[ the kiss is nice! it doesn’t soften what comes next, but vash still appreciates it for what it is.

but the smile falters. his hands drop from wolfwood’s face to his shoulders, breaking off eye contact and chewing at the inside of his lip. ]

… I know. [ it comes out sounding miserable. ] The people who sent you after me… they wouldn’t give you this much free reign unless they thought they have you on a pretty good leash, right? I thought, at first, maybe you were just loyal, but… [ he rubs absently at his temple with the heel of his hand, trying to soothe the threatening headache there. ] After what happened on the sand steamer, things made more sense.

[ that person, livio, was someone wolfwood wanted to protect. but based on the way he’d been able to turn on a gun on him, he isn’t the only one. ]