For that one moment, suspended in the light, spanning the void between realms, Vanitas knew what true freedom felt like. His anger and hate were purged from his heart. The fear of the darkness melted away.

It was like being reborn.

He tumbled off the Archraven and landed on his back when the portal spat them out onto sand. Sand? He panicked, thinking that the light had rejected him, that it had seen inside his heart and decided he'd be better off in the Realm of Darkness after all. But no, it was way too bright for that – a real sun shone down from a light blue sky.

A real sun… As much as it burned, he dismissed his mask to feel the warmth on his face. Real warmth.

He laughed – not a chuckle or a cackle, but his first laugh of true joy in… well, since he'd lost Aqua.

As if his thought had summoned her, she stood over him. With her helmet now off, the sun's glow outlined her face, like her own personal halo. It still didn't shine as brightly as her smile. "How does it feel to be back in the light, Van?"

"Good." No, that was an understatement. "Amazing," he said honestly, for the first time in forever. He could've created another Inversed army right then and there. Then the fatigue hit him, like he could sleep for a million years. Or – his stomach growled angrily – he could maybe eat for a million years. "Actually, I'm starving."

She laughed. "I thought you might. I felt that way when I… well, when you saved me. It's as if the last twelve years without real food all catch up to you at once."

"Wait," he bolted upright. "The last twelve years?"

"That was the last time I saw Aqua," Mickey said, strolling over on his tiny legs. And people thought his Unversed were creepy. "It might have been longer."

"But – it was forty-five days!" Even during his fight with the Dark Wind, he hadn't lost count. Forty-five days since Aqua became his friend. He guessed that meant they'd spent more days in the Realm of Darkness before that, but still. Enough to make up twelve years? Could time in the dark realm really be that distorted?

Aqua blushed, guessing what he was referring to. "How long did you fight the Dark Wind, Van?"

"Four days," he replied. "Including the day I saved you."

Riku grunted from a few feet away, where he was petting the giant yellow Archraven. "Not bad."

Vanitas scowled. Who was that guy? He'd kept the darkness itself at bay for four whole days. That wasn't just "not bad." And his Archraven wasn't a pet! It only annoyed him more that his Inversed cawed happily at the attention.

"Four days," Aqua breathed. "I'm so sorry, Van – I tried to come sooner. I needed help to find a way back to the Realm of Darkness, and I hoped that since so much time had passed here while we were gone, only a few hours or a day might have passed there."

"How long was it for you?" He asked, standing and striding over to his Archraven. As he placed his hand on it, its light withdrew back into him.

"Fifty days," she whispered. He whirled around, ignoring Riku's wide-eyed surprise at the Inversed's disappearance.

"Fifty days?"

She winced. "I tried to come as quickly as I could! I had to find a way to travel the worlds again, and then arranging an expedition to the World That Never Was—"

"Aqua, Aqua, I'm not mad!" He laughed, more to relieve her tension than anything. "I just can't believe you still tried to rescue me, after all that time. I thought you would've…"

"Given up on you?" She put her hands on her hips. "How long have you known me, Van? Did I give up on Ven? Did I give up on Terra?"

"No." He grimaced, half for doubting her, half because of her mentions of her other friends.

"Then of course I wouldn't have given up on you. No matter what." She suddenly pulled him close, into a tight hug. He couldn't help a slight hiss of pain at being pressed against her metal armor, weak as he still was. "Oh. Sorry…" She seemed to realize. She let go and pressed the small plates on her shoulders, magically retracting it into them. Only then did he realize she still hadn't gotten her regular clothes back.

"You kept the suit?" He asked. Her armor pieces were strapped to her upper arms, but underneath she still wore the navy and magenta suit he'd created for her, frayed skirt-thing and all. Her blue Wayfinder was somehow back to hanging from her belt.

"I – well, um, yes." Her face flushed bright red, though he had no idea why.

"But you hated it. Heck, I hate this thing." He tugged at the veins on his arm. "You don't need it anymore, Aqua. The darkness won't get you here." I won't let it.

"I know. I just… well, for one, I haven't found my old clothes yet. Riku and Mickey suggested we leave the Land of Departure as Castle Oblivion until we can go through more of Organization XIII's research."

"The three fairies offered to make you new clothes," Riku said. "I for one would've taken them up on it. Vanitas is right. Those suits are awful."

Vanitas raised an eyebrow. He'd have to talk with this Riku later. He sounded too interesting for his own good. Bad enough that he already had to share Aqua's friendship with Terra and Ventus…

Aqua blushed deeper, if that was possible. "Alright, fine. You'll think I'm silly, but I actually kept it because… it reminded me of you."

