Disclaimer: I don't own Trigun, I'm just borrowing it for awhile. Trigun is property of Yasuhiro Nightow, Mad House, Pioneer, and whoever else was smart enough to get a piece of the action. I just know I wasn't. TT
"..." is talking
'...' is thinking
It took longer than I thought it would, but here's the new chapter! And hey, that last chapter was EXACTLY 6400 words. And how I managed that is a mystery to me. :P
[What is this? I can edit to add italics!? Yay! I used italics alot in the previous chapters (before I found out they didn't show up when I uploaded them) to stress certain words and make the chapters look better (get rid of the '...' thought thingys), maybe now I can go back and edit the older chapters to add italics. Woot!]
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A Glimpse of Eden
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Chapter - 15
"Just a little farther, Meryl. And no peeking!" Locke reminded her as he carefully led her by the hand.
Meryl shut her eyes tighter, half wondering what this 'surprise' was about and half hoping she wouldn't trip over anything. She guessed they were in the arboretum, but exactly why still alluded her. During breakfast, Locke had told her that he had a surprise for her and that she had to wait in her room until it was ready. So, despite her questions and protests, she had been forced to stay in her room for the duration of the morning and part of the afternoon, until Locke had come to get her.
"Ok, Meryl. We're here." Locke said cheerfully. "You can open your eyes now."
She did, although a bit hesitantly. She blinked, studying the scene before her. They were in the arboretum alright, but what was this? "What is...?"
"It's a picnic!" he informed her with his usual exuberance.
"I can see that." she said with a touch of amusement. "Did you have a hand in this?" she asked Knives, who was in his usual stance by the tree.
"It was the boy's idea." he answered, sounding bored with the whole idea.
"Come on, Meryl! Sit down!" the boy invited, he himself plunking down on the blanket and then having to quickly reach out to steady a glass he'd disturbed.
"Careful, Locke." she murmured automatically, before stepping into the blanket and settling down, tucking her legs underneath her.
"Knives!" the boy called out, patting a space on the blanket near him.
With an annoyed grunt, the older Plant came over and gracefully seated himself 'indian-style' in the designated spot, somehow managing to maintain his superior air despite the fact that he was sitting on a pink and red striped blanket. Locke shot him a quick grin before turning anxious eyes to Meryl. "Does it look okay?"
"It certainly looks impressive." she smiled, and a pleased look passed over the boy's face. "Did you do all this by yourself?"
"Yeah! Well... it was my idea, but Knives helped alot." the boy amended. "He made the food." Locke leaned forward, his voice lowered to a loud whisper. "Did you know Knives could cook?"
She played along, her eyes wide with shock. "He can?"
"Don't act so surprised." he mumbled, appearing irritated by their teasing. "I can do alot of things."
"I'm sure you can." she soothed, giving him a smile. "But I don't think making sandwiches is really considered 'cooking'."
"I could have made something else," Knives replied, with a slight smile of his own, "but the boy insisted on sandwiches."
"Because that's what people eat at picnics! Sandwiches!" he said brightly, before getting a puzzled look on his face. "At least, that's what all the books say."
"Quite right!" Meryl said with a firm nod. "People at picnics have sandwiches and... and what are we drinking?"
"Iced tea." Knives answered. "According to Locke, it should be lemonade, but we didn't have any."
Locked nodded. "We had to improvise." he stated, slowly drawing out the last word with apparent relish. He had picked up that word from Knives earlier in the morning and, like he did with most of the new words and phrases he heard, took great joy in repeating it.
"That's alright. I prefer iced tea anyway." she smiled, and then reached for a sandwich. "Salmon?" she murmured blankly when she'd unwrapped it.
"Locke said he likes them." Knives said distastefully, wrinkling his nose slightly.
She smiled and offered the sandwich to the boy, who took it eagerly. "I suppose he does." She picked up another sandwich, ham and cheese, and offered it to Knives who shook his head. "You like ham and cheese." she insisted, and held it out to him again.
He hesitated briefly, and then took it. "Thank you."
