Trigun Fan Fiction ❯ Guided Steps ❯ Home is Where You're Loved ( Chapter 7 )

There's a minor, teensy weensy spoiler for future manga volumes in this chappie, and there will be more later in the story (I'll warn you). I would've waited until the series is done, but it looks like Dark Horse is taking their sweet time releasing the last three volumes (December for Vol. 13!!!). But you probably won't recognize the spoiler moments unless you've read the whole thing anyway, and obviously things are gonna end up way different from the manga here so I decided to go ahead and post. Sooo… Enough jabber. Read!

 

 

~*~

Wolfwood skidded the bike to a stop, forcing Vash to drop his donuts and hang on tight to keep his seat. “Did you really have to leave that much money back at the house?”

 

Vash leaped out of the sidecar, shrieking to see his precious pilfered donuts littering the dusty ground. He knelt beside them, crossed himself and put his hands together to say a prayer for their dearly departed souls. He snickered to himself to hear the sound of Wolfwood's teeth grinding together behind him. God help him, he just loved irritating the man.

 

He schooled his features into a scolding expression with a little difficulty and turned back to him. “Nick, you scared the family off and we basically used their house as a rest stop and supply station. And the less said about what we did to their sheets, the better. I had to leave them something for their troubles!”

 

“Then why the hell did you leave them my money instead of yours?! I don't feel bad about it at all! And while I'm asking good questions, why do we hafta go back to December City, anyway?”

 

“To meet up with the girls, I told you!”

 

“Fine,” Wolfwood growled. “But I'm fucking tired of driving! I need a break!”

 

“If you're tired, I can finish up,” Vash offered. He forced himself to ignore Wolfwood's purely skeptical glare. “No, really! It's nice, flat ground between here and there; I should be able to pull it off. I only get into trouble when there's sand! Or rocks. Or steam jets. Or…”

 

“Okay, I get the point. Have it your way.”

 

Wolfwood gave up his place in the driver's seat and braced himself in the sidecar, hanging on tight and waiting to be thrown. Even though it was a bit of a shaky start, Vash managed to keep them steady once he got started. “See?” he grinned. “Nothing to worry about!”

 

“Just keep your eyes on the road, Tongari.” He kicked back as much as he could in the cramped seat and drifted off.

 

He opened his eyes hours later on the bright blue of the afternoon sky. The first thing he noticed was that the bike wasn't moving anymore. The second thing he noticed was a lack of any big city sounds or smells. “We're here!” Vash chirped happily from somewhere beside him.

 

“`Here' where?” he sighed.

 

He just about jumped out of his skin when Livio's face popped into his field of vision. “Here home!”

 

“Home…?” He leaped out of the sidecar as fast as his cramped muscles would allow, only to find himself already inside the short wood fence around the grounds. `December, my ass. He knew he was gonna bring me here from the start. He lied, he fucking lied.' A cold lump of dread made itself at home in his gut, overriding the anger he felt. “I can't be here,” he said lowly.

 

He then noticed that both Vash and Livio had moved to keep themselves strategically placed between Wolfwood and the bike. “Sorry. I promised Melanie I'd bring you home when I found you. I'd rather deal with you angry than her.”

 

“Besides,” Livio added helpfully, “everybody already knows you're here.”

 

His spine stiffened at the sound of the children already starting to run out of the building, shouting and throwing confetti. The scraps of paper drifted toward them in the wind and a large white square of the stuff landed in his hair. Wolfwood jolted as if he'd been shot. “It was enough for me to know I could come back if I ever wanted to, and you know it. I'm not ready for this, damn you.”

 

Vash walked over and plucked out the stray paper, his blue eyes infuriatingly gentle and understanding. “You never would have been ready, would you? You need this, trust me. I know you.”

 

Stony silence was enough of an answer. “Turn around or you'll miss your own `welcome home' party.” Wolfwood reached a shaky hand into his jacket to fish out his sunglasses, and Vash plucked them away before he could get them on. The look he received for that told him Wolfwood was beyond pissed off; things would most likely have deteriorated into violence if the children weren't around. “Let them see you. It's okay.”

