Will you love me tomorrow?

"I like you!"

"I don't like you!"

Vanitas sighed theatrically. "Aw, come on Aqua, don't be like that. We both know you love me."

"We both know I do not! Now leave me alone, Vanitas!" Aqua said angrily.

"Mm, no, I think I'll stick around. I rather like your company," He grinned mischievously as he fell into step beside her.

Aqua chose to ignore the persistent boy. She was used to his antics by now, but that didn't mean she got any less annoyed every time he decided to profess his love for her. She knew he was just playing with her, anyway.

Vanitas kept on talking. "And just think: once you finally recognize the obvious truth, we can get it on like we should have been getting it on about a month ago when I first told you I liked you and then-"

"Vanitas?" Aqua said quietly.

"Yes, Aqua?" He answered eagerly.

"Shut. Up!"

"Did Vanitas ask you out again, Aqua?" Namine asked at lunchtime.

"Yup, and I flatly rejected him. Again. Guy needs to learn how to take a hint," Aqua said.

"Well, you've gotta admire his determination," Namine said. "He never seems to get discouraged, no matter how many times you rain on his parade."

"He must really like you, Aqua," Kairi teased.

"Doubt it," Aqua muttered. "Vanitas is just a big flirt."

Namine tilted her head. "I don't know, Aqua. Would a flirt constantly chase after the same girl, every single day?"

"How should I know?" Aqua asked.

Kairi was looking up at something. "And would he be waving at you from the second story?"

"Yeah," Namine added, also looking up. "And would he also be holding up a banner saying 'Please go out with me, Aqua'?"

"And would he be bringing out a blowhorn to declare his love for you to everyone within earshot?" Kairi said, more insistently this time.

Aqua continued chewing her sandwich. "Come on, guys. Even Vanitas isn't that crazy. Right?"

She turned to look at her friends, expecting nods of confirmation. Wordlessly, they both pointed up. Her eyes slowly followed the path of their fingers... And saw him. She dropped the sandwich.

"Vanitas!" Aqua shouted.

He just waved back cheekily. "Hey, Aqua! Believe me now?"

Abandoning her lunch, she ran closer to the building. "What are you doing, you idiot?"

"Just making my feelings for you perfectly clear. In case they weren't already. Huh, I'd think after seventeen confessions you'd get the point already," Vanitas said casually.

"Put it away! You're causing a scene!" She said.

"Will you go out with me?" He asked.

"No!"

"Then no!"

"Argh!" She stomped her foot. "Would you grow up?"

"Would you date me then?"

"No!"

"Then no!"

"Vanitas!"

"Maybe you should just give him a chance," Kairi tried to say the next day.

"Absolutely not!" Aqua said vehemently.

"Come on, Aqua, can you honestly say you don't like all the attention you're getting?" Namine asked. "It must feel pretty nice to be appreciated every day."

Aqua raised an eyebrow. "Appreciated? Try annoyed."

"Are you sure?" Kairi raised an eyebrow in response.

"My common sense suggests you think otherwise," Namine added. "I mean, you've finally got a guy hanging on your every word, desperately trying to get your attention. Can't you at least go on a pity date with him?"

"That is not the kind of attention I want!" Aqua said. "His obsession with me is just plain creepy!"

"That's pretty harsh, Aqua," Kairi said.

"Yeah," Namine agreed. "If it was any other guy but Vanitas, I bet you'd agree to give it a try."

Aqua shrugged. "Maybe. Heck, anyone sounds better than him to me."

"She is harsh on him, isn't she?" Kairi whispered to Namine.

Namine nodded. "But we both know she secretly likes him back."

"I heard that!" Aqua called back. "And no I do not!"

"My common sense begs to differ," Namine said.

"I don't give a crap about what your common sense thinks," Aqua replied. "I'm not going out with Vanitas!"

"Not even if he offered you flowers?" A voice asked.

Aqua spun around and ended up face to face with none other than Vanitas. She instantly stepped back. "No."

"Not even if they were blue flowers?" He grinned and held up the bouquet. "You know you like them, Aqua."

"Yeah, you love blue flowers," Kairi elbowed her in the arm.

"Shut up, Kairi," Aqua swatted her friend away. "Guys, go ahead without me. I have a stalker to take care of."

"If you insist. Have fun you two," Namine waved as she and Kairi walked away.

"We will!" Vanitas called.

"I really need to tell them to stop encouraging you," Aqua muttered.

