Meryl and Millie had reentered the main room. Meryl, whose eyes were darting around for Roseanne, took little notice of the eyes that seemed to suddenly land uncomfortably on her. Everyone in the room was divided into clusters now, and the man who had been choking was gone.

"Hullo, Ms. Gabby!" Millie called to the woman clear across the room. She waved energetically.

"Millie! We need to find Roseanne!" Meryl hissed. Gabby was even less welcomed by Meryl at the moment. Every second they wasted was another person told about Vash the Stampede. If all these people were as nosey as they were in high school, rumors would be breeding and spreading faster than Millie could spot pudding.

With more force than necessary, Meryl grabbed the arm of the woman closest to her. "Have you seen Roseanne?" She demanded.

The woman, who was named Collette Viper, shook her head. Her large silver hoop earrings swayed in the air, catching the light from every angle. Meryl even caught her harsh expression on their shiny surface.

Meryl let go, and searched the surrounding people.

"Have any of you-"

Like daggers, Meryl was cut off by Janet, whose gleeful smile seemed to slither into the depths of Meryl's stomach. "I've only just heard, Meryl, seems you have gotten a lot more friendly with that job of yours than any of us had imagined." The woman that Meryl had talked to earlier that evening stepped forward. Because she was swaying her arm, the murky liquid in her small glass rippled and waved.

Meryl's mouth seemed to hang open against her will. Her expression only fed Janet's twisted smile with more frivolity. It looked eerie on her shiny plastic Barbie-doll face.

"Been having a little affair, have we?" Janet asked. "How does sixty billion taste?" She took a light swig of her punch.

Loathing began to fill Meryl to the brim. She felt so much contempt for the person in front of her that she didn't know what she wanted to say to her first.

"Enjoy the heated breath of the outlaw? Or is it the firearms that have you?"

Feeling no words could do her emotion justice, Meryl lunged for the plastic-skinned woman. Her attack, however, never reached Janet. Two hands had suddenly pulled her away from the terrified classmate. She whirled around to demand that Millie release her, only to find herself facing Shane. Her angry expression slackened, and at this hesitation, her high school best friend pulled her further away from her enemy. Janet's comments were still lingering in Meryl's mind. How could anyone say such things? She had the entire story all wrong… and Vash… and Vash…

How does sixty billion taste?

Meryl's hands clenched into fists, she shook in Shane's forceful grasp.

Finally, the young man stopped and let go of her.

Enjoy the heated breath of the outlaw?

"Meryl? Meryl!"

Her eyes and mind broke away from Janet, and only when she looked up at Shane did she noticed he had pulled her into a far corner of the room.

Her heart was still pounding.

"Are you listening to me?" Shane asked.

"I have to find Roseanne!" Meryl said suddenly. As she turned away, Shane's hand grasped her firmly on the shoulder.

"Meryl Stryfe, listen to me!"

She looked back into Shane's eyes.

"Answer me. Has Vash the Stampede ever harmed you?" He asked seriously.

"No-"

"In anyway? Meryl, you're my best friend, and when I hear he has raped you, I won't stand for it. I've sent someone to get a hold of the sheriff. Did he put you up to this? Is there something he wants here so he accompanied you? People are saying he raped you!"

Even though she saw the concern in his eyes, Meryl could not keep the frustration out of her voice. "Vash would never do that! I can't believe- You don't even know what kind of person he is!" She argued, feeling both irritated and revolted that anyone would suggest such a thing.

"Meryl," Shane began, as if he was trying to teach her something very simple. "He's an outlaw with $$60 billion on his head! This man is dangerous. He's done more damage than anything in our history. If you need help, if you need protection, Meryl-"

"Shane, he's nothing like that!" She growled. Why wouldn't anyone listen to her? "He hasn't done anything to me!"

"-when the sheriff comes, you can tell him anything. I don't want you to feel like it's unsafe to really say what happened." He continued.

"But the sheriff is the last thing we need!" Meryl exclaimed. "Shane, listen to me. Vash hasn't done anything to me, and nor would he do anything harmful to anyone else- at least not on purpose," she added. "Him coming here tonight wasn't even his idea."

