Author's Note: Thanks for your reviews everyone! Not much to say about this chapter. Enjoy!
The End
a Trigun fanfiction
X. REUNION.
NEW MIAMI. AF0154-09-15. 14:07 PM.
Vash sneezed loudly, and everyone in the café turned to look at him in surprise.
"God bless you," several people said at once.
Vash rubbed his nose. "Heh. Thanks." He picked up his newspaper to hide his face, but they all turned away anyway. He took a bite of a salmon sandwich behind the paper, and when he looked up, he found that he was face to face with himself. He was on the front page of the newspaper. He quickly slammed the paper face down on the table, and glanced around. No one had seemed to notice. Maybe no one read the paper here. In a café. With a newspaper rack right next to the door. Vash realized he could see his face on nearly every newspaper on the stand.
VASH THE STAMPEDE: STILL AT LARGE. STILL A DANGER?
Vash sighed. He really didn't want to be him anymore. With a groan, he let his face fall forward on the table. At least New Miami was a tourist city, so there shouldn't be any bounty hunters around.
Unless they all went on vacation…
Vash groaned again. That would be just his luck. When he picked up his head, he saw that a black cat was chewing on one of his sandwiches.
"Hey! That's mine!" He picked up the cat by the scruff of its neck and glared at it. It had a piece of salmon sticking out of its mouth, and as it stared right back at Vash, it swallowed the piece of fish.
"Nyaao," said the cat.
Vash sighed and put the cat back down. "Yeah, yeah," he said to it. "You try sharing your sandwiches when you're hungry and see how it feels. Stealing is wrong, you know."
"Are you talking to that cat?"
Vash started at the familiar voice and sat up straight in his chair. Meryl stood next to his table, her arms crossed over her chest.
A wide grin spread over his face. Somehow, he felt instantly more cheerful.
"Hey there, insurance girl!" he said. "It's great to see you!"
Meryl gave him a menacing glare, one that might have melted ice, if there was any ice to be had. "Why you," she said, a growl rumbling up from under her breath. "It's been four months, and that's all you can say?"
Vash blinked. "What am I supposed to say?"
Meryl opened her mouth to reply, but then closed it and frowned, looking confused.
"Where's Millie?" he asked, to fill the silence.
"Right here, Mr. Alex," said Millie, coming through the door. Her arms were full with grocery bags, and Vash jumped up immediately to relieve her of some of them.
"Hey, there," he said, peering into the bags. "You don't have to call me that anymore, you know. Whatcha got here?"
"Nothing for you," snapped Meryl.
"How have you been, Mr. Vash?" asked Millie. She sat down at his table, and the black cat fled with the last of his salmon sandwiches.
He grinned at her and sat, too. Millie was always friendly, no matter what he had done. He hadn't really meant to leave them in May City, either; it just happened.
"Great," he said. "How about you girls?"
"We've been really busy," said Millie, pulling a pudding out of a shopping bag. She offered one to Vash, but he waved his hand in refusal. "But now we're on vacation."
"You're taking a vacation?" asked Vash. Maybe this meant they wouldn't have to follow him around with those microphones and that huge camera.
"No, not really," said Meryl uneasily. "It's kind of…"
"We're visiting my family," said Millie cheerfully. "My Uncle Bennie lives here, and we were in the area, so he invited us to stay. What a coincidence that we ran into you here!"
Vash laughed. "Yeah, what a coincidence."
"What have you been doing for the last four months?" asked Meryl, her hands on her hips.
Vash blanched, but tried to keep his smile in place. "You know," he said, "traveling around."
Meryl looked frustrated – probably with how vague his answer was – but then she sighed. "Oh well," she said, "I guess it's just lucky we found you here."
"Lucky?" asked Vash, his smile faltering a little. So they were going to chase him around with cameras and microphones anyway?
