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“Say that again.”
The guy sitting next to him turned around, tilting his head with confusion.
“Vash the Stampede defeated Knives and is now wanted by the Earth Federation and December government. What are you living under a rock? All of humanity almost got annihilated! The last thing we saw was Knives and Stampede flying away like some kind of weird angels.” He finished with glazed eyes, remembering the scene.
“So where are they now?” Wolfwood huffed, irritated.
The man snapped out of his thoughts and glared at him.
“How would I know? There’s a bounty on both of their heads now. We would know if they got captured right away!” he snapped and turned away from him.
Wolfwood leaned back in his chair with a sigh lighting a cigarette. It wasn’t going his way at all.
It’s been two weeks since he woke up in a small hut in the middle of nowhere. A pair of father and son found him in the desert a long way from the orphanage and nursed him back to health. The father, who turned out to be a doctor, told him that if they had found him just a little later, he would surely be dead. Wolfwood shook his head in disbelief. It was a miracle.
He was dead. How he returned, he had no idea. Hell, he didn’t even know how he ended up where the duo found him for god’s sake. Did he dig himself out from the grave like some kind of monster? He snorted. That would make an interesting picture, shame nobody saw that. Tongari would totally freak out…
He sighed again, taking a drag from the cigarette. Tongari… He wondered where he was now. Vash has been missing for the past six months, nobody knew if he had even survived the final battle. Wolfwood bit down on the filter. No. He was alive for sure. Vash wouldn’t go down like that… He would probably hide to lick his wounds like those two years ago. With this in mind, he turned to the bartender, who was wiping the counter.
“Say, is ship three still making rounds?”
“Nay, two months after the battle in Octovern they went off the grid again. Though the Earth Federation would probably be able to locate them if they tried.” the bartender shrugged. “Why? What does a young man like you want with these old geezers?”
Wolfwood cocked his eyebrow. What’s with the attitude?
“Just lost something. Thought that they might know where I can find it.” He said simply.
The bartender snorted.
“Fat chance they’re gonna tell ya. They kept to themselves for all those years, why change now?”
“Oh, I have my ways. And they probably had a reason to do that.” Wolfwood stood up, slung the Punisher on his back, and turned to leave.
The bartender murmured something behind him but he ignored him, heading out of the bar into the endless desert.
*
The next town he stopped at told him the same thing: Knives was defeated by Vash, both have a bounty on their head and their location is unknown. There have been no sightings of either in the past six months since that last battle. Wolfwood was starting to get frustrated. No one has seen the ship three either. Gone, just like the twins. As if they vanished from the surface of the planet.
As if he wasn’t getting annoyed enough, it seems that his traveling from town to town has raised suspicions among the people, who now became wary of him. This led to many confrontations, a few of them instigated by himself. Ungrateful bastards were badmouthing Vash what was he supposed to do? It was until he saw his face on a wanted poster a week later that he finally decided to stop asking and search for the reporter girls instead.
It was easier said than done, now he became hunted and the punisher on his back was not so difficult to miss, forcing him to take a few detours. By the time he was finally free, he realized that he wasn’t heading towards Octovern, where most probably the girls were at. He was going in the opposite direction. He cursed. No going back now, he just got rid of his endless tails. So he continued forward, letting fate decide.
*
“Whaddya know it actually worked.” He mumbled looking at the sandstorm moving through the desert in front of him. He urged the thoma to go faster chasing it. Once he was close enough he saw the outline of the ship inside the storm. The hatch opened at his approach and he quickly rode in coughing as the sand got in every place possible. Once he got rid of the sand in his eyes he saw Brad leaning on the wall, eyeing him suspiciously.
“Thought you were dead.” He grumbled instead of a welcome.
“You and me both,” He replied dismounting, shaking the sand off his clothes. He looked around the empty corridor and hesitated.
“Are you gonna just stand there?” Brad chuckled pushing off the wall and shook his hand with a crooked smile.
