Chapter Text
Thump.
Vanitas was woken up for the third time that night and probably the millionth time that week. Noé was groaning in his sleep again, mumbling something inaudible as his leg twitched out and kicked the wall repeatedly.
Thump thump thump
Vanitas's eye twitched as he watched from his bed. The cool moonlight from the window trickled onto the vampire's face as he proceeded to kick loud enough to wake up Murr in the adjacent chair.
Not this again, Vanitas held his temple and groaned in defeat. Two hours ago, he was whacking the wall with his arms. Now he's kicking it? He hadn't gotten a decent night's sleep in a week! Last night, he got woken up by his sleep talking, something about finding Murr a hat for Count Orlock's tea party.
Normally, whatever goes on inside that candy-brained bat's mind was none of his concern. Except now it was, his eyes were bloodshot from lack of sleep, and while Vanitas didn't need much sleep to function, he still needed enough to not pass out while curing his next patient.
Thump
He'd had enough.
He reached for the book of Vanitas on his night table and threw it. The metal from the chain rattled against the wall as the silver book bounced off Noé's head and plopped itself on the sheets.
Vanitas eyed the other bed for a moment, the movement stopped at least, but it was absurd, it did not even that woke him up. Whatever, as long as he let him sleep, Vanitas couldn't care less.
He buried himself back in the sheets, cocooning himself in the warmth. The night was pulling him back into sleep, and his exhausted body was ready to succumb to it.
Thump
Alright, that's it.
Vanitas ripped the sheet off himself and marched right over to Noé's bedside menacingly. “Wake up. Now,” He hissed out as he grabbed Noé by the collar and began shaking him violently.
There was a whimper, but Vanitas felt no pity for the man who'd been terrorizing his nonexistent sleep schedule for the past few months.
That was until he saw the bead of sweat on Noé's face. He whimpered again, twitching as he struggled against Vanitas's grasp. The vampire's mouth fell open as if he were trying to speak, but all that came out was a strained sound.
Vanitas's grip loosened; he didn't like the sight of it. A nightmare, huh? He grabbed his book from the pillow and gazed down at the sleeping vampire. He supposed if that's all it was, he could help. Besides, it was necessary; he wasn't getting any sleep otherwise. This had nothing to do with that small pang of worry he was pretending he didn't feel.
Dream walking was an easy trick, something Luna taught him the basics of in a single afternoon. He'd used it on Amelia and many other cursebearers over his journey. The ability to enter someone else's mind, temporarily.
Luckily, it also worked on sleeping vampires, just like how he'd entered Jeanne's mind in Gévauden. And now, he supposed he'd be using it on Noé.
As Noé's legs continued kicking out, Vanitas wondered what kind of monsters plagued this guy's dreams anyway? He thought about it for a moment. For as optimistic and bright as Noé was, Vanitas knew he had a past. Sometimes, he wondered if the childish stupidity and antics could be a coping mechanism.
Vanitas braced himself to see the worst. He took a deep breath, opened the book, and closed his own eyes as he was engulfed by the familiar blue glow.
~~~
The sky above was bright, too ominously cheery and sunny. Vanitas hears a consistent thump coming just beyond the trees. He pulls out his knife and dashes over.
Thump
An apple sliced itself in the air and fell into an absurdly large frying pan. Noé grabbed and placed the next one in front of his foot and shouted, “67!” He grunted and kicked the apple into the air.
The apple magically then diced itself into thirds and fell into the giant frying pan that was filled with a sweet-smelling butter caramel mixture. “68!”
Vanitas stared at the scene as he tried to make sense of whatever the hell he was seeing.
“69!” Another kick.
“Noé. What are you doing?” Vanitas asked quietly.
Noé wiped the sweat from his brow and turned to Vanitas with an earnest and enthusiastic sparkle in his eye. “Oh, I didn't see you there, Vanitas.” He took another apple, shouted the number “70,” and kicked it into the frying pan. “I'm making tarte tatin.”
