I'm sorry, Vanitas. I'm really sorry.

Ch. 5: Distance

Now correct me if I'm wrong (though I'm usually not), but I seem to recall noting that life had recently been spending time roundhousing me left and right.

Well, you know what? This revelation was the finisher to my gut.

I opened my mouth, but no sound came out. I realized pretty soon that it was because I was choking – on what, I had no idea, but I couldn't get anything past my lips. God, talk about a whammer.

It took me about a minute, but I finally managed to choke out, "H-hold on. You're rich?!"

"Well…yeah," Ven replied, his voice suddenly very timid and small. It was as if he was waiting for some sort of punishment. "Are you mad?"

Buddy, if my heart suddenly stops beating in around the next ten seconds, the guilt that'll follow is all the punishment you deserve to suffer. That is not something you can say so casually and expect someone like me to tank it.

Aloud I said, "I…I don't think that's the right word to describe my feelings right now."

"Er…" Sudden silence. "Surprised?" he guessed at last.

I nodded feverishly and held my hands up in surrender. "Yeah, let's just go with that."

"Sorry," he said again. "I didn't mean to freak you out."

Oh, of course not. When do you ever actually mean to kick me in the face with one of your secrets?

I rubbed my forehead as if to massage an imaginary headache away. "You," I said, "are hands down the most unpredictable person I've ever met. And you know something; that's actually a testament because I have met some pretty weird people."

"Uh…" His tone was indicating that he wasn't sure how to react to that remark. To be fair, I had no idea how I was delivering that comment to him, either. Sorry, he's just that weird.

"In either case, that explains a whole lot," I went on with a sigh as I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Though honestly, I've always wondered what meeting a rich kid would be like, because all I hear about them are the stereotypical types."

"Stereotypical types?"

"The usual stuff people assume about your group. Spoiled, snobby, throwing money around like they're confetti. You're not like that, are you?" I tacked on at the end.

"Of course not."

Well, that was quick. "Really? What're you guys really like, then?"

"Find out for yourself," was all he said in reply. He sounded a bit miffed, probably because I'd just shoved him into a category of people like it was no big thing.

Hey, don't judge me. I'm a logical person; everything needs to have a place in my mind that makes sense in the physical sense of the word. And since I can't exactly see for myself, that just brings in more problems in that department.

Call me a whiner all you want. I'm just trying to compensate for my lack of utilities, all right? Sheesh.

"Okay, fine. Sorry I even asked." I played with my white cane – even though I technically wasn't supposed to because it was important equipment – because I couldn't find any other way to distract myself. This guy was even more difficult to talk to than Gramps. You think that we're friends, Ven? Really?

We sat that way for a couple seconds, and it was all set up to be an awkward silence scenario when I suddenly heard my grandpa say, "Are you boys done talking already?"

I jumped at the sound of his voice in spite of myself. I repeat: He moves like a freaking ninja.

"Why do you keep doing that?" I demanded as I tried to calm my fluttering heart. "You know I hate –" I stopped myself, and amended acerbically, "Actually, never mind. That's probably the reason you keep doing it in the first place."

"Never hurts to double check, my boy," he said, a lilt in his voice. I could swear that he got more annoying by the day. I didn't even bother to answer him.

"Anyway, why don't you ask him? He's the one who shut me out in the first place," I grumped with an exasperated huff.

"Oh, is that so?" He didn't sound all that surprised. Go figure. "What happened, son?"

Oh, great. First he completely screws with my mind, and now all of a sudden he calls Ven "son"? I couldn't work out that old man's thoughts any more than I could with Ven's. Am I the only odd one out here? Was that it? Or was I just overthinking things?

Goddamn it; this world doesn't make any sense to me anymore. I give up on understanding it now.

"Do you two exist solely to scramble my brain?" I demanded before Ven could give an answer. I wanted to pull at my hair, but I held myself because I didn't want to look like a psycho. "What the hell is going on?! Won't somebody please give me a straight answer for once?!"

