Kumbaya! [OPEN]

[huffpuff_wolfie]

Characters: Wolf & the crew of the Winding Way
Content: Wolf's discovered a meteor shower and wants to camp out on the deck for the night. Everyone is invited to join in the fun. Bring food, booze, whatever.
Setting: The deck of the Winding Way
Time: 10pm-ish (backdated to just before Candy Mountain)
Warnings: Nothing much. Maybe some drinking,

Comments

[sugarforteatime]

He had been working. Not on stuff for the ship but for his other job, the one he constantly insisted to the crew involved difference engine programming. He had actually been finishing up looking through crime scene photographs as well as a few documents. At least he'd been able to send off a message to Watari to check up on a few details before Vash had gotten really impatient and tried to drag him off bodily or something.

Apple cinnamon muffins had been dug out of his 'stash' and brought along for the occasion. When he finally did get outside, he did have to admit it was beautiful. The sky was clear and they were up high enough that there weren't too many clouds in the way. The stars were brilliant in the background, and the meteors streaming across the sky made an incredible foreground.

Normally he would have been irritated by the distraction, but he supposed going along with Vash was alright.

"Well, we are here. What did you intend for us to do now?"

[stampeded]

After past events, Vash had become determined to take the health of his captain seriously. As able-bodied as Ryuzaki was, he didn't scream 'healthy' at all - sometimes, despite knowing better, he wondered if the man had ever stepped out into the sun in his entire life. While this spectacular show didn't have anything to do with sunlight, it was at least a good excuse to get Ryuzaki out of his room for some fresh air.

It also made a good excuse to be a little selfish in taking up more of his time. As long as he passed it off as being good for Ryuzaki somehow (and there was no doubt that it was!), he thought it would be okay to keep doing it.

"Now, we relax!" He finally let go of Ryuzaki's arm, which he'd had a grip on ever since leaving his cabin, to make sure he couldn't escape. Vash stepped a little closer to the crowd already gathered on the deck, simply plopping down to sit once he found a good spot.

[sugarforteatime]

He didn't do relaxation. He really didn't. He did work and more work, and occasionally when he didn't have work, he did more work anyway. Still, Vash had 'asked' so he was going to put a little effort into it. Maybe if he relaxed extra hard Vash would let him get back to work sooner.

His arm was very slightly sore from being dragged around and he rubbed it slightly where Vash had been touching him, after that, he followed Vash over to where he had plopped, hunched down and set out the muffins.

"I know they are not donuts, but please enjoy them. I will be sure to get you more donuts when we return from Candy Mountain." And then he picked up a muffin to start eating. "It is a very unique view."

[stampeded]

"Ah! You're so kind, Ryuzaki!" He said it enthusiastically, grabbing one of the muffins and biting into it. At this point, Ryuzaki was one of his top donut suppliers, behind the cooks themselves of course. He tried not to expect donuts from him, but he always offered, and there was no way he'd turn down offers for donuts.

Scarfing the muffin down in seconds, he then tilted his head back to look at the sky, a wide smile on his face. "It's beautiful. It looks like the stars are chasing each other." He loved meteor showers. Sometimes, there was just nothing better than watching the stars.

"Have you ever wondered what it'd be like, way up there?"

[sugarforteatime]

He let his own eyes travel upwards and take in the view: night all around them, stars and meteors. It did look a little like that, stars up there darting around, dancing with each other. "It is very aesthetically pleasing."

The question gave him a few moment's pause however. "It is a complicated theoretical problem, of the several hundred attempts that have been made and recorded over the years, none of them have yielded sufficient data to form a hypothesis."

[stampeded]

Vash laid down on the deck, to better stare up at the stars. He didn't know anything about 'complicated theoretical problems'. It was a mystery, and that was the most he was aware of. Maybe it wasn't even possible to go up there, but he liked to think about it.

"I read a book once where some explorers found out that the moon was made of cheese. But the people that lived on the moon couldn't eat it, because they were lactose intolerant. It was kind of sad." Not being able to eat any type of food was horrible, as far as Vash was concerned.

[sugarforteatime]

... L turned to look at Vash and then slightly shook his head. "I have not given a great deal of thought to the problem, however that does not seem to be a likely solution."

Vash looked very comfortable like that, but L went back to hugging his knees and craning his neck upwards. He hadn't done anything like this in ages, since he was very young and had much less to worry about. Sitting here like that made him think about that a little more, but then the reality of black and white images of blood spatters brought him back down to here and now.

He looked back down to Vash and gave him a weak smile before looking back up.

He should be working.

