Chapter Text
All Vash had wanted was a peaceful evening. Time to enjoy with Nicholas in the way they almost never got anymore.
He knew it may have been a big ask. No Man's Land wasn't particularly known for being hospitable. The people of Gunsmoke would much rather shove the barrel of a gun between your teeth than send a friendly wave your way. But Vash truly believed it was possible. Nicholas called him crazy for his commitment to the idea, but even he was nothing but a loyal dog in Vash's palm. If Vash wanted a nice evening then by God he's getting one.
Nicholas was never a man of nice things. He never grew up with the option of nice meals or stress free laughter. Not until he met Vash at least.
So of course, when Vash mentioned a supposedly nice spaghetti dish the local bar had, accompanied by some booth seats… Nicholas couldn't stop him. Figured a nice outing would benefit the two anyway. And man, what he wouldn't do to see the way Vash's face lit up with excitement when he agreed.
Apparently this place was nice, like almost impossibly so for what Gunsmoke was. When they said bar they didn't mean the dive bars the pair had gotten used to. They meant the fancy kind he only ever read about in books when he could get them. The kind where businessmen would gather to consult. The concept alone was more than intimidating to the gunman.
Vash had apparently gotten himself two free meals promised to him by some engineer he saved. Nicholas remembered that night only because he spent it cleaning Vash's gunshot wounds he acquired jumping in front of the man. Idiot.
Vash had forced him into some nice-ish clothes he had presented to him. He wasn’t sure where Vash could get such clothing seeing that they were flat broke, but he didn't question it.
“Awe, Nick you look so handsome!” Vash grinned enthusiastically. Wolfwood huffed a plume of smoke, turning his head to hide the blooming red across his face.
“Let's just get going. needles.” He huffed. He pointedly avoided looking at Vash's own attire. He wasn’t sure they'd make it to the place if he gave it any mind. The tight red vest was certainly doing numbers for Vash's figure. (Again, no idea how or where Vash got this shit.)
“You're cute when you're flustered, preacher man.” Vash giggled as he took Wolfwood's arm in his own. Wolfwood reached for The Punisher on the way out but Vash quickly slapped his hand away.
“No giant guns please… trying to feel like a normal couple here.” Vash pouted lightly Wolfwood couldn’t deny the endearment he felt.
“Spikey. Nice restaurant or not, you're wanted for more money than a goddamn plant. No way we're going unarmed.” He frowned, peering up at Vash. It had always felt weird trying to be the more intimidating one of the two when Vash was a near foot taller than him.
“...fine. But not The Punisher. Bring your pistol at the very least.” Vash sighed dramatically. Wolfwood couldn’t argue with that request, it was probably best to avoid attention at all, and The Punisher certainly brought it.
Wolfwood grabbed his pistol from the night stand drawer, giving it a dramatic little spin before grabbing the holster as well.
“Happy?” Vash scoffed.
“Ecstatic.” Wolfwood replied with a grin as he walked back up to Vash's side. Vash wasted no time quickly linking their arms together once more with a cheesy smirk. Wolfwood found himself blushing at the sight, like he always had.
Vash was confident in the direction to the restaurant and only got a little lost once. Praise Jesus.
The restaurant looked fancier than anything Wolfwood had spared the mind to pay attention to before. It was honestly shocking the folks of this town hadn't ransacked the place yet. Wolfwood took it as a blessing.
He couldn't pay mind to the way the building stuck out when he had the embodiment of sunlight next to him anyhow.
Vash had been practically bouncing off his heels in excitement when they walked up to the door. It was good. This was good. Vash had never seemed this excited over letting himself be pampered, probably because he thought he'd be doing the pampering. The engineer had given the men two free meals, so Wolfwood would make sure Vash was getting a whole meal.
Wolfwood brushed past Vash, sneaking a kiss on the cheek while doing so. The action was not one he'd typically expect himself to do, but it was hard to resist when Vash looked so excited. He seemed just as surprised as Wolfwood, quickly growing red as he grabbed Wolfwood's hand and they walked side by side into the establishment.
The interior was just as extravagant as the exterior. Walls not built from paper with intricacies carved into them, pictures of the business owners and their families, laminated menus, hard wood flooring…. It was so nice. Almost too nice for Wolfwood's caring.
This place resembled more of a book set on earth than planet Gunsmoke. But Wolfwood wouldn't argue.
Vash was grinning ear to ear as the wonderful server sat them down at a booth. Wolfwood immediately asked what the coupons that the engineer gave them would get them here.
“With that you get two of our chefs wonderful pasta alongside two cocktails of your choosing… honestly have never seen one of these coupons before, they're pretty hard to come by…” The waiter broke character slightly before correcting himself. “So would that work for you two?”
Vash nodded enthusiastically. “Yes! That sounds wonderful!” Vash looked back at Wolfwood with wide bright eyes. Wolfwood fell in love all over again.
They told the man their cocktails of choice before he walked off. Vash was talking non stop to Wolfwood in a way that meant he had just been far too excited to keep it in his mind. Wolfwood felt his heart warm at the sight. It wasn't often that Vash got to be relaxed like this.
Wolfwood leaned forward, bracing his head on his knuckles as he watched the blonde blabber on. It was his favorite pastime, listening to Vash. Made him feel whole. Like despite everything the Eye of Michael put him through, he still had something left to give. He still had room for love in his heart.
Vash was cut off after a few minutes of talking by the waiter dropping off their cocktails. Far fancier than anything Wolfwood had drunk in his lifetime, even had the little garnish and everything.
