Chapter Text
Aqua was sitting in the room she’d turned into an office when there was a knock on the door. This was odd; Terra and Ven typically knocked while opening the door, just to get her attention. She lowered the book she was reading and called, “It’s open!”
Vanitas opened the door. Aqua did a double take. “Van? What are you doing here?” To her horror, she was starting to lightly flush. Really, Aqua? Just from seeing him unexpectedly?
This was the worst.
It had been three weeks since her visit to Radiant Garden and the subsequent revelation. She hadn’t been alone with Vanitas since then. Now, she was finding herself self-conscious in a way she’d never been before.
She just had to hope Vanitas wasn’t picking up on it.
“I can leave if you want,” he offered, with a smirk. It was really cute. He probably wasn’t even doing it on purpose. Damn him.
Aqua huffed. “I’m happy to see you, you just usually call ahead.” More happy to see him than she wanted to let on, at that. “What’s the occasion?”
Vanitas seemed to hesitate, and glanced down at an envelope in his hand. He raised it into view. “Cinderella’s husband is holding a ball to celebrate his parents’ anniversary or something. She invited Kairi and her idiots but they’re busy, so she passed it to me, and I figured maybe you wanted to go? It’s a plus-one, or two, I guess, so if you wanted to take someone…” he trailed off.
Aqua had started frowning in the middle of his speech. Why would Kairi have given such an invitation to Vanitas of all people? He had no interest in big parties, as far as she knew. Maybe it was Kairi’s idea of a joke.
Either way, it worked out in Aqua’s favour. “Van,” she said, raising an eyebrow. “Why couldn’t I just go with you?”
“I… well I figure if you’ve got someone you’d rather go with–” Vanitas said. He was avoiding her gaze.
“With the invitation that Kairi gave to you,” Aqua said, drily. “That you’re giving to me because you didn’t want to go yourself? I’m pretty sure you just wouldn’t have taken it if you didn’t.”
Something about what she’d just said caught her attention. Vanitas wouldn’t have taken the invitation if he didn’t want to go, but he was trying to pass it to her. Moreover, he was doing so because he thought it was possible she might have preferred to go with someone else.
Ergo… Vanitas was indirectly asking if she wanted to go to a ball with him.
Vanitas was asking her on… a date.
But… Vanitas didn’t like her like that.
Did he?
“So… is this you asking me if I want to go with you?” Aqua asked, trying not to sound too hopeful.
Vanitas, who had been moving his mouth without saying anything for the past few seconds, clamped it shut. “Y… yeah. Look, if you don’t want to–”
“Why not?”
He blinked. “Huh?”
“What, did you expect me to say no?” Aqua asked, teasing.
Vanitas spread his arms. “I mean… that’s the best expectation to go in with, right?” he said.
That made Aqua laugh. “Van, we’re friends. Why would I say no?” Even if she hadn’t had… feelings, for him, it still would’ve been fun just to hang out together in nice clothes. Aqua couldn’t dance, of course, but then again as far as she knew, neither could Van.
He didn’t answer, so she prompted, “So, when’s the date?”
“Wha?”
Whoops. “The ball. What’s the date it takes place on?” Aqua asked, hoping he hadn’t noticed the slip.
He didn’t seem to. “Oh. I never actually opened the thing. One second.” Aqua snorted as he opened the envelope, and started to read the card inside. “‘His Royal Highness, Christopher Rupert–’” his eyes widened. “‘–Windermere Vladimir Carl Alexander François Reginald Lancelot Herman–’”
“‘Herman?’” Aqua interrupted. She’d known that some royal families had long names, but this was ridiculous.
“Herman,” Vanitas confirmed, and continued: “Gregory James, is giving a ball–”
“That’s not what it says,” Aqua said, starting to grin.
Vanitas looked up at her and smirked again. Something in her stomach twisted. “You think I’m lying?”
“Give,” Aqua said, sticking out her hand. Vanitas came over to her desk and handed the card over.
“‘His Royal Highness, Christopher Rupert, et cetera, is giving a ball to celebrate the union of fifty years between Her Majesty Queen Constantina…’” Aqua trailed off, her eyes widening. “…‘Charlotte Ermintrude Guinevere Maisie–’”
“‘Maisie?’” Vanitas demanded, coming around the desk and leaning over Aqua’s shoulder.
“Well, that’s what it says here,” Aqua said, shrugging and trying not to think too hard about Vanitas being so close to her. “‘Marguerite Ann, and his Majesty King Maximilian–’”
“‘Godfrey’,” Vanitas read.
“‘Ladislaus’–”
“‘Leopold’–”
“‘Sydney’–”
“‘Cidney?’”
“‘Sydney’,” Aqua clarified, pointing at the name on the card and emphasising the spelling, “‘Frederick John’.”
“I wonder how many names Cinderella has now?” Vanitas pondered, and it was such a ridiculous-yet-logical question that Aqua burst out laughing. “What?” Vanitas asked, as she pressed her free fist against her mouth.
“N-nothing,” Aqua sputtered, clearing her throat and regaining some semblance of composure. There was just something about the way Vanitas’s mind worked that delighted her. She focused back on the card. “There’s the date. Three weeks from now. Well, that gives us time to prepare.”
“Prepare?” Vanitas asked, frowning.
Aqua glanced up at him and noticed the frown. “Yes? A ball is a formal occasion. We’ll need nice clothes, preferably ones that fit in in Castle of Dreams. I can ask the fairies over at the Mysterious Tower, but I don’t know if you…?”
“I think I know a guy who can do that,” Vanitas said. Aqua wasn’t quite sure who he meant, but had faith that he’d figure something out.
“Then I’ll come and pick you up on the evening of, okay?” Aqua said, smiling at him. She was, despite herself, starting to get excited.
To her delight, Vanitas flushed. “Yeah, that’d be… yeah,” he said, and Aqua laughed again.
This was going to be fun.
Once Vanitas had left and she had the room to herself again, she permitted herself an excited grin. Vanitas had asked her on a date. Of his own accord! It almost seemed too good to be true.
