The clock along the wall rhythmically ticks back and forth as Vanitas stares up at it with an unbelievably bored expression. Next to him, Suzume is flipping through some random magazine as they wait for their number to be called. He had earlier peeked over her shoulder at the colorful pictures and articles, but the content within had quickly bored him nearly twice as much as staring at a wall.
After weeks of waiting, the Destiny Island Town Hall had finally gotten in touch with them for the last steps in adding Vanitas to the family registry. He had originally thought that this would be a simple process, at least from what Ienzo had described, but it turned out that there was a lot more paperwork and a lot more waiting around than he was prepared for. Both he and Suzume have been to this same office no less than three times already to somehow prove to these people that yes, he is who he says he is, and yes, he is related to Suzume and Sora and no, he doesn’t have any other next of kin.
At first, they’d even had the gall to claim that Suzume had been harboring an unaccompanied minor without the proper consent forms and regulations. Vanitas had never seen her so furious as during that day, when she had demanded that they check over the paperwork again correctly this time.
Turns out the receptionist had missed a document in the forms that Ienzo had provided, and one of the managers on site had no shortage of apologies to throw around in the wake of Suzume’s unyielding glare.
‘That was utterly ridiculous.’ She had scoffed on the ride home afterwards.
‘How did you even know that they missed one anyway?’ Vanitas questioned while fiddling with his seat belt as he stared out the window.
‘I knew.’ Suzume nodded, her tone firm and holding no doubt. ‘I checked them over three times this morning, and even more last night. I wasn’t going to let us walk in there without those forms.’ Vanitas raised a black eyebrow and looked back at her as she continued, ‘If they had found anything wrong, anything at all, she could have called the police, and you would have been seized as an unaccompanied minor without the proper paperwork.’
‘Seized?’ Vanitas made a face, confused.
‘Taken by the police.’ She explained, her tone softened into something more gentle. ‘Brought to an orphanage, where children go when they have no parents or family.’
‘Oh…’ Vanitas only furrowed his brow in contemplation.
Orphanage… He didn’t quite understand how that pertained to him in this situation. He’d heard of that word before, sure, but the meaning was fuzzy in his brain, bringing to mind images of small children waiting to go home with new parents. But Vanitas wasn’t a child. He was a teenager. Didn’t that count for something? Maybe age had to do with it? He was 16 years old though. Wasn’t that old enough to be exempt?
Not to mention that, police or not, he certainly wouldn’t have let any strangers take him anywhere. Not if his keyblade had anything to say about it.
His spiraled thoughts were interrupted, though, when Suzume put a comforting hand on his shoulder.
‘I wasn’t going to let that happen to you.’ She assured him, blue eyes determined as she kept her gaze on the road. ‘Absolutely no way.’
Vanitas could only stare at her, speechless in the presence of her unyielding resolve to protect him at all costs.
Present day Vanitas is distracted by the memory as a number is called overhead. It isn’t the one matching the ticket stub he’s got clenched between his fingers, though. He sighs and drops his head dramatically, idly listening as another group goes up to the front desk for their turn.
Bet they’ll get out of here faster than they will at this rate.
He startles out of his stupor when Suzume reaches out and runs a gentle hand through his dark hair.
‘Have patience, honeycomb.’ She says, not looking up from her magazine. ‘We’ll be finished soon enough.’
He huffs, but sits upright all the same, feeling something warm settle in his chest as she uses his nickname. She’d given it to him only a few days after their visit to Radiant Garden.
‘Honeycomb?’ Vanitas had asked with a raised eyebrow.
‘Is it too much?’ She had hummed while serving him a plate of spaghetti and garlic bread for dinner. ‘You adore the bees, sometimes I think even more than Sora does, so I thought it was fitting.’
‘I think it’s cute.’ Sora beamed from across the table. ‘Like how you call me ‘sunshine’ sometimes.’
‘Exactly.’ Suzume nodded but paused to give Vanitas the final verdict.
‘… I don’t hate it.’ Was all he said before digging into his dinner.
And he truly didn’t. It felt right, like something a mother should do for him, and a part of Vanitas was overwhelmingly relieved that Suzume had settled herself so comfortably into the role. He had thought there would be at least some hesitation on her side, some gap that they needed to cross, but she took it all in stride, even going so far as to share something Vanitas never thought he might have the privilege to know.
The morning after their trip to Radiant Garden, Sora and Vanitas had followed Suzume down into the basement at her behest, both of them curious as she had mentioned wanting to show them something special.
‘I never got the chance to tell you this yesterday, Vanitas.’ She started while looking among the dusty knick knacks that made up the cellar. She grabbed numerous boxes and began opening them to see what was hidden inside. ‘But there was another reason how I knew about everything already.’
Vanitas had titled his head in response, looking inquisitive when she had finally found the box she was looking for and settled herself on the cold concrete floor of the basement. Both he and Sora naturally followed her, forming a semi-circle together as she put her treasure down in between them.
‘Hey, these are old photos.’ Sora smiled as she opened the box. He reached in and randomly grabbed one out of the pile, before his face fell as he properly looked at it.
Suzume hummed, her eyes having a knowing glint as she looked at Sora, before directing her attention back to the box. She took out a photo from the top of the pile to show Vanitas.
‘Have a look.’ She said, as Vanitas grabbed it and gazed at the faded image.
Suzume was there, looking much younger. Her blonde hair was shorter, and she had a beaming smile on her face as her hands rested on her swollen stomach. A man stood behind her with his hands on her shoulders, wearing a similar smile of his own. His hair was black and spiky, with a pair of glasses settled over his brown eyes.