Wolfwood didn’t reply, taking the punisher from where it was strapped to the saddle. He relaxed a bit, once the familiar weight settled on his back. Then he asked quietly:
“How is he?”
Brad's smile faded, replaced by an unreadable expression.
“Come and see for yourself.” he said.
They walked in silence through the white corridors, their steps echoing far ahead. Wolfwood squeezed the punisher’s strap, knuckles turning white. Was Tongari really here? Was he okay? He left him to face Knives all on his own… From the gossip he heard along the way he faced Knives in the final battle and took some heavy beating… And then they took off god knows where. He had lost so much already and now he was hunted by the Earth people as well.
But this time Wolfwood is here. And he wasn’t going to leave Vash alone ever again.
As they reached the dormitory area Brad stopped and turned to Wolfwood with serious expression.
“Don’t agitate him too much. He’s been through a lot.” He said putting a hand on his shoulder. “Both of you.”
Wolfwood swallowed, suddenly feeling nervous, and nodded. Brad wished him luck and left towards the garden area, to where most probably Luida was, leaving Wolfwood alone. He took a long breath, wishing he could reach for the cigarette but he still remembered that the ship was no smoke zone. As if he needed a reminder after seeing all the warning signs on the way here, glaring at him at every turn. He steeled himself walking the path to where Vash’s room was and stopped before the door. He probably has heard him by now, damn his keen senses. Even if he had time to think of what to say he still wouldn’t come up with anything. He was never good with words. Thinking that he put his hand on the scanner and the door slid open with a hiss.
***
The battle was over. His brother was gone, leaving behind him a single apple tree, a peace offering for humans. Vash was not sure what to do now. He was alone, his one and only brother left before him, to a place he could not follow. Not now at least.
He woke up after the battle on ship three, surrounded by sobbing Luida, Meryl, Millie, and Brad. After almost suffocating him with hugs and threats to never do that again they told him what happened in the aftermath.
The Earth established a federation on No Man’s Land to aid the humans that were stranded here and to help them rebuild. The bounty on Vash’s head was back, and they added one for Nai too. They hesitated when Vash asked about Nai but he insisted that he needed to know and they told him how he dragged him through the desert, begging them to save his brother and then leaving before he woke up. Meryl caught him as he was leaving, planting an apple tree in the ship’s garden. And then he simply vanished.
They left a while after that leaving Vash alone with his thoughts. He wasn’t sure what to do now that after over a century, he was finally free. It didn’t feel like freedom. He felt suffocated knowing that he was alone, despite knowing that within the Federacy there were other independents like him. No, he was alone, his twin, half of him was gone. He thought that he would feel relief, that he’d be happy once Nai was dealt with. He thought that he could save him, but he failed after all. They were just too different. He knew there was no other way. Nai could never live alongside humans, even if he relented in the end, offering the last of his powers to grow that tree for them. He brought about too much destruction and he would never be forgiven. But even so, knowing that he’s gone brought terrifying emptiness in Vash’s chest, the link they had was severed after Nai disappeared, falling silent forever. Call him naive, but he never expected that he would leave like that. Leave him behind on his own…
He snapped from his reverie when he heard the hiss of the door. It was Luida, carrying a tray with bandages, walking towards him. She smiled softly, setting the tray down on the table, and sat down next to him.
“How are you feeling?” She asked, taking hold of his flesh hand, her hands were warm and soft, bringing comfort.
“Much better now.” He replied with a small smile.
They talked while Luida carefully redressed his wounds. After she was done she settled next to him again.
“You know when I was examining you, besides your wounds… I found something else.” She started hesitating, her look turning serious.
Vash froze, a fake smile plastered on his lips.
She knew.
“I know we told you to be careful, and… I know you might not want to talk about it, but… you fought Knives? In this state? Do you know just how dangerous that was?” She took a deep breath as if she was getting ready for a lecture.
“I’m okay though. Really!” He quickly assured her. “See?” He held out his hands to show her that he was perfectly fine. It didn’t work, only earning him Luida’s disapproving look. She sighed, rubbing a finger between her eyebrows.
