Chapter Text
“We’d be happy to take the kid off your hands, Mr. Stampede. You and that Devil can both rot in separate prison cells, if you’d like.”
A gruff voice mused, the voice belonging to a man of tall stature, thick facial hair, and armed to the teeth with various weapons or tactical gear. One eye was covered by an eye patch, the other wrinkled at the corner with twisted smirk.
Vash grimaced, putting his hands into the air harmlessly, chuckling softly but it sounded hollow. “Hey now… Don’t you think we could talk this out without shooting?”
Brink saw Vash’s eyes dart to him, eyebrows furrowed with concern. Oh hell nah, unbelievable, Vash is concerned for
him?
Worry about yourself first!! You have a gun pressed to your head goddamnit, Vash!!
The Bounty Hunter scoffed with amusement. “Peaceful negotiation? You? I didn’t know you had such a cruel sense of humor, Stampede.”
Wolfwood was reaching for his Punisher, finger tips just brushing one of the leather belts, but the Hunter pressed his gun closer to Vash’s head, causing his head to bow forward.
“Don’t move unless you want a lead bullet through his skull.” The Hunter growled, Wolfwood wrinkled his nose in frustration but listened, hand going back to rest by his side, fingers twitching for action.
“Good, now…” The Hunter's gaze shifted towards Brink, looking him up and down. "How's ‘bout you two come with me. Make no fuss and no one gets hurt.” He mused. Brink tensed, he could feel the eyes of the patrons in the room, hands resting on the hilt of their guns, even their waiter was holding them at gunpoint.
So this isn’t the work of one man, it seems. They’re surrounded by everyone in the hotel lobby, goons and towns folk alike. Everyone was in it for the money, he guesses, two pricey outlaws is a hard deal to pass.
Brink sighed, running a hand down his face, “You promise I get my own cell?” Brink asked the Hunter, who grinned, all teeth and no warmth, and nodded slowly. “Yeah, a nice dingy little cell with your name on it.”
Brink nodded and stepped closer to the bounty hunter, holding out his hands with his wrists facing up. “Right, cuff me.” Brink said defeatedly, the Hunter raised a scruffy eyebrow but after a heartbeat let out a bellowing laugh.
“For an outlaw of your vicious reputation I really thought you’d put up more of a fight! Boys! Get this kid tied up, don’t want him scampering off.”
A group of men approached Brink, holding some ropes in their hands, all grinning widely about the payday they were about to receive. They reeked of weed and cheap booze, they all probably celebrated such a lucrative bounty the night before, which is why they were left alone until this morning.
“Now, what to do with this one.” The Hunter turned his attention to Vash, whose expression Brink can no longer read behind the sheen of his stupid large orange sunglasses. Brink shrugged while letting the goons grab his hands and pin them behind his back, purposefully making his arms hard to manipulate just to give them a hard time. .
“I dunno, kill him for all I care. I hate these guys.” Brink said, nodding towards Vash and Wolfwood, trying to sound indifferent but refused to look them in the eyes for fear of breaking character.
Wolfwood let out a low whistle, “Wow, so mean kid, and here I was about to pay for your breakfast.” Brink couldn’t tell if the wounded tone was genuine or playful.
“Hey, I’d say it's pretty mean to concuss and kidnap me. So I’d say we’re even.”
The back and forth gave both the Bounty Hunter and his goons some pause, they all looked between each other, probably thinking something like
“this kid can’t be serious!”.
The slight pause of confusion allowed Brink a small window, and took his moment, a devilish grin peeling back on his lips.
Brink wrenched his hands free from the grip of the goons, whipping around and grabbing one of them by the collar of his shirt, throwing him into Hunter and sending them crashing down to the floor. The Hunter lost his aim on Vash, having a whole human body thrown at him definitely makes it harder to keep your balance and aim.
“Holy shit scout!-” Wolfwood gasped while reaching for the Punisher, Brink felt a rush of satisfaction at his shock, that’s right, he can defend himself. Brink grabs Vash’s arm and yanks the outlaw out of his chair, pulling him along before the bullets start flying.
The bounty hunter roared with anger, aiming his gun at Brink and firing before he had time to duck. Brink was ready to tank it, but Vash threw his mechanical hand out to block the bullet and shoved Brink forward towards the hotel door.
