AN: Well, I'm not quite sure what to say. This is my first fic, so feel free to offer advice and or criticism.

Warnings: TerraXVentus. Mild occness from Ventus in particular. Horrible fight scenes. If you have a problem with any of these, turn back now.

Beta'd by the amazing DwyerCas. Thank you so much for encouraging me.

I Don't own Kingdom Hearts

Terra briskly made his way through the castle halls, his mind rushing with excitement. Tonight would be the first time in what seemed like ages that he would be able to spend some quality time with Ventus.

They'd been working so hard recently, everyone was, to help restore the Land of Departure to its former state. Aqua, as talented as she was, was able to restore the world back to its former glory, changing it from Castle Oblivion to its original state.

Since then, people started returning, and they were all working tirelessly to restore the order that was so easily shattered, leaving most people, including himself, incredibly busy. Still, Terra had to admit, the hard work was definitely worth it. Under Aqua's guidance as a master, they were all making excellent progress undoing the damage done to their lives by Xehanort.

Xehanort. The mere mention of his name was enough to make Terra angry. The former master had caused everyone so much pain. Even now Terra was still suffering because of Xehanort. The damage caused by his possession had been severe, enough to make the darkness within him even more difficult to deal with than before. However, the person Terra felt most sorry for, was his lover, Ventus.

The small blond was probably hurt the most by the crazed psychopath they once called a master. Although his heart returned to him, it was still incredibly weak from the immense damage done to it, making Ventus weak as well. He was currently unable to work towards his goal of becoming a master, because everyone feared more possible damage to his heart would be fatal, which prevented him from going on missions. People were even weary about him training, much to his chagrin. Terra could sense his restlessness too, and it was all Xehanort's fault. Just thinking about all he'd done to them made him so-

Terra stilled his thoughts. He shouldn't be thinking about things like this now, not before his date with Ventus. Today was supposed to be a good day for both of them, and he wouldn't ruin it by thinking about the past.

Terra pushed open the front gates of the castle, to find his lover waiting for him outside, a bright smile adorning his face.

"You're late." he jokingly teased. "I was thinking about running off by myself, that woulda showed you a thing or two!"

"You wouldn't dare" Terra replied, amusement lacing his words. "You probably couldn't do it without me, you'd be stuck thinking about me the whole time."

"Would you like to find out? Just give me the money and I can go alone." He offered back, causing both of them to laugh.

"Well lets head out!" Terra said as he began to make his way toward the Gummi.

"So Aqua was ok with seeing you early today?" Ventus questioned casually.

Terra froze, he had completely forgotten. "Uh... yeah, about that."

"Terra!" he shot back annoyed.

Terra was required to see Aqua on a daily basis, for his "treatment."While Xehanort was no longer controlling him, the damage he caused made his previously small problems much more severe. Aqua insisted upon daily sessions as a cautionary measure to help him control his darkness, for his safety and that of those around him. But today it only seemed like a nuisance to Terra.

"I can just skip it today." he suggested "I'll be fine, I've been seeing her long enough. It won't hurt."

Ventus however, was unconvinced. "You know how important she said it was! You're supposed to see her around the same time every day!"

Terra sighed in response. "If you really want me to, I can go later." He wanted this date to be perfect, and as far as he was concerned this was an interruption.

"But Terra, Aqua sai-" he was cut off by Terra, who decided to shut him up by placing his lips over his own.

"Just trust me." he spoke reassuringly as he pulled away. "I can handle just one night, and as soon as we get back, I'll go see Aqua."

Ventus was still concerned, but he knew how stubborn Terra could be. "Fine." he sighed defeated. "But if you show even one sign of slipping we're headed straight back!"

As far as Terra was concerned, that was a victory on his part. "Well come on, let's get going!" He said as he preceded to drag his boyfriend excitedly by the hand.

Ventus sincerely hoped he hadn't just made a mistake, because he certainly felt like he had.

XxXxXxX

"Please tell Leon I'll be free to discuss things further tomorrow, if need be." Aqua spoke professionally into the phone.

"Of course." the voice replied. "The Restoration committee is thrilled to be working with you."

Aqua ended the call and yawned, her arms stretching above her head. "This work never seems to end." she said to no one in particular.

