#tobewithyou

The moment he cleaned this aisle, it was a disaster again. He’d have to leave it for the afternoon when they’d be a little slower; the thought alone made him roll his eyes. That would thrill the afternoon shift lead he was sure.

Terra pulled his phone from his apron pocket, glancing at the clock. She’d be here in about an hour, but that also meant he got to leave soon which was more than enough to get him through the rest of his shift. He knew he should put his phone back in his pocket as he was on the floor; even if he was the lead he didn’t like to do things he didn’t let the kids do. Still he couldn’t resist peeking at his email.

Nothing.

He quickly opened the app just to see if he didn’t get a notification but there were no new messages there either.

“Terra!” a voice crackled so loudly in his hear he almost both dropped his phone and ripped the headpiece from his ear. “Terra, can you hear me?”

He reached up to grab the button hanging on the wire of his headset. “Yes, Sora, for the thousandth time, I can always hear you when you speak at a normal volume.”

“Sorry,” Sora’s voice was sheepish but Terra could practically see the smile on the younger boy’s lips. “I have a return. I got everything set up but I need your approval.”

“I’ll be right there.”

“Excuse me, sir?” another voice said nearby but judging by the fact she wasn’t shouting his name it wasn’t one of his employees. “I was looking for something to get my grandson, but I’m unsure what to look for.”

When did this aisle get so full of people? Was the whole store full up again? Had an hour and a half gone by yet?

Terra leaned back hoping to catch the nearest employee he could see who wasn’t on register. Silver hair and blue eyes looked back at him, putting some books back. Terra gestured for him to come over.

“Ma’am, I’m going to have Riku help you find everything you need as I have to assist at the front, is that okay?”

The woman looked a little disgruntled at first but seemed to lighten up when Riku actually stepped into the aisle. “Yes, that’ll be fine. Come with me, young man.”

“I’m sorry,” Terra mouthed when Riku gave a wince but Terra had to keep moving to go finish out the return for Sora before he started yelling in Terra’s ear again. He probably wouldn’t even let Sora use it if he wasn’t always on registers; he was personable and quick, easy to strike a conversation and get the job done.

“Terra,” Sora said again, though this time in an exaggerated whisper. “They’re getting mad.”

Of course they were, everyone was so much more impatient as soon as the Christmas trees go up. He honestly felt that way sometimes too, but the words from his friend’s last message rang in his head. She sounded like she loved Christmas so much, and everything that went into it. For some reason it made him smile at her childlike glow even though all he knew was her typed words and nothing more. She just oozed passion in every message he got from her.

He tried not to think about it too much but it was hard not to; especially when he looked forward to what she was going to say to him next; what he would say to her helped him through these longs days. Terra knew he didn’t quite have a connection with every single person he met, so he was astounded to find that easy communication with her, even though they really never met. No name, no personal identification information, no pictures, just their messages back and forth. Still, it was something special to him.

Terra moved to step behind the register Sora was standing behind; he looked visibly relieved.

“Sorry, about that, Ma’am,” Terra said with a smile, as he leaned in to punch in his code that would let the return go through. He trusted Sora enough to do it right so there was no need to look over it. “You’re good to finish.”

“Thanks,” Sora said, moving back to go about the rest of the transaction as quick as his fingers would allow.

Terra moved to grab some of the books on the back counter that were probably other returns or go backs but really he just wanted to look over the store. There was a small line but with Sora on one and Xion on the other they’d handle registers just fine. Terra glanced around the store, scanning over the other employees scattered around working; if only to make sure everyone was actually working.

There was one missing, and usually it was hard to miss such red hair anywhere. Figures Lea was late. Terra would give Lea a little longer before he called. For the time being he went to place the books back and help on the floor. He had been working here since high school, he knew how to handle both the product and the people, even if he didn’t always characterize himself as a people person. He could still smile and help; though he usually found a lot of people went to the kids to ask for help instead. He apparently looked too intimidating to work at a bookstore.

In the very least, the busy days meant time went by faster. It also made him forget to keep looking at his phone to see if it went off at all. In fact before he knew it, he was turning to stand face to face with the afternoon lead.

“Jesus,” he grunted, taking a step back from her. “Do you have to sneak up on me?”

Aqua was shorter than him, but she was plenty loud; if she wanted to announce her presence she would’ve. Currently, she looked very disinterested in the fact she had to talk to him. Even still, her blue eyes were bright under the store lighting a small smile in the corner of her lips. He knew it absolutely didn’t have to do with him, and probably everything to do with that Christmas spirit she loved so much.

She rolled her eyes. “It’s not my fault you were off in your own head like always.”

He decided to ignore that, however, it was hard to ignore that Aqua was the only one who could look pretty under terrible mall lighting. He placed another book on the shelf in front of him. Terra may not get along with her but it wasn’t like he was blind. He knew the way her eyes crinkled when she smiled and how the shade of her eyes was so unique it was almost like the color of the ocean…not that he would admit that to her or anyone for that matter.

“Did you leave a list of what was done today and what still has to be done?”

“Always do,” he grunted, grabbing another book off the ground to put back.

She clicked her tongue, looking around the area. “This place looks like a mess.”

“Oh, did Scrooge happen to forget it’s only a few weeks before Christmas?”

“Cute, Terra, but you’re the one who hasn’t worn a single Christmas color to work, not me.”

He glanced over to her and sure enough she was wearing not only a red dress but green leggings and even a Santa hat over her blue hair. “Remember what I wear every day, do you?”

“Only your lack of any holiday spirit what so ever.” She reached over to push in a book on the bookshelf near his hand, because, clearly, only she could clean the store correctly.

A twinge of annoyance went down his spine. “Maybe if I didn’t have to listen to you nag at me every day I’d feel more festive.”

“I only nag you because if I didn’t, you’d day dream through the whole shift.”

Well, sort of fair; Terra knew he had a tendency to zone out at times but he wasn’t about to admit that to her. Thankfully, Lea chose that moment to scurry in behind the register, nudging Riku out of the way so he could log in and sneak in the back room. To Lea’s credit he almost had it, and Terra probably would’ve let it slide just because Lea was usually pretty creative when it came to excuses as to being late.

“Nice of you to join us, Lea,” Aqua said without turning her head to him as he snuck behind a bookshelf. “An hour late.”

“Yeah, you know, about that-”

“Go get ready for the shift, don’t worry I have a job for you.”

Lea grumbled something but slouched away probably to the back room.

“See you guys!” Sora waved as he headed out with Roxas and Xion both zipping up their jackets.

“See you,” Terra said, raising a hand to wave.

“See you tomorrow, Aqua,” Xion said, turning to wave goodbye herself.

“It’ll be fun,” Aqua smiled back at the kids who were hurrying to the front.

Terra must’ve scoffed too loud because she was looking back over at him. “Does that mean I’m done? Can I go home now?”

Kairi was already logging in on the register with Olette tying her apron around her back. It was still a little busy but they should be okay. Not that Terra was going to offer to stay to work with Aqua; she was such a control freak it was impossible to work with her.

“As long as you left me the list,” she said, walking away from him.

“I hope it’s up to your impeccable standards.”

Aqua wasn’t looking at him at all, not even a glance; she just continued to where the girls were probably going for the list he really did leave for her and to divvy up the jobs for the night.

“Yikes, dude.”

Terra nearly jumped at the sound of the voice right behind him. He turned his head to see way too familiar blond hair and blue eyes, and a toothy grin that told Terra not to trust whatever the next words were going to be.

“You’re really terrible at flirting.”

“Ventus,” Terra sighed, placing the last book in his arms on the correct shelf. “That was not even remotely what was going on. Not even a little bit.”

“Yeah, cause you got that mystery girl right?”

“I don’t…I don’t have anyone, okay.” Though Terra was tempted to pull out his phone to check to see if he had any new messages from the very person Ven was implying but that would only prove his little brother correct, and Terra didn’t need that right now. He did hope she had said something back though. “She’s just a nice person I talk to. Aqua on the other hand, I think we’d murder each other if we had to be in the same space for too long.”

“Whatever,” Ven snorted. “Are you done? I’m starving.”  

Terra glanced back up to the counter; Riku was ringing out someone as Lea was rushing up, hastily tying his apron. Aqua went over the plan with the girls but Terra couldn’t hear a thing. It would probably be strict down to the letter of what they’d have to do knowing Aqua. Ah well, it wasn’t his shift anymore anyways. “Yeah, let me get my things.”

--

Dear Bytheseaside,

I cannot believe there is a person on this planet that actually doesn’t get sick of that song. I’m pretty sure I’ve been sick of it for at least an eternity now. I guess that’s a testament to you though, patient through and through. I appreciate the holidays as well though I wish I didn’t have to work mostly through them all and I’m sorry to hear so do you. Granted I would like to see you singing along to the songs as you worked, I hope there’s dancing too, possibly a hair brush microphone? I’d assume go all out when it comes to Mariah Carey.

I’m so greatly offended that you could ever say that Santa Claus is not real. How could you think that me, a twenty-six year old male, would ever believe anything but that a man went to every house in the world one night on flying reindeer? To answer your question, yes, I did as a kid, so did my younger brother. Before you ask, no I didn’t tell him until he was old enough. He was an innocent kid, very naïve, very trusting, it actually sort of made me want to believe again just by having him believe it so much. I say that because he’s a pain in my ass now. It was fun though, I used to make cookies with him, leave out the milk, write Santa on some gift tags. Now he just makes cookies for himself. Sorry, Santa.

If that didn’t answer your question, I am close to my family though it’s just my brother, me and my dad. We all still live in the same place we grew up in so no drastic change like you had. I even go to grad school in the same town, I’m fairly boring honestly. I’ve traveled quite a lot for vacations since my dad and brother love to travel but otherwise we just stay put in our little town where it snows in the winter but I don’t think it’s too cold. That’s exciting you’ll get to visit with your parents soon! I honestly don’t think I could live that far away from mine, so you have all my respect that you just up and left to go study where you wanted to.

Oh, hey, thanks! It’s still a little surreal honestly. I never thought I’d ever see the end of school, especially at Midwestern where I go. I not only live in the town, but I went to undergrad there too. I’ve seen its buildings enough for my taste. Oh, it’s no worries, I have the joyful career of becoming an English teacher, aren’t you thrilled for me? I thankfully have experience working with high schoolers and they sometimes find me intimidating so I’m hoping that will carry over when I tell them they have to read The Scarlet Letter.

Okay, knowing you, there’s probably enough sugar in any given cup of coffee. I have no idea how you could stand cinnamon rolls on top of that too, but I guess I’m not surprised either. You could rival my brother’s love for sugar. Please don’t end up in a sugar coma before you even get to class :P

--

Aqua hummed as she hung up her jacket in the employee room. It was some mash up of Jingle Bells and Santa Claus is Coming to Town but she couldn’t help it. Christmas was so close now, her family would be visiting and everything just oozed with holiday cheer; especially the bells she clipped into her hair for today’s outfit. Even though she was stuck at work all night she felt warm and light, like nothing could quite get under her skin; she sure hoped it stayed the case considering the closer to Christmas, the ruder customers got. Oh well, she’d meet it with a smile, it was the only way to get through the day.

She tied her apron behind her back, slipping her phone in the front pocket (though not without checking her messages first, though so far it was as empty as it was when she left for work). It was okay, he worked a lot too and always was in school; he was probably as busy as she was. The fact he even made time for a few messages was still enough to keep her good mood up.

Aqua kept humming, glancing up at the written schedule on the board to see who she was working with tonight. Everyone had different strengths so she liked to place jobs with people who would excel at them, and it would make their time go by a little faster when they weren’t forced to do something they hated. It was pretty typical; Kairi, Lea, the twins, Xion, Riku, and….no, wait, that had to be a mistake. She reached up to trace the dates, bringing her finger down to make sure she was reading it right.

The door opened making her turn her head, but the person shuffling into the room only confirmed she was reading the schedule correctly. “Terra?”

“In the flesh,” he snorted, but his back was to her as he was shrugging off his jacket; his way-too-light jacket for this weather, what was wrong with that man?

“Is this a mistake?”

“Wish it was,” he said, reaching for his apron to drop over his head. “I’d much rather be home.”

Aqua pressed her lips together, looking back at the schedule. Well, it was only two weeks till Christmas, she supposed she could understand why they may want to schedule two leads but at the same time, did it have to be him?

She didn’t hate Terra. He was a nice guy, quiet and he was very patient with customers and the kids who worked here; in fact she was pretty sure he had more patience in one fraction of his body than she possessed all together. At the same time though, he was so laid back he let things slide far too much which drove her crazy. She could deal with it when it was just in passing, when he told her what was done all morning so she knew what to fix all night, but working a whole shift together?

She looked up at the future days she was scheduled and had to bite back a groan. For everyday she was scheduled until Christmas they were working together? Okay, she was coming in tomorrow morning to talk to someone about this or she’d likely not make it till Christmas.

“Okay,” she said, turning around to face Terra. He wasn’t looking at her, but down at his phone, scrolling through something. “I assume neither of us care for this arraignment?”

“Fair assessment,” he said, still not looking up.

“Then let’s split up the store. I’ll handle the front half and you handle the back half. Registers will be neutral.”

“What is this?” Terra did look up that time, arching an eyebrow at her. “A war meeting?”

“It’s retail in Christmas, of course it’s a war meeting.”

Much to her surprise he actually smiled at her. Well, he also rolled his eyes and shook his head but still. Terra dropped his phone in his apron pocket, before grabbing a headset to put in is ear, clipping the radio into his back pocket as he walked back over to the door. “Fine, should I lay down a boundary line to make sure no one crosses it?”

“Of course, I’ll give you money to buy the duct tape.”

“I have a brother, believe me, I know how to handle boundary lines.” Terra went to push the door open but it swung open on itself.

“No one can say anything,” Lea said as he walked in, pointing to the both of them. “I’m on time today.”

“Christmas miracles,” Terra said, reaching out to push at Lea’s head before Terra caught the door open, leaving without another word.

“Good, because if you were late one more time I was going to put you on register the whole night just because I know how much you love it,” Aqua said, watching as Lea shrugged out of his long jacket.

“Wait,” he arched an eyebrow as he looked back at her. “Are you and Terra both working tonight?”

“Ah, yeah, seems like the boss wants more hands at night.”

Lea got this grin on his lips, devilish almost, not that the flaming red hair helped. “Oh, this is going to be a grand night.”

Aqua decided not to ask what he meant by that and moved to grab a headset and radio before leaving the room to head to the floor; there at least she could assign the other workers their jobs. She hoped everything went quickly and smoothly. She really wasn’t in the mood to bicker with Terra all night.

Thankfully, he seemed to feel the same.

For the most part it was easy to help customers at the front of the store, keeping an eye on the registers, straightening and restocking when she could. The customer volume was absolutely going up every day so she could understand why there were two leads on the floor but that didn’t mean she was completely happy about it. Though to his credit Terra stayed to the back of the store and helped any customers she sent that way. She knew he’d prefer to be back there as opposed to the front where she got the brunt of the social force.

“Permission to step across the boundary, your highness?”

She looked up from straightening some self-help books to see Terra with both his hands up in defense. “Depends, what’s your business?”

“I would very much like to leave the store to get dinner.”

Was it that time already? Aqua glanced over to the registers where Sora and Xion were busy ringing out. Roxas was probably still in the kid’s section fixing the display she asked him to adjust, Riku was upfront helping someone with the new releases, and while Aqua couldn’t see Lea or Kairi they were probably wandering around somewhere.

“I’ll even throw the incentive to check the back of the store to make sure my standards are as high as yours.” He was watching her but his hands were in the front of his apron, probably fiddling with his phone or something.

“Why do you think we’re so busy?” she asked, pushing another book back into place. “High standards.”

“Oh, yeah, nothing to do with the fact we’re the only book store in the nearest 50 mile radius,” he snorted.

Okay, fair point; not that she was going to tell him that. “Yes, you can go, just tell me when you’re finished so I can take mine too.”

“Oh, she takes breaks does she?”

“Don’t be such an ass,” she said, but admittedly was choking back a small laugh. Aqua would just toss that up to the fact she was still in plenty of a good mood. “Just go.”

“Whatever you say, princess.” Terra gave a vague sort of wave as he walked towards the front of the store until he was completely out of sight.

“Do you even think they know?” Lea’s voice said from nearby, but Aqua didn’t pay too much attention to it, she just went back to fixing the shelves she was working on.

“Oh, God, no,” Kairi giggled. “They would never flirt with each other as much as they do if they knew they were doing it.”

Aqua did turn to look that time, which was the only reason she knew they were talking about her; considering both Lea and Kairi were peering around the end of the bookshelves in that row watching her with near matching shit-eating grins on their lips. Aqua had to ignore the heat that rose to her face that the insane implication she would ever flirt with Terra, or vice versa for that matter. That was absurd. You didn’t flirt with people you could barely be in the same room with.

“No way,” she said pointing towards them. “How many times have I told you both, you aren’t allowed to work near each other. All you do is talk and gossip. Lea, go make sure kids haven’t bombarded Roxas in the children’s section, then go make sure everyone has been helped. Kairi, please start on the other end of this row with me.”

“Aye, aye, captain,” Lea said, vanishing behind the shelves.

Kairi was still giggling but she started straightening the books like she was asked. Aqua wanted to ask the younger girl how they got it in their heads that either Terra or herself would ever consider flirting with each other, but at the same time she didn’t want to open that door. Ever.

Aqua’s phone buzzed and her heart leapt up to her throat. She really knew she couldn’t look, and she shouldn’t look, it set a bad example; she wasn’t always as disciplined as she looked though. She pushed her apron pocket open, peeking down at the bright screen with her heart pounding in her chest. It promptly sunk into her stomach when she saw it was just an email telling her about some sale.

“Message from the mystery man?”

Aqua’s head snapped up to see Kairi still looking at the books as she worked on, making them look neat again. It wasn’t a terrible surprise as Kairi tended to work afternoon shifts with Aqua, and she may have mentioned she was talking to someone a few times. “Ah, no, not this time.”

“Do you know his name yet?”

“No, but that’s okay,” Aqua said, taking a small breath before going back to her job.

“Aren’t you worried he’s like sixty years old or something? Or like a murderer?”

“I’m not saying everyone you meet on the internet is good,” Aqua said. “But when you talk to someone enough, you just sort of…know them. I don’t know, I may not know his name or what he looks like but he’s sweet.” She paused. “And he said he was twenty-six so he’s only a little bit older than me.”

“Do you feel like you know him already then?” Kairi asked. She wasn’t teasing this time, genuinely curious.

“Sort of,” Aqua said, a smile pulling at her lips at just the thought of their conversations. “He’s very kind, and articulate. He’s said once or twice people find him intimidating but to me he just seems so gentle, you know? Especially when he talks about his little brother. I know what he likes to do for fun, favorite foods, movies, what he wants to do for a living, and ah…”

“What?”

Aqua paused for a moment, feeling a small bundle of nerves in her stomach again. He mentioned it so briefly in his last message and she had been torn over what to do about it ever since…if she even wanted to do something about it. “He sorta mentioned where he went to college.”

“Was it bad? Oh wait, was it good? Like Ivy League good?”

“No, well, I mean good but…it’s where I go to school.”

Kairi nearly dropped the book she was holding. “Wait, you guys go to the same school and don’t even know it?”

Aqua nodded; it had been about her same reaction when she read that one sentence. He probably didn’t even mean to say since up till then, they never gave away and facts that led onto where they lived.

“You could know him in real life and not even know it.”

“I think I’d know it,” she rolled her eyes. Aqua may not know him at sight, but she was pretty sure from having a conversation with him that she’d be able to tell how he talked, how he presented himself. She still paused, looking over to Kairi. “Should I ask him to meet? Like on campus or something? Would that be too much?”

“I mean, I don’t think it would be too much,” Kairi shrugged. “People meet online all the time these days. It just depends on how comfortable you feel about it or if you like the mystery more than the man.”

Aqua knew the answer to that question. She’d love to meet him, to sit across the table from him over some warm coffee, to see if how she pictured his voice was really how it was, to hear his laugh, see his smile. The thoughts alone made her stomach flip anxiously. What if he wasn’t anything like how she pictured? Would it make a difference?

“I think I would…” Aqua started. “Meet him that is.”

“Then ask him,” Kairi said, standing up on her toes to get a book on the top shelf. “Worst he could say is no and then you’re no worse off than you are now.”

That was a good point. Aqua squatted down towards the floor to fix a few books. Maybe it wouldn’t be a bad thing to ask. Maybe he’d like it too. Maybe he wouldn’t but then they could still talk just like they have been. She thought about meeting him so many times before now, ever since she sent that first message a few months ago.

She liked him, more than she cared to admit to anyone but herself. It was silly maybe, but he always brought a smile to her face, that had to be worth something. It had to be worth a risk.

--

Dear OftheShire,

Of course there’s dancing, geez, boy, do you even know me?? Not a hairbrush, no, but absolutely any candy cane shaped object I can find. It’s been described as both a wonder and a hot mess so I take that with very high regard. If you ever wander into where I work I’ll be sure to show you, and probably embarrass you and myself so much you’ll never want to be seen in public with me lmao

That’s right! I forgot you mentioned your little brother before. Well, you sound like a great big brother to play along with the façade, even just for his sake. I don’t have any siblings myself so I never got to share the joy of having to share my room or bathroom with anyone. He seems very sweet, even if you insist he’s a pain in your ass (ps I can totally tell you love him, don’t play so cool :P ) Plus he sounds like he likes sweets as much as me so I can get behind that!