 

“You're not really giving me a choice, are you?” Wolfwood bit out. He swallowed hard and turned around to face the small crowd of eager children and caretakers. He smiled widely and called each of them by name, standing rigid as they told him how much they missed their big brother.

 

Finally one little girl raised her arms for him to pick her up and he lost the ability to maintain the smile. When he didn't move, she looked crestfallen. “What's wrong, Nico-nii? Didn't you miss us too?”

 

Wolfwood kept running his fingers over his palms as if feeling for something. Vash grimaced. He remembered the times Wolfwood had held his hands up to the sky when he thought no one was watching, staring sadly at his palms and it made sense now. `Too much blood… Too much blood on his hands to touch the children.'

 

“He's gonna lose it in a minute,” Livio whispered to him. “Same thing nearly happened to me.”

 

Vash nodded in agreement. Then he stepped forward and very casually gave Wolfwood a hard kick right in the rear. He toppled over and fell to the ground with a startled yelp. The children took the chance to pounce on him joyfully. Soon all Vash and Livio could see was a tangled mass of flailing limbs and laughing faces.

 

The day wore on like nothing had changed after that. The children dragged Wolfwood off for a full debriefing of all the places he'd been, all the cool things he'd seen. They didn't care about where he'd been or what he'd been doing; they were only happy to have him back home again. They'd only been told that he'd been working to protect them, same as Livio. The only mentions of how much older he looked came from the boys who kept trying to convince him to hook them up with some beer and cigarettes. Vash and Livio kept their distance for the most part, letting the children's love and attention drain some of the anxiety out of him.

 

Only Melanie remained conspicuous by her absence. The longer Wolfwood waited for her to show up, the more it ate away at him. Finally he couldn't take it anymore and slipped away to go to her room while everyone was having dinner. As he topped the stairs of the living quarters a familiar step at his side told him he'd been noticed.

 

“Worrying about nothing is my job. Telling me I'm stupid for worrying is your job. If we're going to switch roles like this, you should warn me ahead of time.”

 

“It's not worrying about nothing. She didn't come see me `cause she doesn't want me here Tongari, and she's right. I shouldn't be here. I've spent a long time killing people. The kids deserve better than to be around somebody like that.”

 

Wolfwood stopped in front of a closed door at the end of the hallway. He stared at it as if his own death awaited him on the other side. “You're being stupid,” Vash sighed. “She cares about you more than you know.”

 

It was clear by the way his mouth tightened into a grim line that Wolfwood didn't believe a word Vash was saying. He gave a small knock on the door, and moved to the handle when there was no answer.

 

“Believe what you want Tongari. Just don't get too comfortable here; we're gonna have to leave soon.”

 

He closed the door after him, and Vash leaned against the wall next to it with a small smile. The walls were fairly thin and eavesdropping would be simple. He wasn't about to miss the chance to see Nicholas D. Wolfwood proven totally and undeniably wrong.

 

 

~*~

Melanie stood stiffly at the window facing away from him. She hadn't donned her well-worn apron or red kerchief around her dark brown hair, and the loose curls hung down past her shoulders. She so rarely went without them she looked almost like a stranger from the back. `I guess that's fair. I look like a stranger to her now, too.'

 

“Melanie?”

 

Her shoulders tightened and she still didn't turn to face him. “Why?” she asked in a steely, quiet voice.

 

Wolfwood's lips twisted into a bitter smile. `Why did I come back here. I should've known it was too good to be true.' “I'm sorry. This was all Vash's idea; for some reason he thought you wanted me to come back. I'll head out in the morning.”

 

“No!” She whirled on him angrily, more angry than he'd ever seen her. “Don't you dare leave again! I want to know why you didn't come home before now!”

 

He answered her haltingly, not wanting to tell her the truth but unable to lie to her. “I tried once, in the beginning. It… didn't go well. Then they made me go from kid to adult in a year's time. I couldn't explain how different I look without explaining how I got that way.”

