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"...What the fuck happened in here."
Wolfwood sighed, standing in the doorway of what was supposedly his shared motel room, now inexplicably covered wall-to-wall-to-ceiling in varying shades of red and pink. Normally, the red would've been alarming at first glance-- but since there were distinctly heart-shaped patterns in the sudden vibrant decor, it didn't take him long to realize that there was, most likely, nothing to draw a gun on.
"Hi, Wolfwood!" Vash popped up from behind his bed, his coat adorned with several paper hearts in varied sizes and colors.
"And why do you look like a kid's craft project?"
"Don't you know what day it is?" Vash huffed, placing hands on his hips, causing one of the paper hearts to fall and flutter to the ground. Wolfwood's eyes followed it, hesitating to look back up at the even-more-vibrant-than-usual man's face, in case he had actually forgotten something important.
"...Tuesday?"
"February 14th!... Also Wednesday, but that's not the point."
Wolfwood only responded with a light shrug, instigating Vash to slap a paper heart scribbled with the words "Will You Be My Valentine?" into his open palm.
"A day dedicated entirely to love? Huh?"
"You... have an anniversary with someone?" Wolfwood squinted, standing up a bit straighter. He didn't recall Vash having a lover. "Should I not be here?"
"No! It's Valentine's Day!"
A pause.
"I don't know what that means."
Vash groans, covering his face with his hands. "Saint Valentine?"
Another pause, though Wolfwood's eyes widened with recognition, before squinting again. "...That guy has his own day?"
"Yes!" Vash's arms shot up straighter than his hair, then knocked more hearts loose as they fell with his shoulders, surrounding Vash with a circle of heart-shaped confetti. "Of course you know Saint Valentine but not Valentine's Day."
Wolfwood scanned the room again. Nearly every flat surface besides the floor and most of the ceiling was covered in paper hearts. Each one was at least somewhat rough-- lines where scissors cut too far or not far enough, uneven shapes, fold lines down the middle-- handmade. He'd cut out what had to be hundreds of pieces of paper, all by hand. Realization was creeping onto him, much like his slowly increasing heartbeat.
"This... is important to you, huh?"
"...I like it a lot, yes."
The two stood in silence for a few moments, pulses increasing. It wasn't quite tension, but there was something in the air between them. Vash was starting to sweat, feeling a familiar sensation-- you're overdoing it, aren't you?
"You want some help?"
Another pause.
"What?"
"With- With the hearts. Or are you already done-"
"Yes!" Vash jumped forward, taking Wolfwood's hands in his, and pulling him back to Wolfwood's bed. The two fell onto the mattress each with a little huff, before Wolfwood felt a pair of scissors pressed into his hand. He sat up, eyes raising to meet Vash's-- smiling, and even more vibrant than his attire. Something about his enthusiasm made Wolfwood's pulse jump for a moment.
"I haven't covered the nightstand, so-" Vash held up a stack of colored paper, beaming as he handed a sheet to Wolfwood. "Also, I learned about, ehh, halfway through? That it's easier to get the shape symmetrical if you fold 'em in half, but if you don't do that you can make them kinda swoop-y, like that one--" He pointed to a heart on the wall that, as described, swooped slightly to the side at the bottom. He kept rambling as they both took scissors to paper, Wolfwood content to listen. When he finished cutting out his first heart, and held it up for Vash to examine, something else crossed his mind.
"Is this... how you're supposed to celebrate this holiday? Covering a room with paper hearts?"
"I have no idea! I just know paper hearts are involved. And every other holiday involves decorating, right?"
"Right, right, uh... I'm still on board, but I'm just wondering..."
"Yeah?"
"Y'think the motel is gonna fine us for this?"