And indeed it didn't. She, as the only remaining keyblade master of their world, was left with the task of getting things back in order. At first she happily took on the task, after all Aqua was no stranger to a little hard work. However, little had she known at the time it would be much more than that. Sometimes she wondered how Eraqus did it. Was it harder for her because she had to do damage control as well as run the place, or was it just her lack of experience? Maybe it was the fact that he wasn't alone as a master. Then again, she wasn't exactly alone herself. While they weren't masters, Terra and Ventus did all they could to help Aqua run things, even to the point of it interfering with their relationship.

That's why today, Aqua decided to grant them much needed time off. Time off, that would be nice. Unfortunately for her, Aqua couldn't afford time off yet. At the thought of time, Aqua turned to glance at a clock on the wall

"Terra's appointment's going to start soon." She thought out loud. "Maybe I have enough time for a..." Her sentence was interrupted by a yawn, brought on by the thought of sleep, which she had been deprived of as of late.

Aqua lazily made her way over to a couch situated in her office. A short nap couldn't hurt, right? Terra would wake her up when he came in. At the moment she honestly was far too exhausted to care about the embarrassment she would normally feel at being caught sleeping on the job. She settled into a comfortable position, and let the reprieve of sleep overtake her.

XxXxXxXx

"We're here!" Terra declared enthusiastically as he stepped out of the Gummi, Ventus following suit. They made their way to the tell tale large door of their destination, and pushed it open.

"Traverse Town." Ventus smiled softly as he spoke the name. Said place was beautiful. A city of night, perpetually bathed in shinning starlight. Despite the constant state of nighttime, it was a lively place, full of shops and beautiful scenery. An excellent place for any date.

The couple made their way over to a small restaurant, the dining area of which was not enclosed by walls, leaving patrons free to eat out in the cool night air, under the light of the stars. Ventus took a seat at a table, while Terra strode up to the counter to inform the staff of their presence. After the obligatory "We'll be right with you" Terra took his seat across from his lover.

"I'm glad we were able to be here tonight." Ventus said lovingly, his shining blue eyes gazing into Terra's.

Before he could replay, Terra felt a sharp pain in his head, his vision growing blurred. He winced visibly in response.

Ventus, taking notice of this, quickly grew concerned. "Terra are you sure you can handle this?"

"Yes!" he choked out, shaking his head to quell the pain. "I'm fine, Ven, don't worry about it." he tried to sound convincing.

"Remember what we agreed on, at even the slightest sign of trouble we'd run home to Aqua?" Ventus stated firmly.

The phrasing of "running home" hit Terra straight in his pride, which naturally meant he wouldn't concede. "Ven, no. I'm not ruining this night like that. I can handle myself!"

"Then let me ruin it!" Ventus snapped back. "I care more about your well being than some stupid dat-"

His argument was cut short by the arrival of a waitress. While Ventus would have liked to argue the situation more, Terra tried to create a normal atmosphere by responding to her question of "So what can I get you both this evening?"

Terra cheerfully placed his order, expertly masking the struggle Ventus knew he was experiencing. He grudgingly did the same, but was quick to bring the topic back up when the waitress returned to the kitchen.

"Terra we're going to Aqua. Now!" Ventus demanded, his words filled with a mix of concern and annoyance.

"I told you I can handle this. Why can't you trust me Ven?" Terra said pleadingly.

To which he could only reply "I... I do trust you, but!-"

"Then please, let me do this, for you. For us." Terra replied.

"Terra listen to m-" once again when he tried to make his case, the waitress suddenly appeared with their meals.

"Here you go!' she spoke with the overenthusiastic kindness that just screamed "I want a big tip!"

"H-how is it finished so fast?" Ventus replied as nicely as he possibly could, trying to hide the fact that he wanted to murder this woman by now.

"Our moogle chefs are very capable." she replied. "Enjoy your food! Let me know if you need anything!"

"Will do!" Terra replied with the same fake air of enthusiasm, that was frankly making Ventus sick.

" Terra! I-" He was cut off yet again this evening.

"Ven, please. I'll beg!" he pleaded desperately.

Ventus was beginning to wonder if he was hiding his pain well, or if the situation wasn't as bad as he though. He decided for now, to grant his lover's wish. "Fine" he sighed "but we're never doing this again if you don't go straight to Aqua when we get back!"

"I knew you'd see it my way." Terra replied, as if ignoring the last warning in his answer. He leaned across the table and gave Ventus a small peck on the lips. "You won't regret it."

"Yeah..." Ventus replied dejectedly. Annoying waitress, stubborn Terra, arguing. Some date night this turned out to be.

