Blu: OMIGOD! I HAVE MORE READERS! I AM SO HAPPY! …pay up TK
TK: -grumbles to self and hands Blu ten bucks-
Blu: hee hee hee
Hustino- I am glad you liky, and there is no way I would stop this anyway!
Yma- OMIGOD! ANOTHER REVIEWER! I am so glad I have more then three readers! For you I will keep it up! DEFENTLY! (TK: Blu-chan, calm down, he just reviewed!) I know but it's still cool for me ^^ (TK: -_-')
KittyHakubi- Your wait is over my friend…tho you already knew that by clicking the link…sorry to be redundant XD Who ever decided to kill off Wolfwood needs to say sorry! THEY MADE ME AND THE OTHER HUNDRED THOUSAND WOLFWOOD FANGIRLS CRY!
T9- I am glad you like it…and stuff…don't hurt me…
Blu: thankies for the reviews, and I hope you all like this chapter…tho it might be boring…
Read, Review, and Wait, the three things that happen on this site
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Chapter Three: Smile for Me
"Millie? Millie open up! I have your food."
Meryl taps on the door again. Not hearing a response, she sighs, very annoyed. "If I ever see him again, I'll kill him," she mutters under her breath. Turning around, the short insurance girl heads back down the stairs, the full tray in hand. Coming into the kitchen, she is greeted by Vash and his shadow, little Nick. The two wave, both pairs of eyes begging to hear about the dinner delivery. Meryl shakes her head. "She won't take it, in fact she won't even open up. She'll die of starvation before she is well enough to get over him." Venom sticks to the last word, so much so that the two slightly flinch.
"No she wont," Vash corrects, a smile sliding into place. "Millie is strong, she'll be fine. We just need to give her the time she needs for the…wound to heal."
"But she still has to eat," Meryl counters. The blonde gun man nods before getting up and heading out the door. "Where is he off to now?" Meryl asks, not expecting an answer.
"The fountain, no less," Nick says, getting up as well. Before she can get another word in, Meryl is left alone in the makeshift kitchen, the door swinging shut. Mumbling to herself about some annoying upside-down haired, donut-loving, reckless jerks not knowing anything about how the mind of a woman works, Meryl leaves the tray on the table, untouched.
~*~
Following Vash, I head to the blood covered face plate of the town fountain. I close my eyes, remembering the last time I passed this spot. It was last night, Vash was sitting looking downright pathetic, and I just left him there, my head turned like I didn't care. The look in his eyes…those damn eyes…
"Sooooo…on the first evening a pebble…"
I look up, a light tune drifting over to me…off key. I flinch as the Humanoid Typhoon slurs around the notes. God awful. Who the hell taught this guy to sing? Who ever it was, they should be hung. My poor ears…
"Stick to singing about genocide," I cut in. "You can't keep a tune, Vash."
"That's not nice!" Vash stammers, pouting a bit. "I like that song."
"You just killed that song," I reply playfully. A look of pain flashes over the green-blue eyes, but only for a spilt second. I smile to myself. Vash, you might be good at hiding your feelings to everyone else around you, but you could never, EVER, hide them from me. "Who taught that to you anyways? It's old, ain't it?"
"My mom taught it to me," he says smiling the first real smile in ages. "She used to sing it all the time…I used to think she was an angle because she sang so beautifully…" Sitting next to him, I find myself joining in on the sing-a-long.
"Sooooo…on the first evening a pebble…"
~*~
"So…your telling me cats ate the food?"
The little girl nods. "Two big black cats," she says matter-o-factly.
"Two big black cats…"
"Yupp…"
"Ate Millie's food…"
"That's right…"
"And you saw them?"
"Uh-huh."
"Okay…" Meryl leans down and pats the little girl on the head. "Thanks Sarah," she says, a smile pulling on the sides of her mouth. She stands up and heads for the sink to clean the pile of dishes stacked there. "Oh," she stops and turns around, her apron in hand, "you have a little pudding on your cheek." The raven haired woman wipes the smug away and pats the blushing girl on the head again. Sarah turns and rushes up the stairs, leaving the grinning Meryl to her work. Grabbing up her tattered wash towel, she picks up the nearest bowl and scrubs. Half way through the small pile, she sets down the cup she is working on and looks out the window. Gold pours over the curtains and fills the room. Meryl watches as the first sun sinks out of her site and under the sand. Grabbing up the glass again, she mutters under her breath. "I hope they get back soon…there's no telling what might decide to show up next…"
"Yeah, knowing that needle noggin, we'll have something twice as deadly as sandworms on our asses by the third moon rise!"
Meryl spins around meeting face to face with the legendary outlaw. Her temper on an all time high, she punches the blonde in the gut. "DON'T SNEAK UP ON ME, DAMMIT!"
"OW! THAT HURT!" Vash stumbles back and plops down on the ground. Meryl swipes up her fallen towel and finishes scrubbing the glass probably harder then necessary. Vash, who has finally found his true goofy side again, makes his eyes as big and watery as possible. "You're so cold…"
"Won't work, nimrod."
"Ice Princess."
"Dumb-ass."
"Bitchy."
"Reckless."
"Heart of stone."
"Brain the size of a pea."
"Shorty."
"…low blow, Mister Vash the Stampede."
