#luida || [mom TWO!]

[knife-drawer-rp]

Various little Vash doodles! Been goofin' in DMs with @splinter-sister. I forgot about the last one. He's doing odd jobs and homie wound up in a restaurant and was harassed by my buddy's muse (out of love)

[icyowl]

You find out Vash is a plant

Pairing: Vash the Stampede x reader

Request: none

Synopsis: you find out Vash is a plant and suddenly all the heartache begins to make sense

A/N: There are a lot of transitions in this. Please let me know if its super confusing, but yeah, I had an idea that needed to stretch its legs.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

“So. I guess this explains a lot, then.” You said. Like any perfectly sane, positively normal person, you did, in fact, expect the unconscious man laying on the cot in front of you to reply. Maybe he would? Who knew what he could or couldn't do, now that you knew he wasn't a human. An independent plant as the older lady — Luida — had called him. Now, with you left alone in the room with Vash to digest what had happened on the Humpback, it began to make sense. Lack of food or hunger, legendary marksmanship, sublime strength from such a nimble frame, the ability to seemingly dodge bullets. . . maybe it also explained the more complicated interactions between the two of you. The tension, the escapes, the excuses—

“But it doesn't.” You bit out. He had kissed you first all those weeks ago after nearly getting himself killed. Desire was hot in your blood when you collided bodily into him after finding the idiot unscathed apart from bruises and scrapes. It had been hours since he had disappeared with a throng of vigilantes on his hide to keep you safe; his heaving chest, the grime on the bridge of his nose, a too-casual comment about you being safe now — you wanted to dive under the coat until no one could tell you two apart. You didn't, though. You controlled the hormones for his sake and comfortability. He was the one to grabbed you by the chin as only some lusting lover would and hauled you over to his mouth.

“You kissed me, Vash, and then you go and say. . .”

“Wait.” He had spoken after you had just begun to sink into the moment and take his insufferable sunglasses off. His grip was sure, firm, when he stopped you. The pause where he held you pinned beneath his gaze made it seem like he didn't know what to say. Seconds passed. His eyes searched your features for an answer to your questions and confusion. Somewhere, he found it. “They might have followed me back. I should make another lap.”

Lap around what? The impatience he'd just had to get to you, touch you, be on you, had been swallowed back behind his eyes. Pitifully, you did what you could to protest: “Wait, your wounds—”

“I'll be back in an hour. It's late, get some sleep.”

So you figured he considered the kiss a mistake — a moment of ferocity after the tension of near-death — and you backed off. Shorter conversations, less time in the same room, some of your own sad excuses in an attempt to create space, quash the giddy crush already rooted deep behind your heart. You tried to be an adult and move on like a big girl.

“I come to the conclusion,” you said to the sleeping man on the cot, god, you still felt the adoration for him deep in your marrow, “that you're not interested, right? Because you said nothing when I pushed you away. You did nothing. Okay. Fine. Then when I had an infection from the bullet hole you fished out of my arm, and those raiders held the entire town hostage for two days until you stormed in, and they killed that mom's newborn baby right in front of me, and we got chased out and I still had the baby's blood on my face and the infection was getting worse and we didn't think I'd make it through the night.”

You breathed to get the overwhelming feelings in check. “You wiped my tears, you kissed my forehead, you rocked me to sleep, you told me you loved me. I guess that could be, like, a platonic love, but come on! You can't blame me for reading into it!”

Despite you increased volume there was no sign Vash had stirred. The connection he had made with the plant must have really taken a toll.

“So at this point, I'm thinking you're interested, right? We've held hands a few times at this point, gone on, like, what I consider dates and stuff. Great. You're done being wishy-washy and you've decided to try this thing out. We go slow, I figured you're just a little nervous, but we're making out, and I make sure to leave your sunglasses alone this time, and then. . .”

Your lips buzzed faintly at the memory. Who knew what led to the tension this time, you couldn't remember, but you'd never forget the gentle care he took with you. Something about messing with his sunglasses was a trigger, so you left them alone and figured you'd just work with the rims pushing against your cheeks. He was showing you a caressing kind of affection that worked you open from the inside out. You wanted to give him everything. Every fear, every trauma, every blemish. He, too, seemed to let himself give into the raw feelings quickly bubbling up. His grip on you got tighter and pulled you closer. The kisses grew faster and their strength forced you to lean back. You could feel his abdominals quiver where you fisted his shirt.

His warm, wet tongue reached out and moved along your bottom lip, causing the faintest sound to break from your throat. Just like that, the moment shattered. Vash grabbed your shoulders and held you at arms length. He kept his face obscured, ducked down and away, but you could hear the quiet gasping as he struggled to catch his breath. You called to him only to be interrupted: “Have to - feed the tomas.”

He had made for the door without sparing you a single glance and he shut it just as quickly. You waited, processed the moment and your thoughts, maybe yelled or cried or punched something. He didn't return until the next morning, breakfast in hand and fake smile plastered too-clearly on his lying face.

Shifting bedding caught your attention. Vash moved a little in bed, bringing you back to the present. You didn't realize your hands were clenched tightly into fists.

“So by this point, I'm like, really confused. You let the kiss last that long, you go for the tongue, then push me away. Like, fool me once, but fool me twice? At this point, as I hope you can understand, I'm pissed. If I were meaner, I'd punch you in the stomach right now and wake you up. Then, last week, you're all protective when you have no right to be. Why you got mad, I still have no idea.”

Frankly, he had every right to get mad. No good, low life, dirty pricks had cornered you on the way back to Vash and co. after an errand run. If their sleezy gazes and crude humor didn't get their intentions across, the invading hands and the guy who tripped you and got over top of you definitely made things clear. Your scream was blocked by a hand over your mouth and nose, the thrashing was futile, and when your fear began to lock up every joint and muscle you had, the tables began to drastically turn. Vash's stark golden hair and whipping crimson coat brought such a powerful sense of relief to you that you nearly fell limp. Until the real fun began.

