CHAPTER 10
Vash once again looked like his old self, save for the melancholy expression on his now cleanly-shaven face. He hadn't said much to the girls (also known as the Beard Bandits) since their attack, although that hadn't been much more than half an hour ago. Meryl was just glad that the blond liability was once again bearable to look at. She now wished that Vash'd cheer up, but knowing Vash, he wouldn't.
He sat opposite Meryl at the table, looking like some little kid who just had his lunch money stolen. It was only her and Vash in the room as Wolfwood and Millie took off after ten minutes of observing the moping gunman. She couldn't blame them; it certainly wasn't the most exciting pastime in the world. In fact, it was more boring than writing insurance reports, if that was even possible.
"Vash…"
The outlaw looked up at his name, slowly and sadly. Meryl had to hold back an irritated groan. He was really overdoing it, but what other kind of reaction was she expecting from Vash, a normal one? Like that would happen.
"Vash, will you get over it already?" Meryl pleaded.
The gunman shook his head no. "That was the greatest beard I'd ever had," he lamented.
Leave it to Vash to get sentimental over a beard, of all things, Meryl thought, with an exasperated sigh escaping her. Drastic measures had to be taken to help the crazy outlaw, even if it meant actually telling Vash that he looked good.
"Would you feel better if I told you that you looked much better without it?" the insurance agent asked.
"Really?" Vash sounded like he didn't quite believe her.
Meryl nodded. "Yes, really."
Vash offered his pinky finger to Meryl and asked in all seriousness, "Pinky swear?"
The request took Meryl by surprise. "As long as you promise not to grow another beard when I'm around," she replied.
Vash nodded. "We have a deal, then."
He wrapped his little finger around Meryl's and they proceeded to share a pinky handshake. The whole idea of pinky swears seemed silly to Meryl, but it seemed to satisfy Vash. His face brightened up considerably.
"I guess not having a beard won't be so bad," the outlaw stated, giving her a roguish grin.
The insurance agent shook her head with a smile on her face. The old, beardless Vash was back. Perhaps her life would become somewhat normal again for a week or two.
"Can I at least have a goatee?" the outlaw asked hopefully.
Horrendous visions of a horrendous goateed Vash causing horrendous fiascos immediately filled Meryl's mind. She glared at the blond gunman in order to quell these ideas in his silly spikèd head.
Vash giggled nervously. "Just kidding."
Meryl crossed her arms across her chest and smiled. "I thought so." Vash cautiously returned the smile, starting small but quickly growing into a typical Vash the Stampede grin.
Maybe a life following after the trail of the first Localized Disaster would not be a normal one in any aspect, but at least the Disaster himself wasn't that bad. Vash was definitely a good person, if not very strange.
Meanwhile, a random thought had occurred to Wolfwood.
"How would I look with a beard?" he wondered aloud.
Millie studied the priest for a moment. "You'd look like a ruffian," she finally concluded.
THE END
Author's notes!
Thus ends my first multi-chaptered Trigun story! I hope you enjoyed it!
Some thanks are in order:
Thanks to TwlightStar7 once again, for her constant listening to me ramble about ideas and her input. The line about Wolfwood looking like a ruffian was her comment about a bearded Wolfwood I drew! Thank you!!
Also, thanks to TMNTgrl, who was always the first to review the chapters as I uploaded!
Thanks to They Might Be Giants for writing the song "Why Did You Grow A Beard?"
And thanks to everyone who read this!! I appreciate it!