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The sun was setting on the horizon, and the town was starting to quiet down for the night. Scott was currently humming a song only he could hear, as he was sweeping the salon’s floor. Usually at this time the place would be full of drunken townsfolk, but today Scott’s dad was busy, which led to the place being closed. Giving Scott the time to properly clean the place up for once. As he continued brushing all of the dirt away from the floor, Scott heard the front door opening and closing.
"The salon is closed today; please come back another time,“ Scott informed whoever had been dumb enough to fail at reading the sign that was quite literally in front of the door, without even turning to face the person or looking up from the floor he was sweeping.
Instead of the footsteps turning away and leaving, the person quickly moved closer to him before hugging Scott around the waist, pulling him closer and whispering in his ear, "Perfect; then we won’t be interrupted."
Scott immediately lit up as he recognised the voice. "Fwhip!“ he exclaimed, before leaning his broom against a nearby table and turning in Fwhip‘s arms to face him before putting his own arms around the other’s neck.
"Hello, Snowflake," Fwhip returned the greeting with his usual smug smile before leaning down for a quick kiss. The kiss was sweet. an affectionate greeting. a sign of the love they shared. As they parted, their eyes met, showing nothing but the love they felt while looking at each other.
"I missed you," Fwhip said with clear affection before leaning down for another kiss. This time though, instead of moving closer to meet Fwhip's lips Scott moved away, leaving Fwhip's embrace completely so that the two were standing in front of each other. Scott’s expression had completely changed; he looked sad and distant as he stared at the floor in front of him. Something was on his mind, and Fwhip didn’t like that.
"What's wrong?" Fwhip asked the man, trying to hide his concern. Scott opened his mouth as if to answer before closing it, increasing FWhip's worry exponentially. He needed answers, so Fwhip moved his hand under Scott’s chin and gently moved up his head so that they were looking at each other again before almost beggingly asking, "Scott, my snowflake, please talk to me."
"I don’t think we should see each other anymore," Scott stated, even if his voice broke multiple times while he was talking and tears were threatening to fall from his eyes.
"What? Why? It’s something I’ve done, isn’t it? I'll never do it again and…“ Fwhip was now panicking. He couldn’t lose this. He couldn’t lose Scott.
"You're amazing, and it could never be your fault!" Scott had taken Fwhip's hand in an attempt to ground him.
"Then why?" Fwhip whispered. This can't be happening. This must be some kind of nightmare or a cruel joke.
"Because I'm not going to be the reason you'll get hurt!" Scott declared as he pushed down his feelings; Fwhip deserved the truth.
"About a week ago now Jimmy, the sheriff's son, came over and asked for my hand in marriage,“ Scott continued, explaining what had happened.
"What?!" Fwhip angrily exclaimed. No one else had the right to propose to Scott. No one but him had that right. Scott looked guilty as he returned his eyes to the floor. "You accepted?" Fwhip's voice was quiet and full of hurt as he hoped he had interpreted Scott’s reaction wrong. Scott wouldn't want to marry someone else, would he?
"I didn’t get the choice; my father had it, and he was more than happy to marry me off to the future sheriff." Now Scott was the one that sounded hurt. He didn’t get a choice in something that would define the rest of his life, and it wasn’t fair.
Fwhip let out a sigh of relief at that; it wasn’t Scott’s choice. before saying, "Then maybe you can talk to your father and explain that you don’t like that guy."
"And say what!" Scott interrupted FWhip's suggestion before continuing in a theatrical way, "Ohh, Father dearest, I don’t want to marry the upstanding future sheriff of our great town, because I'm in love with the most wanted criminal in our country that I’ve been secretly meeting up with for a bit more than two years now."
Under another circumstance, Fwhip would have laughed at the dramatic way Scott was moving around the room like it was his stage, but not now, not when it could spell out their end. "I could still meet you, it's not to..."
"Absolutely not, it already is dangerous for you to sneak around the town, and I will not risk you sneaking around a sheriff's house," Scott fiercely interrupted FWhip.
"Okay, then I'll just kill him, and this whole thing will be over. No more problem,“ Fwhip offered.
