Disclaimer: I don't own the material from Kingdom Hearts or the songs used for inspiration. The challenge belongs to Lien-Hua, but I own all the written work. :)

A/N: Update… Yes… |D Haha! Um, no excuses because that isn't fun. Just be happy I updated one of my stories? Yay? -shot- OTL Anyways! This one got a little hard to write. I had so many different scenarios, but none of them would stick. This scenario seemed to be the easiest to write, though I think it leaned a bit on the original source of where the song is from. I really wanted to write something with snow, but it just would not pan out. :'D Maybe one of the future prompts I have… Haha. Funny thing is, when I was writing about the fireworks, I was reminded of one of my really early TerQua drabbles… I feel like this was kind of a nod to that one (if that made any sense). xD

Booo…I really love this song. The singer just has a lovely voice and the melody (at the beginning anyways) sounds like a music box/lullaby. It reminded me of snow; hence why I originally wanted to mention snow at all in this theme. :P

But anyways, thanks for reading and reviewing! Kudos to PrincessGarnet17, GoldenDragon326, KAISRE, Terra ForceXIII, Legendary Dark Knight's Throne, WishingDreamer5, Jennifer Rose Swanepoel (formerly Lien-Hua I believe), KHLegacy, resistance123, becksterRES, Rapis-Razuri, RealmofDawn, robyn little, Salve-SiS, AquaStormXIV, SoraSakuraba896, Damonica, PromiseInTheRain, Peppermint-n-Spice, Guest, HeartofFyrwinde, AmuletMisty, and pikachu203 for taking the time to review the first batch of chapters! :) The support is much appreciated!

Genres/Warnings: Drama/Slight Romance; no explicit warnings.
Song Link (YouTube): /watch?v=KdTntbSpIIM (turn on the captions for translated lyrics)
Timeline: Speculative Post-KH3
Mini-Summary: Just a moment of understanding… It's funny how something like fireworks could bring back memories of a simpler time.

.: Eternal Love :.

"There was never any doubt that the two of us wouldn't be able to face tomorrow, was there?"

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

Sometimes it was hard to believe how far the people of this world have come in less than a few years. From what Aqua was told, Radiant Garden had fallen more than a decade ago; one year after she plunged into the darkness to save a dear friend. It pained her to know her sacrifice did more harm than good, but she supposed that didn't matter as much now that the people were rebuilding their future.

An honest smile lit her face as she walked down a reconstructed street within the castle town. People were flocking towards the square in merriment and children – children – were all smiles as they played and chased each other; rings of laughter echoing into the evening. A festival was taking place in celebration of the rebirth of what was once called the City of Light.

"You're awfully happy."

That familiar voice caused Aqua to stop walking momentarily. Her eyes darted to the side before facing forward again as her smile struggled to widen. "I guess the atmosphere's rubbing off on me." Aqua only heard a quiet snort and a curt laugh escaped her. Locking her hands behind her back, she looked up at the stars and listened as music poured out from the square. "Terra, why are you standing in an alleyway by yourself?"

"I didn't want to be seen by anyone," he replied; Aqua knowing there was a deeper implication in his words. When the Keyblade Master finally glanced at him with her full attention, she took note of the effort Terra took to conceal himself. He leaned back into the shadows against the wall; arms crossed and the hood of a cloak hiding his face. She was well aware that his eyes were on her.

"You've made yourself known to me."

"You're an exception. I didn't want people of this world seeing me."

Aqua frowned. She walked up to him, trying to catch his eyes now that he looked away. "Then tell me, Terra, why would you come here if that's the case?"

He was quiet for a moment before stammering. "I…I just wanted to…"

"…You were patrolling for Heartless." Once Terra stiffened, Aqua knew she was right. Another giggle escaped her as she walked down the street again. "Funny. I thought of doing the same thing before being dismissed."

"Dismissed?" Aqua didn't have to turn around to know Terra was following her shortly after a hesitant step out of the darkness.

She nodded, replying, "That Leon guy said he and his friends could take care of things; although I'm 'paraphrasing' his words. Still…he didn't turn me away completely. He said I should stay for the fireworks display."

"Tonight?" Terra blinked in surprise.

"Yeah. I mean, that's why people are so festive after all," Aqua explained. She teased while attempting to look under the brunet's hood. "Don't tell me you've been that oblivious. The atmosphere is so obvious!"

He sighed in a mixture of annoyance and fatigue, gazing at her with a weak smile. "You're probably right. Then again, I'm avoiding large crowds of people remember? A festival is the least of my worries."

Aqua returned to full height, realizing how inconsiderate she was. Of course Terra wouldn't have noticed. His reasons for avoiding people, keeping a lookout for stray Heartless, and hiding his face under a hood… Terra was ashamed of himself for what he did – what Xehanort did – to this world. It was an obligation Terra felt necessary as a means of redemption and he couldn't show his face until he'd proven himself worthy. Terra…he was too altruistic now. It made her tighten a fist as she glanced to the side.

"You should enjoy the festival, Aqua. Forget about the Heartless."

"Will you?" Her response baffled Terra. Aqua looked up at him pleadingly. "Stop acting like you have to take the burden by yourself. You don't have to do it alone because I…Terra, I—"

Her train of thought was interrupted by a loud bang in the sky. Both Keyblade wielders looked up to see bright lights exploding in the air in a variety of colors; people cheering in the distance as more lights exploded. Aqua couldn't rip her eyes away from the sight. The fireworks reminded her so much of the meteor showers back home…and she wouldn't doubt Terra was thinking the same thing.

Slowly looking at him – the brunet still mystified by the brilliant colors – Aqua thought for a moment before quickly pulling down his hood. Terra snapped out of his daze and stared at her, confusion written all over his face. She could only smile affectionately; reassured that Terra was still there underneath that hood. "You don't have to hide, Terra. You still have people who believe in you."

The brunet remained silent even as people passed by them without a second glance. It was like nothing else mattered but them as blue gazes mixed together. Terra broke away first with a small quirk of his lips and that caused Aqua to laugh. "You made a wish on those fireworks didn't you?"

Aqua hummed, fighting off the blush that wanted to cross her face. "They're 'wishing fireworks'. At least, that's what Aerith said—"

She was rendered speechless when Terra threw his arm around her, pulling her closer to his side until she was sharing his cloak. Terra was so warm and Aqua unconsciously leaned against him while snaking her own arms around his waist. She was thankful that no one was around at that moment.

"You don't have to lie, Aqua. If I remember correctly, you used to do that all the time when we were kids, except the 'fireworks' were meteor showers." Terra smugly smiled.

"You aren't wrong, but you aren't right either," Aqua retorted; eyes to the sky. If she could feel bliss like this – even for just a short while – then Aqua would welcome it…

"…Hey."

"Hmm?"

But perhaps one of her wishes came true when Terra leaned down and took her breath away.