Set in the Land of Departure.

Important Note!
This story is entitled for WishingDreamer5.
And I hope she never changes her Pen Name after this. Hahaha!
I have often said I can never thank her enough.
So I think this is as close to 'enough' as I could possibly get.

I also borrowed that quote there from my favorite Disney song, A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes.
That would be a song from Cinderella, and I love it. Especially the DCCoS Version.

DISCLAIMER [I do not own Kingdom Hearts or that Quote below the Title] DISCLAIMER

WISHING DREAMER

A dream is a wish you make with your heart.

Terra was starting to tire; Ven could tell, and he would use that to his advantage. He sidestepped quickly, avoiding a rather forceful strike from Terra. The older apprentice's Keyblade crashed through empty air and struck the ground, missing its intended target. Ventus, having dodged the attack, was already swinging his Keyblade swiftly and it caught the brunette's side.

Terra staggered slightly but was quick to recover, causing rocks to rise in jagged spikes from the ground right in the younger apprentice's direction. Ven spun out of the way, retaliating with bursts of wind from his Keyblade.

Terra dodged these and dashed at Ven. Knowing that a head-on attack from Terra would be too difficult for him to block, Ventus leapt back repeatedly, casting more Aero spells as he did. One of them caught Terra and he skidded back a little. Ven took his chance, using wind to hastily propel himself forward. And with his Keyblade held ready, he managed to press its shaft close against Terra's throat, thereby winning their sparring match.

Grinning, he exclaimed, "Ha! I got you!"

"Yeah, yeah," Terra grumbled, pushing Ven off.

The younger boy dismissed his Keyblade, and fist-pumped the air. "Winner!" he yelled excitedly, doing a little victory dance.

Terra crossed his arms over his chest. "Okay, you win. For the first and last time," he said.

Ven puffed up his cheeks. "This isn't going to be the last time!"

Smirking, Terra pulled Ven into a choke-hold and dug his knuckles into the already-messy blonde spikes crowning the boy's head. "This is so going to be the last time!"

After a bit of a struggle, Ven finally managed to break free, punching Terra lightly in slight annoyance. "I'll show you!"

Nearby, they heard a soft laugh, and they both looked up. Ven grinned widely, seeing that Aqua was standing at the sidelines.

"Aqua!" he said in an excited tone. He was obviously very delighted to see her. "Were you watching? I beat Terra! I really, really beat him! Did you see? Did you see me win?"

She smiled brightly, amused that they did not even notice her presence until just now. "Yes, Ven, I saw," she answered, approaching them. "Congratulations." She ran her fingers tenderly through his hair, differently from the way she usually did. "I'm very impressed," she said softly, her eyes shining.

And Ven beamed brighter than sunlight at the thought that he impressed her. "Really?" he asked.

Aqua nodded, laughing a little. "Really."

"He won one time and you give him that? When are you ever going to tell me that you're impressed?" Terra asked.

Aqua raised an eyebrow at him. "Why, Terra… Are you jealous?" she teased.

The older boy blushed a little. "No, of course not! I… I'm just…"

The soft peals of her laughter made his blush deepen. And Ven narrowed his eyes at Terra, smirking. "Your face is red."

Terra sighed, half-annoyed and half-amused. "I am so not sticking around for this," he mumbled, leaving the two of them laughing at his expense.

When he was gone and their laughter had died down, Aqua turned to Ven. "So, how would you like to celebrate? What do you want to do?"

"Hmm," Ven murmured with his hand on his chin. "I'm not sure."

Smiling warmly, she took his hand. "Well, the weather is nice, and the skies are clear. Why don't we just sit at the Summit and spend the rest of the afternoon together?"

"Just you and me?"

Her smile suddenly turned shy, and the light in her eyes softened. "Yes…"

And Ven had a difficult time getting his heartbeat to steady as they walked up the path leading to the Summit. He wondered if she could hear the pounding of his heart, because it was as loud as thunder in his ears. He wondered if she could feel the rush of his pulse, because it was like endless tidal waves running down to the very tips of his fingers. And Aqua did not let go of his hand the entire time, nor did that shyness fade from her expression.

The short walk to the Summit seemed to take forever, but they finally made it. Ven reluctantly let her hand go – that action slowing his heart rate to a more sensible pace – and he sat down on the bench facing the castle in the distance. Instead of sitting beside him, though, Aqua chose to sit on the ground in front of him, right between his feet, with his knees on either side of her.

They were silent for a moment, neither one knowing what to say. But the silence was comfortable - relaxing, even. It seemed as though they had become part of a perfect picture; a painting of a calm, lazy afternoon, with a few birds soaring and singing overhead, with the grass swaying in the whispering wind, and the entire land aglow caressed by sunlight.

Ventus looked down at Aqua, wondering where her gaze was, wondering what sort of expression her lovely face held now. He wanted to run his fingers through her hair, or maybe rest his hands on her shoulders, or… Something, anything… He just wanted to touch her.

He swallowed hard and opened his mouth to speak, when Aqua said, "Ventus… Do you like being with me?"

Ven blinked. "Of course I do, Aqua!" he said, making sure that the grin on his face was clear in the tone of his voice.

"Honest?"

"Honest!"

She sighed, sounding relieved.

"What's wrong, Aqua?" he asked her.

"Nothing, I just… I really like being with you, too, Ven," she said in what was almost a whisper, as if she wasn't quite sure if she wanted him to know that.

Ven felt his face grow warm and was grateful for a moment that Aqua was not seated beside him. It would be so awkward to let her see him blushing like this. He cleared his throat a little bit. "Then we should do this more."

