Tempest Wind (Vash x F!Reader)

Rest of Eternity

You are on your way back from the dining hall. Vash was still asleep when you left his room. You wanted to do something nice for him by bringing him food. The platter with a large serving of pancakes and all kinds of extras is in your hands as you walk along the long corridor. Your heart is light and happy, to the point you want to skip back to Vash and throw yourself at him.

Your happy daze is interrupted by steps coming from a fork in the road. You turn your head and see Brad nearing along the empty stretch. He looks deep in thought, but as you stop in his line of sight, he looks up. He is just a few meters away.

"Hey, Iris." Brad approaches you and seems more awkward than usual. "I'm glad I caught you alone."

"Hi, Brad!" You smile at him kindly. "Also, I just want to say that I am awfully sorry for how I reacted when I first saw you. It was nothing personal, and I feel bad about it."

You assume his uneasiness around you stems from the way you blamed him for experimenting on you when you first laid eyes on him. Of course, none of it is true, and it was your mind playing tricks on you, but it still makes you feel very guilty.

"And thank you for working so hard to help me. If I can repay you somehow, let me know; I'm eternally grateful!"

"Actually, that's why I am here," he says, looking away from you. "And you have nothing to worry about—water under a bridge and all that. Anyway. I cracked it."

Your eyes widen, and you freeze up. He looks up at you again before continuing.

"I didn't read it; I only checked the files to see if they are whole, checked that they were decrypted correctly, and all that; I didn't mean to see what I saw." He hands you a tablet; it's closed, the two sides pushed together into a stick. "It's for you to decide what you want to do with it and who you want to share it with. I didn't see much, but what I did... it's horrific... For a person to do that to another... I am so sorry. I won't tell anyone what I saw; you have my word, and the only cracked copy is on that device. I added some logs that might be relevant... and his name."

"Brad..." you say quietly as you shift the tray to balance on just one of your hands and take the stick.

"You don't owe me anything. Let it be a small kindness that can never make up for what was done to you..." Brad turns away from you and tries to toughen up before leaving in the direction of the dining room.

"Thank you," you say after him. "I don't know what else to say."

He humphs and waves without looking back. Your eyes move to the stick in your hand, and it feels strangely heavy. What could it hold to get such a reaction from the generally stoic man? You decide to ignore it for now, so you put it on the edge of the tray before gripping it with both hands and heading down the corridor. Still, the damage is done—the nagging curiosity is hammering in the back of your head, the spring gone from your legs.

You enter Vash's room and see him stirring from his sleep. His hand rubs his eyes as he focuses his gaze on you. His hair is a mess, falling in all directions, and it looks adorable.

"Sorry, Sprout, I didn't mean to wake you up." You go to his bed, and he sits up to scoot more to the edge of the mattress to make room for you to sit beside him. You lay the tray on his lap after he attaches his prosthetic, and you place a kiss on his lips. "I brought you breakfast."

"Good morning..." His voice is still sleepy and a little raspy. "Didn't you sleep at all? What are you doing up so early?"

"I did sleep, but I was rudely woken up by a certain someone nearly pushing me off the bed," you laugh.

"You said you didn't want a bigger bed. You can only blame yourself," he yawns again and turns his gaze onto the tray. "Oooh! Breakfast in bed! Thank you, Sweet Pea!"