WARNING: Spoilers ahead! Probably a few pretty major ones by the time this is finished too! ^_^x

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Well, so I own a few stuffed animals from my early childhood days, but other than that, I own nothing.

A/N: Ummmmm, yeah. This has been bugging me to write it for over two months now, so I did.

**Flashback** is pretty self-explanatory

as is **End Flashback**

However, ~~~*~~~ means a scene change without coming out of/going into a flashback

On with the fic…

Of Pudding And A Bounty Hunter

**Chapter 1**

Previously…

Vash the Stampede stood in front of him, smoking gun still leveled at his rapidly weakening form. And then, the world went dark.

***Flashback***

Vash opened the door to the small house that he had shared with the girls before he left to find his brother. "They really should learn to lock their doors" he muttered, smiling despite the girls' apparent carelessness. Taking a deep breath he called out, his voice reaching every corner of every room in the house. "Hey Insurance Girls! I'm back!"

A high-pitched squeal was heard from the vicinity of the kitchen, followed by rapid pounding footsteps that were headed towards the front door where he stood, just inside the doorframe. Less than a second later, Millie, the larger of the two Insurance Girls, appeared before him.

"Mr.Vashyou'reback!Merylwillbesohappytoseeyou!Ohisthatyourbrother?Whydon'tyoucomein?"

He blinked. how the hell does she do that?? After a moment of standing, dumbfounded, in the doorway, he was able to decipher what the Insurance Girl had so quickly rattled off well enough to reply while he stepped into the house. "Yeah, this is Knives alright" he said, indicating the comatose mass slung over his shoulder. "You mind if I put him down somewhere? He's kinda heavy."

"Why, Mr. Vash, you look like you carried him all the way here by yourself!" Millie said, completely oblivious to his last statement. Vash nearly fell over. For being so smart, she sure doesn't act like it! he thought with a grin. "Yeah I did! So… can I put him down?" Now it was Millie's turn to blink. "Oh right! Here! let me do that for you, you look really tired." Before Vash had a chance to protest, Millie had lifted Knives off his shoulder and on to her own, carrying him down the hall to the room that had belonged to Vash. At this, Vash simply smiled and sat down at the kitchen table, removing his signature red coat and glasses as he did so. Had he not known the girl, such a display of strength would have surprised him, but his former travels with the two Insurance Girls had taught him otherwise. In fact, he supposed that Millie was probably the only other person on all of Gunsmoke who could lift Wolfwood's Cross Punisher single handedly, besides the priest himself. Even Vash had had a little a little trouble lifting it when he used it in his fight with Knives. of course, he had just been shot…

"So Mr. Vash, are you here to stay this time?" Millie asked as she returned to the kitchen, a hopeful look displayed on her face. Vash smiled, a real smile this time, not the kind that Wolfwood had always said it hurt to look at. He had thought a lot about if he would stay with the girls while he was walking through the desert with Knives on his shoulder. "Yeah, I guess I am" was all he had to say for Millie to instantly light up with happiness. "That's great Mr. Vash! I can't wait to tell Meryl!"

At this, Vash tried desperately not to let the big girl see just how insanely happy the mere mention of her name made him. "Oh right… um, where is that Insurance Girl, anyway?" he questioned, trying to keep his voice from betraying just how much he had missed her. "Meryl? She's at work right now, but I think she should be home any minute…" she said to the outlaw in a tone of voice that practically screamed 'I-know-how-much-you-want-to-see-her-again-so-don't-even-try-to-hide-it!' "I'm sure when she gets home she'll want to celebrate! She's been acting so sad since you left. OH! We could have pudding!!!"

This time, Vash really did fall over, hitting the floor with a heavy 'thud!', stunned by the comment Millie had so casually made and then cast aside with thoughts of pudding. She's been sad because I left?? The possible meanings of such a statement ran rampant through his head until he mentally slapped himself, recalling Millie's exact words. Idiot, she's been sad since you left, not because you left! But, still... He didn't have much time to ponder this as Millie's concerned cries snapped him out of his reverie. "Mr. Vash! Are you alright?" He looked up at the big girl from his position on the floor rather sheepishly, "Oh. Er... eh heh heh…" he laughed, placing one hand behind his head in a nervous gesture, trying to come up with a feasible excuse for what just happened. "I… uh…"

"Oh! You must be really tired from carrying Mr. Knives all that way!" Once again, Vash found himself thanking whatever deity existed for Millie's uncanny ability to completely miss the obvious. "You should go lay down! I'll make you some tea…" she said, helping the gunman off the floor. "Thanks, but you don't have to do that. I'm fine, really! I just-"

"I'm home!" Meryl's voice resounded throughout the walls of the house as she stopped just inside the front door to hang up her cloak, expecting to hear the familiar sounds of Millie making dinner. She paused for a moment, slightly worried by the lack of noisy clatter emanating from the kitchen, and for just a moment, thought that something might be wrong. Temporarily pushing the thought aside, she began to move towards the kitchen. "Millie, why haven't you…" she stopped as she reached the doorway into the kitchen, unable to finish her question as she voice failed at the sight before her. There, in the kitchen, stood Millie, smiling happily and bouncing up and down with excitement. And standing just left of her, his signature red coat on the table next to his glasses, staring back at her with a look that must have mirrored her own look of sheer joy, was Vash the Stampede. The most wanted outlaw on all of Gunsmoke, with a bounty of $$60 billion on his head, dead or alive, and he was standing in her kitchen.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, Meryl noticed that he had been shot, recently, and hadn't bothered to take care of his wounds past wiping away the dried blood. He looked tired and worn from what had to have been an impossibly long trek across the desert, but as far as Meryl was concerned, he had never looked better in all the time she had known him. When Meryl finally found her voice again, all she managed to stutter was "Vash… you're back…" before her breath escaped her and her vocal chords stopped working. Millie, on the other hand, still had full use of her voice, and stood next to Vash, clapping her hands excitedly.

"OhlookMeryl!Mr.Vashcamebackjustlikeyousaid!Didn'tItellyoushe'dbehappytoseeyouagainMr. Vash?NowwecanallgooutandcelebrateandhavepuddingandOH! I wonder if they'll have chocolate?"

Meryl and Vash stopped staring at each other and transferred their gazes to Millie simultaneously thinking how the hell did she manage to say that all in one breath when she was jumping up and down?? Sure, she had stopped jumping now, but that was only because she was pondering the possibility of having chocolate pudding in the very near future. Meryl just shook her head, deciding it was best not to worry about things she'd never quite understand anyway. She turned back to Vash, "So? Where is he?"

"He's asleep in the back room. I don't think he'll wake up any time soon, I hurt him pretty badly… Wait I minute! I never told you Knives is here! How'd you know??"

Meryl scoffed, "Please, do you honestly expect me to believe for a even one minute that you'd leave him out in the middle of nowhere to either die or recover enough to come after you again?" She rolled her eyes at the absurdity of such a statement. "Right. That's like saying that one day you'll get sick of donuts and switch to gruel."

"NEVER!!!" Vash exclaimed, horrified by the mere thought. Meryl smirked, yup. He's the same old Vash alright. Frowning, Meryl had the distinct feeling that she was forgetting something important. She looked over at Vash, and as she did she suddenly remembered what it was.

He's hurt. She knew he would never have told them that, it would be just like him to hide such a thing from the girls, not wanting them to worry about him. Still, he needs to learn to take better care of himself, if he's not going to let us do it for him that is, she thought with a rueful grin. Just as she was about to lecture him on the virtues of carrying around a first aid kit, she caught a brief flicker of a movement just to the right of Vash. "What is it Millie?" she asked without turning to look at her partner, just slightly annoyed.

"Meryl, pudding…" Millie whimpered with a pleading look on her face. Meryl groaned, how could she say no to that? "Oh… alright! But first Vash needs to get cleaned up so I can dress his wounds and then, we can go get pudding…" she sighed resignedly.

Vash however, was not going down without a fight. "Hey, I'm fine! And how'd you know I was shot anyway?" he wondered aloud, as he had made sure to at least conceal the bullet holes in his clothes before tramping off to find the girls. "Your shirt's in covered in blood" she stated, matter-of-factly. "What? How the hell can you see blood on a black shirt??" By this time, Vash was thoroughly confused, though quite happily so, as it meant that his favorite Insurance Girl at least cared enough to notice when he was injured. "Just quit whining and come on!" Meryl exclaimed exasperated as she shoved him towards the bathroom so he could clean up and she could fetch bandages. "Alright already! Geez, you don't have to shove me so hard! I'm an injured man, remember??"

~~~*~~~

As soon as Meryl had taken care of Vash's injuries, they walked down the street to the local bar. Vash stood out front with a puzzled look on his face, "They have pudding, in a BAR??" Meryl just laughed, "Well, they didn't used to, but ever since we got to this village, Millie's been their best customer, so the owner always makes sure he keeps some in stock, just for her." Vash shook his head; it figured that the big girl would be able to find pudding wherever she goes. However, it seemed that Millie's luck had run out.

"Whadda you mean, 'you don't have chocolate'??" Millie yelled at the bartender. "Calm down Millie. Look, you can have chocolate tomorrow. They still have vanilla, why not have that?" Meryl said hopefully, trying to soothe her partner. "But Meryl… Chocolate!" the big girl whined.

Meryl turned to the bartender, "Excuse me, but is there anywhere else we can find pudding in this village?" he gave her an apologetic look, "No ma'am, the nearest place would be in LR Town, about 500 iles from here." Meryl looked back at her partner, who was now on the verge of tears, the prospect of chocolate pudding swiftly fading. "Millie… I really don't want to ride all the way into LR Town just for-"

"You don't have too! I can go by myself and you and Mr. Vash can stay here and rest! Please Meryl???" Meryl looked at Millie, then at Vash, and then back at Millie. She sighed, knowing that she couldn't leave Vash alone with his brother in his current state, but also knowing that Millie would torment her endlessly until she got her precious pudding. "FINE! Go! Just… be careful, okay?"

"Don't worry Meryl, I'll be fine!" Millie yelled happily as she ran out the door. Meryl slumped onto a barstool, ordering the usual. "Hey, you look kinda tired Insurance Girl, you alright?" Vash asked as he took a seat on the stool next to her. Meryl sighed into her drink and dismissed his concern with a tired wave of her hand. "I'm just tired. Long day" she muttered. "Maybe you should-"

Vash never did get the chance to finish that sentence.

**End Flashback**