As expected, Ignis, Prompto and Gladio are not thrilled to learn that Vanitas has once again used his dark powers. Ignis had immediately gone into a rather lengthy lecture regarding the importance of self-care, with Gladio and Prompto backing him up with disappointed stares.
‘Geez, it wasn’t that bad. You guys make it sound like I committed murder or something.’ Vanitas protests with an eye roll once the lecture comes to an end. ‘I used the Unversed to heal gramps. I feel fine.’
‘No fatigue at all?’ Ignis questions further as he places a plate of food in front of Vanitas.
They’ve all gone out to the patio area behind the motel, where the rays of the afternoon sun are blinded by the shade of the umbrella tables. A few other patrons are around, some of whom have recognized Noctis. The King had already taken the time to speak with quite a few of them while Ignis was giving his lecture, though, and by now, they could more or less enjoy their meal in peace with only the occasional curious glance thrown their way.
Of course, it always helped that Gladio’s presence alone has any would be approachers immediately turning tail before they can even think about bothering the King while he’s eating.
‘Nope.’ Vanitas toys with his broccoli with a bitter frown. While the adults got to enjoy a full meal of spicy triple truffle risotto, he was stuck with smaller portion sizes and simpler recipes.
‘A simple hearty meal suited for the sensitive stomach of a growing boy,’ or so his diet consisted of now. A meal plan designed by his doctor and carried out very diligently by Ignis.
Vanitas absolutely couldn’t stand it, and his resentment shows on his face as he watches the adults eat.
‘We’ll see about that in an hour.’ Noctis says in between bites, his tone less than pleased with Vanitas’s actions. ‘That’s usually when you’d pass out.’
‘I don’t pass out.’ Vanitas corrects him.
‘Then what else would you call it?’ Gladio accuses. ‘You fall asleep for hours on end, and nothing anyone does can wake you. Sounds a hell of a lot like passing out to me.’
‘Exactly. Van, I warned you already not to use your powers until you’re old enough to handle it.’ Noctis says with a stern expression. ‘I’m taking away your art supplies.’
‘What? Hey!’ Vanitas complains. ‘You can’t do that.’
‘I can, and I already did.’ Noctis says as a matter of fact. ‘They’re in the armiger. You can have them back in a few days.’
Vanitas sneers at him and stabs his fork into his food in retaliation at being outsmarted.
The armiger is the tangible space created by the royal line of Lucis. It’s where Noctis stores his weapons, and quite a variety of other equipment including potions, magic, armor etc. Ignis, Gladio and Prompto are all allowed access to use it through their connection as part of Noctis’s retinue. But for Vanitas, it’s probably just about the only place that he could never get into, even with the use of dark corridors, and Noctis knows that very well.
‘Wow Noct,’ Prompto grins. ‘You kinda sounded like a real parent just then.’
‘Don’t joke about that.’ Vanitas hisses, causing Prompto to hold his hands up in surrender.
‘Well,’ Ignis starts, adjusting his glasses. ‘In either rate, Vanitas will more than likely fall asleep following lunch. I suppose we will see then if the Unversed have been an aid or not.’
Vanitas doesn’t protest this line of thinking, begrudgingly accepting by now that his body has gotten used to napping after lunch every day. What he doesn’t expect though, is for Prompto and Ignis to ditch them on an errand for Cindy once they finish their meal.
‘How come they get to go and we don’t?’ Vanitas frowns, resting his chin on the table and lazily watching the two men run off into the distance. He hasn’t really finished his meal, more out of spite than anything else. ‘I want to go with them. It sucks being useless all the time.’
He misses it, fighting alongside the guys. In this state, though, it’s hard to deny that he would be nothing more than a hindrance.
‘You’re not useless, Van.’ Noctis sighs while gently pulling Vanitas onto his lap.
The child stiffens but doesn’t protest, already feeling an annoying rush of exhaustion hit him.
By now the other patrons have long since gone as lunch ended and the staff have cleaned off the tables and flipped the area for the inevitable dinner rush. Gladio had sweettalked the owner into letting them stay in the empty patio area for a while, though, and is currently standing guard from not too far away.
Noctis reclines his seat into a lounge chair, but Vanitas isn’t ready to lie down just yet, still bitter over his supposed ‘punishment’.
‘You could have gone with them, you know.’ Vanitas points out.
‘Nah, I’d rather stay behind with you. Plus, I’m collateral damage. Least that’s what Gladio says.’ Noctis chuckles a bit. ‘You should get some shut eye while they’re gone.’
Vanitas only glares at him, though.
‘I’m mad at you.’
‘I’m not surprised.’ Noctis hums, his tone light and holding no guilt.
‘Why my art stuff?’ Vanitas raises an eyebrow. ‘There’s so much worse you could do.’
‘Like what?’ Noctis tilts his head.
Vanitas shrugs.
‘Take away my food or water for a few days. Or lock me up somewhere for a while. Or force me to stay awake for a week. Oh, or-‘ Vanitas pauses mid speech when Noctis suddenly sits up.
‘You really think I would do any of those things to you?’ Noctis asks, his expression a mixture of horrified and beyond pissed.
‘That’s the kind of punishments I know.’ Vanitas says with a tilt of his small head, but his words do nothing to ease Noctis. ‘What you’re doing is more like a slap on the wrist.’
‘All of them?’ Noctis prods in disbelief. ‘You know all of those punishments?’
‘Yea.’ Vanitas shrugs. ‘It wasn’t so bad.’ He says nonchalantly as Noctis frowns, his brow furrowing with rage. ‘The sleeping one sucked, though. I hated that.’
Noctis is silent for a moment or two, taking in deep breaths through his nose with a furrowed brow as his lips are pulled into an angry frown. Eventually, the King lies back down, taking Vanitas with him and cradling the child in a tight embrace. Vanitas doesn’t protest the protective hold and only raises an eyebrow in confusion at Noctis.
The silence stretches on, before ultimately Vanitas realizes that Noctis is done with this conversation, and he eventually settles down to heed the call to sleep.
Their position is familiar and safe, one that has Vanitas sleeping within minutes. They’ve done this a couple times now whenever their afternoon schedules happen to match up. Ignis would often catch the two of them snoozing together in Noctis’s study or in the living room. Always with Vanitas fast asleep with his head pillowed on the King’s chest.
Noctis doesn’t deign to snooze this time around, and instead watches over Vanitas, occasionally looking out towards the horizon with a murderous expression.
‘Ah, so here’s where y’all ran off to.’
Noctis doesn’t look up, knowing that there’s only two people here in Hammerhead that Gladio would ever let through to see him.
Cindy looks Noctis over and lowers her voice when she notices that Vanitas is sleeping.
‘Yer car’s right as rain now for the trip. Paw Paw looked it over personally, thanks to puddin pop’s help.’
