A/N: Gomen! Please excuse the horrible delay with this chapter. I know I promised to have this done a long time ago, but the DVD with episode 9 just found it's way home a short time ago, and using episode guides just don't cut it.
But here it is, straight from my mind to you…the Wolfwood chapter! I hope you all like it, and I would also like to give giant hugs to all of the wonderful people who took the time to review. I can't explain how much your simple words of encouragement and praise brighten my week. ^_^
This chapter is dedicated to Papa Bear, for being as cool as Wolfwood without even trying. ^_-
Chapter 3: Sinner, Save My Soul.
I was hoping to lighten his mood a little.
He was still a little miffed about the scene I caused while we were waiting for the bus to take us to May City. Meryl and I didn't have enough to pay for our tickets, and we couldn't access our allowance until we got to the bank. Meryl knew we had to get to the city; otherwise we couldn't make our report about the sand steamer. If that report didn't get in on time, we would lose our jobs. I said we should ask Vash for a loan, but she was too proud to ask him for anything. She didn't want him to think of her as weak, because her weakness would betray her as feminine, and if he noticed her as a woman she'd have a lot more trouble thinking of him as anything other than an overgrown, destructive child. So I caused a scene, making as much noise as possible, telling him how I would haunt him until the end of his days while fat tears tumbled down my cheeks. He knew I was full of it. I knew he would relent. But he was still grumpy. It was making the ride uncomfortable. So when Meryl left for the bathroom I thanked him for his kindness, ignoring his snide remarks about empty wallets. I was actually having fun until Meryl hit him on the back of the head and announced to the people on the bus that she had kindly shut him up for them and they wouldn't have to worry about him bothering them anymore. Did hitting him and making that small scene make her feel in control? I wondered if the flash of agitation on her face held the tiniest tinge of jealousy. Did she feel left out somehow?
He pointed out a small burst of light on the horizon.
It was tiny, I didn't see it at first, but when Vash made the bus driver head toward it, it looked like a fallen star caught in a sand dune. We moved closer, and the glare from the suns lessened slightly, a dark shape stood out on the horizon. It was a…cross. A giant creation covered in cloth and straps, its buckles gleaming cheerfully. Sitting beneath it was a man, or at least the remains of one. We all piled out of the bus, wondering if he was still alive. He was so…still. I couldn't tell if he was breathing. It wasn't until he lifted his sweat-covered face and greeted us that I realized I had been holding my breath the whole time. We got him and his cross on the bus and continued on our way. Meryl gave him Vash's water bottle and I gave him some tissue to wipe his face with. There was something oddly appealing about watching him drink, the way his hair brushed his collar when he tipped his head back, how he took from it greedily, never pausing to breathe. For a moment there was only him and the water bottle. It was if he was aware of the world but excluded the things that weren't immediately important to him. He was utterly fascinating.
He bothered me.
He was a mass of contradictions, just like Vash. His personality danced from here to there like sand in the wind. He and Vash acted like two mutts meeting on unmarked territory, each one barking and growling at the other under a paper-thin layer of civility. They were testing each other, but I could tell that they were going to get along as soon as they stopped acting like little boys. He was charming and polite toward Meryl and I. His eyes softened slightly when he looked at us; they held an intoxicating mix of charisma and yearning. At first I thought they were aimed toward Meryl. She is usually the one people address, the spokesperson for our little team. It was no wonder, considering his smoky eyes ripped the stupidest things from my tongue. Later, I watched him while he shared some food with a pair of hungry children. It made my heart ache. I never would have thought something so simple, so gentle could come from him. Meryl said something to me, and I tore my eyes away.
I was pretending that I wasn't listening to them talk.
I was perfectly content to sit there quietly, watching him in the window's reflection. I was happy they came back safe and sound, and I was joyous because he had complemented me on my shooting skills. It was sad really, how a few carelessly tossed words of praise from his lips made my blood hum. I replayed them in my head, savoring the moment like the last bit of ice cream that caresses your tongue and strolls down your throat. The next thing I knew the object of my reverie was beside me, casually settling against me and murmuring that I was comfortable. I couldn't move. My whole body was resonating with heat. I know most of it was glowing red hot on my cheeks. I didn't dare breathe for fear that he would change his mind and move somewhere else. I carefully glanced down at him. He had a little smirk on his face as if he knew he was making me tremble. I sat that way until morning, somehow managing to sleep without disturbing him.
Wolfwood. His name tasted like sin and redemption all in one.
When we said our goodbyes, I watched with a bit of awe as he easily slung that cross onto his shoulders after it took four men to get it off the bus. With that same smirk he had on his face the night before he told them it was full of mercy. I didn't believe it for a second. Any man who carried Mercy with him shouldn't be able to dole out Desire at random, knowing it will only cause Anguish when it goes unfulfilled. But I smiled and waved goodbye to him anyway, holding on to the fact that I would able to keep a sliver of a delicious dream in my head.
It would have to be enough.
A/N: Awww, poor Millie! But don't feel bad…she'll get hers in the next chapter ^_-. Ok, so please leave me a note to tell me what you think…even if you think this is complete garbage. ^_^
