Work Text:
When Vanitas finds his comatose other half, it’s a weird kind of accident.
Yes, surely this place was supposed to be secret, but considering the weird bond they had, Vanitas had found the blond while wandering around a deserted castle. A weird feeling in his gut had him searching for something, and when he finds Ventus, he suddenly understands what he had been looking for.
Had he found Ventus before, he may have reported his whereabouts to Xehanort—however, he also remembered that the elder, having lost use for a half without a whole to form, left him floating in the realm between darkness and light. That man could fuck off and find the boy for himself, frankly.
His time spent away from the light made him realize what a sad, fragile existence he was as an incomplete being. Working under Xehanort, his master, he supposes, gave him a purpose to live this half of a life—but once Ventus was sealed away, Vanitas’s own purpose disappeared alongside him. The black-haired being spent who knows how long pondering what would come next. He wasn’t supposed to survive his battle with Ventus, and theoretically, Ventus wasn’t supposed to have survived either.
But as he looks at his other half in the throne before him, he can’t quite put a name to the feeling thrumming in his chest. He hadn’t expected Ventus to have survived totally unscathed, but seeing the other boy frozen in time makes him feel... well, what he assumes is sadness.
On his journey, he experienced many new emotions—sadness, despair, pain... but also hope. Vanitas held onto that tiny spark of light, and vaguely wondered if this light were the same thing that Ventus held so tight to, even in his last moments.
“Hey Ven,” he casually speaks, perching himself on the armrest beside the lifeless figure. He’s not even quite sure what to say, because would Ventus even hear him like this? “I uh. I’m glad you’re okay. I mean. You’re not really okay, since you can’t talk but. You know.”
This is stupid. This is fucking stupid, and Vanitas isn’t even sure why he’s here in front of someone he’s not sure if he’s supposed to hate or love or have some feeling other than indifference for. What makes it more annoying is that this meeting isn’t for any purpose like it had been in the past—before, Xehanort gave him a mission. He was destined to battle Ventus and form the chi-blade... so what now?
“You probably hate me. I’d hate me too, in your position. I think at one point, I hated you too. Even if I’m supposed to be half of you, it’s the half all the other people around you hated.” Vanitas spares a chuckle. “I’ll never forget how angry Aqua was when I took over your body. I had your body under my control—but she still could see that it wasn’t you. She still recognized me and raised her blade.” He crosses one leg over the other before nudging Ventus’s shoulder. “I really hope you don’t wake up while I’m here. Pretty sure I’m the last person you’d want to see.”
There’s no sense of time in this room, but Vanitas still feels as though he’s overstaying a welcome that hadn’t even been offered to him. “Well. I guess I’ll leave you alone. Um. I’m sorry for being a fucking jerk. If you ever... well, when you wake up, let’s reunite if we can. It’s your heart, after all. If you want it, it’s yours to redeem.” He kneels before the blond, taking his hand and pressing the familiar star shape into the other boy’s palm. “Aqua’s still alive in the dark realm and considering how stubborn your other dimwitted friend always was, I’m sure Xehanort hasn’t heard the last of him.” He releases Ventus’s hand and lets the grin stretch across his mouth as the yellow plastic catches the light. When he woke up, lost in the realm between, he found it in his hand and vaguely recognized it as something belonging to the other boy. “I always thought that damn thing was stupid, but since it led me here, maybe it’ll lead them to you too.”
Vanitas stands, stealing another brief glance before seeing himself out. As the heavy door falls shut, he whispers, “See you, Ven.”
Another endless road stretches before him. There may not be anything left for him, but there is so much left for Ventus, and for that fact alone, he’ll keep his half of their shared heart safe until he wakes.