Aqua crossed the room to a window set in the wall to the right of her desk. It overlooked the training field, but her sight was set on a night five years previously…
The news that Zack Fair had died – and shortly after she’d last seen him, at that – had been almost impossible to take. Aqua probably would have collapsed in despair on the spot, had Vanitas not been there for her.
He’d offered to hug her. She’d sorely needed it at the time – could use another one right now, in fact – but it was still surprising to her that he’d offered of his own free will.
A lot had changed since all she wanted was to see Vanitas dead. Now… she honestly couldn’t picture life without him in it.
Somehow, Aqua doubted he’d believe that if she told him to his face. That was why she’d started making a Wayfinder for him in the first place, shortly after they’d returned from fighting Xehanort.
After finding out about Zack, she’d needed something to do with her hands, and constructing the Wayfinder was a good fit. What should have been weeks of on-again-off-again work had been finished in only a few hours.
She stretched in her chair and noted that it had gotten dark out without her noticing. Well, it was better than dwelling on Zack. She’d already cried all the tears she could for the day, and figured her eyes were probably still red from it.
But, Vanitas’s Wayfinder was complete.
“I should… probably eat something,” Aqua murmured to herself, as her stomach rumbled. Dinner hadn’t occurred to her in the flurry of making. She got up and left the room.
It was the dead of night, which was why it was weird when she saw someone going down the stairs. Riku or Terra occasionally couldn’t sleep at night, but the shape she saw was too short to be either of them.
Aqua got the sudden sense of terrible déjà vu.
Vanitas had made it five steps out the front door when Aqua caught up with him. “And just where do you think you’re going?”
Vanitas stopped, turned to see her standing in the doorway, and smirked. “You know, I’m getting the weirdest sense of déjà vu.”
That made the both of them. Why was Vanitas trying to leave again? He couldn’t… he hadn’t been serious about leaving after Xehanort was dead, had he? Not after everything that had changed.
Aqua wasn’t sure she could bear losing someone else.
“I don’t suppose you’d stay if I punch you in the face again?” she asked, trying to tease him to cover her worry.
Vanitas’s smile faded. “I’m sorry, Aqua. Not this time.”
A gust of wind blew across the Tower’s grounds. “Why?” Aqua asked. Why are you leaving me?
Vanitas sighed. “Because I… Aqua, I stayed to help because I wanted Xehanort dead. Before you start,” he added before she could speak up in protest, “no, of course I have reasons to stay aside from that. You assholes are my friends.”
“Then why are you leaving?” Aqua asked.
“Because I don’t know if I can… be the ‘good guy’. Be the kind of person you all are.” Vanitas shook his head. “What’s next for you all, after Xehanort? Protecting the balance and those in need, right? I don’t know… that I can be that person.”
“It’s not something that’s inherent,” Aqua said. She saw where he was coming from… but he was better than he thought he was. He’d been better than he thought he was for a while now. “It’s not who you are that matters, it’s what you do. Van, you are capable of that.”
Vanitas smiled, but there was no humour in it. “I know you believe that, Aqua. And I think everyone else does, too.”
“They do,” Aqua said, nodding.
“Thing is, though… I don’t,” Vanitas said. “I feel like I need to prove it to myself. That I’m not just going to default back to… well.”
“You’re not,” Aqua insisted.
Vanitas shrugged, his arms raised. “I don’t know that for sure.”
“I do.” It was beyond a doubt, in her mind. The person Vanitas used to be wouldn’t have helped Terra. The person Vanitas used to be wouldn’t have rescued Isa. The person Vanitas used to be wouldn’t have comforted her. He was not that person anymore, and could never be again. She was certain of it.
Vanitas chuckled at that. “I’m glad you think so. But I need to know.”
Aqua sighed. There was clearly no dissuading him. “How long do you think you’ll be gone?”
“I… don’t know,” he admitted. “As long as I need to.” His words stung, and she couldn’t help but show the disappointment on her face.
“And… after that?” she asked. “When you do come back… will you come live with Terra, Ven, and me in the Land of Departure?” As far as she knew, he didn’t have anywhere else to go, unless you counted staying in the Tower.
“You’d want me there?” he asked, surprised, but then added. “Oh… right.”
Aqua smiled. “Still new to ‘friends’, huh?”
Vanitas rolled his eyes. “I’m sure I’ll get used to it eventually.”
She was happy to hear it, but at the same time… “You didn’t give me an answer, you know.”
He blinked. “Oh. Right. Yes. If you three will have me… then yes, I would like that. At least for as long as I can put up with Ventus.”
Always the barb. Well, it was better than the alternative. Smirking, Aqua said, “I guess I couldn’t ask for more.”
Abruptly, she remembered the Wayfinder. If Vanitas was leaving for who knew how long, this was her only chance to give it to him. “Wait!” she said. “If… if I run and get something, you’re not going to leave on me, right?”
“Of course I won’t,” he promised. Reassured, Aqua rushed back into the Tower and grabbed his Wayfinder, adding on the final touches and making sure it was sturdy. Once done, she rushed back out to where Vanitas was waiting.
“This is for you,” she said, after catching her breath. “I started making it a while ago – it should have taken me longer, but after today I needed something to do with my hands, and I wound up finishing it. Just in time, right?”
Vanitas stared at it in her hands. Emotions Aqua couldn’t define crossed his face. “This is… for me?” he breathed.
Aqua nodded. “It doesn’t quite match mine, Terra’s, and Ven’s, but you don’t really have any reason to have the Land of Departure emblem, and I figured you wouldn’t really mind having something that’s ultimately yours and yours alone, right?” Casting the Unversed emblem had been difficult. It was much more delicate than the Land of Departure emblem, but Aqua had believed it was worth the extra effort.
From the look of awe on Vanitas’s face, she was right. “Yeah,” he said. “Aqua, this is… wow. Thank you.”
