Chapter Text
Author's Note: This story is a collection of stories with Sora, Roxas, Ventus, and Vanitas being quadruplets. Why? Why not.
Also, this specific one shot is actually a rewrite of a story I have made before. You can check it out here. Be warned, I made it in 2022 (4yrs ago, that's crazy), hints why this is a rewrite, lol.
Vanitas, Sora, Ventus, and Roxas.
They are quadruplets, who are two sets of identical twins. Vanitas and Sora were the first set of twins, Ventus and Roxas the second. The doctors explained it was an extremely rare phenomenon, where two eggs were fertilized, and both eggs split, which explained why they were identical and fraternal twins (depending on who you were comparing).
All boys had bright blue eyes. Vanitas and Sora, the older two, were born with dark brown hair, while Ventus and Roxas (the younger two) had bright blonde hair. The older two looked like the male version of their mother while the younger two were carbon copies of their father.
As expected, all four of them are extremely close. Twins already had a special bond, that bond was only enhanced because they are a quad. They all had their own made up language, they shared everything, they would sometimes trick people by pretending to be a look alike, etc.
As they got older and started to go to schools, they began to develop their own personalities.
Vanitas is the oldest quadruplet. He was confident, cocky, and competitive. He was always trying to be the best and always trying to lead the charge. He changed the most once they reached middle school, asking their parents if he could dye his hair black, just so people wouldn't mix up him and Sora. "If people keep mixing us up, I'm going to start saying bad stuff and pretend I'm Sora!" he had joked (mostly). Luckily, their parents let him, so he got his hair dyed black and was finally free of being confused for his brother. He was over the moon, especially since he sort of entered a goth phase, loving the color black, the idea of "witchcraft" and "dark magic." He would read books about crystals and using cleansing sticks and such, genuinely interested in the beliefs. He wasn't a believer himself, but he thought it was just cool.
Sora is the second oldest, though no one would ever have guessed. While they may be quads, Vanitas was the tallest, Roxas and Ventus were an inch shorter than him, and Sora was two inches shorter than Vanitas. He also was the most childish, always smiling, wanting to play games, running around like a chicken with its head cut off. He always had a smile on his face, a laugh bubbling in his chest, cracking jokes, making sure everyone else was okay, a genuine ray of sunshine.
Ventus is the third oldest. He was similar to Sora in the sense he was a ray of sunshine. However, he also had a bit of a quick temper. While things would fly over Sora's head, Ventus would immediately clap back if anyone said anything negative. He was also very protective of his loved ones, not taking people messing with his family kindly.
Finally, the youngest, Roxas, though you wouldn't have ever guessed that. He was quiet and mature for his age, always holding a book in his hand. He was a bit on the shyer side, often hiding behind his brothers or preferring to stay quiet if they weren't around. However, once he was comfortable with the person, he was just like Vanitas in the sense of being cocky, confident, and competitive
All four were each other's best friends. Sure, they had their arguments like any normal siblings would, but they always made up. At the end of the day, they were family and loved each other. Blood was thicker than water, they would always stick up for each other.
***
Vanitas wasn't sure when it started.
He never really cared enough to notice.
They were in sixth grade and all four of them were a bit on the popular side, both due to their status as quadruplets and because they were all involved in the school in some way.
With that popularity, rumors started and were spread about how they were lying, how they weren't actually a quad and probably just two sets of twins or, even worse, some people had begun spreading the lie of them not being related at all. Vanitas was the first to shut that down, pointing out how dumb of a lie that would be. What would even be the point? It's not like they would gain anything from lying about it. It was just a crazy rare circumstance that no one should care about because it didn't matter and it was no one's business besides theirs.
Maybe that's where it escalated.
Vanitas, besides his brothers, only had two friends in school. Not because he struggled to make friends or anything, he just didn't get as close with people as his brothers did.
Maybe that's why some older kids cornered him in a bathroom, taunting and making fun of him about his dyed hair, his black clothing, his overall gothic aesthetic. It really didn't bother him, and he was sure it was showing on his face. He already had a resting bitch face, so he was sure with these guys just annoying the fuck out of him, it was showing more.
But then they changed what they were saying
"I bet your not even Sora's twin brother, I bet your adopted!"
It was such an obvious lie, such an easy thing to disprove. There was literal pictures of the four of them growing up together their mom had put together in a baby boy, there was a picture of their mom and dad literally holding all four of them minutes after they were born.
