Trigun Fan Fiction ❯ Guided Steps ❯ No Longer Alone ( Chapter 8 )

Another week slipped easily by before Meryl and Milly showed up, dropped off by the local bus. When Melanie brought them in, Milly hopped up and down, waving at them. Vash ran happily toward them, arms outstretched. “Meryl! Milly! Long time no s-”

 

The heel of Meryl's boot cut off his greeting as it crunched painfully into his face. “Well maybe we would've seen you sooner if you'd come back to December City like we'd planned!”

 

Vash thumped down on the floor, whimpering pathetically and holding his hands over his injured face. “I knew you'd come here once I didn't come back right away!” he whined. “It all worked out, didn't it?”

 

“Yes, no thanks to you!” she fumed. “We were… Milly was worried sick!”

 

“It's good to see you too, Priest-san!” Wolfwood froze in mid-slink, halfway to the door. He turned, a full smile in place, laughing nervously. “Boy, that Vash is really something, huh? Never thinks things through. Maybe if you kick him some more he'll get smarter.”

 

“And you,” Meryl growled, advancing on him and rolling up her sleeves. “This is all your fault. Lying about who you were, going off to get yourself killed… You are not getting off that easy!”

 

Wolfwood considered his situation with the calculating eye and sharp mind that had brought him this far in life alive. His opponent was a five-foot-nothing brunette with a small arsenal of low-caliber weapons and a bad temper; he'd certainly faced more deadly enemies.

 

He nodded to himself, deciding on a course of action.

 

Nicholas the Punisher, ex-assassin for a feared organization and former Gung-Ho Gun, whirled around and ran for his life.

 

“Get back here!” Meryl shrieked, hot on his heels at speed. Vash laughed so hard his sides began to ache. Milly helped him up once he'd calmed. “You know, I think for once she's more upset with him than with you.”

 

“I'll enjoy it while I can.”

 

“Vash-san? Aren't you forgetting something?”

 

“Hmm? What's that?”

 

“You promised to treat me to cakes and tea when you found him!”

 

She frowned in concern to see Vash's eyes tearing up. “Vash-san? Are you-” She stopped when he hugged her.

 

“Milly, I'd have to rent a sand steamer to hold all the cake and tea I owe you.”

 

A moment passed before she grabbed Vash so tight he could barely breathe, tears welling up and bursting from her eyes. She sobbed out, “Oh Vash-san, I'm so happy!”

 

He smiled, gratified that she'd understood how instrumental her words had been in getting him to open up about how he felt about Wolfwood.

 

Still sobbing, she cried “Just remember, strawberry teacakes with pudding are my favorite!”

 

Vash's grandiose thoughts deflated into bewilderment. `I will never, ever understand this one…'

 

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It was so easy to get lost in the day-to-day rhythm of life at the orphanage that the passage of time became less and less important. Vash expected Knives to come after him, or at least send some sign. He waited for some indication or taunt about what he would do next, but nothing came. The knot in his gut slowly loosened as the weeks turned into months. He even began to hope that maybe Knives had given up his mad scheming.

 

Even the girls were happy where they were; surely they were enjoying not being shot at for once. Milly was immediately right at home in the good-natured chaos generated by the children. Meryl easily found her place among the caretakers, actually managing to bring some organization to the unruly group.

 

Livio had become something of a mystery to Vash. He watched the sandy-haired man through the window to the backyard, patching up the skinned knee of one of the younger boys who'd fallen during one of Meryl's games of kickball and tried once more to figure out what had changed.

 

He was certainly more reserved and thoughtful now than he had been when they'd first met; that had to be the major difference. Kindhearted and somewhat soft-spoken most of the time, he only really seemed to come out of his shell when he was called on to help or protect, or when Wolfwood was around. Milly was the only other person who could draw him out easily and they were together more often than not these days.

 

The boy was pointing back at the game now, obviously wanting to go back and play even though he was unable. After a moment's consideration Livio smiled brightly and whisked the giggling boy onto his shoulders, running back to the other children in the yard.

