Hello everyone!

Here is the next chapter!

To my guest reviewer:

lazybumnologin: Wait no more! :D

~Meeting in the Gray~

It was quiet.

And he was fine with that. Outside was too noisy. But here it was calm. Here he could think. Not that he was doing much of that anyway. His head still felt all hazy and wrong – he couldn't think straight at all. But that was fine to, he supposed. He didn't need to do much thinking here. Here he could just be. It was his heart after all.

His heart.

Hmmm…yes. That felt right.

"Wow. I knew you were in a sorry state, but this is just pathetic."

He blinked. He wanted to whirl around and confront whoever was intruding on his heart, but his body still wasn't working right, even here. Instead, his head just kind of lulled back until he could look over his shoulder.

Huh. Had that Bridge always been there? It was like a Heart, but not. With patterns made of colored glass and railings made of a soft, golden, glowing light.

And there was a boy there. Standing on the Bridge. A boy who looked a lot like him, but different. His hair was darker, but still just as messy and spiky. And his eyes. They were gold, instead of…what color were his eyes?

The boy sighed. "Jeez, you're hopeless," he said, "Your eyes are blue, idiot."

He blinked. "Oh."

"So can I come in or what?"

He blinked again and looked down at the boy's feet. He hadn't left the Bridge yet.

His brow furrowed ever so slightly as he did a sort of half shrug. "Why are you even asking?"

The boy snorted. "Cause you're still kinda screwed up from when we were separated."

At that, he finally managed to turn his body to face this strange boy. "You're my Dark," he stated matter of factly.

He didn't know why he said that. It just slipped out. But it felt right. It felt right when everything else felt wrong.

The boy stared at him, long and hard. "You remember?" he asked after a moment.

He shook his head. "No," he said softly, bringing a hand up to his chest, "But it feels right."

"Ventus." He blinked and looked up at the boy. "What do you remember?"

Ventus took a deep breath and released it slowly. "Pain," he said, "Pain and light. Too much light."

The boy nodded absently, golden eyes lost in thought.

"Do you have a name?" Ventus asked, curious. He didn't want to just keep calling him boy.

The dark boy startled and blinked. "Vanitas," he replied.

Ventus nodded slowly. "Vanitas…"

Vanitas gave a harsh sigh and marched up to him, taking his face in both hands. Of their own accord, Ventus's hands came up and locked around his wrists. For a long moment, they just stared at each other, wide eyed.

"…I think you have our Original's body," Vanitas mumbled at last.

Ventus blinked, frowning. "You're what slipped away, aren't you?" he asked, "The part that was taken."

Vanitas nodded. "Yeah. The Master split us into parts, remember? Light and Dark."

Ventus said nothing. The Master. Master Xehanort had done this? Master Xehanort was the reason he was broken?

"Hey." Hands were on his shoulders, shaking him. "Pay attention, stupid."

"He broke us…?" he murmured.

Vanitas nodded. "Yeah. He wanted us to do something, but we didn't. Or couldn't. Can't really remember which. So he broke us apart."

Ventus hummed. "But we're more now. There was…something. Something else. Another heart."

"Where ever the Master took you to get rid of you, someone there helped us," Vanitas said, "Gave us whole hearts instead of fragments."

Ventus frowned. "So you're not my Dark? And I'm not you're Light?"

The other shrugged. "Hell if I know," he replied, "I know I've got some Light in me so the Dark isn't as…Dark. Maybe you got some of it so that your Light wasn't so bright."

"Not too Light and not too Dark," Ventus said softly.

"Yep," Vanitas said, drawing away. Ventus felt the loss immediately. "Not really sure what happened, but I think you got the Original's body and I got the mind."

"Is that why everything is so blank?" he whispered.

Vanitas frowned. The expression looked harsh on his face. "…Blank?"

He shook his head. "…There's nothing. Nothing at all."

Vanitas growled, the sound dark and feral. Ventus looked up at him startled. "That asshole! Is he still with you? Has he done anything?!"

Ventus shook his head. "He was…kind," he said, face twisting at the thought. Was that why the kindness had felt so wrong? Why he didn't want any of it? How could the Master act like he wasn't the one who had caused him such pain?