More silence followed my complaint. And yet again, the old man had the gall to laugh. Incarnation of the devil, he probably was. I wanted to tell him to shut up and give me an answer, but that wouldn't merit any generosity points from him. So I used all my willpower to stay silent and crossed my arms, waiting for my answer.

Geez, the levels you have to stoop to just to get somewhere in this world.

"Alright, I guess I've teased you boys long enough," my grandpa finally decided. About time, you geezer. And boys? I was the one you were teasing! Ven isn't smart enough to know that he was being toyed with, if you even were at all! I call bullshit to that. Total bullshit. "Shame, it was rather enjoyable while it lasted."

Okay, now he was officially the incarnation of the devil. I swear to all the – actually, never mind. If I finished that sentence, I'd be locked up in juvie hall for all eternity. Or until I died, killed myself, killed somebody else, whatever.

…Crap, I'm getting off topic again. You know it's your job to warn me whenever I do that, right? Geez.

"Well, gee; that's great, Gramps," I griped. "We're all ears, so please explain super slowly so that our incredibly dense minds can understand your big words – no actually, don't bother with that and just stick with the small words. I don't think you'd want to repeat the same thing five times over."

Damn, I laid the sarcasm thick. I can almost taste it on my tongue.

…

Heh. That was awesome.

"My goodness," he sighed, bringing me back to the present. "And to think that this one's my grandson."

"You're talking about me, right?" I asked mockingly. I could feel the scowl on my face as I said that. Sweet Lord, just how far was I going to take this? I couldn't see the line well enough at the moment to draw it.

"Well, speak of the devil!" he proclaimed at my words suddenly, startling me into silence. "What a perfect place to start!"

Ven chimed in by this point. "Um, it is?" he asked in a confused tone.

"Yes!" He sounded like this video game character I heard about whose name I never managed to put my finger on. Some kind of bird man or something. Stop looking at me like that; I don't know!

"Well, do enlighten us then, Gramps," I said scathingly. "How does that pertain to my question? Do tell."

"Come now, Vanitas," my grandpa scolded me. "Why must you be so sour? You should be more like Ven over here – sweet and innocent!"

"What?" I could swear that I heard incredulity in Ven's tone. About time; for once that guy was giving out the proper reactions. "Sweet and innocent?"

"Quit changing the subject!" I snapped. "Just spill it!"

"All right, all right," the old mad relented. "No need to get all bent out of shape."

"Is that another pun?" Ven asked.

"That's enough," my grandpa said, sounding serious for the first time in a while. The atmosphere of the room had suddenly changed – it had become heavier. "I can tell you later. This is something that I'd kept secret from the both of you for a while now. I didn't know what revealing this information would entail for either of your families, but I suppose that since you're both big boys now, I can trust you both to take this in good stride."

"Try me," I challenged.

I waited, but there was no response from Ven's end. Surprise, surprise.

I could hear my grandpa clearing his throat, and the sound was so prevalent that I imagined him smirking. Honestly, I could go on and on about him and his annoyingness, but I won't. You've heard me complain about him enough, I bet.

That aside, there was something about the way he worded his statement that made me think: He'd kept this secret from both of us? As in, the two of us, and not anyone else? So we were the only ones not in the know about this secret yet?

"As I was saying," my grandpa went on before I could think on that further, "before I tell you this, you must promise to never let anyone else know about what I'm about to tell you. Heaven knows what'll happen if word got out."

"And…you really trust us to keep it?" Ven asked slowly. He sounded nervous. "Grandpa, I don't know if I can…"

"You can," my grandpa interrupted. "You will, because it will be your responsibility and obligation. I trust you both will adhere to my promise once you hear it."

"Well, then; just tell us the secret so we can actually keep it," I insisted impatiently. "It's not exactly like we have anyone to tell, you know."

