[He wasn't listening to what Vash cried out to the kid as he ran away, so focused on what was happening in front of him, but the way Vash just seemed to wilt when he restrained him, how defeated he looked before the other slid in behind him to hold him back, was wrong, so wrong. Vash shouldn't look that way, he shouldn't give up like that, especially not when he was out of his fucking mind like this, and for a moment Wolfwood almost let the worry it caused give him a rush of panic.
But then the other Vash was there, and he could feel the reassurance he was radiating out, even if it wasn't the same for him as it would have been for their kind, and he watched Vash collapse into the support, the fight and the tension bleeding out of him into a picture of pure exhaustion. He waited, barely breathing himself, watching him to be sure he continued to breathe. When the feathers began to slip away, he shifted his hold enough to let the fabric of his coat fall away so that he could hold his right hand in both of his own.
Those words were soft, but Nicholas' hearing was fine enough thanks to the things that had been done to him that he could hear him just fine, even though he seemed to not realize he was there and the words didn't seem to be for him. He felt his heart breaking apart in his chest and he didn't know what to even say, if it would even be welcome, so he simply stayed silent, his thumbs rubbing gentle circles against the inside of his palm, the heat of his wrist through his glove.
He had done this. This whole day, everything he'd been through that lead up to now, was Nicholas' fault. As if he didn't feel emotionally raw enough, drained of every last bit of his own energy reserves already, the knowledge that he was like this because of what he had done was the final straw, and he had to fight back his own wave of exhaustion and even more tears than he'd already let himself show.
After a moment of trying to compose himself, he looked over at the other Vash, blinking through the blurriness around his vision, and then around them, down the street. He didn't often spend a lot of time in December, but he knew it well enough that he thought he could figure out a place they could go to get out of the open, at least for a while.]
I think...[His voice cracked, raw and quiet, and he cleared his throat.] there should be an inn nearby. It shouldn't be too hard to find the keys to the rooms. I think we could all use a bit of a rest.
[And maybe an entire bottle of something really, extremely high in the alcohol content. He needed to drink until his brain just shut down completely for a while, no amount of nicotine was going to cut it after this.]
no subject
But then the other Vash was there, and he could feel the reassurance he was radiating out, even if it wasn't the same for him as it would have been for their kind, and he watched Vash collapse into the support, the fight and the tension bleeding out of him into a picture of pure exhaustion. He waited, barely breathing himself, watching him to be sure he continued to breathe. When the feathers began to slip away, he shifted his hold enough to let the fabric of his coat fall away so that he could hold his right hand in both of his own.
Those words were soft, but Nicholas' hearing was fine enough thanks to the things that had been done to him that he could hear him just fine, even though he seemed to not realize he was there and the words didn't seem to be for him. He felt his heart breaking apart in his chest and he didn't know what to even say, if it would even be welcome, so he simply stayed silent, his thumbs rubbing gentle circles against the inside of his palm, the heat of his wrist through his glove.
He had done this. This whole day, everything he'd been through that lead up to now, was Nicholas' fault. As if he didn't feel emotionally raw enough, drained of every last bit of his own energy reserves already, the knowledge that he was like this because of what he had done was the final straw, and he had to fight back his own wave of exhaustion and even more tears than he'd already let himself show.
After a moment of trying to compose himself, he looked over at the other Vash, blinking through the blurriness around his vision, and then around them, down the street. He didn't often spend a lot of time in December, but he knew it well enough that he thought he could figure out a place they could go to get out of the open, at least for a while.]
I think...[His voice cracked, raw and quiet, and he cleared his throat.] there should be an inn nearby. It shouldn't be too hard to find the keys to the rooms. I think we could all use a bit of a rest.
[And maybe an entire bottle of something really, extremely high in the alcohol content. He needed to drink until his brain just shut down completely for a while, no amount of nicotine was going to cut it after this.]