Almost without realizing what she was doing, Aqua leaned in close to him to look at it. “They say that Wayfinders are supposed to bring luck to travellers. It represents the bonds between our hearts. A reminder that we’re never really alone. An unbreakable connection.”
“It’s perfect,” Vanitas murmured. Aqua looked over at him, surprised at the tenderness in his voice. She was a lot closer to him than she’d realized.
A lifetime ago, she couldn’t have imagined being this close to Vanitas. Now… he was just as important to her as any of their friends.
Vanitas looked up and met her gaze. “Please,” she murmured. “Come back to me.” I couldn’t bear to lose anyone else. Especially not you, not after everything.
“I promise,” he whispered.
Aqua closed her eyes, nodded, and stepped back. Once upon a time, Vanitas had told her he didn’t make promises when he wasn’t sure he could keep them.
It meant a lot to her.
Vanitas closed his fist around the Wayfinder and stepped towards the trolley station. “Aqua… thank you, for everything,” he said.
Aqua nodded. “Take care of yourself.”
“You, too.” There was a word that was very conspicuously hanging in the air, that neither of them wanted to say.
The trolley doors slid open, and Vanitas stepped through. They slid shut behind him.
“Don’t keep me waiting too long,” Aqua murmured, mostly to herself. “I’m going to miss you.”
As the trolley started down the track, Aqua waved. Through the windows, she could see Vanitas waving back. She watched, standing at the station, until the track turned a corner and the trolley faded from sight.
Aqua sighed. He’d come back. He’d promised.
He wouldn’t let her down.
Five years later, and she’d been right: he had kept his promise, even if his wanderings had kept him away from home for a year.
And she’d missed him, more terribly than she’d even thought possible.
Aqua sighed. In retrospect, maybe she’d had feelings for Vanitas longer than she’d thought. She had always found his face aesthetically pleasing, even before they’d actually become friends.
Or, to put it in less academic terms, he was cute. Still was, now as an adult.
She was, in a word, doomed.
Aqua arrived in Radiant Garden on the night of, clad in full armour for passing through the Lanes Between. She’d been honestly surprised at how nice her dress looked, and how nice she looked in it. The three fairies had gone above and beyond; though when she’d said so, Merriweather had insisted a good deal of the beauty had come from Aqua herself. A sentiment which was embarrassingly flattering. Aqua had no idea how much of it was bias from her preferred colour, but Flora and Fauna had seemed to agree.
She’d also been surprised that the dress fit perfectly under her armour, but then again the armour was magic. Logically, her haori also shouldn’t fit under her armour, but it did.
Vanitas opened the door of his house and stepped out as she arrived. Aqua’s breath caught in her throat. He was dressed in a suit, a dark red tailcoat over a white shirt and waistcoat. His trousers were a lighter, complimentary shade of red. It was lovely with his emerald eyes.
His hair was the same as ever, but in truth Aqua figured that was for the best. Attempting to style it would not have gone well no matter what would’ve been tried. Regardless, he was cute.
More than that, he was handsome. Light, had his shoulders always been that broad or was it the coat?
Aqua mentally shook herself. She was a Keyblade Master, not a moonstruck teenager. Regardless of what she was feeling, she was in control of her emotions, not the other way around. She took a deep breath, relieved that her helmet would’ve hidden anything that passed over her face.
Vanitas, on the other hand, had nothing to hide his look of confusion. “Um?” he asked.
“What?” Aqua asked, also puzzled.
“I thought we were dressing up for this.”
“Yes, but…” But going to the event together was a traditional date “thing”, or so Aqua believed. Tradition or not, it was something she wanted to do. “I thought… it might be nice to fly there together, instead of just making a Light Corridor. I’m wearing the dress under my armour. You look nice, by the way.”
The compliment seemed to shock him for a second. “…Whatever,” he mumbled in response, and Aqua stifled a giggle. “One sec, gotta grab the glove…”
With Vanitas’s armour retrieved and donned, he joined Aqua on her glider, riding pillion behind her. This required he put his arms around her waist for the duration of the flight. Aqua was again grateful for the armour, which prevented him from seeing her light flush.
It was… nice, having his arms around her. Nice in a way she’d hadn’t been expecting, though in retrospect she figured she shouldn’t have been surprised. She’d always enjoyed the rare treat of his hugs.
Aqua allowed herself to indulge in her enjoyment for a brief time before they touched down in the Castle of Dreams. Both of them removed their armour, and Aqua caught Vanitas staring.
“Well?” Aqua asked, embarrassed.
“You look… good,” Vanitas said.
Well, what had she been expecting? Vanitas had never been one for effusive praise. “Thanks, Van,” she said, snorting.
“I mean it,” he said. “You really do. I’m just bad at… words.”
The self-awareness made her chuckle. “I know. Thank you,” she said, sincerely.
“Uh…” Vanitas said, and awkwardly extended his elbow. “Like… this, right?”
Aqua raised an eyebrow, impressed. Someone had drilled him on etiquette, that much was clear. Probably Naminé; or if not, Naminé would know who Aqua needed to thank. “Yes, like that,” she said, taking his arm. They stood like that for a couple of seconds, looking at each other, before Aqua remembered the incongruous armour pieces each of them were still wearing. “Oh, but… before that we should probably put our armour away.”
“Right,” Vanitas said, pulling off his glove and giving it to Aqua to put in her handbag along with her own rerebraces. With the armour pieces sorted, Vanitas cleared his throat and offered his arm again. Still delighted, Aqua took it with a smile.
They made their way into the castle, pausing only a moment to decide how they wanted to be announced by the herald. With that figured out, they proceeded into the room.
“There’s a lot more people here than were the last time I was here,” Aqua observed.
“Yeah,” Vanitas said. “So, uh… you want to dance?”
Aqua glanced at him. He really was working from a script, wasn’t he? Fortunately for the both of them, Aqua had no intention of insisting they actually dance at this dance. She couldn’t, and she had the sneaking suspicion that Vanitas was only asking because he thought he was supposed to. “Oh, um… we really should go pay our respects to their Majesties first, wouldn’t you say?”