 

“Oh, you don't look any different,” Melanie said stubbornly. “If you hadn't had those damned shades on the night you brought Livio back I would've recognized you in a heartbeat!”

 

“That's not the point. Even if I'd made it back here to warn you, you might've all been killed. And besides, I don't just look different. I am different. If you knew what I've been doing you'd kick me out on my ass and tell me never to come back.”

 

“You told Livio to tell me everything, remember? You must've forgotten how well he follows your orders.”

 

His eyes went wide. “You know…?”

 

“You mean the part about you working as an assassin? Killing people? Yeah, I know. But you have to know that's not really news to me, Nicholas. You had a gun in your hand when I found you curled up in that alley years ago covered in blood that mostly wasn't yours. I knew you had killed when I brought you here.”

 

Wolfwood flinched. It was a taboo subject neither one of them ever mentioned, finally broken. “So why did you bring me here anyway, knowing that? I could've been dangerous to everyone here.”

 

“I knew you weren't dangerous. The state you were in you probably don't remember this, but you looked up at me. You looked at me like you'd seen too much and just couldn't take it anymore, and you wanted me to leave you there to die. All I wanted in that moment was to give you a reason to keep going, to show you that there was some good left in the world. So when you passed out again I bundled you up and brought you here. Your eyes were gentle and good then, and they still are. You have never given me reason to doubt your heart.” She finally took a step toward him. “I care for every single child that comes through here, you know that. But you're different.”

 

“What are you saying…?”

 

“Nicholas, you couldn't be more my son if I'd birthed you myself.”

 

“Stop right there,” Wolfwood snapped. “It's a nice sentiment but parents don't last long around me. I don't have a mother because I killed her coming into this world. My father died protecting me when I was five. If you're not careful I'll get you killed too.”

 

She snorted. “You didn't kill your mother, Nicholas. There weren't any respectable doctors around these parts until recently. Women died during childbirth all the time. She knew the risks, and she didn't end her pregnancy because she loved you, and I'm sure your father felt the same way. Any parent who loves their child is willing to die to protect them. When that man came for you… If I'd known who he really was, I would have died to stop him from taking you away, and been happy to do it.”

 

He looked like he couldn't comprehend what she was saying and she shook her head sadly, walking up to stand less than a foot away from him. He was more than a head taller than her and she felt an ache in her heart. The last time she'd been this close to him, he'd been even shorter than her small stature. “I should've hugged you more when you were shorter than me,” she sighed wistfully. “I just thought I'd have more time. Here I was waiting for you to come back and tell me how well your life was going, and you were spending those years being torn apart to save us.”

 

Wolfwood blinked at her slowly, trying to kill the small spark of hope that was attempting to grow in him. “Wait, so… You're not… kicking me out?”

 

She couldn't help the small smile. “Well, some things never change. You're still a stubborn, inflexible brat. Nicholas, you're back with your family now, and it looks like you've finally found someone who understands you. I have no intention of letting you leave home again until you're put back together. Now will you please get down here so I can greet you properly?”

 

He slipped down to the floor on wobbly legs and she followed him down, wrapping him in both a hug and a feeling he'd thought lost to him.

 

“Welcome home, son,” she whispered. “I love you.”

 

He laughed and it sounded almost like a sob. “Dad… told me that right before he died. No one's told me since.”

 

“Well, I'm glad I got the honor.”

 

In the quiet hallway, Vash's happiness was tempered by regret. His own fears had kept him from being the first one to tell Wolfwood what he'd needed to hear. He turned to go. He hesitated, then walked away with a small smile and a step just heavy enough to be caught by Wolfwood's enhanced hearing: a gentle `I told you so' that he couldn't resist.

 

 

~*~

Vash crept quietly through the room full of sleeping children, careful not to wake any of them up. He grimaced, slightly annoyed by the communal sleeping arrangements. It was probably for the best though, as the mere idea that Wolfwood would be out of their sight for even a minute had been met by violent resistance from the children. (Vash would personally never forgive whoever had taught the unruly group how to hog-tie two grown men). He glanced at the empty bed in the corner on his way out of the room. Wolfwood hadn't returned to his own bed this night, adding to the strangeness of his current situation.