‘This is…’ Vanitas startled, at a loss for words.
‘That’s your father.’ Suzume said, her smile nostalgic. ‘His name was Haruto. He was a biologist, and he studied the coral reefs and fish near our islands.’ She then chuckled and looked up at the ceiling, a memory obviously coming to her mind. ‘He was also a huge dork. He demanded that we dress Sora up as a jellyfish for his first Halloween. And he would always tell Sora these wild stories about how he met mermaids or talking fish or dragons out at sea.’ She then looked to Sora, who had noticeably grown quiet and contemplative. She placed a hand on his shoulder, causing him to look up at her with a tiny, sad smile. ‘He loved Sora to pieces, and I know he would have loved you just as much, Vanitas.’
Vanitas let out a breath he hadn’t been aware he was holding. He looked again at the photo, trying to paint a picture in his head about what Haruto might have been like.
He’d never thought about having a father. Having Suzume already felt like too much.
‘I know that the photo I’m thinking of is in here somewhere though.’ Suzume distracted him from his thoughts as she fished around in the box again. She clicks her tongue triumphantly when she finds what she’s looking for. ‘Here, this one.’
She unearthed a slightly larger photo from the box, and Vanitas nearly choked when he saw it.
It was a portrait style picture of Haruto from his younger years. He couldn’t have been much older than Vanitas and Sora are now, and he looks…
He looks… just like Vanitas.
Or rather, Vanitas is the spitting image of his father.
Lose the glasses, and it was like looking in a mirror. Black spikes, brown eyes, and a signature scowl on his face as if he wanted to be nowhere near the camera.
‘Wow… How come I’ve never seen this one?’ Sora asked, just as dumbfounded as Vanitas.
‘I found it while you were away on your journey. Back when we were remodeling the backyard and I had to tear down the old shed.’ Suzume explained while reading the date on the back. ‘This was his school photo. Apparently, he wasn’t interested in taking pictures that day, which doesn’t surprise me at all.’ She snorted. ‘He never was really.’ She said with a laugh, before looking at Vanitas with a smile. ‘But see? I told you I already knew.’
He did see, now, how he fit into this family, and was slowly learning that he now has people he can always rely on, and a place to forever call home.
It was nearly an hour later when Suzume and Vanitas finished their errand, and Vanitas is officially sworn into the family registry. He had to have his picture and thumb prints taken, again, as well as sign several documents alongside Suzume, but once it was all over and done with, he was content to know that there was no going back.
When mother and son return home, Vanitas isn’t surprised to find Sora and Riku in the living room, playing some game on the TV much the same as always.
‘Hey you guys!’ Sora turns around in his seat on the couch, unbothered as Riku unceremoniously kills him in their game. ‘So how’d it go?’
‘All done!’ Suzume beams and holds up a stack of papers with Vanitas’s photo paper-clipped to the front.
‘Finally!’ Vanitas groans while kicking off his shoes. He barely stops to pet Jewel, who had jumped off the couch to greet them home, and tiredly trudges into the kitchen for a glass of water.
‘Vani.’ Sora calls in that whiny voice that lets his brother know he wants something. ‘Can you get me a soda? Please?’
‘No.’ Vanitas calls back, even though they both know darn well that he will comply with the request anyway.
‘So, it’s really over?’ Riku curiously asks Suzume. ‘You guys have been working on this for weeks.’
‘I know.’ Suzume says while hanging up her purse. ‘Tomorrow I just have to go and pick up Vanitas’s birth certificate and the official stamped registration document.’
‘Cool! We should do something to celebrate!’ Sora suggests.
‘How bout I take you boys out somewhere after work? My treat. Anywhere you want to go for dinner and something fun.’ Suzume says. ‘Of course, you are more than welcome to join us Riku.’
‘Thanks, but I’ve got plans tomorrow.’ Riku politely declines. ‘Mickey and I are going to visit everyone at the Land of Departure, to see how Aqua’s fairing with training the new wielders.’
Vanitas pauses at that comment from his spot out in the kitchen.
The Land of Departure… that’s where Ventus, Aqua and Terra are. He’s been living here for months now, and he still found it odd that none of them seemed to either know or care that he came back from the dead.
Then again, he did tell Yen Sid that he wanted nothing to do with Ventus. Good to know at least some old geezers can keep their word.
‘Yea, I forgot about that.’ Sora says. ‘Say hi to everybody for me. And if you see Kairi, tell her I’ll be there to visit soon once she’s feeling better.’
Riku only nods, having heard recently that Kairi had come down with some sort of stomach bug.
‘Sure thing.’
‘But anyway, back to our celebration. Let’s go to the aquarium! We haven’t been there in ages, and Vanitas hasn’t gotten a chance to see it yet.’ Sora’s face lights up at the thought.
‘Don’t decide things on your own.’ Vanitas complains as he finally returns from the kitchen, Jewel hot on his heels. He tries to touch the cold soda can to Sora’s cheek as punishment, but his twin dodges out of the way just in time.
Sora then makes a grab for the soda, but Vanitas shoves it into Riku’s hand in retaliation.
‘Hey!’ Sora complains, looking to steal it back from his best friend.
Riku only raises an eyebrow, though, clearly in on the fun as he opens the soda himself and takes a sip.
‘Looks like snooze you lose brother.’ Vanitas smirks before taking a seat on the couch beside Riku.
Sora only groans in response and gets up to retrieve his own soda while Suzume shakes her head at their childish antics.
