150 Bullets

005. Simplicity

The tumble of machines is quiet. Surprising, for a large city like April. But, you suppose that was a perk of a hole-in-the-wall laundromat – no one is coming here to party.

Swirls of water and color dance along the wall. Dryers shake against each other. An oldie station plays overhead, a song crooning out tunes from a long-dead artist. You stand by a dryer, waiting anxiously for it to signal that it's done.

BEEEEEP. It slows to a stop, and you open the lid. With a sigh of relief, you tug out Vash's red coat. The blood stains are gone. There are no new tears, just the ones you'll have to sew up when you get back to the inn. You hold it up to your nose and breathe in the fresh cotton scent from the soap you've bought. It doesn't smell like him anymore. You'd need to fix that.

After checking on your washer for yours and his spare clothing, you trek back to the front. Vash sits on a chair in front of the windows, idly leafing through one of the old magazines the laundromat stocks. Without preamble, you toss the coat over his head.

Vash sputters a yelp, then gently draws off his coat. "Oh," he says, and takes a big sniff. "That smells good!"

"Right?" You sit next to him and fiddle with the sleeve. "Now all we need to wash is you."

Vash guffaws and gives you a look. "Are you saying I smell?" When you make a face, he gasps. "That's so mean!"

"Stinky," you say, then lay your head on his shoulder. He forgives easily and lays his head on yours. "It's got another fifteen minutes before I can switch it to the dryer," you tell him.

He hums. "Do you want to go get something to eat? Are you hungry?"

"Are you hungry?"

"I asked you."

"Yeah, but you only ever ask when you're getting hungry."

Vash laughs, caught. "Yeah, I'm getting a little hungry. But we can wait 'til the loads done."

You shift to push your head a bit more onto his shoulder. "What kind of food do they have in April? I smelled some ramen, I think."

"They have all kinds. We should try all of them while we're here. Especially the chocolate-and-raspberry donuts."

You laugh. It's a treat to be in a big city. Not often do Plants cry out in them – they have plenty of Plant engineers ready to aid their power supplies – but one called to Vash, and he needs to answer. The laundry facilities and real, cooked street food are a plus for the journey. You pat his thigh. "We'll get some good treats, don't you worry."

It's nice to sit and rest. No running, no bounty hunters (yet), just the hum of drying machines and the splash of cleaning water. A woman sits in the far corner, turning her own magazine while her little boy presses his nose to one of the washer windows. A trolly rolls by outside. The simplicity of it all is not lost on you. Not today.

Vash must feel it too. He presses a kiss to your head and mutters, "Love you."

You smile and whisper back, "Love you too."