Okay people, how is there no more Woody/Dolly stories on here? Smh. Anyways, thank you for choosing to read this, and I hope that you like it! Feel free to offer me any suggestions for a one-shot if you would like one done. Any pairing or story type is fine. Enjoy!
DISCLAIMER: Everything Toy Story related does not belong to me. It belongs to Disney and Pixar. I mean, what in the heck would anyone think I owned it? Smh again.
The bar; it was his only escape from the pain.
"Gotta talk to Buzz," Woody muttered under his breath, sighing pitifully at himself, "If not, maybe Jessie is here-"
The sound of a motorcycle coming past him made him spin quickly in order to get out of the way. A large, thick skinned man with a black mustache laughed good-naturedly, and he rode by, jokingly speeding up his Harley.
"Good thing you moved out of the way spud, cause you might have been a mashed potato!" he called behind him at Woody's indignant look, "Oh, but don't worry boy, I wasn't aiming for ya!"
More cackling laughter was heard, as the fat man rode away, kicking up a dark smoke with his wheels. It was almost past ten at night, and the only light that lit Woody's way in the crowded parking lot was a blaring, bright neon sign, which read 'Jessie's Roundup'. He took a tired step forward.
Woody grumbled sadly to himself and stuck a restless hand into his pocket. He fingered tiredly at the phone that was there. They wrapped around the device, and his grip tightened around it. He quickly made his way toward the bar's front doors.
Begrudgingly, Woody used his arm to lean against the door's handle. He elbowed the contraption lazily and stepped inside, suddenly being welcomed by the warm sound of music and laughter. An old country song was playing on the jukebox in the back, and it broadcasted the crooning tune throughout the bar. It created a sense of firm nostalgia within the man. Instantly, the western-style dressed man felt his shoulders droop ever so slightly, and a calm feeling of relief rushed over his soul. He took in a deep, light-feeling breath.
Now all he had to do was find his sister and his best friend.
Woody gradually made his way over to the bar and sat himself on a stool. He laid his arms softly against the bar, placing his head carefully within his arms. He exhaustedly covered his face.
Listening only to the soothing music, he did not expect an unknown voice to so casually break through his somber attitude, and yet here he was.
"You got something on your mind, cowboy?"
Woody looked up at the owner of the voice, and his eyes widened, a thin frown crossing his features. He was staring at a strange, and somewhat short and plump woman who had a head full of dark purple hair. The man had never seen this woman before. His eyes turned into a confused expression.
Slowly, he managed out, "Um… Is Buzz or Jessie here?"
The woman shook her short head of hair and reached below her to grab a thin rag. She idly began to wipe away at the already clean counter as she spoke, "Nope, but I am. Now, I'm assuming that you're a friend of the bosses?"
The purple-haired woman let her question hang in the air, and Woody quickly realized his mistake. He visibly shook his head and put a hand out for her to take. The woman confidently did and grinned, grasping his appendage in a firm handshake with her slightly pudgy fingers. Woody glanced up into her dark blue eyes and saw a raw sweetness in them, along with a small, laughing spark. Not a hint of malice could be found within them. The cowboy paused, as she innocently dazzled the slightly confused Texan. He suddenly felt floored by her beauty.
"I-I'm Woody," he stuttered when he realized he was not saying anything, "And you are?"
"Dolly," the woman coolly responded, "By the way, I'm sorry that they're not here for you right now."
The woman's face took on a sympathetic expression, and she bent down behind the counter to grab a container of hard whiskey. She threw a small shot glass in front of him and filled it up to the top with the burning liquor. A grin overtook her plain lips.
"Care for a drink? You look like you need one, and don't worry, it's on the house."
Woody accepted the drink with a faint nod and gratefully replied, "Thank you kindly for the drink, mam. Although, drinking was exactly why I came here in the first place. After the long day I've had, anyone would need at least a little buzz to make it by."
"Oh?" Dolly spoke conspiringly, suddenly very interested. The woman leaned against the counter toward him, and placed an interested hand beneath her chin, her eyes glancing up to meet his hazel orbs, "Care to elaborate or nah?"
Woody blinked. His eyes lowered sadly down to gaze at his shot glass, and he put a weary hand around it. Grimacing, the man lifted the glass and threw back his head, tossing the burning liquid into his mouth. His expression contorted into a look of minor relief. The substance ran down his throat and scalded his vocal chords. He let out a thankful sigh.
Dolly smirked, slightly amused by his readiness, and dutifully refilled his glass. She smiled, "Wow, something big must have happened to make you drink like that. So is that a yay, or a nay, partner?"
Woody stared down at his replenished drink. He let out a regrettable sigh.
"My girlfriend just dumped me."
Dolly's mouth turned downward into a small frown, "Oh… That sucks, dude."