"So, Aqua," Vanitas said slowly. "Will you go out with me?"

He held up the flowers shyly and looked at her hopefully. Aqua just stared. "No."

Vanitas lowered the flowers. "Okay," He said.

"Oh, stop looking so dejected! You'll get over it!" She said.

"Well, you did just reject me," He said. "I have a right to be a little upset."

"I reject you every day!"

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean it doesn't still hurt."

Aqua stopped. Vanitas gazed at the flowers with a sad smile. She felt a stabbing guilt in her chest all of a sudden when she saw his point. "I'm sorry," She said.

"It's alright," He said. "I already know you don't like me very much."

"Then why do you keep following me?" She couldn't stop herself from asking. "Why didn't you give up after the first few tries?"

Vanitas finally looked up at her. There was a genuine sincerity in his eyes that she hadn't noticed before. "Because if I keep trying, there's always a chance that tomorrow you'll say yes."

Aqua didn't say anything. A silence passed over them for a few moments before Vanitas started to walk away.

"Wait!"

Vanitas turned around, a questioning look on his face.

"I can at least take the flowers," Aqua said before she could regret it. "As an apology."

"Well, if you want them so bad-"

"Hand them over before I change my mind."

He quickly passed them to her. She nodded firmly in response. Vanitas saluted before continuing down the street. Aqua took a moment to breathe in the flowers' scent. She smiled. They really were a nice shade of blue.

"Your hair looks great today."

"No."

"I like your outfit."

"No."

"I think you're the best person in the world."

"No Vanitas, I will not go out with you, now leave me alone!"

It was an ironically nice day. Ventus and Terra watched the scene unfold from a nearby bench. Several other passerby were doing the same.

Finally, Terra said, "He's really going for it, huh?"

Ventus nodded. "He must really like her."

"I'm surprised Vanitas hasn't given up already," Terra commented. "I mean, it couldn't be more obvious that Aqua's not interested."

"Yeah, well, Vanitas never was good at taking no for an answer," Ventus shrugged.

"At least he's pretty resilient. She only tells him no at least a hundred times a day," Terra said. "I don't think she'll ever accept, do you?"

"Just because she wouldn't go out with you doesn't mean she won't go out with someone else," Ventus said drily.

"Even if that someone else is Vanitas?" Terra asked. "I'm serious, Ventus. Aqua's a great girl. What makes him think he's so special?"

Ventus grunted noncommittally. "I never said Vanitas would succeed. But I can't help but admire him for trying, you know?"

Terra looked at Ventus quizzically. "Whose side are you on anyway?"

"Nobody's," Ventus replied. "But you gotta admit, Terra, they do look kinda good together."

Terra brought his eyes back to the couple before him. Aqua was walking brusquely away from Vanitas, but he continued to follow her like a lost puppy. Vanitas smiled and laughed even though Aqua was glaring daggers at the ground. He teasingly latched onto her arm and she desperately tried to shake him off. Terra watched all this for a moment before turning back to Ventus.

"I pity Aqua," He said shortly.

Not too far away, Namine and Kairi were also observing Aqua and Vanitas. Kairi sighed despondently.

"I think she should just go out with him already," Kairi said. "They're made for each other."

"I agree," Namine said. "Aqua's so dense."

"Do you even know why she doesn't like him?" Kairi asked.

Namine shook her head. "Nope. That's a good question because now that I think about it, she's never told me."

"It's too bad," Kairi turned back to the couple. "I think they'd be so cute together."

"You ladies think so too, huh?" Ventus asked as he and Terra approached.

"You were watching them too?" Namine turned around.

"Yeah, pretty much," Terra nodded.

"They're so hopeless," She said.

"I agree," He said.

"What a pair of idiots," Kairi remarked. Everyone nodded in unanimous agreement. "You guys wanna talk about it over lunch?"

Aqua was on her way home from the supermarket, shopping bag full of groceries in hand. She walked up the steps to her house, searching through her bag for the house key. Just as she was about to unlock the door she heard someone clear his throat behind her.

Aqua froze, afraid to turn around. Even Vanitas isn't crazy enough to come to my house on a Saturday. But then she remembered that he was crazy enough to do a bunch of other things, and then decided that nothing was beneath him. Slowly, she put down the bag and turned around.

"Good afternoon, Aqua," He grinned, hands shoved into his jacket pockets. "Lovely day, isn't it?"

