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There was only so long everyone could stay in the car, packed together in such a little space, before everyone collectively began to lose their minds. Meryl, the only one who ever drove, was feeling sick of passing one massive sand dune after another with only more sand and the occasional worm to break it up. They had been on the road for hours, and everyone in the car was getting antsy. Even Roberto, tired as always, was beginning to shift restlessly in his seat when they finally saw their destination. They all watched the buildings take shape on the horizon with a massive amount of relief.
As she drove into town, Meryl carefully directed the car to the refueling station, making sure to not hit any of the pedestrians milling about, despite her exhaustion and the fact she was pretty sure Wolfwood was pulling a face at her in the mirror.
“They have a bookstore!” Vash’s excited shout rang through the car as they pulled into the station. His face was pressed up against the window, looking at something only he could see right now.
She felt a bit of her exhaustion skip away. “Where?” Meryl and Wolfwood spoke together. She paused to give Wolfwood a look from the driver’s seat as she placed the car in park.
“Why do you want to know where a bookstore is?” Meryl asked him. Her disbelief was palpable.
“What, you think just because I’m an orphan I can’t read? Low blow, Shortie.” Wolfwood sneered.
“No, I think you can’t read because sometimes I swear I can hear your only brain cell crying out in solitude, Mr. “I’m-going-to-hold-up-an-ion-cannon-with-my-bare-hands”. Don’t put words in my mouth.” She scowled and resisted the urge to stick her tongue out at him.
Vash’s gaze flittered anxiously between them from the backseat, trying to stop a full blown argument before it could break out. There had been too many of those already throughout the drive. But before he had to intervene, Wolfwood’s sneer fell into a more genuine grin. Meryl could feel the corners of her own mouth lifting up to return it.
“And here I thought little miss college girl was looking down on those of us who couldn’t get a good education.”
“Nope, only looking down on you!” She responded with as much false sweetness as she could possibly muster.
Wolfwood barked a laugh and moved to step out of the car. “I guess my solitary brain cell could use some company then, Shortcake. Care to bless it with the presence of your oh so high and mighty ones ?”
Meryl could feel the relief spilling off of Vash from the back seat. She shot him a little wink in the mirror before climbing out of the driver’s seat. “If only so I don’t have to hear it crying anymore. Roberto, Vash, come find us when the truck is charged?”
She directed the latter half of her statement more to Vash than to Roberto, who was busy lighting a cigarette and steadfastly ignoring the potential argument that had been building between two of the car’s occupants.
She saw Vash bob his head in assent and shot him a thankful look, then made her way around the car so she and Wolfwood could walk over to the bookstore. She could see the unique outline of the Punisher, still strapped to the roof of the car, and figured that Wolfwood must not be expecting too much trouble to leave his most valued weapon behind. Vash pointed them in the direction he had seen it, before moving around to the front of the car to replace Roberto in the passenger seat.
She still couldn’t believe this town had a bookstore. Even November only had a few, and she’d quickly learned out in the desert that they were about as common as Vash admitting that he was hurt and/or in pain. Paper wasn’t too hard to come by, but the amount of people who both had the money and the inclination to buy books was smaller in number than she preferred to think about. A town as small as this one was one of the last places she’d expected to find one. Though, she supposed, perhaps that was one of the draws to this town, considering they didn’t have much else to offer.
Wolfwood and her spent the walk in companionable silence, for once not feeling the urge to snip at each other over every little thing. The silence was unusual, but not unwelcome. Meryl couldn’t be sure, but she thought that Wolfwood enjoyed their banter as much as she did. For all that it sometimes turned nasty, both of them consistently gave as good as they got, and it was nice to have someone who could occasionally out-stubborn her.
When the bookstore finally came into view, Meryl gasped with unbridled excitement. It looked dusty, and faded, and the sign out front had peeling paint, but she still thought it couldn’t look more beautiful.
She reached over to excitedly smack at Wolfwood’s arm. “Come on, I can see it! Walk faster!”
She half expected him to complain about her onslaught, but looking up to meet his gaze revealed that he seemed to be just as excited. His dark eyes sparkled behind the shaded lenses of his glasses. They sped up in unison, practically racing to be the first in the doors.
The old door opened with a squeaky creak and a pleasant jingle of bells. The inside was dim, but welcoming, with plenty of color and a number of posters covering the walls. For once, none of them seemed to feature Vash’s face or bounty. She could feel herself relaxing already, soothed by the quiet atmosphere and the smell of the dusty pages.
