Disclaimer: All characters belong to Disney/Square Enix. Please check the notes at the end!
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Part 2 - Kiss me twice
"I still don't like this."
At the sound of her voice, Terra flinched, dropping a bolt into the open engine compartment. He was hunched over one of Cid's gummi ships, checking the levels of various liquids while Cid was working under the ship. On the other side of the ship, Aqua and Ven were checking the equipment they needed.
"Oh come on, Aqua," he heard Ven reply cheerfully, "you know this is our best chance now."
It truly was their best bet as of now. Right after Sora had returned to ask Yen Sid about the Book of Prophecies that Xehanort had recently acquired, he had summoned a meeting of all present Keyblade Wielders. It turned out that the book was a very important artifact, thought to be lost for so long it was barely more than a legend. A book that supposedly held details about the first Keyblade War.
"Going into Xehanort's hideout to steal a book that may or may not help us and that you may or may not even find is our best chance?"
"We will find it," he heard Ven trying to convince Aqua, "Terra remembers Xemnas looking for it and he knows what the book is supposed to look like. Sora mentioned that power emanated from it, it will stand out from any pile it might be hidden in. By the way, we are low on elixirs."
Terra finally got hold of the bolt again and screwed it on when he heard the low clinking of glass from the other side of the ship. Judging by Ven's upbeat "Thank you!", Aqua must have shared her spares elixirs with him. He went back to his own thoughts as he proceeded to check the oil.
Everyone had agreed that the book might be important enough for them to risk breaking into the Castle that Never Was, and after some discussion, it was determined that he and Ven were to go.
And that was where Aqua's problem lay.
"But why you two?!"
Terra sighed and wiped off the dipstick before screwing it in again.
"You were there when we talked about it, " Terra could basically hear Ven's eyeroll in his words, "we are the only two who might sneak in and out totally undetected."
Ven was right. They had debated it back and forth, but it made perfect sense. Whether Terra liked it or not, his time fused with Xehanort lead to them having a similar presence, a similar smell so to speak. If everything went according to plan, they wouldn't even realize Terra had entered the Castle because they would just feel Xehanort's presence. The same was true for Ven and Vanitas – being two sides of a coin, he was the other person who was least likely to be recognized in the Castle.
"Emphasis on might," Terra heard Aqua add with a small huff and it sent a stab through his heart.
Everyone had agreed on the plan and decided he and Ven were the best hope they had.
Everyone except Aqua.
She hadn't outright protested, only questioned why the two of them had to go and why she and Riku couldn't take over the mission, but that had been enough confirmation for Terra that she didn't trust him. And it hurt.
Terra knew he deserved it in some way. Nobody could deny that he had been the big villain for the last decade, whether it had been involuntary or not. But while it had taken them a while to warm up to each other again – and it was mostly to him trying to keep his distance – he felt like they had been making progress after the night they had ended up accidentally falling asleep next to each other in the kitchen. Ever since that night, they had shared all their fears and nightmares and started sleeping next to each other since it kept their nightmares at bay.
Terra had thought that Aqua trusted him again, like she did before his failed Mark of Mastery, before their lives started crumbling down into the mess they were in now, but apparently she didn't.
"Look, Aqua."
To Terra's surprise, he heard Ven groan loudly. "Xehanort risked this guy named Marluxia being killed by Sora only to retrieve this book. He still hasn't filled his thirteen Darknesses and yet he risks having to claim another one? And not only that, I feel it. I can't explain why, but something about this book makes me very uncomfortable, tells me to go and get the book. That it shouldn't be in Xehanort's hands under any circumstances."
"Nothing should be in Xehanort's hands," Aqua agreed and Terra agreed, too. He gently let the cowl fall shut at the same time that Cid rolled out from under the ship and started to clean his grease stained hands on a towel.
"Alright, this baby's ready for take off. You done, too?"
"Yeah, everything's good."
"Great! You remember the controls?"
Terra nodded – he had plenty of experience driving his Keyblade glider after all.
"Well, I'll be off then. Good luck on your mission."
"Thanks, Cid."
The two of them shook hands and as soon as Cid had disappeared from the hangar, Terra begrudgingly rounded the gummi ship to meet Ven and Aqua.
"You guys ready?"
"I think so," Ven replied quickly and met Terra on the outside of the ship. Aqua on the other hand let her eyes run over the equipment one last time before she followed Ven outside.
"Alright then, it's time," Aqua sighed, but put a smile back on her face quickly. She carefully brushed Ven's fringe to one side and pressed her lips in a soft kiss against his forehead.
