(A/Ns: never in my life did i think I'd say the words "Vanitas was too straight", but here we are. Sorry if Astolfo is OOC, we don't know that much about him yet and I'm not use to writing him. This is me and nawnomschnuff's uhhhh fifth fic swap? So yeh enjoy!

No content warnings apply for this chapter, except some fluff for Astolfoe. Please drop a review if you can!

Disclaimer: i do not own VnC)

Spontaneity

Noé had never really liked going on dates.

To him, it always seemed like too much hassle. What to wear? Where they were going? Would they be going back to anyone's house? All of these were questions that had to be considered.

He especially hated going on blind dates.

Alas, his best friend and roommate – Vanitas – had done the opposite of what he'd wished for, and had set him up on a blind date. And when Noé had pressed for information about who this mystery date was, all Vanitas had done was grin, and casually inform him that he was an old friend of his.

Emphasis on old there.

So, now, in the midst of winter, where snow covered every patch of the ground in several layers (not that he minded the snow or anything), Noé was awaiting his first date since coming out as gay.

Really, Vanitas was too straight to understand these things.

Part of him was nervous, albeit the shaking could have been partially due to shivering. Other emotions he felt ranged from suspicious to unashamedly eager to meet this person.

The nerves were most likely due to the fact he was currently on a train into one of the most deserted places on the outskirts of the city. And, to make this worse, it was snowing; he couldn't see more than 3 metres ahead.

Eventually, after over half an hour, he made it, and was – to no surprise – the only passenger to get off at that stop.

Who the hell would want a date here?

"Hm… you match the description."

Description?

"Excuse me?" Noé couldn't stop himself from frowning, as he spun around to the source of the voice, scanning him up and down.

This had to be Vanitas' old friend. His shoulder length, pastel pink hair and – to put it bluntly – the most camp outfit he'd ever seen just screamed 'hipster squad'.

"Bleached hair, slightly tanned, dresses really gay…" he said.

Noé blinked at him several times. "Is that how Vanitas described me?"

"Don't talk to me about him."

"Alright then…"

An awkward silence took over their conversation momentarily.

"So, uh…" Noé started hesitantly. "What's your name?"

"Astolfo," the other answered. His words were bitter, as well. But there was something captivating about his appearance, and the way he carried himself, which meant Noé couldn't tear his eyes away from him. "Yours?"

"Um, Noé?"

"Are you asking me or telling me?"

"Telling you," Noé furrowed his eyebrows at him. "Can I ask: why are we here?"

"It's the location for this date. I chose it."

"Where… exactly are we going?"

"A little bar in this village, run by my relatives. I'll get free drinks. And then… there's a little place I know."

Noé, seeing nothing better to do with his time, simply nodded, and followed Astolfo when he began leading them out of the station and along a narrow, snow-buried path.

It took over half an hour of walking for Noé to start growing suspicious.

"Um, Astolfo…?" He questioned tentatively. "Do you actually know where we're going?"

"Of course I do!" Astolfo retorted, but the bitter denial laced into his words gave away that he was lying. "I'm just… very spontaneous!"

"Sure…"

Fortunately, it seemed as though Astolfo did know where they were going, as – no more than 10 minutes later – the endless path stopped, leading them to a main road. There was only one building in sight, and if the way Astolfo's face lit up was anything to go by, they were at the right place.

Sure enough, a few moments later, they turned towards it, Astolfo leading them into the slightly run-down but pleasantly rustic building.

There was only one other person in there. He had long black hair, and looked, well… irritated.

That was probably because of the one staff-member, pestering him endlessly.

"Astolfo!" He yelled from across the room, dropping the cleaning cloth in the process. "I didn't know you were coming tonight!"

"Roland," Astolfo nearly growled at him. "I thought you weren't working tonight!"

Roland, completely ignoring his question, smiled at him, and then switched his gaze to Noé. "Are you his date?"

"Uh, yeah…" Noé answered. "It's… a nice place in here."

"Thank you!" Roland's smile was beaming, and somehow it was painful.

"Ignore him," Astolfo snarled.

"I'll have to check your ID."

"... fuck you! You know I'm 18!"

"Sure," Roland chuckled, proceeding to behind the bar to get the usual.

Once he delivered the drinks, Noé and Astolfo were finally alone.

"So," Astolfo kicked off the conversation, taking a few sips from the blue-y green drink. "What do you do in your spare time?"

Cliché question, Noé mentally commented. "I like reading. Oh, and sightseeing! I come from a small town in a forest and I doubt you'd know it, but when I first moved to the city it was amazing! Oh! And I have cat called Murr, do you want to see a picture of him?"

