AN- Nyao! I'm back, baby! Never mind that no one is reviewing! I'm going to keep writing because guess what...? I'm stupid. XD I wrote a majority of this chapter while I was home sick, so it may suck a little.

Loving Vash- Chapter 4 (AN- Ha ha I suck.)

-The Wedding Ceremony-

Wolfwood, who was the minister and best man, looked upon the happy couple, smiling. "Do you, Vash Saverem, take thee, Meryl Stryfe, to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

Vash smiled the happiest smile anyone had ever seen. "I do!"

"And do you, Meryl Stryfe, take thee, Vash Saverem, to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

Meryl grinned. "I do."

"I now pronounce you, husband and wife. You may now-"

Vash and Meryl interrupted, falling to the ground, wrapped in each other's arms.

"...Kiss the bride." Wolfwood smiled again, Milly running up to him to release a hug upon his body.

Meryl lifted her head. "Think we should get to the reception?" She smiled.

Vash hugged her. "Yeah... eventually."

-The Reception-

Music blared from the large, black speakers that sat in the reception hall, which was decorated with white and red roses, with red geraniums splattered around (Vash's choice) in honor of Rem.

"If only she knew that one day I of all people would get married," Vash mused. "It fascinates even me."

"Oh, hush," Meryl muttered, smacking Vash. "This is your- our wedding and we should have fun!" She pulled Vash off to the side, gripping his arms tightly. "Get back to the real world," she scolded. "Have fun."

Vash grinned. "All right. I'm off to find Wolfwood!" And off he trotted, but he still pondered Rem in the back of his mind. He loved Meryl more than anything, but Vash couldn't help but feel that Rem should've been at the wedding to see Vash's greatest accomplishment... a wife.

"Hey! Tongari! Get over here!" Wolfwood called over the heads of so many people. "Meryl's parents are drunk!"

"What?!" Meryl gasped, hurrying over to where both her parents danced the night away, holding their drinks out and swinging around, arm in arm.

Vash stood back, a hand in his pocket and the other scratching his head. And he was laughing. Meryl had never seen him with such clear, bright eyes before. His smile was spread wide across his face, his hair flopped over with sweat. Meryl had never in her life seen someone so beautiful.

Vash wore black pants and a white buttoned shirt, the coat of his tuxedo thrown casually off to the side. Meryl was in a long, white gown (which trailed to the floor) with a red rose placed neatly in her hair. It wasn't the most formal wedding ever; just a small, sweet, comfortable one.

"I BELIEVE IN A THING CALLED LOVE!" screamed Meryl's folks as they danced in circles with the rest of the crowd.

Meryl glanced over to her new husband, who joined in the dance, who lifted up both of Meryl's parents and twirled them above his head. She just couldn't stop thinking about the way he looked that evening...

-At the Hotel Room-

Vash laid across from his bride, watching her chest rise and fall as she breathed. She truly was beautiful, and he kept feeling as though he loved her more every time he saw her, as corny as that sounded to him. "Meryl?"

"Mm... yeah?" she asked drunkenly. Even Meryl had a few drinks.

"I want to tell you that, well, I love you."

Meryl sat up, rubbing her tired, sore eyes. "Thank you," she mumbled after a moment. "I love you too."

"So," Vash said invitingly. "What do you want to do?" He turned to lay down on his side, running his fingers up and down his long legs.

"Sleep."

"Argh," Vash grumbled. "I meant, y'know... it is our wedding night, and I figure that you'd wanna..."

"Oh! You mean..." Meryl sat up, and ran to the bathroom. She came out a minute later, draped in red and black silk. "Ready?"

"Very."

-Two Hours Later-

"Heh... that was a vacation from the ordinary," Meryl said, her voice panting a little.

Vash cuddled her in his arms, ignoring the fact that his scars could cut her, even though Meryl had placed a blanket between them (after being... ahem, "close") to prevent any cuts. Vash absolutely hated it; he was extremely embarrassed about the way he looked.

"I feel so ashamed," Vash whispered. "I hate my scars."

