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No Rain	By : blynkin108 Category: +S to Z > Trigun Views: 4334 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Trigun, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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“Now this is interesting.”
All things considered, it was probably a good thing I usually woke up earlier than the rooster’s crow, children on Sunday, and the morning paper. Well, I was two hours late this morning, but the fact remains that I still had a good three hours on Nick, and this was rather fortunate, considering the position I’d woken up in. Not only was I draped across Nick’s chest like a great leather blanket, but he was apparently very happy to have me there. * Ah, the best part of waking up. So that’s what they meant by ‘morning wood’…Well, his body’s happy, at any rate. * I don’t think Nick himself was in a state to appreciate much of anything right now. And, should he wake up, he’d likely be in even less of an appreciative state. I think it’s safe to say he’d subsequently blow a gasket upon finding me…there. Which meant I needed to get off of him, now, or otherwise…I blushed hard as my body reacted to the intimate position I’d woken up in. * Oh lord, don’t let him wake up. He’d kill me. And then he’d probably puke on my corpse or something, to boot. * I thought about that for a second. * Ick. Well, that takes care of one problem, I suppose. * I sighed exasperatedly and went about extricating myself from the tangle of limbs we had inadvertently created during the night. * Ooo, sleeping in leather is NOT fun. * Even with jeans under my bodysuit, I still hurt in places I never thought could be hurt. I suppose that came from the…unique position I’d ended up in. I took a whiff of air, and wrinkled my nose. Damnit, now I needed to wash my clothes, and I’d just had them washed yesterday!
“Fucking perfect,” I muttered as I creaked my way across the floor to the bathroom.
I emerged about an hour later, much refreshed. It had taken quite a bit of care to peel out of my clothing and not leave several layers of skin behind. I’d washed my clothes and bathed, very carefully, making sure my arm was detached. I’d forgotten to do that once, and the results had NOT been pretty.
I changed into my pajamas, which was what I should have done last night instead of just jumping right into bed, and watched Nick sleep while the rest of my clothing dried out a bit. I smiled softly. He was almost too cute for words. He’d turned over onto his stomach while I had been in the bathroom, and scooted forwards so his butt was sticking up into the air.
* Mmm, very nice. Perhaps ‘cute’ wasn’t the right word for that position… * Even as I watched, though, he flopped back onto his back and flung his arms out to the sides. I grinned as he started to snore softly. With that nose of his, I was surprised he didn’t snore even louder than he was already.
But despite the fact that I could probably watch Nick all day if I let myself, and that he would sleep all day if I let him, I had other things to be doing. Like getting rid of the heap of scrap that used to be the table. Had I really done that just by banging down on it? * Holy shit. * I shook my head. There was no way I could explain that without ending up explaining the whole damn night. It had to go.
By the time Nick eventually woke up, which was around ten a.m., I had done my morning exercises, gotten dressed, gone down to the lobby to get a refill on my aspirin supply, requested a replacement table, checked out after paying the extra for damages, and was in the bathroom again, coaxing my hair back into its usual spiked glory. I heard a groan from the bedroom, and watched in the pitted piece of metal that served as a mirror as he tried turning over and shielding his eyes at the same time.
“Morning, sleepyhead,” I said cheerfully. Even sober, Nick is not what one might call a morning person. I’d decided to let him sleep in a bit, because he was even worse with a hangover. This would prove to be quite entertaining.
Nick got a panicked look in his eyes at the sound of my voice, and tried peeking under the covers without looking obvious about it. * Interesting, how he immediately jumped to that conclusion. If memory serves me right, Nick wasn’t the one freaking out at the thought of…that, last night. ‘Course, that would have been me. * Noting the puzzled double take he did between the door and the bed, I decided to provide him with an explanation of how he’d gotten there. Leaving out one or two small details.
“After you passed out, I decided to simply move you to the bed. I wasn’t exactly up to the task of hauling you back to your room, and I certainly wasn’t going to leave you in a heap by the door.” I don’t think it even occurred to him to ask where I’d slept. This was a good thing, mind you, because I figured that, sober, he would spaz at the idea of sharing a bed with me, but… I thought back to when he’d yanked me close to him in his sleep. “No Vash. Don’ go.” I was probably giving it meaning that it didn’t really have, but it was the first real sign I’d had that I meant anything at all to him. * I sound like some girl mooning over her crush. Yeesh. *
Nick turned his head, trying to track where my voice had come from, but the movement must have aggravated his hangover because he suddenly winced, turning a little green.
