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Not Quite Worthless	By : Scathach Category: +S to Z > Trigun Views: 6672 -:- 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
- 4
- 5
- 6
I�m glad to see that people seem to like how I�m writing
Knives. I think he�s one of the hardest
characters to write (next to Millie), so I appreciate the words of support.
Thanks for reading, and don�t forget to review!

Chapter 5

Vash had been a gentleman aet het her take the first shower,
so Meryl was now sitting on her bed in her towel, fretting over her small
wardrobe. Even though she had protested
the party, she now found herself at a loss for what to wear. She didn�t want to overdress, but she didn�t
want to waste the chance to attract Vash�s attention either.

�This is too hard,� she moaned, falling on her back. She was glad no one was around to see her
acting like a teenager. She was
starting to make herself sick.

Footsteps outside her door made her sit up just before
Millie walked in. �Meryl? What are you doing?�

�Nothing! I�ll be
down to help in a moment.� Meryl forced a cheerful smile on her face.

Millie didn�t reply, simply went into Meryl�s closet and pulled
out a lilac dress. �Why don�t you wear
this one? I don�t think you ever have.�
She tossed it to her friend. �And I�m
sure Mr. Vash will like it.� She winked.

Meryl felt her smile become more genuine, even as her face
turned a light pink. �Thanks, Millie.�

The tall woman nodded, satisfied. �We�ll be waiting downstairs, Meryl! Don�t be too much longer!�

The door closed behind Millie, leaving Meryl clutching the
dress and blinking. She supposed she
better hurry up.

She hurried into her clothes, taking the time to smooth on a
scented lotion she had treated herself to a few months before. As she pulled the dress over her head, the
scent of honeysuckle rose around her and she inhaled briefly. Taking a quick look at herself in the
mirror, she allowed herself a shy smile.
This dress was sleeveless, with wide straps, a fitted bodice and a
sweetheart neckline.

She had bought it in a rare moment of weakness during one of
their stops, but it remained packed away until they settled in their current spot. It showed more skin than she was usually
comfortable with, but she repressed her normal shyness�she had a plan to carry
out.

Before she could lose her nerve, she ran out of the room and
down the stairs to help Millie in the kitchen.
Knives was no longer there, having apparently done his good deed for the
day. The counter boasted three baking
sheets dotted with mounds of cookie dough, and Millie was arranging the
crackers and salmon on an empty tray.
She looked up with a big smile as Meryl came in.

�See, Meryl, I told you that was a nice dress. You should wear it more often.� Millie turned to her friend. �Oh yeah, and I think a few people are
coming by.�

�People?� Meryl echoed.

It still took her off guard at times�she was so used to
being on the run that she still found it hard to believe that the townspeople
had settled back down after Vash had returned with his brother. The men were ashamed of themselves for what
they had done to a defenseless, unarmed man.
The fact that he had made no move to protect himself also was a factor
in his favor.

Meryl had even gone so far as to request a letter from the
mayor of Inepril City, who happened to be related to the owner of the general
store. The whole town heard of how Vash
had saved the city from the Nebraska family.
This was in spite of the fact that the residents of Inepril had
attempted to kill him for the bounty on his head.

Even after all that, he then turned around and allowed the
town to collect the entire bounty on the Nebraskas; giving them money they
desperately needed in order to repair their plant. These facts, in addition to
Meryl and Millie�s passionate and sincere pleas were more than enough to sway
opinion in their favor.

Millie nodded.
�Yeah, I mean it�s a party, right?
We can�t eat all this food anyway.�

Meryl�s first instinct was to scold her friend, but then
sighed. After browbeating Vash into what was supposed to be a romantic walk,
she had decided to make more of an effort to loosen up a bit. �I suppose you�re right, Millie. And we
deserve a little fun!� She smiled as she took the jambalaya off the heat.

When she turned around, Millie was frowning, with one hand
on her lower back. Meryl immediately
felt guilty, and made her friend sit down.
�It�s alright, Millie, I can take it from here. What�s left?�

Millie looked thoughtful.
�I think that�s everything�except for the cookies. I wanted to wait almost until the last
minute for those. That way, the house
can be full of the cookie smell when people get here.�

Meryl smiled.
�That�s a great idea.� She
wished she had Millie�s knack for making people feel welcome. She checked the stove�s temperature�hmm,
better give it another few minutes.

