~*Role Playing*~
In which both Keybearers learn something, in the most (un)expected way.
~***~
Lounging back in his seat, Terra smirked up at the ceiling. They—that is, Ventus, Aqua, and himself—were just relaxing in one of the Castle's many rooms as they recovered from the rigorous physical activity that was their training. The chamber wasn't anything special. Medium-sized, square, stones the color of chocolate ice cream. Deep red was the theme of this particular area, with the three chairs and the loveseat being no exception. The carpet in front of the roaring fireplace—carved into its mantle of lion heads—was the same, except it bore golden tassels at its corners. The window was open, letting in a pleasant breeze that contradicted the heat of the flames and better displayed the starry evening.
See? Nothing special.
Terra had a tendency to take up the entire sofa, though it could seat two. He was lying flat on his back, his smugness perceptible as an almost visible wave coming from his body. The reason for this was the day's exercise, which had required physical combat with no magic at all.
He had beaten both Ven and Aqua.
Aqua had her legs draped over one of the chairs, leaning against the armrest. She wasn't unaware of Terra's current mood. "Shut up," she grumbled.
Ven was completely upside down in another seat, looking at the pair of them with amused blue eyes. "Uh oh, you aren't about to start again, are you?"
"I didn't say anything," Terra replied innocently, flexing his fingers. "That was Aqua, insinuating I had even dared to speak about her utter defeat at my hands. I'd never bring that up."
The girl groaned and covered her face. "If we could have used magic—"
"Yes, but we couldn't." He gave the girl a shark-toothed smile. "Face it; you were down on your stomach in seconds."
"Magic's my thing," Aqua complained quietly. "But, you beat me. I accept that. Can we move on?"
Terra was too self-satisfied though to let it go, and insisted on dragging it on. "Wait, I'm sorry? Can you repeat that? I beat you?" He moved his gaze to Ven. "Did she say that? For real?"
"Sure did," chirped the youngest apprentice in response. Aqua glared at him.
The brown-haired warrior chuckled, and Aqua gritted her teeth, sitting up. "I'm going to bed," she announced. "I have to make breakfast in the morning. It's my turn." The girl was almost out the mahogany door when Terra made one of the biggest mistakes of his life.
"That's right, you go to bed." It wasn't the words; it was the mocking tone that made her shoulders stiffen. Terra sneered at her as she turned around, his haughtiness turning the smile into an unpleasant grin.
"I'm sorry?" She asked softly. Her tone was positively venomous, her eyes turning the color of an ocean storm.
He sat up and smirked at her. "Nothing. You said you had to go. Good night."
Aqua laughed and walked towards him. "No, no, I'm relatively sure you were implying something."
Ven's expression became uneasy. "Guys…" he warned. His one word statement was ignored. He shifted into an upright position, anxious.
Terra didn't flinch as she stood right in front of him. "Me?"
Her temper was already short due to his relentless badgering about his victory, and Aqua snapped, "Please, if you're going to say something, say it. Don't beat around the bush."
He cocked his head to the side, some of his pride bolstering his already unbearable arrogance. "Nothing. You should go to bed so you can cook, like you should."
"Should?" Aqua hissed through her teeth.
Ven paled. "Uh oh."
Terra lifted his chin. "Tch, no offense, but you're the best chef. That's all."
Her eyes closed, the lids slowly obscuring her gaze, and her expression completely died. Her face was unreadable, and for the first time, he felt uneasy. Her eyes were the most expressive part of her. "Are you being honest?" She said.
"Sure, I mean, girls are great at cooking."
Ven completely recoiled into his seat, as if he had been slapped. The movement caught Terra's attention, and he finally noticed the blonde's apprehensive appearance.
Aqua clenched her fingers into fists. "That's a rather stereotypical opinion you have."
"But it's positive, right?"
She sighed and headed for the door again, her frame quivering once. Terra wondered what he had said to offend her. "Good night Terra. Ven."
"Night, Aqua!" Ven called, relieved that a conflict had been avoided. Unfortunately, poor Terra made another ignorant statement without realizing it.
"I don't get why she doesn't cook all the time. I mean, Eraqus is busy, you're a bad chef Ven, and I shouldn't have to bother myself with it."
Fast as lightning, Aqua whipped around. "What?" She seethed. "'Bother yourself'?"
Ven clapped one hand to his face. "So close and yet so far."
Terra flinched. "I—er—nothing."
"It's definitely something. What is it?" She hissed crossly.
The room's atmosphere was like a thunderstorm, crackling with the oppressive energy of a forming lightning bolt. The fire was dying down; creating flickering shadows that waved transparent black tendrils across their faces. Ven hunched his shoulders like a turtle retreating into its shell.
"Girls…should cook?" Terra offered hesitantly.
"Should." Aqua repeated evenly.
"I…you're…better at it. And y'know it's not really a boy's job, we just don't usually do it. Normally." Her expression became dangerously still again. "I—ack! I mean, warriors don't but some boys do—"
"Shut up Terra!" Ven's voice became the closest to a growl that he had ever heard.
