Ventus awoke the next day in the church. He felt a little sore from the battle but at the same time, victorious. He stretched and opened his eyes first slowly, then abruptly a he saw a figure standing above him. He shot up to see a girl with almost all the same features as his beloved Namine except for the candy-apple red hair.

She held a tray of muffins in her hands. "Good morning," she smiled.

"G-Good morning…"

"I baked you some breakfast. You're gonna need to get your strength up for the coming week ahead," she gave him the tray.

He laughed as he set it down in his lap. "Only four more days left… I think I can handle it."

"Four? Did no one tell you?"

"What?"

"The seven days has started over for you since the struggle battle."

He frowned. "I'm stuck here for another seven days?"

"Don't think of it as being stuck, it's an opportunity to spend time with a princess!"

"I already have a princess back home waiting for me!"

"Oh? What's her name?"

He hesitated before he answered. Should he really go around telling everyone she was his? "Namine…" He decided the gypsy people don't matter.

As Kairi's hands flew up to her lips to seal her gasp, the tray lost its balance and fell off the bed. Tears filled the young girl's eyes and she reached over to the knight's hand in urgency. "You know my sister?!"

He pulled his hand back gently from hers. "Wait…you're Kairi?"

"She told you about me?!" she beamed through the tears running down her cheeks.

"Well, yeah… She talks about you all the time. She really misses you."

"I miss her, too! I miss her more than anything! How is she? Is she okay? Is she with child? Are you two married?" The questions continued to pour out of the newly wed's lips frantically as Ven contemplated which one to start with.

A shadow stretched from the doorframe of the church that lead back to Fuu.

The two stared at the princess, surprised she would even show up, let alone this early.

Kairi stood and ran to her best friend to throw her arms around her. "Oh, Fuu! He knows my sister! He knows my sister!" she cheered.

"Namine…?" Fuu asked.

"Yes! Isn't it wonderful?"

She ran back to the bed to question him even more. She stopped herself half-way through what must have been the eighth question with a gasp. "Wait! Don't tell me anything yet! I want Sora to hear too! He must know at least some part of my family since I know all of his! And I want us to find out together!" she threw her arms tightly around the knight whom was still bruised from the fighting. "Oh, thank you! Thank you! Thank you, Ventus!" She let go and sprang from the church in glee.

Fuu smiled as she watched her best friend leap across the large field with joy.

Ven's eyes tightened at the new sight. He had never seen her smile before.

She was…beautiful.

Fuu's smile vanished as she looked back to a gawking Ventus. "What?" she spat.

He shook out of his trance. "Uh…nothing…"

Rolling her eyes, Fuu bent down to pick up the fallen muffins.

"Oh, let me help you with that," he offered as he swung his legs from the bed. He bent down to the young princess' height and put the little crumbs he found into his free hand.

Fuu said nothing and reached for the tray unbeknownst that the victor was going for the same motive. Their hands grazed each other causing them both to gasp from the touch. Fuu remembered checking his fever yesterday morning. They were both blushing a fantastic red.

They heard a cough from the entrance. It was Kairi with Sora.

Bringing herself back to reality, Fuu quickly finished picking up the ruined breakfast. Ventus watched her stand before he followed.

"Ven! This is Sora! I don't know if you've met but-"

"Kairi…" Sora stopped her babbling. "Let's wait until later tonight."

"What?" she asked Sora began urging her out of the church. "But I wanted to hear about him sister…" she pouted as she watched the church disappear behind them.

"We will, but let's try to give them a little privacy."

Kairi blushed and smiled suddenly knowing what he meant.

"Besides," he scooped her up in his arms bridal style, loving her cute yelp. "I could use a little time with my wife anyway…"

Roxas walked down the halls of his current home chewing a green apple casually. He tossed it in the air every now and then for entertainment as he took in his over-decorated new residence. Gold columns, black candelabras lining down the walls… Too much for someone like him. But he could get used to it.

He stopped when he heard singing coming from a set of door he had crossed. He opened them just a crack to find a patio balcony where the princess sat on a little red wooden stool and painted something on a canvas that was faced away from the gypsy's view.

She half hummed, half sang the lyrics to a familiar song Roxas had heard before.

