Vash doesn't see it coming when he notices some changes ever since he started staying at the orphanage, visiting for an unspecified amount of time.
Everyone's scents are noticeably sharper, overwhelming his nose at the changes in someone's mood, and he's feeling a little sluggish to boot. Wolfwood's scent is annoyingly crowding his senses when it didn't before. He would get headaches from it if it wasn't appealing to him. Vash brushes off the intense smells, accepting it as part of some semblance of a normal life and cohabiting with others. It's nice and peaceful, the opposite of being a nomad.
Oh, and there's the fact that no one knows he's an omega. Even Wolfwood doesn't know.
It's easy to hide when the smell of the desert, sweat, gunpowder, anxiety, stress, covering every inch of his skin, can mask his scent. Less work for him to cover up. He's convinced he's different from humans anyway. No one knows what he is. Wolfwood convinced himself that he's an alpha or none of the above, chalking it up as just Vash being different from humans. Vash is grateful he doesn't get hounded about it. It's not like he gets heats anyway.
He had one heat once, too long ago to matter today. Vash never really investigated this matter too extensively. It's better that way.
Between getting used to various scents that stifle his senses and feeling worn out from an unexplained reason, Vash gets distracted a lot. Wolfwood calls him out on it.
Vash is washing the dishes on autopilot, tired more than usual after playing with the kids before it was time to eat. He doesn't hear Wolfwood calling his name—well, nickname, until he says his actual name.
"Vash."
Vash jumps and turns to Wolfwood, who scrutinizes him with furrowed brows. "Yeah?"
"Is something the matter? You're looking a little rough."
Vash rubs his neck but jolts his hand away when water touches his skin, remembering his hands are wet. "Sorry, I was distracted, that's all. What's up?"
Wolfwood squints at him but accepts his answer. "I'm going to run to the bakery to grab cookies for the kids. Do you want anything?"
Vash does his best to stop his nose from twitching at everyone's scents to avoid Wolfwood's keen eye. It's hard when there's a bunch of kids scurrying around with their mood swings and intense emotions. Going into town is a nightmare with being around strangers when he joins Wolfwood for a morning walk. Sleep evades him when he attempts to rest a little longer to combat his exhaustion. He finds himself waking multiple times overnight, tossing around on his bed and gripping the sheets. What's odd is he wakes up feeling agitated, uncomfortable, wanting to grab another pillow but goes back to sleep before he decides to do something about his dismay.
What's worse is that while Wolfwood's scent is annoying, Vash can't help but seek it, like a moth to a flame, a balm for his worries.
Vash is focused on reading a book on the couch when Wolfwood startles him, dropping on the cushion next to him with a stuffed animal on his lap. Glancing over, Vash sees the plushie is ripped with the stuffing threatening to spill out. Wolfwood holds a sewing needle and thread in his hands.
"Looks pretty rough," Vash comments.
"Yeah," Wolfwood replies, inserting the thread through the eye of the needle. "Gotta fix it or I have a kid's tears on my hands."
Wolfwood works away at sewing up the big tear in the toy while Vash continues reading, both silent as they're preoccupied. While he reads away, Vash smells Wolfwood's scent through every breath. It's calming, lulling him to sleep when he closes his eyes for a couple of seconds. He wakes up some time later with his head resting on Wolfwood's shoulder. Vash jumps up in a flash, face red.
"Sorry," Vash immediately apologizes. "I—" He stops when Vash sees Wolfwood's eyes are closed. His eyes open to peak at Vash and yawns. Vash glances at the sewed up plushie on the side table. "Didn't mean to sleep on you," Vash finishes.
Wolfwood waves off his apology to ease his worries. "Don't worry about it. This couch is pretty comfy for a nap."
It doesn't put Vash at ease when Wolfwood's scent has an effect on him unlike before and continues to embarrass himself.
Vash is hanging laundry out to dry with Melanie. He ruminates about the building warmth under his skin lately while throwing the sheets over the clothesline, the heat of the morning sunlight getting under his skin more than usual. When he throws a shirt up a bit carelessly, he misses. At the same time, the wind blows and the shirt lands over his head. He stops short of grumbling when he breathes in the scent that's clinging to the fabric. It's one of Wolfwood's shirts.
