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Wolfwood liked his job. Or, as much as anyone could like working. He didn’t work for a big company that didn’t know he existed; the bookstore was local, owned by an old woman who has been around for years. Despite being on the main street, right across from a large clothing brand, the shop didn’t gain much footfall. Wolfwood was fine with that – days could go by slowly, but he would be left alone.
And that’s why he liked his job. He could go hours without any customers, just cleaning the shop and rearranging the bookshelves. The clientele too tried to limit any possible social interaction; never asking him questions, just paying for their stuff and leaving. There were a couple of exceptions, usually older people, but they were sweet on the younger man. He didn’t have to deal with many complaints, unlike his boyfriend where it seemed every day brought with it a pissy customer.
Vash has the patience of a saint. Smiling sugary sweet at yelling customers who acted like he was beneath them. His smile and calm attitude only ever served to piss the customer off more, but what else could he do? Vash could have all the answers in the world and none of them would be satisfied. Sometimes, he was fine with it. He could handle the insults and the yelling, and other days, it would be too much.
Wolfwood remembered the day when Vash came into the bookstore after his shift. Wolfwood still had ten minutes until he had to close, but then he saw the despondent look on Vash’s face. His shoulders were dropped, bottom lip wobbling and red bitten as he tried to stop the tears.
“Hi, Nick...” And his voice – wet, shaky as he tried to talk around the lump in his throat. Wolfwood wasted no time in closing up early, herding Vash into the back office and into a seat. He never liked seeing Vash upset, but he would rather this than Vash bottling up with a fake grin. He used to do that before they entered a relationship, and it annoyed Wolfwood to no end. If he saw Vash resort to old habits, he wouldn’t hesitate to call him out.
“Hey, hey, what’s up, angel?” Wolfwood had whispered, sitting opposite to the sniffling blonde. He offered tissues, which Vash gladly took. Wolfwood had a vague idea, but he wanted to know exactly what happened.
“Just- just some customers. We closed the fitting room early, because we were so swamped,” Vash started explaining, swallowing thickly. “And they were just so... awful! They threw their clothes on the floor, and just started yelling. It got so bad the manager had to step in.”
And yeah, Wolfwood had a feeling something along those lines occurred. It wasn’t out of the ordinary, but Vash’s reactions varied. Of course, they did. He was only human after all. He didn’t mind the complaining some customers do, but he never liked yelling. It would always upset him.
Wolfwood didn’t know what to say, but he knew what to do. He opened his arms in an inviting gesture, and when Vash nodded, he scooped him into his arms. Holding so tightly as if he could protect him from any shitty customers. He held a hand to his hair and let Vash nuzzle the crook of his neck, subconsciously rocking and soothing with his other hand to his back. Wolfwood didn’t know how long they spent there together, and it didn’t matter. It was their own bubble of eternity.
They had stopped by the diner after. Vash’s face instantly brightened when he got his favourite donut, grinning with puffy cheeks around crumbs.
So, yes, Wolfwood knew Vash’s job was not for him. He would rather die than step foot into clothes retail. Yet, here he was because the old woman who owned the store thought this would be good for him.
And also, because the big company offered her a load of money for this.
Said big company wanted to know the locals better. And what better way than to do an exchange program? They asked some of the local shops – the bookstore, Roberto’s diner, Elendira’s crystal shop, even Midvalley’s music store – if any of them would be willing to send employees over, and they would send some too. The program would last for a week, Monday to Saturday, with the weekend before for training – paid, of course. Wolfwood could have said no, refused to even take part in what he was sure would be hell on Earth, but he thought maybe if he did this, he would gain an understanding of what Vash went through.
Now here he was, in the breakroom of Vash’s work waiting for his first shift to start. Vash also decided to take part, taking Wolfwood’s shifts in the bookstore. He was sure Vash would be bored out of his mind – he liked people, chattering away and all so very friendly. This job gave him that, which is why he probably hasn’t left yet.
Meryl sat beside him, arms crossed and leg bouncing nervously. “What’s up shortie?” He finally asked, tired of the anxiety coming off her in waves. She narrowed her eyes at him.
“My name is Meryl,” she snapped, checking her watch. Wolfwood also glanced at it. Five minutes until the shift began. “And nothing is up. I think it’s perfectly normal to be nervous about this. Have you seen how big the store is?”
