Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was no secret that you had eyes for the sheriff of the Wild East.

Well, to anyone who knew you, that is… and not many people knew you around these parts.

It started as simple curiosity. Then it turned into admiration. Now you’re left with butterflies every time the sheriff smiles and then they increased tenfold when you found out why he does what he does.

You had always known that it was just an act. The Underground was an incredibly peaceful place and conflict was rare. Yet there was a need for a sheriff? And his posse? On top of the royal guard? Yeah right.

You initially just took his words and actions with a grain of salt. You played along like everyone else in town while keeping your head down. You went out for drinks and smiled and gave praise at the right times.

It became almost like a routine.

Except it wasn’t.

When the excitement fell into a lull and everyone was left to the silence of their minds, you saw it.

No one was happy to be stuck in the Underground, you knew that, but you had already come to terms with the fact that you’d probably never see the surface. It didn’t bother you anymore. But it seemed like people with your mindset were few and far between.

It happened on an ordinary night, nothing particularly special had happened in a while. North Star and his posse had yet to enter the saloon so the regulars were left to their own devices. That had been fine until their conversation took a turn for the worse.

You learned that the monsters you surrounded yourself with were unhappy. They wanted to see the surface. They wanted to see the Sun. They wanted to see the stars. They wanted everything that they couldn’t have down in the Underground.

They wanted their freedom.

Wrapped up in their conversations, the regulars failed to notice the sheriff at the saloon doors.

But you had.

He stood there quietly, frozen with the door partially open. The frown on his face indicated that he had heard the conversation. The way he clenched his fists and glared at the ground made you think for a second that he was angry. As he scanned the room to see if anyone had noticed him, you were glad that your body was angled away from the door and that your hat concealed your gaze, much like the sheriff’s.

After concluding that no one had seen him, North Star made his silent exit.

You questioned if he had decided to just go home rather than let his mood be soured by the depressing topic until you heard the spurs of his boots on the hardwood steps of the saloon. He all but announced his arrival by basically stomping up the stairs and bursting through the saloon doors.

Gone was his frown, replaced by a confident smirk and a boisterous laugh that filled the saloon. His posse quickly followed him as he started his nightly storytelling. The longer he spoke, the lighter the atmosphere got. Despite the somewhat repetitive nature of his stories, everyone listened to North Star with rapt attention. They clung to his every word and held their breaths with anticipation as he relayed his tales.

He was… He was doing it for them.

This wasn’t just an act to boost his ego.

This was pure selflessness.

That was probably the night that you truly fell for the sheriff.

Chapter Text

After realizing North Star’s intentions, you always made a point to greet him. He was a busy guy, you couldn’t expect him to put everything on pause just to have a conversation with you every time you saw him. So you made do with greetings.

Of course, that wasn’t the only thing you started doing. You watched all of the performances that North Star and his posse put on no matter when they happened. Work be damned. You also started staying out later to hear the endings of the sheriff’s stories, sometimes you’d be the last to leave.

It seemed like tonight was one of those nights where you ended up being the last to leave. Truth be told, you were behind in your work. Despite that, you didn’t want to miss North Star’s stories. So the next best thing was to bring your work to the saloon.

After setting up in a corner and ordering a couple of drinks, working came easy. North Star’s stories made for great background noise, though his rough voice and accent occasionally made you lose your train of thought.

You hadn’t even noticed that someone had approached you until they spoke.

“That must be real important if it’s got ya focusin’ so hard.”

You felt yourself tense as you recognized exactly whose voice that was. How do you even begin to act normally with North Star looking over your shoulder? He was standing so close that you could practically feel the heat that his body gave off.

This would be the first time you actually talked to the sheriff beyond simple greetings. You were definitely going to mess this up. You were definitely about to embarrass yourself and that sucks because then you can never come back… but you want to keep coming back and seeing more of your favorite sheriff. So you can’t mess this up! But first, you have to actually respond!!