"Meryl, he's-"

"I know what he is far better than anyone else! Don't you trust me?" She asked.

She felt Shane's eyes look deeply into hers. Buried far inside them she caught a miserable shadow. Then suddenly, reflected on the surface of his eye, she spotted Roseanne. Without another word, she turned away from him.

She grasped Roseanne, who welcomed Meryl with an appalled look. Her face retracted so far from the small insurance girl, that it gave her the misleading appearance of having a triple chin.

"What are you doing?" Meryl demanded. "You said you wouldn't tell anyone!"

"I didn't spread all these rumors…" she said, looking curiously over the crowd. Meryl noticed that many of them were looking frightened and were suddenly in a rush to leave. Perhaps, she thought, some of them were still afraid Vash the Stampede was in the building. But why had they established so much fear for a man who had saved another's life only minutes ago? Didn't the last two hours teach them that this man that was among them only had good intentions? Meryl frowned. No. Just his marred name was enough to terrify hundreds, to scatter the fearful abroad. Just his stained name was enough to create utmost panic.

The name didn't fit him at all.

"A lot of them were beginning to circulate before I even entered." Roseanne said.

"I thought we were friends," Meryl said, unable to help noticing how childish the phrase sounded, ridiculous even.

"We were friends, Meryl, until I got tired of always being second best to you," Roseanne said.

What did she mean? Meryl wondered. As far as she could tell, she was never the "best" at anything, even in P.E., Roseanne had always preformed better than Meryl.

"What are you talking about?" Meryl asked, sounding both angry and irritated.

Roseanne's forest green eyes looked away from Meryl, and Meryl's gaze followed. Several seconds passed before the small insurance girl realized what it was they were looking at. Repulsion taunted her stomach.

"Travis?" Meryl asked in disbelief. Her eyes left the short, dirty man and landed on Roseanne with disgust. "You can't be serious Roseanne? You don't want him! No one in the right mind wants him! He's unstable and appalling."

"I was only Meryl's friend." Roseanne announced, resembling a pouting teenager. "His eyes were only on you."

Meryl could hardly believe what she was hearing. "His eyes were never on me. They were on nothing more than my body! He's a complete stalker, Roseanne!"

"Only for you…"

Meryl had a strong desire to vomit. "Roseanne, you can have him!"

The forest green eyes were suddenly full of fury. "He doesn't want me, he wants you!"

At this moment Meryl could hardly believe they were the same age. Was it normal for people to never grow out of high school? Perhaps Millie was right; all this high school reunion business had reduced everyone back into adolescence.

Where was Millie anyway?

Suddenly one of the entrances to the room burst open, the man who had been choking earlier was standing in the frame. Fear flooded his face.

"He's coming!" He announced, nearly screaming. "Vash the Stampede is down the hallway, and he's walking this way!"

Cacophony took over the room. Roseanne was ripped from Meryl's view. Her former classmates were scattering for the doors on the opposite end. Meryl spotted Gabby talking loudly to her husband, apparently unaware of the announcement that had rung through the air. She caught Shane, who was still standing in the corner, looking downfallen. And finally, to her left, Millie, who was looking disappointedly down at a smashed piece of chocolate cake. Meryl moved toward her, until she suddenly bumped into a man who was a half inch shorter than her. His eyes gave a look of recognition as he peered through his shaggy blond hair.

"Hey Mel, it would seem I guessed quite accurately. You do have something with that outlaw, am I right?" He mumbled as if he was holding an invisible cigarette in his mouth.

"Get away from me, Travis." Meryl demanded.

The man didn't move, but a twisted smile reached every inch of his pallid face.

"My dear Mel, why must you tempt me so?" He asked. He stepped towards her, and Meryl stepped further back, her shoe slightly slipping in a turned over plate of lemon jello that had crashed to the floor earlier that night. Splattered across the ground, its remains look decapitated from all angles.

"I'm sorry about all the trouble you have gone through with him…" he continued. "How about we get some emotion out over a drink? Eh? We can forget about the past, we can even forget all about Vash the Stampede."

