Lucky Meryl Fanfiction

Vash peeped in from the back window. “No ropes required.” He added with a wide grin that made Meryl immediately slam the back window shut. “Aw…” his pout was muffled behind the glass.

“So we just make it to O’nare and do our interview, then we can move on. Maybe to someone less…fiery.” Meryl’s back burned at the thought. She didn’t even want to face him, but at least this way, they could all carry on.

O’nare was a small town, with houses and stores built of mainly adobe. The only wood that someone might find would be some tables and chairs in the local saloon or in someone’s kitchen. Perhaps the houses with shutters also had that bit of wood on the outside. Overall, however, it was a surprise to have found Lynch in a town as small and flame retardant as that one. Still, the lower the risk the better, all things considered, and the three of them would count themselves grateful.

The sheriff seemed surprised that press badges were shown to him, but he smiled as he recognized the two girls. “You’re Meryl and Milly. The Outlaw Insider girls, right?”

At his recognition, Vash found himself hiding behind Milly carefully. If he’s seen one episode of their show, who’s to say he hadn’t seen the first one. The interview with the one and only Humanoid Typhoon.

Milly responded first, a bright “Yep!” accompanying a thumbs up. “We’re here to interview Amorus Lynch please.”

“Oh, so that’s the story now. Well, I hate to get in the way of your show, girls. Make sure you don’t get too close to him. He’s a rough one.”

Meryl nodded, stepping past him into the jail, Vash following closely behind Milly, careful to avoid the sheriff’s attention. The brunette sat on the bench of the cell, propped with his elbows on his knees, and shackles around his wrists and ankles. “Is it time for my hangin’ already?”

Meryl took out her notebook, ignoring the chill down her spine and the burning sensation on her back. “We’re not your judge.” She said firmly. “We’re here for an interview.”

There was a hardy laugh from the man at that. “An interview. Well, ain’t I a popular one?” He stood from his seat, walking over to them with a clang of his chains accompanying his steps. “You’ve got some nerve, walking in to talk to one of the most wanted men on the planet just for the sake a few questions.” He smiled at Meryl, watching her closely.

“A few questions.” She repeated. “Then we’re leaving.” Her voice was firm. Her blood ran cold as his red eyes focused in on her, taking her in from head to toe.

Vash was suddenly firm at her side, Milly on the other. The two had flanked her carefully between them. Milly reached down and held her friend’s hand gently. “Whenever you’re ready, Meryl.”

Meryl looked up at her partner, giving her a firm nod. “Let’s get rolling.”

Milly aimed the camera, Vash took his place behind Milly, and Meryl started the questioning. “So Amorus Lynch. How many cities have you burned to the ground? Do you know?”

There was a bit of a laugh at that. “You can’t check the news yourself, little lady?” He shrugged. “I lost count after eight. Hard to remember which ones I burned and which I simply passed through on my way.”

Meryl seemed more focused on her writing than she was on him. She’d written down his answer, flipping through the pages for her next question. They were all quite tame questions. Do you work alone? How long have you been doing this? And finally…. “Why do you do it?”

The grin he gave her caused her blood to turn to ice. “I’m. Hot.” He said slowly. There was a dark assurance in his answer. “I burn. Because I’m hot.”

“You’re… because you’re hot?” There was a nervous chuckle, anything to lighten the mood. “Like… you think your looks—”

“No. No I don’t give a damn about looks.” His eyes narrowed.  “I mean I’m hot.” He said again. “My blood is boiling. My skin burns. My mouth tastes of smoke.” He took hold of the bars, letting the chains hit the metal with a loud clang. “There’s a fire inside me. And I want everyone to feel it too.” His eyes bore into her. “And there’s a fire inside you, too. Isn’t there?”

Meryl didn’t respond. She couldn’t. She couldn’t think of an answer to him. No. Right? That was the answer. “How did it start? The…the burning?”

“Hell if I know.” He shrugged. “I was born this way. My mother could have no more children because of me. Not that she’d want to after meeting her one and only son. I don’t have some kind of sob story of being abandoned or abused, so don’t pity me.

“I killed my mother when I was thirteen. I killed her because she dared to bring me into this world, just to burn. So I made her feel my pain. My father ran from me. So I took him too. I melted their flesh beneath my hands and left our home filled with smoke and decay.

“I don’t know if it’s living so close to a dying plant, or just some out of this world genetic mutation, but I found myself able to burn someone with a single touch. Then I could set a fire if I tried hard enough. The flame got hotter inside me. I think it might have burned the soul from my bones. There’s no anger in what I do. There is only equality. I burn, and so does the world. I hurt, and so does everyone else. This is fair.”

As he said this, a scent of smoke filled the air. “You’re already burning, aren’t you?”

“I’m fine.” Meryl said firmly, shaking herself out of her thoughts. “How did you get caught?”

“Would you believe I let myself?”

She could feel the heat radiating from him, causing her to wish she hadn’t stood so close. Finding herself thankful of the chains around his wrists. “Why would you let yourself get caught?”

“Because maybe when they hang me, the burning will stop.” He said simply. There was an odd peace to this. “I want the burning to stop.”

Meryl wrote this last note down. The idea that he had abilities and allowed him to burn an object, or a person for that matter, with a single touch, would have been thrown out the window five years ago. But she’d met people who were insects. Living independent plants. People who could alter soundwaves. She’d seen too many mutations on No Man’s Land to ignore him. “I don’t believe that death is the answer.” She told him. “I don’t believe that dying will erase what you’ve felt.”

“Then maybe I’ll rise from the ashes. Like a phoenix, reborn to once again set fire to the world. If I do not stop burning, I will take humanity down in flames with me.”

“And you’re just… going to let them kill you? What has stopped you before?”

There was a bit of a shrug at that. “The guns and knives melt. The alcohol evaporates. My body doesn’t want to die.”

“Do you think that’s because you aren’t supposed to? There has to be a way you can control it.”

“Control is not the issue here.” His voice became low and a gruff laugh left his lips. “I can keep from hurting a single soul on this planet if I really wanted to. But it won’t stop the pain I feel. Nothing will stop it.” He glared at her then. “Like I said. Don’t fucking pity me, girl.”

“I’m not…” She was. “I don’t mean to. I just don’t think dying is what you have to do.”

“When you find an alternative, just let me know. I’ve been trying for thirty-three years.” He let go of the bars and held the chains tightly in his hands. “So what did I do to you?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean where did I burn you? You think I don’t notice my own handwriting?” There was another low laugh at that.

Meryl could practically feel her friends glare past her at the man behind bars. “My back.” She told him. “But it’s better now. I can live with it. And so can you.”

The chain dropped between him, melted through the center, and in that moment, he grabbed her by the wrist, pulling her close. She could feel her hand burning against his, and she cried out. “What part of I want to die can’t you fucking understand?”

The camera fell to the ground behind her. Milly and Vash were at her side now. Vash’s gun aimed at Lynch’s head. Milly began prying his fingers from Meryl’s wrist. Her face twisted in pain, but she continued pulling until his hand let her loose, sending Meryl tumbling backwards onto the hard floor. Lynch backed up from the three of them, hands up in surrender. “Does this mean the interview is over?”

Vash did not lower his gun. Hie eyes were narrow, and fist clenched, just a twitch from pulling the trigger. “Vash.”  Meryl held her hand carefully, examining the blisters already growing.

 Vash’s voice was low. “We should leave.” His jaw was set, eyes narrow. This was a look she’d seen before, long before. When his temper actually got to him. He holstered his gun, keeping his fist clenched at his side. “Come on.” He tore his eyes away from the man, leading Meryl away with a hand on her back. Milly picked up the camera and followed behind. Vash practically growled at the Sheriff as he passed. “His chains came off. You might want to contain him a little better.”

Meryl let herself be lead to the clinic. She watched as the doctor applied salve and bandages to her hand, staying quiet. Milly tried to give her comforting words like, the camera is fine, just needs a new lens. The footage is still good before then. We’re done with him.

That was the best part. They were done with him.

Vash, however, stayed quiet, silently stewing in his own anger. He never left. He stood by the door as the doctor worked with a look that dared the man to call him out as the Humanoid Typhoon. There was a time when this visage of him might have scared her. But, as she’d known all along, he was still Vash. He wasn’t going anywhere. He wasn’t going to hurt anyone.

The doctor let her go with a jar of ointment and care instructions that she already knew. He treated the light burns on Milly’s fingers, but luckily they weren’t severe enough for bandaging. The walk to the inn was quiet. Milly seemed afraid to speak. Vash was still angry. And Meryl? Well she was awkwardly in the middle of them both, feeling guilty for even getting them involved.

Milly opened the door to their room and looked back at Meryl. “I’m going to shower first, okay?” She didn’t wait for a response before ducking into the room, leaving the two in the hall.

“I’m sorry.”

Vash’s eyes widened. “Sorry? Meryl what are you sorry for?” The anger in his eyes was replaced by confusion as he looked down at her.

“I shouldn’t have stood so close. I keep…” She huffed. “I keep causing such a ruckus. I keep getting hurt.”

Vash took her hand as tenderly as he could. “This is my fault. I’m here to protect you, and I didn’t do that.”

“It’s not your job to keep me out of trouble.” She gave him a bit of a teasing smile. “That’s my job, remember? To keep you from causing havoc?”

He didn’t express the same amusement. His eyes were so focused on her hand that he hadn’t even noticed her smile. “You deserve to be protected.” He said quietly.

“I…I mean.” Once again, words escaped her. Her heart felt weak. Did she deserve that? She was so weak. She should protect herself. She should take care of herself. She should be stronger. “I mean. I know. I just… I want to protect myself.”  She said before giving him a halfhearted laugh. “Look unless you’re going to kiss it better, can I have my hand back?”

