Vash steps out of the bathroom, warm and freshly showered. He’s greeted by an impatient Wolfwood.
“Hope you left some warm water for me,” Wolfwood grunts.
Vash hums, steam coming out behind him. Wolfwood sidesteps around him to enter the bathroom, closing the door behind him. After days in the desert, Vash is wiped out and ready for some well-deserved rest at a decent hotel they found. He was getting annoyed at smelling like sweat and sand from not showering for over a week, the grime obscuring his aloe vera scent. Wolfwood was also getting cranky, the alpha grumbling about the sand clinging to his skin.
Clean and exhausted, Vash jumps on the sole double bed in the room. The sound of running water has him closing his eyes, putting him to sleep.
The sound of the door opening abruptly wakes him up from his light nap. Vash perks his ears when he hears Wolfwood grumbling as he strides across the room, rummaging through his travel bag. Turning his head toward the sound, Vash smells a strange scent coming from Wolfwood’s direction. The scent is strong.
They weren’t around anyone for the new scent to cling to him. Plus, they haven’t come across anyone who smells like that.
It only means one thing: that scent is Wolfwood’s. But he’s never smelled like this before.
Wolfwood’s usual pine scent is there, faint underneath the unknown one. The new scent is refreshing, crisp. Vash tries to put a name to the smell, sifting through his brain to recall. It’s familiar but distant. He’s come across the scent before but not very often for him to remember easily.
It’s when a memory from months ago hits him and he knows exactly what the scent is.
It’s rain—water.
Rain rarely happens on this desert planet. Only a handful of times a year in certain regions. Half the time the rain stinks of dust or sand, other times it’s like this—fresh.
Another memory of finding an oasis floods Vash’s mind, also a rare thing. He remembers Wolfwood having a funny look on his face, behind the shock of discovering it—Wolfwood learned right there and then that his scent smelt like a body of water.
What Vash once thought Wolfwood’s scent was pine with gunpowder and smoke was actually pine and water. The gunpowder and smoke stuck to him like glue so Vash assumed that was his scent—oh, how wrong he was.
They’ve occasionally scented each other, only with their wrists, never on the neck where it's the most potent. Vash would lie awake some nights staring at Wolfwood’s neck, yearning to shove his face into it and inhale. Sometimes, he would glance at the exposed skin in the daylight too, when Wolfwood wasn’t looking, wanting to memorize his scent where it sits the strongest.
Sitting up, Vash hones in on Wolfwood who’s on his haunches looking for something in his bag, cursing away unaware. Vash gets off the bed and strides across the room.
Wolfwood makes a noise of triumph, finding what he’s looking for. Standing to his full height, he turns, startling when he sees Vash right behind him. “The hell you doing, Spikey?”
Vash ignores the question. “Your scent.” Up close, the smell of pine and water is stronger. It puts him in a trance, mind wanting one thing.
Wolfwood scrunches his nose in confusion. “What?”
Vash glances at Wolfwood’s neck, bare without a shirt. “You smell good.”
Wolfwood becomes flustered. “Are you drunk? Why—” He freezes, realization dawning on him. He tightens the item he’s holding in his hand—a bottle. “I’ll be right back.”
Wolfwood makes a beeline to the bathroom but Vash stops him with a hand on his wrist. He looks back at Vash with a glare, a growl forming at the back of his throat at being held back, hackles rising.
Vash glances at the bottle. “Are you repressing your scent?” Why would he hide his scent? He smells so good. Or maybe that’s just Vash’s opinion. He thought Wolfwood was taking something to regulate his hormones to help with his ruts, not scent blockers. Wolfwood never talked about it.
“Yeah, so what?!” Wolfwood hisses, baring his teeth. His anger causes his scent to turn bitter.
The change snaps Vash to placate the alpha. Wolfwood is feeling cornered at being confronted.
The omega in him whines at seeing Wolfwood upset. Vash slides his hands up to Wolfwood’s biceps, releasing calming pheromones. “Hey, it’s okay, I’m not mad.”