"The day we met,

Frozen I held my breath,

Right from the start, I knew that I'd found a home for my heart…

Beats fast

Colors and promises

How to be brave?

How can I love when I'm afraid to fall?

Watching you stand alone

All of my doubt suddenly goes away somehow…"

Her voice was like an angel's as it pitched softly from her delicate lips.

Roxas sighed lovingly at the hums emerging from her throat. She was so wrapped up in what she was doing; she didn't even hear him close the door behind him.

"One step closer~"

Namine didn't finish that lyric though. She stopped midway through when she heard a male voice join in. She cautiously peeked behind her canvas to see the gypsy.

Roxas smiled before he continued.

"I have died everyday-"

A jar of red paint met with Roxas' head as he fell backwards over the balcony and landed two stories below with a loud grunt.

He groaned as he felt the thorns from the bush he was in stab into his back. He opened his eyes to see the girl standing over the balcony staring down at the pathetic man.

"Leave me alone!" she ordered before she ran back into the castle.

Roxas closed his eyes again in annoyance. He felt a shadow blanket over his already clouded vision and opened his eyes to find a familiar face standing above him. "Sora…?"

Vanitas glared at his thought-to-be cousin.

Roxas soon noticed the piercing yellow eyes and black hair differing from his brothers. He quickly stood up and brushed the foliage off himself. He laughed and slapped his hand on the strangers shoulder friendly. "Girls, man..."

The prince raised a brow.

Roxas laughed again. "No worries, though. I'll get her."

"Will you now?" he questioned.

"Yeah," he swung the rest of his arm around the formal-looking man's shoulders in a side hug and gazed up and the balcony. "She sure is a tough one though."

"I should say so…" Vanitas just kept staring at Roxas who continued to stare at the balcony.

"Know anything about her?" he asked.

"Very much," he told him.

"Yeah?" Roxas faced him. "She seeing anyone?"

"Yes," Vanitas grabbed Roxas' arm from his shoulder and twisted it before putting him the sleeper-hold. "Me," he seethed.

"Ya don't say…" Roxas choked from under his hold.

Vanitas bent down to the stranger's ear. "I don't know who you are, but I know you're not Ventus." He shoved the gypsy to the ground.

Roxas breathed in and out evenly and he rubbed his neck. Vanitas kicked him back down on his back and pressed his boot up against the gypsy's chest.

"Who are you?" he commanded the truth.

"Look, man, I really don't think you want to get into this sort of thing with me…" he told his potential murderer casually.

"Oh really?" Vanitas pressed harder over his heart. "And why is that, imposter?"

Roxas grunted from the heightened torture before he answered. "Because," he grabbed Vanitas' calf and threw him off. Switching places, Vanitas landed on the gypsy starting point while Roxas stood above him. But showing mercy, he didn't step on him like he did. "I'm a lot better at this than you."

Vanitas growled and stood, pulling out his sword. He immediately lunged towards Roxas but missed when the gypsy man's fast reflexes had him doing a somersault in the air and over his attacker. Now behind him, Roxas took the opportunity to push on a particular spot on the man's body, causing him to pass out. Vanitas landed on the grass in a heavy sleep, sword still in his hand.

"Ven!"

Roxas turned to see an older man with long brown hair and a suit of armor charging toward him. "Can I help you?" he asked smugly.

"Don't you dare talk to me like that, Ventus! I am your captain! You should have come straight to me when you returned! I'm putting you on probation!" he yelled inches from the boy's face.

"Uh huh…" Roxas flicked some spit off his cheek, courteous of the man in front of him. "Well, how about this idea instead?" he gripped the armor around the man's neck and pulled him forward. "I QUIT!"

The knight's eyes widened as Roxas shoved him back and walked away. He lightly kicked Vanitas' sleeping body as he passed him. "Go get a bucket of water for this guy, will ya?" he told him before he walked inside.

Captain Leon continued to stand there in complete shock from the prince's newfound bravery. "What… What the hell happened to him?" he asked, feeling King Cloud's presence behind him. He became silent when he saw the distraught expression upon the king. "Cloud?"

"He knows about his mother…" he whispered.

