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He should have known that the weather would be nasty when it was dark by three in the afternoon. But when the weather said rain all evening and night, Ventus expected rain, not thunderstorms. Of course, now the radar is all lit up with all sorts of colors and promises to hold out for a while. Ugh.
Ventus picks up his phone, shutting his laptop with a click. He is not going to sit in here and listen to the rain all night. The room Is too empty, too quiet when it’s just him here. But it’s too late to call someone over, to fill his space with the sense of someone else. Plan A it is, then.
Vanitas’s number isn’t the top of his recent calls list, but it’s not far down either. Ven paces his room as the phone rings, straightening some things and tossing a few others aside. Motions to do motions. Finally, there’s a beep as someone answers. Ven sighs directly into Vanitas’s ear.
“Good evening to you too,” Vanitas says. “You’re early.”
“You barely keep track of time. How do you know I’m early?” Ven stops by his desk, a smile growing on his face.
“You’re practically my alarm. I know when that’s early.”
Ven scoffs at him. “I am not that prompt, shut up.”
“You called me, but alright, shutting up.” Vanitas cackles a little.
“I’m going to strangle you,” Ven promises. “You would make a crappy evening worse!”
“Again, you called me. What’s so crappy about the evening? You didn't get to watch the sunset?”
Ventus pushes the curtain aside with one hand, peering out at the dark sky. The rain splatters against the window with force, a perfect match for how it drums on the roof. He shifts his phone against his ear, clicking the volume higher. “It’s pouring here. They say it won’t clear up until late, maybe not until morning.”
“Sounds great.”
“Maybe to you. The thunder wakes me up half the time.” Ventus drops the curtain and turns back to his room. The lights are still on, giving the room a cozy glow. He drops into a seat on his bed with a sigh. “What’s the weather like there?”
“Cloudy, haven’t seen much of the sun which is great.” Vanitas’s smugness radiates out of the phone. Ventus frowns at his ceiling since he can’t direct it at Vanitas. He can hear Vanitas shift and then the tap of keyboard keys. “I got some decent work done which is the more important thing. I can’t wait to be done with all of this.”
Ven hums and glances toward his covered window. The rain continues to slap against it and he drops an arm over his face. Why is the waiting for the thunder to start worse than when he knows it’s coming? This is why he called Vanitas early. “Yeah,” he answers. “I can’t wait for you to get back too.”
Vanitas exhales in a huff. “Miss me, Ventus?”
“No,” he says. “I just really hate phone calls.”
“Then stop calling.”
“No.” Ven rubs at his eyes. “It’s my civic duty to call and make sure you’ve eaten today.”
“Yes, mother, I did eat. God, you get this shit from Terra, don’t you?”
Ven smiles. “Maybe. But you like Terra. You guys hang out all the time.”
“If by hang out, you mean sit in the same room and not talk, sure,” Vanitas scoffs at him. “He sits there and whittles or whatever while I read. It’s not hanging out.”
“Uh huh, sure, Vani.” Ven stretches his legs out until his toes brush the foot of his bed. It feels too big without the two of them banging elbows and knees as they move around. “You okay to switch to video? I’m not sure if the storm will mess up the signal, so I’d rather see your ugly face before it goes out.”
There’s a snort from Vanitas and then the sound of his phone being moved around. Ven sits up quickly, clicking his video on. It only takes a moment for Vanitas’s face to appear on the screen. He arches an eyebrow, the silver ring catching the light off his monitor. “Tada,” he says flatly.
Ven grins at him. “Still pretty awful. Have you been sleeping?” Vanitas always looks like he’s rubbed mascara all around his eyes, but the trick is telling when it’s worse. Ven watches Vanitas’s eyes shift from his phone to his monitor, keys clicking again.
“Yes, I slept for a good five hours last night. Thanks for calling me pretty.”
“Pretty awful.”
“Heard what I wanted to, Ventus, I’m moving on.” Vanitas’s gaze flicks to the phone and he sticks the tip of his tongue out. “Stop nagging me. Talk about yourself so I don’t have to talk.”
Romantic. Ven doesn’t say it because there a few words that make Vanitas very uncomfortable and any hint of him being a romantic is up there on the list, even when Ven is being incredibly sarcastic. Though really, this is Vanitas’s way of almost saying that he wants to hear how things are going. “Fine. Everything’s been pretty much the same here. I was thinking about applying for one of the study abroad programs next year. College is all about expanding your horizons, right?”
Vanitas hums, eyes back on his monitor. Ven sighs. “But I’m not sure where I’d go. I want to learn and it could be hard in some places, but I also want to see everything. Where would you go if you could?”
“Anywhere but here,” Vanitas answers, frowning. “You know that.”
“Yeah, I do. But come on, if you had to pick a place.” Ven tugs his pillow into a better position behind his back. The rain is still falling, but the thunder still hasn’t started. It’s easier to ignore the storm with Vanitas to look at. He looks from the crease between Vanitas’s eyebrows to his bright eyes. They meet his and Ven smiles. “Anywhere in the universe.”
