The weekend went by uneventfully—no more word from Chi Gamma Nu, no texts from Vanitas's foster brother, and no word from Eraqus about any legal documents reaching him. It felt like a small miracle, and one Ven was in desperate need of. The weekend was over almost as soon as it began, but at least, by that point, Ven was more or less caught up once more.

Social media was the only thing that still evolved, although Ven and his family were no longer the main topic of discussion—not even at DSU. The brunt of people sending harassment his way for attacking the fraternity, or otherwise blaming him—or worse, Sora himself—for what had happened to him were now safely blocked, and what remained was surprisingly vocal support.

It felt like a tangible shift, even more so when Monday rolled around again and the very same frat boys who had come to threaten him just a week ago gave him a wide berth instead.

Ven was allowing himself to feel optimistic. His plan had already worked, as far as he was concerned—he had made himself the center of the discussion, leaving Sora alone for the time being. But if there was also a chance that meaningful change came out of this, all the better.

That mood came crashing down the next day, however. Ven stepped out of the auditorium his Biology class took place in, and lingered behind as he had grown used to, waiting for Vanitas to wrap up with Professor Merryweather. Before Vanitas joined him, however, Ven spotted two people, waiting outside the auditorium, sticking out like sore thumbs amidst the sea of mostly freshmen students.

One of them Ven already knew: young Xehanort, lounging with his hands in his pockets. The man next to him Ven had never met—and he'd only seen him in extremely old pictures—but he could easily guess who he was. He and his son looked eerily alike, after all, even if the senior Xehanort Ansem was bald and hunched over.

Ven's first thought was an odd one: he couldn't help but suddenly take notice that this man was the same age as Ven's grandfather—far too old to be a father to people around Ven's age. As soon as he'd thought that, though, his mind blanked at the memory of everything else he'd done—everything he'd put Vanitas through. Only to show up here, and now.

His blood boiling, Ven started making his way towards them before his brain had fully caught up with his own actions. They saw him coming, though if they noticed the anger in his eyes, they seemed unperturbed by it.

"Nice to meet you again, Ventus," Young Xehanort said.

"Cut it out," Ven retorted with a glare. "What are you doing here? After what you did to him?"

"I have no idea what you—"

"Really? How hard did you think it was to prove your theory wrong, exactly?" Ven looked at Xehanort. "And you. Was that your plan all this time? Adopt a kid for the sole purpose of messing with his head and make him believe he was your ex-husband's grandson? At which point did you think none of this could work?"

Vanitas's foster father appeared unfazed by his outburst. "I'll admit I underestimated you. But as for the rest—"

Ven didn't care to hear it. "What kind of person does this?" He paused. "I guess it's the same kind of person who turns a blind eye when one of his sons manipulates the other into sleeping with him, right?"

"Manipulates?" Young Xehanort scoffed. "Is that how he tells it?"

It took all of Ven's restraint not to throw himself at him. "The two of you should leave, and never come back. Get out of his life—and Xion's, too."

"Leave? But I asked them to come."

Vanitas's voice startled Ven as he came from behind. He moved up close to Ven and wrapped an arm around his waist as he put himself slightly in front of him—between him and his foster family.

"Though I don't remember 'bother my boyfriend' was part of the invite."

"He came talk to us," the old Xehanort said. "Now, out with it, boy. I have wasted enough time away from the laboratory as it is."

"Yes, right," Vanitas said, sounding unimpressed. "Well, I didn't want to waste time going to the lab, so, you see, this was necessary."

"Waste time?" Xehanort scoffed. "You have fallen far enough behind on work as it is. You should be coming back with us—"

"About that. I quit."

Ven hadn't expected that, but his own surprise remained muted, because for a silent, precious moment, the stunned look on his foster father and brother's faces were too amazing not to revel in them.

Then Vanitas spoke again. "I took a lot of shit from you—both of you. But last week made me realize that it's not worth it. I always thought I was doing it for Xion, or because I owed you for adopting me at all, or because I loved you once, but—fuck that. I'm done."

