It was inevitable that people on the DSU campus would find out about their relationship, even if Ven wished it waited a little later than Monday morning for the rumors to start.

Sure, they hadn't exactly been trying to hide. They ate breakfast together at Tiana's Palace, getting up excruciatingly early to get there and back in time for Ven's calculus class, and Ven made no effort to hold back from holding Vanitas's hand across the table and stealing kisses whenever he could. Vanitas endured the affection with an indulgent smile, even if he muttered under his breath about his bad boy cred getting ruined.

Ven wasn't sure about his cred, but the news clearly made rounds. DSU had barely gotten used to Ventus Enix, heir extraordinaire, being one of them; but him dating Vanitas Ansem, noted prodigy-slash-drug-creator vaguely related to the dean—and, Ventus now knew, to a certain prominent lab—was sure to refuel the gossip mill.

By the end of his calculus class, a girl who was also in his Spanish group came up to excitedly congratulate him. "I shipped you guys so hard," she said with utter glee. If it weren't for all of Ven's years growing up around his family's business, he doubted he could have saved face at that remark.

The real test, for Ven, was the one awaiting him over lunch. His schedule didn't match with Vanitas on Mondays, but even if he'd been free, Ven thought he would rather do this by himself. After all, these were the two people at DSU whose opinion he cared about the most.

Judging by Terra's expectant look as he spotted him, the rumors had already reached their ears.

Aqua waved him over. "Ven! How're you doing?"

"Hey guys!" he greeted back. "Had fun over the weekend?"

Terra and Aqua traded a look. "We did," Aqua said, her voice teetering on edge.

Terra didn't bother with the diplomacy. "Sounds like you did too." Ven wasn't entirely sure what his tone meant, and Aqua's annoyed look at Terra didn't help.

Still, no matter how they felt about it, Ven had no choice but to get it out of the way. "It was—a lot." He attempted a grin, but froze halfway, and decided against it. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you guys. It was all so sudden, and I had to see my brothers, and—well, I sort of ran out of time."

Aqua smiled at him. "Why don't you tell us now, then?"

With a nod, Ven breathed in, then paused. How much should he share, exactly? He didn't want to share Vanitas's story—and his sister's—without his approval. "It's—hard to explain. I found out some personal things about Vanitas, and it changed the way I saw him. And because of that, I had to be honest about how I really felt about him, you know?"

"And you just told him?" Terra blurted out.

Ven's attempt at a smile turned into an embarrassed grimace. "Yeah?"

Terra let out a low whistle. "Man, you got balls, I'll give you that."

Aqua rolled her eyes. "Terra's not wrong, but if you ask me, that's romantic. You knew how you felt, and you went for it. More people should do that."

"Hey, is that—" Terra started, but Aqua cut him off.

"So what happened?"

"Um—" Ven thought back to that morning, and how his confession had immediately led to sex. "I don't think you want the details on that," he said, blushing.

"Maybe we do," Terra teased, earning himself a jab in the ribs from Aqua.

"Anyway, I had to go back home to my brothers. Made a promise to Roxas to help him pick his first car, remember? And—I kinda invited Vanitas to come along?"

"Meeting the family on day one."

"Will you cut it with the comments?" Aqua chided Terra, but he only laughed.

"Should we pick clothes for a wedding in June? At this rate—"

Ven only blushed harder at that suggestion. "Let's just go one step at a time," he said, nervous. Though now he couldn't help but picture Vanitas in a tux, and, well, he didn't hate that image. Especially the contrast between formal wear and his piercings.

"So how'd it go?" Aqua asked. "With your family?"

"My brothers were great about it." Roxas's abandonment issues weren't worth mentioning here; it was something for the two of them to work on, and Ven had an idea where to start. "But—there was also my grandfather." Both Terra and Aqua turned curious looks at him, but they didn't interrupt him. "Long story short, since Vanitas was there, I introduced him as my boyfriend. And, well, turns out they know each other."

"Not in a good way, I'm guessing?" Aqua asked.

Ven winced. "You could say that." He considered not giving them the whole story, then decided to do it anyway; it was only a matter of time before someone at DSU dug that up, too. "Vanitas's foster father is my grandfather's ex-husband. I didn't know about until Vanitas explained it later that night. And Vanitas met my grandfather too, for business dealings, which didn't go great either."

"Oh," was all Aqua could say.

"Talk about your soap-operas," Terra added. "You guys still okay, though, I guess?"

"Yeah," Ven said with a shrug. "I didn't—what I feel for Vanitas has nothing to do with them. Seeing my grandfather react like that sucked, but, not much more than I expected from him."

"Oh, Ven," Aqua said, and before he knew it, she got up from her chair and awkwardly hugged him from behind. "I'm proud of you for fighting for what you want. And I'm so sorry you had to deal with that from your own family."

Chuckling nervously, Ven squirmed in his chair. "Thanks, Aqua," he said. Then he turned a questioning look to Terra.

