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Vash had been alone for what felt like decades. But he was better off this way.
Here, in his cabin, far away from the world where he could do no damage, could live in peace even if it was awfully lonely. Vash could tend to the few plants that grew in the wasteland in his little oasis, too far out for most living things to tread. Granted, it wasn't the most luxurious place and it took so much work to upkeep, but it was worth it. Even with part of the roof on the verge of caving in and the broken windows he was still in the process of fixing up.
It was peaceful.
But, every so often, something or someone wounded or sick would end up in his little corner of eternity and Vash would do his best to get them on their way.
Which was what led him to the situation he was currently in.
Vash couldn't remember ever seeing a wolf in real life. In pictures, books from times long past, but never in real life…but here one was. Struggling in the sand as it fought to stand up, its frontmost leg leaving a bloody trail before it finally collapsed to the ground. It was a gorgeous creature, even in the waning sun, all glossy black fur and sharp features.
And Vash couldn't help himself.
His heart ached for the creature.
He whistled quietly, the ears on the wolf perking up and its head whipping around, soulful dark eyes almost fixing him with a glare as it began to bare its teeth. "Hey, hey," Vash said, keeping his voice soft and hands up, lowering his body a little to look less threatening. "You're hurt, right?"
The wolf growled low as he got closer but made no move to injure or bite him. So he got closer…and closer. And soon enough he was in its space, appreciating the size of the massive animal, the heat radiating off of it. "I'm not going to hurt you, don't be afraid," Vash said, reaching for his canteen and opening it, holding it out for the wolf to sniff. It leaned its great muzzle forward, nose wriggling, confirming it to be water before it calmed slowly.
"Yeah, you're a smart guy, arent'cha?" Vash said softly, looking at the wolf's wounded front leg. The gash was deep…but it really just needed to be cleaned and wrapped. "Man, I wonder what you did to yourself. But don't worry, I've got you, big guy." Vash reached for the bottom of the shirt he'd chosen to wear that day, ripping a long strip of cloth from it before starting to clean the wolf up.
The whole time, it watched him. Those deep, dark eyes tracking his every move as he cleaned its wound and began the process of wrapping its leg. Every so often the wolf would growl or whine and Vash would hush it, soft and understanding. "I know it hurts, big boy," Vash cooed softly, "but you'll be all good soon." The wolf's fathomless dark eyes seemed to finally settle on something and its whole body relaxed, allowing Vash to finish the job as efficiently as possible which the blond was grateful for.
"Sorry I can't do much about the pain," Vash said as he finished up what he was doing, backing away again. The wolf sniffed its newly wrapped leg, getting to its feet and shaking the sand from its glossy fur. "But you look like you can handle it."
The wolf looked at him for a long moment, Vash waving at it until it started to pad away, turning its head to look at him once before taking off over the dunes, the last of the day's sunlight fading into nothingness as the creature ran out of sight, the sound of a long, rasping howl carrying on the wind before it was gone.
Vash felt something warm and sad all at once in his chest, joy for a life he might have saved and sorrow for a life he will probably never see again. But that was for the best. Vash knew it as well as he knew anything.
It was for the best.
He put the wolf out of his mind that night when he finally fell asleep. As one can imagine, Vash had gotten used to cold, quiet nights and mornings with nary a hint of life besides himself in the vastness of the wasteland he'd made his own.
So to hear someone knocking at his door at the ass end of dawn was both a shock and a surprise.
Vash stumbled to the front, a bit nervous about the fact that he didn't know who lay behind it. "Who's there?" he called out, opening the door slowly only to find himself looking up.
The man behind it had a cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth, dark sunglasses hiding his eyes and a huge cross in his free hand. "Can I help you?" Vash asked and the man snorted, rolling his shoulders with a resounding crack.
"Was kinda shocked to find someone staying in this kinda dump," the man said, looking around, "thought it might be abandoned but I guess I'm not that lucky, huh?" The man lowered his sunglasses a little, dark, deep eyes sweeping over Vash quickly despite having caught the blond firmly off-guard. "Saw that part of your roof was about to come down. You need a hand with that?"
Vash blinked a little at the whiplash of being mocked in the same breath he was being offered help with and he found himself choking on a laugh. "And you just decided to stop and offer some help?" Vash asked, leaning in his doorway now. He looked the stranger up and down, taking in the look of his clothes, the deep tan of his skin, the glint of the cross hanging around his neck and the shade of the one he carried.
"Why not? I'm a good Samaritan like that, needle-noggin," the man said, smirking a little wider despite the confusion on Vash's face. "So, you gonna accept the help or not?"