"Vash! Don't say that, you know that I am OK with them." Meryl picked at Vash's hair. "Besides, not many girls get guys that look as cute as you."

"Really?" Vash asked excitedly. "You really think I'm cute?"

Meryl nodded. "Yes, I do. Now let's go to sleep."

Vash glanced at the clock. "Yeah, but it's already four in the morning. We'd be getting up in four hours anyway."

"Well then, we should go out for breakfast," Meryl suggested. "Then hang out the rest of the day."

"Sounds great," Vash said, kissing Meryl. "Happy one-day-of-married-life anniversary."

"You too," Meryl said.

-One Month Later-

"Vash!" Meryl called from the bathroom. "Vaaash!"

Vash sat curled up in a ball, wrapped in the sheets of their king-size bed. He stayed silent.

"Vash!"

He lay as still as possible.

"OK, if I have to ask you again, you're sleeping on the couch tonight!"

Vash remained in his silent state. I can sleep on the couch, he thought to himself.

"VASH!" Meryl screamed. "GET IN HERE NOW!"

"Yeah?" answered Vash weakly. He was afraid of the news that Meryl was to drop upon him any moment now.

"Guess what?" Meryl asked, walking slowly out of the bathroom. In her hand, she held a pregnancy test. "I got some news for you."

Vash squeaked. "What is the news?"

"You..." she started, crawling onto Vash's lap. "Are..." she paused, holding her breath. "VERY MUCH IN TROUBLE!" she screeched, tumbling Vash over. She lifted a pillow high above her head, bringing it down hard against Vash's head.

"AUGH!" Vash yelped. "What did I do?"

Meryl growled. "You got me pregnant, you jerk!" Meryl once again whacked Vash in the head with the pillow. "You know I don't make enough money to support a kid! And now, you got us a baby! Well, I hope you're happy! You cheap, moronic, stupid, dumb, idiotic, insensitive, free-loading jackass!" she stormed out of the room, tears running down her face.

Vash felt butterflies enter him. He sat simply in the middle of the room, holding the pillow tight to his chest. "I'm going to be a daddy."

-The Next Day-

"You did WHAT?" Wolfwood demanded. "You got pregnant?"

Vash placed a finger over his mouth. "Hush up! And besides, it's not me who's pregnant, it's Meryl."

"Yeah, well, you're a couple, so does it matter? I think not. Anyway, have you told Milly? She'd want to know, I mean, we are going to be god-parents right? Or is there another man in your life I don't know about?"

Vash lifted an eyebrow, laughing. "That sounded really bad, Wolfwood."

Wolfwood smacked Vash. "You know what I meant, Tongari. Anyway, you got an idea of what you're gonna do and how you're gonna support this kid?"

"None what-so-ever," Vash mumbled, slumping down in his chair. "I've been thinking about getting a job, since Meryl did tell me I'm a free-loader."

"It is true, y'know," Wolfwood argued.

"I am not!" Vash retorted. "I mean- I hate asking for help from others. I don't deserve it!"

"Calm down," Wolfwood said. "I was kidding." He pulled a cigarette out of his pocket and, well, tried to light it, but Vash stopped him.

"Smoke is bad for the baby," Vash said, taking the cigarette out of the priest's mouth.

"Watch it- you're beginning to sound like Milly," Wolfwood snarled. He pulled out his box of cigs and realized it was empty. "Damn, that was my last cig!"

"Too bad," Vash said. "Anyway, back to the money issue. I have absolutely no idea where to work, as I am still pretty wanted. I would ask you for cash..."

"But I already spend it on the orphans," Wolfwood finished.

"Right. So, I was thinking about... letting Meryl- or you or Milly- turn me in, and you guys can use the money to pay for the kid."

"Tongari! Are you crazy? I mean, the kid has to have a father-figure, and I sure as hell am NOT going to do that!" Wolfwood pounded his hands on the table. "Do you know how much Meryl'd- no, all of us- would miss you?!"

