Okay, I'm sorry, this is just too damn funny to not share with you guys, even though a lot of you may actually be upset…but yeah. Here goes. See, my imouto-chan Jade sits here and reads reviews with me a lot, and she of course hears all my gripes about things like reviews that contradict each other or ask me weird ass questions. And of course, there's that one freaking reviewer who is STILL nagging me about the freaking coat and glasses and gun…gar. Anyway, so here's her review for the last chapter, meant as a total joke:
So, how could
anyone recognize Vash? That doesn't make sense. I think that the brothers were
really non appearing in this chapter, I think you
should work on that. It's pretty unbelievable. Oh and Vash is too nice. Meryl's stomach is too big, Millie's too Millie, and
Wolfwood is too dead. I mean I love this story but I just have to tell you
these things. Where's Vash's
coat and his sunglasses? And where are his headphones? Vash is too mean. I
think that you wrote Kuro-neko-sama pretty weird in
this chapter. I mean, would he REALLY act like this? I think his character is
underdeveloped. Oh and Vash is perfect!
I'm a smartass :p
Okay, so I know that not all of you give me something like that, but it made me laugh, and I felt a lot less pissy about the reviews that were being so weird and random when I read it. So thanks to Jade for lightening my mood when I was starting to think I would kill the next person who added a new criticism about the brothers. Don't tell me my original characters are out of character, because really, how would you know? Speaking of which…Empress Galaxia? Could you please introduce me to these men you apparently know who grow up and act their age by the time they're in their thirties? Because…I seem to be stuck on meeting all the ones that still act like they're five, so maybe I'm just looking in the wrong places. Obviously, I know nothing of men, as that is what seems to be the overwhelming opinion of the readers who keep telling me how to write them. Okay, you guys write the story and I'll take a break. It'd be nice not to have to deal with all the bullshit. ^_^
*****
Take My Hand
Part 12
*****
It's strange how some of the most bizarre activities can easily become routine for you if you're given the right level of comfort and familiarity to ease you into them. I think that perhaps if I wasn't already familiar with the idea of wandering from town to town after Vash in my earlier years with him, I might not have taken the whole idea of going on the run as simply another wrinkle to be ironed out of my daily schedule. I know it would have been strange for me if I didn't have everything I needed right there with me, if I wasn't receiving regular correspondence from my family and Millie, who served to make it all seem that much more normal. It was almost as if we were on an extended holiday, rather than out on the run from bounty hunters.
You might think that the fact that I was in an advanced state of pregnancy made it even more difficult, but as it was, Vash showed me every concern and made sure I rarely had to walk more than a few steps from the back of transport animal to the door of an inn, and I was actually feeling almost pampered by his constant attentions and endless questions to be sure that I was feeling well. After a week, we had developed a well worn routine that seemed almost as concrete as the schedule I had set for myself at home. It's odd how, given the right conditions, the human spirit can thrive anywhere, isn't it?
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"Gavin and Aaron are still upset, and they're not talking about you and Vash right now." I read from the letter we'd just picked up at the local bar. Millie had been following us pretty closely and keeping them in touch with my family. "Millie says that you two are doing just fine, and that I shouldn't be concerned, but you know that I can't help but worry for you and the baby. I hope that Vash is taking good care of you and that I will have a chance to see you again soon. Millie told me that you plan to settle down in a small town after the baby is born and lay low for a while. I was wondering if I could come see you then, or would it be bad for me to visit while you're in hiding? I don't really know the rules about this sort of thing. Your father wishes you both the best of luck, and you have all my love. Hoping to see you soon, mom." I set the letter down. "Well, that was sweet of her. She's dealing with this pretty well, don't you think?" I asked the man who was guiding the animal that carried me along it's way to the nearby inn.
"She was upset when she first found out, but she seems to be pretty okay with it now." Vash agreed. "That's how parents are supposed to be, I think. They worry about their children and they try to protect them from the world, but when there's no way to protect them, they just have to stand behind them and offer their support."
"I guess so…is that the inn?" I pointed to the building that we were close to reaching with a hanging sign in front that had faded letters on it. "I'm ready to go to bed."
"Not before you have some dinner." Vash told me, and I smiled down at him. I was saddle-sore and my back ached, but I wasn't about to tell Vash that. He seemed to think that anything that happened to me was a reflection of his incompetence and inability to properly protect me from everything possible, so I tended to keep petty complaints like that to myself. It didn't do much good, though. As he helped me get off the strange animal that had been carrying me for the past three days after we had traded the old one in for a new one, he could see the way I moved with stiff little movements, showing how much pain I was in. "Don't worry, love. You'll be able to lay down soon." He kissed my temple before leading me into the inn and paying the innkeeper for a room. After leading me up, he went back down for our scant luggage and returned to me where I already lay on the bed, dozing lightly. He looked down at me, and I could tell he was close to crying.
"I'm fine." I told him reassuringly. I really was, and it hurt to know that he had to worry so much about me. "I'm just tired, that's all."