‘Anyway, let me know what you boys decide. I’ll be out back working with Freya in the store if you need me.’ Suzume says and takes her leave.
Vanitas hums in acknowledgement to her request as he knocks back a bottle of water, putting a hand on Jewel’s back as the dog hops up to lay down beside him. He barely notices as Riku turns his attention to him with an impressed silver eyebrow raised.
The two of them have gotten a much more cordial relationship now that Vanitas recently decided to train under him alongside Sora. The training itself was going fine. Much easier to follow and manage than his previous teachings under Xehanort, that’s for sure. He’s also found that Riku, for as authoritative and reliable as he tries to come off, is still nothing than a student himself in a lot of aspects. He still has to rely on Master Yen Sid or Mickey to help with certain topics and lesson planning, but was clearly doing the best he can for the two apprentices he’d been given. Nevermind the fact that Sora and Vanitas clearly are not novices with the keyblade in any way shape or form, and that the three of them often butted heads over particular topics as a result.
Even so, Vanitas found himself growing closer to his new ‘master’ day by day. It certainly helped also that Riku himself is still very close to age to his apprentices, and can be just as mischievous as Vanitas can in some regards. It didn’t happen often, but sometimes Riku would let his guard down, and the two of them would team up to tease Sora. Or vice versa with the twins bothering Riku instead, which usually involved Sora and Vanitas pretending not to know a simple concept just to push the keyblade master’s buttons.
It was fun and engaging, and happened for no other reason than to give each other playful grief. Dare Vanitas say that he enjoyed Riku’s company now, and could actually maybe call the two of them friends.
It was still odd to think about it, even now. Having a friend. And he sometimes wondered if he was still dreaming somewhere lost in the Realm of Darkness.
‘Thanks for the soda.’ Riku says, gathering Vanitas’s attention. ‘Though you didn’t have to give me one just to spite Sora.’
‘Who said I wouldn’t have given you one anyway?’ Vanitas casually asks while reaching into his jacket pocket to remove a hidden extra soda can. ‘I knew you’d sit there silently complaining if I only got one for Sora and not you.’ He places the can on the coffee table before settling further back into the pillows.
Riku looks Vanitas over and chuckles, taking another sip of his drink.
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’ He says, sarcasm laced in his voice.
The sound of the microwave can be heard then from the kitchen, signaling that Sora has decided to make some popcorn. Just as he is returning to the living room, though, the doorbell chimes in from out of the blue.
‘Vani, can you get that?’ Sora asks.
‘Why can’t you get it?’ Vanitas frowns, too comfortable to move.
‘Literally my hands are full.’ Sora makes a show of holding up the bowl of popcorn and his new can of soda for emphasis. ‘And believe it or not Riku’s still a guest.’
Vanitas scoffs.
‘Pfft. Yea right. He practically lives here.’ He mumbles but gets up anyway, begrudgingly losing both his spot and Jewel’s attention as the dalmatian is quick to beg from Sora for stray kernels.
The outline of a figure no taller than himself can be seen through the stained glass of the front door. Vanitas goes over and opens it casually, expecting maybe one of Sora’s other friends from around the islands.
Only to immediately freeze as he is met with a familiar face.
Vanitas stares at Ventus for several moments in shock, before the other boy awkwardly waves.
‘Hey-‘
Vanitas promptly slams the door, not interested in anything that his former other half has to say as he quickly locks it.
‘Who was that?’ Sora’s voice catches his attention and Vanitas turns on him.
‘Why did you invite him here?’ He demands, voice seething.
Sora only raises a brown eyebrow, however, before there is another knock at the door. This time, Jewel barks and goes to investigate while Vanitas quickly backs away, at a loss of how to proceed.
Since that day at the Keyblade Graveyard, his connection to Ventus has been severed clean. Neither he nor Ventus are able to sense each other anymore, so the blonde’s sudden appearance here came with literally no warning whatsoever.
Millions of memories and possibilities flash before Vanitas’s eyes. What if Terra is here also? Or gods, what about Aqua? Could he handle fighting them all right now? Surely not here, in this home that he’s slowly been settling into. What if their fight ended up destroying the house or the shop?
What if they hurt Sora? Or Suzume?
Vanitas curses, his eyes never leaving the door as he struggles with what to do next. His wild brown eyes shift to the couch as Riku stands up.
‘I’ll handle it.’ Riku says, purposely putting himself between Vanitas and the door.
He grabs ahold of Jewel’s collar, holding the dalmatian back as he unlocks the door. All three boys are tense as it opens to reveal not just Ventus but three other people. There are two girls, one with blonde hair and another with black, and a rather tall man with flaming red spikes.
‘Yo Riku.’ The redhead waves. ‘Sora.’
‘Guys! Hey!’ Sora bounds over the couch and approaches the door. ‘What are you doing here?’
‘We came to meet Vanitas.’ The black-haired girl smiles, her eyes shifting from Sora, to Vanitas, and then to Jewel as Riku releases the dalmatian to say hello to the new arrivals.
‘Though, we didn’t expect the odd welcome?’ The blonde girl tilts her head curiously, looking between Ventus and Vanitas.
‘Sorry about that.’ Sora apologizes on his brother’s behalf and steps aside to usher them all in. He turns to his twin, who has not moved any closer and is staring at them all with a wary expression. ‘Vanitas, this is Xion, Namine, Axel, and Roxas.’ Sora emphasizes the name. ‘Not Ventus. I mentioned him before, remember?’
