Ah, I did this in four hours yesterday. Didn't stop until I was satisfied with it and now I'm posting it.

Enjoy~

I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney or Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.

I was flying, soaring through clouds and passing seagulls, the wind whipping my hair back. The sun was warm on my skin and the only thing beneath me was an endless sea, waving up at me. I grinned and dove down, stopping above the water's surface and letting my fingers run through the sea, allowing myself to be sprayed with salt water.

I looked down into the clear water and watched as I passed coral reefs and all sorts of sea creatures, keeping my fingers in the water. I had never felt so free and relaxed, enjoying the lovely day without a care.

Suddenly, the weather took a turn, the clouds changing from white to black, the sky going dark. I frowned, glancing up and stared as the sun itself curved in on itself, becoming a black hole. My heart jumped into my throat.

"Hayner…there you are."

I looked back down to see the water had become murky and glassy, completely still. My face reflected back at me, showing my confusion and fear as I flew. My mirror image changed without warning, transforming into a blackened shadow of me, glaring at me with yellow eyes. The image moved of its' own accord, grabbing my fingers that were still skimming the water. I was able to let out a gasp before it proceeded to drag me down into the water, my body seizing up at the cold that enveloped me.

"You always did like to run."

I forced my limbs to move, kicking and struggling as best I could in the heavy waters. It was getting darker the further he dragged me down, limiting my vision the longer I stayed. My eyes and lungs burned, but the cold was making it harder for me to move. It was so cold…

"Hayner!"

I paused in my struggling to look around, squinting within the dark sea to find the source of the voice. But the question was: was this person friend or foe? At this point, I would take my chances.

"I'm over here! Hurry!"

How could I speak underwater without any trouble? Was I really underwater anymore? It felt like I was. The voice responded, sounding closer.

"Hayner!"

"Get over here!" I screamed, now attempting to pry off the black hand that still held me. "Hurry up!"

"Hayner!"

Fearful and irritated, I yanked my wrist away from the disturbing lookalike and began to swim upward, hoping I wasn't too far from the surface. The voice didn't call out again, leaving me with nothing but silence.

It was a good while of swimming before I realized I wasn't getting anywhere. Yes, I seemed to have outswam the shadow Hayner, but I had been swimming for a while with no success. The waters hadn't changed from their dark state and no sky could be seen overhead. Where was I?

"There's my little pawn." a deep voice chuckled.

Out of nowhere thousands upon thousands of clawed hands appeared around me, reaching out for me. I froze in fear and shielded my face as a scream erupted from my throat.

My body jolted me awake, startling the little bunny that had been asleep above my head. Heart pounding and body shaking, I sat up and looked around. The room was cast in a dim light, revealing Snow snuggled up in the big bed, still fast asleep and surrounded by three strangers no bigger tha-

"He's awake! Get him!"

I groaned in pain as four individual weights jumped on top of me, shoving me down. Instincts kicked in as I began to fight back, trying to shove off one weight that was sitting on my arm while moving around in moves of getting rid of two more weights keeping my legs pinned to the bed.

"Get…off!" I growled.

"Seifer, we could use some help here. He's difficult."

"And a lot stronger than he looks."

"Move aside then."

I was able to breathe for a second before a tall figure loomed over my head, holding what looked to be a shovel. I automatically threw a punch and landed it on his chin, causing him to stumble back. Before anyone else could move to stop me, I sprang from the bed and hopped over to where Snow was now stirring, shoving away the short men (bearded boys?) away from her.

"Back off! Don't you dare touch her!"

"What's going on, Hayner?" Snow asked, obviously frightened.

"Just stay put. These guys are trying to kill us."

"Kill us?!" Snow cried. "Oh no!"

One of the short ones stepped forward, his glasses barely perched on his nose. He made sure none of the others had followed behind him and then moved a bit closer to me.

"We're not bandits! We thought you were monsters in our house!"

I glared at each one in turn, feeling uneasy at the pickaxes and shovels they held. Snow moved to stand beside me, her brow furrowed as she took in the eight strangers. In only a few seconds, her face lifted into a bright smile.

"Why, you aren't children at all! You're little men!" She curtsied, ever the one to remember manners first. "How do you do?"

The men all exchanged looks of confusion and shock before Snow pouted, repeating the greeting. One of them folded his arms over his chest and grumbled out,

"How do you do what?"