"That's a very good point," he mused, much to my irritation. Man, I seriously had to stop digging these holes myself. "So I suppose I can tell you."

"Yes, please do," I grumbled. Weren't you going on about this in order to tell us anyway?

"Alright then," he said. I could imagine stroking his chin here – I've heard people do that when they're deep in thought. Never seen it, though. "I at least know where to start."

"Yeah?" Ven urged him on. I could tell he was just as curious as me, if not more.

"Of course! How's this for starters?" I felt a rough hand clap my left shoulder and squeeze lightly. "The two of you are closer than you think."

I felt my face slip into a confused frown. "What're you talking about?" I asked blankly.

"You mean you haven't guessed yet?" my grandpa said.

"No, because I assumed that you were going to tell me."

"But I do believe it is obvious any way you look at it."

My frown deepened into a scowl. "Oh, yeah. It must be."

"No offense was meant, my boy." I felt the hand leave my shoulder and a weight settling down to my right. I guess my grandpa had just sat down next to me. "In either case, please let me finish; you've been interrupting me quite a bit."

I felt a tic going in my cheek at his words. What the hell, old man; you were the one deviating into different tangents! I was the one trying to get you back on track, damn it! Don't pin the blame on me!

"So sorry, Gramps," I apologized, the sarcasm thick in my tone. "I'll just shut up now so you can talk." I then zipped up my lips, pretended to throw away the tab, and dramatically waved my hand (not too far, or else I'd hit him on accident – though I kind of wonder now why I'd done that, because if anything he deserved a smack in the face after everything that had happened) so he could proceed.

"So, how should I put this," he mused. "You two are closer than you think."

"But you already said that," Ven pointed out. Well, no shit. "What do you mean by that, though?"

"Well, that's simple, Ventus." My grandpa rumpled my already-messy hair as he went on, "You two are related."

The whole world seemed to freeze for a couple seconds when he said that.

"Uh…what?" I asked blankly.

"My goodness, Vanitas; where has all your insight gone?" He chuckled low and long as he lifted his hand away from my head. "It doesn't get much clearer than that. The two of you are family!"

That tears it. I give up. I have suffered a horrible, horrible loss in this game called life. You win; you were always meant to utterly destroy me, so do whatever the hell you want with me because I don't care anymore. I'm done. I'm freaking done, because the words that just came out of your mouth just does not compute!

…

Well, that's what I wanted to say, but when you're hit with news like that out of the blue, your train of thought tends to completely derail and explode into a smoking wreck of jumbled psyche. What came out of my mouth instead was this really intelligent remark of, "What?"

Yeah. That was all I could manage. No judging.

I suspected that Ven was having a similar reaction, because he was dead silent. I would put emphasis on 'dead', but that's a bit overdoing it.

"Exactly what I said," my grandpa went on to answer my unprecedented question. "You two are bound by blood! First cousins, to be clear. Your father, my flesh and blood, is Ven's father's elder sibling. The two never got along very well, I'm afraid. This is the result."

There was no way that this could be true. This was just some sort of revenge gift for pestering him this whole week, wasn't it? He was just pulling my leg, right?

"You…" I laughed nervously. "You can't be serious, Gramps. You seriously expect us to –"

"Isn't that what I told you before I answered your question?" he countered. "I expect you to be able to take this in stride."

My palms felt sweaty. How could he expect me to take something like this in stride? He was asking the impossible. I mean, you don't just tell your grandson that the strange kid that ran into you on the street was a long lost family member and expect him to receive it calmly. Especially if that grandson happens to be me.

"So…it's true then?" I asked, my voice trembling. "You're really serious?"

"Yes."

He said that word so calmly I knew I couldn't deny it this time. This really was the truth. But that wasn't what upset me the most.

"Something like this…" I shook my head while it was lowered. "Something like this…why would you keep it from us; from – from either of us?"

