Sooooo... "Princely" is officially on hiatus... Maybe I'll actually get back to it when I get off my butt and stop distracting myself with side projects (like this) * sigh * I'm sorry that I'm so... unpredictable... ANYWAY thanks for deciding to read this story by this oh-so fickle author! Hehe...

Disclaimer: I do not own anything that has to do with Kingdom Hearts etc.

Enjoy~

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It was an undeniable, unmistakeable, blatantly obvious fact that Terra was completely and utterly in love with Aqua.

They had known each other as children and he had been in love with her since Jiminy-knows when! As twenty year-olds, it was almost painful (hilarious, in Zack's point of view) to watch the tall, strong brunet turn into a stammering mess when speaking to his best friend/not-so-secret crush. Of course, there were multiple pushes and advice given (blackmail, in Ven's case) from sympathetic friends who wanted nothing more than for Terra to stop being a school girl and say something.

But, in the end, it was up to Terra to seal his own fate and cross the border between friendship and romance. It was his journey to take.

And what a journey.

-1-

The first time Terra worked up the courage to say those words that were at the tip of his tongue, he was totally lying to himself and was not prepared at all.

Winter had hit the city and everything was blanketed in pure white snow. Terra had appeared at Aqua's apartment, like a good friend, after promising that he would have a movie/snack night with the girl. Aqua happily greeted him at the door and invited him inside, offering what food was prepared at the moment.

Terra politely declined, saying he would wait for the movie to begin while taking off his coat. As Aqua glided to the kitchen to pull popcorn out of her microwave, Terra quickly transferred a small wrapped box from his coat pocket to the pocket of his pants.

It was Aqua's Christmas present, although it was a day late. The present that he had spent three (grueling) hours in a mall with Zack and Ven (why he invited those two, he forgot but immediately regretted) shopping for, determined to find the perfect gift.

This gift was special, it was a beautiful sterling silver necklace with a shining blue pendant (he embarrassingly admitted to Zack that he bought it because it matched Aqua's eyes). But it was really less about the present and more about the words that he was planning on saying after he gave it to her.

Terra was taking deep breaths (hyperventilating, actually) by the time Aqua arrived at the couch where he had seated himself to hand him some hot cocoa. He would be lying if he didn't admit that Aqua made the most amazing cup of cocoa in the entire world. So engrossed by the delicious drink that he didn't even realize Aqua began the movie.

"I love this movie," she said happily as she handed Terra a blanket, already snuggling up in her own.

Terra snapped out of his thoughts and realized that he had missed his chance to give her the present before the movie began. Undeterred, Terra convinced himself that he would give it to her after the movie and settled in, fully expecting to watch a girly romantic comedy.

It was a three hour action-packed thriller.

By the time the movie was over, the snacks were eaten and it was almost midnight. Terra found himself preparing to leave without even a mention of the wrapped package of not-so-secret intentions in his pocket. He had his shoes and coat on, and Aqua was bidding him farewell and a safe drive home when Terra realized that it was now or never.

"Merry Christmas," he said quietly as he unceremoniously shoved the box in Aqua's face while she was mid-sentence.

"You... got me a gift?" She slowly grabbed the small package and Terra heart was beating loudly in his ears. Aqua smiled kindly and said happily, "Thanks for reminding me."

Aqua walked into the living room and returned with an orange scarf. She wrapped it around his neck and Terra's breath caught at the close proximity.

"I saw this the other day and remembered that your favorite color is orange. I wasn't really expecting something in return though," she giggled and took a step back to see how the scarf looked, "I hope you like it!"

Terra tucked his face into the scarf to hide his blush.

"I love you."

Everything froze. Aqua blinked owlishly, "What?"

It took Terra a moment to realize that the words had come from his own mouth (the traitor!). Quickly, he threw up his arms defensively, "L-l-love... Orange! I love orange! I love orange scarves! Th-thank you! I l-lo-love this orange scarf!"

He could not have wanted to punch himself harder.

