"You know how I said I would rather sing "Christmas Carols for a week" than have dinner at Aqua's? ...is that discussion still up for debate?"

Pause for effect. "No."

Vanitas groaned into his pillow, a mixture of annoyance and frustration. First, he wakes up in the clothes he wore last night. It's not much of a problem for a girl waking up in skinny jeans as it is for a guy. You can imagine however you like, it's not pretty. Then, at the sudden realisation, a sudden pang called a hangover decided to kick him right where it kills; he was sure it was even kicking him at the back of his eyeballs. And then came the realisation of the bruising ーfrom what he could rememberー was from climbing over {Names'} fence after he stubbornly declined {Name's} offer to stay the night. Finally, he groaned because Little-Miss-Sunshine decided the best way to give someone a wake-up call with a hangover was to draw the blinds to let the sun in whilst opening the window for fresh air singing Good Morning Starshine [1].

Why did he agree to dinner? Why did he take up that challenge with Terra? Why did he stupidly climb over the fence in a drunken state? Oh, yeah, that's right ー{Name}! Well, technically {Name} didn't force Vanitas to do the challenge, and she did offer him to stay the night; but that's not the point. Someone is to take the blame, and he'd be damned if he admits to his wrongs. But when he thought about it, the person who made him go was {Name}. Hence: {Name} is to blame.

You can guess what the next challenge was. That's right: Christmas Carolling. Of all things...he should've kept his trap shut or at least not be sarcastic about his words, otherwise it will happen. Exhibit A. Before Vanitas could fall into slumber again, {Name} pulled the blankets away whilst smacking him to get him up and moving.

"Come on Van, we gotta go." {Name} urged in a command, preparing warm clothes for the procrastinator. Well, warmer clothes. "The others are waiting for us."

Vanitas' right eye shot open instantly at that. "Others?"

🎶

This is exactly how Vanitas wanted to spend his Sunday's. Outside. In the cold. Within a crowd. A crowd that consists of the stupid flame-silocks and his stupid blue-haired dog companion, and then there's the stupid pretty boy and his crazy motherly girlfriend. In other words: the "Others". Of course there are crazier and annoying people there Vanitas would love to catch up and socialise with, but then what's the point in this challenge? Weren't they only supposed to catch up and talk about their experience on the day after Christmas or something? If he had known they were going to catch up now and again before the due date, he would've packed up and left to the next flight to "anywhere but here".

He let out a loud yawn; purposely sharing it with his friends. Hey, what is caring without a bit of sharing? He tiredly scanned his surroundings. People were shopping (as they do in this time of year) for supplies and another list of gifts they probably missed or added onto. They didn't pay attention to their surroundings; they didn't take notice to the man dressed up in a Santa suit promoting a certain charity, they didn't pay any attention to the orphans selling candles or hand-tissues, or carollers also helping promote their own charity. They were too absorbed in their own luxury to even stop for a second and face the reality. Christmas. What a joke.

"Come on guys, you have to project your voices a bit more!" Aqua demanded desperately, shaking the money box in hand towards the passer-by's.

Of course, his group was amongst them too: the carollers. For some stupid cause! Come to think of it, besides doing the "traditional" (note sarcasm) group game, Vanitas had no idea what the cause was for. Not that he was going to ask any of these losers.

"We can't help it, Toyo-Mama [2]; we're not exactly professional carollers." Lea stated with his arms placed behind his neck to support his head. "For that matter, we're not even singers either."

Aqua let out a groaning sigh. "You could try, at least." She shook the box again, but was rejected once more.

Vanitas tuned the two out ーwell, everyone一 whilst scanning the Marketplace once more. "Where's {Name}?"

"Hm? Oh, she's by the stall selling cookies and such." Aqua informed him. He was about to say something but was suddenly cut off. "Don't worry, my mum and I made the food."

He inwardly sighed in relief, but it was slightly shown on his face. Aqua cocked a brow. "Why?"

Vanitas stared before avoiding her gaze to somewhere else. "...'s nothing."

Aqua paused in thought; confused and curious at the same time, wondering about what it is Vanitas was thinking. When she followed his gaze, she noticed he was staring directly at her cousin. She couldn't help but giggle as she put the pieces together; turning around to face him again. "Why don't you go and help her, hm?"

Vanitas scrunched his face as he narrowed his gaze back to her. "What?" It wasn't a question.

Aqua giggles again, knowing full well it wasn't. Still, she decided to repeat herself. "I said; why don't you go and help her?"

Vanitas glowered. "Why should I? It's her choice if she wants to sell non-poisonous cookies." He spat.

"It wasn't a suggestion, it was a command." Aqua stated, taking the boy by surprise. "If you're not going to help us sing, then you might as well help sell our cookies. Besides, you're supposed to participate the challenge with your partner. So, pray tell, what are you doing over here?"

Vanitas couldn't help but look away in slight embarrassment. "...I lost...crowd..." He muffled on his right shoulder.

Aqua leant in close to him. "Pardon?"

Vanitas sighs in defeat before turning to look at Aqua, though his gaze was to the ground. "I lost her in the crowd, OK? The only reason I came over here is because I found Rudolph over here." He thrusted his chin towards Lea, who stood in front of him and suddenly sneezed [3] twice just as Vanitas motioned towards him.

Aqua hummed in understanding. "Is that so?" Aqua paused, smiling in amusement at his confession; though she tried to stifle it before continuing. Vanitas had noticed this, sending her a warning glare. "Well now that you know where she is, why not go to her?"

Lea, who had overheard a bit of the conversation, had a sudden smirk crossed his features as he found an opportunity. "Hey Vani-ni, did I miss your wedding or something?" Not only did Vanitas's head turned at this statement, so did the others. "When did you start to take this challenge seriously? Can't you give the girl some space now and again? She's only working, no need to worry."

