Aqua was genuinely surprised at what the currents of time did. Terra's confidence as a Keyblade Master was soaring, and so was Ven's. They were constantly settling disputes among worlds with or without her knowing, leaping in and judiciously creating compromise and peace before Aqua had to do it herself. Occasionally all three needed to jump in, but then again there also wasn't much to do with Sora settling into his own rhythms of establishing order among the worlds. Especially since he went traveling much more frequently with that new inter-world touring business of his.

Ventus was also doing something similar. Except instead of introducing cultures to one another, he was setting up an organization to promote peace and understanding that didn't require a Keyblade. It was a little pet project he and Zack had been discussing for months and now it was finally getting off the ground.

So far there were only a few chapters of "Heroic Endeavors to Lessen Problems" (HELP, they affectionately shortened it to): Olympus Coliseum (Zack represented there), Land of Departure (Ven was head of that chapter) , Destiny Islands ( Sora had happily obliged to head that chapter), Twilight Town (surprisingly Hayner's gang wanted to keep that chapter running, and Ven didn't disagree), Radiant Garden (Lea and Kairi had gotten into a hot debate on who would lead before settling on co leaders), but that was mostly it.

It was a group where everyone and anyone was welcome, as long as you held firm to a creed of helping others creating a united system across the worlds where there could be reliable help, a sense of camaraderie and welcome, and where you could have justice that made all happy. It was ambitious, but Ventus was confident that he and Zack could pull it off.

But all in all, it had been about two or three years since Xehanort was vanquished. The worlds were quiet. The efforts of the heroes were being devoted to making connections, creating bridges that went under and over what had been deemed a rule: "don't meddle, stay out of the affairs of other worlds, and don't reveal their nature."

Sora had- and still -criticized the ways of the Keybearers of old; the isolation, the separation, it wasn't what anyone needed. What would really pave the way for a bright future for the Realm of Light, he believed, was for there to be a network; a link between worlds where knowledge was shared and everyone was clearly informed on what was going on. His friends strongly agreed, and so most often the disputes that would need settling would be running in to clarify cultural differences. There was a good number of well informed and receptive Keyblade Masters to settle it all.

But it wasn't all this Ventus was thinking of. He sat nestled in the branches of one of the many trees in the castle courtyards, gazing at the blue sky through the emerald leaves. He wasn't thinking about how he and Roxas were developing to a point where you could roughly tell them apart at a glance half the time, though he briefly mused over it:

Roxas's features were becoming sharp and chiseled while Ventus retained an attractive amount of baby fat and roundness. Roxas's eyes had become a dark navy grey while Ven's still looked as blue as ever. Roxas tended to keep his hair neatly trimmed and had no piercings. Ven actually really liked wearing his hair in a ponytail and enjoyed the studs in his ears.

Ven's mind was on things besides Sora's dream of the worlds truly becoming one again (it would take a long time, probably well beyond Sora's lifetime, to actually achieve), besides HELP and his duties as a co-founder (he knew Zack was going to get incredibly ticked at him for missing a leadership meeting... again), and besides his own success at being a Keyblade Master (it had been his dream so long, hadn't it? Gosh, he still felt like an apprentice. And when was he going to get pupils of his own?).

But really what Ventus was thinking about- what his mind kept circling back to -was his friendship with Terra and Aqua. He was thinking about the days of yore before their lives got royally screwed. They were still incredibly good friends. Ventus dreaded to think of ever permanently leaving their side, but life was starting to show there was things besides living his days peacefully- really boringly, dare he admit -with the friends he had gone through more than ten years of his own personal hell for. It wasn't that he didn't love their company, that he didn't love to see their smiling faces or hear their laughter or spar with them.

It was that Ventus was growing up, and he was wondering if growing up meant he had to leave them behind. He'd be so busy- stopping a fight here, giving a speech there, ordering something elsewhere. He was flitting in and out of the Land of Departure more and more each day, and it made him sad. He took a deep breath. There was that depression of old slinking in again. He had long gotten over the status of his heart and the potential catastrophe that could happen from it, but now he felt like he was abandoning everything he had been fighting for: his friends.

He silently thanked Aqua as he picked an apple and began munching on it. She had put in so many fruit trees and hastened their growth with her spell work so that now the mountains were littered with fruit that was there for anyone who desired it. Harvest time was met with a majority of the fruit going to people across the realm who needed it more than they did.

Ventus sighed deeply. He tried settling his thoughts back to what he climbed up here for: his own answers on what would happen if the three of them drifted apart. He kept trying to stare down that abyss of uncertainty only to look away for fear that he got the answer he dreaded.

"Ven! Hey Ventus are you moping around her somewhere?" Terra called out. "Aqua's got a surprise for us!" He added, as if that would really draw Ventus out.

Ventus rolled his eyes. He shifted over to watch them approach in silence. When they were in the right spot, Ventus trusted his legs to wrap around a branch and bear his weight. This resulted in him swooping down like Jack Skellington had done one Halloween and scared the living day lights out of his friends, "Hey! Wassup?!"

Aqua shrieked, then laughed. Terra clutched at his heart as if the world had just ended in front of him. Ventus grinned, his eyes squinting shut with pride. He then back flipped the rest of the way down, nailing the landing so he could spring up and address the two properly, "What is this big surprise Aqua has for me?"

Terra regained his composure, "Not just for you, me too. She wouldn't tell me."

Both of Aqua's boys watched her expectantly.

Aqua smiled, but for some reason it was bashful, shy. Her hands quietly wandered down to her stomach. Ventus caught onto what she was trying to say before Terra did, and his relaxed smile dropped into stretched-thin surprise; maybe horror.

"Terra, Ven, I'm pregnant." Aqua murmured.

