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Vash had slept in. He had no real idea how, he was such a light sleeper and usually always tended to wake up early out of habit. Vash had known he had slept in even before he opened his eyes. The bed was warm and there was the gentle sound of quiet conversation in the air. He was so comfortable, even in his still-waking haze, he could feel that he was holding someone.
It took a moment for Vash's eyes to obey the command to open, he blinked and mumbled as hair eyes adjusted to the sun filtering into the room. He could now see that he was cuddled up to Milly, his head practically in her lap.
“Good morning!” Milly said brightly.
Recoiling somewhat at how loud Milly's voice sounded, Vash fought the temptation to close his eyes and return to sleep. “Mornin’.” He yawned, sitting up.
Now awake, Vash could see that the bed was quite full. The humble little queen that he and Wolfwood had spent the night in had not just him and Milly, but also Wolfwood and Meryl. No wonder the bed was so comfortably warm.
“Oh, looks like our sleepin’ beauty has finally decided to join us!” Wolfwood spoke on Vash's left.
From the very edge of the bed, Meryl nodded. “We were taking bets on when you were going to wake up.” It seemed the sole reason she had not yet fallen off the bed was because of Wolfwood’s arm around her back and her legs splayed over his lap. “Nicholas was worried.” She added, a teasing note in her voice.
“Shuddup.” Wolfwood frowned. “The guy was asleep like a fuckin’ rock! Usually, I breathe too loud and he's up.” He nudged Vash in the side with his elbow, glancing over at him momentarily. “This mornin’ I actually could take a piss without him keeping me from leavin’ the damn bed.”
Rolling his eyes, Vash shoved Wolfwood back. “How long did I sleep in anyways?”
“Oh,” Milly pushed herself off the bed. “It's only about 11:30!” She said, going to a little table across the room and grabbing a box. “So, not too late.”
“11:30?” Vash gasped as Milly returned and dropped the box in his lap. He couldn't remember the last time he had slept in that late… It had to have been back when he was hiding as Eriks. The very rare Sunday where he'd sleep all the way to noon and make up for it all the rest of the day doing chores and cooking because he felt he had wasted his time sleeping. Had he done that again? Wasted time? Made his partners wait on him all morning?
Looking down at the lid of the box, Vash saw it was donuts. The brief worry from sleeping in subsided. “You guys got me donuts?” He asked, opening the box with his one hand. A dozen old fashioned. His favourite.
“Had to do somethin’ while you were knocked out.” Wolfwood shrugged.
“We also-” Meryl struggled to get out of Wolfwood’s hold, as he wouldn't let go of her at first. She stumbled out of bed and to her feet. “We also-” She repeated, glaring at Wolfwood. “Got coffee. It's probably a bit cold by now, we got it half an hour ago.” She quickly moved through the propped open door that connected Vash and Wolfwood's rented room to hers and Milly's, then returned with a large paper cup. “We thought you'd be up by the time we got back.”
The cup was then passed to Wolfwood, who held it out to Vash. Vash looked at the donuts and to the cup of coffee, and wanted to cry. “Oh, guys-” He croaked, his voice suddenly hoarse.
“Don't get emotional now, spikey.” Wolfwood sighed. He grabbed a donut from the box and promptly shoved it into Vash's mouth, stopping him from saying anything else. “If you cry, you'll make Mills cry.”
“Mmfp,” Vash did his best to chew the large bite of donut that had been forced into his mouth. It was fresh, soft, and tasty. He swallowed hard, gasping for air. “Okay- okay-” He took the coffee from Wolfwood and took a sip, washing down the donut before it could clog his throat. It was barely room temperature, but it was sweetened heavily with sugar and cream. Just how he liked it.
Vash felt so much love for them then. They had gone out of their way to do something nice for him, to make his morning a little brighter after a late sleep. It made his chest ache. He loved it, he loved them. Vash precariously put the coffee cup between his legs and grabbed another donut. “Thank you-” He felt his eyes watering. “I don't-” He took a deep breath, and then a large bite out of the donut. “You guys are jus’ too good to me!” He said, his words muffled by the food in his mouth and the tears now building in his eyes.
While Milly jumped back into the bed and flung her arms around Vash's neck, rubbing her cheek against his; Meryl muttered “Don't talk with your mouth full, idiot!”
Vash was overwhelmed, but happily so. The donuts and coffee were so good, such a pleasant surprise. But weren't his friends a surprise as well? Meryl, Milly, and Wolfwood… They had stuck around this long, saw Vash through so much- saw what he was, and decided to stay. Even more surprising, Vash bit back every urge to run away and let them stay. Their odd relationship had progressed and grown in such a beautiful way and Vash loved it.