 

He moved silently through the building and out the kitchen doors, emerging into the moonlit night. He wished he'd had time to talk to Wolfwood… well, that and a whole lot more, but things weren't quite working out the way he'd like.

 

Wolfwood surely needed some space to deal with his life being completely turned upside down in a short stretch of time. Getting close to him weakened Vash's resolve so he'd had to force himself to keep his distance when it was the last thing he wanted. It had only taken one time with Wolfwood to get him well and truly addicted. When he was anywhere near the other man all of his senses were drawn to him; it had quite literally been the hardest week of his life. He figured that the children would have gotten several early lessons on sex education by now if he hadn't been working so hard to avoid the man.

 

Vash hadn't bothered to put on his boots and his bare feet hardly sounded in the dirt. He enjoyed the luxury of walking around outside barefoot without getting his feet scalded.

 

He approached his goal with a growing apprehension. Wolfwood had been happy since his talk with Melanie, easily throwing himself right back into daily life at home. But for the past couple of days, Vash would catch him staring on the few occasions they ended up in the same areas, dark eyes unreadable. When Vash would blink, Wolfwood would be back at whatever he was doing, with no sign that anything out of the ordinary had happened. But something was definitely stirring, and that was why he was out here tonight.

 

Vash peeked into the window beside the door before entering the dark room warily, fingers tightening on the cryptic note that had been left on his pillow earlier that night.

 

Midnight. Storage room.

 

His eyes flickered quickly around the room, looking for a light. He found none, but there was enough light coming in the windows to see around him. He took in the contents of the large, detached shed that served as a storage room. Along with several boxes, a couple of extra desks and chairs were stacked against one wall, and three spare beds were shoved together against the opposite wall. Thankfully the room was kept clean; dust always made his nose itch.

 

“Nick?” he whispered. He jumped a little when the door clicked shut behind him, the note hitting the floor. He turned to find Wolfwood leaning not-so-casually against the door, moonlight illuminating only the left side of his body and leaving the rest in eerie shadow. “Ah, you scared me!” he stuttered, nervously scratching the back of his head. “What's with all the secrecy?”

 

“Did I ever tell you why I started smoking in the first place, Tongari?”

 

Vash gulped at that particular offhanded tone. He only used it cover something serious. “No. That why you called me here? Just to tell me a bedtime story?”

 

“The first time the Eye of Michael sent me out on my own, I tried to get laid. Twice actually.”

 

Vash asked, “So what happened?” though he had a pretty good idea.

 

“Couldn't control my new strength,” Wolfwood confirmed. “Almost broke the poor girl's arm. Got a little farther the second time though. He was a lot stronger than she was.”

 

“He?” Vash repeated darkly, feeling an unaccustomed spike of jealousy.

 

“Yup. Freaked me out so bad I started smoking a lot. Took the edge off being horny all the time.”

 

“…Oh,” was all Vash could manage.

 

Wolfwood pushed off the wall and started stalking toward him slowly, hands casually tucked into the pockets of his jeans. “So now I got a problem. See, all my smokes keep disappearing, and you haven't touched me since we got here a week ago.”

 

“Ah, that. See, being home and all after so long, I thought you'd want some space so you could-”

 

“Well, you were wrong.” He eyed the loose sweats Vash liked to sleep in. “You wanna keep those clothes I suggest you lose `em quick.”

 

Vash tried to ignore the thrill that shot down his spine and lodged in his groin. “But the kids!” Vash squeaked, backing up until he hit the wall.

 

“The kids are all asleep in another building. You are now ten seconds from getting your clothes shredded.”

 

Vash hadn't expected the tables to turn so soon after their first sexual encounter, and he really didn't expect to want it so badly. He shed his clothes rapidly wondering how in the hell he'd managed to forget just how dangerous and unpredictable Wolfwood could be in any area of life.