“Ugh. Where’s the water?” I bit back a smile. * Ah, the fun begins. * I turned away from the ‘mirror’, and took in the sight of Nick, baggy-eyed and tousled from sleep. His suit was hopelessly rumpled, and his hair was sticking up in places. He was adorable.
“The water’s over there on the table.” The new one had cost me an extra $$50. “I got you another bottle of aspirin, too. Extra strength.” I pointed at the canteen and bottle I’d placed there earlier. Seeing Nick simply blink miserably at my directions, I rolled my eyes, walked over to the table, and handed him the items necessary to return him to semi-consciousness. “Here.”
He propped himself up on one elbow, popped three aspirin into his mouth and drained the canteen dry. In, like, four chugs.
“Ahreegatoo,” he said, wiping his mouth. Or at least, that’s what I think he said. It took a great deal of effort for me not to gape at him. It was in no language I had ever learned. * What is this, some new way to tell me to fuck off? And since when is he this cognizant the morning after a drinking spree? *
“Umm…” I said uncertainly. Could he have possibly said ‘thank you’? Taking a gamble, I said, “You’re…welcome?” Nick tsk’ed, a small smirk making its way onto his face.
“No, no. It’s dootashimashitay. Where are your manners?” The hell? I cocked an eyebrow. Well, two could play at that little game. I may not have known whatever language he was speaking, but I was willing to bet a box of doughnuts that I knew one he didn’t speak either.
“Je ne comprend pas.” There was silence, so I continued. “Que, tu ne parles pas le francais?” Heh, I’d automatically used the more intimate ‘tu’ form with him.
“You know fucking everything, don’t you?” Nick spat out, giving me a glare ‘o death. I blinked, a little taken aback by that. * Me? Know everything? Right. * I thought for a second, then realized why Nick was so angry. I’d managed to one-up him yet again. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. * I swear, Nick’s insecurities have gotten us into more trouble…well, I can at least do a little to salve his ego. *
“Well, I don’t know what ‘ah-ree-gah-too’ means, now do I?” I said. Truthfully, I was hoping he’d actually tell me what it meant, but it was a slim hope at best. One thing that has yet to change over my long existence is my near-insatiable craving for knowledge. To Nick, it may have seemed like I knew ‘fucking everything’ but there was still so much out there that I didn’t know. Like what language he was speaking, and why a soft little light came into his eyes when he spoke it.
Nick smirked a little. I’d have to remember in the future that if I ever wanted to put Nick into a better frame of mind, all I had to do was remind him that there were things that even the Stampede didn’t know, or couldn’t do. Unfortunately, my competitive streak was just as big as his, so it was likely I’d forget and end up beating him at something again. * I really need to watch that. *
“No, I suppose you don’t,” he said cryptically, and stared down at the bed. I waited, but all he did was stare at the blanket, tracing some unseen pattern. He rubbed the fabric between his fingers, a wistful look stealing across his face, before he suddenly frowned. He stared down at his hands, and then lifted his head, giving me a look filled with hopeless confusion.
“Did we finish all of those bottles last night?” He asked in disbelief.
“Why?” I asked, still worried, but for a different reason now. The way he’d looked at me, like he was…haunted, or something – my eyes widened a little. “What’s wrong?” * God, please don’t let him remember all of last night. Please let it have worked. * It had been a long shot to begin with, and if it hadn’t worked I don’t think I could make myself do it again. I had no way of knowing if the doubtless shoddy job I’d done had held, because there was no way in hell I was going to test his mind to see. I hadn’t so much wiped his memories as I had simply tucked them inside his mind and camouflaged them. Also, I didn’t think I could get in again if I tried. The only reason I’d been able to in the first place, was because it was his mind that had pasted itself to mine. As good a telepath as I was, I didn’t think I could breach the massive shielding I’d noticed the other night as I’d broken the connection. Not without a great deal of pain on either end. Taking into consideration just who he worked for, his shielding was probably a must. I winced at the thought of having to communicate with Legato on a regular basis. * He may be easy on the eyes, but he’s not easy on the brain. Nasty little bastard that he is. * I’d had a horrendous headache after he’d ‘talked’ with me the first time, and I doubted that he was any more considerate with Nick.
