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boothill's relationship with his parents is... ineffable.

the man is close to his father, sure- but that's only because he was raised alone by the old man. his mother on the other hand left them the moment boothill turned six- saying that her dreams would be fulfilled in the city and not in a small town that he likes to call home.

he didn't know why he kept the memory of her leaving like a phantom looming over him at all times, nor could he explain why he feels a pang on his chest whenever families would reunite at the run down bus stop just on the outskirts of town.

the feeling of solitude lingers at the back of his head whenever he stops by and checks on the folks coming into their town- the man that usually had a sanguine aura now having a dark cloud above him. it was like something was missing- like someone should've been part of the crowd.

he couldn't explain why he felt the need to just see her even once, hear her voice and call him by the name she had unfortunately given him. it's something that he keeps hidden to this day, not letting anyone call him that unless it was the old woman who he still calls mother.

"son, a letter came for ya again." edie called out from outside his office, snapping his twenty year old son out of his thoughts as carmine eyes landed on the closed door.

the dual hair-colored man was on duty today inside the station as his father did his usual routine check around town, and he opted to sleep the day off if it weren't for the fact that his mother's monthly letters arrived.

"comin'." he called out, letting out a grunt as he stretched his body- he had his feet on the table and back arched uncomfortably while trying to sleep, causing him to stand up in discomfort.

his usual hat is nowhere to be seen, as his two toned hair cascaded down his shoulders and back, bangs covering one of his eyes as he blinked the sleep off of them.

by the time he got to the door, his father handed him the letter. it was thicker than usual- with what seems to be a card inside the sealed envelope as he took it with much hesitance.

will it be her telling him that she's too busy to visit? or will it be her persuading him to meet his stepfather once more?

there was a hint of wistfulness in the air as he slowly opened it, anticipating to see that she was finally going to come visit him and his old man.

oh boy was he wrong.

his mouth never turned to a frown quicker than now, brows furrowed in annoyance and slight hurt as his hands clenched themselves, threatening to crumple the sob excuse of a paper.

it was an invitation.

an invitation to his mother's baby shower.

when she told them she'll be pursuing her dreams in the city- he thought it was more so career wise. but seeing the bold font in front of him, he knew that having a child was one of them. well, a child that wasn't like him apparently.

boothill had the faintest idea that most women in this town long for a city folk to whisk them off their feet and take them to the city of dreams- he just never expected his mother to be the same.

it was always the city, and never him.

"what she say now? she comin'?" his father asked him, raising a brow at how silent his son was being.

despite his outward appearance and overall personality, boothill is someone who holds onto promises rather personally. if you promise something, you better make it happen one way or another. that's how he gets the kids around here tamed, because even though he looks like a fugitive, his promises to spend time and play with them would always happen.

he holds onto them like how children hold onto their mothers for comfort- and since he doesn't have one near him, he prefers the former than the latter.

a forced chuckle broke the silence, with him folding the letter in two and tossing it in the trash.

"seems like she's not comin' no more."

edie watched silently from his place as boothill's shoulders shook lightly, sighing to himself that it really was a bad idea to allow him to get his hopes up despite the probability of his mother ever coming back was zero from the start.

but how could he be the one to break the news to him?

no, he can't. he can't break his only child's heart about something he swore he'd protect him from.

"i see. betsy is gettin' antsy, better take 'er for a run before she kicks someone." his words caused his son to look at him with a small grin, the dual hair-colored male shaking his head softly as he got his hat from the rack and put it on.

"already took her days ago- i'll be out."

"when will ya come back?"

"'til the cows come home."

edie watches on the sideline as his son walked out of the station, letting out the breath he didn't know he had been holding as he stared at his retreating figure.

he knew his son wasn't the type to forgive easily- nor was he the type to forget about empty oaths.

still, he hopes and prays that some day, boothill wouldn't put this against his mother- and probably not use it as an excuse to chase away tourists.

"erysa..."

