(A/N-Sorry for the really late story update! T_T
Life has been so hectic lately. Gah! So, yeah. I REALLY appreciate those who are following my story! Thank you all for your love and support! I could never thank you enough! Love and Peace!)

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Chapter 4-Transitions

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"That day, that time, 130 years ago we were born, weren't we? There was nothing but peaceful days, and Rem was always close behind us. But our disagreeing thoughts changed each of our ways of life, didn't they? I don't regret it. I will vow once again not to kill, not to betray, but to find happiness, to talk about my dreams, because the ticket to the future is always blank."
~Vash

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Millie let out a loud scream, immediately waking Vash from his sleep. He leapt out of bed, half asleep. Meryl let out a surprised cry as he jumped up from bed. She lost her balance and slipped out of the sheets. She landed on the floor with a loud thump.

"Ow! Damnit! What the hell?"
Vash saw Millie standing in the hallway, her gun hoisted on her shoulder and aimed into the bedroom door.

"Who are you?!"She cried, just as Vash had reached her. Her eyes were filled with sheer terror as she met Vash's.

"Don't shoot, Millie. Please. It's okay." He said to her calmly, he coaxed the massive weapon from her grasp.

"W-who is this man?" She stammered, never taking her eyes off the man in the bed.
Vash mentally kicked himself; he and Meryl both had failed to tell Millie about their extra house-guest. This almost proved a fatal mistake on Knives' part.

"Millie, this is my brother. His name is, Knives."
She looked at Vash then Knives, then back at Vash, dumbfounded.
"Your brother?"
"What is all the damn noise for?" Meryl mumbled down the hall as she poked her head out her bedroom door.

"Why didn't you guys tell me?" Millie screeched, shaking her fists.
Vash rubbed the back of his head nervously.

"It, just...slipped our minds I guess. Sorry, Millie!"
"And you're half naked!" Millie cried, pointing at Vash's lack of clothing.
Embarrassed, Vash held a hand over his boxer shorts, as if it were actually helping to cover his bareness.
"Sorry Millie! Sorry!"

Finally, Knives, the man tied up in the bed, spoke up.
"Will you all just shut up already?!"
Millie and Vash fell silent at the sudden outburst.
"Just what exactly do you plan on doing with me?" He huffed. "Are you just gonna keep me tied up like this forever?"

Vash didn't answer his question immediately. He turned back to Millie and then to Meryl.
"You two go make yourselves a cup of coffee or something. Make yourselves some breakfast. Just leave him to me for now."

Both women agreed and decided they would go pick up breakfast so they could get out of the house. They left quickly without a word after Meryl dressed.
Good. The less Knives knew about the girls, the better off they were incase Knives decided to go postal. Maybe.

"Knives, I'm not afraid to kill you anymore."
Knives could only look up at his brother helplessly.

"I will give you a chance to live normally here with me. You slip up, you're done for. No questions asked. Simple as that."

"You gotta be kidding right?"Knives scoffed.
In the blink of an eye, Vash drew his gun and fired one shot just above Knive's shoulder, missing him by mere centimeters. Smoke leaked from the new hole in the mattress. Knives let out a surprised cry. His mouth hung open in shock.

"I'm not joking Knives. You never took me seriously, but I suggest you do from now on."

Knives gritted his teeth together and glared at Vash with an intensity he had not seen in quite a while.

"Never." Knives growled. "You're still a pathetic wimp. If you had really changed your ways, you would have killed me already. I will never bow to your will, Vash."

"I see." Vash replied, unblinking. "I think you need time to think about this."
Vash leaned over Knives, making sure his restraints were tight. He calmly left the room, and closed the door behind him, leaving his brother to contemplate his options.
"VASH! God damnit! VAASH!"

Knives' cries of protest went on into the afternoon. After breakfast, after Millie left for work, and even after lunch. Vash and Meryl realized he must have finally given up when they heard a long bout of silence.

Vash peaked into his room to make sure he hadn't escaped.
Knives simply passed out from all the struggling and yelling. It certainly wasn't doing his wounds any good to move so much. Vash let out a sigh of relief, and went to go find Meryl.

Vash found her outside on the front porch, where she couldn't hear Knives as loudly.
"Finally." Meryl sighed. "God, he puts up a fight. He really IS your brother huh?"