Vash swallowed around the lump in his throat, resisting the urge to tell the man to leave, to keep him away for his own safety but he has a feeling that the look on his face means that he won't say no. "Well…I suppose it wouldn't hurt."
"Great," the man said before offering his hand, "Nicholas D. Wolfwood, at your service, needle-noggin."
"Vash."
"Blondie."
Vash couldn't help the odd giggle that escaped his throat before the man, Wolfwood, propped his cross with a deep thunk against the wall of his house. "I'll get to work then," he said, "don't worry that blond head of yours. It won't take me too long." Wolfwood shrugs out of the suit jacket he's wearing and rolls up his sleeves before grabbing a few things from what looks like a compartment on the cross. "Just head inside."
"How do I know you won't cave in the whole thing and kill me?" Vash teased, pretending not to look at the dark hair on his forearms or the length of calloused, tanned fingers. There was a healing cut on his arm but nothing that would be too noticeable.
Wolfwood looked at him, sunglasses sliding down the hook of his nose as he smirked wolfishly around the cigarette in his mouth.
"If I wanted to kill you, you'd be dead already."
Vash wanted to hate the throb between his legs at that, but could only respond by laughing a tad too loudly and going back inside. It had been…a while since he interacted with a new person, after all. Probably at least a decade or two.
Soon enough, the thumping sound of hammering and sanding filled his quiet little house and Vash found every bang oddly relaxing. Like a little bit of life forcing itself into the dusty dilapidation. Even though Wolfwood was out of sight, he was far from out of mind. And it wasn't like Vash had company often if ever so this was a breath of fresh air. Still, the circumstances were more than a little odd.
But Vash believed in the basic goodness of people. So maybe this man was everything he said.
After an hour or so he came outside with a canteen, shielding his eyes against the ever burning suns as he tilted his head up to see if he could locate Wolfwood against the heat. The other man was sitting on the roof, legs dangling over the edge as he mopped the sweat off his face with the edge of his now mostly translucent shirt, several droplets clinging like fruit to boughs on his hair and Vash had to swallow down the dryness in his mouth at the brief flash of body hair and taut skin.
What was up with him today? He was never like this.
"Getting kinda hot out here," Vash called up, meeting those dark eyes without the benefit of sunglasses for the first time. He shook the canteen. "Wanna come down and cool off?"
After a moment of what looked like silent contemplation, Wolfwood flashed him that smirk again, stubbing out his half-burnt cigarette and storing it behind his ear before jumping down in front of Vash and kicking up some dust. "Well a break won't kill me," Wolfwood said, taking the bottle and leaning gratefully into the miniscule shade provided by the overhang. He unscrewed the cap and took a long swig before letting out a relieved sigh. "I'm alive again."
"Hard work up there?" Vash asked, pretending not to watch the subtle bobbing of his throat.
"Something like that, you really let this place go to shit, huh blondie?" Wolfwood asked, his easy grin belying the sharp look of his eyes, watching Vash's every movement. "Seems kinda odd to be living so far out."
"It suits me fine," Vash said in return, trading easy conversation with Wolfwood before the man went back to work. Vash watched for a bit, only seeming to turn his back for a moment to attend to a few things indoors before coming back outside only to find the roof repaired and Wolfwood gone. The only indication of his presence being the crucifix necklace hanging from a ragged edge of wood on the front porch of Vash's little house. The hammered metal looked blood red in the waning light and Vash lifted it, looking it over.
Well…it wouldn't be a problem to keep it safe for now.
Oddly enough, three nights later, Vash found himself with company again.
Out on his porch sat the wolf from the other night, its leg healed up but clearly tangled in some kind of net. Even with the fact that it had a muzzle, it still managed to look more than a little annoyed at its circumstances. It let out a quiet noise at Vash's approach and the blond chuckled, kneeling next to it.
"You really do get into some weird situations, don't you?" Vash asked, looking the creature over, "Maybe you should be more careful or find a friend." The wolf didn't look amused, its body rising and falling with a great huff as it laid down and looked up at him. "Well…I suppose we're friends."
Vash removed the netting slowly, the wolf moving only as much as it had to in order to let Vash get it untangled. And it was hopelessly tangled. But the wolf was calm and quiet, still watching as Vash got it free before letting out a sound that rang as relief to Vash's ears. He smiled a little, gathering the net up to store for later. He was sure some use would come of it. "Is that better?" he asked, reaching out to let the wolf sniff his hand.
It did, a little, eyes never wavering from his face before it stood up, facing one of the moons hanging heavily in the sky like tears on an eyelash. It blinked slowly before beginning to pad away, Vash waving to it before it turned, howled, and ran off.
