Chapter Text
Boothill wasn’t sure how long he slept for, but when he stirred, the sun in the sky had been replaced by the moon. The knight, Argenti, sat next to him, asleep as well. He looked peaceful, his handsome face illuminated by the faint silver moonlight. Boothill had stared at him so intently, that he nearly missed the small figure crawling around over his legs.
A flash of movement caught his attention, forcing him to tear his eyes off of Argenti for a moment. It was the little girl, no longer asleep, her long ginger hair falling in messy tufts over her face. Wordlessly, Boothill reached a hand out to her, motioning for her to turn around and sit down. She complied, tapping her small hands on Boothill’s mechanical knees as he carefully worked his fingers through her hair.
He made sure to hold her head gently as he combed through her hair with his fingers as best as he could, before separating sections of her hair off and knitting them together into a braid. The girl seemed more focused on covering Boothill’s legs with rose petals than on the strange man who was doing her hair. When Boothill finished, he patted her back gently, holding the braid as best as he could so she could see.
The girl’s face lit up and she stood, twirling and cartwheeling across the grass, her eyes fixated upon the movement of her new braid. Boothill smiled warmly, before removing his hat and rising to his feet. The girl ran up to him, hugging his legs.
“You shouldn’t trust strangers so easily, lil missy,” Boothill whispered. “What if I hurt you?”
Looking confused, even a little scared, the girl looked down at the ground. “Mr. Knight said that you could be trusted…”
Raising an eyebrow, Boothill looked back over at Argenti. “He said that, huh? Not like he knows much about me to begin with. He’s just as naive as you are.”
The girl shook her head. “He said you are friends.”
Of course he did. Well… doesn’t do me any good to dash the hopes of a young girl. I’m not gonna hurt her anyways, she reminds me of… Boothill stopped his train of thought as tears formed in his eyes–the painful, stinging kind that set off a small fire in his nose. He tipped his head up, to keep the girl from seeing the sorry state he was in.
“Yeah…” Boothill simply said. “We are.”
When Argenti finally stirred, he woke up to the sight of Boothill running away (very slowly) from the little girl who seemed to be sporting a new braid. Smiling, Argenti rose to his feet, approaching them curiously.
“My friend, I am glad to see you are getting along with her.”
“Yeah, well… What can I say? She’s growin’ on me.” Boothill stopped to gaze at Argenti, only to be bowled over by the little girl crashing into his knees. Quickly, instinctively, Boothill turned his body to avoid crushing the girl, grabbing her by the sides and pulling her up and above him.
Argenti watched them giggle over their antics, before kneeling down in the grass next to them. “This girl does not know where she is from either,” he whispered to Boothill as the girl dashed away, somersaulting through the clearing. “She does not have a name or a home. I’m afraid I… don’t know what to do with her…”
Before Boothill could respond, the girl suddenly collapsed, her small frame wracked with coughs that shook her whole body. Argenti swiftly rushed to her side, patting and rubbing her back and whispering to her in a soothing voice.
“Come now, take some deep breaths. Here…” Argenti pulled out a flask–silver and gold, and just as decorated as he was–and raised it to her lips. “Drink some water, dear.”
The girl could only nod shakily as she gulped down the water from Argenti’s flask. When she turned back towards Boothill, he could see tears trailing down her face. She took a few breaths, wiping her mouth across her tattered sleeve, before she ran back to Boothill and picked up armfuls of rose petals, tossing them in the air and giggling.
Argenti returned to Boothill’s side, neatly folding his legs underneath him while Boothill lay resting against his hands, legs and feet splayed out before him. They watched the girl dance around the clearing, her energy seemingly bottomless.
“Heh. She makes me feel tired just lookin’ at her.” Boothill chuckled, earning a quick laugh from the knight. “Have you thought about what you’re gonna do with her when you hafta leave?”
He was met without a response, causing him to cast a glance towards Argenti. The knight’s face was solemn, before he looked up and locked eyes with Boothill.
“I have…” Argenti murmured. “To be honest… I am growing attached to her as well. I am a solitary traveler, but… perhaps I could make room for a little girl.”
“Hold on.” Boothill shot him an incredulous look. “
You’re
gonna take care o’ her? Have you ever cared for a child before?”
Argenti shook his head. “I have not had the opportunity. I have met children, of course, but caring for them has… perhaps slipped my agenda…”
Boothill gently bit the inside of his cheek and gnawed on his lip. Obviously he couldn’t go with them. He was a Galaxy Ranger after all, he was always traveling and always getting into dangerous situations. The Path he walked was no place for a child—and he didn’t want to lose another one.
“I was thinking of giving her a name… so if she wanted to be free and traverse the cosmos when she grew up, she would have a name to give to those she met.”
“Oh? What were ya thinkin’ of?” Boothill pushed his reservations away, focusing back on the moment they were currently in.
“Mm… how about Rose?” Argenti whispered it, but when the name escaped from his lips, the girl turned towards them and walked over as if her name had just been called. She stared at the two of them curiously.
“Hey, little girl,” Boothill said. “How would you like a name? Somethin’ for others to call you, instead of just ‘girl’ or ‘child’.”
“I…” the girl’s voice came out frail and weak. Boothill leaned forward as if to hear her better. “I’d… like that…”
“Well, there ya go. Go ahead, knight, tell ‘er what you were thinkin’.”
Argenti offered the girl a small smile. “I would like to call you Rose… do you like that name? Those petals you like–those are rose petals. I believe that it is a beautiful name for a beautiful flower… and possibly for a beautiful girl such as yourself.”
The girl looked at the scattered petals. “Rose…” she echoed. She began beaming. “Rose! Yes! I like Rose!”
“Wonderful!” Argenti clapped his hands together. He allowed Rose to grab onto his neck, before rising to his feet and lifting her up.
The knight took the little girl in an elegant waltz across the clearing, humming a soft tune as he twirled her around. Argenti locked eyes with Boothill, outstretching an armored hand.
“Come and join us dear.”
Boothill chuckled as he stood, accepting Argenti’s hand. “I’m not much of a fancy dancer, but I’ll do my best.”
Argenti led Boothill easily through the steps of the dance, despite only having one free arm to guide him with. At some point, Rose had wriggled out from Argenti’s arm and began choreographing her own dance–not quite as elegant, but still a sight that brought joy.
Eventually, Rose curled up in the grass, quickly dozing off, leaving the two alone in the silence of the clearing.
Their own little world.
“Thought ya said you weren’t good with children.” Boothill teased, a toothy grin growing on his face. Argenti let out a bright laugh–a gentle sound that made one’s heart fill up with joy.
“I am good at dancing, but still… childcare is not my expertise.” It was Argenti’s turn to tease. “I thought you said you couldn’t dance?”
Boothill’s face turned red and he gritted his teeth, tipping his hat over his eyes. “I uh… had a good instructor, is all.”
Argenti raised an eyebrow. Aeons… he’s beautiful…
“Let us dance again, then.”
Nodding, Boothill’s normal grin returned. “Yeah. Wanna make that a promise?”
“Mm… how about a vow?”