Wild, Wild West. || Charlie Slimecicle x Reader

7

When the three of you finished up your meal, Wilbur payed the bartender, allowing you and Charlie to stand up and wait. While Wil was busy talking to the barman, though, Charlie grabbed your hand and pulled you aside, biting his tongue a bit. "I don't trust this guy, Y/N." He said clear as day, looking you dead in the eyes.

A sigh escape you as you crossed your arms, frowning a bit. "Well, yeah- he's a sherrif, Charlie. He's all for the law, nothing else." You said softly. "It's in his mind set. I promise you that if he found out, I'd protect you-"

"He's already suspicious of me enough, Y/N. I don't want to cause you to get in trouble." He said softly, frowning a bit. "Besides, the boys are probably worried about me- who knows where they are now."

You couldn't help but frown lightly, glancing over at Wilbur, then back to Charlie. "At least head back to town with us- stay a night or two. When you're ready I'll find you a horse and send you off.."

Though he was hesitant towards that idea, he finally gave a small sigh. "Fine, fine.. but no more than two nights. If I get found out here, Y/N- I'm risking a death sentence." He grumbled, before glancing at you once again. "By the way, I just gotta ask.. why not rat me out in the first place? You could be neutralizing a threat. Getting some stress off of your father's shoulders."

Shaking your head, you stepped towards him a bit, watching him with a smile. "Because you've treated me better than I expected, Charlie. You haven't threatened me, so I won't threaten you." You said softly, before glaring at him for a moment. "So just know that if you wanna try anything stupid, I'll gladly turn things around and get you in a nice pair of metal cuffs." You threatened with a smile, causing Charlie to grow a bit nervous.

".. Right, I get it." Charlie muttered softly, letting out a huff. "I won't try anything. I can promise you that." He tipped his hat at you slightly. "Just promise you won't make it weird."

Smiling a bit, you gave a small laugh. "No promises about that. You did kidnap me after all, I still want a bit of payback for that."

Staring at you for a moment, Charlie finally gave a sigh, followed by a quick nod. "Alright, I'll owe you a favor. Anything you want." He muttered. "Nothing too crazy, though."

"And what's considered too crazy for you, Mr. Chuckler?" You teased softly beginning to dust off the collar of his vest.

Charlie grew a bit flustered, quickly brushing your hands away from his shirt. Before he could even manage to get another word out, though, Wilbur had finally approached the two of you, a big smile forming on his face. "Well, that's everything done and paid for. Let's say we hop back on Vienna and continue on towards Yellowbrook?"

Both you and Charlie nodded quickly, without words from either of you, you both headed towards the door, Wilbur following behind the two of you.

When all three of you hopped onto Vienna and took off, it felt as if Wilbur was racing to get there. Sure you had been gone for a few days, but there was no need to run poor Vienna to death. He was nearly going the speed of if he were running from something- or chasing a criminal on the run.

Nonetheless, with the speed he was going it didn't take long before you had arrived in Yellowbrook, the first thing hitting you was the chatter of the town, lively shops and people roaming and making way for Vienna as she ran straight towards your home. As the townsfolk saw you their eyes lit up, sending you waves and calling your name, some even clapping as if you had achieved something. Sure, that something was coming home alive, but hey, it was still nice.

Soon the ruckus of town died down, as Vienna rushed through a small dirt road in a patch of light woods, that soon ended at the steps that led to your porch. When Wilbur pulled Vienna to a stop, you didn't hesitate to hop down, rushing up to the door and giving a nice loud knock.

Of course, it didn't take long before your father opened the door, the sight of you nearly moving him to tears. He quickly pulled you into a hug, immediately calling for your mother, who was soon in the hug as well.

Wilbur and Charlie both stood there in silence for a moment, both seeming to smile a bit at the family reunion. Once the hug concluded your mother placed her hands on your face, smiling brightly as joyful tears dripped down her cheeks. "Oh, honey, we were so worried about you.. all of us have been looking everywhere.."

Your father nodded in agreement, placing his hand on your shoulder. "I'm assuming Wilbur brought you home safe and sound, huh?"

"Well, actually.." Wilbur butted in, grabbing Charlie's arm and pulling him forward. "If it wasn't for Charlie here, we wouldn't have found Y/N at all."

Both your mother and your father glanced at Charlie, looking him up and down as if they were scanning the poor man. "Is that so?" Your father finally asked, raising an eyebrow. "How did this happen, then?"

Quickly playing along, Charlie cleared his throat and tipped his had slightly. "Well, sir, I found them while riding through the woods, which ended up getting us attacked by a bear. They saved my life by getting us to safety, so I figured I'd make it my mission to get them back to their safety."

While your father still seemed a bit on edge, your mother absolutely adored him. Without hesitation she pulled Charlie into a hug with a bright smile on her face, as if she was as excited to see him as she was to see you. "Oh, Charlie, aren't you just a blessing to us!" She gushed, her eyes lighting up as she looked at the dirty blonde male in front of her. "How about you stay for dinner? It's the least we can do for saving our Y/N."

Charlie seemed to hesitate at the offer for a moment, until you nudged his arm and cleared your throat. He nodded and smiled a bit, placing his hands behind his back for a moment. "If you wouldn't mind, ma'am, a place to stay for a night or two would be great, if you can offer that.."

"Absolutely not." Your father snapped almost instantly, crossing him arms. "I couldn't thank you enough for helping Y/N find their way home, Charlie, but we can't just allow some stranger into our home. Especially with all of these bandits and criminals running around-"

Before he could even finish, your mother immediately nudged his arm, staring at him with a scowl. "Now, that's no way to treat this poor boy. Who knows what he's been through, and now having to go out of his way to protect Y/N? He deserves anything we can give him."

Your father glanced at Charlie, then at you, before giving a defeated sigh and looking back at your mother. "Fine. But I'm keeping an eye on our valuables." He grumbled, before turning and making his way back into the house.

Shaking her head, your mother soon looked back at Charlie. "You'll have to excuse my husband here, his job as the sherrif has been stressing him out recently." She spoke calmly, before smiling a bit. "Y/N, how about you show him around? Oh, and Wilbur- you're free to stay for dinner, if you'd like. You deserve a reward for your hard work too, y'know."

"Thanks for the offer, Mrs. L/N, but I think I'll be headin' home now. I wouldn't want my ma' to think I'm missing." Wilbur said with a small laugh, before looking at you and pulling you into a hug. "Next time you wanna go out for something, bring me with you, alright?" He joked softly, before patting your back and pulling away, hopping onto Vienna's back and grabbing onto her reigns.

As Wilbur rode off you gave a small sigh, before looking at Charlie with a smile. "So, ready for your tour, then? It's not much, but I can at least show you to your room."

"Sure, couldn't hurt. Besides, I could use a small nap right about now." Charlie said with a slight smile, the faint scar on his lip curling slightly.

You couldn't tell for sure, but it already felt like these next few days were going to be way longer than you'd expect. Yet, you were intrigued to see what direction it went.

Maybe you had actually managed to turn a once cold-hearted criminal into a sweet guy, one who not only acted polite towards the others around him, but also one who seemed to never want to leave your side.

This seemed like it could have a way better outcome than you'd expect.