She had a point. Even the staff room was bigger than the entirety of the book store. It had a kettle, fridge, a fucking toastie maker. Guess big companies can afford this shit, Wolfwood thought.
“Meh, it’ll be fine. Vash can do it, so we can too right?”
“Vash has been here for three years. He is also a literal typhoon. He could probably whip around the entire store in thirty seconds.” The blue haired woman huffed, standing with great reluctance. Wolfwood followed suit, popping some bones in his back. The black sofa was comfortable, but he’s been sitting for thirty minutes. He arrived earlier than needed for his four hour shift, mostly because Vash started before him, and he wanted to walk with him to work.
“Alright, let’s do this!” Meryl psyched herself up, balling her hands into fists just as the staffroom door opened. Legato stepped through, a grumpy look on his face as he stomped towards the lockers where his bag sat. Legato being here was a surprise, Wolfwood wondered if Knives talked him into it.
“You good, bluey?” Wolfwood snarked, smirking when Legato turned his glare to him. He and Legato tried to ignore each other as much as possible, but Wolfwood couldn’t resist egging him on just a little bit.
“Perfectly fine, Mr. Wolfwood,” he sneered. Meryl made herself scarce, clocking in. “At least I am able to go home. Good luck.” And that was the hollowest wish of luck Wolfwood has ever heard. He shrugged, following Meryl out the door, also clocking in. Legato briskly walked past them and Wolfwood just couldn’t help but shout, “your fly is down!” To which Legato flipped him off as he turned the corner, causing Wolfwood to cackle.
“You shouldn’t antagonise him, you know,” Meryl piped up from beside him as they walked towards the exit of the back. “Pretty sure he’s actually a murderer, for Knives.” Wolfwood held the door open for her and couldn’t help but agree. Legato was damn scary when he wasn’t being so pathetic.
It was a Monday, but the middle of Summer. It was quite busy, but not bustling as a Saturday. And Wolfwood was dreading working the Saturday. He has seen how tired Vash is after a six hour Saturday shift, and oh go figure, that’s what Wolfwood would be working. Oh, how excited he was...
Wolfwood and Meryl made their way to the till where Milly was serving customers. The line wasn’t huge, about two or three people waiting patiently with clothes thrown over their arm. Wolfwood wasn’t too surprised to see Milly here – she would go where Meryl would.
“Hi, Meryl, hi Mr. Wolfwood!” Milly greeted as she scanned the items, smiling brightly then turning back to the customer, lanyard jingling all the way.
“Hi, Milly.” Meryl replied, leaning over the counter to look at the floor plan. “Hi, Mills.” Wolfwood said casually, glancing over Meryl’s shoulder to see where he would be for the day. It was no surprise to see that he would be on clear rail, though he had to wonder if the shop knew of his relationship with Vash. It was like they completely switched jobs, which Wolfwood supposes was the point.
“Hello! You must be Meryl and Wolfwood, correct?”
The voice came from the left of them, spoken by a woman only a little taller than Meryl. Her ginger hair was tied in a braid, thrown over shoulder. “I’m Leina, and I’ll be your supervisor for this week. Hopefully you don’t get tired of me.”
Meryl and Wolfwood raised a hand in greeting. “Thanks for having us!” Meryl said, returning Leina’s smile. “No problem. So, you guys did well with your training. Today’s is just gonna be you guys getting used to everything. Don’t worry about KPIs, the company decided to drop them for this week,” Jesus, this woman could talk. Wolfwood tried to pay attention, and he did perk up when he heard KPIs. Vash complained about them too – mostly because he felt they were arbitrary, but at least Wolfwood didn’t have to worry about them this week. That would have made this so much worse.
“So, Wolfwood, I’m putting you in clear rail with Livio.”
Wolfwood’s brows shot his forehead in surprise. Why is Livio here? His little brother doesn’t like retail, and he was pretty worried that he wouldn’t be able to deal with the angrier customers. At least Wolfwood was here – he could support his brother if any customers crossed a line.
“And Meryl, you’re going to be on the right side,” Leina gestured to the other side of the shop where the sale section was. Wolfwood did not envy her; sale looked like a bomb hit it. “But you’re also going to be till support for Milly. I’ll be floating around on the left side, close to the tills if you need me.”