Instead, however, his gentle hand lifted hers to his lips, pressing them to her knuckles. “I figure a fist bump might be a little difficult right now.”

She wished she could blame the burn, or the heat, or even simply exhaustion for the flush in her cheeks. She gripped his hand a little too firmly, causing her to wince and bring herself back to reality. “Right. Thank you.”

“Let me help you.” It sounded like a plea as it left his lips. “Let me keep you safe.” He lowered her hand back to her side and looked into her eyes. “Let me protect you, Meryl.”

She found herself avoiding his stare. “Yeah well…” She swallowed the lump in her throat. “That goes for you, too.” The mumbled. “You deserve to be safe, too. You deserve to have someone on your side.”

He gave her a gentle smile. “Thank you.” He laid a hand on her shoulder. “You are taking all of this a lot differently than I expected. No offense, but you aren’t scared?”

“Hm…” She shrugged a bit. “I don’t think I can be. If I’m scared then I won’t get my job done… I’ll freeze. Like I did before. And I hurt you.”

“Meryl…” He pulled her to his chest, leaning down into her shoulder. “It’s okay to be afraid. You don’t have to save someone’s feelings at the cost of your own.” She found herself reaching up to clench his coat at that, ignoring the burning in her hand. He wrapped his arms around her. “You deserve to feel.”

And she cried. She cried into his chest, clinging to him like a child. The job, the fire, the meeting, the burns. It all fell on her at once. Her sobs were soft, with quiet whimpers against him. The whole time, he rubbed her back gently, never saying a word. As the tears subsided she pulled away gently, wiping her tears with the uninjured hand. “I… I’m so—” She already knew he wouldn’t accept that. “Thank you.”

He leaned down further, pressing his forehead to hers. “Don’t hold back anymore, okay?”

“Mm…” The sound was all she could manage. Don’t hold back. Don’t hold back…Her fear? Her pain? Her weakness? All of her feelings? She closed her eyes, simply enjoying the closeness.

Maybe there had been more if they had the time. Maybe she’d have moved closer. Maybe she’d have told him everything.

If they were traveling for pleasure, the three of them could say their vacation was relatively enjoyable. They were able to see friends that they hadn’t seen in years. People like Brandon Marlon, and Miss Melanie from the orphanage. It was unfortunate to have to give her the news on Wolfwood’s passing, but she seemed like it was almost expected, albeit heartbreaking.

They met up with Kaite, who was now, legally, working on sandsteamers. He’d grown so much. He was a young man now, and had worked up the ranks to being one of the head engineers on the steamers. He was even able to grant them passage on the one he managed for free.

Luida was a sight for sore eyes. Milly had scooped her up into a hug the moment they saw her, Vash and Meryl laughing gently at the scene. It was a nice break from traveling for a few days staying with her, but when their feet had rested and the itch to keep moving settled under Meryl’s skin, she was practically dragging her two partners back out into the desert.

The most interesting visit that they’d made, was to a girl Meryl hadn’t met before. Lina and her grandmother pulled Vash into a strong embrace. The younger cried upon seeing him, touching his hair gently.

“Wow Lina. You’re growing up so fast.” Vash laughed, patting the girl on the head. “I almost didn’t recognize you.”

She gave him a punch on the arm. “Yeah yeah. Where have you been? You should have visited a long time ago!” There was blush proudly spread across her cheeks.

Meryl smiled at the girl. So that was the one who cared for Vash after the fifth moon incident, huh? This is where he had settled down and lived…normally for a bit. There was a bit of sadness as she thought about this. Could he go back to living a normal life? Was having him chase her around ruining what could be considered retirement?

Dinner was cleaned up, Milly ducked off to bed, followed by Lina and her grandmother. Meryl considered following Milly, but found her mind still buzzing with the idea of what Vash could be doing, instead of wandering from town to town as he always had. Instead of sleeping, in that case, she decided on a walk. It was chilly. Without the warmth of the suns, the dry cold wind caused chill bumps on her arms before she ducked into the town saloon.

It was relatively quiet, as far as bars are considered. There was a gramophone playing in the corner, a low rumble of chit chat among the men (and a few women) that occupied the room, and the clink of glasses for those being served.

It’d been a while since she’d had a drink, she thought. So headstrong into her goal of  finding her next big scoop, she’d barely given herself any chance at relaxing. She took a seat at an empty table, ordering one beer from the waitress, and picked at the splintered wood as she waited. She heard the movement of the chair in front of her and readied a glare at the intruder before even looking up.

“Hey Meryl.”

She blinked slowly. “Uhm. Hi, Vash.”  The waitress brought her beer and Vash ordered his own. “Why are you… did you follow me?”

“Yep!” There was a brilliant smile on his face. He looked like the dopey-faced puppy she first met and she couldn’t help the warmth in her heart at the memory. “I can’t have you getting into too much trouble without me, after all.”

How the tables had turned. For years she chased him down, trying to keep an eye on him, trying to keep him out of trouble….trying to keep him safe. But now he was here. He chose to be here. He chose to keep her close and out of her own mess. “I can take care of myself.” She mumbled as she brought her mug to her lips. “You’re the one that causes trouble.”

He laughed. “Yeah I guess you’re right about that.” He accepted his own drink from the waitress with a smile and a ‘thank you’ before she left. “But you left alone. You’ve been in your head all day. I was worried about you.”

Meryl couldn’t help the flush on her cheeks. Stop it. She told herself. Stop it stop it stop it. She was willing the blush to go away before he noticed. “I’m fine. Thank you.” Her tone was short.

“Mm.” He nodded. “Man this place sure has changed.” He glanced around the room, stretching at the same time. “This place used to be eat up with bullet holes. They did a lot of fixin’ up since I left.”

“You were here for a while, right?”

“Two years.” He commented. “Lina and Sheryl were very kind to take care of me back then. I owe them a lot.”

“Do you miss it?”

“Lina and Sheryl? Sure. It’s been great seeing them again.”

“No I mean…” Meryl stared into her drink. “I mean do you miss living an easy life here?”

“Hmm…” Vash thought for a long moment. Meryl could feel the muscles in her shoulders tensing up as the clocked ticked just a few seconds. “I mean… kind of? I liked it. But there’s something about a normal life that always makes me wonder when the other shoe will drop, you know?”

For some reason that didn’t set her mind at ease. Her thumb ran across the rim of her glass. “But if you knew it was safe. If you could just…erase your reputation. Would you do it?”

“Mm… nah.” He laughed. “I think I’d just get bored.” He leaned over, tipping his head low to look at her face. “What about you?”

“Huh?” She looked up at him. “What about me?”

“I mean do you think you’d ever be able to settle down and live the normal life?”

“I… maybe at another time I could have done that? But now… no. I don’t think the normal life is for me. I feel like if I’m not moving, I’m stuck.” She took a long drink to finish her beer before ordering another.

“Careful.” He teased. “If I remember right, you’re kind of a lightweight.”

“Lightweight?” She glared up at him. “I’m not a lightweight! I can hold my own just fine.”

Vash motioned his hands to lower her voice. “Hey hey. I thought I was the one who caused a scene.” He laughed nervously. “Besides, if I recall, it didn’t take much for you to get incoherent in the past. Maybe two or three beers?”

Meryl’s eyes bore into him as she brewed silently in her thoughts. “Ma’am! Can we get two whiskeys please!”

“You’re having liquor now?” The look he gave her was that of worry. “You don’t need to prove anything.”

“We’re having liquor.” She corrected. “I’m not proving anything. I just want whiskey. And I know that’s your drink of choice. Okay?”

“Alright, alright. We’re having liquor.” He wouldn’t argue with her. In his experience, it never ended well when you chose to argue with one Meryl Stryfe.

That explained the first drink. Getting lost in conversation could almost explain the second glass of whiskey set before them. But when she ordered a third, he started to worry. Alcohol didn’t sit as well as it used to. Now he was more human than ever and his alcohol tolerance was getting to be about the same. “I think that’s enough, short girl.”

Meryl frowned up at him once again, face flushed and a pout on her lips. “You just don’t think I can take another drink.”

“No no. I know you can. But I think I’m done.”

“See? I’m not the lightweight. You’re the lightweight.”

He couldn’t help the chuckle that left him. “Right. You’re right, I’m a lightweight.” At least more so than he used to be.

She groaned, taking a drink of her beer. “I can’t believe we’ve still got nothing on him.” She ran her hand through hair. “We’ve been at this for weeks and just…just dead end after dead end.”

Vash wasn’t going to complain that they hadn’t run into a serial arsonist slash murderer in their adventures. If he were being honest, meeting up with all of their friends was actually his favorite part of traveling. He could do with just that. But he’d support her, nonetheless. “We’ll get something soon. We’re scouring the planet, after all. So it’s only a matter of time.”

There was a small huff from the woman. “Yeah well… I need a matter of less time.” With that she downed the last of her beer. This time, she didn’t order another drink. Perhaps she’d proven her point well enough. She glanced up at Vash, meeting a warm smile in return that made her heart flip.

No. No no no. She’d gotten over it. She’d gotten over him. She’d moved on. He was… just a friend. Just a partner in all this. She used all of her will power to try and get her pulse to slow down, but his smile faded into a frown and she felt her insides sink.

“Are you alright, Meryl?” He was concerned. Of course he was concerned. Of course he was just… just good. Of course when she needed most to forget that, he’d give her a gentle glance, with brows furrowed just a bit and make her remember just what it was that she fell for years ago.

“M’fine.” She muttered, turning her eyes away from him. Her cheeks only reddened further, which she hoped she could simply blame on the drinks. She wasn’t so far gone that she’d try to acknowledge it, after all.

She heard his soft laugh across from her. “You’re kind of cute when you’re drunk.”