By the time they had finished eating, Terra's condition worsened. However, he insisted to his ever vigilant lover that he was perfectly fine, but Ventus was hell-bent on getting them home. However, in an effort to prove he was "okay" Terra wanted to drive once again. After barely avoiding several collisions and receiving several scolding's from Ventus, they somehow made it back in one piece.

"Aqua, now!" Ventus promptly ordered, the annoyance from their failure of a date clear in his voice.

Not wanting to anger him any further, Terra made his way towards Aqua's office, while Ventus headed the opposite direction to their bedroom.

"Don't even think about coming to bed until you see her!" Ventus yelled as he walked towards their room. "I'll check if I have to!"

Terra made the long trip to Aqua's office, his efforts to hide his fight to control his darkness taking their toll on him. His vision was even worse by now, as he staggered toward the door. Just as he made a reach for the knob, the splitting pain in his head became nearly unbearable. Terra grunted in agony, he couldn't let this happen now, he had to keep control. But, before his hand even touched the surface of the doorknob, everything faded to black.

With a yawn, Ventus lazily crawled into his side of their bed, thoughts reflecting on the disaster of a date he just went on. 'Some way to spend a day off' he deadpanned internally. Tomorrow he just wanted to forget this even happened.

He was broken from his thoughts by Terra entering the room. "Well, that was quicker than usual, you aren't trying to lie to me are you Terra?" Ventus questioned warningly, his back facing Terra.

The lack of response confused him, was Terra angry about tonight? Had he been too harsh? His confusing only increased when the room was illuminated by the shimmer of a keyblade being summoned.

When Ventus moved to turn and ask Terra what he was doing, he was greeted with a keyblade headed straight for him.

Acting on reflex, he was barely able to roll out of bed and avoid being struck. When Ventus rose to his feet from the floor, he saw Terra's keyblade lodged into the bed where his form was, only seconds ago. When his eyes met his lovers, he was horrified.

Terra's eyes had once again become the dreadful shade of yellow that told Ventus everything he needed to know. He instantly summoned his own weapon.

"Terra?" he questioned desperately. "Terra can you hear me?" the only response he received was him pulling his keyblade out of their now mutilated mattress. The situation did not look good.

He raised his own weapon, Terra moving to attack him instantly. He tried to block, but was met with massive recoil. He had almost let him forget how powerful Terra was. It made sense, he was well muscled and twice his own size. How was he going to stand a chance.

Ventus tried to take advantage of his superior speed, running to slip past Terra. If he could just make it to Aqua, everything would be fine. He hoped.

However, Terra obviously wasn't going to let that happen. While Ventus was moving to get past him, he quickly took hold of his arm, and threw him into an adjacent wall. His vision reeling, Ventus made out Terra's approaching form. He had to think fast, or he would be killed for sure. He couldn't make it to the door, that much was made evident by Terra throwing him, so he looked just above him for the next best option.

Ventus threw himself out of a closed window in their bedroom, which thankfully was on the ground floor. He tried his best to ignore the pain of glass digging into his body, as he made contact with the solid ground outside. As he struggled to get up, he noticed Terra had also decided to go out the window, and was fast approaching him.

Clenching his teeth in pain, Ventus raised his keyblade. The odds were stacked against him in every way possible. He was still weak from the damage to his heart, Terra was larger and stronger than he was, and he gave up his speed advantage by kindly breaking the window and impaling himself with glass, allowing Terra to make a much smoother decent.

He made his best effort to block and parry Terra's attacks, but a hard swing left him of guard, and Terra was quick to take advantage. He struck Ventus, sending him flying. He landed particularly hard, with the impact knocking the air out of his lungs.

By the time Ventus was able to collect his thoughts, Terra was looming over him. He grabbed Ventus by the throat, holding him in mid air effortlessly, choking him. He clawed and struggled against the arm that once held him so lovingly. In what he knew were his last moments, all Ventus could feel was guilt.

As his shimmering azure eyes stared into Terra's soulless yellow ones, Ventus could only blame himself. He should have been more insistent, he shouldn't have given in so easily.

Terra drew back his keyblade, and Ventus knew what was coming. He forced his eyes closed, preparing for the inevitable, as his lover moved to stab him through the heart.

XxXxXxxXXxXx

Aqua was suddenly woken from her sleep by faint noises coming across the castle. Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she slowly moved to get up from the couch. "How long have I been out?" she said groggily.

