Disclaimer: I do not own Trigun. I do not own Meryl, or Milly, or Wolfwood, or Vash, or Knives or even the cute little black kitty. I simply write fanfiction in my spare time. Though sometimes I really, really, really wish I *owned* Vash. (hehe)
Author's Notes: Oh lookie! How uncharacteristic of me! An update! And so soon! Could it be. . .*gasp* School is going to start soon and I am starting to feel the need to procrastinate? Yup. That must be it. So, I give you all a chapter. After the list of thanks.
Filthy: Why thank you. Thank you very much.
TRIGUN KITTY: Oh there's more. You just have to hope that I feel the need to procrastinate.
Sweet Sere: Ah, so you've joined my little cult following have you? *rubs hands a la Mr. Burns* Excellent.
Vampkestrel: And here it is.
Weiila: Uh, hello import from the George Lucas Galaxy. Okay, I'll stop talking crazy now. But thanks for reviewing!
evil squeede: LOL. I totally laughed while replying to your review because of your name. Because you see, I had calamari today. And yes, I love my narcoleptic knives too.
Jaded Ayumi: OHOHOHOH! Yes indeed Knives found out! Wait soon for coming chapters to see who else finds out!
Neptune Butterfly: Full grown college students can ask for stuffed toys too! And by the way, thank you for your review. The sheer length of it made my day. *grin*
Alpha Draconis1: *innocent look* Why, whatever do you mean by "go at it"?
The old fart: Ah, my very, very faithful reviewer. *bows* I thank you. *starry eyed* I love you! *guilty giggle* Ah, yes, about my other fic. . . *runs away*. Huh? Oh yeah. *runs back* Knives doesn't have the Playboy channel. He learned about it in an ancient earth book called The Kama Sutra which I'm told is illustrated. *runs away again, blushing horribly*.
AnonymousTrigunOtaku: Thanks! And I don't think the reviewer was exactly "flaming" me. *checks body* Nope, no char marks. But thanks. And *grin, pointing to rating* sorry to disappoint you, but no sour fruit in this fic.
ToughCookie: You're very welcome about the pillow. I would have provided that high tech foam stuff, but since I don't even know what's it's called, Google couldn't help me. And Grandma's advice? She is a sneaky one isn't she? *grin*
Elemental Water Mistress: You have siblings you can smash too? Wow! Anyway, thank you. And now. . .to talk about myself. *evil laugh* Just kidding! "Does new chappie make you happie?"
ShadaHack: Onward! And by the way, say hello to your teachers for me. When they look at you funny while you read this in class.
Orion Kohaishu: *uncomfortable laugh* Ah, yes, the need. Of course. Ahem. . .ah, new chapter. Random response. How's that?
Vashra BloodReeper: Glad I'm here to update!
lynxotaku306: *sultry voice* You don't have to wait any longer. *giggle* Sorry, I just couldn't help but do an impression of this woman I saw in this movie a long time ago and can't even remember the name of.
Rainy-days13: .~
Chibi Atto-san: *looks at split personality reviewer* Uh, thanks to both of you. And if you are really two characters from some anime I haven't seen, I'm sorry for mistaking you for a mental hospital escapee.
wheelers_hanyou: Yes, very apt description of Knives. As to Vash and Meryl moments. . .Bwahahahaha! *choke* Ahem, yes. Indy and dad. Hilarious. And one last thing, British, Australian, or New Zealander(is that right?)?
kenjis-slayer: You think I write "beautifully"? Well you should see my cursive. It's sexy as donuts. *giggle* Uh, sorry. I really should respond to reviews when I'm more awake. Thanks for reviewing! Ya'll come back now!
Okay, okay, folks. Nothing more to see here. Eh? What's this? Another chapter? Well I'll be tarred and feathered and dipped in chocolate cream and sprinkled with nuts and called a monkey's uncle. It is a new chapter! It is! It is! Read on, faithful readers of mine!
