.::If you be my star, I'll be your sky::.

.::You can hid underneath me and come out at night::.

.::When I turn jet black, and you show off your light::.

.::I live to let you shine::.

Terra rolled over in his bed, his jaw clenched in annoyance. Was he going to become a Master? What if he failed the exam? What if Aqua failed, and she never talked to him again? What if she cried? What if they both passed? What if they both failed? What would they do? Would Terra ever take on students of his own? Would he and Aqua still be friends? Would he see Ventus ever again if he left? Would Aqua forgive him if he left?

Round and round these questions plagued his thoughts, making sleep unattainable. He felt like he had a thousand butterflies drumming at his insides, screaming for help because they realized they were stuck in an eighteen-year-old's internal organs. Terra had been training for this his whole life! What would he do if he didn't make it? He groaned, burying his face into his pillow. This sucked. Really, truly sucked. He could write an entire five hundred sixty four page novel on how incredibly sucky this predicament was. Why couldn't it just be tomorrow already, so he could get on with his life?

He sat up, and glared around his room. He was going to fail. He was going to fail. He was going to-

He wondered if Aqua was feeling the same way. It was highly plausible, seeing as he knew the girl well enough. He had known her since she was fourteen. But could she be as worried as he was?

A grin spread across his face. Oh yes she could. But she would deal with it in a different way. She'd be calm about it- or find something calming to do.

And that's how he came across her on a hill, at three in the morning, in his pajamas. Well, if you could call them pajamas. He tended to sleep with his shirt off, but his pants were somewhat flannel.

She didn't really bother to look up when he approached. It was as if she already knew he was coming. Or she just was too caught up with the stars. Both were pretty possible considering how good Aqua was at magic. Terra stood awkwardly for a few moments, before edging closer to her. She made a slight movement with her head, seemingly acknowledging his presence. He took it as an invitation, more or less.

He slowly sat down, and crossed his legs, waiting for her to speak. She did, after a minute or two of listening to the sound of heavy breathing, and crickets.

"I'm scared."

Terra had expected her to say a few different things. Among them were, "Hi, Terra", "You couldn't sleep either", and "You should go put a shirt on". He did not, whatsoever, expect to hear her say "I'm scared".

He was so shocked, in fact, he simply sat there and stared at her with a bewildered expression, gaping at his friend, who didn't even seem to notice his surprise.

She closed her eyes, and he closed his mouth. She exhaled a sigh, her eyes twitching beneath their lids. Terra leaned back. He laid down, his shoulder brushing Aqua's. She didn't open her eyes. He wondered if she was sleeping, or if she just didn't want to see.

"Me too."

She opened her eyes, and glanced at him. "Why?"

Why? He didn't know why. But he was worried about what was going to happen, and worry is only a step short of fear… right?

"Why are you scared?" He asked turning on his side. There weren't any lights on around them. Just darkness, and stars. But he could see her. He could see her, and the black grass the blurred his vision occasionally as he watched her.

She smiled slightly. "I asked you first."

"I know."

"Then answer." She had turned completely onto her side now, and she was facing him. Her nose brushed against his, and he felt the hairs on to back of his neck stand up, and the unfamiliar feeling of blood rushing to his cheeks.

"You first." He said quietly.

"No."

"Yes."

"That's not fair, Terra."

"I promise I'll tell if you tell."

"But I asked first." She whispered, frowning at him.

"Does it really matter who asked first?" He smirked leaning his forehead against hers.

Her eyebrows arched high towards her hairline. It appeared she just noticed how close the pair actually were, and was mildly shocked. But she didn't seem to care all that much because she just squinted at him, and laughed.

"I'm not going to tell you." She whispered with an innocent gleam in her eyes.

He felt oddly deflated at this news. "Why?"

"Because I asked first."

Terra closed his eyes, the feel of her breath against his face calming his agitated feeling towards his friend. He hoped his face wasn't red, because he could feel her eyes almost as heated as her breath.

"I'm scared that I won't become a Master…" He said finally, and quite loudly, considering they were whispering earlier. "And I'm scared that I will."

