Chapter Text
“Oh my GOD, SHE IS SO CUTE.”
The sound of Livio's barely stifled cries of happiness filled the small, sun drenched room with vibrant noise, and Wolfwood thought he'd never been happier in his entire life. No, actually, in any possible life imaginable, in every universe and on every planet. There existed not a single version of himself that could top this level of happiness, he felt absolutely positive about that as he looked around his loved ones with a sweeping, dreamlike gaze.
Everything about the room before him looked beautiful.
The warm, setting sun drenched the space in a vivid shade of golden that reminded him of long gone times burying his hands in blonde hair. White, sheer curtains fluttered along the only window in the room, dancing on a soft breeze scented with the cool evening air outside, the movement casting shadows along the fellow occupants of the room, painting them with a warm, patchwork glow.
The small, private room of the revitalized orphanage was a simple space, with a big bed in the center piled with pillows, and two nightstands on either side. A huge mural painted along the wall leftmost wall, covered with silly, messy paintings from every child in the orphanage, and some from the girls and Livio, too.
And in that center of it all, covered in an ardent, gilded glow, sat his husband.
A blanket tossed over his lap, sitting cross legged atop the mattress, a pile of pillows framing his back. His now darkened hair looked messy and adorable, an oversized sweater framing his body and draping low on one shoulder, and Wolfwood's eyes zeroed in on the golden circle on his left ring finger as he reached up to tuck his hair behind his ear, smiling across at Livio.
It all started last night within a small, private, comfortable room toward the backend of the orphanage. He'd been setting up the final pieces of the room by himself when Miss Melanie came rushing, frantic, into the room, shouting for Wolfwood to help her as Vash slowly walked into the room at her back. Things became extremely... hectic, and bloody, after that, in a way that Wolfwood decidedly was not used to.
No guns.
Not death.
No murder.
There was nothing to fight against, nothing for him to save his partner from, but he stood at the bedside and listened to him cry, and shout, and panic, and he thought about vomiting several times, and he felt the worst fear he'd experienced in his entire life, but not because of the usual suspects.
Instead, last night, the love of his life had given birth to his child.
His child.
A baby girl. A daughter. With dark hair and blue eyes, and tiny, pudgy little hands and the sweetest, most beautiful, small cry in the universe. He'd never been more proud of his life partner, and had seen a vision of Heaven on that night that no church or religious text could ever replicate.
He'd kissed Vash with every bit of his strength when it was over, because he'd never seen anything as brave and perfect as him. He'd held his face tenderly between his hands for so long, kissing away his tears and praising him and taking his time letting Vash know how amazing he was, that eventually Melanie slapped him on the shoulder until he moved so she could finally hand over the baby to Vash.
She was smiling while she did it, though.
And just when Wolfwood though he'd seen everything beautiful there was to see in the universe, the visitors began pouring in, one after the other. Milly and Meryl came first, as they'd started driving to Hopeland the second they received word of Vash's labor, and they'd spent most of the day there.
It took Livio a little longer to arrive, though, from wherever he'd been at the time, and he'd sauntered in just a little while earlier.
And Wolfwood got to watch every single second of it, as he stood quietly in the corner by the door, shoulder leaning lazily against the wall. With his heart soaring, full of praises and love, he watched Meryl fuss around Vash all day, giving him water and food and adjusting his pillows. Her touch was so gentle and light, it almost made him cry all over again, watching the way she loved Vash more than anything.
After a while, she settled herself onto the edge of Vash's bed, pushing his hair away from his forehead and giving him more attention than she showed the baby, more concerned with her friend who just gave birth.
Milly, though, had taken to baby duty immediately, before Livio walked in. She'd spent the last couple hours teaching Wolfwood everything she thought he needed to know, like how to change a diaper in the fastest, most efficient way without disturbing the baby. How to bottle feed to give Vash a break from breastfeeding. How to swaddle. How to delicately run a finger along the bridge of baby's nose to help her fall asleep.