“Go!! Move!!” Vash urged, guns all around them started firing off in a frenzy of lead, smoke, and gunpowder, causing Brink to wince from the overwhelm on his senses. He flew out the door of the hotel, Vash and Wolfwood hot on his heels, stumbling before finding his balance. Unfortunately, what awaited them outside was more bounty hunters.
Several men rushed forward to grab Brink and pin him down, trying to get his arms pinned to his side, Brink sneered at their pathetic attempt, wriggling one arm out of their grasps and reaching for his pipe, pulling it from its sling.
“Say hello to John for me, he’s been real lonely lately!!” Brink laughed, swinging his pipe into the side of one of the goons' heads with a hollow “tunk!”, making him buckle and ragdoll to the ground. One grabbed the wrist of his weapon hand, so Brink kicked the toe of his shoe into their thigh, making them wail in pain and let go.
The last one got Brink from behind, wrapping an arm around his throat and squeezing.
“I gotcha, you little brat!!” The man sneered, his breath smelled faintly of booze this close and Brink wrinkled his nose in disgust. Using his free hand he grabbed the arm of his attacker, pushed his bodyweight back into the man behind him and then leaned forward with as much force as he could, throwing his attacker over his shoulder and onto his back where he was knocked breathless on the ground.
Brink’s head gave a sharp stabbing throb of protest from the action and momentary lack of air, and his leg ached, but sucked in a sharp breath and gritted it out.
His eyes darted around the open space, finding Vash and Wolfwood tangled in their own fights. Wolfwood was swinging his cross around like a baseball bat, which is surprisingly effective as it sent goons flying in every which way. Vash on the other hand was expertly disarming his opponents with the back of his gun and martial arts, dropping bodies with practiced ease while dodging bullets.
Brink delivered a swift kick to the side of the head of the goon, still conscious and on the ground, the other clutched his thigh and moaned with pain dramatically. How they become a bounty hunter and act like this when they get hurt is beyond Brink, be he doesn’t have time to give a shit.
So he swiftly chops the back of the goons neck and puts him out of commission.
Vash and Wolfwood were still dealing with the brunt of their assailants, but they were getting quickly overwhelmed. It seems the group of bounty hunters might have teamed up with local law and the town itself just to get all three of them pinned down, because the amount of their attacks grew in number, and Brink swears he saw a couple of folks in uniform get punted by Wolfwood’s cross.
Why isn’t Wolfwood using the Punisher properly? That’s a giant gun, all he’d need to do is pull the trigger and lay waste to the crowd. But for some reason he isn’t? Maybe he’s short on ammo?
Whatever the reason, Brink doesn’t have time to ponder. He shook his head clear (which was a mistake because that hurt) and started looking for an escape. If Brink recalls correctly, where he entered the town had a stall where folks could rent a tomas. If he could get there and steal a Tomas, he could outrun the bounty hunters and get into the open desert.
Most stop giving chase once they’re out in the open, just because it's so easy to get lost, or stranded without food or water. So if he’s lucky, just getting out of town should cease fire.
Brink nodded to himself and started off towards the west side of town, but before he could even reach an alleyway to escape through, Brink stalled in his tracks, looking over his shoulder at the two adults supposedly in charge of his care.
Vash was struggling, having to dance around snarling men and dodge bullets like a ballerina. However the longer it went on the closer those bullets came to hitting their targets. Wolfwood wasn’t fairing any better, several men were holding down his weapon in an intense game of tug of war with the Punisher. And Brink couldn’t really tell who was winning.
Two voices occupied his brain.
“Vash did save you earlier, are you just going to collect more debt and take his kindness for granted?”
“They both hurt you first, you owe them nothing. Get out of here before they hurt you again!”
Brink growled in frustration, two parts of his mind waging war on each other and leaving him paralyzed with indecisiveness. Save them and lose his best chance to get them off his tail? Or let them get captured and betray the kindness and patience they’ve shown.
“Goddamnit…” Brink mumbled to himself, clenching his fists. Watching Wolfwood roar something furious and wrench his Punisher free, knocking a few more heads. A bullet whizzed past Vash’s cheek, cutting just the very surface of his skin, Vash let out a little “Eek!!” as he danced around more goons trying to take a swing.
Brink frowned, the overwhelming guilt finalizing his decision.