“O-oh, uh, yeah… it’s kinda important. I’ve been putting it off for a little while now…”

Shifting in your seat slightly, you moved to show the sheriff the contents of your journal. It was filled with various diagrams and notes pertaining to souls. You didn’t expect North Star to really care about it, but you were very proud of what you had shown him.

“What is it exactly?”

You blanked at his question. He actually wanted to know? You quickly abandoned the thought that he was asking just to be polite when he grabbed your hand to steady it so that he could make sense of your writing.

At this point, you were full of butterflies and could feel your cheeks growing hotter by the second. It was like he was trying to fluster you, the fact that he was genuinely interested wasn’t helping either!

“I… well, it’s um… it’s mostly theories right now, but I’m helping the Royal Scientist with her latest project. I’m focusing more on the magic and soul side of things. We haven’t been able to run any tests yet, but I get the feeling that that might change soon!”

North Star hummed at your words as he continued to read through your notes. He let you guide his other hand to your journal so that he could hold it on his own and flip through the pages. Using your feet you dragged a chair closer for the sheriff to sit on.

You noticed him flinch slightly as you placed a hand on his hip to guide him toward the chair you’d just pulled up. Whether he looked at you or not would remain a mystery thanks to the shadow his hat casted. Though if it had bothered him, he sure didn’t say anything about it.

You were sure you were sporting a goofy-looking smile, but you just couldn’t help it. You rarely got the chance to show anyone your work and it was even rarer for someone to be interested. You didn’t think it was possible to like the sheriff any more than you already did, but here you were.

“Does this have anythin’ to do with that recent announcement ‘bout sendin’ those who’ve fallen down to the lab in Hotland?”

Blinking, you contemplated answering his question truthfully. He was just asking in general, nothing specific… you could answer questions like that. Lowering your voice, you leaned closer to North Star.

“Yes… but nothing’s set in stone yet. Truth be told, Alphys and I have completely different goals. They just so happen to intersect at a few key points…”

Shaking your head, you felt a frown tug at your lips at the thought of what had recently happened to you.

“I prefer to work alone on these kinds of things. I’m not sure how Alphys found out about my personal project, but she convinced the King to officially assign me to help with her project…”

Pursing your lips, you glared at one of the empty cups on your table as you traced its rim. You were more than a little miffed at Alphys for sticking her nose in your business and you made sure she knew that.

Any attempts she made at friendly conversation were swiftly shut down, and there had been many. You were starting to feel bad about your callous behavior towards her. That is, before she revealed her progress on the project she forced you to help with.

She had almost nothing, just some hypotheses and vague ideas. Maybe you wouldn’t have been so angry if she had approached you and pitched her ideas first rather than going straight to the king. Maybe you would’ve helped her without the king forcing your hand. But now it just felt like she was trying to leech off some of the success you had already found.

Harnessing the power of monster souls to break the barrier was a good idea… in theory only. That being said, you questioned if Alphys understood souls, or really, their limitations. Maybe that’s why she was so desperate to have your help.

“I take it yer not too happy ‘bout havin’ to help Alphys?”

Tapping your cup to hear the ting of the glass, you examined your true feelings about the situation. It’s not that she was doing it for the wrong reasons or that you didn’t want to help, but…

“It’s… complicated. I’m fine with helping her, but I’m angry that I’m being forced to. I… I also think that what she’s trying to do is extremely dangerous… potentially immoral too.”

North Star looked up at that. With a tilt of his head and a small frown, he had your attention.

“Immoral?”

Unfortunately, you couldn’t give him a proper answer about that. Furrowing your brow, you gave North Star an apologetic smile.

“‘M sorry Sheriff, I can’t really go into detail about that…”

After a beat of silence, North Star smiled and laughed. It was gentle and less rough than usual… more genuine.

“Don’t worry ‘bout it! It ain’t my job to go pryin’ into yer business!”

You found yourself laughing along with the sheriff. His soft laughter made your heart melt. You were really enjoying his company.

