A/N: Here's the fifth chapter of Blazin' Trails, folks! I hope you've been enjoying this set of stories so far! This one's more comedic than the first few shorts, and like I said before, there's romance involved, and with the most unlikely of candidates. I hope that you'll enjoy it~

Oh, and for trivia reference, this short's title is taken from an actual episode of Ricochet Rabbit and Droop-a-Long.

Disclaimer: I still don't own Ricochet or Droop-a-Long...sigh.


Story 5: Rapid Romance

"Here's your coffee, Sheriff," Droop-a-Long said, pushing a cup of coffee on Ricochet's desk.

"Hmm? Oh, thank you, Droop-a-Long," Ricochet said without looking up at him. He was engrossed in reading a letter that his brother had sent him. "Oh, an' by the way, someone's sent a letter for ya."

He was grateful then that he was wearing his hat, or else Ricochet would've seen his eyes widen in shock. "Who's it from?"

"Don't know. The person didn't write their name on it," Ricochet said. Still reading his letter, he used one hand to rummage through the letters. He pulled out a plain white one and handed it to Droop-a-Long. "Reckon it might be personal or a scam."

After taking the letter from Ricochet, Droop-a-Long opened the letter by breaking the seal on the back. Pulling it open, he encountered beautiful, swirling cursive. He felt a smile tug on his face, as he knew just who'd written to him.

My dear Droop-a-Long,

I've just received your last letter; sorry I wasn't able to answer for the last few weeks. I caught the flu and I didn't have the energy to write for a long time. I nearly freaked out when my mother wanted to know about the letter you sent me. It took a lot of convincing, but she didn't open the letter and read it aloud (which is what she always does when she receives mail). It's a good thing as well; that picture you sent me would've revealed our secret relationship to everyone!

And speaking of that picture, you and your nephew, Tag-a-Long, look so adorable together! I've also noticed that Ricochet was there as well; give him my regards, if you can, but just remember to not reveal too much about me.

I miss you a lot, Droopy. It's been a good few months since I've left Oregon due to Father's business. Oh, if only I could bring you to meet him. He would have no trouble with you. It's my mother that I'm worried about. She'd disown me if I brought you here. So, in order to answer your question from your last letter, I'm afraid you'll have to wait a little longer to visit me. Or, when I'm up to it, I'll sneak away and make my way back to see you. If my mother has a problem with it, she can bring me back herself.

I look forward to reading your next letter-and seeing more pictures.

Love,

Denise

Droop-a-Long folded the letter with a dreamy sigh, feeling light off his feet at reading this new letter. "I'm glad to hear that," he said.

"What're you glad to hear, Droop?" Ricochet finally looked up from his own pile of letters to address his deputy.

"Oh, I jus' got a letter from someone special, Mr. Ricochet," Droop-a-Long answered dreamily.

"Someone special, eh?" Ricochet repeated, a sly smirk on his face. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you've got yourself a sweetheart, Droop-a-Long."

"Yeah. She's the most wonderful girl I've ever met," he said. "Shucks, I feel like a teenager again."

"Okay, no need to get moony, Droop," Ricochet replied, making a face. "So, who is the lucky lady?"

Droop-a-Long's happy mood was gone in a flash. "Y-You really wanna know, Mr. Ricochet?"

"Of course I wanna know. You seem like you're really in love with her," Ricochet answered. Upon seeing his deputy's face, he frowned. "She's not any trouble, is she?"

Droop-a-Long balked. "I can't believe you'd say that about her, Mr. Ricochet!"

This definitely surprised Ricochet, as Droop-a-Long never got this defensive over anybody. "Well, if she's not any trouble, and she doesn't have a record, who is she then?"

Droop-a-Long gulped. He'd been dreading to tell Ricochet this for months. He knew that sooner or later the sheriff would get curious and attempt to pry answers out of him. And with Ricochet's inquisitive nature, Droop-a-Long couldn't help but feel as though he were in the hot seat.

"Droop-a-Long..." Ricochet cocked his head quizzically at his deputy. "Is everythin' alright?"

"Y-Yeah...sorry, Mr. Ricochet. I was jus' hit by nerves, that's all," Droop-a-Long replied.

"What are you nervous about?" Ricochet asked, frowning.

"Um...Mr. Ricochet...does the name 'Denise Falconeri' ring any bells?" Droop-a-Long asked.

"Of course it does. She was my former girlfrien-" Ricochet's eyes widened in shock as he realized just what Droop-a-Long was saying. He stared at Droop-a-Long for a long moment, and the coyote started to back out of the room.

