A/N: I keep forgetting to say this, but thank you to those of you who've left kind reviews! I really appreciate it!

He was here. With Sora. With the one who had saved Ventus's heart. And he was… coloring with a crayon on the back of a kid's menu.

"So, let me get this straight," Sora said while he scribbled waxy blue figure eights. "Ventus is one of the three hearts inside me. Somehow that makes you look like me, because you and Ventus are related... Somehow."

He looked up and met Vanitas's eyes over the table. It was uncanny, seeing his own face staring at him like that. Even worse than looking at Ventus, because at least this face was supposed to belong to just him.

"I'm older than you. That means you look like me," he corrected. It would be pointless explaining how he was connected to Ventus. The whole situation had been complicated enough, even with Donald and Goofy asking clarifying questions and Aqua helping him explain everything. Besides, he still didn't have a concrete explanation for how Sora had taken his face. Or vice versa.

Sora frowned at that. "Okay, so I look like you. But I still don't get it. How did Ventus get inside me in the first place?"

Wasn't he listening? Vanitas had told the whole story, as far he knew it. He didn't want to repeat himself; saying it once had been exhausting enough. Floods of irritation prickled under his skin; he fought them off by gulping down his water. The icy chill in his stomach soothed away the emotions.

"We don't know for sure." Aqua steepled her fingers over the fancy tablecloth. "Ven... lost his heart shortly before I ended up in the Realm of Darkness. All we know is that somehow he found his way to you."

"It wouldn't be the first time," Sora said, hand hovering over his heart. "But last time I had to get someone's heart out of me… it wasn't easy."

"Not easy?" Donald shook his fork at him. "You turned into a Heartless!"

"We won't let Sora do that again," Goofy said, his normally calm expression turning intense.

"You were a Heartless?" Vanitas balked. They might share the same face, but he could smell it – Sora had light rolling off of him in waves. How could the other boy have become a monster of darkness?

"...It's a long story," he answered after sharing a look with Donald and Goofy.

"But that's why we're helping Sora find the Power of Waking," Goofy said. "With that, he should be able to help all sorts of hearts connected to his!"

"Power of Waking?" Aqua frowned. "I've never heard of that."

A kind of magic Aqua hadn't heard of? That was a first.

"It's a power I was supposed to get in the Sleeping Worlds," Sora explained, going back to scribbling on his menu. "I don't really know what it is either, though."

"Aww, don't tell them that," Donald whispered. "They're counting on you, Sora."

"I know. Them and everyone else." He sighed. The blue crayon squeaked as it left a dark mark on the paper.

"Sora," Aqua said softly, prompting him to look up. "I know how it feels to have people counting on you. It can be hard to believe you're strong enough to help everyone who needs saving. But you're not alone."

"Yeah," Vanitas interjected with a grin. "There's literally two of us now."

Aqua shoved his head without looking at him, but he didn't miss the hint of a smile tugging her lips.

"You can ignore him."

But Sora was snorting in laughter. Sheesh, Vanitas hoped his own laugh didn't sound that stupid.

"No, Aqua, Vanitas – you're both right." The laugh was enough to snap Sora of of his funk. "The Power of Waking might be my responsibility, but I won't be alone. Donald and Goofy have been helping me this whole time, and with both of you trying to save Ventus, I know we'll come up with something!"

That was a lot more enthusiasm than Vanitas expected; it was still freaky seeing those expressions flash past on his own face. The excitement was somehow more fitting on Sora, though. Maybe that's what Vanitas would look like if he'd been the half of light when he and Ventus were split.

"Good." Vanitas nodded, saving those other thoughts for later. "So… what 'something' are we coming up with?"

"Can we at least bring you to see Ventus?" Aqua asked. "I don't know much about this Power of Waking, but bringing his heart closer to his body might trigger a reaction."

"Yeah," Sora said. "I'm willing to give it a shot!"

At that moment a waiter came by with their food, interrupting something Donald was about to say.

"Thanks!" Sora grinned, accepting some sort of fish dish that the young waiter set down. "Wait a second – Hayner?"

The blond waiter winked. "Can't chat on the job, Sora! Gotta make some munny if I want watermelon at the beach!"

He quickly slid the remaining plates across the tablecloth before sloppily saluting.

