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Quick Draw was waiting for Baba Looey, feeling the heavy weight on his chest and finding it hard to breathe slowly. Earlier today, he had received a note from Baba which requested him to meet at the outskirts tonight, and he couldn’t agree more, especially after what happened the day prior.
“What have I done?” Quick Draw quietly told himself as he began to relive the moments that led to his perdiciment.
Quick Draw and Baba Looey let out a huge sigh, after resting their backs on the chairs, and putting their feet on the floor. It had been a very long day of looking for outlaws and stopping them from committing illegal deeds just for their selfish needs, and the two almost cheered in joy after seeing the sunset. To reward themselves, they decided to go to a Mexican restaurant, much to the delight of Baba Looey.
“Oh boy, Queek Straw,” Baba Looey cheered. “I hadn’t had food that originated from where I live in a very long time.”
Quick Draw just sighed, “I know Baba Boy, but I’m just not in the mood to talk. The only reason we’re here is because we’re too tired to cook for ourselves.”
“True, I thin’.” Baba rolled his eyes.
Quick Draw grunted, “Baba, you know I’ll do all the thin’ing around here. Did you seriously forget?”
“I didn’t Queek Straw,” Baba replied. “I was just saying.”
The two looked away from each other shortly after, just wanting to eat their food and go to bed.
It wasn’t after long that Quick Draw and Baba had finally got their food, consisting of a spicy tortilla soup and huevos rancheros.
“Your food, sir.” said the butler in traditional fashion.
“About time,” Quick Draw moaned. “I’m starving here and you people just have to take your time!”
“That’s not nice, Queek Straw,” Baba called out. “Making food takes a while.”
“I’m pretty sure taking over an hour is more than just a ‘while!’” Quick Draw denied.
“It does, have you even cooked Mexican food before?”
“No, but my point still stands!” Quick Draw grunted back.
Baba rolled his eyes, “Whatever. Besides, I’m more sleepy than hungry.”
“AHEM! I said ‘Your food, sir!’” the butler called out, still somehow calm.
“Oh, right!” Quick Draw realized before he snatched the food of the butler, causing bits of the soup to jump out and land on the table.
“Queek Straw!” Baba yelled.
“What?!” Quick Draw demanded.
“Careful with that! You got it all over the table!”
“All over? It’s only a few drops, why are you worrying?”
“Because I am worrying!” Baba sniffed.
“Then stop with this ‘worrying’ feeling!”
Baba huffed before he looked away, “Let’s just eat our food and get it over with.”
Soon, the two began eating their prepared food in an attempt to not bother each other, though how they ate it was quite distracting; Baba was eating slowly and taking his time, while Quick Draw was gulping up all of it like a vacuum cleaner.
Suddenly, he began to feel something burning inside.
“Baba… Baba!”
“WHAT DO YOU WANT NOW?!” Baba demanded.
Right after he said that, the pain started to get worse and Quick Draw let out a huge cry of pain.
“OUCH! MY HEART IS HURTING SO BAD! HELP! HELP!”
“Quiet down, Queek Straw!” Baba demanded.
“I can’t! I… I thin’ I’m dying! I’M DYING! HELP ME!” Quick Draw screamed in agony.
“You’re not ‘dying,’ you’re having heartburn!” Baba rudely corrected.
“What is IT?!” Quick Draw asked.
“It’s when stomach acid goes up your throat, causing a burning feeling in your chest,” Baba explained before he started to close his teeth tightly. “There are many different causes of it, INCLUDING eating too much spicy food!”
“How come YOU don’t have it?” Quick Draw questioned.
“I don’t know and I don’t care!” Baba just said.
“Nevermind, how do I get rid of it?!” Quick Draw begged, continuing to hold his chest.
“How about asking for a glass of milk?” Baba suggested.
“Good idea,” Quick Draw smiled before standing up and putting his hoof next to his mouth. “BUTLER! BUTLER! BUTLER!”
“Don’t SHOUT!” Baba demanded.
At the speed of light, the butler came in.
“What do you need, sir?” he said with a soothing voice.