Just then, Meryl spotted him. The crowd of people that had been obscuring her view was scurrying. The affect resembled the parting of the red sea, only with people instead of water, and there, walking down the middle of the aisle, was Vash the Stampede. No longer was he wearing his button down shirt or khaki pants, but his revived red gunslinger coat. No longer was he wearing his expression of pretending, but one of determination and seriousness. Every ounce of him was screaming outlaw, except, perhaps, the absence of a gun. She found no point pretending to the crowd, who was terrified for their lives, he was Mark. He looked nothing like the man, and in all honesty, she didn't want to see anyone else but Vash.

"Vash," Meryl said.

Travis quickly turned around, which caused him to sway in his step. Once he caught his balance, he looked up at the outlaw, who was walking straight for them. Nearly a minute passed before he did anything. Then he darted for Meryl, who took another step back. He darted for her again, and this time succeeded in trapping his arm around her.

"Mel," he said, his hot humid breath condensing in her ear. "I can get you out of this." Even as he said these words, he had distanced himself from Vash by standing behind Meryl, clutching her.

Vash had finally reached them. He came to a halt, while the bottom of his red coat continued to sway with momentum.

Meryl tried to slip a kick to Travis, but once again, her pursuer dodged the attack.

"Get away from Meryl," the outlaw ordered.

He slipped his hand into his coat's pocket where an indistinct lump lay. Meryl had been around Vash long enough to know that his gun was larger than the lump, but Travis was oblivious to the idea.

"Right now, Travis," Vash ordered again.

Slightly quivering, he stepped away from Meryl. At once the ground underneath him seemed to melt away. His foot had slid, and he landed on the ground, on top of the smashed sticky mess of yellow jello.

Vash reached out his hand, not for Travis, but for Meryl. The small insurance girl grasped it and stepped away from the mess.

"Vash, the sheriff is coming. We need to find Wolfwood and Millie and get out of here. I think I've had enough trouble for one night," she sighed and finally looked up into Vash's eyes. The seriousness in them stunted her thoughts. She didn't look away until Millie interrupted them.

"Ms. Meryl! I've only just heard. You're marrying Mr. Vash!" She said happily.

"Millie, that's just one of the rumors," Meryl answered, quickly deflating any potential awkwardness between her and the gunman. "Anyway," she said waving it away. "Let's get out of here. Do you know where Wolfwood is?"

By now the Priest proved easy to find, the majority of people had already exited the room. Wolfwood was sitting comfortably at a table, looking like he had just enjoyed a cup of tea, the confessional propped up beside him. Vash had a feeling it was much heavier now than it had been all week.

Wolfwood played quite a smooth act when they pulled him out the door, acting subordinately, as if he played no part in any of the chaos surrounding every inch of the building. He was careful not to give Vash much attention in the presence of Meryl. However, Vash doubted Meryl would have cared. Being formerly irritated with his behavior, she probably hadn't even noticed the Priest was gone during the last several disasters.

Outside, the air had cooled; people in cars were leaving the building. Several drivers found necessary speed at the sight of Vash the Stampede. One vehicle almost hit the bumper of another. Some passengers felt it unwise to look at the gunman, while others could not keep their gaze away from him. Vash frowned.

"Spikey! Get over here!"

Vash broke his eyes away from the traffic. To his left, Wolfwood was examining a long sleek black vehicle. The windows were tinted so severely, the only image that could be seen in them was his reflection.

Wolfwood was taking the initiative to put his hands all over its surface. He seemed quite unaware of the chauffer inside, who was casting the Priest dirty looks.

"It's a nice car," Vash remarked.

"It's a Limo." Wolfwood hissed. The Priest studied the side mirror before he spoke again. "Don't you owe me a set of wheels, Spikey?" He asked.

"That's really expensive." Vash replied and glanced at the confessional.

"So was my bike!" Wolfwood insisted.

"If your bike couldn't survive the journey through the desert, than this definitely can't," Vash pointed out.

Wolfwood gave him an irritated look. "I would think after everything I've done for you-"

"Mr. Priest!" Millie's voice interrupted them, although it was quite less noisy. Both she and Meryl walked over to the sleek black car. "Ms. Gabby says she'll be over any minute, that is, if you still wanted to go out for dinner with her."