-----------------------------------------
Wolfwood pressed his hand against the face of a goon who had their arms wrapped tightly around his middle, holding onto him like a young kid would when they’re trying to fight and you’re twice their size and knocked them to the ground 6 times already. Wolfwood tried to shove him off, pushing against his face, but he held on like a hungry leech.
A pair of arms grabbed the arm that cradled Punisher, and several more grabbed his legs, effectively holding Wolfwood down in place.
“Damn!! there’s so many of them!” Wolfwood growled, he could hear Vash laugh, but it sounded breathless and worn out.
“I know right? We must be really popular!” Vash joked, soon after screeching like a Banshee as someone swiped at him with a pocket knife, causing Vash to bend over backwards just to avoid it.
Wolfwood wriggled against his restraints, grunting with effort as he kicked off a few leeches, only for more to latch on and take their place. Shit these people were relentless!!
“I could really use some help here, Blondie!” Wolfwood called out, only to realize Vash has leeches of his own. Several men held down both of his arms, and more were flooding in to grab what they could.
Wolfwood can’t believe he’s thinking this, but they genuinely might get captured at this rate.
Speaking of capture… Where's the kid?
Wolfwood whipped his head around to find that blue mop of hair, but it was nowhere to be seen. Probably ran off then, Wolfwood grimaced, of course the kid would try to lose them in this chaos. He clearly didn’t want them around anyways. At least he got away from the fight, Wolfwood can live with that fact.
It's just a damn shame they couldn’t protect him any longe-
“Look out above!!” A voice screeched, breaking into maniac giggles. Wolfwood did as the voice instructed and, low and behold, Brink was flying above him, having leapt from a nearby rooftop to gain height above the mob.
And he was coming down fast.
Several men screamed and cleared out of the way, letting go of Wolfwood just in time for him to struggle free, kicking some faces in the process. Brink landed with a tuck, rolling onto his feet and sprinting at the group of goons holding onto Vash.
He launched himself into the fray with a feral hiss, latching onto one of the goons and taking a huge bite into his neck. The man screamed and let go of Vash, hands trying to pry the child off, but Brink held on tight and refused to let go. The goon stumbled back, falling on his ass as he kicked and pawed a Brink, grabbing at the back of his shirt and pulling.
Brink let go moments later and stood up, spitting blood out of his mouth, his back turned to Wolfwood. The goon was on the ground, clutching his neck, blood pouring out of a large bite wound, looking up at Brink in abject horror.
The crowd went quiet, everyone stopped moving and froze in place to watch Brink and their ally on the ground. The air was thick as Brink slowly turned his head to look towards the group surrounding Vash. Wolfwood could see his face now, mouth and chin dripping with blood, lips pulled back into a wide toothy smile that didn’t squish his eyes. His teeth stained red with blood. The kid looked feral, Wolfwood half expected him to start foaming from the mouth.
“Does anyone else want a turn?” Brink sneered, the crowd aimed their guns at him and Vash looked… Mildly disturbed. Brink giggled, wiping his mouth with his sleeve. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
Brink lunged at the group, everyone screamed and started firing all willy-nilly. However, Brink was fast, inhumanly so, and he closed the gap between the crowd and himself before anyone could fire something meaningful. Brink pulled the metal pipe out of its sling and started swinging.
He knocked out one of the men with just a simple swing, two more rushed forward and he knocked their heads together and threw them off to the side. One grabbed his shoulder but Brink whipped around and bit down on his arm. Brink’s nose wrinkled with effort, his jaw working hard, the man yelling in pain and screaming to ‘get it off’ while trying to pull his arm out of Brink’s mouth.
Brink eventually did let go, but only because someone came at him with a knife. The knifer tried to stab Brink in the back, but Brink whipped around to catch his wrist and threw the knifer to the ground, twisting his hand and pulling the knife out of his grasp.
Meanwhile, Vash has been dealing with obstacles of his own. Wolfwood rushed forward to help him, using his cross to block several of the shots fired at the duo, pushing Vash out of the thickest part of the crowd, but the fire soon came from multiple angles and that was no longer effective.
While weaving through the crowd, someone snuck up behind Vash, the original Bounty Hunter. Wolfwood saw the glint of metal and opened his mouth to call out to Vash, but it was too late. The Hunter was already pulling the trigger, barrel of the gun aimed firmly at the side of Vash’s head, finger curling and arm tensing for kickback.