Before Vanitas could even begin to respond to Lea's taunts through words or actions ーmostly the latter一Aqua, Isa, and Terra all three (unexpectedly) pounded Lea across the head in unison. The sudden blow caught the red-head off guard, causing him to buckle to his knees. "TAKE THAT BACK, YOU IDIOT!!!" They all cried in unison.

Lea howled in pain, hand above his sore head. "Ow! That hurts!"

"It wouldn't have to if you hadn't said something stupid." Terra growled with fists clenched, ready to pound him some more.

"Tsk. It was only a joke! A joke!" Lea exclaimed, wincing for every time he massages a bump. "You guys should know me by now."

"Sometimes I wonder why." Isa muttered, with arms folded.

"Oiー!"

"Lea, you shouldn't even make jokes like that to begin with." Aqua scolded, swatting his hand away from his head and taking over for him, taking out an ice pack from her first-aid bag.

"Come on guys, you need to loosen up a bit." Lea pouted, taking the pack from her gloved hands and instantly placing it over his now formed bump. "Besides, if anyone were given the rights to hit me, it'd be ーhey! where'd he go?"

Just as Lea was about to engage Vanitas to get his point across, he turned to find him gone. And so did the other three. Everyone scanned their surroundings for the missing Grinch. Aqua was the one who instantly found him, reassuring the boys that their friend was making his way towards his partner. There was a sort of air around him that the group couldn't help but find...endearing? The thought was funny to their minds. Vanitas and endearing don't mix, but it was the right word for it in this moment in time as he tried to avoid bumping into people whilst making his way towards {Name}.

Of course it was Lea who had to break the endearing moment. "Man, Vanitas has sure gotten clingy." He said, switching hands to hold the ice pack on his head.

"Oh hush, just let him be." Aqua tutted. "If it weren't for {Name}, that boy most definitely will not leave his man-cave unless it's for drinks since he doesn't smoke anymore ーwhich is also thanks to {Name}."

Lea deadpanned. "So...he's in it for {Name}?" He summarised.

Terra gave Lea a warning look, fists coming up. "You better watch what you say next, boy. It won't be your head next time."

Lea got into a defensive stance; slightly hiding behind Isa. "Kidding! Kidding!" He laughed nervously, Isa rolling his eyes at his friend's cowardice. Lea wasn't someone who gets scared easily, and sure he fools around sometimes, but he knows how to be serious. It wasn't that Terra scared him, but his hits sure pack a punch. "Toyo-Mama, tell Oki-Papa [4] it's just a joke!"

Aqua placed a hand on his shoulder to reassure him before things got serious. Before continuing their jobs, the group couldn't help but avert their gaze towards Vanitas now and again with a mixture of different emotions: which are mostly warm or mostly worrisome.

🎶

"That'll be 186'000 [5] munny please." {Name} charged, hand outstretched for the couple to hand over what they owed, smiling pleasantly to give them a warm impression.

She thanked the couple as they left with their purchase, waving goodbye before asking for the next customer to step up. A shadow loomed over her before she could greet the next customer. {Name} glanced to the corner of her eye, smiling once she realised who it was. "Oh, finally decided to join in on the fun, ne, Vanitas?"

Said boy glowered at the girl. "Don't "ne?" me." He snapped, mockingly imitating her words. "You fucking left me behind!"

{Name} turned away as if she did nothing wrong, continuing to serve the next customer with all smiles. "I did no such thing."

"Uso [6]!" He deadpanned in accusation.

"Well now that you're here, everything's fine right?" {Name} said, dodging her crimes. She took out something red and quickly hid it behind her back, away from Vanitas's 20/20 eyes.

Vanitas blinked, suddenly feeling anxious all of a sudden. "What's behind your back?"

"Nothing! Nothing at all!" {Name} reassures in a giggle. Most people would let it slide after that, but there's something about the way {Name} giggled. Vanitas wasn't stupid; she was definitely hiding something.

He starts to back off a bit. "If you say so..."

{Name} tilts her head in mock confusion. "Why are you walking backwards, Van?"

"What, never heard of personal space {Name}?" Vanitas said, taking another step back.

{Name} blinks before she shrugs her shoulders nonchalantly. "If you say so?" She repeated using his words. "Ah, but before you leave, I need you to ーNOW DEMY!"

Before Vanitas could grasp the situation, he felt a sudden hold from behind. He turned to find a blonde mullet. "What the ーDempsey [7]?!"

Before he could continue his sentence or start struggling, a shadow loomed over the two boys. Vanitas turns his attention towards it, only to scream from the sudden pounce. There was dust and arms flailing around, it was hard to tell what was happening. He heard words like "I gotcha!", "pin him down!", and "stop squirming!" but they were all drowned out by his screams.

Once it was over, the dust finally clearing, Vanitas was standing in one piece. Everything was fine; until he noticed a new item on his clothes: that being a red apron with a picture of the Grinch in a wicked smile. There was writing above the image saying: "I guess I could use a little social interaction". There was bursting of laughter and cheers as Vanitas was still trying to make sense of what happened.

"We did it!" Demy exclaimed in triumph, doing a little victory dance with a few air-guitar moves in there. "We di〜d it! We di〜d it! Lo hicimos [8]〜! We did it〜♪!"

{Name} couldn't help but laugh in joy, sharing the same feelings the blonde boy felt. All of a sudden, she was pulled into the victory dance with him; singing and chanting the same words again and again until they heard a CRACK. The two stopped dancing to look up and find Vanitas with clenched fists.

"What exactly did you two do, huh?" He said rather deadly.

