Chapter Text
Vanitas questioned his judgment at times. Why might he do this? Well- his first transgression as a chasseur was saving a creature- a vampire- (that he had sworn to eradicate) from eternal imprisonment by a traveling circus. Now, he had already disregarded his oath as a chasseur once, what worse could he do? Much worse it seems. Now he was going on a double date with that same vampire and his two vampire friends !!! Lord, was he beyond redemption now.
The chasseur had done it this time. He sighed lamentfully as he watched the De Sade woman and Jeanne pick out clothes together. Every time he spent time with Noé, it got harder and harder to make excuses to his fellow paladins. Olivier was getting more suspicious of him by the minute, and, oh, if one could see the glare on Astolfo’s face a few nights prior when he was over half an hour late to training.
Wringing his fingers through his hair, Vanitas pondered what more excuses he could make for the other chasseurs. Noticing his mood, Noé glanced at Vanitas from the side.
“Vanitas, are you feeling okay?” When Vanitas responded with nothing but an, “mn,” Noé anxiously twiddled his thumbs and continued, “You know, you didn’t have to come along on this outing… And you didn’t have to agree with going to the ball. I know you’re a chasseur and-”
With an exasperated sigh, Vanitas turned and quickly, but gently, grabbed Noé’s hand. “Noé. Stop . I’m fine. Can’t a man worry about his self-imposed problems in peace? I just think I need a breath of fresh air.” Glancing at the girls, Vanitas groaned and exclaimed loudly enough for them to hear, “Why do girls have to spend so much time picking out a single outfit?!” However, the chasseur immediately regretted it when several other women in the shop turned to glare at him before continuing with their browsing.
Noé chuckled and said, “We could step outside for a moment if you’d like?” Before Vanitas could reply, however, Dominique came over with a scowl.
“Do not think I did not hear that little quip of yours, human.” Jeanne stayed where she was, but he could see her nervously glancing their way from the corner of Vanitas' eye.
“Hm? What quip?” Vanitas smirked at the De Sade’s fuming demeanor. For some reason, he found true pleasure in seeing which strings he could pull to make her tick.
However, before Dominique could uppercut the chasseur, Noé interceded by positioning himself between the two. “Now, now, I’m sure Vanitas meant nothing of it. This is just a tight store and he needs a bit of fresh air-”
Without being able to finish his sentence, Dominique made a soft sound of clarity. “Oh? Are you feeling queasy, human? I wonder… Is it because of Lord Ruthven’s ball?” Vanitas opened his mouth to speak but suddenly got a wicked sense of foreboding and simply stared at Dominique. Noticing his reluctance she smirked. Her tone lilting with sarcasm, she proclaimed, “Well, lucky for you, I have just the solution! Surely you’re worried about being near such…” Leaning closer, Dominique continued, “barbaric creatures such as ourselves… right?”
Noé shuffled nervously beside Vanitas, apparently suddenly too fearful to utter a word. Dammit, control your friend, No é!!! Attempting to return to his usual facade, Vanitas chuckled. “Mademoiselle Dominique, I must say you make it appear as if your kind are quite devils… Surely, they will not do anything with Noé by my side?”
Vanitas believed himself to have deterred the woman but faltered when he only saw her smile. “Hm… Devils. Is that not what you chasseurs are taught about our kind..? Has Noé not told you how delectable the liquid running through your veins smells? I am sure any vampire living in Altus would do anything to get a taste, non?” Dominique grinned, the points of her teeth particularly catching Vanitas’ eye as he gulped.
Memories of those very teeth flashed in the chasseur’s mind from when he was a child. Cries rang out around him as he screamed his father’s name. Blood gushed from the man’s throat, spraying across Vanitas’ body as those… devils … tore into him hungrily. Vanitas had not considered the number of vampires he would encounter if he traveled to the vampire Paris. Noé never told him of the dangers- what if he-
“Domi. That’s enough.” Dominique glanced up at Noé, who suddenly seemed quite indignant.
The De Sade softened her gaze and straightened herself. “I apologize Noé, I just fear you have not warned your… friend… enough.” She glared at Vanitas, who was still struggling to hide how shaken she had made him. “I would have imagined that a chasseur would have been warned better. But I suppose, seeing how he is spending time here as such, I should have known better.” Noé gave her a stern look and she conceded with a sigh. “Now, now, I will not terrorize the human no longer. I was not lying about having a solution to your problem, Vanitas.”
