Let Go
a/n: I do not own Trigun or anything associated with Trigun. This came to me this morning as I was thinking about all the Trigun I watched yesterday and last night. Take place three months after Vash confronts Knives.
Chapter 1
The tall blonde stood in front of her, his glasses reflecting moonlight and his skin luminescent. His red coat rippled slightly with the wind as he spoke to her.
"Wait for me Meryl," was all he said as he turned to walk away. The petite woman with raven hair did not know if she would ever see the outlaw again.
"Vash?" the blonde man turned around when she called his name, "I love you"
He paused, still as a statue.
"I know"
Meryl Strife stretched out on her bed, the sunlight filtering in through her window. Her long legs were tangled in the white sheets, and perspiration glistened on her smooth brow. She felt slightly tense as she opened her eyes regretfully. The dream had come again, a might have been, a could have been, but not a memory of what actually happened. She sat up and rolled her neck around, working the kinks out. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and began to unbutton her white nightshirt. She shucked it and her underwear on the floor and went to shower before she had to go to work.
As Meryl worked the shampoo through her hair she thought about Vash the Stampede. He was the humanoid typhoon, the first localized human disaster. If captured he was worth sixty billion double dollars. He had left her and her associate, Millie Thompson, here three months ago so he could go confront his evil twin, Knives. He had left her here. And she had loved him all the more for it. She had never told him how she felt. At the last moment she had held back, convinced that sending the gentle soul into battle with yet one more regret, one more liability, was unfair to him. She would tell him if he ever came back. Right now, 'if' was the biggest word in her vocabulary.
Meryl picked at her tea and toast after her shower, knowing she had to leave for work soon. Her work as a barmaid may not have put as much food on the table as Millie's grunt work, but she did what she could to help out. They ate a lot of pudding.
Meryl was happy in her work, when she could evade the groping hands and leering smiles. That was the worst part of the job. Men seemed to feel the need to squeeze and further manhandle her ass as she passed by with the tankards of beer and bottles of whiskey. She didn't want any of these men to touch her ass. The only man she wanted to touch her ass was nowhere to be found. One day, when she was sure he would never return, maybe she would take one of them to bed. She did not want to go the rest of her life without that kind of pleasure, but she knew in her heart she would always believe Vash would come back. She knew she would always see Vash's face when she closed her eyes.
"Hands off buddy!" she yelled as one man tried to take a peek underneath her short barmaid skirt. The man yelped when she backhanded him, and then the yelp turned into a fierce growl.
"You little bitch!" No woman slaps me and gets away with it!" the man grabbed her around the waist and pulled her down on his lap. His hands started roaming, and she started screaming as she kicked in the air.
"Help! Get this asshole away from me!" Meryl screamed. Almost immediately some helpful men were able to grab her away from the man while some others held him down as he fought. The manager walked out of the back.
"Get him out of here! He is not allowed to return either!" the manager, whose name was David, told the man holding the customer. The customer yelled and shrieked obscenities as he was thrown out of the saloon. The manager turned to Meryl, "Are you all right Meryl?"
Meryl adjusted herself, "Just a little shaky thanks"
"Go home Meryl," the manager told her. Meryl sighed and walked out the door. A cheer from a worksite down the street let her know that Millie and the other workpeople were making more headway on their project.
Meryl was lucky she only lived a few blocks down from the saloon. Her nerves were slightly shaken, but she was not intimidated.
Meryl did not feel helpless, did not feel powerless; but ever since Vash had left she had been worried that someone would come after her and Millie. She kept a cautious eye out as she approached their porch. The weathered rocking chair rocked slowly in the soft breeze. She sat down in the chair and curled her long legs up. She stared out at the horizon and turned her thoughts inward.
Why won't he come back? When will he come back? When will he let us know everything is ok?, Meryl asked herself. Then she silently admonished herself.
"Lighten up Meryl. Listen to yourself. You do not even know if he cared for you. He didn't even know your name. A legendary outlaw falling for an insurance girl turned barmaid? We were nothing but trouble for him. If it weren't for Millie and I he maybe would not have been forced to shoot Legato. One more regret, one more scare on his soul. All because of us. No. No matter how much you love him Meryl Strife, sitting here swelling on it will do nothing for you," Meryl sighed and walked inside.
If Meryl had bothered to look around when she came inside she would have seen the gorgeous blonde sitting in a chair next to the open window, not 3 feet from where she had been sitting a moment ago. His hair was stuck up in unusual spikes, and his eyes were a shade of emerald green. He wore black jeans and white shirt in place of his usual black catsuit and red coat. The red coat had been retired on the battlefield, and the black catsuit was abandoned on his bedroom floor. He had watched Meryl walk up, had seen her disheveled appearance. He had heard her sounds of discontent as she sat with her thoughts. And he had heard her confession. The confession had brought a small amount of silent tears. She blamed herself for the scars on his soul. She thought he didn't care. She loved him. That insurance girl loved him. No one had loved him since Rem, and no one had ever loved him that way. Who wants to love an outlaw? But this girl looked right through all of that. She saw through it and saw him for what he truly is. And that realization is what made him get up and walk silently to the kitchen. Meryl had her back to him. She was staring out the window, letting her cup of tea get cold. She had changed, and now wore her usual outfit, minus the cap that held her Derringers.
"Hi Meryl. Long time no see!" Vash said cheerfully. Meryl turned around so quickly she lost her balance and the teacup shattered on the floor. Her eyes were wide.
