#1 ) You show him that you love him by starting with small things.
♡ㅤNotesㅤ⁾⁾ㅤEnglish isn’t my first language, so I’m prone to making mistakes when I write. I do my best though, and I apologize if that makes for a less enjoyable read, however short my post may be. n_n I mainly write headcanons as well as spontaneous thoughts that I then develop into short scenarios. I don’t think I’m skilled enough yet to create long, elaborate fanfictions, so I prefer to stick to something simpler. Since my ideas come to me when I’m imagining comfort stories, they might not be very original. Thank you a lot for taking the time to read my work anyway, it’s really kind of you. <3ㅤ1998 VASH !! Works with Tristamp Vashㅤ,,ㅤGENDER NEUTRAL READER.
You’ve lost count of how many times Vash has avoided you. Every glance that was a little too tender, every gesture that betrayed your feelings seemed to push him further away. Yet it's not your affection he rejects, but himself. Who could truly desire a body as scarred as his ? The artificial coldness of his mechanical hand, the scars crisscrossing his skin, the metal grafted onto his limbs like mismatched patches of old fabric sewn together too many times. In his eyes, none of it deserves to be loved. So he pulls away, convinced that you deserve something better than him. And the weary angel that he is silently bears the guilt of not being able to offer you the paradise to which you seem to belong ...
However, even though he goes out of his way to keep you at a distance with his clumsy act, convinced that someone like you could never want him, you’re not the type to give up so easily ! With him, you have to know how to be patient. So you wait ... Because you’re not fooled. Because you see right through his game. From the very first moment your eyes met, you’ve been watching every one of his silences, every one of his dodges. You know that quiet sadness that dims the fragile sparkle in his eyes a little more each time you offer him a compliment he refuses to believe. You also notice that fleeting melancholy that cracks his smile when he thinks no one is watching. So if he accepts your words only to please you, without ever really letting them sink in, you’ll find another way to show him that you mean them.
As you cross the vast desert together, alone on the road leading to a new city, you absentmindedly let your fingers slide down to his iron-hard hand as if there were nothing unusual about this gesture. You tighten your grip slightly, just enough to make him understand that this contact is no accident, then you continue walking with feigned calm. Beside you, Vash freezes in a subtle way. His steps slow, and when he turns his eyes toward you, something in his expression wavers. He’s clearly searching for something to say, but the words remain stuck, trapped somewhere behind his silence. His hand doesn’t respond to yours, yet it doesn’t pull away either. He stands there, lost in his sudden confusion. A subtle flush colors his cheeks as his gaze, at first surprised, shyly avoids yours.
" D-Don't you want to hold my other hand ? "
" No, not really ... Why would that matter ? "
You carry on without saying a word, as if that simple gesture were enough to say it all. Yet, walking beside you, he feels something gently blossoming in his chest, fragile and disheveled like a bouquet. He tries to keep up with your pace, but the confusion you’ve stirred within him makes each of his steps a little less sure. This time, he doesn’t try to defuse the situation with an absurd joke or a clumsy remark. He simply lets you have your way. Eyes downcast, cheeks tinged with warmth, Vash unwittingly betrays what he dares not put into words. No one had ever taken his hand before, and certainly not this one. Even though he remains convinced he doesn’t deserve such a tender gesture, he can’t deny that he loves how it feels between you, however awkward it may be because of him. If he can’t feel your touch, he clings to it nonetheless with a timid tenderness. You walk on like this to the nearest town, the journey unfolding in that peace he so strongly advocates and which he is rediscovering with you. He loved it.