Fuu sat at one of the many benches in the church reading. She pretended not to notice the googly-eyed boy staring at her intensely. Fuu just had to be with him from sunrise to nightfall for seven days, she didn't have to talk to him.

Finally deciding to take his eyes off the princess, he looked around the same old church nervously. His gaze stopped at one of the many windows in the church to see Kairi and Sora. Sora pointed to Fuu and mouthed 'Go!' to Ven.

He shrugged as if to tell them he didn't know what to do.

'Talk to her!' Kairi mouthed back.

Having no other choice, Ven decided to just let his lips work for him and hope for the best. "Did you know some flowers can grow underwater?" he instantly regretted his choice of words. He looked over to Sora and Kairi. Kairi held up a piece of parchment with written ink that read "TALK ABOUT HER!"

He looked back. "Girls are a lot prettier when they read."

Nothing.

He tugged on the collar of his shirt and continued with more urges from the couple outside. "What are you reading?"

"Black Roses," she surprisingly answered.

"Oh? What's that about?"

"War."

He looked to Kairi and Sora that assured him he was doing fine and to continue.

"H-Have you read it before?"

"Yes."

He thought hard about his next question. "How many chapters are there?"

Sora rolled his eyes and wrote something else on the parchment before holding it up. "STOP TALKING ABOUT THE BOOK!"

'I need help!' Ventus mouthed back to them.

Sora thought for a moment before he had an idea. Going around to the half open window right beside Ven's bed, he reached through quietly to give Ven a wildflower.

Ven took the flower and hesitantly got up from the bed and made his way over to the princess. He stood over her ignorant form. He looked to Kairi at the other window.

'Sit down!'

He did as he was told. Fuu still not looking up from her book. Sora made a gesture of giving the flower to her.

Ven turned his head nervously to the princess and quickly placed the flower in her lap. He cringed in fear of being struck again. Not feeling a fist against his body yet, he opened his eye just a little then completely when the princess picked up the flower.

She stared over the white petals, in confusion. Turning to the knight sitting beside her, she waited for him to say something.

He coughed. "I… uh… I heard girls like flowers…" he stammered.

Fuu raised a brow.

"S-So I…got you a flower…" he explained embarrassingly.

"My flower…" she said under her breath.

"Yeah, it's for you," he told her.

"No," she looked back at him. "I plant outside."

He looked to Sora who was being bonked on the head by his wife for picking from the Fuu's garden.

Fuu still didn't notice them as she continued to stare at the flower.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to-"

"Fine," she assured. "Lots more," she held the flower to her chest. "Thanks."

He didn't even need to force the smile on his face. "You're welcome."

After another long moment of silence the princess was the one to speak up again. "Like…gardening?"

"Not really," he blurted out. He yelled at himself in his head for not just taking the damn bait. "B-But I've never really planted before so…" he tried to save himself.

Fuu held back her smile with all her might. "Want to?"

"Yes!" he answered quickly before he let himself say anything else stupid.

Fuu let her smile out as she stood and left the church. Ven looked to Kairi who was telling him to follow her.

He ran from his seat and to the girl kneeling over a small garden of flowers just beside the church. He had never noticed it before. The flowers were very colorful and healthy, like the ones in the courtyard back home. But somehow, these were different.

He knelt down beside her and watched her pull a seed from her pocket. "Dig," she told him.

Following orders frantically he dug his hand into the soil and pulled a handful back up.

Fuu shook her head and frowned. "Too deep."

She scooped some of the soil from his large hands and put it back it the hole. He watched her hold the seed to her lips and kiss it. She blushed when she realized she had just done this in front of Ven.

He smiled. "My maid kisses the seeds before she plants them, too!" he told her honestly. "She says it helps them grow with love."

Letting another moment of silence pass, Fuu put the seed in his hand. She looked at the ground to hide her red face aimlessly. "Now you…"

He smiled again before he kissed it and dropped it into the spot they had dug for it. Fuu buried it in the soil.

"You think that'll be grown before the seven days end?" he asked her.

She blushed and stood. "Water," she headed into the woods to get water for their seed from the lake. Ven looked over to the far side of the meadow to see a whole bucket of water already there. He smiled at her motive and immediately followed.