Vash pulls the shirt off his head and examines it. Wolfwood's scent linger despite the shirt being freshly washed. There's a desire to shove his face into the piece of fabric. Or bring it to his room for his—
"Vash? Is everything alright, dear?"
Vash jumps at the sound of his name, turning to Melanie who looks at him curiously when his face turns red. "Yep! The wind got me."
With Melanie satisfied with his response and going back to her task, Vash turns back to the shirt in his hands. He throws the shirt over the clothesline and helps Melanie finish hanging up the laundry. It takes a lot of effort to ignore Wolfwood's scent clinging to his clothes whenever he hangs them up to dry.
His sensitive nose is frustrating when everyone gathers in one room for meals and scents annoy him. After dinner one evening, he needs a break, some fresh air to get away from all the smells. He hangs around on the porch to just breathe, relieving his poor nose, and watches the sunset. The scents are becoming more overwhelming by the day, and his sleep keeps getting disturbed, making him a bit broody. He sighs. Maybe I need a check up, he thinks, as he fiddles with his black bangs. Is his age catching up to him or is it something else?
There's a click behind him that sounds like someone turning the doorknob. The door opens to reveal Wolfwood.
"Hey," Wolfwood greets him.
Vash shoots him a tired smile. "Hey."
"Needed a break?" Wolfwood asks as he leans back against the wall.
Vash turns back to face the horizon. "Yeah."
They don't say anything as Vash watches the horizon grow darker. Vash hears the familiar click and turns back to Wolfwood to see him holding a lighter and a cigarette dangling from his lips.
"I thought you stopped," Vash comments.
Wolfwood shrugs. "I smoke every now and then." He lights the cigarette and shoves the lighter into his pocket. "When I'm not around the kids or Melanie."
"So never?" Vash jests.
Wolfwood snorts. "Hey now. It's hard to get some alone time around here."
Vash turns away and goes back to what he was doing: being broody. He looks at the smoke waffling in the wind before the familiar smell of smoke soon hits his nose. Taking a deep breath, he stills when the scent worms itself into his brain. It's the smell that screams Wolfwood. The same scent that he grew accustomed to during their travels in the desert. Once upon a time, he wrinkled his nose at the smell of smoke. Now, he's captivated.
Vash stares at Wolfwood, transfixed without the other knowing, watching the other look into the distance like he was doing earlier. He watches Wolfwood slip his hands into his pockets and relaxes his stance as he learns against the wall, playing with this cigarette between his lips before reaching up to pluck it out and blow smoke into the air.
Vash wants. He doesn't know what he wants or why he wants.
"Spikey? Are you okay?"
Vash snaps out of it and sees the confused look on Wolfwood's face. "Yeah! Yeah, I'm okay." He looks away as he flusters, ignoring the stare Wolfwood is throwing at him until Vash decides to retire to his room for the night.
Is he coming down with something?
"Vash, I think you should take it easy."
Melanie's voice catches his attention. They're working together washing and rinsing the dirty dishes. Vash's shoulders droop after he sets a plate on the drying rack, feeling ashamed that Melanie noticed him being lost in thought, thinking about what happened yesterday with Wolfwood, and his overall lethargy demeanour.
"Sorry, you're right."
Melanie puts a hand on his shoulder and gives him a reassuring smile. "The boys and I can take it from here until you feel better."
Vash listens to Melanie's advice and abstains from helping with chores. He sleeps in more, well, tries to but he keeps having restless nights. Not only is he restless, his body is warmer than usual, making him throw off the blanket, until he gets chills from his cold sweat so he pulls the blanket back over his body. Rinse and repeat. No amount of sleeping can make him feel fully rested.
Vash sulks. He's tired, he's "banned" from helping with the workload, and scents keep annoying his nose. Reading doesn't distract him enough, nor does knitting help his case when he's jumpy. His expression makes Wolfwood pop a question as he forlornly watches the other getting ready to go out from his place on the couch.
"You look miserable," Wolfwood says while slipping on his shoes. "Do you wanna come?"
Vash appreciates Wolfwood trying to cheer him up, knowing he likes going out on a walk, even though going to the nearby town sounds like a bad idea right now. It's precisely because of Wolfwood that he decides to join him. He instantly regrets it when there's a lot of people walking around, giving him a headache from all the scents and noises. Wolfwood glances at him when he cringes and wrinkles his nose. Vash ignores Wolfwood's questioning look and stops making his discomfort so obvious. He sticks close to Wolfwood and focuses on the other's scent to drown out all the others.