It’s so sweet you’re so close to your family too! So much that you don’t consider leaving them, that tells me a lot about you and how much they must love you too :D Okay, wait, how have we been talking so much and you never told me you traveled! I haven’t gotten to do so very much but I’ve always wanted to. Are we talking like “oh, hey, I just get around the country every so often” or “I’m a damn world traveler and have eaten things you’d never dreamed of and can speak five languages on command”? I mean both are cool, but I need to know which one it is.

Savor it, my friend! Especially as a teacher, cause, hate to break it to you but technically you’re going to be in school for a very long time. High school too? Wow, you’re a brave man! See, you keep saying people find you intimidating, but, like, to me you seem so mellow and gentle? Is it something about you physically? Are you like a seven foot football player or wrestler or something? Also, excuse you, don’t judge my sugar intake, I’m perfectly capable of not dying from sugar intake, :P (More reasons why I love your brother already too)

Hey, so, weird thing. I sort of go to Midwestern too. Small world right! I can’t believe we’ve been talking for so long and we could be in the same class. How weird is that? I was wondering if maybe you wanted to meet for coffee on campus or something? At that little café in the library? Like this Thursday? Please don’t feel like you have to! But I thought it might be nice to actually see each other in person since we happened to actually live in the same town. I can like wear bells in my hair and have a copy of The Hobbit since I know that was your favorite book as a kid so you know it’s me. Just let me know!

--

“I don’t know why I had to come with you,” Ven said as he walked down the sidewalk next to Terra. That statement, of course, was accompanied by Ven’s big grin, meaning he was highly amused that his older brother asked him to come with him to a possible, maybe, sort of, kind of date.

Was it? Terra had no idea, but he’d never claim to be good at picking up on things like that. All he knew was he stared at her message for a lot longer than he should’ve, even stunned that someone as nice as her would actually want to see him in person. It was easy to agree then, to feel excited to finally meet the person behind the words but now that he was walking towards the campus library, the bright lights from the building looming over him, all he felt like was throwing up.

“Even if she was a murderer I’m pretty sure you could take her,” Ven continued.

“I don’t think she’s a murderer,” Terra snorted, shoving his hands in his jacket pockets. “Or even a threat.”

“I hate to break it to you, Ter, but you aren’t always the best judge of character.”

That was…fair. “Can’t you be good, quiet moral support?”

Ven clicked his tongue looking up to the building. “If you wanted quiet support you probably should’ve brought like Riku from your work or something. I’m your brother, I’m legally entitled to give you a hard time.”

“I don’t think that’s true. If me and dad both die then you’re legally entitled to my things I guess.”

Ven whistled. “Books, books, and more books I’m so thrilled.”

Terra reached out to shove at Ven’s head, making the younger boy laugh. It was why Terra bought Ven in the first place; if anyone could make Terra not get wrapped up too much in his own thoughts, it was Ven.

“There it is,” he said, pointing to a particularly well illuminated section of the library. It was easy to see through the large windows where students were in line to get a late night caffeine fix or snacks; it was fairly late, he had to wait till he was off work to even come since Aqua already requested the night off and someone had to be there.

“Don’t look so nervous.” Ven nudged Terra’s shoulder. “She already likes you enough to talk to you all the time, this is just without a screen in between. No big deal.” Ven reached for the door handle, but Terra pulled Ven away from it.

“God, what?” he asked, arching an eyebrow up.

Terra knew he was acting sort of childish but he couldn’t help but feel the nerves in his stomach reaching up through his chest. “What if she isn’t even there?”

Ven paused for a second before grabbing a hold of Terra’s arm, dragging him over to one of the side windows. Ven leaned up close to the glass leaving Terra out of view so that way Ven would be the one seen if anyone looked over. “Okay, what did she say she was wearing again?”

He was a good brother. “Ah, she said she’d have bells in her hair, and a book, The Hobbit.”

“You guys are such nerds,” Ven snorted. “Alright, alright, let me…see…” He let out a low whistle that made Terra look up.

“Wait, what? Is that good or bad?”

“I dunno, man, she doesn’t really look your type but she does look like mine, maybe I should go in instead of you.”

It took Terra a moment with his heart nearly in his throat to realize Ven was teasing. “You’re a shit, will you tell me the truth?”

“Okay, okay, calm down,” Ven laughed, looking back into the café. “Alright so, bells in the hair is kind of common around Christmas, but the book would be an easier…way…to tell, ummm…Oh!”

“What? Do you see her?” Terra asked, nearly going up behind Ven to see too.

Ven was quiet for a second, and he wasn’t teasing anymore which didn’t bode well. “Ah, well, she’s your type for sure, but you’re probably not going to like it.”

Terra had no idea what that was supposed to mean. He quickly slipped in next to Ven who nodded over to a table off to the side of the café. Terra saw the book first, fingers tapping on the cover, anxiously, impatiently maybe. Maybe he should’ve known before he even looked at her face, the familiar shade of blue hair, eyes he already knew glancing over at the door when it opened. Hell, he even knew the bells she was wearing in her hair.

He quickly turned around, leaning his back against the window instead. This couldn’t be…it was a joke right? The girl, the kind, funny, compassionate girl he had been talking to for months it…couldn’t be Aqua, could it?

It had to be. He didn’t tell anyone but Ven, who may tease Terra sure but would never do anything cruel to him. Maybe the girl had said something to someone else? Like she was nervous to meet him too so she said something to a friend who offered to wait for her, that friend unknowingly being Aqua.

Terra turned his head to look back in the room to see if anything could confirm that theory. It didn’t though, not when he saw the hope flicker in her eyes every time someone walked in, anytime someone got too close to her table for it to fade away, her fingers still tapping anxiously at book cover.

It was her; there was no one else it could be. How could it be her? The girl he talked to was nothing like the Aqua he was forced to work with.

“Terra,” Ven said, like he was very much doubting that Terra was going to move. “You have to go in there, you know that right?”

“I can’t,” he groaned, leaning his head back against the glass. “If she knows it’s me she’ll just be mad and she’ll never talk to me again.”

“So you’re going to leave a person, that I know you’ve been trying to hide how much you like, just waiting for you cause you found out you really do know them?”

“That’s the problem. I do know her and now I feel like I know two completely different people sharing the same body.”

Ven arched an eyebrow. “Do you though?”

“Do I what?”

“Do you know her? Maybe the girl online is really how she is and you never gave her the chance to be that way around you.”

Terra didn’t like that Ven was making sense. He was barely graduated from high school; it shouldn’t be possible for him to make assumptions like that. “It doesn’t change the fact that if she sees me, she’s going to make me leave. I can guarantee you I’m not the person she wants to see.”

“So what, you’re just going to stand her up? I’m sure she was looking forward to this as much as you were and she’ll leave here wondering why her friend didn’t want to meet her.”

Ven was laying on the guilt there but it was working. Terra didn’t always get along with Aqua but he didn’t hate her, and he really didn’t hate the girl he talked to on the internet; he wouldn’t want either of them to feel stood up.

“Okay,” Terra said, reaching a hand up to run through his hair. “Okay, I’ll go. But you’re getting an ‘I told you so’ if she kicks me out without letting me explain.”

Ven didn’t say anything else, he just gestured to the door. Terra did what he said and opened the door to the café, stepping inside. He tried not to look at her, knowing she was still watching everyone who walked in. He thought he felt Ven slip in behind but Terra lost track of his brother when he did make eye contact with Aqua.

She looked a little confused, like she was surprised he was there. Did she even know they went to the same school? Probably not; it wasn’t like they talked much, especially if it wasn’t work related. He walked over to the table she was sitting at, though he still had no idea what he was going to do let alone say.

“Hey,” he said, which was at least a start.

“Ah, hey,” Aqua said, still a confused look on her face. “I didn’t know you went to school here.”

That answered that question. “Hm, yeah, I do. What’re you doing here so late?”

Her face flushed slightly, she was embarrassed; it wasn’t a look he was used to on her. “Oh, I was just waiting for someone.”

“This late at night?”

“He had to work.”

“He, huh,” Terra said, pulling out the empty chair from the table. “On a date then?”

She flushed again and he did feel bad. He never saw Aqua be embarrassed in as long as he knew her. She always rolled with the punches, and stood her ground; which he did admire about her if he was being honest. “Who said it was your business?”

Terra shrugged, trying to ignore the weird feeling in the pit of his stomach as he sat down. It was a strange mix of still being in shock that Aqua was his mystery girl and the fluttering feeling fact that she wasn’t denying it could’ve been a date.  It was so conflicting and made him sort of want to throw up. “It’s not, I was only asking.”

The door opened behind him and Aqua’s head immediately snapped over to look. She watched the guy walk in but looked away when he made no motion to walk over to her.

“Blind date?” he asked, propping his elbow up on the table. He knew he should tell her, it was cruel to pretend it wasn’t him, but at the same time he couldn’t actually get the words to form in his head let alone come out.

Aqua glanced back to him, like she was surprised he was still there. “I guess you could say that.”

“Friend of a friend?”

“No,” she said, looking down to the book still on the table. “Ah, I met him online.”

Terra whistled. “You keep looking for him, I’m guessing he’s late?”

She hesitated. “It’s an unusual hour, he could be running behind.”

“And didn’t even tell you? Not the best first impression.”

She arched an eyebrow. “He’s actually a very nice person. I think if he’s running late he has a good reason to be.”

Terra felt a slight bit of exhilaration that she was standing up for him, that she thought he was a good person who wouldn’t stand anyone up. Based only on their conversations she actually wanted to see him, she looked forward to it. It only made him feel sicker that she was so wrong without even knowing it. “Sure hope so, better than chickening out.”

“Don’t you have somewhere to be?” That exasperated tone he knew well, but now he couldn’t stop seeing the softer look in her eyes, her tone in the way she excitedly told him about her days, about how much she loved Christmas.

It would’ve been easy to say, “Yeah, right here” or anything to tell her that he was the one she was waiting for but she looked like she wanted to be anywhere but near him. Despite expecting this was how it was going to be, it hurt. Not just because this was the girl he looked forward to getting messages from, the girl who got him through the long days, that made the holidays seem a little brighter this year, but because something in the way he behaved towards her made her feel like she had to be harsh with him.

Maybe if he had been kinder at work, maybe if he listened instead of writing her off as a control freak, if he understood how she operated, if he was more patient, he would’ve seen the girl behind the screen while he was at work. Maybe he would’ve seen her eyes light up when it was him who walked through the room and maybe he would’ve liked it, loved it even.  

But it wasn’t what happened and now he couldn’t tell her, he couldn’t ever tell her. Terra wasn’t sure he could bear seeing that disappointment in her eyes. It would be easier for her to feel stood up than for him to crush her dreams that her mystery guy was none other than the person she hated.

“Yeah, I do,” Terra said, pushing himself up to his feet.

She was watching him but he couldn’t quite read her.

He leaned forward to tap the cover of the book. “Good choice,” he said. “I always liked it too.”

If she moved to say anything to him, he didn’t see it. He turned around to head back to the door, Ven scrambling off a stool to follow behind. He at least didn’t say anything as they walked in silence to Terra’s car. The disappointment only sunk in harder the farther he got away from the café. It wasn’t even that it was Aqua, that it was always Aqua - it was only in himself.

He didn’t even care to tell Ven ‘I told you so’ at any point.

--

Dear Bytheseaside,

Of course there is, how silly of me to assume otherwise. I appreciate your level of shamelessness in the least but it would take more than that to drive me off I think. Little brother, remember? I can take a lot of embarrassment. Speaking of, he’s alright. He just graduated high school and will be starting college in the spring much to my dreaded realization that time has gone by way too fast for me. Jokes aside he’s a great kid. Smart and generous, also sarcastic and snarky and sometimes I want to kill him but usually I love him. I think he very well could rival your love for sweets. You two would be peas in a pod honestly.

I mean, I can’t speak five languages in the least. Bits and pieces maybe, but not fluently. I have been around this country quite a bit but also places around the world. My dad traveled a lot before me and my brother so he took use when we were old enough. It’s always been fun, and yes, I have eaten things you’ve probably never dreamed of. It’s actually why my brother is starting college late, we had a trip planned for his graduation that interfered with some deadlines.

I can assure you I’m not a football player or a wrestler, I’m actually not really a sports person. I played in high school cause they made me but I never cared much for it. I’m not seven feet tall either, though maybe a little taller than average; maybe that freaks people out, I don’t know. I like to think I’m pretty mellow. You know, I’m not entirely sure you are capable of that. I’d be afraid to ever let you two in the same room, I may come back to find the place littered with all the sweets you two could find.

Wait, seriously? How did we never know we went to the same school? Let alone live in the same vicinity. You can say small world again. But, yeah, I mean, I’d totally be cool with that! I checked the work schedule and Thursday was already requested off so I can’t take it, but I can meet you after work if that’s okay? I’d actually really like it a lot. I’ll look for the bells and the book!

--

Aqua wasn’t sure if it was the cold weather and busy work schedule mixed with finals last week that knocked her out but all she knew was she tried to get up for work and there was just no way. She never called off but she didn’t have a choice. There was no way to open when she couldn’t even move from her bed; she felt like she got hit by a tuck the way her whole body ached, her nose wouldn’t stop running, she could barely eat anything in her apartment. It was probably for the best, all it would be was a day of sulking when she was supposed to be working. At least home she could pull the blankets over her head and pretend there wasn’t a terrible ache in her heart.

He never came.

She waited for hours, and then more time in hopes he’d walk in and recognize her sitting there. He never did. Aqua kept her phone out in case he messaged her that something came up but nothing, not a word. She didn’t know how to feel; if she should be heartbroken that the person she wanted to meet so badly didn’t feel the same. She worried that something happened to him, or nervous she did something to keep him away.

It only just resulted in her crying alone in her bed most the night, then to wake up with a pounding headache and feeling even more terrible. Aqua hadn’t known it was possible. She felt so stupid sitting there, and even more stupid going home alone, and just so sad. He was also so kind, so interested in what she had to say, so engaging she couldn’t understand what happened. He even sounded like he really wanted to meet her. Was it a lie to make her feel better and he never intended to come? That didn’t sound like him; he was always so open and honest. Still, she figured maybe you can’t always know someone just from the internet.

She reached her hand around the comforter covering her, trying to reach for the tissue box. Her nose was raw from blowing it so much but what else could she do but sit here and feel bad for herself? Tifa offered to come over and talk but Aqua just didn’t feel like talking to anyone. She cracked an eye open to look at her phone but no messages.

Clearly the one person she wanted to talk to didn’t want to talk to her.

She was maybe being melodramatic, she barely knew this person outside from long conversations reaching on for weeks but then again, wasn’t that enough to be able to know someone? Aqua groaned as she pulled the blankets over her head. She didn’t want to think anymore. She just wanted to go to sleep and pretend none of this happened. She should’ve never suggested going to meet him.

Except there was a part of her that still wanted to meet him.

Aqua slowly pulled the blanket down to her chest when she thought she heard something. She tried to listen to the quiet apartment, but there was nothing. No, wait…maybe there was something? Maybe she was delusional too? Someone was knocking on her door? Were they or was she imagining it?

Her phone buzzed and against her better judgment she nearly dove for it. The message waiting for her wasn’t anything like what she expected though.

Terra Hale (Work)

               Aqua, your neighbors are starting to look at me strangely. Can you open the door?

She blinked at the screen, trying to make sure she was reading that right. Yeah, they had each other’s numbers because they had to but he never texted her anything that wasn’t work related and even that was few and far between.

               Wait, are you here? Like at my door?

It wasn’t an unreasonable thing to ask, she didn’t even think Terra knew where she lived let alone ever been here before. Granted, he did use her name so it probably wasn’t a wrong number text.

Terra Hale (Work)

No, I’m asking you to open your door because I’m across town at someone else’s door. Yes, I’m standing here. It won’t take long, I know you’re sick.

Aqua knew she wasn’t feeling well but now she felt like she was in some weird alternative dimension. Was she dreaming? She had to be. Still she found herself kicking her legs over the side of her bed to stand up on shaky legs. Should she let him in? She probably looked like a terrible mess; red faced, red nosed, red eyed, not showered, bed head, the same PJ’s on from last night. Yep, he was probably going to tease her and never let her live this down.

She grabbed a thinner blanket off her bed and wrapped it around her shoulders, hopefully covering some of disheveled state. Aqua didn’t like people seeing her less than at her best, let alone someone who didn’t even seem to like her at her best. She shuffled through her small living room and kitchen to the door. It was still chained shut, so she opened it only as far as the chain went.

Sure enough there was Terra standing there. He was still in his work uniform, typical thin jacket on. He had some sort of bag in his hands but his eyes were glancing down at her before looking up to the chain lock.

“I promise I’m not trying to rob you.”

Aqua hesitated. “Are you here because I called off and made you work?”

His face was almost unreadable but he didn’t look mad, or even annoyed. “No, I’m here because Leon said you called off and you’ve never done that in the time I’ve known you so I figured it was serious.” Terra held up the white plastic bag slightly. “I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

She wasn’t sure how much she believed him since he never seemed to care about her wellbeing before but Aqua also didn’t want to leave the poor guy just standing there when he hadn’t actually done anything wrong. She reached up to unhook the chain, pulling the door open.

He stepped in, closing the door behind him while Aqua quickly retreated to the kitchen which was closer than the living room.

“Do you, ah, want any…” She paused to reach her arm to her face, sneezing far louder than she wanted to. “Coffee? Tea?”

“No, thank you,” he said, though she was surprised to see a small smile on his lips. “You should go back to bed.”

“I’m fine,” she said, but her nose betrayed her, sounding gross and stuffy. Great, this was just wonderful.

Terra placed the bag on her counter, undoing the knot on the top. “I brought you some soup,” he said, pulling out a large Tupperware contained that looked full to the brim with some sort of chicken soup. “It just needs to be heated up. It’s my dad’s recipe, real good I promise. He used to make it for me and my brother when we were sick too.”

Aqua couldn’t help but eye him as he placed the container in the fridge for her. “Oh, wow, well thank you. You didn’t have to do that.”

“It was nothing,” he shrugged, reaching back for the bag. “I also brought some tea leaves, another special blend my dad always gave us. Do you have a teapot or anything?”

“Ah…” Aqua fiddled with the edge of her blanket. She didn’t know what she was expecting when she let Terra inside but this was absolutely not it. “Yeah, on the stove.”

He turned to grab it, filling it up with some water from the sink. While she wasn’t used to Terra being so…accommodating to her, she knew if she asked him to leave he would but she couldn’t find those words. She was more curious as to why he was being so accommodating; especially after how rude she was to him last night. Guilt swirled in the pit of her stomach, making her feel worse than she already did. She tried to tell herself he deserved it, that he was always abrasive at work so what else was she supposed to do? But at the same time, here he was pulling a mug off her drying rack to put near the tea he brought.

He turned the stove on, the clicks filling the otherwise quiet kitchen. “Go on back to bed, I’ll bring you some when it’s done and get out of your hair.”

She bit down on her lip, watching him as he popped open the container of tea leaves. She never really had tea without a tea bag before; she didn’t even know Terra liked tea. Come to think of it, she didn’t know very much about him in the first place. “I’m fine,” she said again, though she promptly sneezed again.

He looked up from pouring the tea leaves into the mug, a sort of knowing smile on his lips.

“I, um…” Aqua was really unsure what to even say. They never had a conversation without bickering before. “I’ll take your shift tomorrow.” She had to pause to sniffle even if it was incredibly embarrassing. “To make up for making you work today.”

“No need,” he said. “You keep your day off, you may need another day to rest and feel better.”

“No, no, it’s only fai-” Another sneeze. “Fair.”

“You’re clearly exhausted and overworked,” he said, sealing the cap back on the tea. “You need the rest and you need to go back to bed.”

“Really, I’m fi…” she paused when she saw him coming towards her. “Fine, I’m fine.”

He hummed like he really didn’t believe her which he clearly didn’t because the next thing he had picked her up over his shoulder.

“Terra!” she gasped, instinctively reaching down to grab him and keep her balance but she was more amazed at how effortlessly he carried her. She should be furious at him for touching her when she didn’t need to be but instead all she felt was a sort of warmth from his body, it was comforting in a weird way. That someone came out all the way just to take care of her.

It was sweet, even though she never thought to describe Terra that way.

He gently placed her down on her bed moving out of the way as she could only stare up at him in surprise. “I’m sorry if I intruded,” he said holding his hands up slightly. “But if I knew anything about you it was that you probably wouldn’t ask for help and were just sitting here suffering alone. I thought I’d help even a little bit.”

It was sweet, it was really sweet. She even smiled a little bit. “Well, thank you.” Aqua kicked her legs up onto her bed as he reached down to pull the comforter up over her. “I take it as a big brother you know how to take care of someone with a cold?”

He sat down on the edge of her bed, reaching over to briefly place his hand on her forehead. “And a fever, yes.”

She rolled her head on her pillow, looking up to meet his blue eyes. Were they always that blue? That compassionate? She didn’t know.

“Hey,” he said. “Did the person you were supposed to meet ever show up?”

Aqua felt her stomach sink at the mention even though it wasn’t an unusual thing to ask. “No,” she said. “He never did.”

Terra clicked his tongue in thought and she was sure something snarky was about to follow. “Well, I’m sorry to hear that. You deserve better than being stood up like that. He’s an idiot for doing that to you.”

Aqua felt like she was staring but she couldn’t help it; of all the things she was expecting that was not it. Who was this and what had he done with Terra? Maybe it always was Terra but she was too stubborn to see the boy who lived behind her coworker. “Ah, well, thank you, that’s sweet of you.”

She paused for a second. On any normal circumstances she would never even consider opening her mouth to say what she was thinking to him, but he was here and he was being so nice, and she was admittedly not in her right mind. “Do you think…” she started, biting down at her lip to voice the one thought she couldn’t get out of her head. “Do you think he was there? And he took one look at me and left? Do you think it was me?”