“Can you get me lots of glasses of milk?” Quick Draw asked.
“Sure thing, sir!” the butler agreed as he walked awa,y before coming back with around ten glasses of milk.
Without a ‘thank you,’ Quick Draw grabbed a glass and gulped into his mouth like a sink, before he did it again with the other glasses. Baba just covered his eyes in annoyment, not having the courage to say a word.
In a blink of an eye, all the glasses were empty and placed back onto the butler's plate, though some of them were laid down on their side. After drinking the milk, Quick Draw let out a huge sigh before lying back down onto the chair.
“Welp, I’m feeling better now! You should’ve warned me about that ‘heartburn’ thing sooner, Baba Boy!”
“That’s Queek Straw, he’s so embarrassing…” Baba moaned.
Quick Draw’s mood changed suddenly and leaned towards the burro, “What did you say about me?”
“I said the food must be embarrassed by your digestive system-” Baba was about to make up a lie.
“Don’t you say that; you told me that I was embarrassing!” Quick Draw corrected.
Baba gulped before quickly replying, “You-you must be mistaken, Queek Straw!”
“Nonsense, Baba Looey,” Quick Draw argued. “You said that I was embarrassing!”
It was then Baba gave in, “Fine! You were right; I did say that you were embarrassing! Happy now?”
“I’m NOT happy,” Quick Draw growled. “I was feeling a lot of pain in my chest and you have the absolute NERVE to call me ‘embarrassing!’”
“That’s because we’re in a PUBLIC restaurant,” Baba stomped before a bunch of customers began to take notice of their argument with each other, with him noticing shortly after. “Oh great! Now look at what you've done!”
“What have I done,” Quick Draw gasped. “It was you who started the argument!”
“ME?! Queek Straw, none of this would’ve happened if you hadn’t eaten so much!” Baba shouted.
“It wasn’t my fault that I didn’t know about this ‘heartburn’ thing!” Quick Draw shouted back.
“You should’ve known better; you have a brain for crying out loud,” Baba fumed. “Or rather, lack thereof!”
Quick Draw was losing his patience, “I’m not stupid, Baba! I’m the smart one here; have you ever asked yourself why you’re my sidekick?”
“The only reason I’m your ‘sidekick,’ was to protect you from your own stupidity,” Baba yelled out loud. “I thin’ your ego is getting into your non-brain-”
“I’ll do the thin’ing around here-”
“NO! I’ll do the thin’ here you stupid moron!”
“You’re the stupid moron; you’re the one with the ego getting into your head!”
“Since when I was egoisitical?!”
“EVER SINCE WE FIRST MET, and you know WHAT?! I WISH I would have never met you, Baba Looey! You only made things worse! All I want is to have a lovely evening and relax; but no, you have to ruin it for me!!!”
Quick Draw screamed into Baba’s face, making the burro stand still in shock. Right after, everything and everyone went silent; the fans were switched off, the customers stopped eating their food, and the two just stared at each other, clearly on the verge of bursting into tears. The silence was just incredible; the old west had never been this mute at all, and all because of a sheriff and his sidekick arguing with each other.
The silence was then suddenly broken and never to be unheard again. “Queek Straw, I hate you. You’re nothing but a bully, you never see me as a friend; you only use me just to do your job and take all the credit for, with no help! What would your own mother think that her own son is nothing but a narcissistic BITCH! Me too, I wish I never met you! Life would be so much better if you NEVER EXISTED! I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU!!!”
Soon, Baba Looey stormed away from Quick Draw and ran as far away as he could from him, with his tears forming on his eyes and its drops being left behind. Quick Draw could do nothing but look at the burro going off into the sunset. As he began to reflect on what just happened, he felt guilty, ashamed, at treating his sidekick like this; just because he called him embarrasing.
Quick Draw fell onto the rough wooden floor, and went still; not knowing what to do.
Quick Draw couldn’t help but shiver as remembered the events that had happened the day prior; it left a large wound inside of him and even thinking about Baba almost made him burst into tears.
“What have I done?” Quick Draw quietly told himself once more.