Wolfwood nudged his way in behind her, and she was glad he had left the bulky Punisher behind. It wouldn’t have fit amongst the crowded shelves, all piled high with books, and she didn’t want to see the look on Wolfwood’s face as he tried to maneuver it around. (Actually, now that she thought about it, maybe she did want to see it. The pinch he got between his eyebrows never failed to make her snort.)
While she was contemplating trying to make that pinch reappear, the owner of the bookstore had made her way around the counter. “Hey dearies, how can I help you?” Her voice, though scratchy with age, was soothing, and Meryl felt herself relax even further.
“We’re here to buy some books ma’am,” she answered respectfully. She felt more than heard Wolfwood snort behind her, along with a mutter of “What else would we be here for, bullets?”
She stepped on his foot.
“ Ow , Little Lady.”
She ignored him.
Unperturbed with their little squabble, the old lady had finished working her way over to them, dodging a few piles of books on the ground, and was in the middle of asking a question. “—are you looking for?”
“I’m sure Little Lady here wants some fairy tales,” Wolfwood snarked, still nursing his sore foot.
She shot him a glare. “And I’m sure Mr. Tall-and-stupid is just looking for a picture book.”
The owner laughed. “Aren’t you two just a happy couple? I’ll tell you what, just come in and browse a while, and let me know when you’ve found something you like.”
She bustled off with a content smile, either ignoring or unaware of the fact that both Meryl and Wolfwood had gone bright red at the casual insinuation they were together.
Meryl, trying to save what little face she could, immediately marched off into the rows of books. She made a beeline for what she thought was the romance section. She was wrong, but at least it got her away from the situation without having to make eye contact with Wolfwood.
She meandered through the dusty maze for a while, content to simply stop and pick up any books that caught her eye. She knew she couldn’t afford more than a few, not if she wanted to keep the truck charged and her belly full, but that didn’t stop her from savoring her time in the shop.
After all, there was nothing quite like the texture of the pages under her fingers or the smell of the dust rising from the pages. Their adventures normally had them in a hurry, bustling from place to place, so it was nice to take the opportunity to relax and take her time.
Finally, she had narrowed it down to two books that she knew she wanted. She had left both on the shelf, in case anything else had caught her eye in the meantime, and so slowly began to make her way to their positions on the shelves.
She grabbed the one closest to her first, a mystery novel that seemed to hold a promising twist at the end. But when she made her way to the other end of the store to grab that second book she wanted, she was surprised to see Wolfwood there, holding it.
“Wait, do you like romance novels?” she asked in surprise.
“What’s it to ya? A guy can’t enjoy romance?” Despite the nonchalance of his words, Meryl could see a little red flush creeping up the back of his neck and could hear some defensiveness sneaking into his tone.
“No, no, it’s not that.” She held up her hand not holding a book reassuringly. “I was just going to buy that exact one!”
She saw some of the tense set to his shoulders lessen. “Yeah?”
“Mhm! It seemed really well written.” She stepped up closer to him to point at something in the summary. “I love this trope.”
As she went to point at something else that had specifically caught her eye earlier, she was stopped by Wolfwood grabbing the book she held in her other hand.
“Hey!”
He shushed her. “I was going to buy this one.”
Something in his tone stopped her short. It sounded more honest, a bit more vulnerable, than he normally allowed himself to be. “You’re kidding.”
“Nope!” He popped the ‘p’. “I wouldn’t have pegged you for the murder mystery type.”
Despite his words, his tone wasn’t mocking. So she responded in kind. “I’m a reporter, it’s kind of what I live for.” She jostled his shoulder good naturedly and shot him a grin.
“I can’t believe we were about to buy the same books without talking to each other first.” He shook his head. “Woulda been a waste of good double dollars.”
“Want to share them? We can trade off, I don’t mind.”
He shot her an appraising look. “Y’know what, yeah, I do want to share them.” His smile, normally wide and challenging, was soft as he looked at her.
She gave him a tentative, pleased little smile in return.
Together, mood improved, the two of them walked up to the counter where the old manager was waiting. She shot them a knowing glance, before packing their book selections up with shocking efficiency. Wolfwood, bless his heart, offered to carry them, though not without a comment of “Wouldn’t want your arms to get tired, Shortie,” which she returned with a glare lacking its usual heat.
They were just thanking the manager when Vash came barreling through the door and they both tensed.
“Wow, this place is wonderful !” he said.