“No,” Terra said quickly. “I don’t think that would ever be the case. You’re pretty, any guy would be lucky to look in and see you sitting there. Maybe something came up and he wasn’t able to tell you, or maybe he was too nervous to show his face. I don’t think it was you.”

Aqua stared at him; she didn’t expect him to say anything like that to her, not now not ever.

“I’m also, ah…” He glanced away, looking over her probably terribly messy room. “I’m sorry for intruding on you last night.”

“Oh, ah, it’s okay.” She swallowed the lump in her throat. “I was just nervous.”

He opened his mouth to say something but the teapot whistled from the other room. He got up with a slight smile and left her room. Aqua could only watch after him.

This was…a weird day. Seeing this small glimpse of him though…it was just astounding to her; maybe this was the real Terra. Sure he was laid back and didn’t hold the rules as high of a regard as she did, but maybe that was because he was understanding and wanted to give everyone a chance. He never punished Lea for being late, or Sora for mixing up an order, or Kairi for chatting too much but maybe it was because he was empathetic, understanding how and why they did the things they did.

Maybe there was a lot of him she didn’t even know.

“Okay,” he said, coming in with two cups in his hands. “Tea is in the mug though it’s very hot so be careful. Water is in the glass because with a fever, you should stay hydrated.”

The tea smelt so good, herbal spices mixing to remind her of an autumn day. She carefully took the mug from him, the steam and warmth making her feel better already.

He placed the water on her night stand, sticking his hands in his jacket pocket as he looked down at her. “Try and stay in bed and get some sleep. I left the tea leaves out in case you want more and soup is still in the fridge. If you need more or want anything different to eat or anything really, you have my number. I don’t live that far away.”

Aqua looked up at him. She was used to how he looked, how he dressed, his facial expressions, his mannerisms but this time it was like seeing a whole different person. “Thank you, Terra, I really mean it.”

“Any time,” he said, reaching a hand up to wave. “Get some rest.”

“Okay,” she nodded. “See you.”

“Bye.” He gave her a slight smile before turning to leave, the sound of her door closing shut was the last thing she heard of him.

What had seriously just happened? She could barely wrap her mind around it as she sipped on her tea. A part of her still wondered if she was dreaming but as she looked down at her quiet phone she did realize one thing.

At least for a little bit she stopped wondering why her friend hadn’t messaged her about last night.

--

Dear OftheShire,

I do hope all is well and nothing serious happened that caused you not to be able to make it. Maybe there was a misunderstanding somewhere along the way (maybe we really weren’t talking about the same schools?). Whatever the case, I hope I haven’t done anything that would’ve kept you away. I’d feel terrible if I made you feel pressured or scared in any way. All I really wanted to do was talk to the person whose company I’ve been enjoying so much!

I hope this doesn’t change anything between us because I would greatly miss being friends with you. If you thinking meeting in person is a bad idea, I’ll never bring it up again! Things can completely stay the same between us here.

I do hope all is well though. Just let me know so I don’t worry too much about you!

--

It was strange how you could go from barely thinking about someone to go to never getting them out of your mind. Maybe it was because Terra finally stopped distinguishing Aqua, the girl he worked with from Aqua, the girl he really liked online. They were both the same people, and he could see that now clearly. He never bothered to before, but seeing the soft look in her eyes as she asked him if he thought it was her that made her date run away, slipping Xion some money so she could go buy herself a sugary coffee, watching how she helped the seven year old girl pick out a present for her mom, how Aqua sang along with the radio when she thought no one was looking, the grin on her face when she teased Lea for flirting with customers again, it was all the same Aqua.

He couldn’t believe he never saw it before.

The few days she was gone from work to recover dragged on and on. He wanted to check up on her but he didn’t want to intrude, once was enough for his heart that nearly pounded out of his chest the entire time he was there. He hoped she’d text him but she never did. He knew he could respond to her waiting message but it didn’t feel right; not after what he did, not after what he knew. Terra felt terrible lying to her even at her apartment but he just didn’t know what he could say that would make any of this right.

He tried to when she did come back to work but all that came out was asking her if she needed more tea and that the magazines looked like a tornado went through them. Terra never admitted to be very smooth.

No, instead he found himself just sort of lingering around the store, trying to keep to himself or help her and the other kids when they needed it. Thankfully with only one week till Christmas left they were swamped at all times and he could keep busy enough to take his mind off the beautiful girl he worked with, the one who made him so happy without even knowing she did.

How had he been so blind?

“Oh, yes, ma’am, its right over here,” Aqua said from around the corner.

Terra leaned around the end of the bookshelf he was doing a quick stock of to see her walking with another woman to one of the bookshelves that lined the walls.

“It’s a beautiful book,” Aqua continued. “Full of beautiful pictures and descriptions, great for any fan.” She reached up to the top shelf to grab some sort of movie art book but the stock was low and she was a little too short to reach it on her own. “Popular as well,” she chuckled as she tried to strain a little harder to grab it with no luck.

Terra left the books he had in his hands on the shelf, moving over to where Aqua was still struggling. He reached over her head to grab the book with no effort. “Here you go,” he said, passing it to Aqua.

She had turned around to look at him, a little too close, he could feel the warmth of her body against his. There was this look in her eyes, one he couldn’t quite read but it melted into that customer service smile. “Thank you,” she said, turning again to hand the book to the customer. “We have to keep some tall employees here just for that.”

The woman smiled her thanks and went to leave, vanishing in the rest of the crowd of customers. Terra knew he should get back to his own work, but he was frozen when Aqua exhaled, leaning back against the bookshelf as she looked back up at him. “I am exhausted.”

“I know the feeling,” he said, reaching a hand up behind the back of his head.

“You need a break?” she asked a sort of concern wrinkling her forehead. “I can hold the fort down.”

“Oh, no, I’ll be fine but feel free to take it if you need it. I can handle it just fine.”

While before it may’ve ended up in more bickering, now she merely laughed. “I appreciate it, Terra, but I’ll be okay too. I guess we’re better as a team out here anyways.”

He blinked at her, not quite getting what she meant, but she glanced upwards at the top shelf. “Ah, yeah, need those tall arms don’t you?”

“I used to think I was tall for a girl, and then I met you.”

“Ah, what can I say? Born to be a sports person.”

“Were you?”

“No,” he laughed. “I never cared much for playing or watching them.”

She looked at him with that unreadable look again. It wasn’t bad he didn’t think, he just wasn’t sure what was going through her head. “Well, I suppose you do like books better.”

“That I do, obviously.” He found his voice lacking the sarcasm he used to talk to her with, mainly because he really did enjoy talking to her. He thought maybe she felt the same because she was much less abrasive with him ever since he brought her the soup. Maybe it hadn’t been such a bad idea.

She laughed lightly, opening her mouth to say something else but a voice crackled in both their ears, judging by the way Aqua cringed at the same time he did.

“Guys,” Sora whined a little too loudly over the headset. “This customer is angry over a sale. Can one of you come help me?”

Terra reached up to turn his mic on to say he got it but he felt Aqua’s soft touch on his arm.

“I got it, Sora,” she said as she pressed her mic on. “I’ll be right there.”

“Oh, thank Jesus. I think they want to murder me.”

“I would’ve gone,” Terra said. “I know you said you were tired.”

“It’s fine,” she said with the smile he had gotten used to the past few days. “I know you’re not a big confrontation person and I love putting people in their place, especially when they mess with my kids.” She winked at him before going to head to the register.

Terra watched her go and almost pitied the person who yelled at Sora. Almost. Terra moved back to where he was stocking, hoping it would keep distracting him till the store closed and he could get some peace and quiet to clean the store in.

“What happened with you?”

He looked up to see Riku standing at the next shelving unit over. He was straightening but he was also eyeing Terra a little curiously. “I don’t understand what you mean.”

“You and Aqua,” Riku said, gesturing vaguely in the direction Aqua was last in.

Terra arched an eyebrow. “Are you spying on me, kiddo?”

“No, no, nothing like that,” Riku said, leaning over to fix the next shelf down. “More like it’s so obvious everyone’s been talking about it.”

Terra froze. “Talking about what?”

“That you guys actually get along now. Some have, ah, interesting theories.”

“People like Lea and Kairi, I’ll guess?”

Riku snorted and that was enough of an answer. “It’s just you guys used to fight-flirt a lot, like we all couldn’t tell if you hated each other or liked each other but now you guys…I don’t know, seem happy?”

Terra decided he’d ignore the fact the employees apparently talked about his and Aqua’s relationship dynamics (and referred to it as flirting none the less). “Huh, I mean nothing really changed.”

“I don’t think that’s true. Something changed somewhere.” Riku crouched down but looked up towards Terra. “Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good thing, I don’t think I’ve ever seen either of you smile so much especially around this time of the year when you’re stuck at work. Whatever it is, I’m glad to see you happy.”

Terra knew something changed in himself, and maybe because of his attitude change, it made Aqua feel better about him but he didn’t think it was that apparent to everyone else. “Well, thanks I guess but nothing’s really changed. I guess we just learned how to work with each other.”

Riku made some sort of noise of acknowledgement but otherwise went back to straightening the books. Terra tried to do the same but he couldn’t focus on what went where. He couldn’t see or hear Aqua but he was so aware of her presence. There was no going back for him now, not when he knew it was her. He knew why she made him happy but the disappointment she’d feel knowing he was the person she was waiting to hear back from was enough to make him look back to his job.

He knew he had to tell her, lying to her only made him feel worse every day. It would both ruin the relationship they had, and the one that was only just growing but he had to make it right to her. She deserved that and so much more.

--

Dear Bytheseaside,

I’m not sure I have words to apologize to you. I could sit here and make excuses all day long but the truth is I have none. I’m the one who chickened out and in the end couldn’t face you. There was nothing you did wrong; I can assure you of that. I’m not quite as outgoing as I may come across and the thought of facing you made me turn away. Then in turn, the thought of facing you in shame of what I’ve done got me delaying in telling you what happened.

I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t trust me to meet again but I still would like to make it up to you. The large Christmas tree in the center of West Town Mall, it’s beautiful you know? I know how much you love Christmas (and hate the cold so this is inside). If you have time maybe the day before Christmas Eve,  I’ll wait for you there. I know you typically work nights so after closing.  I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t want to show up, but this time I promise I’ll be there. I can’t promise I’ll wear bells in my hair, but I think you’ll know me when you see me.

--

Aqua couldn’t get the nervous buzz out of the pit of her stomach, which meant it was probably bad to be walking back into the store with more coffee for herself, but she couldn’t help it. She balanced the tray and a couple bags of food past some customers who were digging through the bargain bin, more running to grab last minute presents all around her. Thankfully she made it to the backroom without anyone running into her and spilling either coffee cup.

Terra was already sitting at the table, fiddling with his phone. She smiled as the door swung behind her; at least the nice thing about working the day before Christmas Eve was the boss was here all day and she could take her break at the same time as him tonight.

“Ta-da,” she said, placing the tray down on the table. “Surprise caffeine.”

“Bless you,” he said, leaving his phone on the table. “But you seriously didn’t have to get me anything, Aqua.”

“It was nothing.” She waved him off before reaching for one so she could read the markings. “I figured you were as dead on your feet as I was.”

“You’re right there.”

“Just today and tomorrow,” she said, handing him the one marked with nothing but coffee in it. “Then a day off.”

“Yeah, until we have to come back for all the after-Christmas sales.” He took the coffee from her, but his fingers were warmer than she expected, making her jump just a little when they brushed against her hand.

“Optimism, Terra, c’mon now.” Aqua sat down in the chair across from him, thankful to not be on her feet even for a little bit. She brought the warm coffee up to her lips, hoping it would help her lingering exhaustion.

He snorted but he didn’t say anything else as he sipped carefully at his own drink.

“Oh, here, this too.” Aqua grabbed one of the food bags to peek into it before sliding it over to him.

He choked slightly, probably out of surprise. “You’re too much. You know you don’t have to make sure I eat, right?”

She hummed, grabbing her own bag before leaning back again. “I don’t know, you look like someone who would forget to eat.”

It was the strangest thing. Where she once didn’t even like having to share the same space as him, she found herself standing at the café in the mall wondering what Terra would like off the menu. She admittedly didn’t know and had to guess completely, but so far he was drinking the black coffee with no complaints as he peeked into the bag curiously.

“It was the least sweet thing I could find,” she explained, pulling out her own pastry which she made sure was the polar opposite.

It was like the thought surprised him as he looked back up to her.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” she chuckled, pulling off a piece of her pastry to pop in her mouth. “It’s the holidays, there’s been cookies and pies and cakes galore back here and you’ve never touched any of them. I figured you didn’t really like sweets too much.”

“Ah, well, you’re right,” he said, placing the pastry on top of the bag, a sort of smile on his lips. “Thank you for thinking of me.”

“Of course, we have to survive all this madness together.”

He hummed in response, leaning back in his chair as he carefully ate the pastry she brought him.

Aqua wasn’t quite sure how it happened. She didn’t know how she went from trying to ignore him as best she could at work to actually looking to see if his name was on the schedule with her. Almost just as surprising was the disappointment she felt when they were scheduled separate. Was he always this sweet and kind and she just never saw it? Did she ever give him the chance to understand he just operated on a different level than she did?

She didn’t know. All she knew was she regretted the way she treated him before. Ever since he brought her food when she was sick, she couldn’t get him out of her head. Even going so far as to having the desire to text him for no reason other than she wished she could see him more than just at work when they were so busy and never really got a chance to say much. She did stop trying to always take control of things, knowing that no matter what he was doing he’d do it to the best of his abilities, even if it was a much quieter way than she’d do it. She actually found his presence with her more comforting than anything, knowing he’d be there if she needed it. Aqua didn’t know why, because she didn’t deserve it in the least but it was a nice thing.

Also a very conflicting thing as she was supposed to meet the person she had been talking to for months again tonight.

“Something on your mind?” he asked.

Aqua blinked as she remembered she was still sitting at the table staring down at her food. His was already gone, just crumbs remaining as he went back to his drink. “Ah, nothing important,” she said, reaching to pick at her pastry.

Terra tipped his cup to his lips, gesturing with his hand for her to continue. Did she mention how easy it was to talk to him, too? For all the bickering they used to do, she found conversation with him so easily. He was quiet but always attentive, like nothing she said ever bored him. Why did they used to fight so much? Aqua couldn’t even begin to remember.

“I’m well, I’m supposed to meet that guy again tonight.” The nerves tightened in her stomach just at the thought, making her otherwise delicious food seem unappealing.

Terra arched his eyebrows. “Is that a bad thing?”

“I don’t know,” she groaned, her head falling backwards some.

“Did he at least apologize to you?”

She nodded. “Yeah, he didn’t really tell me what happened other than it was on him, and that he wanted to try for a second chance.”

“Do you think he deserves it?”

“Everyone deserves a second chance,” Aqua said, maybe a little too quickly judging by the way her heart leapt up into her throat with Terra’s eyes on her. “I just…I don’t know.”

Terra leaned forward, placing his cup on the table. “In the end it’s up to you. You seemed really upset when he stood you up last time. You have every right not to want to put yourself through that again.”

She hesitated. “Do you think I should go?”

“It’s not my choice to make,” he laughed lightly. “It’s up to you and how you feel. If you still feel like you want to meet this person then go, if you don’t feel like you can trust them after what happened then don’t. Don’t ever feel forced to do something just because you think it’s what other people want.”  

Did she still want to? She knew there was a part of her that did, who wanted to meet the person she had so many wonderful conversations with, who made her feel light and warm, happy even when she otherwise might not’ve felt those things. Yet, there was another part of her who was aware there was a person sitting in this room who also had the ability to make her feel that way, who took care of her when he absolutely didn’t have to, who kept the kids at the store out of trouble because he knew they meant well, who did anything without a complaint.

“You’re right,” she said, bringing her coffee back up to her lips. Their break would be over in any second, and she’d have to go back to work and try to not be distracted…by a lot of things.

Terra seemed accepting enough with her answer as he leaned back in his chair. Granted that didn’t last too long as the door swung open.

Xion had her head popped in. “Boss said break’s up, sorry, guys.”

“It’s fine, be right there,” Aqua said, moving to shove the rest of her pastry in her mouth (that absolutely got a chuckle from Terra). She grabbed her coffee to take with her as she stood; she was hiding it behind the counter, they could pry it from her cold, dead hands.

“Hey, Aqua?”

She paused, turning back to Terra who was standing but not really making any other move to leave. “Yeah, what’s up?”

He looked a little unsure, and for a moment she thought he was going to tell her not to go (or hoped? She wasn’t quite sure). “I’m sorry, about how I’ve treated you in the past. It was, ah, really wrong of me.”

Despite the fact she was about to head back to the floor on one of the busiest nights of the year, she couldn’t hold back her smile at his sweet sentiment. “You don’t have to apologize, Terra. I wasn’t always very kind either, so I’m sorry about that.” She paused for a moment, well aware Xion was probably about to stick her head back in to get them moving. “I’m glad it’s not like that anymore though.”

“Me too.”

Aqua barely had time to register the sort of sweet smile on his lips as she pulled open the door, her head instantly filled with Christmas music and the noise that came with a packed store. She did think about how well his smile fit his face, how sincere he was in a simple apology as she bustled around trying to assist where she could and keep the customers happy. It really didn’t help her choice she had to make, it only made it even harder.

In the end, once the store was cleaned and closed up, she bid farewell to her coworkers and walked down the nearby stairs to the first floor of the mall. She could’ve gone to her car and left, but at the same time she couldn’t abide having him feel the same way she did just the week before. Aqua wasn’t sure what she’d say or what she’d do, if she even felt the same way she did before but in the very least he was her friend and he deserved to be treated with respect.

The tree was so big it reached the second floor of the mall, all filled with garland, ornaments, lights, and bows. It really was beautiful. Usually it was filled with lines of kids coming to see Santa but now it was empty, the lights twinkling and soft music playing over the radio. No one else was there, and she tried not to feel the familiar sink of disappointment.

Aqua moved to walk around the tree, to see if anyone else was waiting around the other side. No one, not even lingering mall shoppers, everyone was gone already. She sighed, reaching to her pocket for her phone to see how long she should wait before leaving this endeavor too. She stopped short when she heard footsteps in her direction.

Her heart was in her throat when she looked up but it really didn’t clear anything up. “Terra?” she asked, as he continued to walk up to her. “Did you forget something?”

He had his hands in his jacket pockets, his shoulders hunched slightly. He had keys so she wasn’t sure why he’d need her if he forgot something in the store but still he didn’t stop till he was standing in front of her. The look on his face was a little unreadable, but he looked more nervous than anything.

It was that moment Aqua realized while she told Terra she was supposed to meet her friend tonight, she never actually said where.

“I know I said you’d know me when you saw me,” he said, reaching a hand up to the back of his neck. “But I realized you never did before, so I suppose I probably should’ve brought bells or something.”

Aqua felt her purse fall off her shoulder but she made no move to get it, she could only bring her fingers up to her mouth as she stared at him. It made sense; it made way too much sense for her to have never seen it before. Everything she knew about her friend she knew in Terra too, right down to how gentle and caring she always thought him to be.

“I’m sorry for lying to you,” he said. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you that night either. I just…didn’t want you to feel disappointed that in the end it was me.”

“Terra,” she choked. The emotions swirling through her made tears pricked her eyes in a wave of relief that she didn’t even know she was looking for till he was standing there; that the person she looked forward to seeing at work was the same person she waited for each message from. “I couldn’t…I wanted it to be you.”

He didn’t seem to be expecting that, nor did she expect to put her hands on his face, bringing herself up to press her lips to his. Terra recovered from his surprise enough to reach a hand to her face, the other to her back, pulling her in.

She wrapped the stem with some floral tape before covering it with more twine to match the sections of the crown she finished; which wasn’t much, but it was tedious process. She figured she could wear it till it wilted and promote their services to any customers. It also made time go by while Aerith was busy filling an order in the backroom.

While it was still a job, and it was customer service which was frustrating at times (she was also sure she had permanent scars from thorns, missed scissor cuts, and wrapping paper), it was still a place she enjoyed working. She loved taking care of their flowers, being able to create, and making so many people’s every day or special occasions beautiful, both the exciting ones and the sad ones. It was rewarding in its own way.

She snipped another stem, adding it next to the blue one she already used to make the color more vibrant. Aqua admittedly wasn’t a master at arraignments like Aerith and her mother, were but they often told Aqua she had a good eye so she’d take it. She was learning a trade most people didn’t even know they needed until the time demanded it.

The bell rang, making her look up from tying the twine. Sometimes it was just people coming in to look around, sometimes people who knew exactly what they wanted and sometimes, a lot of times, it was confused looking men and women who had no idea what sort of flowers they needed for their occasion.

“Good morning, Cloud,” she said with a smile, placing the crown down on the counter.

The blond wasn’t exactly a regular to buy flowers, but he was Aerith’s fiancé’s best friend so Aqua knew him fairly well now in the least. Judging by the looking in his eyes, he was falling in the last category of customers today.

“How can I help you?”

He hesitated, blue eyes darting around the room as he approached the counter. “I need flowers,” he said blandly, like there was any other reason he’d come to a florist but that was Cloud.

“Well, lucky for you we have them,” she chuckled but his expression didn’t change. Okay, apparently not in a joking mood today. “What’s the occasion?”

Cloud reached a hand up to the back of his neck, looking either embarrassed or nervous, Aqua couldn’t quite tell. “Do you have flowers for telling your pregnant wife sorry for making her cry when you accidentally bought strawberry ice cream when she asked for chocolate chip cookie dough?”

