#makesuretheyseeme

[kayura-sanada]

Among My Stillness Was A Pounding Heart (TerraVen) (Part 1 of 6)

Title: Among My Stillness Was A Pounding Heart Chapter One: A Completely Normal, Average, Not Even Remotely Special Life Fandom: Kingdom Hearts Pairing: TerraVen Rating: T Words: ~6000 Summary: Ventus has entered high school, and he now faces the trials that all students face. Class, bullies, and a crush on someone close to him. These problems, however, may end up seeming small in comparison to the one rather unusual issue looming before him - one that has to do with the past he doesn't remember.

Special Note: This work was commissioned by the lovely @makesuretheyseeme. Thank you so much for commissioning me! It was such a wonderful pleasure to work with you! ^_^

“Get the hell out of our house.”

Ven sneaked to the edge of the hall. The lights were on. Mom and Dad were usually awake late these days. He hadn’t meant to wake up and overhear, but how could he not want to look when he saw three shadows in the lobby instead of two? Who would come over to visit this late at night?

“That’s quite rude.” An older voice. Ven tilted his head. What was that person doing here so late? “You’re terrible to guests.”

“Get the hell out or we’re calling the cops.”

His parents were angry. He inched a bit closer. The light from the lobby cast him in shadow, at least for now. If he stayed quiet, he should be safe.

“So violent. There’s no need. I came only to discuss your allegations against me.”

“Talk to our lawyer.”

Ven dared peek around the corner. His parents stood facing the door, caging the man in before he even fully entered the house. No one had noticed him yet.

“Oh, I have. As have my lawyers. Do you really think you’re going to win this?”

“You’ll pay for what you’ve done to these children. Now get out.” Dad swept his hand out, nearly clipping the guest on the nose. “Honey, get the phone.”

His mom raced off toward the couch in the living room. Ven’s dad got into the other man’s face. “You’re going to wish you’d never met our kids.”

The other man just smiled. “Of course.” Then, suddenly, his gaze turned to stare directly into Ven’s eyes. “Ah. Here’s the true interloper.”

“What?” Ven’s dad looked, as well. He jumped at the sight of Ven before him. “Ven! Quick, go back to bed.”

“That’s right.” The old man smiled, and Ven found he couldn’t look away. His heart slowed. His breath stilled in his chest. “Hide al͚̯̫͢o̖̮̩͜ṉ̢̣̫ȩ̳͎̥̱ a̮͕̟̝͜n̡͍̭͖d̟̮͈͓͕̮̮͚̩̖̯̖͢ f̢̥̤͈̙̠̖̜̣ͅo̡͚̯̫̳̳̦̱̯̣͔̝ͅr̨͍̮̰̮g͍̖͕͙͜ȩ͍̠͉͕̙̗͍̰ṱ̨̦̩̩͎̩̳̝͍̜͖.̧̤̣̟͙̱͖̜̠ͅ M̬̳͕̭̩̞̗̪̫̲̳̲͂͆̍̑͗̏ȧ̭̣͔͚̐̉̅̇̍͊̀ͅy̱̫̪̩̮̬͉͔͉͐̎̓̾͋̃̌̾́̄̌b̫͇̫͙̠̖̥͕̰̄͗̆̒̒e͇̮̣͇͚͖͉̭̮͆̂͗̈͂̀̅̾͊ t͚̲͇̩͖̤̫̫́́̋̄̾͋̊͑h͔̬̳͍̯̜̙̮̠̘̠̠̊͌͗̀e̯̜̗̬͊̓̍͒͆̊͋͆͊̀̽͐n̲͖̝͖̊̒̈̅͆̌͋̿ ÿ͈̮̖͍̥͈̰̅̂͂ö̭͇̞͍̫͈̜̪͍̯͆̂̒̄͑́͛̿̌ṷ̦̰̞͔̩̄͂͋̎͊̅'͓͉̪͙͓͕̭̗̱̬͚̫̇̿́̍͊̚l͔̱̖̮͎̱̗̜͙̘̽͛̈́̋̆͛͆ͅl̞͚̙͈̯̓́̊̾ͅ b͔͈̠͔͔̭̰̳̫̯̉̄̉̋̄́͋̈̽ė͔̘̜̪͍͈̩̝̗̄͐̊̎̒̒͆ͅ f̜͖͖͈͓̙͈̥͛̿͑͗o͍̪͈̯͙͒̽̓͂̅ͅȑ̩̩̖͖͇̙͍̘̗́̿̐́̋͂̌̓̈́͊̽g̮͈͇͉̤͕̱̮̲͙̬̓̑̄̎̈́̽i͚̜̪̘̒͊͋̓̈́̿́̏v͔͕̮͉͎̬̖̪̤̏̂̊́ḙ̲͚̣͙͕͍̓̎̎̄́͊͊̈́̽̽͛̋n̯̘̙͕̦̖͈̣̣͚̝̾͂͗̎ͅ.̣̜̝̠̌̆̄͑͋̂̃̃̐̈͛

Ven’s eyes snapped open.

His head throbbed. He grabbed it as he sat up, causing it to pound harder, in time with every unsteady, staccato beat of his pulse. His breath stuttered in gasps. His hands shook. Sweat cooled on his neck. He blinked and looked around. Had a bright light woken him up? He thought he could still see it behind his eyelids.

He lay back down. Whatever had woken him, it was gone now. He closed his eyes and waited for his heart rate to steady, then blew out a deep breath. This time when he fell asleep, nothing woke him.

Ven adjusted his collar one more time, only to frown. He had no idea how Terra and Aqua managed to look so done up with just the school uniform. Maybe their couple of years’ extra practice was what had given them the skill. He stared down at the tie around his neck. Terra always looked so sophisticated, his hair pulled back and cheekbones all… out there. He flushed. He, on the other hand, looked like a kid playing dress-up. The sleeves of the shirt were a little too long, the vest hung loose around his chest and waist, and the pants needed to be rolled up a couple of times to keep from dragging on the floor.

He covered his face with his hands and huffed. It was time to just go.

He grabbed his bookbag and made for the door, only to look behind him. A single, hard-backed chair, hardwood floors, and a tiny TV set, all sitting lonely. He hadn’t turned the TV on for days because of his ever-accruing piles of homework, and a layer of dust had settled over the monitor. The back of the TV faced the kitchen, the countertops still clean from his efforts two nights before. He hadn’t had time to cook properly, either. Aqua was gonna be mad.

He opened the door. One good thing about school was getting away from the house.

The building stood just over four blocks from his house, an old, white stone structure that stood three stories tall, one for each grade. Ven had known the building well before he’d ever stepped though its doors; he’d stood in front of that walled gate waiting for his friends to get off from school so that he could go home with them. Aqua and Terra. He saw them now, waiting in front of the gate for him. They called out to him and waved as he approached.

He grinned.

“Good morning, Ven,” Aqua said as he neared. She leaned off of the wall and fixed some unknown aberration in his hair.

“Morning, Aqua,” he said, and let her try futilely to tame his wild hair. He turned his gaze to Terra. “Morning, Terra.”

