"What's over there?" Y asked standing on her tiptoes as if that would help her see a farther distance. Ven stood beside her and was trying to find out what direction she was looking in. After they had cleared the world of what Unversed problem they could find Y had insisted on them taking the time to explore and have fun. They didn't have much time for that anymore, with the threat of Vanitas and whatever X was up to. Ven wasn't sure it was the best thing for them to do, but when he saw Y smiling, he couldn't say no to her.

"I think that's just a race track," Ven said. It was hard to tell from so far away, but he thought he could see the dirt packed down in what looked like a road. Y returned to standing flat on her feet, her lips puckering up into a frown.

"Huh, boring," Y said, crossing her arms to accent the pout. Ven held in a chuckle as she looked around them. The town was decorated for the Dream Festival, streamers across every light post and between buildings. Balloons were a frequent enough occurrence Ven had stopped paying attention to them, just like he had stopped noticing the confetti on his shoes. "I wonder what else there is in this town." Y said.

"I dunno," Ven said shrugging. "But it's a festival, so there has to be something right?"

"Yeah," Y agreed. She bit down on her bottom lip looking around. Ven held back a smile seeing the way her eyes reflected the light. He could almost see the steamers in her eyes. "I wonder if there's a maze. In my world whenever we do a festival there's always some kind of maze."

"Actually, I think I saw something about a maze back over there. We can go check it out if you want," Ven suggested, pointing back over his shoulder. He hadn't liked the idea of a maze all that much. No clue where to turn and trapped with no way of knowing the way out. But if Y thought it was worth it, he could always try it out.

"Yeah! Mazes are the best!" Y said. She jumped up and grabbed Ven's wrist tightly, all but dragging him in the direction he had pointed. Ven laughed watching the blonde girl in front of him.

Sometimes he didn't understand how she could make him forget all that was around him. The worry for Terra, the fear Aqua would find them and send them home. The terror that Vanitas would hold true to his threats. But then she grabbed his hand, and she smiled and he felt so warm. It was like she radiated the light that could cut through all the darkness. Without her, maybe he would have given into Vanitas. 

Y looked at him over her shoulder. Her head tilted to the side for a moment, a quizzical expression appearing. She didn't have to say anything for Ven to know what she was asking. He simply smiled, letting his fingers intertwine with hers. Her hand was warm like it always was. Radiating the warmth that spread from Ven's fingers to his chest.

Without her, he was sure things would be much different. He couldn't think of anyone better to share this adventure with. It was just like they had always talked about as kids. When they had first met. Her laughter and giggles filling the room as she made up extravagant stories, and Ven watching with the biggest smile. She made the lonely feeling go away, even if just a little bit.

Y let go of his hand as they reached the maze. Ven pouted, his eyes glancing at his companion. His pout was replaced when he saw the way she was bouncing on her toes, her arms pulled tightly to her chest as she read the board in front of her in an exaggerated announcer voice.

"Disney Town's Hedge Maze! Work you're way through the maze to find the center! If you can find the exact center, a surprise awaits you!" She turned to Ven, a wide smile as she grabbed his wrist again. "This is going to be so much fun! C'mon Ven!"

She jerked him forward, pulling him off balance. He barely had time to steady himself before he crashed into her.

"Whoa! Slow down!" Ven said through his own laughs. Y pouted, her doe eyes growing wide as she looked at him.

"But Veeenn," Y said, her voice going up an octave. "Mazes are fun. I haven't gotten to go through one since I was like, eleven." Her grip on his wrist slackened slightly, but she didn't let go of him. 

"You used to do them a lot, didn't you?" he asked.

"Yeah. We had a festival every year, twice a year actually." She smiled softly as she looked ahead.  "Once on the winter solstice and once on the summer solstice. Me and X would always get dragged into it somehow. And every time we would always go through the maze together racing a set of our friends. We always won. X was great at navigating."

Her smile had turned painful, her eyes glossed over as she took the lead in the maze. She paused at the first split in the path. Ven forced himself to smile, taking her hand in his own again. She smiled at him briefly before looking down, her smile gone.

"What about you?" Ven asked. He knew where her mind was. He didn't have to ask.

"I was good at distracting our enemies," Y answered, turning to look at Ven again.

"Distracting your enemies?"

"I yelled mean things to get them angry," Y explained. "Also, called out random directions occasionally." She chuckled a little to herself, her hand coming up to cover her mouth. Ven smiled, chuckling himself.

"And it worked?" he asked.

"Surprisingly, yes," Y said.

Ven let her fall back in her thoughts as they made their way through the maze. He wasn't sure how she was picking their paths. She would pause at every fork in the road and look both ways. As far as he could see they were never different. But Y always nodded to herself and picked one with purpose. He was amazed, the smile stuck to his face only growing the longer he watched her. A series of notes escaped from her lips every so often. Happy notes that filled the air and made Ven's heart skip a few beats. 

