Yes, I love Eraqus/Aqua! So sue me! Don't like it? Then don't read it!

Kingdom Hearts and its characters are not mine by the way!


I'll Be There

She always wanted to be like her master—strong, wise, caring, dedicated...

She always went to him for advice on techniques, especially advanced ones.

She always went to him when she was scared as a child.

No matter what, he was there to guide her and protect her.

Even when Terra was lost in the darkness of Xehanort and Ven was lost in the darkness of slumber, all she needed was to think of him, and her two lost friends would follow suit in her heart.


Energy

Honestly, Aqua can't quite say she's ever seen her master out of his robe and tunic.

In fact, she could never quite picture him without them.

So imagine her shock when she suddenly saw the man shirtless!

Every single, fleshy, bronzed muscle—his abs, his pectorals, his deltoids, etc. — everything seemed to ceaselessly ripple and crackle crisply with energy.

Eraqus's glistening black hair, now free of the red hairband, obediently followed the expert motions of the man's poetically deadly movements.

Storm grey eyes squinted in intense focus as the Master's lips, framed by the mustache and goatee, were set in a firm frown that somehow made the large, jagged, crimson scars on his cheeks appear more prominent.

There was no part of the man's exposed and lesion-scored body where dripping sweat could not reach, sweat of which kept being periodically licked or wiped away by either the warrior's tongue or his roughened hands.

And the tongue...that part of Eraqus what drew Aqua's eyes to him the most.

The way it curled and circled the lips so slowly but subtly, not so much as disturbing, even touching, the facial hair.

And the motions of his well-toned chest, in tie with his heavy but hard-earned breathing, its muscles flexing in and out, made his skin pulsate in the soft auburn gold glow of the vanishing sunset.

In layman's terms, Aqua was seeing the sculptured figure of a god at work.

Immediately upon landing her gaze upon her unknowing master, Aqua's young hormone-ridden mind just sort of went into hyperdrive.

The body of a seasoned warrior...every part calling out to her...begging to be touched...coaxing her to taste...pleading to hold her being against itself to caress her, tickle her, taunt her...love her...enticing her to discover for herself how such a figure could work its magic on her—

'What am I thinking!?'

As hard as she could, Aqua dashed back into the castle, never noticing Eraqus catching her retreating form with a confused glance.


Lust

Eraqus was just the perfect model of masculinity.

He was powerful in both mind and body.

The man had a sharp wit and vast wisdom to back it up. Beneath that cool, stern exterior, however, was a forgiving heart.

As for the body—Aqua would rather not go into the details.


Inadequate

And here she was, small, childlike...

Aqua was barely an adult, barely even a master.

Why didn't the Master pursue a worldlier woman? Eraqus was a man of seemingly infinite resolve and experience.

If not for the keyblade and the duties associated with it, Eraqus could have had any woman his heart desired.

Who knows? Maybe after all of his students'—Terra, Ventus, and Aqua herself—departs, the master would consider finding a..." companion."

Yes, by the time Ventus would leave, Eraqus would be past having children the old-fashioned way, but Aqua, in her own eyes, believed her master would be just fine with that fact.

After all, love's not really about sex...right?

The blunette only wished the kind passion Eraqus showed her in private wasn't so alluring, or made her feel so...so belonged.

Curse that careworn smile!


Names

"Master?"

Looking up from his leather bound book, Eraqus wasn't too surprised to see his protégé of magic standing in his doorway (which he'd forgotten to lock for some reason—again).

"Yes, Aqua...?" His smile, stretched across his leathery skin, gave off a soft radiance of approachable kindness. The blunette returned a small, shy smile in return.

"I'd like to ask you something. That is...if it's alright with you of course."

"Yes, yes what is it?" gently urged the older man, clear grey eyes eyes now on the young woman in front of him, book put aside, coarsened hands now folded on his lap.

"I'd like to call you by your name from now on. At least... now that I'm a master..."

Okay, now what Aqua had just said did surprise Eraqus. The elder man couldn't help raising an eyebrow as he stood up and approached his former apprentice.

"Really?"

The blunette was usually humble about that title, never even bothering to mention it in front of Ventus and Terra, much less in front of her master.

'Why on Earth would she change that way about herself now?'

Aqua merely nodded.

"I suppose so. You'll always be a dear student to me, but yes perhaps a removal of certain formalities would be in order. What brought this change about, if I may ask?"

Aqua's reply was a kiss on the older man's scarred cheek.

Eraqus blushed quite hotly! That blunette simply took a hand to her pink rose mouth to cover her giggles—but to no avail.

"Just because..."


Scar

He was only undressed from the waist up but the pale red scars crisscrossing on his body were numerous.

Long ago he promised himself that these scars would remind him of past mistakes. To teach him of the mistakes that changed the reckless young man he had been before to the man he is now.

Never did Eraqus think these scars would be shown so much tenderness or gain him such sympathy.

He surely didn't anticipate them to convince a certain young lady to pounce on him, her exposed arms feeling his lesions as her tongue licked his lips hungrily.


Wrong

This was wrong, just so wrong.

She shouldn't be here in Eraqus' bedroom. She shouldn't be here sitting on his lap. She shouldn't be here straddling his waist so tightly. She shouldn't be here plunging her tongue so deeply into his mouth. She shouldn't be here stroking his bare, aged yet amazingly well-toned body.

Why was she even admiring his physique at all?

Didn't she care how old he was? Didn't she care he was old enough to be her father?

Why was he letting her get away with all this anyway?

