"Need anything for tonight?" Aqua asked. She adjusted Ven's bowtie as soon as he was within her reach, and Ven allowed her to fuss. "Munnies? Or do you need to borrow the Gummi ship? Or—"

"Protection?" Terra chimed in from the hallway outside Ven's bedroom at the Land of Departure castle.

Aqua glared in his direction, which Ven was grateful for, because it have him a moment to stop himself from choking at Terra's implication. Even though he couldn't deny that was exactly where he hoped the evening would go. He'd been dating Vanitas for months now, and they had even talked about it. They wanted to make their first time special, and he doubted he could find anything more special than a royal ball at the Castle of Dreams. Knowing princesses had its perks, as it turned out.

"Ah, I'll be fine," he stuttered, hoping neither of his friends asked him which question he was answering. "I'll see you in the morning, okay?"

The Castle of Dreams lived up to its name. It took getting there for Ven to remember he'd been the size of a mouse the last time he'd come, and that he'd never seen the palace itself in all its splendor. And Cinderella had certainly developed quite a knack for throwing glittering parties.

Although, he thought when catching the way the lights reflected in Vanitas's eyes, the company helped a little.

As the princess's honored guests, Cinderella had offered them a room in the castle to stay the night, but Ven had declined. Instead, at the twelfth stroke of midnight, he and Vanitas stepped into the Lanes Between, to a quiet suburbs of Radiant Garden, where Vanitas had taken residence.

The apartment was cramped, and poorly lit, which Ven was pretty sure it was on purpose; the dark still comforted Vanitas sometimes. It also felt more like home to Ventus than the Land of Departure, these days. Again, the company helped.

It was in Vanitas's bedroom, in the midst of a flurry of kisses, that Vanitas slowly untied Ven's bowtie with methodical, delicate precision. But once that was on the floor, the rest of their clothes followed suit in a much more heated frenzy.

They tangled up on the bed, laughing and panting, kissing and touching, the heady feelings compounded as Ven's mind went over how far they'd come. Of how much they'd learned—about themselves, about each other, and through each other. There was no one else who could have helped Ven changed into a stronger version of himself, and no one else Ven would rather have helped grow into a better person in return.

No one else Ven would rather have shared this moment with, either.

But just as climax rolled over them—

—a loud, thunderous clang startled Ven, drawing his mind away from the pleasant daze coursing through him.

"What was that?" he said, shaken.

Beneath him, Vanitas mumbled wordlessly, his gaze still vague with bliss; but when Ven drew back and looked around, he sat up, frowning. "Ventus? What're you—"

His gaze fell on something behind Ven, and Ven craned his neck back to follow it. At the foot of the bed, on the floor, a faint glint of metal caught his eye. "What the—"

He hopped off the bed, earning a whine from Vanitas. Nonetheless, after a moment, Vanitas shifted on the bed, coming to lie at its foot to peer over Ven's shoulder where he was crouching.

Before the two of them, the χ-blade lay on the floor. Its blade was cloudy with darkness, and broken in places, the way it had looked when the two of them had created it together, all those years ago. A clash of light and darkness—but not the twenty pieces it truly needed.

"Did you know—" Ven started, but when he looked up at Vanitas, he saw that the other boy was just as shaken. He looked down again. "Joining together, body and heart," he said. He couldn't remember Vanitas's exact words after so long, but it felt like an accurate enough paraphrase.

Vanitas scoffed. "If I'd known this was an option this whole time—"

"You'd have what?" Ven said, looking up at him in disbelief. "Done this instead of forcing me to fight you?"

"Why not?" Vanitas said with a shrug. "Easier than start two wars."

"I hated your guts at the time."

"I wasn't trying to charm you back then." Vanitas raised an eyebrow, then smirked. "And clearly, you are susceptible to my charms. Like it or not."

Ven's first reaction was to feign annoyance, but he couldn't even pretend for a second. "Maybe it could have worked."

Vanitas leaned forward and kissed the side of Ven's head. "Told you."

"Although," Ven couldn't help but add, "doing it in the middle of the Keyblade Graveyard, with Xehanort watching? No thanks."

The grimace Vanitas made got a chuckle out of him. "You just had to put that thought in my head. As if this"—he waved at the χ-blade on the floor—"wasn't ruining our afterglow enough as it is."

Ven laughed again. "I don't think anything can ruin this," he said. Still, he pushed himself off the floor, and got back into bed, slotting his body along the length of Vanitas's. "It's all us," he whispered against Vanitas's lips. "Those mess-ups, that past. It's who we are, you know? But—it's also why we work."

"You utter sap," Vanitas chided, but he was smiling.

"I'll take being a sap, because I'm a happy sap right now." He ran a hand up Vanitas's side, curling around his shoulder. Still, now that the rush was fading, he couldn't help but feel a sliver of doubt creeping in. "Are you?"

"Ventus." Vanitas's voice was still chiding, but there was more to the sound of Ven's name—a certain reverence, and fondness, too. "Yes. I am happy. With you. Because of you."

Relief flooded through Ven's body, rendering his body slack with it, and Vanitas took advantage of it to draw him closer in his arms. "Most people would say 'thanks to you', you know."

"I am not most people."

"No, I guess not."

"But I am glad for the way I changed. The way you helped me change. I don't want you to ever think otherwise." He pressed a kiss to the top of Ven's head, and lingered there, his nose in Ven's hair, his breath warm and pleasant against Ven's skin.

For a time, they were silent, and Ven felt himself drift off—not quite falling asleep, but not quite awake, just floating in bliss.

Then Vanitas said, "Do you think it'll happen every time?"

His sudden change of topic made Ven look up at him, and he caught Vanitas staring at the χ-blade on the floor. "Hopefully not," he said. "But if it does—" He paused, unable to find something to say.

"No, do go on," Vanitas teased. "I'm dying to see how you'll spin this."

"We can—start a collection?"

That made Vanitas laugh, the rumble of it echoing across Ven's skin. "You know what? Sure. Let's do that. And I'll be sure to let all your friends know how each and every one of them came to be."

Ven squirmed at the mere thought. "Why are you like this?"

"You know the deal. I am darkness." In spite of his words, though, his tone was soft, and his eyes were sparkling as he looked at Ven. "Really, it's your fault for choosing to put up with me."

"Vanitas, I swear if you don't take that back, I'm lecturing your for an hour about what you deserve—"

"Okay, okay!" Vanitas cut him off, laughing. "I am a very lucky guy to have you as my boyfriend. Better?"

Ven hummed his approval as he pressed his face against Vanitas's chest. "You know, there's only one way to find out if we're gonna have to start a collection—" He looked up at Vanitas with an excited smile.

"Oh?" Vanitas said, a look of mock surprise on his face. "Such a ravenous appetite."

"Well, it's for science."

"Oh, for science."

"Vanitas," Ven chided him. "Do you want to? Or—"

"Yes, Ven," he said. He pressed a kiss to Ven's forehead, and rolled onto his back, allowing Ven to straddle his lap. "Now and any other time you ask me."