CHAPTER SEVEN: BROTHERS UNAWARE (cont1)

After a fine dinner of Knives' preference, Vash insisted on a drink. Vanessa was able to talk Knives into the diversion by convincing him that the events of the day had probably left Vash rattled. A drink would sooth his brother's nerves, and leaving him to drink alone was surely a poor choice under the circumstances. Knives' frown as they entered the saloon did little to dim Vash's bright smile.

They seated themselves round a small table, taking in the heat and humidity of a room warmed by so many rowdy bodies. Vanessa gripped Knives' left hand firmly as he angrily eyed the fellows surrounding. He was sure they were looking at Vanessa with lust, and the thought both horrified and incensed him. She rubbed his shoulder to calm him, leading his gaze back to her.

Vash left briefly and returned, dropping two large, glass mugs on the table. "What'll YOU have?" Vash asked Vanessa loudly over the buzz of the room.

"Uh…water's fine. Just water," she insisted firmly.

Throwing no challenge to the comment, Vash obeyed and returned once more with her request.

"What is THAT?" Knives asked, nodding towards the frosty mug Vash pushed his way.

"Beer, Knives! Beer! What, you've never had beer before?" Vash replied, grinning.

Knives scowled in reply. He folded his arms and leaned into the chair.

"Don't waste it," Vash mumbled, reaching for his own. In a graceless motion he gulped down the entire thing. Lightly punching his belly, he let out a manly burp.

Vanessa giggled. "You don't have to drink if you don't want to," she said sweetly to Knives, letting a bit of a dare slip into the inflection.

Leaning forward, Knives sniffed the stuff. He was a little thirsty. With great effort, he swallowed the contents. "Tastes like piss," he choked out, teary-eyed.

"How do you know what pee tastes like?" Vash asked innocently. Grinning as Vanessa chuckled at the joke, he stood abruptly. "I'm gonna get some more. Want one or no?" he inquired impatiently.

Knives frowned angrily, but nodded. He wasn't amused, but she rested her head against his encouragingly.

Vash brought not two beers, but three. Knives struggled with one while he watched his brother chug the other two and then stride to the bathroom. In no time, Vash was back, this time holding four.

"What's the point," Knives growled. He wouldn't admit how dizzy this was making him, but he wondered why his brother seemed unaffected.

"I can take a lot, and it's fun," came the reply. "You're a lightweight," he giggled.

Knives choked down another pint as Vash eyed him from the corner of his own glass.

Vash had finished another two by the time Knives set his first empty glass upon the table. Reaching for the last, Vash's hand was interrupted by Knives'.

Knives downed the last with less exertion and wiped his lips. He smirked to Vash when Vanessa patted his back and smiled.

Both men swayed in their seats now, and every word was slurred subtly. Vash's antics were of a classic funny drunk, and Vanessa laughed so hard that her eyes watered.

They drank until Vash's stumbling caused half of the liquid to spill from the mugs on the journey from the bar.

These sloppy drinks landed on the table with a thump in hopes that the action may startle Knives. Instead, he continued to hold Vanessa in a tight embrace, one arm around her waist and the other around her shoulder. She wasn't squirming to get loose, but looked worried.

Vash fell like a rag doll into his chair, arms wagging in front. A beer mug crashed to the floor.

Footsteps approached. "You guys've had enough," a large man growled at them. "Get outta my bar."

Knives looked up with a look of pure hatred. "How dare…you…You know I'm gonna…(urp)…kill every last one of you, uh…humans…and…" he stammered, obviously hit hard by the huge amount of alcohol coursing through his brain.

The big guy sniggered. "I've been told worse. Now get."

Vash stood wobbly and coaxed his brother to stand. They wrapped their arms about each other's shoulders and unsteadily sauntered from the saloon onto the road. Knives was muttering about destroying and exterminating, but was mostly as incoherent as he was intoxicated. Vash struggled to keep his brother upright as feet began to drag.

Vanessa wordlessly left a wad of double dollars on their table and rushed to them, taking Knives' other shoulder.

By the time they were atop the hotel staircase, Knives' eyes were glazed and he seemed about to pass out.

Vash and Vanessa stood on either side of Knives' bed, slinging him into a sleeping position and pulling the covers about him. Moving for the door, Vash looked over his shoulder to Vanessa, his gaze inviting her to follow. His brother was clearly unconscious, and would be for a while.

Pulling her arm from under Knives' back, Vanessa found herself suddenly held firm by Knives. She turned slowly. He was still passed out, but he pulled her beside him, nestling his face into her hair.

She looked plaintively to Vash.

The look he returned was even more distressed. 'Want help?' he mouthed.

'No,' she mouthed in reply, turning her eyes away.

Vash moped away, closing the door silently behind him.

Swinging Vash's door open minutes later, Vanessa found herself staring down the barrel of a silver gun.

Vash, who was sitting in a chair and looking deadly serious, held the gun at arm's length. The red coat lied in a heap across the room, leaving Vash's arms to the mercy of the cold night air. He looked like the outlaw of rumor: wielding the big silver gun from a heavily scarred arm, dressed predominantly in black, buckled leather, with an impersonal steel arm dangling from his other shoulder. Anyone else would've gasped and run.

But Vanessa's look of surprise melted into a smile as she shut the door behind her. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you; old reflexes die hard, huh?"

Without reply, he lowered his piece and set it on the table beside him.

"You weren't drinking beer, were you," she asked slyly.

"The first ones were. After that, he got beer and I got iced tea." He gestured for her to sit on the other chair.

She did, still smiling. "We're free for the next five to ten hours, I'm sure. So I thought, since you slept in this morning, and I'm not tired, that…"

Vash's grin appeared slowly, and a little labored. "Sure, that sounds good." He wondered why her smile was so prominent. Did she need to fake a smile around him as well? But it seemed kind of genuine…

Self-conscious, Vanessa tried to relax her mouth. "Sorry, I just really enjoy time with you. For tonight, I want us forget our worries and feel like things are as they should be, you know?" she suggested happily.

Longing to nod, he chose to be honest instead. "But they're so very not. We need to use this time to contrive a better answer to this. This is getting serious, and he's still dangerous…"

"Want the humans to die?" she asked quickly.

He shook his head.

"Want to kill Knives?" she continued.

Again he shook his head. "But…"

"No buts about it," she interrupted softly. "There IS no other way." When no reply came, she leaned forward and kissed his cheek. He still looked to the door, so she brought his gaze to hers by gently turning his face. Her eyes were pleasant and closed slowly as her lips met his. Though his mouth yielded little, she slipped her tongue past his lips in a kiss more sensual and calm than before. Eyelids lifted slightly, she drew away to judge his reaction.

Vash looked frustrated as he turned from her again, huffing aloud.

"What," she murmured patiently.

He hesitated. "I wonder how much of what I taste is my brother," he muttered bitterly.

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