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Meryl steps on the gas pedal under her foot, urging the jeep to barrel faster through No Man's Land. She hopes that that if they pick up speed, it'll allow for more of a breeze to gust through the open windows and give them some relief from heat – even if that breeze is just made up of more suffocating desert air. The inside of the jeep is quiet, as each of it's occupants tries to focus on something, just so that they don't have to think about how their clothes are clinging to them from the sweat. Meryl has her eyes locked on the endless dunes of sand off in the horizon, Roberto has enough of a buzz from his whiskey, and Vash is stealing glances at Wolfwood, who seems to be fixated on the camera sitting on the dashboard.
Meryl hadn't touched that camera since the first few days after they had met Vash. She had started their interview in Rosa's bar, having snapped a few pictures of him for the article there. Then when the ambitious bounty hunters arrived in town, she had gotten a few action shots of him, most of which showed him protecting the townspeople. She was particularly proud of the pictures she had gotten of him and the rest of the townsfolk pulling up Gofsef. By that point, Meryl knew that she wanted to show everybody who the so-called Humanoid Typhoon really was, and that wasn't someone to be afraid of, or someone that was deserving of this bounty. Instead, she wanted to tell the story of Vash the Stampede, who ran so that others wouldn't be caught in the whirlwind of disasters that followed him, but then ran back to protect them when trouble came knocking anyways.
But then Knives had made his appearance and since then, that camera had remained there on top of the stacks of paper inside the jeep.
Eventually, they make a pit stop at a small store standing proudly on its own – not part of any town, and advertising that they have water for travellers. Their water supply had run dry from being passed around as they had all tried to stay hydrated in this heat, so Vash and Wolfwood volunteer to refill the jugs, grabbing them and heading inside.
The man behind the counter greets them with a smile. "What can I get for you fellas?"
Wolfwood lifts his arms to show him the empty jugs that he's carrying. "We were hopin' that your sign was telling the truth, and that ya had some water around here."
"That I do," the shopkeeper nods. He twists and yells out towards the ajar door behind him. "Bella! Can you give me a hand?"
A girl with brunette hair pulled into pigtails, who couldn't be older than 9 or 10, emerges from the room behind him.
"These fine men need some water." He gestures towards Vash and Wolfwood. "Can you watch the store while I show them where the tap is?"
Bella regards the pair of them warily, but nods her head. Smart girl, thinks Wolfwood. No Man's Land wasn't a kind place and with her father's friendliness, he bets that these two have seen their fair share of unpleasant folks pass by and try to take advantage of them.
The storekeeper steps out from behind the counter and leads them outside and to the back of the little building, which is fenced in and obscured from the prying eyes of strangers. There they find a faucet protruding out of the wall. He stands by, keeping watch over them as they fill up their jugs. He makes good conversation, asking them simple questions about their travels and keeping things lighthearted. In return they learn that he has his own Plant – small enough to provide for a family – which is no wonder that he's able to offer water out here, miles from the closest town. He tells them about how he and his daughter, Bella, live above the store and that he's been taking care of her on his own since her Ma died from a bad case of the flu five years ago.
When they're finished filling up, Wolfwood offers up payment for the water along with one of his lollipops, telling him to pass it on to Bella. The shopkeeper accepts and bids the pair of them farewell.
"Hold on, Spikey." Wolfwood says once the shopkeeper is gone. He pulls out a cigarette. "Let me take a break first before we head back."
Vash nods in understanding as he watches Wolfwood light the cigarette and take the first drag.
They stand in silence while the familiar smell of Wolfwood's' smoke curls around them.
Vash takes this opportunity to ask Wolfwood a question that's been on his mind, now that they're alone. "So what's with you and Meryl's camera?"
Wolfwood cocks an eyebrow at his companion, not sure if he had heard him correctly given how unusual the question seems. "What are ya talking about?"
"You stare at it a lot." Vash shrugs his shoulders, trying not to make a big deal out of the observation.
Wolfwood doesn't want to admit it, but he has noticed the damn thing. The reporters keep a lot of junk in that jeep of theirs, but the camera had been what caught his eye when he first joined them. Growing up at the orphanage, luxuries like cameras and musical instruments didn't exist. So it was only once he left Hopeland that he was able to have experiences that regular folks wouldn't think twice about. He still remembers the first time he stepped into a bar and heard the chords from an acoustic guitar with his own ears. The way that he could hear, especially with his heightened senses, each string being struck individually before all the notes blended together in perfect harmony. And the funky squeak from the woman's fingers sliding across the fretboard to reach her next notes. They had access to music through the radio at Hopeland, but nothing compared to hearing it live.
And now this is the first time he's been able to see a camera up close and personal.