‘… I see.’ Noctis hums, absentmindedly rubbing Vanitas’s back as the child sleeps on.
Cindy notices his faraway gaze and places her hands on her hips.
‘Say listen, Prince…’ She starts as she walks closer then takes a seat beside him. ‘Don’t take what Paw Paw said to heart. Anyone with eyes can see puddin pop’s not fixing to leave y’all anytime soon.’
‘I know that.’ Noctis admits with a sigh. ‘Just didn’t think it was a possibility to be honest. Neither did he.’
‘Well sure. A kid like him deserves a family after all the hardships he’s been through.’ Cindy says. ‘That’s where ya’ll can step in, I’m sure. Gladio’s got his wife and kiddo, could probably make room for one more.’ She says, then chuckles as Noctis makes a sort of sour face in response. ‘Or if he don’t wanna, ya know ya don’t need a wife or nothin’ to adopt a kid right?’
Noctis looks up at her inquisitively.
‘And?’ He asks, knowing her well enough by now to know that she has a specific point.
‘Well, none of us here in Lucis would mind a new Little Prince, is all.’ Cindy smiles as she nods towards Vanitas. ‘Adopted or blood, doesn’t make much a difference now after all the hullabaloo of the Endless Night.’ She hums. ‘I would have to come up with a new nickname for ya though.’
Noctis blinks and opens his mouth to respond, but nothing comes out.
She winks at him knowingly and stands up to leave.
‘Just a thought, is all.’
True to his word, Vanitas wakes up after only about an hour or two of sleeping. He comes to consciousness slowly, realizing that he’s strapped into the seat beneath him and there is a gentle rocking to the world, along with the telltale clicking sound of the Insignia’s directional signal.
‘Oop, Vani’s awake.’ Prompto is the first to notice the child stirring into awareness in the back seat.
Vanitas groans and rubs his eyes.
‘What time is it?’ He asks, words barely discernable through the grogginess in his voice.
‘Bout 1:30.’ Gladio says, reading his book. ‘Looks like you won the bet.’
‘Indeed, it seems that the fatigue did not carry you away this time.’ Ignis hums while turning the car onto a deserted dirt road.
‘Told you so.’ Vanitas snorts before looking out the window. They’re heading west, though not going down a route that he’s immediately familiar with. ‘Where are we going?’
‘Gonna take off soon. Lookin’ for a runway.’ Gladio says nonchalantly while flipping a page.
‘What?’ Vanitas raises an eyebrow.
‘Gonna head up up up.’ Prompto makes a gesture of an airplane taking off. ‘Then, we’ll be on our way to my favorite place in the world!’
It takes Vanitas a minute to respond as he tries to decipher the meaning of Prompto’s first statement.
What does he mean go up?
Either way, Vanitas can only think of one place that Prompto is referring to.
‘Wiz’s?’ Vanitas leans forward in his seat with a hint of excitement. The straps are not as tight this time and finally allow him some breathing room to squirm around as he pleases as he cranes his neck to look further out the window.
‘Hell yea, buddy! Can’t wait to see me some chocobos!’ Prompto grins just as Ignis pulls over onto the side of the road.
‘This spot should suffice I would wager.’ Ignis puts the car in park and looks to Prompto for approval.
The sharpshooter gets out of the car, looking over the space with a critical eye, before nodding and putting his hands on his hips.
‘Yup, looks good to me. Gimme the wheel, Iggy.’ Prompto says. Once he and Ignis have swapped places, he looks over everyone in the backseat, before stopping on Vanitas. ‘You strapped in nice and tight, Vani?’
‘More than I wanna be.’ Vanitas grumbles with a sour look.
‘Not enough actually.’ Gladio pulls at the straps. ‘Noct, you said you did this right.’
‘I did.’ Noctis, who had been quiet up until now, defends himself.
‘Pinch test.’ Gladio corrects him and tightens the straps holding Vanitas in place until the fabric at the child’s shoulder is unable to be pinched. The Shield ignores Vanitas’s inevitable protesting and shakes his head. ‘Some parenting skills you have. Shorty coulda fell out and crashed through the windshield.’
‘Case you haven’t noticed, Van doesn’t like it tight.’ Noctis gestures to Vanitas, who is fidgeting around with distaste, clearly unable to get comfortable.
‘Safety’s always gotta be first with kids.’ Gladio says dismissively. ‘He’ll get used to it.’
‘Hey.’ Vanitas scoffs. ‘Feeling a little left out here. Don’t I get-’
‘Van’s not your kid though, is he?’ Noctis cuts him off, causing Gladio to look taken aback.
‘And what’s that supposed to mean?’ He raises an eyebrow.
‘Exactly what I said.’ Noctis scoffs.
‘No you meant something by that.’ Gladio jabs a finger at him. ‘Care to share with the class?’
‘Enough.’ Ignis gathers their attention from the passenger seat. ‘Vanitas, for now, I’m inclined to agree with Gladio regarding the seatbelt. Especially during flight.’
Vanitas grumbles under his breath but doesn’t say more. Noctis pointedly looks away out the window, while Gladio gives the King a perplexed look.
‘Ooookay.’ Prompto says as a gentle segway to move the conversation along, well used to Gladio and Noctis’s occassional squabbling by now. ‘Well, if everyone’s ready, then let’s be off into the skies!’ He grins, trying to regain the joyful atmosphere of their trip as he turns the car on. ‘Cuz here we go!’
The Insignia runs along the trail, picking up speed. Vanitas watches as Prompto hits a red button on the dash that he hadn’t noticed before, and the sound of creaking metal catches his ears. A hatch on the back of the car effortlessly opens, folding out to reveal a pair of metal wings, before suddenly they are up in the air.
‘What the hell?’ Vanitas asks in disbelief as Prompto ascends the car higher.
‘Woah, this is awesome!’ Gladio murmurs in awe, the wind rushing through his hair.
‘Certainly taking the high road.’ Ignis hums.
‘Where we’re goin’, we don’t need roads.’ Noctis smiles while looking out the window.
‘Not the puns again.’ Vanitas complains as Prompto flips a switch, allowing for a longer set of wings to extend out of the rear of the Insignia as they soar towards their destination.
‘This is your captain speaking, boys!’ Prompto grins. ‘Next stop, Wiz’s Chocobo Post!’
The trip down to the Chocobo Post ends up taking less than half an hour compared to the normal two plus hours it would have taken on the normal roads. Prompto brings them in for a smooth landing with all the ease of a well-practiced pilot and parks the car. The smell of chocobos is immediately nostalgic in Vanitas’s nose as he gets out of the car, this time less impatient as Noctis sets him free of the seat straps.