Meryl flushed again. "Well, I mean – that is – "
"We missed you, Mr. Vash," said Millie, smiling. Meryl made a squeaking noise. "Things sure are a lot more exciting with you around."
"I'm not sure that's a good thing," he said with a laugh. Millie finished off her pudding, and Vash looked down at his empty plate and frowned. "Well, my lunch got stolen."
"That black cat took it," said Millie, pointing at the window. "Was that your cat, Mr. Vash?"
"No," he said, sighing and putting his chin on the table, "she just took my food and walked out on me. Women can be so cold."
"Aww, Mr. Vash, I'm sorry," said Millie, reaching over to pat his arm gently. "Do you want to come with us? My Uncle Bennie makes great sandwiches. It might make you feel better."
"I don't think he actually feels bad, Millie…" said Meryl, exasperated.
Vash pouted. "I was hungry," he whined. He stood up, and Millie followed suit. "But anyway, I don't want to impose."
"It's not a problem at all, Mr. Vash!" said Millie, taking his arm. "We'd love to have you over. We really missed you a lot. Especially Meryl," she added in a whisper.
"What are you whispering, Millie?" growled Meryl.
"Nothing, Sempai," Millie called over her shoulder as she and Vash led the way out of the café.
Millie chattered as they made their way across the city, telling Vash everything she and Meryl had done since they last saw him, including everything they ate. Vash let her go on; he had always appreciated Millie's loquaciousness. It was like Millie was just made of light and air. Vash had felt pretty heavy for the last two months, after his stay at the Earth Federation Headquarters in Holt City, and being around his insurance girls made him feel a lot better.
"What are you smiling about, Mr. Vash?" asked Millie suddenly, breaking his reverie.
"Oh." He shook his head and smiled at her. "Nothing. I just missed you guys." Millie still had his arm in hers, and he slung an arm around Meryl's shoulders.
Meryl pushed his arm away with a growl. "Well, then maybe you shouldn't disappear so often," she said, crossing her arms.
"I didn't mean to," whined Vash. "You saw what happened. I had to escape. I didn't have time to find you guys again."
Meryl flushed and looked away, but Vash didn't know why she should be embarrassed. He was about to ask when Millie interrupted.
"Here we are!" she said, stopping.
Vash looked around. They were in the middle of a residential area, and all of the houses were built close together, with only enough space between them for one person to walk through. It was quiet in the neighborhood, but there were a few kids playing kickball in the street, which became a dead end at a row of houses.
Millie led the way up the walk to a house near the middle of the street, and the door was unlocked, so she walked right in.
"Uncle Bennie! We're back," she called. "And we've brought a friend with us." She walked across the living room to an empty doorway and peered into the other room, her face brightening. "Uncle! You shouldn't have!" Millie ran into the other room, the grocery bags she carried flopping around, and Vash and Meryl followed her into a kitchen. The center table was piled high with bags of flour, sugar, and oats, and Millie squealed with delight. Vash shot Meryl a confused look, but she was refusing to look at him.
"Millie? Is that you?" called a man from another room. He entered from another open doorway and smiled. "I'm glad you like it. Now you can do that baking you wanted to do."
"Oh, Uncle, you really shouldn't have."
"Nonsense," said Uncle Bennie, shaking his head. "I'm sure everyone will love what you make. I know I will," he added with a wink.
Millie grinned and began to unpack her own grocery bags. Uncle Bennie turned toward Meryl and Vash, and then looked Vash up and down.
"And who's this young man?" asked Uncle Bennie, a mischievous twinkle in his eye. "A new boyfriend of yours, Millie?"
Millie laughed and swatted her uncle with a dish towel. "No, silly," she said, "that's Mr. Vash. He's a friend of mine and Meryl's. Mr. Vash, this is my uncle, Bennie Thompson."
"Ohh," said Uncle Bennie, his eyes widening, "so you're the Mr. Vash Millie's talked so much about. We've heard a lot about you."