They happily cheered and drank the colorful liquid faster than they were probably meant to. They were gunmen, it wasn't in their nature to drink politely.
The sun had started to set, a golden light being cast across every surface. Including Vash. They had been sitting directly next to a window and the sun ray left Wolfwood nearly speechless. Vash had always been gorgeous, but the sight in front of him left him awestruck. The way his blue eyes locked onto Wolfwood's left him weak in the knees and thankful he was sitting. The way the strands of hair that he insisted on leaving down perfectly swept over his face like the gentle touch of a feather… that smile that Wolfwood had long since convinced himself could replace his vials. Everything about Vash was beautiful, and he was so incredibly thankful he was the one who got to sit across from him.
At that moment there were only three words Wolfwood wanted to speak aloud.
“Spikey…” Wolfwood was briefly cut off by the plates of pasta being delivered.
Vash's face lit up with excitement at the sight. Granted, the dish did look good. Wolfwood couldn’t help but feel excitement himself.
The evening passed by like that, the two men scarfed down their pasta like they were starved, which they were. The other customers around them eyed them like they were wild animals. Wolfwood couldn’t care when the love of his life was right across from him, telling him stories Wolfwood had heard a million times and would never get tired of.
They eventually found themselves at the bar section of the restaurant. Much more their pace compared to the fancy booths and cocktails.
“Cheers to fancy living!” Wolfwood grinned at the blonde man next to him. Vash raised his shit class in response, his own lips curled into a smile as well. Their glasses clinked and they quickly downed the shot. Wolfwood tensed slightly as he felt Vash's hand grip his thigh but he quickly melted into it when he heard Vash giggle in the way that told he was already tipsy.
They ended up stumbling out of the restaurant more drunk than they had been in the past few weeks. Vash was leaning against Wolfwood as they both giggled with no reason to be doing so. They swayed with each other, barely able to stand up right.
“Ne- Needles-” Wolfwood said between drunken cackles. He slowly pushed away from the man, grabbing onto the fence next to them in order to not collapse onto him. He never let himself get as wasted as he had been tonight, especially not without The Punisher within arms reach. But the night felt…special. Special in a way that Wolfwood felt he'd never get the comfort of experiencing again. So he took the risk, and Vash's grin was more payment than he'll ever need.
Vash giggled and let him separate from him. His own legs wobbled as struggled to find purchase against the concrete sidewalk. They must have looked like absolute idiots the way they could barely sustain a footing.
Wolfwood spotted a bench near the restaurant through his drunken haze. Despite his sense being fried by booze, he still would rather Vash sit down when he could barely keep himself up right.
He fumbled for Vash's hand before tugging him along toward the bench. Vash didn’t fight as Wolfwood sat him down clumsily.
Then a gunshot was heard.
Wolfwood had always known that Vash wasn't human. That much was obvious merely one day to knowing the man. Let alone the nights they spent together.
What he had also known was that Vash, unlike himself, was capable of sobering up almost instantly under direct threat. The moment they heard that bullet shoot out, Vash was as stable as they were when they arrived.
The same could not be said for Wolfwood.
The shot had startled his inebriated head into the bench as he lost his footing, forehead colliding with the seat as he startled into the ground.
Vash took about a second to address the situation before he was grabbing Wolfwood and running for the hills
The man could run faster than most people. But when he was also carrying practically a hundred and seventy pounds of dead weight in his arms, his movements became less impressive.
Wolfwood could make out his muffled cursing and huffing as he jumped from rooftop to rooftop. Bounty hunters following close behind.
“One night. I just wanted one night.” Vash exclaimed angrily. Wolfwood wasn't entirely sure what was happening anymore, but Vash was mad, so he knew it was serious. The last time he saw Vash angry it was directed at him and… he didn't particularly care to live that again.
The bounty hunters were still chasing them, but they were arguably far behind. Vash was a hard man to keep up with.
Vash took this as his opportunity to lay Wolfwood somewhere. They were after Vash, not Wolfwood. To Vash it seemed unfair to drag Wolfwood along. He skidded to a stop near a small abandoned building.
“Okay, Nick, I'm gonna lay you down over here, okay? I- I'll be back as soon as possible. I just need to get these guys off my tail, yeah? And then- and then I'll come right back and we can go back to the hotel together. How's that sound? Okay- okay I have to go… stay quiet Nico, okay?” Vash was rambling and he knew that. Of course he knew that. He had at least five men trying to shoot them at the moment. Anyone would be rambling.
“Okay- stay here. I'll be back.” Vash said once more before he leaped up and began running again. Wolfwood watched him go through the haze in his eyes. He trusted him. If Vash said he'd be back for him, then he'd be back for him. No questions about it.
Wolfwood wasn't sure how long he was kept there. No idea how many hours passed as he heard distant yelling. All he knew was that Vash was on the way. They'd have a nice night at the hotel. They would be normal again once this was all over.
His daydreaming was interrupted by the door of the building slamming open. For a second, Wolfwood thought it was Vash. He did at least until he felt his hair get tugged back and his ears registered the footsteps of more than one pair of booths. His suspicion was confirmed when he heard the click of a gun.
“Boss! This is the bastard that Humanoid Typhoon was hurling around with him, yeah?” A rather raspy voice echoed from behind Wolfwood.
“Yeah. Yeah he is.” The second voice was icy. Cold in a cruel way. Wolfwood felt the chill of it radiate down his spine.
“Knock him out, Johnny. He could be useful.” The cold voice continued. It was the last voice he heard before a sharp pain to the back of the head echoed through his skull. The darkness that followed it came without warning.
Wolfwood had no time to stop it before it consumed everything.