After everything has been said and done, Vash feels an inexplicable emptiness.
There’s a pit growing inside that’s been gnawing at him since he slipped away after he recovered from his fight with his brother. There’s of course the loneliness but there’s an unfamiliar deep-seated pain.
Wolfwood is dead.
Vash did the best he could—not enough—carrying Wolfwood to the floating ship to get the best medical treatment on this planet, to prevent the worst from happening. With the ship’s medic team surrounding Wolfwood to get him into incentive care, he insisted on staying even though he needed to stop Legato and Knives very soon. He prayed for Wolfwood to come out okay.
Wolfwood’s heartbeat flatlined for too long and Vash couldn’t bear to stay any longer.
Vash managed to mumble something to someone about laying him to rest at the Orphanage so he could visit him. He walked past Miss Melanie on the way out. Her face turned into grief when she saw him, likely mirroring his own expression.
Once his job of saving humanity was finished, a spark emerged from the depths of his emptiness.
Vash hasn’t visited Luida or the others since the final fight, deciding to travel alone for a little while. He made sure to send a quick coded message to the floating ship, letting people who cared about him know that he was okay. On the path to an obscured small town, Vash suppresses a shiver followed by a burst of hot pain in his middle. It happens a few more times until it subsides, leaving a lingering ache. Vash ignores it and carries on.
He can’t ignore it anymore when he stumbles in the middle of town from the pang in his body, wheezing through his teeth as his hands and knees hit the ground. Someone asks if he’s okay but he doesn’t hear it when he stares at the feathers visible on the skin of his fingers. Vash quickly leaves town when his body stings with a fever and prickles with feathers that want to burst. It’s when he’s in the middle of nowhere in the desert Vash understands what’s happening to his body.
It’s his heat.
Vash laughs humorlessly at the timing. His heat only happened during puberty—if it can be called that given his nature—it was a part of growing up so why is it back now?
Misery fills Vash’s heart—he accidentally considers Wolfwood his mate, his partner. The Plant in him decided without his knowledge but it’s too late on the memo that his other half is gone to fill that need. He can’t catch a break.
Walking aimlessly, Vash finds a group of isolated rocks forming a small cave just across a dune. A perfect place to hide away his ugly form from humanity. There’s some luck in his misery.
Vash enters the cave, taking a minute to check there aren’t other signs of life before he sheds his bag and coat. With the coat gone, his wings break free, wafting around his frame. Vash takes the rest of his gear off as more downy appears all over his body until there’s more white than skin. He grabs a worn blanket from his bag and holes up at the very end of the cave, curling up on his side with the fabric around him. A shaky breath leaves Vash when pangs shoot through his body and heart. It’ll be a painful couple of days but he can handle it.
A day later, he’s overcome with grief.
Vash writhes from the flashes of heat tearing through him, wings quivering as he writhes on the cold hard ground. His body knows there’ll be no comfort when the one person who could give it is gone. The sorrow has Vash’s fevered mind fantasizing about what could’ve been, digging a bigger hole in his chest and wanting to heave his heart out to make the pain stop. He’d try to give himself some relief but his heart hurts too much to get any solace. Too miserable.
His small cries echo through the cave and disappear before it escapes into the desert.
“What do you mean you don't know where he is?” Wolfwood barks.
Milly and Meryl look at each other while Wolfwood glares at Luida.
“Vash goes weeks without contact. It’s not unusual,” Luida responds calmly.
Wolfwood clicks his tongue. Having woken up from his coma a few days ago, he expected Vash to be nearby, especially when everything was done and humanity was saved from Knives’ crusade. He heard what happened from a crying Livio after he woke up.
Vash still thinks he’s dead. Livio said Vash spoke about him in the past tense. No one has seen Vash to tell him Wolfwood is very much alive nor has he come back to the floating ship to find out for himself. Wolfwood isn’t surprised Vash would think as such, considering he didn’t think wasn’t going to make it out alive himself. He expected to get an earful from Vash about being reckless if he did make it.
Wolfwood wants to go back to the Orphanage but Vash is missing, likely hiding somewhere and when Vash hides, there’s a good reason why and Wolfwood doesn’t like that.
