Happy Easter everyone! I hope you are having a good day!

So I decided that I was going to take a song and incorporate all of the lyrics into my story, trying to make the story flow and make sense at the same time. I think I have accomplished that. Yeah it'll get a little repetitive but that's because of the lyrics, not me. xD This has also been uploaded to a tumblr account I run.

A little NamiVan for all of you. :3

Disclaimer applies. Kingdom Hearts would probably make less sense if I owned it, and Kelly Clarkson is a beautiful singer, unlike me.


He was not having a good day; she could sense it. He sat huddled in a corner of her room while she drew. Vanitas said nothing until the sun went down and the room was only lit by the weak moonlight filtering in through the window. "There's a place I know," he mumbled, catching her attention. His head moved; she caught his gaze as she lowered her sketchbook. "It's not pretty there, and few have ever gone."

Naminé got up at the same time he stood, meeting him in the middle by the window. "Yes?" she asked quietly, reaching up to touch his face. He froze for a moment before relaxing; the abuse he'd suffered still had a bad effect on him. "What's this place like?"

"Bad," he answered. "I tried showing it to people, but they… they always ran. If I show it to you now, will it make you run away?" Vanitas didn't let her answered as he continued, his words rushed and somewhat desperate, "Or will you stay, even if it hurts, even if I try to push you out? Will you return?"

She blinked. "If… if you're talking about your heart, Vanitas," she said gently, her voice like a breeze, "I've already seen it. Even if it hurts, I'll stay." Naminé carefully pulled off the jaw piece of his helmet, revealing a part of his neck that he usually did not allow to be shown. "I'm here for you," she whispered, clasping his hands.

"Naminé," he said, suddenly leaning forward and resting his forehead on her shoulder. "You'll be there for me, and remind me who I really am, right?" Then, in a quiet voice, "Please remind me who I really am, Naminé."

"You're just a boy," she whispered, wrapping her arms around him as best she could. "A boy who was hurt." He shuddered, reciprocating the gesture and pulling her close to him. "Everybody's got a dark side," she said. "Even me." She, a being of light and generally seen as pure, did have a dark side. Do you love me? she thought. Can you love mine?

"What do you mean? How can you have a dark side?" He pulled away enough to look her in the eye, surprise on his face.

She chuckled, shaking her head. "Nobody's a picture perfect," she told him in a somewhat sing-song voice. "Especially not me." Naminé leaned close to his ear, whispering, "But we're worth it; you know that we're worth it." She kissed his cheek softly.

His face was more open than she had ever seen it be. "Will… Will you love me?" Immediately he seemed terrified of her answer.

"Yes," she replied, brushing his bangs out of his eyes tenderly.

"Even with my dark side?"

She nodded seriously. "Especially with your dark side." Naminé thought for a while before speaking again, "Like a diamond from black dust, it's hard to know what you can become if you give up. So don't give up on me."

He flinched and grabbed his head, as if hit with a sudden headache. Vanitas fell to the floor, pulling her down with him. Darkness spread out from him unchecked and he let out a gasp of pain. "Please remind me who I really am," he begged, his voice warping as his face flickered and began to lose its human appearance.

"You're Vanitas. And I love you," she declared. "Everybody's got a dark side, after all. I love all sides of you." Naminé wasn't quite sure how that happened, since at first they didn't get along at all; she was busy working on Sora's memories and he was curious about her, annoying her and making dark suggestions. Then at some point his remarks became gentler and she made less snappish replies. "Do you love me? Can you love mine?"

"Yes," he groaned.

"Focus on me, Vanitas," she instructed gently. She ran her hand through his hair, her light filtering out of her and brushing up against him. "Nobody's a picture perfect."

It soothed him and his face stopped morphing and retained its human shape. "But we're worth it," he said, repeating her earlier words. "You know we're worth it."

She nodded, bringing her face close to his. "Will you love me? Even with my dark side?" she asked in a whisper.

Instead of answering, he kissed her, carefully grasping her face. "Only… don't run away," he asked. "Please don't run away from me." Vanitas hugged her tightly. "Just tell me that you will stay." His voice dropped. "Promise me you will stay."

"Don't be scared, I won't run away," she assured him. "I don't think I could run away from you anyways. You'd just follow me."

He shook, the darkness flickering and he gripped her tighter. "Just promise me you will stay. Promise me you will stay?"

"I will," she promised. "In the end, I will always be with you." No matter that eventually she would have to return to Kairi; if he wanted her to stay, she would.

"Will you love me?"

"Ohh," she sighed. "Vanitas, I already do. Don't worry; everybody's got a dark side, and even though yours is particularly dark, I promise to love you. But… do you love me? Can you love mine?" She was, after all, manipulative and had secrets she wanted to keep.

He laughed. "You said it yourself—nobody's a picture perfect."

She smiled, calmed by his words. "But we're worth it," she supplied.

"You know we're worth it." The darkness spilling out of his body receded, her light soothing the negative feelings away. "So, will you love me? Even with my dark side?"

"I'll love you because of your dark side," Naminé promised quietly. "Just like you accept mine."

"Yeah… Hey, Naminé?" He shifted, looking her in the eye.

"What is it?" she asked quietly.

"Kiss me again."
She giggled, nodding and obliging. "Say you love me," she requested in a whisper against his lips.

"I love you Naminé. Dark side and all."


I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did! I'll put up another story either today or this week. c: