DISCLAIMER: Trust me, if I owned Vash or any other Trigun characters….you'd know.
A/N: Inspired by Scarlet Rurouni's Only For You
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Meryl couldn't remember how long she had stared at her pathetic attempt of the weekly report that had been overdue for three days. Aside from the required heading, the paper was sadly blank. Try as she might, Meryl couldn't come up with anything to say other than 'Things have been disturbingly peaceful. Please send more money.' She couldn't help it, they hadn't moved in about a week, staying in a small rented two room living quarters above the saloon in the small no-name town. No-one had come after Vash to collect the bounty, no word of danger, nothing.
Chomp munch munch munch
Chomp munch munch munch
Of course, Vash sitting across the table from her, nearly inhaling his donuts did nothing to help her thought process. The petite woman gave him an annoyed glare, silently willing him to take his pastries and partake in them elsewhere.
Chomp munch munch munch
Chomp munch munch munch
Hmmm....no effect. Raising a hand to her mouth, the young woman cleared her throat.
*ah-hem*
Chomp munch munch munch
*Ah-hem* Meryl tried again, this time gaining volume. Vash continued to happily munch on his deep fried bread. The broom-head probably couldn't even hear her over his own chewing.
'Dork,'
she thought darkly.Chomp munch munch munch
Growling, the Bernardelli Agent slammed both hands on the table. "MR. VASH!" she nearly yelled.
The blond finally halted in his eating process to glance over at his table partner. "Mmm?" He looked utterly ridiculous with his cheeks puffed out full of donut and another one ready in his hand.
Meryl pointedly looked at the box of donuts, then at Vash, then at the door to the other room and back at Vash again.
The large gunslinger slowly began to chew again and swallowed once. "Do you want a donut, Insurance Girl?" he asked around the mouthful of the sweet bread, offering the glazed pastry in his hand to the raven-haired woman.
"Ugh! NO, I don't want a donut!" Meryl cried. "I am SICK of donuts!"
Nearly choking on the freshly baked glazed donut he had been munching on, Vash managed to sputter, "WHAT?? How can anyone hate donuts?? They're the best things in the whole world!"
"I HATE DONUTS!" Meryl cried.
Vash the Stampede gasped and pulled back, sea green eyes wide as he scooped the box close to his chest. He looked absolutely scandalized. "How can you SAY that?" he whispered in a horrified voice. "Have you ever even TRIED one?"
"OUT!" Meryl screamed, pointing towards the exit.
Vash didn't need to be told twice.
That had been several hours ago; since then, Millie had not returned from the saloon and Vash hadn't come back. Meryl was left alone in the quarters, save for a small black cat who had somehow gotten on the window sill and was basking in the dying rays of the second setting sun.
With nothing else to do, Meryl was left to think of how wrongly she had treated her traveling companion. She began to feel slightly sorry for the broom haired male. After all, it wasn't exactly his fault that things had been way too quiet. She was just stressed about financial issues and had snapped, taking it out on him. It was something she had no right to do, no matter how annoying his eating habits were. She supposed she owed him an apology at the very least. Yes, Meryl decided with a nod of her head. An apology would set things right between them.
It was about that time that Vash decided to return. The door slammed open, startling both the young woman and the cat, who hissed at the disturbance before jumping down from the sill and shooting out the room.
The blond gunslinger did not seem to notice or care as he stood there in the doorway with the dopiest grin on his face. The familiar hideous orange and green tie wrapped around his head announced that he had been hitting the bottle a little too hard again.
"Mr. Vash?" Meryl questioned.
The male swayed slightly as he peered at her. "Hey, Inshurensh Girlsh," he slurred.
Oh, yes, he was most definitely drunk.
The petite woman spied a bag held in his bionic hand. "What have you got there, Mr. Vash?" She indicated to the bag.
For a moment, the gunslinger look genuinely surprised to have said item in his possession. He quickly gathered enough wit to clutch the bag closer to his chest. "My donutsh!" he insisted. "An' I'm not sharin' with either o' ya." He took two unbalanced strides before plopping down in the other chair at the table. "'M gonna eat 'em right here!"
Meryl watched bemusedly as the man in red up ended the bag and let the box tumble out. After a few tries, he succeeded in opening the box and stuffed a whole one in his mouth. She was surprised that he didn't choke when he pulled the same stunt a few seconds later.
Halfway through his third, Vash munch thoughtfully and swallowed looking for all the word as if he had something important to say.
"What is it, Mr. Vash?" Meryl prompted.
"I've got a shecret," he whispered in a rather non-quiet voice.
"A secret?"
Vash nodded a little too enthusiastically and threatened to topple himself over through momentum for a moment. He stopped though before anything happened and motioned Meryl closer with the crook of one finger.
Unable to ruin his "fun", she found herself leaning forward. "What is it?"
"I've always thought the Inshurensh Girl was pretty," he staged whispered.
Meryl was at a loss to say something for a full minute. "Which one?" she managed to choke out.
"The little one," Vash divulged. "Dark hair, white cloak, perky…" He held both his hands in front of his pectorals as if he were holding small melons. The scene was ruined by the fact that the blond still held half a donut in one hand.
"Alright," Meryl ground through her clenched teeth as she tried in vain to keep her face from turning red. 'He can't be serious. He's drunk,' she thought desperately.
In Vino Veritas
another part of her mind reminded her smugly."Yanno," Vash slurred. "Y' kinda look like her. Real pretty like."
The raven-haired woman pulled back slightly.
"I alwaysh wann'ed t' kish 'er," he continued on obliviously. "Shut 'er up from all that rantin'."
Before Meryl could say anything in response, her companion tipped over, as if he had finally lost his sense of balance. She leaned forward to try and stop his descent, but was not prepared for the full bulk of his weight. Thankfully, the gunslinger only fell to his knees before her with the rest of him leaning forward in Meryl's arms.
His eyes were bright, unaffected by the alcohol. She brushed away a stray lock of hair that fell in his face. Their eyes met as Meryl sucked in her breath.
His lips were warm and sticky from the sweet bread he had just consumed. She could taste the robust flavour of his alcohol in his mouth which was poorly masked by that sweet taste on his tongue and now on hers. The taste was comforting, warm and totally Vash-like.
The parted for air with the residing taste still on their lips.
"Meryl," she heard him whisper.
Thud
Her eyelids fluttered open to find Vash on the floor, eyes closed and a goofy grin spread across his features. A hand went to her lips.
If that's what donuts tasted like, then maybe they weren't so bad after all.
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I like reviews. They're nice. Also, if you're interested, Vash agreed to model for my new product line in return of three boxes of donuts. The advertisement is on display under my mediaminer.org account, which also uses the same penname. Check it out!
