#i need to draw him pushing wolfwood around. petting him with it

[punisheye]

One year.

Fading away to the sound of church bells and the crack of thunder, confetti falling like snow he'd never seen before around them, to wake up in a strange place that was unlike anything he had ever seen. How disorienting it'd been—one moment he was dead, and the next...

Sometimes he still thinks this must be the afterlife. God letting him have something he never thought was possible.

A quiet life, a warm home, food to eat, someone to love.

Not to say that he's been without his troubles here. But it's so much easier to bear when he isn't alone. Friends have come and gone, but he still isn't alone anymore; people love him, despite everything. They love him even if they're looking up at him past the barrel of a gun.

He's getting better at telling himself he deserves that acceptance, and this peace.

He deserves waking up every day next to someone he loves. Going to work a normal job. Buying groceries. Taking care of a little animal. Getting married.

Wolfwood took the day off work today. It's a slow start. The bed is warm and soft and he doesn't really want to move. Vash is tucked up against his side, breathing softly, his one arm curled around his middle and cheek against his arm. Sunlight filters in through the curtains, spilling over them. It's warm.

Yes, despite everything, he deserves this.

His hand slides over to Vash's, taking hold of it and bringing it up to his lips. A kiss is pressed to the ring there. Vash snuffles in his sleep. Wolfwood turns his head to kiss his hair, black as his own now. That had been a shock, for certain. Now, it's normal. He's used to it. He even thinks it looks good. He tells Vash he's beautiful every day, now that he can afford to.

It's been a year, and he has friends, a house, a pet, a job that doesn't require killing, and he's going to be married in just a few months.

There are people he wishes were here to see this. Well, anyone could show up anytime around here, huh? So who knows what that future will bring. For now, he holds onto those that are here.

...Vash, Blondie, the runt. Hell, he's even learned to tolerate Knives now, even if it's just to make Vash happy. All the other friends he's managed to make, the people he's met. He misses Livio, Meryl, everyone who was there one day then gone the next.

I don’t think any of us’re gonna need forever, if we’ve already meant everything to each other.

Wolfwood blinks at the ceiling. Slowly, he begins to detach himself from Vash.

He climbs out of bed, but he turns to look down at the sleeping man among the crumpled sheets, under the thick comforter. Wolfwood leans over, pushes Vash's hair back, and kisses his forehead. He sees his lashes flutter in his sleep. Wolfwood kisses his mole next, and then he's drawing back.

Right. Time to make coffee and breakfast, shower, feed the cat...

Then there's a party to get ready for.

#isola drabble