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“So, whatcha think?”
Hanabi hummed as she took a bite of her food, “I have to say, it's quite delicious.”
“I agree! These dishes all taste amazing.” Zilong added, a hint of satisfaction in his tone.
“Right? I just happened to discover this hidden gem of a restaurant a few weeks ago, and was surprised that the food was really great.” Alucard responded, stirring the drink in his hands. “Plus, not many people come here, so—” The blonde took a sip of his drink, pausing for a short moment, “It’s a great spot for hanging out without surprises.”
“Indeed, it’s rather convenient.” Xavier commented. He couldn’t even disagree with any of their statements, as the spot was truly comfortable to relax in. He focused on slicing the piece of meat in his plate, when a bell rang, coming from the cafe’s entrance. Xavier ignored it, simply not caring about such a matter. The same could be told for Hanabi, who was too focused on eating the meal she ordered.
“Hey, is that—” Hushed whispers could be heard right in front of him, which came from prying bastards who he had the unfortunate luck of considering as friends. Xavier took a glance towards the blonde man, and the brunette beside him who seemed to be the one leading the conversation.
The elf sometimes wondered how exactly he became friends with a Demon Hunter, the Leader of the Scarlet Sect, and the literal son of the Great Dragon. But, then again, their little group had all kinds of personalities with varying occupations. Alucard, Hanabi and Zilong were simply the tip of the iceberg. For one, they weren't sure how the current ruler of Necrokeep was acquainted enough with them to call a friend.
Nonetheless, Xavier could talk for hours on end about how interesting they came to be, as it would seem that their group was filled with eccentrics. (Not that he wasn't one.)
An example of this would be the Cosmic Wayfinder, also known as Layla’s father, Nolan. He was an intriguing individual, as stated by Xavier himself. Speaking of Nolan…—
“Is that not sir Nolan?” Alucard questioned, his eyes narrowing, a visible sign of curiosity.
“Hm, sir Nolan?—.... But it's been a year since we've last encountered him.” Hanabi interjected.
“He looks like him!” Zilong exclaimed, almost spilling the drinks that were neatly placed onto their table. Xavier had half the mind to spill it on the brunette just to teach him a lesson, but he actually had manners, thank you very much.
“Yeah, take a look at him. He looks exactly like the old guy.” Alucard gestured towards the taller blonde man, who took a seat in the very far corner of the eatery.
Xavier wasn't exactly interested in the mindless nonsense that Alucard and Zilong seemed so intent on dragging on, but the moment he heard that name, his own moral codes refused to be remembered. It had been too long ever since their little group had last met the man. Xavier actually missed his presence, the presence of someone who didn't work with 3 singular brain cells, even though he was to deny it.
If the newcomer heard them —Which Xavier was sure he did, as Zilong had practically shouted so loud that some people outside the cafe gave them weird looks— He did not give them the satisfaction of a reaction.
The four dived into a conversation which led to a debate whether that truly was the man they all thought it was. Alucard and Zilong believed that it was in fact Nolan, but both Xavier and Hanabi had their doubts about it. However, Xavier had to acknowledge that the man’s fashion style looked exactly what Nolan would wear when going out. Perhaps it really was him.
“We should say hi.” Zilong suggested, his eyes darting to the older man’s figure. Hanabi shook her head, “Be my guest.” She told him, the disapproval clear in her voice. This caused the brunette to shrink in unsureness, now visibly reluctant. Xavier needed to commend her for putting Zilong in his place, not many people could cause their bizarre friend to do a double-take.
Just when their debate was about to continue, the bell rang once more, whereas they heard the door open with a creak. This time, Xavier dared to steal a glance with the newcomers. His face morphed into something akin to shock.
It was the Duke of Castle Aberleen and his partner.
What the hell were they doing here?!
“Nolan.”
“Hello, Nolan.”
The greetings echoed into one, while the two took a seat in front of Nolan. The elder man gave them a nod of greeting, a soft look in his eyes.
Natan was glad that Nolan was comfortable enough to accept their little dates these days. It took him and Aamon’s combined efforts to convince him in the distant past. Even then, it took them weeks just for him to agree on a singular outing. Natan stole a glance from Aamon, who had an unusual genuine smile on his face. Well— certainly not so unusual to them.
