Author's note: A long one shot. Another attempt at writing a fic. I can't believe I'm writing a hetero fic, but BBS only has one female, and I'm not a fan of yaoi. I shudder thinking about it. Anyway, to each his own. Terra Aqua pairing, based off some similar life experiences. BTW, there may be some spoilers. Pre-BBS, probably OOC, as I haven't played the game, and this is going off of my knowledge garnered from trailers and Kingdom Hearts Wiki. :p Enjoy!

"Oh yeah?"

"YEAH!"

Aqua massaged her right temple. For the past few minutes, two boisterous voices were bothering her otherwise peaceful lunch. Training was already tough this morning. She was tired, she was sweaty, and she was smelly. The last thing she needed was a headache on top of everything.

"Guys," she said softly, with a slight edge in her voice. The younger of the two ceased his yelling and cocked his head at Aqua. The older, and supposedly more mature one, clearly hadn't heard and continued his tirade at Ven.

Aqua couldn't understand what Terra's deal with Ven was. Ever since the boy had started training with them, Terra went on a testosterone-fueled crusade to constantly prove how much better he was than Ven. Ven was a good kid: he listened to his elders, he did his work without grumbling, heck, he even admired Terra. Which had Aqua beyond baffled when she considered what a hot head he was.

While Aqua had thought about this, Terra was still unrelenting. He was still yelling, and she had enough.

"Shut up!"

"You shut up!" Terra yelled back, clearly in the heat of bickering with Ven.

Ven gaped between the two of them. Terra, to his credit, looked slightly ashamed and cast his blue eyes downward.

Wordlessly, she picked up the remainder of her lunch and headed outside. Aqua couldn't discern which was more unbelievable: the fact that the two boys got into a squabble almost every other minute, or that the squabbles usually progressed to a Keyblade duel once Aqua took Ven's side. After sighing at the foolishness of it all, she finished her meal.

Back inside, the table had become noticeably quieter. Both boys were finishing their lunch without talking. Until, as usual, it took Ven to break the silence.

"You should apologize you know," to which Terra looked up. "otherwise, she'll probably knock you out again."

"She has never knocked me out," Terra responded stonily.

"That's 'cause you don't remember," Ven responded cheerfully, blissfully unaware of the barb he had just launched at Terra's ego. It took all of his strength not to grab Ven from across the table and use him as a volleyball. But before he could even twitch a finger, Ven leapt up.

"I'm gonna go find Aqua!" he said happily, and he ran away, his blonde hair bouncing.

"Yeah, you do that," Terra mumbled, leaving him alone with his thoughts. He would never admit it, but he was actually jealous of the way the kid could freely talk to Aqua as he pleased. Something had shifted just a tiny bit since they were younger. Back when they both wore plain t-shirts and shorts, back when they sparred with wooden play sticks, back when Terra told Aqua anything he wanted. But something happened. He would never forget that day when he realized how much they had changed.

Exactly 4 months, 2 weeks and 5 days ago, Terra and Aqua had a sparring session scheduled for training. As usual, Terra tried to overpower Aqua, and as usual, she danced out of his way lithely and countered with magic. Today, however, he felt an unusual need to impress. Master Eraqus brought in a new kid, and Terra was determined to show that he was the best Wielder there. Recklessly, he charged in, and Aqua deftly sidestepped him and countered. He knew he should block her attack, but he was confident he was quick enough to evade her Keyblade and defeat her before she could react. He wasn't.

Terra slowly sat up, feeling the blood seeping from his left forehead. He had lost again, and ashamed that he had done it in front of Master Eraqus, as well as the new kid.

"Terra!" Aqua rushed over after seeing Terra's wound. She made a motion to tend to Terra's cut, but he swiftly pushed her hands away.

"I'm fine," he muttered, looking down.

"Terra." Master Eraqus looked down at him with stern eyes. Terra stopped fidgeting and let Aqua heal him.

Now that she was closer, Terra could smell her scent. She smelled so appealing, like lavender and something else. Was it…..gummi bears? He had never liked gummi bears very much before, but now, it seemed absolutely delicious. He could smell her sweat, evidence of the day's training. Did Aqua always smell this good? Once he recognized that his thoughts were centered around Aqua, his tan face flushed.

He realized how unnaturally stiff he was sitting the whole time, and slowly lifted his gaze. And he had been staring at her breasts the whole time. Were those always there? He had never really looked at Aqua before, but he now noticed that she had grown into a woman, with sensual curves and an engulfing aura.

He flinched a little when she pushed his hair off his face and grazed his scalp.