Vash didn't speak, or shout, no, he growled. Roared even. He used his cybernetic hand to punch and throw and strangle. Gone was the gentle pacifist you'd grown familiar with, replaced instead with a creature so potent with rage he'd become unrecognizable. The perpetrator was lifted up by the front of his shirt and smashed unceremoniously into the concrete building. He gagged when the cool nickel of the a gun barrel was forced into his mouth without hesitation.

It took you and Wolfwood using every ounce of strength — pulling on his arm, shoulder, coat, anywhere you could reach — to wake him up. Even then, it was only when Vash descended from his savagery upon hearing your cries that he let the guy go. For his part, Vash did seem ashamed to have done it after the fact, but Wolfwood was still sure to give him a lashing.

“What would you have done if you'd actually killed him? Huh?! Answer me!” He'd said, cigarette dangerously close to falling from his teeth.

“I wasn't going to shoot—”

“With the look you had, I'm not so sure! Look, I don't care what you do or don't do to get some action, but the next time you get caught up in your emotions, I'll be putting a gun in your mouth.”

You tried to get Vash's eye after the exchange, but he opted for averted gazes and brooding silence. Wolfwood made you think: did Vash get like that because of you? Your first instinct was scoff, think back on all the times he rejected your advances or backpedaled his own, but you had to admit, he had a talent for reading people. There was also the incident just a few days ago, after you'd been unconscious for more than a day following a nasty run-in with bounty hunters. Getting thrown off a cliff would do that to you.

Vash was gone when you'd come to. Meryl had send him away to bathe and rest while she took watch over you. She tried to keep you, she really did, but the near-death experience put fire in your veins; you weren't going to risk dying anymore without getting answers from him.

His door was unlocked when you threw it open. All spice and vinegar, you exploded into his room, intent on unloading every ounce of angst and confusion he'd caused you, only to freeze solid.

You noticed the minefield of marks on his back just as you took note of the pristine muscles underneath them. They flexed and rolled when he turned to you, locked up when he saw who it was. He bounded for you just as you stepped towards him. You'd only intended to pull him close, assure him you didn't care how he looked, enjoy a moment in life spent with him, but again, he was the one touch his lips to yours. Mmmm, maybe touch was the wrong word.

His teeth clanged off yours with the force of his advance. You didn't mind. You didn't have much of a mind with the way he grabbed onto a hip and pulled you impossibly closer to his body.

With difficulty, Vash contained himself enough to get a few words in. “You're okay - mhm - you're okay. Let me just - get a shirt, so you don't have to—”

“You thought I cared about scars, Vash? Oh god, I wanna see you, wanna feel you—”

At least, you figured his reaction meant his past rejections had been because he didn't want to show you his body. Foolish. One of your thumbs caressing an old knife wound on his abs and he began to put space between you. Like an idiot, you fought back. You called to him, pleaded, tried to fight the arms pushing you rapidly towards the door. What had you done wrong? What did you do to deserve this? Why was he doing this to you? You asked him all of it and got smokey replies in exchange.

“I just - I can't - not right now - just, you didn't do anything wrong. Please, I'm glad you're okay, but go—”

Wood slats and metal bolts slammed shut on you, knocking against your nose. It was like it shut out your emotions, too. All you could do was stare numbly, unmoving, at the wear marks and hatching staring you down when it should have been his eyes. A wave of desperation crested under your muscles. BAM. The door shook with the power of your fist. It stung now. It would throb later. You didn't bother to care.

“Coward!” You cried.

Vash's lonely sigh could be heard from the other side. You didn't move, knowing you'd sleep outside his room, ambush him whenever he decided to emerge, if it meant you could get him to answer for the thorns piercing your chest.

“I know I am.” He said, words warbled by the door but still distinguishable. “I am a coward. I'm hurting you and its the last thing I want.”

“Then. . . why?” You weeped.

“I'm not. . . I'm not what you need.”

“Is this because you think you're not good enough? Vash, you're the kindest, most compassionate person on the face of this planet. I want you. I want you.”

“You don't know that.” He cut in.

Your anger returned fearsomely. Didn't know? You didn't know what you wanted? This prick — this stupid, beautiful, arrogant prick, thought he could decide what as best for you after all the shit he caused. Intelligence: insulted. Feelings: disregarded. Autonomy: stripped. Trust: obliterated. He'd brought you in, pushed you out, then had the audacity to make it your fault for getting angry. Fuck, maybe he really was a walking calamity.

“You don't know me. Maybe you would have, but you don't. You won't, either.”

A quiet snore from the man sleeping in front of you broke through the memories. After what happened with the Humpback, Livio, the Bad Lads, and the plasma cannon, you didn't have the same coursing fury as you had just the other night. After seeing him with the plant, after seeing what he was, after learning so much. . . you were at a bit of a loss.

“I get it now.” You said to the empty air. “You don't want to be with me. Lust, hormones, they made you slip up, but you'll wake up, push me away, pretend it never happened, because I'm a human, right? Something like you would never want to be with something like me.”

The emotions took hold of your throat until it was hard to breathe and clawed at your eyes until they watered and you had to shut them tight to keep from having a complete meltdown. Near-death experience? Check. Unrequited love? Check. Felling the simultaneous crush of insecurity and self-loathing because you feel both inadequate for the man you're in love with and too stupid to have seen it sooner or looked out for your own emotional health before it was too late? Triple check.

Synthetic fingers pulled at your clenched fist to try and get your muscles to relax, to stop your fingernails from making painful divots in your beautiful skin. “I'll always want you.” Vash said.

You looked into his eyes taking you in with a soft affection you refused to acknowledge. No. Not again. He wouldn't lure you into a trap so easily this time. Seconds passed as you grew more mortified with the situation. Was he awake the entire time?

“How much of that. . .”

“I think I really started listening when you mentioned platonic love.”

Though it was a joke, the thumb casually brushing over your knuckles brought you back to the seriousness of the moment. You jerked you hand away hastily.

“You'll always want me? Stop kidding yourself. If you had an ounce of respect for me, you'd care about my opinions. You wouldn't push me away, string me along, put up this fake persona and act like everything's okay when you've hurt the person you say you care about.”

You stood to leave only for his flesh-hand to reach across to secure your wrist. “It's not because you're human, it's because I'm not.” When you turned back, surprised and mute, he continued. “I know I've been horrible to you, I know I don't deserve you or any second chance. . . but. . . I need to show you. If you'll let me.”

