A/N: I'm back. Jeez, it's been a long-ass time since I last updated this story. Thank you so, so much for being patient with me. I swear I'll update faster. Also, spoiler alert, Kingdom Hearts: Unchained has been released in Japan! I'm so excited for it to reach America. Are you? Disclaimer: I do not own kingdom hearts.
Xion burst out laughing, much to my embarrassment. With my face burning, I stood awkwardly in the entryway to the dining room. A round, dark mahogany table stood in the center of the room, along with four elaborately carved chairs. In the center of the table sat a large bowl with a lid covering its contents "Oh, here you go, kitten. You can sit here," Xion said through her laughter, placing an empty plate down in front of a chair. I smiled at her in thanks and sat down, relieved. She went into the kitchen, giggling under her breath. I took in my surroundings and felt a warm feeling in my chest. This was the first time I'd actually be able to eat at a table, instead of eating in the solitude of my bedroom. I nonchalantly smelled the air and my mouth instantly began to water. From the smell of it, we were having spaghetti and meatballs for dinner. It is my favorite dish. A brief memory of Mom in the kitchen popped into my mind. 'That's right...she would make it for me all the time. I remember now,' I thought. I smiled sadly as the memory vanished. "Do you want a salad, too?" Xion asked, poking her head into the dining room. I shook my head politely and she gave me a thumbs up. "I gotcha. I'm not much of a salad person either. Do you like Dr. Pepper? Sorry, but that's all we have at the moment," she said. I nodded enthusiastically; Dr. Pepper was my favorite soda. As she vanished into the kitchen once more, I looked around the room. Other than the table, there was a tall china cabinet, complete with china plates, and family pictures. One picture stood out from all the others; it was the only picture of a boy with black spiky hair and big gold eyes. "I see you have discovered Vanitas' third grade picture. He was nine then and used to give his teacher hell," Xion said as she piled food on my plate and set it down in front of me. It turned out that I was right; it was spaghetti with meatballs. "Aw, sis, don't tell him that. It's embarrassing," Vanitas said, placing a plate of garlic bread down on the table. I watched in amusement as Xion stuck her tongue out at him. "Shut up and eat," she said playfully. I picked up my fork and twirled it around in the spaghetti. I took a bite and nearly moaned; it was delicious. I continued eating, forgetting that I wasn't alone. I was mid-bite when Xion started giggling. I looked up and froze; they were both watching me in amusement.
My face burned all the way to my ears from embarrassment. "Jeez, is it good or what?" Xion asked. I nodded sheepishly which made Vanitas smile. "Of course it's good, Xion. I was the one who made it," Vanitas said quickly in a haughty voice. While Xion argued that she'd helped, I noticed that he glanced over at me with a worried expression; Vanitas seemed to be trying his hardest to make me comfortable here. He had even made my favorite dish, though I knew it had been a coincidental thing. Part of me wanted to thank him, yet another was unsure how he'd react. I didn't want him to think I was kissing up to him. Once I realized the irony behind my thoughts, I avoided Vanitas' gaze. We ate in awkward silence after that; the only noises in the room were the clinking of our forks and the ice in our glasses. Eventually, Xion cleared her throat and set her calm blue gaze on me. "So, kitten, what class do you share with Vanitas?" she said casually. I swallowed quickly and said that we had English together. She nodded with a thoughtful expression. "Tell me about this project you have," she prompted, eager to keep the conversation going. "Er...we have to write a twelve page essay about the partner Mr. Marluxia assigned to us. It's due by the end of the year," I explained. Xion furrowed her eyebrows then shook her head slightly. I glanced over at Vanitas, who was looking down at his food, eating quietly. Though I couldn't see his face, part of me sensed that he was in deep thought. "Why did he assign such a personal project?" Xion asked. I couldn't think of a response; truthfully, I had no idea. I shrugged and ate another bite of my food. "Ah!" I exclaimed as sauce flicked up onto my cheek from a loose spaghetti noodle. Thankfully, the sauce landed just beneath my lower lid, sparing me the stinging hell that would have occurred had it hit my actual eye. I had closed it reflexively. Without thinking, I licked up what sauce I could reach. "Um...are you okay?" Xion asked. I glanced up at her, my tongue out slightly. "Oh, yeah, I'm alright. Just had some sauce smack me in the face, is all," I said, blushing. As she laughed, I spared another glance over at Vanitas. He was in the same position as before, but his cheeks were red and his mouth was pressed into a thin line. I took my napkin and wiped the remaining sauce off my face, feeling slightly confused. 'Is he mad at me? Did I do something to upset him?' I thought.
