Alright, guys, thanks a bunch for the reviews! I finally got a 100 reviews
on this story! *dances about happily* Yay! Thanks to everyone who made
it possible!
DuesExDream: *clutches at heart drastically* You almost scared me there! I thought you'd died or left or SOMETHING! *holds head and squints* Why'd ya' hafta go and kick me? It wasn't too nice, ya' know! Oh well... Hehe - didn't I take my time though? I guess that's just a bad habit. Knives and Stormy do need some fluffy scenes... I've been reading romance novels (which is SOOOO unlike me), so I guess I'm in the right mood and all. Keep reviewing!
Virgil: Umm...yeah, originally Stormie wasn't even going to be in the story, and it was just going to be Grayfall with Vash and Knives, but for SOME reason I brought her in with the thought that she'd probably have a very small role and that that, but she REBELLED against me and took over the whole story! I didn't mean for her to, honest! I really did design Grayfall to have the leading role, but Stormie seems to have a mind of her own... *Stormie pushed Grayfall out of the limelight and waves* Stormie! Stop that! You took most of his parts - can't you just be satisfied with that?! *hugs a forlorn Grayfall* Go and see Oriole - that's where you usually are in this story anyhow...
Jeril Dragonsoul: Special in his own psychotic way - wow! That defines Naoshi perfectly! I think my own love for bad guys stemmed from my obsession with Harry from Outlaw Star. Yes, I'll admit it, I loved that unstable bio-android! His teal hair and pretty violet eyes and pretty (English) voice that always sounded so vulnerable really made me hate Melfina for rejecting him. Then, if I recall correctly, I fell in love with Aoshi from Kenshin (I guess he can be called a bad guy...) and then Legato, and then Schuldig from Weiss Kruez, and then Darcia-sama from Wolf's rain and the list goes on and on! I have a soft spot for villains - it's unhealthy really...
Kamazova: *hands over a tissue* I'm glad you liked the way he met his demise. I love a dramatic death scene! I love it almost as much as I love my bad guys! Please, continue to review! Your opinion is very important to me.
Elf-vulcan: Read to find out just what he says... Kuja's Swan: You can draw on the computer? O_O I really never had any idea that was possible, but I'm a little out of the loop with all that technical stuff. I'm lucky I can work my Fanfiction account. Anyhow, any way you do it is totally awesome, as long as I can somehow see it! Hehe - so, are you drawing Naoshi with short or long hair? Ooo...so excited! AHHH!! I feel like I'm forgetting someone! Gomen to you, if I am, but I am so dead tired it's not even funny!
Oh, and in this chapter, Knives asks Stormie a question and she answers by singing. It's a Goo Goo Dolls' song called Slide. I'm sure most of you have heard it, and if you haven't, basically what Knives' says is a line from the song and she responds with some of the lyrics. So, it's not like I own it or anything...hehe
~~~~~
"He really was the first?" Knives asked, almost wistfully, carefully examining the woman before him. An almost comical expression, one of surprise and annoyance, spread over his face. "Surely he wasn't the first to actually love you though. Perhaps he was just the only one to vocalize it."
Stormie grinned, wiping the remaining tears from her eyes with the back of her hand. "Maybe, Knives. But what's your point?"
Much to her disappointment, he only shrugged and walked away. Grayfall was already seated in the back of the jeep, and Knives quickly took his place behind the wheel. Stormie decided that left the passenger seat up for grabs and hopped in, forcing herself not to look back at Naoshi, at his fallen form. No, seeing his lifeless body would only confirm that she had not been able to save him, and for now, just trying to cope with what had happened was enough of a job for her.
Had it even been right for her to feel any sympathy at all?
The ride home was going to be a long one; she knew that much. But it was also unexpectedly quiet. Within moments, Grayfall, who was being uncharacteristically silent and hostile, dozed off, his hand still pressed to his side, and Stormie found herself alone with a non-conversational Knives, who was acting even more uptight than usual.
"I hope you learned something from all this," he grumbled.