“Alright, alright, rap it up lovebirds. It’s gettin’ late and I gotta close up shop, don’t worry ‘bout the glasses.”

At Dina’s words, your and North Star’s laughter came to an abrupt halt. You flushed at the implication of Dina’s words and quickly brought your hands to cover your face. However, you didn’t miss the teal blush that made its way onto the sheriff’s face. It briefly illuminated his face under the shadow of his hat allowing you to get a good look before he looked down and cleared his throat.

“Ahem… guess that’s our cue to leave…”

“Yeah…”

Getting up, North Star returned your journal which you promptly stored in your inventory. He offered his hand to help you off your stool and while you found that to be a little silly, you still took it. Nodding at Dina, you made your exit with the sheriff.

The walk to the edge of town was filled with a comfortable silence. Though the occasional clink from the sheriff’s gun and spurs of his boots did little to help keep your mind from wandering. You didn’t want to leave yet. You wanted to spend some more time with North Star, maybe get him to talk about himself.

“Ya know, I keep thinkin’...”

Humming, you urged him to continue.

“Yer notes were real detailed… wouldn’t it've been easier to focus somewhere quiet? Not sayin’ that I didn’t enjoy yer company or that I don’t want’cha ‘round! Just—”

North Star quickly shut his mouth at the sound of your quiet laughter. He found himself growing flustered as his persona began to slip.

“Yes, I suppose it would’ve been easier to focus somewhere quiet… but your stories made for great background noise. Though I will admit, your voice did make me lose my train of thought every so often… I think I could listen to you go on for hours.”

As your words registered in his mind, North Star stumbled slightly and fell out of step with you. His blush was back with a vengeance and he couldn’t help but smile. Compliments had always been his weakness.

“Well, this is your stop!”

Turning around, you met North Star face-to-face. He was still flushed from your compliment, but now he also sported a confused look.

“I’m not about to make you walk back from Waterfall all by yourself. I’ll be fine, I know a shortcut.”

He looked like he wanted to argue with you on that. But before he could respond, you grabbed one of his hands and placed a chaste kiss on his knuckles while holding his gaze. It was better to leave him speechless than to have him waste his time arguing with you.

“Good night, Sheriff. I really enjoyed your company tonight, maybe next time you can tell me a little bit about yourself.”

You reveled in North Star’s slack-jawed expression for a second before making a swift departure. Shock value would do nothing if you gave him time to recover from it.

As you walked away, you decided that teal was your new favorite color.

Chapter Text

“Uuugh… why did I do that? Why did I do that!?”

Replaying your encounter with the sheriff had you spiraling. So much so, that you started talking to yourself.

“I definitely came on way too strong at the end… that was literally the first time we have ever interacted beyond simple greetings! What was I thinking!!”

You couldn’t stop thinking about your uncharacteristic boldness. Where had that confidence come from? Hopefully, you hadn’t made North Star uncomfortable.

You hadn’t had any time to go back to the Wild East since that night… you sorely missed it.

Shaking your head, you lightly wrapped your shawl around your neck and shoulders. While you were able to keep your state without it, having it helped you stay calm. That was particularly important now that you were working with Alphys.

Thinking back to your first day in the lab, you formally introduced yourself after you had suppressed your anger enough to act professionally. Meeting Alphys went better than you had anticipated though. You had even found her nervousness a little charming… then you learned that she wanted to use your research to kickstart her project… at least you were able to study the human SOULs.

They were so complex. You could probably dedicate your whole life to studying only human SOULs and you still wouldn’t know everything… well, assuming you had children in the future.

Running simple checks let you see the SOULs’ stats, which, surprisingly, change from time to time. Running deeper checks provided more information and even some details about their demises. Your excitement about all of the new information eventually fell into unease after observing the SOULs for a while.

It first started after running multiple checks at different times in the day. Their flavor text changed… that wasn’t a cause for concern though because even inanimate objects could have flavor text that changed… but it almost never changes more than two times…

Maybe you could write off the changing flavor text as something that just happened with human SOULs, but… they reacted to stimuli.