“Right,” Vanitas said. Aqua wasn’t quite able to read his expression, but he didn’t voice any complaints as she led the way over to where the royals were greeting guests.
After passing on their congratulations to the king and queen, and briefly sharing pleasantries with Cinderella and the prince, Aqua led the way over to the tables set for guests to rest or eat at.
“Have you seen her since… back then?” Vanitas asked, meaning Cinderella.
“Yes, I was asked to drop off the communications mirror for the royal family,” Aqua replied, “and I’ve been back a couple of times since then.” It was always a joy to see Cinderella, and how well she was thriving now, decades removed from her stepmother’s abuse.
“Huh,” Vanitas said. “So… now do you want to dance?”
“Ah, no, not right now,” Aqua said, reflexively. The non sequitur had taken a bit off-guard. Really, it was all right for the night not to follow a perfect script. But it made sense that he was nervous, and wanted to get it “right”.
Well, all she needed to enjoy herself was spending time with him. Maybe she could impress that upon him. “Want to just sit down and talk for a bit? We haven’t gotten a chance to be alone together since the last time I was in Radiant Garden.”
“I… okay,” Vanitas said. “Let’s sit down, then.”
They settled themselves down at an open table. “So…” Vanitas continued; small talk had never come easy to him. “Read any good books lately?”
Thus began a long discussion of the books they were both reading; well, “book” in Vanitas’s case. He found it difficult to focus on more than one at a time, but Aqua believed that was more down to how much focus he put on each book. He had very nuanced insights even into books that Aqua thought she understood perfectly. It was always a pleasure to hear him talk about whatever he was reading.
Really, just talking cordially with him at all was a pleasure. Aqua had to admit it; in some ways… Vanitas was her best friend. Not her only best friend, but certainly one of them. It was a category, not a position.
Even if he made cod-awful fish puns. But then again, so did she.
“Something wrong?” Aqua asked. Vanitas had gone silent after (justifiably) calling her a hypocrite re: ichthyological puns.
He looked up at her and blinked. “You stopped talking,” she added, amused.
Vanitas’s eyes flicked around the room. “You, uh, you want a drink or something?” he asked, gesturing towards the bar.
Aqua did still make time at least once a month to go out for drinks with Lea, but Vanitas wasn’t a drinker as far as Aqua was aware. Still, they had been talking for a while. “Oh, sure,” she said.
As he rose from the table something occurred to her. “Van?”
“Yeah?”
“Nothing alcoholic, okay?” she asked. She definitely wanted a clear head tonight, if only because she wanted to be able to remember the whole date.
“Right,” Vanitas said, and walked over to the bar. Depending on what was available, they might end up drinking water, but that was fine.
Aqua was watching Vanitas’s encounter with the bartender when a throat cleared behind her. “At as wonderful an occasion as this, it’s a shame for a beautiful lady to be alone.”
Aqua turned to see a man with shoulder-length, wavy black hair and a goatee. He was extraordinarily handsome, but unfortunately he seemed perfectly aware of the fact. “Ah, but I’m not alone,” Aqua said, giving a polite smile that very intentionally didn’t reach her eyes. “My date is getting us drinks.” She indicated over towards Vanitas.
To his credit, the man’s smile didn’t shift in the slightest. “Ah, my mistake, and my apologies,” he said. His accent bore a vague similarity to Naveen’s, albeit only distantly. “Permit me to introduce myself. I am Al-Cid Margrace, entitled Count by the grace of His Majesty King Maximilian. And, like yourself, very… well-travelled.”
Aqua blinked. “I’m… sorry?”
Al-Cid smiled, slowly. “In this country there are nine thousand families of nobility of various standing. Here, at this party, are represented around three hundred of them. Of those families, none have a daughter with a Latin name meaning simply ‘Water’, and, of course, there are notably none with hair the colour of the sea. I would also be remiss not to recall the familiarity with which Her Highness greeted you; given what is known about her history, it renders it further unlikely that you are among the native nobility, as she would not have had such familiar contact with you prior to her entering the royal household, after which, well, you would have been noted. Thus, I may conclude that you are not from this country; in itself not odd, there are several distinguished guests here tonight from other countries. Though, perhaps not quite as far as… you and I, and I assume your companion?”
Aqua’s eyes narrowed. “You are very… perspicacious, Count Margrace.” Not to mention loquacious.
“It is an important skill for a man in my position,” said Al-Cid. “A stranger in a strange land cannot afford to make an ill-informed judgement. That is a lesson I had learned the hard way, prior to my arrival in this world.”
“In… I’m afraid I don’t know what you mean,” Aqua said.
Al-Cid smiled again. In his particular case, it came across more as a smirk. “Of course, of course. I, too, have no idea what I could mean by another world. Surely, I merely mean another country. Forgive me.”
“Surely,” Aqua echoed. She closed her eyes and shook her head, letting a hint of laughter escape her. “If it’s transportation back to your home you’re looking for–”
“Ah, no, I thank you for the offer, but no,” Al-Cid said. “I find myself in the unenviable position of political exile; as far as I am aware, I am believed dead. For the time being, this is a preferable state of affairs; indeed, I am quite comfortable with my current lot.”
“Political exile?” Aqua asked, intrigued.
“I fought a conqueror’s greed, and the greed won,” Al-Cid simply said. “But let us return to more pleasant topics. You are enjoying yourself? You and your young man, that is.”
“Ah, yes, yes I am. We are,” Aqua said. “Enjoying. Yes.”
“Ahhhhhh,” Al-Cid said, grinning at her. “I see how things stand. Young love is a beautiful thing.”
“I’m… that’s not… I mean…” Aqua stammered.
Al-Cid continued grinning, and leaned in, lightly placing a hand on Aqua’s shoulder. “If you’ll accept the advice of a near-stranger, relax. Love will run the course it runs, in its own time. Just try to enjoy the night while it lasts.” He took his hand away.
“Thank you,” Aqua said, nodding.
