Trigun Fan Fiction ❯ In Vino Veritas ❯ Chapter 2

In Vino Veritas
By Esor

Chapter 2

On a typical day, Meryl Stryfe would usually be one of the first people up in the morning. By the time her partner Milly Thompson rose, Meryl was already on her second cup of coffee, diligently typing away at the seemingly endless tide of paperwork. But today wasn't a typical day. It was nearly noon by the time Meryl stirred, groggily squinting at the blinding sunlight filtering through the window. As awareness came flooding back, Meryl tried to sit up, only to have the room begin whirling about in wild, eccentric circles.

"Ohhhh..." Meryl moaned, clutching the sides of her head as her temples flared with throbbing pain. "What happened?"

While her spiraling surroundings slowed to a stop, Meryl eased out from under the covers and sat on the edge of the bed, absently noting that she was still wearing the same clothes as yesterday. Attempting to ignore the burgeoning headache, she looked around the small bedroom, trying to sort through the cloudy fog that obscured her memory. What the hell happened to her? The last thing Meryl remembered clearly was mentally berating Vash for his recklessness. Then, the bartender offered her a drink and the rest of the night melted away into a blurry haze.

"Great. Who doesn't love starting the day off with a hangover..." Meryl muttered darkly as she stood, continuing to hold the side of her head while she slowly made her way downstairs to the sparsely populated main room of the tavern.

"Over here, Meryl!!" Milly shouted from her seat on the other side of the room, causing her partner to wince as the high pitched voice echoed within her delicate ears.

Meryl smiled weakly and waved to the tall woman while she walked over to the bar. "Coffee. Black. Now." She snarled to the bartender. Moments later, she was rewarded with a mug of the blessed, and highly caffeinated, liquid. Deeply inhaling the rich aroma while she cradled the mug in her small hands, Meryl walked over to Milly's table and sat down.

Meryl took a long drink of coffee, savoring the taste as the dark brew began to work it's magic. Her muscles relaxed, her fatigue faded away slightly, and the once searing pain pounding through her head was slowly winding down to a dull ache.

"You sure slept a long time this morning, Meryl." Milly chirped. "I wanted to wake you up, but Mr. Vash told me to let you get your rest. He said you weren't feeling very well last night. Is everything okay?"

A single dark eyebrow arched suspiciously as Meryl considered what Milly had just said. So, Vash had seen her drunk the previous night? Great. As if dealing with the Humanoid Typhoon wasn't hard enough already, now he would probably tease her about the encounter for months to come. Although Meryl still couldn't quite remember what happened, if the uneasy, nervous feeling that swept through the back of her mind at the mere mention of Vash's name was any indication, she probably did or said something rather embarrassing. She momentarily wondered why she would even be worried about embarrassing herself in front of Vash of all people, but quickly pushed the thought aside. Meryl sighed, wearily wiping a hand across her brow. "Everything's fine, Milly. Don't worry about it."

Milly nodded once and turned her attention back to the rapidly disappearing breakfast on her plate. Upon finishing the food, she ventured away from the table in search of more, leaving Meryl alone with her thoughts. The raven haired woman closed her eyes, taking another drink of coffee.

"Hi, Meryl." A familiar voice said.

Meryl's eyes snapped open, taking in the tall, thin form of Vash the Stampede in surprise. "Oh, hey Vash..." She said. How had he snuck up on her so quietly? More importantly, how had he done it so quickly? Her eyes had only been closed for a moment.

"I think we need to talk." He said brusquely. Meryl quelled the sense of dread rising in the pit of her stomach and, after a moment of hesitation, followed the crimson clad gunman upstairs. Wash said nothing as he lead the way

"What's wrong, Vash?" Meryl asked nervously. This wasn't the same Vash she usually dealt with. All traces of the clumsy, happy go lucky goof had vanished. This was the calm, quiet, focused Vash she only caught glimpses of during a crisis. His seemingly unprovoked change in behavior slightly disturbed Meryl. The typically in control insurance agent found herself rather unnerved by the fact that she had no idea what was going on.

Vash peered at her through his gold tinted sunglasses for a few moments, probably having second thoughts about whatever it was he had called her up her to discuss. "About last night..." He said. Meryl was suddenly convinced that she had, most likely, done something incredibly stupid while intoxicated. "...when you..." Vash paused, removing his glasses, and gazed at Meryl with an unidentifiable look crossing his features. "...when you told me you loved me..."

Meryl froze, staring at Vash in wide eyed shock as her mind reeled. She told him what!? Fear welled up within her chest as the situation sank in. Her eyes darted around the room, attempting to look at anything except the man standing in front of her.

"Meryl, I..." Vash began.

"Listen Vash, I was really drunk last night..." Meryl said quickly, cutting Vash off. Her thoughts raced, trying to find some way to escape the conversation with her dignity intact. "I probably had no idea what in the world I was talking about! I mean, why would I be in love with a stupid, broom headed moron who causes trouble wherever he goes? I would have told Old Man Nebraska that I loved him last night..."

Meryl's words died on her lips as she glanced up at Vash. He stared at her, face filled with more pain than she had ever seen. She found herself gazing through his abandoned guard upon a fragile, scarred soul. One shattered and reassembled a thousand times over the past century. The unabashed despair in those emerald green eyes nearly caused Meryl to wince, as if physically struck. In a flash, however, the haunted look disappeared from Vash's face, replaced with his usual empty headed grin.

"Well, duh. I knew that already, Insurance Girl." Vash said, rolling his eyes. "I just wanted to warn you to be careful next time you decide to hit the alcohol. You can't hold your liquor as well as someone like me." Vash turned swiftly on his heel, casually strolling out of the room. "Now it's time to rustle up some food! See ya, Meryl."

Meryl unconsciously reached out to Vash even as the door to the tiny hotel room closed behind him. She'd never seen anyone with so much pain locked away within themselves. Tears began to gather at the corners of Meryl's eyes as Vash's face once again played across her memory. For just a moment, all the masks had fallen away and she had seen the real Humanoid Typhoon. The loneliness, the sadness, the hurt. Meryl clasped the outstretched hand to her chest as her own heart ached. Not just in empathy, but also from the certain knowledge that she'd only added to his suffering. Her legs suddenly growing weak, Meryl fell to her knees as tears streamed down her cheeks. What had she done?

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Author's Notes
Well, it took me quite a while, but here's chapter 2 of In Vino Veritas. Not quite as good as chapter 1, in my opinion, but at least it's done! Expect at least one or two more chapters before the story closes. Thanks for reading!