 

Wolfwood had told him that Livio had killed their old master. He'd been attached to the man even though he was, as Wolfwood put it, `the third biggest wanker on this entire planet.' Maybe that had caused the change.

 

Respect for what he'd done explained the way Wolfwood treated him now. Whenever his guide had talked about Livio before, it had the ring of an older brother talking about a loved but annoying younger one. But now, even though Wolfwood still teased him and called him names, it was obvious that they stood on more equal footing now.

 

First Milly, then Wolfwood, and now Livio. It was rare enough for him to meet a human he couldn't quite figure out after so many years of living with them, and here were three of them in a very short amount of time. It was all very, very frustrating, especially since he had a nagging feeling that Wolfwood was the key to it all.

 

Wolfwood had taken a dangerous and uncharacteristic risk when he'd fought Livio without trying to kill him. In his quest to protect his home and family, Livio was the only other person besides himself that he'd put his life in serious danger to save.

 

Vash tracked the course of his thoughts and laughed to himself, chagrined. `Am I just jealous?' It was ridiculous. For one thing Livio and Milly seemed well on their way to marriage and a whole litter of children. For another, the world could end tomorrow. He certainly had enough to think about without sitting around being jealous that his lover had had the audacity to save someone else. Completely unused to being in a relationship, Vash realized he'd never been around a lover long enough to experience jealousy before.

 

Neither had he ever been so truly and deeply in love.

 

A delicious smell wafted in from the kitchen and Vash sighed happily. Melanie must have forced Wolfwood into cooking dinner again, he could tell just from the scent. Nobody else here cooked anything that smelled quite that good. But thinking of Wolfwood on the tail end of his earlier thoughts brought an uneasy feeling. `I still don't really know what I'm doing. I hope I don't screw up with him more than I already have…'

 

He snapped out of his thoughts in shock when several of the children who had been playing in out front burst into the room screaming about something `falling from the sky.' Vash was on his feet in a heartbeat and Wolfwood abandoned the kitchen so fast a pot clattered to the floor. Melanie and Meryl were already trying to corral the rest of the kids into the building, and Livio met them outside the fence after a minute.

 

The three of them watched the airship land, and Livio's fingers twitched with the urge to go and get his guns. But Wolfwood was unarmed and didn't seem too concerned, only curious so he did his best to relax.

 

“What's Brad doing here? How'd they find us?”

 

“Transmitter,” Vash replied. “I take it with me wherever I go and as long as it's turned on only Luida-san's ship has the frequency to find it.”

 

Livio had to ask, “So these guys are all right?”

 

“Yeah. They're friends.”

 

The ramp lowered and Brad stepped off the ship and close on his heels was Luida. Vash stiffened leaving Livio confused. “What's wrong?”

 

“That woman's name is Luida. She's kind of a big shot; runs the last of the lost technology ships. She'd never leave unless…”

 

“Unless something went really fucking wrong,” Wolfwood finished for him.

 

Their fears were confirmed in the grim expressions on each of their faces as they approached. Luida's dark hair was shot through with more gray than Wolfwood remembered, and her sharp features carried more worry lines around her eyes and mouth.

 

“What's happened?” Luida and Brad looked to Livio and back to Vash while Livio smiled and tried to look as non-threatening as his muscular physic would allow. “It's fine,” Vash said. “This is Livio. He's a friend.”

 

“It's Knives,” Brad answered. “He's-”

 

A swarm of children rushing out of the orphanage interrupted them. They zoomed past yelling in excitement about the airship, making straight for it. Brad shouted at them to stop, but they just laughed and kept on going. Their conversation forgotten in favor of his beloved ship, Brad took off after them, screaming hysterically.

 

Luida watched the whole thing with a small smile. “I love your new hideout, Vash.” She shook herself. “Let's go somewhere we can talk privately.”

 

With all the children and most of the caretakers keeping Brad busy trying to keep his ship in one piece, the group in holed up in the dining area were free to speak as they would.

 

“A few months ago, towns and cities started going out of communication one after another. Whenever we sent someone to investigate, all they could find were bodies.”

 

“No one living…?” Meryl gasped.

