Trigun Fan Fiction ❯ Forever Mine ❯ Ode to Showers ( Chapter 4 )

Disclaimer: Hmmm... I own my kids (Because I made them) I own my husband, (Because the Marriage License says so) and I own a REALLY big mortgage. (Because I'm stupid and signed on the dotted line.) However I don't own Trigun. (Because if I did, I wouldn't have said mortgage.)

 

“blah blah” : talking

`blah blah' : thinking

“blah blah” : telepathic talking

blah blah : other misc. stuff.

 

*~*~*

 

 

Forever Mine

 

Chapter 4: Ode to Showers

 

 

 

 

 

Since water was such precious commodity on the arid planet, Vash would normally shower quickly in order to conserve the treasure as much as possible. However, today he lingered under the hot spray, enjoying the way it felt as it worked the remaining fatigue and soreness out of his muscular body.

 

Besides, he deserved it.

 

`The only way this could be better if I had my insurance girl in here with me to wash my back,' the wet outlaw thought before his imagination veered naughtily. `I could think of something else that I would just love to have her wash…' Vash internally groaned as he closed his eyes to fantasize about Meryl and him in the shower together.

 

`No wait… don't think like that…' thought the now aroused blonde, but unfortunately, the realization came too late. “Oh man… now I'm gonna need a cold shower…” he whined out loud as he moved to change the temperature of the falling spray.

 

Vash let the cool water return his body back to its `normal' condition (though, with Meryl around, his body's condition always seemed to be semi-aroused) before he deemed it time to turn the water off. Exiting the shower, he grabbed a faded green towel from the nearby towel rack and wiped the water from his body. Once satisfied that all of the excess moisture had been removed, he slung the damp towel over his uninjured shoulder and quickly dressed in a clean pair of boxer-briefs and his familiar gray pajama bottoms.

 

Then the blonde began to towel dry his hair, the best that he could, by using only his left arm as he stepped over the to steamed mirror. Realizing that he still hadn't looked at the newest bullet hole that marred the flesh of his right shoulder, he toweled the mirror free of the haze and inspected the wound.

 

“Wow, it's healing pretty fast,” Vash declared as he turned slightly to look at the exit wound. “I don't think I'll be doing my hair for a few days, though… at least I'll be saving on my hair gel.” He added with a grin before starting the mundane task of getting ready for the day. He began by combing his damp hair to remove any tangles then applying deodorant, though it was pretty tricky with the bum shoulder. The next order of business would be to brush his teeth and, finally, shaving, if he deemed it necessary.

 

`I can't have bad breath while my insurance girl is going to be so close,' he thought as placed the cool mint gel toothpaste (because it's good for fighting plaque and gingivitis) on his toothbrush. He then placed the minty-fresh cavity protector in his mouth and began to brush just as he heard her climbing the steps. A moment later, the petite beauty walked past the bathroom. Suddenly, a mouth-watering scent of honey-glazed doughnuts floated by the door…

 

“Oooohhhhh… I smell doughnuts…”

 

With the toothbrush forgotten in his mouth, Vash instantly moved to open the door so he could head down the hall to her room, but just as his prosthetic hand wrapped around the knob, he stopped. He didn't want her to think that he was desperate, but of course, she already knew that when it came to doughnuts he was. However, this time he decided to finish his grooming first, minus the shaving and returned to the mirror to finish brushing his teeth. A few minutes later, he casually opened the door and began the short trek to the room at the end of the hall.

 

Upon reaching the open door, he stopped momentarily to gaze at the petite woman. There she was, standing in profile, while facing the bed that he had slept in up until about a half an hour ago. Adorning her face was a winsome smile that he just somehow knew he had something to do with. `Maybe I won't need that much luck after all,' the outlaw thought before making his presence known.

 

“Thank you, short-girl!” Vash squealed as he made a beeline toward the tray that was sitting on the nightstand next to the bed. He immediately looked to the tray and noticed that not only doughnuts were there for his consumption, but also his favorite `real' food as well. “Are those salmon sandwiches, too?” he asked in awe as he picked one up. “You are just too good to me!” he added an instant later as shoved the whole thing in his mouth.

