Part two

The three of them sat in a corner of the saloon. Millie had her hands wrapped around a cup of tea that she had yet to take a sip from. She just stared silently at the liquid, her eyes unfocused. Vash slumped down in a chair next to her, head leaned back, eyes tracing lines on the ceiling. Meryl wouldn't look at either of them, chin in her hand, fingers drumming a nervous staccato beat on the table. A buzzing distracted her and she watched a fly lazily circle above them.

A hand suddenly shot out and snapped the fly out of the air, halting the noise. Meryl blinked in wonder as Vash brought his closed fist up to his face.

"Stop that," he told his hand, then opened it. A dazed insect drunkenly took flight off his palm and wandered off to bother someone else.

Meryl decided that was just a little too surreal for her tastes.

"You shouldn't think about it," she said.

He raised his head and looked at her directly. "Think about what?"

"You know, the…*that. *" Meryl waved her hand towards the door, unable to bring herself to say what it really was.

"That what?" His expression was carefully blank, no hint given he had any idea what she was talking about.

She glowered at him, his innocent act grating on her frayed nerves. "Are you purposely this obtuse just to irritate me?"

He said nothing for another minute before giving her a sudden smile. "There. I was getting worried. You hadn't yelled at me for nearly a half hour."

She stared at him in astonishment before a small, answering smile touched her face. "Alright, I admit defeat. You win."

"Good. Hate to think I was losing my touch."

Meryl only shook her head. Completely aggravating. But he always knew how to bring a person out of a funk, no matter what. She had to admit, if only to herself, it was something she admired about him.

Vash turned his attention away from her to focus on Millie. He scooted his chair closer to her and tilted his head to the side, some stray blonde hairs falling into his eyes. "Hey, Millie?"

She roused herself slightly and blinked at him. "Yes?"

He latched two fingers onto either side of her nose. "Got your nose."

She crossed her wide blue eyes to stare at his hand. He continued to grin at her bewildered expression. "Um…may I have it back, please, Mister Vash?"

"But it's such a nice nose," he protested. "Very cute."

Her mouth twitched up almost despite itself. "Pretty please?"

"Alright," he sighed. "Since you asked nicely." He withdrew his hand and stood, only to flip his chair around and sit on it again, facing the back this time. "We ready to have a conversation?"

Meryl straightened up. "I think so."

"Good." He scratched his chin idly. "So, what're we gonna do about this death?" Meryl and Millie gave him twin blank looks. He stared back. "What?"

"Don't you think it would be better to let the authorities handle this?" Meryl suggested.

"What? We can't just sit back and do *nothing. *"

"Actually, Mister Vash," Millie spoke slowly. "I don't think there's anything we can do."

"We can catch the guy who did it," Vash countered.

"How?" Meryl demanded. "You suddenly turn into a detective while I wasn't looking?"

"No," he admitted but protested stubbornly. "But there has to be something we can do."

"Yes, you can let the sheriff's office do their job," Meryl sighed. "I know you don't like this-"

"You're right, I don't," he answered flatly, eyes narrowing slightly. "If the sheriff were so good, he wouldn't have let something like this happen again."

"Again?"

"He's right, Meryl," Millie spoke up. "The lady who ran in here said it happened before."

Meryl rubbed her eyes. Two against one now, great. "I'm sure they're doing everything they can-"

"No, they aren't!" Vash stood and slammed his fist down on the table, making both girls jump. He took a deep breath and composed himself. "Look, people are getting killed. If there's something I can do to stop it, then I'm gonna do it. And it's not your job to tell me that I shouldn't."

He turned and strode calmly out of the room, red coat flapping at his heels. Meryl and Millie traded bewildered looks with each other. Meryl felt the sudden urge to hug herself.

Completely aggravating. A nice sense of humor. And extremely dangerous.

She kept forgetting that last bit.

End part two