scads | ( ic contact );

[ Nai has been here at least a day or two, and one way or another Vash has convinced both Wolfwood and his brother that it's a good idea to have him stay in the little mushroom house Wolfwood and he call home with their little dragon. Vash has made it a point to bug his brother about eating and drinking as much as he can, to no real effect thusfar.

Why he thinks the two bags full of snacks and drinks is going to make any difference is a mystery to likely anyone who knows the situation. It doesn't stop him though, because like Nai, Vash is just as stubborn and unwilling to deviate from his chosen path. Said path just happens to be to keep his brother alive by feeding him.

He steps inside, ducking through the door to settle his gaze on a sight that's still strange but not unwelcome. ]

...Nai, I brought some things for you to try. [ He holds up the bags, full of convenient snacks, sweet and salty. ] There's got to be something here you'll like.

[ It's gentle prodding but there's something very steely and stubborn in Vash's voice as he holds out one bag for Nai to investigate. ]

( it's been … an adjustment, to say the very least of it; it's one thing to be in such close proximity with his brother again, something like an unsettling ( and unbidden ) sense of longing wedging itself in the center of his chest at just being able to have something so seemingly normal with him again, but to include the one he'd had such high hopes for contributing to his cause —

yeah, to say it's been an adjustment is putting it ~~taco bell~~ mildly, and that isn't even pausing to take into consideration that he's still getting used to being effectively human.

vash has been pestering him to eat, to drink, to sleep like he's supposed to and it should come as no surprise to anyone involved that he's leaning hard in the opposite direction out of sheer spite. he's never needed to eat, or drink, or sleep and he's not about to start now, regardless of how adamant his body is about reminding him that he isn't the same independent he'd been before he'd taken a laser directly to the face.

when vash comes in, nai is wrapped up in the only article of clothing he has to his name ( not to mention the only article of clothing he's ever really worn, but that's neither here nor there ), looking slightly less than the hooded villain he'd made himself out to be previously but still just a liiiittle like senator palpatine with the way he's huddled up, all but curled in on himself in a vain attempt to fight off the pains in his abdomen that he refuses to acknowledge as hunger pains.

but. ruh roh. he knows that tone when he hears it — this isn't going to be easy. )

You're never going to stop your pestering, are you? ( he cares about your wellbeing, you crotchknuckle.

show some respect for your baby brother! )

No.

[ No, he's not. Not so long as they're stuck here, together, with the need to eat, drink and sleep. Vash has adjusted easily enough, he's always tended to do those things just because he wanted to. He knew this was going to be rough for Nai, one way or another.

He watches his brother in all his hooded, hermity glory, his lips set in a almost neutral frown. He looks down at the bag and lifts it up to fish through it, trying to find something that might suit his brother's tastes.

Not that he has the first clue what that might be.

So what he fishes out is something that looks suspiciously like some kind of honey bun. He opens up the package, the plastic crinkling a little as he does so. He plops down the bag and moves to climb onto the couch, crawling into Nai's personal space like some sort of uncoordinated gazelle. He holds out the package as he leans in, one hand on the back of the couch while the other holds the treat out.

Like he's trying to feed a feral dog. ]

So. Eat. [ he pauses, waggling the honeybun. ]please

( no. of course he hadn't been expecting anything else out of him, but he had to ask anyway.

vash has always been … adaptive, to be sure, rolling with things as they come at him where nai himself has always been a little too set in his ways, steadfast in his own beliefs and already older than his years when he'd only had one to have tucked under his belt. he hadn't thought this whole situation would be difficult to acclimate to — he still doesn't — even if he's beginning to understand the meaning of the phrase hunger pains.

stupid human body. he doesn't think he's ever been so disgusted by anything before.

( and your brother doesn't know what his tastes are either, vash. you'll be going on this adventure hand in hand. so to speak. )

he eyes him warily as he clamors onto the couch ( uncoordinated gazelle indeed, but it's … undeniably endearing, in a way ) gaze shifting between the other's own bright blue eyes and what he holds out in front of him, the latter of which smells almost too sweet, but that doesn't stop his stomach from giving a lurch at the notion that an answer to the hunger pains problem is mere inches away from his face.

he sniffs, and it's meant to be in derision but the scent of the pastry only proves to make his mouth water. and he hates it.

stupid, traitorous human body. ) No. ( a pause. ) … Thank you. ( at least he's being polite ( ??? ) about it? )

Nai. You HAVE to eat! Why do you have to be so stubborn? You're not going to survive if you don't eat! This place MAKES you different!