His words gave truth to what you had seen: he wasn't human. You were hesitant; not because of what he was, but because of what he did. But you knew, above all else, you felt safe. When he had grabbed you, not a single cell in your body recoiled or shied away. Vash had never once given you any reason to fear him.

This kiss was far gentler than before, but felt even more intense. He took his time, pushing back the lust in favor of something more real, more permanent. Vash pulled you open in a way that gave you the chance to end it whenever you wanted. The back of his knuckles caressed you cheek. This time, your heart clenched in an entirely different way. When you finally got the self-control to pull back. . . the sight was surreal.

Abstract glyphs began to glow and pulse from under his skin. Back and forth, a winding mosaic deeply embedded, on his chin, nose, and neck and in his eyes. Even the pupils were lit with a soft blue light. When he brought your hand to hold his cheek, the light show shined brighter and pulsed more excitedly where you skin touched. “I didn't want you to see this. Normally the markings only show when I'm-” he paused to swallow “-in contact with another plant. They've never shown up around a human before. And I can't control it this time — I tried, when we kissed before. I can't stop it, and I didn't want you to find out the truth.

“I told myself I could have you and you'd never find out what I was. Dumb, right? I believed it could work if I did it just right. That's why I ran away or pushed you out. I was trying to keep it under control, but I could feel it coming to the surface. With you, I think my body feels some kind of connection.”

You were a little too awestruck by the bioluminescent spectacle going on to fully take in his words at first. When your hands moved down to hold his jaw, you could feel the intensity of his pulse under the fingertips skimming his neck.

“At least I'm not the only one.” You finally said.

Perhaps it was the relief, maybe it was that last wall of his coming down for you, but he knocked his forehead into yours and sighed in a powerful rush that had his whole body slouching into you.

“You have no idea how much I wan—”

“Come on kids, don't be giving each other diseases.”

You pulled away from Vash so sharply you would've fallen back off the bed had he not yanked you back to him. “Wolfwood!”

“So? Guess you finally grew a spine and told her about this whole plant thing?”

“Wait,” you stopped, putting the pieces together, “when did you find out?”

“You really think he'd sleep this long? Dude's been awake for hours.”

“What?!”

Your now-lover's cheeks darkened. “You weren't supposed to tell her that!”

[chai-licorice]

I decided for no reason other then being worried for season 2 for...... reasons to make a super self indulgent modern day au for Trigun so here we goooooo I have... many thoughts enjoy :D

Vash got in a bad accident before senior year started which resulted in most of his scars and his missing arm, it was Nais fault but he doesn't blame him. This is the same year Livio and Wolfwood came to their school so they didn't meet until way later.

Wolfwood and Vash met in college, Wolfwood worked at one of the cafes there (because I'm normal and want to combine basic aus) Vash was immediately smitten much to his horror (my guy never had a crush before)

legato and kni met in high-school, Legato was bullied until he was befriended by the weird angsty albino kid and his cheery brother. Legato and Kni started dating after high-school and are great for each other, terrible for everyone else

Tesla is alive and was adopted by Rem, Luida and Brad. She spends most of her time studying botany taking her moms interests to a more scientific degree and is currently away in college where she befriends Zazie an upcoming Entomologist

Meryl and Milly met in college and started dating, Milly is still in college (being a year younger then Meryl) while Meryl recently got hired to be a junior reporter under Roberto

Meryl and Vash meet when Meryl went to seeds to report on a recent incident (something minor like they grew something rare and it survived) Meryl won't admit it yet but she finds Vash really interesting and cute

Chaos still follows Vash but it's really minor, weird things just seem to happen around him but it usually benefits people instead of making things worse.

Vash and Wolfwood found a cat, Vash took her in and Wolfwood uses the cat as an excuse to visit Vash

Livio has two snakes he takes care of much to his brothers horror (Wolfwood hates snakes but they make Livio happy…yay..) they reference a fun little bit about Livio~

Kni was actually very sickly when he was younger due to being albino but he refuses to acknowledge this due to not wanting to be seen as weak

Brad fucking hates Legato and questions him every time Nai brings him over. Rem often shuts this down much to Brad's distaste. Rem isn't a fan of Legato either but he makes Nai happy?? Luida is also not a fan of him.

Legato and Nai watch human centipede bi-weekly they are so normal and in love

and I still have many thoughts so i might explore this au more!

[mykingdomforapen]

The thing about Rem Saverem that hits me so hard is that she only had Vash and Nai for maybe two years (or, the equivalent of 10 Plant years, I suppose). And yet her love shapes Vash so much. She never got to see him grow into a young man, but as an adult he takes everything she had taught him to heart and is so impacted by the love she raised him with. By all accounts, Vash had far more time in his life and development with Luida, but Rem is and will always be his mother. Those two years with Rem impacted him for one hundred and fifty years, because she loved him.

And what stood out to me was when Brad and Luida draw up Rem’s profile, it mentions that she is 29 years old. I’m almost her age, and I’ve got children in my life. I truly am at that life stage where the love I give to a child could deeply influence the rest of their life. I sometimes worry if they might forget how much I love them if anything should ever happen. Not to get all sentimental thinking about a foster mom of nearly immortal space fae but I guess the love you give a little one, even if you can only give it for so long in their life, goes a long way, huh?

[flosalatus]

Relationships

A ramble/introspection on Vash and his relationships, both canon based, pure headcanon, and recent RP based.

Rem:

He's always seen Rem as a parental figure, she raised them so why wouldn't he? He rarely called her mom to her face however, at first because she made such a fuss the first time it embaressed him, and then because Nai never did and he was following his footsteps for a while as kids.

For a while, after Tesla, Vash didn't think he could let himself call Rem 'mom' anymore, even if he still thought of and loved her as a mother. His trust in her was shaken enough that trying to call her that made him feel so unsure and guilty.

By the time he got over that feeling, he didn't have the chance to ever call her mom again.

He misses her constantly, of all the scars he has, the one Rem left behind is a wound that he doesn't think will ever fully heal, let alone fade.