That discovery had been an accident.

You had noticed that the SOULs’ vibrancy changed often, but you were focusing on something else at the time. Knocking your mug off your desk had been a mistake, obviously, but if the sharp sound of shattering glass hadn’t woken you up, almost being blinded by the little cyan SOUL sure had. The previously dim cyan SOUL had nearly blinded you in response to a sudden loud noise…

Were they still…alive? Were they…aware?

You shuddered at that thought. Hopefully, not… Though, that was probably around the time you started speaking to them. Whether it was a simple greeting in the morning or a goodbye before you left, you spoke. You filled the silence of your lab with childhood stories and snippets of your memories. If they were aware… maybe they’d appreciate the thought. You didn’t care about what Alphys thought about you talking to the SOULs, but you still kept it to a minimum while she was around.

You wanted to keep this particular finding to yourself. There was no telling what she might do with that information…

Extracting “determination” from the SOULs had been incredibly nerve-racking. The extraction machine itself put you on edge just by looking at it, but seeing the SOULs inside it made your SOUL clench. It felt wrong.

It… was wrong.

The humans may have been long gone, but their SOULs were still the culmination of their entire beings. It wasn’t right that they were being experimented on, especially if they were still sentient… was this painful for them? Could they feel pain?

They’re only children.

They had already died for Monsterkind… was that not enough?

You weren’t happy to be involved in this, you so desperately wanted to quit. But you couldn’t. Aware or not, the SOULs deserve to be treated with respect and you couldn’t ensure that if you left.

Dear Angel, please let you be wrong.

— — —

It was going to be a little different in the lab today. The bodies of the fallen were scheduled to come in.

You decided to pick up your pace. You were already going to be a couple of hours early, but fallen down monsters were unpredictable. There was almost no way to predict how soon they would dust after their arrival so it was better to have everything ready beforehand.

Entering the main entrance of the lab, you were surprised to find that Alphys wasn’t there. Was she already in the true lab? Wouldn’t it make more sense to stay upstairs while waiting for the monsters who had fallen down to arrive?

Unless…

Without wasting another second, you sprinted to the true lab’s elevator. It couldn’t possibly go any slower. She wouldn’t… No… that would mean that she purposely gave you the wrong time. Alphys wasn’t stupid, eager, but not stupid. She wouldn’t inject the fallen down with determination before you got the chance to run a couple of tests. Neither of you knew how it might affect monsters. Surely she would wait for the literal expert on souls and magic to at least be present in case anything went wrong. Surely…

As soon as the elevator doors opened you made a mad dash for the beds room. If… if they were already here, they’d be there.

You felt your SOUL drop as you entered the beds room. They were here…

Nine beds.

Ten monsters.

And one idiot.

“What The Hell Have You Done!?”

Caught off guard, Alphys dropped her clipboard along with the syringe that used to contain determination. The sound that she made would’ve made you laugh if you weren’t so pissed.

“A-ah! Y-y-you’re early!”

Rubbing between your eyes, you tried to stave off the incoming headache.

“Of course, I’m early. I wanted to have everything ready before the fallen got here. I should’ve been hours early… care to explain?”

Alphys stumbled over her words trying to come up with an explanation, but that wasn’t anything new. She brought her claws together as she started sweating. A nervous smile played on her lips as she began to speak.

“W-well you s-see, th-there was a l-l-last minute change in the s-schedule! E-e-even I d-didn’t know th-they’d be this early!”

“Is that so?”

You’d think that Alphys would try to hide her relief a little better. You hadn’t even said you believed her yet.

“Y-yes!”

“Hmm… nah, try again.”

Alphys’ relieved expression immediately fell.

“H-huh?”

Scoffing, you shook your head. She was just insulting your intelligence at this point. But this wasn’t something to blow up about.

