Honeyed Words Cowboy!Stretch/Reader
<- Chapter 3: Horsin' Around <- Masterpost
Tags!
gender neutral reader, fluff, silly shenanigans, mutual pining, yearning, vague descriptions of reader, no use of y/n, still thinking of horse names so none of them have them yet
words: 4,598!!
Stretch and the horse made it home okay. He made sure to send you plenty of pictures once they got home, including a video of him surprising Blue with him. You were very amused as you watched Blue's surprise shift into skepticism, before right back into joy as he went over to pet the much happier creature. You're glad he's in good hands now, something about him going back to that grumpy old guy doesn't really sit right with you. He seemed so..mean, for no reason. Oh well, out of sight out of mind. Mostly..
A few weeks pass by with occasional conversations between the two of you. You've both been a bit on the busier side, Stretch with work around the ranch and you with your own freelance work alongside the occasional talk with friends. Things've been pretty peaceful, but..a part of you really misses him when he's away. His absence really makes itself clear when you get used to him, that's for sure.
He occasionally crosses your mind as you walk through the local market, twirling a basket around your wrist until you find some things that catch your interest. Fruits, seeds..maybe you should try out growing a garden in your spare time. Your back yard is pretty open.. you could grow some flowers or even produce- ooh, maybe you could even sell them! That doesn't sound too bad.
Your eyes practically light up with determination as you reach for a set of cheap seed packets, putting them in your basket. This process repeats a few times as you search, before a gloved hand bumps into your own. Glancing over, you find none other than Blue standing beside you with a slightly surprised expression.
"Oh, Hello Again! It's Good To See You!" He pulls away, hoisting his basket a bit over his shoulder. "Why, I Haven't Seen You Since The Day We Met! You Look Well." He smiles brightly at you. It's so infectious that you can't help but return it.
"Hey! Yeah, it's good to see you too, Blue. You look great yourself. Been working hard?"
"Oh, You Know It! Things've Really Picked Up Around The Ranch. P-" He clears his throat. "Stretch Has Been Training The New Horse He Brought In."
"How's that been going? He mentioned it a bit but not in full detail." You perk up a bit.
"Oh, It's Going Great! Here, Why Don't We Walk-And-Talk?-" He gestures for you to follow him, and you do, grabbing what you were reaching for before and quickly paying for it before jogging to catch up with him. "He's Super Friendly With Us, And He Listens Really Well! We Had To Cut His Hair A Bit Since It Was So Long, So Now He Can See A Lot Better."
"Oh, I'm so glad he's doing good- I didn't have any doubts that he'd be fine with you guys, of course, but y'know.."
"I Get It." He gives you a knowing smile. "Don't Worry, He's Great. Stretch Is Actually Still Training Him Now. Getting Him Used To Rides And Stuff."
"Good to know.." You adjust the sunglasses on your head so they don't fall. "Makes sense as to why he hasn't said much."
"Oh!" He snaps his fingers, seeming to remember something. "You Should Come Back With Me! Maybe Surprise Him? I'm Sure He'd Love To See You Again."
"Oh, well, I'd love to, but- aren't you guys busy?" You lower your basket a bit, letting it dangle from both your hands since it'd gotten a bit heavy the more you both travelled.
He waves dismissively. "We've Been Needing To Take A Break Anyways. Besides- I Like Having You Around! You're Good Company." He grins.
You feel a bit.. touched to hear that. Maybe you will go over. Plus, it gives you an excuse to watch Stretch when he's in his element..
"Well..if it's okay." You smile at him.
"Yes- Oh, Here, I Can Carry Your Basket If It's Too Heavy!" He holds out his free arm for you, insistent.
"Oh, no, it's okay- It's pretty heavy, but I got it. I wouldn't want to put this weight on you."
"You should feel how heavy the one I've got is." He raises a browbone, giving you an amused smile.
A bit curious, you humor him, putting your basket down. He does the same, lowering it to the ground. You lean down to lift it up, and are nearly sent falling forwards after trying to lift it with all your might. Holy shit, it feels like a cinder block- how can he carry that so casually?! He's crazy strong.
"Okay, fair enough, wow- You are crazy strong, Blue- I'd hate to be on the receiving end of your fists." You let out a laugh. He chuckles in reply.
"Luckily For You, You're A Friend, So I Don't Plan On Fighting You Anytime Soon." He bumps your shoulder with his own as he lifts his basket. "plus, honestly, fighting's exhausting. you can only do it for so long, tibia honest.." He mutters that last part, dropping his usual more energetic tone.
