Vanitas had passed out on the bed from staying up late.

The night before he and the others had joined at the kitchen and eaten all of the food they made before playing the game they liked, the Command Board. Vanitas was confused at first, he didn't understand the rules very well, so he and Ventus played as one single piece. It had been fun but it also resulted in them going to bed around three in the morning and he barely reached his bed before he fell asleep. Funny, considering he could endure days without sleeping at all before he got there.

He woke up at 10 AM but only because he heard talking from outside his room. Vanitas opened his eyes for one second, checked if anyone was coming inside, and rolled on his side to sleep a little bit more under the blankets. He could feel himself slowly drifting off into sleep again when his constant companion jumped on him.

"... What do you want?"

Flood sat in front of him and tilted its tiny head, the hat Ventus gave it in its hands - If they could be called that. Vanitas yawned and gave it a pat on its head.

"Give me five more minutes." He muttered and closed his eyes again but Flood touched his face just like a dog would and pointed to its own head again. Vanitas frowned. "What…? Can't put it back?"

Flood nodded again and Vanitas chuckled. That little thing really didn't seem ready to leave and it probably wouldn't unless it was killed… But it wouldn't be, not by him at least. Ventus liked it and after spending the last few days with it walking around like it was a pet maybe it could be… Useful to have it. Might as well leave it alive then!

Five minutes later he put the hat back on the head of the Unversed and got up, not really minding to take his pajamas off this time. He yawned again and groaned; life wasn't bad here but that routine was becoming kind of boring. He wanted to do something more, to have something exciting going on but apparently he wouldn't have any of that for some time.

"Good morning, sleepyhead!" Ventus said when they met on the corridor. Vanitas waved at him, his eyes closing on their own. "Looks like some coffee would do you good, uh?"

"Yes, please." Vanitas didn't really have to ask for Flood to go with Ventus while he went to the bathroom; the creature was already climbing on the blond's legs, eager to be held. Vanitas rolled his eyes but let them be.

He found Ventus a few minutes later playing with Flood in the kitchen, his cup of coffee waiting for him on the table. He thanked Ventus for it and sat down.

"Ventus?"

"Hm?"

"I was meaning to ask you… What else is there to do in here?"

"What do you mean?"

He scratched his head. "You know… We haven't done much lately. Everything we've done the last few days was for Christmas and it's already gone. And today is the last day of the year, right? So what comes after that?"

"I'm… Not sure?" Ventus laughed and picked Flood from the floor to put it on his lap. "We don't really have things to do except keep the world in balance. If any problem surfaces then we'll deal with it. The Heartless are under control now, though, with Sora and the others helping us out. I think we'll have some peace from now on."

He took a sip of his coffee. "Oh… Right."

"Why? Are you bored?"

"... I feel like I'm wasting my time. I used to fight every single day and there was always something to be done. So yeah, I guess."

Ventus crossed his arms. "Hmm… Well, whenever we got bored all we did was to play Command Board… Tell stories… We used to spar too! And whenever Aqua and Terra left I liked to watch the stars. They remind me of when I was younger... " He looked up. "Wait, do you have any memories of when we were younger?"

"Of course I do! More than you do, I believe." Vanitas grinned but then went silent, thinking to himself. "... It was one of the things I missed in the Graveyard. I don't know why but stars were always so hard to see there. It was probably those clouds, they covered everything at night..." He looked at Ventus, met with an interesting look.

"There's something we can do together, then! At night, that is…"

"You mean tonight?"

"... Yeah, that would be nice. Not sure we'd handle the cold outside though but-"

"We could do that from my room. I can see a lot from there, even the tree at the entrance."

Ventus smiled; he was about to offer his own room for that but seeing as Vanitas offered his first why not? "Okay! It's settled then!"

Flood looked back to Ventus' face and then jumped to the floor, running around the kitchen while Vanitas finished his coffee in silence. Once he was done he took his cup to the sink and then walked to Ventus, kissing his cheek before leaving to his room again.

Ven really didn't mind Vanitas' way of saying he was important to him.

It was 9PM when Ventus decided to go to Vanitas' room, taking his own blankets with him. He was ready to knocked but, to his surprise, the door was already open. He called for him with a low voice and entered only to find out he wasn't there. Thinking he might have gone to the bathroom, Ventus put his blanket over the bed and stared out of the window with a smile, remembering the last night he, Aqua and Terra had spent together before… Everything happened.

He sighed, now looking at the tree he and Vanitas had ornamented together. Vanitas had changed a lot since they talked about his feelings. Even if he was bored now, Ventus was sure he would get used to a calmer life there. At least he hoped he would…

"You're here already!"

Ventus turned around and smiled big, making Vanitas blush. He had brought two cups of hot chocolate to them!

"Now that's a good way to warm us up!" Ventus said and picked one, muttering a low thank you .

"I remembered of when you made it so… I thought I could return the favor."

Ventus sat on the bed again and Vanitas did the same, both naturally turning their attention to the sky. Ventus smiled at him again and put the blankets around their backs, moving closer to him so they felt warmer.

"How much do you remember?" Vanitas asked suddenly, curious.

"... Not much to be honest. I did remember some stuff in the last few months, but… Nothing worth talking about."

"... The Keyblade War?"

Ventus sighed and closed his eyes. "Yeah. It was… Scary, wasn't it?"

Vanitas stared back to the sky. He had seen many other scary things after the split and had felt very scared as well, but it had been nothing compared to the dread he had felt many years ago. The dread of death coming over Daybreak Town and taking away everyone and everything they knew... Only for them to be named a Dandelion Leader afterwards.

"It was. But… We made it through in the end. That's what counts, right?"

"I guess. But it does make me wonder why we… Ended up isn't really our time after all. Do you believe in fate?"

"No, I don't. But I believe in luck." Vanitas turned to Ventus. "I think we're both lucky for being here."

"Heh… True enough." Ventus moved a little bit closer to the other boy, holding the cup tight in his hand. "I'm glad we're lucky like this. We wouldn't be able to enjoy this chocolate if we weren't."

"Yeah. Neither would we get to spend Christmas together like this."

Vanitas laughed and Ventus did the same. They spent an hour in silence, just observing the stars and sharing memories between them without saying anything, feeling truly and completely comfortable. It was true they had been one once but that had changed; Ventus was Ventus, Vanitas was Vanitas. And yet, they still fit together, more than they thought they would.

Once they drank everything Ventus put their cups away and sat next to Vanitas once more, noticing that the raven-haired boy didn't look as awake as he had one hour ago. He saw Flood already asleep next to him and smiled.

"Hey, Vanitas..."

"Yes?"

"Can I… Do something?"

"Do what?"

"Come here." Ventus called him and they lay down, pulling both blankets over them. Vanitas didn't know what Ventus was trying to do but felt his own cheeks blush too.

"... Yes?"

He observed as Ventus touched his face, gently moving his thumb over his cheek. It felt nice, soft even. That was affection, wasn't it? It felt good, just like every other time Ventus did something to him. It made him feel warm.

"You're… Really important, Van. I'm happy you're living here with us!"

Vanitas closed his eyes. "I… I'm happy too."

Moving just a little bit closer then, Ventus kissed his forehead and smiled. Vanitas smiled too and put an arm around Ventus, enjoying being so very close to him like this. Maybe what Ventus said the other day was true; they did belong together. Not in the same heart but together, just like that. And just like that they stood together for the rest of the night, falling asleep in each other's arms and never letting go.