Tarte… tatin?
The kicks, the noise, that's why Noé woke him up. Not over a nightmare but over this?! How was this supposed to be making tarte tatin? The stunned silence bubbled up into a sleep-deprived rage.
“Noé…!” He grit his teeth, picked an apple off the ground, and threw it at him. “It's the middle of the night,t you imbecile!” But, since this was a dream, the apple magically sliced itself into thirds again and didn't even seem to hurt the vampire.
Noé stared at him for a moment,
“Vanitas…” Noé's tone was serious as he picked up one of the apple slices off the ground. Vanitas braced himself for retaliation. “It's not right to waste food. Why don't you join me? If we kick the apples together, we can finish faster.” Noé dusted off the apple slice and tossed it into the frying pan anyway.
“That's what you're worried about?!” Vanitas took an apple and marched right over to the pan. “ENOUGH! No more kicking, if you're going to have idiotic dreams, then the least you can do is not bother anyone with kicking the damn wall!”
Noé tilted his head. “But if I stop kicking, how will I slice the apples?”
Stupid dream logic, of course, it made no sense. Vanitas shoved his knife into Noé's hand. “Here, sit down.”
Noé glanced at the knife and the pile of apples. “Is this how you make your tarte tatin so delicious?”
Maybe if he weren't so irritated, he might have felt a bit of pride at the compliment. But all he wanted right now was to sleep. “Yes, exactly. No,w if you want your tarte tatin to turn out properly, do it this way.”
Noé nodded enthusiastically, sparkles in his eyes as he sat on the ground, he crossed his legs and got to work.
Vanitas gave him one last look, sighed, and exited the dream. He got three more hours of sleep after that. Thankfully, there was no more kicking, hitting, or any other obnoxious noises coming from Noé's side of the room.
~~~
Noé was sitting on the roof the next morning, eating breakfast with Vanitas. Amelia had made croissants! They were so buttery and smelled so delicious. He'd gone to bed last night craving a buttery treat, and this was exactly what he was craving.
He stopped mid bite, fragments of his dream from the night before playing in his mind. It was nonsensical but fun; it combined the old kicking exercises his teacher had him do for hours with baking.
And then Vanitas showed up to yell at him…?
“You were in my dream last night,” Noé stated as he dabbed the corners of his mouth with a napkin. He'd never really dreamed about Vanitas until now. Usually people he disliked only showed up in his nightmares. He wondered what that meant…
“That so?” Vanitas said almost sarcastically. The sarcasm, however, was lost on Noé.
“Yes, it's unusual…” Noé was staring out at the morning skyline as he took another bite.
Hm. Yesterday, Vanitas had yelled at him for tracking water all over their floor, but on the other hand, he did then show Noé the way to the library… Or perhaps it was because Vanitas baked a very delicious tarte tatin?
He didn't really understand it, but the yelling was certainly a problem. Noé didn't like it and certainly didn't want Vanitas yelling at him in his dreams anymore. “By the way, I have something to ask of you.”
“What?” Vanitas replied casually as he turned the page of the morning paper.
“Please stop yelling at me so much. I believe it's affecting my sleep.” Noé said sincerely, it was a reasonable request he thought.
Vanitas didn't seem to think so. The page in his hand crinkled as his hands clenched into fists, blue eyes staring at Noé with jaw-dropped astonishment. “I do NOT want to hear that from you!”
~~~
Noé felt like he was floating; no, he actually was floating. The sky was dyed in the most vibrant sunset. Just beyond the amber, it faded into pink, which transitioned into a starry purple. The sight was so utterly breathtaking, he flew up a little higher.
“Wow…!” What would Domi and Louis think of this? He wished they could see it.
“Noé!” A child-like, high-pitched voice called out to him. He whipped his head around and saw Domi wearing a bright yellow dress, sitting on a picnic blanket on one of the clouds. There beside her was Louis in a white shirt with a vest that matched his eyes, kneeling as he turned the page of his book. Murr was curled up, sleeping peacefully at his side.