“Nothing,” he answered, looking away. “Just curious.” I had a feeling, though, that he hadn’t been talking about the alcohol. He didn’t say anything more, though. He just sat up in bed, swinging his legs over the side in an attempt to stand. Before he could do much more than that, his stomach made an alarming…gurgle. He looked down at it, and it gurgled again, louder. He motioned me out of the way before toppling off the bed and crawling at high speed towards the bathroom. It was quite a feat, considering that he had one hand over his mouth the whole time. He made it to the bathroom and managed to direct the vomit into the toilet this time. I smirked, remembering the last time.
“Your aim’s improved this round.”
Heave.
“Shaddap.”
Heave.
It sounded mostly liquid, which meant he probably hadn’t had anything to eat all day yesterday. I frowned a little. He was neglecting himself again. * I’m going to have to do something about that. You’d think that after nearly dying out in the desert the man would take better care of himself, but no. He’s determined to drink and smoke himself to death. Just what are you trying to drown out? * I thought I’d known, but given the nature of the situation he was in it was probably something even more horrible than my imagination could come up with. And I was damned good at coming up with nightmare scenarios. I had to be, to try and stay ahead of my enemy. Or rather, enemies.
Nick interrupted my mental worry session by transferring his head from the toilet to the sink, and plunking his head under the tap, where he proceeded to let the water run over him for a while. Occasionally, he’d turn to swallow some of it, and I got a good look at him. Heh, he looked like something the cat dragged in. I watched him for a little longer. There was just something about him that drew my eyes. He was a lanky guy, no doubt about that, but having spent the night pressed up against the wall that served as his chest, I could personally attest to the fact that he was all muscle. Absently, I watched the water run down his neck and soak into his shirt, imagining following its path with my tongue... * Oh, that’s yummy. * My eyes slid closed, and then I quickly jerked them open, shaking my head to clear it. I’d been staring at him. Again. And rather shamelessly this time. I chuckled humorlessly. One of these days Nick himself was gonna catch me staring at him, and I was not looking forward to that little confrontation.
Although, after last night’s revelations, I was beginning to wonder if I should worry more about getting pounced than pounded into the ground. * You do realize that’s also a euphemism for… * I smacked my forehead, sighed, and looked at my watch. Sooner or later, he was going to want to get back to his own room, so I decided to offer my services as an escort. * Language, Vash… * Argh! I had yet to figure out if the voice in my head was my own mental musings or some other entity that delighted in making my life hell with pointed observations about my unfortunate vocabulary choices.
“You feel up to that walk down the hallway?” He shot me a glare that would have made even Meryl pause.
“No, I’m not. I’d almost rather get fed alive to sandworms right now. At least then I’d be put out of my misery.”
“Okay, no then.” Wow. Had he ever even seen a sandworm? I wouldn’t want to get eaten by one of those things. Ever.
“Damn right no! I had to crawl into the bathroom to puke. You really think I can walk down the hallway?” He had a point. But my mischievous nature flared to life once again. Either that, or that nasty little voice had just scored a coup.
“Do you want me to carry you then?” I offered sweetly.
“Fuck you.” He gave me the accompanying hand gesture, and, well. I should have at least tried to keep a reign on things, but I couldn’t resist.
“Was that an offer?” It had been so long since we’d actually bantered back and forth like this. He didn’t answer, though, which could be taken a number of ways. * Guess he wasn’t expecting that from me, of all people. * I heard the water turn off, and saw the door swing closed most of the way. There was the unmistakable sound of a bladder being emptied, followed by the obligatory flush, and then Nick asked through the door, “Hey, Needle-noggin, can I commandeer your bathroom for about another hour?”
“Only if you say ‘please.’”
“How about, if you come into this bathroom for the next hour I’m gonna kick your ass from here to Sunday.” I raised an eyebrow. * Pretty high and mighty from someone who was puking up two bottles of Wild Turkey not too long ago. * We’d nearly gone through all three of the bottles I’d bought last night. * And isn’t today Sunday? *
“That’s a pretty dire threat. It is my bathroom, after all.” I knew for a fact I was in one of the only rooms on this floor with a bathtub. If he thought that he could get away with ‘commandeering’ it without resistance, he had another think coming. Nevermind that I’d already had my turn…Hmm, that brought up an important point. There were now no towels in the bathroom due to my turn. Eheh, I’d been watching Nick sleep instead of keeping my eye on the water level in the tub, and it got a little too full. In the process of mopping up my mess, I’d even gone through all the washcloths. Call me crazy, but I didn’t think Nick would like using a sopping wet towel. So I’d called up to the front desk for more, and there was now a neat stack of them by the door. I grabbed one off the top of the pile and went over to the bathroom, knocking politely on the door. This prompted a rather unexpected outburst from Nick.