Damn him. She didn’t know if she wanted to spill everything, grab him close and kiss him, or just simply run outside and vomit in the closest dark alley and hope he never found her. “Hush.” She said instead. When did words become so hard?

Vash only chuckled again. They sat in silence for what Meryl considered an awkward amount of time as she stared into her empty glass. When the silence between them broke, it was Vash that spoke up. “This song is nice.”

“Huh?” She lifted her head, listening close to the old gramophone, trying to catch the tune. It was a nice song. A little jazzy. Slow. Maybe something from Earth? She wasn’t sure. There weren’t any words. “Oh… yeah.”

“Do you want to dance?”

“I…what?” She blinked at him, jaw dropped in shock before she shook the expression from her face. “I mean…  this isn’t really the dancing place. It’s a bar.”

“C’mon.” He took her hand, pulling her to her feet. “No one here cares. Maybe we can make it a thing? Dancing in the bar.”

She stumbled a bit, the alcohol in her stomach flowing into her head. She fell against him, hand still in his before stepping back carefully. “Sorry uhm…” She took a deep breath. “I’m not really a dancing type.”

She wasn’t sure if Vash didn’t hear her or just didn’t care, because he gently led her to an open spot between the tables and the wall and placed his right hand on her hip, his prosthetic left holding hers. “It’s easy. Just follow me.”

With the way her head floated, she didn’t have much of a choice. He turned her and swayed with her to the music, holding her close. Her vision began to drift from the focus she was trying to keep on his coat, up to his neck, then his lips, until she was finally looking at his eyes. Okay… so she wasn’t over him. She clenched his hand, hoping he couldn’t feel it. Her feet started to freeze beneath her, causing him to have to catch her once…twice.

He stepped back, looking down at her. “Are you okay?” Once again, he was ducking his head down to get a close look. “You’ve had a lot. Do you need to sit down?”

“I uhm… I just…” She stepped back, pushing him away with her hands on his chest. “I think I need to go sleep this off. Get some water. Don’t want to have a hangover tomorrow.” There was an awkward laugh to match the mood she’d placed between them.

“Okay. Let me just get the bill and we’ll leave.” Damn him and that smile. It was supposed to comfort her. She could tell it did. But instead it just made the alcohol burn more and her stomach churned.

“Mmm…mhm. Thanks uhm… I’ll pay you back.” She was not going to puke in front of him. He was not going to see that.

“Meryl?”

“Thanks again, Vash. G’night!” she turned on her heels, feeling the whiskey burning its way back up. She held it back. She held it until she got out the door, round the corner, and into the dark alley between the tailor and the grocer. Just like she’d imagined doing out of sheer embarrassment, she found herself heaving on the ground, propping herself up with a hand against a wall. As she regained some sense of composure, taking deep breaths and, gracefully, wiping her mouth with her hand, she grumbled. “Damn that man…”

How she’d missed him getting back to Lina’s she would never know nor care to find out. She’d made it before he did. He never knew what happened. She just owed him a few double-dollars for the booze and what dignity she had left when they continued their excursion the next morning.

“Feeling better?”

She’d avoided Vash during breakfast, choosing instead to shower and have coffee in her room. Now she was face to face with him as they loaded up the bed of the truck and, even through her hangover, she’d rather look straight into one of the suns than look him in the eye. “M’fine.” She mumbled, giving him a nod as she threw her bag onto the mess of provisions. “How much do I owe you?”

“Don’t worry about it.” His hand came down on her shoulder and he gave her a gentle squeeze. “Just get some water and let me or Milly drive, alright?”

Another silent nod is all she gave him before she went to the cab of the truck, listening to the creak of metal as Vash climbed onto the back. At least she wouldn’t have to sit by him while they traveled. She took the paper from Milly as her partner had approached her with a canteen. “Thanks.” She took a sip of the water—the only true cure for a hangover, she was sure of it—and unfolded the newspaper. “Milly…”

The blonde looked at her, head tilting curiously. “What’s up?”

“Meryl!”

“Senpai!”

The two ran to her immediately, checking her for any injury. “Meryl. Meryl are you okay?” Vash touched her shoulder, gently rolling her over to see her wince as her back hit the gravel. Her back. He realized. He pulled the cape off gently, setting it to the side.

“Oh Senpai…” Milly voice was the sound of defeat as she looked down upon her partner. As the cape came off, the damage came into view. The back of her dress had been burned into her skin in a mix of blood and dirt.

“Shit... Hey! We need a doctor over here! Please!” Vash’s voice was frantic. He was waking tired wounded citizens from their well-deserved rest. A few of them glared at him, others looked on with concern, but most of them just glanced over in unsympathetic curiosity. “Meryl… It’s going to be okay.” He touched her shoulder gently. It had to be okay.

When had it happened? When they were in the building? Why didn’t he notice? Dammit. Why the hell didn’t he notice?! She’d played it off so well. She played it off… just like he always did. Like she was fine. Like there were more important things to worry about. More important people than her.

The doctor crouched in front of him, tiredly cleaning the girl’s back as he stepped away. He wanted to blame himself. This had to be his fault somehow. He didn’t notice. She came back for him. But she still would have been there. With or without him, she’d have been in the heart of danger. Only Milly would have been with her instead. Milly would be the one carrying her out because Meryl had pushed herself too far.

She had always pushed herself too far. And there was no way he could have stopped her from doing so.

It would be midday before Meryl woke up, lying on her stomach on a blanket in what the town had turned into their makeshift clinic. It was a church on the outskirts of town, all the pews had been moved to the walls and in the center were blankets and cots for the injured to rest on while the town’s only living doctor and the few citizens who knew any bit of first aid made their rounds upon the wounded.

She groaned as the pain in her back set in, opening her eyes slowly. Her vision landed on the two, sleeping haphazardly back to back. Milly and Vash looked like siblings leaned against each other on the floor beside her. Milly blinked awake at the sound of her partner. “Senpai!” she leaned forward, causing Vash to drop to the floor with a grunt.

“Milly…” he sat up, rubbing his head gently before looking towards her, only to quickly avert his attention elsewhere. “Meryl!” With that he leaned forward, bracing himself on his hands. “Meryl I’m sorry. I didn’t know you got hurt.”

“Mm…” Meryl huffed a bit. “Honestly neither did I. Not this bad at least.” She acted as though she were going to push herself to a sitting position, but with a wince and a hiss, she gave up, relaxing best as she could onto the blanket once again. “How bad is it?”

“Uhm…” He didn’t know what to say. Bad? Gross? It’s going to scar? His stomach flipped. She was going to be scarred. Like him.

“Don’t worry, Senpai. It’ll be all better in no time!” Milly’s optimism was astounding.

Meryl actually laughed a bit. “So it must be pretty bad, huh?” She reached over, taking Milly’s hand gently. “Thank you both for being here.”

“Well we are a team, after all.” Milly squeezed her hand gently.

Vash was avoiding the shorter girl’s eyes as he mumbled. “Right. We’re a team.”

“That means no running.” Meryl said, firmly. “No self-pity about how everything is your fault or any other brooding.”

The former-blond simply blinked at the woman before laughing gently. “Right. No brooding. Got it.”

To say that the next few days were easy would be a lie. Meryl’s pain came in waves shooting through her skin. Despite living under the heat of two suns, nothing could have prepared her for the burning that had settled into her back. She wasn’t up and about twenty-four hours later like Wolfwood and Vash used to after their many disastrous escapades. She was bed-er… floor bound, feeling the searing ebb of pain flow through her nerves for hours, filled by a short time of peace or sleep. The doctor came by to apply salve to her back and patch it back up, but with limited resources, there wasn’t much he could do in terms of pain management.

Help from the closest town came three days later in the form of busses to transport the remaining citizens, food for those who couldn’t be moved, and more medical assistance. Not much changed for Meryl in this time. Anesthetics were hard to come by, and, despite Milly and Vash telling her otherwise, other people needed them more. They wouldn’t give up on trying to get her some kind of pain relief, and she wouldn’t stop refusing it. People lost limbs. People were burned worse than she was. They needed it more. Perhaps she’d underestimated her own injury, but she could bear it, she thought. She could get through it and heal and be back on her feet. Maybe not as fast as Vash, but as fast as she could.

“He’s only getting further away.” Meryl commented a week later, now able to sit up for a time with her back patched and her front covered by the same bandaging. “Amorous Lynch is going to be near impossible to find after this.”

“You’re still going after that psycho?” Vash frowned. “Meryl he could have killed you.” He handed her a glass of water and she winced at the movement of taking it in her hand. “You don’t need to get caught up in this again.”

“You’re going to just let him go? Shouldn’t you want to save people from him or something?” She stared him down in his silence. “This isn’t just a job, Vash. If I can catch him, I can turn him over to the authorities. Bounty or no, this guy has to be stopped.”

“Yeah but—”

“Does it have to be us?” Milly was the one that spoke up this time. Her brows were furrowed in worry. “We have done enough risk prevention, haven’t we? Isn’t this… isn’t this just too much?”

Meryl frowned at her partner. It wasn’t like the other to run away. It wasn’t like either of them to admit defeat. “We chased down the most wanted person on the planet Milly.” She reminded her.

“And he turned out to be innocent. Do you really think this guy is anything like Mr. Vash?”

Meryl was quiet at that. No. No one was like Vash. She didn’t have an argument for that. They’d lucked out with the most ‘dangerous’ man being nothing but a misunderstood puppy. They wouldn’t be that fortunate again. “He has to be stopped…” She repeated.

“But does he have to be stopped by us?”

The two of them were quiet for a long time. Even Vash couldn’t find the words to break the silence that had settled between them. He could watch the wheels turning between them as they both thought of what to say next to convince each other of what’s best.

