Ven hopped off his glider and stepped onto the cobblestone ground of Traverse Town, looking at the warmly lamp-lit streets and buildings around him. He’d been told to visit a few times but had never found the time or drive to actually do so.

He was here now, of course, but it wasn’t exactly for leisure. He’d been feeling a pull to this world, something urgent yet sluggish.

Ven followed it like a guiderope, traveling down the roads, and side streets; and to a small, dead-end alley. It appeared empty, aside from a few large wooden boxes.

The alley was steeped in the chill of darkness. But there were no Heartless, not even any–

Before Ven could finish the thought, a Mandrake formed from the ground. It trembled and tried to hide itself.

Ven smiled sadly down at it before stepping around, careful not to trigger its self-defense attacks. He must be in a bad state if that’s all he can muster right now.

Peeking behind one of the boxes, he saw that he was right.

Vanitas lay limply on the ground, partway curled in on himself as if he’d completely run out of strength midway through. Part of his mask was shattered, looking like he’d taken a direct hit from something solid. Ven winced at the thought.

He crouched down.

“Vanitas…? Are you…awake?”

There was no response, so Ven carefully pulled Vanitas from behind the box and propped him against the wall, fumbling as he tried to get Vanitas onto his back. It took a few tries, but he finally managed, leaning almost completely forward to make sure that Vanitas’ limp body didn’t fall. He set off from the alley, glad that the Mandrake was following behind from a distance. Maybe it’s scared to be alone…

Ven trudged through town with Vanitas on his back, managing to make it to the hotel and almost all the way to his room before Vanitas stirred. Ven gritted his teeth and kept walking, hoping that Vanitas wasn’t fully roused.

An arm shot around Ven’s neck, flexing and tightening around it and nearly jerking Ven backwards.

“Ventus. What do you think you’re doing.” Vanitas’ voice rasped. His arm began to tremble slightly.

“I’m not going to hurt you. Besides, you’re too tired to get away right now.” Ven kept his voice quiet and calm, not wanting to antagonize Vanitas.

Vanitas growled, but lowered his arm.

“Thank you.”

The rest of the walk was short, luckily. Ven unlocked the door and entered, flicking the lights on and waiting for the Mandrake to come in before closing the door. He headed for the bed and stood with his back to it, letting Vanitas down onto it gently.

Vanitas fell back immediately, letting out an almost imperceptible oof as his back met the mattress.

“Who were you fighting?”

Ven hadn’t been expecting an answer, but he waited for one anyway; sighing when he was met with silence.

“I’m going to take the helmet off, okay?”

There was a small nod, a slight lifting of the head, so Ven held the helmet in both hands and lifted. Part of it caught – Vanitas hissed as the glass fought against the movement, and Ven stopped.

“Get. It. Off.”

“Okay, okay.” Ven pulled at it again, wincing as the glass caught and broke further, as shards stuck behind when the rest of the helmet came off.

Ven gazed at Vanitas’ now-revealed face, struck as he always was during moments like this. The way his eyes stood out against the blood and bruises on his face; The almost bashful look, since he still rarely allowed anyone to see him without the helmet.

“I’m going to have to get that glass out first, okay?”

Vanitas nodded, watching intently as Ven dug a pair of tweezers out of a first-aid kit.

“I gotta get close to see, so…sorry.” Ven climbed onto the bed over Vanitas, straddling his waist and leaning close to get a clear look at the mess on Vanitas’ cheek.

Vanitas swallowed thickly, looking everywhere like he wasn’t sure where he was supposed to. He settled for looking pointedly away from Ven, and stiffened when Ven gently held his jaw.

“Stay still.” Ven murmured, slowly moving in with the tweezers. Vanitas looked back towards him, watching Ven’s face as he slowly plucked the glass shards from Vanitas’ skin one by one.

Vanitas breathed slowly and deeply, keeping himself steady. He didn’t flinch once as Ven worked, even when the shards became smaller and harder to get at.

“Okay, I think I got them all.”
Ven leaned back away from Vanitas’ face, examining it from a different angle. “I gotta disinfect it now, though.”

Vanitas nodded and closed his eyes as Ven tore open an antiseptic wipe and poured a bit of potion onto it. Healing magic didn’t really work on darkness, but it didn’t hurt either. Ven had no way of knowing for sure, but it  seemed to at least relieve a bit of Vanitas’ pain.

He gently dabbed and wiped at the wounds, going over the rest of Vanitas’ face as well to clean it up a bit. He then grabbed a large bandage, placing it onto Vanitas’ cheek and smoothing his thumb over it to make sure it stuck.

The two were silent for a moment, Ven glad that the most urgent wound was taken care of.

“Ventus.”

“Yeah?”

“…Thanks.”

Ven smiled warmly, running his thumb over Vanitas’ cheek again, caressing it. He’d never have expected to be in this position — caring for Vanitas’ wounds — but he was glad he was. He wouldn’t trade these quiet, gentle moments for anything.