“What, you wanna watch?” I perked up. Hells yeah, I wanted to watch!
“All you had to do was ask,” I said, only half joking as I started to turn the doorknob. The door slammed all the way shut in my face, almost taking off some fingers. “Whoa. Okay. Chill out. I was only going to give you a towel. But now I think I might make you come and get it.” I heard him swear briefly, but the door didn’t open again. * Ok, suit yourself, Nick. * I shrugged, and tossed the towel back onto the stack. I heard the water start up again, this time in the tub. Now there was a mental image: Nick, with all his gangly limbs, sprawled out in a bathtub that was doubtless too small for him. Mmmmaybe I shouldn’t be thinking about that. I needed to be thinking about what I was going to do, not who. * Nevermind that I wouldn’t know how to do anything with him even if I had him… * I shook my head. The only downside to not dreaming at night was that I tended to do it during the daytime. At the most inopportune of times. But back to the matter at hand.
Meryl had cornered me the other day and said, rather vehemently, that she wanted to be going. Now. We’d “endangered” November for long enough, according to her, and the fact that nothing had happened yet was a miracle in and of itself. In short, it was time for us to leave. I’d smiled, and nodded, but in reality I had a small problem with that plan of action. The problem being that “us” did not seem to include Nick.
“I don’t want that freeloading sorry excuse for a priest coming with us. He causes almost as much trouble as you do, and when the two of you are together…” She’d shuddered theatrically, and truthfully, I couldn’t really argue with her on that point. Then she had started in on a rant about how I’d been spending way too much time with him, and how she could never keep track of me and that I was going to make her lose her job. Which was when I tuned her out. Listening to Meryl rant is never a fun way to spend time. This method had served me well in the past, and I had utilized it then to try and figure out what the hell had been going on with Nick. That is, until she mentioned the words “should just leave tonight and be done with it.” That got my attention right quick. There was no way in hell I was leaving November right now. Not without some answers.
Somehow, I managed to convince her to stay another day. Don’t ask me how; I doubt it would work twice on her. So, using my borrowed time, I was going to pull a bait and switch on the girls. I really hated tricking Millie like this; she didn’t deserve it. But Meryl was another story entirely. It was her own fault for giving me an extra day, and if she didn’t have the balls to stay in the same room with me to make sure I didn’t slip away under the cover of afternoon, I would keep getting away from her. I chuckled. * I’d probably be able to sneak out from under her nose no matter where she stayed; she snores even louder than Nick does. * But it would have been fun to have an actual challenge, rather than simply entertainment. I started gathering up my things, and let my mind wander off again. For some strange reason, it seemed to want to keep wandering back to last night. Imagine that.
What had happened had unnerved me, a little, and I wasn’t just talking about the fact that Nick had tried to kiss me. I’d never actually tried connecting with a human mind before; I hadn’t even thought it was possible. I’d had a mental connection with my brother, but this was something entirely different. It had been…an incredible experience, but also a frightening one. And I hadn’t even been the one to initiate things. Without even knowing what he was doing, he had pushed right through my shields. It staggered me to think of what he could do if he ever learned how to hone his abilities. And all that anger…I shuddered. I was going to have to be more careful, is all. But as I was fast coming to understand, that might not be enough. Nick already fascinated me, but this new discovery…which made me wonder. * Are there more humans capable of mind-to-mind interaction? * In my limited experience, most people were so closed off to everything but their own worries that any kind of mental openness was impossible. Yet their hopes and fears constantly leaked out around the edges of their natural shields. Shields…I paused in my packing. I had never noticed much in the way of shielding with Legato or Knives, since I’d always had my hands full trying to keep mine from being breached, but I’d noticed last night that Nick’s mind was a veritable fortress. A very strange, very battered fortress, mind you, but still. I had never encountered such strong mental shielding, with the exception of my own - it wouldn’t do for my brother to just pop in for a chat, after all.