Millie stretched her arms above her head, looking around the
kitchen in contentment. �You know,
Meryl��

Her friend looked up in response, questioning.

�Vash isn�t like�some other men. I don�t think he feels urgency like the rest of us do.� Millie laid her hands across her rounded
belly with a faint smile. �So if you
want something to happen, you�ll have to give him a nudge.�

�I know.� Meryl sighed.
�I�m afraid of being too forward and scaring him off. But I�m also afraid of waiting any
longer. Look how long it�s taken me to
get this far.�

A knock at the front door interrupted their talk, and the
first of the guests called out a cheerful greeting. Vash yelled his response from the top of the stairs, and then
proceeded to rumble down them like a herd of thomases.

Meryl barely kept her feet as Vash sprinted past her to
welcome their guests. With a frown, she
began to load the cookies into the oven.

�Stupid broomhead.� She muttered. She closed the oven door
to look up and see Knives watching her. He was dressed in his normal
long-sleeved shirt and slacks. �Did you
need something, Knives?� she asked crisply.

�I want to know when the cookies are done.� He said before
going into the living room.

***

To her surprise, Meryl wound up having a relatively pleasant
evening. Some women came by bringing extra
food, someone else brought a radio and the front yard became an impromptu dance
floor.

Some of the yer wer women dared to lightly flirt with
Knives. The handsome blond invalid had
achieved an almost mythic status among the unmarried women of the town. His looks, mysterious background and aloof
manner assured that he was the topic of many a hushed and giggly
conversation. To his companions�
surprise, he accepted the attention given him, even deigning to offer his
subjects a small smile or two.

Meryl braved the crowds to bring out another tray of
cookies, and wound up next to an impatient Knives. He was sitting next to a small table bearing a crumb laden
serving plate.

�You�re well-behaved tonight.� She remarked.

He shrugged and picked a cookie off the tray. Round and perfect�it must be one of
his.

�Who am I to stop them from paying me my due homage? It�s nothing less than I deserve as a
superior being.� He then gave her a
positively evil grin. �Perhaps if you
followed their example, you would have more luck with my brother.� He motioned to where a bashful-looking Vash
was surrounded by a group of giggling females.

Meryl�s gaze followed his hand, and her heart fell.

Knives continued on blithely, �And your performance this
morning was nothing short of high comedy.
Or should I say tragedy? Both
words seem so apt to describe your pursuit of my brother.�

Meryl froze, then calmly slid the cookies from her tray onto
the empty plate. Before Knives could
recognize the glint in her eye, she swung the tray at him, catching him on the
shoulder and head.

�Gimpy bastard!� she yelled before turning and stomping back
into the house. It didn�t help her
temper to hear the coos of concern coming from Knives� �harem.�

***

Vash was deflecting yet another question about his
relationship with Meryl when he heard his brother�s cry of pain and watched her
subsequent flight. Sighing, he excused
himself from the ladies and turned towards Knives. To his surprise, there were no less than four women fawning over
his brother, each vying to be the one to tend his injury.

He briefly wondered at the injustice of it all. No amount of puppy-eyes or fake tomato juice
wounds had ever gotten him that kind of attention. Sighing, he turned towards the house instead, only to be blocked
by Millie.

�Here, Mr. Vash, give her this.� She handed him a glass with a colorful drink in it.

�What is it?� he asked.

�It used to be my favorite before I got pregnant.� She
winked at him.

Damn, Vash thought. There�s
probably enough alcohol in this to stop a sandworm.

�I�m sure she�ll enjoy it, then.� He said, with a nervous
laugh. Before anything else could
happen, he went into the house.

�Meryl?� he called.
She wasn�t in the kitchen, and the living room was empty, too. He was about to check upstairs when he heard
a creak from the back porch.

He pushed open the old door slowly, not wanting to startle
her. She didn�t turn when he stepped
onto the porch. He sat on the steps
next to her, careful not to spill the drink.

�Sorry about Knives.� He offered. �I brought you a drink.�

Meryl was silent for a moment. Then she laid her hand on his prosthetic arm, the one Knives shot
off in July. �I think you�ve taken
enough responsibility for his actions. I don�t blame you for anything.� She gave him a small smile and took the
glass from his hand.

lasslass=MsoNormal>Vash blinked, feeling his eyes begin to sting. �Thank you.� He murmured. After another
moment he asked, �Is it anything I can
help with?�

�No�no, I�ll get over it.�
She looked at him quizzically.
�Where�s your drink?�

He scratched the back of his head. �I forgot?�

Meryl shook her head.
�Why does that not surprise me?� she muttered, and took a hefty
swig. Her eyes widened and watered, but
she managed to gasp out, �Millie?�

Vash looked at her apologetically. �Yeah, Millie made it.�

Meryl cleared her throat, then took another small sip. This time, the sip warmed on the way down,
instead of burning a path to her stomach.

