It was nice to finally see Meryl smile.
True, there were occasional smiles, but nothing like this. Her eyes shone with happiness as she embraced the man dressed in tight black from head to toe. She had kept her feelings hidden for far too long, and at long last, the love intoxicated the air around them while their feet soaked in the overflowing well water. And all that could be let out was a smile from a distance, not daring to interrupt. Anyone normal would be green with envy by now; but not her: the girl with amber hair and baby blue eyes that refused to be touched by pain. If Meryl was happy, then she was happy: Her newest philosophy that would guide her for many months to come.
With that though, her lips formed into a wider smile, and she took the half lifeless body from Vash's shoulder. It didn't weigh much: perhaps a bit heavier than her normal load that lay under her coat. She slung him over her shoulder, careful not to touch the bandaged wounds that practically spotted the figure, and trotted slightly away from the two lovers, and waited for them to finish their newly said hellos. Perhaps she should take him to the nearest medical facility, for it would be quite some time before her partner would finish her 'interrupted' sentences.
She giggled at the thought, and started walking down the street, while the pale blue sky made her face brighten, and helping her ignore the pain that lay in the past.
"If the records show correctly, the young man should be up and about in a few months..."
The middle-aged doctor eyed the group of three suspiciously, and probably wondered what the crazy bunch did to the shorthaired blonde to be put in such terrible condition. However, all he received was a large, goofy smile from a similar looking blonde, and two grins from a pair of innocent looking girls. He put on a fake smile, and began walking out the door.
"...And if all goes well, he should regain consciousness in a week or two."
The three chatted amongst themselves, and it was somewhat difficult to tell what hell they had experienced in the past two years. But now, it was all over: Vash was back, Meryl was happy, Knives was going to be all right, and Millie...
...Mille was going to be okay too.
Millie watched the lifeless body, and would have been convinced that the man was dead if it wasn't for the steady and delicate breathing that kept him attached to this world. She didn't understood how such hate could live in a person, and she might as well praised Vash for his kindness: There weren't many loving people in this world, but she figured that number has yet to multiply. Her face remained blank to the intensive amount of thought, and her view shifted to the window. It was such a nice day outside...nice enough to share with the ones you loved...
"...Millie? ...Millie? Are you alright?" A familiar voice perked. Her gaze shifted to the purple set of eyes belonging to her devoted friend.
"I'm just fine..." Her voice sounded too dead, and added more word for the sake of not worrying her friends.
"...I think I'm in the mood for some pudding!" she finished.
The worry on Meryl's face disappeared, and she thought the idea sounded swell. Perhaps she had only misinterpreted the blank look on the girl's face: She appeared to be perfectly fine, even if there was a drop of pain in the corner of her eyes. Millie was strong though, and she wouldn't give into grief that easily.
"Sounds good to me! What do you think, Vash? Donuts sound good?"
A sudden shine arose in Vash's eyes, and he nodded gleefully at the idea. Knives wasn't going to be going anywhere for quite some time, so it wasn't any hazard to leave him unattended in the facility. The three lifted themselves from their seats, and went out the same door they came in.
The suns were already quite low by the time they reached a decent place to grab a few sweets, and all three were relived to find a quite place to sit. Vash had volunteered to pick something out for them, although it was obvious that he was going to give the girls some time alone.
The two sat in silence for quite some time, until Meryl had enough guts to ask Millie some questions.
"Millie...? Are you all right? You've been acting strangely ever since...well..."
She was afraid to finish her sentence, however, the girl across the small coffee table said nothing, and continued to stare into space.
"...Mil-?"
The girl suddenly looked back with a blank expression that had appeared often through the past few days. However, her eyes were filled with question; not sorrow. It amazed her how she could be so emotionally stable, even though she had possibly suffered just as much as Vash. Perhaps if hadn't been so evident to others, but Millie had...matured, in her own sense. She would've asked more, but Vash's sudden giddy intrusion interrupted he, and Millie's happy squeals for pudding ripped through the surrounding air. The question disappeared, and her sky blue eyes were suddenly filled with joy once more.
"Meryl, where are we going once Mr. Knives is better?"