Surely a part of him felt conflicted as well! For KH's sake, he was a grown man kissing a newly grown young woman.

Feeling someone so much older than herself—and with such passion and sensual depth—felt so grand...yet so confusing...so electrifying...yet so soothing...so intense...yet so gentle.

She shivered as his rough hands suddenly caressed her delicately soft hips, wiping her thoughts away as Eraqus drew her face away from his to gaze into her sapphire eyes with a fire that made her melt like blueberry ice cream even further.

Why did this have to feel so right?


Personify

"I don't believe this."

Gazing up at the couple, two ocean blue eyes gazed from amidst midnight black hair.

Eraqus put his lips to his wife's ear, his voice merely a whisper. "Yes, our very own child...Aqua, I am so very proud of you."

His lean but strong arms snaked around her soft waist more firmly, driving the blunette to sigh in content and lean her head back against her older husband's broad, tanned chest.

Whispering in her ear teasingly, Eraqus reminded, "We still need to name her, you know."

Aqua never opened her eyes. Yet the voice that flowed from her faintly carnation lips whispered dotingly,

"Xion...I want to name her Xion."

The blunette never needed to open her eyes to know who had just kissed her cheek and tightened the pressure on her body the moment after she said what she had just said.

"It's a beautiful name."


Curve

If only he had taken notice before of how curvy her body was.

His worn fingers stroked the side of her corset lightly. He took note of how her soft, pink lips curled into a smile every time before he'd claim them.

"Aqua, you truly are too harsh on yourself at times. Your physique is just fine."

Faint red began to fade in on Aqua's cheeks. There was no hiding the slight smile, though.

"Do—do you really think so Ma—Eraqus?"

Part of the response came in the form of two callous hands taking her by the waist. A pair of lips, framed by ebony facial hair, gently kissed the soft baby skin of her right shoulder.

"Of course, Aqua, you should not need to concern yourself with how others view your physical traits. You are born as you are. Besides, to be so beautiful at heart..."

Grey eyes bore into blue eyes as the two lovers tightened the embrace.

"There should be no need to fret over appearances."


Explain

"So...you've got the hots for Master, then?"

Why did Terra have to put it like that?

"Terra, it's not like that," Aqua stuttered, crimson red threatening to appear on her face, "I'm serious! It's just a...a crush. A school girl crush-that's all!"

Too bad the earth-wielder didn't buy that excuse.

"Then how do you explain the fact you were shivering like a leaf the moment Master Eraqus was guiding your hands?"

That's it! Enough was enough! 'I...just need some fresh air to clear my head! That should do the trick, yeah!'

"I—I need to go." And without further ado, Aqua ran off less gracefully than usual.

"Whatever you say, Aqua..."

Terra could only shake his head in amusement.

"Yep, she's fallen hard for him."


Insane

"You'll never believe what Selphie told me."

"Selphie?"

"One of Sora's friends...she said we make the most... weirdly cute couple she'd ever heard of. What do you think?"

Eraqus stroked his chin. "Weird? Certainly...'Cute'...I honestly don't think I'm the best one to be a judge of that."

The blunette giggled at his answer."Well, Eraqus...it is a little insane."

"Oddly enough, my dear,"

Eraqus paused to plant a deep kiss on his lover's lips.

"...the insane relationships tend to be the most fun."

Yep, she fell in love with a madman.


Sweet

There was a little quirk about Aqua that nobody knew about, not even Ven, Terra, and Eraqus.

She liked to compare people's skin tones to candy.

Yes, yes, the quirk was absolutely weird but the blunette couldn't help it at times.

Terra's tone was a bit of a coppery but light brown, very similar to nougats—steady and earthy.

Ven's was more golden, like butterscotch—sweet and hyper.

Eraqus...well, his skin was somehow a cross between the previous two tones.

A perfect cross between gold and copper...and it took all of Aqua's willpower not to jump on him just so she could taste that skin.


Start Over

It was over.

Xehanort was gone, and balance had just been restored to the worlds once more.

Sora had done it. After a series of grueling battles, the young keyblader had once again defied the odds!

Of course, he couldn't take all the credit.

After all, he had had plenty of support on this journey thanks to his numerous friends, especially Riku and Kairi...

And especially a certain teacher...who of which now stood on the sunlit beach of Destiny Islands, gazing out at the sun-kissed horizon...

Yes, reunited with her friends at last after years and years of nothing but solitude and shadows, Aqua was more than ready to return home and pick up the pieces left behind of her shattered home.

"Now what...?" she asked to seemingly empty air.

A familiar presence made itself known to Aqua the second after those words were uttered. The blunette turned around, not surprised to see a ghostly image of her late master standing before her. On his scarred face lay the same, thoughtful smile she had loved so much.

"It is up to you, Terra, and Ventus. It's your decision now—your life."

Aqua could only nod for her melancholy began to manifest in the form of gleaming tears. "I'm sorry we couldn't bring you back."

Eraqus shook his grizzled head as his grey irises shimmered in compassion. "My time was bound to come at some point. All that matters, though..."

During this pause, he clamped his strong hands over his love's delicate shoulders, prompting her to look at him.

"...is the future laid out before you...Don't ever forget the lessons I've taught you, Aqua...the things I have shown you..."

'How could I ever forget?' Though sadness still lingered in Aqua, she managed to form a small smile for Eraqus's sake. "Do you really have to go?"

The phantasmal master gave a solemn nod.

"Aqua, never forget. I am always with you."

"I know. Good bye, Eraqus."

One final kiss came and went...

"Farewell, my dear ocean blue."