“I’m not giving up.” Meryl said firmly. She set her eyes on Milly with determination. “I’m going to catch him. I’m going to stop him.” She clenched the cup in her hands. “And while I’m at it, I’m going to get a hell of a story to tell.” She added, “But if you want to go home, Milly, I understand.” And she did. She always did. If Milly had ever asked to quit or go back to the insurance society or to the office or even just go home to her large family, Meryl would have never held that against her.

Instead, Milly took a deep breath. “Then I guess we’re going.” Her voice was tired. “I can’t exactly leave you to your own destruction, Senpai.”

Meryl couldn’t help but be grateful for that. No, she’d never hold it against her partner for leaving. However, that didn’t mean she wasn’t grateful for the company. “Meryl.” She told Milly firmly.

Milly blinked at the other. “Sorry?”

“We started this job at the same time. Senpai isn’t really correct anymore. Besides, you make more sense than me most of the time. Just call me Meryl.”

“Right… Okay Meryl.” Milly smiled at that, pride beaming on her face.

It wasn’t as though Vash could let the girls go at it alone. And leading them off the trail obviously wasn’t working. So he decided to do the next best thing. He’d go with them. He’d protect them at their side. It was the only option he had. So a month later, when Meryl was able to dress herself fully, despite the burning sensation under her clothes, he was packed and ready to go. “So where to?”

Meryl started to put her cape on, the weight of her derringers pressing to her back before she quickly decided otherwise. “First we have to get a lead. No one here ever saw him, so the best bet is to go to the next town and see if they heard anything. With rumors there is a bit of truth. So we take what we can get.”

Vash took the cape from her, starting the daunting task of removing all of the small guns from their holsters and placing them into her suitcase. He wished she wasn’t so good at this. He wished she didn’t know where to start, but, unfortunately, he’d given her a lot of practice in the last few years.

“And when we find him?” Milly packed their new truck with their bags and what water they could carry. “How are we going to catch him?”

Meryl shrugged a bit. “With rope I guess.”

There was a hesitation before Vash laughed. A hardy laugh from his chest, causing him to double over. “Rope?!” Meryl watched him trying to regain his composure. “That’s your big plan? Rope?”

“Yeah well do you have anything better?” There was a slight pout to her lips as she glared up at the man.

“N-no! No I don’t. But I certainly didn’t expect that to be the only plan we’ve got!”

“Chains might be better…” Milly commented. “He can’t burn through those.”

“He can’t burn through anything if his hands are tied. And rope is easier to carry.” Meryl was already packing said item into the truck.

“I agree with the big girl.” Vash said, amusement still in his voice. “Chains are better. After all, how many times have I gotten out of a rope?”

“You could get out of a concrete block if you tried hard enough. You’re hardly an accurate example.”

He laughed again, this time gently. “Alright. Well pretend you’re trying to catch me…again. Treat this whole scenario like you would with me. Before you knew me.”

Meryl stopped moving for a moment. “Well we don’t know what environment we’ll have when we find him. A town. A village. A big city.” She chewed on her lip as she thought in a way that wouldn’t allow his smile to leave Vash’s face. “I guess it’d be best to corner him somewhere without any wood. Like…like in jail? Or maybe a vault? Like at the bank?”

“He’s never going to banks or jails though sen…Meryl.” Milly corrected. “But concrete walls… those are common in small towns right?”

She nodded. “But finding him in a small town. That’s going to be difficult. He’s going to where he can do the most damage.”

“Then it sounds like the plan is,” Vash started, loading the last bag into the truck and lifting the tailgate. “Corner him in a jail, vault, or otherwise concrete building.”

“Hm… it’s not really much of a plan, but—”

“It’s better than rope.” Vash teased.

“But!” She continued. “It’s a plan.” There was discomfort in her sigh. “We can leave tomorrow.”

Vash and Milly looked on in concern, Milly being the one to speak. “Are you sure you’re ready?”

“As ready as I will be. The longer we wait, the farther he gets, and the more people who get injured.”

Vash shook his head gently. “You’re quite the stubborn one, Meryl.”

“Yeah well… look who my example was.” She nodded toward him. “I don’t think anyone is as stubborn as you are.”

He rubbed the back of his neck shyly. “Yeah I guess you’ve got me there. Just…” He looked down at her, his gentle eyes focused on her. “Please don’t be like me. Be…be better. Smarter. Don’t hurt yourself over this.”

“Bit too late for that.” She laughed.

“I’m serious.”

Meryl nodded, smile fading. “I’ll do my best.” It was all she could promise. “We’ll save as many as we can. And we’ll come out alive on the other side.” But the damage to come was nothing she could anticipate. At least she wouldn’t be alone. “I’ll be okay. As long as you two stick by me.”

Milly patted her shoulder as carefully as she could. “We’re not going anywhere, right Mr. Vash?”

The dark haired man nodded. “Right. We’re a team.” He remembered he repeated his words from before, adding her own stipulations. “That means no brooding. From any of us.” He tilted Meryl’s face up to look at him. “No matter how things turn out. You’re doing things for the right reasons. You’re… we’re human.” He’d taken the title since his hair had gone black.

There was a blush that played over her cheeks. A burning she couldn’t blame on her injury. “Right. We’re human.” She agreed, ducking out of his hand. “So we only have one life to make things right.” With that, she walked past him, back to their makeshift lodgings, leaving him behind her, a sad smile on his lips.

He looked at her back with pain sinking into his heart. That was the first mark. That was the first step into becoming just like him. He didn’t want that for her. He didn’t want the martyrdom for her. He didn’t want the scars and pain. But this was the best he could do. Just…just be there. Just try to prevent all the damage he could, even as she ran headstrong into danger.

I’m not easily scared. Haunted houses, both the gimmicky kind at Halloween or the type that someone will challenge you to enter that has you risking a trespassing charge, neither will have my heart racing. Scary movies are kind of a bore. I don’t mind being in the dark. I don’t mind crowds. I don’t mind being alone. I like heights. Bugs, spiders included, are nothing more than irritating at their worst. As a kid I had natural fears, like the monster under the bed or the scary stories the older kids told, but as I got older, I just kind of…grew numb to the fear.

That’s not to say I was incapable of fear. I worried for others. I feared for my safety when it was natural to. If I’m almost in an accident of course I will get nervous, but, in no way, would I be considered a jumpy person. Or at least, I didn’t used to be. That was until they started following me. I’m still trying to figure out what they’re going to do. It’s…nerve-wracking. It has the hair on the back of my neck constantly raised, and my heart always racing.

Okay so let me start at the beginning of who “they” are.

I always go to the same sandwich shop on Wednesday. They have a Wednesday special that I can’t pass up and sandwiches are buy one get one free. So that means I can get one for lunch and have one for dinner or for lunch the next day. I have been going there for lunch every week since I found out about the promotion three years ago. But the week I saw “them” the shop was closed. There wasn’t a sign on the door saying why. I don’t know if they were remodeling or if they were shorthanded, or maybe the owners were on vacation. Either way, they were closed, and I needed a sandwich fix. Promotion or not, it was sandwich day.

I went to another café nearby. Some place I’d never even noticed before a block or so from my apartment, squeezed between a bookshop and fitness center. It looked old. Maybe family run, but there was a pleasant smell, like freshly smoked meat, coming from inside, and it seemed promising. Sometimes the hole-in-the-wall places are the ones that surprise you, you know? So I decided to give it a try.

The inside looked better than the outside, admittedly. Like it had been freshly remodeled. The chairs and tables were new, the floors were polished, the paint on the walls was pristine. I took a seat at one of the tables, unsurprised at the lack of customers, considering how uninviting it looked before you came in. There was only one other occupied table.

It was a group of women, all elderly, each with what looked like the same exact meal. A sandwich, an apple, and a salad, along with a cup of tea. Though none of them seemed to be eating. Not a single bite was taken out of any of their food. At the time I just assumed that they’d just gotten their meals, but the entire time I sat there, none of them ate. They just sat there, mumbling quietly over their sandwiches.

I just ignored them at first, ordering my own food, my regular roast beef on rye and a water. The food came out rather quickly. I wondered if it was made to order or if they had premade food in the back, but it tasted good, so I didn’t concern myself too much on the specifics. In fact, it was better than my regular place. I considered coming back. The prices were comparable, even without the buy one get one promotion. I thought I was right about trusting the hole-in-the-wall method of dining experience.

As I glanced over to the other table again, however, the flavor began to sour. The women were looking at me now. They weren’t even hiding it. They were all just watching me eat and they were…they were smiling. As if they were excited. My stomach turned. I was only half done with my food but my appetite was spoiled. I took the check and paid immediately. Like I said, I don’t scare easily. I normally would have been annoyed at the starting, but something about the way they smiled. It was like they were almost proud of something and I didn’t know what it was. I didn’t want to find out.

As soon as I bolted out of there I let out a breath of relief, but I felt like I was going to vomit everything I’d just eaten. I couldn’t get rid of the feeling of their eyes on me. I felt them on my skin and it itched. I knew it was just in my head. They’d spooked me and it was unusual and I just got lost in it for a second. I needed to get home, take a breath, maybe have a drink, and relax. That’s all I needed.

I fast-walked all the way back to my apartment, trying to ignore anyone on the street, all the while assuming the mumbling came from the strangers I passed and not from the ladies I felt like were following me and watching me around every corner. I was practically running up the stairs to my door and my hands fumbled with the keys. I slammed the door behind me and locked it. My heart was pounding in my chest.

I don’t know how many things I tried to convince myself was wrong with me. A first-time panic attack. Food poisoning. A stomach bug. Just simple over-reacting. But no matter what, I couldn’t get myself to leave my apartment for three days. I kept hearing the mumbling outside my door and I knew it was them. It was those women again, waiting for me to come out. My skin itched, my stomach hurt, and I didn’t know what was wrong with me.