Aqua sighed. "What do you want, Vanitas?"

He walked closer to her and gently took her hand. Vanitas just stood there smiling at her for a moment. Aqua was about to ask what was up when he started to get down on one knee.

"Oh no, you are NOT proposing to me right now!" Aqua immediately started to protest.

Vanitas laughed. "Don't worry, I'm not proposing to you."

"Then what are you doing on the ground?" She asked warily. "If you bought a flippin' ring, Vanitas-"

"I promise I'm not proposing to you," He interrupted. "I'm trying a different approach today, as always. So will you shut up and let me romance you?"

"Alright, let's get this over with," She muttered.

Vanitas let out a short breath, took hold of her hand again, and looked up. "Aqua," He started. "This marks the twenty-second time I'm confessing to you."

He looked away for a moment and seemed to blush a little. Aqua silently admitted to herself that it was a cute gesture. Vanitas seemed to recover and continued.

"And I want to start out by apologizing to you. I'm sorry for bothering you every day to tell you I like you. I'm sorry for following you around even though you always tell me not to. I'm sorry for leaving a bunch of flowers outside your window."

"You did WHAT!" Aqua screeched.

"Moving on," Vanitas said quickly. "Overall, I'm sorry if you're annoyed by me. But I came to tell you that I don't plan on giving up anytime soon, even if you do hate me right now. I like you, and you can't change that. That's all."

He let go of her hand and stood up. "Oh, and uh, sorry about the flowers. You'll see them later."

Aqua didn't say anything. She was about to take out her key again when Vanitas cleared his throat.

"Aqua?" He said.

"Yes?" She asked.

"You don't… you don't hate me, do you?" He asked tentatively.

"You're really annoying. You never leave me alone. You even came to my house on a Saturday and that's really creepy," She listed. "But I don't hate you, Vanitas."

Vanitas' face lit up and he grinned like a child on Christmas morning. "That's all I wanted to hear."

He left her house and Aqua turned back to the front door. As she unlocked it and took off her shoes, a small smile spread across her face.

"Aqua? Aqua? Hello?" Kairi waved her hand in front of Aqua's face.

"What?" Aqua said distractedly. "Sorry, was I zoning?"

"Yeah, for the past two minutes. Did you even hear what I said?" Kairi asked.

Aqua blinked a few times. "No, sorry. What was that again?"

Kairi sighed. "You've been doing that a lot lately. Something bothering you?"

"No, not really," Aqua said. "Just… thinking."

"Well, if you say so," Kairi said. "I'll see you later, okay?"

Aqua waved half-heartedly, still lost in thought. She felt bad for not paying attention to Kairi, but her thoughts were elsewhere. "I wonder what's wrong with me," She thought out loud.

She closed her eyes and sighed. Leaning back on the park bench, she tried to relax and imagine something peaceful. Suddenly, she felt the bench shift as someone sat down next to her.

Her eyes flew open and she found herself face to face with Vanitas. "Whoa!"

He grinned. "Hey, Aqua. Whatcha doing sleeping in a place like this?"

"I wasn't sleeping," She said. "Just resting."

"Uh-huh," Vanitas said. "What were you thinking about?"

"What?" She asked, startled.

He shrugged. "You looked really deep in thought. So, what's up?"

"Nothing," She said. "I don't know."

"Hm," He said. "You sure you don't wanna talk to me about it?"

"I'm fine, promise," Aqua insisted. "It's more of a personal problem, anyway."

"Oh? Now I'm really interested," Vanitas leaned closer. "But I won't pry if you don't want to tell me."

"Why are you here anyway?" Aqua asked. "Got nothing better to do?"

"Actually, meeting you was an accident. I was on my way home just now," He said. "And it was quite a nice surprise, too. You brighten up my day, Aqua."

"Um, thanks, I guess," She said.

Vanitas frowned. "Okay, seriously, what's up? The Aqua I know would say something more like, "Vanitas, go crawl in a hole and stay there! I don't like you, now leave me alone!""

Aqua rolled her eyes. "You enjoy being verbally insulted?"

"Not particularly, no," He admitted. "It's just the reaction I'm used to getting from you."

"Wow, do I really sound like that?" She asked.

"Yeah, pretty much. Here, want me to give you another example?"

Vanitas stood up and put one hand on his hip. He adopted an annoyed look on his face and spoke in a slightly higher tone clearly intended to mimic Aqua's voice. "No Vanitas, I don't want your stupid flowers! Go home already!"

