Valentines

First Posted: 02 14 2014

A/N: Setting, post anime, back in December

Meryl awoke to a soft kiss. She woke slowly as she felt Vash snuggle up against her back and tuck his knees in behind hers. He settled his arm around her and pulled her into a closer hug. Hmm. She could get used to this. He then started trailing his fingers over her stomach. Ah, the scoundrel! He knew very well that she was exceedingly ticklish there and that it was one of the quickest methods to wake her up. He then kissed the back of her neck. She gave a gasp which betrayed the fact that she was not sleeping.

"Mmm, mornin'." She murmured and snuggled closer. Perhaps he would get the message and stop tickling her before she had to giggle out loud.

"C'mon, open your eyes."

"No."

He was silent. She then felt his breath on her ear.

"Was that a challenge?"

"No-" it was as far as she got before the giggles got the best of her. She turned over and gave him some of his own medicine, he was far more demonstrative and ticklish that she was. She ended up with her head on his chest while he lay sprawled on his back panting to catch his breath back. It was then that she noticed the room. She sat up slowly and stared at it. It was a riot of pink. Streamers of pink ribbon hung from the ceiling and draped the walls. Wreathes of plastic roses hung from the picture frames and door knobs of the cupboards. And there, opposite the bed so she would see it when she woke up was a large sign painted with the words "I love you" all in curly cursive. Also, now that she was paying attention, she could smell that breakfast was ready too. Memory awoke then, ah, that explained it. It was Valentines day!

"Vash?"

"Mmh?"

"How early did you get up to do this?" She mostly ignored him slipping out of bed very early. He usually did his exercises then.

"Early." He pulled her close. "Did I do better this time?"

Meryl felt a mortified blush flood her face and she cringed at the memory.

One year earlier

Meryl had forgotten it was Valentine's day. It was an easy thing to forget. She lived alone and never kept such frivolities on her calendar. She walked into the office juggling a pink iced doughnut and a cup of coffee in one hand and her briefcase in the other. The man at the corner shop had wished her a 'gorgeous day, lovie'. It seemed she was the first in, as usual, nowadays. She reached in at the door and flipped the lights on and dropped her coffee.

The door of the office was as far as she got without knowing it was Valentines. For starter someone had spilled pink heart confetti all over the office floor and the desks. But it didn't stop there. Streamers hung from the lamp fixtures and in some places had been nailed into the ceiling. Balloons in the shape of hearts were tied in bunches at every window. Folded pink hearts were scattered on the floor around her desk. And gathered on her desk was a container of what seemed to be easily a hundred roses. That she could handle. She could blush and pretend a secret admirer with roses and hearts and balloons. No, what had caused her to drop her coffee was that on the wall opposite the door someone had painted in red paint: 'Be my Valentine!' Not content with simply an anonymous message, someone had also drawn a bad portrait of himself pulling a peace sign.

Meryl tried to get out her various reactions, screaming, stamping her foot, fainting, dark sarcasm, yet the bewilderment simply left her stunned.

"Vash the Stampede, you are so dead. I will claim that bounty on your head! I know all your bolt holes, you, you…" Insensitive swine, was not near the description she needed. She was not usually caught speechless. Yet any time she was, it was usually his fault.

It was 5am. Thank goodness she had come in early to finish off the reports due that day. She hurried over to her phone and shoved the paper hearts off the desk to get to it. She dialled Milly.

"Mmmhh?"

"Milly get to the office now, we have an emergency!"

"Miss Meryl! What happened? Is it Mister Vash?"

"Yes." Meryl said grimly.

.

Milly arrived to find her painting the wall with its second coat of white paint while having set up three desk fans to make the paint dry faster.

"What happened in here?" Milly giggled. "Someone threw a Valentines party!"

"Don't I know." Meryl smiled. Now that the message was gone, she could perhaps fake it and make it seem like the office was behind all this.

Milly leaned over and picked up one of the pink cut out hearts on the floor.

"Meryl, be my Valentine." She read slowly. "Hey, Meryl, did you see this? I think it's Mister Vash's handwriting."

Meryl jammed the paintbrush back in the paint jar with unnecessary vehemence. She had dumped the roses in the kitchen sink, and had scattered the hearts with the first fan she had plugged in. But she hadn't looked at any of it. What was he thinking writing messages on things? Milly bent down and picked up a few more near her.

"'Be my Valentine.' 'I love you, though not much when you yell.'" Milly giggled. "It is Mister Vash, you yell at him the most."

Meryl grabbed the nearest on the floor.

"'Meryl, you make my heart beat.' 'Even when you frown, you turn my heart upside down.'" Ugh, had he personalised every one? There were hundreds all over the room now.

"Sweep them up, Milly!" She ordered.

But Milly was squinting at the wall.

"Meryl, be my Valentine." She laughed and pointed at the picture which was showing through faintly, even below two coats of paint. "It is Mister Vash. He draws just like that!"

"Which is just why we need to collect these before the boss comes in, or we'll never be allowed field work again." Compromising the data and fraternising with the subject of an investigation would not begin to be how bad this was.

"Oh. Yeah." Milly said sadly. "It's such a pity though. He went to so much effort." She said with a wistful smile. "You must buy him a large box of heart covered doughnuts or something."

"What? After making me do all this work? Not a chance!" Meryl grouched.