It’s still early in the afternoon, the sun is warm but not overly so as it’s broken up by the surrounding trees. Warm wind whistles through branches to the tune of chocobo talons hitting the dirt. The racetrack has expanded, now clearly visible across the road as there appears to be practice races going on. Vanitas watches different colored chocobos speed along the track, before turning his attention to Prompto as the man grins with glee, looking very much like a kid in a candy store.
‘Ah, I just love this place!’ He says, snapping a photo of the renovated building.
The Post still shines with those obnoxiously bright yellow accents on the roof, umbrellas and various flags blowing in the breeze. If Vanitas squints, he can see into the open building, noting that it looks to be mostly a gift shop now. Outside the building, there are now twice as many stalls for chocobos as there had been before, with the silo now relocated farther away to lay on the outer edge of a large free roaming pen for the birds. Vanitas even spies a smaller pen nearby, which holds younger chocobos and small fluffy white sheep. The sign denotes that the smaller pen is safe for children, probably intended as some sort of petting zoo.
Clearly, Wiz’s business has been doing well since the First Dawn. There is a plethora of people here visiting the birds, buying merchandise, and learning how to ride. There’s also a few children here, and almost all of them are carrying some form of chocobo stuffed animal.
As Vanitas, Gladio, Noctis and Ignis trail after an excited Prompto, Noctis is quickly recognized by a few individuals, and in no time at all the King has a group of people around him. Vanitas watches as his friend puts on an easy going, polite expression. One that is very unlike the Noctis he knows, and he frowns in response.
Vanitas doesn’t like when Noctis acts like a King. There’s something there, a distance in between them in those moments that he can’t quite name or cross. He watches the people fawn over Noct for a little while, listening as they speak to him not as a person but as some messiah.
Granted, Vanitas knows their respect is warranted; Noct DID save the world after all. But still, the whole thing puts a bad taste in his mouth.
Ignis is the one to eventually pull Vanitas’s attention away.
‘Shall we find Wiz?’ He offers, knowing that Gladio and Noctis will be busy for some time. ‘He should be aware of our visit. Perhaps he could arrange a tour if he’s not otherwise preoccupied.’
‘Sure I guess.’ Vanitas shrugs, grateful for the distraction as he turns with Ignis and Prompto to head into the spacious building.
Vanitas hears Wiz speaking before he sees him; that deep, quiet drawl instantly recognizable to his ears. Wiz is still sporting more or less the same outfit from his memories, though he’s obviously aged in the past 12 years. His beard is a little longer, holding more grey than ever before, but his eyes still have that same twinkle, the one that holds a deep kindness for his birds and the people who come to visit them.
‘Yo. Wiz.’ Prompto holds up a hand in greeting once the man finishes speaking with another customer. ‘Long time no see.’
‘Been awhile.’ Wiz acknowledges with a nod, looking the two men over, before he catches sight of Vanitas.
‘It certainly has.’ Ignis hums in agreement. ‘Might I introduce Vanitas.’ He places a hand atop the child’s head but chooses not to elaborate how the two of them exactly know each other.
Wiz looks Vanitas over with a critical eye. The child straightens up, meeting the old man’s gaze head on with anticipation.
‘Nice to meet ya, kiddo.’ Wiz nods to him like he would any normal kid. ‘How ya likin’ the Post so far?’
Vanitas lets out a breath, disappointed.
‘It’s really big.’ He eventually says, looking around the place. It’s the sort of store that he’d imagine kids to be running in and out of all day. There are plush chocobos of all sizes, varieties and colors huddled together in baskets and along the shelves. Numerous toys, books and candies line the store aisles, and some quiet country tune is playing over the speakers. Further back in the building, there’s a much more normal section of the store selling things that he would expect such as gyashi greens and potions etc. But there’s also a newly renovated, quieter section of the store behind a glass door that has what looks like mementos, photos and medals commemorating the brave birds that fell during the Endless Night. There are a few adults inside, looking over the items on display with interest and paying their respects.
‘Gettin’ bigger by the day.’ Wiz hums. ‘We just had a few eggs hatch recently too.’
‘Awww I’d love to see that.’ Prompto coos. ‘Bet they’re so adorable.’
‘Can fit right in the palm of yer hand.’ Wiz confirms, causing Prompto to nearly die on the spot. ‘I got some time now, why don’t I let y’all have a gander?’
‘Really?? Somebody pinch me!… Ow Vani, I didn’t mean seriously!’
Around the back of the shop, Wiz unlocks a particular door and beckons them all in. Vanitas immediately notices that it’s very humid inside, and there are numerous, numbered heated glass boxes lining the tables along the walls. All of the boxes have what look like chocobo eggs nestled safely inside, with only one in particular having small chicks hobbling about together in the safety of their incubator.
Prompto immediately gushes over the sight of them and takes about a hundred photos as Wiz reaches in to pick one up.
‘This one here’s a little boy bout a few days old.’ Wiz says, crouching down a bit to show Vanitas.
Vanitas hesitantly reaches out to gently stroke the tiny bird’s head. Its feathers are black, and it makes a soft keening sound in response to his touch.
‘I’ve never seen one that color before.’ He says curiously once Wiz returns the baby to its siblings.
‘Black’s been a more normal color since the Dawn.’ Wiz explains. ‘Darker colors survived better at night.’ He says, before letting out a heavy sigh, looking weary with memories. ‘We’re just now getting back some bright colors. Been working real hard on it too.’ He says, gesturing to the bright green and blue chicks playing together in the incubator box.
‘Your efforts are commendable and have not gone unnoticed I assure you.’ Ignis says with a nod. ‘We certainly all owe a lot to these magnificent birds.’ He then takes out his trusty notebook. ‘Speaking of which, the King had asked that I gather specifics about the population, and any issues therein.’
Vanitas lets the sound of the adults talking go in one ear and out the other as he steps up closer to the incubator to look over each of the chicks.
Much to his disappointment, there are no pink chocobos there to be seen.
Wiz does end up taking them around the property for a bit of a tour while explaining to Ignis some of the things they need help with from the Crown. At some point, though, Ignis is called away and it’s just Prompto and Vanitas hanging out with Wiz over by the racetrack.
‘There’s been a lot of new racers lately.’ Wiz says as a group speeds past them. ‘Been thinkin of maybe startin a tournament.’
‘What would be the prize?’ Prompto asks with interest.
‘Don’t know yet. But I had been thinking…’
Vanitas only half listens to the two of them, looking over each chocobo with interest. None of them are pink, and he’s starting to feel like maybe, somehow… none of them had survived the night. Pink is a very bright color, after all, and Wiz did mention that white chocobos have sadly gone extinct, their bright plumage unfortunately a dead giveaway to daemons in the darkness.
Just as he is beginning to lose hope, however, the three of them venture to the big pen of chocobos behind the main building. There’s a multitude of different colored adults milling about, some sunbathing, others searching for scraps from the silo or playing with one another, but one in particular immediately catches Vanitas’s attention.