Vanitas visibly relaxes his shoulders and crosses his arms, though his expression does not shift to be any more welcoming. Roxas seems just as ticked off as he is for having the door slammed in his face, if the subtle glare the two of them share is anything to go by.
‘Charmed.’ He offers, his tone clipped.
‘Same.’ Roxas offers back.
‘Right.’ Sora decides to ignore that interaction. Probably for the best. ‘Well anyway, guys this is Vanitas.’ He beams. ‘My twin brother!’
‘Hiya.’ Axel waves, with Namine doing the same.
Xion is the only one that dares to approach Vanitas, and he can’t help but think that he’s met her somewhere before.
‘Hi! I’m Xion. It’s nice to meet you.’ She offers her hand to shake, and he simply stares at it, trying to remember where the two of them might have met.
Wait…
‘You were there. In the Organization.’ He says. It isn’t a question.
Her face visibly falls before it hardens, and she nods, letting her hand drop to her side.
‘We never got to talk. I wasn’t there for very long before the battle.’ She says, the two of them lapsing into an uncomfortable, reflective silence for a few moments before she breaks it. ‘But, I’m glad it’s all over, and we both got out. We’ve heard some good things about you, and how you’ve settled in here.’
‘Wait, how did you guys find out that Vanitas is back?’ Sora pipes up, looking unhappy with this news being spread. ‘We never told anyone.’
‘Who else knows?’ Vanitas all but snaps. If it was common knowledge, it could get back to the real Ventus and he’d have much more trouble to deal with than a bad first introduction with his lookalike.
‘Relax.’ Axel says, unbothered. ‘I heard it from the guys in Radiant Garden when I went to visit Isa. He just started apprenticing there again, and overhead the other guys talking about it.’ He grins. ‘You and Sora are making quite the buzz over there so I figured we should stop in for a surprise visit and officially meet you.’
‘We have today off, so we thought we would ask if you all wanted to join us for a trip out to Twilight Town.’ Xion suggests.
A frown instantly comes to Vanitas’s face while Sora’s lights up with a smile.
‘Of course!’
‘No way.’
‘What?’ Sora turns on Vanitas, looking put out.
Vanitas only glares at him. He’d been looking forward to lazing around now that he and Suzume were finally done with their obnoxious errand. Maybe do some training or bother Ignis about those raspberry tarts he brought in today, or trick Luna into letting him borrow another book. He still hasn’t quite figured out everything there is to know about bees and wasps yet after all…
‘Vani, don’t be antisocial.’ Sora scolds. ‘Mom told you to work on that.’
‘Bite me.’
‘C’mon! Making new friends is one of life’s greatest joys.’ Sora puts his hands on his hips, the beginnings of a friendship speech clearly on the tip of his tongue.
Vanitas rolls his own eyes and looks away, knowing by now that whenever Sora uses that particular tone and stance, it was not an argument he was going to win. Sora was increasingly stubborn when it came to his philosophies on forming connections with others, and Vanitas has been his unwilling victim more times than he’d care to count at this point.
‘… Whatever.’ He begrudgingly agrees, wanting to punch the victorious grin right off of his twin’s face.
Twilight Town is aglow with warm yellows, oranges, and reds of sunset, smelling of afternoon breezes and faint train smoke. The sound of distant bells ring, and children run and play in the busy streets to the tune of wheels running along their tracks. The day is warm but not humid like on the islands, and Vanitas takes his time acclimating to a new world, experiencing all that his senses can take in at once.
He can hear Sora excitedly talking with Roxas and Axel at the front of their group, along with the quieter murmur of Riku speaking with Xion. Vanitas and Namine take up the rear, both naturally forming a duo as the quieter individuals of their ensemble.
Vanitas casts a glance at her, noting how she is taking in the sights of the town just as he is. Her gaze has a hint of nostalgia, however, and he briefly wonders why. Before he can think on it further, though, both of them snap their attention to the front when Roxas and Sora burst out laughing at something stupid Axel had said.
‘Geez, do they ever shut up?’ Vanitas mumbles. They had been complete menaces in the Gummi Ship all the way here, cackling like hyenas over every little thing.
Namine chuckles a bit next to him.
‘They are a bit rambunctious, aren’t they?’
‘That’s an understatement if I ever heard one.’ He says, turning his gaze away from the scene to look at some purple flowers growing in someone’s windowsill. There are sadly no bees there, but the display is pretty all the same.
‘Is Sora like this at home?’ She asks him curiously.
‘No.’ He answers truthfully. ‘I’ve never seen him like this before.’
Vanitas has come to understand recently that friendships come in all shapes and sizes. Sora and Riku in particular have a very strong bond built over years of growing up together, their foundation found through each one encouraging the other by way of a friendly rivalry. In comparison, Roxas and Axel seem to have a much more heightened relationship, formed through a much quicker but no less meaningful connection.
Sora had mentioned that Axel, Roxas and Xion only had a year or so together before they were torn apart. Their no-holds barred way of joking around with each other was probably their way of making up for lost time, as Vanitas noticed that Xion tended to join in whenever possible as well. They were maybe somehow just trying to reclaim what was lost, if he had to guess.
Seeming them now has Vanitas’s thoughts wandering to Terra, Ventus and Aqua. About how their friendship was torn apart at the hands of Xehanort and himself. At the time, Vanitas hadn’t bothered to care. Hadn’t bothered to even consider the consequences of his actions, but reflecting on his past is something that he’s been working on lately, and he was only just now beginning to understand how much damage he must have caused.
