A/N: This pairing is utterly crack, even platonic. XD I wish I could remember how I came up with this plunny…
xX~100 Eternal Moments~Xx
Set 5 – Unbreakable Chains
77 - Mailbox
The mailbox was shaking.
As far as Vanitas knew, mailboxes weren't supposed to shake. Not that he knew a great deal about mailboxes, but it just didn't seem like a useful thing for one to do. Wondering if one of his less intelligent Unversed had trapped itself inside the blue letter depository, Vanitas opened it.
It spit a piece of paper out at him, and his instinctive reaction was to cleave the mailbox in two, which he did effortlessly with his keyblade. The confused citizens of Disney Town in the vicinity looked as if they wanted to question his spontaneous action, but one glare through his dark mask sent them back to a comfortable distance. Left in peace, Vanitas examined the paper in his hand.
To Van, from Cinderella, the envelope said. It took a long moment for the name to register, and even then it didn't make sense. Hadn't he run into her in the Castle of Dreams world?
Confused but intrigued in spite of… everything, Vanitas corridored to a world with more privacy to read his letter. The Keyblade Graveyard was obviously not an option, not with Xehanort or even Braig (actually, more often Braig) around to look over his shoulder. The second world that came to mind was Neverland, specifically the skull-shaped rock place.
Except for the lull of waves on stone and the annoying cries of seagulls fighting over fish, all was quiet. After shooting Dark Blizzaga at the squabbling seagulls, it was even peaceful. If Vanitas could ever feel at peace, that was. Though, he hadn't felt his usual level of internal discomfort that one day with Cinderella…
XXX
Was he out of the dark corridor? He didn't feel the bone-deep chill of darkness anymore, but he couldn't see more than a foot in front of his face.
"Stupid mask…" It kept others from seeing his face, but that was hardly useful if he couldn't see their faces. He yanked his helmet off and tossed it on the ground, but then he realized a bigger problem.
He choked on the cloud of dust that swirled up where his helmet hit the creaky wooden floor. Hacking and coughing, he struggled to catch his breath.
"What kind of – *HACK* – stupid world did that – *COUGH*- old coot send me to this time?"
When the dust cleared and his eyes finally adjusted to the dim light, he could see that he was in some place where antiques went to die. There was an old china cabinet with both door hanging at crooked angles; a piano that, when he pressed a key, emitted the most discordant sound he'd ever hear; and a shattered full-body mirror that caught dusty fragments of his reflection.
He approached the mirror and wiped off a thick layer of dust, revealing his golden eyes staring back at him. Frowning, he ruffled his helmet-flattened hair into an acceptably spiky configuration and flashed a smirk before turning away.
"Wonder why he wants extra darkness in a dump like this…" With a shrug and a flick of his wrist he called a dozen Hareraisers into existence. Their fluffy ears would make good dustrags, and if he was going to spread darkness and negativity anyway, he might as well not choke on dust while he was doing it.
"Get cleaning, minions," he ordered. Meanwhile, he began searching for the exit to this room, which was much easier said than done. Towering pieces of dilapidated furniture created a labyrinthine path that wound to who knew where. There were no windows that he could see, and he couldn't use Fire magic for light without igniting the whole place.
The Hareraisers didn't do a half-bad job, surprisingly. They looked like a horde of literal dust bunnies before they were even close to finishing, so he had to make new ones about every five minutes, but it was still pretty effective. He could breathe much more easily now, and there wasn't as much dust obscuring his vision.
"Now if I can just find a way out of here…" He jumped onto a now-clean wooden dresser to get a better view, but it was a creaking noise followed by a voice that drew his attention.
"Oh?" It was a girl with a broom, and she was looking straight at him. Too late he realized he'd abandoned his helmet further back in the maze of furniture. "Who are you?"
"I…" He was so vulnerable, no tinted shield between them. He had half a mind to run away from this perfectly harmless girl, and he was painfully aware of every conflicted emotion etched out on his face. No one was supposed to see his face.
"Oh, where are my manners? My name is Cinderella." She curtsied politely. He blinked. No one was ever polite to him. And she especially shouldn't be, not when he practically broke into her house.
