Chapter Text
The sound of a blaring car alarm jolted Noe from his sleep, causing him to groan and pull the pillow over his head to muffle the sound. This was, unfortunately, a very regular occurrence. So much so, that he didn’t even need to set a personal alarm anymore.
After a couple of minutes of the alarm still screeching, incredibly loud even with the window nearest to his bed closed, Noe reluctantly swung his feet over the side of the bed, standing up and stretching.
He had a typically slow start to the day today- he’d be working closing at the cafe on the campus of the university he attended. No doubt his roommate and childhood best friend, Dominique, had already left for her classes and would be joining him in closing later.
His suspicions were confirmed when he stepped out of his room and headed over to the kitchen, finding a plate of breakfast and a sticky note beside it on the table. He picked it up, squinting to read it without his contacts in.
Noe-
Have a good day today! Or I’ll bite you.
– Domi.
The tan skinned male snorted, before noticing the time. “Oh shit-” He cursed, running back to his room to pull on whatever was closest. He couldn’t afford to be late to his behaviour analysis psychology class again. The professor was particularly stingy with attendance.
Sensing his stress, the snowy white persian cat brushed up against his legs with a soft mew.
“Ah, Murr. I haven't fed you yet.” He reached down to scratch in between the cat’s ears, the ball of fluff starting to purr right away. “I’ll give you your food before I leave. Promise.”
He glanced at the time once more as he tugged on a pair of black ripped jeans and pulled on a button up and a sweater before quickly grabbing his messenger bag, the cover literally decorated in random pins, and his phone.
Rushing quickly to the kitchen, he poured some cat food into Murr’s bowl and grabbed his keys off its designated hook, leaving the apartment and almost forgetting to lock the door behind him. Almost.
The drive to campus was unbearably long today. Noe could feel irritation pricking at him for overestimating the time he had available, and it was bound to make his morning difficult. Not entirely unbearable- he’d attempt to look on the bright side as much as he could today.
Looking at his phone briefly, he frowned as he caught a good glimpse of his lock screen. A message from Domi popped up though, snapping him out of his thoughts as he finally managed to find a parking spot and rushed into the classroom building.
If he was late, Dominique would never let him live it down.
It was safe to say his morning had been entirely too eventful. Between almost being late and then having to talk to his professor about an extension on a paper- yeah, his morning wasn’t the greatest.
Right after his morning classes ended, he was scheduled to start his shift. And that’s exactly what he did. Luckily most of the rush was in the morning when classes started, so business was running pretty slow.
The door chimed as one particular short (and flamboyant as ever) theatre kid marched through, stopping right in front of the counter, where Noe stood.
“Noe—“ Vanitas was abruptly cut off by the taller male shoving a frappe in his hands and pointing to the nearest seat. “Fine.”
Noe gave a smile as Vanitas sat down, taking small sips of his beverage. “What is it, Vanitas?”
“What if I forget my lines? Or a prop fails? Or—“
“How many plays have you been in?”
Vanitas fell silent, probably trying to count. “Um… a lot…”
“And nothing went wrong with those, right?”
“Well besides someone forgetting their lines, no.”
Noe had moved out from behind the counter, now standing beside him. “Then relax. It’ll be fine.” He placed a strawberry crepe down in front of the blue haired male. “I'm sure you’ll do great. As usual.”
Vanitas beamed. “Well obviously!”
Noe softly smiled back at his theatre friend, tucking a strand of snowy white hair behind his ear. “So is this the original play you paired up with the English department to make? The one for charity?”
“Ah yeah, that. Yes, it is. I’m surprised you remembered. Thought you were busy studying for a psychology exam when I started rambling to you.”
The white haired male laughed, tugging lightly at one of his lip piercings absentmindedly as he sat beside Vanitas, leaning his head on his other hand. “Contrary to popular belief, I am always listening, even when it’s at an inconvenient time.”
Vanitas coughed and covered his face with the sleeve of his sweater. “... Fucking dork. You left your piercings in today?”
“Mm. Yeah. Didn’t feel like taking them out. Why?” Noe tilted his head, eyes narrowed slightly in amusement. “Are you fl-”
“NO I’M NOT THANKS FOR THE FOOD BYE-”
Noe held back a laugh as Vanitas stood, scrambling to leave the cafe. “Vani.”
“Hm?”
“I know you’ll do great.”
Vanitas’ blush was even more apparent now as he shuffled awkwardly. “... yeah. Thanks.”
As the door closed behind the human, Noe stood and gathered the plate and cup, going back behind the counter.
When he heard the door open, his ears pricked to the sound and he turned around to see Dominique, his childhood friend, grinning knowingly at him.
“So when are you-”
“Not happening.” The tan skinned vampire cut her off immediately. “You’re also fifteen minutes over your normal lunch break.”
Dominique pouted. “Well I fed Murr. And took him for his checkup. Like you asked. Just ran a little long.”
