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Wolfwood's throat was raw from shouting at an absent almighty that he wanted to stay so he could be with his companions. A will to live had filled him that he'd never experienced before. His whole life he had been so dulled to death, the thought of his own or of others, it felt like an electric shock had passed through his whole body to realize that he wanted to live.
He slumped forward, exhaustion rushing in after the shock.
He almost didn’t hear it when doors banged open. This sound was followed by hurried footsteps and shouts. A pain worse than the bullets in his gut stabbed him. He hadn't wanted them to see this, he thought he could hide one small horror from them all. Wolfwood felt a wave of frustration and grief as everything faded to black.
Wolfwood woke up.
He was distracted from the pain that laced throughout his abdomen by the little discomforts: an IV drip on one arm, scratchy hospital sheets, and the lights too bright in the white-walled room. Then the little comforts registered: the warmth provided by the jacket (Milly's) that had been added to the thin blanket and both of his hands being gently held.
He looked to the right and found Milly. She'd fallen asleep with her head propped on his bed, with one hand still clasping his as if she were afraid he'd slip away without her noticing. On the left was Vash, who was also asleep, curled into an uncomfortable ball in his chair, one arm reached out so their fingers were tangled.
Whatever had shifted within Wolfwood when he was dying now fluttered with desperate hope. He was too uncomfortable not to be alive, which meant... Could he have this? Did he get another chance to do right by them?
The door opening drew his attention back into the room and he looked up to see Meryl, arms stacked high with pillows and blankets. She didn't notice he was awake for a moment, intent on her goal and pillows blocking her line of sight. She tucked a blanket around Milly's shoulders, stuffing a pillow behind her. She went to the other side of the bed to do the same for Vash when she saw Wolfwood watching her.
She gasped, dropping everything to the floor, before hurrying forward. Without another hand of his to take, she placed her small warm hand on his knee. Her mouth opened and closed, words escaping her as her eyes filled with tears.
Wolfwood wished he could lean forward and wipe them from her face. "Hey there," he said, voice rough from lack of use.
"Hey there yourself." She moved closer, pulling a handkerchief from somewhere and gently dabbing his cheeks. "You don't get to cry, you gave us all such a scare." She then moved around Vash to a side table that held a pitcher of water and cups.
Wolfwood hadn't realized he'd been crying. He was going to say as much, then Meryl was back, now standing directly beside his head, cup in hand. She carefully helped him hold his head up and take a few sips, which made him feel infinitely better. Once he'd drunk the whole cup, she helped him settle again. She finished her work distributing blankets and pillows to Vash and Milly, before adding another pillow behind Wolfwood as well. She perched on the side of the bed beside him, looking down at him expectantly.
"How am I alive?" he whispered to her, not wanting to wake the others.
"We were able to get you here in time, after performing some quick field first aid," Meryl said, as if it could really be so simple as that. "If we'd been only a little later, you would have bled out." Her voice seems to break a bit on that last part.
"I didn't mean to," he confessed, desperately needing her to believe this. "I didn't want to die. I want to stay-" he cut off the "with all of you" because even though he now knew deep in his bones how much he loved them, he couldn't say it. The words bunch up on his tongue but don't come out.
Meryl seemed relieved by what he did say. "I'm glad because otherwise I'd have to kick your ass." The strength she was wearing as a mask shudders a bit, her tears resuming. "You made them both hurt so much. I promised myself I'd hate you for it, but I'm just glad you're still here."
Milly was still sleeping, but Wolfwood felt Vash's hand tighten its hold. He looked around Meryl to see a soft, sleepy smile on the other man's face as if all his dreams had just come true.
Meryl turned to see where Wolfwood was looking, wiping her eyes with the sleeve of her shirt. She smiled a little at Vash, her usual annoyance tempered so much so that she gently runs a hand against his cheek.
Vash leaned into the touch though he didn't take his eyes off Wolfwood. "Thank god you're okay," Vash murmured.
"Don't thank God, thank me and Milly," Meryl's scolding tone was so soft Wolfwood could hardly call it that.
