Disclaimer: -swings her Fullmetal Alchemist watch in front of you in a hypnotic way- I DON'T own Trigun… I DON'T own Trigun… when I snap my fingers, you will continue reading knowing that I DO NOT own Trigun! –snaps-
Chapter rating: PG-13 for angst and brief sexual content
Love is Blind – Chapter Seven
Approximately twelve months passed since Knives went to go find whatever it was that he had left behind in the ship. Vash and Aurora had stayed at the ship's entrance waiting for him. They spoke or slept most of the time. Aurora soon lost of track of whether it was day or night, and had to ask Vash whenever she was curious.
"Vash, is it day or night?" she asked one time.
"It's night," he replied, exhausted.
Usually, the conversation would end there, but this time, she continued.
"What kind of moon is it?"
"Well…I…uh…hm…" Vash stuttered, surprised. He leaned over to look out the door to the night sky. "A full one," he said as he resumed his position inside. He closed his eyes to rest. Aurora's body shifted beside him and he woke up again. "What are you doing?"
Aurora swung her legs around so they hung off the edge of the opening. "I want to go outside."
"Why?"
She turned to him, eyes open, a large smile on her face.
"To dance!"
"Wait, what? Hey!"
Aurora had already kicked her shoes off and was running in the sand. She leaped and twirled a few times, eyes still open, as if she could see. Since she couldn't tell which way the ship was, she just called out.
"Vash! Come on! This is fun!"
"I don't know…"
Hearing his voice, she turned and ran in his direction.
"I can't dance."
Aurora arrived and felt for his hands. Upon grabbing them, she smiled and said, "Silly Vash! How do you know unless you try?"
She pulled him out of the ship and into the sand. Letting go of him, she raced ahead and pranced in the moonlight. Vash just smiled.
Aurora twirled and put her palms towards the sky. As if coaxed by them, more stars appeared out of hiding and lit up the sky. She continued to skip, kicking the sand gently. She jumped, planning to land on one foot, but slipped and fell backwards.
"Aurora!" Vash called and ran towards her.
Aurora got up and ran at him. She leapt into his arms, and he, almost by reflex, spun her around as she spread her arms out like wings. They laughed and he decided to put her down.
As she was lowering her legs, one got caught in his arms and she almost fell over, but he grabbed her and stopped her. Then they both realized what it was that he had grabbed- her butt.
They froze. Aurora lowered her head as her face turned a crimson shade. Vash's did also, but he lifted his head instead. Everything was still and silent. All that could be heard was her breathing, which was heavy, though he couldn't tell if it was because she was nervous, or frightened.
Something in him slipped, and his hand squeezed the flesh that was in them. Aurora whimpered and clutched his clothing. Something pushed against her thigh, but not knowing what it was exactly, she paid it no mind. She was thinking about the weird sensation that was pulsing through her veins.
"Vash…" she gasped. She clung close to him.
His hand tilted her head up and he looked into her eyes, then lowered his head more to get closer to her.
"Vash…"
Just as their lips were about to touch, the foot that she had been balancing herself on slipped and they both fell. Vash landed on his back with her on top of him, straddling his stomach. He could feel her heartbeat on his chest. It had quickened to an almost alarming rate. He sighed at another pleasant feeling. Her soft breasts were against him, and it was almost too much for him to bear.
They lay there in silence until a hungry stomach sounded its alarm. Aurora burst out laughing.
"I'm sorry!" she cried. "First I make us fall, and now my stomach is asking to be fed! I'm sorry!"
Vash chuckled in response. "It's alright. I'll make us something."
He built a fire and warmed up some soup for the both of them. They sat opposite from each other, both embarrassed by what had taken place moments before. Aurora tried to hide herself from him by shrinking down and huddling into a ball. He looked over the fire at her, sighed, then just tried not to look at her.
What had he been thinking? Touching her like that…how foolish he was. Though he didn't gloat about it, he knew that he and Knives were smarter than her. She probably had no idea what was going on. Had she been scared? He cursed at himself for doing that to her. He couldn't allow himself to develop those types of feelings for her. If Knives found out, which, knowing him, he would somehow, she would be put in great danger - more than she was in now.
"If we stay with him, we'll die! We have to get away while we still can- before it's too late!"
Aurora's young voice had stayed in his mind all this time. He remembered how he had stood there, scared stiff, while his brother had threatened Aurora, himself, and their happiness. Knives had threatened her safety and her happiness, and he had done nothing to help her.
I don't deserve to have feelings for her after all this running away, he thought.
Every time Knives had verbally abused her, and almost every time he had physically abused her, Vash had stood by and done nothing. Because of that, Aurora's spirit had been broken. Her spunk was gone. She was more delicate and fragile now than she had been back when she was six. Vash had already failed to save her spirit; he could not fail to save the rest of her.
