Waiting at the Bus Stop

First Posted: 09 15 2013

Vash sat on an upturned water trough as they waited at the bus stop. There was no one else there as yet, the bus was only due to arrive at two in the afternoon. However, as the hotel had kicked them out at ten, they had eaten lunch early and had ended up at the stop two hours before the bus.

The bus stop was on the outskirts of town. A jointed pipe taken into service as a pole was hammered into the ground to support a hand painted sign to demarcate the area. There were no benches but a low wall served as a waiting place. It had been a boundary wall to the property it enclosed but all that remained of the house were heaps of rubble. Vash did not look too closely at it, there were dark memories there. It had been a good morning and was looking to be a relaxing idle afternoon; he did not want to spoil it.

Meryl sat on the edge of the wall, kicking her feet and staring out into the distance. She had folded her cape with all her derringers beside her. He did not blame her, he had picked up that cape once, and it had been heavy. Vash watched her small form straighten into alertness as she spotted a tiny dust cloud on the horizon. Her alertness caused a ripple effect among the others. Milly glanced up from her letter writing. She then rolled up her papers and stuck them in her pocket when Meryl tucked her feet underneath her then stood up on the wall and shaded her eyes with her hand.

"Oh! The bus." Milly said excitedly.

Wolfwood opened his eyes where he had been dozing on his back on top of the wall, sending a fine wisp of smoke up into the blue skies.

Vash watched the predictable scene unfold with private amusement. Meryl did have a short skirt on after all, and Wolfwood's grin widened slightly as he opened his eyes. Vash dug out a stone out of the ground and flicked it at the priest. Wolfwood flinched but did not let out a sound. He knew as well as Vash did that it was not worth it having Meryl that annoyed with him. He gave Vash a raised eyebrow as if to suggest he could join him beside the wall and enjoy the view.

Not amused, Vash picked up another stone and Wolfwood rolled his eyes and sat up.

"What's there girls?" He asked, yawning and keeping his cigarette between his teeth at the same time.

Vash ran the stone across his prosthetic fingers, feeling the play of the gears and motors and marvelling at the acuteness of the sensitivity with which the mechanics provided him. It served as good a distraction. He repeated the motion until a sense of calm returned. It had been harder to regain that calm since Meryl had been around, but he could still do it. He flicked the stone at Wolfwood whose eyes had wandered as he had leaned back in a stretch.

"Ow! Vash, stop that!"

Vash blinked innocently at him.

"I have." Vash spread his hands.

"Spikey, you..." Wolfwood growled and pushed himself off the wall.

"H-hey!" Vash fended off Wolfwood with clumsy carelessness as the Priest gave him a shove.

"That doesn't look like a bus." Milly murmured.

Vash and Wolfwood looked up from their private wrestle, which Vash was winning outright by simply having the trump card of telling Meryl.

"'s the bus." Wolfwood declared after a glance, then turned to Vash and hissed in an undertone around his cigarette. "What kind of man are you not to enjoy such things, eh? And you'd never tell, she'd pound you worse than me." Wolfwood grinned wickedly.

Vash had to agree the priest was right on that score. He seemed to bear the brunt of Meryl's temper.

He pushed his glasses up his nose and peered out at the desert. Milly was right. It was not the bus.

"Sandworm." Vash murmured.

"Really?" Meryl exclaimed and jumped down to dig in her bag and fish out a pair of binoculars.

"She got off the wall." Wolfwood murmured disappointedly. Vash knuckled the man in the thigh; Wolfwood went down with a silent breath of a curse and rubbed at the pressure point Vash had nailed.

"A dead leg, that's underhanded." He grumbled at Vash then grinned vindictively. "Now I get it, you're just sulking."

Vash went back to watching the sandworm out in the deep desert.

"I hope the bus is okay." Milly exclaimed.

"I hope my leg is okay." Wolfwood whined, and Milly turned. "What happened Mister Priest?"

Vash got to his feet as Milly walked over to crouch beside Wolfwood. He walked over to Meryl and picked up the cloak with the derringers and held it out. She snatched it away from him with a glare.

"What are you doing with my guns?" She hissed and flung the cape over her shoulders and shrugged it on comfortably. Vash smiled when she turned away huffily and with the aid of her binoculars peered out into the desert.

For a short little girl who had so much fear inside her, she was sure feisty. He put his hands in his pockets and let out a long breath. He liked her more than most, and as interested as she was in him, that interest would only complicate matters. It would be an easy thing to take her when she gazed at him with that softness she hid from the world, but it would not help her. She needed to work out her fear and learn her strength in the world before she could begin to understand the sacrifices love required him to make.

Perhaps she would understand, or perhaps not. He breathed out his sad wistfulness. It would be nice if she reached that point and still considered him as she did in these years, but all too often humans were too short lived. He would enjoy watching her grow for as long as he was granted that blessing.

"Mister Priest!" Milly's scandalised exclamation made Vash turn to hide the amusement at Wolfwood's mistaken confidence in her. Such things did not amuse the ladies.

"I only said Meryl looks pretty in a short skirt."

Milly stalked off to stand beside Meryl, fuming. Vash jumped as the tall girl glared at him.

"Were you peeking too?"

"Wha-no! I told Wolfwood not-"

"So you were!" Milly exclaimed.

Vash did not bother to dodge Meryl's slap. He had earned it for not being quick enough to anticipate Wolfwood's blunder. He grinned mischievously at Meryl, it would be better to play the confrontation out right now without having this to add to her inner worries.

"You!"

He dodged the next slap and ran, Wolfwood a few paces behind him.

"You can walk all the way to the next town!" Meryl yelled after them.