There it iiiis! This chapter was on my mind for a very long time, but I couldn't just throw it in without having several chapters before. It's also a chapter that I'm really nervous to post because it is much more serious than the other ones, so I hope you will still enjoy ;A;

Was it that night, in their very own house?

It had been a lousy day, and the only way to complete a lousy day was with a lousy evening.

Vanitas had learnt how to smell trouble even before stepping into his house. Right now, even the front door smelled troubles. Vanitas tended to sort troubles into two categories : the ones he was looking for, and the ones he was running from. Funnily, these two categories were deeply connected, each one of them leading to the other one. Getting into troubles on purpose to run from unwanted troubles. Getting into unwanted troubles for running into troubles on purpose.

He just got back from wanted troubles. He had spent his day at the arcade, and it had not even been fun. He lost every game, spent too much money for too little fun. His usual booze shop was closed, no other store would accept to sell alcohol to a minor, even if he paid more. The burger he had for lunch was cold. It was raining, and he was cold. Pissed from this day, he provoked random guys on the streets until one finally agreed to exchange some punches. At least that was fun, and worth his lip cut, black eye and painful ribs. That was worth running away from the cops for almost an hour, hiding, out of breath, in a house whose owner had forgotten to lock. That was worth the disgusting cookies he had stolen from a jar in the said house and which gross taste he could still feel on his tongue. That was worth it, because he had chosen these troubles.

The front door smelled like troubles he did not want.

Now, what was the best way to avoid these troubles? There still was the running away solution, but it was raining, and he wanted fresh, dry clothes. There was no star to watch tonight. He'd rather have a roof above his head than dark clouds. That left him with the second option - good thing he was a good climber.

He walked around the house. Lucky him: there was some light in Ven's room. Vanitas took a few steps back before running fast, jumping on the bin and grabbing the edge of his brother's window. After years of running from the police, parkour was a second nature to him. He grunted, trying to pull himself up. The rain didn't help, though, and it was incredibly slippery. Lousy day till the end, he thought as he felt his body falling. It probably couldn't get worse anyway - at least, so he thought until two hands grabbed his wrists, stopping his fall and pulling him to the safety of the room.

If one of the hands belonged to Ven - When did he get so strong, though? thought Vanitas, staring at his brother as if he just realised his twin wasn't 7 anymore - the other one was less pleasant.

"I'm surprised you did not let me fall, Terra. That would have sounded much more like you." Falling suddenly felt like a better solution than being saved by his brother's dumb friend, Terra. He was one of the persons Vanitas disliked the most, his frown always disapproving all that Van said or did. Today was no different.

"That's the difference between the two of us, Vanitas. I can put my own judgement aside to help those who matters to the ones mattering to me."

"That quite a long sentence." Vanitas whistled. "Did you have it prepared in the corner of your brain? I doubt you could pull that out with that much spontaneity."

"Your face… Did you get into troubles again?" Aqua's soft voice interrupted them. She didn't sound angry, or worried. Maybe a bit annoyed. He could feel the judgement in her voice, in her eyes - judgement that he hated when it came from Terra, and yet that almost made him feel ashamed when coming from her. He smirked. She had no idea.

"What can I say? Being a superhero is a tough job. Our city can rest, now, for I defeated evil."

A wide variety of reactions followed his words. Terra groaned, as if he was ready to leap on him and kill him. Aqua rolled her eyes, unamused. Ventus did his best to cover his smile, used to his brother's actions and not really worrying much.

"You should get changed, you'll catch a cold." Aqua sighed, staring at Vanitas. Terra groaned another time - Vanitas wondered if that was his usual way of speaking. That would explain a lot.

Vanitas chuckled, and removed his soaking wet shirt, throwing it at Terra's face while leaving the room. He heard some very interesting insults, accompanied by a laugh a bit too high-pitched to be Ven's, and his grin grew wider as he entered his own room, carefully closing the door.

"Where were you?"

He jumped at the voice behind him. He had been back for five minutes top, extra careful not to make a sound, and yet they had found him. They? The unwanted troubles.

"Where do you think I were?" He answered, shrugging, not raising his eyes from his PSP. He was so close to beat that boss…

"Vanitas, the school called." Of course, her voice was softer than his. He was used to it. Daddy being angry and yelling, Mommy being sad and worried. He sighed.

"They did? Next time they do, tell them I said hi."

"This isn't fun, Vanitas. When were you going to tell us?"

