Unrequited
Jan. 6th, 2010 08:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dirigoThere was a point, in the last minutes of Charlie Prince’s life, when he looked from Ben standing in front of him to the rancher bleeding out on the ground and saw with crystalline clarity how much of a waste his time with Ben Wade had been. It wasn’t a completely new revelation. From his first days with Wade the thought had lingered in the back of his mind as he watched Wade kill off his own men one by one. He’d shot Tommy with the same casual aim he’d shot a coyote two nights before. Ben hadn’t even bothered to shoot him in the head, but had instead hit Tommy in the throat to let him bleed to death. He hadn’t even cared enough to kill the boy quickly.
But it wouldn’t ever be him, Charlie had thought as he robbed stagecoaches, shot deputies and burned railroad depots, all for Ben Wade. And at the end of the day, after they had divvied up the cash and while Wade was making eyes at whatever woman was closest, Charlie would raise his glass to the boss thinking it would never be him.
Amen.
But now Ben Wade was stepping toward him and Charlie felt the bullet shift and dig into his spine. The earth seemed to shake under Wade’s feet and Prince’s world was sliding into blackness. It didn’t hurt, he thought in dumb surprise as he watched Ben approach. His knees buckled, but then Ben had him by his jacket and all Charlie could do was look up at him, without blinking, and wonder at how this had happened. He’d been saving Ben’s life and now he was going to die at Ben’s hand.
Wade’s fingers were tight in the filthy cloth and he supported the man's limp weight easily. The press of the gun over Charlie's heart felt like a pinprick in the numb expanse of his body. He couldn’t tell where he ended and the rest of the world began, where Wade began. He hadn’t ever known where Charlie ended and Wade began and for a while he’d thought maybe that meant he was safe. How Wade thought of all those others? He didn’t think of Charlie like that.
But he did, and the ease with which Wade pulled the trigger proved it. In the last second of Charlie Prince’s life, his heart broke.
But it wouldn’t ever be him, Charlie had thought as he robbed stagecoaches, shot deputies and burned railroad depots, all for Ben Wade. And at the end of the day, after they had divvied up the cash and while Wade was making eyes at whatever woman was closest, Charlie would raise his glass to the boss thinking it would never be him.
Amen.
But now Ben Wade was stepping toward him and Charlie felt the bullet shift and dig into his spine. The earth seemed to shake under Wade’s feet and Prince’s world was sliding into blackness. It didn’t hurt, he thought in dumb surprise as he watched Ben approach. His knees buckled, but then Ben had him by his jacket and all Charlie could do was look up at him, without blinking, and wonder at how this had happened. He’d been saving Ben’s life and now he was going to die at Ben’s hand.
Wade’s fingers were tight in the filthy cloth and he supported the man's limp weight easily. The press of the gun over Charlie's heart felt like a pinprick in the numb expanse of his body. He couldn’t tell where he ended and the rest of the world began, where Wade began. He hadn’t ever known where Charlie ended and Wade began and for a while he’d thought maybe that meant he was safe. How Wade thought of all those others? He didn’t think of Charlie like that.
But he did, and the ease with which Wade pulled the trigger proved it. In the last second of Charlie Prince’s life, his heart broke.
