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[ If Vash notices the whine (he does) he doesn't say anything about it. Instead he watches his brother with a likely unervingly hard to read expression, the lines of his face flat as he stares down at Knives with almost uncharacteristic intensity. It seems to soften as his brother's fingers brush over the features of his face, and eventually Vash lets out a sigh that's almost like an inflatable pool toy being deflated. ]

I don't want to lose you either, you know. It's not like I wanted anything like that.

[ He clenches his fists a little, the action repeated again and again, like he's looking for something to do with his hands. ]

That's why I'm trying to help. But you're so stubborn and you never listen to me.

[ It's practically petulant. Sure he probably could have gone about this in a better way, but it's the thought that counts right? ... honestly, the both of them could do to learn that the method of getting somewhere does, in fact, matter. ]

( nai has seen that kind of intensity in his brother, unbeknownst to him; it almost unnerves him here, tentative as their beginnings have been without vash knowing everything about the point in their timeline nai had come from — but at least it's familiar, something he can hold onto even though he's trying not to let things escalate further.

( where had the honeybun gone, anyway? if vash is flexing the fingers of both hands as he is, that means it's gone missing in action, and it's probably rolled under the couch they've just rolled over the back of themselves and lost itself to whatever dust bunnies that have made a home for themselves underneath.

rest in fuzz, you little debbie reject. )

nai sighs, a quiet thing in the back of his throat and reaches for his brother's hands, takes them in his own and rubs the pads of his thumbs over the backs of his knuckles. he's not sure what else he can try to do to appease him, not right in this particular moment, but he thinks about the other snacks he'd brought back, and wonders if the bag he'd left is still somewhere amongst the couch cushions. )

You never listen to me, either, you know. ( he says it to be funny, as a joke, and he hopes vash takes it as such. ) … Where did your bag of snacks go?

( maybe. he'll actually try something. if you don't try to force feed him. )

[ That's the problem isn't it. That both of them talk but neither of them listen, too wrapped up in their own perspectives and trauma to really hear what the other is saying. To understand each other. ]

I guess that's something we need to work on. [ There's a frown on his features and if his eyes look a little wet, they don't. That's no one's business. His gaze is fixed on the thumbs dragging over his knuckles and Vash thinks distantly that it's been such a long time since he and his brother had shared gentle touches like this, like the ones to his face only a little while ago. It's a little lopsided, Knives being the one to offer the soothing touches while Vash had been the one to practically send them tumbling over the ground with desperate aggression and something akin to guilt tugs at the deepest point of his stomach.

Until Knives speaks again and he blinks, looking up from their hands to look for the sack of snacks with a straightened back like a meerkat looking out for predators. ]

Table.

( learning how to listen is something they both need to work on, isn't it? maybe they need to seek out some couples' therapy, or something.

( last narration checked, toji freaking fushiguro had the title of therapist held pretty steadfast. whether or not he's any good at it is anyone's guess, considering the source. )

i guess that's something we need to work on.

he's right, and he should say it again; even if his brother's eyes don't look just a little bit wet ( they absolutely do, but no one is about to call him out on it, at least not right now ), he reaches to brush the pads of both thumbs just beneath them anyway, the soft sort of motion he might have gone through when they were still very young and very new and someone had a nightmare they didn't want to talk about. )

I suppose it is. ( he says quietly, just as soft as his touch to the delicate skin just above his cheekbones, and he follows vash's gaze toward the table with a small sigh accompanied with a tap to one bony hip. ) Up. ( it's all he offers at first, and then: ) Let's … see what else you've brought back with you. ( he's going to try something, all right?

but that doesn't mean he's going to enjoy it. )

[ It's USUALLY called family therapy, Nai.

Vash isn't looking at Nai when he touches his thumbs to his face, but he does freeze in the moment, muscles slowly relaxing as the pads of his brothers thumbs try to wipe away tears that only really threatened to fall, but never did. It's weirdly familiar and somehow makes his chest ache a little, his gaze flicking to look back down at Knives with an awed confusion.

It might take him a long time to get used to touches like this, gentle and intimate in a way that's only between two people who have known each other all their lives. He almost misses the tap to his hip or the request one would toss casually at a pet rather than a sibling—but he doesn't complain, and instead he moves as asked, pulling himself up to his feet to right the couch before doing anything else.

