Spring sunshine poured through the windows and when the light and heat penetrated into her eyelids long enough, Milly stretched, yawned, and opened her eyes. It was morning already and it looked like it would turn into a really good day. She felt the soft sheets on her legs and the cool pillow under her cheek as she looked out the window at the sky where pigeons fluttered by.
The peaceful morning faded into memories of her dreams. Milly smiled to herself as she thought about the craziest dream she'd ever had. Such a long dream too! A dream in a dream even! She smiled, chuckling to herself as she thought about the crazy days leading up to a crazy wedding and thought about how nice it was that she got to look into Vash's aqua eyes. Not like she could do that in real life, he was just a sweet guy but completely unreachable. Why were such handsome men so impossible to reach? Then again, why was she attracted to him? Probably just like she was attracted to Nicholas, that dark and mysterious side, but Vash had that quiet side too which was just so intriguing.
It wasn't as if she expected to ever get married. She and Meryl knew full well that their lifestyle just would not work with marriage and children. Milly's family pretty much gave up on her after she wrote them the first time after getting her job at Bernadelli. Her mother wrote back saying it was good that she found a job and hoped she would become successful, but never once did she ask if there was a boyfriend. Not even one mention. Milly just accepted it, although perhaps internally, the side of her that dreamed still had hopes that she would finally meet someone.
Milly closed her eyes and rolled onto her back. It was just nice she could dream about it. She stretched her hands out on either side of her, yawning, thinking that she had the entire full size bed to herself, only to find a heavy lump on her left, and her eyes flew open. She shot up straight, her head swinging in an arc to see someone in the bed with her. Milly flung out of the bed and stumbled in the sheets and fell on her butt, her eyes just barely above the edge as the figure wrapped in the covers rolled over to look at her.
"Good morning Sunshine," Vash said with a soft smile.
"Mr… Mr… Mr. Vash!" Milly squawked, panicked, looking down at herself, she was dressed in her pajamas which made her feel better but, "What… What, what happened? Why am I? Why are you? Why are we?" Her head started to throb and she untangled herself from the sheets to push up against the wall under the window, just staring at Vash as he pulled himself into a sitting position in the bed. He had a soft expression on his face, his kind eyes glowing as he watched her curiously. Milly saw that he was in his sweatpants and long-sleeved shirt too… If they… They hadn't, had they? If they had, then wouldn't he be in just his boxers? Wasn't that how the dime novels portrayed the morning after? Wouldn't she be in less than her pajamas too? Maybe that meant, "We didn't… I mean, we couldn't… Could we? I can't…"
Her pounding head overwhelmed her words and Milly found she couldn't speak anymore. She clutched her head but her eyes were on him, a panicked wild toma in a corral for the first time. And did her head hurt! It hurt like she was having a hangover… Milly's eyes widened. She remembered now.
"Then, with the power invested in me by the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit… I pronounce you, husband and wife," Reverend Brown said, lifting his hands toward them, "You may now kiss your wife, Vash."
The room was hushed as they waited for the new couple to finalize the marriage. Meryl bit her lip, a large lump in her throat, unable to swallow it, she felt like she was ready to faint. This was it, this was the last nail in the coffin, wasn't it? She would have to give up Milly to Vash if they went through with this kiss… Her heart felt like it was about to break, and she wasn't sure whether it was because she was about to lose her friend or because she never had a chance to understand what it was about Vash that Milly loved…
Milly swallowed as Vash took her hands in his own. Her hands were shaking but his were completely steady. He wore white gloves, and Milly glanced down at them until he coughed and her attention returned to his face. Vash released his grasp and Milly started to think that maybe he was going to finally tell everyone the truth… Would he finally give up this prank? It had gone far enough, hadn't it? Milly started to wonder what it would be like to really be married to him, and for some reason it wasn't really all that scary at this moment… But her eyes moved and she saw Mr. Wolfwood, and he had an utterly disappointed look on his face.
Nicholas was sure he was right about this prank. He didn't think they would go through with it when he brought the rings out… He was going to return them to the pawn shop and get his motorcycle back… But he couldn't if they continued to wear them! So much for getting out of town! So much for having his chance to flirt with the big girl anymore. He couldn't do that to a married woman! Vash was reaching to lift up Milly's veil now, slowly as to not mess with a single ringlet framing her face. She was really beautiful, Wolfwood thought, no wonder Vash was going through with this with someone like that. Sure, she wasn't a tiny thing, but she certainly had a radiating inner beauty. Vash was a lucky man, Wolfwood realized. If only he hadn't left her when they first came to May City otherwise he would have been the one placing his hands on Milly's cheeks getting ready to kiss her.