So why did it hurt when they said that.
Vanitas clenched his fist and pushed past the older boys, "Screw off." He hissed.
He went back to class and sat in his seat, crossing his legs and crossing his arms over his chest.
"You're upset." Eraqus said, poking Vanitas's cheek, chuckling a bit.
"Not in the mood." Vanitas waved his hand away.
Xehanort looked at him, concerned, "What happened?"
"I don't want to talk about it." He clenched his fists.
His friends didn't push.
That night, when the quad got on the bus, Vanitas sat by the window, looking out of it. Ventus sat beside him, the other two in front of them, each trying to work on their homework.
"Hey! Vani!" Sora turned around in his seat, "Math question! 'In a bag full of small balls, 1/4 of these balls are green, 1/8 are blue, 1/12 are yellow and the remaining 26 white. How many balls are blue?'"
"Don't know..." Vanitas murmured.
"Come ooooon, you know I suck at maaaaaath!" He whined.
Roxas turned around as well, "What about 'If the length of the side of a square is doubled, what is the ratio of the areas of the original square to the area of the new square?'"
"Don't know..."
His three brothers looked at him, then each other, then back at him.
Ventus asked, "....What's two plus two?"
"Don't know..."
The blonde reached over and pinched Vanitas's cheeks.
"H-Heeeey!" The eldest yelled, glaring at his brother, "What the heck?!"
"What's with you?" Ventus said, "You okay?"
"Did something happen?" Roxas asked, "You're out of it."
"...It's nothing." Vanitas sighed, rubbing his cheek, "Just... Don't worry about it."
The other three shared a look before Sora spoke, "Okay, we won't push. But we're here for you."
"Yeah, I know, you guys are my minions." Vanitas teased.
"Nuh-uh!" Ventus playfully pushed him, the four laughing.
"Roxas, Sora! Sit in your seats correctly!" The bus driver exclaimed, the boys doing as they were told.
Vanitas sat on his knees, leaning over the seat, "Sora, your answer is 6. Rox, yours is 1:4." He then sat back down.
"How does he do that in his head?!" "I don't know! He's the math guy, ask him!"
Vanitas chuckled.
***
It was like that for a few weeks.
The older boys would corner Vanitas wherever they could and begin taunting him. Whether it be about how he was supposedly adopted, how he wasn't as cool as his brothers, how he was weird with liking stuff like black magic, etc. They found anything to pick on him for and, while Vanitas acted unbothered, the things about his brothers and family? It bothered him.
He knew it wasn't true, but it just hurt. He didn't care about the insults in how he dressed, that rolled off his back like it was nothing. So why couldn't he do that with the blatant lies and comments about his family? Hearing how he wasn't really related to his twins, hearing how he was an oddball, hearing how it was clear he was the black sheep? It was all untrue, but it still stung and Vanitas couldn't explain why.
It was affecting him, more than he'd admit. He was becoming a lot quieter, a lot more reserved. He didn't want to talk a lot to his brothers. Coming home, he would go to their room and just sit on his top bunk, watching his phone.
His brothers tried to ask what was wrong, but Vanitas just shook his head. I can handle this, I don't need them to help me with everything.
One day, Vanitas was laying on his bunk (the four had two bunk beds in their room, Vanitas and Ventus having the top bunks, Roxas and Sora having the bottom bunks), scrolling and watching videos on his phone.
"Vani..." Ventus whined, climbing onto his bunk and laying directly on his back, "What is wrong with you? We're getting worried!"
"...It's n-"
"Don't say it's nothing!" Roxas, who had the bunk under Vanitas, kicked at the mattress, "We can tell something is wrong!"
Sora stood on the small ladder for the bunk bed, "We're here for you, Vani. Can you please tell us?"
Vanitas paused his video, sighing, "....Just older kids being jerks, not a big deal."
Roxas moved to stand beside Sora, "If it wasn't a big deal, you wouldn't get like this!"
"You only get like this after school!" Sora added.
"Just drop it, okay?!" Vanitas huffed, "I don't want to talk about it!"
The four were silent for a moment.
Ventus hugged his brother, "...Just... promise if something was wrong, you'd tell us?"
"...Promise."
The blonde pinched his cheeks, Vanitas whining, "Say it like you mean it!"
