Chapter Text
“You can’t possibly still be mad at me,” Vash said.
“Don’t tell me what I can do,” Wolfwood grumbled, pointedly not looking at Vash. He was inspecting his bike for damage even though they both knew by now that the bike was fine.
“Did you expect me to just leave the town alone?”
“No,” Wolfwood said, cleaning off a spot of dirt on his bike. “But when someone fucking goads you to come out and essentially use yourself as bait, I expect you to be smart enough to not do it.”
“I wasn’t using myself as bait-”
“Actually,” Wolfwood cut him off. “The worst part is I actually don’t expect you to be smart enough to not do that. I don’t know what I was expecting.”
Vash crossed his arms and clenched his jaw. He was too tired to rise to Wolfwood’s bait, even though he desperately wanted to.
Wolfwood at least finally straightened up. Apparently he had vented enough that he was willing to stop pretending he was working on his bike.
“I saw a tavern earlier,” Vash said. “Let’s just get something to eat.”
Wolfwood nodded in assent. That was as good as Vash was going to get out of him right now.
Vash and Wolfwood walked into the run-down tavern and were greeted with a roar of cheers and applause. The noise immediately put them on edge, and Vash felt Wolfwood stiffen beside him. He grabbed Wolfwood’s elbow to stop him from making any sudden movements. It took them both a second to realize they weren’t being shot at, and that all the noise was celebration.
It took Vash another second to realize the cheering was for them.
He was glad he figured it out before people grabbed him by the jacket and pulled him in. Wolfwood, always less willing to have his physical space invaded (not that Vash particularly loved it either), shoved off the hands that were grabbing at him and followed Vash reluctantly.
“Drinks on the house for these two!” the old woman behind the bar called. Vash assumed she was the owner. Vash smiled, partially at the promise of drinks and partially because he noticed Wolfwood suddenly seemed a lot more interested in joining in.
“You don’t have to do that,” Vash said, ignoring Wolfwood elbowing him in the ribs.
The woman waved him off. “You guys took care of a gang that’s been bothering us for months in less than an afternoon. You get free drinks.”
“Well I’m never going to turn down free drinks,” Vash laughed. Immediately, two pints of beer seemingly materialized and were shoved into his and Wolfwood’s hands.
There were cheers throughout the bar, and he and Wolfwood clinked glasses.
“I guess we’re staying here tonight,” Wolfwood said, resigned.
“Guess so,” Vash shrugged. “There’s an inn above the tavern, I’ll ask if we can stay here.”
“Make sure to ask if they have a safe place to keep my bike!” Wolfwood said.
Once the accommodations were secured they could enjoy themselves. A few drinks in Vash might have to admit that he had enjoyed himself a bit too much. But he didn’t want to stop either. He couldn’t remember the last time he had been able to let loose like this.
He got to talking to people in the bar. He loved hearing about their life stories, or their little daily problems. He felt a pang the few times he was asked if he’d want to come over for dinner, for tea. They wanted to repay him themselves for helping them.
Moments like this made Vash want to stay, and that was dangerous. He’d have to be off the next day, no matter how hungover he ended up being. These people didn’t know that he was more trouble than he was worth. That he might have saved them this time but if he hung around too long he’d bring disaster on their heads soon enough. It was better to leave and just be a fond memory.
Still, was it so bad to enjoy himself a little? To enjoy that he was being celebrated, rather than being run out of town?
He was pulled into a dance with someone to a loud song blaring from some awful speakers. Vash enjoyed himself well enough and let himself get lost in the music for exactly one song. Then he felt his dance partner’s hands move lower as the song ended and Vash casually spun them and disappeared into the crowd while they were distracted. He was drunk but he wasn’t that drunk.
He spotted Wolfwood sitting alone at a table in the corner. He was nursing a whiskey, but his eyes met Vash’s over his glass. Vash felt a grin split his face, unbidden, and he made his way towards Wolfwood, only stumbling a little.
“Putting a lot of effort into walking in a straight line?” Wolfwood said, raising his eyebrows.
