A/N: This is mindless fluff; I repeat, MINDLESS. Just thought I'd give my take on Vash's life after being a gunman.
Disclaimer: NO!
Domestic Life
Vash slowly awoke from slumber, wonderful dreams having visited him during the night and still lingering in his mind. He opened his green-blue eyes and smiled as he noticed the nest of black hair on the next pillow. He cuddled closer to the small lump beside him, sighing contentedly as he carefully wrapped his arms around the person and closed his eyes. A few more minutes of rest wouldn't hurt, just as long as his sleeping partner didn't wake up and toss him out of bed.
Then Vash's eyes snapped open as he suddenly felt several smaller pairs of arms wrap around his waist and legs, followed quickly by the sound of several amused giggles. He turned his head and found himself looking into a pair of eyes much like his own, though the hair was dark and the cute nose showed his other parentage. He groaned as he looked down further, noticing a small body with long blond hair curled up against the back of his knees and trying to suppress more giggles. Apparently any further rest this morning would not be happening.
A loud cry from the adjoining room confirmed his thoughts and the lump in front of him was quickly gone, leaving him to deal with the two smaller bodies still on the bed.
And still clinging to him.
"Morning dad!" the boy, whom Vash had proudly named Nick, yelled into his ear. The giggling at his knees grew louder and the blond hair lifted away, showing a young girl with dark violet eyes and a wide grin. Meryl had insisted they name her Rem, wanting to give some thanks to the woman who had raised Vash and had given him the ideals he held so strongly. "Morning daddy!" Rem chorused with her brother. "When do we get breakfast? Mom promised she'd make us pancakes!"
"Yay, pancakes!" Nick cheered standing on the bed and towering his whole three feet of height over his smiling father. Rem pulled herself away and stood also, her six-year-old body slightly smaller than her older brother's.
Much to Vash's dismay, both then proceeded to jump on the bed, nearly sending him off the side as he tried to sit up and catch them. Their mother was going to kill him if he didn't get them under control, and her temper was bad enough without being in her current condition.
"Hey, hey, hey!" he attempted to scold, finally managing to grab Nick around the collar of his nightshirt and Rem around the waist. "If your mother came in and saw this she'd be scary" the blond said, crawling off the bed with his cargo in hand and settling their feet down on the floor. He inwardly shivered at the image, shouting and yelling combined with a hard knock being about the correct visualization. "How about we get the ingredients together and wait for mommy downstairs?" he asked, hoping the distraction would work long enough for him to at least put on a shirt and pants rather than the boxers he now wore.
"Okay!" they shouted in unison, clapping their hands together and rushing out of the room.
Vash slumped to the bed as soon as they'd left, shaking his head in amusement and turning his attention to the closed door the small lump had ran into. The crying had stopped and his eyes perked up as the portal opened, revealing a very tired looking Meryl holding a small bundle wrapped in a blanket. She cooed at the tiny clump of sheets, nuzzling her nose into the bundle and walking over to the bed.
Sitting down beside him, Vash looked into the blankets and grinned when a pair of blue eyes looked at his own. The small baby boy opened its small mouth and laughed, reaching his hands out toward him.
"I think you're his favorite" Meryl said with a teasing sigh, handing over the small bundle to Vash. "But I suppose we should expect that, with his namesake and all. The look on Knives' face when we told him what we named the baby was priceless."
"Yeah, I don't think he ever expected you to name our son after him" Vash said with a light laugh, remembering how Knives' mouth dropped to the floor in surprise. "When are Serenity and Hope supposed to come back from Millie's?" he asked quietly, gently cradling the gurgling baby in his arms. He grinned when the baby looked up at him, clapping its tiny hands together and squealing happily.
"Sometime later today" Meryl replied, digging through her clothes for something which would fit. I should have kept some of those, it's not like I didn't expect this again she thought with a smile, finally finding a long dress to wear. "It was really nice of her to take the twins, especially with how rambunctious Mercy is" she commented, referring to the dark-haired ten year old daughter of her former partner.
"Yeah, Mercy sure is a handful . . . just like her dad was." He spoke the last few words quietly, a sad look in his eyes as he lifted little Knives into the air.
Meryl sighed and sat down beside him, leaning her head on his shoulder.
"So many years and it's still painful, isn't it?" she whispered, nuzzling his shoulder. "I'm sure he's happy for them, wherever he is."
"Yeah, I guess you're right" Vash said, his grin reappearing. "And we made use of our few nights because of Millie, didn't we?"
