Meryl clenched her pillow tightly in her arms, a smile and a blush rosy on her face. She kept replaying what had happened in her head. Their noses, almost touching; and his warm breath hitting her face as their eyes locked. And for a split second, his eyes held more than just the love of a friend.

Meryl sighed, letting the water from Milly's shower soothe her into a peaceful slumber. Her head fell back against her pillow behind her, never letting go of the one in her arms. A warm feeling of comfort and security enveloped her as she closed her eyes, a smile never abandoning her face as she fell asleep.

Knives laid awake, slightly worried about what he might dream. Also, he was thinking about what he'd already seen. Mostly about his vision of Meryl. No one deserved that kind of pain. He, that…thing named Howard, had taken everything from her. Sure, Knives had killed, even tortured, but nothing was so dishonorable as that. He'd given her a baby at 15, and ruined her life. At least, Knives wasn't so grotesque. After all…she was still a child.

His eyes half closed as he though once more. The pain of the tall woman still lingered in his heart. It felt as if it had shattered. Like when Rem died. His heart…it broke then. Though he would never admit it…to anyone. He wanted to keep Vash from feeling that pain again. But it was too late… Vash had fallen in love again. Yet…of all people Knives had seen in the world, Meryl is the only one he'd seen that was worthy of his brother's love. She deserved it. But…would Vash deserve to see the love of his life fade away as he lives on?

Milly woke up earlier than normal, wanting to be at work before Knives woke up. Needless to say she failed. He always woke up as soon as someone came out of their room, sensing their presence nearing him.

"Good morning woman." Knives said, stretching his tired limbs. "Trying to avoid me by sneaking out early?"

"Can you blame me?" She said. Her tone wasn't really angry, but more like…kind of quiet…yet stern. "All you ever do is complain and argue with me about how-"

"No." He said, cutting her off.

"What?" Milly's eyes widened.

"No. I can't blame you for avoiding me. You're right, all I do is start an argument with you. I insult you, put you and others down. I absolutely respect you never wanting to speak with me again."

"Is this…" Milly paused, thinking on how to word her question. "Is this your way of apologizing?"

"Of course not!" Knives said with a huff, his brows furrowed. "I have nothing to be ashamed of. After all, I was only stating my opinion."

Milly smiled lightly. I forgive you. "Well, since I am going to ignore the bad things you say, would you like some breakfast?"

Vash awoke peacefully, at ease with the lack of tension in the house. Knives had probably said something meaning an apology, or Milly had just gone insane…which if that was so, it had only been a matter of time.

He walked down the hall, his eyes drooping from the fact that he had just woken up. Stretching and yawning loudly he reached the door frame, grabbing it and swinging forward. "Aahh…good morning you guys." He sighed.

"Good morning Mr. Vash."

"Brother." Knives nodded. Grinning lightly.

"Would you like some pancakes too Mr. Vash?"

"Boy would I!" He said, sitting down at the table, immediately grabbing his spoon and fork in his fists and banging them against the table. "Me want food!"

"Oh shut up. Goodness Vash…what a way to wake up." Meryl said, her hair disheveled and out of place.

"Good morning Meryl. Do you want some pancakes too?"

"Sure. Why not?" She smiled, sitting down next to Vash. She too took a fork and spoon into her hands. "I want food too!"

Vash laughed, smiling down at the small form beside him. "You seem in a good mood this morning."

"I guess…I don't have any reason not to be."

Later that day…

"I'm home!" Milly called, no one responded.

Knives woke up from his nap, looking up at the tall girl and slightly waving his hand to acknowledge her presence.

"Are you the only one here Mr. Knives?"

"Mmm…" he said stretching. "The short one went to work already and my brother went to get those pastries he loves so much."

"Oh…" She set her coat down on the ground, it was heavy from the snow which had melted on it. "So...how was your day Mr. Knives?"

"Boring. I sit here as Vash goes outside because 'I am not well enough to go past the yard without someone with me.'" Knives sighed, standing up.

"Oh...well would you like me to take you out?"

Knives glared, looking back at her evily.

"Outside I mean. To look at the town." Milly smiled, looking at the pale blonde man. "C'mon, it'll be fun."

Knives shrugged. "Yeah. It'll be better than staying in here all day. Just tell me. Is it still snowing outside?"

"Yeah. Do you want to see it from the cliff? It's really pretty seeing the whole town covered in snow like that."

Milly looked at him, noticing that all he was wearing was his pants and bandages on his chest. "Do you want me to change those before we leave?" She pointed out his dirty bandages.

Knives looked down at them himself. "I guess." He took one of the bandages into his hand and ripped the edge, peeling them off. He let the ripped bandages drop to the floor, exposing his bare chest. All the wounds had already healed.

Milly blushed at his bare skin, the small amounts of scars. He was so much alike, yet so different from his brother at the same time. "Well it looks like you don't need new bandages after all."

Knives walked in front of Milly, knowing that she wanted to keep her eyes on him in case his leg started hurting. The cold sometimes made things worse. Knives cringed lightly, trying to hide the pain in his leg. "Hngh."

Milly watched his leg suddenly tense under his weight as he stopped walking. "Are you okay Mr. Knives?"

Knives straightened his back and stood up. "Yes. I'm fine."

"Do you wan't me to help?"

"No!" Knives said, turning towards her. "I said...I am fine."

Milly frowned. "Are you s-"

"Yes. Please.I can take care of myself." The spasming in his leg loosened up and he began to walk again. It was longer than he expected to get to the top of the cliff. But it was beautiful.

Knives sat down on the ground. "It's strange...on such a terrible planet... such beauty now exists."

"Hmm..." Milly sat down next to him, watching the down below them. The people looked so small. "It's peaceful isn't it?" She asked, her gaze turning toward him.

"Yes. I have looked for over a century to find this kind of...sanctity." He sighed. "This was the kind of serene life I wanted to live in with Vash. Just he and I. Except, I always thought for that to happen...everyone must die."

"Do you still feel that way?" Milly looked down at the ground, the snow reflecting the sun's light.

"Not so much anymore. I always thought my view could never change. But I can tell, that all humans don't act the same. In fact... some are only the victims. I guess I always thought of everyone as a culprit of what they have suffered. But I can tell that isn't true."

"So... you don't hate human's anymore?"

"Some of them I do. But some people...no matter what race they are...it is impossible to hate."

Note: Yeah, I know...it is a bit OOC for Knives. And I am losing my writing talent. I sucked at this chapter. But now you see that Knives is slowy, but surely, changing. I hope I can update again next weekend. I will try.

Oh and another note. Have any of you ever read up on Geisha? If you did you would know that in their tradition they pick a younger sister, to kind of...mentor them. Anyone wanna be my little sister or brother? I know I am still learning myself but...I would like to help another and we can learn from each other. I will search!

DPA(Pyro)