Aqua tried to cover her mouth to hide the snort of laughter but considering Cloud didn’t look all that reassured she figured she didn’t do a good job. “I know I work here, but you realize you can just buy Tifa the right ice cream right?”

“Well, yeah,” he said, dropping his hands to his sides almost in defeat. “I’m going to but she cried almost all night and I felt…really bad.”

“I got it,” she said, moving away from the counter. Tifa and Aerith were close friends so Aqua knew the black haired woman well enough to know she was always smiling, always calm. “We just got these in,” Aqua said, reaching to one of the vases full of bright, yellow flowers.

“Sunflower,” Cloud said in acknowledgement.

Aqua nodded, holding the stem so she could brush by the soft pedals. “One of its meanings is adoration, which is clearly how you feel if you’re picking her a flower over ice cream, but it’s also almost impossible not to think of the sun and warm summer days. I bet it’ll make her smile.”

He thought for a moment but nodded. “Okay, yeah, I like it.”

“Good,” she said with a smile. He was a friend sure, but she always liked when customers actually liked her suggestions. “Just the one or would you like me to make a bouquet for her?”

“A bouquet if you don’t mind,” he said.

“Not at all.” She turned to gather a few more of the flowers; they were already fairly large so she didn’t need too many. Aqua moved back to the counter to go through the steps of trimming, tying, wrapping in matching colors before shifting to ring Cloud up.

After a few beeps she passed him the flowers which he delicately took like it was precious cargo (he was going to be a good dad). “Thanks, Aqua,” he said, his own unique smile on his face as he started to leave.

“My pleasure. Let me know how she likes it!”

He turned to wave before heading to the door.

“Get the right ice cream this time too!”

If Cloud heard her, he ignored her.

Aqua chuckled to herself as she picked her flower crown back up. Maybe she should go check on Aerith; she was probably fine, just absorbed in her creative process. She was creating samples to show a bride and Aqua very well knew depending on the bride it could go very well or very bad. Aerith was probably making some backups just in case.

Aqua barely got another flower taped onto the wire before the bell dinged again. Well, at least if it got busy, time would go by a little faster. She looked up, ready to greet her next costumer but instead she saw the familiar shade of a white apron, some casualties of the kitchen smeared across it. Usual black pants and white shirt were under it, hands fiddling near the apron pocket, blue eyes glancing around the room and messy hair that was free of a hair net which also wasn’t unusual as she knew he hated it.  

“Terra Hale,” she said with a smile, ignoring the sudden flip in her stomach at seeing him walk into the store. It wasn’t terribly uncommon as he only worked next door but at the same time she hadn’t been expecting to see him this early. She didn’t put her crown down as she started wrapping more of the twine. “Are you sneaking off from work?”

Terra raised a hand to his chest, pointing his finger at himself. “Me? I don’t know how you could ever think that.”

“Because it’s about to be lunch rush at the restaurant and you should be there prepping but you’re standing in my flower shop instead.”

He shrugged, stopping at the counter as he placed his hands up on the surface. “I am here on business.”

“What kind of business would that be?”

He tapped his fingers on the counter. “You haven’t put in a lunch order yet. If you wait too long it’ll take forever for us to get to it.”

Aqua hummed as she grabbed another flower, cutting the stem before looking back up at him. “Maybe I was eating lunch somewhere else today.”

“Were you?”

It was hard to tell when he smiled at first. Aqua never even really noticed the first few times he delivered when she started working here, as he always seemed stone faced, intimidating in a way; though that could’ve been due to his height and stature too. The more she saw him though, the more she saw the way his smile would pull at the sides of his lips when he said hello or goodbye, when he’d let her know which order was which, and eventually when he’d delay going back to work to talk to her like now.

“Maybe,” she said, looking back down so she could tape the flower in place. “I hear that McDonalds down the street is superb.”

“Are you seriously comparing freshly prepared and cooked meals to…” Terra paused for a second, arching his eyebrow. “McDonalds?”

She probably could’ve teased him a little longer, but the laughter that bubbled up uncontrollably gave her away. “Okay, fair, you guys do have the best food in town.”

He propped his elbow up on the counter, leaning over to put his chin in his hand. It was a fairly wide countertop so it could be used as a work area; he wasn’t even really in her space but she still started to find it a little hard to breathe. Even more so when a bigger smile pulled at his lips, which she found was her favorite to see. It was harder to come by with him, but when he did it lit up his whole face, especially his eyes and the dimples on his cheeks were easier to see.

She glanced down at the crown in her hands, seeing she completely wound the twine wrong. Luckily no one else was in the store because he was sort of a distraction every time he stopped by. Aqua went to quickly undo what she had done, hoping he hadn’t noticed.

“I can’t promise our French fries aren’t quite as addicting,” he said, though he rolled his eyes slightly. “But I’ll make you whatever you want.”

“I don’t have a menu handy,” she said, trying to focus on the crown again, mainly so she could keep some sense of herself and not turn into a giggling teenage girl when she was much older than that. “Tell me what’s good today.”

“Doesn’t really matter,” he shrugged. “I can make you something that’s not on the menu too.”

“Really? Can you do that?” Aqua trimmed the next flower stem as she spoke but she was genuinely curious. Working in a restaurant wasn’t something she ever did, and she never really thought about if cooks could make things off the menu.

“Sure,” he said, smile still on his lips which was highly distracting. “As long as we have the ingredients and I know how to make it, doesn’t matter too much if it’s on the menu or not.”

“Would you get in trouble?”

“No,” Terra snorted. “No one would care. Besides the boss is off catering a party today. Even if he would care, which he wouldn’t, he likes you.”

The menu was just fine really; they honestly did have great food. The restaurant was in Cid’s family for a long time, they had the recipes down to perfection. At the same time though, the thought of having something special made for her made her chest feel light and also made her stomach growl a little.

“In that case then…” She paused, trying to think of something she never had there before. “Grilled cheese.”

“I give you a run of the kitchen, and you ask for grilled cheese?”

“Like fancy grilled cheese, not just cheese on it.”

He laughed, using his hand to gesture for her to go on. “Like…”

“I don’t know,” she said, a smile pulling at her lips. “You’re the chef, you decide.”

He arched his eyebrows but it seemed more in amusement than anything. “You sure?”

“Yeah,” she nodded, carefully ripping the floral tape so she didn’t mess it up again while he was watching her. “You know what I like, I trust you.”

“Alright, I’ll bring it over when it’s done. Tell Aerith I’ll bring her usual too.”

“Will do,” she said, adding the twine over the tape. “I’m sure she’ll appreciate it, she’s been working in the back room since opening.”

Terra glanced down at the flowers she was working with, like he hadn’t noticed it before. “That’ll be pretty.”

“Oh, it’s nothing,” she said with a shrug. “Found them lying around in the discard pile, and I thought I’d give them a new life.”

He didn’t say anything for a moment but reached down to pick up one of the lighter blue flowers. “Try this one next?”

It was obvious he was a little unsure if that was the right thing to say but it was sweet, and pretty cute. “I think so too,” she said, reaching out to take the flower from him. “You’ve got a good eye, too. You wanna work here part time?”

Terra snorted as he pushed himself off the counter. “I’ll leave that to you. See you in a little bit.”

“Bye,” she said, waving slightly as he turned to wave back before heading out the door, the bell dinging and leaving her in silence once more. Aqua sighed as she reached up to touch the petals of the flower he handed her. It was pretty; it would make a nice next addition.

“Can you two please just get a room?”

Aqua fumbled the flower in surprise, reaching to grab it before it hit the counter. She quickly turned to see Aerith spraying some water on some of the hanging plants by the back door.

“Aerith,” Aqua breathed. “When did you finish the bouquets?” Which sounded better than “how long have you been standing there?”.

Aerith turned her head, a usual knowing smile on her lips. “A few minutes ago, not that either of you noticed.”

“He just came by to ask what we wanted for lunch,” Aqua said, trimming the stem down of the flower she still had in her hand.

“Yes, because that’s exactly what it looked like.”

Aqua decided that didn’t need a response as she wrapped the flower in floral tape, the only other sounds in the store being the light music, the chimes blowing in the wind outside, and Aerith’s water bottle as she moved to the next plant. Aqua grabbed the twine, wrapping over the tape; she was almost halfway done now at least.

“How did the bouquets go?” she asked, a relevant way to change the topic.

“Oh, very well, at least I think so. We’ll see what kind of bride she is when she comes in later today.”

“You’re perfect with wedding arraignments, I’m sure it’ll be just fine.”

Aerith hummed as she turned her head back to Aqua. “Tell that to the one girl who threw the flowers back at my head.”

“That did not happen,” Aqua laughed, grabbing another white flower to add to her other one.

“Oh, believe me, it did.” Aerith delicately moved a few leaves on one of the nearby plants. “People can get crazy about their wedding day.”

“Not you though, I’m sure.”

“I don’t need to be,” she chuckled. “I’ve got all my flowers because I can do it here, catering deal next door, my grandma is doing alterations on my dress, most laid back fiancé there ever has been. Easy, peasy.”

“You promise you won’t throw flowers at me then?”

“I trust you to help me with my flowers just fine, so no, I won’t,” Aerith said with a laugh.

Aqua smiled as she grabbed another flower to trim. “That was actually so sweet.”

“What about you? Ever want to get married?” Aerith was near the front of the store now, but it was such a small space it wasn’t hard to hear or see her.

“Someday probably.” Aqua carefully wrapped more floral tape. “If I ever meet the right person.”

“Huh, funny.”

“What is it?” She didn’t bother to look up as she worked on more twine. How much time had gone by?

“I happen to know a nice guy. Cute, kind, pretty eyes, good with his hands, even better with food, works next door.”

Aqua glanced up to see Aerith grinning as she sprayed the plants up front.

“What? Did you really think I was going to let it go easily?”

“I should’ve known better honestly.”

“That you should’ve.” Aerith seemed like she was about to say something else but the bell rang over the door. She turned to greet the customers and Aqua breathed a small sigh of relief as she focused herself back on the crown; if Aerith needed help she’d say, but she usually didn’t.

It wasn’t like Aqua didn’t know. She didn’t need to be teased like she was in middle school to know when she had feelings for someone. She was even fairly sure her feelings were reciprocated but at the same time that’s what scared her. It was a fairly…long time since she was in a relationship with anyone; she usually kept herself too busy for anything like it even if she missed the companionship sometimes. So here was this kind, attractive guy who gave her special treatment at the restaurant and gave her rides home sometimes, and was really cute, did she mention that already? And she didn’t know what to do.

She’d be lying if she said she never thought about it before; especially after long days, finally being able to sit down in his car, listening to the low hum of his voice against the radio, wondering how it would feel if she just asked him to stay for a little bit. At the same time she also couldn’t shake the fact of what would happen if something went wrong. They didn’t work at the same place but because of a partnership Aerith’s mom had with Cid, people who catered and bought flowers from both places got a deal. They often ended up at events together setting up. Aqua would never want to have awkward feelings with him or anyone else on either staff. Well, that was if something went wrong. It could otherwise be perfect, wonderful, everything she wanted.

But she had rushed in before.

Aqua could be a romantic, she knew it; she tried to be a rational person at all times but there was something about the romance of things she just fell for. She enjoyed working with flowers because of the language they spoke, what they could tell people without words. She liked Terra because he was so sweet. He gave her special treatment at the restaurant, and his dimples showed when he smiled. Yet she also liked her ex because he knew how to lace words together in the most charming way, until that went all wrong. She also liked her ex before that because he surprised her with gifts and dinners and treats, until that went all wrong. She even liked her high school boyfriend because he was the only one who gave her chocolate on Valentine’s Day, and that went really wrong. The charm, the romance, she fell for it and so far it hadn’t worked out so great. Still, it also didn’t feel right to punish her feelings and potentially Terra’s feelings for things a bunch of guys who probably weren’t right for her anyways did ages ago.

So the circle started over again. Overthinking things was sort of her specialty.

She sighed as she tried to keep her focus on the flowers in her hands instead. It was easy here at least, surrounded by such beauty all the time. It was hard not to feel at peace here, even if customers weren’t always kind about suggestions, or apparently throw flowers at your head. Most of the time, like earlier with Cloud, she got the chance to brighten someone’s day and that made her feel a lot better about just about everything.

Aqua wasn’t quite sure how much time went by until she finished the crown since after she rang up Aerith’s customers. The bride came in with her maid of honor to see the flowers and Aerith took them in the back. It couldn’t have been too long, but Aqua still felt some pride as she dropped the completed piece on her head. She peeked in the nearby mirror they kept up and was glad to see it seemed to look pretty good too. There, she wasted nothing and could promote their products at the same time.

The bell rang.

She moved to greet the customer but the beautiful aroma of fresh food hit her first. Her stomach growled even just from the smell. “Oh, am I happy to see you again.”

“You know,” Terra snorted as he made his way up to the counter, white plastic bag in his hand. “I get that a lot.”

“Can’t imagine why.”

He placed the bag on the counter, which still had remnants of Aqua’s project on. “Top one is yours, bottom is Aerith’s, who has been busy since I haven’t seen her at all today.”

“Wedding clients,” Aqua said, reaching below for her purse.

Terra let out a low whistle. “It is that season isn’t it.”

“Yeah, ready for all those fancy event set ups?”

“Oh, yeah, love getting yelled at by the mother of the bride for placing the pasta too close to the macaroni and cheese.”

“Just wait till you have the maid of honor throw a fit that her flowers are saggy compared to the other bridesmaids. How much do I owe you?” Aqua asked, flipping open her wallet.

“Don’t worry about it,” he said, gently tapping the top of the container. “On the house.”

“Terra,” she said. “Cid will probably kill you if you keep giving us free lunch.”

“I’ll just volunteer for the next wedding,” he shrugged, slowly walked backwards to the door. “But he will probably kill me if I’m not back soon, busy day.”

“Well, thank you,” she said, unable to bite back a smile.

“Hey,” he gestured to the top of his head. “Your crown came out nice, it’s really pretty.”

Aqua reached a hand up to her head, feeling the soft flowers. “I’ll make you one next, how’s that?”

“Sounds like a deal.” He waved as he pushed the door open with his back, disappearing beyond the store front.

She sighed again, but this time from contentment. She knew she would be lying if she didn’t say seeing him might be the highlight of her day. She was also really hungry. Aqua peeked in the box that had her custom meal in, and couldn’t hide her grin.

She didn’t even need to take a bite to know it was perfect.

--

Aqua didn’t admittedly see herself working for a florist when she graduated college, but jobs weren’t easy to come by in the least and between working in the shop, as well as working on location for parties and weddings, it paid enough for her to keep up with the bills. She’d take what she could get.

She ended up loving it more than she thought she would too. The atmosphere, the type of work, and of course the company too. Aerith and her mother was lovely people, neither of whom were pushovers in the least, as well as the part time employees who worked here too. They were mostly high school kids getting their first jobs, but they were a sweet group.

It was a slow day and it was getting slower by the second, the more times Aqua looked up at the clock overhead. Kairi was fixing a display in the storefront but otherwise it was quiet. Mrs. Gainsborough was running late coming back from on location consultation, and since Aqua had no plans unlike Aerith did tonight, Aqua offered to stay. Kairi was in the process of being trained to be a closer so Mrs. Gainsborough didn’t have to work every night. Kairi probably could’ve handled being alone for a little bit but Aqua didn’t want her to feel uncomfortable or to have something come up.

It wasn’t really a big deal, all she would do was go home to wear pajamas and binge TV shows till she fell asleep.

She tried not to yawn as she looked up at the clock again; it was just after five in the afternoon which was an hour after she usually left work. Slow days dragged enough as it was, let alone slow long days. Business was picking up but it was coming in spurts, at least until everyone realized spring was right around the corner and people started freaking out that they needed to get on their planning.

“How does this look?” Kairi asked taking a step back from her display.

“Very pretty,” Aqua said. “I love the colors you picked.”

“I thought it said ‘Don’t worry, spring is almost here. It’ll stop being so dreary and cold soon’.”

“I think you get your point across very well,” Aqua smiled. “I do hope you’re right. Someone should tell the weather that a little sunshine never hurt anyone.”

Kairi reached for the front pocket of her apron. “Is it okay if I take a picture of it?”

“Be my guest, it would be a shame not to show off your hard work.”

The redhead grinned as she pulled out her phone, backing up till she could get the whole display in.

The bell dinged and on reflex Aqua stopped slouching over the counter. She hoped it was the familiar face of Aerith’s mom but it was woman Aqua didn’t know, a customer. Kairi was already on it, slipping her phone away and moving to greet the woman happily.

Even though Aqua offered to stay she still felt the sting of disappointment that seemed to be following her every time the door opened today. All day, every ding of the bell made her happy only to be replaced with a sinking feeling when it wasn’t brown hair and blue eyes, wearing a white apron and always smelling like some sort of food. It was more than likely Terra’s day off; he was human, he needed them too. Or he was working a party and just wasn’t onsite at the restaurant. It’s not like she didn’t understand, she loved her days off, she bet he did too but it did make work drag so much longer when she didn’t see him.

Aqua contemplated asking Cid, who came in to give them lunch whenever Terra didn’t, but she figured Cid either would ask her why she cared or tell Terra the girl from the florist shop was being nosey; both those options seemed a little too embarrassing for her to go through with it. She wanted to validate herself and say there was nothing to be embarrassed about, her and Terra were friends, they saw each other almost every day for months now; okay so maybe the extent of hanging out when not at work was just the few minutes in his car but work friends in the least. Aqua knew there was nothing to justify though. Seeing him made the day so much better, it was simple as that.

The bell rang again but this time it was the customer leaving.

“Couldn’t help them?” Aqua asked as Kairi walked up to the counter.

“Actually, she said she really liked our set up and she wanted to come back when she had more time. She’s planning a birthday party for her mom. So I went over the basics with her.”

“Well done,” Aqua nodded. “I’m sure we’ll be getting busy again real soon.”

“Man, I hope so. It just drags when it’s slow,” Kairi sighed, sitting herself up on one of the stools set by the counter. Mrs. Gainsborough never minded if they sat down and talked as long as work was done and customers were treated first.  

“Ain’t that the truth.”

Kairi sighed. “Any events we’re planning for?”

“Weddings and more weddings coming up soon, but in the upcoming weekends I think there’s an anniversary party we’ll be setting up for. Tifa’s baby shower even though she doesn’t know it. Prom will be here before you know it too.” Aqua paused looking over to the younger girl. “Do you have your dress yet?”

“Aqua,” Kairi whined slightly, face turning a little red.

“Why so embarrassed? It’s fun. You should see all the girls who come in here all excited to get a flower for their date.”

Kairi fiddled with her fingers in her lap. “No one’s asked me yet.”  

“It’s barely March, you have plenty of time. Maybe that boy you like will, what’s his name again?”

“Aqua,” Kairi whined again but this time much more dramatically, holding her hands up to her face.

“Okay,” Aqua chuckled. “Your secret is safe with me.”

A flash of white near the door made Aqua nearly fall over in her effort to get a better look but it must’ve been just someone walking by. She tried not to make her sigh audible but it didn’t work since Kairi looked significantly less embarrassed.

“What is it?” she asked.

“Ah, nothing,” Aqua shook her head.

Kairi looked like she was going to say something but the bell over the door rang. Aqua looked over to greet the customer but to her surprise it was actually a familiar face.

“Hi, Lea,” Kairi said with a smile, though it quickly turned to a frown. “What’s wrong with you?”

The tall teenager wasn’t exactly a frequent costumer of flowers but he was a frequent friend of Roxas and Namine, two of the part time kids who worked in the afternoons, as well as Kairi; ironically enough, Roxas’ twin brother worked next door at the restaurant. Aqua was pretty sure they all went to school together. Lea wasn’t usually all smiles but he was pretty laid back and relaxed of a person so it was a little unusual to see such a scowl on his face.

He placed his hands on the counter, looking so strangely serious. “I need flowers to say fuck you in the most passive aggressive way possible.”

She blinked at him; that wasn’t exactly what she was expecting.

“Can you…can you do that with flowers?” Kairi asked, clearly as caught off guard but probably not terribly surprised either.

“Well, yes, you can,” Aqua said. “I can’t say it’s a common reason but it can be done. I’m not sure who did you wrong enough to get a passive aggressive flower message but follow me, we’ll find something.”

Kairi had her hand over her mouth as she was trying not to laugh, something Lea noticed as he reached up to gently push at her head.

Aqua had to run through meanings in her head as she looked over what they had, the somewhat strange request would take her mind away from today and make time go by faster for once. At least it was different than the same old red roses.

--

The bell barely dinged to let Aqua know she should turn from watering the plants and she already knew who it was.

“Hello, beautiful flower maidens, have you seen what a lovely day it is outside today?”

Aqua snorted as she looked over to Zack, his arms extended slightly like he was offering the world’s best news. “No, some of us have been stuck inside a building all day unlike you.”

Zack moved his hand up to his heart, cringing over dramatically. “Oh, Aqua, you wound me. Hey, I’ll let you have the rest of the day off. No worries, you deserve it.”

“You can’t do that,” Aerith said from the front counter where she was writing down orders, but now she just had her chin in her hand as she tapped the pen against the order book, a big grin on her lips. “You don’t even work here.”

He started to walk towards her. “Yeah, but the owner’s daughter is my wife so I think I can have some say.”

She hummed, dropping the pen so she could step away from the counter to where he was standing. “I think you have a little bit longer before you’re allowed to call me that, you know, until we actually get married.”

Zack waited till she was close enough before wrapping his arms around her, pulling her right off the ground which earned a cry of laughter from Aerith. “Or we could still go with my idea and just go to the courthouse so we don’t have to wait any longer.”

