23. Brown-Eyed Girl
"I've always been intrigued by these," Meryl confessed, fiddling with Vash's infamous orange sunglasses as the two languished in bed one Sunday morning.
"Have you now?" Vash teased, regarding her through sleepy lids, propping himself up with one arm. "Is it because I'm a dashing, rogue gunman from the Outer, while you are a sheltered city girl, innocent to the ways of alcohol, gunpowder, and promiscuity?"
"Ha!" Meryl snorted. "First of all, I can out-drink you, and I'm half your size," she stated with the authority of a prosecutor during a cross-examination, tallying each point off on her fingers, "and second, I received top marks in weapons defense during field training."
"You cannot out-drink me!" Vash argued. "I have like a foot and a hundred pounds on you, Short Girl!"
"Oh yeah? Remember Millie's birthday party last month?"
Vash grumbled under his breath, sticking out his bottom lip childishly. "That was one time."
Meryl simply raised her eyebrows and laughed. Turning over, she snuggled closer, lazily spinning the lenses between her fingers, admiring the way the morning sunlight was refracted in them, making little orange spots dance around the room. "Besides," she whispered huskily. "After what we did last night, I don't think either of us can be called innocent."
She felt Vash's laugh rumble against her back. "Oh, right," he said, playfully wrapping an arm around her. "Now THAT was fun… who knew it was insurance girls you had to watch out for in bed?"
"But I'm not just any insurance girl…" Meryl giggled. She jumped up and spun to face Vash, slipping the sunglasses onto her face as she did. "I'm Derringer Meryl, most feared outlaw in the Outer!" She pointed her fingers into a mock gun and aimed at Vash, sticking out her tongue and closing one eye in a show of concentration. "And I've got you in my sights… bam!"
Expecting at least a giggle, Meryl was surprised when Vash merely stared at her, his mouth slightly agape. It could have been called a look of shock, but there was something darker bubbling behind his eyes.
"Vash?" Meryl asked tentatively, her pose drooping slightly. "Are you okay?"
"You look… you look…." Vash stumbled, his breathing starting to come in rapid, shallow gasps. Even with the space between them, it could be seen that he was shaking. He seemed to not only be staring at her, but through her.
"Vash?" Meryl pressed, her voice straining around her alarm. "What's wrong? You're scaring me!"
Without warning, Vash vaulted from the bed and ran from the room, snatching the sunglasses from off her nose in one swift movement. Meryl heard him slam the bathroom door, and then the unmistakable click of the lock being turned. Instinctively, Meryl held a hand against her face, as if Vash had slapped her.
In the bathroom, Vash turned on the faucet at the sink to hide the sound of his anguished sobs. Perching on the edge of the bathtub like a broken bird, he buried his face in his trembling hands, letting the glasses fall to the tile floor with a clatter.
She looked… she looked like she had brown eyes with those on…
Vash felt his horror and confusion rise in his throat, and promptly became sick in the nearby toilet. He gripped the white porcelain as if clinging for dear life, all the while crying like only a lost child can.
She looked like she had brown eyes… just like… just like her…
Rem…
After that, Meryl never saw the orange sunglasses again.
A/N: Written in response to noticing Vash's eyes look brown behind his orange sunglasses. Also, how in Episode 25 of the anime, Vash sees Rem's face superimposed over Meryl's, and it's one of the only times Vash shows open affection for Meryl. And I know this was supposed to symbolize how Meryl's actions gave Vash hope to continue with his journey, but it was so heavy-handed it came off as weird to me (and a little creepy).