As the two of you prepared to leave the room, Charlie tied his bandana over his face, while placing his hat on his head, as well. You couldn't help but glance at him, letting out a small huff. "The hell do you think you're doing?"
Glancing at you, Charlie crossed his arms slightly. "Getting ready to go outside. What do you mean?"
Rolling your eyes, you couldn't help but smile a bit. "That's how people are used to seeing you. You walk out there like that and you'll be caught right away." You said softly, before pulling his bandana off of his face. "Lose the hat, too. The more they see of you the better."
Charlie just grumbled slightly, before grabbing his hat and tossing it off. You couldn't help but smile and reached over to fix his hair, only to get your hand smacked by him. "What the hell do you think you're doin', huh?"
"Figured you'd want some help controlling that mess on your head. You ever comb it at all?" You asked with a small huff, pushing past his hand and continuing to fix his hair. "Probably because you keep that damn hat on all the time."
Grumbling, Charlie crossed his arms before sitting down and flopping back in a chair. "Well if you're a damn barber now, why not go ahead and fix my whole look, why don't ya'.."
You just ignored his little comment and continued to run your fingers through his hair. It was honestly satisfying to watch how his hands smoothed out between your fingers. And though Charlie had complained before, he now had his eyes closed and leaned forward a bit, just letting you have your way with it.
At last his hair was combed and fixed to your satisfaction, allowing you to pull your hand away and cause Charlie to perk up. Clearing his throat, he stood up strait and huffed. "You done now?" He mumbled with an annoyed tone, trying to put his tough persona back on.
Giggling, you smiled and nodded. "Yep! We can go now." You said softly, before turning towards the door. "Remember, just act normal. You didn't kidnap me and we're not running from nothin'."
"Yeah, yeah, heard ya' the first time.." Charlie grumbled, pushing his glasses up as he pushed past you and exited the room. Youet out an aggravated huff before following along with him.
Both of you checked out of the inn before stepping out into the dusty streets, getting the mixed smell of dirt, alcohol, and horse shit. Not anything you weren't used to, honestly.
Glancing at a sign, Charlie's eyes widened slightly. "Holy shit. We're in Stronghowl?"
You gave a slow nod before looking up at him. "Yeah. What about it?"
"Ted's from here. Wonder if they'd even think to look here for us.." He grumbled slight, pushing his glasses up once again.
Though that's what he hoped for, you hoped for the opposite. All you wanted was to be home again, to get back to your family and let them know you're alright.
But your thoughts were cut away as you felt your stomach growl. Sighing, you rubbed your face. "You hungry?"
"Starving." He said with a small huff, before he glanced at you. "Hold on, I know a good place we can head. Near here, actually."
Raising an eyebrow, you took a step back. "This isn't a trick, is it?"
A small chuckle left Charlie's mouth as he shook his head. "Of course not. Ted would take us here all the time. C'mon, I'll show ya'."
The two of you walked for a while, which also involved Charlie leading you through a patch of the woods, but once you arrived, you got a sudden home-y feeling from this place.
There was a medium sized building made of logs ahead, at the top an old rusted sign made out the words 'Gunther's Saloon'. Light smoke rose from the chimney above, as the sound as talking people could be faintly heard from the outside.
"Well, what are you just standing there for? Let's head inside." Charlie muttered, nudging your arm slightly.
Even thought the outside seemed nice and cozy, the actual inside gave you a bad feeling. Right as you stepped in a strong smell of alcohol hit you, as well as the sight of multiple, shady looking men.
So many, in fact, that you were the only un-shady looking person in there.
Quickly you scooted closer to Charlie, your face growing a bit pale. ".. Is this place safe?"
"Safe?" Charlie said with a scoff. "This is one of the deadliest spots in the country. What, you think I was taking you to some puppy show?"
Grabbing your arm, Charlie practically dragged you over to the bar, taking a seat. "Hey, Gunther! Two whiskeys, one for me and my friend over here!"
A bearded man that stood behind the bar glared at the two of you, before smiling brightly. "Ah, Charlie! Long time no see, friend!" He gave a slight chuckle, before filling two glasses up and setting them in front of the two of you. "Who's your friend here?"
"They're visiting from Greensborrow, all the way up North. Had some unfinished business to attend to and figured we'd get a drink beforehand." Charlie said automatically, before taking a sip from his glass.
