Wow! I really had a huge reviewer turnout for the last chapter (maybe I should do this waiting long periods of time before updating-thing more often…)! Firstly, I want to thank you all for your enthusiastic reviews. And secondly, I wanted to promise you all that there will almost definitely probably be fluff in this chapter. *Grins* Or there might not be…
Anyways, school has been in full swing for a while so I'll probably only find time to write on weekends from now on in. Hope this chapter makes everybody relatively happy.
"Yaaaay!" to:
Kiosukette, Alucard, Shahrezad, Abby-chan: The Black Cat, Molly-chan the Anime/game fan, Malster, AmoebaFive, ShinyFairyLights, Your_fan, sforzando, Reyan, KaikaNozomi, Kurokumo, WW, PuNkRoCkBuNnY182, Ashley, Redraptor, solar-sun, Kwaili, Auren Hannan, chaotic pink chocobo, V Keller, Vampiigirl, AKU, Odie, and KawaiiMangaLuver. I love you all!
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The kiss was soft, a mere touching of lips, but it was lingering. My mind stopped working. It simply wasn't registering. It was on complete sensory overload. It seemed every nerve in my body was focused on the parts where Vash's touched mine. His fingers lightly resting on my arm. His torso brushing against my knees. And, of course, the most obvious place.
He slowly and almost reluctantly drew his head back, look to the side, an almost confused look upon his face. For a moment I didn't dare to catch my breath. Was this real? Was it just a result my feverish mind had conjured up in response to my emotional distress lately?
No, it was far too raw, far too real.
"I'm so sorry," Vash drew backwards to crouch on the linoleum, rubbing his eyes distractedly with thumb and index finger. "I don't know what I'm doing. I really just need a good night's sleep and I'll be fine. I don't know what I'm doing." He repeated.
He looked like he was about to get up, but I slid off my chair onto the floor next to him, hesitantly putting a restraining hand on his forearm. He looked up at me in surprise, along with something that resembled fear, in his eyes.
"Vash, don't leave again," I said softly. I still wasn't really thinking straight. I was still in a dreamlike state of shock. I smiled slightly, the tiny remaining logically thinking part of my brain screeching that I had no idea what I was doing or saying. "You always leave me."
"You left me last time."
"That was different. Whenever you left it was with no explanation, no questions, just your little speeches about how my life was more important than my job," My gaze sank to the floor. "What you didn't realize was that my job was my life. I guess I don't have a life now."
"You once said that everyone deserves to live…live in happiness," Vash looked down at me. "Yet why do you deny yourself that?"
I snorted softly. "Because the one and only thing that would make me happy is the one thing I can't have."
"Meryl, what is the one thing you want?"
"You've never been very perceptive have you, Vash? You've known me for three years and you haven't figured it out yet?"
He stared at me, still obviously puzzled. I sighed.
"I want you, Vash."
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Well, there it was. She had said it.
It was out in the open and I couldn't say anything.
I turned her slightly so that I could look into her face. Her eyes were brimming with barely restrained tears. I smoothed a lock of black hair away from her eyes and let my fingers linger on her cheek. I could barely control the thickening in my own throat.
"I want you too, Meryl."
Her eyes widened perceptibly. "W-what?"
"I think you heard what I said," I murmured.
"Then what do you want me to do!?" She exploded, shoving me backwards and standing up.
I looked up at her in shock from the floor. Tears were streaming down her face now but her eyes blazed with anger.
"Am I supposed to throw myself at you now? Pledge to stay with you forever? Watch as I grow old and weak while you stay vibrant and young? No, Vash. No. I've gone through enough pain already on your account," she wrapped her arms around herself and turned away from me. "It's best if you'd just go now."
I stood up slowly, feeling a painfully cold emptiness forming in my chest. And also anger. A great deal of it.
"So you think I'm the one always complicating things? That's what you're always telling me. But now it looks like you're the one being a stubborn ass. I became a week-long alcoholic, put up with my brother's sarcasm, somehow picked up an annoying psychic, and walked to the point of exhaustion through the desert just so I could find you. And now you're acting like it's my fault that I wasn't born with a human life span!" I was shaking with barely suppressed emotions.
