Hey, I just popped here. XD And I hope you don't mind writing this ship... Ash is depressed about something and finds some comfort in her boyfriend Buster. Because, no pun intended, I ship those two to the MOON! Thanks in advance <3
So this one was a little odd for me because I personally don’t ship this pairing, but then again I have nothing against it. All I could think of was Matthew McConaughey’s cheesy southern accent and this song happened to come on my Spotify. And well… here ya go! I hope you enjoy my take on this prompt!
Kill A Word
Buster Moon whistled to himself as he walked through his beloved theatre, making sure that everything was shut down for the night. Once he made sure that backstage was clear he moved towards the main stage where he just had to shut off the lights before heading to the lobby where Ash was waiting for him. One by one he shut down the lights, each flick of the switch a personal goodnight from him to his precious theatre.
He was about to flip the switch for the lights on the main stage when a dark form came running through the aisles towards him. For a second he didn’t recognize her but as soon as the light from the stage washed over her he recognized Ash. Ash she got closer he saw the rivers of tears flowing down her cheeks, the crumpled piece of paper in her hand, and the dimmed fire in her eyes.
“Ash? What’s wrong?” He asked as he caught her in his embrace, hugging her close to his chest. His shirt quickly became wet with tears but for once he was more worried about the porcupine sobbing into his chest rather than his appearance. She sobbed loudly for a few moments, unable to push out the words in between the heaving of her chest and the endless flow of tears.
After a few minutes she started to calm down enough to get out a few words.
“L-Lance is g-gonna marry her. H-he gave me their stupid shitty w-wedding invitation.” She simultaneously sounded angry and extremely hurt. Buster took the crumpled invitation from her and read the words that had been messily scribbled on the piece of paper. On the front their was a generic wedding announcement but on the back Lance had written a small note to Ash:
‘If you ever want to see what real happiness looks like we’ll gladly show you.’-Lance and Becky
Buster crumpled the note in his fist and let out a little growl of his anger. he stopped himself almost immediately. Now was not the time to be consumed by the anger that he felt for Lance. Now was the time to be comforting Ash, to make her smile that same smile that always made everything better. He gently ran his hand over her quills and rocked slightly as he held her. Her sobs faded into wet hiccups and slowly she pulled back from his chest to wipe her salty cheeks and gather herself again.
“I hate him.” She whispered and Buster looked surprise at the pure venom that she spit out in that moment, “I hate that he can hurt me with words like this.”
This wasn’t the first time that lance had ruined Ash’s day by leaving her notes meant to undermine her huge success and bring her down. Usually Buster was there when Ash found them but sometimes he would’t find out until days later when Ash was walking around like a morose zombie.
He reminded himself that what Ash needed right now wasn’t more anger and negative feelings, but rather some laughter, some smiles in her life. He had to find a way to bring back her happiness without trivializing the situation. This would be an important turning point in their relationship and he was determined to bring her back down to Earth where he was waiting with arms wide open.
He released her and wiped away a few tears before hurrying off to the side of the stage to put his plan into action. he found Eddie’s sound table and put one of his favorite songs on the next track. As the twang of a country guitar started to echo through the stage he hurried back to Ash.
She was looking at him in a mix of confusion of sadness. Nerves welled up in his chest but he tamped them down quickly with reminders that this was for Ash. She always teased him about his lack of coordination and oftentimes he would perform his ‘hip’ dance moves for her just to get a laugh. Because when she laughed it was all consuming. It wasn’t a cute little giggle or an elegant little laugh. It was a full-on snorting chuckle that made her stomach hurt and her eyes burn with tears.
It was the most beautiful thing in the world.
Without any explanation Buster pulled Ash up into his arms and slowly began to dance with her, singing in an exaggerated country accent.
If I could kill a word and watch it die
I’d poison “never”, shoot “goodbye”
And beat “regret" when I felt I had the nerve
He started out slowly because in comparison to her he couldn’t sing if his life depended on it. As soon as that fire that always burned so brightly in her eyes started to spark back to life his voice grew stronger and his movements became surer.
Yeah, I’d pound “fear” into a pile of sand
Choke “lonely" out with my bare hands
And I’d hang “hate” so that it can’t be heard
He gave her a pointed look with that last line, telling her with his eyes that the never wanted to hear words like that come from her mouth ever again. Ash just nodded, and to his surprise joined in softly on the next line, her raspy voice giving him a gentle background.
If I could only kill a word
His accent became a little more exaggerated as he got into the rhythm of the song and a soft smile began to spread across Ash’s face. Their dance moves became bigger and faster, their bodies bouncing along with the beat of the song.
Yeah, I’d take “brokenness” out back
And break “heartbreak,“ stand there and laugh
Right in its face while shootin’ it the bird
Buster cupped Ash’s face with his free hand and brushed his thumb over her cheek. She squeezed the hand that was clasped in his own and Buster felt hope flare up just like the stubborn fire in her eyes. If anyone could literally flip off heartbreak it would be her.
I’d put “upset” down in its place
I’d squeeze the life out of “disgrace”
Lay “over” under six cold feet of dirt
Her face was free of tears and even though her eyes were a still a little red, the smile on her face was growing gradually with each word that came out of his mouth. The joy was coming back, he could tell, but he wasn’t done with her quite yet. He picked her up and spun her around, chuckling as he did.
If I could only kill a word
He nodded encouragingly to her as she joined him once more, her voice still a soft echo where his dominated. They would get there.