Mickey and Riku gave them some space, looking uncomfortable. He doubted Mickey approved of his friendship with Aqua, regardless of how the black-coated mouse had helped him. And as for Riku… well, he really didn't know much about the silver-haired man. They walked down the beach towards a low wooden bridge. Finally.

"You're right. I do think you're 'silly.'" The word felt wrong in his mouth, like a distorted version of stupid. Not that he would call Aqua stupid. "But only because you're assuming I would find that silly."

Surprise and confusion mingled on her face. "Excuse me for that, Van, but you find just about everything silly. Besides, it's one of those things that Terra would have teased me for, being sentimental and all." Then she muttered, "Being 'such a girl' sometimes…"

"You've got three major things wrong there." He said, trying not to scowl. He was safe, and he was with Aqua; that was enough to help him suppress the impulse. "One, I don't find things silly. I find them stupid. There's a big difference. Two, I am not Terra. Don't imply that I'm like him again."

The sharpness in his voice made her blink, but for once she didn't question it. "Okay, Van."

He nodded. "And the third thing. I don't think it's stupid that you kept the suit. I… I'm glad you did." Because maybe, if it reminded you of me, you thought of me even half as much as I thought of you.

She smiled, some of her embarrassment leaking away. "I hope you won't be offended if I get some new clothes now, since you're back."

He laughed. "Aqua, I'd be thrilled to go find some new clothes right now. I haven't worn anything besides this stupid suit since I was part of Ventus." His stomach growled again, angry at being ignored. "But let's get food first."

He looked up from his growling stomach, only to see her covering her mouth with her hand. Then suddenly she let out the loudest laugh he'd ever heard.

"What?" He demanded, a scowl tugging at him again. "I just want some food! Is that too much to ask?"

"No, Van—!" She could hardly hold the laughter in; she crouched with her hands on her knees. "I'm sorry, it was just too funny. The image of you going shopping…!"

"What's so funny about that?" He crossed his arms. "We could steal clothes instead of buying them, if that would save my reputation."

"No, no, it's just that Terra and Ven would die before going shopping with me." She finally got ahold of herself, wiping a tear from her eye.

"Good. All the more reason to go. But first, food." He stretched out his hand, wondering if he could open dark corridors again. To his surprise, the portal of darkness appeared, standing up out of the sand.

Aqua's eyes bulged. "Van, close that now!"

"What? Are you determined to keep me starving?"

"Just do it!" She ordered. The authority in her voice, and his trust of her, compelled him to obey. She breathed an audible sigh of relief. "Do you know how those corridors work?"

"Uh… they're made out of darkness," he replied. "But we still have our dark suits. We would be safe."

She shook her head. "No, Van, safeis the last thing we'd be. I learned about them from Riku and Master Yen Sid when we were planning to rescue you. They use shortcuts through the Realm of Darkness to reach different worlds."

He went pale, realizing what he'd almost done. "…Oh." It was a horrible understatement. If he had stepped through that corridor, and the Dark Wind had been waiting for him… or worse, if it was able to come through the dark corridor in a way it couldn't through the door to light…

"Exactly." She nodded. "We can use my glider instead. Riku showed me a few places to eat in Radiant Garden that you might like. They're more used to outsiders than this world; we would stick out here like… well, like two people dressed in all black in the middle of summer." She smiled.

"We're not in all black. Your suit's just really dark blue," he pointed out for argument's sake. "Who's this Riku guy, anyway?"

"Oh, I didn't even introduce you, did I?" Her head swiveled, looking for him, but he and the mouse were sitting far away on a curved tree at the end of the bridge.

"Don't worry about it. I can always meet the los— uh, the guy later." Aqua tended not to like it when he called her friends losers. Even if ninety percent of the time it was true. Besides, the two had helped Aqua rescue him; he could give them a break for that. She'd probably want him to thank them, too… Ugh. Sometimes it was easier being a heart of darkness, he thought, even though he knew it wasn't true. "Forget it. We can talk about all that after we get some food."

She smiled, summoning her keyblade and activating her armor again. Then she threw Stormfall like she was attempting a strike raid, but it flew off into the distance only to swoop back as a fully-functional glider.

"You'll have to teach me how to do that," he said, staring in amazement. Could Void Gear turn into a glider? He bet it would make the most epic glider ever.

"You mean, you never…?"

"Xehanort wanted me using the corridors. You know, 'darkness darkness darkness' and all that." He shrugged. Aqua winced.

"There's something you should know, Van…" She looked torn, but he stared until she continued. "Xehanort is back."

"What?" If he'd had a drink right then, he would've spit it out. "But you said it's been twelve years! That old geezer has to be dead by now! Unless—"

"He did possess Terra," she replied solemnly, nodding. "And apparently more people than that. Riku and Sora have been fighting different incarnations of him for the past two years."

