Chapter Text
Vash and Nicholas parted ways from Lina and her grandmother not long ago after Vash made the final decision to move on. They thanked them many times for their hospitality and being able to stay and heal, and headed towards a small town near the city of December, where they would find Meryl as she and Wolfwood agreed on before parting ways last time they found each other there.
Vash knew he couldn’t be Eriks anymore, and even if he wasn't fully okay yet it was time to move on, it was time to put back his (new) yellow tinted shades on, and place his new gun into the holster, securing it with a leather band. He kept the longer hair though, after longer deciding, he still liked that change, he wanted to see someone else in the mirror than a ghost resembling his brother.
Around halfway journey to the meeting point, at least three shootouts later, and an earlier that day unfortunate meeting with ambitious bounty hunters who thought they could try to get a jump on Vash the Stampede, they fled to a middle of desert.
Leaving one town where nobody paid them attention left them feeling a little bit reckless, a little bit blindsided. In the next town, so close to being back to Meryl, they weren’t as lucky anymore.
Someone recognized Vash on their way to check into a shady hidden motel just on the outskirts. They had few drinks at the tavern, leaning on each other, and after Wolfwood finally refilled his stock of cigarettes he happily smoked one and was watching Vash who munched on a stale donut they found in a shop that almost closed before their noses, but Vash’s flashy smile managed to dazzle the shopkeep into letting him buy few last ones.
The next thing they knew, someone was shooting bullets into the air, and hysterically laughing about spotting the Humanoid Typhoon.
If they weren’t slightly intoxicated and honestly said also very tired and not paying enough of attention, the idiotic bounty hunters wouldn’t have stood a chance, but as Wolfwood picked Vash’s elbow to get him to run, (Vash looking like he was on the verge of tears when one of the donuts dropped out of his bag, but he wasn’t fast enough to grab it), more hunters crossed their path in the alley they were making escape from.
There were more of them than they expected.
In the blink of an eye Vash’s whole composure changed after a few bullets almost found their target in Nicholas’ chest, and the Undertaker was pushed roughly to the side by Vash. Usually Wolfwood had quick reflexes, but spending too much time in standstill made him unfocused. Now, before he could react, most of the bandits were lying on the ground and knocked unconscious, with Vash standing over them, breath heaving and his right hand trembling.
Even with his left arm missing, the bandits’ bullets never made it to their destination intact - Vash’s right hand on the gun didn’t even flinch, and for a bare eye it would be impossible to see any movement as he pulled the trigger, but he shot most of the bullets away from their trajectory with quick finality.
Fortunately the bandits’ aim was just as good as their plan, which meant not good at all, and Vash managed to duck or jump around the missiles, just a couple got too close to comfort, but thankfully they managed to skid only through the fabric of Vash’s coat.
Nicholas hadn’t seen Vash fight too many times up close, but something about that brief moment reminded him of the times after they met, the brutal precision of getting the attackers where he wanted, but the kindness that always spared their lives, those two opposites fighting inside him and balancing the person that was Vash, that only made Nicholas fell more and more for him.
The rest of the bounty hunters looked shocked at Vash, frozen to the spot, so Nicholas quickly grabbed Vash’s arm and turned to run, his cross machine now unwrapped and ready to fire if anyone dared to move after them.
Far away from the town as their legs could carry them, they found respite surrounded by rocks protecting them from the night’s dropping temperature and skin biting wind. They managed to make a fire to warm up and heat up the little bit of food they still had left.
Nicholas was still angry at those bandits, and Vash let him fume as sat on one of the rocks, tucking off his coat that had new bullet holes now.
He tried not to think, every new memory he remembered hurt too much. So instead he busied himself with finding any and all manual tasks that were needed to do, like mending his clothes.
Vash always liked to be useful, helpful. Now it was the only thing he could try to do while trying not to go crazy with all the thoughts plaguing his mind.
Although Vash was good with repairing and fixing his things, be it his gun, prosthetics or the few things he received from Lina’s home, he liked to keep his few possessions in good shape, this night he was too distracted, lost in his thoughts and gaze unfocused in the flames of the fire, hypnotized.
He thought the rest in Lina’s home would be enough to heal all his problems, but it only managed to fix those physical ones, his scars and wounds were definitely much better after all the time without being hunted and forced to run.
But mentally, he was still tired. So tired he hurt himself on the needle trying to sew the holes in his coat, and not noticing how he pricked his finger that it started to bleed.
Missing his prosthetic arm was difficult, he did manage to place the fabric taut so he could sew a few holes, but he didn't have an easy time.
Vash kept pushing the needle into the place beside the tear from the bullet in the coat, and tugging on the thread to make the stitch, but picking it back from the upside of the fabric, he let needle lean into his finger so it wouldn't slip his grip, the pointed metal stabbing him in his fingertip. He didn’t pay attention but kept sewing, picking up the needle, making a stitch, pushing it back into the fabric in place just beside, over and over.