“Have you had the opportunity for a turn upon the dance floor yet?” Al-Cid asked. “With your young man, I mean.”
“No, I… I don’t dance,” Aqua said. “He doesn’t either, as far as I know.” Although his insistence on offering was odd. If he was only offering out of obligation, as he surely was, he would’ve let it go as soon as Aqua had given him an out.
“Well, the night is young, and some dances are easier than others,” Al-Cid said, with a grin. “But I am sure the night will be special regardless.”
“Thank you, I think it will,” Aqua said, smiling back at him.
It occurred to her that Vanitas really ought to have been back with the drinks by now. She looked over at the bar, but didn’t see him.
Further glances around the room didn’t reveal him either. “Something wrong?” Al-Cid asked.
“I… can’t seem to see my date,” Aqua said, frowning.
“Hmm. Perhaps he stepped outside for a moment?” Al-Cid asked.
“He wouldn’t have without saying he was,” Aqua said. Or at least… she didn’t think he would’ve.
Could she have done something wrong?
Cinderella and her prince walking by the table jolted Aqua out of her musing. “Cinderella,” she said, ignoring protocol for a second, “have you seen Vanitas? He was just here a minute ago.”
Cinderella frowned. “Is something the matter, Aqua?”
“I don’t know,” Aqua admitted. “He got up to get us drinks, but he hasn’t come back yet, and I can’t spot him in the ballroom.” She hesitated.
Cinderella put her knuckles to her mouth. “Hmm. I believe I did see him, earlier. I’ll go look for him, if you would like?”
“Oh, Cinderella, there’s no need to–” Aqua started to say, but Cinderella cut her off. “It’s part of the duties of the hostess, Aqua,” she said. “Please, wait here with Christopher, I won’t be a moment.” And before Aqua could get a word in edgewise, Cinderella had already walked away towards the ballroom doors.
“I’m…” Aqua said awkwardly, looking at the prince.
The prince laughed. “Oh, no need to apologize, Master Aqua. Once Cinderella gets an idea that a task is hers to undertake into her head, it takes a lot of effort to dislodge it. Besides which, you’re friends. Friends help each other.”
“If… if you say so, your Highness,” Aqua said.
“Moreover, I’d like to think that we’re friends, Aqua,” the prince said, winking at her. “So ‘Christopher’ is more than fine.”
Aqua hesitated. “I wouldn’t want to be overly familiar–”
“Considering your degree of familiarity with the Princess, this familiar method of address for his Highness would be merely a logical extension, would it not?” Al-Cid cut in, with the smooth and practiced air of a diplomat. “You hold the rare position of being a friend to the royal family, Master Aqua. A first-name basis is a privilege few are given.”
Aqua glanced at Al-Cid, confused at the changed mode of address he was using for her, until she realized he must have made note of her title when Christopher said it. “Thank you for your counsel, Count Margrace,” she said.
“Smooth, isn’t he?” Christopher said, sitting down at the table with Aqua. Al-Cid followed suit. “He’d be a regular terror to the womenfolk of the kingdom if his manners weren’t so impeccable.”
Al-Cid shrugged in a “what can you do” sort of way. Aqua internally rolled her eyes.
“Now that we’ve gotten the question of familiarity out of the way,” Christopher continued, “is something the matter, Aqua? You seem very concerned about Vanitas’s well-being.”
“I… I’m not sure, actually,” Aqua said. “He wouldn’t usually disappear without warning, but tonight is… unusual.”
“Unusual how, exactly?” Christopher asked.
Aqua took a deep breath. “It’s… a date. I think. I suppose he didn’t use the exact word, but… well, what else do you call an invitation to a formal event where you can bring along one person?”
Christopher nodded. “I can think of a few things, but I agree that ‘date’ probably fits the best. So you’re concerned that something might have gone wrong?”
“Yes, but I don’t know what,” Aqua said. “I… I like him. And I think, maybe, he likes me. But… Well, breaching a distance is never easy. Wasn’t that how it was for you and Cinderella?” She’d spoken with Cinderella about her and Christopher’s relationship a few times; Cinderella had related that it had actually taken them years after their first meeting to fall in love, let alone get married.
“Yes, that’s true,” Christopher said, nodding. “Though, I will admit, I do believe I fell for her first.”
“Oh?” Aqua asked. “Um, if that’s not too personal to relate.”
Christopher shook his head. “Not to a friend. When she first arrived to live in the palace, Cinderella insisted on doing all her own cleaning. I initially assumed it was because it hadn’t sunk in that she didn’t need to anymore, but over time it became clear it was about… having control over her space. Having a say over what went on around her. And of course, there was no way any of us could begrudge her that. All the same, it was a lot for one person to do, so with her permission, I volunteered to help her.”
“So you two fell in love because you spent time working together?” Aqua asked.
“Spent time together, certainly; ‘what’ we were doing wasn’t important,” Christopher said. “But the moment I fell for her… well, it was a few months in. We’d just done some extensive cleaning of a very large room, mopping and drying the floors, all that. Exhausting work; I petitioned Father to give the cleaning staff a permanent raise after that, no one should have to deal with that kind of mess without proper compensation… where was I? Ah, right. We’d just finished cleaning, and Cinderella turned to me and thanked me, since it would have taken her so much longer by herself. And… she smiled. And it was the biggest, brightest smile I had seen from her in months. I hadn’t seen it since… that night, at the ball where we first met. Pure happiness.”
Christopher smiled himself, lost in the recollection. “So, yes, that was the moment I realized I was in love.”
“What did you do… after you knew you were in love?” Aqua asked.
“Waited, mostly,” Christopher said. “It wouldn’t have been right to push feelings on Cinderella that she didn’t requite. But I also watched carefully for signs that an escalation was desired. Eventually, they were there. It was small steps, and long conversations, but eventually, in love we fell. And here we are today,” he concluded, with a fond smile.
“That’s a very touching story,” Aqua said, smiling. “And… yes, a very apt comparison to where I am right now. I’ve had the realization that I love him, and, well… Now comes the waiting.”