Vanitas gasps and runs through the gate just as Wiz opens it, ignoring the shouts from behind him as he runs to the chocobo only a few yards away. Some of the other birds are startled as he passes by, but none of them dare to get in his way. Vanitas only slows down to a stop once he reaches his destination and he breathes heavily, looking over the one that had caught his eye.
The pink chocobo doesn’t respond as Vanitas approaches, only tilting its head curiously.
It’s not her. Vanitas knows it’s not her. But still the name stumbles out of his mouth before he can stop it.
‘Duchess…’ He says, reaching out a hand.
The bird looks at him for a moment or two, before stepping closer and nuzzling its beak into his small hand.
‘Hey, what did you just say kid?’
Vanitas turns around to see Wiz and Prompto running after him. Wiz is huffing and puffing, looking very much out of breath from the rush to keep up with Vanitas.
‘Yea, what was that about, Vani?’ Prompto asks, not phased at all by the mad dash and more curious about what just happened.
‘Nothing.’ He says, turning back to the pink chocobo. He rubs its nose, causing it to chirp.
‘Aw naw.’ Wiz says, not letting this go. ‘I heard what you said.’ He steps up to the bird and ruffles its blushing pink feathers. ‘This here’s Countess. She’s bout 6 years old.’ He explains, ‘She looks plenty like her mom, Duchess. But how’d you know that name?’
‘Uh…’ Vanitas hesitates, looking away.
Wiz clicks his tongue.
‘You know, I had a feeling you looked sorta familiar, kid.’ Wiz says, furrowing his brow. ‘Got a phone call from Cid up in Hammerhead a little while ago. Said you all would be blowin’ through. He mentioned that kid that went missing over a decade ago.’ He places a hand on his chin with puzzlement as he looks Vanitas over. ‘Thought it was mighty weird to bring up all of a sudden.’
‘Guess there’s uh, no denying it now.’ Prompto holds up his hands in surrender with a guilty laugh. ‘Yea, this is the same Vanitas from back then. Kinda a long story, with some whole divine intervention thing goin’ on.’
‘Whatever, I’m here now and that’s pretty much it.’ Vanitas says quickly, wanting to move this conversation along. ‘So, what happened to Duchess?’ Vanitas cuts to the chase.
At the question, Wiz’s face grows haunted. His brow pinches as a frown ghosts over his lips, and Vanitas already knows without him having to say a word.
‘Countess was the only pink bird to survive the night.’ He says, watching quietly as Countess shakes her feathers and sits down next to Vanitas, grooming him with her beak. ‘It’s a darn shame too. The pinks were always the best. They love us humans, ‘specially kids.’ He nods to the bird, who very clearly understands that Vanitas is upset and is trying to help in her own way.
Vanitas rubs a small hand through the soft blushing feathers on her neck, looking down towards the ground.
‘When did Duchess…’ He can’t even finish his question.
‘5 years ago now.’ Wiz says. ‘She was bout 8. Considerin’ chocobos live only to bout 10 or so, she lived as full a life as she could have had back then.’
Something in Vanitas breaks as he hears this, and he takes a deep breath to ward off his emotions. He closes his eyes, memories of Duchess flashing in his mind. He’d never bonded with an animal before until he met her. She didn’t judge him, didn’t hurt him, didn’t laugh at him. She had just been there from day one, in his corner, riding together through the wilds and winning races til the break of dawn.
He furrows his brow, trying desperately to even remember the last time he saw her. It was so long ago…
To know that she was gone, that she was never coming back, hurt more deeply than Vanitas would ever dare to admit.
Countess moves closer to him, hiding his small frame with her pink feathers.
He buries his fingers into them, accepting the offered comfort.
It’s a little while later that Vanitas finds himself surrounded by small sheep and young baby chocobos. After their visit with Countess, Wiz had told him and Prompto to wait near the petting zoo for a little while.
‘You know I was gonna wait a bit, but today I think might be just as well.’ He had said. ‘You two head on over to the petting pen. Got something to show ya.’
Unsure of what that could mean, but suddenly not having the energy to protest, Vanitas was persuaded by Prompto to get into the pen. Prompto tried to coax him to interact with the chicks, or feed some of the sheep for a picture or two, but Vanitas found that he wasn’t interested, too far lost in the fog of trying to stifle his own overwhelming emotions.
At some point, Noctis’s small entourage must as dwindled, as he, Ignis and Gladio come to join them.
‘Hey, how was your tour?’ Noctis asks as he comes up to the big wooden fence, resting his arms atop it and looking down at Vanitas.
The child is sat up against the fence post, absentmindedly petting the fluffy sheep that have come to snuggle with him. There are a small number of children inside the pen with him, too, either feeding the animals or playing with each other, but he pays them no mind at all.
‘It was AMAZING.’ Prompto answers in Vanitas’s stead after a beat of silence. ‘We saw the smallest itty bitty babies you’ve ever seen. Just a day old! They were this big, dude!’ He puts his hands together, showing the precise height.
‘There’s no way they’re that small.’ Gladio protests.
‘Oh yea they are. I got proof!’ He waves his camera for emphasis. ‘Plus, Iggy and Vani can vouch for me!’ He turns to the two of them, before his face falls as he notices that Ignis has gone silent, now watching Vanitas with a furrowed brow.
Neither child nor advisor says a word as Ignis crouches and reaches through the fence to press a hand to Vanitas’s forehead. The child merely blinks in response, not reacting as Ignis holds his hand there for a moment or two before pulling away.
It feels like Vanitas is drowning again. Trying to shut down his mind and emotions into nothing. He doesn’t want to face them. Especially not here, in front of everyone. He doesn’t want to think about anything at all right now. Even just existing in this moment is too hard, as all he can think about is Duchess.
‘What’s wrong?’ He can hear Noctis asking with concern.
‘Ah, well…’ Prompto sighs. ‘We heard that Duchess didn’t make it to the First Dawn.’
Vanitas can hear how Noctis takes in a breath of realization, before there is a comforting hand on his shoulder. He doesn’t shake it off, he hasn’t the energy to do so anyway. He does, though, look up as Wiz enters the pen. He is holding what looks like a bundle of something wrapped in a blanket.
‘Was thinking of letting her out tomorrow morning just to make extra sure after she got herself stuck in some chicken wire, but now seemed like as good a time as any.’ Is all Wiz says before plopping the blanket down in Vanitas’s lap.
Something makes a chirping sound before suddenly a pink feathered head pops out of the blanket.
Vanitas blinks with surprise, speechless.
‘Meet Princess.’ Wiz smiles. ‘Duchess’s little baby granddaughter.’
