Work Text:
Terra stared out of the window and sighed for what had to be the thousandth time that afternoon, his eleven-year-old mind wishing to be anywhere but cooped up in the stuffy library when it was such a nice day outside. The only thing that could make this afternoon worse was the fact that he was attempting to complete a math assignment, something about as likable as torture in his opinion.
“You’re never gonna get it done if you keep whining about it,” Aqua said with a roll of her eyes from where she sat across the table.
“I don’t even understand why we have to do this,” he complained, slamming the book shut and tossing his pencil at it for good measure. “If someone is threatening the World Order, it’s not like they’re going to ask us a math problem before they try to kill us.”
“That’s not why the Master makes us do it, Terra,” she replied, closing her own book for the time being.
“Then enlighten me, because if I have to solve an equation before a fight I’m just going to be confused before I die.” He banged his head down on the table, running his fingers through his hair. It was getting longer than usual, and Aqua noticed that he was starting to actually comb it before lessons instead of just rolling out of bed and showing up.
Aqua thought for a minute, and then got up to move around the table to sit beside Terra, pulling his book in front of her and looking where he had left off. His handwriting was an absolute nightmare, but Aqua was used to it at this point, and she read through what he had finished easily.
“This is like those push-ups Eraqus makes you do,” she explained, setting his paper down.
Terra sat up, looking at Aqua like she had three heads. “Gonna need you to explain that one.”
“Do you really think that in the middle of a fight you’re going to have to drop and do push-ups?” She mused, holding her hand up and gesticulating to make her point.
“Of course not,” he replied.
“Then why do you do them?”
“To get stronger,” he answered, looking confused as to how this had anything to do with the numbers on his assignment.
“Exactly,” Aqua replied, tapping her hand on the book. “He makes you do this to make your mind sharper, just like you do drills to make your body sharper.”
Terra sighed once more, hating that what she had said made sense. “It’s just…the numbers don’t make any sense,” he whined. “It’s like the second I start getting the hang of something, the numbers start blurring and moving around.”
“Okay…well, maybe you just need to look at it a different way,” Aqua suggested, pulling the book back between them so they could both see. “Read this one for me.”
Terra winced like she’d hit him, pulling the book in front of him and trying to focus. “What is the value of x when 2x + 6 = 20?”
“All right…” Aqua thought for a moment, then clapped her hands together. “Imagine you’re being attacked by twenty bears.”
Terra turned to look at her with his brow furrowed, looking concerned that Aqua had lost her mind.
“Just go with it, okay?”
“I wish I was being attacked by twenty bears, at least they would put me out of my misery.”
“Quit being such a baby,” Aqua scolded. “So, there’s twenty bears, but Eraqus takes care of the first six for you.”
“Oh…kay…”
“So how many do you still have to deal with?”
“Fourteen. I’m stupid, not an idiot,” he complained.
“You’re not stupid, Terra. Now, If there’s fourteen left, how many would each of us have to take to handle the rest? That’s like the x.”
Terra thought for a minute, tapping his pencil on the table. “But that depends.”
“No it doesn’t,” Aqua argued.
“Yeah it does, because I’m stronger than you,” he replied, Aqua immediately punching him in the arm hard enough for him to yelp.
“You are not stronger than me,” she asserted. It was true, but she hated that it was. When they first started training, Terra had been shorter and smaller than her. Now, it seemed like he grew an inch every day, and he started to fill out where he used to be scrawny and weak. She couldn’t believe how much he could eat now, and it was like everything they did he had to show that he was better, stronger, or faster.
“Wait. Seven,” he answered, looking at her with uncertainty. “Is that right?”
“Yes! See, I told you you’re not stupid.”
“Was that ever in question?” Eraqus’ voice was behind them, and they both whipped around quickly as they hadn’t noticed him approach.
“This math stuff is just really hard, Master Eraqus,” Terra complained, Eraqus giving him a tender smile and ruffling Terra’s hair.
“I know, my boy-it is not your strong suit,” he agreed. “But where you are weak, your partner is strong. And vice versa.”
“So we can help each other,” Aqua supplied for him, Eraqus smiling at her next.
“How far did you get in the assignment, Terra?” Eraqus asked, Terra immediately looking sheepish.
“Um…not very far, Master.”
Eraqus picked up his paper and scanned it, one eyebrow remaining up as he reviewed Terra’s work. Finally, he handed it back to Terra with a sigh.
“How can I expect a young man and a young lady to stay inside and study on a day as nice as today?” he sighed, Terra and Aqua giving each other tentative smiles.
“Terra, I will exchange the afternoon off for a promise of one extra hour of penmanship every day this week.”
“Yes, sir!” Terra agreed quickly, he and Aqua leaving their things and immediately running out of the library before he could change his mind. There was only one thing that was on their minds on such a bright, sunny afternoon, and the shimmering water of the lake seemed to call to them as they ran to their rooms to change.