She hadn't thought of that: Where were they going to go? They couldn't stay in this town forever, cooped up into two small rooms...
"...'Cause I was 'inking dat we cud go to visit 'ome!"
Millie smiled at the idea while her cheeks were filled with pudding. That didn't seem like such a bad idea...Perhaps it would be nice to visit home after so many months of lost contact. And on the way, they could visit a few interesting places, such as ones announced in the satellite. Meryl and Vash returned the smiles, and immediately started planning; so many places in so little time...
"...Meryl, could we visit December?"
Meryl nodded gleefully, accepting the idea, however, the reason reached her a few seconds later:
Wolfwood had mentioned an area near December as his home once before.
Millie's face was unaffected by her idea, and continued to eat her pudding silently. The idea seemed fine, but all he ever mentioned was that it was 300 iles away from December, not in which direction: A radius of that size would be difficult to cover.
"Are you sure you want to-"
Millie looked up from her pudding.
"Why, yes! Mr. Wolfwood always told me how nice it was there! He even mentioned that it was green there, Meryl. Could that mean there's a geoplant there too?"
Vash perked his head up from the box of donuts that sat on the metallic surface, and he flashed a confusing look that could be interpreted as intrigued. All eyes at the table shifted towards him, not knowing what to say and what action should be taken next. Vash silently lowered his face into the box of donuts, let out a few breaths, and mumbled while his eyes made it appear as if he was in a trance.
"It seems that it's the best idea we have at the moment."
Millie let out a cheerful squeal, but it was soon followed by an outrageous yawn. Eating so much pudding at once always made her sleepy, and it was difficult to keep a pair of heavy eyelids from crashing down and luring her into a deep slumber.
"Meeeeryl...? Can we start going back to our rooms? I'm getting sorta tired now..."
Meryl looked up at the sky, adored the few visible specks of light in the sky, and finally lifted herself from the hard chair with a relaxed sigh. Millie quickly responded by tumbling out of her slumped position, and swooped to the right of her seat. The two girls began walking towards the tiny hotel building, but Meryl stopped to wait for Vash. However, it appeared that he had no desire to go anywhere, and he quietly munched on what donuts he had left.
"Meryl...maybe we should-"
Meryl's head jerked violently towards Millie.
"...Maybe we should leave him alone for now...he's ...been through a lot."
Meryl's eyes filled with sympathy for both characters, and so many images of what happened in the past two years swelled her brain. Yes, Vash has been through a lot...but Millie's been though more than an average person can handle. She was doing better: She even had the capability of concealing it all, and locking it in a tiny, forbidden section of her heart.
"C'mon Millie, it's getting late."
Meryl started walking again, and Millie followed loyally behind in silence until they reached the paint-tattered building. The floors creaked with age, and once the girls got to their rooms, Millie bombarded the bed with her weight, and was soon followed by a series of light, continuous breaths.
Meryl, as tired as she seemed, did not sleep.
She waited.
Waited until she heard the floor creaking near the room next door.
She sprung from her sitting position, and quietly raced to the door, only peaking through the crack until she felt comfortable to step out. Vash stopped in his steps, and the tow shadows faced towards each other for what felt like hours. Meryl suddenly let out a painful laugh, and her eyes shined from what soon might fall from them.
"...I'm in love with a plant..."
Vash stood silently, and wiped her tears from her face.
"...But he's the most gorgeous one of all..."
The hallway fell silent, and the two shadows became one. And from the dark room, in her partial slumber, Millie smiled to herself, and finally fell asleep.
Wow, it's the end of chapter 3! :D Many apologies for taking so long, I've had a hectic schedule due to school and extracurricular activities. Since the summer's almost here, I'll have much more time to concentrate on improving my writing, and taking the time to draw more stuff. I'll post my devart art link on my bio when I get the chance, but if you really wanna look at my stuff, look me up as 'crossXpunisher' on deviantart.com. Anywho, this chapter originally was started in April-May-ish, but due to stuff, I finished it today. So perhaps you'll look forward to chapter 4: By then my head will swell with ideas. :D Toodles till next time!