“I’m not stupid, Alphys. Things like this aren’t just rescheduled and even if they were, you had no reason not to wait for me. You could’ve sent someone to notify me as soon as they arrived. I would’ve been here before you finished putting the fallen in their beds… So what’s the real reason you didn’t wait? And don’t you dare try to tell me that you thought they were going to dust.”

Alphys trembled slightly as you gave her a withering look. You weren’t angry that she had gone ahead with the experiment without you. You were angry that she had thrown caution out the window.

There was no telling how the fallen would react to the determination. They were monsters that used to have hopes and dreams. They had lives before they fell. They had families that loved and cherished them.

They weren’t just subjects for experiments.

While waiting for Alphys to respond, you surveyed the fallen. You were deeply upset about the disrespect they had received prior to your arrival, but you couldn’t really do anything about it now.

You didn’t know any of them, thankfully… no… that was… Chujin’s daughter.

Kanako.

What was she doing here…

“W-w-what’s wrong?”

You must’ve made a face.

Ignoring Alphys, you approached Kanako’s bed. She looked so small and fragile… There’s no way she fell naturally…

It’s been years since you spoke to Chujin. You only worked with each other briefly, but from what you remembered, he was hard-working and stubborn… and he loved his daughter. He must be devastated…

“...it’s…nothing… Please, please notify me before you go through with any big experiments. We aren’t friends but talk to me. You requested my help for a reason, right? So let me help you. At the end of the day, you’re in charge of this project, but two heads are better than one.”

Looking back at Alphys, her eyes were fixed on the floor. She had a deep frown and looked like she was on the verge of tears. Her voice was little more than a murmur when she responded.

“O-okay… I’m sorry…”

A small smile found its way onto your face. Hopefully, Alphys would find it easier to consult you now that you had directly addressed the situation.

You were definitely going to need a drink after work today.

Chapter Text

Stepping out of the lab for the night felt like a huge weight off your shoulders. You and Alphys had spent almost the entire day running tests on the fallen with very little to show for it.

There wasn’t much else you could do other than sit tight and watch for now. These kinds of experiments take time and no one’s awake to give you any insight into how the determination was affecting them.

You could experiment on a healthy monster…

No.

There’s no telling how that might affect you and you don’t trust Alphys enough to take care of you if something goes wrong. Though, if all else fails… that might be something you have to revisit.

Shaking those thoughts from your head, you contemplated going through Steamworks or going back home and then traveling to the Wild East. Going home would take longer, but there was a lower chance of running into other monsters and fewer puzzles. Though Steamworks had all of those cons, going through it would cut your traveling time by almost an hour.

There was always shortcutting through Streamworks, but if anyone caught you… you’d probably die of embarrassment.

It would cut your traveling time by another hour though… that’s more time that you could use to get to know your favorite sheriff… Even if someone did manage to catch a glimpse of you, you’d be moving fast enough that they wouldn’t be able to make out any of your features… there also wasn’t any chance of running into children either…

Screw it, you were going to take a shortcut.

Technically, it’s not really a shortcut. A better name would be fast travel since you’re still traveling the same routes, give or take. However, there would likely never be a form of fast travel that required its users to strip…

Surveying your surroundings, you concluded that no one was around to witness your indecency. You may be semi-transparent when not solid, but people could still see you if they looked hard enough.

Moving around while in a gaseous state was so much faster than everything else… but you found that you had to actively keep yourself from going through your clothes. With that in mind, it was easier to just remove them for travel and find somewhere to get dressed once you got to where you were going.

Still, you found your face heating up to an uncomfortable degree as you stuffed your clothes in your dimensional bag. You’d have to hold it while traveling, but keeping track of it was much easier than keeping your clothes from flying away.

Kicking yourself up into the air, you smiled at the feeling of weightlessness that always accompanied your gaseous state. You familiarized yourself with the weight of your bag and picked up speed as you got used to it.

Flying was so convenient.

— — —

You don’t know how it happened.

