#vash x your mom

[bwaveq]

Ask: do u do ..request? Just some reassuring vash and wolfwood if u want like the reader is really down if u want of course - @sweetchildcloud

Tw: swearing, mentions of s*ucide, panic attacks(?), drinking, death

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Vash

• Vash hated seeing you in such low spirits especially if you weren't fond of showing it. You've told him before how you felt about expressing emotions in front of others, but when it was around him you felt scared. Not only was it embarrassing, but it was also scary to find out how'd he treat the situation. You know he means no harm, you just weren't sure what he'd say.

Walking with slow strokes of steps along the sandy dunes the suns from above were no help to your situation. You felt lost seeming to comfort yourself you slowly wrap your arms around your torso, as the slow drags of your feet stagger holding back a sob in your dry parched throat.

You couldn't understand how hard you tried, why were you acting this way? Was it the guilt you held not being able to save those hopeful kid's back from the town you and your group were walking a distance from? The priceless faces those children held knowing that they were finally going to live a fulfilling life, for them to pass away by the hands of your enemy.

How could you do this. You could never forgive yourself for what you've done. You could've done something, you could've prevented this from happening. What is wrong with you?? You're nothing but a walking sorry excuse. The light from their eyes draining within second's on their little beds of wool, hands cold to the touch as they were murdered in cold blood.

Knees hitting the soft pools of sand below you, choked out broken sobs were nothing but cracked yells of agony. It's too much to bare if only i could've done something to save those kids.

Everything seemed to be muffled as nothing were to be heard but screams and gasp's, your heart felt like it was going to shatter your head throbbing as you continued to scream. Bloodied hands hitting the sand below you, your forehead pressed itself upon the searing crushed rocks of warmth. Yelling out never ending apologies to nothing but the sand underneath your faltering figure.

"Im so sorry! Forgi—ve me!!!"

I'ts all your fault I'ts all your fault I'ts all your fault

I'ts all your fault I'ts all your fault I'ts all your fault

I'ts all your fault I'ts all your fault I'ts all your fault

I'ts all your fault I'ts all your fault I'ts all your fau-

Sudden rushed steps were to be heard coming towards you not bothering to look up as the thoughts grew louder and louder the grip you hold onto your shirt was tight enough to tear it, only if it were paper. Screaming out apologies Vash clashes onto his knees in front of you to embrace your shaking form, cradling your head close to his chest with a hand securely holding the back.

"Hey! Hey! You're ok, it's ok!" Voice filled with reassurance and panic not sure what's happening he continues holding you in a tight but gentle hold as the other's look back to witness what's going on deciding to keep their space, faces filled with empathy.

" I killed them!! I killed them all!!" Sucking in gasps of air only for it to be blown back out with sob's the blonde cradles your form, fleshy fingers rubbing along the top of your back trying to bring comfort.

"Nono! You didn't, it's not your fault please do not blame yourself. You're ok everything's ok i promise!"

"How ca—n everything be ok??! H—OW?!" The wave of panic courses throughout your body as you try to push the male in front of you away, but to no avail you couldn't. His grip on you only tightening not to where he could harm you, but just to where he could hold you securely.

"Please believe me, it's not your fault..you did everything in your power to protect those kids! And i'd say you did a great job! Even..even though they're no longer with us..im sure of it they appreciated your care and presence.  You did nothing wrong so please do not blame it on yourself.. it was amazing enough for them to have that sort of experience...before they passed..i know how you feel and i understand your pain. They're in a better place now, those kids are now running around without a care in the world, they're safe. They're in good hands now.."

Taking in those word's you couldn't understand it, but the gentle tips of fingers grazing along your back brung you away from harmful thought's. Breath's still ragged it still was difficult to get it under control,

That was when Vash decided to take your cheek gently into his cold metallic hand. Even though the metal felt cold within a touch it still made you warm.

"Look at me, focus on me and only me. Breathe with me slowly.." You were forced to look at his face, you couldn't pull away even if you tried, because he wouldn't want you to take this on with yourself so with moments of reassurance & short breath's your breathing became slower and calmer as time went by.

Hands grabbing onto your own they lead your hands against his chest, feeling the beats of his drumming heart made your racing heart slow. Knowing that a beating heart was right in front of you, you have never felt calmer. Chest rising and falling his breath faintly brushes against your forehead as he guides you through these steps, baby blue eyes peering deep into your tired ones.

"There we go..one more time, hm?"

1..2..3 inhale

4..5..6 exhale

7..8..9 inhale

10..11..12 exhale

You felt calm, calmer than ever before you felt as if everything around you disappeared. No more pain, no more guilt. It's as if this person in front of you casted a spell. Feeling an urge to hug the blonde you slowly remove your hands from his chest pulling a confused expression from the other. that is until your hands rest against his back, arm's wrapping themselves around His figure.

No words were said as the wind started, blowing a faint breeze past the two of you the blonde's face molding into one of adoration & empathy, gently hugging you back with his chin resting against the crown of your head. Words rolling off his tongue in a soft spoken manner.

Maybe expressing your emotions isn't so bad.

Wolfwood

• It was a cheerful night at the nearby diner, drunkards laughing and clinking glasses yelling with joy. Yet, you were sitting in the farthest corner away from everyone else alone with alcoholic bottles some knocked over and spilt.

The lights above you dimmed as a show decided to come on where a woman came out with a stunning black dress that hugged her figure snuggly, you didn't bother sparing her a glance but you knew how beautiful she was when all of the attention was on her. Silence throughout the crowd the lady began singing into a microphone her voice silky like honey.

Your mind wondered, eyeing the glass bottles of alcohol taking one in your hand as you down the bottle. Not even a second went by before the beverage was swiped out of your hand, you were about to protest when an all too familiar figure stood in front of your table. Pitch black sun glasses, black suit, cig nestled between roughened lips, along with raven black hair.

"I knew i'd find you here, Needle Noggin was right for once."

Slowly blinking you'd stare at the male knowing it was Wolfwood, watching him take a swig of the alcoholic drink face quickly retorting to one of disgust.

"Eugh! Is this straight vodka? Hm.. who knew you drank this stuff."

"Haha..i thought it was obvious..i drank this stuff." In an drunken state your words were slurred as the male in front of you threw you a look, brow raised he lowers his sunglasses to get a better look at you throwing out a "sheesh." While examining you over.

"Looks like someone drank more than they can handle,  now when i realize it something is bothering you. You've never drank so much before ."

Pulling the seat out from underneath the round table, he places the cross he carried in against the wood walls setting himself down arm slung over the back of the chair, his leg resting over his other knee. You never knew how it felt like to deal with your emotions, for when these moments of lows you'd run away searching for anything to get rid of these feelings. Only for them to return stronger than ever.

"Mm i'd..like to think you're wrong, i drink all of the time. You just don't..don't see it." Sitting up in your chair the room starts to spin as you began to falter over the table only to be caught by a hand, looking up to see it came from Wolfwood. throwing you a concerned look he stands up from his seat continuing to hold you up, pressing your body weight onto his arm.

"I'd say your ways in drinking is unhealthy.. lets get ya home sweetheart."

"You can't talk..the way you smoke cigarettes right after another is unhealthy.."

"Fair."

Hoisting you up from off of his arm he swiftly catches you with his other beginning to reach his hand over to his weapon, called the punisher. You wondered how many people he has killed, whether they were innocent or not. You knew you couldn't say anything, it's not like you were any different.

Leaving the glass bottles upon the table, you had attempted picking one up for the road. Not sparing you a chance nicolas simply tugged you along making your drunken gaze meet the back of his head.

You stumbled as he walked along through the crowd with a hand pulling on yours, you felt warm simply fanning yourself with a wobbly hand as your eye caught sight of the singing woman before. It seemed as if everything was 10x brighter than it was when you stepped in this shabby diner, you shielded your eyes by looking down at your feet the man in front of you never letting go of your warm calloused hand.

Outside held a dark sky with the moons shining brightly down towards the quiet town, it was a beautiful night. The only error about it was the fact the air was humid. You stumbled on your feet vision giving out from time to time wondering how long you've been in that bar.

Before you knew it a hand rested lightly against the low of your back, as another hand grabbed your own seeming as if Wolfwood was examining it. You caught a glimpse of disappointment through his sunglasses while the other was taking in your bruised beat up hands.

"Im not here to hear your pity..or your lectures."

Glancing up at the black haired other you retrieve your hand from out of the male's grasp, he didn't seem to mind as you stood there on un even feet. In this situation the sand below your shoes wasn't helping either making you slowly crouch down stumblingly placing your bottom upon the sand letting out a deep sigh.

"I could've helped myself out of there..there was no point looking for me— ughh im—nso dizzy."

"What made you drink that much? Even as you said it earlier, you've never drank this much unless something happened."

Here we go, people butting into your business as if its their right to know. You simply shot him a lazy glare whilst still sitting on the ground, you weren't looking to argue or yell at Nicolas.

" it's really nothing Wood.. now if you'd excuse me this'll be...be my spot for toni—ght.." you really weren't looking forward to discussing anything right now, the thought of breaking down in front of Nicolas was not on your to do list. With groggy eyes you could only keep your gaze on the others golden brown shoes, noticing they weren't going to be moving a single inch.

"Leave me here. Go back to wherever you've walked..from."

"You sound mad"

"Maybe i am—so-swhat."

Silence fills your ears as neither of you continued the conversation. Knowing Wolfwood wouldn't be leaving anytime soon a sigh left your dry lips as you lazily place a hand underneath your chin to support it from underneath. An elbow resting upon your crossed legs gaze never leaving the ground.

"You know you can tell me anything, right?"

"..What."

"So what's botherin ya?, im not leaving until i get an answer out of those lips of yours." Lighting up a cigarette before sitting down in front of you, the undertaker looked at you with an expression that was telling you to go on. Even if you wanted to you just couldn't, you always saw your problems doable and that you could deal with them yourself. It felt like hours sitting there with Nicolas staring at you with his lit cigarette occasionally blowing puffs of smoke away from your person.

"...Mm i guess im just not my—self.. i can't really keep my..my emotions un—der control anymore."

As if on cue you could see tiny water droplets fall onto your leg, looking up to see where it might've came from the sky looked clearer than ever. Stars littered along the dark skies of never ending space it reminded you of how mysterious life and earth could be. You guess you've never had the time to look beyond of what you saw, you were just drowning in sorrow and rage that your sight was limited from the things around you.

Oh how sad you felt feeling a lump in your throat your nostrils beginning to sting, you now noticed where those water droplets came from. You were crying without knowing it. With slow movements you covered your eyes as if to not let the other see.

"I think im just tired.. that these emotions will slide in a minute and that i'd b—e back to my usual self, I'm really not getting why you're wasting your time on someone pathetic. You should really l—eave."

Voice wavering you couldn't help the sobs that were escaping your mouth you felt your heart skip a beat as you cried, hunching over in your criss cross form.

"Maybe..maybe if i were to leave, i wouldn't be in so much pain. I wouldn't have to be sitting here suffering, i feel as if my emotions or problems don't matter but for some reason you're here wanting to know why im feeling off. It's so confusing!?

You make me so mad, that you're willing to sit here and listen to what i have to say. It's frustrating! Every time im here at this bar you always find me in the same corner every single night. Drinking away my sins only to throw them back up, i don't understand you. Neither do i understand myself, im such a bad person why're you always following me around??? I can't go a day without feeling so worthless, so helpless, so..so useless! But i can't say anything because my problems aren't as bad as others. I feel so guilty about feeling the way i feel i can't stand it at all!!!"

At this point you didn't care if your voice cracked, or the way it wavered. Your tears covered your vision as you were just hunching over more and more, trying to rub at your eyes as if wiping them away would make them disappear.

You wanted to be happy, you wanted to smile away your fears, you're so sick of having emotions. It was all too much for you. Nicolas only listened to what you had to say, not a single interruption in mind. He understood you so well. How you felt, how much guilt you carry. It was all too familiar.

"Having emotions is what makes you human, whether you agree or disagree there isn't any hiding from the truth. Life is mysterious and a shit load of confusing but that's how it is in order for you to understand what it's like, I'm not speaking as if i've roamed this planet for 100+ years. I know someone who has, but that's off topic. Everyone around you has at least been through moments like these more than once, they can't help it, neither can you.

Sometimes it's better to have emotions than none at all, what you want to be a robot or somethin? Go right ahead. No one's stoppin ya."

Putting out the crumpled cigarette he finds you slowly lifting your head upwards staring right at him with soaked cheeks, reaching out a hand to wipe away the excess salty tears he smiles. A real one while looking at you who's lost for words eyes producing more tears, but one's of being heard.

" You got a lot of confidence to be showin your emotion's, in front of others ya know. Not showing emotions is for the weak, even though i can't really say anything i mean the truth. Crying, laughing, yelling.

Those are sign's of emotions, and in my opinion those are cool as hell."

"Pfft...you're so stupid.." chuckling you look down a slight moment to wipe and rub at your eyes the black haired male smirking with amusement.

"Anything for you, the reason i run into you every single night here at the diner is not because im looking for you, im just trying to prove my point i can pull people everywhere i go to make em jealous." Rolling your eyes you just scoff at the man who laughs pulling out a sucker for you and himself.

"Mm as if you didn't imply you were looking for me."

"Hmm? When did i say that i think you're hearing things, might need to get those ears of yours checked!"

Feeling the weight on your eyes increase you look around to find it's only the two of you, glancing over back at Nicolas he throws out a grunt while standing up to his feet. Not before he gives you a sucker, which is seemingly your favorite flavor.

"Thank you Nicolas.."

"No problem, that'll be 20,000 double dollars as both your therapist and your caretaker."

"..Now wait a second—"

Not letting you finish what you have to say he suddenly scoops you up into his arms starting to carry your still drunk self over his shoulder.

"I can walk on my own you know."

"I doubt that, and i hope you know you're spending the night at my place~"

"Mm..mk it's not like i have a place to call home anyway."

Laughing with a sucker in his mouth he carries you and his machine gun with a sly smirk on his face, you could only sigh as you popped the flavored sucker into your mouth instantly spitting it out.

"Are you serious, i hate that flavor..!"

"Oops, that was my last one."

"Whatever."

——————————————————

A/N: im done.. IM FINALLY DONE!!! YES 3190 WORDS I'VE NEVER WROTE SO MUCH IN MY LIFE💯💯🔥🔥

I hope y'all enjoy this one im kinda nervous on what y'all have to say😅 and tbh i think i wrote more on Wolfwood's than i did Vash idk though, im not reading through them again☠️

[cheralith]

what happens in gunsmoke... — 「 knives (nai) x reader 」

content warnings ; gn!reader, no pronouns used (i think), reader wears makeup, one-sided jealousy, suggestive but not nsfw material, a really poor attempt at hints of comedy, explicit alcohol consumption

contains ; college!au, modern!au, reader and nai have known each other since childhood, some wolfwood x reader, "nai" is used instead of knives and is used as a nickname

word count ; 7.0k

notes ; heavily inspired by @demxnscous's magnificent college!au involving hundred spoons himself! highly, highly recommend reading all the blurbs involving it if you want to see nai being a foolishly and obliviously in love and some other comical headcanons!

“I’ll pay you five bucks to come with us.”

“You’re fucking with me, right?”

Vash pouts and his eyes droop at Nai’s nth refusal to go with his brother and his friends to the new nightclub that had just opened on the corner of uptown that’s been all the hype nowadays across campus. Vash has heard about the throwback hits the DJ plays, the flashing lights that shine just right, the unique drinks that were offered there—he’d be insane not to go on a relieving Friday night after a week of midterms and essays. It wasn't unusual of the spiky-haired Saverem to go socialize and go all out with his closest friends as a way to relax and relieve some tension.

The story is the opposite for the other Saverem, however. Nai prefers to stay inside and be mellowed out with his usual oversized hooded snuggie and some warm tea, perhaps even binging a new show. Isolation wasn’t foreign to him either, and if anything, it’s what he would want on a Friday evening instead of being around sweaty, booze-scented college kids amidst a darkened club with flashing lights. Why would he bother with all-too-loud, outdated music with much too intimate lyrics when he could be savoring melodic Fauré’s barcarolles, instead? The answer seems too obvious.

“You can’t even buy a shot for that much in most clubs in the area,” Nai scoffs, taking off his grandpa-styled rectangular reading glasses and staring dully at him, not phased at Vash’s pleading puppy eyes. “You’re either gonna amp up the cash or come up with another dumb bribe to get me going to that madhouse with you and your little friends.” 

Vash whines, slinking his tall self onto the couch. “You know I don’t have much to spare on me, Nai…”

“And yet instead of using that money to buy yourself a new jacket,” Nai eyes Vash’s worn-out crimson jacket their mom made for them when they were children that hangs by a thin thread on the coat rack; Nai feels as if that jacket has seen better days and even impressed it made it this far in its life. “You choose to spend it on a one-time trip at a stuffy nightclub, instead.”

“It’s not about the money, though!” he retaliates, sitting up. “It’s about the memories and friends we make on the way!” he singsongs.

Nai grimaces at Vash’s cheekiness. 

“I’m not going. That’s final,” he says sternly, shoving his glasses on his face again and resuming his book.

A thick, uncomfortable silence fills the Saverem residence, only broken by the ticking of the clock and Nai’s occasional page turning. Vash breathes out a stubborn huff—he thinks his older brother has been locked up in the house too much for his own nowadays, even refusing to go out for a casual dine-in at nearby restaurants. Some people even ask about Nai’s whereabouts, to which Vash can only shrug and give the same reply: “Didn’t feel like coming.” given with a soft and dismal half-smile.

Vash studies Nai from the corner of his eye. He’s tried money, he’s tried bribing him with free food, he’s tried exchanging favors like doing his homework for him, but all have failed miserably and have fallen victim to Nai’s disturbed looks that just scream, “NO.”

So he pauses and thinks deeply for a moment. What’s something that could possibly change Nai’s mind about finally leaving their apartment that could also simultaneously let him let loose for a change, give those stiff nerves a chance to unravel and be free for a change? 

His mind flutters from option to option, all of them dying in the same instance they’re taken up inside his head… until…

Perhaps it wouldn’t be something that convinces him, but someone. Vash’s eyes slyly go to stare at Nai directly, a large grin on his face that uneases Nai ever so slightly because he knows something mischievous is brewing behind that smile. 

“What…?” he mutters, breaking eye contact. 

“You know,” Vash murmurs as he sits up, stretching, “There’s a bunch of guys that we know that are going, so you don’t have to go out of your way to meet new people.”

Nai raises a brow. He’s not too impressed at Vash’s last-minute attempt to try and get him on his feet. He doesn’t even like the majority of Vash’s companions. “So?”

Vash begins to stalk off to his bedroom to start getting ready to go to the club, anticipating Wolfwood's car that’ll pick him up in an hour or so. “Meaning Nico is coming, Meryl is coming, Milly is coming, Livio, Legato, Elendira… they’re all tagging along with us,” Vash says with a twirl of his hand, feeling Nai’s eyes dagger into his back. 

“Oh, and I also forgot…” Right before he closes his door, however, Vash glances back at his brother, stating the one thing that he knows for a fact will get Nai up and going. 

“(Y/N) will be there, too.”

Nai can already feel sick. He can feel the bass of a song thunder from the parking lot as he drearily exits Wolfwood’s car, staring up at the flashy neon sign that screams “GUNSMOKE” in bright green text. There’s a vast array of people lined up outside, all tittering with excitement at the fresh nightclub that’s finally replaced the dingy bar, Jeneora Rock, that most people go to for a casual night out. But the bar had much too many rules to abide by because of its nonsensical history with the nearby college students, limiting what could and couldn’t be done inside. Now with little to no restriction in the new nightclub, who knows what could happen?

The unknown is what Nai fears the most, really.