This continued until Livio's eyes filled with tears and he begged to hold the baby girl.
Milly relented, though with a pinch of hesitance because Wolfwood thought Milly may have held the baby forever if they allowed her.
"Seriously, she's the cutest thing in the world!" Livio cried again, his affectionate eyes filled with tears.
What a crybaby, Wolfwood thought, shifting himself to readjust his shoulder against the wall.
He knew he'd be this way, though, and had been looking forward to seeing his brother meet his daughter since the second Vash announced his pregnancy for precisely that reason. He loved Livio, more than words could say, and for all the reasons he saw glaring right at him in that small room of the orphanage.
"Isn't she?" Vash was sitting up cross legged in bed, wearing one of Wolfwood's oversized shirts that hung slightly off one shoulder. A soft blanket lay tossed over his lap and he looked absolutely stunning, as though he hadn't just given birth. His skin glowing in the evening sun, hair pushed back away from his face in a messy little ponytail, he tilted his face up at the tall visage of Livio at his bedside.
He wanted to kiss him again, his fingertips trembling with the fact that he hadn't touched him in the last few hours, and really, that had been the main reason why he sequestered himself to the corner of the room and only moved when Milly tried to teach him something.
Their loved ones deserved the chance to be with him, too, he couldn't be selfish and keep Vash all to himself, after all. They needed to touch him and be with him, too, he reminded himself, gaze sweeping across at Meryl who sat perched on his bedside, still, one arm draped over his shoulders. Milly sat at the end of the bed, too, hands folded in her lap.
Livio stood directly on the side where Meryl wasn't sitting, holding their baby girl wrapped tight in a hand knitted pink blanket, a gift from Melanie she'd been working on for a couple months. She'd stitched the baby's name into the edge, something Livio hadn't seen yet, thankfully.
Wolfwood wanted to be the one to surprise him with that.
As if reading his mind, a small smile began spreading across Vash's handsome face. "Wait until you hear her name."
"Hmm?" Livio glanced up, at Vash for a moment, eyes visibly wandering over his face as if searching for the answer there, then towards Wolfwood's position several feet away. "What's her name?"
Vash met Wolfwood's gaze, all soft affection and sleepy happiness. He nearly melted into a puddle right then and there. "You wanna tell him, Nick?"
Finally.
Wolfwood pushed away from the wall, pride and excitement flushing through his chest and filling his body with warmth. He'd been waiting for this all night, all morning.
The moment he'd been waiting for since the second Vash looked at him and claimed they were having a baby. Hell, he'd probably been waiting for this his entire life, and just hadn't realized it yet, because, well...
Because, he had never expected to see this. Any of this.
He thought he’d meet his end long ago, during one of his many fights at Vash's side. He thought he'd die alone in the middle of the desert before experiencing this small piece of life and love he’d stolen for himself, but there it was, standing in front of him, palpable and real, and he could reach out and touch it whenever he wanted, like he'd been doing all morning to just convince himself it was all real.
Some part of him feared this was all a dream, that he'd wake up any second and have to watch his daughter and Vash fade from existence right before his very eyes. His hands reaching out for them, but catching nothing but black smoke and mist in their place.
That nightmare plagued him as he strode across the room toward his brother and baby girl, and he stamped it down as best he could, because, who cared? Really?
Even if he had died.
Even if this was just the afterlife.
This was perfect, and this was everything he had ever needed. He'd soak up whatever time he had left with them, no matter what the future held, and no matter what happened outside that small room, there existed nothing but how he felt as he moved to stand in front of the hulking form of his brother.
His hours old daughter looked small, like a doll, in Livio's huge, strong arms. She had a shock of dark hair atop her head, and dark skin just like his, but all the small features along her face, Wolfwood swore he saw Vash and nothing but Vash. From the curving bow of her little pink lips, to the beauty mark beneath her left eye, which were closed currently as she peacefully slept against her uncle's wide chest.
