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He had to admit, those three kids had surprised him.
Of course, anything built up through passion-driven effort was sure to set his heart and wings both aflutter, but there was a difference between hearing stories and seeing the fruits of one’s labour up close. The place was so much smaller than the gardens around Flower Castle, yet so much more lively, bustling with barely controlled chaos. Truly, to be able to witness the Darkner haven of Castle Town in person was a blessing to Blue.
Though, that didn't make it perfect. For all the hard work on display, the town still held its fair share of problems. One of which, and a rather vexing one at that, had bumped into them as he and Yellow strolled through the streets, hand in hand.
“Watch where you're—oh great, another couple,” the Darkner (that strikingly reminded him of a Floradinn stripped of its foliage) had spat.
“Pardon us,” Blue apologized, squeezing Yellow's hand to reassure that they had done nothing wrong.
And that should've been it, two bugs passing silently into the dark night, off on their own respective business. They likely never would've met again. But, for some reason or another, that one particular not-Floradinn had decided now was the time to absolutely unload their bottled up woes upon their heads.
Thus, the current predicament.
For the entire rant, the two of them merely stood rooted to the spot and stared in stunned silence. Not that it was their first time ever experiencing such a thing—sometimes people needed to air their troubled thoughts, and flowers were often good listeners—but that didn’t make it any less jarring. Being indirectly blamed for said troubling thoughts, though? That was a new one.
“And now it's all love, love, looove! Why? What's the POINT!? You're just gonna break up and abandon your dreams anyway!” The Darkner paused to pant for breath, winded.
From the corner of his eye, Blue saw Yellow open his mouth. He beat him to the punch. “My, what an…impassioned speech. But, if I may offer some advice, let it be this: Dreams…are not so easily crushed underfoot. When infused with love, for your dream, for yourself, for others—”
The Darkner snorted. Blue felt his lips twitch.
“—they will shine true, and light your path forward,” he finished. The manufactured smile he’d put on to be polite became genuine when Yellow made a fumbling attempt at clapping without releasing his hand.
Unfortunately, it did not have the intended effect, which, to Blue especially, was rather alarming. They only seemed further incensed, rather than inspired as he’d hoped. Another new outcome. Was this the norm within Castle Town, or was it restricted to this one poor soul? Either way, their dismissive attitude was beginning to grate.
The Darkner rolled their eyes. “Oh please, what a load! All that doesn't matter jack for us Darkners in the Light World! And even if it did, you're tellin’ me that you two AREN'T ever gonna split…” They used their sword to point at Yellow, who raised an arm defensively. “That you're NOT gonna find out all your effort's been for nothing and end up ditching your whole cowboy schtick?” The sword slid over to him next. It received only a glance. “And you're NOT gonna end up heartbroken staring at a screen all day because you realized your dancing never mattered? Yeah, sure.”
“HEY!” Yellow advanced a step, and for once, Blue did not necessarily feel inclined to stop him. Instead, he covered his mouth and pretended to be shocked when Yellow let go of his hand to bat the sword away. “Don't you go pointin’ no weapons at Blue! That there's a threat, and anythin’ that threatens Blue will face JUSTICE!”
Yellow had a tendency to get riled up, though true anger such as this was uncommon. With his head tilted down to glare like that, the brim of his hat cloaked his eyes in shadow, casting quite the imposing figure. Under normal circumstances that would've been Blue's cue to step in and soothe Yellow's fury; flowers were messengers of love, not war.
But after comments like those, well…they had it coming.
There was a split second where the Darkner seemed to be intent on escalating, but then their eyes flicked down and noticed the gun in Yellow's holster, not to mention likely just processed the fact that he’d slapped a sharp weapon bare-handed like it posed little more than an inconvenience, and thought better about their odds.
Yellow wasn't finished, jabbing his finger out as if it were his pistol. “An’ another thing, ya'll've got some durned nerve, trashin’ a cowboy's dreams. Ain't nothin’, NOTHIN’ in this here Dark World that would stop me from chasin’ my dream and deliverin’ justice! And there ain't NOTHIN’ in this here Dark World and be-yond that would ever make me abandon Blue!”
Hands settling over his heart, smiling wide, Blue swooned. How could one not, in the face of such open devotion, such burning passion for his love? Oh, that the circumstances could be of a more appropriate variety, instead of a shouting match in the street with some random stranger. He'd have to find a better time to pull Yellow aside and kiss him stupid.
But alas, his eyes flicked to the Darkner to gauge their reaction, and the butterflies in his heart promptly scattered upon seeing the smug smirk. Ah, so they were one who could not be swayed without considerable effort, stubbornly couched in their own jaded perceptions, not just unable, but unwilling to see further beyond into the realm of possibility—
“Yeah? And how do you know that it's not gonna be him leaving you?”