Terra smiled down at him. Ven’s heart did a double-jump. “Good morning, Ven.” He reached out and tussled Ven’s hair, ruining Aqua’s efforts. The young woman huffed at him. It made Terra grin. Forget the double-jump; Ven’s heart started leapfrogging into his throat. “How was your day yesterday? You didn’t come home with us again.”

He blushed. Quickly, he scanned the horizon. They had enough time to talk; he’d raced the four blocks between him and the school, trying to get away from his empty house. “I had a lot of homework, so I thought I should study a little.”

“Well, good for you,” Aqua said. Ven looked back in time to see her nudge Terra. “Your schooling is important.”

“But if you ever need help, you know we’re here, right?” Terra asked. Ven nodded mutely. Terra messed up Ven’s hair again. His hand was warm. Four years, and this was the one thing that he recognized instinctively: the touch of Terra’s hand. His heart nearly spat itself up from his chest.

“Come on,” Aqua said. “Let’s get to class.”

It was early. Ven didn’t want to go in yet. Aqua and Terra were heading inside, however, so there was nothing else to do. He walked in, as well.

School was always the site of pure chaos in the mornings; students gathered to speak with one another about their afternoons, the games they’d played, the homework they’d struggled with, their family squabbles. Ven had grown accustomed to it all, but it was Terra and Aqua who had mastered the hallways. They said hello to everyone as they stopped by Ven’s locker to change out his shoes, then by their own. Two girls came up to Aqua to ask her how her day had been, pulling her slightly off to the side. That left Ven alone with Terra.

He took several deep breaths.

“Are you all right, Ven?”

Ven nearly jumped out of his skin. He turned to Terra. He was finishing putting his school shoes on. Ven leaned down to pick up his travel shoes, handing them to Terra once he was ready. Terra closed his locker and waited for Ven’s reply. “Yes?” he squeaked. His eyes widened. That had not just happened.

Terra tilted his head. His smile dimmed a bit. “Ven. You know you can tell me anything?”

Ven nodded twice as hard as a normal human. He wanted to pound his head against the lockers. “Uh-huh.” No. Try that again. “I know, Terra.” There. Good. “I’m just a little tired.”

Those lips slipped straight into a frown. “You don’t need to push yourself so hard, Ven. You’ll get there, just like us.” Terra placed his hand on Ven’s shoulder. Ah. That familiar warmth again. “There’s no need to rush.”

Oh. Ven smiled. “I’m not.” He reached up to touch Terra’s hand.

“Ven! Terra! Come on!”

Ven nearly launched himself into Terra’s chin. He snapped his hand back down to his side, his face suddenly tomato red. Terra chuckled. “Aqua is insane about getting to class on time.”

He chuckled, too. It sounded like he’d choked a cat. “Yeah.”

They both headed down the hall, chasing Aqua’s heels.

He had to say goodbye to them as they reached the stairs. Terra and Aqua would be heading up, literally as well as figuratively, while he stayed on the ground floor. They were only a few of those already making for their classrooms; the bulk of conversations were continuing behind them, as students gathered together in chunks in the front of the school, trying to hold off from going to class until necessary. Not Aqua, though. She was one of those who had everything out and ready before any other student so much as entered the room. He guessed that was setting an example, though, as president of the student council.

Both Terra and Aqua hesitated at the door. They turned to Ven. “Have a nice day at school, Ven,” Aqua said.

“Come home with us?” Terra asked. “If you’re still having trouble, we’ll help you. It’s not a burden.”

Ven smiled. Terra looked almost worried. “I will,” he decided. No matter what, he would this time. Today would be different. Terra reached out and ruffled his hair again, his hand lingering for a moment longer than usual before he pulled it back. Ven wanted to lean forward, chase after it. He cleared his throat. “I’ll see you guys after school.”

He backed away, one step at a time, before he made a complete wreck of himself and chased after them like it was his first day. Two months into the new school year, and he was still acting like a new kid. He took a deep breath. At least he was in the same school as them, he told himself for the hundredth time. It could be worse. He could be all alone again.

He headed down the hall to his classroom, past the music rooms and the art rooms. Terra and Aqua would be heading up the stairs, moving past the science labs to their own rooms, Aqua in the first class, Terra in the second. Unlike Ven, they would share lunch together.

Ven looked at his classroom – Class 1-B. He took another few deep breaths before stepping inside. They all left him in a whoosh of relief.

The classroom was empty. For now.

He sat in his seat and looked at the board. Whoever had been in charge of readying the classroom had left, likely to meet up with their friends before class began. He sighed again and placed his bookbag on top of the desk. Homework first, then books, carefully on top of the homework to ensure it didn’t get grabbed up and ripped before class began. Pencils left inside the bookbag so that they couldn’t be broken or used as weapons against him. Bookbag placed back down on the floor, sandwiched between his legs so it couldn’t be taken or rifled through. Arms crossed over books on top of the desk to keep them from being swept to the floor.

There. He was ready.

Students started meandering in. A few looked at him, but none said hello. They knew the law of the land. He didn’t mind. He’d be scared to speak with himself if he was in their shoes.

It was only a few moments before class began that he walked in, hand in pockets, shoulders slouched as he kicked the door open. Ven watched him as he sauntered into the room. Those bright yellow eyes caught on Ven. He grinned. “Why, hi there, Ventious,” Vanitas said, deliberately drawling Ventus’ name out into something unrecognizable. He sidled over beside Ven’s desk and leaned down. Ven tried to keep his back straight. There wasn’t enough time for Vanitas to do anything to him. “You got out of bed in time again this morning. Congratulations!” Ven pressed his lips together to keep from grimacing. “Did you have a nice Pop-Tart breakfast this morning?”

Ven didn’t bother reminding Vanitas that he, too, didn’t have a mother to cook for him. That wasn’t the point of this, and they both knew it. “Good morning, Vanitas,” he said.

“‘Good morning, Vanitas,’” Vanitas parroted, his voice lifting a full octave. The man kicked his desk. Ven gripped his books tight. “No one around to teach you how to be a man, either.”

Ven’s fingers trembled. His lips firmed. He thought of Terra, of how the older teen had reached out for him, trying to take Ven’s worries away. He opened his mouth to argue, to say he knew exactly what being a man was all about, when the teacher walked in. “Everyone in their seats,” the professor said, not even bothering to look up yet from the papers in his hands. He placed them down and looked around. “You,” he said, pointing to Vanitas. “Sit. Now.”

Vanitas made a face, but he did as ordered, if with more showmanship than required. Vanitas crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. The professor, however, didn’t care in the slightest. He just waited through the class representative’s orders to stand and bow, then waved them all back into their seats. “Yes, yes. Did all of you finish your assignments?” The teacher looked around, pulling that weird move of his where one eye looked outlandishly larger than the other. “Well, if not, prepare to suffer. Hand in your completed assignments to your class rep.” Already, Ven was doing so, lifting his science classwork from beneath his books and passing it along to the front. Ienzo, sitting straight and tall in the middle of the class, reached out to accept the pages offered. Vanitas, Ven noted, didn’t hand anything in.

Oh, well. It wasn’t his problem. He had enough of those already. He straightened in his seat and paid attention to the teacher. When Vanitas sent a dark glare his way, he pretended he didn’t notice.

