Disclaimers: I don't own anything but the game merchandise and this story. OTL The challenge, however, belongs to HawkRider.
A/N: Sorry for the lack of updates on this! I couldn't get this theme to come out the way I wanted, so I had to rewrite the scenario completely. ._. Damn~ Okay! Anyways, I tried to incorporate the theme as best I could, but I feel like labor is so broad a term. :P Hopefully some of it shows in this chapter though… LOL Didn't like the ending so much since I think I failed at ending with a humorous tone? Ah well. :/
Anyways, thanks for waiting, reading and reviewing (asdf: to answer, this is technically 'impossible love' so some things are bound to be one-sided ;P)! Please enjoy and R&R!
…While I play KH3D and watch the Olympics on the television. -doubly shot- xD
.: o13 | Labor | o13 :.
~ Innocent Swan ~
"Thank you for your patronage!" The worker at the pastry shop bowed her head as I made to exit with a box of sweets.
I smiled at her before leaving, taking in a deep breath and walked down the market street on my way home from school. Lifting the box contained in a clear plastic bag in front of my face, I could only hope Aqua would like my peace-offering gift: a dozen blueberry-filled cream puffs! After that incident at the Rhythm Mixer, Aqua refused to talk to me once we both got home that same night…at all. It wasn't very strange that she would sometimes give me the cold shoulder whenever I did something bad, but…well, it was uncomfortable. Aqua virtually acted as if I didn't exist the next morning and – being the little sister who really fawned over her older-sibling-slash-guardian – it left me depressed. Maybe I overdid it…
…Wait! Didn't that mean something? Did Aqua—
"Huh?" Without thinking, I quickly hid (as best I could) behind a street lamp and held my breath. There, waiting at a stoplight across the street was Terra, listening to music with hands buried in his hoodie pockets. He wasn't riding his motorcycle today…was he headed somewhere close?
Once the stoplight gave Terra permission to cross the street, the brunet didn't hesitate to do so…and I was suddenly following him! I am not a stalker nor do I think staying quiet as I tailed Terra was very wise of me, but my mind was elsewhere! Man! If Terra knew I liked him already, I wouldn't have to act suspiciously sneaky! …But seriously, where was he headed? Lucky for me, Terra had his ears plugged as I followed a short distance behind him, glancing around for any hints as to where he was going. Honestly, there was nothing out of the ordinary: we walked down a main road, business buildings were here and there, and a dance studio—
Wait! That dance studio? That's where Aqua worked! Terra wasn't thinking of visiting Aqua was he? I decided to wait and see where Terra's feet would take him as he continued on his 'merry' way. If he walked past the dance studio, then I worried for nothing…but no, he totally walked into the dance studio.
Bouncing in my spot anxiously, I wasn't sure what to do: show up at the studio seconds before Terra and look suspicious or walk away without doing anything? God! Why was it such hard work to juggle (and separate) Terra and Aqua? I loved them both, but they left me so tired all the time. With no concrete solution, I made up the excuse that I was only there to see Aqua… I mean, come on, I have the cream puffs to back my claim up, right? Taking in a deep breath to calm my nerves, I walked towards the building and chanted that I was only there to see Aqua; not Terra.
Different kinds of music immediately entered my ears after the heavy glass door shut behind me, but I suppose that was a given for a dance studio. There were four different rooms – two on each side of the giant hallway – and I headed specifically for the room on the very far right. That happened to be Aqua's 'assigned' dance room when she taught; surely she was there now. I played with the straps of the plastic bag in my hands as I walked down the hallway after realizing that Aqua still wasn't talking to me. Would she turn me away if she saw me now? She wasn't one to snap, but I hope she didn't do that either. I really missed being on her good side…
As I opened the room door and thought to find Aqua teaching a ballet class, I found no dance instructor, the music was absent, and people weren't dancing. Some of Aqua's students glanced at me curiously after I made my appearance and I couldn't help but blush. "Um…is Aqua here?"
One of the girls sitting within a group of five others in the middle of the room shook her head. The blonde (who, by the way, had the cutest accent I've ever heard) answered me politely. "She stepped out not too long ago to talk with Mr. Ballad."
Mister who? "Sorry, that's…?"
Another girl with long, red hair giggled with a playful smile. She shared a knowing look with her friends. "Mr. Ballad: the man who always bothers Aqua when she's teaching."
…Oh! They meant Xemnas. His last name was 'Ballad'? Could've fooled me, but that wasn't the point. Did Xemnas really bother Aqua a lot when she was working—? Oh wait, I'm going off on a tangent again. Smiling, I nodded my head. "I see. Well thank you then." If Aqua was with Xemnas, then I guess I better find his office—
"Kairi."
"Ack!" I jumped after closing the door; a hand clutched over my heart as I quickly turned around to find Terra peering down at me in amusement. He smirked with his hands in his pockets and that caused me to glare. I knew Terra would be somewhere in this building, but I didn't think he'd pop up out of nowhere! Instinctively (at least, when I was with guy friends), I punched him weakly on the arm. "What the heck, Terra? Scaring me like that!"
He chuckled, obviously feeling nothing from my poor excuse of an attack. Terra shrugged. "What? I saw you, thought I'd say 'hi'… I didn't do anything wrong."