"All good things, I hope," said Vash, laughing nervously.
Uncle Bennie's eyes narrowed, and he stared Vash down for a moment. Vash rubbed the back of his neck uncertainly, and then Uncle Bennie laughed and slapped Vash on the arm.
"Yup! Good things! You're famous, 'cause of the Millie Monthly." Uncle Bennie winked at Millie, who flushed but looked pleased. "We've heard all about your adventures," he continued, beginning to help Millie unpack her groceries. "We've heard plenty from the radio too, but it's hard to believe what you hear on the radio these days. Hey, Miss Meryl, will you get some potatoes from the cellar? I think I'm gonna cook up some spuds tonight."
"Yeah, sure," said Meryl, a little overenthusiastically. She walked past Vash to a closed door off the kitchen.
"And I'm sure Mr. Vash here wouldn't mind a drink," added Uncle Bennie. "Grab some cold ones from the fridge down there, while you're at it."
Meryl paused briefly, stumbling a little, and then opened the door to the cellar.
"Right," she said.
"That's okay," said Vash, "I'll get it." He started after Meryl.
"No, I'll get it," said Meryl stiffly, but Vash followed her into the cellar anyway.
"So, Uncle, would it be all right if Mr. Vash stayed with us?" Millie was asking her uncle. Vash didn't hear the answer, but he wasn't concerned about it. He would find a place.
The cellar was pretty dark, even though Meryl had clicked on an overhead lamp on her way through the door. The fridge was right next to the door, but Meryl bypassed it and headed toward the corner to grab some potatoes. Vash opened the fridge and found that it was full of beer and soda – it looked like Uncle Bennie liked to stock up. Vash grabbed a few bottles and turned back around, closing the fridge. Meryl was standing, facing the corner, with a burlap sack in her hands. She was rummaging through it quickly, pulling out potatoes one by one and placing them in the crook of her arm.
"Meryl, are you okay?" he asked.
She squeaked and dropped the potatoes, and Vash hurried to help her pick them up again. She still refused to look at him.
"Meryl – " he started, frowning.
"I'm sorry," she mumbled.
He was taken aback. "What?"
"I'm sorry," she said again, "for what happened in May City. It was my fault."
Vash blinked and then chuckled, shaking his head. "Nah, it's okay. It was bound to happen anyway."
"Yeah, but – I messed up. I…" She groaned and put a hand on her forehead. "And then we lost track of you again and I – I didn't want – "
Vash grinned. "The big girl says you missed me. Is that true?"
"Millie talks too much," said Meryl loudly.
"It's all right, insurance girl. I missed you, too."
Meryl hid her blush – poorly – by looking down again at the potatoes gathered in her shirt.
"You did?" she asked quietly, after a pause.
"Sure," said Vash, surprised that she would think otherwise. "You guys are my friends."
Meryl's eyes widened, and she started to look up. "Vash, I – "
"What are you two doing in there?" called Uncle Bennie from the doorway. "Picking mushrooms?"
Meryl jumped, nearly spilling the potatoes again, and Vash stood up.
"Yeah, we found some good ones," said Vash, waving the beer bottles in the air. They clinked loudly, and Uncle Bennie laughed.
"Well, bring 'em on up. We've gotta eat 'em before they go bad."
They finished cleaning up the kitchen, and Uncle Bennie told Vash he was going to stay with them, whether he liked it or not.
"Thanks, Mr. Thompson," he said sheepishly, feeling like they had not given him a choice. Then again, when had his insurance girls ever given him a choice, and why should an insurance girl's relative be any different?
"Ah, call me Uncle Bennie. Mr. Thompson was my father." He winked, and Vash laughed along with him.
"Now, I wanna show you something," said Uncle Bennie. He led the way back through the kitchen door, through the living room, and down the hallway that led to the back of the house.
"Ooh, Mr. Vash," said Millie, "you're gonna love this." She grinned.