Unconsciously, he welcomed the sharp small pain. He was too tired and his mind was numb, and in some way he still felt he deserved it, no matter how much he thought other days he was better and far from that point of thinking, the days always came back, and hurt him even more than before.
He didn't notice how much it was making his finger bleed until Wolfwood made him stop. “Careful, you’re going to hurt yourself, Tongari.”
“Oh.. I didn't notice.” Vash was distracted from his thoughts and looked up, surprised that Nicholas was suddenly so close to him.
“Yeah, I can see you’re adding new colors to your brown coat.”
Vash only hmph-ed, and tried to keep working.
“C'mon, let me see, sleeping beauty.” It made Vash sputter slightly and he ducked his head down to hide the blush.
Nicholas gently took the needle with the small bundle of thread and the coat away from Vash’s hands, setting it aside for now. Then he went to find a bandage in his bag and carefully started cleaning and wrapping Vash’s finger. With a little bead of blood he wouldn't make such a fuss about it, but seeing what mood Vash was in, he could only guess the pinprick would get bigger if he didn't stop him.
“You-- you don't have to do this, Nico.” he tried to bring his hand back to himself, out of Wolfwood’s reach, but he was too slow, too slowed down by too many sleepless nights that made him more tired, and by the nagging thoughts that didn't let him have any rest. Sleeping beside Nicholas lately helped; to feel the other’s presence, but even he couldn’t erase all of his past, all his mistakes and nightmares still plaguing him.
But, in the end though, Vash was tired so he accepted the other’s help and offered his hand back so Wolfwood could patch him up, looking sadly away and down at his coat, ashamed.
“Keep still, will you?” Nicholas was speaking to him all too gently and Vash wasn't sure how to feel about it, he almost wanted another reaction from him. The past few days he had felt so numb from all the running and hiding again, the needle at least brought him some comfort in the worst sort of way.
“I’ll try. Sorry for worrying you.”
With his finger wrapped, Vash expected Nicholas to scoot back to his previous seat opposite him, but he stayed beside Vash. “It’s fine, just… be more careful, okay?”
They sat side by side in silence that wasn’t pleasant nor tense, just calm. Only the cracking of wood breaking into soot in the flames of the fire kept them company, along with the wind dancing across the desert behind them, muffled by the rocks they seeked refuge in between.
“I miss my old cloak." Vash muttered slowly after a while of sitting in the silence. "It was from Luida and Brad, too, just like the arm was.." he couldn’t hide the sadness, the hopelessness, in his voice, and it pained Nicholas to hear him so down on himself again.
"I know. We will try to get you a new one, even in red, if we see it somewhere to buy.”
“It’s just…”
As if he could hear Vash's thoughts about to spiral, he tried to calm him down. Vash was never exactly nervous or anxious, spending over a century on this planet made him stop being jittery about every small thing he couldn’t change, but from time to time, his mind took a melancholy turn and there was nothing he could do to escape the thoughts until they left him feeling worn down and empty.
“I know. It's gonna be okay. Just one step at a time, yeah?”
“Yeah, yeah, you're right. … Sorry.”
“Nothing to apologize for. Let me do the rest of the mending on the coat? Believe it or not, but I have some experience with putting my clothes back together.” Wolfwood could see in the corner of his eye Vash smiling a little bit now.
Before Vash could protest, Wolfwood was already continuing.
“Yeah, I know, I know. I don't have to help you or anything. I just think I'm better at sewing, with an intensive history of mending and patching like a hundred socks by the age of 12.”
That at least made Vash crack a small laugh which Nicholas so adored. Wolfwood let him weigh his options, but looking down at the bloody mess he was creating, he soon gave up the pretense that he was handling it well, and handed the fabric to Wolfwood with a quiet “thank you”. After a moment he leaned on Wolfwood’s shoulder to rest his head there. What would he do without Nico being there with him?
“No problem. Get some rest, angel.”
The nickname made Vash all warm inside, he didn't feel this safe around someone in a long time. He felt his eyelids drooping and soon before he knew it he fell asleep.
Nicholas carefully maneuvered around Vash to pick up the tattered brown coat to finish the repairs, all the while trying not to jostle the blond too much, happy he was sleeping finally after what felt like a week where he noticed how Vash’s composure got progressively worse and worse ever since leaving Lina and being on the road again.
He threaded the needle quickly, with enough experience and care he didn't even put into the repair of his own clothes he closed the tears and holes with small stitches, efficient but sturdy, and after finishing mending the coat, he wrapped it around Vash, tucking it around his shoulders to keep him warm.