The two turn around to see a short haired boy with messy clothes, dirt caked cheeks, and a crooked tooth pick sticking out of the corner of his mouth leaning on the open door's frame. Meryl lets out a sigh. "Oh good," she says, her shoulders relaxing. "It's only you Nicholas."
The little boy's hair almost stands on end. Eyes bulging, he turns to the blonde now sitting at the table and jabs a shaking finger and Meryl. "SHE KNOWS?!" he all but screams.
Vash shakes his head, hands up in defense. "She only knows your name," he says reassuringly, "that's it." Nick loosens up, he arms falling to his sides.
Meryl looks at the two blankly. "What aren't you telling me?" she asks, a pinch of anger in her voice. Shocked at the fact they might have let too much slip out, the two shout out a collective "NOTHING!". Convinced that they are just hiding some 'boy' thing from her, Meryl sets down her now squeaky-clean cup and heads up stairs. "I'll go tuck everyone in," she says when she reaches the landing. "Where are you sleeping tonight, Nick?" The boy looks a little taken back by the question just thrown at him and takes a minute to weigh his options.
"With me, right?" Vash asks, nudging the boy slightly. Nick looks blankly up at him, a look that can only mean one thing: 'Wha?'. "Riiiiiiiiiight?"
"Oh yeah," the boy replies hurriedly, "right!" Shaking her head at the two, Meryl climbs up the stairs to the kid's room.
"That, my friend, was a close one."
~*~
I grin at Vash, the tooth pick wobbling slightly. He points to the sliver of wood with a questionable look on his face. "Whats with the stick?" he asks.
"I need something in my mouth or I'll go nuts," I say, stuffing my hands into my pockets. "I may be in a different body, but I still have my twelve year addiction."
"Well," Vash stands up, ushering me to the stairway. "We better hit the hay." He winks at me. "Growing boys need their rest, ya know." Not missing a beat I bop the goof the best I can on the head. "Ow! Why is everybody always pickin on me?" he whines. I grin, but refuse him the satisfaction of knowing it.
When we get to Vash's room, only one away from Millie's, I can't help but feel…I don't know…cut off from her. Vash looks down at me, the flash in his eyes saying he knows what I mean. If only. Pulling a long t-shirt from his travel bag, he throws it to me. "You have to sleep in something else," he says as I hold up the EX-large shirt. "That's your only change of clothing right now."
"I can't fit into this!" I hiss. "The last thing I want is to wake up and find out I'm in a dress. My ego is almost nothing as it is, don't make me do this Vash…I will bring you down with me!" Eyes wide with fake fear, the Typhoon dives into his bag, searching for a more appropriate garment.
In the end, I'm stuck with the dress. Rolling up the sleeves and such, I hunch against corner. Throwing me the blanket from his bed, Vash rolls over to face the dusty window on the wall by his makeshift cot. "Don't you need this?" I ask, holding up the fabric just tossed to me. "It's going to get cold tonight."
"You need it more," he says without turning around. "You body doesn't have any immune systems up yet, it's better I chance the cold." Shrugging, I lean back on the plaster of the wall and tug the blanket around me. I'm not going to bug Vash when he's like this…it's just too weird when he's this serious. Before I know it, sleep is upon me. Like I care. I welcome it with open arms…hoping that when I wake up, I won't see tile…
~*~
I wake up with a start, sweat pouring down my face. My hair is matted on all sides by the salt water. I shiver from the dampness, the cold. Looking up and out the window, I can see the rainbow of the moons, each their own shade. Slightly lowering my vision, I see Vash, sleeping peacefully on his cot, his red coat rapped around him snuggly. Laying my head back into its nook of wall, I try to return to sleep. Suddenly my ears pick up sound in the room on the other side. Pressing my ear closer to the wall, I strain to place the faint noise.
It's crying.
Millie is crying…
Forgetting everything Vash had told me about keeping my cover, everything I told myself didn't matter, and everything that would go out of whack if I ran into her room right now, I struggle out of the blanket incasing me and burst out the door. Sharply turning so to head straight for her room, I grip the knob and wrench it open. Startled by my sudden presence, Millie jerks up from the pillow incasing her face, the beautiful blue eyes red and puffy.
We gawk at each other for what seems like hours, but what I know is only seconds. "Mill-" I begin to say, taking a step forward. Before I can utter the rest of the syllable, Big Girl tackles me, which slams me into the hallway railing I might add, a begins to bawl.
"I KNEW IT!" she screams, causing everyone to open their doors (including Vash, who usually only wakes up to the morning call of 'Donuts!'). "I KNEW YOU WOULD KEEP YOUR PROMISE! YOU CAME BACK, NICK! YOU REALLY CAME BACK!"
~*~*~
Blu: how do you like my terrible attempt at a cliffy? Pathetic? Yessh.
TK: you just love that 'synonyms' button, huh Blu-chan?
Blu: tis an author's best friend.
TK: right…
~*~
Wolfwood: The human is a social animal, as are most. People say they want to be alone, and that's just fine, but no one likes to be alone forever. People need other people to survive. As I sat on the porch with Millie one day, the two suns bearing down on us, I looked out across the stretch of sand and saw a boy. He wasn't playing with anyone, he was just sitting there. It made me think of all the little boys and girls I have known. As I sat on that porch with Millie at my side, I whispered something to myself:
"I really don't want to take that one…"
Next Chapter: Let Me Be With You