She had to empty the vacuum cleaner twice there was so much of the infernal heart shaped confetti. She had found heart messages tucked into other peoples desks too, after Milly had opened her drawer and produced a few. She had a sudden sinking feeling and stared at the row of filing cabinets below the wall he had graffitied. No. Please no. She gingerly pulled one open and groaned. Pink confetti everywhere! She emptied the vacuum cleaner another three times before she was done. Milly reluctantly disposed of the balloons and now stood on a ladder trying to prise the nails out of the ceiling after having thrown away the streamers.

"Ooh! Look." Milly dragged the tin of roses out of the kitchen where Meryl had hidden them. "Are these from him as well?"

Meryl marched over to inspect them. They were normal plastic roses. There was nothing written on them.

"No." She declared.

Milly picked up one and put it in her teeth and began the first steps of a tango when something dropped out of the rose bud. It was a tiny chocolate, on the outside of which was written 'Meryl!' with pathetic little hearts drawn on it. She checked several others. They all had little chocolates, and many different little messages under her name, words like 'love' 'passion' 'delight'. He had clearly dug out a thesaurus.

"Er. Yes. Get rid of them."

Milly gazed sadly at them, then dumped the roses out on Meryl's desk and shook out the chocolate from one into the tin they had stood in. Each clanged forlornly into the container. Milly then walked over to the farthest desk and put the rose neatly across it.

"Even if you hate it Meryl, others will appreciate the gesture." She smiled. She returned and repeated the procedure. Meryl was left with a bucket of chocolates and the room was now rather modestly decorated with a few red roses on each desk. It also stank of paint, even with the fans and the windows wide. There was no way to hide it.

Meryl folded her arms and glared at the wall. After six coats of white paint the message had finally faded.

"I know!" Milly grinned. She hurried back to the kitchen and emerged with the same red paint Vash had used. Meryl watched bemused as Milly clambered up on a chair, then onto the filing cabinets. She then proceeded to paint a large heart on the white wall Meryl had just painted.

"What are you doing?" Meryl cried.

"Giving them a reason for the paint smell." Milly smiled. "Or they will ask why you painted the wall." She peered down at Meryl. "You do know you have paint on your skirt."

Meryl looked down. Just great.

"Watch it Milly!" She called but too late. Milly put her hand against the wall she had just painted.

"We'd better go and change." Milly said as she climbed down. "Just as well we're headed home. Where would you have hidden all those chocolates?"

.

They arrived back at the office at 9am. It was a rather cheery though much more reserved atmosphere. People were enjoying their roses and laughing at the heart painted on the wall. Milly had inadvertently left a handprint, so the boss called her in and she blushed bright red and confessed to setting up the room with the heart and roses. Meryl was surprised he allowed them to leave the painted heart up for the day. She waited while Milly stayed late and painted it over with several coats of white paint.

"What I don't understand is why he never came to see you in person." Milly said sadly as they walked home through the night.

Meryl shrugged. She was very glad he had not.

She closed the door of her apartment with a sigh and flipped on the lights. She dropped her bag. Everything was in order; there was not a pink piece of paper anywhere. There was however, a copious amount of red drapery all over a blond spiky haired outlaw sprawled out on her couch. Asleep. She turned around and walked out of the door. Her thoughts were in absolute turmoil as she slowly walked down the stairs and down the road. She bought a bag of groceries and then as an afterthought, a larger bag of doughnuts. She returned to find him in the same position, only snoring.

She made supper, and sat eating it, her eyes examining every inch of him. She knew she had been slightly discontented since returning, but had not realised that the cause was him. He must be exhausted if the smell of food did not wake him. She poured herself a glass of wine and sipped at it. It was only then that she walked over to him. She wrinkled her nose at the thick odours of dust, ingrained sweat and… blood? Was he hurt? Oh why hadn't she checked on him sooner? She prodded his shoulder and he opened his eyes groggily. He beamed when he saw her.

"Meryl!" He exclaimed. "What do you say?" He asked hopefully.

"Take a bath." She instructed and sipped her wine.

She was curled up on a couch reading an old book when he wandered into her lounge-kitchen area drying his blond hair. He was barefoot, dressed in the most unflatteringly baggy pyjamas. And yes, she could see from the bandages across his stomach that he was wounded. She gazed at him, part of her pitying him for his pain and part still furious at how badly he would have mortified her at the office. But somehow, that uncertain expression on his face was a better Valentines gift than all the bought things he had given her.

He perched on the sofa and she eyed him over her book.

"Um. Sorry to have embarrassed you." He mumbled, realising only now the consequences of his actions. He fidgeted with his hands. "I, I couldn't think of how to ask you."

"Vash." She put her book aside and stood up, but he rambled on.

"I realise now you don't like me much, but I thought we had a connection back then. I thought, maybe…"

She crossed the lounge and stopped beside him.

"…maybe…" He trailed off as she shyly kissed him on the cheek.

"Supper is in the fridge, there are doughnuts in the packet on the table. You'll get a crick in your neck if you sleep on the sofa like that. I'll sleep there tonight, you can have my bed."

He gaped at her.

She tapped him on the nose.

"Go and eat."

He stumbled over to the table with a rather dazed smile.

Meryl breathed out. He had been the braver one, confessing his love before being sure of hers.

"Vash, you did amazingly both times." She turned over and snuggled her face into the hollow of his neck. "Sorry I was such a jerk."

He gently scratched at her hair in a manner that sent electric tickles running down her spine. She was relieved that he did not comment on her apology or mock it. She sighed and turned so that they could lie and look at the room together. How was it that he so easily disarmed her of both her defences and her fears? She blinked away tears, her heart overwhelmed, goodness she loved this man.