This takes place sometime shortly after the Augusta incident in which all of the characters were scattered to the four corners of the planet. My guess was, with Vash suddenly missing, Wolfwood probably headed 'home' to get orders on what to do next, which is why he's with/near the other Guns.



---



If you wanted to know were I was, I couldn't tell you. I knew a few things; I was cold, I had one hell of a headache, I had the weirdest taste in my mouth and I was utterly lost as to what in God's name was going on. Not the best couple of feelings to wake up to, let me tell you. Though I've had worse.

I think.

"You awake there, Nick?"

I'm not sure how long it took me to figure out who it was who'd just spoken but after some squinting and blinking I finally made out the white suit in the corner. It was the Hornfreak.

This both relieved and worried me. Worried me because he was a Gung-Ho-Gun, like me. And people like me don't let murderers, again like me, show a weakness and live. I was a little relieved though because it _was_ Midvalley. He, unlike some of the others, wasn't the type to randomly pick you off just because you happened to be down on your luck a little that day. Piss him off or screw up bad, sure. Couple well placed notes and you're dead. But for something little? Naw. 'sides, he'd always been pretty nice to me. Stuck up for me if I was late to one of the gatherings -- I don't know if he's got some sort of sway with Legato or what, but I think I'm one of the biggest slackers yet I get the least amount of punishment -- and just things like that that you wouldn't expect a killer to do for you. Of course, I'm a killer and I'm sweet to kids. Guess we all have our quirks and soft spots.

I nodded dumbly at his question, not quite trusting my voice yet. He smiled a little at that, the corners of his eyes crinkling, and made his way across the room to me. I watched him for a moment before glancing around, trying to figure out where I was. It was pretty dark and small. Smelled weird too, but I couldn't place my finger on it. My inspection was cut short as Midvalley knelt in front of me, watching me with those chocolate eyes of his. "How are you feeling?"

I licked my lips and coughed for a moment, trying to clear my throat and mouth of the weird taste. "Like hell," I said, wincing a little at the sound of my own voice. Shit, it sounded like I'd just been trying to gargle with glass shards. "What happened?"

"Well," Midvalley said after a moment, "I'm not entirely sure myself, but it seemed that you got piss drunk and managed to start a fight with the entire bar. I know you can take care of yourself normally, but really Nick.... picking fights while drunk off your ass and without your Punisher? You turning suicidal?"

I blinked at that. Right, I'd gone into a bar and.... Funny, I could've sworn I'd brought my cross with me then.... well, whatever. It explained why I felt so sore and why it seemed like someone was trying to crush my head between two rocks. "No, just stupid I guess." I grinned and he laughs.

"Yeah, I guess." He reached forward to adjust a bandage on my left shoulder and I realize that's why I'm so cold.

"What happened to my shirt?"

"I had to take it off to clean you up, idiot."

Oh. "Oh." I hissed as one of his fingers traced the wound. Man, I must've been really out of it to get this trashed, 'specially by nothing more than a mob of fellow drunks. How I got out of it.... Hey, how did I get out of it? "What happened after I got jumped?"

"You got beat."

Obviously. "I mean, how'd I end up here?"

"Ah, that," he said, rebandaging the torn skin carefully, "I happened to be close by, heard the scuffle and decided at first to join on in. Until I realized they happened to be banging you up so then I took care of them." He shrugged.

"Killed them?"

"Yup," he said casually, putting the bandages back away. Midvalley's the type of guy to always have a first-aid kit tucked away on him, never could figure out why. Guess he likes to be prepared or something.

"Oh.... thanks." It felt weird, still does, to thank someone for killing someone else. But he did save my life, so I should at least thank him for that. Right?

He smiled again then. "What're friends for, eh?" I laughed a little, despite my throat's raw complaint and nod. Midvalley checks me over again, poking lightly here and there. I laughed again as he got my ribs and smacked his hand. This caused an immediate reaction. "Ticklish?" he asked with a grin. Before I could vehemently deny perhaps one of my greatest weaknesses, he was already on top of me, fingers moving over my sides. It was torture; I already felt like I'd had a month's worth of air knocked from my lungs and my head was still pounding and he wouldn't stop until I wheezed for mercy.

"Sorry, that was cruel," Midvalley said, not sounding sorry at all. Smug bastard. So I called him what he is and he laughed. "Yeah yeah. You need anything?"

Water. Sweet, sweet water. Water that cures hang overs. Water that gets rid of the cobwebs in your mouth. Water that.... well, let's just say that I would've handed my soul over to the Devil right that moment for a cool glass of it. "Water," I demanded simply.

He nodded and stood, padding across the floorboards. "I'll be right back, alright?" I nodded in return and he opened the door -- I swear, I thought my head was going to explode when it squeaked -- and walked out, closing it behind himself.

It still smelled funny in there. Maybe something died.

