Disclaimer: Characters and locations within are the property of Square-Enix and Disney. No suing me 'cause then I wouldn't be able to afford KHII when it eventually gets released in England.

Author's Note: For my fanfic100 challenge – word number eighty-four: He. Word eighty-five will accompany this one shortly :)

Set right after Hollow Bastion in the original game :)

Her hand held his to her heart. "It belongs to you. Don't break it."

Sleep:His

He was sleeping like the dead, still and silent. He'd been wilting ever since Hollow Bastion, the last run to the ship stealing most of his energy. He hadn't even complained when his friends took control of the ship and she was under the impression that usually he made a pretty big deal out of flying. Instead he had simply sat in the back and struggled to keep his eyes open. Maybe her amazement at the view beyond the ship had kept him going. He'd laughed at her plenty, hadn't he?

The minute they arrived in the hotel he had come alive with all the energy he needed to collapse into bed. She suspected he'd been asleep before his head had hit the pillow. She hadn't teased him at all. There wasn't any point anyway. She knew he'd sleep through anything right now. Anyway, maybe she'd never tease him again. She owed him everything, didn't she? So while he'd slipped into oblivion she had calmly removed his boots (marvelling at the lack of stench but remembering that he had an almost magical ability to have odourless feet), slipped his gloves off and tucked a quilt over him. He stayed completely motionless, splayed out on his belly with his head to one side. He was so adorable looking at him made her shy and she blushed, biting her lip as her heart gave a warmer beat. She held her hands to her chest. Her heart, back where it belonged she absently added, was so full of love for him. But at the moment her love was being tugged by fretfulness. She knew he needed sleep to replenish the energy he'd spent. It wasn't every day you ripped your own heart out with a Keyblade. But that didn't stop her wanting him to open his eyes, grin at her and tell her everything was fine. There was no way he was going to do that. He was so, so calm. She leaned over him, red hair falling over her face as she held her hand under his nose. Yes, of course he was breathing. She could see his chest rising and falling. Still, didn't hurt to make sure.

"This time you can be a lazy bum," she whispered, her breath blowing a few strands of brown hair off his cheek.

And yet… she bit her lip. He looked a little pale. His body was lifeless. Even his breathing barely made him move. She remembered how they'd stayed at each other's houses when they were little and she'd be left awake half the night because his constant twisting and turning disturbed her. Sometimes her frustration at being kept awake drove her to tears. Other times she had prodded him until he woke up. Now even though he didn't budge she still couldn't sleep. She sat on the edge of his bed, recognising her own tiredness. She had to stay awake though, and make sure he'd be okay.

She laid down anyway, her body resting precariously on the bed's edge. It was uncomfortable enough to keep her alert. She promised herself her eyes would remain open.

"It's the least I can do."

She remembered the time they had gotten stuck in the Secret Place during a storm. Back then he'd promised to take care of her. As they'd huddled together for warmth and comfort (because she knew he was just as scared as she was) she'd told him she'd take care of him one day too.

Now, far from home on a yet another world she smiled at the memories, glad that she was able to do something as simple as remember. She owed it to him. How could she ever repay him?

Easy. She'd say thank you.

She reached under the blanket and slipped her hand around his. She drew in a nervous breath. She trembled as she breathed out and smiled at his sleeping face. "I know you definitely won't remember me saying any of this. And I'm glad because I'm a little scared and I don't know if I'll say it right so this is practise okay? If you remember anything I say I'll totally make you regret it!" She paused. Great, no response at all – not even so much as a flicker of his eyelids. Feeling braver she continued. "I've liked you ever since I first met you. You were always the one who'd make me smile and if you ever did something to make me sad you'd always say sorry because you hated it when I cried. Remember the time you took me up to the top of the waterfall and I fell? I only had a few bruises but you were so upset because you thought it was your fault. Well, I'm telling you now it wasn't… Oh but you can't hear me so you still won't believe me. Never mind. What am I saying?" She pouted at herself for going off topic. "What I mean is, we've both got other friends but to me you're the most special. The way I love you is different to everyone else. I don't know how else to explain it. I just knew that I loved you especially, even though I didn't think you felt the same."

He stirred suddenly, breathing out heavily while his free arm reaching up to rest on the pillow. She paused, eyes wide and cheeks burning with nervous embarrassment. Her body tensed, ready to leap from the bed if necessary. She needn't have worried. He wasn't any more awake than when she'd started.

She started speaking again, her voice quieter this time. "When I saw you fading away, when I realised what you'd done… I've never been that scared. I didn't want you to be gone. I couldn't let you be gone. Before today I never knew anyone loved me that much. And that was when I knew." Her hand held his to her heart. "It belongs to you. Don't break it."

She breathed out. She didn't know how she'd ever tell him that properly. Maybe there was another way?

In her pocket was the lucky charm she'd made on Destiny Islands before it had been destroyed. She knew she'd never be able to actually say the things she'd just told him when he was awake and able to respond. But she wanted him to know how thankful she was. Maybe, somehow, he'd figure out how she felt by himself. Maybe he already knew. So if she gave the star-shaped charm to him hopefully he'd understand.

"But you were always a little slow, weren't you?"

Sighing, as if in complaint, he pulled his hand free from her hold and rubbed it over his eyes. Itch assailed his hand stretched out again, fingers groping to find the thing they had let go. She held it once again and this time he returned her squeeze, albeit unconsciously. It didn't matter to her. She was happy. Yawning a little she settled herself a little more comfortably.

After all, it wasn't every day your heart returned to its body.

Making sure he was going to be okay (she still couldn't resist checking to make sure he was breathing even though he'd moved… she wondered vaguely what made her so paranoid) she allowed her eyes to drift shut.

To Be Concluded