"The problem is not that Jimmy proposed to me; my problem is that you can’t!“ Scott yelled out in frustration. Why did Fwhip not get it? They were stupid; this was never meant to work out, and it was time that they accepted that, because the longer they were together, the more that realisation would hurt. Scott couldn’t hold back the tears any longer.
Fwhip tried to move closer and comfort Scott, but he just stepped back before crying, "Please just go. This doesn’t work. We don’t work. And seeing you makes all of this sooo much harder, so please, please, just"
Fwhip didn’t want to leave Scott like that, but he knew that it would only be worse if he stayed. It was obvious that it hurt Scott to push him away, but he felt like he had to. That that was the only way forward for them.
—————————
Two and a bit years ago
The salon was filled to the brim with people drinking, laughing and talking – the perfect place to hide and celebrate the Wither Roses' latest heist. Fwhip, Sausage, Gem and Pearl had just robbed a bank in town and knew the sheriff was going to patrol the area for a bit to try and catch them, so instead of trying to leave town, they had found their way to the local saloon for a drink while they waited him out. Gem and Pearl had been slightly ahead and had picked out a table in the back right corner of the room, far enough away from other people to be private but not far enough to cause suspicion. In other words, the perfect table for their gang of bandits. They even had a clear view of the salon's stage, not that Fwhip cared much for your average performers.
"This place is actually quite nice," Pearl remarked after they had all sat down.
"Nice enough for our purpose," Fwhip grumbled. Salons were always way too full of people for his taste. He preferred to just keep to himself and tinker on his next inventions or organise their next big scheme.
"Come on, brother, you might actually enjoy a night at the saloon if you just tried to have fun," Gem encouraged, as she always did. She must really want her brother to socialise. Why? Will forever be a mystery to Fwhip.
"Whatever,“ Fwhip dismissed.
"Hello, loves, what can I get you?" a voice had asked after approaching from the side, probably a waiter if Fwhip had to guess. He looked up, about to order some kind of whisky to try and get through this night, when Fwhip completely froze.
The waiter was gorgeous. He had blue hair and slightly darker blue eyes that made him definitely way too pretty for this place. He was wearing a light blue shirt with the top two buttons undone and the bottom tied together to make the shirt a midriff top. Along with that, he was wearing matching jeans and a white bandana with blue stitching around his neck. His shoes were white boots with matching blue stitching. He was absolutely stunning.
"I'll take a bottle of your best beer,“ Sausage told the pretty waiter.
"How are your cocktails?" Gem questioned.
"I'd say pretty good, but I'm also the one who makes them, so I may be biased," the waiter confidently responded.
"Fruity stuff?" Pearl asked.
"Definitely", the waiter smiled at them. God, did Fwhip's brain think he had a pretty smile.
Gem and Pearl looked at each other, seemingly wordlessly deciding on something, which was a normal occurrence for them, before both of the girls said in perfect synchrony, "Surprise us."
"Will do!" The waiter seemed to note down Gems and Pearl's order before turning to face Fwhip and asking, "What about you, sir?"
"Me? I… the whisky," Fwhip awkwardly stuttered. Why was he suddenly so nervous? One pretty guy taking his order shouldn’t have such an effect on him.
"I'll get your drinks to you shortly." The waiter smiled before walking over to the bar and starting to make some drinks. While talking to the main bartender that was currently manning the bar.
"What was that!?" Sausage asked Fwhip once the waiter was far enough away that he probably wouldn’t hear them anymore.
"Don't know what you're talking about,“ Fwhip dismissed. He did know what Sausage was referring to, though, and he knew Gem and Pearl would now say something too.
"You're red in the face and just stuttered. You don’t stutter." Pearl added like she was proving a point.
"You guys are delusional." Fwhip continued playing it off. As he did so, he couldn't resist taking another peek at the bar. Why did that waiter have to look so hot while making drinks?
"Omg, you like the waiter,“ Gem concluded after seeing how her brother was acting.
"He so does,“ Sausage agreed as the realisation hit him as well.
"Do not", Fwhip lied. How was he supposed to not at least like looking at that guy?
"No, he definitely does," Pearl agreed with the others. Which made sense; Fwhip isn’t even sure he would have managed to convince himself in such a situation.
