Was it on Christmas?

Vanitas's family was having a dumb Christmas dinner, with dumb uncles, aunts and cousins from his father's side. Actually, Vanitas didn't really hate them - but they weren't really interesting either. So when he heard some help was required somewhere, he didn't even think twice, and signed up. His father had started to get angry, but his mother had pointed out that he was doing something good and shouldn't be blamed for that.

They were in a school gym, providing some beds and food for people in need. They even had a christmas tree with presents for kids. Vanitas was serving some soup (remember to smile, the others said, but he didn't), looking around. There weren't enough volunteers. It was hard to find someone willing to sacrifice their Christmas evening, after all. He couldn't blame them. He was selfish enough most of the time to understand them. But still, a few more hands would be welcome.

"We're getting a few more people to help, just got them on the phone" one of the volunteers said, and he grunted. Good. Even inside the gym, it wasn't exactly warm, and he could see people shivering. They were running out of blankets already. The soup was going from hot to barely warm too quickly. If there was a proof there was no Santa, it would be that : spoiled kids getting toys they would get tired of within a week when people here were just trying to get something warm on this cold night.

Someone opened the door, letting a cold gust of wind through. Vanitas was about to yell at them when he realised these were five more volunteers, all with their arms full of blankets, pillows, and other things they needed. Leaving the soup to his colleagues, he went to help.

"Here, let me take some," he said to one of them, holding a pile of blankets so high he couldn't even see the face behind them. He took half of the pile.

"Thanks," she said, and even though the door was closed, he could still feel the cold freeze his bones. It had been nearly six months since he last saw her, since he last talked to her. Six months since that stupid prom he left. And yet she smiled at him as if nothing had happened. "Oh, hello Vanitas. I'm surprised to see you there!"

He snorted. "I'm sure you're wondering which side I'm on. Am I the homeless guy or the good guy tonight?" Smirking, he winked. "Let me give you a hint: I'm never the good guy."

She sighed, but didn't lose her smile, as they started handing out the blankets. "Stop making yourself the villain, will you? It doesn't work well when you're volunteering on Christmas night"

"What about you, though? Didn't you have plans for Christmas or something? No date with Terra?" If only he didn't sound that bitter. But it was obvious who she was supposed to spend the night with. She looked prettier than usual, there was no denying it. Delicate makeup, pretty jewelry, a cocktail dress, this wasn't the outfit of someone planning to spend the night serving some soup. Her smile faded.

"It's okay. They needed help. Terra will understand."

"You haven't told him yet? You ditched him?"

"Of course not! He knows, why wouldn't I tell him?"

"Then you meant Terra understands, right?"

She looked away. "He will understand. I'm sure of that."

The thought of Terra being angry made Vanitas happy. The thought of Terra angry at Aqua, a little bit less, though.

"For now, let's focus on this evening, shall we? We've got people to help. They deserve a happy christmas."

Once they were done with the blankets, Vanitas returned to serving food, while Aqua sat down to read fairytales to the younger ones. She looked really happy. Shining. Gleaming. He glanced at their christmas tree, where someone hung a little angel. It had golden hair, and Vanitas shook his head. He was certain the colour was wrong. Angels weren't regular human beings. They should have out of the ordinary hair colour. Something like… Something like the colour of the sky. Or of the ocean.

"If you drool in the soup I'll kick you out," teased Tiana, one of his colleagues, and Vanitas forced himself to look somewhere else.

"Your girlfriend?" she asked with a smile. He shook his head.

"Not in a million years."

She chuckled. "Because you don't like her or because you think she doesn't like you? Because I can promise you she looked quite a few times in your direction already."

"Mind your own business," he groaned, and she just laughed, leaving him alone.

Time flew, and they were done with the food. Some more volunteers showed up, as some left. Tiana, taking her coat, told Vanitas he was free to go, that they now had enough people anyway, but he didn't want to go home. Instead, he took a break, taking some fresh air. The night was dark, the wind cold and invigorating. It was a pleasant night. He quickly checked his phone. Ven had texted him. "This is so boring without you. They're all talking adult stuff. Come back, please?" He laughed. There was no way he'd come back home now.

