I really like how Meryl's trauma responses are depicted in Trimax Vol 6. It's so deliberate and moving, and so clearly unlike an unfortunately common misinterpretation I've seen from other readers — that Meryl is this rabbit-hearted woman just now realizing she's in over her head.
Early in the volume, Meryl is shown suffering from nightmares about the events of the previous volume. A common symptom of post-traumatic stress, which is most likely what's affecting Meryl; we haven't seen her having nightmares before.
It's completely understandable that they would start now. Within only a few hours, Meryl was kidnapped, saw Zazie torn to pieces, had Vash's memories of July projected into her own mind, fell down an elevator shaft, was almost crushed by a building, saw Midvalley shot and Legato desecrating his corpse, AND the whole time Vash was screaming nonstop while undergoing this eldritch transformation on top of her so she can't run or hide. Who wouldn't be shaken after that?
And yet, when Meryl is in a calmer state of mind in this volume, we see her moved to tears by the admiration she still feels for Vash:
She remembers the events of July with sympathy for Vash's suffering. She doesn't blame him for the destruction, but instead wonders how it must have affected him. And she cheers him on.
Seeing Vash's Plant form hasn't altered her opinion of him for the worse, either. There is a character close to Vash who thinks of him as a monster in this volume — but it's not Meryl, it's Wolfwood. Meryl isn't actually scared of Vash's inhuman nature. Instead, it's quite clear that she's being triggered by a sight she associates with the most traumatizing day of her life so far. Something completely outside of her control.
It's also important to note that, by this point in the story, readers have been shown that Meryl isn't an easily frightened person by nature. She boldly rushes into dangerous situations and successfully resolves them. Think of her and Milly's teamwork deescalating the steamer hijacking, or her calm and bravery in Bravo, Girls!
Gun to her head, and this woman's got a neutral look on her face while thinking about Vash's smile. Proving that, no, it's not true that a woman can't thrive in a dangerous environment. Meryl loves the adventure and risk, she says as much herself. She loves Vash.
So when we see her breakdown after he morphs, and her reaction when he tries to touch her, we know something is really wrong. Meryl isn't herself. Compounded with the aforementioned nightmares, it's all too obvious what's happening.
In my opinion, all this makes Colorless Expression even sadder than if Meryl was an easily frightened woman, or if learning more about Vash had turned her against him. Meryl's trauma is setting off Vash's trauma and vice versa, and there's not much either of them can do about it except suffer.
It's extra painful because Vash knows Meryl is physically attracted to him. He believed his scars aren't attractive for a woman, and she loudly told him otherwise:
Perhaps he thought that if his scars, which he considers so ugly, are appealing to Meryl, then maybe she won't be repelled by his Plant features, either. So he reaches out. And she flinches away.
She's not all there. Her trauma is making her see horrors from the past where she should be seeing the man she loves, admires and desires.
Meryl can't help it. And Vash can't fix it. All he can do is leave, and try to hold in his tears.
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