Nai/Knives:

Nai is his brother, his best friend. If he looked deeper maybe he'd even call him another half of him, two sides of a coin. So similar and deeply connected in a way no human could replicate or understand. He loves Nai, looked up to him as kids, leant into the claims of Nai being the elder twin happily because it gave him something to admire and learn from other than Rem. He'd do anything for him.

Knives is a stranger with a familiar face.

He doesn't know what to think or where he stands anymore with what Nai has become. He still loves him, so so much, but Vash is also scared of him, hates him sometimes if he lets himself.

Brad and Luida:

Surrogate parents of a sort, intially Vash just saw them as indiferent strangers. Not unkind, but not close. After, he was torn on how to consider them. Friends? Family? Caretakers?

He had about a week long phase of 'big sister' imprinting on Luida that faded just as quickly.

Eventually, with enough time, they naturally settled in his mind as "Aunt and Uncle". Family, close, but nothing near replacing Rem. But that was okay, he didn't need to replace her. He could let his family grow without losing those already in it.

Meryl:

One of the first people he meets again after a long peroid of minimal long exposure to humans. He doesn't expect to attach to her at all, let alone how much he does in the end.

But shes so quick, and brave, and stubborn. How could he not?

He adores Meryl, be it platonically or romantically, not much changes at the core of their relationship. She's important to him, the first new bright thing in his life after a long peroid of time. She's more than a friend or a sister, even romantically she's more than a lover to him, he holds her in too high of a reguard to delegate her a label like that.

Milly:

Instant best friends. He's never quite clicked with a person the way he does with Milly, she just fits, and if she doesn't she slowly carves her space there with kind smiles and pateince.

At first she remind him a little of a mother. Not his mother, exactly, but someone motherly. Someone warm and safe, and she stays warm and safe, someone steady and comforting in his life.

In a ship, again not a lot changes. That steady comfort becomes a little more indulgent maybe, the more used to it he gets the less he needs it and the more it's just another thing he loves about her

Roberto:

He was pretty indiferent to Roberto intially actually, aside from noting he was arguable one of the sanest human's Vash had met, wanting to get out of the way as quickly as possible.

But the gruff man reminded him a lot of Brad, if a little rougher aroud the edges. In some way, Roberto feels more like an actual father figure sometimes, in others, he gets put in the uncle catagorey.

Wolfwood:

Man, where do I even start with this one.

Vash works out Wolfwood's deal almost from day one, and yet still he can so clearly see something good deep down he doesn't think twice about playing along.

At first Vash can't decide what to make of him. They butt heads, they have drastically oposing ideals and morals, the nicknames are weird and annoying. Sometimes Vash has never wanted to throttle a human so badly.

Time and sympathy from learning his past smooth over those edges, and Wolfwood becomes a friend.

He can hold his own in a fight, he's the one human companion Vash isn't so afraid to loose, because he's an equal. Wolfwood is still human, sure, and Vash is still scared. But he trusts the other in a way he's never been able to let himself trust before. Trusts that he'll survive the fight, with or without Vash's help.

And with that trust something more starts to grow. Friendship feels like an insult to they bond they have. They work in sync, they understand eachother without words or plans. He hasn't had something like that since he and Nai were kids.

Vash wonders if they're what people call soulmates.

Vash realises that this is what love feels like.

[luckymeryl]

Outlaw Insider Chapter 8

Damn that Man

Author's Notes: Sorry for previous misspellings. It's Amorus Lynch, not Amorous. He is not lovely. If you would like to show your appreciation and/or help me move out of my mom's house feel free to send me a ko-fi https://ko-fi(dot)com/kokohamstar

Summary: Meryl and Milly are reporters interviewing the biggest baddies on No Man's Land. Now Vash is just trying to keep them safe. Who is chasing who now?

For the whole story, read on AO3 here

Now. Onto the story:

If they were traveling for pleasure, the three of them could say their vacation was relatively enjoyable. They were able to see friends that they hadn’t seen in years. People like Brandon Marlon, and Miss Melanie from the orphanage. It was unfortunate to have to give her the news on Wolfwood’s passing, but she seemed like it was almost expected, albeit heartbreaking.

They met up with Kaite, who was now, legally, working on sandsteamers. He��d grown so much. He was a young man now, and had worked up the ranks to being one of the head engineers on the steamers. He was even able to grant them passage on the one he managed for free.

Luida was a sight for sore eyes. Milly had scooped her up into a hug the moment they saw her, Vash and Meryl laughing gently at the scene. It was a nice break from traveling for a few days staying with her, but when their feet had rested and the itch to keep moving settled under Meryl’s skin, she was practically dragging her two partners back out into the desert.

The most interesting visit that they’d made, was to a girl Meryl hadn’t met before. Lina and her grandmother pulled Vash into a strong embrace. The younger cried upon seeing him, touching his hair gently.

“Wow Lina. You’re growing up so fast.” Vash laughed, patting the girl on the head. “I almost didn’t recognize you.”

She gave him a punch on the arm. “Yeah yeah. Where have you been? You should have visited a long time ago!” There was blush proudly spread across her cheeks.

Meryl smiled at the girl. So that was the one who cared for Vash after the fifth moon incident, huh? This is where he had settled down and lived…normally for a bit. There was a bit of sadness as she thought about this. Could he go back to living a normal life? Was having him chase her around ruining what could be considered retirement?

Dinner was cleaned up, Milly ducked off to bed, followed by Lina and her grandmother. Meryl considered following Milly, but found her mind still buzzing with the idea of what Vash could be doing, instead of wandering from town to town as he always had. Instead of sleeping, in that case, she decided on a walk. It was chilly. Without the warmth of the suns, the dry cold wind caused chill bumps on her arms before she ducked into the town saloon.

It was relatively quiet, as far as bars are considered. There was a gramophone playing in the corner, a low rumble of chit chat among the men (and a few women) that occupied the room, and the clink of glasses for those being served.

It’d been a while since she’d had a drink, she thought. So headstrong into her goal of  finding her next big scoop, she’d barely given herself any chance at relaxing. She took a seat at an empty table, ordering one beer from the waitress, and picked at the splintered wood as she waited. She heard the movement of the chair in front of her and readied a glare at the intruder before even looking up.

