Vash fell asleep, breathing unsteadily.
The priest was not sure if Vash was aware how bad the situation was. Hours passed, but Wolfwood didn´t dare to move, afraid to harm his friend even more. They were miles away from civilization. That meant: no hospital, no doctor, no help. This time the humanoid typhoon really could die. And all Wolfwood could do was to stay with him, covering Vash´s cold hand with his own.
The night came, and Wolfwood remembered how cold desert nights were. He put a lot of effort in taking his black suit jacket off without shifting Vash too often. He covered as much of his friend´s body as possible with the black cloth.
Vash stirred slightly. "Wolfwood... it´s cold."
"So you´re awake again... How do you feel?"
"Ugh..not that good, really. But at least my vision isn´t blurring anymore."
Wolfwood felt relieved. Vash was looking at him with clear eyes now.
"Wolfwood... you are still here. Why didn´t you just leave me?"
"What do you think of me? We are friends,Spikey!"
"I´ve been left... a lot of times by people I´ve considered friends, so I didn´t expect..."
"Idiot... you don´t get it, do you?", Wolfwood whispered. "No matter where you go and what you´re doing, I will follow you."
The priest looked into the pale face, seeing the trail the tears had left in dust and dried blood. Saw new tears coming.
"Sshh...don´t cry. I won´t leave you to die here." I won´t leave you at all.
He wiped the tears away with his thumb, causing the grime on Vash´s face to smudge even more.
He ran his hands up his cheeks and through the mess of blond, spiky hair stiffened with dried blood, speaking soft, soothing words. He told Vash to sleep. And instead of ignoring it like he usually did, Vash accepted this advice. He snuggled closer to the priest, making little noises of pain while closing his eyes.
Wolfwood stared at the sky, lost in thought, not noticing the stars above.
He was still holding Vash, silently contemplating how long an innocent angel would be able to survive on a ground as soiled with guilt, blood, and hate, as the sand of no-mans-land was.