Wolfwood's new profession

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Warning for this chapter: Now is where that horrid HET warning comes into play. A different POV as well...we get to start seeing some of the other characters and their respective situations! This will be happening far more frequently as we delve further into the story! Please stick with me and please review!!


Chapter Thirteen: Bluesummers in Spring


Legato ducked through the doorway, hunching his shoulder slightly so that the spikes didn’t catch. He hated having to deal with irate bar owners who thought that a few small…

‘OK they were kinda large…’

…chunks out of their door were all they had to worry about. He sat at the bar to wait, Midvalley making his way to the barman to ask if he could play. Legato snorted in contempt but at least it meant he never had to pay for his ice cream. * Midvalley was grinning at him, a sure sign that he was on for the next set. Legato sighed heavily and looked away. It wasn’t that he didn’t like Midvalley’s playing, for God’s sake the man was practically his theme-song guy, but some of the high notes the Hornfreak was overly fond of just wouldn’t go down well with Legato’s headache today.

He sighed again and turned to survey the bar. There was the usual group of young men and women. The girls all staring at him like they always did, ignoring the disgruntled elbows of their male counterparts. Legato smirked, turning back to signal the barman. They were a bit early and Chapel was always fashionably late so he had time for a quick snack. He couldn’t be bothered speaking so he just implanted what he wanted directly into the barkeep’s brain. The man glanced at him, then rushed off to do his bidding. Legato patted his left hand…

‘God...I love it…’

A small chuckle from his right sounded and he turned slightly in that direction. Two women sat at the bar next to him, the small one of no real consequence, the taller being the one who had laughed. He gave them a flat stare, the one that normally scared small children right out of their respectively small boots.

The larger girl just smiled warmly at him and, for once in a very long time, Legato almost felt the compulsion to smile back. As this need surfaced, he frowned to hold it back, making the girl’s smile in front of him wider.

“You must come here all the time…” She said, turning to face him properly.

‘What?’

Legato’s brow furrowed.

‘What the hell does she mean I must come here…’

The confusion must have been evident because she gestured to the barkeep.

“He didn’t even have to ask you…he just knew what you wanted.”

Oh…he got it now…

“Yeah.” He mumbled, trying to give off vibes that he didn’t really feel like engaging in conversation. It occurred to him that he could just forcibly turn her head and wipe his presence from her consciousness…but, for some strange reason, he didn’t want to violate her mind, to erase his memory like he’d never been there.

It didn’t matter anyway, as she had turned back to her friend, engaging her in conversation. Legato sat, glancing up at the barkeep when he deposited the sundae in front of him, backing away slowly. Legato picked at the strawberry sauce disinterestdly, no longer keen to sate his sweet tooth on the icy treat.

“Strawberry, huh? That’s my favorite too…”

She was back again. Legato glanced over to see her friend had left and the girl was sitting by herself.

‘There goes my chance of getting her to leave too…’ He thought morosely. ‘I could just force her to leave…’

But for the first time in his life, Legato felt like he couldn’t be bothered. It’s not that he wanted her to stay and talk to him, it just that he couldn’t be bothered.

‘Yeah…yeah that’s it…’ He nodded to himself. ‘I couldn’t possibly be entertaining the thought that I want her to talk to me.’

Time passed and she kept talking, almost encouraged by the sheer tenacity of his one-syllable replies. She kept on, her smile warming the ice around his heart until finally she got a decent reply out of him.

“What do you mean by that?”

She didn’t look surprised at his sudden talktiveness, just relieved that she’d broken through the wall of…whatever it was Legato encased himself in.

She smiled again, starting to elaborate, and Legato felt the corner of his mouth twitch upwards.

‘What are you doing?!’ His mind screamed. ‘She’s just rubbish to be thrown away with the rest of them!’

Legato dismissed the voice, nodding when he felt she’d made a good point, even interjecting to make a few of his own, when the occasion warranted it.

“So, what’s your name?” She asked, genuine interest filling her face. He caught himself studying the fall of her hair, how it shined, the sprinkle of freckles across her nose, so faint you could barely see them.