Meryl felt Wolfwood relax from behind her, and allowed herself to do the same. It was hard to see Vash running and not jump to the conclusion that he was being shot at, or chased, or some ungodly combination of both.
While they calmed down, Vash leisurely approached them to sling his arm around their shoulders. Meryl allowed herself to be tucked into his side, bracketed by the warmth of his body and the chill of his prosthetic. Wolfwood looked like he had half a mind to swat Vash away, but instead reluctantly relaxed into the casual affection being offered.
“I’ve got some good news and bad news.” Vash started, then hurriedly continued before Meryl or Wolfwood could tense up again. “Good news is we found the inn. Bad news is there’s only one room, though it has two beds.”
Wolfwood groaned as they all began to walk away. Meryl shot the bookstore owner a quick wave from underneath Vash’s arm, the bells of the door jingling pleasantly as they made their way back outside. It was beginning to darken, and she had to wonder how long the two of them had spent in their own little slice of heaven.
“---be fine, because I can take the car.” Vash had continued speaking while Meryl zoned out.
She poked him in the ribs. “Nuh uh, we all know you haven’t slept in a real bed in ages. If anyone gets a bed it’s going to be you.”
“Yeah Blondie, no self-sacrificial idiocy allowed tonight.” Wolfwood reached up to ruffle Vash’s unruly hair, softening the harshness of his words a bit. “I’ll sleep on the floor.”
Meryl wheeled around on him. “You are NOT doing that either, you hypocrite!”
The three of them continued their bickering all the way back to the inn. Their conversation just spun in circles, each of the three unwilling to let the others not sleep in a bed. By the end of the walk they still had yet to find an adequate solution that pleased them all.
The inn itself was nothing special. A few holes in the roof, a broken sign out front, and a blessed lack of bullet holes in the walls was the sight that greeted them. Roberto was waiting out front, already halfway through what looked to be his third cigarette.
“Took you kids long enough,” he grunted. “Asked them to put a couple cots in the room.” He shot them all an extremely unimpressed look. Somehow it seemed he’d known that none of them had yet to think of this extremely simple, obvious solution, and was judging them all immensely for it.
“I’ll take a cot!”
“Dibs on a cot.”
For the second time tonight, Meryl and Wolfwood looked at each other after speaking in unison. Then they promptly burst into laughter. Vash, stuck between them, morosely scuffed his shoe in the dirt. “I was gonna take a cot,” he sulked.
“Come on Blondie, suck it up. You snooze, you lose!”
“Yeah Vash, it isn’t the end of the world!” Meryl managed to get out in between fits of giggles.
He pouted all the way up to the room. Roberto, looking dead on his feet, didn’t even manage to take his shoes off before falling asleep face down on the bed on the far side of the room.
Meryl debated if it was worth the effort to wake him and tell him to at least get under the blankets, but ultimately decided against it. She had a new book to capture her attention, after all.
She set her stuff down on the cot laid between the two actual beds, while Wolfwood did the same on the cot closest to the door. She saw Vash look anxiously between the two of them before hesitantly placing his own things on the bed.
When he turned to look at her, she shot him an encouraging smile, and he ducked his head, suddenly bashful. Her heart clenched at the sight—emotions to be examined further on another day.
As it was well on its way to being true night, and none of them felt like leaving the refuge of their room, the three opted to eat some food that they already had and then get ready for bed. Meryl went first, walking into the small bathroom to change into her night clothes and brush her teeth.
She let the boys in while she brushed her teeth, and they spent the next couple minutes casually dodging around each other. It brought a satisfied warmth to her chest, watching Nicholas turn the sink on and Vash shift to the left in perfect, practiced unison. There was something deeply endearing about seeing these two move about each other with ease, a feeling only made better when she realized she was included in their easygoing song-and-dance routine.
When Wolfwood leaned down to sarcastically ask her what she was smiling at, she could only bring herself to shake her head fondly in response, lacking the words to say what her heart was telling her.
As they all finished, they piled out back into their room. Wolfwood reached over to his bag to pull out one of the books. From the cover, Meryl could see that it was the romance novel and she gave a huff of minor annoyance.
“I was gonna read that one first, you know.”
“Well, Shortcake, so was I. Wouldn’t want to stress my only brain cell out with that mystery, now would I?”
She huffed a little laugh. “You really aren’t going to forget that comment, are you?”
“Never.” His grin was sharp, but his eyes were soft. “ ‘specially not if it gets me what I want.”
She marched over to poke him in the chest. “I had that book first and you know it.”