Vash offered a donut to Wolfwood.
“No thanks,” Wolfwood shook his head. “You know I don't eat that shit. I'll only eat Boston Cream.”
“I was just bein’ nice,” Pouted Vash as he ate the donut. He wasn't upset at all. He was the only one out of the four who liked old fashioned, it just meant he didn't have to share.
“Bein’ nice , huh?” Wolfwood tsk-ed. “Sharin’ the goodies we bought? If ya were really bein’ nice you'd give us something for the trouble!”
A grin pulled at Vash's lips, he rolled his eyes. “Fine.” He kissed Milly's cheek first, as she still had an arm loosely about his neck. Then he leaned past Wolfwood and pecked Meryl's lips. He smirked at Wolfwood and sat back down in his spot between him and Milly. “There.”
“There?!” Wolfwood snatched the box of donuts from Vash’s lap. “I think you're missin’ someone here.” He said, his frown was friendly and there was a playful tone in his voice.
“Nope,” Vash pointedly took the donuts back and grabbed his 5th one. “Milly gave me the donuts-” He pointed at Milly with the donut in his hand and then took a large bite from it. “Meryl-” He gestured towards her with the donut and took another bite. “Gave me the coffee.” He said, his mouth full. “You didn't give anything!”
“You-” Grumbling, Wolfwood took back the donuts. “I paid for ‘em, dipshit!” While Vash tried to grab the donuts back, Wolfwood held them out of his reach. “The coffee, too!”
Frowning, Vash ate the rest of his donut and washed it down with the remaining dregs of his sugary coffee. “I'm sorry, Nick.” He said, leaning towards Wolfwood again. “I'm very thankful you bought them for me,” He kissed Wolfwood's cheek. “Let me apologize.”
Wolfwood raised his eyebrows, still holding the box of donuts out of Vash's reach. “Let's see what you got, spikey.”
Vash smiled softly, moved forward and carefully pressed his lips against Wolfwood’s. He took his time, kissing him slowly while edging closer and closer to him on the bed. Once Vash thought Wolfwood’s wouldn't notice, he began to reach up towards the donut box.
One of Wolfwood’s arms curled around Vash's back. Before Vash's fingers could touch the box of donuts, Wolfwood pulled back from the kiss. “Yeah,” He spoke quietly, his eyes locked on Vash's. “You're still not getting this.” He handed the box off to Meryl. “Take care of these, shorty.”
“Oh, c'mon, you're being mean.” Vash whined playfully. He watched as Meryl set the donuts down back at their original spot on the table. He'd have to leave the comfort of the bed if he really wanted them. Which he didn't. “You know I didn't mean it like that.”
“Can't believe you'd use me for shitty donuts like that.” Grinning, Wolfwood kissed the side of Vash's mouth. “You're the mean one here, spikey. Ain't he, Mills?” He glanced up.
“Oh, yes.” Milly nodded seriously, placing Vash's empty coffee cup on the bedside table. “Meryl?”
“If you ask me, he's being his usual scoundrel self.” Meryl said as she climbed on to the foot of the bed. She slowly scooted her way up before laying on Vash's legs. “So, I would have to agree.”
Vash felt a small ping go off in his head. His heart began to race and his skin buzzed. He looked between the three around him and knew something was going to happen. “Guys-”
“And I think we got to punish scoundrels like him.” Wolfwood kissed Vash's cheek, then his jaw. “Break ‘em, outta their crooked ways.”
Meryl nodded with her head in Vash's lap. “It's the only way to reform them.” She wrapped her arms around Vash's middle, her cool hands with even colder fingertips snuck up and under the back of Vash's shirt.
“Guys, maybe we can talk about this-” Vash squeaked. He was being ganged up on, and he didn't hate it. He quickly looked over to Milly while Wolfwood's kisses trailed down his neck and Meryl's chilly fingers brought goosebumps to his back. His only friend in this, his saviour. Maybe she could speak some reason to the minds of their shared partners. “Milly-”
“They're right, Mr. Vash.” Milly put a hand on Vash's shoulder solemnly. “You've got to be punished. Nico was soooo nice to buy you breakfast. He bought us breakfast, too, and we thanked him.”
“That you did, big girl.” Wolfwood muttered, giving a surprising little nip to Vash's neck. “Shorty did, too.”