Wolfwood couldn’t stop it in time, Vash was completely unaware. Wolfwood could lunge at the man but by the time he takes the man down the gun will have fired. Shit!! Vash can’t just die like this, not Vash!
A hand reached around the neck of the bounty hunter, a blade glinting in the sunlight. The blade was quickly pulled along a line on the bounty hunter’s throat, slicing through the soft skin with ease. Vash finally noticed the man behind him, but all too late, eyes widening with shock as red spurted from the fresh cut in his neck.
Within a matter of moments he was down, blood pouring out of his neck, a handing coming up to clutch his throat with confusion swirling in his eyes, and awful gurgling noises of pain filling the air. Brink stood over him, face grim and shoulders tense, clutching the knife in his hands hard enough to make his knuckles white.
Wolfwood felt a sense of dread wash over him, Brink just killed a man.
A child… Just killed a man.
Wolfwood watched as Vash’s face twisted with shock and rage, gaping down at the dying man before them. Brink turned his eyes away from the scene, his bottom lip quivering.
“No!!” Vash wailed, dropping to his knees, pressing a hand to the bleeding Bounty Hunter’s throat, murmuring soft comforting words and trying to assure them it's going to be ok. The Hunter struggled for several minutes, gurgling and grunting, writhing under Vash’s hands, but eventually it all died down and his eyes glazed over. Vash was quiet for a moment, face haunted with guilt. Then he bared his teeth, head snapping up to look at Brink.
“You didn’t have to kill him!” Vash exclaimed. Brink looked taken aback, wincing at the intensity of Vash’s statement, but turning that energy back on the blonde.
“And let you die? Are you fucking kidding me?!” Brink shot back, but Wolfwood cut in as he blocked several more bullets with this cross.
“This is
not
the time to argue! We need to get out of here!”
Vash scowled and looked down at the bleeding man, he was dead, not a hint of life as the body went pale and the rush of blood slowly turned into an ooze. Brink looked pale, but he nodded curtly and motioned with his hand to follow.
“Follow me, I can get us out of here.”
Brink turned on his heels and made a beeline for a thin alleyway between buildings. Wolfwood grabbed the collar of Vash’s shirt and dragged him along as he followed Brink down the alleyway.
The mob roared and gave chase, several sets of heavy footsteps following close behind. Vash eventually got to his feet and started running by himself, but he was pouting like he always does when something like this happens.
“Blondie, get over it.” Wolfwood scolded, Vash wrinkled his nose at Wolfwood and didn’t look him in the eye. “I don’t wanna talk about it, keep running.”
And so they didn’t.
Brink was surprisingly fast- actually, he was surprisingly everything, strong, athletic, good at combat- he kept pace with Vash and Wolfwood with complete ease, even with the slight falter in his gate from his gun wound.
He led them through alleys, and streets. Ducking, weaving and vaulting like he’s a trained parkourist, guiding them to god knows where.
“Hey scout, you got a plan you’re not filling us in on?” Wolfwood asked as they barreled around another corner, bullets hitting the wall right behind them. Brink let out a yelp of surprise as he cast a nervous glance behind, at least 12 people rounding the corner behind them.
“We’re stealing some Tomas’s, just to get us out of the city. There’s a rental stall not much further away, so get ready to break in and enter.”
Wolfwood nodded, Vash didn’t argue so thankfully that meant he agreed. Or that he didn’t but was too busy sulking to care.
One more sharp turn had them bursting out into the streets again, Wolfwood’s eyes darted around and spotted what they were looking for. An open air stall with maybe 5 or 6 Tomas’s, eating away lazily at their feed, their emerald feathers sticking out as a splash of color among the constant beige of sand and sandstone.
Wolfwood shoved his two other companions in the right direction, the mob hot on their heels, muttering “Go go go!!”
They hopped the fences blocking the Tomas from leaving, one of the handlers yelped in protest and tried to stop them, but Brink knocked them out and left them laying on the Tomas shit covered floor.
Wolfwood untied a Tomas for him and Vash while the blonde worked on opening the gate, Brink untied his own and hopped on its back, giving its neck a few pats and offering it soft words of comfort before steering it towards the open gate, clicking at it and squeezing his legs to urge it to move faster.
Wolfwood passed one of the reins to Vash and nodded before hopping on his own Tomas, falling in line just behind Brink, Vash was quick to follow.
Brink looked over his shoulder at Vash and Wolfwood, Wolfwood nodded and gave a thumbs up. “Lets leave them in the dust.”