He lifted his gaze further, to her neck, which was slender and pale, and even further, to her the jawbone that delicately framed her face. Her lilac hair fell into her eyes a little; they were concentrating on Terra. She was paying no attention to what he was doing, letting him take study her as much as he wanted. Her eyes were the color of dark clouds on a rainy day, and yet carried none of foreboding that it was associated with. He would never understand how her eyes could look so angry and yet gentle at the same time.

He still didn't understand, but he definitely understood that the glint in her eyes meant she saw an opening. With a deftly cast Aeroga spell, Terra found himself on his backside, a painful jolt back to reality and the present time. He had to stop daydreaming during training.

It had been another sparring session with Aqua, and she once again proved how much better at magic she was.

Terra prepared himself for the usual onslaught of apologies that accompanied Aqua defeating him.

"Which is quite often," he noted testily. Strangely, there was only silence. He looked up quizzically, and saw that she had turned her back on him, slowly walking toward Ven, who was beaming.

"I guess she's still mad at me," he assumed. "Maybe I should apologize."

Across the floor, Aqua was feeling guilty. Now that her temper had cooled and she had talked a bit with Ven, she felt bad for snapping at the boys like that. She knew they bickered, and she had grown accustomed to it. To add to her guilt, knocking Terra down only made her feel worse. But she was sure he would insist he was fine, he always did, and she didn't think she could handle looking him in the eye just yet, so she turned away.

Ven seemed oblivious to everything.

"Wow! Aqua that was amazing! You cast that spell like it was nothing! But Terra must be really strong cause that spell would've knocked out a ton of Unversed. Will you teach me how to do that spell? I think if I focus really hard I could do it. I want to learn how so that I can go with you guys on a mission. Do you think I could one day?"

She waited for Ven to finish his ramble, then took her turn while he inhaled.

"Sure Ven, I'm sure one day you'll be ready. Look, I'm done. I'm going to go upstairs and shower. I'll see you at dinner, okay?' With that, Aqua walked through the door, and up the stairs to her room. Ven had started a reply, but she couldn't hear what he said.

Once upstairs, she collapsed on her bed. There had to be an easier way to settle disagreements between the two of them. She was tired of tiptoeing through the mental minefield Terra built after they had "conflicting views." It usually ended the same way anyway, with a duel, Terra getting injured, Aqua apologizing, and Ven insisting that he wanted to try.

She was exhausted, she was starving and she was filthy. Deciding that the filth had to be first on the priority list, she began her trudge towards the shower. The hot water felt good on her skin, and she felt the tension in her muscles melting. Dinner was going to taste so good tonight.

It mystified her as to why she was so tired, until she remembered that she had volunteered for extra practice so Ven could get some sparring in yesterday, and she had spent a late night with Master Eraqus in the library researching a new spell. By the time she had gotten to sleep it had been four in the morning, and coupled with seven AM training, it was no wonder she lost it at lunch.

After putting on clean clothes, the rumble in her stomach told Aqua what was next on her list to fix. She headed down to the kitchen and peeked in, but slumped slightly when she saw dinner was at least half an hour away. She trudged towards the fireplace in the den and lay down on the sofa across from it. She exhaled deeply and closed her eyes. Ven could call her when dinner was ready.

"Aqua? AQUAAAAAAAA!" Ven had done as expected and was walking through the castle looking for Aqua. When he found her on the sofa, he gently shook her to wake her.

"Hey Aqua, dinner is ready," he said cheerily. He heard Aqua reply in mumbles, something along the lines of, "'s okay, I sleep now."

"TERRRRRRRAAAAAA!" Ven was now pulling Terra over to where Aqua lay, unaware of the discomfort he was causing Terra, and explaining that he had tried to wake her and she wouldn't get up.

"Hey Aqua," Terra's deep voice rumbled. "Come get some dinner." He really had no intention of waking Aqua, as the rift he had caused and his eminent apology was still on his mind.

"She's very tired, why don't you carry her up to her bed?" Master Eraqus had just walked through the doorway, smiling slightly at the sleeping Aqua. As affable as he was, he was quite an imposing figure, with his large haori and black top knot. Even confident Terra was still slightly apprehensive around him.

Terra stuttered back. "M-me? Do I have to? Now?" Eraqus nodded yes, and added, "You can come back down to dinner after you put her on her bed. It shouldn't take you long." With that, he walked through the door to the dining hall. A smiling Ven pranced after him.

"Great. Juuuust great," Terra muttered. The last person he wanted to see right now, and he's gotta carry her. Him! Carry her, to her room! Sighing exasperatedly, he decided the sooner he got it over with, the better.

As gently as he could, he scooped her into his arms, managing to rest her head on his upper arm. He cradled her upper body on the rest of his arm, and he used his other arm to hold her legs. She was lighter than he had imagined.