Sora. That name hit him again, the same way it had when Aqua had said it the first time. That had been the first time she'd seen him without his mask. She'd said… he reminded her of him. It was crazy, but just from the name, he could feel some sort of connection.

And then, with no reasonable explanation, he knew. It was just a feeling, but a feeling so strong and sudden that it had to be right.

"That's where Ventus is," he said, forgetting all about Xehanort for the moment. "He's with Sora."

"Van – how would you—?"

"I just know. Trust me."

"…I do," she finally said, baring a small smile. "Thank you, Van. I wanted to go looking for him and Terra – for a way to restore them – but I… I couldn't. Not yet. Not knowing the danger you were facing."

His heart did a cartwheel at that. You hear that, Ventus, Terra? She saved me first! Granted, he was in the most obvious, immediate danger, but still. That did bring up another question, though.

"So… is that what you're going to do now?" He swallowed. They were both safe. She'd fulfilled any debt she owed him by rescuing him from the Dark Wind. She had no real reason to stay with him now.

"As soon as I can." Her smile faded a little, brow creasing in worry. Vanitas tried to prepare himself, holding in a Scrapper of nervousness. She was going to say it, wasn't she? That their journey had ended.

"Van… I know you don't like Terra, and… well, I'm not really sure how you feel about Ventus… but would you come with me?"

He blinked. "What?" Had he really heard that right?

She looked away, her hair falling into her face. "I understand if you would prefer not to. It will be dangerous, I'm sure, and you might be tired of me after so long…"

"Aqua." He put his hands on her shoulders. The touch was in just the right place to accidentally disengage her armor; it retracted in sparks of light, leaving her in her dark suit again. "That is the single stupidest thing I have ever heard."

She looked up. Or rather, down. Void, sometimes it was embarrassing being shorter than her.

"You don't have a clue, do you?" He asked, voice soft in spite of the harsh words. "Aqua, I thought I was never going to see you again. Do you know what that felt like?"

"…Bad?" She took a sheepish guess. He snorted at the understatement.

"Imagine cutting out your heart and stomping on it."

"Do you think that might be a bitof an exaggeration?" She asked with a blush.

"Shut up. I know how I felt," he grumbled back. "You have no ideahow much I missed you."

"I have no idea?" Her face grew redder, but this time it seemed to be from indignation. "You missed me for four days; I missed you for fifty! And the whole time, I was afraid I'd be too late! For all I knew you'd be dead before I found you!"

He wanted to snap back that he'd been afraid he'd be dead. But he stopped. "…Did you say you missed me?"

"Of course I missed you!" She shouted in exasperation. "You're my best friend, Van!"

The words felt like a hug, delivered with the force of a slap to the face. It made his head spin. "I'm… your best friend? More than Terra and Ventus?"

"Well…" She swallowed, "that's hard to explain."

"Why?" He demanded, ignoring the persistent rumble of his stomach. Unfortunately, Aqua didn't.

"You're hungry. We can talk more over lunch." She leapt up onto her glider, then engaged her armor again. In a flash of light, the cobalt plates swept over the navy veins of her suit. "Hop on."

"Uh…" He wasn't really sure where to hop on. It looked like the pieces didn't really connect even when the thing wasn't broken. He settled for perching on the thin blue piece that Aqua had braced her feet against.

"You'll need to hold on a little better than that."

"And what exactly am I supposed to hold on to?" He grumbled back. She answered his question by placing his arms around her waist, as if it should've been obvious. Well, he wouldn't complain about that. Even if her armor wasn't the most comfortable thing to hold onto.

"Be sure not to fall off. The Lanes Between can be dangerous."

He nodded, summoning his mask. "Got it."

Her glider shot out a portal of light, and then they were off.

XXX

He had to hand it to Aqua – or, by association, Riku – the restaurant she chose was fantastic. Just a small little hole-in-the-wall café, but the burgers were amazing. Of course, he hadn't had real food in over ten years; the dirt off the bottom of his boots probably would've tasted amazing.

Aqua told her story, how the portal had landed her in the Land of Departure, in the chamber where she had left Ventus. The place was called Castle Oblivion now, apparently; she had wandered its halls with his giant Flood, searching for a way out, until she met Riku and Mickey. They were trying to find information on this group called "Organization XIII," which had something to do with Xehanort. It was all confusing, honestly.

She'd been afraid he was dead when the Flood disappeared one day – when he had called its love back to fight for him. He didn't interrupt her story to explain that, though, just as she didn't explain why she kept trying to rescue him after that. Something was hidden there, only revealed in the faint pink tinge he saw in her face when he stole glances up at her.