"Stick around and we'll catch up after my shift's over!"

With that, he rushed back to the kitchen.

"Man, they were right about you being popular," Vanitas commented before digging into his meal, or at least trying to. He still hadn't gotten the hang of using utensils yet; he usually didn't bother when it was just him and Aqua. But even Donald and Goofy were using forks and spoons. He could prove he was at least as competent as them.

"Heh." Sora smiled and scratched his nose. "It's no big deal. I just tend to run into old friends."

Vanitas wasn't really listening now though; he was busy trying to stab his fork into his stew dish – something called 'Beef Bourguignon.' Honestly he had no idea what that meant, but the picture on the menu had looked good, and he soon found that the savory taste lived up to it.

"So, uh, Vanitas," Goofy began, putting down his spoon and rubbing his chin. "We heard Yen Sid wanted us to save three missing keyblade wielders, Terra, Aqua, and Ven. Why didn't he tell us about you?"

Vanitas winced, holding in a Hareraiser. He and Aqua had glossed over some of the more… incriminating parts of his story. Namely, the parts where he'd released his Unversed over the worlds, forged the X-Blade, and nearly destroyed Ventus.

"No one knew he was still alive," Aqua tried to cover. She put a hand on his leg under the table, using her other to take careful bites of her mushroom dish. He placed his hand over hers and took a deep breath. The Unversed inside settled down. What was wrong with them today? If he accidentally let them loose in another one of Scrooge's restaurants…

"We didn't know you were alive either, Aqua," Donald pointed out.

"...It is weird that Yen Sid wouldn't tell me about someone who looked just like me." Sora's head tilted with a frown. Void, why did he have to look at him like that? Vanitas was sure his blue eyes would cut straight through him, find every little crack in his facade of light. The Unversed were already trying to slip through those cracks now. He hastily shoved another chunk of meat into his mouth, forgetting to use his fork.

"Van, it's alright," Aqua whispered to him. But how could she know? How could she know these three wouldn't turn on him, just like Lea had? They could see his golden eyes, they had to be thinking—

"Wait a second," Goofy said. "Vanitas. Didn't the King mention that name a long time ago? Around the same time we met Ventus and Aqua?"

He swallowed the lump of meat, trying not to choke. Panicked Floods tingled under his skin.

"That's right, he was–" Donald's eyes narrowed before Aqua loudly cleared her throat, cutting him off.

"Twelve years is a long enough time for anyone to change." She fixed her gaze on both of them in turn. It was too late, though. They knew. They knew what he's done, they remembered. Even if his more rational side said they could talk through this, his Unversed – his heart – didn't get the memo. The creatures boiled up like a hot geyser ready to burst, his skin a thin shield between them and the people around him. He had to get out of here, he had to—

"Van!" Aqua called as he slid out of the booth and dashed towards the bathroom, knocking plates of food out of a waiter's hands in his haste. "Van, wait!"

But he couldn't wait. Bruisers and Floods were pounding against the inside of his skin. He should've ran for the front door, but there were so many people outside, so many people everywhere, he couldn't do it, he should just go back to the Realm of Darkness where it was just him and Aqua and no one stared at him like that, like he was still a monster—

He burst into the bathroom, locked himself in a stall and leaned against the door. His fingers dug into his hair, trying to push down the Unversed screaming inside him. Why, why were they still there, always waiting for him to screw up? He'd thought his Inversed would make them easier to control. He'd thought the schism inside him might be healing. But here he was, still too dangerous to be trusted.

His defenses finally broke; Bruisers and Floods came streaming out of him. Anger and Fear. He struck them down as quickly as they appeared, hoping it would be enough. Pain laced through him at each strike, but he could handle it, should be able to handle it. If he hadn't gotten weak since returning to the Realm of Light…

Eventually the emotions were exhausted, leaving Vanitas panting and a screen of smoke hanging in the air.

"Pathetic," he muttered, shaking his head and dismissing Void Gear. "I should be able to control them by now… what's wrong with me?"

He was supposed to be good. Aqua trusted him — she loved him. He wouldn't let her down by slipping back to the person he once was.

Suddenly he heard the bathroom door open, followed by a tentative voice.

"Vanitas?"