He felt her forehead lift from his, and her breath cease from hitting his face. He began to feel cold, and a little empty.

"What do mean you're afraid you will?"

He opened his eyes, and sat up. Her usual calm and serene expression was nowhere to be found. She now looked surprised, and shocked, and confused, all in the same sweltering gaze.

"I mean, Aqua," he said slowly, "I don't know what's going to happen after I become a Master."

She looked down, and turned away towards the lights at the bottom of the hill. "You're scared of leaving." She murmured, tucking in her legs, and resting her chin on her knees.

Terra sighed, glancing away from her face. "Yeah."

Her mouth twitched a little, and she closed her eyes. "I see." She whispered.

He nodded, laying back down onto the grass. It smelled sweet, like it had just been mowed.

He heard the grass rustle beside him. Aqua had laid back down as well.

"I'm scared of you leaving too."

He felt a little numb after hearing her say those words. Her eyelids were slid slightly over her light sapphire eyes, and they gazed at him with such sincerity, and sadness. She looked so cute! Wait- no. No she did not. She looked the farthest from cute. She looked… not cute. She did not look cute. Aww, she smiled! She's so adorable when she does that!

"You're smiling…" She said slowly, her own smile turning into a grin.

"So are you." He muttered defensively.

"Your smiling made me smile." She giggled, burying her face in the grass. Wait- giggled? Aqua just giggled? She was doing this on purpose.

He frowned at her. "That's unusual. Isn't that Ven's job?"

"I guess you're stealing it from him." She whispered, plucking some grass from the hillside and brushing it against his nose. He instantly felt the tingle of the leaf against his skin, and he chuckled.

"Maybe I am." He said leaning on his arm. "What do you think he'd say if he saw us up here?"

Aqua frowned, and glanced at the stars. "Hmm…" She smiled, "I think he'd probably start apologizing and then ask what we're doing."

"Sounds like Ven…" Terra nodded, flipping onto his back.

"He'd probably feel left out…" She murmured, turning onto her back as well. "Do you think we should go get him so he doesn't feel bad?"

Terra felt a pang of hurt, and a sudden resentment toward his young friend. He waved it off, and shook his head. "No. Don't wake him up. It's bad enough that we can't sleep."

She paused, frowning at the stars. Worry washed over him, and as horrible as he felt about it, he really hoped Aqua would just let the kid sleep. Then, she nodded, making him almost sigh in relief.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." She agreed, tilting her head as she gazed at the twinkling little lights.

Terra looked at her, and smiled slightly. She was completely in a daze now. Her eyes fixed on the stars, entranced by their beauty.

He looked up at them as well, but failed to understand her fascination.

"Aqua?" He whispered slowly.

"Hmm?" She murmured in reply, not tearing her gaze from the stars.

"Why do you like the stars so much?"

She didn't move for a second, and Terra wonder if she heard him. But then, she glanced at him in a strange way. An expression had crossed her face that he had never seen her wear before. She turned back to the sky, and pointed.

"See there?" She asked, her arm stretch out to the stars. "That little one- the little bright one to the right?"

Terra turned, and gazed to the right. And indeed, did he see a tiny star, twinkling away in it's own glorious light. "I see it." He wondered where Aqua was going with this.

"That's my home world." She didn't lower her arm. Terra heard a trace of a crack in her voice. He suddenly felt very foolish.

He swallowed his surprised, and looked back up at the munchkin star. "Really?"

"Yeah." She murmured, closing her eyes.

Terra blinked, and looked at her. He could see something streak across her face. It took him a moment to realize what it was.

"Tell me about it." He commanded, a little too harshly. "Tell me about your world."

Her eyes snapped open, and she looked at him, her mouth hanging open in surprise. "Wha-"

"Tell me about where you grew up. The people you played with when you were a child." He continued, his gaze intensifying. He could see the tears clearly now. And he felt suddenly angry.