“I'm here, sweetheart, you’re safe.” he mumbled into Vash’s hair and as if the other man could hear him, he made himself even more comfortable in Nicholas’ side, his markings were faintly glowing in blue shades, so different from the orange flames of the campfire surrounding them.
Wolfwood kept the watch, looking out if anything moved anywhere near them, guarding his angel and sharing the warmth until the early morning when they had to continue their journey.
~~~
The town near December city wasn’t as welcoming as Vash hoped it would be. Not that he hoped much in general these days. Since leaving the safe haven of Lina and her grandma’s house, they’ve been basically only on the run. He fought his sour mood once again as he and Nicholas had to leave the diner before someone started open fire, and ran for their lives.
They ran behind a corner just when a truck they hadn't seen in years skidded to a stop a few feet away from them, the tires throwing clouds of dust everywhere, covering them in a layer of sand but hopefully also masking their tracks from the bunch of angry bounty hunters that was eyeing them just a few minutes ago when they wanted to have some calm dinner.
Nicholas and Vash had to cover their eyes and cough from the rising dust, but upon recognizing the figure behind the steering wheel, they looked at each other with a surprise in their smiles.
Meryl didn’t waste time to get out of the car, only threw open the door behind her and shouted at them “Get in!”
She and Vash didn't manage to properly greet yet, but they locked eyes, Vash giving her a brief smile. "Meryl! You have the best timing!"
She almost disbelieved her eyes, but Vash really stood before her. She didn’t know if she wanted to laugh or cry, and tried to blink a few times to stop the tears that were about to spill, not the time , she thought, she would have enough time to consider him once they got out of the danger zone.
The immeasurable sense of relief was all encompassing, it was hard to breathe but at the moment she blamed it on the dust and sand covering the streets. “Good to see you're not dead, now get in!"
At that Vash ran up after Wolfwood to the backseat, who scooted over, on the way squeezing Meryl's shoulder and meeting her eyes in the rear view mirror.
“Seat belts!” She reminded them as she pushed the gas pedal to the ground.
On the route from the town she checked the mirror way too many times, her eyes almost glued to the two men sitting in the back, darting from one to the other, taking in all the big changes in their appearance, mostly in Vash’ - longer hair, almost unnoticeable stubble she never saw on him before, new glasses with funny zigzag handles that looked really good on him
His usual red attire was changed for a brown fabric around his shoulders, but he still couldn’t mask the presence he carried with him. He still was Vash the Stampede, and Meryl wasn’t the only one immediately sensing in whose company she was.
The journalist couldn't believe it: they were together again. They had Vash! She missed him so much, she missed them both . She would need all the information and details later but for that moment it was enough for her to see him breathing in person.
---
Safely hidden inside another motel room, another town away, she presented them with fresh donuts for Vash and a new pack of cigarettes for Nick. Both of them accepted the gifts with a sort of reverence.
“You're a saint,” said Nicholas and pressed a quick kiss on Meryl's cheek, making her blush. “Nice glasses, by the way. It suits ya.” he winked as he took a step aside, letting the other two have a space to reunite.
Meryl turned to Vash who was still looking between the box in his hand full of donuts and back to Meryl, he was barely holding back tears.
"Meryl…" a few tears rolled down his cheeks when he spoke, voice thin, and Meryl couldn’t stand still anymore, she carefully walked to him in awe he was really there, and swept the tear away gently, then lunged to give him the biggest hug, almost squeezing the air out of him. Wolfwood quickly caught the box of donuts out of Vash’s hand before they could fall and spill onto the floor; he knew how sad that would make Vash.
“It's so good to have you back, Vash.” she whispered into the blond man’s neck on the verge of crying too, but feeling him near her comforted her like nothing in the past two years.
“It’s good to be back.” he mumbled into her shoulder, tears still dropping from his eyes, clutching her back just as strong.
They heard a fizzle of a cigarette being lit and the familiar smell of smoke filled the room and their lungs; a sense of calm draped over them all, shrouding them together like under a soft blanket. Meryl motioned for the Undertaker to join their cuddle pile and they all sighed in relief as they held each other for a long time, sharing tears and smiles alike.
They knew there would be more danger ahead of them - each and every town was now filled with wanted posters on almost every street, and even through Meryl’s work those weren’t easily persuaded about the Humanoid Typhoon’s mistaken nature, which would make their traveling anywhere harder.
Looking at their current company, hidden away in the small motel room, Nicholas felt like this could be the peace and love Vash always talks about, the accomplishment after searching tirelessly for so long for this - all three of them quietly embracing each other, knowing that slowly they would heal and be able to smile and laugh and eat again.
He hugged them tigher, his skin warm but not from the dry desert air after walking across the planet in search for Vash for two years, but from their warmth and closeness, of knowing they found each other again. He pressed a kiss to the crown of Vash's head and smiled as the blond man leaned his head on his shoulder.
Yeah, they would be okay.
~~~