Unexpected Love

Unexpected Love

Summary: After Sora has saved the universe yet again and all those connected to him, Terra and Aqua reconcile and reveal their true hidden feelings. Beware of spoilers and some theories. Terra x Aqua

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts.

The title would be better, but I couldn't think of anything else.
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Aqua sat on the trunk of a bent palm tree on Destiny Islands watching the sunset. She'd sat on this same tree just over a decade before. It had been a long time since she'd seen a sunset as beautiful as this one.

"I almost forgot what the sun looked like," she whispered. "It's been so long."

This was true. For the past twelve years, Aqua had been stuck in the Realm of Darkness. She'd done nothing but wander to search for a way back home. She'd almost given up hope, but it was thanks to her meeting with Ansem the Wise. She'd met the man just recently, but he'd been a comfort of twelve years of loneliness.

Aside from being lonely, Aqua had almost given up hope twice in the Realm of Darkness. The first time, she'd almost been killed by several Darkside Heartless. But she'd seen a sight that made her smile. The Keyblades of her best friends, Terra and Ventus, had come soaring out of the darkness and destroyed all the Heartless. It had reminded Aqua what it felt like to smile after not doing it for quite some time. She'd then taken out her special lucky charm and was reminded of all her friends, Terra, Ventus, Master Eraqus, Mickey, and all the residents of other worlds who she'd met.

After that, Aqua would take out her charm every now and then and she'd smile, reminiscing about the old days. Before Xehanort had walked into their lives and ruined everything. Because of him, Ven had lost his heart, Terra had lost his body, and Aqua had lost her freedom. Being trapped in the Realm of Darkness, she'd felt like a prisoner without her friends there.

That changed, however, when she'd met Ansem the Wise. He'd been in the Realm of Darkness for a year without any memory of how he'd gotten there. But he told her about the boy chosen by the Keyblade who would be able to save the universe. Aqua had shed tears of hope that she thought she'd long since lost upon hearing Sora's name.

In time, Sora had come to rescue her and Ansem. She willingly went with him and soon after, they'd saved the universe and rescued Terra and Ven along the way.

Freeing Ven hadn't been a problem. Aqua simply led Sora to a hidden chamber in Castle Oblivion, a place she created herself. Inside the Chamber of Waking, she'd instructed Sora how to return Ven's heart to him and Ventus had finally woken up after a decade of peaceful slumber.

And as it turned out, Terra's soul had been trapped in his armor that he'd discarded when Master Xehanort stole his body. But Sora had managed to free Terra's soul and gathered his essence from other places in the universe, making him whole once more. Once Aqua saw them, she had thrown her arms around them. Coming away from Terra in embarrassment. He'd simply seemed stunned at the whole thing and was astonished that she'd done so after everything they'd gone through twelve years ago.

Aqua's embarrassment had come from her own secret feelings for Terra. She'd harbored them for a long time. During their apprentice days, she'd often admired his skills and prowess. It had gone from more than just something like Ven's admiration of Terra, which was like a boy looking up to his older brother. It had progressed into a deep love that had to stay secret should Terra turn away.

Master Eraqus had once told Terra and Aqua that it wasn't good for Keyblade Masters to get close to someone else. All it did was put that other person in as much danger as they would be in. But Aqua couldn't restrain it. She had fallen in love with Terra. She could only wonder if Terra would ever feel the same. He'd been so dedicated to fulfilling his dream of becoming a Keyblade Master. It would be a miracle if he returned her feelings since Terra never seemed like a person who would think about romantic feelings for someone else.

Every time she thought of Terra while in the Realm of Darkness, Aqua had blushed. Thinking of his handsome face, with his deep blue eyes and look of confidence and concentration. His smile would always flash through her mind. And because she thought of the true Terra, those memories would always diminish her fear of the Xehanort-controlled Terra.

No matter how painful it had been to fight him though, Aqua had never forgotten the true Terra and her deep love for him.

And in order to save Terra, even though he was controlled by that horrible old man, Aqua had given up her armor and her Keyblade for him. This left Aqua to resort to using Master Eraqus's Keyblade instead. Lucky for her, she'd taken it with her when changing the Land of Departure into Castle Oblivion.

Thankfully, when Terra had been saved and reformed as himself, he'd led Aqua to the place where her Keyblade lay. A room known as the Chamber of Repose. When Xehanort, deprived of his memory, had been taken in by Ansem the Wise, the armor and Keyblade had been stored away until that chamber was created.

Nevertheless, Aqua had been relieved to finally grasp the handle of Rain Fall, now Rain Storm, again. She could also use her armor again, giving it to Terra had left her without any protection in the Realm of Darkness. She'd been very grateful that Terra had been able to give her Keyblade and armor back after so long without them.

Shaking herself out of the memories, Aqua shifted her gaze from the sun to the top of the tree she was sitting on. It was growing star-shaped fruit, which she'd recently learned were called Paopu Fruits. She'd seen the fruit ten years ago, but she hadn't known its name. Even though the fruit had been what she'd based her lucky charm off of. She smiled at the fruits.

"Aqua?" a voice asked. She jumped and turned around, seeing Terra behind her.