He doesn’t even remember why he decided to go here on a whim, he thinks to himself as his feet carry him to the back of the line while Vash and Wolfwood talk noisily amongst each other, sulking behind them. He stares at himself in the semi-reflective surface of the window as the line moves up inch by inch, thinking he might’ve overdone himself. Nai thinks there’s too much gel in his hair, thinks that the cologne he spritzed on was too much, thinks that the Vash’s short-sleeved button-up he borrowed is too bold and a little tight, even, just barely squeezing around the biceps that blue geometric sleeve tattoos wrap around. His fingers begin to fiddle with the opened V of it, attempting to clasp in more buttons to hide his chest, but Wolfwood smacks his hand away from them. 

“Let ‘em breathe, man,” Wolfwood states, gesturing to his own exposed pectorals that almost rival in size to Nai’s. “You worked hard for them—don’t think I haven’t seen ya at the gym. Y’always hide them with those loose ass sweaters, so show those girls off for once.” He allusively cups one of them in his hands, raising his brows.

“I think I’ll decide that for myself, thanks,” a blushing Nai snaps at him and manages to close up a button that hides a sly inch of his chest, though frustration follows suit when it pops open again thanks to their prominence. His jaw tightens. He’s already in for a rough night.

It doesn’t take Nai long to regret his decision to tag along with his brother from the first step he takes into the nightclub, already overwhelmed by the thick air of sweaty bodies and dazzling lights that sparkle all across the dance floor. He especially doesn’t like the gleaming, large sign that reads, “What happens in Gunsmoke, stays in Gunsmoke.” straight across a wall that seems to be eyeing him with mischief.

The music is significantly better than most clubs and bars have to offer, but the volume and bass is still too plentiful for his liking. Nai is only halfway across the nightclub, he thinks that he could probably make a run for it when Vash’s back is turned and just walk home… maybe hitch an Uber if he’s feeling lucky. 

His second guesses, however, all manage to dissipate when he spots the one thing that managed to lure him into this hellhole in the first place.

Arctic blue eyes grow hazy when they land on a familiar figure adorned in a red top with a heart-shaped chest cutout in the middle, a pair of curve-hugging, white corduroy bell bottoms and a crescent moon buckle belt to match. Nai swallows thickly as he watches you listen intently to Meryl’s story about the latest professor-student scandal, his chest growing a little tight at the sound of your soft giggle even through the thunderous music—he’d be stupid to think it’s Vash’s shirt. It grows fuzzy by the second the more he stares at you, you still not noticing the three newest additions to the nearly full semicircle table. He picks out the smaller details of your appearance from his spot—the moon-shaped earrings match with the hardware of your belt buckle, he notices, as well as the glitter that sprinkles across your eyelids that’s framed by a razor-sharp eyeliner that rounds your eyes just right. Your lips, too, look so full with that shade of dark red lip gloss that stretches into a grin. Were they always that plump? Did they always have the bitten look to them? Why were they—

“You’re staring too much.”

Nai’s vision suddenly clears up the hazy background of the nightclub and his hearing sharpens to the music again with Vash’s voice sending chills up his spine. Vash’s lips splay a smirk that basically says he’s won in this little game of tug-of-war—for today at least. Wolfwood, too, doesn’t take long to imitate his best friend.

“There you guys are!” Milly’s voice echoes. They all go to whip their heads around and face her, a hand gesturing to them to come over to their table. “Hurry! Come!”

Another rock-hard swallow inches itself down Nai’s throat when your gaze lands on him, and he swears your eyes had grown a little larger at the sight of his attire that was very much not like his usual wear—but it’s hard to see with the darkness of the club, he can’t get his hopes up so quickly. Vash and Wolfwood greet everyone with equal fervor, Nai quietly following behind them. 

There’s an empty spot that sits right to the left of you, your eyes meet Nai’s and a silent exchange between you and him talk through stares and blinks. It’s a hesitant exchange of “No one’s sitting here right?” from his side, but he can’t exactly decipher if you’re exemplifying “It’s yours for the taking.” or “You can sit here… if you want.” Two messages with contrasting tones, Nai can’t let himself fall victim to a possible miscommunication.

But from the way you scooch closer to Milly, who’s the only other person next to you, Nai decides you’re letting him gracefully take what belongs to him…

… that is until a certain ravenette moves ever so slightly swifter than him and plops himself right next to you.

“Ah, shit,” Wolfwood expresses, manspreading his legs so there’s little to no room on the rest of the bench. “Sorry man, were ya about to sit here? My bad, but today was leg day at the gym. Hope ya can understand.” An impish smirk toys on Wolfwood’s lips as they dangle a cigarette almost mockingly. He gestures to the more gracious space on the other side of the table, where Vash pats down a spot for Nai to sit, Wolfwood’s antics going unnoticed by him.

You take the cigarette out of his mouth, your fingertips just barely feathering over Wolfwood’s lips. “Not here, mister. There’s a strict no-smoking policy here.”

Nai can only grimace and sit stiffly next to his brother, his eyes never leaving Wolfwood’s playfully wicked ones. 

With hardened icy orbs, he closely examines the sight across from him as you and Wolfwood exchange words, catching up for the evening and laughing nonchalantly, something Nai was never to particularly do as easily as him, something he was never able to get the hang of. A few drinks that the people had ordered earlier come by, and the veins in his eyes nearly pop when Wolfwood reaches over and sips your mango and dragonfruit cocktail from the same straw your lips had touched. 

“Hey!” you exclaim. “At least ask permission first, Nico.”

Nico.

That nickname that you affectionately give Wolfwood sounds like nails on a chalkboard to Nai’s ears, or like a fork on a ceramic plate. He twinges, his neck cracking menacingly from the reaction.

Wolfwood smacks his lips, fully examining the flavor before complimenting it. “Y’got good taste in liquor, sweetheart. Gimme some more.” 

“Absolutely not,” you huff. “This cost me too much, go get your own.”

Wolfwood’s arm suddenly lazily plops itself across your shoulders, pulling you (and the drink) into him closer. “Now, don’t be like that. Do some charity work for this old man. C’mon, didn’t mama ever tell ya to share?”

Nai’s eyes narrow behind the cocktail menu as he watches you blithely attempt to wriggle out of Wolfwood’s grasp, both of you exchanging inaudible laughs with each other. You sigh and cave in to his stubbornness and Nai miserably watches as you indirectly kiss Wolfwood through the shared straw that switches between your lips and his, you being completely oblivious to the gesture.

He looks over to the doors. The exit sign looks deliriously tempting right now.

For Nai, the night is quiet, something that isn’t a stranger to him when he’s around a group of people that he isn’t used to. For everyone else, however, it’s rowdy and boisterous and exciting. Adrenaline and alcohol is the only thing that everyone knows of. A song would come by and people would be racing to the dancefloor, flooding it with slurred-out lyrics and stimulating dance moves. Various glass and food trays have splattered themselves over the table, and Nai himself can feel a hefty buzz from the alcohol he’s consumed beginning to kick in.

His vision has finally adjusted to the darkness and he can see you much more clearly now. You’re envisioned in his sights just chattering aimlessly with Meryl, you three being the only ones seated still at the table as everyone else dances their night away—it’s then that Nai realizes that you haven’t gone out to the dancefloor like he has, yet, seeing as how you lacked the sweat and exhaustion everyone else was ornate in. 

It’s also then that Nai realizes he still hasn’t said a single word to you tonight—the one person that he managed to fix his appearance for.

He’d never admit that though, he thinks to himself as he downs another shot, he’d rather slit his own throat than willingly admit he attempted to fix up his appearance for your sake. Tongue hissing through his teeth at the sting of it, he blinks slowly at you when Meryl finally escorts herself out to go back to the dancefloor.

“You’re not gonna join them?” Nai finally begins, the hesitation in him hours beforehand suddenly dissipating as the alcohol reaches his system.

From your own reaction, it seemed as if you didn’t expect Nai to talk to you first, especially in such a social setting. Your mouth opens, but no words exit your lips for a few seconds before you softly smile and shake your head, “They have yet to play a song I actually want to dance to,” you murmur with your gaze turning affectionately to your friends. 

“So what’d you even pay your money for here?” Nai snorts. “Just to drink and eat? Do that at Jeneora Rock, then,” he mutters.

You narrow your gaze at him suspiciously through the frame of your drink, sipping on it ardently. “That’s rich coming from you, hm?” you test, raising a brow. “If anything, I should be saying that to you, Mr. Shut-In.”

A scoff brushes through his lips. “I was dragged here by a certain someone, if you haven’t realized yet. I’m not here voluntarily. Why would I be?” 

“It’s still quite odd to me, though,” you chuckle. “You’re quite the stubborn one, how ever did Vash manage to drag you out of your man-cave that you call your room? Truly is a mystery.”

Your tongue is just as sharp as ever—just how Nai likes it. Loves it, even. Maybe it’s because you’re the only person that returns his energy back with equal zeal, or maybe he just merely laps up any bit of attention you give him. He’d rather be tortured than admit it, but there’s that certain sting that he lavishes in at your insults. It’s the same sting that mimics itself in the alcohol he consumes ever so slowly… perilous, but addicting. Dare he say it’s the internal masochistic tendencies he lets out once in a while that makes him tempted to lure them more out of you.

Opportunity arises and he replaces Milly’s spot on the curved bench. It’s his turn to let a breathy laugh escape him, not sure whether it’s because of amusement from your words or because he’s amused at his own out-of-the-ordinary behavior tonight. “Figure that out by yourself,” he replies coolly, his fingers fiddling with the shot glass. “Since you’re so smart.”

“Oh?” you raise a brow, a faux gasp escaping you. “Was that a compliment from the one and only Nai Saverem? Should I be graced with such honor?”

He sneers lightly with a roll of his eyes following shortly. “Savor it while you can, because I’m not handing any more out.”

You feign a light pout with your lips, and Nai swears that the small head tilt you give him will lead to his demise. A swift glance at them reveals that even in the dimness, there’s a hypnotizing gloss left upon them, but Nai can’t tell if it’s because of the shared saliva between you and a specific smoker or if it’s just from all the alcohol left on your lips. Do they taste like the mango dragonfruit cocktail from earlier, he wonders, or do they now taste of a mixture of—

He blinks and returns his eyes to yours, a curious glaze still running over them. A poor attempt at distraction for himself is made by pouring two shots for you and him. 

“Oh, boo,” you sigh as you gracefully take one of the shots given by him before clinking your glass together with his. “What a waste.”

A blonde eyebrow raises itself up as you and him down your shots together. “Waste of what?”

You smack your lips from the sting of the shot. “Waste of time getting ready,” you shrug as you examine your painted fingernails. Your eyes suddenly fleet to his from a side view, and Nai swears that there’s the lift of a disappointed smile creeping on your face. “I got dolled up for no reason, then.”

And it’s there where his nerves go haywire for a split second. Nai is about to shoot back with something along the lines of wanting you to elaborate, wanting to know what the hell you meant by that, but he’s cut off at the sudden boom of the bass and beginning lyrics that makes your head whip to the dance floor. A celebratory shout rings through the nightclub at the song, per usual, with the additions of some whistles and woops from your friends. 

“C’mon, (Y/N), this is your song!” Vash shouts, motioning his hand to join you with everyone else. Everyone else chimes in with their attempts to woo you in with them. 

A short burst of laughter leaves your vodka-stained lips before you lick them, shrugging your shoulders again in fake-doubt. Panic shoots through Nai oh so suddenly. His plans to gain some alone time with you are ruined by the song that booms through the speakers. Quickly, he pours two shots into the two spare shot glasses and shoves one of them to your hand to attempt to distract you. He’s about to protest against you joining them, but a certain black-haired bastard cuts through one again.

“Promiscuous girl… wherever you are~” Wolfwood sings roughly, approaching you with his hand out rather princely. “C’mon, now, you heard ‘em. Time for ya to shine.”

“Dunno, the floor looks pretty packed…” a soft tease creeps through your tone. You share a glance with Nai and you’re a little taken aback by the irritation that he doesn’t try to hide anymore towards Wolfwood’s consistent cockblocking given how furrowed his brows are.

And it clicks to you suddenly—as to why Nai, the man who appears outside of campus once in a blue moon—was here in the first place. Why he wanted to sit next to you, why his eyes were consistently on you throughout the night, why he even came to an event like this. It drips with a one-sided acknowledgement, and your tongue darts out to lick your lips once more just before you down your handed shot for an extra confidence boost and take Wolfwood’s calloused hand. You might as well toy with him now that he’s here.

“Fuck it. Let’s go, Nico.”

Nai twitches again at the nickname.

“These for us?” Wolfwood snatches the spare shot Nai poured for himself on the table. “Thanks!” With him downing Nai’s shot meant for himself, Wolfwood shoves the shot glass back into Nai’s hand and escorts you to the dancefloor with his hand on the small of your back. 

But not without throwing a smirk over his shoulder to Nai.

Nai’s blood is about to boil to demonic temperatures whilst he watches a rare side of you expose right in front of him. He thinks the sight should be reserved just for him; hips swaying, head thrown back to relish the rhythm, lips syncing to the lyrics. But no, you’re there for all eyes to see and admire, especially a specific flirt’s.

Wolfwood trades the lyrics on and off with you, taking the role of the male voice in the song as his hands run down from your waist to your hips. Your back touches his front chest, lip bitten as he whispers the lyrics into your ear. His ringed fingers teasingly drum themselves on your curves, and there’s a desire embedded in them to go just ever so slightly lower on your body. A flash of red races through Nai’s vision when Wolfwood gently pulls your body towards him, unaware of a pair of eyes that carefully watch his reaction at the intimacy you and Wolfwood share.

“I want you on my team…” Wolfwood mutters hotly into your ear. His teeth get tempted by the shell of your ear that almost asks to be pierced by his sharpened canines, and he draws them slowly closer to it to mark his territory, a tongue running over them hungrily.

But you spin around and push him away teasingly, leaving the stubbled man tempted. 

“So does everybody else,” you chant with a cheeky smile before you fend off to dance with the others.

Nai is almost proud from the way you just about make yourself out of reach for Wolfwood. He watches as Wolfwood pokes his tongue in his cheek from what seems to be… frustration, perhaps? A flush of amusement goes by as quick as it comes in Nai’s head. The ravenette man merely shakes his head with a chuckle before resuming his antics with the others, but Nai notices how his tawny eyes don’t exactly leave you when you indulge with the others—much like his own sky blue ones.

The song ends with a riotous cheer through the dancefloor that haunts Nai’s ears. Now the only one isolated at the table, he can only watch from a distance as you smile widely and thank everyone for dancing with you. His heart lifts from its place in a pit at the sight of your footsteps beginning to come back to the table—to come back to him, but you’re yanked back by Milly and Vash when another familiar song seeps through the speakers. Wolfwood, however, manages to return you to him as a Pitbull song bellows from all sides, and his grip on you seems more stubborn, more resistant this time. Your chests are dangerously close to each other and the mere centimeters of distance between you two makes Nai’s jaw grit with aggravation. 

Wolfwood mouths to you some suggestive lyrics that make you raise a brow and grin at him. Nai hates, despises, even when he shortly follows up with his fingers close the distance between your bodies and whispers promiscuously, “And baby, I'ma make you feel so good, tonight,” into your ear.

With a gasp, a shy shiver runs up your spine at his breath so close on your skin. Nai’s grip on the shot glass is so dangerously tight, the glass threatens to self-destruct in his to-be-bleeding palm if it doesn’t loosen up any time soon. But it doesn’t seem like his grip is going to weaken and if anything, it strengthens in power when Wolfwood’s teeth go to finally bite the shell of your ear tauntingly, whetted canines glinting with deviltry back to Nai.

Nai is seeing red—angry red—like a bull to a scarlet cape. A single crack crevices itself in the shot glass. He slams it down on the table at the peak of his torment and stands up.

“Nico!” you exclaim with a strained throat at his gesture when he pulls away. You nervously laugh and create a space between you and Wolfwood, who merely replies with a chuckle and a bounce of his shoulders at your embarrassed reaction. “That was—!”

Amusement diffuses across his features, holding his hands up in surrender. “Just playin’ with ya, darlin’.”

“Mind if I come through.” 

Nai’s deadpanned voice interrupts, and it’s toned more as a declaration more than a suggestion. It hasn’t even been a minute, yet he already acknowledges the attention that’s beginning to bring a certain spotlight on him. But it isn’t just his voice that makes heads turn, it’s Nai’s presence itself that makes people all around a little stunned. And Nai knows it, he can feel the stares of not only Vash’s friends, but people all over wondering who the mysterious platinum blonde was on the dance floor whose aura just oozes a certain enigma. 

“Nai?” Vash is the first to question what on earth the Knives Saverem is doing on a dance floor, amidst a crowd that isn’t designated for his liking. “You gonna dance your heart now for once? Don’t be shy now, what happens in Gunsmoke, stays in Gunsmoke!”

“Don’t get the wrong idea,” Nai huffs as a response to Vash’s delight. His impassiveness doesn’t waver his twin’s smile, though. “I’m not here to dance or sing or whatever.”

Wolfwood goes to give him a wily look, already knowing the answer to his upcoming question. “Then whatcha here for, big guy?”

You flinch at the way Nai cracks his neck to look at you, his brows furrowing in dismay and it truly doesn’t take long for Vash and everyone else who gazes upon Nai in wonder to realize why the reserved and solitary older twin is here. 

Because he’s here for you. 

Ignoring the way the tightness in his pants form when he subtly wonders upon your lustrous face from the perspire and heat from the body heats (he’s trying unnecessarily hard to avoid looking at your chest window that is glazed with crystalline sweat), he grabs your wrist and only yanks you from the crowd and a smirking Wolfwood, your complaints and pleas falling deaf on his ears.

“Nai?!” you yelp as he leads you down a skinny hallway made up of scarce couples eating each others’ faces off. “What are you d—hey! Answer me!”

Nai hisses you to shut up after a lengthy, boiling silence, to which you sullenly obey to your own wits end. The hallway seems endless, almost, if it weren’t for the emergency exit flashing in the furious red that had filtered across Nai’s vision for a brief moment earlier. 

Now it’s clear to him his true motivation for coming to this inferno of liquor and lust between strangers. The thought of you possibly meddling with someone unknown makes his chest cringe with a flicker of resentment, your body being pressed up against someone nameless is just an upcoming recipe for his own disaster. A gross taste on his tongue suddenly forms when he imagines you entwined with someone’s limbs hotly in the middle of a crowd with intentful eyes that could possibly land on you and your being.

A single bathroom lies at the near end of the hallway and Nai angrily raps his knuckles on it before bursting in when no reply echoes from the other side after only a mere second.

Wolfwood’s younger brother, Livio, stills idly in front of the toilet, and stares directly at you and Nai. While you knew he wasn’t a man of many words, an odd utterance escapes his lips obviously indicating confusion. 

Nai groans and juts his thumb behind him. “Get out.”

“But—”

“Get out, brat.”

Livio stands significantly taller than Nai, despite both men being over a hefty six feet, but Nai’s gaze toward him shoots nothing less than daggers and it’s enough to make the nearly seven-foot man scurry away from the bathroom like a frightened field mouse.

You scoff at him, pitying poor Livio as Nai slams and locks the bathroom door shut. “You could’ve waited for a few minutes for him to do his business.”

“What the hell was that?” Nai spits venomously as he ignores your previous statement. For any person, that icy glare that he currently spots at you would make anyone fall to their knees and do his every bidding. But for you, it stirs up a sudden excitement in your stomach.

“What was what?” you question innocently, eyes fiending a fake confusion.

Nai goes to let out a brief, amused laugh that has traces of spite embedded into it. It’s a mocking sort of laugh—one that powers over your faux ignorance. 

“Don’t play coy with me,” he mutters as he drags a watch-embedded hand across his face, the silver of it glinting at you with temptation. His mind replays the intimacy shared between you and Wolfwood, how there was no gap to bridge between you and him and how his teeth had pierced a piece of him onto you. Malice flickers through his face when the imagery becomes too vivid. “What the fuck was that with you and him?”

“Who? Oh, Nico?”

Disgust fills Nai’s mouth.

