This story was written as practice in order to get back into the groove of writing. I recently finished the Kingdom Hearts series and fell in love with these two characters. Enjoy!

Chapter 1

Summer was just beginning to settle in Radiant Garden. Sea salt ice cream sales were booming, Heartless and Nobodies were nowhere to be found, and life overall was just worth living. Terra could not have thought of a better place to settle with Ven and Aqua. The house they were living in was their castle, or at least that was what Ven liked to call it. Terra could agree in a heartbeat that getting to share a small home with his two best friends was like paradise.

Or, at least, it was supposed to be.

It had been six weeks since Aqua's behavior had changed. Terra had counted the days. She hardly ate and would not spar with him and Ven like she used to. She rarely even left her room. There had been attempts on both the young men's parts to figure out what was wrong with her, but she would just act as if she had no issue at all. Pinpointing her ailment was something that had eluded Terra since the problem first started because it was so inconsistent. She could be fine one day and not the next. Even her eyes did not have the same look they used to. Before, Terra would have said they reminded him of the ocean on a vacation worthy day. He would gladly take an offer to get lost in them.

"Terra! The Bacon!"

Both Ven's voice and the aroma of burning meat snapped Terra out of his thoughts. He had been lost in a daydream about that ocean and forgot that he was cooking his and Ven's breakfast. Thinking quickly, he took the bacon off the stove and grabbed three plates, putting some meat on each one. Ven frowned as his older friend set the third plate down.

"Aqua usually would die for bacon," Ven said, grabbing a piece of it from his plate. His gaze went to the stairs that led to their bedrooms. "Do you think she's gonna skip out on training again today?"

Terra's eyes looked to the steps, then to Aqua's spot at their table. He knew she would come for the food later. He and Ven would often come back from training to find the plate he would set for her empty. At least she was eating; it was the company she was avoiding. He gave Ven a small nod.

"I'll try asking her if she's coming today, but I have the feeling we both know the answer." Terra rose and put his plate in the sink.

"I wonder if I should change my approach this time," he thought as he went up the stairs. He thought of a few methods that were different than his usual way of asking, but cleared them all out of his head. None of them were good enough. He sighed as his foot hit the top step. He wanted to see her, to spend actual time with her instead of ask just a quick yes or no question. Sometimes getting to ask if she would come down was his one time he would get to even be near her that day. He never felt like those short visits were enough. He missed being around her, to watch her movements as she sparred, to see her intense focus as she read countless books, to having to catch her as she dozed off if they stayed up too late.

He missed his Aqua.

Terra gulped as that idea crossed his mind. Sure, they were best friends, but he had hoped that, someday, she could be more to him than that. He waited patiently for her, wondering when she would catch on about how he felt about her. She, however, seemed oblivious.

"Maybe if I told her, she would… no, now's not the time," he thought as he knocked on the door. A sound from behind the door made his heart sink. It was an ugly sound that Terra could not quite put his finger on what it was. After it stopped, there was silence for a minute before Aqua cracked the door open.

"Hey, it's Terra," he made his voice softer. "Can I come in?"

Aqua opened the door a little wider, revealing her face. She was devoid of color. Her eyes seemed to have a layer of fog over the oceanic blue.

"What is it?" she mumbled.

"Well," Terra scratched his nose as an unpleasant aroma from inside the room hit him. "I was going to ask if you were feeling up to training, but I guess not. Did you just throw up? Can I get you something?"

"I'm fine, you guys go ahead," Aqua went to shut the door, but Terra caught it with his hand.

"Please, Aqua, you're obviously not fine. Ven and I are worried about you. Tell me what's going on."

Aqua stared at the floor.

"I can't stand to see you like this," Terra went to reach for her with his free hand, but felt an ache in his stomach as Aqua lightly pulled back. She started to look up at him, but then averted his gaze.

"I'm sorry," she whispered as she started to weakly pull the door from Terra's grip. He did not fight her as it closed. A sigh escaped Terra as he leaned on the wall. He whispered her name, rubbing his face with his hands.

When he looked up, he saw a picture of himself with Aqua and Ven on the wall down the hall. It was of the day they had first moved into their house. A smile crept onto Terra's face as he took a closer look at it. Aqua's smile in the photograph was so big and toothy, one could have mistaken it for Ven's. He looked back to her door. He wondered what could have caused that happiness to disappear from her and hoped she would smile like in the picture again someday.

Seeing Ven in the picture reminded Terra that the boy was probably waiting for him. He went down the steps, his Keyblade appearing in his hand. Ven's smile appeared, but then shrank when Terra came outside alone.

"Still not again today?" the blond asked. Terra shook his head. His eyes went up to Aqua's bedroom window. He though he saw her behind the curtains.

"Do you still want to train today?" Ven poked Terra's shoulder. "Maybe if we give Aqua a good performance, she'll want to join us."

Terra doubted that, remembering that she was sick, but figured he needed a distraction so he could have a clear head on how to help her. He turned to his friend and smiled.

"You're on."