She blinked, trying to figure out what he was doing. "I… I grew up in a little town. You know, the ones with grocery stores run by old people who had inherited it from their parents?" She sniffled a little. Terra nodded, picturing the town by his own rural home. "The streets were cobblestone… and there was this arch in the middle of town square that people would get married under. Whenever there was a wedding, I used to sneak out of the house and go see it. I wanted to see how happy they were…" She swallowed, and closed her eyes.

"Go on." Terra urged, now actually intrigued by this new image of little Aqua stirring in his mind.

"There was bookstore. By my house. I would go there, and sit between the shelves. The third and fourth ones from the window. I'd be in there for hours. Just reading." She made a small half-scoff half-laughing noise. "Oh, God, Terra. You don't know how much I used to love to read. I never actually had money to buy the books, but the shopkeeper used to let me read whatever I wanted for as long as I wanted." She breathed, her eyes scrunching.

"What about your friends?" Terra whispered shifting.

"I only really had one friend when I was younger. Her name was Blair- um, she was older than me. She was twelve when I was six." Her breathing was slowing now. "And… she…" She opened her drooping eyes. "Tell me about your childhood." She whispered blearily.

He laughed, leaning his forehead to hers like he had earlier. "Alright." He said proudly. "I lived in a sort of… countryside. Lots of farms, and such."

"I never took you as a farm boy." She giggled again, catching him off guard.

He blinked, shaking off the cuteness. "Shush, now." He grinned, staring into her sleep filled eyes. "Anyway, we did live on a farm. It was big. Lots of animals, and such. There was so much room…" He shook his head, almost forgetting his forehead was on hers. "I used to run around and poke the animals with sticks."

"I can see you doing that." She whispered.

"It was my favorite sport!" He chuckled.

"It's animal cruelty." She pouted, and Terra realized she was probably already half dreaming. And there was a chance she wouldn't remember it in the morning. Which was either good, or very, very depressing.

"What little boy isn't cruel to animals? It's little boy philosophy. Pick on adorable little animals and equally adorable little girls."

"That's mean."

"Oh is it?" He whispered smirking. Her droopy eyes narrowed a bit.

"Yes, it is."

"Want to punish me?"

She blinked, trying to process that question. "What?"

He leaned in, sealing her lips with his. She seemed to be too shocked to move, and Terra was suddenly afraid she might've woken up. But then she wound her arms around his neck, pressing her own lips back onto his. She either was still half asleep, or… she had woken up and was fully aware of what she was doing. He didn't know which one he was more scared of. Maybe it had been a bad idea.

But it turned out to be a very, very good idea. Because she had lifted her lips from his, and, seemingly, fell asleep. He looked down, and realized her had wrapped his arms around her waist. He flushed, realizing what he had just done.

Very slowly, and carefully, he pulled the girl up into his arms, her own arms still tangled around his neck, and made his way down the hill.

He made it to Aqua's room at a very slow pace. He was beginning to admire things about Aqua he had never noticed before. The way her hair fell around her face, and shone almost like a halo around an angel. How pale her skin was against his own dark skin tone. The little smile on her lips that was barely noticeable, but almost always there.

When he finally did make it to her room, he felt extremely reluctant to let go of her. But he knew he had to. They couldn't have stayed outside all night, and he knew bringing her to his room was a disaster waiting to happen. But he couldn't help it. He wanted to see her wake up. He wanted her to know what she thought happened actually happened, that he had kissed her, and she had kissed him back.

But he couldn't do that. He didn't even know why, but he just couldn't. So he set her in her bed, and tucked the blanket up to her chin, and leaned forward. He picked up her head (her quite oblivious head, mind you), and planted a small kiss on her forehead. He slid his fingers down her face, and watched as she smiled in her sleep.

"Goodnight, Aqua." He whispered, turning around.

And, of course, there stood Master Eraqus looking like the bemused old man he was.

Terra jumped, his eyes widening. "Oh, shi-" But Master Eraqus, with his old man eyes twinkling like the munchkin star that was Aqua's home, simply pressed his index finger to his lips, and walked out the door.

For a moment, Terra wondered if he should follow him. But he concluded it would probably make more sense than staying in Aqua's room. He only hoped Ven wasn't up as well.