"Oh, I forgot to say that I'll get home around eight in the evening. Since I get up at the crack of fucking dawn, I don't want any noise. Just please let me sleep. I'm going to be exhausted," Xion sighed, rubbing her eyes. I nodded and quietly ate the rest of my food. I waited until everyone was finished eating then offered to do the dishes. Xion smiled gratefully but shook her head. "Don't you have homework or something? Besides, this is your first day here. I'll sentence you to hard labor once you've settled in, kitten," she said, taking my plate before I could protest. I opened my mouth, then closed it again; there was no point in arguing with her. I turned to ask Vanitas if he had any homework, but he wasn't there. I sighed and picked up my backpack. I went up the stairs and down the hall, hesitating at Vanitas' door. There were muffled noises coming from behind it, but I didn't dare open it. I went into the guest room and sat on the bed. I tried to focus on my homework, but all I seemed to think about was Vanitas. 'What did I do wrong?' I thought. Our kiss flashed into my mind. I dropped my pencil and put my head in my hands. "You fucked up, Ventus. You fucked up big time," I whispered. I knew I shouldn't have broken character. "I thought I could, at least around him," I murmured to myself. I stretched my legs out and accidently shoved my papers off my bed. As I bent to pick them up, my subconscious quipped up. 'He was the one who initiated the kiss, remember?' it said. I paused and slowly placed the papers back on my bed. That didn't make any sense; surely, it was a spur of the moment type of thing. Vanitas wasn't in the right state of mind because his emotions were all scattered. He didn't really mean to kiss me. I nodded to myself, convinced that that was the case. A soft knock on my door shook me out of the daze I'd been in. "Come in," I said. The door opened and Xion popped her head through. In the light, I could see the dark circles under her eyes and realized just how tired she must be. "Hey there, kitten. You still want me to check you over?" she asked softly. Despite my embarrassment, I nodded and sat on my bed. Xion came into the room and sat beside me. With gentle hands, she examined the wounds Dad had inflicted. "I realize that I told you a tiny, unintentional lie. I'm not a doctor, but I'm actually a nurse," she murmured. I nodded, wincing only slightly when her fingers brushed against my ribs. "Lift your shirt, kitten," Xion said. I shyly did as I was asked. She made a small sound of dismay as she saw the multiple angry-looking bruises. "Oh, man. This is worse than I thought," she muttered to herself. I inhaled sharply as she pressed along my rib-cage. Giving me an apologetic look, Xion felt my ribs with a look of concentration. After a few minutes, she sat back. "Alright, I've got good news and shitty news. Which do you want to hear first?" she said. I shrugged, causing a sharp pang to shoot through my chest. "Good news...then bad," I wheezed as I held my chest. Xion ran a hand through her hair and heaved a heavy sigh.
"Well, kitten, your daddy fucked you up pretty bad; however, he didn't do anything severe or fatal. You'll be in pain for awhile, but you should get better soon," she explained. I mimicked her sigh and pulled my shirt on over my head. "Okay, what's the bad news?" I asked. Xion smiled with a tired expression and ruffled my hair. "The bad news is that you still have to go to school, kid," she said getting up. I groaned, much to her amusement. "Yeah, it sucks. You'll get over it. Hey, are you going to be warm enough with that blanket?" she said. I nodded and thanked her. Xion just smiled, a sad expression barely masked by exhaustion. "Goodnight, Ventus. Sleep well," she said closing the door. I called out a 'goodnight' in return and focused on placing the papers back into my backpack. Although it took me forever, I had managed to complete all of my homework. Feeling drained, I got up and went into the bathroom to brush my teeth. I was just about to rinse my toothbrush and put it away, when a low thud sounded from Vanitas' room. Thinking he'd gotten hurt, I quickly placed the toothbrush in the holder and went to his door. I froze, my hand inches from the handle. After several minutes of hesitation, I forced myself to knock quietly. There was the noise of shuffling papers then footsteps. The door opened and Vanitas looked down at me, a look of frustration on his face. "Yeah?" he said in a slightly gruff voice. I bit my lip and looked everywhere but his face. "U-um...I heard a thud and thought something had happened. I-I'm sorry if I disturbed you," I stammered. He was silent for a moment, then opened the door wider. "You must have heard me punch my desk. I've been trying to figure out this damn math equation for the past hour," he said as he walked back to his desk. I followed timidly, wary as to whether or not he meant for me to enter his room. He motioned toward the piece of paper on his desk with a look of disdain. "There's the damn thing. Look at it, isn't it disgusting?" he said. I half-smiled and looked over the equation.
