C&C,   R&R,   and all those other two letter combo type things are greatly appreciated.

Forever Found Again

    The taste of the liquor was cool and hot at the same time, running down his throat. Vash the stampede sat at the bar and gulped down shot after shot. It didn't matter. It didn't help, but for a moment it aliviated some of the glarring pain in his heart. Only some, and only one day of the year, but it was something. Never enough, but something.

    "Vash?"

    He hunched lower and ignored his brother.

    "Vash, come on, you've had enough."

    He shook off the hand and took another shot, "Leave me alone Knives."

    Never good at listening to others, Knives just sat beside him and stared quietly.

    Vash tried to ignore him but he couldn't. Knives brought back memories. The last time Nic's spirit had talked to him. ~It's right beside you moron! Use it!~ Cross Punisher. And Vash had used it. He'd won. Rem's wish for him to take care of Knives came true. The bullet had knocked him out long enough for Vash to touch his mind. To heal it. But now Knives carried a Hell of a lot of guilt, including guilt for his brother's pain and loss.

    Knives took a slow breath and hummed a familiar tune.

    "Stop it."

    "Soooo, on the first celestial evening. . ."

    "SHUT UP!" Vash surged to his feat and the bottle he'd been holding shattered.

    "Vash. It's been twenty three years. Let it go. You should have married that insurance lady and let her lick your wounds."

    "No."

    His twin pushed back his now long hair and frowned, "300 iles past the city of December."

    "His church." Vash closed his eyes. "I want to see his church."

    Knives led his very drunk brother to their hotal room and lay him on his bed carefully. "Alright Vash. I don't have any plans, let's go see his church."

    "'k."

    Knives sniffled and jumped when a black gloved hand covered his. "Vash?"

    "S'not you're fault." He murmured and then fell asleep.

    The slightly older twin stared down at his sleeping brother and let his tears flow over inhuman flesh. "But it is my fault. Do you even realize how you've changed Vash? How missing him has changed you? More than all of your scars ever could. I couldn't take the pressure of being so different from Rem and the crew and I became just what that man thought we were. I became a monster."

    He undressed slowly and lay beside his brother, hugging him close for both their comfort. "I'll make it better Vash. I'll find the priest for you. I swear."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    The bells of the church rang deep and loud, signalling visitors. All of the children hurried to see who was coming. Usually only the Priests came and went, but this time the priest were all there. And no priest they'd ever seen wore a red duster or a red and silver suit like these two.

    The head priest walked to the gates and stood there, waiting for the men. They were on foot, no sane man would cross the desert on foot. He would not see the children come to harm.

    "Hello!" The figure in the red jumped and waved happily and the priest arched a brow, impossible, but that thing he was carrying looked very much like. . . "A cross?"

    _______________

    Vash bounced and waved and Knives bit the inside of his lip to hold back his pain. The Outlaw was hiding again behind his mask of idiotic joy. Those hollow smiles, he couldn't stand them. But as long as he was even slightly happy, it was an improvment. It usually took months after the bing he always had on the anniversary of his lovers death. Months for even a fake smile.

    With his inhuman eyes he saw the priest's confusion and sighed. Vash still had the same affect on people. 

    "Hello! Hi! Hey can we get some water?"

    Knives groaned.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    They sat together, the priests and the two brothers, around an old oak table. Vash grinned and talked so fast they could barely follow him.

    "You seem no worst for your trip through the desert." The head priest spoke with a true smile. "Now that you've told your adventure, why did you make the journey."

    All of the bounce visibly slid from the gunman and Vash's whole face saddened. "I. . . knew. . . one of your priests. A long time ago." He touched the cross punisher softly.

    The room was silent. No one knew what to say to the pure agony the once hyper man had slipped into. Knives cursed softly and hugged his brother from behind.

    "SHIT!"

    Everyone's eyes swung to the man who'd just stepped into the room. The priest immidiatly scolding him for his outburst, "That is no way to speak in the church!"

    "Have we taught you nothing!"

    "Go to your dormitory."

    "Are you listening?!"

    Vash pushed passed the priests and stood unmoving before the newcomer. He hadn't changed at all. Same stature, same gunmetal eyes, same thick ebony tresses, even his ever pressent suit and cigarrette were there. "You. . ."