She finished her story in the time it took him to devour three double-patty burgers. Something as simple as eating – especially when he didn't have to steal the food – made him feel more real again, like his time in the Realm of Darkness had been a dream.

He took another glance up from his burger at Aqua. Not too bad a dream, though, all things considered. The Dark Wind felt worlds away. As it should.

"I thought you might like this place." She smiled, passing him a napkin, which he took and then promptly ignored. His face was just going to get more grease on it, anyway. "Ven loved burgers."

That almost made him want to spit it out. If it hadn't been so dang good, anyway. "Are you always going to compare me to Ventus?"

"I'm sorry, it just comes naturally," she said, though her voice didn't sound that apologetic. "Ven and Terra are my friends. When you remind me of them, I mean it as a compliment. And, well, you and Ven did come from the same person; it only makes sense that you would have some similarities."

"Whatever," he grumbled through another mouthful. He should let it go. He was with Aqua; that was the only thing that mattered.

"That reminds me – you never answered my question," she said. Her fingers uncharacteristically fiddled with a napkin of her own. "I just need to know, Van, even if the answer is no. Will you come with me to save them?"

"You never answered my question," he replied, trying to pin her with his eyes. "Why is it hard to explain if I'm your best friend?"

They stared at each other across the table, a long moment of silence passing. An employee gave them a funny look as he passed with a stack of empty food trays. Vanitas chose to think it was just because of their dark suits, and not because he'd overheard any of their conversation.

"You answer first," they both said at the same time. Vanitas had thought his gaze would've been enough to compel her to go first. Apparently, her stare was stronger. Sighing, he broke first – sort of.

"They hate me, Aqua," he said quietly, his fears tumbling out as words rather than Unversed. "Maybe Ventus won't. If he remembers anything when he wakes up, he might know that I saved you. But Terra? He'll try to kill me after what I did to you two. You might be able to see me differently, Aqua, but here, in the Realm of Light… I'm just another shadow."

"Van…" She reached an arm across the table, holding his grease-covered hand. "I don't care where we are, the Realm of Darkness or the Realm of Light. You're no shadow."

"Well, I'm no light, either." He shook his head, but gripped his hand tighter. "Aqua, I've changed a lot – you've changed me. But I'm still no Ventus or Terra. I never will be. If you can understand that, if you can accept it… then I'll go with you."

Her eyes widened. Then a smile slowly broke across her face. "You… will?"

Of course I will. I'd do anything not to lose you again. "Long as you promise to keep them from killing me. And, like I said, don't expect me to be like Terra or Ventus."

"Van, I don't expect that at all," she said sincerely. "There's something you don't understand. I've never wanted you to be Terra or Ven. I want you to be you – the best you you can be."

He raised an eyebrow. "By definition, Ventus would be the best version of me."

She shook her head. "As much as I talk about him and Terra – because I do love them, even after the trouble they put me through – I don't think that's true. There are good things you've done that they never would have."

"Like what?" He asked, unsure whether to hope or be hurt. Aqua loved Terra and Ventus. She said so. Did she have enough love for him, too?

"Like when I gave you the Wayfinder. Neither of them… seemed to care very much." Her head bowed. "I worked for weeks on them, but Terra just called me 'such a girl' – and sometimes, at that – and Ven… well, I don't think he understood what it meant to me. I suppose that's to be expected when you have two clueless boys as your best friends." She sighed, then looked up at him with a smile. "But you, Van – the Wayfinder I gave you was made of broken trash and bits of my clothing. It was hardly worth being a gift at all. But I saw the look on your face when I gave it to you. You would have thought I'd given you the worlds."

"Yeah," he said matter-of-factly. He saw no point in being embarrassed about it. "That's exactly what it felt like." He reached down to his belt with his free hand, feeling for the familiar charm. Only then did he remember, and he nearly leapt out of his chair. "It's still in the Realm of Darkness! I dropped it when you showed up – I have to get it back!"

"Whoa, Van, slow down!" She grabbed his other hand so she could hold them both tightly, keeping him at the table. "We can't go back there! I'll make you a new one. In fact, I can make you a better one now."

"I don't know that I want a better one. I want that one." He frowned, but he forced himself to calm down. He had Aqua. He didn't need the charm to remind him of her, to feel her close, to smell her clean and flowery scent. Even with his dampened sense of smell, that particular scent was stronger than ever.

"Well, I guess I can break another Panacea, if that's what you really want," she said with a wry smile. "But you know we can't go back. Though I'm honored that you would want to for something I gave you."

He sighed. "You have no idea, Aqua. Your Wayfinder saved my life more times than I can count. I think it even saved me from going insane."

She raised her eyebrows, still looking a little amused. "You're always so quick to underestimate me. I think I actually have a very good idea."

"Oh, yeah?" He challenged.

