Part two! Word 85 – she ;)

His hand held hers to his heart. "You brought it back for me, when I was lost in a place I couldn't escape alone. I know you'll always take care of it."

Sleep

Hers

He awoke with a gasp, his stomach lurching and his heart jerking painfully in his chest. The nightmare had been so real. It wasn't like all the bad dreams he'd had since the Heartless stole his world. Now he knew what the darkness was really like and it had seeped into his mind, tainting his sleep unbearably. He was about to get up when he saw her. For a moment his mind lingered in limbo, unable to tell him how she'd come to be there.

Keyblade.

Hearts.

Darkness.

Light.

Her.

He shivered under his blanket, the countless what-ifs haunting him. What if he had been left in that darkness? Would he even know who he was any more? To lose everything that made him the person he was filled him with dread. To be nothing but an empty shell, unable to feel anything. The terror tried to freeze him.

She was there.

Warmth from her hand pulled him back to the moment, to reality, and he realised she was still anchoring him there. His hand tightened around hers and he carefully slid closer to her until he could feel the heat of her body. It stilled his shivering and comforted him, a slow and sleepy happiness spreading through him. Finally they were together again. He smiled brightly, the joy cheering him up endlessly. They hadn't shared a room since the time she'd stayed over when her parents had gone away on some sort of business trip. It had all been going well. They'd eaten dinner, done homework as per parental directives and later challenged each other to a drawing competition (which she had won) and hide-and-seek (which he always triumphed in). Night had come swiftly and they had eagerly clambered into their beds, thoroughly exhausted. He'd been sleeping when her urgent shaking and quiet crying woke him up. Embarrassed, because they were both twelve and therefore mature, she admitted the storm was scaring her, the angry wind tearing around his small home and the rain lashing ferociously against his bedroom window. She had curled up next to him and he'd held her so she could feel safe enough to sleep. He'd felt like her protector, like he was the only one who could stand up to the storm and make it stop frightening her.

"But sometimes you did that for me."

Once, when the two of them had been playing alone on their island, he'd been climbing up a tree to get a coconut. It hadn't ended well. He lost his grip because little arms weren't good for holding onto coconuts and climbing down trees. He'd crashed into the ground at an awkward angle and broken his arm. Distraught with pain and shock, he'd refused to move. But she hadn't let him have his own way. She had helped him, ordered him, comforted him and dragged him onto a boat and rowed him back to the main island. When he sat in the doctors she hadn't left his side, letting him squeeze her hand tight while the doctor made a splint for his broken limb. She had talked to him to keep his mind off the pain, distracting him with stories and jokes and plans for how to get a coconut out a tree without breaking bones (she'd been the one to figure out hitting the tree hard enough would probably work). Through his tears he'd managed to smile and her smile made his brighter.

She'd always been his light. She had always been the one to bring him calmness, happiness, compassion, comfort… whatever he'd needed (and yes, even the more-than-occasional rebuke). In her sleeping presence he could feel the twisting nightmares ebbing away.

"You always bring me back."

It was strange, thinking they'd never really been apart. He laughed a little. At least all those weird visions of her hadn't been random hallucinations. It was comforting to know it had been her all along rather than him losing his mind.

"But you know I heard a guy at school say girls were meant to drive us crazy." He paused for a thought. "Um, but it's okay. I didn't believe him. You never annoyed me." He made a face. "This isn't coming out right." He yawned and rubbed his eyes, blinking heavily before making his eyes open wide. "I'm sorry. I bet if you were awake you'd be telling me to get on with it. So I will." His hand held hers to his heart. "You brought it back for me, when I was lost in a place I couldn't escape from alone. I know you'll always take care of it."

She lifted her head and muttered something, her words not making any sense. He managed a tired grin. "I hope you aren't disagreeing with me. Oh are you telling me you can do a better job of taking care of me than I can for you?" He looked away from her, shame building inside him. "I'm sorry it took me so long. I'm sorry it had to happen at all. I should've done something different back then." He unsuccessfully fought a yawn. "I'm tired. I'm really tired but there's so much I have to say. I need to tell you about everything. I flew! Can you believe it? But that's not the really important stuff. What's important is… is," his jaw cracked with this yawn. "What's important is I never want to lose you again. You're too special to lose. You're my light. If I lost you I'd be lost. When I thought you weren't with me I felt lost a lot, even if I was with my other friends. I always knew the way I felt about you was different but I didn't understand it until you were gone."

The next words were the easiest. "I love you the most." He blushed. It was so exciting to say those words and he couldn't help but laugh. "I think that was the bravest thing I ever did. I guess all I gotta do now is say it when you're awake, right?" He rubbed his eyes with the heel of his hand. "But not right now. I'm tired so I won't wake you up and try to explain it." He felt a flush of nervous excitement rush through him, allaying his tiredness for a moment. "I hope you feel the same. I think you do. I dunno for sure and I'm not gonna ask anyone to tell me 'cause they'd probably laugh at me." At least he felt like laughing at himself. "Anyway, I'm gonna go back to sleep 'kay?"

He pulled his knees up and wriggled closer to her. She slept deeply but his warmth called her closer. Sleepily he wrapped an arm over her and let his head rest upon hers.

"I'll think of a way to tell you."

He let his eyes drift shut.

"I dunno how yet."

He pulled the blanket more comfortably around them.

"But I definitely will. I know I will."

He allowed himself to drift off. After all, he'd been fighting hard for the longest time. The person most special to him was asleep next to him, safe like she should be. There would be no more bad dreams. She'd take care of him and he would always do his best to keep her safe.