A/N: The next and final installment. As of this writing the chapter has not been looked over by my beta. She's not been doing her job very well. So sorry for the grammar and spelling mistakes. I'm sure there are some in there somewhere...

I'll re-upload the thing after it's been looked over. Until then, enjoy!

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Chapter 4: Sorting Things Out

Previously

She whimpered when his digits tightened and forced her to look him straight in the eyes. Those icy-blue orbs were like burning glaciers.

He leaned forward, his breath bathing her face. "Now I will get my answers."

Now

Meryl closed her eyes to block out his intense stare. In response his grip hardened, fingers pressing deeply into her skin. It was so painful that the young woman fully expected bruises to start forming.

"Look at me."

The voice, cold and hard, commanded her in no uncertain terms that she would look or be forced to. Hesitantly, her lids like heavy weights, Meryl opened her eyes. His bored into her, blue locking onto violet.

The door behind her was unforgiving as she tried to mold herself against it. Her squirming only further fueled his anger, if the dangerous glint in his eyes told her anything.

"That is enough stalling. Tell me why you left."

Oh how she wanted to move away from him, or at least to turn her head away. But both those moves would only dig herself deeper into the hole of trouble she was already knee-deep in. Her only choice was to answer him, even if that was the last thing she wanted to do.

The hold he had on her made it difficult to talk and she told him so.

Eyes narrowed in suspicion, he nevertheless let go and stepped back and to the side, allowing her room to go and sit down on the love-seat. Calming her beating heart, Meryl shifted uncomfortably on the cushions as Knives settled himself in the nearby chair.

He sat back, crossed his legs and clasped his hands together, an expectant look on his face.

Meryl took it as her cue to begin talking. "You're wondering why I left?" she asked, hoping against hope to stall just a little bit longer.

Knives wasn't amused. His answer was simple and short. "Yes."

Gulping, Meryl continued. "Well, I thought that Vash didn't need both me and Millie around..."

The glare she was sent had her trailing off. Fine. It appeared that avoiding the truth wasn't going to work either. Anger began to set in; after all, Meryl didn't like being ordered about like a slave. Not only that, but she had invited him into her home out of the goodness in her heart. And how does he repay her? He traps her in her own apartment and forces her to answer his questions! Some gratitude!

Her tone turned defensive. "It's not like you wanted me there, anyway! From our last chat it was patently obvious what your wishes were."

His frown deepened. "What I wanted is of no importance. And you are avoiding the question."

"Of no importance?!" The incredulity oozed off her words. "I should think it would be!" In her anger she sat forward, moving to the edge of her seat.

The plant's voice rose, his fingers clenching fractionally. "That is not the topic of discussion here."

Smug in the conviction that he was a hypocrite, Meryl fell back against the cushion of the love-seat. "If you're not going to answer my questions, I don't see why I should answer yours."

Uh-oh...

She realized that that was the wrong thing to say as soon as the words left her mouth. If she'd thought his face had shown anger before, now he looked ready to erupt.

Voice as icy as the arctic, he said, "There are other ways for me to gain the information I seek."

It took a moment for her mind to click into what he was saying. Oh hell no! Outraged, she glared sparks at him. "Don't you dare."

He smirked, clearly enjoying her response, and knowing that he had the upper hand.

Meryl knew when she was trapped, and Knives had thoroughly succeeded in shutting her in. She didn't look him in the eye when she finally, and truthfully, answered his oh-so-important question.

"Because I couldn't stay around you anymore." The insurance lady gave a deep, sad sigh. "You'd made it very clear that you didn't want me around."

His eyes narrowed suspiciously on her. "Why did my opinion matter so much to you?"

Meryl almost choked on her own spittle. Was he honestly asking her that!? This was Knives, bringer of doom and destruction, emotion-stunted-plant extraordinare! What were the odds that he'd be the one interrogating her with these questions!?

Apparently pretty good, because he was still staring at her, waiting.

The insurance lady didn't know what to tell him. Well, she did. But there was no way she was going to answer his question.

So she sat there, running through various ideas about how she could get out of this situation, none of which were even remotely possible. A tingling on the edge of her senses was the only warning she got that Knives had lost all patience.

He didn't move a muscle...physically.

Almost like an itch, the plant prodded at her mind. She gasped, frozen with shock and helpless as he delved deeper, intensifying the feeling. Meryl closed her eyes, as if in pain. "No..."

One didn't realize exactly how private their mind was until someone tried to invade it. A temple for our inspirations and ideas, Meryl could feel the doors being opened. Helpless even to move, thanks to him, she could only sit there and "watch" as he opened her memories and thoughts to his perusal. Like a slide-show, he went through each one until he finally found what he was looking for.

Abruptly he pulled back and out, leaving a very shaken and disturbed Meryl in his wake. She didn't dare open her eyes to look at him, determined not to see his reaction. Tears welled up and overflowed as the shame of being exposed so thoroughly overwhelmed her.