He sat back down on the bench, a happy-go-lucky expression spread across his features. "But Aqua, I like you! And besides, don't girls love flowers?"

He stood back up and resumed his Aqua persona and said, "Yeah, I like flowers. Just not from you!"

Sitting back down he said, "What if I put on a wig, would that make it better? You can pretend it's not me!"

Vanitas stopped his one-man show when he heard the sound of laughter. Aqua was doubled over, clutching her sides and laughing. She wiped her eyes and sucked in a deep breath. "Okay, even I have to admit, that was pretty funny."

He smiled. "I'm glad you're feeling better, Aqua. I like to see you smile."

"Thanks, Vanitas. I am feeling better now," She said. "I'll be going home now, okay?"

"Shall I walk you home, milady?"

"No."

Vanitas shrugged. "It was worth a shot. See ya, Aqua. I hope you like brownies, 'cause I'm bringing you some tomorrow. Look forward to it."

"Don't count on it!" She called over her shoulder. To herself she smiled. Maybe Vanitas wasn't so bad. And she did like brownies.

"Hey, Aqua? You okay?" Kairi asked.

They were in the middle of walking to school, and Aqua felt more tired than usual. She was sure it was the stress, and the confusion that happened yesterday. She didn't really want to think about it too much, so she said, "Um, yeah, I'm fine."

"You've been really out of it lately. You look like you could use a good pick-me-up," Kairi commented.

"That sounds nice," Aqua said. "What did you have in mind?"

Kairi shrugged. "Ah, you know. The usual. How does shopping on Friday afternoon sound to you?"

"Sounds like a plan," She said.

"Good. I hate seeing you so down. Wanna tell me what's up?"

"Well…" Aqua hesitated. "It's nothing important."

"I kind of doubt that," Kairi crossed her arms. "But I won't ask. Just cheer up, okay?"

"Yeah, you're right," Aqua said half-heartedly. She didn't want to think too hard about what was really bothering her.

When Vanitas didn't show up to annoy her on Monday, Aqua was relieved.

When Vanitas didn't show up on Tuesday, Aqua wondered if he was out with a cold.

When Vanitas didn't show up on Wednesday, Aqua started to get worried, but then had to mentally slap herself for worrying about the person who constantly made her life miserable.

When Vanitas didn't show up on Thursday, Aqua seriously started to think something was wrong.

When Vanitas didn't show up on Friday, Aqua was in a state of mental panic. And then she started to question herself.

"Why the heck am I even worried about him?" She said out loud.

"Worried about who?" Namine asked.

"Vanitas," Aqua said. "He hasn't bothered me all week."

"Isn't that good news for you?" Kairi asked.

"It's weird," Aqua insisted. "I don't know why but it's just so weird."

"You miss him?" Namine teased.

"I don't know, I guess I just got so used to him following me every day of the week that it feels strange when he's not there," Aqua tried to explain.

"Oh my God, you actually miss him!" Namine gasped.

"Is she saying what I think she's saying?" Kairi whispered to Namine.

"Aqua, are you… in love with Vanitas?" Namine asked in disbelief.

"What? No, I'm not…"

"You don't sound so sure," Namine said.

"I'm not in love with him," Aqua said again. "I- I'm not, okay?"

"Uh-huh," Kairi raised an eyebrow.

"My common sense begs to differ," Namine said.

"Mine too," Kairi nodded.

"I still don't give a crap about what your common sense thinks," Aqua mumbled.

"Aqua loves Vanitas! Aqua loves Vanitas!" Kairi said in a sing-song voice.

"I don't. I don't," Aqua repeated it like a mantra.

"It sounds like you're just trying to convince yourself now," Namine folded her arms. "Face it, Aqua. You love the guy. Simple as that."

Aqua failed to say anything.

"You do!" Kairi squealed. "I can't believe it, you like Vanitas!"

A blush spread across Aqua's face. "I'm going home."

Namine and Kairi watched Aqua walk hurriedly out of the store. "Can you believe what just happened?" Kairi asked in a hushed tone as soon as Aqua was out of earshot.

"Words fail me, Kairi. I really don't know what to say. She loves him, she totally loves him," Namine said.

"How romantic," Kairi sighed.

"What is wrong with me?" Aqua thought as she walked briskly down the sidewalk. "I like Vanitas? That's just crazy."

