Standard Disclaimers apply.

Damn you, old man. Vanitas silently curses his uncle for becoming ill and making him fly all the way out to where he lived. He was on the plane ride home after checking up on him. Vanitas hadn't wanted to, but how could he not? Xehanort had been the only one who'd given a crap about him. His parents were homophobes, so of course they flipped shit after he told them he was bisexual.

"Is this seat taken?" Vanitas looked over to see a redheaded girl wearing a pleasant smile.

"No." He told her without much enthusiasm. She sat beside him.

"So, what's your name?" Vanitas could have face-palmed at her formalities. At least she was cute.

"Vanitas."

So, what are you doing after the flight, Vanitas?"

"Taking a shower." He rolled his eyes.

"Wanna get coffee with me instead?" the girls tilted her head, still smiling away. Vanitas smirked.

"I would, but I'm planning on getting some from my boyfriend tonight." the golden eyed boy almost snickered. It felt weird calling him something like 'Boyfriend'. 'Bitch' or 'Toy' was more like it.

"Oh, so you're gay?"

"Bi."

"I see. So, what is your boyfriend like?" Vanitas sighed, not even attempting to hide his annoyance.

"Very naughty. Too nice for his own good. A face that would make anyone look twice. He's a huge crybaby, but an amazing fuck." Her grin didn't falter.

"And you're on your way home to him? Did you miss him while you were gone?"

"Do you ever stop asking questions?" He barks. But she only shakes her head politely.

"No, it's just that you seem to be a very interesting person."

Vanitas takes a good look at this girl. Her eyes are clear and cerulean; she looks his age. She is ordinary looking. But she, this ordinary girl with the cerulean eyes, is wiser than her years. Her smile seems to hold a secret.

"Sorry." Vanitas apologizes without meaning to.

"It's okay."

Everyone on the plane is thrown forward.

"W-what the fuck?"

"Passengers, may we have your full attention? Due to a failing engine, we are expecting a crash landing! Please find the safety package located in the compartment above!"

Vanitas reaches above his head to find only an empty space. The airline forgot to stock all the compartments? He feels his heart hammering in his chest and hears his blood thundering in his ears.

"Are you scared?" The girl asks. In his frantic search, Vanitas had forgotten about her. She made no move to find the safety kit. Made no move to do anything.

"We're gonna die, aren't we?" He sat back in his seat and closed his eyes. It's true then, he thinks, that your life flashes in front of your eyes before you die.

Dinners with his family. Speaking with his uncle. Leaving his home after the argument to live a solitary life. The night he gave his virginity away. A year before, at the dance club. That same night after bringing home the little brunette. He saw how his eyes shined and how he smiled. Vanitas felt the girl's hand in his.

"Is this who you choose?" She asks quietly.

"What?"

"It's time for you to leave for now, alright?"

A squeeze of her hand and Vanitas was gone.

"Why did he have to go?" Sora bawls. The tears won't stop. It had been two weeks since he had received the news. Vanitas was dead.

"I'm sorry." Roxas, his best friend, says. He puts a hand on Sora's shoulder. Sora was sick of those two words. I'm sorry. How many people had offered their condolences to him? Looking around, he knows that none of these people knew Vanitas personally. Only through him. Not even Vanitas' parents had come to see his dearly departed. What kind of sick people were they to not even come to the funeral of their son?

"I can't live without him. I can't do it anymore." Sora tore his eyes away from the memorial, from the pictures of him.

"Sora, I know it's really hard. But life goes on after we lose someone-"

"No it doesn't!" Roxas jumped. "It doesn't for me. He was only 19, Roxas. We only spent one year together. That's not enough." He squeezed his eyes shut, trying and failing to keep the memories away.

"But-"

"I gotta go, okay? Thanks for coming." Sora walks away from the new gravestone. The ceremony is over, anyway. The funeral was held at night, at his request. Vanitas would have appreciated it; since night was his favorite time of the day. "For obvious reasons." He would say, licking his lips while he looked at his lover. But Sora didn't tell anyone else that when he suggested he idea.

The cold nips at him the entire way, but he finds himself outside the door of what had been 'their' apartment. With shaking hands, he unlocks the door and goes inside. Sora throws off his blazer and changes into some of Vanitas' old clothes. He curls up on the bed. Burying his face in Vanitas' pillow, he finds that it still smells of him. Tears prick his eyes as he breathes in the scent.

He doesn't want this. Not the heartbreak, not the feeling of emptiness or the nights spent alone, crying without sleep. Sora already feels it setting in.

"I can't do this." He whispers to himself. His voice quivers. "It has to end."

And end it would.

Sora pushed himself up, his limbs tired and hurting. Padding into the bathroom barefooted, he opens the medicine cabinet. He pulls everything off the shelves, taking it all to the room. From each bottle, he pours about four pills. As he's about to throw them back without water, he sees the finality of it all.

Sora decides he doesn't care. The past year couldn't be relived or recreated. He wouldn't find anyone else. Vanitas was gone.

And Vanitas hadn't told him 'I love you' before he left, either. Not even once. Sora held the pills to his mouth, tears streaming down his cheeks.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?"

Sora dropped the tablets.

He knew that voice.