TOUCH OF BACKSTORY FROM AUTHOR: This is
my first Trigun fic ever. The only character that got a significant
makeover was Milly. I love Milly, but if I just kept everything the
same it wouldn't be as fun. So I changed her past and a few other less
important things(tweaked the outfit for one), and mainly I'm writing
the story around her and Meryl. Luckily, Milly's a resilient girl, so
even the changes I made don't really affect her day to day personality
all that much. And I'm hoping to get some real W/M, V/M romance going
if I can progress far enough. So basically, Milly equals a little more
hardcore and romance equals eventually. Please R and R. I want to hear
some opinions! Oh yeah, and I obviously have no legal right to these
characters. Sorry, Mr.Nightow!
ON TO THE WORK IN PROGRESS!
"Is it as big as they say?"
The man jumped. Five hours on this damn bus, and that's the first time she'd spoken. He glanced cautiously at the figure occupying the seat across from him. She was an odd specimen...slouched, gazing lazily out the window from under the brim of her dirty brown cowboy hat. The girl was dressed in a matching, equally broken in, brown trench coat...with what looked like steel toe work boots, and a thin horizontal scar on her right cheek. She repeated herself suddenly smiling.
"Haven't you been there Mister? December city? Is it really as big as they say?"
He gawked at the sudden flash of white teeth and a friendly voice. "Well...uh...maybe if you're use to little backwater towns." Judging by her clothing, that was probably a yes. "But I doubt it's any bigger than any of the other major cities."
"I see." She pulled the brim of her hat down to the point where it concealed everything but her mouth and crossed her arms. "Well just tell me when we get there, alright? I gotta find me a new job."
The man cocked an eyebrow. Her smile was bright and her voice was clear, but he couldn't shake the sense of something dangerous disguised as something beautiful.
"MS. STRYFE!"
"AGH!" She flew up with papers still sticking to her face.
Stacey grinned. "Please tell me, you weren't just...asleep? I mean because if you were I'm afraid I can never let you live it down."
"I WAS NOT ASLEEP!" Meryl's heart was racing. Only people with poor ambition and bad work ethic could ever be capable of such atrocities. She knew she was many things, but unmotivated was definitely not one of them.
Stacey lowered her voice edging closer. "Oh come on, don't be such a tight ass. Everyone knows you've stayed up three nights straight organizing all those damage claims against that damned outlaw Vas-."
She cut her off with an ice glare. "...and I am still organizing them, thank you. So I'd appreciate it, if you kindly...WENT BACK TO WORK!"
Stacey rolled her eyes and continued off with a huff.
Meryl made fake shooing gestures. "Yes, go back to your little water cooler and gossip all about me...hussy." Work, she could handle...people she could not. She glanced down to see where she had left off before that impromptu interruption. "Ah, right here...Mr. Sam Morgan. Claiming 400 double dollars in property damages sustained to his outhouse when outlaw Vash The Stampe-"
"AW COME ON! THIS PLACE IS HUGE! YOU HAVE TO HAVE SOME POSITION!"
Her finger slipped making the first typo on the whole report. Meryl spun around in a rage. Did no one understand the concept of a workplace!
"Mam, I'm sorry...but as I've told you I believe six times now...the Bernardelli main office currently has no openings for employment."
"Not even a window cleaner? Come on! You have to give me a break here! I'm on my last double dollar! I haven't eaten in days!" She clutched her hat to her stomach and feigned starvation. "Have pity, Mister!" She glanced to the side as a short girl angrily stormed up.
The manager sighed. "Thank God! Meryl, please talk some sense into this woman. She just waltzed up in here, with no references, no permanent address, no introduction, and an outfit that screams thomas wrangler!"
The girl in the trench coat suddenly grew indignant. "THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH MY CLOTHES!"
"And she won't stop screaming! Meryl, please help me!"
Meryl shoved Mr.Garret away. "You go calm down sir, I'll handle this."
The girl with the scar blinked and looked down at her new opponent.
She motioned to herself. "I am Ms.Meryl Stryfe..."
"Hi. I'm M-" The girl's greeting fell on deaf ears.
"...and do to the fact that you are currently interrupting everyone on this floor from his or her very important work assignments, I will deal with you. Now...what is your full name?"
She hesitated to make sure the short girl was really done. "I'm Milly." The tall girl grinned. "Thompson."
"Milly Thompson?" That sounded pretty average. For a second Meryl was sure it'd be something like Calamity Kate, or Danger Dory! "No middle name?"
Milly scratched the back of her head. "Well...not a real one. Sometimes I'm known as 'Coyote' Thompson! But it's kye-yo-tee not kye-yote" She then blinked as the short girl fell over taking a typewriter and fax machine with her.
ONE DAY LATER
"I'm really grateful for all this!" Milly chittered excitedly, following behind Meryl with an enormous stack of memos and sporting her new corporate attire, which consisted of a fitted, white long sleeve button up shirt, suspenders that crossed in the back, a brown skirt, and the same brown, steel toed work boots now with a cleaned exterior.
Meryl opened the lock to her office. "Yeah yeah, your just lucky we're so overloaded with this humanoid typhoon guy that I needed an assistant."
"And a new office!" Milly echoed while carefully sitting down the papers. "Besides, I'm being helpful!"
"I just can't believe the boss hired you without one single recommendation. I had to have six just to be considered!" Meryl said with a sigh.
"Well, I guess that shows how right you are about the work overload, Ms.Meryl."
She turned in her chair. Somehow it didn't chime right from her. "Look, we're going to be working a lot together so you can just call me Meryl okay?"
"Alright, I will Ms...I mean..." She grinned.
Before Meryl could stop herself, the same dopey grin had pervaded her face as well.
"So you do smile." Milly chirped with a sudden slyness in her eyes.
She turned quickly back to her typewriter. "Hush, we have work to do."
"Right Ms. Mer-" Milly paused and both girls burst out laughing.