“I’m doing it the best anyone’s ever done it,” Vash said, with conviction. He put his hands on Wolfwood’s shoulders.
“What are you doing?’ Wolfwood said.
“Wolfwooood,” Vash said. “Wolfwood, are you still mad at me?”
“I’m always mad at you,” Wolfwood said with a sigh. That was enough.
Vash shook Wolfwood’s shoulders again. “Come dance with me!” Vash said.
“Hell no,” Wolfwood brushed his hands off. Vash let them drop by his sides, pouting a little.
“Stop giving me that look, it doesn’t work on me.”
“It does sometimes!” Vash said. He didn’t want to push the issue too much. He’d seen Wolfwood dance before, but never with anyone. And he knew Wolfwood felt a bit more awkward in crowds than he would ever let on.
“Maybe I should sit down anyway,” Vash said, leaning on the table. “...After I get another drink.”
“Don’t you think you’ve had enough?” Wolfwood raised his eyebrows again.
“Nah, it’s free!”
“That’s not what I-”
Vash had already headed back to the bar before Wolfwood had finished talking. He ordered a whiskey because he suddenly wanted to drink the same thing Wolfwood was drinking.
He wandered back to the table and sat down a bit harder than necessary.
The music stopped. Wolfwood and Vash looked around, assuming the speakers finally died. Until Vash saw a little platform set up with a microphone.
“Oh!” Vash said, excited.
“Oh, Christ,” Wolfwood muttered.
“What, you don’t like live music?” Vash pouted again.
“An open mic with a bunch of drunken idiots at a bar has a way better chance of being terrible than being good.”
“That’s part of the fun!”
They brought out a little stereo so people could pick background music. Vash pulled his chair up beside Wolfwood so he could get a clearer view.
The table was small and the room was cramped. Vash’s thigh was touching Wolfwood’s, but it was entirely by accident. He didn’t move, and neither did Wolfwood.
Wolfwood had been right that a lot of the singers were terrible, but a lot of them were good too. It didn’t matter too much anyway, half the time the bar joined in with songs that were clearly local favourites and drowned out the singer anyway.
Their drinks were emptied and replaced and Wolfwood never seemed to get as drunk as Vash even though they were drinking the same amount. Which suddenly struck Vash as very unfair.
“Wolfwood,” Vash shook his shoulder roughly. “Wolfwooood! How come you never get as drunk as me?”
“Because I ain’t a lightweight. Stop that.” Wolfwood smacked Vash’s hand away.
Vash was silent for maybe a minute and a half before he was suddenly struck by a brilliant idea and he was shaking Wolfwood’s shoulder again.
“Wolfwood, Wolfwood, Wolfwooood-”
“Holy shit, what?” Wolfwood snapped.
“You should sing!”
“Absolutely the fuck not.”
“You didn’t dance so you gotta sing.” Vash thought that was rather unassailable logic.
“How do you figure that?”
“I wanna hear you sing!” Vash said.
“I can’t sing.”
Vash pouted at him. “Don’t lie, Wolfwood!”
“I’m not lying!”
“You are!” Vash said. He gave Wolfwood a bit of a shove and sort of missed and ended up half falling out of his own chair onto Wolfwood’s lap. Vash was thinking this wasn’t a bad place to be as Wolfwood gently pushed him back into his own seat. “I’ve heard you sing!”
“What?” Even through the haze of alcohol and the dim light of the tavern he could see Wolfwood was starting to blush. “When would you have heard me sing?”
Vash leaned forward and whispered in Wolfwood’s ear as though he was telling a secret. “When you think I can’t hear you!”
Wolfwood was still frowning at him but Vash was not having it. It was suddenly very important to him that everyone got to hear how good Wolfwood’s singing voice was.
He was giving Wolfwood a pleading look as Wolfwood’s face was steadily going redder. “No! Why the fuck would I do that?”