Vanitas's expression said much the same. "What," he said flatly, "He…what?"

Ventus wrapped his arms around himself. "He helped me. I…didn't like it."

The other snorted. "No shit."

"He took me somewhere," Ventus continued, "Somewhere where they train with…with keyblades."

Vanitas frowned. "So?"

Ventus stared at him. "But…a keyblade…a keyblade broke…" he sucked in a harsh breath and tightened his grip on his arms to try and stop the trembling.

Vanitas's eyes went wide. "You're scared of…?" and then he threw his hear back and laughed. "Oh, that's too funny! That is so pathetic! Even for you!"

Ventus frowned. He didn't know when he moved or why, but he did and Vanitas was suddenly on the ground and his hand was clenched into a fist. Vanitas stared up at him from where he laid sprawled out on his back, completely dumbfounded, before bursting into hysterics again. Ventus just looked at his fist, bewildered. That was the fastest he had ever moved. Well, After anyway. He wasn't too sure about Before.

"You're kinda crazy," he said, crouching by Vanitas's head.

The other boy grinned up at him and to anyone else the expression might have been frightening – it was dark and wild and maybe a little bit insane. But to Ventus, it seemed natural. That was just who Vanitas was. He was his Dark. Even if he wasn't all Dark anymore.

"Well you're kinda meek," Vanitas shot back as he sat up, "How are you going to wield your keyblade if you're scared of them?"

Ventus stared. "I…what?"

Vanitas frowned at him. "You…don't remember that either," he said more than asked, but Ventus shook his head anyway. The darker boy held his hand out in front of him and there was a flash and Ventus paled at the sight of the keyblade that was suddenly there.

He rocked back on his heels so far that he fell on his rear in his scramble to get away.

"If I've got one, you've got one," Vanitas said frankly, ignoring his other's apparent terror.

"I don't want it!"

"Tough," Vanitas growled, grabbing Ventus's shirt and hauling him in close.

The sudden movement cased the lighter boy's hand to land on the keyblade. He froze even as Vanitas watched him closely. The keyblade felt…different. It didn't feel at all like he thought it would. There was no pain, no cutting cruelty, no calculating coldness. It felt like him, but not. Like a shadow. Like the Dark. Like his Dark. It felt like Vanitas. Slowly, he wrapped his hand around Vanitas's at the hilt of the keyblade.

It fit. Maybe not him as himself, but it fit Vanitas and it fit him when he was with his Darker part.

"Oh," he said softly.

"Yeah. Oh." Ventus didn't have to look to know he was rolling his eyes. "You're really stupid, ya know?"

Ventus snorted. "Yeah, well, you don't have to relearn everything. You got the mind, remember?"

"That's just a guess," Vanitas scoffed, "Don't make excuses."

"Shut up," Ventus mumbled as he sagged against the darker boy.

"You're waking up," Vanitas observed.

"Don' wanna," Ventus said, latching onto the other's arm, "Stay with you."

"You're an idiot. You can't stay here forever. Besides, we aren't separated, we have a Bridge now, remember?"

"Mmm," Ventus nodded, "Still don' wanna leave. He's back there. Don' wanna."

Vanitas tensed. "You sure he's there?"

"He brought me there," Ventus replied, "I don't remember him leaving." He paused for a moment before adding, "I don't remember a lot of things though."

"There are other people though, right?"

"Hm. Terra and Aqua. They had kind eyes."

Vanitas was quiet for a moment. "Stick with them," he said eventually, "He shouldn't try anything with other people around."

Ventus sighed. "Alright," he said softly.

"Come on, Dawn," Vanitas said with a nudge, "Time to wake up."

"Dawn?" he questioned.

The other shrugged. "Well you're not all Light and I'm not all Dark, but you're still Lighter than me and I'm still Darker than you. So…Dawn and Twilight."

Ventus was quiet as he rolled the thought over in his head. "I like it."

"Glad you approve," Vanitas said dryly, "Now wake up."

"Fine," he sighed, "Bye, Twilight."

"Later, Dawn."

Sooooooo Vani is kinda becoming this sarcastic little shit the more I write him. And I am okay with this. Anywho, their first meeting! Thoughts?

Until next time,

~Elri