"What is it?" he asked, but Uncle Bennie opened the back door, and Vash got his answer.
Uncle Bennie's backyard was huge, spreading out to the horizon and a little to the sides, probably taking up some of the space of his neighbors' backyards, but the most impressive thing about it was that it had grass. And trees. And vegetables.
Vash's jaw dropped and he took a few involuntary steps forward. Uncle Bennie put his fists on his hips proudly.
"Yup," he said, "this is my Geoplant. My father bought it when it was just a tiny square-yard and planted it in this neighborhood, which was just three houses when it was first built. Obviously it's grown a lot since then, and we're lucky we still have it, really, with all the city's regulations. But it's fruitful, so it feeds a least an eighth of the city. And we've been harvesting seeds, so hopefully they'll be able to grow more Geoplants throughout the city."
"This is…" Vash said, looking around in awe. "Amazing." He walked forward, following a garden path, and looked at a tomato plant that had grown up on a support to be four feet tall. He turned and grinned at Uncle Bennie. "You must have worked really hard on this," he said.
Uncle Bennie laughed. "Well, my father did most of the work, but us Thompsons are known for our green thumbs."
Vash glanced at Millie, who nodded.
"My family owns a lot of farms," she said brightly. "That's why you see a lot of Thompson Brand stuff."
"Is that why you have so many siblings?" he asked.
"Why, yes, Mr. Vash! How did you know?"
"Vash, you should see the apple tree," said Meryl suddenly. She walked forward quickly, her eyes bright, and for the first time since they'd met up, Vash saw her smile. "Come on," she said, taking his hand. "It's this way."
She pulled him along behind her, walking quickly, and Vash looked around at all the plants that lined the lane and that stretched out until the edges of the fences around the backyard. The farm was longer than it was wide because of the shape of the neighborhood, and it was split into three rows of plants. Meryl was dragging Vash along through the middle one, but at one point she took a turn, over some stepping stones set in the grass, and they were in the left one. The fence became shorter and Vash realized they had gone out far enough to probably be outside the neighborhood limits. He could see the desert stretching out behind a row of cacti that lined the edges of the farm here. That was a smart idea; use cacti to protect the less durable plants in the farm. Vash had not thought about that before.
They reached a row of trees, which had all grown to be about thirteen feet, but Meryl kept walking quickly. Vash quickened his own pace a little to walk next to her and see her face. She looked almost giddy, with a determined expression, and Vash nearly laughed aloud.
She stopped abruptly and turned to the middle row of trees, shooting Vash a grin.
"Here it is."
Vash had been too busy watching her expression to notice the trees around him, but when she pointed to a tree in the center row, his eyes followed her finger, and he took a step back in surprise.
The apple tree before them was nearly forty feet tall, as wide as a house, and the apples were as big as Vash's fist. It provided a gigantic amount of shade, which they were standing just outside of, and Vash could see its roots diving into the grass, like fingers reaching into dirt. As Vash followed the trails of the roots, he could see that they spread out all around the tree in a wide circle, emerging every once in a while in the paths and other rows.
Vash saw Meryl watching him out of the corner of his eye with a strangely blissful expression. He turned to grin at her, and she blushed and shook her head.
"You were right," he said. "It's amazing." He walked toward the tree, entering its shade. He had not expected the temperature to change – they were still in the desert, after all – so he was surprised that it was several degrees cooler underneath. He looked up and could only see slivers of blue sky between the green leaves and brown branches that were a tangled mess above him.
"We have picnics out here every once in a while," said Meryl suddenly, and when Vash turned around to face her again, she was taking off her shoes. She stuffed her socks inside them and stepped onto the grass barefoot, her small toes curling around the grass. "Uncle Bennie holds them for the neighborhood children."
"It's a huge space," Vash commented. The tree's shade radius was enormous, definitely large enough to hold picnics in. How had it grown so big?