Something was wrong with Ven.

He wasn’t the only one who’d noticed. Aqua kept sending long glances behind them as they made their way up the stairs, her bookbag swinging slightly by her side as they ascended.

He didn’t know what to do. Whatever was troubling Ven, he wasn’t talking about it. The urge to demand answers itched just beneath the skin. Just a few days ago, Ven had been all smiles all the time. The usual ray of light that left Terra staring, nearly blinded. Now there were shadows around him. Clouds. Terra stopped at the top of the stairs and looked at Aqua. “What do we do?”

His question stopped her. She paused beside him and looked away. “You know he wants to prove he can take care of himself,” she said, repeating something that, yes, he already knew. “Just like when he moved out and became a ward of the state. He doesn’t want to be a burden.”

“He’s not.” But Terra didn’t know how to make Ven see that. As bright as Ven’s smile was, Terra knew how dim that light could get. How dim it had once been, the day he’d been brought to their home.

“Well, we’ll just have to show him that, won’t we?”

He turned to see Aqua smiling at him. He returned the gesture. Yes, that was what they’d decided all those years ago, when Ven had asked Master Eraqus to let him become a ward. They’d freaked out, told Ven he was part of their family, asked the master to let Ven stay. Only for the master to tell them that it was something Ventus needed them to let him do. “Support him,” the master had said. “He needs to know you care for him whether you’re bound by legal ties or not. Then, perhaps, he will return to us.”

“Right,” he said. Support Ven. That was all he wanted to do. If he could only make sure that smile always shown brightly, then every effort would be worth it.

But, he thought as they made their ways to their separate classrooms, despite how Ven had seemed to brighten up, this descent felt too much like those days when Ven had chosen to move out. He’d been happy to stop by their home almost every day, to eat with them and talk with them and even to sleep with them, cocooned between him and Aqua and then, when a bit older, with him or alone on Terra’s bed. Terra had thought they’d been making headway.

So what was making Ven pull away yet again? What had made him return to those days when he’d hidden himself away from them?

Ven lost a hold of his bookbag, nearly ripping the handle off before deciding it wasn’t worth it. Vanitas smirked as he held the thing up, shaking it. “The rest of your homework in here? Mind if I take a look?”

“Yes,” Ven said, instantly regretting it.

The smirk widened. One long, black eyebrow raised high. “Oh, really?” Vanitas slammed the bookbag into the wall. Several students hurried past, ducking low to avoid looking either Ven or Vanitas in the eye. “Something you’re hiding, baby Ven? A picture of your dead parents, maybe?”

Ven sucked in a breath.

“No mommy to come help.” Vanitas made a show of looking around, taking in the lunch break crowd moving to the cafeteria. “No friends, either.” That grin turned into something downright wicked. He fingered the zipper to Ven’s pack and slowly opened it up. The way he was holding the thing, everything inside would come tumbling out. “Nobody to care.”

“I do have friends,” Ven said, then realized he was walking right into Vanitas’ trap. He clamped his lips shut. Too late.

Vanitas ripped the bag open, nearly tearing the zipper from its teeth. Ven’s belongings spilled like waste to the floor. Ven distinctly heard at least one pencil snap. “Where are they?” he asked. Ven didn’t answer, and Vanitas laughed. “Friends? Who would want to be friends with you?”

Ven kept silent. He looked down at his things, but he didn’t bother trying to pick them up. Not yet. Wait until Vanitas was done, then get them. That had been taught to him by experience.

Vanitas tossed Ven’s bag down the hall. It skittered for a moment before thudding lightly against someone’s feet. While that person took care to step over it, the next few people, unaware of the bag’s origins, did not. Ven winced.

“Well? I don’t see anyone.” Vanitas spread his arms out. “Sounds like bullshit to me.”

“My friends don’t need to show up for me to know they’re there.” Ven lifted his chin. Vanitas’ grin disappeared. Ven gulped, but took that first step forward. “They’re with me. They’re my strength.”

Unsurprisingly, that ended about as well as every other time he’d dared stand up to Vanitas. Vanitas stomped forward, crushing Ven’s papers beneath his boots. Another pencil snapped. Vanitas reached for Ven’s neck. He stumbled back, only to have his vest caught in Vanitas’ grip. He lifted high. Ven had to lean onto his tip-toes to keep his vest from tearing at the seams. “What strength?” He reared his fist back.

“What’s going on here?”

Their class representative pushed through the crowd. Vanitas tsked. He lowered his fist. “See?” He smiled. “You have no strength and no friends. No class rep, no protection.” Vanitas dropped him. While Ven struggled for balance, Vanitas twisted his foot, crumpling Ven’s papers until they ripped. Vanitas smirked at the look the tearing sounds evoked on Ven’s face. “See you later, Venny.”

Ven breathed hard. Ienzo came up beside him. The few students still meandering in the halls made way. “Ven?”

Ven shivered. With trembling hands, he reached down for his things. His English homework had been torn. He would have to spend lunch rewriting it. “Thanks,” he mumbled, and grabbed everything he could. He looked around for his bookbag. It had been kicked down the opposite end of the hall. Even from this distance, he could see the footprints all over it. His heart sank. He wouldn’t have time to clean it and redo his homework. The marks would remain.

Ienzo walked over to the bookbag and picked it up. A couple other students, now that Vanitas was gone, bent down to help him pick up his things. One, a petite girl, even sat on the floor and pulled out a sharpener. She slowly fixed his pencils, one by one. Ven tried to thank them all, too, but his throat choked up and he had to be silent or risk letting the tears fall.

He wasn’t going to cry. This was nothing. So his things were destroyed. So what? They were just things. These people were taking time out of their lunches, too, in order to help him. That was something Vanitas couldn’t understand. Something he’d been wrong about.

The girl held out his pencils for him and only smiled when he just nodded and sniffed and took them from her. She pulled her short black hair behind her ear and stood, silently helping order his things into a pile and put them in the bag Ienzo held open. He did the same.

With everything back, Ienzo zipped the thing closed and helped Ventus stand. “I’m going to report him,” he said, lightly slapping Ven’s bookbag in a futile effort to clean it. “Don’t,” he said when Ven opened his mouth to protest. “This isn’t about being weak or strong or some sort of tattletale. It’s about him hurting another person and getting away with it. Though,” he muttered, “who knows if it will work, considering who his guardian is.” Ven shut his mouth. Ienzo smiled despite his last words. Looking at him, Ven could see why he was class rep. He seemed more than smart. His words proved him capable, too. One day, Ven promised himself, he would be like Ienzo. Like Terra. One day, he would be the one calling the bully off of someone else.

One day.

He looked back down at his bookbag as Ienzo handed it back to him. He could see distinct footprints still. He covered them with his hand, then smiled at Ienzo. “All right. I understand. Thanks for everything.”

“It was nothing. I’m glad you’re all right.” Ienzo moved as if to walk Ven to the cafeteria, only to stop when Ven didn’t follow. His brows lowered.

