A/N: ok, so welcome to my Trigun fanfic! this has been a long time comin. I wrote it like, forever ago, and it was actually my first fanfic ever, but as my writing skills have grown, even if it is slightly, i've revised some things. this story will probably be updated in spats, but bare with me. it's only casue i'm trying to make it the best it can be ^.^ enjoy!

Chapter 1: The Return of the Humanoid Typhoon

Vash walked towards the town, the sand reflecting the heat of the twin suns into his face, his brother, Knives, on his back. He had been walking the whole afternoon, and was getting very tired and hungry from carrying his unconscious twin brother on his back. He looked straight ahead of him, hoping to see the town, and the friends he had left.

In the glare of the sun, he saw a fuzzy shape on the horizon. He squinted to make out the shape, and soon saw other shapes around it. He smiled when he realized that he was back where he had started before he went to battle Knives. As he came closer he saw water flowing up from the ground and smiled wider.

They must have finally hit water in that dry well, he thought. Jeez, Knives is freakin' heavy!

His pace quickened as he shifted his unconscious brother into a more comfortable position for his shoulder. He had to get there as quickly as possible. He had to see her, and her friend, but mostly her. He had to tell her his feelings for her. He had to tell her that he couldn't stop thinking about her, and he had had a lot of time to think. As he drew closer to the town, he saw two smaller, blurry figures running toward him, and knew right away who they were. Meryl! Milly!

"Mr. Vash!" the taller girl cried with a smile as the two met him. "We were so worried about you! Who's on your back?" Milly wondered, frowning in confusion at the unconscious Millions Knives. Vash turned around so that the girls could see Knives' better half, and looked over his shoulder to talk to them.

"This is my brother, Knives," he introduced then turned to face them again and stared at the shorter girl. The girl he had to see.

Finally, he thought. I get to see her beautiful face again. It seems like I was out in that stupid desert for ages without her there.

"Vash?" Meryl called as he stared at her, speechlessly. He snapped out of his thoughts at hearing her voice.

"Huh?" he asked blankly then came back to reality. "Sorry, I was just thinking. Where's the house? I'm starving!"

"I'm not surprised," Meryl sighed, rolling her eyes. "You're a bottomless pit when it comes to food!" She turned and began walking towards the town with Milly running to catch up with her. Milly walked next to Meryl as Vash trailed behind them, his brother on his back.

"Now, Meryl," Milly scolded. "He's been out there for a long time. He probably didn't pack enough food."

Meryl only rolled her eyes again. She knew he had been out there for a few days, at least. But she also knew that Vash would claim to be starving after finishing a three-course meal. The three of them were silent as they walked toward the house, except for the few times Milly offered to carry Knives, and Vash would refuse, claiming he was just fine.

"Where should I put him?" Vash asked when they reached the house and went inside.

"Maybe you should put him in your room," Meryl suggested, sarcastically. "After all, he is your brother." She turned to walk down the hall, and Vash stuck his tongue out at her back. After making his childish face, he couldn't help but smile.

Same old Meryl, he smirked to himself. He followed Meryl down the hall, and stopped at the door to his bedroom. She stood at the door and opened it for him. He smiled and marched through the door comically with a fake serious look on his face, trying to get a laugh, even just a smile, out of Meryl. He turned around to see her reaction. She only sighed and closed the door. He stared at the door blankly then heard some low giggling on the other side of the wood and smiled. He looked at his bed, sighed.

"Why my bed?" he complained. "Where am I gonna sleep?"

He shrugged and gently laid his brother on the bed then stood tall to look at him. The bandages wrapped around Knives' legs, shoulders and stomach were seeping with blood. Vash looked around and upon noticing the first aid kit on the nightstand next to the bed, he snickered.

I think Meryl knows me just a little too well.

He sat on the bed and properly took care of his twin's wounds. As he took care of his brother, he couldn't help but wonder what would happen after Knives woke up. Would he try to run away? And if he did, get away, would he go on another killing rampage? What would he tell him after he woke up? So many questions ran through Vash's mind as he tried to heal his injured brother.

Then his mind wandered to Meryl. He smiled as he thought of her predictable remarks she had told him earlier. He concentrated on how to tell her exactly how he felt about her, and how she would react. He made a speech in his mind, and went over it, silently, again and again, until he was one hundred percent sure of what to say to her.