As her statement trailed off, an awkward silence settled between them.
Eventually, she asked, "So what was her name?"
Woody idly fingered at his whiskey. He raised the glass in a mock toast, "To Bo. The most beautiful, yet evil woman around. She had no problems with walking around like she was made of porcelain and definitely had no problems with breaking my heart. Made me out to be the villain. Figures."
The brunette tossed the liquid into his mouth with zero celebration. His eyes became lidded and visibly exhausted, "I just- I did everything for that woman, and this is how she repays me. Her entire family thinks that I am scum now, while she comes out smelling like a rose. She was always smelling like a rose. Fresh, beautiful roses. Her favorite thing in the world was roses- Pink ones."
Dolly could only stare at him with a sympathetic gaze, as he spoke.
She lightly tapped her chin and lamented, "Wow, that's rough buddy. I'm sorry that she had to go and do something so terrible. Also… I don't know if it is appropriate for me to ask, but… what did she do, exactly?"
Woody stopped cold. He sent her an embarrassed expression, "No, you're good. Sorry I got a little weird for a moment there. I don't know why I went off like that. Maybe the wound is still too fresh, or maybe the alcohol is already working its way through my brain. Maybe you have a trust worthy smile. Hell, at this moment, I have no idea."
Dolly nodded understandingly, but blushed visibly at the man's unknown compliment. Her expression became softer, and she held up the whiskey bottle with a conspiring gleam, "Thanks, but perhaps another shot of the good stuff will help clear your head?"
She tilted her head jokingly and held the tip of the bottle to the edge of his now empty shot glass.
Woody let out a mild chuckle. He tipped his glass to allow the woman to pour him some more alcohol, "Three shots on the house? My, isn't this a very wealthy establishment."
Dolly smirked, placing a sarcastic hand on her hip, "Oh, yeah? Keep talking like that, and I'll make you pay for them all, cowboy."
"Alright, alright," Woody felt himself almost grin. He used his non-occupied hand to send her a placating gesture, "Never argue with a lady giving out free alcohol. I get it."
"As you should. Besides, you looked like you needed it," the woman admitted with a comforting smile. She gave him a minor shrug of the shoulder, "I should know. It's always been easy for me to tell whenever someone is down in the dumps. It kind of comes with the job description. I'm like a psychiatrist, but without all of the fees, prescriptions, and fancy lay out couches. Although, I can say that tips are definitely accepted."
Woody stared silently at the woman, before he rolled his eyes playfully and reached into his pocket, pulling out a few dollar bills. The woman took the small bit of chump change with a grin and winked, leaning jokingly on the counter, "So what's brings you all the way out here to the Roundup, cowboy? What was it that happened with this big, bad Bo you were talking about?"
Woody felt his humor subside, and his shoulders dropped sadly. It was a long moment before he spoke.
"She," he struggled to get out his words, "Cheated on me, and then… lied about it to everyone else. She blamed our entire breakup on me and told everyone that I had cheated on her with some kind of Barbie type, which I never would have done. I don't believe in cheating; it's not in my character. Then, she made it into a big fuss with the in-laws and started to date some other guy, although the latter has apparently been going on for at least the last two months without me knowing… I don't know. The whole situation is simply ridiculous."
"You're telling me," Dolly quipped in surprise, "Sounds like a bit too much drama for this lil' mama."
"Oh, it is," Woody's gaze became hollow.
Dolly immediately placed a gentle hand on his arm, and he blinked his eyes slowly. She gave him a soft smile, "Well hey. When sad things happen, you have to think on the bright side. At least not all people are like that. Sure, you got one bad apple, and I'm sorry for that, but that does not mean that all apples are bad. Some are very delicious, actually."
Woody chuckled.
Dolly took her hand off of his arm, but her eyes stayed trained solely on him. She began to get carried away in her unexpected rant.
"I mean, every day so many people have bad things happen to them, and then they let it change their perspective about other people. Sometimes it's for the better, and other times it's for the worse. I once had a friend whose nickname was Lotso, and he got so carried away with his anger that it led him to do some… pretty terrible things. Just please don't let it be for the worse."
Woody sat in silent thought, as Dolly airily continued to talk on. Her voice took on an enlightened tone, as if she were teaching a lesson that had never been taught a million times before. It was of the same sense which would have been found in practically any kind of 90s TV sitcom or children's movie. The man watched as she started to talk with her gestures, her hands amusedly moving along with her words.
"N-Not that I can really tell you what to do with your life. I'm not trying to. I don't want to seem preachy or anything, because that's certainly not who I am. You do you. I have the philosophy of live and let live, ya know? All I'm telling you is what I think-"
"I know Dolly," Woody smiled through the woman's words, saying her name for the first time that night.
