Spoke Of Devotion
Cephied Variable

If he had gone in the other direction; walked away when he still could; valued his life and run, run, run like the coward he was as far as he could in the opposite direction, this might have been a little easier.

If he had made his decision earlier, before the seeds of indecision and backwards treachey (who was he betraying this time? in the end, wasn't he only betraying himself?) settled and he found himself tormented in fervoured dreams by the finest material temptations (gold and turquoise, turquoise and gold all gilded in the great king's halls) perhaps he wouldn't have been here, exhaling smoke into an empty sky with dangerous truths dancing on the tip of his tongue, threatening to fall and rain torrential between them.

The big girl spoke of devotion like it was something romantic, but Wolfwood knew the truth. On a planet forged in blazing sand and gunsmoke, haunted by the heat of two suns, there was no delicacy in such things. Devotion was a matter of necessity; a matter of practicality for the pragmatic induvidual. He didn't have any time to dress it up in sentimental trappings, and yet-

He flicks the ash from his cigarette off towards to horizon and says, haltingly, "... hey, Spikey?"

And Vash looks up, a little gloomy, a little forlorn and says: "The bike's out of gas."

Which is exactly the right thing to say, as it saves Wolfwood from having to say anything important; anything relevant (something true) in favour of a slur of sloppy curse words and another cigarette, lit the moment the last one hits the sand.

But still, when it comes down to it, Vash is a better companion than Knives is a master. And when it comes down to it, Wolfwood supposes they're nothing alike in the end, so it wouldn't hurt to let Vash live. And when it comes down to it, there's no point rationalizing with himself when he's already made up his mind.

But still, if only Vash would... and if only he had... and supposing they...

Well, there wasn't much point in living life that way. Vash had once told him that he was a coward because he gave up so easily on his own convictions. Wolfwood wondered if Vash would be surprised to see him standing by his side in the end, or if he would just smile like he had known all along.