His father scoffed. "You won't last very long on your own. All your patents belong to the company."

"Yeah," Vanitas said. "But guess what? You didn't make me a genius. I can invent new stuff. I think I'll be fine."

"He will." Ven put a hand on his shoulder, squeezing gently in support. "He's brilliant, and kind in a way I don't think you two can even understand. And he has people who care about him now."

"Which brings us to you." Vanitas turned to his foster brother. "When you first came to the residence, did you think I wouldn't notice you were in my room before you talked to me and Ven?"

Young Xehanort's brow furrowed. "What are you—"

"I've been holding that video over your head for over a year. Did you think I didn't have backups where you wouldn't find them?" His voice grew cold as he added, "If I see either of you again, I will be releasing it."

Even as a glimmer of panic grew in the eyes of young Xehanort, his father looked much more unfazed. "Blackmail? Is that all? We've been through this already."

"If the point was blackmail, sure. But that was when I wanted to work with you. I'm done now." Xehanort looked about ready to protest, but Vanitas continued without waiting, "So get off this campus, and stay away. Same goes if you go anywhere near Xion. You hand over her college fund to her, then you never so much as breathe her name. Understood?" He paused, but again, didn't leave either of them time to actually reply. "We're done now. Goodbye."

Vanitas walked away without waiting, dragging Ven along with him. His grip on Ven's hand was tight, clinging to him as if for dear life; but on his face was the brightest, widest smile Ven had ever seen on him, and his face was flushed a deep red.

"You're not even going to make sure they leave?" Ven couldn't help but say once they were outside, far enough from the Biology building that it was out of sight.

"They will."

"And are you—all right?"

"All right?" Vanitas stopped in his tracks, and pulled Ven into a rough kiss. Then, as they came apart, he laughed—a clear, carefree laugh, filled with elation. "I can't believe I did that! I should have done it so long ago."

His mood was contagious, and Ven found himself grinning from ear to ear. "I'm still confused what just happened, but—I'm proud of you." He paused. "The video?"

"My insurance policy," Vanitas said, and though his face grew more somber, he continued. "When I started having doubts about my—about young Xehanort, I recorded us. It was the last time he touched me. I made sure his father walked in on us, and made him admit he knew about us the whole time."

"You never told me—"

"How am I even supposed to tell my boyfriend about the sex tape I have of one of the most traumatic nights of my life?"

In spite of his blusterous tone, Ven sensed a fragility behind those words. He put his arms around Vanitas's neck, holding him close. "It's okay," he said. "You didn't owe me anything. I'm just surprised is all."

Vanitas smiled faintly. "I never intended to use it anyway—not when I needed them to take care of Xion. But—I can't keep doing that."

"I know," Ven said. "So what's the plan now?"

"We'll see what they do," Vanitas said. "I have enough saved up to keep myself and Xion afloat at least through the end of the semester—maybe a couple more months. I'm sure I'll be able to figure something out by then."

"And about them?"

"I'm keeping the video as insurance, but I didn't say I was going easy on them." A wicked smirk grew on his lips. "We know the midazolam came from him. If we can prove it, I think that could make for an interesting story; the prestigious pharmaceutical lab, caught distributing dangerous drugs, just as their former star of research and development is coming forward with allegations regarding his own invention."

"You're going to come clean about Unbirth?"

"You heard him," Vanitas said with a shrug. "He owns the patent. The only reason I went along with it was I needed the money. If I'm not going to make any more money off of it, I'm sure as hell not going to let him." He paused. "Besides, it would be nice to try and make up for some of the damage I've done."

"Vanitas—"

"It's true. But hey, at least I'm in a place where I can admit it now." He pressed a soft kiss to Ven's lips. "I owe that to you."

Ven shook his head. "You did most of the work yourself."