Aqua moved to the next section of plants. Aerith and Zack were always at an adorable level of cute; they gave those sweet feelings that come with seeing two people made for each other. It made Aqua glad to see that her friend was so very happy, but it always came with a small pain in her chest after. She supposed it was partly her fault, if she ever wanted to find a relationship like theirs she actually had to, you know, accept being in a relationship or take the first steps to start one herself.

Neither was exactly easy to do; even if she had thought about it…a lot over the past few months.  

“I’d agree with you,” Aerith said. “If I hadn’t been in the flower business my whole life, and have been planning my wedding since I was six years old.”

“Touché,” Zack snorted. “Doesn’t matter, I’ll marry you any day, anywhere. Aqua’s my witness to it.”

She rolled her eyes but turned her head. He was putting Aerith back on the ground, placing a quick kiss to her lips. They really were sweet. Aqua went back the flowers in front of her as Aerith moved to her order sheet, Zack taking a seat on the stool in front of her. He was probably waiting for shift swap which was in…Aqua glanced up at the clock. Oh thank God, only ten minutes left.

She reached over to brush aside some leaves to get closer to the roots. She could hear Zack talking to Aerith but about what, Aqua couldn’t tell.

She supposed maybe risks were worth taking if there was happiness like theirs at the end of it, that wondering and day dreaming really did nothing if she couldn’t put action behind it. It was just like every time she told herself today would be the day she’d say something. But she froze and let a whole day go by without doing anything. Aqua knew what made her nervous because what if Terra said no…or almost just as scary, what if he said yes? She’d be right on the track she knew so well, but that track always ended poorly and that…that she absolutely didn’t want with him. She knew it didn’t have to end the same way, that Terra wasn’t anyone who had broken her heart before, but she found that first leap to be much harder than she ever expected it to be until she was face to face with someone like him.

The alternative, of course, was working in this shop and seeing him almost every day as they did with her trying to hide how much more she wanted it to be; relatively hiding because anyone who did know never seemed to be all too surprised. Granted, she must’ve done an okay job because he didn’t take any steps farther either. Maybe he was afraid of the same things she was or maybe he really wasn’t interested.

Aqua sighed as she crouched down to get some of the plants on the floor. Wouldn’t it be nice to just turn off her brain for even a little bit of time? All she really knew was she was pretty sure she’d be devastated if he ever stopped coming to see her, or if he came in with another girl to buy flowers for. Aqua knew that was telling in itself and she should just do anything instead of wondering for all of eternity what could’ve been; that she let her fear of the past hold her back from the future. Could she live with that?

The bell rang near her but she was a little tangled in the plants to greet them.

“Hey, man!” Zack exclaimed.

Aqua knew what she should do, yeah, but while it was easy to know, it was harder to actually do something about it.

“Welcome to the Gainsborough Flower Emporium,” he continued grandly, even though that wasn’t even remotely the name of the shop. “Bet we can help you find any sort of flower for any object of your affection. May I suggest blue roses?”

“I’m fine, Zack,” Terra said and Aqua promptly felt the watering can slip from her hands.

It clanged to the ground, making more noise than actually spilling water. She quickly reached to grab it and try and get the heat to leave her face before she stood up. It didn’t seem to work very well.

“Are you okay?” Terra asked, leaning around one of the plant displays to see her better. He didn’t look like he was about to laugh or anything, but Aerith was absolutely doing a bad job hiding hers.

“Ah, yeah,” Aqua said, standing up this time with the water can firmly in her hands. “The handle was just slippery.”

“You should be careful, Aqua,” Zack said, though she couldn’t see him very well. “I’d have to ask Terra to help you get to the hospital otherwise. Ow! Hey, what was that for?” It was clear that was directed at Aerith which Aqua at least appreciated the assist, even if it didn’t make the heat in her face go away at all.

“What’re you doing here?” Aqua asked, ignoring Zack’s comment completely. “Shouldn’t you be off work now?”

“Yeah, thankfully,” Terra said, turning to face her better, small smile on his lips. “I know it’s a nice day but I just figured I’d see if you wanted a ride home.”

Aerith was whispering something slightly commanding to Zack, who responded with a hushed “I didn’t say anything” but Aqua tried, really hard, not to pay attention to them.

“Oh, yeah, that would be really nice, thank you,” she said with a smile. “Well, if you don’t mind waiting…” She looked over to the clock. “Like five minutes?”

“You can go, Aqua,” Aerith said. “It’s fine.”

“So you can let her leave but I can’t?” Zack asked.

Aerith rolled her eyes but she was smiling. “Go on, don’t need to make him wait for five minutes.”

“Okay,” Aqua said. “Only if you’re sure.”

“Positive.”

Aqua went up to the counter, placing the can down so she could grab her purse from the shelves underneath. “I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

“See you tomorrow,” Aerith hummed, leaning back over to her order form.

“See ya,” Zack waved. “Take care of our little princess, okay? Home by…you know however long it takes to drive her home.”

“Bye, Zack,” Terra rolled his eyes, but pushed the door open wider for Aqua.

Stepping outside and breathing the fresh air of early spring was admittedly much better. “I’m sorry about them,” Aqua said, walking next to Terra to the parking lot behind the building where he usually parked his car.

“Don’t be,” he said, glancing over. “I went to school with Zack, I’m very much used to it.”

“Was he always that energetic?”

“Yes, always.” Terra pulled his keys out as they got closer to his car.

She waited on the passenger side until he opened his side of the door and she heard the click that all the doors were unlocked. She dropped her bag on the floor and slid into the car. It was all familiar to her now. In the winter, he didn’t want her to wait for the bus in the cold when they usually got off at the same time. Aqua tried not to focus on the fact the weather was very nice out, she didn’t even need a jacket today, but he was still offering; it made her chest feel light.

“So,” she sighed as she watched him start to back out of the parking spot. “How was work today?”

“Same old, same old really,” he said. “Now that people can eat outside again it gets a little busier.”

“I can understand.” She leaned her head back against the head rest as he pulled out into the street, taking the familiar way home. “I love the spring, when it starts to get warm and all the flowers come up.”

“Understandable, since you’re chronically cold.”

“Hey, just because I’m not a walking furnace at all seasons of the year doesn’t mean I’m the weird one here.”

“I didn’t even know the heat in my car could go as high as it does until I met you.”

“You’re being so dramatic,” she laughed, turning her head to him.

He was still watching the road, moving his hand to shift the car up, but she saw the smile on his lips, dimples on his cheeks. She could imagine this. She could imagine seeing him every day and not just for the few bits she saw him for food. Aqua bet even though he cooked for a living he still liked to cook dinner, that he snored, that he liked to watch movies with popcorn, that he wouldn’t mind that she stole all blankets. She wanted so much more, she wanted a chance at so much more with him. Even if she didn’t have a chance, even if it didn’t work out she had to at least try.

“How was work for you?” he asked, turning the car off the main street.

“Getting busier every day,” she said, trying to keep her voice even. “We have some winter and fall weddings, of course Valentine’s Day, and it picks up when the spring and summer brides start to plan, and then we have everyone who waits last minute to do anything.”

Terra clicked his tongue. “Of course.”

“But it’s okay, I like doing it. Aerith is the best at wedding flowers but I’m getting better, it’s fun.”

“I bet you’re much better at it then you give yourself credit for.”

“Yeah?” she asked though her breath caught in her throat. “What makes you say that?”

“Because I’ve seen you create displays and arraignments for people.” He glanced over to her. “They’re beautiful too.”

“Would you let me do the flowers at your hypothetical wedding?”

“Without a hypothetical doubt.”

She didn’t bother trying to hide her smile. “I still owe you a flower crown too.”

“You absolutely do, I didn’t forget. I was going to try to bring it up passive aggressively in a week or so. Thanks for saving me the trouble.”

She laughed louder than she probably should have but when he laughed too it didn’t really seem to matter. Neither did when he finally came to stop in front of her townhouse. She felt nerves twist down on her stomach, but she had to. She had to say something. This was the time.

“Do you work tomorrow?” he asked, watching her as she gathered her bag off the floor of his car.

“I do. You?”

“People have to eat,” he shrugged with a smile. “I’ll be there.”

“People do have to eat, but they’re lucky they get to eat your food.”

Terra paused as he watched her, but it quickly turned into a smile. “Ah, well, I appreciate that.”

She reached for the handle, trying to not let him see that her fingers were shaking as she pushed the door open. Just say it, say something, anything. Aqua poked her head back in the car, meeting his eyes. He still had the small smile on his lips, hair messy from the hairnet he had to wear, car smelling like the grill he worked over all day and it was the most inviting image Aqua saw all day.

“See you tomorrow then,” she said, swallowing the lump in her throat.

“See you tomorrow, Aqua.”

She shut the door but could only stand on the sidewalk as she watched his car drive away. She didn’t know whether to be furious with herself or cry that she once again wouldn’t let the words come out. She had been given so many chances since she met him, so many perfect moments but here she was still standing in front of her home alone.

She wouldn’t be given chances forever; that she knew for a fact.

--

Aqua stopped registering the sound of the bell about halfway through the day.  Spring was in full swing, and between upcoming holidays and wedding season taking off it seemed like nonstop work. If she wasn’t helping customers with flowers or signing up for consultation appointments, she was helping Aerith get orders ready.

She barely had time to even eat her lunch, let alone be disappointed it was Cid and not Terra. So when she looked up from wrapping someone’s bouquet and he was walking through the door she was more than surprised. It was way past lunch and he wasn’t in his work uniform.

“Hey, Terra,” she said with a smile. She was busy but of course her stomach still had time to get fluttery at the sight of his smile. “Give me one second.”

“Take your time,” he said with a nod.

Aqua got the customer rang out and on their way as quickly as she could, for no ulterior motive of course. There was another costumer in the store but Kairi came in early to help out so that was handled and Aerith was in the back with a bride so everything should be okay. “What’s up?” she breathed looking over to where he was lingering around a few vases. “You had today off, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, yeah,” he said, clapping his hands together and fiddling his fingers some. He looked a little nervous, like he had never been in here before which was weird.

“Everything okay? I wouldn’t come back here if I wasn’t working,” she said, leaning slightly over the counter and praying no one came in so she had a moment with him.

“I’m actually here as a customer, for once.” He reached his hand up behind his head, giving almost a nervous smile.

“I take it you’ve never bought anyone flowers before?” Aqua tried not to feel the way her mouth went dry, her stomach turning slightly with nerves. Not every flower was romantic; it didn’t have to be that. She shouldn’t assume.

“Not at all.”

“Okay.” She gestured for him to follow her. “I got you, no problem. Do you want a premade bouquet or one you put together?”

“Ah.” He followed after her, though it wasn’t that big of a store and she could feel the warmth of his body behind her. “Maybe one put together like now.”

“Don’t be so nervous,” she chuckled, turning to look at him; which was funny considering she still felt like she was going to throw up. “It’s just flowers. Who are they for?”

Terra blinked at her. “Oh, um, a girl.”

“Yeah, I assumed, dummy.” Deep breaths, it’s okay. A girl could mean anyone. “I mean like mother, friend, sister, aunt, or, ah, romantic?”

“Yeah,” he said slowly. “That, romantic.”

Aqua reached out to the nearest vase there was, carefully straightening it to mask the way she felt her face fall with disappointment that sunk her stomach down to her core. She knew she had no right to feel upset when this was entirely her fault. He was an amazing person, there’s no way she was the only person to know that. She used up all her chances.

She looked back up with the best customer service smile she had. “Oh! I didn’t know you had a girlfriend, Terra.”

“I, um, well, I don’t,” he shrugged, both his hands were in his pockets, glancing away from her. “It’s more like…I like her, and I’m trying to say that in…the least awkward way possible which is a lot less than I feel right now.”

She laughed lightly, more for his sake than hers. “Then stop feeling awkward. There’s, you know, nothing awkward about it. So…” She looked away from him which was probably for the best to the flowers in front of them. “For affection, new, um, new love.”

Aqua reached out to the petals, remembering why she worked here, to make others happy. Even if it wasn’t… wasn’t her, she needed to make whoever it was feel all the emotions Terra was trying to express. “Red roses are the standard and they’d get the point across I’m sure but traditionally more for a deeper love than just trying to tell someone you like them.”

“Right,” was his only input.

“Okay,” she breathed. “Roses are still viewed as a romantic. So there’s the orange ones that can be seen as desire or passion. Yellow is kind of all over the place from friendship to extreme betrayal so I don’t recommend that one.”

“What about blue?” he asked reaching his hand out to touch one of them.

“Blue? Um, those in the romantic sense are sort of mystery or attaining the impossible. Also can be love at first sight. Same with the lavender ones as well.”

“Yeah, those two. Blue and purple.”

Aqua nodded. “Those two colors go very well together too. How many would you like?”

“Ah, however many you think is good?”

She glanced over at him still looking so embarrassed about this whole thing, it was hard not to feel a smile pull at her lips even if it hurt. He was such a sweet soul. “Okay, I got it handled.”

He must’ve gotten the hint because he made his way over to the counter as Aqua picked the amount of flowers she thought would look good. She could feel Kairi’s eyes looking over but Aqua ignored it. She took the flowers up to the counter and went about cutting and tying the flowers like she would anyone else.

“A card?” she asked, though she almost didn’t want to ask, afraid to see the name he’d say.

“Hmm?” He looked like he wasn’t even been paying attention.

“Um, do you want a card to go with it? A message, a name?”

“Oh, no, its fine.”

That was a relief at least. She wrapped up the flowers in some paper tying it once more so it would all stay together. It did look really lovely. “Here you go,” she said, handing him the bouquet even though he still had his wallet in his hand.

“Ah, how much?”

Aqua shook her head. “It’s on the house.”  

“Aqua, you don’t have to do that.”

“You know how much you’ve saved me in food?” She hoped she held it together enough for him not to see the stinging in her eyes and only saw the smile. “Take it, please.”

He hesitated, but he put his wallet back in his pocket. “Well, thank you, I appreciate it.” He took the flowers but not before looking over to her again. “See you this weekend? At the wedding?”

Aqua nodded, blinking slightly. “Yeah, I’ll be there.”

“Okay,” he said, looking down at the flowers before giving a smile. “Thanks again.”

“Course.”

Terra turned to leave and all she wanted to do was let him walk out that door and forget what it felt like when he smiled at her.

“Terra?”

“Yeah?” He turned around at the door looking back to her.

“I hope she likes them.”

He smiled again before giving her a wave. “I think she will.”

She watched him till he was gone. The sun was still shining and the flowers still smelt lovely, but it was a little less bright to her knowing what a mistake she made. He was wonderful; he deserved any sort of happiness. Aqua just hoped it would’ve been with her. Even if she knew it was her fault for never saying anything, it didn’t ease any of the hurt she felt.

It was her job to make others happy, she just couldn’t understand why she couldn’t let herself be happy too. Why couldn’t she risk something, anything for once? Aqua wished she had the answer.

The day went on. People came, they bought flowers, they talked about their loved ones, their happy days, the sadness of losing someone they loved, the excitement of finding someone new in your life and she met it all with a smile like she always did. Aerith knew, even if she chose not to ask. Kairi even probably knew. Aqua never said what happened; she didn’t want to think about it at work.

She said her afternoon goodbyes and waved from the door before stepping out into the warm air. She looked up and down the side walk in some stupid hope that maybe Terra happened to come back to pick her up but why would he? He was probably on a date tonight.

Aqua breathed in and headed to the bus stop. It was a very short ride to her home but it felt like an eternity. She wanted to get home, get in her pajamas, and just stay there for the rest of the day… maybe the week. She knew it would get better eventually, but for now the loss of something she never had still made her chest sting, making every breath hard.

She stepped off the bus to her small town house, thankful her neighbor wasn’t outside since she was pretty sure she didn’t want to talk to anyone anymore. Home, PJ’s, couch, and probably something really sweet. That was all she wanted.

Until something caught her eye on her porch.

It was a nice distraction since she wasn’t expecting any packages. Aqua walked up the few steps, but the paper was already familiar. She nearly stopped in her tracks but she kept going, reaching for the flowers propped in between the screen door and her house door. The blues and purples she knew well, ones she had weaved together just a couple hours prior, to make someone smile.

Her breath choked in her throat. It had to be a mistake, right? Maybe she did something wrong with them and he didn’t want to embarrass her at the store? Against her better judgement she reached a hand up to run over the velvety petals, though the sharp corner of paper felt distinctly out of place. Aqua carefully pulled out a ripped piece of paper of some sort, her guess was probably whatever Terra had in his car which was endearing in itself.

She almost didn’t want to look, afraid if it was a mistake someone else’s name would be on it. She should just give it back to him when she saw him tomorrow but it admittedly didn’t stop her own eyes from looking over his messy handwriting. She recognized all the curves, the sloppy quick way he wrote from years of making fast orders and notations, but she especially recognized how her name looked when he wrote it. She saw it countless times on boxes, orders, notes; her name was addressed here.

Aqua was afraid if she didn’t hold onto the flowers as tightly as she was, she’d drop them.  

I didn’t know how else to tell you

               -Terra

She was fairly certain she read it over a dozen times before she sank to the ground right there on her porch. The note was tight in her hand as she leaned her face to the flowers, the scent just as lovely as it ever was, almost lovelier now. Aqua was also aware she might actually look crazy if she started to cry over flowers on her front porch but she didn’t even know how to process the feelings that were swirling around her, going from utter despair to warm fluttering hope in a matter of seconds.

She didn’t know a lot of things, or even how to handle herself in a situation like this. What she did know was she’d never miss her chance again, not this time.

--

Aqua could still see the flowers sitting on her counter, the purples and blues creating such a pretty image in her small living room even as she was setting up someone else’s flowers. The ceremony was already under way which meant the reception area had to be perfect real quick. Thankfully Aerith and her mother were also here and they were all just about done.

Aqua reached over to adjust some of the petals on the center piece she was working on but couldn’t help but glance at the kitchen every time the door swung open. She recognized all of the workers, including Cid himself, but not Terra; granted not that the middle of someone’s reception was probably the best place to talk to him. She spent most the night lying awake in bed, trying to think of what she should say, how she should say it.

She still didn’t really have a good plan but it had to be something. She should’ve done this long before now.

She looked over to where the food was being prepared to be served, that looked like just about everyone really. Even if there were a few people lingering it would still be okay. Aqua took one last look down at the flowers and hurried over to the kitchen door. She pushed it open, though the smell of food was already enough to make her stomach growl; breakfast probably would’ve been a good thing to have.

It was surprisingly empty for the most part, though there was still plenty of food cooking, in the process of being prepared. The door swung closed behind her. She looked up just as Terra did from his place behind one of the tables.

“Oh, hey,” he said, small smile on his lips, though she didn’t miss how he nearly dropped the container of dressing he was filling. He quickly put the bottles down, reaching up to tug off the hairnet, making Aqua laugh; he really hated those things. “Sorry I hadn’t gotten to say hi.”

“It’s okay,” she said, walking over to the table full of salad mixes. “I know it’s always busy.”

“Ah, yeah, weddings are busy.” He tugged his plastic gloves off his hands, tossing them on the table. “What’s up? How’s the set up going?”

She wanted to tell him it was good, almost done. She’d be able to leave soon which was usually when he offered to have her stay so he could sneak her a plate of food. She wanted it because times like that she really enjoyed with him, but she wanted to say so much more this time. How could she though? She didn’t even know the words to express how happy she was to spend time with him, how he made her feel every time he smiled at her, how much seeing those flowers on her porch made her feel. Maybe he had felt the same way too.

Aqua reached her hands up to his face pulling him down till she could press her lips to his. She knew she caught him off guard by the sharp intake of his breath, but he didn’t give her time to back down before his hands were on her waist. She looked up at him, his eyes fluttering open.

“I didn’t know how to tell you either.”

He hummed slightly, smile pulling at his lips. “I told you that you put together beautiful flowers.”

She dropped her hands to his chest, hitting him lightly though it was a little hard to breathe with him so close to her, his warm touch still on her. “Why didn’t you tell me in the store? I thought there was someone else.” Easy for her to say, yeah, when she couldn’t do it either.

“Okay, first of all,” he snorted, but his smile was so beautiful Aqua hoped they didn’t need him for the rest of the day because she was pretty done with working at this point. “I had hoped you weren’t there because that would’ve been a lot of easier. What was I supposed to do? I didn’t want to embarrass you in public or back down, you know, again.”

Her breath caught in her throat. “They were really beautiful.”

“Oh, I’m glad you think so considering you’re the one who made the bouquet.”

She tried not to laugh, she really did, they were having a serious conversation. She can finally, finally able to get things off her chest but she dissolved into a fit of laughter anyways.

“Second of all,” he continued, reaching a hand up to her face to get her to look at him again. “There hasn’t been anyone else since I walked into the store and saw you smile back at me.”

“I’m sorry it took so long for me to tell you,” she breathed, suddenly very unaware of anything else.

“I’m sorry I did too.” His breath was warm on her lips, hand sliding to brush past her hair.

She curled her fingers into the straps of his apron. “Doesn’t matter now.”

“Not at all.”

Aqua barely felt his lips against hers again before the kitchen door swung open.

“Terra, hey, Cid-”

Not really any time to pretend they were doing anything less than they were, so Aqua merely looked up to see one of the younger boys, Sora, looking surprised before reaching a hand up to his eyes.

“I’m sorry,” he said, cringing under his hand. “Cid says he needs those salads now, Terra, or he’s going to kick your ass himself.”

“Ah, yep, sounds about right.” Terra let her go, to move and grab the two bowls of salads as Sora quickly scurried off back to the reception floor. “Hey, okay, don’t go.” Terra said to her as he walked backwards to the doors, one bowl in each hand. “I’ll get you something to eat when I get back.”

“Okay,” she nodded, reaching her fingers up to her lips for no reason really.