The sleeping in, the donuts and coffee… It was all a ploy to trap Vash in a sense of false security. All for the sole purpose of ambushing him.
No begging could save Vash from his bittersweet fate. Wolfwood kept one strong arm wrapped around Vash as he kissed at his neck eagerly. Meryl’s cool fingers moved up and down his sides, tickling him before she lifted up his shirt and began to press gentle kisses to his scarred stomach. And Milly, Vash’s greatest betrayer, only giggled as Vash struggled to fight back.
Milly laughed, leaning her arm on Vash’s shoulder. “C’mon, you’ve had worse things happen than this.” She said, “Maybe you should just accept your punishment! It’s the right thing to do.”
To give in would be too easy, plus it was so fun to fight back. But it’s not like Vash had a lot of wriggle room to even fake a struggle. Meryl was on top of his legs, Milly played a guard on his side, and Wolfwood was firmly keeping him in place with his arm. Vash was surrounded, there was no way out, and he liked it that way.
“Never-” Vash whined, vainly trying to fight back a smile.
His fake defiance only seemed to spur his partners and Milly on more. While Wolfwood and Meryl kissed at his neck and stomach, Milly began to pepper a kiss here and there on his cheek while her fingers sneakily reached down to tickle his sensitive sides. The kissing, Vash could barely withstand, but the tickling sent him over the edge. He laughed, squirming between all three of them without any place to escape. Warmth flooded his body and because of how Milly was tickling him, even Meryl and Wolfwood’s kisses began to feel ticklish.
The warmth pumping through Vash’s veins was not of arousal or fear, but love. It made his skin prickle in a familiar way. It felt like the pores on his face were opening, like how they would in a steamy hot shower. Vash knew this feeling, what it meant, but he didn’t have the space or the time to react.
He was laughing, struggling to shimmy away from Wolfwood and to push Meryl away from his stomach when with a sudden tingling feeling, small grey contour feathers and white downy feathers bloomed from his skin. They stuck up along his hairline, grew from his sideburns and the creases at the corners of his eyes, and even sprouted from the trail of hair along his stomach where Meryl’s face was unfortunately buried.
The feathers were supposed to be a defense mechanism, at least that’s what they normally were for Vash. Usually they grew in extreme times of stress or during a strenuous fight. The plumage he grew tended to be flight feathers, and in some serious cases- not just feathers would grow from his body, but painful wings would sprout from his back. But now? Soft downy and contour feathers, especially of this small quantity and careless placement? They could not offer protection, nor were they of use in a fight. Embarrassingly enough, Vash could only think of one reason for the bloom. His body must’ve been so relaxed, and he so happy - that it conjured a physical response.
The moment the bloom happened, the fervent teasing he was suffering ended. Wolfwood pulled his face from Vash’s neck to look at him curiously, Meryl sputtered and spit out feathers from her mouth as she sat up in Vash’s lap, and Milly was looking at him as if he was a double rainbow after a blessed and rare rainstorm. If Vash hadn’t been red in the face before, he sure as hell was now. They had seen him bloom once or twice in a fight, his feathers full and angry, but like this? So soft and vulnerable?
“What the-” Wolfwood began, but he paused before sneezing loudly. “What are-” He couldn’t get the words out, seemingly allergic to Vash’s plumage. “What the hell is that?” He finally managed, taking his arm from around Vash to cover his nose and to hopefully prevent any more sneezes.
“Vash!” Milly gasped. “You look like a baby chick!”
Meryl was frowning, trying to pick a small downy feather off of her tongue. “I feel like I just ate a baby chick,” She grumbled, finally removing the feather. She looked up at Vash, her eyes following the feathers that grew seamlessly from his skin. She blinked, “Wow.”
“It’s uh-” Somehow the way they were all looking at him now was more flustering than the initial teasing. “A plant thing…” He said vaguely.
“More like a chicken thing,” Wolfwood joked, his voice nasally from all the sneezing. He kept his arm over his mouth, but made no move to leave Vash’s side. With his free hand, he traced along the feathers that went down the side of Vash’s face. “These things’re soft…”
“We know it’s a plant thing,” Meryl huffed, but it was clear her annoyance was fake. She now sat in Vash’s lap. She put her hands on the side of his face, gently turning it to examine his feathers.
“They’re just different from your normal feathers!” Milly ran her fingers through Vash’s hair, her touch following the grain of the feathers as not to separate them. “Usually they’re big ‘n a little spikey. These ones are so soft and small.”
