DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, or anything related to them. So, no suing, alright?
A/N: This plot bunny brutally attacked me when I was hiding from my brother in my mum's cupboard. Don't judge!
Anyway, this is Sora/Aqua. Why? I... Honestly don't know. Its kinda clichéd, but I hope that you all still like it. By the way, this takes place after KHIII. This also connects with my one-shot, Before You Know It, which will hopefully explain Ven's slight OOCness in this.
The Sora/Aqua here can be viewed as friendship or romance. I wrote it with romance in mind, but if you wish to view it as friendship, feel free.
I hate the title so much...
WARNINGS: One swear word, Sora/Aqua, and mild TerAqua.
Hope you all enjoy! :)
XxXxXxXxXx
:Dreamer of Impossible Dreams:
"You can always dream; no matter how impossible that dream may be."
The sea reminded her of his eyes. And also bitterly reminded her of a romance that could never be.
Aqua was sat at the edge of the shoreline on the Destiny Islands, alone and deep in thought. Salty waves crashed against her aged metal boots, as the sun's rays glistened off the twinkling sea. It had been only been a short time since they all defeated Xehanort; hopefully, for good this time, and they were all resting at the hero's beloved home before leaving for their own Worlds and travels. Everyone was saved, but yet...
Terra had changed. A lot. He had become more wise and knowledgeable, the years of being trapped inside his own body greatly affecting him. He was still struggling to move correctly, and couldn't run that far without needing to rest his aching legs. Thankfully, he was improving.
But something else had changed. And that change cut straight into Aqua's heart.
His age.
She understood that age didn't matter in true love, but could she really love someone who was nearing thirty? While she herself was only a nineteen-year-old, a teenager still young and full of life.
Okay, so she spent eleven years in the Realm of Darkness. But she hadn't aged at all. Or at least, as much as her friend had done so.
Terra was also... missing something. A certain quality that had drawn her so easily to him in the first place. She didn't know what it was, but it was... gone. And no matter how hard she tried, she would never be able to reach it again.
A single wet droplet fell onto her azure hair, signalling the beginning of rain. Looking up in surprise, the droplet trailed down her cheek and dripped onto the grainy sand below. More pelts of water soon followed. Aqua sighed at the weather, her head hanging limply as her eyelids closed in thought; was the rain echoing her mood?
And Ventus... Just what had happened to the innocent boy who she had left behind all those years ago? Her throat suddenly clenched up at the thought; no, she hadn't abandoned him. How was she meant to have known that finding Terra would have resulted in her demise to darkness?
Now... Now he looked at her with eyes of hatred, hatred that she had never thought possible. Did he somehow know just how long he had spent alone, isolated with no companion to talk to? With only endless white walls crafted with brilliant chains and adorned Mastery symbols to keep as company?
But... His heart was inside Sora's... So, how?
Her body shook, as she began to cry in silence. She willed the tears to come out; to escape from the prisons of her eyes, but nothing came.
Why why why why why? She folded her arms on her thin knees and burrowed her head into the tiny gap, tears finally streaking down her face as her body shook in sadness.
No...
Why did all of this have to happen? They were... they were only three people who wanted to become Masters! What was so wrong with that? Why couldn't destiny have chosen another trio of Keyblade wielders to save the Worlds? Why were they chosen?
Xehanort may have finally been destroyed, but his legacy would affect her for the rest of her life. Because of him, her best friends; the ones that she had treasured, were a shadow of their former selves? Could they really return back to home, and fix things back to normal? Somehow, she doubted that would happen. Ever.
"Hey Aqua!" and there he was. The voice of the very boy who had sent her feelings wild in the first place, and had forced her to retreat to the smoothing calmness of the raindrops. Glancing upwards in surprise, she saw the silhouette of a tall boy who threw the laws of hairstyle to the wind advancing ever closer to her.
Keep calm Aqua. Keep calm...
"S-Sora?" the female asked, surprised at the boy even considering coming here to check on her. No one else had bothered to, and since it was raining...
Actually, raining was an understatement. It was more like furiously lashing down. Hailstones were prickling away at Aqua's skin, leaving tiny little bruises from where they had landed. They would hurt in the morning, but right now wasn't in the morning. It was night time, as the sun had almost vanished under the overwhelming waves.