His voice. Sora's voice. Why was he here? If anyone was going to find him, he'd expected it to be Aqua.

He kept his mouth shut. What was he supposed to say? Sorry for running off like a moron? He had no idea what kind of excuse Aqua had made up for him. His face heated; he shouldn't have left her in that position, having to clean up his mistakes.

"Hey, uh… your food's gonna get cold," Sora added. Vanitas almost laughed. It sounded like such a stupid thing to worry about now, but he didn't want good food to go to waste either.

"Don't worry about it. I'll be there in a second," he said as evenly as he could.

"Okay… do you need anything? I've got some potions if you—"

"I'm fine," he said, harsher than he meant. He blinked, realizing a Flood had snuck out with his outburst. "Get back here!"

"Huh? I can stay if you want."

"No, not you," he huffed, diving under the stall to chase after the wayward Flood.

Sora shouted when the Flood escaped Vanitas and reared up at him. "Heartless?"

His Keyblade was out and striking down the Unversed before Vanitas could scramble out from under the last stall. A twinge in his heart signaled the Fear returning to him.

"What was that? Did you follow that thing in here?" Sora asked as Vanitas cursed and brushed himself off.

"Not exactly," he said with a sigh. Was there any point in lying about it? Sora and the others would find out sooner or later. As much as he tried, he couldn't control his Unversed one hundred percent of the time, not matter how much stronger he got. He'd have better luck ripping out his heart altogether.

"They're not Heartless. They're Unversed," he explained while taking a seat on one of the fancy bathroom benches. He didn't know why a bathroom would normally need places to sit, but it came in handy now. "Your two friends probably remember them, if they remember me. They're— they come from my emotions."

"Your… emotions?" Sora asked, sitting down next to him. He scooted as far away as the bench allowed.

"Yeah. It's a long story. Usually I can control them, but sometimes…" He shook his head, his bangs falling into his eyes. It had been so much easier to explain this to Isa and Lea; they both had histories with the darkness themselves. But Sora? He was about as light as they came. How could he understand?

"I think I get it," Sora said though, making him look up in surprise. Even more strange was the pensive look on his face, the small frown and worried brow. "Sometimes it just happens, and you can't stop it. And you're afraid you're going to hurt someone you care about, so you try to hold it, but sometimes, that's just not enough."

"...How would you know that?" Vanitas asked. Sora smiled, though it didn't reach his eyes.

"I told you I got turned into a Heartless once, right?"

"Yeah…?"

"Kairi saved me, but there were still some… side-effects. The darkness used to come back sometimes while I was fighting, turning me into a… well. We just called it Anti Form. It was… it was terrifying," he finished in a whisper before shaking his head. "But this isn't about me. Sorry."

"Geez, you're gonna be one of those id— people who apologizes all the time too, aren't you," Vanitas forced a grin. "I'm glad you told me. Here I thought you were a perfect shiny kid just like Ventus."

"Heh. I'm far from perfect, but I do my best. I just don't want to let my friends down."

"You won't," he said firmly. He'd only known Sora for a few hours, but his determination was obvious. "It's okay to have darkness in you, too. Trust me. Even Aqua learned that when we were in the Realm of Darkness, and she was as light as you."

"I know it's okay, it's just… scary." He chuckled, placing a hand over his heart. "And now I don't become the same monster I used to, but I get so — so angry. And afraid… I almost lost to Xehanort before. My best friend had to save me, but I almost..."

"They almost got you too, huh," Vanitas realized. "Just like they wanted Aqua." And me, he didn't say.

"...Yeah," Sora admitted. "I was too weak to stop him…"

"Shut up," Vanitas said, making Sora look up sharply. "Aqua said the same thing, and you're both wrong. Xehanort's not the kind of guy anyone can face on their own. That doesn't make you weak."

"You're right… I don't have to do it on my own." He smiled a little, gripping the crown hanging from a chain around his neck. "And for the record, you're not weak either. For not being able to control your emotions, I mean."

Vanitas let out a low laugh. "You really think so?"

"I do think so. It can't be a bad thing to feel, right? And you're not alone, either. Even if you make a thousand monsters, we'll be right here to help you clean them up." Sora grinned. Maybe that didn't fix the real problem, but Vanitas guessed it was nice of him to try.

