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The suns are on the horizon by the time Wolfwood makes it back to the house; they’ve already set, and he’s enjoyed watching them do so from his motorcycle. The sky had been a bright orange this evening, bringing Wolfwood some sweet, although nostalgic, memories from his childhood.
He'd remembered the nights and evenings he and Livio used to spend watching the suns go down; those really were the days.
Wolfwood parks his motorcycle underneath a small car hatch to the side of the house, where Meryl's van sits, covered in thin layers of sand. He briefly considers cleaning it for her, if only to see that pretty smile she's got, and to see her happy. It's not a large gift, but Wolfwood's always found it enjoyable to be the giving type; if he could give either of his partners the world, it would have already been done.
He slides his shiny black helmet off of his head, and runs his fingers a few times through his hair, to shake the sand out of it and let it gain it's typical volume once again. Then, he hooks the helmet’s strap around the handle bars of the bike, and heads for the front door.
Today was a special day; Wolfwood had gone to visit Livio today, for the first time in a long while. He hadn't really spoken to his brother since the sand steamer (after all, he had presumably died, much to Wolfwood's dismay) so it was rather surprising to recieve a letter in the mail from him a few years later, asking for his older brother to come visit.
Apparently, the Eye of Michael had put him back together, and then once they'd been disbanded, Livio had been able to escape and live a different life; he now works at the Hopeland Orphanage, as both a caretaker and a teacher.
He was doing well, from all Wolfwood saw. The children there absolutely loved him, and he got to see Livio smile -a real, genuine smile! And, of course, it was nice to see the orphanage (although it was slightly saddening to see how much it had changed from when he was a boy), and to see Miss Melanie again, who seemed overjoyed that two of her boys had come back and been reunited, even if it was just for a single day.
Wolfwood takes a very decorated key ring out of the pocket of his coat; it's covered in many ornate key chains, all of which his partners had given him, along with the key to his motorcycle, and the key to their house.
No matter how good it was to see Livio and the orphanage, it always feels best to be home. Wolfwood isn't usually such a sap when it comes to emotional attachment, but Vash and Meryl have really done something to his heart; just the thought of them gets his heart pumping, and makes a sweet grin appear on his face. He’s really missed them, even if it’s only been half a day.
If love is a drug, Nicholas D Wolfwood is addicted. Vash and Meryl have changed his life, and made him feel things he never thought he'd deserve. He loves them so much it hurts, and he wouldn't have it any other way.
All it takes is a swift jolt to the left, and the deadbolt unlocks itself, clicking apart with ease. Wolfwood opens the front door and listens to the way it creaks on it's hinges (he'll probably need to put some oil on them later) before stepping across the threshold and into the comforting, air conditioned house.
A cool breeze tickles Wolfwood's ears as he slides his shoes off, leaving them on a small black rack to the side of the door, so as to not track sand all over the house. The smell of something delicious hits his nose, and he quickly takes off his sand-worn coat and hangs it up on a small hook by the door. With a few large strides, he makes it into the empty kitchen, where the lovely smell becomes stronger; he opens the oven door and spots a small glass dish sitting on the top rack.
Most likely, it’s dinner that his partners were waiting to eat until he returned home. The thought of the two of them cooking together makes Wolfwood feel warm on the inside.
He closes the oven and sets his keys on the kitchen counter, promising himself that he’ll pick them up later, before hearing a soft humming noise coming through the cracked doors of his shared bedroom. Wolfwood runs a hand back through his hair and then walks over to the entrance of the bedroom; he doesn’t go in, just looks into it from the small gap between the two doors leading inside.
Closer to the source than before, the sweet humming sound becomes louder; a simple glance into the room reveals that the saccharine noise comes from Meryl, who sits up on the large bed in the center of the room, with Vash’s adorable head resting gently in her lap. Wolfwood listens as she sings under her breath, and watches her tenderly card her fingers through his soft, blonde hair. Vash’s beautiful, ocean colored eyes are closed, and his long eyelashes are stilled. His arms are wrapped around Meryl’s waist, and she looks down at him with such adoration, Wolfwood’s heart hurts. A beautiful smile decorates her lips, like a charmingly wonderful accessory. A lamp must be on in the room, because a beam of yellow tinted light illuminates the scene, making the two people on the room seem like angels in white light and halos. In Wolfwood’s mind, they are.
It’s the most wonderful thing Wolfwood has ever seen.
