Silver Linings

(Disclaimed)

Chapter 1: Oops!

When Milly's son was born, the three travelers decided that it was best if they moved back to their hometown. They didn't have the time, money, or storage to take a baby around with them, and the place they were staying was hardly adequate for raising a child. Besides, it would be much easier to work from the office than running around to post offices and such. So, they packed up their junk and the sleeping psychopath and headed back to home.

Milly's son, Noah, was an adorable, mischievous little boy. He had his mother's eye color, and her nose, but the rest was purely Wolfwood. In fact, even his attitude was similar, and Vash got a whap on the head for saying that if the baby could smoke, he probably would.

"Well, this is a nice apartment," Meryl concluded, dropping suitcases on the floor. The front door led right into the main room which consisted of a kitchen on the left, and a relaxing area on the right-- that of which consisted of a couch, two chairs, and a television against the wall. The walls were painted a strange, sea teal, and the floors were wooden.

"Uh…" Vash muttered. The room after the main area was a bedroom, painted the same color, as was the rest of the house. It had two beds against the left wall with black- barred head boards and squeaky mattresses. The right wall had a window that viewed a part of the city and was covered by lace curtains.

"I love it!" Milly said, cradling her son. After the bedroom, there was a hallway with a bathroom in the middle and two other bedrooms on the left and right.

"Dehhh…." Noah said flatly, his eyes as dead-pan as his voice.

"I suppose we should unpack," Meryl said.

"Where are we supposed to put everything?" Vash asked, looking around. "Sure, there's a lot of floor space, but there aren't… any… dresser drawers, or nothing…"

"We'll buy some," Milly said. "We have to buy furniture for little Noah too!"

"Aa," Noah nodded.

"How can he understand us?" Vash said, glaring at the child.

"He can't understand us! He's a baby!" Milly laughed.

"Ahahaha!" The baby laughed at Vash. Vash stared at the child. Noah had a sly smirk on his face, his eyes glinting.

"Right…" Vash said.

"Well, this is the best we can do," Meryl said. "Get used to it. It's not like you ring in any cash."

"I could… pretend to turn myself in," Vash pointed out smiling.

"-or you could get a job, you lazy bum!" Meryl yelled in his face. "As if driving sixteen hours with you humming wasn't bad enough!"

"Sorry… but I hate sitting in quiet!" Vash explained, only making Meryl growl even more.

"Shouldn't you go get Knives, Mr. Vash?" Milly asked.

"Oh… uh… yeah…" Vash turned and walked out of the apartment. Meryl grabbed the bags and carried them into the room that she had obviously claimed as Milly's and her own.

"Well, I suppose you'll be working from home, right?" Meryl asked as Milly laid Noah down on the bed.

"Well, I can't just leave Noah here with Mr. Vash," Milly giggled.

"Yeah… Who knows what would happen with that man around?" Meryl muttered. "-but… I suppose it'd be better than leaving him with some sort of babysitter…"

"Mr. Vash might not be able to handle him, Meryl. He's very difficult sometimes."

"Mr. Vash can barely handle himself," Meryl said, throwing her bag up on the bed.

-

Meryl had bought a nice dresser and had it set up on the right of the window. Milly had set up a corner for Noah across from her bed on the far side of her room. It had a small drawer with changing table, a crib, and a mobile that played "Lullaby" and had all of the moons of Gunsmoke in a circle.

Vash thought it was rather unnecessary to put the hole in the fifth moon, but it didn't really matter.

As for furniture for him, he didn't really need it. Since he had abandoned the red coat and everything, he only had one outfit -his white shirt and brown pants- and a pair of gray sweatpants to sleep in. All he needed was his bed, which he had. He just helped them with the furniture and stood around smiling.

"Well…" Meryl said as she finished putting hers and Milly's clothing into the dresser. "That's done."

-

The next day, Meryl returned to the Bernardelli Insurance Society building. She got to work immediately and stayed there until evening rolled around. After all, she WAS behind…

"Did you hear?" One of the workers said to a group of other workers. Meryl's good ears caught up on the gossip conversation.

"Yeah, they brought that Vash the Stampede back with them," Another whispered fiercely.

"Can you believe it?" A man said.

"Well, it was their job to keep him under surveillance, right?" Karen's voice entered the conversation.

"Well, yeah, but how can they let that happen? I mean, Milly's got a little boy now!"

Meryl was aghast at the conversation taking place. They were insulting Vash!

"Yeah, he could kill that child!"

"Oh, man, that's right!"

"They need to get that monster out of there!"

Meryl's pencil snapped in her hand, attracting everyone's attention. "How dare you…" She muttered.

Everyone was silent.

Meryl stood up and turned around, her eyes flaring. "How can you talk like that, and not even have the guts to say it to his face?!" She snapped. "You're making accusations from the rumors that you've heard and…. And they're not true! You shouldn't judge someone like that!"

"Meryl…" Karen began.

"Shut up, Karen! You guys speak so badly about him, and you don't even know him!" She yelled.

"-but, Meryl-" Another worker tried to speak.

"I've traveled with him for a long time, and I know what he's really like. He's not some kind of monstrous beast that you've all made up. He's a really good person, and he would never make fun of you like this." She looked down at her feet. "Vash is… he's… a good person… and you just can't see beyond the lies." She picked up her bag. "I'm clocking out now. I've already caught up with you. Maybe if you spent your time working instead of talking trash, then maybe it wouldn't have been so easy…" She left the office.

"Oh…" Karen muttered. "What's with her…?"

"Oh, no… You don't think…" Another girl said. They looked at each other.

-

Meryl opened her eyes and rose up, rubbing her eyes. Noah wasn't in his crib, and Milly wasn't in bed.

"She must have gone to get breakfast with Vash," Meryl concluded, going into the back and to the room on the right. Knives laid on the bed, still as stone, only his chest moving slightly as he breathed. She watched him for a little while, wondering if he'd ever wake up, then left to head towards the kitchen for coffee. After all, she had to go into work again today.

-

Meryl finished making her warm coffee and breathed in the smell. She slowly put it to her lips, standing near the kitchen table, and then she sipped it leisurely.

Suddenly, the door slammed open, and Milly stood in the doorway, wide-eyed and beaming with Noah in her arms. "Oh, Meryl!" She cried. "I'm so happy!" She set Noah down in his playpen that was set up by the door. "Oh… why didn't you tell me?! I thought this would never happen! Oh, I can't even contain my excitement!" Milly was practically jumping up and down, clapping her hands together.

"Milly… what are you… talking about?" Meryl blinked, completely clueless as to what the taller woman was babbling about.

"Oh, everyone's talking about it! I'm always the last to hear anything, you know? Well… unless you count Mr. Vash, but I suppose he already knows this time!"

"Knows what?" Meryl asked, oblivious to her antics.

"Well, of course! You're in love with Mr. Vash!"

"WHAT?!!!!" Meryl dropped her coffee cup.

(A/N: Well… how was that for a first chapter? I was wanting to write something adorable and fluffy and also humorous, and I figured Vash and Meryl… perfect! This is what I came up with, and it should be very fluffy soon enough. I hope you liked it. Besides, I needed to take a little break on "Just Your Average Teenage Samurai" before my inspiration runs dry on it. Sayonara!)