bountyfull | IC INBOX

Yeah. C'mon.

[ He tugs at Nai again, stepping back so he's crawling backward onto his own bed, one knee at a time. Luckily, he'd been barefooted before so there's no extra work to pull off shoes or change into sleeping clothes. The sheets on his bed are unmade, but he pushes them aside with his free hand as he tugs. ]

Just you and me and some sleep. Like when we were kids.

[ Innocent, warm, and safe. Like the bed they shared then (and now) is impenetrable, safe from worries and bad moods. The window of their room open to the darkness of space and bright pinpoint stars. Here it may just be the sky, and there's no rumbling of an engine in the background, time and space separating then and now with hundreds of years and millions of miles. ]

We'll talk till you get tired again. I'll hold your hand.

( he feels a little lost — much like he had when he'd first woken up in this place — but vash's hand is warm in his own, the promise of closeness until he manages to find some measure of solace in sleep again weighing heavy in the air between them and he. of course he likes the thought of it, of course he wants that closeness because he always does. he just never knows how to ask for it, because he still doesn't feel like it's something he can ask for in the first place.

he follows him, quietly and slowly until both of his knees are amidst the unmade sheets; they smell like his brother, a wave of calm and comfort soothing over him like a balm to his very soul, his heart, and if he … near-immediately folds himself down into that unmade mess to bury his face against a pillow or something else, just to breathe him in and hold it in the center of his chest. well. don't comment on it, okay?

this is not one of his finer moments.

he settles, curling up just a little bit, looking up at his brother just this side of expectantly. )

What would you like to talk about?

[ To Vash's credit, his only reaction to Nai's moment of weakness is to tilt his head to the side a little, a smile on his face as he lowers himself down so he's laying down facing his brother, one hand pulling sheets and blankets up over them both as he shimmies in closer, their noses almost touching. ]

Mm... I'm not picky. [ He thinks for a moment though as he lifts a hand up to drag fingers through the white-blonde hair on his brother's head, blue eyes fixed on the action as he thinks. ]

The stars here are different than what I memorized at home, but I'm starting to remember the constellations I've learned about. I think my favorite is the Compass Fish.

[ He's just babbling about astronomy here, at little, little tales that apparently accompany the constellations. He keeps stroking his fingers through his brother's hair, down the nape of his neck and back, slow and methodical. ]

( this is a lot like their first ( and only ) year on the ship, when they really only had each other despite how well rem had cared for them, how well she'd looked after them from the very first moment of their birth; there is always going to be a part of nai that insists this is all they need. just the two of them, nothing and no one else infringing on their personal bubble and everything and everyone leaving them to their own devices.

he doesn't care much that he would rather do anything sleep right now, as long as he can have this kind of closeness with his brother.

his eyes close for a brief moment as those fingers comb through his hair, a pleased and content noise filtering up to the surface without much thought to giving it at all. he's never going to openly admit that he's just this side of touch-starved and soaks up all the attention vash gives him like a proverbial sponge, but there is no denying it when he reacts like this, and if that sound ends up morphing into something that sounds suspiciously like a purr, it's the closest it can actually get when he's this human.

don't worry about it.

he hums quietly during a lull in the other's rambling, brows briefly creasing in thought. ) You always liked those stories, didn't you? The lore behind them … ( gods and goddesses, the stories of heroes from all different sources of mythology, and there is one more thing nai is never going to admit openly, because he's always been so serious about the media he consumed, apart from all those old westerns.

he likes them, too. perhaps the romantic ones the most. ) Do you remember what your favorite was?

A favorite? Mm... I don't know if I could pick a favorite. Maybe Andromeda and Perseus. The story was that he rescued her from Medusa. They're right next to each other in the sky...

[ There's a pause as he turns his attention to watching the way Nai's hair parts around his fingers as he drags his fingers through the soft strands. It's hard to miss the purr and though it's likely nothing like they could do were they not locked away from half or more of what they are, there's a small reciprocated echo of noise Vash answers back with, especially when he makes an effort to press a kiss through strands of blonde hair. ]

Did you know humans assign people constellations based on when they're born, Nai? [ He speaks this in such a soft tone, the timbre and pace of his words quiet and low. It almost makes himself feel a little sleepy, but he exhales a long breath as he pulls blankets around them again, tucking fabric here and there. ]

We were born under Cancer, but there's a constellation that's twins too. Gemini. It's kind of a shame we can't see these in the sky here or at home. [ He would love the chance to stargaze with his brother, pointing out the ones with stories. Falling asleep in grass understarlight.

Not that this is bad, besides the circumstances that brought it about. ]

IC INBOX - LABYRINTHUM

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