Wolfwood doesn't like being read like an open book, but it's Vash. So he indulges the blondie. "Never seen one before this, to be honest."
Vash hums softly, something he tends to do when he's thinking. "Cameras can be hard to come by."
"Yeah, and an orphanage sure wasn't going to get their hands on one."
Wolfwood thinks about what it would have been like to have been able to take pictures of his peers at Hopeland. He doubts that Miss Melanie would have let many of them use the camera if there had been one, as they were a bunch of clumsy kids. Instead, she would have tried her best to make sure each kid was in at least one picture. There would be one of him and Livio feeding the chicks, since that was the only chore that Livio could do without bursting into tears. She would capture Jane, Miles, and Becky – the trio who loved to help out with meals – stirring the soup in the kitchen. And of course she would get one during storytime with the younger kids huddled around Leslie, who had a gift for spinning imaginative tales.
Vash is quiet for a few moments before he slowly breaks out into a grin.
"What's that look on your face for, Blondie?" Wolfwood narrows his eyes and grunts, knowing that when Vash has one of those smiles, he usually has some good-for-nothing idea in his head.
"Nothing." Vash grin shifts from mischievous to warm. "Just glad that you shared that with me."
Wolfwood scoffs and tosses his finished cigarette to the ground. "Eh, it's not big deal."
Though Wolfwood knows that's a lie because letting himself be vulnerable isn't easy. Normally, he would try and hide these parts of him. He would never be ashamed of growing up at the orphanage and he holds nothing but love and longing for his home, but sometimes the regret of feeling like he had missed out on all of these experiences – even things as simple as having his picture taken – can be difficult to accept. But it's Vash, and the comfort that he feels while he's in the Stampede's presence makes it easier for him to let these parts of him show.
He would never admit it though.
"If you're done being nosy, come on now." Wolfwood says, picking up their full jugs of water. "Let's get these back to the car."
The next morning, they've just finished packing up their camping supplies and are about to head back on the road when Vash asks: "Meryl, can we take a picture?"
Meryl, who's trying to plan their route for the day, looks up from the map she's been studying. "Huh, where's this coming from? Like for your article?"
"No, not for the article. I mean a photo just for fun…a group picture!"
Wolfwood hears this and freezes for a split second, before he continues to secure Punisher to the roof of the jeep. That sneaky bastard, so that's what he was planning.
Roberto lets out a laugh of disbelief. "A group photo?! Are you okay, Stampede? This is what's on your mind right now?"
Vash smiles sheepishly and runs his hand through his hair. "Come on, can't a guy forget about the horrors of everything for just one moment? I just…I think it'd be nice to have something to remember these moments. We've been travelling together for a few weeks now and…I've appreciated the company."
Meryl blinks a few times, taken aback by Vash's sudden sentimentalism. The weight of his words and confession sink in and she resists the urge to throw her arms around him and smother him in a hug. "I think it's a great idea! One sec, let me grab the camera!"
Wolfwood has been double checking, no – triple checking, the ties on the Punisher throughout this conversation. He doesn't know why he feels nervous. Maybe it's the fact that the reporters might realize he's never taken a picture before. He knows Vash wouldn't say anything, but maybe his uncertainty of what to do in front of the camera will give him away – even if Wolfwood is pretty good at improvising. Besides, all he had to do was smile, right? Or maybe it's because he knows that Vash is doing this for him; that he's giving him this experience that he never got to have.
"Ok got it!" Meryl exclaims from the driver's side, on the other side of the van from Wolfwood. "Vash, Roberto! Come here! We'll take it over here."
She pokes her head over the hood to look up at Wolfwood, who is still pretending to be busy with the Punisher and asks: "Did you hear that, Undertaker? We're going to take a photo!"
"Oh yeah, think you got room in the shot for little ol' me?" He asks with a cocky grin on his face, expertly masking his nerves.
"Your ego might take up all the space, but we'll make it work." Meryl fires back immediately with a smirk, having gotten used to bantering with him in the weeks that they've spent together.
She can barely hold in her excitement from Vash's suggestion. Truthfully, she had been reluctant to pick her camera back up because it held those memories from Jeneora Rock, but she realizes that she can't let the regret keep her in a choke hold. The guilt she feels caked on her hands may never fully wash away, but that doesn't mean that she shouldn't stop herself from feeling joy and the desire to capture these memories with her new companions.
"Alright, how are we doing this, rookie?" Roberto asks as he and Vash arrive to join Meryl and Wolfwood by the van.
"I'll use the jeep as a tripod," Meryl looks up at the sky, taking note of where the two suns are glaring down on them, not yet sitting high in the sky as it's still the early morning. "Hmm the angle of the suns should make the lighting okay here…"
While Meryl is working away at perfecting her setup, Vash digs his heels into the sand and settles beside Wolfwood, not saying anything. They remain like that for a couple of minutes, until Wolfwood turns to look at Vash with a scowl on his face, annoyed that the blondie isn't one for words and knowing that Vash is waiting for him to break the silence first.