Meryl huffed but couldn't smack him because of the baby in his arms, promising herself retribution later. Standing carefully, she took the now sleeping child into her arms and carried him to the nursery in the next room. She settled Knives gently in the crib placed in the center of the room, reaching out and softly petting the blond tuft atop his head. Vash watched them from the doorway, having dressed himself in a loose fitting shirt and jeans, leaning against the frame and smiling tenderly at his family. A sudden crash from downstairs followed by a loud wail alerted him to the other children, sighing deeply as he turned from the soothing sight and headed downstairs. He heard Meryl follow him as she closed the nursery door, reaching the bottom of the stairs as she passed by him to the kitchen.
A knock diverted Vash from his route, turning his steps toward the front door. He opened the portal and was greeted by a handful of mail thrust into his face. A quick greeting, followed by a curse upon his house for the holes his children had dug in the yard and then covered, and the mailman limped off to his next destination.
Grinning nervously and mentally wondering which scolding he should use, Vash closed the door and parsed over the letters. Most were bills or subscription magazines, but one held his attention as he noticed the perfect handwriting upon the crisp white envelope.
"Hey, we got a letter from Knives!" he called, ripping open the letter as he entered the kitchen. "He says he hasn't killed anybody but if the human females don't leave him alone he may have t-." His sentence was cut off when he saw the mess in the kitchen, flour spilled everywhere and a laughing Meryl standing among the two white-covered children. His mouth twitched as he turned away, covering his laughter with a polite cough. "Do you need some help?" he asked, turning around with a composed look on his face.
"Doubtful" Meryl responded curtly, grabbing a cloth and wiping off a particularly large clump of flour from Rem's hair. "They inherited their clumsiness from a certain someone and I don't want to clean up any more messes before work."
"Aw, come on Meryl" Vash whined, grabbing a wet cloth himself and holding on to Nick as the young boy tried to run from the kitchen to escape the cleaning. "It's not like I mean to do it."
Meryl snorted but laughed when Rem sneezed and more flour flew into the air, finishing the cleaning and allowing Vash to wipe off Nick. She managed to dust most of the white powder from the counter into a large bowl and make a sizable batter, ordering the children to set the table while the blond finished cleaning the rest of the kitchen.
Half a dozen batches later and four very filled stomachs, the children were finally sent on their way to the schoolhouse and Meryl went to the local insurance office. Bernardelli had opened several such offices in the smaller towns, having gained a profit from their companies after the legendary Human Typhoon had disappeared and stopped damaging their customers' property. The small insurance girl had been assigned to one of these posts and had gladly taken the job, the temptation to settle down turning into more of a necessity a few months later.
Millie, meanwhile, had taken charge of Wolfwood's orphanage and still happily ran the establishment, her daughter now old enough to help her. Also, her large family helped with any repairs and had created an "Orphanage Fund" where they donated a portion of their earnings to the establishment, keeping the orphanage open and actually improving the food and buildings.
A cry from upstairs alerted Vash to another family member's need and he jumped most of the stairs and ran into the nursery within seconds. Picking up the bawling infant he rocked Knives in his arms as he walked downstairs, silently thanking Meryl for leaving a warming bottle on the stove before she left. Plucking the heated bottle from the hot water and settling down on a couch in the living room, he gently began to feed his youngest as he hummed softly.
After he finished the feeding and tucking Knives into his crib for a long nap, Vash began cleaning the house. His daily chores had been assigned to him shortly after their marriage, his lounging around the house irritating Meryl to no end. He chuckled as he scrubbed the counter tops and cleaned the dishes, wondering what every bounty hunter on Gunsmoke would do if they found out Vash the Stampede changed diapers and wiped down walls with dirty hand prints.
A tapping on the door an hour later led Vash to the front portal, opening the door to find Millie standing on the porch with two squirming girls in her arms and a girl about ten holding on to her long dress. She promptly released her hold on the two with a laugh and watched as they ran into the house, slamming into the blond's legs with yells of "Daddy! Daddy!"
"Hey Millie" Vash said as he tried to keep standing under the barrage of his twin daughters. "Thanks for taking them, I'm sure they were a handful."
"No problem, Mr. Vash" Millie said, laughing as she took her daughter's hand. "Mercy really enjoyed them and the rest of the children, too."
Vash smiled down at the dark-haired girl and ruffled her hair affectionately, chuckling as she turned away from the rubbing with a boyish air of indignation. He noticed a cross hanging around her neck and the dark dress she wore, a pair of sunglasses in her hand as she watched the twins race upstairs. She certainly was her father's daughter.
"Yeah, Meryl and I really appreciate it" Vash said with a pleased grin, causing Mercy to gag as she walked toward the waiting truck. "Does she already know . . . ?" he trailed off, not sure if he wanted to know.