Everything was leading up to this moment and all breaths were held, even Vash's as he let himself slip into the moment. There was no point in holding back now. Milly closed her eyes, she was trembling so much he put his hands to her cheeks just to steady her face to kiss her. "Sweet Milly… I will miss you." He said and set his lips to hers.
The audience burst into applause as Vash put everything he had into the kiss and Milly's knees buckled. Meryl reached out to stop her from falling, but Vash was faster, he swung her up into his arms, and Milly made a surprised gasp. "Hey!"
She was amazed he was strong enough to pick her up so easily, but then again both men she and Meryl traveled with were full of surprises. After all, she was in the arms of the Humanoid Typhoon! Milly looked into Vash's eyes as he grinned, "There's something we want to tell everyone," Vash said finally, and he let Milly down onto her feet again, but kept his arm around her waist so she wouldn't collapse again.
The room quieted almost immediately, the confusion was almost visible in the room. Vash smiled and he glanced over his shoulder at Wolfwood. The priest was holding his breath now, and so was Meryl, waiting anxiously for the news he knew they knew already. He took one final moment to look over at Milly, her face flushed, and he licked his lips, she had put on some kind of lip gloss that tasted like cake, he smiled. "Thank you all for attending, but…"
A hushed gasp arose as Meryl and Wolfwood leaned in unconsciously ready for the news, and Vash grinned, "April Fools!"
"I knew it!" The maid of honor and the best man chimed together.
The room burst into confusion, some people were getting up to leave, others were laughing, some were just sitting in shock, and Milly realized that they had to bring their prank full circle or they'd make more enemies than friends… "But the booze is on us for helping us play this joke on our friends!"
Confusion turned into a joyous roar and Milly turned to smile at Vash. He squeezed the arm that still wrapped around her waist and he leaned over and kissed her cheek. "Thank you, beautiful." She blushed, unable to help herself. Milly stepped back and Vash released his hold on her to wave at the crowd, "Everyone over to the Sand Dune!" He slugged Wolfwood in the shoulder and the priest was glowing. "You win… Stubborn priest."
"You really had me going there!" Nicholas let out a sigh of relief. "I thought for sure you were actually going to marry her…"
"I might have," Vash said with a mysterious smile. Wolfwood's mouth opened slightly and Vash turned and trekked down the stairs. Let him chew on that for awhile.
"I knew it!" Meryl repeated when Milly turned to her. She grabbed the front of Milly's dress and laughed, "You're such a stinker!"
Milly grabbed her friend in a big hug and said, "I thought for sure we fooled you! I wish I could have seen the look on your face…" She smiled, "Oh wait, I can, hey Marco!" Milly turned and waved at a young man sitting in the front row. He was Lynn's brother, "Did you get the shot?"
"Sure did," Marco chirped. He patted his camera, "I'll have it developed for you tonight." He dashed out of the church before Meryl could say a word, her mouth was hanging open.
"You're really evil! Where in the world did you learn to be so cruel?" She was smiling when she said it so Milly smiled in return, although she couldn't stop smiling anyway. Relief that the joke really was only a prank rushed over her and she could have sat down and eaten a six-pack of pudding right then and there if she didn't have to think about how she was getting out of the wedding dress first…
"Where else do you think I learned it? From you of course!" Milly grinned. Meryl laughed and rolled her eyes.
"You had me going there, I'll have to admit."
"Good!"
Meryl looked up at Milly and sighed happily. Things would get back to normal in no time, and with that she was thankful. She sent a prayer heavenward in thanks and laughed. She glanced at the crowd that was quickly dwindling in the sanctuary, even the reverend and his wife had taken off to go to the party. "Well Milly, shall we go to your reception?"
"Yes!" Her friend chirped in response, but when she turned to walk down the steps, she stopped in her tracks. "Uh, Meryl?"
"Yes?"
"Can you help me get out of this thing first? I can't tell you how naked I feel without pants…"
As Milly sat on the floor, she looked up at Vash, still not quite remembering what came after getting out of the wedding dress. She remembered going with Meryl to the party, she could even remember the fact that they had a beautiful pudding filled wedding cake, the very best kind… People were dancing, she even got up at one point and danced with Nicholas, then a dance with Vash, and she remembered that there were even presents… Money mostly since they had helped the children in the hospital, and she was pretty sure they had all of their money back plus enough to buy tickets with the caravan.
Vash was sitting still on the bed watching her puzzling through her memories, the smile staying on his face. "You okay, Milly?" It worried him that she was acting this way, so shocked. He wondered what it would be like if he were to ever actually get married, would his wife do that? Vash hoped not!
"I don't know…" She said after a moment, her blue eyes looking up at him, they were still confused. "We didn't really get married, right?" Milly glanced down at her left hand. The ring was gone. Oh yes, Mr. Wolfwood took them to get his motorcycle back. She nearly sighed with relief at that thought, but if they weren't married… "Why am I in your room? Or are you in mine this time?"