He smiled, his heart swelling.
"Nico?" Livio piped up, tilting his head. "What did you name her?"
"Oh." Wolfwood gestured vaguely at the pink blanket. "Open up that top piece of her blanket, on the inner seam."
Livio's brow furrowed together, but he did as he was told, his large fingers carefully lifting and pulling back the silken inseam Melanie had so carefully handcrafted.
As soon as it peeled back, the word became evident, stitched in bright pink thread in curling, pretty letters.
Livi S. Wolfwood
"Livi," Livio read, slowly.
Wolfwood felt his breath hitch in his throat.
This was it.
The moment he'd been waiting for, the moment both he and Vash had discussed for nine months. They both knew they wanted to name their first child after their loved ones. Wolfwood simply knew immediately who he wanted to name their daughter after, without a shadow of a doubt.
"Livi," he echoed. "We named her after you."
The reaction felt immediate in the same way a sandstorm whipped up out of nowhere on a bright, sunny day. Livio's entire face collapsed in on itself and his mouth slowly fell open in a gaping maw of surprise.
"What?" he whispered. His frantic eyes darted between himself and Vash, then to the girls, who just smiled bright like they had no idea what was going on, despite Wolfwood and Vash making them swear to secrecy at least fifteen times since that morning.
When he found no answers between all the bodies standing around him, Livio whipped back around to Vash, apparently thinking he was the one who would be the most honest with him.
"No, are you serious?"
"Of course," Vash whispered.
Then, tears began streaming along Livio's cheeks. "Milly, can you - can you take the baby, please?"
In a flurry of movement, with no further questions, Milly grabbed Livi, curling her expertly into one arm, and headed sideways towards the window and away from the bed, giving them enough room. Once free from worrying about the baby, Livio tucked himself close to Vash's bedside.
"You... you really named your daughter after me?" Livio whispered, his voice shaking.
Vash beamed up at him, tears of his own filling along the lines of his thick lashes. "Yes."
Livio looked ready to faint cold out on the floor in front of Vash, his entire body sagged forward and he curled his hand around the back of Vash's head. He dropped a kiss to the top of his hair, before pressing their foreheads together, and Vash let him, smiling as brightly as the sun.
Vash wrapped his arms around him in an affectionate embrace, as though they'd been life long best friends. "I know," he whispered, and he was crying harder now, eyelashes glimmering wetly with tears. "We couldn't ask for a better uncle for our baby, Livio-"
The scene made his throat tighten, a pit forming in his stomach and throat. His heart ached, and all he wanted to do was move forward and hug them both, and bawl. Wail and sob and heal.
"I love her so much already," Livio sobbed, brushing his nose against Vash's. "And I love you so much, too. I love you so much, Vash."
They stayed like that for a long while, crying quietly together, clinging to each other with their foreheads pressed together, until the press of the pit in his throat started feeling painful, and everything felt like a dream again to Wolfwood's sleepy state of mind.
And just when he thought he was about to start crying himself, Livio detached himself from Vash, and whipped back around on his heel. Cheeks still wet with tears, t-shirt bulging around large muscles, he pointed a sharp, accusatory finger straight at Wolfwood's chest.
"And you!" he snapped. "I fucking love you!"
Livio launched himself at Wolfwood with his arms wide open and ready to grab him in a tight, big hug. Wolfwood ran from it, at first, fleeing around the room so the large form of his brother had to chase him with his arms open wide - though, it was all for show, as he relented fast, and let himself be gathered into Livio’s big arms.
Into a tight, loving hug.
A hug that made him think back to two small boys, lonely and sad, and afraid they’d never live to see a brighter day.
But, they had.
In that small, little room, in the back of his orphanage, Wolfwood watched a gaggle of misfits and unlikely loved ones heal at the hands of a six pound baby girl, with bright blue eyes and a beauty mark on one cheek.