“Are you not worried some supporters of yours are going to bust in here?” Nolan began, his eyes travelling from Aamon to the menu in his hand. Aamon’s eyes fluttered shut, an amused huff escaping his lips. “Rest assured, Nolan. This is a quite unknown area for people who are aware of my occupation.”
As Natan was about to interpose and deny that statement, considering that they in fact encountered ‘some’ people who knew of them, a waiter interrupted them before he could do so.
“May I take your orders, kind gentlemen?” She stated.
Aamon opened his eyes, a guarded expression now apparent in his face. If the waiter knew them, she didn't show it. She treated them as normal customers, and waited patiently. Natan smiled towards her, appreciating the professionalism.
Once they finished ordering, they thanked the kind waiter. Then, Natan and Aamon had the greatest luck to catch the view ahead of them.
Nolan’s cheek rested on his knuckles, his head slightly turned to the side to stare somewhere outside the windows. By some gracious coincidence, the soft hues of the sun glistened onto his skin, illuminating his features with warmth. His usual blonde locks almost seemed golden from the sunlight.
Natan thought he saw an angel for a moment. However, one could compare him to one, and he was sure that he wouldn’t tell the difference. He heard a silent gasp from Aamon beside him, equally as entranced by the Cosmic Wayfinder. Natan stifled a laugh, pleased to know that the Head of the House Paxley was as whipped for Nolan as him.
The blonde man’s eyes travelled from the window to Natan’s own eyes. He flinched slightly from the sudden eye-contact. On the other hand, Nolan’s lips shifted into a small grin, causing Natan’s cheeks to feel warm. He wanted that man, and that itself was an understatement. He was sure Aamon could agree on his thoughts, knowing him for too long.
“The both of you are not quite as slick as you think you are.” Nolan hummed, “You would practically drill a hole in my head from the glances you send me.”
Right, Natan almost forgot that Nolan wasn’t as oblivious as they thought he’d be.
“Those people in front of us keep staring.” Natan whispered, twirling the cup in his hands lazily. Aamon nodded in agreement, “I can deal with them if you wish.”
Natan and Nolan gave him a look.
“They are quite loud with their comments.” Aamon added, grasping the utensils in his hands with delicacy, a contrast to his tone of voice. If they so desired, Aamon could stand up and silence the annoying outsiders. Nevertheless, he was sure the two ex-scientists wouldn’t want something like that. Their initial reactions to his statement were enough proof.
“I do wish for them to lower the volume of their conversation, it's getting quite disrespectful.” Natan sighed, placing the cup on the table. Nolan pondered for a moment, his eyes drifting elsewhere.
“Please pardon them, they happen to be my companions.” He told them, a sheepish look on his face. This caused Aamon to jerk in surprise. These people? His companions? Well, pardon him for being shocked. “Then, why haven’t you…” Natan trailed off as Nolan turned his body away to give their onlookers a call.
“Sir Nolan!” The four of them exclaimed in chorus, sounding almost melodious if not for their expressions completely contradicting it.
“Mind if you four keep it down a little? I’m usually very fond of the banter, but I'm afraid you're creating disruption for some kind gentlemen here.” Nolan stated, whereas the addressed nodded in frenzy. (With the exception of Xavier, who nodded respectfully, accompanied by the occasional glares towards his fellow kin, as if saying ‘i told you to keep it down.’)
“I'll catch up with you all in a moment, so— please .” Nolan added.
Cheers of affirmation are heard altogether in response to the man. Afterwards, the four went back to their own conversation, their eyes no longer on them.
“Well, that was certainly easy enough.” Natan commented, chuckling at their initial situation. Nolan offered him a lazy shrug, “They are quite understanding, whether you may believe it or not.”
Aamon narrowed his eyes in curiosity, surveying the other four in the restaurant. If his memory served him well, two of them were quite familiar. Ironically enough, it was the two men with similar shades of blue.
“Pardon me for the intrusion, Nolan, but,” Aamon gestured towards the blue-haired male, and the blonde man. “Is that the former Arbiter of Light, Xavier and—... Alucard, the Demon Hunter?”
