Haha that's exactly the same way I found out about YKK!! I read all of Aria and went looking for more and YKK was the obligatory next in line (since EEEEVERYONE kept mentioning it). Oh, yeah I totally teared up at the end of Aria as well. Have you seen the anime?
And now, I'm gonna have to reread it because I never got those vibes o0... And it's a bit melancholic but a great ending nonetheless.
Mh, I have the world's strongest yuri goggles, so maybe you should hold off on your enthusiasm. :P
Haven't seen the anime yet but plan on doing so when I don't know everything that happens anymore. I did love the ending though, the Cait Sith being her pen pal and Akari saying the exact same words to the new Undine that Alicia said to her... Again, I usually don't describe mangas as beautiful but Aria was genuinly exactly that.
Not much of a spoiler since you realize it from the start, but Cait Sith is not her pen pal in the anime. Ai (the new undine at the end who also appears in the extras) is her pen pal in that version.
I'll be honest, I wasn't that impressed with the animation in most of the Aria anime, although it got better in the third season. A lot of feet sliding on the ground when people walked, that sort of thing. The additional episodes that illuminated more of Aqua's past were interesting, although there were odd omissions like there no episode introducing Al, he's just...there already. Overall I'm glad I watched it though, because it's nice seeing this stuff come to life. And Alice is tremendously cute animated.