He suddenly found himself wanting to kiss them.

‘WHOA!! Where in God’s almighty fucking world did THAT come from?’ Legato actually jerked back slightly in his seat, hand gripping the edge of the bar. The girl must have thought it was because of her question and dipped her head slightly, a fleeting look of sadness passing across her features.

“It’s OK…you don’t have to tell me…I’ll just go now, I kinda had to anyway…” She murmured, getting to her feet. As she walked passed him he recovered enough to grab her wrist.

‘Am I going fuckin’ mental or something?! Grabbing random people!?’

“L-legat-…” His voice cracked slightly and she leaned down to hear, her long hair brushing against his arm.

‘I wish I could feel that through this damn coat…’

“It’s Legato…my name’s Legato…” He whispered, looking up into her eyes. She smiled, lighting her whole face up.

“Nice to meet you Legato…” She put her hand out. “I’m Milly.”

Then she left and Legato sat, waiting for Chapel who was always fashionably late.

‘Thank God Chapel…Thank God…’

///////


Milly fluttered into the hotel room, a bigger smile than usual on her face.

“What up with you?” Meryl groused, ceasing her typing and crossing her arms.

Milly twirled in a circle and sat on the bed.

“Oh nothing…I just met the man of my dreams that’s all…” She said nonchalantly, opening her suitcase.

Meryl jumped to her feet.

“What?! Who is he? What does he look like? What’s his name?” Questions poured out of the smaller girl and Milly grinned up at her from the bed.

“Well..” She paused and Meryl huffed at the teasing. She grinned and continued. “He’s…well…I think he’s almost as tall as me…we were sitting down so…” She put a finger to her bottom lip in thought. “But he’s really smart! We talked for an awful long time! And he’s so insightful…” He eyes hazed slightly and she drifted back to the conversation in the bar.

“Such beautiful eyes…” She mused, half to herself, Meryl looming over her to hear her words. “And what a startling shade…amazing hair…” She smiled to herself and Meryl finally clicked.

“Not that loser in the bar?” She sounded strangled with disbelief. Milly looked at her, not denying anything.

“Oh Milly! You can do better than some two-bit freak with a spiky coat! I bet his hair isn’t even that shade naturally!” She rolled her eyes, before pouncing on Milly’s slightly hurt look. “Oh don’t look like that! You know just as well as I do, there’s no point in it! Don’t go mooning after some guy you barely know!” Meryl punctuated her little speech by crossing her arms, glaring at her co-worker.

Milly’s bottom lip wobbled, her eyes misting and Meryl almost sneered, before catching herself. This was supposed to be her friend.

‘Mustn’t let my mood affect my actions…if only it wasn’t for that darn troublesome priest…’

She opened her mouth to speak again, cut off as Milly shot to her feet, eyes blazing.

“Is that any different to how you moon after Mr Vash? Is it?! He doesn’t even like you, you know! Not that he could if he tried! He’s not even interested in gir-…!” She cut off suddenly, a hand clapped over her mouth.

“What did you say?” Meryl hissed, eyes glaring at her.

Milly backed towards the door, hand still over her mouth.

“That is not true!” Meryl half shouted, enraged that Milly could even suggest such a thing. Vash was always chasing after women…wasn’t he?

Meryl suddenly caught herself, thinking about all the times she’d deflected Vash from advancing on some poor, young woman. She nodded to herself reassuringly as, unnoticed, Milly slipped out the door, her anger at the woman fading.

She met Wolfwood coming up the stairs. He looked worn and tired and trudged past her with barely a hello. She still smiled at him though.

‘What’s with everyone today?’ She thought, wandering back to the bar to find the young man.

But he was gone.

*************

* My. God. Has anyone else noticed how much Legato eats during the series?! And it’s always sweet stuff, like sundaes! Lol! He must eat fast too…just watch how fast it disappears when he’s talking to Hoppered the Gauntlet. He must chug it down when the camera isn’t on him…There a shot of him and the bowl is completely full, the shot goes to Hoppered for all of fifteen seconds and when it goes back to Legato, there’s no ice cream!