Trying to be a gentleman, and not give into his inner urges, Terra tried to keep his gaze focused solely ahead. But when he reached the first flight of stairs, he couldn't help himself. He was in awe of her grace. Her lashes were like tiny feathers, her hair fell softly on her face and her chest rose and fell slightly with every breath.

For the first time since that day, he could smell the lavender shampoo she used, and the sweet smell of the gummi bears was still there. The smell of sweat was gone, replaced by the fresh scent of clean clothes. She was exquisite.

"And sadly," Terra thought, "she doesn't think of me that way." He considered the consequences if he tried to kiss her now. She probably wouldn't even feel it, and he could even deny it, but he decided landing on his ass from her magic twice in one day wasn't worth it. Who knows how she'd react when surprised?

Terra's walk slowed the tiniest bit. He knew he was checking out Aqua. It was probably the only time he would get to do it without getting a spell in his face. Or she'd turn away when she noticed. He recalled the time last year when they had a guest. The guy kissed her hand in greeting and she turned red as beet. She didn't say two words and dinner and when he kissed her again in parting, she accidentally broke his nose. She was pretty shy around guys, he knew that.

But what he wasn't sure was whether or not his body was betraying him right now.

He walked into Aqua's room. "For the first time," he noted to himself. He had never been allowed in her room before. As he walked over to the bed, he saw on her nightstand a large bag of multi-colored gummi bears. A small smile crept to his face as he placed her on her side and gently lay her head on her pillow. She looked so serene, and something stirred in Terra's chest.

Without preamble, without even thinking about it, he knelt by her bedside, so that his face was level with hers.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I know I'm a hot head and I know I'm an idiot. I'm always trying to impress someone, and I'm always trying to get the better of you. I irk Ven because I can, and I argue with you because it's the only way I can talk to you without stuttering. I'll try to change, but I can't promise that I will. I am sorry. Aqua, I….I….." Terra trailed off. He couldn't finish his sentence.

After making sure she was still sleeping, he lightly kissed her forehead, before turning to the door and walking out. Once he had shut her door, he exhaled deeply and shook his head.

"What was I thinking?" His unplanned confession and kiss still replayed through his mind as he walked back down to the dining hall.

In the bedroom, Aqua opened her eyes.

Aqua wasn't really sleeping. She was, but that was before Ven had come in shouting like a train pulling into station. But she was too tired to eat. Maybe if she just laid there and ignored him, he would leave her alone. She smiled slightly when she heard his footsteps disappear, and frowned when they again came stomping in, accompanied by much bigger stomps.

"Terra," she assumed. She still didn't move, even when she heard Terra say something. She heard another voice, but couldn't tell who it was. Finally, she heard them leaving the room. All was quiet again. She breathed out slowly and smiled into the couch.

Just as sleep began overwhelming her, she felt very big arms pick her up. Amazingly, she didn't gasp out of surprise. They were gentle, she noted, and when her head came to rest on a firm shoulder, she knew Terra was the one who had picked her up.

She figured it was better to play dead (or rather sleep, she told herself), than to wake up and force a very awkward, yet interesting, conversation on them. She had never been this close to Terra before, and she could feel his muscles tensing through the layers of clothing that separated them. Even though he was carrying her (how embarrassing), he didn't seem to be wavering at all, even with her added weight.

She could smell the scent of the laundry soap that they all used, and a hint of cologne. His arm made quite a good pillow. In fact, though she would never admit it aloud, she wouldn't mind if he carried for her just a little while longer. She could hear his heartbeat. Slow and steady, but when they reached the stairs, it got faster and louder.

Was she that heavy that it made Terra work that hard? She blushed inwardly. She liked being held like this, feeling like she was safe from anything and everything. Terra had a way of making anyone feel safe.

And then….she felt something. Something was hitting her in the back. It wasn't painful, but it was annoying. With every step Terra took, it poked her. What was that?

"Wait, wait wait. No. NO. NO!. Are you kidding me? Is Terra having a boner? Is this for real?" Aqua blushed furiously, and hoped Terra wouldn't notice. She tried her best to ignore it, but it was difficult when the thing was jabbing her every other step.

After Terra laid her onto her bed, she was half tempted to sneak a peek at his hakama.

"Just a tiny little look see, you know, just to get an idea," she told herself.

But before she could, she heard Terra's voice. His voice was smooth with a deep timbre to it. She listened to his confession, aware of the sincerity in his voice that was so rarely heard. She imagined his bright cerulean eyes, probably dimmed from the lack of light, looking at the ground while he spoke. His brown hair no doubt tousled messily like it usually was, his shirt tapering from his shoulders to his waist. His sharp nose and rigid jaw line were probably even more defined in the muted light. She never really thought of Terra as handsome before, but the lack of males her own age and that the fact that they had grown up together had likely caused her to omit that realization.