[ He's not in Nai's lap, not yet, his reach still awkward. He looks down and back though despite not moving the honeybun any further away, almost like he's contemplating it to get closer. ]

I don't want to make you eat it, Nai but I will if I have to.

[ A bold statement, but a little bit of brotherly violence is worth keeping Knives alive, if that's what it'll take. As he says this he swings one long leg over Knive's waist, however that works, fully intending on settling his full weight on wherever he's managing to sit. ]

One bite. Try it.

[ No please this time. He is clearly not taking even a polite no. ]

I've been all right so far, haven't I? ( 'fine' being a very … speculative term, to be perfectly honest, because those hunger pains are really beginning to get to him and sooner or later he's going to end up passing out from the weakness that comes from being this bloody stubborn about something as normal as eating.

normal for humans, he would say. and he is not.

he's probably going to stick to that line of thought for the duration of his stay in this place, never quite learning better, but. stubborn is as stubborn does.

( that isn't how the saying goes, but nobody here needs to know that. )

his eyes narrow as vash closes the distance between them, what little there is to begin with and especially with what comes out of his mouth next — ) Will you? ( he actually laughs, but it doesn't last very long. more a bark of laughter than anything else. ) That sounds a little less passive than you usually are.

( nai can't really sink any further into the couch than he has already, but when his brother swings his leg over his waist he does his level best, even if there is no denying that the space between them is negligible.

his expression doesn't change, mouth set in a firm line, eyes almost like chips of ice. ) I don't need it.

It's for your own good. [ Doesn't this sound familiar? ] You'll die if you don't eat, Nai!

For once, just listen to me! [ There's an edge of panic in his voice, just faintly there at the outer reaches of what he says, despite the way the words are practically growled out of him.

He doesn't want to shove the thing in his brother's face, and he's pretty sure it's not going to get into Nai's mouth unless he makes a point of helping things along. So, with his left hand he reaches down to try and pry his brother's mouth open. Stupidly, likely, considering it's the more vulnerable one of his appendages.

He probably should have used his prosthetic for this. ]

( hm. sure does sound a little bit familiar. where might we have heard that before … )

I'm not dead yet. ( he gives back matter-of-factly, resolute in his stubbornness. but you should have seen that coming, honestly. ) It is not going to be the end of the world if I don't eat … whatever that is.

( never mind that his mouth is still watering, because it does smell good, but at this point he's just holding on out of spite. again, that shouldn't be a surprise to anyone.

but. oh, yeah, critical error on your part for not choosing to use the prosthetic to try to get his mouth open; the thought of biting immediately filters up to the forefront of his mind, but he tries to keep his jaw clamped shut for the meantime, because he isn't the one that thinks of biting and goes through with it without flipping through any other options.

doesn't mean it isn't going to happen, though. for now, please enjoy trying to pry open the viper's jaw. or something. )

Not yet but I can tell something's wrong! You've got bags under your eyes.

[ He sets the honeybun down on his brother's chest because why not, and lifts both hands up to try and pry open his mouth. It's really not working out for him despite his best efforts so.... the prosthetic hand lifts and he presses his brother's nostrils closed.

Knives may be able to deny that he has to eat, but there's only so much time he can manage to hold his breath for before he's going to realize he has to do something gross like breathing. ]

Just open up and EAT IT! [ The end of the sentence is growled low, much in the way he's spoken to at least one or two people before when his temper has really just been peeled away. ]

( joke's on you, vash. those bags would be under his eyes regardless, because he was born tired of everything and it's just a little more noticeable when he has to do things like actually sleep. and eat.

but he would argue that eating isn't conducive to under-eye bags. what does he know.

oh, but what have we here —

are we playing dirty, vash?

there's a strangled sort of grunt that sticks in the back of his throat when those prosthetic fingers pinch his nose closed, and pale brows furrow so tightly that they meet at the apex of his forehead, above eyes that narrow so quickly that he might as well have gone cross-eyed.

this is going nowhere fast, and while it remains painfully obvious that neither of them are going to give an inch unless they have no choice, that absolutely does not mean that nai isn't going to use everything to his advantage, even if there isn't much of one to begin with. if those flesh-and-blood fingers are still anywhere near his mouth when he opens it to take a breath?

they are one hundred percent going to get snapped at. probably more than once. )

[ Vash isn't quick enough to move his hand out of the way. Nai's teeth sink into skin not once, but twice and it's all Vash can do to pull his hand out of his brother's mouth with nothing more than a shout. It doesn't look like Nai's broken the skin, but that's definitely going to leave a mark. ]

You BIT me?!