Judging by the expression on the Priest's face, Vash concluded that Wolfwood would have rather liked to spend his time doing a lot of other things than have dinner with Gabby. He appeared to be fighting a battle in his mind as he stared at Millie, who was smiling.

"Oh my gosh! Meryl!" Everyone knew the voice belonged to Gabby before they even turned around. "What an eventful night! I do need to congratulate you on this fine young man." She gave Vash the quickest of glances. "To think, you married to Vash the Stampede. No wonder you wanted to keep such information hidden! Of course, you'll be joining us for dinner?"

At this comment, several gestures were made. Wolfwood gave Vash a smug look. Millie latched on to the Priest's arm, which took him by small surprise. And Vash's eyes lingered on Meryl's face, refraining from saying anything to her, but willing her with his mind to find a way to decline.

"Oh, but we really must be getting home to the baby," Meryl insisted.

He was relieved Gabby had received her answer. The woman had begun talking loudly to her husband as they entered the sleek black vehicle.

Wolfwood's jaw dropped.

"Hurry now Millie, we want to get there before they close," Gabby insisted.

The Priest seemed to be brought back to his senses. Trying to hide his emotions, he escorted Millie into the car. As he passed Vash, he didn't bother to suppress one of his smirks. But Vash didn't care, Limo or not, he still didn't want to go all night listening to Gabby talk about laundry.

"Vash, the sheriff," Meryl reminded the outlaw. She took off at a lightening pace, Vash followed behind. They passed the corner where Vash had attempted to kiss Meryl earlier that evening, and had gained nothing more than a blob of cover-up. The area made him feel uncomfortable. Perhaps now the small insurance girl knew what he had been trying to do.

"At least I can go back to the hotel and wash off this make-up." Vash said.

Meryl sensed the optimism in his voice, but remained both quiet and irritated. Now that she was away from the reunion, she was beginning to see what a disaster it had been. What had she been thinking? That stupid Priest! If he hadn't have been so sure Vash was a good candidate, she would have never created such a calamity. With the sheriff coming, Bernardeli would be wanting a report, even if the building was still intact. She could hardly be happy about what that must contain.

They had reached the end of the street, and Vash grew fearful of her heavy silence. He must have really made her mad this time…

Meryl's pace slowed down substantially as they turned another corner.

Across the street a few lonely drunk men were looking in Meryl's direction. Vash sped up to walk along side her. After glimpsing her expression, Vash decided she looked positively frustrated.

He didn't dare speak. Everything felt uncomfortable. His once triumphant spirits had melted away and he felt miserable. Never would he take the chance of letting Meryl walk home alone at this hour, even when he had a great desire to escape the thick atmosphere. He knew she was capable of sticking up for herself, but even some men, Vash had realized, were able to escape her wrath and go in for the kill.

Vash's mind began blaming his predicament on Wolfwood. In reality, he knew the Priest couldn't be completely accountable, but blaming him made Vash feel a little less nauseous.

They passed Judd's, the little store Vash and Wolfwood had so desperately raided only yesterday. Meryl let out a deep sigh.

"I can't believe it Vash."

Now that the small insurance girl had spoken, Vash wasn't sure whether he wanted to listen to heavy silence, or whatever frustration was ready to burst out of Meryl's lips. Once he had one, he suddenly wanted the other, because both felt uncomfortable.

"Everything turned out horribly," she said flatly. "Everyone was acting so childish, Travis got his dirty hands on me, that poor man was choking and no one knew what to do. Then Wolfwood just took advantage of the situation and collected an armful of money. Everyone found out you were Vash the Stampede and everyone began panicking. The whole room turned into one huge disaster. And on top of that, I didn't even do my job! Bernardeli will be furious when they find out I actually used my job to protect my own personal status. They will be on my case about me even placing my job in such circumstances."

They turned onto another street. No one was in sight.

"Meryl, I'm really sorry," Vash apologized.

What was he talking about? Meryl suddenly wondered. She was the one who had allowed this mess to happen. It was her fault everything turned out the way it did, if she hadn't listened to Wolfwood…

"I was really trying to be on my best behavior. I didn't mean for anything to happen." Vash continued.