"It's alright Mr. Vash, she's smart, just like her dad" Millie said with a wide grin. "Well, we have to get some supplies and the children are going to be waiting for their lunch when we get back. Bye Mr. Vash," she said with a quick wave, turning toward her daughter.
"Bye Millie" Vash said, closing the door and listening to the eerie quiet now resounding through the house. "Hope? Serenity?" he called, cautiously walking up the stairs.
When Vash reached the top his legs were suddenly tackled by two blond blurs, causing him to fall back with a loud crash and a high-pitched scream. When he woke he found himself sprawled out on the steps, the violet-green eyes of his daughters looking at him with worry.
"Daddy?" Serenity spoke quietly, shaking his shoulder softly. "Are wou alwight?" she asked with a lisp.
"Daddy's fine" Vash said, grabbing the rail and sitting up. He suddenly felt his age as his back popped like a firecracker. "Just a little stiff." Standing to his feet he suddenly scooped up the two terrified girls and began walking to their room. "But a think a little punishment is in order" he said with a mischievous grin.
The girls' eyes widened as they realized what he planned to do, beginning to struggle in his grasp as they giggled in merriment. Vash opened their door with his foot and dropped them softly upon their large bed, standing over them for a moment before pouncing. Cries of "stop!" and squeals of laughter could be heard down the hall as he tickled them until they were having trouble breathing, finally relenting when they looked utterly exhausted.
"I think you two need a nap" he said, pulling back the covers and helping them take their shoes off. With a practiced hand he placed them atop their own respective pillows and pulled the blankets over them, seating himself in a chair beside them until they had happily drifted off to sleep.
In the afternoon Rem and Nick arrived home from school with their hands full of fingerpaint pictures and talking about their day. He listened with interest as he took their bags to their rooms and set the dishes for dinner later, the children following in his footsteps and nearly causing him to trip down the stairs for the second time that day in their eagerness to recall their exploits at school.
"Who wants to play chess?" he asked, finally managing to get a word in edgewise.
"I do! I do!" they both yelled as they raised their hands, racing to the closet to retrieve the box holding the pieces.
Vash sat down before the coffee table and smiled as his children slid down to the floor in front of him, both holding the chess box and grinning from ear to ear. He set the white pieces before him as they set the black, grinning as their double-team chess pieces were placed before them. They always insisted on playing two-on-one, saying he had more experience than them and couldn't cheat while at least one of them was watching him; not that he'd ever done so.
"Daddy, why do you always want the white?" Rem curiously asked while placing the last piece down on their side.
"The good guy always uses white" he said with a wide grin, chuckling as they rolled their eyes. "And I like to go first."
An interruption occurred during the third game and Vash was forced to play one armed, the other being occupied by a very content little Knives. After playing several long games of chess and Vash almost getting beaten every time, Meryl finally arrived home from work.
"Mommy!" Rem and Nick yelled as they stood up and sprinted toward her, tumbling her small frame to the ground with many squeals and giggles. "Daddy tried to cheat at chess, but we caught him" Rem said, smiling proudly at her brother as they lay atop their mother.
"Is that so?" Meryl asked as she managed to move out from beneath them, turning to Vash and giving him a wink. "Now who wants to help me with dinner? I managed to get a fresh batch of donuts from the bakery for dessert."
"Donuts!" three voices yelled at once, causing a stampede to the kitchen as Meryl gaily laughed up the stairs. She woke and retrieved the two sleeping angels and herded them downstairs, walking into the kitchen to see the group standing straight in a line awaiting their orders. After having giving out everyone's chores for the preparation, she fixed the food for a healthy meal for her family and sat everyone in their seats as she served them dinner. After the large supper the children were let loose to play in the front yard, their parents watching them from the porch. Meryl sat in Vash's lap, murmuring about later baths as a game of tag escalated into a dusty game of wrestling.
"What did the rest of Knives' letter say?" Meryl asked as she snuggled her back closer to his chest.
"He said he might have to marry a human female to get the rest away from him" Vash said quietly, settling his chin atop her head. He chuckled at how desperate his brother must be to do something he'd vowed was against his morals. Of course, he was overjoyed Knives had finally stopped his killings and settled down in December, experimenting to find alternative energy sources.
Which was the reason for the large solar disks atop every house in the small town they lived in.
Meryl sighed contentedly in his arms, closing her eyes and relaxing to the steady breathing of Vash's heart. The blond smiled and pulled her closer, soothingly rubbing her belly which was starting to show her pregnancy. He looked on in wonder as his children raced about the yard; he never imagined having such chaos around him could be so peaceful.
Domestic life certainly was worth living for.