They had their jobs, so they set off. Meryl stopping when she saw the state of sale – clothes thrown everywhere, a majority of them on the floor and hangers sticking out. Wolfwood made his way to the fitting room, seeing the unmistakeable flash of silver hair.
“Livio! What made you agree to this gig?”
Livio jumped, then broke into a grin. He was buttoning up a dress, and it was a funny sight. His big fingers trying delicately to work the buttons back to their rightful place. “I could ask you the same thing, Nico.”
The fitting room was clean, clothes hanging neatly on the rail attached to the wall. “Wanted to see how the other half lives.” Wolfwood explained, walking further into the fitting room to look at the cubicles. They were also empty, apart from some trash that littered the floor, which Wolfwood picked up.
“This pays better than my actual job. Might as well get more money when I can.” Wolfwood tossed the rubbish in the bin, acknowledging Livio’s reason. It was a good one, he supposed. But now he wondered how bad Livio’s pay was that he would take part in a retail exchange program. He figured that line of questioning could wait, instead looking to the rail of clothing.
“So, what? We bring this out to the floor and just start putting it back?” He questioned, only to notice Livio already moving the clothes from the wall rail to the portable one. “Basically, yeah. That’s what Leina told me to do.”
They didn’t do much training for clear rail, focusing more on the tills and the standards. Apparently, there is a certain way to tidy hanging clothes. They have to be a finger width apart, all facing the same way and with all the right hangers. Knit wear has to go on a knit wear hanger, coats on a coat hanger – Wolfwood thought it ridiculous. Why do you need separate hangers for different articles of clothing?
Together, Livio and Wolfwood brought out the rail, placing it out of the way of customers. “Well, better get started.” The brothers grabbed a selection of clothes each and pushed off to set the clothing back.
The day passed quite quickly actually. There were times when Wolfwood couldn’t find what clothes went where, and he had to ask Leina, but she always directed him in the right direction. She gave him tips too, like how it’s best to split the rail into two sections for each side of the floor, and then divide them into their departments so you could grab and go. The only problem with that was that Wolfwood and Livio didn’t know what went into each department. Sure, somethings were easy enough – dresses were all together, but there were dresses in the holiday section. What was the point of having sections if not all of the clothes were in their designated section?
Livio took up clear rail easier than Wolfwood. It was like he memorised the entire floor. Meryl and Milly seemed to be a dream team on tills, even though the former complained about being stuck in sale. “It’s never tidy,” Meryl had said when Wolfwood remarked that it looked like she’d done nothing the entire shift because sale was a mess. “I get done a part of it and leave only to come back to it completely trashed.” At the end of the day, he helped her tidy her section since clear rail was mostly gone.
All in all, first day wasn’t so bad, and he told Vash as much that evening when he went over to the book store. It was a weird role reversal, being the one finished before Vash. The blonde haired man’s day went really well – he sorted the books, alphabetised them and even registered them into the system. He just hoped Vash wouldn’t die of boredom by the end of the week. There were one or two customers today, but didn’t respond to Vash’s attempts at conversation, which he was slightly sad about.
“Eh, don’t worry about it, spikey. They just want to get their books and go. Wait until Mildred drops by, she can talk for hours if you let her.” Wolfwood tried not to let her, personally, but he knew Vash wasn’t like that.
Wolfwood was surprised honestly – he was pretty sure this week was going to be awful, but the days passed by in quick succession. He had a morning shift on Tuesday and so did Vash, and they were able to spend the rest of their day together, grabbing lunch in a quaint café on the corner of a no name street. Wednesday was eerily quiet as he worked his first nine hour shift. Hardly any customers came by, and Leina let him leave early because he hadn’t taken his break yet. Vash was bored out of his mind in the bookstore – you could only do the same thing over and over again before it started to become grating. He could do nothing but sit there and wait for his shift to end.
The exchange program week was going ahead well, and Wolfwood praised the Lord that he didn’t have to deal with any truly annoyed customers.
Then Thursday happened.
The bookstore was local, and as such, closed at 6. But this store stayed opened until 9 at night. Most other big company stores in the town did stay open until 9, and that didn’t bother Wolfwood as he clocked in for a four hour shift. No, what bothered him was how messy the store was.
