#trigaze

the real reason they killed Tesla is because everyone hates cybertrucks

He turned over the locks of hair in his fingers as they ran through them, Vash leaning back against him with a soft smile on his face, eyes shut at the sensation. It was still soft and thick like he remembered, but now an inky black, not a trace of that blonde that once haunted him. Nothing. Not even a single strand. There was a growing tightness in his chest and throat as he looked. Vash opened his eyes to look up at him, the smile dropping as he saw his furrowed brow. "Wolfwood," his hand came up to one of his, "I'm okay." Wolfwood let out a low hum of disbelief. He knew it wasn't true whether Vash did or not, he could still see that pain behind his eyes and hear his sobs in his memory. What was deeply concerning to him was whether Vash was physically okay and he sure wasn't going to trust a guy that once shrugged off a deep bullet wound on whether he was or not. He swallowed, trying to loosen up some of the tightness, "I thought I told you no more." Vash weakly smiled at the tone, "sorry. I…" his mouth opened, then shut as he seemed to lose the words. The tightness grew. He cleared his throat, "can't find a bit of blonde here y'know, not like I can check anywhere else since it's just here that was. You're still the same everywhere else anyways." Vash let out a chuckle. Wolfwood tried to laugh, but any attempt was caught in that growing tightness within his throat, his mind wandering incessantly around the way his heart sank when he first saw the hair. All that echoed in his mind were Conrad's words. There was not a hint of blonde left, all it would take would be for Vash to use even a fraction of his powers and… A shaky exhale escaped as his chest caved in, Wolfwood wrapping himself around Vash, face pressed into his hair as he pulled him in even closer against himself. "Wolfwood?" There was a silence as he held him, eyes shut and breathing strained through the ache within himself. He felt Vash's hand on his arm begin to gently rub his thumb against his skin. It almost felt wrong. Dammit Blondie, I'm supposed to be the one comforting you right now. There was a sudden sensation of Vash's lips gently pressing against the skin on his arm, "…I'm sorry for making you worry about me so much." Wolfwood squeezed him, the frustration at the remark pushing words past the aching, "dumbass, you don't have a say in what I worry about or not. Besides," his voice lowered, softening with the beat of his heart, "it's my job." He felt Vash's hand grip a little tighter. After a moment, Wolfwood took a deep inhale, then tilted Vash's face back. He began to gently kiss what he could reach on it, the words that followed even softer than before, "Promise me you won't use any more of your power, please." Vash stared up at him, a soft, sad smile forming as Wolfwood kissed the corners of his mouth, "I promise."

Vash looked over Wolfwood, smiling as his body rose and fell in his sleep. He'd once again gotten him to fall into deep sleep with just gentle touches and kisses, something he took great pride in doing since Wolfwood had not been a heavy sleeper when they met. He was glad to be the one to bring it about. Today, he could tell Wolfwood needed a nap but was pushing it off. All it took was Vash acting like he needed one to get him to join, falling asleep not long after. His eyes traced over Wolfwood's back, carefully watching as he breathed while memorizing every bit of the dip for his spine, the way his shoulder muscles rested, and all the little blemishes that painted his form. His eyes landed on a particular point of interest to him that he'd seen late at night and caught a couple glimpses of during the day. Down on the middle, just a bit to the left of the small of his back was a cluster of moles. They were almost identical. He counted five total, a strange curve patten made with them almost like one a bite mark would have. He had a couple other moles but something about these ones…they didn't stick in Vash's head the same way as these. His fingertips softly ran along them, counting as he did so. It was strange how evenly spaced they were, like they were placed there by someone to make this unnatural formation. His mind began to question why if that was the case, but he didn't take the thought seriously. They were just moles. He laid against Wolfwood's back, cheek pressed against him while his eyes remained on the spot. One, two, three, four…he had a fingertip perfectly over each one, the last being slightly off from his index. The one on the far left had a little more distance between it and the others, meaning the one on the far right could not be perfectly covered. He shifted his fingers so his index was on that one, all four fingers now perfectly resting atop their moles. If only he was on the other side, he could use his other hand to see if maybe his thumb would fit on the last one… As his fingertips gently pressed into the skin, his heart felt an unusual cold, a fear striking him he could not place. He quickly removed his hand as he sat up, checking Wolfwood. He was still peacefully sleeping, still breathing. Vash let out a sigh of relief, the new weight on his chest not budging. He looked back at the moles, the pound of his heart a little louder than it should be. As he took a deep breath to calm himself he leaned down, gently pressing his lips against each one. His arms wrapped around Wolfwood as he did so, pressing his face against the skin there. It was then that Wolfwood began to shift, his eyes slowly opening to see Vash. "What're doing down there?" "Nothing, just drawing." "Huh?" Vash began to trace his fingertips between the moles like he was connecting them, "see?" Wolfwood groaned, reaching back to grab Vash's arm, "come up here." "Okay, okay," he moved with the slight tug, "I'm coming." Wolfwood shifted so Vash could come up to his face, wrapping his arms around him once he was close enough and pulling him in. "Is that better?" "Mhm," Wolfwood's eyes shut again, that slow breathing returning. Vash's smile softened. He began to gently kiss his face, guiding Wolfwood back into that deep sleep again.

Getting emotional about Stampgaze Vash cause I truly don't think he ever imagined he'd have a future this kind. He always thought he'd just walk alongside humanity, be there for them only to now have his friends taking his hand and pulling him along. He's wanted and loved and he's not running from anything. He's not alone.