The more she thought about it, the more Aqua started to doubt herself. The more she doubted herself, the less attentive she was to where she was going. And then she ran into Vanitas.

"Ouch!"

"Oh, I'm sorry… Vanitas?" Aqua asked.

"Oh, hey Aqua. Watch where you're going next time, okay?" He grinned crookedly as he rubbed her arm. "Wouldn't want you to hurt yourself."

"Um, yeah, thanks," She mumbled and averted her gaze.

Vanitas rocked back and forth on his heels. "So, how's your week going?"

"Fine, I guess. Hey, that reminds me! Where've you been all week?" She asked.

"In school."

"Yeah, okay, I knew that, genius," Aqua said. "What I meant was why didn't I see you all week?"

"Aw, you missed me?" Vanitas folded his hands over his heart. "You really missed me, Aqua?"

"No!" Aqua said a little too quickly. "I was just wondering if you were okay."

"You were worried about me?" He asked, even more hopefully than before. "You cared about my well-being?"

"No!" She answered again. "I just thought that… never mind what I thought."

"Let me just pretend for a moment that you were concerned about me," Vanitas said happily. "It made it sound like you like me!"

Aqua blushed and said nothing.

Vanitas stopped. "Wait, why aren't you denying it? Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, Aqua, do you like me? For real?"

"…No."

"I'm not convinced," He said. "I think you like me back!"

"…No."

"I think I need to sit down here. I'm getting a little dizzy from all this. Am I dreaming? Do you really like me, Aqua?" Vanitas asked.

"…"

Vanitas gently held Aqua's hand in his and brushed her bangs out of her face. She reluctantly looked up at him. "Aqua," He said softly. "I like you. I really do."

"I know," She whispered.

"Do you… like me, too?"

"…" She said.

"What was that? I couldn't hear you."

"…I like you, Vanitas. I like you, too." Aqua said.

"Wow, who knew that it would work?" He asked, a triumphant expression on his fae.

"What worked?" Aqua asked warily.

Vanitas shrugged. "Leaving you alone for a week made you realize how much you enjoy my company. I've gotta say, the results far exceeded my expectations. So, are we a couple now?"

"Yeah, I guess," Aqua mumbled. "And you never did give me those brownies."

Vanitas smiled. "You remembered."

This was the third group meeting the four of them had convened to discuss Vanitas and Aqua's relationship. It was turning into a real bonding session between them, and they often met at cafes or coffee shops to hang out. At the moment they were once again discussing their favorite couple.

Kairi took a sip from her fruit smoothie and let out a sigh. "I don't think those two are getting together anytime soon," She said. "Not with Aqua acting like that."

"You never know," Ventus said. "A miracle could happen one of these days."

"Yeah, and maybe pigs will fly next week," Terra said sarcastically. "Face it. Aqua's as stubborn as a mule. Even on the off-chance that she did like him back, there's no way she'd be willing to swallow her pride and go out with him."

"You got that right," Namine said as she stared out the window absently. "It makes you kind of want to cheer on Vanitas, doesn't it?"

"Yeah," Everyone said in unison.

"I hate to admit it, but I think I'm okay with the idea of them going out," Terra said as he stirred his coffee. "I just want to stop seeing them flirting everywhere I go on campus."

"Yeah," Everyone said.

"It was cute at first, but now it's just irritating," Namine agreed. "I'm waiting for the day they start going out. But my God, those two are so stupid."

"Yeah," Everyone said.

"Maybe they're already together and this is all an act," Ventus suggested. "Maybe this is their idea of dating."

"I sure hope not," Terra said. "It's annoying as hell."

"I'm with you there," Namine said. "Well, not much we can do about it, is there?"

"Hey, guys," Kairi started to say. "Isn't that them?"

She was pointing out the window and the other three leaned up against the glass to look. Not too far from the café where they were currently situated stood Aqua and Vanitas. Aqua said something and Vanitas laughed. He took her hand, kissed it, and Aqua seemed to blush. They walked away, hands intertwined.

For a while, no one said anything. Finally, Namine sat back down and said, "I guess you were right, Ventus."

"They sure do look cute together," Kairi commented.

"You know, in hindsight, I wonder why I felt like I had nothing better to do than talk about their relationship. I mean, seriously? Who honestly gives a crap?" Terra said.

"Subject matter aside, I kind of enjoyed talking with you guys," Namine said. "Are you free next week Tuesday?"

"Same place, same time?" Ventus asked.

"As always," Namine replied.