"So. I'm a warrior, aren't I?" Aqua challenged.
"Of course!" Terra agreed quickly.
"But warriors don't cook?"
He was backed into a corner, and he knew it. "Well, male warriors don't—"
Ven groaned and fell back into the armchair. "What are you, some kind of idiot?"
"Not helping, Ven." Terra retorted sharply. "Aqua, I don't mean it like that. It's a stupid, sexist, stereotypical opinion of mine."
Aqua smiled suddenly. "I don't really mind…if you'll agree with an opinion of mine regarding men."
Hurriedly, the brown-haired warrior dove into his memories, looking for any stereotypes that would land him in trouble. He didn't have time to properly examine anything, though. "Er…okay?"
She lowered her eyes and picked at one long sleeve. "I think men should be chivalrous."
"Of course!" Terra was desperate to get back on her good side, his earlier smugness long gone. He chanced a glance at Ventus, and the boy was hitting his head against the armrest. He had said something wrong again, probably.
"Are you chivalrous?" She inquired.
"I try." He muttered in response.
"Alright, well, if a girl was cooking in the morning, what would a truly chivalrous individual do? My sexist but very positive opinion of men is…Men should help the women in any way…" Her eyes acquired a cunning glow. "Elders should be treated respectfully, and boys should get all the rest they can so they grow into strong adults."
Boys. Ven must be in that category. Since he's younger than me…God. Darn. It.
Terra swallowed. If it would earn him her favor again…(his heart balked at the idea that she hated him now)…"Would you like some assistance making breakfast tomorrow, Aqua?"
Her expression became relaxed, even friendly. She heard the apology in his words without his having to say it, and he was very glad at that moment that she knew him so well. "Of course, Terra. Thank you very much." With that, the female warrior strode out of the room.
Silence.
Ven broke into wild guffaws. "Oh man! She got you good!"
"Yeah. She did." Terra groaned and stood up. "Good night, Ven."
"Be sure to make my eggs sunny-side up! Hahahaha!"
~***~
Terra stalked down the ivory stairs, hating that the sun was barely even clearing the horizon. They ate breakfast early enough as it was, since they trained for a very good portion of the day, unless Eraqus planned otherwise. This meant that the person making the meal had to be up even earlier. It was unholy, especially since he had made breakfast recently.
The kitchen was rather large, shaped like a rectangle with rounded corners. In the middle was a small, circular island. The main color was white, which made it irritating to clean, though all the apprentices did the dishes and tidied up, minus the one that had made the meal to begin with. Everything was new and relatively advanced, though a lot of the devices required a touch of magic to work properly. Aqua was already there, of course, leaning against the wall. Waiting for him.
She raised an eyebrow as he approached. "Finally awake?"
"Yeah, yeah…" Terra took a deep breath, looking her square in the eyes. "I'm sorry. I really am. I made a truly stupid comment yesterday night. Can you forgive me?"
Aqua closed her eyes for a moment and smiled. "You know I will. It's okay." She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him in a hug. He blinked in surprise, his expression softening. He returned the embrace slowly, but tightly. She skipped back after a few seconds, and he let go of her without a fuss.
"You can go back to sleep." She turned her back and started searching the cupboards, humming an unfamiliar tune. Terra shook his head and headed for the fridge.
"Nah, I'm up and dressed. Might as well help out."
Aqua giggled softly behind him. "Thanks."
"Funny?" he inquired, grabbing the milk, eggs, and other necessities from the shelves. The frigid air felt like cool, invisible feathers against his bare skin. Terra's specialty was frying things. Omelets, bacon, made no difference.
"Nothing, just irony or…something." She replied.
Terra placed the items on the counter and ended up whirling around just a bit too fast. He ran into Aqua, and a half dozen eggs flew from his arms. She yelped, dropping the boxes from her hands and diving towards the diamond tiled floor.
There was no spatter. The girl ended up catching two and used magic to levitate the other four. Aqua's expression was of one that had just saved herself from a rather unwelcome task. "That was close," she sighed in relief.
Stooping down, he collected the white ovals. "Sorry, must have bumped into you."
It took them only a few seconds to get back to the work at hand. Soon the sizzling of bacon and eggs filled the room with a popping, familiar cadence. Aqua was flipping pancakes, her eyes unfocused, her movements instinctive, little thought devoted to the action.
Terra scowled at her. "I don't think they're dark enough."
"Huh?" Snapping out of her trance, the girl stared at him. "What?"
"The pancakes. You're undercooking them."
Aqua looked down at the golden-brown pastries. "No, they're fine."
He absently turned a bacon strip over. "I don't think so."
She playfully punched his shoulder. "Hehe, well, I never asked you."
"Didn't have to. The world is entitled to my opinion."
"Oh, really?" Aqua shook her head, causing her loose blue hair to swing with the movement. "Too bad. You know what I think?"
"Do I care?"
She went on regardless. "May all of your bacon burn."
