A/N: Thanks: ZalelTribal, and Killya008. :)

~ He rolled his eyes at that, the beginnings of a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "You'd be surprised at my skills…" ~

94) Half

Leon observed her quietly as Aqua played her part of the medley. Her back was tense. Too tense. He also couldn't fail to notice that she was only paying half attention.

Suddenly she stopped playing and looked up from the sheetmusic to face him, as if she'd felt his eyes on her. "What?"

"What's wrong Aqua?"

Aqua frowned lightly. "What do you mean?"

"I'm not used to you cutting corners."

Well, actually he was, but he'd thought that by now things would have gotten more normal again, what with her breaking up with Vanitas. He would lie if he said that he wasn't relieved; from what she had told him, they weren't a good match. Still, that woman could make a whole series from the drama in her life.

That last comment had made her blush. She visibly hesitated before saying, "Nothing."

And she actually thought that he would buy that?

At that he raised an eyebrow and said, "So I have to believe that you deteriorated during one night? That's quite a remarkable performance."

Despite everything, Aqua cracked a smile. She opted to sit down next to him on the white piano bench to tell him everything that had happened the last couple of days, not to mention how incredibly confused she was by all of it. She could only wonder how it was possible that this man hadn't grown tired of all her nagging? Because she knew that she was by now.

"Do you still love Terra? And do you actually feel anything for Vanitas the way you did for Terra?" Leon questioned.

"Well, that's the thing. I really don't know. Ven mentioned some stuff about Vanitas being a rebound and maybe he's right about that, as much as I wish he wasn't. But I don't think I can forgive him for stabbing Zack. Of course I had a feeling that he was dangerous, but I'd never gotten proof of my suspicions until he stabbed Zack. And now Xion's back, too… As for Terra, I don't know what to feel anymore. On the one hand I can't imagine not feeling anything for him since it's been going on for as long as I can remember. On the other hand, what if all I'm feeling is friendship and I'm mixing it up with feelings of love? I mean, he's my oldest friend and we know each other better than anyone else."

The dark-haired man was quiet for a long time. Then he finally stated, "I actually have to be somewhere in a few minutes, but if you'd like, we can meet at my apartment later to discuss this and have dinner at the same time? There's something I need to discuss with you anyway."

Again, Aqua seemed to be hesitating for a brief moment. Eventually, she agreed to meet him in his apartment. She still remembered where he lived, but she hadn't been there since her last visit, when she'd been in tears. For some reason, she felt weird doing so.

"Alright then. I'm sorry for leaving you like this, but I really have to go now."

Aqua waved it away, like she honestly didn't mind. "No worries, Leon. I'll see you later anyway."

Besides, this would leave her with enough time to prepare the second half of their dinner: ice waffles.

In the hallway, Aqua met one of the other inhabitants of the building: a stern-looking woman who wore her pink hair in a low ponytail. She was probably rich too, how else would she be able to afford this place? Aqua held the door open for the stranger, who gave her a polite nod as a thank you.

Wow, if I didn't know any better, I'd say that she was the female version of Leon…with pink hair and lighter eyes.

When Aqua was greeted by Leon, her mouth started to water at the delicious smell of food that was hanging in the air. She followed her friend to the kitchen, where he motioned for her to sit at the dinner table.

Aqua was more than surprised to find out that Leon was cooking for them. "It smells really good!"

Leon looked at her from over his shoulder. "What, you thought that male musicians can't cook?"

"Not if they're rich enough to hire a cook."

He rolled his eyes at that, the beginnings of a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "You'd be surprised at my skills…" When he realized that this had a whole different meaning when put in a different context, he quickly, albeit awkwardly added, "My cooking skills, of course."

As soon as dinner was on the table, Aqua asked curiously, "So what is it that you wanted to discuss with me?"

It was nice to not talk about her problems for a change. If she was getting tired of that, who knew how annoying it would be for Leon, even if he would never say that to her face. Besides, she was ready to help him out now.

"I've been invited to join Xehanort's orchestra to travel around the world and play."

"That's amazing! Congratulations, I'm so happy for you!"

His next question completely baffled Aqua.

"Why don't you come with me on the tour? It's only going to be for three month, from another Royal party in the Enchanted Dominion to the opening in de Olympus Coliseum. You know, for the Olympic Tournaments. And after that, there will be more events where they want us to play at."

"Uhm…what?" Aqua said dumbly.

Leon explained patiently, "We are currently missing a violinist, and we couldn't find a suitable replacement for him in such short notice, but you seem like the perfect candidate for this job."

"But I haven't practised as much as the rest of the orchestra. I'm not prepared," Aqua protested.

"Actually, all the pieces that we've been playing for the past weeks are part of the programme," he said with a glint in his eyes.

That did sound like something Leon would do.

"I'll have to think about it for a while first," Aqua replied truthfully.

"Alright, but you have three days to make up your mind, because I need to tell Xehanort on time. You know how he is."

Aqua laughed at that. "Don't we all?"

After she left Leon's apartment to head home, Aqua couldn't help but imagine how it would be like if she actually went with him. The standing ovations, the energy that their audience would emit… Just like the old days. She would lie if she said that she didn't miss at least half of it…

A/N: With the end of this story approaching, I'm really curious. Who would you want to see Aqua end up with: Terra, Vanitas, Leon or someone else entirely?

Next chapter: Now it was Aqua's turn to get mad. Since when was he being so possessive of her?