"Fair enough." He thinks of you as a friend? That's so sweet. You'd certainly like to be friends with him, too.
"Okay..Fair Warning, We Do Have Company- As One Of Um..Of Our Siblings Is Over. He'll Be Staying A While, So I'm Sure You'll Be Used To Seeing Him Soon Enough." He smiles. "He's Very Friendly Once You Get To Know Him, I'm Sure You Guys'll Get Along Fine!"
"Oh, okay, good to know. Anything I should be warned about? Stuff to avoid saying, things like that?" You continue walking beside Blue, paying for the last of your things and watching as he does the same.
"Well, He's Very..Energetic? And Fast- So Fast We Can Hardly Catch 'Im When He Gets Excited. He Might Knock You Down If You Aren't Careful. Thank You!" He waves goodbye to the stall owner, before coming to a stop.
"Good to know..I'll keep that in mind."
"I Know A Little Trick That Can Help Us Get Home Faster.. But I'll Need You To Hang Onto Me, And Close Your Eyes. Is That Okay?"
"Are you gonna do that teleporting thing Stretch did the other day?" You tilt your head a bit. He perks up a bit when you mention it.
"Yeah! so he's shown you.. It Saves A Lot Of Travel Time. Plus..More Surprising." He grins.
"Okay, uh..hold onto you, you said?"
"Yes, We Need To Touch In Order To Travel Together." He holds out his arm towards you, and you grab on. It's only now that you feel just how strong his bone structure is. You wouldn't be surprised if he could lift a whole horse. Damn. "Ready?"
"Ready as I'll ever be-" You close your eyes, feeling the world begin to shift around you both. Your grip tightens around Blue's arm as you feel the ground escape you, the air growing cold and agonizingly stiff, reminding you of the air in a doctor's office. You're a little grateful your eyes are closed as you're not quite sure what you'd be seeing..not to mention the feeling of dizziness washing over you growing stronger by the second.
"Aaand..Here-" You both reach solid ground again, and Blue reaches out a hand to steady you so you won't fall. "-We Are! Tadaaa.."
You open your eyes, looking around the familiar homey kitchen you'd had dinner in a while back. Wow, you got here just like that..you take a few breaths to calm yourself, standing up straight. It's crazy that they can just..do this. How did they learn they could do that?? Is it a learned skill or did they get it from their parents??
"You Can Sit Your Basket On The Table, If You Want- Don't Want You Having To Carry it Around." Blue heads over to the cabinets, putting some miscaellaneous things inside. You can see various themed mugs inside, some having jokes on them- Not too surprising. And one in particular being shaped like a beehive, sculpted honey appearing to come out of the top and some fake bees painted on. How cute. You have a feeling you know which brother that belongs to.
"Thanks, I appreciate it-" You sit your basket down, now a little grateful you didn't grab anything that needs to be put in the fridge immediately on this run. Maybe next time.
"Stretch Should Be Out In The Field With The Horses Right About Now. If You're Lucky, You Might Catch Him Ridin'!" He grins at you as you quickly turn, heading back out the front door.
"Thanks, Blue! See you in a bit-" You give him a little wave before running out, heading a little too eagerly over to the fence and pulling yourself up so you can stand on the bottom part. The wood doesn't budge an inch beneath your boots, something you're grateful for. You'd hate to fall from up here. Your gaze darts from left to right as you look for a familiar shade of orange, before stopping on a single horse running around.
There he is, sitting on a saddle atop the horse you befriended. You find yourself leaning forwards, pulling yourself up to sit on the top of the fence to see him better. Only then do you see the focused expression on his face as he shouts, directing the horse beneath him and carefully urging him away from the fenceline when he gets too close to it. He smiles approvingly when the horse does things correctly, giving gentle pets to its back.
Then, determined, he urges the horse to pick up his speed- racing around the field at a rapid pace with a tight hold on the saddle. He lets out a laugh as he jumps over a small pile of hay, landing carefully on the other side. The horse, full of pride, lets out a confident neigh as Stretch pats his head- before your applause snaps him out of his thoughts.
"Woo! Good job!" You let out a laugh, before waving in their direction.
Both of them look your way nearly instantly, Stretch nearly falling off in his surprise before the horse is booking it over to you with excitement.
"woah! hey, slow down—"
He comes skidding to a stop as you hold out your hands, the horse resting his muzzle in them with sounds of contentment. Stretch takes a moment to catch his breath, before gently urging the horse to turn a bit. He shifts his posture to sit sidesaddled, moving an arm over his forehead to wipe away beads of orange, magically charged sweat.
"howdy." He gives you a smile, eyesockets half lidded.
