Hello all. This is my second fanfiction. A short humorous piece with no real point other than me having fun with some of my favorite anime characters. Some Wolfwood and Milly hints and pointless fluff. Enjoy!
By the way, I own none of these characters. All are property of Yasuhiro Nightow-sensei and Pioneer. Please read and review! ^_^
"Ah, Domo, Bokushi-san!" Milly Tompson smiled, her light blue eyes sparkling, "but I probably could of taken care of him myself."
"Don't worry yourself about it," Wolfwood stepped back to his table and reached for Cross Punisher, "I like to help you once in a while, neechan. With Vash and that short girl around I don't get many chances to act heroic anymore. Besides, Don't I need to make a grand entrance?"
"You have been gone for a while…Showoff." Milly laughed a bit and turned to pay the bartender for her meal. Wolfwood watched with mild interest, he didn't particularly like to admit it, but when that drunk man walked up to Milly and slipped an arm around her shoulders, he had felt a small but undeniably stab of jealousy. That tall girl may be bright, Wolfwood reasoned mentally, but didn't get the drunk's true intentions. I had to help her out. Even though Milly had not seemed too alarmed by the man's actions, Wolfwood had felt the need to explain to the man that Milly was not fair game, even if she didn't realize it.
"Bokushi-san!" Milly exclaimed as she came up next to him, "I have an idea! Why don't you come and see Vash-san! I'm sure he'd like to see you again."
Wolfwood raised an eyebrow and lit a cigarette, "You and that short girl are still with him?"
"Of course! It's our job as issued by the Bernandeli Insurance Company. We have to follow Vash-san no matter where he goes." Milly proclaimed, her face going so solemn and serious that Wolfwood couldn't help but laugh.
"B-bokushi-san?"
"Sorry neechan. It's good that you are so determined to do your job right. But aren't you worried that Vash will run off one night?"
"Vash-san wouldn't do that! He knows how important this is to us. Besides, we don't get in his way, well, sometimes we have to intervene of behalf of Bernandeli and senpai sometimes gets upset and yells at Vash-san…"
Wolfwood turned towards the door of the tavern.
"That short neechan does like to rag Vash, doesn't she?"
"Hai…" Milly easily kept up with Wolfwood's long stride as they stepped out into the heat and sun of the desert planet, "but you know what I think…" Milly leaned in close as if to confide a secret.
"What?" Wolfwood whispered back, playing along.
"I think senpai has a crush on Vash-san."
"Really now." Wolfwood smirked. He had known this for a while but let Milly continue.
"Hai!" she giggled and blushed a bit, "Don't tell her I told you. Senpai may yell at Vash-san and hit him, but I've seen the way she looks at him sometimes. The only thing I'm doubtful about is whether Vash-san feels the same way."
"Yeah…" Wolfwood looked up at the sky with twin suns. Not sure if he was agreeing that Meryl loved Vash or if Vash didn't feel the same way. He had seen something else in Vash before besides the scatter-brained goofball. A Vash that was a killer, the one that cried in his sleep and muttered one word over and over again. Rem. He knew that name; it was the same one that-
"Bokushi-san?" Milly's questioning tone brought him back to earth.
"Sorry neechan," Wolfwood forced a smile, "left the planet for a minute there."
"I do that sometimes too!" Milly agreed happily, but she looked at Wolfwood with concern. His eyes looked shiny in the scorching brightness of the desert planet, overlaid with unshed tears.
"Soooo," Milly continued, wanting that look to leave his eyes, "are you coming to see Vash-san?"
"Sure." Wolfwood gave the tall girl his best smile, all traces of sadness disappearing from his expression, "I wanna know how that dork is holding up. Has he gotten himself shot yet with that 'Love and peace!' bit that he loves so much?"
"Bokushi-san, you're mean!" Milly gave him a playful shove and skipped ahead.
"Matte neechan!" Wolfwood adjusted Cross Punisher on his back and jogged to catch up with Milly.
"Senpai!" Milly called out as she pushed open the door to their hotel room, "I'm back! And guess what? I found Bokushi-san!"
Meryl stepped into the small sitting room and glared at Wolfwood, her eyes burning with violet fire, "You! This is not what I need right now!" She let out an exasperated yell and stamped one small foot before marching back into her rented bedroom.
"S-senpai…" Milly stammered.
Wolfwood gave the doorway Meryl had stomped through an equally surprised look, "Think something happened? Or does she really dislike me that much?"
"Dunno…Senpai! What's wrong?" Milly ran into the side room where the shorter insurance agent could be heard slamming around desk drawers and file folders.
"That blond imbecile of a man is what's wrong!" Wolfwood winced as Meryl's voice rattled a lamp in the room, "He was here an hour ago! But I go downstairs to get something to eat and when I come back-bam!" She stomped her foot again for emphasis, "This room is empty!"