Nolan’s smile grew on his face as Aamon uttered out their names. “Why, yes— yes, you are correct.” For a second, the Duke swore that the blonde had a glint in his eye.
“May I inquire, as to the sudden interest?” Nolan asked, his smile remaining on his features. Aamon took this opportunity to lock eyes with the other man, his eyes almost magnifying, the Duke noticed. It was similar to the time he first felt… Natan’s alluring gaze. He chuckled, perhaps—In his dear little brother’s words—he did have a type.
“Nothing in particular.” Aamon responded. He turned away from the man's eyes, afraid of being found out if he were to level his gaze upon Nolan for even a bit longer.
The taller scientist hummed, seemingly not convinced, but commented no further. The Duke couldn’t help but imagine how similar the two scientists near him actually were. The resemblance was rather uncanny, but he’d never utter such statements out loud. In any case, even if he were to, he doubted Nolan nor Natan would take it in a bad way. If anything, they would tease him about it.
“It appears to me that it is our time to take our leave.” Natan took a quick glance at the clock hanging beside the entrance door, scrutinizing the time as if it killed his cat. Yet, he knew more than anyone that time was a crucial part of the universe. Right after, he looked towards the very man they wished to get closer to.
“Is that so?” Nolan inquired, a slightly sad tone escaping his lips. Natan wanted to stay even longer, because of this. However, the 3 of them knew that they all had work to do, even if they wanted to postpone it for even a tiny bit longer.
“Unfortunately.” Aamon sighed, a little disappointed it seemed.
“Well, don’t let them wait now.” Nolan nodded, his features morphing into something soft. Natan sometimes caught himself thinking about squeezing the older man’s cheeks, hoping to see a funny expression on his face, and perhaps see how soft it really was. The younger scientist shook his thoughts away, they truly needed to get going.
“Why don’t you come with us, Nolan?” Aamon proposed. Nolan’s eyes lit up for a second, leaving the three of them to bask in comfortable silence.
Natan tapped his fingertips on the table softly, creating background noise for the hell of it, despite that there already was considerably loud background noise coming from Nolan’s so called group of companions. They were a lively bunch, he will give them that.
His gaze landed towards the group, the tapping of his fingertips ceasing. They… reminded him of his old friends. Some were loud, some were quiet, some were berating the loud, and some were just laughing at the situation head-on. It was nostalgic in a way.
He huffed, taking his eyes off them. It was alright, really. Nowadays he had people he could call “friends,” “companions,” and even “partners.”
He was happy with his current life, and he was happy for Nolan, too. To have such a vibrant group of friends, who seem to hold each other in high regard and care, is a wonderful feeling. And he wouldn’t wish for anything else to befall them.
“Very well.” Nolan finally responded, catching both Natan and Aamon’s attention immediately. Well, that certainly made Natan feel a lot better in an instant. “However,”
‘However?’ Natan deflated a little, whereas Aamon’s eyes narrowed.
“I will catch up with both of you kind gentlemen a little later.” Nolan tilted his head towards his friends, “I promised a moment of reunion with those folks over there, you see.”
“Ah.” They both utter out dumbly. Nolan truly had a power to shut down all living thoughts from a human being, and Natan wasn’t sure if he was glad about that or not.
“There should still be some time for us to wait for you, if you wish to depart with us.” Aamon offered, earning a smile from the older blonde. “Are you sure you are willing to wait for me? They could possibly hog a lot of time. After all, we haven’t met in a while.” Nolan explained, now leaning on his palm.
“We won't!" The male with the funny-looking ponytail exclaimed. A second after, the man with blue-ish hair instantly blocked the former’s lips with his hands. He seemed to be uttering words around the lines of: “you’re intruding.” and, if Natan heard correctly, “shut up for once.”
“Well—”
“They won’t mind waiting for a little while.” Natan cut Aamon off, causing the latter to give him a sideward glance, but said nothing of it. Natan grinned at him, he knew that Aamon wanted Nolan to travel with them as much as he did. Why else would he have made such a suggestion in the first place?
“If you may excuse me, then.” Nolan stood from his seat and gave them a polite nod.
“I have a rather eventful and bubbly group of people to converse with.”