“I know you’re strong but this is too much. You almost had a miscarriage. I couldn’t bear the thought of you-” She trailed off, looking at him with sadness. “It’s his , isn’t it?”
Vash didn’t meet her eyes, looking down at his hands. He nodded silently, not daring to raise his head. It was too much. He never even imagined that he would be blessed like that. If only he was here to hear that… How would he react? Would he be shocked? Terrified? Happy? He might’ve thought that Vash is a monster being able to bear children like that. But he might have been thrilled at the news. But before Vash could tell him he was already gone, protecting what he cherished the most.
“Smile Spikey. You look better when you do.”
He bit down on his lip, fighting the tears that were threatening to spill from his eyes. He felt Luida squeeze his hand.
“It’s okay, it’s okay Vash. We’re here for you. We’ll always be here for you.” He could hear a smile in her gentle voice. Fighting back a sob he surged to hug her. She yelped at the sudden movement but returned the hug with a small laugh.
“You have to be more careful! From now on you’re staying here, no fighting, training, or fights to the death. And not for my sake.” She waved her finger before his face as he pulled back to protest. “For the little one. Promise?”
He sighed heavily, leaning his head on her shoulder.
“I promise.” He whispered, feeling the tears run down his face.
He quickly recovered from his wounds and was up and about in no time. Since he was forbidden from leaving the ship he tried to make himself useful trying to help with the repairs on the ship, only earning himself an earful from Luida. The girls left not long after, going back to their work. He didn’t tell them, although he had suspicions that they knew, as they didn’t even mention the interview, or the constant surveillance he was supposed to be under. He was grateful for that. They would buy him the time he desperately needed. The ship felt empty after they left, with him Luida and Brad there was not much to do. He wandered through the garden, sometimes napping under the apple tree. He still helped with plant maintenance, although no healing was allowed.
Luida guided him through all the things he should know about pregnancy. Although he was a special case, as he was an independent plant, there was no way of knowing just how the whole process would look like for him. All they had was the old data uncovered from the fleet, though there was barely any mention of independents there, much less the possibility of them conceiving.
“Since your DNA is very similar to humans I think the process will be mostly the same.” She explained tapping at the tablet she was holding. “However it might be much faster than a human pregnancy based on how you and Nai grew so fast. Assuming that you’re about one month in, and the size of the fetus, I’d give you about five months from now. But that’s just my theory, you’ll have to tell us whenever anything feels off, alright?”
Vash looked at the ultrasound picture she handed him a few minutes before. It was such a strange feeling to actually see it. He was overwhelmed by emotions he couldn’t name. Was it excitement? Fear? Anticipation? Happiness? He felt a hand squeeze his shoulder and looked up to see Luida smiling reassuringly.
“It will be okay sweetheart. You’re both very strong and healthy.” She said ruffling up his hair. He chuckled, leaning towards her.
“I know but it’s all so new… I never thought I would be able to do that. To have that.” He sighed as Luida stroked his dark hair, fussing it up even more.
“You sound just like an expectant mother would.” She giggled when he shot her a disapproving look. “I told you, we will be right there with you to help.”
“Thanks, Luida.”
The next few months flew past so fast, too fast. Much to Vash’s dread the day Luida calculated for him was no longer than a week away. He thought that by that time he would be so big that it would be difficult to move but surprisingly he almost didn’t show at all. A loose t-shirt was enough to cover his belly, someone who didn’t know wouldn’t even notice. At most, they might have assumed that he put on weight. Which wasn’t too fun to think about. Luida taught him what he should expect although she emphasized that it might be different in his case, she still believed that this knowledge was valuable all the same. It didn’t help to soothe Vash’s anxiety, even if he tried to tell himself that he’s been through worse, that he could take it. There was just too much at stake.
As he was thinking that, he heard a hiss of the door opening. It was probably Luida, wanting to check on him again. He didn’t turn around letting himself stare away at the raging storm outside that reflected what was happening in his heart.