"I didn't want to," was his reply, and that made me start a bit. "It was never my intention to keep this secret from you boys, but it couldn't be helped. Your fathers – my sons – insisted that the two of you never met. Of course I was opposed to the idea at first, but I eventually caved in. Who was I to deny them their wish – the one thing that my boys ever agreed on? Who would I have been as a father to them?"

I balled my hands into fists. "That's no excuse."

I felt him gently clap my shoulder with his hand. "Of course. It is no excuse, and I will freely admit it. However, it is merely an answer to your question."

"Then tell me this," I demanded, pushing his hand away. "Whose brilliant idea was it to keep us separated, huh? Which of them decided to cut the family apart?"

There was no reply, and after such a long string of straight answers, I grew irritated all over again. Who the hell did he think he was; just deciding to stop talking to us out of nowhere like this?

Then suddenly, "It was him, wasn't it?"

I flinched involuntarily. I'd almost forgotten that Ven was still here in the house with us. And his voice was nothing like before – it was quiet, somber, and subtly saturated with anger.

"What are you talking about?" I asked no one in particular, my voice suddenly husky. "Who is 'him'?"

"My younger son," my grandpa said at last, his words heavy. "He is your uncle, Vanitas…and Ventus' father."

"Don't even think about calling him that!" Ven yelled angrily, cutting him off before he could speak further. His next words were heavy on the restraint. "He's not my dad. He's no father. He's just a corrupt businessman who's using his son as a means of leverage so he can keep up his stupid company!" His voice choked a bit. "He waves my existence in other tycoons' faces just to show that he has an heir to the family business. That's basically all he uses me for, to keep the company from being bought out from under us! I'm just his tool! He doesn't think of me as a son! He never did! And he never will!" I heard the table in front of us rattle, and I could assume that Ven had either kicked it or punched it. Whatever had happened, Ven was obviously upset.

I had to admit, this kind of behavior from him kind of surprised me. From both times I've met him, I'd never once heard him raise his voice over anything – not even while we were in the backyard and came close to some dangerous conversation topics. He definitely had issues with his dad – though I couldn't relate much because…well, my parents were dead, and I wasn't rich. I had no idea how that world worked. Even with all that aside, he didn't seem like the type to really get mad at anything or anyone – which only made me realize that his relationship with his dad was way worse than I could even imagine.

…Man, I couldn't even tell whether today was sucking for me or not. I got what I wanted, but it had been more than I'd bargained for at the same time. Not to mention, one of Ven's old wounds had just been reopened, and that wasn't cool – no matter how ridiculously emo this guy was sounding right now. I may be an asshole, but I still know where to draw the line most of the time.

"It had to be him," Ven continued furiously. "It has to be. He had to be the one who decided to keep us from meeting each other. I don't know what kind of person your dad was, Vanitas, but he couldn't have been as bad as him."

I sighed. "I honestly don't remember very well what he was like, either," I admitted. "I mean, I was nine years old when it happened, and I didn't get to spend too much time with him because of my mom – and I gotta say, she was a total drunk."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. She would drink in the morning, during the day, and right before she went to bed. She always went into drunken rages – I couldn't see it, obviously, but I could hear it. And I think that was the only time in my life that I was grateful to be blind."

It was so weird, talking to him about such a personal event like it was nothing, but…that's what it felt like. I guess people act differently towards each other once they realize they're related, and not necessarily by blood. I was just talking to another member of the family about my problems, which actually felt kind of nice. My grandpa wasn't really someone I felt comfortable confiding in (for obvious reasons) so I was grateful for Ven being here. Not to mention that the old man kept this huge secret from us for nine years, but at least this time he didn't wave it off like he usually did.

"That must've been scary," Ven commented. His voice was quiet.