The bearded man, who you assumed was Gunther, gave a small nod, before turning and beginning to rinse off more glasses. Charlie was so good at lying that you almost forgot what was true and what wasn't. Hell, you were actually convinced that you were his friend from the North for a moment.
Glaring at you, Charlie sat his glass down for a moment, before letting out a slight huff. "What's the matter? Drink up."
"I don't drink." You said with a small huff, glancing over at him. "I didn't think you were much of a drinker, either-"
Chuckling, Charlie took another sip of whiskey. "Gotta do something to pass the time."
You just shook your head in disappointment, before pushing thr glass of whiskey to the side, clearing your throat. "Excuse me, Gunther? Could I just get a water? Charlie over here doesn't really know how to ask his friends what they want."
Gunther smiled and gave a small laugh, before nodding and placing a glass of water right in front of you.
"Water, huh? Your plain-ass is gonna bore me to death." Charlie said with a small scoff.
Humming, you took a small sip of your water, before glancing at him. "And you drinking like that is gonna kill your liver. Any other comments?" You said with a huff.
He paused for a moment and just stared at you, honestly seeming at a loss for words. Crossing his arms, he gave a small huff. "Yeah, one last comment. You're a smartass."
Nodding at him, you turned and smiled a bit. "I get it from my father." You said, before getting another sip of water.
Charlie just scoffed and rolled his eyes, taking a few more sips before grabbing your (previously) glass of whiskey, holding it up in the air. "It's on the house to the first person who grabs it!"
The room fell silent of talking before at least four men rushed forward, all wrestling to grab onto the glass first. Finally one man was victorious, grabbing onto the class and wholeheartedly chugged it, just to spite the three other men.
Laughing, Charlie patted the man on the back, a large smile plastered on his face. "You never fail to amazing me, Ludwig. I have yet to see you lose a free drink."
Ludwig gave a small laugh and nodded. "What can I say? I'd be an idiot to pass up free drinks." He chuckled, before glancing at you. "Say, who's this?"
"This is Y/N. They're stayin' with me for a bit. Just until we get things sorted out." Charlie said softly as he glanced at you. "Ain't that right, Y/N?"
Rolling your eyes, you let out a small sigh. "Yeah, yeah- sure."
Tipping his hat at you, Ludwig smiled. "Well, nice to meet you, Y/N." He nodded, before glancing back at Charlie. "Say, how have the other boys been doing?"
"As fine as you'd expect. Ted and Schlatt still get into it sometimes, but they eventually get over it." Charlie said with a nod as he finished up his drink.
Soon after Charlie nudged his now empty glass away, Gunther made his way over, setting two bowls in front of the two of you. "Fresh stew, on me. Both of you look exhausted."
Quickly Charlie perked up and shook his head. "Wait wait wait, let me pay for this-" He said softly. "You're busy enough, Gunt. You don't gotta do shit for us-"
Shaking his head, Gunther held his hand up. "Just for you, my friend. No worries."
Though it made Charlie upset, he just gave a slow nod before accept the meal, slowly beginning to eat. He wanted to nudge you to start eating as well, but he didn't have to tell you twice. You were already scarfing that bowl down like there was no tomorrow.
The two of you sat there eating like little gremlins, while Ludwig just sat next to Charlie, watching with concern.
"You two sure are hungry, huh?" Ludwig said with a small laugh. "Long trip?"
Catching his breath in-between bites, Charlie let out a sigh. "You have no idea."
~
When the two of you finished, Charlie paid for the drinks and the two of you readied up to leave. "You good here on your own, Lud? I don't know how much you've had to drink-"
"I'll be fine, Charles. You know me." Ludwig said with a small laugh. "Besides, I've got a date tonight. No time to mess around."
Charlie's eyes widened slightly. "A date? Well, good luck with that, man."
And just like that, the two of you were off on your way. Charlie stayed strictly by your side, whether you liked it or not.
It took about 30 minutes of walking before the two of you were fully in town again, Charlie leaning against a building and sighing. "Well, now what? We've got our meal for the day- where are we heading next?"
Humming, you looked around, before spotting a map nailed to the side of a building. "Well, right here is says the closest town to here is-"
"Y/N!!" You heard a familiar voice shout, causing both you and Charlie to perk up, your eyes widening.
Standing around the dusty road from the two of you, was none other than your best friend.
Wilbur.