"Dad, I don't like charades. If you want to say something, say it, then get over it." He was almost tempted to pause his game to see his father's face. He could picture it really well, though, having witnessed it over and over. His skin slowly turning red, veins popping at his temples. Very anime-like. Meanwhile, his mother would get paler and paler, as if his father was stealing her own blood.

"I'm talking about you getting expelled, you ungrateful son. Your mother and I are working so hard to make sure you both have all that you need, and all you do is… What exactly? What are you doing of your days? Let me guess, getting drunk? Doing drugs?"

"Wow. That's a very cliché way of seeing teenagers." Vanitas snorted, although this wasn't technically too wrong. "What if I did? What would you do? I doubt you can get any more disappointed anyway, now, can you?"

"Vanitas, don't speak to us that -"

"How dare you?" His father interrupted his mother, and that felt ruder to Vanitas than anything himself could have said or done. "Do you have any idea what you're putting us through every time you run away? Every time you come back with your face bruised? Do you know how many times we thought the police would bang on this door to come and get you?"

The house was silent, Vanitas realised. Way too silent. Ven's room was on the other side of this paper-thin wall, and he had two friends with him. Vanitas tried to imagine what faces they were pulling right now. Ven's sorry face. Aqua's shocked face. Terra's victorious face.

"I don't want the police to show up to tell us something happened to you." His mother said. Vanitas disliked making her unhappy. She was a very kind woman, and Ven had inherited all of her good traits. However, she never really stood for him either when his father was letting all of his anger out. She was there to soothe the pain away afterwards, but in the middle of a fight, she was pretty useless. Never would she raise her voice.

"Then there's no need to worry. I run too fast for the police to catch me, and I never carry my ID around, so they'll never find the house." He smirked, knowing already he had gone too far. His father snatched the console from his hands and threw it away. Van barely even reacted. He would have to redo that boss fight, which was troublesome, but he'd live through it.

"Get out of my house. Now." Blood froze in his veins. That was the first time he felt that much anger in his father's voice. The first time A lot of troubles sounded so close to too much troubles. "You heard me. You are a constant disappointment. Never once you've done anything right. At least your brother is there to balance things out."

That was when Vanitas's careless mask broke. He jumped on his feet, almost ready to punch his father. He wanted him to leave? Fine. He would. He never felt home here anyway. But if there was one thing he would never let his father say, it would be anything about Ven.

"Enough. Both of you."

This should have been his mother. This should have been her role. This could have been Ventus. This could have been something he'd do. But it was neither of them. It was a calm, and yet firm feminine voice. A voice that wouldn't take no as an answer. A voice that incited him not to land that punch.

"Stay out of this. This is none of your business." Was he angry at her, or only trying to protect her? He didn't know. It was true that his father really liked Aqua and Terra, and if she stepped in this fight, this could change. But it had mostly nothing to do with her.

"It is my business, because I am Ventus's friend, and this is wearing on him. Now there's a few things that I'd like to say, whether you like them or not. And I'll start with you, Vanitas."

He glared at her. Her usually warm blue eyes looked dead cold tonight. Still, he could feel something else… Softness? He probably was imagining it. He crossed his arms, waiting.

"Your parents love you, and they worry about you. I'd like you to never doubt that. Ventus loves you and worries too. Can't you see that? Can't you see that all they want is for you to find your way to be happy? You dropped off school, but maybe that's just not what you needed. There is something, out there, that you can do, a job that you will love. You don't have to feel like you have to get a degree to succeed in life. There are plenty of things you can do. Plenty of things much healthier than the life you're trying to convince yourself you enjoy. Remember when you told me all these things you did for Ven? For once, I'd like you to do them for yourself. Give yourself more credit. There is a place for you out there. And if you need help finding it, I can help."

Vanitas did his best to still look angry, but there was something in her voice that took all the anger away. He was just tired. So tired. He wanted to believe her, even though he knew that the world had no place for someone like him.

"As for you, Sir…" She turned to his father, and this time he was sure it wasn't his imagination. The softness in her eyes was gone. She now fully looked like a primary school teacher lecturing a disobedient kid. "I don't even know where to start. This is not my job to tell you how to raise your child, so feel free to ignore what I'm about to say, but I really hope this will sink in." She took a deep breathe, and Vanitas realised her hands were shaking. She was probably gathering a lot of courage to speak up. She was standing by the door, and neither Ven or Terra were there. Vanitas thought about Ven, probably curled in his bed, hands covering his ears, Terra by his side to comfort him. None of this was fair for him.

