Chapter Six: Black Coffee
"Why is she ignoring you, Tongari?"
Wolfwood asked.
The four were in the main square of Cendre, a small town the bus had arrived in. The two men were waiting for the insurance girls to return to the table they were sitting at outside, carrying their order of pudding, black coffee and donuts.
"Don't know what you're talking about,"
Vash replied.
"Of course you do."
"Well, I don't know of anyone who's been ignoring me and I don't know who 'she' is."
Wolfwood scowled.
"Don't play dumbass with me. You know I'm talking about the little insurance girl."
"What about her?"
"Why is she ignoring you?"
Vash was silent for a few moments.
"I... I don't know why she's ignoring me,"
Vash finally admitted. Meryl really had been ignoring him since breakfast, in which she had civilly asked for a donut.
"Well, it sure makes a difference to the trip. She's talking to me more than she talks to you. Actually, she hasn't hit you in more 12 hours. Pretty amazing, if you ask me."
There was a pause.
"Did something happen? I mean, it's pretty weird for me to care, but she's a travelling companion, and I feel inclined to worry."
Maybe I should call her a friend, Wolfwood thought.
Vash sighed.
"I don't know. But I think she was having a bad dream."
Wolfwood thought back for a few seconds before nodding.
"Yeah, that's true. She looked really distressed over something in her sleep this morning."
He shook her head.
"I wonder if she'll ever truly loosen up. This morning I thought you succeeded, but I guess something else wired her up."
Wolfwood scratched his head.
"Wonder what kind of dream she had. Probably something about you."
Vash privately agreed, but didn't voice it. Instead he said,
"How can you be so sure?"
"Well, she's talked to me, she's talked to Milly, but she hasn't talked to you. That's one thing."
Wolfwood suddenly stopped short when he realised he'd said Milly's name infront of Vash for the first time. He glanced at him quickly. Vash didn't seem to react much, so Wolfwood relaxed.
Phew.
"You called the big one Milly."
Vash grinned.
Damn him.
"So? It's her name."
"I've never heard you call her Milly."
"Well, now you have."
"Wolfwood, is that a pink tinge I see on your cheeks?"
"You--"
"Mr. Priest! Vash-san! We got the food!"
They both turned to see Milly happily bouncing her way through to their table. She dumped the donuts onto the table.
Wolfwood silently thanked her, and tried to communicate his gratefulness with a smile.
"Sempai says you both owe her 7.50 double dollars each."
Smile vanishing, Wolfwood shifted uneasily in his seat.
"But I'm broke..."
He whined. Milly patted his arm sympathetically.
"I'm sure sempai will understand."
"What will I understand?"
Meryl emerged with the coffee and pudding. She set a cup of black coffee in front of Wolfwood, and then handed the pudding to Milly who dug in happily before sitting down herself.
"I'm broke."
Wolfwood announced. Meryl rolled her eyes.
"You sound proud of it."
"Hey, I'll earn some soon. For now I'd appreciate it if you let me just... well... not pay back the 7.50 double dollars."
Meryl sighed.
"You can pay me back later."
Wolfwood sighed in relief.
"Thanks. Don't ask me when 'later' will be, though."
"I won't."
Meryl answered before sipping her coffee.
"Then if you don't mind, I won't pay back either."
Vash said, grinning. Meryl choked on her coffee, and pressed her palm to her mouth.
"Oww, I burnt my tongue."
She muttered. Milly handed her a napkin with a sympathetic look. Meryl wiped at the coffee she had spilt on her chin.
"Thank you, Milly."
"Sempai, you shouldn't rush drinking hot drinks like that."
"I know, I know. I should be more careful..."
Wolfwood glanced at Vash. Vash looked slightly confused, but he covered it up quickly with another of his smiles.
His empty smiles, Wolfwood thought.
"So where to next, girls?"
Vash addressed them. Milly smiled.
"Well, that depends on you, Vash-san. It depends on where you want to know next. Sempai and I are only following you."
Vash tapped a finger to his chin in an act of thoughtfulness.
"How about ... Decembre?"
Wolfwood snapped to attention, spilling hot coffee over his hand.
"AAAIIIEEE!!"
He yelped, and Milly handed over five or six napkins with a worried look.
"Mr. Priest, you're just like sempai! Be careful around hot drinks!"
"Okay, okay, I will..."
Then he groaned.
"Ugh, I spilt it onto my cuff..."
Milly leaned over, dabbing at his hand with a napkin. The priest looked into her eyes as she leaned closer. Her eyes will filled with genuine worry, he could see that.
"You really should be careful, Mr. Priest, last time my middle-elder-brother burnt his leg while carrying hot soup. Sempai also burnt her thumb last time she was holding hot lemon tea - it went right onto her thumb. That was the first time I heard her scream! And the other time..."
Meryl visibly stiffened at the word 'scream'. She cupped her coffee with her hands and looked into the cup with a strange expression. Vash saw this, and wondered just what Meryl was so worried about that was so bad that she wouldn't talk to him.
Wolfwood was very, very close to Milly. He glanced over to Vash, who was looking at Meryl in a peculiar way, and then to Meryl, who was looking at her coffee in a peculiar way. He quickly leaned over and sneaked a kiss, right onto Milly's lips.
Milly jerked back in surprise. Wolfwood managed to snag the coffee before it was knocked over by Milly, who straightened herself and looked shocked, staring at Wolfwood.
"B-b--b-b-b--"
She blubbered. Wolfwood innocently blinked and smiled.
He liked how she was cute in this sense - her reaction had been expected.
"Is something wrong?"
Meryl looked at Milly in surprise. She hadn't seen Milly look so flustered since the first time Wolfwood had leaned into her on their first bus-trip.
"B-b--black!"
Vash, Wolfwood and Meryl all looked at Milly in bewilderment.
There was a long pause.
"What do you mean?"
Meryl finally asked.
"B-Black! Black coffee!"
Then Wolfwood realised that was probably what he'd just tasted like, having just had drunken it before kissing her. He hid his blush quickly by swallowing a few more gulps of the black coffee, and then wiping his mouth before grinning at her.
"Yup, just about the greatest drink on this planet."
Milly stared at him, then at Meryl.
At the sight of Meryl she seemed to calm down, and Milly seemed more like herself now. Settling down onto her seat, she took a big spoonful of pudding, and a look of complete bliss passed by her face.