Finally composed, Vanitas glared up at the woman, raising his eyebrow in question. “And that is?”
Dominique smirked, bringing the sense of foreboding rushing back, but less vicious. “How about you just come and see?” And she tugged Vanitas away, into the dressing rooms.
Yet again, Vanitas found himself questioning his judgment. He glared at his reflection as he passed a shop window, fashioning the flowy gown that… WOMAN… had thrown him into. Indeed, Vanitas wore a long, over-the-shoulder gown, the color of bluebells in spring. Ruffles ran along his chest and the sleeves with an- awfully tight- noir corset constricting his waist. And of course, to top it off, a large bow in the back paired with a couple of smaller ones lay tucked on top of the sleeves.
Now, do not get him wrong, Vanitas believed the dress to be very pretty. It would make any woman look quite the part. HOWEVER. Not on himself?! Of course, the chasseur HAD to agree to the De Sade’s antics, but he believed it to truly be the only option! He did have to disguise himself somehow, parading around in the bright daylight of Paris for any to see. He also had to somehow hide his humanity from the boring eyes of Altus as well. It was the logical answer. Right. Logical.
Vanitas internally groaned as he marched alongside Dominique. The woman had placed herself into the role of instructor, teaching him all the ways of a “lady,” whatever that meant. He was not sure why it was needed, but at least the woman was not trying to make him piss his pants anymore. At least Jeanne appeared to be having a splendid time, failing to hide her smirk as she strolled on the De Sade’s other side.
But oh, was Noé pissing him off the most. Not only would Noé not look at him ONCE but neither did he try to help tear Dominique off him! He did not even try to hide the flaming blush parading along his cheeks! Pathetic. What did Vanitas see in him?
The chasseur nearly cried in relief as a certain stall caught the eyes of Jeanne, causing Dominique to pause everything and accompany her to view the goods. Noé and he stood in silence as they waited for the women to finish their browsing.
Vanitas glared at Noé as the vampire continued to avert his gaze from him. Frustrated, Vanitas broke the silence. “So, what lovely friends you have, Noé.”
Noé sighed and opened his mouth to reply but a woman with tall curly hair and a dainty dress stopped and exclaimed, “My, what a lovely gown you have! You must have a generous husband, my dear, how lucky. Where did you get it, if I may ask?” Vanitas looked at the woman, her kind eyes gleaming at him.
Words failed him and he simply tightened his grip along the fabric of his dress. Seeing his discomfort, Noé answered for him. “Near Galerie Vivienne, Madame. I apologize, I forgot the name.”
“Oh, of course, a man like you would fail to remember the name. No worries- thank you, have a lovely day!” Vanitas stared at the woman’s back as she walked away.
“I apologize, Vanitas.” Vanitas glanced at Noé, seeing a guilty expression on the vampire’s face. “I should have stopped Dominique from- well- being herself. She has done nothing but humiliate you since you met and, for that, I am sorry.”
There was silence for a moment, but not for long as Vanitas let out a small chuckle. “Heh, hehaha. Hahahahaha.” Gasping for breath, Vanitas cackled, holding his stomach as he kept on laughing. “Noé, you do make me laugh, I hope you know that.” He stopped and looked at him. “I was not upset, or humiliated- okay maybe a little- but not so much for the dress.” Vanitas paused, glancing around them. He then tentatively raised his hand and pulled Noé slightly closer to him, whispering in his ear, “I just wanted you to look at me… but you kept averting your eyes. Do I not look… divine… in a gown..?” He then released Noé, looking up at him for a moment through his eyelashes, then turned away with a smirk.
He could nearly feel the heat rushing to Noé’s face as he nonchalantly gazed at the Parisians who traveled the streets. He and Noé could be as carefree as they desired in this outfit—no ridiculous judgemental glares, no one not-so-discreetly grasping the cross around their neck tightly as they walk by. Vanitas found he quite liked the freedom of being anyone but himself. It felt safe.