Vanitas looks up at Wiz in shock before unwrapping the chick from the rest of the blanket. Princess makes a keening sound and settles down onto Vanitas’s lap, hiding her small legs underneath her and looking perfectly happy to loaf on him.
‘Ahhh she’s so cute!’ Prompto coos and takes a photo.
‘Stinkin cute.’ Gladio agrees.
‘Quite adorable.’ Ignis hums.
‘How old is she?’ Noct asks with interest.
‘Oh bout a little over half a year old I’d say.’ Wiz says. ‘Still got some growin’ to do.’ He says then looks down at Vanitas with a smile. ‘She’s gonna be a big sister soon ta boot. Got a couple eggs cookin’ in the incubator.’
‘Really? That’s great!’ Prompto grins.
Vanitas is unable to form words at this, merely blinking up at Wiz with surprise.
So the pink chocobos… they’re going to be okay.
He startles at the touch of pink feathers against one of his hands, and looks down at Princess, who is snuggling up to his touch. She chirps happily when he scratches the feathers on her back.
‘Can I feed her?’ He asks, looking around for that bag of feed Prompto had gotten for him earlier.
‘Sure can.’ Wiz says, producing another bag from his pocket and tossing it to Vanitas. ‘Would be doin’ me a favor anyway, she hasn’t gotten to eat yet today.’ He says, before tipping his hat to the group. ‘Welp, I’ve gotta get running along. Was good to be seein’ ya again, Your Majesty.’
‘Likewise.’ Noct says with smile and a nod.
‘Don’t be strangers now.’ Wiz waves over his shoulder before heading back into his store.
Vanitas watches him go for a moment or two before opening up the bag of seed. Princess is patient, but still excited by the prospect of food, and she fans out her pink feathers with anticipation as he takes a handful and holds it out to her.
As he watches her eat and listens to the guys gush over the adorable sight that the two of them make, Vanitas can’t help but notice that the fog that had been growing at the forefront of his mind is now suddenly gone.
Their group of five spends the rest of that first day of their trip doing various recreational activities around the Post. They each take a turn in the petting pen with Vanitas, who quickly formed a bond with Princess. The little pink chick followed him around like a lost duckling all day, keening after him much like her grandmother did before her. The Post worker in charge of the pen even agreed to let her hang out with them. As long as they stayed relatively nearby.
Princess made the perfect little companion for the day as Vanitas unfortunately is much too young to ride, and none of the staff would bend on this rule. Instead, the two of them sat together for hours on the grass overlooking the track as the guys took turns racing.
Vanitas was eventually able to bully his way into the saddle, though, once the sun started to set and they had to say goodbye to Princess and the Post for the night.
‘You’re gonna get me and Onyxia in trouble, you know.’ Noctis halfheartedly protests as he hoists Vanitas up to sit in front of him.
They were planning to go offroad into the countryside to set up camp at the haven nearby. While technically they could stay at the Post, those rooms were not available to the public without a reservation, and besides, there was less chance of Noctis being swarmed by people if they just left for the night.
The black chocobo underneath them doesn’t protest as Vanitas settles into the saddle, but she does look back questioningly, earning a neck scratch in exchange for her silence.
‘Hey, if I can hang onto a horse, I can do this much.’ Vanitas snorts. ‘Or what? You wanna walk all the way to the haven?’
‘Point taken.’ Noctis chuckles before they’re suddenly off.
Noctis keeps Onyxia at a slow, steady paced run even as Prompto and Gladio speed off ahead of them. Ignis chooses to stick close by with his own sapphire blue chocobo, keeping watch should there be any accident.
Vanitas isn’t too happy about once again being babied, but he doesn’t verbally protest as the familiar feeling of air whipping past his face distracts him.
It’s been so long since he’s ridden atop a chocobo, and the feeling is overwhelmingly nostalgic as he holds on tightly to black feathers. They end up doing a few laps around the area just for a little bit of fun, and visit the spot where the guys once took down a behemoth named Dead Eye, before stopping to take a scenic group photo near some picturesque spot that Prompto had found.
The sun is just starting to dip under the horizon when they eventually sidle up to the haven.
‘That’s odd.’ Gladio says as they approach it, his ruby red chocobo walking casually in front of the group.
‘What’s odd?’ Prompto asks.
‘The haven. It’s lit up.’
Vanitas lifts an eyebrow, looking at the swirling blue iridescent symbols carved into the rock.
‘So?’ Vanitas asks, tilting his head. ‘They’re always that color, what’s the big deal?’
‘Just haven’t seen one lit up in years.’ Gladio mumbles with a frown.
‘The one I woke up on in Gauldin was lit up.’ Vanitas says. ‘And the one I found when I ditched Talcott and Monica too.’ He pauses, noticing that everyone is suddenly staring at him. ‘What?’
‘The havens have not been operational since the Endless Night.’ Ignis explains. ‘Even after the First Dawn, they remained dormant.’
‘Why am I getting the feeling that this is another one of those ‘oracle’ things?’ Vanitas scrunches up his nose in question as Noctis stops Onyxia beside the glowing rocks.
‘Cuz it is.’ Noctis says lightly as he gets off the chocobo, reaching back to help Vanitas down. ‘Havens don’t protect travelers unless there’s an oracle around to bless them.’
‘But I haven’t done any blessings.’ Vanitas protests, sliding off the saddle.
‘Perhaps your mere presence reignited them.’ Ignis ponders, putting a hand up to his chin in thought.
‘Wouldn’t surprise me at this point.’ Prompto jumps off his emerald green chocobo. ‘In fact, nothing will.’
‘Really? What if I kicked a can?’ Gladio asks teasingly.
‘Hey.’ Prompto turns and points at him rudely. ‘You be quiet over there, peanut gallery.’
‘Real mature.’ Gladio laughs as he is the first to head up to the haven, summoning their camping gear from the armiger.
‘What are you two arguing about now?’ Vanitas asks once Noctis puts him down. The child follows after Gladio, taking in the sight of all their camping equipment. Some of the items look well used from multiple trips out in the wilderness, while others look brand new. Almost all of them, though, Vanitas can recognize now that he’s spent time camping with them here on Eos.
‘When we were in one of the royal tombs,’ Noctis recounts with a barely concealed snicker, ‘Gladio accidentally kicked a can and scared the absolute hell out of Prompto.’
‘That’s putting it lightly!’ Prompto complains while handing some of the items for their cooking set up over to Ignis. ‘My heart nearly exploded in my chest.’
‘Wuss.’ Gladio snorts, giving Noctis the poles from one of the tents.
Vanitas watches as Prompto, Gladio, Ignis and Noctis set up camp without any further words exchanged, each of them cogs in a well-oiled machine that know their parts too well by now. When Vanitas tries to help, Gladio only waves him away for now, stating that they’ve got it, and leaving him once again feeling like an outsider.