Christopher nodded. “From what Cinderella has told me about him, I would wager that Vanitas’s background bears some similarity to hers?”
Aqua nodded as well. “Similarity, yes. I don’t suppose you have any advice?”
“Patience,” Christopher said. “But if you see a sign that he would like to take another step, be prepared to take that step with him.”
“What sort of sign?” Aqua asked.
“Well, for comparison, there came a day when Cinderella asked if I would do her the honour of giving her my arm as we walked,” Christopher said. “After that, I asked her to be my escort at a dinner for the English ambassador. No declarations of love, so much as declarations of ‘I wish to be with you in this moment’.”
Aqua nodded. She was about to reply when something struck her.
Declarations of “I wish to be with you in this moment”. Declarations like… asking her to dance?
No, that was ridiculous, he had to know she couldn’t dance.
Right?
“I… see,” she said aloud. “Thank you very much, Prince Christopher, that’s very helpful.”
“You are very welcome, Aqua,” Christopher said. “Ah, look, there’s Cinderella now. And I believe…”
Aqua turned to look and rose from her seat as Vanitas came into view. “Van!” she cried. “Where did you go?” She noticed Christopher and Al-Cid rising behind her, but her focus was on her date.
“I just… had to step out for a sec,” Vanitas said, glancing at Al-Cid. “Sorry. Should’ve said something.”
“Yes, you should have,” Aqua said, “but never mind that. Are you all right?”
Vanitas glanced at Cinderella this time. She nodded encouragingly. “Yeah, I’m fine,” he said. “Just had to talk through something."
Aqua raised an eyebrow, wondering if this was something she should be concerned about.
Vanitas gave a small shake of his head, which told Aqua no, it was actually fine. She let out a breath.
“Well, the young man is found, so we’ll let you get back to things,” Christopher said. “Keep in mind what I said, Master Aqua.” He winked.
Aqua felt herself flush a tiny bit. “R-right,” she said, hoping Vanitas hadn’t noticed.
He had, and raised an eyebrow.
Aqua gave a small shake of her head.
The meaning got across.
“There, uh, was something I wanted to ask you, Aqua,” Vanitas said before Aqua could marvel over the ease of their non-verbal communication.
“Yes?” Aqua asked. Was this what she thought it was? Did it mean what she thought it meant?
“I know I asked this earlier,” Vanitas said, “but…” He paused, and cleared his throat. “Aqua, do you want to dance with me?”
Aqua blinked. “Um–”
“Wait,” Vanitas said, holding up a hand. “Before you answer, I need you to understand something. Cinderella pointed out to me that I didn’t make this clear the last time I asked. I’m… I’m not asking because it’s ‘what’s done’ at a ball or whatever.” Which had been her initial assumption. If that was wrong, then… “I’m asking because… I’m asking because I would like to dance with you. If. If you want to.”
Then her second assumption was right.
He was asking because he wanted to do this together. Be with Aqua, in this moment.
He did like her.
He did like her back.
“Van, I… um…” Aqua said, unsure what to say. “I… didn’t realize it was important to you.”
“Well, I mean I’m not going to force you if you don’t want to,” Vanitas muttered.
Oh, she wanted to. She wanted to more than anything right now.
There was just one, eensy-weensy, tiny problem.
“Van, um… Van, I… I don’t know how to dance.”
Vanitas looked like she’d just asked him what purple sounded like. “What?”
Aqua couldn’t meet his eyes, instead looking down at her shoes. “I can’t dance.”
“But…” Vanitas said, confused. “But all that spinning shit you do, all the–”
“That’s ballet,” Aqua huffed. “This,” she waved a hand towards the ballroom floor, where couples had been dancing on and off again all night, “is waltzing. They’re different, and I don’t know how to waltz.”
Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Vanitas was staring at her, which just embarrassed her more. “So it’s not that you don’t want to…?” he asked. There was the barest, tiniest note of hope in his voice.
“No, I just… I would if I could, but I can’t,” Aqua said. She hoped her blush wasn’t showing.
Vanitas pulled a chair out from the table, sat down, and began to laugh.
“I’m sorry, did I miss a joke?” Aqua asked, in a cold tone. She didn’t appreciate being laughed at.
“No, it’s just…” Vanitas let out a couple more snickers and then shook himself. “Aqua, I just spent three weeks with Naminé and Vanille and Aerith drilling me on how to dance. Because I assumed you could, and I couldn’t.”
Aqua blinked. So she’d been right on that regard as well.
He’d been so dedicated to the idea that he’d spent weeks learning a new skill just so… just so he could dance with her. “Oh.”
“Oh,” Vanitas agreed. He was still smiling, and was very lucky he was cute.
Eventually, Aqua chuckled. “I suppose it is a bit funny when looked at from that perspective,” she admitted.
“A bit,” Vanitas agreed. He stood back up and stretched, though the coat got in the way. “So let me ask you something else. Would you want me to try to teach you?”
“To… teach me to dance?” Aqua asked, surprised.
Vanitas nodded. “If you want to. The steps are simple enough, it’s kind of like fencing. Then it’s just doing it in time with your partner.”
That sounded wonderful, but… “If I step on your toes…”
“Then it’s karma for every time I stepped on Naminé’s and Vanille’s,” Vanitas deadpanned. “I don’t think you will, though. You learn things stupid fast.”
“I… will accept the compliment,” Aqua said, smirking.
Unbidden, a memory came to her.
“If I can mince, you can dance.”
And he’d been right.
Aqua opened her eyes and met Vanitas’s gaze. “Okay, let’s give it a try.”
“I think you’re ready,” Vanitas said, after only a few songs.
Aqua, not expecting the positive judgement, stumbled. “Really?” she asked, turning to him. “I think I have more room to improve.”
“Well, yeah,” Vanitas said, with his typical bluntness. “But you’re about as good as I am, so you’re ready.”
Aqua took a deep breath. Now was the time to put a newly acquired skill to use, which was of course terrifying. “If you’re sure, I suppose,” she said. Unconsciously, she started worrying her lip.