ʸᵒᵘ'ʳᵉ ˡⁱˢᵗᵉⁿⁱⁿᵍ ᵗᵒ: ˢᵘᵐᵐᵉʳᵗⁱᵐᵉ ˢᵃᵈⁿᵉˢˢ

↻ ◁ II ▷ ↺

the meadow was uncharacteristically picturesque on this particular afternoon. the sun has been tame for the past few days, so boothill wasn't worried about sweating buckets while he's out on a short walk.

he enjoys the rather calm and quiet solace this field has to offer, likes the way the blades of grass sway at where the wind blows, loves to see the wildflowers bloom into their full potential.

he adores how everything seemed to be frozen in place in this little paradise of his, and thinks that there's no way he could abandon such beauty anytime soon.

as he continued to walk towards the pond he likes to take a nap under the old oak tree, he spotted something that made him grin.

across from him, with the pond creating a barrier between worlds, was a certain (h/c) haired girl sprawled on top of a picnic blanket.

she looked dead, not moving an inch as her chest heaves at every breath she takes. he wondered if this was her way of enjoying the outside world without worrying about burning under the sun like a vampire.

his boots crushed against the ground softly, taking his respective spot on his tree as he settled on the ground. his cowboy has sat beside him, his fingers combing over his hair as carmine eyes glances occassionally at the sleeping figure in front of him.

b

oothill doesn't like it when anybody was around him as he pondered over his thoughts, but he doesn't really mind her presence- after all, she isn't talking like she usually does.

there was something comforting about watching her, gazes as butterflies landed on her softly and stays there for a moment- he doesn't miss how his lips twitch when a bird pecked on her head, causing the girl to stir from her nap.

he decided to watch silently at what she'll do, and choked back a laugh when she groaned and waved the bird off, almost slamming onto the poor critter as if it was an alarm clock.

he didn't have the energy to talk after everything that happened today, so he just let her be- sitting under the oak tree as y/n sat up.

carmine eyes met with tired (e/c) ones, time seemingly freezing as they gazed at one another a moment too long.

"... creep, were you watching me?" she asked, her head tilting as the man let out a soft chuckle.

he was being uncharacteristically soft and quiet today, so the (h/c) haired girl didn't bother to strike up a fight with him since he looked so... tired.

"nah, i was jus' silently prayin' that a bird will shit on ya."

the girl didn't say anything, rolling her eyes as she gazes up to the sky from the gaps of the leaves. it didn't really bother her that even someone as effervescent as him also has their off days.

silence covered the meadow, the cool breeze washing over them as the two were both stuck in their own thoughts.

for once, they liked the company of one another.

"hey." (e/c) eyes glanced at the male in front of her, staring as he kept his head low, letting her get a glance at how unique his hair was.

"you... what makes the city so different from this ol' town?"

she let his words settle in for a minute, humming in thought as boothill finally looked up at her. his eyes withheld the shine that was usually there.

"it's... not as hot?"

"i don't know whether yer dumb or just outright avoidin' it."

y/n sighed, sitting up once more as she looked at the dual hair-colored male with confusion.

"why do you want to know anyways?"

silence covered them once more, and she's starting to think that he's about to drop another unwelcomed bomb on her.

"will ya tell me or not?" she stopped herself from throwing a rock at him, and just shrugged, gazing at the field in front of her as she tried to gather her thoughts.

"it's way different. a lot of opportunities are there- you're always battling with time because it's so fast paced. you meet a lot of people, you see different things... it's busy over there. you don't have time to do whatever you want, and you're always on the go to make money."

he stared at her intently as she spoke, his mind grasping whatever she's saying to try and figure out just what made his mom leave.

"i like it though. things here are simple, you can do whatever you want at whatever pace you see fit. it's just that, there are many opportunities there that you can have unlike here."

the world seemed to stop for a moment, and she momentarily saw how crestfallen he looked. it was unnerving, seeing the man who she frequently fought with looking like a kicked puppy.

no one said anything after that, letting the sounds of nature speak for themselves as the two simply stared at each other with no words exchanged.

"why? are you planning on going there?"

"not a chance." a grin was plastered on his face as he leaned on the tree bark, making y/n confused if he was having some weird moodswings- how can he go from looking dejected back to being cocky?

"i'd rather stay 'ere rather than get fat from all those junk y'all eat up there."

"are you saying i'm fat?"

the once heavy atmosphere turned light once more as the two argued like usual- exchanging snarky responses at each other as the sun started to set over yonder.

she didn't need him to say anything to figure out that he's sort of alright now, and merely poked fun at him from across the pond.

he didn't need her to say anything to feel grateful at the fact that she kept him company, cackling loudly at her pathetic attempts at insulting him.

both of them didn't need any sentimental words exchanged between them to figure out that their presence made each other feel better.