There was silence between them. This was broken only when a sob escaped her, too difficult for even her strong will to contain. She was not going to allow him to see her like this. Rising quickly and avoiding the sight of him, she made to go to her room, where she could cry out her feelings in peace.

Only to be met with a wall of muscle.

The sudden impact sent her careening backwards. Meryl expected to greet the carpet but her movement was stilled by long arms wrapping around her form.

Startled, her violet eyes shot open and landed on her would-be savior. Halfway leaned over, Knives stared down at her, eyes narrowed. She would have taken a large gulp except for the tightening her throat had done at the impending cry. The young lady suspected he was angry. And why wouldn't he, after he'd seen her reason for leaving, forcing her to show him?

A small, but ferocious part of her bristled at that last bit. How dare he!? Swiftly flowing through her like a raging river of lava, anger, pure and unrestrained, took her over. Before she could control herself, her hand had reached out, delivering a sound slap to his pale cheek.

His head moved slightly to the side under the impact. They stayed in that position, he holding her, until he rotated his face back to look into hers. The blue gaze was cold, but Meryl did not back down. He'd deserved it!

In what was undoubtedly retaliation he uncurled his arms from her body, letting her fall the rest of the way to the floor. "Ow!"

She lay there staring up at him. "Jerk!"

Much to her surprise he did not try to kill her for what he would no doubt chock up to "human foolishness". Though the frigid orbs he called eyes dared her to say more.

Wisely, she kept her mouth shut. But that didn't stop her from glaring at him.

"Why did you not simply answer my question?"

That question in itself, coming from his lips, surprised her. She blinked. "Eh?"

"Did you honestly think I would destroy you for thinking such things?" His tone was even, with more than a hint of curiosity thrown in. The blue orbs were intense but no longer frigid.

Still laying there, making not a move to get up, she thought that over. Wasn't the answer obvious? "Well...yeah."

He snorted. "Then you do not know me as well as you thought."

With those cryptic words he reached down and grabbed one of her hands, hefting her to her feet.

Shaking her hand free from his she stepped back, away from him. "What are you talking about?"

One hand rose to stroke his chin in a thoughtful manner. "Since I have had my inquiries answered, I assume it would only be fair to afford you the same courtesy."

Meryl felt her jaw drop. She couldn't help it. Since when had Knives ever been 'fair'?

The plant continued, ignoring her shocked expression. He was almost...smug in his reasoning. "There was a reason behind my seeking you out. A...feeling, compelled me to do so."

The young woman was officially confused. "Feeling?"

The cryptic man nodded, but avoided looking her in the eye, which Meryl found curious. Up until now he'd been direct and dauntless in his interrogation. Now it almost seemed as if he was, dare she say it, shy? Just when she thought this day couldn't get any weirder...

Completely ignorant of Meryl's mental confusion, Knives was coming to a startling and ultimately horrifying conclusion. His original intent on coming to see her was to get his answers, or course, but also to rid himself of these plaguing feelings. With the first part completed, he was fully focused on achieving the second.

Too bad for him his affliction had only worsened.

Even now he found himself being pulled toward her, if only to listen to her voice, smell the perfume on her body...

Knives groaned aloud, causing Meryl to give him a curious and slightly frightened look, which he completely missed. He might as well admit it to himself, he was doomed. There was no turning back to the genocidal plant he had once been...at least not while she was around.

How he wanted to blame her! But he knew that this occurrence was no one's fault, not even his own. There was nothing left to do except to deal with it.

Looking at anywhere but her, Knives continued his explanation for why he'd come to December. "I've been...haunted, for lack of a better world."

"...Haunted?" Meryl brought a hand to her temple, trying to stem off the headache that was forming from her confusion. What was he talking about?

Abruptly he locked his eyes on her, his gaze intense. "Yes, haunted." He took a step forward. "And by what, you ask?" A deep, mirthless chuckle issued from his throat as Knives continued toward her. His long strides quickly ate up the distance, one hand reaching out to cup her chin.

When she flinched away from his grasp he frowned, and dropped his hand. "You."

Did she just miss something? "Huh?"

"Shall I say it slowly so that you will understand?" he mocked in a soft voice. Another mirthless laugh. "You are what has been haunting me. You have been disturbing my thoughts for the past few months; invading my mind persistently."

He was stalking her again; crowding in on her personal space. Meryl found herself trying to match his long legs, backing up until she hit a nearby wall. She felt dizzy. Was he really saying what she thought he was? Couldn't be. Knives Millions, human hater and mass-murder of said race had been thinking of her. In that way?

Or was he saying something else? The urge to grab her now aching head intensified. With him coming closer, she decided to bite the bullet and outright ask him. "What are you trying to say, Knives?"

