[Even if Vash should have known better, known that Wolfwood wouldn't take well to the words he offers up, he still shrinks back. He has no right to. It was his fault for misunderstanding the question, his fault for jumping to this conclusion, his fault for letting all of this happen in the first place. Maybe if he'd just stayed put. Maybe if he'd just let things between him and Wolfwood stay broken -

His thoughts come at him a mile a minute. It's enough to make him dizzy, to make his stomach twist into knots and his chest ache. Some part of him wants to shout back at Wolfwood for getting so angry, when Vash is the one that's scared. But he doesn't deserve that mercy, either. And even though his eyes burn something awful, he doesn't deserve the relief of shedding tears.

He twines his arms tighter around himself, only to flinch back when the tips of his fingers graze against the delicate membrane of his wings. Instead, he folds his knees to his chest and wraps his arms around them.]

I don't know. I don't know!

[His voice comes out louder than he means to. His wince is almost instant. He thinks to apologize, but moves past it just as quick. If he acknowledges his outburst, it's acknowledging his pain. He doesn't deserve that.]

Livio and I... aren't like the two of us. Not yet. Just kissed for the first time during that game.