Chapter Text
Blue was just beginning to come down from the high of performance. He hadn’t even finished wiping off his makeup, let alone shaking off the leftover adrenaline from performing live.
He sat on a plush red stool, staring himself in the vanity mirror, admiring himself for a moment. His was a face made for the spotlight.
He had a strong, angular jaw, high cheekbones, dark moody eyes and gorgeous long textured hair. Said hair was painted a bright white, a beautiful contrast against his dark brown skin. His dreads were tied up into a high ponytail currently, and he couldn’t wait to get home and undo it. His head was beginning to pound from the pressure.
With a warm washcloth he rubbed away the foundation off his left cheek. He checked in the mirror that no stubborn specks of glitter were sticking to his check.
Before Blue could wipe clean the rest of his face, there was a knock on his dressing room door.
He huffed quietly, annoyance causing his brow to wrinkle.
Being the headline of a show had both its advantages and its disadvantages. Yes, having his name upon the marquee meant he was awarded his own private quarters backstage. The rest of his fellow performers split three medium-sized dressing rooms between all of them. Blue knew he was lucky for that and did not appreciate it lightly.
But the disadvantages made themselves evident.
After every performance, once he had retired to his dressing room, he was expected to entertain the many fans and admirers who wished to greet him before leaving the theatre. A small congregation of them would crowd into his dressing room to proffer compliments and attempt to ply him with flowers and chocolates.
It was flattering of course, but it never failed to grow tiring very quickly. Blue endured it all with a polite smile and graceful words of gratitude that managed to subtly keep them all at an arm’s distance.
He was attached to no-one but the others who depended on his skill to keep their show going. Blue loved nothing more than he loved performing upon the stage. He would do all that he could to protect this living dream for him and for the rest of his troupe.
If greeting endless admirers was part of it, then very well, he would perform his role. But the dancer would much prefer it for those admirers to be on time.
The rest of that evening’s crowd had already come and gone, but here one last straggler was, knocking on the door nearly twenty minutes after Blue’s dance had concluded.
He sighed, and plastered a polite, serene smile upon his face. With a calm and even tone, melodic as always, he called out.
“Come in!”
There was a pause, much to Blue’s surprise. He hadn’t taken that long to reply, had he? The dancer was certain he had taken but a moment.
Finally, the knob began to turn and the door creaked open slowly. A tall man stood on the other side, dressed in full cowboy regalia complete with the large signature hat, a belt with a large brass buckle and leather boots with spurs. Over a gingham shirt he wore a yellow vest and sitting proudly on his chest was a bolo tie with a dark amber gemstone.
The tall man had a long mullet of beautiful dusty blonde hair and a few blond whiskers on his chin to match. He was also faintly blushing, and unfortunately it was extremely evident against the man’s pale skin.
To top off his look, the man had his eyes screwed tight, “Er, sorry.” A thick country accent fell out of his mouth like every word was a happy accident.
“I thought I heard yew say to come in, but I weren’t sure ‘n’ I’m mighty sorry if yer changin’. I’m not a peepin’ tom or nothin, I promise…”
His voice petered out, his cheeks only darkening as he waited for a response. His thin mouth pulled into a grimace, like he was expecting to be admonished by a school-teacher.
Blue couldn’t help but smile a little more genuinely. This man had not been at all what he was expecting, but he was a delightful surprise.
“You heard me correctly, dear. I told you to come in, so please, come in.”
‘Dear’ was a pet-name Blue often used to refer to the people around him. The dancer didn’t think much of handing it out. The other dancers in his troupe, his few friends, and, yes, his sweetest fans were people that were all dear to him.
So, it just came naturally to Blue that the lanky man in front of him was somehow deserving of the title. Even if Blue didn’t have a good reason, the way the gentleman’s cheeks turned an even brighter pink made it completely worth it.
The stranger slowly lowered his hand from his face and then he froze. He looked at Blue as if he couldn’t quite believe that they were in the same room.
Blue tilted his head curiously. Had the man somehow misplaced his purpose for coming to him? It was a flattering idea, that the sight of Blue was enough to rid the cowboy’s head of all his thoughts.
Just as Blue was about to prompt him with a question, the man cleared his threat.
“Er, sorry, I, uh, just wanted to say yew danced real well tonight. I ain’t ever watched a lot of bal-lay mind ya, but yew have gots to be the perdiest fella I ever seen on stage before.”
Blue raised his eyebrow in surprise, most of his admirers weren’t as forward as the awkward man in front of him. He wouldn’t have expected it.
“Well-”
The man’s blush, which he had only just gotten under control, suddenly came back twice as quickly.
“I meant to say yer dancin’! Yer dancin’ was the perdiest thing I ever seen on stage ‘fore. Tha’s all.” His hands flew up, moving frantically as if trying to push the words he said earlier, far, far away.
