A/N: Relationships develop and the plot thins to the level of condensed soup. This chapter has been edited for content and the cut portions can be found at my website. I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience but Fanfiction doesn't like these (cough) descriptive scenes.

Pleasant Developments

Vash watched curiously as Meryl settled her belongings into the dresser against one wall, holding his blanket and pillow and trying to comprehend how he was going to be able to sleep next to the vixen unknowingly swaying her hips as she walked. He gulped as he felt more than one rise in his body, settling down on the bed and trying to avoid looking at the small, enticing insurance girl.

"I think I'll take a shower" Meryl suddenly spoke, breaking the comfortable silence surrounding them. When Vash didn't acknowledge her words, his head still turned away from her and his body slightly stiff, she walked over to him and tapped him lightly on the shoulder. "Did you hear me?" she asked, a slight hint of annoyance in her voice. Is he intentionally ignoring me? she thought angrily.

Vash turned at the abrupt contact, having not noticed anything as he had tried to concentrate on the wall to his side. A blush crept upon his face when he realized his torturous roommate was standing close to him, very close, and her chest was nearly eye level with his body. He gave her a shaky grin, having no idea what she wanted but not being able to take his eyes away from her breasts. He was almost mesmerized when she began talking, the soft orbs slightly bouncing with each word she spoke.

"Did you hear a word I said?' she asked icily, glaring at the blond. Then did she notice where his gaze was riveted and a blush tinged her cheeks, her words now coming out in stutters. "W-well, I-I better g-go t-take that shower" Meryl said, her last few words a blurring mix as she quickly moved away and grabbed her towel and clothes from the neat pile on the bed. Without a look back she sprinted into the adjoining bathroom and closed the door behind her person, leaving one very stunned gunman in her wake.

"Are you sure what we did was right?" Millie asked in the next room, the wolf comfortably laying in her lap. Her answer was a low growl, almost sounding like a comforting purr, followed by the beast cuddling closer to her. "I guess" she replied to his unspoken answer, starting to stroke the soft fur behind his ears. "But Meryl won't like what we've done" the big girl commented, moving her hand away and leaning back against the headboard of the bed.

Her neglect of his person with her sudden worry caused the fully transformed Wolfwood to shift his weight to his arms, lifting the night shirt she wore with his muzzle. He leaned his nose into her soft skin, finding the right spot and beginning to tickle her unmercifully. A squeal broke from Millie's lips at his ministrations, thrashing against him as he pinned her to the bed with the rest of his body. After she was thoroughly exhausted and more than pleased, he stopped his torture and once more snuggled into her lap.

"Thank you" Millie murmured, petting his hair as she closed her eyes contentedly.

Meanwhile, Vash sat on the bed with his eyes still trying to comprehend the empty spot where his Meryl had been standing. He groaned and fell back onto the bed, knowing he had once more scared her off when he should be taking things slow. Well, his reaction to her wasn't exactly his fault, the woman was teasing him with her feminine charms and heavenly scent. Could he help his body's need if she kept standing so close to him? He suddenly slapped himself on the forehead for the last thought, the reasoning sounding lame even in his own head.

Then Vash heard the sound of running water coming from behind the closed door and his attention was riveted back to his insurance girl, images flashing through his mind. A long reel of possibilities crept into his increasingly disturbing thoughts, a lengthening run of erotic pictures involving himself and a writhing Meryl flashed across his mind. A moan escaped his lips as he cursed his traitorous mind, feeling his manhood stiffen to an uncomfortable level. He looked down at himself and groaned quietly; how was he going to hide that from the aware insurance girl? His eyes flew to the door again as the sound was abruptly followed by a soft sigh, gritting his teeth as he imagined her slowly stripping her clothing off herself and slipping into the falling water. He could see her running a cloth over her smooth skin, paying special attention to her breasts as she lifted her head to let the water slide down the column of her tasty neck.

How can she do this to me? he thought through a stifled groan. Reaching down he gripped the now prominent bulge between his legs, Vash shot up from the bed, sweat covering his body and his breathing coming out in shallow pants. With a shaky gasp he realized he had nearly let the monster win, the erotic images coming from his dark half and he willing feeding off them.

With his last shred of decency Vash decided he wouldn't stop the feelings rising in him, he would merely try another approach toward his insurance girl. The noticeably stretched pants would be more difficult to deal with but he would have to manage, especially if he wanted Meryl to play along with his little 'game'. His decision was firm as an idea came to his mind, looking to the clothes he wore with an evil grin and impatiently waiting for his insurance girl to make her appearance.

Meryl stepped out of the bathroom a short time later and for one blessed minute Vash thought he saw the edge of a towel wrapped around her body. Unfortunately, he was bound for disappointment as she came into view wearing a short wooly nightshirt which reached to her knees. He turned his head away from the sight and pouted slightly, irritated at her obvious lack of trust by wearing the heavy and covering clothing...not that he'd tried anything before.

"All yours" she said, not noticing his behavior while she began turning down the covers.

Meryl jumped when she heard the door to the bathroom slam shut, swinging around to find Vash missing and the portal closed. Shrugging her shoulders she returned to her task, arranging the pillows so they would each have two and thus avoiding a confrontation with the childish gunman. By the time she had finished typing out her report for the evening and had prepared cloths for the following day she finally heard the click of the latch, warning of the bathroom door opening.