“From here it looks like I’m the one holding it.” As she darted to grab it, he shot his hand into the air, holding it well out of her reach. She resisted the urge to either jump for it or to stomp her foot in frustration.
There was no real heat behind any of their words, but still Vash piped up hesitantly from where he was busy making a nest out of the blankets on his bed. “You guys could…I don’t know, share it?”
“We are sharing it, Spikey. That’s why we’re in this mess.” Wolfwood was looking at Vash like he was a particularly dumb worm crawling its way across the sand.
“No, no…you guys could read it together? Like out loud, or hold it between you, or something.”
Meryl’s first response was to turn an incredulous look to Wolfwood standing next to her, which he returned. Her second was for that look to turn considering. “Well, Mr. Orphan Boy, did you ever read bedtime stories to the other kids?”
From the betrayed look he gave her, she knew she had hit the mark. She gestured grandly to the single chair the room held. “After you, my good sir.”
He shot her a half-hearted glare and moved to sit down. She sat on the floor in front of him, head propped up by a single fist as she prepared to listen intently.
Wolfwood began to read, projecting his voice enough to give the novel substance without waking up their snoring, sleeping companion, but barely got thirty seconds into it before Meryl was up and moving to perch on the arm of the chair next to him.
He shot her a look, which she returned unapologetically. “It makes more sense when I can read along with you.”
He refused to dignify that comment with anything other than a resigned snort.
Wolfwood managed to read for about five more minutes, before Vash was extricating himself from the tangled mess of blankets he had created and moving to perch on the other arm of the chair, now looking thoroughly invested too.
Wolfwood groaned. “Not both of you, now I can’t focus like this.”
Vash piped up from his new position at Wolfwood’s shoulder. “The bed would probably fit all three of us. And I don’t mind sharing.”
Both Meryl and Wolfwood shot him an appraising look, trying to determine if this was his way of getting one of the two of them to take the bed, or if he really just wanted to keep listening. From the earnest expression and massive puppy-dog eyes, it seemed he really just wanted to read with them.
Wolfwood propped himself up at the head of the bed, resting his back against the headboard. Meryl sat next to him, pressed to his side and peering over his shoulder. Vash, ever worried about their own comfort, lay at the foot of the bed and closed his eyes to listen, letting a contented hum emanate from deep within his chest.
The three of them sat like this, surrounded by the low murmur of Wolfwood reading, for what felt like hours. At some point, Meryl had moved so her back rested against Wolfwood’s chest, her legs bracketed with his own, while Vash had migrated to drape himself on top of where their legs tangled under the covers. All three were bracketed by the gentle smell of cigarettes, despite the fact Wolfwood had yet to actually smoke inside their room.
With the soothing rumble of the man reading behind her spreading through her chest, and the unnatural heat of the man in front of her warming her legs, it wasn’t much longer before Meryl felt her eyes begin to slip closed.
Her last coherent thought before she slipped deep into the confines of sleep was a simple, “This is nice .”
Nicholas was roughly a quarter of the way through the book when he was interrupted by a snore. Snapping his head up, ready to chastise either Vash or Meryl for making fun of his reading, he stopped short when he noticed they both were sound asleep.
At some point, while he was absorbed in the book, they’d all moved to lean against each other and he could no longer tell whose limbs belonged to who under the blankets. Even Spikey had somehow wormed his way under there while Wolfwood was distracted. He mentally groaned. Waking them up to move everyone back to their own beds would be a pain in the ass, and he could feel sleep nipping at his own heels.
He was going to catch so much shit for this in the morning, he knew it. But despite him telling himself it was a bad idea, or a dumb one, he still found himself gently sliding Spikey’s ridiculous orange glasses off and placing them on the nightstand next to the bed. Next went his own dark sunglasses, followed by Meryl’s blue beret, which she had decided to keep on even in her sleep clothes for some ungodly reason. The book went last, gently propped open to make sure he didn’t lose his place overnight.
He sighed. ‘This is definitely going to come back and bite me in the ass .’
He slid down further beneath the blankets. As he did so, Vash’s head came up to curl against his chest, and Meryl snuggled further into his side. Both of their hair, short and a little unruly in sleep, tickled at his skin, but instead of the annoyance he would normally feel, Nicholas found himself letting out a content little hum.
‘Definitely gonna bite me.' He reached over and flipped the light switch on the lamp, and closed his eyes to let sleep take over, surrounded by the warmth of the two bodies next to him.