Huzzah. The last chapter, sort of. I'll explain that later. I don't own the people, but I own the plot and all that fun legal stuff. So, on with the fic!! Oh, and sorry this took more than a week to get up. You know, holidays and stuff.

Hey, DB, you have few reviews too? Dreams . . . I should go check that out when I get some time. I promise to leave you a review when I do go! And, as always, COOKIE!! ^_^ Thanks to Chelz and Pandora.81 too, ah, my loyal fans *does little swoon thing*

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~~Vash~~

            Legato clenches his jaw as I move the healing up a step. It feels so odd to him, having me touch his mind, delve into his mind. I can feel the uncomfortable sensation in my own head, but it is nothing compared to what he is going through. Suddenly his head jerks back against my hand. I close my eyes and focus on his thoughts, checking to make sure he's all right.

            Do you want to stop?

            No, I can do this. It's horrible . . .

            Don't force yourself; we can do more later if this is too much.

            No. I sigh slightly and push ahead despite my better judgment. His right hand flexes, opening and closing into a fist almost spasmodically, searching for something solid to grasp onto. Keep going.

            Legato's mind is a frightening place. It's torn apart, shattered and rebuilt in some twisted semblance of sanity. He is still perfectly sane, completely competent, but his values are far different than any I've seen. It occurs to me, everything he did that was ever wrong . . . he thought he was doing the right thing. It's horrifying to think that anyone could be this . . . scary.

            I'm bombarded by his thoughts too. Thoughts of Knives, thoughts of me. I can hear him screaming at himself for daring to think such things, believing he could never hope to be loved by either of us. It's disturbing, but somehow gratifying at the same time.

            But everything is a huge jumble, no coherent thought remaining through the discomfort I'm causing him. He can't stand it, yet he refuses to give up. His determination is admirable, but he needs something to distract him. My touch and the feeling of the healing is all he has to focus on and it's simply too much to bear.

            So I distract him. I lean closer to him, pulling his head level with mine, and gently press my lips to his. The response is immediate in his mind. At first, disbelieving, then reverent. I can feel his body relax as his mind gives itself over to the pleasure found in the kiss. I've wanted to do this for a while now; it's good to know he had no objections.

            I end the kiss and the healing, pulling back to look at his face. His breathing is heavy and he's sweating, no surprise considering what he just went through. He swallows repeatedly and opens his eyes to look at me. "Why'd you stop?" he asks, his voice weak and slightly slurred.

            "I had to. You couldn't take any more." He lowers his gaze, seemingly embarrassed over what just happened. "So, let's see if it was a success, all right?" He nods and I help him to stand.

            Slowly he kicks out his leg, testing it. "It seems back to normal, just a little stiff." He sounds jubilant, smiling ear to ear. Carefully I touch my hand to his left. No response. I drag my hand up, giving firm pressure until he gasps at the sensation. I frown; he didn't feel it at all until almost his shoulder. His smile quickly fades. "It's hopeless, isn't it?"

            "We can try again another time." Legato pulls away from me, fully able to stand on his own now. He sits in another chair, face emotionless. I move beside him, taking my own seat. "Legato, about the kiss –"

            He drops his eyes, staring at the floor. "I'm sorry, I have no right to think that way about you . . . or Knives. I know I didn't deserve it."

            I seize his chin and force him to look at me. "I did it because I wanted to. You needed a distraction, and I liked that particular choice." He opens his mouth to protest more, but I silence him as I press my lips into his once more. He melts into it as my tongue gently explores the recesses of his mouth. Finally I pull away and look back into his deep golden eyes. "Are you all right with that?" I'm answered as he leans forward, pecking me on the lips for the briefest moment and then standing again.

            He goes to the door and pauses. "I'm going to check on Wolfwood, I need to thank him again for something." I nod and watch as he disappears through the living room and up the stairs.

            He reappears a few minutes later, his left arm supported in a dark sling. "That's right. I forgot, Millie told me she was going to make that for you."

            He nods slightly and smiles. "I know I don't deserve it."

            I go to his side and plant a short kiss on his lips. "You deserve a lot more than you think, and I intend to see you get all of it." We go back to the kitchen and sit for some time in silence. I continue to flip through the papers on the table while he just watches me. He seems quite content just to do that.

            Suddenly Legato spun his head around to stare wide-eyed out the doorway. "Legato?" He stands, completely knocking his chair over and backs away from the doorway. Something is seriously wrong. "Legato? Talk to me."

            His breath is short, he's really scared. "M-master." I spin to face the doorway myself, then turn back to Legato. "He's out there."

            "What do you mean?" I try to comfort him, or at least get him to calm down.

            "Knives. He's out there." He puts his hand to his head in a motion of fear. My brother must be communicating with him telepathically. I turn and head towards the door but Legato grabs my wrist. "Don't go out there, Vash, please."

            I raise his hand to my lips gently. "He won't hurt me. Stay here." I head to the door, picking up my gun on the way, just in case. I open the door and, sure enough, my brother is sitting on a bench across the street. "Knives, what are you doing back here?"

            "Not pleased to see me Vash?" I should say not. I saw some pretty bad things in Legato's head, worse than I had ever thought. "Why are you out here, I wasn't speaking to you."

            "Legato is staying here with us. I offered to let you stay too, Knives . . ."

            "Whether or not he stays is up to him to decide, not you."

            "And not you either Knives."

            He smiles at me. "Well, I'm certainly not going to stay here among the spiders. I would think Legato had enough sense to agree with me about that. I'm actually giving him a chance to prove he's still worthy. He may take it and come with me, if he so desires." Knives is no longer speaking to me. He's looking over my shoulder, focused on the house.

            I turn to see Legato standing in the door, pale and once again in his trademark coat. He walks slowly forward and pauses at my side. I grab his wrist gently. "You can't go with him. You can stay here, with me."

            "You know I don't want that. You saw." His voice is fragile and soft like a thin strand of sculptured glass. Beautiful.

"I saw that you're afraid of him. He treats you horribly and you can't go back."

He pulls his arm away from me, but I tighten my hold. "Let go, Vash. There's no choice. I belong with Knives."

            "No, you belong here. Legato . . ." He walks slowly away and I let him go. Knives has a triumphant smirk on his face as he stands to leave with his servant. I feel a slight push against my mind. Legato?

            Go to the café. I don't know what he's done, but the people there are in danger.

            But, what about you?

            This is where I belong. Don't follow me, Vash. Thank you. For everything.

My breath catches as he walks off across the desert. Knives must have told him about the café being in danger. Legato was sacrificing himself for them. Knives must have wanted his servant back badly to go to all that trouble. I take a few steps after them but stop. I have to help the people here first.

And so the two people I care about most leave. I'll see them again, I know, but I don't look forward to that meeting or what's bound to happen between now and then.

**

So, that is sort of the end of my story. Now, all my faithful readers out there have a choice. This is where the story was originally supposed to end. However, I recently thought of a good tenth chapter. So, if you want to see a final chapter, review and request it and I will write it up for you all. Regardless, there will still be another post. Fans of mine know that my longer fics come with in character reviews as a final chapter. So if you want the last chappie, the two will be posted at the same time. If not, I'll just post up the little comedy review. Hope you liked this. Ja! ^_^

Special request to Deadly Beauty. Would you please write me an actual E-mail? I want to get in touch with you, but my E-mail won't send anything to you. *pouts* I have questions and stuff for you, so E-mail soon, k? Arigatoo.