Terra, however, only smiled. "I told you before. I may not like the guy, but if you're sure about this, then I'm happy for you."

Ven felt himself deflate as relief flooded him. "Thanks. You guys are the best."

The rest of Monday was easier for Ven to bear. Aqua and Terra's approval buoyed him, even when Peter cornered him in his Economics class. Beside him was another student from their class, a young man with striking, odd-colored eyes.

They weren't here about recruitment, though. "So," Peter said, "let me guess: there's some underhanded deals going on between X-Blade Industries and Organization XIII, and you're covering it up as a relationship?"

Ven blinked at him slowly, until he realized he was talking about Xehanort Ansem's lab. As soon as he made the connection, he couldn't help but burst out laughing. "Yeah, my grandfather is just dying to work with his ex-husband again."

"Didn't your grandfather try to form a partnership with Organization XIII earlier this year?" the other guy pointed out.

Ven hadn't expected him to know about that; he turned to him, unable to hide his distaste. "And you are?"

"Yozora. I'm—"

"Don't care," Ven said. "That deal fell through; Ansem wasn't selling."

"Wouldn't be the first time someone tried to change a potential client's mind like this," Peter said with what Ven assumed was meant to be a complicit wink.

Groaning in frustration, Ven pushed past him. "This conversation is over."

"You know," Yozora said, "if you just joined Chi Gamma Nu, you wouldn't need to resort to that. We have connections everywhere."

"Fuck off," Ven said without even turning around.

It wasn't like it surprised him that people would suggest his relationship with Vanitas was entangled to their business. Still, in spite of his unaffected facade, it still hurt to hear it said, and Ven felt himself hurrying back to the dorm before he had to hear any more rumors.

As he did, his mind couldn't help but spin. What if Vanitas heard them too? What if he decided they had some merit, and—

When King Mickey Mouse Residence came into view, his attention was snapped back to the present. A young man was standing under the eponymous King's statue, lounging against it, and his eyes were set on Ventus with an intent smile. It wasn't anyone Ventus had ever met, but he still stopped dead in his tracks a few steps away from him.

It was like stepping into one of his grandfather's photo albums—specifically, the album of his first wedding. Ven had only gone through it once, and had earned himself an earful from his grandfather when he'd been found out, but he still remembered the face of the groom, and the man staring back at him now was eerily similar. Dark skin, artfully arranged silver hair, and the same golden eyes as Vanitas.

Ven was so shocked to see this man, it took his brain a moment to reason that this couldn't be Eraqus Enix's actual ex-husband, who had to be in his eighties by now. This man was in his early twenties.

A delighted grin grew on the man's face the more puzzled Ven grew. He didn't bother to move. "Hello there," he said. "You must be the young man everyone on campus is talking about today. The one who's supposedly dating my brother."

Ven blinked. "Brother?"

"Oh dear, did Vanitas forget to mention me?" He crossed his arms, pouting dramatically. "Xehanort Ansem. Young Xehanort, to almost everyone." He paused. "I know who you are, of course. My father does hate your family so."

"Not as much as he hates his kids, from what I heard." Ven said it like a taunt, but he was watching carefully for this man's reaction, and he wasn't disappointed. The young Xehanort's eyes narrowed with anger, but that anger was clearly directed at Ventus himself. "But not you?" he guessed.

"He doesn't hate any of us."

"He has a funny way of showing it." The sound of Vanitas's voice startled Ven, but as he came closer, he stopped next to Ven, wrapping an arm around Ven's waist in silent reassurance. "What're you doing here?" Vanitas's question bore no interest in his foster brother's response; it was a clear order to leave.

Xehanort was impervious to his mood, however. "I heard the good news!" he said, nodding at Ven. "I wanted to meet him. You know, there are people who even think you're dating him as part of Father's elaborate revenge plan. You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?"

Vanitas recoiled visibly at his words, though his hand didn't leave the small of Ven's back; instead, he clutched at the back of Ven's jacket. Ven glanced between the two of them, confused. "That's not the rumor I heard," he said, defiant. "Quite the inverse, in fact: people think I'm using him to change your father's mind." He managed to keep an even tone in spite of everything. "It's just rumors. I didn't know who Vanitas was before we started dating."

"But he did. Didn't he?"

Vanitas held his foster brother's gaze silently for a second. Then, finally, he said, "Do you have a point?" Or did you violate the terms of our truce just to stir shit up?"

"Why, yes, I believe we were talking about Dad, and how unfair my brothers—"

"If you say another word, I will gladly break your nose right here, and I know you won't be pressing charges." Vanitas's voice was cool, but the threat didn't feel idle.

The young Xehanort seemed to recognize that as well. "Well, I wanted to meet the boyfriend, and I have. I guess I'm done anyway." He pushed himself off the statue nonchalantly, but Ven wasn't fooled: there was definitely an air of concern in the way he glanced at Vanitas when he walked past him.