My coworkers started calling to check on me. I wasn’t even calling in, so they were worried for my safety. I told them I’d caught a virus and just been too sick to be on the phone. I apologized and told them I’d be back into work shortly. I knew I couldn’t stay in my home forever. Life had to go on. The ladies weren’t there. No one was there. It was just me. It was just in my head. Maybe I just hadn’t been scared before and it was a new experience.

So on the fourth day I finally got dressed, trying to ignore the discomfort under my skin and the ache in my stomach, and made my way to work. I still felt eyes on me throughout the walk and tube ride. Even at work I could feel someone watching me. I looked like hell so maybe it was my coworkers just judging me and talking about how sickly I’d been. I tried to ignore it.

On lunch, I stayed at work. I wasn’t hungry. I hadn’t been hungry since that sandwich. My stomach starting hurting more. I was sweating from the pain, but I was trying to make it through work. Anything to just pretend to be normal. I had a few colleagues check on me as I doubled over with my head against the cool table in the breakroom. When I started dry heaving and couldn’t stand, they called an ambulance.

At the hospital they diagnosed me with malnutrition, food poisoning, and dehydration. They took me out of work for another week and gave me some medicine for the pain and nausea. The whole time I was there, I felt like someone was watching. It never went away. The pain stayed. The feeling of being watched stayed.

Vacation was rare. Rude was only two years in but the shock on his more tenured partner’s face when they were assigned “required paid time off” told him that this was a once in a lifetime occurrence. However, there was a catch.

“If you leave the city, stay together. I don’t want Avalanche or any other rebel organization to catch you alone.” Veld’s word was law.

As the two of them walked out of headquarters, there was only one question on their mind. Stay? Or go? Rude was tired of the darkness of city smog and grime in the streets, but it’s not like he’d get much peace and quiet bringing his partner along. Working with the redhead was never a problem. In fact, most days it was entertaining. Watching him dance around his victims as he finished them off reminded Rude of a cat toying with a mouse.

“Rude.” Reno nudged him as they walked, their usual haunt only a block from work. “Where should we go?”

There was a small chuckle from the other. “We’re going somewhere? You’ve decided this.”

Reno rolled his eyes. “Look man I don’t wanna pull rank on you or anything, but I’m not staying in this miserable ass city during what may very well be my only vacation.” He held the door for Rude as they reached the bar. “So I’m at least going to consider you in this decision. Where do you want to go?”

“Hmm..” Rude stepped past him taking in the familiar scent of smoke and booze. “Buy the first round and I’ll think about it.”

Reno grumbled behind him, giving his partner a shove that caused Rude to stumble on his feet with a grunt. “Yeah yeah. First round’s on me. Jerk.”

A cigarette in hand, three rounds of whiskey in his stomach later, and Rude still hadn’t come up with an idea that pleased the his partner beside him. Rude was a sightseer. Historical places like Cosmo Canyon and the museums on Junon are what interested him. Reno wanted night life and excitement. Perhaps it was the alcohol, or maybe the stubborn nature of his forced travelmate, but at last, he relented to the more typical vacation excursions.

“Mountains? We could go skiing.”

“Too fuckin’ cold man. I’d freeze my tits off.”

“Not if you covered them up for once.”

Reno glared up at the other man before perfectly timing a nudge to send a splash of whiskey from Rude’s glass to his face. “S’what you get asshole.”

Rude coughed lightly, setting his cigarete down in the shared ashtray between them before wiping himself up. “Whatever…” he muttered. It wasn’t below a drunk Turk to pout over spilt booze. “Gold Saucer.”

“Cheesy romance, ripoff games and a corny haunted house.” Reno slipped his partners cigarette into his fingers, disregarding the halfhearted glare from the other. “Gonna be a pass from me.”

“Tough to please.”

“You know it.” There was a sly grin that you could hear in Reno’s voice. Rude glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. Once again, his attitude could only be described as “catty.”

“Costa del Sol.”

“Not unless you want to see me as red as my hair.” With a long drag he finished their now shared cigarette. “Besides, the sun makes me freckle.”

Rude thought for a moment. He’d never seen a single beauty mark on his face before, but if he thought back hard enough, he remembered seeing a light splattering of freckles on his partner’s shoulders while he patched a wound. He chuckled lightly, imagining more of those same soft markings. “Cute.”

Reno cough, choking on the shot of tequila he was attempting. “What the hell man?” He wiped his mouth on his sleeve, almost as if to wipe the pink tint of frustration from his cheeks. “I’m not fuckin’ cute.”

Rude simply smiled around his glass before setting it back on the bar. “Wutai.”

“Tourist trap.” Always a complaint. “But…” Brown eyes turned toward Reno. “Night clubs for me, historical shit for you.” He tapped his chin thoughtfully. “Good food and booze for both of us.” With a rough slap to his partner’s back, He sent Rude’s drink flying once more. “Wutai it is, bro!”

There was a reason Reno was third in command at such a young age. Despite his seemingly wild antics and uncontrollable temper, he was a meticulous planner. He was a strategist at heart. And planning the perfect vacation in eight hours was the perfect task to test his skills. “Our airship leaves at 8 am. That gets us there at 6 pm.” He explained.

Rude was already in bed, an early riser by nature and ready to pack in the morning. The way Reno sounded, he was balancing his phone between his cheek and shoulder, no doubt haphazardly throwing his clothes into a duffle. “Mhm.” Rude listened. If he didn’t acknowledge, Reno would assume he was asleep, which meant a louder Reno. And as the alcohol started to leave his system, that was the last thing he wanted. “8 am. I’ll be there. Coffee at the ready. Four creams and six sugars for the baby.”

“Sugar means extra energy and cream cools it to a drinkable temperature—Shit!” There was a soft thud as Rude suspected Reno’s phone fumbled to the carpeted floor. “Hang on buddy I dropped you!”

The seriousness of the phrase amused him as he waited patiently for his partner to retrieve him from the floor. As he heard the Reno’s voice more clearly, he questioned, “Lodging?”

“I might have name dropped just a little to get us a top floor suite in the tower.”

“Oh. No bed sharing trick to try and cuddle me at night?”

“Hah!” So much for avoiding a loud Reno, he thought, as a barked a laugh came through the phone. “You wish I’d be your little spoon, big guy.” There was a smile in his voice. He’d never even imagine such a ridiculous situation.

Rude smiled at the sound of his laughter, egging him on. “Yeah you’re right.” He enjoyed just a bit more of the sound of his friend’s amusement. “Goodnight, Reno.”

“See you in the morning, man.”

The phone went silent as Rude’s mind went wild. He’d learned a long time ago that the best way to lie about his feelings was to tell the truth. He said things so straight forward Reno always thought he was joking. Now he’d be spending an entire week with him. No work. Sharing a suite with him. Spending leisure time with him. Allowing Reno his fun with strangers with only a wall between them. Hearing Reno have fun with strangers. Wishing he was a stranger.

Was he going on vacation or going to Hell?

He wasn’t sure how he got any sleep at all that night, but he managed. At 7:30 am, he was at the port, suitcase checked, and two coffees in hand, waiting on his partner to join him. A pale arm reached from his side, no sound of footsteps preceding as a hand took the lighter coffee from his grasp. “7:45. Cutting it close.”

Reno let out a yawn as Rude took him in. “I hate mornings.” He’d never seen Reno in casual wear. He’d seen him dressed for social functions and for work, but never completely dressed down. Reno was dressed in a dark heather gray v-neck shirt, a pair of worn jeans that definitely weren’t bought that way, a pair of slip on black sneakers, and a sleep mask over his head where his goggles typically sat. “Don’t wake me up on the ride.”

“Got it.” They took their seats quietly, Reno taking the window and immediately pulling the shade as Rude sat in the aisle seat beside him. The attendant waited until they were all locked in and in motion to subject them to the cheesy family romcom that would begin their tortuous day of terrible movies. It was lucky for Reno that he was so quick to fall asleep.

Rude took a glance towards his partner, head tilted back against the headrest with his eye mask over his face. His mouth hung open and he was snoring just a bit. Rude couldn’t help but chuckle just a bit before putting earplugs in to drown out the sound of the movie and hushed talking around him. He leaned his head back, closing his eyes gently as he, too, dozed off.

He wasn’t sure how long he’d been out before he was jostled by rough turbulance. His sunglasses fell crooked on his face and Reno fell sideways against the window, cursing. “Fuck, man!”

Rude pulled the plugs out of his ears and fix his glasses, watching as his friend rubbed his head gently. The attendant began apologizing and explaining the cause of the disturbance, but the airship evened out once more. “You good?”

“Yeah.” Reno grunted a bit, wincing. “I was snoozing good too, man. Fuck that hurt.”

“Surprised your thick skull didn’t break the glass.”

“Hah.” He stretched a bit. “You up for a bit?”

“Yeah. Guess I’ll watch this shitty movie. Might read. You?”

“No way. I’m going to pass the next ahh…” Reno glanced up at the clock at the front of the ship. “Six hours with some more sleep.” He shifted in his seat. “And to prevent any more accidents, you’re going to be my buffer.”

“Your buffer?”

Reno didn’t explain further. Just gave him a quick “Mhm.” As he laid his head against the other, pulling the complimentary thin blanket over his arms and his eye mask back down. “Night buffer.”

It wasn’t the first time they’d been close. The two of them had leaned back-to-back on stakeouts more than a handful of times. However for Reno’s guard to be completely down—head against shoulder, side to side—it was a vulnerable state Rude wasn’t ready to see him in. He wasn’t sure how long he’d been staring. The drab voices of the actors in the movies dragged on as Reno’s breathing evened out, his arms sagged, and shoulders relaxed.

Rude could feel his chest tighten, but he smiled gently. It took all the willpower in him not to tense his body, leaving himself to be as comfortable a pillow as he could for the sleeping man beside him. There was a muffled grunt as Reno squeezed himself against the seat and further against Rude. The blanket fell from one shoulder, one hand slipping along the armrest, dangling slightly.