They stood in silence for quite a while. Finally, growing restless Vash spoke:
“Luida? What’s up with-” He finally turned his head and looked towards the door and froze.
It was him. Leaning against the doorframe looking at him with the same shock written on his face. Vash rubbed his eyes. Has he finally lost it? Was he so anxious that he started hallucinating all of a sudden? But no, he was still there now wearing a soft expression, softer than ever before.
“You…” he whispered. “How?”
“I don’t know.” Wolfwood shrugged, his smile turning sheepish as he scratched the back of his head.
He took a good look at Vash. He was wearing a loose t-shirt and sweatpants, his hair was not spiky as he usually styled them, falling to his forehead. Much like he wore it before July. Only now, his hair was completely black, not a sign of the blond he was used to.
“What happened to your hair?” he asked.
Vash’s hand flew to his hair threading through them self-consciously. “I uh… exerted myself a bit too much.” He said quietly, not looking at him.
Wolfwood took a step towards him.
“Vash, look at me.”
He didn’t. His eyes remained glued to the floor.
Stubborn Blondie. Wolfwood thought, approaching him.
“Vash,” Wolfwood repeated now standing before him. He flinched, his shoulders shaking, he slowly looked up, his eyes welling up with tears.
“I thought you were dead.” He said barely in a whisper. The tears ran down his cheeks as he took a deep breath. “I-I buried you with my own two hands so how…”
“Whoa, hey it’s okay Tongari.” He didn’t expect such a reaction. Few shocked looks and a tear maybe, but Vash looked as if he was going to crumble right there before him, sobs wrecking through him. He was used to Vash hiding his hurts from him, giving him that same fake smile that he hated. His sudden openness surprised him. He pulled Vash in for a tight hug.
“What matters is that I’m here, I’m alive, see? Nice and warm.”
Vash laughed through tears, they just wouldn’t stop flowing. Wolfwood was alive! Right there, before him! It felt like a miracle, an impossible miracle. Maybe after all there was a god who listened? He sighed slightly, pulling back to look at him.
“How did you know where to find me?” He asked bewildered.
“Well for starters, you have a huge bounty on your head so you’d be stupid to not lay low for a while and second, I had a feeling that you might be here. Although I didn’t expect you to stay in one place for so long. Did something happen?
Vash froze. How was he going to answer that? He never had to worry about telling Wolfwood because he thought he was gone… How the hell will he tell him that now?! He was fully prepared to deal with everything alone and still was, but knowing that he has to tell him only fueled his anxiety even more. He panicked. What if Wolfwood doesn’t want it? He literally came back from the dead, why would he want another burden to weigh him down? What if he thinks that he’s disgusting? He knew better than that. Wolfwood has proved more than once that he doesn’t mind that he’s different. But now his question sent him into a spiral and he couldn’t get those thoughts out of his head.
“Spikey?” he could hear worry in Wolfwood’s voice.
He has to say it. Just like ripping off a bandaid. Just do it.
As he was opening his mouth to speak a sudden lance of pain shot through him, making his knees buckle.
“Vash! What’s wrong?” Wolfwood was panicking now, not knowing what was going on, he caught him before he collapsed.
Vash groaned as he pushed up from his hold. “I need… to get Luida.” He wheezed now noticing where the pain came from.
It seems like the baby had plans of its own.
“What? Why? Tell me what’s happening-” Wolfwood was confused.
What the hell is going on? One moment he’s fine and the second he collapses, writhing in pain. Something was very wrong.
Vash struggled to reach the table and pressed a button on the intercom.
“I need to get to the medical ward. Now.” He struggled to stand up, only to collapse right back into Wolfwood’s arms. Was it supposed to hurt like that? Luida said it came in waves, not in constant, white-hot searing pain ripping up his abdomen. He glanced down just to see red stains appearing on his pants.
Shit. He thought as the pain overwhelmed him.