"Yeah." She leaned forward, face growing pink again. "Remember how I told you that the Flood you created disappeared?"

"…Yeah? And that matters why?"

"I thought that meant… I thought you were dead," she whispered. "And… I hope you won't accuse me of exaggeration, but a part of me died that day. I almost gave up. My darkness seemed to swallow me; Riku and Mickey had to take care of me for a week. Do you want to know what kept me going?"

"Duh. Don't ask stupid questions." He leaned closer, elbow sliding into a small splatter of ketchup.

She laughed for a moment before continuing. "My Wayfinder started glowing one night. It was very faint; at first I thought I'd imagined it, but it gave me hope anyway. Then, a week or so later… I heard your voice."

She looked at him expectantly, as if he would confirm or deny that she was insane. But he just asked, "What did I say?"

Her eyes darted away. Her face colored even more. And he remembered.

I love you, Aqua. I miss you…

He cursed. "You weren't supposed to hear that." If he told her, he wanted it to be to her face, not from worlds away. But if it had given her the strength to keep going…

She looked up, eyes widening. "You don't even know what I was going to say!"

"You underestimate me," he quoted her. "I know more than you think I do." He slipped out of his seat, tugging her by both of her hands.

"Van! Where are we going?"

He brushed past a couple of people entering the café and ran into the street, letting go of one of Aqua's arms so he didn't have to run backwards. Radiant Garden didn't look anything like he remembered – Aqua had mentioned that it had gone by the name Hollow Bastion for a while, after Xehanort had somehow screwed the world over. Regardless, he could still dredge up enough memories to drag her to a place he figured would still be secluded. Not the fountain court; even if that part of the world was still there, he had no desire to be close to water for a long time.

"The outer gardens…?" Aqua realized when Vanitas finally stopped in a courtyard at the edge of the city. It wasn't much of a garden anymore – the fountain in its center looked as if it hadn't run for a long time, and the wilting flowers proved it. The few flowers that were still there, anyway; many of the planters were filled with grass or rubble. "Van, isn't this where… um…"

"The first place we fought." He laughed at the realization, running a hand through his hair. "How could I forget? I was just looking for somewhere no idiots would spy on us."

Not that he cared if the whole worlds knew he loved Aqua. He just didn't want them to know if she didn't love him back.

"Does this place make you uncomfortable?" He asked, but she still held tightly to his hand. After a moment of hesitation, she shook her head.

"No. You did some truly terrible things in the past, but that doesn't have to define your present or your future." Her smile was heavy with determination. "I've forgiven you, Van. You've proved over and over that you deserve forgiveness."

A weight lifted from his shoulders, just like it had the first time she'd forgiven him. He would keep changing, keep atoning for his mistakes, if it meant that he could keep feeling that.

"Thank you, Aqua." He cleared his throat. "So, you were saying…"

"Oh." Her face colored again. It never used to do that unless he really ticked her off. When had that changed? "Why don't you tell me? I mean, if you already know."

It felt like a trap. Why hadn't he just let her say it? Then, if she didn't love him too, he could've just laughed it off and said she was hearing things. He could try to lie, but under the weight of her gaze he felt the truth would squeeze right out of him.

He steeled himself, mentally shoving Unversed of embarrassment into the basement of his heart. There was no reason to be embarrassed or ashamed. Might as well be ashamed of his black hair or gold eyes; his feelings for Aqua felt just as much a part of who he was. A part he wouldn't want to do without.

"You really like to make things difficult for me," he muttered, swallowing the lump in his throat. It was easy to think the words; what made them so difficult to say? But he would say them, and he would say them proudly, looking her in the eyes. He took a deep breath.

"I love you, Aqua."

He shoved down the urge to flinch, to not watch Aqua's reaction. Not that he could look away, either; seeing her response was like a physical need. He'd never loved anyone before. He didn't know if what he'd said was right, or how she was supposed to react. Was the brighter color in her face good or bad?

"In… what way?" She asked carefully.

Really? Of all the things she could ask, she had to ask that? His free hand, the one not holding hers, tangled in his hair.

"The best way," he asserted. Then, feeling his own face flush with embarrassment, he admitted, "…I don't know. I've never loved anyone else before."

Stepping closer, Aqua reached up and took his free hand, untangling it from his hair. Then, she said quietly, "I don't want to take advantage of you, Van. You can take as much time as you need to figure it out."

"What's that supposed to mean?" He asked with a frown. "It's not supposed to be complicated. You're just supposed to tell me if you love me too or not." At least, that's what he thought was supposed to happen. How should he know?

Staring down at him – only slightly down, he wasn't that short – her face finally melted into a smile. It was a smile that could have lit up the Realm of Darkness itself. "I love you too, Van."