"Fine, I think he looks good. Will you guys drop it now?" Fwhip admitted. After his statement, his three companions looked at each other before coming to a silent agreement that could only spell out trouble for Fwhip.
"Here are your drinks." The waiter returned to the table and gave everyone the drink they ordered before the waiter asked, "And I don’t mean to pry, but you all aren’t from around here, are you?“
"Nope, family road trip,“ Sausage smoothly lied about their reason for being in town.
"What gave it away?" Pearl smiled, trying to keep the conversation going so Fwhip had a chance to compose himself.
"It's just that I don’t know you, so you're not from this town; that's all,“ the waiter shrugged.
"Guessing you grew up here then, if you know the whole town," Fwhip, now having gathered actual confidence, stated.
"Yep, never left,“ the waiter confirmed.
"Doesn't it get boring?" Fwhip asked.
"Very, but what can you do? Dad doesn’t see it as safe for me to leave,“ the waiter sighed, before smiling and introducing himself. "My name’s Scott, by the way; it’s a pleasure to meet you all." Scott, that's such a pretty name for such a pretty man.
"I'm Fwhip; this is my sister Gem, her girlfriend Pearl and our cousin Sausage," Fwhip introduced the whole gang, much to Gem's delight, before adding in his best flirtatious tone, "and the pleasure is all mine." He had to at least try and shoot his shot. You don’t meet Scott’s amount of stunning every day; now that Fwhip thinks about it, he’s not sure he’s ever met someone this stunning before.
Scott’s smile seemed to widen slightly, but before he could say more, a short girl with dark brown hair and yellow eyes, who Fwhip remembered having seen performing something when they first entered the saloon, came up behind Scott and said, "Scott, you're up," as she took the tray from his hands and elbowed him in the direction of the stage.
"Got it,“ Scott said before walking towards the stage. Was he going to perform something? Why was Fwhip actually interested in the performance? He doesn't care about that sort of stuff.
Scott smoothly hopped on the stage and stood in front of the microphone. Was he going to sing? Whatever he was about to do, he must have been good because a lot of the present people had let out a cheer as he got on the stage before the room started quieting down. The guy sitting at the piano started playing, and Scott was totally about to sing, wasn’t he?
"Where have all the good men gone? And where are all the gods?" Scott had started slowly singing. His voice was beautiful.
"Where's the streetwise Hercules? To fight the rising odds?“ he continued in the same tone of voice. Why was FWhip's brain comparing him to an angel?
"Isn't there a white knight upon a fiery steed?" Scott just definitely looked at FWhip when he sang that. There is no way on earth that just some guy singing slowly should make Fwhip feel so much.
"Late at night, I toss and I turn. And I dream of what I need." After Scott drew out the last note, he gave the guitarist that was standing next to the piano a signal with his head, and the rhythm picked up.
"I need a hero" – with the quicker rhythm, Scott picked up his singing too. He moved like he owned the stage, because he did.
"I'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the night." How was he even better than before? How can this kind of perfection just walk around a town in the middle of nowhere? Why was Fwhip's face feeling so hot?
"But he's got to be strong; he's got to be fast. And he's Gotta be fresh from the fight." This time Fwhip was definitely not imagining it; Scott was looking directly at him. Maybe he'd died when they blew up the bank and ended up in heaven for someone like Scott to be even glancing at him.
Once Scott had finished performing and took his bow in front of the crowd, he walked over to tag in the next performer, like the short girl had done to him, before walking right by the gang’s table again.
And after Gem kicked Fwhip under the table in a 'say something‘ motion, he spoke up, "That was amazing. You're extremely talented."
"Thank you, performing and singing are always a lot of fun,“ Scott smiled at him.
"Fwhip's right, you definitely have talent. How come you’ve never tried to hit it big?" Pearl asked, maybe just as impressed with the guys' talent.
"That would require leaving town, so it's just unrealistic to think about." Scott shrugged away the thought.
"Would you want to, though?" Fwhip had to ask.
"Who wouldn't? But I still have to look out for my dad; it's not like he can run this place alone, and my brother has other dreams he's trying to focus on," Scott joked before smiling.
"Come on, everybody! Find your partners and get up to move; you all know the song!" The next performer, a woman with black hair and a flowery motif on her dress, loudly announced to the saloon's crowd.
