DISCLAIMER: Trigun and its characters belong to Yasuhiro Nightow.
"When's your birthday?" Meryl asked out of the blue.
Looking up from the manga he was reading while lying on the couch, Vash sensed she was up to something. "Why?"
"Well, you surprised me for my birthday last month. It's only fair I have a turn at trying to surprise you."
"I don't know."
"Well, I do," Meryl declared. "I'm going to try to surprise you, so tell me when your birthday is!"
"That's what I mean, I don't know when my birthday is."
"You don't know?"
"Nope. Not even sure I have one."
"That's ridiculous!" She rose from her seat, coming to stand over him. "Everyone has a birthday; if you came into existence, which you clearly did, there is a day that happened. That is your birthday, and I'd like to celebrate that you exist. Like you did for me."
"And return the surprise favor," Vash noted. "I bet you're just dying to get even. But even so, I still don't know when my birthday is."
Meryl's finger tapped her chin absentmindedly in thought. "Well, there's only one immediately convenient solution to that. Sit tight, I'll be back."
Vash smiled, returning to his manga; he quite liked reading manga and graphic novels for some light fun because, regardless of what people claim, pictures in books are awesome.
Several minutes and ten pages later, Meryl returned. Vash placed a bookmark in his manga and set it aside, sitting up to see just what she had come up with. She sat down next to him and laid what looked like a blank piece of paper on the small table in front of the couch.
"I expected a calendar."
"Throwing a dart at one crossed my mind. But this is more immediate."
Vash held up a hand. "Before you continue, I want it on the record I don't need a birthday. I've done just fine without having one before."
"Yes, but everyone deserves at least one special day," Meryl countered.
"Everyone special. Which, incidentally, is why I wanted a party for you. You're special. Me, I'm nobody important."
Meryl's face was all screwed up, a preface to one of her infamous tirades. But for whatever reason, the verbal barrage she was about to unleash never came. The look she wore morphed from one of umbrage to something almost sad. She edged closer, latching onto his arm and laying her head on his shoulder. "You're important to me, you insufferable broom-head."
She felt the small rumbling of laughter in his chest.
"I live for your backhanded compliments," Vash said with a grin. "So, since you insist I have a birthday and you're not throwing a dart, I assume you've just decided today will be my birthday?"
"Yes!" Meryl released him and sat straight, the look on her face considerably brighter now.
"Pretty quick notice. Doesn't seem like there'll be time for a surprise party."
Meryl shrugged. "I can always get my payback next year. I'd rather you just have this day to celebrate right now. A day all your own."
"Great. So where's the cake?"
A light blush crept into her cheeks. "It was so spur-of-the-moment that – well, I thought you'd already have a birthday I could really prepare for, and deciding to make today yours was so sudden – well…"
Seeming to shrink into herself, almost expecting disappointment, she handed him the piece of paper she had set down. He took it and looked at the birthday cake she had drawn on it.
It started small, just a little sound. Then it became a little chuckle. He began to shake. Then Vash roared with laughter.
"What's so funny?" Meryl demanded, instinctively ready to take offense to protect her feelings.
"I think – you've just invented – the first no-calorie cake!" he gasped between fits of laughter.
Meryl's sense of insult melted. She smiled; he was right, there certainly would be no weight gain from that cake.
Vash gathered her in his arms. "Thank you for thinking so much of me as to officially give me a birthday."
"Would you like to go out later to get a present?"
"We can, but I don't need one. I've got you."
Meryl settled into him contentedly, head on his chest. "Happy birthday."