Chapter Twenty-nine: Contemplations
"He's not here, Tongari,"
Wolfwood shouted from the other side of the wreckage. Vash sifted through a pile of plastic before sighing. However, he smiled.
"I guess he got out in time."
He said.
"Let's get out of here,"
Meryl called to the men urgently,
"I can see a sandstorm coming."
They turned to see a blurry haze of sand and dust brewing up a distance away, and shivered.
"This sucks!"
Vash whined,
"The car I rented is messed up."
"We'll ride my car, then,"
Wolfwood said, gesturing to the car he and Meryl had rented themselves. As Vash hurried towards the vehicle, he had to hide a wince. The pain from his wounds were not healing very nicely yet thanks to his roll-about in the sand with Meryl.
As Vash settled himself into the back-seat of the jeep, Wolfwood slipped into the driver's seat. Milly got in the opposite front seat before Meryl really had a choice, but to Vash's surprise, she sat next to him without complaint.
Wolfwood slammed a foot down onto the pedal, and with a screech of sand zoomed away from the pile of destruction. Everyone had an idea who this was going to be blamed on later.
They drove in silence for moment, everyone thinking about what had just happened - they had barely managed to escape the brink of death yet again. However, Rederine the Temaski left in each of them something new.
Wolfwood, for one, had seen exactly what Milly had seen in a split second - a pain in those amber eyes so deep only Vash the Stampede would know it. He had hidden it, though, not with the sheen of false cheerfulness that Vash used but with a screen of violence and hatred. It was like seeing someone who had been given the same choice of act Vash had been given, but had gone the opposite direction from Vash's path. It had driven Rederine to an extent that only one thing remained between him and a complete breakdown - acceptance... which the girl next to him had given him. The priest glanced at the tall brunette, who was shivering.
She was shivering involuntarily at memory of Rederine's eyes. To Milly, his eyes were scary to her - a confusing array of mixed emotions that chased and swallowed the other up, all contained in that one single soul of Rederine the Temaski. It was really identical to Vash's, only Vash had gone a stage further earlier on, and had found something to help him cope with all the pain... Milly grinned to herself and cast a smile towards Meryl.
Meryl, on the other hand, was remembering how Rederine had hurt her violently before with that whip of his. She had failed to see the inner him behind his eyes because he had been in denial at the time. He had definitely relished a pure brand of hatred that increased everytime he had struck her, but thinking about it, Meryl wondered if the hatred had not been to her but himself. She had fallen unconcious before seeing his reaction to all the blood, but all she knew was that she had seen something quite different in his eyes when she had seen him in the laboratory... they were eyes that screamed for help. She knew Vash had helped him in the best way he could, but what was Vash thinking?
He was thinking about himself, actually. Vash realised, upon comparing himself to Rederine the Temaski, that their pain was shared, and he wondered what exactly Rederine had been aiming for in the end.
...An answer, I guess.
Vash thought. He had most definitely found his own answer to his pain... although it felt kind of corny, he couldn't help but feel that he had found love. His travelling companions had become his best friends, and he knew he wouldn't be able to bear much without them now. Besides, one of them was making him feel a different brand of love... his eyes flickered to the small insurance girl, and a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
She caught his glance, and blinking she turned away quickly to stare out the window, widening Vash's small smile.
The way she did her job with confidence, yet without much confidence in herself.
The way she could snap so viciously, yet smile so warmly at times.
The way she hid her pain to not worry anyone else, and kept it to herself.
The way she held a logic that would lash back at her because of a certain blond gunman.
The way she had a sweetness that she only revealed sometimes, and probably didn't know she even had.
The way her eyes reflected an admiration she would never admit.
The way she acted so strong when asleep no one looked more vunerable.
The way she couldn't mask her concern with that ridiculously annoyed expression she had on currently.
And the way she just sometimes... knew.
All these things about her left Vash the Stampede feeling helplessly attracted to Meryl. Strangely attractive. He looked at her small figure, and as expected, she was glaring furiously out the window. The feelings he felt then had never felt so-- so-- new. When she had leant into him in the bus so many days ago, it had been so ...innocent. It was an indescribable innocence that, most definitely, was new to him. And he was supposed to be over a century old... yet what he was experiencing with this young insurance woman filled him with a gloriously new feeling.
It felt nice.
She glanced back, making him quickly hide his surprise with a quirk of an eyebrow, and saw that she had her eyes on his shoulder.
"...Your shoulder..."
Vash looked down and realised the dark stains on his coat had darkened further. He gave what he hoped was an assuring smile.
"I'm fine,"
He began, when she gave him a cool death glare, making him sigh defeatedly and start unbuttoning his coat. He shrugged the top half off, and let Meryl inspect it. He saw her stifled wince before she pulled out a handkerchief from her coat to mop up some of the blood. He let her without complaining, for once. She tied the cloth as tightly as she dared around the wound, muttering something about seeing Dr. Lonners, and Vash couldn't help but laugh.