 

“No survivors at all. The places looked like warzones. Finally we were able to calculate the path of destruction and jump ahead of it. We flew in an unmanned camera, and it sent back enough video to piece it all together before it was destroyed.”

 

She took a deep breath and looked Vash in the eye. She didn't want to tell him, but there was no help for it. “It's Knives. He's been traveling by ship, going from town to town, city to city and simply taking the plants away.” Sure enough, he reeled back as if she'd struck him.

 

Milly thumped down in the nearest chair, her legs gone too weak to support her. “Without the plants…”

 

“Yes. Human life on this planet falls apart. Once they're gone and people realize they have no way to survive, the strong begin killing off the weak, stealing and taking every resource they can get their hands on. When the fighting is all over, those few still alive die a slow death in the desert with no food or water. But now word is beginning to spread and… it's chaos, there's no other word for it. Now people are fighting each other for the means to flee, trying to stay ahead of the ship.”

 

She lapsed into silence, but her fingers drummed lightly on the table. Vash knew that little worry sign of hers very well. It meant she was holding something back.

 

Vash finally pressed her. “Luida, I had a dream a while back. I could hear the other plants… screaming. I didn't know what to make of it then but I'm starting to understand now. Tell me what else is going on.”

 

“His ship… appears to have wings. Hundreds of them. We think he's absorbing the plants into himself and the ship. His strength is increasing exponentially with each day that passes and by the time the ships from Earth get here he'll be able to destroy the fleet, if that's his intention. If that's not all he's after, I'm afraid the death of humanity on this planet will be just the beginning.”

 

Livio finally found his voice. “What do you mean by that?”

 

“There've gotta be a lot of other plants on those ships. She means if he absorbs those too, he might be headed to Earth next.”

 

The room was silent after that; not even the sound of breathing could be heard. Finally Milly crumbled under the pressure. She thought of her family, wondering if they were safe or among the hundreds of thousands of people who were already dead.

 

Milly began to cry softly and Meryl was shamefully grateful for it. She always functioned better with someone else to take care of. She enfolded the larger woman in her arms as best she could, knowing that a few seconds later and it would've been her sobbing her eyes out in despair. Milly buried her head in Meryl's shoulder and seemed to draw strength from the contact.

 

“So what do we do?” Livio looked from person to person around the room, finally settling on Wolfwood. “What can we do?”

 

Inside Vash was shaking like a leaf. The day he'd dreaded had come, and it was worse than anything he'd ever imagined. An entire species would be erased from the universe if he couldn't do the impossible. The only outward sign of his internal terror was his right hand, clenched tightly into a fist.

 

He took a breath to steady himself before answering Livio's question. “`We' aren't going to do anything.” He drew up what he thought was a reassuring smile for the benefit of everyone else in the room. “Don't worry. I'll protect you. Just do your best to stay out of his way, and evacuate as many people to relative safety as fast as you can. I'll go after him.”

 

Everyone was silent, withdrawn into their own shared thoughts. They didn't doubt that Vash would have defeated Knives alone, but Knives wielding the combined power of hundreds, maybe even thousands of plants would certainly kill him.

 

Is there really nothing else we can do for him…?

 

Finally, Wolfwood blew out an irritated sigh. “Hey, shit-for-brains. That crap-ass plan ends with you six feet under. Try again.”

 

Blue eyes cut over him sharply. The obvious warning in them made his smile seem completely out of place. “Don't.” `I know you can see how close I am to falling apart right now. Don't push me, Nick.'

 

“Don't what? You're about to do exactly what you got pissed at me for doing. If I didn't get away with it, you shouldn't either.”

 

Vash whirled on him, eyes flashing in anger at his flippant attitude. His fingernails began to cut into his hand, and blood dripped onto the floor unnoticed. “There's no other choice here, Nick! Knives is my burden alone! Anyone else who gets in the way will be killed!”

 

“Maybe so. But you are not a sacrificial lamb. Look around you. Anybody in this room could come up with something better than you taking on Legato and Super-Knives by yourself. So we're gonna sit down, hammer out some kind of a plan, and we're gonna take Knives down together. All of us. Losing you is not an option Tongari. Not for them and certainly not for me.”