But Vanitas’ content quickly vanished as his eyes landed on a distinct flash of brilliant blonde hair reflecting the rays of the sun. Shit. Shit. Shit shit SHIT. To the chasseur’s unhappy misfortune, the man who never failed to impose on his every walk of life was casually taking a stroll in the very same streets of Paris as he. Indeed, it was no other than Roland of Jasper.
“Shit.” Vanitas grimaced and quickly positioned himself behind Noé, hoping to shy from the gaze of that damn Paladin of Jasper. As soon as he did so, however, he hurried to glance back at Roland, for his eyes had caught on a particular figure with whom the Paladin was walking shoulder-to-shoulder. The figure was a tall man with long, black noir hair, wearing an elegant navy and black suit. The chasseur then rapidly returned to his refuge behind Noé’s back with a gasp. OLIVIER TOO?!!?!?!
Not only was Roland, the Paladin of Jasper arbitrarily sauntering in the streets of Paris for God knows why, but he was doing it with Olivier of Obsidian, an equally high-ranking Paladin! If Vanitas was not already anxious about being near Noé in public, boy, was he now.
From behind Noé, Vanitas frantically whispered to Noé, never daring to even glance at the Paladins. “ No é. We have to leave now. RIGHT. NOW.” Noé had been already giving him confused glances, but now he was even more baffled.
“What’s wrong, Vanitas? I thought you were not embarrassed by the gown..?” He looked the chasseur up and down and gave him a clueless smile. “I promise you, you do look quite radiant in it.”
Vanitas’ eye twitched and he waved his hands back and forth in dismissal. “No, no, no! That's not it- it's just-” He groaned and flew his gaze toward Dominique and Jeanne. Although the latter was still gazing at the jewels with sparkles in her eyes, Dominique suddenly looked up and returned her gaze to Vanitas. She raised an eyebrow then as if sensing a shift in the air, her eyes zoomed toward the direction of Roland and Olivier. Her eyes widened.
It was not completely obvious that Roland and Olivier were chasseurs, of course, but Vanitas figured that for a vampire of nobility such as Dominique, it was easy to eye one in even the largest of crowds. Hell- she had already found out that HE was a chasseur. Her eyes widened further and she fixed a glare to Vanitas that could turn a bear to stone. Quickly, she grabbed Jeanne’s waist, whispering something in the woman’s ear, then rushed her away from the Paladins.
Vanitas gawked at the scene. So she was just going to abandon them like that? But he glanced at Noé and, somehow, Vanitas knew that she would not have left him with Noé if she did not believe they would be fine. Well, if she trusts me with him, surely it is for a good reason- But mere seconds after those thoughts entered his mind, Noé gasped at something in the distance and bolted towards the spectacle.
For a moment, Vanitas stared in disbelief, feeling quite stupid for he must have appeared as if he saw a ghost. This must be how God was punishing him. Noé had rushed straight in the direction of the two people Vanitas had wanted to RUN AS FAR AWAY FROM AS POSSIBLE. Dominique’s trust was clearly lost on him since Vanitas had already lost track of the vampire. DAMN YOU NO E!!!!
Vanitas quickly gathered himself and rushed after Noé. Surely Roland and Olivier would not recognize him in an outfit such as this, right? Right??? Vanitas had to shove past the growing crowd of people, struggling to keep Noé in his line of sight.
Finally, Vanitas had caught up to Noé, but… it was too late. With a face full of smiles, Noé had begun a conversation with no other than Roland. They were cheerfully discussing a topic that Vanitas could truly care less about. He guessed it was regarding the performer who was currently surrounded by a crowd of people. Roland, for some reason, enjoyed strange things like that, so he was not surprised to have found Noé engaging in pleasant conversation with the Paladin.
The chasseur stopped away from their line of sight and paused to think. Should he rush right in and tug Noé away without them seeing his face? No- maybe… Vanitas quickly flitted his gaze to and fro, searching frantically for a very specific item. There! Finally, Vanitas’ eyes landed on a woman holding a feathered mask against her face.
Vanitas rushed toward her, weaving through the crowd. With an easy flick of his wrists, he snatched the mask away, prompting a shocked gasp, before he rapidly prowled away.
With the mask in tow, Vanitas straightened his back and calmly walked toward Noé and his fellow Paladins.
“Yes, I would rather say I do enjoy watching little shows like this! They are quite spectacular wouldn’t you say, Monsieur Noé?”