Wolfwood destresses slightly, closing his mouth. He still stares at Vash warily.
Vash gets an idea that might help. “Can I scent you?”
“Uh—” Wolfwood looks at him dumbfounded, hesitantly raising his wrist, not realizing Vash wants to scent him somewhere else.
Vash steps forward. Wolfwood instinctively leans back, eyes widening seeing Vash is aiming for his neck. They both still, staring at each other, waiting to see who will back away. Vash keeps his grip loose, giving Wolfwood space to refuse his advances.
Vash holds Wolfwood’s gaze. “Please?” He hopes the desperation in his eyes and voice aren’t too obvious. He wants to know what Wolfwood really smells like.
Wolfwood surrenders, head bowing as his body loosens. “Okay,” he mutters, “just don’t complain that it smells terrible.’
It smells the complete opposite of terrible.
Vash cups the side of Wolfwood’s head with his flesh hand, feeling damp hair at his fingertips. He leans into the space between Wolfwood’s neck and shoulder, tracing the skin with his nose. Wolfwood breath stutters when Vash inhales.
The smell of pine and water washes over Vash, overwhelming but irresistible, like the oasis they discovered. It’s mouth-watering when he opens his mouth to taste it on his tongue like he’s drinking what Wolfwood has to offer. Vash nuzzles his cheek into the skin, mixing both of their pheromones—he wants Wolfwood’s all over him, wants to soak himself in his scent and smell like him for the next week.
Wolfwood relaxes under him, seeing as Vash is enjoying himself, not complaining in the slightest about how he smells. He bares his neck more under Vash’s attention, making Vash purr in approval at having more room to work with. Vash moves up to Wolfwood’s jawline, rubbing the side of his face against the scruff there, the hairs tickling him. Vash hears Wolfwood let out a small whine under his affection, taking what Vash will give him.
Wolfwood leans into him, pillowing his head on Vash’s hand, tension evaporating. His neck is fully exposed, encouraging Vash to continue lavishing him. Wolfwood holds on to Vash with hands gripping his waist, grounding himself.
Vash feels the bottle of scent blockers pressing into him. “Why do you hide your scent?” he murmurs.
Wolfwood struggles to form words, exhaustion catching up to him. “It…gets too strong and not many folks like it.”
Vash hums. “I like it.”
Wolfwood breath trembles. “‘s strange. No one knows what it smells like.”
Vash shakes his head. “I do.” Continuing his journey, Vash moves down to Wolfwood’s jugular. “I thought your scent was smoke and bullets,” he whispers into the skin there, burying himself in the refreshing minty fragrance. This new scent is so much better, something Vash can easily get used to, already obsessed with it. “Please don’t hide your scent around me.”
Wolfwood sighs in response, not in agreement but it’s also not a no. It will take a bit of convincing that Vash will happily do.
Vash leans back to take a look at Wolfwood. His eyes are closed, expression serene as his head is held up by Vash’s hand. Vash cups his head with both hands and coos. Wolfwood opens his eyes to shoot Vash a weak glare, the flush on his skin softening his features.
Vash squishes his cheeks. “Let’s get you to bed big guy.”
Wolfwood scrunches his face in disapproval but it looks more like a pout.
Grabbing Wolfwood’s wrist, Vash guides him to bed. Vash takes the bottle of scent blockers from Wolfwood and leaves it on the nightstand. Vash places his prosthetic beside it.
Vash tugs Wolfwood onto the bed with him, pulling him to lie on top of him, the warmth of his body a pleasant weight. Vash directs Wolfwood’s head to his neck with a hand in his hair. Wolfwood presses his face into Vash’s neck, rubbing the skin there with a cheek, inhaling the familiar scent. Vash lets out a content sigh, carding his fingers against Wolfwood’s scalp while he scents him.
“You smell good too,” Wolfwood whispers, lips brushing his skin.
By the time Wolfwood finishes, Vash is half-awake. The blend of their pheromones is like a calming sedative, putting him in total bliss and making him drowsy.
Both nodding off, they fall asleep wrapped in each other’s scent.