DuesExDream: School IS evil, and if you don't stop kicking me, I will kill Grayfall! AHAHA! Ok, not really - I'd never do that to the poor guy. But yeah, Knives and Stormie were always one of those 'unspoken couples'. I'm in a relationship kind of like that - nothing's official, but somehow everyone knows that you just kind of belong to the other one. lol Grayfall - I've tortured him so. We'll have to help him find a little bit of happiness now, won't we?

Jeril Dragonsoul: *gawks* You've seen Wolf's Rain too?! OMG! I LOVE THAT SHOW! Especially that one episode (it's either two or three) where Toboe killed that girl's bird and when she saw he starts to cry and it was so sad but so cute and I almost cried too because he only wanted to be hers! Dang it, if Toboe told me he wanted to be mine, I don't think I'd scream my head off and call for my dad. *starts to hyperventilate* I just love the characters, especially Hige! *drools* Isn't Kiba cute? And Tsume? He's pretty good looking too - lol. And don't get me started on Darcia-sama! Eeek! I've only seen episodes 1-18 though, and I'm so scared that Hige or Toboe or someone like that will die cuz I saw a pic of him from episode 26 and he didn't look to be in too great of shape! What's up with Darcia- sama's girlfriend? Is she dead or what? Ahh! I can't believe you've seen it! I LOVE YOU TOO! *hugs* Anyhow, thanks a lot for your review! I'm glad you like Grayfall. ^_^

Elf-vulcan: Yes, Knives sure does take his time - as do I. lol You shall see what happens to Grayfall...

Nuclear Pudding: Yay! The green monkeys are gone! *dances* Yeah, I almost made myself cry when Naoshi died. I had a soft spot for him, for as I have said, I love my villains. Haha. Poor, poor Grayfall. I just love him to pieces too, although I feel guilty for focusing on Stormie a lot more than I did on him. *shrugs*

Sami: lol Yeah, I'm glad you've really got the feel of Stormie's personality. That's something she'd totally do. "Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Knives, are we THERE yet?!" lol Stormie has some more crazy, random moments in this chapter. ^_^

Zetsumei: Wow, it has been a long time. It's good to know you're still reading. Hmm... Of Diets, Night lights, and Packing Peanuts? Oh, I guess I just sort of started working on other things and lost interest. Would you like me to continue it? lol I could write another chapter if you like. ~_^ Well, keep on reviewing!