"Uh...I'd better take care of the mornin' chores, Mr. Ricochet," Droop-a-Long said nervously, and quickly backed out of the door.

No sooner had he gotten on the porch than Ricochet yelled: "OH, NO YOU DON'T! DROOP-A-LONG COYOTE, GET BACK IN HERE! YOU'VE GOT SOME EXPLAININ' TO DO!"

That day, all of Hoop 'n Holler was surprised to learn just how fast Droop-a-Long could run.


Several hours later...

"Now, Droop-a-Long," Ricochet said calmly, drinking some coffee, "I believe you've got some explainin' to do."

Droop-a-Long sighed. "Of course, Mr. Ricochet."

"So, when did you and my former girlfriend start seein' each other?"

"It was after we caught Sam Jose," Droop-a-Long answered. "I helped her out with a couple of packages while I was makin' my way back to the office, she invited me to dinner afterwards to repay me, and well...me and her took a likin' to each other. O'course, when we first started seein' each other, we had to sneak away. Her mother don't like coyotes much."

"Oh, really?" Ricochet replied. "That must've been difficult to deal with."

"It sure was. But that didn't bother us none. It was actually kind of nice, sneakin' out to meet each other under the stars."

"So that's why you were gone in the middle of the night."

"Yeah. But then she had to move to California for her dad's job, and her ma wanted her to go. Since then, we've been in touch through letter."

"Well, isn't that nice?" Ricochet grumbled, dumping a huge scoop of sugar into his coffee.

"Why do ya say that, Mr. Ricochet?"

"Because she left me for someone else."

"That's funny."

Ricochet turned to glare at Droop-a-Long. "You really think it is?"

"Not funny as in laugh out loud funny. I meant funny as in, 'That's strange' funny. She told me that you two were supposed to get married," Droop-a-Long replied. "But you left her at the altar, Mr. Ricochet, to chase after some outlaw. And you never came back."

"Now when did I-oh. Oh," Ricochet said, and winced when he remembered that incident. "Shucks, I must've been the worst rabbit in the West to her after that."

"You were," Droop-a-Long pointed out. Upon getting another glare from the sheriff, he added feebly, "B-But she forgave ya later, Mr. Ricochet."

Ricochet sighed. "I still can't believe you hid this from me, Droop-a-Long. We tell each other just about everything!"

"Well, I was goin' to. I figured me and her were jus' gonna be friends. But when things got serious, we decided to keep the truth from everyone."

"Includin' me?" Ricochet asked.

"Yeah, includin' you. It's not that I don't trust ya, Mr. Ricochet. I was afraid how you were gonna act, knowin' how you get about your girls and all..."

"I should leave you tied up in a corner, Droop, for all this sneakin' around and keepin' secrets from me. But seein' as you're happy with her, and she's happy with you...I can't get too angry at ya," Ricochet answered. "'sides, I'd rather not make her mad at me again. And I know I can trust her with you."

"Shucks, thanks, Mr. Ricochet," Droop-a-Long said.

"Now, this goes without sayin', Droop-a-Long," Ricochet said, "but if you do anythin' to hurt her, I'm gonna bury you fifty feet under. And that's after I skin you alive. Is that clear?"

"Crystal clear, Mr. Ricochet," Droop-a-Long said.

"Good." Ricochet paused to drink the rest of his coffee. "I'm glad we understand each other."

"Yeah...so, um, now that we do," Droop-a-Long started, "can ya untie me now? I reckon the patrons are startin' to think I'm a criminal."

Ricochet turned around, saw the customers of the diner looking at him, and then turned back to his tied up deputy with a sheepish smile. "Sure thing, Droop. But I really had no other option but to use a lasso to stop ya."

"I never thought I'd run faster than Ricochet Rabbit," Droop-a-Long chuckled.

"...You got lucky 'cause you had a head start."

The End


I had a blast writing this one. Just goes to show that you don't keep things like this from Ricochet, Droop. :D I may introduce Denise into this collection later on, depending on how long I keep this going.

This was inspired by a friendship prompt on Tumblr that said: "We've been through thick and thin, but now I've slept with your ex. But it's cool since you were the one who left her at the altar, right?" Well, I couldn't see Droop-a-Long doing that, so I decided to have him have a relationship that later turns into a long-distance one, but he keeps it from his best friend.

Oh, and Tag-a-Long is Droop-a-Long's nephew from "Cactus Ruckus". When I first saw a screenshot of that episode with Ricochet and Tag-a-Long, I thought Tag was an age-reduced Droop-a-Long since they have the same clothes and everything. But seriously, he's too adorable for words!

Next short may be another comedic fluffy one. Constructive criticism is welcome!

God bless, iheartgod175