 

Meryl just smiled and shook her head as the tall blonde sat on the bed and began to devour the entire contents on the tray before him. `Man, I hope he doesn't eat the bandages,' she mentally added as a light chuckle escaped her lips. He heard her laughter and gave her a look the said `what?' but he couldn't really say anything because his mouth was stuffed too full of his two favorite treats. Then as a huge grin appeared on her face, Meryl laughed, “Oh Vash… you are just too funny sometimes!”

 

“Mwhot…Mwi twout tat mou twout tat mwi mwos muffing mwat man midit?” Vash mumbled with his mouth still full.

 

“What?”

 

Vash swallowed what remained of his lunch before repeating what he said a second ago. “I said, that I thought that you thought that I was nothing but an idiot?”

 

“Oh… I don't think that you're nothing but an idiot!” the petite beauty replied defensively. “Well… I guess I used too, but now…”

 

“But now, Meryl?” the smiling gunman urged as he stared intently into her, once again heather-colored, eyes.

 

Meryl blushed prettily as she turned away from the smiling man before her. “I… umm… I… think that you're actually… umm… well… really pretty great,” she whispered shakily.

 

“Well… I think that you are really pretty great, too,” the blonde sincerely admitted without even the tiniest hint of humor in his voice.

 

`Did he just say what I thought he said?' Meryl thought, taken aback, as she turned back around to face the man that haunted her dreams and had been the main attraction in all of her wildest fantasies. She intently studied the equally blushing man before asking, “You do?”

 

“Yeah,” Vash whispered very shyly as his blush intensified.

 

Meryl turned even a brighter shade red at his confession, rapidly looking down while finding something very interesting on the floor before her.

 

`Oh, here we go again…' Vash internally muttered, instantly recalling how Meryl reacted to the intimate moment they previously shared. `Can't let that happen again,' he added before he decided it was time to change the direction of their conversation. “So, insurance girl… are you ready to bandage my shoulder for me?”

 

“What? Oh yeah…” Meryl hastily replied before laughing lightly and looking up to the now smiling man before her. Without hesitation, she walked up to him and studied the wound a moment before picking up the bottle of meds on the tray and shaking two out. “For the pain,” she simply stated as she handed him the pills and along with the glass of water.

 

“Thank you,” Vash said with a smile before taking the given medicine and drinking the water. After setting the glass back on the almost empty tray, he gave Meryl a slight nod while advising that it was okay to begin the re-bandaging of his right shoulder.

 

“So, exactly how long ago were you shot?” Meryl asked as she gently applied ointment filled gauze pads to the front and back of the wound.

 

“Well, it took me about three days to walk back here with Knives on my other shoulder. So, I would say about three and a half days ago.”

 

“Wow, considering the extent of the wound, this really is healing very quickly! I would say even better than the last one,” she commented, while starting to wrap Vash's shoulder.

 

“Yeah, I agree. Knives knew exactly where to shoot, so, it wouldn't cause too much damage,” the outlaw replied, breathing deeply as he took in the petite woman's scent. `She really smells good!' he mentally groaned before noting, `Oh man… just as good as doughnuts… no better… ugh… she's killing me...'

 

“Well, I would say that you did the same to him, right? I mean his wounds are almost completely closed as well.”

 

“That's nice…” Vash muttered dreamily as his senses went into overload from having Meryl so close to him.

 

“Vash, are you okay?”

 

“Huh?! Oh… uhhh… yeah… I just spaced out there for a moment,” Vash goofily laughed as he raised his left hand to scratch the back of his head.

 

Meryl just smiled and shook her head again as she completed the bandaging of the strong shoulder before her. Once she was finished, she began to clean up the mess and placed the remains back on the tray to take down stairs. However, her ponderings strayed to a more serious note as she recalled her thoughts from earlier in the day. But instead of bombarding Vash with a tirade of questions, she just looked up to him and asked one…

 

“What now, Vash?”

