It was supposed to be a nice day out. A normal day out. Just visiting one of Paris's many cafés. Nothing unusual. So why was Gano being served by a vampire? A vampire he had fought in Altus no less? At least the man was completely oblivious to Gano's true identity but this was insane. How was he supposed to enjoy his tea when every time he moved he felt like the vampire would somehow realise who he was?

He didn't have any weapons on him. And how mad was he going that he felt like he should be armed at a café in broad daylight? As he was considering bolting and finding somewhere else to spend the afternoon he saw the vampire approaching his table. Gano glanced around, hoping that he was mistaken but the other man's eyes were clearly locked on him. The vampire stopped in front of his table, smiling a surprisingly genuine smile for a customer service worker.

"Are you feeling all right? You look a little uncomfortable so I wanted to know if there's anything I can do for you?"

"I-" Gano's throat went dry, what was he supposed to say? "Everything is perfectly fine. I was just... waiting for someone. But she appears to have stood me up."

"Oh. I'm sorry to hear about that. But don't give up, I'm sure you'll find the right person someday!"

"Uh, right."

The vampire thankfully left after that, telling him to call out if he needed anything. Gano didn't intend to take him up on that particular offer. Gano found his own lie about being rejected by a woman quite amusing. Truthfully he had little to no interest in romance and he couldn't remember the last time he had went out on a date. He was too busy for a relationship between his chasseur duties and his... other activities. Besides that he wasn't exactly the most sought after bachelor in Paris. He was fairly certain no one had looked at him with even a hint of desire since his teenage years. Not that he minded. Having people generally dislike you had its advantages. And he used those advantages to their full potential.

When he only had a few drops of his tea left Gano risked a glance at the vampire. He was rather enthusiastically chatting with some female customers who appeared absolutely enamoured with him. Gano wondered why exactly he had a job at a café. It seemed unlikely that it was for money, he had attended a masked ball for vampire aristocrats after all, so surely there was another reason. Perhaps he was investigating some cursebearer or other. But that didn't make sense either, Gano was sure his contacts would have told him if there were one currently in Paris. He finished his drink, leaving immediately and planning to return later to investigate.

Originally Gano had planned to report on the vampire's movements to Lord Ruthven. That would have been the best course of action. But he decided against it. Deep down - or perhaps shallow down - Gano knew he was a selfish person, and for the sake of his pride he wanted to figure out what was going on by himself. At the very least he thought Ruthven's face would be amusing if he discovered something new and important, since his job basically reduced him to a grunt most of the time.

It took Gano a good week to find both the time and the courage to visit the café again. He was served by a waitress who was nice enough, if a little chatty for his tastes, and sat back to enjoy a relaxing drink and snack. In the twenty minutes he spent there without catching a glimpse of the vampire he watched the other tables and the waitstaff carefully. They didn't appear to be using the café as a front for anything nefarious and everyone at the very least seemed human. Gano waved his hand to flag down a staffmember, expecting the chatty woman, only to be greeted by the object of his frustrations.

"Hello Monsieur, I'm glad you decided to visit again! What can I do for you?"

"Well... I have some time to kill, I was wondering if there's anything you'd recommend ordering?"

The vampire launched into a long spiel about practically every item on the menu, gushing so much that Gano felt he must actually be passionate about it. Overwhelmed, Gano just decided to pick the first thing he saw on the menu. The tarte tatin. When he made the order the vampire grinned so wide Gano began feeling overwhelmed in a completely different way.

"That's a good choice." The vampire sighed contentedly, "Tarte tatin is my favourite!"

"Mine as well," Gano lied, he liked it fine but he wasn't exactly the type to get excited over food. Getting into the vampire's good graces seemed smart though.

"I'll be right back with your order!"

