By the following morning, Vash was well rested. A little too well rested. Roderich was downstairs getting him breakfast, and he was having a bit of trouble sitting still. He hadn't gotten out of bed in some 24 hours, at least, not as far as he could remember, and he was too bored to sit around anymore. Lilli, in an unfortunate turn of events, had already threatened him that morning about staying in bed; she didn't want him getting any sicker. The problem was that, despite how awful he'd felt the day before, he was feeling much better, and he was already drugged up again.
To the others, his bouncing around in bed was probably a little annoying.
That wasn't to say that he was bouncing, per say, but he wasn't doing too well with the idea of sitting in bed in his hot pajamas while Roderich was off getting him some big breakfast. He felt good enough to go outside and fire a couple good rounds with his gun, and he'd be damned if they got to stop him for much longer! Admittedly though, it would be kind of hard to fight Lilli off, she might beg, or cry, and he couldn't stand the thought of doing that to her. He might just have to wait until left the room, or at least until she was happy to see him eating something. Maybe his negotiating skills would get Lilli off his back for a bit. He loved her dearly, but she worried too much. Besides that, why did Roderich have to go off and tell her to begin with? Slimy git can't keep a secret.
Oh god, now he was starting to sound like Arthur. Maybe there was something seriously wrong with him after all.
With a soft sigh, Vash leaned back in bed until his head smacked against the head board and he yelped. Lilli looked over at him through those same worried eyes as Roderich moved inside, both of them looking to Vash, who whimpered and furiously rubbed the back of his head. He sat up straight, one hand on the back of his head while his eyes wandered the pattern in the sheets. Roderich held a small breakfast tray, one he was proud to say he'd prepared himself. On it was a glass of half spilt milk, a plate with sausage and eggs, a smaller plate with a fresh baked cinnamon roll, and a small vase of flowers out of the garden.
"Lilli, I think Elizavetta was looking for you. Vash seems fine; I think you two should go do your shopping like you planned." Roderich spoke softly to Lilli, encouraging her to go enjoy herself; he could look after their little patient for a few hours while she was away. Lilli looked to her brother for a long moment, as if her eyes warned him not to do anything stupid, before she moved out of the room, pulling the door closed behind her. The purple coated Austrian simply smiled as she took off, almost as if he were victorious at something, like he was playing a game. He made his way over to Vash and set the tray over the blonde's lap with the milk set in the far corner before he moved to a couch along the wall of the room, giving Vash a little room to eat.
Vash waited, listening for the sound of his sister's foot steps to fade down the hall. Only then did he push the food away and looked at Roderich, a sour look on his face. "Shopping?"
"Elizavetta said she'd pay for it." Roderich answered honestly, watching as Vash pushed the food away. He pouted slightly, he'd worked hard on that all morning and Vash wasn't eating it. He couldn't really understand why either, the blonde had to be starving; he hadn't eaten in over a day. That only made Roderich concerned in addition to a little wounded by the fact that Vash had pushed it away. "It's not a big deal, what is a big deal is that you're not eating."
"Not hungry." Vash muttered quickly in response to the food comment. It was unfortunate that his stomach was quick to disagree with him, and a small rumble echoed through the momentarily quiet room. He shook it off quickly and immediately jumped for something to say to cover it up so that Roderich wouldn't trouble him about it anymore. "Lilli is a big deal to me! If she's leaving me to go shopping then… then she's leaving me alone. I can't defend her when we're apart, and if anything ever happened to her… well, she's all I've got." Vash mumbled softly, almost as if the last bit was meant for him alone.
Roderich sighed softly and got to his feet, shaking his head at Vash's words. "Even if you were there with her, you couldn't defend her when you're in this state. Besides…" Roderich paused and moved over to Vash's bedside. He looked over the food before tearing off a piece of the cinnamon roll and handing it to Vash. He leaned in slowly, his lips hovering next to the blonde's ear as the second bit of words slipped past his lips. "Besides, she's not all you've got. Now, eat something, or you won't have anything at all."
Vash stared at the flakey piece of bread in his hand, then up to Roderich, and then back to the food. He slipped the piece of bread between his lips and chewed slowly, making obnoxious faces like there was the chance it was poisoned or it tasted bad. After a few seconds, he swallowed it down, and pulled the tray a little closer to him, reaching for the cinnamon roll. He didn't bother to protest anymore, just ate. He knew he should get his strength up, he knew he hadn't eaten enough lately, he knew that he had to if he wanted to protect Lilli, so he didn't protest in the least bit. Roderich seemed satisfied at this and slowly backed away, turning to a very strange piece of furniture at the other end of the room. Either it was an immaculate conception of wood, or Vash hadn't noticed it before (of which the later was far more likely). A baby grand piano sat in the center of the far end of the room. While Vash ate, Roderich moved to the black painted instrument and sat before the keys. He lightly ran his fingers over the top of the keys, trying to get a feel for them before he began to play.