"Good luck with that. My Unversed aren't pushovers." He smiled back, showing a little bit of teeth.

"Well I'm no pushover either!" Sora laughed and stood, extending a hand to Vanitas, who stood without taking it. Maybe he should have, though. It was the kind of gesture a friend would give.

"Anyway. That's enough sharing for one day. Let's get back before our food gets really cold."

When they left the bathroom, though, Aqua was hovering close to the door. Her eyes were wide with worry; had she been waiting here this whole time? Her food must be cold, too. He'd have to make it up to her.

"Van? Are you…"

He cupped her face and stretched up, kissing her firmly on the lips.

"Perfectly fine, Aqua. I'll talk to you about it later, okay?"

"...Okay," she said, face red as she glanced at Sora out of the corner of her eyes. The other boy was just standing there with a wide, stupid grin on his face.

"What are you looking at?" Vanitas challenged, another Flood threatening to escape. There was something wrong with him today, alright. But he could handle it long enough to finish their dinner.

"N-nothing!" Sora raised his hands before putting them behind his head. Aqua chuckled and led them back to the booth, where Donald and Goofy had nearly finished their meals. They both looked a little abashed upon seeing Vanitas. Their eyes fell back to their half-empty plates, but they didn't move to eat.

Great. So even after talking with Sora, everything was still going to be awkward.

You signed up for this, he reminded himself. The minute you committed to turning towards the light, you knew what it would be like. Then again, back then he'd only expected to deal with Terra and Ventus… which bound to be an even bigger mess.

But it was okay. He was strong, and he wasn't alone. He could handle it.

He dug back into his food, which wasn't as cold as he'd feared. For a while the only sounds were their chewing and the faint instrumental music that permeated the restaurant. Then Sora got talking with Donald and Goofy about something to break the awkward silence.

"Can I try some of that, Van?" Aqua asked, pointing her fork at his beef stew.

"Only if I can take a bite of yours." He smiled back, thankful that she didn't seem upset with him. He'd still apologize later, and maybe she could help him figure out what was wrong with his Unversed. Better not to worry about it now, though; that would only make the monsters more likely to appear.

Aqua's meal was some kind of mushroom loaf — it didn't actually look that tasty, but Vanitas wasn't picky. He reached over and took a big chunk out with his fork while Aqua scooped some of his food onto her plate.

"...It's cold," he said after swallowing the strange-textured food. "Sorry."

"Don't worry, it's a terrine," she answered. "They're usually served cold."

"Oh. Weird." He shrugged and stole another bite.

"You two sure are close, a-hyuck," Goofy said. He certainly seemed in a better mood than he had earlier, when he'd almost accused Vanitas of— the things he'd done. The things he shouldn't have tried to hide in the first place. Was he going to have to spill his guts to everyone he met, just to keep them from bringing up his past?

"Vanitas is my boyfriend," Aqua said with a bright grin — but her eyes narrowed, as if daring Goofy or Donald to challenge her. Vanitas's heart pounded; she looked so good when she was ready to fight.

The duck and dog shared a look of surprise, but Sora was the one who spoke up.

"Must be nice, getting to go on adventures together," he said wistfully, either ignoring or not noticing the tension.

"It is," Aqua replied. "We're actually looking for somewhere to stay for a while, though."

"Adventuring's great and all, but it would be nice to have a bed for once in my life," Vanitas added, his fear slowly draining. It didn't matter what anyone else thought, as long as Aqua was with him. Though it was nice that Sora seemed to trust him too.

"We'll still be helping fight the Organization, but we just need a break after the Realm of Darkness and… everything. Just for a little while."

"Oh, yeah, I get it." Sora nodded. His voice was quiet, respectful. "I was there once, in the Realm of Darkness. I can't imagine being trapped there for as long as you guys were."

Vanitas shrugged. "Could've been worse. Could still be there now."

That was a thought that still came to him sometimes, usually when he was alone and trying to sleep. When they spent the night in inns and didn't share a room, when he had no other noise to comfort him besides his own breathing, he imagined he could hear it. The Dark Wind, whispering in his ears, threatening to take Aqua away from him again, threatening to drag him back into the darkness…

He pushed down the Floods that threatened to sprout between his shoulder blades. He wasn't in the Realm of Darkness. Aqua wasn't gone. Everything was fine; why were his Unversed so touchy today?