"You dance?" Scott asked Fwhip. It was an invitation to dance, but Fwhip was a horrible dancer.
Fwhip was about to tell him that he really wasn’t a dancer, because he wasn’t. Fwhip had two left feet when Gem spoke up first, "Of course my brother dances," and then she pushed Fwhip to his feet.
"Come on then," Scott said as he took Fwhip's hand and pulled him to the dance floor, waiting for the music that was about to start.
"You want to dance too?" Pearl asked Gem as FWhip was leaving them.
"Yes!" Gem enthusiastically agreed. And so the two also found their way to the dance floor just as the song started playing.
Fwhip found himself less lost than he expected as Scott led the dance. He even enjoyed it a bit or maybe a lot. Why was an activity he usually hated so much fun with Scott? Towards the end Fwhip even felt comfortable enough that he took the lead on the dance and twirled Scott around before ending the song in a dip that left the two way closer than he had intended as he held Scott close to the ground. Both of them were intensely looking at each other's eyes. It just felt magical. Before he even had the thought that he should maybe move back up so Scott could stand, the blueette moved his hands from where they were on Fwhip's shoulders to be cupping his face.
"Push me away if I got this wrong,“ Scott silently whispered as he pulled himself closer to Fwhip. Was Scott going to kiss him?
"Quiet down, people!" A commanding voice boomed through the salon, and all the chatter and the music immediately stopped. The air was tense and quiet. At the sound of this new voice Scott moved away from FWhip before their lips even got close to contacting and scrambled to his feet. Fwhip pulled the other up once he noticed what Scott was doing.
The guy that had just spoken was standing at the door, and Fwhip immediately recognised the badge and hat he was wearing; it was the town’s sheriff. No wonder the people seemed to show this guy so much respect. What was the sheriff even doing here? That wasn’t a part of their group's plan.
"Sheriff, is everything alright?" Scott asked as he moved forward to meet the sheriff. This was bad. Fwhip directed a worried look towards his companions, and they seemed to share his worry. The sheriff being here wasn’t a part of their plan. If this went south, it definitely would be messy.
"As a matter of fact, it ain't . The bank has been robbed of its gold and was then blown up by those no-gooders that call themselves the Wither Roses," the sheriff explained to the ever-attractive crowd. Fwhip slowly and hopefully inconspicuously moved his hand to where he had his gun; he needed to be able to react quickly.
"That's horrible!" Scott exclaimed, before asking, "Are you here to get assistance in catching those bandits?"
"I'm not here for assistance; I'm not that old yet, young lad. I'm here because I suspect those no-gooders be hiding out in the saloon till nightfall. This isn't my first rodeo, after all." The sheriff said as he quickly glanced over the crowd, but it wasn’t the Wither Roses' first rodeo either, so they knew how to not be seen in a crowd.
"You didn’t happen to see someone that’s not from town now, did you, lad?" The sheriff asked Scott directly. Well, this was it, it seems; their cover was definitely gone, and Fwhip didn’t even get the chance to kiss him. Couldn’t that sheriff have shown up even a minute later?
"I have, well, this morning, that is," Scott immediately told the sheriff. And their cover was… wait, this morning? Fwhip looked over to his sister, who seemed just as confused about what Scott was saying.
"This morning, you say?" The sheriff asked him to clarify.
"Yeah, there was this group of four that came in for breakfast that was definitely from out of town. A tall guy with brown hair, a short one with ginger hair, then a girl about the same height, also ginger, and the tallest in the group, a girl with light brown hair." Scott completely explained the make-up of their little group, only lying when it came to the time they had visited the saloon.
"That sure as hell is them criminals," the sheriff agreed, before asking, "Did they say anything wired to you, lad?“
"They did ask me a lot of questions about the bank, but I just thought they were a bit odd,“ Scott lied as he pretended to think about it.
"Anything else?" The sheriff questioned, trying to get more information.
"They asked me something about the dead man’s trail, but I told them only idiots would venture out there, and they tipped me double the bill; that was definitely odd,“ Scott seemed to puzzle together.
"Bless your heart, young lad; those criminals were trying to buy your silence, and you stood above it." The sheriff put his hand on Scott’s shoulder in a praising manner before turning and saying, "If I'm quick, I might still catch them, but you all be safe now," and leaving.