Vash didn’t know when his face got so close to Wolfwood’s, maybe he had never moved when he had whispered in Wolfwood’s ear. Regardless, his nose brushed against Wolfwood’s cheek as he said “Come on! It’ll be fun!” When Wolfwood still seemed unmoved Vash said. “Please? I wanna hear you sing for real and not just all quiet and to yourself.”
Wolfwood gave a long-suffering sigh as he downed the rest of his drink. Vash slipped out of his chair a bit as Wolfwood stood up and set him off balance.
“Can’t believe what I let you talk me into, probably don’t even have any songs I know…” Wolfwood grumbled to himself as he stormed off to the stage.
Vash bounced in his seat in anticipation. Wolfwood frowned to himself as he scrolled through the list of songs. He finally seemed to settle on one and hit the button.
Tinny guitar music played out of the speaker. Vash didn’t think he recognized this song. He actually felt a little bad, Wolfwood was clearly nervous up there and Vash knew he didn’t like crowds which was why he didn’t make him dance so why did he make him do this-
But when Wolfwood’s voice rang out it was clear and steady.
Buddy, we got major blues
Another suitcase in your hand
I hope you brought your walkin' shoes
’Cause it's quite a ways from what I understand
The crowd broke into applause. Maybe Vash was biased (he definitely was) but he thought it was a bit more enthusiastic than the polite applause some others got.
Wolfwood’s voice was strong and deeper and smoother than one would assume from his speaking voice (not to mention his smoking). Vash was pulled out of his guilt spiral and just focused on the sound of Wolfwood’s singing. The rest of the room fell away for Vash as he watched Wolfwood. Vash wanted to catch his eye, but Wolfwood wasn’t really looking at the crowd.
Vash did look around at the crowd, most of whom were looking at Wolfwood with rapt attention. It wasn’t just because the person who helped save them earlier was singing, but because he was good. Vash felt a weird sense of pride.
It was replaced nearly immediately by a stab of jealousy when Wolfwood met the eye of a girl in the front row, who waved at Wolfwood and then fell into a fit of silent giggles beside her friend.
Vash gripped his drink a bit harder.
I'm not mad, for what it’s worth
You always take the dare, that’s what I learned
Vash froze as he listened to the lyrics. It was definitely self-centered to think Wolfwood might have picked a song just for him. It was more likely that he just picked a song he liked and Vash was reading way too much into it.
He sank down in his seat a bit, took another sip of his drink. Did he want Wolfwood to be singing to him? Why would he want that, he shouldn’t want that. And Wolfwood wasn’t looking in his direction anyway. He was looking at everyone but him.
Until suddenly Wolfwood did look at him. Meeting his eyes right across the room.
So what you say, big blonde?
Is that another whispered plan?
I've been around long enough to know you can't trust a man
But, ah-
Wolfwood had already looked away but Vash was reeling.
And suddenly Vash’s ears were filled with static, his face was warm.
He was embarrassed at himself for having wanted that. And now he was sure that Wolfwood was just… what? Teasing him, messing with him? Which was fine, because that’s how he was and how they were with each other, and he didn’t know what he wanted that to have meant anyway-
He didn’t even hear when the song ended, just heard the burst of applause, and the calls for another song that Wolfwood ignored.
Wolfwood made his way back to the table and sat down heavily beside Vash. “Well? Happy?”
“Yeah,” Vash said.
“You don’t look very happy,” Wolfwood said. Vash had slumped down and was resting his face against the table. The fake wood felt pleasantly cool against his face.
“I think I drank too much,” Vash mumbled into the table.
“You don’t say,” Wolfwood muttered. “You want to head upstairs?”
Vash shook his head, still pressed against the table. “I wanna listen to music more.”
“Okay,” Wolfwood said. “We’ll head up soon though, we’ve gotta head out tomorrow.”
Vash nodded.
Wolfwood patted his shoulder gently. Vash wanted to grab his hand and keep it there. It felt nice.
---------
Vash was obviously in a weird mood. Well, even weirder than usual. Wolfwood wanted to ask him what was up, but honestly he doubted whether even Vash knew the answer. He got like that sometimes.
