Deeper than Blood
Chapter One: Musings and News
Meryl sighed as she gazed out of the kitchen window. It had been almost two years since the Fifth Moon incident, and she missed Vash deeply. Of course, she would be the last to admit that, but, then again, maybe she would. She remembered, with a blush, the night she and Vash had returned to an inn drunk, and woken the next morning in one another's arms. Then she felt a slight tug on her sleeve.
"Mama? What're you thinkin' about?" a boyish voice asked. Meryl turned and smiled at the owner of the voice. He appeared to be a child of five years, with spiky, cream-colored blond hair and sapphire blue eyes.
"Just thinking about your father, Lee. That's all." Meryl said, as she gently ruffled the boy's hair. He giggled, and by some unseen signal, his brother entered the room with a drawing he had just finished.
"Hey, Mama! Look what I did!" the twin shouted, as he proudly showed his mother the drawing.
"That's very good, Grant. Who's it of?" Meryl asked, as she held the picture in her hands.
"Of you and Daddy." Grant replied, matter-of-factly. Meryl smiled and shook her head; her children were unbelievably bright, especially for their age. Grant, the elder of the twins, had darker blond hair than his brother, and had his father's aqua green eyes. Lee had his father's sense of humor, and Meryl even caught herself calling Vash's name when she had to call Lee down from being too goofy. But they were both very sweet, very loving little boys.
"Meryl! Hey, Meryl!" Milly's voice shouted, with a tinge of glee in it.
"Hey, Milly! What's up? You sound excited!" Meryl replied, as she stood up and walked into the room Milly was just arriving in.
"I am! The boss has just told me that we have a new assignment! We're going to go after Vash the Stampede again!" Milly said, as she showed her friend the paper to prove it.
"That's great! But…………what about Lee and Grant? Who will watch them while we're gone?" Meryl asked, as she gave her twin sons a look of motherly worry.
"Let's take them with us! Vash will want to see his children for himself!" Milly said, getting a look of shock and horror from Meryl, and looks of childish excitement from the twins.
"B-but Milly! I can't take them with me! It'll be far too dangerous!" Meryl stammered.
"It'll be even more dangerous to leave them here. The curious and the vengeful alike will learn that they are here and seek them out. They'll be safer with us." Milly said, once again proving that she was smarter than she let on. Meryl's shoulders drooped in defeat.
"Fine, you win. They're coming with us." Meryl said, as the two boys cheered.
"Finally! We're going to meet Daddy!" Lee shouted, as he and Grant danced for joy.
"Mama! Will Daddy like us?" Grant asked, calming down first, concerned about that one thing.
"He'll love you, Grant. You too, Lee. There's no way he would ever reject you." Meryl said, gently. Grant grinned a toothy grin, and ran upstairs to get packed, with Lee on his heels.
"This had better be the right decision, Milly." Meryl said, turning a stern gaze onto her friend and partner.
"Don't worry, I'm sure things will be fine. Lee and Grant are both sweet little boys who take after their father. Grant is the serious side of Vash, while Lee is the goofy side. I'm sure Vash will see that." Milly reassured, wincing when something fell with a crash.
"Yep. They're his sons, all right. They have 'Humanoid Typhoon' written all over them." Meryl muttered, with a chuckle, then went upstairs to see what her sons had gotten into this time leaving Milly standing alone, shaking her head.
"Like father, like sons." Milly said, ruefully, as the sounds of scolding came to her ears