You were usually incredibly aware of your surroundings while using your shortcuts. Maybe you had just grown too comfortable in your abilities. Complacency was a breeding ground for errors after all…

Everything had been fine until you passed BlackJacks.

You had picked up far too much speed in your excitement to finally have the chance to visit the Wild East again. You shouldn’t have been so close to the ground or even using the main path for that matter… You hadn’t even noticed them until it was too late to stop and in your shock, your body entered its solid state. Your momentum caused you both to fly which ended with the two of you landing in front of the Feisty(j) Five’s Hideout.

The sudden collision may have dazed you, but the firm hold on your body almost immediately snapped you out of it. In the chaos of your crash, you had brought your arms around your unfortunate victim to protect their head, but you hadn’t registered who they were until now.

Dear Angel, you had to crash into North Star of all monsters!!!

Your face burned with embarrassment and only worsened as you fully processed what was happening. Not only were both you and North Star holding onto each other for dear life, meaning that there was absolutely no space between you, but you were also very naked!

You were literally straddling him! You liked him, but you wanted to get to know him first!

You could feel all of his outfit’s different textures as you quickly lifted yourself off of North Star and removed your arms from under his head. Unfortunately, you didn’t get very far with his arms still firmly wrapped around you.

“Uugh… wha–”

“Wait! Waitwaitwaitwait! Don’t! Ack!”

Quickly snatching his hat, you covered North Star’s face. Hopefully, you had been quick enough in covering his eyes.

“Uh, what’s… going on? Why’re we lying in the sand?”

Oh… was that his real voice? How was he so attractive, both in and out of character?

Not the time! Not the time!

“O-oh! Haha, f-funny story, really! I, um, I was taking a shortcut and… and I wasn’t looking where I was going! And I’m real sorry, Sheriff! I didn’t mean to bowl over you like that! I–”

You stiffened as you felt North Star rub your bare back… when had he lost a glove? A chill ran through your body as North Star traced your spine before tensing underneath you. His hold around you loosened as his ungloved hand splayed across your back while the other hand slowly traveled to your hip, resting on it.

“Where… Are you–”

“I-It–! It was an accident! I didn’t mean–! I mean, I did, but no one was supposed to see! This is all so–! I–”

“Naked?”

“agh…”

What you did the other night was nothing compared to this…

Resting your forehead on the sheriff’s chest, you let out a deep sigh.

“...yes…”

In a split second, North Star’s hands pulled away like you had burned them. Taking that opportunity, you quickly jumped to your feet to look for your bag. Sparing a glance at the sheriff revealed that he had rolled away and was using his hands to cover his face.

It was hilarious watching him roll around in the sand until he abruptly removed his hands from his face and got a good look at you in all your nude glory.

“Ah! I’m sorry! I was just–”

He immediately brought his hands to his face again before removing them with as much urgency as the first time. Though, this time he had his eyes shut tightly. His face, along with the markings at the ends of his rays, was lit up with a brilliant teal. He was glowing… literally.

He began to blindly pat the sand in his immediate vicinity. You might’ve laughed if you weren’t so busy panicking about the fact that your bag was nowhere to be found.

“Where is it? Where is it!?”

Hearing the panic in your voice caused North Star to pause his blind search.

“What are you looking for?”

“My bag!”

“Why–”

“It has all of my clothes in it!”

Right, you were still naked. How could that have slipped his mind so quickly?

The look of surprise on your face immediately filled North Star’s head along with the image of your unclothed body. He hadn’t meant to look directly at you, he just realized that the same hands on his face had previously been on your bare body. Oh Angel, you were going to think that he was a pervert!

“G-go into my house! Everyone’s at the saloon right now!”

Hearing the door close, the North Star quickly opened his eyes. Now that he could see, he realized that he probably looked a little odd trying to grab his hat that had been nowhere near him. Standing up, North Star placed his hat back on his head while shaking off the sand that clung to him. Other than missing a glove and some bruises, he was fine, maybe a little incredibly embarrassed, but ultimately fine.

