Chapter Text
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Vanitas feels a light tug at the hem of his shirt, hesitant and shy.
He looks down to find his little bean of a brother, eyes downcast, swaying, twisting one foot back and forth on tiptoe.
Vanitas places the soup ladle he was holding down on to the saucer and crouches to Sora’s level.
“What is it, squirt?”
Sora bit his lip. He was seldom shy, unless he was asking for something, which he rarely does. He was too considerate for his own good. Vanitas suspected that it might also have something to do with how their parents died.
The last time he asked for something was to ask to resume ballet classes. The classes were not cheap. Vanitas had choked at the prices the snooty looking lady had reassured were less expensive than other schools since they were on “a backwater island” and that “they should feel fortunate that the island even offered ballet classes”. Vanitas wanted to tell her to stuff it then, but Sora with his huge eyes had looked so hopeful, so happy at the idea of going back to dance again, that he instead asked her for a pen and a sign-up form.
Even with the inheritance of the house, they were still only just comfortably making ends meet on bills, school fees, food and necessities with Vanitas’ meagre paycheck. He had to stretch some meals (for himself, never for Sora, the boy needed to eat more), put off on his savings for that engine upgrade, and ask for more shifts at the grocery store, but he made the classes work.
Sora looked up shyly.
“Can you teach me how to make Valentine’s chocolate?”
Vanitas was not expecting that.
“Valentine’s?” Vanitas blinked.
“Riku told me that it’s Valentine’s Day tomorrow and it’s when people give chocolate to people they like!” Sora piped.
“Is that so?” Vanitas encouraged, happy to hear Sora talking. “And who do you like?”
His teacher had called for a meeting, solemnly informing Vanitas that Sora was not speaking in classes ever since the accident. This came as a surprise to Vanitas because Sora still talks around him, but he had only seen Sora at home most of the time. The teacher had advised him to be as supportive as possible to Sora, and to encourage him whenever he does talk to try to reinforce the behaviour.
“I like Riku and Kairi and big brother and Tidus and Selphie and Wakka and the lunch lady who gives me extra portions and the old man who runs the sweets shop and my dance classmates and–”
“Whoa whoa, that’s a lot of people there kiddo.” Vanitas chuckles, patting Sora’s head. “What about who you like like?”
Sora regards him confused.
Ah, so his little brother is still naive on these things. At least Vanitas does not have to worry yet about having to threaten a child to warn them about what he is capable of if they dared to hurt Sora.
He is only half joking there.
“Well, your big brother can only buy so much chocolate, so you’ll have to be a little more selective, okay, squirt?” He ruffles Sora’s hair. “Pick your most favourite person to give them to.”
“Okay!”
A quick visit to the grocer’s later, Vanitas and Sora returned home with a paper bag full of dark and white chocolate, some food colouring, parchment paper, heart shaped foil cups and some clear decorative food bags.
Vanitas did everything involving fire and sharp objects of course, double boiling the chocolate to melt them, pouring most of the melted dark chocolate into the foil heart shaped molds first. He separates the melted white chocolate into three bowls, adding a small drop of blue, yellow and pink food colouring in each bowl respectively. He lets Sora mix the colours into the white chocolate, to the kid’s delight.
He pours most of the contents of each bowl into the remaining foil heart containers, leaving behind a little bit of each colour for use later.
While waiting for the chocolate to cool and harden in the molds, Vanitas prepares the piping bags. Slicing off a square piece of parchment paper, he folds the parchment in half into a triangle, and cuts the paper to the shape. From there, he holds one of the ends, bringing the point to the pointy end of the right angle, thumb pressed down at the fold that halved the hypotenuse. He then wraps the paper from the other, unused point around the folded part, forming a cone. Tucking the point into the nook at the open end of the cone, he seals the makeshift piping bag.
He repeats this making four piping bags in total. Sora claps in awe at his big brother’s skill.
Once the heart shaped chocolates set, Vanitas remelts the remaining chocolate and stuffed them into the piping bags, cutting off the tips slightly to make tiny holes for the chocolate to come through. He and Sora spend the rest of the evening decorating the chocolates with tiny coloured hearts, paopu fruits and other creative designs.
“Is that… a blue cat?”
“That’s Riku!” Sora huffs.
Vanitas was not surprised that he had picked Riku to give the chocolates to.
At the end of the day, they packed the chocolate into a clear decorative food bag. Vanitas noticed Sora scoop three pieces and place them into a separate bag, sealing the top with a metallic twist tie.
“Why’d you separate those for, squirt?” Vanitas asked.
Sora grinned, shoving it into Vanitas’ hands.
“These are for you, big brother!”
Vanitas is taken aback.
“You’re giving your brother Valentine’s Day chocolate?"
“Well yeah! It’s for people you like, right?” Sora chirps. “And I like you very much.”
He shakes his head fondly, only his brother.
“Well, thank you squirt.” He holds the bag up, examining his baby brother’s handiwork.
“Are those a pair of glasses?”
“It’s your bike!” Sora pouts.
Sora had animatedly updated Vanitas after school the next day that Riku really liked the chocolate and that he will give him chocolate in return a month later on White Day. Riku had also told Sora not to simply give chocolate to just anyone next year, and he would like it if Sora continued giving chocolate only to him.
Vanitas might have to do that "give a threatening talk to a child" thing after all.
One month later, Vanitas had to limit Sora's daily intake of chocolate due to the sheer amount he received from Riku and Vanitas.
Years later, Sora would whine about how Vanitas is embarrassing him as Vanitas fondly recalls to Ventus about the time Sora, when he was so young and innocent, had made and given his brother Valentine's Day chocolate without knowing what the day meant.