Ven didn't bother to watch him leave: his attention was entirely on Vanitas. "Everything okay?" he asked, because he had never seen Vanitas quite like this. This was the first time he truly began to understand that Vanitas would gain a reputation as dangerous, even though he hadn't lifted an actual finger. But he knew Vanitas well enough by now to know the aggression couldn't be unwarranted.

"No," Vanitas admitted. "We—have a complicated history."

"I bet." At the intrigued look Vanitas cast him, he explained: "If he likes your dad, I can't imagine things must be easy between you, right?"

"It's—more complicated than that. Da—my foster father—" he insisted on the term, and Ven felt bad for slipping, "doesn't even like him all that much. He's just blinded by his own devotion. But—" He sighed. "Can we—talk about it later? I'm not up to have that conversation today."

"Sure, I—"

"There is something I want to say. Before anything else." He paused. "That rumor is bullshit."

Ven blinked. "I—never even thought they were. If anything, I was worried you'd—"

"Yeah, that Peter Pan guy really wanted me to know you didn't deny anything," Vanitas said, annoyance briefly flashing in his eyes.

"I just—" Ven said, fumbling through his words, "I didn't want to explain myself to him, but—"

"Oh, I know," Vanitas said. "Like you said, you didn't even know who I was. Your poker face isn't that good that you could have faked that the whole time."

"Hey," Ven protested in mock indignation, "I could have been playing you this whole time!"

Vanitas frowned, and a repressed smile tugged at his lips. "Right."

Ven let out a sigh of relief, then his frown returned. "Wait, are you implying I can't act?"

Chuckling, Vanitas moved in to kiss the side of his face. "That's your takeaway from what I said?"

"I just—"

"We're getting off track," Vanitas said. "Look, just let me say this for the record. My foster father did ask me to do it. Get close to you to seduce you, I mean. But I told him no. Everything else that happened between us, that was just—well, us." He sighed. "Yesterday, you said you wanted honesty, and you didn't want everything to feel like a big reveal, so here it is. Before he"—he nodded the way his foster brother had gone—"or anyone else tries to use it against me."

It took Ven a moment to process his words, because a good chunk of his brain was filled with noting all the way Vanitas's anxiety was breaking through, and trying to find way to comfort him. After a moment, he realized Vanitas was expecting a response. "Um—I believe you, of course. I just—are you sure you're okay? Cause I kind of want to take you home with me and make sure you never meet any of your family members again."

"Except my sister," Vanitas pointed out, deadpan.

"Of course."

"You didn't forget you're meeting her tomorrow, right?"

"Vanitas," Ven chided him.

Vanitas chuckled, and took Ven's hand, leading him into the dorms. "Just making sure."

Ven let out a drawn-out sigh when he closed the door to his dorm room behind him, and Terra perked up instantly. "Everything okay?" he asked.

"You know," Ven said, "meeting my boyfriend's anime villain of a brother, on top of the background radiation of being famous on campus." He groaned in frustration and let himself slump down against the door until he was sitting down on the floor.

Terra crossed the room in a few quick strides and crouched next to him. "Wanna talk about it? What happened?"

"People are already speculating on our relationship. Couple assholes think I'm faking it for the sake of business."

"And the—'anime villain of a brother'?"

"I don't even fucking know what that was," Ven said, sighing. "Weirdo showed up right outside"—he waved towards the window, as if that would explain anything—"claimed Vanitas was using me for their father's revenge scheme against my grandfather, bunch of other stuff. He put Vanitas pretty on edge."

"I wish I could tell you anything, but this is the first I'm even hearing about a brother."

"It's okay," Ven said. "Vanitas didn't want to talk about it, but it was more of a 'not now' than a 'not ever'. I can wait until he's ready to tell me."

"If it bothers you this much, maybe you should ask him. When he's not longer upset, of course."

"Ask him?" Ven stared at Terra. "No way."

"So you can confess you like him even though you think he doesn't, but now that you're actually together, this is too hard?" He chuckled. "Come on, Ven. Take a hold of yourself. Communication is key in a relationship. Better start early and get used to it."

Ven sighed. "I can't believe just an hour ago I was worried about a stupid rumor. And now this. The guy knew me too." He threw his head back against the door. "I hate being a celebrity."

"Is that really what this is about?"

"I don't know. Maybe? It's—everything." He sighed. "Even while taunting me about how I'm definitely faking my relationship, those dipshits were still trying to recruit me. It gets tiring after a while. And now I'm dragging Vanitas into it, and what if it ruins everything?"

"You do realize Vanitas isn't exactly a nobody himself, right?" Terra said. "He's probably used to dealing with it too. Don't let yourself spiral over this shit. It'll blow over, like everything else. Just wait until a new scandal takes their attention."

Ven opened his mouth to retort, but came back empty-handed. "I guess," he said, a weak smile coming to his lips. "Thanks for hearing me out. And talking me down."

"Hey, that's what friends are for."