Evenin' Sheriff

Chp.3: No Thanks, I'd Rather Die.

THE BOYS laughed simultaneously as they lugged pounds of riches on their two mighty horses. They'd just robbed an entire cul-de-sac, "And don't forget Sir Monroe Prushinini's Home Suite! Haha!" Red mocked the noble man's name, whom they'd just stolen 5 kilograms worth of sweet solid gold from.

Blue grinned at his friend, but his smile soon shrunk down into a small frown as they came upon their final destination. The Workhouse.
It was a one story shack of the sorts, pushed up against a massive rock. There was a small pond next to it, formed every now and then when the rock allowed water to fall from it's many edges. With the place secluded in the middle of nowhere, that meant there was no law to be bound to. Like most of the desert.

They stopped in front of the Workhouse, tying their horses to a wooden guard attached to the porch of the shack. Hoisting their loot over their shoulders, they approached the doorstep. Once stationed at the front door, the two exchanged a glance and both took a breath in together before Red knocked harshly against the hard wood.

In immediate response to his request for entry, a voice called back from the inside, "Come right in, boys." With that they finally entered.
The room was just as small, if not smaller than it had looked from the outside. In the corner of room there sat a few large sacks; presumably holding more riches, stacked atop each other. In front of them was a desk with their boss on the other side. The las motioned for them to near closer with a gloved hand. Her grin set an unease into Red and Blue.

They stood in front of the desk, as there wasn't any other seats. Their boss pushed aside the stacks of coins she'd been counting and left open unoccupied space, which Red and Blue had filled once they'd placed down their sacks in the very same spot. Their boss laughed happily, "My, my. Quite the haul. These will do just nicely." She rubbed her hands together before she lifted the bags up and off of the desk and onto the floor. She then turned to face them again. "Well done. My wife and I appreciate your efforts, you'll receive your pay by the end of the week. Good day and goodnight to you." She concluded their transaction. Red and Blue nodded and tipped their hats, "You as well, madame."

The two exited the shack with no further words, just the sound of clinking gold calling after them.
Red began joking with Blue once more after they reached their horses. "Think she's paying for the honeymoon?" Blue snickered, "Absolutely."

They walked a short distance around the great rock to find the stables, where every working steed was to be put. Every other stall space was filled with their fellow colleague's horses. Red went down the isle, pulling his horse along at his side, while Blue only had to walk past one other stall to get to his designated one.
He let his mare into the stall, giving her a small rub on her velvety muzzle as he removed her saddle and reins.

Upon leaving his horse's stall, Blue noticed Red in the distance gently petting his own stallion's muzzle. "Come on Tord!" Blue exclaimed with a smile. He had dropped the nickname, as it wasn't necessary to use in private. Red turned in his direction, nodding. The clad gave his horse one last pat before he rushed over to his companion.

Red's mouth up turned until he was giving Blue a toothy grin. "Did you miss me that much already?" They began to walk back out, and farther past the giant rock. Blue hummed, "Maybe a little a while ago, but now that you're here...not really." Red nudged Blue with his shoulder, walking past him. "Fine. I guess that means I get more bedroom space tonight. You can sleep in the stalls." Red said smugly, just as he rounded the corner leading behind the rock.

"Hey!" Blue picked up the pace, chasing after Red who had also broke out into a run. They ran over to a secluded two story building, one that housed many other outlaws who didn't have a home before they'd taken this job.
Blue started to gain on Red's trail, until Red had slammed into the front door of the building with Blue crashing into him. Both had already bursted out in a fit of laughter, but it got even stronger now that they'd realized they needed to be quiet. "Shh- Shut up Thomas. There are...people sleeping!" Red said in between wheezes of laughter. Blue was holding the other's forearms, trying to catch his breath as he leaned on Red slightly. "Okay, heh- okay! Shh!"
"Shhhh-!" They both shushed each other, whilst biting back on giggles. They always did get a little too giddy in the dead of night.

Soon, they calmed down just enough to go in without waking the sleeping thieves in their quiet rooms. They tiptoed down the hallway, still lightly snickering at the other's ridiculous walk. The moment they made it to their room near the end of the hall, they hurried inside. Both were silent, as Blue carefully shut the door behind them. Once closed, the duo bursted out into a fit of giggles again. They both flopped onto the bottom bunk of the bed they shared, their laughter slowly dying down.

Red let out a sigh, turning his head to the left where Blue was laid. He could see the shadow of the other's eyes, but never them themselves. Blue always had a way of keeping them covered by the shade of his hat, the darkness too, even in moments like these.

Blue put a hand on his hat, lowering it as he turned to Red. "What?" Red looked back up at the top bunk's mattress. "Promotion is goin' to be announced soon."
"Yeah." Blue sat up, putting most of his upper body weight onto his right hand. "What about it?" Red sat up to, only he allowed himself to get more comfortable on the bed. "Nothing. It's just news coming up. Boss is making her decision."

"Hoping you'll get it?" Commented Blue with a smirk. Red only scoffed, "No! What would I do in a position like that?" Red folded his legs, adjusting where he was sat so that he'd be leaning against the bed frame. He looked to the side. "I hope you get it though."
Blue blinked. "That eager to get rid of me, eh?" Red leaned off the bed frame and slightly towards Blue in denial. "I don't mean it like that!" He picked up his pillow, which was resting by his back and lightly threw it at Blue. Blue, in turn, threw it back at Red with no hesitation. Red gave up then and kept the pillow in his lap as he elaborated his point, "It's a good place to be, hell the best place to be from where we're standing. I don't know, you're the type of person who'd be ready for that life." You deserve it anyway, Red continued in his thoughts.

A short silence grew after that. Neither knew what to say. "All that just so you could finally admit how I'm more qualified than you? How the mighty fall."
"Oh please. That job is on the easier side. You have a hard time already pulling off what I do. I'm simply expressing my concern, you might not last another day is all." Red countered. Blue retaliated almost immediately by swiping Red's pillow and repeatedly colliding it with his face. "Oh yeah? Or maybe it's you who won't last another night, Daisy!"

They went back and forth between wielding the pillow and throwing it against each other's faces whilst calling eachother names until they'd finally worn themselves out. It was past midnight and they'd only now started to feel tired.

Blue slumped the soft weapon of play back onto the bed, which Red took back and set against the bedframe. Blue got up from the bed and climbed up to the top bunk. They started to get comfortable in their own beds, finding the right passageway into a good night's rest.
The two didn't even need to communicate in order to understand when the other was tired, it just seemed obvious to them. Especially since they've been goofing off all night while lugging around tons upon tons of treasure. You can imagine how exhausting that can be.

It was still now. It felt darker in the room too, despite the fact that not a candle had been lit the entire time. The only glimmer of light had come from the moon peering in through the window shutters, and even that had remained unchanged.

Blue was figured it was just him being tired, yet he didn't feel like falling asleep. No, he was forgetting something to say.
"Goodnight Tom." Red said softly. He sounded on the near brink of sleep. Blue smiled faintly, "Goodnight, Tord." He said it just as soft as the other had. He didn't want to disturb Red by much, not when he was barely awake. Red was always the one who found it easy to fall asleep.

Blue however, did not have the same skill. And definitely not now. He found himself staring at the ceiling, thinking. It was there in the vast field of thoughts that Blue belatedly added to his and Red's previous conversation. I don't think I'd want the promotion either, he confirmed. He adjusted his hat so that it fell over from his eyes to his upper lip. Then I'd be too far away from you.