Set in the Land of Departure.
Before the events in Birth By Seep.

Another story that is written in a style different from my usual one.

And I wanted a title with Aqua in it.
I hope it fits.

DISCLAIMER [I do not own Kingdom Hearts] DISCLAIMER

CONTEMPLATING AQUA

I'll tell you someday.

Terra is my best friend.
Well, Terra and Aqua. But Terra is just my best friend. Aqua is…

"Ventus?"
"Huh?"
"I have been calling you for the past minute. Are you joining me, or did you change your mind?" She was laughing, and I am pretty sure my face is red. So, I grinned.
She wanted to go stargazing. Typical Aqua…
"Yeah, coming," and I practically leaped down the stairs five steps at a time to catch her.

So Terra is my best friend. We're like brothers. We're a team.
If we traded places, he wouldn't… Would he?

"Ven, is there something on your mind?"
"Not really."
"Hmm."

Of course she wouldn't believe me. I wouldn't either, not with the way I've been acting. I try to be normal around Aqua, I do. But it's not as easy as it sounds. Sometimes, I just stick to Terra so I wouldn't ever have to be caught alone with her.
Sometimes.
At other times, though, I want to be alone with her. Like right now. I wish Terra would stay right where he is – wherever he is, I don't know – and not bug us.
I try so hard to remember when this started. Maybe if I remember how it started, I can fix it, make it stop. But my mind is blank. I guess things like this just happen. You look at her today and see a friend, you look at her tomorrow and -

"You know, you can tell me anything."
"It's kind of a secret."
She smiled at me, with her head tilted slightly to one side. It was pretty, how her hair fell softly over her face. "I'm good at keeping secrets."
Yeah, she is an awesome secret-keeper. She didn't tell Terra that I was the one who accidentally ripped up his comic book collection. Although he still smacked me on the head anyway. She didn't tell Master Eraqus that I secretly thought his ponytail looked dorky. And it does, it really does.
"Ven?"
"I'll tell you someday." When I feel ready.

Terra likes her. He told me so.
And I don't see why he wouldn't.
You don't just meet someone like Aqua and shrug her off. You can't, I tried.
You get addicted to her.
Your days would always feel just a bit hollow without seeing her face, or having her talk to you. You would dance and sing like an idiot to make her smile. You would run through fire or walk on water to make her laugh. You would jump off the highest cliffs or scale the tallest mountains to make her say your name.

"Is it an important secret?"
"Yeah, it's the biggest secret ever."
She was quiet for a minute, thoughtful. I could look at her pensive expression forever; her lips somewhere between a smile and a frown, her brows furrowed ever so slightly, her eyes glazed over, as if to hide what went through her mind.
"So, does Terra know this secret?"
For a second there, I thought maybe I heard an unfamiliar ring to her voice. Like she wants me to say no, but she is expecting a yes, and she doesn't want that…
"No."
Her smile returned and my heart did something. Like it fluttered. This feels weird. And yet, it also feels right.

If Terra knew my secret, we probably wouldn't be friends anymore.
Maybe. I don't know.
You don't dream about the girl your best friend is in love with. There has to be a rule somewhere about that. You don't wish you could hold her, touch her face, run your fingers through her hair just to find out if it's as soft as it looks. And you don't dream about kissing her, definitely. There has to be a rule about that.

"Ven, do you think the sky is the same every night?"
"Huh?"
"I gaze up at the stars just about every night, and they never cease to amaze me. I wonder, is it because they change? Or are they simply so beautiful that it is impossible to ever tire of them?"
There was something about what she said that made my heart do that weird, fluttering thing. Is it because I never tire of her, either? So I stare at her. "Do you know how blue your eyes are?"
"What?" she said, laughing awkwardly.
"Nothing."

Well, they were. Blue. More than the sky and the ocean combined.
I wonder if Terra ever just stares into Aqua's eyes. I wonder if he sees in them what I see. Maybe he likes her for the same reasons that I have for wanting to be alone with her right now.

"Ventus, are you feeling alright?"
"Uh huh."
"You're acting a bit strange."
"Sorry."
She laughed and tousled my hair. "That's not something you need to be sorry for. I was just worried that maybe your secret is starting to eat you up inside."
I love her affectionate head-rubs. They were nice. I wish she'd do it all the time and never stop, but that would just be stupid. So I'd never tell her that. Anyway, I just grinned at her and she smiled at me.

So what am I going to do?
Terra is my best friend. He likes her and he said it first, so I guess that kind of makes my feelings only second to his. I wonder; if I had told him I liked Aqua – I mean if I had told him first – if he would, maybe, back off.
Well, I don't have to tell him. And I don't have to tell Aqua, either.
Besides, I'm sure if Aqua had to pick between me and Terra…
Well, who would you pick? It's like having to pick between a perfectly grilled steak and a half-cooked chicken wing. I'm just a kid. I wish they would stop treating me like one, but when I think about it, and when I think about Aqua, I know I'm still a kid.
Geez, I can't deal with this right now.

"Ventus, you're scaring me a little."
"Huh?"
"You're not usually this quiet."
So I'm thinking of a response. My face is probably scrunched up in a funny way because she started laughing. So I say, "Could I ask you something?"
"Sure, Ven, anything."
"Could we do this again? Just you and me?"
She looked at me warmly. And whenever she does, it always makes everything better. "We can do this as often as you like. Maybe next time, you can tell me your secret." She ruffled my hair again and I grinned at her.
"Okay, Aqua, maybe."
"I'm looking forward to it."
Maybe it was just me, but when she said that, there was something different about the way she smiled.

END

Thank You

~Alacquiene~