"Of course," she answered solemnly, her face earnest enough. "From now on, I am using the buddy system and carrying pepper spray! No siree, I'm not going anywhere alone! Well, except the bathroom...but other than that, I'm always taking along a friend, just in case! After all, wouldn't want to get kidnapped again - that'd make sorta like the third time if you count my first time with Naoshi in the desert an actual kidnapping, which I guess you really can't since he didn't take me anywhere, but anyhow, three strikes and you're out! Baseball, ya' know! WAIT! If we play by lacrosse rules, it's only TWO strikes out, so I'm alright! Ok, forget that, Knives, scratch it. We don't have to count it. Nope, nuh-uh, lacrosse has saved the day."
He apparently wasn't all too amused, merely rolling his eyes.
"So," she sighed, more serious now, "how is everyone?"
"Good. Mitayo and Bailey have moved out, but Xavier stayed. Vash is still an idiot. Oriole is as creepy as ever." Knives had never cared too much for the dainty woman - he claimed she had 'dead eyes' that did nothing but stare at him all day long. Oriole's reply was, 'to think those dead were staring at him was just plain conceited'.
"Ah." She didn't really have much to say on the subject of Mitayo. She was upset with him, sure, but at the same time she didn't have the energy to hold a grudge. "And how have you been?"
"Very worried, no thanks to you."
Running her still bruised hand through her hair, she teasingly warned, "Careful, Knives, I may get the idea that you actually care."
His cool as ice eyes flicked over in her direction as he nonchalantly muttered, "What kind of person do you think I am? I do care about you. You could've been killed, for goodness' sake."
Idly, she pressed her fingertips to a purple-green bruise on her knee cap, testing to see if it was still sensitive. It was. "You know I love you, right?" she asked wistfully. The words really weren't supposed to come out that way. Actually, they weren't supposed to come out at all. She was more or less asking herself a question, but what did it matter now if he overheard? Maybe it was the best way to fix the problem.
"No, I didn't know that," Knives stated calmly. "I suspected it, but it was never confirmed."
She winced. "Alright. Just checking."
"But I'm also assuming," he continued, his foot pressing down on the gas pedal harder so that they suddenly accelerated, "that you didn't know that I felt the same way about you."
"Huh," was the most intelligent sound she could make. It was a rather offended noise, as if she couldn't believe his statement. "Well," she said "I sure wish you'd told me earlier. I could've saved myself a lot of trouble and not made such a fool of myself."
"Oh, so this is all my fault?"
"In a word - yes."
"Well then." He leaned far back in his seat, head cocked thoughtfully to the side with one arm hooked over the open window and the other stretched out straight to control the steering wheel. "You wanna get married or run away?"
"Don't you love the life you killed," she sang in reply, smiling at him mischievously and only glancing at his surprised expression from the corners of her eyes. The wind was tangling in her hair, whipping it around her face. "The priest is on the phone - your father hit the wall...your ma disowned you."
He only sighed tiredly. "You have a song for everything, you know?"
"Yeah."
"I was serious though. Which one do you want?"
"Um, seeing as how I have a daughter at home, you can't very well leave Vash defenseless, and Grayfall is asleep in the back seat, running away is a little out of the question. Marriage!" In a very Vash-like moment, she flashed the peace sign and cried, "It's the way to go!"
"Hmm." He grimaced. "Marriage."
Stormie balked at his negative reply. "Hey, what's wrong with marriage? Don't you wanna commit?" Her smile was now a scowl. "I mean, is this going to be a relationship that only lasts as long as you want it to? Or am I actually going to be able to build my life on this?"
He was silent.
She threw her hands up in the air, exasperated. "I want a family, Knives!" she cried, falling back heavily into the seat and crossing her arms, fuming. "A normal family! And, if you don't want to be with me forever, then I don't want to be with you at all! You call this love? I think I had a better future with Naoshi back there and I - "
"Enough!" he interrupted forcefully, shutting her up immediately. "Why don't you try thinking before you speak?! Stormie, I never said or even insinuated any of those things."
She pressed her lips into a thin line, eyes narrowed. "Then what did you mean?"
He continued to try to reason with her, his voice sharp and cutting in his annoyance. "Marriage is for humans. I'm not used to the concept of it. And, no, I'm not going to abandon you. I am merely adjusting the idea of having to make this thing legit by reciting vows to a human. It's weird for me, ok? So, quit your whining as well as this little 'I'm so lost, I'm so confused, I'm always abused' act, will ya'?"
