Vanitas × Noé

Reconciliation

Yeah, this is post chapter 51. That makes it canon-divergent but oh well. I wanted to write some melodrama between Vani and Noé. Enjoy!
------------------------------------------------------------------

Vanitas and Noé were each beaming wide at their triumph. Noé was looking at the unconscious woman in his arms with unfathomable relief while Vanitas stared into the middle distance with manic delight, the direction Mikhail had long since disappeared into. Slowly, through some divine magnetism, their eyes were drawn to each other. For a moment there was stillness as everything else seemed to slip away, the entire world condensing until it was just the two of them, victorious.

The smiles faded abruptly as they looked into each others' faces, replaced with grief and anger. Noé was the first to turn away, bringing his attention back to Dominique, clutching her close as though he couldn't quite believe she was unscathed. Vanitas stood awkwardly for a moment, unsure of himself. He couldn't leave - he hadn't a clue where he'd go - but nor could he approach Noé. Fear of the vampire still lingered, fear for his memories, but there was a different fear as well. The fear that Noé hated him as much as he deserved. Vanitas didn't have to deliberate for long because Noé got up, cradling Dominique gently in his arms, and began to move away. To leave the nightmare behind.

"Wait!" Vanitas called frantically.

Noé half-turned, fixing Vanitas with a cold glare, "What?"

Vanitas felt his throat go dry. What did he want to say? He did not believe there was a single thing he could do to fix what he had done. The damage was likely permanent. Noé was still covered in blood, clothes sliced open in a great gash that revealed his stomach. Vanitas knew there was a chance that beneath all the blood there would be a scar. It wasn't easy to leave permanent damage on a vampire, but it was possible. If it did scar, he'd have to live the rest of his life with a constant reminder of Vanitas's betrayal.

"I'm sorry," Vanitas managed meekly.

Noé's face twisted as though he were in pain before settling back into quiet rage. "That's not enough. Domi would have died if I had let you have your way. Just because you helped at the end doesn't make up for that!"

As always, Noé was right. Words wouldn't change anything. Appealing for forgiveness wouldn't work.

"You still need me!" Vanitas shouted, twisted smile affixing itself to his lips. "Or are you saying you've determined the Book's true character?"

Noé faced him fully, eyes wide with ferocity, "Don't you dare! Do you honestly think you can get away with everything just like that? I don't care why Teacher sent me to Paris anymore! Domi... she nearly died. She's my priority above anything else. Understand!?"

Vanitas's face fell and he let out a heavy sigh. "Sorry... I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. I just... want you to stay by my side, as selfish as that is, but I know there's not a single thing I can do to convince you. So I thought loyalty to your Teacher might be convincing?"

"Why can't you be honest like that all the time Vanitas?" Noé cried in frustration. "If you just told me things-! ...No. You're not capable of that, are you? Vanitas, I cared about you. I thought we were friends. And maybe we were. But I can't do this anymore. I can't trust you to put your own selfishness aside for one moment!"

"Noé, I understand why you're angry with me. But there's so much you don't understand!" Vanitas started yelling, "So much you never will understand! You think I don't know how awful I am!? Of course I do! Despite that, I can't stop! I have to keep moving forward, no matter the cost! My life's only worth is derived from the goal I'm pursuing so forgive me if I protect that goal with everything I have!"

"That's not the issue!" Noé yelled back. "You never consider that other options may be open to you! You always take the easiest path for yourself and you're so quick to give up!"

"That's-"

"And you never admit you're wrong! There's always an excuse - a reason to let you off the hook. Not this time. I won't let you get away with that. All you did today was make everything worse."

"And if I tell you that you're right? That I'm an idiot who chooses self-preservation first every time? What will that change? I know I was wrong but I don't know what I should have done differently! I regret threatening Dominique, I didn't mean it, but even if I didn't, we still would have fought eventually. I couldn't save her and you couldn't sacrifice her. Mikhail knew that. He saw through us both right from the start."

"That isn't enough for me to forgive you."

"What will be enough?"

"I don't know," Noé sighed heavily. "I may never forgive you. For now I'm going to take care of Domi... I'll contact you through Dante when I've sorted through my feelings."

"Is this goodbye then?" Vanitas frowned.

"For now," Noé said. "Hopefully it's not the last goodbye."