The stuff in //yadda yadda yadda// is the song. It's called Velveteen. It comes off the Ghost in the Shell Stand Along Complex OST by Yokko Kanno.

~~~~~

Grayfall opened one golden eye at a time, listlessly staring at the wooden ceiling above him. It was very nice, very rustic, in a sense, because he could see knot holes in the darkened pine - well, he assumed it was pine. He didn't know much about trees.

Slowly, he turned his gaze over to the window, where sunlight was streaming in and spilling over the also wooden floor, turning it a warm, mellow shade - like darkened honey. How peaceful... He pushed himself up and leaned back on his hands in the bed, the sheet slipping from his bare shoulders and pooling at his waist. He gazed around his little room of paradise, smiling to himself at how sunny it was, how blue the sky appeared to be outside.

And in the corner, there was a comfortable old rocking chair with a quilt over the back. He turned his face to the piece of furniture and smiled at the man who occupied it, asking softly, "Why have you come here to me?"

The man's lips twitched into a half smile. He was tall and broad- shouldered and lean at the waist with long elegant limbs that were tanned from hours under the desert sun. His hair, a pale shade of blue, hung shaggily about his face and flopped over one golden eye in the same manner as Grayfall's. "I think," he replied smoothly, his voice like silk, "that the question is, why have you come to me?"

Grayfall didn't quite comprehend. "I wouldn't come to you."

"I am your father."

The son's brow furrowed. "You never wanted me," he stated softly, the happy light in his eyes slowly dying. "So why would I come to you?"

"Because you need me." Legato rose from his chair and walked over to his son's bed, appearing no older then thirty or so, although his eyes were polished with a much older wisdom. He tentatively wrapped the young man in his arms, holding him close to his black-turtleneck clad chest. Almost hesitantly, he drew his fingers lightly through his son's hair, whispering, "I never meant to turn my back on you or your mother..."

Grayfall felt tears welling up in his eyes. "She died when I was thirteen," he blurted out. "She died because she got too sick from working too long and not eating enough and then I had to live with Naoshi." He sighed, feeling like a little boy again as he melted into his father's embrace.

"I know, Grayfall," murmured the deep, velvety voice again. Lightly, a hand pressed over his heart. "You have a wounded spirit, poor boy. But I will tell you a secret. Your mother loves you very much, as do I, and you were not ever for a moment alone."

Grayfall let a gentle breath of released tension escape him as he sagged completely into his lost parent. "Why'd you go back to Knives?" he asked in what was dangerously close to a whine. "You didn't have to. How could he have made you? I can't hate him now... I know him too well - I have worked with him too closely... Should I hate him? Do you?"

Legato considered all this a moment and then chuckled softly. "You should not hate Knives," he finally decided. "What's done is done. Don't let anger control your life."

Here there was a bout of silence in which Grayfall parted from his father and stood up to walk to the window, his hands shoved deep in the pockets of his black sweatpants. He stared out into the deep, lushly green woods spread out before him, grinning to himself. He was thrilled to see such a landscape when he was used to nothing but sand and sparse desert vegetation.

"You like it then?" Legato mused. "Your mother loves it."

"Where is she?" Grayfall turned hopefully. "Can I see her?"

Legato gently shook his head. "Come now, Grayfall. You don't have enough time here for that, and besides, she had you for thirteen years. This is the first time I have been selfish enough to spend some time with my own son - and alone of all things - and besides, you are still very weak and need taken care of."

"What?" Grayfall ran a hand through his hair, laughing in his confusion. He felt so much more...free here. He was no longer quite, melancholy Grayfall. Here he was happy and not disappointed by Legato's words, though he was a little baffled. "What does all that mean?"

The other man took his place beside him at the window, looking over at him with a smirk and asking in something akin to amusement, "Do you know why you are here? What do you remember last?"

Grayfall thought back long and hard, concentrating with all his might. When he had first woken up, he had felt so at peace that he hadn't even questioned his whereabouts. There was something intoxicating about the sweet air all around them, and it muddled his mind. Finally, after turning his gaze to stare helplessly into his father's deep, golden eyes, he felt something click.

"Naoshi?" he questioned, head cocked to the left. A worried expression passed over his face. "Naoshi shot me, right? Am I dead then?"

"Of course not," reassured his father. "You're not dead. You're simply at rest." He quietly clucked his tongue in disapproval. "When Naoshi shot you, you foolishly told no one and by doing so, worsened your injury."

He stared down at his feet, dragging his toes across the smooth, wooden floor. "Stormie and Knives needed to talk some," he mumbled. "He was going to tell her that he loved her, and I didn't want him to back down again. If they had to rush me to the hospital, he might have lost his nerve and never do it... I just wanted to preserve the moment."

Legato laughed softly, a sound like silver bells pealing out across a frosty meadow in the dead of winter. "Knives in love," he said wistfully. "Fancy the thought."

Grayfall smiled. Yes, he thought with a smirk, how odd it must seem for Legato to see his formerly heartless master risking his own skin just to recover a lost woman. "How long will I be staying here?" he asked calmly, switching the subject. He wouldn't mind if it happened to be a lengthy period, for he rather liked this place at his father's side, this peaceful shelter cut off from the rest of the world and its problems.

"Not much longer," Legato answered soberly. "But do not worry. I will take good care of you in your time here."

~~~~~

"Woah!" Vash held up his hands in obvious shock, staring at the couple that stood in the door before him with wide, green eyes. "Let me get this straight - you two bring home a dying Grayfall, say you're going out to buy him some more bandages, and then you come back saying you got hitched on the way?!"