Terra had been the last person she'd seen before falling into darkness. Then again, he hadn't been himself at the time. Master Xehanort had stolen his body and Terra's heart had been battling with him from within. Aqua thanked Kingdom Hearts that Terra was now himself and back in one piece.

"What are you doing out here?" he asked.

"Just thinking," Aqua said. "I came here back when we were apprentices…"

"Technically, I'm still an apprentice," Terra interjected. "I can't become a Master because ours is long gone."

"That's not true," Aqua jumped down from the tree and walked over to him. Terra turned his gaze to the sun. Aqua continued. "I could probably give you another chance to do it…?" she offered.

"Why would you?" Terra asked darkly. "I'll never pass after what our Master said. With my darkness-stained heart, how can I become one worthy of the title 'Keyblade Master'?"

"Terra, I…" Aqua started. She'd just been on the verge of trying to confess her feelings to him, but she bit her tongue and changed her remark. "Trust me, Terra. I'll give you a fair shot. Darkness or not."

"Really?" Terra seemed skeptic.

"After twelve years in the darkness, I've decided that it's not darkness that means you're good or evil," Aqua said. "It's how you decide to use it. Riku showed me that. And I know that you tried all in your power to save me and Ven."

Terra looked into her eyes and smiled lightly. "Fine," he said. "Let's do it."

The two walked down to the beach and stood across from each other. Aqua summoned Rain Storm and Terra summoned his Gaia Bane. His old Earth Shaker Keyblade had undergone some transformation too. Neither of them could explain it.

"Ready?" Aqua asked.

"When you are," Terra replied.

"Then we'll start with the first stage," Aqua said. She held up her Keyblade and summoned several balls of light. "Go!"

Terra charged as the balls started to move. He slashed, crushed, and pummeled each ball out of existence. He passed it with flying colors like he had the first time. His head held high, Terra gave Aqua a nod as he finished the first stage and stood ready for the next round.

"Good job," she said. "Now… are you ready?"

"Yes," Terra replied. He stood in his battle stance and Aqua took hers. It was time for the battle skills test. This was why Terra had failed the first time. He'd unintentionally summoned a small bit of darkness while battling Aqua. Hopefully he wouldn't let it loose again.

Terra and Aqua charged at each other and their Keyblades clanged upon impact. Aqua jumped back to dodge Terra's next strike and he just came right at her with another attack. Terra slammed his Keyblade into Aqua's as she tried to counterattack.

Suddenly, they were using magic to battle. Aqua started off with a Thunder spell and Terra managed to evade it. He cast Aeroga to create a massive whirlwind. Aqua was momentarily lifted off her feet, but she regained balance by jumping off Terra's Keyblade when he slashed at her again. He smiled and attacked again.

Soon enough, Terra and Aqua were laughing and having too much fun to remember they were in the middle of a Master Qualification Exam. They charged, attacked, cast magic, and eventually fell into the sand net to each other. Terra laughed like he hadn't in years. He was so happy to just be here with a friend he'd missed for so long.

After Xehanort had stolen his body and he'd become the Lingering Sentiment, Terra had lived angry and miserable for twelve long years. He wallowed in his hatred for Xehanort after all the miserable events that had happened to him, Ven, and Aqua. But he'd also felt sad that he'd let Ven and Aqua down. He vowed back then that he would do whatever he could to make it all up to them and try to end the suffering they'd all gone through by Xehanort's hand.

But he hadn't been able to leave the Keyblade Graveyard. Something had just kept him there for those twelve years. He trained to pass the time. He also searched for Ven and Aqua all over, but they'd vanished, along with Master Xehanort's apprentice, Vanitas. He supposed that they had all been destroyed, or Ven and Aqua managed to finish off Vanitas and went somewhere safe. He'd hoped it was the latter.

As fate would have it, Ven and Aqua had survived, but Ven's heart had gone to rest inside Sora after Vanitas was defeated. It had cost the boy his heart to do so, but now he was happy, healthy, and full of life like before. But the difference was that he was now the oldest of the trio. Physically, anyway.

Even in his catatonic state, Ven had continued aging. So even though he had the heart of a teenager, he was a full-grown adult. He was around Terra's height now, but he was still pretty scrawny.

Terra had been restored to how he'd been before Xehanort stole his body. So he was still nineteen years old. Thanks to Sora, Terra was human again, not just a suit of armor brought to life by his soul and will.

Aqua hadn't aged in twelve years due to the Realm of Darkness's strange flow of time. She'd stayed in her seventeen year old state, young and… Terra couldn't believe he was thinking it, beautiful.

Beautiful…?

Now that Terra thought about it, when he looked at Aqua now, a strange heat filled his cheeks when he wasn't focused on anything else. It had been a relief to see her face after so long. She'd lit up with happiness upon seeing him again. And when Aqua had embraced him upon reuniting with her, something inside him had stirred. It had only happened once before when he'd last seen her before separating in the Keyblade Graveyard. He didn't know what it was, maybe Aqua knew.

The sun completely dropped below the horizon and Terra and Aqua just lay down in the sand staring at each other. Soon enough, Aqua sat up and let her Keyblade disappear. Then, she summoned it again. But it actually wasn't her
Keyblade that time. It was Master Eraqus's.