Sora and Kairi watched the two disappear into the woods proudly before giving each other a high five.

At the lake, Ven noticed Fuu searching for something. "What are you looking for?"

She flushed again. "Forgot bucket…"

"Oh…I could go back and get it for you?" he offered.

She shook her head and sat down in the sand. She took off her sandals and let the water skim over her feet on the shore.

Ven sat beside her.

"Um…" he felt like he should say something. Fuu stared at him patiently yet anxiously. "I heard...you like…" he had no idea what to say as he struggled to find the words.

Fuu sighed and frowned at his stupidity. It was all an act though. She thought it was the cutest thing ever.

Ven huffed and threw his head down into his knees. "Look, I'm… I'm not very good at this sort of thing…"

"What thing?" Fuu raised a brow.

"You know…dates?" He couldn't help the child-like "Ow!" that escaped from his lips when he felt the princess punch his shoulder.

"Not date!" she told him.

He rubbed his shoulder. "Why must you always be so violent?"

"Only way."

"Have you ever just tried talking to someone?"

"I talk," she defended herself.

"Alright then," he smiled as he turned his body completely towards her and pressed his back against a boulder. Fuu stared at him like he had two heads. "Let's talk: What's your favorite color?"

"You first," Fuu told him after seconds of silence ticked by.

"I like red," he answered confidently. "What about you?"

"I like…blue."

"Why?"

"Water," she hugged her knees tightly.

His eyes widened. "Do you think there's mermaids in there?" He had discovered magic in thee woods, he wouldn't be too surprised if mermaids were real.

With Fuu staring at him like he belonged in a carnival, Ven's face went red.

He looked away with shame before he heard a small laugh. He looked up. She had her hand over her mouth as she tried to hold back the laughs. She couldn't and eventually let her glee chime through the forest. Music to Ven's ears.

He smiled. "You laugh?"

Fuu stopped and frowned again obviously insulted.

He thought fast. "I mean! I-I've just never heard you laugh before and I thought it was cute," he admitted.

Fuu's eyes widened like an innocent child's. "Cute…?"

"No! Not cute! I mean yes, cute but I'm not saying you're cute! Not that you're not attractive. In fact, I think you're beautiful! Wait no! I mean you're beautiful in a way that's-beautiful but I don't mean I want to-"

The princess finally placed her finger over his lips to stop the annoyance.

Ventus sank under her gentle touch. He loved the feel of her skin on his lips. "Sorry…" he let out slowly.

"Fine," Fuu took her finger back. "Thanks…I think..." She turned back to the lake. She got annoyed when Ventus wouldn't stop staring at her like a dog at its master. "What?" she spat.

He blinked a few times before answering. "Are you a witch?"

She glared at him.

"It's just…the magic…"

"Just magic."

He didn't really want to get into that right now. "Well, that's not just-"

Thunder clapped through the forest before releasing buckets of rain. Fuu immediately stood and began running back to camp, Ven following.

They ran into the church sopping wet, leaving puddles on the wooden floor. Fuu looked to Ven as he scratched the back of his dripping head.

"Well," he chuckled nervously. "I guess we didn't need to water the seed after all…" He mentally hit himself for stating the obvious.

Fuu looked out the door and sighed like she didn't even hear him. Without another word, she ran outside the church and back to camp, leaving Ventus alone once again.

Their day together was over and she probably didn't want to be with him for a moment longer. He couldn't blame her. He acted like a complete idiot the entire day. He crawled into his bed and covered up, completely ignoring the flood his soaking body was causing on the sheets.

Fuu kept running in the rain until she was back in the middle of the camp. She clutched her knees to catch her breath, barely noticing the heavy rain drenching her. She looked back at the church and put her hand to her heart again. It was the same feeling she had when she checked his temperature yesterday but somehow stronger.

After Ventus was done beating himself up, he remembered all the beautiful parts of the day. Planting the seed…going to the lake…talking… He couldn't help but smile into his pillow. 'Maybe she does like me after all…' he thought gleefully.

Fuu frowned before she whipped her hand away from her beating heart. Her last thought before entering tent was of the knight in the church.

'Stupid...'

That's all for now, guys(: Hope you liked! R&R please?