The smile on Vash's face split into a grin and he started to laugh. He put a hand to his head to stop the tears as he laughed. She was so sweet! But the hand wasn't just because of the tears… A splitting headache ran through his head and his laughter dissolved into whimpers. "Oh man… I shouldn't drink so much…"
"Did we…" Milly said in a tiny voice, her hands in her lap as she watched Vash.
He turned one aqua eye on her and smiled seductively, "What do you think?"
Eyes wide, Milly scrambled to her feet and pressed her hands against the window. "I… No… We… No, we didn't… I'm sure…"
"Really?"
Suddenly Milly wasn't feeling so good, she put a hand to her stomach, and she turned green. Swallowing one too many times, she felt ill… But Vash moved off the bed and was instantly standing in front of her. He grabbed her shoulders, "Calm down Milly, we didn't do anything. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that."
"Really? We really didn't?"
Vash shook his head and he felt ashamed to have pushed her. Milly was still wearing his necklace, and she put her hand to it unconsciously. She was so sweet, he put his hand on her cheek softly. He was glad she was still herself after everything that happened. An incorruptible. Milly would always be that way no matter what happened to her. The sunshine would still shine through her smile. "We really didn't."
"Really?"
"Really! Stop asking!" He released his hold on her and let his butt fall back onto the bed. Vash smiled as Milly's features relaxed. "I gave you the key to my room last night because you said you were tired and didn't want to go back to your own hotel. Meryl brought your things and she's in the room next door now." He settled back into the bed and pulled his legs up under him as Milly sorted through her memories still, finally starting to look relieved.
"But," Milly said after a moment, glancing out the window and then back to the gunman, "Why were we in bed together?"
Vash opened his mouth and closed it again, realizing he couldn't really remember the details of that question… "I know I stayed up pretty late…" He looked at Milly as the pieces of the puzzle started to fall back together in his mind. The picture completed itself and Vash swallowed and rushed to give her an explanation… "I was drunk, I didn't realize you were in the bed since I'd left you on the couch when I went back to the party…" He nodded, hoping Milly believed him.
Her blue eyes lightened and Vash felt a wave of relief run through him. She believed it. He'd skipped out on a few details that he knew he couldn't… Milly plopped down on the bed next to him. "Well then, I feel better." She smiled. "We're still friends?"
"Friends? Oh yes, of course," Vash replied. He got up from the bed and went to the window, fearing a blush rising to his face, turning his ears red. His hangover was pounding at his temples and he needed to take an aspirin. "Thank you."
Milly shrugged, "Thank you too. I had a lot of fun."
"Me too."
"It's better this way, right?"
Vash nodded, "It is."
"Good." She closed her eyes. "You know? When I really do get married, I think I'll elope." Milly grinned and Vash looked at her and chuckled.
"Might not be such a bad idea, just don't invite me to the reception… I think I've had enough of those…" Vash realized suddenly that he needed to go to the bathroom… "I um…" He turned and Milly was still smiling. Throwing a hand to his mouth he ran out of the room hoping to reach the toilet in time.
Milly stood up, "Mr. Vash? Are you okay?" She heard his response come in the form of throwing up. Milly grimaced, her hangover was already gone. "Poor Vash… He just can't stomach booze."
There was a knock at the door and Milly pranced over to the door to open it. "Good morning!"
Meryl stood outside the door with a box of donuts. "Good morning Milly! How are you feeling? You made quite a show of yourself last night," she said with a grin, coming past her and setting the box down on the table.
"I did?" Milly couldn't remember all of the details of that night, although they were slowly starting to come clearer, when she got drunk, she really didn't always remember everything. Maybe she should stop drinking so much too.
Meryl grinned, "Your dance on the table was quite interesting."
"I didn't…"
"You did!"
"Again?"
"Again!" Meryl patted Milly on the shoulder and looked around the room. "So, where's Mr. Vash?"
"Puking in the bathroom," the big girl responded. She reached for the box of donuts and took one for herself. "He really can't handle liquor, poor guy."
"And yet you seem to have an iron stomach," a masculine voice interjected. Milly and Meryl turned to see Wolfwood enter the hotel room through the open door. He was scruffy again in his old beaten up suit, his hair a mess. He had an unlit cigarette between his lips. "You drank more than the rest of us and you seem just fine."
Milly smiled, "It runs in the family."
"Yeah, and what about the dancing?"
"You saw it too?"
The priest grinned, holding his cigarette between his teeth as he did so, nodding enthusiastically as he put his hands over his head and wiggled his butt. Milly's head hit the table and she moaned. Meryl and Wolfwood laughed. The priest sat down next to her and grabbed a donut. "So where is Needle Noggin this morning? Did he wander in or is he still gallivanting?"