 

Wolfwood watched him undress with a slow smile. “Very good.” He moved a couple of steps closer and Vash couldn't look away. Being naked in front of Wolfwood was nothing new, but somehow standing in the soft moonslight already hard just from being the center of this much focused intensity was intimidating.

 

And hot. Very, very hot.

 

Wolfwood was just a hairsbreadth away from him now and his breath quickened in anticipation. He licked dry lips and asked, “What now?”

 

A push sent him sprawling onto the bed at his side and he scrambled up against the wall, wanting to see exactly what was about to happen. Wolfwood followed him, crouching above him on the soft surface and licking along his ear. “Now,” he whispered, “I'm going to fuck you.”

 

Vash thought of three very good retorts, but what actually came out of his mouth was a whimpered “Soon, please?”

 

“When I'm ready.” Vash shivered first at the promise murmured in his ear, and then at the feel of Wolfwood's tongue hot and wet licking and sucking at his neck, his jaw, and his lips. Vash reached out then and dragged that roaming tongue into his own mouth with his own in a kiss that was deep and wonderful, but too short and left him wanting for more.

 

He whined in disappointment, but it died easily when Wolfwood continued down his body, drawing a slow, wet line with his tongue straight down his chest. He shifted himself down between Vash's bent knees to continue the line all the way to the tip of his cock. Vash let out a strangled groan at the feel of Wolfwood licking at him lazily, in no hurry at all.

 

Wolfwood's hands held him gently, one at his hip and one around his raised thigh stroking the skin lightly and sending little ripples of pleasure along his spine. He took just the head of Vash's cock into his mouth and sucked at it, alternately running his tongue around in circles and licking at the sensitive slit. Vash cried out and tried to move his hips to get further into that incredible mouth but he couldn't get any leverage. His left hand clenched on the bed and his right drifted up to Wolfwood's head. `His eyes,' he thought. He ran his fingers through the dark strands and gasped when midnight eyes met his own. Desire in its purest form stared back at him and his entire body quaked in response. `I did this to him,' he thought in wonder.

 

Wolfwood closed his eyes and slid down and taking Vash further into his mouth. He paused for a moment and Vash held his breath, releasing it again in a shuddering sigh when Wolfwood relaxed his throat muscles and swallowed his length. His breaths were short and hitched as he watched the dark head bobbing up and down in his lap, watching his own shaft disappearing into Wolfwood's mouth.

 

The sight and sensations brought him quickly to the edge. “So good,” he moaned. Another few seconds and it would be over… With one final lick Wolfwood released his cock and backed away again, leaving Vash to groan in disappointment and shock when the cool air hit sensitive wet skin.

 

“Nick!” Vash moaned, reaching out and just missing Wolfwood's shirt, feeling it slide through his fingers. “Please,” he begged. “Just a little more…”

 

“You're not in charge here, Tongari. Now get down on your back.”

 

Vash slid down the bed as fast as he could, legs bent and spread wide in anticipation. His pride wouldn't let him acknowledge Wolfwood's knowing smirk as he followed Vash down with less haste. Vash tried to pull up his shirt to get it off, but Wolfwood just smacked his hand away and chuckled. “Nope. You could've touched me anytime you wanted but you didn't so you've lost the privilege.”

 

“Asshole,” Vash growled.

 

Wolfwood reached into a pants pocket and pulled out a tube of lube. “Do you want me to stop before I get to this?” Vash's eyes went wide and his jaw worked with no audible result. “I'll take that as a `no'.”

 

That intense look was back in Wolfwood's eyes, but it was now tempered with care as he circled Vash's entrance with a slick finger. There was only a moment of resistance, quickly gone and he slid his finger inside slowly, watching Vash's reaction for any discomfort. Vash only whimpered in frustration though, and wiggled against him to hurry him along. He slowly added another finger to the mix, pumping the two in and out a few times before Vash got demanding again.

 

Vash relaxed and opened for him, easily adjusting to the intrusion. Even thought it had been a ridiculously long time his body remembered how good it felt to have someone inside him. The rest of him was eager for Wolfwood to be that `someone' right now.