Obviously, the day team were struggling. And when Wolfwood saw the floor plan, he understood immediately – there were only three people assigned for the day, while the night team consisted of five. The day team were obviously stretched thin – there was a bunch of clothes left in fitting room and at tills from returns, there were clothes over rails with no hangers. Wolfwood glanced at sale and sure enough, it looked like a nuclear bomb hit it. He and the rest of the team had their work cut out for them, it seemed.
Another supervisor, not Leina this time, gave them their team talk and their jobs. Wolfwood was on clear rail again, but on his own this time. Livio was a part of the day team and Wolfwood could tell. The clothes were mostly neat and tidy, and thank God for that, because Wolfwood could not be bothered to do standards in the fitting room. He wheeled the rail out onto the middle of the floor and set off to work.
The first two hours went off without a hitch. He was getting better at this – he had a feel for the floor now, but he probably wouldn’t ever be good as Livio. It was when he about to grab a bunch of dresses to leave back that a customer tapped him on the shoulder.
He didn’t like being touched unexpectedly, especially by a customer. So, already he was in a foul mood when he turned to address them. It was a thirty-ish woman with long hair that framed her face neatly, she had a bag in hand and Wolfwood could see where this was going.
“Hi, excuse me, do you work here?” She asked. ‘No, I’m just holding this clothes for fun,’ he thought but instead replied, “Yes, hello! What can I help you with?” And he just remembered to smile.
“I wanted to return something. But I lost the receipt. Is there any way I can exchange it?”
Wolfwood knew this was going to happen. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the supervisor of the night, Marilyn he thinks her name was, glance over at them. She was finger spacing a four way and tried to make it look like she wasn’t paying attention, but he could see her ready to jump in if needed. While rare, he has dealt with difficult customers before, so he can if he needs to. He’s not like Vash who worries over hurting their feelings. He will not indulge in rudeness. This woman hasn’t been rude yet and he hopes it stays that way.
“I’m afraid without the receipt we can’t do anything,” he answers. “Did you get a backup emailed to you?” Already the woman was shaking her head before he even finished his sentence.
“No. Why can’t I exchange it?”
Calmly, Wolfwood explained, “It’s company policy. We can’t accept refunds or exchanges without the receipt. We need a proof of purchase.”
“Since when has this been in effect?” She snapped. Wolfwood tried to think back, but he wasn’t completely sure. He did know that Vash has dealt with this type of customer a multitude of times, and that some people have tried this as a method of stealing. Sneakily grabbing something off the rails and attempt to exchange it for something of lesser value, pocketing the left over money.
He noticed Marilyn mouth something at him, ‘a year,’ he thinks she was trying to say.
“About a year I would say.”
“Where does it say that?”
Oh, fuck he wasn’t getting out of this easily, was he? He wished he was at home right now, with Vash, maybe playing video games or watching old episodes of Drag Race even if he can’t stand the stupid blurry filter of season one.
“Probably on your receipt.” He knew the receipt said that sale items were exchange only, so it made sense to have that also be there. At least, to him it made sense.
“No other store I’ve gone to has this policy.”
Okay, well this store does, and he was pretty sure that most others store did have this in place. It took everything Wolfwood had not to resort to snarky comments. What did she want him to do about it? It’s her fault for losing the receipt. Why was she trying to chance her arm? A decent person would just go back home and try and find the receipt, and if failing that, just accept that they were stuck piece of clothing. There were plenty of places where she could put the item up for sale if she was that desperate to get rid of it.
“It’s company policy, miss. I’m afraid I can’t change it.”
She sighed, like he was the one inconveniencing her. “This is ridiculous. What am I supposed to do with this?” She rustled the bag in Wolfwood’s direction. There was a lot of things she could do with it, Wolfwood thought, sticking it up her ass for one.
“You could probably sell it online.” He offered instead, shrugging. Her gaze narrowed at him, lips pursed.
“I’m not mad at you,” it seemed like it, “but it doesn’t seem like you care that I’m now losing out on money because of your stupid policy.”
She was right – he didn’t care. He was here out of obligation, to get money to live. He wouldn’t want to spend his free time here – who would? He would only give as much as he was paid, like any normal person. Of course, he couldn’t tell her that, instead he did what Vash did; widened his grin sickeningly.
“Well, ma’am, the only thing I can suggest is that you don’t lose your receipt next time.”
