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After a long morning shift at the circus, feeding the animals, lugging around equipment for other performers and trying to train Money the monkey not to scratch him during practice all Simeon wanted was to go back to his crappy little trailer, and enjoy what little time he had to eat lunch, before he had to get back to it. Unfortunately for Simeon he was met with the grinning face of Bronco, who was leaning right up against the door. His grin only got wider once he caught sight of Simeon approaching. “Hey, Si! You finally turned up! I was looking all over for you!”
At his words Simeon’s blood ran cold for a moment, although he quickly covered it up with a soft smile. What the hell was Bronco doing here, and why did he look so damn smug?
“O-oh, h-hey, Bronco.” Simeon said, “you were looking for me?”
Bronco raised an eyebrow. “No. I came over here to see the puppet guy. Of course I came here for you!”, he scoffed, then scratched the back of his neck, looking almost bashful. “Listen, odd question, I know, but how do you feel about the band - The Gavinners? Have you heard of them?”
That was an odd question, but yes, Simeon had heard about that stupid new band full of cops and lawyers. Their music was way too loud, and their lyrics had no personality beyond trying to make the legal system sound ‘cool’.
“...You mean that pop band little girls like? I didn’t know you were a fan of them, Broncy.” Simeon smiled innocently with just a touch of judgment in his voice. Practically undetectable.
To his delight Bronco’s whole face flushed red with embarrassment.
“I’m not! I’ve just heard them on the radio once or twice, plus, umm, their newest album is pretty decent as workout music…”, he trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck again. Oh yeah, he was definitely a closeted fan, thought Simeon.
“Did you come all the way over here just to ask me that?” asked Simeon, tilting his head questioningly. “I’m afraid their music isn’t my thing.”
“It’s not my thing either! …But, erm, the other day, I was just listening to the radio, killing time, y’know, and the station was having a giveaway for band merch, so I put my number in the prize draw, as a laugh I guess…”
“Uh-huh”. If Simeon had to guess, he figured that Bronco won some band tee that was way too small, and came here to offer it up to Simeon like it was some sort of generous gift from him.
“...anyway, I ended up winning the grand prize - two tickets to see the Gavinners’ live in concert at Gatewater Land. The concert is this evening. I figured I’d ask you if you wanted to come. We could hang out at the park and make a day of it.”
Bronco looked so nervous and hopeful. He’d probably been sitting on those tickets for days trying to find a way to ask Simeon to come with him, only to run out of time. Unfortunately for Bronco, the absolute last thing Simeon wanted was to spend all day with him at a busy amusement park, sponsored by the police department, to go and see a band full of cops.
He schooled his features into an expression of disappointment, about to tell Bronco that while he would’ve loved to go with him, but he just had so much work to do today, if only he’d told Simeon earlier, he could have scheduled the date, but alas…
However, before he could open his mouth he was cut off.
“Simeon”, cried out the cheerful voice of Regina, dashing towards him in a flurry of sparkles. “I forgot to tell you, thank you for earlier! Regent says he’s so happy with the new scratching post you set up in his pen!”
She then glanced up at Bronco with a look of curiosity. “Oh, hi there! Who are you?”
At her words Bronco snapped to attention, like some well trained animal, putting his hand out to Regina, who took it with a smile.
“You’re Simeon’s boss, Regina, right? He’s mentioned you a lot. Bronco Knight, Simeon’s best friend.”
Regina gasped in surprise, “Simmy! I didn’t know you had friends! You’ve never mentioned anyone before!”
Bronco just burst out laughing. “Aww, have you been keeping me a secret or something, Si?”
Simeon put his hands over his eyes, feigning embarrassment. “What? Nowaynowaynoway! I wouldn’t do that, Bronco! I’ve just been so busy here, I didn’t have time to mention you to people.”
“Relax, I get it. You’re not the only one who's kept busy at work.”
“Awww, well I think it’s cute that you make time to visit each other.” Regina cooed.
“Speaking of that, I know that it’s short notice but, would it be okay for Simeon to spend the afternoon with me?” Bronco asked.
Simeon peeked out from behind his hands. “Eeep! Bronco! You can’t ask something like that! We’re really busy around here. I can’t just-”
“Of course!” Regina smiled at Bronco, before turning to look at Simeon with clear concern in her eyes. “You work so hard, Simeon, and you never take time off. If anyone here at the circus deserves a day off it’s you!”
Simeon paled. “B-but Boss…are you sure? I mean, won’t you need me to help you with clean up duty tonight?”
“Don’t be silly, Simeon. I can handle that, besides Max has been saying he wants to spend more time with me, so he can help me tonight!”
