A/N: I couldn't keep myself away from….the LITTLE KIDS…..jk lol, no just this chapter. Vanitas POV
I can't help it.
I really just can't.
I met her at a bar.
Funny place to meet people huh?
Not really. I barely managed to get myself together through the horrors of high school, and I celebrated it in a quiet apartment.
She and I, we had that in common.
And a lot of other stuff too.
We both didn't have any parents guiding us through our childhood. Lucky neither of us went to drugs.
We both nearly failed high school.
Both had to repeat a grade.
And, most of all, we, we, we just were the outcasts. Nobody bullied us, much less even looked at us.
And that's how we met.
In that lonely bar, she was my waitress that evening, and we both recognized each other, and we talked, and drank.
She had one too many, and I walked her to my place, and she slept on my couch. Good times.
My apartment was, okay. Wasn't ugly, but certainly not pretty. Just middle-class.
How I managed to get the money to keep it was from working two jobs. One during the weekends, and one during the schooldays.
Damn it, I had to work hard.
Usually, in other towns, they wouldn't let you keep your own apartment until you're eighteen.
Not here. Here, they didn't care as long as you paid up the rent in time.
When I was kid, I got a discount.
Xion wasn't that lucky. Turns out she was a cocktail waitress for a long time, living on people's kindness.
And tips.
When she woke up again, she had one hell of a hangover. I let her stay over longer, and we started dating.
Soon, she moved in. I still don't know why the hell she wanted to.
Love? Maybe.
Anyway, we got married when we were 19. A priest named Roxas got us together. As payback, we introduced him to his future wife, Namine.
At first, we were hanging on by threads to the apartment. That caused stress. A lot of it. We had fights, but they were little ones. No problem you're thinking, right?
Wrong.
Another night, when I got a raise, we both celebrated, and this time, we both had too many.
And she got pregnant with Sora. Bad time to get pregnant.
Anyway, she quit her job as a waitress, and found a job as an accountant. I had to quit both my jobs, and I got a new job as a exporter.
Even more stress. Luckily, we managed to keep surviving through and through until Sora had to go to school.
I still remember that fight now. It was horrible. I can't stand to think I did that to Xion.
Again, a spot of luck reached us. Roxas's friend Xemnas, (who's a rich man here) had a long lasting empathy for poor people. And so as a parting gift from The World That Never Was, he gave us 12 free years of education for our kid.
We still send letters to thank him. He never responds though. We still had a lot of problems though. We still needed 12 years of food, enough money to hold the apartment until Sora found a good job, a college fund to build up, and a better job.
And so, we kept looking for better jobs, but never found any. More stress, more battles with Xion. I began to hit her more often, more sub-consciously then consciously.
Soon, Sora found a job as a dentist, when he was around 13. Xion was so happy for him, and he promised to send us money every month. Thank god. I mean Allah. Just kidding.
We kicked him out as soon as possible. Then, our fights went into a stage of remission for about a year. Then, the alcohol problem.
I kept getting drunk, and soon our fights shook our apartment.
Then.
She left. She just said, "I've had enough. Good-bye Vanitas." and left.
Xion came back ten hours after that. I was secretly happy, and I hugged her soaking wet body from that pouring rain, and kissed her neck, and made her change clothes.
I vowed to stop drinking.
And I didn't.
I kept drinking, but a lot less, and she kept on leaving me.
The hours turned to days, and days turned to weeks.
I was afraid she would really leave me one day. And she did.
We had another one of our fights, and she just was gone the next morning.
No trace of her was ever there, besides her coffee mug on the edge of our counter.
I cried that day. Didn't go to work, and I just was lost. I hoped what we argued about was important, and I didn't drive her away for nothing.
I stopped drinking. Drinking didn't help me at all. I just fell into a depression. Still went to work, but slept less.
I just kept thinking about Xion, hoping maybe one day she'd come back at my door.
She came back after a year. One year.
She came back in tatters. Tatters.
Teary red eyes, and bruises over her face.
Xion got raped. By a man named Riku.
He's dead now. I didn't kill him, but even if I did, I wouldn't have gotten caught. In the World that Never Was, there is no justice.
I asked why I should let her come in.
"I got raped Vany. What's wrong with you?" she said, more tears flying down her face.
"If I let you come in, you got to fix me." I said, grabbing her hand, and rubbing it until it was a bit warmer.
Her skin grew a bit paler. "Promise." She brushed her pale lips against mine, and I carried her over to the bathroom, and turned on the hot water, and took off both of our clothes.
"VANITAS!" she screamed as I thrust in and out after her temperature rose from the hot water.
That next morning, she wasn't in my bed. Or my arms.
The first thought was, "That little bitch."
I wanted to throw something, but I managed to wash my face.
And she was napping in the bathtub.
I woke her up.
She did fix me. I let her in, and she and I didn't have another fight.
Sora finally contacted us after 5 years, and we told him we were moving to Destiny Islands.
He had gotten married with a girl named Kairi, and was moving to Twilight Town, along with Roxas's family.
Xion and I had better lives at Destiny Islands. We went into retirement early, and we had a great life there.
Sora visited us often, along with Roxas and Namine, and we had great vacations together.
All in all. We had a great life. But, it soon ended.
Xion actually died after our the thirteenth year of living on Destiny Islands.
I remember that morning. It was a fine day, and Xion went out to swim.
She never came back home.
I searched for her, and there she was.
On the sand. Dead, and pale.
To this day, I still don't know how she really died. She left a message though.
' V, I "heart" U '
Vanitas, I love you.
I'm guessing she went into cardiac arrest, and left a quick message for me.
I didn't cry. I had a quiet funeral for her, and paid my respects for her. I'm joining her soon.
I left a message for Sora, and all of them. Wanna hear 'em?
Dear Sora,
Ah, my dear son. Xion's dead, and so am I by now. All of my property's yours. I'd like a memorial for me and Xion though. Thanks.
Love you,
Dad.
Short and simple.
Dear Roxas and Namine,
Thanks for bonding me and Xion. I'll always remember you for that. Although, we did introduce you to Namine.
Xion would thank you, but she's dead. And I should be too at this point.
Thanks,
Vanitas
Time's almost up on this recording.
Xion. Am I glad I met her?
Yes. I am. And now I'll be joining her.
Goodbye.
Sora threw the recording at the window. How could he do this? How could Vanitas leave him?
"Honey? I found his will." said Kairi, tears running down her face.
"Forget it. Just leave it on the counter. I'll read it later." said Sora, crying silently too.
"You want me to make some coffee?" said Kairi.
"Yeah. I got to make some calls." sniffled Sora, picking up his phone.
First, was to a construction company.
Then, was to a funeral march.
And finally, to a memorial company.
Why?
Because, thought Sora, that if his father wanted a memorial for Xion and him,
He would get one.
A/N: Oh Yeah! Finished this. :) REVIEW! I WORKED HARD ON THIS.