"Shelby, I'm going on break,“ Scott said as he walked by the short girl that had tagged him onto the stage earlier.
"Don't worry, I got it covered; I would need a break too after such a revelation," the small girl agreed.
As Scott walked by their group, he gave them a sign to follow him as he left the building through the backdoor. Fwhip showed no hesitation in following him, so the rest of the group, even if more reluctantly, followed as well.
"The sheriff is going to search for you on the dead man's trail, so if you just ride out south from here, he'll never even see you,“ Scott explained once they were out of the building.
"Wait, you're actually helping us?" Gem almost sceptically asked.
"Wasn’t it obvious before?" Scott sarcastically answered.
"Why?“ Fwhip simply asked. Why would this absolutely perfect guy help them when he knew that they were known criminals?
"Maybe I just want to,“ Scott stated as he faced Fwhip directly, before adding, "You will have to pay for your drinks though before you leave; otherwise, my till will be off, and I really don’t need another lecture on 'Please don’t keep giving your friends free drinks.'"
"Wow, you're a strange guy,“ Pearl commented, before adding a quick "in a good way though".
Sausage leaned over to Fwhip and said, "You've got good taste, coz," loud enough so that everyone in their little group could hear, which quickly earned Sausage a painful kick in the back of the knee that had the man lose his balance and double over.
"Worth it,“ he said through slight tears on the floor, which earned him another kick, this time to the stomach.
"Please ignore my cousin,“ Fwhip said, taking the attention away from the man that was currently getting up from the ground. "Is there anything I could do to thank you for what you did today?“
"You could maybe take me on a date,“ Scott said, his cheeks turning a light shade of pink as he looked away from Fwhip's face, before quickly rambling out a quick, "Only if you want though; if you don’t like me, that’s totally fine. Please don’t feel like you have to or anything…“
"Absolutely!" Fwhip interrupted Scott’s rambling, even if it was adorable. Fwhip's face was feeling kind of warm too and was probably bright red as he continued, "Meet me right here in one week’s time."
"I'll be waiting," Scott said with a smile. He was truly beautiful.
"Come on, lover boy, we have to go if you don’t want to be caught," Pearl reminded them before the withered roses got on their horses and left. Scott looked after them till their silhouettes could no longer be seen on the horizon, then he returned to work. And started to think about the date he was going to have with the cute ginger that had walked into his father’s saloon on that day.
—————————
It was the day of Scott’s wedding. He hasn’t heard from Fwhip since the night he told him to leave. That was a good thing; it was stupid to think they could have worked out. So why was he sad? Why did Scott think of nothing but Fwhip? Why couldn’t he stop loving Fwhip? Scott didn’t want this wedding. He didn’t love Jimmy. But there was nothing he could do. He was currently standing in the changing room with his friends Katherine and Shelby, who were helping him get ready.
"This is so exciting; you're getting married,“ Shelby said as they came into the view of the mirror Scott was staring at.
"Yeah, exciting," Scott smiled through gritted teeth while trying to actually sound enthusiastic.
"Scott, what's wrong?" Katherine asked as she took one of Scott’s hands and directed his view away from the mirror and to her face.
"It’s nothing," Scott dismissed.
"It's definitely not nothing; you’ve been acting weird since morning. You know you can tell us everything, and we won’t tell a soul,“ Katherine said as she led Scott to sit on a nearby bench.
Scott took a deep breath in before looking back up at his friends and confessing, "This wedding... it's wrong."
The girls both shared a look of confusion before Shelby asked, "Which part? Cause we can still fix it."
Scott wasn’t sure he should even tell them, but it's not like he could back down now; he had already said too much for that. "The man I'm marrying,“
"Wait, hold on, just so that we're all on the same page here: you don’t want to marry Jimmy?" Shelby asked. Scott only nodded to confirm her words.
"You fell in love with someone else, didn't you?" Katherine realised after she saw Scott’s eyes, earning another nod from her friend.
"Why haven’t you told anyone?" Shelby immediately asked.
"He’s not the kind of man I can really show to be dating,“ Scott simply stated, feeling even sadder than before as he started thinking about Fwhip again.