"Oh, you can talk!" She giggled. "I'm so glad."

"Snow, don't-"

"Oh, Hayner, it's fine. We are the ones who intruded on their property." She put a finger to her lips. "Now then. Don't tell me who you are. Let me guess."

I was taken aback by the situation as every other male was in the room, watching as Snow pointed and began guessing.

"You're Doc." she said, pointing to the one with glasses.

He smiled. "Why yes. Yes! That's true."

She pointed to another who was looking away every few seconds, his hands tangling his beard. His face began to grow red as she pointed to him.

"You're Bashful." she laughed.

"Ohhhh gosh." he muttered, tying his beard into a knot.

"And you?" She pointed to another who was in mid-yawn. "You're Sleepy."

"How'd ya guess?" he asked drowsily.

She stepped forward and clapped her hands. "Oh, what fun! And you…"

Before she could complete the sentence, the one she had pointed to gave a great sneeze, sniffling. She covered her mouth and giggled.

"Oh, you're Sneezy."

All the men, minus the tall one, laughed and were now fully involved in the little game Snow was playing, eager for her to guess their names. She pointed to another who was smiling brightly, still chuckling.

"And you must be…"

"Happy, ma'am!" He pointed to himself. "That's me! And this is Dopey!" He pointed to the one beside him, whose head was bobbing and shaking along in agreement. "He don't talk none."

Snow tilted her head to the side, addressing Dopey. "You mean you can't talk?"

"He don't know!" Happy answered while Dopey shook his head. "He never tried."

Everyone laughed along with Snow and Happy and even I couldn't help but smile slightly. Maybe these guys weren't so bad after all.

"That's too bad." She moved on to the next one, who glared back at her, arms folded. Snow copied the pose. "Ohhhh. You must be Grumpy." she teased in a deep voice.

The men laughed at her playfulness while Grumpy looked furious. Doc agreed while Snow moved to the last man, who had such a stern expression that I nearly wanted to punch him in the face again.

"Which means you must be Seifer."

Seifer didn't say anything and just scoffed, as if simply amused by her child-like behavior. Grumpy immediately stepped in.

"We all know who we are! Ask her who they are!" He yelled at Doc. "What they be doin' here."

Doc puffed out his chest, acting as the leader. "Yeah! What are you and who are you doing-" He tried again. "What are yo-Who are you?"

Snow smiled softly. "Oh, how silly of us. I'm Snow White and this is my dear friend, Hayner."

"Snow White?!"

"The princess?"

Snow nodded. "Yes."

Doc looked a little bashful himself. "Well! My-my-my dear quincess, I mean princess. We, uh, we're honored. Yes, we're uh-"

"Mad as hornets!" Grumpy cut in.

"Mad as hornets!" Doc echoed before realizing what he had just said. "No no, no we're not. We're mad as cornets. No, we're bad as-What was I saying?!"

Grumpy sneered. "Nothin'! Just standin' there sputterin' like a doddlebug!"

Doc glared as Grumpy shoved him. "Who's butterin' like a spoodledug? Who's uh-"

"Aw, shut up!" He got in Doc's face. "Tell 'em both to get out!"

Snow's put her hands together and began to plead. "Please don't send us away. If you do, she'll kill me."

That got everyone's attention, even Seifer and Grumpy. "Kill ya'?!"

"Who will?"

"Yes, who?"

"My stepmother, the Queen!"

"The Queen?!"

"She's wicked."

"She's bad!"

"She's mighty mean."

Grumpy spoke over the others. "She's an old witch! I'm warnin' ya: if the Queen finds them here, she'll swoop down wreck her vengeance on us!"

I took this as an opportunity to speak up. "But she doesn't even know where we are."

Grumpy glared at me. "She don't, eh? She knows everything. She's full of black magic. Darkness. She can even make herself invisible, like a shadow." He was just scaring his fellow men at this point. "Might be in this room right…now."

Seifer glanced around the room suspiciously before settling to lean against the wall, his blue eyes focused on me. My skin crawled at the effect it had, but forced myself to snap to attention and argue with Grumpy.

"She'll never find us here."

"And if you let us stay, I'll keep house for you. And Hayner could help you whenever you need it as an extra hand. And I'll wash, sew and sweep and cook an-"

"Cook?!" shouted seven voices.

