I found this place about a week ago what got you interested in Van/Aqua? The pair never crossed my mind before but seems like interesting.
Hey Anon, Mod M here! ♡ How I got into Vanqua… Well before I played BBS, I became interested in Vanitas after reading about his backstory online. I started looking for Vanitas-centric fanfiction and the second one I read was this amazing fanfic called Cast a Shadow by Taliax. (The first Vanitas fic I read was (i don’t need you to) Worry for Me by Cygna_hime, if you were curious). Cast a Shadow is a Vanitas redemption story set in the Realm of Darkness alongside Aqua during her time trapped there. The two of them have to work together to survive, discovering they really aren’t all that different and eventually becoming friends (and more) along the way. It’s a really excellent read and I highly recommend it! It was really inspiring to me, enough that I wrote my own Vanitas/Aqua fic called A Heart and a Half.
Outside of fanfic, I think Mod B puts it best for how she got into the pairing:
There’s a lot of story-telling potential between the two of them— Vanitas and Aqua actually have pretty similar personality traits, and ones uncommon compared to other Kingdom Hearts characters. Both of them are intelligent, yet stubborn and lonely individuals. Aqua doesn’t have as close a bond with Terra and Ven as they do with each other. In the first scene with the three of them, Aqua sits on the side giggling to herself and claiming Terra and Ven them have a brotherly connection, but doesn’t include herself. They also don’t understand how much the Wayfinders she made for them mean to her (though they do come to appreciate them more over time). Aqua spends her entire time during BBS chasing after Ventus and Terra while they run away from her.
Vanitas is even more lonely than Aqua, not having any friends at all and spending his life in near isolation with no one but his abusive Master. Combine that with the years of loneliness Aqua felt in the Realm of Darkness and you have two people desperate for any sort of company. Aqua really would be the only person nurturing enough to help Vanitas and give him the friendship he needs (and secretly craves, according to the BBS novel). Her nurturing nature would allow her to teach him how to become a person, rather than the weapon Xehanort made him to be. And once attached Vanitas wouldn’t be one to take his friendship with Aqua for granted and would want to stay by her side.
In BBS and KH3 proper, Vanitas is Aqua’s rival. In fact, he duels her more often than he does his other rival, Ventus. Vanitas seems to seek out Aqua on purpose and goes out of his way to troll her both in Neverland and the Land of Departure. He seems to actually enjoy his interactions with her and pressing her buttons. Aqua is at her angriest when Vanitas is around; he really rials her up. Their interactions and banter are just really entertaining and fun to watch.
Vanitas’s idea of using Aqua as a backup is also quite fascinating. It makes sense that he would want to merge his heart with Ven’s— they used to be the same person after all. But Aqua? They’re practically strangers… And yet, Vanitas was willing to permanently merge their hearts together. He saw something in her during their first duel— Aqua has a great light and strength that Vanitas hadn’t been expecting. Unlike during his first fight with his brother where he calls Ven ‘worthless’ and ‘idiot’, he never insults Aqua (save for a sarcastic “Master” in KH3) and actually congratulates her on winning against him. He also claimed to wanting to kill her in both Radiant Garden and Neverland, yet spared her life both times, even when in the latter duel she was unconscious and he’d claimed he no longer needed her as a backup. I think this shows Vanitas does genuinely respect Aqua.
Basically their whole relationship as shown in BBS, KH3, and the BBS novel all sets the stage for some really interesting dramatic character interactions and growth. Obviously their relationship would need a lot of time and skilled writing to develop (that light vs darkness belief runs pretty deep in both of them), but given a chance these two could become great friends and even something more.
That’s all just off the top of our heads, there’s certainly a lot more to love about this pairing! We’ll do an essay, or maybe two individual essays, going a lot deeper into it soon! ♡
Thanks for the ask!– Mods M & B ♡ ❤
p.s., If you’re looking for some other Vanqua fanfiction, Escape by Alacquiene, The Path to Heaven by cloverdog, Secret Place by Tory (Ejes), and Stroke of Midnight also by Taliax are great places to start!