The last thing Vash was expecting was to see Wolfwood again the next morning, smiling around the cigarette in his mouth lazily.
"Hey there, needle-noggin," Wolfwood breathed out, head tilted to the side, "I blew back this way and figured I would come say hi. Looks like the roof is still on but those windows are looking really busted."
And thus began the strangest pattern that Vash could remember in his long years of life.
The wolf would swing by with some odd little problem or another and the next morning Wolfwood would appear on his doorstep to fix something or do something. Vash ended up looking forward to his odd visitors, sitting on the porch with the wolf and bantering back and forth with Wolfwood in the light of day. It spiced up his time, gave him something to look forward to.
It probably helped that Wolfwood was incredibly handsome and that crooked smile of his made Vash's body squirm and heat gather between his thighs. But he wasn't going to focus too much on that.
Instead it was wild to live in a house where the roof didn't cave and the windows kept out the chill of the desert nights, where the floorboards didn't creak and no doors fell off the hinge. Vash felt like he lived in a palace at this point, a special gift from a man who had slowly become dear to him. Like something built just for him rather than scrounged up from the sand and made serviceable. It was a real home now, it seemed.
The small, cynical voice in Vash wondered when it would come crashing down. The rest of him was determined to enjoy it while it lasted.
The cycle continued for a while, anticipation filling Vash's world as his newest fixtures came and went with the wind and the sun. Wolfwood's chatter and the wolf's presence were something that Vash could now look forward to, something to break up the monotony of the existence he's chosen for himself in the middle of nowhere.
It was oddly funny when Wolfwood arrived and found that he'd basically fixed everything that needed fixing.
"You did a really good job of it," Vash said, chuckling as Wolfwood looked like he'd run out of excuses. "You know…you can just…come visit me, right?" Vash teased, leaning against a support beam while Wolfwood finished his cigarette. "You don't have to do anything, you know."
Wolfwood looked him over for a moment before letting out a little noise and waving his free hand. "You don't get it, blondie," he said, cryptic as ever, "you keep helping me out of stupid shit. You're supposed to give up after a while and then I'm gone but you keep being nice and now I can't pay you back so…I gotta think of something else to offer."
Vash blinked in confusion. "What are you ta-"
Wolfwood pulled off his sunglasses and looked at Vash, his deep dark eyes suddenly looking familiar in more ways than one. Vash slowly came to realize that he'd never gotten a good look at Wolfwood's eyes before and that they were very, deeply familiar to him. Especially as Wolfwood moved closer, bracing his arm above Vash's head and leaning into his space. Vash swallowed against the tightness in this throat, lips parting just a little bit as the realization swept over him.
"You're-"
"Yup."
"But ho-"
"Long story," Wolfwood chuckled, shrugging, "but you threw off my whole thing, I'm supposed to bring divine punishment or whatever to the undeserving and yet here you are. So now I'm stuck like this." He waved at himself, clearly not that upset but looking a little lost. "Unless you have a way for me to repay you, needle-noggin."
"You never needed to repay me," Vash said softly, reaching up to gently touch Wolfwood's stubbled cheek, eyes wide in wonder. Well…in his long life, he'd probably seen weirder things than a man who was also a wolf. He himself was something that was weirder than a man who was also a wolf. So maybe this was fate. "Is that why you kept coming back?"
There was more to this, Vash knew it, in his bones. He knew something had happened to make Wolfwood like this, to bind him to such an odd contract and maybe it was something that could have been prevented but Vash…Vash was content to learn in time. There was nothing but time to be had in this quiet life he lived.
He was grateful for Wolfwood's disturbance of it, in all his forms.
"I guess I couldn't believe someone could be as good as you," Wolfwood said, snickering, "most people would either ignore me or chase me off. That and you got me stuck in this fucking loop and not once did you waver from just…doing something nice." Wolfwood had this incredulous, disbelieving look on his face. "I couldn't just run off, someone like you is bound to get taken advantage of." The look in Wolfwood's eyes told Vash that the other man knew it already had, that the white, simple shirt he wore barely hid away his vast scarring.
Vash only smiled at that, tilting his head to take in Wolfwood's face, the look on it as he stared into his soul, some kind of creature of judgment seeking confirmation that its worldview is correct and that one man didn't turn it on its head. "So, you're gonna take care of me, then?" Vash asked, "how would that affect the whole divine punishment thing?"
Wolfwood snickered at him, their noses brushing, never blinking even as they began to share breaths, a predator eyeing up what could either be prey or a mate. "They don't pay me enough for that gig anymore, angel," he murmured and, really, was it so hard to believe that Vash needed to taste the words directly from his mouth.