"Ah, Knives," she gushed, "you really do love me."
A faint smile curled his lips, and his countenance became one of relaxation. He had been expecting a full-blown fight with the woman, but apparently she was going to let this one go. Probably because he was right. Yes, Knives decided, she had finally realized he was correct.
"Grayfall is being awful quiet," she mused suddenly, leaning her elbow against the side of the jeep and letting her cheek rest against her fist. "Did the battle really wear him out that much?"
Knives sobered greatly. "Is he sleeping or something?"
She looked back to check. "Yep."
"Oh. He must be...very relieved that that man is dead now."
Stormie didn't answer, though he saw the way her expression tensed for a moment, as if her placid mask had slipped. An invisible hand pushed it back up into place and she gave him a toothy grin before yawning into her fist. "I think I'd like to sleep too," she commented.
"What? Stormie?" He glanced over at her with a frown, his grip tightening on the steering wheel. "Why are you unbuckling your seat belt?"
"Cuz I can't lie down and wear it at the same time," she answered matter-of- factly, turning her position slightly and then tilting back until she flopped carelessly down across the seat with her head landing none too lightly in his lap.
"HEY!" he shouted in surprise, his face coloring. "What are you doing?!"
She pouted, taunting him terribly and have quite a time with it. "I can't use you as a pillow, Mr. Forks?" she asked, her voice harmless.
"No," he ground out, "because it's distracting me and I HAVE TO DRIVE!"
"La la la..."
"STOP SINGING AND LISTEN TO ME!"
Suddenly, her tone turned bitter. "Why?" she muttered, averting her eyes over to the side, staring into the floor space of the jeep. "It's not like you really ever listen to me."
Knives knew Stormie - he'd lived with her for twenty years. She was a moody woman, if nothing else. To reply that he did listen to her was suicide, and asking her what she meant would also have unpleasant consequences. So, he continued to drive in silence, thinking upon the latest instance when he could have possibly offended her by not heeding her words. It took a while, actually. He all but gave up. After all, Knives considered himself pretty faultless at this point in time, and he had not the faintest what he could've done wrong.
~*~He's changed...you've hurt people too~*~
He winced as her words floated back to him, cursing at the fact that perhaps she might be able to use the teensy weensy itty bitty mishap in which he had shot Naoshi against her wishes to incite another long winded argument. He decided the best way to deal with her somewhat irrational anger would be to talk to her about it, and to be blunt. "Listen, you're not upset I killed him, are you? Naoshi, I mean."
Her face softened as she looked back up at him, though from her angle, his face could not tilt down far enough to return the gaze. She found herself staring up at the soft curve of his jaw, at his lean arms stretched out above her to control the wheel. "Aw, Knives," she sighed. "He really did have it coming. Don't get me wrong - I don't like it that he died. He really was going to do a complete turn around, I think, but...I can't fault you for what you did."
Here she paused and he thought he caught a mumbled 'I guess' under her breath, but couldn't be sure.
When she next spoke, her voice was raw with vulnerability. Umm..." She closed her eyes thoughtfully. "Naoshi was Faith's father, you know... He's the only one I've ever been with like that...and somehow, I feel like it wouldn't be so tough on Faith - on me, even - knowing how she came about, if perhaps Naoshi just could've redeemed himself..."
"Hn."
"What, Knives?" she said, and he could tell from her irritated tone that whatever words next left her mouth would not be pleasant for him. No, not at all. In preparation, he cringed, and it was justified when she teasingly demanded, "Are you jealous of him or something?"
"What?! Why would I be jealous of that psychopath?! He's dead!"
"I know," she continued in a quiet, breathy voice, her lower lip jutting out as she feigned being innocent. But as she shifted her position, he knew that her stretching out was just a movement to make him nervous. He did not LIKE to have her head on his lap at a time like this. In a place like this. Grayfall sleeping in the back seat. Regardless of his tense silence, she continued softly, "But him and me - we...you know...we had like this SPECIAL relationship going on there for a moment... You almost lost me, Knives." Her mischievous smile was back in place. "He was the first to say he loved me, after all."
"Stormie, number one - I don't think that the fact you were raped was anything to joke about, and number two - yeah, it really ticks me off. I wanted to be the first to tell you that."
