I wagered on God in a kind stranger

[anthophilia]

[ There had been a while when he’d been terrified. Worried that maybe making a baby would drain Vash the way healing the Plants does, that it would take something from him. But he’s trying to be better about that kind of thing; Vash was willing to give everything to make the world safer for humans, and now that he has room to live for himself, Wolfwood needs to let him do that the way he wants.

He’s pretty sure he was worried for nothing. He’s never seen Vash happier, brighter, or more alive than he is with the baby.

The world isn’t perfect, but he’s come to terms with the fact that it doesn’t need to be. It’ll never be so safe that there’s no threat at all, nothing that could possibly harm them. But they’re closer than he ever thought they could have been. Knives – or Nai, as he’s going to have to get used to calling him – is out there, somewhere, no longer hellbent on the destruction of everything that isn’t a plant. He checks in with Vash from time to time – something made possible by a lot of hard work by Vash, Luida and Brad. They’ve tried to explain it to him a number of times, using examples ranging from radio waves to a network of tubes, and he still doesn’t get it. It doesn’t really matter if he doesn’t understand it – the important part is that is works. The Plants can communicate with each other now even over great distances, and it turns out that happy Plants are way more productive. The goal is still a world where they’re not reliant on Plants for everything but the girls are happy to help out, and most of them are now housed where they can look out over the settlements and towns they support, watching over the people they care for as the world slowly becomes one where flora takes root and transforms the soil into something nourishing rather than dry and barren. Vash goes out and visits them, letting people know if something needs changing to keep the Plant happy and comfortable, sometimes just to chat with them – it’s different face-to-face than over their little network, he says. It’s kind of a steady job for him now: Plant Advocate and Counsellor. Sometimes he’ll laugh out of nowhere, and Wolfwood has long since learned not to ask why because he doesn’t get Plant Humour. He did get it when the baby arrived, though – Vash had been holding the kid when he’d suddenly closed his eyes, tipped his head to the side, and started to cry gently, and the baby went silent and still. Wolfwood had freaked, predictably, and Vash had taken his hand, placed it on a patch of feathers that had appeared with all the emotion, and his mind had filled with a sound like nothing he’d ever heard; inhuman, like a wet finger on a crystal glass or the sound you’d think a star would make. Haunting, but somehow beautiful, joyful. Vash had opened his eyes, still wet with tears, smiled wide, and told him: My sisters are singing.

It's all quiet now, though. Vash is tucked up on the sofa, drowsy from a nap with the baby still conked out on his chest. Wolfwood had taken the opportunity to make an easy dinner – pasta for them, a bottle ready to go for the kid – and wolfed his down just watching them as they slept. Seeing Vash stir, he’d gone to get a bowlful, holds it out to trade for their tiny little miracle. ]

Sleep well?

Comments

[spiculatus]

[ if this one is just as jealous for vash's attention as the little ones back at the orphanage, they're in trouble. but why make wolfwood fret over his impending doom sooner than he has to?

so vash hooks his chin over wolfwood's shoulder instead, beaming down at their baby. ] Wow. He got your right hook, huh? The world better watch out.