[stampeded]

"You're no fun," he said with a small smile, not really meaning it. Ryuzaki was fun, just in a very subdued way. Vash was finding more and more that he didn't mind it; in fact, it was nice to stop and take a break from all the chaos every now and then. It would've been more effective if Vash didn't create so much chaos on his own, but oh well.

He didn't fail to notice that smile. By Ryuzaki-standards, it wasn't bad, but he couldn't help but think that there was something about him that said he wasn't enjoying this all that much.

"Come lie down," Vash offered, patting the deck next to him. "You'll get a crick in your neck that way!" And that would be horrible, what if it became permanent like his bad posture was? Then their captain would be walking around in a weird 's' shape all the time.

[sugarforteatime]

He decided there were more productive ways he could spend his relaxation time than in arguing with Vash over whether or not he needed to lay down. He felt less alert this way, fuzzier and warmer despite the cool air all around him. It was something he noticed when he was not on his feet and when he was around Vash. The net effect was he felt even less awake and aware than usual, and more distracted.

"I enjoy being no fun." He also enjoyed just having a quiet moment, even if it wasn't with his difference engine working on cases. The remainder of his muffin disappeared into his mouth in small bites he tore off and dangled over his mouth.

[stampeded]

Vash slipped his hands behind his head, finding it a more comfortable position to watch the stars in. He hadn't thought to bring pillows and blankets like the others had... but he also wasn't planning on spending all night out here. He tended to go to bed too early for that.

"So it's fun for you to not be any fun? I think I get it now." He smiled over at Ryuzaki, to show he didn't mean anything by it. Even now, the other man wasn't stretched out much. Vash was starting to wonder if it was even possible for Ryuzaki to lay or stand straight.

"But even you've got to admit, it'd be great if the moon was made out of cheese!"

[sugarforteatime]

"I would prefer it if it were made of candy, or perhaps cupcakes." That would be a moon worth visiting. He stretched out a little more, mostly due to gravity.

He was silent, looking up at the sky and watching the space rocks cascading down and fizzling out.

"Why have you asked me to come with you? You enjoy fun a great deal more than me, thus I can only assume I contribute very little to your enjoyment of the situation."

[stampeded]

"Or donuts..." The moon didn't look much like a donut, though. Or candy, or cupcakes... it looked more like glowing swiss cheese. He could understand where that author had gotten the idea.

Having turned his gaze back to the sky, he looked over at Ryuzaki when the man spoke again. "That's not true," he argued quickly, giving him a slight frown. "We've been over this before. I really like your company! I think you're fun in your own way, even if you try to deny it. You're just... a quieter sort of fun."

There wasn't anyone else Vash would've wanted out here with him more. That possibly had nothing to do with Ryuzaki's fun levels, though.

[sugarforteatime]

Well, he supposed he could live with that. Donuts would be nice, too.

"Alright." He wasn't going to deny Vash his opinion, but it was a strange one. He had to admit he really liked Vash in his own raucous way. In fact, Vash really was the only person he would have let drag him out here tonight, the only person who he let hug him.

He liked to think that spoke to their friendship. "I have never had a friend like you before." He'd never really had a friend either, but that was secondary. "I enjoy it, even though I am sometimes not sure why."

[stampeded]

... He wasn't sure why? His brow furrowed, but then he smiled, "It doesn't matter why. We're friends, and that's all that matters!" There were sure to be any number of reasons, but he couldn't know what someone was thinking. Especially someone like Ryuzaki.

Vash spent a moment smiling contentedly up at the stars before sitting up to grab another muffin, handing Ryuzaki another one as well. "Either way... I'm glad that you're my friend. It means a lot to me." More than he could ever express, he suspected.

[sugarforteatime]

"Yes, we are. Over my months here, I have come to rely on you." That was a hard thing to admit. There was only one other person in the world he relied on, Watari, and to think he'd found yet another person who he relied on was disconcerting.

"It is not unpleasant to be here with you." He had an even longer pause where he considered whether or not to admit his weakness. "I would not have stopped work to spend time with anyone else."

It was true but also somehow left him feeling like he had said too much, probably because he had.

[stampeded]

Vash listened to him quietly, but then started grinning from ear to ear, so hard it made his face hurt. Coming from Ryuzaki, that was an incredible compliment. He'd never expected to hear anything like that, so this now made him... happy. Happier than he'd felt in a long time.

Raising his arm, he clasped Ryuzaki on the shoulder, "It's good to know I'm more fun than work!" It wasn't all he wanted to say, but it was all he could say right now. Maybe some things were just better left unsaid. "I'll have to get you to take breaks more often. You already work too much."