Chapter 9
Meryl was exhausted by the time they all arrived back at the inn. It felt like all her rib cages were broken, and her head hurt after bumping it. She had bruises on her arms and legs, not to mention scrapes on her legs. And, to top it all off, her clothes were ruined.
Milly and Wolfwood only had a few bruises, due to the fact that they surrendered quickly. Vash was unharmed too.
Vash kept on looking at her, for some reason. And she hated that. It felt like she was a circus animal. Milly and Wolfwood stared at her too.
'God, I'm not here to be stared at all day.'
She took a long, relaxing shower and decided to take the rest of the day off. Milly and Wolfwood went grocery shopping, and she was again left with Vash. It was very uncomfortable, with Vash staring at her every minute. She was just about to yell at him when he suddenly broke the silence.
"Why didn't you surrender to them?"
Meryl stopped typing, and slowly turned around to face Vash. He was dead serious, his aqua green eyes directly meeting her gray ones. Yet for some reason, she couldn't face his eyes; she was too...scared.
"Meryl...why didn't you?"
Meryl was just about to open her true nature to Vash...but something inside her made her stop from doing that.
'Meryl! You can't show your true nature to him! He's going to think you're another weak human!'
Meryl just shrugged as she started to type up random notes on the typewriter.
"I just didn't want the bandits to have the pleasure of making me surrender."
Meryl felt a hot tear run down her cheek. The pain was so immense. She could even feel it now. She knew why she didn't surrender. It was because she didn't want Vash to die. Meryl quickly wiped away the tear with her sleeve, and turned to Vash, forcing a smile upon her face.
"What do you want to eat today, Vash?"
Vash too forced a smile upon his face. He knew Meryl was pretending, just like him. He knew that Meryl was actually very scared and hurt inside.
"Whatever you feel like eating, Meryl."
Meryl nodded slightly and bit her lip. She couldn't face Vash, she just couldn't. She felt a stream of tears, waiting to be rushed out from her eyes. But her 'strong woman identity' would collapse if she showed tears to anyone. Especially him.
All those years, Meryl spent endless days forming her 'strong woman identity'. To think that it would collapse in a few seconds...Sometimes she wished she were more like Milly; pleasant, caring, soft, and having the ability to show her emotions.
Vash stared at Meryl. He somehow knew that she was collapsing inside.
"Meryl...you okay?"
Meryl roughly wiped away her tears and looked at Vash. He was surprised to see so much pain in her eyes. Walking over to her, he gently cradled her within his arms as if she were a baby. He wiped away her tears with his gloves as Meryl looked up at him.
"Meryl...you don't have to hide anymore...I know plenty that you're a strong woman. You don't have to continue this 'strong woman' thing anymore. What you did today with the bandits was very brave; braver than me. And you should know that showing your emotions is not a sign of weakness, but also a strength."
Meryl nodded, feeling safe and warm in his arms. He was really warm, compared to her cold body. And he was comfortable; not skinny and hard like she imagined.
"Look at me, for instance. I show my emotions, but I'm a fine, strong, smart, and handsome young man."
His face was kind, and she saw a smile that she'd never seen before. A true smile.
Meryl sniffled slightly, and wiped away the remaining tears. She never really been this close to Vash before, let alone be in his arms. The other time, when he hugged her, it wasn't exactly an embrace of love, but of friendship. Sort of.
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Milly and Wolfwood walked side by side to the supermarket. Milly had been unusually quiet today.
"Hey big girl...something wrong?"
Wolfwood looked curiously over at Milly, who hung her head as if in shame.
"Mr. Wolfwood...I gave up so quickly when the bandits attacked me, because it hurt. But Meryl kept on withstanding the pain...and I feel so ashamed...I mean, I have to have Meryl to do everything for me. From booking inns to typing insurance reports. I feel like...I'm useless..."
Wolfwood smiled, hugging Milly. That's what he liked about Milly. She was true to her feelings, and cared so much about the people around her.
"Big girl, Meryl needs you. You give her friendship, and you're a great partner. And don't blaming yourself with the bandits. I surrendered too. Anyway, you were brave out there, big girl. You were really brave. And I don't like seeing you sad, so how 'bout we go buy some pudding?"
"Pudding!"
Milly instantly cheered up, and dragged Wolfwood over to the supermarket. An hour later, they came out holding seven bags of groceries, three which were filled up with pudding.
"Big girl, you sure bought a lot of pudding."
Milly grinned as she carried her bags of pudding.
"Well Mr. Wolfwood, one can never have too much pudding!"