 

Vash looked around at the people in the room and found confirmation of Wolfwood's words. Meryl and Milly seemed shaken, but determined. “He's right, Vash. This stopped being about the job years ago. To see you like this, trying to protect us all by yourself is terrible; I can't take it anymore! I don't know what we can do, but…”

 

“We'll think of something. We are going to help you,” Milly finished for her. “I've always thought you looked so lonely, Vash-san. I want you to know that you're not alone anymore.”

 

He then looked to Luida, who managed a smile for him. “You've been family to everyone on board the ship since the day we brought you aboard. If you don't know by now that we'll do anything to help you, you're more dense than I thought.”

 

“Livio? You're in this too?”

 

He nodded, smiling a little. “Some asshole told me once to use what I had to protect what's important. Since said asshole is gonna follow wherever you go, I'm just gonna have to follow him.”

 

“But, I- Luida-san! You know what's at stake here. Say something!”

 

“Concede defeat gracefully, Vash. You're outvoted.”

 

Vash realized then that he was surrounded by people who could match him for stubbornness. If he wanted to run off and face Knives on his own, he'd have to do it while dragging these five people along behind him. He came finally back to Wolfwood who just smirked at him. “You're not supposed to argue with your guide. You're just supposed to do what he says.”

 

This time, Vash's smile came truthfully and easily.

 

Luida cleared her throat after a moment. “There's something else, something strange and it might have something to do with Knives. The native insect life has been dying off; I don't know why. But one of my crew members came back from a scouting trip acting strangely. He brought me this,” she dug a fractured coin piece out of her coat and placed it on the table, “then he collapsed. He threw up some kind of worm afterward. I don't know what this thing is, but I thought I'd see if you knew anything about it.”

 

Wolfwood picked it up and turned it in his fingers. “Huh. It's Beast's piece. I guess he finally made his move and it got him killed. Ashes to ashes, you annoying little shit.”

 

Before Vash could say anything, Milly gasped. “That's just like the one the midget men gave us, senpai!”

 

“Ah! That's right, I forgot!” Meryl ran for her room and grabbed the thing out of her bag, bringing it back to the table.

 

“That oughta be all of `em. You got that coin case handy?” Vash went for his room and brought it back. He fitted the last two pieces into the case, completing the collection. Immediately the thing snapped shut and began to click and whir, finally speaking in Legato's voice. Vash's eyes flew to Wolfwood's face as soon as it began, just in time to see his eyes simmering in anger. His muscles tensed and the deceptive slouch began to straighten, and Vash's hand shot out without a thought to the movement, grabbing Wolfwood's hand in his own.

 

“Nick!” he hissed. Wolfwood turned and immediately calmed at seeing the worry in Vash's eyes. He took a deep breath and forced the battle-readiness out of his muscles. But he didn't let go of Vash's hand until the recording stopped. He glanced around the room, and it didn't look as though anyone had noticed his violent reaction to hearing Legato's voice. He focused this time on the message instead of the messenger.

 

When it was finished, Wolfwood smiled slowly. Vash looked at him curiously, but he just shook his head and turned to go into the kitchen. “Later. Knives or no Knives, the kids are gonna be hungry soon and dinner ain't gonna finish cooking itself.” He paused at the door to look back to Milly and Livio. “I could use some help.”

 

Milly glanced at Meryl, who looked like she was about to burst. She managed a smile and a reassuring hug for her senpai, and followed Wolfwood and Livio out. Meryl went to stand before a confused and wary Vash, looking and feeling so small compared to him. She opened her mouth to speak, but to her eternal embarrassment she started to cry. All she could see was Vash's smiling face, knowing that there was a good chance he'd just disappear and she would never see it again. Nothing would come out but sobs, and she tried to stifle them, closing her eyes and holding her head down so he wouldn't be able to see.

 

Her eyes flew open again when he hugged her. He had to get down on his knees to do it properly. He cradled her head against his shoulder and just let her cry. “You have to let us help you,” she managed. “If you do, I'll know that you'll be fine.”