Y found the center of the maze before long. It was marked with a fountain that was familiar to Ven. Water flowed easily from the center, overflowing from the first sort of level down to the one at ground level. The water shimmered in the light and for a moment Ven couldn't move. It was like it was calling him home to a time he couldn't remember.

Y let go of his hand, taking a few steps toward the fountain. Ven watched as she moved almost in a trance. She reached forward, her hand reaching through the sheets of water that fell. She gasped, her eyes lighting up as she smiled.

"Ven, take a look at this," she said, her voice breathless.

"What is it?" Ven asked. Y held her hand out to him soundlessly. He hesitantly stepped forward, letting her take his hand and guide it into the water. He held back a gasp. It was colder than he was expecting it to be. Despite the warm sun beating down on them it was as if it was ice water.

For a moment Ven wasn't sure what was so important. The clear water was reflecting back the image of he and Y, each touching the water. The reflection shifted, changing into a scene he knew well. The night he and Y had stayed in the library exchanging stories. Y had much more to tell, but Ven had plenty of Terra and Aqua before Y had joined them.

The reflection shifted again, this time to a training day with Terra. The first time Ven had won, even if it had only been by chance. He could hear Terra's laugh as he ruffled Ven's hair. 

Ven watched in awe as the images kept changing, each moment making his heart fill more and more. His cheeks hurt from smiling, seeing his days with Aqua on the cliffs or on the training field learning magic. The days sparring with Terra and laughing in the halls as they walked from classes to their rooms. Of pranks pulled with Y, laughter echoing down corridors. Of moments with the Master, praising how far he had come.

His smile almost dropped when he saw the star-filled sky, streaks of light as meteors crossed the inky blackness. Y was laying on the grass next to him, her lips moving with a story. The story she had told him their last night together under the stars before this began. A story of twins. Just like her and her brother. Only that brother would have died for his sister.

Ven glanced over at Y, she had pulled her hand back from the water. He followed her lead, watching her movements. He really didn't know where he would be without her. And all that had happened. It must have weighed heavily on her heart every time X acted out.

Ven smiled softly. Y smiled in turn, but it dropped as quickly as she had forced. 

"Hey, what's wrong?" Ven asked, moving closer to her. He could see the way the spray of the fountain had clung to her eyelashes. He hadn't realized they were that close. It didn't seem they were that close at all, despite him feeling the warmth of her skin.

"I don't want everything to fall apart," she said. She looked up, her brown eyes shimmering. Ven wasn't sure if her eyes were reflecting the fountain or if they were filled with tears. He hoped for the first. "Aqua and Terra, they've changed a lot. What if, what if we end up fighting really bad?"

"Hey, that's not going to happen. I promise," Ven said. He brushed her hair back from her face, placing the loose strands behind her ear. He smiled down at her, his eyes searching hers.

She smiled at him sweetly, the pained expression vanishing without a trace. She gently leaned forward, placing a soft kiss on Ven's cheek.

Ven almost jumped back, his hand slowly raising to his cheek. It felt warm. He tried his best to fight the ridiculous grin that was spreading on his face. Y giggled, hiding the bottom of her face behind her silver sleeve.

"Thanks, Ven."

"Uh, yeah," Ven said. He stared at Y for a moment. She had always been pretty, blonde hair that looked like rays of sunshine. Brown eyes that looked like melted chocolate, filled with the same sweetness too. But he had never really noticed the way her eyelashes curled, or how her hair fell in her face no matter what she did to it. Or how soft her lips looked.

Ven hadn't realized he had moved until he felt soft lips against his own. Y let out a soft gasp, but she didn't stop him. He pulled back quickly feeling his face heat up as he looked away, missing the blush that was erupting across Y's cheeks.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have-"

The words were barely out when he felt Y's hand on his cheek and her lips on his again. His mind went blank as she moved her lips with his own. This kiss lasted only a fraction of a second longer than the first. Not long enough for Ven to really react. But it was enough that his heart was racing as he looked down at Y in a daze.

"Don't apologize," Y said out of breath. She smiled as she turned away, trying to hide the pink that covered her cheeks. "Come on, we should probably get out of here."

She held out her hand, smiling over her shoulder at Ven. "You comin'?"

Ven smiled, taking her hand and intertwining their fingers again.

"Yeah."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~*<3*~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: This has been in my drafts for so long you guys have no idea. Since I was halfway done with Light's Keeper literally years ago. I really need to stop procrastinating on these short stories. Also, definitely not great at kiss scenes, my aromantic self has no clue what's going on.