After he finished bandaging his brother, he stood, and walked to the closet. Opening the door, he looked at the hanging shirt and pants, trying to find something nice to wear to dinner.

"Everything in here is the same!" he realized. "I should have one of the girls go shopping for me."

He pulled out a shirt and a pair of pants and began to change. After changing, he took one more glance at Knives and walked to the door. He closed the door on his way out and walked down the hall, the smell of cooking from the kitchen filling his nose as he got closer. He heard Milly humming and the clatter of cookware in the kitchen.

"So," he began, standing next to the table. "What's for dinner?" He didn't know why he asked. He knew the answer already.

"It's a surprise!" Milly smiled, cheerfully. She sounded and acted so innocent that it almost made Vash laugh.

"Of course," he smiled expectantly. He searched the room for Meryl, but she was no where to be found. "Hey, where's Meryl? Isn't she gonna have dinner?"

"Oh, of course," Milly replied. "She just went outside to feed the Thomas'." She pointed down the hall. "They're tied up in the back."

"Thanks, Milly," he said as he walked down the hall, again.

He walked a bit slow so as not to seem anxious to get to her, even though he nearly wanted to run down the hall. He had hurt her when he left and made her worry about him, even though she would never admit that she had worried about him. He had told them both he was looking for Knives and Meryl knew everything about the history between himself and his brother, but he left her, not telling her when he would come back, or even promising if he would. He knew he had to try to make it up to her, but how? He had known the whole time he was in his room what he was going to tell her, but now, knowing he was going to be face to face with her, he drew a blank.

He reached the back door and slowly gripped the knob, taking a deep breath, and turning it. He opened it just enough so that he could poke his head through the doorway. He saw Meryl, standing with a bucket in her hands in front of a Thomas.

"Hello!" he smiled cheerfully, and loudly. He winced as he saw her jump and turn toward him with a glare. He opened the door fully and stood in the threshold.

"Sorry," he smiled as he rubbed the back of his neck. She turned back to feeding the Thomas, and he walked up next to her. "Milly told me you were back here."

"That I am," she said still facing the Thomas. He rubbed the back of his neck a little longer as he turned to lean on the hitching post.

"I, uh, wanted to talk to you about something…"

"Okay."

"It's kind of important…"

"Yeah?"

Dang it! his thoughts shouted at him. Nothing! I knew exactly what I was gonna say before! What happened?!

"Vash?" she called, hesitantly, now staring at him. He shot a wide-eyed look at her. "Are you okay? You've been acting a bit strange since you got back."

"Huh? Oh, yeah, well, it's just. I really need to tell you something, and---"

"Oh, good. I need to tell you something, too."

"Go ahead then," he said, dropping his arm. "I can wait till you finish."

Stupid coward, his mind mocked.

She put the bucket on the ground and faced him.

Oh, crap, he thought. I know that look. I'm in trouble.

"You really scared me, leaving like that," she began in a somewhat high-pitched tone of voice. "I mean, I didn't know where you were---well, we didn't know where you were, and I---we were really worried about you!"

Vash smiled a bit but then realized that she might think he was laughing at her.

"That's what I wanted to tell you," he started quickly. "I know what I did, and I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for making you two worry about me. I'm really, really sorry."

"Well, you should be!" she exclaimed. He bowed his head and drew circles in the sand with the tip of his shoe.

"I mean," she said gently. "Apology accepted."

Vash smiled at her properness and stood up to walk into the house.

"Wait!"

He stopped.

"Was there something else you wanted to tell me?"

He turned around to face her and blushed a bit, rubbing the back of his neck, yet again.

"Uh, no, I don't think so. No. That was it!"

Liar! Stupid! Why did I say that?! I have to tell her how I feel! GAH! I need a donut!

"Mr. Vash!" he heard from inside the house. "Meryl! Dinner!"

Meryl walked into the house, and Vash watched her as his hand came down to his side.

He sighed and shrugged.

"Oh, well," he whispered to himself. "I guess I can tell her later."

He followed her into the house, wondering if he could actually tell her later.

Meryl led Vash through the door as she followed Milly to the kitchen. She couldn't help but wonder why Vash had been acting so strangely, and she sensed that he had more to say to her than just apologizing for leaving. She herself had held back from telling him how she felt about him. She had thought of him the whole time he was gone---not only of his well being, but of all the adventures they had shared.