Wolfwood tasted like cigarettes and desert wind, hot and rough as he pressed closer to Vash's body, sliding a leg between his as his hand came down to wrap around his waist and tug them flush. Vash gasped against his lips, the brush of his stubble burning his skin in the best way as he grabbed for Wolfwood's dark hair, not wanting to let go. It was weird, it was so fucking weird. The reality of the situation was so fucking weird.
But Vash was also really fucking weird.
So he gave into the feelings in his body, his skin starved for touch as Wolfwood's hands skated over his clothes, every cell in his body alight with attention now that someone was feeling him. He locked his mismatched arms around Wolfwood's neck and held tight, unable to force himself to part from the other man. Wolfwood's firm body pressed into his own till the wooden post dug into his back and Vash had to force himself to scramble for air, sharp teeth skating the edges of his throat and fantailing sparks down his spine from the point of contact.
"Wait," Vash gasped, pushing on Wolfwood's shoulders to get his head on straight, "wait, wait…w-we should go inside."
Wolfwood huffed a little, almost pouting before backing up to give Vash the ability to grab him by the hand and drag him into the house that they'd somehow made into a home in the middle of a wasteland.
They crashed into the bedroom like a tornado, kissing and tugging at each other like their hands were an outlet for hunger brewing deeper in their bodies than they ever could have anticipated and Vash moaned out loud as Wolfwood tugged his hair to get at his neck again, the other man tumbling to the bed with Vash in his lap as the blond undid the buttons on his jacket.
Wolfwood tugged himself back after a moment, tossing the jacket and shirt away, hissing as Vash's hands ran through the hair on his chest, the nails of his flesh and blood hand scraping over his skin and drawing a deep, resonating growl from his throat. The sound alone lanced heat into Vash's core, skin breaking out in shivers before Wolfwood was on him again, grabbing him and twisting him to the bed with the ferocity of a predator jumping on its prey.
Though, when broad hands jumped to his own clothes, Vash felt the icy dump of reality as he sat up, pushing on Wolfwood again. "I…it's not…"
"I don't care," Wolfwood growled, pressing him down to the bed, teeth bared almost aggressively as he shoved his nose into Vash's neck. "You smell like paradise, angel," he breathed out, holding the blond closer, "none of the other shit matters." He pressed his lips, hot and heady, to Vash's pulse and sucked , dragging his teeth over the skin and Vash arched his back as pain and pleasure exploded in equal measure, something in him blossoming as he gasped and laughed.
"A-are all wolves looking for paradise?" he asked, yelping in shock as Wolfwood tugged his shirt free and tossed it away, a hot tongue already tracing his scars and metal, rough lips dragging where his arm shifted into thrumming alloy.
"This one found it," Wolfwood murmured, looking up at him with those predator eyes, with his nicotine stained lips as he dropped his head back down to kiss and bite and tug, leaving love bites like pawprints in deference to the years and running and shooting and dying writ in Vash's flesh with sobs and ink. Vash couldn't find it in himself to argue, to fight it. He fell back against the bed and writhed as the heat became overwhelming, grabbing at Wolfwood with his flesh hand and the sheets with this prosthetic as the wolf made a meal of him.
Wolfwood left no inch of his skin untouched, dragging his teeth over the divots of his scars, curling his tongue into the prominent jut of his hip as he tugged at his pants, tugging them and his underwear off in one firm tug and tossing them to be forgotten. Vash was overwhelmed, the heat in his core building, his thighs slick with his own nectar as the petals of his cunt spiraled and bloomed under the stimulation. When was the last time he'd even bothered with it beyond bathing? Two decades ago?
It didn't matter. Not now. Not with the way Wolfwood dragged his nose over his inner thigh, licking up the slick sweetness of Vash's nectar and groaning. His eyes slipped shut and he growled against his leg, tugging Vash closer to the edge of the bed, sliding to his knees on the floor to put him at the correct height to be staring right at the shuddering petals of Vash's pretty cunt. Even the soft breeze of his heated breath is enough to send electric shocks through Vash, to make his skin itch and prickle with the sensation of down feathers and piping energy.
It was nothing compared to the reality of that mouth on him and Vash's mouth dropped open and his back arched. Wolfwood's wide hands grabbed his writhing hips, holding him still, forcing him to take the overwhelming crest of pleasure that rocked up his spine as his tongue dragged over his petals and the bud of his stamen, coaxing its length out, teasing it, almost dancing with it as he moved down again. Vash's hand clenched in the dark, thick waves of his hair as the curve of Wolfwood's strong nose slid along the slender, slick shaft and his tongue danced over every trembling inch of him.