Livio rests his hand on his shoulder to placate him. “Nick, I think—”
“I'm gonna go find him,” Wolfwood declares, turning around to leave. He doesn’t know how but he’ll try.
Luida sighs. “Wait. I’ll help.”
She points to a map where Vash sent his last message. Livio, Meryl, and Milly volunteer to help search for him and Brad offers to fly the search party on a small ship. Wolfwood doesn’t like the prospect of being in the air but he’ll take all the help he can get.
They fly to one of the towns Luida pointed to, landing on the outskirts before investigating Vash’s whereabouts by asking the locals. No one has seen a tall figure wearing a long red coat nor Vash the Stampede. They fly to another town and get the same result. By the third day of searching, everyone’s concern is palpable and Wolfwood becomes frustrated, realizing Vash really doesn’t want to be found.
On their way to the nth town—he lost track—Wolfwood gazes out the window, staring at the endless sand. A rock formation in the distance catches his eye but he pays no mind to it. Glancing at it again, the rocks concave, forming a small cave that can be used for shelter. Wolfwood squints at it.
Vash can’t be hiding in there—
“Hey! Pull over to those rocks over there!”
Brad grumbles something but diverts the ship. They soon land near the rocks and Wolfwood rushes out. Everyone trails behind him.
“He can’t possibly be in there?” Meryl voices in disbelief.
It can’t hurt to look.
Wolfwood approaches the low cave entrance, its ceiling just inches above him. With one foot inside, he hears a soft noise. He squints as his eyes adjust to the darkness and catches movement at the dead end. It’s wings.
For a moment Wolfwood thinks he’s stumbled upon a wild animal’s home until the noises become clearer.
The mass of feathers is weeping.
His eyesight adjusts enough to see familiar white tendrils and sure enough, that’s Vash.
When Wolfwood walks closer, Meryl’s voice echoes from the entrance, “Is Vash in there?!”
Vash startles, wings bristling before sitting up to hiss at intruders, making himself appear scarier. His wide eyes land on Wolfwood.
“Yeah, don’t come in though!” Wolfwood calls back, eyes staying put on Vash. He notices the wetness in Vash’s eyes despite the intimidating demeanour. Taking a few more steps forward causes Vash to shuffle backwards, growling as his back hits the end of the cave. Wolfwood raises his hands. “Spikey, it’s just me.”
Hurt flashes across Vash’s face before he shakes his head, covering his eyes with his hands. His flesh hand is shaped like a feathered claw.
Wolfwood crouches a few feet away. “Vash.”
“Please stop,” Vash sobs, “you’re not real.” He shrinks away, curling in on himself with his wings, blocking sight and sound.
Wolfwood moves closer until his hand touches a wing. This close, Wolfwood can feel the heat radiating out of Vash. Feathers twitch under his fingers as he parts them, sifting through wings and tendrils. He finds Vash hugging his knees, face hidden behind them. Wolfwood cards his fingers through Vash’s newly black hair. Vash perks up with fear in his eyes.
“Hey,” Wolfwood whispers.
Vash lifts his head more as his gaze shifts across his face. “Is this real?”
Wolfwood drags his hand down to Vash’s cheek to lightly pinch it, attempting to wake him up from whatever dream he’s having. “Did you feel that?”
Vash’s lip wobbles as fresh tears collect in his eyes. He reaches for Wolfwood, holding his face in his hands. Wolfwood is alive.
“I—I missed you. I thought you were gone,” Vash chokes. It hasn’t been that long since he saw Wolfwood but it felt like ages thinking he was gone.
Wolfwood grins. “Can’t get rid of me that easily.”
Vash lets out a wet laugh, tears falling in relief rather than grief. He wraps his arms around Wolfwood, wings and all, and buries his face into his neck, never letting him go. All of his weight settles on Wolfwood as all his energy from days of his heat leaves him exhausted. The fever has softened now that Wolfwood is here.
Wolfwood holds Vash against him, hand sliding up and down his back and feathers. “I’m here, I got you.”
Vash rumbles, beginning to purr under his touch. Wolfwood maneuvers him to carry him in his arms and stands. Vash clings to him as Wolfwood turns towards the cave’s entrance.
Once Vash is taken care of, they can work out their shared tomorrows together.