Demy squealed before hiding behind {Name} to protect himself. {Name} held up her hands in defence. "Calm down, Van. You're scaring Demy."

"He should be scared." Vanitas stated, sending Demy a maniacal grin which scared him further.

Demy crouched to hide his face from Vanitas's view. "{N-Nickname}-Chaaaan! C-Can you p-please do something about t-this?"

"Don't worry, Demy; I got this." {Name} assured, sending him a smile before turning back to Vanitas. "Vanitas, don't forget our promise."

Said boy sucked his teeth in annoyance and defeat before he composed himself, clenched fists going down to his side; clamping now and again. Demy let out a relieved sigh as he stood up from his crouch, though he still hid behind {Name}.

{Name} giggles. "See? Now you're safe." She said. "Now, shouldn't you be going back to your side of the Marketplace and help Corazza-Kun [9]?"

"Un!" Demy nodded with a childish grin. "I should, hey? Co-Chan must be struggling without me!"

"You think so?" {Name} asked curiously. Knowing what Ienzo was like, it was surprising to hear from Demy that even someone like Ienzo can struggle in life despite him only being twelve. He is a bright boy with a bright future ahead. Sometimes people wonder what a boy-like-Ienzo was doing with a-boy-like-Demy.

"Un! I mean, who else can chase the girls away?" Demy said rather matter-of-factly. {Name} couldn't help but laugh. She knew Demy wasn't trying to sound arrogant; he was just plain honest at times. "I guess it can't be helped as Co-Chan can be cute at times, cute to the point where you want to eat him, I will admit that. But that's where I come in!" Demy folds his arms as he nods to that thought.

{Name} giggles again. "Then you better not make him wait, otherwise he'd be eaten by now."

Blue eyes suddenly pop open at that statement. "Crap! I better get going!" Demy salutes. "See ya later, {Nickname}-Chan."

Just as he was running past {Name}, he suddenly came to an abrupt stop when he realised Vanitas was in his way to get to the other side. He struggled to take another step forward, but seeing Vanitas not doing a single thing gave Demy a bit of an adrenaline rush. He slowly crept around Vanitas cautiously, like a meek mouse avoiding a lion's den, and step by step he started to move a bit faster. Vanitas just stayed put whilst watching Demy through the corner of his eyes the whole time he was doing this. There was a certain turn where Demy suddenly stopped, staring at Vanitas to make sure where he tread won't be anywhere dangerous and might cause the beast to attack. Seeing no movement, he took another step, glanced up and waited for a response. None. He was clear! As he was confident to take the next step, he instantly caught the corner of the beast's lips curving up into a malicious grin; to the point where he was baring his fangs. Demy couldn't help but freeze the instant his baby blue hues locked on to wicked, striking golden ones.

"Boo."

"HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!!!" Demy squealed, taking off in a blur; dust left in his wake.

Vanitas snorted in derision with his arms folded across his chest. "Weak."

"What do you expect? Anyone would do the same if they see your face." {Name} retorted haughtily, obviously trying to wind Vanitas up as she stocked up the next batch of cookies and other treats on the table of her group's stall.

Vanitas cocked his head towards her, still rooted to his spot. "Yet you still continue to intrude in my quiet life."

"That's because I take my daily dosage of TYS vitamins." {Name} said, making the cookies presentable.

"TYS?"

{Name} turned to look over her shoulder as she sent Vanitas a cheeky grin. "Tolerating Your Shit."

Vanitas scoffs in amusement, shaking his head. Then he suddenly frowned upon realisation. "Wait a minute...shit!"

{Name} turned to his sudden change of mood. "What?"

"If Baby Dempsey's here, then Bitch Dempsey...ー"

"ー...isn't far." A thin, feminine, nasally voice spoke from behind the pale boy. Vanitas blew out a sigh in annoyance through his nostrils before turning to find none other than the bitch herself: Lerane Dempsey [10], standing akimbo. She smirks when her eyes locked on with his. "Well hello there Vanitas, happy to see me?"

Vanitas rolled his eyes in disgust. "Tsk." He clicked his tongue (again) as he quickly averted his gaze to find her pink compadré standing behind her. "I see you brought your poodle."

Marlia Ferguson [11], otherwise known as Lerane's poodle, couldn't contain his laughter when Vanitas had addressed him. He sent the pale boy a smile that would send shivers down a person's spine. It was disturbing in Vanitas' eye. "My, my, Vanitas; it's always been a pleasure seeing your face around." He said in a flat, thickly, toneless voice. Then he placed a hand to his temple, balancing it with another hand that was folded across his chest; letting out a dramatic sigh. "If only you showed it around daily."

"If I did that, I'd have to charge them for my services, and that'll be unfair to the good city folk; I don't want them to suffer that much." Vanitas retorted with; implying that even if he were to show his face around, that didn't mean he'll go out of his way to show it, especially to Marlia.

"Ho〜h? That's just too bad." Marlia responded with, obviously not upset about it. "It would absolutely make my day just to see the fear in the resident's eyes whenever I mention your name."

"Heel, boy." Vanitas commanded in a rude manner, not hiding the harshness in his tone. "Oi Dempsey Senior, isn't it your job to control your poodle?"

Lerane pulls a face that didn't look too pleasant. "Vanitas, I saw my baby brother running in fear." She said, changing the subject altogether. "I would appreciate it if you'd back off. As the eldest sister, it is my job to scare the ever-living out of him until the only fear he will never overcome is me."

"Setting up a good example for yourself, aren't ya?" Vanitas retorted with, causing Lerane to grit her teeth. She was ready to chew his throat out until {Name} decided to intervene.