"Maybe." Gently, Vanitas stepped back, shrugging off Ven's embrace, and took a deep breath. "But that's all in the future. Right now, I'm just going to enjoy the taste of sweet, sweet freedom." He laughed again—a shorter laugh, but just as full of joy as earlier. "I can't believe I wasted a year of my life on these motherfuckers." He cocked his head, then grinned. "Brotherfuckers?"

Ven couldn't help but frown. "Is it a good sign that you're joking about it, or should I be worried?"

"It's good. It's amazing." Vanitas came forward again, pressing his forehead against Ven's and letting out a relieved sigh. "I feel amazing."

Finally, Ven allowed himself to smile as he cupped Vanitas's face. "Good. I know I said it already, but I'm proud of you. I hope it doesn't sound patronizing."

"It doesn't. I'm proud of myself too." Then Vanitas pulled away, and they resumed their way back to the residence. "I just hope I really can figure out the job situation."

"Anyone who passes up on the chance to hire you would be insane." Ven pressed a soft kiss to his cheek. "And if you need anything, I can help. I mean it. Anything at all."

Vanitas smiled at him, a warm, bright smile that made Ven giddy. "Thanks. I love you."

"You have a guest," Terra called when Ven and Vanitas came into the dorm room. Then he paused, eyeing the two of them curiously. "You look—weird. Everything all right?"

"Better than all right," Vanitas said with a triumphant grin.

"Do I even want to—please tell me you guys didn't hook up somewhere you shouldn't have."

"Surprisingly, we didn't," Ven said. There was a moment he caught Vanitas looking at him with a hungry grin, his carefree joy morphing into something more heated; then the moment had passed and they were back to just walking together.

"I'm not even going to ask."

There was a part of Ven that wanted to tell Terra—tell the whole world, really—but since Vanitas was right there and pointedly not explaining his good mood to Terra, Ven figured he'd just follow his lead. "You said something about a guest?"

"Remember the guy you had me carry half-dead out of an alleyway?"

"He was nowhere near half-dead," Vanitas protested. "I know what I'm doing."

Terra cast him a weirded-out look. "Anyway…" He turned back to Ven. "He came by. Looked pretty freaked out, too. And he wanted to talk to the two of you. He's waiting in the dining hall."

Ven glanced at Vanitas, who returned his inquisitive gaze. "Your brother, your decision. It's up to you."

"Well—he can't do anything to hurt any of us, right? Might as well hear him out."

Vanitas broke into a smile. "I hope you never lose that optimism," he said, "but in this case, you're probably right. All right, let's go, then."

There was a part of Ven that didn't want to head back out of the room already—not while he was still riding the emotional high of their encounter with the Xehanorts. He wasn't sure he really wanted anything to do with Yozora, either, but at the very least, he was curious to hear why he'd come.

So they rode the elevator back down to the dining hall. It was empty at the moment, as dinner wouldn't properly start for another half hour or so, but Yozora was waiting at one of the tables as Terra had said he would. And he was alone—for which Ven was a little relieved; he'd almost expected this to be some kind of ambush.

Vanitas was the first to speak. "Did you miss me that much?"

Yozora flinched at the sound of his voice, looking at Vanitas like he was ready to bolt at any sign that Vanitas was going to beat him up once more. "I—I came to apologize," he finally said. "I've been thinking about what you said—in your post, and also last we met."

Ven bit back on his immediate retort, taking his time sitting down so he could swallow his anger in silence. "I don't know if an apology is going to cut it," he finally said. It was as nice as he could manage to be right now.

"I know. That's not all. But I think it's where I should start. I want you to know—I really didn't intend to cause any harm to your brother. I definitely didn't want to—" He cleared his throat.

"Rape him?" Vanitas suggested, ever merciless.

Yozora looked like he'd physically hit him again, but he nodded. "I didn't know what the drugs were. I was told it was just a prank—that we'd give some kids a scare in revenge for crashing our party."

"So that's your excuse?" Ven asked, deadpan.