He was thankful for the sunglasses as Rude took in the structure of his hand. It was rare to see him without gloves on. His fingers were calloused from the fights, but his skin was pale and soft on top. His nails were clean and trim, meticulously high maintenance as the man was, Rude wasn’t surprised. His wrist was slim, and the bit of the inside of his wrist that was visible showed the translucent blue veins beneath his skin. The most torturous part of it all was the distance. That hand, work worn, but beautiful, was possibly an inch from his own on the next armrest.

Rude closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. He couldn’t reach for his earplugs. He’d wake Reno if he moved too much. God forbid he woke Reno. He didn’t know if it’d be worse due to Reno’s wrath or the lack of warmth on his side. He tried to focus on the bad acting for a moment. He tried to eavesdrop on a somewhat interesting conversation about a woman’s ex-husband who left her to work at the Honeybee. He tried to do anything but think about the man leaning against him, the hand beside his. Until he realized his pinky could reach out and touch that hand.

It started with just a pinky, gently hooking with the other. What was he a child? Hooking fingers with a friend on beside him? He could feel his face heating at the thought. However, just as he thought of pulling his hand back, he felt a twitch against his hand. Reno’s finger twitched against his, his pinky curling against Rude’s. Still lightly snoring, Reno was definitely still asleep, but Rude wasn’t sure what to make of the action. Slowly, he pulled his finger away, careful not to move Reno’s hand too much. Instead, he watched as the redhead took a deep breath, almost like a silent sigh as his hand sat empty on the armrest.

Rude watched over him carefully, wishing he could see the man’s eyes under his mask, but settling on the rest of his face for any type of reaction. His lips parted, breathing soft, body relaxed. Reno slept like the dead when he felt safe, and the two of them never felt safer than they did with each other. At the thought, Rude couldn’t help a small smile. He lifted his hand once more, gently pressing two fingers to the inside of Reno’s wrist, feeling a gentle pulse. The sounds around him faded away as he counted the beats. His fingers moved up to the palm of his hand, feeling the soft skin normally covered by fingerless leather gloves. Once more, Reno’s hand twitched at the sensation, causing the other to glance down at the sleeping Turk for reassurance. Only a reflex.

Rude soon lined his fingers loosely to the tips of Reno’s, stretching the his hand as gently as possible, touching each finger softly. Rude’s thumb ran over the other’s, tracing the bones beneath the skin. He held his breath as he moved, carefully slipping his fingers between Reno’s, letting their hands fit together. One last look at Reno. One last check that he was safe. He listened closely—grateful to hear that light snore and feel Reno’s soft breath against his shoulder—before letting his head fall back, a relieved sigh falling from his lips. His heart pounded in his chest. He wouldn’t be able to enjoy this long. Reno would wake up eventually, but he could enjoy it for the moment. For a moment, they were on vacation together.

There was a lunch break at the six hour mark. His hands were freed before Reno woke up. They spent lunch together as they usually did, Reno making all the jokes, Rude softly laughing when expected. They were now awake and alert. Rude was both happy for his company and disappointed he couldn’t sneak a hand into his once again. A small part of him felt guilty for forcing the intimacy in the first place.

Throughout the last leg of the ride, the two of them attempted a few games of cards. Reno won as often as Rude. If he lost, it was due to cockiness. If he won, it was due to his careful strategy. It all depended on how much his head was in the game. Rude didn’t mind winning or losing, he just enjoyed the company in comparison to a sleeping log on his side. Even if the sleeping log was attractive.

At last, they entered over the gates of Wutai. Rude convinced Reno to open the shades so he could see the entrance before they approached. History distracted him as he leaned over the other to look at the red beams that towered below them, wishing he were walking through to get a photo instead of passing over in the ship. “We’ll need to come back here.” He muttered.

Reno chuckled softly. “Got it buddy.”

Reno was right about it being a tourist trap. There were people everywhere. Probably more tourists than native Wutai. A guilt sunk into Rude at the thought. He was well aware that this was due to Shinra conquest. He was glad for the chance to study their history and culture, but at what cost to their culture did he get that chance?

Before he could brood too long on the subject, Reno shoved him lightly. “Move it big guy. We got a hotel to get to. I’mma order room service, I’m starving.”

Rude stumbled on his feet before marching forward. “Ah, yeah.” The tower was hard to miss. Their vacation had officially begun. His eyes finally set on the suite, two bedrooms—thank God—and a shared living space with a kitchenette. His favorite part was the balcony, which looked out on the city. “You did good Reno.”

Masks were funny things. Although they were worn by all the denizens of Etheirys, they were all unique in some way. Those in the convocation stood out more than others. To Emet-Selch, Hythlodaeus’ stood out more than anyone else’s. Not the elegant white he placed upon his eyes in the public view, no. It was the mask he wore until they were alone. The mask he never lowered until they were in private, behind the closed doors of their humble abode.

It was a rare circumstance that his mask would crack while they were out, and his true face would show. It was a tell-tale sign that it was time to go home. Emet-Selch would lead the way, feigning the excuse that hewas the one who’d socialized enough for one lifetime, dragging his partner along behind him as Hythlodaeus provided a false apology in his stead, grateful for the escape.

The walk from Elpis to the aether crystal would have been silent if not for long-haired man’s soft humming at his partner’s side. Emet-Selch wasn’t sure if the other was trying to get under his skin or if he was self-soothing, but either way, he didn’t comment on it. He raised his hand to the crystal before a gentle hand stopped him. “Ah ah.” Golden eyes turned to violet ones, questioning as Hythlodaeus simply smiled. “Your mask.” He stated, simply placing his own white and silver covering over the bridge of his nose.

There was a simple nod from the ancient before placing the crimson mask over his face. Emet-Selch lifted his hand once more, his lover’s hand at his side, as they disappeared in to Amaurot.

The humming was back as they made their way to their quarters. Self-soothing. He’d decided. It never lasted this long without talking about something meaningless to pass the time as they walked along the bustling streets. He was tempted to take the other’s hand but was certain neither of them appreciated the public display. Instead, he opted for mumbled words over crossed arms, knowing as quietly as he said them, Hythlodaeus would hear his every thought. “Are you going to tell me what it is that has you so upset?” He sounded annoyed more than concerned.

The shorter man tapped his chin gently, as if thinking on the subject. “We were there much longer than anticipated. And with our masks off the entire time, no less.” He said gently.

“You don’t like showing your face to that many people.” Emet-Selch confirmed.

His partner shook his head with a gentle smile, looking at him out of the corner of his eye. “I don’t like showing yours to them.” He corrected.

Emet-Selch’s pale skin burned red, and he stopped in his tracks at the other’s remarks. As quickly as he reacted, however, he covered his shock with a frown. “Tch. Idiot.” He muttered, catching up to the other casually, ignoring the subtle laughter of his partner at his side. “Jealousy does not suit you.”

“Oh no it’s not jealousy.” He lifted his chin defiantly. “It’s selfishness. I’m not jealous they see you. Because I know you’re mine. I just want to be the only one who sees you. I want you to be only mine.”

The silver-haired ascian crossed his arms as he walked. “Then you’re more of an idiot than I thought. Who else could I belong to? No one else ceases to piss me off.”

There was a light chuckle from the other as the two of them fell into step once more. “I’m glad I continue to amuse you.” He noted, nudging his partner’s shoulder lightly as they approached the apartments.

The elevators doors closed as their hands found one another, fingers tangling together gently, fitting together like lock and key. “Are we hungry?” Emet-Selch asked softly. So many questions hanging between the lines.

“We are not.”

“I didn’t think so.”

The elevator opened to their loft, Hythlodaeus pulled him in, kissing him gently, their masks uncomfortably pressing together. As they always do, the nimble fingers of his partner found their way into his lavender braids, gently loosening each lock apart until they fell over his shoulders. A white and silver mask made its way to the coffee table with a light clatter. Emet-Selch’s thumbs traced the small lines imprinted on his lover’s cheekbones as he kissed the man once more.

Emet-Selch lifted his fingers to his own mask, lifting slowly before being stopped. “Wait.” Hythlodaeus kissed his hand. “Leave it for now. Remove everything else. Keep the mask.” It was a strange request, but the white-haired man was never one to deny the other. Once again, led to the next room by the hand, he watched as Hythlodaeus sat on the bed, staring intently at the show before him.

It was unnerving, having someone watch him disrobe. However, like a man possessed, whatever Hythlodaeus wished was his command. The black robes slipped from his shoulders and over his head. Black shoes and pants were kicked to the side. Soon he stood in only his skin and a red mask in front of his lover, who sat fully dressed and bare faced on the foot of the bed.

“The most honorable Emet-Selch…” That smooth voice taunted him. Hythlodaeus stood from the bed, running a finger up the others abdomen as he leaned in to give a soft peck to the other’s lips. “What did I do to deserve such a feast?”

The taller man’s throat went dry. He never took well to the other’s teasing… and the other loved to tease. “Hythlodaeus, get your kinks out of the way…” He growled, but the bite to his anger was gone.

“Or what?” He kissed along the man’s collarbone and up his neck. “Will you leave? In the sorry state that you’re in?” His hand slid back down Emet-Selch’s abs, taking hold of him gently. “Someone would be very sorry to see that.”

A sigh escaped the taller man’s lips as he felt the other’s fingers wrap around his cock. “No…Not going anywhere.” He corrected. “I want to see you.” He frowned softly, almost pouting. “It’s only fair.”

Hythlodaeus could help the chuckle that came from him. “Of course. Fair is fair.” He stepped back from his lover after another soft kiss. “Disrobe me, darling. Unwrap your gift.”

