Sunday, it was the most holy of days. It was fitting really, that things should have happened today. For once in his life, Wolfwood felt like he was in the right place. The gentle glow of early dawn had long since faded, the brighter light of morning replacing it as the twin suns climbed steadily into the sky. And although he was normally an early riser, there was no other place he'd rather be right now.
He glanced down at the sleeping woman next to him, smiling as the gentle sound of her breathing occasionally changed to a light snoring. She was perfect. He had lain like this for hours, running his eyes over her sleeping form, touching the body that was his to love, his to protect. He'd like to think he had waited his whole life for a moment like this, for a feeling so perfect, but it would be a lie. He'd given up on that belief a long time ago, exchanging the hope and desire to find love in another person with more achievable goals. Living the life he did, it did not behoove him to ache for ordinary comforts as other men did. His goals in life were simple: to keep walking, to keep fighting, to keep living, and to do everything in his power to protect the children. He even tried to stifle his feelings for them, because it hurt so deeply to see their pain. His own he could handle, not theirs. Not hers. He ran his fingers gently through her amber hair and wondered if he could protect her. God, why did you give me such a woman? An unblemished gem? I didn't do anything to deserve a woman like this, and I don't think I can care for her. I'm not the guy she thinks I am… He pressed his lips together, fighting back unidentifiable emotions. Milly interrupted his thoughts as she snuggled closer to him in her sleep, a smile playing across her sleeping features. In an instant all thoughts had vanished from his mind. He didn't deserve this woman, but he needed her. And by some miracle, she had found him, last night of all nights. Found him and saved him. I was planning on going to my death this morning. I think somehow she knew that. I thought I had to do so many things. Vash had tried to show him another way, but it took the strength of this woman to break him, to save him. He glanced out the window and shuddered at what he might have done, what he might have lost.
But today was Sunday. He reached down and touched her bare skin, creamy white against his own. Her eyes fluttered open, lighting his heart again with their innocence and joy. Emotions swept over both of them, emotions that had never been felt by either before this night. Love and desire overcame him as he bent to kiss her, to christen, again, the start of this new chapter in their lives.
"Man, I'm stuffed" mumbled Vash around the crumbs of what Meryl presumed to be about his twelfth doughnut. "Shouldn't we wake sleeping beauty over there?" He indicated the gently snoring form of Milly, lying alone in one of the hotel's small beds. "I mean, it's about time the three of us hit the road…" Meryl looked at her sleeping friend with pained eyes. She knew what that little smile playing across Milly's lips meant. "No," she whispered quietly, "after all, it's Sunday. Let's let her sleep just a little longer."