[ yes, he is most definitely right. because vash knows dante has a weakness for such things as pizza and strawberries and chocolate. it would be concerning if he didn't make it all this way without devouring at least ninety percent of the fruit chocolate the other man had made him.
(dante also has a weakness for the tall red coated plant man and the black cat-coded undertaker, a weakness that has grown larger in the past few months.)
he hums approvingly and turns his head toward vash's neck, nuzzling in to take in his scent and the flecks of gold in his mop of dark hair. it's good to see him looking better, being up and about, it's good to see more of that brilliant blonde peaking through and telling dante that vash is healing. ]
It's funny that you think I run off a timetable. [ pressing a quick kiss to the line of the other's jaw he shifts to rest his chin on vash's shoulder again, looking over whatever it is he is doing. ] Homemade pizza and chocolate-apple tarts? You know you don't have to cook my favorite things to keep me from going home at the end of the night.
Well. Wolfwood always talks about how your brother has a schedule that he keeps him on, so. I figured you might get bullied into it, too. Good to know you'll fight the schedule and live free. [ he grins crookedly as the other kisses him, turning his head into it almost immediately--instinctively to catch the corner of Dante's mouth.
That grin gets wider. ]
Nico's gone out for a booze run so he'll be back for the rest of the night soon. But I know I don't need to keep you around--buuuuut maybe I like keeping you in the manner you're used to.
It's not like you're a stray I'm feeding in hopes of you sticking around. I just think you deserve it.
We've been stuck in this world for a while now, huh. It's nice to be able to indulge in things we normally wouldn't be able to, were we back home.
Always gonna fight the schedule and live free, it annoys Verg to no end.
[ nick's gone for a booze run? he can't help the almost disappointed noise that he makes as vash talks. he had been hoping that nick was around but if he's got for a bit he might just have to leave his gift somewhere the other man will find it. but's a problem for later. ]
You like spoiling me, just like you spoil Nick. [ vash has always been free with his affections but dante's notice the difference between vash treating his friends and vash treating them. ] Yeah, I agree. You and Nick have been through enough to last multiple lifetimes, the both of you deserve to indulge in all the things you've missed. You deserve to sit down and enjoy the sunshine, you deserve the chance to rest.
[ he lets that sit for a second before he removes one of his hands from around vash's middle and searches for something in his pocket. it only takes him a few seconds before that same hand comes back around with a black box. inside sits a leather braceletengraved with a series of symbols. in his pocket sits another box with a similar bracelet, one that he intends to give wolfwood later on. ]
And I'm just happy to be taken along for the ride.
Of course I like spoiling you. Seeing you with a smile on your face is the most important part of my days, most of the time. Alongside going for donuts and drinking by the riverside on warm nights, and all.
Me and Nico aren't the only ones to have gone through hell and back. I know you don't like to talk about it--would rather avoid it. Because I get it. I avoid talking about my past too, because the future is more important to me. I think you're like that, too. I can see it in your eyes when we're having quiet moments together. I recognise that look.
It's the expression of someone wondering if they deserve the future they've paved for themselves, or when they might lose it, alongside everything else.
[ he pauses, letting go a deep breath as he touches the box Dante gave him. Flipping it over in his hands with loving care, as if it's delicate and can crumble at any moment.
He opens it, slowly, taking out the bracelet inside--looking it over with quiet elation in his eyes, a smile that spreads over his face like warm butter--sweet and not at all subtle with how he moves to bonk his head against dante's own. ]
Idiot.
You're not just 'along for the ride.'
Dante.
You're an important part of the journey and I won't go anywhere without you at our sides.
[ something wants nothing more than to kiss vash in that moment, to shut him up instead of letting his words wash over him like cold water. even after so many months of being together he struggles with how easily they see through him, how quickly and effectively they're able to pin down the meaning behind his words and actions because it is like looking into a mirror. he has been getting better act it, accepting all of it, not dodging as much as he once did or trying to distract from the subject.
dante breathes out and rests his forehead against vash's shoulder, fingers twitching slightly in the grip he has around vash's middle. because he is right, horribly right, that dante does sometimes wonder if he deserves to future he's paved for himself. if it is okay to leave everything to the girls back home and actually settle in here with them. his family is here, he has nero and vergil and he has them─ vash and wolfwood, two people who've become more than just some casual fling. they're important. they're...
he swallows the lump that threatens to form in his throat, just as vash bonks his head against dante's own, pulling the devil hunter from the depths of his own thoughts. he lifts his head, smile sitting crookedly on his face. ]
Yeah? I'm that important, am I?