At that somewhat crude statement, she blinked, and then, much to his embarrassment, burst into laughter, happily giggling until tears were streaming down her cheeks. But slowly, the chuckles grew fainter and began to transform into something else until she was gulping down a lump in her throat and burying her face in her hands. Without warning, she had dissolved into sobs. Right there. In his lap. No matter what turn the situation took, he couldn't get that out of his head...
Luckily for him, Stormie chose that moment to put an end to her playing and sit back up, still hiding behind her hands.
At Knives' questioning what was wrong with her, she could only choke out, "I'm so happy that...this is all over and that we're really going to be together... I'm nothing special - I'm not a prize or anything. But you make it sound like I'm so great... I'm not really that pretty or smart or anything... But, Knives, you make me feel like I am, and I'm happy, because now... I know this is where I'm meant to be..."
~~~~~
An hour passed. The scenery really never changed. Just boring, boring desert. Sand and stones and occasionally a rock formation or even another vehicle. Stormie was almost giddy with joy when they came upon a town, having been complaining for the last fifteen minutes that her butt was getting sore from all the sitting.
Knives' was also offering secret prayers, doubting that he could've stayed another moment in the car with the complaining female.
He pulled up to a small diner and parked just outside, nearly hitting a bulky, skittish Tomas as he clumsily fumbled to stop in time.
"You're not supposed to park there, you idiot!" Stormie cried, but he paid her no heed.
"Get Grayfall up," was his only reply as he stiffly unbuckled his seat belt. "Ask him if he'd rather eat or sleep, because at this point, what he chooses really doesn't matter to me. It'd actually save money if he slept through it."
Stormie rolled her eyes and eased herself out of the passenger seat, grumbling. Upon opening the back door, she found herself gazing upon the unconscious man stretched out across the back of the jeep on his side, hand still snaked under his long coat to press against his stomach. His mocha colored hair was spilling over his forehead and face, golden eyes closed and mouth gaping slightly, panting. Why did he look so pale and limp? "Come on," she said gently, growing edgy with the fear that something was wrong when he didn't respond. "Hey, Grayfall, you gotta get up." Almost hesitantly she leaned over his legs and reached out a hand to touch his shoulder, holding her breath as she shook him. Still, he did not rouse in the least.
Knives came by to see what was taking so long, stretching his long arms above his head and yawning. "Hmm?" he questioned lazily upon seeing her shocked state, her widened eyes. "He not getting up? Let him sleep."
"Knives... Something's wrong with him."
"Bull. What could possibly be the matter? He would've told us if he was hurt, right?"
Stormie shook her head, anxiety growing by the moment as she shook Grayfall harder, rolling him onto his back. Tenderly, she opened his coat up and slid her arms around his waist to lift his upper body slightly, trying to free the hand trapped beneath him. When she was able to lift up his wrist, she saw that his fingers and palm were sticky and stained with a dark red fluid. "Oh, great," she muttered.
"How bad is he hurt?" Knives immediately wanted to know, more intrigued than worried.
"I don't know. Naoshi must've actually gotten a hit on him at some point." Stormie had crawled up into the seat by this time, carefully moving over his legs and kneeling as best she could in the cramped space, though she had to nearly straddle his waist just to remain upright. With her teeth clenched, she was able to roll up his turtle neck nearly to his shoulders, exposing his chest and grimacing at the nasty tear in his flesh along the left side of his ribcage. "We need to get him to a hospital or something," she stated. "He looks like he's lost a lot of blood, and the bullet is still in there, though not too deep."
Knives was staring at Grayfall in shock, unbelieving of what he was seeing. Why didn't the other man tell him that he was hurt? How could he have kept it all to himself? What an utterly stupid thing to do, to try to hide the fact you'd been shot from your own allies, as if you didn't want them to be burdened or something dumb like that. "Shoot," he grumbled, climbing back into the driver's seat and revving up the engine, angrily preparing to drive to the nearest hospital - wherever that was - as soon as Stormie got herself situated in the passenger seat. "He really is like Legato..."
~~~~~
Ooooh...what will happen?! DuesExDream, I PROMISE some nice fluff and cute little scenes between Stormie and Knives in the next two chapters, ok? *sighs* Whew, we're getting close to wrapping this story up, I think!