A couple of Flood Inversed leapt from his shoulders, startling her back. He cursed, catching them in midair and reabsorbing them. "Ugh, stop it, you idiots…"

"Um, sorry…?" Aqua said, not sure how to react. This wasn't going the way he expected at all. Not that he'd been sure what to expect.

"Not your fault. They can be, uh, tricky sometimes," he said, face turning redder than hers. "I answered your question. Now you answer mine: am I your best friend or not? Why were you being so confusing?"

"Well… that's the part that's difficult to explain. Particularly if you don't know about different kinds of love." Her fingers twisted around the ragged ends of her skirt. "I never even thought this could happen…" She shook her head. "I'll try to explain, but you have to promise not to be upset if I compare you to Terra and Ven."

He frowned, but his curiosity got the best of him. "Fine."

"Promise?" She raised her eyebrows; he rolled his eyes.

"Promise."

She smiled and continued, "Terra and Ven, they're my best friends – but they're also like my brothers. I feel responsible for them; I was always trying to keep them out of trouble."

Maybe if they'd ever actually listened to her, they'd still be here now, he thought. But then again, that probably means I wouldn't be. Guess I'm lucky they're idiots.

"I think – well, I think because of that, they sometimes they saw me as their mother." She laughed awkwardly. "All things considered, it made sense. Still, sometimes I felt isolated for that. Even if they didn't see me that way, they – Terra, at least – always saw me as a girl. Worse – he sometimes saw me as a girl."

Vanitas listened in surprise. Aqua had never said anything remotely negative about her friends before; he'd suspected she never spoke badly of anyone. Except himself, of course, and maybe Xehanort. The way her words tumbled out sounded as if she'd been holding in these thoughts for a long time.

"Honestly. Sometimes being a girl. What is that even supposed to mean?" She said in exasperation. "As if being a girl is a problem! I'm proud to be a girl, thank you very much!"

"Aqua?" Vanitas cleared his throat. "You okay?"

She started, as if she only now realized her tangent. At least no darkness had wisped out of her; that problem should be gone for good. "Sorry. I just never had the chance to get that off my chest."

"Oh. Well, then don't shut up now." What was he supposed to say? Apparently he could handle her going crazy with darkness, but when it came to regular emotions, he was as lost as ever. At least for this particular one he could blame Terra.

"It's alright, I'm fine now," she said sheepishly. "To get back to your question – and regardless of my, um, outburst – I love Terra and Ven. But they're like my family. I could never think of them the way I… the way I've come to think of you," she finished quietly.

Vanitas just stared in confusion. "Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" It was one of the rare times he thought he might actually want to be compared to Terra and Ventus.

"See, that's why I didn't want to explain. That answer depends entirely on how you feel." She sighed again. "When I heard your voice through the Wayfinder, I hoped… but I wouldn't expect you to know. You only just learned what friendship feels like. You've grown so much already. I'm proud of you, Van."

Her words swirled around him, like he was caught in a whirlpool. So many things he didn't understand. She loved him, but not like she loved Terra and Ventus. She was proud of him, but her eyes were a little sad. She talked about friendship, but implied there was something more than that.

"Shut up, Aqua," he said tenderly, pulling her into a tight hug. It felt so better without her armor in the way. She was so warm, warmer than he remembered her being in the Realm of Darkness. "I love you. Isn't that enough?"

"Yes," she replied immediately, hugging him back even more tightly than he held her. Like he would slip back into the darkness if she gave him any room to let go. "Van, I'm sorry. That's more than enough."

"Don't apologize," he said, then added, "And don't let go."

She smiled; he couldn't see it with his face buried in her shoulder, but he could feel it against his ear. Then he felt fingers brushing through his hair, taming his wild spikes. It felt… good. Tentatively he reached a hand up to her own hair, mentally commanding the fingers of his suit to fade back into darkness. It was always a pain to regrow the suit after purposely dismissing it, but he'd be getting new clothes soon anyway.

He'd never felt her hair on his bare hands before. Not that he'd felt much with his bare hands at all. It was like a cloud cradling his fingers. Silky and soft. Way better than his hair would feel; clearly she'd had time to bathe since being back in the Realm of Light. Ugh, he was going to have to get back in water for that, wasn't he…

He felt something soft on his cheek that startled him from the thought; he nearly jumped back in surprise. If Aqua hadn't been holding him so tightly, he probably would have.

Her mouth was on his face.

She'd felt him go stone still. Her arms released him; her face was as embarrassed as he'd ever seen. "Van – oh light, I'm sorry, I told myself I wouldn't—"

"Hey. I told you not to let go." He smirked before holding her around the waist again. "Now, you said you were going to let me figure out how I love you."