I managed a chuckle, but it sounded weak. "No kidding. She hated me like the plague, so it's practically a miracle that she didn't beat me up." I scratched my spiky hair. "I guess maybe that was because of my dad. I'm not too sure, but it's possible. I mean, I obviously couldn't have avoided being beaten up on my own, right? Because of the whole sight issue." I tightened my fist around my cane. "And at that point in time, Gramps was living with you."

"I see…" He paused briefly. "I'm sorry."

"Seriously, that's getting on my nerves," I said with a put-upon sigh. "You've got nothing to be sorry for."

"Well, you kind of make it hard for me to not say sorry," he retaliated. "You look scary when you're mad."

"Do I?" Well, what do you know. Another set of tools I can place in my skills inventory. Thanks for that, Ven.

"Yeah. I'd tell you to look in a mirror, but you can't."

"Oh, real funny," I said sourly. Had he always been this sarcastic? "Don't get complacent with me just because we found out we're cousins, you idiot."

Ven chuckled. "Who's the one getting complacent?"

"I'm still exactly the same!"

"Sure you are."

I sat up. "You know what, get out. Let those stupid guards catch you and see if I care."

"Sheesh, that's not very nice," he noted in mock surprise. I swear, this guy makes no sense to me! And we were supposed to be related? "I thought you cared about what happens to me, Vanitas."

"Yeah, there are times when I care for your well-being, but now's not one of those times. And since where were you Sir Sarcastic?"

"Oh, for a while now. I've had lots of practice."

I scoffed. "Why am I not surprised?" I muttered under my breath.

"Man, you are a party pooper. Grandpa was right about you."

"Wh-what? How did you know that?! I don't remember him telling you anything!"

"He didn't." His tone suddenly turned superior. "But you did just tell me!"

I felt my face go slack. This guy couldn't be for real. I had no idea how his mind worked. I didn't know whether I should put 'innocent' or 'sly' on my list of descriptions for him. He practically took after Gramps!

And the sad part? I could tell how he was family. I don't know if that made me weird, or vice versa, but we were obviously a crazy family in all senses of the phrase. Do you have a cousin or sibling this weird? If that's so, then you have my deepest sympathies. They can be tough to deal with sometimes, aren't they? They can get incredibly frustrating and confusing sometimes in a way that makes you want to kick them out a window and into the street, but you keep them around anyway. It's complicated, huh?

I rubbed my forehead and sighed in defeat. "It's official. You guys exist solely to mess with me. I give up. You win."

"Oh, come now, Vanitas," my grandpa said with a hearty guffaw. "You were the only one of us seeing this as a competition, no?"

You're not helping, Gramps. "Quit making it worse, old man."

"I'm not the one making things worse, my boy! You are the one twisting it that way."

"Argh!" I flopped backward against the couch. "Forget it! I'm done talking!"

The two of them laughed at my little outburst. It wasn't condescending (at least I thought it wasn't), but it still ticked me off anyway. I've been played with every day of this week so far, so I do beg your pardon if my patience has worn a bit thin. It's not like that was my fault.

But right now I was too spent to retaliate any further. Talking to these two seriously drained me of my energy and my head felt completely empty. Too much had happened in such a short span of time, and I seriously needed a break.

I was about to sit up and announce that I was going to take a midday nap (even though I hadn't eaten yet) when a deafening crash slammed our front door open.

Does Ven sound emo near the middle? If so, I apologize to you guys, too. Vanitas did lampshade it, though, so all's forgiven, right? Right?

Anyway, I still owe you guys an actual apology for not updating this story for so long. Lots of things got in the way, and that's about as good as my excuse is going to get. I really hope this chapter managed to compensate at least a little bit. It's quite a dialogue-heavy info dump, huh? Don't worry; I'm not jumping the gun. I have a whole lot more plans in store for these boys (so much, in fact, that I'm afraid that some of you may get mad at me later). This chapter may not be as good as the previous ones since I've been away from this story for a while, but I hope you like it anyway.

I love you guys and all the support and patience that you give me. Again, thank you so much!