To his surprise, Yozora shook his head. "I'm not looking for an excuse. I'm trying to explain, but—" He huffed out a breath in frustration. "I'm doing this wrong."

"Yep," Vanitas interjected.

"When you said anyone who isn't a rapist should be glad to prove it, I realized that applies to me, too." He paused. "What I did was wrong, no matter why I did it. I let others dictate my actions, but that doesn't mean I don't have any responsibility in them. So that's the other thing I wanted to tell you. I'm going to turn myself in."

For a moment, Ven thought he'd misheard. "You're what?"

"I am," he insisted, as if he thought Ven was doubting his word. "And not just that. I can also prove that the fraternity leaders knew about it before the party. And I can identify who gave us the drugs."

Vanitas perked up at that. "You can, can you?"

Yozora nodded. "We're in the same Biology class," he said. "I don't imagine you noticed me without the others. I saw you today—talking to them." He paused, maybe waiting for confirmation, but Ven remained still, waiting for more. "It didn't look like a friendly exchange, and you seem like you're smart enough to go up against them. I'd rather help you take them down, than be the guy who tried to wait all this out."

"You'll probably going to take some of the blame anyway," Ven pointed out.

"I know." He didn't elaborate, but there was a determined set to his jaw. "But at least I'll be able to live with myself."

"And why even come to us about it?"

"I just—thought you deserved to hear it from me first."

Ven thought he recognized the look in his eyes. "If you expect me to absolve you, I won't. This won't make up for what you did—it's not that easy."

"I know that too."

"But," Ven continued, "I'd still appreciate if you could make sure the truth gets out as far as possible. About the fraternity, and about your supplier." He glanced at Vanitas, and from the look in his eyes, Ven could easily guess which one he cared about the most.

"I'll start with the police," Yozora said. "But—yeah, I don't intend to stop there. My girlfriend is prepared to vouch for my version too. It's gonna be our word against the rest of the fraternity's, but I'll do what I can."

"It's a start," Ven said. Then, after a moment, he added, "Give me your phone." Yozora eyed him curiously, but after a moment's hesitation, slid his phone across the table. Ven picked it up, and entered a number in Yozora's contacts—Morgan's. "This number is someone I trust at X-Blade Industries," Ven said, handing the phone back. "You can work with them to prepare your story. The company won't be able to take care of your legal representation, since we're plaintiffs against you, but—maybe they can help, at least."

Yozora eyed his phone for a moment before putting it back in his pocket. "Thanks. For this, and—for hearing me out. For understanding."

"I don't know that I understand, honestly," Ven said. "But at least you're trying. From what I've seen of your frat brothers, that somehow puts you above the rest." He paused. "Even though you did drug my actual brother."

A contrite frown crossed Yozora's face. "I really am never going to earn your forgiveness, am I?"

"Probably not. But look at the bright side: at least I'm not going to let my boyfriend hunt you down and finish the job." Ven smiled as he finished his sentence, and put a hand over Vanitas's.

Yozora flinched again, and with a mumbled goodbye, skiddered out of the dining hall, while Ven lingered at the table, Vanitas by his side.

"And they say violence isn't the answer," Vanitas said glibly once they were alone.

Rolling his eyes, Ven smacked him across the arm. "Don't be silly."

"You're the one who threatened him."

"Threatened?" Ven smiled innocently. "I told him I wouldn't let you be violent."

"Don't play dumb with me, córazon. You're not that slick."

Ven chuckled. "What a day we're having."

"I could use more of these," Vanitas said, and Ven couldn't agree more.

"So what does this mean? That's the end of that?"

"The end?" Vanitas scoffed. "I don't think it's that simple. But it's progress."

He was right, of course. None of what Yozora had pledged to do—assuming he actually did it, assuming it worked, assuming the fraternity or Xehanort failed to spin their own narrative when both had years of practice—would help Sora himself. The damage was done, and the act of healing was one that would be far more complex than large gestures. But it was at least an opportunity to make a change, and Ven liked that idea.