“Don’t call him that around me,” Nai states sternly. His body begins to mirror how Wolfwood’s body was acting towards you on the dancefloor, except in the bathroom, you’re all for him to take in. No other bodies, no suffocating heat, no overlight head—just another neon light glowing brightly in the darkness with just enough illumination to bask only you and Nai in a chilled, misty purple fog. “You know that I hate that name.”

“It doesn’t bother you when Vash or Livio says it,” you retaliate with a suspicious look glaring in your eyes. “So why am I the odd one out, huh?”

“Because—” Nai’s voice falls short. He grits his teeth in agitation and to seal the true reason as to why he hates it when your voice specifically calls Wolfwood that stupid name. “‘Cause… ‘cause we’re no longer ten years old, so it’s about time you stop calling him by that childish nickname.”

You let out an obnoxious laugh, obviously poorly humored at Nai’s reasoning. Him and you know that you’ve called Wolfwood “Nico” for ages, that the nickname is older than a decade and giving it up would be out of the blue and uncharacteristic of you.

“If that’s the case,” you mutter as Nai cages you in between the cold bathroom wall and his body, your gazes challenging each other. It takes you an incredible amount of strength to avoid inhaling the sweet scent of his cologne that you’ve savored in before and will savor again and again, and also to avoid questioning the sudden get-up that reveals his skin like never before to others, but seems all too familiar to you. “Then does that mean I should start calling Milly ‘Millicent?’ Should I start calling Vash ‘Valentinez?’ Or perhaps… since nicknames are so childish to you… should I start calling you ‘Knives’ again?” you eye him with darkened eyes, searching for any illicit reaction.

Nai fights the urge to grimace at the strangeness of his real name falling from your lips by pressing his palms deeper into the grout of the tiled bathroom. Anyone that wasn’t you or Vash were only permitted to call him by his true name, that his own nickname given by Vash as children was reserved for people that knew him from a young age—one of them being you. “That… that isn’t what I meant.”

“But you don’t mind, right?” you press. “You want me to call Nico by his proper name? Fine. Then I’ll do it with you too, Knives.” 

He bites the inside of his cheek, rolling his neck out to ease the exhaustion given to him by tonight and you before he brings it back to face you properly. Now instead of his usual frown that’s grimaced with annoyance, there’s now a smirk toying on his own lips; and it’s one that mirrors your own to your own hesitation.

“Funny you say that,” he murmurs, gently pushing one of his legs between yours and nestling his knee between them. He scans your face and satisfaction laces itself in his being as you stiffen as his gesture, letting out a small exclamation. “Because I don’t really think that name sounds too nice when you'll scream it in bed, just like how you did the other night.”

Your eyes widen at his husked tone, taken aback. Another yelp passes through your lips as Nai lifts his knee teasingly higher and the slight force of it makes you grasp onto his exposed, tattooed arm for proper balance. “Wait… Nai—”

“Oh, dear, I thought my name was Knives, though?” he taunts and puts an end to your cockiness. “Mmh, I guess it doesn’t sound too bad. I suppose I like the sound of ‘Oh, god, Knives, fuck me harder!’” He slurs, mimicking your voice. Your mouth goes agape at his poor imitation of your own breathy moans he’s heard you echo time after time. “Or perhaps ‘Knives, I’m sooo close… don’t st—”

It’s your turn to hiss at him to shut up and silence his lips with your own palm despite no one being around you. A bolt of fear runs through your nerves at the sight of Nai’s eyes entwined with a hushed craving that only you know can suffice it. Your brows knit together and Nai’s smirk peeks through the side of your hand, making your eye twitch at his arrogance that’s infected you.

“Shut the fuck up,” you whisper hotly.

Nai takes your hand away from his lips, a firm grasp around your wrist. “What? All I’m doing is just repeating what you said… what was it? Not even two nights ago?”

You bare your teeth in an attempt to hide the rising heat which begins to creep up your skin at the mention of you and Nai’s somewhat disorderly relationship with each other. 

It confuses the both of you—you’re not exactly friends-with-benefits, but you and him tiptoe along the border of what a possible relationship could be like and it’s you and him alive by the day. The only way you and Nai cope with the big pot of feelings boiling in as one in a cauldron is nonsense is through a physical intimacy shared with each other, one that tells the other that no one else gets to have you and him except each other—at least for that tumultuous night tangled in each other’s limbs because neither party wants to share their feelings first. It’s a current deciphering between whether you and Nai assume it’s a weakness to admit your heart, or you merely don’t want to ruin what you have with each other because the potential of it breaking down into nothing scares you both.

You don’t really know how much more you can take, though, prancing around a solidification of a potential label. It’s like toying around with a jack-in-the-box. The crank goes around and around time and time again for endless laps, but there eventually comes that breakthrough where something from the unknown finally bursts open and reveals itself. It could be ugly, it could be beautiful. 

But both you and Nai don’t want to know and would rather drown in ignorance. It is bliss, after all—both metaphorically and physically.

“You wanna play it that way? Alright. Then tell me, what led to all of this?” You gesture to the current position you were entrapped in—Nai confining you with his body and arms, breaths just barely exchanging with another, and a certain aura lingering around in the dim bathroom where the music just barely booms through the walls. “What? Don’t tell me you were jealous of him?” you dare not to say Wolfwood’s nickname directly in front of the very man that loathes him entirely tonight. Your answer comes in the form of Nai’s eye twitching with a poorly-hidden covetousness. “Hm. So you were.”

“I wasn’t, stop jumping to conclusions,” he mutters immediately. Nai can’t tell whether his consciousness is being blurred by the intake of alcohol he’s consumed in the past few hours or if it was the lascivious images of you dancing to your heart’s desire on the flashing dancefloor that managed to hypnotize him.

“Oh, but you totally were,” you titter with a taunt. “C’mon, don’t think I didn’t pick up on the fact that you wanted Nico’s spot next to me when you came in, that you saw him bite my ear—” you see Nai’s eyes flicker on the same ear where a soft mark positions itself on the cusp of it made by yours truly. “—and it being the sole reason why you came to me.” You lift your head up.“Don’t think I didn’t know why you came here, to a nightclub out of all things, either, especially in this outfit,” you whisper.

Nai feels your hands touch his chest, fingers ever so gently running down his exposed skin. They unbutton a singular, tempting button to expose the beginning crevices of his abdominals before your hand latches onto his belt and pulls him towards you by the yank of it. You fight the urge to grin when he grunts and lazily sling your arms on your shoulders to bring him closer to you. 

“... I’m not stupid, Nai.”

He doesn’t pull back when you run your fingers through the locks of his white blonde hair, the same shade of blonde that frames his glassy stare that prods through yours. He knows you aren’t an idiot like most people, that you’re able to read them like a book all too easily, him not being excluded in that. So he gives in—sighs softly and presses his forehead to your own, now being able to smell the faint perfume you usually wear mixed in with some hints of booze. It’s a gesture of intimacy he’s only revealed to you, and he’ll only ever reveal to you.

“So, now what?” he cedes. “Stop torturing me and tell me what you want. What do you want from me, (Y/N)?” 

Eyes lifting from his exposed chest to his that stare you down with a familiar hunger, you mumble to him, “Do you want me?”

You move his hands from the wall to your hips, the same place where Wolfwood’s hands touched moments earlier. It’s almost like you want him to replace Wolfwood’s touch entirely, as if there was a space there only Nai’s hands can fulfill, now. His fingers brazen with anticipation, he drums them the same way Wolfwood did, but to his own beat… to his own rhythm… to his own song.

 Nai stays physically silent, with his only reply being his hands gripping your hips tighter as a confirmation of sorts.

You take his hands squeezing your curves ever so lightly as a yes.

“Then have me.” 

And with that, Nai doesn’t waste any time locking his lips with yours, doing the very thing he wanted to do tonight with the one person he desired with. All flavors of fruit are on your tongue, with his own tasting every inch of you as far as it can reach. A radiant atmosphere of lust and yearn permeates in the bathroom. The bass of the music is the only thing keeping you and him steady together as one connected being, albeit if it wasn’t there, you and him would’ve collided with all surfaces a long time ago due to the haze of desire burning within you both.

You don’t know what’s to come after this. You’ll never know as long as this torturous cycle of a fire of passion blazes in flames on a routinely basis continues because you’re not sure what to feed it next. Nai isn’t sure, either, both persons being ignorant to what has to keep the fire going for more than just a singular, libidinous night amidst each other's bodies. It nips at him and you, the way you’d share such intimacy one night, only for the morning after to go back to what you would consider “normal”, of you and him sharing bickers and taunts instead of blissful sighs and soft whispers of each other’s name, desires of want going hushed between the sheets.

A soft plea of his name echoes through the air before you’re silenced by a deepened kiss that makes you grasp onto his shoulders for dear life because you know that everything will just grow in strength the more seconds pass by. Him and you can only hope what’s to come in the lone bathroom you share with each other on such a fateful night in a fateful nightclub.

After all, what happens in Gunsmoke, stays in Gunsmoke, doesn’t it?

(a/n): situationships amirite

hi hi! i'm really surprised at myself for cranking out a fic this long in the span of only two days. for reference, "if the shoe fits" took me probably a week and a half to write or so, but i'm gonna take a wild guess and assume i wrote this to use as a distraction from my many essays due soon—yikes! that's okay, as long as i'm writing, still! i actually went to a nightclub that was the prime inspiration for this fic the other day, but i spent my time daydreaming (or nightdreaming? eveningdreaming?) about what knives would do in such a setting instead of being a normal person and drinking and clubbing. the mango dragonfruit cocktail is an actual margarita i drank during then, and though it was pretty delicious, it didn't have wolfwood spit on the straw unfortunately :/

anyways, thank you again to dem for her wonderful trigun college au (please go read it, im on my knees atp), and you for reading. as always, comments and reblogs are never unnoticed and always appreciated <;3!

[triplesilverstar]

A Lost Dream

Rating: 18+ Minors DNI

Pairing: Vash X F!Reader

CW: Pregnancy, character death, dying after childbirth, angst, Vash having trauma, medical inaccuracies, widowed Vash, Dad Vash, Single Dad Vash, dead mom, depressing thoughts

Word count: 1.6K 

A/N: Well, thanks, Bee. This idea made my chest hurt, so I had to write it to get it out of my system. I tried to make it a little happier at the end. So yeah, there is character death here where the reader dies and Vash is left with the care of his newborn. And the trauma that comes with that, so enjoy this little heartache.

Vash had been so excited from the moment he had first figured out you were pregnant, as far as he was concerned it was a miracle after everything he had been through before finding you as he continued to run around the planet avoiding both bandits and the forces from Earth. 

The tears that had streamed down his face in that dingy motel room and dripped to the floor along with some other fluids from his nose that don’t need to be mentioned in detail. His heart had never felt so full as he dropped to his knees and buried his face in your stomach that wasn’t even a bump yet as he cried over the fact he was going to be a father and you, you were the one carrying his child. 

You had been over the moons as he spoke to your flat stomach between sobs and you trailed your hands through the mess of his black locks and told him how silly he was being. Sure it was going to be difficult trying to stay one step ahead of everyone who wanted a piece of the still legendary humanoid typhoon while being pregnant but you felt you could manage. 

And you did. 

For a while. 

But as the days turned to weeks and the flat panes of your stomach were quickly replaced by the swell of your every faster growing baby, you knew something was wrong. Your days of walking for hours had turned into being able to manage to shuffle from a bus to a bed and the opposite the next day. Sweat poured from your skin no matter what you tried to do to keep yourself cool. You also felt as though you never had enough to eat in your system. 

The night you woke up with blood pouring from between your thighs and a sharp pain in your stomach nearly twenty weeks after you realized you were pregant you knew deep down that all you wanted, was for the life that had grown inside of you to survive. For the first time in a long time, you prayed, prayed to any being that would listen that you just wanted your baby to come into this world and survive as Vash rushed to the town doctor with you bundled up in soaked blankets that left red drops in the sand. 

Hours later, when you heard that first wail all you had left in you was to whisper “Are they ok?” 

“She’s ok Mayfly, we have a little girl!” You couldn’t even see his face, or those beautiful teal orbs that still carried the weight of the world in them. All you could think about was how your daughter made it, and you knew Vash would take care of the rest as the void that had been overtaking your senses over the passing of the hours took your last breath.

The wailing of the newborn was lost under the keening of the man who had brought his wife into the clinic in the middle of the night screaming for a doctor. Now as the first rays of dawn painted the room he screamed for a different reason as the tears fell down his face once more. 

Vash, for the first time in a long time, didn’t know what to do. 

As he felt your hand loosen its grip on his he turned to watch as your chest seemed to shutter before stopping. He’d seen enough death to know you were gone, but that didn’t stop the remaining shards of his heart from breaking. How was he supposed to go on now? After the events with his brother, you had become the light in his life telling him to finally live for himself, and now you were gone? 

Vash wasn’t as much of an idiot as he pretended to be. He knew that with almost all of his powers expended, he was slowly dying, in the past year with you he had noticed the crows' feet finally starting to show at the edge of his eyes. He had seen the slight changes in the mirror to know he was aging as if he was human at long last. His plan had been to grow old with you, to spend the rest of his days with his precious Mayfly at long last. 

It had never crossed his mind that you might not be with him for the final stretch of his long life. 

Vash, for the first time since he was a child on the ship after learning about Tesla, wanted to die.

Only to feel a hand land on his back. “Sir, your daughter is cleaned up. We need you to clear the room.” Her voice had been gentle, but it hadn’t been enough to stir Vash from his melancholy. Not even when his newborn had been thrust into his arms and he was guided into another smaller private room after they wrestled him away from his wife. 

He didn’t know what to do as he sat there with the small bundle cradled in his arm. At least not until the tiny girl started to fuss, pulling his broken eyes down to her form. How could such a being that was so little have caused his love so much pain? No. It wasn’t just her. It had also been him. If Vash hadn’t of gotten you pregnant you’d still be with him he realized as he stared at the pale fist swinging from the blanket. 

He didn’t deserve to be a father. Not with everything he had done, your death was another in the long line of deaths he had caused since the fall, and project seeds was scattered across this barren wasteland. 

He should leave this little girl with someone that wasn’t marred by death. 

Unaware of the thoughts swirling in his head, the tiny child reached out flailing as she fussed. Her small palm grabbed the first thing she felt. The edge of a scarred thumb. 

Like a spell-breaking Vash started to cry for a different reason. “It’s ok little one, it’s ok. Daddy’s here.” Adjusting his daughter in his arm and smoothing the golden curls from her forehead as her fussing slowed. He’d hate himself in the quiet of the night over the thought that he wanted to leave his baby, the last part of you, behind. “I’ll be here as long as you need me.” Whispering to the infant as he pressed her head over his heart and kissed the top of her head. “I promise.” 

Looking out the window as the second sun broke the horizon, he swallowed down his sobs “I guess you’ll need a name my little sprout. That was something your Mom wanted to wait to meet you for.”  

“Dad!” A short yell followed by a stomp at the foot of the bed in the hotel and Vash couldn’t help but groan as he rubbed at his face before sitting up. 

“It’s too early for this Dawn.” Grumbling as he felt his back pop and the stiff muscles fight him as he sat up, creaks from him that happened to be in time with the worn mattress under him. He always took the worst bed in the rooms they stayed in. 

“Dad! It’s almost noon!” Cracking an eye at another stomp, the fire in his little girl's eyes still made his heart clench. Your eyes had a similar fire in them, and the fact that your daughter had your facial features which looked more and more like you every day made his chest hurt from the reminder he’d never see it again. 

“The bus doesn’t come for another three hours little sprout.” Yawning as Vash finally rose from the bed, planning to use the washroom to get his morning routine going. 

“Dad! I’m not little anymore!” Feeling a small foot land in the small of his back as he let out a soft yelp, at least before turning and scoping his two-year-old daughter who acted more like an adolescent teen into his arm. A little girl that happened to match the body of a teen.  

“Not too little for this are we?” Laughing as Dawn started to squeal while Vash tossed her in the air before wrapping his arms around her and rubbing the top of her hair with his flesh hand. The glare she sent him had the breath leave his chest, Dawn growing as fast as was proving to be a double edged sword.

It made being on the run with a baby easy, as she grew quickly and didn’t need much fussing. Vash after he had stayed in town long enough to bury his wife, brought his newborn to Granny and Lina. Hiding there until Dawn was big enough to travel with him and thankfully before anyone had figured out where he was. 

But now, the more she grew Vash couldn’t ignore the fact his daughter was very much taking after his dead wife. Minus her coloring, Vash had a mini you on his hands and some days were a lot harder than others to manage between keeping his daughter out of trouble (and himself), while trying to keep the thoughts of you from making him freeze. 

“Dad?” 

“Hmmm?” A noise as Vash realized his hand had slowed to the point where he was sliding Dawn’s hair between his fingers. 

“Do you think someday we can go see Mom?” Such a simple question, but it still made his breathing stop. Dawn knew about you, and knew from all of his stories how much you had loved her before she had been born. It was something Vash had sworn to himself after he left that town, his little girl would know how much his wife had loved her. 

“Of course we can.” An easy answer on the surface as his heart throbbed with enough force in his chest that his knees bent from the pain. “I think she’d like that.” Bending to place a kiss to her forehead. “Now, let me get ready and we can go get breakfast before heading towards the bus.” 

“Lunch!” 

“Right lunch.” Using a smile to hide the pain in his heart as he winked at Dawn. A small part of him wondered if someday, his daughter would see through those smiles as easily as you had. She didn't need to carry his loss of you, not when she had her whole future ahead of her.

@biancalattei enjoy my attempt at angst you monster. KISSES!

[greetingfromthedead]

Family Ties (dad?Vash x mom!Reader)

Plot: You enjoy your little life in a distant little village with your little girl, yet the past does not want to stay there. Vash finds you again by accident, realizing he left behind more than just the love of his life, but still he has to play with the hand he has dealt for himself. Series: None Pairing: dad?Vash x mom!Reader Rating: Teen + Tags: No use of "Y/N", works with every very version of Vash, angst, hurt, mistakes, longing, leaving, abandoning, past pregnancy, regret Word count: 2.1k

You watch the little girl build her castle made out of flat rocks and sand. The girl's face is filled with pure joy and determination as she balances a longer, flat rock across two pillars she had built earlier. She looks up at you and smiles proudly, revealing a missing front tooth. You can't help but smile back at her, laying down the book you were reading.

"Are you going to make a tower too?" you ask kindly, pointing at her build.

"Of course! Every castle needs towers!" She replies like it's the most obvious thing in the world, beaming with pride. She speaks with an adorable lisp, the letter S giving her trouble since she pulled her own loose tooth out.

"You're right, as always, love!" you assure the girl who gets back to working on her castle. Your eyes linger on her for a moment longer, filled with love and admiration. She is a constant ray of sunshine, even on this desert planet.

You pick up your book again, shifting on your laid out blanket, but before you lose yourself in the words on the page, movement catches your attention. It is subtle, and you wouldn't pay it any attention, but the flash of red is what really draws you in. You lift your gaze to look at a familiar man, standing dumbstruck in the middle of the street, staring right back at you. There is no question about who he is, so you shift your whole body again, kneeling behind the little girl to grab her shoulders.

"Go inside. Lock the door. Just like we've practiced. Alright?" You whisper quietly into her ear.

"Is there a bad man?" She whispers back and tries to turn her head.

"Don't look. Just do as I say," you reply firmly, squeezing her shoulders.

"Are you coming too?" She sounds a bit scared.

"I'll follow. Now go. Quickly, don't look back." She nods slowly and gets up, running to the front door of your house. It's not far at all, and you hear the sharp click of the deadbolt locking into place.

It's your turn to get up and look your past in the face. He still appears at a loss for words, his eyes wide, his mouth agape as he comes closer. Vash the Stampede.

"Mayfly? Is that really you?" he says softly as he gets within earshot.

"Don't call me that," you spit back, trying to keep your voice steady.

"It is you," he stops a few steps away from you, a tender smile on his lips.

"What do you want?" you ask firmly, folding your arms on your chest.