"But-"

"Don't give me that crap," Wolfwood said loudly and clearly. "No matter what, you are not, I repeat NOT going to turn yourself in." Wolfwood grabbed Vash's collar. "Do we understand each other?"

Vash gulped. "Yes sir."

"Good," Wolfwood breathed, letting Vash's collar loose. "Let's just forgot you mentioned that."

"OK," Vash replied. "Where do you think I could get a job at?"

"Well, I've got an idea."

"Spit it out," Vash said. "I want to know, I want to help this kid!"

Wolfwood smiled. "Good to hear that. So, I was thinking. And I figured that the best way for you to make money at this point would be to sell something."

Vash looked puzzled. "Like what?"

"Well... let's start with this. You want to get money, right? The first thing you gotta do to get money is save it. That means no more buying gallons of ice cream for Meryl." Wolfwood grinned. "I can just see it now- Meryl having a coronary because she can't have any ice cream. Ah, the future looks bright."

"Hey! She happens to love her ice cream," Vash pouted.

"And that also means no more thirty boxes of donuts every week, you pig," Wolfwood laughed.

"What?!" Vash breathed, grasping at his chest. "I... think I'm having a heart-attack!" He fell to the ground in fake spasm-attacks.

"Shut up and save it for drama club," Wolfwood growled. "You gotta know that this kid- and Meryl- need you help. I don't know if this has crossed your mind yet, but Meryl's gonna cost more too."

Vash sat in a state of confusion. "What?"

"I said, Meryl's gonna cost more too," Wolfwood repeated. "She's gonna need more food, maternity clothes, check-ups, doctor bills and fees," Wolfwood paused, staring at the shock look that played on Vash's features. "And I think I'll leave the rest up to you."

"Well, for food, I'll just stop eating. And for maternity clothes, either she can wear my clothes or she can rest naked in bed all day," Vash paused, grinning. "I personally like the second choice."

"Well, of course you would," Wolfwood said. "Because otherwise you wouldn't have gotten in this mess in the first place."

"Y'know what? This is not a mess, this is a gift from God! This baby will brighten our lives," Vash argued. "Meryl and I deserve this baby!"

Wolfwood looked taken aback. "That's the right attitude!" he said after a silent moment, his face perking up.

Vash's cheeks were dabbed with tears. "And besides, I've probably been making Meryl feel like it's all her fault." He sobbed. "I don't ever wanna make her feel like that."

Wolfwood gave a sympathetic smile. "You're gonna make a great dad, Tongari."

-Three Hours Later-

"Hey Meryl, baby," Vash said softly. His arms came from behind her and wrapped themselves around her waist. "How are you feeling?"

"Well, I called the doctor," Meryl tiredly mumbled. "It seems we've only been pregnant for two days." She leaned her elbows against the counter.

"Ah, I see," Vash said, kissing her head. "But you didn't answer my question. Are you feeling all right?"

"No," Meryl sighed. "Feeling sick."

Vash swooped Meryl up, carrying her to their bedroom. "Let's go to bed." He placed her softly on the bed. "Sleep."

Meryl almost drifted off before remembering that she had to change. "Ugh," Meryl groaned, lifting herself off the bed.

"What?" Vash asked from the foot of the bed, where he had begun to take off his socks.

"I need pajama-"

"Say no more," Vash helpfully chirped, setting Meryl back on the bed. He began taking off her clothes, and sliding new ones on her. "It's OK. I got it."

"Vash," Meryl said, her head rolling back. "This is embarrassing."

"Someday I'll let you return the favor." He finished, running his fingers through her hair. "There, all done."

He took off the rest of his clothes, hopping into bed with nothing but red-hearted boxers covering him. "I feel so free!"

Meryl laughed. "You've been so weird you're whole life."

"I know," he said. "I'm such a freak."

"Well." Meryl smiled, placing a hand in one of his scars. "You're my freak."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

AN- Ha ha. I've done another chapter. OK, since it's the weekend, I'll probably finish the next chapter by Tuesday. Love&Peace!