“Hey.”
She looked up to meet Vanitas’s gaze, and noted his outstretched hand. “Yes?”
“Do you trust me?”
Their fight in the Keyblade Graveyard against Kefka Palazzo flashed through Aqua’s head, and she slowly smiled and took his hand. “Yes, Van, I trust you.” Amused, she added, “With my life.”
“How about your toes?” Vanitas asked, smirking.
Aqua made a show of pondering it, purely to tease him. “Oh, fuck off,” he said, and she giggled.
“Well, at least we’re both putting them on the line, right?” she said, still teasing.
Vanitas nodded, grinning. “Fair’s fair.”
Still holding her hand – Aqua was a little concerned that if she made a big deal about it, or indeed simply drew notice to it, he’d stop – Vanitas led the way to the dance floor.
The band leader made a speech about the next song, a request from Cinderella herself, and Aqua placed her arm on Vanitas’s shoulder, and felt him place his own on her waist.
His hand was still holding hers.
The band leader took a deep breath and began to sing, and Vanitas and Aqua began to dance.
It was exactly as wonderful as she’d been hoping. And a large part of it was simply being there with Vanitas. He didn’t care if she missed a step, he didn’t care if she wasn’t perfect, and so she could avoid caring about it, too.
Aqua was having fun.
“Aqua,” Vanitas said, softly, after a few seconds of dancing in silence, “I have a confession to make.”
Aqua lifted an eyebrow. She could think of several things she wanted to hear him say, but no matter what it was, she wanted to listen. “What is it?”
“When I left you earlier, it was because…” Vanitas bit his lip. He looked… uncomfortable, ashamed. Of himself? “It was because I saw you talking with that guy you were with. And I didn’t like that. And I got angry. And I had to step away. And I’m sorry.”
Sorry for what? “Thank you for telling me,” Aqua said, frowning, “but… are you apologizing for leaving without saying something? Or for being angry?”
“Both?”
Oh.
“Van… I appreciate the apology for leaving, and I accept it… but I don’t want you to think you have to apologize for being angry about something,” Aqua said. His experiences with his own emotions had left him with little patience for them, but there was no such thing as a bad feeling. He was getting better at internalizing it, but it was a journey.
“Yeah, Cinderella said the same thing,” Vanitas muttered. “I don’t think I had a right to get angry about you… talking to someone.”
“Well, I think you know very well that sometimes emotions are unreasonable,” Aqua said. “So whether you had a ‘right’ to feel that way or not doesn’t enter into consideration.” She patted his shoulder in what she hoped was a soothing manner. “Thank you for telling me.”
Although… that led to the question of why he’d gotten angry about seeing her talk to Al-Cid. It didn’t make sense, unless he was jeal…
“Van, were you…?” Aqua started to say, but realized confronting him directly with it would just make him deny it.
“Was I what?”
“…Never mind,” Aqua said. “I can understand how it might have looked from a distance. Count Margrace was a bit… forwards, before I mentioned I was here with you. After that he was perfectly cordial, though.”
“Right,” Vanitas said. “Guess you don’t need me to fight someone for you anyways, huh?”
“No, but…” Aqua smiled. She didn’t need a champion, but… “It makes me happy that you would want to.”
“I…” Vanitas said, but trailed off and blushed. Delighted, Aqua giggled, which made him blush harder and prompted a “Fuck off.”
“At some point,” Aqua said, grinning, “you’re going to have to accept the fact that I like you. We’ve been friends for five years now, you know.” And on the verge of maybe, possibly becoming more-than-friends.
“I don’t have to accept anything,” Vanitas grumbled. It was clearly his normal contrarianism, though.
Aqua chuckled. “You’ll get used to me eventually.”
Vanitas smiled back. “Already couldn’t imagine life without you,” he said, and Aqua’s heart leapt.
“You know what, Van?” she said, a warm feeling in her heart. “Neither could I.”
The song came to a conclusion, and Aqua reluctantly let go of Vanitas to join the applause for the band. “Thanks, Aqua,” Vanitas said. “That was… nice.”
“‘Nice’?” Aqua teased, smirking.
Vanitas rolled his eyes. “You know what I mean. I… I had fun.”
Aqua kept smirking, delighted, and patted him on the head. It was convenient that his growth spurt had ended two inches before he’d have been of a height with her. “I know what you mean. And I had fun, too. Thank you for encouraging me to try it.”
“I… yeah,” Vanitas said, looking away. He was cute when he was embarrassed, Aqua was finally noticing.
“Hey,” she said, poking his shoulder.
“What?”
She smiled. “Want to keep going? It looks like they’re going to start again.”
“…Sure,” Vanitas said, turning adorably red again.
Aqua took his hand, and happily let him take her back into his arms.
They’d danced until the stroke of midnight, and now had made their way out onto one of the castle’s balconies to view a fireworks show. According to Cinderella, the fireworks had been an anniversary gift from the Emperor of China, in the Land of Dragons. It was sure to be a lovely spectacle.
“Hey, Van?” Aqua said, once they were situated. They had the balcony all to themselves, which she was very happy about.
“Yeah?”
“Thank you for inviting me,” she said, warmly. “I’ve had a wonderful night.”
“Oh. Uh. Yeah. Yeah, so have I,” Vanitas said. He still had trouble figuring out how to respond to unexpected praise sometimes, which made Aqua smile. She turned back to look out over the balcony.
Up in the sky glinted two bright lights among the stars. Either some of the stars above actually were the souls of dead fireflies, rather than the distant hearts of other worlds, or Aqua’s viewing them in Crescent City had permanently made them perceivable to her. She wasn’t sure which was true, and frankly didn’t really care. Ray and his Evangeline were still there for her, still watching, still a comfort.
How am I doing? she asked them, silently. She knew Ray would’ve been happy for her. She wished he could’ve met Vanitas. Ray would’ve liked him.
“Aqua…?” came Vanitas’s voice from beside her.
“Yes, Van?” she answered, turning back to him and smiling.