She held it out to him.
�Want some? I know I won�t be
able to finish it on my own.�

He accepted with a smile.
�Thanks.� He took a cautious
sip. �Not bad.�

Meryl smiled, relaxation starting to spread through
her. Maybe Millie knew what she was
doing after all. Music spilled faintly
from the front yard, and she began to hum along slightly. She took another small sip from their shared
drink.

Vash looked over at Meryl without her noticing. Her eyes were soft, and she wore a wistful
smile. And that dress was killing
him. The expanse of skin she was
showing just begged for attention. And
she smelled like honeysuckle�which was quickly beginning to catch up to
fresh-baked donuts as his favorite scent.

Vash recognized the danger he was in. He wanted to do
something, but was all too aware that he was just tipsy enough where anything
he said would more than likely come out wrong.

Retribution would be swift and blinding.

He heaved a sigh�nothing was ever easy.

A ragged cheose ose from the backyard, and both of them
turned their heads in response.

�Want to go check it out?�
Vash suggested. He rose smoothly
and offered Meryl his hand. She took it
and let him pull her up, for one second thinking about just letting inertia
carry her into his arms.

Once upright, she wobbled a bit from the alcohol, but
straightened quickly. She didn�t want
to seem like some sort of drunken floozy, throwing herself all over him.

Meryl turned to him with a smile and said, �Let�s go
then.� He was standing on a lower step,
and their faces were almost level. She
swallowed; his aqua eyes seemed darker than usual. A lock of hair fell across his forehead, and before she could
stop herself, she brushed it away from his face, her hand sliding down to
linger on his cheek.

Vash�s eyes widened slightly, their color deepening even
more. As Meryl began to pull her hand
back, he took it in his own. Keeping her gaze all the while, he kissed her
palm.

She froze; held in thrall by both the light touch and the
intensity of his gaze. His eyes dipped
momentarily to her mouth before he slid his lips down to the inside of her
wrist, kissing her once more.

Meryl stared at him, wide-eyed and incredulous until he
placed a hand at her back and gently steered her into the house and towards
their guests.

For the rest of the night, she managed to act as if nothing
had happened, but her arm still tingled long after the party ended. She was
cleaning up the kitchen alone, having sent Millie on to bed. Vash came in as she was finished, having
just helped load the last drunken guest into a friend�s car. Knives, of course, was nowhere to be found,
tending to disappear when any mention of housework was made.

�Need any help?� he asked, leaning against the door.

�No,� Meryl answered, wiping a dish dry. �I�m just about done.� She covered an unfinished tray of salmon
with foil and placed it in the refrigerator.
Turning around, she saw him giving her the same look he had given her
out on the porch.

p>

�Don�t.� she said softly.

He looked perplexed, and she struggled to find the words to
explain. �I mean�if it�s�if you don�t
mean it�then don�t.� She turned back to face the counter, no longer able to
look him in the eye.

He remained silent for a moment, then walked over to stand
behind her. She refused to face him,
but could hardly ignore the heat radiating from his form. His low voice soothed and inflamed her
nerves all at once.

�Do you really think I would toy with you?� He asked. After
a pause, she shook her head, still refusing to look at him. Vash began to trace light circles on her
bare shoulder, and he smiled as her breathing changed and bumps rose on her
skin.

�Good.� He paused, and she could hear the smile in his
voice. �Because you know the goof isn�t
all there is to me�just like the insurance girl isn�t all there is to you.�

He lifted her seemingly boneless hand, and pressed it over
her heart. �There�s a romantic in
there. You don�t have to admit it, I
can tell. Listen to her sometimes. I think she gets me.� He finally stepped back from her and walked
out of the kitchen, leaving Meryl to think on his words.

Meryl was torn between chagrin that her chase had been
turned on her, and glee that the lips of Vash the Stampede had actually made
contact with part of her body. And if
he could reduce her to speechlessness just by kissing her wrist, she might be a
gibbering idiot by the time it was all over.
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