A feeling of rejection simmers a bit in his chest before he squashes it down, feeling thankful when camp is set up not 15 minutes later, and he can instead help Ignis pick out something for dinner.
Night inevitably descends upon the camp, and Vanitas settles next to Onyxia, listening to her heartbeat and the cool breeze ruffling through her feathers. The sound of crickets chirping, the fire crackling, and his friend’s jovial voices lull him into a sense of ease he hasn’t felt in years. Not since that first night he spent under the stars with them.
The sounds of the night are the same, sounding so full of life and nothing like the dead whistles of sand that accompanied the end of his days in the Keyblade Graveyard. Everything was so new to him back then, and he had wanted to experience it all. Take everything in with all his senses and bottle it up so that he would never forget. He was so grateful he had that mindset then, and even more so now as he takes in a deep breath, listening and feeling the world around him through closed eyes.
‘Falling asleep over there, Van?’ Noctis asks from his chair near the crackling fire.
Vanitas hums in response.
‘Wanna go to bed?’ Noctis offers, causing Vanitas to frown and turn to further hide in Onyxia’s black feathers. ‘I’ll take that as a no.’ He laughs, before turning back to his conversation with Prompto.
Even after all this time, the four of them are all as thick as thieves, and as Vanitas listens to their conversation, that nagging feeling that he doesn’t belong comes back. He knows it’s absurd, but still, there’s a part of it that he can’t shake off no matter how hard he tries.
Noctis does eventually persuade Vanitas to go to bed once their fire dies down. Unlike during the previous trip, now they have two tents instead of one, and Noctis, Vanitas and Gladio share one while Prompto and Ignis take the other. Once changed into pajamas, Vanitas has a hard time staying awake as he settles into his sleeping bag in between the two adults.
He wants to stay awake. He misses the late nights, where the sounds of the dark are prominent and comforting, and he can center himself in the gentle shadows of evening.
He misses who he used to be.
Early the next morning, Vanitas wakes to the sound of birdsong and the rising sun streaming against the tent. The five of them leisurely eat breakfast and pack up their belongings before heading back to the Post to pick up the Insignia. Wiz is setting about feeding the birds their morning grub, and he happily chats with Noctis as Vanitas says a final farewell to Countess and Princess.
The little chick, though, doesn’t seem to get the hint, and stubbornly follows Vanitas even after he already said his goodbyes.
‘Wuh oh. Looks like someone’s attached.’ Prompto says playfully.
‘She’s gonna be heartbroken once we leave.’ Gladio frowns and crosses his arms.
‘She’s not the only one.’ Ignis comments, watching Vanitas ruffle the chick’s pink feathers and talk to her in a quiet voice.
‘Hmmm… Take her with us?’ Prompto teases.
‘Are you nuts?’ Gladio backhands his arm lightly. ‘Where would we put her?’
‘Could make room. The citadel’s big enough.’ Prompto places a hand to his chin thoughtfully.
‘Don’t even think about it.’ Noctis sighs, having finished his conversation with Wiz. ‘First a chocobo, then next thing we know it’ll be a catoblepas,’
‘And his majesty has spoken.’ Prompto holds up his hands in surrender.
‘Could do well with coming back here more frequently, though.’ Ignis suggests. ‘If only for Vanitas’s sake.’
‘Got a point there.’ Noctis has to concede.
Vanitas is eventually able to pry himself away from Princess to quickly hit up the store. Prompto fixes to spend way too much of his paycheck on little chocobo trinkets for his collection back home, while Gladio is set about getting a few surprise souvenirs for Poppy.
Vanitas is offered to have anything he wants from the store, too, though he hesitates to do so.
‘No thanks.’ He says with a grimace, sweeping his gaze across the decorated store.
That bitterness at being reborn as a child has never quite left his mouth, and he still refuses to partake in anything he can get away with. If he could never nap or sit in that damned car seat again, he would. And while the innocent thought of a stuffed animal or some candy would not be so bad, Vanitas is stubborn and refuses to yield to any and all childish instincts his body throws his way.
It’s ridiculous. He’s a teenager, he doesn’t need any of those things, and it angers him that there’s a small part of him somewhere deep down inside that wants to be coddled, that wants to have candy or other comforting things. He’s noticed it more and more frequently the longer he spends in this new body. A deep want to experience some of the things he’s never had before. A feeling of desire in his heart to act on childish instincts that he can’t describe.
His brain wants absolutely no part of it, though, and has only made him more stubborn as a result.
‘Aw really?’ Prompto asks, frowning. ‘You don’t want anything here, Vani? Not even candy? C’mon every kid loves candy.’
Vanitas only glares at him and stubbornly exits the store to where Noctis and Ignis are speaking to the last of the citizens nearby. Gladio watches him with a raised eyebrow, his own basket filled with a few stuffed animals, toys and candies. Both he and Prompto share a look, before both deciding to throw a particular something into the basket for Vanitas anyway.
Once they set off from Wiz’s place, their journey ramps up exponentially. They end up visiting a lot of the outposts nearby; Coernix Station – Alstor, Prairie Outpost and Longwythe all in the span of a few hours before stopping for lunch. With nowhere close by to cook, Ignis reluctantly allows them to eat at the Crow’s Nest, and afterwards they wrap up their visit by peeping at the shell of the adamantoise that once lived nearby.
‘It’s fuckin’ huge.’ Vanitas whistles when they ride up on their chocobos to check it out. ‘You guys really beat this thing?’ He’d seen it in passing the day he was reborn, sure, but up close it really was something else.
‘Hell yea we did!’ Prompto grins with pride.
‘Was a huge pain the ass.’ Gladio grumbles.
‘Could even say it was an ASStounding fight.’ Noctis chuckles.
‘Language. All of you.’ Ignis sighs, exasperated.
After a bit of exploring, they all head back out into the skies towards their last stop of the day; Gauldin Quay. Vanitas, unsurprisingly, naps during the long flight, and wakes up to the sound of waves crashing on the shore.
It takes his eyes a few moments to adjust to the brightness of the sun shining against the bright sand. Once doing so, however, he realizes that he’s sprawled out on a blanket, an umbrella set up above him to keep him safe in the shade as he snoozed. Ignis is sitting next to him, fiddling with his phone and notebook. Noctis is not too far away, sitting in one of the folding chairs on the newly built pier and watching a bobber bounce in the waves. Prompto and Gladio are walking towards them from a bit further up the beach, chatting and toweling their hair as they probably just got done swimming in the water.
‘How was your nap, shorty?’ Gladio asks upon noticing that Vanitas is awake.
‘Fine.’ Vanitas yawns, stretching out his arms. Upon doing so he notices that he had been clutching something fluffy in his sleep. He blinks, pushing the object away to look at it better.
It’s a chocobo plush from Wiz’s Post. A pink one to be exact.
