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‘This place is great,’ Butters smiled across the table in the dingy saloon-style pub in the heart of a small Arizona town seemingly lost in time for the benefit of tourism. ‘Reminds me of when I used to play cowboy in my dad’s basement bar.’
‘Yeah, I’m glad you agreed to come with me,’ Kenny smiled over his beer. ‘I know historical ghost hunting isn’t really your thing, but I’ve wanted to do this for a while now and couldn’t dream of taking a vacation without you.’
‘I’m happy no matter where we go if I’m with you,’ Butters said, blushing for a moment as he realised just how sappy he sounded. He looked like he was about to backtrack but shook himself. ‘No, I mean that. You make me happy, Kenny. We could be vacationing in the Antarctic for all I care.’
‘Hm, the Antarctic. Super cold. We’d probably have to huddle together for warmth. Probably naked to really get the heat flowing,’ Kenny grinned lecherously over at his boyfriend. He was ready to dodge when Butters’ hand came out in a gentle slap to his chest, catching the hand in his own instead and pressing a kiss to his palm. ‘Like you’d be complaining.’
Butters laughed appreciatively. ‘Probably not. So what do you wanna do this afternoon? We’ve got a long time till sundown before the ghost tour. Do you want to check everything out in the daytime first? That way you know what everything looks like for real before it gets all spooky at night?’
‘That’s a great idea,’ Kenny paid for their drinks and stood up, holding his hand out for Butters to take. ‘Ready to take a tour of the wild wild west?’
‘Read as I’ll ever be,’ Butters took his boyfriend’s hand with a smile and allowed himself to be led back out into the dry Arizona sunshine.
They explored the small town for a bit, Butters buying them matching hats in an old milliner shop, citing proper immersion to help them find ghosts later that night, but really, he just liked the way the hat looked on Kenny and kept kissing him surreptitiously when no one was around or paying attention to them. Kenny was having the time of his life. He’d always dreamed of coming here, seeing the charming history captured here, and feeling the thrilling energy of the promise of paranormal activity. But mostly, he was just enjoying his time with Butters, who he knew was actually rather scared of the prospect of ghostly encounters, but seemed to be doing his best to push that aside and just enjoy their vacation time. Kenny vowed to himself that he would make it up to him later when they left Tombstone and headed for a few days in Phoenix, but for now, opted to keep a firm hold of his hand, hoping to assure Butters that he was safe.
They came across an old, blossoming tree, where a young woman in full old western saloon attire sat against it, knitting, clearly on her break from a shift at one of the saloons in town. She smiled up at them when she head them walking nearby. ‘Well howdy boys. You on vacation?’
‘Yeah, from Colorado,’ Butters smiled at her. ‘It’s beautiful here.’
‘Glad you like it,’ she pushed herself up against the massive trunk of the tree and smiled again. ‘You two make a cute couple. You should do a string tie on this tree,’ she pointed up at the branches, where a hodgepodge of strings and ribbons were tied around the lower branches, adding a rainbow of colours to the white blossoms of the tree. ‘It’s a local tradition to tie a string around the branches of the blossom tree to bless your relationship. Here,’ she handed them each a long piece of yarn. ‘I gotta get back to work, but enjoy!’
They watched her go back to her saloon before Kenny squeezed Butters’ hand. ‘Whaddya say? Wanna tie up some strings and be all romantic like?’
‘Sure I do,’ Butters grinned. ‘Should I climb the tree, or –’ he broke off as Kenny ducked to pick him up, hoisting him almost easily up onto his shoulders. ‘Jeepers Kenny, you’re going to hurt yourself doing that.’
‘Naw, you’re not heavy,’ Kenny laughed, liking how Butters’ hands made their way into his hair, almost a second nature for Butters when he was caught off guard like that. ‘Here,’ he held up his own yarn for Butters to take. ‘Tie them together on the branch.’
Butters reached up, the lowest branch now within easy reach as he sat atop Kenny’s shoulders, and twisted the yarns together before tying them securely around the branch in a neat bow. He ran his fingers through Kenny’s hair again, leaning forward to press a kiss into the messy blond strands before telling Kenny to let him down.
Kenny obliged, somewhat reluctantly, but smiled when Butters turned to face him, hands going back up into his hair. Butters kissed him briefly before laughing sweetly. ‘You like being petted like a kitty cat.’
‘Only by you,’ Kenny reminded him. ‘I’m happy you’re here with me. I know you don’t like scary things, so I promise I’m gonna make it up to you in Phoenix, ok?’
‘Aw, Kenny, no, it’s fine,’ Butters shook his head. ‘Yeah, I’m scared of ghosts and stuff but… but you’re here with me, so I know I’m going to be ok. No matter what we see or hear tonight, having you to hold on to will make me brave.’
‘God you’re a sap and I love it,’ Kenny wrapped his arms around him, burying his face into the crook of Butters’ neck, knowing his breath tickled and that his boyfriend not-so-secretly loved the sensation. ‘I love you,’ he whispered, pressing a kiss to the pale skin peeking out above the collar of Butters’ shirt.
‘I love you too, crazy spooky hobbies and all,’ Butters laughed as Kenny’s lips tickled his neck.
‘No matter what, I want you to feel safe, babe,’ Kenny pulled away to look down at him seriously. ‘If I have to cram us both into my hoodie for you feel better I goddamn will, ok?’
Butters laughed the airy, happy laugh that Kenny loved so much. ‘I don’t think we’ll have to go that far, but I probably will hold your hand. But don’t worry about me at all, ok? I want you to have fun on the ghost walk.’
‘I will, especially if you’re there holding my hand,’ Kenny promised. And he really did have fun that night, listening to stories about hauntings in the historic town, watching the other tour guests trying to get good paranormal pictures and videos, and all around just enjoying the spooky ambiance. And of course, the icing on the cake – Butters did hold his hand, and his arm, and at one point tried to wrap his whole body around Kenny in surprised fear when they heard a large bang in the Birdcage Theatre, but he bravely soldiered on next to him, making the whole trip somehow a hundred times better. And as he cuddled Butters to his side in their motel room later, whispering soothing words into his ear until he fell asleep, Kenny really could not imagine himself any happier. It was weird, he thought, to feel so alive in a place called Tombstone, but he really couldn’t help it. He’d experienced death more times than he could count, but really hadn’t experienced true liveliness until Butters had come into his life, a constant reminder of the beauty in the world, helping Kenny pull himself out of the darkness he often felt trying to envelop him every time he questioned why he was stuck living a life of constant death.
Butters mumbled affectionately, snuggling into Kenny’s chest, pulling him back out of his less than sunny thoughts. Kenny smiled, pressing a kiss into the messy hair atop his boyfriend’s head. He tightened his arms around him and closed his eyes, ready to get some sleep before another day exploring the small town before catching the bus back to the city. He had about sixteen more hours here, feeling more alive than ever in Tombstone.