Tempest Wind (Vash x F!Reader)

Dusty Memory

The few days you spend in town go by in a haze; your mind is too consumed with trying to figure out how or why you fell asleep and forgot everything that led up to it. The only explanation is that you did recover a memory, but at the same time, that couldn't be true because you don't really have a new memory. After your nightmare, you tried to sleep again only to have that same dream, and Vash had to wake you once more. Avoiding the memory made you stay up again. Once you spent the night playing with Vash's hair, the other time you sat on the roof of the hotel, looking down onto the empty streets. Vash didn't like this, seeing you tense again, not able to relax, but chose not to say anything.

After Vash had made sure the Plant was alright and wouldn't relapse, he suggested you'd move on, heading east again towards the town of Calamity J. You had no issues with it and simply agreed. Vash tried to pay for the hotel stay but was bluntly refused; the townsfolk insisted that it's their way of paying back for him saving their lives. Vash had to admit defeat, and on one hot morning, the two of you set out again into the vast desert.

"Are you okay?" Vash finally asks, not expecting to get a fully truthful answer from you.

"I'm fine," you say, not turning towards him. "Actually, the voices have quieted down a lot on occasion. Not sure how or why."

Vash looks over with a frown on his face. He doesn't believe you are fine; he has seen you zoned out in thought for the past few days; you've been more shut in, smiling less, and bantering less. He knows you are worried about something. You seem so distant.

"Do you have any idea why the voices disappear? You said I was able to quiet them down. Does it have something to do with me?" He keeps poking at the issue, hoping to get a hint on how he could help you.

"I don't know. It could have something to do with your unique presence, but..." you have an idea of what the cause could be, but you don't want to make him worry about it since you could be wrong, "I'm not sure. Maybe it is you."

He sees your weak smile, which doesn't reflect in your eyes. He thinks back to when he tried to hide his pain from you. Is this how you felt back then? Vash wishes he could just take away your problems, make them disappear, and see you smile.

"If you figure it out... anything at all: what is causing it, what it means, how I could help you... would you tell me?" He asks in a serious manner, watching your expression carefully.

"Of course," you say with no emotion. Your eyes haven't met his since leaving the town, and it tears at his heart.

"Sweet Pea, please, look at me," he pleads, and your gaze does lift from the sand and is turned to him, but all he senses is pain. "What aren't you telling me?"

"Don't worry about it. As long as the voices are gone, I am good. I can focus on you, on me, on everything." But at that moment, the cries in your head are nearly deafening.

***

After two days of traveling without issues, the worms have become relentless; swarms of these critters have been following you. The toma keep trying to catch them mid-flight, snapping their beaks at them. You also keep swatting them away.

"What is up with these?" asks Vash as he shoos more of them away. "They've been following us for hours, and it's nearly nightfall. We can't even really set up camp with them around; the toma would be restless."

"I know. I wonder what's going on." You brush some more of them away from your tomas. But suddenly the little critters seem to freeze, fluttering without moving, and a moment later a worm spout fills the air with sand a little ways to your side. Way too close for comfort.