A/N: Another hello to those of you still bothering to read this horrible fanfic. Not quite sure why anyone still is . . . I know, it's been ages, again, since I've updated. Well, to tell you the truth, I hit a snag. To tell you how bad it was, just let me say I was seriously considering wiping all traces of my fics off of the face of it was that bad.
I feel horribly guilty every time I do this to you people and I don't really think my chapters are worth the wait.
Anyway, I hope that those of you still left will enjoy this chapter. I'd originally planned on more happening, but it turned out to be too long so now it'll be two chapters instead of one.
Now I need to go work on To Change You . . .
---------------------------------------------
Chapter 14: To Right the Wrongs
The two twins had resumed their walk, except that this time it was Vash who was silent and angry.
Knives followed in his wake, mulling over his actions this morning and a way to fix his brother's mood.
Knives had often ridiculed his twin about his perpetually cheery mood, but
seeing Vash angry instead of acting like his usual goofy self was somehow . . . wrong.
Rethinking his previous opinion, he decided that his brother was like a star. It glowed brightly, illuminating all of those around him and spreading the light. He watched as Vash suddenly brightened at the sight of a glowering human child.
The child and its mother had stopped in front of a store window, the parent peering inside. Vash stooped before the kid, giving her a large smile and making a funny face. The little girl let loose a stream of giggles at the man's actions. In turn this amused the mother, who smiled broadly and said a few kind words and walked away. Knives kept an eye on them as they left and was surprised when the woman bid a good day to a man passing by, causing that man to smile himself.
Strange how he'd never noticed before the effect his brother had on people. He supposed Vash could be compared to a star that spread its brilliance to anything it came into contact with. That light, in return, passed on to others.
Knives frowned as he thought about how that light would be extinguished by the humans and their tainted existence.
Yet . . .
Hadn't Vash been among these same parasites for the last 130 years? How had he lasted this long, continually giving away so much happiness and asking for none in return? Seeing a large smile on his brothers face gave him cause to think that maybe Vash gained his happiness by making others happy.
He wondered how his twin would react if there were no more humans around to give him such contentment.
Knives imagined his brother as he had been before, with drooping shoulders and head hung in obvious dejection. That image brought a painful pang in Knives' chest.
It was a foreign feeling, that pain. Rarely had he ever felt guilty for his actions. After all, that would mean that what he'd done was wrong and he couldn't admit to that. Everything he'd ever done had been for the greater good, whether it was for just the two of them or the entire plant population.
But if all of the humans were destroyed, as he had been trying to achieve in the last 130 years, Vash might lose his happiness . . .
He snorted at his own thoughts. Vash would be happier to be with his own species, he told himself. A small part of his mind whispered that he was deluding himself.
Suffice to say, Knives ignored it.
Right now, however, there were more important things to consider; like how he was going to appease his brother's anger. Though Vash was smiling, Knives knew that his brother was still mad at him for the way he'd treated the small human.
The two continued walking for a few minutes, Vash greeting people every now and then.
Eventually his brother stopped and turned to Knives, his smile fading slightly.
"Are you hungry?" he asked him.
Knives nodded his head.
Vash nodded in return and took off, heading toward one of the many buildings lining the street. The sign above it read The Sandstorm Restaurant in large gold lettering. Inside was a whirlwind of activity. The employees were rushing around seating people, taking orders, and delivering food.
After a twenty minute wait, in which neither said a word, they were shown to a table. The twins had been seated near the back of the restaurant, in a secluded corner. It was an arrangement that Knives was grateful for.
Once again silence was a companion to the two plants. Neither spoke a word to each other as they perused the menus that had been placed on the table by their waitress. The only time they said anything was when she asked if they wanted anything to drink.
Having finished deciding on his order, Knives took the opportunity to observe the other customers in the restaurant.
The business was still exceedingly crowded, all of the tables were taken and most of the bar seats were filled. The noise of people talking, the clutter of dishware, and sound of food cooking coming from the kitchen filled the air.
The plant directed his gaze to the tables nearest theirs. One nearby area was occupied by two humans who appeared to Knives to be enjoying each others company immensely. A rush of jealousy flowed through him, jealous that they were happy with their companion while he didn't even have such a relationship with his brother.
He pushed the emotion aside quickly. Under no circumstances would he lower himself to feel jealous of a human.
Yet, he continued to watch the couple. As he stared, Knives noticed that their conversation had taken a decidedly negative turn. If his knowledge of human facial expressions was correct, then he'd have to say that the woman looked angry and hurt while the man had a decidedly apologetic look to him. The human male also looked extremely guilty.