"P-Promise!" He yelled, slapping Ventus's hands away and rubbing his cheeks, "Geez, you don't have to tug so hard!"
"He does, otherwise you wouldn't mean it!" Roxas teased, the other three chuckling.
***
"Lunchtime, lunchtime, it's lunchtime~!" Sora sung happily as he and Vanitas walked to the cafeteria, "Gonna see Ven and Rox and have luuuunch~!"
"You're such a kid, Sor." Vanitas teased.
"Am not!" "Are too!" "Am not!" "Are too!" "Am not!" "Are too!" "A-"
"Uh oh, what're you two fighting over now?"
The two turned and saw Riku and Kairi walking over to meet them.
"Riku, tell Vani I'm not a kid!"
The platinum blonde widened his eyes, "Uh, Sora, I'm your best friends and best friends don't lie-"
"RIKUUUUUU!"
The group laughed and got their lunch before heading to sit with Roxas, Ventus, Aqua, and Terra (Ventus's friends, who were in eighth grade). They sat beside each other, eating lunch, joking, laughing, and having fun. Overall, it was a nice time.
At one point, Vanitas stood up.
"Where are you going?" Ventus asked.
"To the bathroom. Why, you want to hold my hand?" Vanitas teased.
The blonde stuck his tongue out, "Gross!"
Vanitas laughed, "Be right back!" He jogged to the bathroom.
He went to the bathroom, did his business, and washed his hands, hearing the door open. He turned and it was the older kids who had been messing with him for weeks. Vanitas glared and dried his hands before trying to walk away. However, he was pinned against the wall, the boy groaning.
"What?" Vanitas glared.
"How can you sit there, acting all friendly with total strangers?" One snickered.
"They're my brothers-"
"No they're not! You guys are nothing alike!" The second laughed.
Vanitas just glared more, "Shut up... They are my brothers..."
"Keep lying, maybe you'll eventually believe it!"
The boy bit his bottom lip. He was getting sick of this! They were lying, he knew that, so why was it affecting him so much?! He didn't understand, he was getting so frustrated!
"Awww, are you going to cry?" "I thought you were the oldest!" "No way! He can't be if he's about to cry!" "What are you, a baby?" "He's just mad that we're telling him the truth!" "You're not really their brothers, just admit it!"
"HEY!"
The three turned and one of the kids stumbled back, falling to the floor.
Vanitas widened his eyes, "VENTUS!"
The blonde shook his hand, the one he used to punch the kid, "I was aiming for the nose, but I guess the eye works!"
"Little brat!" The second one went to punch Ventus.
Roxas stepped forward and punched him first.
Vanitas stood in front of the two, pushing them back, "Stop, both of you! You can't just punch people for no reason!"
"We had a reason!" Ventus yelled.
"They were bullying you!" Roxas glared, "Let me at 'em-"
"Maybe you guys are brothers..." The three turned, the first older boy smirking, "You just can't deal with your own problems. You need your baby brothers to help you~!"
Vanitas clenched his fists.
"Can I please punch them again?!" Ventus tried to push past the older quad.
"No, that's enough!"
"Vani's right!" Sora walked in, smiling.
"What?! Sor!" Roxas exclaimed.
The brunette walked over to the older boys, smiling softly as he offered a napkin to each of them, "Here! To help wipe your faces!"
The kids stared but thanked him, taking the napkins. They wiped their faces and, almost immediately, their faces felt like they were on fire, tears coming to their eyes as they screamed.
"Whoopsie~!" Sora smiled innocently, "I forgot to mention I accidentally sprayed the napkins with chili powder! So sorry~!" He mocked.
"YOU B-"
"Sora, come on!" Vanitas grabbed his brother's arm, pushing the three out.
The three looked confident and happy while Vanitas looked exhausted. He stood in front of them and pinched each of their cheeks, the three whining and groaning.
"Hey! What was that for?!" Roxas exclaimed.
"You two for punching, Sora for the chili powder or spray or whatever! None of you should have done that!" Vanitas exclaimed, the other three seeming to shrink in their place.
The eldest quad then sighed, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, "...But... um, thanks..."
The three smiled brightly and pulled him into a group hug, Vanitas playfully groaning.
"Ewwww, physical affection!"
"You're stuck with us, Vani!" Sora exclaimed.
"Yeah, we got your back!" Ventus agreed.
"Whether you like it or not!" Roxas finished.
Vanitas smiled and hugged the three back.