Yellow flinched back. All his bravado vanished in an instant. Eyes wide as saucers, he turned to look back at Blue. “Wh-what? Blue's gonna…?”
Never mind, this person had to go.
Blue stepped forward, hand first settling on Yellow's arm to pat him gently before the doubt could properly set its hooks. Then it pressed across his stomach to push him back.
“I must say…” he began, sweet as a Manchineel apple and just as poisonous. “Your points clearly stem from a place of experience. The wound laid upon your heart cuts deep, unearthing a wellspring of sorrow. A fountain that—”
“Get to the point.”
Wings took form upon his back, fanning out full. It took quite a lot to make Blue truly mad, but he was well on his way; on top of the exhausting and rather insulting tirade, he did not appreciate being interrupted, much less from someone who already upset Yellow in such a cruel manner. One more word while he was talking, and perhaps he would find it fit to deliver a punishment right there, smack dab in the middle of the pavement. With the audience they'd attracted, it would make for quite the stunning (and woefully one-sided) performance, he was certain.
Mouth twitching furiously, he set his jaw to make it stop, and took a deep breath. “...as I was saying. Though impassioned, your assessment of others is flawed, viewed through the watery veil of such sorrows. Should you find something to love in your life, and clear your sight, you will thrive in a much happier existence. In addition,” his voice dropped in both volume and octave, looming forward over his prey, wings casting a stretching, dark shadow, “it would be a boon to avoid venting at strangers you meet on a whim. Especially when you walk into them.”
Soft, almost inaudible, but Blue still heard the tiny whimper behind him. His time was up, the crescendo hit its peak, and now, his exit. Standing up properly, he dusted the encounter off his frills with a couple flicks of the wrist, then spun en pointe to face Yellow, keeping his wings wide to completely obscure any hint of the offending Darkner from sight.
Oh no, poor dear looked to be on the verge of tears.
“Come along, Yellow,” he urged, claiming one hand from where they'd been clutching his hat to his chest and sandwiching it between both his own. “We still need to see the sights!”
Blinking a couple times, Yellow nodded, fixed his hat, and followed meekly behind as Blue led them both away from the gaping Darkner still sputtering on the walkway. Back through the main part of town, they wandered in search of a quieter locale (that was another flaw, with so many people crammed into one small spot, finding some privacy proved difficult) until he finally settled on tucking them into a corner along a vast overlook fenced in steel. Other Darkners lingered about, but they didn't seem interested in disengaging from their own activities. Hopefully it would stay that way.
He almost put his thoughts to voice, what a…unique individual, but held his tongue. There was someone much more important who deserved his attention now.
Yellow hadn’t said a word the entire walk, trailed behind instead of staying side-by-side as before, gaze to the ground. When they’d finally stopped, he slowly slipped his hand away and let it drop limp. “B-Blue…”
“Yes, Yellow dear?”
“You wouldn't…I mean…” He scratched his head, and then his hat was back in his grasp, anxiously fidgeting. “If you weren't, um, h-happy bein’ ‘round me…’n there was any reason you'd wanna…”
Yellow struggled to finish the thought. Blue didn't want to hear him finish it.
Slowly, he reached out to cup Yellow's face in his palms. “Oh, you poor thing. That Darkner's words really bothered you, didn't they?”
A bit of flame flickered back to life in his gaze. “I couldn't jus’ let ‘em mouth off ‘bout you like that. Wasn't right at all. Should'a jus’ gone an’ done a justice right then ‘n there.” Then it was gone, drowned in renewed sadness. “But…Blue, if you…”
Blue's lips silenced him. Almost immediately Yellow melted into the touch, sinking against him like he'd never experienced such affection in his life (even though he did regularly, multiple times a day, even), and Blue couldn’t help but grin. How could one flower possibly be so adorable?
“Yellow, my love, heed not the words of a stranger. For I am yours, as you are mine, ‘til our petals wilt and our stems wither away,” he murmured as he pulled back an inch. Foreheads pressed together, he allowed a pause to admire the way Yellow's face lit up red, eyes lidded and grin lopsided and lovestruck. His hands dangled uselessly between them, fully disarmed. Blue had half a mind to kiss him again. So he did, quick and honey sweet.
Yellow's throat visibly bobbed when he swallowed. “Gosh, you really mean it?”
A third kiss upon his nose. “Of course I do, you silly man. You fill my days with endless beauty.”
“I reckon’ I should be the one sayin’ that ‘bout you.” Finally, the light in his eyes flared with fresh purpose, embers catching fire. “Whelp.” He snatched his hat up from where he'd dropped it on the floor, setting it square back on his head as he stood up tall. “I'd best keep pursuin’ my dream to be the best durned cowboy you've ever dones seen, then.” He thumped a fist to his chest. “Cowboy's honour!”
Hopelessly enamoured, Blue laughed softly, and let Yellow reclaim his hand to thread their fingers together. “You already are, my dearest.”