Brink smiled, turning his gaze forward and kissing to the tomas, leaning forward. The tomas honked and started into a trot, slowly picking up until it was sprinting through the town. Wolfwood’s and Vash’s tomas follow suit.
Soon they were flying through the city, having long lost their attackers, and were entering the open desert.
A fight with only one casualty. Not bad for having Vash around.
-----------------------------------------
The group eventually found themselves several hours' ride from outside the city, hidden amongst the large sandstone outcroppings and boulders among the dunes. Rocky terrain that would save them from getting swarmed by vehicles. The suns rested comfortably on the horizon now, the sky a vibrant shade of orange and pink.
Brink dismounted from his tomas with a sigh, landing on his feet with a heavy thud and wincing as pain shot up through his right leg, which was getting worse from irritation. Not far behind him Vash and Wolfwood dismounted from theirs. Brink turned to his tomas and gave its neck a few soothing rubs, thanking her softly for her help.
“So how do we plan to return these?” Wolfwood asked as he went over to check on Vash.
“They’re trained to come home if they get lost, just give them a good smack to the rump and they’ll go flocking home.” Brink said and demonstrated by letting go of the reins on his tomas and giving her a firm smack right above the dock of her tail.
The Tomas squawked, spooked, and started running off towards the city, honking up a storm. Her friends perked at the warning honks, and started chasing after her, making complaints of their own.
Wolfwood chuckled and looked over at Brink with a raised eyebrow. “Don’t you think that’s a little mean?”
Brink shrugged, walking over to a large boulder and leaning on it, body aching and head throbbing from the fight. “They’re all trained to get out of danger. Since we don’t have the right commands to tell them to go home, I tell them to get away from danger by being the danger, and the safest place to go for them is always home.” He explained, having found this trick out the hard way and getting stuck in open desert days away from his destination with not enough rations.
Wolfwood hummed thoughtfully before nodding. “That’s good stuff to know, you're a pretty damn smart kid.” he praised, and Brink looked away towards the open desert, flushing and grumbling his thanks.
Vash and Wolfwood both worked in tandem to set up camp, thankfully the Tomas’s had some camping supplies they could steal from since Vash and Wolfwood both lost a lot of their stuff in the scuffle.
Wolfwood worked on starting a campfire, stacking dry fire wood and stuffing tinder in the middle, using a flint and steel to spark the tinder, and couching down to gently blow on the embers once they caught. Vash set up their sleeping bags, undoing the sting that held the roll together and laying down the tarps, placing the sleeping bags on top.
Brink did nothing, still contemplating even hanging around and causing these people more trouble in the long run. Watching Vash stay eerily quiet and mopy didn’t help Brink either, he felt bad, he didn’t want to do something wrong but… What else was he supposed to do?
It's ticking him off, if he’s being honest. Vash is being childish, getting upset over Brink killing someone? Is this really even the Humanoid Typhoon, the man who
blew up
Julai?
Vash kept casting angry glances at Brink, and each time Brink was closer and closer to opening his mouth and saying something about it. He tapped his foot against the sand impatiently, waiting for Vash to say something, or get the hell over it like a functional adult.
It was the 5th side-eye that finally broke the ice.
“Are you seriously still angry about that, Vash?” Brink sneered. He’s not even sure why he’s angry, if he’s being honest, he doesn’t care for Vash’s opinion about him. Yet something in his chest felt tight, something felt wrong, he was upset, disturbed.
Vash was quiet for a moment, abandoning the sleeping bags and standing to his full height. He looked defeated, then angry, turning his head to glare at Brink.
“You didn’t have to kill him. There was another way.” Vash said. His voice was a cold, calm, kind of angry. Vash stood much taller than Brink, his gaze turned down and pinning Brink to the rock behind him. Brink shrunk under it, curling into himself, feeling scared and angry.
“And let you die? Be thankful I saved you, asshole! You won't even be blamed for it this time either!”
Vash visibly flinched at Brink’s dig, clearly hitting a nerve. Brink was tense, something in his chest waiting to explode. Wolfwood grumbled as he shoved a sucker in his mouth, pointedly turning his gaze towards Vash and taking a step between him and Brink.
“He’s a kid, Vash, let him off the hook. I’m sure he’s not happy he had to do it either.”