Wolfwood can't help but laugh, though it hurts. "Ah, but you and Milly are made in God's image, so in a way-"
Meryl shot a glare at him, which made him laugh more. "Stop that. We don't want you to pull any stitches."
Vash tangled his fingers further with Wolfwood's, still not letting him go. "We missed you."
"Speak for yourself," Meryl said, even as she leaned forward to make sure Wolfwood's pillows were supporting him enough.
"You shouldn't have saved me then," Wolfwood tried to joke. Both of their expressions say that they didn't think such a joke was funny. There was even a bit of hurt from Meryl, which was the last thing he wanted. So he made sure she was looking directly into his eyes when he said, "Thank you. For everything."
Meryl blushed a bit. "You would have done the same, if the situations were reversed."
What she said was true, but it'd been a very long time since anyone had faith in him to save them. Very few saw beyond the lone priest or gunman. Wolfwood had thought it might just be Vash, with his smiles, and Milly, with her kindness, who had done so, but apparently Meryl understood him too.
His thoughts, that he had thought had been his dying ones, of Eden rushed back to him. He wanted to stay with the three of them so badly it hurt with the other aches in his chest. He didn't want to imagine a world where they were split up - by death, by time, by the missions of others. He was better with them and hoped that they were safer for his care.
Vash's gentle squeeze on his hand brought him out of his thoughts to this moment. "Can you promise not to scare us like that again?" The words were a whisper but Wolfwood knew him well enough to hear the plea tucked in them.
Wolfwood swallowed. "You know I'll do my best, Spikey, to remain at all your sides."
This earned him one of his favorite Vash smiles, even if it was a smaller one. "Good."
Milly was very careful with Wolfwood as he was recovering, in the beginning even denying him a kiss. This was certainly good motivation for him to heal, which he thought was probably on purpose. As he got better and they were able to get on the road again, the physical affection between them returned and grew. It wasn’t as obvious at first because all four of them were more inside each other's orbits - Vash and Meryl touched him more too.
As his injuries turned to new scars, Milly began to both physically and verbally express interest in exploring more of what happened in their shared night together. A couple of times it was within hearing of Meryl, who turned bright red and stalked off. She apparently didn't really mind, because the next time they stopped in a town, Meryl divided the rooms so that Wolfwood and Milly got to share. When Wolfwood called her a logistical genius for doing so, it only got him more blushes and glares.
What Meryl didn't know was that Wolfwood had also been looking for a chance to talk with Milly one-on-one with no fear of interruption. Which he would do, but first he was definitely going to show Milly just how much he appreciated her and to still being alive to share these private moments.
When they had finished and done a little cleanup, Milly settled on his chest. Her arms crossed so they could pillow her chin and it didn't dig into the center of Wolfwood's ribcage and their legs lazily tangled together. She seemed to understand that he liked the pressure of someone on top of him, that it helped him feel more settled in his body. He put his arms around her, gently holding her in place.
They stared into each other's eyes thoughtfully, quietly, coming down from the high they'd found together into something more gentle, more sustainable. Milly's mouth was curved in a small, contented smile and Wolfwood wondered at how he got so lucky to be the one that put it there.
Gently stroking her back, Wolfwood tried to figure out the best way to start the conversation he wanted to have. The more he stared into her knowing eyes though, the more he had the feeling this line of thought wouldn't surprise her. "I wanted to talk to you about something."
Milly pressed a kiss to his chest before settling as before. "Of course, we can talk about anything, silly."
He couldn't stop his smile, leaning forward enough to press a kiss to her forehead. He could stay in her warmth forever. "Do you sometimes feel like we're missing a piece or two?"
As Wolfwood watched her expression, he wondered if he needed to be more specific. But not for long, because Milly's smile grew even brighter and more knowing. "I've had similar feelings."
Relief rushed through him. "When... When I thought I was going to die." He paused to search her face, making sure this topic didn't upset her too much. He needed someone to truly listen to this, it couldn't just live inside his head any longer.
Milly's smile shrank to something sadder but just snuggled closer. She gave a little nod to show she was ready.
Wolfwood took one of her hands, tangling their fingers. He didn't know if it was to ground him or her. "When I thought I was going to die, I realized what I really wanted. It was a clarity I've never had before and I thought I'd missed out on doing anything about it."
