"Mr. Vigilante?"
The cowboy snapped to attention, out of the right old worrying he'd been indulging in. In front of him was a nurse. Big, dark-skinned gal with a real short haircut. Didn't seem all that upset, so it couldn't be real bad news.
His best buddy had been in that doc's room for a while. Weren't normal for it to be that long. So his mind had been coming up with stuff that might've gone wrong, building up momentum like a rolling tumbleweed.
"Are you Vigilante?" she asked again, looking mighty ticked at his silence.
"Yes I am, ma'am," he answered and nodded.
The nurse motioned for him to follow. He trailed behind her, wondering where they were going. He woulda asked, but this nurse weren't happy with having to deal with him no more. Didn't wanna invite any hell from her, so he just stayed quiet.
She stopped at a room a ways away from the big doctoring rooms. Looking at the list of names on the board, his attention was instantly caught by one name.
Justin. Next to it, a quick scrawl of 'Sir''d been added to it. No last name, not that that were much of a surprise considering he didn't have one.
How'd he not notice them go by?
"Please keep the other patients in mind while you're visiting your friend," the nurse said stern-like and with no preamble, checking the clock on the wall with a tick of an eye. The tick then turned into a double-take, her eyes widening some before she rushed off down the hall.
The cowboy scratched at his head, confused like nothing else. Figuring that she must of said her piece - pretty easy-going hospital, only having to worry about keeping quiet for the rest of the patients - he walked into Shining Knight's room.
The room was mighty big. Four beds from the looks of things. Two empty ones, one with mussed-up sheets, were closer to the door than the other two beds.
Vigilante walked past them, heading back to where his friend was laying. His bed curtain thing was open, unlike the bed across from him, and the knight was looking out the dang window.
He looked mighty weird, out of his armor fully like he was. Vigilante'd seen him partly out of it before, when they had their movie nights, but even being all relaxed-like didn't normally see the man outside his magical armor save for the hood pulled down. Here, even with that lil' ol' sheet pulled up on him and the thin gown he were in, there weren't much left covered up.
The knight had a wide variety of scars 'cross the visible parts of his body. Coulda been a snack mix bag with all of them. All shapes 'n' sizes. Vigilante woulda never'd thought that his friend'd be all scarred like that. Real telling about how often the man'd gotten hurt protecting people.
As he gawked like a cowfolk at a shooting gallery, Shining Knight seemed to notice he'd come in. Turning his gaze to the cowboy, he said, "Hello, friend."
"Heya partner," Vigilante replied dumbly, trying to ignore the scars and just talk with his friend. His throat felt a mite bit tight as he asked, "Y'all doing okay?"
"I am doing well enough, considering," Sir Justin noted, wincing a bit to put a dot on the 'i'. "I do not think I will be in any condition to aid others for a while. It was mentioned that I have more than a few major injuries, including some minor and major muscle tears and bruised organs. They plan on starting on therapy for me later, after they tend to the civilian victims of that curr."
"I bet at yer insistence," the cowboy said, trying to chuckle but not managing past his concern.
"Assuredly," the knight affirmed with a nod of his head.
Seeing Sir Justin sitting there, injured to the point of hospitalization needing done, looking too weak to even walk to the door… It… It weren't right.
Vigilante ain't ever felt that he were an emotional person. Nothing he's ever really had to feel much about, save for his pop's murder, but that were a smidge different. That was something he could do something about; chasing down the varmints that'd done did it, bringing them to justice.
Then again, this feeling weren't one that he felt for his pa.
He felt real choked up, realizing that. It was mighty strange… The wibbly bit of warmth, indignant 'n' burning intention in his chest made him feel as vulnerable as the knight looked.
This noble, anally retentive, and morally strict friend of his weren't someone he just wanted to be friends with. If he coulda, Vigilante woulda gone back and tried to take every blow that Shining Knight took, save Sir Justin the pain of getting tossed 'round like a ragdoll in a rodeo at the cost of Greg taking the hits. It weren't right that he had to stand here, just waiting for the knight to recover from the beating. That went double for the cowboy even being able to stand; he didn't have no magical armor. If either of them shoulda been in the bed, it shoulda been him. It made him both feel right proud of the man in front of him, and lower than a yellow-bellied snake.
