#but it looked like things were gonna get really long

I’ve been thinking more about the visual parallel between the leans in chapters 55.5 and 18, and there’s one difference between them that really stands out to me.

Though it’s a small change, I think it’s really significant that this time, Vanitas is the one supporting Noé.

After the catacombs, this scene marks a shift in their relationship, and Vanitas laying against Noé shows how he’s finally beginning to place a little trust in him. He’s accepted Noé’s insistence on staying beside him, and after “not yet,” he’s beginning to see that Noé could even be a support system sometimes. Thus, in a moment of exhaustion and weakness, he’s using him for physical support.

However, though this is a nice first show of vulnerability from Vanitas, it’s not exactly a comfortable moment for Noé. The fact that Vani leans on him is clearly a shock, and up until this moment, he’s been sitting and worrying about whether it’s okay to ask Vanitas about his past. Their connection is budding here, but it’s unstable, and Noé is quite aware of that instability. He’s treading on eggshells to try and make sure he doesn’t hurt his friend.

Compare that to how Noé acts in 55.5.

As soon as Misha leaves, before Vanitas has said a word about their fight the night before, Noé collapses against Vani’s back. Vanitas even protests as he does so, but Noé needs support and to be close to him in that moment, so he leans. Their relationship is so strong by the end of the storm that, even without having talked things out yet, Noé knows on some level that he can count on Vanitas supporting him. Gone are the eggshells.

It’s not that Noé never has to be careful with Vanitas anymore, but their relationship has become fundamentally more reciprocal than it was in the catacombs. Vanitas has begun to do his share of helping and supporting Noé, and has let slip that he really truly does care about him, so Noé knows he can lean on him physically as well.

We’ve gone from Noé being Vanitas’s stubborn, unwanted tagalong supporter to them being a partnership of equals that can each count on the other when they need to, and it’s really nice to see.