DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN KINGDOM HEARTS OR ANY OF IT'S CHARACTERS, JUST THIS PLOT AND ANNABETH

III

Terra most definitely was not fine. Well, he was for the first fifteen minutes Ventus was gone, but then Annabeth started to cry and his brother's friends wasted no time bailing on him. Cowards.

"You can do this," Terra repeated over and over again as if he was turning the phrase into a personal mantra. "She probably just needs to be changed." His hands hovered hesitantly over the baby, beads of sweat breaking out all over his body. He willed himself to pick up the squirming infant and checked her. "No, you're still clean. Are you hungry? Wait. No. Ven just fed you a little while ago."

Terra stared at the irritable infant as he held her in front of him, trying his utter best not to look as freaked out as he felt Everyone kept telling him that was why she reacted so badly towards him and that he should relax, but he couldn't help it. Tiny, fragile babies made him nervous.

Next he tried walking her as he'd seen Ventus and Aqua do, bouncing lightly with every step, holding his hand behind her head as to not risk jaring her. No dice. She was still pissed. Or upset. He honestly couldn't tell.

"It doesn't take this long to put a pillow in the dryer," Terra whined desperately as he hurriedly left the den, baby in tow. He needed to find Ven.

He audiably exhaled in relief as he spotted the blond in the hall. Sora was with him, smiling nervously in Terra's direction, but avoiding to eye contact with the larger brunette.

"Not cool, Sky Child," Terra said as he marched over and handed Annabeth to Ventus, muttering a "go to daddy" as he did. He immediately set upon calming the tiny person.

"I was getting Ven," Sora half heartedly argued, still avoiding eye contact. "Or Aqua, or whoever ever I found first, which was Ven, by the way.'

"You ramble when you're nervous."

Sora started pressing his fingertips together, forming a pyramid of sorts. "Yeah, I know. Please don't kill me…"

"Where was Lea going?" Ventus asked then as Annabeth's crying mellowed down to occasional whimper. "I saw him run out the door on my way back."

"Anywhere but here. He and Sora darted the second Muffin got pissed," Terra replied agitatedly.

"I was getting Ven," Sora mumbled once more, shrinking back a little. Heartless he could handle, Nobodies, too. Keyblade wielding giants, not so much. Not that he couldn't take Terra on in fight, he just didn't want to, because to be completely honest the guy hit hard, not to mention left bruises the size of Disney Town.

Ventus shrugged then and started making his way back to the den, lying Annabeth on the couch and draping a thin blanket over her as her eyes reluctantly drifted closed. It was around her nap time, so he figured that was what had her so irritable with Terra. He probably should've mentioned that before he'd left, but he hadn't expected to be intercepted by Aqua, who'd asked him to do a few things before he headed back.

"What took you so long, anyways? You were gone for almost thirty minutes," Terra stated matter of factly as he started at the now sleeping baby. She was cute when she wasn't crying and making him panic.

"I had to do some things for Aqua."

"Like what?"

"Like none of your business," Ventus replied, sticking his tongue out childishly. Terra respond by sticking his tongue out as well. "So," he started as he sat near Annabeth's feet, turning his attention back towards Sora."You learn anything new since the last time I saw you? I heard from a few birdies you've been dabbling with Strike Raid as of late."

It took the young brunette a moment to realise Ven was talking to him. "Huh? Oh, y-yeah, but I can't seem to get it to do right." He started to chuckle as he rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "It's supposed to come back like a boomerang, right?"

Terra smirked. "Let me guess, it goes, but refuses to come back. That's why Aqua and I quit trying to figure it out. Ven's the only who's fully mastered it."

"I don't really see where it was all that hard," Ventus replied, letting his head rest on the back of the couch.

"That's because your main element is wind. You had an advantage from the start." Terra blinked in confusion then. "Wait, but isn't that your dominan too, Sora? In that case, you really shouldn't be having this much trouble with it."

Sora sighed, letting his forehead rest on his knees. "Yeah, I know. That's why it's bugging me so much." It almost seemed as if an invisible raincloud had formed over the young wielder. He normally picked up on new techniques pretty quickly, so that fact that this specific technique had alluded him was abnormally infuriating. He was starting feel as if he was losing his touch. Sora jerked upright, letting out a strained cry as Terra over enthusiastically slapped him on the back.

"Come on, cheer up. Like I said, it's a difficult technique that I've only ever seen Ven master," Terra told him, a faint smile gracing his lips. "But I'm sure you'll get it eventually."

"I can help you with it a little later if you want," Ventus offered. He too was smiling. He'd been helping Sora since before he'd even obtained a keyblade, and he'd be lying if he said he didn't enjoy it. He sometimes wondered if his master had felt the same joy, the same pride when he watched them learn new things. Ventus couldn't help taking a trip down memory lane, not noticing someone was trying to tell him something until there was a pair of finger snapping in front of his face. "Uh… hi?"

"Are you daydreaming again or are you sleeping with your eyes open?"

"A little of both?"

"Hey, Aqua," Sora chimed, his eyes lighting up. He absolutely adored the older woman.

"Hey, kiddo," she replied before turning back towards Ventus. "I need you to do something else for me."

"Sure. Whatcha need?" Ventus asked blinking slowly. She normally wasn't this bad at assigning him chores out of the blue. Something was most definitely up.

Aqua produced a list and handed it to him. He eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw how much crap was on it. "I need you to guys to do some shopping. Yes, Terra, that includes you," she threw in when she noticed the look Terra was giving her. "I'd appreciate it if you helped too, Sora."

Ventus scanned over some of items on the list, a knot forming on his brow. "Are we having a party or something?" What else would they need that much food and disposable kitchenware for?

"Not exactly we. I'll tell you more about it when you get back. Now go. I'll watch Annabeth," Aqua told him as he practically shoved them out the door, a tinge of urgency in her voice.

The three men stood on the stairs for a moment and shared a look.

"Dude, she locked the door."

Hmmms. What is Aqua planning? Find out next time on Barcode Ano-! Ooops. Wrong story.