“I was just… on my way to the bathroom,” Ven said, looking down to the floor. There was no sense in telling Ienzo he’d been heading for some food; he hadn’t had time in the morning to fix himself a bento. If he’d gone to Terra’s and Aqua’s place last night, Aqua would have made him one. But if he’d gone, then they would likely have seen how Ven had cradled his shoulder long into the evening, wincing as pain spiked long after Vanitas had let his arm go.

Then again, he realized as Ienzo silently led him to the restroom, the class rep had to have noticed that Ven carried no bento in his case. Which meant he knew better and was simply not calling Ven out on his lie. He stared at his feet, face flushed red. His fingers went white around the strap of his bag.

He went to the restroom, thankfully unsupervised, and then scurried back to the classroom. Several students had already pushed their desks together to sit with each other. Ven was one of the few who sat alone. That was for the best. He had to get his schoolwork done.

He pulled out the tattered remains of his English homework and stared at the ripped pages. Suddenly he felt like crying again.

He had friends. Good friends. Friends who were more like family. One of whom he cared for even more than family allowed. His hands shook as he pulled out one of his newly sharpened pencils, half the length it had once been. He sniffed as quietly as he could and pulled out a new notepad to work on.

Those good friends wouldn’t hesitate to help him. He knew that. It was why he was trying so hard to take care of this on his own. Terra and Aqua had taken him in as family. They’d looked after him when he’d been able to do little more than blink. They’d raised him as much as Master Eraqus, had helped him through his nameless nightmares and held him when he’d felt ready to break apart. The day he’d realized he couldn’t remember his parents, Aqua had held him to her chest and let him cry for hours, and Terra had ushered him to bed, hugging Ven tight ‘to ward off the nightmares before they reached him.’

Every memory he had was one in which they’d grown up, matured, in order to help him. He’d left without much thought as to why, only to realize he hadn’t wanted to burden them any further. He’d hoped that, if he left, they could live their high school lives in peace and happiness. Able to be kids for a little bit.

He also hoped that, by the time they’d gotten that chance, he might have grown strong enough that, just maybe, he might be able to join them again. As a family.

So he had to be strong enough to handle this, too. It was just another part of his promise to himself. He could do it. This was nothing.

He sniffed again. Definitely nothing.

Classes finally finished for the day. Terra had already put everything away despite the dark glare it had garnered from his teacher. As soon as the bell rang, he stood.

“Terra.”

He turned to the voice, already waving goodbye. “Sorry, Zack. I have someone waiting.”

“Ah!” Zack held out his hand as Terra made his way to the exit, swerving around the rest of the students. “Is it Aqua? Hey! Terra!”

He couldn’t name the reason for his haste. There had been nothing in Ven’s countenance that morning to make it appear like he would renege again. Still, Terra couldn’t help the feeling that Ven was slipping away from him. The feeling chased him down the hall and around the bend to the stairs. He nearly flew down to the first floor, having to apologize to two second-years as they stood speaking side-by-side, nearly taking up the full space of the stairwell.

Aqua would wonder where he’d gone. Then again, she would figure it out. He wasn’t the only one who was worried, after all.

He rocketed out of the stairwell and pushed the door open, parting the sea of students flowing past. One look around told him Ventus wasn’t there yet. He’d wanted to get downstairs before Ven left his classroom. He didn’t know if he’d been that successful, but he could at least hope he’d made it before Ven reached the gate and had to wait for them to show up.

If he waited. If he didn’t hide from them again.

He stopped. The students in the hall were scurrying forward, yes, but their heads were down. A few looked over their shoulders with furrowed brows. One nearly bumped into him, only to mumble an apology and skirt around.

Terra frowned. One scan of the crowd showed him a small wave moving past the lockers near the end of the hall. Near classes 1-B and 1-D.

He had no reason to believe Ven was involved in whatever was going on. Nothing but the rising ache in his chest and the memory of the wide, almost panicked look on Ven’s face when Terra had asked him if he was all right.

Terra pushed through the crowd. At first, no one let him pass; he was headed the opposite direction of the swarm, toward the classrooms instead of away. Then, moments later, a few of the students moved. Maybe it was because he was clearly an upperclassman. Maybe it was because they knew where he was headed and wanted to help him get there. Maybe it was just the look on his face. He didn’t care about the reason, only that it worked.

He could hear a little bit, now that he was getting closer. Shouted words. He strained his ears. “…thought that would help you? Huh? As if anyone would dare going after Xehanort’s ward.” A smaller, calmer voice answered the first. Terra couldn’t hear it over the sound of a sudden burst of laughter just behind him. He thought it must have been a trick of his hearing that he thought it might have sounded like Ven. “Unlike with you, I was taught how to be strong. When he hears about this, he’s going to be proud of me. But you.”

It was as if it had been choreographed. Just as Terra got within range of the lockers, the students all shifted to the side, and Terra saw. Ven. Little Ven, held by the collar of his shirt by another freshman, holding his bag slightly behind him as if defending it as the boy used his free arm to slap Ven across the face. Terra let out an aborted sound as black colored the edges of his vision. Ven tripped as the other boy shook him. The boy smirked. He used Ven’s compromised balance to throw him into the lockers. Ven bounced and arched his back – the knobs on the lockers must have dug into his back.

Terra tore through the few students left in his way. Ven’s enemy took only a single step before Terra flew in front of him. He held out a single hand, hiding Ven behind it. The boy stopped short at the sight of him.

The first few words Terra thought were like darkness on his tongue. They burned. He fought them back, only to snap out a deep, “back away. Now,” that nonetheless carried with it the same level of threat. The boy backed away. A few students stopped trying to run away and turned to watch. In mere moments, a small ring had formed around them.

The brat looked over Terra’s shoulder at Ven. Terra didn’t dare look away to check, but he could hear Ven breathing loudly. Terra’s heart thrummed in his chest. “Little Ven needs to ask for help again, huh?” He sneered. Terra bristled.

“He doesn’t have to.” A small murmuring whispered through the crowd. Above it came, suddenly, Aqua’s voice, asking what was going on, her tone carrying all the authority of the student council president. “Ven has friends who will choose to defend him.” He stepped forward. His entire body snapped with the urge to act. “Where are yours?”

The boy grimaced. For a wild second, Terra thought the squint of those eyes became one of pain. The boy took another step back. Suddenly he looked short. Small. His lips trembled in a snarl before he turned on his heel and stomped away. The ring made a hasty opening for him to retreat. Through it swerved Aqua, making a beeline for the both of them. “What happened?” she asked.

In answer, Terra turned to Ven and knelt, gently touching Ven’s cheek. It was red and hot to the touch. Ven did not meet his gaze. “…Hey, Terra.”

“Are you all right?” he asked, ignoring the guilty tone of Ven’s voice. He bent Ven’s head just enough to touch the back of it, checking for bumps. He found one. He hissed in sympathy.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Ven said, even though he wasn’t. He wasn’t. “I’m sorry.”

Carefully, Terra ruffled Ven’s hair, mindful of the injury. His heart felt like lead in his chest. “Please don’t apologize. I want to help you. You know that.”

Ven nodded. Still, he refused to look at Terra or grant him the sunlight of that smile. “Yeah.”

Aqua came up to stand by both of them, either accidentally or, more likely, deliberately shielding Ven from any spectators’ gazes. “Come on. Let’s get you to the nurse’s station.”