"I'm… Van…" He stopped himself before finishing his name. He never told anyone his name before… actually, he hadn't even spoken to anyone, except for his Unversed and Xehnaort and Ventus and Ventus's idiot friends, and they hardly counted.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Van." She smiled. Vanitas hated smiles, and he decided he hated being called Van, too. Why was he letting this Cinderella address him, anyway? He had darkness to spread. She'd shown him the door; he should kill her and move on.
But he didn't. He stood there stupidly on top of the dresser until Cinderella finally asked, "So, um, Van, could you please explain what you are doing in this attic?"
"Cleaning," he said easily. It wasn't even entirely a lie. But why was he still here, talking to her?
She laughed joyously, and he knew why he didn't attack her, or run, or doing anything remotely sensible: this was his first encounter with anyone who wasn't immediately terrified of, angry with, or repulsed by him. And though it stabbed his pride to admit it, the positive attention felt… well, it didn't feel bad.
"Wonderful! Did my stepmother hire you? Lady Tremaine?" Cinderella's eyes sparkled with so much light it almost made him sick. "Oh, it's been so long since I had any help… aside from the mice and birds, but there's only so much they can do."
Mice? Birds? Did this Cinderella have control over them the same way Vanitas controlled the Unversed? Maybe she wasn't as stupid or weak as he'd assumed, even if she reeked of light.
"Yeah, let's go with that," he agreed to her cover story, justifying it with the fact that he could spread darkness a lot more easily if she didn't try to kick him out now. It was dumb reasoning, and he knew it, but it wasn't hurting anything..
Suddenly one of his Hareraisers hopped up onto the dresser, wearing a coating of dust like it was a fuzzy sweater and slapping him with its floppy ears.
"Yeah, I got it, dust bunny." Vanitas rolled his eyes and cast a dexterous blast of Aero magic that sucked the dust off the Hareraiser, swirled it into a mini-tornado, and deposited it in a neat pile at Cinderella's feet.
She blinked, shocked speechless. "What… How…?"
He smirked smugly. "You ever heard of magic?"
"Yes, but… you're not a witch or a fairy…"
"Obviously." He scowled. "They're not the only ones that have magic. I'm a…" Huh. What did he call himself? No one had ever asked. "…I'm awesome," he finally decided.
She giggled at that. "And who is your friend?"
"I don't have—" Oh. She was looking at the Hareraiser, who was looking at him with big, red eyes like it was begging for a belly rub. "That's just a Hareraiser. They're pretty dumb."
Cinderella frowned. Vanitas decided that he hated that more than when she smiled.
"I mean, they're good at cleaning. They just need a lot of attention."
"All animals need attention. Come here, little one… Don't be afraid…"
It looked to Vanitas for permission, and when he nodded, it flung itself off the dresser and glomped Cinderella's shoe. Traitor.
"Aww, you're so sweet," Cinderalla cooed. "I should make an outfit for you…"
His Unversed being shoved into dresses was the last thing he wanted, below Firaga-ing himself in the face.
"Aren't we supposed to be cleaning?" Vanitas grumbled.
"Oh!" She stopped scratching the Hareraiser's ears and stared at the broom in her hand like a recovering amnesiac. "I have to hurry, or I won't be done in time to go to the Royal Ball tonight! I was worried I might not make it, since I don't have a dress yet, but I can worry about that when we're done. I know we'll finish in time with you helping me, Van."
That smile; such blind trust. Maybe she was an idiot. But he'd never had someone's trust to betray, such a heavy invisible weight that for some reason he didn't want off of his shoulders. Maybe it was all a scheme; she was manipulating his emotions the same way she manipulated his Hareraiser and her Mice and Birds. If his will were any weaker he would've believed it, but he was way above being manipulated.
"Let's just get cleaning." He was wasting a whole day of darkness for this, so she'd better make it worth it.
While she made careful brushstrokes in the dust with her broom, he cast more Aero magic in the form of mini-tornadoes. They took more focus than he wanted to expend, though; it was easier to leave it to the Hareraisers. He just wanted to talk to Cinderella.