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Chapter 11
Milly has absolutely outdone herself this time. The stew is good, the meat is tender, the potatoes and carrots melt in your mouth. I had to admit that this time (For the first time ever!) I went for the stew first instead of the donuts. Even Knives – when I checked on him before dinner – had finished every last bit of his dinner and wiped up the dregs with bread. He didn't have to say anything because the empty bowl spoke for itself, but he still scowled menacingly when I made a comment about his healthy appetite. But even he has got to (grudgingly) admit that Milly is a surprisingly good cook. When she gets it right.
Across from me, Milly is wolfing down her own food, enjoying every bite, the laughter and happiness already back in her eyes. I suppose its because she and the kids parted on good terms and good ol' Milly will never let anything make her sad for long. Upstairs, I had left my adorable brother snoring, his stomach as well rounded as the little black cat mewling in sleepy contentment by the kitchen door.
Unfortunately though, not everyone was enjoying this dinner. Meryl, sitting next to me (She's so close that my skin tingles with quiet electricity. Wohoo!) is quiet, barely touching her food. From my count, she's only dipped that spoon in that stew seven times tonight and actually eaten from it only five. Now why did I notice this? Weeeellll…I have just a tiny bit of a fascination with Meryl's mouth at this point. After that little inner 'discussion' with myself about regretting kissing her and Knives's wonderfully observant comments, the first thing I did when I saw her sitting in the kitchen was stare at her. Stare at her mouth to be precise. I stared at her and wondered how her lips would taste, their texture, their touch. That is until she caught me staring and I had to look away, blushing horribly, hoping she didn't notice. When I looked back at her, she wasn't looking at me anymore but down at the table, deep in thought. Then Milly had distracted us both by rushing in with a stack of plates and soup bowls. Then she had further distracted us by starting dinner and almost spilling a whole scalding bowl on me. Then there had been dinner. And quiet.
That's all that has happened. Other than the sounds of eating, we are all quiet. Well, except for Milly of course. Cheery as always. But Meryl is quiet. She has been quiet this whole time and a part of me is starting to worry.
Meryl's only quiet when she's upset or thinking about something. Maybe she found out about the bank? It wasn't a big branch but people had to be talking about the mayor leaving. Of course, that kind of talk has to lead to _why_ he is leaving. And talk about why he is leaving will eventually lead to talk about the destruction of the bank. And the talk about the destruction will of course lead back to me. And maybe to Milly. Maybe she's upset about that. Isn't she always telling me that besides being an idiot I'm a walking disaster area? But still, she'd said nothing and I still hoped that I would be the one to break the news to her. Gently.
I guess dinner and light conversation was the gentle way to do it. Something along the lines of _So, Meryl, how was your day. Uh-huh and Bernadelli is good? Oh, and by the way I destroyed a bank. And Milly, you had a good day too?_
Yup. Perfect. That's the way to do it. Just sneak that in there.
So now. . .starting off with light conversation. . .
"So." Eat. "How." Chew. "Was your." Swallow. "Day?" Charming grin.
Meryl looked up at me surprised. I smiled and repeated the question and she opened her mouth, about to speak. . .and Milly looked up and said, "It was great Mr. Vash! You wouldn't think it would be, with the weather being it is, but it was so much fun. I found some kids who wanted to play and . . ."
Meryl's eyes once again dropped and she stirred her stew aimlessly. I sigh inwardly and let Milly talk. Well, light conversation with Milly wasn't what I intended but that was what I got. After all, I hadn't really directed the question at Meryl. I hadn't said her name (for fear that I might say it and choke) so it served me right that Milly had answered. She was part of this table after all. *sigh* Oh well, might as well make the most of it.
As Milly talked I found myself once again becoming fascinated with Meryl's mouth. Her lips were slightly opened and from time to time she would bite her bottom lip and then moisten it absently, her pink tongue sweeping across the bottom lip then the top. They looked so inviting, so soft, so –
"Mr. Vash?" Milly asked.
"Huh? What?"
"Did you hear what I just said?"
"Yes, of course," I said quickly.
"Oh good," Milly said happily. "As I was saying I tried to leave the kids playing because I really didn't want to be. . ."