“Okay,” he said, leaning back against the door with a smile.

“Terra,” Sora hissed from the other side of the door.

“Coming, coming.” Terra pushed open the door and he was gone.

Aqua took a moment to breathe before following after him. She poked her head out but no one was paying attention. It looked like all the flowers were finished but she knew she should ask just in case. She really was trying to go find Aerith or Mrs. Gainsborough but she couldn’t help but see Cid gesturing at Terra’s hair angrily as he clearly forgot to put the hairnet back on. He had to jog back to the kitchen to get another one.

She tried not to laugh as she reached forward to adjust one of the center pieces, the flowers smelling even better. The day seemed brighter already as she looked forward to hanging out with Terra in the kitchen, whatever they chose to do next, wherever they would go from here.

She went to move her hands back to her keyboard but a noise made her turn her head towards her open door. Aqua almost pulled out her headphones but she didn’t hear anything else. That was unusual. They lived in a fairly vanilla suburb community where nothing really ever happened, but that did sort of sound like car tires spinning against the pavement.

She paused but still nothing.

Aqua shrugged and went back to her nearly blank Word document but her phone started to vibrate on her desk. She didn’t bother to hold back her smile when she saw Terra’s face show up on her screen. While she tried not to bother him when he was in training, she absolutely didn’t mind hearing from him any hour of the day.

She popped her headphones out of her ears as she picked up the phone, leaning back in her chair. “I hope you’re not playing hooky from class.”

She could hear all sorts of commotion over the line, people shouting, long sirens blaring. Aqua had slowly been coming to terms with the fact that Terra training to be a police officer would mean he’d be in danger at all times, but not right now. He wasn’t even out of the academy yet.

“Terra?” she asked, her heart already in her throat, tension nearly freezing her body in her seat. “Where are you? Are you-”

“Aqua.” It was more of a statement than anything, his voice lined with both a sort of relief and desperation. “Are you okay?”

Panic made her stomach lurch. “Am I okay? What are you talking about? What’s going on?”

A crash echoed downstairs, like glass shattering. Aqua didn’t even realize she was standing up till the chair rolled out from under her.

“Just stay safe, okay?” Terra’s voice was muffled almost. “I’m coming, I’ll be the-”

The phone beeped in her ear but it didn’t register. “Terra? Are you there? Are you…” She pulled her phone away from her ear to see the call dropped, no signal. Aqua stared at the screen; she could still hear the sirens, the fear in his voice, the crash…the crash from downstairs.

She turned and ran out her room, down the hall to the staircase. “Eraqus!” she cried, hoping he was close enough to hear her. “Something’s wrong! Terra, he…”

She stopped short, just off the last step of the stairs. In front of her where the glass doors leading out back were as a gaping hole, glass everywhere in the dining room. The metallic smell of blood hit her so fast she almost bent over to be sick. There were legs sticking out from behind the couch, not moving. Eraqus was standing nearby, the old sword that usually hung on the wall in his hands, a slight sheen of blood dripping from it. There was a gash on his arm, three deep scratches dripping down.

He glanced over at her but kept his eyes on the glass doors.

Aqua looked over to see two people making their way to the hole in the glass. She didn’t recognize them at all but their skin was ashen, eyes sunk like they were ghouls from that scary storybook Terra liked to read when they were kids.

“Eraqus, what’s-” Aqua tried to take a step closer but he held his hand out to her.

“I need you to stay calm, Aqua,” Eraqus said, his own voice calm but she still heard the urgency in it. “Go find Ventus and Terra, but with extreme caution. I need the three of you to stay together, do you understand me?”

“No, I don’t,” she said, frustrated tears pricking at her eyes. “What is going on? Are we in danger?”

The people were getting closer, eyes locked on Eraqus.

“I don’t know what’s going on, but I need you to find them and stay safe. Go, now.”

Aqua shook her head. “I’m not going anywhere without you. We’ll find them together.”

The people pushed themselves against the glass doors and not seeming to care about it breaking off in their skin.

“Aqua,” Eraqus said. “Leave!”

“No, I’m not…” She tried to walk over but she stopped when she saw the rest of the fallen body, head a few feet away from it. Aqua dropped her phone, both hands clasped over her mouth.

Eraqus glanced away from the two trying to get into the kitchen to bring his hand down on her shoulder. “Find Terra and Ven. Promise me when you do, you’ll stay together.”

She could only nod. “I promise,” she said, afraid if she dropped her hands, she really would be sick.

The glass shattered more, the people pushing into the kitchen fully. There were even more behind them now.

“Go, this is your head start,” Eraqus said, turning back to hold the sword in front of them. “I’ll follow behind. Just get to them first.”

Aqua didn’t know what else to do, so she did as she was told. She turned and ran to the door, swinging it open and not looking back. She ran down the path to the side walk, and kept going. Cars were racing down the road, people screaming, but she couldn’t look, she couldn’t even stop. The car, she should’ve grabbed her car. Aqua knew she couldn’t go back, it would defeat the purpose.

The high school wasn’t that far away. If she ran the whole way, she could find Ven and then they could get Terra together. Hopefully Eraqus would have the same idea when he was able to follow. She tried not to think about it. The end of the road, turn left, and then right, and then right again. She could get there. What if the school had been attacked too? Is this what Terra was dealing with?

She reached up to wipe her eyes as she ran. What was going on?

Sirens were ringing somewhere, but not police or ambulance ones; the long deep ones, ones that sounded only when something very bad was looming. Aqua took the turn at the end of the street, feet pounding on the pavement. Others were running away from where she was headed, cars flying by but she had to keep going.

Aqua turned down the next road. Something jumped out at her from someone’s yard but they missed as she kept running, her heart pounding in her chest. If it was following her she didn’t look, she couldn’t. She saw a blond head of hair running down the opposite side of the road. The school was still a little bit away but she knew that hair, she knew that run, and she saw those clothes this morning.

“Ventus!” she shouted but she didn’t even need too; he must’ve recognized her first because he changed his direction, coming right at her.

Ven swung his arms around her, nearly knocking her over as she skidded to a stop in the middle of the street. “Aqua, oh my God, I didn’t…I couldn’t…”

“Hey, hey, it’s okay,” she said, trying to catch her breath as she hugged him tightly back. She looked over her shoulder but whatever dove at her wasn’t there anymore. No one was there; no one else was coming from the direction of the school.

“I didn’t-” He swallowed. “I didn’t think I’d make it out.”

Aqua pulled away placing her hands on his shoulders, it was only then she saw the blood stains on his clothes, the way his hands were shaking as he still clinged onto her.  “Oh my God, Ven, are you hurt?”

He shook his head, but his eyes were still wide as he watched her, making him look so much younger than sixteen. “It’s not mine.”

Not for the first time today, she wanted to be sick. She could only see the way these things pushed through the glass unrelentingly trying to get to Eraqus; she couldn’t imagine what it could’ve been like in a school, people trapped and panicking. Aqua pulled Ven to her again, this time just for the mere fact he was alive.

“I don’t know what’s going on, Ven, but we have to find Terra.”

“At the academy?” Ven asked. “That’s so far away. We should get the car first.”

Aqua shook her head. “We can’t go back there, okay?”

“But…” Ven seemed to think better of his question. “The police station is closer, maybe he went there?”

It was a possibility. There was a scream nearby, gun shots fired and Aqua jumped. Was that close? Where they far away? She had no idea, she never heard them outside of movies. Why was it so loud? She grabbed Ven’s hand; they had to get out of here. “We’ll check there first, but we should keep moving.”

Ven nodded.

She wanted to run but she knew it wouldn’t be good for either of them, so she walked quickly with Ven keeping at her side. He didn’t say much, eyes darting around, jumping at any noise at all.

“It’s going to be okay,” she said, even though she didn’t really know that for a fact. “As long as we’re together it’ll be okay.”

Ven squeezed her hand tighter; she couldn’t even remember the last time he willingly held her hand, maybe when he was ten? Twelve? Yet the grounded comfort of having one of her boys here was better than not knowing where either where.

“Aqua?” he asked, his voice hushed. A car honked somewhere, airplanes flew low overhead. “Do you think Terra’s okay?”

“Of course he’s okay,” she said. “He called me, not too long ago.”

Ven hesitated, eyes peering around quickly. “I saw…I saw lots of people die. I don’t know why it happened but there was so much…so much…”

“Hey, it’s okay,” she said. “You’re okay, and so am I. Terra will be too.”

Ven didn’t look convinced but he nodded. “He called you?”

“Yeah,” she said. “He knew something was happening before I did. I’m sure he got to safety and is trying to find us.”

“Eraqus?”

Aqua knew Ven didn’t want to ask. She could tell by the tone of his voice but at the same time he must’ve needed to know. “He said he’d find us. His first priority was making sure I found you and Terra.”

For the first time since she saw him, Ven cracked a small smile. “Sounds like the old man.”

Aqua reached her hand over to ruffled at his hair. “I’m glad you’re okay, Ven.”

“I’m glad you are too.” He leaned against her slightly and Aqua thought for a second they’d be just fine, as long as they could get to Terra but Ven tensed up immediately. He halted in his tracks stopping Aqua with him.

The road that would take them closer to the police station was right next to them but more of those people were there, slowly walking, almost dead eyes watching as they moved closer.

“You can’t let them touch you, Aqua,” Ven said, though his voice shook as he did. “They’re stronger than people should be and they won’t stop till they bite you and then…you turn into one of them.”

Aqua hesitated. “You mean like…”

Ven nodded, though he was backing away from the street. Aqua followed; there was another street they could take. She started to move towards it, but there were more coming up the side walk. From what Aqua could tell, they weren’t very fast so she and Ven could probably outrun them but where was the question. They were getting blocked in.

“This way,” Aqua said, tugging on Ven to get him to go to the opposite side of the road. “We just have to stay away. We’ll go the long way.”

A car skidded behind them but she didn’t bother to look, she just started to lead Ven across the street, they needed a head start to keep away. Unfortunately, the people seemed to get that hint, a few of them following across the street. Aqua was about to break into a run with Ven when she heard the deafening sound of gun shots.

Aqua watched them drop as one, two, three shots to the head made them fall.

She spun around to see Terra lowering his gun from in front of him. He was still in his training uniform, a black SUV parked nearly on the sidewalk behind him. Out of the corner of her eyes she could still see more coming towards them, maybe drawn by the sound but she didn’t care. She ran and didn’t stop until she could get to him.

He already put his gun away, arms grabbing onto her for a moment before he let one go to swing around Ven’s head who came crashing into the both of them. Terra was warm and real, his heart beat near her head as she held onto him. For all her brave talk to Ven, she was afraid something happened to Terra. Yet he was here, his familiar presence making her feel like everything would be okay.

She looked up towards him but he was already watching her. She wanted to ask him if he was okay, if he got hurt, the things he knew, if he was scared but the words wouldn’t come. He leaned his head down to her and her fingers curled into the back of his shirt holding him tightly as he pressed his lips to hers. It was soothing to have even a small moment with him but also rushed, seeking out any sort of comfort there could be. Aqua felt the hitch in his throat, the look in his eyes when he pulled away from her. He had been just as worried.

“I’m so glad you both are okay,” Terra said, voice rumbling under her ears. “But we can’t stay here.”

“Where are we going to go?” Ven asked, looking up.

Terra hesitated, but rubbed his hand against Ven’s head.

“Doesn’t matter,” Aqua said, letting go enough to look up at Terra. “As long as we stay together.”

“Right,” he said, nodding his head back to the SUV. “The car is safer, c’mon.”

“Did you steal that?” Ven asked, quickly following after Terra who turned to lead them back before more came after them.

“Don’t ask me that again,” Terra said, pulling open the driver’s seat door.

Aqua promised Eraqus, they’d stay together, and she absolutely meant to do everything to keep that promise. Absolutely everything.

“Hey, Aqua.”

Terra drove quickly and effectively but aimlessly. He tried to stay close to home just in case but it only got worse the longer they stayed and he made the call to leave. It wasn’t easy, not when Ven was desperate to find Eraqus but it was clear there was no way to find him with how overrun their hometown became.

Where were they supposed to go? What were they supposed to do? Eraqus was the only family any of them had. They were orphans; no family ever came to claim them. All they had was each other. So they drove, and drove and they managed to find gas so they could drive through the night. The found food supplies were slim the farther they got away from the city and raiding parties had mostly already taken what little there was. Aqua wasn’t even sure what then would do when they ran out of stale granola bars until Ven pulled out a hunting guide book he said he grabbed from a bookstore they had ventured into.

Terra was a pretty good shot but the rest of what was involved in preparing the meat was…an experience. She opted to let Ven help instead of her. Thankfully it gave them a bit more versatility when it came to gathering food, but luck couldn’t hold out forever; especially when the SUV ran out of gas. They managed to find gas in pumps or abandoned cars for a while, usually with Terra getting nearly a face full of gasoline from the siphon system, but after almost two weeks on the endless roads going nowhere they couldn’t find a single pump or car to siphon any from.

“Aqua.”

It got much more dangerous on foot. They had no shelter; they had to take turns keep watch. It was dangerous but they were alive, and they were together, just like Eraqus wanted.

“This is a strange turn of roles.”

Aqua blinked her eyes open to see Terra leaning over her, his face so close she could feel his breath on her. She reached up to push him away but he only laughed, flopping down on the floor of the tent next to her. She could see the sunlight starting to rise through the fabric above her. It was already dawn; they’d need to get moving soon.

She looked over to her other side but it was empty. Ven was probably outside packing up anything that was left out of their camp.

“Sleep okay?” Terra asked, rolling onto his side to face her.

Aqua hummed, placing her hand over her mouth to try and stifle her yawn. “Best three hours of my life.”

He snorted, rolling his eyes but considering even he was way more awake than she was, she suspected her tapped into the caffeine supply to get himself through his watch shift. It was maybe a little over a month since the last time she slept in her own bed but they were all at least better about living on shorter hours of sleep. Sleeping in jean shorts though, that took a lot of adjustment.

She rolled over to face him, head resting on the scrunched up sleeping bag as her pillow. It was still too hot to need it, but she knew the time would come when they’d need much more than what they had, so she tried not to think about that as much. “You’re in a good mood today.”

He dropped his arm over her waist, hand pressing against her lower back. “Between the three of us, we didn’t see any threats all night. I think it’s a good opportunity to find the nearby town the road signs were showing and get supplies.”

Aqua hummed, reaching her hand up to brush some of the bangs out of his face. He already had sheen of sweat on his forehead, though if that was from the heavily caffeinated drink or the heat of the day setting in, she wasn’t sure. “If it looks too dangerous we leave.”

Terra opened his mouth, probably to argue with her but she hit her hand against his chest.

“I mean it. I hate it when you go alone and you know…” She hesitated, dropping her voice a little. “You know Ven doesn’t do as well when there’s groups of them.” Not that she blamed him. Ven never really talked about that day at his school and Aqua was always too afraid to ask.

“Okay,” Terra said, tapping his fingers against her back. “Okay.”

“Promise.”

“Aqua,” he snorted, though he leaned into her, his breath on her lips. “I’m not ten anymore. I’m not going to lie about putting a worm in your lap and then do it anyways.”

“I don’t care how old you are. Promise me.”

“Okay, I promise.”

“Thank you,” she murmured though her eyes had already fluttered shut, feeling his lips press up against hers. She reached her hand up to his hair as he pulled her in closer to him.

A part of her was aware of the fact they needed to be moving on their way, to be alert and never let their guards down but at the same time the comfort of being so close to Terra was intoxicating. Despite living on the road for weeks he still felt like home, being with him was like everything was normal again. It reminded her of their first kiss; she was only ten, it was a quick peck on lips and his face flushed. It reminded her of their first real kiss and how soft his hands where on his face when he leaned in to kiss her in the backyard with the stars overhead. How warm it was tucked under his blankets and his arms when she’d sneak into his room late at night, how he’d make her all of her favorite treats whenever she had a bad day, how he talked about them moving out together when he graduated the academy, how wonderful everything was before all this shit happened, and how overwhelmingly happy she was he was still here with her.

His hand trailed up her back, dragging her shirt with it. She curled her fingers into his hair, a small noise in her throat. Terra seemed to take the hint, bringing his hand to her hip, pulling her against him.

Aqua broke away from him with a gasp, Terra taking that time to trail his lips down her neck. Chills went down her spine. Her mind was hazy, choosing only to focus on how warm he was, how tight his hold was on her, how he made her feel even after all the years they knew each other. Though she knew they should be focusing on something else, or the fact they didn’t warn Ven first.

“Wait, wait,” she breathed, pressing her hands against Terra’s chest.

He paused, leaning back slightly to look at her though she could see the flush on his face, the eyes she loved so much watching her. Most of her wanted to say fuck it and kiss him again.

“Ven can probably hear us,” is what she voiced instead.

“Yep.” Ven’s voice was so close Aqua nearly jumped; when she looked the tent flap was still zipped up. “So can any zombie in the five mile radius probably.”

Terra rolled his eyes, though he did lean back some. “You’re being dramatic, Ven.”

“Am I though?”

“We should probably pack up the tent, I suppose,” Terra said, tapping his hand against her hip like he didn’t actually want to but knew she was right.

Aqua reached her hands up to his face, kissing him again. It’s not like getting time alone was easy.

The zipper did go down that time. She turned her head to see Ven’s face poking in the gap he made.

“I’m all done out here you know.” He didn’t look mad, it anything it was just his usual teasing grin.

“I heard you the first time,” Terra said as he pushed himself up. “Help if you’re gonna help.”

Ven snickered, unzipping the rest of the tent.

Terra leaned back to hold his hand out to Aqua pulling her up so she could sit before he leaned in for one last quick kiss.

Ven made some sort of cooing noise in a voice pitch way too high for him.

“I liked you better when you thought kissing was gross.” Terra pushed at Ven’s head as Terra stepped out of the tent.

“When I was, what, ten?” Ven said, holding the tent flap open so Aqua could step out.

“Yeah, you were cuter then too.”

Ven pushed himself into Terra as he walked away, clearly trying knock him off his feet. It didn’t work, as it usually didn’t. He laughed, ushering Ven to get the other sides of the tent to pack it up.

Aqua looked over at the tree lined horizon, the sun nearly up now. She glanced over the area, trying to see if any trees were rustling, if anything was wandering around looking for someone to attack. Like Terra said, everything seemed to be in the clear around here.

It took them a while to get this far, to be at a place where they didn’t fear every corner, where they could actually laugh again. It was really hard at first, seeing the state the whole country was in and knowing there was no one to help them. Sure they came across other survivors but most learned to stick to themselves so that’s what Aqua, Terra, and Ven did too.

They never found Eraqus. Cars that worked were scarce, and gas was even scarcer. Sometimes they could find abandoned houses that were safe but otherwise the country side where people once lived spread out seemed to be the safest; cities and towns were dangerous and Aqua already had enough close calls than she cared for.

Ven was going on about something behind her as Terra rolled up the tent in the compact way he was used to by now. They might’ve raided a few abandoned stores for supplies but what else could they do? It was survive how you could, or die out here; though getting that tent and camping supplies nearly cost them too.

She shook her head, turning back to the boys. They were more careful after that but Aqua wasn’t sure if she’d ever get the image of the way one of those things held onto Terra, teeth dangerously close to his arm, out of her mind.

“All set,” Ven said, holding the backpack up once the tent and sleeping bags were loaded before flipping it onto his back.

“To town then?” Aqua asked, reaching down to take one of the smaller backpacks while Terra took the other one. It was all they could carry without weighing them down.

Next to it were the two hand gun holsters Terra found a couple weeks ago. She strapped them on like she was used to now; one around the waist, one on the leg. They were only for emergencies. They were too loud, caused too much attention. It was the same with the shotgun Terra wore on his shoulder. Otherwise the hunting knives all three of them had were as good as it could get. Close range combat wasn’t ideal, but if you could catch them before they saw you sometimes you had a better chance.

“To town,” Ven said, pointing the baseball bat he took to carrying around towards the nearby street.

Terra started to the lead the way with Ven hurrying after. Aqua took one last look at their camp to make sure they didn’t forget anything before following after.

This was their life now. Keep moving, survive another day. Sometimes Ven managed to snag signals when he fiddled with the radio he found where they heard people talking about the state of the country, tips to survive. No one ever said how this happened.

Aqua followed alongside of Terra as Ven walked a few steps ahead. At least they were together, that alone was enough to be grateful for.

The heat started to settle in shortly after they started down the road. Thankfully the trees shielded some of the sun, but the pavement didn’t help and water wasn’t always easy to come by. A town that maybe had supplies could be helpful for them right now.

“Do you think it’s a big town?” Ven asked when another sign came up.

“Considering we’re out in the boonies my guess is no,” Terra said, shielding his eyes from the sun as he looked up at the sign. “Should be the next left.”

“You said that twenty minutes ago,” Aqua said.

Terra looked over, his eyebrows arched. “Oh, that’s what we’re going to play is it?”

Aqua covered her mouth as she laughed, reaching up to push at his arm.

“You try and make sense of all these back roads and out of date signs.”

“You sound like such a guy, Terra,” Ven snorted, swinging his bat at the air, aiming at nothing in particular.

“As opposed to what?”

Ven snickered but he decided not to say anything else, just kicking at some rocks as he walked.

“Here,” Terra said, pointing off to a nearby road. “The town should be down here.”

“Man, I hope they have-” Ven didn’t get a chance to finish as Terra reached one hand out to grab the back of Ven’s shirt, the other stopping Aqua from walking any more.

She didn’t even hear it at first but the rustling nearby was obvious now. They really must be getting closer to town now; though she hoped it wasn’t a bad sign. Usually the infected seemed to travel in packs but every so often there’d be one or two lingering alone.