“They truly are! I can never understand how a man can fit so many handkerchiefs within his sleeve! Monsieur Roland, you are indeed a man of taste!”
Next to the two animated fellows, Olivier sighed in annoyance. “Leave it to you, Roland, to find someone as… cheery as you…”
“Noé!!! *Ahem!* There you are!” Pitching his voice as high as he could, Vanitas sauntered over as, well, feminine as he could. He had to seal the deal, ya know? God, if either Roland or Olivier recognize me they will never let it go…
“Oh..? Vanita-”
Vanitas loudly coughed, interrupting the vampire and lightly shoving him as he joined the trio. “*AHEM!* Oh, love, you can be quite fuzzy-brained when you get excited, can’t you? It's Vanya, dear.” Before Noé could reply, Vanitas continued, “I do apologize, dear monsieurs, Noé sometimes runs off by himself, causing quite a ruckus for himself.” In the last part of the sentence, Vanitas deliberately patted Noé’s shoulder with a glare.
“What..?? Vani-” With a glance at Roland and Olivier, Noé corrected, “Vanya… I… um… was just…”
“Leaving? Yes, we should go! Perdon, monsieurs, we have a show to get to. Good day!” Grabbing Noé’s hand, Vanitas attempted to lead themselves away but were stopped by Olivier- of all people.
“Oh? A show? It does not happen to be the play La Colonie , it it? Roland and I just so happened to be heading to watch that very one.” Olivier stood with his arms crossed, an eyebrow raised. He appeared to have suddenly become quite intrigued by the conversation.
Cursing in his mind, Vanitas smiled and turned to Olivier. “No, it is not. We are watching, uh…” Nervously, Vanitas glanced around for an idea of a play. Luckily, his eyes just happened to land on a pamphlet promoting the play Hernani by a man named Victor Hugo. “ Hernani! Yes, we are watching Hernani. ”
“Is that so…” The two stared at each other for a moment, the air growing stiff with tension.
In the corner of Vanitas’ eye, he could see Roland gazing at him in silent thought. After a few seconds, Roland gave the slightest shadow of a smile and gently grabbed hold of Olivier’s arm, linking them together. “Olivier, we should be heading to the play. It was nice meeting you, Noé, and… Vanya.” Vanitas could have sworn he saw Roland give the slightest wink and, although he was not 100% sure it was so, he blushed, knowing he had been caught.
Noé smiled and waved at the retreating backs of Roland and Olivier. Vanitas simply stared, silently drowning in his own self-pity. After a moment, Noé turned to Vanitas and looked at him curiously. “Vanitas… Why were you being so strange?”
The chasseur simply sighed and replied, “Noé, you are such an idiot,” and grabbed his hand, dropping the mask. “Let's catch up with Dominique and Jeanne.”
The two discovered Dominique and Jeanne a couple of blocks away, chatting cheerfully with creamy ice cream dripping in their hand. It was as if they had not just bolted at the first sight of vampire-killing chasseurs, abandoning their friends. Once Dominique saw Vanitas and Noé she stood, glaring at Vanitas, all hints of liveliness disappearing in the blink of an eye. “Care to explain why two of your chasseur friends were parading around so near to us?”
“How was I supposed to know they were having an outing at the same time as us? They have lives, too, you know. Just because they’re not rich nobility like you, doesn’t mean they don’t enjoy leisure activities” Vanitas concluded the last part of his sentence with a roll of his eyes. Thinking back on his conversation with Roland and Olivier, however, he did feel “outing” was a bit generous. His mind kept on locking on the view of Roland interlocking his arm with Olivier, and he unconsciously glanced at Noé.
Dominique did not look convinced whatsoever. “Sure, sure. Well, I believe this means we should part ways here, for now. I wanted to spend some time with Jeanne alone, anyway.” She quickly looked at Jeanne for a moment with a grin. Jeanne blushed and Vanitas realized he had completely incorrectly evaluated their “friendship.”
Beside Vanitas, Noé nodded. “Okay, Domi. I’ll walk home with Vanitas, then. It was great meeting you, Jeanne!”
Jeanne smiled. “It was a pleasure meeting you and…” She glared at Vanitas, prompting a smirk from the chasseur. “Vanitas…”
The two waved as the women turned to leave. Once they were out of view, Noé and Vanitas began their trek back to Hotel Chou Chou.