"It's good that you're all getting better acquainted but I'm going to have to stop you there." {Name} said, trying to hide Vanitas from Lerane's view, vice versa. Of course being shorter than the two was impossible to hide each other view's from the start, but thankfully Marlia was there to help out. "Lerane, I'm going to need you to bring in some customers. Marlia, can you go around advertising?"

Marlia smiles kindly. "It'll be my honour to help a fine lady as yourself." He bowed, sending {Name} a quick wink as he stood up straight.

Vanitas furrowed his brow at that, feeling uncomfortable and disturbed by Marlia's actions and then some other weird feeling was felt, though he couldn't pin-point what? "Vanitas, I need you to help me with the stall here." He shook out of his thoughts once {Name's} voice rang in his ears.

"Really? You're going to have him work out front with you?" Lerane questioned in disbelief. "You know they'll run away the instant he opens his mouth, right?"

Vanitas lightly laughs mockingly. "That's too bad. I was hoping I'd have your ability where they run after looking at my face."

Again, before Lerane could get up on Vanitas's grill, {Name} quickly pushes Vanitas to the front where {Name} had been tending to customers. The boy sent the blonde bombshell a smirk of victory the whole time his partner was pushing him. Once he was situated at the table {Name} was just serving, he quickly fixed his apron before doing what {Name} would call "tending to customers" ーalthough, really, he's just standing there "looking pretty". As he stood there with arms crossed, dazing off into whoop-whoop land, he noticed something moving at the corner of his eye. He looked towards it to find the familiar raccoon in a Santa suit, just about ready to eat a cookie, no doubt stolen from their stall. It froze when it noticed Vanitas had caught it in the act.

He furrowed his brow. "Oi."

The raccoon blinked before sending him an innocent grin, scoffing the cookie instantly to hide the evidence. Vanitas blinked once. He quickly took a hold of the rodents' tail before it fled for its' life, held it up, shook it, and out came a rain of cookies and crumbs. The two looked at the stolen goods before looking at each other, golden eyes glaring accusingly at big black ones. The raccoon laughed nervously before poking the pale boy in the eyes, and whilst he was screaming in pain the rodent escaped Vanitas's grasps (whilst he was blindly trying to grab for the grubby thief) and ran towards {Name} who ーas if on cue一came back towards her station. The rodent clambered up on his owner before hugging her close.

"Meeko?" She startled, scanning his face to see if he was harmed. Finding nothing, she then turned her attention to the person who could be the cause of Meeko's fear. "Van, what did you do to my poor, sweet Meeko?"

An eyebrow twitched. Of course she wouldn't care if he were to be in pain. "It was stealing cookies." He asserted. "It's part of my job to stop thieves, right?"

"Well, yeah, but, you didn't have to scare him." She scolded, stroking her pet's fur to comfort him, slightly rocking him up and down. "He was just hungry." She cooed, her tone going soft when her attention was on the pest.

Vanitas glowered, reaching for an ice pack from the medic bag underneath the table. "It was making a run for it; hence, stealing." {Name} sent him a derisive glare, which he didn't catch as he was too busy putting ice on his face. "Also, why's the pest here?"

{Name} glanced from Meeko to Vanitas. "He's our mascot."

"It's a rodent."

"He's a raccoon."

"Still a rodent."

{Name} rolled her eyes before placing Meeko down on the table. "Whatever, let's just get back to helping the charity." She said with a sincere smile. "Okay?"

🎶

It's been a few hours since Vanitas started helping {Name} with her cookie stall. Just like the other people promoting charity, the two weren't doing so good. Other than the reason being that people were just immersed in their own situation, it probably doesn't help the fact that Lerane and Marlia were out on field-work trying to promote the cookies they were selling; or it could be the fact that the carollers in their group suck at singing with or without enthusiasm. Either way, Vanitas was getting bored by the second. He was that bored, he had been sharing cookies with the rodent.

He let out a tiresome sigh. "This is boring."

{Name} slightly chuckles to lighten the mood. "Business is pretty slow today, ne?"

"Why do we even bother with this?" He snarled, taking another cookie and savagely took a crunch out of it. "Nobody gives a shit about the needy people anyway."

{Name} looks at him weirdly. "That's not true." She opposed. "A lot of people care for the poor."

Vanitas stood up straight from leaning on his arms on the table; neglecting the cookie he had in hand, allowing Meeko to snatch it out of his fingers and taking off with it somewhere. "No they don't." He rebuked, causing {Name} to flinch from the sudden tone. Vanitas' eyebrows were suddenly knitted together, and though he might have looked like he was scowling, the only emotion shown in his eyes were that of loss in humanity and something else {Name} could not make clear of.

"If they really cared, they would have taken a bit of time off from their "shopping spree" to actually sit down and watch the show, enjoying the songs of Christmas." His statement caused {Names'} eyes to go wide. "I'm not just talking about the stupid audience either. I'm talking about the whole of society. Yeah, some of them actually contribute to charity for a living, but that's only five-to-ten per-cent of the population. The rest of them are either sitting on their fat arse trying to "change for the better" but do shit all about it, or use Christmas as an excuse to atone for their sins and have a good night sleep until the next Christmas."

"The only people who care are the ones who take action, like you." Vanitas blatantly stated. "Everyone else is just in it for the challenge; which I find ridiculous, because there's no real reward at the end of it; unless you call self-change a reward, then whatever."

{Name} was shocked ーspeechless, even. She never imagined a day Vanitas would say such compassionate things. Actually, she never imagined any of those words leaving his mouth. Yeah, he was an opinionated guy, saying whatever he wanted that pops up in his mind, but not like this. It was rather...heart-warming. For once, he had something caring to say. {Name} tried to conjure up things to say but the only thing she could utter were broken sounds. She then started to giggle.