“Come on, Si, please. When are we likely to get an opportunity to spend the day together otherwise?”
With both Bronco and Regina looking at him expectantly, Simeon knew there was no getting out of this without looking suspicious.
“W-well if you say it’s alright boss, but I promise to be back first thing tomorrow!” Simeon relented.
Bronco’s face lit up at Simeon’s words. “Yeah, don’t you worry about a thing, Miss Berry!” He smiled, already putting his arm around Simeon’s slim shoulders and walking him over to his car.
Upon reaching his car, some sleek, black sports car that probably cost more than Simeon’s yearly salary five times over, Bronco opened the passenger side door for Simeon, like he was on some sort of romantic outing. He gave Bronco somewhat confused look, and received a nervous smile in return, before Bronco hurried over to the driver's seat, and pulled out of the circus’ lot.
Only a few minutes passed, and a quiet settled over both of them. It was a tense silence, Simeon could feel his heart hammering in his chest as a phantom chill ran through his body. He went to turn up the heater, but Bronco already had it on full blast. Did he always drive with it on?
Out of the corner of his eye he saw Bronco turn to look over at him, and for a second Simeon was sure he was about to say something…only for him to quickly turn away again, and focus on the road.
Bronco looked almost as uncomfortable as Simeon was feeling. Simeon took a grounding breath to steel his nerves. This was so stupid. He was above this. He had nothing to fear anymore. He just needed something else to focus on.
“You look nice”, Bronco suddenly said.
Simeon looked down at his outfit. He was just wearing his regular clothes. The only “nice” thing about them was that they hadn’t yet had the chance to become completely filthy.
“Oh, thanks, Broncy, you too.”
In truth Simeon hadn’t been paying any attention to what Bronco was wearing, but now he was thinking about it, Bronco actually did look good. He was wearing his usual teal button up, sans tie, and a pair of pressed slacks - not exactly casual, but not quite as formal as he usually was at work either.
As he observed him, Simeon could see a blush of red bloom over Bronco’s face, traveling down his neck. Inwardly he smirked, Bronco was so weak for even the smallest compliments.
“I mean it, you look super handsome”, he continued, “it’s just..how come you didn’t tell me about this concert thing earlier, so I could’ve got dressed nice. Now I just look stupid next to you.”
Bronco’s face went even redder. “I wasn’t sure if you’d-”, he coughed, cutting himself off. “I mean you always look great no matter what you're wearing.”
Simeon mumbled another thanks, turning his face away to shield his own pink cheeks from view. As he stewed in his embarrassment, the rest of the ride continued in silence, but the chill in his bones disappeared.
Finally the two of them made it to the park. Crossing over the bridge and entering the main hub of the park, Simeon was immediately hit with the sickening scent of cloying, artificial sweetness. There were so many food carts, with vendors playing obnoxious music, trying to shill their overpriced, sugary junk food to the sea of already overstimulated park guests.
If Bronco noticed Simeon’s discomfort, he didn’t call attention to it. He just pulled out the map, given to the two of them upon entry, by the polite doorman wearing a ghoulish looking hollow-eyed Proto Badger suit, and held it out to Simeon.
“Anyplace you want to head to first? We’ve still got plenty of time before the concert.”
“Umm, how about there?” Simeon pointed to a random spot on the map. He didn’t care where they went as long as it was away from here. The smell was starting to make him nauseous.
“The Haunted House?” questioned Bronco. “Feeling brave today or something?”
The idiot sounded pleased by Simeon’s accidental pick, and Simeon could probably guess why. The Haunted House the Berry Big Circus did each year for Halloween was a popular attraction for couples. The operators in charge had often joked about seeing easily scared men and women clinging to the arms of their “brave” dates at the manufactured horrors. He’d basically given Bronco the perfect opportunity to act out his favourite delusion of being Simeon’s knight in shining armour.
He briefly considered squeaking out that Bronco had got it wrong, he’d been pointing at something else, and that there was nowaynowaynoway he could go inside a scary haunted house, but the only other attraction even close to where he’d been pointing was the newly constructed “Badger-Coaster” and that sounded genuinely terrifying. Simeon had first hand knowledge of how lacking the safety features were on those things.
“Yeah, It-it looks like it could be fun. It’s not so scary with a second person.”, said Simeon, and if there is actually a ghost in there you’ll make for a great distraction whilst I escape, he thought.