Milly gave his hand a squeeze but didn't interrupt. This was for the best, he wasn't sure if he could get the words out if he were stopped now.
“I want a peaceful life with the three of you. You, Vash, and Meryl. And if I can't have that, I want whatever life we can make for ourselves on this damned planet.” He cleared his throat, trying to stop it from closing before he'd finished what he needed to say. “There is nothing more important to me than you three. Loving this much on this world is dangerous, but I don't care anymore. I've never done much good, but I can be good at this. I want to be someone who can be loved by you."
"Oh, Nick," Milly let go of his hand, so she could wipe away the tears he didn't know he'd begun to cry. "You already are that person. And we want you to stay too. I know I do."
Wolfwood nodded. “I think we found something good together.”
Milly took his hand back so she could press a kiss to his knuckles. “I think so too.”
“I don't know if it works if one of us is missing.”
Milly looked sad at that. "It would work, but it'd be hard. There'd always be missing laughter, looking over a shoulder and expecting someone to enter a room and make things better."
"It wouldn't be the same," Wolfwood whispered.
"No, it wouldn't. Grief changes everything."
Wolfwood had tried to imagine the three of them without him in the weeks that had followed his brush with death. He'd also thought about how it would feel to be one of the people left behind. He hadn't liked it one bit, a feeling of being scraped raw inside. "I don't want any of us to find out what that feels like."
"I don't either." Milly wiped more tears away from his cheeks and he reached out to do the same for her. "I want the same as you though. I want us to be together, however that can look."
"What do you think are the chances the others feel the same?" he whispered this, feeling scared of the answer. But not so scared he wanted to run from it - no that was part of the change he felt when he lived instead of died. More chances to make mistakes but also more chances to make things right.
Milly gave a little laugh, before looking at him with clear affection in her expression. "I think you already know the answer to that. But they're both weary of good things, so you need to be sure about what you want and then we'll talk to them about it." Her expression turned to something more conspiratorial as she spoke.
Wolfwood knew he was smiling back at her with a lovesick expression and he wouldn't change it for the world. It was wonderful to be pulled into Milly's orbit. "What're you thinking?"
"We could start operation “seduce Meryl and Vash” tonight."
Wolfwood huffed a laugh but didn't comment on the name of the operation. It was the best assignment he'd ever gotten. "Is that so?"
When they came into the other room that'd been rented, it was to find Meryl at the desk typing away and Vash sitting on the bed, tinkering with his arm prosthesis. Milly's first move was to go pick up Meryl, swooping her up into her arms. Wolfwood took a moment to admire that before climbing into bed and settling beside Vash, who looked confused but smiled nonetheless. Milly carried over a slightly protesting Meryl to settle on Vash's other side, Meryl contained on her lap.
Vash looked very pleased to be squished in between. He passed his tools over to Wolfwood to put on the side table, followed by his prosthetic, which Wolfwood got up to carefully place where Vash would be able to grab it easily. When Wolfwood settled back on the bed, he put his arm around Vash, which had the bonus benefit of allowing him to play with Milly's hair.
"Ew, you both smell like sex," Meryl complained, as she made no moves to pull away. If anything she snuggled closer into Milly's arms, stretching her legs out to fall over Vash and Wolfwood's laps.
Vash gave a nervous laugh. "Um. What're we doing?"
"Team bonding," Milly said with an innocent smile.
"Why now?" Meryl asked, despite continuing to make herself comfortable. Wolfwood was impressed she didn't complain about finishing her paperwork.
"It was urgent," Milly said this as if it made perfect sense. And maybe it did, but it was just that no one else was brave enough to say it.
Wolfwood could feel Vash relaxing further against him, clearly in need of the physical affection but not knowing a normal way to ask for it. He moved his hand from Milly's hair to Vash's briefly, running his hands through the back of the strands which hung loose and slightly damp from a shower.
This caused Vash to practically melt, which Meryl caught, so she copied Wolfwood's action with a sly look in his direction. She then declared, "You're right, Milly, it is urgent."