‘Oh you like our gift, Vani?’ Prompto grins as he comes to take a seat on the edge of the blanket. ‘You were snuggling with it in your sleep.’ He teases.
Vanitas startles, his cheeks blushing pink like the plush from embarrassment as he feels angry with himself for acting on such childish instincts.
‘Was not.’ Vanitas makes a face and flings the stuffed animal away.
Prompto dramatically gasps as it falls into the sand.
‘How could you?!’ He fawns at the audacity. ‘It only wanted your love!’
Vanitas only groans and rolls over, turning his back on Prompto.
From this vantage point he can see Gauldin Quay in the distance. It looks much better than the last time he was here, when only the foundation and some of the walls were up. Now it looks more like an actual building, even though it is only a small fraction of what it once was.
Still, progress is progress either way.
At this point, Noctis must have deemed his fishing venture a lost cause as he comes back to join them. Staring up at Noctis from this vantage point in the sand has déjà vu hitting Vanitas like a punch to the gut, and words tumble out of his mouth before he really thinks about it.
‘Don’t kick me.’
Noctis pauses, raising an eyebrow.
‘What? Why would I kick you, Van?’
‘This is the spot.’ Vanitas pats his hand against the blanket and the sand underneath. ‘Where you found me.’
It isn’t. Not really. Probably a little more to the left and closer to the pier would be more accurate. But it’s close enough.
Noctis blinks, realizing this fact also as he looks up and down the beach.
‘Guess it is.’ He says and sits down next to Vanitas, ruffling his dark hair. ‘A lot’s changed since then.’
‘You certainly could say so.’ Ignis says. ‘Though I believe this time around is more preferrable. For all involved.’
Vanitas hums and closes his eyes once more, happy to bask in the presence of the sun, surf and his friends on the beach.
Turns out that Noctis already got his Kingly duty of talking with the local construction workers out of the way while Vanitas was sleeping. So, the rest of their time at Gauldin would be for leisure, with Prompto, Gladio and Noctis taking turns going into the ocean while Ignis relaxed by the seaside as an honorary lifeguard.
Vanitas himself is interested but hesitant to join them as he’s never swum before. The only other place he can think of that had water big enough to swim in would be that Neverland world. The one with the mermaids and the fairies and the random rainstorms of pirate cannons. He’d never thought to try to swim in that water though, having been much more interested in bothering Aqua at the time.
Gladio, though, is more than up to the task of teaching him how.
‘I taught Poppy not that long ago.’ Gladio waves him towards the water. ‘Sure you’ll be a breeze.’
‘Yea, come on and join us, Vani!’ Prompto encourages. ‘I heard Iggy even brought water wings for you just in case.’ He says, his tone lilting like he’s offering up a promising exchange.
‘Water… what?’ Vanitas tilts his head.
‘They’re inflatable armbands children wear to stay afloat. I thought they may be useful as I know you’ve never ventured to swim before.’ Ignis explains, looking in his bag near the beach umbrella. He pulls out a deflated plastic ring that’s bright orange. ‘I also did pack you a swimsuit just in case.’
‘Oh…’ Vanitas instantly deflates as he looks the water wing over.
The color is unassuming, merely precautionary to stand out among the blue water. But to Vanitas it might as well have been the most childish thing he’s ever seen.
Once again, his pride takes a deep hit as he stares at it.
He wants to swim, wants to learn how as he never got the chance to in his previous life. But if this is the cost of it, he simply can’t. His pride would never recover.
‘Nevermind.’ He looks away, that gnawing, stubborn feeling in his chest once more as his eyes grow distant.
‘You sure, Van?’ Noctis asks from near the shoreline. ‘We’ll help you, I promise.’
‘I changed my mind.’ Vanitas says and lays down, missing the look of suspicion Noctis and Ignis share.
It’s starting to get late into the afternoon when Noctis returns to fishing one last time before dusk settles in. Dinner has already come and gone, and Vanitas is sitting with him together on the pier, watching the bobber sway back and forth. The air is crisp, and the sound of the waves are comforting as night creeps in over the water.
‘Is it hard?’ Vanitas eventually asks after some time of comfortable silence. ‘Fishing?’
‘Nah.’ Noctis shakes his head. ‘It’s easy to get the hang of but can be hard to master.’ The King then turns to Vanitas with an idea. ‘Wanna try?’
Vanitas looks at Noctis then down to the fishing rod and hesitates. Part of him, the one that still hurts from earlier, wonders if Noctis will dare to give him a child’s fishing rod or something else just as demeaning.
But the King does no such thing.
‘Here, get a feel for it.’ Noctis says, easily passing the adult sized fishing rod to Vanitas.
The child startles, reaching to hold the rod before it falls onto the deck. It’s heavy in his small grasp, but doable. Vanitas isn’t sure if he’ll be able to cast it on his own, but he can manage to hold it for now and experimentally cranks the spinning wheel like he’s seen Noctis do a thousand times.
‘That reels the fish in.’ Noctis explains, sitting back in his chair and grabbing a beer from the cooler at his feet. ‘Once you feel a tug, start cranking. But not too hard or you could snap the line.’
‘What happens when you snap the line?’ Vanitas tilts his head.
He’s never seen that happen before when Noctis is fishing.
‘Then I lose my favorite bobber.’ Noct chuckles a bit. ‘And I’ll never forgive you.’
‘Oh gee, way to put the pressure on.’ Vanitas says sarcastically, causing Noctis to laugh.
The two of them lapse into silence after that, merely enjoying each other’s presence as the day continues to lazily turn into night. After some time, though, Vanitas feels a tug on the fishing rod and fumbles to grab hold of the spinning wheel.
‘Relax.’ Noct stands up and puts a hand on his small shoulder. He looks out into the ocean, seemingly understanding with only a glance what kind of fish must have caught the line. ‘Reel it in slowly.’
Vanitas does as he’s told, struggling to keep a grip on the heavy fishing rod. When Noctis tells him to lean left, he does, and when to pull back, he does, trusting in the King to guide him. It takes a few minutes, but for his efforts, he is rewarded as Noct breaks out his fishing tongues and hauls the fish out of the water.
‘Looks like you just caught your first fish.’ Noctis says with approval.
Vanitas puts the rod down and comes to stand by his side, looking over the fish as Noct takes the hook out of its mouth. It’s an allural sea bass, quite a small one too. Even so, the fish still spans about a third of Vanitas’s height. It’s heavy in his arms when Noctis passes it to him, and the fish flails, its tail smacking against the wood of the pier as Vanitas holds onto the tongues.
‘What do you think?’ Vanitas can’t help but hesitantly ask, wanting to know Noctis’s opinion.