Disturbingly enough, he was reminded of the current situation between Meryl and himself. Except, of course, that there wasn't any reason that he should be feeling guilty. No doubt the human male had said something inappropriate and Knives never did any such thing. What he'd told Meryl that morning had simply been the truth. If she let it get to her then that was the woman's problem.
Mentally nodding to himself, Knives returned to his perusal of the couple.
He let a small sneer cross his face as he saw that the man was trying to apologize to his companion. Such behavior made them seem like simpering creatures. Even if he didn't care for the human species whatsoever, he still thought that they should be able to conduct themselves in a less degrading manner, especially the males.
He watched with thinly veiled disgust as the man pulled something from his pocket and handed it to the woman. Whatever was in the tiny box must have been it caused a transformation on female's face. All of the anger seemed to leave her, instead replaced by a beaming smile and tears shining in her eyes.
Whatever it was, Knives mused, it was perfect for changing her mood. Now she was all smiles, hugging and kissing the man with fervor.
An idea struck him at that moment. Maybe if he were to give Meryl a present, she would forget about this morning's incident and his brother would forgive him. Of course, the gift wouldn't mean anything to himself, but as long as it did its job he would be happy.
But what to get her . . .
He turned his attention back to his sibling, debating over whether he should ask him or not.
Deciding that Vash would know more about Meryl's likes and dislikes than himself he chose to tell him of his plans, except for the part where he wasn't giving her the gift as an apology. Knives didn't believe that his brother would cooperate with him as well if he were to know that the gift wasn't being given for any other reason than to have Vash stop being angry with him.
He bided his time until they had each finished their meals before speaking of his plan.
When his brother had set down his fork after displaying some of the worst eating manners he'd ever seen, he spoke.
"Vash."
The person in question turned from his perusal of the restaurant and gave Knives his full attention. He was still sorely disappointed in his twin for his earlier actions, but Knives rarely spoke to him in public and only when he had something important to say. So he looked at his other half, waiting quietly for him to continue.
It was plain to Knives that Vash still wasn't happy with him, but if everything went according to plan, then he would soon be over it.
"I have decided to give the woman a gift." He'd spoken as if giving a briefing on stock statistics, but after a few moments of confusion those few words appeared to change Vash's entire countenance.
"That's great, Knives!" Vash cried exuberantly as he leaned forward in his seat. "I knew you weren't heartless enough to do something like that and not apologize."
Knives didn't even have to tell his brother who the "woman" was or the supposed reason why he was giving her anything. He disliked lying, especially to his sibling. Vash simply assumed that the gift was an apology for his treatment of her. So Knives let him believe what he wanted.
"So what are you going to get her?"
Pleased that Vash had already brought up the subject he was about to discuss, Knives told him that he did not know what she would want.
A mischievous smile crossed his twin's face, causing Knives to instantly become suspicious. He just knew his brother was up to something . . .
"Hey Knives," Vash asked with a casual air, "how much money do you have with you?"
Not sure where his brother was going with this, he told him that the total amount accumulated to around a few thousand double dollars.
At the news that his slightly psychotic sibling was carrying around that large a sum, Vash's jaw dropped in shocked surprise.
Knives watched as his brother glanced furtively around the restaurant before leaning across the table and speaking in a hushed, almost panicked voice. "What are you doing, carrying that much money around? You're not going on a trip or something, are you?" A suspicious glint entered his aquamarine eyes.
He gave the spikey-haired man an incredulous look. Knives thought the answer obvious. And it had nothing to do with him making a trip of any kind! "Of course not. I always have a large amount on me." His tone turned chastising. "Unlike you, dear brother, I like to be prepared."
Vash didn't even bat an eyelash at his brother's barb. He was used to them by now.
"Well it's a good thing," he commented, "because you'll need it if you're going to get a proper apology gift for Meryl." Vash fixed his brother with an accusing glare. "I'm sure you really hurt her feelings when you yelled at her. She may act tough on the outside, but Meryl's really a big softy underneath."
Knives snorted at Vash's statement, entirely unconvinced. There was no way that that woman had any degree of "softness" to her. 'Except for her small, perfectly rounded breas-' The clinically insane plant did a mental double take, blinking in shock at his own thoughts. Where had that come from?
The movement of a hand waving in front of his face snapped Knives out of his shocked daze. Vash was giving him a half-strange, half-nervous look, undoubtedly worried about his temporary lapse into himself.