"Uncle Bennie says it started to grow like this a few years ago," said Meryl, walking past Vash to the tree. She reached up toward a branch, standing on her toes, but she was too short. Vash walked over and picked the apple she had been reaching for.
"That's amazing. Is there a water vein underneath, or – " He froze and stared at the apple in his hand. His fingers barely wrapped around it; it would have dwarfed Meryl's hand. It was a bright red color, with only a hint of yellow at the base of its stem. Knives's tree had been an apple tree. Knives, who…
"…and the irrigation system is pretty complicated," Meryl was saying, "but Uncle Bennie showed us how it works. I should show you the well, it's at the edge of the property, but it – Vash, what's wrong?"
He looked up from the apple at her, the motion causing the tear in his eye to slide down his cheek. The apple slipped from his fingers and fell so slowly to the ground, like the air was thick water – and wouldn't that be something, to have enough water in the desert to fill the air? There certainly seemed to be enough inside of him to overflow and drown the planet.
Meryl took a step forward with wide eyes, raising her hand involuntarily to brush away the tear, and Vash let her. He took a deep, shaky breath and looked down, and when he saw the apple on the ground, he almost broke. It was hard to forget how much he missed Knives – the old Knives, the one with whom he had spent so much time on the SEEDS ship, the one that was more thoughtful and curious than Vash ever was. It wasn't fair that they had never been able to work things out. It wasn't fair, to feel this nostalgia for the old days when they were close and there were no betrayals between them, and to never have a chance to rebuild that.
"Vash, what's wrong?" Meryl asked again.
He put a hand over his face and tried to laugh. "I'm sorry," he said. "Just getting nostalgic, I guess. It's nothing." He moved his hand away and smiled at her, then leaned down to pick the apple back up. He took her hand and put the apple in it. "Here. This is what you wanted, right?"
She shook her head and pressed the apple back into his hand. "No, I was trying to get it for you. They're really good." She turned away from him and stretched her arms, then glanced over her shoulder at him. "You should take off your shoes," she said. "The grass feels great."
She sat down with her back against the tree, and Vash walked over to join her. He settled his back against it, still holding the apple, and stared out at the trees surrounding them. It was a small orchard, but it was impressive, especially with this tree. The grass was soft, but Vash still hadn't felt it with his bare skin. He was not sure that he could handle that yet.
"You told me, back in May City, that you didn't come back because you were dying," said Meryl quietly, breaking the silence. She drew her knees up against her chest. "Is that true?"
Vash shifted. "It's a half-truth," he admitted. "I was in bad shape after fighting with Knives. I was out for a few weeks, and when I woke up…" He was gone.
"Why didn't you come back after that?" she said into her knees.
"You chased me with a camera," Vash pointed out.
Meryl snorted. "You deserved it," she said. "For breaking your promise like that. I never wanted to forgive you."
"Have you?" he asked, feeling hopeful.
"No," she said with a growl, her eyes blazing. "No way!"
Vash laughed and waved his hands. "Okay, okay! You don't have to." He sighed. "I would like to make it up to you, though," he added.
"How?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
He thought for a moment. He had been making a lot of apologies; the money he sent to Livio and the SEEDS colony were easy enough, but he wasn't sure what he could give the insurance girls, Meryl least of all. Millie would probably be satisfied with some gourmet pudding or something. Well, maybe he was underestimating her.
"I don't know," he said, shrugging. "Whatever you want, I guess." He winced. Oh man, he shouldn't have said that. She would probably demand an interview or something.
She put her face back into her knees. "I wish you would stay," she mumbled.
He was taken aback. Was that all?
"I want to," he said earnestly. "That's why I made that promise. That I would come back. But…" He wasn't sure how to finish. He had made enough excuses. Truthfully, the reason he had not looked for them for a long time was because he didn't want them to get hurt. They were too important. But even that was a lame excuse; they had proven themselves more than capable of taking care of themselves time and time again. Maybe not exactly in battle, but even they had come out in better shape than Vash and Wolfwood a few times. At least they had some sense of self-preservation, which he and Wolfwood obviously lacked. Still, that sense wasn't perfect; they kept hanging around him, after all.