Like the fact that Vash was so damn insistent on making Wolfwood sing, and when he came back Vash was sulking for some reason.
Maybe it really was just because he drank too much. Wolfwood never really liked how much Vash tended to drink whenever he got the chance. Wolfwood was tired, but he was hanging around because Vash still wanted to watch the singers (now a group of young women who were singing some upbeat song together).
Vash was watching them, but his eyes seemed distant, and a bit watery.
“You sure you’re not ready to go?” Wolfwood asked again.
Vash groaned and pushed himself up to a sitting position. His hair was somehow more messed up than usual. Wolfwood reached out and ruffled his hair and Vash frowned at him, Wolfwood flicked him in the forehead in response.
“Ow!” Vash pouted.
“Ready to go?” Wolfwood repeated.
Vash nodded. Wolfwood stood up and held out his hand to Vash. Vash got up without taking his hand but stumbled as he stood.
“All right there?”
“I’m totally fine!” Vash announced. He tried to walk forward and tripped over the chair and possibly also his own feet.
“‘Best anyone’s ever done it’ right?” Wolfwood said sarcastically. He put his arm around Vash’s shoulder and helped him up. “Come on, let’s get you up to bed.” Vash nodded and leaned into Wolfwood.
He was glad the bar was slowly clearing out and that most people were too drunk to pay attention to them anyway. Vash was always way more into partying with the townspeople than he was. Not that they had been doing much of that lately. Wolfwood was glad Vash at least got a chance tonight.
His previous annoyance at Vash had evaporated. Honestly, he had never really been that upset. Yeah, he hated seeing Vash put himself in danger, but he also wouldn’t be Vash if he didn’t. He just wanted to let Vash know how much he hated it.
He waved goodnight to the woman behind the bar and shuffled off upstairs.
Vash was giggling a lot now. What stage of drunk was that for him again? Given the fact that he was slowly leaning more and more of his weight on Wolfwood and practically falling over onto him Wolfwood was going to guess “very”.
“Fuck, Spikey, you’re heavy,” Wolfwood mumbled. Sure, the Punisher was about twice as heavy, but the Punisher was also not usually drunk and stumbling around.
“Mm not,” Vash slurred.
“You are,” Wolfwood said. “I’m carrying you and I say you are.”
“Ooh, I can help!” Vash said. Wolfwood had no idea what the fuck he was talking about until Vash somehow maneuvered himself around Wolfwood to reach across and unlatch his prosthetic arm.
Wolfwood yelped as he was suddenly unbalanced with the loss of one of Vash’s limbs.
“How the hell does that help?” Wolfwood demanded, as it thumped to the floor.
“Less heavy!”
Praying for patience, Wolfwood bent down and picked up the prosthetic arm. Now he had to carry Vash on one shoulder and cradle his arm in his other hand. Why was their room all the way at the end of the hallway?
He somehow managed to get them to the room, no thanks to Vash. The room was small but it had two beds. He dragged Vash over to one of the beds and dropped him onto it.
“Oof,” Vash said, giggling a little bit still.
Wolfwood put Vash’s arm on the table. He was too tired to take a shower, he’d have to just take one in the morning.
“Heeey-” Vash said from his bed.
“Get ready for bed!” Wolfwood snapped. He took off his own jacket, grabbed his pajamas and went to the bathroom to splash his face at the sink and get changed.
When he went back to the room Vash had shuffled out of his jacket and was lying there in a t-shirt and boxers. Thank god he was at least able to undress himself.
“I’m heading to bed,” Wolfwood announced.
“Waaaait…” Vash whined from his bed, giving Wolfwood the most pitiful gaze.
“What?” Wolfwood asked warily.
“Come here,” Vash held his hand out and Wolfwood walked over. Vash grabbed his shirt when he got close and pulled him down onto the bed with him.
“What are you doing?” Wolfwood demanded.
“Stay with me?” Vash said, half a question and half a demand.