"Whatcha doing out here? Mainly because it's raining and all, but still..." he happily settled down beside her, arm lazily slung over his right leg. Aqua glanced away at the nearby wooden boats, feeling a pang of guilt.
Terra used to always sit like that...
"N-nothing! I'm just... admiring the rain, that's all!" she replied hastily, a bit too quickly for her liking. Blushing warmly at her stuttering, she prayed that her illumined cheeks didn't stick out like lanterns. And that was one of the worst excuses ever to use for sitting outside in weather like this. Admiring the rain..?
"Aqua... Are you blushing?"
Crap.
How in Kingdom Hearts did he know that? Did he have super sight? Did he have night goggles on? Did he-
"H-hey! I was only joking! Scared of my manly looks?" Sora teased, shoving her playfully on her shoulder before bending his arms proudly, attempting to show off any muscles that he may have.
Unfortunately, he didn't really have many to call his own.
Aqua looked at him solemnly, trying to hold in the laughter that was threating to escape.
...And failed miserably. She giggled at the sight, putting her hand to her mouth to try to cover the sound. The brunet teenager only grinned wider and then stood up. Unknown to the female, an evil grin was tugging on his lips.
"Hey Aqua! Can you stand up for me?" he asked suddenly, completely catching the older teen off-guard. She frowned up at the smaller boy in confusion; the very same boy who had saved her from eternal darkness.
"Hmm... Why should I?" she asked, crossing her arms jokingly and pouting at Sora. He looked surprised at her reluctance to stand, but quickly put on puppy eyes to convince her otherwise. He had forgotten about the fact that it was pitch black, and that only their outlines could be seen.
"Aww! Come on Aqua! Please! Pretty please? Pretty pretty-"
"Okay, I'll get up," she admitted in defeat, slowly standing up. Focusing over to the sky that hung over them, she frowned at the dark clouds that were slowly gathering in the air. And to think that it was sunny not ten minutes earlier...
"Gotcha!" Sora shouted, pushing the female with all of his might into the water. Aqua squealed as she fell, and without thinking, grabbed the edge of Sora's jacket whilst falling. The boy's deep blue eyes widened in horror as he too fell into the lashing waves, landing on top of the female.A loud splash confirmed that they were both submerged in the depths of the crystal clear liquid, flailing to get out. Sora was the first person to escape, and his head exploded from underneath, sending dews of water everywhere. Shaking his head furiously to get rid of the excess water, he then began to wring out his jacket as Aqua's head appeared. She spat out a small amount of water that she had swallowed accidentally, before looking at Sora as he attempted to dry his clothing. Suddenly, she grinned widely.
"Not so fast!" she shouted, tackling the boy's waist with her arms. Sora shouted in surprise and tried to push her off, but only ended up falling in again, both of them lost to all citizens of the land. This time, Aqua was the first to emerge from the water, shaking her cerulean locks around madly to free the water trapped within. Sighing in relief, she smiled as Sora came out, taking a big breath of vital air as soon as he escaped.
"Man! You're really strong! The last time that Kairi did that to me, she ended up in the water!" he then frowned in thought, completely ignoring the drops of water sopping from his clothes, "To be honest, we were ten, and Riku kinda helped me out, and Wakka hit her with his blitz-ball, but still..."
"As long as you won in the end, it doesn't matter," she comforted, ruffling the boy's hair affectionately. It was now dropping down past his ears, instead of spiking out in ungodly directions.
Aqua had to say; it made him look very different. Almost like a-
"Race you back to the beach!" the brunet suddenly shouted, running off before Aqua could stop him. Looking at him in disbelief, she smiled fondly to herself as she took off running after him.
Running in metal shoes was a lot harder than it looked. Especially if they were wet metal shoes.
Despite the fact that she had slipped several times and very possibly gained a scar in the process, Aqua was now safely back at the beach. Her footsteps leaving behind imprinted foot prints with water forming in the cervices made, she sat down beside Sora at the shore. Busy watching the storm clouds loom over them menacingly; he hummed in surprise as he heard the sound of a body flopping to the ground.
