Good morning! Time for a short yet sweet story about a very specific father. Hope you'll enjoy!
"Ouch - Aqua pinched me!"
"But Terra pulled my hair first!"
"Did not!"
"Did too!"
Eraqus sighed. It was early in the morning. Way too early for trouble. Except it never was too early for these two, as the Master had learnt the hard way.
They would bicker over breakfast. They would fight in the middle of a lesson. They would yell at each other on lunch break. They would call each other names while brushing their teeth. And he suspected they even woke up in the middle of the night to prank one another.
He had never asked to be a dad. Never even considered the thought. Celibacy was a fitting way of life for him, and building a family had never been a priority or a concern. Fighting darkness, doing what was right, these had been his way of being satisfied for many years.
But he loved these children as his own now, and he could not imagine a life without them. From the day they became his apprentices, he had raised them, watched them grow, gaining confidence and talent. Despite the bickering, he knew they loved one another very deeply, too. They weren't even ten yet, but they were both very promising.
And loud, and whiny, and very, oh so very troublesome.
He had never planned to become a father, but from the second he took them under his care, he knew he would do anything for them to be safe and happy. He used to fight Darkness because that was the right thing to do, but now he did it to ensure the world would be a safer place, praying he would be able to shield them from such perils, all while teaching them how to fight it themselves.
He watched them fight and he would remember how Xehanort and him used to do the exact same thing, forging a bond that nothing could ever break. He wasn't sure where his old friend was now, but he knew that they were still connected by that friendship. By that will to make the world a better place.
"Aaaah, Master! Terra bit me!"
"But Aqua just kicked me! Master, tell her to stop!"
He rolled his eyes, finally putting his book down to tend to his apprentices. They were still children, and they had many things to learn.
And as their Master, their teacher, and, he hoped, as their surrogate dad, he would teach them all they needed to know.
This reminds me of the days when I was writing fics about these two as kids Q^Q
Next theme is "Wanna be her"~