“Vash? Vash! Hey! Talk to me!” Wolfwood saw Vash look down with a panicked expression and he looked down as well. There were bloodstains on his pants expanding rapidly. He cursed. No time to talk now. He gently lifted Vash in a princess carry and rushed to the medical ward, almost stumbling into angry Brad in the hallway.
“I told you not to agitate him! What did you do?” He barked, running alongside them.
“I just talked to him! What the hell is wrong with him?” He shouted rounding up at the corner, the medical ward in sight.
“...It’s best if Luida explains it.”, Brad replied slapping his hand at the panel, opening the door to the medical ward.
Luida was already there in one of the side rooms. It was a wide space with a pool filled with water. It almost reminded him of the cases that plants were contained in. What is all of this for?
“Put him here.” Luida pointed at the hospital bed next to the pool.
Wolfwood tightened his hold on Vash. “What’s wrong with him?”
“I swear we will explain everything but-”
“No! Tell me now! What are you hiding?!” He stepped back.
It was ridiculous of him to get angry. He knew that. Vash needed help and those two were the only two people on the whole planet that he would let see him being vulnerable. He could trust them. But something felt very, very wrong. He felt sick with worry for Vash and whatever was hurting him was bad enough to knock him out as soon as he lifted him up. He felt frustrated and helpless. Can't they ever catch a breath?
“Please, just tell me.” He pleaded, his voice breaking.
Before Luida could say anything Vash groaned again, opening his eyes. Everyone instantly focused on him.
“It hurts…” He whined, writhing in Wolfwood’s grasp. Unable to hold him, he let him down and sank to his knees as Vash curled up on the floor gasping his back arching. White petals sprouted from his back glowing with blue patterns, much like the ones of his sisters. They spread out as if they had a will of their own, trembling with pain.
“Don’t just sit there! Get him here! We need to examine him quickly!” Luida urged him as she tapped away at the screens attached to the bed.
Wolfwood snapped out of his daze and scooped Vash again to lay him down on the bed. He was soaked with sweat, letting out shallow breaths, his eyes closed. Luida clasped a small device on his finger and looked at her tablet. Whatever she saw could not be good as she paled.
“We don’t have much time. It’s going much faster than I expected. We need to move him to the pool.”
“Why? What’s wrong with him?” Wolfwood asked, picking Vash up again, minding the wings that were flaring up with every touch.
Luida took a deep breath and looked at him with a serious expression.
“He’s going into labor.”
What?
“What?” He asked shocked, looking at her, then at Vash, sure enough, now that he looked carefully he could see the roundness of his stomach, which could easily be dismissed as a weight gain. “How is this possible?”
“You should know. It’s yours,” said Brad, dragging both of them towards the pool.
He almost dropped Vash at his words. “I-HUH?” He asked, stunned. This was too much at once. He knew Vash was different from humans. Hell, he slept with him, so of course he knew that! Vash never said anything about them needing a protection, so he assumed they didn’t need any. He never expected that he could actually…
A strange feeling bubbled in his chest as he put his hand on Vash's stomach. He felt a smile pull at his lips.
But then Vash whimpered, and Wolfwood shook his head. Now is not the right time for this.
They lowered Vash into the water, his expression slightly easing, as if it soothed the pain. He turned to grasp at the pool’s edge, his expression tight. Wolfwood covered his hand with his.
“Hey, it’s okay. I’m here. It’s gonna be okay.” He murmured, brushing out the hair from his forehead. Vash grabbed his hand. Wolfwood murmured soothing words to him while Luida and Brad ran around them, preparing the equipment.
Wolfwood leaned in, rubbing soothing circles on Vash’s knuckles as the other whimpered, his grasp turning skin white. He was in so much pain. Wolfwood wished that he could take that pain from him. He didn’t deserve to suffer like that, and it was all Wolfwood’s fault.
“Why didn’t you tell me back then?” He asked quietly, not expecting an answer. But then Vash looked at him with teary eyes.
“I’m sorry…” He wheezed, squeezing his hand so hard that Wolfwood could hear his bones creak. He didn’t even flinch, listening to what the other had to say.
