A/N: BEFORE YOU READ! The last chapter was kind of short, so I extended it. Make sure you've read the WHOLE THING before you read this, or else you will be VERY confused.
This chapter is really short too, but I just wanted to update since I'll be gone all day tomorrow. I'll try to keep the lengths kinda long and consistent, usually around 4000 words, but this one's only about 2500.
And sorry that the beginning is so slow to start up! I promise it'll get better later when more people show up and cross through the portal! Also, just to get rid of any confusion, unlike in the movie Enchanted, the sewer is not like a two-way door. The portals between Terra and Ven's world and Aqua and Namine's world work kind of like the doors to light and darkness. Only it's in a fixed position somewhere in the world. We already know the door to Terra and Ven's world was the weird well thing, but the sewer is not the door back to Aqua and Namine's world, nor is it where everyone from Aqua and Namine's world come out of when they pass through the well-portal.
No.
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
Terra refused to believe what the crazy, blue-haired, sword wielding, psycho-knight of a woman was saying.
An entire world parallel to their own, comprised of fairy tales and magic? Impossible.
Yet here she was. A natural bluenette who had just created an artistic masterpiece out of ice in the middle of fucking August onto a metal table she was bound to.
Why couldn't Terra have gotten a chainsaw killer like a normal cop?
Zack seemed over-enthused, however, to find that their biggest case in months had been some strange woman who had apparently fallen into a well in her world and popped out of the sewer system in their world.
"So there's really unicorns and trolls and fairies and things in your world?! Oh man, Aerith's never going to believe this!" Zack exclaimed, sitting on the edge of his seat. If he scooted and further forward in it, Terra swore he would fall right over the edge and ass-first onto the floor.
Aqua just laughed, "Yes, and elves and giants too." Aqua's expression suddenly went from content to serious.
"But Namine and I have run into a bit of a problem," She said, looking at the two police officers. Terra and Zack exchanged glances.
"Namine has just recently turned 16, and, in our world, once the heir to the throne turns 16, she must choose a husband within a year to be wed to, or the world will go to war over the throne," Aqua explained. Terra couldn't help but glance at the one-way window the little princess was standing behind. It was hard to imagine such a young, fragile-looking girl had such heavy burdens to bear.
"Right now, Namine and I have no way of returning to our world, or knowing if we'll ever be able to go back," Aqua continued, "And on top of that, we have no place to stay and no knowledge of this world," Aqua took a deep breath, "I know it's a lot to ask, especially of complete strangers, but we have no one else to turn to. Please, help us find a place to stay, or at least teach us how to live in this world, I beg you," she finished, bowing her head. Terra and Zack looked at each other.
"I'd love to let you to stay with us," Zack started, "But the apartment Aerith and I live in is only just big enough for the two of us. I'm sure she'd love to have you too, but there's really no way to house four people in there-"
"What about two."
Zack and Terra stared at her.
"What do you mean?" Zack asked.
"Take Namine. I can defend myself, but Namine won't survive on her own. Please, if you could only help one of us, help Namine," Aqua finished, clenching her fists over her thighs. She felt horrible for putting Namine through such a difficult situation. If only she had been more alert around that old woman, they wouldn't be in this mess.
Zack scratched the back of his head, muttering, "Shit," under his breath. He knew he wouldn't be able to take in either of the girls, and he definitely did not want to leave them out on the streets with absolutely no idea what kind of people they could encounter out there. The streets of Traverse City could be very dangerous at night.
Zack looked pleadingly at Terra. Terra rolled his eyes.
He knew that look. It was Zack's puppy-dog "ohplease-ohplease-ohplease" look. It was his killer attack.
Sighing, Terra ran a hand through his hair.
"I guess...you two could stay with us."
Aqua blinked. "Really?" The look of absolute gratitude and joy in her expression made Terra blush and look away in embarrassment. There was definitely enough rooms, with a large spare guest room and three bathrooms. Terra's apartment was rather large for just the three current occupants. Plus, it couldn't be that bad sharing an apartment with a woman as beautiful as Aqua.