Noé immediately flew over to them both, and Domi reached her little hands up to grab his small hand. “Domi! Louis! Isn't it pretty??”
The little girl laughed, “It's lovely! And Look Noé, it's your favorite!” She pointed at the dish in the center of the blanket. That's when he was hit with the sweet buttery scent of his favorite apple pastry! Tarte tatin!
He let go of her hand and walked through the fluffy clouds, his footsteps pressing into them like soft snow. “Louis, what about you?”
The boy's golden eyes left the pages. “It's nice.”
The colors around them started to change, the warm golden hues faded as the purple settled into a rich blue. A shooting star twinkled over their heads. Noé was amazed by the sight.
“It's a shooting star!” Noé shouted as he pointed to the sky.
“It's so big! What are you going to wish for Noé?” Domi asked as she knelt with them.
Noé thought about it for a second, but there wasn't a thing more he could possibly ask for. After all, he had the two people he loved most by his side, and tarte tatin! “I wish we could have a lot of fun together, just like this.”
She giggled. Louis closed his book beside them. “That so?”
So the three of them started playing on the clouds together. Noé found the clouds to be a lot like snow, just fluffier andwarmerm! So after a long while of hopping from cloud to cloud and playing tag, they had a new idea. Instead of making snow angels, they could make cloud angels! Louis tried it first, and soon they decided to fill up an entire cloud with them. Noé laughed as he spread his small arms and legs out repeatedly, hopping to another spot before leaving his mark on the fluffy ground again.
“Noé!” There was another voice, this time much deeper, and… angry. The man stomped his way through the clouds with a scowl.
Noé sat up and tilted his head to the side, confused. Was he from the shooting star? Noé's eyes sparkled at the thought. Maybe he's here to grant them a wish! Domi and Louis poked their heads u,p too.
“Yes?” Noé answered expectantly. “Are you here to grant our wishes monsieur??”
The strange man with the funny haircut took one look at him and facepalmed. He took a deep breath before he sat down on the clouds with them. “Exactly. I'm here to grant all your wishes.”
“Wow!” Noé exclaimed! All their wishes? That's amazing, he forgot all about making cloud angels and rushed over to the man.
“Really?” Domi asked, her sweet voice full of wonder as she flew over to the stranger, too.
Louis scoffed. “I'll believe it when I see it.”
Noé stared expectantly into the man's pure blue eye; they were really pretty. They had the same shade of blue as glowing astermite, or the blue moon!
“Yes, yes. I'll grant whatever ridiculous wish your heart desires~” The man exclaimed theatrically. He snapped his fingers and made a flower appear in his hand, just like magic.
Amazing! He really could grant wishes! Noé took the flower from his hand and giggled.
“But if you want your wishes granted, you'll need to listen carefully.” The man whispered, completely seriously. Noé nodded along. He spotted the book Louis had discarded earlier and put it in Noé's hand. “For every book you read quietly, I'll grant you all a wish.”
“Okay!” Noé and Domi exclaimed as they took the book back over to Louis. Noé clung to his right arm, and Domi clung to his left. The three then started quietly reading together.
Before Noé knew it, the funny-looking man with the pretty eyes had disappeared into thin air.
~~~
Noé woke up the next morning with a warm feeling in his chest. Sometimes he had dreams he didn't want to wake up from. That dream was definitely one of them; he snuggled into his pillow a little more. He'd dreamed he was a child again, playing with Domi and Louis just like old times. His heart ached with bittersweet joy; it was such a sweet dream, a dream of all he cherished and beautiful things.
But… Noé's brow furrowed. Vanitas was in his dream again last night. Why had Vanitas been there? That dream was only full of things Noé loved, and he really could barely tolerate the man on a good day. He recalled the way Vanitas had magically made a flower appear out of thin air; he'd seen Vanitas pull the same trick over at the masquerade in Altus months ago… But, granting wishes? Did Noé think Vanitas was capable of such a thing?