"Well, I'm sure people do want to do something about the people who needs help." {Name} said, glancing at the busy passer-by's and the people promoting charity. "But not everyone can be superman and do everything at once. Sometimes it takes time, and they probably have found a few moments in their lives contributing to charity or reaching their hand out for the helpless. Whether it has to do with building a home or cooking a meal, or even lending someone their umbrella," {Name} took a glance at Vanitas knowingly, "it doesn't matter what it is. At the end of the day, those people have shown their good deeds and a sign that they do care ーmaybe not to the world一 but to that person who needed help the most. That's all that matters." She then sent the pale boy an appreciating and warm smile.

Vanitas didn't really know what to say to that. For once, he was stumped. {Name} made a fair point; and it was a really good point too. He never considered that option before, but that's probably because he never gave much thought about the good things in people. He had harboured so much hate over the years, which probably blinded him from the good and only focused on the bad things. He slightly looked up at the sky whilst contemplating something in thought. "Hey {Name}..."

"Hmm?" She hummed in reply.

"You want to help these people, right?"

"Of course!"

"It's not due to the challenge, right?"

"Mm. Not at all."

He paused; a decision was made. "Ok then." He then walked to the edge of the table. "Hey {Name}, help me move this thing."

{Name} cocked a brow in curiosity. "Why?"

"Just do it." He commanded calmly.

She stared at him weirdly. "Ok, where to?"

Vanitas smirked, pivoting to point at the centre of Marketplace, where there was a platform in the middle of the grounds for a band that was also playing to promote their own charity. The crowd dispersed to avoid getting hit by both Vanitas and {Name} who were moving a table with trays of cookies towards the platform. At first no one budged as much until Vanitas had to literally kick someone out of his way ーthough, he did ask them countless times to move out of the way. People would sneer or glare rudely towards the couple, not that Vanitas cared. Just as the two set the table down and fixed the appearance of their table, before {Name} could ask what Vanitas had in mind, the boy held up a hand for silence and then pulled a chair for her to sit on; which {Name} had complied to. Every time Vanitas would do something, and every time {Name} opens her mouth to ask, he would have his hand held up to silence her; which oddly works.

Finally, the pale boy takes a seat. He took a sidelong glance at his partner. "No matter what happens, just follow my lead, got it?" He wasn't asking for any confirmation or compromise; this was an order. Again, before {Name} could ask anything more, Vanitas had cleared his throat. "Are You Telling Me That I've Been Sitting Here For FOUR HOURS, In The GODDAMN Cold, With These Cookies Your Aunt Has Been Slaving Over For FORTY-EIGHT HOURS To Raise Money For The Poor And Homeless And NO ONE Wants To Buy Them?!" His sudden booming voice caught the girl off-guard, almost causing her to fall off her chair. He was obviously trying to attract attention. What for? She didn't know, but it was working.

His golden stare caught her attention. Oh, was he waiting for a response? {Name} suddenly remembered his words. "No matter what happens, just follow my lead, got it?" She might as well, since he's got the attention of the people. "Y-Yes, but...it's not like it's anyone's fault, Van. This is the busiest time of the year after all."

"And You Think I Give A Shit?!" He snapped, still using the same tone where he pretends the crowd is invisible, yet is still not ashamed even if anyone did hear his cries. It was just too obvious of an act to her, but from the look of things, people were actually buying it. "{Name}, It's Been Like This For A Very Long Time For Homeless People And Orphans Like Me. Nobody.Gives.A.Shit. So Why Should We?"

"B-Because, Vanitas. It's Christmas! Everyone is very giving on this time of the year." {Name} said, continuing to play along, taking a few glances at the crowd to find a lot of people circling around them. "I-I just thought that maybe this year, the homeless, the orphans and many more people can have a warm Christmas this year."

"And For The Millionth Time, {Name}, Christmas Or Not, Nobody Cares About People Like Me." He said, never breaking his attention from her. "No Matter How Many Times We Beg Or Cry For Help, It's A True Fact That Only The Strongest Will Survive. As Much As I'd Like To Help Those In Need, It's Impossible. Nobody Cares About Them, let alone me." {Name} was confused at this point. It's quite possible that Vanitas was getting lost in his role, but near the end, his tone suddenly changed.

Suddenly, Vanitas got up from his seat. {Name} instantly got up in reaction to his sudden actions.

"W-Where are you going?"

"Home." He simply stated, with his back towards her and his hands in his pockets. "Before Someone Takes It." He went back to acting mode.

"But what about the charity? What about the children who dream of a home?" {Name} was getting loud at this point too, but not out of acting. She was really sincere about this.

"... {Name}," {Name} swallowed a gasp as Vanitas turned to look over his shoulder, sending her a defeated smile, "leave it be." He said; a slight chuckle in his tone. "I know you care. But there's nothing you can do alone."

Something about those words didn't sit right. Vanitas then walked up towards the band on the platform, whispered something in the conductor's ear and paid him a few munny, enough to buy dinner for a family of twenty. All of a sudden, music was playing.

"Well, My Lady." Vanitas exclaimed, with a shit-eating grin, taking the conductor's top hat. "It's Been Grand, But I Think I...Gotta Be Going." He tipped the hat, about ready to go.

"No, don't go!" {Name} ran up the platform to get a hold of his arm; only getting his elbow before bumping into his back. She heard him chuckle, she could even feel the vibration from his broad back.

"I really can't stay〜♪" He suddenly sang in time to the upbeat, jazzy music; turning to face {Name} as he was playfully pulling his arm away from her.