Terra mentally slapped himself. What was he thinking? He was about to let two wacko strangers into his home, he should not be distracted by how pretty his potential roommate is! With one last unsure glance, he sighed and nodded. "Sure, I don't see why not-"
"Thank you so much!" Aqua cried, throwing her arms around Terra's neck. Terra stumbled backward from her sudden display of gratitude, almost falling over. He felt Aqua squeeze tighter and awkwardly returned the hug. Aqua laughed and pulled away, after kissing him on both of his cheeks, turning Terra beet red. Flustered, Terra turned his head away from Aqua and directed him gaze at anything that could distract him from the beautiful blunette. His eyes landed on the now empty pair of handcuffs laying on the table, when realization suddenly hit.
"...How on earth did you get out of those handcuffs?" Terra asked. Zack looked at Terra confused, than at Aqua, and than at the handcuffs.
Aqua shuffled awkwardly where she stood.
"I-I'm sorry. I just got excited and I guess I used my magic without realizing it..." She muttered, staring at her shoes. Terra and Zack just looked from the handcuffs to Aqua, then turned to each other and started to laugh. Aqua furrowed her brow in confusion.
"Unbelievable," Zack gasped between laughs.
"You're telling me," Terra replied. Of all people in the world for some magical knight and fairy princess to get dumped on them, it would be just their luck to be those people.
"TERRA!" A loud voice called from the hallway. A spiky blond popped his head into the interrogation room's door.
"There's a really cute girl out here who needs a place to stay!" From behind the boy, there was a feminine gasp of shock, followed by, "But Ven I-"
"Well Ven," Terra said, crossing his muscular arms over his chest. "Say hello to our new roommates, Aqua and Namine."
Sitting outside of the school building, Ventus sighed. He was tired, sweaty, and wanted to go home. Terra was supposed to pick him up about two and a half hours ago from track, since training started early for at his school. Being the star of the team required that he come early to training so his coaches could drill him twice as hard as the other team members, who would ignore his presence in resentment for his speed, endurance, and special attention from the coaches. One guy had hidden his water bottle(again) and Ventus hadn't gotten to drink anything the entire time. Not only that, but the previous week, some guy decided it would be a good idea to push his skateboard onto the track while Ventus was running, so that he would fall over and almost break his face on the concrete. Ventus left his skateboard at home from then on. Sitting on the stairs in front of the stairs, it began to drizzle. Ventus looked up at the sky, distressed.
"Ah, maaaan," He groaned, quickly jumping to his feet and taking off in the direction of the police station, which was closer to the school than the apartment was. By the time he was halfway there, the drizzle had turned into a heavy downpour. Racing inside the building, he was greeted by the smiling, albeit surprised face of the station's secretary, Tifa.
"Hey Ventu-Why are you soaking wet?" She asked, the smile falling from her face, replaced with concern.
"It started raining on my way here. Do you know where Terra is?" Ventus asked, shaking the water from his hair with his hands. Tifa reached under her desk, pulling out a towel, and handed it to Ventus.
"He's in the interrogation room with Zack. When you find him, hit him for me, for leaving you out in the rain. Again."
"Will do. Thanks for the towel Tifa," Ventus gave Tifa a quick, two-fingered salute before walking down the hallway to the right while rubbing his hair and clothes down with the towel to dry himself as best he could. Deeming himself to be acceptably dry, he draped the towel over his shoulders, walking down the long hallway while whistling the classic "Steamboat Willie" tune. When he neared the interrogation room, a spot of white made him stop in his tracks. Said spot of white must have noticed him approaching, because she turned to face him, eyes wide with wonder and worry.
Ventus felt his cheeks heat up slightly, and his heart thump a little louder in his chest. A girl in a long white, albeit dirty, dress stood in the hall, standing my the window of the interrogation room. The first thing Ven noticed about her were her deep blue eyes. They looked so clear, and at the same time, so hazy, like a gentle mist swirled within them. The second think he noticed was that she was pretty. Really pretty. The girl in white continued to stare at him blankly, so Ven flashed her a wide grin, and began walking towards her. He hardly noticed her sharp intake of breath as she raised a small hand to her mouth. He thought he heard her whisper something along the line of 'Soar,' but ignored it.
"Hi," Ven said, extending a hand, "I'm Ventus, but everyone calls me Ven. What's your name?"
Silence. The girl just stared at him, confused. The pair stood awkwardly for a while, before Ven shook his outstretched hand slightly. The girl in white noticed and looked at his hand, before giving him an even more confused look. Ven pursed his lips.