“I’m fine,” Ven repeated, his lip moving into something like a pout.

Aqua opened her mouth to argue. Terra held up one hand, waylaying her, and knelt in front of Ven. He took Ven’s shoulders gently, worried that there were more injuries he couldn’t yet see. How long, he wondered, had this been going on? How much had he not seen? How much pain had he been unable to protect Ven from? “I’m sorry.” The words hadn’t been what Ven had expected; those shoulders jerked beneath Terra’s hands. Finally, Ven looked up at him. Terra met that gaze head-on. “I failed you.”

Ven shook his head, his eyes wide. “No,” he said. Those hands came up to grip his wrists. “No, you didn’t.”

“I did.” He leaned forward, just enough that their words became for them only. Aqua shifted where she stood and made a hissing noise. Scaring the onlookers away, Terra guessed. “I should have noticed. Done something sooner.”

Terra saw red creep up Ven’s neck. “I wanted to take care of it on my own,” he said, his voice small. “It’s not your fault. I didn’t want you to see.”

Terra took a careful breath. They’d told Ven a million times that he didn’t need to shoulder everything himself. That had never worked. It was time Terra put everything down. Instead of telling Ven. Showing him. Just like Aqua said.

He touched Ven’s cheek again. “What you carry,” he said, “I carry, too.” He leaned forward. “Otherwise, what use am I?” He leaned up and kissed Ven’s cheek.

Ven stilled, save for his lips. They opened up enough to let out a high-pitched, inarticulate squeak.

“My strength,” he said, pulling back, daring to let the kiss linger on them both, “has always come from you. From Aqua. From Master Eraqus. You’re what matter enough to make me strong. This?” He traced his thumb along the spot he’d kissed, even hotter now than it had been moments before. “This is proof of my weakness.”

“You’re not weak!” Ven cried, launching forward. Terra’s balance wobbled as Ven wrapped his arms around his neck. Aqua grabbed Terra’s shoulder to steady them. “You’re the strongest person I know!”

“Thanks,” Aqua murmured, but Terra saw her smile.

Terra pulled Ven tight to him. Ven’s shoulders shook. Terra acted like he couldn’t tell. “Me? You shouldered this all on your own, longer than I can imagine.” He curled his face into the crook of Ven’s neck. “You’re so strong, Ven. I’m so proud of you.”

Ven sniffed. His shoulders rose sharply, only to stutter back down. Those little fingers clawed deep into the back of Terra’s shirt. Ven’s cheek felt hot against Terra’s neck. Likely from the bruise. Ven buried his face in Terra’s skin. “I haven’t been able to make him stop.”

“Strength doesn’t mean making others do things,” Terra said. “It means holding yourself to your path, even when others want you to stop.” Ven’s shudders rose, crescendoed, and finally began to calm. “You never stopped being you, Ven. That’s why you’re strong.”

Ven’s sniffles turned a bit watery. Aqua crouched down beside them, patting Ven’s back. “We love you,” she said, the words soft and serene and strong, just as strong as anything Terra had ever heard. “We want to be with you, not just when things are easy, but when they’re hard. Because being with you, the person we love, as much as we can, makes us happy. It’s the same for you, isn’t it?”

After a short moment, Ven nodded against Terra’s shoulder. He still remove his face from Terra’s neck.

She looked into Terra’s eyes and smiled. “Do you want to come home with us? And stay the night?”

Ven nodded again.

They wouldn’t ask for more. Not now, while Ven was so vulnerable. But later. Later, they would ask that Ven complete their family again.

Terra held Ven until he was ready, and then they parted. Aqua took Ven’s bag, which had some marks that could only mean it had taken some damage at some point. They didn’t bring it up. Ven sniffed loudly and rubbed his eyes. They didn’t mention that, either. Instead Terra reached out a single hand, waiting to see if Ven would take it. Ven stared at it for several moments. His face turned red as a ripe apple, but finally, those warm digits wrapped around Terra’s. A small smile played on Ven’s lips.

It was the first ray of light peeking from behind the clouds. Terra felt warmer than he had in days.

[sheithonearth]

@makesuretheyseeme I wasn’t too concerned about it lol they were trying to make a joke but since this ask was in response to a post I made talking about how I don’t like people telling me what my preferences should be (or suggesting the opposite of what I like) I responded in harmless pettiness. Honestly if it gets me to write more ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ lol

[resanigii]

@bellatorr @bubblingnightstar @makesuretheyseeme @belovedsheith

   Keith, please.

[noir-wing]

do you have pics of the signed sheith itabag? ;w; your friend is very lucky!

he wrote 'shiro loves you baby’ on her bag too!!

her IG and twitter is nemmuri so give her a follow!

she was cosplaying bunny keith and i was shiro- we’re gonna be posting a bunch of cosplay pics in the next few days of that too. :)

[runicscribbles]

makesuretheyseeme replied to your post: If any of you support the petition to demand...

the first thing i saw on that petition was klance and kick. its nice to know they finally revealed that they’re attacking the showrunners because klance didn’t happen, fucking idiots

It was never about having LGBT characters represented in shows, it was always about fanon ships and unsurprisingly, about hating women too. I’m so disappointed.

[brattykeith]

(send a kink) Breeding

No | rather not | I dunno | I guess | Sure | Yes | FUCK yes | Oh god you don’t even know | 

HOOOOOOO BOY. I love the idea of breeding Keith. Either BOM breeding him for more kits or Shiro and Lance breeding him to have the cutest babies.

[sheithmonth]

I'm so curious on what sheith picture you're going to select for this year

the people on the discord seemed to like it :)

hint: this year’s main featured SM blog artist is @v-0-3

[captainharunanase]

you can only save one, who you don't choose will be forever banished and his character won't exist anymore. Now choose..Makoto, or Shiro :3

First off, I’m sorry this took too long to answer! I’m always on mobile and I didn’t know I had new asks! I don’t get notifs so I was shocked when I saw tons and tons of Sheith/HaruMako questions! *gasp* Imma try my best to answer them whenever I get on to a laptop (cuz mobile sucks)!

Holy fuqqqq you are cruel like wtf how am I supposed to even decide like I stared at this ask for hours I can’t even–why is this happening I’m having a midlife crisis over this OMFG whAT IS THIS WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME!! 

AHHHHH I’d choose Makoto! No wait! SHIRO! 

WAIT HOLD ON LET ME THINK OMFG😭😭😭😭😭 

I dunno those two are my ultimate favorite you are literally asking me to pick the one to die here omg. 

My bara waifu or my beefy waifu??? My Miracule of the Universe or the Guardian of the Cosmos??? soft tal bae #1 or soft tal bae #2? 