    "You're him." The man whispered. Neither seemed aware of how still the room had become.

    Knives' eyes widened at the likeness, but it wasn't possible. . .

    "Nic?"

    "You're Vash." The scruffy priest lifted a hand and ran it through the spikey blond hair. "I've seen you before."

    The outlaw was beyond speech.

    "In a dream."

    The blue eyes filled with tears and Vash fell to his knees and hugged the startled man around the waist, "I knew I'd find you!"

    "Wha. . .?!"

    "Vash!" Knives began to step forward but the priest shook his head.

    "Mr. Vash, I'm not Nicholas Wolfwood." The boy smiled, "I know I resemble him a lot but I'm too young to be him. We don't all age like mollases runs you know."

    "But you. . ."

    "My name is Nicoli Wolfwood. Wolfwood after the orphanage since I don't know who my parents were. I was raised here."

    "When?"

    Knives tried to step forward again, "Vash. . ."

    "When were you born?"

    Nicoli blinked at him in curiousity, "August 43, AC230."

    Knives froze in his advance, "God."

    "Sir!" The elder priest admonished.

    Vash's who body seemed to light up with hope, "It 'is' you!"

    "Yeah I've been me for a long time now."

    "No, you don't understand, I wasn't just his friend. Wolfwood and I were. . ."

    "Vash, come on." Knives cut him off quickly before he said something he'd regret.

    "But Knives it's. . ."

    The elder brother dragged his sibling up and smiled, "He's been in the sun a long time, do you have a place he can rest?"

    "Of course. . . ah. . . you can use one of the empty dorm rooms." The head priest allowed. "Please, Nicoli, could you show them?"

    "Hai." He nodded and led them out of the cloister.

    "Ni. . ." Vash started.

    "So what do you do Nicoli?"

    "I'm a man of the cloth, but I'm not here very often, I just got back from a money earning venture. See I figured if I can't make money to keep the kids here nicely then we have nothing, ya know? So I go out and save the lambs that have gone astray, for a small fee of course."

    Knives shook his head at the od idea but Vash's eyes were wide and he just 'knew' that Wolfwood's explaination of his occupation had been nearly identical.  "So are any of the other kids called Wolfwood too?"

    "Hardley." He looked annoyed, "I worked hard to earn that name."

    "Wolfwood founded this place."

    Both of them turned at Vash's quiet words.

    "He went out into the world too. That's how I met him."

    "So you are Vash the Stampede."

    "Some people say so."

    Nicoli grinned, "I knew it! You are the legendary outlaw! You know there's still 60 billion double dollars on your head."

    "You have his mouth." Vash frowned, "Don't go telling everybody!"

    He grinned and opened a door, "You can stay in here."

    Knives nodded and pulled Vash toward it.

    "Can I ask you one question?"

    "Huh?"

    "Why do you carry that cross?"

    Vash touched the cloth covering it lovingly and smiled, "It belonged to a very wonderful man. I'm just keeping it safe until he comes for it."

    "Oh. You want some water?"

    Knives shook his head, "We're good, thanks. Goodnight."

    "Goodnight."

    When the door was shut Vash flung his arms around his brother, "It's HIM!"

    "Vash you can't act like he remembers you. You'll scare him away."

    "But Knives it's him! It's really him! Did you hear what he said? August 43, AC230! That's the day We fought! The last day Wolfwood's spirit spoke to me! And he looks just like him!"

    "Vash calm down. You have to take it slow."

    "But it's him!"

    "We should get some sleep."

    "I can't sleep! I'm to excited!"

    Knives rolled his eyes, it was going to be a loooooooong night.

    __________________
 

    Nicoli pulled back from the door and tried to calm his breath. //Damn it Vash why didn't you just leave it alone?! Why couldn't you let me die and leave it at that? I can't be what I was, I can't endanger you again if someone comes for me from the Demons.// He hung his head and shook in pain. //You still look the same. You're still my angel. Angels and Demons can't fall in love with each other.//

    He slipped into his room and closed the door with one last thought. //He's still carrying my cross.//
 
 
 
 

~Owari~