"I see ya felt inspired by our conversation yesterday." Wolfwood says matter-of-factly, crossing his arms.
Vash chuckles nervously. "You could say that," he says. "Are you mad that I suggested it?"
Wolfwood shakes his head. There he goes again, always thinking that he's done something wrong.
"I'm not mad, Spikey." He turns to look at Vash again. Seeing Vash's brows furrowed, and that's enough to make him offer a smile of reassurance. He doesn't like being the source of Vash's worries.
With that smile, Vash releases the tension he's been holding in his shoulders and lets go of the breath that he didn't even realize he had been holding.
"Ok, we're ready!" Meryl exclaims, beckoning the two of them closer.
"So you're obviously going in the front, rookie." Roberto points in front of him, as he positions himself in front of the camera, which is sitting on the hood and pointed towards them. Vash moves to stand in line with him, leaving two spots in front of them for Meryl and Wolfwood.
"Okay since you have longer arms than me, you're going to have to click the button, Wolfwood." Meryl positions herself in front of Roberto and gestures for the last remaining one of their group to join her.
Wolfwood can't argue with her logic – he does have better reach than her. Except there's one problem. He doesn't know which button is the right one to press, and he sure as hell isn't going to ask.
Regardless, he picks his spot, a little off to the side so that he's not directly in front of Vash and prepares himself. You're the Punisher. he thinks. And this is just a camera. You've killed many. This is nothing in comparison. But then he studies the contraption in front of him and sees that there are three buttons beside each other. They all look roughly the same size which adds to Wolfwood's confusion even more. Why is this damn thing so complicated?
"Okay, everyone ready?" Wolfwood turns to look at his companions beside him.
Meryl is smiling. Vash is also smiling while holding up his gloved hand and making some sort of gesture that looks like a peace sign, but isn't quite it. And Roberto is in the middle of pulling out his lighter for the cigarette in his mouth.
"Hey gramps, ya gonna wait to do that?" Wolfwood asks.
But Roberto just throws up a dismissive wave which Wolfwood interprets as a no. Can't blame him, since Wolfwood has one of his own cigarettes sandwiched between his teeth anyways. He turns back towards the camera, getting ready to snap the picture. He looks at the three buttons again. Okay just pick one, Wolfwood.
"Oh wait!" Meryl interrupts his thoughts. "I think I left the flash on. Wolfwood can you make sure it's off first before you take the picture?"
The flash?! Wolfwood thinks, bewildered by what that even means. Is that controlled by one of the buttons?
Wolfwood is starting to realize that maybe operating a camera is beyond his expertise. But he isn't a quitter and he isn't about to concede defeat to this damn thing.
"Got it, little miss." He says, flashing her a smile of reassurance that says I got this.
Here goes nothing. He reaches forward, the grin still on his face, and pushes down on the middle button.
"Wait – Wolfwood! That's the button to take the picture!" Meryl exclaims as she realizes what he's doing, lunging forward to stop him since film is both limited and expensive.
But it's too late. As Wolfwood's hand is retracting and Meryl is mid-lunge, the flash and the shutter goes off.
"Oops." He offers. "My bad."
That evening, they're sleeping outside again. The campfire has burned down to embers which barely illuminate their surroundings, but the almost full moon casts a cool glow over everything. The reporters have already retired for the night, leaving just Vash and Wolfwood sitting around the fire.
They had spent the evening laughing at the pictures from this morning. In total they had taken three. After Wolfwood's botched first attempt, Meryl had given him instructions of what to do. Turns out, the flash was controlled by the left button.
And Wolfwood didn't know what he had been so nervous about. So they had realized that he didn't know a thing about how cameras worked. No one said anything about it or made a big deal out of it. Meryl had even said that this one was pretty complicated, since it was used by reporters and not one that your everyday folks would use.
Besides, out of the three pictures they had taken, everyone agreed that the first one was still their favorite.
"Hey Spikey?"
Vash doesn't respond, but he lowers his head from the night sky that he's been gazing at and looks at Wolfwood.
"Thanks," Wolfwood says, struggling to hold Vash's gaze. Again, feeling vulnerable and like that damn open book that Vash's eyes reduce him to. "For the whole picture thing today. I'm glad that I could experience that with y'all."
With those words, Vash breaks out into a smile – one of his genuine ones. It burns brighter than their campfire ever could, brighter than the moon and the stars above. And in that moment, Wolfwood wishes that he had that camera in his hands again so that he could capture that smile.