Wolfwood huffed a laugh, putting his free hand on Meryl's ankle where it now rested in his lap.
They didn't speak a whole lot more, instead slowly sinking into each other and the comfort of gentle touches. Wolfwood tried to remember a time when he ever felt so safe or so comfortable and couldn't. This was what he’d imagined, in his Eden. It was easy to drift toward sleep, swapping little murmurs and pets until, one by one, they all closed their eyes.
"I was wondering if we could take a side trip," Wolfwood proposed the next morning at breakfast. He looked at Vash directly, knowing that he was still intent on figuring things out with his homicidal brother. Wolfwood was committed to helping him with this, but suddenly nothing felt as important as just being together.
Vash chewed thoughtfully on the doughnut he was eating that one of the girls had found for him. Vash studied Wolfwood’s face before nodding. "It’d be nice to take a break."
"Where do you want to go?" Meryl asked, hands gently cupping the mug of subpar coffee, instead of gripping it like it could save her. She looked better rested than usual - it seemed that it was good to give her a reason not to focus on paperwork and just get some rest.
Maybe they were all better together.
“There is...” Wolfwood was struck by the realization that he’d never told anyone else about the orphanage. And yet here he was, about to disclose it all without a second thought. “...a place I like to go, an orphanage, where I've tried to put some good back into this world.”
He’d already explained all this to Milly, but he’d expected some surprise from Meryl and Vash. Instead Vash just gave him one of his real smiles, precious in their rarity, and Meryl nodded as if this made sense. It was overwhelming, the realization that he was known and understood by not one, not two, but three people. And that those three people had decided he was worth saving.
“I’ve been bringing supplies and money whenever I can, lending a hand when I stay,” he continued after clearing his throat. “It’s been a while since my last visit, and I want to make sure they’re okay.”
Milly was already nodding, but Meryl joined her. “We can explain it as a sales visit if anyone asks.”
“I think we currently have some breathing room,” Vash said. “And we’d like to go somewhere important to you.”
Wolfwood bit back the other justifications he’d come up with to argue why they should go. Nothing more was needed from him. “Oh.”
“We should start today,” Meryl said, digging in a pocket to pull out a map. As she spread it out in the center of their table, Wolfwood could see it had pencil lines drawn all across it from tracking Vash down, but it was still usable. “Where too?”
When they came to the town that the orphanage was on the outskirts of, they picked up new clothes, food, blankets, and other necessities for the orphanage. Before they left for the final leg of the journey, Milly grabbed Wolfwood’s left hand and Meryl’s right. Meryl snagged the back of Vash’s coat, successfully bringing all of them to a stop.
“Look, a toy shop! We should get some things from here too,” Milly said and pointed with her chin across the street.
“But that’s not a necessity,” Wolfwood found himself saying. Meryl looked like she agreed.
Milly looked between them, a frown tugging at her usually smiling face. “Joy and play are necessities. Especially for children.”
“Yeah, come on!” Vash snatched up Meryl’s hand and dragged the four of them over and onto the porch of the shop. He pressed his face against the window, looking in.
Wolfwood was so distracted by Vash’s excitement, that he almost missed Milly’s instructions, “Everyone has to choose at least one toy to share with the kids.”
Vash nodded vigorously, before entering, calling a greeting to the person at the counter. He was quickly engaged in a discussion of what toys were the most popular among the kids.
Milly dragged the others along before letting go of Wolfwood and Meryl to head directly to the stuffed toys, made up of animals found on the planet and ones that would've otherwise been long forgotten from Earth.
Wolfwood glanced around and tried to take this seriously. He remembered some of being a child and seeing toys that could never be afforded. But even stronger was the pang of toys he knew his friends would love, but they also couldn’t afford. Toys he wished could have been shared between them.
Letting that guide him, he found himself in front of a display of wheeled toys. Some were intricate models more for the older children or adult collectors, but others were soft, smooth plastic in the vague outline of a car or sand steamer, easy for little hands to grab.
Wolfwood tested how a few of the models rolled, wondering if he should get one for each age group. He liked the one that looked like a miniature version of his bike a lot. Looking up, he checked on the progress of the others.