It was a cheerful piece, the one that filled the room. It was like a lullaby, soft and sweet. It didn't have the same effect as a lullaby, but the sweet melody was romantic, almost alluring. Roderich's fingers danced across the keys as he played, gracing every not with a delicate ease like a mother stroked their new born baby. It was art, uncontainable art. Even as the song came to a close, and Roderich's fingers slowed to a stop, his expression remained, almost as if he were caught in some fantasy world. Just as it seemed he might snap out of it, he started another song of a similar style. Though a little more robust, and set in a different key, it was the same kind of romantic feel. Vash was having trouble focusing on eating, because all he wanted to do was listen to the music that graced the room. He just ate a little faster so that he could pay more attention to the music.
As he downed the half glass of milk Vash pushed the tray aside, followed by the blankets. He set the empty glass back on the tray, then jumped to his feet and walked over to the piano bench where Roderich sat, playing his music without distraction. Vash didn't interrupt him; he simply sat down beside him slowly. The old piano bench creaked but Roderich didn't stop, he simply continued to play, appearing rather ignorant of his company. Vash put his hands on his knees and watched; his eyes wide in amazement as Roderich played. He could remember when they were children, back when they were friends. Roderich always tried to teach him piano, he'd point to the appropriate keys and wait until Vash hit it, but those days were long past, and about all Vash could manage to play still was a C scale because it was 8 white keys in a row.
"This is too hard! I can fire a gun fine, that's what matters! Playing the piano is a stupid skill!"
"Vash, calm down. It's not that hard, you just have to try."
"I don't want to! Piano is for sissy's like you, guns are for guys like me!"
"Maybe that's true, but if you try you won't ever understand piano. So what if you're not any good? It's about understanding the music you play. You have to feel it in your heart. Here, let me show you."
Vash shook his head quickly, shaking the memory away. That was the first time Roderich had ever tried to teach him how to play. He'd been so smiley that whole time, and even though his example that followed his words was simple, it had been a heartwarming piece that sounded like it was Roderich's alone. Those were the days he'd missed so dearly, when all the Austrian had to do was play a simple symphony and melt the Swiss boy's heart. He was still quite capable of such, but Vash was a good bit better at hiding his fascination than he was as a child. At least, he thought he was.
Without even noticing, the music had already stopped around him. Roderich sat, looking to Vash with a great deal of curiosity while the blonde shook his head as if riding himself of a precious memory. He tried to hide his laughter at the very thought and moved a little closer to Vash. He moved his hands over the keys once more, as if to start another piece. Without thinking, his fingers started a solemn melody, the one he'd played in the yard a few days before, the song that had started the whole mess, the one he'd promised to never play again. Vash's head drooped, but he didn't stop Roderich, not for a while.
Then as the piece reached its peak, Vash reached his hand out and grabbed Roderich's left hand, the one that was nearest to him. Like a child, he pulled it away from the keys, and the music came to an abrupt stop. Roderich didn't speak, he didn't try to pull away in the least bit; instead, he edged closer, slipping his hand into Vash's.
Without a word, without so much as a breath to brace him, Vash moved his lips to Roderich's. Soundlessly, the Austrian moved his arms slowly around the blonde Swiss man and embraced him in a soft and gentle hug. They both sat still, their lips still connected for a moment longer before Vash pulled away and rested his head against the soft tufts of fabric of Roderich's shirt.
"You said you wrote that song as a final good bye, but I could never let that happen. My loathing ceased a long time ago." Vash whispered. His words were soft, tinted with unspoken words of sadness. He looked up to Roderich, looking for some reaction behind those dark brown curls of hair and those half moon spectacles. Roderich only smiled back at him, slowly leaning toward Vash until the blonde was forced to lie back on the piano bench. The purple fabric of the Austrian's jacket hung over Vash's side slightly, darkening the space between them.
Roderich ran a warm hand along Vash's cheek bone, brushing back the yellow hair that hung around his face. His hand slowly slid behind Vash's neck and he pulled the Swiss man toward him slightly, just enough to return a long, sweet kiss.