he promised to not fall asleep, though pooh can understand the exhaust from being the biggest hero across the world. the weight above him is slightly uncomfortable, though pooh doesn't bare to move, allowing his best friend to snooze comfortably. with both paws continuing to hold the single gloved hand of the brunet, he too, closes his eyes to slumber. ❝ goodnight, sora. ❞ his voice matches a whisper. ❝ i hope you have the sweetest of dreams ... ❞ 🐻💤
he’d come back to visit, as soon as he was able to. well … as soon as he could, anyway. it’d taken some time … with — with everything that’d happened, but he was back. and maybe — maybe he’d taken a little too much time to come back and visit pooh, but … he’d been a little scared. scared that he’d find himself missing on the cover of pooh’s book again. scared that this time — maybe he wouldn’t be able to get back. that his connection with pooh would be gone, not just growing fainter, and that he wouldn’t have even known it.
but that wasn’t true. sora knew that. every time he would worry, he’d close his eyes, hand on his chest, and he’d look deep inside his heart … and still felt pooh there. that bond hadn’t been broken, hadn’t disappeared while he was gone. nothing so terrible had happened to him, he hadn’t changed so much that he’d lost his friend.
but he couldn’t shake the feeling that … that it wouldn’t last forever. that one day, he’d have to leave, and he wouldn’t ever be able to come back.
but today hadn’t been that day. and sora —- sora had been so glad. so happy he’d decided to visit merlin, and ask about pooh bear. falling into the book felt like falling back home, and even though there weren’t any islands or oceans or palm trees, his friends were still here. there were hunny bees and hunny pots and eeyore to keep company, rabbit to help garden, tigger to bounce with, roo and lumpy to stomp along, and pooh to sit with. 100 acre wood was just as much home as destiny islands were.
and so maybe in the face of that, in the relief and peace he found with the animals and their homey little world where finding pooh his hunny was the most concerning thing, he was a little hesitant to leave, but could you blame him? he was drawing his time out here as long as he could, and when he started getting sleepy he didn’t fight it as much as he should have, didn’t say his goodbyes to go back to his own world.
because pooh was one of his best friends. and maybe one day, he’d have to say goodbye, but as long as he could, he’d keep coming back here. and when he couldn’t anymore, he’d still have this place, have pooh, in his heart. not just a memory. a connection, just as deep and real even if he couldn’t visit in person anymore. pooh would always be with him where it mattered most.
so it’s easy to fall asleep, even when he promised he wouldn’t. the woods are quiet this time of night and he’s surrounded by near and dear friends. they’ll always be there for him, but this time it’s special. it’s comforting.
and it’s one of the best nights sleep sora ends up getting in a long, long time.