"I don't gallivant," Vash murmured, wiping the back of his fist across his mouth as he came in from the bathroom. "If anyone was, it was you hitting on those hookers last night."
"Me?" Nicholas protested in a voice three pitches too high. He swallowed, "They were nuns and we were discussing the religious aspect of…"
"Yeah, right whatever!" Meryl laughed. The priest sniffed and with his donut in hand, he stood again.
"Well, who needs enemies?" Wolfwood lifted the donut, "Thanks for breakfast, but I've got to go."
"So soon?" Milly asked.
Wolfwood nodded, he looked at the big girl and she looked genuinely disappointed he was leaving already. But he was days late for an appointment… "Yup." He winked at her and Milly blushed. Nicholas made a mental note of it for the next time he saw her, he was sure he would. "May the blessing of Almighty God be with you in your travels. I'll see you around Insurance Girls… Vash the Stampede." With that he went to the door and was gone.
Meryl shook her head, "He's one weird guy."
"You said it," Vash agreed. He grabbed a couple of donuts and said, "Anyway, are we going to catch the caravan out of town this morning?"
"Sounds like a plan," Meryl said. "I'm all packed. Do you need any help with your things Milly?" She watched her friend finish eating her donut before she shook her head that she didn't. "Okay then! It's about time we got out of this town anyway. I think we outstayed our welcome."
Milly nodded and pushed her chair out and stood. "I believe you are right, Meryl. Excuse me, I need to get dressed." She left the room and went to the bedroom and closed the door leaving Meryl and Vash alone.
Meryl opened her mouth to speak and Vash held up a hand, "I know what you're going to say."
"You think so?"
Vash smiled, "You're going to ask if I slept with her, aren't you?"
"Nope," Meryl replied. "I know you didn't." She smiled, knowing that if Milly could accept Vash at face value, so could she. Her friend was always a good judge of character and she had a feeling in time she would come to trust Vash too. "You're too nice of a guy to do something like that. I know that now." Meryl sighed, her eyes on the closed door, thinking about her friend. It looked like things were back to the way they were, just like she knew they would even without intervention… "I'm sorry about…"
"It's forgiven," Vash cut her off. The little insurance girl had changed quite a bit over the last few days, or maybe it was just his opinion of her. He wasn't really sure, but she didn't seem nearly as unstable anymore. Instead, she seemed surer of herself, more confident. It made her seem older and Vash watched her for a moment. It would be a long time before either of them would forget the events of that week, but maybe, just maybe, they would grow past it. He wanted to know her better. Milly certainly knew how to pick her friends, and he had a feeling he and Meryl would become friends too someday.
"Good," the little girl said with a grin. "Because from now on I'm personally keeping you on twenty-four hour surveillance." Maybe she would learn to trust him, but he was still number one on her list to keep an eye on for awhile. She already made up her mind not to say anything about the past three days in her report to Bernadelli. Meryl had a feeling it was better forgotten.
"You are, are you?" Vash lifted an eyebrow, not sure if she was joking or not.
"Yup, and Milly's not to be around you without my supervision." Meryl's smile was tinged with something malicious… Like when he was hitting on Elizabeth in Enepril City. Vash felt a shiver creep over his spine. Meryl wasn't joking. She really could be scary sometimes.
"Whatever, as long as you keep the donuts coming," Vash grinned, trying to break the ominous cloud that was forming between them. He grabbed the box and Meryl stood up.
"Hey, those are to share!"
"You didn't buy enough to share!" Vash stood up and dashed out of the hall and Meryl chased after him around the table. He avoided her until he had a straight shot to the door and took the opening.
"Give those back!" Meryl's voice trailed off and the door slammed behind them. A pair of blue eyes peeked out of the bedroom door.
Milly smiled. "It's so good that everyone is back to normal," she said to herself. It wasn't the normal that she and Vash wanted at the beginning of the week. But it was the normal they were meant to have and that made her heart glad. The game ended, and everyone won, who would have thought it was possible? Milly smiled. All things were possible! Milly glanced down at the necklace she wore and unclasped the latch, taking it off and looking at the little feather in the light. It sparkled and she smiled to herself, it was a good souvenir.
Turning, she went over to her belongings and put it in the small jewelry box her oldest sister gave to her before she left. It was completely empty, but Heidi said that someday she would have something to put in it. Her big, big sister was right. Now she did. Milly smiled and closed the lid and packed the box into her suitcase. Then, nodding to herself, Milly smiled. She couldn't wait to see what tomorrow would bring.
Since is still being annoying… My author's note will be short here – well, what do you think? There's still tomorrow… This story isn't finished yet! I was certainly surprised in how many of you wanted them to get married! In the original version they DID… Vash had made out false papers – but Wolfwood went in behind them and made out real ones – but Milly and he never knew… HEH HEH HEH… Stay tuned.)