Vash fidgeted at the front of the sanctuary. When Reverend Brown said his wife would get the entire town there, he wasn't kidding! Luckily Vash had enough time to tell the pastor the truth that the wedding was a hoax in the few minutes that Wolfwood disappeared to go see the insurance girls. Brown and his wife laughed so hard they were in tears and heartily agreed to help him and Milly finish out the last of the plans. The party afterwards would be the biggest May City had ever seen, even larger than the party held during the Quick Draw tournament.
In fact, the reverend said he was going to talk to the mayor of the city and name it a holiday of some sort, in order to take the place of the tournament that had seen the end of its days. He laughed as he went out of the church to do exactly what he said. Vash went and bought himself a dozen donuts and sat to wait for Wolfwood to arrive.
Now Brown was back and the church was packed and there were five minutes before the organist would sit down in her seat and start the wedding march. Vash's heart was pounding, even knowing that the wedding was all fake… He still couldn't wait to see what Milly looked like in her dress. Part of him wished it could be real, to be able to stand up here and witness to the world that he loved someone enough to spend the rest of his life… or her life… He was immortal, he knew he'd outlive anyone he were to marry, but that didn't matter… It wouldn't happen.
Four minutes. He glanced over at Wolfwood. Vash was surprised the priest cleaned up so nicely and that he was now standing without making a sound, not fidgeting, just waiting for the wedding to start. Occasionally Wolfwood would glance into the crowd as one of the children waved at him like Neil or one of the other gang members. Vash smiled to himself, he sure did wish he could have children like that of his own… He knew he couldn't, but it was nice to imagine it. Each of them having his eyes or his hair, the unruly mess they'd make as they ate donuts for breakfast…
Vash snapped out of his imagination as suddenly the organ music started. He swallowed. How had four minutes passed so quickly? His eyes turned down to the back of the church where a little girl in a pink dress was spreading paper flower petals down the main aisle. She looked at him and smiled and when she reached the front, her mother took her up into her arms and carried her over to sit in the front pew. Then it was time for Meryl…
The little insurance girl… She didn't look like a girl anymore… Vash felt a blush rush to his cheeks when he saw her in the most beautiful violet gown, her hair unruly no more, makeup perfect, everything claiming she was a picture of womanhood. He had never seen her like this, and it made his heart ache to see her. She was even smiling, something he hadn't seen her do in awhile, and he wondered if she was accepting this wedding or if it was killing her inside, he really couldn't tell. She looked up at him and blushed herself, averting her eyes as she stood across from him. One step to the right a bit and he would have been marrying Meryl instead… Vash suddenly wondered what that would be like.
But he didn't have time to imagine it as the tempo of the music changed and Milly appeared in the back doorway of the church. His breath caught in his throat as Vash looked at her. A changed girl, completely different just like her little partner. The gunman realized suddenly that he would never see the insurance girls the same way after that. He just couldn't. They would never be the pests following him because he wouldn't be able to look at other girls with them around. Maybe to irk Meryl from time to time… But never seriously.
Milly looked up at him and smiled. Gosh he was handsome. She glanced from Vash to Wolfwood and realized that both men were just so gorgeous she could go for either of them. If only her job would ever let her be just a normal girl! Milly tried not to trip as she walked down the long aisle to the front, watching Vash watching her the whole way. Meryl was smiling, Vash was smiling, and even Mr. Priest was smiling. Milly smiled back. How had she been so blessed to be able to have three such wonderful people with her? They were her new family, like the ones she left behind, but better. They were her friends, confidants, her partners in crime and a good friendly flirt when she felt down. Wolfwood winked at her when she glanced at him and a blush rose to her cheeks. Yes, he wasn't quite so creepy if you put him in a tuxedo and put a warm smile on his face.
She turned her eyes to Vash again and then stepped up the stairs to join him in front of Reverend Brown. When Meryl disappeared to talk to Mr. Priest, Lynn said she had talked to Mrs. Brown and they all knew that the wedding was fake, so it was all arranged perfectly. They had the vows ready and would be ready to break the news to the town and there were people ready with cameras to take pictures of Meryl and Nicholas' faces… Milly smiled brightly trying to think about how much she was ready for the game to end.
"Welcome friends," Reverend Brown said, "We come here to join Milly Anne Thompson and Vash Saverem in holy matrimony…" He smiled and continued on through the normal vows.
Vash was hardly listening. His heart was pounding as he waited for the punch line. It was going to hurt as much as a bullet to the chest… He listened to the Reverend, the clock was ticking down… It would all end at the exchanging of the rings, since there were none…
There was a tap on his elbow, and Vash snapped out of his stupor, Wolfwood was trying to hand him something… To his horror, it was a pillow with two golden rings on it. His eyes went wide and Nicholas was smiling. "Surprise," he said with a malicious note to his voice. "You can't get married without these you know."
"Thank you," Vash said through gritted teeth, taking the rings and looking at the Reverend. Brown just smiled brighter, and Vash felt that suddenly the tables were turning on him… When had Wolfwood gotten the rings?
Nicholas handed the little pillow back to the boy who brought them up. It cost him his motorcycle as leverage, but he'd gotten the rings in the time that Vash left him. He figured if the wedding was going to occur, he might as well make it official. There were sweat drops appearing on Vash's forehead now as he turned to look at Milly. Wolfwood also convinced the Reverend to the tell him about the prank and also get him to turn the tables. The wedding would go all the way through, even to the real marriage certificate if they didn't call their bluff. Wolfwood grinned and gave Meryl a thumb's up behind Vash's back.
Milly saw it and then looked down at the rings. "Oh no," she breathed out, looking from the pastor to Vash and back again. What was going on? Did Wolfwood figure it out? What about Meryl? She had to stop it… She started to open her mouth when Brown cut her off.
"Now Vash, place the ring on Milly's finger…" He reached out and took her hand gently. Vash could feel Milly's pulse racing as he held her wrist. He looked at her and waited for her to either agree or decline the ring, but she didn't move, she was frozen to the spot. Vash bit his lip, maybe it had gone a bit too far… But the look on Meryl's face was just… She knew. He suddenly knew she knew and that she and Wolfwood had turned the tables. Vash slipped the ring on Milly's finger.
"I do," he said suddenly, cutting off the pastor.
"Well, then… Someone's eager to get to the honeymoon!" The room laughed as Brown continued, "And Milly…" Milly took the ring from Vash and looked at it. She swallowed. What was he thinking? They couldn't just finish out this wedding, they had to stop it right then… But… Milly closed her eyes for a moment, thinking about all of her brothers' and sisters' weddings, what happened after the rings, the kiss! And then there were marriage certificates… If those weren't signed the wedding wasn't real… Milly opened her eyes again and placed the ring on Vash's ring finger. Okay, so that was the game they were playing…
Meryl frowned. She was sure Milly would break. Why wasn't she breaking? "I do," Milly replied suddenly and Meryl's heart started to pound. This was it… There wasn't any turning back now… Was this real? Was this whole thing actually real? Was Milly really going to marry Vash here and now? Were they wrong? Had Wolfwood called it incorrectly when he found her as she stepped out of Milly's dressing room to use the bathroom?
"Then, with the power invested in me by the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit… I pronounce you…"
( I Am I evil or what? I wanted to thank everyone so far for reading! To those who want them to go through with it… Will they get married? Will Meryl and Wolfwood lose this little game? HEH HEH HEH Stay tuned for the next chapter! /I For the record… is really getting on my nerves… can't even get it to italicize this!)