His thin fingers untied a string, then another, they tugged the robe over his lover’s shoulders, and his eyes forced themselves away from the beauty marks on his chest. He could feel the violet stare burning holes into his skin as he worked to remove his lover’s pants, kissing a narrow hipbone as he kneeled to remove shoes and pants together. “Stay there.” He heard, glancing up at the other.

Soft hands reached down to his hair, petting him gently in a way he couldn’t help but lean into it. “Warm me up.” His lover directed.

It was an order for power, not pleasure, he’d realized. Hythlodaeus wasn’t asking to be made to climax, simply to be given control over the other. Will full knowledge of this, Emet-Selch simply opened his mouth, taking the other in gently with his hands braced on his lover’s hips.

“You’re a good boy, Emet-Selch.” The violet-haired man continued petting his lover’s hair, softly running his fingers through the strands. “Look at those eyes. Such fire in them as you warm my cock.” He pulled the other closer to his hip, grinding gently, feeling the man gag against him before pulling off completely. “On the bed.”

He wasn’t sure when his hatred for following orders was reduced to this with Hythlodaeus. Hearing the gentlest person that he knew become his assertive dominant partner made the ascian shiver. It was one of the reasons he took the lead when they were together. He wasn’t sure if he’d be able to hold his composure if Hythlodaeus took charge in public.

At the newest command, he stood from the floor, wiping the drool from his lip before lying back on the bed, once again vulnerable under the violet stare of his partner. His legs were lifted carefully over the shoulders of the other, sharp eyes smiling as they disappeared below his waist. “Hyth-“ His breath caught in his throat at the press of a tongue to his entrance.

Emet-Selch’s head rolled back, fingers clenching in the sheets. His voice was lost to gasps of breath as Hythlodaeus worked his tongue against him, soon easing a finger into him. He never even heard the bedside drawer open, but he could feel the slick of lubricant around the digit. He felt himself being bent in half as Hythlodaeus pushed his hips up while climbing up on his knees onto the bed. He could feel his cock twitching against his stomach, precum smearing on his abs.

A second finger, then a third pressed into him, his breathing labored as his lungs were pressed against him. His legs trembled against his lover’s shoulders, his voice chopping through his gasps, no words making it to his lips. He was half thankful for the mask covering the sorry expression on his face and annoyed for the pressure it had on his skin as his nerves flared the closer he came to climax. Like a tidal wave, his orgasm rushed over him, his back arching, his chest and stomach splattered with cum. His throat let out a sound between a sigh and a moan, as if all the tension in his body had left him, and he melted against the man that held his hips over the bed.

Hythlodaeus settled his lover’s hips on the bed gently, kissing his lips. “There’s nothing honorable about this, Emet-Selch.” He teased, smiling at the mess before him. “You’re a complete mess.”

The man on the bed shook his head weakly. “Don’t call me that.” He said. “I don’t want to think about work right now.”

His legs dropped from the other’s shoulders to his sides as violet eyes rose to meet gold. “Right.” Hythlodaeus removed the mask from his lover’s face at last, setting it gently on the side table. “Think about me then, Hades.”

Hades found his mind wiped clean as their lips met once more, his fingers tangled in the long hair draping over his partner’s shoulders. He felt a leg lifted under one arm, and Hythlodaeus’ lips left his. He tilted his head back, giving knowing access to the other as he felt bites and kisses make their way back to his collarbone. There was a warm massage of lubricant once again, this time for only a brief second before he felt the pressure of his lover against him.

“You’re perfect Hades.” Hythlodaeus’ voice was soft, whispered, gently against the other’s lips. “You’re beautiful.” He said, sliding in gently.

Hades never knew how to take this praise. His whole body lit up at the words. His blush ran from his cheeks to his shoulders, and he couldn’t meet his lover’s eyes. “You too.” He mumbled. Unable to find the words to live up to what he’d heard.

A slow pace was set, their bodies fit together like a perfect set. “You are so good to me. My Hades.” Hythlodaeus was stroking his cheekbones, kissing his lips slowly between praises. “You’re so precious to me. You’re mine.”

A groan left the others lips as he gently tugged at violet hair. “M-mine…” He muttered. His blood was boiling under his skin. “F-faster.” He begged. “More. All of it.”

A soft chuckle once more left the shorter man’s lips. Nevertheless, he lifted Hades’ other leg. “Yes, my love. All of it. You’ll never break. You’re strong.” With a nod of confirmation from the other, he sped up the pace, moving harder against his lover. “Hades…”

“H-hythlodaeus…” His breath shook. He reached down, feeling himself as he caught up to his partner. “I want…”

Hythlodaeus smiled, kissing his lover gently. “I know. All of it.” His pace was becoming staggered. “I’m yours. I’m all yours.”

With a harsh pull of lavender hair, Hythlodaeus was pulled to Hades’ neck as Hades moaned, cumming between them, spasming around his lover as he came down. As long as they’d been together, it was rare for Hythlodaeus to see his face as he came.

The other sat up slowly as his breathing evened out, kissing his forehead. “You’re lovely.” His hips moved gently, still so close. “You came so good for me, Hades.” He could feel the after glow causing the other to shiver around him. “I’m going to give you all of it now. Okay?”

There was a nod of silver hair, Hades covered his face with his arm. He felt his lover lean over him, arms braced on either side as thrusts turned to slow grinds. He shook and shivered in over-stimulation before feeling the explosion within.

Hythlodaeus pulled out slowly, sliding gently to his lover’s side. “You’re amazing.” His fingers ran up and down the others chest, enjoying the goosebumps that raised along his lover’s arm.

“Hush.” The spell was broken. The praise wouldn’t work anymore. “What are we supposed to do for dinner now?” Despite complaints, Hades turned over to face the other. “I’m not cooking.”

Hythlodaeus pulled him gently to his chest, chuckling gently. “I’ll cook. You take a shower. You’re a beautiful mess, but a mess nonetheless.”

“And whose fault is that?”

Even with the help of her megaphone, speaking over the crowd seemed to be more trouble that Meryl had anticipated. Milly was lost in the mass of people enjoying the festivities, trying to encourage them to evacuate as the smoke came near. Few paid the girl any mind, assuming she was drunk, or perhaps they were too drunk themselves to listen. Meryl yelled through the speaker, pointing at the smoke while standing on a table, some laughing at the woman as if she were part of a one-woman show.

With a growl, she stepped down. "How do none of them see it?" She huffed, holding onto Milly for support on the last step to the ground. "We have to get them out of here before it's too late."

"Senpai, do you think we could use that?" She pointed up to the speakers at the church, probably meant for town announcements but currently playing festival music.

Meryl glanced up where her partner pointed. "Yes… yes Milly that's genius. Come on, we have to find the festival headquarters." She grabbed the other girl's hand, dodging through the crowd of people, towards a booth covered in flags marked "INFO" on all corners.

A teen boy sat behind the counter, eating foods from a nearby booth. "Yes?" He looked almost confused as to why anyone actually needed any help.

"There's a fire." Meryl was out of breath, she leaned on the counter with one hand, pointing toward the smoke with the other. "You have to use the intercom and evacuate the city. Everyone needs to get to safety. Now."

"Fire? Whe-" The teen stood, looking to where she pointed. The black smog had only grown thicker in the distance. Now the smell of burning wood and plaster was wafting through the air. "Fire!" He picked up a radio, calling over it to others. "Boss there's a fire in town! Evacuate the city! It's coming from the west end!"

The crowd was in chaos, pushing and shoving one another to get as far away from the smoke as they could. Meryl glanced from the rising glow and back to Vash. "We—"

"Get out of here." His voice was stern, his order strict. "I need you out of the way." He climbed on the table, looking out across the mass of people, inspecting for some kind of opening to make it around them and towards the disaster.

"Vash wait—"

"I mean it, Meryl!" He turned his head toward her then. "Get out of here!" With that he was off, jumping from table to table to avoid the stampede before disappearing past the festival area.

Meryl stood there for a long moment, watching after him before looking back towards the edge of town, considering his advice and whether to merge into the crowd. "Meryl?" The dark-haired woman turned her head to her partner. "Do you think he can still take that kind of damage? Without his power… he can't really heal up like he used to, can he?"

Meryl's eyes widened. Milly was right. His power was gone. He was…practically human. "We have to go. We have to help him."

"Meryl?"

"Let's go Milly." She was off, fighting her way through everyone running against her. She wasn't even sure if her friend was following, all she knew was who she was heading for. She had to think. How was she even going to help him? Guns can't fight fire. She shook her head. There had to be something. She just had to get there. She had to see the surroundings…

"Vash?" The smoke was almost overwhelming. Meryl covered her mouth and nose with her sleeve, trying to ignore the stinging in her eyes as she searched for the mess of black hair among the flames.

"Senpai I don't think it's safe for us to be here."

"It's not safe for him." Her voice was firm. She wasn't leaving until she found him. "Milly, you should get out of here. I'll find him and I'll bring him back. I promise." She didn't wait for a response. With that said, she was off into the flames, calling out once more.

Turning down an alley, she kneeled below the smoke best she could. Smoke rises, she remembered. To catch somewhat of a clean breath, she kneeled low, pulling her collar up over her face before standing once more. A few more yarz in, she heard it, a sign of life in the flames.

The heat was suffocating in itself. Meryl couldn't fathom how much worse this could have felt under sunlight. Under the crackling and roar of the fire, a cry rang through the air. A child, crouched down outside the burning building, covered his eyes from the smoke. Meryl kneeled beside him. "Are you okay? You need to get out of here. That way back through town. Keep going straight." She pointed, even turning the boy around towards the street in case he couldn't see.

"But that man!" He cried, sniffling. "He went back in. He went to find my cat. My cat ran off already but that man hasn't come back." Meryl looked around them, half a dozen unconscious men and women lying out of the way of falling debris. "He got us all out and went back for my cat. I'm so stupid for mentioning it."