"I also said I wasn't going to take advantage of you." She shook her head frantically. "You have all the time you need to figure that out, you don't have to—"

He didn't waste time telling her to shut up. He did that for her. He cupped his hand behind her head and pulled her close enough for his mouth to reach hers.

What are you doing? Idiot! You have no idea what you're doing; you've never kissed anyone! Why would Aqua want you to kiss her anyway? She's older than you and better than you and she's beautiful and you're just an idiot!

His mouth didn't listen to his brain. Thankfully, it somehow knew what to do, more or less. Her lips tasted like she smelled: soft and flowery, sweet and clean. It was intoxicating. He tried to forget the fact that he probably tasted like grease and burgers. He should've used those napkins after all.

She didn't seem to care. She melted into him, like ice turning to water – only if she was water, for once he wouldn't mind being wet. Her head tilted sideways, her lips shifted, and suddenly he realized he had been kissing her wrong. This was right. He was surprised at the roughness of her kiss, at how hungry it felt, of how she ignored his metal helmet piece that had to be digging into her chin.

Not that he minded any of those things. He was just a little disappointed that he had to divide some of his attention to pinning down the Inversed that wanted to leap out of him again.

He wasn't sure how long they had stood there kissing before he had to pull away. Her hand holding the back of his head made it difficult, but he twisted to the side. He opened his eyes, gasping for breath, and she blinked as if coming out of a trance.

"That… that happened," she said intelligently.

He grinned, though he couldn't help seeing her in a new light. Had that really been Aqua? Never in a million years would he have thought she could kiss like that. That she would want to kiss like that.

That she would want to kiss him like that.

"To answer your earlier question," he said, "I like you like that."

"Well, that makes two of us." She grinned back, though it still held a hint of embarrassment.

He laughed. It was just so crazy. So impossible. He had hardly known he could love, and then to be loved back, and for it to be like this?The only thing that would've made it better would've been if he could've kissed her in front of Terra. He doubted she'd ever agree to that, though.

"How long?" He asked suddenly.

"Excuse me?"

"How long have you… loved me?" Those words still felt so foreign, like his mouth hadn't been programmed to say them.

"Well… it didn't happen all at once. I think it started when I gave you the Wayfinder. It's hard to tell, with all the darkness inside of me at the time. I only admitted it to myself after you sent me back to the Realm of Light."

"I had no idea. I didn't even know I could love at all until I made that giant Flood."

"The Flood?" She raised her eyebrows. They were still so close to him; her lips were still so close. Funny how he'd never paid attention to them until now. "The one that stayed with me?"

"Yeah." He nodded. "I made it out of my love for you."

"Well… that explains a lot," she said with a chuckle.

"What? Did it do something stupid?"

"It would never leave me alone unless I ordered it to. Actually, the fact that it listened to me at all should have been a clue." She laughed again. "Plus there was the fact that it would hug me at almost every opportunity."

"Heh. It was smarter than I was, then."

"Don't worry," she said, with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. "I'm sure you'll have plenty of time for hugs now."

"I'd better." He nodded. "Now that that's all settled, you want to get out of these stupid clothes?"

All the redness suddenly poured back into her face. You would've thought he'd suggested they go streak naked through the streets – oh wait.

"I mean get some new clothes," he corrected, alleviating the shock from her face. "Don't worry. I remember what you said about how people can't run around—"

She let go of him and held up her hands. "You know what, Van? Let's not talk about that. In fact, let's pretend that never happened."

"But I didn't—"

"No. Van, this time I'm going to have to tell you to shut up," she said definitively. At least she hadn't fulfilled her oath to kill him for bringing it up. "And I wonder why Terra and Ven treat me like a mom…"

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I don't think you're like a mom."

She sighed heavily, staring up at the sky as if to ask it how she ended up with him of all people. "You had better not think of me like a mother, or else we're going to have some serious problems."

He laughed and held out his hand. "Aqua, you're going to have some serious problems anyway. You've just asked me to tag along on your little adventure. You're stuck with me, with all the strings and problems attached."

Smiling, she took his hand. "You're not the only one who has problems, Van. I may not have the Dark Wind inside me anymore, but I still have my own darkness to fight."

He shrugged. "You and everyone else, Aqua. Every light casts a shadow." For a moment she looked troubled by that, but he just grinned.

"But fighting shadows is what we do best."

XXX THE END XXX

A/N: Holy flying ice cream! Is it actually over? Am I dreaming?

Oh man, I have so many notes on this. Mostly about the pairing. Yes, it ended up being romantic. I hope no one comes to my house with pitchforks and torches for that. Remember how I said I knew how this was going to end? I kind of lied. XD I went back and forth a lot, because there were pros and cons to both sides, but in the end it was Aqua that decided it. She actually really surprised me. I knew it wasn't going to be romantic unless she was on board, but I just didn't expect her to be, well, so on board. *sweatdrop* It was kind of interesting to write though, since usually most Aqua/Vanitas fics have Van as the more dominant one, but the character development in this one was set up much better for Aqua's end.