Stormie shrugged and brushed a stray strand of blonde hair from her eyes, the golden band on her finger glinting in the dying twilight as she did so, commenting, "What's the problem, Vash? We got the bandages, and it's not like Knives wanted a lengthy ceremony."

Vash pouted, his lower lip jutting out as his puppy dog eyes filled with tears. "You could've at LEAST invited me!" he whined. "I'm your brother!"

"We asked you if you wanted to come with us to get the bandages," Knives pointed out flippantly.

"Yes," agreed Stormie. "And your answer was, 'just bring me back some donuts'. We got you your donuts, so what are you whining about?"

"I had to watch the kids!" Vash muttered under his breath. "Not like Oriole could've since she's watching Grayfall - WHO, I am sure, WOULD NOT appreciate your getting MARRIED in the middle of his LIFE AND DEATH experience!"

Stormie patted the gunman on the shoulder and then shouldered past him with a bright smile, calling out, "Faith, Xavier! Come gather 'round, children! Mommy dearest has a most *special* surprise!"

Vash caught the slightly confused look on Knives' face and confided quietly to his sibling, "You know you married a crazy woman... But, I'm assuming you realized beforehand what you were getting yourself into... I hope."

"Mommy dearest?" Knives merely repeated with a grimace.

The boy and girl eventually scampered into the hall, obviously racing from the way they slipped and slid and knocked rambunctiously into one another. Xavier reached the spot first and grinned back at the loser of the game, seeing that she stuck her tongue in distaste at him. Then she joined by his side and they both stood panting to see what new treasure Stormie had to offer.

"Shield your eyes, children," the woman advised, dramatically throwing her arm across her face in an example, waggling her fingers. "Expose them to the grandeur gradually, lest you go blind and I have to buy you one of those seeing eye dogs, which wouldn't be so bad in itself, but I always have this urge to just rub my face in a dog's fur - a sort of affectionate gesture, you know - and they're fur is just so dang oily that I always get a zit! And I thought I was past that age and BAM! WILL YOU LOOK AT THAT?!" She had thrown her hand out before the kids, pointing dramatically to the plain wedding band that graced her finger.

Faith obviously didn't comprehend its meaning, for she seemed a little disappointed. "Nice ring...mom," she said lamely.

Xavier nodded in agreement.

"Silly, silly Faith, and silly Xavier," Stormie sighed, shaking her head. "Don't you realize what this is? I, queen of this household, am proud to now present to you something that this land has lacked for many, many years."

"Cable?" asked Faith hopefully, bouncing on her heels a little.

"No - that'd be great, but this is almost as good." She stepped back and made a flourishing hand motion towards Knives, exclaiming, "I present to you, King Knives!"

"Huuuuuuuuuh?" Both Xavier and Faith made the same noise of confusion at the same time.

"They got married," translated Vash helpfully.

"Oh?" Faith looked a little surprised, but not too much. "Oh! Oh... That's pretty cool, mom." She nodded to back it up. "Me and Xavier are going to get some ice cream now, ok?"

"Alright then," Stormie lazily drawled. "I thought perhaps you'd be a little more happy at my bringing home your new daddy, but I guess your reaction was acceptable."

"Well, it's not like I didn't see it coming."

"Hmm. I must've been the only one. Away with you now! Eat your ice cream! Knives and I shall retire for the night - because I say so - and we are not to be disturbed - because I say so - and tomorrow it will be clear with a high of seventy-five and low of sixty-eight - !"

"Because you say so, we know," Knives grumbled, catching her wrist and dragging her off down the hall to her bedroom, at first feeling her struggle playfully in his grasp, but then, after only a few steps, shove her shoulder into him and, laughing, begin to speed on ahead of him. Not about to be left behind, he took a few, quick strides to gain on her and the two were soon stumbling and laughing to her room, dashing through the doorway and tripping over one another's feet until their legs were so entangled they both tumbled in a heap onto her mattress. Knives ended up on the bottom, grunting as she tried to continue on wrestling, pinning his arms above his head.