She sang while she worked, a sweet melody that sounded like ice cream tasted, even though the words were dully repetitive.
"Sing sweet nightingale, sing sweet nightingale, ah-ah-ah-ah-ah…"
"How do you sing like that?" Vanitas asked.
"Oh, it's easy, really." Cinderella blushed, or at least he thought she did. It was hard to tell in the dim light. "But I'm not sure how to explain it…"
Vanitas shrugged. "Whatever." It wasn't like he really wanted to learn how to sing; he just wanted her attention. "So why are we cleaning all this junk, anyway?"
"It's one of the chores Stepmother needs me to do before I can go to the Ball." She sighed a girly sigh.
She mentioned a Ball earlier. What's the big deal about a stupid ball? It's probably not even the bouncy kind.
"Why do you want to go to this 'Ball' thing?"
"It's a dance being held in the Castle." She smiled dreamily. "I've seen that Castle out my window most of my life, but I've never been there. And there's the chance that I may meet some new friends, maybe even a… special friend…" She blushed. Vanitas had no clue what she was talking about. "I haven't made a human friend since… I can't even remember. Well, today I met." A smile brightens her face. "Thank you for being here, Van."
Wait, she wasn't implying he was her friend, was she? No. Wimps like Ventus made friends. Vanitas was a heart of pure darkness. This had gone too far.
"Yeah, well, I'm not exactly the kind of guy you want as a friend," he found himself saying as he climbed an old bookshelf and leapt from the other side, landing catlike on the creaky ground. She followed him through a slim gap between the shelves and an old piano.
"What do you mean?" He saw her confused blink in his peripheral vision. "You're caring, hardworking, even magical. And you have the loveliest eyes."
"Huh?" He spun around, completely bewildered. Out of all the comments he could have made, though, he chose, "My eyes?"
"Of course." She smiled. "I've only seen that color in my father's heirlooms. Where do you come from, Van?"
If that last comment took by surprise, the question practically knocked him over.
His gaze hardened; he caught a glimpse of himself in the same broken mirror he entered by. There was his helmet lying hollow on the floor. They had cleaned their way all the way back here.
"I come from someplace you should never go."
Scooping up his helmet and shoving it over his spiky hair, he waved his arm to open a dark corridor.
"Wait!" She called as he started towards it. "Where are you going?"
"Back to where I came from."
"Will you come back?" Her blue eyes were pretty too, he realized, but that was because there was a soul behind them. His gold eyes held no soul.
"No," he forced the word out. "No, I won't."
XXX
Dear Van,
I'm sorry if I offended you in any way. It wasn't my place to pry. I would sincerely like to see you again, but I understand if you don't feel the same. Still, I hope my Fairy Godmother finds a way to send this letter to you.
I still have to thank you, Van, for helping me clean the attic. It may have been a simple thing for you and your magic, but without you I could never have finished, and dress or no dress, I would never have made it to the Ball.
You most likely don't want to bothered with the details of my life, but I want you to know that I am happy, and I will not forget you, even if I never see you again. You were my friend when I needed one most.
You are still my friend, if you would like to be.
Sincerely,
Cinderella
XXX
Vanitas shook his head slowly, unable to move anything else. All he had wanted was to forget her, the one person who showed him what kindness felt like. And doomed him to an even greater depth of misery, now that he knew there was a different way to feel.
You could go back, he thought to himself. One corridor, and you could see her…
And have to rip himself away again? What was he, a masochist?"
No.
He summoned an orb of Fire in his palm, watched it slowly eat Cinderella's neat handwriting until it was nothing more than dark ask, blowing out towards the sea.
He did not need a friend. He couldn't afford to.
A/N: I apologize if Van is OOC anywhere in this; it's hard to make him be even semi-nice to anyone without adjusting his character. ^^;
Lol, I realized the name for this pairing would be VanElla, or Vanilla. XD XD And go figure, I end up writing this before I manage to come up with any Terella, a pairing I actually like for something besides being random crack. XD
I know Cinderalla falls in romantic love before she sent the letter, but since most of this story was before that, I hope that doesn't count…? orz