Well, it's not like he yelled at him like last time. He supposed he'd join him for breakfast on the roof, but to his surprise, when he peeked out the window, Vanitas wasn't up there. With that, Noé hopped in the shower instead.
The day went by pretty normally after that. Amelia had some bread for him to eat downstairs. She had no idea where Vanitas was, either. Which wasn't completely unusual, he often came and went as he pleased without telling anyone. After Noé ate breakfast, he headed over to the general store for his shift.
It was a bit of a slow day at the shop. Maybe it was because of the weather, which had been raining on and off all morning. Noé leaned against the counter, his chin resting in his palm as he was lulled by the pitter-patter of rain on the pavement. The wooden shelves around him were painted in a soft amber glow coming from the hearth. Carriages and their horses passed by the large window now and then.
Noé had an array of part-time jobs, each with their own little things that made them special. In this case, he really did enjoy the peaceful mornings minding the store. It was calming, unlike the busy bustle of waiting tables. It gave his mind space to wander, and the alone time also recharged him in a way. Plus, he enjoyed seeing the variety of items that came and went; it was a second-hand shop too. Every now and then, he'd see some truly wonderful things!
And as he listened to the crackling fire, he thought about that dream again. He knew he'd often told Vanitas he didn't like him, and well, Noé was still pretty certain that he didn't. Honestly, he's obnoxious; he never explains anything properly. And sometimes he made that face Noé couldn't stand… But what was it that made that face so irritating in the first place? Was it the way his blue eyes seemed to darken and lose all their light? Or the way his lips would fall into that lonely, solemn state?
He didn't know. Honestly, it was really confusing to think about. But… He thought of the way Vanitas's eyes shone as vividly as the stars last night. They really were a very lovely blue… Last night's dream had been full of beautiful things, even Domi's dress dazzled and sparkled as she twirled. The starry sky did remind him a lot of Vanitas. Was that why he showed up? Because Noé thought he was beautiful?
Out of the corner of his eye, Noé looked at the modest jewelry section. The shimmer of cut, blue astermite seemed to glow. It was a simple pendant shaped like a droplet on a thin silver chain. He could picture it on Vanitas, the silver of the chain against his pale skin, the blue pendants' glow surely would bring out his eyes…
There was a jingle at the door, and a couple walked in. Noé shook his head and pulled himself out of his thoughts to greet his customers.
~~~
“Hey.” Vanitas's face scrunched up in irritation.
Noé twirled the pasta on his fork and took a bite. He had been watching Vanitas closely, and the man had hardly touched his food. He swallowed. “What is it, Vanitas?”
“Is there something on my face? Why are you staring at me like that?” Vanitas scowled a bit before poking at his own plate.
“No, I was just watching you.” He answered honestly as he took another bite himself. The red wallpaper of the hotel dining room really brought out the subtle warm tones in Vanitas's skin, or maybe it was the candle on their table. But it was one of those moments where Vanitas really looked alive, so of course, he'd want to stare a bit.
“Why?” Vanitas asked with mild exasperation. “How do you expect me to eat in peace with you staring me down?!”
Eh? Noé blinked. “Is that why you've been playing with your food?”
“I'm not playing with my food.” Vanitas slammed the fork down a bit forcefully, he lifted it up and took a bite, as if to prove a point.
It looked like he'd been playing with his food to him, at least. But Noé knew it wasn't worth arguing over. Noé shifted his focus to his meal for now and continued eating. His mind returned to the necklace at work. Vanitas wore a lot of earrings, but he'd never seen him with a necklace. Perhaps he'd like it.
Had it been someone Noé liked, he would have gotten it for them as a gift. But honestly, he was hesitant to buy anything for Vanitas again after the way he treated his last gift. But… When Noé looked at Vanitas now, one thing was for sure. He didn't feel that ‘dislike’ he'd once had for the man. He wasn't sure when it had changed exactly; he was still pretty sure he disliked Vanitas up until just a few weeks ago, but… Maybe he should talk to someone else about it.