"Howdy." You echo back to him, unable to fight off a grin.
"i didn't know you were comin' over, i would've greeted you at the gate." He rests his arms in his lap, letting out a huff.
"Blue thought it could be fun to surprise you. We ran into each other in the marketplace, and one thing led to another-" You shrug as he then hops down, standing to be more at your level. He crosses his arms as he watches you talk, leaning slightly on one side as he listens.
"And uh.. well, how could I say no?" You look up at him.
"well, it's a good surprise. definitely caught me off guard." He smiles.
"I know, you looked like you were about to fall off of him-" You snicker, watching a shade of orange reach his cheekbones.
"yeah yeah, laugh it up.." He huffs, before pushing himself onto the fence so he can sit beside you and give your shoulder a bump with his own. You let out a little laugh at that, looking ahead as the various horses interact with each other.
The black horse you'd bonded with on your first day visiting here notices you quickly, trotting over to see what you two are talking about. You happily greet it, petting its head and saying hello. You can spot the white horse growing a bit jealous, slightly bumping into its side with his own- leading to the two grumbling at each other.
"hey now, don't fight. mkay? we don't wanna make trouble while they're here, now do we?" He reaches over to put an arm around your shoulder.
The two horses look at each other, squinting their eyes a bit before looking back at him with shared huffs.
"looks like they've got a favorite." He winks at you, earning a light shove in reply from you. He laughs at that, leaning back like he's been mortally wounded. "oh no! cowboy down! somebody do something!"
"Oh please, you're fine." You cross your arms.
"i can see the light.." He reaches up dramatically as he lies back, "it's calling me..someone saaave me, i'm too young and handsome to die-"
You laugh at him, grabbing his shirt collar and hoisting him back up. He slumps a bit in your hold, smiling lazily up at you.
"oh hey, looks like i've got a savior after all."
"You are such a dork." A laugh creeps its way into your voice, as the two of you find yourselves..staring again.
This seems to keep happening, little lights staring back into your eyes. It's like they have a strange magnetic pull to them, keeping a grip on you and..trying to keep you in place. Keep you still. Get you to stay just a little longer. ..Would staying really be such a bad thing?
He relaxes his posture a little bit, waiting for you to let go of his collar- but not making any effort to pull away.
"..okay?"
"..Huh?" You may have zoned out a little bit. Whoops.
"you okay?" He raises a browbone, still smiling up at you. "..cat got your tongue?"
"..I um, I just-"
"STREEEETCH!! WHERE ARE YOUUU!"
Okay, that's a voice you haven't heard before. You turn your head, seeing a bright cyan blur making its way over to you both from a distance. Stretch snaps out of his daze before sitting up, gently removing your hands from his collar.
"oh, that's right, i forgot-"
"What's up?"
He hops down on the other side of the fence, standing up straight and stretching out his arms above his head for a moment.
"i promised my um…my little brother, that i'd take him blackberry picking- totally slipped my mind."
"Oh, a little brother.."
The little skeleton sprints towards you both, an oversized cyan bandanna tied into a ribbon bouncing behind his head and giant star-shaped eyelights filling his sockets as he rushes over. He crashes into Stretch's legs, careful not to hit him with the little blue bucket in one of his hands as he hugs him with a beaming smile. He's got some cute matching overalls covered in stickers, as well as some bright cyan rainboots to match the bandanna. You can definitely see the resemblance to Blue.
"this little ankle biter is berry. berry, this is my friend," He tells him your name, and "Berry" lifts his head to look over you.
"Heyyy, I'm Not An Ankle Biter! I Don't Bite Ankles!" He tilts his head a little bit, seeming to study you. Once he has, he perks up a bit and takes a step back- putting his little gloved hands on his hips. "A Pleasure To Meet You, Human! I Am The Great And Magnificent BERRY! You May Call Me Berry For Short." He grins up at you, and you hop down to stand at their level.
"Nice to meet'cha, Berry." You smile down at him. "..So..blackberries, huh?"
"yeah, uh, there's some bushes nearby with wild berries in them," He picks Berry up, "he loves going over there to pick 'em. you wanna come with? i know it's not everybody's thing."
"Sure, yeah! Sounds fun. Plus, I'm curious to know more about this little guy." You smile at him, and he's quick to return it with one of his own. You can see that one of his teeth are missing, and that he has a similar tooth gap to Blue- how cute.
The stars in his eyesockets grow twice in size, and he holds his hand over his mouth while whispering something to Stretch. He looks a little confused as Berry finishes asking whatever he was, before his cheekbones burst with a shade of orange.