She blinked; shocked! But she didn't have any time to contemplate on the thought that: a) Vanitas was singing, b) he had such a smooth voice, and c) Vanitas was singing. It wasn't anything incredible or mind-blowing, his voice was rather moderate and appealing but it's just the thought that Vanitasis singing. Was there anything this boy can't do? {Name} had to quickly jump in to the tune. "B-But baby, it's cold outside〜♪"

He turned away, back towards her once more once he retrieved his arm. "I've got to go away〜♪"

{Name} quickly wrapped her arms around him. "But baby, it's cold outside〜♪"

It was awkward, but {Name} kept playing his words repeatedly in her head like a life-mantra; she had to play along! There was probably a reason for this.

"This evening has been〜♪"/"So happy that you dropped in〜♪" The two kept pulling and pulling. Vanitas was pulling away whilst {Name} was pulling him to stay.

"So very nice〜♪" Vanitas finally got out of her hold, ready to walk away and leave again until {Name} took hold of his hand and pulls him back. "I'll hold your hands, they're just like ice〜♪" She sat down on the platform, pulling Vanitas along.

"My mother will start to worry〜♪" He clasped her hands in his and then placed them gently on her lap.

Knowing she wasn't going to win this way, she decided to pull him close by pulling the red scarf around his neck. "Beautiful, what's the hurry〜♪?"

Vanitas averted his gaze somewhere else, as if bothered about something. "My father will be pacing the floor〜♪"

Not getting the attention she wanted, {Name} decided to take his top hat and have a play as she walked away. "Listen to the fireplace roar〜♪"

However, Vanitas had caught up to her, about to take the hat but, {Name} being difficult decided to play with him a little; trying to keep the hat out of his reach. Of course she failed seeing how tall he was and how long his lanky yet toned arms were. "So really I'd better scurry..." Being the cunning little imp that he is, Vanitas took her by the hips, pulling her close, which caught {Name} off-guard. "...but maybe just a half-a-drink more〜♪"

She quickly got out of his hold, making it look like a dance as she circled to face him and pushed him to sit back down on the platform stairs. "Put some records on while I pour〜♪"

"The neighbours might think〜♪" Hints of laughter was evident as his voice slightly wobbled when he sang.

{Name} sashayed and swung her hips to the beat as she took a seat to his left. "Baby it's bad out there〜♪"

"Say, what's in this drink〜♪?" He held up an imaginary glass in hand, looking at it weirdly. {Name} couldn't help but giggle. "No cabs to be had out there〜♪"

Vanitas leans back on his elbows as he places the imaginary glass down by his foot, looking up to {Name}, who had found a cane by one of the musicians and was permitted to use it. "I wish I knew how〜♪..." (..."Your eyes are like starlight now〜♪" she sang in the background as she nodded her head in thanks for the cane). "...to break this spell〜♪"

She swings the cane as she leant down to take the hat from his hands. "I'll take your hat," she puts it on her head as she played with the cane, bringing it above her head and placing it on her shoulders, swinging left to right,"your hair looks swell〜♪"

Vanitas sits up, reaching for his hat as he was ready to stand and leave. "I ought to say, no, no, no sir〜♪" {Name} quickly sat down close to him, thrusting the cane onto his chest to stop him from getting up as she scoots in close to him. "What if I move in closer〜♪?"

Vanitas shakes his head as he grips on the cane and pushes {Name} gently back. "At least I'm gonna say that I tried〜♪" She leans on her side with her palms balancing her cheek as she watches Vanitas standing up with the cane in hand. "What's the sense in hurting my pride〜♪?" (..."I really can't stay..." he sang as he walked down the platform). "Baby!" She called out playfully, causing Vanitas to stop in his tracks. "Baby, it's cold outside〜♪"/"Ah, but it's cold outside〜♪" They harmonised.

As the two were singing in harmony, the audience suddenly grew bigger to the point that it was getting really cramped standing in the middle of Marketplace. So not only were the audience in the centre of Marketplace, they were also hanging about near the stores, by their houses, on rooftops; it was crazy. Short people had to be on tippy-toes if they couldn't see from far back.

"Hey, they're not bad." Lea remarked, grinning in amusement. Everyone had to agree. Though they were still shocked to find Vanitas singing, they had to give him credit; he was good.

Back with the two performers, {Name} whistled to get the pale boy's attention, which worked. He turned to find she still had a hold of his hat and scarf. He knew she still had his hat, but he didn't know his scarf was taken too. When did she find the time to do that? ...he thought.

He couldn't help but return the cheeky grin she had on her face with his own grin of amusement. "I simply must go〜♪" He still stood at the bottom of the platform as she placed the scarf around her slender neck, hugging it close to her. "But baby, it's cold outside〜♪" He placed his right hand in his pockets, still standing his ground. "The answer is no〜♪" {Name} just shrugged her shoulders as she too stood her ground, swishing her hips with the scarf close to her. "But baby, it's cold outside〜♪"

He paced up the stairs slowly, as he walks closer towards her. "This welcome has been..." {Name} still stood where she was no matter how many steps he took closer to her.

"How lucky that you dropped in〜♪"She sang coolly, lowering her tone in a seductive way, as she grabs the ends of the scarf and drew a circle.

Vanitas reaches his hand out to grab her, "...so nice and warm〜♪" but before he could grab a hold of her, {Name} ducked out of the way, ending up at the other side of the platform. "Look out the window, at that storm〜♪"

Vanitas caught up to her as she sang her part. He placed his hands on her shoulders, turning her to face him and taking the ends of the scarf around her neck, trying to unwind it. "My sister will be suspicious〜♪" (..."Gosh, your lips look delicious〜♪" she sang whilst tilting her head innocently). "My brother will be there at the door〜♪" Vanitas shook his head as if declining her offer to stay, finally retrieving his scarf back.