Turning with slight curiosity Meryl stiffened, simply staring as she tried to understand what she was looking at. The dripping form of Vash stood in the bathroom doorway, one arm leaning against the frame and giving her a very good view of everything he had to offer. Water cascaded down his bare chest, sliding over the rippling muscles and catching around his nipples stiffened with the cool air of the room. His arms flexed as he moved away from the door, the toned skin glowing in the soft moon light as his abs glistened with the light sheen of moisture. Soft hair drifted along his lower abdomen, cradled in the tight muscles on either side and dipping below the waistline.

Well, almost everything Meryl thought with a smirk as her eyes stopped at the towel wrapped around his waist, then mentally slapped herself. He must be rubbing off on me she thought with some apprehension, realizing the night was going to be very long. She shook herself and stared at him with some confusion.

"Well, aren't you going to get dressed for bed?" Meryl asked, wondering how long he was going to stand there watering the carpet and her mouth.

"Actually, all my clothes are in the other room..." Vash spoke, scratching the back of his head with one hand while the other held the towel. He grinned goofily, effectively breaking the small insurance girl's staring and creating a tense atmosphere in the cramped room.

"Where are your other clothes? The ones you were wearing!" she asked frantically, the horny teenager inside her screaming ecstatically at the turn of events.

"I, uh, kinda washed them?" he squeaked, reaching behind himself and pulling out a wet sock.

Meryl swore her teenage self just collapsed in ecstacy.

"Then what are we going to do now?" she questioned through clenched teeth, her eyes shut tight in irritation. She had to think of some way to avoid a bad situation elevating to a very enjoyable...

"Ahh!" she yelled in frustration, her nostrils flaring as she looked to the source of her hormonal problem. "If I see one slip of that towel off your body I will personally throw you out the door!" she exclaimed, punctuating her words with a low growl.

Vash held up his hands in surrender and firmly gripped the cloth around his midriff, cautiously walking over to the bed and slipping beneath the covers. Meryl lay beside him, as far away from his body as possible without falling off the side, and suspiciously stiffened with every shift of his form. He mentally sighed, knowing he would have to use every trick he had ever learned to succeed in his plans and control the beast already raging inside him. His inner demon wanted very much to couple with the enticing female mere inches from his body, but the blond gunman managed to curb the feelings rising in his body. One reaction, however, he could not stem as he felt his erection harden with the promise of the soft body lying so close. He stifled a groan as he buried his head into a pillow, attempting to muffle the sound with little success.

Meryl heard the sound and turned over to see if he was all right, seeing his face smothered into the soft cloth. She reached over and was about to gently shake his shoulder when he suddenly turned to her, his eyes piercing into her own as heat suddenly flared in her body. She sighed with relief as she noted the softly glowing green eyes looking into her own, a hint of mischief within their depths but no lust. She smiled back at him but frowned when she felt something soft and heavy travel up her bare leg. Looking down her eyes widened as she watched Vash's hand slide slowly towards the hem of her nightshirt, a soft gasp ringing from her mouth as he tugged at the heavy cloth. A sudden revelation hit the small insurance girl as her head jerked up to look at him, a shiver of both excitement and fear shooting through her body.

He was hiding his lust to help her relax.

Meryl was touched by his willingness to comfort her, though the urge to shrink away from the now sexually driven man was strong in her mind. Then she felt a distinctly unclothed hardness rub against her outer thigh, causing her to shoot straight up in the bed as she glared at the gunman. Then she saw the ghost of a white cloth on the floor beside the bed, her eyes narrowing dangerously.

"What did I tell you?" she snarled, her angered mood slightly thrown off when he gave an innocent chuckle.

"Oh, but you said if you saw me remove the towel" Vash noted, slowly inching toward her and allowing the blankets to slide further down his body. Their faces were nearly level when his eyes slowly slid to look at her pouting lips, his tongue slipping out to wet his own. "And you didn't" he breathed as their lips barely touched.

Suddenly Meryl found herself locked in a passionate kiss, their lips dueling together as Vash wrapped his arms around her small body. He slanted her lips, his tongue sliding across her mouth with insistence until she opened herself to him. Well, two can play at this game she thought with a smirk, sliding her hands down his naked chest in slow circles and pinching the sensitive male nipples.

"Meryl" he groaned into the kiss as her smooth hands glided closer to the bulge beneath the sheets. Vash realized too late the game had been turned on him, his hips jerking forward when she brazenly brushed against his erection while a suppressed groan escaped his lips. "Meryl!" he gasped, wrenching his mouth away from hers to stare shocked into her face.

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Vash managed to move off Meryl and drop beside her, still buried deep inside his insurance girl. He wrapped his arms arounder her small form and lifted her over his body, stretching her form onto his own. The two lay against each other for several minutes, both breathing heavily but content in the arms of one another. The silence was only broken by the soft sound of a chuckle from the smaller lover.

"You didn't really wash your clothes, did you?" Meryl asked, her voice muffled against his chest.

"No" Vash said, giving a nervous chuckle and hoping she wouldn't begin to scold him about his trickery. To his utter surprise she let out a contented laugh, snuggling closer and closing her eyes. He felt her breathing even as she slept, a contented grin on his face as he joined her.

A woman ran through the darkened streets, gasping as her tired lungs tried to find enough air while she continuously looked behind her in terror. Suddenly she was slammed to the ground with a firm jarring of her person, the scream in her mouth stifled as she felt teeth rip into the flesh of her neck. Her vision blurred as the figure atop her form pulled away and stared at her with amusement, the ice blue eyes watching as she slowly slipped into the eternal sleep...