Oh, she did not like that. She looked like one of those characters from those movies that Vash likes, where their hair puffs up in anger. Marilyn took that as her cue to take over, stepping in and asking the woman to leave if she was only here to be rude to her staff. The woman left after that, stomping angrily and screeching about how ‘they lost a valuable customer.’
“The nerve of some people I swear...” That was all Marilyn said before returning to her work. Wolfwood couldn’t agree more, doing the same and hoping the next two hours went by uneventfully.
He came home that night at 9:30 to Vash in the living room, both legs removed as he lay sideways on the sofa while watching Gogglebox. “Hey, Nick!” He greeted, face lighting up at the sight of his boyfriend. He shimmied up as Wolfwood dramatically flopped onto the sofa, laughing at his sigh. “How was work?”
“Fine. The floor was a mess when I went in. But it was easily cleaned,” he felt a tug on his arm, and with a fake eyeroll, gave in to lying his head on Vash’s lap. Fingers gently ran through dark locks and Wolfwood allowed his eyes to close, basking in the comfort Vash offered. “There was an annoying customer, but other than that, the shift was fine.”
“Oh? What happened?” Vash had this concerned look on his face which would have Wolfwood scoffing if he wasn’t so content in his arms. Mean customers didn’t bother Wolfwood, but he knew his boyfriend wasn’t like him. Vash would think he’s bad at his job and feel guilty if a customer expressed their displeasure, while Wolfwood would just not give a shit. He was paid to be there, yes, and he had a degree of sympathy for customers that deserved it – people who were nice about it, treated the staff like actual people. If the woman earlier was kinder, asked the questions in genuine interest, he would have been much more understanding.
“A customer wanted to return some clothes, didn’t have receipt, wouldn’t take no for an answer-”
“Tried to play the ‘I’m not mad at you but why are you not fixing this for me,’ card?” Vash finished, chuckling at Wolfwood’s tired nod. The man turned his face into Vash’s stomach, wrapping his arms around his waist and snuggling with a happy sigh. “And how was your day, sweetheart?” His voice was muffled, but Vash understood. He always did.
Vash gave a dramatic groan. “So boring! There was hardly anyone around today. But Mildred did come in and we talked about the Scarlet Letter for an hour.” Yep, that sounded like Mildred. Wolfwood didn’t read enough to hold a long conversation with the elder woman, though there were times she was fine with talking at him instead.
“Well, we have tomorrow and Saturday. Then back to normal, I think we can do it.” There was Vash’s sunny optimism, and Wolfwood supposed he was right. They’ve made it this far; they can last two more days.
Surprisingly, his Friday shift was fine. He got an actual dinner when he got home and was able to spend an evening with Vash, which he liked.
Then all too quickly, Saturday arrived. It was his last shift, and he was exhausted, and was very much dreading the six hour shift ahead of him. Vash had made them enough lunch to keep him going for the six hours ahead of him and also gave him a breakfast biscuit, reminding him of a mother giving her child their lunch for school.
“You don’t get a break today but take five minutes to go into the back and eat this. I usually go in at 4.” Vash had said. “Or just when you get hungry.” They always kept breakfast biscuits handy for Vash’s 12:00 until 18:00 shifts as you really start to hungry as the day draws to a close. Wolfwood tried to be optimistic as he left the apartment with Vash, but damn, it was hard. Vash was also on a six hour shift today, but at least he got a break of half an hour.
The optimism left him when he saw who he was on shift today – Legato. The man was sitting on the furthest sofa from the door, glowering when his eyes met Wolfwood. The universe must really hate him, he decided. He sat on a chair at the table, choosing to ignore Legato and his stupid hair until it was time for them to go onto the floor.
Milly and Meryl bustled in not long after, their discussion stopping short when they noticed the animosity in the air. Wolfwood turned a grin to them, a hand raised. “Hello, ladies. You guys on the 12-6 too?” He’s spent the past five minutes ignoring Legato and he wasn’t going to stop now. Milly had no qualms about cutting through the tension, returning with a smile of her own as she sat went to grab her lanyard from the basket on the table. “Yep! But we’re here until half six for close.”
“Thank God for that. We get a break and everything.” Meryl mentioned, setting her lunch bag on the counter. Wolfwood tried not to be jealous, but it was really hard. At least he gets away at 6 and doesn’t have to close, but then he remembers he’s here for six hours with Legato of all people. He just hopes he’ll be on clear rail (again) and far away from the blue haired man (bitch).