Still, even with these reflective thoughts and the mild earache, Vanitas found it was kind of nice to see Sora so happy, as his brother settles himself right into loudly joking alongside Axel and Roxas.
After giving Vanitas a brief tour of the central parts of Twilight Town, their group stops in the square to discuss what to do next.
‘We could watch a movie. Or go to the bistro.’ Roxas suggests, eyeing up a table of customers sharing a dish of very fancy looking desserts. ‘Looks like little chef added some things to the menu.’
‘We definitely have to go to the bistro.’ Sora says, turning to his brother. ‘Vani, you are going to love the food there. I bet even you’ll eat every bite.’
‘We’ll see.’ Vanitas gives Sora a look.
While he is genuinely unbothered by Sora’s knowledge or mentioning of his eating habits in private, doing so in public is a different story, no matter how subtle it is. Vanitas can tell though, that Sora had not intentionally meant to cause harm, as his twin only tilts his head with confusion in response to Vanitas’s unsettled expression.
Oh well. No one else seemed to notice so Vanitas can let it go for now.
‘Maybe we should do that later for dinner.’ Axel looks up towards the looming clock tower. ‘It’s not even 3 o’clock yet.’
‘We could go to the old mansion. It’d be a good place to spar since no one ever goes there anymore.’ Xion suggests. ‘I’ve been wanting to show off the new skills I’ve been practicing with Master Aqua anyway.’
Vanitas pauses at the name, though refrains from showing any outward reaction. So, these are the new wielders that Aqua was teaching. He looks everyone over again, seeing them all in a new light with this information. Part of him deeply wonders what she had been teaching them and found the thought of sparing rather intriguing.
She probably taught them offensive magic first and foremost. Aqua always had an affinity for it, after all, and he still had the scars to prove it.
‘Good idea.’ Roxas agrees with a pointed look towards Sora and Vanitas. ‘I wanna know what Riku has been teaching you guys.’
‘Oh, you’re on.’ Sora grins.
‘Um, you all can go ahead.’ Everyone pauses and turns to Namine. She is looking towards the ground, holding her elbow behind her back shyly. ‘That mansion… I’d rather not go there.’ She admits, before looking up with a soft expression. ‘I can stay in town, though, and meet with you later.’
‘Right…’ Riku says, his expression understanding.
Vanitas looks between her and Riku, sensing that there must be some history there that he’s not aware of.
‘But Namine…’ Xion tries to protest.
‘I’ll be fine, don’t worry.’ She assures.
The rest of their group seems uncomfortable with leaving her behind but turn to do so at her repeated insistence. When they all move to split ways, Vanitas notices that the brave look on her face contrasts with the hurt he senses in her heart, and suddenly something doesn’t sit right with him.
‘You coming or what?’ Roxas asks, being the first one to notice the dark twin’s reluctance to follow.
Vanitas pauses before shrugging and crossing his arms.
‘Not in the mood to fight.’
‘Since when? You’re always the first to practice and the last one to leave.’ Sora says, his tone carrying a bit of humor. Riku also chuckles a bit near him, knowing of Vanitas’s workaholic tendencies.
Vanitas only shrugs again.
‘It’s a choice I have the freedom to make now.’ His words effectively shut his brother up. He knows it’s a low blow, one that Sora still feels guilt and too much sympathy over, but still, Vanitas can’t help but relish the silence it creates throughout the group for a moment or two before Namine turns to him.
‘We could watch a movie while we wait for everyone to get back.’ She places her hands together, a small smile on her face.
It’s clear enough that even Vanitas can tell she’s happy not to be alone.
‘Whatever.’ He agrees. ‘Beats going through the disgusting sewers or whatever else to get to that mansion.’ He sneers, having overheard Xion and Riku talking earlier about how there is still no other entrance to the forest now that the wall is fixed.
‘It’s not that bad.’ Axel shrugs before turning around and waving over his shoulder. ‘But suit yourself.’
‘We’ll be back soon!’ Xion waves as well as their party separates into two. ‘Let’s get ice cream together after dinner!’
Namine leads Vanitas to a small outdoor theatre on the other side of Tram Common that he hadn’t noticed before during the tour. There aren’t a lot of people milling around the dim viewing space lit up by string lights, and every wooden bench is empty for now, facing a blank screen as the projector is currently off.
Namine had mentioned that a movie plays every hour, and it seems that they’re a bit early for the next one.
‘We could get some popcorn while we wait. Or would you like some ice cream or drinks?’ She suggests.
Her expression is casual, and a bit polite, but not overly so. Now that they’re totally alone, Vanitas can admit that he’s having a bit of trouble reading her, even with his added advantage of sensing the emotions in her heart. This is truly the first time he’s been alone with a girl his own age, and he’s admittedly not sure how to act around her. The only other experience that comes to mind was with Aqua, and that involved the two of them trying to kill each other. Probably not the best example.
Before Vanitas can think of how to respond to her inquiry, someone gasps behind him.
‘Namine!’ A brunette girl comes running up to the two of them and waves at Vanitas. ‘Oh, and Sora! Long time no see! Wait, huh? Did you do something with your hair?’
Vanitas glares at her. While he doesn’t feel bothered anymore that he and Sora share the same face, that didn’t mean he particularly enjoyed being called by the wrong name.
‘Olette! Hello.’ Namine greets. ‘Oh, this is Vanitas. Sora’s twin brother.’
‘What?! I didn’t know Sora had a twin!’ Olette looks between the two of them with shock written plainly on her face. ‘I’m so sorry! It’s nice to meet you Vanitas. My name’s Olette.’