"Good luck. Take care."
She turned to Terra and he immediately stiffened beneath her eyes. Seemingly unaware of it, Aqua took a step towards him and grasped his bicep gently to tug him down. When he didn't budge, Aqua started to frown.
"Come on, get down here, you're too tall," she teased with a warm smile, but Terra started to gently pluck her fingers off of his arm. As if he had burnt her, she pulled her hands away from it quickly, cradling them against her chest, and the hurt in her eyes pained him enough that he had to avert his eyes.
"Terra –"
"I'll prove it to you, okay?"
After a few seconds of silence, he heard Aqua's voice shaking.
"What do you mean?"
Terra sighed and started to rake his hands through his hair, doing his best to avoid her glance.
"I know you don't trust me right now," he began again, "and it's okay. I get it. I deserve it. But I will make sure that this mission is a success. I will prove it to you that you can trust me again."
"What are you talking about?"
Exasperated, he finally met her eyes again and was taken aback by the confusion in them.
"You were against this mission. Against Ven and me going. And I understand that you have your doubts about me being able to finish this mission, but I promise, I will retrieve the book. I will bring back Ven safely."
"Oh Terra," her eyes softened and her entire body seemed to deflate, "is that what you've been thinking? Is that why you ran off without a single glance back?"
"I want to earn your trust back," he replied, but before he could continue, something soft collided with him. Terra looked down and realized that Aqua had thrown herself at him, arms wrapped around his midriff as she hugged him tightly.
"Sorry," she muttered into his chest, "I am so sorry. Terra, that's not what I meant at all." She pushed herself off of him to face him, but Terra quickly reached for her shoulders so she wouldn't leave completely.
"Of course I am against the two of you going. But not because I don't trust you. Terra, I just got you back, both of you. I'm terrified of losing you again." Her lower lip started to tremble. "I hate how I have to stay here and hope you two return safely. I trust you, but I've been away from you so long that I want to make sure for myself that you two are safe."
Terra swallowed hard. He hesitantly raised his hand and when Aqua didn't move away, he gently brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. He needed to hear it again.
"You trust me?"
The corners of Aqua's lips curled up and he could swear he had never seen her eyes shine as brilliantly as they did at this moment.
"Of course I do. With my life. I've always trusted you with my life."
Without further thought, Terra pulled Aqua closer, causing her to stumble against him, but her short yelp was quickly smothered by his lips pressing against hers.
At once, he felt peace wash over him. This was it. This felt right, better than the thrill of summoning his Keyblade, better even than banishing Xehanort from his body once and for all.
Enveloped in Aqua's lavender scent, Terra finally felt home.
Then why didn't she return the kiss?
The peaceful sensation was quickly replaced by dread. She didn't return his feelings and he probably just destroyed their decade old friendship, not to mentionthe last ounce of trust she had had in him.
He carefully placed his hands on her shoulders and pushed gently, taking a shaky breath. He didn't dare to open his eyes and squeezed them shut instead.
"Aqua, I am so–"
Aqua's fingers curled into his T-shirt and pulled him close until their lips met once again.
Without missing a heartbeat, Terra wrapped his arms around her waist strong enough to momentarily lift her off of the ground. He used her squeal of surprise to deepen their kiss and reveled at the fact that he heard the tiniest of sighs escape her before her lips – softer than he ever had dared to imagine – curled up to a smile against his when he used one of his hands to nudge her chin up to meet his kiss better.
Oh how he loathed the moment when he had to pull away again to breathe.
Unable to part for too long, he bumped his forehead against Aqua's breathing heavily as he felt Aqua smooth out the wrinkles her strong grip had made into his shirt. It did nothing to calm his frantically beating heart.
A small squeak that was decidedly not his or Aqua's pulled Terra back into the harsh reality that not only did they have a spectator, but they also had a mission.
Castle that Never Was. Xehanort. Book of Prophecies.
He sighed inwardly and brushed his nose lovingly against Aqua's while keeping his eyes closed. He wanted to cherish every single second of this.
"We'll come back to you. I promise."
"I know you will."
She pushed herself out of Terra's half-embrace and he was ready to bemoan the loss of her warmth when he felt her lips against his cheek.
"For good luck," Aqua explained with a smile as Terra opened his eyes in surprise. He loved how radiant her flushed face looked.
"Be safe."
Big shoutout to 0littlelight0 on tumblr! She did some amazing Terraqua art for me last year (that ff net won't let me link obviously) that fits with the story. Please check her out and send her lots of love!