Work Text:
“What are you doing?”, V laughed. “You look like you have to defuse a bomb!”
Vincent didn’t mind doing his nails. For quite a while he had hesitated, felt a little ashamed about himself. What did it look like? He was a merc, he had a well-known name and yet now and then he was sitting somewhere, usually enjoying the sun on his partly naked skin and was doing his nails. Painted them and kept them tediously short.
For real: what would it look like? He had been afraid it would make him look weak. Fragile ego you might say and you would be absolutely right. But then, after a shamefully long time gone by, it dawned on him: wouldn’t he look more badass when he knocked gonks out while his nails were painted? He would.
Plus, and that actually was his main reason why he was doing it: he wouldn’t bite his nails. So yes, it wasn’t purely aesthetic but to keep himself from this bad habit that annoyed even himself. Surely, the problem would be solved for forever if he just got synt-nails. Vince had heard quite often that this would help in the end.
But the nomad was a friend of as little chrome in his body as possible. Easy to say as he was already using mantis blades and got better legs, but those had been necessities he needed as a merc, he told himself. The nails were a different matter. And there were other solutions with the same effect.
And it gave him those moments where he could just take a deep breath and relax before he again was in the midst of chaos. Or it was like now: he was with the Aldecaldos, visited Panam for a few days and he got to spend time with her.
Vince didn’t know exactly why, but Panam had a liking for painting his nails for him. So he let her. Like this, he could sit here, watch her, as she was as concentrated as never before. Today wasn’t the first time she helped him out, painted one fingernail after the next in a matt black colour. Yet, she couldn’t take her eyes off his rough hands. Tongue between her teeth, forehead in wrinkles she looked at their hands.
“Do you need any help, Panam?”, he asked.
With a snort, she breathed loudly before she shook her head: “No.”
V grinned. Her answers were shorter when she was concentrating. The merc wasn’t sure if he had seen her as concentrated when she worked on the clan’s cars. And while he loved watching her then, he enjoyed it now even more. It was cute. How she wanted to do her best for him. And he was more than happy to let her be. He stretched his neck a little, peeking at her work.
“Stop moving, V!”, she snorted.
“Alright, alright! I’ll stay still”, he said. He leaned back a little and his head fell backwards. The sun rays hugged his skin and a small smile appeared on V’s face as he closed his eyes, just enjoying the moment as it was. In this very second, it felt perfect. Everything was fine. It was okay.
“I think I am done!”
At the sound of Panam’s triumphant voice, V opened his eyes again. His hand was still in Panam’s as he eyed his nails. They weren’t as chipped as they had been before (which was the reason he had to do it. There was no use if there was no colour at the tips anymore) but some spots were missing and at other parts, the colour had hit his skin. It wasn’t as bad as it had been when Panam had tried for the very first time. But still, you could see the difference between V’s own work.
“Say something! It’s better than the last time, right?”
V pressed his lips together as he looked at Panam. He had to fight the grin back.
“Oh, you gonk! It can’t be that bad!”, laughed Panam. There was a slight hint of faked outrage in her voice. She leaned in and hit his shoulder.
“No, no, it’s not that bad!”, laughed V.
She didn’t believe him. He didn’t believe himself. “It is better than the last time!”, she defended her work of art, grabbed his hand and showed him where she had painted his nails as they had never been painted before.
Every now and then a short giggle came from V. But he let her rage on. He loved how the freckles danced on her nose when she was talking like there was no end. “Your fingers can be lucky that I have painted them, V!”
“Absolutely”, he nodded. She let him go and he closed the little bottle, placed it back between them. One last time he checked on his hands. “It’s fine. And for the next time, I know who to ask if I want to draw over someone’s finger. Just in case I ever need something like that.”
“You damn, gonk!”, she laughed and shook her head before she lightly punched him in the shoulder again.
V laughed. “No, but for real”, he leaned in. With one hand he carefully brushed a strand of her thick dark hair back. “Thank you, Panam.” His forehead leaned against hers. He could feel her breath against his skin, also the heat that was not only surrounding them but also coming from her. Vince leaned in and gently placed a kiss on her lips. One more on the cheek.
He could see her faint blush.
For a moment they stayed like this. “Love you, Panam”, said V and this time he wouldn’t fight his cheeky smile anymore.
“You are such a gonk, V”, she snorted, the corners of her mouth curling upwards. Vince grinned. She didn’t need to say it back with the exact same words as he did. He knew she was struggling to talk about her emotions. She showed him that she appreciated him. He knew.
Again, a short kiss on the cheek, then he grabbed the tiny bottle and jumped on his feet. “So, have to go ‘n show Mitch how I’ll never need protective gloves anymore thanks to all that nail polish on my skin!” Mischievously, V risked a view back over his shoulders but as he heard Panam’s loud railing, he just laughed loudly and ran as fast as he could.