They stop by one of the market stalls, scanning baked goods and bread. Vash almost thinks it's worth coming out when he orders a two dozen bite-sized donuts to share without everyone. While the shopkeeper is busy putting the donuts in a box, Wolfwood draws his attention away with a hand on his back.
"I'm going to go check out one of the stalls over there," Wolfwood says, pointing behind him. "I wanna see if they have any of those hard candies that everyone likes."
Vash hesitates before agreeing. "Uh, sure." He keeps his eyes on Wolfwood as the other walks through the crowd.
"Excuse me."
Vash turns his gaze back to the shopkeeper who holds the box of donuts. He fishes out some coins from his pocket, looking over to the direction where Wolfwood went, and quickly pays for the treats. With the box in hand, Vash scans the area, trying to find Wolfwood at any of the stalls nearby. His throat seizes when he can't find him. With Wolfwood gone, his scent is gone too. The unfamiliar scent of strangers around him causes his heart rate to spike, suddenly feeling vulnerable.
Vash swallows back the panic as his eyes sweep across his surroundings while he marches past people, dangerously close to walking into someone. When he turns his head to look over at one of the stalls, he doesn't see the man in front of him and bumps into him. Vash yelps as he's knocked to the ground just as the other man falls too. His box of donuts also hits the ground but thankfully, the box is secured and nothing falls out. He can't say the same with the man's own belongings. Bags of produce fall to the ground with vegetables scattered around. Vash cringes, hoping the groceries didn't get bruised too bad.
"Sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going." Vash pushes himself off the ground and rushes to help pick up the food, putting them back in one of the bags.
"Ugh!"
Vash pauses, glancing up to see the man dusting off his clothes, wearing tailored dress pants and shirt, and looking angry as he complains and fixes up his appearance. The man makes eye contact with him and gets angrier when he sees what Vash is doing. Vash stops moving when he smells the man's scent coming in waves—alpha, and an angry one.
"You! Put them down!" the man growls.
Vash doesn't move. "I can help pick them up," he reasons.
The man doesn't listen. He marches towards him, causing Vash to react by dropping the bag he's holding and standing upright. Vash takes a step back, bracing himself as the man charges forward with a hand reaching out towards him. It's times like these that he wishes he had a soothing scent to make himself harmless to others.
"Don't touch my—"
Vash smells him before he sees him.
Wolfwood steps in and grabs the man's wrist before it reaches Vash. He lets out a deep growl that puts Vash on edge, causing him to freeze and heart to race.
"Watch it," Wolfwood warns. There's a hint of a command in his voice.
If Vash wasn't alert before, he is now as he sucks in a breath. Wolfwood's voice makes his hair stand on end, something that has never happened before, and Wolfwood has used it plenty of times on their travels when someone gives them a hard time, telling them to fuck off. Vash is still while Wolfwood and the other man glare at each other until the man roughly takes his hand back. The man curses them under his breath as he picks up his stuff and marches away. Vash stares until Wolfwood's voice startles him.
"You alright?"
Vash turns sharply to look at Wolfwood. The other's previous anger is now replaced with worry. Vash waves his hands frantically. "Yep! I'm fine! It's my fault I bumped into him."
Wolfwood nods seeing as Vash looks okay, only a little frazzled. "Well, that's no excuse to throw hands over a harmless bump." He motions with his hand for Vash to follow him. "Let's get going."
"R-right."
Vash barely focuses his attention on the words Wolfwood throws at him as they navigate through the grocery store. Wolfwood doesn't mind as he continues to chatter after receiving lukewarm responses, thinking Vash is still distracted about what happened earlier. What Vash is really distracted about though, is why he's cautious of Wolfwood. His heart is still racing, and the restlessness from this morning has increased twofold, too on edgy to stand still. This distraction is what caused him to run into the man earlier.
Wolfwood is the reason. Wolfwood is distracting him.
This is bad, Vash thinks, as he strolls with Wolfwood on the path back to the orphanage. Wolfwood senses his broodiness since he stopped chattering.
"I can hear you stewing away."
