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Jimmy was a respectable sheriff, he really was! He upheld the law, he had Deputy Norman, he kept Tumble Town in good shape, and he had a shiny golden badge, for fuck’s sake! What else does a good sheriff need? Jimmy was perfectly respectable, doing all the right things, but the other emperors refused to treat him as they should. They treated him like a joke, a failure, a laughing stock. He wasn’t supposed to be someone they could bother for some free entertainment! He didn’t want that!
Fwhip, a once trusted deputy, liked to tease him and mess with him about as much as that egotistical, narcissist, patron god of Stratos, Joel. The witch residing in the Mangrove (“Great Witch Shelby”, or whatever she called herself) seemed to mock him at times, though he wasn’t sure if she meant it. Scott would- oh, Scott would truly get under his skin in a way no other person managed to.
Jimmy knew he was prone to getting annoyed and angry quite easily. His face would get so red that it would spread to his ears and neck. He would yell, and scream, and lose his cool so often that drinking tea and honey in the evenings became necessary to maintain his voice the next day. Alas, this was his normal and he had come to terms with it. Mostly. He still hated how they would treat him, though.
But Scott, oh Scott- Even thinking his name made his blood boil! That man did something to him that he couldn’t quite recognize. Scott would put him on edge, making his heart race with his stupidly charming smile and I-can-do-no-wrong fluttering eyelashes. The casual touches and over-the-top flirting flustered him, making him stammer instead of scream.
Ugh, it made Jimmy angry just thinking about it! Jimmy wished he could maintain enough control one of these days to turn the tables around on Scott and make him feel the same sort of things that Scott sparked in Jimmy.
The current moment was not proving itself to be one of those times for Jimmy found himself stomping away from the group that had made the journey to Tumble Town. Fwhip, Joel, and Scott had all come to pay him a visit for some reason and, as anyone could have predicted, they pissed him off and left him fuming. Jimmy couldn’t handle their insults and jabs anymore, so he told them to get the fuck out of his empire and stormed off. Fwhip and Joel laughed loudly, of course, not taking his threats seriously and finding him as amusing as ever, but Scott followed after him.
“Hold your horses, Sheriff!” Scott called Jimmy’s title in a way that was mildly joking but still somewhat serious. Jimmy detected the faintest speck of respect in the title, but Jimmy knew better than to believe that to be true. He’s been burned too many times trying to place trust in the other emperors. It just wasn’t in the cards for him.
“Go away, Scott,” Jimmy ordered, not turning back to look at the sticky-fingered thief.
“I didn’t mean any disrespect to you, Jimmy.” Scott made long strides to catch up with Jimmy, soon making his way to his side. A hand placed itself on his shoulder, light enough for Jimmy to pull out of it if he wanted. Jimmy didn’t move, however, stopping in his tracks and allowing the contact. “Not in that way, anyway. There are much more fun ways to ruin you.”
He bit his tongue, ignoring Scott’s flirty comment. Jimmy wanted to snap at him, telling him to take his disingenuous comments elsewhere, but he didn't. Instead, Jimmy turned to him, crossing his arms with a frown. “You have a funny way of showing your supposed respect. Last I checked, most people don’t taunt and deride people they respect, so you’re doing a rather poor job.”
“I’ve been told that I’m good at riding people, actually.” Scott made the innuendo near instantly, almost like the comment left his mouth before he had time to think about the words. “Most people must be doing it wrong, because I know I could show you so much respect~”
Jimmy scoffed, wrinkling his nose as he understood what Scott had pulled from his words. He couldn’t have that, so he corrected him. “Deride, Scott. As in ridicule.”
“That’s a fancy word coming from you, Sheriff.” Scott let a teasing smirk grow on his lips as his eyes wandered his body. “I wonder what other words you know? Could you teach me? I’m
very good
at following instructions.”
“Read a dictionary.” Jimmy rolled his eyes before spinning on his heel to leave. This wasn’t worth his time and he didn’t like how his mind was wandering off to fantasize things he shouldn’t. Scott was just mocking him again; he didn’t want to just stand there and let it happen.
“Aw, don’t leave!” A small whine came from Scott as he stayed at Jimmy’s heel. Scott’s long, nimble fingers curled around Jimmy’s wrist, bringing him to a stop once more. Jimmy turned to face him, wanting to tell him off, but his anger died before it left his throat. Despite Joel’s on-going joke of Jimmy being a toy, Jimmy was quite tall. He wasn’t taller than an eleven foot god, but he was a few inches taller than Scott and much taller than goblins such as Fwhip.
All of this meant that Jimmy was staring down at Scott at just the right angle to fully appreciate the way he looked at him. Scott’s lips were jutted out into a pout as he peered up at him through his eyelashes in a way far too attractive to be fair. “Come on, Sheriff. You can’t tell me you don’t enjoy our talks.”