"Nothing. But I am so happy to see you. To see that you're doing well. I never knew you settled here, but I am glad I ran into you. I was worried." The smile on his lips shifts and turns into a more sorrowful one. "I never thought I would get the chance to see you again."

"Uh-huh," you sigh, the angry grease between your eyebrows getting deeper. "Well, you can go now. Turn your back and leave. I wouldn't even think about stopping you now."

"I am so sorry, Mayfly; I really am. I didn't want to hurt you. I just wanted to protect you." His gaze is filled with sadness as he turns to look at the ground.

"Save it," you hiss back from between your teeth.

"I'm glad you made a life for yourself." Vash continues to speak quietly, his eyes shifting to the structure of rock and sand next to you. "You built a home. Was that your daughter?"

"Yes."

Vash's gaze shifts upward again, but it goes past you to look at where you know your kitchen window to be. Suddenly his sorrowful eyes go wide, his eyebrows nearly touching his hairline. You hurriedly turn too, only to see the curtains move where you know your little girl was looking out from. You turn back towards the man.

"How… how old is she?" Vash stutters, his whole body leaning forward without taking a step.

You consider lying to him. It would be easier, but you know there is no way you could tell him something that isn't true without him seeing right past the deception. He must have noticed the pretty blue eyes and beautiful blonde hair.

"Exactly how old you think she is."

Vash's eyes flick back to you, a mix of emotion present in his expressive face. Wonder, happiness, hurt, sorrow, even a hint of anger. He looks back towards the window and takes a long step forward, but you block his path.

"No. I won't let you go in there," you say firmly.

"Are you telling me I have a daughter?" The man's eyes widen in disbelief as he stops just short of you. "Is that the truth?"

"Yes," you answer simply, wiping any remnants of emotion from your face and voice.

"I have a daughter…" Vash leans back, shock written all over his face. He speaks more to himself than to you. "I have a daughter, and I haven't been present for any of it? The pregnancy, the birth, her first words and steps. How could I have not known?"

"Because you never gave me the chance to tell you." Anger creeps its way back into your tone.

"I have to see her," Vash says as he tries to push past you, but your fingers dig into the flesh of his right arm as you push him back, blocking his way again.

"No. You're not going anywhere near her, Vash," you hiss at him again, leaning closer towards his face, "I won't allow it!"

"Why not? I am her father! She's my daughter!" he protests, panic lacing his words.

"Because she is a good kid! You will fall in love with her in an instant and then break her heart just like you did to me. I know what would happen. My daughter deserves better than that, so let me make one thing clear: you may have fathered her, but as long as I live and breathe, you will never be her father."

Vash looks hurt as your words sink their teeth into his soul, as he realizes the consequences of his actions.

"Please… Let me be there for the two of you…" he pleads.

"If you want to have a part in her life, I might as well give you this," you say as you pull a folded up paper from your chest pocket. "I will save you the trouble of writing a second farewell note. You can just use the one you already left me once."

"All this time?" He looks at the greased paper between your fingers.

"Yes." You pause to look at the storm of emotions on his face. "Yes, all this time. I've been holding onto it, reminding myself of what you did to me. I refuse to forgive you. And it is so hard, because despite everything, I love you still the same way I did the day you abandoned me."

"I never wanted to leave you," Vash says as he grabs your hand that holds on to the note. "But I was so scared of hurting you or getting you mixed up in something that could have endangered your life. I promise, I only ever wanted to protect you. Because I love you, Mayfly."

"You idiot, I know that. I am not mad because you left with the intention of protecting me. I am hurt because you didn't talk to me. You didn't ask me. You didn't consider my opinion on the matter. That's what hurt me. I had to wake up one morning, and you were gone. You left nothing except this note behind. It was as if you had died—so sudden, so unexpected. I followed you for months; I tried so hard to find you, but you're Vash the Stampede; you were gone with the wind, and I was forced to stop looking for you. I realized I had to focus my overflowing love somewhere else. I had to make peace with the thought of never getting closure about you. I couldn't keep holding on to the hope of reuniting with you. I wished I could have let you know about the life I was carrying, but it's not like I can send a postcard to the Humanoid Typhoon if he doesn't want to be found." You look at his face as you speak and see the pain in his eyes; a tear rolls down his cheek. "I mourned you. I grieved you. Not because you were dead, but because I knew the life I had dreamed up for myself, traveling by your side, would never ever be reality."

"If I had known… I never would have left." Vash squeezes your hand.

"You're a shitty liar," you say, almost painfully. "I know you would have left anyway, for the same reasons. And if you came back into my life again now, you would wake up one night with the same undeniable urge to disappear without a trace again, telling me and yourself that it's because you want to protect us. But you're just scared. I will never be able to trust you again. And I will not allow you to break my daughter's heart."

"I am so sorry for causing you so much pain, Mayfly." Vash speaks his words so tenderly. The old nickname he gave you slices through your heart like a dagger. It should have been a hint that this love between you two was always meant to be temporary. Just alive for a short time, only to disappear into the stream of time. But it doesn't want to die either. It remains, chained to your heart and his. Vash looks at you with the same intensity as the first time you met—the gaze of someone who adores and loves you. It makes your heart leap in your chest.

"Don't call me that," you say again, a bit more defeated than before. "I cannot let someone into my home who will always have one foot out of the door. You can tell yourself whatever you must to help you sleep at night, but wanting to keep me out of harm's way wasn't your only reason for leaving. You will never get rid of that mountain of guilt you drag around, and you were selfish, not wanting to add to your so called sins by even risking my life that I was so willing to put on the line for you."

Vash is silent. He still squeezes your hand, his downturned eyes full of regret and sorrow as he imagines the life he let slip out of his grasp. His love for you hasn't died down even a little bit. Every sunrise and sunset reminds him of you. He finds glimpses of your very being in the fibers of beautiful wallcarpets and the details of intricate artwork. Every song on the radio seems to speak directly to his heart, telling him that he made a mistake by letting you go. But it is his burden to bear, and he will have to live with the cards he dealt himself.

"Now do the right thing." You sigh deeply. "Do what you would anyway—turn around and walk away. Be a nobody to me and to her. Disappear into the wind. Pretend that you never found me here. Forget you found out about her. Just go."

You let go of his arm and pull your hand free so you can put some distance between your bodies. Every cell in you wants to do the opposite. With your whole heart, you want to leap into his arms, to wrap yourself up in him and never let go. If it were just you, the option would be even more tempting, perhaps to the point of you giving in, but you have more to think about than just your own selfish wants. You are responsible for your daughter's happiness, and you cannot risk shattering her heart. You must stay strong and keep fighting for her, no matter how hard it may be.

"Go away. Don't ever come back," you say firmly, fighting back a tidal wave of emotions that threaten to overwhelm and drown you. To burn the last of the bridges left, you say the words you know would hurt him most: "You have no family here."

Vash's expression is one of shock and hurt as he keeps looking at you. His eyes are filled with tears, but they don't fall. His nose and cheeks turn red, and he finally turns away slowly. He whispers a shaky and cracking "Farewell" as he walks off, disappearing behind a neighbor's house and out of your life forever.

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[novasintheroom]

013. Recommendation (pt. 4/5)

♡ Pairing - Vash x Reader

♡ Word count - 1.1k

♡ Warnings - none

♡ Description - Vash finally caves and sees you again.

Part of the 150 Bullets drabble series on AO3.

Part 1 ---- Part 2 ---- Part 3 ---- Part 4 (you are here!) ---- Part 5

So it goes for the next nine years. Letters are constantly exchanged between you two. Trinkets and baubles pass between envelopes, too. Vash’s pockets fill with the papers you send, and he pulls them out on lonely nights to thumb over the ink and laugh at the bad jokes. Some letters fall apart from bullets he dodges, and he mourns their loss every time. It’s like losing you all over again. But, he reminds himself that he chose to leave, not you.

He wonders if you look older. If you’ve cut your hair. He still expects you to write one day, telling him you’ve found a partner, that you’ve started a relationship, that your partner doesn’t like that you’re constantly writing letters to another man and you’ll have to cut contact. He dreads those thoughts, those days. A secret part of him hopes it never comes to that, selfish as it is.

 He tells himself he hopes you find happiness wherever you go.

Your latest letter is long, filled with anecdotes of your days and funny stories. Near the end, your letter takes a turn:

I’ve also heard about someone taking the Plants, too. Several towns have been wiped off the map recently. Do you know anything about that? It’s crazy, what some bandits will do to get money or power.

                One of my towns was hit, actually. Henna. I rode to it one day and just found it in fresh ruins. Some of it was still smoldering with fire. Most of everyone had left by then, and those who hadn’t…I had to leave quickly and sent word for help to go to them. I couldn’t do anything, not without outside help. They tried to take my bird. I think they planned to eat her. Desperate people do desperate things.

                 Please be careful out here, birdie.

You end with a joke, as always, but Vash barely reads it. He looks up, around at the small camp he’s made for himself that night, the bottle of alcohol sitting by his hip. A sinking feeling settles in his chest. He’d heard about the Plant thefts, too. It was part of the reason he’d travelled to the southernmost part of the region. The other, well…he can’t admit it to himself, but he wants to be close by in case something goes wrong for you. Bandits, bullies, robbers – they just get more numerous the further from cities one gets. Not that he’d get there in time. He wouldn’t even know something happened to you until your letters just stop coming.

That thought settles something in him. He’s known, of course, that there’s no way to help you unless by chance. But maybe it’s the alcohol, or a fierce want to just see you again that finally, finally takes over. He pulls out his pen and paper and writes a simple letter he’ll send tomorrow:

                ______,

                Do you want to meet at the town Gregarious for dinner sometime soon?

Vash

Of course you say yes.

Gregarious is a bigger town, up-and-coming on its milling and water production. They even added a third Plant to their arsenal recently. Everyone is in high spirits, and Vash receives friendly nods when he walks in.

The Mom and Pop’s is crowded for dinner. He’s happy, seeing so many people out and about. But there’s one person he’s looking for. His eyes scan the room in quick flits, jumping from one person to another. Have you dyed your hair? Cut it?

Someone taps him on the shoulder, and he turns, and his breath leaves him. It’s you. You, with your hair in a braid, the same color it’s always been. You look hesitant, even with recognition in your eyes. “Vash?” your quiet voice asks.

Without preamble, Vash opens his arms wide. Your face breaks into a grin, and you hug him just as tightly as he hugs you. He can smell the apple lotion on your skin, along with the dust of the day, the suns in your hair.

Dinner isn’t awkward like he feared it would be. Nine years of letters will do that, he supposes. You both chatter to each other about your day, how you got here, where you’re staying, how each of your goals are going. It’s nice. It’s so nice. Vash can’t keep a smile off his face the whole time. Your cheeks turn red with your own smiling.

“So what are your plans now?” He asks, taking a sip of beer.

You push your vegetables around on your plate for a moment. “Well, the library exchange program is pretty well set up. A lot of young people – especially girls – are reading and writing and going to college, or planning on it. HQ has been so impressed with my progress that they want me to move to Octovern and be on the board.” You push a carrot around on your plate. “I turned them down.”

Vash gawps and leans forward. “What? Why?”

You smile. “I like being out here. I like seeing people, strange as that is to say. I usually hate people.” You and he share a knowing laugh. “But I like seeing how I’m actually making a difference, and I don’t want to sit in a stuffy board room giving orders to other librarians, where to go, whatever. That’s just not the kind of work I like. Plus, I…was hoping to travel with you again.”

You look up to gauge his reaction. He tries to school a neutral face, but you see right through it. “It wouldn’t be forever! I’d still hand out books and set up routes, just in a more sporadic way. We have several librarians that do it that way, travel wherever they want and switch books out when they come through a town. It gives people something to look forward to when they see us.”

You were already using “us” again. Vash feels torn. On the one hand, you’re doing exactly what he left you to do. You aren’t as safe as he’d hoped, but it’s better than traveling with him. On the other…Sigh. On the other hand, he really, really misses you.

You’ve carried on, not noticing his thoughtful look. It almost feels like a job interview – as if he needed your recommendation that you were reliable. “I’ve gotten much better at defending myself with my knife! And I’m good at making getaways on foot and on tomas. And I know you miss my cooking, you’ve said it a thousand times in your letters – “

“One month,” he hears himself say. “One month, and we see how much you still miss traveling with me. Alright?”

Your chair screeches from the force you jump out of it, and you’re on him, squealing with excitement and shaking his shoulders. Vash laughs at your enthusiasm. He’s missed it. He’s missed you.

He just hopes it isn’t a mistake to invite you along again.

[icyowl]

You find out Vash is a plant

Pairing: Vash the Stampede x reader

Request: none

Synopsis: you find out Vash is a plant and suddenly all the heartache begins to make sense

A/N: There are a lot of transitions in this. Please let me know if its super confusing, but yeah, I had an idea that needed to stretch its legs.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

“So. I guess this explains a lot, then.” You said. Like any perfectly sane, positively normal person, you did, in fact, expect the unconscious man laying on the cot in front of you to reply. Maybe he would? Who knew what he could or couldn't do, now that you knew he wasn't a human. An independent plant as the older lady — Luida — had called him. Now, with you left alone in the room with Vash to digest what had happened on the Humpback, it began to make sense. Lack of food or hunger, legendary marksmanship, sublime strength from such a nimble frame, the ability to seemingly dodge bullets. . . maybe it also explained the more complicated interactions between the two of you. The tension, the escapes, the excuses—

“But it doesn't.” You bit out. He had kissed you first all those weeks ago after nearly getting himself killed. Desire was hot in your blood when you collided bodily into him after finding the idiot unscathed apart from bruises and scrapes. It had been hours since he had disappeared with a throng of vigilantes on his hide to keep you safe; his heaving chest, the grime on the bridge of his nose, a too-casual comment about you being safe now — you wanted to dive under the coat until no one could tell you two apart. You didn't, though. You controlled the hormones for his sake and comfortability. He was the one to grabbed you by the chin as only some lusting lover would and hauled you over to his mouth.

“You kissed me, Vash, and then you go and say. . .”

“Wait.” He had spoken after you had just begun to sink into the moment and take his insufferable sunglasses off. His grip was sure, firm, when he stopped you. The pause where he held you pinned beneath his gaze made it seem like he didn't know what to say. Seconds passed. His eyes searched your features for an answer to your questions and confusion. Somewhere, he found it. “They might have followed me back. I should make another lap.”

Lap around what? The impatience he'd just had to get to you, touch you, be on you, had been swallowed back behind his eyes. Pitifully, you did what you could to protest: “Wait, your wounds—”

“I'll be back in an hour. It's late, get some sleep.”

So you figured he considered the kiss a mistake — a moment of ferocity after the tension of near-death — and you backed off. Shorter conversations, less time in the same room, some of your own sad excuses in an attempt to create space, quash the giddy crush already rooted deep behind your heart. You tried to be an adult and move on like a big girl.

“I come to the conclusion,” you said to the sleeping man on the cot, god, you still felt the adoration for him deep in your marrow, “that you're not interested, right? Because you said nothing when I pushed you away. You did nothing. Okay. Fine. Then when I had an infection from the bullet hole you fished out of my arm, and those raiders held the entire town hostage for two days until you stormed in, and they killed that mom's newborn baby right in front of me, and we got chased out and I still had the baby's blood on my face and the infection was getting worse and we didn't think I'd make it through the night.”

You breathed to get the overwhelming feelings in check. “You wiped my tears, you kissed my forehead, you rocked me to sleep, you told me you loved me. I guess that could be, like, a platonic love, but come on! You can't blame me for reading into it!”

Despite you increased volume there was no sign Vash had stirred. The connection he had made with the plant must have really taken a toll.

“So at this point, I'm thinking you're interested, right? We've held hands a few times at this point, gone on, like, what I consider dates and stuff. Great. You're done being wishy-washy and you've decided to try this thing out. We go slow, I figured you're just a little nervous, but we're making out, and I make sure to leave your sunglasses alone this time, and then. . .”

Your lips buzzed faintly at the memory. Who knew what led to the tension this time, you couldn't remember, but you'd never forget the gentle care he took with you. Something about messing with his sunglasses was a trigger, so you left them alone and figured you'd just work with the rims pushing against your cheeks. He was showing you a caressing kind of affection that worked you open from the inside out. You wanted to give him everything. Every fear, every trauma, every blemish. He, too, seemed to let himself give into the raw feelings quickly bubbling up. His grip on you got tighter and pulled you closer. The kisses grew faster and their strength forced you to lean back. You could feel his abdominals quiver where you fisted his shirt.

His warm, wet tongue reached out and moved along your bottom lip, causing the faintest sound to break from your throat. Just like that, the moment shattered. Vash grabbed your shoulders and held you at arms length. He kept his face obscured, ducked down and away, but you could hear the quiet gasping as he struggled to catch his breath. You called to him only to be interrupted: “Have to - feed the tomas.”

He had made for the door without sparing you a single glance and he shut it just as quickly. You waited, processed the moment and your thoughts, maybe yelled or cried or punched something. He didn't return until the next morning, breakfast in hand and fake smile plastered too-clearly on his lying face.

Shifting bedding caught your attention. Vash moved a little in bed, bringing you back to the present. You didn't realize your hands were clenched tightly into fists.

“So by this point, I'm like, really confused. You let the kiss last that long, you go for the tongue, then push me away. Like, fool me once, but fool me twice? At this point, as I hope you can understand, I'm pissed. If I were meaner, I'd punch you in the stomach right now and wake you up. Then, last week, you're all protective when you have no right to be. Why you got mad, I still have no idea.”

Frankly, he had every right to get mad. No good, low life, dirty pricks had cornered you on the way back to Vash and co. after an errand run. If their sleezy gazes and crude humor didn't get their intentions across, the invading hands and the guy who tripped you and got over top of you definitely made things clear. Your scream was blocked by a hand over your mouth and nose, the thrashing was futile, and when your fear began to lock up every joint and muscle you had, the tables began to drastically turn. Vash's stark golden hair and whipping crimson coat brought such a powerful sense of relief to you that you nearly fell limp. Until the real fun began.

Vash didn't speak, or shout, no, he growled. Roared even. He used his cybernetic hand to punch and throw and strangle. Gone was the gentle pacifist you'd grown familiar with, replaced instead with a creature so potent with rage he'd become unrecognizable. The perpetrator was lifted up by the front of his shirt and smashed unceremoniously into the concrete building. He gagged when the cool nickel of the a gun barrel was forced into his mouth without hesitation.

It took you and Wolfwood using every ounce of strength — pulling on his arm, shoulder, coat, anywhere you could reach — to wake him up. Even then, it was only when Vash descended from his savagery upon hearing your cries that he let the guy go. For his part, Vash did seem ashamed to have done it after the fact, but Wolfwood was still sure to give him a lashing.

“What would you have done if you'd actually killed him? Huh?! Answer me!” He'd said, cigarette dangerously close to falling from his teeth.

“I wasn't going to shoot—”

“With the look you had, I'm not so sure! Look, I don't care what you do or don't do to get some action, but the next time you get caught up in your emotions, I'll be putting a gun in your mouth.”

You tried to get Vash's eye after the exchange, but he opted for averted gazes and brooding silence. Wolfwood made you think: did Vash get like that because of you? Your first instinct was scoff, think back on all the times he rejected your advances or backpedaled his own, but you had to admit, he had a talent for reading people. There was also the incident just a few days ago, after you'd been unconscious for more than a day following a nasty run-in with bounty hunters. Getting thrown off a cliff would do that to you.

Vash was gone when you'd come to. Meryl had send him away to bathe and rest while she took watch over you. She tried to keep you, she really did, but the near-death experience put fire in your veins; you weren't going to risk dying anymore without getting answers from him.

His door was unlocked when you threw it open. All spice and vinegar, you exploded into his room, intent on unloading every ounce of angst and confusion he'd caused you, only to freeze solid.

You noticed the minefield of marks on his back just as you took note of the pristine muscles underneath them. They flexed and rolled when he turned to you, locked up when he saw who it was. He bounded for you just as you stepped towards him. You'd only intended to pull him close, assure him you didn't care how he looked, enjoy a moment in life spent with him, but again, he was the one touch his lips to yours. Mmmm, maybe touch was the wrong word.

