"What the hell is that, Vash?"

It had been two years since the two brothers had settled in the little oasis called Eden, and in that time, much had changed.

There was now a cleared are in the middle of the oasis, and in that area sat a hut, constructed rather amazingly out of wood and grasses. It was comfortable, with one large room that was used for everything, and was obviously lived in.

Another change was the little area beside the hut, which had been tamed for farming vegetables and one or two fruits. Neat and orderly, it provided almost all the food for the two men, though till that day, Knives didn't know exactly where the seeds had come from.

But the most important change was within Vash and Knives.

Vash had become much more relaxed. He smiled more often, and while his goofy behavior was truly he who was, he no longer felt the need to use it to cover up his true feelings about anything. He was honest and open for the first time in years, and it truly made him much happier.

Knives, despite the one hundred and thirty plus years of hatred toward humanity, hadn't been able to stand up to his brother's determined 'lessons' as much as he'd thought, and while Vash had initially said that he just wanted to live peacefully with Knives, the blonde brother had used his actions and words carefully to act as sort of a living lesson in tolerance, which resulted in a great deal of bickering, but didn't weaken the relationship between the two.

Stories of his travels, stories of the people he'd met...Vash, in a way which belied his joking exterior, used all of them subtly to show his brother that humans did have noble aspects, and that they deserved to live as much as them. And because of this, Knives great driving hatred toward humanity had transformed into something closer to an aloof dislike which was made easier by the lack of humans in their little Garden.

Until that day.

"Vash, what the hell is that?" Knives repeated.

His brother raised an eyebrow softly, then opened the bundle further so that his brother could perhaps figure it out. When the white-blonde simply drew back, Vash answered the question.

"It's a baby, Knives..." he answered with a smile, "I found her outside. Her mother had..."

Now the smile flattened to a look of sadness.

"Her mother died, Knives...I found her and the thomas dead in the dunes outside, but the baby was still alive, so I took back with me. I wish I'd gone out earlier...maybe I would have found the mother in time to sa-"

"Vash!" cried his brother angrily, pointing at the baby in his arms, "What on earth are you talking about? What is that doing here? It's supposed to be-"

"She."

Vash used the moment of confused silence from his brother to continue.

"The baby is a she, a girl, Knives..."

There was another few seconds of silence from the other man, and then an explosion.

"I don't care what it is! I don't want it around us! I don't...aw...don't give me the look, don't...don't, Vash, I can't...stop it with the look..."

Vash turned up the volume on the puppy-dog eyes, knowing that his brother, while being stubborn and slightly insane, could never deny him anything really. Not when he gave him the eyes...

"Vash..."

"Please..." Vash said in all seriousness, "I can't take her to December...she won't survive it. And I won't let her die. Here's your chance, Knives...your chance to really see how wonderful humans can be. And haven't you always said that nurture is as important as nature?"

Knives gave him a sideways glance that reminded him like nothing else of when they were children. They would fight over which game to play, and Vash always knew when he'd won when Knives gave him a sideways glance of reluctance, one last act of rebellion. He was seeing that look on Knives now, and smiled inwardly.

"Fine...keep it away from me though." And with that Knives walked off.

"Her! The baby is a her!"

"Her, It...I don't care!" shouted Knives from behind the hut somewhere.

"Evie!" Vash yelled back with a sudden burst of inspiration.

"What?" asked his brother as he poked his head out from behind the hut.

"Her name is Evie..." the blonde said with a smile, snuggling the small bundle a little closer, "Poetic, don't you think?"

Knives raised an aggravated eyebrow. "It was Adam that went to the garden first you know, brother..."

"All the same..." Vash murmured with a grin as he looked down at the child. Two little blue eyes looked up at him beneath a tuft of curly black hair, almost asking him what all the yelling was about.

"Just your uncle Knives being silly..." the former gunman said with a roll of his eyes and a smile, "But don't you worry...he'll get to like you as much as your daddy does, yes he will...he's just being stubborn. Sure, he was ready to destroy everything two years ago, but I'm sure after you and me-"

"I can hear you!" shouted Knives angrily.

The baby smiled.

"I know, Evie...I know..."

TBC