Jimmy’s muscles tensed and he knew his face was red, but that fact was far back in the depths of his mind. His heartbeat quickened as his eyes wandered over Scott’s body. His fedora was positioned over the crown of his head, allowing his fluffy blue hair to still be on display. He had done his makeup that day to complement his heterochromic eyes, one eye blue and the other a shining yellow. Further down, he was wearing one of his many colorful coats, but the base clothing underneath was simple and monochrome. All in all, he dressed well, but Jimmy wasn’t only paying attention to his clothes.
“I don’t,” Jimmy lied and he could tell that Scott saw right through him.
They weren’t very far from each other, so within a single step, Scott’s chest was near his own. Scott ran his pointer finger from Jimmy’s collarbone up to his chin. The movement urged it up slightly, but Scott bent his pointer finger so his thumb could move closer and brush against Jimmy’s bottom lip. Jimmy didn’t move on his own accord as Scott curled his lip down with his thumb, guiding his head to tilt to meet his gaze at a more direct angle. Jimmy swallowed harder than he would like to admit. Damn Scott and how he made him feel.
“Based on the way you undress me with your eyes, I sincerely doubt that.” Scott fluttered his eyelashes in a way he knew Jimmy liked more than he was willing to admit.
“Smajor-“ Jimmy started as he turned his head to remove himself from Scott’s hold. He was a sheriff, for fuck’s sake! He couldn’t give into the whims of a glamorized thief, no matter how much flowery language he used to describe what his profession was.
To Jimmy’s surprise, Scott took the conversation in a different direction. “Would you like to play 20 questions? You know, to get to know each other better?”
Jimmy eyed him suspiciously, not sure what the reason was for the sudden change. “…sure.”
“You go first.” Scott smiled far too innocently for Jimmy to plausibly believe.
Still, Jimmy indulged him with a sigh. “Uh, what’s your favorite color?”
“Triangle,” Scott answered far too quickly for him to have actually processed the question Jimmy had asked. Jimmy blinked and, before he eyelids completed the motion. Scott had pushed JImmy up against a wall. Their chests were practically touching, their legs came into contact in certain areas, and Scott’s hand was against the wall by Jimmy’s head. “Do you like men?”
Jimmy stammered unintelligently, caught off guard by the sudden intimate proximity. His eyes went wide before he averted them to the side to avoid his piercing multicolored gaze. “I- I don’t understand how that is re-relevant to my-”
“It’s a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ question, Jimmy.” Scott tilted his head, his amusement clear by his tone. Void, the way Scott said his name did something to him. “You don’t have to tell me, but if we’re going to continue playing this cat and mouse game, I would like to know if I actually have a chance.”
Jimmy’s breath caught in his throat, absolutely starstruck by the implications of Scott’s words. Was Scott genuinely interested in him? In a romantic sense? It took Jimmy a moment to recover, but, when he did, he forced himself to calm as much as he could considering he was pinned against a wall by a very handsome man. “The fake flirting is one thing, Scott, but I-”
“Who said the flirting was fake?” Scott raised an eyebrow at him, his left hand running against his side until it could trace a pattern on Jimmy’s hip. “You know, whenever I asked about the handcuffs, I meant it. It’s a shame you don’t carry them around-”
Before Jimmy fully processed his own movements, he had switched his and Scott’s positions around so he was the one pining Scott against the wall. Scott's lips parted, but he had otherwise stopped his line of thought, and Jimmy was close enough that he could feel the warm air he breathed out against his face. Scott cleared his throat, glancing away for only a moment before returning to making eye contact. “Not that I mind the change in dynamic, but-?”
“You talk too much, you know that?” Jimmy murmured, flicking his stare to Scott’s lips then to his eyes a few times as if silently asking for permission to kiss him.
“Shut me up then,” Scott replied only using what was already in his lungs, his words coming out all airy and breathless. Scott’s cheeks were redder than he usually allowed, not used to being on the receiving end of the flirting. Honestly, it was a sight Jimmy wouldn’t mind becoming familiar with.
Jimmy didn’t need to be given permission twice before he did anything, so he leaned in and closed the remaining gap between them. His lips slotted in between Scott’s perfectly, both eagerly engaging enthusiastically after wanting for each other for so long. Jimmy had never wanted to admit the stray thoughts that plagued his mind before, but, at this moment, they didn’t feel as much like a curse as they once did.
Scott’s hands snaked under his shirt, his skin cool against Jimmy’s naturally warm body. Jimmy moaned into Scott’s mouth as he let his fingers wander to Scott’s hair, pulling on the strands with enough force to send a tingling sensation down Scott’s spine. A small gasp from Scott briefly broke their kiss, but they went right back to it not even a second after.
Unfortunately, all enjoyable things couldn’t last forever and their extended kiss found its end. Their chests heaved heavily as they caught their breath, neither commenting on anything for a good while as they simply stared into the depths of each other's eyes.
“Damn.” A lopsided grin found its way on Jimmy’s face, but he didn’t bother trying to hide it. “You’re a good kisser.”
“Thanks.” Scott removed both of their hats from their heads, promptly swapping them. He flicked the rim of Jimmy’s sheriff hat to knock it up, making it easier for Jimmy to see Scott’s face. “You’re not too bad yourself.”