Vash was being shown the toys that were very active by the shopkeep, who winced when he enthusiastically tried them: jump ropes, hula hoops, and puzzle cubes. Milly seemed to be asking the stuffed animals which of them wished to go to a new home. He didn’t bother hiding his smile as he scanned for Meryl.
He almost didn’t spot her at first, sitting in front of a bookshelf and going through it with joyful methodology. She seemed to be building a pile beside her, as she pulled out stories to flip through them or in a few cases, to read through in full.
Wolfwood could feel that at this point, he was smiling wide enough for his cheeks to hurt. But it was hard not to, watching the three of them throw themselves into finding toys for the kids he’d helped for so long and going about in ways that were so uniquely them.
Once he’d chosen the two toys he wanted to share (the motorcycle one, along with a simple one for the younger kids that reminded him of the bus he’d first met Vash, Meryl, and Milly on), he went over to Milly. She beamed at him, reaching out to catch his hand and twine their fingers together, the touch coming as easy to her as breathing.
He leaned further into her side, trying to gather her courage and ease around connection. “Have you decided on who wants to come with us?”
Wolfwood felt more than saw her nod. Milly pointed to a tomas and... if Wolfwood remembered correctly, some near-mythical creature called an elephant. “They’re friends, so they have to go together,” Milly explained.
“Of course,” Wolfwood agreed. It was different and often wonderful to see the world through Milly’s eyes. “We wouldn’t want them to be lonely.”
They brought the toys to add them to the counter. Meryl had just added a stack of books, running her hand across a few of the spines as if greeting old friends.
Before Wolfwood could point out with a stab of pain that they didn’t have money for all those books, Meryl pulled the needed double dollars out of her wallet. She offered Wolfwood a smile that was almost shy, which was so different from her usual expression that it stopped his breath.
“Maybe I can read to them, once we get there?” Meryl said and it takes all his self-control not to lean in to steal a kiss.
That conversation would come after the visit. Wolfwood glanced at Milly for strength, only to find her gazing at Meryl with such adoration, that he wondered how Meryl didn’t melt from it.
It was Vash who came to the rescue, with a couple of jump ropes and a puzzle in his arms. He sets them with the other toys. “I wanted to make sure if some kids can’t jump rope, they can still have an activity,” he explains to them and Wolfwood feels a similar wave of fondness.
They leave the store with a box filled with their purchases, and a couple of rattles and teethers the shopkeep added for free once they learned what had brought these four strangers to their shop. The box was carefully added to the supplies already in the back of their car.
Wolfwood climbed into the driver seat, Meryl settling beside him. Milly and Vash climbed into the back, casually leaning into each other.
Wolfwood adjusted the mirrors, before glancing around at them all. He thought he should be nervous to introduce these two parts of his life to each other, but instead, he could only feel a hum of excitement. “Ready?”
They parked near the back of the orphanage where it was easier for the staff to unload. Milly grabbed the box of toys and Meryl a bag of snacks and treats before they headed off to the front at the urging of a smiling caretaker.
When the kids playing in the front yard spotted Wolfwood, the older ones who knew him came running. Those who were younger or newer, watched in the back, deciding if this stranger was safe for them to approach. He knew better than anyone how dangerous it was to be an orphan on Gunsmoke. He’d left the Punisher in the car to be less intimidating and so he could crouch easily, getting on their level.
One of the more affectionate kids almost knocked him off his feet in a hug, before leaning back enough to give Vash, Meryl, and Milly a weary eye. "Who're they?"
Since Wolfwood had never brought anyone with him before, he should have expected a question like this. He was surprised by how easy an answer and a smile came to him when he looked over his shoulder at them. "They're good friends of mine. I wanted them to meet the other people important to me."
The boy, Rafa, nodded, letting Wolfwood go to run over and stare up at Milly. Wolfwood caught him sticking out his hand to offer a proper shake before his attention was swamped by the other children. Meryl came to hover at his shoulder and help as he passed out some of the treats.