Terra pulled Ven back so he was standing closer to them. He grunted his displeasure a little but stood where he was asked to.

With a groan one of the infected stumbled out of the woods in front of them. Ven had no issues with calling them zombies but Aqua felt a little silly referring to them as the undead from horror movies. She was well aware how they could be horror movie monsters with what she saw, the risk of being near them, but at the same time they were infected people; though she knew not humanizing them made it easier to do what was needed.

Aqua reached for the knife on her hip. It seemed it was the only one and it hadn’t noticed them standing there yet.

“I got it,” Ven said, pulling out of Terra’s grip to walk over where the infected was slowly moving.

“Ventus.” Familiar panic was rising in Aqua’s stomach but Terra was watching, and he didn’t stop Ven either.

It noticed Ven then, lunging at him in a way that nearly made Aqua’s heart jump into her throat but he swung back the bat before sending it forward again, right at its head. It made contact with a nearly sickening crack, sending the infected to the side of the road. It stayed on the ground, limp and not moving. It was hard to deal if the infected was actually taken care of, but head injuries seemed to be the way to take them out.

Ven rested the bat on his shoulder, turning back to give them a thumbs up.

Aqua hated it. She hated him being in danger, having to learn how to hit someone like that but at the same time what could she do to stop it? If they ever got split up Ven needed to know how to defend himself or he’d never make it. She promised she’d never ever let that happen but she knew it was for his safety too.

“You’re getting pretty good with that,” Terra said, reaching over to push lightly at Ven’s head when he walked back to them.

He didn’t say anything but he did look fairly pleased with the compliment. He was pretty peeved when Terra taught Aqua how to use a gun and not himself, but she was grateful Terra was the one who drew the line there. It wasn’t even just against the people who weren’t technically people anymore; there were plenty of living humans who posed as just as much of a threat, that a weapon designed to kill could be used against Ven or any of them, that there was a choice when pulling the trigger that Terra hadn’t been ready to put on Ven’s shoulders. She didn’t know if he quite understood why, but he at least accepted it, finding other ways to help fight when they needed it.

One thing was for sure, he was far from the scared little boy who was brought into their group home, unable to even speak to them.

Once it was clear no others were lingering around, they turned down the empty street to finish the walk to town. Aqua knew they were getting closer the more abandoned cars she saw littering the streets; a sign of people trying to escape after it happened. She peered in as they walked but the cars all seemed to be raided already. That wasn’t a good sign for the town, but so far she hadn’t seen any others so it was safe to at least check the town out.

Ven was doing the same on his side of the road. When Aqua looked over to check on him, she saw Terra already watching from the corner of his eyes. He changed so much too; save for the boyish grin and the messy hair he almost looked nothing like the little boy Aqua met on the doorstep of Eraqus’ house. It was already a long time ago, but after everything that happened this past month it felt like it was a whole other lifetime ago that playing make believe in the backyard had eventually turned into stolen kisses when they thought no one was looking.

“Hey, do you think that place is real?” Ven asked, pushing himself away from another empty car.

“What place, Ven?” Aqua asked, reaching down for Terra’s hand, his fingers lacing with hers. He didn’t look over at her but he gave her a hand a squeeze; an acknowledgement of the small comfort she was looking for.  

“The haven, for survivors.”

“Possibly,” Terra said, though when Aqua looked up he was watching straight ahead; a sign he didn’t quite believe it but wasn’t about to dash Ven’s hopes.

“I think if people gathered enough in the right areas, it very well could be possible they’d have a sustainable life again,” Aqua said. She did believe it herself; humans were very resourceful especially when they were forced to be. “Where, I don’t know though.”

It was a rumor whispered among other survivors they passed, a desperate hope on the cracked radio signals but no one could ever say more than just “I hope it’s out there somewhere”.

“I hope it’s by the ocean, I miss the beach,” Ven sighed.

“I’d have my doubts,” Terra snorted. “You can’t grow vegetables in the beach sand.”

“Okay, fair but at least it would be fun.”

“No one could argue that,” Aqua said. “As long as we can find sunblock. Remember that time you said you were fine and by the end of the day, every inch of you was covered in sunburn.”

Ven winced at the memory. “I try not to.”

“It’s because you spent too much time trying to be like Terra to remember you two have completely different skin types.”

“Aww, Ven,” Terra said, reaching over to pinch at Ven’s cheek which he immediately pushed away. “You still want to be just like me?”

“You wish,” Ven snorted, shoving at Terra’s hand when he tried again and making Ven laugh.

That was a lie; he still idolized Terra.

“Alright, here’s the deal,” she said, visions of laying out on sand gone as fast as they came. “We’re scouting first. If it’s too bad, we’re leaving, okay?”

“You’re the boss,” Ven said, giving her a thumbs up. “A stealth mission.”

“Just remember stealth means being quiet, kiddo,” Terra said.

“I know.” Ven reached over to tap the bat against Terra’s shoulder. “I can be quiet unlike the conversation we had this morning about you.”

Terra reached over to wrap his arm around Ven’s neck pulling him down some. Terra let go of Aqua’s hand only to rub at Ven’s head. He tried to get away but he was laughing too much to actually manage it.

Aqua wasn’t sure what she or Terra would do without Ven’s unwavering positivity; even when things were so grim he still managed to make them smile. “Okay, okay,” she said, tapping Terra a few times on the arm; though she almost had to reach out to grab him when the world started to spin on her.

She closed eyes trying to make it go away before they noticed but she already felt Terra’s hand over hers. Her stomach turned, for a second she thought she might be sick.

“Hey, are you okay?” Terra asked.

She felt a hand on her forehead, feeling for a fever maybe, but when Aqua blinked open her eyes everything seemed to be okay; well, except for Terra and Ven looking at her with concerned blue eyes. “I’m fine,” she breathed, and it was true, she felt fine again like she never even felt sick to begin with. “Just got dizzy.”

“You’re sure?” Terra didn’t look convinced; in fact he looked more like he was ready to call this whole thing. While it might’ve taken the risk away, she couldn’t deny they needed the supplies.

“Positive. We should keep moving,” she said, though she waited till he dropped his hand from hers before she kept walking. “But we don’t need to let everything know we’re coming before we even get there, so keep it down a little bit.”

“Yes, mom,” Ven said, rolling his eyes but he seemed a little more at ease now.

“Just like we’ve done a million times before,” Terra said, looking over to Aqua to give her a reassuring smile; even if he didn’t look like he was quite over her sudden dizzy spell. It was unusual maybe, but it was hot out and they’d been walking for a while. It wasn’t out of the realm of possibilities.

He was right though, they had done it what felt like a million times. They’d stick close together, trying to cover all angles to make sure nothing snuck up on them. Mostly it worked, unless they got to the main part of the town and it was too overrun to even be bothered with. Sometimes it would seem safe until they tried to go in a store for supplies, which was how they ended up in the mess at the camping store. But sometimes they got lucky.

The alley way they found first was barren of life, which was a good sign for them to travel in but this was the part Aqua always hated; the emptiness. There were some knocked over trash cans; it looked like it was rummaged through by humans or animals she didn’t know. Weeds stuck up through the cracks in the cement, some skid marks lined the ground but any car that caused them was long gone.

The street at the end also looked empty; also a good sign in the least. She could see the side walk across the street where planted trees dotted along the way with squares of overgrown grass surrounded the trunks. She imagined city care takers must’ve taken care of the streets, they probably light the trees up for Christmas and hung homecoming banners over the streets.

Aqua proceeded with caution, feeling Terra’s back brush up against hers while Ven followed behind them. She wanted to believe they were okay but she saw the broken windows of the store across from them, glass shattered out into the sidewalk. People had been here, people could be here, as there very well could be a horde on either side of the buildings who just weren't alerted yet.  

Terra stopped and Aqua immediately heard why. Some scuffing, grunting noises, telltale signs some were out of sight. She gripped the knife handle in her hand just in case she had to move quickly as she watched the street in front of her.

One slowly walked in front of the alley. It didn’t seem to notice them at all, but she couldn’t tell if it was the only one in the area; judging by the way Terra hadn’t moved either, he must’ve come to the same conclusion.

“Got it,” Ven said, hurrying out from behind them.

“Ventus, wait,” Terra hushed, trying to reach after Ven but he was already jogging out to the street.

It noticed him, lunging towards him with fingers grasping. He was at least already swinging his bat, landing a similar hit as he did just a little bit earlier. It fell to the ground as he jumped out of the way. Ven grinned but Aqua only felt panic.

Terra was already running forward. She quickly followed, knowing that calling out to Ven would only make it worse; the shuffling, the groans, there were more of them.

A hand reached out from around the building, grabbing the backpack on Ven’s back. He jumped away in surprise but doing so only made him trip over the body on the ground. He tried to catch himself but only ended up on his back. He scrambled to grab his fallen bat as more infected started to come at him. Terra already had the gun up. Ven’s panicked eyes darting at all of them, otherwise frozen on the ground.

Her heart nearly stopped as she watched him. She didn’t think, she couldn’t think. Aqua ran out to the street, falling to her knees near him, trying to pull him up. Ven barely moved, only staring as the infected got closer. A gun shot rang out, one of them falling to the ground.

“It’s okay,” Aqua said, wrapping her arms around Ven, trying to keep her voice calm. “It’s okay, Ven, just come with me.”

She heard Terra taking another shot but there were too many now, no way could he get them all in time. She pulled Ven closer to her as hands from the infected reached out to him. She was about to hoist Ven up with herself but a silver blade appeared, slicing through the horde with ease. Aqua could only stare as she watched the bodies fall.

The scythe hit the last straggler. It was only then she looked up and saw a man standing there. He had a silver scythe in his hand and worn only black clothing. With the bodies lined in front of him, Aqua almost mistook him for the grim reaper if not for the pink hair.

“Looks like we’ve got some lost kids,” the man grinned, but it was not friendly in the least. It made the hairs on her skin stand.

Aqua helped Ven up, though his eyes were still on the ground, bat tight in his hands. She held her arm around his shoulders, holding him close as Terra ran over to them.

“Are you okay?” he asked, one hand on Ven’s head and the other on her shoulder.

She nodded but her eyes flickered over to the man who was still standing there expectantly. Terra turned to stand next to her but she felt the tension in his body, hands not too far from any one of his weapons. Humans could be just as dangerous as any monster out here.

“Thank you,” Aqua said, clearing her throat. “We’re sorry we caused a mess, we were just trying to look for supplies.”

“Sorry, little miss,” the man said, though he didn’t sound very concerned; almost like he was already bored of them. “Nothing here for you.”

She saw Terra clench his jaw out of the corner of her eyes but he didn’t elsewise move.

“We’ll just go then,” she said, her grip tightening on Ven. “We’re sorry for causing such an inconvenience.”

The man arched an eyebrow. “What makes you think you’d leave? You’re here aren’t you? Might as well stay.”

Nothing about his tone seemed inviting, but Aqua wasn’t sure they were being given a chance.

“Thank you for the offer,” Terra said, though the tone on his voice told her he also knew it wasn’t an offer made out of generosity. “But we’d rather be on our way. We were scouting for our camp, and we should be getting back.”

That was a lie. A tactic Terra didn’t use often because he was a terrible liar but she understood why he was pulling it out. If others knew where they were, this man maybe less inclined to hurt them.

The man smiled again, just as chilling as before. He leaned the scythe across him, holding it with both hands. “You kids are young, much too young to be wandering around on your own.”

“For fucks sake, Marluxia, stop playing with your food.”

Aqua tilted her head slightly to the source of the bored sounding voice. A blonde girl was sitting up on the nearby low rooftop, a yawn pulling at her lips as she twirled a dagger around her fingers. She was also dressed all in black; clearly this town was already run by a gang.

The man, Marluxia, looked up at her, his eyes looking annoyed. “Did I ask for your assistance, Larxene?”

“Yeah, cause you take forever to do anything when you know the boss has orders on what to do with intruders.” She swung her hand back slightly and tossed it forward, the dagger flying till it landed right in front of Ven’s feet.

So this was how this was going to go. It wouldn’t be the first time they had to deal with aggressive gang members before; though Aqua wasn’t sure if they were a match for Marluxia’s weapon.

“We’ll give you whatever we have,” Terra said. “We don’t have very much, but just don’t hurt them.”

Aqua knew Terra was trained to fight with or without weapons, and she wasn’t a push over either especially with adrenaline pounding through her veins. Still they always preferred the peaceful route. She didn’t want to fight, she knew Terra didn’t either; only when they had no other choice.

“How naïve,” Marluxia said, smiling once again.

Aqua tensed, ready to grab the gun on her hip if she had to, knowing Terra would do the same. She could easily push Ven behind them as he seemed to still not have recovered from this whole situation. They could fight and they could run. They were survivors now.

Before she could even see if Marluxia was moving to strike, a can rolled in between them. Aqua thought it was an explosive at first, nearly throwing Ven out of the way but only smoke fizzled out. She couldn’t even move before the whole area was white.

“Saix!” Marluxia roared, coughing as he choked on the smoke. “You were supposed to be watching that damn brat!”

Aqua tried to cover her mouth to keep from inhaling the smoke but she couldn’t help but cough, feeling it start to sting her throat and eyes. It was the perfect chance to run and she knew it, but she wasn’t even sure which way was out anymore, the smoke was so thick.

“I was,” a voice hissed from somewhere though Aqua had no idea where. “You know as well as I, Xion and her goddamn friends are fucking snakes.”

“C’mon,” a different voice said, this time much closer and much more feminine. “This way.”

Aqua felt Terra’s familiar grip on her arm, carefully pulling her in a direction. She let go of Ven to grab his hand, following where Terra led her. She heard an aggravated noise as the smoke started to blow around; probably Marluxia using is scythe to move the smoke. Aqua pulled Ven close to her as she pressed up behind Terra. The faster they were out of this nightmare, the better.

She followed blindly, only being able to see Terra’s shoulders, feeling Ven behind her. It felt like an eternity.

It wasn’t until the smoke was nearly gone she saw the street and forest she knew they were in the least away from those people. Aqua still knew enough they weren’t safe where they were.

There was a girl in front of them, dropping Terra’s hand which must’ve been how she was leading them. Her short black hair bobbed as she turned her head, a wicked grin on her lips. “C’mon, c’mon,” she said, quick gestures towards the woods. “We have to run now or they’ll catch up the moment the smoke is gone. They aren’t as dumb as they look.”

She took off into the woods, jumping over a log and not looking back.

Terra let go of Aqua and gave her a quick look but he probably knew as well as she did; it was follow or get caught again. He went after the girl, presumably Xion, first while Aqua let go of Ven’s hand. She didn’t have time to make sure he was running with her but she could hear his feet pounding into the ground behind her.

Aqua couldn’t think about where they were, what they were doing, if anyone was following, if there were other things waiting in the forest unseen. She ran and ran until her lungs burned and then she kept running even more.

She had no idea how far they went by the time Xion finally stopped, hunched over, gasping for breath. Aqua wanted to do the same and possibly throw up but she turned back to Ven first. He already dropped his bat to the ground, hands on his knees as he wheezed trying to catch his own breath. Aqua almost backed up just in case he really was going to be sick but he looked up at her instead.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured.

She ignored him, reaching her hands to his face instead. “Are you okay? Did you get hurt?”

Ven shook his head. “Just, you know, my pride.”

“You sound like Terra.”

He must’ve been close enough to hear since Aqua heard him grunt.

She reached her arms around Ven, pulling him into her as he carefully wrapped his arms around her. “That’s why you don’t run off, even if you think you can handle it. We stay together, always. Okay?”

He didn’t answer but he did nod. She didn’t have to ask again, she knew he’d listen. Aqua felt Terra’s hand on her shoulder, the other reaching for Ven’s head. That was better. They were together and they hopefully safe once again.

Terra leaned his head against hers, warm breath on her cheek. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” she said, closing her eyes, already feeling the comfort he always brought her. “I’m okay. Are you?”

He hummed in response which she figured was good enough.

“Family?” Xion asked nearly making Aqua jump out of her skin; she forgot someone was with them.

She let go of Ven to turn to face the girl who saved them from whoever those people were. “Sort of,” Aqua said, bowing her head slightly. “Thank you for getting us out of there, you didn’t have to help us.”

Xion waved Aqua off with a smile. “It was nothing. I was already on my way getting away from those assholes when I saw you guys get caught in the crosshairs. You seemed like innocent bystanders in the whole mess, so I couldn’t just leave you there.”

“Well, you could’ve,” Ven said, reaching a hand up to scratch the back of his head. “But I’m really glad you didn’t.”

“I was watching you before Marluxia showed his mug. You guys kinda reminded me of some of my friends,” Xion said. “It would’ve made me feel guilty to run off without you. Plus you did cause the perfect distraction so I could plan my get away so I owed you. Oh, I’m Xion by the way, if that wasn’t clear.”

“I’m Ventus, but you can call me Ven. That’s Aqua, and that’s Terra,” Ven introduced, clearly already feeling a little more like himself again. It wasn’t often they came across someone who was actually friendly and open; it was a bit of a nice relief when most of the people they met were like the ones they just ran away from.

“Nice to meet you guys,” Xion said.

She couldn’t have been older than Ven, probably younger than him even. It shot a pang through Aqua’s heart to imagine a girl so young out here all alone, though it was clear she had pretty good handle on how to take care of herself. “You mentioned your friends,” Aqua said. “Do you have a place to stay? I wouldn’t feel right just leaving you here after you helped us so much.”

Xion nodded. “It’s not much but it’s safe. I’ll take you guys if you’d like. You don’t have to stay or anything, but it’s a good place to rest even for the night.”

Aqua felt Terra’s eyes on her. She knew how tired they were, how a safe place even for one night sounded. She knew this girl just saved them all but at the same time what if it was a trap?

Xion seemed to understand because she raised both her hands to them. “Promise no one there is like those assholes. Me and my friends actually ran away from them, that’s how we found the others who took us in, so I’m just passing on what they did for me. You can leave at any time.”

Aqua hesitated but really, what could it hurt at this point? They were no better off standing in the middle of a forest with no way to get back to the main road.

“Even if it’s just to make sure you get back safely,” Terra said. “We’ll go with you.”

She had to smile. Of course he wouldn’t just let a child wander off alone.

“It’s always safer with more people anyways,” he said.

“Okay,” Xion said, a smile still on her face; Aqua found it hard not to admire this girl who probably went through so much and still had reasons to smile. “Follow me, I can find the way back from here.”

So they did. Maybe it was a little silly to put their trust in a child and yet, she’s the only one who treated them with any sort of kindness since their world was torn apart from them. It could be a trap, it was true. But at the same time, she never wanted to be the sort of person who assumed the worst in everyone, when Xion gave them no reason to doubt. That’s how Aqua would become the people who passed them by whenever they needed help.

The forest was never ending at some times, to the point where Aqua wasn’t even sure how long it was since they were in the town, let alone when they woke up that morning. The sun was still in the sky which was good but she had no idea how much further they’d have to go.

Ven seemed more than happy to have someone a little more his age around. He took to walk beside Xion, asking her all sorts of questions about where she was from, how she got here, where her friends were; though Aqua did notice he never asked how she knew those people in town.

She reached a hand up to her forehead, wiping some of the sweat off. The sun was high above them and they had been walking for so long. They couldn’t stop, she knew that but even her usual stamina seemed to be draining faster than usual today.

A water bottle nudged her in the arm.

She looked over to see Terra handing her his. When was the last time they had a chance to refill them?

“Don’t even think about telling me no,” he said glancing over at her. “Your face is red and you’re starting to lag behind.”

Aqua blinked up to where Ven and Xion were; still pretty close by but farther ahead than the last time Aqua remembered. She reached up to rub at her forehead again. “How long has it been?”

Terra looked up at the sky, somewhat blocked by the canopy of trees. “An hour or so since we left the town maybe.”

It felt like ten hours. She carefully took the water bottle from his hands though she still felt his eyes on her as they walked. Aqua tilted it back, letting the lukewarm water in her mouth. It felt good for a moment, until her stomach lurched. She choked back up the water nearly making her spit it out and drop the water bottle. Aqua was vaguely aware of Terra’s hands on her shoulders but everything started to spin. She quickly closed her eyes to try and get it to stop but it almost made it worse.

“Aqua?” Terra’s voice was close but far away at the same time, almost echoing in her head. “Hey, hey, hold on, okay?”

The water bottle was gone from her hands but she wasn’t sure if she dropped it or if he took it. She tried to open her eyes again but it only sent another wave of nausea through her. Aqua reached out for anything to steady her but he was already there, one arm around her back and the other reaching under her legs. She felt the weightless sensation of being lifted off the ground, the sudden shift nearly making her be sick.

“No, no,” she said. “I’m okay, just…just a second.”

Terra clearly wasn’t listening because she felt her body fall gently against his chest.

She weakly reached her arms up around his neck, trying to keep her head up off his shoulder. “Terra, wait, I’m…” Aqua wasn’t quite sure what she was. She wasn’t really one to get sick very often, though she could recognize this might be what that was. She blinked open her eyes to see him watching straight ahead, jaw clenched as he walked. He couldn’t fight if he was carrying her. If she could at least walk then he’d be free to help if something happened. She could walk, she just needed a second.

“It’s fine,” he said, eyes glancing over at her. “Just relax, I have you.”

Despite the tension she felt in his body, his voice was calming, reassuring. She nodded, knowing he was just as stubborn as she was and all the kicking and screaming wouldn’t get Terra to do something he made his mind up on. That she knew for a fact. Aqua leaned her head against his shoulder, letting her eyes close again. He smelt like sweat and nothing like the sandalwood shampoo and laundry detergent he used, but it was still him, still comforting.

“Terra?” Ven asked, his voice hesitant.