Like he's still processing what his brother's said. Once he DOES however, he blinks at Knives, his expression carefully neutral. ]

Really?

( and there's the joke. we'll just leave it right where it is.

they're still so new at this — at least, going back as far as when they were children, and physical touch and intimacy was easy for them — and this may have started as a silly fight over an oversaturated, sugary confection, but he really is trying to get a foothold in knowing where they can go from here.

he doesn't want to move, not really, when this sort of thing feels so much more normal than it should with how estranged they've been, but. he had bid vash up, and it's his own fault for mourning the loss of his body heat and the weight of him against him when he finally extracts himself from their tangle of limbs and sets the couch upright again.

nai sits up, folding his legs beneath him in a way that makes it seem like he floats upward rather than … well, executes any movement that resembles that of a human, huffs out a soft noise of ascent and nods. )

Perhaps something a bit less tooth-rottingly sweet? ( he's well aware of whom he's speaking to, but he has to try, right? )

[ Anyone else might have been bothered or weirded out by the strange way Nai manages to stand, but Vash pays it no mind, it's just normal Nai things. He's always been graceful (when he's not slamming through windows). ]

It's mostly junk food, actually. Sorry. [ He lifts a hand to brush through his hair, frowning as he reaches over to grab the bag with one hand. The other is quick to start rooting around, his lower lip jutting out in an exaggerated pout. In hindsight, if he wanted his brother to eat, maybe he shouldn't have bought things with his own tastes in mind. ]

I should have looked for better options.

[ He does, however pull out a bottle of water. That much, at least, he was sure to get. He holds that out, the food items inside the bag a jumbled mess. ]

( look, there is no graceful way to slam through a window, all right? especially when you're chasing after your brother that won't share the interdimensional nuke cube.

in vash's defense, how could he have bought things with nai's tastes in mind, when he's never had a need to figure out what his tastes are before now? of course it stands to reason that no one could ever have the kind of sweet tooth his twin does, and he's going to realize quickly enough that he prefers savory things instead, but. he doesn't know what he likes, or what he doesn't like, other than he's pretty sure that honey bun might have killed him. how can something that's supposed to be edible smell that sweet? it just doesn't seem plausible. or edible.

nai comes to pick through the bag a bit for himself,seeing nothing that seems even remotely appealing, even to his underdeveloped palate, but he does take the bottle of water without complaint. plants do need water, you know.

he pointedly takes a small sip while maintaining direct eye contact with his brother, re-caps the bottle and sets it back down on the table. ) Happy? ( and perhaps after a moment too long of lingering silence, he adds to the very end of that question: ) You were only concerned with getting me to eat … not exactly what I was going to eat. Right? ( he shakes his head. )

I'll go with you next time.

Edited (adding stuff don't worry about it) 2024-01-03 21:01 (UTC)

[ Water isn't food, but it's a step up from nothing. So Vash does his best to school the hint of disappointment from his face. Nai maintains eye contact but Vash doesn't, his head turning to the side.

He should give his brother credit. Instead of being a little shit he offers Nai a softer expression, silent gratitude. In the same breath he makes his next suggestion: ]

We can go now. [ There's got to be something at one of the shops that you'll eat. He turns, stepping to look around the both of them for a moment. He grimaces at the mess they've made and immediately starts to straighten things up a little. Maybe it's nervous energy or something else that he's working off but he doesn't want to stare at his brother while he waits for his answer. ]

( water isn't food, no, but it is something to all plant-life, isn't it? a-hyuck —

( no, we aren't sorry for that and no, we aren't taking it back. you're going to have to deal with it. )

he notes the way his brother doesn't maintain eye contact, eventually turning his own gaze downward toward the table's surface and its contents, at least until vash speaks up again. he takes that silent gratitude for what it is and stows it away for some time in the future when he thinks he might need that softness. for whatever reason.

he doesn't speak up again until they've managed to make the place look like it hadn't just staved off some kind of world war, the couch back in its rightful place and everything else assuming some sort of order.

then, he breathes out a sigh. ) Now? ( almost like a small child having been told it's time to do something it does not want to do, but he had said he would go with him … so. )

All right, now. But no more sweets. ( a beat of a pause, and then: ) … Please.

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slides in late all sorts of sheepish

waves hands around don't even worry about it

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