And Nick had just busted right past them, with the aid of his anger. It was like he could control it to the point where he could use it against “intruders.” That’s what it looked like, anyways. Having been on the receiving end of things once again, I couldn’t be sure. From all outward appearances, he’d looked like he was about to lose control completely before I was able to remove the source of his anger. Yet I had the distinct feeling that had I not interfered it might have gone away on its own. I shook my head; it was all so very strange, and there was a good possibility that I’d never get the answers to any of my questions. I wish I’d been able to “talk” with him a bit before he passed out, but he probably hadn’t been in any condition to do so anyways. Since it now seemed like he had indeed ‘forgotten’ most of last night’s excitement, thanks to my meddling, I doubted I’d ever get another chance. It made me inexplicably sad, like I’d lost something precious to me.
His reaction to my scars, violent though it was, had been…touching, in a way. That he’d get that angry for me, over events that happened decades ago, was encouraging. As was the Bed Incident as I’d taken to calling it. But with the removal of that memory, he was back to treating me the same way he always did. Like nothing had changed. Heh, I bet my “Was that an offer?” comment had really thrown him, then. “Ya wanna fin’ out?”
I’d had my chance to do so, and I’d balked at it. Could I really blame Nick for doing the same thing? * Let’s not answer that, shall we? * I looked at my watch. Ten more minutes till my “checkout” was discovered. Meryl had made yet another mistake in telling me that she wanted to leave around noon, and it was almost that time now. Time to put my plan into action. While Nick was wallowing in my bath, I would move all my things to his room. If the girls came in, all they’d find was Nick lounging in the bathtub, probably napping too. * Wouldn’t that shock Meryl? * And if they inquired downstairs as to my whereabouts, I’d told the desk clerk that I was headed out towards the Jeneora Rock area, when in reality I was going to be hiding somewhere in the hotel till they left. I smirked. God, I could be such a sneaky little shit sometimes. I swiped Nick’s key off the table, and started for the door. I’d put it back when I was done, and with any luck he’d never notice. However, the presence of my things in his room was not something that even Nick, dense as he was, could overlook, so I’d have to make sure that he didn’t have any reason to go near his room until at least this evening, and then ‘remember’ that I’d already checked out of mine. * And, gosh, here I am without a place to stay. *
Making sure I still had my own key with me, I picked up my pack, and then looked back at the bathroom. It really was unfair of me to leave him without a towel. As funny as it would have been to make him drip-dry, I decided that it wasn’t worth it unless I was around to witness it. * Oh, what a sight that would be, all the water dripping down his body as he glares at me, and… * An intense blush burned its way across my cheeks and started down my chest. * Ok, that’s not funny, that’s just damned hot. * I sighed, wishing that God wasn’t so cruel, and grabbed the towel I’d discarded earlier back off the stack. Much though it pained me to miss out on the lovely little scene I’d just imagined, I needed to get going. I refolded the towel, and left it by the bathroom door.
“He’d better appreciate this,” I muttered as I headed out into the hallway. Sometimes I was too nice for my own good. I walked down the corridor till I came to number 32, and unlocked the door. I opened it, and stopped dead in the doorway. There were trails of clothing and towels laid out like a battle plan, going from bed to bathroom and back again. His cross-gun-thingamy – I was really going to have to find out what the damned thing was called - was cowering in a corner of the room, with most of the ammunition huddled under a table nearby. I didn’t blame it; this place was scary. It hadn’t seemed that bad the last time I’d been in here, but then, it had been dark, I had been worn out from my nightly Nick-hunt, and any stumbling around on my part as I shoved him unceremoniously into his bed to complete our ritual I had put down to my own fatigue. But it was obvious that no one had cleaned this room for four days. What had he done, threatened the maids? * I don’t blame them either. No wonder he’s never let me inside except when it’s too dark to see. The man lives like a pig! * I tiptoed over miscellaneous piles, no doubt strategically placed here and there, till I came over to the one chair in the room that wasn’t occupied by…something. Everything else, I was afraid to touch. I might draw back a stub, and I already had one of those, thanks. I carefully set my bag down, and proceeded to thread my way out of the war zone again. I’d almost made it to the door when a hidden pile attacked me, tripping me up and landing me facedown in what looked to be a girlie magazine. I scrambled to my feet, face burning as the magazine stuck stubbornly to it. I yanked it off, and chucked it in the direction of another pile that was inching closer. I then decided to make a hasty retreat, before the room could eat me alive.