Terra looked at her incredulously. "Excuse me?"
"It's coming true!" Aqua looked horrified.
Glancing down, the Keybearer realized that he was overcooking the food. Luckily, the eggs were okay, but the bacon was starting to become an unhealthy black color. "Oh, sh—"
Laughing at him as he focused on salvaging what he could of the meat; Aqua deposited her last perfect pancake on top of her little pile with a flourish. She walked to the cabinets and by the time she returned, Terra was giving her a murderous glare.
"What?" She demanded teasingly, smiling down at the pancakes as she poured syrup over them.
"You and your curses. You put magic in those words, didn't you?"
"Yes," was the dry reply. "I want all of your bacon to burn."
The rest of the meal was completed without incident, and Terra finished by putting the copper kettle on to boil, since Eraqus had a thing for tea, and he personally had to have coffee in the morning.
"Coffee? At your age?" Aqua often joked. Ven was restricted from the stuff, since he was hyper enough as it was.
With nothing else to do for about five minutes, the pair sat down side by side at the table. The sun was rising over the Land of Departure, turning the trees gold-red and the rivers into flowing currents of pure yellow.
"I thought this would end up as a disaster. The only causalities, though, are your poor bacon strips." Aqua yawned and smiled at him, leaning back in her seat. The table was made out of some sort of sturdy, pale brown wood, the chairs being constructed of the same material. An ivory cloth covered its surface, with a blue vase bearing a flower that changed to a different color every day.
Today, it was pink.
Terra snorted, mumbling about witch-girls that he had to deal with every day. He was glad they were over their fit of animosity, but that didn't change the fact that he had been extremely sexist without realizing it.
Aqua's expression became distant again, her eyes focused on an invisible point on the horizon.
"What's up?" He asked, surprised. She didn't space out often, that was Ventus's thing.
"…Hmm? Oh. I was just thinking about the two of us."
He raised an eyebrow.
"Ah, not like that," she quickly shook her head and arms, seeking to compose herself. Taking a deep breath, she tried again. "I mean, what you had said…before."
"What about?" Terra inquired quietly. "I didn't mean any of it."
"No, I…yeah. It's not the…gender thing…"
"What, then?"
"We all have stereotypes, right? And remember how I think boys should be polite and…?"
Wondering where she was going with this, he nodded.
"Well…what do you think...what's your stereotypical opinion of me?" Aqua dropped her gaze, fidgeting slightly.
"That's not the same." Terra stated firmly.
She blushed. "Of course not. Sorry. Never mind."
Reaching across the table, he took one of her hands in his. "Why're you asking?" He said, honestly curious.
Aqua peeked up at him, then down again. "I'm just being foolish. No worries or anything."
Terra huffed, annoyed. "Look, I hate when girls say 'it's okay' or 'don't worry' and obviously I need to. What. Is. Wrong."
"Nothing's—"She began again, but he stood up, knocking his chair back, and pulling her from her seat. Making sure Aqua was facing him fully—and not letting go of her hand—he growled;
"Quit that!"
"Okay! Okay." She took in a slow, deep breath through her nose. Aqua then hurriedly spoke without opening her eyes. "Do you have a problem with me being a warrior?"
"No! Of course not." Terra tried to make sense of her. What was she thinking, exactly?
"I don't know, Terra. I don't know if I can be both what you think is a girl, and what you think is a warrior." Aqua muttered pathetically.
"Why would you change yourself for me? Don't." He pulled her into a hug, and she tucked her head under his chin, leaning against his chest. He felt her fingers slip between the red bands on his torso and his shirt. Aqua's soft hair tickled his face, and Terra only sighed. "You're so confusing sometimes."
"It's a girl thing," she joked weakly. Her breathing had spiked at first, but now she was strangely calm.
The kettle went off. Terra ignored it, and so did Aqua.
"Why would you change yourself for me?" Terra repeated softly.
"…Because…I…" Aqua pulled away suddenly, walking towards the teapot and flicking her wrist, silencing the whistle and killing the flame beneath it. He was about to be irritated again, but then she returned, her steps very, very slow. "You're special to me. I care very much what you think. Does that make sense?"
"Completely. You're the same." Terra was shocked, really. The words were coming out without him actually thinking much about them, or their meaning. She returned to her previous position against his chest, and he embraced her again.
They sat that way for a full minute that felt both long and short. Aqua kissed his cheek, sliding out of his hold and heading for the stairs. "I'm going to get Ven and the Master."
"R-Right." Terra waited until her footsteps had faded before, inexplicably, grinning.
How could something so bad turn into something good? Maybe all things were like that.
~***~
I…really apologize for this one-shot. Its 3 AM as I write this, and I can't sleep, so here's something really random and extremely bad that I wrote to pass the time.
Er—I was serious when I said all of my TerraxAqua stories are dedicated to Dani-Chan-Sprite-Monster -13- and Kiome-Yasha. I owe you both something better. Preferably when the sun is at least up.
Review…or not. Whichever. Don't really care for this piece.