"I’m sure that your father would understand if you explain yourself, just like my mother did when I told her I wanted to start dating Shelby." Katherine tried cheering Scott up.
"Yeah, her mother didn’t like me at the start, because I was an orphan and all, but now she invites me over to dinner like once a week and asks me to call her 'Mom'," Shelby joined in on the encouraging.
"He's a different situation,“ Scott cautiously explained, before sighing and adding, "It doesn't matter anyway; I doubt he still wants anything to do with me. Once my dad agreed to the marriage proposal, I told him to just stay away."
"Why?" Shelby asked.
"It's better this way," Scott stated in a distant tone. It was safer for Fwhip to stay far away from the sheriffs. So it had to be better.
"Is it really better if you're suffering? It's clear that you're unhappy, and probably so is he,“ Katherine added, sounding like she was concerned for him.
"It's too late now. He's better off without me anyway; I'm sure he could easily find someone better," Scott simply stated. Before he got back up and picked up the tie from the cabinet to continue preparing for the wedding.
—————————
One week after two and a bit years ago
Scott was standing waiting at the back of the salon; he had been here for a couple of minutes now, and his doubts were starting to grow. Did Scott get the day wrong? Was Fwhip actually coming? Maybe he was just being led on?
"Sorry, I'm late, beautiful," the voice pulled Scott out of his head. Fwhip! He was here. He must have entered town from the north, so Scott didn’t see him approaching on his steed.
"You don’t need to apologise for that; you’re not that late,“ Scott nervously dismissed. Fwhip looked way hotter than he remembered.
"Someone as pretty as you shouldn’t be left waiting. Even for a minute,“ Fwhip confidently said, before reaching out his hand towards Scott and saying, "Hop on; I prepared a surprise for you."
Scott took Fwhip's hand and let himself be pulled up to sit behind Fwhip on the horse. Then once Scott was fully sat Fwhip told him, "Hold on tight," and instructed his horse to run off. As they were riding along, Scott wrapped his arms around Fwhip's torso and pulled himself closer to the man. Fwhip did tell him to hold on tight after all. Fwhip rode out a bit further than Scott had ever been before before stopping at the edge of a small desert oasis. One Scott had never seen before; it was beautiful.
"This place is just…" Scott said with clear awe in his voice.
"First time seeing a desert oasis?" Fwhip asked with a laugh as he got off his horse before offering Scott a hand to help him get down.
"Yeah,“ Scott confessed, as he took Fwhip's hand and dismounted the horse.
"Okay, now close your eyes," Fwhip said as he took both of Scott's hands and stood in front of him. Was Fwhip going to lead him to this surprise of his? He was so romantic; Scott could feel his heart rate increasing.
"But then I won’t be able to see your pretty face,“ Scott jokingly whined, earning a chuckle from Fwhip as Scott closed his eyes and let the other lead him.
"That was not a problem I was accounting for,“ Fwhip jokingly dismissed. "You can open your eyes now.“
And when Scott did, he saw a picnic. There was a blanket and some delicious-looking food, and the blanket was close to the water of the oasis; it was simply perfect.
"You did all of this?" Scott asked in awe.
"If you don’t like it, we can do some..." Fwhip started, as he was slightly worried he had messed something up.
"This is amazing; you're amazing,“ Scott excitedly stated. Before the two sat down and started to enjoy their picnic. And it was perfect. Scott found himself talking to Fwhip the whole time, and it was just so nice. He was easy to talk to. Scott felt himself relax around Fwhip in a way he didn’t around many other people.
As time moved on, Scott started feeling something cold land on his face. Was it raining? It didn’t feel as wet as rain. And as it started falling from the sky, it almost looked white?
"I didn’t think it was going to snow today; that doesn't happen in these parts often, does it?" Fwhip asked, as he also seemed to notice the change in the weather.
"What's snow?" Scott asked him, with clear confusion on his face.
"The white stuff that's falling from the sky – have you never seen snow before?" Fwhip almost sounded incredulous.
Scott just shook his head before saying, "It's the first time I’ve seen weather like this."