Easily, before she even knew what was going on, Stormie had found herself flipped over and flat on her back, Knives languidly spread out over her. "Hey, hey!" she exclaimed, pushing him hurriedly away and jumping up, running to the door. "What a view that'd be for the kids! Why didn't you close the door?" Smiling, she locked it as an after thought.

He propped himself up on his elbows, grinning madly at her. "You're worried about the kids? I think they are far ahead of Vash," he chuckled. "He's the one who is so insanely pure."

"I dunno," Stormie thoughtfully replied. "I think he knows a lot more than you give him credit for - in everything."

"Perhaps, but let's not talk about him."

Stormie crawled back into the bed beside her new husband, nuzzling her face into his chest as he brought her close to him in a moment where all the playfulness momentarily disappeared and was replaced with warm affection. She sighed almost shakily, not quite sure that she was so comfortable in a more serious situation.

"This bed is pretty small," he commented quietly, a bit out of place as well. "I like it though. Cozy, huh?

"Yeah," she said quietly, hoarsely.

Silence lapsed between the two and he bent his head to press his lips gently to her forehead, then to her lips, savoring actually being able to be close to her after so long. She responded, even though it was feeble, and then, abruptly, he pulled away, smiling gently. "You ok?"

"Umm..." She averted her gaze, and then, weakly, she murmured, "Can I put on some music?"

"What?"

"Silence makes me edgy. Music helps me relax, and it gives me a sense of...of confidence. Besides, it'll give you time to brush your teeth and get out of those dirty traveling clothes."

He nodded slowly and moved off her, sliding to the floor and then rising gracefully, watching with a keen eye as she rolled off the bed and crawled slowly to the CD collection she kept in a box on the floor by her stereo. She looked so feeble then, a little weak, a little disoriented, and of course, nervous. He could've stood there and watched her forever, the way the skin between her eyebrows tensed, the way her hands shook as she shifted through her CDs slowly, sitting cross-legged on the floor. However, when he noticed that was simply not her wish, he turned and retired to the adjacent bathroom, where he wrestled with his shirt, which was determined not to come off over his head, and then hurriedly unzipped the fly of his stiff jeans and pulled one leg out, and then, hopping on that foot, managed to free the other. Then, standing there in his black boxers and looking at himself in the mirror, he picked up the only toothbrush - Stormie's toothbrush - and eyed it critically. Would it REALLY be sanitary for him to borrow it?

Then again, what could it hurt? After all, a tooth brush cleans the mouth, and since he'd just been kissing her, what would the difference be sanitary wise if he used it, along with her tooth paste and mouth wash? So, decided, he hurriedly finished preparing for bed, took a drink of water to clear away the overwhelming taste of peppermint, and walked back into Stormie's room.

The woman was still sitting in the spot he had left her, but had changed, as if her clothes themselves had transformed into a pair of cream-colored silk shorts and a baggy, blue tank. Her choice of music was still in the process of being decided, so he sat on the bed and waited for her, a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. Why was she doing this? Why was she stalling? She'd been so happy and, well...playfully seductive earlier, so why had she all the sudden lost her nerve and pushed him away? Had he said something? Done something? His eyes narrowed as he thought back upon the most recent events.

Stormie was shakily removing a CD from the case and placing it into the stereo, a terribly outdated, beat up machine that she treasured and loved nonetheless. Then, pressing the play button, she slowly stood and walked back to where he was perched on the edge of her mattress, all the while looking down, never meeting his gaze.

A strange song poured over the speakers, at first only consisting of police sirens and muffled voice before being joined by a choppy beat. It had an almost...rainy feel to it. Dreary. Sad. The woman who sang was equally haunted sounding, her high, synthesized voice filling the room.

He reached out and took her hands in his own, encouraging her with a smile to lie down with him. She did, hesitantly, her long, blonde hair tumbling over her shoulder in a curtain of golden silk. He gathered her like a child into his arms and pulled her close once more, space scarce in her tiny bed. Even through her night shirt he could feel her heart beating rapidly against his skin, pounding in fear, no doubt.

But why was she afraid?