"I'll be right back with some food." Vash kissed my forehead and disappeared again. When he returned, I was deciding that pregnant bellies made it impossible to find a comfortable spot to lay on, especially when my whole back felt like it was on fire from the strain of travel. "Meryl? Are you hungry?" I smiled up at him, holding two plates and scooted up against the headboard, taking my own dinner and devouring it quickly. It seemed that I was more and more hungry these days, but I supposed that it made sense, as I was eating for two.
"This stupid thing." I blushed slightly as I was unable to get up without some effort. Vash set his plate down and helped me to the bathroom. It was so embarrassing, not being able to take care of myself at all, it seemed. "I can't stand being like this." I told him after I'd finished and he was helping me back to the bed.
"Don't say that." He had finished his dinner and he took my own clean plate away, kissing my cheeks in turn and then my nose. "I only wish I could take better care of you."
"I'm fine." I told him, smiling slightly. It was rough traveling in my condition, but I couldn't think of anywhere else I'd rather be. "As long as you're with me, I'll always be just fine."
"Your back hurts." He climbed on the bed beside me and nudged at me until I rolled on my side so he could massage my back as he did every night. "I'm sorry." He pressed kisses along my neck, down my shoulders and along the line of my spine.
"Don't be." I reached back for him and he twined his fingers through mine. I pulled him forward, until he was laying flush against me, his lips still tracing the line of my shoulder that was exposed easily by the neck of the large shirt I wore to let my stomach have the space it demanded. "You spoil me, you know." I told him, pulling the hand down to my stomach where we both rested our palms.
"I love this." He whispered in my ear, his breath tickling against the little hairs that were around his mouth. "Can you feel it?" he asked, his voice full of wonder at the occasional movement that stirred against our hands.
"I can feel it all day, honey." I assured him. "You always make it seem magical, though." I turned my head, catching his lips with my own. At times…I felt guilty knowing that I was in no condition for sex, and that Vash had gone almost five months without making love to me. I know how much he enjoyed it, and no matter how many times he assured me that it didn't bother him at all, I couldn't help but wonder if maybe he was growing impatient for the pregnancy to end. And yet, he always seemed to think it was the most amazing part of me that he'd discovered yet, and sometimes when we walked from one town to the next, he would rest his ear against my stomach, excitedly telling me about all the noises he could hear inside. I think that Vash was probably more excited about the baby than anyone else, and I think that really helped assuage my fears that he'd get sick of the lack of sex, or tire of seeing me grow fatter and fatter with each day.
"It is magical." Vash kissed right below my ear. "It's the best thing I've ever seen." We cuddled for a bit longer before he pulled back to finish rubbing my back before he moved down to rub the soreness out of my thighs from being in the saddle all day. I never complained of aches, but he always seemed to know, always wanted to help me, to do everything he could to make it easier.
Vash made it more than easy. Vash made being pregnant one of the happiest times of my life. I doubt that at any other time had I been so coddled and spoiled, so cared for, so completely loved. I felt as though everything in the world was exactly as it should be, and never mind the fact that we were on the run and we had no place to stay for any length of time. Never mind the fact that if we were found, I knew it would end in some sort of fight that I was in no way equipped to handle at that point in time. Never mind any of that, because for all intents and purposes, we were just a happy engaged couple expecting their first child and traveling at a leisurely pace across the countryside.
"I love you." I managed the words before I fell asleep with Vash still kneading at my flesh diligently. He looked up from my right thigh, his eyes glowing happily and his smile sincere.
"I love you too." He assured me. "Go to sleep now."
Who was I to argue with such sound advice?
----------
"Aren't your feet sore?" I asked Vash as he sat at the foot of our newest bed, unbuckling his complicated boots. "You walk all day, and it's been nearly three weeks. They must be aching."
"I'm fine, Meryl." He assured me. "Turn over so I can rub your back." He climbed up beside me, stopping to plant a kiss on my huge stomach.
"If you rub my back, I should get to rub your feet." I told him firmly.
"You don't want to rub my feet." He grimaced. "They stink."
"They do not. You're making things up." I stuck my tongue out, giggling. "I have an idea, then."
"What's that?" he asked, working at my neck and shoulders with skilled hands.
"I'll wash them, and then I'll rub them for you." I told him, pleased with myself.
"I'm not going to make you wash my feet." Vash shot it down immediately.
"No, we could take a bath together." I explained further, set in my new great idea. "And I can rub your feet."
"Meryl, you don't have to rub my feet. They're really fine." He assured me.
"You rub my back and my legs every night. I should get to rub your feet." I grumbled good-naturedly. "Okay, new plan. You can rub my feet if I can rub yours."
"Your feet are bothering you?" he was immediately so worried that he'd been neglecting me that I actually burst into giggles.
"No, not since I barely ever walk, but if it means you'll agree, sure, they're in agony." I teased him. Seeing that I obviously wasn't about to give up on this idea, he nibbled at my ear and then climbed up over me before standing up.
"Okay then, smartass." He agreed, helping me up and guiding me to the bathroom. "You know, I don't see why you're making such a big deal about this." He set me to undressing while he ran the bath water.
