[AU: Can Someone Change?]
[Vanitas X Naminé]
He passes her in the park. She sits as still as a statue, save for her right arm, which is carefully making strokes onto a page of a sketchpad with an orange oil pastel. She hums a lullaby to herself, and in the warm afternoon sunlight, he realizes immediately that she is the most beautiful girl he has ever seen.
"Vanitas?" Ventus stops, and glances back at his brother. "What are you looking at?"
The black-haired boy briefly looks at his sibling before returning his gaze to the girl. "Her," he nearly whispers, something highly out of character for him. His normally tense, monotone voice reveals a hint of a softer emotion.
The blond turns and searches the park landscape for the girl before his eyes land on a figure in a purely white sundress beneath an oak tree. "Oh, her? That's Naminé. She's a friend of Aqua's. She's in grade, but she's home-schooled. I see her at the bookstore a lot, looking at art books." He pauses and retreats a few steps to stand beside his brother. "Naminé is shy, though. And way too sweet for you. You're, like, her polar opposite, Van. She's a good girl, and you're a bad boy." He chuckles and slaps his brother on the back. "But hey, if you want, I can put in a good word to her for you. She sometimes joins Aqua, Terra, and I when Sora, Kairi, Riku, and Roxas show up when we go bowling each Friday."
Vanitas spins around, tearing his gaze off of the lovely artist to glare at Ven. "You better. I really like her already. Opposites attract, you know. And I swear that I'll be nice to her, unlike how I treat you." And he laughs darkly, giving the blond a shove. The two are stepbrothers, and look nothing alike. But they grew up together, and couldn't be more in sync. "So do we have a deal, Ven? You put in a good word and introduce us this Friday, and I'll promise to behave around her."
Ventus sighs, but soon gives a shrug. "Yeah, okay. I guess people can change if they really want something… or, in this case, someone." He smiles. "Just don't break her heart, alright? Because I don't know if you realize this by looking at her blonde hair, blue eyes, and jaw line, but: her father? Yeah, he's Mr. Strife. Your Metals Workshop teacher."
Vanitas's jaw nearly falls off of his face. Gaping, he sputters, "What?"
And Ven simply laughs. Van will have to change if he wants to date Naminé; otherwise he will be reduced to a bloody puddle. Teacher he may be, Cloud Strife takes shit from no one.