Legato getting up grabbed his attention causing him to check his watch. It was three minutes until their shift started so it was time to get ready to go out onto the floor. Again, Wolfwood was absolutely dreading this – six hours straight of socialising and people, it was really tempting him to grab a smoke. He refrained though since he’s already had one smoke today, better to save his second one for after the shift. God knows how it was going to go today.
When the four arrived to the floor, it was busy. It was just before lunchtime, so it made sense. Wolfwood expected for the footfall to die down at 1 and then pick up again around 2. Leina was there again, waiting for them at the tills while Marilyn and another person Wolfwood didn’t know served customers.
“Hey guys, welcome to your last day. It’s gonna be a doozy so brace yourselves.” Yet she said it with a smile, though she looked exhausted. “We’re on target, but you guys don’t have to worry about that. Stay focused on your sections and we’ll be flying. Wolfwood, you’re on clear rail as always. Livio will be in later though, so you’ll have a hand if it gets really busy. Milly and Meryl, you guys are tills, when it’s quiet you guys can jump into this wee area,” Leina gestured to the holiday section that was in front of tills. “And Legato, you’ll be in sale.”
Legato’s face dropped while Wolfwood tried to hold back a cackle, concealing it behind a cough. It didn’t work because Legato’s eyes narrowed into daggers. Leina nervously laughed. “Don’t worry, I’ll drop in and give you a hand.” Legato nodded, turning on his heel to make his way to sale. Wolfwood followed suit making his way to the fitting room.
Livio was good at standards. Wolfwood not so much. He fumbled with buttons, the zippers always got stuck and some of the dresses were just so weird. There were certain tops that criss crossed at the back, but it was so difficult trying to work out how they were supposed to be hung up. There was one dress that had ribbons as straps and was nigh impossible to tie evenly. Livio somehow always managed alright, the clothes back to their proper state.
Wolfwood stopped short when he saw the state of the fitting room. It was the worst he’s ever seen. The wheeled rail and the wall rail completely full of clothes, some hung up, others on the floor or thrown over the rail. “Okay...” He breathed. He thought about how best to approach this, but then figured, fuck it. It was best to just dive in than think over it. He gathered the clothes that were on the floor, hanging them up and placing them on the rail as he went.
Sometimes people would come in and he would greet them with a nod and a hello, directing them to the cubicles. He was able to get most of the clothes actually hanging, and figured it was time for standards. A glance of his watch told him it’s only been twenty minutes since he started.
He decided not to check his watch again after that.
The arrival of Livio marked the near half way point. He took over for Wolfwood, taking his place in the fitting room where he would sort and then Wolfwood would wheel it out onto the floor and fire it out there. It was a good system and was much preferable to doing everything himself. He had no idea how demoralising it was to have everything clean only to come back to it all messed up again. At least Livio was always there so there would be no mess to think of. And if there was, then that was Livio’s problem.
Wolfwood spotted Legato a couple of times when he was running around the floor. He was swarmed in clothes, and he did not look happy. It brought a smile to Wolfwood’s face. At least Leina was giving him a hand. The floor itself was clean which Wolfwood was grateful for because that made his job easier.
He was finishing up his current rail, when a customer approached. He prayed to everything that was holy that this one was not going to be like the woman from Thursday.
“Hi, excuse me,” okay off to a great start. “I think that man there is stealing something.” Never mind.
Wolfwood looked to where the woman was pointing. A man with a big bag stood inconspicuously looking at a rail of jackets. The bag was bulging, but Wolfwood didn’t know if that was from a previous shop or this one. Wolfwood remembered Vash telling him about thieves – one time the blonde decided it would be a good idea to run after the shoplifter, only for a knife to be pulled on him. Wolfwood had nearly screamed his ear off, in disbelief of how stupid his partner could be. Luckily, he didn’t get hurt, but apparently a security guard had.
So, Wolfwood thanked the woman for the information and then looked around for either Marilyn or Leina. He spotted the latter first, on the outside of sale as she finished up picking things off the floor. Trying not to be too obvious, he grabbed a couple of dresses and made his way over to the supervisor.
“Hi, Wolfwood. Everything okay?” She asked, turning her head to face him but not stopping what she was doing. He acted like he was having a casual conversation but lowered his voice.
