Chapter Text
Ventus noticed immediately, bolting up right at the kitchen table with the fork full of Aqua’s cake stopping halfway to his mouth. When Terra asked what was wrong Aqua insisted they all go investigate together; even if the threat seemed like something that shouldn’t be possible, they’d been apart for too long to be anything less than careful. But when they made it outside they all stopped short at the top of the castle steps, none of them knowing what to do with their suspicions being confirmed true.
“Hello, brother.”
Vanitas continued to walk towards the steps through the courtyard, a small smirk coming and going as he spoke.
“What are you doing here, Vanitas!?” Aqua accused more than asked, stepping in front of her two friends protectively. They had all been making amends with former enemies, but no matter how bittersweet his final farewell may have been Vanitas had been wholly unrepentant.
Vanitas’ face fell into a small frown and he stopped. There was a short, tense pause and the three heroes held their breath, but the outcome was anticlimactic.
“...Nevermind.” And with that Vanitas just turned on his heel and began walking away, the dark corridor forming a few feet in front of him showing his intent to leave the world entirely.
“Wait!”
Ven didn’t really know why he said it, but it just… felt wrong, letting Vanitas go like that. Still, it left him floundering for what to say next when not only did Vanitas stop and stare at him over his shoulder, but Terra and Aqua looked to him in shock as well.
“...Where... are you going?” he asked awkwardly, the question sounding both like a botched attempt at small talk and loaded, indirect concern that something new and terrible was happening even now that Xehanort was gone.
But Vanitas just shrugged. “Dunno. The whack-jobs in Radiant Garden would probably keep me from getting bored. Sora probably would have given me a spot on his dumb little islands, but if I went back there now I’d have to put up with everyone moping and I don’t want to deal with that.” He started walking again as soon as he finished speaking again, not wanting to let any too-honest sentiments linger longer than they needed to.
Ven froze, suddenly realizing the answer to Aqua’s question was something startlingly simple and unnefarious; Vanitas didn’t have anywhere else to go. Once he realized Vanitas was still going to just leave he ran down the stairs. Aqua took a step forward to follow, but stopped when Terra’s hand found her shoulder. Her dear friend simply shook his head, watching quietly as Ven ran to his other half.
Vanitas stopped again at the sound of footsteps, and by the time he turned this time Ventus was next to him, for once not angry or scared, just… sad. Ven floundered on words again, but finally said, “...I miss him too.”
Vanitas looked surprised, not because Ven missed Sora, but because for once Ventus had taken the time to read between the lines. “...Yeah,” he agreed in a tone that was a little soft for him. He made sure his next words were harsher, but they still lacked the usual bite. “That idiot is why I’m here.”
“What?” Ven asked, confused by both what Vanitas meant and the sudden realization that he hadn’t questioned at all how Vanitas was there in the first place. He’d died before and came back, so he didn’t bother questioning now why he was back again after he fell in the war. Or maybe it was because they were still connected and he had just… known.
“He abused his new power to go save Kairi, and because he’s such an idiot he couldn’t help picking up every other stray he found along the way,” Vanitas explained bluntly. “...Maybe he’d still be here if he stopped at her…”
“Vanitas…” Ven called softly. Vanitas’ tone hadn't been apologetic, he stated it as a simple fact, but the fact he said it at all spoke volumes. The underlying guilt was just… too sad.
Vanitas scoffed. “Don’t get the wrong idea. It’s his own damn fault,” he insisted, crossing his arms as a sign he had apparently reached his honesty quota for that particular line of conversation.
There was another long silence, both thinking too hard about the boy that had let them go on to exist as their own people. Before actually breaking the silence, Ven broke the tension by reaching out and touching Vanitas’ arm. The dark boy looked up expectantly and carefully masked a hint of surprise.
“Uh… you wanna… come inside?” Ven offered awkwardly. The surprise showed plainly on Vanitas’ face for a moment before being replaced with skepticism.
“...I’m not going to stop being the darkness.”
“...I know,” was not the response Vanitas expected. “...I’m… not sure I really get it still, but… you didn’t come here to fight, right? If that makes you happy… I mean- I got mad when you tried to tell me who I was, so I can’t really tell you who you are… and um… Peter Pan lost his shadow once and tried really hard to get it back! So it... It'd be weird without you...”
Vanitas didn’t know what to say. If he was being honest he was embarrassed somehow, but he wouldn’t admit that to himself - especially this himself - let alone anyone else. So instead he deflected. “Okay… then what about them?” he asked, gesturing towards Aqua and Terra at the top of the stairs. Aqua straightened when she saw Vanitas look at her and he sneered.
Ven looked back at his friends and gave a slightly awkward, what he hoped would be reassuring grin. “It’ll be fine.” But Vanitas looked unimpressed with the answer. Ven hummed quietly to himself as he thought of something more reassuring to say, lighting up when he finally realized. He turned a gentle, honest smile to his other half when he spoke this time. “...What’s mine is yours, right?”
That actually caught Vanitas off guard, the usually intimidating boy nearly taking a step back and stuttering. He tried to catch himself, standing up straight and jerking his gaze to the side in an attempt to hide what might have been a blush. Even after that it took him a second to find words, but when he did his own features were softer than usual. “...Yeah…”
Then without warning Ven grabbed Vanitas’ hand and started dragging him up the stairs. The dark boy stumbled after his lighter half, but surprisingly, at least to the two at the castle’s entrance, didn’t pull away. When they reached the top they stopped before Aqua and Terra still hand in hand, Ven smiling and Vanitas frowning.
Aqua looked between the two, less on guard but still… concerned. “Ven…?”
Ven looked like he was second guessing how well he thought this would go, eyes darting to the side as he tried to think of a way to explain something he wasn’t sure he could find words for. Eventually, he just grinned up at Aqua and asked, “...Can I keep him?”
Before Aqua could respond Vanitas huffed, glaring at the other boy. “What am I, a dog?”
Ven chuckled. “You’re the one who called yourself a ‘stray’,” he teased. Vanitas rolled his eyes but didn’t argue, seemingly accepting this logic.
Aqua stared at the pair, an old, far off memory coming to the surface. She had once said that Terra and Ven would have made strange brothers, but… that was what Vanitas had decided he was to Ven. And now… maybe what Ven had decided too. And even after everything, watching the two like this, it almost… just… made sense. But Vanitas had caused so much hurt…
And before that train of thought could continue Terra’s hand was on her shoulder again, giving her a reassuring smile. A decade in the Realm of Darkness had made her wary, but… maybe it was time to do for someone else what Sora had done for her. If she could be the light in the darkness for all those years, then if Vanitas wanted to be the darkness, he could be the darkness that stayed in the light. They were all just… so tired of fighting...
Terra turned to the other two first, offering them both a warm smile. He knew, more than anyone, what it was like to be Xehanort’s pawn. Vanitas might not be sorry, he might have done those things because he wanted to, but he might not have ever done any of them if Xehanort hadn’t been there to tell him to do it. And maybe, just because he wasn't sorry now didn't mean he would never be. He deserved a chance to find the answer to that question - the chance to try leading a normal life - just as much as the rest of them.
“Welcome home.”