"Well…I never do anything for you anymore." I told him, struggling out of my clothing, glad that Vash had already taken off my socks and shoes. Those were the most difficult to get to with my stomach in the way as it was. "And also…I mean, I know you say that you don't care at all, but we haven't had sex for a long time, so I figured that anything I could do…you know, it's fine."
"Meryl, you don't have to do things for me. And I really don't mind at all, Meryl." Vash told me, having just pulled his shirt off. "I'd much rather see you like this than anything else." He reached forward, stroking my swollen stomach possessively as he leaned in to kiss my forehead.
"Yeah, sure. You know, I know that you're a total sex-fiend, so you don't have to lie about it." I teased him. "Really, are you honestly going to tell me that you're not ready for me to be done with this?"
"Well…I guess so, but you know, it's totally worth it." He told me warmly before stepping back to take off the rest of his clothes. I moved past him, stepping into the bath, careful not to lose my balance as I moved over the rim of the tub and let myself sink into the steaming water.
"Mmm, this may just be my best idea ever." I sighed happily as the hot water soaked into my weary flesh, relieving the tension of the day. I let my eyes sink shut as he climbed into the bath across from me. "Feels good, doesn't it?"
"Mmm." Vash assented, obviously feeling about as blissful as I was. I felt his legs snake up over the top of mine as he stretched out more fully. Vash was so much taller than me that his feet hit the edge while his knees were still bent up above the surface of the water. "You're so tiny." He teased, reaching under the water to tickle my toes that didn't even make it all the way to his end of the tub.
"Tiny? Look at this." I teased back, patting my bulging stomach that poked out of the water at the top. "This thing could take you out."
"Don't use my baby as a weapon!" he protested, mock terror on his face as I reached for the soap, washing off the day's dust from my skin. "Need help?" he asked, wiggling his eyebrows mischievously. I couldn't help but giggle at the offer. I mean, it was so utterly ridiculous for my fiancé to try and use pick up lines on me while we were bathing together and I was pregnant with his child, but at the same time, it was hilarious.
"Sex-fiend, just like I said." I told him, finishing with the soap and leaning forward to hand it off. I reached under the water and brought his right foot over so that I could begin rubbing it, just running my fingers over the hardened bottoms and up the sides at first. "So, it was a good idea, wasn't it?" I emphasized my point by starting to rub at the knots of flesh I had found on my first feel of his foot. Vash answered with a noise that sounded close to the noise he made whenever he hit orgasm. I giggled, thinking he was just messing with me as he slumped back in the tub.
"Meryl…that feels really good." He finally spoke after a few moments of continued noises. I smiled, pleased that I was doing a good job at it. I used to rub my mom's feet for her sometimes when I felt like she was under appreciated and over worked…which was actually pretty often. Staying at home with her and seeing how much she did, I really appreciated her and tried to show her as often as I could. It made me feel bad that I'd sort of fallen out of touch with her when I left home, but at least now we were closer than ever. "Seriously…god."
"I thought you said your feet didn't hurt?" I asked him, raising an eyebrow teasingly. "But when I squeeze right here…it feels like they've been aching for ages. Shame on you, Vash."
"Yeah…shame." His eyes were drooping closed, and I wondered if maybe he'd fall asleep in the tub. It would be good for him to catch a little extra rest after all he'd gone through for me. I finished his right foot and moved onto the left as he began to make soft noises halfway between mewls and snores. It was utterly adorable, and I was enjoying myself thoroughly, but I knew it would be bad to stay in the tub until the water turned cold, so I reached forward, shaking his shoulders gently. I knew by then that it wasn't hard to wake Vash up, as he never slept very deeply due to all his years on the run, so I wasn't surprised when his eyes popped open almost immediately.
"Time for bed, sleepy-head." I teased him, wriggling a bit to point out that his legs were in the way of my bathtub escape. He smiled at me dopily and blinked a few times.
"Wasn't I supposed to do your feet?" he asked drowsily. I winked at him and shoved him to point out that I was ready to get out of the bath.
"I'll get pruny if we stay in here. Let's go to bed, alright?" I told him, and this time he stood slowly, getting out of the tub still dripping wet and pulling the plug out of the bottom before helping me up and out of the tub. "We're getting the floor wet." I told him.
"Not our floor." He pointed out, kissing me once on the mouth before grabbing a towel and drying me gently. He wrapped it around me and tucked it in, patting my bottom playfully. "I'll be out soon as I'm dried." He told me, his eyes twinkling happily.
"Okay, Vash." I smiled up at him, likely looking as dopey as he had only moments before, and then making my way back out and over to the bed without much difficulty. Reaching my destination, I didn't bother with looking for a nightgown, only dropping my towel and climbing into the bed, feeling completely relaxed and ready for a long night's sleep. Only moments later, the bed shifted as Vash climbed in behind me, pressing kisses all along the line of my neck before reaching my ear.
"Night, love." He told me, and I sighed happily, feeling truly content.
"Night, love." I returned the words before letting my eyes fall shut. Life on the run was just like life at home, in it's own way. At least this way Vash and I had more privacy.
*****
The End (Of Part 12, That Is)
