I don't own Trigun.

This is the chapter I should have written yesterday.

*******************************************************************************

Ace sat in Knives' arms and periodically looked out over the desert. The scenery rarely changed; iles and iles of sand stretched out to all sides. The drab beige sameness sparkled under the twin suns, flecks of quartz catching the suns' rays and reflecting them back to the sky. The air itself seemed to shimmer with the light passing back and forth through it, almost as if it were lit on its own and not merely sharing in the glory.

And sometimes there were rocks.

Other then that, the scenery was pretty boring. She wouldn't have minded talking with Knives, but she was still mad at him for trying to make her walk. He would have to suffer through walking all this way and not getting to talk to her. If he wasn't such a big butthead she would be nicer, but it seemed like every time she tried to tell him he was being silly he acted like he knew more them she did just because he was old.

She turned and looked at his face. He was looking off into the distance, as if the horizon was more interesting then she was. He didn't look as old as he was, that was sure. Even living on this planet for years and years (and years and years and…) he didn't have any wrinkles. At least, not many. There were a couple by his eyes from squinting into the bright light, but they went away when the suns' set. And there were a few lines by the corners of his mouth, but they were frown lines. She reached out and poked the corners of his mouth up, to see what a smile might look like on his face.

He drew his head back out of her reach and didn't drop it back until her arms once again rested by her sides. He still didn't look at her. She sighed and turned to look out over the sands again.

No rocks.

She closed her eyes and concentrated on the rhythm of his gait. Step, step, step, they made their way quickly across the desert. His longs legs ate up the distance, moving deceptively faster then one might think. It was a funny walk, though. Maybe it was because he was old, but it was really stiff and kinda bouncy. Kiley glided across the ground, moving over it like it was something she touched only because she felt like it. Her feet tapped the ground lightly, staying down only long enough to provide a spring into the next step. Knives placed each foot firmly on the sand. It stayed down there, firmly marking the passing of his presence before he lifted it and moved to the next patch of land that would be graced by his transit.

His arms rocked side to side slightly as they swayed with the motion of his body. She was nestled between them and could feel the strength they possessed. Even after hours of carrying her, he wasn't straining. Sometimes she could feel the muscles tense and relax beneath her as he worked through kinks, but he never shifted his grip or put her down. It was neat to be able to feel how strong he was, but he never gave her an excuse to cuddle closer. She might have been in his arms, but she didn't feel a sense of closeness. It was only a convenient way of carrying her about, nothing more.

Kiley might have carried her on her back, but she at least invited a bit of cuddling. She could rest her chin on either shoulder, lean her cheek against the side of her face, bury her nose in her hair, tickle her sides, any number of things that were fun. If she tried to tickle Knives, he would drop her on her head. Or just decide to carry her by one foot or something.

She opened her eyes and looked around again. Still no rocks.

She closed her eyes again and sighed. She wasn't pouting. Knives was a butthead. But this was boring. Not that she was complaining, not really. She didn't want to stay in December; it was dangerous there, for her, and for Knives and Kiley if they tried to keep her away from the bad men. But the rest of the planet was just so boring. It was sand and sand and sand. And sometimes rocks.

She peeked. No rocks.

There wasn't anything green around at all. Whoever had picked this planet to live on was an idiot. Sure, people could live here, but it was boring outside. There should be more to look at then desert. She wasn't entirely certain what those other things should be, outside of some green shrubs and such, but she was sure that there should be more things to look at.

She squirmed a little, until Knives' grip tightened and kept her from moving anymore. He still wasn't holding her close; he was just keeping her from maybe falling on her head. He relaxed his hold when she stopped trying to move.

Almost, almost she gave up on not talking to him, just to have something to do. She tried to convince herself that he liked the fact that she wasn't speaking, liked that he didn't have to listen to her. Looking at her silence that way, he was probably enjoying every second of it. If she really wanted to torment him, she needed to talk. Luckily, she caught herself before this line of reasoning could lead her to break her vow of silence.

She looked again.

Rocks!

She squirmed again to get a better look. Knives saw them as well. He stopped walking and started to swear. Ace listened, enraptured, to every word he said. She didn't know what a lot of them meant, but she was sure Kiley would know. She tried to keep track of them all, but he sure knew a ton of them, and after a few hundred she was beginning to lose track.

He didn't; he didn't repeat himself once.