Vash rolled his eyes and smiled. His attention suddenly turned to Meryl. He smiled at her as she rocked back and forth in the chair. He moved closer and leaned against the house.
"I'm sorry about last night." Meryl said quietly, changing the subject. She bowed her head forward slightly in embarrassment.
Vash, confused, leaned over and perked her head back up to face him with his index finger. He cocked an eyebrow at the raven haired girl as her face turned a pinkish color. She noticed he had taken time to spike his hair that afternoon. She hadn't seen him with his hair spiked up that nice in a while.

"I'm afraid I don't understand." He responded, withdrawing his hand from the tip of her chin.
"What are you sorry for?"

His aqua eyes glinted with a childish amusement. Meryl's heart skipped a beat. She shuffled one foot on the floor uncomfortably.

"I'm sorry for spilling my guts on you like that." She said, biting her lip.
"I was just drunk. That's all."

She turned away from Vash and rose from her chair, heading back inside. Her efforts were thwarted when Vash reached out and wrapped his arm around her waist. Meryl's stomach lurched as he pulled her back and into his arms.

"We were both drunk hon.'" He said, placing his other arm around her waist. He pulled her close and rested his chin down on her shoulder. Meryl struggled not to tremble so noticeably.
'Did he just call me hon?' she thought to herself.

"Sometimes, people just say what they feel when they're drunk. You should know this by now."
He chuckled softly. Goosebumps rose up on Meryl's arms as his breath tickled her neck and rustled her hair. She leaned into his embrace, letting herself melt.

"So, you did mean all those things you said last night, right?"

Vash asked teasingly."You didn't think I'd forget did you?"
Meryl lightly pulled away to face him again.

"I meant every word." She said, folding her arms over her chest to signify her seriousness.
"Never hold back in matters of the heart, right?" Vash said, smiling down at the small woman.
Meryl felt a huge blush rise to her cheeks at the memory of an old conversation with Millie.
At the time, Vash was passed out unconscious. Or, at least, they thought he was.

"That's what Millie said right? Maybe I worded it wrong…"
Meryl sighed heavily. "You were supposed to be sleeping, ya broom head!" She shoved him away playfully.

"Why did you deny it for so long?" he questioned.

"Why are you asking me so many questions lately?" Meryl retorted.

"C'mon Mer!" He pleaded, taking her hand in his.

"Why does that matter?" she shouted, flicking his hand off hers as if they were glued.
"We're here together, and we're alive. That's all that should matter."
Meryl responded.

"And you STILL deny your feelings. You won't even let me hold your hand, see?"
Vash shook his head and attempted a fake pout, but Meryl merely turned away and hid her smile beneath her hand.

"Someone once hurt you. And you're afraid that I'll hurt you too. Right?"
Meryl's head whirled back to meet his blue eyes. Her eyebrows furrowed together in annoyance at his stupid assumption. Vash offered his hand once again. It hung in the air for what seemed like forever before Meryl finally took it.

"Let's go out tonight. For old time's sake."
Vash said as he rose from his crouching position, Meryl's hand still in his.
"We can go when Mille returns from work. I feel all cooped up in this place."

"But, what about Knives?" Meryl asked, folding her arms over her chest yet again. "I'm not leaving Millie here with your evil twin."

"Meryl, trust me. Knives is not getting up and out of that bedroom door. His injuries are too great. Besides, Big-Girl can take care of herself."
Meryl still hesitated.
"I'll think about it." She said. "Yesterday and today were my only two days off this week."
Vash rolled his eyes. "Excuses!" he proclaimed loudly.
"Shh!"
"Oops. Sorry."
"You seem really calm about all this." Meryl said."So, what ARE we going to do about him?"
Vash seemed to stare out into space as he contemplated a decent answer.
"I don't really know." He said finally. "If he doesn't comply with my wishes, I suppose I'll have to.."
He didn't have the heart to finish a sentence that sounded so evil.
"What exactly ARE your wishes for him?" Meryl questioned. She took a seat on the first step of the porch and rested her chin in her palm.
"He can either live happily with us as a normal person, or not at all. I know Knives isn't going to give in so easily, especially not to me. You can't change a person like him so easily overnight."