Oh…They are very similar…I think I found my type 😅Okay okay. Ok I got it. I would choose Makoto. He needs to be safe because he has never been in an existential crisis like Shiro has on a daily so Shiro can totally handle the crisis better than Makoto–the inner Haru in me can’t even imagine the thought of Makoto not existing like wtf he’s Haru’s miracle of the universe he needs to exist for Haru to even breathe lol 

Plus plus plus what you mean Shiro will disappear?! Why you gotta do that 😢😢😢😢You and I both know Keith ain’t having any of that bull cuz he’s about to spend the next nth amount of months looking for Shiro again–will find him–and chain him to himself cuz he can’t trust Shiro to turn down a corridor by himself let alone cease to exist under his watch 😂😂😂😂 

I love this. I love ya. You broke my heart and had me crying for a good 10mins before I finally had courage to type my answer. And even now I wanna take it all back and be a loser and say “both!!” Lolz

I’m sorry if I sound tired or kiddy--I just can’t keep my composure when I’m confronted with two of my favorite baes and asked this hard question. I swear I can type like my age I promise! *cries in a corner*

[yumikoyuki]

xyriath replied to your post “within 24 hours i have produced quite a few pieces of sheith and shiro...”

thank you bc we are BLESSED

makesuretheyseeme replied to your post “within 24 hours i have produced quite a few pieces of sheith and shiro...”

thank you.

[dent-de-leon]

Give me your Sheith fic recs~

Hi! Here’s some I personally like (and I tried not to include too many that i see talked about a lot because,, well chances are you’ve read it already)

the whole town’s sleeping: Classic prekerberos and all the pain that comes with it. Very heartwarming though. It’s something I’ve read and reread a lot because I just love good origin stories for these two

Creatures and Cages: A bit of prekerbros, but mostly deals with the aftermath. Keith’s denial, lost messages to Shiro’s ship that never make it, all these words left unsaid–it’s super sad but compelling, I love it when people focus on that year when Keith was on his own. Also has well written ace keith, if you like that sort of thing like me

tonight i can write the saddest lines: fuck,, fuck man. this wasn’t okay. beautifully written? yeah. super immersive, kept me engaged? absolutely. But boy was it painful. Time and this story aren’t linear, but I love the way everything flows. 

The Guardian and the Dreamer: This is!! so cute and adorable!! Shiro and keith are both kids. well, i say keith’s a kid, but he’s actually just a really young spirit. Shiro is a human who ends up in the spirit world when he dreams, and keith decides to be his guardian. very sweet but also hurts my heart. has this air of childhood wonder and magic about it, feels like a good bedtime story. neat stuff 

Caught in the Tide: mer shiro gets captured by humans for research. keith is one of the guards who patrols his tank, but shiro ends up being really friendly and they grow pretty close. it turns out exactly how you think it will, but it’s still sweet and fun to read. 

Behind Locked Doors: Keith’s mind is overtaken by a parasite that feeds off emotions—and ends up confessing a lot of things that have been eating away at him all this time. Shiro does his best to help, and maybe open up more himself. You really feel for Keith, and it has this kind of bom quality of him divulging pieces of himself against his will. Nice bittersweet ending 

Skydream: Listen,,, this completely shattered my heart in every kind of way, but I’m not sorry I read it. I love it. Keith and Shiro are both harpies, but Keith’s wings are small and frail so he struggles with flying, especially compared to Shiro. He tries his damnedest though, because whether he flies or falls, he just wants to feel free 

There you go, I hope you find some you like!

[kayura-sanada]

Among My Stillness Was A Pounding Heart (TerraVen) (Part 3 of 6)

Series: Among My Stillness Was A Pounding Heart Chapter: An Addendum (aka Maybe Others’ Lives Aren’t Normal, Either) Fandom: Kingdom Hearts Rating: T Words: ~2300

Summary:  Ventus has entered high school, and he now faces the trials that all students face. Class, bullies, and a crush on someone close to him. These problems, however, may end up seeming small in comparison to the one rather unusual issue looming before him - one that has to do with the past he doesn’t remember.

Special Note: This was commissioned by the lovely @makesuretheyseeme. Thank you so much!

Xehanort stopped walking.

Vanitas glanced up. Xehanort’s attention was not on him – thank goodness – but instead on a little boy around Vanitas’ age walking quickly across a crosswalk on the other side of the street. The boy was whistling and skipping like a little kid, his school bag swinging wildly back and forth as he moved forward. The grin on his face was so big, Vanitas could see his teeth gleaming from where he stood.

“Well, well.” Ignoring the rules of the road, Xehanort stepped into the street and made a beeline for the boy. Vanitas hesitated for several moments before hurrying after Xehanort. He wasn’t yelled at. He must have made the right choice.

“Which one are you?” Xehanort said, stepping slowly up from the street to the sidewalk. The young boy looked up at Xehanort. His brows scrunched. When Xehanort stepped closer, the boy took a step back. Xehanort hummed as if recognizing something. “Are you sure this is real?” he asked. The little boy blinked up at him. Xehanort frowned. “The other?” His lips twisted. “The one taken in by Eraqus.”

At the name, the boy perked up. He leaned closer. “Do you know Master Eraqus?”

Xehanort snorted. “‘Master,’ is he?” Xehanort leaned into the boy’s space. The excited look skittered off as quickly as it came. “Still acting as if he’s a martial artist first and a superintendent second? Or is he simply mocking me? As if seeing you here alone without your teenage escorts isn’t insult enough. As if he thinks me sufficiently subdued.”

The boy didn’t answer.

Xehanort scowled. “Of course.” He stood straight – or at least as straight as he could – and glared down at the kid with a look that Vanitas recognized very well. He quailed, thankful that, for once, the look was not directed at him. “Hide alone from Eraqus,” he said. For the first time in his life, Vanitas saw the same empty, numb look cross another’s face. He knew that look – he’d felt it on his own face countless times. “And forget this encounter. Do that, and you might be forgiven.”

The kid’s spine straightened. With a still-empty look, the bond turned on his heel and left – heading in the opposite direction than before. Xehanort smiled. “Vanitas.”

Vanitas stiffened.

“R͔̤̩̩͇͜ę̘̲̘̖͕c͚̜̥͢e̢͓̩i̧̮̞̭̞v̧͖̜͖͚ͅe̢̱̙̦̩ o̡͚̲̣͈͙͕̫̣r̡̩͓͙̤̩̙͉͉̙̫͈d̡̜͍͔̬e̢̞͍̯̝͓r̘̭̥̟̲̩͇̩͈̙͢ͅs̢͍̩͓̝̗.̢̤͈͓̠̟̞͕̮̞̖” Vanitas’ body went lax; that familiar numbness swept over him. “You are to ensure that young Ventus here removes himself from the lives of Eraqus and his little adopted ilk. Y͈̯͈̦͔̟̗͓̦̗͢o̡͉̣̙̯̳̦̙̗̩̥͈̤ų͔̠͔̜͖͓͈͚̘ͅ a̭͇͔̭͍̱͕̞̦͢ͅr̨͔͓̪̞̰̗͎͚̭e̢͇̤͇̘̥͓̟̗͇ m̨͍͈̘͈̬̭͈̲y̨̗̪͎͓̗̰̝͉͎̦̙ s̖͖͖̳̞͢ͅh̨̰̗͎̭̱̫̯͇͖ͅą̗͔̫̙͍͉̣d̨͓̰̪͚̞̪̠͍͇̖͓̙o̞̖̗̩̙͇̬̳͙͚̣͢w͇͇̱͢ͅ.̙̲̜̤͢ Ẏ̭̤͍̣̬͙͔̞̱̪͎̄̌̃͆͂̈̃̃̽ỏ͓̥̞͍̦̆̽̔̑̌̈́̓̎ͅͅu̬̬̯̥̖̩͓͉̞͌̾̐͒ͅͅ à̩̦̰̯͈̗̟͙͌̏͑r̝̗͖̪̰̞̪̟͎͓͙̀͆͗̒̈̀̽̒́͊e̩̯̥͍̲̝̪͔͚͕̘̅́͋̆̋̉͊͊͌̋̽̚ͅ d͖͖̗̮̤̥̊̽̉̓̎͊̋͗́̇̇̌a͔͎̙̖̪̥͙͙̜͗̊͒͛̀̆ͅr̩͇̟̦͇̟̬̾̌͊̾̿̅̄͌̇̇k̜͇͖̰̖̲̬͈̃̾̐́͂̉̔͌ṉ͖̠͚̏̌͊͐ͅe̞̱̙͎̞̬̣͒͒̏̓̍ś͔͇̝̠̤̱͈̘̠̿͒̇̂̄s͙̭̞̅̍̐̽̃́͐͛̇͑��̘̱̖.̪̘̯̘̲̟̫͔̤̇̈̽̀́”