Wolfwood's words snap Vash out of his daze. "Sorry…"
"Is it because of what happened earlier?"
Vash feels guilty at the reminder. "I feel bad for ruining his dinner."
Wolfwood hums. Then says bluntly, "You've been off lately."
Vash winces from the other noticing his behaviour. Making an excuse is futile. "I don't know what's going on. Maybe I'm just tired," he says truthfully. Then he mumbled to himself, "Maybe I should go…"
Wolfwood stops walking. "Go?"
Vash stops as well. "Yeah, Luida might know something. Or someone else on the ship."
Wolfwood hums as he ruminates, recalling something in his head. "You do smell differently."
Vash shoulders hunch.
"Well, it doesn't hurt to check," Wolfwood continues. "Don't want you getting sick on me."
"Yeah." Vash smiles, hoping Wolfwood doesn't notice his uneasiness. "I don't want to get anyone sick."
When they're back at the orphanage, Vash scurries to his room after letting Melanie know that he plans to leave after he packs tomorrow. He suspects that Melanie knows more than she lets on when she offers him to take any supplies and blankets. He kindly refuses.
The next day, Vash wakes up feeling hot and achy. He didn't get any proper rest when he kept tossing and turning, waking every hour pushing and pulling his bed sheet and pillow around, as if he couldn't find the right position. With the sweat sticking to his skin, he takes a cold shower, feeling a little bit better when his skin stops boiling.
Vash skips breakfast, not feeling too hungry to stomach anything yet, and heads outside to tend the garden, the only task he's allowed to do. He only needs to water the crops and the flowers and trim some overgrowth before he needs to pack. The sunhat on his head helps block out the sunlight, but it doesn't stop his body from heating up quickly.
When he finishes trimming the last flower, he stands up and wipes the sweat off his forehead. The harsh suns and the fatigue are really weighing him down. He sits on the bench, right next to the concrete wall of the orphanage that gives him some shade. Feeling exhausted, he lies down across the bench and closes his eyes for a quick rest.
When Vash wakes up, the first thing he feels is that he's warm. Vash blinks away the fogginess in his vision, looking up to see Wolfwood, who's staring at him. It takes a lot of effort to sit up.
Then he smells it. Something pungent. It's coming from him.
Vash freezes. He stares at the alpha in front of him. The other's scent is sharp, telling him he's on high alert, which fills him with panic.
Heat, Vash realizes. He's in heat.
Vash stands abruptly. "I should go." He doesn't get very far when he stumbles, the panic and heat making his vision swim. He braces a hand on the wall for support when his knees buckle.
"Wait—"
A firm arm around him stops him from hitting the ground too hard when he collapses. The touch makes him flinch and shut his eyes. He hears high pitch noise, barely registering that it's coming from his throat—a warning. The arm leaves its hold on him when he's safe on the ground. Vash shakes against the wall, panting and delirious.
"Hey."
Vash hears a voice but doesn't answer. Instead, he shakes his head. He wants to be somewhere safe, somewhere not out in the open where anyone can find him. His scent overwhelms him. It's foreign to him, and it stinks, too sour for anyone's liking.
He whines when he sniffs a different scent, an alpha's, coming closer, making him shake his head again. Any alpha would find his scent nauseating. He peeks his eyes open to see a hand offered to him, wrist exposed. Taking another sniff, the other scent is familiar. It's muted in a way. It doesn't smell oppressive for his sensitive nose. He clutches the hand to bring it closer. Closing his eyes, he presses his nose against the wrist. The familiar scent of Wolfwood is enough to calm him down.
"Vash?"
Vash clicks his throat in response.
It's quiet for a moment as Vash rubs his nose over Wolfwood's wrist until the other pulls his wrist away, causing Vash to whine and his own scent to flood his senses. Then, arms wrap around him, and he's lifted up. Vash buries his face into Wolfwood's shoulder while being carried somewhere. He's laid down on something soft, recognizing it's his bed, and curls on his side. Vash doesn't listen to the movement behind him when he fusses over his bed sheets. There's something missing as he grips the sheet. His bed is too barren.
Somehow, Wolfwood knows what he's looking for when something drops next to his hand. A shirt. Vash grips the shirt and brings it close to his nose. His own scent clings to the fabric, the scent milder and sweeter than what it is right now. He passes out while more clothes are scattered across his bed.