Again, I let Milly talk, nodding at her and frowning; trying to focus on what she was saying. But there were so many distractions! There was the cat mewling by the door, Meryl's skin so close to mine and my neck tingling in awareness. Someone was looking at me. It didn't feel like a hostile stare, but a questioning one. I tried to concentrate more on what Milly was saying, but you know that feeling when you know that someone is looking at you? That sort of tingle that turns gradually into an itch that you have to scratch or else turn because you can't stand it anymore? Well I tried to ignore it. Really I did. But that tingle at my neck soon enough became an itch. An itch that came from Meryl's direction.
I turned to her to ask her what she wanted but her eyes were still focused on her uneaten stew, her hand very still on the spoon.
For a moment, I doubted myself. Were my senses that off because of her closeness? (Damn it! I should have kissed her then!) I had been so sure that she had been staring. I shrug mentally. Oh well. Mistakes can happen. Even for the Humanoid Typhoon. I forced myself to pay attention to Milly again.
"Anyway, the kids had eaten so much ice cream and cookies that they were all screaming at that point and –" Milly was saying when, "Excuse me," Meryl said softly and stood up.
"Sempai?" Milly immediately stopped and frowned, worried. "Did I – ?"
"Meryl?" I also ask. "What – ?"
Meryl shook her head and looked directly at Milly. "It's nothing. I'm just – I'm just tired. That's all. Go on and finish your dinner." She paused for a moment and then quietly, "Vash I – "
My head snapped up to her, but she wasn't even looking at me. "There's donuts by the sink. I'm sorry that I couldn't share them with you," she finished softly.
Huh? "Thanks," I answer, confused.
She nodded her head and was quickly gone. I wanted to ponder what had happened for a moment. She was upset. She'd probably found out about the bank. I should go and talk to her and – and think of an apology or something. It's not like I did anything wrong, but Meryl always seems to think it's my fault. I'll just save her the trouble and apologize now. Yeah. I should stand up now and follow her and tell her that I'm sorry for. . .whatever it is that she thinks I did wrong.
"Mr. Vash?"
"Yes?" Yes, Vash. Go. Apologize right now.
"Would you like seconds?"
Ummmm. . ."Yes please." Maybe after seconds. And donuts. Hey, I'm going to need all the strength I can get in order to grovel in front of Meryl.
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Author's Notes 2: To follow in the words of one of my reviewers, "If you likee, reviewee!"
Author's Notes: Oh lookie! How uncharacteristic of me! An update! And so soon! Could it be. . .*gasp* School is going to start soon and I am starting to feel the need to procrastinate? Yup. That must be it. So, I give you all a chapter. After the list of thanks.
Filthy: Why thank you. Thank you very much.
TRIGUN KITTY: Oh there's more. You just have to hope that I feel the need to procrastinate.
Sweet Sere: Ah, so you've joined my little cult following have you? *rubs hands a la Mr. Burns* Excellent.
Vampkestrel: And here it is.
Weiila: Uh, hello import from the George Lucas Galaxy. Okay, I'll stop talking crazy now. But thanks for reviewing!
evil squeede: LOL. I totally laughed while replying to your review because of your name. Because you see, I had calamari today. And yes, I love my narcoleptic knives too.
Jaded Ayumi: OHOHOHOH! Yes indeed Knives found out! Wait soon for coming chapters to see who else finds out!
Neptune Butterfly: Full grown college students can ask for stuffed toys too! And by the way, thank you for your review. The sheer length of it made my day. *grin*
Alpha Draconis1: *innocent look* Why, whatever do you mean by "go at it"?
The old fart: Ah, my very, very faithful reviewer. *bows* I thank you. *starry eyed* I love you! *guilty giggle* Ah, yes, about my other fic. . . *runs away*. Huh? Oh yeah. *runs back* Knives doesn't have the Playboy channel. He learned about it in an ancient earth book called The Kama Sutra which I'm told is illustrated. *runs away again, blushing horribly*.
AnonymousTrigunOtaku: Thanks! And I don't think the reviewer was exactly "flaming" me. *checks body* Nope, no char marks. But thanks. And *grin, pointing to rating* sorry to disappoint you, but no sour fruit in this fic.