[ yes, he has said as much to the both of them before but it is different hearing it back. ]
Keep talking like that and you'll have me swooning.
[ it's easy to understand someone when they were like a mirror to you. The day he'd met dante--covered in demon blood and hungry enough to eat three pizzas with him--he knew he shared a spirit with the man. That in a way, they were the same--and there was that kindred sort of attachment that only grew as time went on.
He wouldn't have minded a kiss--he never does--but he would have continued to speak against Dante's lips between each press, which may have just been funny, but it wouldn't have been delivered the way he wants it to.
He keeps his head pressed against dante's. Looking into deep blue eyes that have healed over, and over again, the scars left on the intelligent, beautiful mind behind them as he smiles with a look that's meant to be playful steels Vash's resolve. He remembers the words on his phone, the honest words that wolfwood gave to advise another, and yet, they had felt like advice for him.
He won't let the other turn away or swing into that joking, playful drama they always do. As much as he loved to make Dante joke around and start on his foolish, playful turn-of-phrases, now wasn't the time for it.
He puts both hands on the devil hunter's face. ]
I don't need you to swoon. You always do that, anyway. What I want to have right now, is your attention. Because I have something really important to say, so make sure you're listening.
Okay?
[ this is normally where one pauses to wait for an answer--but Vash doesn't. He moves into the next part of his bit without for a moment giving Dante a breath to even try to respond. ]
You're not just important. You're necessary. In my life. You've become something I look forward to seeing every day--someone I know I can trust to be there when I'm at my highest--and my lowest.
I love you. So. Don't for a second think you're anything less than part of my heart.
there isn't much in this world, or his own, that can take the legendary devil hunter dante down. for years demons have tried and tried and tried to catch him off guard, tried to take him down a peg or two, hatched plans to somehow get rid of him so they can fulfil whatever devilish plan is the flavour of the day. for years they have tried and for years they have failed. hell, even dante himself tried to end things more than once when he was at his lowest but nothing ever worked. wounds healed as quickly as he got them, his liver would repair itself before the alcohol had time to really hit it, his lungs would reform as smoke and carbon dioxide filled them.
but those three words? those three words coming from vash's mouth? it does more than any demon or destructive tendency could have done in the past twenty years.
he feel his chest tighten and his lung seize, breath caught painfully in his throat. how many times has he ever heard those words? how many times has someone he cared about, someone he truly cared about spoken then? one? two? he can still remember eva telling him that she loved him right before the flames took her, he can still the smile on nell's face. everyone who loved him has died, every single person and most of those he has ever dared to love himself have met a similar fate. it's why he's never told the girls how he felt about them, why they have never told him how they feel about them─ sure, they may not need the words to properly convey their feelings to one another but the point still stands.
it's why he sometimes feels panic welling up in his throat when he tells the kid or vergil that he loves them.
it's why... ]
Vash─
[ the words catch in his throat, fighting to break free from the ropes that bind them. the years of terrible instincts trying their hardest to drag them back down into the depths of his soul. don't speak them, keep silent, no one needs to know, you'll be safer that way, you won't lose another one if you just stay fucking quiet─
he can't, he fucking can't.
blue eyes shine with hot tears that streak down his face, dante doesn't even notice them as he looks at vash and just tries. to do something, to say something, to make sure that vash understands him even if he struggles to get the words out. ]
Vash─
[ you almost lost him, you know? what if it happens again? what if he falls asleep and he never wakes up? what if he leaves like so many others have done so before? vanished into thin air as if they never existed in the city in the first place? can you handle that, dante? can you handle that loss knowing you had the chance to tell him, to tell them both, exactly how much you love them? and you do love them, just as much as you love your brother, just as much as you loved nell and eva. they are everything.
everything. ]
Fuck, I'm─ [ no good at this, terrible at this, it feels like his lungs are going to cave in on themselves with how short and sharp he breathes. he feels like he might just pass the fuck out right there and then. ]
I hate you sometimes. [ it's said with a shaky laugh, eyes shining as more tears come unbidden. ] Because you're able to hit me right where it hurts without fail. Every god damn time.