~~~
So it turns out Vanitas had spent the better half of the day with Dante getting information on another cursebearer. This cursebearer hadn't killed anyone yet but had been spotted near the woods a few nights before. They had bid mademoiselle Amelia goodnight before they left the hotel and made their way to the outskirts of Paris.
“So the cursebearer can manipulate plants?” Noé asked; it sounded an awful lot like mademoiselle Amelia's curse.
“Yeah.” Vanitas nodded. He closed his little notebook and looked back up. “She was last sighted over there.”
The wind was awfully chilly tonight. Noé could hear the leaves rustling; it sounded somewhat ominous. They walked into the woods, and the fallen late autumn leaves crunched beneath their feet.
Then Noé heard it, and he put a hand in front of Vanitas, shoving him back on instinct. The cursebearer screeched as she charged out of nowhere, her speed inhuman. It was a girl, no older than twelve or thirteen, with blonde hair and glowing red eyes.
For a split second, Noé saw Mina. His dear childhood friend. The same girl who always wanted to play princess, and insisted on Noé playing with her as the prince. The same girl who sank her fangs into Fred's neck and sucked the life out of him-
“NOÉ!”
He was snapped out of it by the sound of Vanitas's voice. He was able to get a hold of her and put her in a headlock gently. Noé winced as thorns started to grow around his leg.
Vanitas wasted no time; he had the book of Vanitas open, and within seconds the familiar blue light of an inverse operation filled the area. The girl let out another screech under him as Vanitas called out her true name and restored her to her former state.
She stopped struggling and fell fast asleep in his arms. Noé didn't have anything to say; she looked like Mina. She looked an awful lot like Mina, and while on one hand, he was very happy she had been cured, it didn't lift the heaviness in his heart.
~~~
Vanitas had noticed the oaf was acting weird at dinner, but he hadn't thought much of it. They had a job to do, and they did it.
From the side, Vanitas had caught a glimpse of Noé's face, frozen in petrified horror at the sight of the cursebearer. Vanitas had rarely seen a look of pure fear on the vampire. They'd taken out much stronger foes before, heck, Noé didn't even look that scared facing the beast of Gévauden.
He snapped out of it pretty quickly, but the walk back to Count Orlock's office was complete silence, not that he'd ever complain about that. Noé carried the girl in his arms, but he wouldn't look at her. He didn't even get distracted by the largest staircase to the side, which was really saying something given how much this idiot seemed to love those things.
Once they'd dropped off the sleeping girl and returned to the hotel, Noé immediately collapsed on his bed. Vanitas eyed him. Was he really going to pass out without changing? He should at least have the decency to take off his boots first!
“Hey, Noé.” He called out, but it was no use. Noé had somehow fallen asleep in the span of 10 seconds since his head hit the pillow. “Take off your boots first! I'm not going to clean your footprints off the wall!”
Silence. Vanitas groaned. He knew at this point he really would be cleaning those footprints if left as is. So he walked over and pulled the mman'sdirty shoes off his feet. Once they were off, the sleeping vampire curled up into a ball, hugging his pillow tightly.
Tch.. Hopefully, he stays that quiet the whole night. Vanitas was tired himself. He did have to admit, he was getting a lot better sleep at night since he started interfering with Noé's dreams. The mind adapts, he hoped; within a few days, the vampire's brain would stop creating such disruptive dreams in the first place.
~~~
Like usual, Vanitas was ripped from his light sleep. He let out an exhausted sigh and threw the blanket off of him, grabbing his book. It was best to get this over with as soon as possible so he could get back to sleep.
Noé whimpered; his muscles were tight, as if he were straining, his face scrunched, and his mouth open. Unintelligible sounds escaped.
Vanitas's eye twitched. If this was another dream about kicking stupid apples, he was going to lose it. He opened his book and let the light engulf him.