Vanitas stares back at him and then leans back in his chair. “Anywhere in the universe.” He taps his fingers on his arm. “…There’s this festival I’ve read about. This city celebrates some old story every year with food, family, and whatever. Usual stuff, but the part I’ve read about is after dark. Once the sun sets, they release lanterns by the thousands. It’s supposed to look like you’re in a field of stars.” His voice is quiet by the end, his eyes looking anywhere but at the phone.
Ven squeezes his phone tight. “That sounds…perfect.” It sounds like a dream, the two of them standing in a field of shining stars, their fingers intertwined. Ven closes his eyes, wanting to imagine the light playing across Vanitas’s face, the way it would make the lines of his face sharper, the shadows deeper and then brighter. It would be perfect, a moment he would hold forever in his mind as everything he’s ever wanted.
Thunder crashes directly overhead and Ven jumps, banging his elbow against his headboard. Swearing, he rubs it, forgetting about his phone.
“Jesus shitting Christ, that was loud.” Vanitas’s voice is muffled as Ven struggles to rub his elbow and flip the phone back around. “Your power still on?”
“Yeah. Goddammit, why is it always the elbow?” Ventus scoots down against his pillows. His elbow is still throbbing, but that’s the oh-so-funny bone for him. “I told you it was storming.”
Vanitas has picked up his phone and he shakes his head when Ven looks at him. “Yeah, but I couldn’t hear it. I didn’t know Zeus himself was standing over the building shooting lightning bolts.”
“He likes it here too much,” Ven mutters. “Anyway, that place sounds great. I’ll have to look it up. Maybe they’ll have a program.” If they don’t, he’ll find some way to get them there for that festival. It could be like an anniversary trip or something. The “been together officially for two years and haven’t killed each other for the last five” anniversary is super important. He smiles at Vanitas, only a little forced. “Worth a shot, right?”
Vanitas is looking at him, emotions impossible to read in his eyes. Ven tries, he’s starting to understand the way the color shifts, but sometimes, it’s just impossible. Vanitas sighs lightly and then tips his head, a true smile growing on his face with the slight curl up of his lips. “Sure. Not like anything I’ll say will stop you.”
Ven truly smiles now. “Nope. Never has, never will.”
“Idiot,” Vanitas says fondly. “Forget about that right now. You want to watch a movie?”
“Sure.” Ven sits up to get his laptop. “What were you thinking?”
“Sora was talking my ear off about this one about a fallen star. Sounds like it’s got some great witches in it.” The light on Vanitas’s face changes as he clicks away from his work. “Let me know when you’re ready.”
Ven hums and sets the phone aside to get his computer set up. He settles back onto his bed, laptop beside him and pillows behind him. He keeps the phone in his hand and can almost pretend they’re both here, sharing the bed that’s really too small for the two of them when they’re not curled all together. “Okay,” he says once he’s got the movie pulled up. “Ready.”
“Three, two, one, and play.” Vanitas clicks and Ven is right in sync with him.
The slight echo of their screens disrupts the idea of them being truly together, but Ven tunes it out. This is so much better than nothing. And as he gets caught up in the movie, of fallen stars, witches, princes, pirates, and love, Ven forgets that it’s storming outside. He sinks further into his pillows, practically buried in them by the time the star and her love return home.
Ven yawns, phone held loosely in his hand. “I liked that one.”
“I knew you would.” Vanitas is looking at him fondly when Ven lifts his phone up, an expression only he gets to see. “Go to bed.”
“I’m supposed to be the nag,” Ven snarks back. “Maybe I want to discuss the best parts.”
Vanitas snorts at him. “The best parts being the whole thing. You’re practically asleep as you’re talking to me right now.”
Ven flips him off gracelessly instead of try to formulate an actual rebuttal.
“Go to sleep, Ventus. I won’t be far behind you.” Vanitas flicks two fingers at the screen. “Goodnight.”
“Yeah, okay, fine. Goodnight.” Ven closes his laptop and sets it on the floor so at least it won’t suffer an accident in the middle of the night. The call on his phone stays connected while he fidgets, moving everything around and actually getting under his blankets. Vanitas is still there, phone in hand, when Ven picks it back up. They’ve already said goodnight, but Ven sets his phone up beside him on the pillow. “No more than an hour, alright?”
Vanitas nods and then sets his phone down, camera still pointed his way, but clearly focused on his work again. “Hang up if the noise bothers you,” he says as always.
“Yeah.” Ven has never hung up, not once. He lets his eyes close as Vanitas starts to type. He tends to mutter softly to himself as he picks apart problems and that and the typing are familiar background noise. Ventus has fallen asleep to Vanitas tackling homework in the exact same manner many nights before.
The rain taps softly against his window, no louder than the keys many miles away.