“Being a kid shouldn’t excuse him from his mistakes, Nicholas!” Vash snapped and Wolfwood grimaced. Brink grinded his teeth together, he knows what Vash is saying is partially true but he just doesn’t want to acknowledge this right now.
“Leave it, Wolfwood. This is between me and Vash, if he wants to be a little baby about the real world then let him.”
Wolfwood tossed Brink a concerned look, opening his mouth to say something but opted out with a nod, walking away from the conversation and the camp, towards one of the dunes.
With Wolfwood gone Brink turned his attention back to Vash.
“That gun was trained on your head, Vash. It was you or him.” Brink was cold, he didn’t have the energy to sugar coat what he saw. He didn’t know why he worried for Vash so much in that moment, but his body moved before his brain, and the man was suddenly dead before him.
The image of the man gasping and wirthing beenth him flashed in the back of his mind and it made Brink feel sick to his stomach. He tried to ignore it, to ignore the horrible feeling of guilt. It’s a dog eat dog world, there’s no reason to feel guilty, the Hunter got himself in that battle and he knew the price to pay for losing.
“I could’ve found a way! Killing is never the answer!” Vash exclaimed. Brink snarled and pushed himself off the boulder, stalking over to Vash. “Never the answer?! Vash are you fucking stupid? It's the only answer! It was
YOU
or
HIM,
what don’t you understand?!”
Brink’s voice raised in frustration, and he watched as Vash’s metaphorical hackles raised. Stupid adults with their stupid dreams, Brink has had to fight tooth and nail just to survive and has the audacity to shame the very reason he’s still standing today.
“I understand what was going to happen, but you didn’t have to kill him! There had to be another way, Brink!” Vash grabbed Brink’s shoulders, nails digging into his clothes. Brink felt a lump in his throat and he threw Vash’s hands off of him.
“Do you think I liked this outcome?? Do you think I enjoyed killing that man?!” Brink’s voice trembled, something dangerous bubbling in his chest. “No, Vash!! But I was fucking scared! I did what I knew at the time and I fucking
hate
it!!”
Brink drove a finger into Vash’s chest. “So how about instead of belittling me for something that would be
traumatizing
to any other child, You. Fucking. Drop. It!!” He was crying. Brink was crying.
Tears well in his eyes and fell down his cheeks and his voice cracked and quivered with rage and sadness. That tight feeling in his chest was grief. He was so horribly guilty. Brink didn’t enjoy taking people’s lives, he tried so hard to make sure no one died to his hands if he could help it. But this world is cruel and will snuff out any weakness, if Brink even hesitates to kill, the next person dead could be him or a loved one.
“Believe me, I hate how I killed that man just as much as you, if I had any other option I would have taken it!”
Vash’s expression softened, anger washing away to be replaced with concern and remorse, hands hovering awkwardly between him and Brink in an aborted attempt to offer comfort.
He hated it, he hated how all he can ever do is end the stories of others. Brink didn’t have the right to mess with fate, but he couldn’t just stand around and do nothing. All he can do is respect the life of those he’s killed and repent, and don’t let the pain and agony of his crimes catch up.
“Brink, I…” Vash started but trailed off. Tears streamed down Brink's face and his breath caught on his throat, but he still angrily stared Vash down, ready to defend himself. Vash visibly deflated, any fight leaving his body and leaving a sad husk instead. He looked tired, and so, so, sad.
Vash used the sleeve of his large red coat to wipe away Brink’s tears, then gently ruffled his hair. “You’re right, I’m sorry Brink. You did what you thought was right and protected me.” Vash soothed, “I don’t agree that was the best choice, but I shouldn’t have yelled at you… Thank you for saving me.”
The tight feeling in Brink’s chest snapped. He let out a choked sob and went to hide his face in his hands, swaying on his feet as his head spun from how hard his whole body tensed. Vash gently guided him to sit up against the boulder, rubbing up and down his arm soothingly.
Brink curled up into a little ball, head resting against his knees and arms wrapped around them to pull them tight. Vash sat down next to him and rubbed a hand in circles on back, letting Brink get all of it while still being there for him.
By the time Wolfwood returned, Brink’s meltdown had been reduced to sniffles. He peeked out from behind his knees to find Wolfwood giving Vash an accusing look, Vash shrugged with one shoulder as he continued the soft ministrations with his other arm.