She turned her head to look at me and opened her mouth to say something, but I continued barreling on, not sure what I was saying until after I'd said it. Hell, I was on a roll. "So now, after all that shit, you give me your little dramatic outburst. Yeah, alright, I will probably live longer than you will, but isn't that more my problem than yours? Why should we deny ourselves our happiness, even if it's only for less than another century?"
I finished, breathing heavily. She just stared at me, conflict evident in her eyes as she fought an inner battle, that infamous Meryl logic versus the less evident but equally intense Meryl emotions.
I considered her for a moment, then decided that Team Meryl's Emotions needed some extra help. I quickly crossed the distance between us and kissed her, opening the potentially volatile jar of my emotions and letting her see them in my eyes.
I witnessed the glorious and overwhelming victory of Team Meryl's Emotions and felt the resulting passion in her response as she wrapped her arms around my neck to bring us closer together.
Whoa…this is even better than my fantasies…my back is starting to hurt from bending in this position…oh, I guess we're stopping now…
My thoughts eventually resumed momentum after a few extraordinarily enjoyable moments and another indeterminate period of time later, Meryl drew away for breath. I was slightly surprised to see that I was breathing just as hard as she was. She drew my head down next to hers and whispered into my ear.
"We're going to have to work on this height thing."
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"Oh, what are they doing now?"
"They're kissing…and they're moving next to the other window…ah, hell, I don't want to do a commentary on this!"
"Then give me the damned binoculars!"
A heavy sigh. "Okay."
Knives and Wosh spied on the pair from a nearby rooftop, taking advantage of their superior eyesight as well as a pair of rather low-quality pair of binoculars they had purchased that the spur of the moment.
"We should've copped up the extra money and gotten the telescope," Wosh muttered as he worked to focus the lenses.
"I'm not gonna pay $$160 just to watch some cheap peep show!"
"It was Vash's money anyway." Wosh snorted and settled into a more comfortable position. After a few moments of silence, he perked up. "Man, things are getting steamy in there!"
"Let me see!"
"No it's my turn!"
"Hey, he's my little brother, I have a right!"
"Little brother? I thought you were twins!"
"Yeah, well he acts like a little kid."
"I haven't seen you making the moves on any girls recently!"
"Shut up!"
After a short scuffle, the two resolved to each take one eye hole and sat uncomfortably before Knives muttered. "He's sure not Mr. Slick when it comes to sweet-talking her."
"You can hear him?"
"Yes, you dolt, I can read his thoughts. Why don't you?"
Wosh straightened proudly and raised two fingers. "Scout's honor. I promised not to read either or your minds, so I'm not."
"Fuck honor," Knives muttered, but simply raised the binoculars again.
"So, Knives, why was it that you really brought me up here?" Wosh's voice behind him was suddenly cold.
Knives looked over his shoulder at the young man and cocked an eyebrow. "You're sharper than I give you credit for." He set the binoculars down gently, compulsively folding the neck strap. "Let's see if you can figure it out for yourself. You probably have an idea by now."
"You want me to tell you about your past."
"Bingo. Vash has been treating me like a fool, thinking I'll never have any desire to know more about my previous live than the pitiful hints that he leaves around for me. You have the power to tell me."
"What if I choose not to?"
"Then I'll make you tell me."
"What do I get out of it if I do?"
"I won't tell Vash the embarrassing little secret about you."
Wosh's eyes widened in alarm. "How—?"
"I'm not as blind as I may look. Most definitely not as blind as my brother is. Not to mention all of the little hints you dropped in your tragic little life story. It's a simple quid pro quo."
Wosh looked slightly trapped. "You play dirty, Knives, real dirty," he sighed. "But I'll tell you what you want to know."
Knives smirked. "I thought you would."
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Ah! It seems Wosh is spilling it all to Knives! But what is the secret that Knives is blackmailing Wosh with? How will Knives react to his newly obtained knowledge? All (or at least some) will be revealed in the next chapter of Something Right!