Christmas 2017: Terra and Aqua

    “Ouch.”

    Terra’s finger began to bleed a little after he accidentally broke the light bulb from using too much pressure to pull it out.  The string of Christmas colored lights was almost done, and he was replacing the last one that had failed to work properly. 

    It was a minor cut, he'd get it fixed later.  In the meantime the tree before him was just about done.  About time he thought, having been at work with it for the last hour.  A tree as tall as he was and pretty much prepared when he pulled it from the box, Terra had thought all he'd have to do is put the decorations on it and he'd call it good.  Then he had to find the stand since it wasn't in the box (it was in the basement when he finally found it), then the decorations box was not where he had last put it (it also had been in the basement in an unmarked plastic container), and then when he got it ready the lights didn't work.  Turned out a few lights were broken so he ended up replacing the majority of them.

    Now all he had to do was put the lights back around the tree and see if it worked this time.

    Taking all but a minute or more Terra got the lights on and finished the tree's decor before preparing himself.  A full hour and about six broken bulbs later, he was ready to try again.  "Hope it works this time..." 

    He flipped the switch...

    A flicker, followed by a second one, and the lights came on.  They stayed on this time.

    Terra felt satisfied and raised his fist into the air in triumph, "Hell yeah."

    "Great job."

    Terra turned his head and saw his wife Aqua standing at the base of the stairs leading to the second floor.  She looked like she had just gotten up, her short bluish hair was patted down but not brushed and she wore her night clothes which was a dark blue tank top and matching night shorts.  With the fireplace on full blaze she felt comfortable wearing such minimal clothing even as the snow fell heavily outside and it was no warmer than ten degrees.

    "Morning Aqua, I didn't wake you did I?"

    She shook her head and walked to the tree, her bare feet barely making a sound on the hard wood floor.  She gave the tree a look over, and she seemed satisfied with what she saw.  "Nice Terra, but there's something missing."  The decoration box was off to the side, and Aqua found what she was looking for right away.  "Here it is."

    She pulled out a large silver star, one she had bought a few years before for Christmas.  She raised her arms to try and reach the tree but found she was just out of reach.  "I forget that I need to get a step stool to--whoa!"

    She was raised off the ground by her husband, who had wrapped his arms around her legs and raised her up high enough so that she could place the star on the top of the tree and secure it in place.

    "There.  Now the tree is done.  Thanks."

    Though she was done Terra didn't let her go when he returned her feet to the ground, his arms moved to around her slim waist and kept her close.  Aqua in turn wrapped her arms up and around his neck.  She had to stand on the tips of her toes to do this but she gladly did so.

    Terra relaxed in the embrace, before whispering, "I know it's early, but Merry Christmas Aqua."

    "It's never too early, but Merry Christmas to you too, Terra."  She let go of him, and looked up into his eyes, "So, how long have you been working on this?"

    "Since I woke up this morning, something like an hour and a half ago," he answered.

    "You could have asked me for help you know."

    He shook his head, "Nah, I wanted to surprise you with me putting it up by myself."

    "Consider me surprised then."

    "I was also going to make you a surprise breakfast but that kind of fell apart."

    She smiled, "That's okay.  I'm going to go and make some hot cocoa, you want some?"

    "Sure, I'm just going to put everything away and I’ll join you," he grabbed the tree box and the decor tub and started to haul them to the basement door.  Aqua replied that she would get his ready and went to the kitchen.  She rubbed her eyes and upon reaching the counter she saw that there was something waiting for her.  A champagne bottle with a framed photograph between two freshly lit candles.  The bottle was a brand out of Traverse Town and the same one Terra had given Aqua for their 1st year anniversary.  The picture was of them in front of a Christmas tree in each other’s arms and smiling happily while Aqua showed off the new ring on her left hand.  At the bottom of the picture was a date along with a message.

    'December 7th, the beginning of our journey'.

    Aqua sighed softly while smiling.  December 7 was the day Terra had proposed to her, and she had eagerly accepted.  They got married the following September and always fondly looked back on that December day.  Of course, today was going to be the fifth anniversary of that day and while she had expected him to remind her she hadn’t expected this much out of him. 

    She almost overlooked the other piece of paper that was on the counter as well.  On it was a single sentence:

    '7:30, in front of the tree.'

    "He really is going all out," she whispered, then she grinned.  'I think I’ll go all out on him this time too.'

    She prepared the hot cocoa for him and then scribbled a few words on the piece of paper before Terra made his way to the kitchen.

    "Next time I store something in the basement I better put a label on it so I don't lose it."  He went and sat down at the kitchen table.  He noticed that Aqua had a piece of paper in her one hand and a cup of cocoa for him in the other.  She gently set the cup down and then the folded paper.

    "I'll be right back, going to change into something warmer."

    After she left Terra took the paper and read the message on it left in Aqua's elegant handwriting: 'I'll be there, and I’ll wear that dress you like.'  There was a heart at the end with the letter A in it.

    Terra's eyebrows went up, "Whoa."

    The rest of the day was a blur to both of them.  Neither of them talked about the date, like it was a game and neither of them wanted to admit it.  Terra had gotten washed up and dressed after dinner while Aqua ran to the store for a few things.  She didn't see him when she got back and she proceeded to go upstairs to get ready as well.

    At 7:20 Terra went into the living room with the champagne and a couple glasses, as well as a small gift box wrapped in red and green Christmas paper.  He was also dressed in a black suit with a tie and his hair, though still spikey was in better shape than it normally was.  He waited anxiously in front of the tree while soft Christmas music played through the stereo system.