Vash rouses sometime later, groggy from his nap and the heat radiating from his skin, trying to remember what happened earlier as he looks around his room. He finds his clothes spread across his bed and a glass of water on the side table next to him. Looking at the water makes him realize how thirsty he is. He reaches for the glass and empties it within seconds. After placing the glass back on the table, he jumps when the door to his room opens with a click. Wolfwood peeks his head inside and sees him.
"You're awake," Wolfwood says.
Vash watches Wolfwood close the door behind him and lean against it with arms crossed. It's not lost on Vash that Wolfwood doesn't move any closer. He gauges the other's expression, which remains passive, neutral in a way where Vash doesn't know what the other is thinking. Wolfwood just found out that he's an omega, and in a compromising position at that.
Wolfwood's expression shifts when his eyebrows furrow and his nose twitches. "You're not in trouble if that's what you're thinking."
Vash drops his shoulders. "Sorry, I'm—" He looks away. "Sorry you had to see me like that."
"It's fine." Wolfwood waves off the apology. "A little warning next time, yeah? You didn't even have a nest. Unless…"
Vash's face reddens at Wolfwood's silence. "I didn't know it was coming," he answers Wolfwood's unspoken question.
"Okay." Wolfwood exhales. "I'll get some blankets."
Vash glances at Wolfwood when he takes his leave. "Aren't you surprised?"
Wolfwood stops. "Can't say that I am when your scent has been all—" He waves his hand around and looks over at Vash. "Which explained a lot. Melanie didn't look surprised when I told her."
"Nothing gets past her," Vash comments.
"Nothing," Wolfwood agrees. "I'll be back."
Wolfwood hands off some blankets to him for his nest. Vash never made a nest before so he wings it. He feels out of his depth though, not really knowing what to do with his clothes or the blankets as he rearranges his nest haphazardly and hopes it satisfies him. Looking at it…it looks like a mess that sets some inadequacy inside him.
The rest of the day is uneventful as he sleeps through the afternoon into the evening. He wakes up briefly to eat something when Melanie gives him some leftover food. At night, his heat spikes.
Vash writhes in bed. Every muscle aches and throbs, and his body is too hot for comfort. He grips the front of his shirt, where his heart is racing like he's scared of something. His own scent is oppressive to his senses. He trembles as he gets out of bed and heads to the bathroom to splash some cold water on his face to cool down his skin and snap some sense into himself. It doesn't work as he holds himself up by the counter, panting to catch his breath and calm his heart. He looks into the mirror. There's no light on, but he can see the feathers littering his skin. He looks away from his reflection and closes his eyes, swallowing back the sickness that creeps up his throat.
Going back to his bed, his nest, doesn't give him any comfort. He curls into himself and buries his face into his knees, waiting for the pang inside him to go away. It won't go away. He's missing something, or someone.
Vash crawls out of bed again. This time, he leaves his room, walking down the hallway in the darkness, and stops outside a door. He finds Wolfwood's room in search of comfort. Wolfwood is the most familiar to him, he reasons, or tries to reason through the thick of his heat.
Wolfwood stirring awake causes Vash to stop in front of his bed. The other squints through the darkness to look at his direction.
"Vash?"
Vash's voice gets stuck in his throat.
Wolfwood pulls the covers off the mattress on the side closest to Vash and scoots over to give him space. Vash climbs on to the bed, sliding next to Wolfwood who drags the bed sheet over him and tucks him close with an arm around his middle. Wolfwood makes a humming sound deep in his throat that loosens the tension inside Vash. Tucking his head under Wolfwood's chin, Vash falls asleep.
When morning comes, Vash stirs feeling warm and safe. He soon realizes there's a body next to him, realizing it's Wolfwood, and freezes. Pulling his head away from the crevice of Wolfwood's neck, Vash sees the other is fast asleep in the morning light. Vash vaguely remembers crawling inside Wolfwood's bed a few hours ago. His face burns with embarrassment. He should leave, he's supposed to be in his nest, not searching and taking advantage of the next available—
Vash stops breathing when Wolfwood moves. His head is dragged back into the space between Wolfwood's shoulder and neck with the help of a hand in his hair. Wolfwood ends his movements with a quiet rumbling sound, still fast asleep. Vash lets out the breath he was holding. There's no getting away now without waking up Wolfwood. His body tingles from being pressed against Wolfwood, but it's not uncomfortable, the closeness melts the worries he had just a minute ago. A little more sleep wouldn't hurt. His eyes grow heavy as he curls up and slumbers again.