“Nick you are such a pig! Your room will kill me before the Gung-Ho Guns even find me!” I yelled as I slammed the door shut and locked it. I leaned against it, breathing hard for a few seconds. That had been a close one. I drew in a deep breath, and then strolled calmly down the hallway back to my room. I quietly unlocked the door, set Nick’s key back on the table where I’d found it, and scurried back out, heading downstairs.
Taking my cue from Kaite, I hid myself in the public restrooms. Heh, it had been a while since we’d teamed up against the Bad Lads Gang. I frowned. That time I’d very nearly ended a life. Kaite hadn’t understood why I was so adamant about not killing. Come to think of it, neither was Nick. I guess it was just something I couldn’t adequately explain, without sounding…I dunno. I got the feeling that Nick seemed to think that my need to prevent death at all costs meant that I thought myself better than everyone else. And that just wasn’t the case. But I couldn’t tell him why without telling him about Rem. And I couldn’t tell him about Rem without telling him about Knives. I sighed, staring at my reflection in the bathroom mirror. I had been on this planet for over 130 years, yet, to all appearances I was as young and carefree as I acted. There were no lines creasing the face before me. The only sign that I was anything other than I appeared, was probably in my eyes. And the only one to have noticed it was Nick. And possibly Millie, but then, Millie used the same mask of ineptitude that I did, so it would make sense that she’d be able to spot someone trying to pull the same act on her.
I made a face at my reflection, and found an empty stall on the end. I locked myself in, made sure the coast was clear, and then maneuvered up into the ventilation shafts. It was a bit cramped, considering that they don’t really make ventilation shafts for people of my size to hide out in, but I managed it. That is, until my stomach began complaining, both about the cramped quarters and its general state of emptiness. I would have ignored it, except that the rumbling got so loud that I heard someone below me wonder out loud if the pipes were backed up. I looked at my watch again, squinting in the darkness of the shaft. It was about a quarter after one. * Well, I’ve probably been in here long enough. * Probably. I waited till the bathroom was empty again, and carefully eased down into my still-locked stall. I wiped the boot prints off the seat, flushed, and went over to the sinks to wash my hands.
“Yikes! I LOOK like I’ve been hiding in a ventilation shaft!” I exclaimed, taking in my disheveled appearance. I dusted myself off as best I could, even going so far as to take my coat off and shake it out, and shake my hair out too. Which meant I had to spend another five minutes coaxing it back into position. I washed my hands and face, and nodded. I’d pass inspection. I left the bathroom, and meandered over to the cafeteria to see if I could get something to eat. I peeked around the half-wall, hoping to spot Nick and maybe get myself added to his bill in payment for the alcohol last night, but quickly ducked back out of sight.
“Shit!” I swore softly to myself. I’d found Nick all right, but Meryl and Millie were there too, and if Meryl had done a complete scan of the room she would have found the “broom-headed idiot” she was looking for. * Waitaminute. She’s still looking for me. Here. Dammit. * Well, there went my idea of throwing them off track. Jesus Christ, that woman was relentless! I peeked in again. Meryl had her back to me and was at the far corner of the room, standing over Nick’s table, and even from behind it looked like she wanted to strangle him. I chuckled. * He has that effect on everyone, Meryl. Don’t take it personally. *
Meryl scanned the room again, and snarled something at Millie, who nodded and started heading for the door. I ducked back out of sight, cursing my luck. She’d be walking right past my hiding place. If Millie saw me it was all over with. Meryl I could deal with, but all it would take is Millie’s tear-filled aqua eyes and I’d be heading out with them. I held my breath as her hitching half-step passed by. Every third step or so, she’d hike the strap of her stun gun back onto her shoulder. I smiled. Meryl’s walk was more of a forced goose-step. At least she gave plenty of warning that she was coming.