“I thought you were dying… You were dying! What was I supposed to do? Say that I love you? That I want to spend my tomorrows with you? Beg not to leave me? You know that I couldn’t! I wanted you to rest with no regrets-” He broke off with a sob, curling up as the pain took him over again, his wings flaring out, splashing water around the room.
Wolfwood looked at him, too stunned stunned to speak. And Vash continued:
“I didn’t want you to feel burdened…" he choked out when the pain eased up just a bit.
It was much worse than Luida had described it. Now that he was in the pool the pain eased somehow, coming in waves just as he was told but it was still much more intense than he expected. He’s been through worse? Maybe, but he’d be damned if he said that it hurt as much as this!
Suddenly he felt Wolfwood shift against him, moving away. He grasped at his shirt with a panicked noise.
“Relax, Angel I’m not going anywhere.” Wolfwood chuckled as he slipped into the pool beside him.
Now was not the time for this. They could yell at each other later. He could see Luida’s worried face from the corner of his eye and Brad scowling from behind the monitors. He sighed and leaned towards Vash, who was grasping at the pool’s edge with his cybernetic hand, the surface bending under his fingers.
"Wolfwood, I-"
“Shh, don’t talk anymore.” He gently untangled his fingers from the edge of the pool before he broke it any further. “We can talk about this later… Right now, I need you to stay focused, can you do that for me?” He asked, petting his hair.
Vash took a deep breath leaning to rest his head against Wolfwood's chest.
“Okay…”
"Good boy." He praised him and looked at Luida, who approached them. "What now?"
She examined Vash quickly and checked the device on his hand which, miraculously, was still intact.
"I think he's ready to start pushing now." She said incredulously. "It's happening so fast…"
Something about her expression sent off alarms in his head. It wasn't going the way they expected it and Vash was suffering so much…
It’s not as if he hadn’t seen a person in labor before. He happened to help when there was a nameless woman who stumbled into the orphanage halfway into labor. But it was so much different than this. There was a sense of urgency but the woman wasn't suffering as much as Vash. She talked with Melanie in between the contractions that came and went.
But this? This isn't how it should be at all! Even if Vash was different from humans something was going terribly wrong.
"There's more isn't there?" He asked, his throat dry. "What else are you not telling me?"
Luida bit her lip looking at Vash curled up in his embrace shivering. “He’s used up all of his power fighting Knives. It was a miracle that he survived. You see his hair, it’s all black.” she whispered, kneeling at the edge of the pool, soothing the sweaty spikes away from Vash’s forehead. “Knives begged us to save him, and undoubtedly had a hand in his recovery too… We knew that this might be too much for him, but Vash insisted that he wanted to give birth. Even if-” She couldn’t bear to finish as if saying it at loud would seal his fate.
“Jesus, Vash'' Wolfwood felt a wave of fear threatening to drown him. Was he going to die like this? After all the shit that he had to go through? Not getting to see their child grow up? This was too messed up.
“You had to deal with all of this alone?” He looked at Vash who had his eyes closed, focused on breathing. “I never should have left.”
Vash snorted weakly. “As if you had a choice… apology accepted…” He opened his eyes, the markings shining through with pale red just like the ones that started spreading on his skin. “It’s okay, I want this child to have a chance… To live freely…” He coughed.
“Vash!” Wolfwood and Luida exchanged panicked expressions.
“I already said it’s okay.” He chuckled weakly. “Just, please… help me bring it safely to this world.” He pleaded with a genuine smile.
Wolfwood felt his heart sink, tears stinging at the corner of his eyes. He took a deep breath. Damn, this self-sacrificial fool.
“I’m so gonna yell at you later.” He threatened weakly.
Luida guided Vash through the rest of the labor. It didn’t take too long for them to finally hear a cry ringing out in the room. Vash slumped against Wolfwood, breathing heavily. His plant markings were deep red now, blood dripping from his nose. He struggled to turn around to see.
“It’s a girl,” Luida said happily, tears in her eyes as she cradled the newborn in her arms.