Vanitas looks at her, grateful that she only waves with a friendly smile and doesn’t offer to shake hands.
‘Hello.’ He grunts and crosses his arms, watching as the two girls divulge into conversation.
‘So what brings you guys here?’ Olette asks innocently.
‘We came for a visit.’ Namine explains. ‘Sora and the others are out by the old mansion, but Vanitas and I thought we might watch a movie.’
‘Sweet! Do you mind if we join you guys? Pence and Hayner are buying snacks now.’ Olette says, holding up her phone. ‘I can ask them to bring extra popcorn and pretzels.’
‘That’d be nice, thank you!’
Before Vanitas knows it, the theatre slowly grows full of people as eventually two other boys join them, fresh from the snack bar with buckets of popcorn, pretzels and sodas.
They take to forming a friendly comradery with Vanitas right away for some reason.
‘We should struggle sometime. I bet you’d be really tough to beat, Vanitas.’ The one named Hayner says casually.
‘With your skills, everyone’s really tough to beat.’ The other one, Pence, laughs.
‘Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?’ Hayner turns to him with a glare. ‘I’ve gotten a lot better! You were right there when I won the last tournament.’
‘Yea, only cuz Seifer went on his warrior’s journey or whatever.’
‘What the hell is a struggle?’ Vanitas interrupts them and raises a black eyebrow.
‘It’s a game where two people fight each other with foam bats.’ Pence explains, miming hitting someone with an invisible bat. ‘There’s a tournament once a year in the summer, and winner takes all.’
‘Sounds lame.’ Vanitas huffs. Foam bats? What kind of damage would that even do?
‘No way, man. It’s the best.’ Hayner shakes his head. ‘We’ll get you set up sometime, and then you’ll see.’
‘Shush you guys!’ Olette suddenly hushes them, pointing towards the screen where the movie is just about to start.
The boys reluctantly simmer down in response, though not without some whispers of Pence reaffirming that Vanitas could totally beat Hayner hands down. His efforts cause Hayner to throw stray kernels of popcorn at him in retaliation.
Vanitas can only watch their antics in confusion.
These people, he’s known them for less than an hour, and already they’re pulling him into their circle. No hesitation. No conditions. No judgement.
It’s… a bit uncomfortable. To have strangers put faith in him that maybe, just maybe, Vanitas can be someone they’d call a friend.
It’s not entirely unpleasant, though. Not really.
As the five of them settle in to watch the movie and Vanitas tastes the new salty flavor of a pretzel on his tongue, he finds that sitting here with these strangers, doing something that normal kids would do, has something in his chronically ill heart settling to be at ease.
Their outing in Twilight Town continues on, with the others later joining them for dinner at the bistro just as promised. It’s comical how all ten of them need to squish into two tiny tables inside the restaurant, but they manage it somehow.
The atmosphere is filled with laughter and merriment as jokes and stories are passed around the table excitedly. Vanitas is more than content to just observe everyone from his spot squished in the corner next to Riku. Every once in a while, though, someone will acknowledge him or ask his opinion, inadvertently making sure he still feels included all the same.
Eventually, though, the eternal sunset over this world grows into a darker shade, and Sora, Riku and Vanitas have to head back towards the Gummi Ship. The off-worlders say their goodbyes to Hayner, Pence and Olette as they make their way towards the station, where Sora had parked the Gummi Ship earlier in the day.
‘Man, what a day.’ Axel stretches as he leads the way, stretching out his limbs from being squished together in those small tables. ‘We should do it again sometime.’
‘Yea, you sure you can’t join us for ice cream up on the clock tower?’ Xion asks with a small frown.
‘We would if we could but I’ve gotta get up super early tomorrow to go visit your Master, you know.’ Riku ribs her.
‘Oh yea.’ Xion brightens up in response. ‘So, I guess we’ll see you tomorrow anyway.’ She then looks to Vanitas and Sora innocently. ‘Are you guys coming too?’
‘Ah…’ Sora makes a sheepish face, looking to Vanitas, who only shakes his head and says nothing further.
It really wasn’t worth getting into how Vanitas would rather eat a bowl of glass than go anywhere near that world.
‘I’ll come to visit soon.’ Sora says instead. ‘Too bad Kairi couldn’t come today.’
‘She wanted to, but she’s still sick since yesterday.’ Axel says, checking his phone. ‘She’s apparently been stuck in bed all day. Might be worth calling to cheer her up when you guys get back.’
‘I definitely will.’ Sora nods just as they finish their walk to the station.
All too soon everyone is saying their goodbyes. Roxas and Sora hug, content to say their goodbyes while wrapped in each other’s arms for a while. Vanitas doesn’t quite know what to feel about that as he watches the two of them. He supposes it’s only natural that they would want to be close, though, considering they used to be the same person in a way.
But then again, Vanitas and Ventus also used to be the same person and there was no way in hell that Vanitas would even hug him like that…
‘Thanks for coming out with us today, Vanitas.’ Xion says, distracting him from his wandering thoughts.
‘Hope you ended up having a good time.’ Axel nods with his hands on his hips.
‘It was alright.’ Vanitas shrugs.
Today was definitely a breakup from normal, but all of it wasn’t bad. Not in the slightest.
He’d go out with them again. Maybe.
Roxas joins their circle right then, having apparently finished saying goodbye to Sora for now.
He and Vanitas have definitely simmered down since their awkward first meeting earlier today, but all the same there is still some undertone of tension between them as they look at one another. Like opposite sides of a coin.