After a moment, in which I wisely spent my time staring blankly at the wall and counting the teeth in my mouth to make sure they were all still there, Midvalley returned with a glass. Bless his saxophone playing soul. I took it from his hands gratefully, ignoring the sharp pain in my shoulder, and gulped it down. He watched me, still smiling, and moved to sit down to my left. He eyed the bandages again before returning his gaze to my face. I guessed at the time that he was just making sure that I wasn't going to pass out for apparently the second time that night.

"Thanks again," I said gratefully, able to recognize my voice for the first time since I woke up in this dark little corner of who-knows-where.

"No problem," Midvalley replied, still smiling. We sat in silence for a while, I don't know how long really, while he kept watching me and I kept half my field of vision on him and the other half on the wall across for me. I don't know why it had become suddenly so fascinating, but there really wasn't much else to look at, other than the man dressed in white and pink to my left. I counted my teeth again, never hurt to double check, licked the last few drops out of the glass and then proceeded to zone out nicely. I think I was almost on the verge of dropping off again, -- hey, I was still sore and had a headache, even if it was receding a little -- when he spoke up.

"What was it like?"

Did he mean the fight? It's not like I could recall it. I remember ordering some drinks, talking to this nice blonde and.... that's about it. Must've gotten smashed in the head too. God. "Got me."

He snorted. "I don't mean what happened tonight. I mean what was it like traveling with the resident boogie-man of our planet?"

Vash? He meant Vash. I think. I must've still had alcohol slugging through my system to be this braindead. It doesn't pay to be a slow thinker in a group of killers. Slower you are, quicker you die.

"You mean Vash?"

"Vash the Stampede, yeah."

"Oh." I thought for a moment, moving my gaze up to the ceiling. It didn't look a whole lot different from the wall. Really, what the hell kind of place was this? You think a guy like Midvalley could afford better. But enough about this smelly, dark little room. Onto the topic in a red coat at hand.

"It's interesting." True. Very, very true. I've been through some weird shit in my life but not much comes close to what I've been through with that Humanoid Typhoon. I admit, I haven't been with him for long, just a couple of 'chance' meetings when our paths crisscrossed, but we've been through a lot. I don't think I'm going to forget fleeing from alien robots with laser beams anytime soon.

"Just interesting?" I thought it was weird at the time that he sounded kind of hopeful. Still do.

"Well...." Where do I start? How much is okay to give away? Midvalley, pal of mine though he may be, is still a Gung-Ho-Gun. He's still one of the people out to make Vash's life a living hell.

Just like me.

"Well, he's pretty strange. He's got the potential to be the worst thing to ever happen to this planet but he won't even kill a man. Even when they're trying to kill him. Guy's an idiot." This was common knowledge. So it was okay to tell him.

"I know all that," Midvalley scoffed a bit, "I'm asking what it was like to be with him. Talk to a guy like that."

I couldn't figure out for the life of me why Midvalley was curious about that. I suspected he was just trying to make small talk to help me ignore the various dull aches nagging at my senses. I really didn't have a good answer though.

"It's..... interesting."

He laughed again at my answer, shaking his head. "You sound like a broken record, Nick."

I guess I do. "I guess I do."

---

I knew I was being stupid. Staring at him like this. I couldn't help it though.... never could. He's so damned.... I don't want to say beautiful, because he's not pretty. He's not soft. But he's.... hell, I don't know how to describe it.

Legato roughed him up pretty nicely. Drugging him was a neat trick, I'll admit that. Wish he hadn't been so rough, that cut on his shoulder is pretty good.... but it could've been worse. A lot worse. So I should probably stop complaining.

I keep waiting to make my move, but every time there seems to be a decent chance, I pull back. Hell, I was on top of him, straddling his hips just a few minutes ago! Why didn't I.... What the he--Geez, that scared me. I wish you wouldn't make sudden moves like that in my peripheral vision, Nick. It'd get any assassin worth his morning coffee jumpy.

It wasn't so bad though. Only a head resting on my shoulder. I'm wondering if maybe Legato over-did it.... Nick was going to have to take off soon again, to look for that other blonde monster, and this was going to be one of my last chances with him for a while. I didn't want to have to wait for another day, which would happen if he passed out comfortably on my shoulder right there.

So I tilted my head to the side and down, and murmured fondly into his hair. "You fall asleep, and I'll kill you."

He grunted, a soft annoyed noise. Cute. "I'm not going to fall asleep. You're just a hell of a lot more comfortable than this wall." That could be a nice pick-up line, if adjusted properly.

He was pretty out of it, the drug still affecting him probably, so I was relatively positive he wouldn't notice what I was going to do. Carefully, just in case I was proved wrong, I kissed the top of his head. I paused then. No reaction. Good! .... for the moment.

Still careful, I planted another kiss into the dark mess of his hair and moved my hands to slowly explore his back and chest. I knew he wasn't asleep then; he inhaled sharply and then growled at me as I tickled his ribs, muttering something about Heaven's vengeance being slow but sure. I laughed, shrugged enough for him to lift his head back off of my shoulder and then kissed him.

