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Vash knew he had been looking at the catalog rack for longer than what was probably normal. He knew he had hot food in the bag he was carrying that needed to be taken up to his and Wolfwood’s room so they could eat a proper meal for the first time in days.
But this stupid catalog caught his attention, it was holding his attention hostage at this point. It had an artist’s rendition of a rustic log cabin on the cover, the cozy-looking building surrounded by bright green grass, pine trees, water, sunlight that didn’t look overbearing, hummingbirds and bees. It was somewhere Vash would like to live.
It was a catalog of furniture, something he couldn’t even own because he didn’t even have a house to put the furniture in. But he wanted, he wanted a stupid little house that he could fill with furniture and trinkets and knickknacks that would collect dust and not be touched for years on end, but would still be loved and appreciated anyway.
He wanted to live in a house where he could step outside barefoot and not have the soles of his feet be instantly burned by scorching hot sand, but instead be able to walk on cool grass and into an even cooler stream of water. Clean water would be preferable, but he’d probably settle for less-than-ideal water quality.
He decided “fuck it…” and snagged the catalog from the rack and brought it with him up to his and Woflwood’s room at the inn they were staying at for a couple days.
They were currently house hunting, or even plot-of-land hunting if they couldn’t find a standing house. Wolfwood was confident he’d be able to build a house if that was what they had to resort to. Vash wanted to reel in his aspirations a little, but he didn’t, knowing that it was something Wolfwood would be happy to do if the situation called for it.
They had finally agreed to settle down somewhere, try to live calm, normal, domestic lives together. Vash had been successful in doing that as Eriks, who's to say it couldn’t happen a second time?
Vash gently kicked open the door to their room, bag holding their carryout dinner from the restaurant downstairs in one hand, furniture catalog in the other, and a big toothy grin plastered on his face as he entered.
Wolfwood hopped out of the chair he commandeered earlier so he could read while Vash got their food and took the bag from Vash, setting it down on the desk in their room and began unpacking their food. Vash came up next to Wolfwood while he took their food out of the bag and showed him the catalog.
“Look what I found downstairs in the lobby”, Vash stared at the side of Woflwood’s face with wide eyes that clearly expressed his excitement, an attempt at trying to get Wolfwood interested in flipping through it with him.
Wolfwood turned his head away from the food to see what Vash was holding out. When he noticed it was a furniture catalog, he smiled as well and took it out of Vash’s hand so he could see it a little closer. He flipped through it quickly and whistled low in approval before kissing Vash quickly on the cheek.
“Good find, baby, we can use this for some ideas”, Wolfwood smiled at him, clearly happy with his partner’s find.
Vash internally keened at the praise and outwardly reached for the container holding his dinner, grilled thomas breast with broccoli and mashed potatoes.
“Do you wanna look through it while we eat?”, Vash asked, standing halfway between the desk and their bed, hinting without saying anything that he wanted to eat in bed.
Usually, Wolfwood would say no to eating food in an inn’s bed because if they made a mess, they would have to either pay (which was no good), or they would have to run away and not come back to that town for several months (not good either, but is the preferable thing to do). But tonight, he felt like indulging Vash. They were both in good spirits, why bring the mood down by denying Vash something so simple?
“Sure, I can help you develop good taste in furniture while we’re at it”, Wolfwood jokingly snarked at him. Vash stuck his tongue out at him for that and Wolfwood attempted to grab his tongue. Because that’s the kind of weird shit you do when you’re in love with someone.
They ended up laying close together on their stomachs, shoulders touching, the catalog between them. Wolfwood had his food in front of him, and Vash had his on his right, since the catalog was placed more to his left.
They took bites of their food while they flipped through the flimsy, shiny pages of the catalog, dog-earing pages with furniture and trinkets and various other goods that they liked. Wolfwood kept a hand on the small of Vash’s back and used the other to eat. At some point, he laid his head on Vash’s shoulder as an excuse to get a closer look at the pages, even though he knew all he had to do was ask Vash to scoot the catalog closer to him if he wanted a better look at something.
There were different couches and chairs they dog-eared because they both agreed on them. Most of the blankets and pillows listed in the book they agreed on, the only stipulation being that they weren’t thin or looked like something a grandmother would own. Just because Vash was 150 years old didn’t mean he had to act and decorate like it.
Every time they agreed on liking something, Wolfwood would kiss Vash’s shoulder, or Vash would kiss the top of Wolfwood’s head.
Around three-quarters of the way through the catalog, a section dedicated to children’s furniture and toys began. Vash hesitated on skipping through that section entirely, instead he looked over at Wolfwood to see what he thought.
It’s not like they hadn’t talked about kids. They’d been together long enough for that to be brought up several times. They want kids, but they don’t want to screw them up, which was a common fear among people who were thinking about their future. Vash hoped that when they get a house and start fresh, they won’t have to worry about whether or not they’d screw their kids up.
Wolfwood thought about it for a second before saying, “Eh, dog-ear it. We can come back to it if you want”, and planting another gentle kiss to Vash’s shoulder and nuzzling his head against his resting spot on the same shoulder.
And that nonchalant statement made Vash’s insides light up with excitement and happiness. Not literally, thank goodness, Vash probably would have melted in embarrassment if his markings had actually lit up at the prospect of maybe having kids with Wolfwood one day.
By the time they finished looking through the catalog, they had a pretty thorough idea of what the inside of their house would look like. Something cozy, friendly, colorful but not eye-straining. There would be plenty of books on subjects long lost to humanity, and there would be little relics of the religion that Wolfwood found solace in but no longer relied on. It would be a place for them and their loved ones to gather and feel at peace, and it would be a place they crafted together.