Things seemed to be happening around him suddenly, though his foggy brain had a hard time making sense of it. He felt himself being clutched tight, willingly sinking into it and feeling a wave of relief at the support, but something else flared up around him, an odd sensation that he knew, he remembered, but his mind was too muddled for it to immediately register beyond "bad, wrong, help, make it stop, protect!" in a way that began to make him stir in the hold, trying to reach out for the source of it.
It was an odd, horrible feeling, his brain screaming for air on one aborted breath and then needing to protect in the next, and the moment realization lit up like a match in the fog, it honestly didn't make it any better.
It was Vash. Vash was panicking. Something was wrong with Nicholas and Vash was panicking and he couldn't stop, couldn't get himself under control, it just made it worse!
But then all at once, through the electricity tingling in the air and haze that had a grip on his mind, a third presence suddenly came through, familiar and comforting and washing over him before he felt another arm wrapping around his back and heard his voice in his ear, sounding like it was coming from under water but soft and reassuring nonetheless. It was the soothing Whatever He Was Doing that helped, first, making his body begin to relax until he could make sense of the words he was muttering, and he gave a soft moan in reply. The first few attempts at breathing he gave still wanted to hiccup sharply in his chest before they could follow all the way through, but then his body seemed to relax enough that his lungs unclenched, and he was finally able to draw in a deep, shuddering breath.
In, out, in, out, until he went almost completely limp in their hold, shaking and breathing, and slowly coming back to consciousness, the sensation almost like unwrapping a thick, suffocating blanket from around his brain.
He felt exhausted, but...the more lucid he became, the more humiliated, too, and the more concerned. He shifted in the hold enough to look up at the man he'd sent once more into a horrified panic, patting him on the chest, moving both hands to stroke against his shoulders, trying to soothe him back down. And the entire time, a tiny part of his mind sent out silent cries of pleading gratitude that Blondie had come back in time to help stop...whatever that had been. Panic? Too worked up, maybe, had he put too much strain on his heart? He didn't know, and he didn't have the time or energy to worry about it right now.
"Vash, hey. It's ok. I'm ok. It's ok, Vash."
He suspected, just a little, that when Blondie stopped the whole comforting brain-whammy he was doing, he probably wouldn't be ok, the vague feelings of guilt and embarrassment would come back with a roaring vengeance, but as it was, it had him feeling strangely calm, unable to grasp back onto the distress that had had such a fierce grip on him only minutes before.
He turned to give him a grateful look, only to find himself momentarily dazzled by the bright, blue glow of patterns of white-blue lines across his features, and he had to blink to make sure he wasn't seeing things.
"Ooh..." The little mutter sounded almost dazed, and for a moment, he just stared in wide-eyed fascination. But no, that wasn't important, he could worry about that once they got Needle-Noggin settled, so he turned his attention back to the man in front of him, whispering softly at him and reaching up to hold his face with still-trembling hands, the hold steadying enough that it was barely noticeable once they were in place.
Unfortunately, not long afterward, a soft knock on the door of the room made his proverbial hackles raise, and a soft voice from out in the hall broke the sense of being isolated with just the two of them.
"Room service. I have your lemonade here." He gave a soft, sighing growl of frustration before tamping it down, his hands fisting in Vash's coat, instinctively trying to distract him from the outsider, to keep him grounded and focused on just the two of them as he called out a soft reply.
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It was an odd, horrible feeling, his brain screaming for air on one aborted breath and then needing to protect in the next, and the moment realization lit up like a match in the fog, it honestly didn't make it any better.
It was Vash. Vash was panicking. Something was wrong with Nicholas and Vash was panicking and he couldn't stop, couldn't get himself under control, it just made it worse!
But then all at once, through the electricity tingling in the air and haze that had a grip on his mind, a third presence suddenly came through, familiar and comforting and washing over him before he felt another arm wrapping around his back and heard his voice in his ear, sounding like it was coming from under water but soft and reassuring nonetheless. It was the soothing Whatever He Was Doing that helped, first, making his body begin to relax until he could make sense of the words he was muttering, and he gave a soft moan in reply. The first few attempts at breathing he gave still wanted to hiccup sharply in his chest before they could follow all the way through, but then his body seemed to relax enough that his lungs unclenched, and he was finally able to draw in a deep, shuddering breath.
In, out, in, out, until he went almost completely limp in their hold, shaking and breathing, and slowly coming back to consciousness, the sensation almost like unwrapping a thick, suffocating blanket from around his brain.
He felt exhausted, but...the more lucid he became, the more humiliated, too, and the more concerned. He shifted in the hold enough to look up at the man he'd sent once more into a horrified panic, patting him on the chest, moving both hands to stroke against his shoulders, trying to soothe him back down. And the entire time, a tiny part of his mind sent out silent cries of pleading gratitude that Blondie had come back in time to help stop...whatever that had been. Panic? Too worked up, maybe, had he put too much strain on his heart? He didn't know, and he didn't have the time or energy to worry about it right now.
"Vash, hey. It's ok. I'm ok. It's ok, Vash."
He suspected, just a little, that when Blondie stopped the whole comforting brain-whammy he was doing, he probably wouldn't be ok, the vague feelings of guilt and embarrassment would come back with a roaring vengeance, but as it was, it had him feeling strangely calm, unable to grasp back onto the distress that had had such a fierce grip on him only minutes before.
He turned to give him a grateful look, only to find himself momentarily dazzled by the bright, blue glow of patterns of white-blue lines across his features, and he had to blink to make sure he wasn't seeing things.
"Ooh..." The little mutter sounded almost dazed, and for a moment, he just stared in wide-eyed fascination. But no, that wasn't important, he could worry about that once they got Needle-Noggin settled, so he turned his attention back to the man in front of him, whispering softly at him and reaching up to hold his face with still-trembling hands, the hold steadying enough that it was barely noticeable once they were in place.
Unfortunately, not long afterward, a soft knock on the door of the room made his proverbial hackles raise, and a soft voice from out in the hall broke the sense of being isolated with just the two of them.
"Room service. I have your lemonade here." He gave a soft, sighing growl of frustration before tamping it down, his hands fisting in Vash's coat, instinctively trying to distract him from the outsider, to keep him grounded and focused on just the two of them as he called out a soft reply.
"Leave it at the door, thanks."