Why am I so touchy?

Noticing his discomfort, Aqua steered the conversation away from them – asking about Sora's travels, what he'd learned in Olympus, if he'd ever met someone named Zack. Vanitas didn't know who that was; he'd have to ask later. Sora was eager to talk about his time training with Herc – apparently he'd learned how to run up walls and summon amusement park rides out of nowhere. The other boy had to be making that up, but Donald and Goofy didn't call him out on it.

Eventually all of their plates were clear – they'd all been too hungry to leave leftovers. Too bad; Vanitas would've snatched any food that had been left. Hayner came back to take their munny for the meal, which was way too expensive if you asked Vanitas, but that was about what you could expect from Scrooge. If one dinner was this much, how long would he have to work to pay off the destruction his Unversed had caused?

"So, do you need us to go to Ventus now?" Sora rubbed the back of his neck as they left the Bistrot. "Cause I kinda… might have promised Hayner I'd stick around for at least tonight."

"Sora!" Donald squawked at him. "We don't have time to play!"

"Hey, this isn't just for fun! He said Pence might have a lead on Roxas. Something suspicious going on around the Old Mansion. It makes sense to check that out before we go."

"He's got a point there, Donald," Goofy chimed in before turning to Aqua. "We're sorry about Veggie–"

"Ventus!" Donald corrected.

"Uh, right," Goofy chuckled. "We're gonna help him as soon as we can!"

"It's alright." Aqua smiled. "Lea will be glad to hear you're working on saving Roxas. We can wait a little bit longer."

Inwardly, Vanitas breathed a sigh of relief. With the way his emotions were running today, he could only imagine what would happen when he woke Ventus up. The last thing he wanted to do was accidentally sic a horde of Unversed on his brother.

"Thanks," Sora said to Aqua. "We're gonna check out the town while we wait for Hayner, Pence, and Olette to get off work, you guys wanna join us?"

Vanitas and Aqua shared a look. He frowned slightly, wishing he could show her what was going on with his Unversed. She must have gotten the message well enough though, because she shook her head.

"Thanks, but I think we've got something we need to take care of," she said vaguely. "We can meet you three back here tomorrow morning, if that's alright?"

"I don't know what Hayner's plans are…" Sora tapped his chin. "Can we just give you a call when we're done? That might be easier."

"Call?" Vanitas frowned. "That's dumb. Why would you yell for us when we could just meet here?"

"No, not like that," Sora laughed. "See, Donald? I'm not the only one who doesn't know how to call people!"

"They've been in the Realm of Darkness for twelve years; what's your excuse?" Donald snapped back, crossing his arms. "So Chip and Dale didn't give you two a gummiphone?"

"I don't think so." Aqua frowned. "What's a gummiphone?"

"This!" Sora pulled a rectangular device out of his pocket, grinning proudly. "Ta-da!"

Vanitas crossed his arms. "What, am I supposed to be impressed by some kind of brick?"

"It's not a brick, it's a… okay, I don't really know what it is. Or how it works," Sora admitted, ruffling his hair. "But it lets you see people and talk to them even when you're really far away!"

"Really?" Aqua asked, stepping closer to peer at the device. "That would have come in handy when Terra, Ven, and I were travelling."

"It's pretty nice. But not very useful if you don't have one too, huh…" Sora frowned for a moment before lighting back up. Vanitas wondered if he'd ever get used to that unbridled excitement on his face. "I know! Chip and Dale left us a spare in the gummi ship, right?"

"Yeah, but that's in case you break yours," Donald said. Sora waved a hand.

"Pff, I'll be fine! They need it more than we do. Hold on, I'll be right back!"

With that, Sora ran off up the street towards the clocktower.

"Sora!" Donald called after him, his webbed feet running frantically to catch up.

"Wait for us!" Goofy ran after them.

Aqua laughed, and soon Vanitas joined in.

"Sora's something else," he said. "I get why everyone around here is so crazy about him."

"Why, because he shares your good looks?" Aqua surprised him with a smirk.

"Hey, you better not be getting any ideas," Vanitas jabbed a finger at her side, and she jerked away laughing from the tickling sensation.

