Master Eraqus had to squint as he stared up towards the sunny sky. His eyes were fixated on a gigantic body of glass, wires, canvas, gears, sails, propellers, and metal that was making a graceful descent towards the ground that lay in the front of the castle. The cacophony of spinning propellers and metal parts grinding together grew louder by the second as the distance between the ground and the massive airborne hunk of machinery decreased.

Aqua and Ven came bounding down the front entrance steps of the castle where they stopped in their tracks to pause and look up at the giant object that was floating in the air.

"Whoa!" said a gawking and astounded Ven.

Shortly after Aqua and Ven arrived on the scene, from the underside of the floating object swung open a hatch and a chain ladder came tumbling down from it. Barely hitting the ground, the end of the ladder fell only a few feet away from where Master Eraqus had been standing.

"What on earth?" exclaimed Eraqus as he jumped backwards in surprise.

Aqua saw a young man with dark brown hair wearing a dull brown tweed frock coat, a black collared shirt, a silk crimson cravat, trousers in the darkest shade of brown, a double-breasted olive green vest, and brown leather dress shoes emerge from the opening of the floating machine and slowly make his way down the ladder. A huge smile spread across her face as she saw who exactly was coming down.

"Terra!"

The descending Terra paused as he heard his name being called out. Looking down below from where he was, Terra saw Aqua's delighted face smiling at him. His eyes became locked with hers and he couldn't help but smile back.

"Aqua!" he said, giving her a wave.

Aqua made her way to where the chain ladder was hanging and gripped her fingers around one of its sides. She stood and watched Terra finish the rest of his descent down the ladder's many rungs. After finally setting his feet on the last rung, Terra jumped down and landed with a soft thud on the ground.

"Terra!" said Aqua as she closed in on the young man and threw her arms around him. "I can't believe you're finally home!" She buried her head in Terra's chest as he enveloped her with his own sturdy arms.

"Aqua," Terra murmured as he leaned his head against hers, "You have no idea how happy I am to see you."

Aqua closed her eyes and sighed contently. "I missed you," she said softly.

Terra pulled away from her but continued to hold her at arm's length. "Me too," he replied. He leaned forward, and as he closed in on Aqua's face, he took her chin into both his hands and affectionately pressed his lips on her forehead.

Aqua giggled as she received Terra's kiss. She pulled him close to her and wrapped her arms around him once more, her head snuggling against Terra's chest. "Welcome back," she whispered to him.

Having lost herself in his comfortable embrace, Aqua was caught-off guard when she felt another body slam against hers and Terra's.

"Terra! It's great to see you!" cried Ven as he threw his arms around his two friends.

Terra laughed and clapped his palm over Ven's spiky golden head and rubbed it in friendly affection. "It's good to see you too, Ven! I hope you stayed out of trouble while I was away."

"Of course I did!" retorted Ven.

Terra laughed once again and grinned at the younger boy. "Relax, Ven. I'm just teasing you!" He then pulled himself away from Aqua and Ven and looked back upwards at the floating giant object. The chain ladder was being reeled back up to the opening from which it had come from. When the ladder had been completely retracted, a hatch slammed over the opening, closing it up with a loud clang. With Terra and Ven, Aqua watched as the airborne object began to rise up in the air and hover noisily above from where she and her companions were now standing.

"Hey!" Terra shouted up at the now departing object. "Thank you!"

The airborne object swiftly took to the sky and within moments, it disappeared behind the clouds.

"Terra!"

Aqua, Terra, and Ven all turned around as they saw Master Eraqus walking towards them from behind. Terra gave a curt and respectful bow of his head to the Master. "Master Eraqus."

"Terra," said Eraqus in a voice of astonishment, "What was that thing?"

"That was an airship, Master," explained Terra. "A man who I met during my travels built it himself and he was gracious enough to take me on as a passenger and offer me a ride on it for my journey back home."

"How certainly generous that was of him to offer you a ride home," said Eraqus, "But Terra, I do hope that the fact that you had somebody give you a ride back home doesn't mean that you told people about the existence of other worlds."

"Don't worry, Master. You have my word that I kept secret the existence of other worlds from the people who I met on my travels, "said Terra, "But you see, I was completely surprised when I learned that the creator of this airship and his companions had been aware of the existence of the other worlds even long before I met them."

"I see," Master Eraqus scratched his chin. "So it seems we Keyblade wielders aren't the only ones who know of the existence of the many worlds in the Realm of Light. Very well, I just wanted to make sure that you remembered to keep the existence of the other worlds a secret during your trip."

A warm smile then crept up Eraqus' face and he let out a small chuckle as he took Terra's hand into his own and he grasped it tightly. "It's wonderful to have you back home, Terra. Aqua, Ven, and myself have missed you tremendously since the day you left."

Terra shot an amused look towards Aqua. "Oh gosh – I was really that terribly missed?"

Aqua giggled. "More than you think!"

"Well!" said Terra. "Then I suppose the next time I decide to leave the Land of Departure, I'll have to prolong my travels and you'll really miss me then!"

Everyone burst out in laughter.

"Ah, Terra," said the Master as he finished laughing. "We're so happy to have you back. I sure hope you have many stories to tell us when we celebrate tonight!"

"Celebrate?" Terra asked in confusion. "Celebrate what?"

"Your return home, silly!" said Aqua. "The Master wanted to give you a warm welcome home, so he's invited a bunch of people for a small celebration in honor of your return!"

Terra looked at Eraqus in protestation. "Master, you really shouldn't have!"

"Have you forgotten that though you are my pupil, you are like a son to me, Terra?" said Eraqus. "And, like any other good father who is proud of his son, I just wanted to show you how truly proud I am of your achievements and endeavors and how far you've come along in the road of becoming a fully-fledged Keyblade Master."