 

“I'm fine,” Vash gasped. Wolfwood looked at him dubiously, but Vash pressed further. “You're killing me here!”

 

It was enough. Wolfwood nodded and relief flooded him. He unbuttoned his pants and pushed them down only enough to free his cock. Another thrill ran through Vash, knowing he'd gotten that way from seeing him naked, sucking him off, wanting him.

 

A few quick passes of his own hand across his cock to apply the lube was as much as Wolfwood could take, and he pressed himself to Vash's entrance. Vash opened to the slow push, eagerly accepting him.

 

Wolfwood slid inside him steadily; slowing down only when he sensed it was getting uncomfortable for him. Vash was grateful for Wolfwood's uncanny ability to read his body without asking any questions; he wasn't sure he could've spoken at that moment.

 

Once Wolfwood was fully inside he stopped to let Vash adjust and to make sure he'd last more than a few seconds. The feel of Vash hot and tight around him was sharply intense but he was determined not to give in to it yet. Once he decided it was safe to move again, he pulled out a couple of inches and rocked back in, feeling Vash shudder and sigh in pleasure with no hint of pain.

 

Wolfwood rocked into him slowly once more, and Vash was ready to scream in frustration. Just as he was about to flip them both over and take care of business himself, he caught Wolfwood's eye. Every last bit of that desire and lust he saw earlier was back in full force, and it was the only warning he got before Wolfwood lifted his hips and drew almost out of him entirely, shoving forward again and jolting a cry out of him. Two more such thrusts and Wolfwood knew he'd found his prostate, aiming for it again and again.

 

Vash arched back and reached out blindly to him, trying to make contact with him and running into the cloth of his shirt. Growling in frustration he grabbed it and ripped the offending material, finally letting his fingers play over his goal of sweat-slick, hot skin.

 

Vash moved to pinch at his nipples and he knew he couldn't last much longer. He braced himself with his left arm on the bed and grasped Vash's length in his hand, feeling him buck and strain into him. He pumped him counter to his own thrusts, once, twice, three times and Vash was shouting his name and squeezing him tighter than he'd thought possible, white streams jetting over his hand. He followed seconds later with a harsh shout, hips flush against the curve of Vash's ass.

 

Neither of them could move for several minutes and they lay there panting and shuddering together in the quiet. Finally Wolfwood slid his softening member free of Vash's body, and Vash quickly caught him and dragged him back down.

 

“You shouldn't be so good at that,” he murmured after they'd both caught their breath.

 

“And you shouldn't ignore me. You're not the only one who needs some attention here, Tongari.”

 

The barb hit home and Vash grimaced. It wasn't just that he'd talked the priest into his bed and then ignored him when they got back out into the world. He couldn't bring himself to tell Wolfwood he loved him, and he hadn't been showing him that love either. It would have left him feeling lonely, uncertain and used. If he'd gotten the same treatment from Wolfwood, he'd be a sobbing wreck by now. `I am a jackass.'

 

“When Lina and Grandma took me in, it took me a long time to adjust. When they gave me space, it helped. I just wanted to do the same for you.”

 

“Space is one thing. But you wouldn't talk to me, and you've barely even looked at me.”

 

“I never meant to hurt you. I really thought I was doing you a favor, Nick. I'm really sorry.”

 

“'S okay. Just don't do it again.”

 

Vash lay there awake long after Wolfwood drifted off. The enigmatic priest was so strong and driven, so unlike anyone Vash had ever met before. And he was always there to give whatever Vash needed, whether it be thoughtful words, support, or a swift, sharp kick in the ass. Many of his demons had been calmed in these past weeks, but he was by no means at ease. It was sometimes difficult to remember how much need still raged under that pragmatic surface.

 

He smiled sadly. Rem had always known when something was bothering him even when he didn't think it showed. It seemed he'd have to learn the skill as well as she had, for Wolfwood's sake. “Rem…” he sighed quietly. “What would you make of all this, I wonder?”

 

“Do you really have to talk to your old girlfriend when you're naked in bed with me?” Wolfwood muttered sleepily.