As soon as they arrived at Hotel Chou Chou, Vanitas’ eyes landed on the familiar small boy standing outside talking to the Dhams from the Louvre. The boy turned and his eyes immediately lit up in excitement.
“Big brother!!!” He zoomed into Vanitas with a flash, nearly toppling him as he squeezed him.
“Misha… I wasn’t expecting to see you..!” Vanitas smiled, a thing that had once been a rare occurrence.
Mikhail grinned up at him, his pale blue eyes glinting with the setting sun. A marking trailing up the young boy’s arm suddenly caught Vanitas' attention. “What is this..? I never noticed it before.” Mikhail looked down and his eyes darkened for but a moment before the look vanished.
“Oh, it’s a cool thing that, uh, comes with the grimoire I use! Look!” Mikhail excitedly took out the grimoire he had used against the curse bearer days prior. It glinted from the sun’s fading light, with crimson pages. For some reason, Vanitas felt drawn to it, his hands itching to grab it from the boy’s hand. Mikhail noticed Vanitas’ reaction and slightly frowned, pulling the grimoire a bit farther from his grasp. “It helps me heal curse bearers… Are you feeling okay, brother?”
Vanitas’ attention abruptly returned to Mikhail, refocusing on the boy’s eyes. “Uh… yes. I’m fine. That’s… great, Misha.” He looked down at his own hands, covered by the same black, clawed gloves he always wore. From behind Misha, the dhams came over, interrupting them.
Dante looked Vanitas up and down with an eyebrow raised. “Hm. Human, you sure look… unique today…” Beside him, Johann and Riche glanced at each other with a smirk.
Suddenly realizing his outfit, Vanitas’ face turned all sorts of shades of colors and he backed away. “OH. THIS. Right. I didn’t do this- it was that woman- the De Sade. Heh, I wouldn’t do that on purpose-“
“Oh! Oh! It’s for Lord Ruthven’s Ball, isn’t it, brother?” Vanitas paused and looked at Mikhail.
“Um… yes… I needed a disguise, so…” He gestured to the dress, refusing to look at the dhams. He wasn’t sure why they made him so suddenly embarrassed. It just felt like that feeling when one’s siblings walk in on them changing.
Mikhail nodded rapidly and exclaimed, “So that means you truly are coming with me and big brother to the ball?!”
Vanitas gazed at Mikhail’s excited expression and awkwardly flitted his gaze to Noé. He thought of Dominique’s words from earlier in the day. So many vampires… And he supposedly had nice smelling blood which… he wanted to say was a compliment but it didn't sound quite the same coming from a vampire… But, looking at Noé’s reassuring expression, Vanitas felt any fear toward the idea fade away.
The chasseur sighed and nodded. Noé, by his side, lit up with a smile. “Yes, Misha. I will be going. I just have to get a few things sorted out with my… colleagues…” Mikhail beamed and gave Vanitas another big hug. Vanitas believed himself to have made quite a few idiotic choices these past few days; however, if it meant this: reuniting with his little brother once more… then he would make a million more of those choices. Mikhail and he had gone through so much… and somehow… somehow he still managed to stay so cheerful. It was comforting.
The Dhams left, presumably to take care of some other business of theirs, leaving Vanitas, Noé, and Mikhail by themselves. As it was getting late, Vanitas had to be leaving soon. But first, he had to get out of this damn dress.
Noé led him to his apartment, Mikhail staying downstairs in the lobby chatting with Mademoiselle Amelia. After changing into his chasseur clothing (he had to be at yet another training session later in the night), Vanitas prepared himself to say his goodbyes. As soon as he left the small apartment bathroom, however, Noé stopped him.
“Vanitas… I just wanted to thank you for spending time with me today. I know it probably was not ideal… but…” Vanitas rolled his eyes and made Noé pause.
“If you are trying to say that I did not enjoy it, you are very wrong Noé. Your taste in friends is quite different from my own, but… maybe that just makes you better than me. Dominique is a good friend. She was just looking out for you, and- I guess- me, in some twisted way.” Noé gave a soft smile that just reached his eyes. “So, for the last time, I did enjoy our… date.” Tentatively, Vanitas leaned in and gently placed a small kiss on the other’s lips.
