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Sheriff’s were supposed to be guardians, protectors of everyone around them. So when Seth was reading one of their books on animals, speaking on how guard dogs watched over herds of sheep during the night to keep them safe from coyotes and wolves, Yellow took a bit of inspiration.
On top of day time patrols, the cowboy had started doing night time lookouts too, something that took much longer due to the fact he had to be quieter so he wouldn’t wake the others.
At the moment, he sat at the entrance to the castle by the café to make sure nothing entered.
It… had started raining.
How long had it been since that happened?
The main entrance where Yellow was didn’t have a roof. Not that he minded the rain. It reminded him of his beloved Blue. Whenever he fell, or hurt himself in some way in his clumsiness, Blue cared for him with a summon from a rain cloud. He still wasn’t sure how healing magic worked. Maybe some day, Blue could-
That train of thought was interrupted by a loud *BOOM* that echoed throughout the castle. He jumped with a ‘good golly!’ before the shock faded into a quiet chuckle, and his tired eyes continued their scan.
He was exhausted, if he was to be honest, but JUSTICE never sleeps, so neither should he.
Gosh, it was really pouring now, wasn’t it? With the thunder starting up, not to mention the lightning, this had to be a pretty bad storm. It doesn’t matter though. Even in the worst types of weather, criminells still-
“Y-yellow?”
The cowboy forced his heavy eyelids to open further, turning to the sound of his name to see a small mouse peaking out from the cafe, dressed in her little pjamas and shaking quite violently.
“Oh, heya there Orange! Whatcha doin’ up so late?” he asked his little sister, keeping his voice soft in recognition of the girl’s trembling.
“I um… wanted to check on you! Yeah, that’s it. Help you keep guard and everything.”
Uhuh. Very convincing.
Still, Yellow was too dense to understand… wait. That wasn’t a nice thing to say about your own brother. She knows he’s just tired. That’s why he didn’t spot her obvious lie.
…
Maybe.
Anyways, Yellow beamed. “Well, that’s mighty kind of ya sis! Would ya’ like to c’mere and stay with me for a while?”
At this Orange’s expression mimicked Yellow’s. One thing she could always appreciate when it came to her big brother was the fact he never underestimated her. She wanted to help protect the others? Yellow never doubted she was capable of it!
“Y-yeah!” She replied excitedly, scurrying over swiftly while dodging as many raindrops as she could. She managed to only get hit once! But, still, she was wet… and cold, not to mention being scared by- NOPE. SCARED?? She wasn’t-!
The second she was in the cowboy’s lap and in the safety of his towering stature, another clap of thunder boomed. The mouse jumped with a squeal, clambering up Yellow’s form and under his hat, and Yellow couldn’t help but feel startled and concerned.
“…Orange? Sweet pea?” The cowboy spoke once the lightning had passed, reaching up into his mop of hair to gently grab the small, trembling ball that was Orange and bring her out. “Y’alright? Y’seemed mighty startled there!”
“Y-Yeah, I’m ok… thanks Yellow.”
“O’course! Now, is there any other par-tic-u-lar reason y’came here?”
“I told you! I wanted to help patrol! Are you calling me a *liar*, Chibi?!”
“Hw-hwhat? No! I’m not-!”
Another loud boom caused both of them to jump, but Orange was the one who remained trembling after, her paws covering her ears. That’s when it clicked what was really going on.
Orange was scared of the thunder.
“… y’didn’t just ‘happn’ to wake up t’ come check on me, did ya’ sis?” The sheriff asked yet again, trying his best to mimic Blue’s skeptical expression. Which, apparently did the trick, as Orange began to open up.
The small flower sniffled, her little brow furrowed and beady eyes teary. She folded her arms and had looked away from the JUSTICE in front of her. “No. S-so what if I’m afraid?! It’s not my fault a-and I’m not weak!” she snapped, but it wasn’t particularly aimed at Yellow this time. She seemed more upset at everything in general. Although, for such a young one, especially this late at night, it was no surprise she was moody.
“I don’ think y’r weak, sugar. I get scared all the time! It’s just a part o’ bein’ human, ya’ hear?” Yellow reassured, beginning to pet the fur between her ears.