When she heard his voice trail off, she thought he had finally stepped out, but he surprised her once again when she felt his warm lips gently kiss her forehead.

Terra must be sick.

After she was sure the door was shut and heard footsteps go downstairs, she opened her eyes.

The realization hit her like a ton of bricks. Terra just confessed to her. It sounded like he confessed he wanted to be something more than friends. And if she needed any more confirmation, she could just use the little reminder that poked her in the back.

Aqua couldn't entirely grasp that Terra liked her. But also coming up fast on the outside track was the lingering thought that maybe she liked Terra back. Closing her eyes once again, she decided that she was going to pretend she didn't hear any of it. Technically, she was supposed to be asleep, so she shouldn't have, and she definitely did not want to bring up Terra Jr.

Chuckling to herself at her own little dirty joke, she rolled over and closed her eyes.

Halfway down the stairs, Terra was cursing himself and shaking his hakama. He had just poked Aqua in the back with his dick. Fucking embarrassing. Well, she was sleeping supposedly, and he couldn'tdo anything about it now. And even if she did feel anything, the Aqua he knew would never bring it up. Ever. He tucked it in his waistband and went down to dinner.

At breakfast the next day, one could hardly tell anything was amiss. Everyone was eating just as they always were: Ven was talking loudly above the din, Aqua was humming a song and Terra was eating all the meat available. Everyone looked up when Master Eraqus started speaking.

"Today's training will not consist of Keyblade wielding. It's been a while since I've done this, but I think this would benefit all of us. If you haven't noticed, the outside garden is beginning to show signs of overgrowth. We will weed and trim the outside garden today, by hand," he added and watched his apprentices' faces slightly dropped. "It takes physical and mental endurance to finish garden work without losing focus. We will begin in one hour. You may use the time until then time to prepare." With those words, Master Eraqus exited.

Terra groaned and dropped his head onto the table. Ven, who was normally impervious to bad moods, looked slightly put out. Aqua was mentally counting how many potions and elixirs she had up in her room.

In one hour, the trio was walking out the back gate towards the garden, some small steps behind Master Eraqus. He pointed a large gnarled tree, "Ventus, you will assist Terra in cleaning up the loose branches. See if you can trim some of the stray ones too," he nodded to Terra.

"Yes sir," they both replied, but with obvious differences in tone and enthusiasm.

"You will work with me, Aqua," and Eraqus began walking towards a small patch of grass. "This garden is covered in weeds. It normally grows very beautiful flowers, but we won't see it till we get rid of this brush. " Handing her a spade, they both bent down to work.

Aqua liked working with Master Eraqus. When there was a task in front of her, he didn't bother her with mindless, nagging coaching, unless she really needed it. The silence let her enjoy the sounds of nature that she rarely heard.

"Oooooh! Ohhh! Master Eraqus! Master Eraqus!"

"That is definitely not nature's sounds," Aqua thought. She turned around and saw Ven frantically running.

"Quick! Come! A branch fell on Terra and I think he's hurt, but he says he's okay, but I don't know because he's bleeding a little, but he still says okay! I think you should come look!" Ven doubled over after reciting his message, whether because of his sprint or because he spouted the ramble in one breath, Aqua wasn't sure.

Master Eraqus and Aqua hurried over to Terra, where they saw him sitting in a hunch with a branch the size of Terra himself nearby. As they got closer, they saw a small amount of blood dripping from the back of Terra's shoulder, but he otherwise looked unhurt.

"What happened?" Eraqus inquired.

"Genius here decided to climb up the tree and hop on a rotten branch to 'trim the tree,'" Terra said, jerking a thumb back at Ven. Master Eraqus looked sharply at Ven, who had the grace and innocence to look down and be embarrassed, though Aqua could make out a faint smile on his lips.

"Alright, since you won't be lifting anything else today, I will work with Ventus, and you assist Aqua in weeding the garden," Master Eraqus concluded.

For the first few minutes, the two teens worked in silence, both aware of the uncomfortable dull that had fallen on them. Everything seemed back to normal, Terra thought, but that was just like Aqua. She wouldn't bring it up if you didn't wanna talk about it. It was like last night was a giant elephant in the room. It would be best to ignore it.

"You missed one," Aqua said as she finally broke the silence. She pointed toward the weed.

"Where?" Terra turned.

Aqua reached over to point out the weed, just as Terra turned his head, and their lips brushed against each other with slight contact. They both jumped back, surprised by the innocent touch. Silence followed for a few moments before Terra broke the ice.

"Ah thanks," Terra said, deciding to ignore the incident. "Listen, Aqua, I'm sorry for yesterday. I was being a jerk," he said without lifting his eyes.

