Title: Don't Worry
Author: Rachel Elizabeth
Email: ceramicprincess (at) fanfiction (dot) net
Status: One-shot
Genre: Romance/Drama
Rating: PG-13
Warning: Angst. Spoilers.
Summary: (Vash/Meryl) Vash is leaving and Meryl refuses to let him go. It's a battle of wills, but who will win?
Proviso: Jeebus. That should suffice, right?
Author's Comments: I was editing some of my older stories, cleaning up and such and I came across this one shot. Not really much to say, I wrote this after the last half of the anime as a sort of "what-if" even though we all know what happens at the end. Much love for you.
Feedback: Usual.
Dedication: To my readers. You guys need more credit, I think. Thank you for taking time to read my stories.

Wolfwood leaned casually against the doorframe that was adjacent to his bedroom. Inside the room, he could hear the shuffling of feet and clothes getting pulled on, albeit as quietly as possible. Wolfwood understood Vash's need to leave before the insurance girls made too much of a fuss, however he didn't agree that Vash should keep them completely in the dark. The two women whom had been following Vash around for months at a time were entitled to some courtesy, but far be it for Wolfwood to say anything to him about it.

The back door of the room that was currently occupied by Vash suddenly opened and Wolfwood stood up straight, ready to barge in. When he started to hear a woman's voice in the next room, he relaxed and opened the door a bit to enjoy the view. Who was he to deny himself the pleasure of seeing a friend beaten up by a woman?

Vash looked at Meryl and she eyed him with collected calm, thinking all the while of how it would be if he left without so much as a goodbye. The more she thought about Vash's mysterious disappearances lately, the angrier she became at the obtuse man. Just who does he think he is? He can't just tell me to stay away from him, a small voice nagged in the back of her mind. The other, more logical part of her brain argued, I have a job to do!

"It's time for us to part ways," he implored her, willing her to understand the dire situation he had gotten himself in to. The beginning and the end of his search was near, he could feel it pulsing in his veins, the feeling of closure. In no way imaginable did he want the insurance girls to be anywhere near him when this happened, either. "Although—" he balled, "I will miss those donuts yo—"

"Be quiet!" she screamed at him, shaken by the feeling that he was shrugging this whole incident off nonchalantly. She looked at him, and deep within her gaze he could almost feel the trust and security that radiated out of her blue depths. Looking at those eyes, knowing that he could never allow himself to drown in her warmth and security, he blanched. "I will follow you to the ends of this planet and there is nothing that you could possibly say to me to change my mind." Her stance was rigid with determination, as she spoke again, "What rights do you ha—"

Somewhere in her rant Vash's control had snapped and before she could say another word, he had slammed her back into the wall and had both his arms by her head, effectively trapping her movements. Vash stopped his actions altogether and looked at her; she was staring at him, wide eyed now, with a look he had never seen on her face before. Even through her unnecessary fear she seemed to look at him with such compassion and understanding as though to do so could wash away all the past transgressions and sins that he had committed. "I will foll—" he snorted at her redundancy, and slamming his mouth on top of hers, he tasted the dried tears and sake that she had obviously been drinking.

Her lips seemed like honey to him, soft and sweet while he assaulted her mouth, but even so, he never heard one complaint. Thinking that he had efficiently convinced her to stay put, he regretfully nibbled on her bottom lip quickly and let go of her mouth. She stood in his arms, her mouth agape and palms up against his chest as though she thought to push him away, but the action never transpired. Regaining what little sense of composure she still had, Meryl dropped her palms to her side and balled them into fists. Not wasting a minute's time, she announced to him again, "I will follow yo—"

Vash pounded the wall next to her head with his palms and bellowed into her face, "Meryl! Just stay put!" It was the first time that she had ever heard him use her name, and he had yelled at her. What's more, he seemed to think that a single, precious kiss could sway her decision to follow him. This latter thought, more than the previous one, grated on the single, last logical thought that she had composed in her brain and before she knew what she was about, she had slapped him across his face, for the sheer stupidity that he so regularly exuded.

He gave a little laugh, nonplussed at the thought that he had read her so wrong. "Ahaha," he mumbled, "Guess I deserved that." Before she even knew that he had caught her, he had grabbed her right hand in mid-air to avoid being slapped again. He wrapped his fingers around her tiny wrist and pushed it above her head and did so with the other hand, locking her wrists against the wall with only one of his hands. The hand that was not preoccupied, lightly grabbed her chin and pulled her face up to meet his piercing stare. Reflecting that she had the most beautiful gaze he had ever seen, he slowly brought his lips down to meet her own again and was rewarded by the acquiescence he felt in her stance. Even this second kiss that he had stolen was just as consuming and powerful as the first had been and he felt himself fighting a losing battle with himself.

When his lips finally rose up again from her mouth, he felt the inevitable struggle that she put up before it actually happened, and fought a battle of wills against right and wrong with his body. For every kiss that he placed on her lips, she would knee him or step on his toes, but he could hear the moans that became lost in her throat with his kisses. The minute he decided to try new territory, her struggling had become even less apparent, as he kissed a slow and steady path down her neck to the juncture at her shoulder. He seemed to like that place the best because no matter how many times he would lift up and softly kiss her lips, his mouth always seemed to find its way back to the spot where her shoulder met her neck and he did this wonderful thing with his lips and tongue that Meryl thought would make her go up in flames.

Disappointedly, while exploring that particular place on her neck that made her shiver down to her toes, he heard a creak in the door that Wolfwood was standing guard at and grimaced. Trying to be careful, so that Meryl wouldn't lose concentration on the things that they had started,—mm, neck—he carefully had his left hand remove his boot and threw it at an angle to shut the door.

Not missing a beat, Meryl's head shot up at the sound and she gasped, but before she could utter a single word, Vash's mouth had found its way back to her own and he was gently tracing her teeth with his tongue. "Mer." He was losing his resolve faster than he'd like. Tomorrow he still had to leave and he would still be on his mission to find Knives. Being with Meryl like this made Vash realize more than ever the reason why human-kind was not a lost cause as Knives would have him believe. Vash needed some time to think but her lips . . . they were so soft and inviting. Meryl reminded him of a song that he had heard a long, long while ago.

Meryl heard him humming before their lips even parted and he hugged her close to him and gently hummed into her ear, the song went something like, "Now I've found you, there's no more emptiness inside." Standing in that spot, having Vash hold her as he was, she believed those words more than any he could have whispered to her.

His arms quietly dropped from around her and he walked towards his door, never looking back. Meryl's tears finally flowed free from her eyes, swamped by the grief. She wouldn't follow him; she never had the right to continue to become a burden to him. The only constant thing in her mind at that point was how much she loved that man. His heart was so full of vibrant colors and it was warm like the sunshine for anyone that he came across.

And just like that, he walked out humming softly, "Don't you worry, sometimes you've just gotta let it ride."