“You really mean it…?”
“Mhm! Cross my heart.”
“… ok,” Orange murmured, rubbing at her tears to get them to go away, but they continued on, much to her dismay. Her frustration just made her cry harder, and when another clasp of thunder struck the sky, Orange had covered her ears and began bawling.
Poor lil’ thing was exhausted, terrified, and soaked. She didn’t even seem to care how others perceived her at the moment, she just wanted her brother!
“Oh- oh darling- C’mere,” Yellow soothed, pressing the mouse to his chest, before asking, “do ya’ wanna stay with me fer the night?”
The mouse rapidly nodded with a hiccup that rattled her tiny frame.
In that moment, the cowboy had a plan. He grabbed the blue handkerchief he kept with him at all times, gently rubbing it over his sister to dry her off with one end, until he was done. He then flipped the fabric to the dry side and bundled her up into it as if it were a blanket.
Shoot. He didn’t have any cotton balls to put in her ears to muffle the sounds, and he couldn’t get up… oh, well. He’ll find a way around it.
Lastly, he tucked her into his shirt pocket, with her ear pressed against his chest. He never stopped the pets or comforting words. He’d even gave her little kisses to her cheek and ears.
Nothing seemed to work in calming her. She would just end up crying herself out, which is sometimes the only way for things to go.
He eventually began to sing in hopes of drawing her attention away from the thunderstorm overhead. At first, it didn’t really do any more than his other attempts, yet, slowly but surely, her jumps became less frequent. Her sobs became quieter and her eyelids fluttered until she fell asleep to the sound of her brother’s voice and heartbeat.
Yellow heaved a sigh of relief, his body slumping slightly when he knew his sister was now cozy enough to sleep deeply enough that she’d started snoring.
How could such a little thing cause so much noise? Ah, it didn’t matter. She was ok now. That’s all that mattered to him.
…
Welp. Back to guarding.
————————————
“Yellow? Dearest?”
Yellow jolted up slightly from his slumped position, rubbing his eyes with one hand to rub the sleep from them.
“Mmph… Blue?” The cowboy muttered, his head lifting at the other’s approach, his tail instinctively whacking against the ground in delight.
And there he was. Blue, smiling down at him, parasol protecting both of them from the rain.
“Why haven’t you come to bed, darling?” The dancer asked, sitting on his knees beside his beloved, watching as he yawned and stretched.
“Jus’… keepin’ guard. Whatta ‘bout you, Bluebell?”
“I just finally got my siblings to bed. Seth wouldn’t stop reading and Aqua… well. She was herself.”
Yellow hummed tiredly, wrapping his arms around the other man and pressing drowsy kisses to his collar bone. Blue leaned into the affections, returning them in kind, until the noticed something.
“Oh! Why, hello dear,” Blue greeted softly, reaching over to Orange in his lover’s pocket, and petting her weary head.
“Yeah, poor thing got scared of the thunder s’all,” Yellow responded, keeping his head on Blue’s shoulder while ignoring the fluttering of his eyelids.
Blue, however, noticed this. He looked over, kissing the bull’s forehead slowly, gently scratching at the head of golden hair.
“Why don’t I take watch for the rest of the night, my dear? You seem ever so tired,” the ballerino soothed.
“Mmno I-I can’t put that on ya Blue. You gotta be tired too, sugar!”
“My love, please, just rest. We can take turns if you so desire, yes?”
The JUSTICE wanted to keep head strong, but in truth, he could never deny anything from Blue. And just like his partner said, he was *so* tired. So, with a nod, he allowed himself to give in, snuggling into Blue’s shoulder with a low exhale of contentment.
“Thank ya’ starlight, I love ya’…” he muttered, his voice heavily slurred to the point he was nearly incoherent, before going dead silent except for soft snores.
Goodness, he must be exhausted if he fell asleep sitting upright. Twice. Within a 5 minute time span.
“I love you too, my beloved daffodil,” Blue whispered in response. “I’ll always be here for you. Whenever you need me… I’ll be there.”