Of course he didn't mean for anything to happen. He was Vash. These things just happen! That's why she was assigned to him to help prevent these things from happening. He was a cursed man, and most of the trouble he got into had little to do with his choices.

"I'm sorry," he said again.

"It's not your fault."

Vash was taken aback to hear the words leave her. She wasn't blaming him?

"I shouldn't have even gone through with this whole idea. It was stupid. High school reunions! Ridiculous. I don't know why I even wanted to see any of them again. They are all exactly the same as they were then. They never grow up. I'm glad I moved away from all this. I'm better off without getting mixed up with any of them. We're pathetic Vash. Look at us, all trying to outdo the other- holding on to grudges for hundreds of years. It's still just some huge competition, just like it was in high school, only back then we were competing for our survival in the real world instead of what we've done in the real world."

"But everyone has done lots of things," Vash said. "There's not really a point in competing when everyone has gone in such different directions, is there?" He asked carefully, afraid of saying anything that would target Meryl's rampage to him. When she remained silent, he continued. "Everyone there has either a family or an industrial job, what else do you need?"

Meryl slowed her pace. She had only just realized they had passed the street leading to Novinian nearly 10 minutes ago. Vash was walking her home.

"I thought those things were enough to keep people happy…"

Meryl looked up at him. The moons were shinning brightly behind him, and he looked cautious, but untroubled. What had she done dragging him into all this? The damages and panicked people were all she had raved about, she had been so caught up in the high school atmosphere… With a painful thought she recalled how selfish she had been.

Everyone has either a family or an industrial job…I thought those things were enough to keep people happy.

The words seemed to thrash apart her organs. What had her motives been this last week? She never intended to just thrust the aspects of ordinary life on him, but she hadn't given it a thought. She had been so distracted by her desires, her wants.

"People are never happy because they are too selfish…" She said.

But for Vash… but for Vash a family or an industrial job would have been enough- whether or not people respected him. He wouldn't have cared about anything else.

"People are never satisfied. They always want more, always want to be better, and everything is competition." She said.

"Don't tell me that."

Meryl was surprised to hear the emotion in his voice. She looked into his eyes. They were a shade of emerald in the dark, but held a melancholy silhouette. He looked suddenly older than she had ever seen him. Somehow her comment had breeched an invisible line that distinguished the carefree gunman from the battered outlaw. He must feel very alone in the world, but yet, he never let anyone in.

"Maybe it's not how it sounds," Meryl spoke again, looking away from him. "Maybe some of us are never satisfied with our selves… because we keep messing up."

"Or we feel we aren't good enough."

Meryl glanced at him from the corner of her eye. She wanted to apologize for dragging him into this mess so selfishly, but the words couldn't leave her. Instead they walked closer to Meryl's parent's house in silence.

Vash was in deep thought. So many different emotions had run through him today. He wondered if he should apologize for kissing her, if he should tell her it was an honest reaction caused by his success of saving that man, that the kiss had just been an uncontrolled result of euphoria instead of an act of bravery… but he didn't want to be the one to bring the subject up when Meryl hadn't even mentioned it in passing. Perhaps she would never mention it and they could go on acting like nothing had happened, because any sort of relationship would be going no where.

Shielding his skin from the chill air, Vash placed his hand in his pocket. He felt the small box of chocolates and the spray bottle of breath freshener against his knuckles. A miniscule part of him had secretly enjoyed Wolfwood's enthusiasm, but he couldn't see any use in either of the objects. He wouldn't need them.

Following Meryl, he turned into the yard of a small cozy home. The roof had just been freshly shingled. In the upper left window, the lights were on. The few stairs that led to the porch creaked under their weight, breaking the silence. Unlike everywhere else Vash had been in this city, this street was quiet. No lights were flashing, no whiffs of alcohol drifted passed him, and no one was walking by.

He wanted it to be a short goodbye. The less time he spent in the moonlight alone with Meryl, the better.

"I'm sorry about everything," he told her, avoiding her lavender eyes. He hoped Bernardeli wouldn't be too angry with her, but the more mature side of him thought that it would be better if they did, safer anyway. "Goodnight."

He stepped down onto the second stair when she spoke.

"Wait, Vash."