His teeth clanged off yours with the force of his advance. You didn't mind. You didn't have much of a mind with the way he grabbed onto a hip and pulled you impossibly closer to his body.

With difficulty, Vash contained himself enough to get a few words in. “You're okay - mhm - you're okay. Let me just - get a shirt, so you don't have to—”

“You thought I cared about scars, Vash? Oh god, I wanna see you, wanna feel you—”

At least, you figured his reaction meant his past rejections had been because he didn't want to show you his body. Foolish. One of your thumbs caressing an old knife wound on his abs and he began to put space between you. Like an idiot, you fought back. You called to him, pleaded, tried to fight the arms pushing you rapidly towards the door. What had you done wrong? What did you do to deserve this? Why was he doing this to you? You asked him all of it and got smokey replies in exchange.

“I just - I can't - not right now - just, you didn't do anything wrong. Please, I'm glad you're okay, but go—”

Wood slats and metal bolts slammed shut on you, knocking against your nose. It was like it shut out your emotions, too. All you could do was stare numbly, unmoving, at the wear marks and hatching staring you down when it should have been his eyes. A wave of desperation crested under your muscles. BAM. The door shook with the power of your fist. It stung now. It would throb later. You didn't bother to care.

“Coward!” You cried.

Vash's lonely sigh could be heard from the other side. You didn't move, knowing you'd sleep outside his room, ambush him whenever he decided to emerge, if it meant you could get him to answer for the thorns piercing your chest.

“I know I am.” He said, words warbled by the door but still distinguishable. “I am a coward. I'm hurting you and its the last thing I want.”

“Then. . . why?” You weeped.

“I'm not. . . I'm not what you need.”

“Is this because you think you're not good enough? Vash, you're the kindest, most compassionate person on the face of this planet. I want you. I want you.”

“You don't know that.” He cut in.

Your anger returned fearsomely. Didn't know? You didn't know what you wanted? This prick — this stupid, beautiful, arrogant prick, thought he could decide what as best for you after all the shit he caused. Intelligence: insulted. Feelings: disregarded. Autonomy: stripped. Trust: obliterated. He'd brought you in, pushed you out, then had the audacity to make it your fault for getting angry. Fuck, maybe he really was a walking calamity.

“You don't know me. Maybe you would have, but you don't. You won't, either.”

A quiet snore from the man sleeping in front of you broke through the memories. After what happened with the Humpback, Livio, the Bad Lads, and the plasma cannon, you didn't have the same coursing fury as you had just the other night. After seeing him with the plant, after seeing what he was, after learning so much. . . you were at a bit of a loss.

“I get it now.” You said to the empty air. “You don't want to be with me. Lust, hormones, they made you slip up, but you'll wake up, push me away, pretend it never happened, because I'm a human, right? Something like you would never want to be with something like me.”

The emotions took hold of your throat until it was hard to breathe and clawed at your eyes until they watered and you had to shut them tight to keep from having a complete meltdown. Near-death experience? Check. Unrequited love? Check. Felling the simultaneous crush of insecurity and self-loathing because you feel both inadequate for the man you're in love with and too stupid to have seen it sooner or looked out for your own emotional health before it was too late? Triple check.

Synthetic fingers pulled at your clenched fist to try and get your muscles to relax, to stop your fingernails from making painful divots in your beautiful skin. “I'll always want you.” Vash said.

You looked into his eyes taking you in with a soft affection you refused to acknowledge. No. Not again. He wouldn't lure you into a trap so easily this time. Seconds passed as you grew more mortified with the situation. Was he awake the entire time?

“How much of that. . .”

“I think I really started listening when you mentioned platonic love.”

Though it was a joke, the thumb casually brushing over your knuckles brought you back to the seriousness of the moment. You jerked you hand away hastily.

“You'll always want me? Stop kidding yourself. If you had an ounce of respect for me, you'd care about my opinions. You wouldn't push me away, string me along, put up this fake persona and act like everything's okay when you've hurt the person you say you care about.”

You stood to leave only for his flesh-hand to reach across to secure your wrist. “It's not because you're human, it's because I'm not.” When you turned back, surprised and mute, he continued. “I know I've been horrible to you, I know I don't deserve you or any second chance. . . but. . . I need to show you. If you'll let me.”

His words gave truth to what you had seen: he wasn't human. You were hesitant; not because of what he was, but because of what he did. But you knew, above all else, you felt safe. When he had grabbed you, not a single cell in your body recoiled or shied away. Vash had never once given you any reason to fear him.

This kiss was far gentler than before, but felt even more intense. He took his time, pushing back the lust in favor of something more real, more permanent. Vash pulled you open in a way that gave you the chance to end it whenever you wanted. The back of his knuckles caressed you cheek. This time, your heart clenched in an entirely different way. When you finally got the self-control to pull back. . . the sight was surreal.

Abstract glyphs began to glow and pulse from under his skin. Back and forth, a winding mosaic deeply embedded, on his chin, nose, and neck and in his eyes. Even the pupils were lit with a soft blue light. When he brought your hand to hold his cheek, the light show shined brighter and pulsed more excitedly where you skin touched. “I didn't want you to see this. Normally the markings only show when I'm-” he paused to swallow “-in contact with another plant. They've never shown up around a human before. And I can't control it this time — I tried, when we kissed before. I can't stop it, and I didn't want you to find out the truth.

“I told myself I could have you and you'd never find out what I was. Dumb, right? I believed it could work if I did it just right. That's why I ran away or pushed you out. I was trying to keep it under control, but I could feel it coming to the surface. With you, I think my body feels some kind of connection.”

You were a little too awestruck by the bioluminescent spectacle going on to fully take in his words at first. When your hands moved down to hold his jaw, you could feel the intensity of his pulse under the fingertips skimming his neck.

“At least I'm not the only one.” You finally said.

Perhaps it was the relief, maybe it was that last wall of his coming down for you, but he knocked his forehead into yours and sighed in a powerful rush that had his whole body slouching into you.

“You have no idea how much I wan—”

“Come on kids, don't be giving each other diseases.”

You pulled away from Vash so sharply you would've fallen back off the bed had he not yanked you back to him. “Wolfwood!”

“So? Guess you finally grew a spine and told her about this whole plant thing?”

“Wait,” you stopped, putting the pieces together, “when did you find out?”

“You really think he'd sleep this long? Dude's been awake for hours.”

“What?!”

Your now-lover's cheeks darkened. “You weren't supposed to tell her that!”

[whirlwindimagines]

I have a request! What if you’re the mom friend of the group and try to look after Vash after he’s either had a tough day or was just feeling low? :)

Where do I need to sign up to take care of this man!!! Let me hold my babygurl! Also I’ve been so out of it this weekend in pain with my wisdom teeth, I wanted to post this yesterday but I was not existing lol so here ya go~

‘Talk about it somewhere only we know?'

Vash x Reader

You never met a group of more dysfunctional people; it was truly amazing that they managed to make it this far. Vash and Wolfwood drove you crazy enough, with the way they would throw themselves into danger. Vash was the absolute worse one of the bunch, hiding his injuries, not eating, the list was endless! Vash was always so sheepish when he made you worry, you’d think he’d stop, but no you’d notice some stiffness to him, and bam another injury he was trying to hide! Or he’d admit that the last time he ate was days ago! 

The others liked to make fun of you for your mother-hen qualities, but you knew they also thought it was endearing, well Wolfwood liked to make fun of you and Vash thought it was sweet even if he thought he didn’t deserve such kindness. But he did he really did. It was quiet as everyone set up camp for the night, Vash was fine with sleeping up on top of the car, you noticed he seemed a little distant today. 

You can’t help yourself, heading towards the car and pulling yourself up. It wasn't as easy as Vash made it look, you curse nearly slipping when a hand reaches out and catches you by the wrist. Vash gives you a soft smile as he pulls you up the rest of the way onto the roof of the car. “Thanks…” you say a little sheepishly, sitting beside Vash on the roof. He settles down next to you, with a kind smile. “No problem! Wouldn’t want you to fall now would we,” he says this with a small laugh,

Pulling your knees to your chest, you can’t help but just stare at him, taking every detail. The way the shadows under his eyes look so dark, not sleeping. The way he’s turned his body away from you, hiding something. The tenseness of his shoulders, worried about something. “Um do I have something on my face?” and finally deflecting, you hum your eyes meeting his bright blue ones, which seemed a little dull. 

“You, okay?” You're taking the direct route tonight, you can see his eyes widen, and then he gives you that easy-going grin, maybe it would tick someone who didn't know him, and when he puts his hand behind his head you know exactly what he's going to say. 

Say he's fine, deflect, and turn it on you. 

“Oh course! It's been a long day though, are you tired?”

It's like clockwork at this point, you wished you could reach over grab him by the shoulders and shake him until he gets it. You care about him, you want him to take care of him, no strings attached. But that approach won't work on someone like Vash, who is just an excuse away from running. 

“It has been a long day, hasn't it? Do you need anything?” You ask kindly, “Do you need anything.” You laugh, this was so ridiculous, he was still looking at you with that sheepish look he knows exactly what he's doing, it's almost a little painful. 

“Vash how long have we known each other?” You start instead, you’ve known Vash the longest, the two of you haven't always traveled together, but fate kept throwing the two of you into one ridiculous situation after the other, and well, you two kinda just stuck together from there. He looks at you curiously, dropping his hand to pick at the fingers on his prosthetic, “A long time I guess.” is his quiet reply, you hum at his answer. 

“So how long have we been playing this game? Is that what you want to do? Talk in circles, until I get upset so you cave or you hold out until you're on the brink of self-destruction” He doesn’t say anything, but he can't look at you. The statement hangs between the two of you, and you let it. “Why do you…keep trying then, when you know I'm difficult” his voice is so soft and quiet you nearly miss it. But you hear it and reach out your hand grasping his chin between your fingers to make him look at you, his eyes are so wide, so nervous. 

“Because it's you.” You say it like it's the most obvious statement in the world. Sure, you're a bit of a mother hen with everyone, but it's always been something a little more with Vash. Hard to explain, but a little scary to give a real name to. So, the both of you don't, you just leave it as is. You can hear his breath hitch, you need to pull back, this is a part of it, you push, lean in, and because you are a coward back off with a lingering feeling of something. 

Dropping his face, you lean back putting some distance, “I’m just saying, we’re friends Vash I want to take care of you” you say quietly with a slight blush, you don’t give him a chance to speak before you lose even more resolve.

You can’t even look at him, but you feel a shy yet gentle touch on your shoulder, so you turn to look at Vash. He’s giving you such a soft look and it makes your heart ache. “Thank you.” Such simple words and yet, they make your heart pound. You know it’s more than a simple thank you to your soft words, it’s a thank you meant for everything you do. 

Placing a hand over his hand curled around your shoulder, holding his hand lightly. You just need something to hold on to as you speak, “You're welcome.” He smiles and pulls you into his side, shifting his arm so he can rest His arm around your shoulders. You have no choice but to settle into his side, this is a part of the game too, providing you comfort when he’s the one who needs it. But you don’t push, not right now, because even if he’s giving you comfort, he’s also comforting himself so you let him take everything he needs.

Because that’s the type of person you are, maybe if you were braver, you’d tell him the truth. But this is enough for now, it’s always enough. Leaning your head on his shoulder, you sigh contently, you feel his grip tighten on you, but you shake your head. You two don’t need to talk not right now at least. You want to, God there isn't anything you’d love to do more than grab him by the shoulders and give him a good shake…and maybe a kiss. But all that could wait, right now you are content just being at his side.

Edit: Part two!

[blckbianxious]

Plant Shop Crush

|PAIRING| Modern!Vash Amputee x black!reader female

|WORD COUNT| 4.3 K

|RATING| For Everyone

|SYNOPSIS| Vash works at the plant shop run by his adoptive parents Luida and Brad. You want to add plants to your apartment and aren’t very sure where to start so one day after missing a bus, you happen to notice a shop called ‘SEEDS’ and the cute guy that suddenly called out to you.

|A/N| Reader has asthma. I tend to not see enough fics where the reader has asthma. This isn't my first attempt at writing a one-shot, but it’s been a while since I’ve written one.

Can also be read on AO3

“It said in 5 minutes..” You thought to yourself and huffed as you tried to get to the large vehicle in time but to no avail. Running some mid afternoon errands, you saw the schedule for the bus that you usually take to and from the market.  Legs slowly coming to a stop as the vehicle pulled away, arms gently dropping to your side breathing more heavily than usual. You decided this was a good time to use your inhaler since you just got it refilled. Opening the brown paper bag, your free hand reached inside and pulled out the small white box. Before you could get it open, from the corner of your eye you noticed a plant. At that moment you were reminded that you’ve been wanting some plants for your apartment for a while now. It was to not only help for those days when you don’t go outside, but to bring more life into your place other than your little furry pet, your Siamese cat named Eclipse.

Turning your head there were more plants that your eyes laid upon. Looking up to see what store it could be, the sign above the entrance with capital lettering that spelled out ‘SEEDS’. Hand still holding the box that held your medicine you continued to open the box, shaking the small medicine you removed the cap and placed it between your brown lined and glossed lips. Pressing down on the small metal container it released the medicine as you took a deep breath which you then held for a few seconds before repeating the actions for a second time. Your eyes never left the sign reminding yourself of the store’s name. In case another bus decides to arrive early, you decided that you’d come back at a later date.

Meanwhile Vash noticed your figure outside of the store as you took your medication. His blue eyes watched as you looked at the plants and then the sign. Your dark mahogany hair was pulled up into a braided fro-hawk, your short curvy body dressed in  simple black cargo pants with a cropped red and white graphic tee. The blonde then noticed your white and black platform sneakers. His attention then was gathered to his mom who had nudged him and gestured for him to invite you inside. His face slightly changed to a soft pink, embarrassed by being noticed. He softly cleared his throat and moved towards you. “Excuse me,” He called out. “Would you like to take a look at more plants that we have inside?”. When your attention shifted to the tall male he felt his heart skip a beat, your round deep brown eyes looking at him as your plush glossed lip formed into a small sheepish smile. 

“O-Oh, I’m good thank you. I sort of missed my bus and kinda don’t want to miss the next one.” You told him as you picked up your bag and pulled it onto your shoulder. Placing your inhaler into your pants pocket, you leaned your body back a bit to see if a bus was coming. Public transportation schedules are as random as a period, being late or early whenever it wants. “I definitely will come back when I can though, I’ve been meaning to get plants for a while.”

Vash softly nodded. “Ah okay, well we’re the best place for all kinds of plants” He smiled at you brightly. You couldn’t help but smile more at the male, he was cute and you wished you could talk to him a bit more. You peeked more into the store turning your head from left to right seeing plants of various sizes.

“Depending on which Bus you’re taking, both of them have been delayed” A different voice had spoken, it was a deeper voice than the guy in front of you. Looking past the guy in front of you,  you noticed an equally tall male with darker blonde hair that held up his phone. “I looked up the schedule for both, there’s some traffic going on so both buses have been delayed by 20 minutes.”

Vash gestured his head for you to come into the store. “Were there any specific types of plants that you were looking for?” He asked as he walked with you. Soft lofi music filled your ears for a moment before you nodded. There were specific plants in separate areas, you noticed small ones like small cacti and aloe, to large plants such as a palm trees the only ones that you recognize. 

“Well I’m looking for an indoor-outdoor plant that’s at least safe for cats to be around” You told him as you looked around before your eyes landed back onto him before something cool and metallic gently brushed up against your hand. The man beside you had a prosthetic arm, you looked back up at him. “Ah sorry for staring, just sort of felt something cold touch my hand.”

“It’s no worries” He assured you, the mole on his cheek moving up as he smiled at you. “I’m used to it, sorry if it startled you.” He shifted to the side a bit to make space as he didn’t notice that he was standing a bit too close to you. The blonde softly furrowed his brows to think about which plant would be good for you. “We actually have many, some that can survive off  humidity from a simple shower.” He walked over to the smaller plants before picking up a striped leaf plant. “This is a Calathea Prayer Plant. There are about fifty 59 other species of Calathea making it sixty in total” Vash held out the plant for you to examine it, he watched as your eyes shifted as you looked at the various leaf sizes of the small plant. Lips curling into a small smile you nodded and looked up at Vash who quickly looked back at the plant before nodding as well. He placed the plant onto a cart nearby before moving over to the other plants that he had in mind.

“If you are forgetful, like me” He softly chuckled. “ The Haworthia Zebra plant is a great alternative to aloe plants and can survive weeks without water.”

“Speaking of  these need to be watered” A woman’s voice spoke from behind Vash startling him. “Excuse me Vash” The woman was taller than you but not as tall as the blonde who’s name you now know. “Welcome to SEED’s I hope he’s being very helpful to you” You could hear a soft giggle emit from the woman as she acknowledged how she had startled Vash.

“He’s being very helpful, I’m already liking the sounds of the plants Vash has explained to me so far” You warmly smiled at the older woman. 

The way his name left your lips had Vash blushing a bit, he quickly turned away to notice Brad who smirked at him as he saw the young one blushing as knowing it was because of you. Turning his attention back to you and Luida, he had just heard Luida introduce herself to you. Being close to you Vash had noticed that you were wearing a soft perfume, it wasn’t from some of the flowers that were nearby. Though he barely knows you, he feels like it was the perfect scent for you as if you were a unique flower yourself.

“My name is Y/N “ You softly smiled and extended your hand out which Ludia gladly shook. You turned your attention back to Vash, your hand still held out to him which he didn't notice as his mind was occupied trying to pinpoint the smell of your perfume. It wasn’t until he was nudged by Luida for the second time. 

This time a soft giggle escaped from your lips as Vash was startled once again. He looked at his mother and back down to you before noticing your outstretched arm and your hand in front of him. Taking it into his own he gently shook it, his free hand softly rubbing the back of his head as he smiled out of embarrassment. “Ah sorry– your uh perfume reminds of a few flowers we have here. It's very nice.” He admitted. “Y/N you said? It’s uh very nice to meet you”. Vash wanted to hide behind the register if he could.

“Nice to meet you too and thank you” You smiled. “Are these air purifying plants? I do want something that’s helpful for my asthma.”

“Oh the prayer plant is safe” Vash nodded before moving away a bit from Luida to show you more plants. “The spider plant is perfect for a small shelf in a room or on a desk if you have one. It’s perfectly safe for your pet as well.” He picked up the plant showing it to you, the little many leaves that remind you of overgrown blades of grass seeing where the name spider comes from. 

“This is cute, just like you.” You smiled looking up at Vash who smiled as well. “I’ll definitely get this one”

Vash, having no idea for a moment that you mentioned that he was cute nodded before stopping in place as you gently took the plant from his hands. Hearing you softly giggle, his blue eyes looked as you smiled warmly at him. His face went red quickly. “Wow um thank you” He nervously laughed. ”Um so just the spider plant?” He asked as he walked over to the register. 

“Brad could you come over and move this fern for me please” Ludia called for the older man that stood behind the register. He walked away from the register leaving you and Vash alone, though he and Ludia stood not too far from the register.

“So the spider plant is low maintenance,” Vash softly smiled as he turned his attention back to you and your new plant. “It only needs about bright to moderate sun exposure, and freshwater. Tap water has fluoride which can cause burnt tips in the plant.” 

You nod as you type down the advice into your cell phone. “If I have any other questions should I call the store?” You ask him as you notice a card with the store’s information taking the small piece of paper into your hand from the stack of card copies.

As the opportunity had presented itself to Vash, he began to blush. “Yes, you can call the shop.” He nodded. “But we are closed on Mondays, so uh here–” He grabbed a pen and wrote his personal number on another card before handing it over to you. “Just in case you have questions and we happen to be closed you can call me.”

You smile and nod, taking the card and placing it into your pocket. “Thank you Vash, I really appreciate that.” You were pretty surprised that he gave you his number and hoped that the both of you could possibly chat about more than just plants. With that you paid for your plant. After stepping out of the store the bus that you were waiting for had arrived on time, you waved bye to Vash and his parents as you stepped onto the bus.