“Customer told me that man with the big bag was stealing something.” He gestured to where the man had moved to a four way that held tank tops. “Just thought I should let you know.”
“Thanks, Wolfwood.” And then she was moving over to be closer to the man. Wolfwood shrugged, going back to his job. Truthfully, he didn’t really care if the man was stealing or not. It wasn’t his concern – he was here to get paid and then leave. He cared slightly more when thefts occurred in the bookstore, because he knew the older woman who owned it paid out of her pocket sometimes for stock. But a big company? They wouldn’t even notice. They could hardly keep track of their employees, never mind actual stock.
He didn’t hear anything else about the man for the rest of the day. He assumed he either got away with it, or he wasn’t stealing in the first place. When it struck 5:30, Livio and Wolfwood were allowed to close fitting rooms for the rest of the day. After all the people left in the fitting room filed out, Wolfwood grabbed a rail and put it in front of the entrance, effectively locking them in.
“I’ll go check the cubicles. You keep sortin.’” He told Livio who just nodded and kept at his work. Wolfwood barely took two steps before seeing clothes left in the cubicles. Was it really that hard just to walk a couple of steps and leave your stuff with the employee stationed? Why would you leave it in the stall, on the floor no less?
Wolfwood could feel a vein popping the longer he thought about it. So, he tried not to, just grabbed the clothes and dumped them on the cushioned seat near the exit. It was when he was bending down once again to grab clothes off the floor of the last stall that he heard Livio speak. He straightened back up, hearing bones pop and walked back towards his brother.
“Sorry, our fitting rooms are closed.” He was speaking over the rail to someone on the other side. His natural height was tall enough that he didn’t even need to be on his tip toes.
“Why?” A voice snapped from the other side. “It’s only twenty minutes until you close.”
Wolfwood stood nearby, busying himself with fixing some stupid spaghetti strap shirt. He will back up his brother if he needs to, but he wants to see how Livio handles this. If he could handle it. Livio seemed happier here in this job than in his actual warehouse job, which surprised Wolfwood. His little brother was sensitive, a cry-baby that rivalled Vash sometimes, even though his size would make you think otherwise.
“Because, as you said, we close in twenty minutes, and you have a lot of things.” He was being too nice, Wolfwood thought, the explanation spoken softly.
“I’ll be really quick.” No, you won’t.
“I’m sorry, but the answer is still no.”
Wolfwood was proud of his little brother – standing his ground like that. He knew Livio wasn’t a complete pushover, but that was mostly because he would retreat before any real conflict began.
“Fine, well if I can’t try it on then I’m not buying it.” With a huff, the customer threw the five pieces of clothing over the rail before marching off.
“You good, bro?” Wolfwood asked as Livio took the clothes. His brother shrugged in reply. “As good as I can be. She wasn’t too mean.”
Wolfwood could agree with that at least – Vash had some horror stories about customers, and Wolfwood was truly grateful he didn’t have to deal with any of those types during this week. He doesn’t know if he could have dealt with them without considering first degree murder.
“Well, at least the exchange week is nearly over.” Wolfwood commented, coming to stand beside his brother as he left clothes on the rail.
“I actually liked this week,” Livio mumbled. “I might ask Vash if there’s any openings. I would like to help out in the warehouse, or maybe do accessories.”
Wolfwood broke out in a grin towards his brother. Imagining Livio in charge of all the dainty rings and necklaces was amusing to him, but he was glad his brother was willing to take a leap into a different line of work. “If you need a hand sprucing up your CV you know where to find me.” If Livio was shorter and if Wolfwood was taller, he would have ruffled his hair. Instead, he slung an arm around his shoulder, slapping him on the back in a friendly manner.
“Thanks, Nico. Now, let's get back to work. I can see Legato glaring at us from here.”
Well now Wolfwood didn’t want to return to work, but he didn’t want to leave Livio in a tough spot, so he continued the standards on a group of dresses, smirking at a glaring Legato all the while.
Wolfwood was glad to step into the bookstore, feet aching, but relieved to be away from the clothing store. He didn’t know how Vash could stand for six hours straight with those prosthetics, but at least he didn’t have to worry about sore feet.
Vash was sitting at the counter, reading a book about Celtic mythology. He looked to be so bored, hand cupping his face and elbow on the counter. He perked up when he heard the door open though, and damn right turned into the personification of the sun when he noticed it was Wolfwood.