Review!
DuesExDream: *clutches at heart drastically* You almost scared me there! I thought you'd died or left or SOMETHING! *holds head and squints* Why'd ya' hafta go and kick me? It wasn't too nice, ya' know! Oh well... Hehe - didn't I take my time though? I guess that's just a bad habit. Knives and Stormy do need some fluffy scenes... I've been reading romance novels (which is SOOOO unlike me), so I guess I'm in the right mood and all. Keep reviewing!
Virgil: Umm...yeah, originally Stormie wasn't even going to be in the story, and it was just going to be Grayfall with Vash and Knives, but for SOME reason I brought her in with the thought that she'd probably have a very small role and that that, but she REBELLED against me and took over the whole story! I didn't mean for her to, honest! I really did design Grayfall to have the leading role, but Stormie seems to have a mind of her own... *Stormie pushed Grayfall out of the limelight and waves* Stormie! Stop that! You took most of his parts - can't you just be satisfied with that?! *hugs a forlorn Grayfall* Go and see Oriole - that's where you usually are in this story anyhow...
Jeril Dragonsoul: Special in his own psychotic way - wow! That defines Naoshi perfectly! I think my own love for bad guys stemmed from my obsession with Harry from Outlaw Star. Yes, I'll admit it, I loved that unstable bio-android! His teal hair and pretty violet eyes and pretty (English) voice that always sounded so vulnerable really made me hate Melfina for rejecting him. Then, if I recall correctly, I fell in love with Aoshi from Kenshin (I guess he can be called a bad guy...) and then Legato, and then Schuldig from Weiss Kruez, and then Darcia-sama from Wolf's rain and the list goes on and on! I have a soft spot for villains - it's unhealthy really...
Kamazova: *hands over a tissue* I'm glad you liked the way he met his demise. I love a dramatic death scene! I love it almost as much as I love my bad guys! Please, continue to review! Your opinion is very important to me.
Elf-vulcan: Read to find out just what he says... Kuja's Swan: You can draw on the computer? O_O I really never had any idea that was possible, but I'm a little out of the loop with all that technical stuff. I'm lucky I can work my Fanfiction account. Anyhow, any way you do it is totally awesome, as long as I can somehow see it! Hehe - so, are you drawing Naoshi with short or long hair? Ooo...so excited! AHHH!! I feel like I'm forgetting someone! Gomen to you, if I am, but I am so dead tired it's not even funny!
Oh, and in this chapter, Knives asks Stormie a question and she answers by singing. It's a Goo Goo Dolls' song called Slide. I'm sure most of you have heard it, and if you haven't, basically what Knives' says is a line from the song and she responds with some of the lyrics. So, it's not like I own it or anything...hehe
~~~~~
"He really was the first?" Knives asked, almost wistfully, carefully examining the woman before him. An almost comical expression, one of surprise and annoyance, spread over his face. "Surely he wasn't the first to actually love you though. Perhaps he was just the only one to vocalize it."
Stormie grinned, wiping the remaining tears from her eyes with the back of her hand. "Maybe, Knives. But what's your point?"
Much to her disappointment, he only shrugged and walked away. Grayfall was already seated in the back of the jeep, and Knives quickly took his place behind the wheel. Stormie decided that left the passenger seat up for grabs and hopped in, forcing herself not to look back at Naoshi, at his fallen form. No, seeing his lifeless body would only confirm that she had not been able to save him, and for now, just trying to cope with what had happened was enough of a job for her.
Had it even been right for her to feel any sympathy at all?
The ride home was going to be a long one; she knew that much. But it was also unexpectedly quiet. Within moments, Grayfall, who was being uncharacteristically silent and hostile, dozed off, his hand still pressed to his side, and Stormie found herself alone with a non-conversational Knives, who was acting even more uptight than usual.
"I hope you learned something from all this," he grumbled.