“Yes, master.”

For two years, he had watched little Ventus, just as ordered. And, just as ordered, he had used and reused those little phrases on Ventus every time he saw the boy with those from Master Eraqus’ household. Yet, despite how many times he successfully triggered the boy’s training, he kept going back. Two days, three, and then he was trotting back after them like a puppy. Vanitas needed to get a leash for the brat.

Any thought of having made progress died the instant one of those ‘teenage brats’ had shown up to defend Ventus while Vanitas had confronted him.

He gritted his teeth as he headed down the hall, the end of the day bustle swerving to avoid him. Xehanort was going to punish him.

How was it his fault? He’d gone after the kid non-stop since he’d been given his order in middle school. He’d hunted the boy every free moment of their lives, chasing him down during lunches, after school, before class. He couldn’t keep them separated. He’d tried.

It wasn’t fair. Ventus had been trained, just like Vanitas. Only he hadn’t been considered good enough – why else would Xehanort choose to keep Vanitas around, but not any of the others? It had to mean Vanitas was trained better, was more useful, or else what was the point of him being kept? And yet Ventus was the one who had people jumping in front of him to defend him. Ventus was the one who had people stop and help him out when he was upset or hurt – as if Vanitas ever hurt the brat as much as Xehanort could hurt him when he didn’t do well enough. Ventus made friends, had people watch out for him, even though he wasn’t as useful. Why?

Xehanort was going to hurt him again. He was already trying to explain himself – how he’d been keeping his attacks to when Ventus was alone, and that he’d usually had another minute or two before he could have gotten caught, and that he’d planned on using the trigger words again – even though he had just the day before, the frequency of it startling, almost as much as the need for such frequency – before Eraqus’ adopted son had come storming in – when he reached the lobby and stopped short.

The school’s lobby opened to the shoe lockers before reaching the exit. It was at the lockers that most students had already converged, each of them trading last-minute stories or gripes about the schoolwork. A few hurried past, heading for whichever extracurricular activity they’d chosen.

Vanitas didn’t care about any of them. He cared about the small contingent of people clustered just in front of all of that, right beside the front office. Master Eraqus – known to Vanitas only through old pictures Xehanort had shown him to ensure he knew who to keep Ventus away from – and the two kids of his, the girl with the odd hair and the boy who’d defended Ventus yesterday. And Ventus. With them! With all of them, as if Vanitas hadn’t ordered him two days ago to stay away.

And another Ventus.

Vanitas just barely kept from scrubbing at his eyes. Two. Two?

One headed off with Eraqus before Vanitas could so much as cross the lobby. He took solace on the stares of those around him – he wasn’t the only one looking back and forth between the two twins, trying to figure out what was going on. He caught two sophomores pointing them out with wide eyes, as if their hairstyles weren’t just as eye-catching. A girl in their class, one he knew to have been trained, as well, stood dead center of the lobby looking at the two, her mouth clearly forming the word, “two?” as she cataloged the newcomer. Seeing everyone else’s surprise gave him the opportunity to recover from his own before the Eraqus kids saw.

“Which one are you?”

Suddenly Xehanort’s old words made sense. Two Ventuses? No. Siblings. Twins, by the looks of them. Vanitas shivered. For a moment, he wasn’t sure which was which. Then he looked closer. The one leaving with Eraqus had a scowl on his face. Ventus seemed unable to form such an expression. That one had to be the other.

He didn’t know what was going on, but if Master Xehanort learned that another had joined Eraqus, then he wouldn’t be happy. An unhappy Xehanort meant an unhappy Vanitas.

He had to do something.

“Let’s just head home for now,” Vanitas heard the brunet – Terra – say just as he approached. A chill swept up his spine. Home? He wanted Terra to be talking about Ventus’ crappy studio apartment, rented out by Eraqus when Ventus followed Xehanort’s command to stay away. He wanted to believe the brat hadn’t managed to break completely free of Xehanort’s orders. But he didn’t think that was the case.

For someone who was supposed to be weaker than Vanitas, the runt had an amazing ability to ignore the commands given to him. An ability that had likely made him undesirable to Xehanort. Vanitas’ fists clenched. He, on the other hand, did not have such an ability. “So, you finally managed to find someone who wants to be around you,” he said, nearly shouting to be heard above the traffic before Ventus got away. “Your reflection.”

Ventus didn’t even look angry. Terra moved to stand in front of the little pipsqueak, but the brat just laughed. “I thought that, too, at first! We really do look a lot alike, huh?”

Vanitas grimaced. That was the worst part of making the kid forget over and over again; he never remembered exactly how afraid of Vanitas he should be. He only remembered a few moments of abuse. With Terra right next to him, the chances of Vanitas scaring him were slim. That wasn’t what he needed.

Terra held one hand out, mimicking the pose he’d taken the day before. “What do you want?” he asked.

He grimaced again. His fists clenched. His shoulders rose to his ears. The boy hadn’t bothered refuting his statements; he’d just made it clear that, no matter what Vanitas said or did, Terra would push Vanitas away and continue standing by Ventus’ side.

Why? Why was this one so special? Why did he have so many people choosing to watch out for him? Vanitas was the special one. Why did no one care about him?

“Oh,” Ventus said. His voice was suddenly, oddly soft. He’d peeked around Terra’s body. Now, he looked into Vanitas’ eyes. “You’re lonely.”

He bristled. “So this is it?” he asked. He cast his gaze toward Terra’s arm, knowing the approximate height of his target. It didn’t matter if the brat saw him. Only that he heard him. “Hide alone behind others instead of sticking it out on your own?” The laughter died out. A stillness centered from behind the big guy. The girl, Aqua, sent a glance toward Ventus and frowned. “Forget that. Stand on your own. Do that, and you might be forgiven.”

Terra surged forward. Vanitas dropped down, ready to fight. The girl, however, reached out and grabbed Terra’s arm. “Terra! Look.” She pointed. Already, Ventus was busy doing as commanded – he swerved around the students still loitering around the lockers and headed for the door.