 

Vash was completely floored. He never expected to have Meryl's friendship again after the way he'd frightened her. “But I thought… Meryl, you were so afraid of me. I didn't think you'd ever really want to be around me again.”

 

“It's not like that anymore. You… You're Vash. Same as you always have been. There's nothing to be afraid of. So just, please, just let us…” She broke off into sobs again.

 

Maybe. “All right Meryl. I promise, no more leaving you behind.” He moved her away from him a little so he could see her face and smiled at her. “Okay?”

 

She returned the smile, rubbing at her nose. “Okay. Deal.”

 

“Luida-san? Can you and Brad stay the night? I need some time to think about this.”

 

“Yes, I think we can afford a day, but no more. Now,” she stood and smoothed her coat. “What's this about dinner? The last few weeks have been quite… stressful. I could really use a distraction. Join me, young lady?”

 

Meryl looked to Vash once more before ruffling his hair none too gently and following after Luida. She didn't have to worry about him running off alone. He had promised, and that was enough.

 

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

Vash hadn't bothered to show up for dinner or anything following, so Wolfwood figured he needed some room to think. He managed to head off any well-meaning attempts to find him.

 

When things had calmed down a bit, he left to find Vash. He crossed the moonlit yard to the storage room where they spent what little private time they could get. He went in and shut the door behind him. As he expected, Vash was sitting with his back to the wall on one of the spare beds, deep in thought.

 

“So? Come up with anything reasonable yet?”

 

“Yeah,” the quiet voice answered him. “But nothing solid. I need more data on Knives' movements. I'm leaving here with Luida-san tomorrow; I'll be able to do more on the ship anyway.”

 

“What about Legato?”

 

“What about him? He's dead.”

 

Wolfwood frowned, confused. “He can't be dead. Unless you know something I don't.”

 

“He's only alive because I haven't killed him yet. That doesn't change the fact that he is dead.”

 

`Something's seriously wrong here,' Wolfwood thought. Vash was staring out the window now, and Wolfwood could see the hatred simmering in his eyes. It was one of the most unsettling things he'd ever seen. “Vash, what… Have you gone insane?”

 

“No, my reasoning is perfectly clear,” Vash answered calmly. “I hate him for what he did to you. I want him dead, and I am fully capable of wiping him off the face of this planet. There are no promises holding me back where he's concerned; nothing says I can't kill him. So I will.”

 

Vash was willing to turn his back on his principles, to throw away his ideals, for him. The thought should have given Wolfwood comfort, but for some reason it scared the crap out of him. “All life is sacred. I don't have all the answers, so I can't kill another person. `Thou shalt not kill, you shitty priest.' Any of that ring a bell?”

 

“Legato is not a person. He's not even human. You've seen his eyes; they're dead. He doesn't have a soul.”

 

`Isn't this what I wanted? For Vash to be willing to kill?'

 

He glanced sidelong at Vash who returned the look, letting him see the truth for himself. He was serious. Legato would die a very long, very dirty death at Vash's hands the next time they met if he didn't intervene. The cold, slightly maniac gaze was… wrong. Out of place and disturbing on this one of the pair.

 

“No,” he said, surprised at himself. “You're not doing it.”

 

“Why not? Everyone else on this planet gets to run around taking revenge for petty things. Well this isn't petty. Why should I be held to a higher standard than everyone else?”

 

“Because you're better than everyone else, Tongari!”

 

“Don't you want me to do this for you?”

 

“Yes. No!” he growled in frustration. “Part of me would love to kick back and have a smoke while you paint the walls with that bastard's insides, I'll admit it. But the price is too high. But once you kill somebody like that, you can't take it back. No matter how bad he's asking for it, it'll screw with you the rest of your life, trust me. You don't deserve that. Besides, he wants to fight you for some reason. I'm not about to let him have his way. If anybody gets to end his life, it's gonna be me. I don't need you to fight for me.”

 

“And you questioned my sanity,” Vash muttered. He frowned when Wolfwood didn't say anything. “You're serious? It's suicide!”