She blinked, surprised. "You're welcome." She smiled at him, then moved to wipe Locke's face with a napkin. "Honesty, Locke." she affectionately scolded, "Can't you eat something without ending up wearing it?"
The rest of the lunch was spent in relaxed conversation, with Meryl and Locke doing the majority of the talking although Knives would occassionally add a comment ot two. They talked about how pretty the trees in the arboretum were now that they were in bloom and what Meryl would cook for dinner, she even told a couple of stories about her travels with Vash that made even Knives laugh. Of course, how could anybody not laugh at Meryl's 'Vash's head in dufflebag' story?
Locke fell back onto the blanket, trying to control his giggles. Knives shook his head in amusement, biting the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing again. "My brother actually did that?" he asked, and when Meryl sat back down on the blanket with a nod and a grin, he let out another short laugh before shaking his head in disappointment. "My brother is truly an idiot."
Meryl laughed. "I told him not to do it, but he just had to go digging through his bag for that donut." She leaned back on her hands and stretched her legs in front of her, crossing them at the ankles. "It took Milly and I almost fifteen minutes to pull him free. And that was only because that broomhead refused to release his grip on that stupid donut!"
Knives sighed. "He always did have an affinity for those things."
"Why is that?" she asked, absently smoothing the wrinkles from her skirt, "I mean, donuts are good and all, but he gets almost obsessed over them."
Knives shrugged, then turned his eyes to study Locke. "Sugar."
"Sugar?" she repeated, following his gaze to Locke, who was reaching for his glass of iced tea.
Knives nodded, then stretched out on his side, propping his head on his hand and yawning slightly. "He likes the sugar. So does Locke, or hadn't you noticed?"
Her brow knitted in thought, contemplating his words. "Does that have anything to do with..." she paused briefly before continuing, "well, you all being... Plants?"
He nodded again, part of him wondering why he was sharing all this with her. "Eating excess amounts of sugar does for Plants the exact same thing it does for humans, it gives them extra energy. If a Plant uses more energy than they normally do, then eating something with alot of sugar helps them to replace it. Of course," he added, "you'd have to eat alot of sugar in order to make a major impact, but then," he smiled, "you've seen my brother eat."
Meryl frowned, her worried gaze resting on Locke. "Is it... harmful? I mean, all that sugar. Can it get addictive?"
He shook his head. "Don't worry. It's no more addictive to Plants than it is to humans." he said, and saw her visibly relax. He hadn't meant to worry her.
"So is that why Vash eats all those donuts? For the energy?"
He carelessly fingered a napkin before giving a half-hearted shrug. "No. He eats all those donuts because he likes them and he's a glutton." he said, an undertone of fondness in his voice removing the sting from his words.
"You could have said that when I first asked instead of getting all long-winded and scientific about it." she griped, crossing her arms over her chest and throwing him an annoyed look.
"Force of habit." he smiled.
"And how about you?" she then asked, the annoyed look disappearing, and when he raised an eyebrow in question, she added, "Do you like donuts, too?"
"Of course." he murmured. Who didn't like donuts?
"But I've never seen you eat them."
"Too much sugar isn't exactly healthy for you." he replied, rolling onto his back and staring up into the trees. All this talk was making him sleepy. "I try to limit my intake of sweets. You know what they say, 'too much of a good thing'." he mumbled, closing his eyes.
Meryl waited to see if he would continue, and when he didn't, she sighed and turned her attention from him to the sandwich wrappings, gathering them into a neat pile for easier clean up. Locke helped her, his eyes straying occassionally to the blossoming trees in the distance.
"I think that's all of them." Meryl muttered, twisting around to check for any more wrappings.
"Hey!" Locke spoke up, a smile lighting his face. "Let's go for a walk!"
"A walk?" she repeated, sounding uncertain. "What for?"
"To see the flowers." he replied, "And then we can pick apples." He turned to Meryl, his eyes hopeful. "Maybe you can make an apple pie for desert tonight."
"Locke..." she chided, but couldn't keep from smiling. "Must you always think of your stomach?"