[ He hooks one arm slightly and slugs Nai in the side with his fist, just below the ribs. This stupid asshole just doesn't GET IT. He's going to DIE if he doesn't eat, or at least drink something. Vash glances from the honeybun to the bag and then to his brother again, the scowl on his face pretty severe for him. ]

What's WRONG with you Nai?! It's not going to kill you to try!! You're already weak!

( vash. this really is an overreaction on your part, don't you see that? he is not going to die right this very second if you don't get some food into him. he's pretty sure, anyway. he's held out well enough up to now, though the jury's out on how long he'll be able to continue holding up this farce.

he didn't even — ) It wasn't that hard. ( there's an oomph for his troubles when the slug to his ribs comes, a grunt and nothing more. ) Don't you know better than to put anything vital near a predator's mouth? ( lol like you're in any position to call yourself a predator, knife.

he still sounds so eerily calm for how his brother is trying to manhandle food into his mouth; he sounds bored, actually, until you're already weak comes out of him and he growls around a sound that emerges as more of a snarl than it doesn't, and he heaves himself up so quickly and so sharply that he sends them both rolling. whether or not they go over the back of the couch is anyone's guess. )

I'm not weak! I never had to eat before this, and I shouldn't have to now just because—

( because he's basically human. the words are lingering there at the forefront of his mind, but he refuses to say them. he will not. )

[ Op, there they go, clear over the couch, and onto the floor. The couch comes WITH them, toppling over to slam onto the ground as the brothers roll away, Vash landing on top with his hips straddling Nai, and somehow, the honeybun STILL in one of his hands. If he wants his brother to eat it, he's not going to let it get nasty on the floor.

Vash doesn't even seem bothered by the tumble, despite being no more or less human than his brother right now in this moment. His expression is angry though, angry simmering full of concern and frustration. After all of this THAT'S what he's concerned about?

It's fine, he'll finish that unfinished sentence for him. ]

Because you're as good as human?

[ The words are practically growled, a tone of voice he doesn't use often. Only when he's frustrated, desperate, and determined. ]

I'm not going to let you wither away because you're too stubborn to see that you're wrong!

( at least it's just the two of them in the mushroom for now — he's not about to explain why they're rolling around on the ground, not only because it's no one's business but theirs, but. there really is no good explanation for it other than they're just plain caught up in being full stupid. check back later.

don't you dare finish that sentence for him, vash —

except of course he does, and as distracted ( and maybe just a little bit winded for having sent them tumbling ) as he is by his brother's weight straddling his hips, those words are enough to bring a stunted sort of snarl from the very back of his throat. matching his brother's tone vibration for vibration.

he knows he's serious, but he's not about to give up, even though he has long since realized his continued resistance is futile.

~~you have no idea how hard it is not to make a borg joke right now. damn everything.~~ )

How would you feel? ( he asks very suddenly, through mostly-gritted teeth, like even this much is coming too close to agreeing with you're as good as human. ) If you'd never had to eat, never had to sleep, and were told that such things made you arguably perfect? ( his followers, the plant worshippers, anyway … some of them would trip over themselves to tell master knives just how perfect he was.

it was sickening, sometimes, but. there was no denying that independents were supposed to be the embodiment of perfection. at least after all the conditioning he's been through, without seeing it as such. )

And then you wake up. And you hurt. And you're tired. And there had never been any reason to warn you against it, so you had no idea what to expect. But. ( he pauses, and he realizes that his hands have come to rest against vash's thighs of their own accord. ) It made you feel less like yourself than you've ever felt.

[ Maybe Knives hadn't meant it the way Vash takes it (or maybe he did.) But Vash softens a little, his expression shifting to something far less desperate and angry. It's something worried in a different way, something gentle and quick to rebut. But there's something else too, like an old wound has had its scab scratched off and reopened. He's quick to look away, his hands settling on his brother's shoulders as he fixes his gaze somewhere else while he makes a grand effort to hide the turmoil in his chest. ]

I guess I wouldn't know what it's like to be perfect. [ It's basically muttered under his breath, aimed away from Knives as he sets his shoulders stubbornly. When he looks back, he's managed to shove the hurt he's caused himself back into the deepest reaches of his mind. Instead, he leans down towards his brother, his hands lifting to settle at either side of his head, fingers curling over his ears as he presses his forehead to Knives' own, like he's done so many times with the tanks their sisters are in. ]

You're still you, Nai. You're still my brother. You're still...