The Haunted House looked just as generic as Simeon had imagined it would be. An ugly, intentionally dilapidated looking, faux Victorian style building, with “dead” fiberglass trees leading up to the open door, which had a bright red sign warning anyone with heart conditions or a weak constitution to turn around and consult with a doctor before entering the building.
At the very least this area of the park was quiet. Simeon supposed that most people had lost their Halloween appreciation by mid November, meanwhile Bronco eyed the sign and turned to Simeon.
“You sure you’re still up for this?”
“Of course!”, Simeon replied with his most saccharine smile. “...unless you don’t want to go in. It’s okay if you’re scared, Broncy. I can just go in by myself.”
To Simeon’s annoyance Bronco just laughed, and rolled his eyes affectionately.
“Pfft, real funny. I face real threats at work everyday, like anything in there can scare me. Come on.”
He marched inside as if to flaunt his bravery to Simeon, which might have been almost impressive if the “danger” inside wasn’t completely non-existent. Simeon rolled his eyes at Bronco’s back, following close behind him, with both hands in the front pocket of his jacket.
The interior of the house wasn’t anymore creative than the exterior, with walls lined with cheesy "possessed" suits of armour with LED eyes that lit up when you came close, mirrors that distorted your reflection and fake spiderwebs on every surface, all set to a sound system playing the stock sound effects, of bats squeaking and distant maniacal laughter, on a loop.
Both Bronco and himself had spent more time laughing and joking at how lame the place was, than being anything close to scared. It was almost enjoyable.
Once they made it to the end of the hallway, however, the door leading into the rest of the building was locked tight, barring them from progressing any further.
“The heck?”, muttered Bronco, jiggling the door handle. “Don’t tell me the stupid thing is jammed or something.”
While Bronco was fighting with the stuck door, Simeon suddenly felt the hair on the back of his neck rise up.
He looked around, trying to spot what was out of place. It was hard to see in the dim light, and constant noise coming from the speaker system made it difficult to hear as well. Simeon’s sense of danger was a finely tuned machine and something wasn’t right. Was there another person in here? Had they been followed? What if all of this was a trap and Bronco was just the bait being used to lure him to his death?
Simeon could feel the panic setting in. He was unsure of what to do, of where to run. His breathing became unsteady. Bronco must have heard him, as Simeon could just about hear his concerned voice telling him to “just breathe steady.”
Then out of the corner of his eye he finally saw it; one of the armour suits was moving - it wasn’t a prop, someone was inside the thing. The suited attacker raised their sword and rushed towards them.
Simeon barely had time to point and scream before Bronco tackled the other person, slamming the stranger into the wall. Their attacker failed about, bashing Bronco with their sword, before head-butting him in the face, knocking him backwards and then pushing him in the chest causing Bronco to fall to the floor with an audible “thump”.
The haunted knight quickly pulled his helmet off and threw it on the floor, next to Bronco, revealing himself…as a scrawny teenager, with messy dark hair and glasses, that didn’t look familiar to Simeon at all.
“Agh! What the heck is the matter with you!”, he wailed.
“With us? What do you mean, what the heck is the matter with us?”, snapped Simeon. “What are you doing running around in here?”
“This is my job!”, their not so spooky attacker spat back, looking at Simeon as if he thought he was slow. “The door locks itself on a timer, I come out and charge at you, and then the door pops back open and you escape!”
Simeon looked behind him to see that the previously locked door was now wide open, before facing the still ranting haunted house employee.
“-I mean, seriously, this sword is made of rubber! And…err, is your friend okay there?” he suddenly asked, sounding a little nervous.
Despite the shouting, Bronco was still lying down on the floor, completely still. Simeon felt his panic rise again for an entirely different reason. He instinctively crouched down next to him, squeezing his hand. At the contact Bronco groaned, his eyes opening up slowly, and Simeon felt his own heart rate even out again.
“Aghh, wh-what just happened?”, he mumbled, setting his eyes on Simeon. In the background Simeon could hear the other man exclaim something to the effect of “Oh thank God he’s not dead.”
Bronco clearly heard him too, trying to stand up, only to stumble under his own weight forcing Simeon to hold him steady.
“Hey! You’re the guy who tried to attack us!”, he pointed to the teenager, who seized in panic. “Is this some kind of sick prank? I ought to kick your ass!”, he snarled.
Simeon inwardly rolled his eyes, Bronco’s threat didn’t sound particularly impressive considering that, less than five minutes ago, he’d literally been laid out on the floor. However the teen looked visibly shaken.
“Nonono, um, look, let's not be hasty. I really can’t afford to lose this job. If I can't pay for my school tuition this year, I’ll have to drop out of the academy and my parents will kill me if they find out!”