Aqua sighed to herself. There was his chance to say something about last night, but he just skipped over it like a tough calculus problem. Oh well.

"It's okay." She smiled back. "I'm sorry I lost it on you guys too. I was just a little cranky."

"Would you do me a favor?" Terra asked. He wasn't sure why he was asking; his pride usually never let him ask a favor of anyone. "Would you be willing to heal my shoulder?"

Aqua smiled at him. "Sure. But I don't have any of my stuff now, I figured we wouldn't need it since we're just weeding the garden today. I can do it after though."

"Okay, right. You can come to my room later." Wait. Why did he say that? Terra quickly looked at Aqua to gauge her reaction, but she took it in stride.

"Sure, I'll come by after I shower." Aqua played her poker face to the hilt and didn't react to his supposed innuendo, but she took it as Terra's own awkward way of trying to make amends.

The rest of the day went by far more quickly and far less uneasily.

After dinner, Aqua knocked on the door to Terra's room. She entered, and saw him sitting on his bed reading. He sat up when she came through the door, and stammered out a welcome.

"I think on your bed would be easiest," Aqua noted, completely aware of the double connotation she just uttered. Too bad Terra didn't get it and just nodded in agreement.

"So where is the wound?" she asked.

"It's on my back, near the left shoulder blade, so I can't get to it."

"Alright, you're gonna have to take your shirt off," Aqua said, with as much professionalism as she could muster. From what she could tell, even with the past two statements (which could've been interpreted as entirely sexual), Terra hadn't batted an eyelash. Sometimes, Aqua mused, this guy had to be densest thing in the world.

After kneeling behind Terra, she began to clean his cut, acutely aware of how his shoulder muscles tied into his back in a tightly wound pattern. She decided there that Terra had a very nice back.

"Are you hungry?" Terra asked out of nowhere.

"Huh?"

"I have some gummi bears if you want some." He shrugged and held up a bag.

Out of all the awkward silence breakers, Terra was king at creating even more awkward situations.

"I love Gummi bears! But I can't touch them now cause I'm working on your cut."

"Here." Terra held one out for her to eat. She bit it, and thanked Terra. Twenty-three gummi bears later, Aqua was finished.

"Okay, all done." She started closing up her kit. "Terra about this afternoon—"

"I'm sorry."

"I wasn't going to say that." Terra turned around in puzzlement.

"I was going to say we should do it properly."

Aqua leaned forward on one hand and used her free one to tilt his chin. All the emotions that she had built up over the day and previous night came rushing out. She pressed her lips against Terra's, and felt elated when she felt him pressing back. Slowly, sensuously, they weaved their lips around one another, each eager for the taste of the other. Terra could feel Aqua's tongue pressing against his mouth, asking to be let in, and he let her. She explored his mouth, savoring every part of it.

Terra was confused. Everything he had known about Aqua told him that she was shy; that he would have to make the first move. But not now. They were dancing their own little waltz, and not only was she leading, it had been Aqua who asked his wallflower-ass to dance. How they got there didn't matter to him, but he wasn't going to let her lead every number.

Terra could taste the gummi bears she ate earlier, and a weak smell of soap wafted up into his nose. He broke the kiss, the better to taste every bit of her. All the nervousness, the anxiety, the fear, from earlier was gone. He kissed the tip of her nose, planting soft kisses along her jawbone until he reached her ear, which he sucked on. He felt her body stiffen as her breath caught in her throat. He noted that spot for later and continued, kissing further down to the nape of her neck. She groaned again, but didn't stiffen this time. He sucked on that spot, noticing that even her skin tasted like gummi bears! He chuckled to himself as he furthered his work on her future hickey.

Aqua shivered. The vibration from Terra's laugh made her skin tingle. She wasn't sure how they had gotten to this point or what she was doing at the moment, but she was sure that she wanted more. Feeling the time was for her to again take the lead, she lifted his face back toward hers and resumed their kiss. After straddling his lap, she picked his hands up and placed them on her hips, slowly guiding them upwards. Terra seemed to take the hint and used his calloused hands to slip under her shirt and wrap around the small of her back, pulling her closer to him. They broke their kiss, allowing him to once again explore her nape and further down between her breasts.

The smell of fabric softener from his sheets was apparent, and the aftershave he used was intoxicating. She closed her eyes and tilted her head back, enjoying the warmth Terra was smothering her with. Her hands wandered over the hard muscles that made up Terra's shoulders. Slowly she tilted her head back down and opened her eyes, just in time to see the doorknob of Terra's door twist.

"Ven!"

"Ven?"