"Oh, I had this one. There's a trick to it. Here, I'll show you," I said, sitting down. Vanitas seemed relieved and peered over my shoulder as I demonstrated how to solve the problem to him. "All you need to do is divide the variable by 2, then subtract that from the fraction," I explained. Vanitas nodded slowly in understanding and took the pencil from me. I clamped my mouth shut to hide my sharp intake of breath as his fingers brushed against mine. He followed my instructions then finally completed the equation. Vanitas' body visibly relaxed. "Well, fuck, it's done. It seems easy when you do it," he muttered. I briefly laughed and shook my head sheepishly. "It took me awhile to figure it out myself," I admitted, "Thank the power of the calculator, not me." He grinned and slid the homework into a pale gray folder. "I'm all finished then. Thanks, Ventus," he said. I watched him place the folder in his backpack in confusion. Wasn't he still upset? "Uh, sure, no problem," I said. Vanitas glanced over at me and stopped what he was doing. "What's wrong? You're looking at me like I'm the most difficult puzzle you've ever had to solve," he said, frowning at me. 'Wait, what? Was I staring? Oh no,' I thought. My cheeks heated furiously and I avoided his gaze by staring down at my lap. "I-it's just that I thought you were mad at me," I mumbled. His face scrunched up in befuddlement. "What? Why the hell would I be mad at you?" he said puzzled. I bit my lip and scratched the back of my neck nervously. "W-well, you seemed upset about something at dinner and I thought it was because I-," I broke off, realizing what I'd been about to say. A faint look of recognition passed briefly across Vanitas' features, but it quickly vanished. "No, no, I wasn't mad at you. I was...just thinking about something that happened before dinner. No biggie, alright?" he said. A sense of dread filled my mind as I read in between the lines. He regrets the kiss. He wished that it never happened. "Oh...um...okay. G-goodnight then, Vanitas," I said softly. He watched me with an unreadable expression as I left his room. "Goodnight, Ven," he called out. A burst of warmth spread through me at the sound of my nickname and I couldn't help but smile giddily.
I went into the guest room and rummaged through my suitcase for my over-sized T-shirt that I usually slept in. In reality, it was the only article of clothing that could be considered as night clothes. I didn't have any real pajamas; Dad had thought that they were unnecessary and a waste of money. Frowning, I stripped off my shirt and winced as the action tugged painfully at my ribs. Carefully, I undid my jeans and shoved them off, clenching my teeth against the jolting pain shocking my muscles. I stood there for a moment then took in a deep breath. I was just about to pull the shirt over my head when I heard a loud smacking sound. Startled, I glanced over and saw Vanitas standing in the doorway, his hand clamped tight over his eyes. "I-I-I'm sorry! I should've knocked first," he stammered. His entire face was beat red. I rapidly pulled my T-shirt on and sat on my bed, trying to hide my embarrassment. "I'm decent now," I mumbled. He cautiously peeked through his fingers then sighed in relief. Vanitas hesitantly came over and sat down next to me. "Did you...did you need something?" I asked. As he came up with a response, I was mentally having a panic attack. I was in literally nothing but my underwear and a T-shirt. Endless, dirty thoughts were scrambling in my mind. He was sitting nearly hip to hip with me. I pulled my knees up to my chest and covered them with my shirt. 'Yeah, cause that takes care of the problem,' I thought sarcastically. "I...I actually wanted to ask you something," Vanitas muttered, his fingers picking at the bedspread. My heart pounded harder in my chest and my breath was coming in gasps. "O-okay, what?" I said, trying to calm down. He looked up at me and I gulped; his gaze was so intense. I wished that he wouldn't look at me like that; he wasn't helping my situation. 'Holy crap, could it be about the kiss? Is he going to tell me I'm gross? What if he's going to kick me out because of it?' I thought frantically. Vanitas bit his lip and shakily chuckled. "It's just...uh...you're really good at math and I suck at it. So...I was wondering if maybe you'd tutor me?" he said. Relief washed over me and I laughed, almost hysterically. "Oh, is that all? Sure, I'll tutor you," I said. He seemed a little taken aback by my change in attitude, but he just smiled. "Thanks and I'm sorry about...uh...walking in on you," he muttered, getting up. I was reminded of how embarrassing the situation was and felt my cheeks flush.
He caught my blush and scratched the back of his neck. "I'll...make sure I knock next time," he mumbled, avoiding my eyes. Feeling slightly more courageous, I raised an eyebrow and cracked a half-grin. "Well, jeez, if you wanted to see me naked, you could've at least asked me out first," I said without thinking. Vanitas went scarlet and quickly looked down at the floor. I realized what I'd said and covered my eyes, mortified. "I-I'm so s-sorry," I spluttered. Vanitas looked back up at me and chuckled. "I'll make a note of that...next time," he said. My eyes widened in disbelief; he was flirting back with me? "Goodnight again, Ventus," Vanitas said with a shy smile. I returned the smile shakily and giggled only slightly. "Goodnight. Again," I said. He winked and did a small, half-salute as he left the room. "Oh my god," I whispered to myself and turned off the light. As I settled into my bed, I thought about how my life had so abruptly changed. I gave in to the soothing darkness and wondered if the change had been for the better.
A/N: Aaand, done. There's this chapter, now on to the next. I tried to make this chapter long, but it just ended up being short like the rest. I'm sorry. Ugh...the struggle with writer's block is real. I hope I'll have next chapter done soon. Just so you all know, your reviews really helped motivate me. I thank you for that.