Noe’s annoyed expression softened. “Thank you.” He said softly. “Did you manage to eat anything?”
“I grabbed something on the way back from dropping Murr off, I’m fine for closing.” She nudged him gently. “Don’t look so worried! He’s got a clean bill of health.”
“I’m more worried about you. I do a good job of monitoring Murr’s health anyway, so I’m not worried.” He leaned against the counter. “Latte?”
“Yes! Matcha please.” Dominique sat down at a nearby table. “Jeanne’s been busy with exams.”
“I imagine she would be. Did you visit her at the library?”
“Yeah. She looked torn between throwing a book at me and hugging me, I think.”
Noe snorted before bursting into full blown laughter. “Please- Imaging Jeanne throwing a book at you- oh god I can’t breathe-”
“Hey!” Dominique pouted, crossing her arms. “She’s done it before!”
“Yeah, when you were distracting her from work.” Noe finally calmed down from his laughing fit, wiping at his eyes. “How’s summer classes going? Been studying well?”
“Hnh.” Domi slouched as Noe placed the matcha latte in front of her. “Why? Why did I choose law again? Can you tell me why, Noe?”
“Do I look like Dora or a god to you?” Noe joked lightly.
Domi stared at the cup in front of her. “Aww, you made the foam in the shape of a cat!”
“Yeah. We’ve only got an hour till closing so I don’t really mind you relaxing a bit.” The taller vampire went back behind the counter, starting to clean up everything and close for the day.
Domi sipped her latte, listening as Noe started cleaning out the coffee and espresso machines and the like, humming to himself. “Is that the song you wrote back in sophomore year? About…” She trailed off.
Noe paused briefly, staring at his hands. “Sorry Domi. Did it without thinking.”
“No, it’s okay. He’d be glad you're still thinking of him after all this time.” The ravenette stood, walking behind the counter and pulling the taller male into a tight hug. “I miss him too.”
He slowly wrapped his arms around her, hugging her back. “I don’t wanna start crying in the middle of the cafe, Domi.” He responded softly. “Do you remember why you want to study law again?”
“For him.” Domi wiped at her eyes. “Did you find a therapist yet?”
“Mm, not yet. Been too busy.” Noe responded, letting her go after a moment and starting to wipe down the counters.
Domi’s eyes followed his movements, sensing he was still upset. “Movie and ice cream when we get back to the apartment?” She offered lightly.
Noe shot her a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Sure. But I need to get some guitar practise in so I don’t get rusty.”
“Oh, you’re still playing? Even after?” She asked, genuinely surprised.
“I figured he wouldn’t want me to completely give it up. Even though I defied my parents' wishes to do so- and we both know they’ve been calling non-stop lately.”
Domi scowled. “If I get another phone call from them during class I’m personally gonna destroy every phone in their damn house so they don’t do it again.”
The violet eyed music student chuckled. “I’d appreciate it, but your parents wouldn’t be too happy about that.”
The law student pursed her lips. “Yeah well– Noe, calling like that falls under harassment…”
“Nothing we can do about it really that doesn’t involve having to talk to them in person again. I’d rather not.” Noe tossed her his keys. “You can go out to the car. I just need to take out the trash and we can head out.”
Dominique nodded as Noe left to take out the trash and slipped outside, making sure to flip the sign to ‘closed’ as she did. Unlocking the car, she climbed inside and waited, tapping her fingers against the dash as she looked around. Night had just fallen and the campus was pretty much empty besides the occasional group that was heading back to the dorms.
Fifteen minutes passed. She was getting worried. Noe usually didn’t take this long. Anxiety lingered in the pit of her stomach as she started to bite at her nails, pulling out her phone to text Jeanne.
God I hope I’m just being paranoid.
Another fifteen minutes passed. Dominique had finally had enough and pushed open the door, climbing out of the car and heading around to the back of the cafe, looking around for Noe.
“Noe?” Her voice cracked slightly with each step she took. “Noe, look, this isn’t funny. We should go home now.”
Finally, she found him. Slowly crouching down, she gently rested her hand on his knee. “Noe. Noe, it’s okay. I’m here. You’re not there anymore.”
Noe inhaled sharply, attempting to regulate his breathing as Domi helped ground him, pulling him back to reality. “I’m sorry,” he choked out after a moment.
“It’s alright, Noe. Let’s just go home now.” The ravenette held out her hand and the taller vampire took it, allowing himself to be gently tugged upward.
They wordlessly walked back to the car, the cold air pricking at them as it got later in the evening.
“Sleep, Noe.” Domi said as she got behind the wheel and Noe took the passenger side. “I’ll wake you up when we get back.”
Noe nodded in response, feeling the exhaustion of the day hit him hard, his eyes closing.
The last thing he heard before drifting off was the sound of Dominique humming a familiar tune.