    At exactly 7:30 he heard light footsteps coming from upstairs coming down, and he turned to see his wife.  Like she had promised she was wearing the dress.  It was a strapless light blue dress that was tied in the back and the free flow skirt that went to just above her knees.  She also wore a black choker around her neck with a blue Wayfinder star on it.  The dress sparkled like glitter and it was making her more beautiful than Terra could describe.

    Words weren't spoken as she made her way across the living room and stood next to him.  She smelled really nice to him.

    "You look...amazing," he said, he handed her a glass.  "Breathtaking."

    She took the glass and gave him a smile, "Thank you.  You look handsome in a suit.  You should wear one more often."

    He returned her joke with one of his own, "That'd be boring.  Why do it all the time if I can wear it to surprise you."

    He poured her some of the champagne and then gave himself some.

    A moment passed as the two looked into each other's eyes, and as usual Terra cracked first.  He turned away shyly to Aqua's delight, and it was here that reminded Aqua that he hadn't changed even in the five years they had been married.  He had always been the shy one when it came to his feelings.  Heck it took him almost a month of dating to let her know how he felt about her, but she had been proud to know that he had done it on his own.

    To get past this moment Terra and his wife tapped glasses and he took a drink.  She watched him go first before she did the same.  When she finished she said, "This is beginning to fell familiar."

    "What do you mean?"  Terra said as he set his glass on the fire place mantle.

    "You and me dressed nicely, drinking champagne, and it's snowing outside," she said, remembering that was exactly like this five years ago.

    Terra nodded slowly, "Yeah...what was the party for again?  Winter Prom or something like that?"

    Aqua giggled, "Winter Prom, that's right.  Our senior year.  That was the night we first met."

    "I felt so embarrassed meeting you that night.  A bunch of my friends dragged me all over Twilight Town trying to get in trouble and all I wanted was to go home.  I wasn't a fan of meeting random girls they would tell me about."

    Setting her glass on the wooden coffee table, Aqua followed Terra to stand in front of the Christmas tree.  "Oh I remember you had no interest in me that night.  Even after I had offered you to dance with me."

    "hey, I didn't like the idea of dancing in front of strangers, besides I sucked at dancing and I felt I would have made you look bad," Terra said defending himself.

    "That's one thing you still need to work on," she joked, then moved around so she got into a dance position with him.  "Here, I’ll help you."

    "This is going to be bad, you know that," Terra said as she held onto his hands.

    "Just follow my lead and you'll be fine.  We are alone now, what the worse that can happen," she said as she started to sway back and forth slowly with him, in no beat at all other than the shared one they knew alone.

    "Well, I could step on your toes, and you're not wearing shoes," he answered, trying to avoid stepping on her.

    "You'll be fine.  You were alright at our wedding."

    "By the grace of heaven and a lot of good luck...not to mention you were leading me."

    Aqua continued to dance with him and to her surprise she hadn't lost her step nor had Terra stepped on her yet.  "Anyway, after the prom ended we didn't see each other again.  A few weeks later that changed though, didn't it."

    Terra remembered, "Yeah, after the New Year started I got into a relationship with some girl who didn't like me and she left me.  Funny how a random drive by got me to spend time with you."

    "I was heading home from dance practice and saw you sitting on the side of the road.  I couldn't leave you there."

    "And I thank you for that," Terra pulled her in closer, "Afterwards we spent time together and I felt something for you that I had never known for real up to that point.  I loved spending time with you and all the little things we did made it all worthwhile.  Study together, I’d go to your dance practices and watch you perform, then dating became our favorite past time." 

    Aqua nodded slowly before she lost thought for a moment before she continued, "Then during one random day you flat out told me that you couldn't live without me.  That I was what kept you happy, and you said that you loved me.  Honestly I didn't know how to respond to that at first as I never expected us to get so serious.  Eventually though, I returned your feelings and...Well, you know what happened."  She stopped dancing and peered up at Terra, the lights of the tree making her eyes glow like sapphires, "We were just like this that night in front of the big Christmas tree...and you--"  she smiled, "Stumbling over your words you tried to ask me something."

    Terra wished she had remembered that part.  It made him feel like an idiot at times, but right now he didn't feel like one.  "I asked you if you wanted to spend the rest of your life with me.  I thought you'd see it as a joke, but you said that you wouldn't want it to be any other way."

    Aqua stood still but held onto Terra's hands, the warmth she felt with them grew steadily warmer.

    Terra took a light breath before going down on one knee, holding both of her hands in his own, "Then I asked if you would do me the honor of marrying me."

    The memories, not to mention the feelings that Aqua had of that night began to return in a flood and she couldn't hold it back.  Her eyes welled up with tears that night when she realized what he was doing, much like they were now.  Though this was a repeat of that night, she did the same thing she did back then.  "And I said yes..."

    Terra raised his head and he felt like his heart was going to burst out of his chest.  He stood up and put his arms around her and held her in a soft embrace.   Though this was nothing compared to when she had answer him years before, the moment after she accepted his proposal he embraced her, unable to hold in his excitement.

    Though the day of their wedding was a great day to remember, there was little else to compare it to that December day.

    "Aqua..."

    She placed her head on his chest, "Terra..." 

    He felt blessed to have this wonderful, lovely woman in his arms.  For her to be his, and him to be hers, to love and cherish for all time, was the most beautiful feeling of all.

    That was how he felt then, and now that they were together he felt even better.

    As the two stood together, listening to the music while intimately embracing, another thought was running through Aqua's mind even as their shared their most precious memory.

    The thought was whether or not to wait until Christmas to tell her husband about a secret she had been keeping for the past couple weeks, one she knew he'd be just as happy to hear about.

    She was positive about it.