"You're cute when you're jealous," she teased back.

"Jealous?" He faked offense. "He might share my handsome face, but I've got his scrawny muscles beat any day of the week."

"I'll give you that one," she said, face heating as she wrapped an arm around his waist and steered them closer to the side of the building, where there were less staring bystanders enjoying the cool evening. "What were you actually going to say about him, though?"

"Oh." His face flushed too at the memory. "It was so weird. He's got so much light, I can smell it coming off him in waves. But he wasn't afraid of my Unversed. And this might sound crazy, but I think he actually understood me. He told me about his problems with darkness too, and… we didn't sound too different."

He looked down at his open palms. Hands that bore scars from "trainings" with Xehanort and calluses from wielding Void Gear. Hands that Aqua took in hers, rubbing softly with her thumbs.

"You really opened up to him, didn't you." She smiled.

"I guess so." He shrugged. "Weird, huh. Never thought I'd make friends with my clone, but you were right. He really does know how to talk to anyone."

"Well I'm glad. I talked to Donald and Goofy while you were gone too — well, maybe talked is the wrong word…" She looked away sheepishly.

"What happened?"

"I, um, might have threatened Donald to shut his big mouth. Just a little."

"Aqua!" He cackled, squeezing her hands tighter. "You should've waited until I was there to see it!"

"It's not like I planned it ahead of time," she huffed, looking even more embarrassed now. "I feel bad, really. He didn't know what he was talking about. But, I think they know better than to talk bad about my boyfriend now."

"I'm sure they do." He looked away. "I guess he was just telling the truth, though. I did hurt people back then."

"But you wouldn't now. You're already doing so much to make up for it."

"That's actually what I'm worried about, though." He let go of her hands. "You're right. I don't want to hurt people anymore — except Xehanort, anyway. But my Unversed…" He shook his head. "That's why I ran out. It's been harder for me to control them today…"

"Everyone has bad days sometimes, Van. It's alright."

"But what if it's not just a bad day?" He asked, looking up with wide eyes. "What if I'm just — what if I'm getting worse?"

"...Do you think you're getting worse?" She asked softly. He thought about that question before answering. What had he done lately? Had he done anything bad on purpose? He'd been training with his dark attacks as usual, but so had Aqua. They both trained with darkness and light now, and so far it had been working out for them.

"I… I don't know why I would be…"

She stepped closer, running her hand soothingly through his hair. His shoulders relaxed, and he exhaled deeply.

"I think you're doing great, Van. You've had a long day, between going to Isa's, and being honest with me, and seeing Ven, and coming here — you've dealt with so many people. That's hard even when you don't have emotions literally coming out of you."

"Yeah…" He leaned into her shoulder, absorbing her soft, clean scent. Her arms moved to his back, caressing him gently.

"You've never talked to so many people in one day, have you?"

"I… guess not…"

"Unless you think there's something more to it, I bet that's what it is. Your emotions have been pulled in all sorts of directions. I bet if I could make Unversed I'd be having trouble with them today, too."

"Really?"

She nodded, which he felt more than saw. "It was really hard for me to be around people when I first got back to the Realm of Light. Be patient with yourself. You're already doing so much."

He wasn't sure if he believed that; he wasn't doing anything special. But considering who he used to be… maybe he could be a little more patient, as impatient as he usually was.

"Thank you, Aqua." He smiled into her shoulder. She brushed her lips against his cheek, and –

"Ach, is this a bad time?"

Aqua pulled back suddenly, leaving Vanitas to nearly topple forward. He scowled and grumbled to himself while Scrooge chuckled.

"What do you want?" He asked abrasively. Probably a bad idea, considering he already owed the duck, but still. Couldn't he see that they were busy?

"Well." Scrooge straightened his hat with one hand; the other held something behind his back. "I meant to catch ye 'afore you left. Little Chef has something he'd like to give ye."

He held out the object he'd been hiding, a white cardboard box. Vanitas didn't waste any time in opening it. His face split into a grin when he saw what was inside.

"A cake?" His cheeks reddened – he'd practically sounded like Sora, with how excited he was about the dessert, but he couldn't help it. He hadn't had cake in – in forever.

"Aww, that was sweet of him," Aqua said.