Gano waved him off before slumping down in his chair with a quiet groan. He was finding the vampire pleasant of all things. Gano didn't even like vampires - he  barely tolerated Ruthven! And yet he couldn't deny that this particular vampire was rather charming. Gano could see why he was so well liked by the customers. Gano himself was warming to him remarkably fast despite knowing he only kept up a kind façade because it was his job. When the vampire returned Gano politely thanked him before digging into his tarte tatin. The vampire left to attend to other customers and as soon as Gano finished he got up to leave. Frustratingly he hadn't actually learned anything about what the vampire was doing so he resolved to return yet again when he had a chance.

The next time Gano found himself at the café the vampire approached him before he even sat down. "You seem to be becoming one of our regulars!"

"Ah, well, the service is good and so are the staff so I expect I may spend even more time here."

The vampire beamed, "So what can I get for you today?"

"I'll just have one of the specials and some coffee," Gano paused, frowning, "Sorry, but what is your name? I've come here a few times now and I've never caught it."

"You can call me Noé, Monsieur."

"Gano."

That particular visit to the café also ended with no information gained by Gano- unless of course Noé's name counted. But Gano could have learned that from Ruthven if he wanted. After frequenting the café a number of times thereafter he failed to learn anything else of worth. With the amount of luck he was having it would be well into the next year before he discovered anything. So he steeled his resolve, planning to switch tactics the next time he crossed paths with his mysterious vampire waiter.

Gano had a vague idea of the times when Noé worked, though he was never guaranteed to turn up to a given shift. The next time Gano visited Noé's workplace it was a Wednesday evening. Gano was served by a waiter he recognised from prior visits, a young man with a rather dull disposition who often seemed to wish he were anywhere else. But Noé was working, he was just too busy to serve Gano in particular. Gano watched him carefully, picking at his food all the while. When the vampire disappeared for a little while before emerging dressed in more street appropriate attire Gano stood from his table, abandoning his half finished purchases.

"Noé!" He called, attempting a smile that hopefully didn't look as sinister as usual. "I was just about to head off too. How about we walk together for a bit?"

"Oh? Sure!" Noé seemed pleasantly surprised by Gano's presence which Gano himself found somewhat astounding. Noé was outside of work now so he really had no obligation to pretend to be nice anymore.

"So," Gano said after a moment, falling into step beside Noé, "I've noticed you only work certain days, got another job or something?"

"I tend to do odd jobs here and there," Noé shrugged. "But I really do enjoy working at the café."

"So nothing stable?"

"Not particularly. I'm in Paris temporarily, my real home is in the countryside, so I do what I can to earn extra money here and there."

"Sounds like you've got an interesting life, Noé." Gano looked out at the glittering waters of the Seine as they ambled along beside it.

"You could definitely describe it that way," Noé smiled. "What about you though? What do you do?"

"I suppose you could describe my work as odd jobs as well. I take care of whatever errands my employers see fit to send me on."

"That sounds plenty interesting to me."

"Well it serves my purposes well enough at the very least. But nevermind me. You say you're in Paris temporarily. What brings you here?"

"My teacher sent me for... research. I'm helping another man at the moment."

"And this research doesn't pay well enough to support you?"

"It doesn't pay at all!" Noé suppressed a sardonic smile.

Gano tried to hide his frown at that. Could Noé possibly be working at the café just for money? "And why would you work for free?"

"Consider this research of a personal interest to me. I don't think the man I'm working with could afford to pay me anyway."

"What about this teacher of yours? They sent you all the way to Paris, surely they have enough money to keep supporting you?"

"He gave me plenty to use while I'm here but I think it's better to hang on to it for emergencies, don't you?"

"Um yeah," Gano tried not to gape openly at the vampire. "It's getting late so I think I will bid you adieu for tonight. Thank you for taking the time to talk with me."

"You're welcome, Gano. Good night."

So, it turned out that all of the time Gano had spent trying to discover Noé's secret schemes had been for naught. He really was just a waiter with no ulterior motive. It was so humiliating that Gano never mentioned it to Lord Ruthven, he would surely only laugh at such useless information. And if Gano continued to visit the café to enjoy the cuisine and maybe chat with Noé every now and then that was nobody's business but his own.