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Millie arrived home late. She was yet again, covered in mud and dirt as she trudged inside, dropping her belongings in a trail behind her.
"Ugh, what a day!" She groaned aloud as she threw herself onto the couch in the living room.
Meryl poked her head out from the kitchen. "Hey Millie!"
"Hello, Meryl!"
Meryl felt a pang of guilt about her rude awakening earlier that morning. So, she and Vash teamed together to make a huge dinner for her when she came home.
"We made dinner if you're hungry." Meryl called out to Millie, as she busily untied her boots and threw them aside.
"That sounds great. Thanks Meryl."
"Workin' like a man out there?" Vash asked teasingly as he returned from Meryl's bedroom. He had changed his clothing and un-spiked his hair. He had combed it in a manner Millie had never seen before. She glanced up at Vash and smiled widely.
"My, my, you sure do look nice." She complimented the blonde man.
Vash blushed lightly and grinned.
"Oh yeah? Thanks!"
"And do I smell cologne?" Millie asked. "Gee, what's the occasion?"
"Well, Meryl and I are going out tonight." He said, smiling sheepishly.
"I told you, I'd think about it!" Meryl corrected the man from the kitchen, but her voice was drowned out by a squealing Millie.

"Aww, really? That's so sweet! It's about time you two hit it off, I tell ya! I've been waiting for forever!" Millie of course, already knew. She couldn't help herself still.

Vash laughed and blushed even deeper as he shuffled his feet nervously like an awkward teen on his first date.

But, when Vash thought about it, it really WAS his first date. Sure, there's been a few other girls in his life, long before Meryl. Nothing serious. Nothing had ever been so formal. Vash realized, being who he was, it was impossible to have a normal relationship. But Meryl was different.
She was certainly special.

He noticed Meryl walk out from the kitchen, with a drink in hand for Millie.
"I have nothing to wear." Meryl said to him, smiling sheepishly. Millie snatched the tea from her friend and gulped it down noisily.
"Not true, you have lots of nice things to wear!" Vash corrected her.

Meryl gave Vash a questioningly long stare, and headed back to her room. There on her bed, her small black dress was laid out, complete with a pair of her matching black heels on the floor beside it.

Meryl turned around to see Vash leaning against the doorframe.
"Well? Any other excuses?"

Meryl picked up her dress and stared at it before dropping it back on the bed.
"None at the moment." She replied.

"To be honest, I'm not sure if I should be flattered, or just creeped out." She said quietly.
Vash looked as if he'd been punched in the face just then. Meryl flinched at how sharp those words came out.
"I found those in the laundry room by the way." He replied."I was looking for something nice for me to wear. And I found this. I knew it couldn't belong to Millie. It's far too small for her."
Meryl frowned, a pang of guilt struck her.
"Ya know..." she began, trying to think of something to soften the blow of how that last remark sounded. "These heels are gonna hurt after a while. If we're gonna have to walk into own and back..."
"I'll carry you then." Vash quickly responded.
Meryl sighed heavily. She realized she couldn't win.
"I'm just trying to be a gentleman, Meryl." He said, grinning that stupid grin again.

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Millie suddenly felt a painful loneliness. Her heart literally ached as she absent mindedly gazed out the window. She idly stirred her stew around in her bowl sloppily with one hand as she stared out the window at the moons hanging in the sky.

She let out a sad sigh as her attention went back to the food on her plate.
"This food is so good." She murmured. "I just wish you were here to share it with me…"
She trailed off, burying her face in her hand, Millie began to sob quietly.

"Nicholas."
It was only when she was alone that she felt a terrible longing. An empty silence all around. She felt consumed.

Sure, she was happy for Vash and Meryl. But her heart ached for what could have been. What should have been…

Millie's thoughts were interrupted by a loud crash from the other room. It sounded like it came from Knives' room. Millie grabbed her stun gun once again and rushed into the room.
"Ouch! Damnit!" the man cursed as he lay helplessly on the floor.

"Did you fall out of bed?" Millie asked, lowering her gun.
"No shit, I fell outta bed!" he snapped, wriggling quite comically around on the floor.
"Do you expect to get back into bed by yourself?" she asked, suppressing a small giggle.
"How dare you mock me!" Knives snapped again.

Before he could protest any further, Millie leaned over and picked the man up in her arms with ease.
"What the-?"
She gently laid him back into bed and laid a flimsy sheet over him.
"Better?" Millie asked, smiling.
Knives simply nodded, still scowling at the woman.
"You must be hungry." Millie said. "I'll go get you some of Vash and Meryl's delicious food!"

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A/N-Poor Millie, she just wants someone to lean on. SORRY about my weird story layout. I hope its not hard to read, as every chapter of mine looks different it