ToughCookie: You're very welcome about the pillow. I would have provided that high tech foam stuff, but since I don't even know what's it's called, Google couldn't help me. And Grandma's advice? She is a sneaky one isn't she? *grin*
Elemental Water Mistress: You have siblings you can smash too? Wow! Anyway, thank you. And now. . .to talk about myself. *evil laugh* Just kidding! "Does new chappie make you happie?"
ShadaHack: Onward! And by the way, say hello to your teachers for me. When they look at you funny while you read this in class.
Orion Kohaishu: *uncomfortable laugh* Ah, yes, the need. Of course. Ahem. . .ah, new chapter. Random response. How's that?
Vashra BloodReeper: Glad I'm here to update!
lynxotaku306: *sultry voice* You don't have to wait any longer. *giggle* Sorry, I just couldn't help but do an impression of this woman I saw in this movie a long time ago and can't even remember the name of.
Rainy-days13: .~
Chibi Atto-san: *looks at split personality reviewer* Uh, thanks to both of you. And if you are really two characters from some anime I haven't seen, I'm sorry for mistaking you for a mental hospital escapee.
wheelers_hanyou: Yes, very apt description of Knives. As to Vash and Meryl moments. . .Bwahahahaha! *choke* Ahem, yes. Indy and dad. Hilarious. And one last thing, British, Australian, or New Zealander(is that right?)?
kenjis-slayer: You think I write "beautifully"? Well you should see my cursive. It's sexy as donuts. *giggle* Uh, sorry. I really should respond to reviews when I'm more awake. Thanks for reviewing! Ya'll come back now!
Okay, okay, folks. Nothing more to see here. Eh? What's this? Another chapter? Well I'll be tarred and feathered and dipped in chocolate cream and sprinkled with nuts and called a monkey's uncle. It is a new chapter! It is! It is! Read on, faithful readers of mine!
*********************************************************
Chapter 11
Milly has absolutely outdone herself this time. The stew is good, the meat is tender, the potatoes and carrots melt in your mouth. I had to admit that this time (For the first time ever!) I went for the stew first instead of the donuts. Even Knives – when I checked on him before dinner – had finished every last bit of his dinner and wiped up the dregs with bread. He didn't have to say anything because the empty bowl spoke for itself, but he still scowled menacingly when I made a comment about his healthy appetite. But even he has got to (grudgingly) admit that Milly is a surprisingly good cook. When she gets it right.
Across from me, Milly is wolfing down her own food, enjoying every bite, the laughter and happiness already back in her eyes. I suppose its because she and the kids parted on good terms and good ol' Milly will never let anything make her sad for long. Upstairs, I had left my adorable brother snoring, his stomach as well rounded as the little black cat mewling in sleepy contentment by the kitchen door.
Unfortunately though, not everyone was enjoying this dinner. Meryl, sitting next to me (She's so close that my skin tingles with quiet electricity. Wohoo!) is quiet, barely touching her food. From my count, she's only dipped that spoon in that stew seven times tonight and actually eaten from it only five. Now why did I notice this? Weeeellll…I have just a tiny bit of a fascination with Meryl's mouth at this point. After that little inner 'discussion' with myself about regretting kissing her and Knives's wonderfully observant comments, the first thing I did when I saw her sitting in the kitchen was stare at her. Stare at her mouth to be precise. I stared at her and wondered how her lips would taste, their texture, their touch. That is until she caught me staring and I had to look away, blushing horribly, hoping she didn't notice. When I looked back at her, she wasn't looking at me anymore but down at the table, deep in thought. Then Milly had distracted us both by rushing in with a stack of plates and soup bowls. Then she had further distracted us by starting dinner and almost spilling a whole scalding bowl on me. Then there had been dinner. And quiet.
That's all that has happened. Other than the sounds of eating, we are all quiet. Well, except for Milly of course. Cheery as always. But Meryl is quiet. She has been quiet this whole time and a part of me is starting to worry.
Meryl's only quiet when she's upset or thinking about something. Maybe she found out about the bank? It wasn't a big branch but people had to be talking about the mayor leaving. Of course, that kind of talk has to lead to _why_ he is leaving. And talk about why he is leaving will eventually lead to talk about the destruction of the bank. And the talk about the destruction will of course lead back to me. And maybe to Milly. Maybe she's upset about that. Isn't she always telling me that besides being an idiot I'm a walking disaster area? But still, she'd said nothing and I still hoped that I would be the one to break the news to her. Gently.
