Disclaimer: I am not the one responsible for creating Aria or Aqua. Kozue Amano is. I'm just the one writing the fanfiction. XD

On a street near Aria Company sitting on the edge of the residential districts with a great view of the ocean, Akari, Akatsuki, and their seven-year-old son reside in a comfortable two story house. The days that pass by as they live there usually seem to be the same. Their schedule usually stays the same unless there is a holiday of some sort. Akari works for part of the day at the Gondola Association, Akatsuki works as a Salamander, and their son attends elementary school from 8:00am to 3:30pm for most of the week.

If one looks close enough though, one can tell that there are little bits of change buried in each day right alongside the usual happenings. And on this day, though not exactly an exception to most others, there is a change about to occur that is slightly bigger than the rest.

The son of Akari and Akatsuki, who goes by the name Adric, usually comes back from school with a large smile on his face, black hair messy and green eyes wide as he talks about how his day went. Yet, today he is different. He is back later than usual, though it is still light outside, and he is quiet. Knowing her child well, Akari knows she merely need wait for a little before her son tells her what is wrong.

Without turning around, she can sense he's coming toward the kitchen. She calmly places the uncooked apple pie in her hands into the oven, taking note of the sound of his bare footsteps going down the hall, then coming back. Closing the oven, she moves to an adjacent counter to cut vegetables for tonight's dinner. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees him looking down the hallway towards his dad's office. He's pondering who to go to for this problem, and though he's more than welcome to consult his father, she hopes that he comes to her this time. She doesn't know why; she just hopes.

His bare feet tread the tile floor, and one of the tall chairs near the counter in the middle of the kitchen grinds against the floor. In her mind, she imagines him sitting down and resting his arms on the counter. She takes in a deep breath, then turns to look at him over her shoulder. He's sitting just how she imagined, although half his face is hidden behind his folded arms, his chin resting on the counter as well.

"Hi dear! How was your day at school?"

"Fine, I guess," he responds, his voice a little muffled by his long sleeve shirt.

Her smiles softens a bit, and she turns back to her vegetables. "You look a little out of sorts today. Did something bad happen at school? Did your teacher scold you?"

"...No."

"You turned in your homework?"

"...Yeah."

"Then, something happened on your way back home? You were a little late, so maybe you didn't get to walk with the other kids?"

"...No, I walked with everyone."

"I see." She places the vegetables in the bowl, still waiting calmly as she continues to busy herself in the kitchen.

After a few moments he speaks. "Mom?"

"Yes dear?"

"...Why are there so many cats on Aqua?"

"Hmm..." She delves into her memory before turning to him. "When Aqua was first created, people released a lot of cats to take care of the rat problems."

"There were rat problems?"

"Yes. And the cats took care of it well. But by the time most of the rats were gone, there were so many cats left that everyone just left them alone."

"Do they all have homes with people?"

"Not all of them. Many of them are strays who live by themselves or with other cats."

"But who takes care of them then? Who makes sure they stay out of the rain or eat enough? Are there…are there special people who take care of the rest?"

"I'm afraid not. There isn't any person who knows where every cat lives."

"...Oh..."

She looks back at him and sees him staring at the counter. He looks like he's thinking hard saying something, so she holds her tongue. Then he looks up at her. "What about Cait Sith?"

Her heart skips a small beat. She has to resist grinning. "Cait Sith?"

"I've heard stories about him. He's a large cat with a white mark and black fur, and he takes care of all the cats. He's their king. Not that I believe in it or anything," he adds quickly, resting his chin on his arms and averting his eyes quickly. "Everyone at school was talking about him. They don't think he exists either."

She sighs and smiles, turning back to her cooking. "I used to believe in Cait Sith."

From behind her, she can sense him sit up a little. "...Really?"

"I still do. The king of cats, Cait Sith, who takes care of all the cats that live here in Neo-Venezia, and always will. He's a magical being who makes the lives of cats and even people very wonderful. And he's very kind."

She turns to see him laugh a little, and he suddenly looks more like Aika with that smirk on his face. "Mom believes in a fairytale?"