"O-oh," Aqua chuckled nervously, "I see... That's... good?"

An awkward silence rose and Terra waved quickly as he walked out the door, once again thanking Aqua for the scarf and bidding her good-night.

As he reached his car and sat down inside, he slammed his head against the steering wheel. The slam then caused the horn to sound obnoxiously loud, proceeded to wake neighbors and cause shouts directed at the poor brunet. Apologizing, Terra drove away, figuring that it could not have gone worse.

-2-

The second time those three words passed through Terra's lips, it was more of a secret longing and less of a confession.

Terra had taken a day off from work and was taking a walk in downtown Radiant Gardens when he received a call from Aqua. She had gotten off of work early and was wondering if Terra would join her for lunch. Happily agreeing, the brunet met the young woman at one of their favorite cafes.

The two had enjoyed a pleasant lunch and decided (forced by Aqua, actually) to take a walk in a near-by park. Spring was in full bloom and the flowers of the park were beautiful in the cool wind.

"Remember, we used to play on that playground!"

The pair laughed about old jokes and stories from their days as children as they found a bench to sit on.

"Oh, what I wouldn't give to be a child again. No worries, just free to play," Aqua said dreamily as she leaned back on the bench.

Terra laughed a bit and leaned forward on his elbows atop his legs.

"Terra," the addressed turned to look at his companion, "I'm glad I met you."

Suddenly, Terra's heart was racing. Perhaps this was the day.

"Aqua, I–"

A cellphone ringing cut off his sentence. "Oh, hold that," Aqua pulled her cell out of her pocket, "It's Aerith. Be right back." The young woman stood up with an apologetic smile and walked a little ways away to answer her call.

Staring at her back, Terra sighed as he rubbed his forehead, exasperated. A sudden wind began to blow past Terra towards Aqua's direction.

"I love you," he whispered into the wind, hoping that it would carry the massage to her.

No, it wasn't the day.

-3-

The third time Terra told Aqua he loved her, his confession was actually hi-jacked.

Summer was ending, the days were getting shorter, and the night air had become crisp. It had just become cold enough for Terra to pull out his favorite orange scarf (something that he had been looking forward to since winter ended).

The street was glowing a yellow-ish color due to the streetlamps and the lights from the shops lining the sidewalk. People were bustling about as Terra made his way to the end of the sidewalk. There, large trees grew above a small wooden benches. On one bench sat his subject of affection and constant embarrassment.

Light blue eyes caught darker ones, and the young woman immediately rose from her seat. She waved her hand and gave him one of those bright smile that made Terra want to run over and embrace her. Instead he coolly walked up to her and bid her a good evening.

"I'm sorry we couldn't do this earlier during the day, but I was totally caught up with work."

"It's not a big deal," Terra gave her a reassuring smile, "I like coming to this street at night."

Aqua turned to look down the busy street. There was a festive aura surrounding the area that just didn't seem to appear during the day.

"Yeah, me too."

The two began walking back down the street, looking through windows and discussing good present ideas. They had agreed on buying something together for Ven's eighteenth birthday. He was a little brother of-sorts to the two and they really wanted to give him something from the both of them.

Aqua suddenly gasped and Terra was surprised to find himself being pulled (yanked forcibly is a better term for it) in a different direction. Terra was now facing a window looking into a small shop.

"Look, Terra"

The brunet tried to focus on the inside of the shop instead of Aqua's arm firmly hooked with his (like a couple, he allowed himself to think for a moment).

The inside of the shop looked interesting in a child-like kind of way. There were colorful ornaments and wind chimes hung all over the ceiling. It was filled with everything from stuffed animals to metal and wood trinkets to other obscure oddities Terra couldn't quite distinguish from his spot at the window. Terra took a small step back to look at the shop itself. The outside was wooden and gave off a comforting feeling.

"Let's go inside."