He was mighty sure that he knew how that golden rope Wonder Woman had made people feel now, the bald truth burning pretty bad in his gut.
"My friend, what is the matter?" The concern on Sir Justin's face and in his tone made Greg feel a twinge of guilt. He must of looked mighty down on his luck for the knight to comment like that.
"You look like ya went fifty rounds with an angry 'gator." Good, quick, and honest statement, even if it weren't the main reason.
"As you know, it was more than a mindless beast that did this, though a beast he still was," Shining Knight said with some right strong disgust. "Still, he was not the worst I had ever faced. When I took on the ogre, Blunderbore-.."
"Glad ta hear it!" Vigilante butted in, stopping that pony 'fore it started running. Boy howdy, he had feelings for this man, but if he didn't have problems with repeating the same story…!
The knight frowned with a mite bit of disapproval, but didn't say nothing about the abandoned story. Instead, he needled, "Do not think I would take that as the true reason of your worries. You have certainly not been as concerned about others as you seem to be right now. What else has bothered you enough to cause such worry?"
"Yer my friend," the cowboy stated simply, though his eyes weren't cooperating for him and dodged the other man's gaze like a jumpy coyote. "'Course I'd be worried 'bout ya. It was pretty dicey goings with that fella."
"Many others are your friend as well," Sir Justin countered, pressing the point, "yet I am certain that you have visited no other. So it must be something to do with me."
"Ain't nothing ya gotta worry about," Greg finally said. And it really weren't something for him to worry about. It was Vigilante's, Greg's, cross to bear. Ain't no one else's, and there weren't nothing he could do to help it. "Nothing y'all can help with."
Sir Justin snorted at the comment, but seemed to accept it...
"I doubt that greatly," the knight deadpanned. "Even a small 'thing' would likely help more than you realize."
Vigilante mulled it over for a few tics. A small thing, eh? ...well, there's always that one right small step that'd get the tumbleweed rolling. Just a smidge.
"Could ya do me a favor, partner?" he asked after a few tics of silence.
Shining Knight didn't hesitate a lick. "I will endeavour to fulfill your request to the best of my ability. I must note, though" he winced, making his next words mighty obvious "that my current physical condition limits said ability."
"It ain't something too hard to do." Vigilante paused for a few moments. Would Sir Justin take this as a mighty odd thing? It weren't like he was gonna ask for Winged Victory or nothing. Just a right small thing.
The pause seemed to worry the knight, his lips tugging down like a freshly-donned hat.
Vigilante nearly smacked himself across his face. This was right dumb of him, making any kinda deal out of it. So... He just blurted it out before he could stop and make things even weirder.
"Could ya call me Greg during movie night? When we're all relaxed-like?"
Sir Justin's face twisted like a sidewinder, the question just on the tip of his tongue. The cowboy had an answer for it. Off the clock, friends, that sort of thing.
But the question never came. Instead, the blond seemed to shake the question out of his head and gave a bright ol' smile of what was probably kinship.
"Very well, my friend. On movie nights, you shall simply be Greg." He gave a speck of thought to something, then tossed out, "And you may refer to me as…" his eyes squinted together, last-second thinking clearly buzzing in his head "...as Justin." The surprise was mighty obvious on Vigilante's face, even with his face covered up like he had it, but Sir Justin didn't catch a whiff of it as his head whipped to look out the window. Sir Justin's mouth was struggling again with his brain. "I did a plethora of good deeds and bravery to earn my knighthood, and I would consider it an insult to not be referred to as such by all who know and respect me." Shining Knight turned back and looked the cowboy right in the eyes. The strange strong feeling in them made Vigilante's stomach flip-flop like a headless chicken. "There is no question on your thoughts on me. I trust you far more than any other in this era, and I know that I need not enforce that with you."
Vigilante was quiet for a few specks of time. There's only one answer to that offer.
"Sorry partner, but I can't do that." A smirk crossed his face, one that he was thinking Shining Knight could see. "I respect ya too much to do that sort of thing, Sir Justin."
