Heat Wave
Disclaimer: I do not own Trigun and I'm pretty sure that won't change anytime soon.
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"Get out your shorts and sunscreen, Gunsmoke, because it's one heck of a heat wave out there! Yes indeed, with temperatures sky rocketing t-"
By then Milly had shut off the radio, to Vash's great relief. "It's too hot to be reminded of the temperature." she said while waving a handmade fan in front of her face. The tall woman was not wearing her usual work cloths and instead sported shorts and a sleeveless white shirt. She actually looked like a girl and not a construction worker.
Vash would've complimented her on her looks, but was too engaged in sitting in front of the fan and panting like a dog. It was too hot to gel his hair up, so it pretty much looked like a mop on his head making him even hotter.
"Can't…breathe…so hot…" he continued his panting.
"You know, Vash, it would be much cooler if you didn't wear that long sleeved shirt and slacks."
He turned his head to Meryl and was about to retaliate when he noticed the short girl was wearing her waitress uniform…without her leggings. Vash began to pant for a reason other than the heat.
"Wow, Sempai, no leggings today? I'm sure the men at the bar with have a nice surprise!" Milly teased.
The tiny woman snorted. "Yeah, the only surprise they'll be getting is a tray in the back of their head." She then walked over to the mirror and began to put in her earrings. "Vash quit panting! It's irritating and you sound like a dog."
"Well," he said, taking the opportunity to look at her legs. He never noticed it before, but for someone Meryl's size she had great legs. "I figured if it worked for dogs it might work for me."
Meryl rolled her eyes and continued to gussy up.
"How's my brother?" he asked now looking up at her.
"He's fine…other than wanting to kill all humanity." she answered, "I gave him his lunch and the pain-killers the doctor prescribed. The weird thing about them is they completely knock him out. He'll probably be asleep for the rest of the day."
"Um…is that supposed to happen?"
"I don't know…but it sure makes it easier to care for him." She gave Vash a sly look. "Maybe I'll try it on you and see if works."
Vash gulped.
"Well I'm off. See you later tonight." she waved goodbye and left though the front door.
The blonde gunman then collapsed onto the floor and pouted. "Ugh! Make this heat go away!" He then heard giggling from the other side of the room. He turned his head to the side and saw Milly trying her hardest to suppress her laughter. "What's so funny, big girl? You don't get some weird morbid satisfaction from my suffering, do you?"
"Oh it's not that, Mr. Vash." she said between giggles.
"Then what is it?"
"It's just…" By now her giggles had erupted into full blown laughter. "It's so funny that you and Sempai like each other and just can't tell each other! You're acting like a couple of schoolchildren with a crush."
Vash nearly face faulted. "Milly," his voice was firm. "I'm pretty sure she doesn't. The only reason you're here is because I'm your assignment, and until Bernardelli takes you off my back you have no other choice but to stay here."
Her laughter clamed down and she sighed. "Boy, Mr. Vash, you sure are slow sometimes…"
"What do you mean by that?" he asked curiously, but the tall woman simply shook her head and got up from her chair to clean the morning's dishes.
--
The topic did not resurface, leaving Vash and Milly to spend most of the day in front of the fan playing chess.
"Hey, Milly?" he asked during one of their millionth games of chess that day.
"Yes?" she answered while moving her piece.
Vash inwardly winced, that was a good move. "Shouldn't you be at work or something? Normally I'm home alone all day." His eyed scanned the board for a good move. "Not that I mind or anything…I was just wondering." Damn, why were there no good moves?
Milly took a sip of her tea. "Well, after one of the workers fainted from Heat Exhaustion, Foreman Ken said that we weren't allowed to work at the Well until this Heat wave broke." She watched as Vash made his move. "I'm thinking of it as a mini-vacation."
"I see…" He silently pondered the irony of men suffering from heat exhaustion when they were working in a well filled with water all day.
"Checkmate, Mr. Vash." Milly said sweetly, too sweetly for his liking.
The outlaw's eyes widen in amazement. "Again? That has to be the billionth time you've beat me!" He looked at the woman who sat across from him, he had played chess for nearly a hundred and fifty years undefeated (not counting the times Knives beat him on the Seeds Ship) and he managed to get his butt kicked by a happy insurance agent. "I must be getting rusty…"
"We can play again, Mr. Vash." she said. "I'll even give you a handicap!"