“We have two beds for once,” Wolfwood said. “And you want to share?”
“Yeah!”
“They aren’t even very big beds, we’re going to be crammed in together.”
Vash blinked at him. “Do you hate sharing a bed with me?” His hand was still in Wolfwood’s shirt.
“I didn’t say that,” Wolfwood said, sighing. Clearly Vash was still in a weird mood. “Fine, I’ll stay in bed with you.”
Vash grinned up at him, but his smile slipped from his face almost instantly.
“What now?” Wolfwood asked.
“What was that song about?” Vash asked suddenly.
“Huh?”
“The song you were singing earlier,” Vash said. “What was it about?”
“I don’t know,” Wolfwood said. “I didn’t fucking write it, did I?”
“Why’d you pick it then?” Vash said. He was giving Wolfwood such a pleading look. His bright blue eyes were piercing without his glasses on.
“I don’t know,” Wolfwood said, suddenly feeling heat creep up his neck. “It just came to mind.”
Vash gave him an oddly sad look. “Okay.”
Wolfwood thought he knew what Vash was asking, what he was getting at. But he wasn’t going to admit to it, even if Vash was so drunk he probably wouldn’t remember in the morning. He was too much of a coward.
“I’m going to turn out the light now,” Wolfwood said sternly. “And we’re both going to sleep, okay?”
“Okay,” Vash said again. Wolfwood gently prised Vash’s hand off of his shirt and Vash let it drop onto the bed. Vash kept his eyes on Wolfwood as he reached over to turn out the lamp.
Wolfwood finally laid down on the bed. He felt like every muscle in his body hurt. It had been a long day.
He felt Vash shuffle around and settle into Wolfwood’s side, resting his head on Wolfwood’s shoulder.
Holy fuck, Wolfwood thought, he really must be drunk. Yeah, they would get close to each other when they had to share a bed. But they didn’t cuddle.
It wasn’t bad, though. Wolfwood decided to let him stay there, if only because he could vehemently deny he had allowed this in the morning.
He could hear Vash’s soft breathing beside him, and Wolfwood let his eyes close.
----------
The inn Vash had insisted they stayed in was at the top of a hill. Well, Vash said it was a hill and Wolfwood said it was more like a cliff. He was sure his bike agreed with him, with the way the engine struggled on the way up. It was too far on the edge of town, in Wolfwood’s opinion, when there were plenty of good-enough inns right on the main street.
“Why do we have to stay here again?” Wolfwood grumbled after arguing with an employee who wanted to park his bike for him.
“I’ve stayed here before, it’s nice,” Vash said, shrugging.
Wolfwood bit back his retort, wondering if Vash had been here in this century or not.
***
Wolfwood got out of the shower. He wasn’t used to staying in an inn nice enough that he had hot water for the length of an entire shower, and he had stayed in there for longer than normal. It was nice to have a shower that was relaxing and not just a way to scrub himself clean.
All that relaxation was immediately shot to hell when he walked back into the room and saw that Vash was gone.
His jacket and his gun were gone with him, but his backpack was in the corner where he had tossed it earlier. The window was still open. Had he been kidnapped? Had he run out?
Wolfwood whipped around, the towel dropped from his shoulders. Had he really been so wrapped up in a shower that he couldn’t hear a fight? But there was no sign of a struggle. That wasn’t too much of a comfort, leave it to Vash to go quietly if it would somehow prevent someone else getting hurt.
“Spikey?” Wolfwood said.
“Up here!” came a cheerful voice from outside the window.
Wolfwood jumped at the unexpected response. He didn’t think he had spoken loud enough that someone outside should have been able to hear him. Even as the adrenaline drained from him and he wilted in relief, Wolfwood resolved to fucking strangle him.
He stormed over to the window and out onto the balcony. The wood of the balcony creaked ominously under his weight. He still didn’t see Vash.
“Where the fuck are you?” Wolfwood snapped.
“On the roof!”
“What are you doing up there?”
“Come and see!”