As they walked down the hall, she heard the creek of a door opening behind her. She stopped and turned around to see Vash walking into his bedroom. From where she was standing, she had a clear view of his brother lying on the bed with clean bandages covering his wounds.

I see he used that kit I left on his nightstand, she thought. I knew he would need it.

She gave a quick nod, with a small smile of pride on her lips, turned, and walked to the table for dinner. Milly busied herself in the kitchen with serving dinner. She turned to see that Vash had disappeared and Meryl was walking to the table alone.

"Where's Mr. Vash?" Milly wondered. Meryl sat down at one side of the table, her back facing the wall.

"He's checking on Knives," she guessed. "He'll be out in a moment." She put her elbows on the table with her hands propping her head up. She closed her eyes for a moment and pictured Vash in her mind as if him not being there would erase him from her memory.

Her daydreams were quickly interrupted when she heard a loud rumble of wood rubbing on wood. Her eyes snapped open to see Vash taking a seat in front of her. She lifted her head and placed her hands on the table, sitting up in her chair. She was careful not to stare at him and only snuck a few glances when he wasn't looking.

"So, Milly," Vash said, breaking the awkward silence. "What's the 'surprise dinner' gonna be tonight?"

Meryl swallowed a bit loudly. She had been subjected to Milly's cooking inventions and was always afraid to ask what they were having at every meal time.

"Well," Milly started. "We didn't have time to get to the store, so we're gonna have breakfast for dinner!"

Oh, please, let it be something without pudding! Meryl prayed. That stuff makes everything so thick!

"Tonight's main course is pudding and chocolate-chip French toast!" Milly announced, grandly. Meryl blanched while Milly wasn't looking.

"Yum," Vash lied, frowning at Meryl in confusion. She only shook her head, as if to say, "Don't ask." Milly brought two plates with the breakfast-for-dinner meals on them, and set one in front of Vash and the other in front of Meryl then gave each of them a knife and fork.

Meryl cautiously picked up the silverware as Milly went to get her plate and sit down at the head of the table. She stared at the gooey pieces of bread for a moment then looked up at Vash to see his reaction to the strange meal. He had wasted no time in stuffing as much food as he could get in his mouth. Meryl's eyes were wide in disbelief and she twitched a bit as she watched the Humanoid Typhoon wolf down his food like it was going out of style.

What led me to this guy? she couldn't help but wonder. She then looked at Milly who sat in her chair, cheerfully eating her plate of French toast. As soon as the three had finished their meal, Milly cleared the table and Meryl and Vash sat there as Milly washed the dishes.

"Let me help you with those, Milly," Meryl said, getting up and walking into the kitchen. "I'll rinse and dry."

"Thanks Meryl!" Milly grinned, gratefully. Meryl began to dry the dishes Milly had already rinsed and put them away as well. When they had finished, she turned to see that Vash had disappeared. She started down the hall when Milly stopped her.

"What's wrong?" Milly wondered.

"I just need to talk to Vash for a minute," Meryl explained, stopping only for a moment then resuming her journey down the hall, not noticing Milly smile. She stopped in front of his door then quietly and slowly opened it. She walked in just enough so that she was framed in the doorway and stared at him for a moment. He was sitting on a chair at the foot of his bed, his left profile facing her as he stared at his brother.

"Vash?" she called meekly. He looked over his shoulder and stood up to face her.

"Hey, Meryl," he said, hesitantly. "What's up?"

She still couldn't figure out why he was still acting so strangely, but she figured the only way to find out was to ask him herself.

"Are you okay?" she asked, bluntly. "You seem a bit, up tight. Is something wrong?"

"Nope," he chirped, rubbing the back of his neck. Meryl knew better. He was hiding something.

"Ok," she shrugged, seemingly giving up. She walked into the room then stood next to him, facing Knives. Vash only stared at her, trying to figure out what kind of mood she was in.

"Vash? What happened out there?" she asked, turning her head to face him. He straightened then looked back at his brother. As if it wasn't bad enough making her worry about him, she'd freak out if he told her what really happened out there.

"Nothing really," he lied. "Just a gunfight. Nothing too extravagant."