Surely, he stands there for a few minutes, watching Meryl hold Vash, and listening to her singing to him; he’d love to lay next to them on the bed and ask Meryl about her day and kiss her lips, (and Vash’s too, if he was awake) but the sight is almost to beautiful to interrupt. It makes Wolfwood feel this indescribable sense of joy, one that can only be derived from his two, lovely partners.
But the longing to hold them grows too strong for Wolfwood to bear, especially with them so close, with them within reach. Meryl’s song quietly comes to an end, and while she runs a hand across Vash’s face, Wolfwood pries the door open, and slips inside.
“You’re too good for words, little lady.”
The words snap Meryl out of her love-crafted trance, and she follows the sound of that familiar voice with her head. Wolfwood doesn’t miss the way her eyes light up when she sees him.
“You’re back,” she happily chirps, in a quiet enough tone, so as to not wake Vash.
Wolfwood walks across the room to the bed. “I missed you,” he admits, while crawling across the bed, in order to sit next to her. There’s no space between them, and Wolfwood is more than happy to keep it that way.
“But you’ve only been gone a few hours.”
Wolfwood looks at her; he studies her wide, sparkling eyes, and her small, button nose. He looks at her thin lips, and recalls how soft they are. He even notices her blushed cheeks, due to the proximity of their faces; there could not be any more than three inches between their mouths, respectively. He can feel her warm breath on his skin.
“That’s like asking me not to breath for a few hours,” he replies. “How could you expect me to leave your side and not miss you?”
And maybe it’s from how long it’s been since he had seen her and been able to hold her and kiss her as he so frequently delighted in doing. Maybe it was how late it was outside. Or maybe, it had to do with the aspect of returning home, and being able to break down any wall built between desire and need; but no matter the cause, Wolfwood finds himself unable to conceal how he feels towards her in any capacity.
He leans in a little bit closer, and looks down at her lips; Meryl’s eyes close in anticipation, and with as much gentleness as he can muster, he kisses her.
Oh, how it feels lovely to feel her lips again; it’s like drinking water after being dehydrated. Her lips are soft and sweet; the taste of some lip balm resides on top of them, and Wolfwood takes pleasure in spoiling it. She tastes like a strawberry- a flavor he hadn’t been so inclined to enjoy until now.
Wolfwood can feel her gingerly press her lips to his, and it makes his heart hammer in his chest; she makes him feel like a lovesick school boy. A sigh escapes her mouth, and he can feel it against his lips; there’s nothing he loves more than taking her breath away.
He lets her pull back for air, and he notices that her eyes don’t open as she breaths in through her slightly parted lips. Wolfwood takes his chance; he tucks a strand of her midnight blue hair behind one of her ears, and moves his hand to cup the side of her face.
He leans in again, and takes her lips once more; with a little more desperation, but no aggression. Kissing Meryl is like kissing a goddess; Wolfwood honestly doesn’t see much of a difference, but her lips are so enchanting, it feels godly- and that’s saying something, coming from a religious man.
She pulls away for another breath, but he chases after her, longing to love her in this gentle and sweet way.
“Nicholas,” she whispers, against his lips and in between kisses. “I’ve missed you too.” He lays another kiss against her mouth. “I’m glad you’re back, and home safely.”
“When have I ever not come home safely?” He asks, and Meryl pulls away from him, out of his circle of space, to give him a smug, and all knowing look.
“I seem to recall quite a few times,” she says, “where Vash and I would put you in the bathtub, and pull bullets from your skin, or scrub blood from your skin. Sound familiar?”
Wolfwood doesn’t reply immediately; he smiles at her, and then kisses her once more, taking her by surprise, and earning a muffled ‘mmfh!’ from her mouth. “Not at all,” he jokingly replies, pulling away from her.
Meryl brings a hand up to Wolfwood’s face from Vash’s hair, and runs the back of it across his skin. “You need a shave,” she says, after a little while of admiring him; she slowly runs two fingers across the stubbled side of his chin.
“Don’t think the rugged cowboy look suits me?” Wolfwood asks, hearing the sweet sound of her laughter in return. “Alright, if my girl demands it, I suppose I don’t have a choice.” His tone is light; teasingly sarcastic.
Meryl giggles, and Wolfwood wants to lean back over to her and kiss the smile off her pretty lips, but he settles for getting lost in her indigo eyes.
“How is your brother doing?” She asks. “I hope everything is going well over at the orphanage.”
Wolfwood runs a few fingers through the long parts of her hair. “He’s doing really well. That’s the happiest I’ve seen him since, well, probably since we were kids.”