"Not always..." he grinned, "but I didn't get desert for two weeks! I have to make up for it."
She laughed. Sometimes she didn't know who he reminded her more of; Vash, with his unlimited energy and passion for life; or Knives, with his calm reserve and unending hunger for knowledge. "Okay, Locke." she agreed, raising to her feet and brushing off her skirt, "Let's go take a walk."
He bounded to his feet, rushing to stand over Knives. "Come on, Knives! We're going for a walk!"
Knives opened one blue eye to frown up at the boy. "So go take one. I'll wait here until you get back."
"No," Locke moaned, grabbing the older Plant's hand and trying to pull him up, "You have to come, too!"
"But I don't want to." he grumbled sourly, rising to his feet. "I've seen the flowers before."
"So you'll just have to see them again." the boy countered with another smile, and moved to catch up with Meryl, who had already started off in the direction of the apple trees. He took her hand, and when Knives caught up with them a moment later, he reached for his hand as well.
They strolled leisurely through the arboretum, taking their time to enjoy the scenery, and only stopping whenever Knives wanted to tell Locke about a specific plant. And in great detail, much to Meryl's dismay, as she was forced to listen to them discuss and compare different species of plant life more than once.
Finally, after about half-an-hour, Locke dropped their hands and rushed forward with a shout. "There they are!"
An amused smile lit Meryl's face, and then faded as her eyes widened in astonishment as she viewed apple trees in full bloom for the first time. "Oh... my." she gasped, coming to a stop in the middle of the circle of apple trees and trying to absorb it all at once. "It's so... beautiful." she breathed, a soft smile lifting her features. "I've never seen anything like it."
"You must have seen pictures before." Knives said, looking amused by her reaction.
"Yes... but pictures can't compare with this!" she insisted, turning in a slow circle to admire her surroundings.
He smiled, then let his gaze travel over the blossoming trees around them. "No, I guess they can't." he agreed.
"Come on!" Locke called, running over to take Meryl's hand and pull her toward a tree, an apple already clutched in his other hand. "I need help!"
"Alright, Locke." she said when they'd arrived under the tree and he'd released her hand. "How are we going to do this?"
Locke tilted his head to one side, giving her question proper thought. He and Meryl were too small to reach the apples on the branches, and since the apples on the ground didn't look nearly as good, it stood to reason that if they wanted only the very best apples then Knives' help would be key. "Me and Knives will pick the apples, and you'll hold them." he finally decided.
"But why do I have to hold them?" she asked with a smile, amused by his commanding tone. "Can't I just pile them on the ground?"
He looked horrified. "They'd get dirty!" he informed her, sounding aghast by the suggestion.
She laughed. This was coming from the boy who, at two months, had tried to eat a fern; and at five months, had dropped a cookie on the ground and then proceeded to pick it up and shove it in his mouth anyway. "Okay, Locke. We'll do it your way."
He grinned, then went to stand in front of Knives. "Pick me up." he requested politely, raising his arms toward Knives, who then bent to lift the boy.
Locke chewed his bottom lip, studying the apples hanging above him. He half-reached for one, only to pull his hand back and turn his head to examine another apple more closely.
Meryl smiled and clicked her tongue, "Such a little perfectionist." she teased, then had to dive forward to catch an apple the boy tossed to her.
"I just want the best ones." he replied simply, reaching for another apple and snapping it from the branch. "There's nothing wrong with that, is there?"
She took it from his hand, then turned her eyes toward the branches to scan the apples. "They all look the same to me, Locke."
He shook his head. "This one," he pointed to one apple on a branch, "has a soft spot. And this one," he pointed to another, "has a discolored area. That means they won't taste right."
"Oh..." she murmured, as Knives chuckled at the blank look on her face.
"Is that enough?" Locke asked after he'd placed a few more apples in Meryl's arms.
"More than enough." she assured him, trying to hold onto all the apples and then casting a glare at the one that managed to slip free of her grasp and roll away from her.