Things were never a discussion with Aqua, Terra mused as he was dragged inside. It was warm inside and as soon as they were in, Aqua let go of Terra to have a better look around (to say he was disappointed would be an understatement).

Terra wandered around a bit. There were a lot of very interesting things to see. If he was a child, he would have probably spent more than just one month's allowance on several things in there.

"Terra come look!"

Obediently, he followed Aqua's voice and found her near the back of the shop. Her back was facing him and when he had gotten a bit closer, she spun around, a childish smile plastered on her face.

"Ta-da!" From behind her back Aqua pulled out three key chains and triumphantly held in front of Terra's face.

They were pretty. The key chains were held up by a small metal chain, and the key chains themselves were made of metal and glass. Three stars, each with their own color. Blue, green, and orange.

"Let's get these. One for each of us."

Terra raised an eyebrow, "We're giving a matching key chain to a boy on his eighteenth birthday?"

Aqua pouted as she lowered her arms. Terra thought she looked positively cute.

"We can get him something else too, I guess. But, I don't know, I really like these. I feel like we should have them."

Aqua's face suddenly became very serious, but before Terra could press the matter further, Aqua smiled at him once more before brushing past him.

"So, I'm buying these!"

Terra chuckled and began to walk toward Aqua.

Outside, the pair continued their walk around the glowing street until they made it back to their starting point, the small wooden bench. Aqua sat down and motioned Terra to sit next to her. He obliged and watched as Aqua rustled through the small plastic bag she had been carrying.

"Here," she said as she held out the orange star key chain.

"You're giving it to me now?" he asked as he held out his large hand.

Aqua dropped the key chain into his hand, "Mm-hmm." She pulled out the blue star and held it up to the light, letting it shine through the blue glass.

The two sat silently until Terra decided to speak up, "So why were you so insistent on buying these?"

The girl shrugged, "I really like them."

Terra sent her a meaningful look. The one that said 'stop lying and tell me what you're thinking'.

Aqua sighed (he really knew her too well), "I'm kind of scared, you know?"

Terra immediately sat up and gave Aqua a questioning look.

"The three of us are getting older," she continued, "We're going down different paths. Who knows, one day we may not be together anymore. It's lonely. I want something to hold us together, even if it is just a key chain."

Terra watched her closely. Suddenly he noticed Aqua's eyes watering ever so slightly. He quickly reached over and grabbed her hand. His massive hand easily enveloped her small one. Aqua looked at him with a surprised expression and Terra just began to realize what he was doing.

"I'll always be with you. You don't need a key chain to prove that."

The words were flying out faster than Terra could register them. Realization then hit him. Isn't this the chance he had been waiting for? This is it. Now or never.

"I love you."

Terra's eyes snapped wide open. He didn't say that. He looked at Aqua and she was staring straight at him. It was quiet and Terra started to convince himself that what he heard was actually his own thought. Then a single tear rolled down Aqua's face causing Terra's eyes to widen further.

"I love you."

This time Terra watched her mouth move. He heard her voice clearly. She had just told him she loved him.

Terra quickly opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by quiet sobs.

Aqua was crying. Terra's brain couldn't even comprehend what was going on anymore.

Aqua lifted up her free hand to wipe away at her eyes. Terra was in full panic-mode so he did the first thing that came to mind. He hugged her.

So surprised by the sudden movement, Aqua stopped crying, "Terr-"

"I love you."

It was Aqua's turn to be surprised.

"I've loved you since we were children. I've always been in love with you. I'm not going to leave you."

Aqua's tears streamed down with more force than before. She gripped the back of Terra's coat harshly and buried her face into the crook of his neck.

They stayed like this for a short while until Terra pulled away. Bringing both of his hands up to her face, he began wiping away her tears. He gave her a small smile and she returned it with a sloppy tear-stained one.

He leaned forward and kissed her lips softly.

"Third time's the charm."

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Done! Finally... Gee golly. A bit longer and more serious than expected.

I really need to keep regular schedules or something...

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed! Drop me a review if you please.

Until next time~