 

“Well, I do have a plan, but I want to wait until the big-girl comes back before I discuss it with you… errr… I mean, you two,” Vash stammered as he continued to take in the form in front of him.

 

Meryl just nodded her head in understanding as she walked over to her typewriter and picked up the half full coffee cup next to it. `Great, he's planning on leaving us,' she thought sadly as she took a sip of the concoction grown cold before carrying it back with her so she could set it on the tray in order to take it downstairs.

 

“When will she be back?”

 

“Well, she normally works until about four-thirty or five, but since they hit water yesterday, who knows…” Meryl replied quietly as she looked at the striking man sitting on the bed.

 

“Yeah, I'll tell ya'… seeing the water shooting up in the air like that… now that was something,” Vash said, recalling his walk into town yesterday and seeing the glorious sight. `Of course, it was nothing compared to seeing you all wet…' he added mentally.

 

After his recollection, the two simply remained in place, while staring at one another as time seemed to slow around them and silence enshrouded the space. After what seemed like a lifetime, Meryl finally broke the spell by mumbling something about having to finish cleaning the kitchen. She quickly turned to pick up the tray on the nightstand, while trying to escape intensity of the suddenly intimate moment. However, she was immediately stopped as a strong hand grasped her right wrist.

 

“Wait Meryl…” Vash pleaded as he gently pulled the petite woman toward him and whispered, “Please, don't hit me for this…” The very next instant, he wrapped his arms around her tiny waist and laid his head on her collarbone with his nose grazing the crook of her slender neck.

 

In shock, Meryl just stood there for a moment, waiting for Vash to become the spiky-headed buffoon and start flinging her around again, just like the last time he hugged her. Fortunately, that didn't happen. He just sighed contently and tightened his embrace around her waist as he nuzzled further into her taut form. Upon realizing that this was a genuine hug, she instantly dropped her guard and returned the embrace by wrapping her arms around his neck and left shoulder while she laid her cheek on top of his slightly upturned brow.

 

“Oh Vash…” she whispered before sighing as she began to play with the hairs on the base of his neck. `This feels so amazing, I only hope that this isn't a goodbye hug…'Meryl added mentally as she closed her eyes to enjoy feel of being held in the strong, yet soothing arms.

 

Upon feeling the sensation of her fingers in his hair again, the tall blonde tentatively started to caress the small of Meryl's back with his real hand while his own thoughts strayed to the conversation that he had with Wolfwood before he passed away…

 

“Hey, Vash?”

 

“Yeah, Wolfwood?”

 

“Could you do me a favor?”

 

“Sure, what it is?”

 

“When this is over, will you please tell her how you feel?”

 

“I will.”

 

“Promise me that you will! You deserve a little happiness, Tongari,” added the preacher.

 

Vash thought about the request for a moment before replying, “I will Nicholas, I promise I will!”

 

`No time like the present,' Vash thought nervously as he pulled slightly away from the insurance girl in his arms. He looked up to her flushed face and stared deeply into her radiant eyes. He had never wanted, no needed, anything more in all of his one hundred and thirty odd years of existence, than he did her and he was going to tell her, even if it meant dying a horrible death or in Meryl's case, subjected to a sound thrashing.

 

“Ummm… Meryl?” he began as he brought his prosthetic hand up to cup her cheek.

 

“Yyy…yes Vash?” Meryl whispered anxiously, while gazing into his darkening jade- colored eyes.

 

“I… errr… well…” he started as he slowly lowered her face to his.

 

“VVV…Vash?” she breathed as her eyes wandered to his firm, but supple lips.

 

“I really…” Vash continued, their lips now only a breath apart. “I really… lo…”

 

Suddenly, a gasp was heard from doorway and both parties that were caught in such an intimate embrace shot apart, while blushing profusely. Then the next thing they heard was a very embarrassed giggle and…

 

“Whooopsies, sorry about that!”