She laughed a little. "It isn't like we can. You and Terra spend all day sparring. There isn't any time for this."

He scoffed, but he knew she was right. They did spar all day, every day, outside their usual training schedules. And Ven would keep asking for a rematch because he never wins. Until today, that is. "I'll get stronger, Aqua," he said, like a promise. "So I can beat Terra all the time and then we can do this after."

Her head bowed slightly and he could imagine her lips curved into that soft, shy smile with the slightest of blushes coloring her cheeks. "I'd like that, Ven."

And his heart soared, hearing that timid happiness in her voice. Then she tenderly touched his knee with one hand, turning her head to one side so that she was facing him slightly. "Ven…"

"Yeah…?" he asked, leaning forward.

She tilted her head up so that her lips were very close to his ear…

Aqua slowly opened the door and chuckled softly, seeing that Ventus was still fast asleep. She walked quietly into his room and stood by his bedside.

"Ven…" she whispered, bringing her lips very close to his ear. "Time to wake up, little sleepyhead…"

His eyelids fluttered open, accompanied by a soft half-sigh, half-groan from his lips. Aqua leaned back, letting him sit up in bed. She smiled; he was so much easier to wake than Terra, who would always complain.

"Good morning," she greeted the younger apprentice.

Ven ruffled his hair with his fingers, fluffing it off of its slightly flattened state and bringing it back to its natural spikiness. "It's morning already?" he asked, sounding a little disappointed.

"Yes," she answered, her smile fading at his tone. "Is something wrong?"

Ven looked out the window with downturned lips. "I was having a good dream."

"Oh," Aqua said, sitting on the edge of his bed. "A very good dream?"

He looked at her. "Yeah…"

"Care to share it with me?"

He hesitated. How weird would it be to tell Aqua that he was dreaming of her? And it was not just any dream, he was dreaming of them alone together, talking about… About…

"Ven?" she asked, touching his forehead. "Are you feeling alright? Your face is flushed."

He managed a grin. "I'm fine."

"So, would you like to tell me about your dream?"

He paused, before finally saying, "I won against Terra." Technically, he did dream about that.

Aqua smiled at him. "I see," she said. "No wonder you sounded so disappointed when you woke up; realizing that was just a dream."

Ven looked away from her, feeling a whole new blush creep onto his cheeks; she had heard the disappointment in his voice. Apparently, it had been a very wise move not to have told her his entire dream.

"You know," she said, "they say that a dream is a wish your heart makes. The things you dream about are things you wish could be real. things that you wish would happen."

"Is that true?" he asked her, the blush growing out of control. If it was true, then that means… That means Ven was wishing…

"I believe it is," she said, laughing a little because of his reddened face. "Ven, you don't have to be ashamed of your dream. There is nothing wrong with wishing you would win against Terra."

And Ven would have agreed. There really was nothing wrong with wishing he would win against Terra. But what of the other, more important half of his dream? Wasn't there something wrong about wishing that he and Aqua would...

She stood up, ruffling his hair affectionately. "And for what it's worth, I'm sure you'll be able to beat him, in time. You're getting stronger each and every day. You've progressed so much that I'm actually very impressed."

He looked up at her, surprised by her choice of words. "You are?"

"Yes," she said, her voice honest.

But though her faith in him filled him with a sliver of happiness, he could not shake the feeling that the other half of his dream was just… Too impossible. "But it was just a dream, Aqua," he said. "And not all wishes come true."

"Not all wishes," she agreed. "But some do. The thing about dreams, Ven, is that you need to believe in them."

He frowned a little. "How is believing going to make it come true?"

She tenderly touched his cheek. "Believing is just the first step, and it's the hardest to do. But when you have enough faith – a strong enough foundation – then you can start building up on it. So, believe, Ven, and never give up. Okay?"

Ven smiled a little. "Okay…"

She turned around to leave, heading to the door. But just before she left, she faced him again. "By the way, I made you waffles for breakfast.

His smile brightened. "Really?"

Laughing softly, she nodded. "I had a feeling you might need something to help brighten your morning. So hurry up, or Terra will get to them first."

She left him, and he sat alone in his room for a while. Aqua said to believe; that was the first step.

He shut his eyes, trying to pull the remnants of his dream back together. He tried to recall the charming peals of her laughter, and that hint of shyness in her voice. He thought about the sunlight highlighting the strands of her soft blue hair and adding warmth and color to her creamy skin. He imagined her sitting with him, telling him that she liked being with him, and he thought of what he told her, what he promised…

"I want to be with you, Aqua," he whispered softly, opening his eyes. And with that, he leapt hurriedly off the bed, dashed out of his room, and sped down the hallway. He skidded around a corner and caught sight of Aqua.

'Aqua!" he called, running up to her.

She turned around to face him, an amused smirk on her lips at seeing that he was still dressed in the shirt and shorts he wears to bed. "Where's the fire, Ven?" she asked, laughing a bit.

"Could you wait for me?" he asked. "I'll get dressed really quickly, I swear. I just want us to go have breakfast together. Okay?"

She blinked, slowly, her cerulean eyes shining thoughtfully. "Sure, Ven."

And just like in his dream, he had this urge to hold her. This time, though, he acted on it; he would make it a reality. So he slipped his fingers right between hers, smiling up at her. Aqua seemed a little surprised at the way he held her hand but said nothing and they made their way back down the hallway to his room.

Ven did not let go of her hand as they walked. And somewhere along the way, he felt her fingers – ever so slightly – tighten around his.

END

Thank You

~Alacquiene~