//Seeing you in my tears

In my own reflection

I hear you in the wind that passes through me...//

Stormie didn't move. She was too petrified with fear to do anything. Teasing Knives until he flushed with embarrassment or anger was one thing, and then playfully romping with him on the bed was another, but lying very still against him was just too much. Too awkward. Too serious.

"You're still so bruised," he commented, his fingers slipping under the left strap of her night shirt to slip it down gently and touch the blooming bruise of purple and green on her bare shoulder. It caused her to wince so he lessened the pressure he had put on it and let his hand trail down the back of her shirt to feel the other swollen, cut spots along her spine. She wriggled uncomfortably.

//Feel you in my hunger

You're haunting my ambition

Beautifully destructive attraction...//

It was coming back to her slowly, that night out in the desert with Naoshi. She begged the memory to stay buried in the recesses of her mind, tried to keep it from rising up just so soon after she had held him in her arms and comforted him until he died, just when she was finally close to Knives, but it refused. Every touch was bringing back a ghost, a horrible pain that stung at her and reminded where the knife had been raked across her skin, where Naoshi had longingly placed hands on her without permission.

She shuddered, trying to hide in Knives' embrace. Surely he expected more than this. She'd been making teasing little suggestions about their wedding night all day, until she knew that he thought there was going to be so much more than she suddenly wanted to do. Perhaps, if she shut her eyes and just let him do as he wanted, maybe if she just ignored it all and listened to the music and tried not to think at all, then maybe, just maybe, everything would be ok and he wouldn't ask her what was wrong.

Naoshi, she lamented to herself, you really screwed my mind over, didn't you?

Knives was looking at her funny, cradling the back of her head with both hands now - geesh, she'd never noticed what big hands he had before. She felt so small when he held her like that, towering over her and just reeking of strength. She wanted to roll her eyes - how could she have ever thought she was strong? Not compared to Knives, no, not at all...

"Stormie," he said softly, "you're trembling."

//Climbed to zero G's

Now falling like a rock

Drugged and digitized you in a dream//

She gulped down a lump in her throat, pushed back a sob, and closed her eyes. "It's ok," she tried to tell herself more than him, but she was already starting to hyperventilate as memories washed over her. The old pain flooded back. Blast it! She'd done so good at pushing the nightmare back into a corner for such a long time that the rape had hardly affected her at all! She hadn't even been disturbed by it during her pregnancy - told herself she'd been done a horrible wrong and, well, quite frankly, no one was going to live her life for her so she should just move on. And it worked! Oh, did it ever work... She could even lie next to that man two years later and let him hold her close and then give her a back rub the next morning and contemplate loving him! But things like that just don't disappear, she supposed to herself, and her time was probably up for dismissing it.

Naoshi... Why? How could someone hold that much power over her?

//I find you in fears

And in my fascination

I taste you in safe water and it drowns me//

"Hello," the nasty little memory said to her. "I'm all the pain and emotional baggage you've had in storage ever since you were raped. I've had an appointment with you for two years now. I think it's about time you attend to me."

"Heck no!" she cried in reply, balking at the thought. "I like ignoring you! And this is my special time with Knives, so back off!"

"Sorry, but he's pretty much calling me out, so I think I'll just let myself out of this dusty old corner. Thank you for your time."

Stormie had been so caught up in her little mental banter that she had not even realized she never answered Knives. Her eyes were still closed; her shivering had increased and tears coursed down her cheeks. She felt him lean in and tenderly kiss each eyelid before wiping the salty rivers away with his thumb.

"Come on now, what are you scared about?" he said with that gruff concern that she somehow always found charming. He wasn't, by nature, someone who showed his worry and sympathy very well, so when he made an effort, she found it rather comforting. "You know I'm not going to hurt you, Stormie."

//Paranoid and peaceful

In a sweet addiction

Velvety electrical reaction//

Stormie slowly cracked open one blue eye to stare at him, still trembling, and croaked, "I'm an idiot, Knives - I thought I was more prepared than this." She was starting to hyperventilate now, praying that he wouldn't grow disgusted with her and push her away, that he'd have patience with her incompetence. She couldn't lose him; it'd kill her. "Oh, I really did think I could do this!" she groaned, turning away from him, shaking her head desperately. "Please, I only need a few moments, that's all, Knives! I'll be alright, I'll be ok, I'm gonna be alright... I can do this; I can do this..." She continued to murmur under her breath, trying to reassure herself as well as him, but only succeeding in making herself more hysterical.