His friend looked nearly like he'd taken another smack from the general with the shock on his face, that faded to a mighty wide smile right quick.
"And thus you prove my words true."
Sir Justin shifted in his bed. It was obvious the knight was getting real worn out, even with the lil' bit they'd chatted. They'd hafta wrap this ditty up, unfortunately.
"Y'know what? We watched a movie I liked real good. Next time, it'll be yer turn." The blond looked at him with some surprise. "I'll pick out a good un' for ya. Something more up yer alley…" Greg thought all drama-like for a tic even with the idea already in his head. He snapped his fingers in realization, stating out loud, "How'd y'all like to watch a movie on the legend of King Arthur? Give me a rundown'a what they got mucked up?"
Sir Justin chuckled a bit at that. "Very well, my friend. We shall partake of an inaccurate movie which glorifies nothing worth glorifying and glosses over everything which would give a moral backbone and background to the true story."
"Right then." Suddenly he had to say it, even half-jokingly like he was. "It's a date, partner."
The lighter chuckle weren't what he was hoping for, but it was a mite bit better than another rendition of Blunderbore and Shining Knight's fight.
"Yes, I suppose it is."
The room suddenly felt thick, kinda like a real good batch of mashed potatoes. Vigilante knew he oughta say something, but he weren't sure if-..
"Greg?" Shining Knight's voice cut through the tense bit of quiet as reliably as his enchanted sword did through… Well, everything. The tone, and the fact that he straight out said his name, caught the cowboy's attention right out, his brow raising in surprise. Before he coulda asked about what the knight wanted, the other man beat him to it by answering. "Would you be willing to give me a small bardic performance? I… I would greatly enjoy something relaxing that is not one of those infernal 'reality' shows on the television set."
"That sounds like a great idea!" a voice from across the room cheerily chimed in. It were such a dang surprise that both of them jumped a bit and looked across the room towards that fourth bed.
The curtain had been pulled back. Sitting there, looking smugger'n a fat cat with a lil' ol' mouse, was Stargirl. She weren't in her outfit either, but that staff of hers was leaning against the wall next to her.
"Oh, uh, howdy ma'am," Vigilante said, recovering fast. Sir Justin was looking like he were pretending to not've jumped just a second ago. "How're ya doing?"
"I'm juuuuust fine, Cowboy," she said cheekily, giving a quick wink as she settled into her bed. "Just have a few cracked ribs. Won't take long at all before I'm back on the field." After a tic, she clapped her hands twice in mock eliteness. "Chop chop, Bard! The court requires entertainment!" At Shining Knight's raised eyebrow, she shrugged 'n' said, "None of my shows are on tonight. At least I'll get to watch a concert live this way!"
The joking Stargirl managed to shift the mood to a might more jovial one. Vigilante chuckled, glad for the help.
"Alrighty then," he nodded, acknowledging Stargirl's comment. "What didja'll 'ave in mind?"
"I think we both trust you to choose a suitably interesting tune for us both to enjoy." A mighty high remark from Sir Justin, one that was echoed by a giggle and thumbs-up from the super gal.
"Welp, I guess I oughta figure somethin' out then." He'd already done figured out a song both of them would like. It was something from one of his guilty pleasure movies. He'd hafta modify it a tad, but it were darn easy to do on the fly.
He began using the bars on the knight's bed to knock out a bit of beat. After a few bars, he began singing, "Fer justice I will gladly give my life…"
Author's Notes
The song at the end would be a modified version of 'It's a Good Day to Die' from the third Starship Troopers movie. I love that song, even with how awful that movie is.
The grammatically incorrectness throughout the story is on purpose. I actually had a full-on dialect version of this, but a beta reader read one sentence and told me that no one would read that version. So I fixed most of the grammar and such. Most. Wanted to get across that it was from Vigilante's third person POV.
I know it's more likely that they're just super-bros. I just like the idea of them having more than that. shrug
Been a super long time since I'd written something out for near immediate publishing. Feel kinda rusty. Realized I can't really say I'm not writing as myself and kgs-wy are still working on the KP universes we've set up.
Hope whoever reads this gets some enjoyment out of it.