"It's nothing," he assured him.
It was obvious that Vash wasn't wholly convinced but he let the matter drop.
"We should get moving if we're going to get Meryl a present," he told Knives.
Glancing at the establishment's clock, the plant realized that it was almost two o'clock in the afternoon.
"I suppose you're right," he conceded, tossing some money on the table for their meal and rising from his seat.
Vash followed and soon the two plants were standing outside of the restaurant. Knives looked to his brother, waiting for him to take the initiative and lead the way. From what he'd gathered from Vash's questions in the restaurant, his twin already had something in mind, though he was still somewhat wary of what that could be.
Said brother made a gesture with his hands, indicating that Knives should follow him.
He followed silently behind the other plant as they traversed the streets of December.
Finally, just when Knives had just about lost his patience with the broom-head and was going to ask where they were going, Vash stepped into a nearby shop.
Knives stood outside of the store staring at the sign and curling his lips into a grimace. The board above the large shop window clearly read:
Dean Jewelers
Buy a gem for your own precious jewel!
The catchphrase was disgustingly unappealing to him. Precious jewel indeed! Stupid humans and their idiotic need to romanticize their natural instinct to have a mate. Then they felt the ridiculous need to give each other tokens of their "affection". He felt the need to sneer at their ridiculousness.
That is, until he realized Vash's intentions.
Oh, no! There was no way on Gunsmoke that he was going to purchase such an expensive and useless gift for that woman!
Maybe he should have just bought her a bucket of ice cream or something . . .
He moved his sight to the doorway of the jewelry store to see Vash beckoning him inside. A small growl of annoyance rose in his throat and he speared his brother with his best glare, standing his ground stubbornly.
Unfortunately, Vash could be just as obstinate. Completely ignoring the death glare, he walked up to Knives and looked him straight in the eye. "Knives," he said in his best serious voice, "you have to get Meryl something like this."
"And why is that, dear brother?" The voice was frigid.
Undaunted, Vash answered, "Because you owe it to her. If it hadn't been for her, you would have had to have gone with me and Milly to her family's farm. And we both know what you thought of that. Meryl gave you a way out, opening her home to you and making you comfortable. This is the least you could give her in exchange for all of that and more."
Both twins stared each other down for a minute or so, Vash waiting for Knives to make a comment and Knives . . . Well, he was carefully thinking over his brother's words.
As soon as Vash had pointed out all of the small sacrifices that the woman had made for him, especially when he knew she didn't care for him all that much, he'd almost cringed. Knives was unwilling to admit that the tiny human had done so much for him.
And more, a tiny voice told him.
And how had he repaid her, he asked himself? By treating her like dirt at every chance, came the unwanted answer. And then he'd abused her again this morning when he'd found her in his bed, knowing that he was as much at fault as she . . .
His actions, even to his human-hating self, were inexcusable. He'd criticized humans for their inhumanity, but his treatment toward his own hostess hadn't been much better. Not that he had to proclaim his undying affection toward her, but he could have at least been well mannered and polite, as was his duty as a guest.
This one time he would have to concede that he had been in the wrong and as an apology he would get the woman some jewels.
Though his brother's forgiveness would still be an added bonus . . .
"I will do as you wish," he told the other plant. That would be as close as would come to admitting that he had done anything wrong.
Vash recognized it for what it was and with a hearty slap on his brother's back he led the way into the small building.
There were rows of long, glass cases, filled with expensive-looking emeralds, diamonds, and other assorted minerals. If nothing else, it had been found that Gunsmoke had some large veins of such rare stones.
His brother swiftly directed Knives to a specific pair of small earrings. There were three round diamonds in each earring. They were meant to hang from the ear, much like the ones Meryl had now, with the smallest size of diamond on the top and the next two increasing in size.
Though Knives knew little of jewelry, even he could tell that the earrings were well-made. There were no price tags attached to the items and he called over a sales clerk and inquired as to their price.
The twenty-five-hundred double dollar price came as no surprise, though he saw his brother pale slightly. In actuality, he'd expected more. Nevertheless, the bill would hardly scratch the surface of his funds. Soon after he was walking out of the store, the small case that held the earrings in hand.
Now all he had to do was present his present to the woman and all would be well.
Too bad things never go as smoothly as we like them to.
---------------------------------------------
In case anyone is curious, the reference I used for the earrings can be found here: http// productdetails.asp?oid5750&catid15&filterid0&nav1diamondjewelry.asp&page1&col2&row4&pos11&setshape (take out the spaces)