They all end up back in the yard. Wolfwood found he was not being pulled in a million different directions as usual or having to sadly tell one child no because he’d already promised himself to play hide and seek with others. Having Vash, Milly, and Meryl there meant there was almost enough attention to go around. Wolfwood did find his attention wandering more than once, as he watched these three amazing, kind people turn their full focus on making these kids (who’d tied Wolfwood to something close to goodness) happy. Even the shiest kids were opening up due to either Vash’s smile or Meryl’s gentle understanding or Milly’s kind words.
The contentment that had started to build in the toy store overtook Wolfwood. The vision of Eden came back to him and he knew he would do anything to make that a reality. To ensure that it would be the four of them and a gaggle of kids who needed a home. That they would get through everything Knives and anyone else threw at them so Wolfwood could build that Eden.
Milly caught his gaze from across the yard, a kid balanced on each hip. She smiles at him, so knowing that he wondered if she could see it too.
Meryl did get to read to the kids, after a lively meal when it’s bedtime. She started in the room with some of the youngest children first but visited each room in turn. The younger kids competed to be in her lap when she read, even though that made it hard for them to see the pictures. Wolfwood and Milly came with her, offering additional seating, while Vash volunteered to help clean up in the kitchen.
When they got to the room of the older kids, Wolfwood expected them to protest being read to. He whispered this to Meryl before they went in, but Meryl shook her head with a small, knowing smile.
Pressing a hand to his arm, she gave it a gentle squeeze. “You’re never too old to be told a story.”
Wolfwood shouldn’t have been surprised that she was right. He was just a little too distracted by his own contentment as he listened to her with Milly’s arm around his shoulders.
After the story was done, a second one gets begged out of Meryl. The kids had tuned in to the fact she was enjoying this as much as they were. She stood firm on just two though, promising that she would be back to read more sometime very soon.
When storytelling was over and Wolfwood made to leave after the girls, Rafa caught hold of his sleeve. The kid’s expression was so serious Wolfwood used his other hand to ruffle Rafa’s hair.
“You’ll bring them back with you, right?” Rafa asked.
Wolfwood couldn’t stop a smile. “You like them? I was right to bring them?”
Rafa nodded a nod full of determination.
“Then yes, I hope to bring them back with me whenever we visit,” Wolfwood said.
“You promise?”
Wolfwood shrugged. “I can’t promise on their behalf, but I can tell you that is what I want most in the world.” The words felt heavy with that truth.
Rafa let go, seeming satisfied with that answer. “Okay. Goodnight.”
Wolfwood gave into the instinct to tuck him in, wondering if, like storytelling, it was something you never grew out of. Rafa didn’t protest, closing his eyes with a smile, so Wolfwood knew he guessed right.
It’s late when they are alone again, all four in the one room available for guests. It worked well for the conversation Wolfwood wanted to have, now that he’d proven to himself beyond a shadow of a doubt that this was what he wanted. He had to believe that this could work, even against all the odds against them.
Before he could say anything, Vash spoke, taking off his coat and settling on the edge of one of the two beds. “Thank you.” He was looking directly at Wolfwood.
“I should be thanking you,” Wolfwood said, resting Punisher by the door and sticking his hands in his pockets.
Meryl shook her head. “What Vash means is, thank you for trusting us with this. With them.”
“There's no one else in this world I would.” Wolfwood leaned against the wall, facing them.
Vash blushed. “Even after all we’ve been through?”
“It’s because of what we’ve been through that I trust you, needle noggin.” Wolfwood huffed. “I thought that much was obvious.”
“Well, it’s appreciated nonetheless,” Meryl said, turning away from them both and pacing towards the windows.
Milly flopped onto the bed beside Vash, kicking her boots off to land haphazardly on the floor. “It was a really good day.”
“It was,” Wolfwood agreed, pushing himself off the wall. He swallowed as his throat grew tight at the thought that he almost missed this. He would have vanished from these kids’ lives, as well as left the three people who knew to mourn him.
Milly reached out her hand. When he took it, she twined their fingers together, grounding him once more. Then she prompts him. “Was there something you wanted to talk to us about?”
A half smile tugs at his lips. “Yeah, there is.”