Livio hadn’t had the best life, but the parts of it that he was spending over at Hopeland seemed to be attempting to make up for it. It was nice to watch him smile for the first time in many years.
“I think the only person happier than him are the kids; they stick to him like magnets.” Wolfwood feels his smiler grow a little bit wider.
“I’m happy to hear it,” Meryl replies. “I’m glad you got to see him, too.”
“You know, he said he’d like to meet you and Vash, someday,” Wolfwood comments, changing the subject a slight amount. “He said something about wanting to try again on a different foot, now that he isn’t brainwashed by a freaky ass cult.”
Meryl laughs. “Did he actually say that?”
“I’m paraphrasing.”
“Well, I would love to see him, and I know Vash would as well,” Meryl supplies, with a calm and gentle manner. “As a matter of a fact, why don’t you invite him over here one night for dinner?”
Wolfwood skips his thumb over her cheek. “Sounds lovely.”
Meryl smiles at him, and slowly leans over, putting a chaste kiss on his chin, before laying her head against his shoulder. Comfort is a service he is happy to provide, so he wraps an arm around Meryl’s shoulders, and reaches his other hand down to play with Vash’s hair, just like Meryl had been doing a few moments prior.
Vash’s hair is incredibly soft, which is mostly due to the soap he uses (it’s scented like lemon, which Wolfwood has always found delightful). Even with his spikey locks, his hair is always fluffy and very nice to touch- not to mention that Vash adores it.
“I heard you singing,” Wolfwood says, after a few beats of silence between them; it isn’t painful silence, as Wolfwood has come to find that he could sit for hours in silence with either one of his partners and be content with just their presence. “It was beautiful.”
Though he can’t see her face, Wolfwood bets she’s flushing all shades of rosy red now. “Thank you,” she shyly says. “You’re being such a charmer today, my heart wasn’t ready.”
“I hope it is now,” Wolfwood replies, kissing the side of her head. He listens to the sound of her giggles, until he hears a different sound; something stirring.
“Mmm, Nick?” Vash tiredly groans, raising his head just a little, and opening his eyes very slowly. The sound of his voice makes Wolfwood’s heart skip a beat.
“Mornin’, sleeping beauty,” he mocks, touching Vash’s cheek with his hand. He looks so handsome, with his blue stained-glass eyes, and his slightly ruffled hair, and that stupidly beautiful smile he wears, which always makes Wolfwood feel weak in the knees. God, he’s a marvel.
“When did you get home?” He still sounds tired, bless his heart.
“Just a few minutes ago,” Meryl replies. Vash looks up at her, and becomes more comfortable laying in her lap. He also nuzzles his head against Wolfwood’s hand. It’s adorably sweet.
“Vash is pretty worn out from today,” Meryl explains to Wolfwood. “He did a few chores around here, and then helped me cook. He also did some maintenance on that leak faucet in our bathroom.”
“Big day then, huh?”
Vash, presumably being too tired, doesn’t really give a response. He simply takes Wolfwood’s hand, and presses an individual kiss to each of his knuckles.
“I love you, Nick,” he says. Wolfwood can hear him swallow a yawn.
“I love you too, angel.” He looks down at Vash; his eyes flit between his pink lips and the dimples decorating the sides of his mouth. He wants to kiss Vash, and he wants it very badly; it feels like the only thing he was put on this planet to do.
Wolfwood leans down, over where Vash’s face rests against Meryl’s legs and lower stomach, and he lays a kiss sweeter than sugar on his lips. The only proper equivalent to the feeling flowing through his veins is “waking up after a good dream, and realizing that none of it was fake.” Vash the Stampede is simply too good to be true, and Wolfwood loves it.
Then, because only kissing the man once would be a crime, he leaves his lips with another one; a slight little peck. After that, a kiss finds itself on Vash’s forehead, then his browbone, then his smooth cheek.
“Thank you for doing all that work around here today,” Wolfwood says, looking into the pure blue of his boyfriend’s eyes.
“Thank you for all the kisses,” Vash laughs, looking impeccably happy. It’s the loveliest sight. “Oh, speaking of work,” he mutters, still sounding tired. “We made dinner for you; it’s sitting in the oven, whenever you’re ready for it.”
Wolfwood kisses the top of Vash’s nose, and then leans back to kiss Meryl’s temple. “You two are too good for me,” he replies, not moving to get up. Luckily for him, neither Vash nor Meryl do it either, which is how an hour later, the three of them end up eating a somewhat lukewarm dinner.
Oh well. The time spent by Vash and Meryl’s side was much more rewarding anyway.