"no- they're not, so don't ask them-" He squints his eyes at him, earning a snicker in response before he looks back to you. "let's uh, let's head over- oh, wait- you might wanna put on some gloves for this, blackberries stain." He holds up his hands as Berry wriggles his way up to his shoulders to sit on them.
You raise a brow at their antics, before nodding and heading inside to grab some gloves. You spot a little box of them and grab a pair with colors you like, putting them on and making sure they fit right. You can fainly hear Blue talking with someone upstairs, a much deeper voice than his responding to something he'd said.
..You shouldn't snoop. Curiosity isss getting the better of you, though..
"HUMAAAAN, HURRY UUUP!"
You'll have to push it down for now, they're waiting on you, after all.
Heading back out, you jog over to the two and join Stretch's side, walking with him along a dirt path around the fenceline. Berry rambles on about a frog he's chased and "Captured" earlier that day, and you make sure to react to subtle things while he's speaking. Stretch softly smiles at you during the exchange, before focusing back ahead as he tries to remember the quickest route.
"However It Just Kept Escaping!" He rests his chin in his little gloved hands, letting out an exaggerated hum. "I Couldn't Convince Him To Stay At All!"
"maybe he was just feeling froggy-" Stretch grins.
"Boo. Lame. Get Better Material." He lightly bumps Stretch's skull with his hands, earning a laugh from him.
"both of you are never satisfied with my humor." He reaches up to poke Berry's forehead.
"Because Your Jokes Are Laaazy! Put More Into Them!!" He nips at Stretch's hand like he's going to bite it, before he pulls away and rests his arms at his sides again.
"you guys just don't get it. i'm funny. right? c'mon, you think i'm funny." He turns to you.
"I'd say you're pretty funny." You hold your arms behind your back.
"thank you." He grins, and Berry huffs in protest.
"I Don't Get How, Honestly.. OH- BROTHER- THERE'S BUSHES!!" He points excitedly, scurrying to try and get down before Stretch grabs him, putting him down more safely so he can run over with his bucket.
"I see what Blue meant about his speed now." You let out a laugh. Stretch huffs in amusement, resting his arms behind his head.
"yeah, he's pretty dang quick- i feel bad for any critters that catch his eye. they're no match for 'im."
"He's cute. How come he wasn't here last time?" You tilt your head a bit.
"he was over at our uh, our cousins' place. he wanted to spend some time with them for a bit." He lowers his arms again.
"Oh, I see.. I don't think you've mentioned your family before..Oh- Sorry if it's like- a sensitive subject-"
"don't worry, it's fine. we're all pretty busy, half the time- see, they live in different parts of this area. some also have ranches, some don't..it's a whole thing. but there's a lot of 'em, and it can be a bit hard to keep up with everybody. maybe you could meet 'em someday. that could be fun." He smiles at the thought.
"Yeah..maybe, I think I'd like that." You would like to know more about them. And talking to their relatives would certainly give you some new info that you don't get from talking to any of these three. Wouldn't hurt to give it a try someday.
The two of you watch as Berry makes his way over to the first bush, carefully reaching a hand in and picking a few blackberries before dropping them down into his bucket with light little thumps. He quickly makes his way around the bush to grab as many as he can, splitting them into two different color groups in his bucket.
"remember to avoid the thorns, okay?"
"I Knoww! You Worry About The Human!" He waves you both off, focused on his collecting task.
"Should we be worrying about him?" You gesture your thumb towards him.
"nah, he knows what to avoid by now. guess you could say we're.. thick skinned." Stretch grins, hearing an audible groan from him in the distance.
"Ha ha." You bump his shoulder with your own, earning a faint "nyeh heh-" in response before Stretch pulls his own orange bucket out of seemingly no where. Where did he get that from? You'll never know. But it's a fun magic trick, regardless.
"c'mon, let's see how many we can get before berry picks 'em all." He waves the bucket from side to side, before handing it to you.
The two of you spend a little while chatting as you pass by each bush, carefully reaching in to grab differently colored berries and putting them into the bucket- a bit more quickly than Berry, who's surprisingly taking his time organizing them still. You're a bit surprised to see more varieties of wild berries, raspberries and blueberries sticking out in a few hidden places. The more the merrier! They look ripe, too.
On your little adventure, you find yourselves entering a debate as to whether a bear or a shark would win in a fight against each other.
"Yeah but like, the bear has hands and legs. It could just grab the shark and put it in a chokehold or something. Or I dunno, rotate it- Since sharks need to keep going forwards and stuff."