"VEN!" Aqua nearly screamed. She quickly shoved Terra back and turned her back to Ven. Thank god all their clothes were on. What if he had walked in there and they were undressed? She shuddered at the thought.

"What is it Ven?" she called out. She could hear the surprise in his voice.

"Um well, I came to tell Terra that dinner is ready. Why are you in here Aqua? It's not like this is your room, cause, y'know, your room is down the other way and-"

"I came to heal Terra's shoulder," she cut him off, trying to prevent Ven from stumbling onto his own conclusions. After making sure her clothing was in place, she got up from the bed.

"Come on, I'll go down with you," in as even a voice as she could muster.

"Hah," Terra laughed to himself. "Whether in battle or in her personal life, cool and collected Aqua. She never panics. I wonder what she'll tell the kid," he smirked.

He looked done at his crotch and flung his pillow angrily. Laying back on his bed forcefully, he muttered, "I swear I'm gonna get blue balls."

Out in the hall, Aqua was holding it together pretty well. She was confident Ven was too young to know what he saw, and if she just played it off, it would be okay.

Or so she hoped.

Walking down the corridor, she couldn't keep her thoughts straight. She couldn't believe they just did that. Did they just almost go all the way? His hands were caressing her back, and his lips were kissing her neck. She absentmindedly drew her hand up to the spot.

"Aqua?" She stopped short when she saw Ven was stopped in front of her, his head tilted to the side about a foot away from her face. "Are you okay? Cause your face is all flushed and red and stuff."

Here we go Aqua, let's be cool and collected. There's his attack, now, to side step and counter.

"I'm fine Ven, it just took a little more effort to heal it."

Ven seemed to accept her answer, but he still added, "Yeah, it must have been tough 'cause you're breathing pretty hard."

Another attack.

"Right, I wonder who caused it?" to which Ven blushed.

Nice counter.

Before he could say anything, she added, "Terra brought me up to my room last night, right?"

"Oh, yep. Master Eraqus told him to cause you wouldn't get up for dinner even though I tried to get you up and you only talked in your sleep, but I knew you were really tired cause you were drooling a little, so I went to get Terra to help wake you up, and then he ended up taking you to your room."

Another excellent babble completed by Ven, and Aqua had succeeded in getting him off the recent incident. But something he said…

"Wait, I was drooling?"

"Uh huh," Ven said, nodding eagerly, "and you were mumbling a little, but I couldn't understand what you said. But it's okay, cause I think Terra must've wiped off the drool or something."

Aqua pressed her palm to her forehead. Terrific. This would've been nice to know before she decided to try and make out with him. Epic fail. At least he never brought it up.

Dinner was uneventful. Terra came down ten minutes later, and he and Aqua did a delicate dance around each other, never directly saying a word to each other, nor ever making eye contact. Ven looked between the two of them throughout mouthfuls of food, and though he sensed something was wrong, he decided dinner was of more importance and that he would concern himself with it later.

To both teenagers' relief, Ven didn't bring up what he stumbled upon at dinner. That kid had a way of causing chaos with one sentence. But as soon as you got mad at him, his eyes curved into half moons, a smile appeared, his shoulders shrugged, and suddenly you forgot why you were mad at him in the first place.

After dinner, Aqua made her way up to her room. There would be no way for her to meet with Terra again tonight; he had to go with Master Eraqus to visit someone. She sighed.

She settled into bed and the day's occurrences flashed back into her head. She could still feel Terra's lips on her neck. She sighed again. The aching between her legs hadn't yet subsided from hours earlier. With a quick glance at her door to make sure it was shut, she slipped her hand into her shorts.

As no surprise to her, her underwear was wet, though Aqua wasn't sure if it was from right now or earlier. She spread her own juices up to her clit, massaging the tiny little nub of pleasure. She used her middle finger to run small circles around it, imagining Terra making her moan. Her free right hand grabbed her breast, envisioning Terra's calloused hands doing it to her.

Her panties were slick with her wetness, and she bit her lower lip as the tension built inside her. She licked her fingers and rubbed her saliva around her nipples. They hardened when the cool night air hit them. Her imagination began to run away with her has she pictured Terra's cock pleasuring her. She slipped her middle finger into her wet slit, pumping it in and out, mimicking what she hoped he would one day do to her. Using her thumb, she rubbed her clit. Aqua felt her insides tighten around her finger; her climax was soon approaching. She quickened her efforts, and as her lower abdomen tightened, she threw her head back, her orgasm was moments away from cascading over her in a crushing wave.

A knock, and her door opened. Ven stood in her doorway. She tried to hold back her climax, but it was too late. She came, a dim remnant of the fireworks she would've experienced had Ven decided to not interrupt her right NOW. She put on her poker face again, her body softly collapsing onto the bed, ignoring the small, but pleasurable waves still coursing through her body. Which, no doubt, would have been infinitely better if she could've actually enjoyed it.