"Says the one who thought he was just a stupid rat." Vanitas grinned teasingly, and she stuck her tongue out at him.

"He wanted to say thanks for helping him," Scrooge explained. "Oh, and it's not a cake. It's actually a tarte aux fruits."

Vanitas frowned, raising an eyebrow. "A tarta-what now?"

"A tarte– oh, nevermind. You'll have time to learn the names once you start cooking with Little Chef."

"Once I– what?" The only "cooking" he'd ever done was when he caught marshmallows on fire back in the Realm of Darkness, if that even counted.

"I'm sorry, but I don't think Van has ever cooked in his life," Aqua echoed his thoughts.

"She's got a point. Look, I'm sure you think this is a good way for me to pay you back, but I'd probably just catch the kitchen on fire."

Scrooge chuckled. "Ach, dinna worry! Little Chef can fix ye up in a jiffy! Why don'tcha come back tomorrow and ye can get started?"

"Tomorrow?" Vanitas balked. A Flood of surprise nearly popped out of him, but he reigned it in just in time. Maybe Aqua was right about the social interaction wearing him out.

"We're actually busy tomorrow," Aqua quickly interjected. Good, because Vanitas probably would've said something he'd regret. They were working on saving Aqua's friends, getting ready to kick Xehanort's butt – he didn't have time to get roped into working at a restaurant. Sure, he and Aqua would like a break for a while, but cooking at a restaurant wasn't exactly what he had in mind. He could just imagine it – getting yelled at by the duck for skipping work to fight off a Heartless or one of the Xehanorts. It was such a stupid thought that he almost laughed.

"Ach, fine, fine," Scrooge finally waved them off. "But next time you're in town, I expect to see you here! Ye do owe me, lad!"

"Right…" Vanitas sighed. It was times like this that he missed being unapologetically dark. Hearts of darkness didn't get roped into cooking for greedy business tycoons.

"You better not be bothering them, Uncle Scrooge!" Donald's voice carried from across the street. Sora reached them before he did, still running at a breakneck pace.

"Whew. Man, I miss the skateboards," Sora huffed with his hands on his knees. "Here!"

He shoved another one of those "gummiphones" at Vanitas, who almost fumbled the cake before catching the phone on top of its box.

"Sheesh, do you ever slow down?" He shook his head. There was just so much going on, so many people — his Unversed began to bubble beneath his skin again.

"Not usually," Goofy said with a chuckle.

"I just didn't want to keep you waiting!" Sora grinned. "But now we can get ahold of you tomorrow. Unless you changed your mind and want to come along tonight?"

"Pass," Vanitas deadpanned, too exhausted to sound nice about it.

"We'll see you tomorrow," Aqua said with an apologetic smile.

"Oh – okay then!" Sora still looked cheery as ever. "See ya!"

Goofy pulled Donald away from Scrooge mid-rant. Vanitas hadn't been paying attention to the ducks, but he thought he caught something about Aqua in there. Too many voices to listen to…

"Van?" Aqua shook him slightly, and a Flood bolted out of him.

"Sorry," he said quickly, grabbing and reabsorbing it before it could get far.

"You don't have to apologize," she said, taking his hand. Thankfully Sora, Donald, and Goofy were already gone; they must have left in the few seconds he'd spaced out. Scrooge was still there, though, for some reason. The duck cleared his throat before Aqua could finish what she was saying.

"Er… I normally wouldn't offer, but me nephew says you two are important to all their world-savin' business. If ye need a place to stay, I've got a couple rooms above the Bistrot. They still need quite the renovation, but the lights and water are up and running."

"Really?" Aqua asked. "How much will it cost us to stay the night?"

Scrooge murmured something under his breath.

"Can't hear you," Vanitas said.

"Free of charge," he said louder, though he didn't sound happy about it. "Courtesy of me nephew. As long as I don't see any more damage from you, that is."

"You won't," Vanitas promised. Too rashly, probably, but a free indoor place to stay was hard to come by. He could hardly believe Donald of all people had paid for it. Aqua really must have torn into him while Vanitas was gone.

"Thank you so much." Aqua smiled. "Is it alright if we go up now, Mister Scrooge?"

"Ah, please, lass! Just Scrooge is fine. Come along, it's right through the restaurant."