 

“Not if I do it right. Trust me, I got a plan.”

 

Vash searched Wolfwood's eyes, but found only a fierce determination and the certainty that this was necessary. Vash's only certainty was that Wolfwood was trying to feed him a monumentally bad idea but there would be no talking him out of it right now. He'd let it drop for now and try again later. “Mmm. Your plans always worry me. So,” Vash turned to stare out the window. “This place is still kind of a sitting duck, and I doubt Knives has forgotten about it or you. I guess you'll want to stay here with the kids as long as you can, just in case.”

 

Wolfwood gave a small shrug at Vash's indifferent tone. “Not necessarily. I already asked Luida if she could find a safer place for everyone, and she said yes. Even he can't kill them if he can't find `em.” Vash nodded soundlessly, still staring out the window. His jaw was clenched so tightly Wolfwood could see his jaw muscles working. “If you want me to stay with you, you just have to say it,” he sighed.

 

Vash's hand started to shake and Wolfwood finally approached him, reaching out in concern. “Tongari? What's-”

 

Vash grabbed him and dragged him down to the bed with a desperate sound, holding him tightly. “Come with me. Stay with me. Don't leave my side even for a minute. What we're about to do doesn't scare me half as much as the thought of having to do it without you beside me.”

 

“I can't leave you,” Wolfwood breathed. “I love you. Haven't I said it enough by now?”

 

Vash was already undoing the buttons of his shirt, sliding it off of him with cool fingers. “I believe you, I do, but… All this is too much too fast. Things have spun so far out of control I just… If I take too many more hits I might fly apart.”

 

“Then don't think about it right now.” Wolfwood kissed him; it was forceful and seductive all at once. It was tempting, so tempting to just let Wolfwood take care of him. He would lose himself in pleasure that wouldn't break long enough to allow him to think about all the horrible things tomorrow would bring.

 

It wasn't what he needed, though.

 

So when Wolfwood began to push his shirt off Vash stopped him. “Let me…?”

 

The words were unnecessary; Vash's eyes and body language were all he really needed. He relaxed and Vash smiled at him gratefully, some of the tension already leaving him as he began to strip both their clothes away. Wolfwood recognized this mood; he'd seen it once before. He didn't think he'd ever completely understand why Vash needed it this way sometimes, needed him to just be pliant and give himself over completely. Some of it was about having control over something, that much was obvious, but there was more to it. He figured it was just one of those things about being alone for over a century that he'd never be able to really understand.

 

He let Vash push him back to lie comfortably on the bed and was surprised at the gentle way he brushed their lips together, running his tongue along Wolfwood's parted lips. As soon as Vash dipped his tongue into Wolfwood's mouth the priest threaded his fingers into Vash's hair, trying to deepen the kiss.

 

Vash indulged him and fitted himself comfortably between Wolfwood's spread legs, gasping at the contact. He'd have to put a stop to this pretty soon. Kissing him was just too good. It would be so easy to finish like this, bodies sliding so beautifully together, dueling tongues driving them higher by the second. He ended their kiss and Wolfwood didn't quite grumble, but it was a near thing.

 

Vash raised his hand and ran his thumb along Wolfwood's lower lip, biting his own when a hot tongue peeked out to draw a wet circle along the tip of his thumb. His hand continued its progress, sliding down Wolfwood's throat and he grinned to feel his adam's apple bob nervously against his palm. The pressure of Vash's hand sliding slowly down his body made his breath come in short pants, waiting to see what the next heartbeat would bring. Vash stopped to roll a nipple between his fingers and was rewarded with a hitch in Wolfwood's breathing. It was a good start, but not nearly enough. Vash loved to hear his guide's cries of pleasure, but he always had to be persuaded to give them.

 

He lowered his head, watching Wolfwood the whole time, and flicked his tongue against the other nipple. He waited until Wolfwood was squirming against him before giving the sensitive nub a sharp nip with his teeth. It earned him the low, strained moan he loved hearing. It was the equivalent of `Fuck me, now!'