Knowing it wouldn’t be too long before Meryl came storming out after Millie, I stayed in my new hiding place for longer than was probably necessary. Better safe than sorry, right? When I was relatively sure the coast was clear (a few minutes after I had heard the door slam shut) I climbed out of the kitchen trashcan. Thankfully, it had been empty except for a small black cat. I peered around the corner again. Just to be absolutely sure. Nick was looking at his spaghetti in mournful distaste. I guess having to deal with Meryl would sour anyone’s appetite, although I was hungry enough right now to eat what was probably cold, sub-standard spaghetti. My stomach rumbled as a reminder of its lack of fuel. Almost as if he’d heard it, Nick looked up, and when he saw me I figured I might as well sit down with him. Maybe he’d share. * And chickens will soar through the desert skies… *
I plopped down into the chair across from him, and after looking around again just to be 100% sure, asked, “Are they really, really gone?” Constant vigilance was an absolute must with those two demented females involved. I caught myself. I wasn’t being fair to Millie by constantly lumping her in with Meryl. By herself, Millie wasn’t so bad. But she was too damned cute for my peace of mind. Her innocence wouldn’t keep Nick from flirting with her if he really wanted to…Gah, I was actually getting jealous! Over Millie!
Nick smiled, and replied smugly, “Yup. At least for now. Where’d you disappear to?”
“The only safe place from Meryl. The men’s room. She’s gotten awfully pushy.” Pushy. Now there was the understatement of the century.
“This is just a recent thing? I thought she was always like that.” Nick laughed, but really, Meryl wasn’t exactly a laughing matter. She has scary down to an art form. And when that scariness is focused on me…
“You have no idea,” I said gravely, shaking my head.
“Oh, I can imagine,” he retorted. I cocked my head to one side, thinking. Oh yeah. I suppose Legato was a good deal scarier than Meryl could ever hope to be. I’d had that particular brand of scariness focused on me too. Nick’s eyes widened momentarily, before he suddenly burst to his feet and blurted out, “Well, places to go, lambs to save, that sort of thing. May you go with God, my friend.”
My first thought was * I’d rather go with YOU, you idiot, * followed swiftly by * “Not that kind of friends. My kind of friends.” * At that point, all thought processes came to a screeching halt. I swear, I heard gears strip somewhere in my head.
“WHAT?” It was more a statement than a question, though a statement of what, I’m not sure. Disbelief, maybe. Whatever it was, it coincided exactly with the same exclamation from Nick. We stared at each other for maybe three seconds, before Nick recovered with, “Umm, nothing. Look, it’s been real, but I gotta go.” He then turned and headed for the door. Goddammitall. Had he started to remember? Fuck. I should just go. Get away from him. But I couldn’t. Especially not now. It had always been difficult to stay away from him, but more and more, it was becoming damned near impossible. And then he went and breached the one place I thought I could keep safe from him. I kept my bitterness buried under the mask, but it was harder today, for some reason. “Because you’re beautiful.” I looked down at the table, fighting back the tears that had started to form. * Hunh. He didn’t finish his spaghetti. He didn’t even leave a tip, the cheap bastard. * I quickly wiped my eyes. I had to at least badger him about that, if nothing else. Maybe if he got into enough debt with me, I could claim him as a personal slave or something until he worked it off. * Any excuse, right Vash? * I rolled my eyes. After inhaling a breadstick to assuage the ravenous beast taking up residence in my stomach, I tossed some money on the table and resolutely headed out after him. * Any excuse, indeed. *
I left the hotel, did a frantic scan of the area, and finally located him as he headed for the square. He was walking with his head down, occasionally kicking at a rock. I followed him, with the vague idea of finding out just where he was going. I was getting damned tired of him leaving, with no explanation other than “Its time I was heading off again.” It had been partly why I hadn’t stopped him from drinking himself into a stupor night after night. If he wasn’t sober, he couldn’t leave. In theory, anyways. If he had really wanted to, I wasn’t sure I could stop him. Millie’s eyes weren’t the only ones I couldn’t resist.
I finally caught up with him about halfway across the square, and tapped him on the shoulder.
“What is it, Needle-Noggin?” He asked without turning around. The irritation in his voice lashed like a whip, and combined with the fact that he knew who it was without looking caught me a bit off-guard.
“Well, uh... Hey! How did you...?” He cut me off.
“Call it intuition. What did you want?” Ouch. He still wasn’t looking at me. Had he finally figured everything out?
“I was just wondering, well, if you were going the same way, if we could, uh, travel together, you know, it’s cheaper to travel that way...” Sweet angry Jesus, I was babbling again. Someone just shoot me now. * And what happened to getting away from him? *
“I...uh...” He trailed off. It was his turn to stammer a bit. “They’re out of tickets?” * Wow. * Even to me, it sounded like a question.