____________________________________________________________

After a while you had been taking care of you and just like you had hoped, you and Vash had been talking to each other for a while. Though you still hadn’t learned what happened to his arm you sensed that it was probably a sensitive topic to bring up. You visited the shop when you could and once you were ready had gotten your second plant for your apartment. When hanging out with Vash you both would go to the park and walk around and chat, some days he would even accompany you when you have to pick up your medicine which you appreciated. Other things that you learned about Vash is that he can easily strike up conversations with different types of people. You noticed by the different types of people that visit the shop on days that you stop by that Vash could make those who aren’t familiar with plants what type of plants suit them and their lifestyle as well help them understand how to care for that plant.

 Everyday that you and Vash are around each other, you find yourself falling for the blonde more and him the same, except Vash day dreams more or finds himself staring at you more than usual when you stop by the shop and are chatting with his mom showing her pictures of you cat with your plants. Luida and Brad notice how Vash tends to talk about you a bit more especially when you aren’t there, just from a simple word that reminds him of you. Brad of course teases him causing him to blush and whine out of embarrassment. One day he openly tells you about him being taken in by Luida and Brad after the loss of his real mom due to a car accident which also resulted in the loss of his arm at the age of 11. You were glad that he got comfortable enough to tell you such a personal thing. When he also mentioned his twin you could see the hurt in his eyes as he tells the story, though after he tells it he manages to smile being glad that he had Luida and Brad but also having met you and his other friends Nicolas and Meryl. To which you’ve also met when you visited the shop.

One afternoon  you wake up from a nap  with a tight feeling in your chest. Only able to take short breaths, you realize you're having an asthma attack. You reach out and grab your inhaler from your bedside table and use it. You try to take deep breaths but it doesn’t help, you grab your phone and dial 911. When you explain your situation as best as you can, you are able to get help. While waiting an uncomfortable feeling hits your gut and you find yourself rushing to the bathroom as quickly and steadily as you can without making your asthma attack worse. As soon as you make it inside, push up the lid and the seat of the toilet and release the contents of what you ate that morning. Your groan from the pain while still trying to maintain your breathing. You tiredly stand up and flush the toilet before washing your hands and rinsing your mouth out. Moving back to your room as slowly as possible you grab your bag while your cat meows at you with concern, you slip on your crocs and a zip up hoodie and move towards your living room.

 Within 10  minutes the ambulance arrives and gets to your apartment. Since you lived on the ground floor, the EMT’s didn’t have to take too long to get to you. Your apartment Just as they arrived seeing you sitting on the floor as you were far too tired to  even get onto the couch. Meanwhile Vash wanted to surprise you with a visit and flowers, seeing the ambulance, the blonde’s dark brows softly furrowed, the look of concern on his face. He hoped whoever was having a medical emergency he hoped they were alright. 

As soon as he walks into the building he stops in his tracks once he sees your familiar figure laying on the stretcher with the EMT taking you to the ambulance truck. “Y/N!” He calls out getting close to the EMT.

“Do you know him ma’am?” the EMT asks you just as you reach your hand out for Vash nodding. Vash looks at your apartment manager and hands them the flowers.

“Please take care of them for me, please they’re for her.” He tells them

They allow Vash into the ambulance  after they get you inside. You look at Vash who held your hand, while one of the EMT’s sat in the back and made sure you were strapped onto the stretcher. You breathed deeply as you could as you could slightly hear wheezing emitting from you even with the loud sounds of the siren. 

“When’s the last time you used an inhaler?” the EMT asked.

“This morning.” You breathed out through the mask as you breathed in the oxygen.”I used my flovent.” 

Nodding the EMT continued to ask the basic questions of your information to which Vash kindly helped.  She then checked the window of the door from the back of the ambulance to see where the vehicle was before her attention went back to you and Vash. “We’re almost there” She assured the both of you but mostly looking at a concerned Vash who’s eyes stayed on you. He watched as you breathed in as much oxygen as you could before breathing out. 

Once the ambulance stopped, the EMT, a male, that was driving got out of the driver’s seat while the other temporarily removed the oxygen mask from you before getting the male EMTs help to move your stretcher out of the vehicle.  Vash followed from behind as they moved you through the hospital and into a room. A nurse nearby helped you into the bed adjusting it’s height to have you elevated and placed you on oxygen once again as the EMTs spoke to the doctor. Vash sat in a chair close to your bed silent still looking worried. You gently touched the nurse and temporarily moved the oxygen mask. You were feeling nauseous suddenly and tried your best to hold it back so you wouldn’t throw up all over yourself.

“I need a bucket..” You softly told the nurse, once she heard what you said she left the room quickly before returning with a bucket. As soon as she gently placed the plastic bin onto your lap you released whatever was left in your stomach again. Tears pricking your eyes at the painful feeling of the sudden release, your one free hand squeezed the edge of the hospital bed before feeling a warm and cold hand gently enveloping it. Vash held your hand not letting go even once you had finished. 

The nurse had then taken the bucket away once you assured her that you were fine for now. She had then disappeared into the bathroom of your room to discard the contents of the bucket and clean it out before returning it to you and leaving once again and returning to do the usual check up stuff. Once she got your temperature and blood pressure she gave you a gown to change into and  cup for you to pee in. She helped you up and into the bathroom before giving you privacy to pee.

There were many thoughts running through Vash’s head and he didn’t want to lose someone again. Though you were able to stand and move around even with help. He couldn’t help that lingering feeling of the worse case scenario. Though he knows that you’ve dealt with asthma attacks before and you know that you’re prepared for the worst case, it just felt scary to him. The click from the door being unlocked and opening took Vash out of his thoughts, his blue eyes went from looking at the floor to looking up at you in the hospital gown being helped back into bed as the nurse took the cup from you. Another nurse enters the room with a nebulizer on a cart with a solution for you to take. Just then the doctor walks in after the two nurses leave.

“Hello, I’m Doctor Stein.” She introduced herself. “I see you are in for an asthma attack, from the EMT’s notes you said you showed no signs that morning of a possible attack and took your required medication.” She had looked over the papers and back at you to which you nodded yes in response. 

“I take flovent in the morning and my usual allergy medicine which is flonase and zyrtec.” You tell her as the doctor nods and takes an otoscope to check your ears, then  an ophthalmoscope to check your eyes. You could tell that Vash looked nervous for you, and you have given him a thumbs up to assure him that you’ll be okay. 

“Because of the severity of your attack we’ll have you stay overnight just in case of any changes.” The doctor tells you. “If no changes happen, you can be released tomorrow afternoon, if your boyfriend can bring you some clothes of course.” She softly smiled at you both.

Vash immediately gets flustered and looks at you then the doctor. “O-oh no we aren’t dating” He shyly smiled. Though you two weren’t official, he liked that the doctor assumed so.

Nearly a month later since your release from the hospital Vash had been out of it more than usual. Though it didn’t seem like it to strangers, you could tell mostly by his eyes. Though his smile made it seem like he was okay, you knew that wasn’t the case. You were very careful with your asthma and some days when hanging with Vash he still wanted you to be careful, especially one day while out with him it had suddenly rained. You two decided to head back to your apartment and instead of letting you run, Vash carried you the whole way, letting you wear his jacket over your head. Despite having to tell him that you could run he refused to even put you down. Even a small sneeze would get him concerned, and you’d have to tell him jokingly that your allergies were just reminding you that they still exist.

One day while Vash was over at your apartment, which was now fairly decorated in assortment of plants that you had gathered over time and taken care of with Vash’s help Eclipse was sitting in his lap enjoying him petting her purring loudly as she had gotten comfortable around Vash. The blonde had looked over at you in your kitchen as you told him wanted to make both of you lunch, even though he offered to help you simply told him that he was a guest and that you know he can’t refuse Mocha pets.  Once lunch was made, which was salmon cakes with rice and spinach, to which Vash dearly enjoyed, you both sat out on your balcony on your bunch while Mocha took a nap inside. 

“Vash, I'm glad you were there last month.” You admit as you watch people in your building walk through the courtyard. “I usually hate being alone at the hospital, especially after an attack.”

The blonde looked over at you just as the clouds had gently parted, the sun shining in your brown eyes that looked over at him. Vash couldn’t help but blush at the way they sparkled and looked like pools of chocolate, your two toned plush glossed lips pulled into a small smile with your one small dimple making its presence known. It was like he was looking at a goddess right next to him, your hair was braided and was placed in a high-low ponytail decorated with gold accessories.

“I’m glad I could be there for you.” Vash smiled. “Though I didn’t say much at that time, I honestly was really scared for you.” Worried had shown on his face once again before being completely erased as you had suddenly reached over and kissed his check leaving a mixture of a warm brownish pink on his pale cheek which quickly turned red as he began to blush.

“I was scared I’ll admit but having you there really helped me.” You tell him as you gently grab his hand. “Having met you, your family and friends has helped me feel less alone since I moved here.”

Vash still in a trance from feeling your plush lips touch his cheek softly nodded. A giggle escaped your lips as you waved your hand in front of his face. “Hey earth to Vash Stampede” You say. “I’m trying my best to tell you how I feel–” You were quickly silenced by Vash as he pressed his lips against your own. Feeling you smile against his lips was enough to assure him that he in fact wasn’t dreaming. His heart raced more and more even as you both parted, seeing you look at him with the way he finds himself looking at you. The look that everyone else saw him do when you were near him made him feel very warm. 

“Actions speak louder than words, but to assure you” Vash gently smiled. “I love you Y/N.” His eyes spoke more than anything and he wasn’t lying. Smiling once again you leaned in for another kiss before a soft meow could be heard by the both of you. Looking behind you, Eclipse gently pawed at Vash. Both of you laughed as Vash picked up your furry feline. 

“I love you too Vash” You smiled happily being able to have this moment with your plant shop crush.

[selineram3421]

I was holding this back for a while but now I'ma dive head in.

Isekai'd

Prologue: Survival

Vash (Tristamp) X Reader

Warning! ⚠

⚠ Cussing, you get yeeted into the desert at some point, forget surviving on Earth, how the hell are you gonna survive on Noman's Land!? ⚠

Your day had been shit.

College was taking most of your money and you were living off of instant noodles to survive.

As soon as you got home, you flopped down face first onto your bed, completely done with everything. Letting out a groan, you turned on your side and got your phone to find an anime to watch.

I hate this. I'm not living, I'm surviving.

Scrolling down the list of recent releases, you spot the new version of Trigun.

"Oh, its out now.", you mumbled and sat up, looking around your apartment. "I should make something to eat."

After setting up your laptop and getting food ready, you put on your head set and pressed play. The episode started out with the fall and then it got a little too much with one problem after another.

I get they want us to witness some of the shenanigans but this is too much. You thought, slurping on the noodles. Welp, good thing I don't have any classes on the weekend. I'm gonna stay up all night.

When the episodes for season one finished, you noticed the sun rising behind the blinds on your window.

"I STAYED UP ALL NIGHT!?", you shout and groan, covering your face in shame. "I can hear my mom scolding me already."

You get up and go over to your bed after cleaning the desk up.

"Whatever, its the weekend and I live alone. No one is here to nag at me.", you yawn and close the blinds, getting ready to knock out. "I can sleep for as long as I want."

Yesterday was hell, and you were too tired to change your clothes.

Feeling yourself start to drift off, you wonder how the humans on Noman's Land can survive in that heat.

Not my problem. You think before closing your eyes.

.

..

...?

Why aren't I going to sleep? And when did it get so hot in the room?

Opening your eyes, you end up seeing a blue sky with two scorching suns instead of your ceiling.

Huh? Two suns!?

You sit up quick and feel the hot sand. Looking around, only seeing sand dunes.

"No..", you say, feeling yourself shiver in disgust.

I hate the heat!

"NO!!", you cry out and stand up. "I was only wondering how they survived! I didn't want to be in the same situation!"

Why and how did I end up here!?

"What the fuck is going on!?", you cry out.

My friend made me some dividers! Yay✨

~Seline, the person.

Next: Part 1

ML Vash | ChL Isekai'd

[tcringetourney]

here is the official tcringe tourney bracket! the first wave of polls will go up tomorrow. since this is such a large bracket, i’ll be rolling out polls in waves of 8. the first round will be open for a week, with waves dropped on a one-day delay! and under the readmore, you’ll find a transcribed list of the bracket. be warned, there are 128 characters here!

Left side:

Scout (Team Fortress 2) vs Maximus (Tangled)

Crona Gorgon (Soul Eater) vs Kevin (Up)

Dirk Strider (Homestuck) vs Raine Whispers (The Owl House)

Harrowhark Nonagesimus (The Locked Tomb) vs Dismas (Darkest Dungeon)

Harrier DuBois (Disco Elysium) vs Ellzor Umberspore (Not Another D&D Podcast)

Shiver (Splatoon) vs Miss Frizzle (Magic School Bus)

Marik Ishtar (Yugioh) vs Tumblr Anon Profile Picture (Real Life)

Asa Mitaka (Chainsaw Man) vs Tadashi Yamaguchi (Haikyuu!)

Penny (Pokemon Scarlet and Violet) vs Vriska Serket (Homestuck)

Link (Legend of Zelda) vs Kaname Date (AI: The Somnium Files)

The Collector (The Owl House) vs Venti (Genshin Impact)

Luz Noceda (The Owl House) vs Magne (My Hero Academia)

Yes-Man (Fallout New Vegas) vs Apollo Justice (Ace Attorney)

Reigen Araraka (Mob Psycho 100) vs Kuina Hikari (Alice in Borderland)

Doug Eiffel (Wolf 359) vs Jesus (The Bible)

Me (Real Life) vs Leorio Paradinight (Hunter x Hunter)

Fabian Seacaster (Dimension 20) vs Briar (Branching Out)

Dipper Pines (Gravity Falls) vs Alex Fierro (Riordanverse)

Castiel (Supernatural) vs Waluigi (Mario)

Ivankov (One Piece) vs June Egbert (Homestuck)

Mr. 2 Bon Clay (One Piece) vs Sokka (Avatar: The Last Airbender)

Ur mom (Real Life) vs Leo Valdez (Riordanverse)

Pyro (Team Fortress 2) vs The Dragon (Jane and the Dragon)

Crowley (Good Omens) vs Eddy (Duolingo)

Emperor Belos (The Owl House) vs Peter Parker (Toby Maguire’s Spiderman)

Sweetheart (Omori) vs Nick Danforth-Evans (Julie and the Phantoms)

Jerma (Real Life) vs M&Ms (Real Life)

Kajiyama Fuuta (Milgram) vs Jeremy Heere (Be More Chill)

Shin Tsukimi (Your Turn to Die) vs Ena (Ena)

Isaac (The Binding of Isaac) vs Allied Mastercomputer/A.M. (I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream)

Ranma (Ranma 1/2) vs Klaus Hargreeves (The Umbrella Academy)

Fred Grant (Hamster & Gretel) vs Benrey (Half Life VR AI)

Right Side:

Spy (Team Fortress 2) vs Varian (Tangled)

Sanji (One Piece) vs Milhouse (The Simpsons)

Gonzo (The Muppets) vs Hero (Omori)

Cecil Gershwin Palmer (Welcome to Night Vale) vs Makoto Naegi (Danganronpa)

Hardwon Surefoot (Not Another D&D Podcast) vs Mina Zarei (Paranatural)

Bugs Bunny (Looney Tunes) vs Sabine Wren (Star Wars Rebels)

Deuu Dino (CNP) vs Nightblood (The Cosmere)

Benny (Fallout New Vegas) vs Klavier Gavin (Ace Attorney)

Alphys (Undertale) vs Angel Devil (Chainsaw Man)

Dave Strider (Homestuck) vs Elliot Dunkel (El Goonish Shive)

The Onceler (The Lorax) vs Chuck E. Cheese (Real Life)

Buggy the Clown (One Piece) vs Hinata Tachibana (Fabiniku)

Jake English (Homestuck) vs Kris Dreemurr (Deltarune)

You (Real Life) vs Tsukishima Kei (Haikyuu!)

Tome Kurata (Mob Psycho 100) vs Neptune (RWBY)

Ianthe Tridentarius (The Locked Tomb) vs Osiris (Destiny)

Vash the Stampede (Trigun) vs Fox Mulder (The X-Files)

Evan Kelmp (Dimension 20) vs Paracelsus (Darkest Dungeons)

Bocchi (Bocchi the Rock) vs Terezi Pyrope (Homestuck)

Haruhi Fujioka (Ouran High School Host Club) vs Bakugo (My Hero Academia)

Nagito Komaeda (Danganronpa) vs Luther (The Umbrella Academy)

Fujisaki Chihiro (Danganronpa) vs Dean Winchester (Supernatural)

Sniper (Team Fortress 2) vs Fujimoto (Ponyo)

Space Boyfriend (Omori) vs Zirk Vervain (Not Another D&D Podcast)

Rouxls Kaard (Deltarune) vs Robbie Rotten (Lazytown)

Ranboo (Minecraft Youtube) vs Arthur Dent (Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy)

Sakurai Haruka (Milgram) vs Luke Patterson (Julie and the Phantoms)

Hunter (The Owl House) vs Dib (Invader Zim)

Jesse Pinkman (Breaking Bad) vs Wheatley (Portal)

Grell (Black Butler) vs Viktor Hargreeves (The Umbrella Academy)

Shut (Go Princess Precure) vs Kakashi Hatake (Naruto)

Wonderlands x Showtime (Project SEKAI) vs Rodney Copperbottom (Robots)

[screechthemighty]

Okay, part two of my Second Read of Trigun notes! We'll see if I get to the TriMax notes tonight, lol, but they are coming next. Those notes will be a lot more incoherent since that was a first readthrough and I had Many Thoughts.

Trigun Notes: Volume 2

Trigun #2.1: Blood and Thunder

Weirdly enough, NML has normal-looking pigeons in the manga

BLUESUMMERS YOU BITCH

Bluesummers aware that Vash’s pacifism is related to Rem’s sacrifice, throws that in his face and says it holds him back–not inaccurate, but RUDE. [Note: does he know this from Knives whining about her? Interesting thought that Knives has complained about his mom to his codependent right hand man]

So Vash is just hanging out and Bluesummers shows up, makes a ton of threats, leaves a severed head and waltzes off…what an intro.

Monev in that basement for 20+ years, corresponds roughly to the Stampede timeline of 20 from his return home to his confrontation with Vash @ the Windmill

Trigun #2.2: Diablo

“You could say that we’re caretakers of these seeds” - another element to Vash being so protective of humanity

“If [Alex] were alive today, I’m sure he’d do the same.” Rem haunted by Alex’s death like Vash will be haunted by hers

Interesting that we never clearly see Knives’ face in the flashbacks and he’s not even visible until he gloats about killing Rem

“Humans are ridiculous. They waste their lives on foolish feelings.” Hi, pot, meet kettle

Vash goes from angry and brooding to smiling (still sad, but smiling) the second Milly enters, but she again catches a glimpse of what’s underneath. Straight up decides she doesn’t want to touch that, though (can’t blame her!) [Note: still obsessed with how observant she is!!!]

Trigun #2.3: Fragile

Content Warnings: Just barely covered anime nudity

“Be still and listen when people are speaking to you” Knives: condescending in every timeline

“No. I’m the one who’s dangerous…hurry up…come and get me!” My dude is in pain and still has the guts to think that…love him

“If I shoot him now, then she’ll die” which stage of grief is this

So he was 100% about to shoot Monev before he remembered Rem…this bad boy can fit so much rage in him

Trigun #2.4: Scars

“Why does so much trouble follow this man? What kind of fate is he carrying?” His identical twin brother sucks, next question

Tiddy grill some kind of protective measure, maybe?

Meryl asks why Vash doesn’t just put away his guns and hide; Vash cites his inability to save Rem and the fact that he hasn’t settled the score with Knives as the reason why he can’t. [Future note: oooooggggh trimax made this worse too]

“I have only two choices: to die or let others die?! Rem didn’t sacrifice herself for that!” he is SO not just talking about himself here.