"Handicap?" he laughed. "I am Vash the Stampede, the man with sixty-billion-double-dollars on his head! I am known to destroy entire cities with the flick of my wrist!" He then twisted into a dramatic pose. "I do not need…a handicap!"
"No, you need a brain!" came Meryl's exasperated tone.
The voice startled Vash and sent him falling to the floor with a loud thump. "Owie…" he whined.
"Oh hello, Sempai!" greeted Milly. "Who's your friend?"
At the mention of a visitor, the blonde immediately untangled himself from the ground and shot to his feet. He noticed the man standing next to Meryl…a little too close. He instantly felt an unfamiliar surge of emotion that left a metallic taste in his mouth.
The tall man had dark brown hair falling just past his chin in giving him a rather disheveled look. He had light skin and bright blue eyes, along with a strong chin and a plastic smile.
"Hello there!" The nameless man greeted and it took everything in Vash's will to keep from growling at him. What was happening to him?
Meryl seemed oblivious of Vash's uneasiness and answered Milly's question. "Vash, Millie…this Mark Galvin. He's a friend of mine from the tavern."
"Actually," he interrupted. "I'm not from the tavern. I actually work as a legal representative from Gambit and Gaffer. I'm hoping to start my own office later this year."
Vash was tempted to ask if everyone at the law firm had to have a last name that started with "G" to qualify, but thought against it.
"How did you meet Sempai then?" Milly asked innocently.
"Well, one day my colleagues and I were having lunch at the tavern when I saw a very lovely waitress," he then smiled at Meryl. "Since then I've stopped by every night to greet my favorite server."
Vash's fist clenched as the small woman rolled her eyes. "Not the mention the fact that you're in love with the taverns cheeseburgers."
The man nodded, "That too."
Meryl laughed and gave her friend a hug. "Thanks for walking me home, Mark."
"Anytime, Mer." He waved goodbye to the other housemates and left.
Vash watched the small woman take off her shoes. "So," he said, trying hard to sound nonchalant, "Is that your boyfriend?"
He watched her as she nearly fell over her shoes from surprise. "What?"
"I asked if he's your boyfriend." he repeated quickly, almost bitterly.
She laughed, "No, of course not. He's just a nice guy who wanted to walk me home, that all." She made her way to the stove. "Mm…Milly this look-"
"He seems shady."
Meryl spun around, the gleam in her eyes telling Vash that her patience was nearly up. However he pressed on, "His hair…it's too shaggy for an attorney. H-"
"He gels it back for work, stupid. By the time he comes to the tavern he's pretty much exhausted and then the gel wears off." she rolled her eyes. "Why the hell does it bother you so much that a guy walked me home?"
An excellent question, why did it bother him that he walked her home? "I-It doesn't!" he exclaimed, hoping to sound convincing. "It's just…It's just…"
"What, Vash?" Meryl snapped. "It's just what?"
For some reason Vash seemed to ignore the voice in his head that screamed 'WARNING! WARNING! YOU ARE ABOUT TO MAKE AN ASS OF YOURSELF! PLEASE ABORT! PLEASE ABORT!' Along with Milly's warnings of quickly shaking her head and making an "X" with her arms to try to tell him to shut up. "It's just that…I think…he's a…a…a bounty hunter!" As soon as the lie slipped his lips, he knew he was screwed.
'SYSTEM FAIURE! SYSTEM FAILURE! PREPARE TO SELF DESTRUCT IN FIVE…'
"Vash..." Meryl growled.
'FOUR…'
"Y-yes?"
'THREE…'
"You…"
'TWO…'
"Are…"
'ONE…'
"THE MOST SELF-CENTERED, INCONSIDERATE, EGOTISTICAL JERK I HAVE EVER HAD THE MISFORTUNE TO BE ASSIGNED TO!" she screamed before marching up the stairs and slamming the door to her and Milly's bedroom.
'Zero.'
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(AN: Hello all you happy people, thanks for reading so far! I love you.
This was going to be a One-shot, until it got rather…long. So I decided to just chop it up into chapters. It's just easier to handle, and gives me something to do.
Don't forget to give me some feedback! See that little blue Review button to your left? It's just waiting for you to click it. Ah, the temptation is overwhelming isn't it?)