[ dante shifts a little, his own hands sliding from vash to hold onto either side of the plant's face. ]
I... I love you too. [ the words come out quiet, quieter than anything dante has ever said before in his life, and his voice trembles. ] I love you and Nick so much it scares me.
[ he knows it must not be easy to hear. It wasn't easy to say, he'd been waffling at the very idea of being so smitten with anyone for so long that he'd sort of convinced himself he never had to ever bring up the L word.
But then that whole thing with Wolfwood and Neuvillette, he knows it's foolish to keep trying. Wolfwood had always been the most honest between the three of them--and yet, with the shortest number of years ahead of him between them. Why should he make the other wait for what he already knew was real.
Why should he sit and be contented alongside Dante pretending that this was just a fling that could end tomorrow? He curls his fingers together a little and he can feel how the metal of the ring Dante had bought for them a while ago now dig into his skin. A laugh bubbling up from his chest. ]
You can hate me all you want, I know full well it won't last long. [ there's something minutely smug in the little smile that follows that expression, but it slides away after a moment as he leans his head to the side, into Dante's hand with a soft sigh. His fingers are always warm, his hands are always slightly rough but in a way that was pleasant. The smoky smell of his leather gloves a comfort as he raises a hand to slide his own fingers up, lacing them between dante's as it settles on his cheek.
The tremulous sound in Dante's voice makes him want to comfort him, hold him. He smiles at Dante--an expression more genuine than every other smile he'd ever given the man. A look that is not just happy--but bright, tinged with relief and joy. ]
Hey, don't be scared. There's no reason to be scared.
We got one another, and that's not gonna' change anytime soon, right? Don't be scared. Look forward to the days we have ahead of us.
[ vash laces their fingers together and it grounds him, keeps the panic welling up in his chest from spiraling out of control - because he is panicking, he can feel it. he feels vulnerable with his feelings laid bare like this, he feels like the heavens themselves will strike him down for daring to utter them. he feels like the earth beneath their feet will just open up and swallow him whole.
he feels... relived.
despite the storm of panic, he is relieved that they are off his chest. that he has said the words to one of the two who have wormed their way into his heart so damn effortlessly. because he loves vash, and he loves nick, and he wants nothing more than to keep them as close as humanly possible to him for the rest of their goddamn lives. ]
Yeah, yeah... [ he breathes out a loud and shaky breath, resting his forehead against vash's. ] I'm trying. It's hard but I don't think I need to tell you that.
[ for a moment he simply stands there with his eyes closed, taking in the warmth of vash's hand against his own. taking in the sounds of everything around them, the sound of vash's breath, and the smell that is pure vash the stampede; an earthy smell, tinged with gun oil, and a faint sweetness. ]
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no subject
(dante also has a weakness for the tall red coated plant man and the black cat-coded undertaker, a weakness that has grown larger in the past few months.)
he hums approvingly and turns his head toward vash's neck, nuzzling in to take in his scent and the flecks of gold in his mop of dark hair. it's good to see him looking better, being up and about, it's good to see more of that brilliant blonde peaking through and telling dante that vash is healing. ]
It's funny that you think I run off a timetable. [ pressing a quick kiss to the line of the other's jaw he shifts to rest his chin on vash's shoulder again, looking over whatever it is he is doing. ] Homemade pizza and chocolate-apple tarts? You know you don't have to cook my favorite things to keep me from going home at the end of the night.
no subject
Good to know you'll fight the schedule and live free. [ he grins crookedly as the other kisses him, turning his head into it almost immediately--instinctively to catch the corner of Dante's mouth.
That grin gets wider. ]
Nico's gone out for a booze run so he'll be back for the rest of the night soon. But I know I don't need to keep you around--buuuuut maybe I like keeping you in the manner you're used to.
It's not like you're a stray I'm feeding in hopes of you sticking around.
I just think you deserve it.
We've been stuck in this world for a while now, huh. It's nice to be able to indulge in things we normally wouldn't be able to, were we back home.