“Uh. What, exactly, is a ‘China’?” he asked.
Aqua blinked. “It’s… Van, it’s the Land of Dragons. China is the name of the country.”
Vanitas frowned. “What do you mean? I thought it was called ‘the Land of Dragons’. Like you just said.”
“That’s the world name,” Aqua explained. “You… didn’t think the name of the country we’re in right now was ‘the Castle of Dreams’, right?” She smiled.
Vanitas reddened, looked down, and turned away.
“Van?” Aqua asked, softly. Had he… really not known the distinction?
“You probably think I’m an idiot,” he said, softly. Oh. She could have phrased it less matter-of-factly. But she would never, ever, think of Vanitas as an idiot.
“Van, look at me,” Aqua said, sharply. Vanitas turned back towards her, but didn’t meet her eyes.
Fine, she’d get his attention the hard way. Aqua reached out and lightly grabbed his chin, pulling his head towards her. He started to stammer something, probably along the lines of “What the hell?”, but Aqua cut him off.
“Vanitas. You are one of the smartest people I know,” Aqua said, slowly and clearly so he’d understand every word and how much she meant it. “Not knowing a price of trivia doesn’t make you an idiot. Okay?”
“…Okay,” Vanitas said. He was blushing. There was a part of Aqua that enjoyed that greatly. “Um…”
“Right, sorry,” Aqua said, and let his chin go. The flush didn’t leave his cheeks.
“Forwards, aren’t we?” he said, but his tone made it clear he was joking.
“Sorry,” Aqua said again anyway. “I just… sometimes you’re still too hard on yourself. Even now.”
Vanitas sighed. “Right. I’m just… I wanted this night to go right.”
“Well,” Aqua said, delighted to hear it, delighted he’d gone to so much trouble for her, “I think it’s gone pretty well.”
Vanitas smiled. “That’s good.”
There was a loud bang, and a giant starburst of colour exploded across the horizon. “Oh, they’re starting!” Aqua said, excited.
She glanced back at Vanitas and was delighted to see the look on his face, like he’d been staring at something beautiful.
The fireworks truly were lovely, but the best part was sharing this moment, just the two of them together.
The party ended around two in the morning. Vanitas and Aqua took their leave after saying farewell and congratulations to the king and queen, and, at Aqua’s insistence, eliciting a promise from Cinderella to head to bed. Her friend took her duties as a hostess almost too seriously, in Aqua’s opinion.
Their return trip through the Lanes Between was another short time where Aqua could enjoy Vanitas’s arms around her again. Hopefully, if she was reading things right, there could be more of this in the future.
It was what she wanted, at any rate.
There was a light on in Naminé’s studio, which snapped off the second Vanitas and Aqua came down to land. Aqua smiled; she was sure Vanitas would have at least Naminé and probably also Vanille asking questions about how their night had gone the second he walked in the door. She was expecting the same sort of treatment from Terra and Ven once she got home.
It was nice having friends who cared about you.
“I know I thanked you for inviting me already,” Aqua said, deactivating her armour for one last chat before she had to leave, “but thank you again. I had a wonderful time tonight.”
“So did I,” Vanitas said, likewise deactivating his armour. “Thanks for agreeing.”
Aqua laughed. Really, why wouldn’t she have? Even if she hadn’t had feelings for him, she enjoyed spending time with him.
“Hey, uh, Aqua,” Vanitas said. “If… if I asked you if you wanted to do something like this again, sometime…”
“Really?” Aqua asked, delighted. She had to be right. He had to feel the same way. Otherwise, why would he be asking this?
“Yeah,” he said. “So… if, I dunno, something comes up again–”
“I’d love to,” Aqua said, beaming. It was exactly what she was hoping for.
“Right, uh… I’ll let you know if something like this happens again,” Vanitas said.
Aqua nodded, still smiling. “I’ll look forwards to it.”
There was an expectant silence. This was the end of a date, and if Vanitas really was trying to follow a script, there was one other thing to do. Then again, maybe he wasn’t intentionally following a script, and it was just coincidence that he was matching one.
“Uh… well, goodnight,” Vanitas said. Apparently it was coincidence.
“Goodnight,” Aqua said. To her surprise, she was a little disappointed. She was sure he was going to –
Well. She was sure about how he felt. But maybe he just didn’t realize he could act on it.
So, in this case, she could act for him.
“Van?”
“Yeah?” Vanitas said, turning back around. And that was when Aqua kissed him.
It was a small peck, only lasting a fraction of a second, but it was still wonderful.
Aqua drew back, smiling gently. “See you later?” she asked.
“Yeah, sure,” Vanitas said. “Get home safe, okay?”
Internally, Aqua frowned. He was talking like… like she hadn’t just kissed him. Like she’d made a comment on the weather instead.
Had she… been wrong?
Did he not like her the way she liked him?
Had she overstepped?
“Of course,” she said, keeping her tone normal, and stepped down off the porch they were standing on. She activated her armour and tossed her Keyblade into the air, mounting it once it came back down as her glider.
She turned back to Vanitas and waved, hoping for some sort of bigger reaction – any reaction – but he just waved back. Confused, Aqua took off, and made for home.
Aqua arrived back at the Land of Departure in a befuddled and slightly hurt daze. Maybe she’d been wrong, and Vanitas didn’t feel the same way about her. Maybe this hadn’t been a date.
She hoped she hadn’t hurt him by mistake.
Ven looked up from where he’d been sitting on the railing that divided the castle’s main hall from the entrance – again – and asked, “Well, how did it go? Did you tell him you like him?” There was a teasing tone in his voice.
“No,” Aqua said, absently. “But I kissed him.”
Ven froze. Aqua leaned back against the door. Her legs, sore from dancing and emotional upheaval, chose that moment to stop supporting her weight, and she slid down to the floor.
“You… what?” Ven asked, incredulous. When Aqua didn’t respond, he sighed, then shouted, “Hey, Terra!”
“Yeah?”
“Can you come down here? We’re going to need to make some tea!”