Vanitas × Noé

Rain

It was a bright day, the sun smiling down on Paris warmly. A light breeze puffed between buildings, playing with Noé and Vanitas's hair, and keeping the day from being too hot to still be pleasant. Noé and Vanitas were out shopping together for food. Often they would eat out alone or Vanitas would buy their food alone,  though Noé never had seen him go out or come back with food, it was almost as though it simply appeared. Sometimes this worried him but most of the time it was convenient and easy to brush off.

They both needed a break and some fresh air, using food as a pretext to leave their apartment. Vanitas and Noé were both without their coats, an unusual occurance but a necessary one due to the heat. Noé had even rolled up his sleeves past his elbows. Vanitas, of course, still had his skintight gloves. Noé wondered if he was uncomfortable in them. Not that he was too concerned.

Vanitas had a rare spring in his step, the kind he had only when he was happy and letting his guard down or when he was trying to hide something. It was certainly the former in this case. This made Noé rather happy as well and it helped him focus on their task so he didn't wander off. When it came to actually buying their food though... arguments ensued.

They had wildly different tastes, something they had worked out pretty quickly when forced to live together. Noé would eat most things placed in front of him but when given the rare opportunity to choose his next meal he didn't want to back down. Vanitas nearly always got to make the decisions about their food and his tastes were either bland or bitter. Noé just wanted something with flavour once in a while.

They had been threatened by a few people to either buy something or leave as their arguing was disrupting the other customers. In the end Vanitas was the first to yield. He could keep a fight going for years if he wanted but Vanitas gave up more easily than Noé. He gave up particularly easily whenever he was against Noé. The human just couldn't bring himself to care enough to win.

Noé managed to still pick out something a little less extreme than his original proposals, probably for Vanitas's benefit. Unlike Noé, Vanitas would refuse to eat food if it didn't suit him. He wasn't particularly picky but there were a few things he could not stand. Plus, he was petty and missing a meal to make a point wasn't beneath him. Vanitas made Noé carry their purchases, complaining that as a vampire he should be the one to do the heavy lifting. Vanitas hated being called weak until it got him out of doing work, then he'd act as frail as necessary. It wasn't like vampires were strong naturally, they had to rewrite formulas for that and that would mean letting their red eyes show. Vanitas almost certainly knew this as well. He was just a brat. But it was a nice day and Noé didn't want to ruin the mood.

"Do you want to do anything before heading home?" Noé asked.

Vanitas considered it for a moment. "No, not particularly. But," he added seeing Noé droop slightly, "I don't mind accompanying you anywhere you want."

"Really!?" The shine in Noé's eyes was familiar and Vanitas found himself as amused by it as when they'd first met.

"Lead the way my dear Noé."

So, they wandered wherever Noé wanted, slowly growing farther from their hotel. Noé never seemed to tire, even with bags laden with food clutched in his arms the entire time. As Vanitas's endurance and his patience were beginning to wane he felt a drop hit his nose. Jerking, Vanitas looked up, seeing clouds that had gathered in the warm afternoon.

Sunset was almost upon them now, though the air was still warm. Vanitas opened his mouth to tell Noé they should head home when another drop fell into his open mouth. It was so ridiculous that words failed to come out, only uncontrollable laughter. Vanitas covered his mouth even as he began wheezing into his hand.