“Hey Meryl.”

She blinked slowly. “Uhm. Hi, Vash.”  The waitress brought her beer and Vash ordered his own. “Why are you… did you follow me?”

“Yep!” There was a brilliant smile on his face. He looked like the dopey-faced puppy she first met and she couldn’t help the warmth in her heart at the memory. “I can’t have you getting into too much trouble without me, after all.”

How the tables had turned. For years she chased him down, trying to keep an eye on him, trying to keep him out of trouble….trying to keep him safe. But now he was here. He chose to be here. He chose to keep her close and out of her own mess. “I can take care of myself.” She mumbled as she brought her mug to her lips. “You’re the one that causes trouble.”

He laughed. “Yeah I guess you’re right about that.” He accepted his own drink from the waitress with a smile and a ‘thank you’ before she left. “But you left alone. You’ve been in your head all day. I was worried about you.”

Meryl couldn’t help the flush on her cheeks. Stop it. She told herself. Stop it stop it stop it. She was willing the blush to go away before he noticed. “I’m fine. Thank you.” Her tone was short.

“Mm.” He nodded. “Man this place sure has changed.” He glanced around the room, stretching at the same time. “This place used to be eat up with bullet holes. They did a lot of fixin’ up since I left.”

“You were here for a while, right?”

“Two years.” He commented. “Lina and Sheryl were very kind to take care of me back then. I owe them a lot.”

“Do you miss it?”

“Lina and Sheryl? Sure. It’s been great seeing them again.”

“No I mean…” Meryl stared into her drink. “I mean do you miss living an easy life here?”

“Hmm…” Vash thought for a long moment. Meryl could feel the muscles in her shoulders tensing up as the clocked ticked just a few seconds. “I mean… kind of? I liked it. But there’s something about a normal life that always makes me wonder when the other shoe will drop, you know?”

For some reason that didn’t set her mind at ease. Her thumb ran across the rim of her glass. “But if you knew it was safe. If you could just…erase your reputation. Would you do it?”

“Mm… nah.” He laughed. “I think I’d just get bored.” He leaned over, tipping his head low to look at her face. “What about you?”

“Huh?” She looked up at him. “What about me?”

“I mean do you think you’d ever be able to settle down and live the normal life?”

“I… maybe at another time I could have done that? But now… no. I don’t think the normal life is for me. I feel like if I’m not moving, I’m stuck.” She took a long drink to finish her beer before ordering another.

“Careful.” He teased. “If I remember right, you’re kind of a lightweight.”

“Lightweight?” She glared up at him. “I’m not a lightweight! I can hold my own just fine.”

Vash motioned his hands to lower her voice. “Hey hey. I thought I was the one who caused a scene.” He laughed nervously. “Besides, if I recall, it didn’t take much for you to get incoherent in the past. Maybe two or three beers?”

Meryl’s eyes bore into him as she brewed silently in her thoughts. “Ma’am! Can we get two whiskeys please!”

“You’re having liquor now?” The look he gave her was that of worry. “You don’t need to prove anything.”

“We’re having liquor.” She corrected. “I’m not proving anything. I just want whiskey. And I know that’s your drink of choice. Okay?”

“Alright, alright. We’re having liquor.” He wouldn’t argue with her. In his experience, it never ended well when you chose to argue with one Meryl Stryfe.

That explained the first drink. Getting lost in conversation could almost explain the second glass of whiskey set before them. But when she ordered a third, he started to worry. Alcohol didn’t sit as well as it used to. Now he was more human than ever and his alcohol tolerance was getting to be about the same. “I think that’s enough, short girl.”

Meryl frowned up at him once again, face flushed and a pout on her lips. “You just don’t think I can take another drink.”

“No no. I know you can. But I think I’m done.”

“See? I’m not the lightweight. You’re the lightweight.”

He couldn’t help the chuckle that left him. “Right. You’re right, I’m a lightweight.” At least more so than he used to be.

She groaned, taking a drink of her beer. “I can’t believe we’ve still got nothing on him.” She ran her hand through hair. “We’ve been at this for weeks and just…just dead end after dead end.”

Vash wasn’t going to complain that they hadn’t run into a serial arsonist slash murderer in their adventures. If he were being honest, meeting up with all of their friends was actually his favorite part of traveling. He could do with just that. But he’d support her, nonetheless. “We’ll get something soon. We’re scouring the planet, after all. So it’s only a matter of time.”

There was a small huff from the woman. “Yeah well… I need a matter of less time.” With that she downed the last of her beer. This time, she didn’t order another drink. Perhaps she’d proven her point well enough. She glanced up at Vash, meeting a warm smile in return that made her heart flip.

No. No no no. She’d gotten over it. She’d gotten over him. She’d moved on. He was… just a friend. Just a partner in all this. She used all of her will power to try and get her pulse to slow down, but his smile faded into a frown and she felt her insides sink.

“Are you alright, Meryl?” He was concerned. Of course he was concerned. Of course he was just… just good. Of course when she needed most to forget that, he’d give her a gentle glance, with brows furrowed just a bit and make her remember just what it was that she fell for years ago.

“M’fine.” She muttered, turning her eyes away from him. Her cheeks only reddened further, which she hoped she could simply blame on the drinks. She wasn’t so far gone that she’d try to acknowledge it, after all.

She heard his soft laugh across from her. “You’re kind of cute when you’re drunk.”

Damn him. She didn’t know if she wanted to spill everything, grab him close and kiss him, or just simply run outside and vomit in the closest dark alley and hope he never found her. “Hush.” She said instead. When did words become so hard?

Vash only chuckled again. They sat in silence for what Meryl considered an awkward amount of time as she stared into her empty glass. When the silence between them broke, it was Vash that spoke up. “This song is nice.”

“Huh?” She lifted her head, listening close to the old gramophone, trying to catch the tune. It was a nice song. A little jazzy. Slow. Maybe something from Earth? She wasn’t sure. There weren’t any words. “Oh… yeah.”

“Do you want to dance?”

“I…what?” She blinked at him, jaw dropped in shock before she shook the expression from her face. “I mean…  this isn’t really the dancing place. It’s a bar.”

