You might be fumbling, but so am I. We're both still trying to figure it all out, Nick.

[He's testing the water here, making sure that a first name basis is acceptable. Maybe he'd gone a little far, calling him Wolfwood when they'd last been together, but at the time keeping a careful distance was the only thing he could do to keep himself together.]

The point is, at least one of us has gotten better. And I don't think it's the guy running off to cause problems for himself.

[Likewise, Vash glances at that hand. His own twitches, thinking about reaching out. Instead, he keeps it firmly at his side. Even if they're doing better, he thinks about the way Wolfwood had denied him that same comfort a few days prior. He doesn't know if he can quite handle that same rejection again.

Instead, he folds them together in his lap. It's a fitful gesture, one that adjusts itself repeatedly. It isn't ideal.]

I can't imagine how it feels. It's... a big reason why I came back the other day. I wanted to run. I was so... upset and bitter but... if anything happened, I didn't want that to be it. If I only have a short time left with you, I want to make the best of it.