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Domi opened her eyes, slowly adjusting to the light of the rising sun filtering through the curtains. A faint chill hung in the air and she was grateful for the thin blanket that draped loosely over her.
She was even more grateful for Noé. He was spooning her from behind, arms wrapped gently around her, and the heat that radiated from his bare flesh straight into hers felt delicious. Last night had certainly been wonderful in the most unexpected ways.
She'd be lying if she said she'd never fantasised about him reciprocating her advances, but she'd never dared hope it would actually happen. And she could absolutely not have predicted how it would actually come about.
In front of her, barely a few inches away, Vanitas lay on his back, one arm wrapped around Jeanne's shoulders. The other hand rested on his chest, still gloved to hide the mark on his forearm. The only garment any of them had retained from the events of last night. Jeanne was snuggled against his other side, head resting against his shoulder. Her eyes were closed, rosy lips were slightly parted, and based on Noé's slow, steady breathing she guessed they were both still asleep.
Vanitas was awake, gazing up at the ceiling, seemingly lost in thought. Domi studied the melancholy expression on his face carefully. They'd become close friends since the incident at the theme park, joyfully bonding over their shared love and frustration of Noé's... Noé-ness. Yet she'd still never seen him without his usual demeanour of bravado and sass before.
He looked almost peaceful, and yet she could see the weight of the world pressing down on him. She loved him. Not in the same way she loved Jeanne, and certainly not in the same way she loved Noé, but she had certainly grown fond of him, she realised.
He blinked, seemingly snapping out of whatever trail of thought he'd been following, and lazily turned his head to face her. He smirked.
"Bonjour Mademoiselle," the words dripped quietly off his tongue.
"Good morning, Rat," she whispered back with a teasing sneer. He grinned back. Even if they had become friends now, they still enjoyed their verbal sparring matches, relishing in the way Jeanne and Noé would blush at the insults they tossed back and forth.
"Well, last night certainly was... something," Vanitas said, cheeks turning the faintest tint of pink.
"Indeed, I did not expect it to escalate into that but I'm very glad it did,"
"That was a genius idea though, asking these two which of us is the best at kissing. You know, I think you might have actually been Noé's first kiss,"
"No, really?" Domi gasped. The pair froze, worried the sudden noise may have woken Noé and Jeanne, but their companions didn't stir and slowly they relaxed again.
"How can you be sure?"
"I'm not a hundred percent certain, but he did once ask me what it means to kiss someone, after we first met Jeanne, so I figured at the very least he can't have kissed many people,"
"I'm surprised you didn't offer to show him," Domi giggled.
"Of course I did," he grinned back, "Not directly, but still- After all, it's not like he would have taken me up on it. Not back then, at least..." Vanitas trailed off, the same melancholy expression from earlier briefly flashing across his face.
"Noé once said..." she hesitated, unsure how off-limits this topic was, "He said you told him you could never be interested in someone who could love someone like you. Why?"
Vanitas seemed to withdraw into himself slightly, expression becoming closed and guarded.
"You know who I am, and even if you don't know everything I've done you've seen enough. Can you really say you care about someone who shouldn't have even been born-" he bit down on his lip, abruptly cutting off the rest of his sentence. Domi was stunned, rendered speechless as he turned his face away to glare at the ceiling.
A deep sadness took her breath away. She suddenly felt like she was looking in a mirror, recognising the despair she'd caught a glimpse of.
"Did... did Noé ever tell you about... about Louis?"
"Only once, not really in any detail,"
"Did he tell you we were twins?"
Vanitas's eyes widened in shock. He opened his mouth to say something, closed it, and slowly exhaled.
"An omen of misfortune... But I thought it was at birth that one..."
"Grandfather thought it would be a waste and said he'd take one of us instead. I don't know how he chose which one... I know our situations aren't exactly the same, but I know what it means to feel like you shouldn't exist, or like you shouldn't be..."
Trailing off, suppressing a small sob and unable to find the words to properly articulate her swirling emotions, Domi reached out and placed her hand on top of Vanitas's, gently intertwining their fingers. Vanitas slowly raised her hand up and placed fleeting, tender kisses to each of her fingers. The glove felt soft against her skin, and his lips felt even softer. When he placed his hand down on his chest again she could feel his heartbeat through her fingertips, steady and strong.
"You know... you're more than just a, uh... a convenient woman or a burden or... I'm glad you're here,"
"... Are you trying to apologise to me for the things you've said before?" Domi could feel her face twist into a disgruntled glare.
"I'm not trying, I'm succeeding," Vanitas pouted. Domi fought back the urge to retort he wasn't even trying, conceding with herself there had definitely been some sort of attempt.
"Did you ever apologise to Jeanne for stealing her first kiss?"
"I do... things... to make up for it," he visibly bristled. Domi couldn't help but snort in both amusement and exasperation.
"You know, for how forward you are, I didn't expect you to be so submissive when it's time to put your money where your mouth is,"
"Well, you're a lot more vanilla than I'd have expected for a De Sade," Vanitas turned his head again to face her, smug grin contrasting with the bright pink blush flooding his cheeks.
"Well of course. I knew I was dealing with two first times, and definitely suspected a third-" Domi smirked as his blush turned red, hoping he wouldn't point out there were absolutely four firsts involved, "so I thought we'd take it slow this time. If you don't like vanilla I certainly have ideas for next time,"
"Next time?" His face was almost crimson now, eyes wide and almost fearful, heart pounding under her fingertips.
"Only if everyone wants to," she squeezed his hand firmly in reassurance, "and 'everyone' does include you. Whatever you believe there are people who care about you. You are quite literally surrounded by them right now,"
Silence settled between them. Domi couldn't help but feel that their relationship had fundamentally changed in the span of their short conversation. That even if they continued like normal with their playful bickering on the outside, a small yet unyielding bond had been formed in their hearts.
Eventually, Domi broke the silence first.
"Out of curiosity, how long were you awake before I woke up?"
"A while. Most of the night actually. It's... it's hard to sleep sometimes,"
"It's much easier to sleep if you stop talking," Noé mumbled from behind Domi, making the two of them jump.
"Agreed," Jeanne said, nuzzling again Vanitas's neck. Noé shuffled himself and Domi closer to Vanitas, closing the gap between them. Now Domi's head rested on his shoulder, and she heard his breath catch in his throat. Tenderly she squeezed his hand, still clasped in hers, and felt him squeeze back. As exhaustion clouded her mind she felt Vanitas's breathing slow and his grip on her hand slacken. He was finally asleep, and she smiled as the peaceful darkness of slumber claimed her as well.