Lili stood at her front door, a look of uncertainty on her face and her hand clutched tightly around Natalya's. She promised her girlfriend and herself that she would tell Vash about their relationship. A whirlwind of scattered thoughts and emotions frenzied in Lili's mind: Her dread if Vash rejected her and her guilt for not telling him sooner. In her mind, every conceivable negative outcome played out like film.

"Are you sure you're ready?" Natalya asked.

Lili eased. Natalya's voice had that effect on her.

"Yes." she replied. She turned the knob with her free hand, opened the door, and entered, leading Natalya along into her home.

The door lead to the incredibly tidy living room. Most people would keep such a room neat and clean for the sake of visitors. Vash and Lili kept it that way for the sake of it being that way. Vash was sitting in his armchair, reading the latest from his mystery series of choice, when the two girls had entered.

"Hey Vash..." Lili greeted, fidgeting with her skirt.

"Hello." replied Vash, looking up from his book. "Did you have a good day?"

"Yeah...um, this is my friend, Natalya."

"Oh, you're Ivan's sister, right?"

"I am." Natalya answered.

"And...um..." Lili began.

"Hm?" asked Vash.

"She's..." Lili paused for a much-needed calming breath. "She's my girlfriend."

Lili looked at Vash with a worried face, hoping and pleading for the best. Vash's face didn't show any clear emotion when he looked from Lili to Natalya.

"Is this true?" he asked.

"It is." Natalya answered, still holding Lili's hand.

Vash turned to Lili and saw tears welling in her eyes as she fidgeted her skirt and tightened her grasp on Natalya's hand. Vash's face softened as he turned back to Natalya.

"Would you like to stay for dinner, Natalya?" he asked with a warm, subtle smirk.

Lili was stunned silent. She wasn't sure what she expected to come from her brother's mouth, but it certainly wasn't that.

"I would love to." said Natalya, wearing a smirk of her own as she turned to Lili. After the reality sank in, Lili's stunned look grew into a relieved smile.

After telling the story of how her and Natalya had met and got together, Lili was mostly quiet throughout dinner as she watched Natalya tell Vash about herself. Vash and Natalya then had lengthy discussions about their respective collections of guns and knives, as well as, oddly enough, politics. Lili could only smile at how well they were getting along.

Sure enough, the time had come for Natalya to head home, so she shook hands with Vash, gave Lili a kiss, and waved them both goodbye as she walked out the door.

"She seems nice." Vash said after Natalya left.

"She is." Lili replied, turning to her brother. Vash saw that Lili was smiling, but she was also trembling.

"What is it?" he asked. He was then enveloped in Lili's embrace. He could hear her choke back tears. Before he could ask what was wrong, he heard her utter a quiet "thank you". She let go went to her room.

After a short while, Vash smiled, glad to see his little sister had found happiness.