Tempest Wind (Vash x F!Reader)

Irises

Vash lays out all his sins to you. Every piece of guilty conscience is dragged out. This makes you look at him, his expression is one of pain and shame. He tells you more details about his time on the ship, his brother Nai, and the way he was. And he explains how he was a key part of Nai's plan to crash the ships, how he felt so useless as he let Rem protect him till the very end. The vows he made to himself about protecting humanity and that he would atone for the sins of both himself and his brother. He talks more about the early days, memories he hadn't yet shared, including the one where he lost his arm.

"I too am fueled by guilt, sins heavy on my soul. I loved Rem, and I let her die, but I find her in humanity, I see her in people." He has turned his eyes onto the grass, "I would have no right to judge you, even if I thought you were a bad person for how you feel."

"You were a child, you couldn't have known what your brother was planning. You feel regret over it. You have atoned. You aren't that little boy anymore anyway, it's like you said... you've been through so much in that time, both good and bad, you've been shaped into a different person."

You scoot closer to him and place your hand over his on the grass. The dome is filled with hues of pink and gold as nightfall approaches.

"No," he sighs, "I haven't made up for this calamity until I've stopped him. He has his own plans in motion, and I can't let him hurt any more people. When the time comes, I must save Nai too."

"Well, you are Vash the Stampede," you say, handing him his coat with your other arm. "If anyone can do it, it's you."

"So you still believe in me after everything I've told you..." He takes the jacket and looks at you.

"Of course," you say in a serious manner.

"Then you should understand that I still believe in you the same way too. You aren't a bad person, in fact, you're a good one. And you have a ticket that can take you anywhere, you can be anyone you want." He stands up holding out his hand to you. "Come, I want to show you something."

You hesitate for a moment before grabbing onto his fingers and letting him pull you to your feet. He doesn't let go of your hand; instead, he adjusts in a way where he can hold on better and guides you away from the tree and closer to the flowers.

"Rem's favorite flowers were red geraniums, our biodome was filled with them, but also other red plants, it was beautiful." He takes a little path between the flowerbeds, and you see a stream of water over the tall delphiniums. Some ways to the right, you see a white bridge crossing it. Vash guides you in the opposite direction along the bank, the path is too narrow to see where he's taking you.

He steps to the left, and you see that the edge of the little stream is covered in long, pointy leaves, with blue and purple flowers reaching out from between them.

"Irises!" you exclaim, and squat down for a closer look. Some were darker, some lighter, and a few were almost white. "They are all so beautiful!"

"Yes, a fitting name in my opinion." He squats down next to you, "You get to decide who you want to be. You can try and go back to being the older versions of yourself, or you could continue to be who I know you are. Beautiful and strong, you carry your other selves with you, they are a part of you, they've made you who you are. If you want to be the you who boarded the ship, I'll accept it. Or you could be Iris... my Sweet Pea."

You look over to him, his eyes hopeful yet still with a hint of sadness.

"I see you have lost your doubts." You smile lightly.

"Yes." He smiles and tucks your hair behind your ear.

"I need time. My head is still a mess, memories broken apart, scattered in tiny little pieces. I can't make a decision now, I can't be sure."