Chapter Text
Johnny took a long sip out of his water bottle. They had been travelling across the desert for a few days now. Although they took breaks quite often, not wanting to overwork their horses or get any sort of heat exhaustion, Johnny still felt like death. “Don’t drink it all at once, Johnny,” Gyro said as he groomed Valkyrie. The shorter man let out a soft grunt from the floor, looking up at him. “I’ve been trying to pace myself for days, Gyro. This is impossible, we’re going to die if we don’t find more water.” He still put the cap back on the bottle, knowing the other man spoke the truth. They had to ration their resources, make them last as long as possible. “How are you not thirsty anyway? It doesn’t make any sense,” he questioned, brows furrowed. “It’s a secret,” Gyro replied with a grin on his face. Johnny shook his head, it was impossible to understand him at times. The man was absolutely insane.
After grooming Valkyrie, Gyro took care of Slow Dancer as well. Once he was finished, he sat down next to Johnny, letting out a long sigh. “Hey Johnny.” He looked at him, meeting his bright emerald eyes. “What is it?” Gyro reached over, taking off his cap and messing up his hair. “What the hell?” he asked, lips curling down. “That hat isn’t helping you stay cool at all. Here,” he said, placing his own hat on Johnny’s head. “See? This is a practical hat. It’s not knitted and warm. It’s cool and breezy, yet still protects you from the harsh desert sun.” Johnny stared at him for a second before shaking his head with a small smile on his lips, hands reaching to take it off. “Keep it for a while, it looks cute on you.”
His face felt like it was burning up entirely right then, but he knew it had nothing to do with the afternoon desert heat. He lowered his head slightly. “Thanks,” he muttered out in response. Gyro smiled as he watched him, a soft look in his eyes. It made Johnny briefly wonder what he did to deserve someone like him in his life, someone so attentive and caring. He felt arms wrap around his waist and pull him towards them, bringing him back to present time. Gyro held him close, taking a deep breath before placing a kiss on his cheek. “Try to rest up some. I’ll stand guard and make sure things are fine.”
“No, you took the last turn. You should be much more tired than me, Gyro.” As if on cue, Gyro let out a yawn. “Are you sure?” he asked, letting go of Johnny to look at him. He nodded once and patted his thighs. “Thank you, Johnny.” Gyro leaned closer to him, pressing a chaste kiss to his lips. “Sweet dreams,” Johnny said as the other laid his head on him. Johnny ran his fingers through Gyro’s hair absentmindedly, watching him slowly fall asleep. The ridiculous cowboy hat was still on his head. Johnny would never say this outloud, but he actually felt quite happy wearing it. It made him feel closer to Gyro.