"Waves upon a tropical shore〜♪" {Name} makes a wave motion with her hands.

"My friends," he scoffs whilst putting his scarf back on, "well, their minds are vicious〜♪"

{Name} pulls him close by the scarf whilst singing, ghosting his lips in almost a whisper, "Gosh, your lips are delicious〜♪"

"But maybe just a cigarette more〜♪" He gave into temptation but was quickly pushed away as {Name} blocks her lips with her hands as if in shock, circling away from his hold. "Never such a blizzard before〜♪"

Rejected, Vanitas turns to walk down the platform. "I've got to get home〜♪" but was quickly pulled back by his arm and dragged to sit down next to her. (..."But baby, you'll freeze out there〜♪"). Vanitas cocks his brow, sending her a playful glare of disbelief. "Why don't you," he quickly glances down, "lend me another coat〜♪?" She scoots closer to him, taking the cane in his hand and trapping him down where he sat. "It's up to your knees out there〜♪"

Vanitas shakes his head in a laugh, closing in next to her, "You've really been grand..." and from his response, {Name} would avert her gaze in a pout, causing Vanitas to chase her with his eyes to grab her attention. Seeing how that didn't work, Vanitas pulled her chin so their eyes would meet, "...but can't you see〜♪?"

She averted away once more, standing up to walk away in depression from his rejection. "Oh〜how you do this thing to me〜♪"

He stood up to grab her arms, trying to get her to understand his situation. "There's bound to be talk tomorrow〜♪"

She did the same thing by squeezing them, "Think of my life long sorrow..."

He looked up in thought, "At least there will be plenty implied〜♪"

She closed in for a hug, "...if you caught pneumonia and died〜♪"

He quickly dodged the hug by swinging her arms over her head, extending her out with a twirl. "I really can't stay..." (..."Oh〜oh〜♪"). And instead of walking away by himself, he walked down the platform with her in hands. "Ah, but it's cold〜out〜side〜♪"/ "Baby, it's cold〜out〜side〜♪"

And as the band played the last notes of the song, the couple did a last bit of dance in time with the beat. Vanitas held her out before roughly ーyet gentlyー pulling {Name} in by swinging her arms above her head once more before extending her out and pulling her in for a dip as a finalé. The crowd went wild from the performance, cheering and clapping for the entertainment and how amazing the band played. Although the cheers were loud and it brought in a lot of people to ーnot only their stallー but everyone's charity, the two were still in that dip position; looking at each other as they panted for breath, innocently smiling.

🎶

The two couldn't help but laugh in glee as they ran home, leaving the cleaning duty to a crowd of confused friends as they both ran in hand without stopping to look back. They finally stopped once they were surrounded by familiar houses, bending down or looking up to the sky to retrieve the oxygen lost.

In between fits of giggles and pants, Vanitas finally stood up whilst he wiped his forehead with his sleeve. "Finally lost them..." He breathed, his chest still rising from all that panting. He slightly gave out a cough.

"Yeah...(haha)...remind me again...why we were running?" {Name} said, in between panting.

"If we didn't, we'd be stuck doing cleaning duty with the bitch from Hell and her dog." Vanitas sighed with eyes closed; facing the sky in slight agony, swallowing saliva to get moisture into his dry throat.

"Lerane and Marlia aren't that bad." {Name} defended, failing to understand why Vanitas couldn't see the good in them.

"Oh, yeah, them too I suppose." He said callously, pretending to imply that he was talking about her cousin and Terra, which {Name} quickly caught on to.

"Hey!" She cried, playfully smacking Vanitas.

"I'm kidding!" He snickered, trying to dodge her hits. "Geez. Can't a guy joke anymore?"

"If you keep at it with my family, you might not like the outcome." {Name} playfully threatened in a tone where it seemed like she was joking when, really, she was serious. "And before you say anything, yes, Terra is considered as family."

He rolled his eyes. "Kill joy."

The walk suddenly grew silent from there, nothing uncomfortable. It wasn't until Meeko ran up from behind {Name} did the two stop in their tracks. {Name} quickly crouched down to pick him up before continuing the walk home.

"I still think we should have helped out." {Name} voiced, holding Meeko close to her as if she were carrying books close to her chest.

Vanitas shrugged his shoulders with hands resting atop his head; facing the sky with eyes closed. "I'm not stopping you."

"You know I'm only going to drag you with me, right?"

"I'm stopping you."

"Pfft..." {Name} couldn't help but scoff, holding Meeko up to stifle her laughter. Such a childish response, she would think.

"Besides," Vanitas spoke up, "I think we've done enough by pulling that stunt back there just to bring in ignorant customers."

Bringing that topic up brought the memory back into her mind. It was...crazy to say the least, it was just...spontaneous! Out of the blue! Not the idea of Vanitas singing ーit's still unbelievable to see or hear!ー but the fact that Vanitas was the one who came up with idea and committed to it, even though he knew it might ruin any street credentials or whatever reputation he was withholding. Still...{Name} couldn't help but smile.

"He cooks, he cleans," hearing {Name} listing his skills suddenly brought the pale boys' attention, "he can sing and dance a little..." {Name} tilts her head to face him, "...is there anything you can't do?"

Vanitas was rather surprised to hear all this, his eyes instantly shot open as he slowed down his walking pace. Well, he understood where {Name} was coming from, but it's not like he was the only being in the world who could do all this. So it never really fazed him how "amazing" or "skilful" he was, the only thing important to him was what these skills could do for him. Although, he never imagined the day singing and dancing could be useful for these type of situations. His chest slowly rose in a light laugh.