Knives started to lower Locke back to the ground. "Wait, wait!" he cried, reaching up towards the branches again, "Lift me back up!" The older Plant complied, and the boy broke off a small clump of the flowers. "For you, Meryl." he smiled, holding it out to her.
"Thank you, Locke." she smiled back, then bit her lip when another apple almost fell from her arms. "But, um... my hands are kinda full right now."
"No problem." he said cheerfully, and Knives grunted and tightened his hold when the boy leaned forward and placed the flowers in her hair. "There you go." he grinned at her. "Pretty." She blushed lightly at the unexpected compliment, and Locke gave her another huge grin before taking an apple from her and biting down into it. He then slid down out of Knives' grip to the ground and wandered off toward a flowering bush, his attention drawn by the heart-shaped petals.
"That boy..." she mumbled, shaking her head, "is going to be trouble when he gets older."
"At least he has good taste." Knives said, coming forward and lightly touching one of the flowers in her hair. Her blush deepened, surprised by the apparent compliment, and before she could think of anything to say, he added. "The flowers do look rather pretty."
She reached out and took a swing at his teasing grin but missed, as he had expected the move and deftly avoided it. Her sudden movement caused another two apples to fall, but Knives caught them both before they hit the ground. "Temper, temper..." he scolded with a smile.
She stuck her tongue out at him, not caring how immature it looked. "You're just jealous because you didn't get any flowers." she retorted playfully.
He snorted. "Yeah, that's it." he remarked sarcastically, placing the apples back in her arms. "I'm jealous."
"Well, at least you're man enough to admit it." she laughed, then glanced over at Locke who was busy staring up into a tree's branches. "What's got his attention now?"
"Let's go see, shall we?" he said, starting towards the boy. He was curious to know what held the boy's interest so intently.
Meryl hurried after him. "If you were any kind of a gentleman you'd help me with these." she grumbled, shifting her load of apples. He took one. "Oh, yeah... that's a BIG help. Thanks alot." she muttered sourly, before she noticed his smile being replaced by a look of seriousness. "What is it?" she asked, following his gaze to Locke.
Knives handed her back the apple without a word, then stepped up beside the boy. "What are you looking at, Locke?" he murmured softly.
"That." he answered, a finger pointing upwards. "A spiderweb. See?"
"Oh, so there is." Meryl smiled, peering up into the branches. "Can you see the spider on it, Locke?"
"Where?" he asked, squinting up at the web in an effort to make out it's lone inhabitant.
"Right there," she answered, trying her best to point out the spider's location with her chin, "In the upper left part of the web."
"I can't see..." Locke murmured, and without a word, Knives bent and picked the boy up, resting him against his hip and curving an arm under him for added support. Locke wrapped one arm around Knives' neck, and in his other hand he held his half-eaten apple. "It looks kinda small." he commented.
"Maybe it doesn't get enough to eat." Meryl suggested, not understanding the sour look her comment received from Knives.
Knives paused, appearing thoughtful. "Locke," he finally asked, his eyes fixed on the spiderweb, "A question for you. If you were to come across a butterfly caught in a spider's web, what would you do? Would you allow the spider to kill the butterfly for food, or would you set the butterfly free and therefore condemn the spider to die of starvation?"
The boy frowned, thinking over the question. Knives waited patiently, determined not to press the boy for an answer or to try to sway his response in any way. He wanted the boy's honest answer and opinion. "I guess..." Locke drawled out slowly, "that I'd try to find a way to save both."
"But that's impossible." Knives argued. "You can't save them both. The spider has to eat the butterfly in order to survive, so if you free the butterfly the spider would die."
"I'm sure there's a way to save both." Locke countered thoughtfully, "You just have to think of one."
"How?" Knives asked tersely, his voice carrying a trace of urgency, "How could you possibly save both?"
Locke smiled and gave a slight shrug. "Teach the spider to eat something other than butterflies." he guessed.
Knives sighed. Perhaps the boy was still too young to understand and debate the issue properly. "That wouldn't work. Spiders won't eat anything else."
"How do you know?" Locke questioned. "Have you ever tried?"