[ Perfect. ]

( the instant the words are out of his mouth he regrets letting them slip up in the first place; of course vash wouldn't know what that is like, being an independent but still so close to being human even without any of his inherent plant properties being taken away from him upon his arrival here.

it makes his stomach churn, his chest ache when his brother looks away from him and he's reaching for him even before vash moves himself, before they're forehead to forehead nai is smoothing his own hands over the other's sides, up until he can curl them both around either side of his neck, breath caught in the back of his throat in the sort of apology there aren't the correct words for. )

That's not what I meant, Vash, I'm— I'm sorry, that isn't what I meant at all.

( forehead to forehead now, he dares to brush their noses together in the smallest, if not entirely subtle nuzzle. ) Rem always said you were exactly as you were meant to be, and that's true. And now … we're the same. ( he pauses, and nuzzles again, boldly. )

It's how we were always meant to be.

[ It's hard to swallow the shock of an apology coming from his brother, let alone the gentle way he's touching him now when they were just bickering and flailing and fighting a moment ago. It makes Vash's breath catch in his throat, his frame stilling almost like a deer caught in headlights.

It's like a spell, the way their noses brush together and Knives repeats words that had worked to soothe his anxieties about not being good enough from their childhood. It's hard not to turn into the touch, the nuzzling. ]

You're not any different than you were, Nai. You're still my brother.

[ THAT'S what matters, isn't it? ]

( it had shocked him, too, how easily the apology had come out of him, and even though he has yet to give his apologies for everything else he'll end up giving them over for in the future, this is a very, very small step in the right direction. isn't it?

( they're not fighting anymore, that much is worth saying it's a step in the right direction. )

he takes a moment to breathe — he's getting used to things like that, the sort of things that are autonomous for most others, like the beat of his heart at the center of his chest that seems to sync up with vash's now that they're this close. the fingers pressed lightly to either side of his brother's neck pick up the steady thrum of his pulse ( thump, thump, thump, thump ), and exhales slowly into the minimal space between them. )

At least that can't be taken away from me. ( yes, that's what really matters, and with those words out of his mouth, it's as if nothing else really does. )

[ He doesn't have a hand on his brother's pulse point, but he can swear he can hear Nai's heart slow down with his own now that they aren't wrestling for control or dominance or to make a point. Vash exhales a breath through his nose. What's said though, almost makes Vash's own heart stop.

It's so bitter, and—he thinks— scared, that he turns his head to return the nuzzle from before. Just a small, comforting touch, his hands shifting to drag through the shorn short portion of his brother's hair. It's probably too much, this kind of affection, and he stops soon after he does it. ]

I wouldn't let it happen, Nai. No one.

( rip that poor honey bun, wherever it ended up once they'd stopped their fumbling and rolling about.

he is a bit calmer, now, much more so than he had been before, and it may have a little bit to do with vash's weight bearing down on him; like a weighted blanket, almost, a comforting thing that might remind him of when they were much, much younger and would curl up together while rem read them a story before bed.

well. before vash turned in. and nai had watched him sleep, sometimes, when they were that young. because a part of him had wondered what it felt like — and now that he has no choice but to find out, that part of him has filtered back to the surface, willing him to take that chance to find out.

there's a small sound that catches just behind his teeth when the affection of his brother's hands in his hair stops — it's a whine, really, but he'll deny any and all allegations to as much — and he follows it with a sigh. something knowing, but just a bit melancholy. )

There's nothing that exists that can break the bond of blood, little brother. ( vash might have reeled himself in with his open affection, but nai lifts a hand to stroke long fingers over the curve of his cheek, the bridge of his nose, the arch of an eyebrow. ) But I do appreciate the sentiment.

[ 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?

( ic contact );

a fight to the DEATH

prepare for chomps u lil twerp

9,999 years later

shhh i'm always here

fight fight fight

kiss kiss -- oh wait not yet

no kiss only EAT

you're no fun AT ALL, VASHU

you say that NOW but wait

yes well that goes without saying now doesn't it

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slides in late all sorts of sheepish

waves hands around don't even worry about it

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