Wolfwood leaned Cross Punisher against the small pea-green sofa and crept to Meryl's door to listen.
"He just left?" Milly was incredulous, "Vash-san didn't tell you anything or leave a note?"
"He left nothing! Not-a-thing!" Wolfwood looked in and saw Meryl take a deep breath, trying to calm herself, "I said, 'Vash-san. I'm going to get lunch and Milly's out shopping. Do you want me to get you anything?' He said, 'No thanks, neechan. I'm fine.' I trusted him to wait twenty minutes alone! Twenty! And when I got back he was gone."
"Did you check to see if Vash's stuff is still here?" Wolfwood asked.
Meryl blinked as the tall preacher stepped into the room, "Huh? Why is he here?"
Milly waved Wolfwood further into the room, "I got hungry on my way back here so I stopped to get something to eat. Bokushi-san took care of this guy who wanted to buy me a drink."
"He did?"
"Yeah! I told the guy I didn't want a drink but he didn't seem to be listening. Bokushi-san thought I was in trouble I suppose and made the man leave me alone. I told him he didn't have to, but Bokushi-san insisted." She remembered the black-haired man's comment from earlier about being heroic, "My hero!" She giggled.
Meryl looked dumbfounded, "Well, that was nice of him…But what I want to know is, Where is Vash-san!?"
"You called, neechan?" Vash the Stampede slowly stepped into the room, an innocently blank look painting his fair features.
"Vash-saaaaaaaaan!!!!!" Meryl exploded, the semblance of calm that had overtaken her features during Milly's tale immediately reverted to her angered stress from earlier, "Where did you go!?"
"Senpai, you're scary…" Milly shrunk back towards the door and Wolfwood jumped behind her.
"Milly-neechan, I think she's the scariest thing I've ever seen. Even worse than some of the sandstorms in the desert."
"Shut up!" Meryl hissed at Wolfwood and then turned back to Vash, "Explain your self!"
"W-well," Vash glanced around quickly as if looking for some kind of salvation, "As soon as you left the room I realized that I was hungry so I ran into the hallway to catch you but by that point you were already gone so I went off to get something on my own, I didn't think it would take that long, honest. I went down the street to a restaurant and ordered a sandwich but then the restaurant was attacked and the lovely waitress taken hostage! 'Help!' She cried in her angelic voice. Neechan, how could I, a chaser of true love and peace, allow that poor woman to be hurt? So I pulled my bib off, stood on the table and proclaimed," He lowered his voice, "'Stop! I, Vash the Stampede, defender of the weak, will not allow you to win!'" Vash looked at the three shocked faces now staring at him and puffed up under the attention, "With just the mention of my name those good-for-nothing bums ran like wet cats. Then that beautiful waitress, with her deep green eyes and hair the color of gold, came up to me and wrapped her slender arms around me. She told me she would give me anything in return for saving her life and so I replied, 'My dear lady, all I wish for is your undying love.' 'Hai, Vash-san' She replied softly. The we walked from the restaurant together in the fiery sunset, our love bloomed and we lived happily ever after!" Vash clasped his gloved hands, his eyes glittering as he slowly blinked them.
Wolfwood laughed and leaned against the door, "You're good, man! You should write a romance novel!"
Milly nodded in agreement, her light hair falling over her shoulders as she clapped her hands, "Wonderful, Vash-san! You really know how to tell a story! Right, senpai?"
"He really is talented." Meryl smiled sweetly, "Now, tell me what really happened!"
"Y-you don't believe me?"
"Not a chance," Meryl narrowed her eyes dangerously.
"If looks could kill," Wolfwood whispered.
Vash squirmed under the short girl's stare, "I was just out getting some food…and singing karaoke…besides! You knew I would come back! I left my extra clothes in the dresser!"
"I am not checking your dresser when you decide to run off! Besides, it's not about if you were planning on returning or not. What if someone had come to check up on Milly and I? We would have been in such big trouble! Our careers are always on the line, Vash-san!"
"Sorry." Vash mumbled.
"You should be!" Meryl continued yelling.
"Neechan," Wolfwood stood again and whispered in Milly's ear, "If this is love, I hate to see what would happen if she didn't like you."
"You know what, Bokushi-san? If she didn't care about him, I bet she wouldn't be so concerned over where he goes. She wouldn't feel anything if he did get himself shot up inside some restaurant or bar. Remember, if Vash-san dies, we're free from all duties pertaining to the Humanoid Typhoon."
"You have a point. Hey, how about we play a game of cards? Just until your senpai calms down a bit. If Vash is still in one piece afterwards we can go get ice cream or something."
"Ok!" Milly smiled and crept from the room after Wolfwood, leaving Vash to fend for himself against Meryl Strife's raging concern over his whereabouts.