[ he casts him a glance. ]
Don't you agree?
no subject
[ nick's gone for a booze run? he can't help the almost disappointed noise that he makes as vash talks. he had been hoping that nick was around but if he's got for a bit he might just have to leave his gift somewhere the other man will find it. but's a problem for later. ]
You like spoiling me, just like you spoil Nick. [ vash has always been free with his affections but dante's notice the difference between vash treating his friends and vash treating them. ] Yeah, I agree. You and Nick have been through enough to last multiple lifetimes, the both of you deserve to indulge in all the things you've missed. You deserve to sit down and enjoy the sunshine, you deserve the chance to rest.
[ he lets that sit for a second before he removes one of his hands from around vash's middle and searches for something in his pocket. it only takes him a few seconds before that same hand comes back around with a black box. inside sits a leather bracelet engraved with a series of symbols. in his pocket sits another box with a similar bracelet, one that he intends to give wolfwood later on. ]
And I'm just happy to be taken along for the ride.
no subject
Me and Nico aren't the only ones to have gone through hell and back. I know you don't like to talk about it--would rather avoid it. Because I get it. I avoid talking about my past too, because the future is more important to me.
I think you're like that, too. I can see it in your eyes when we're having quiet moments together. I recognise that look.
It's the expression of someone wondering if they deserve the future they've paved for themselves, or when they might lose it, alongside everything else.
[ he pauses, letting go a deep breath as he touches the box Dante gave him. Flipping it over in his hands with loving care, as if it's delicate and can crumble at any moment.
He opens it, slowly, taking out the bracelet inside--looking it over with quiet elation in his eyes, a smile that spreads over his face like warm butter--sweet and not at all subtle with how he moves to bonk his head against dante's own. ]
Idiot.
You're not just 'along for the ride.'
Dante.
You're an important part of the journey and I won't go anywhere without you at our sides.
no subject
dante breathes out and rests his forehead against vash's shoulder, fingers twitching slightly in the grip he has around vash's middle. because he is right, horribly right, that dante does sometimes wonder if he deserves to future he's paved for himself. if it is okay to leave everything to the girls back home and actually settle in here with them. his family is here, he has nero and vergil and he has them─ vash and wolfwood, two people who've become more than just some casual fling. they're important. they're...
he swallows the lump that threatens to form in his throat, just as vash bonks his head against dante's own, pulling the devil hunter from the depths of his own thoughts. he lifts his head, smile sitting crookedly on his face. ]
Yeah? I'm that important, am I?
[ yes, he has said as much to the both of them before but it is different hearing it back. ]
Keep talking like that and you'll have me swooning.
no subject
He wouldn't have minded a kiss--he never does--but he would have continued to speak against Dante's lips between each press, which may have just been funny, but it wouldn't have been delivered the way he wants it to.
He keeps his head pressed against dante's. Looking into deep blue eyes that have healed over, and over again, the scars left on the intelligent, beautiful mind behind them as he smiles with a look that's meant to be playful steels Vash's resolve.
He remembers the words on his phone, the honest words that wolfwood gave to advise another, and yet, they had felt like advice for him.
He won't let the other turn away or swing into that joking, playful drama they always do.
As much as he loved to make Dante joke around and start on his foolish, playful turn-of-phrases, now wasn't the time for it.
He puts both hands on the devil hunter's face. ]
I don't need you to swoon. You always do that, anyway. What I want to have right now, is your attention.
Because I have something really important to say, so make sure you're listening.
Okay?
[ this is normally where one pauses to wait for an answer--but Vash doesn't.
He moves into the next part of his bit without for a moment giving Dante a breath to even try to respond. ]
You're not just important. You're necessary.
In my life. You've become something I look forward to seeing every day--someone I know I can trust to be there when I'm at my highest--and my lowest.
I love you.
So.
Don't for a second think you're anything less than part of my heart.