Good thing you managed to knock one of his gloves off in your crash… there’s no telling how long it might’ve taken him to notice you were naked otherwise…

He could still feel the heat of your body and the softness of your skin on his hand… He hadn’t meant to feel you up! It was only after not feeling any kind of clothing or hearing any rustling fabric did he even consider the idea that you might be naked!

“I’m sorry I didn’t realize sooner!”

Scouring the area, North Star looked for any sign of your bag. It couldn’t have gone that far, but the dimming light of the Swelterstone wasn’t making his search any easier.

“Wha–? How were you supposed to know that I was naked!?”

“I-I don’t know!!”

North Star felt his blush worsen at the sound of your laughter. The glow of his embarrassment made itself clear on the underside of his hat.

His frantic search for your bag came to an end as he spotted it lying on the train tracks past the fencing. After grabbing it, North Star skillfully hopped over the fence only to trip on the step of his porch. After all that… he just decided to lie there.

“Are… are you alright?”

Sighing, North Star held your bag up to the door of his house.

“...yeah… I got your bag…”

Cracking the door open, you were met with the sight of the sheriff lying face down on the porch. But sure enough, he did have your bag.

“You found it! My hero!”

Feeling the weight of your bag leave his hand, North Star huffed out a laugh at your words. He didn’t really feel heroic at this moment. He had been thoroughly embarrassed by his actions even though they had been accidental. Not only had he seen you while completely exposed but he had groped you too! And to top it all off, he’d broken character as well.

There’s no way you hadn’t noticed.

A pervert and a fraud…

A harsh creak from the house door pulled the sheriff from his self-deprecating thoughts, but he didn’t dare look up for fear of another mistake.

“Sheriff… I’m dressed now…”

Despite your words, North Star didn’t move. It couldn’t be comfortable lying face down on the hard wood… Grabbing one of his hands you pulled him into a sitting position and sat next to him. He still refused to look at you, opting to fiddle with the glove he still had.

“I’m sorry I, uh, crashed into you… and embarrassed you… and used your house as a refuge… and, uh, y’know… flashed you…”

An awkward laugh briefly bubbled up in your throat before it died off as a groan. Bringing your knees to your chest, you crossed your arms over them and buried your face. Forget having a relationship with the sheriff, or even a friendship, you’d never be able to show your face around him again!

“I’m sorry for looking and, uh, copping a feel! I… um, you… yer real pretty though! Wait… I didn’t mean it like that! I–! agh…”

You choked on your laugh as you heard the sheriff slap his face. Looking up, you saw that he’d hit himself hard enough that his hat flew off and landed behind him.

You both sat on the edge of the porch for a second, just stewing in embarrassment. After a moment, you sat back and grabbed North Star’s hat, and placed it back on his head. You smiled as he dragged his hand down his face and looked at you.

“Well… thank you. I know what you meant, that’s sweet of you… though I wish I knew who was telling me that…”

Tilting his head a little, North Star frowned in his confusion.

“Who’s tellin’ you? I’m tellin’ you…?”

Smiling at his uncertainty, you thought about bringing up his accidental break of character. You didn’t blame him. From being dazed because of the collision to being horrified by his actions, staying in character had probably been one of the last things on his mind. Maybe it’d be better not to bring it up… or maybe…

“Yes… I know it’s you telling me… but I’m wondering if it’s actually you who’s talking… or if it’s the sheriff.”

North Star flinched slightly, his frown deepened as he lowered his head.

“I… you… you know…”

He… he thought that you thought it was real!? You thought that everyone knew that it wasn’t real! Was it real to others? Was it real to him? No, you knew that he knew it wasn’t real. Still, you didn’t mean to upset him!

Your mind reeled as you quickly tried to come up with ways to backpedal on your previous statement. Thoughts bounced around your head as words tumbled out your mouth.