This got both Vash’s and Meryl’s attention. Vash leaned back on his hands to look up at Wolfwood and Meryl wandered back so that they were all on the same side of the room. She straightened Milly’s boots as she passed them.
“Milly and I talked about this a couple of weeks ago,” Wolfwood prefaced. “But I wanted to know if you both might feel the same way we do.”
Meryl’s face had the frown that meant she was puzzling something out. “In what way?” she asked.
Wolfwood took a deep breath and Milly gave his hand a squeeze. It was the same thing he'd told her. “I realized something when I thought I was going to die.”
Vash flinched at the reminder. It was something they all hadn’t talked too much about, even though it had changed everything.
“I realized how much I regretted not being able to stay with you all.” Wolfwood made sure he cought each of their gazes in turn. “I want to stay together, the four of us, in whatever way makes sense.”
“One of those ways we think that might be is romantically,” Milly added helpfully, seeming to realize Wolfwood was having a hard time asking outright. She didn’t have any such fear and Wolfwood admired her for it. The way she could speak of emotions that seemed too steep to manage.
Meryl went bright red, glancing at Vash. “All four of us?”
“Yeah. I think we work best when we are all together,” Wolfwood said.
“And you both think this?” Meryl asked.
Wolfwood looked at Milly and met her smile with one of his own. They both nodded.
A silence fell before Milly prompted, “Vash, what do you think?”
Vash let out an awkward laugh, before letting himself fall back on the mattress. “I don’t really do that sort of thing. Romantic relationships that is. It’s too dangerous for anyone to be with me.”
“Well, we’re going to be with you anyway,” Wolfwood pointed out. “So if this is something you also want, why not do it?”
“It’s too dangerous,” Vash said.
Meryl huffed. “Is it? We care for you and you care for us. That is dangerous, but I think it's worth it.”
Wolfwood couldn’t agree with that more. "They say nothing lasts in the desert, it's too easy for the wind to wipe it all away," Wolfwood looked first at Meryl, then Vash. "But they'd never met us. And I think what we have can last, no matter what the rest of this dust bowl throws at us. I'm going to tell you something that Milly told me: you're not alone anymore."
Milly nodded, reaching out to take Vash's hand closest to her. "I also told him: You have people at your side who won't leave, no matter how hard it gets. It's the same here, for you."
Vash shook his head, an edge of panic in his tone, only seeming able to repeat, "But that's dangerous."
"You don't feel the same way as the rest of us? You'd leave us if things get too hard?" Milly asked right back. Vash sat up with a panicked look, shaking his head. "Or are you applying different rules to yourself, because you don't think you're worth it?" She looked over Vash's shoulder at Meryl. "I need you to be listening to this too - I don't want to explain it a third time. Though I will."
Wolfwood felt himself straightening up at the command in Milly's voice, so unlike how she'd ever sounded before. It seemed Vash and Meryl did the same. And it was all so Milly could get it through their thick heads that they could be happy together if they gave it a chance.
She really was amazing.
"I'm pretty sure if I can get this, you both can too." Wolfwood kept his tone light so that it wasn’t a challenge but rather permission to believe.
“I think I would like that,” Meryl said, a shy smile wiping away the last of her frown.
They all turned to Vash, who huffed a sigh and also seemed to be finding it difficult to keep a smile off his face. “Okay,” Vash said. “If you’re all sure, I’ll trust you.”
Milly let go of Wolfwood’s hand so she could pull Vash into a hug. “Thank you for trusting us,” her voice was slightly muffled by his shoulder.
Vash leaned into the comfort, basking in it. Wolfwood understood the feeling. He crawled onto the bed so he could join, slotting against Vash’s back. When he caught sight of Meryl still hovering, he reached out a hand.
She took it after a moment’s thought, settling on Vash’s other side much to Vash and Milly’s delight. Wolfwood ran his hand through her hair and breathed. It felt like something in his chest had just clicked together, the flood of joy and hope filling him. Wolfwood pushed his face against Vash’s neck so that no one would notice his eyes shining with tears.
He got to have this. He almost missed out on having this, but by some miracle, he got a second chance. And with that chance, he’d never let the three people in his arms go.
If they could not find Eden, together they could make it.