Dolly paused a little. It was odd, her name. Though the namesake had always seemed quite old fashioned to her, those five letters had never sounded so sweet and alluring to her until that night when he spoke it. Dolly; it made the woman sound so pretty, so seductive. The word rang within her ears. Ah, she definitely loved the sound of it rolling off of his tongue.
The purple haired woman allowed herself to let out a short, girlish giggle, before she smirked brightly, "Aww, you remembered my name cowboy? How sweet."
She threw on a fake look of embarrassment, and then let out a loud laugh.
Woody felt his heart lighten at her playful tone, and he smiled. It was his first, true smile of the night. His lips became shy, as he lowered his gaze coyly down onto the counter in front of him, and one of his legs suddenly fidgeted for a moment. He sat his hands within his lap and turned them hopelessly, nervously fumbling with his fingers.
"Nah, not really," he jokingly muttered, "I always remember the name of a pretty lady."
Dolly immediately felt a blush spring onto her cheeks.
"Oh, you must have a selective memory then," the woman nervously laughed. It was hard for her to feign the confidence that she did not feel when it came to her own appearance and attractiveness, "That, or you're crazy. Wait, you're not crazy are you?"
The dubious expression that she suddenly sent Woody forced him to gently guffaw.
The tall brunette curiously felt more confidence swell within him, "Well maybe I am, maybe I'm not. I guess we will just have to wait and see."
As the joking statement left his lips, a sturdy hand sat on his shoulder.
"Well, well, well. Will you look at who the cat dragged in?"
"Woody!" Jessie squealed, quickly rushing over to pull her brother into a hug. He sat uselessly within her arms, "What in tarnation are you doing here?"
Her brother took in a strangled gasp for air.
"B-Broke up," he breathed, "With Bo."
Jessie immediately pulled away from their embrace and looked him over, holding him firmly away from herself. She could clearly see the edge of melancholy in his eyes.
"What did she do to you?" the sassy cowgirl pegged, "Lied? Cheated? Do you want me to cut her?"
Woody let out a weak grin, "Both, but no, Jessie. Your services will not be needed. Although, I do have to admit I have been having a few drinks with your new bartender over here. Sorry about the half empty bottle, by the way."
"Nonsense," Buzz swiftly replied, "Anything for you buddy. You know that we would never charge you here-"
"-Especially not when you just got your heart broken! Oh, sweet heart," Jessie practically crooned.
Woody watched as his sister came to sit beside him, scooting up close against the bar.
"Dolly, make my older bro a Bloody Mary," the redhead paused for a second, "And make it heavy. No, extremely heavy. So heavy it feels like it could not be heavier. With blood. Lots and lots of blood."
"You got it boss," her employee happily tittered, "Bloody Mary, extra heavy and extra bloody. Right on."
As Dolly turned her back from them to grab the necessary ingredients, Jessie leaned in closer to her brother and tilted her head good-humoredly toward her new employee.
"So what do you think?" the woman questioned eagerly, "Like the new help?"
Woody gave her a humored expression, "Well, she certainly has her good points. Although, that could just be the whiskey talking-"
He let out a painful cry when his sister elbowed him in the side.
"I'm kidding, I'm kidding," the man regrettably wheezed.
Ever the energetic sort, Jessie rolled her eyes dramatically and gave him a playful nudge. She winked like a minx in his direction, "You know what I mean. What do you really think?"
"She's good," Woody finally admitted, giving her a small smile. His eyes turned downward onto the bar in front of him, "Really good."
He blushed bright red, as Jessie began to quietly squeal beneath her breath from beside him. The younger woman placed a tight arm around his shoulders, and whispered, "I knew it, I knew it! I know that look Woody, and I know you. You like her, you wanna kiss her-"
As she wiggled beside him, Woody cut in, "Please, it's not like that at all. She's just really nice and-"
He struggled to continue his sentence, "-and… and I think she would be pretty cool to talk to."
Jessie hugged him in close and reached up to give him a painful noogie, as Dolly came back with a deliciously perfected display of her abilities. It looked beautiful and cool in her hands, its ice cubes floating silently within its container. She gave the pair of siblings a raised brow, before she grinned proudly down at them.
"All of those years of mixology classes have finally led up to this moment people," she paraded around with the beverage and sat it grandly in front of Woody, "Bon appetit, cowboy."
A suggestive wink followed her words.
The cowboy's lips turned upwards with a new hope entering his eyes. Perhaps his break up had been a good thing after all… He certainly felt better at this moment than he had all day.
Woody picked up the large glass of alcohol and tilted it inquisitively toward his lips. His eyes widened in wonder at its exquisite taste. Dolly's concoction was absolutely delectable.
This was the moment that Woody's life changed forever.
Bon appetit, indeed.