Thinking that Vash would be lucky if Wolfwood didn’t toss him off the building, Wolfwood got on the balcony railing (which definitely wasn’t meant to hold a grown man’s weight) and onto the roof.
Vash was sitting on his jacket, knees pulled up to his chest, his sunglasses folded and placed to the side. Wolfwood scooted up to him with a distinct lack of grace. Thanks to the serum, a fall from this height wouldn’t kill him. But he would still very much like to avoid it.
Once he had settled beside Vash, he demanded, “What was so important that you had to scamper off when I was in the shower?”
Vash snorted a laugh. “Scamper?”
“Yeah,” Wolfwood elbowed him in the ribs. “Thought you’d somehow managed to get yourself in a hostage situation because I left you alone for fifteen minutes.”
Vash gave him a look that was a little too knowing, hearing the genuine concern under the bravado. “Sorry, I’ll be sure to leave a note next time I scamper.”
Wolfwood scoffed. “So why are you up here?”
Vash spread his hands wide, gesturing at the valley below.
“The view.” Wolfwood said, disbelieving.
“It’s why I wanted to come to this inn,” Vash said. When Wolfwood still gave him an unimpressed look Vash said. “Just look!” Vash said. “Try to enjoy it.”
Wolfwood wanted to continue to be contrary, just on instinct. But he could never deny Vash anything when he looked at him like that, so openly and sincerely.
He looked down at the town below, tried to take it in just like Vash had said. The town was nestled in a valley, surrounded by mountains on all sides. The mountains in the distance were so far off and the night so dark that the only reason he knew they were there was the black shadows blocking off the stars.
No wonder it had felt like an eternity when he tried to coax his bike up the hill. They were really high above the town. The lights in the town spilled out in the darkness below them, looking almost like a mirror of the skies above.
The moons of the planet shone brightly in their places in the sky. The sky didn’t seem bigger necessarily, but somehow it felt less oppressive. Maybe it was just that they finally had a moment of rest, and the night air was cool against his skin and he was aware of Vash watching him but it wasn’t in a way that was uncomfortable.
Wolfwood dragged his eyes away from the sight to see Vash grinning at him.
“Well?”
“It’s nice,” Wolfwood admitted, not wanting Vash to smirk even bigger. “I don’t know if it was worth almost killing my bike though.”
“Oh, she’s fine,” Vash shrugged.
Wolfwood rolled his eyes, trying to suppress a grin of his own.
Vash turned back to look at the valley. “The last time I came to this town it was so much smaller. It was more like a village. Those lights were just a splash in the middle there.”
“Did it ruin your view?”
“No!” Vash said, sounding genuinely surprised at the insinuation. “It’s nice to see it prospering like this.”
“Hmm,” Wolfwood said. A cool breeze ruffled his hair, still wet from the shower. He was just in a t-shirt and sweatpants, and the night air was giving him goosebumps.
“You cold?” Vash asked.
“What makes you think that?”
“You’re shivering.” Vash said.
He hadn’t noticed until Vash mentioned it, but Vash was right. Wolfwood just said, “I’m fine.” He was glad he had shoved a pack of cigarettes into the pocket of his pants. He suddenly very much wanted something to do with his hands. He pulled out a crumpled cigarette and lit it, taking a slow drag and feeling a bit of tension drain from him. He was still hyper aware of Vash looking at him, and Wolfwood glanced over at him.
Vash seemed startled, uncharacteristically embarrassed at being caught looking at Wolfwood, and he looked back out at the scenery. With the way he turned, the light of the moons reflected off his eyes. For a brief moment showing the otherworldly shine of them. The hint of an intricate pattern lurking just under Vash’s skin.
He knew Vash hadn’t meant to let him see that, but he had taken his sunglasses off, left them off even when Wolfwood showed up. Usually he wore them even at night, not wanting anyone to see that there was something off about him.
When Wolfwood thought about the way the general public treated Vash, he thought they didn’t deserve to see it anyway. Not that Wolfwood thought that he deserved to see it either, but he was glad Vash thought he did.