"okay, but consider a shark luring a bear into water. that's fish territory, it could totally catch the bear off guard and snap it up." He gestures his hands like a mouth closing. bear wouldn't know what hit it."
"I dunno about that one, man.." You reach your arm into another part of the bush you're focused on, before feeling a few pricks along your arm. "Ah- da-" Child is present- "Dang it-"
"what's wrong?" He raises a browbone as you pull your arm out.
"Didn't focus hard enough..got some cuts. Ow-" You trail your hand over the marks left.
Stretch stops walking, joining your side and looking at the cuts.
"mm, got you good, huh."
"Yeah, but it's okay, I can deal with it-"
He feels around in his pockets, quietly swearing when he doesn't find something- but pulling something else out in its place. It appears to be one of those suckers you saw him chewing on before, this one seems to be orange flavored.
"here, these've got healing magic in 'em. they'll help until we can get back and i can bandage those. i usually keep bandaids on me, but i left them back at the house.." He mutters, handing you the sucker. You gingerly take it from him, unwrapping it and stuffing the wrapper in your pocket before putting it in your mouth. The flavor is sweet once it hits your taste buds, sending the warmth of healing magic throughout your body.
"Thanks, Stretch..I appreciate it." You smile up at him, earning a hat tip in reply.
Berry runs over to you both, crashing into your legs this time.
"I Have Successfully Retrieved All The Berries I Could! I Also Saw A Rock With A BUNCH of Bugs Under It! They Were Doing Little Dances! Do You Think I Could Communicate With The Worms If I Did The Dance?"
"Well, maybe if you tried hard enough-" You smile down at him, before crouching down to be at his level. "You got a lot! You're a natural."
"REALLY?" He coughs. "Uh, I Mean- Naturally! I AM The Most Magnificent Berry Finder Around! Mwehehe!"
"Yeah you are." You pat his head, and he lets out a laugh before running over to Stretch and clinging to his leg as he walks.
"we should probably head back, sun's goin' down. don't wanna be out here when it's dark."
"Crazy people?"
"crazy people."
You nod in agreement, walking with the two of them back to the ranch and making silly conversation along the way.
Heading inside, Berry sprints up to go talk to Blue and show him his findings, while Stretch focuses on bringing you into the kitchen. He quietly gestures to the table and you sit down, looking over the blue and orange gingham tablecloth resting on top of it. There's a few stickers that have been left behind, likely Berry's. A few of them have slightly started to peel, he may need to put on some new ones soon..
"we," Stretch starts, pausing for dramatic effect, "are in luck, blue bought more bandaids."
"Woo!" You calmly cheer as he sits beside you, opening up the box.
You can spot the different bandaid designs on the cover, a few different variations of cartoon bees on each one. He grabs a few different colors, sitting them aside before applying a little bit of medicine over the cuts. You wince a little as they sting at first, but gradually grow used to the feeling as he carefully presses the bandaids against your skin.
"Thanks, um.. for helping me out.."
"hey, don't mention it. i don't like to see anybody hurt." He presses the last one on, keeping his hand resting gently against your wrist. "..besides. why wouldn't i help you?"
You look up at him, watching as he averts his eyelights before giving him a warm smile. He's so..sweet.
"oh, um..we should..probably get you home, huh?" He looks at the clock ticking away, slightly squinting at it.
"Yeah, I guess we should.." A part of you..honestly doesn't really want to go. Things have been really fun with them around..home's started to feel much quieter, lately. But, you wouldn't want to intrude. You've been here long enough today. Maybe you can come back later.
He stands, holding out his hand. You take it without question and let him pull you up, his grip tightening a little on your hand.
"just close your eyes..and we'll shortcut there."
"Right."
You close your eyes, putting your trust in him. The world begins to shift yet again, and you lean forwards to cling to him a bit as the ground leaves you both. He wraps his free arm around you with a chuckle, pulling you close as you travel- before landing right back on the familiar grass in front of your porch.
"aand we're here. you can look now."
You open your eyes, glancing around your front yard with a small smile before glancing back up at him, pulling away. Your hand hesitates to leave his, remaining firmly in place for a little bit.
..But you have to let go for now.
And so you do, stepping back.
"You stay safe, okay? I'll..I'll call you tomorrow."
"i will." He smiles sweetly, his eyelights almost appearing hazy as he looks down at you. "i'm countin' on it, hon."
He waves goodbye, before shortcutting away with a flash of orange. Your hand reaches out for him once he's gone, before you pull it back to your chest. You quickly make your way back inside as the moon stops her rise, walking into your room and screaming into a pillow.