[I just want to say that if this story doesn't update for a long time. It is because im storing up chapters. I always write a chapter and edit it after. And I still have to edit some more]

Aqua swept the dust from the broken table. Ventus picked up the pieces of wood and carried them into the living room. He waltzed back to the kitchen and gawked at his mother.

"Mommy?" Aqua lamented and forced herself to look at her son. "Yes, Ven?"

"You... You aren't mad at Daddy, are you?" A jolt discharged within her. "What do you mean Ven?" She feared the answer. Terra settled in the living room, wiping the blood from his face. "Ven, come here. Don't bother your mother..."

Aqua didn't want Ven near him. The answer to the question, yes, she was livid. Terra's presence made her blood boil. He had done far too much damage in her life. She couldn't allow Ven to get wrap in the nonsense.

"Ven!" she called him. "Yes, mama?" he turned around, his eyes made her heart and rage die. "Mama isn't mad at Daddy."

Aqua switched her focus on Terra, recline on the couch. "But she wishes Daddy wasn't so," she bit down on her lip. "Stupid."

"Huh?" Ven turned to his father. "Why are you stupid, Daddy?"

Terra laughed, "Daddy isn't stupid. Ya see Ven, sometimes you have people that think one way. And others try to stop them from imagining about that thing they don't approve of."

"Is Mommy trying to get you to think different?"

"MOMMY!" Aqua blurted. "Wants Daddy to understand a pot of gold under the damn rainbow doesn't fucking mean that life will be rich forever! And the gold he found is wrecking his life!"

Terra glared, he sat further back on the sofa, "Mommy, doesn't accept that the pot of gold makes Daddy happy! Daddy knows the gold is evil and he shouldn't have taken it!"

"If Daddy fucking knew the gold was bad, why did Daddy take the gold!"

The two went back and forth, leaving Ventus in utter confusion. He understood was gold being under the rainbow and it was wrong. Aqua argued, "The gold is cursed!"

"It may be cursed, but it makes me rich!"

"How! The gold is changing you!" She fought back the pressure behind her eyes. "Gold isn't everything! It doesn't make me happy, it doesn't make the marriage easy. What if you shared that gold with your son? Huh, Terra? Would you be happy knowing the gold got into the hands of your child!?"

Her voice was brittle. She crumbled, gasping for the air she wanted. Ven looked on worried. He ran to his mother grabbing her pants leg. "Daddy you made mommy cry!"

Terra didn't say a word.

Aqua faced her son, she patted his head. "Ven, baby, go to your room. Mommy's okay. Daddy and I need to talk."

He clung harder. "Ven... do as your told, please?"

"Mommy..."

Terra rubbed his face, he shot from the couch, "Oh fuck's sake! VENTUS GO TO YOUR FUCKING ROOM!"

Ventus gulped and raced to his room. He shut the door with a bang and locked it. "Terra!" Aqua declared. He came around to her side and gripped her arm, digging his nails in her. "Give me 500 and I'll leave"

"Did you listen-"

"No! Fuck no! I didn't listen the first, second or third and I sure as hell ain't listening now."

Once, they both could return, 'I love you' and it ended the argument. This wasn't one of those times. She landed her palm on his, not to tell him to let go but to try at saying 'Stop doing this'. His grasp tightened answering, 'I won't'.

"Fine... you need 500? There's 3,500 behind my bedframe. I was saving it for Ven's birthday. Take that since you don't care."

His grasp loosened, "You can do more for Ven than I can... when I'm not strong, at least he has his mom."

"So, you're leaving me with a son?" Aqua's lip shook. Terra eyed her, "You have something good from me. That's what you have..."

He worked to the bedroom and pulled that pouch from behind the frame. Aqua stood in the kitchen, she didn't want him to walk out the door. When he moved out of the room. He headed straight for the door. Terra used to berate himself up for not kissing his wife before work.

The moment his fingers touched the knob. His right ear burned at her voice, "Do you still love me, Terra!?"

He blinked, his lips parted and closed. He glanced at her. If he said it, he'd be lying.

HeartHive

A week later

Aqua shut the locker. She wore the company's dark slate grey guard uniform. She pulled the sleeves up and shuttered at Dilan standing next to her. "For the love of shit, Dilan!"

Dilan hadn't spoken to Aqua an entire week. He glanced her way and bumped her shoulder but never spoke a word. "How's Ven?"

"Alive..."

Dilan crossed his eyes, "Okay, smartass."

"Thank you, Mr. Petty," her toothy grin earned sneer from him. "How long are you going to keep being a bitch?"

Aqua cocked a brow, "How long can you ignore my existence?"

"Not forever. I recall, my father, your father, told us to watch one another and I'm not about to die one day and have the old man yelling at me."

"Obeying Daddy's last words, huh?" she paced by him, grazing her shoulder against his arm. "Did you let him stay?"

"No. He left..." she bore over her shoulder. "With 3500."

"3500!"