Astolfo blinked several times at Noé, his lips still touching the rim of the glass. Noé felt his heart flutter at the questioning, nonchalant stare. He always talked too much when he was nervous, and, in a way, the fluttering in his chest did count as nerves.

"And…" he tried to resume the conversation to a normal pace. "You enjoy…?"

"I like reading too," Astolfo said. "But I don't like cats. I have a dog."

"Oh." Noé felt his face drop. "That's… fine, I guess…"

"What are you studying at university?" the other asked; he didn't seem particularly interested, though. "That person told me he was at the same university as you."

"Ah, yes. He's… my roommate," Noé answered. "He studies Chemistry, and I'm doing History."

Slyly, Astolfo sipped his drink again. "As am I."

Well at least they had one thing in common.

As the night progressed, things got much, much better.

Firstly, Astolfo hadn't lied about getting free drinks. Noé wasn't much of a drinker at all, and had drunk at about half the rate of the other. So, it was needless to say that, when Astolfo was drunk, Noé had barely reached the state of being tipsy.

They'd stayed there until midnight, shuffling closer and closer with every drink they collectively emptied. Eventually, Astolfo was damn-near sharing the seat with Noé, and Noé – for some reason – didn't blush like crazy. After the first 3 drinks, that was.

And now, at half midnight, they were back to stumbling through the snow-covered forest, laughing over stupid things and nearly falling over on each other.

"- so then Vanitas told me about him and his girlfriend, and I was like 'nooo, don't tell me that'! But he was too drunk, and kept going anyway! And we ended up totally lost, and I didn't even get back to Murr until the next day! I felt so bad…" Noé sobbed exaggeratingly, but chuckled along with Astolfo as he shut himself up. He blushed slightly when the other flashed that same amused grin he'd received after the first seven stories Noé had told him about. "So, where are we going again?"

"You'll see," Astolfo said, his words muffled by a drunken slur.

Sure enough, after only another five minutes of staggering through the forest, Astolfo stopped.

At first, it didn't seem as though they'd made it anywhere. However, as soon as Noé glanced upwards – spotting a generously sized treehouse made of wood and decorated from the outside. A small ladder led up to it; this was completely covered by snow, thus not immediately obvious.

"My friends and I made this when we were 15," he explained, his fingers intertwining with Noé's. "Come on, this is where I always take my dates."

It was a little unconventional, but for some reason, the flutter in Noé's chest returned. Particularly when Astolfo intentionally and delicately laced his fingers around Noé's sleeve, and dragged him up the ladder.

And once they got up there, Noé didn't even get the chance to take in the minimalist furniture before he was shoved against a mound of pillows and bean bags in the corner of the room. And Astolfo, still grinning widely, dropped down next to him, their thighs toughing.

"What did you have planned now?" Noé asked eagerly, placing his hands on his lap and finally getting an eyeful of the treehouse.

"This."

The ambiguity of the answer was quickly erased when Astolfo swiftly closed the gap between them in one movement, turning Noé's face towards him with just a tip of his left forefinger and placing his lips dutifully onto the others. Noé felt his eyes fall shut like a reflex action, as he melted into the soft kiss which made his heart flip once again.

Sneakily, but well-practised, it seemed, Astolfo slipped his right hand up to Noé's head, burying his fingers into his hair and pulling him closer. A few seconds later, Noé did exactly the same, interlacing his fingers with the delicately styled hair already messed up by the heat: the heat they shared between them.

Noé couldn't remember feeling like this about someone in a long, long time.

Five minutes – at the very least – passed before either of them dared to part, but eventually, Astolfo had to pull away for the sake of breathing, albeit reluctantly.

And then he flashed the same grin at Noé.

And Noé's heart skipped a beat again.

"I hope you're enjoying yourself," Astolfo said, lulling his head onto Noé's shoulder and resting a hand on the inside of his thigh.

Noé tried to stop himself from smiling goofily, but inevitably, it was futile. "Yeah, I think… I like you, already."

"Good," he grinned, moving his hand further up Noé's thigh – just marginally – and letting a content sigh. "I like you too."

"- and then he took up back to this really nice treehouse. Can you believe that?! And then he brought out loads of snacks, and showed me the pictures of his dog as well! Oh, and did I tell you about the fire?! There was a nice, rustic, kind of authentic looking wood fire, and we both sat in front of that for over an hour! Argh, after that it got soooo late! So he walked me home from the station. And then, did I tell you?! He asked me to be his boyfriend, as well!"

Vanitas blinked exactly three times, leaning dependently on the door frame to Noé's bedroom as he tucked the folder under his arm. "Noé?"

"Yes?"

"… I asked for a pen."

Fin.