Flattered, Terra blushed pink and closed his eyes as he gave another respectful bow of his head to Eraqus. "Thank you, Master. It means a lot to me."

Eraqus smiled. Then, pulling a silver colored pocket watch from the inside of his jacket, he said in a loud voice, "There isn't much time before the evening. Come along now, you three. We have a celebration to prepare for!"

After he'd returned, Aqua took Terra out with her for a walk down the Mountain Path. When they reached the Summit, they stopped and sat down next to each other at the wooden bench that was there, where they watched she afternoon sun set on the horizon. They chattered between themselves, trying to make up for lost time.

...

"Terra?" asked Aqua. The two friends sat shoulder to shoulder together on a bench that faced an utterly scenic view of a mountainous landscape with the sun in the sky descending slowly in the background.

"Hm?"

"Can I ask you something?"

Terra gazed at her kindly. "Anything, Aqua."

"Could you summon your Earthshaker for me?"

Nodding, Terra got up from his seat and held out his arm with his palm spread out. Bright streaks of light burst out and swirled around Terra's hand where a Keyblade, with a sandy brown and golden blade and a blue handle, soon appeared.

"Wow," whispered Aqua in amazement. Her eyes gleamed as she gazed admiringly at Terra's Keyblade.

"Would you like to hold it?" Terra asked, noticing the yearning look in Aqua's eyes.

Aqua smiled. "I'd love to."

"Here," said Terra, holding the weapon by the hilt as it lay flat in his palms. "Go ahead."

As if she was afraid that the Earthshaker would crumble by her touch, Aqua cautiously curled her fingers around the handle of Terra's Keyblade. She lifted it out of Terra's hands and raised it high in the air. The weapon caught a ray of setting sunlight that produced a bright and shiny gleam of light on the hilt. Clutching the Keyblade tightly, Aqua began to move her arm around in a slow and graceful motion in the air around her. She was surprised at how light the Earthshaker was, considering how heavy it looked by appearance.

Aqua heard Terra chuckle from where he stood behind her. Aqua looked over her shoulder. She glanced at him with jokingly annoyed eyes. "Something funny?"

"No," said Terra. He began to walk up to her. "You don't look half-bad, holding a Keyblade."

Aqua sighed. She hoisted the Earthshaker high up in the air again and looked at it longingly. "I just still can't believe that the Master won't let me have lessons with him."

"It's not like that, Aqua," Terra explained as he reclaimed his Keyblade and it disappeared in a burst of light a few seconds afterwards. "He just doesn't think you're ready yet, that's all."

"But, Terra," said Aqua in disappointment, "When will he think that I am ready?"

Terra placed his arm affectionately around Aqua's shoulders. "I don't know," he answered. "But don't worry about it, your time will come. I promise."

Aqua looked deeply into Terra's eyes. She could pick out the traces of confidence and hope that were that were brimming in his blue irises. It warmed her heart to know how much Terra believed in her and had faith in that she could succeed in fulfilling her goals and aspirations.

"Thanks, Terra," said Aqua.

She felt his hand graze gently down from her back and reach all the way down to where her hand was. Aqua looked up at Terra in a mix of surprise and curiosity.

"Follow me," said Terra in a gentle voice.

Nodding, Aqua let him lead her to the edge of the Summit where they saw an even more scenic landscape of mountains, valleys, streams, and gorges that lay before them. "Just look," said Terra. "Isn't it beautiful?"

"It sure is," murmured Aqua.

"One day," Terra continued, his voice in a near-whisper, "when I finally become a Keyblade Master, the Master says that all of this land—this world—will belong to me."

She then felt Terra grasp her shoulders and turn her body towards his so that she faced him. Aqua's gaze settled on his tender face and her eyes locked with his. Terra bowed his head down, pressing his brow against Aqua's. Feeling the touch of his skin made Aqua squirm with excitement.

"And," continued Terra, dropping the volume of his voice down more and more until he spoke with a whisper that was meant to be uttered under the veil of night so as to not disturb sleeping souls, "When that day comes, I want you to be there by my side, you and I—and Ven too, of course—and we'll take care of it together."

"Really?" Aqua whispered breathlessly. "Do you mean it?"

A tiny chuckle passed through his lips. "I do," he murmured.

The space between their faces had closed in so much now—so close that Aqua could feel the feathery touch of Terra's lashes as they fluttered past hers. The sound of him breathing softly made her heart beat in delight against her chest. Aqua closed her eyes, feeling the soft subtle touch of his lips that were finding their way towards hers. She became absorbed by the proximity of his face with hers, unable to resist the rapture that was emanating from their closeness. But alas, a wave of shyness suddenly overcame her, and feeling herself turn hot and pink in the face, she pulled away with a demure smile and a gentle hum of a giggle. Terra, just as shy, seemed a little offended by the abrupt end to their intimacy, but the crumpled folds of confusion in his face smoothened out and he smiled and chuckled softly at the bluenette.

"I missed you, Aqua. It's good to be with you again," said Terra.

Aqua smiled. "Me too."

The two friends then pressed the sides of their heads together affectionately as they turned to face and gaze out into the twilight sky once more. As she watched the fading sun continue to sink deep behind the horizon, Aqua could not help but tell herself, with an internal voice, "Perhaps he's in love with me after all."

She beamed in delight to herself as she reveled in her own musings.

A/N: A lot of TerrAqua fluff. By the way, did anyone pick up "The Lion King" allusion I made here? If you did, good for you. ?

I really appreciate all the reviews, views, and faves for this story so far! I'm still at the beginning and I didn't expect to attract such a considerate amount of attention at this point! Thank you so very truly much and I promise you all, the story's going to get more interesting after this point!

-gt²