"Nnnhah ah!" Vash moaned, eyes rolling already. Wolfwood looped his arms under his thighs, thumbs pressed to his lower stomach as he held him in a vice, sucking over his stamen, down over his entrance and back up, wet sounds floating into Vash's ears and making him whine with embarrassment and lust. "Mmmh f-nnh! W-wolf-Ah! Nick!"
Wolfwood groaned, nectar dripping down his chin as his tongue curled inside of him, rough and as deep as it could go, Vash's thighs beginning to tremble as that coil of need pulled tighter and tighter in his body, tingling starting in his toes and climbing up his hips. He fought against Wolfwood's hold on him, gasping, begging, shivering as he fought his own pleasure. No, just a little longer! It's too soon too soon too much too soon oh fuck please please- !
"Ah!" Vash cried out, knees pulling tight around Wolfwood's ears, holding him close to his body as he rocked through it, as orgasm ripped him asunder and pulled him together again in shattering starlight. He cried out even louder, both hands scrambling to grab Wolfwood's hair as he continued to lick, to eat, to devour him from the inside out and Vash found himself practically screaming, dripping with want, his body empty, his stamen throbbing.
He struggled against his own pleasure, against his need to heft himself up and tug Wolfwood's head back, pulling his hair and kissing him, his own sharp teeth tugging at sand rough lips until he could taste copper, until he was toppling them over onto the floor and Wolfwood was growling and groaning into him. Vash wriggled and writhed until he was in Wolfwood's clothed lap, fumbling between them until he could get his pants off and that large, hot cock in his hand.
"Fuck, angel, not gonna last," Wolfwood moaned out and Vash felt the desperation rise even higher. He wanted. He wanted in ways that he had never been allowed to want before. He wanted to be filled. To be fuck, to end the yawning emptiness that he'd ignored in favor of leaving an ever changing world at peace while he was stuck static and mostly unchanging despite the topography of his skin begging otherwise.
"You don't have to," Vash breathed, his breath tinged with the sweet taste of himself as he got into position.
He slid onto Wolfwood, the inexorable press of his cock into him, his petals spread and shuddering as his body quaked. Wolfwood held him tighter, those long arms around him, pressing warmth into him, breathing life into him. Vash grabbed him by the cheeks to kiss him, to devour the howls of the wolf beneath him as he rocked his hips and felt parts of him stretch and open and bloom, the gates of Eden forced open for God's creatures.
Vash tugged at Wolfwood's hair as he bounced in his lap, overstimulation threatening the base of his spine as the pleasure ramped up higher, harp strings pulling and plucking. Wolfwood met his thrusts, the wet slap of their skin a chorus that filled Vash's mind with nothing but want. Wolfwood pulled back from the kiss, cupping his cheek, his dark eyes boring into Vash's, his tanned face flushed brighter with exertion. He was beautiful, handsome, gorgeous. Maybe a demon, maybe a hallucination. Maybe a wish given flesh.
But Vash wanted to love him. He wanted to fall in love with those eyes.
It might be the easiest thing he ever does.
Vash watched his face, pressing their foreheads together as they rocked together hard. Wolfwood carved him open, making a place for himself in his body, rebuilding something that Vash had considered broken and uninhabitable until this strange creature fell into his life in an act of kindness. Wolfwood had the kind of beauty that was great and terrible and every thrust of his cock rocked Vash to his very core until he was tossing his head back and screaming again.
But this time, not alone. He gasped and writhed as he was filled, as Wolfwood's growls and moans of his name, of angel , of paradise buried themselves into dug trenches and inspired new growth. Vash's head spun, his body shuddering, clenching, screaming with the feel of being filled and loved, as Wolfwood tipped them forward onto the ground, slamming in as deep as he could to bury them together.
Vash felt gutted, drained, and more at peace than he could remember.
Wolfwood pressed kisses to his neck, bites to his collar, whispered nonsense affection into his chest before looking at him, tilting his head and searching his face. Vash looked back, unsure what he was seeing but sure that it was all he needed before tugging Wolfwood back down to hold him, to tangle his fingers in his hair.
The world for Vash had been closed up before. But maybe Wolfwood could make something bloom in it again.
Days later, when there was no wolf again and only Wolfwood in his home, making some kind of breakfast on the tiny stove, Vash finally asked.
"So, you're not a wolf anymore?"
Wolfwood turned to look at him, all fanged grins and curling smoke.
"No reason to be, I found paradise."