Holding his breath, he froze. His heart was picking up pace, he knew they had reached the topic he wanted avoided and yet clarified. He waited for her to speak again, still gazing at the street before him. Her shoes hit the wood subtly as she walked over to him. He could see her shadow shaped in the light of the upstairs window.

She touched his shoulder and he finally looked into her dark eyes. The stars were reflected in them, making each one look like burnished blankets of space. Halcyon, they were staring into him. He felt his lungs collapse, even though they were still continuing their constant motion. Suddenly he felt exposed before her, vulnerable.

Her arm slid across his chest until her palm rested on his cheek. Gently she pulled him forward while carefully leaning into him.

Vash closed his eyes and felt their lips meet. Everything that had been spinning in his head, relapsed. He felt the tips of her fingers in his hair, and could smell her sweet scent. She was kissing him.

They pulled apart, and Vash felt his cheeks flush at their eye contact. Meryl looked away from him, staring at the light flooding out of the upstairs window. Her arm slid softly away from his body. And Vash felt suddenly alone and chill without it against him.

"My parents still wait up for me," she said with a touch of amusement. "Even when I have lived away for so long."

"They must really care about you." His tone sounded sad and empty to Meryl. Immediately, she regretted her comment, perhaps it had brought the gunman back down to earth before he wanted- before he could truly savor the façade of confidence she had displayed. She was satisfied with the way the kiss had turned out; she had worried about it, but wanted to show Vash a form of confidence and stability… he deserved it after displaying his feelings to her when she had never had the nerves to go there.

"I suppose your job probably worries them," Vash spoke again with a hurtful smile.

"They weren't too happy at first, but I think they've mellowed out. They knew I would get involved with something dangerous."

When she spotted his face, she quickly grabbed his hand. Pushing away her insecurities, she let her fingers weave through his.

He felt a great sense of remorse flee from him, and a strong desire to pull her nearer to him. He looked down and their little locked hands.

Meryl looked away from him, feeling satisfied with his change of expression.

"Vash… would you like to meet my family?" She asked. "You should have met them earlier so you could have complained about your in-laws."

"It's okay, you never met your in-laws, and I think it's better kept that way."

"You have family, Vash?" She asked and looked at him. Embarrassment overtook her for her inconsiderate comment. She had never heard Vash talk about his family. They probably didn't talk to him now that he was an outlaw…

"Yeah, a brother," he answered, diverting his eyes. "I haven't seen him in a very long time."

"How long?" Meryl asked before she could stop herself.

"Since before July… actually I don't remember much of him but our childhood."

Meryl saw another shadow of sadness in his eyes. She pulled him closer.

"Well, I think mine are safe to meet," she said. "They've heard so much about you."

"Are you sure?" Vash asked. He sounded childish. Everything suddenly felt new and foreign to him.

"Yeah, they've actually been asking me about you… wondering where you were when I was supposed to have you under 24 hour surveillance." Meryl slipped off the ring on her left hand. "Here," she handed it to Vash. "They didn't know I went with you to the reunion, and I know they'll hear all about it tomorrow, but I don't think we should give them any reason to believe the rumors if we can help it."

She opened the door.

Vash stared down at the ring. Unfortunately, he didn't think he would sell it in this city- everyone was too frugal with their money, and too obsessed with making it. Perhaps he would hold onto it until they reached another city, or maybe it would sit somewhere and gather dust until he had decided what to do with it.

He glanced at Meryl again.

Perhaps he would just hold on to it for a few years.

Pocketing the ring, he entered the cozy house.

Author's Note: It's completed. You have been a great help reading it, and I would sincerely implore you to take time to let me know your overall impression. Please point out any flaws I made or any disappointments you may have experienced, even if it's not a very big deal. Don't worry about damaging my self esteem, I want honest opinions whether pleasant or irritated. I want to improve my writing.

Most of all, thank you for reading!

Oh yes… I generally try to avoid explaining my writing too much, but as I wrote this last scene, I did think about how odd it might come across for an ending, especially after a kiss. But I think more than anything, Vash would want to be a part of a real family, not necessarily Meryl's, but I wanted to portray his deeper yearning of having a place to belong. Well, with that said, I hope you enjoyed it. Thank you.