"What is it Ven?" she said through gritted teeth.

He looked slightly apprehensive, but simply said, "Um, Master and Terra just left, so I was hoping I could hang out with you?"

"Like we usually do?" he added.

Aqua couldn't describe the immense dislike she had for Ven at the moment. Through no true fault of his own, he had instantly put her in a bad mood, and she definitely didn't want to be spending time with him. Her anger dissipated though, the moment he opened his eyes wide and twiddled his fingers. The "you-just-ran-over-my-kitten" look worked again.

"Sure," she said, scooting over a bit to make room for Ven. He hopped on the bed with a grin. Aqua laid out her arm as she usually did, and he took his spot cuddling next to her. She grabbed her bag of gummi bears and handed them to Ven, who took it with a grin and began rummaging for a red one.

Aqua took that moment to shift uncomfortably. Her panties were still soaked, but she wouldn't be able to move for a while, and not without piquing Ven's overactive curiosity, she knew that. Her thoughts drifted to Terra and what he was probably doing at that moment, while her hand began to absentmindedly stroke Ven's hair.

"Here Aqua," he said, holding out one of her favorite yellow ones. She ate it, explaining to Ven that she was really tired, and she was going to go to sleep. Ven asked to stay with her for the night, because he was scared of the dark, so without shifting an inch, Aqua rested her chin on Ven's head and fell fast asleep.

Aqua woke the next morning with a cramp in her shoulder and a weight on her arm. For a split second she thought the body was Terra's, until she remembered Ven had slept over. As carefully as she could, she slid her arm out from under him and headed toward the shower. She ditched her dirty underwear, and felt refreshed after her morning shower. Before heading down to breakfast, she shook Ven awake, who washed his face in her bathroom and headed down with her.

The two took their time heading down to the dining hall, passing through large stone corridors and intricate archways. They finally reached the grand staircase and passed by the giant stained glass window, down another staircase into the dining hall.

Expecting to see Terra, Aqua was surprised when only Master Eraqus was seated. Thankfully, Ven saved her the trouble and inquired about Terra's whereabouts.

The brunette was still sleeping, having returned only a few hours earlier.

"I know this is supposed to be everyone's day off, but I would like you, Ventus, to come with me today. I would like to teach you a spell," Eraqus explained. Ven whooped with excitement and proceeded to inhale his breakfast. After that, Aqua headed upstairs alone.

When she reached the final staircase, she decided to take a detour towards Terra's room, with less than admirable intentions.

As she approached his door, she began to have second thoughts, until she saw that it was open a sliver. As quietly as she could, she snuck closer, listening at the opening. Terra was talking to himself.

"What am I thinking? I can't just go over there. What am I gonna say? Hey Aqua, um I know this is kind of fast, but since we almost did it last time, would you like to have sex with me?"

"Why yes, I would." Aqua pushed his door open, surprising Terra, whose mouth dropped open a little. Surprise appeared on Aqua's face as well, because when she opened the door, she found that Terra was wearing only a towel around his waist. She looked to the side, blushing a little.

Terra however, overcame his shock and began to grin. He strode over to where Aqua was standing and picked her up, slinging her over his shoulder. With his other hand, he shut the door and locked it. Ven was not going to interrupt this. Aqua covered her mouth to mute her scream, and began to kick her legs to get Terra to put her down.

He made his way to the bed and set her down. She had barely began to mouth "Terra" before he smothered her with a kiss. She returned his affection by snaking her hand up his neck and into his hair, caressing his scalp. Several more intimate kisses later, Aqua lay back on the bed, pulling him with her onto all fours.

Terra picked up where he left off two nights ago, kissing Aqua's bare shoulder. This time, their progress was hindered by her outfit, a turtleneck halter top and belts restricting Terra's access to her breasts. Not breaking his rhythm, he moved up to kiss the fleshy part under her ear, while deftly undoing the belts across her chest. He'd been staring at and studying her chest so much recently, he could've undone them in his sleep.

Once they were off, he moved lower. Aqua, who was doing her part to aid Terra by removing her arm warmers, was distracted when he lifted her shirt slightly to kiss under her belly button. The close proximity to her sex made her hands move to Terra's hair once more. He worked his way farther north, pushing her shirt up as he went along. He traced a line with his tongue from her belly button to between her breasts.

Before going further, he pulled her shirt off completely, freeing him to explore all of her upper body. But Aqua had other ideas. As he lowered his head once again, she placed a hand on his chest.

"It's time I did something."