"He doesn't love me. It's done. I have a son and no husband," she exited the locker room. The words that left her ripped the hole she covered up. That's all she had, a son, a brother, and her fucked life.

Guard duty at HeartHive wasn't a fun job. She patrolled around the space with Aeleus and daydreamed. When her mind thought about Terra, she sang. Aeleus would catch her, flabbergasted why. Around lunchtime. The guards sat under a gazebo on the property. "I hate my job," Leon took a bite from his sandwich. "We literally don't do shit all day..."

"Leon aren't you good at computers?" questioned Dilan. "I heard you used to be a tech-savvy person."

"For a bank..." Leon took another bite before finishing it and grabbing the next slice. "Before that I was... uh... delivery guy"

"You don't say?"

"Collector" corrected Cloud.

"I traveled to people's doors. Sold things."

"Local street thug beating people out of their money."

Leon eyed Cloud, he set his sandwich in front of him. "Will you shut the fuck up?"

"Sounds like a mercenary..." noted Aqua. "Sounds fun."

Leon's eyes expanded. "Huh? No... I-"

"Went to jail a few times. Ask Tifa."

"Cloud I swear to fuck."

"That's gay of you..."

Aeleus snorted, covering his lip to not lose his food. "Hey, Aqua. What's that cut under your chin?"

She rubbed her chin and thought of a lie. "My son and I were arguing. He gets hyper, and he threw his toy truck at me."

"That's peculiar. My nephew isn't the type to throw objects at his mother for any reason," Dilan popped a potatoes chip in his mouth. They locked views, challenging each other.

Central Square Boulevard

"Why did you hop in my car?" Aqua kept her eyes to the road as she communicated to Dilan. He ran a hand through his cornrows. "Because you're stupid fucking husband blew my car."

"What?" her eyes darted his way. "He wouldn't do that."

"He was high enough to beat your ass."

"Dilan!" she bellowed. "Are you going to hold that against me? You think I liked getting manhandled by my husband?"

"Yes." Aqua's jaw dropped, "You're a bitch." Dilan nodded his head, "He could have done it again. But you kicked me out of the house."

"Are you fucking serious Dilan!"

"Where did the scar come from?" she had forgotten and wanted to forget. Aqua didn't want to tell him after a week. "Can we not do this now? While I'm driving?"

"No! I want to drive around looking for him so he never does it again!"

"Dilan let it go!"

"WHAT—no wait," he laughed. His hands covering his face, he rubbed his chin. "Let me get this straight. You do not want me to hurt him because you still love him?"

No? Yes? Yes. Aqua didn't want to admit it. "I'm not having this discussion with you. He's still my husband."

"We threw the fucking ring in the lake!"

"I DON'T WANT TO GIVE UP ON HIM!" She pulled the car to the curve. Aqua pressed her head against the stirring wheel. She bawled, choking and gasping. Dilan attended to his sister broken. "My sister used to kick ass. In the military, in war, I've seen you break a man's arm. Flew a fucking plane—my sister is a beast! What the fuck is this?"

"A woman that has had enough! I'm tired D! I want my family back! I want my husband back! I'm tired of my son asking me where daddy is!" She strained her throat. "And I can't explain to him that daddy isn't coming home because he loves getting high more than us!". Dilan reached out and grasped her hand. "Get out the car."

After some coaxing and big brother love. Dilan and Aqua leaned against the white car watching cars dash by. In Dilan's hands, a cylinder wrapped in substance foreign to her. He handed it to Aqua, "Dilan, I don't smoke."

"I do, takes the stress off me."

"Is it legal?"

"Girl take the fucking thing!" he shook the rolled object at her. Aqua took it reluctantly. She took a drag, sucked in air, and blew a cloud of smoke. "Already know how to use it..."

"From watching Terra…" she examined the stick. "Elixir leaves..." he commented.

"Yeah, sure, let's call it that..."

They smoked the leaves and relaxed, Dilan faced her before breaking the silence. "I don't want you out here scared or confused. I want my sister happy. I don't like knowing a fool hurt you. Tell me, what did Terra do?"

She glazed her eyes over at him and took another drag. "The day he barged in the house. We fought and the kitchen and he..." she drew a breath. "He put a knife I had against me. That's it."

"Jesus... Aqua."

"If I told you I knew you'd be ready hunt him down..."

Dilan rotated his eyes, "No shit. I'm your brother-"

"Half,"

Dilan poked out his lips, "If you lost your left ass cheek and I gave you my left ass cheek. That's a whole cheek but! It is still my ass. Being your half-brother doesn't me I stop looking after you."

Aqua gazed at the clouds, "I don't think that's the right analogy-"

"Fuck the analogy! You are my sister, half or not, I will always be around to defend you or do whatever the fuck I need to do! Supporting raising Ven to fucking up the bitch that hurt you. I am still your brother. Half don't mean shit."

Aqua had two things. A son and a brother. That was all she needed.

"Thanks... big brother."