Blue covered his mouth with his hand, trying to muffle the peals of laughter that spilled from his lips. The last thing he wanted to do was embarrass the cowboy.
If it were anyone else, Blue might’ve let his laugh ring loud, but this man was so clearly embarrassed by his mix-up and it was an adorable sight. Despite having known this man for less than a minute, Blue could sense a deep sincerity in him. He knew a performance when he saw it, and this wasn’t one.
The taller man simply smiled at him, his blush beginning to die down. Blue wasn’t certain whether he had successfully hidden his amusement or not, but all the same he decided entertaining a conversation with this man wouldn’t be quite so terrible after all.
“Well, thank you.” He held out his hand, still not getting up from his seat. He wanted the cowboy to come to him.
The cowboy did exactly that, as if he was a soldier who’d been waiting for the signal from his commander. He stuck his hand out in turn, giving Blue a firm and enthusiastic handshake.
Blue silently noticed how rough and calloused his hands were. They were large hands too, almost completely engulfing Blue’s own slender ones.
“Sorry, I probably shoulda inter-duced mahself.” The man mumbled, dropping his hand from their shared grip.
Blue was beginning to notice that this man apologized frequently.
“Now I ain’t foolin’ on yew just ‘cause yer name’s Blue, but uh, most of my pals ack-shally call me Yellow. Yew can call me that too, if’n ya like.”
“Yellow,” Blue repeated with a chuckle, “Quite the coincidence, if one is to believe in coincidence. Perhaps it’s simply a sign we were always destined to be friends, no?”
Yellow nodded at him, eyes wide. “Yeah, I s’pose it could mean that. Iff’n you’d like it to.”
Blue stood, walking towards the small sky blue couch in his room. It was barely bigger than a love-seat and where he preferred to sit when entertaining guests. He sat smoothing out his skirt.
When it was clear that Yellow was hesitating, he went ahead and patted the seat next to him invitingly.
Yellow sat on the very edge of the cushion, looking uncomfortable as he stretched his long legs out in front of him. Blue looked away, hiding his eyeroll at the display.
Apparently he had a ‘southern gentleman’ on his hands, and he was concerned about keeping a respectable distance between the two. It was as unnecessary as it was appreciated.
“So, enlighten me Yellow,” Blue turned back to face him, “Did you come to see me just to compliment my looks?”
He was teasing him now. Blue wasn’t even sure why he was teasing the taller man. Maybe he simply wanted to see if he could blush any brighter than he already had. Maybe it was just because he seemed sweet, and Blue had a particular soft spot for sweet people.
Maybe it was because flirting and sweet-talking were one of Blue’s favorite games. It had been awhile since he had played the game with someone who made it fun. Blue had the premonition that Yellow would be quite fun to play with indeed.
Yellow let out a low groan, tugging on the brim of his cowboy hat, he pulled it just a bit over his eyes, as if wishing the hat would swallow him whole.
“I-i told yew, I weren’t tryin’ to compliment yer looks, I just misspoke is all.” His words were slightly muffled as his head was lowered but the words rang clearly to Blue.
“Oh, yes, I understand now.” Blue nodded, “You don’t think I’m pretty then, I take it?”
Sure enough, Yellow reacted with the same harried anxiety he had been showing throughout the conversation. Blue had carefully laid the trap and he had clumsily fallen into it.
The cowboy immediately sat up straight, knocking his hat backwards off his head, “I weren’t tryin’ to offend yew or nothin’ like that! Tha ain’t what I meant at all. I, er, I think yer quite handsome ack-shually, if it don’t bother yew to hear me say it.”
Blue grinned at him and didn’t fail to notice how Yellow’s eyes darted to his smile and stayed there for a moment longer than necessary before darting away.
“You’re a rather statuesque figure yourself, cowboy.”
Yellow’s face almost immediately lit up, like someone had flicked a switch. However, this time he didn’t turn away or try to hide his blushing face from Blue’s gaze.
“Statue-esk, huh? Well, tha’s a two dollar word iff’n I ever heard one, but yew sure done made it sound like sumthin’ nice to be.” He was smiling wide and bright and Blue suddenly got the distinct notion that he was staring at the morning sun itself.
A blush colored his cheeks, but he knew it was indiscernible on his dark skin and he thanked the universe for that. He enjoyed having the upper hand in their game, even if only one player seemed aware of the scoreboard.
He tore his eyes away from that sunshine-bright smile, allowing his face to cool and Yellow to collect his fallen hat. Looking around the room he quickly strategized his next move in their one-sided game of chess.
“Well, Yellow, for all of your kind words, I can’t help but find myself feeling somewhat disappointed. Most people that come to laud me with compliments also bring me a token of their appreciation for my performance.”
He gestured in a circle around him, indicating all the bouquets of flowers in various vases of different shapes, colors and sizes. Blue had a fondness for flowers and he had made the mistake of letting this slip to a handful of his admirers. Now he was absolutely inundated with the beautiful, fragile things.