"You took that from the ruins, right?" Terra asked. He sat up as Aqua nodded.

"I used it in the Realm of Darkness and up until you gave back Rain Storm," Aqua said as she fingered the old Keyblade. Suddenly, she held it out to him.

"Why are you giving it to me?" Terra asked. He didn't take it.

"You have more of a right to it than I do," Aqua said. You were Eraqus's first student. He even said he thought of you as his son." She pushed it toward him again. "Take it, Master Terra."

"Are you sure you can give me that title?" Terra asked. "Xehanort tried to mess with my head by calling me 'Master' all those years ago."

"I'm not messing with your head. Master Eraqus gave me the title of Master and I just conducted your second Master Qualification Exam," Aqua said. "You passed with flying colors. Now, take our Master's Keyblade. I think it should really belong to you."

Terra took it from her, his hands briefly brushing Aqua's and that weird, warm feeling went through him again. Aqua's cheeks flushed, but she turned away from Terra's face as he took Eraqus's Keyblade.

"I think we should put this back where it belongs," Terra said. Aqua still didn't look at him.

"Where would that be?" she asked.

"Let's put it in Castle Oblivion," Terra said. "It was the Land of Departure once. Our old home should be Eraqus's final resting place."

"It's yours now," Aqua said. "Do what you want with it."

Terra laid the Keyblade down next to him and noticed for the first time that Aqua was desperately trying to not look at him. He touched her face and made her look at him. Her watery blue eyes stared longingly into his cobalt eyes.

"Aqua?"

"Hmm?"

"Have you ever felt this weird feeling just flow through you when you look at someone?" Terra asked. Aqua cocked an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Well, what if something just… feels warm inside when you look at someone and you never feel that way with anyone else? You look at one person and feel it," Terra said.

"I… don't know, Terra," Aqua said.

"I think I do," he said. He pulled Aqua's face closer to his and their lips touched. She was completely surprised by Terra's action, but she loved it even more than she ever thought she would.

Aqua tentatively moved her hands from her lap to Terra's neck and deepened the kiss. Terra's hand that was holding Aqua's face started rubbing her smooth, soft cheeks, caressing her. When they broke apart, they stared at each other for a minute before smiling and letting tiny laughs escape.

"I never understood that feeling until now," Terra said as he pulled Aqua's body closer to his. He felt the heat radiating from her as she intertwined her fingers with his. "I love you, Aqua."

"I love you too, Terra," she said before they kissed again. Terra lay down and pulled her back into the sand with him as he continued to show her the amount of affection he felt for her.

Aqua rubbed her hands along Terra's front, feeling his muscles through his shirt. He flexed as he felt her gentle hands tickling his body. Aqua sighed as Terra's right hand made its way down to her waist. His left one had gone back to her face. The tips of Terra's fingers were entwined in Aqua's hair as his thumb was stroking her cheek again. Aqua's tongue skimmed Terra's lower lip and he used his tongue to trace Aqua's lips when she finished.

They broke away and just smiled happily at each other for a while before speaking again.

"You okay?" Aqua asked.

"Better than okay," Terra replied. "I never thought it was possible for one person to be so happy."

"Well, how happy is that?"

"The kind of happy that only happens when you know something has gone right for the first time in twelve years."

Aqua giggled and cupped Terra's cheek in her hand, kissing the other cheek. "That's a funny kind of happy," she said.

Terra chuckled. "I guess it is." He sat up and pulled Aqua into his lap. "But it's worth it to feel this happy."

"I can imagine." Aqua paused. "I love you."

Terra hugged Aqua to his chest as he rubbed her shoulders. She blushed from the soothing movement. Her head leaned into Terra's chest, where she could hear the rhythmic beat of his heart. It thumped happily against her eardrums.

Spending the rest of the night on that beach, under the moonlight, Terra and Aqua were too busy showing their feelings to notice even the slightest crack of the Paopu Tree's branches. Even when one of the fruits washed up on shore close enough for them to walk over and pick it up.

Though, even without eating one, Terra and Aqua knew their destinies were forever intertwined. The connections of their hearts that had formed over twelve years ago remained unbroken.

Aqua kissed Terra once more, proving the deep love that her heart had formed for him more than twelve years prior. He cherished the warm, beautiful love this wonderful maiden was giving him. Love was something he never thought he'd feel until that afternoon. It was, without question, the most wonderful feeling in all the worlds. The knight hoped he would be able to spend the rest of his life with the girl he so dearly loved.

As they eventually lay down, exhausted, Terra told Aqua one final time, "I love you," before falling into a peaceful slumber with his lover in his arms.

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By the way, that stuff about how Terra was restored, I don't have a clue how he could be saved. Same goes for the stuff about Xemnas. I just made that up. But go along with it! PLEASE! Also, I think he deserves another shot at a MQE. It wasn't fair that Eraqus judged him for that one little thing with his darkness. Then again, he's never seen the way Riku uses it. Eraqus would probably have a fit if he saw that.

It was fun to write this story too. I swear Terra and Aqua just seem so sweet together.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed.