Disclaimer: Trigun belongs to Mr. Nightow and Pioneer.

Rating: Perfect, squishy G, unless Wolfwood being sneaky corrupts the childers.

Genre: I don't know what the hell this thing is: too short for a vignette, too long for a drabble. It's a vibble! Pure, fluffy, shameless nonsense with W/M twist. I also normally don't like putting Japanese in fics, but Senpai is such a hard word to translate properly into English context that I've kept it.

Kisses Goodnight

By Themis56

The children were all very tired though they all tried to deny it. "But we aaaaren't tiiiired yet," they cried in perfect unison, the pitch rising into a mosquito whine.

"Now now, you can't fool me," she said gently as she could while shouting over the buzz. "Time for good boys and girls to brush their teeth!"

Senpai herded them all into another room where the kids said they always got ready for bed in, and the sounds of reluctant gargling floated back to her ears. Soon the kids all shuffled back, hesitating before the door leading to the big mass bedroom. They looked up at her with sulky, scared eyes.

"My Mama always gave me a goodnight kiss before I went to bed. If you don't get a goodnight kiss, you get bug nightmares," a little girl mumbled past the thumb in her mouth. She smiled more widely and opened up her arms. The little girl gaped for a moment before toddling forth, won over by the big blue eyes that looked so much like other children's, and was engulfed in the generous hug. A swift, happy kiss landed on the little girl's temple.

"There! Now that'll keep the bugs out of your dreams. Anyone else?"

She was slightly taken aback at first when all of the children, even the ones almost in their pre-teens, formed a single-file line in front of her. She quickly got over her surprise and happily started dispensing out kisses on cheeks, foreheads, temples, and crowns like she was running a kissing booth. She remembered a time when she had been on the receiving end of those goodnight kisses; she longed for those days before she left to take the job in December, but giving was just as good as receiving she guessed.

She closed her eyes when she kissed each child because when she did she could better feel the silkiness of their young, fresh skin (Senpai had made them all wash up after dinner, the first real cleaning up they had for a long time she suspected). Children's skin was always so wonderful, and she was getting very caught up in what she was doing.

Then she kissed a cheek that wasn't soft and smooth. It had some slightly prickly patches and tasted smoky. She knew that some boys grew up fast at this stage in life, but this was ridiculous. The next thing she noticed was that her arms had to widen up greatly to fully hug the shoulders of the person she was holding, who, she also noted, was hugging her back in a most un-childlike fashion. Her eyes widened.

"Mr. Priest, you cheater!" she whispered.

"But you know I get such bad dreams, honey." Still going strong from earlier that morning, was he?

"Then you only had to ask. There was no need to be so sneaky, dear!"

"Where's th' fun in that?" he asked, and then he gave her a kiss right back. She was sure her face was like a bonfire. This sort of thing rarely happened to her, maybe it never had. It was a bit hard to think right at the moment. A rather pleased blush crept up her face as she glanced up to see if anyone was looking. Mr. Vash and Senpai were seeing to the kids in the next room, their backs facing towards them.

"Well, now you'll be having good dreams too!" she said, choking down a giggle. Senpai would blow up if she saw. "And so will I. I'd better get around to the children. Me and Senpai are going to sit with them tonight. Goodnight, Mr. Priest."

"'G'night."

She lay down next to some of the children; they snuggled all around her, shivering and crying for loneliness. She heard the men in the other room clinking bottles together for a drink--they would keep good watch and it brought comfort. Her breathing was smooth and even as she thought about what had just happened, her whole body going warm. The children copied her rhythm and soon they were all asleep, dreaming the best dreams they all had in a long time.