Bronco looked unmoved, but to his credit, the teen quickly composed himself. “Look, I’m only doing my job here…and yes, perhaps my performance was a little too convincing, but do you really want to make a big deal of things and ruin the day for both of us?”, he produced a small book from his armour. “Here. Gatewater management hands these out to staff. It’s full of coupons for the shops around the park. You keep your accident to yourself and it’s yours.”
As they wandered out of the Haunted House, Bronco flicked through the coupon book.
“Man, a lot of these aren’t worth it…”, he huffed in annoyance. “Not unless you want 50% off a Pink Badger themed sticker book at the gift shop.”
Simeon didn’t respond, he was too busy trying to identify the strange feeling in his stomach. Why had he frozen up like that, and why had he rushed to Bronco’s aid when he was on the floor? Sure, they hadn’t been in real danger, but he wasn’t aware of that at the time, and Bronco had rushed into that danger without a second thought.
Either Bronco really was just as brainless as Simeon thought, or his job was more than just standing around looking intimidating. He glanced at Bronco, currently nursing a bruise on his forehead, and quietly snickered. Some professional bodyguard he was, even a random teenager had still managed to put him out on the floor. If he ever faced a surprise attack from a real fighter, his performance probably wouldn’t impress the President; maybe he’d even get fired.
The thought of Bronco losing his job filled him with twisted joy. True he’d have to think of a new way to punish him, but that embarrassing, foolhardy display was probably a sign that Bronco was too reckless for his own good.
Yes, he reasoned, Bronco would just screw up his plans right out of the gate if Simeon allowed him to take part in it even unwittingly.
“Hellooo? Si, you alright?” Bronco’s voice cut into his thoughts. “You barely said a word since we left the Haunted House.”
Looking around Simeon could now see that Bronco had walked the two of them to a completely new area of the park; a faux desert with plastic cacti, and a row of shops and stalls made to look like the set of an old Western.
“I…um, sorry Broncy, I’m- I still just a little shaken up is all…”, he stammered, putting on his most timid expression. “Where are we?”
Bronco gave him a concerned look. “I said earlier that I found a ticket for a free appetizer at Ten Gallon Saloon, in the Wild West Zone, and asked if you wanted lunch. Don’t you remember? I figured that this was the only place that would be serving food that wasn’t just sugar.”
Had he really just let himself be walked off by Bronco? He didn't remember anything Bronco had been saying on the journey over here, or even the journey itself for that matter. He’d not been paying attention to anything around him. He needed to get out of his own head, fast.
“Oh? Oh! Yeah, now I remember!” he exclaimed. “Some food sounds great.”
Walking through the saloon door, Simeon was hit with a wall of noise. It seemed like everyone had chosen the saloon as their pick for lunch. Plates clattering, people talking, children running around underfoot and, just like the Haunted House, the speakers were playing nothing but generic “Western” music.
“There’s a spot!” Bronco pointed to a small table in the corner. “You wanna grab us a seat while I get some food?”
“Sure. I don’t care what we get, just-”
“Nothing that’s sweet. I got you.”
Simeon sat down while Bronco joined the line for the serving counter, idling on his phone before Bronco returned with whatever he’d ordered.
“Here. I got us some spicy vegetable fries with dip. It was the only thing on the menu that didn’t sound like it was swimming in grease.”
“Smells fine.” Simeon said, putting a fry in his mouth. It was a little too hot, but so delicious. Just the right amount of salt and spice.
That seemed to be enough of an endorsement from Simeon, as Bronco sat down and joined him.
“Ummm, hey Bronco…?” Simeon paused and Bronco looked up at him.
“Yeah?”
“Are you…”, he didn’t know if he wanted to ask him about his attempt to defend Simeon back there, or not. On one hand that was a truly laughable display and any other time Simeon would have delighted in calling attention to Bronco’s failure, under the guise of concern, but another part felt…confused?
While he knew Bronco was his loyal little lapdog, following him around out of some desperate need to be wanted by someone familiar, but he also knew, or at least thought, that Bronco’s loyalty was driven by his own selfish desire for validation, not because he genuinely cared about Simeon…which is why the fact that he charged into what they’d both thought was real peril so jarring. When did Bronco decide to get all noble?
“-Si?”, the voice of the man in question pulled him out of his thoughts. “Are you alright? You look a little out of it.”
“I-umm, I don’t…” he frowned, suddenly finding it difficult to look at Bronco’s face. He felt sweaty. “Is it kinda loud in here?”
He didn’t wait for Bronco’s response before getting up from the table.
