Fake It Til You Make It

Chapter 2

Was that too much? Probably. Oh god he was probably hella suspicious of you now. Fuckfuckfuck.

Vash simply laughed, "I don't know how you figured that out from one look at me, but it was pretty much spot on!" Quickly you punched in the numbers on the dinky old register, taking his money and putting it away.

You took a moment to really look at the Vash standing in front of you. This was definitely the 2023 series Vash. How you felt about it, now that the moment had arrived, you really didn't know.

One thing you did remember was that it was a lot more violent than the original series was. Knives was actively searching for his brother in that series, which only made this universe more dangerous than you had previously thought it would be.

You excused yourself for a moment to tell Sarah you needed an assortment of donuts as you didn't have enough up front to complete the order.

"It's gonna be a few minutes," you told him when you came back to the front.

He waved a hand, saying no problem. You thought he would head outside and wait for them, but he actually started making idle chatter with you, to your surprise.

This was your chance. You likely wouldn't have another one if you missed this. Or, you could simply go on and make a life in this town, as you had considered doing. Now, kinda knowing that you were in the 2023 reboot of the series, you knew what kind of shitshow awaited you if you involved yourself.

"You're... Vash, aren't you?" You eyed him cautiously, taking note of the slight twitch his smile made, and the brief widening of his eyes.

"If.. if I am?"

"Then I was going to ask to come with you to wherever you're heading next."

This surprised him. You could tell by the slightest change from nervous to confused. God you're so suspicious.

"Why? Don't you have a life here?"

You breathed heavily through your nose as a laugh. "I woke up in the middle of the desert not far from this town a few days ago. I was only going to work here for a short time before moving on to look for you."

Vash really didn't know what to say to that. You wanted to look for him? But to him, it sounded like you had some amnesia of sorts, so why would you think to look for him? And he witnessed your actions in the square, so he figured you probably just wanted his bounty.

At least, at first he did. Now? He wasn't so sure.

You knew what you told him wasn't the full story, and you wanted to tell him everything. Just.. not here. Not with Ma and Sarah right around the corner.

"If you hang around today, I'd like to, uh, chat I guess? There's a lot I have to tell you." you whispered the last part, mostly to yourself. The look on his face told you he likely caught it anyway.

"When do you get off?"

Now it was your turn to be surprised. You were an extremely suspicious individual right now, and you didn't exactly give him any reason to trust you to not turn him in for the bounty. But, Vash was always an easily trusting guy, for better or worse. You knew that. Well, you thought you did.

"4, we close earlier than other shops around here," you replied before chuckling. "Or so I've been told."

Plastering a smile to his face, he agreed, saying "It's a date!"

Sarah came out of the kitchen with his donuts a few moments later, thus releasing him from continuing to speak with you.

You watched him wave and walk out the door, offering your own wave and smile back to him.