Writer's Corner: Thanks for all the kind reviews! This installment of PPF is based on Aqua's POV from the last chapter. Hope you like it!

٭۞

ρ α ş τ — ρ ѓ ε ş ε η т — ғ υ т υ ѓ ε

a Terra/Aqua collection

by

P h o e b e N o i r

٭۞

S t a g e 2

"F ѓ ǒ м — Ң ε ѓ — Ё γ ε ş"

٭۞

Aqua was starting to worry about Terra, for over the course of the last week he had been acting pretty weird.

Everyday they had lunch together. It was an unspoken thing between them, a tradition they had developed since they were kids. They never had to ask the other if they wanted to go to lunch. So of course his asking had caught her off guard. She told him "Sure," and thinking it wouldn't be that big of a deal, brought Ven along. They were all good friends, after all. She brought her books along thinking while they were hanging out they could study. Though Terra didn't look outright mad at her for bringing the blond boy along, she could tell by his stoic look. The corners of his lips were tugged down five degrees more than normal.

Then he asked her if they could meet up on the sparring field. Again she had said yes, thinking they were going to practice. Other students caught wind of the session and quickly asked if they could join. The girls were especially amusing. Aqua had heard the gossip in passing about how hot Terra was and what they wouldn't give if they could be alone with him. Now they saw their chance with the sparring session. Aqua quickly turned those fan-girls down, picking two freshmen girls who weren't obsessed with him…yet.

When she arrived at the sparring session with a group behind her, Aqua thought Terra might kill her. He clenched his keyblade tightly, but assured her he wasn't mad. He even said it with a smile on his face-a clear warning he was upset. He only ever smiled when he'd had a good fight, or when he was about to obliterate a crowd of enemies. The latter was proven true as he began to cast one Firaga spell after another, hurling them at the poor underclassmen she'd brought with her. She didn't know until that day how much of a pyromaniac Terra really was.

Then, earlier today, he'd shown up with a bunch of flowers in his hands. At first she'd thought they were for someone else and that made her heart clench. She liked her friend, but she didn't know if he liked her back. The flowers in his hands were proof that he had affections for someone else. And they were flowers I'm allergic to too... The moment she stepped out of the classroom her eyes started getting watery and her nose began to run. She had to pinch her nose and quickly run away, but she couldn't just do that, not to Terra. He'd think she was crying or something... So she politely and quickly informed him of her allergies and ran off.

Now she was going to find out what exactly was going on, or at least learn the name of her new rival.

When she found Terra he was sitting on the edge of the docks with a smirk on his face. He was looking down at the water when she approached him.

"Terra?" she asked, moving to sit beside him, not realizing Ven had been there just moments ago.

"Hm? Oh, Aqua," he greeted, his smirk fading away into a neutral expression.

"Hey...look, I wanted to talk to you about the past week..." she began, trying her best to be calm about the situation.

"What about?" he asked, looking confused.

"Well..." She wanted to bring up lunch and the sparring session, but quickly went to something else. "The flowers...I wanted to ask you about the flowers you had earlier and... to apologize."

Terra fell silent for a moment as he gathered his thoughts. He had to choose just the right words. "They were for a girl... I... can't seem to get her alone with me for more than a few seconds at a time," he explained, waiting for Aqua's reaction.

She blinked and looked away, trying to hide the fact that she might... be just a tiny bit jealous. She didn't stay silent for long though. She turned to look at him again with a small smile on her face. "Well, just ask her," she told him.

"Yeah, tried. Didn't work."

"Well, how did the flowers go?" Aqua's response was met with a groan. While she didn't want a new rival, she still wanted her friend to be happy so...

"Look. If you really want to go out with her, just sit her down, look at her straight in the eye, and say so. Be blunt if you have to," she told him firmly, locking eyes with him.

Terra was stunned. Maybe he should've gone to Aqua for advice. It would've made life a whole lot easier for him.

"Aqua—"

"Will you go out with me?" Aqua asked, cutting him off completely. Screw her rival—all was fair in love and war. Silence settled in. She studied Terra's face. He was completely shocked and speechless.

"Say yes!" A soft voice told Terra. It was Ven, who had recovered from his sudden dunking and managed to swim under the dock. He'd heard the whole thing. If Terra didn't act now he would lose his chance!

"…On one condition," Terra finally said, causing Aqua to blink. She raised an eyebrow at him and nodded her head.

"Which is—" She was quickly cut off as Terra kissed her sweetly.

"...No more flowers," he murmured, pulling back from the kiss. Smiling, Aqua agreed and moved to steal a kiss of her own.

٭۞