Wolfwood: ¬.¬_? I'll have you know that I had nothing to do with any of this.

Milly: Oh, Bokushi-san, don't be so mean! ^______________________^

Wolfwood: O.o_?

::Milly takes cigarette and stomps on it::

::scattered ashes form letters that read "Not owning Trigun"::

Unmarked--Chapter Three

            "Don't burn them, Tongari," I joked, watching Vash fry the eggs that were to be our breakfast.

            "Wolfwood, I know how to cook," the Humanoid Typhoon.

            "You know, you ruin our meal, and this household will become sixty billion double dollars richer,"

            "I'm sure," Vash said, lifting his left arm and releasing the machine gun. "Think again."

            "Never said I would be the one to pull the trigger,"

            Meryl appeared at the door. "Vash, your brother's asking for someone named 'Chapel'. Who's that?"

            I got up and drudged up the stairs.

            While it was really Milly's job to take care of Knives now, Meryl had taken over today, since my sweetheart was, well, coughing the remains of her dinner the night before into the toilet.

            "Are you feeling all right, my honey?" I asked, tapping on the door.

            "Better," she replied weakly from the other side. "At least you're here. I can't imagine how it would be without you,"

            I smiled to myself and continued down the hall to Knives's room.

            "What took so long?" he snapped. "Other servants were at my side the second I summoned them."

            "Forgive me for not being able to travel by whirlwind." I snapped. "I'm not your little lapdog like Legato was."

            Knives narrowed his icy blue eyes at me. "Chapel, you've learned not to get on my bad side. You should value the fact that you're still alive."

            "That's only because Evergreen was a horrible shot,"

            Knives snorted. "Bluesummers and Midvally would love to hear that."

            "Too bad neither of them are around to,"

            "Don't be so sure," Knives studied his hand and gnawed at a hangnail. I stared at him, waiting for his dismissal. While I didn't consider him my boss, I really did cherish the fact that I was still living, and I was sure the other people in this house did as well.

            "They are all dead." I told him. "Midvally was keeping tabs. Had them carved in the wall, each crossed out as they died."

            "Did he?" Knives asked, now sounding amused. "And how do you know this, Chapel?"

            "Well, if you were able to go to Dhmitri and check, you would see that the only names left unscathed are his own and Legato's,"

            "Midvally didn't know everything. None of you knew anything,"

            "Except Legato," I snapped. "He knew every last detail, and I'm sure he knew things about you as well."

            "Chapel, remove yourself from my sight now," Knives ordered. His voice was curt and smooth, but I knew anger was arising beneath the surface. Many of us had our own ideas of what was going on between him and Legato, especially Dominique, who played up to Legato to see if she could get any information, acting like a school girl with a crush, even though her sentimentality was directed more at Midvally, and it was reciprocated.

            I bowed out of the room and closed the door, meeting Meryl in the hallway. She was carrying a plate of toast and unburned eggs, as well as a glass of juice.

            "He's in a good mood," I told her. "For him at least,"

            "That's nice to know," she said, slipping past me. "Thank you, Chapel,"

            "Anytime, Stryfe," I muttered, watching her tiny body vanish through to doorway.

            Milly stood at the bottom of the stairs and sniffed, debating whether or not she'd attempt to eat breakfast. I rested my hands at her hips and nuzzled her neck.

            "Hello, Nicky-kun," she breathed. I kissed her on the cheek and brushed past her. She was starting to show a bit, but was still beautiful.

            "I love you, honey," I said, turning around and taking her hand. I led her to the kitchen anyway.

            "Wolfwood," Vash said, handing me a plate. I offered it to Milly, who promptly shook her head.

            "Have you considered working somewhere in town?" the Humanoid Typhoon. "I mean, Milly's been going into town occasionally to help with the well, Meryl works in the restaurant, and I'm working as a plant technician."

            "I already have a profession," I said bluntly. "And aren't the girls not supposed to have jobs on the side?"

            Meryl had walked in while I'd said that, and I could almost see her itching to correct my grammar.

            "True," she said, sitting down across from me. "But otherwise we wouldn't be able to cover the rent and doctor's fees, not to mention food."

            I nodded, understanding fully what it was not to have enough money. Thank the lord that I didn't have to pay the coroner back.

            Vash took the seat between Meryl and me and took a bite out of his toast. "I know you're a priest, but couldn't you take up another job on the side?"

            "According to your brother, he already has one," Meryl muttered, throwing me an icy glance.

            Milly's nervous gaze shifted from Meryl to me back to Meryl. I gave her a reassuring smile.