"Of course," she answered solemnly, her face earnest enough. "From now on, I am using the buddy system and carrying pepper spray! No siree, I'm not going anywhere alone! Well, except the bathroom...but other than that, I'm always taking along a friend, just in case! After all, wouldn't want to get kidnapped again - that'd make sorta like the third time if you count my first time with Naoshi in the desert an actual kidnapping, which I guess you really can't since he didn't take me anywhere, but anyhow, three strikes and you're out! Baseball, ya' know! WAIT! If we play by lacrosse rules, it's only TWO strikes out, so I'm alright! Ok, forget that, Knives, scratch it. We don't have to count it. Nope, nuh-uh, lacrosse has saved the day."
He apparently wasn't all too amused, merely rolling his eyes.
"So," she sighed, more serious now, "how is everyone?"
"Good. Mitayo and Bailey have moved out, but Xavier stayed. Vash is still an idiot. Oriole is as creepy as ever." Knives had never cared too much for the dainty woman - he claimed she had 'dead eyes' that did nothing but stare at him all day long. Oriole's reply was, 'to think those dead were staring at him was just plain conceited'.
"Ah." She didn't really have much to say on the subject of Mitayo. She was upset with him, sure, but at the same time she didn't have the energy to hold a grudge. "And how have you been?"
"Very worried, no thanks to you."
Running her still bruised hand through her hair, she teasingly warned, "Careful, Knives, I may get the idea that you actually care."
His cool as ice eyes flicked over in her direction as he nonchalantly muttered, "What kind of person do you think I am? I do care about you. You could've been killed, for goodness' sake."
Idly, she pressed her fingertips to a purple-green bruise on her knee cap, testing to see if it was still sensitive. It was. "You know I love you, right?" she asked wistfully. The words really weren't supposed to come out that way. Actually, they weren't supposed to come out at all. She was more or less asking herself a question, but what did it matter now if he overheard? Maybe it was the best way to fix the problem.
"No, I didn't know that," Knives stated calmly. "I suspected it, but it was never confirmed."
She winced. "Alright. Just checking."
"But I'm also assuming," he continued, his foot pressing down on the gas pedal harder so that they suddenly accelerated, "that you didn't know that I felt the same way about you."
"Huh," was the most intelligent sound she could make. It was a rather offended noise, as if she couldn't believe his statement. "Well," she said "I sure wish you'd told me earlier. I could've saved myself a lot of trouble and not made such a fool of myself."
"Oh, so this is all my fault?"
"In a word - yes."
"Well then." He leaned far back in his seat, head cocked thoughtfully to the side with one arm hooked over the open window and the other stretched out straight to control the steering wheel. "You wanna get married or run away?"
"Don't you love the life you killed," she sang in reply, smiling at him mischievously and only glancing at his surprised expression from the corners of her eyes. The wind was tangling in her hair, whipping it around her face. "The priest is on the phone - your father hit the wall...your ma disowned you."
He only sighed tiredly. "You have a song for everything, you know?"
"Yeah."
"I was serious though. Which one do you want?"
"Um, seeing as how I have a daughter at home, you can't very well leave Vash defenseless, and Grayfall is asleep in the back seat, running away is a little out of the question. Marriage!" In a very Vash-like moment, she flashed the peace sign and cried, "It's the way to go!"
"Hmm." He grimaced. "Marriage."
Stormie balked at his negative reply. "Hey, what's wrong with marriage? Don't you wanna commit?" Her smile was now a scowl. "I mean, is this going to be a relationship that only lasts as long as you want it to? Or am I actually going to be able to build my life on this?"
He was silent.
She threw her hands up in the air, exasperated. "I want a family, Knives!" she cried, falling back heavily into the seat and crossing her arms, fuming. "A normal family! And, if you don't want to be with me forever, then I don't want to be with you at all! You call this love? I think I had a better future with Naoshi back there and I - "
"Enough!" he interrupted forcefully, shutting her up immediately. "Why don't you try thinking before you speak?! Stormie, I never said or even insinuated any of those things."
She pressed her lips into a thin line, eyes narrowed. "Then what did you mean?"
He continued to try to reason with her, his voice sharp and cutting in his annoyance. "Marriage is for humans. I'm not used to the concept of it. And, no, I'm not going to abandon you. I am merely adjusting the idea of having to make this thing legit by reciting vows to a human. It's weird for me, ok? So, quit your whining as well as this little 'I'm so lost, I'm so confused, I'm always abused' act, will ya'?"
"Ah, Knives," she gushed, "you really do love me."