Well, weren't they in for a treat?

Doc eagerly leaned forward. "Can you make dapple lumpkins? Uh, lumple dapplings?"

"Apple dumplings." Two of them corrected.

Doc nodded happily. "Uh, yes! Crapple dumpkins."

"Yes!" Snow clapped. "And plum pudding and gooseberry pie-"

"Gooseberry pie?!" Six little men cried out in excitement. "Hooray! They stay!"

Snow laughed while I silently sighed in relief. I had succeeded in giving Snow White a safe haven and now there was no way that vile woman would ever find her here. My friend was safe.

"Oh no!" Snow gasped, running from the room.

The seven men followed after her curiously, but I stayed in the room with Seifer, who hadn't moved from his spot. We stared each other down for a few tense moments before I dared myself to speak, ignoring the noise that was going on downstairs.

"You're not exactly tiny like the rest of them."

"No, but you certainly are." He smirked. "Maybe you're a cousin."

I bristled at the clear insult. "You're awfully cocky for someone who got punched in the face."

He touched the spot and sneered. "A lucky shot, I promise you."

With that said, he left the room and stomped downstairs, leaving me alone.

"Hayner! Could you come down here and wash your hands with everyone else? Supper is almost ready!"

I groaned as I exited the bedroom. "Seriously, Snow?"

"Come on now, don't make me have to do what I did with the rest." she warned.

I sighed exasperatedly. "Yeah, I know. I don't wash up, I don't get anything. I'm going."

She turned back to the soup while I followed the sound of angry voices from outside, shouting and laughing. As I came out, I stared at the scene before me. Grumpy was being held down in a log basin, his fellow men scrubbing him down. Seifer was leaned against a barrel, watching in clear amusement.

What an odd group.

I waited until they had all cleaned up and gone back inside, then stepped up to the basin and looked into it. My reflection stared back and a shiver ran down my spine. I thrust my hands into the water and quickly cleaned up, trying to pay no attention to the one man that hadn't gone inside yet, watching me carefully. Once I had finished, I stood there, dripping wet.

"Aren't going to wash up?" I asked without looking behind me. "Snow is much more stubborn than you think. She's got quite a spirit."

"I believe it." He moved to stand beside me, dipping his hands into the basin. "I was just waiting in line, dwarf."

"Why you little-"

"Boys! Supper!" Snow White called.

I glared at Seifer for a second longer before turning on my heel and storming back inside. My stomach growled as a delicious scent caught my nose, bringing me out of my temper. Snow smiled and held out a steaming bowl, which I took before looking to find a seat. I finally just settled on a barrel, cradling the bowl in one hand and eating with the other.

Seifer came in and took the bowl Snow handed him – even saying thank you! – before going over to the barrel I was sitting at. I frowned up at him, hating the fact that he was so tall.

"What?" I snapped.

"You're sitting in my seat. I sit there."

"Then where do I sit?"

"You could sit in his lap." Doc offered, getting everyone to howl with laughter.

My face went red at the suggestion, but said nothing as I hopped off and moved to sit on the stairs. I noticed even Snow had laughed at the joke, her hand covering her giggles. What a friend, right?

"Damn giant and his stupid…ugh, I wish I could punch him again."

Dinner finished with full stomachs and (mostly) happy faces before Doc proclaimed a little party to celebrate their two guests. Snow was overjoyed at the little gesture and agreed and the party was in swing in no time.

The dwarves brought out instruments and music started up. Dopey and Happy began to dance while Seifer and Snow sat and watched. Even Grumpy was sitting at the piano, his fingers flying. I stood and watched at a distance, nodding my head along.

Happy then stepped forward and began to sing, making Snow laugh and clap along to the beat, everyone enjoying themselves.

I smiled when Bashful went up and kept getting tongue-tied in front of the princess, which angered Grumpy. The shy guy finally started his verse and Snow giggled. Each stepped up and sang (minus Dopey, Grumpy and Seifer), giving my friend such a bright expression that I hadn't seen in a while. It was comforting, knowing she was at ease and safe here.

Snow finally joined in the song and belted out a high note, which seemed to give the men more energy as they played and danced. Doc was the one to invite her up from her seat and join her in a little dance, which she accepted and gracefully moved. I was shocked when Seifer, of all people, moved in and held out his hand to her. She looked surprised before she curtsied and put her hand in his, the two dancing innocently. The sight still made my blood boil.