"Well then, allow me to explain it to you. When it gets really cold out, like today, the water that is up in the sky and would usually fall as rain freezes and turns into snow. It's a more common occurrence in the north,“ Fwhip explained in a way that was neither condescending nor annoyed; he explained it in a way that made Scott feel smarter somehow, instead of stupid.
"So each of these white things is a piece of snow?" Scott asked as he tried to catch a piece with his hand; it immediately melted and turned to water once it landed on his palm.
"Yeah, and those pieces of snow are called snowflakes. People say that every single one is special and unique, one of a kind. Just like you,“ Fwhip smiled at Scott, with only fondness in his eyes as the other looked back at him with a slight blush on his face.
"You've been all over the country; you’ve probably met a thousand guys like me,“ Scott shyly dismissed as he looked away.
"No, just one," Fwhip smirked. "You're my snowflake, unique and special and the only one for me," he said as he moved slightly closer.
Scott didn’t know how to answer to that, so instead he just leaned closer and gave Fwhip a quick kiss on the cheek. He loved Fwhip, and Fwhip loved him.
—————————
Scott was standing at the altar right across from Jimmy; they had both just read their vows. Vows that meant nothing to him. The preacher was currently in the process of holding his speech. Jimmy was looking at Scott with his eyes full of joy and a smile. At least someone was happy. Scott tried to smile back, but he knew it didn’t reach his eyes. How could it?
"Now if anyone objects to this union, please speak up or forever hold your peace," the pastor asked the gathered crowd. Why did Scott want someone to object? Why was his mind being so stupid? Why couldn’t Fwhip be the one standing in front of him?
"I object!" a new voice boomed through the church as the doors swung open in a big, dramatic entrance. And on the other side of the door stood Fwhip?! What was he doing here? Did he just say he objected?
"Everyone get down; that’s them criminal, the tinkerer," the sheriff said as he got up from his seat at the front of the room and tried pulling his gun on Fwhip, only for him to not be holding a gun but a wooden replica of one instead. Someone had switched out his gun.
"Sit back down, old man; you're ruining my brother's romantic moment," the woman that had been sitting next to him, who now took off an oversized hat and revealed herself as Gem, declared. She had somehow switched out his gun and was now holding it in the direction of the sheriff's head. It was obvious that her words were a threat. The sheriff, albeit reluctantly, sat back down; the withered roses had outsmarted him. Once the sheriff was seated, Gem gave her brother a thumbs up, encouraging him to continue.
"O... on what... grounds do... you ob-object?" The preacher stuttered out, clearly scared of the criminals that had just crashed the wedding.
"On the grounds that you were right, Scott. I was being stupid and unrealistic, and I should have done this ages ago." Fwhip said as he walked closer to the altar until he stood right in front of Scott before going down on one knee, earning himself a positively shocked reaction from the blue-haired man. "Scott, snowflake, you're the most amazing person I have ever met. Just being around you makes me happier than anything else ever could. Since the moment when I first met you at the saloon, I knew you were the love of my life. You deserve the world, and I want nothing more than to give it to you. So would you allow me the pleasure and make me the happiest person that's ever lived by marrying me?" As Fwhip said those last few words, he pulled out a small box from his pocket and opened it, presenting Scott with a silver ring that had a blue gemstone embedded on the front of it.
"Yes, of course I want to marry you." Scott's smile was genuine and beautiful as he moved closer to hug a still kneeling Fwhip, practically throwing himself at the ginger in a moment of genuine joy. Before Fwhip moved slightly to connect their lips.
"What in Tarantino's name is the meaning of this, son?" Scott's father now stood up from the crowd, clearly angry. Making Scott freeze in the embrace before he stood up and looked over at the man.
"It‘s… I…" Scott started fumbling for something to say, unable to get the words out under his father’s harsh stare.
"Why are you so mad? He seems happy, so what do you care?" Scott's brother Xornoth unhelpfully added from the seat next to their dads.
"No son of mine is going to be gallivanting around with a no-good criminal," his father spat with clear disgust in his voice. "It’s nothing but a sin, one a person with any amount of common sense would try and repent for."
"I’m sorry for having lied to you, Father, but I'm not going to apologise to you or anyone for that matter for who I love," Scott declared as he took Fwhip's hand. Fwhip was not a mistake he was making. Sending him away was the only mistake Scott had ever made. He just needed Fwhip to come back so he could realise that.