Her eyes narrowed. Of course he went back in. He'd save anything with a heartbeat. Anything that ever had a heartbeat. "Get out of here. I'll take care of him. Okay?" Her voice was calm, but stern. She put a hand on his shoulder and looked him in the eye. "Go straight. Don't stop until you reach the others. Milly, will you—"

"I'll help carry his family." She nodded, giving her partner a thumbs up before lifting one body over each shoulder. She turned to the child, smiling brightly through the smoke. "I'll make a few trips but we'll be okay. Let's hurry now, okay?" The boy nodded, wiping his nose before standing to his feet, running back towards town.

Meryl watched them leave as a battle plan ran through her mind. The cloak would be too heavy, too easily caught on too many things, and too much gunpowder in all of those derringers to be safe to carry inside. Her fingers pulled at the strings on her neck, and it fell behind her as her feet began to move. She was running on pure adrenaline as she navigated the lower level. "Vash! Where are you?" She called out, making her way through the rubble, making mental note of the beams and walls that looked weakest, where the windows were.

He was lightheaded. Smoke burned his longs as hot as the fire that surrounded him. He almost thought he heard his name, but no. She was smarter than that…wasn't she? Perhaps he'd found the last person left in the building after all. He was certain that he'd circled back to that spot before. It was time to leave. He had to get the survivors as far from the smoke as possible and into the fresh air.

Vash stumbled toward the exit, not even a wall to lean on as he made his way out. He could still hear a voice calling out to him. At first he wondered if it was the smoke getting to him, causing the lightheadedness to finally take a toll on his awareness. Then he felt an arm around his waist, and another pulling his over a set of shoulder, much lower to the ground than his own. His eyes widened as he looked down. "Meryl?"

"We have to get out. This place is going to collapse." Her voice was hoarse and she was still covering her mouth, now with the collar of her dress as she pulled Vash through the rubble.

"Are you an idiot?" Those words, for once, fell from Vash's lips, followed by a fit of coughs as his body fell more heavily against her shoulders.

"Just shut up and help me get you out of here!" There was black on her sleeve, soot on her face, and ash in her hair. Never in all the years he'd known her, however, had she looked so determined. "We don't have time for you to insult me."

"The others…The survivors. Go help them."

"We will together. Don't fight me, Vash. Please." She was already walking, dragging him along beside her with a wince. "Cover your mouth. We're almost out."

He'd never been so happy to see darkness than when he was out of those flames. The fire had stopped at the sandstone buildings next door. He was in no shape to search for the culprit, and besides, he had other priorities.

He glanced over towards the area he'd left the people he'd pulled from the building. There were six he'd found, but only three remained. Was it possible they were able to wake up and get away?

"Senpai?"

Vash turned his head sharply to the larger woman. They had both followed him? Did they have no sense of self-preservation at all? He blinked slowly as he took in what he was seeing. Milly held an unconscious man draped across her back. "Milly… where are they? The other survivors?"

"I carried them out of the smoke. It was all I could do to help…" It was more help than she could possibly know. He didn't even know where he would find the strength to carry them all. As much as he hated the girls bringing themselves into danger, he had to admit, he was grateful for their help. They'd not only saved his life, but others as well.

"Thank you." His voice was tired. "Lets get them out of here. This place isn't safe." With a strength he wasn't even sure he had left, he lifted another body from the ground as Milly lifted a second to her other shoulder. The last three, as Meryl grabbed her cloak from the ground, following behind them as she tied her cape around her.

The walk back through town was slow and long. Clean air seemed iles away from them and each step seemed to take them nowhere near closer to it. At long last they saw the crowd of people at the city's edge, the smog cleared, and they were able to take a breath. The taller two gently laid their wards on the ground, town doctors coming to their aid, the young boy smiling through his tears and waving from his family's side. It seemed while retrieving Vash and the other survivors, a woman had woken up and was now holding the boy close.

Meryl sighed, relaxing into the safety of clear sky and fresh air. "I wonder how long until the cavalry arrives." She said, leaning gently on a bus, happy for anything that could help hold her up.

"The sooner the better. They need to start building the sand barriers to prevent it from spreading." Vash sat on the ground. His voice still sounded scratchy. With any more energy, Meryl might see him trying to build the barriers himself, but he was in the business of saving people, not buildings. She knew that from experience.

"That probably means you need to leave, though, too. Doesn't it, Mr. Vash?" Milly asked. For once, her voice was quiet as she said his name.

He nodded. "It does." He stretched. "That's the joys of being the most wanted man." He smiled, winking at the two of them as he stood back up. "It's a good thing you girls aren't in insurance anymore. I bet that'd be a ton of paperwork."

Meryl couldn't help but laugh. "I don't even want to think about it." Pushing herself off the bus gently she commented. "But we can't leave yet. That's just proof that our work isn't done here. In fact, our work has just begun. As far as I'm concerned, our target is out here in this crowd somewhere."

A frown crossed the gunman's face. "You can't possibly be saying you're still going to hunt this guy down. You could have died in there."

"I just want to ask him why. That's the only question. It's all I need." Meryl wasn't looking at him, her arms were crossed, her eyes closed, focused on her thoughts. "I feel like any answer he gave would be enough for our listeners. No one knows anything about him after all and people are interested—"

"Screw their dark interest in these murderers and sadists." His voice broke. Whether it be from anger or the smoke damage, neither he or Meryl was sure. "Screw the popularity of criminals. Stop taking on these jobs that could kill you. One day one of them will. You do realize that don't you? Nothing good can come from putting your life on the line for money."

"You did."

Blue-green eyes widened. "What?"

"You came from putting my life on the line for money. I met you. And Wolfwood. I got closer to Milly. I saw the world and just how terrible and beautiful it can be." She thought back on all the places she'd seen on those adventures. From the dirty saloons, to the geoplant of flowers she'd never seen before. She wouldn't trade those memories for anything. "I don't want to live life behind a desk. I don't want to settle down as a home maker. I don't want a normal job. I want to see the world again. I want to run. I want to live. I don't want to have regrets. Is that too much to ask?"

He shook his head gently. It wasn't. She'd made her choice and with good reason, and he couldn't fault her for that. It was the opposite actually. It was everything he loved about humanity in what she'd said. The way she found beauty and terror in the same world. The way she found excitement in life. The fight in her. It was everything he loved about her. "No it's not." He said gently. "It's just… worrying. You always have me running. I've always fought for someone else's life. I want to fight for yours too."

"You don't have to." She smiled, brightly through the soot. "Fight for your own happiness. The war is finally over. It's time you live for yourself now. So what do you want to do?"

He laughed gently. It was a simple question that he couldn't even begin to answer. The first thing on his mind however, "I want to stay with you two for a while," surprised him, as it slipped past his lips. "Is that okay?"

He heard about it when he was still in the orphanage. Rain. According to the Bible it rained for over a month once on Earth and it flooded the world. God washed away the land that had become so corrupt by humans with water. He destroyed life with the essence of life. Even at a young age, Nicholas couldn’t help but wonder if the world had become corrupt enough for it to flood again. Did God even exist on Gunsmoke? Or did He stay on Earth? As the years went by, one thing became clear, God certainly wasn’t with him.

Melanie explained, as best as she could, what the rain was. It came from clouds, and it fell to the ground. It was water that the sky sucked from the land only to throw it back down.  On Earth, it came from oceans and rivers and somehow made it into the clouds just as steam rises from a kettle. And when the clouds were full, they would drop the water back onto the humans and the Earth and it would make its way back to the oceans and rivers from which it came.

There were no oceans or rivers on Gunsmoke. Not even a puddle. So, of course, there would be no rain on Gunsmoke. In spite of that fact, however, there always remained a sliver of hope, that one day the world would be washed clean. And personally, Nicholas always wanted to feel that first drop of rain on his cheek.

What would it feel like? Would it be cold like ice? Or warm? Did it taste the same as the water they drank? Would it be as satisfying? Moreso? Would he ever know?

He hoped it was cold. He dreamed it was. Sometimes, long after he’d left the orphanage, after a long day, Nicholas would stand under the running water in the shower, turned as cold as he could make it, close his eyes and dream he was standing in the rain. He’d ignore the stinging of the wounds on his chest and back left from Master Chapel and pretend it was the sensation of being washed away by God’s rain.

Just like it does in all children, however, those dreams faded, quickly and painfully from his memory. A shower was only a means to wash away the blood and dirt of the day. The sky only held the sun. God had abandoned Gunsmoke, or had never been there to begin with. There would never be a rain on that dry and dusty land. Nicholas was certain, if he didn’t die from training under Master Chapel, he’d certainly dry up under the planet’s suns.

Then, one day, the world didn’t feel so dry anymore. The world didn’t feel so overheated. He’d met someone who made the planet a little less barren. In his presence, he no longer felt as though he were burning under the cloudless sky, and instead, he felt warm. Perhaps he was the one thing keeping the world from being too corrupt. Maybe he was the one God refused to wash away. Just like the rain, this man was unbelievable and confusing. Just like the rain, Nicholas couldn’t understand him, what he was or how he lived. And just like the rain, Nicholas wanted, desperately, to believe in him. Someone once called Nicholas his ‘sworn ally.’ No. It was much more than that. Nicholas was not on the same level as him. That man was his teacher. His aspiration. His everything. Nicholas was only a disciple, struggling to learn his ways. Even if his words seemed impossible to live by, he wanted to try. If, for just one brief instance, he could see through that man’s eyes and live by that man’s teachings, maybe he could believe in the rain again.

He didn’t want the last thing he saw to be that man frowning. He wanted to feel his smile, but, perhaps that was too much to ask for. Maybe a drink was all he would get, and he’d settle, as long as he never left that man’s side.