“From now on, I’m hunting you!” Run, bitch!!!!

Trigun #2.5: Slaughter Cafe

Content Warnings: Mention of rape and sex slavery, onscreen gore

Okay, I don’t condone murder but these dudes were SO asking for it

Irony  of the guy formerly denied all autonomy turning that back on those who hurt him? [Note: I feel like there’s a lot to unpack here actually]

Legato blaming Vash for him losing his patience…buddy you can say you have trauma and a grudge, that’s justifiable! [Note: Honestly, this moment strikes me as interesting in light of him condemning those who “let” him be violated as the same as those who hurt him…or does he figure that it doesn’t matter if he kills them now because they’ll die later, so him intervening in the moment is just a lapse of judgment? Again lot to unpack here]

Trigun #2.6: Gathering of the Devils

“[Legato’s] eyes were bottomless. I couldn’t read any truth in there.” -Vash

WOLFWOOD!!!

“That’s one well-prepared dead guy” Nightow sir…Don’t

“I’m a priest” Everyone: X to doubt

“Let me guess, your life’s full of nothing but trouble” Yeah, WW, you could say that

Wolfwood: It’s not exactly like that Me: Oh, I know

I also get SUPER nervous about the Eye having confessionals like. What in the blackmail material [Note: They never do end up doing anything with this outside of it being a signifier of Christianity–a smokescreen on Wolfwood’s part, maybe? To seem like a regular priest? Though with the EoM being a more widespread cult in Stampede timeline, I feel like you could still do something with that]

Vash indicating that the orphans shouldn’t steal because WW has no money himself–wouldn’t have snitched if he had?

“I see you hurtin’ and grinnin’ just to bear it.” HHHHHH…calling him out within seconds! Seeing the true nature of another! Flipping that cross timelines!!!

Trigun #2.7: Eye of Invisibility

Honestly obsessed with the design of manga!Jeneora Rock

Can’t tell if that’s supposed to be blood or cremation smoke…both options bad

Update, it’s probably blood

How did I only just now notice he never fixed his arm…he’s LITERALLY about to beat her one-handed

Trigun #2.8: Fifth Moon

Content Warnings: Suicide by fall, gore, anime nudity (Knives has no visible dick), suicidal thoughts

Screams internally

LBR Vash wasn’t just using the pain in his finger

So WW is already dissatisfied with the work he’s doing and having second thoughts, but also convinced he can’t get out–”If I run, I’ll be devoured” [Future note: You give up so easily, Wolfwood]

Meryl smacking the shit out of Vash when he tries to get her to run…gutsy play LMAO

Crazy-eyed, long-haired Knives is 100% on my s2 wishlist NGL

Took a second read to see but uhh yeah “shattered” is a good way to describe that spine

Insert that tumblr post about this somehow still meaning Legato is his favorite here

WW watching all this like “what the actual hell did I walk into” is the only comedy I get

“You’ve hurt so many more than you’ve killed, and compare that to all the destruction you’ve caused…so shouldn’t you point that thing somewhere else?” SHUT up you weird gaslighting man!!!

I MISSED ON A FIRST READ THAT HE SHOT HIS OWN LEGS TO CHANGE THE ANGLE, AY YO??

“Maybe we–I–should have never been born” OOF

“Is this from the Hand of God? Answer me, Vash the Stampede!” Buddy he doesn’t have an answer to that

Trigun: Day In, Day Out

“Mr. John P. Smith (Alias)” Vash…

“He made it through another day with no casualties! Well done!” Lmaoo

Also the fact that he plays with the neighborhood kids…Baby

Trigun: Pilot

Vash encouraging her to keep looking–”I don’t think you’re stupid enough to ignore those on whom your life was built?”--bit of projecting? Especially WRT his feelings on Rem as the foundation of this world?

“How’s it feel, Sheriff? Being at the mercy of a stray mutt?” (Vash) Absolute BANGER

“Vash the STampede. A man whose name means ‘reckless.’” Sure does, damn

[sword-dad-fukuzawa]

your thoughts on Single Mom!Nai x Baby Daddy!Vash? Hate sex had to have been happening over those 150 years + Nai thinking maybe “If you want it done right you have to do it yourself” + mistake belief of “If there’s a baby he’ll stay”. They are young, dumb, and horny. I think Nai would be delighted to be a parent. Vash would be having a crisis.

oooh. i ruminated on this one for a while, thanks for sending this!

i think that nai would be delighted, but i also think he'd be scared out of his damn mind. that is a guy deeply characterized by fear and anxiety about the millions (lol) of things he can't control. bringing a child into a world guaranteed to hurt and exploit them? he'd be scared shitless. probably even more murderous than usual. if there's anything that could make him more intense, it'd be the thought that he has a kid on the way, because he's not just building eden for himself and vash anymore.

vash would have a crisis, definitely. how can he bring a kid into a world this cruel? he'd have to be more careful, less willing to throw himself into danger. less self sacrificial. i think that he'd run the fuck away and i think he'd hate himself for it, but i also think he'd come around in the end and have a massive falling out in his own brain about it.

also nai's pregnancy would be awful and he would be even angrier than usual all the time heeheehee

[triplesilverstar]

what if they visited the grave and it had been vandalized in some way?

there is so much going on in my head right now. thank you for the fic of single dad Vash

You Anon, are cruel. I like it. So here's a little follow-up to Dawn and Vash going to visit the grave of their mom/wife!

Rating: 18+ Minors DNI

Pairing: Vash X F!Reader

CW: Pregnancy, character death, dying after childbirth, angst, Vash having trauma, medical inaccuracies, widowed Vash, Dad Vash, Single Dad Vash, dead mom, depressing thoughts, vandalized grave, more heartache for Vash

Word count: roughly .7K 

You can find the original single dad Vash post here.

Vash can feel the burning in his stomach as he stares at the sight before him, can feel the pressure in his knuckles as he clenches his fist tightly to stop himself from lashing out. It isn’t help the way his mind wants him to scream his rage into the swirling wind. 

Instead he grinds his teeth as he tries to swallow the pain eating at him from the inside as he stares at your grave. 

Your very vandalised grave. 

Vash had agreed with Dawn that he would at last take his little girl to see where you were resting. He had agreed when she had been closer two, but he held off for a little while. Worried about her safety if he showed up too soon with his daughter that took so much after you minus the blond hair and teal eyes Dawn had inherited from him.

It happened to work out that the pair arrived back in the town his daughter had been born in on her fifth birthday. 

He hadn’t expected to find this waiting for him. 

Most of the planet had crosses, things made quickly for the dead. Vash, before he had left with the newborn Dawn had used some of his remaining power to carve your name into a basalt rock that was roughly the size of a headstone. Had lugged it back and placed it on the mound of earth that covered your body before he left with his infant daughter to hide with Granny and Lina. 

Now, that same headstone had been toppled and cracked. Painted with the words “Stampede’s whore” over where your name should have been. He’d been glad he placed enough heavy stones over your body before the rest of the dirt had been returned to the grave he had dug. Otherwise you might have been disturbed.

That single piece of solace doesn’t sooth his aching heart. 

From beside him, Dawn moves, taking a step closer. “Dawn…” A choked out sob escapes him as he tries to bury all of his emotions, what a terrible birthday for his little girl who had been so excited to visit you. 

With blurry eyes Vash reaches out to grab her arm, unsure if he wants to console himself or his physically young adult daughter. His fingers ghost the side of her forearm as Dawn crouches closer to the toppled stone, Vash watches her as her gloved hand reaches out to brush some of the sand away from the stone. 

“Hi, Mom.” Unlike Vash her voice is more even, but he can hear the sadness lacing her words. “Dad finally brought me to see you. It’s only been a few years but I feel like that was too long, you must have gotten lonely.” Another brush of her fingers before Vash hears the audible swallow Dawn makes as she forces her tears down. A reminder how far the apple fell from the tree. “It’s ok though. Dad and I will fix this up and stay a while so you aren’t as lonely ok!” 

It breaks his heart in another way. He should have been the one to offer words of reassurance about fixing your grave, not his daughter. She shouldn’t have to be the strong one right now, not on her birthday. A few steps and Vash kneels himself smiling sadly well aware you can’t see his face and the tears running down his cheeks. “Our little sprout is right Mayfly. We’ll get this all fixed up, then we both have a lot to tell you.” 

It’s back breaking labour over the next few days as the pair fix the headstone and clean it, both talking to you as if you’re still there with them. It eases some of the pain in Vash’s chest seeing Dawn talk to you so adamantly and he realises for the first time since he lost you, that you’re still with him. 

Because Dawn, with never knowing you except through him is all the best parts of your soul, your heart, that keep reminding him he needs to keep living. How she’s also the best parts of him with the kindness she has welling out of her. He just wishes he had seen it before he had to have his heart broken into pieces once more. 

I'm cruel and I'm ok with that!

[novasintheroom]

144. Nervous

♡ Pairing - Vash x Reader

♡ Word count - 1.1k

♡ Warnings - none

Part of the 150 Bullets drabble series on AO3

The urge hits him on a random Tuesday.

There he is, minding his own business, on the way to the gunsmith to buy more bullets and maybe snag a donut somewhere along the way. Then there’s something shiny, on the ground, there. He picks it up – a button, probably popped off someone’s vest while they weren’t looking. It’s opalescent; it gives off a dull sheen of rainbow of colors on white when he moves it this way and that.

A small treasure, to be sure, but it hits him while looking at one of the four holes drilled into the button – this would be perfect for you.

He pockets it and goes on his way with a skip in his step.

He presents it to you later when you’ve met up outside a small Mom and Pop’s restaurant in town.

“Oh, pretty,” you hum, looking at it in the dying light. “Where’d you find it?”

“On the ground,” he says proudly.

You give him a smile. “Living up to your ‘birdie’ name, huh?” You slide it back across the table. You’re giving it back.

He pouts. “No, it’s for you!”

You raise your brows. “You…want me to sew it on something for you?”

“No, it’s just…” he struggles for words. It’s just meant for you. “Just keep it.”

“Vash, what am I gonna do with a button?”

He’s saved from answering when the waiter comes with your orders. He doesn’t see you with the button again after dinner. He’s disappointed.

The next time it happens, you’re both creeping through a bandit camp, trying to save a group of traveling merchants who got themselves tangled up in a deal gone wrong. The guards are none-the-wiser or knocked out, and the rest of them are sleeping off the alcohol they stole from the shipment. You just may get away with this.

Until a BANG goes off. The bullet misses his head by millimeters, the shell landing at his feet. The guard is yelling something, rousing the rest of the bandits to get up (albeit slowly and on wobbly feet), but his attention is on the bullet shell.

It’s shiny.

Quicker than he has time to process, he pockets the hot shell and grabs your hand, running through the camp.

Afterward, with the merchants saved and the bandit camp destroyed (by their own doing, no less), you’re both sitting by the fire, enjoying the sounds of celebration around you. The merchants have circled their carts, freely dancing to a banjo someone pulled out.

Vash thinks to bring out the shell. He palms it in his hand, lets it roll and glint on his fingers. Then, he takes your hand and puts it there.

You look at him strangely. “A bullet shell?”

Something in him withers at your look. But he manages to nod and smile. “Found it earlier.”

Your lips twitch upward. “On the ground, I’m guessing?”

Now he feels foolish. Nervous. What is he doing, presenting you with a bullet shell? A part of him cries that it’s too dull to be considered worthy. Another part wonders – worthy of what? His brain feels fuzzy; two parts of him fighting for a spot – logic, and whatever the hell is going on with him. He lets out a bashful laugh and looks down.

You hum, and he glances over as you roll the shell on your palm. You pocket it, and he doesn’t see it again. He’s disappointed.

The third time, Vash gets suspicious. In the middle of prying off a rare shiny nail from the inside of a derelict ship, he wonders, Is this a Plant thing?

He’s collected shiny things over the years. Lost them, hidden them, has a stash or two across the deserts. But he’s never considered giving them to someone. Not until you. He wonders what’s different. The nail is placed in his pocket as he returns to the small camp you’ve set up outside the ruins.

You’re working on something in your lap. You glance over at him and give him a smile before going back to your task. He sits nearby, eager to present the nail, but knowing it’s better to wait for your attention.

“Hey, look at what I made,” you say. Without preamble, you hold up your creation: a singular earring, a pearly button dangling from its chain. The pearly button, to be exact. “And – “ you hold up another earring – this one a bullet shell (the bullet shell) with a drilled hole, a golden hook weaved through.

Something blooms inside him. He isn’t sure what to call it. Reverence, perhaps. It grows into something giddy when you show him how the button looks on your ear. “Now we can match!...Sorta.” You purse your lips and wait for his reaction.

He reaches out and touches your ear lobe gently, fingering the chain and button. “I thought you didn’t keep them,” he says, quiet.

You shake your head. “I just didn’t know what to do with them for a while. Then I thought, ‘hey, I kinda know how to make jewelry, maybe I can do that!’ Voila!” You reach up and pinch the button. “Not as nice as your earring, but…”

“No!” He exclaims, taking your hands in his own. “They’re beautiful! You’re beautiful!”

The two of you stare at each other in bewilderment. Where did that come from? But you have grace, and with a smile, you say, “Well, thank you, Vash, that’s very sweet of you.”

Vash’s cheeks burn, and he laughs off the rest of his embarrassment. What is going on with him? Then he remembers the nail. His blush comes back. The logical part of him fights it. But the Plant part of him – whatever that means – demands he present it. So he does.

“Um,” he starts, scratching at his neck. “I…sorta found something for you in there.”

You smile, the button winking in rainbows against your cheek. “On the ground again?”

He laughs, “No, in the wall this time.”

“Ah, keeping me on my toes.”

He’s nervous again. He pulls out the nail. It’s slightly bent. He’d tried to straighten it out on the way back, but... “It’s…I mean, it’s shiny, and you don’t have to do anything with it, but…”

You take it from his outstretched hand. Hum. “I could probably curl it and either make a necklace or a ring out of it…blunt the edges.” You laugh and nudge him with your shoulder. “Thanks. You know, if I didn’t know better, I’d say you’re doing some weird courting ritual with all these shiny presents.”

You laugh, but Vash goes still as the pieces fall together. The shiny objects, the need to present them to only you, the feeling of acceptance and excitement and attraction when you showed him your earrings –

He’s trying to court you. Plant-style.

Oh. No.

[sentofighta]

wishlist plot ideas edition.

einar

fight where he has to use his magitek arm which he never uses unless it was a desperate situation.

got arrested by Suzaku and now he is a hostage and most likely without his arm thread. maybe interrogation and jail escape. nice.

where thou milites folks? thread please.

thread with someone who has a prosthetic limb like him. exchange tips and maybe stories.

cat thread. any cat lover out there give him a call.

eight

give me street fight thread. that's all lmao kof maybe hm? y?y?

someone be his sensei. despite how calm he is he really admires people and probably will call you sensei if he can learn something new from you

deep threads about why he no likey sharp weapons ? 

training threads are cool. sparring ok. attacking him out of the blue ok. request fist fight ok.

wisdom sharing come here

good boy content

agito yall.

hey. what if world.

hey. 

machina

agito please. when he is just pervy kid who wanna befriend everyone

2nd class threads i dont mind ~

incognito phase ? ? anyone ? ? 

the new world ...ooh...the hurty.

hey x 2 what if world

chocobo nerding is ok

that good fix that misunderstanding thread when?

training threads cool

zack

perhaps before he leaves his village kind of thing? kid zack

his earlier days training before becoming SOLDIER

double zacks thread give me

cough tseng cough cissnei feels cough

the turks where thou are you?

any SOLDIERS out there?

henlo where is our friend Kunsel? send me an email dude

fighting threads are berry nice.

date. give him a date goddammit! 

zack funclub threads where?

d a t e. haha.

roland

sniping duel thread

animals lover where are you?

confronting him about his tiny little mistrusting thing

discuss his ocd maybe funny becomes critical thread because he cant control it if he panics;

gardening !!! he likes farming. thanks mom.

uhh what do you think i should tackle too??

lucina

FUTURE TIMELINE AHHAHA

literally every angst plot you can think of.

i still kind of wanna make a separate Current/Present Lucina muse from Future Lucina. looks at TRC Sakuras. yes. they are quite different haha. maybe even edit her pictures hhhohoho yes a thead with baby or older present lucina. 

listen. anything is game with this girl. give me. 

Leanne

giiiiiiiiiiirls talk!!!!! girls girls girls!

shopping! let’s go shopping and have that deep talk later on

sharing secrets~ talking about the pasts?

talk about how annoying boys can be smh. then air their dirty laundry. teehee~ (love you vash and zephy)

what makes you strong kind of thread

philosophy talk?

missions! hunting missions are cool!

friendship threads give me. girl needs more friends sobs.

Zephyr

someone just tell him to stop jumping from high places to kill himself.

philosophy talk x2

friendship/sibling vibe thread cause lord he needs that good influence in his life.

immortality talk

atoning to sins talk

hunting missions please. work with or for does not matter.

literally, any plot because he is flexiable-ish. 

Lindow

oooh pre game setting hmmmm~ kid lindow oh ye.

rookie god eater lindow too.

captain lindow is nice too.

anyone wanna corrupted lindow? suuuure~ 

revived back lindow with a cool arm? yep.

dad lindow anytime for anyone. he is here for you.  

give me please sakuya sama. 

Tatsumi

baby god eater tatsu is funny because he could not fight lol 

trust in your defense captain yo.

date. someone date this boy. HIBARIIIIIIIII~ <3 GIVE ME HIBARAII 

Sohrab

a l c h e m y.

how to run from animals 101. animals hate him. abuse this.

he can sew your clothes. abuse this too.

can make food out of alchemy. abuse this. as well.

fighting thread is cool because his initial response is RUN AWAY.

Feiruz

please more farming content.

talk about cute things!!!!!!!!!!

might as well make her the MC for o.bey me and a.yakashi because frick this hahahahahahaha. or make another oc. :thinking:

please any fellow farmers interact.

i dont mind lovey dovey. she is quite romantic. 

Balan

alfred interact. now.

pre zenthira(i forgot its name dont @ me) is cool too.

spyrites / spyrix talk

science talk. talk to him science.

bet. let’s bet on something. gamble hours.

man. i just want to explore more about the spirits with lord of the spirits where thou are you milla sama?

jude interact. we have a lot of papers to look at. lots of projects to make up.

ludger interact. i wanna hire you.

julius. wanna share funny stories???????

[triplesilverstar]

Rating: G

Pairing: Vash X F!Reader

CW: Mentions of pregnancy, Aliases, holiday fluff, breaking and entering ok on Christmas, growing up too fast 

Word count: Roughly 4.8K

A/N: Well. Once more like Spock I am a liar, this is way more than a drabble… however, I don’t care. So enjoy Vash taking Rei to see some snow for the first time with the help of Uncle Livio!

It had started out innocently enough when you and Vash first heard about it, a biodome being built a two-hour Tomas ride from your little home sort of in the middle of nowhere. A few vague inquiries as to what it was going to be, the number of staff involved, and most importantly, were the Earth forces going to be around and managing the site.

The answer to that inquiry was to be the deciding factor on whether you and Vash were going to stick around or up and move to another spot in the middle of nowhere. After all, it wasn’t like the two of you had any firm roots yet with your little Tomas ranch that you were starting.  

When you and Vash did get the answer both of you had sat down at the little table in your kitchen with a list of pros and cons. After a week of discussions you had decided to stay as the benefits did outweigh the negatives and a new town was starting to pop up in the middle which would cut down on the planning required for regular supplies the two of you would need. The biggest deciding factor had been the discovery you had been expecting and Vash stated he wanted to have a home for them and not to still be on the run and was willing to take on the added risks that came with that.

Two years later, the artic biodome was up and running. Another public relations attempt by the Earth forces to win over the local populace and Rei, well Rei at one and a half was looking more like an eight-year-old. If you and Vash thought things were going to get easier as your cheeky little boy grew you have been quite wrong.

