Milly walked quickly toward a large building with a spring in her step as she hummed a song which was slightly muffled from the large bag full of pudding in her arms. Vash followed, throwing a questioning glance at the old building. It looked like it could fall at the slightest breeze. Milly looked over her shoulder and caught the look on Vash's face. "I know, it's not the homiest place in town, but Meryl and I were getting such a low income that we couldn't afford to live where we used to. And besides, Mr. Jeffrey is really nice! He taught me how to play poker!"

Vash laughed at the never-changing childness of his friend. As they walked up the creaking porch steps, a short man with thinning gray hair and a wrinkled but friendly face opened the door and let them in. "Why, hello there Milly! More pudding I see. And who is this fine chap?" the man asked, grinning at Vash.

"This is Mr. Vash, Mr. Jeffrey! He's a good friend of mine. Meryl's his friend too but you know how she can be around guys like Mr. Vash, always bickering!" Milly whispered, a bit too loudly though.

"Ah, I see," Jeffrey said, his grin becoming even wider. Vash wondered what these two were getting at when he was suddenly distracted from his thoughts as the sound of someone coming down the stairs caught his attention.

"Milly, is that you? Where have you-" Meryl stopped dead in her tracks. Vash set the bag down on the table, never taking his eyes off of Meryl. "V-Vash?" she asked. "I-Is that you?"

Vash broke out in a huge smile and swept her up in his arms. She gripped him tightly around the middle, smiling against his black suit. Then, as if burnt, she jumped back blushing. Before he knew it, Vash was on the ground with a swelling lump on his forehead where Meryl had just punched him.

"What did you think you were doing, you big goofball! You had Milly worried sick!" she yelled, placing one fist haughtily on her hip as she wagged her finger at Vash as if he were a naughty puppy. Then her expression softened as she began to walk back up the stairs. "Let's get you into some new clothes, Vash. That black suit must be very hot to walk around in all day!"

Vash stood up, rubbing his forehead with his prothetic hand, wondering why Meryl had to be such a fickle bitch all the time. Milly and Jeffrey were snickering behind him, and as he threw a glance at them, they looked around the room, whistling as if nothing happened. Vash stomped up the stairs, trying to ignore the roaring laughter that started behind him.

As Vash reached the top of the stairs, he found himself at the end of a long hallway with cracking plaster walls and old dusty picture frames encasing old paintings of scenes of sandy landscapes bathed in the sunlight of the two suns as thomases were frozen forever in a pose. There were about five doors that lined the hallway. Two on each side and one at the end. The one at the end of the hallways was opened and Vash saw Meryl rummaging through a closet.

"Well, come in Vash. This is where you'll be staying too, you know," Meryl said. Vash entered and saw that there were two squishy beds with a small kitchen-like area off to the side. "Bathroom's out the door and to the right," Meryl said as she plopped a long pair of jeans and a white button down shirt on the bed for him.

"Um, thanks Meryl." Vash flahsed a true smile at her. He never forgot a single thing about her the whole time he had been gone. The way she walked, the way she smelled, the way she smiled when she thought no one was looking.... Her hair had grown a little bit longer and she had gotten a bit of a tan. 'And she seems to have stopped wearing her white work suit too,' Vash thought with a grin as he gazed at the way her shorts and tank top fit her perfectly. "I missed you, you know," he said, still smiling.

Meryl slowly turned around and smiled back. "I missed you too. I-We were so worried. It's been rough around here, but not just with the money. It was just....quiet....around here," she said softly. "But anyways, you should go and change. Get a shower too, you'll feel better." And with that, she turned on her heel and strode out of the room and toward the stairs. As Vash opened the bathroom door, Meryl stopped and turned around.

"Vash?"

"Yes, Meryl?" Meryl blushed as he used her name and was glad the hallway was so dark that her flustered face wasn't that visible.

"...Welcome home."