“I just- I just need some fresh air!”, he stated before bolting.
He vaguely heard the sound of a chair scraping on the floor and Bronco’s voice yelling something that sounded like “wait up!”, before disappearing into the crowded tables. Simeon didn’t know or care where he was going, he just needed to get away. Get away from the noise, from Bronco, from his own thoughts. It was only just starting to get dark, the park street lights already coming on. He ducked into a quiet, darkish area, and began to take deep breaths. Trying to focus on only the sound of his slow breathing, and empty his head of all other thoughts.
Mr Kanis had tried to teach him the art of meditation, but Simeon had never had much patience for it. Using meditation techniques as a survival method, however, was much more useful. He could never lose track of his whereabouts.
Now that his breath was steadying, Simeon took in his surroundings. A small seating platform overlooking the lake of water surrounding Gatewater Land, sparsely lit with a few closed concession stands. He didn't know what area of the park he was in currently, but at least it was mercifully empty. Hopefully that meant no one had been witness to his embarrassing display.
“Simeon!”
He heard Bronco’s voice nearby, but Simeon didn’t answer him. He just took a seat on one of the benches. Off in the distance he could hear the muffled music and the roars of a crowd, telling him that the concert had started.
“Simeon?” Bronco sounded closer now.
“...Over here.”
He heard the fall of Bronco’s feet, dashing towards him, and he soon appeared by his side. For a moment it looked like he was going to touch Simeon, extending his hand out towards him, only to change his mind and just sit down next to him instead.
“I’m sorry I brought you here.” He said simply.
“I-Huh?”
“I’m sorry. I know you don’t like crowds, or loud music, or…”, he looked worried. “Well, I don’t know, but you told me from the start that you didn’t want to come, and I twisted your arm. I didn’t listen, and I’m sorry.”
Simeon bit his lip. Not even he knew what exactly he was feeling.
“No, I’m sorry.” he hung his head, pulling out his hair ties and letting his bangs shield his face. He felt so exposed right now. “Today’s just been…today has just been a lot.”
“Do you want me to just take you back to the circus?”
Simeon shook his head.
“Don’t you want to go to the concert?” He asked
“Nah.” He sat up straighter. “Let’s just sit here a minute.”
The two of them sat together, looking over the still water as the stars came out one by one. The music was too distant to make out any lyrics, and all the songs blurred together, but Simeon had to admit that the melody was pleasant. He closed his eyes again, his burst of emotional adrenaline weighing his body down with exhaustion.
At some point he heard Bronco whisper something that sounded intelligible to Simeon’s overtired mind, but he murmured something affirmative in response and felt Bronco’s arm wrap around his shoulders, helping him to walk back to the car. He felt a spike of panic, but once he fell into the passenger seat, it quickly dissipated, and Simeon gave in and let the embrace of sleep pull him under.
He woke up to the smell of cooking. It smelled delicious, definitely better than anything Moe could cook up. Maybe it was someone's birthday and Regina had ordered breakfast takeout?
Simeon rolled out of bed, intending to follow his usual routine of shedding his nightwear and pulling on his clothes, only to stop short when he realised that he was already wearing them. Only his shoes and jacket were missing, had he gone to bed in his clothes again?
It was at this point Simeon realised that this wasn’t his trailer, or even the circus - this was Bronco’s apartment. No wonder the bed had been so comfortable. He saw his jacket folded neatly on a chair, his cell phone placed on top. He grabbed it and checked the time; way past when he’d told Regina he’d be back.
He quickly called her. Trying to think of a reasonable explanation for why he’d missed the whole morning, but she picked up the call quickly.
“Oh, hi Simeon!”
“O-oh, h-hey boss. Listen I’m sorry that I missed coming in as normal, but I-”
“Don’t worry, Simeon” she giggled, “your friend actually just called me earlier, to tell me that you fell asleep, and stayed with him. He said that you probably wouldn’t make it in today. I’m glad you had fun yesterday. You must have been really exhausted!”
What exactly had Bronco told her? He didn’t like her tone. What was she implying?
“W-well, I’ll be back this afternoon, okay!”
“Okay, that sounds good. I think Money missed you last night, so he’ll be pleased! I can’t wait to hear about what you and your friend got up to yesterday.”
Simeon gave her a hasty goodbye, before he rubbed at his temples, feeling a headache coming on. Great. By now Regina would have surely told everyone that he stayed over at Bronco’s place. Max and Moe alone would have a field day with all their teasing and corny jokes.
He groaned just thinking about it. Ugh, he was going to kill Bronco for this. That is if he himself didn’t die from embarrassment first…