"Not going home?" He turned around to see Aqua, back in her warm coat, leaning against the wall. She was staring at the sky.

"Not yet. They still might need some help. You never know."

She softly chuckled, finally looking at him. "See? I told you there was no point in pretending you were a villain."

"Oh, shut up and go back with Terra already." He regretted it as soon as the words were out. He had not even wanted to sound aggressive, but the timing was wrong. He could see it on her face. Her shoulders had collapsed, instead of looking at the stars, or at him, she was now staring at the ground.

"He doesn't always understand how important this all is to me. But it's fine. I'll see him tomorrow and he will have forgiven me. We'll have lunch together, and things will be back to normal."

Until next time, Vanitas thought, but managed to keep for himself. "You made one guy unhappy, but you brought a smile to so many more faces. Surely that counts for something, right?" he instead offered, and it brought a smile to her face as well.

"You're right. Christmas is important to everyone. I'm glad I get to spend some time here."

He nodded, and for a moment, they said nothing at all. He was starting to get a bit cold, but he didn't want to ruin this moment. He was selfish, after all.

"Ven told me you are a college student now?" She was the one to break that silence. But only to talk about him. He closed his eyes. That meant nothing. To her, he was just a lost cause she'd try to help. Nothing else.

"Yeah. Turns out our local university took late admissions. I'm not hoping to be a vet, I don't have what it takes to finish these classes, but maybe I can be an assistant or something."

"Working with animals, then? So you found your path, didn't you?"

"Yeah." He looked at her. "Thanks to you." Did she just blush? He wasn't sure. He probably imagined it. He must have, given she was now simply gently smiling.

"I'm happy to know I could have helped somehow. I think I owe you an apology, don't I?"

"What for?" He was genuinely surprised. He failed to see what she could apologize for.

"That night, at the prom… I hurt your feelings, didn't I?"

He gasped. Was it that easy to read though him?

"I'm sorry. I didn't want to sound like I was rejecting you. I wanted to be able to help you, somehow… But I had no idea what to do. I had no solution to offer. I felt so helpless. I'm sorry if you felt like I was letting you down, Vanitas. And I'm sorry it took this long to apologize."

So that was what she was talking about. He relaxed. It was true that he was pretty angry back then - but had that not happened, he might be on the other side of these bowl of soups tonight.

"That actually was the kick I needed, you know. The one no one dared give me." He grinned at her. "You were right. I couldn't just wait and watch my life happen without me. Uni feels better than high school, so I don't quite regret it yet. And I should apologize too, I guess…" He winced. "You know, about that vodka I poured in the juice."

She furrowed her brows. "You're apologizing, but are you sorry about it?"

"... No." But instead of looking angry, she just laughed.

"The first person to try the juice was Ven, actually. He reported that to me right away, so no harm was done. We never told anyone. Your secret is safe." She winked at him, and he felt his heart miss a beat.

"Let's go back inside, shall we? It's almost midnight." She shivered in her coat. In the distance, they could hear the bells chiming.

"Aqua?"

She looked at him. She was looking gorgeous tonight.

He wondered when was the day he realised how much she mattered. Did he just notice it now? Or had he known for a long while?

It didn't matter. She was with Terra. The two of them were made to be with each other anyway. That was what everyone said. Vanitas was a selfish brat, but he knew when things he wanted just weren't for him. That was fine. Painful, but fine.

He smiled, and gently put a kiss on her cheek.

"Merry Christmas."

It didn't matter when he fell for her.

All that mattered is that he had.

Even if they weren't meant to be, that was the one thing he wouldn't regret.

The selfish boy would cherish these feelings for ever.

The End

Merry Christmas! I would have loved this fic to have more chapters (although I was starting to lack ideas haha) but I wanted it to be somehow canon with Dreaming Alone, so it wouldn't make sense!
Anyway, here is my annual Christmas fic. Some Vanqua this year!

I wish you all a wonderful end of 2018! If you celebrate Christmas, I hope Santa brought you nice stuff! (guess who's going to finally play 0.2 for the 1st time of her life?)