Terra's eyes widened. His mouth opened to say something only to laugh. He bent over slightly, holding out his hands to Aqua and continuing to try and find his voice. "O-ours?" He finally asked as he settled his hands on Aqua. She nodded, smiling just as wide. Terra hugged Aqua, then backed off to pace, "I-I'm gonna be father! I'm gonna be a father!" He crowed with delight. He turned back to Aqua and held her shoulders, "Name! We need a name! Boy or a girl?!"

Aqua giggled, "Terra it's not that easy-"

"Hold on," he began running off, "i-isn't there something you can do with a weighted string-"

"It's an old wive's tale, Terra. It won't be correct." Aqua couldn't help but continue laughing. Her husband- tall, muscular, intimidating -was becoming an excited and uncontrollable puppy.

"T-Terra! The baby!" She was scooped up in Terra's arms with a yelp.

He yelled with sheer joy, "AQUA WE'RE PARENTS NOW!" He twirled her in the air before hugging her close, "In all the worlds... In every sky out there I could never find the words to describe how happy I am." He repeated the words again and again, "We're parents. We're parents..."

Ventus was smiling, but he felt awkward. Maybe there was a hint of jealousy. He'd always been the young one to dote on, after all. But mostly he felt left out. This was something for them, not for him. He was happy for them, yes, but it felt like he didn't need to get this news. Maybe he didn't even deserve it.

And then Terra grabbed his hands, "Ven, Ven would you be the godfather?!"

Ventus smiled, but his eyes darted around and his eyebrows knotted. "U-uh, um, why wouldn't I?" He nervously chuckled. Terra was just so enthusiastic, Ventus didn't want to say no.

Aqua reeled Terra back in, "Terra, it's still months away."

"I know, I know!" Terra sighed, "B-but we gotta get things arranged. Make sure our little one comes into the worlds when everything's just right." He laughed, "Ven's gotta find a special someone of his own! Our kid can't have just a godfather, they need a godmother, too!"

For some reason this struck a chord in Ventus. He'd never really given romantic pursuits much thought. He had yet to find anyone he'd be willing to more than hug. Plenty he'd want to be around with for a long time, but kissing, deeper things than that and actually having kids... The thought had never really come up. And if that was what a romantic relationship was then, well, Ventus supposed he was content to be alone. But it confused him. He hated being alone. He wanted someone to share those smaller moments with, someone to love and care for deeper than a friend. Had he found someone yet, or would he never find anyone like that?

"Ven, are you okay?" Aqua asked.

Terra's enthusiasm grinned to a halt, "Ven?"

"Fine, I'm fine...ish." Ventus shrugged. "Just thinking."

Terra looked at Aqua, then said, "Well, whatever you're thinking, you can tell it to us."

Ventus decided he'd go down the list, "Will... Will the kid change anything? Between us?"

Aqua scoffed, "Ven, no it wouldn't! There'll be one more person, yes, but you'll always be our best friend." Upon seeing the doubt in his gaze, she added, "Always. I mean that."

Ventus was relived to hear that. He then asked, "And me and Zack and HELP... Do you think we'll drift apart because of that?"

Terra sighed and rolled his eyes. He grabbed Ven by his shoulders and slightly bent down to his level, "If you think our friendship will fall apart just because we aren't seeing each other much, you must not be thinking about us terribly hard." Terra pulled a familiar glass star out of his pocket, "And we got these, remember? We'll always be together, Ven, I promise."

Ventus was smiling a little more certainly, but the final object on his list wouldn't come out. He looked at his feet, "Um... About your kid's godmother... W-what if-"

Terra apologized, "I-I was getting caught up in the moment. I'm sorry Ven I didn't mean you had to right this minute-"

"What if I never do?" Ventus asked, "What if I never find someone I want to love or kiss or... whatever." He folded his arms, "I-I mean there's you and Aqua getting... Busy, and always kissing and stuff, and Lea and Isa have been going out for awhile now, and then there's Herc who has Meg, and Zack is always commenting about some of the ladies who hang around the coliseum in ways I don't completely understand, and I just..." Ven's shoulders sank, "I feel different... Weird... Like I don't quite understand." He then added, "I'm not saying that I want to be alone. I'm terrified of being alone again. But I'm not finding anyone to be with, like you guys."

Terra leaned back and held his chin, giving Ven's words thought. He looked at Aqua, who was also thinking. She then said, "Well, you know that's completely ok, Ven. You don't have to be all..." She had trouble finding the word. Her hands flailed in the air in a silly attempt to try and find her words, "You don't have to be this involved in a relationship. I heard Riku's decided he doesn't feel like ever pursuing romance."

Ventus continued watching his feet, arms crossed, genuinely confused and lost. "But I'm not Riku." He whispered.

Aqua held up his chin, "Ven, you know, it's not bad. Here, sit down both of you, I need to explain something I've read about, ah," her face flushed, embarrassed slightly about the topic. What could she say? This was not what she really wanted to discuss with the young man she still saw as a terribly young boy, "sexual diversity in people."

So the three sat down and discussed the matter. Aqua reinforced the fact that she had only really read about this and that Ventus was free to form his own opinion about his body, but she still cleared up a lot of things for him. Terra stuck around for support, since it really wasn't his talk. Ventus listened, and the more he heard the more the cloud that had been hanging around his head went away. The more he knew that the three of them would be friends for a long time, the more he knew the baby wasn't going to change anything too much, the more he knew that he was okay just as he was.

About a good hour later Ventus sat down in the atrium to the Olympus Coliseum chapter of HELP, smiling wide even as Zack chewed him out for being so late to the meeting he just about missed it.

I swear Ven is asexual no one can tell me otherwise. Also I've been meaning to write TerQua baby, it took me too long.