Hohohooo~ this chapter has a (tiny) bit of fanservice in there :p Also there is a bonus at the end, yaaay!

"Can I ask you something?"

It took Aqua all the self control in the world not to scream when Vanitas appeared in her room early in the morning. She was back from her post-jogging shower and she was drying her hair with her towel.

"Nice shirt, by the way." He added with a smirk. She was wearing a simple oversized shirt that fell right under her butt and glared at his appreciation look.

"I wasn't really expecting anyone. I know you can't show up just anywhere, but... Can we agree on a time slot when it is okay for you to come here?"

Vanitas ignored her and sat on her bed, staring at the wall, suddenly silent. She followed her gaze to a picture pinned on the wall, of Terra and her dressed up as a Prince and a Princess when she was seven.

"Vanitas? What is it you wanted to talk about?"

He turned his eyes to her. She shivered as the seriousness of his face.

"If you had to describe me, what would you say?"

"What?"

"I want to know what you think of me. I... I need to know." At these last words, he escaped her gaze and stared at the floor instead.

"Fine. But I will be honest. I won't say only the good things. Is that fine with you?"

"That's exactly what I want you to do."

She sat on the chair facing him and took a while to think.

"I would say... You are impulsive and poorly educated. You have no idea of what it right or wrong, you are often terribly rude and you don't care about it. You care about me, but in a selfish way, you hate that you have to share me, and even when you don't say it I can see how jealous you are whenever I talk about Ventus or especially about Terra.

You also have a very low image of yourself. You value your fighting skills, but you don't think you are worth being loved. You have been alone for so long you don't know what it means to have someone by your side. You don't know how to express what you are feeling, and you always relied on your unversed to convey your feelings. That day when it all began, in the clearing, I don't think you trusted me. I think you were just so tired of your life that you did not really care if I killed you or not. When Terra and Master Eraqus tried to kill you, you did not care either. You do not value your life, because you think there is nothing but negativity in it.

But there is also some good in you. When you started learning about the stars, you were genuinely excited. You really look happy whenever you see me. You are always looking forward to our next meeting. The day I stabbed myself, you were terrified, and I know you learnt how to value one's life. And you learnt to value yours too, even though you did not notice. You accused me of corrupting your unversed, but you are the only one who can control them. Memo saved you from your cold, because you did not want to die. There is hope in you.

You will never be Terra. You will never be Ventus. But you are someone so much more important. You are yourself. I don't want another Terra. I don't want another Ventus. I want you as yourself, Vanitas. No one else."

All the words came straight from her heart. When he finally looked up from the ground, she could see some emotion in his eyes. Had she worn something a bit more appropriate, she probably would have hugged him.

"That boy you described. Would you trust him enough to put your life in his hands?"

She smiled. "I already did, remember?"

"No. You cheated that day."

"Yes. I would entrust him my life."

"And would you entrust him the life of your friends as well?"

She fell silent at this question. After thinking about it, she came with the best answer she could think of. "No. Because I do not own their lives. It is up to them to entrust them to whoever they wish."

"Would you trust him, no matter what, no matter who is Master is?"

"I am not my Master. He is not his."

"And even though he's working on the worlds destruction, planning to hurt those you love, and destroy everything you ever knew... Would you still be able to love him?"

She stood up and caressed his cheek from the tips of her fingers.

"Love is a strange thing. I think once you started loving someone, you can never stop. This is why love is such a strong and painful feeling. It's a light that can never go out."

He took her hand, and for a minute, two, then five, they did not move. Him, sitting on her bed, her, standing in front of him, her hand locked in his.

"You never make things easy, do you?" He finally chuckled as he slowly stood up. "You actually made them really complicated now." He mumbled.

"Vanitas? Is there anything wrong?"

He opened a Corridor of Darkness and put his helmet back on. "We're talking about me. Everything is always wrong."

"You know you can talk to me about anything. I will listen. Don't keep it all for yourself."

He raised his hand towards her face, but stopped before touching her, letting his arm fall.

"There are things you don't want to know, Aqua. And you will soon learn how much of a burden love really is. Yours... And mine as well."

On his mysterious words, he was gone, leaving Aqua alone in her room, her brain doing her best to understand what he meant.

Bonus

Tired of thinking over and over Vanitas's words, Aqua decided it was time for a tea. She left her room for the kitchen, where Terra was already there, drinking his cup of coffee.

Spitting his cup of coffee would be more accurate, given how he drowned himself in the dark liquid.

"Terra, is everything alright?" Aqua asked, coming closer to pat his back.

His face was crimson, probably due to the coughing.

"Aqua, you... That's..."

"Calm down first, okay? Breathe in and out. There. Better?"

Although the coffee was now out of his lungs and he was breathing correctly, his face remained the same colour, and he was doing his best not to look at her. She worried. Did he break one of her things again and could not face her?

"Terra, the sooner you tell me, the sooner it's over."

"Good morning Terra! Good morning Aqua!"

"Good morning Ventus! Did you sleep well?"

"Like a baby! What's going on, Terra? Your face is all red! Woah, Aqua!"

Aqua turned to him, fists on the hips.

"What was that Woah for? Will someone tell me what is wrong?"

Ventus started giggling. "Is it a special day? Like 'no trousers day' or something?"

Aqua looked down, and cursed. She never did. It was probably the third time in her life she allowed herself to be rude, but that was worth it.

So distracted by Vanitas's word, she had forgotten to get properly dressed. She was still wearing her shirt that was way too short to be a decent dress, in the middle of the kitchen, in front of her two best friends.

She suddenly wanted to go back to sleep and to never, ever wake up again.

I'M SORRY, I JUST HAD TO, OKAY?

Hope you enjoyed this little bonus, as well as the whole chapter!