When Vash wakes up again, he's alone in bed. For the second time, he panics over being in Wolfwood's bed. Just when he sits up, the door to the room opens and he faces Wolfwood at the entrance.
"Hey," Wolfwood greets him.
"Hey, I—" Vash wrings his hands, fighting the redness on his cheeks. "Sorry for intruding," he finishes.
"It's nothing. You were pretty out of it." Wolfwood brushes off the apology as he rounds the bed to get to his dressers and opens a drawer. He pulls out one of his shirts. "Maybe a shirt will help?"
Vash blinks at him.
Wolfwood cheeks redden at Vash's confusion. "For your nest."
"Oh!" Vash straightens up and shakes his head. "No, I'm okay! Thank you." He curses at himself for refusing the shirt when he desperately wants it. Before Wolfwood gets the chance to speak, Vash climbs out of the bed. "I'll get going."
When Vash is alone in his room, curling up in his nest, he wishes he took the shirt. He spends the day moping in bed in between eating whatever snacks Melanie or Wolfwood give him and napping. There's a building headache throbbing between his eyes that lingers as he fidgets around within the confines of his nest.
Something changes overnight when restlessness turns into agitation. He's still not happy with his nest. With that, he takes it apart, pushing blankets and clothes to the floor or hanging off the bed. He's left shaking and heaving looking at the mess he made through the darkness. His head pounds with a booming headache, feeling each and every heartbeat that courses through his veins.
Vash stumbles into the bathroom, hitting his knees to the cold floor and coughs bile into the toilet. He attempts to stand, but he's too weak to drag himself back to bed. Lying on the floor feels nice where the cool tiles press against his fevered skin. Vash passes out in the middle of the bathroom.
A hand dragging across his hair wakes Vash up. He writhes when he's hit with a pounding head and a body that's melting from within.
"Hey."
It takes a lot of effort for Vash to peel his eyes open, directing his blurry gaze at Wolfwood who has a worried expression. Vash whines at the other looking upset.
Wolfwood moves his hand to Vash's forehead. "You're running a high fever."
Vash whines again. He reaches for Wolfwood's hand and pulls the other's wrist to his nose, searching for the other's scent.
"You did a number on your nest, didn't you?" Wolfwood murmurs.
Vash responds by rubbing his nose over Wolfwood's wrist.
"How is he?" There's someone else in the room, speaking in a soft tone.
Wolfwood doesn't answer the question, responding with, "I'm gonna stay here."
"I'll grab more blankets and pillows."
"Thanks." Then the bed dips. "Come here."
Vash reaches for Wolfwood as the other wraps his arms around him. He buries his face into Wolfwood's neck. "Sorry," he croaks, too lethargic to say anything else.
Wolfwood answers with a rumble before Vash blacks out.
Vash slips in and out of consciousness, always feeling the uncomfortable heat radiating from his body. Sometimes, he sees Wolfwood looking down at him with a frown on his face and wishes he could stop Wolfwood from frowning in some way but he doesn't have any strong left in him. He must be making some sort of noise when Wolfwood softly shushes him before putting a cold cloth on his forehead. Vash welcomes the cold that starves off the heat that's melting his brain for a little while before he's knocked out.
He's rudely awakened to drink some water or soup every few hours, complaining when Wolfwood is persistent and too weak to fight back. Wolfwood pets his head to coax him into giving in.
At one point, he hears two voices, talking in hushed tones, something about a doctor and getting help. Vash is too delirious to question what's going on.
This routine goes on until Vash wakes up super groggy one morning without his body trying to scorch him from the inside or his headache blinding his vision. He finds himself wrapped up in a blanket, completely secured. There's also something in his hands as he pulls them out to find he's holding on to a shirt that's not his own. His body feels like it's been hit by a car while he unwraps himself and struggles to sit up. Looking at his surroundings, he's alone in his room, and his bed is covered in fabrics and pillows that he doesn't remember putting. Someone made his nest. Taking a whiff, his room is drenched with—
Vash startles when the door opens. Wolfwood looks at him with surprise.