Rolling my eyes, I mumbled under my breath. "Yeah right…" Suddenly, I found this the perfect opportunity to ask the brunet as to why he was here (though the answer was pretty obvious). Raising an eyebrow, I asked. "What are you doing here?"
Terra stiffened when I asked him a very simple question and he casually glanced away while running a hand through his hair. Fun fact, Terra: touching your hair is a given sign of nervousness. I pretended not to notice this little fact and waited for him to answer me. "Well, I…"
"Yes?" I nudged, putting emphasis in my curiosity.
He continued to keep minimum eye contact before it became too much. Scowling, he answered my question with another question. "Well, why are you here?"
Smiling, I answered with my rehearsed excuse. "I came to see Aqua; thought she'd like to share some cream puffs with me." I presented the box to the brunet to solidify my claim; feeling very accomplished that I had 'evidence'…unlike Terra.
Suddenly the brunet's expression darkened, but his irritation was…different than the other times I mentioned my sister. Silencing myself, I waited for Terra to talk as he leaned against the wall to my left, clicking his tongue. "Then you might have to wait a while. She's in a meeting with Xemnas right now."
"Did you come to see your brother?" After careful consideration, it wasn't impossible that Terra was actually here to see the silver-haired man and not Aqua… God, I hated my paranoia! I stood in front of Terra, hoping I could brighten up his mood. "Axel or Ven left you high and dry today?"
"Shut up." Terra rolled his eyes, poking me square on the forehead. I rubbed furiously at the spot for show as Terra craned his head to the side dejectedly. "I don't hang out with them all the time… And yes; I needed to speak with Xemnas, but he's in a meeting with her."
"…She has a name, Terra."
The brunet threw his hands in the air in exaggeration. "You know what I mean!" Narrowing his eyes at me, a thought suddenly occurred to him."Oh wait. Is that why you're here? Is Aqua avoiding you after…?"
Making a small noise of discomfort, I nervously pressed my index fingers together while the strap of the plastic bag slid down to my right elbow. I honestly didn't trust my voice at this moment because I felt as if I'd slip up with the real reason for why I'm at Aqua's workplace. I made it a rule not to bother her at work because I proved to be a very big distraction (for more reasons than one), but Terra didn't have to know that…
"Do you want me to talk to her?" Terra offered with a frown. "She's making a big deal out of nothing again."
Heck no! That was a bad idea. "It's okay—"
"And she's taking her sweet time with Xemnas too…" Surprised, I watched as Terra unconsciously shared his thoughts while pacing around with notably hand gestures. "For them to be talking so much when they're so different, I find that weird."
"…Terra?"
"Yeah?"
I tried to keep a straight face, but the corners of my mouth struggled to form a smile. "Are you – by any chance – jealous?"
The instant that word spilled from my mouth, Terra's eyes widened considerably and he stood a bit straighter in his spot. Hastily shooting his hands up in defense, the brunet was interrupted by an otherwise stoic voice. "This isn't a playground; it's a learning environment." Looking to our right, we spotted Aqua frowning deeply at us as Xemnas followed a few steps behind her; face as dead as ever (in my experience anyways). Aqua caught my attention again when she placed her hands on her hips in vexation. "What are you two even doing here?"
"Aqua—"
"First off," Terra cut in and immediately locked horns with my sister. "Kairi's family; you can't get mad at her for visiting you. Second of all…it takes you forever to speak with Xemnas why?"
Aqua was taken aback before her bewilderment morphed into anger. "That isn't any of your business nor should it ever be."
"Well, if you like spending so much time with him, then why don't we trade siblings?" Terra's hands suddenly found their way to my shoulders and – out of old childhood habits – the brunet automatically pulled me into a possessive hug while shooting Aqua a smug look; of which, my older sister wasn't too happy with. "I've always wanted a cute, little sister."
…I'm so glad that my flustered face was pressed and hidden against his muscular chest.
Aqua retort back; almost childishly. "You are so stupid, Terra!"
"Says the person throwing the word 'stupid' around in front of her boss!"
"I-I…! Ugh! Let go of my sister!"
"Make me—"
"You two." Terra was quickly yanked away from me and I immediately registered that Xemnas had grabbed the brunet's hooded collar in one hand while he held Aqua's upper arm in the other. His face… Xemnas was extremely displeased that his amber eyes could literally burn holes. "Have you both forgotten what I promised you the last time you disrupted business on my time?"
Both Terra and Aqua's faces paled instantly and the brunet stammered. "I…It was a joke—"
"My office. Now." Xemnas declared as he dragged two young adults down an adjacent hallway… Okay, honestly, the sight itself was hilarious, but oh-so-weird…
As Terra attempted to 'reason' with his older brother, Aqua looked over her shoulder and apprehensively followed Xemnas's lead. "Kairi, I'll see you home…"
"Oh! Uh, yeah." I half-heartedly waved her (and Terra) off to be…scolded again by 'the Boss'… Was Xemnas really that scary?
Shaking my head, there wasn't much left for me to do here so I decided to go home. At least I was able to compile some interesting information without too much labor today. The first thing was that Terra was terribly jealous of his brother (maybe any guy really) for spending time with Aqua. Next, I realized how much of Aqua's childish side came out whenever Terra was around to hog all of my attention; she was jealous of him for that. And finally…I remembered I still had a bag of cream puffs in my hand.
Blinking at the box of sweets, I whispered. "I forgot to give these to Aqua."
…Oh well.