It was by no means perfect. He didn't respond at first -- he was either in shock or the drugs and injuries were still taking their toll. Slowly though, his mouth moved against mine and I could breath again.

In retrospect, it was a good thing that Legato had hurt Nick's shoulder like he had. It meant there wasn't any black jacket and buttoned white shirt underneath to fight through. He really _was_ ticklish, sensitive. He would jump and shiver and gasp as my hands moved over his sides and stomach. I made sure to mark his throat with my lips and teeth, leaving a small bruise against his already dark skin. Trivial and fading as it was, I wanted to make some sort of claim on him, no matter what the future brought.

It was a little difficult to coax him out of his pants. He shook his head, told me to knock it off and even kicked at me. Caught me a little off-guard at first; Nick isn't the type of guy to tease and then not follow through. Least, that's how it always seemed to me. Maybe it was that last hope at being a semi-decent priest kicking in. Still, priest or not, when I pressed my palm up to the front of his pants and felt his excitement, his struggles stopped. I suppose he just needed a little nudge in the right direction.

For a priest though, he certainly didn't seem to believe in underwear.

I wanted him, badly. I still can't describe him, how he looked spread out for _me_, at that moment. 'Sexy' just doesn't do a man like that justice.

I stripped quickly -- ah, the joys of wearing a simple suit -- and found the bottle of lotion I'd brought with me. I have a few personal mottoes, and one of them is always be prepared. You never know who's behind the next corner, holding a gun. Hey, they might have a cute ass.

He hissed softly as I pressed slicked fingers inside of him, his hands grasping and kneading at my shoulders. I guessed this was the first time he'd done this, though I didn't ask. Sometimes, you just don't need to. I stretched him, gently as I could, vowing mentally not to hurt him. I know I was the cause of his most recent pain, his most recent wound, and it wouldn't happen again. I would never hurt my fascinating, contradicting, sexy and cute priest. _Mine_. Something Legato couldn't take away from me.

Nick whimpered when I removed my fingers, panting a little. He was already excited from my earlier teasings and his wound, no matter how absolutely non life threatening it was, was taxing him. I'd have to make this relatively quick, which wasn't the best option but it would do for the moment. There was always the possibility of a 'next time', right? With that thought in mind, I moved inside of him in a single, smooth stroke.

I didn't care then what the future held. If I was to die the next day and if he was to run off and marry some blonde bimbo and have fifty snot nosed brats. At that particular moment I was between Nicholas D. Wolfwood's legs and everything was alright with the world.

The pace was frenzied, hurried. He bit me a few times, along my shoulders, probably in retribution for the discomfort my first push inside of him caused. In return, I wrapped my arms around him, stroked his back, and murmured endearments in his ear I prayed to any God listening were too soft for him to hear and notice. The room was most quiet, save for the sounds of flesh moving within flesh and our panting. Finally, he exploded against me, biting down on my shoulder hard to muffle his scream. I came not soon after, the tightening of his muscles around me more than I could bear. I think I screamed too. Funny, I'm not usually a screamer.

We stayed like that for who knows how long. I certainly don't. There was a lot of gasping for air, a little coughing on his part and then silence. I kissed his temple fondly. Cute. He really was. It wasn't the best word to describe him, and he'd probably throttle me if I ever called him that to his face, but he was. I pulled out of him slowly, sighing at the loss of heat.

"Nick?"

Silence.

"Hey, Nick?"

My cute minister in nothing but a bandage had fallen asleep.

I cleaned myself up with a towel -- always be prepared -- and redressed, smoothing any of the larger wrinkles out of my white suit. With some difficulty, I managed to get him back into his pants before slinging him over a shoulder and heading out of the room. No one questioned me in the hotel; it was a cheap, ratty little place. My kind of place. I did get a few odd looks once I got outside, but most decent folk were already snug at home in their beds. The type of people who were out and about at this time of the night probably would have been less surprised if I had been carrying a corpse instead of a half dressed injured man. Back in the fancier hotel, the odd looks increased, all from the staff. They act like they've never seen a sharp dressed horn player waltz into their place with a half naked priest slung over a shoulder. Well, maybe they hadn't.

I headed back into the room I was sharing with Legato, ignored his golden eyed stare and set Nick gently down on my bed. He curled up almost immediately with a soft sigh, nuzzling the pillow.

Damn cute.

"Did you have a good time?" Legato's voice came from the door way. He sounded smug.

"Mm."

"He's leaving tomorrow. Orders just came in from our Master about it."

".... mm."

I guess two days had been too much to ask for after all. Figured. It was times like these when I wondered if there really was a God. If there was, he must have one hell of a sense of humor. Or maybe Legato's right about Knives being God. That would explain a lot.

I jumped a bit as Legato's arm wrapped around my waist. That man could move quieter than sand across the desert when he wanted to. A voice purred into my ear. "Don't worry. I'll still be here."