“C’mon.” He took her hand, pulling her to her feet. “No one here cares. Maybe we can make it a thing? Dancing in the bar.”

She stumbled a bit, the alcohol in her stomach flowing into her head. She fell against him, hand still in his before stepping back carefully. “Sorry uhm…” She took a deep breath. “I’m not really a dancing type.”

She wasn’t sure if Vash didn’t hear her or just didn’t care, because he gently led her to an open spot between the tables and the wall and placed his right hand on her hip, his prosthetic left holding hers. “It’s easy. Just follow me.”

With the way her head floated, she didn’t have much of a choice. He turned her and swayed with her to the music, holding her close. Her vision began to drift from the focus she was trying to keep on his coat, up to his neck, then his lips, until she was finally looking at his eyes. Okay… so she wasn’t over him. She clenched his hand, hoping he couldn’t feel it. Her feet started to freeze beneath her, causing him to have to catch her once…twice.

He stepped back, looking down at her. “Are you okay?” Once again, he was ducking his head down to get a close look. “You’ve had a lot. Do you need to sit down?”

“I uhm… I just…” She stepped back, pushing him away with her hands on his chest. “I think I need to go sleep this off. Get some water. Don’t want to have a hangover tomorrow.” There was an awkward laugh to match the mood she’d placed between them.

“Okay. Let me just get the bill and we’ll leave.” Damn him and that smile. It was supposed to comfort her. She could tell it did. But instead it just made the alcohol burn more and her stomach churned.

“Mmm…mhm. Thanks uhm… I’ll pay you back.” She was not going to puke in front of him. He was not going to see that.

“Meryl?”

“Thanks again, Vash. G’night!” she turned on her heels, feeling the whiskey burning its way back up. She held it back. She held it until she got out the door, round the corner, and into the dark alley between the tailor and the grocer. Just like she’d imagined doing out of sheer embarrassment, she found herself heaving on the ground, propping herself up with a hand against a wall. As she regained some sense of composure, taking deep breaths and, gracefully, wiping her mouth with her hand, she grumbled. “Damn that man…”

How she’d missed him getting back to Lina’s she would never know nor care to find out. She’d made it before he did. He never knew what happened. She just owed him a few double-dollars for the booze and what dignity she had left when they continued their excursion the next morning.

“Feeling better?”

She’d avoided Vash during breakfast, choosing instead to shower and have coffee in her room. Now she was face to face with him as they loaded up the bed of the truck and, even through her hangover, she’d rather look straight into one of the suns than look him in the eye. “M’fine.” She mumbled, giving him a nod as she threw her bag onto the mess of provisions. “How much do I owe you?”

“Don’t worry about it.” His hand came down on her shoulder and he gave her a gentle squeeze. “Just get some water and let me or Milly drive, alright?”

Another silent nod is all she gave him before she went to the cab of the truck, listening to the creak of metal as Vash climbed onto the back. At least she wouldn’t have to sit by him while they traveled. She took the paper from Milly as her partner had approached her with a canteen. “Thanks.” She took a sip of the water—the only true cure for a hangover, she was sure of it—and unfolded the newspaper. “Milly…”

The blonde looked at her, head tilting curiously. “What’s up?”

“They caught him.” She said, looking over the page again. Mass Arsonist Behind Bars. “They caught Amorus Lynch.”

[ihavehatsinmypants]

Trimax Vash and Stampede Vash talking about home and the people there, similarities and differences:

Max: Luida is looking lovely as ever. So tell me, did you two-ya know- the one time after that welcome home party and you two where really drunk and things got a little heated...

Stampede, horrified: you fucked our mom...

Max, equally horrified: SHE'S YOUR WHA-

----

Max: Your Brad is definitely older than the one I got back home

Stampede: oh yeah? He was part of the original seeds crew

Max: no way!!! No wonder he looks old enough to be your dad

Stampede: well actually...

[hellsingmongrel]

Ok but your reblog reminded me of some other thoughts I'd had about this, after posting this, so here, adding to it all with more.

The kids go find Melanie after Vash's injuries get to the point where his plant powers are beginning to go haywire. He's sprouting feathers, and there are little vine-like growths that seem to be trying to "hold his arm together." He's also started running a fever, he can't seem to stay awake, and a worrying black numbness starts to creep up his arm. And they really aren't sure what it means, when his hair starts turning black like that.

It turns out that things can't just be swept under the rug, like Rem and Luida and Brad had all hoped. This is too big, it's gotten out too far, and if they don't come out with the truth, now, the feds will take the boys and Tessla will just be the first in a SERIES of fuckups. Conrad is in charge of the officials looking for the kids, and he wants to continue the things they started with Tessla. So instead of letting the government take the boys and cover everything up THEIR way, Rem and Luida and Brad come forward with the truth, publicly, even before Vash has been found. It's the catalyst for the Plants Rights movement.

By the time this happens, though, the kids have already gotten Melanie involved, but she's also been unsure just what to do, when this famous missing boy has been suddenly dropped in her lap by that group of wayward kids she's always done her best to look out for. He's clearly not human, he's SEVERELY ILL, but his friends are all begging and pleading not to turn them in, he's so scared of doctors, the authorities will take him away and they'll never see him again, they may even KILL HIM! It's not until Rem goes in front of cameras and tells their story and the world erupts into shocked outrage that she knows they have a safe way of getting him to help.

Wolfwood is also able to maintain his stoic, surly grumpiness up until Vash stops waking up, and he sneaks out in the middle of the night to the orphanage, banging on the door and doing his best to keep it together when he asks Melanie for help, but it's too much, this is too much pressure and stress for him, and by the time he's able to get it all out, he's a crying wreck. Like those angry, blustery tears little boys do when they're mad at themselves for looking weak, but they also just really need a hug from mom. Even if he's never lived at the orphanage, Melanie has already become "Mom."

He can't even explain why they haven't taken this sick kid to the doctor, other than that he's "special," and until she walks into the little abandoned, burned out building they've been living in, she thinks they mean a kid with some sort of disability. Nope! Guess again, Miss Melanie!