"Of course not. It would be a waste of time and effort. I already know what the outcome would be."
"But you never really know until you try, right?" Meryl commented, causing Knives to glance in her direction. He'd almost forgotten the girl's presence.
"We've gotten off the subject." Knives complained. "The original question wasn't 'how could you save both', it was 'which would you choose to save, the spider or the butterfly'?"
Locke sighed and pulled himself closer into Knives' arms, his head resting on the older Plant's shoulder. It was obvious by the look on his face that he didn't particularly the question that was being asked of him.
After a few minutes of silence, Knives went ahead and spoke. "Come on," he coaxed, "wouldn't you choose to save the butterfly? The spider is harmful and ugly, but the butterfly is innocent and beautiful. The butterfly would be the better choice, don't you think?"
Locke pondered this. "They are kinda ugly looking." he agreed after a moment, studying the spider above them, and causing Knives to smile.
"I don't know." Meryl spoke up. "I suppose if you look only at the surface, then they are very ugly indeed. But they do have their purpose, and you have to admit," she smiled Locke, "they make beautiful webs."
"Yeah... they do." the boy agreed with a smile of his own, looking at the spider and it's web in a new light.
Knives frowned, not liking the way the conversation was headed. "No one," he said to Meryl, "asked for your opinion."
"No one ever does." she sighed regretfully. "And let me tell you, there have been quite a few occasions where if Vash or Milly had only listened to me it would have saved us alot of trouble."
"Oh, really?" he replied absently, already deciding to abandon his discussion with Locke until they could be alone. "Like how?"
"Like when Vash bought you back after your fight," she answered, turning and walking away, "if he had taken my advice then we wouldn't have had so much trouble afterwards."
"And what advice was that?" Knives called after her.
"To turn around and take you right back where he got you."
Knives blinked, staring after the girl in stunned silence. "She's joking." Locke commented after a moment.
"I'm not so sure." he replied wryly, then hurried to catch up with her, swinging the boy to the ground in the process. "Did you really tell my brother to take me back where he'd found me?" he asked intently when he'd caught up with her, his eyes searching her face.
"Yes..." she answered truthfully, then shot him a smile, "but I'm glad he didn't."
He studied her for a moment, a look of confusion passing over his features. "Foolish girl." he finally scoffed. "You make no sense." Then, after a pause, he reached to take the apples from her. "I don't think I'll ever understand you."
She smiled, her eyes softening, and she wrapped an arm around Locke's shoulders when he came near to her. "That's funny." she whispered, quietly enough so that Knives couldn't hear her. "Because I used to think the exact same thing about you."
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End chapter 15
KnivesLady: Oops, sorry. I missed adding you when I updated last time. I'm so glad you like my story!
SanoGirl: lol Thanks, glad you liked that part about the 'no desert'. I know that certainly would ruin my day if I was Locke. lol
Anonymous: Thank you!
Arika: Hmmm, did I miss it somehow? Didn't you update? wants new chapter Thanks for the review! :P
angelarms: Wow, sorry about the long lapse between updates! I tried writing this chapter at work, but I got a chapter for my next fic instead. My muse must have ADD. I didn't have time to proof this chapter (I wanted to get it posted quickly) so I hope my grammer/spelling is still ok!
Akiko: Yes, they are!
Cutlass317: Wow, seems everyone liked the 'dust bunny' ending. Thanks for reviewing!
Anhdunamis: Thank you!
Ana: Thanks, Ana! Sorry to have kept you waiting!
dbzfan82: Glad you like my fic so much! Hope you like this chapter as well.
Tangled puppet: Thanks for the huge compliment!
geishablade: Oops, I hope I didn't make Knives too nice. Well, I suppose that just because he's 'somewhat' nice to Meryl doesn't mean he would be nice to other humans. Meryl is different.
White Ninja Spy: Thanks! I love K/M stories, Knives and Meryl compliment each other very well, but I love V/M fics, too. They're so CUTE together!
Next time: Could it be... the end!? (Can't say anymore then that, sorry.)