 

“Sorry, I thought you were asleep,” Vash chuckled. “And she wasn't really a girlfriend, you know.”

 

“Whatever. You can tell me about her sometime. Some other time,” he added to cut

Vash off.

 

“Got it.” Wolfwood `hmphed' at him one last time and fell asleep again. Vash closed his eyes and listened to the sound of Wolfwood breathing, lulled by the rhythm. He saw Rem's face in his mind, so full of determination and will, a look mirrored so many times in Wolfwood's features. As he dozed off, Vash thought, `I just wish you could have met her, Nick. I just… Wish.'

 

There was a flash in the room unseen by anyone, and a silver-white feather floated down from the air. That night Wolfwood dreamed of a younger version of himself, walking hand-in-hand with a dark-haired woman through a rich field of green.

 

He awoke before Vash to find the odd feather resting on his forehead. He plucked it off and stared at it curiously, turning it in his fingers. It sure as hell hadn't come from any bird. He looked askance at Vash sleeping peacefully beside him, knowing somehow that he'd been allowed to meet his Tongari's beloved Rem.

 

He couldn't remember the entire strangely realistic dream or even the whole of their conversation, but for the rest of his life he would remember her strength, and her kind smile.

 

 

~*~

Vash woke up alone a little after dawn. He tossed his clothes on in a hurry and took off out of the building and across the yard. He skipped, hopped and yelped the whole way in the quickly heating sand, glad that he'd awoken when he did. Any later and his feet might not have recovered.

 

He stepped into the door to the kitchen and almost started salivating at the smells of breakfast cooking. Wolfwood was minding several pots and pans on the stove and Melanie and one of the older girls were chopping fruits and vegetables. Vash looked to the counter and actually did begin to salivate.

 

There were donuts. And not the tiny, six to a box, stale pre-packaged kind either. This was a big plate of fresh, warm sugary donuts.

 

Melanie noticed him then. “'Morning, Vash! You're up early.” He pointed at the donuts and looked at her with big, watery eyes, whimpering just like a puppy begging at the table. She laughed. “They're for you anyway. Have as many as you want.”

 

He needed no more prompting. He dove in and started scarfing them down, unable to help himself. They were the best he'd ever tasted. “Where did you get these, Melanie? They're great!” he mumbled between mouthfuls.

 

“I didn't get them anywhere. Nicholas made them.”

 

Vash whirled around to catch Wolfwood trying to laugh off her answer. “She's just kidding. You picked these up in town last trip, remember?”

 

“Don't pay any attention to him. He's a great cook, my best student, actually! Why do you think I rope him into kitchen duty so often when I know he hates it? He figured out the donut thing on his own, though. Pretty good, aren't they?”

 

Vash spluttered and flailed for a minute before he could manage to wrap his intellect around some actual words. “You've known how to make donuts this whole time, and didn't think to tell me?! Nick!”

 

“Because I knew if you found out you'd just try and make me cook them all day long!”

 

“Well, you were right! Now that I know, I demand to get them for breakfast at least once - no, five times a week! And for lunch. And dinner, too!”

 

“Yeah, yeah.” He turned around and went back to cooking. “I'll make `em on days you manage not to piss me off. So pretty much never.”

 

With his back turned, he totally missed Vash's devious smile. By the time he noticed that Vash had moved right up behind him, he was already being spun around by the waist with dramatic flair and dipped like some rich dancer. Vash loomed above him, grinning like an idiot and completely unimpressed with his glare. “I'm sorry I've been neglecting you, my darling Nick.” He kissed Wolfwood on the tip of his nose and spun him back around to the stove before he could react. He continued on to the stairs without missing a beat, going up while humming happily to himself. Wolfwood was left to stare in shock at the two women now gazing at him and sighing wistfully.

 

“That was so romantic…”

 

`I love Vash. I really do,' Wolfwood thought to himself. `But I'm still going to have to kill him.'

 

 

***************

To ElizzzaBear: Wow! I'm so happy you like my fics! Now the pressure's on to make sure this one doesn't suck… XD