(cw: mentions of suicidal intentions.)
there isn't much in this world, or his own, that can take the legendary devil hunter dante down. for years demons have tried and tried and tried to catch him off guard, tried to take him down a peg or two, hatched plans to somehow get rid of him so they can fulfil whatever devilish plan is the flavour of the day. for years they have tried and for years they have failed. hell, even dante himself tried to end things more than once when he was at his lowest but nothing ever worked. wounds healed as quickly as he got them, his liver would repair itself before the alcohol had time to really hit it, his lungs would reform as smoke and carbon dioxide filled them.
but those three words? those three words coming from vash's mouth? it does more than any demon or destructive tendency could have done in the past twenty years.
he feel his chest tighten and his lung seize, breath caught painfully in his throat. how many times has he ever heard those words? how many times has someone he cared about, someone he truly cared about spoken then? one? two? he can still remember eva telling him that she loved him right before the flames took her, he can still the smile on nell's face. everyone who loved him has died, every single person and most of those he has ever dared to love himself have met a similar fate. it's why he's never told the girls how he felt about them, why they have never told him how they feel about them─ sure, they may not need the words to properly convey their feelings to one another but the point still stands.
it's why he sometimes feels panic welling up in his throat when he tells the kid or vergil that he loves them.
it's why... ]
Vash─
[ the words catch in his throat, fighting to break free from the ropes that bind them. the years of terrible instincts trying their hardest to drag them back down into the depths of his soul. don't speak them, keep silent, no one needs to know, you'll be safer that way, you won't lose another one if you just stay fucking quiet─
he can't, he fucking can't.
blue eyes shine with hot tears that streak down his face, dante doesn't even notice them as he looks at vash and just tries. to do something, to say something, to make sure that vash understands him even if he struggles to get the words out. ]
Vash─
[ you almost lost him, you know? what if it happens again? what if he falls asleep and he never wakes up? what if he leaves like so many others have done so before? vanished into thin air as if they never existed in the city in the first place? can you handle that, dante? can you handle that loss knowing you had the chance to tell him, to tell them both, exactly how much you love them? and you do love them, just as much as you love your brother, just as much as you loved nell and eva. they are everything.
everything. ]
Fuck, I'm─ [ no good at this, terrible at this, it feels like his lungs are going to cave in on themselves with how short and sharp he breathes. he feels like he might just pass the fuck out right there and then. ]
I hate you sometimes. [ it's said with a shaky laugh, eyes shining as more tears come unbidden. ] Because you're able to hit me right where it hurts without fail. Every god damn time.
[ dante shifts a little, his own hands sliding from vash to hold onto either side of the plant's face. ]
I... I love you too. [ the words come out quiet, quieter than anything dante has ever said before in his life, and his voice trembles. ] I love you and Nick so much it scares me.
no subject
But then that whole thing with Wolfwood and Neuvillette, he knows it's foolish to keep trying. Wolfwood had always been the most honest between the three of them--and yet, with the shortest number of years ahead of him between them. Why should he make the other wait for what he already knew was real.
Why should he sit and be contented alongside Dante pretending that this was just a fling that could end tomorrow? He curls his fingers together a little and he can feel how the metal of the ring Dante had bought for them a while ago now dig into his skin.
A laugh bubbling up from his chest. ]
You can hate me all you want, I know full well it won't last long. [ there's something minutely smug in the little smile that follows that expression, but it slides away after a moment as he leans his head to the side, into Dante's hand with a soft sigh. His fingers are always warm, his hands are always slightly rough but in a way that was pleasant. The smoky smell of his leather gloves a comfort as he raises a hand to slide his own fingers up, lacing them between dante's as it settles on his cheek.
The tremulous sound in Dante's voice makes him want to comfort him, hold him. He smiles at Dante--an expression more genuine than every other smile he'd ever given the man. A look that is not just happy--but bright, tinged with relief and joy. ]
Hey, don't be scared. There's no reason to be scared.
We got one another, and that's not gonna' change anytime soon, right?
Don't be scared. Look forward to the days we have ahead of us.
no subject
he feels... relived.
despite the storm of panic, he is relieved that they are off his chest. that he has said the words to one of the two who have wormed their way into his heart so damn effortlessly. because he loves vash, and he loves nick, and he wants nothing more than to keep them as close as humanly possible to him for the rest of their goddamn lives. ]
Yeah, yeah... [ he breathes out a loud and shaky breath, resting his forehead against vash's. ] I'm trying. It's hard but I don't think I need to tell you that.
[ for a moment he simply stands there with his eyes closed, taking in the warmth of vash's hand against his own. taking in the sounds of everything around them, the sound of vash's breath, and the smell that is pure vash the stampede; an earthy smell, tinged with gun oil, and a faint sweetness. ]
Shit, I wanna kiss you so badly right now.