sixpoundspressure | open post

[ One of these days he'll get the real meaning of the word out of him, but he ain't got the fight in him for it here and now. Especially not with the fact that he's more ready to crawl back to death than answer the question he just got asked. His jaw sets stubbornly, but eventually he breaks his own silence. ]

My wife, Ethel. She's dead and gone years now.

[ He finds himself looking back down at the scratchy quilt on him, and picks at a stray thread. He may as we dredge up the rest. ] Maria, too.

Edited 2018-07-18 02:23 (UTC)

[Well, that's not what he expected. Neither is the other one, but trust Vasquez to walk right into an awkward valley of unexpected grief. He's never had anyone, no wives, no family past what he ran away from.]

How many wives are you hiding in this past of yours? When I said I had three Marias, I mostly meant the guns.

[Because there had been women, too, but they were whores that he'd paid with as much as he could. Even before his bounty, he'd always been an outlaw and a thief and bad news. It didn't really do well to seduce the town daughters.

There's a tenderness to his words, though, for all his joking. He reaches forward, with that good hand, squeezes Faraday's shoulder gently.]

I'm sorry, guerito. It's not fair when you have something, to lose it like that. I think now I understand why you were calling for her, but...maybe I'm too selfish to let you go join her yet.

[ Nobody expects that sort of thing out of the gambling drunk with a penchant for card tricks and fast on the draw. It's old grief anyways. Nothing but a familiar ache now and then. A bottle of something strong when it's more.

He snorts: ] Only ever had but the one. Kind of man you take me for?

[ Joshua isn't sure what to do with the unexpected display of sympathy, and the hand on his shoulder. He doesn't try to shrug it off though. ]

Maria was---cause I wasn't a stronger man or a better husband. In the end it didn't mean much, failed both in ways that can't be undone. Joining her ain't a thing I got to look forward to. [ His jaw is set when he says it. He reaches up, surprising himself, and pats at the hand on his shoulder. ] Apparently I ain't goin' anywhere anyways, so don't fuss so much, yeah?

[Vasquez doesn't say it out loud, but he thinks that Faraday is the kind of man with too much charm for his britches, who could probably ensnare at least three wives, if he wanted them. He's the kind of man who managed to grab Vasquez's attention in less than a week and move him from wanting to kill him to only sort of wanting to choke him until it's unpleasant.

Still, a dead wife? Not what he expected, not at all.]

I can fuss as much as I want because you can barely move, so you have to put up with it.

[The smart play would be for Vasquez to move on, now. Faraday is awake, he's fine, Vasquez should get out of there. Except, there's a few places of land that he thinks might be nice and Faraday's comment about a place on the outskirts of town...

Well, it sounds nice, even if Faraday isn't liable to stay with him. He strokes his fingers gently against Faraday's shoulder before letting go.]

Is that why you were so ready to charge the dynamite? To join your Ethel?

[ Faraday wasn't ever the sort to utilize that charm much. He had his two ladies and that was enough for him, until they were dead and gone that is. He only utilized it to distract at cards, or buy a little distraction in other forms, but it never meant all that much. It didn't feel the same.

He grunts at the mention of fussing as he isn't really able to do much, it's true. He misses the contact as soon as it's gone and he hasn't felt that funny twist in his stomach in ---too long. ]

Told you. Ain't liable to be seeing her again. Don't deserve to. Ain't nobody's fault but my own. [ He sighs a little. ] I did it---cause I know what happens when you don't make the first move. Or the last, I guess.

Couldn't let that happen here. Figured the bullet wound had me done in anyways.

[At the grunt, Vasquez misinterprets this for pain of some kind. The doctor had warned that Faraday wouldn't be in a good place, so Vasquez had asked for some tips and been given instructions of where he could touch and not hurt. That's why he drifts to Faraday's bad leg to move lower than the wounds, gently squeezing and pushing at the muscles to try and ease what he thinks to be a cramp.

Or maybe he just didn't want to stop touching and he's looking for excuses.]

I think after what happened, what you did, you earned yourself more credit than you think. I think you'll see her again.

[First moves, though, that's something Vasquez isn't sure he knows enough about. After all, that means you have interest, and it means you're brave enough to show it. He's chickenshit and he knows it. Besides, what's the point in showing interest?

Faraday's barely alive and thinking about other things, so he can only fuss quietly.]

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