"Stormie!" he intervened sternly, shocking her out of her frazzled state. "Don't worry about it! This is because of Naoshi, right?"

"Huh? What? Oh...I guess it's a little obvious..."

"Actually, Oriole explained it to me once - the only useful thing she's ever done..." He smirked. "Anyhow, she told me that since you've been pushing back your emotions for so long, that when a time like this came, they'd break loose and flood out. She said you act so happy all the time, and while most of the time you really are happy, the other times, when it has to do with something intimate like this, you're really just joking around to try to keep things light so you don't feel pressured or scared. But when it starts to get serious...you don't know what to do... The memories come back, don't they?"

She nodded numbly.

//Soft insanity

And I can't make it stop

Live hallucination within a dream//

His voice was softer now. "You never let yourself really grieve for what happened to you. You only cried once or twice and then, pushed yourself so hard to just forget the details that it was like it never happened. Right?"

"I wanted to be happy," she protested desperately. "I've always been happy! It's just the way I am, so I had no idea what to do when I felt so sad, Knives!"

His fingers tangled briefly in her blonde hair and he idly let his other hand drift to run his fingertips briefly across her lips. "Just don't run from it, ok? You've done that your whole life - run from your problems, run from Naoshi, and you...you ran from me."

"I know..."

"It happened, ok? Bad things happen like that. It won't happen again. You're safe, and you're with me. It'll be different with me - trust me."

She nodded.

"But," he sighed, "I guess for tonight you should just sleep and try to sort out all your feelings. Besides..." His ice blue eyes darted furtively to the side and then to the door and then back to hers, glinting with some small humor. "I just know these walls are too thin..."

She blushed. "Uh...they are really thin, actually. One time, I was trying to teach myself to juggle, and I-"

His lips brushed over hers slowly, barely skimming her, but effectively halting the words in her throat. "No more jokes tonight, huh?" he implored. "Let's talk about what you're so scared of so we can get you over this."

//A velveteen equation...//

She had been tense in his arms until that time, suddenly relaxing at his words. "You're really patient with me," she said gratefully.

"No, I'm very impatient - I just care about you, that's all. And tomorrow, we're going somewhere out of town. If you made me go through with marriage, I'm dragging you off for the honeymoon. My part of the deal, remember?"

"Ok."

//Magico, questo `e un grande amore//

There was a knock on the door. Frantic, hurried.

Stormie was the first to disentangle her limbs from the other body, getting up hurriedly and calling out, "What's up?" before unlocking it and swinging it open.

Oriole stood there, looking a little like she had just woken up from a fitful sleep in her long-sleeved T-shirt and pajama pants, her mangled hand twitching nervously at her side. Worry hung heavy in her eyes, which were shadowed slightly by her messy, black hair that hung in impossible tangles for once. "It's Grayfall," she explained hurriedly, anxiously. "He's - he's crying! He's not even awake, or at least I don't think he is, but he's curled up under the covers and crying! I can't get him to respond - neither can Vash! His emotions are jumbled - like he's happy and sad at the same time. I can't even read him!" She laid her hand on her friend's arm, pleading, "Stormie, you're a doctor - don't you know what to do?"

Stormie glanced back at Knives, who was still stretched out on the bed, looking tired and a little frustrated. Sighing in exasperation, he waved a hand of dismissal at her, telling her she should most likely go, and she turned back to Oriole, nodding. "Alright. I'll see what I can do."

As his new wife rushed off to investigate, Knives realized her music was fading out, about to switch tracks. While entirely tolerable while with her, the noise wore on his nerves while she was away. He preferred silence. Rising, he walked over to the stereo, crouched down by it, and pressed the stop button. The music halted as suddenly as his night of romance had.

~~~~~

Review!