And here we are, back at chapter 2! I'm adding extra details to my Halloween costume, and made a short break to post this up. Hopefully you'll like it!

Also, I can use this note to answer questions that have been asked and that you might want to ask yourself.

Q : Why is Aqua actually confident enough to sleep while Vanitas is around?
A : In this Universe, while Eraqus's side and Xehanort's side actually fight over their vision of what the future could be, they are not in an open war. Therefore, Aqua sees Vanitas as a rival more than as an enemy. If they were to meet in another world and Vanitas was doing some evil stuff, she would fight him until he stopped, but the Land of Departure and the Keyblade Graveyard are 'neutral grounds'. Also, Vanitas gave up on trying to pick up fights with Aqua like he does with Terra and Ven, because she's the only one clever enough to never answer to his provocations. That's Mama Aqua for ya!

Aqua couldn't sleep. She had tried every technique, counting sheeps, listing all stupid things Ven could do whenever she wasn't watching, shuting her eyes really tight and waiting, but nothing could do: she just wasn't tired.

She looked up at the sky from her window. It was a clear night, and the stars were shining so brightly; her mind was made up. She grabbed a blanket, let herself in the kitchen to make a thermos of tea, and left to her secret spot.

There wasn't anyone there – not that she expected anything else. She sat against a tree, wrapped in her blanket, and absorbed herself in the contemplation of the stars.

She barely heard the sound of the corridor of Darkness opening behind her. But when she heard a voice calling her name, she slowly turned her head, to see Vanitas standing a few feet away.

"Are you hurt again?" she asked, mildly worried. He shook his head.

"I was bored. The grass here is comfy to sleep, much better than the ground on the Graveyard. Didn't think I'd bump into anyone. What are you doing? Shouldn't you be sleeping, like, in your bed?"

"The stars are particularly beautiful tonight. I'm just stargazing."

"Star... gazing?" He lifted his head to look at the night sky. He took a step back.

"Woah! Were there always so many? We can barely see them in the Graveyard!"

"Do you want to sit and watch them with me?"

"That sounds boring." Yet, he sat at quite some distance from her, his head turned towards the lights.

"You know, they say that every star up there is another world."

"No way! There cannot be so many worlds. I would know. I've visited plenty-" He stopped himself, but Aqua knew what he meant. When he freed so many Unversed on different worlds. That was one of the reason Master Eraqus did not like him. Vanitas was a creature of Darkness. If the Master found them out, he would be so disappointed.

"I'd like to visit them all, one day. Travel to all these places. Meet all kind of people."

"I wonder if I could open dark corridors to any place. I might try, one day. Damn, what's that star shining so bright over there?"

"This one?" Aqua pointed to a star and he nodded. "I believe that's the Enchanted Dominion. Look, with that one looking slightly orange, and that green one over there, they are making the Trinity Constellation."

"Constellation?"

"That's a pattern in the sky, you can make by tracing lines between the stars. And if you connect these five ones", she was pointing at the stars as she was talking, even though he probably couldn't tell which ones she was showing, "they are known as the Morph Constellation. And right there..."

"You sure know a lot about them."

"A few years ago, I became fascinated by the stars, so I read all I could about them in the library. I have forgotten a few of them, of course, but... Are you cold?" she interrupted, noticing he was shivering. He looked away.

"I'm fine."

"Come on, sit next to me, I'll share my blanket with you."

"Don't insult me. I'm not sitting there."

"But it will be more convenient to show you the stars, though. And I have some warm tea."

He sighed. "Alright. But that's for the tea. And the stars. Not for you."

She gave him a big smile and arranged the blanket over the two of them. She gave him the thermos. He hesitated for a moment, then finally removed his helmet to drink. She had seen his face before – but never without his usual crualty. He looked so young right now.

"Tell me more about the stars."

"Fine. See this line of greenish ones? They are called the Mermaids. And if you look just above the third one..."

She taught him all she knew, until she eventually realized he had fallen asleep. She carefully placed the blanket all over him, rested slowly his head against the tree and softly ruffled his hair before leaving.

She wouldn't want anyone to come looking for her, and find him instead.

It actually took me a while to decide... Whether I would allow thermos to exist in this universe. But they can use magic, there are creatures that are born from feelings, SURELY someone must have invented that magic bottle to keep your tea warm!
Also, I don't really see Vanitas as a tea-lover, I would see him with some coffee (full of sugar) or a hot chocolate. But since in my mind Aqua loves tea (and would praise all the benefits of it until you'd actually fall asleep or something), well, Vanitas had no choice! He was just really cold. But he probably just thought that it tasted like weird hot water.

And yeah, poor booy sleeps on the floor. Hospitality isn't Master Xehanort's second name.

Also, in case the last sentence is messy, if Aqua slept there, someone might have come looking for her and found Vanitas as well. But if they see her being inside the castle/mansion/whatever, they will probably not go to the clearing at all, so Vanitas alone is pretty safe.

Back to my Halloween costume now! [that's a fem! Roxas~] Halloween is one of my favourite days of the year, I'm so excited!