happened while I was out? Were you and Terra okay? And how come none of us seem to have gotten older? This... this is so weird. I don't get it."

[unbendable]

Aqua waited patiently for his dizziness to pass, then helped him into his seat at the cafe. Once she was sure that he wasn't going to fall over in his seat, she took the seat in front of him and nodded as he had his reaction to the news. Aqua's eyes closed, and her head cocked to the side just a little as she sat back in her seat and responded to Ven's questions.

"I know, I had about the same reaction when I was told. I really wasn't able to tell how long it had been, to be honest ..."

She opened her eyes and looked to Ventus again, trying to figure out how to tell him all that had happened.

"... After you fell asleep, I wanted to bring you somewhere safe. As it turned out, you ended up showing me where you wanted to go ... home. To the Land of Departure. When we returned, it was in ruins, but Master Eraqus had shared something with me after I had become a Master."

She figured it was best to tell him the truth of what had happened. After all, where was the point in hiding it from him? There was no point in trying to protect him now. He was just as much a part of this as she and Terra had been.

"With his Keyblade," She continued, "I was able to make our home into an entirely new place. A safe place. One where you could rest, until the day when Terra and I would come to wake you up. I had been so sure that it was a day that wasn't far off ... I was so convinced of it ..."

She paused again, leaning forward and holding her head in her hands.

"I really wanted to help him. When I found Terra, though ... Maste--Xehanort had taken over his body. Terra was still in there, but it wasn't Terra at the forefront. I fought him, and I won. However, the darkness was still taking him ..."

Her fingers dug into her hair as she relayed the memory to Ven. Obviously this entire ordeal had upset her, no matter how strong she had been during, and after everything had happened.

"I followed him. And I sacrificed myself to the realms of darkness so that Terra could return. After that ... I don't know what happened to him. I'd been in that place ever since, trying to find my way back to the both of you ..."

She stopped there. Aqua figured Ventus would need some time to take that all in.

[ex_ventus850]

Ven was quiet for a long, long time after she finished speaking. Because he was digesting that hefty infodump, and he was biting the inside of his cheek to keep his guilt from showing on his face. If he'd been stronger, he could have stopped Vanitas and been a help to his friends. In the end, he'd had to leave them and made a choice that probably should've killed him if Sora had not stepped in... again. He didn't regret the last choice so much as his lack of strength beforehand.

Terra... had been possessed by that creep, his former master. And Aqua, lost in the Darkness of all places. The boy reached forward in silence to grasp her hands tightly, to reassure them both once again that they were not alone. Had Ven been younger, he might have started to cry. But he had to grow up, and he hadn't shown his negative feelings to his best friends now for a long time. No point in starting now. This time, he had to be strong for Terra and Aqua. They'd done that for him for so long and now, it was the least he could do.

"We'll find him, Aqua. We're gonna get out of here, find him and go home."

There wasn't any less he'd settle for. He looked up, his smile a painful expression to bear.

"I'll get stronger and help you fix everything, too. I owe Master Eraqus, after how I talked to him the last time I was home."

It's to keep me imprisoned here, isn't it?! Ven tightened his grip on her hands.

He had a lot to make up for, he thought as he fought the yawning chasm of despair that was trying to gnaw at the edges of his heart. Terra... possessed. Aqua, lost. What's happened to us? I need to help. I want to sit under the same stars, all three of us again.

Eventually, he blinked, and turned his head away for awhile.