Their rooms were right across from each other, with a bathroom beside them that they had to share. Terra heard the sound of the bathroom door opening and closing just as he was pulling a spare pair of shorts out of his dresser. He pulled them on and shucked his shirt, tossing it into the pile of dirty clothes already on his bedroom floor. Aqua’s room was always neat as a pin, but Terra found it a waste of time to pick up clothes that he was just going to wash later.
He ran out to the hallway, knocking on the bathroom door and calling through it to Aqua. “Hurry up!”
“I’m not going, Terra,” Aqua’s voice called from behind the door, Terra’s face falling at her words.
“What? Why not?” he asked, staring at the bathroom door like it would suddenly morph into his friend.
“Just…just go without me!”
“I’m not going swimming by myself,” he complained, having no clue what the big deal was. “Are you sick or something?”
“Go away, Terra!”
That was unusual. It was nothing for Aqua to be mad at him, but he usually did something to warrant it first.
“But-“
“Just leave me alone!”
Terra’s face fell further, hurt by how angry she sounded through the bathroom door. This was definitely not like her, and he decided there had to be a reason. He went back into his bedroom and put his discarded shirt back on, then took the shortest path he knew to the office where Master Eraqus spent his afternoons.
“Master Eraqus…sir?” he asked, knocking on the open door quietly. He’d only been in the office a few times, usually when he was in trouble, so it still had a bit of a quieting effect on him.
“Terra? I thought you and Aqua would be out in the lake by now,” Eraqus answered, turning around to find the worried expression on Terra’s face. “What troubles you, my boy?”
“I think there’s something wrong with Aqua,” he explained. “She won’t come out of the bathroom.”
Terra watched Eraqus’ face go through several emotions: concern, wonder, concern again, and finally what appeared to be acceptance. Without another word, he rose and followed Terra to the wing of the castle where the two young Keyblade wielders had lived for nearly four years now. Terra went into his bedroom, although he left the door open so he could see what was going on.
Eraqus knocked quietly and announced himself, Terra slightly annoyed that the door opened just a crack to admit him seconds later, when he’d just been yelled at through the door. It was too quiet for him to hear anything for a while, then Eraqus left. Terra was just getting up to see what was going on when Eraqus returned, something in his hands. Terra had no idea what it was, although it was wrapped in pink paper and looked like a little package. Eraqus came back out of the bathroom several minutes later and directly into Terra’s room.
“Is she okay?” Terra asked, hating that he had no idea what was going on with his best friend.
“Aqua is fine, although she won’t be swimming with you today, or likely for the rest of the week,” Eraqus replied, and Terra thought there was something strange about his expression. He had the same look on his face as he did whenever Terra or Aqua mastered something for the first time, or when they finally did something they’d been struggling to do.
“Is she sick?” he asked, confused as Eraqus simply gave him a warm smile.
“Take a walk with me, Terra,” he ordered, although he held his arm out cordially to invite Terra to stand close to him. Terra followed, slightly concerned when they began walking and Eraqus put an arm around his shoulders. “We need to have a talk, son.”
XXXXXX
The sun was just preparing to disappear the horizon, but Terra wasn’t paying any attention. His eyes were still wide in shock, and he was fairly certain he was never going to be able to close them again without replaying the nightmare that had been the walk he’d taken with Eraqus. He was so distracted, he didn’t hear Aqua come up beside him, and he nearly jumped out of his skin when she sat beside him on the stone steps leading up to the castle.
“I see the Master gave you the talk too?” she asked quietly, Terra still breathing hard at having been frightened and looking at Aqua like she was a bomb ready to explode. He nodded, settling back on the steps, although he left more space between himself and Aqua than he normally would.
They were silent for several minutes, until Terra couldn’t stand it anymore. “Is that really happening to you?” he asked, his voice very quiet.
“Yeah,” Aqua answered, her cheeks pink as she looked down at her feet.
“That sucks,” was Terra’s only response, as he couldn’t think of anything else to convey his worry for her.
“It really does,” she agreed.
They sat silently for a few more minutes, Aqua breaking the silence next. “Do you think people really do that with each other?”
“I don’t know, but it’s really gross,” Terra answered, his face screwing up in disgust as he remembered Eraqus describing the process in detail.
“So you don’t think you’ll ever do that?”
“Definitely not,” Terra answered, shaking his head.
“Yeah, me either,” Aqua agreed, the two lapsing into silence once more before Terra seemed to remember something.
“Oh yeah!” He reached into the deep pockets of his shorts, pulling out several wrapped candies that Aqua recognized from what was supposed to be Eraqus’ secret stash in the kitchens. “I got these for you. Eraqus said they might make you feel better because of…you know.”
Aqua smiled and unwrapped one of the chocolate candies, popping it into her mouth and instantly feeling less miserable.
“Thanks, Terra.”
“Thanks for helping me with my math earlier.”
She smiled back at him, the two going back to watching the sunset, each one occasionally unwrapping and eating another piece of candy.
“Will you still be my friend?” Aqua asked Terra finally, her heart clenching as she waited for the answer.
“No,” Terra answered, Aqua’s face dropping until he continued. “I’ll be your best friend.”