Tempest Wind (Vash x F!Reader)

Acts of Kindness

Warning: Talk of suicide and self-harm.

You slip in and out of consciousness, and even when you come to, your body won't listen to your command; the sounds in your head are too loud. So you focus on what you can. You notice the arm securely around you and the bouncing of the bird as it makes its way across the desert. You feel warm; normally, you don't register the temperature, as neither the cold nights nor the scorching days have bothered you, but this feels strange. You think you hear a whisper, but it's too quiet to make out.

Next time you start noticing something again, it's the sound of footsteps. You are now sitting up against something hard. The steps move away from you, and soon you hear little bird noises followed by a thump on the ground. Focusing on the happenings around you and trying to piece it all together keeps you occupied to the point where the high-pitched noises are pushed back, giving you just a little bit of relief. You hear a slight fumbling of fabric and then steps coming closer.

"Alright, come, let's get you to bed." You hear soft words spoken to you. Does he know you're awake and listening? You want to open your eyes; you want to get up and keep moving, but none of your muscles will obey. Without waiting for any reaction from you anyway, a hand is slipped behind your back, the other under your knees, as you are rolled into an embrace. Your head softly hits fabric, and you feel a zipper under your cheek. All of these sensations are a welcome distraction from the brewing storm in your head. You feel Vash take a few steps and then crouch down to gently lay you on a mat with something under your head, moments later covering you with a blanket, making sure you are snug and covered.

Time passes as you keep listening. You hear drawstrings from a bag; you hear metallic sounds that you can't place; a quiet and constant hissing; some scraping; your mind quieting down enough to even hear breathing not far from you. A weird peace fills your chest, and soon you have recovered enough to slowly open your eyes. It's dusk, not quite dark yet, and the very last rays of sunshine are visible from between the rocks. The smell of food that reached you a while ago comes from a little mess kit that is still on a gas burner. You move your head enough to catch a glimpse of the bright red coat, your eyes trailing up along it. You see how the strange blond man turns his head towards you, sunglasses still on his nose, as he shoots you a kind smile.

"Good, you're awake." He reaches into his coat, pulls out a metal canteen, and offers it to you. "Here, drink something, and I left you some stew."

You slowly regain control over your arms as you move them under your side and push up to sit. A look of confusion dawns on your face as you look at the man so kindly sharing what's his; even the bed is all yours. Your arms are still supporting your body while you try to make sense of things, thinking of all the possible motivations he might have.

"It's okay, Celeste. Here," he says, opening the canteen and drinking from it. "It's fine, see?"

The open water container is once again reaching towards you, and you stare at it. This dude surely is clueless; poison doesn't concern you. But you take the bottle regardless; you don't need it to survive, but it might help to get you back on your feet faster and silence the cacophony in your head. You take a swig of the fresh water, and he smiles before reaching out and putting a portion of stew in a bowl, setting it on the ground next to you with a spoon.

"Why are you doing this?" you ask as you close the canteen and place it on the ground.

Hesitantly, you take the food and give it a sniff. The smell is vaguely familiar, but the memories are still too hazy to return. You take the spoon and give it a taste. It's nice, and in a way, it's comforting. Again, you know you don't need it; you just try to get your body to function, but it also fills you with the same kind of warmth as you had felt before.