When Blondie said he would leave when it was time for them to talk, Wolfwood couldn't help but feel a small spike of worry, wanting to tell him to stay, worried that he would go missing again if he wasn't there, before he forced the reaction back down. There was a little too much to unpack in that reaction for the moment, all things considered, and he couldn't deny that there were, in fact, probably things that would be easier to talk to Vash about if they were alone, if the other wasn't there as a constant reminder that Nicholas had spent the last two years in a reality that wasn't really his own, separated from his partner due in no small part to his own stupidity. And there was still the small voice in the back of his head that worried, though it might have been strange, about how Vash felt about his being there at all, traveling with Wolfwood and taking up a place that he'd filled so naturally before.
He had even less time to unpack the knot of feelings he had built up in his chest about Blondie in particular, and Nico, and his place in their lives. When he hadn't thought he would ever get to see Vash again, it had been...easier. Or at least less complicated. He'd thought he'd known what his purpose would be, when he was walking along behind them like a shadow, helping when he could but always feeling like he didn't belong. That he shouldn't exist there at all. Now? There was a little part of him that was starting to suspect that there would be a parting of ways, soon, and the thought made enough of a tight ball of worry flare up in his chest that he refused to even acknowledge it.
So he didn't. He just frowned very faintly and nodded his head, and instead opted for focusing on the relief he felt, hearing that the younger Vash was in Octovern somewhere, safer than he had been when they'd last seen him. It made him give a long sigh as some of the tension bled out of his frame, and his forehead dropped down onto Blondie's shoulder.
"Oh, Thank Fuck. Good, that's good. We can find 'im, then. I can do that, I'm good at that. He needs to be with all of you, especially with how bad he was when we found 'im." Even the sound of his voice was as if knowing he had been found and had been at least ok for a while was a weight off of his shoulders. He would have been worried about the kid regardless, finding him in the state they had. The fact that he was Vash? Well, Nicholas had always been fiercely protective of kids, and in some small part of himself that he never admitted to, had always loved the idea of having kids, even if they weren't his by blood. It hadn't taken long before his thoughts had gone from "Get him to Vash, he'll know what to do" to "Bring him to Vash, he can stay with us, we'll take care of him," only to turn into a mild sort of panic when he'd gone missing.
All of that out of the way, it left him to ponder the news out of the city, and...unfortunately, it didn't really answer as much as he had somehow thought it would. His face screwed itself into a complicated, thoughtful frown as he turned his head and rested his chin on Blondie's shoulder so he could watch Needle-Noggin talking from around his back.
"So...what does that mean for...all of us? I guess...everyone just...goes back home and tries to pick their lives back up where they left off? I mean...not gonna lie here, I doubt the Earthers will take much of a liking to me, either. Not that I expected much else when the signal first came in, if I'm being perfectly honest." His frown turned into a more concentrated scowl, though there was an apologetic sort of look to it, when he glanced back over. "I never really expected to have much of a place in whatever bit of good they brought, even in the beginning. I'm...not exactly someone who gets to live in civilized society." For so many reasons, and not many of them he could really change at this point in his life. He wasn't even likely to fit into civilized society even by the standards of the people who were born on this planet, let alone fancy off-worlders with their new, shiny technology and stricter laws.
"Has there...been any word on what happened to the Stampede who was born here? Since the two of them made their escape?" He couldn't help but be reminded of the promise he'd made to the dead man in December, as hard as it might be to keep. It seemed like the number of people he needed to find kept growing, even as some of them were found. At this point, it was almost more a rotating door of people to hunt down. He really had his work cut out for him.
Up ahead, the sight of the inn coming around the bend could finally be made out in the distance, and it was probably going to be awkward getting back up to their room, clinging to them as he was. But he was reluctant to leave his spot, and the small sigh he gave at the thought of it almost sounded put out. His fingers fidgeted a bit in the red fabric of his coat, gripping a little tighter, and he probably wasn't making it any easier to walk, the way he was practically pressed up against Blondie's side. Fuck him and his need for shoes. If he'd been smart enough to put them on before running out, he would have just opted for staying out there, where he didn't have to separate from either of them to get through the door.
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He had even less time to unpack the knot of feelings he had built up in his chest about Blondie in particular, and Nico, and his place in their lives. When he hadn't thought he would ever get to see Vash again, it had been...easier. Or at least less complicated. He'd thought he'd known what his purpose would be, when he was walking along behind them like a shadow, helping when he could but always feeling like he didn't belong. That he shouldn't exist there at all. Now? There was a little part of him that was starting to suspect that there would be a parting of ways, soon, and the thought made enough of a tight ball of worry flare up in his chest that he refused to even acknowledge it.
So he didn't. He just frowned very faintly and nodded his head, and instead opted for focusing on the relief he felt, hearing that the younger Vash was in Octovern somewhere, safer than he had been when they'd last seen him. It made him give a long sigh as some of the tension bled out of his frame, and his forehead dropped down onto Blondie's shoulder.
"Oh, Thank Fuck. Good, that's good. We can find 'im, then. I can do that, I'm good at that. He needs to be with all of you, especially with how bad he was when we found 'im." Even the sound of his voice was as if knowing he had been found and had been at least ok for a while was a weight off of his shoulders. He would have been worried about the kid regardless, finding him in the state they had. The fact that he was Vash? Well, Nicholas had always been fiercely protective of kids, and in some small part of himself that he never admitted to, had always loved the idea of having kids, even if they weren't his by blood. It hadn't taken long before his thoughts had gone from "Get him to Vash, he'll know what to do" to "Bring him to Vash, he can stay with us, we'll take care of him," only to turn into a mild sort of panic when he'd gone missing.
All of that out of the way, it left him to ponder the news out of the city, and...unfortunately, it didn't really answer as much as he had somehow thought it would. His face screwed itself into a complicated, thoughtful frown as he turned his head and rested his chin on Blondie's shoulder so he could watch Needle-Noggin talking from around his back.
"So...what does that mean for...all of us? I guess...everyone just...goes back home and tries to pick their lives back up where they left off? I mean...not gonna lie here, I doubt the Earthers will take much of a liking to me, either. Not that I expected much else when the signal first came in, if I'm being perfectly honest." His frown turned into a more concentrated scowl, though there was an apologetic sort of look to it, when he glanced back over. "I never really expected to have much of a place in whatever bit of good they brought, even in the beginning. I'm...not exactly someone who gets to live in civilized society." For so many reasons, and not many of them he could really change at this point in his life. He wasn't even likely to fit into civilized society even by the standards of the people who were born on this planet, let alone fancy off-worlders with their new, shiny technology and stricter laws.
"Has there...been any word on what happened to the Stampede who was born here? Since the two of them made their escape?" He couldn't help but be reminded of the promise he'd made to the dead man in December, as hard as it might be to keep. It seemed like the number of people he needed to find kept growing, even as some of them were found. At this point, it was almost more a rotating door of people to hunt down. He really had his work cut out for him.
Up ahead, the sight of the inn coming around the bend could finally be made out in the distance, and it was probably going to be awkward getting back up to their room, clinging to them as he was. But he was reluctant to leave his spot, and the small sigh he gave at the thought of it almost sounded put out. His fingers fidgeted a bit in the red fabric of his coat, gripping a little tighter, and he probably wasn't making it any easier to walk, the way he was practically pressed up against Blondie's side. Fuck him and his need for shoes. If he'd been smart enough to put them on before running out, he would have just opted for staying out there, where he didn't have to separate from either of them to get through the door.