Sup! Here's my disclaimer, yo:

Even though owning Trigun characters might be fun, I think they'd probably be pretty high-maintenance, and I don't think I could handle the responsibility. Therefore, all characters belong to whoever owns them!

Note: The story switches back and forth between Vash's and Meryl's POV. THIS WILL BE A V/M 'FIC, SO IF YOU'RE ONE OF THOSE MESSED UP VASH/WOLFWOOD YAOI PEOPLE…WELL, I GUESS YOU'LL BE DISAPPOINTED CUZ WOLFWOOD'S DEAD! DEAD, Y'HEAR??? *Has emotional breakdown, and is escorted away by many low-maintenance characters she has kidnapped and keeps locked in her basement*

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It's strange how sometimes, humans can adapt to changes so well and so quickly that they can hardly remember what life was like before those changes took place.

That's the way it was after Vash came back.

In the shock and all-powerful relief after he returned, I forgot to be Meryl, the temperamental insurance girl. I forgot to be Meryl the bitchy stickler. I think that I was actually enjoying myself.

Two weeks after his return, Vash deemed that he, Milly, and I should go out for the night. At that point, it had been so long since I'd actually gone out for my own personal enjoyment that I just stared at him blankly for a few moments.

"What?" I asked stupidly.

Vash looked sheepish and rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, I thought that maybe we could go out…have something to eat…a few drinks…you know. We don't have to if you don't want to."

"That would be wonderful, Mr. Vash!" Milly said happily. "Can we Meryl? Can we?" She looked at me hopefully.

"I guess I'm outnumbered, then." I chuckled inwardly at the identical, shimmering puppy-dog eyes both Vash and Milly were giving me. "What time?"

Milly shouted "Yay, Meryl!" and Vash beamed at me in that way of his that made my insides turn into molasses.

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"What restaurant were you planning on? There isn't exactly the best selection in this little village." Meryl asked me.

"Well, there's a really fancy place a few hundred iles from here that I've heard of. It's sorta far, so we'd have to stay in a hotel for a night because I'd doubt you'd want to make the drive back in the middle of the night." I traced patterns on the grain of the wood in the table with the tip of my finger contemplatively.

"I'm off to pack!" Milly said with enthusiasm, quickly disappearing into the next room.

"What about Knives?" Meryl asked in a low voice, her face becoming serious.

My hand clenched instinctively at the mention of his name. "He isn't showing any indication of waking up any time soon…" I drew in a deep breath and my eyebrows furrowed in thought. "I don't like taking this kind of chance, but I think we all need a little vacation." I attempted to make myself look carefree, but inside I felt a deep sense of foreboding. I looked up at Meryl, and from the dead serious look on her face, I could tell she could see right through my façade.

"Vash…if you don't feel comfortable leaving him here, then don't let us force you to."

"No, I wouldn't have suggested it if I didn't want to do it!" I smiled at the overly-serious look on her face. "I'll think of something, don't worry."

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We left for the town of New Virginia a little after noon.

Milly and I had to make an emergency trip to the dressmaker since we didn't have any formal clothes with us, and Vash spent a rather hectic time at the tailor's trying to find a tux that was big enough for his tall stature.

We must have been quite a sight on the crowded bus, all of us laden with hangers covered with plastic sheets and awkwardly holding our various bags so that our hard-earned dress clothes didn't get wrinkled.

When I asked Vash how he had found a way to stop Knives from escaping from the house if he woke up, he merely shrugged and told me not to worry. Of course, this didn't stop me from worrying my ass off the entire bus ride, but it must have made Vash feel reassured.

New Virginia was a large, bustling city, nearly as big as the one which housed the Bernardelli Insurance Company. The sun was just setting, a gigantic orange ball on the horizon, when we checked into the Bay Hotel. There wasn't, of course, a bay near the hotel, but the proprietor insisted that his great-great-grandfather had owned a hotel by the same name back on Earth.

We trudged up three flights of stairs to our adjacent rooms and entered to get ready for dinner.

"Man," I exclaimed as I entered Milly's and my room. "Vash must have emptied his wallet to get us this. I know he insisted that he was treating, but now I feel sort of embarrassed!" The rooms were large and sumptuous, with fine artwork on the walls and a marble bathtub.

"Aww, Meryl! You're way too proud!" Milly was delighted by the room's luxuriance. "Big big sister always said that too much pride never got anyone anywhere! Just relax and enjoy it!"

I smiled at Milly's carefree attitude, but inside I wondered just how much money Vash was wasting on us. He never seemed to run out of money, but he gave no indication of just how much he had. If this hotel and the expensive dinner were any indication, he had plenty to spare!

I freshened up, and put on my makeup carefully, wondering just how long it had been since I'd paid this much attention to my appearance. Surely not since I'd been assigned to Vash over two years ago…god, has it really been that long? It seems like yesterday when—

--Snap out of it Meryl! There's no way I'm getting into all this reminiscing crap again!

"Meryl! We promised Vash we'd be ready by now!" Milly shouted from the hallway.

"Coming!" I called back, snatching my purse and hurrying out the door.

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I could practically feel my jaw dropping a few feet as Meryl appeared in the doorway. Maybe it was because I'd never seen her dressed up this much before, or maybe it was that way that tight black dress showed off her petite yet curvaceous figure, but she seemed infinitely different that I had ever thought of her before.

Maybe it was because I had never really thought of her as anything but "Meryl the Insurance Girl", that now the distinct thought passed through my head that she looked like a woman right now.

"Well, Vash, are you going to stare all day or are we going to get going?" Meryl asked, her voice laced with amusement. Milly giggled and I blushed furiously, snapping my mouth shut. I suddenly felt sort of defenseless in my slightly baggy tuxedo against two girls in constraining dresses teetering around in three-inch heels. It was ridiculous, but it was true.

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End chappy #1!! Hope you people enjoyed it! (I'm sorry if it was sort of short!) Please review (flames are fun if you want to get flamed back! ^_-)!