She pushed him onto his back, essentially reversing positions. After straddling and giving him a swift kiss, she moved onto his ear, which she gently nibbled, laughing slightly when he tensed up. Planting kisses along the way, she moved further down, kissing his collar bone. Finding the area right above his collarbone enticing, she bit down there, eliciting a gasp from Terra. She smiled; she wanted to leave a mark. Again she moved down, sliding her hands across his broad chest and down his muscular torso.

She kissed the line where his chest muscles separated, working to the space just above his belly button. Aqua was acutely aware of the tent perched in Terra's towel, and hooked a finger in his waistband. She looked at him; he was biting on his lower lip and looking at her with uncertain eyes. She yanked the towel from around him. With his erection now free, it fell back against his stomach.

Aqua wasted no time and grabbed his throbbing boner. She teased it, licking the tip and rubbing the underside of his shaft before taking it in her mouth. She swirled her tongue around his head while Terra lay back, moaning slightly. Aqua bobbed her head up and down on his cock, sucking slightly and running her tongue along it. She slowed her pace, gently running her teeth along the nerve on the bottom of his penis.

Terra couldn't wait any longer. He again reversed their positions, and began to tear off the rest of her clothing. She kicked off her boots and he pulled her long socks off before unbuttoning her shorts and pulling them off too. He saw that her underwear was already wet. He pulled off her panties, flinging them to the side.

He ran his tongue up her wet slit, sucking on the nub above it. She shuddered slightly, her head turning to the side. He pushed his tongue into her wet opening, and tongue fucked her. Her hips bucked and he could feel her muscles tensing around his tongue. She moaned as she lifted her hips to better meet his face.

Her breathing quickened; Terra could see her chest rise and fall much faster, her moans becoming more ragged.

"More," he heard her plead. He sucked on her clit and finger fucked her until she came, her back arching so that only her shoulders were on the bed. She collapsed back down, and he kissed her, letting her taste herself.

"Now," she whispered in his ear, and he knew what she meant. Terra straddled her bottom, lifting her legs so that he could better reach her opening. His erection poked her glistening slit, bouncing slightly as he shifted around.

"Wait," Aqua interrupted. "There's something you should know." Terra looked up. "I-I haven't done this before," she confessed.

Terra was surprised, she seemed so confident, so knowing, so sexy, that he couldn't believe she was still a virgin. Somehow though, her uncertainty and hesitance made her seem even more desirable than when he believed she was experienced. He leaned in and kissed her gently.

"It's okay," he whispered. "I haven't either." The tension in Aqua's face seemed to ease up a little.

Terra rubbed the tip of his cock against her moist opening. He hoped this wouldn't hurt her too much. As gently as he could, he pushed in slowly. He looked at her, and she wasn't grimacing yet. With a quick shove, he thrust in all the way.

Aqua gasped slightly; it was a sharp, stabbing pain, but it wasn't unbearable. She closed her eyes and tried to breathe. A hand brushed her hair out of her face. She looked at Terra, who hadn't moved since he pushed in all the way. She gave his worried expression a reassuring nod; the pain was already starting to subside. Slowly, he moved in and out, always being careful for Aqua.

As her muscles began to relax around his shaft, Terra began to form a rhythm. He couldn't believe how good she felt. Every so often, she would tense up around his cock, intensifying the level of pleasure he felt. He looked down at her. Her mouth was hanging open and her breathing was heavy. One hand had a tight grip on his sheets, and the other was grabbing her breast. She was staring straight at him with her pastel eyes.

Now that the pain had dulled, Aqua was enjoying this very much. Every time Terra pushed in, he sent a shockwave up her body. His was hitting her spot, and each time he did it, her eyes rolled back just a little. She could hear him grunting from the effort and saw sweat beginning to bead on his chest. Moans started to come out of her mouth as she was getting close to her climax.

"I'm gonna—" she said, looking straight at Terra. He nodded knowingly; he was about ready as well. Her breaths tightened, and one hand wrapped around the arm Terra had braced by her shoulder. As her orgasm hit, her breath hitched, her back arched. She screamed, a carnal tone to it, her nails left scratch marks on Terra. She turned her head to the side, her eyes shut and her face contorted. As her waves convulsed, they massaged his cock, enough to send him over the edge and reach his climax. He stiffened, and after gasping for breath, fell beside Aqua, who was exhausted from the intensity of the orgasm she just experienced.

"Hey," she said through half lidded eyes. He just smiled back and kissed her on the forehead, reminiscent of a few nights ago.

Her eyes were already closed and she was breathing softly. Terra figured she must be drained and ready to sleep, but he had to know one thing.

"Aqua, if you were a virgin, how are you so good at sex?"

She opened her eyes a little, smirking at Terra, before laying her head back down and closing her eyes.

"You'd be amazed at the kind of books we have in this library."