Pursing his lips, Vash tried to control himself. He felt like his body was vibrating in the most pleasant of ways. Each touch from the others was amplified on his skin, his feathers being particularly sensitive to their gentle and curious caresses. He opened his mouth, trying to find a feeble explanation for the bloom, but a small trilling noise- similar to that of a cat, left his mouth instead.
“The fuck was that?!” Wolfwood finally dropped his hand from over his mouth. Unlike Meryl, he roughly took a hold of Vash’s face and nearly snapped his neck as he forcibly turned his face. “How in the hell did you do that, spikey?” He asked, grinning. There was a look of pure astonishment on his face.
“It’s involuntary, alright!” Vash’s voice was high pitched and thoroughly embarrassed. “I don’t control it or the feathers!” As much as he enjoyed them doting on them, there was still a limit to how much he could withstand. How vulnerable he could allow himself to be before his foreign plant characteristics came in and made him feel self conscious. He knew the others cared for him, that they knew he was not human, but there was still so much about his nature that they didn’t know.
“Well, so is blushing!” Milly pointed out helpfully. “You do that, too! I wish I could sound like a cat when I’m happy… that would be so cool.”
Swatting away Wolfwood’s hands from Vash’s face, Meryl gently turned his face back towards hers. She reached up and gently took one of Vash’s feathers between her first finger and her thumb. She rubbed the small white feather between her fingers, her bright grey eyes not leaving Vash’s. “Is that what they mean?” She asked, a tender smile pulling at her lips. “That you’re happy?”
A lump that Vash found impossible to swallow grew in his throat. Meryl’s earnest and caring look made his mind go fuzzy. “Uh-” He nodded quickly. “I mean, I guess you could say that.” He nodded again, and rubbed the back of his neck. When was the last time he had bloomed like this? It didn’t happen when he was a kid… blooms only happened to mature plants. Had this ever happened before? “It’s not really-” He breathed, trying to find the right words. It was hard to speak, hard to think about the situation and word it into a way that made sense. Vash barely understood it himself, only going off the vague feeling his body was telling him. His brain couldn’t focus with how Meryl, Milly, and Wolfwood were all touching him, petting him. “I don’t think this has happened to me before. I’ve bloomed, but not like this.”
Giggling, Milly continued to pet the top of Vash’s head like he was nothing but a cat. “A bloom? Like a flower?” She asked, “That’s so cute! I like that.”
Vash couldn’t help how he leaned into Milly’s gentle touch. He swallowed hard and looked towards Wolfwood, he was the only one of them who had really seen one of his blooms up close, one of the ones that grew and sprouted from him in a time of danger. The soft way Wolfwood’s dark eyes raked over him, how his mouth was parted, it all made Vash ache so wonderfully.
If Wolfwood had not been afraid of Vash then, why would he be now?
“It’s nice to know it can happen when you feel good, too.” Wolfwood wiped his runny nose on his shirt sleeve. “Not jus’ when you're scared.”
Vash was scared, at least a little. Not scared of his bloom, but of how they’d react. It was something he couldn’t help, neither his fear nor his bloom was in his control. He knew they’d accept him, and not love him any less, but that pebble of doubt rolled inside his mind. He wasn’t like them, and a part of Vash wondered if one day they’d all just wake up and see how different he was from them or any other human, and pack up and leave.
Wolfwood kissed a feather blooming from the corner of Vash’s eye. He sniffled and shook his head as he held in a sneeze. “It’s always somethin’ new with ya, spikey.” He said fondly.
Vash felt warm. He was surrounded by the people who cared for him the most, and his body was more relaxed than it had ever been. His first joyous bloom… Vash wouldn't have wanted to spend it with anybody else. The feathers that bloomed from him were sensitive and soft, magnifying every feeling and every touch. It felt good. He felt good.
“Does this make up for the coffee and donuts?” Asked Vash, grinning softly.
Pulling back, Wolfwood looked at Vash for a moment. “Nah,” His eyes crinkled when he smiled. “‘Fraid not.” He kissed Vash’s cheek, lips moving softly over the feathers that sprouted from his skin. “We’re not done with you yet.”
Vash graciously accepted his punishment as the three pounced on him once more, now using his feathers to their advantage in their attacks. Milly’s hands wound through Vash’s hair, her nails scraping his scalp; Meryl, not keen to get another mouthful of feathers, now kissed at the underside of Vash’s neck and whatever skin peaked from his shirt from where she sat in his lap; and Wolfwood kissed all along Vash’s face and neck, even nibbling at the shell of his ear despite his apparent allergy to Vash’s bloom.
Vash had never felt more at peace.