“Where to? The tickets they’re out of, that is.” Did that come out just a touch sarcastic? Oops. Then Nick turned around, and for a brief moment, I felt my hopes rise up. For some reason, Nick seemed to have a harder time lying to me whenever he looked at me directly. Didn’t stop him entirely, but…
“Jeneora. I’ve gotta go to Jeneora.” +And you can’t come with me.+ * WHAT? *
“WHY?” Something was very wrong here, either with his shields or mine. I shouldn’t keep getting stuff from him like this. I shouldn’t be getting anything from him, at all. It was too dangerous.
“Because you can’t! I mean, because I have to.” I was a little taken aback by this. * Because I can’t? Because you have to? * It was like he’d been answering two questions at once. Or rather, that he’d answered the right question the wrong way. Jeneora Rock…Funny, that’s where I’d told the desk clerk I was headed. * Guess I’ll need a change of plans, then. *
“Oh,” I said softly. I had to accept that maybe, this time, he was telling the truth. It hadn’t sounded like his normal bullshit, and there had been a degree of panic in his voice when I’d asked him why. He really was going to Jeneora Rock, and I, for whatever reason, had to stay away. “Okay.” Without even saying goodbye, Nick turned around and left. And maybe that was for the best. Maybe I should leave after all. Put some distance between us, and try to figure out what was going on in my muddled head. Figure out why I kept hearing his voice in my head when I never could before. Figure out…
“WHY ME?” A forlorn wail rent the air. * Yeah, that too. Waitaminute… * I whipped around. Had that been Nick? I frowned. Nick was chatting calmly with the man at the ticket counter. Had I only imagined it? * And didn’t he say they were out of tickets? * Once again I had that feeling of something being off-kilter. I squared my shoulders and decided to go after him one more time. Third time’s the charm and all that jazz. Every step of the way, my pride screamed at me, joined in after a few feet by my ego, and then my Id. My conscience piped up as well. Boy, all the bits and pieces of my soupy brain were ganging up on me today. All that was missing was...
* You idiot. * The Voice. It sounded suspiciously like Meryl this time, which I so did not need right now. * You great, big, fucking IDIOT. What are you doing, you absolute dumbass? He’s just going to reject you. AGAIN. You do realize this, right? * I had almost caught up to him by this point in the inner harangue. * Fuck, you really don’t know when to give up, do you? * Now it sounded like Nick again. Perfect. I took a deep breath, and tapped him on the shoulder again.
“Fuck, you really don’t know when to give up, do you?” he snarled as he turned around. Whoa, deja-fuckin-VU, man! If I hadn’t felt so much like crying, I would have laughed. Great minds think alike, and all that.
“Umm…” When in doubt, plow bravely onward. “How about one last round of drinks before you head off into the sunset?”
I should have gotten smacked for that. I was expecting to get smacked for that. What I got came as a complete and total surprise: a civil answer.
“I do other things besides drink, you know.” He almost sounded…indignant.
“Really? Like what?” I was curious, truly curious. This was news. I mean, yeah, I suppose he had to have a few hobbies, but the only things I’d ever seen him do were drink, smoke, and shoot. And attempt projectile vomiting.
“Play chess?” Was he asking if I knew how to play? Or if I wanted to play? Either way, the answer was hell yes!
“Really? Do you want to play a game? I’ve been told that I’m not a bad player, actually.” At last, I had someone else to play against. Getting beat - repeatedly - by Millie - was harsh even on my ego. But the game tips she handed out like penny candy were worth it. Well worth it. She’d also taught me a few new moves that I’d been dying to try out… “C’mon, I know where we can find a board.” I started for the Wit’s End, knowing someone there would have a chess set we could borrow. I’d found the place during one of my Nick-hunts, but I never thought I’d get a chance to go back since it was more highbrow than Nick’s usual choice of dives. Which meant the place was relatively clean and they didn’t serve alcohol. In fact, it was basically a spot for the local teens to hang out. We’d probably be a little out of place going in there, but if nothing else, we’d provide some entertainment for that night’s crowd. I turned back to look at Nick, who was still standing there. “Well? What are ya, chicken?” I winked at him, and kept walking. * Let the games begin. *
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