A/N: Another funfact from my side: someone stole my umbrella in the train the other day, which miraculously enough cured my writersblock. Inspiration strikes at the weirdest moments. XD That explains me being so active as of lately. Also, this seemed like a good moment to bring Stitch back, seeing as I barely write about him anymore. This story could use some lightheartedness. Hope you enjoy! :D

Thanks: Chaos The True Kage of Lyoko, my new beta reader. :)

~ "Oh... Are you going somewhere?" ~

67) Drink

"You have the weirdest cravings, you know that?" Aqua said, chiding Stitch lighheartedly as she made sure that the leash was long enough for him to roam around freely, but not so long that she would lose him out of sight. The last thing she wanted was for him to get hurt, or to hurt others. "Ugh, what do I do with you?"

Stitch, as usual, didn't have the least care in the world. He wandered around aimlessly, looking for Zeus knew what. The poor thing had been practically begging all day to go out with his human. Aqua just couldn't comply before she had done all of her chores. After all, that was what Sundays were for. But, seeing as Stitch had turned into the master of manipulation throughout the years, she had finally relented, deciding that going for a stroll right after dinner was a great way to tire Stitch out. Maybe then she could finally get some sleep. She still hadn't made amends with Terra and that bothered her more than she let on. Maybe Stitch could feel it too. Perhaps that was why he was behaving so weirdly. Every now and then he would lie near a particular photograph of her alongside Terra and Ven, and point towards Terra as if to ask why he didn't stop by anymore.

Apparently, the bluenette had been too distracted by her own thoughts. This resulted in her reacting far too late. Before she could do anything, Stitch had jumped right into some random passersby's arms and was licking his face like it was the last seasalt ice-cream left in this world.

"Stitch, no!" Aqua said with a horrid gasp, before hurrying towards the poor human being who was caught in Stitch's trap.

The blue ball of fur wasn't familiar with the terms 'personal bubble' and 'privacy'. Aqua had found that out a long time ago; she could barely take a bath in peace. Still, normally Stitch wasn't one to act this overly friendly to strangers, especially when it came to men. Maybe he didn't like guys, maybe he was trying to protect his owner from the bad kind.

Upon closer inspection, the poor victim was none other than...

"Leon?" Her eyes widened incredulously. This was just her luck. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!"

The silent man held Aqua's blue pet at arm's length until she took him from Leon.

"It's fine. I'm used to pets like him," he replied, while wiping his face with his right sleeve. In a darker tone he continued, "My uh... A good friend of mine had a dog who was even more curious than this one."

"...I see." Desperate to change the current subject, Aqua blurted out the first thing that came to her mind. "I didn't know you lived around here too."

Leon shrugged. "I moved into another apartment a few weeks ago. I didn't like my neighbors in the old one."

"Oh..."

Still, it was very peculiar for Stitch to take a liking to the oh so solemn Leon. She could only wonder why. Aqua then subtly glanced at her watch and saw that if she didn't leave now, she was going to be too late for her date later in the evening.

"Well, I have go, because I'm running late. I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah." After he petted Stitch for the last time, he added, "Be well."

"You too."

When Terra rang the doorbell, he wondered why he had so much trouble with the prospect of apologizing to Aqua. Was he too proud to admit his fault (or at least part of it) or could it be something else entirely? Something he didn't remember? He cursed his crappy memory for the umpteenth time that week and waited for the door to be answered.

As usual, when Aqua opened the front door, Stitch started screeching enthusiastically, letting Terra know that he knew it was him on the other side of the door.

"Terra? Hi! I didn't expect to see you here," she said breathlessly, and she really seemed taken aback by his presence.

"Surprise," he said dryly. Then his eyes automatically travelled to her feet. She was wearing one of her shoes. He guessed that she'd wanted to put on the other one when he rang the bell. "Oh… are you going somehwere?"

"Yeah… Vanitas invited me over for a drink," she explained.

Again? he thought bitterly.

Call him petty, but something snapped inside Terra when he heard that name. Not only did he feel completely left out even though the last thing he wanted was to be there with them when they got all lovey dovey, but anger bubbled up in his throat as well, much like a few days ago.

So now he had to make an appointment if he wanted to see his best friend? It was bad enough that this already was the case with Ventus, but now he was losing the freedom to see Aqua too? That was too much.

"Terra, what's wrong?" Aqua asked, sensing that something was bothering him once again. She was scanning his face for any sign, but couldn't find anything.

His eyes seemed to harden at the sweetness of her voice. "Nothing, never mind. I'll be going home now."

This made her frown. "But-"

"Bye, Aqua. Have fun with your beloved boyfriend."

He caught the hurt look on Aqua's face, but he didn't care.

With that, Terra closed the door behind him, leaving behind an utterly perplexed bluenette. Then she opened the door and yelled after him, "Fine, be that way!"

A/N: Oh, as a warning beforehand, the next chapter will be hitting close to M-rated, but not quite, because it only involves kissing and the unbuttoning of a shirt. Sorry for the spoiler. XD Also, for those who care: I've started another 100 Theme Challenge collection. Feel free to take a look and maybe request a pairing or friendship. Something tells me that I will update that one more often than this story. That's enough self advertisement for today. :P

Next chapter: "I understand," she said, even though she didn't, at all. He'd gotten enough time, hadn't he? So why wasn't he falling in love with her already?