‘Catch you later.’ Roxas says by way of farewell, keeping it short and sweet.
‘Sure.’ Vanitas nods, watching as Roxas, Xion and Axel then walk off to say their goodbyes to Sora and Riku.
Namine is the last to say her goodbye to Vanitas.
‘I enjoyed today.’ She says, giving him a smile. ‘It was nice to get to know you a little bit, Vanitas.’
Vanitas only shrugs in response. He doesn’t say the same, since he still feels as if he doesn’t know her at all.
‘I wanted to offer you something before you go.’ She says, appearing a bit hesitant.
Her words catch his attention, and he raises a dark eyebrow.
‘I don’t know how much you’ve heard about me, but… I have control over memories.’ She explains gently, lacing her fingers together. ‘I once manipulated Sora’s memories and those connected to him. And I’ve grown a lot with my magic while training under Master Aqua.’
‘Your point?’ Vanitas stops her there, feeling impatient wondering where this is going.
She pauses but obliges his request anyway.
‘I wanted to ask if you would like me to lock away your memories. The ones of your time with…’ She doesn’t finish her sentence, but her words still cause his eyebrows to shoot straight up with surprise. How did she know anything about that? ‘No one’s told me directly, but I noticed you didn’t eat much during dinner. And I remembered what Sora said earlier. So I…’ She abruptly stops talking as his brown eyes turn murderous.
Vanitas shoots daggers over in Sora’s direction, angered again that his brother would mention something like that without his permission, even in a joking way in a casual setting among friends. Sora, though, is none the wiser of his twin’s glaring as he’s talking with Riku over by the green glowing portal, having apparently finished with their goodbyes as Roxas, Axel and Xion are nowhere to be seen.
While Vanitas’s attention is on Sora, though, he can’t help but notice that Riku has his eyes on Vanitas and Namine. There’s an expression on his face that Vanitas can’t quite name, and as a result his anger fades away confusion.
That emotion in Riku’s heart. Is that… jealousy? What’s his problem?
Deciding to deal with both him and Sora later, Vanitas turns back to Namine.
‘Why would you offer to help me with something like that for no reason?’ He asks, just knowing there’s probably a catch to this.
Namine looks down at the ground, clasping her hands together.
‘My powers. I’ve had to use them for horrible things in the past. And I thought that, maybe I could use them to help someone instead.’ Namine admits. ‘Sora didn’t ask me to do this, and truly it’s not his fault, I promise! I only noticed because, well, I struggle with the same thing sometimes.’ She confesses, causing Vanitas to furrow his brow. Now that he thinks about it, he did notice that she also didn’t eat much of anything today during the movie or later during dinner. ‘And so I thought I would offer to help. If you want.’
Vanitas thinks on this. Forget everything about the old man? It sounds like a dream. But then again… he wouldn’t be the person he is today without those experiences, and it bothered him to think of what he would be like without them.
‘I’ll… think about it.’ Is what he decides to say in the end.
Namine smiles and nods at him.
‘Alright. Take your time. There’s no rush to decide.’
Vanitas nods as well, looking unsure of what to say next before a call of his name distracts him.
‘Vani! Come on already. We gotta go!’ Sora shouts and waves his twin over towards the ship.
Vanitas squares his shoulders, his anger returning full force. Not bothering to say goodbye to Namine, he approaches Sora and roughly bumps into his shoulder.
‘You’re annoying.’ He glares. ‘And I won’t forgive you.’
‘What?’ Sora asks incredulously. ‘What’d I do this time?
During their long journey home, after Sora had apologized nearly a thousand times for his accidental blunder, and his twin waved off his concerns, no longer bothered by it, Vanitas couldn’t help but reflect on Namine’s words, thinking critically of who he was raised to be, and who he has now become.
Bonus Scene:
Vanitas’s mind is a whirlwind of thoughts for hours. All of them centered on Suzume and Sora, and the many pictures they had found in the basement earlier that morning.
With a huff, he extracts himself from where he had been perched in the window nook of his room, making his way across the hall to Sora’s bedroom.
Vanitas has only been in this room maybe a handful of times, but each instance still felt forbidden. As if it was a sin to go into another person’s room, like it crossed some invisible boundary. Not that two certain someone’s in this house ever respected that philosophy anyway, as Sora and Jewel certainly didn’t have any reservations about bursting into Vanitas’s own personal space whenever they saw fit.
Still, it took a lot of mental willpower for Vanitas to reach out and knock against the hard wood of Sora’s door before quietly pushing it open.
Sora is tinkering with something at his desk, some wooden figure he’s making with the various carving tools he keeps in his deskside drawer.
His twin looks up as Vanitas enters the room.
‘Hey Vani.’ He greets. ‘What’s up?’
Vanitas pauses, before fully entering the room and shutting the door with a click. His action causes Sora to raise a brow as Vanitas walks closer, stepping around the clothes and other messily discarded items on the floor, including Jewel who is lazily laying in the sunshine that’s streaming in through the open window.
Vanitas lets out a breath, noticeably pausing with his next words.
‘Will you tell me about him?’
Sora raises a brow, tilting his head.
‘Who?’
Vanitas hesitates, thinking the answer is quite obvious.
Apparently, it’s only obvious enough, though, as Sora continues to stare at him with a puzzled brow.
‘Um…’ Vanitas starts.
Saying the name doesn’t feel quite right, though the other title he can use seems just as bad. But then again, this person would never hear him say it, so maybe it would be alright? Just once?