I could write up a huge essay on why I decided to ship Aqua and Vanitas in this fic, but that would take too long right now and I'm planning on writing a similar thing on my brand-spanking-new tumblr anyway so I'll probably just throw it up there. It's under the username taliaxlatia, FFN will eat it if I try to put the actual link. It's called "The Dumpster That Never Was" for good reason though, most of the stuff I throw up there are crack fanfic ideas or really crappy sketches. It's like a place to throw everything that's not good enough for FFN or dA. (And apparently, so I can rant about how much I love Aqua/Vanitas. XD)

So yeah! If I had left it platonic, it would have been open-ended for them to get together later. I might have even written a bonus one-shot about that. But now that this is pretty well wrapped up, I probably won't write anything else in this universe, except maybe some Vanitas and Riku friendship in "Unbreakable Chains." Because I think that would somehow be hilarious. I'm not sure if they would hate each other or be bros.

Also, surprise!: I had planned (secretly) that if this story reached 200 reviews (which it did!) to do something special! So I've decided that anyone who has read and reviewed this story can send me (either via review or PM) a request for a Vanitas/Aqua story. Platonic or romance, AU or canon, crossovers, ponies, whatever floats your boat. I'll put all of the suggestions on a poll, along with a few ideas of my own, and let everyone vote on it. This time, your vote really does matter! I'll write whichever idea comes out on top. Now, I can't promise I'll write it soon or quickly or anything, but I do love Aqua and Van so chances are decent that I'll get distracted from working on my original story and want to write about them anyway. So, in summary: PM or review with your plot bunnies or vague suggestions, I'll throw 'em on a poll, and we'll have a virtual hunger games to determine what I'll write! :P

Now, this A/N is super huge already, but I have to do the customary end-of-mulichapter thanks!

Special thanks to The Unplanner, who helped me with a lot of canon fact-checking and also a couple cool ideas for the story! The Blessed Coach was inspired by one of his reviews!

Special thanks also to The Mighty Gyarapie for the Inversed name idea! Seriously, this would've been a pain in the butt if I had to call them "light Unversed" or "positive Unversed" every single time. I like to think eventually I would've had a similar idea, but if I had I bet the name wouldn't have been nearly as cool.

Special thanks to Raberba girl, whose funny story "Now I Have One Too" first gave me the idea that Van could've ended up in the Realm of Darkness. (As far as I know she hasn't written Aqua/Vanitas, but her KH stuff is still great and worth checking out if you haven't!)

Thanks to Shamangirl1, for pointing out a super hilarious typo in chapter 15. XD

Thanks to Luna Lillyth, Antex-The Legendary Zoroark, sailorsenshi13, grandshadowseal, meladi1, SoKaiRokuShi282, Reiko x 3, RedHood001, Kiomori, Ripztide and anyone else who has been consistently reviewing this fic! Honestly I am just so happy every time I get a review from any one of you guys! Super special thanks to any of you who have kept up with this since 2014! If it hadn't been for all of those reviews I got when I started working on this again, I probably wouldn't have had the motivation to finish this all before classes start, and then who knows what would've happened? (Speaking of classes, I start tomorrow. Really cutting it close here. XD)

And lastly, thanks to everyone who ships Aqua/Vanitas and doesn't think I'm crazy! XD If you are looking for more Aqua/Vanitas stuff now that this is over, I highly recommend checking out Alacquiene on FFN, her stuff is what got me into this pairing in the first place and it's really good! I especially like "Escape" and "Colors of the Heart." (Escape is canon, CotH is AU.) (Just don't read "Unconditional" unless you want to scream and ball your eyes out. Seriously. You've been warned.) Also, "The Road to Light" by Arcawolf is pretty great, though I believe that one is strictly friendship.

Well, now that that's done, here's a random fun fact for anyone who braved that super long author's note: the Archraven totally reminded Riku of one of his Dream Eaters, so that's why he was petting it. XD

Thanks again, everyone! Until next time, may your ice cream be salty and your life be sweet! :P

-Taliax

UPDATE 10/6/2017: So, you know how I said I probably wouldn't write more in this universe? Well I did. ^^;; There is a sequel/midquel called "Another Side, Another Shadow," which goes into detail on what Aqua was doing while she was in the Realm of Light without Van. And it's rapidly evolving into being a medium-sized multi-chapter, which I didn't expect. Chances are from the way the poll is going, there will be more small stories in this universe too set after this epilogue. Anyway, stay tuned!