Tuesday Afternoon

Chapter 5

SURPRISE!! IT'S ME AGAIN BITCHES!

Maybe We Can Nope Out Of This Situation

Two days. It had been two whole days since the ordeal with Mr. Cliff. That in itself wasn't bad, what was-

"ACHOO!"

-was the fact that you were sick.

Vash handed you another handkerchief from your bag blankly. You had been sneezing and coughing non-stop ever since the two of you had picked a direction and started walking.

It was hard to not get sick. Even with the twin suns drying out your clothes, you had stayed in the wet clothing too long to avoid adverse effects. While you did change your socks and took a small break under a rocky outcropping to dry out your shoes and eat a small lunch, you didn't want to expose yourself in the middle of nowhere. You had been waiting until you reached Warrens City or another random small town to change your actual clothes, assuming you would have come across some kind of civilization before the sun had set on the first day. Besides, you thought you would've been fine if your clothes dried out as you walked, but obviously, you were wrong.

"Sorry," you mumbled, your clogged sinuses making you sound funny.

"We should come up on Warrens City soon," he replied, holding out a purple cinch bag you kept on you for you to put the other handkerchief in. "We'll stay there until you feel better."

You sniffed and gave him a nod. You would take anything at this point - even an abandoned shed with nothing in it! - just to lay down somewhere away from the blazing suns. The extra shirt you had dampened and draped over your head had done little to help your growing headache; not even the constant babying you received from Vash or the cold medicine you had helped you in the slightest.

For you, this cold was a particularly bad one. Usually, you would be able to tough it out with or without medicine (although it did help with the headaches when you took some). So when you felt the cold slowly creeping on, you thought nothing of it. A mistake on your part. This universe was not as advanced in terms of medicine as the one you grew up in, so coming down with anything was a death sentence waiting to happen.

"Do you think we could find Brad and Luida?" you asked for the millionth time.

"You'll be fine, Stardust," Vash said.

You knew he was tired of you asking, and that you were probably just being dramatic, but they were pretty much the only people on this planet you would trust to give you any semblance of healthcare. But the more you thought about it, you doubted you could even find them in your state right now. You groaned again.

•┈••✦ ❤ ✦••┈•

You heard a chair abruptly scoot back on the concrete accompanied by a dramatic gasp, then a chipper voice calling out.

"Hi, Mr. Vash, (Y/n)!"

The two of you stopped, looking over at the patio of the cafe in town. A smile painted your face as you enthusiastically waved at Milly. Vash, on the other hand, gave a nervous smile and raised a hand in greeting.

"Hi!" you greeted with your nasally voice.

"It's the insurance girls," Vash mused. "You two here on business?"

"That's right!" While Milly was happy to see you (not that she was ever not happy to see you guys), Meryl looked like she would rather see anyone else.

"Well, your company must be very proud of you. Keep up the good work!"

"Ok! We will!"

Milly gave the two of you a nod and Vash tugged on your sleeve, dragging you away from the two. Your protests fell on deaf ears, seeing as he gave the two a goodbye so he could focus on getting you into a hotel room.