"I can't get people to leave me alone." He stated, smiling bitterly to himself; gazing at the asphalt. He quickly blew out a sigh of frustration to make it seem like the smile had never formed.

"Why would you want people to leave you alone?" She asked in confusion, her smile slowly fading. She tried to keep it up but the conversation felt too serious for that.

"They're a nuisance."

"They're your friends."

"They're too noisy."

"(Snort). They're your friends."

"They're your friends."

"What's mine is yours and what's yoursー"

"ーis forever mine."

She couldn't help it, she had to let it out. The bubble of laughter was overflowing, it had to escape! "You're so selfish!" She laughed, tears slowly forming at the corner of her eyes.

"Hey, you picked out my name, you should've expected that." He held up his hand in mock defence. "Ya either take it or leave it, sweet-cheeks."

"I want a divorce..." She wheezed, letting go of Meeko as she held onto her stomach.

Giggles were shared until it slowly died down into a comfortable silence.

"AahーAah〜!"He picked up his pace again, throwing his arms up in a stretch before placing them back on his head and looking back up to the sky with eyes closed. "No matter what I do to get a peaceful, quiet life, it always seem to backfire. Am I that pitiful?"

There was a slight pause between the two. It wasn't like Vanitas was expecting a reply or the conversation to continue, but {Name} couldn't leave it at that. Something about the way he was acting today just didn't sit right with her. For example, when the two were acting to get the attention of the busy shoppers, some moments during the act felt real. Well, the things he said anyway. Like when he claimed nobody had a care for the orphansー

"let alone me."

The image of that memory was more chilling than the words itself. It was quick and sharp, like a papercut. She wonders, sometimes, what it is that runs through that boy's mind. Or what the emotions were felt behind his words. She was itching to know. She knew there were boundaries to respect ーbut if she could just take baby-steps into his life, would that make a difference?

"...butー" {Name's} voice sliced through the cold air as she looked up to the setting sky. The vast mixture of colours all blending into the night sky with the sparkling tints of stars was rather breathtaking.

"Hm?"

She turned her head.

"What?"

"Did you say something?"

What was she going to say? Ah, that's right. Just as she remembered her response, before {Name} could voice her thoughts, she quickly stopped herself. Maybe it's not the right moment... {Name} stopped herself, closing her eyes as she smiled to the ground; letting the thought go.

"Hmm." She said hummed, smiling cheekily as she stared up at the sky again, pretending to be in her thoughts; tapping her chin. "Maybe you like the attention?"

Vanitas suddenly stopped walking, placing his hands into his pockets. He inhaled a breath. "You think so?" He asked, though it wasn't a serious question for an opinion or thought. It was a playful one.

{Name} chuckles behind her hand before continuing the walk. "You love it."

"You think I'm a sadist?" He asked, walking beside her to tilt his head in a cute, puppy-like way. It wasn't a sarcastic response, it was as if he was honestly asking an innocent question.

"Don't worry, as long as I keep taking my TYS pills, I'll be fine." {Name} couldn't help but splutter into laughter at the end.

Vanitas pulled {Name} into a headlock, laughing himself.

🎶

[1] Good Morning Starshine is a song from the second act of the 1967 musical, Hair. The song is performed by the character of Sheila, portrayed by Lynn Kellogg, in the original Broadway production. In the 1979 film version of the musical, Sheila is portrayed by actress Beverly D'Angelo. Reference: Wikipedia.

[2] Toyoguchi is Aqua's Japanese voice actress's surname. Lea addresses her as "Toyo-Mama" because Aqua is known to be quite motherly.

[3] The Japanese have a belief that if you sneeze once, you're being spoken of well. If you sneeze twice, the opposite is true. Three times and someone loves you, and four times, you have a cold.

[4] Oki-Papa is Lea's way of addressing Terra. Using the first three initials of his surname and adding -Papa at the end in contrast to Aqua's surname (as the two are a couple).

[5] 186'000 is $1.99 (AUSD) and $1.54 (USD).

[6] Uso (ooh•soh) means "liar" in Japanese.

[7] Dempsey was the only name I found that had "Demy" in it if it were to be re-written. It's not his first name; it's actually an Irish surname that means "proud". He's mainly called by his surname, except he changed it to Demy (since he doesn't like his full name).

[8] Lo hicimos literally means "we did". If you are wondering, yes, Demyx is singing Dora the Explorer's song (towards the end).

[9] Corazza is Zexion's English voice actor's surname.

[10] Lerane (le•rain) Dempsey is Larxene in other words. Yeah, she's Demyx's older sister.

[11] Marlia Ferguson is Marluxia. I used his English voice actor's surname.

Planned: 12.12.14; 20:21 PM

Started: 17.03.15; 07:55 AM

Edit #1: 17.03.15; 13:22 PM

Edit #2: 19.03.15; 10:09 AM

Edit #3: 19.03.15; 23:38 PM

Edit #4: 20.03.15; 14:53 PM

Edit #5: 21.03.15; 24:46 AM

Edit #6: 21.03.15; 12:15 PM

Edit #7: 22.03.15; 21:50 PM

Edit #8: 27.03.15; 18:44 PM

Edit #9: 27.03.15; 23:11 PM

Edit #10: 29.03.15; 24:39 PM

Edit #11: 03.04.15; 10:30 AM

Edit #12: 06.04.15; 15:42 PM

Edit #13: 20.04.15; 23:23 PM

Edit #14: 21.04.15; 13:33 PM

Edit #15: 24.04.15; 21:00 PM

Edit #16: 20.05.15; 20:12 PM

Edit #17: 21.05.15; 23:10 PM

Finished: 31.05.15; 23:45 PM

Re-Edit: 01.06.15; 24:21 AM