Turning towards the clock, her thoughts raced. "Terra!" She immediately feared the worst. She ran towards the door of her office, summoning her keyblade. Before she even made it to the exit of the castle, she heard a loud, agonizing cry from outside.

"Ven! Oh please no!" Aqua moved as quickly as she could, hoping with all her might that she wasn't too late. She pushed open the front door, and franticly scanned the area. When her eyes fell upon an unmoving Ventus, she ran towards him.

"Ven, Ventus!" she pleadingly spoke to his silent body, kneeling over him. She noticed the area in his chest seemed to be almost... glowing. It gave off an almost sinister black light. He had been struck in the heart. He was...

Aqua jumped to her feet when she heard footsteps behind her, and turned to see the perpetrator. There Terra stood, keyblade in hand, eyes that same eerie color as they were when she fought him the first time he'd been possessed. The memory was less than pleasant for her.

Fueled by immense grief and anger, Aqua charged at Terra. He blocked her attack, and attempted to hit her in return, but she was able to use her agility to expertly evade his moves. Unlike Ventus, she was nowhere near at a disadvantage. She moved at him again, this time attacking far faster than he could have blocked. Aqua landed a hit on Terra's side, which was enough to disorient him, momentarily breaking him out of his murderous state.

Aqua took full advantage, this time hitting Terra harder, hoping to break him out of it fully. Once again he stumbled back, growing dizzy from the force of the blow, however, it had been enough for him to regain his senses.

Looking over to Ventus's lifeless body, Aqua found herself filled with an uncontrollable rage. Terra had done this. He killed him, destroying the happiness they'd worked for all this time. Just like Xehanort. "Terra... how... How could you do this?" Not fully thinking, she ran at him with the full intent to kill. However, true to herself, Aqua couldn't. Just before hitting the still disoriented Terra, she dropped her weapon, and fell to her knees. "Why... why did this have to happen?"

Terra's whole body was shaking, his head in incredible pain. Why was he outside? Why was Aqua crying in front of him? Why was Ventus laying on the ground over there?

Ventus was laying on the ground...

Ventus was not moving...

The realization hit him all too hard. His thoughts rushing, his heart rate rising.

"Oh God Terra." Aqua said between tears. "You... you..." She found herself unable to say it. Unable to tell him what he'd done, unable to say she hated him, or that she wanted to kill him. She honestly wasn't sure if those things were true. She wasn't sure of anything right now.

Terra didn't need Aqua to tell him. He was able deduce it on his own. But he didn't want to believe it, how could he have?

"There's no way... There's just no way that..." His voice broke, his body shook. His emotions were everywhere at once, he didn't know what he was feeling. He didn't know what he was thinking.

Terra turned his keyblade toward himself. He couldn't live with this. He wouldn't accept it. He wouldn't live with the fact that he killed the most important person in his life. That he ruined the life they worked so hard to rebuild.

Before he could plunge his keyblade into his own body, Aqua grabbed his arms. "Don't! You can't! You just can't Terra!" She cried out between tears.

He fought against her, but despite his superior strength, she wouldn't give up. Aqua refused to allow Terra to do it, she wasn't sure if she did it because she didn't want to lose him too, or if it was because she didn't want to be the only one to life with what had happened, but all she knew is that she couldn't let Terra do it.

Finally giving up his struggle, Terra dropped his arms to his sides, Aqua still holding on to him. Tears streamed down his face, the raw emotional pain eating away at him. He had done it. He had killed Ventus. He had refused to get help from Aqua. He hadn't listened. And now Ventus was...

Terra did the only thing he felt he could. He threw his head back, looked into the night sky above them, and screamed. He screamed louder than he ever had, louder than Ventus did when he pierced his very heart. He would scream until he never could again, until he couldn't think, until he couldn't feel pain, until he couldn't cause anymore pain. And only the stars themselves would be there, to witness his unspeakable crime, to witness his guilt, to witness their suffering.

All at once they had lost everything. From the decision to blow off an appointment, from the decision to give into pressure, even from the small decision to take a nap. Even the worst things can happen, from the smallest slip of judgment.

AN: Well, that's it. Please, tell me what you thought in a review. Also include any questions you may have, I'll do my best to answer them.

I'm also looking for another Beta, as my current one is not familiar with this series. If you're interested, please contact me.