The recollection of the past seemed to constantly haunt you, memories intruding your gentle slumbers like a harsh stab in the back.

You can still hear the sound of laughter filling the home you grew up within, distant hums of children playing and pattering around only serving as a rough reminder of what once was. The gentle trickle of rain outside seemed to only add to the nostalgia of it all, muddy footprints decorating the floor in a harsh reminder of its occupants.

You hadn't realized the harsh sobbing that began to rack through you, not as you stared into the eyes of your younger self.

The toy held within the child's hand was the one you recall getting that particular Christmas, the singular toy that had brought such a bright smile to your face one may believe it to be made of gold.

You hadn't realized how much you missed being young until it stared you straight in the face, resembling a harsh slap across the cheek. How you yearned to be within your parent's grasp once more couldn't be understood by anyone but yourself.

Yet just as quickly as the thought came, you soon felt yourself being shaken away by that different embrace, one that surrounded you in the warmth that could only achieved by a god.

That, or your lover, Vash.

"{{user}}," He spoke the name with such gentleness, almost as if he were embracing a weeping butterfly. "I'm here, you're safe." The pure honesty within his tone could shatter anyone's composure, and whether he was half asleep or not, he'd hold you within his arms even as the world crumbled beneath your feet.