Meryl could tell he was lying through his teeth. Not extravagant would be the two of them coming back with a few scratches and bruises, not Vash bringing his brother back over his shoulder! He was lying, and she knew it, but she also knew she had opened a touchy subject for him. They stood silently staring at Knives for a few moments.

"Meryl?" Vash called meekly. She shot her gaze toward him, but he was still staring at his brother. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," she replied, preparing herself for anything random and he turned to face her.

"If a person had feelings for you, you would want them to tell you, right?" he asked in a serious voice. She smiled before answering and looked down at the floor to keep him from seeing her blush.

"Yes," she said shyly. "I would hope they would tell me." She looked up into his eyes. "Why?"

His expression changed to shock, as if he didn't think she would ask.

"Well," he began cautiously, looking back at Knives. "While I was out in the desert with Knives unconscious and all, I had a chance to really think, and I realized something that had been in my mind the whole time, I just never really paid attention to it until I was out there, and I think-I mean, I'm sure…"

He stopped, then turned back to her and gripped her arms, looking deep into her eyes.

"I…I…"

It was obvious he was having a hard time expressing himself. She raised her fingers and gently pressed them on his lips. His grip loosened from her arms and she stepped closer to him.

"Vash," she murmured. "I know what you're going to say, and I don't care that you can't say it right now. I'll say it for you. I love you."

Vash sighed and they gave each other a small smile. Meryl wrapped her arms around his neck, and stepped close to him as his arms slid around her waist.

"You know," he smiled. "I never thought I could love anyone after Rem, especially since anyone I get close to ends up hurt, or killed…"

Nice Vash. Way to be romantic, she thought.

"But you've changed me, Meryl. You really have."

They held each other a bit closer and Vash leaned down to whisper into her ear.

"And I promise, as long as there is a breath in me, I will not let anything, or anyone, hurt you. I can't, and I won't."

Meryl sighed and closed her eyes as she leaned her head on his shoulder. She had gone through too many sleepless nights, I her opinion, worrying about him, crying over him and in that moment, as he said those words, she knew it was worth it to be in his arms now.

They pulled away from each other just enough to look into the other's eyes. She closed her eyes again and felt his lips touch her own. A shiver ran up her spine as he pulled her closer and she did the same with him. Before she knew it their tongues met and it seemed she couldn't pull him close enough. A moment alter they pulled away and smiled at each other.

"Mr. Vash?" Milly suddenly called from the doorway. "Meryl?"

They pushed away from each other as Milly giggled from the open door.

"Yes," Meryl's voice cracked, but she cleared it asked, "Is something wrong?"

"No," Milly smiled. "I just came to tell you good-night! I have to be at work kind of early tomorrow."

Vash yawn loudly and rubbed his eyes then said, "I guess I'd better hit the sack, too." He looked down at Knives and whined, "Aw, man! Where am I gonna sleep?!"

Meryl blinked and stared at him in disbelief as she thought, What happened?! He was serious and heartfelt a second ago! Now he's a child! She caught herself and shook her head. I shouldn't be surprised, though.

She rolled her and looked at Milly who was still standing in the doorway.

"Good night, Milly," she said, calmly.

"Night, Mill," Vash called, cheerfully.

"Good night!" Milly grinned then left down the hall, leaving Vash and Meryl alone with the unconscious Knives again. They looked at each other and smiled slightly.

"Well, Vash sighed, breaking the silence. "I'm gonna grab a pillow and a blanket and sleep on the couch."

"Oh," Meryl nodded. "Ok."

He started to walk out of the room but stopped when he got to the door. He couldn't leave it like this. Not after that kiss. He turned around, took a few steps toward her and leaned his head toward her. She felt his lips kiss her cheek gently as she closed her eyes.

"Good night," he whispered.

"G-Good night," she sputtered. He straightened and walked out, leaving Meryl in wide-eyed shock and she swallowed.

He switches from silly to serious so easily, she thought. I hate it when he does that.

A/N: i forgot to mention that the POV will be switching back and forth very orderly becuase i originally started writing an individual section for each each character POV and as i revised it, i found it fit pretty well together anyway. this was a combo of Vash and Meryl, as you can see. I HAD TO DO IT! the anime totally left it wide open for their relationship, so i filled it in...lol! well, wucha think? reviews are appreciated