About Association And Stuff

~ He frowned. Was he really becoming that predictable? ~

It was official: Vanitas hadn't felt this nervous for quite some time now. It was silly and incredibly out of character, so he kept it to himself. Not only because he hated showing people his weaknesses, but also because the last thing he needed was Kairi teasing him about it for the rest of the week. And tease she would, because she just was that twisted. Anyone who disagreed didn't know her as well as he did, period. He'd probably been rubbing off on her.

"Grandma's in the livingroom, by the way," the redhead said, as she stepped aside to let him in.

"...Kay," he said with an indifferent shrug (at least, he was hoping that it looked nonchalant rather than awkward).

Like I even care where the hell she is, he thought to himself, but he knew better than to tell Kairi.

"Oh, and take your shoes off, please. I just cleaned the place," Kairi continued.

He gave his girlfriend a rather peeved and intimidating look that would have made anyone else feel rather uncomfortable. Kairi, however, had become immune to it by now. He sighed and reluctantly did as he was told (as if he had any other choice). Thank heavens he'd thought of putting on clean socks today. And black ones at that.

To be honest, Vanitas had barely set a step inside the seemingly clean and cozy house when he started to regret his decision. What the hell was he thinking really, meeting his girlfriend's grandmother when his meeting with her adoptive father hadn't been exactly successful either? Had he lost his mind when that flowerpot had nearly fallen on his head earlier? But he knew that there was no turning back now; Kairi was still holding his hand, almost as though she knew he would run away as soon as the redhead would let go of him.

He frowned. Was he really becoming that predictable? Then perhaps Kairi knew him better than he'd thought...

To make matters worse, Vanitas didn't like old people. At all. They were all old, ugly, nagging pricks. Pricks that one couldn't even smack upside the head without being called a heartless bastard, even if they deserved it. Heck, his own grandfather, Xehanort, was the epitome of a creep, and that while Vanitas was used to most of his antics. Didn't that say enough already?

At least this house didn't smell of cats and old farts. In fact, a subtle, flowery scent was in the air, probably thanks to Kairi. The first thing he noticed when they entered the living-room was that the furniture mainly had a touch of wood, with some exceptions here and there. All in all, the house had an overall antique feel to it. It felt rather homey too thanks to the soft colors and all the curlicues placed everywhere, from the coffee table to the windowsill. That had to be a girl thing, because Vanitas didn't really find it appealing. In this case, though, it worked.

Then, his eyes fell on the old woman, sitting on the rocking chair near the large window that showed the Market Place. She smiled when their eyes met, and the wrinkles near her eyes and mouth were more prominent now. Usually, Vanitas would think that wrinkles were ugly, but they made this woman look softer and sweeter in a way that was hard to explain. A green shawl was draped around her form, even though it wasn't cold at all. This piece of cloth, combined with her thin form made her look even more fragile. Even more so when she adjusted her snow-white hair. She had a sweet face and even with all the wrinkles, Vanitas could tell easily that she used to be a beautiful woman before time had had its way with her.

"Ah, it's a pleasure to finally meet you, son. I've heard nothing but praise about you. Please, have a seat."

Vanitas tried not to look too stunned at that (he didn't even notice the fact that she'd called him 'son').

...Had she now? What do you know...

He glanced at Kairi, who sat down next to him, before giving him a small encouraging smile in return. That was all he needed to feel more at ease. The smile was proof that she hadn't said anything bad about him.

"Nice to meet you too," Vanitas replied politely.

For a change, he didn't feel like he had to be on guard. The woman had a soft, pleasant voice that, combined with her sweet smile, made him feel welcome. It wasn't often that people would act like this towards him.

"Well I can clearly see that Kairi wasn't exaggerating at all when she said that you were quite handsome," the woman continued with a mischievous twinkle in her dark eyes.

"Grandma!" Kairi said in protest.

The girl's cheeks had already turned red from embarrassment, which made Vanitas smirk. At least he didn't have to be the only one who had to go through awkward stuff this time.

"Why thank you. That's a sweet compliment."

"I'm gonna make us some tea," Kairi quickly said as she got up from the couch.

From the doorway, where her grandmother couldn't see her, the redhead turned around and mouthed "Shut up!" at Vanitas, who still had that amused expression on his face. He in return merely raised a brow. He was so going to remind her of this for the rest of her life.

The next question brought his attention back to the old woman. "I heard that you and the mayor had a bit of a disagreement?"

He frowned. Had the news spread so quickly already? Or was this once again Kairi's doing? He wouldn't be surprised if the red-haired girl told her grandma all her secrets.

"That's an understatement, because he really was a p-"

Vanitas stopped talking right before he would utter profanity. It was a bad idea to badmouth the mayor in front of this sweet old lady. She probably saw him as family now that her granddaughter lived with him, and this could very well be a test or something. It wouldn't be the first time that someone would test him like this. He'd almost slipped too, but he certainly wasn't going to fail this time.

Apparently, Kairi's grandma had guessed why he'd stopped in mid-sentence, because she assured him gently, "It's fine, dear boy. I know his traits and you have full right to question his actions. I won't judge you because you speak the truth."

"Oh..."

"In fact, if I hadn't become too weak to take care of two people instead of just myself, I would have never let Kairi live with anyone else, because no place would have been as good as here," she admitted softly, and Vanitas realized that she'd started whispering because she didn't want Kairi to hear this part of their conversation.

They could hear Kairi busying herself in the kitchen by getting teacups and sweets. She was making enough noise to safely conclude that she hadn't heard a thing.

"I understand. Well, in that case, yes. I don't think we can ever become buddies, what with the way things are looking. He hates my guts."

I wouldn't be surprised if he actually wanted me dead by now, the sneaky bastard…

She smiled. "I understand and I don't envy you, young man. Ted can be a real pain sometimes."

After that, they just talked about little things, like his grades and ambitions and what he wanted to do after highschool. The dark-haired teen could tell that she wasn't too surprised at his answers, which meant that Kairi had told her all of this too. What else had that girl been telling her?

Suddenly, a strange thought struck him: maybe he could convince Kairi that his adoptive father was an asshole by association. The old woman seemed to be more on his side anyway. Hadn't she pretty much confirmed that all the mayor wanted to do was to keep his adoptive daughter away from him by sending him here? If she confirmed everything, Kairi had to believe him. After all, the redhead seemed to value her grandmother's opinion more than anyone else's. He couldn't blame her; if he'd had a grandmother, he would have wanted her to be just like this woman, sweet, curious while still possessing enough mischief.

The question was, how could he make this work?

He was starting to like this woman more and more. Now, if only he could find a way to get rid of Kairi's dad without having to kill him...

"And...?"

"And what?" Vanitas demanded.

Kairi let out an impatient sigh. "Do you like Grandma?"

"Yeah, she's okay. She's more lively than you are," he replied teasingly.

"Hey!" Kairi put her hands on her hips, giving him a defiant look. They stared each other down for a moment, until Kairi put an end to it by stepping forward and hugging him. "Are we okay now?"

"...Yes. But only because you find me so handsome that you can't resist me."

This earned him a playful punch on the shoulder. She was too glad that he wanted to see her again to do more than that.