"You're awake," Wolfwood says, the same words uttered the first time he saw Vash awake but now filled with awe.
Vash rubs his neck, cringing when he touches his hair and how greasy it became. "I'm awake," he says with a hoarse voice.
Wolfwood walks up to him to touch his forehead.
Vash looks up at Wolfwood as all the tension leaves the other's body. "I think it passed."
Wolfwood pulls his hand back and sits at the edge of the bed, looking worn out. "You had me worried for a while there."
"How long?" Vash asks.
"Four days."
Vash's eyebrows shoot up in shock. "Oh." He didn't realize his heat would be that bad. Any omega suffering from a heat like that for too long would be close to life-threatening without medical intervention.
"Yeah," Wolfwood responds, he rakes his hand through his hair in a rush. "You were out of it the entire time and Melanie was ready to get some help if the heat didn't break through by this morning."
Guilt prickles under Vash's skin. He opens his mouth to speak but Wolfwood continues.
"Finding out you're an omega and then your heat trying to kill you. What a week."
Vash watches Wolfwood fret. "C'mon, you know I'm pretty resilient," he jokes.
Wolfwood shoots him a sour look. His scent also shifts, making Vash sober up.
"Hey, I'm okay now," Vash says gently.
"Hope so." Wolfwood doesn't sound convinced.
Vash doesn't have a scent to comfort him. His scent is nonexistent right now, and he's covered in Wolfwood's. Soothing the other with his own scent is silly. He tries anyway.
Vash pulls the blanket off and spurs enough of his remaining strength to crawl to the edge of the bed.
"What are you doing?" Wolfwood sputters, arms out as if he's ready to catch him.
Vash answers by spreading his arms and reaching towards Wolfwood. He tilts forwards too soon that makes him lose his balance and bump into the other a bit too roughly. It's okay though as he gets to wrap his arms around Wolfwood. "Thank you," he breathes into Wolfwood's shoulder. He oozes out some of his scent, hoping it emphasizes his words, the first time using his omega scent for something like this.
Wolfwood relaxes against him and reciprocates the embrace. "First time really smelling ya."
"Don't get used to it."
Wolfwood puffs out a laugh into his hair. He drags a hand up his back and into his hair. "You need a shower," he comments.
Vash huffs. He wants Wolfwood's scent to stay on him a bit longer.
"We also need to teach you how to make a proper nest."
Vash squirms and pulls away. "I'm good, thanks." He crawls back under the covers, needing more rest after recovering from his heat.
"Then you'll have no issues if I do it, right?"
Two things happen at once: he instinctively feels incredibly annoyed and defensive over someone else making his nest—you don't know how I like it—and also embarrassed, flushing at the thought of his nest being made by an alpha, who happens to be Wolfwood.
Wolfwood peeks over his shoulder with a cheeky grin. "Is that a yes?"
Vash pulls the blanket over his head. "No thank you," he mumbles.
Wolfwood snorts before he rolls behind him and throws an arm over his middle, over the blanket.
"I'm okay," Vash says in a petulant tone, hinting to Wolfwood that he doesn't need looking after anymore.
"I didn't get a lot of sleep y'know," Wolfwood hums, as if that answers why he's staying in his room. "I'm tired, and this is comfy."
"Suit yourself."
Despite expressing his indifference, Vash can't help but be at ease with Wolfwood next to him and leans back into him. He easily gets sleepy and starts to purr from underneath the covers. They both fall into a light doze, until they are awakened an hour later when Melanie comes into the room worried if Vash is okay. Both men separate with a flush on their faces.
After a relieved Melanie leaves, and before Wolfwood walks out of his room, Vash blurts out, "You can help me next time, since it might happen again." Vash avoids Wolfwood's look as he fixes up his bed, his back tingling from the other's stare. "If you want," he adds.
Vash looks over his shoulder to see Wolfwood making a wide grin, causing him to bristle with more embarrassment.
"It would be an honour," Wolfwood drawls. "I thought it'll take more convincing."
Vash almost throws a pillow at him, instead he pushes Wolfwood out of his room and shuts the door with his skin flushing as if his heat hasn't passed yet. He then takes a cold shower.
Vash spends the next little while thinking about his next heat.