I guess dinner and light conversation was the gentle way to do it. Something along the lines of _So, Meryl, how was your day. Uh-huh and Bernadelli is good? Oh, and by the way I destroyed a bank. And Milly, you had a good day too?_
Yup. Perfect. That's the way to do it. Just sneak that in there.
So now. . .starting off with light conversation. . .
"So." Eat. "How." Chew. "Was your." Swallow. "Day?" Charming grin.
Meryl looked up at me surprised. I smiled and repeated the question and she opened her mouth, about to speak. . .and Milly looked up and said, "It was great Mr. Vash! You wouldn't think it would be, with the weather being it is, but it was so much fun. I found some kids who wanted to play and . . ."
Meryl's eyes once again dropped and she stirred her stew aimlessly. I sigh inwardly and let Milly talk. Well, light conversation with Milly wasn't what I intended but that was what I got. After all, I hadn't really directed the question at Meryl. I hadn't said her name (for fear that I might say it and choke) so it served me right that Milly had answered. She was part of this table after all. *sigh* Oh well, might as well make the most of it.
As Milly talked I found myself once again becoming fascinated with Meryl's mouth. Her lips were slightly opened and from time to time she would bite her bottom lip and then moisten it absently, her pink tongue sweeping across the bottom lip then the top. They looked so inviting, so soft, so –
"Mr. Vash?" Milly asked.
"Huh? What?"
"Did you hear what I just said?"
"Yes, of course," I said quickly.
"Oh good," Milly said happily. "As I was saying I tried to leave the kids playing because I really didn't want to be. . ."
Again, I let Milly talk, nodding at her and frowning; trying to focus on what she was saying. But there were so many distractions! There was the cat mewling by the door, Meryl's skin so close to mine and my neck tingling in awareness. Someone was looking at me. It didn't feel like a hostile stare, but a questioning one. I tried to concentrate more on what Milly was saying, but you know that feeling when you know that someone is looking at you? That sort of tingle that turns gradually into an itch that you have to scratch or else turn because you can't stand it anymore? Well I tried to ignore it. Really I did. But that tingle at my neck soon enough became an itch. An itch that came from Meryl's direction.
I turned to her to ask her what she wanted but her eyes were still focused on her uneaten stew, her hand very still on the spoon.
For a moment, I doubted myself. Were my senses that off because of her closeness? (Damn it! I should have kissed her then!) I had been so sure that she had been staring. I shrug mentally. Oh well. Mistakes can happen. Even for the Humanoid Typhoon. I forced myself to pay attention to Milly again.
"Anyway, the kids had eaten so much ice cream and cookies that they were all screaming at that point and –" Milly was saying when, "Excuse me," Meryl said softly and stood up.
"Sempai?" Milly immediately stopped and frowned, worried. "Did I – ?"
"Meryl?" I also ask. "What – ?"
Meryl shook her head and looked directly at Milly. "It's nothing. I'm just – I'm just tired. That's all. Go on and finish your dinner." She paused for a moment and then quietly, "Vash I – "
My head snapped up to her, but she wasn't even looking at me. "There's donuts by the sink. I'm sorry that I couldn't share them with you," she finished softly.
Huh? "Thanks," I answer, confused.
She nodded her head and was quickly gone. I wanted to ponder what had happened for a moment. She was upset. She'd probably found out about the bank. I should go and talk to her and – and think of an apology or something. It's not like I did anything wrong, but Meryl always seems to think it's my fault. I'll just save her the trouble and apologize now. Yeah. I should stand up now and follow her and tell her that I'm sorry for. . .whatever it is that she thinks I did wrong.
"Mr. Vash?"
"Yes?" Yes, Vash. Go. Apologize right now.
"Would you like seconds?"
Ummmm. . ."Yes please." Maybe after seconds. And donuts. Hey, I'm going to need all the strength I can get in order to grovel in front of Meryl.
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Author's Notes 2: To follow in the words of one of my reviewers, "If you likee, reviewee!"