Unlike before, it was the dead of night. The sky wasn't vibrant in any way; even the stars appeared to be hiding behind the Altus webs. Weird. He was on the edge of the woods, and in front of him appeared to be some sort of abandoned chapel.
Vanitas mentally prepared himself for whatever ridiculous antics Noé was dreaming up this time. But he was completely unprepared for the sight he was met with as he crossed the threshold into the old stone ruins.
Instead of clouds, books, and tarte tatin. There were blood and bodies strewn about, two boys and one little girl, with the blood completely drained from their bodies. Vanitas's jaw dropped; the sight was horrific even by his standards, and that said something. There was another little girl, her decapitated head rolled unnaturally to the side, her golden hair stained in blood.
Vanitas's eyes softened, so that's why he reacted like that earlier. The girl looked a lot like the cursebearer they had seen tonight. This wasn't a made-up dream; it was Noé reliving a dark memory from the past.
“Louis..?? Listen, Louis…!” Noé was crying out. Holding back a cursebearer with his own small arms. Domi was quivering on the floor in front of them. “I was wrong! It was all my fault!” Noé raised his voice, screaming. “PLEASE, GO BACK TO BEING YOU AGAIN-!!”
That boy. Louis, he was the same kid from the other dream. He hadn't forgotten what Mikhail had said at the amusement park. Louis was Domi's older brother, who was beheaded for being a cursebearer. Vanitas took a step closer; by the looks of it, he was probably reliving the memory of that day.
“... Kill… Kill Me… Noé.” Louis strained to even speak, for a child cursebearer. Vanitas watched as the look of horrified realization dawned on Noé's face. “If I'm going to die anyway.. I'd really rather you were the one to kill me..!”
… Oh.
Noé's sleep got a lot rougher after the amusement park. Vanitas felt a tinge of remorse that he'd unintentionally contributed to that. After all, he'd asked the same thing of Noé. How was he supposed to know Noé had been put in the same position years earlier? Vanitas had always known his request was selfish, but he'd never understood just how deeply that might have impacted Noé until now.
“I can't… Louis… I… can't.” Noé started to cry.
Vanitas took a few steps closer, and Domi's head turned to look at him. Her eyes pleaded, begging him to do something. Louis bit into Noé's shoulder. Vanitas knew this was only a dream; no matter what he did, he couldn't lift this burden from Noé's shoulders for him. But, at least for tonight. He could offer a moment of relief.
“NON!” Vanitas shouted as he stood behind the two boys. Vanitas hadn't even done anything, but with his voice alone, the book of Vanitas opened in his hands, emitting a familiar blue light as he stunned the boy.
Louis's fangs retracted, and his eyes returned to their natural gold. Louis turned around to look at him, his eyes wide in shock as he touched his throat. “I'm…?”
Noé began to hiccup. The tears that had been welling in his eyes overflowed. He latched onto the other boy for an anchor and let out a gut-wrenching sob. “LOUIS!”
“H-hey!” Louis protested, but patted Noé on the back, soothing him. It was at that moment little Domi rushed over and snuggled up to both of them.
“Come on, Noé, you know it would take a lot more than that to take me out!” Fred boasted from across the room as he flashed a confident grin.
Vanitas hadn't even done anything; all he did was offer his voice. But the atmosphere of the dream changed instantly. It made sense, he supposed. Noé probably associated him with curing cursebearers. The bodies across the room were restored. Even the girl who had lost her head was in one piece again without a single drop of blood on her dress.
He watched as the children all gathered around Noé. Noé embraced all of them, sniffling, truly happy and relieved. Vanitas smiled wistfully. Foolish dreams like these weren't so bad. He found himself a little jealous, even. He was far too pragmatic to imagine tragedies going any other way. It was stupid, but he envied how easily Noé accepted a dumb fairy tale ending.
Noé glanced up at him with his grateful, teary little eyes. Their gazes met for just a moment before Vanitas turned away and started to walk away from the chapel ruins. The sky above him was now filled with vibrant stars, and crickets chirped loudly. This dream was no longer a nightmare, and that was his cue to leave.