The vampire closed his eyes, relishing the taste of the chasseur’s lips. Noé reopened them for a moment to gaze into the blue pearls that were Vanitas’ eyes. He then pulled back in, returning the kiss, but deeper. Vanitas reveled in the taste of Noé, every sweet and tangy bit of it. Although he usually recoiled from sweets, he craved the taste of it at this moment.
Slowly, Vanitas felt Noé’s hand trail down from the back of his neck to his waist. His soft hands trailed every jagged scar that etched lines across the chasseur’s back like shards of glass. Vanitas’ breath hitched when Noé slowly began to unbutton the seams of his top and watched it fall to the ground, exposing his skin to Noé’s rich, violet eyes.
The rise and fall of Noé’s chest was visible as he admired Vanitas’ body. Then, he leaned once more toward Vanitas, placing gentle kisses on his lips, then slowly moved downward to his neck. Vanitas gasped as he enveloped his lips around the sensitive buds on his chest. A small moan came out of him when the vampire softly sucked, gazing at him from under his eyelashes.
But suddenly, Noé- clearly wanting more- moved his hands up towards the gloves concealing Vanitas’ hands from all to see. A glint of blue flashed in Vanitas’ eyes. The vampire had only tugged a bit on the glove before Vanitas gasped, aggressively pushing back on Noé. Noé tumbled to the ground, the sheer force of Vanitas’ push catching him off guard. The chasseur roughly secured his glove back on, breathing raggedly.
“Vanitas- I- are you okay? Did I do something wrong?” Noé looked up at Vanitas, a bead of sweat dripping down his jaw.
For a moment, Vanitas just stared into nothing, his eyes dark as millions of thoughts soared through his mind. The flashing of blue repeated in his mind again and again. But then, he picked up his shirt and buttoned it back on. Ensuring he looked appropriate, Vanitas, avoiding Noé’s eyes, said, “You did nothing wrong. It’s just… Never mind. I’ll meet you on the day of the ball.” And just like that, he left Noé alone, staring in the direction the chasseur had quickly fled.
That night, for his entire training session with the trainee chasseurs, Vanitas was in another plane of existence entirely. All Vanitas could think about was the moments before, when Noé had come close to revealing something he thought must be truly horrific. All he could do was stare blankly at his gloves, desperately waiting for that damned night to be over with already.
From his sides, he could feel the poring eyes of Astolfo and Roland sending worried glances his way. His fellow Paladin even tried to probe him for answers as to why he seemed so out of sorts but to no avail. “I just did not get enough sleep,” was all Vanitas replied, swiftly ending any attempt at conversation.
After several hours, Vanitas returned to his quarters. As a Paladin, he had his own room. This meant he was free from the prying eyes of Astolfo. A much-appreciated boon to his newfound position of leadership. It was also something he had found to be quite useful as of late for his surreptitious outings.
The chasseur quickly changed into his night clothes and lay on his bed, eyes practically drilling holes into the ceiling. Haltingly, he raised his gloved hand above him, staring at it. His mind went back to Mikhail earlier in the evening. The darkening of his expression when Vanitas questioned the markings on his arms. He could not decipher it. But something about how Mikhail had almost walled off his emotions from Vanitas, he knew there was something not quite right.
One moment, Vanitas felt he was surely overthinking things. Maybe Mikhail’s markings brought up bad memories. But then again, Vanitas realized, for as long as he could remember… he had never taken off these clawed gloves. Not to shower. Neither for discrete cursebearer assassination missions. Not once. He could not think of a single reason why he would not want to take off the gloves, but still, he never did.
Vanitas could hear his heart beating from his ears, the sound making his head nearly explode. For a moment, all he could do was stare daggers at the hands resting on his lap.
Finally, Vanitas gathered all his courage. Closing his eyes, he grasped at the edge of the cloth. Holding his breath, he quickly yanked it off. For how dramatically he had imagined the situation, he thought surely something detrimental would occur once he did so, but… nothing. He inhaled. Exhaled. Inhaled once more. Then slowly, Vanitas peeked his eyes open. As soon as he did, it felt like the ceiling was caving in on him. Constellations of azure lines traveled up his forearm, glittering like stars in his vision.
Markings that mirrored the exact ones on Mikhail’s arms.