The girls initially sneak out because they had all put a location tracking app on their phones in case they all got seperated in the park. It wasn't the parents' idea, they just decided to do it so they could find each other. Vash's phone doesn't stay on for long, but they could see his location staying at one spot for an hour before going dark, and then one night, when Vash cracks and turns on his phone to make a frantic call home to Rem, he shows back up on the app, and the girls sneak out to find him. It's not at the place the street kids stay in, because Wolfwood may not know much about how technology works, but he's pretty sure he's heard people talk about cell phones being trackable, so he takes Vash somewhere a block or two away, so he can make a call in the middle of the night. It's close enough that when the girls get there, even though Vash still isn't there, they find him easily enough. Maybe he stayed on the phone long enough for the girls to get an uber to the address just in time to see Wolfwood carrying him piggyback back to their hideout, or maybe they hear his voice when they're walking the streets, trying to find him. lbh, he's probably in a constant state of various levels of emotional blubbering, so it probably wouldn't be very hard to hear him crying through a broken-out window.

The girls also know what Plants are, because the subject came up in school, the same way that one sheep did when scientists first figured out how to clone things. So when they start to see Vash's inhuman traits and he has to explain, it's a shock, but easily explained enough. But Wolfwood doesn't go to school, and he doesn't particularly give a shit about the news, so he has no idea what everyone is talking about. But boy, does everyone's biggest freakout about the whole thing end up being when they find out he's actually 6 years old! "What the FUCK, Blondie, you're just a BABY!" "I'm really NOT, can you please not say that??? I'm just as grown as you are!" Much Vash pouting is had, until they all have had a while to get over the shock of it and realize that no, he really is still the same sweet, dumb boy they all hung out with. Though he may get mothered by the girls a bit more, afterward, in their own ways. They really are a group of Mom Friends, lbh. Meryl is the disciplinarian mom friend who keeps everyone on track, Milly is the emotional support mom friend who gives the biggest and best hugs, and Lina is the mom friend who will FIGHT GOD for her friend-children!

There may also be elements of VaMeryl, but in the ace romantic sense, Mashwood because Meryl and Wolfwood are adorable together, and Milly is flirty with Nick, but ultimately queer platonic with everyone but Meryl. And Lina is their collective queer platonic life partner. Doesn't feel romantic OR sexual attraction for any of them, but they are ALL her "little siblings" even if she is the youngest in the friend group and she will take care of them whether they like it or not!

Maybe Livio and Milly are a thing. That's a rarepair in this fandom that I really adore, or maybe Jasmine is also one of the street kids and the mom of that group, and he and Jasmine are sweet on each other. Basically POLYGUN. POLYGUN FOR DAYS. AND THEN SOME. This is a friend group that is going to stick together for the rest or their lives, regardless of the particular relationship the kids develop for each other as they get older! Platonic cuddlepiles are a CONSTANT! And something that Wolfwood is begrudgingly willing to participate in, because it's not like the orphans don't already sleep in one big pile at night, anyway. He's used to it. This is just a NEW cuddlepile for him to get used to. Livio is just perpetually happy for any cuddles.

On the subject of Livio, I've decided Razlo IS a thing, but he's the one that fronts when Wolfwood needs help keeping the kids safe or in line.

Also, Wolfwood already smokes. At one point, Vash makes a crack about him being surprised it's not a vape, but Wolfwood snarks that it's hard enough getting cigarettes with what money he can get, you think he's gonna waste it on vapes??? Besides, he doesn't have anywhere to charge the damn thing! So cigs it is!

Wolfwood and Livio make money panhandling, and most of what they get goes to getting food for the kids. They live in a beach town, (so not REALLY Disneyworld, but this world's equivelant can be in a beach town) so "bath time" for the kids involves going down to the beaches and crowding them all into the little showers set up there for swimmers to rinse the salt water off with. It's an unruly ordeal, but it's become so routine that they can manage to keep the younger kids mostly on task for it. They all share one bottle of shampoo and soap, and it's one of their most precious treasures. Do not lose the soap! It's expensive and has to last them a long time! They probably save whatever extra coins they have after buying food every day until they have enough by the time the bottle is empty to buy one of those giant bottles of the cheapest stuff in the stores. Suave or whatever, the kind that's like $$0.99 for the regular bottles, but the regular bottles would only last like a week tops with that many kids, so they gotta get the big ones. And they let the kids rotate who gets to pick what scent it is every time, that way no one fights over it too bad.

Wolfwood doesn't have the Punisher to carry around, but he's gotten used to piggybacking kids around constantly, so he's still pretty strong. Livio carries them like potato sacks over his shoulder or with his arms wrapped around their chests under their arms when they're playing, and bridal style when shit is serious and Wolfwood's already got one kid. Vash weighs like 50 pounds soaking wet, so he may be all long, spindly limbs, but he's honestly not that big of a deal for Wolfwood to cart around once he starts getting weaker.

Man, so I'm not normally the biggest fan of Modern AUs, nor am I overly fond of fiction focused on kids, but...last night, my sleeping brain decided to concoct this Trigun (Stampede-flavored) Modern AU that now is living rent free in my damn brain! I want to get it out of my head and into the ether. I don't know if I'm going to do anything long-form with it, and I'm having to translate dream weirdness into more coherent storytelling, but here we go.

So it's modern day Earth, like 2024 or some shit, right? And that's when this version of Earth had just begun fucking around with Plant cloning. It's early enough that the SEEDS project hasn't even left the planet, the scientists haven't yet figured out how to put Plants in bulbs and use them for fuel, none of that! But they've already had Tessla happen, and the boys have already been born. Since they're not in space, even though they had to have found out about their sister, Nai hasn't had a chance to literally nuke humanity from orbit, and I guess Rem has had a chance to try and curtail some of his trauma, so he's...more stable? Ish? Stable enough where he's not actively trying to murder everyone. And the boys are "older," like we see in the flashbacks for the time Vash encountered Nai during the Last Run, so probably around 6 years old but looking 16 or so.