"Then I have no longer a son,“ his father declared as he pulled out his own gun and aimed it at Scott. Fwhip immediately stepped in front of Scott and pulled out his gun.
"What are you doing!?" Xornoth exclaimed as he also stood up and tried taking the gun from his father. He was not losing his brother today. Not when Scott had been the only person that ever truly stood by him.
"Quit it, boy,“ his father said as he pushed Xornoth to the side, causing him to fall to the ground with a big crash.
"Xor!" Scott exclaimed, wanting to check on his brother but being held back by Fwhip; Scott’s father was still pointing his gun. Katherine ran over to where Xornoth landed and helped him sit up, giving Scott a tentative nod as it seemed his brother was not seriously injured.
"Why don’t we both just drop the guns and have a civil conversation about this?" Fwhip offered; if it came to a shooting, Scott could get caught in the crossfire.
"Right the moment I drop my gun, you'll kill me," Scott's father scoffed.
"I tried the civil way,“ Fwhip shrugged, and shortly after, a shot was fired from the side of the room, hitting Scott’s father's hand, causing him to drop the gun and then drop to the floor himself out of pain. Before he had the chance to pick it back up with his other hand, Fwhip stepped closer and kicked him in the stomach, sending him flying against his seat. Then Fwhip picked up the gun before turning back to Scott. "You okay?“
Scott nodded in response when his father spoke back up from his place on the floor. "How?"
"Did you really think I would be dumb enough to just come in here without having someone have a good shot?" Fwhip touted the man.
"That's me; I have the good shot,“ Pearl yelled from the church’s choir balcony, to the right of the room, where she had been previously hiding in case things went south.
"She really does. Oh, and one more thing,“ Fwhip agreed before leaning in closer so only Scott’s father could hear him. "The only reason I haven’t killed you is because Scott, for some, to me, absurd reason, cares about you, and I want you to remember that."
"Hey Tink, we should probably start going before the situation escalates again," Gem said as she had gotten up from the seat she was previously in.
"Just my thoughts, Wiz," Fwhip agreed before facing Scott again. "If there’s anyone you want to say goodbye to, my love, now is the time."
Scott quickly hugged his friends, who seemed surprisingly supportive and happy that he seemed happy. The shorter one said something along the lines of 'romantic', but Fwhip was not listening too closely. Scott said his goodbyes to his brother also in the form of a hug, who then moved closer to Fwhip. "If you hurt my brother in any way, you're a dead man,“ and Fwhip could respect it; he had said similar words to Pearl when she started dating his sister after all.
"I'm ready,“ Scott then said, and Fwhip took his hand before saying, "Then, let's run."
And off they went, Fwhip pulling Scott along; Gem and Pearl were closely behind them as they turned around the corner of the church where their horses were waiting. The three bandits had no trouble practically jumping onto the horses, barely even slowing down as they did so. Then Fwhip quickly helped Scott mount up behind him before they were off. Riding off to the dead man's trail.
"I can’t believe you came; that was stupidly dangerous,“ Scott said to Fwhip as he put his arms around Fwhip's torso and cuddled his head into Fwhip's neck. Scott really missed him. Scott had thought he’d lost him. He was the stupid one between the two for sending him away.
"Maybe, but I'd do even more stupid things for you,“ Fwhip said as he couldn’t stop the smile that was quickly spreading on his face. They were finally together. He didn’t have to leave Scott behind anymore. He could even call Scott his fiancé now. Things couldn’t be better.
"Isn’t the sheriff going to follow us?“ Scott asked as a problem acquired to him.
"Don't worry, I’ve got an explosive solution prepared for when he tries," Fwhip smugly declared.
"I swear to god, Fwhip, if that just was another explosives jock I just heard,“ Gem frustratedly yelled from her horse.
In the end it was In fact, an explosion joke as FWhip had rigged the mounted next to the dead man's trail to blow so that no one would be able to follow them. Sausage had been waiting on the top of the mountain for them to pass by before pulling the trigger and riding on his own horse to meet them. And for once as Fwhip looked back at the explosion, he could see something even prettier than the destructive power of TNT: his fiancé.