A faint smile curled his lips, and his countenance became one of relaxation. He had been expecting a full-blown fight with the woman, but apparently she was going to let this one go. Probably because he was right. Yes, Knives decided, she had finally realized he was correct.
"Grayfall is being awful quiet," she mused suddenly, leaning her elbow against the side of the jeep and letting her cheek rest against her fist. "Did the battle really wear him out that much?"
Knives sobered greatly. "Is he sleeping or something?"
She looked back to check. "Yep."
"Oh. He must be...very relieved that that man is dead now."
Stormie didn't answer, though he saw the way her expression tensed for a moment, as if her placid mask had slipped. An invisible hand pushed it back up into place and she gave him a toothy grin before yawning into her fist. "I think I'd like to sleep too," she commented.
"What? Stormie?" He glanced over at her with a frown, his grip tightening on the steering wheel. "Why are you unbuckling your seat belt?"
"Cuz I can't lie down and wear it at the same time," she answered matter-of- factly, turning her position slightly and then tilting back until she flopped carelessly down across the seat with her head landing none too lightly in his lap.
"HEY!" he shouted in surprise, his face coloring. "What are you doing?!"
She pouted, taunting him terribly and have quite a time with it. "I can't use you as a pillow, Mr. Forks?" she asked, her voice harmless.
"No," he ground out, "because it's distracting me and I HAVE TO DRIVE!"
"La la la..."
"STOP SINGING AND LISTEN TO ME!"
Suddenly, her tone turned bitter. "Why?" she muttered, averting her eyes over to the side, staring into the floor space of the jeep. "It's not like you really ever listen to me."
Knives knew Stormie - he'd lived with her for twenty years. She was a moody woman, if nothing else. To reply that he did listen to her was suicide, and asking her what she meant would also have unpleasant consequences. So, he continued to drive in silence, thinking upon the latest instance when he could have possibly offended her by not heeding her words. It took a while, actually. He all but gave up. After all, Knives considered himself pretty faultless at this point in time, and he had not the faintest what he could've done wrong.
~*~He's changed...you've hurt people too~*~
He winced as her words floated back to him, cursing at the fact that perhaps she might be able to use the teensy weensy itty bitty mishap in which he had shot Naoshi against her wishes to incite another long winded argument. He decided the best way to deal with her somewhat irrational anger would be to talk to her about it, and to be blunt. "Listen, you're not upset I killed him, are you? Naoshi, I mean."
Her face softened as she looked back up at him, though from her angle, his face could not tilt down far enough to return the gaze. She found herself staring up at the soft curve of his jaw, at his lean arms stretched out above her to control the wheel. "Aw, Knives," she sighed. "He really did have it coming. Don't get me wrong - I don't like it that he died. He really was going to do a complete turn around, I think, but...I can't fault you for what you did."
Here she paused and he thought he caught a mumbled 'I guess' under her breath, but couldn't be sure.
When she next spoke, her voice was raw with vulnerability. Umm..." She closed her eyes thoughtfully. "Naoshi was Faith's father, you know... He's the only one I've ever been with like that...and somehow, I feel like it wouldn't be so tough on Faith - on me, even - knowing how she came about, if perhaps Naoshi just could've redeemed himself..."
"Hn."
"What, Knives?" she said, and he could tell from her irritated tone that whatever words next left her mouth would not be pleasant for him. No, not at all. In preparation, he cringed, and it was justified when she teasingly demanded, "Are you jealous of him or something?"
"What?! Why would I be jealous of that psychopath?! He's dead!"
"I know," she continued in a quiet, breathy voice, her lower lip jutting out as she feigned being innocent. But as she shifted her position, he knew that her stretching out was just a movement to make him nervous. He did not LIKE to have her head on his lap at a time like this. In a place like this. Grayfall sleeping in the back seat. Regardless of his tense silence, she continued softly, "But him and me - we...you know...we had like this SPECIAL relationship going on there for a moment... You almost lost me, Knives." Her mischievous smile was back in place. "He was the first to say he loved me, after all."
"Stormie, number one - I don't think that the fact you were raped was anything to joke about, and number two - yeah, it really ticks me off. I wanted to be the first to tell you that."