Rem has managed to fudge their paperwork so they've started going to school with human kids, to try and give them a normal childhood. Nai isn't as eager to play ball with the whole "being human" thing as much as Vash is, but Vash has got so many friends, Meryl and Milly and Lina are there and they're like the cutest, most stupidly adorable group of friends, just a bunch of little goofballs, like kids that age are. And the school has a field trip to a theme park (it was Disneyworld in my dream because my school actually did this, but ours was a band trip) and Vash manages to convince Rem to let him go. Vash and Nai and Rem are still paranoid about humans figuring out who they are, so you know, he's told to be extra careful and take care of himself, and Nai gives him one of his blades or something for self defense, just in case something happens. Even though Vash would never, that boy has trauma around knives and trying to defend himself, if you've read Trimax, iykyk. But he takes it anyway, and somehow, he manages to sneak it into the park. Maybe the metal doesn't register on metal detectors or something, who knows.

But he's a kid, and kids are dumb. Especially when they're 16. Especially if those 16 year olds aren't actually 16 and don't have the actual lived experience to know better. So he starts playing with the knife in front of the girls, showing off and just being a silly little guy. And then the knife slips. Bad. We're talking "this is how he probably lost his arm in this AU" bad. Blood everywhere, the girls are panicking and take him to the school chaperones and it's like "HOLY SHIT WTF DUDE, We're taking you to the ER, someone call his mom!"

And he hears that, pictures the doctors finding out he's not human, remembers what happened to Tessla, and panics. Boy does a runner like only Vash can do, and he manages to get away from them, out of the park, and escapes from security. And when parents get involved in trying to find him, the authorities start looking into the incident, and someone in the government overseeing the Plant research is able to recognize the elemental make up of the blade he dropped, and they start having suspicions. So the feds get involved, and it just goes from bad to worse, right?

Meanwhile, loopy from blood loss and panicking and a little sobbing mess because he feels dumb about slipping up and he's afraid he'll never get to go home to his mom and his brother again and is spiraling the way kids do when they panic, he gets lost in the city and ends up stumbling over teenage Wolfwood, who lives on the streets and has a few street kids that he looks after on his own with Livio. They never got to live at the orphanage, but that also means that the Eye (in whatever form it takes in this AU) never got ahold of them, so yeah, shits fucked for them, but it's actually a whole lot better for them than it might have been. And it's Wolfwood without all of the EoM trauma, so you can just imagine what he does when this delirious, bloody, terrified, severely injured kid runs him over in the street, sobbing about being caught by the adults and taken away.

Big Brother Nico do what Big Brother Nico do.

At that point, I ended up waking up, but damn if my brain didn't give me enough details to come up with a dumb AU idea that I kind of love and want to do something with, but I don't know if I have the time or spoons to do so.

Ideas I'd had following this beginning to flesh itself out in my head; Luida and Brad are Plant researchers brought onto the project to help the feds figure out wtf is going on with this whole situation, and when Luida is told to talk to Rem, because she's not giving them anything they can use, the two of them reach a secret accord to bring Vash home safe and sound and cover everything back up nice and squeaky clean the way it should have stayed.

Vash's arm is bad enough that he can't really heal it very well on his own without medical care, Plant healing or no. He's doing better than most kids would, but it still begins to go septic, and it forces Nico and Livio to make the really hard decision to find adults they can trust to bring him to so he can get the care he needs. He still ends up losing his arm, though.

At the end of everything, Melanie ends up taking Nico and Livio and the other kids in, so they still get to have their momma figure, even if she comes in later. Maybe she's the one that they find to help them. Is she maybe someone they've known was mostly safe but was never able to get them to stick around long enough to take care of them? Either way, the boys get Vash to her, and it starts the process of getting him home and the kids finally staying at the orphanage.

Meryl, Milly, and Lina all end up sneaking away when they realize that Vash is in more trouble than the adults are letting on, trying to go find him, since they know him better than anyone other than Rem and Nai. Eventually, they meet up with Nico and Livio while everyone is trying to avoid federal agents.

Obviously it's lovey-dovey Vashwood and Insurance Girlfriends and Polygun-flavored, but in the "these kids are too oblivious to think about sexy things, yet" sort of way, because I really do headcanon that at least Vash is ace, Wolfwood is probably demi, and also I am not writing children getting intimate like that. >8/ But kids having little crushes on each other is adorable and I can't not have Vashwood and Insurance Girlfriends be the eventual outcome, once those idiots all grow up and get their heads screwed on straight.

Also, because Nai hasn't had a chance to murder everyone, Rem's managed to work with him enough that he's very slowly overcoming his trauma and regaining his ability to trust that he's not in permanent danger. He'll probably grow up to be a Plants Rights activist or something, lbh. Or a politician. But he's not going to murder people, so either way, it's a win/win!

Because Nico's been living on the streets with him, Razlo either hasn't had to manifest as strongly for Livio, or hasn't manifested at all. Livio is still the sweet, shy, crybaby teddy bear we see, and maybe Razlo only comes out when the feds start getting closer and almost managing to grab the kids, and because he's been able to bond with Nico and the other kids so well this time, Livio is close enough to them that the thought of them getting hurt or taken away is enough to make him want to protect their little group instead of just Livio.

Wolfwood absolutely grumbles about how alike Vash and Livio are. Both a couple'a crybabies, geez, what the Hell you two??? But he also is very much a teddy bear who gives the best hugs when one of his little band of gremlins is upset, so he probably spends more time in a cuddle pile than anything else, now that there's two of them to lose their shit at the drop of a hat.

Vash was totally the one very sweet boy in a clique of girls that everyone who'd known him realized, when they were adults looking back, that he was very much the sweet gay kid hanging out with the girls because it was safer to be himself around them than it was to be around the other boys. (This isn't meant as a stereotype of gay kids, this is based on actual kids I grew up with. My friend group honest to God adopted them because we were all a bunch of momma bears.)

Vash is also...not trans? Because he's a Plant and Plants don't work the same way humans do, but he's also not what humans would think of as a cis boy. He expresses a masc presentation, but probably the closest equivalent would be an intersexed kid. Nai, too, tbh, though he's probably more of the "I don't give a fuck" opinion when it comes to his own gender identity. He uses he/him because that's what humans think when they see him, but he doesn't care any deeper than that.