Give me sticks, give me stones
Bend my body, break my bones
Use staff and rod to turn me black and blue
Cause you can’t unhear, you can’t unsay
But if it were up to me to change
I’d turn “lies” and “hate” to “love” and “truth”
If I could only kill a word
Buster twirled her again and then leaned forward to surprise her with a kiss on the cheek. Her smile grew again to reveal teeth this time and Buster could tell that he was getting his Ash back. Lance could try to bring her down, but Buster would always be there to pick her back up and make her laugh. That was his job. And boy did he love his work.
I’d knock out “temptation”’s teeth
I’d sever “evil,” and let it bleed
Light up “wicked,“ stand and watch it burn
He started to have a little more fun with the lyrics, emphasizing certain words with twirls or odd little foot movements that usually amused Ash to no end. Today was no different. She let out a little snort and Buster’s heart soared so high he could almost swear that it was trying to pop out of his chest.
I’d take “vice” and I’d take “vile”
And tie ‘em up there with “hostile”
Hang ‘em high and leave ‘em for the birds
If I could only kill a word
He saw the fire again in her eyes. It burned hot and strong in her eyes and the blossoming smile was fully revealed in her victorious grin. As they cam along to the last chorus she took a more active role, her strong voice echoing him and overpowering him on many occasions. He didn’t mind. Buster would much rather listen to her.
So give me sticks, give me stones (sticks and stones)
Bend my body, break my bones (break my bones)
Use staff and rod to turn me black and blue (ohhh turn me blue)
Cause you can’t unhear, you can’t unsay (can’t unsaaaaaaay)
But if it were up to me to change
I’d turn “lies” and “hate” to “love” and “truth”
Buster spun her around again, their dance slowing as the intensity of the song died down. As they sang the last few lines together Buster held Ash close and gazed deeply into her eyes, his affection for her running through him like poison that he would gladly give in to.
If I could only kill a word
Yeah, if I could only kill a word
The last notes of the song faded away and Ash and Buster were left in their embrace, standing on an empty stage, the worst of their night tackled and dealt with. He reached down to pick up the wedding announcement which was, by now, crumpled, stepped on and still holding strong. He looked down at it for a second before tearing it up into little pieces which he shoved into his pocket.
“At least I can kill these words.” He shrugged and Ash let out a bark of laughter that prompted him to laugh as well.
“You’re so cheesy.” She grabbed his hand and squeezed it tightly, “I love it.”
She knew that from now on Lance had no place in her life anymore, including her thoughts. It was time to let him, and the words that he had burdened her with for years, be buried. After all, she had Buster now.
“Let’s go home.” He turned off all of the lights and escorted her out of the theatre, her heart clasped tightly in his hand where it would be safe from Lance’s filth.
If i could kill a word and watch it die, I’d poison ‘never’ and shoot ‘good-bye’ and beat ‘regret’ when i felt i had the nerve.
Yeah, i’d pound ‘fear’ into a pile of sand, choke ‘lonely’ out with my bare hands, and i’d hang ‘hate’ so that it can’t be heard.
If i could only kill a word.
I’d take ‘brokenness’ out back and break ‘heartbreak’, stand there and laugh right in its face while shootin’ it the bird.
I’d put ‘upset’ down in its place; i’d squeeze the life out of ‘disgrace’, lay ‘over’ under six cold feet of dirt.
If i could only kill a word.
Give me sticks and give me stones. Bend my body, break my bones. Use staff and rod to turn me back and blue. Cos you can’t unhear and you can’t unsay, but if it were up to me to change, i’d turn ‘lies’ and ‘hurt’ to ‘love’ and ‘truth’.
If i could only kill a word.
I’d knock out ‘temptation’’s teeth. I’d sever ‘evil’, let it bleed. Then light up ‘wicked’, stand and watch it burn.
I’d take ‘vice’ and i’d take ‘vile’, and tie ‘em up there with ‘hostile’. Hang ‘em high and leave ‘em for the birds.
If i could only kill a word.
So, give me sticks and give me stones. Bend my body, break my bones. Use staff and rod to turn me back and blue. Cos you can’t unhear and you can’t unsay, but if it were up to me to change, i’d turn ‘lies’ and ‘hurt’ to ‘love’ and ‘truth’.
If I could kill a word and watch it die I'd poison never, shoot goodbye Beat regret when I felt I had the nerve Yeah, I'd pound fear to a pile of sand Choke lonely out with my bare hands I'd hang hate so that it can't be heard If I could only kill a word I'd take brokenness out back And break heartbreak, stand there and laugh Right in its face while shootin' it the bird I'd put upset down in its place I'd squeeze the life out of disgrace Lay over under six cold feet of dirt If I could only kill a word Give me sticks, give stones Bend my body, break my bones Use staff and rod to turn me black and blue 'Cause you can't unhear, you can't unsay But if were up to me to change I'd turn lies and hate to love and truth If I could only kill a word I'd knock out temptation's teeth I'd sever evil, let it bleed Then light up wicked, stand and watch it burn I'd take vice and I'd take vile And tie 'em up there with hostile Hang 'em high and leave 'em for the birds If I could only kill a word So give me sticks, give stones Bend my body, break my bones Use staff and rod to turn me black and blue 'Cause you can't unhear, you can't unsay But if were up to me to change I'd turn lies and hate to love and truth If I could only kill a word If I could only kill a word