"It's a handshake," Ven explained, "Don't people usually shake hands when they meet each other?"
The girl tentatively extended a shaky hand, loosely holding Ven's fingers in her small hands, before shaking them from side to side. She looked to Ventus for approval. Ventus stared a little before laughing.
"Close enough," he chuckled. the girl blushed, retracting her hand and holding it to her chest. He didn't understand why, but Ventus' hand suddenly felt much colder.
Scratching the back of his head, he asked, "So, do you have a name? Or am I gonna have to call you 'cute girl' from now on?" Ventus grinned at the last part, while the girl flushed at his choice of words. Ven thought 'cute girl' definitely suited her.
"N-Namine," she mumbled, brushing some hair behind her ear nervously. While 'cute girl' still suited her really well, Ventus decided that Namine was a pretty good name too.
"Well Namine, what brings you here?" Ventus asked, eyeing the holes and patches of dirt in Namine's attire. Namine gave a half-hearted shrug before turning to the window to the interrogation room and pressing a hand against the glass.
"I'm not really sure..." She said, "But I'm also not sure where 'here' is."
Ven noticed how sad Namine seemed as she said that.
"Long way from home, huh?" He asked, stepping closer to her, so they were only about a foot apart. Namine either didn't notice or didn't mind, and just responded with a light nod. Ven looked through the window into the interrogation room, immediately recognizing the figures of Terra and his partner Zack, with an unfamiliar blue haired woman who was handcuffed to the table in the center of the room.
"A friend of yours?" Ven asked, gesturing towards the blue-haired woman with his head. Namine nodded.
Without warning, Namine started to shudder, and then break into tears. She quickly latched onto the front of Ventus' jacket, catching him by surprise.
"I want to go home," she cried pathetically, like a child on their first day of school. "I wish this never happened. I wish I never helped that lady, or was dumb enough to go near that well. I wish I had never got Aqua hurt, and I wish I was still at home, with Aqua and father, and Sora, and Marluxia, and everyone else!"
Ventus stood awkwardly in the hallway, Namine crying and clinging to his front, showing no signs of letting go anytime soon. He didn't know what possessed him to do it, but Ven gently stroked his fingers through Namine's hair, whispering soothing reassurances of "it'll be fine," and "it's okay," into her ear. Namine further buried her head into his chest, but soon ceased her tears. She stared into space as she rested her head against Ventus' chest and listened to his steady heartbeat.
Suddenly realizing exactly what she was doing, Namine jumped backwards, ashamed. She had been so close to a boy she had only just met for reasons she didn't even understand. And she had liked it. Blushing with the realization, she bowed her head in shame. Something about this boy just made her feel so at ease, like she was safe from everything in the world as long as she was near him. Sora had made her feel jittery and nervous, but this boy made her feel warm. She felt warm and safe and complete, which was strange for her to grasp, considering she had only just met him.
Ventus chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his head with one hand, shoving the other deep inside the pockets of his shorts.
"So... you, uh, got anywhere to stay while you're here in Traverse City?" Ven asked, cringing as his voice cracked slightly. Namine shook her head without looking up.
"Well we should fix that then," Ven said, suddenly sounding much happier. Namine looked up out of curiosity to find Ven's gleaming blue eyes staring back at her, a prominent smile plastered across his face. Ven clamped down on Namine's wrist, and rushed to the door of the interrogation room, dragging Namine behind him at top speed. She stumbled and nearly toppled the both of them to the floor, but Ven caught her and hoisted her up with one arm.
Throwing the door open, Ven yelled, "TERRA!"
Three pairs of surprised blue eyes snapped towards him.
"There's a really cute girl out here who needs a place to stay!" He exclaimed, hugging Namine tighter to his side. She looked up at him, almost fearfully.
"B-but Ven I-"
The tall brunet, Terra he'd told her earlier, cut her off.
"Well Ven, say hello to your new roommates, Namine and Aqua."
Terra had to admit, the looks on Namine and Ven's faces were priceless.
A/N: I'm going to try to include as many Kingdom Hearts, FF, and TWEWY characters as possible in this, so feel free to mention your favorite characters you want me to include. They don't need to have showed up in KH, just so long as they are Square Enix characters.