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Ankles...
Delicate ankles that nestled against slender, well-shaped legs, with thighs that disappeared into the skirt of a swimsuit that was still too long for his taste. There were probably even pants underneath. Vanitas sighed. His gaze wandered furtively upwards. Unfortunately, the sailor's collar didn't allow him to see Jeanne's ample curves, but being able to look at her beautiful legs certainly made the trip worthwhile.
A loud splash sounded as the ball hit the water next to Dominique.
“This isn't a real fight, Jeanne!” the black-haired beauty grumbled almost in panic at her counterpart.
“But Master Luca told me to do my best to win against you and Riche, Mademoiselle Dominique,” Jeanne replied with almost innocent enthusiasm.
Vanitas giggled. It was precisely this passion that he liked so much about Jeanne. That and her aforementioned perfect body. If only she would turn a little, then he could at least...
“Well Quacky, what are you looking at with such interest?”
The human vampire doctor flinched violently when he heard Dante's voice next to him. The dhampir grinned knowingly at him, holding the lollipop crookedly in his mouth.
“I-I'm not looking at anything!” Vanitas barked back, his cheeks bright red. Not exactly the smartest answer, as he had to admit to himself shortly afterwards. He didn't know whether his palpitations were still caused by Jeanne's curves or by the shock of being caught. And Dante didn't make it any better by patting Vanitas on the shoulder.
“Don't worry, buddy. I'm on your side.”
With these words, Dante took a brand new pair of binoculars out of his pocket. His last client must have paid him well.
“With these, we can admire ‘the sea’ without stress,” he continued, his eyes seeming to mock Vanitas, who moved away a little and began to sulk sheepishly.
“No, thank you.”
Dante, who was in no way impressed by this, now looked towards the sea with the help of the binoculars while being watched by his counterpart, who knew exactly that he was not just looking at the sea.
Somehow Vanitas didn't like the fact that the red-haired man could now see Jeanne very clearly. More closely than he could. But somehow he was also gripped by curiosity. Should he look through it too? No, he wasn't a pervert. Besides, there were also Dominique and Riche...
He looked at the sea again, trying to relax. He didn't care at all if Dante was playing with binoculars!
Very slowly, he tilted his head to the side... A little more... Maybe if he could just take a tiny peek through the binoculars...
“What exactly are you watching so carefully? Is there anything special about the sea today?” Noé's voice rang out behind them as he and Johann prepared the meal.
Dante, who had obviously given up talking to Noé in metaphors, didn't even look up from his binoculars as he answered:
“We watch the girls, of course! Seeing them in their swimsuits is the special thing!”
Noé looked at him, confused.
“What's so special about that? I used to see Domi in a swimsuit all the time when we were little. Don't you ever go swimming in the summer?”
Vanitas and Dante turned to him in sync and both seemed to be thinking exactly the same thing:
'This guy...'
Johann, who had been listening to the conversation, couldn't help giggling. “Oh Dante, you're making me jealous.”
A little later, Noé called the others to eat. While Luca, Domi and Riche left the water immediately, Jeanne stopped and waved to them.
“You go on ahead. I'm going to swim another round before I fill my stomach.”
Even if she was having great fun, she couldn't neglect her training.
As Jeanne sank deeper into the water to swim further out to sea, she thought about how they had got into this situation in the first place.
Master Luca had instructed her to track down a very specific curse-bearer. Another vampire from his more distant family. Actually, she shouldn't have allowed him to secretly accompany her, but she couldn't refuse her young master anything. Especially not when he was so worried about his family. Mademoiselle Dominique accompanied them as a reinforcement and bodyguard for the little duke.
This time, the journey took them to the warm south, to the Mediterranean, and as some of the events had made themselves known, it was not surprising that they would come across Noé and Vanitas. A stroke of luck, as without them it would have been difficult to rescue Master Luca's cousin.
But what the dhampirs were doing here... She probably shouldn't think too hard about that. It was better if her young master returned to Altus Paris as quickly and unnoticed as possible. However... She simply couldn't deny him this one day by the sea.
And she had a lot of fun too, even if she wasn't sure where Mademoiselle Dominique had suddenly found the swimwear.
When she reached shallower water again, Jeanne stood and watched the others from afar once more. In this light clothing, they all looked so carefree and the class distinctions between them seemed to blur. Only Vanitas had not seen the point of walking around in short sleeves and wore a shirt and gloves over his swimsuit. Did his scars cause him problems in the sun and salt water?
Where was he anyway?
Scanning the beach with her eyes, she couldn't spot him. Where...?
Startled, Jeanne let out a loud squeak.
Someone had splashed her from behind with a load of water.
When she turned around, she could see Vanitas' broadly grinning face. Completely perplexed and embarrassed, a blush crept up her face. Her heart began to beat faster.
...
She had missed his smile so much. But the mischievousness in his grin also made her a little angry. What was he getting away with again?
Vanitas tilted his head in amusement at her reaction.
“Sorry, Mon Lapin, but you're really cute when you look so scared.”
Cute...
She couldn't get used to being called that. In a mixture of embarrassment and defiance, Jeanne struck back. The masses of water that now hit Vanitas were much larger than his own attack.
The sound of the splashing and their light clamor, which turned into laughter, reached the others. Luca watched the scene with displeasure. Had his Jeanne really fallen in love with this guy? Why was he so punished by fate? Dominique wasn't sure what to make of their relationship either, even though she now understood Vanitas better. Dante watched Vanitas and Jeanne like a curious research case and Noé couldn't stop wondering what had actually happened between them in Gévaudan, while Johann just grinned broadly.
Vanitas' laughter, however, was not fake for once in a long time. He felt so light when he saw Jeanne smiling. However, he had to slowly admit to himself that he would probably lose out in this water fight.
In a last attempt to defend himself, he took a step back, but felt a large smooth stone under his foot and slipped on it.
Eyes wide open, Vanitas slapped flat on the water and sank.
Paralyzed by the impact, he couldn't move for a few seconds as he sank deeper, barely holding his breath.
The moment of shock was short-lived, however, as he soon felt two delicate yet strong arms pulling him to the surface.
Surprised, Vanitas gasped for air and suddenly found himself in Jeanne's arms like a fair maiden in the arms of her prince. He could see the sun behind her, bathing her hair in a halo of light, and she smiled at him almost tenderly.
“Are you all right?”
As he became aware of his situation, Vanita's cheeks turned bright red, his heart pounded wildly and he began to fidget and struggle against Jeanne's grip.
Before he could make the situation even more uncomfortable with his words, Dominique shouted something at them:
“Where are you?!’
The vampire and the human hurriedly broke away from each other and headed towards the others. They shouldn't waste too much more time.
As they all sat down to eat together, Vanitas' eyes fell on Jeanne again, who was smiling and talking to Luca. He rarely got to see her, but he wondered if there would be more moments like this one. Moments that could become happy memories. This could just as well be the last one.