A typical Knives smirk appeared on his face, one full of supreme confidence and superiority. It also irritated the heck out of her. "What I'm trying to say," he purred, stopping before her, "is that I believe I am in love with you."

It was said in such a matter-of-fact way that Meryl didn't automatically understand what he was saying. When she did it was like a shock running up and down her spine. This had to be the weirdest moment in her life. She had a vague thought that he might have been lying, trying to fool her, but that idea was quickly discarded. Knives was one thing, but a liar? She didn't believe so.

She caught onto the last words, particularly the "believe". "You're...not sure?"

He glared. "Do you think I've been through this before?"

"Of course not," Meryl quickly answered, holding her hands in front of her in a placating motion. "I'm just finding this a little hard to believe."

"You're not the only one..." he grumbled under his breath.

This time it was the insurance lady who was giving the evil look. "What was that?"

The plant sighed. "It doesn't matter. What we need to focus on is our next course of action."

"Our next course of action?" Meryl knew she was sounding like a broken record, but she really couldn't help it. This entire situation was too surreal for her brain to function properly.

Her not-so-intelligent remarks earned her a narrowing of his eyes. "Yes. I do not know how humans react in this type of situation. As you are a human, your knowledge should be vastly greater than mine."

She blinked. "Exactly what type of "situation" are you talking about?"

His hands made quick motions between them. "Us. This mutual attraction."

Meryl blushed a deep red at the reminder of what he'd found in her mind. Yes, she had some tender feelings for the plant...Well, if she was honest with herself, the insurance lady would admit that there was more than a little love involved.

While at one point she'd thought that she'd felt the same for Vash. They'd even tried a short relationship that had started out nice, but soon became full of awkward and uncomfortable moments between them. It was then that they decided that their personalities didn't really suit one another. Meryl was serious and independent, while Vash took life as it came with no direction or control, two elements she cherished in a person.

They remained friends to this day and then they had gone back to their normal routine. Her job of taking care of Knives, both when he'd been unconscious and after he'd awoken, had developed something within her. This emotion had grown and flourished through their arguments and battles, the bandaging and healing. The feeling became something she eventually recognized for what it was: love.

The realization was earth-shaking and she'd locked herself in her room for hours, thinking over her situation. She was in love, but not with a normal guy. No, she had to fall in love with a genocidal maniac, brother of Vash The Stampede.

Eventually Meryl had decided that she would simply have to try and keep her emotions to herself. There was no reason for anyone else to find out, though the small girl was sure that Millie saw through her facade, she tried to keep her distance from Knives.

Fat lot of good it had done her. On that last, fateful day when the plant had been more irritable than normal she'd let her feelings show. His response to her had been painful and humiliating. Gathering what was left of her pride, she'd decided that leaving was for the best, no matter if it seemed as if she were running away.

So Meryl had left, left behind the object of her affections and gone back to December. Seeing Knives standing before her had been the biggest shock of her life. Her nerves had been jolted and the love she'd until then suppressed had jumped to the fore. Ruthlessly she'd pushed it back and dealt with the situation.

But now...now she had a decision to make. She could either accept her feelings for him and try to make it work for him, with the likely chance that he would reject her, or coddle her pride and miss this opportunity, maybe for forever.

A spark of daring, probably having rubbed off from Vash, flashed through her. She would take this chance, even if it didn't work out.

The woman looked Knives straight in the eye, standing straight and tall. "Knives. I'd like to try and make this work." He opened his mouth to speak but she continued right through him. "I know you don't like humans and I'm probably on that list, but I'm not going to give up on this. And I don't care that mph-"

Her rant was effectively cut off by his hand over her mouth. His mouth was drawn in a serious line and Meryl waited with baited breath while he seemed to mull over something.

Slowly he let her go, his hand sliding away. Her body trembled with the fear of rejection, but stood her ground.

He eyed her, head tilted slightly to the side. "Are you serious?" The simple question took her off guard.

"Well...yes."

"Would this "agreement" require me to act the fool like human males do?"

A small ray of hope shone through, but Meryl kept it from her face. "I doubt you would do it regardless."

His brows rose. "Then it is a deal."

"Just like that?!" Meryl shrieked incredulously. The male flinched from the noise.

"There is no need to shout, woman. My ears work perfectly."

A bubble of laughter erupted from her mouth. That comment was so like him! But then again, that was the man she'd fallen in love with.

Taking up the familiar challenge of their "conversations", she replied in kind, "I wouldn't have if you hadn't been so calm about it."

"You would rather I panic?"

"No!"

From outside one could hear the shouts of two people. A young boy walked by with his mother. "Mom," he asked, "why are they fighting?"

The woman looked at her son and smiled. "Well, that is how those in love show their affection for each other."

The little boy glanced at the building where the loud noises were still emanating from. "So weird..."