Meryl was exhausted by the time they all arrived back at the inn. It felt like all her rib cages were broken, and her head hurt after bumping it. She had bruises on her arms and legs, not to mention scrapes on her legs. And, to top it all off, her clothes were ruined.
Milly and Wolfwood only had a few bruises, due to the fact that they surrendered quickly. Vash was unharmed too.
Vash kept on looking at her, for some reason. And she hated that. It felt like she was a circus animal. Milly and Wolfwood stared at her too.
'God, I'm not here to be stared at all day.'
She took a long, relaxing shower and decided to take the rest of the day off. Milly and Wolfwood went grocery shopping, and she was again left with Vash. It was very uncomfortable, with Vash staring at her every minute. She was just about to yell at him when he suddenly broke the silence.
"Why didn't you surrender to them?"
Meryl stopped typing, and slowly turned around to face Vash. He was dead serious, his aqua green eyes directly meeting her gray ones. Yet for some reason, she couldn't face his eyes; she was too...scared.
"Meryl...why didn't you?"
Meryl was just about to open her true nature to Vash...but something inside her made her stop from doing that.
'Meryl! You can't show your true nature to him! He's going to think you're another weak human!'
Meryl just shrugged as she started to type up random notes on the typewriter.
"I just didn't want the bandits to have the pleasure of making me surrender."
Meryl felt a hot tear run down her cheek. The pain was so immense. She could even feel it now. She knew why she didn't surrender. It was because she didn't want Vash to die. Meryl quickly wiped away the tear with her sleeve, and turned to Vash, forcing a smile upon her face.
"What do you want to eat today, Vash?"
Vash too forced a smile upon his face. He knew Meryl was pretending, just like him. He knew that Meryl was actually very scared and hurt inside.
"Whatever you feel like eating, Meryl."
Meryl nodded slightly and bit her lip. She couldn't face Vash, she just couldn't. She felt a stream of tears, waiting to be rushed out from her eyes. But her 'strong woman identity' would collapse if she showed tears to anyone. Especially him.
All those years, Meryl spent endless days forming her 'strong woman identity'. To think that it would collapse in a few seconds...Sometimes she wished she were more like Milly; pleasant, caring, soft, and having the ability to show her emotions.
Vash stared at Meryl. He somehow knew that she was collapsing inside.
"Meryl...you okay?"
Meryl roughly wiped away her tears and looked at Vash. He was surprised to see so much pain in her eyes. Walking over to her, he gently cradled her within his arms as if she were a baby. He wiped away her tears with his gloves as Meryl looked up at him.
"Meryl...you don't have to hide anymore...I know plenty that you're a strong woman. You don't have to continue this 'strong woman' thing anymore. What you did today with the bandits was very brave; braver than me. And you should know that showing your emotions is not a sign of weakness, but also a strength."
Meryl nodded, feeling safe and warm in his arms. He was really warm, compared to her cold body. And he was comfortable; not skinny and hard like she imagined.
"Look at me, for instance. I show my emotions, but I'm a fine, strong, smart, and handsome young man."
His face was kind, and she saw a smile that she'd never seen before. A true smile.
Meryl sniffled slightly, and wiped away the remaining tears. She never really been this close to Vash before, let alone be in his arms. The other time, when he hugged her, it wasn't exactly an embrace of love, but of friendship. Sort of.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Milly and Wolfwood walked side by side to the supermarket. Milly had been unusually quiet today.
"Hey big girl...something wrong?"
Wolfwood looked curiously over at Milly, who hung her head as if in shame.
"Mr. Wolfwood...I gave up so quickly when the bandits attacked me, because it hurt. But Meryl kept on withstanding the pain...and I feel so ashamed...I mean, I have to have Meryl to do everything for me. From booking inns to typing insurance reports. I feel like...I'm useless..."
Wolfwood smiled, hugging Milly. That's what he liked about Milly. She was true to her feelings, and cared so much about the people around her.
"Big girl, Meryl needs you. You give her friendship, and you're a great partner. And don't blaming yourself with the bandits. I surrendered too. Anyway, you were brave out there, big girl. You were really brave. And I don't like seeing you sad, so how 'bout we go buy some pudding?"
"Pudding!"
Milly instantly cheered up, and dragged Wolfwood over to the supermarket. An hour later, they came out holding seven bags of groceries, three which were filled up with pudding.
"Big girl, you sure bought a lot of pudding."
Milly grinned as she carried her bags of pudding.
"Well Mr. Wolfwood, one can never have too much pudding!"