Work Text:
This is the quietest it’s been since
Well, a while
Probably since the end
Vash looks out from the inn window
The town bustling below
A sigh escaping him
He probably shouldn’t call it something so ominous
“The end”
It was a new beginning
For plant and humankind alike
But not for him
Not after so much lost
Not with yet another bounty on his head
He still has friends, of course
He loves them dearly
Has no idea how he’d still be alive without them
How he’d still have the will to live
And, really, he has no excuse to be so dramatic
He can already see beautiful changes in the world
People are more willing to smile, to laugh
(When they don’t recognize him)
Guns and violence aren’t always the first option
(Again, when no one knows it’s him)
People are working together, food is more plentiful, there’s more hope
(Whenever he’s not there causing chaos)
It’s just…
The world seems to have found its peace
But what peace is there for him?
He’s been chasing his brother for so long
Almost long as long as he’s been alive
More than an average lifetime, at least
And Vash misses him, strangely
As much as he feels relief that it’s over
That everyone’s safe from that threat, at least
And after so long apart
He misses the purpose that he brought
The goal Knives created
More than the person that he loved
But barely got to know
No, the loss that he feels most keenly
The companionship that he experienced with no other
The man who Vash—
No
He won’t think about it anymore
He can’t
If he lets himself, and if he thinks too much…
How is he supposed to keep going?
Vash sighs again, frowning this time
Maybe he should head down to the bar
He doesn’t want to push his luck
He’s determined to keep his head down low enough
So that the hounds lose their scent
So that he can be forgotten
So that his name is just a rumor
And then…
Yeah, he’s thinking too much still
Maybe getting chased after is the better option
Maybe he should let people catch him
Just to see what happens
Humans are determined to be kinder to plants now, anyway
Right?
The floor creaks out in the hall
And the hair on Vash’s arm stands up
It’s just someone passing by, he knows this
But having peace, not being hunted every second of every day
Isn’t a luxury he’s gotten to know well
Even if he’s not sure if he likes it or not
And it’s made all the worse when they pause outside his door
It’s fine
It has to be fine
No one noticed him as he arrived
Right?
For as much as he was considering staying on the run
Only moments before
He’s so tired
He just wants some rest
Maybe a bit of relaxation
A few moments of peace
(Is there any more to be found, though?
In this world he himself created?)
The doorhandle jiggles
Vash’s hand is on his gun
Reflexes sharp as ever
Even if he trains less, nowadays
At least the door is locked—
Or at least it was
This person either picked it, or got a copy
Or something
It doesn’t matter now
The door swings open
And Vash is on his feet
He’s still fast, but something in him is so exhausted now
He’s not sure if it’s related to his hair darkening
Or… everything else
But a man steps through
Confident, casual
No weapon raised
A familiar movement
Too familiar
It makes something warm bloom in Vash’s chest
Something like going back home
After having lost it for years
What feels like centuries
The gun drops from Vash’s hand
Even though he knows better
It’s stupid
It’s so stupid
But in that instant, the metal burned
He can’t aim it
Not at him
And he meets Vash’s eyes
A casual smirk on his face
Like nothing’s wrong
Like nothing happened
“Wolfwood?”
Vash can barely whisper the name
A ghost on his lips
Like this man should be
The memory is so vivid
The smell of his blood a flood on his senses
Metallic, warm, sticky
His body so, so heavy
As Vash dug his grave
Carved it for him
So at least, finally
In death
He could be safe
One of them could find their peace
“Long time no see, spiky.”
Wolfwood sounds so normal
Looks so normal
But Vash felt his skin while there was no pulse to it
Watched his complexion go ashen
Sat next to him as he drifted forever out of reach
But now—
Vash strides forward
Barely feeling the movement of his legs
Reaching, arms outstretched
Hands shaking, trembling
A branch in the wind
Fingers so close to skin
Living skin
And he stops
He remembers
His hands are far dirtier, now
He can feel the blood staining them
The life he took for Wolfwood
After Wolfwood himself had finally chosen to spare
Not because Vash asked
But because he wanted to
And Vash knows Wolfwood was the one who said
That someday
Vash would have to make that choice
That he would have to live with it
That he would go to bed every night
Thinking about it
(Even if
Somehow
Vash can’t regret it
Not while protecting
What Wolfwood sacrificed himself to love)
And something darker shifts into Wolfwood’s eyes
Something knowing
Like he can see the gunpowder and blood dripping off Vash’s hands
Like he can see it written across Vash’s face
And maybe Wolfwood can
Maybe Vash has gotten soft
Maybe he’s let cracks form in his mask
The one he’s worn for decades
Or maybe
Just maybe
It’s because it’s Wolfwood
And he’s Vash
And that man has always been able to see Vash’s truth
His fake smiles from his real ones
Peering deep into his soul
And deciding to love and follow him anyway
And knowing that
Seeing the guilt twisting through Vash’s soul
It’s Wolfwood that reaches up
Takes Vash’s wrists
Pulls him closer
And presses his palms to the side of his face
Oh, he’s warm
Not hot like the desert
Not cold and empty and lifeless
Limp and heavy and wrong
As he lowered Wolfwood into a grave that would never deserve him
And allowed himself to weep
Just for a moment
Because he couldn’t keep holding it in
Not even knowing he needed to move on
Before his mind forced his limbs
And he focused wholly on Knives
No, now Wolfwood’s soft
Save for the stubble along his jaw
Strangely comforting, even as it pricks
Hair clean and unmussed from constant travel and fighting
A rare sight
But still
Somehow
Exactly how Vash remembers him
Exactly how he should be
A choked sob escapes Vash’s mouth
And he pulls Wolfwood closer
Foreheads touching
Maybe with a little more force than needed
But Vash doesn’t care
Not about that
Not as tears escape his eyes
Not after finally having Wolfwood back
Vash should care about the how
If this is a dream
If fate has caught up with him
And taken him in his sleep
Or if life finally
Finally
Decided to let him have one thing
One respite in a world that he loves so deeply that it hurts
So Vash doesn’t ask
He won’t ask
Unless Wolfwood tells him
But right now it doesn’t matter
Not as Wolfwood grins again
Arms wrapping around Vash’s waist
Holding him tight
So tight
As if, maybe
He missed Vash just as much
As if he also realized how empty
Everything is without him around
Without the laughing and the chaos of learning to live and travel and fight together
Without the comfort of a hand to hold when needed
Without a face there when you wake from the inevitable nightmares
“God, I missed you,” Vash chokes out
Probably just a garble of noise, not even words
He doesn’t know if he’s ever cried this hard
Or smiled so much
And a small laugh bubbles out at how absurd it all is
A chuckle echoes from Wolfwood
As he closes his eyes and lets out a shaking breath
And Vash follows his lead
Closing out the world
And focusing on the man holding him so tight
Making up a world of their own
So alive, so warm
His breath damp on Vash’s skin
His pulse beating beneath Vash’s palms
His hair soft beneath Vash’s fingertips
Alive
Alive
And for the first time in
Who knows how long
Vash is excited
To travel, to live, to eat
And to share it all with Wolfwood
In a way that only he can make feel right
Make the experience feel whole
Vash feels it more than he hears it
As Wolfwood lets out a shaking sigh
And clutches Vash tighter
And all is right in the world
“I missed you, too.”