“Queek Straw…?” a quiet voice came out.
Quick Draw turned his head around to find out who spoke these familiar words, before he knew what to do after recognizing who it was. He ran towards him, held him up, and hugged him very tightly, before beginning to sob heavily.
“I’m sorry… I’m sorry… I’m sorry… I’m sorry…” Quick Draw couldn’t think of any other words as his tears fell down his cheeks like a waterfall.
The voice felt the same and too hugged Quick Draw, “I fucked up, Queek Straw, I fucked up. I’m your sidekick, Baba Looey, and I thought it was a good idea to tell them… HORRIBLE things… And for what? Just because we didn’t have a good day?”
“Baba… I will never forgive myself for what happened… I will never ever will… You’re right about me; I am narcissistic, I just use you for my selfish needs…” Quick Draw hyperventilated, continuing to hold onto Baba.
Baba continued, “No, Queek Straw… You’re not selfish, you never were. You became who you are not for fame, but to bring law and order here. I’m the one who’s selfish here, I called you embarrassing just for the fact that you didn’t know what heartburn is… I’m a failure; I was supposed to be a friend towards you, but now I’m nothing but a bully! The fact that you’re sorry for what you said is a miracle; I don’t deserve it in the slightest.”
“Baba,” Quick Draw called. “What would we do now? How can we even move on from that?”
Baba sighed, “I thin’ it’s best if we end our friendship here-”
“No, Baba,” Quick Draw panicked. “I don’t want to be separated from you! You’re a great friend to me and I’ll do anything to make you happy!”
“Even after all that… You still see me as a friend? Despite the comments that I’ve made in the past, and yesterday?” Baba questioned.
“I do… Though I understand if you don’t want to be friends with me anymore.” Quick Draw frowned.
Baba thought for a moment before replying, “I… Queek Straw, I still want to be friends… Though I’m worried that something similar will happen again.”
Quick Draw looked up in surprise, “I feel the same Baba… I think we need to sort our friendship out before things get out of hand.”
Baba can only nod as he and Quick Draw let go and look away from each other, thinking of what had come when they first met each other all of these years ago.
“How long have we been friends for, Baba?”
“Since we were babies, Queek Straw.”
“Why did we become friends in the first place?”
“... We were always there for each other, for better or for worse.”
“What’s the best we've done for each other?”
“We stopped many outlaws, and we provided support and courage for us.”
“... And the worst?”
“... Our… Arguments, disagreements… We can be unnecessarily harsh…”
“How so?”
“You can be boastful and request me to do odd things I don’t want to be a part of; and I often make fun of you for… Having no brains…”
“Those comments were really hurtful, but you never took me seriously.”
“I could never be more sorry for that, Queek Straw.”
“And I’m sorry for being so ignorant towards others…”
“You had good intentions.”
“You just wanted fun.”
“But we went too far.”
“We get on each other’s nerves sometimes as a result, and it needs to be dealt with, sooner or later.”
“I don’t just thin’, I agree.”
“So, from this day forward, I, Quick Draw McGraw, shall be more of a caring and encouraging friend to you, Baba Looey; I’ll listen, and do the things that you’re not happy with by myself, and only myself.”
“Also, from this day forward, I, Baba Looey, shall no longer make these awful comments about you, Queek Straw McGraw, and will always be by your side and support you no matter what.”
“Will you forgive me?”
“I forgive you Queek Straw. Do you forgive me?”
“I do forgive you, Baba Looey.”
Quick Draw and Baba Looey looked back at each other, smiled, and shared a big hug; a joyful and triumphant one this time.
“I don’t know how to thank you…” Quick Draw shared.
“Let’s just say that we’re welcome.” Baba giggled.
“At least it’s better than nothing,” Quick Draw chuckled back before looking at the sky right after. “Look at the time, Baba Boy! We should get home; tomorrow’s a long day!”
“I thin’ so!” Baba agreed.
The horse and burro held each other’s hoofs and began making their way into the sunset, now as reformed friends.
“Friends?”
“Friends.”