At that somewhat crude statement, she blinked, and then, much to his embarrassment, burst into laughter, happily giggling until tears were streaming down her cheeks. But slowly, the chuckles grew fainter and began to transform into something else until she was gulping down a lump in her throat and burying her face in her hands. Without warning, she had dissolved into sobs. Right there. In his lap. No matter what turn the situation took, he couldn't get that out of his head...
Luckily for him, Stormie chose that moment to put an end to her playing and sit back up, still hiding behind her hands.
At Knives' questioning what was wrong with her, she could only choke out, "I'm so happy that...this is all over and that we're really going to be together... I'm nothing special - I'm not a prize or anything. But you make it sound like I'm so great... I'm not really that pretty or smart or anything... But, Knives, you make me feel like I am, and I'm happy, because now... I know this is where I'm meant to be..."
~~~~~
An hour passed. The scenery really never changed. Just boring, boring desert. Sand and stones and occasionally a rock formation or even another vehicle. Stormie was almost giddy with joy when they came upon a town, having been complaining for the last fifteen minutes that her butt was getting sore from all the sitting.
Knives' was also offering secret prayers, doubting that he could've stayed another moment in the car with the complaining female.
He pulled up to a small diner and parked just outside, nearly hitting a bulky, skittish Tomas as he clumsily fumbled to stop in time.
"You're not supposed to park there, you idiot!" Stormie cried, but he paid her no heed.
"Get Grayfall up," was his only reply as he stiffly unbuckled his seat belt. "Ask him if he'd rather eat or sleep, because at this point, what he chooses really doesn't matter to me. It'd actually save money if he slept through it."
Stormie rolled her eyes and eased herself out of the passenger seat, grumbling. Upon opening the back door, she found herself gazing upon the unconscious man stretched out across the back of the jeep on his side, hand still snaked under his long coat to press against his stomach. His mocha colored hair was spilling over his forehead and face, golden eyes closed and mouth gaping slightly, panting. Why did he look so pale and limp? "Come on," she said gently, growing edgy with the fear that something was wrong when he didn't respond. "Hey, Grayfall, you gotta get up." Almost hesitantly she leaned over his legs and reached out a hand to touch his shoulder, holding her breath as she shook him. Still, he did not rouse in the least.
Knives came by to see what was taking so long, stretching his long arms above his head and yawning. "Hmm?" he questioned lazily upon seeing her shocked state, her widened eyes. "He not getting up? Let him sleep."
"Knives... Something's wrong with him."
"Bull. What could possibly be the matter? He would've told us if he was hurt, right?"
Stormie shook her head, anxiety growing by the moment as she shook Grayfall harder, rolling him onto his back. Tenderly, she opened his coat up and slid her arms around his waist to lift his upper body slightly, trying to free the hand trapped beneath him. When she was able to lift up his wrist, she saw that his fingers and palm were sticky and stained with a dark red fluid. "Oh, great," she muttered.
"How bad is he hurt?" Knives immediately wanted to know, more intrigued than worried.
"I don't know. Naoshi must've actually gotten a hit on him at some point." Stormie had crawled up into the seat by this time, carefully moving over his legs and kneeling as best she could in the cramped space, though she had to nearly straddle his waist just to remain upright. With her teeth clenched, she was able to roll up his turtle neck nearly to his shoulders, exposing his chest and grimacing at the nasty tear in his flesh along the left side of his ribcage. "We need to get him to a hospital or something," she stated. "He looks like he's lost a lot of blood, and the bullet is still in there, though not too deep."
Knives was staring at Grayfall in shock, unbelieving of what he was seeing. Why didn't the other man tell him that he was hurt? How could he have kept it all to himself? What an utterly stupid thing to do, to try to hide the fact you'd been shot from your own allies, as if you didn't want them to be burdened or something dumb like that. "Shoot," he grumbled, climbing back into the driver's seat and revving up the engine, angrily preparing to drive to the nearest hospital - wherever that was - as soon as Stormie got herself situated in the passenger seat. "He really is like Legato..."
~~~~~
Ooooh...what will happen?! DuesExDream, I PROMISE some nice fluff and cute little scenes between Stormie and Knives in the next two chapters, ok? *sighs* Whew, we're getting close to wrapping this story up, I think!
Review!