There were worse problems to have, of course.
Yellow’s eyes widened yet again. This time he took the cowboy hat off his head himself, holding it in his hands over his chest.
“Oh, gosh,” He muttered, “‘m dern sorry Blue! I didn’t know tha was the rule! ‘M bein’ so rude aren’t I? First I came here late after e’ery one ‘n’ I didn’t even bring yew flowers.” He let out a long mournful sigh.
Blue had to stifle yet another laugh, it was easy to do when he saw the visage of despair on Yellow’s face.
“Oh, dear.” Blue leaned over, patting the back of Yellow’s hand. “If you didn’t know then I will, of course, forgive this small transgression.”
Yellow perked up once more, placing his hat back on his head. “Aw, thank yew Blue, I sure do ‘ppreciate it. I guess yer right, we are gonna be good friends.”
“I’m glad to hear your opinion is in harmony with my own.” He stood, “It is getting late however and as you are not a ‘peeping tom’,” he said making air quotes, “Then you should make your exit so that I can begin changing.”
Yellow let out a surprised chuckle, “‘Course, let me get outta yer hair.” He stood as well and for a moment the two men were standing close together, less than a foot of space between their bodies.
Yellow’s eyes held Blue’s attention tight. For a moment, the silly man’s hazel eyes looked so intense and Blue felt the urge to ask whatever could be on his mind.
Before he could consider articulating such a question, Yellow’s mouth opened.
“Oh, dern, I forgot to inter-duce myself properly.”
Blue blinked in confusion.
Yellow helpfully filled in the blanks. “’m actually the new sheriff in town!”
Blue was shocked to hear it, the sweet, simple-minded man in front of him didn’t seem like the law-enforcement type. But then again, there was something intimidating about the way he stood up straight, took on an air of bravado, and talked confidently about his duties.
“I’ve been inter-ducin’ myself to just about e’ery one in town on account I just moved here. One o’ them suggested I come see yer show and I sure am glad they did. But anyways, now yew know. If yew ever have any trouble, or see any criminells lurkin’ around, let me know and I’ll make sure that justice is served.”
Yellow nodded, seemingly proud of his speech and Blue felt a part of him swoon at the self-assuredness of the taller man’s convictions.
“Well, it’s certainly comforting to know that such a stalwart cowboy is around to protect us.”
Yellow blinked, his fingers fiddled with the whiskers on his chin. “Stalwart, huh?” He shook his head, “Tha’s another of yer two-dollar words Blue, but I sure do like the sound of it!”
Blue had a sudden idea and, without bothering to think twice, he decided to follow the whim. He reached towards a nearby bouquet, picking from amongst the dozen flowers, one small bluebell.
“Here, take this.” He deftly tucked it behind Yellow’s left ear. The sheriff’s hand slowly reached up, as if making sure what he had seen was not some weird figment of the imagination.
When he felt a soft petal between his fingers, Yellow let his hand drop. He gave Blue a bewildered look, seeming to be stuck halfway from awe and confusion.
“Yer… givin’ me a flower??” He stammered out.
Blue nodded, “Consider it a reminder. Next time you come to one of my shows, you’ll recall my little bluebell and you’ll remember to bring me a bouquet. To make up for forgetting today, of course.”
It took a moment, words processing in Yellow’s head. Blue could clearly see the gears turning behind his eyes.
Finally, “Well, thank yew! I sure won’t forget next time Blue. I swears it.”
Blue couldn’t help but bat his eyelashes at the man, just slightly. Subtle enough that he could still claim that the movement wasn’t indicative of anything. But Blue knew the effects he could have on his admirers, knew the power of his pretty face and smooth movements.
Sure as rain, Yellow’s face flushed at the sight, and a meaningless sound fell from his lips.
“Buh.” It was somewhere between a gasp and a sigh, and the start of Blue’s name.
The dancer had won their game.
The cowboy cleared his throat trying to retroactively cover the noise he had made. “W-WELL, I best be goin’ now ‘fore I overstay my welcome. Yew, uh, t-take care.”
With his long legs, Yellow was able to quickly stride out of the room, one of his hands nervously fidgeting with his bolo tie. He closed the door behind him and Blue was alone once more.
Still smiling to himself, pleased at the reactions he was able to elicit his newest admirer, Blue sat at his vanity once more.
He began wiping the rest of the makeup off his cheek before checking in the mirror once more that all its remains were gone. As he examined his face, his eyes caught on the bouquet - the one missing a single bluebell.
An uninvited sigh fell from his painted lips. He startled at the noise, turning his attention once more to his reflection. He stared his mirrored self in the eyes, looking needlessly for an explanation. He already knew what he was going to find.
A quirk at the corner of his lips, a warm glint in his eye, the warmth on his face and the comfortable tightness in his chest were all the evidence he needed. He had won the game, sure, but if he wasn’t careful the game would turn serious all too soon.