I crossed my arms over my chest and didn't smile the rest of the night, watching as Snow and Seifer danced away.

The music finally died down and Snow sat back down, laughing just as hard as the others. Seifer was even smiling now and moved to stand beside her, looking almost like a bodyguard. What was up with him?

"That was fun." Snow giggled.

"Now you do somethin'." Happy said.

Snow blinked at him. "Well…what should I do?"

Sleepy, his eyes barely opened, yawned out, "Tell us a story."

"Yeah!" the rest chimed in.

"A true story."

"A love story."

Snow's eyes shone like stars at the request as she settled in her chair, her hands clasped together in her lap.

"Well…once there was a princess."

"Was the princess…you?" Doc inquired.

She nodded. "And she fell in love."

That caught my interest. Who was she talking about? Certainly not anyone I knew.

"Was it hard to do?"

"Oh, it was very easy. Anyone could see that the prince was charming." Prince? What prince? "The only one for me."

The men all began to settle down and listen closely, their eyes wide.

"Was he, uh, strong and handsome?"

"Was he big and tall?"

I knew it couldn't be Seifer. So who was this mystery man she was going on about? I could easily tell she was speaking the truth, but I didn't know any prince she had come across…unless…unless she was talking about that man from the garden that day. Could it be?

"There's nobody like him…anywhere at all."

"Did he say he loved ya?"

"Did he…steal a kiss?"

"He was so romantic. I could not resist." She was off in her own world now. "Someday my prince will come, someday we'll meet again. And away to his castle we'll go. To be happy forever, I know.

"Someday, when spring is here, we'll find our love anew. And the birds will sing."

As she continued singing, Seifer had somehow managed to come over to me, catching me by surprise. I frowned up at him.

"What do you want now? I was actually having a good time until you came over here."

"I just wanted to say that I intend to keep a close eye on her. This world needs more people like her." He nodded to the stairs. "Are you going to punch me again if I sit next to you, wimp?"

I opened my mouth at the last bit, but finally sighed and rolled my eyes. It wouldn't hurt to try and get along with someone I now was living with. He took my silence as an answer and sat down, then focused on Snow as she was finishing her song.

The clock suddenly chimed a few times, catching everyone's attention. Snow got up, snapping out of her own world.

"Oh my goodness! It's past bedtime. Go right upstairs to bed."

That's when we came across a problem.

"Where is Snow White going to sleep? And myself?" I asked.

Six dwarves looked at each other. Grumpy tsked and stormed up to his bed, turning his back to us and the conversation. The six put their heads together and began to whisper. Doc finally brought his head up, looking to Seifer.

"Would you mind the princess sleeping in your bed, Seifer?"

The man shrugged. "Just as long as he doesn't." he replied, pointing a finger at me.

I frowned. "Not like I wanted to, you ass."

He raised an eyebrow. "Says the one that was glaring at me the whole night." He ran his hand through his hair. "I'll be in the hammock outside. Night."

He shoved me as he got to his feet. I inhaled sharply, wanting nothing more than to run and kick him. Maybe he would hit his head and start acting a bit nicer to me. Not that I wanted him to…

"But where will Hayner sleep?" Snow pressed.

"I'll stay down here, Snow. It's fine."

"There's a little couch and a pillow here. I'm sure that will work." Doc pointed out.

I nodded. "Go on upstairs, Snow. We'd had a long day and I'm sure you're tired from all this fun."

She smiled. "Pleasant dreams, everyone."

The words were echoed back as she ascended the stairs, the six dwarves following after her. I wondered if she would feel uncomfortable having seven men in the same room as her, but threw that assumption away. She was obviously very happy here and the men were trusting (for the most part). But, just to be on the safe side, I would leave the bedroom door open, just in case.

I did so, than went back downstairs to my bed, wincing as I lay on the hard, wooden couch, only one fluffy pillow cradling my head.

"Well…this is a good as it's going to get." I mumbled.

It took a good hour before I could relax in a comfortable position, but my eyes closed almost instantly, drifting off into dreamland.

Well, what do you think? Seifer is being a jerk, Hayner is being Grumpy 2.0 and Snow is sweet and innocent as ever.

Until the next time I sit down and actually type out the next chapter!