“W-well, yes! I, um, t-the Underground is a pretty peaceful place! There’s barely a need for the Royal Guard, other than to capture humans! So, y’know, there’s really no need for a sheriff to stop crime! I–! I’m not saying that there’s no need for you!! I–! Agh! I Really Admire You For What You’re Doing! It’s why I’ve never called you ‘North Star’! Because I–! …because I… because… I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you…”

Running your fingers through your hair, you closed your eyes with a sigh. You made it worse. You made it worse! You just had to open your mouth. Screw thinking, right?

“...I hadn’t noticed you’d never called me by name… Why don’t you…?”

Blinking at his question, you were pulled from your previous thoughts as it registered in your mind. Out of everything he could have focused on, you were glad it had been that particular topic. Maybe you could fix this.

“I… I know that ‘North Star’ is just a stage name… I didn’t really care… originally. But then… a little while ago, I saw your act slip…”

Looking at the sheriff, his gaze was unwavering as he took in each and every word you said. Feeling your cheeks heat at his rapt attention, you quickly looked away.

“It was only for a second! And I don’t think you even realized that I had noticed you, no one else did! But… when you re-entered the saloon that night… you chased away everyone’s unhappy thoughts. You helped them forget about our situation… And you continue to do it every day…”

You quickly turned your body to face the sheriff. Grabbing his ungloved hand, you brought it to your chest as you interlocked your fingers with his. You let the back of his hand rest just slightly above where your soul was.

A blush quickly colored the sheriff’s face at your gesture. Your own blush made it onto your face as you recognized that your action could be perceived as extremely intimate. North Star could probably feel the pulse of your magic… But you had already come this far, you wouldn’t back out now.

“That’s when I knew that the whole sheriff thing was just an act! All of those scenarios were orchestrated! It wasn’t real, it never was! But the happiness that you inspired… that was real… And… and you don’t just do it for yourself, do you?”

A smile made its way on your face as you felt a surge of affection for the man in front of you. He stared at you, mouth slightly agape. Lightly squeezing his hand prompted the sheriff to confirm your assumption with a nod.

“I thought so… and knowing all that, I… I wanted to get to know you. The real you. I wanted to get to know the kind and considerate monster who was behind my favorite sheriff… I never called your name because… I wanted to know you first. I wanted to know where Sheriff North Star ended and where you started. I–”

Your eyes widened as you realized what you had just said. That was definitely a confession…

Your face burned. You brought a hand to your face in an attempt to cover it and let go of North Star’s hand, but he didn’t let you pull it away. Instead, the sheriff brought your connected hands to rest on his leg.

You were stuck in limbo as you waited for his response. His neutral expression gave no clues as to what he was thinking. His face glowed with his teal blush, but you didn’t want to assume that that was a good thing.

“I… I’m your favorite?”

A smug, yet goofy smile lit up the sheriff’s face. After missing a beat, you burst out laughing and North Star joined you. You squeezed his hand slightly as you caught your breath.

“Hahaa… of course you’re my favorite. How could you not be?”

The sheriff glowed a little brighter at those words. After catching his own breath, his grin softened into a shy smile.

“I think I’d like to get to know you too… if you still want to, after… ya know, everything.”

You were absolutely delighted! Thrilled! Ecstatic! Overjoyed! Euphoric! Oh, words couldn’t even begin to describe how happy you were. You hadn’t ruined your chances, not at all. You had just gotten confirmation that you actually had a chance!

Feeling energized, you quickly stood, pulling the sheriff up with you. Grabbing his other hand, you stuck close to him as you spun with him. His steps were a little wobbly, but you were able to keep him from tripping as you guided him in your brief dance. Your smile grew while laughter escaped you.

“Yes! I still want to get to know you!”

You slowed the spinning of your dance and let go of North Star’s left hand. After making sure you had his full attention, you shook his right hand and reintroduced yourself.

Chuckling at your antics, the sheriff removed his hat and shook your hand with a smile.

“It’s nice to meet you…”

He paused for a second. You almost thought that he had changed his mind.

“My name’s Starlo!”