“Let me… let me hold her.” Vash coughed, leaving blood stains on Wolfwood's shirt. Wolfwood tried his best not to panic as he helped him turn towards Luida who handed him the child. The kid had black hair, Wolfwood noted anxiously.
“Hi there,” Vash said weakly, smiling brighter than Wolfwood has ever seen. “Happy birthday, Rem.” He said bringing her close to his chest tears running down his cheeks.
Just as the baby touched Vash’s chest both of their plant markings glared with bright light, one red one pale blue, almost white, blinding them all. Wolfwood closed his eyes, tightening his grasp on Vash who was burning up rapidly.
“Vash!!”
“Amazing…” He heard Luida’s amazed voice. “She’s healing him!”
“She’s what?”
The glow died down and they could see the pair again. Their markings were fading quickly, Vash’s turning back to the pale blue, his breaths steadying. He floated in Wolfwood arms, fast asleep, clinging to the newborn on his chest.
“I swear you both are impossible.” He said finally letting his tears run as he held them close to himself, pressing a kiss on the crown of Vash’s head. “Thank you, you did such a great job, my Angel.”
The rest of the day was a blur, Wolfwood didn’t remember when they got out of the pool, Luida examining both Vash and Rem, helping her bathe them, and then ushering them to another room in the medical ward. The only thing he registered was the touch of his head on the pillow and the warm presence next to him on the bed as he passed out.
***
When Vash finally opened his eyes he noticed three things:
One, he was still in the medical ward. Two, he wasn’t dead. And three, Wolfwood was lying right next to him, dozing off, with the child asleeping on his chest. He smiled brightly. They looked so cute. He turned to his side, running his hand through Wolfwood’s hair. It seemed like Rem got them from him. He was glad that she didn’t inherit his blonde locks. She could easily pass as a human like this.
Wolfwood sighed under his touch and opened his eyes.
“Hi.” He smiled sleepily.
Vash grinned at him.
“Hi. Had a good nap?” he chirped, resting his chin on his flesh hand.
“I should be asking you that,” Wolfwood replied, raising his eyebrow. Vash’s smile faded and bit his lip looking away.
“Wolfwood, I’m sorry. I-” He started but he was stopped by a hand on his lips.
“I know why you did this. But now that I’m here, promise me: don’t shut me out, please talk to me. You deserve to live and see our child grow up, happy.” Wolfwood grasped his chin, forcing him to look him in the eyes. “I can’t do this without you. Okay?”
Lips trembling Vash whispered: “Yes, I promise.”
“Good, now I would like to kiss you but there’s a certain someone who’s been keeping me pinned to this bed for over a week, refusing to budge. Sounds familiar?” He grumbled, with a wide grin.
Vash snorted and scooted closer to them. “She’s beautiful isn’t she?”
“She has black hair,” Wolfwood noted hesitatingly.
“She got them from you.” he smiled, running his hand through his hair again. “Don’t worry she’s strong. She has her own gate after all.”
Vash sighed looking at Rem. He could already tell that she’s grown a lot during this week, she didn’t look like she was a week old. She looked a month old at least. He then felt a hand caress his cheek and turned towards Wolfwood.
“She won’t have to use it.” He said seriously. Vash melted into his touch with a nod.
Deciding to risk an outraged cry, Wolfwood turned towards Vash, laying Rem between them on the sheets. She stirred a bit and quickly settled again with a small huff. Vash cooed.
“She’s so cute!”
“Uh huh, very.” Wolfwood looked at Vash playing with her small feet, pressing them against his face, giggling. Seeing him so happy made his chest feel warm.
“I love you.” He said softly.
Vash’s head snapped up instantly looking at him with wide eyes. Then he blushed fiercely and pulled him closer, minding the child sleeping between them.
“I love you too.” He said closing the distance between them and kissing him sweetly.
He felt a strange sense of peace, belonging. He always dreamed about this but never thought that it would be possible. To have a family. To try and have a normal life in this godforsaken land.
He just might start believing that he actually can.