"Ghost" Trigun x reader

A New Direction

Squinting your eyes, sheltering them from the harsh light of the two suns blaring down on you, you looked around. Even from the top of this massive hill you had painstakely climbed, you couldn't see anything except more desert, sand and rocks on the horizon. The suns had just reached their peak, indicating you had only been walking for half a day, but it felt like days already.

You pouted unconsciously at seeing Vash walk with such ease a bit further ahead. His ridiculously long legs gave him such an unfair advantage! Starting your trek again you internally swore at your feet digging into the sand, requiring so much more effort to take a single step. You tried to motivate yourself with the thought that you would be so fit by the time you'd reach a city. But you knew that it was hopeful you would survive to the next city at this rate.

'Hey!' you called to Vash as you reached him again.

He turned his head to look at you, so casual while you where fighting for your life trying to catch your breath next to him. This was so unfair!

'Where are we heading anyways?' you finally managed to get out.

'Amarillo city.'

'How far is that?'

'Mmh, I'd say three to four days walk?'

'Three to four days?! Are you kidding me?' you yelled out, almost stopping in your tracks you felt so defeated.

Vash chuckled, not stopping, however, forcing you to keep the pace.

'Will you make it?' he finally asked, still joking but a tone of worry in his voice, looking at you through his orange tinted glasses.

You groaned dramatically, 'No, probably not. But if I die, I promise to haunt you forever.'

This time, the blond man laughed loudly which lifted your moral.

'That doesn't sound half-bad honestly, maybe I should take the long detour to the city?' he answered with a devilish smirk.

'Don't you dare!' you warned him, barely containing the smile creeping up the corner of your mouth.

Vash laughed and you couldn't resist laughing with him.

Oh, these were going to be the fun yet most painful days in your life, you could already tell.

***

When Vash at long last indicated a place to rest for the night, you didn't say anything and just flopped down, completely exhausted. Too tired to even ask what he was doing, you realized a few minutes later that he was starting a small bonfire.

Not finding the energy to speak yet, you gestured at it with your chin and quirked an eyebrow. Thankfully, he caught on.

'It gets absolutely freezing at night.'

Oh, did it? You didn't know much about the desert. Afterall it was your first time crossing it, that you knew of at least.

But there was still a small detail that you had forgotten to tell Vash it seemed.

'I don't feel the cold,' you explained, pushing yourself in a more comfortable position with your back against the rock formation you camped next to, 'I don't feel temperatures in general, actually.'

Vash gave you a surprised look, but quickly returned to the task of lighting the fire. He was getting more and more used to the weird implications of your conditions.

'That's pretty convenient! Sadly, I'm sensitive and I need to be cozy for my beauty sleep.'

You rolled you eyes at his wisecrack.

'Also, it gets pitch dark,' he added in a more serious tone.

'Scared of the dark?' you teased

'You wish,' he replied with a smile.

Once he was done setting up for the night, you saw what he meant by the darkness being overwhelming. The sky shone with thousands of lights and yet the desert looked like an infinite black ocean. Your little camp felt like the last bastion of humanity, and you didn't want to admit it but you were very grateful for Vash having started a fire in retrospective.

When he felt satisfied with his work, the blond man sat down in a similar position as yours. He rummaged through his bag for a second and took out a flask of which he took a few sips. Under the glow of the fire his hair seemed to shine like gold and it fascinated you. You also noticed how his red coat gleamed, seemingly made of type of material you had never seen before. It somehow looked synthetic?

The both of you didn't feel the need to fill the silence. You felt perfectly comfortable and it felt almost taboo to break the silence of the night. However, something was eating at you. In fact, it had been on your brain the whole day, but you hadn't yet found a good time to ask. Hopefully, this wasn't a bad time, you thought looking at Vash that seemed lost in his own thoughts.

'Today,' you started in a small voice, hesitating when you felt Vash's attention turn to you, 'you...just left. You didn't say anything...Why?'

Looking at the rising flames in front of you, you held your breath. After a minute, you heard a sigh coming from next to you.

'If I say I'm really bad at goodbyes, would you buy it?' he answered with a dry chuckle and a sad tone.

You didn't answer.

'Thought so,' he said after a moment, 'well, it doesn't help that the old man knew who I was, didn't wanna stay until the whole town found out, you know?'

You had guessed as much, but you didn't feel satisfied with that explanation. Would it have killed him to say goodbye to you? You thought as you frowned in remembrance of the painful memory. Noticing your shift in expression and aura, Vash let a out strained sigh.

'If I had stayed- If I had stayed to tell you goodbye, I didn't feel confident I wouldn't have asked you to come with me,' he finally managed to say in a tense voice.

Hearing those words, you quickly turned to him. He was staring far away in the desert darkness. Was he honest? Was he playing with you? Finally, he turned to you and gave you one of his large smiles:

'Well, I guess it didn't matter in the end, did it? I should have known my Lady Luck was a determined one!'

Stunned, it took you a second to return a half-assed smile. Your mind was fogged up, struggling to process the information.

'Alright, you better get some Z's,' Vash said noticing your haggard expression, 'tomorrow's going be another long day.'

You didn't argue, preferring to turn off your brain at the moment. And within mere minutes, the crackling of the fire had put you into a deep sleep.