"That's not all," she said, and Vash wondered for a split second if she had somehow learned to read minds. She sighed and gave him a firm look, her mouth set in a straight line. "I want the truth."
Vash blinked. "Huh?"
She shook her head and looked away. "I just…" she began, and then stopped and ran a hand through her hair. She blew her bangs out of her face and frowned. "I only believe what I see, Vash, and… I couldn't do it anymore. I couldn't stand just hearing these things and following them to dead end, getting all my hopes smashed to pieces…" Meryl sighed and leaned back against the tree again, still hugging her knees. "So we took a vacation. Millie was the one to finally decide it. We've been here for two weeks now."
Vash felt hot guilt fill his stomach. He had made her worry. What a jerk. No wonder she had acted so angry when she found him in the café.
"I'm – " he began, but Meryl's hand shot out and she held it up to stop him.
"No," she said firmly. "I don't want to hear it. I just want the truth. You said we were your friends, but I feel like I barely know anything about you. I want to know more." She looked at him fiercely.
"I want the truth," she said again.
Vash did not know how to answer. What truth could he possibly give her? Sometimes he barely knew what was going on with him. How could he begin to explain it to anyone else?
"What truth?" he asked, to start.
"I don't know," she said, frustrated. "About your life. About who you are. Let's just start there."
"That's a lot to tell, Meryl," he said, grinning uneasily. "I've been around a long time."
"How long?" she asked. "I mean, I know it's a long time, like a hundred years or something, but how long exactly?"
Vash pressed his lips together, hesitating, and then answered, looking away. "One hundred fifty five years."
She nodded. "Okay."
There was a long silence. Vash wasn't sure what else she wanted to know. Everything? Everything was a lot. One hundred fifty-five years was a lot of history to tell. He could pick out the important things, but he wasn't sure that what he thought was important and what she thought was important matched up.
"Tell me about where you were born," she said at last.
Vash looked down and turned the apple around in his fingers. "It was a SEEDS ship, the mothership, actually, of its fleet. There was a lot of space inside, even though only one crew member was awake at a time. The rest were put in cold sleep, like those chambers I showed you in the colony."
"I remember," said Meryl. "There were a lot of them."
Vash nodded. "Yeah. There were a lot of humans being transported in those ships. And our fleet was only one of hundreds."
"Was Rem the crewmember that was awake?" asked Meryl.
"Yes," he said. "Yeah, she found us and raised us. It was lucky she was the one that found us, too."
"Lucky?"
Vash shifted uncomfortably. "That's… It's difficult to talk about. Maybe another day."
Meryl frowned. "Vash," she said warningly.
"Look, Meryl," he said, giving her a serious look. "There are some things that you're not ready for. Can you wait for this one?"'
She looked surprised that he was asking, but she didn't press the issue.
"Fine," she said crossly, but she softened when he sighed in relief. "So she raised you. You and your brother."
"Right."
Meryl looked at her toes and curled them around the grass again. "What happened to your brother?"
"He's dead."
Her head whipped around in shock. "What?"
"He's dead. In Mesa Probe, he…" Vash clutched the apple tightly and did not continue.
"Oh." She looked back at her toes. "But I mean, that's… that's good, isn't it?"
Vash rolled the apple around in his hands. He wasn't sure if he wanted to keep holding it or not. Looking at it kept making him feel sick. "I have mixed feelings about it," he admitted.
Meryl nodded. "Okay. But that's not exactly what I meant. I mean, what made him…" She struggled for words, but Vash got her drift.
She kept coming back to that, it seemed. Or maybe it was just on his mind. That always came to mind whenever the subject of Knives came up, which was probably part of the reason that he didn't feel comfortable with anything to do with Knives. It brought up too many painful memories.