            "I do not work for Knives anymore," I informed the shorter insurance girl.

            "The twelfth Gung-Ho Gun," she returned. "How can we trust you any more than the others?"

            "You seemed to be rather trusting of Zazie," I argued, bringing up the child Gung-Ho Gun. Milly's eyes filled with tears, remembering how I'd killed him. I kept my gaze fixed on Meryl.

            "Bete was a child! He was crying in his sleep!"

            "He was one nevertheless!"

            "Enough!" Vash said. "Meryl, please, we're just going to have to trust him! Wolfwood," He turned to me. "Either you take care of Knives and Milly goes back to the well for a few more weeks, or you can probably get a job in the restaurant. I know you can cook."

            "I'll look after Knives," I said, staring down at my food. "And I'll pick up work somewhere once Milly isn't able to any more,"

            Milly took my hand and squeezed it gently. I smiled at her, knowing she enjoyed working on the well. It did put me off slightly when she came home smelling of gunpowder and sulfur, but if it was getting water to everyone, it was fine with me.

            After we finished eating, Milly and Meryl headed out, but Vash stayed behind for a few minutes.

            "Wolfwood," he said, glancing towards the stairs, "just don't kill him, please."

            "What makes you think I'd do that?"

            "He ordered your death,"

            "And yours," I reminded him. "Or did you forget why he had Legato assemble the Gung-Ho Guns in the first place? He ordered it because you refused to be by his side, to aide him in his quest."

            "If I had, you wouldn't be standing here," Vash snapped. Changing demeanors, he said, "Tell Knives that one day he can come with me and see our sister."

            "Sister?"

            Vash sighed. "The plant in this town, Wolfwood,"

            I nodded and watched him walk out the door.

            "Are you leaving without saying good-bye?" I asked the empty room. A vague memory of the last time I said those words came back to me. I shook the thought from my head as I walked upstairs.

            I opened the door to Knives's room slightly and peeked in.

            "I didn't call for you, Chapel. You will know when I require your services. Now leave,"

            I silently closed the door and stood in the hall for a few minutes.

            "Chapel!"

            "That was awfully fast," I grumbled as I walked into Knives's room.

            "I don't need you to do anything," he snapped. "I have to ask something, though."

            "What?"

            "You and that spider, Milly," he smirked. "Procreation. Technically against my orders, Chapel,"

            I stared him dead in the eyes. "That had nothing to do with your assignment to me."

            "It was the general assignment to all the Gung-Ho Guns. You all were so easily won over by a little money,"

            I glared, but focused my eyes on the window frame. I'd needed the money for the orphanage, and when Chapel had approached me, telling me of two men who were offering vast amounts of money (at that point, it was sixty billion divided fourteen ways--Knives didn't want the bounty money--you do the math), I didn't hesitate.

            I wanted to bug Knives, something that would make him dismiss me from the room, so I asked another question that bothered me, even though it had a relatively obvious answer.

            "Knives, if you minimalized your contact with humans, save Legato of course," I started, watching his temple throb as I brought up Legato, "how was it that you always seemed to have bullets?"

            I could sense him wanting to throttle me, but he didn't move. "Legato provided them for me, and after his demise, I just stole them from ignorant passersby."

            "How did you pay Legato back? Bullets can get quite expensive."

            "Chapel, you are dismissed. Remove yourself immediately,"

            I did as he asked, bowing out of the room and shutting the door. Just to bother him a bit more, I started to sing just loud enough that he could hear me through the door.

            "So, on the third celestial evening,"

            "CHAPEL!" he bellowed. "Cease!"

            I stopped and walked down the stairs, smirking.

********

            I closed the door softly.

            "Nicky-kun," Milly whispered. I smiled and walked over to the chair she was sitting in, gazing out the window at the moons.

            "Hello, my honey," I said softly, kissing the base of her neck. "I love you,"

            Milly took my hand from her shoulder and moved it to her abdomen. "It kicked," she murmured.

            Sure enough, I felt a slight stirring beneath my hand, and I felt a shy smile creep across my face

            "I brought you something," I said, taking my other hand out from behind my back. In it was a dish of pudding, with a spoon.

            "Bokushi-san," she breathed, "Thank you,"

            "Anything, my love," I kissed her cheek softly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I like to put in W/M fluff whenever possible! It makes me feel warm and gushy inside. And I'm not a mushy person, either.

As Wolfie said, bullets do get expensive. To quote a certain Humanoid Typhoon (episode 5, I think), "I could get all these pancakes for the same amount of money as a round of bullets." Note that he had a stack of pancakes about 2 feet high in front of him.