"You love your children. I know that, I can see that, but you are doing a really poor job at showing them. I've met parents like you before. You think that by pointing out what Ven's doing right, Vanitas will follow the same path. Don't. Don't ever compare your children. They aren't one entity with a single mind and a single heart, they are two people liking and disliking different things. Ventus likes hot chocolate, meeting new people and windy days. Vanitas likes his coffee with a lot of sugar, staying with a small group of people or being on his own and clear nights. They are not the same person. And they are not you. You can't expect them to follow the same path - or to follow your path. Let them be who they want to. Support them. Listen to them. Be ready to help them when they need you. Don't force them into a silly competition based on your own criterias of success. You are hurting them both. Home is a place where you should feel safe, and I think the reason Vanitas ran away so much, and talked so little was because he did not feel safe." She paused, and for a second, she looked really sad. She quickly regained her composure, a smile drawn on her lips. "A family is something too precious to lose. Take care of it."

Surprisingly, it was his mother who answered. That was unexpected from her. "Aqua's right. Just how much have we ruined… Vanitas, I'm sorry. I thought that giving you your own space would be the solution. Your father thought that guiding you would be the solution. And we both were incredibly wrong. We were not there as much as we should have, were we? But no one is to leave this house today. This will always be your home, and no one will kick you out." She slid an angry look at her husband, and it was probably the first time Vanitas ever saw her looking at his father that way. "I would love that you'd talk more to us. And we will listen. No more hasty conclusions. Okay?"

Vanitas looked at his father. He did not want compromises from his mother. She wasn't the one he was blaming. His father grunted. "I guess we both went too far. Fine. I'm sorry. I won't compare you to Ventus anymore or insist that having a degree is important. But this is all under conditions."

Vanitas gritted his teeth. His father wasn't even trying to sound sorry. But a deal might be what they both needed. What Ven and his mother needed. He waited.

"You are finishing high school. After that, live your life, but you get back to that school and you complete that year. And you are coming back home before midnight every night, unless you tell us where you are going to sleep. I don't want to smell any alcohol on you, any tobacco, anything. Do we have an agreement?"

Vanitas frowned. He actually expected worse. "Yes Sir." He wasn't dumb, and he knew that didn't mean they would suddenly have that father-son relationship they never had, but it was at least a beginning.

"Good. Now, it is late, and I am going to sleep. Good night, kids. Oh, and Aqua, you were right about something else: you have no right to tell me how to raise my kids."

"Darling…" His mother sighed, quickly excusing herself as she followed her husband. Aqua walked in, picking up Vanitas's console on the floor. He was surprised to see it was still working.

"Here. That's yours, I believe?"

"You should have stayed out of this. This was family business, and you are not part of this family. You will never be."

She chuckled. "Blame me all you want, I don't mind. Do you want to stay alone, or do you wish some company?"

For a split second, he thought she meant she would stay here, until his brain understood she meant the whole gang. He shook his head. "This is holy ground, no Terra allowed. You can check, it's written on the door." He noticed that she quickly glanced at the door and looked at the sign with an amused smile.

"I was talking about Ven, you know." He bit his tongue, pissed he had not thought of a possibility where she wasn't here. "I think he might need you more than us, actually."

Vanitas slowly nodded. It made sense. And truth was, he might need Ven a little, too. Aqua smiled, ruffling his hair as if he was 6 years old, and made her way to the door.

"I still think this wasn't your business."

"I know. You told me twice already."

"But… Thanks. For Ven."

She chuckled. "Of course. For Ven."

ALRIGHT. THIS CHAPTER NEEDS SOME AUTHOR'S NOTES

In my headcanon for this universe, the reason Van is so dark is due to his father pushing both of their kids to follow his path. Kids often get compared to their siblings (I've been in the same situation and while people don't do it with malicious intent... well, it's not a nice feeling), and that is what happened to Van. His father isn't a bad person, but he has some ideals and disapproves that his son is straying away from them. This led Vanitas to stray even more and more, and this is why he's acting so much like a jerk while caring for some people. (that doesn't excuse his behaviour, though, he's still a jerk no matter what XD)

Also friendly reminder that breaking into one's house and stealing cookie is probably a crime in your country no matter where you live so don't be Van, don't do it. With love, Captain Obvious.