“It’s okay,” Terra said. “Are we close?”

Xion must’ve made some sort of nonverbal response because they were still moving. “I don’t mean to ask…” she said. “But she hasn’t been…you know?”

“No,” Terra said, as if his voice was firm enough it would erase all doubt. “She wasn’t close to any of them today, there’s no way. I think she’s dehydrated.”

They were quiet after that, just the sounds of twigs breaking underfoot, leaves crunching.

Her head felt better and she didn’t feel like she was going to throw up at least but her body felt weird, like her skin was so sensitive she could feel every brush against it, making it prickle in a weird way. It made her feel cold even though she knew it was unbearably hot. It was warm against Terra as he carried her but even then the cold chills still came.

“Are you cold?” Terra asked, his voice hushed compared to earlier.

“Sorta,” she murmured as she curled her fingers into his shirt a little.

Ven made some sort of worried whine. “Ter, it’s like 90 degrees out here.”

“I know, okay.” His voice came out harder than he probably meant it. She wanted to tell him to stop worrying, she was fine, she just needed to rest a little and she’d be okay but the words never came.

A gentle hand pressed to Aqua’s forehead, much smaller than both boys with her so she had to assume it was Xion. “She is really warm, she probably has a fever. I have a friend who’s really good with remedies. As long as we can keep…”

They stopped but there were still noises in the background, movement, groans.

Aqua opened her eyes but it sent a wave of nausea though her stomach, her lids still so heavy. Off in the near distance there were three infected lingering around. They hadn’t noticed anyone else yet but that didn’t mean there weren’t more. Aqua tried to squirm out of Terra’s arms to get him to put her down but his hold on her was relentless. It almost made her stomach turn again that she was worrying him so much when he already worried about enough.

“Can I borrow a knife?” Xion asked, though her voice was hushed a little. “They took all of mine back at town.”

Ven passed his over. He looked like he was about to offer to help but Xion was already moving.

It was hard for Aqua to keep her eyes focused and open at the same time, but she managed to watch Xion practically glide across the forest floor. She had the knife out and across their necks in no time; the only sounds were the bodies hitting the ground.

Ven let out a low whistle as Xion headed back to them. “Where did you learn how to fight like that?”

She handed him the knife, flipping it so the handle was out to him. “They may be assholes, but they did at least teach us how to survive.”

Aqua closed her eyes again when Ven started to get a little blurry. She felt Terra start to walk again and she assumed they were safe for the time being at least.

“I don’t mean to be nosey…” Ven started probably reaching up to scratch behind his head like he did when he was nervous.

“Don’t lie, yes you do,” Terra snorted.

Ven either straight ignored Terra or shot him a look but otherwise didn’t say anything to him. “But how did you end up there in the first place?”

“The first time it was because I had nowhere else to go. Family was long gone, dead or alive I have no idea, so I ended up bumping into that gang. They took me in and I happened to befriend two other younger members. We decided we didn’t really like…the things they did, so we ran.” Xion paused for a moment. “They obviously didn’t like that and tried to find us but we evaded them till we found some sort of safety, ironically with my friend, Roxas’ brother. Neither had even known the other was still alive.”

“And the second time?”

“That was my fault. I went back to steal supplies as an F you, but they caught me. I’d still be there dealing with a not so nice punishment if I hadn’t run.”

“As glad as I am we were there to help you escape,” Terra started; his voice rumbling near her ear and almost lulling her to sleep right there. He adjusted her slightly in his arms. “Please tell me we’re close.”

“And that you have something for Aqua.” That was Ven, not sounding as carefree as he had a second ago. “I’ve never seen her like this before.”

“We’re almost there,” Xion said. “I promise we’ll help her as best we can.”

Aqua wasn’t sure how much time went by. If Terra was getting tired of carrying her, he never let it show. Every so often she could hear snippets of Xion talking to Ven, telling him about Roxas and Axel, though Axel liked to be called something different now…at least that’s what Aqua thought she heard. Ven asking questions about where they all stayed, Terra asking how they survived for so long alone, but it was all a blur; words overlapping in her head and not a lot sticking. Other kid’s names were mentioned too, Roxas’ brother and his two best friends who managed to survive together, and another girl who had a pretty name Aqua couldn’t recall that they found alone along the way.

“Okay, I’m going to run a head and let whoever it is on watch know it’s me,” Xion said. “They’ll let you in no problem if they know. Just wait here for a second.”

“Okay,” Ven said, but even he sounded exhausted now.

“Are you okay?” Aqua murmured, trying to open her eyes again. When she did, she saw Terra already watching her.

He looked exhausted too, sweated beaded on his forehead, breath heavy like he hadn’t been able to catch it for a while. How long had they been walking? “Me? I’m fine,” he breathed. “Are you feeling any better?”

“Where are we?” Aqua blinked, the trees thicker than they were before. They seemed to be standing in the middle of some sort of path but she couldn’t see anything beyond that.

The distinct sound of a gun cocking behind them made the air feel like it stopped.

“Who the fuck are you?” a voice said making Aqua’s stomach sink more than it already had.

“We don’t want any trouble,” Terra said, his voice calmer than the way his jaw was clenched tight.

“Then you should probably turn around and leave the way you came.”

Ven raised his hands, bat included, though he didn’t move otherwise. “We were told we could get help. Our friend is sick.”

“This isn’t a charity. We have to protect ourselves. I’ve got someone in the woods with eyes on you too, so I suggest you go.”

Where was Xion? Didn’t she say she was going to warn them? Aqua had to close her eyes again when the trees started to spin, a whine falling from her lips.

“Please,” Terra said, a slight desperation in his voice that made her curl her hands against him, any form of comfort. “Xion said she’d help us.”

“Wait, Xion?” the voice took on a whole new tone; less harsh making him sound much younger. “Xion’s here?”

Terra hesitated but turned his body towards the man. Aqua opened her eyes again but she realized “man” was over stating it. Standing there was a tall boy with flaming red hair pulled back in a sloppy bun. He already lowered the gun in his hands eyeing them with a sort of surprise.

“Er, Axel?” Ven asked.

The boy glanced over to Ven briefly. “Lea. Where is she then? We’ve been looking everywhere for her.”

“I assume she went to find you so you didn’t, well…” Ven still had his hands up, his eyes dropping to the gun in Lea’s lowered hands. “Shoot us.”

Lea hesitated for a moment but put the gun back in the holster on his leg. “Look I don’t know what’s going on but if…”

“Lea!” Xion shouted as she ran back up the path. “There you are, God, do you have to hide so well? Your hair is usually a dead giveaway.”

He carefully brushed by Terra to meet Xion in the road. Lea swung his arms around her while she laughed, wrapping her own arms around his neck. He lifted her right off the ground which only made her laugh more.

“You little shit, we’ve been looking all over for you,” he said, though he sounded much more relieved than he had a moment ago.

“I’m fine,” Xion said. “You know I’m always fine.”

Something in the woods nearby rustled making Terra take a step back, tilting her away from whatever it was. The person who jumped through the brush looked plenty human though, running until he could hug Xion from the other side. Judging by the way she reached back to rub at his head that must’ve been the other one of her friends; Roxas, Aqua thought his name was.

“This is Lea and Roxas,” Xion said as Lea put her back down, though both boys looked a little sheepish at the introduction.

“We met, sort of,” Ven said. “If meeting at gunpoint is an introduction at all.”

Xion blinked before she turned to hit Lea on the shoulder. “You did not threaten my friends, did you?”

“Okay, how the hell was I supposed to know they were your friends? I saw some people, I told Roxas to wait with an eye on them and I came out to get them to leave. Totally procedure.”

“Because I was with them the whole walk down this path.” She looked over at Roxas who was choosing to look up at the sky instead. “Being on watch does mean you actually have to watch, you know that right? What were you doing?”

Neither seemed to have a good answer for that.

“You know what, never mind, I missed you two idiots.” She reached up to pinch at Roxas’ cheek though he swatted her away with a snort. “But we have to get them back to base, okay?” Xion gestured for everyone to follow her as she started to go down the path.

How old were these kids? Despite Lea’s height and initial commanding presence, the way he teased Xion with a sly grin, pushing at Roxas’ head who leaned in to say something with a grin of his own, there’s no way even Lea was older than Ven. They were all probably sixteen or fifteen, just babies out trying to live on their own.

What had this world become?

Ven looked behind him, seeming to get the okay from Terra who started to follow after Xion and the others. Ven came to walk next to Terra, reaching a hand over to Aqua’s forehead. “Don’t worry, we’re gonna get you feeling better, okay?”

It was hard not a feel a smile pull at her lips. She leaned her head back against Terra’s shoulder as he carried her down the path. She felt herself fade in and out, sometimes just seeing trees and then seeing cast iron fences, a big stone building up ahead. Aqua thought she heard Lea say it used to be a factory or something.

Branches broke somewhere behind her followed by what sort of sounded like someone was falling. She thought someone just tripped but the groan she heard next made her stomach turn again.

“Jesus Christ,” Lea spat from somewhere in front of her. “Where did that come from?”

“Don’t,” Roxas said, as Aqua could sort of see him reaching over to push the barrel of Lea’s gun down. “We can’t attract more.”

“Doesn’t seem like they need the help,” Ven said, the panic rising in his voice made Aqua squirm. Wasn’t this supposed to be safe? Would they ever be safe?

She tried to look around but Terra was firm in his hold on her.

“Hurry, hurry,” Xion hissed, metal screeching so loud it shot a pain straight to Aqua’s head.

She closed her eyes, even her groan sounded loud in her head. Terra started to walk faster, almost running, maybe he was running; maybe everyone was. She couldn’t look, she could barely breathe.

“Come on, come on,” Xion said before the metal slammed shut.

There were more groans and when Aqua did open her eyes she could see hands reaching through the metal gates. There weren’t a lot of them, but there was enough.

“You okay?” Terra asked, probably to Ven.

Aqua didn’t hear or see the answer though; all she could see was the massive building looming over them. It was all old worn red bricks with black metal finishing, steeple towers pointing up towards the sky as the rest of the building seemed to stretch on into untamed grass and wildflowers. The way the sun was in the cast the building cast shadows over them. It looked like an old church almost, but whether she felt it was a sanctuary or an imposing being in its own right she was unsure.

Her eyes felt heavy, she couldn’t look at it anymore. The next thing she knew Terra was laying her down in a cot in an unfamiliar room.

There was a lantern on a nearby wooden crate lighting up the area but other than that it was just stone walls all around. Aqua felt panic start to rise up in her throat, turning her stomach. She reached out for Terra who was pulling his arms out from under her.

“It’s okay,” he said as he sat down on the floor next to the cot. “I’m here.”

Ven was leaning over the bottom of the bed, trying to untangle some sort of blanket; Aqua hadn’t even realized she was shivering again. She felt Terra place his hand on the cot near her and she reached her hand up to it. He was still so warm.

“And this place is safe?” Terra said.

“Yes,” Roxas said, though Aqua hadn’t noticed him standing in the room. “There’s some sections we have blocked off due to danger areas but we keep a close check on it.” He hesitated for a moment. “If you’re referring to what just happened outside, Xion and Lea are handling it. Nothing will get in here.”

“And there’s tons of trigger traps just in case,” a new voice said, sounding pretty proud so there was a good chance he made those traps. Blue eyes and brown hair peered out from the doorway as the boy stood next to Roxas.

“Sora is itching to see if they work too, so I wouldn’t feel completely safe with him on guard,” Roxas said rolling his eyes.

Sora leaned over to shove his shoulder into Roxas, a scene Aqua had seen plenty of times with Terra and Ven. These were the brothers, then.

“Move, please,” a much softer voice said making both the boys quickly jump apart to make room in the doorway. A girl with long blonde hair was walking into the room, holding a tray with two glasses on it. “Will you help me?” she asked kneeling down on the side of the cot near Terra.

“Yeah, of course.” Terra untangled his hand from Aqua’s, taking the glass of water the girl was handing him.

“Have her drink the whole thing.” The girl’s voice was straight to the point but also kind, gentle.

Aqua tried to push herself up some while he helped hold the glass up for her. Ven reached over to drape the blanket as best he could over Aqua from his angle.

“Do you need anything else, Namine?” Sora asked.

“No,” the blonde girl said with a shake of her head. “This should help for now.”

“Thank you,” Ven said, kneeling down at the end of the cot. “For helping her.”

Namine smiled. “It’s the least I can do.”

Aqua really didn’t want to drink any more of the water, but while Terra would let her pause every so often he did make sure she drank the whole thing before handing the glass back.

“This should help with the fever,” Namine said, giving Terra a few pills and another glass. “The tea is supposed to be warm but I made it cold so it would be easier for her to drink. She just needs fluids and lots of rest, okay?”

“Okay,” Terra nodded, watching as Namine stood up to leave the room, shooing Sora and Roxas away as she did.

They were alone again, just the three of them. Terra got her to take the pills and drink a little of the cold tea but Aqua just wanted to lay down again. She wanted to say she stayed awake to thank the both of them for looking after her so much, but when she opened her eyes again Terra was leaning against the wall, his eyes closed and Ven was nowhere to be found. She managed to grab the left over tea without Terra’s help as he seemed to be sound asleep, one hand still on her cot, but the moment she laid back down she was asleep again too.

Aqua felt like all she could be was in and out for what seemed like ever.

Sometimes she’d hear Ven and Terra talking, sometimes she’d wake up to others in the room keeping them company. Usually it was Sora and a red haired girl, both of whom liked to talk to Ven. Sometimes it was Roxas too though he was much quieter than his brother was. Aqua would hear Namine every now and then coming in to check on Aqua or give her more water to drink or more medicine, sometimes there was a tall, silver haired boy who’d talk to Terra but Aqua didn’t think she recognized him at all.

Usually Terra was always by her side; one time he wasn’t but only because Ven said he made Terra go sleep in a real bed for once. She never woke up alone but she also never seemed to wake up for long.

Aqua had no idea how long had gone by; there were no windows, just the flickering fire in the lantern. So the first time she woke up, finally feeling like she slept enough, she didn’t know if it had been five hours or five days.

She reached up to rub her eyes, pushing herself up to sit up on the cot.

“Look at you,” Terra said, though it was paused by a yawn. “Feeling better?”

She turned her head to see him in his usual spot against the wall. He looked pretty well rested himself; something that neither of them could say was common before they happened to find Xion. “I feel a lot better.”

“God.” He closed his eyes, leaning his head back against the wall before opening them again, a smile on his lips. “You scared me half to death.”

“Not fun being on the other side is it?” she asked, looking over at him as she inched herself over on the cot, hoping he got the hint.

“No, I don’t envy you all the times you took care of me.” He pushed himself up to his feet so he could sit back down on the cot, kicking one leg on the other side of her.

She hummed as she leaned back against him, her hands resting over his once he wrapped his arms around her waist. Aqua had no desire to sleep again but having him so close again was more than enough to make her want to stay here for a little bit longer.

“You sure you feel better?” he murmured, leaning his head against hers.

“Much better.” She sighed, tapping her fingers on his. “How long have we been here?”

“About three days or so.”

“Are you serious?” she turned to look at him. “I’ve been out that long?”

“Aqua, you were exhausted on top of being sick. You needed a lot of sleep.” Terra paused. “We all did.”

She supposed that was true. Sleeping in a tent and taking turns keeping watch wasn’t exactly restful. “So it really is safe here?”

Terra nodded. “As far as I can tell. They take turns taking watch, which is probably where Ven is. He likes to help with what he can, but there haven’t even been any scares since we’ve been here.”

She could see Namine’s face as she gave directions to how to help Aqua, Sora as he told Ven some sort of story, Lea holding up a gun to strangers. It made her heart break. “They’re so young, Ter, what are they doing here all alone?”

“Surviving,” he said simply. “All any of us can do.”

It might’ve been something she thought in a fever dream, but even now it felt clear as day. “You know we can’t just leave them here, right?”

To her surprise he actually laughed. “Oh, I know. I know you, remember? I figured once you got a good look at the kids here, we’d never leave. That’s okay, I think we’d have to pry Ven kicking and screaming away from not just being stuck with us again.”

Aqua leaned in to press her lips to Terra’s. She could still feel him smiling as he kissed her back, a hand reaching up to her cheek. It felt so nice she had no intention of stopping, well, until she heard giggling in the doorway.

Terra leaned his head back against the wall while Aqua peered over to see Sora sheepishly standing outside the door, the red haired girl standing near him both her hands over her mouth. That at least was one thing that never seemed to change whether the world was as it was before or not; teenagers who didn’t know how to knock.

“Glad to see you’re awake, Aqua,” Sora said, though he had his hand up behind his neck still looking a little embarrassed. “I’m-”

“Sora, right?” she said.

All embarrassment seemed to fade as a wide grin split his face. “Hey, you remember! I don’t think we were ever really introduced but yep, that’s me.” He waved his hand towards the door. “That’s Kairi.”

“It’s nice to officially meet you, we’re all glad you’re feeling better,” Kairi said with a sweet smile on her face. “Your boys were very worried about you.”

Aqua leaned her head against Terra, rubbed into him a little bit to make him laugh.

“And,” Sora continued. “The big lug in the doorway is Riku.”

Aqua tilted her head to see the silver haired boy who hadn’t quite entered the room yet. He waved slightly, an easy look on his face that seemed very reminiscent of Terra when he was that age; no wonder they had seemed to get along.

“I think you probably remember everyone else, they’re all around, just getting ready.”

“Aqua!”

Now, that voice she did know. Ven nearly threw himself on the cot, resting his head against her stomach as he tried to hug her.

“Ven, you can be a little gentler you know,” Terra grunted but Aqua could only laugh, reaching her hands down to his hair.

He looked up at her, his usual big smile seeming a little brighter. “Namine told me you were awake. Are you feeling better?”

“Much better, thank you for taking such good care of me, Ven.”

“You’ve had to clean up my puke before, it’s only fair.”

“Ventus,” Terra groaned slightly and she could almost see him rolling his eyes.

“We got the best news while you were sleeping,” Ven said, clearly not missing a single beat.

“Yeah? What kind of good news could there be?” Aqua asked. It was true, it’s not like they really got any sort news anywhere.

“The safe haven, it’s real. We got coordinates and everything. Can you believe it?”

Aqua couldn’t believe it, in fact her gut reaction was the dread of having to break Ven’s heart. “How did you possibly get that?”

“Lea,” Kairi said. “Well, sort of. He’s really good at fixing things and he fixed us up a radio that actually works really well.”

“Yeah,” Sora agreed. “We were listening to it the other night just for some noise and the people came on that have mentioned this place before and they actually gave us coordinates this time. We dug out the old map we have and we’re pretty sure we have a route.”

Aqua looked back to Terra who presumably had already heard all of this. She was going to ask him what he thought of it all, but she could already read it on his face well enough; he was hesitant but not opposed.

“We figure we can’t stay here forever anyway,” Riku said, still leaning in the doorway. “It’s too far from everything and we’ll run out of supplies. It’s more dangerous on the road, but we’ll have to go sometime. Worst case, we’ll find somewhere else to stay.”

Aqua couldn’t really argue with that.

“Can we go?” Ven asked. “Maybe Eraqus made it there too.”

She wanted to cry. She wanted to take Ven and all these children and shelter them from whatever this world had become. They should be in school, playing sports, worrying if the boy who sat next to them liked them too, not just trying to survive.

It was what it was though. These were the cards they were given, and they had to make the best of it.

It took a few more days for Aqua to feel back at her best but as she stood outside the factory gates at daybreak. It did feel good to know she’d be able to stretch her legs again soon. It wasn’t bad, they all got to recover and she got to know all the kids a little better. She felt more than well rested for the first time in a long time.

As far as she could tell there were no infected lingering outside the gates like there had been when they got here. She couldn’t know for sure, but everything seemed as safe as it could be. For now.

Terra was next to her, adjusting his backpack so it sat better on him. His clothes were washed, skin scrubbed of grime and dirt, and he didn’t look quite as tired as he had either. Ven was usually with them but today he was standing ahead of them, bat slung over his shoulder as he talked to Lea about something.

He was the most laid back of the kids, easy going and easy to crack a snarky joke. Roxas wasn’t ever too far behind his partner in crime though he was quieter, a little more serious though he did take after Lea’s sense of humor. Xion meshed them together, a sassy and fearless fighter.

Roxas’ twin brother Sora was always positive and energetic even as he was trying to help cram a few more things into Riku’s backpack. He was soft spoken and thoughtful, but also a leader the others listened to. Kairi and Namine looked like they could be sisters but they weren’t. Kairi was kind but just as firey as her red hair hinted she might be, where Namine was quiet and sweet but still had the respect of everyone around her.

“Got the map?” Aqua asked, looking over to Terra.

He waved the papers in his hand, giving her a smile. The kids decided since both herself and Terra were the oldest they’d be the ones in charge; she didn’t know about that, but she also felt like maybe they just wanted to lessen their responsibilities for a bit. She was okay with that.

“Ready?” Sora asked, waving his hands over his head. “Is everyone ready?”

There were some cheers, a few whistles and claps. Everyone was ready.

“Straight on, guys,” Terra said, gesturing towards the path. “Stay together in your groups, got it?”

“Got it, dad,” someone said but Aqua couldn’t quite pick out who after all the giggling ensued.

Terra sighed but he didn’t say anything more. Aqua reached over to grab his hand, lacing her fingers with his as they started to walk, holding up the back of the group as planned.

“Ready?” he asked, giving her hand a slight squeeze.

Honestly, she had no idea what they were walking into, if anything would even be there. Yet she had Terra, she had Ven, and now she all these kids looking for any sort of guidance. These times were not easy in the least, but she’d try and make them as easy as she could. Besides, if anything they could all use some hope.

“Ready,” she said.