~~~
Noé woke up the next morning with tear stains on his cheek. His heart felt both heavy and light. How many times had he relived that night over and over? Things rarely changed; sometimes he'd manage to save one person but lose another. But… As Noé recalled the feeling of Louis in his arms, and them all leaving their secret base to watch the stars together, he felt truly happy. It was… A beautiful, painful dream.
Vanitas wasn't on the roof again this morning. Noé felt disappointed about that… He went to his shift at the cafe and found himself distracted all day. What changed that dream from a tragedy into something beautiful… Was Vanitas.
He saved him. Saved Louis, Fred, Mina, Gilles, and Fanny… Had Noé ever seen such a happy outcome of that horrible day in a dream? Noé wiped a tear from his eyes; even if it wasn't real, it was healing in a way. He woke up feeling less helpless and without that awful, sickening feeling. The abdominal relief at being alive didn't plague him this time.
He wanted to thank him. Even if he knew Vanitas hadn't actually done anything, it's not like he went into his dream and fixed it or anything. But just by knowing Vanitas, just by spending time with him… Things have changed. He's filled Noé with a hope he couldn't dare to dream of before. It's been that way since the first time he saw him cure a cursebearer. Whenever he was with Vanitas, he knew it would all turn out all right… Because what they couldn't get through alone, they always got through together.
For as annoying as Vanitas was… Noé realized he was thankful; he was glad Vanitas was by his side.
That evening, he finished up work early and swung by the store to pick up the necklace. It was quite expensive, but Noé bought it happily. The shop owner had it packaged in a little box. When he got back to the hotel, Noé smiled when he saw a familiar silhouette resting on their rooftop. Noé joined him a few minutes later. Vanitas had his legs kicked back, his head resting on his arms as a pillow.
“You're back late,” Vanitas commented, opening an eye to watch as Noé took a seat beside him.
“Yeah..” Noé said as he made himself comfortable, the wind was a little chilly, but the sky was a lovely shade of blue. It was relaxing. “Um, Vanitas…”
“What?”
Noé pulled the box out of his coat pocket. “I got you a present.” He presented it in both hands awkwardly.
Vanitas shot up. “Huh?!” He glanced down at the box and back up at Noé. “If it's another cat figure, you can take it back-”
“It's not another cat figure!” Noé pouted. Such an ungrateful human! That's the reason why he didn't buy it for Vanitas yesterday. He's impossible to please, and so critical whenever he does buy him gifts. “At least look at it first. And please don't throw it this time. It was expensive.”
Vanitas let out a small hum as he took the box and shook it gently. He opened it with his glove hands, his eyes widening as he saw the familiar glow of astermite. “Divine tearstone..?”
“Do you like it?” Noé wasn't sure what a divine tearstone was, but Vanitas seemed interested! He had lifted the necklace and held it up to the moon to examine it in better light.
“It's useful. It's the highest form of purity Astermite can have. Where did you even find this?” Vanitas was grinning. Noé felt his heart leap; he liked the gift he'd purchased!
“I found it at work yesterday. It reminded me of your eyes, and since you like earrings, I thought you might like it too.” Noé fidgeted his fingers a bit; he didn't quite get it. His face was heating up a little; maybe he was just excited Vanitas liked his present for once.
Vanitas stared at him for a moment before bursting out into laughter. “You..! You mean you bought genuine divine tearstone without even noticing?!”
Eh? Noé tilted his head. “I… guess?”
Vanitas pulled his hair back with his hand and put the necklace on himself, tucking the pendant beneath his shirt collar. “Thanks, Noé. I can actually make use of this.”
Noé watched, feeling an odd sense of pride at that. “Actually, I wanted to thank you.”
“Huh? For what?” Vanitas absentmindedly let his hair back down again.
“Nothing really, I just wanted to say it.” Noé smiled; he was truly grateful that he met Vanitas. He was glad that he was the man he is today… And he hoped they'd have many more nights just like this one.