Maybe he could have never made things work with Knives. Maybe there would always be that association between them.
"Something… difficult. We… grew apart."
That lie could not convince anyone, and it certainly did not convince Meryl. She made a face, but she didn't ask for more information. Maybe she understood the key word: "difficult." He didn't want to talk about it.
She pressed her fingers into the grass absently. "I remember when I first found out that you had a brother," she said quietly. "I was kind of mad that you hadn't told me before."
"You never asked."
"That's not the point," Meryl snapped. "He was obviously a big part of your life, and you never shared that with us. It made me wonder who we were to you anyway."
Vash grimaced. "Sorry. I was trying to protect you." He looked away and sighed. "Though I guess that failed. Zazie still got you, whether you knew about Knives or not. You had no idea what kind of monsters you were facing." He clenched his fist and started when he felt her hand on his arm. He looked at her and saw the sort of kindness in her eyes that Rem always had.
"You're not a monster," she said softly.
He smiled sadly. "You can still say that, even after what you saw that night?"
That was the night he had almost lost control. He'd felt the transformation burning the entire time it was happening, and Meryl was right next to him, in danger. In danger because she was right next to him. He sucked at protecting people – especially from himself.
"Man," he said with a dry chuckle. "I should just go live in the middle of the desert, so I can't hurt anyone." He knew he could never do that; he had tried, but he only lasted a year. He got too lonely without anybody around. His stint as Ericks in Ripmela was a tame version of his self-isolation. He was around people, but he wasn't himself. He was pretending. He didn't have a past as Ericks, at least not one that Lina and Granny Sheryl had cared about. They had never asked. It was easy to hide there, still among people, but still alone.
Meryl grabbed his arm with such ferocity that Vash started violently, nearly falling over.
"No," she said, her grip tight and desperate. "No, you can't." She almost sounded pleading. "That night… I thought I was going to lose you. I was so scared… Scared that I was going to lose you."
Vash stared at her.
And then he laughed.
She looked up at him fiercely, her eyes wet. "What's so funny?" she demanded.
"I'm sorry," he said, trying to stifle his laughs by covering his face with a hand again. "I just… I was worried about the same thing. You looked so scared, and I thought…" He laughed again, in relief, and he could have cried out of relief, too.
"Why?" said Meryl, a puzzled look on her face, and Vash laughed harder. He had been afraid he was going to lose her that night. Afraid that she was going to see what he really was and reject him. And here she was, telling him, in no uncertain terms, that would never happen. He should have known. He was such a damn fool. Wolfwood was right.
"You saw what I was. I don't… want it, but you saw it." He paused and scratched the back of his neck. "I never wanted anyone to see," he said sheepishly.
"Kind of like your scars?" asked Meryl with a smirk.
"Right," he agreed. "Not very sexy."
Meryl rolled her eyes. "Like that matters?" she snorted. "We don't care about your scars, and we don't care that you're a Plant." He winced when she said it, but she just rolled her eyes again. "It's like you said," she continued, leaning back against the tree again with a huff. "We're your friends."
They sat in silence for a long time after that. Meryl didn't ask any more questions about his past, which was a relief. He didn't really feel like sharing anything else. She knew a lot, even if she didn't think so; she'd been there for a lot of the important stuff, and she was smart enough that she had figured everything else out. He supposed she just wanted to hear it straight from him, but Vash didn't really like to talk about himself. It was… difficult.
He thought for a moment and realized that he didn't really know that much about Meryl, either. He knew she had a family, but she didn't communicate with them very often. He knew she preferred gin to whiskey. He knew she was very – very – dedicated to her work, whatever her work was at the moment. He thought about asking her about her past, but that seemed unfair of him.
It was better just to leave things as they were. He supposed it didn't really matter where she came from anyway. All that mattered was that she was there now.
2012-09-17