“Mom?” It still ate at your heart that he had made the shift from Mama to Mom in the last few weeks since the skating incident.

“Yes, Baby?” You called from inside the washing machine, struggling to reach the socks wedged in the back. Why did you have such a massive drum in this thing? Right because you needed to get everything in it and normally it wasn’t a problem.

“Someone is coming up the door.” The sodden fabric was forgotten as you pushed yourself out and whipped around.

“Where’s your Papa?” Striding towards the hallway and down to the living room to look at the window, in the distance a visible short cloud of dust.

 “In the barn.” Rei is right next to you looking out at the cloud as it slowly grows closer, reaching out your arm to pull him into your side and ruffling his soft blond locks.

His own little arms reach up to wrap as best as they can around your middle. “Alright then, you and I will stay here for a few minutes to see where that cloud goes ok?” At least he still wants to cuddle with you, at the strange point in his life where he still wants to snuggle with you and Vash when he gets the chance sets seems torn with wanting something like a baby would according to him.  

Vash had told him he was allowed to want snuggles with his parents no matter how old he was.

Your fingers kept carding through his hair, his most recent request for a haircut like his Papa’s had warmed your heart and every day Rei was starting to look more and more like Vash. As the two of you watched the cloud headed towards the barn and you let out a proverbial sigh of relief. Not a real one since Rei didn’t need to catch on just how worried you had been, and if they were heading for the barn they were familiar enough with your little family to know that was the best stop. “Looks like nothing to worry about Rei.” It then hit you. “Rei. Why were you in the living room anyway? Shouldn’t you have been in the kitchen doing your schoolwork?”

A sudden spasm from the body under your arm and you knew you had caught the boy. “ugh, I was taking a break, Mom.” Unwrapping his arms from around your middle and rubbing the back of his head in a familiar gesture had you rolling your eyes at the little blond.

Hands on his shoulders you started leading him back towards the kitchen with a roll of your eyes. “Nice try you little scamp. Now back to it, and once I get this laundry out we can have a real break and I’ll get us a snack.”

Snack done and back to going over his schoolwork from Home since it was going to be the easiest way to educate the boy and not have anyone question his growth spurt. You both paused as the front door opened and you could hear the sound of a heavier set of boots following behind the familiar sound of Vash’s sure steps. The dark-haired plant led the way into the kitchen with a much broader white-haired man behind him.

“Uncle Livio!” Rei was out of his chair in a flash and rushing the gunslinger turned, well you weren’t fully sure what to call the man that helped run the orphanage he and Wolfwood had grown up in.

“Hey, little guy!” Wide palms wrapping under your son’s armpits and hefting him up into his arms. “Look at you, you’re getting pretty big I guess I shouldn’t be calling you a little guy anymore.” Standing yourself as Vash approached, bending down for a quick kiss and to whisper in your ear as Rei started talking a ile a minute to Livio.

“Seems we might have another chance for our little sprout to experience something.” Sliding his hand down your side to gently grip your hip.

“Oh? I’m guessing you mean Rei and not the newest one.” Smirking as you lean your body against his and watch Livio give Rei another toss in the air.

“Very funny, Mayfly.” Licking his lip before giving you a tender swat “I do think you might need to miss out on this little adventure if it happens. We’ll be going somewhere a little on the chilly side.” Raising your eyebrow at him and wondering why he would word his comment in such a way.

“I have so many questions now.” You whisper as Rei is placed on his feet once more, only to feel Vash press his lips to the top of your head this time.

“Ew.” His nose scrunched up as Rei made a face at both of his parents. “I don’t need to see kissy parents.”

Both you and Vash shared a look before scooping your son up and started peppering his face with kisses making the boy squeal at how both of you were gross.

After supper and once Rei was in bed the three adults found themselves at the table, a mug in front of each of them with the dishes done and the lights turned down low. “Alright boys tell me what this grand plan is?” Sitting closer to Vash so the fingers of his flesh hand can dance across your stomach if he wants to be that handsy while you’re expecting your second child you aren’t going to tell him otherwise when Rei isn’t around.

 “Well.” Livio started leaning against the table his face growing serious. “A few days ago the orphanage got an invitation to go see the artic Biodome, and the Earth forces sent a bus and escort and everything.” Three of his large fingers started to tap and you recognized the signs he was nervous. “First. It was amazing! I thought the ice rink thing was neat but this? This blew it all away! So while I was there with the kids I started looking around and I thought ‘Rei would love this’ and started paying attention to security since I know you and Vash won’t risk someone making the jump about who you are and putting Rei in danger.” 

At Livio’s admission, you find yourself paying more and more attention, because you know Livio cares for your little boy just as much as you and Vash do. Reaching your hand down to intertwine your fingers with your spouse as Livio keeps talking walking you through his plan on how to get both Vash and Rei inside the dome to have a little adventure. “I was planning originally for the three of you, but I guess your condition may preclude you from going.” 

“Come on now, I’m not that bad with the cold. I could handle a few hours inside of the Biodome all dressed up.” Pouting a little at the fact that the men seem to think you wouldn’t be able to handle the chill. 

“Mayfly.” Vash is gentle as his prosthetic tilts your head towards his, the mirth shining in his eyes making you smile. “You tried to crawl into the oven with it on when you were pregnant with Rei because you weren’t warm enough.” Your smile hadn’t dropped that quickly in a long time as you scowled at the reminder. 

“It’s not my fault your babies make me want to cook myself.” Grumbling as Livio takes the lead in the conversation once more and gets it back on track on what needs to be done. After all, you aren’t going to deny your son the chance to see actual snow and trees, and with what Livio has learned you only have a week or so to pull it off before a new schedule is put in place. One the ex-Gung-Ho-Guns member would have zero reason to go back and snoop around for that wouldn’t somehow lead back to your little family. 

The night of, Vash found himself thundering across the sand dunes, a sleeping boy in front of him on the Tomas and saddlebags full of warm clothes to change into before entering the biodome. His eyes were sharp as he kept his gaze forward looking for an outcropping Livio had described to meet him at that was only a ten-minute ride via a Tomas. Or at least according to him.

Sure enough in the distance he could make it out “There’s where we’re headed Pookie.” Whispered to his Tomas who trilled in response, the smallest shift of her reins changing directions and slowing to a canter as the pair approached. 

“Glad you could make it.” Almost as if blending from the darkness Livio seemed to appear, dressed in what looked like an Earth forces uniform, reaching out and petting the bird. “Rei, wake up little guy.” His other palm landed on the boy’s knee and he gave it a soft shake.

A grumble from the small blond who shifted in his father's hold to bury his face in his chest. Laughing Vash leaned down to whisper against his growing locks. “Rei, if you don’t wake up we can’t see snow. You wanna see snow with your Papa don’t you?”

That did the trick in rousing the boy, a little yawn before rubbing at his eyes. “We’re there Papa?” His voice mumbled with sleep and those bright blue orbs slowly blinked as he tried to wake up. Which to Vash was hilarious since before they had left the house Rei had been almost bouncing in his excitement. 

“Yea buddy, Uncle Livio is gonna take us the rest of the way.” At that Livo was reaching to help the boy down and Vash gave the silent command for his mount to lower down to the ground before he too dismounted and went for their saddle bags. Grabbing what they’d need for when they got to the biodome. “Ok, Pookie.” Petting his Tomas who looked at him as if following his every word. “You stay here like a good girl, and you’ll get lots of extra treats in the morning.” A low warble and the bird settled down into the sand hidden by the outcropping, Vash knew his Tomas would stay, the promise of treats or not. 

“Do you have what you need Vash?” A nod to the white-haired man and both Vash and Rei were crawling into the sidecar attached to his motorcycle. The question had come up the night of everything being planned and the truth was, the Earth forces used a similar model for roaming patrols around the site. This way there would be less chance of them being caught. 

“Yea. All in this bag here.” Patting the object beside his son in front of him.

“Alright.” Nodding before Livio fixed his attention on the small blond boy. “Now Rei, hold on to your Papa real tight and do exactly as he says. Can you promise me you’ll do that?”

“I promise.” A sleepy agreement as Rei still worked on waking up, but as soon as the engine flared to life Vash could feel the difference as the boy perked up. Sitting a little straighter and starting to look around, only to squeal as they jolted forward into the night his grip on Vash’s arm grew. A chuckle deep in his chest that was lost to the roar of the engine, he knew Rei loved the speed and the way the wind whipped through his hair. 

In almost no time at all the trio were stopped by a hidden exit, Livio leading the way and Vash carrying both the bag with their clothes and Rei. Slipping inside Vash and Rei both paused, blinking at the sudden difference in light. A chamber separating them from the Biodome itself, this entrance was used more for emergency exit requirements and to check the area instead of having to walk all through the space. 

“Alright Rei, let's get you wrapped up.” Vash and Rei both quickly added layers and switched their footwear to better insulate their feet as per the directions from Livio. Vash felt the amount of clothes he was pulling on was a little, well, overboard. He had spent almost a century and a half on the desert planet and in the freezing nights he had been chilled down to the marrow in his bone more than once. Yet this felt like overkill, him and Rei both looking more like marshmallows instead of people. 

Feeling himself starting to grow warm, however, he turned to Livio, gloves still off, and checking his watch. “Alright Livio, tell me how long we have.”

Checking his own watch and humming “Two hours, so let's sync up our clocks for an hour and forty-five. I’ll be here to get you then.” Timings set Vash went down on his knees in front of Rei, checking the zipper and fastening on the boy's jacket and pants to ensure everything was done. 

“Ready?”

“Ready Papa!” An enthusiast thumbs up from Rei, made cuter in his father's eyes by the fact only his thumbs were desirable from the material of his mittens. A final nod to Livio and the pair stepped inside the dome through the metal doors. 

And Vash felt his heart freeze inside of his chest. 

Not from fear, not from despair, not from anything but the simple wonder that gripped him as he looked at the landscape before him. A vision of white and green as far as his eyes could see, the light of the moons illuminating the area they were in more than the spotlights recessed into the walls around them. 

It took his breath away. 

Scant seconds later Vash looked down to see Rei looking out at the scenery with just as much awe shining in bright blue eyes, mouth parted as he stared out into the snowy expanse. “It’s pretty Papa.” The words and that whimsical tone that left his mouth with them made Vash’s heart swell in his chest, even if all they did was look at this landscape it had been worth the risk. 

“It sure is buddy.” Father and son stood there in the snow for a few moments before Rei piqued up, not quite breaking the stillness.

“So. What do we do Papa?” 

Throwing his head back and letting out a roar of laughter, Vash grabbed Rei and hefted him upwards planting a kiss on his cheek. “You’re Mama had a few suggestions, so I think we’ll try those first.” Stepping more out into the space, Vash sent the boy in his arms a wink before falling onto his back causing Rei to giggle like mad as his father served as a cushion for him. “She said we can make angels in the snow.” Spreading his legs and arms Vash moved them as if doing jumping jacks, Rei still laughing from where he was wedged against his father's side. 

The duo stood and Rei tilted his head at the imprint left in the snow. “It doesn’t really look like an angel Papa.” The boy then fell himself and did the same thing his father had and he started laughing even more. “It’s soft Papa!” His voice rose and fell with his laughter as the soft fluff moved around him and all Vash could do was smile, dropping down just a little way away from Rei and repeating the action. 

“It is, it moves like sand but it feels lighter.” Eventually, Rei stopped laughing and Vash sat up to see Rei shaking from the effort of holding the sound in. “Alright, buddy let me help you up.” Legs spread wide Vash scooped Rei up once more and both looked at the imprint. 

“Papa, that looks more like the cookie cutter Mom says in an Angel.” 

The smaller one of Rei did look far more like the shape and Vash just shook his head chuckling while agreeing with the boy. “It does.” Letting out a hum Vash brought his face closer to Rei’s and booped his nose with his own. “Now. According to your Mama, we can make snowballs and have a fight.” 

“What’s a snowball?” Tilting his head once more Rei looked at her father rather quizzical.

“Well.” Putting his son back on his feet Vash knelt down and swept some of the snow into his hand. “She said you have to pack it together like this and try to make a ball.” He showed Rei what he was doing and Rei tried to do the same, but with a much smaller ball being made by his hands. 

“What do you do once it’s made?” His natural curiosity took over as Rei let out one of his own hums that the larger he got the more Vash realized it was one of his mannerisms that his miniature was picking up. 

“A few things. It can be used to make a snowman if I remember what she said, but it’s mostly used for snowball fights.” 

“How’s that done?”

“You throw them at peop-” His words stopped as Vash suddenly found his mouth filled with snow from the ball Rei had formed being thrown squarely in his face and a giggling Rei was trying to make another quickly. 

A bark of laughter and Vash was tossing his first snowball at his son before chaos ensued between them. Rei made the balls as quickly as his little hands could and threw them half-formed at his father. Vash for his part was taking his time making the balls, pretending to have terrible aim as he threw them at the boy with perhaps one in every five hitting their mark on the center of his chest. A lot less than the almost constant hits to his own body as both laughed and weaved between trees and a few rocks placed about the area. 

Throwing a final one Rei flopped down into the snow once more, his tiredness starting to catch up to him from the activity in the middle of the night. Dragging his feet Vash made a show of walking closer before kneeling down in front of the panting boy. “One snowball left. Wanna try and make a snowman?” 

A shake of his head no as Rei held out his hand for the ball. Vash gave it to him fully expecting to have the ball thrown at him, only for Rei to instead press it against his father's face a short giggle following it. Laughing himself Vash wiped the wet frozen pieces from his skin, taking note of Rei’s slowly reddening turning cheeks. Pulling his glove off to check the pink-tinged skin. “Hmmm, you might be chilly faster than I thought.” Checking his watch Vash felt the shock in his system, he and Rei had already been inside the dome for almost an hour and fifteen minutes.

“Is it time to go Papa?”

“Almost Rei. Anything else you wanna do?” Rei shook his head because pausing and sitting up, letting out a long breath and his eyes wide. 

“Papa. Look at the cloud! It’s a lot bigger than when we were at the ice rink! And you’re making them too!” The excitement was palpable as Rei watched the little clouds rise before disappearing. “Why does it do that Papa?”

“I’m not fully sure Rei.” Vash fibbed, he wasn’t going to go into a long explanation as to what caused the vapor clouds, not when Rei was enjoying the simple wonder in them so much. “Maybe it’s just something a little magical.” Except Rei didn’t seem to be listening to him anymore. Or watching the vapor clouds they were exhaling.

No Rei was looking skyward, and Vash tilted his own eyes upwards and once more his body froze in wonder. It had started to snow inside of the biodome. Lifting Rei up Vash noticed the dampness clinging to the outside of his jacket as the realization hit him as to why they needed so many layers, yet with the amount of time left Vash pushed those thoughts aside. Carefully lifting the boy so his legs were dangled over his shoulders and perched atop him in a piggyback ride so he could look more at the sky. 

It was a rather memorable sight. The gently falling snow, highlighted against the night sky and cast in the light of the moons made it seem almost as if some of the stars were falling down around the pair. 

Vash could feel Rei shift atop his shoulders, his smaller chest hitting the top of his head and the sound of muffled wet slapping reached his ears. “What are you up to, Rei?” 

“Trying to catch the white stuff, Papa.” 

“They’re called snowflakes.” Chuckling as Vash adjusted his grip on the boy's legs, swaying on his feet as they both kept looking skyward and Vash started taking them back towards the entrance they had come in through. 

“I want a closer look, but when I catch them they melt.” A clear pout discernible in his voice had Vash chuckling again. 

“They are just frozen drops of water.”

“Isn't that ice Papa?” 

“Sort of. I guess ice is a bunch of water frozen, where a snowflake is a tiny drop of it.” his voice was wistful as Vash trucked along, the sound of sluffing snow from his footsteps with the occasional wet thump of Rei's mittens. 

“Wait, Papa.” Feeling Rei trying to wiggle in his hold to grab one of his arms, the one that led to his prosthetic. “They aren't melting!” 

Sure enough, as Vash glanced at his gloved metal hand the snowflakes landing there were staying frozen, his hand of metal and wires with sensors not producing enough heat to melt them. “You're right Rei, they aren't.” Turning his hand so it was palm towards the sky Vash held it up closer to eye level so both he and Rei could see them. 

“Why are they different?” A soft warm smile grew on his face at the curious nature of his little boy. It made his heart warm as the duo looked at the vastly different geometrical shapes in his hand. 

It also had Vash remember a time long ago when he and Nai had been learning from Rem and the subject of freezing temperatures had come up. He could remember her voice as she spoke and her motherly soft smile as she tapped her cheek. “You’re grandma-”

“Your mom?” 

A larger grin on his face at the interruption. “Yes, my Mama, told me it’s because when snowflakes form because they’re in the sky and just little drops of water, they grow bigger and make tiny crystals. She also said every single one is different, so they all have different patterns that they show.” A very limited version of what had been had about crystallization and the six-fold symmetry of snowflakes he had with Rem and Nai but for now Vash wanted the magic of the night to remain the center of Rei’s attention but it had given the older plant an idea on what his next science lesson with his boy would be. 

“I wish we could bring some back to show Mom.” The little catch in his voice and Vash could tell his little boy had grown a little solemn. 

“I know buddy, but it might not have been a good idea for her to come with us.” You and Vash had decided to wait to tell Rei that he was going to be a big brother soon, you more than your husband as you had told him you wanted to make sure nothing was going to happen to your newest sprout before telling him. “Speaking off your Mama, any reason you’ve switched from calling her Mama to Mom?” It had been eating at Vash the last few days, he knew it hurt your heart in some way but the fact Rei still called him Papa had a gnawing sensation in his belly. 

“I.” A pause as Rei let his little hands reach down to grip his father's jaw. “I know big kids don’t call their mother’s Mama anymore. I heard it on the radio on some show, and I don’t want mom to worry about a stranger thinking I’m younger than I look.” As soon as the words sunk in they broke Vash’s heart, Rei was just a little boy and he was already carrying far more weight on his small shoulders than he should have been.

“Rei. My little Sunshine, you can call your mother whatever you want it doesn’t matter how hold you are. Those radio shows are meant for entertainment, you don’t need to worry about what they say during them if you aren’t doing them.” Licking his lips as his throat started to close up from the sorrow racing through him, Rei wasn’t supposed to carry their burdens. “As to strangers buddies, I know you’re thinking about how many steps your mom and I take when it comes to you. Those are to keep you safe buddy, so you can grow up happy and surrounded by love. You know if you worry about those things you can talk to your Mama and me about that right?” A rather somber conversation to have with his son but on some level Vash knew one day they would have to have such a discussion. 

“I will now Papa. I just know you and Mama are always so busy and you worry so much.” Stopping a few feet from the exit Vash looked back up towards the sky, taking both of his hands and wrapping them around Rei’s smaller ones. 

“You never need to be worried about adding to what we have going on Rei, we love you to bits. You’re our little miracle, and you have no idea how much I love you, my little Rei of Sunshine.” Squeezing his hands Vash smiled well aware his little sprout might not be able to see it. “Now, we still have a few minutes, wanna have another snowball fight?” 

Hours later you find yourself sitting on your porch wrapped in a throw from your and Vash’s shared bedroom, and once you see a hint of a dust cloud on the horizon you rise heading towards the barn. It isn’t too long of a wait until Vash is trotting in with a very sleepy Rei in his lap rubbing his eyes. 

“Welcome home, did you have a good time with your Papa tonight?” Hands held up to take Rei from his father and embrace him in your arms so both of you are swaddled in the warm blanket. 

“Yes Mama, it was so fun.” A long tired yawn as Rei rubs at his eyes once more. “I wanted to bring you some snowflakes but Papa said they’d melt.” Your heart soars at being called Mama once more and that your little blond wanted to try and bring you back a snowflake or two. 

“That was sweet of you baby, but your Papa was right.” Another yawn and you press a quick kiss into the golden locks that Rei barely protests, a clear sign he’s exhausted. “Let’s get you to bed, and you can tell me all about it in the morning.” Blowing a kiss to your husband before turning to head back into your little house, some hot coco can wait for another night when your boys aren’t exhausted.