Milly stirred the warming soup and hummed a small, cheery tune. She knew that it was getting quite late, but she also knew that, while staying in this town, the three friends had grown accustomed to late meals. She helped maintain the well, Senpai served drinks at the bar, and Vash stayed in the house, watching over his brother.
She didn't think about it much; that is, about Vash's brother. She recognized it as a subject that was still very sensitive, to everyone, so she put it aside and dealt with things as they were. Presently, it was the soup. And the question of--
The door slammed shut, and someone stomped by. Milly didn't have to turn her head to tell that it was Meryl, but she did anyways.
"Senpai! You're back!"
The other glared at her. "You're darn right I'm back! Who wouldn't come back, after being where I've been!" She paced the floor a moment, then looked at Milly.
"That man is so impossible, so stupid, so ignorant, so..."
Milly tried to help out. "Idiotic?"
Meryl snapped her fingers. "That's the word!" She kept taking in such big gulps of air that Milly was just slightly worried about her. Nevermind her current temper, it was what it would do to her health that really concerned Milly.
She had to ask the obvious, since this was getting nowhere. "Senpai, what happened?"
The other yanked at her hair and screamed, running to her room and slamming that door too.
Milly blinked. And she was getting so much better...
She turned back to the stove and worked on the soup some more. She knew that Meryl would eventually come out and explain what had happened between her and Vash, and that things would eventually be settled, and that, eventually, everything would be okay.
Eventually.
Vash came into the house, shutting the door a lot more quietly than Meryl had a moment before. He dusted himself off a bit, then sat down at the table and just stared at the wall. Milly, still at the stove, turned her head to look at him.
Oh... he looks so...
Her good-willed nature kicked in. "Vash-san? Are you all right?" She hoped he told her, and didn't keep it all bottled inside, because it really was a very bad thing, and she didn't like it when very bad things happened to the people she cared about, or to anyone, really. And what's more--
"She told me she loves me."
Well, that got her attention. Milly knew she'd never be considered the brightest crayon in the box, but even she knew something of what had happened. She guessed that Senpai must have told him, and he must have told her something that she didn't want to hear, and so she had stormed off, as usual, and was now sulking in her room. Yes, that seemed about right, so Milly asked Vash if this was the case.
"But I didn't do anything..." He sighed, and began staring at the ceiling. "I didn't do anything."
Milly nodded in complete agreement. "Didn't do anything wrong, or didn't do anything at all?" She turned off the stove and let the soup sit on the slow-cooling burner. She made her way to the table and sat opposite Vash, who had taken to staring at her.
He looks so lost.
"I... Ah..." He looked down, beyond sheepish and more into deeply embarrassed.
Smiling slightly, Milly was about to go further into the conversation when she heard a small click from behind. She didn't look, but she guessed that Senpai had cracked her door open and was going to listen in. Vash still had his head down, so she supposed that he either didn't hear, or didn't care. Yet whichever way it was, Milly had to help set things straight.
Gently, she asked, "What exactly did you say to Senpai?"
Begrudgingly, it seemed, he looked back up and replied, "I told her that I understood. Because... I do understand. But there wasn't anything to say after that. I thought... that was enough." Vash closed his eyes.
"Never is enough, huh."
Opening his eyes, he stood up, his face suddenly becoming hard. Milly knew that face, and feared it.
"But now I see what needs to be done. I need to move on."
Some confusion lingered. "Where are we going to go, Vash-san?"
He stared at Milly a moment, then said, "I have to take Knives and leave, so the safest thing would be for you and Meryl not to come along this time."
The soup grew increasingly colder as the silence stretched. The door behind Milly was pushed closed, hard, causing Vash to finally take notice. He muttered a curse, then walked to open the door.
Milly sprang up. "Wait! Vash-san!"
He paused, his stance trying not to indicate troubling thoughts. "I can't wait any longer. I'm leaving tomorrow." He turned the doorknob, and went out.
Milly hurried to Meryl's door and knocked. "Senpai? Senpai, open the door!" She tried to go in, but it was locked.
From her position outside, Milly swore that she heard muted sobs through the wood.
- end part two -