Eluding Meryl, Vash climbed up on the top of a building with his box of donuts and sat with it on his lap. He chuckled to himself. She'd even bought them at his favorite bakery. At least she had a good sense of taste! The little insurance girl always seemed to have exactly the right kind of donuts even in the middle of the desert. He had no idea where she got them all, or how she was able to elude his nose long enough to hide them from him… Vash always found them of course, and she always chased him to get them back, so he made a game of it every single time.

Munching on the last of the donuts, he craned his head over the ledge of the building and watched Meryl walk by, still looking for him. He ducked back and put the box to the side, wondering how much more time he had before needing to go back to get his things to join the caravan. Vash didn't have a watch on him, although he had an alarm clock in his bag, but there wasn't much activity this morning and he knew from previous experience the caravan caused quite an amount of confusion.

It was a pity he had to cut the morning short like this, but he needed to get away. His thoughts turned to the night before and there was a pang in his heart. He enjoyed the wedding with Milly. It was the most fun he had since… well, in quite a long time! The insurance girls, and even Wolfwood, made his travels so much more enjoyable, and he found himself looking forward to them being there with him. Although now that things were to return to normal, he knew he would have to close off his heart for a time.

Vash swallowed, if he didn't, he'd remember his emotions from that night… How he felt when he stumbled into the hotel room and found that Milly was missing from the couch. His heart jumped and in a haze he rushed from one room to the other looking for her, discovering after a few seconds, that she had managed to move herself to the bedroom. With a relieved sigh, Vash threw himself down on the bed and stared up at the ceiling.

Everyone was completely fooled, they said it time and again, and they reveled in the fact that they had pulled off such a huge hoax. Some people grumbled that it wasn't quite the first of April anymore, so it was kind of a late prank… But most people drank themselves silly and danced the night away. Vash joined in and at one point Milly was in his arms, swinging around in circles, shaking her rear as she jumped up onto a table, right before she passed out and he carried her up to her room, much to Meryl's dismay. The little insurance girl followed them the entire way, watched as he lay Milly down on the couch and then forced him out of the room again to leave her alone.

But Meryl went to bed before he did, and she didn't have the key to his hotel room even though she'd managed to move their things to the same hotel, the room next to his. As he lay in bed staring at the ceiling, Milly moaned, and he turned his head to look at her. She was flushed, wearing blue jeans and a white shirt, it lay open slightly, most likely from thinking it was too hot. He smiled and rolled over on his side to look at her, putting his fingers to her hair to push a fallen curl from her cheek. "I could have actually married you today," he said slowly. He shook his head and pulled himself up, feeling his head spin as he did so. The morning would not be kind to him, he realized.

Milly made a noise again and Vash watched her fingers go to her shirt, and he turned away, she was trying to get undressed! He blushed, swallowed, and turned, Milly was asleep again, and he had quite the view… Vash closed his eyes, this would not do, he should leave, take the couch… But she looked so uncomfortable, the least he could do was take her shoes off.

He slid down off the bed and sat down at her feet, untying her shoelaces. Vash would miss being with her, just as he missed Rem, just as he missed so many people he left over the years. His family was probably worried sick about him, but he hadn't returned to the village in years. He pulled Milly's shoes off and set them at the foot of the bed. He couldn't go back there with the girls following him. It would be some time before he would shake them, or even being willing to.

Vash got back to his feet and looked down at Milly. Her shirt was hanging open and he glanced over to the doorway where Meryl sat Milly's things. She'd kill him. The little girl would just kill him if she found Milly in that disheveled state. Besides… Vash reached up and pulled Milly's shirt off. The insurance girl didn't make a sound. He looked at the scars that traveled down her side. She kept her promise, she didn't spoil the surprise, so maybe… No, Vash shook his head and unbuttoned her pants, sliding them from her legs and saw that the scars went all the way down her leg.

Turning, he folded up her clothes and placed them in her bag, retrieving her pajamas and returning to the bed. This is merely to make her comfortable, he said to himself, pulling her up into a sitting position and maneuvering her pajama top on, before setting her back down and working on her pants. One leg at a time and then pulling them up over her rump, she remained asleep the entire time. He smiled, grabbing the covers from the end of the bed and pulling them up over her torso.

The gunman took off his shirt and went over to his own bag, glancing over his shoulder at the sleeping girl. He smiled faintly, so much for the honeymoon! He pulled on his sleeping clothes and sat back down on the bed. "Well, Miss Milly… I guess I'm going to have to sleep on the couch now." Leaning over, he kissed her gently on the forehead and watched as a small smile spread on her lips.

"You don't have to," she whispered faintly.

Vash jumped, his heart pounding. His jaw dropped open, he started to think feverishly about her knowing he had changed her into her pajamas, that she knew he was there right then, that she was even happy that he was here with her… But… He waited, trying to calm his breathing, "Milly? Are you awake?"

She rolled over and mumbled, "I have enough pudding for now… We'll go out for more later…" A sigh of relief came from Vash as he realized she was just talking in her sleep. He put a hand to his heart and started to slide out of the bed. "Don't go, Vash…" There was a hand on his wrist, and Vash blinked. When had she done that? "Stay with me, please."

Was she still dreaming? Or was she awake? Vash sat back down on the bed, moving his legs so he could lean over and look into her face. Her eyes were moving under her eyelids. She was still dreaming, wasn't she? He licked his lips and whispered in her ear, "Please, don't play around…"

Milly never released her grip on his hand and he sighed. She didn't move except to breathe. He knew he should pry her fingers off of his wrist and leave her alone, but she smelled so nice and her hand was so soft. Vash swallowed, what would it hurt? It would break his heart, that's what it would do… He set his head down on the pillow but moved to lay on his side to face away from her. He squeezed his eyes shut. No wonder love broke so many human hearts. This hurt nearly as much as losing Rem… He sighed a long choked sob. Milly was still holding his hand as he fell asleep.

Vash felt that same sob reach his chest as he sat on the rooftop. The tears rolled down his cheeks and he fought to wipe them away. He knew what he was getting into… But he still went for it. He still had the time of his life, and he was hurt because of it. He would never be able to love someone as long as his brother still lived, as long as there were still people out there trying to take his life… A gunman would never be able to marry, never be able to be happy the conventional way… He would never be completely human… Vash put his hands to his face and cried.

When his tears dried, he straightened his coat and set his features. Someday he would be free. And then… And then maybe, he would finally be able to play the ultimate game… Until then, it was time to get back to business. Vash stood and looked over the city. "It's time to go." He jumped off the side of the roof and disappeared.

RLS

6/02/05

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