"Mom's going make me take a shower when I get home. She hates it when I go into the sea without asking. And if Riku decides to use all of the hot water again..." The brunet murmured to himself, a faraway look in his eyes as he spoke. Aqua was looking at him the whole time as he spoke, a distant memory coming back to her.
"He's going to be in trouble?" she suggested helpfully, an image of the silver-haired teenager forming in her head as she did so. He seemed to be a kind enough teenager; definitely someone who looked like a Keyblade Master, and he cared a lot about Sora and Kairi. A bit quiet mind, when you compared him to his two best friends... It was amazing how much he had grown from that little boy that she had met right here, all of those years ago.
"Yeah! That I'll... Um..." he trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly as he did so. He gave a wide grin at the female beside him.
"I think the moon's coming out," Aqua stated simply, smiling as she felt the refreshing rain tap on her skin smoothly. Glancing up, the sight of dark rays breaking through the storm clouds was evident. Sora looked at her in surprise at her sudden comment, but then followed her glance and opened his mouth in surprise.
"Yeah..." He muttered, voice barely above a whisper as he laid back on the sand. He folded his hands behind his head and looked up again, taking in the full details of the heavenly view. A peaceful silence soon enveloped the two of them, as they both stared up at the moon that was breaking through the barrier of clouds. Aqua, out of the corner of her eye, saw a single star twinkle brightly in the night sky, and closed her eyes. Ven's cheerful voice chided in her ears.
If you see a single star in the night sky, you have to make a wish before any more show up! Otherwise, it won't come true!
"I... I wish for everything to go back to the way it was before," Aqua thought to herself, squeezing the Wayfinder in her pocket tightly as she slowly opened her azure eyes. A single tear threatened to tear down her defenses, as she recalled all of the lost memories that she had once had, at her true home.
To be greeted with the sight of Sora sitting on her stomach, playfully grinning at her. How did she not notice his weight before?
And just how did he manage to get so close?
"SORA!" Aqua screeched in horror, slapping her hands at him in a bid to get the brunet off her belly. Laughing madly and clutching his stomach, the boy rolled off laughing as Aqua glared at him in anger. The fact that she had thrown sand at him might have helped to get him off.
"Okay, okay!" he protested, shouting widely as Aqua shoved him into the water again. When he managed to free himself, he looked at the female, who had a smug look on her face.
"Never mess with a Master, Sora," she teased, rubbing his hair as soon as he had returned to her side. He frowned at her words, before crossing his arms and smiling at her.
"I'm a Master too! Okay, a recent one, but... I'm still one!" he declared, giving his famous cheeky grin at the older woman. She laughed softly at his smile, before shaking her head.
"Come on. Let's head back to the main island. I'm sure that your mom can't wait to punish you," Aqua teased, smiling as she walked alongside the younger boy. Looking up to her in surprise, Sora grinned before the wooden boats caught his interest, and another plan formed in his mind.
"Race you back to the island!" he waved at her as he ran forward, footsteps sweeping up grains of sand in Aqua's eyes as she walked behind him, smiling fondly at his actions. She rubbed the irritating sand out of her eyes, but she honestly didn't mind it.
Glancing over to the twinkling stars, she focussed on a group of three stars that seemed to shine far brighter usual. In fact, the other stars quite literally paled in comparison to those three shining ones. Grabbing the metal Wayfinder in her pocket, it chimed gently as she glazed outwards, eyes sparkling in thought as the stars danced off them.
She couldn't help but fall for him... He was the best of both worlds. The appearance of Terra and the innocence of Ventus.
And although it could never happen, she could always dream, couldn't she?
XxXxXxXxXx
A/N: Anyone else a bit freaked out at the angsty start but then the light-hearted finish? I know I am! I had also a sad ending, which involved Aqua running off and not talking to Sora anymore, but I decided against that.
I honestly don't know what brought this on. I guess... Boredom?
Anyway, critiques and advice on how to improve this is always more than welcome. What did you like about this? What did you hate? Loathe? Please tell!
Thank you for reading this, and reviews are greatly received with love, but not needed. To be honest, I'll be surprised if this did get a review.
-Bond Of Flame08-