He thought about the patterns he’d seen only once on Vash’s skin, covering his whole body. For a fleeting moment he thought of what it would feel like to trace them with his hands. If they would feel warm or just like regular skin-
He couldn’t let himself think about that. He wouldn’t.
Wolfwood laid back against the roof, looking up at the sky and Vash above him. Smoke from his cigarette curled up into the darkness.
Vash turned to look at him again when he heard him thump against the roof.
“I’m getting comfy,” Wolfwood raised his eyebrows.
“Mind if I join you?” Vash asked.
“I’d never be able to stop you if I did.”
Vash laughed, short but genuine. He pulled his jacket out from under him and rolled it up a bit. “Lift your head.”
Wolfwood obeyed and Vash laid his rolled-up jacket down underneath him, Wolfwood flopped his head on the makeshift pillow.
“Thanks,” Wolfwood said, as Vash settled in beside him.
They lay side by side like that for a moment. Wolfwood thought he could almost fall asleep up here, with Vash.
“We never really get a chance to do stuff like this, do we?” Vash asked in a soft voice.
“What, stargaze?” Wolfwood replied.
Vash chuckled lightly, “Sure.”
Wolfwood got the impression that was not what Vash had meant, but he didn’t really know how else to take it.
“I’ve never really been into stargazing,” Wolfwood said. He cringed a bit, thinking he was going to kill the moment.
“I didn’t really think you would be,” Vash said. He sounded almost fond. “Too sentimental for you?”
“Nah, that’s not it,” Wolfwood shifted uncomfortably for a moment. He kind of regretted starting this train of thought.He could just play it off, but something about lying beside Vash like this made him want to keep talking. Want to be honest. Or as honest as he could, anyway.
“It’s like… we used to be able to travel the stars. We came a long way. And then we crashed here and we lost all that. We can’t go back.”
He felt a little embarrassed. He took a drag of his cigarette again. “That didn’t make any sense, did it?”
“It did,” Vash said quietly. “It does.”
Vash shifted beside him, his hand brushed against Wolfwood’s, just a little. He could reach out and grab Vash’s hand, but he wouldn’t. They weren’t necessarily shy about physical contact, constantly having to patch each other up and shield each other in fights would break down that barrier pretty fast. But when they touched it was fleeting, and this would be far too deliberate. And he didn’t want to ruin the moment, if this was even a moment. And it was stupid to want to, he was so damn stupid-
Wolfwood ground out his cigarette on the roof to have something else to do with his hands. Vash made a small noise of disapproval beside him, which Wolfwood ignored.
“It’s getting pretty late,” Vash said.
“Wanna turn in?” Wolfwood asked.
“Not really,” Vash said. “But we should. Gotta head out early tomorrow.”
Wolfwood groaned. “That’s easy for you to say, when you’re not the one driving.”
“Sure is.” He felt Vash turn his head towards him. Wolfwood turned towards him automatically. Vash was giving him a small smile, one of his real smiles. He didn’t know what for. But the light of the moons showed the patterns in his eyes again. It was a cliche, but Wolfwood really could get lost in them. Vash was wrong to think Wolfwood wasn’t a sentimental man.
Vash didn’t look away this time. Either he didn’t know Wolfwood could see this proof of Vash being something other than human. Or maybe he didn’t care.
Or maybe he wanted Wolfwood to see.
Wolfwood would never know, because he would never ask
“Thanks for sitting with me,” Vash said.
“Someone’s gotta babysit,” Wolfwood said.
Vash rolled his eyes. He got up and stretched, and he offered Wolfwood his hand to help him up. Wolfwood didn’t need it, but he wasn’t going to refuse it.
They dropped down onto the balcony and headed back to their room. The quiet was comfortable as they got ready for bed, and Wolfwood didn’t have to say anything. But as Vash turned out the lights he said, “It really is a nice view.”
And he almost regretted saying something so sappy, but he got one of Vash’s real smiles again.