"Hohe!" she remarks at seeing her son looking so smug. "It's not a fairytale!"

"Yes it is!" he says, laughing a bit although his eyes are asking her to tell him more. "No one's ever met him!"

She smiles a little as she watches him laugh. He looks so alive even though he's laughing about something he can't make up his mind on. For just a moment, she wishes with all her heart that Cait Sith could see this child's smile. When he realizes she's looking at him, he stops.

"...What?"

She smiles happily before turning back to her vegetables, lightly clutching the aquamarine pendant around her neck. "...I've met him."

Silence.

"EEEEEEH?"

Hearing a suddenly incredible amount of noise from all the way down the hall, Akatsuki peeks his head out of the doorway of his office.

"What are those two doing?" he says to himself, paperwork quite forgotten.

He is promptly answered by the sight of his wife backing away from the kitchen as their son is tugging on her apron, shouting: "I DEMAND AN EXPLANATION! TELL ME MORE! PLEASEPLEASEPLEAAAASE?"

Quickly stifling the snort rising in his throat, he goes to his wife's rescue (even though she's laughing) and tucks his son under his arm.

"Put me down dad!" Adric demands, his arms and legs flailing.

"What's all the noise about anyway?" Akatsuki asks with laughter in his tone, eventually complying with his son's request.

"Mom says she's met Cait Sith before!" he says back, his fists clenched in anticipation.

"Oho?" Akatsuki said smugly, kneeling down to his son's eye level. "Didn't you tell me the day before that you didn't believe in Cait Sith?"

Their boy's face suddenly gets red with embarrassment. "I-I did not! I mean, I did! I mean…well…"

"...Did you know that Cait Sith is also the Casanova in Carnivale each year?" the Salamander says with an air of mystery.

"NO WAY!" his son says back, tugging on his dad's shirt. "REALLY?"

"Yes!" he says, chuckling. "We have a book about Cait Sith in the library upstairs. If you want, I'll go get it fo –"

"I'll get it!" the boy shouts, charging down the hall and up the stairs.

From beside her, Akari hears her husband laugh a little. He catches her chin lightly in his hand to lean her face toward him, planting a kiss on her cheek before taking her hand so they can follow their son upstairs to the library.

They are both older than they used to be, she thinks to herself. They are both older, she is retired from her old job, he is still involved in his, and life has been a challenge. But, it has also not been without its beautiful moments. And right now as they run to chase their son on the wings of a fairytale, she feels as if they could live forever.

A few months later she wakes up especially early, taking in the rays of the morning sun. For some reason, today feels like it's going to be a spectacular day. Before setting out to Aria Company to see Ai, she gently places her aquamarine necklace around her son's neck, telling him to take care of it. He doesn't comment about how it's a girl's necklace and how the color isn't manly. He just takes the pendant in his hand, stares at it, then tucks it into his shirt and promises he will, though he's clearly confused.

Later that day he burst through the door, tracking dirt from his shoes all over the floor as he does. She asks him what in the world happened, noticing that he still has his backpack and his small jacket on. Amidst the racket of his running and leaping and shouting even though he's clearly out of breath, she notices his especially bright grin. And then she takes note of what he's saying:

"I MET HIM I MET HIM I MET HIM!"

Well well, more Aria fanfiction! ^U^

I recently finished "Acqua e Cielo", which was incredibly fun to write and something I enjoyed. But once it was over, I thought: "It would be nice to write something else." So I wrote this!

FYI: "Carnivale" is a holiday celebrated in tons of places (and of course in Italy) that occurs right before Lent. People wear masks called "bauta", walk around in costumes, attend parades, and eat delicious food! I do no know for sure, however, if there is a person who walks around as Casanova in a mask. XD

Adric is an interesting name for a boy, isn't it? If it sounds too strange later, I might just change it.

That aside, I would love your feedback! I'm a little iffy about this since this story is a bit of a stretch and is obviously not canonical in the LEAST. So, please PLEASE tell me what you think so I know whether to leave this up or take it down!

Have a wonderful day/night! Hope your New Year's was awesome!