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Vanitas hated the smell of chocolate.
While he wasn’t a fan of sweets in general, there was something about chocolate that made his stomach churn. It was too sweet, too messy and too sticky to work with, yet Vanitas found himself melting, pipping and coloring different bowls of chocolate. Valentine’s Day was (unsurprisingly) Noé’s favorite holiday, the brown-skinned vampire zipping around Paris to buy chocolates and gifts for their friends, dragging a reluctant Vanitas through all the hubbub. After losing Noé a third time, Vanitas gave up trying to tail him and walked back to the hotel. The smell of chocolate wafted from an open window as Vanitas got closer, nearly making the human gag. His curiosity got the best of him and instead of walking to his and Noé’s shared room, he snuck into the kitchen where Amelia was mixing something brown and liquid-y in a bowl.
“Oh! Monsieur Vanitas, I didn’t see you there! Where did you need something?”
“No, I just arrived. Who are you making chocolates for?”
The table that Amelia was using was covered in all kinds of instruments needed for making chocolates: bowls of different sizes, spatulas, molds, piping bags. The brunette poured her mixture in one of the bags and piped the chocolate into a mold that had a bunch cat shapes.
“These are for Mademoiselle Nox, since she’s been so patient with me as I train to become a better maid for the hotel. I figure chocolates would be the perfect appreciation gift considering it is Valentine’s Day.”
Vanitas said nothing as he watched the brunette worked, carefully and efficiently before storing the tray of cooling chocolate into the ice box. Amelia started to clean up her mess when Vanitas stopped her with a gentle hand on the wrist, the maid looking up at him in confusion.
“May I use some of the leftover chocolate? I won’t stay in here too long or make too big of a mess...”
Amelia bit the inside of her cheek at his request, thinking it over for a few seconds before answering. “The kitchen is only used by the staff but if you can be quick and clean up after yourself, you should be fine. Dinner time starts at 7, so please be out of here before then!”
As soon as the brunette maid left, Vanitas tore off his gloves to wash his hands and get straight to work. The kitchen was filled with the scent of chocolate once more, Vanitas stopping a couple of times to open more windows. It was a quarter to 7 when he filled the last mold with chocolate flavored with coffee liqueur when a soft meow broke him from his focus. A set of red and blue eyes stared at him as he tossed the empty-ish pipping bag away, not caring to where it landed.
“If you’re here that means your owner is not too far behind, huh Murr?”
The white cat meowed again, hopping onto the table to watch Vanitas clean. It didn’t take too long for Noé to make his presence known, the brown-skinned vampire loudly calling for his trusty pet.
“Murr? Oh, Murr there you are! And you found Vanitas! Where did you go, I was looking all over Paris for you!”
Vanitas rolled his eyes and opened his mouth to answer the other when the unthinkable happened. Noé, in haste to hug the other male, had slipped on the piping bag Vanitas tossed earlier, his arms flailing to and fro and knocking over a bowl of still cooling chocolate. Said bowl also knocked into the still opened bottle of coffee liqueur, the brown liquid emptying on the table before falling onto the ground and shattering. Vanitas stared at the mess in shock, not registering any voices until someone started to shove him out of the kitchen roughly.
“What are you doing! You’re not supposed to be in here!” An angry Manet shouted in his face as he pushed the human out of the kitchen. Vanitas quickly grabbed the last mold and thrusted it in Amelia’s hands, leaving the kitchen with Noé in tow and a hasty “I’ll come back for it later!”
“Vanitush, I’m sowbry!”
The human rolled his eyes while he roughly dried Noé’s hair with a towel, the vampire all freshly showered after the liqueur had seeped into his clothes. He wasn’t mad at the other male for the incident, since the piping bag being on the floor was his fault, though Nox and Manet chewing him out for the mess and being in the kitchen caused him to be a little irritated. All that hard work...
“You can stop apologizing now, it wasn’t your fault.” Vanitas tossed the towel into the hamper, leaving Noé’s hair in disarray. The vampire pouted at the other’s dismissal, Vanitas rolling his eyes for the third time. He was about to comment on the vampire’s childish behavior when the door was knocked, a smiling Amelia walking in with a box.
“I managed to sneak these out of the ice box Monsieur! They came out so pretty! I would wait a bit before eating them though, they’re still quite cold. Happy Valentine’s Day to you both!” Amelia handed the box of chocolates to Vanitas before leaving the room, shutting the door behind her. Vanitas opened the box to inspect the chocolates, ignoring Noé’s ever so curious eyes that were fixated on him. Amelia was right, the chocolates were made perfectly, not a single one misshapen or lumpy. The human then closed the box before presenting it to the vampire, Noé taking it with a confused look on his face.
“What? What’s this?”
Vanitas scoffed. “Why don’t you open it instead of asking me? Must I do everything for you?”
Noé gave him a glare--which Vanitas couldn’t take seriously with his hair still in a mess--and opened the boss, softly gasping at the treats.
“Wait, you made these? Is that why Murr found you in the kitchen?”
Vanitas nodded his head slowly, unable to look at the vampire. It was embarrassing enough that he spent so much time on something simple like handmade chocolates when he could buy them, but admitting that to the other was even worse. Noé set the box on his bed and gathered Vanitas into his arms, enveloping the human into a bone crushing hug. The human flailed a bit in Noé’s arms, trying to get away with no avail.
“Hey! Don’t get all mushy on me! They’re just chocola--”
“Thank you.”
Vanitas stopped struggling when he heard the emotion in Noé’s soft gratitude. He let out a sigh as he moved his arms to put them around his companion, relaxing into his hold. The two stood there in the warm embrace until dinner was served.
And of course, Vanitas’ chocolates were the dessert.