His low chuckle caught Meryl off-guard, and she looked up, her violet-grey eyes meeting his aqua ones, and saw mutual emotion. They looked in surprise at each other for a few seconds before Meryl, seeming unaffected, tore her eyes away. With an exasperated huff she dug her chin into her palm, staring out the window once again.
Vash saw a blush on her turned cheek, however, and he grinned.
Wolfwood and Milly saw the exchange and hid their laughter. Wolfwood looked at Milly, and remembered.
"Hey, Milly..."
Everyone in the car stared at Wolfwood with wide eyes. Did he just call Milly... well, Milly?! He blushed a little before continuing,
"...how's the baby?"
Meryl grinned at the embarrassed look on Wolfwood's face. Milly smiled back widely, her eyes shining at the step-up in level with her name. She had always called him 'Mr. Priest', but when he wasn't around to herself, she called him 'Wolfwood-san'... and she remembered calling him that as they had fallen through the air. Wolfwood had noticed! She felt elated.
"Hungry,"
She said softly, giggling. Wolfwood and Meryl smiled warmly at the bubbly happiness in Milly's voice which held a rare sense of pride in it.
And of course, Vash chose that moment to cry out:
"WHAT BABY?!!"
"Will you stop muttering, Tongari?!!"
Wolfwood exclaimed in exasperation as they walked up the stairs to their inn rooms. Vash trailed behind in a sort of half-daze.
"But I can't belieeeve I'm the only one who didn't knooooow,"
He whined. Meryl rolled her eyes.
"It's not surprising with your level of intelligence,"
She commented. He mock-glared at her.
"How dare you!"
He cried, although the hint of laughter in his voice betrayed him,
"I'm insulted, Meryl Stryfe!!"
Vash continued to walk on as Wolfwood entered his room, pulling Milly along with him as she let out a yelp of surprise, but he stopped when he noticed the lack of Meryl. He turned to see her looking shocked, her eyes wide and staring at him.
"What's wrong?"
He asked. Meryl snapped out of her surprise, and walked on again, letting out a low sigh. Vash caught her wrist before she could pass him properly, though. His fingers brushed against her gash, which was now nearly a scar, and their eyes met again.
Vash raised an eyebrow as Meryl let out a laugh.
"So you do know my name."
She murmured. He noticed her hand wasn't straining to get out of his grip or anything, and took that as a good sign.
"Of course I do,"
He scoffed,
"You didn't think I wouldn't, did you?"
Meryl frowned.
"You didn't use it did much, did you?"
She retorted. He looked sheepishly about, to her surprise, his thumb twiddling against her palm.
"Well, uhm..."
"Why didn't you?"
She asked curiously. He looked at her with a sort of embarrassed smile.
"'Cause, well... I guess it's kind of about time I used it. Because.. uhm... I'm no longer afraid."
Meryl's eyes grew round at his last few words, and her lips curled into a smile at Vash's embarrassment.
"Vash-san,"
She began, when Vash shook his head vigorously, holding up a hand with a classic Vash expression.
"No! Vash."
"Okay, then... Vash."
She paused, and the effect of familarity touching both before she continued,
"I'm glad you're not afraid anymore."
She gave him that rare, warm smile, and Vash couldn't stop a blush this time. He hadn't expected that. She noticed the redness before going on her tiptoes to peer at his face with a wide grin.
"Ho, are you blushing?"
She teased, her tone mimicking Vash from earlier on. He brought his forehead down to gently meet hers before replying easily,
"Yeah."
She stepped back in surprise, startled, and he grinned. Meryl gave him a look before sighing, shaking her head before she commented,
"You know, she told me you were afraid."
He couldn't disguise his reaction as his eyes widened and his mouth slightly opened. Meryl smiled a little sadly at his reaction.
"I'll tell you all about it some time."
He could only nod slightly, and then noticed Meryl stepping forward. She leaned towards him, and gently kissed his cheek. He blinked in great surprise, staring at her as she gave him the same sad smile before she turned and started to walk towards his room.
She sighed softly. Was he mad at her for doing what she had? Had she gotten too personal? His expression was too much of shock for her to interpret as either good or bad. Meryl was wondering whether it was wise to walk into Wolfwood and Milly now or not when she felt a hand at her shoulder. Another sigh escaping her lips, she turned around to face Vash, when he grabbed both her shoulders with his hands and pulled her to him.
"Wha--"
She was interrupted by his mouth. He kissed her deeply and sweetly, his arms pulling her closer to him -- and then let her go. She was too much in shock to anything else than stare at him. He was bright red as he pushed her back from him, though his blue-green eyes were glowing.
Then he suddenly straightened, gave a ridiculous salute as he said way too loudly,
"Let's go in, then!"
before he ran off and into the his room. Meryl blinked after him in surprise. A split second later, she heard Wolfwood yelp, obviously startled, and then heard Vash laugh maniacally. She lifted her fingers to her face, pressing a knuckle to her lips.
...Whoa.
She realised she was blushing madly, and waited a few seconds for her face to cool down before she allowed herself into the room. Soon she was helping Milly pry Wolfwood off Vash's neck.
Kuroneko sauntered lazily by room 204 of Cendre inn, took a look at the typical ruckus inside, then continued down the hall.