Wolfwood smelled awful, again, but Brink didn’t have the willpower to be disgusted by it. Wolfwood gazed down at him with pity, and it made Brink feel small and pathetic, angry too. He doesn’t need pity, that got him nowhere.
“Well, I’d like to talk about plans if you two have hashed it out.” Wolfwood said, sitting down in front of Vash and Brink. Vash nodded, giving Brink one last pat on the back before scooting away.
“We need to find a different nearby town, we need supplies. My bag was left in the hotel room and it has yours and my stuff” Vash hummed, then added. “Nick, did the Tomas’s have a map on them?”
Wolfwood shook his head. “Sorry needle noggin, couldn’t find one before they took off.”
Brink shifted and uncurled himself from his ball, pulling his backpack off his shoulders. “I’ve got one, and a compass…” He mumbled, unzipping the main pocket to pull out a well worn map and compass. He unfolded the map and laid it in the sand, leaning over it to read, Vash leaning in as well.
Vash pressed his prosthetic hand to a point on the map, “We’re roughly about here.” Wolfwood narrowed his eyes and joined the other two over the map, Brink followed with his eyes. “And the nearest civilization is…” Vash lightly dragged his finger along the worn paper, trailing off until he pointed to a location labeled “Maris City”, “Here.”
Brink nodded and looked at the map, the compass, the map again, swiveled around, back at the compass, then pointed east. “Its that way, then.”
Vash and Wolfwood nodded, folding up the map and handing it back to Brink. He stuffed it away in his pack, listening to Vash and Wolfwood as they discussed.
“Its a city so it should have everything we’re looking for. Only a day and a half walk, if we wanted to, we could use the rest of today to get that half done, and only have tomorrow to brute through the heat.” Wolfwood suggested and Vash nodded in agreement. Brink felt his stomach lurch with dread at the idea, his leg was already hurting, and the mere thought of walking for several more hours sounded like hell.
It must’ve shown on his face, because Wolfwood quickly backtracked. “Or, maybe not. We’ll just start early tomorrow.”
Brink felt a wave of relief and gratitude, offering a weak smile to Wolfwood.
With that it was settled. They would start off early in the morning and make their way towards Maris City, where they’ll recover from the loss of today and get Brink a proper place to rest. But right now, they needed to rest.
Vash and Wolfwood started a fire, getting comfortable on their sleeping bags. Brink remained where he was pressed up against the rock, this time hugging his backpack into his chest, which had Vash shooting him a confused look. “Don’t you want to set up your sleeping gear, Brink?” he asked.
Brink shrugged, “Don’t got any, I usually just sleep on the sand and tough out the cold.” That is one of the main reasons he has so many layers, it's so he can just survive the nights. Vash and Wolfwood looked between themselves, concerned.
“Here, you can have mine, Brink, I’ll be ok without it having my big coat.” Vash offered, scooting off his sleeping bag and patting it for Brink to take. Brink shook his head, remaining firmly planted where he was.
“I’m fine, it's your stuff I’m not gunna take it. I’ve slept like this dozens of times just fine.” Brink felt guilty for causing them any more trouble than he already has. They’ve gone through the trouble of taking him under their wing, he’s already indebted to them enough, he doesn’t need to dig that hole deeper.
Vash frowned. “Are you sure? It’s really not a big deal for me.” he asked, tilting his head. Brink nodded firmly, which didn’t seem to satisfy Vash. The blonde stood up and walked over, shucking off his large red coat and draping it over Brink’s shoulders. Brink was practically engulfed in it, being much shorter than Vash.
“Well at least wear this tonight, just in case. I won’t need it” Vash crouched down in front of Brink and smiled sincerely. Brink shrunk into himself and further into the coat, pulling the hood down to hide his face.
“Thanks… Vash…” He grumbled, trying to ignore how his heart ached from the simple act of kindness. Vash giggled, “Of course! Wouldn’t want our favorite blueberry turning into a sorbet, now would we?” He joked and Brink scoffed, from annoyance or amusement he isn’t quite sure.
Vash settled back down in his sleeping bag, stretching his arms over his head with a content sigh. Vash’s figure was much more lean and muscular than he originally assumed, which makes sense now that he thinks about it, but Brink thought he was a twink rather than a twunk.
He also caught Wolfwood ogling Vash from the corner of his eye, which had Brink huffing in amusement. The longing coming off that man was almost painfully obvious. Wolfwood caught Brink glaring at him and cleared his throat, cheeks flushing as he looked towards the stars for an excuse.