“Nick! Hi!” He bounced up, meeting Wolfwood half way and wrapping him up in a hug. Wolfwood returned the hug with a happy grin, feeling himself melt as they held each other. “How was your day?”
“Lemme sit down first. My feet killing me.” He gave a fake groan to emphasise it, though he mourned at the emptiness he felt when Vash moved away. He followed the tug on his hand as Vash directed him to the chair he was occupying moments before. Vash, the human typhoon that he was, then skipped over to the door, locking up for the day. “Day was fine, angel. Someone might have stolen something, I don’t know though, or care.”
Vash walked back over, leaning against the counter and tilting his head at Wolfwood. “Might have? Did Leina recognise them?”
“I don’t know. She kept an eye on him for a little bit, but I lost track of them,” Vash frowned. “It was a man, with a big bag and black hair if that helps.”
“Oh, him! He’s been in the store quite often. I don’t know if he’s ever taken something though. Maybe he’s just looking for a gift?”
Wolfwood could admire Vash’s optimism – it was one of the things that made him fall in love with him – but somehow, he didn’t think the man was innocently looking for a gift. He was too shifty, eyes darting around for any employees in his vicinity. He didn’t tell Vash that though, only looked up at the man above him. His hair was haloed by the sunlight streaming through the window, bright blue eyes dulled by orange shades yet no less vibrant. Without taking his eyes off of him, he smiled lazily.
“And how was your day, sweetheart?”
Vash tried to keep the blush off his face, but his smile was blinding at the nickname. “It was okay, better now though with you here.” He looked so proud while Wolfwood’s chest burst with love.
“Spikey, I love you, but don’t ever say that cheesy shit to my face again.”
“Cheesy? I think it was quite cute actually.” Wolfwood wanted to kiss that pout off his mouth. He didn’t though, standing from the chair with a groan. “Come on, sweetcheeks. I wanna go home.” Vash hopped off the counter, coming round to grab Wolfwood by the arm, linking them together.
“Would you do something like that again? The exchange program week?” Vash asked when they got back to their apartment, dinner sitting on the laps as they watched TV in the living room. Wolfwood had made stir fry the night prior, which they heated up. Vash was settled beside him, back pressed to his chest as he ate his noodles. Wolfwood was precariously balancing the bowl on his knee, arm thrown around Vash’s shoulders to hold him close.
“Probably not. I like my job, and the pay was the same anyways.” Vash nodded in understanding. “The only reason I went through with it was to get a better grasp of what you go through on a daily basis.”
That caused Vash to pause, turning his head to look at him with wide eyes. Wolfwood stared back, barely uttering a confused “what?” Then Vash’s eyes started watering. “What are you crying about?”
“That-that was so sweet, Nick!” Wolfwood rolled his eyes, huffing with barely concealed affection. “Eat your noodles, needle-noggin, before I throw them on you.”
Silence filled the air again as the pair continued their meal, basking in each other’s company. Sometimes a random car horn would break the silence, the first nearly causing the stir fry to decorate Wolfwood’s hair, but other than that the silence was blissful. Vash had finished his dinner first, snuggling further into Wolfwood’s chest after setting his bowl to the side.
“Livio was wondering if there were going to be any vacancies at your work, for the warehouse specifically.”
“I can’t remember off the top of my head, but I’ll ask Leina when I’m in next.”
Luckily, that wasn’t tomorrow. It was a rare occurrence; Vash being off on a Sunday. The bookstore never opened on a Sunday. Maybe he and Vash should take a day together, get on Angelina II and go for a ride out of town. They could go on a picnic even. He suggested as much to Vash, smiling when Vash eagerly agreed.
“A picnic sounds great Nick! We could take strawberries, and little triangle sandwiches.”
“That’s a tomorrow problem. I am not moving from this spot.” It was comfortable damn it.
“Oh, of course. I wouldn’t trade this spot for anything.”
To further his point, Vash outright fucking purred, eyes closing, as he stretched his neck to grab a kiss. What could Wolfwood do other than indulge him? Craning his neck down, he placed a soft kiss on his lips, tasting the sweet stir fry sauce. And as Wolfwood thought about sunny picnics and gentle touches, Wolfwood had to agree.
He wouldn’t trade this for anything.