‘Dad.’ Vanitas eventually says, the word foreign on his tongue.
‘Oh.’ Sora quickly turns around in his chair to fully face his brother, his expression turning into something else as he struggles with what to say.
Seeing such an overwhelming sorrowful look on Sora’s face does something to Vanitas. He’s never seen his twin make that expression before, and it almost hurts to see.
‘I…’ Sora also hesitates. ‘Well, what do you want to know?’
‘Anything.’ Vanitas shifts awkwardly, looking at the floor.
How can he possibly describe this feeling he has? The wish to know someone he would never get the chance to meet.
Sora is silent for a long while, most likely contemplating where to even begin. In the end, he lets out a breath and stands up, putting his tools away.
‘C’mon.’ He says, walking past Vanitas to exit the room. ‘Let’s go visit him then.’
When Sora had mentioned visiting their father, Vanitas had initially thought they would go to a graveyard or something. Because that’s where people went, right? When they were no longer living?
Sora, though, leads them towards the ocean, and into his waiting boat tied near the shore.
Neither twin says anything as Sora takes his time rowing them out to sea. Vanitas is trying not to ask questions, trying to give Sora the space he needs. He can sense that his brother’s heart is a jumbled mess of emotions, and knows from experience that it’s usually hard to make conversation with so many feelings hidden in your heart.
‘This spot should be good to see.’ Sora eventually says as he puts the oars away and lets the gentle waves rock them about in the vast ocean.
They’ve rowed quite far from shore, Vanitas notices, and some distance away there is a lighthouse sitting atop a natural formation of tall and sharp looking rocks. Still, he says nothing as Sora pulls out a pair of binoculars from under the seat of the boat and looks away from the shoreline.
‘Yea.’ Sora says, sounding more like he’s talking to himself rather than to Vanitas. ‘There it is.’ He looks away from the binoculars before handing them off to his brother. ‘Look at the water, at the base of the rocks.’
Vanitas looks at Sora for a moment, but his twin is not meeting his eye, instead gazing towards the water. He does as instructed and looks through the binoculars and into the water deep, deep down near the base of the rocks.
The oceans of Destiny Islands have always been immaculately clear. It was often quite easy to see schools of colorful fish, reefs and corals underneath the waves with a mere glance. Vanitas realizes now that this trait can be a blessing, and also a curse, as he can clearly see a shipwreck hiding there among the rocks under the waves.
‘There was an accident.’ Sora starts slowly. ‘He said he was coming back in the morning, but…’ He pinches his eyebrows together, face hardened with hurt. ‘The lighthouse wasn’t working, and they couldn’t see their way to shore and…’ He sighs. ‘They were so close, but they never made it back.’
Sora lets the sentence hang, and Vanitas puts down the binoculars, turning to give his twin his full attention.
‘He was… the best dad ever.’ Sora looks down and smiles sadly. ‘He always asked me how my day was at school, or what trouble me, Riku and Kairi caused that day. And he used to make things.’ Sora makes a gesture with his hands, the movement helping him talk through his memories. ‘Like the table we have in the dining room. He made that. And the tree house that’s in Riku’s back yard. He didn’t want his parents to buy one and said it cost too much. So he made one for us instead.’ Sora laughs, before the sound dies as he grabs onto the crown hanging from his neck. ‘This necklace is the first thing he made out of metal. And I loved it so much that I wanted to try it too. So we started carving things together, and we made that wooden star guy in my room. You know, the one that you said looked ugly?’
Sora’s voice carries some humor, but Vanitas doesn’t laugh, only sitting up a bit straighter with a somewhat guilty expression for unknowingly making fun of something that’s clearly so important to his brother.
‘We could talk for hours about anything. Making up stories from the things he’d find in the ocean, or the books I had as a kid.’ Sora’s face twists with sorrow. ‘He was always there for me. And I wish I could tell him about all the adventures I’ve been on. About all the people I’ve met and the places I’ve seen, but…’
Sora takes in a shaky breath while looking towards the water, and it’s then that Vanitas notices there are tears flowing down his brother’s face as he closes his eyes, lost in memories.
Without thinking too much about it, Vanitas goes to Sora’s side, careful of the boat rocking in the waves. He sits next to his twin, offering his arms open with silent invitation.
Sora takes the offered hug in a heartbeat, and Vanitas can feel every shaky breath and sob as his twin cries on his shoulder.
Vanitas does his best to comfort him, running a hand up and down his brother’s back in an imitation of what Suzume had done for him not too long ago, hoping that it offers some comfort.
His efforts eventually pay off as Sora calms and pulls away after a while.
‘Sorry for bringing the mood down.’ Sora says, trying to plaster a smile back on his face. ‘This wasn’t how I expected your first visit with Dad to go.’
Vanitas shakes his head, putting a hand on Sora’s shoulder, a silent instruction to stop.
‘I prefer you more like this.’
‘Like what? A crying mess?’ Sora jokes, wiping his eyes.
‘No.’ Vanitas shakes his head. ‘Real. The real, genuine Sora.’
Sora only tilts his head in question.
‘I feel like you shared a hidden part of yourself with me today. One nobody ever gets to see.’ Vanitas explains, ‘I’ve only ever heard people describe you as happy and literally nothing else. So, I appreciate you opening up to me. Much more than you know.’
Sora stares at Vanitas, speechless for a moment before a sad smile crosses his face.
‘Thanks Vanitas.’ He says. ‘Thanks for listening.’
Dream Eater Allyphant Creations 
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