Just like that, Vanitas didn’t matter anymore. Terra and Aqua raced off, leaving Vanitas alone. He could only hope that his last-ditch effort would sink in and keep the kid away from them before they dragged him back. He covered his face and breathed.

He didn’t know why Xehanort was keeping an eye on the boy. He didn’t know why he had been commanded to do this. He didn’t know what was going to happen to him when Xehanort found out he’d failed.

He scrubbed his eyes. Two years. Two years of following this command, and he was going to be punished for failing.

Footsteps came from the front office. He quickly lowered his hands, his mouth already open to snap at a teacher to leave him alone. Instead, the person approaching was the black-haired girl from his class. She held her bag to her chest, likely still reacting as commanded to her own training. Nonetheless, she stared at him, pausing only for a moment in the middle of the hall, taking in his glare before continuing toward him.

He glanced around. The other students had finally changed their shoes and left for the day, or else headed to their respective clubs. The only other person in the halls was a teacher, one he didn’t recognize. The teacher opened the door to the front office and greeted the receptionist within. The door closed behind him. By the time he focused on the girl again, she’d already reached his side. He jerked back. She did the same in reaction. Her wide eyes took him in for a second more before she relaxed. One small hand reached out to him. He sucked in a sharp breath. “Don’t,” she said. Her shoulders stiffened. She stared at his chest. “Don’t say it. Please.”

He gritted his teeth. Xehanort considered her training interesting, but overall, useless. A single word allowed too little control over how the order was interpreted – the word “disappear” had made her need to seem insignificant instead of helping her sneak around and blend in, as would have befitted the spy Xehanort had hoped to create – and in the end, she had become too much of a timid waif. Because of that, Xehanort had considered her a failed experiment and let her go. And because of that, Vanitas had been given no orders about her.

He closed his mouth.

She smiled. Her shoulders relaxed. She raised her gaze back up to his face. There was something new about her suddenly. Small, quiet. But the wide smile she gave him was anything but timid. “Thank you.”

“I didn’t do anything,” he snapped. She reached out again, this time touching his hand. “What?”

“There,” she said. Her smile dimmed, but remained. “Your hands are always shaking. Now they’ve stopped.”

He wrenched his hand away as his cheeks grew hot. “I don’t shake.”

He did. He always had. It was worse after he was given orders.

She didn’t correct him. It was worse than if she did. “Want me to show you something?” she asked instead.

He snorted. “What could you possibly show me?”

“There’s a place I like to go when… when I’ve been triggered and don’t want to be alone.” Though she still hugged her bag close to her chest with one hand, she grabbed his with the other in a firm grip, refusing to let go. She wasn’t nearly as timid as she had been forced to seem. “Do you want me to show you?”

He thought about it. He thought about going home, of Xehanort, of him finding out that Ventus was with Xehanort’s mortal enemy again. He thought of the beating waiting for him behind those doors. “Fine,” he decided. He wrenched his hand free again and grabbed her wrist. At her wince, he loosened his grip. He glared out toward the lockers, the lobby silent and still now that everyone else had moved on. “Just tell me where to go.”

The girl laughed at him. “All right.” She pointed to the entrance of the school. “Go through those doors.”

He stomped forward. “I could have guessed that!”

[eastofthemoon]

Kallura- jealousy

“Allura, why are you angry at me?”

“I’m not angry at you,” Allura leaned against him, “I’m angry at Princess Flotine for flirting with you.”

“….She was flirting?”

Allura shook her head as she kissed Keith on the cheek.

Send me a prompt and I’ll write either a three sentence prompt or a headcanon post 

[goodtohaveyouback]

Re: your latest post about obvious k/ance shippers and antis tagging your sheith as that brog0ane trash. I was lowkey going to message you to change your caption to say "sheith❤ garrison boys" to drive away the antis because you know how this fandom is. It's not just you, but other sheith artist whenever they don't draw Keith and Shiro kissing say that k/ance shippers tag their art as that. So please put 'sheith' in your captain next time. You can still do it on the edit now

Hmmm, you have a point, but since the post already hit over 10k I don’t feel it’s worth changing the caption now, the damage has already been done? Also I also genuinely respect those who view Shiro and Keith’s relationship as something strictly platonic/familial. Like, it’s totally cool if you don’t see them that way. But just tag it as ‘shirokeith’ or just ‘shiro’ and ‘keith’ seperately?

But I just get really agitated by the term br0ganes because it was originally instated by antis who insisted they’re brothers/related (while it actually started out as an AU?) now people are just using it as a trope and invade shippers’ content with it, plastering ‘BR0GANES’ in all caps all over the place? Like can you please not. The term is already associated with antis who have been explicitly using it against shippers to harass them, so be aware of the implications before you tag it as such. If you see it tagged as ‘sheith’, don’t fucking do it.

[stumbling-while-balancing]

I hope you'll eventually fall into Kallura like I have. xD What would make you start to like the ship? Season two did it for me while my love for Sheith grew.

Oh, I definitely ship Kallura. I’m just very: ship what you want, and if you don’t ship what I ship that’s fine as long as you don’t hate. So if people want to take my post, and make it all about Allura or all about Keith separately or about them both platonically instead of together, that’s fine. Same with any other meta I post if there are potential shipping implications. But seriously, these two are so cute. I mainly ship them because I overall think that they could really understand each other and support each other if they ever did get really close. I don’t think there’s really a certain moment, just that they’ll-be-good-for-each-other certainty. But yeah, I ship Keith with EVERYONE, so I was predisposed to ship them anyway. :D @makesuretheyseeme

But thanks!

[runicscribbles]

If only lauren or JDS were more blunt about klance as Mark hamill was about reylo. Though if those shippers dared to do what those crazy ass kl shippers did to mark and the acrors then mark would've shut down the reylo shippers long ago. Lauren, JDS and the VAs are too nice for this fandom, and because of this the shippers take advantage of it

I don’t think being blunt would even be enough. These are people who get off on sending death threats to the cast, crew, and other fans, including those who are kids. They already are attacking Lauren after Jeremy accidentally leaked some future spoilers, sending her a wave of harassment and inventing some “feud” between the two of them where Jeremy was supposedly fighting her eeeeevil control to drop hints about Klance. They see what they want to see, reality has zero influence on them, and they respond with violence and threats. :/

Thankfully, they’re an extremely small minority and super easy to block, because I never have any interaction or even visibility on them, lol.

[yamirosenkreuz]

makesuretheyseeme

I READ THAT STORY AND ALREADY RECOGNIZED WHAT THIS WAS. xD Ohmygod we need more of Keith going undercover in a dress stories. Seriously, it's brilliant because of how Shiro would react to it drgdf I love this. You captured the scene nicely in the part where Keith leaned over to Shiro to tell him about the knife lmao.

tbh is amazing the lack of crossdressing Keith! maximum I have found like 3 fics and is soo sad! even in fanarts so i hope (I cross my fingers!) that some day there are more writers who decide to explore crossdressing themes :c

And thank you! <3  that scene killed me soo much! i was thinking Keef broke him without knowing plus the one where he is fixing his heel and Shiro mind goes wild~