A/N: Some more Tequa fluff, since I wanted to focus on developing the way I write characters. This is a short story, meaning there is multiple chapters.

Dedicated to the primrose path. Your writing is amazing, and reading it always makes me smile.

Aqua was sick.

Granted, it was only a minor cold. The only symptoms she had were the typical ones- a sore throat, coughing and sneezing and a blocked nose. But that didn't change the fact that

Aqua.

Was.

Sick.

Aqua, of all people! Aqua never got sick- that was Terra's job. The bluenette's role in this not-so-elaborate setup was to look after Terra when he got sick, not the other way around. Not to mention the whole event had happened the same day Master Eraqus left to tend to some 'very important matters.'

Terra swore he had the worst luck in the entire universe.

"Terra, it's not-" Aqua paused, sneezing. "-that bad." She smiled at him, and Terra found his gaze drawn to her azure eyes. They shone less brightly than normal, and were clouded with the fog of sickness. That bothered the brunet. In his opinion, Aqua's eyes were her crowning feature. Seeing them like that seemed to take from her beauty as a whole-

Terra quickly derailed that train of thought. He wasn't dense; he knew what the affectionate emotion he often found himself feeling in regards to Aqua was. However, he also knew he'd never have her. The reasons as to why could've filled an entire book, but at the top of the list was the fact they were simply too different. Aqua would never like a guy like him, that much he was sure of.

"So sue me for not knowing how to handle you of all people getting sick, Aqua," he replied to her comment, rolling his eyes. "I mean, what would you do if your best friend-" if only she knew "-whom you have never known to get sick in your entire life, suddenly fell ill for no apparent reason?"

"Well," Aqua began, her dimmed eyes sparkling, "my best friend gets sick quite frequently, especially during winter. So I've never really had to think about it."

Terra expelled a sigh, exasperation masking his concern. He was pleased for that. Exasperation felt so much more natural than concern… especially when it was friendly concern he had to feign, even though that wasn't the case at all. "Sometimes you're more of a handful than Ven."

"What, so you're saying I'm childish?" Aqua laughed, but the sound was raspy, having also been tainted by her sickness. Terra hated that. Under normal circumstances, Aqua had the most beautiful laugh in all the worlds-

Once again, he put a stop to his thoughts. He'd told himself over and over that he couldn't have Aqua, not now, not ever. Therefore, he should just knock it off. However, the thoughts just kept resurfacing, often with more of a vengeance than they originally had, slowly leaving Terra to crack under the pressure.

"Terra?" His friend's worried voice pulled him back to reality, and he felt his chest tighten under her anxious gaze. Aqua was the one sick, not him. He should be the one worrying about her, not the other way around.

"Sorry. I spaced out." The usual excuse fell past his lips. However, Aqua's expression and overall demeanor didn't shift one bit.

"I had to call your name three times."

His already-fragile pretense shattered like glass, and the thick cords of doubt wrapped around his heart tightened. "I…I was deep in thought," he managed, although he knew it wouldn't hold up to Aqua's scrutiny.

He was proven right a couple of seconds later. "That's…unusual," she hummed, tapping her chin with a finger. "No, something's definitely eating at you, Terra. You're rarely deep in thought otherwise."

Terra stared at her in amazement. Had she just… insulted his intelligence? He didn't want to believe it, but he knew it was true. It was just such an Aqua thing to say.

Laughter spilled from Aqua's throat- Terra cherished the sound, broken as it was. "The look on your face is priceless! Seriously though, what's the matter with you?"

"I…" His tongue seemed to have gone limp. Any words he tried to say caught in his chest like broken shards of china.

"Hey, Terra? Are you okay?" Her expression shifted, any traces of mirth vanishing. "You're not coming down with my cold, are you?"

He wished that were the reason why. No, sickness had nothing to do with his current loss of speech, and he quickly shook his head to show just that. "No, I just…" Those three words were all he could manage this time.

Suddenly, he collapsed to his knees, completely overwhelmed by the pressure weighing down on him. Aqua's eyes widened in alarm, and she threw back the blankets covering her, rushing to his side. "Terra, what's wrong?" she asked frantically, before breaking off into a coughing fit.

He wanted to tell her, in that moment. He really did. But he couldn't- a dull pain throbbed in the back of his head that was making it incredibly difficult to focus. He was fairly certain this shouldn't be happening.

"Terra? Terra, say something!"

That was the last thing he heard before he blacked out.

A/N: I can already imagine the reviews I must be getting right now. And let me give you some advice: get used to it. Cliffhangers are my specialty. Cliffhangers, and angst-with-a-happy-ending.