After closing Aqua's door, he ran to catch up with his long time Master. "Master Eraqus!" He whispered, running in front of him. "I- uh- er… I…"

"I won't ask what you were doing in Aqua's room, Terra. Especially seeing as you're shirt seems to have mysteriously vanished." The Master stated, his expression still bemused. "I can only hope you weren't doing what I can only suppose you were…"

"What?" Terra asked, slightly confused. It struck him, and he flushed once again. "What? No! I wouldn't- We- no! That's… just… she's only seventeen, and… Oh… no!" He stammered, his eyes wide.

The Masted chuckled, and shook his head. "I thought not. But," his expression changed from playful to completely serious. "I do wondering what you were doing in her room. Care to explain, Terra, before you are punished?"

Terra swallowed, trying hard to keep calm. After Eraqus's last comment, he was still fidgeting. And blushing. "We both couldn't sleep, so we ended up watching the stars together, and while I was telling her about my home world she fell asleep. I was only putting her back in her bed, I swear!" It was mostly the truth, save for the kiss, and his teasing about punishments. Which he really hoped the one he was getting now wasn't too bad.

Eraqus studied him for a moment. Finally, he sighed, and nodded. "I see. You are free to leave then."

Terra tried not to jump in surprise. "You aren't going to punish me?"

"I see nothing wrong with you and Aqua being nervous about the Qualification Exam. It was very kind of you to put her back in her bed- though your methods were… interesting." He gave Terra yet another bemused glance, and he flushed once more, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Master, may I request something?" He asked, looking down the hall at Aqua's door.

"You may."

"Don't tell her." He said, looking at his feet.

"After how long it took for you to get along with her?" The Master chuckled, walking away. "I wouldn't dream of it."

Terra was yet again surprised. Did the Master chug a gallon of coffee or something? "T-thank you, Master."

"Goodnight, son." Terra's head whipped around, trying to figure out if he had heard right.

He shook his head. He was hearing things.

"Hey, Terra!" Ven shouted. "Morning!"

"Morning." Terra waved.

"Have a good sleep for the Exam?"

"Yes…" Did he know?

He sighed in relief. "Oh, man. That's good. I thought you might've been up all night, or something."

Oh, he's just being sweet. He needed to get this kid a girlfriend. Or a fish.

"Hey, Ven! Terra!" Aqua grinned, walking up to them.

"Hiya, Aqua!" Ven chirped.

"Have a nice sleep?" Terra asked, tilting his head at her. She nodded.

"Yeah, I did. But I had this really weird dream…" She trailed off, and her face turned red. "Never mind."

Terra didn't know whether he was relieved that she thought it was a dream, or hurt.

"Why are you all red, Aqua?" Ven asked, sitting down at the breakfast table.

"Yeah, Aqua," Terra smirked, "why are you all red."

"N-no reason!" She said sharply, sitting herself.

"Is it because of that dream?" He grinned.

Her head snapped in her direction, and her eyes widened in surprise.

Terra felt like someone had just dropped an ice cube into his stomach.

"Terra…" She said slowly. "I woke up with grass in my hair… was that really…"

Master Eraqus (who must've been hiding until then) walked over, and looked over his pupils. "I hope you two are ready for the exam."

Aqua immediately forgot what she was saying.

Terra looked down. It was probably better that way.

.::But you can skyrocket away from me::.

.::And never come back if you find another galaxy::.

.::Far from here, with more room to fly::.

.::Just leave me your stardust to remember you by::.

Okay. So, it's three in the morning, I have work tomorrow, and I spent two and a half hours finishing this. What. The. Hell. So, anyway, this is mostly pure fun for someone who hasn't written in forever, and is half asleep. Probably why it was so easy to write sleepy Aqua. It's much like drunk Aqua, only more logical. The song is Boats and Birds by... umm... Gregory and the Hawks.

Farmboy Terra is based off of countryboy Zack. *Shrug*

So... tired... SLEEEEEEEEP!

Oh, for DIVINE WOLFE. Because I never got around to finishing that VanAqua, and I thought you might like this. ;] NIGHT! *Dies*