“So uh… Should we get you tested for Rabies, scout?” Wolfwood broke the silence, with that of all things the asshole. Brink hummed and shrugged, not the first time he’s been compared to a rabid animal. “I dunno, why don’t you toss some water at me and see if I scream.”
Vash barked a laugh and made a motion with his hands like he was flicking water off them, “Think fast!!”
Brink yelped and pulled Vash’s jacket tighter around himself, hiding inside it like a protective shell, giggling like a small kid.
“Ah shit blonde I think he is. Probably got AIDs or somethin’ too, considerin’ how much blood he must swallow on a daily basis.” Wolfwood paused and shook his head. “Jesus kid we’re gonna have to get you so many shots” He mused, but Brink didn’t find the idea of needles all that funny. He grumbled and poked out from under the jacket.
“Put a single needle in me and I’m biting you too.” Brink growled with no real heat behind it, but it got the message across. Wolfwood put his hands up harmlessly, which settled that dispute, but Vash poked in with the face of someone ready to say “erm actually”
“We should get you tested for blood born pathogens, though. They are seriously no joke and if you’ve been fighting like that for a while it’s likely you’ve come across one already.” Vash suggested. Brink would be inclined to agree if he had been a normal kid, but he’s not.
“Don’t worry about that, if those things had actually had the power to hurt me I would be dead by now. I’m tough, the man upstairs cursed me in that way.”
Vash and Wolfwood looked between each other, raising an eyebrow, silently exchanging conversation between each other before simultaneously shrugging.
“I guess that’s fair. Just be careful, kid.”
Silence lapsed between the 3 for a little bit, all of them watching the flames of their tiny camp fire dance in the wind. Brink by now would normally start to feel the cold bite of the night rolling in, having to zip up his jackets and curl into himself tight. But under Vash’s coat it was warm, a kind of warmth Brink had not felt in a very long time.
Brink yawned, resting his head on his backpack and gazing out in the far desert.
“How do you not overheat in this, Vash?” Brink mumbled. Sure Brink also wears a lot of layers, but they’re worn out and thinning, having been stolen after all. Vash’s coat was thick, heavy and warm. It was made of high quality material, not something you could find for cheap.
Vash chuckled, "Insulation goes both ways. Like a good water bottle or canteen, you can protect the cold from the heat with a lot of insulation. It works the same with the coat, really, it acts like a protective layer of ....”
Vash’s voice slowly started growing distant as Brink dozed off. His eyelids felt like lead weights and his body too tired to even twitch. Vash’s coat felt like a warm hug, a sense of safety unlike any other. The soft drone of someone safe, his mind knowing he won’t have to worry about being alone just for this night, put him at ease.
For once in a long time Brink went to sleep feeling at peace, snoring softly as his two new guardians gazed at him fondly.
Maybe this arrangement wasn’t so bad after all.
-----------------------------------------
“He’s not human, is he?” Wolfwood asked the question that’s been hanging over the both of them since the scuffle in town, now that Brink is asleep. Watching the kid throw bodies like they weighed nothing was… unnerving. He possessed speed and strength that no child should feasibly have, let alone a 15 year old boy who looks like he hasn’t had a good meal in several months.
Vash watched Wolfwood's brows pinch with concern, he could tell what his friend was thinking about from the way he thumbed over the vial in his coat pocket.
Vash hummed and nodded solemnly, “Probably not. The question is, now, who is he really?”
They obviously didn’t know much about Brink. Judging from how the kid behaved and how he even ended up in this position, he probably didn’t come from a good home life. But that was speculation, they knew absolutely nothing about him but his name and the fact he mentioned he had a brother.
Wolfwoods frowned deeper, his jaw tensing. “Do you think?...” He trailed off, something raw and vulnerable flashing in his eyes, then shook his head. “No, nevermind. Probably not.”
Vash wanted to ask Wolfwood what he was going to say, but Wolfwood didn’t seem quite ready to say it, so he’ll ask another time. For now he smothered the remaining licks of fire with sand and crawled into his sleeping bag, Wolfwood taking first watch.
Maybe they’ll get answers soon, maybe they won’t. They can’t force anything out of the kid, who knows what happened to him in the past.
“Night blondie, I’ll wake you in a few hours.”
“Thanks. Goodnight, Nick.”