He stared at her across the fire. She had closed her eyes again, as if she was closing herself up. With her dinner finished, she was just sitting calmly, as if waiting for something. She mumbled.
"What?"
"I said, 'When I was little'," she repeated in a tired voice, "before we all boarded the SEEDs ship to find a new place to live, I had a family. There were six of us. I was the youngest. I had two older brothers who were twins, Niel and Alric. They were twelve years older than me. I also had an older sister, Masha, who was ten years older than me.
"My mother was so beautiful and kind. People would say that I looked like her. She was always so happy. My brothers told me it was because Daddy loved her so much. Anyone could tell how she was feeling because she would sing whenever she was really happy.
"Once, when she was singing in the garden by our house, I tried to dance along to her song. She saw me, and signed me up for ballet lessons the very next day. I'll never forget the way she looked at my recital…"
She paused. A choke came from her throat, and her eyes welled up with tears.
"Tears were in her eyes," she continued when she had found her voice. "Alric later told me that mother had once been a ballerina, but she had an accident with her leg, so she couldn't continue. At the time, I had thought that I had made her sad by making her remember something that she could no longer do. But now…I see why she was crying. She was…happy. Happy that I loved something that she loved. She was proud of me. Now, whenever I dance, I think of her."
Vash smiled. But Aurora broke down.
"I miss her so much…" she said in a hoarse voice. "I miss my whole family!"
Vash went to put his arms around her, but when she felt him, she pushed him off, standing.
"NO! I don't want any more pity or comfort! Those things don't change anything! I'm blind, and I'll probably never see again! My family most likely died when the ship blew up ten years ago! I'll never see any of them again! So now I'm just stuck here with two MEN! One of which wants to kill me!"
"Aurora…" Vash whispered.
"I just hate this! I hate my life, and I just want to DIE!" She moved towards the fire. "I'll just end this now…then I can be with my family…" She let herself fall forward.
"AURORA NO!" Vash yelled as he grabbed her and pushed her to the ground, away from the fire. "Why would you even think about doing that…Why would you…How could you?" He stood over her.
She had landed on her stomach, and now she used her arms to support herself so her chest was the only thing besides her face not touching the ground. "Why did you stop me? I wanted to die."
"You're such an IDIOT!"
She flinched at this. Never before had she heard Vash raise his voice to such an angry level before. He grabbed her shoulders.
"The only people who commit suicide are people who are sick! They can't think straight enough to see what's in front of them, how many people would miss them!"
She let her head droop. "But only you would…"
"Are you saying that I'm not worth it? Is that it?" he said in a quieter voice. "Am I not good enough? That just because I'm the only one who's alive to miss you that it's okay to leave me alone like that?"
She turned her face to reveal that more tears were coming. He softened and let go of her.
"If I don't matter, then think of those who have already left us. What would Rem think? And what about your mother? Would it make her smile to know that you killed yourself?
Aurora's eyes opened and widened, her mother's happy smile flashing in her mind once again.
"All I know is that it would be a waste of a life, that the person I cared about most would be gone, and that I would miss her very much." Silent tears were falling down his cheeks.
Aurora was now on her knees, facing him. She had tried not to let what Vash said change her in any way, but his heartfelt words had done her in. She wailed like she had when she was a small child. It seemed like all the tears she had been holding inside for the last ten years were coming forth.
Vash knelt down in front of her and wrapped his arms around her. She fell apart even more. He cooed her in order to calm her and forgave her each time she apologized for her actions. Soon, she was completely silent. He looked at her and found that, after the exhaustion of crying, she had fallen asleep on his shoulder. A peaceful look was on her face. It comforted him to know she was at last in a state of tranquility, and he gave a small smile. He picked her up and headed back to the ship.
She leaned against his chest as he walked. The cool midnight breeze cradled her hair, and her peaceful breathing put him at ease. He didn't know if he would ever have the courage to tell her, she was like his memento. She was a keepsake from the SEEDs ship; something to remind him that there are good people, understanding people, who don't need to see others' outward appearance in order to treat them with kindness.
He set her down inside the ship and wrapped his arms around her once more, putting his cheek on top of her head. He shut his eyes and was about to go to sleep when Aurora's voice awoke him.
"Oh, Vash…" she sighed.
She turned on her side and rested her head on his chest. Her right hand fell to the inside of his left thigh. Vash blushed and, calmly as he could, moved her hand to his ribs instead. Then he thought better of it and held her hand.
With the warmth he felt from his friend, it didn't take long for him to fall asleep.
He awoke early the next morning to footsteps coming from down the hall. He stirred and looked up to see his brother emerge from the shadows.
"Knives?"
His brother grinned at him with dark eyes.
"All done."