There were only a handful of times when Vanitas dared to ask Xehanort the same question. Usually back when he managed to nail a technique or perform a successful dodge. The old man would never praise Vanitas, though, not even when he knew that his apprentice did a good job. No, Xehanort would only sneer at Vanitas as if the boy was some dirt stuck under his shoe and tell him to work harder, and to stop dragging his feet so that they could form the X-blade faster.
Vanitas tenses, a deep part of him expecting the same treatment from Noctis.
The King only smiles, though, and ruffles his hair.
‘You’re still a guppy.’ Noctis chuckles. ‘But you did really well. Especially for your first try.’
Vanitas can feel something then, something warm in his chest as Noctis looks at him with pride. But he doesn’t have the courage to explore it, much less name it, as Noctis turns towards camp.
‘Prom! Get your camera over here!’ He calls to Prompto, who is hanging out with Ignis and Gladio near the campfire. ‘Van caught a fish!’
‘What really?!’ Prompto springs up. ‘First try?!’
‘Yea!’ Noctis grins.
Vanitas feels a bit shy in that moment as Prompto and the others rush toward him, all of them wearing proud expressions on their faces. He’s not sure why, maybe because it’s an accomplishment worth being proud over.
Something he’s happy to show them for once.
‘Okay Vani, hold the fish up and look this way.’ Prompto instructs from behind his camera, angling the shot to capture the last light of day in the background. ‘Smile!’
Vanitas does smile, a small one, and can feel happiness radiate in his chest at the click of the camera.
‘Great. Now there’s two fish junkies.’
‘Shhh Gladio! You’re ruining the picture-perfect moment!’
That night, once the hype of his first fishing venture has waned, Vanitas is awoken in the late hours of the night from the sound of heavy rain splattering against the tent. Prompto and Noctis are asleep on either side of him, and as his eyes adjust to the darkness, he can see out into the rainstorm through one of the clear plastic windows of the tent. There’s something else next to him in the darkness, which he notes as that pink chocobo plush he had discarded earlier in the day.
Vanitas scoffs, assuming Prompto left it there when he drifted off to sleep, and he moves to throw the stupid thing at the blonde and fall back asleep. But as he grabs the animal, though, he can hear wind whipping against the tent, before a sudden crashing boom can be heard overhead.
He sits up quickly with a gasp, instinctive fear coursing through him at the strange sound he’s never heard before in his life.
A flash of purple lightning strikes overhead, causing him to flinch.
It’s only a thunderstorm… he has vague memories of them from the time he and Ventus were still as one. By all accounts, he knows they are not dangerous. Still, the intensity of it startles him when the next crashing boom sounds out overhead, and Vanitas quickly lies back down.
He shuts his eyes and pulls the covers up to his nose, the softness of the stuffed animal against his elbow offering some comfort from the bright light and strident sounds outside.
Suddenly, though, all noise stops with no warning.
Slowly, Vanitas opens his eyes and looks up.
He wishes that he didn’t.
Outside, through the plastic clear window of the tent, Vanitas can see a looming figure in the eye of the storm. It’s of an old man, who’s beard is white and long and sways in the breeze as he holds an ancient staff. The man’s eyes stare at him ominously, as if into his very soul. Instinctively, Vanitas moves away, and startles when his back makes contact with something. An arm comes to circle around him protectively, and Vanitas is surprised as he looks over his shoulder to see that Noctis is still awake.
Noctis is looking out towards the stormbearer, his naturally blue eyes shining a bright fuchsia color. Vanitas stares at him for a moment or two, neither of them saying a word, before he too looks out at Ramuh, both he and Noctis sporting similar hard stares as they look up at the thunder God in the sky.
Ramuh holds their gaze for a moment more, before he moves on to spread his storm elsewhere throughout the land.
Neither Noctis nor Vanitas move until they both know for sure that he’s gone.
Noctis is the first to relax as he sighs and pulls Vanitas a bit tighter to him. In response, Vanitas turns to bury his face in the King’s chest, the stuffed pink chocobo somehow also wedging itself into their embrace.
Slowly, Vanitas falls asleep to the gentle feeling of the soft plush against his chest and the rhythmic motion of Noctis carding his fingers through his hair.
Bonus Scene:
‘So hey, anybody else kinda worried about Vani?’ Prompto brings up over the campfire as he glances down at the beach where Noctis and Vanitas are fishing. ‘Today he was really out of it at the Post for a while there. You guys shoulda seen him after we heard about Duchess. It’s like he just totally shut down.’ Prompto frowns, waving a hand over his face for emphasis. ‘And he did a complete 180 there with the whole swimming thing.’
‘The swimming didn’t surprise me. Could have just gotten cold feet.’ Gladio shrugs. ‘First time swimming is a big thing for kids.’
‘Yea but Vani’s not a kid though. At least not in his head.’ Prompto frowns, tapping his temple.
‘Vanitas certainly is a special case.’ Ignis hums, returning to the fire with drinks in hand for each of them. ‘He did react very negatively to the car seat but protested far less than I predicted. Today also with the water wings, he simply gave up once he saw them.’
‘Probably hasn’t sunken in yet that he’s not getting his old body back.’ Gladio sighs, recognizing that this situation could not be easy for the littlest member of their group.
‘I’d probably go insane.’ Prompto hums in agreement. ‘Really, it’s gotta be awful. Your mind and your body not matching up.’
‘I bet Noct knows how he feels.’ Gladio says, putting a hand to his chin as he looks down at the two of them by the water. ‘Though Noct was already an adult before the 10 year gap, so not really the same thing.’
‘Still, that is a good point to make.’ Ignis hums. ‘I believe the two of them could help each other in that sense. We’ve already seen what Vanitas’s influence has had on Noct. Perhaps he could return the favor for Vanitas.’
‘Right…’ Prompto says with a small smile.
It’s no secret that Noctis always feels the weight of those ten years that he lost in the crystal, and is trying his best to make up for it not just to them but to all of Lucis. It was very common for Noctis to refuse breaks and work himself into the ground trying to make the world a better place. They’ve all spoken with him about it, too, but nothing seemed to change his mind to slow down.
That is, until Vanitas came back.
Since then, they have all noticed a change in Noctis for the better. He doesn’t push himself to the brink anymore, and instead makes sure to takes each and every one of his breaks just to have more time to spend with Vanitas. He even makes an effort to always finish his work at a reasonable hour just so that he can return to the suite before Vanitas goes to bed.
Not to mention that Noctis just seems… happier with Vanitas around.
Clearly, they can all tell that Vanitas is a positive presence to their King and that the two of them are good for each other, in many ways. But something is clearly bothering Vanitas, though, and it’s something that not even Noct can seem to fix.
Ignis watches over him silently by the campfire before he sighs, making up his mind.
‘At either rate, I believe that tomorrow I’ll venture to make a certain phone call.’
Dream Eater Allyphant Creations 
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