 

Vash paused long enough to feel under the bed for the lube they kept stashed away. He squeezed some onto his fingers and pressed them against Wolfwood's entrance, feeling his perfect body open for him so easily. He kept his preparations brief and wouldn't let him enjoy things overly much. He met Wolfwood's questioning gaze with a small shake of his head when he pulled the priest up, urging him to turn and guiding his hands to the headboard.

 

Wolfwood felt the press of Vash's cock against his opening and took a deep breath to steady himself, relaxing to let Vash in. Vash pressed inside of him slowly, hissing at the heat that grasped him and pulled him in. When he was fully sheathed he forced his eager body to stillness and waited for Wolfwood to adjust to him. When Wolfwood pressed back against him he moved his right hand to wrap around a slim hip and rocked forward with slow, shallow movements that only brushed past and teased at his prostate. Vash could feel him shivering against him and held him tighter, wanting and needing to feel all of his reactions. “What are you doing, Vash?” Wolfwood groaned.

 

Vash smiled and moved to whisper in his ear, “I'm going to see how far I can take you this time. I want you to know just how good I can make you feel.” The sharp intake of breath and the shiver down his spine were beautiful signs of trust and anticipation.

 

Wolfwood wasn't getting the stimulation he wanted and began to moan quietly as Vash sped up his thrusts. By the time Vash was pounding into him, breathing harshly by his ear he couldn't take it anymore and reached down to touch himself. Vash batted his hand away with a growled `No' that wouldn't put up with any argument. Wolfwood could only whimper in frustration and return his hands to the headboard.

 

The now familiar sensation of his energies building and swirling madly within him reached a crescendo and he fought the urge to bring Wolfwood with him; this would be worth it. He buried his head in the crook of Wolfwood's neck, shouting his pleasure as he came. He rode it out and took only a few moments to recover himself, knowing he almost had what he wanted.

 

His energy was already beginning to work its magic on Wolfwood; he was starting to moan and shudder. Vash still didn't know why this happened, but he loved it. And since he hadn't been allowed to come earlier this would be explosive. He braced himself a little better on the bed and pulled the priest away from the headboard to rest against him. His body finally sank onto Vash's still hard cock at the right angle and he gifted Vash with a sharp cry.

 

It was a bit of a strain but Vash leaned forward and licked along Wolfwood's jaw until the priest turned to catch his wandering tongue with his own. He couldn't maintain the kiss very long but Vash wouldn't let him turn, wanting to taste every sound that came out of his mouth while he continued to grind himself against his prostate.

 

The onslaught of sensation continued to grow past anything he'd ever imagined and he was sure the sheer ecstasy of it all would kill him if something didn't give soon. He could feel Vash's lips moving, could barely make out the whispered words, his name and a desperate command that snapped the tension inside him.

 

“Come for me, Nick. Now!”

 

His orgasm ripped through him with an intensity that stole his breath away and forced him to scream in silence. It reverberated and went on so long he thought it would never stop. When the storm finally spent itself he went limp, aware only of Vash's arms around him, hands turning him and bearing him gently to the bed before running down his trembling body. One finally came to rest on his hip and Vash's tongue touched him then, cleaning his overly sensitive flesh. Shaky cries flowed out of him as cool air touched the wet trails left on his abdomen. It wasn't long before the hand on his hip spasmed and Vash's cry mingled with his own.

 

Finally Vash collapsed next to him. He reached out as much as his pleasure-devastated muscles would allow and to hell with pride. He needed to be held after something like that. Vash pulled him into his arms immediately and he shivered and trembled uncontrollably there in safety, wondering if he would ever recover. He felt fingers running through his hair, along his damp cheeks soothing him. Heard a low voice murmuring and made himself focus on the repeated words.

 

“So beautiful…”

 

He dragged his eyes open to himself see something beautiful: Vash, sweat dampened hair falling across his forehead, eyes shining in the dark with a look of… wonder. “My Nick, so beautiful. Thank you.”

 

Wolfwood smiled a little; his poor brain couldn't imagine why the hell Vash would be thanking him for that massive pleasure overload. The world spun away from him before he could figure it out, and his exhausted body fell heavily into sleep.