A/N: Oh, hey, a double update! :D
Since the holidays are upon us, I figured I would do something a little holiday themed-well, not exactly holiday-themed, but seasonal-themed. This short's inspired by a prompt I submitted to the blog brotpsmattertoo, where I can find a good bit of friendship prompts. You're free to use it if you wish!
Disclaimer: I still don't own Ricochet Rabbit and Droop-a-Long.
Short 22: Snow Day
Prompt: Imagine your BrOTP enjoying the first snow day of the year.
Bonus points if the place they live in doesn't get a lot of snow.
Double bonus if one of the members hates the cold, but decides to go outside for the other's sake.
"Mr. Ricochet! Mr. Ricochet!"
Ricochet jumped up from his desk, his hand on his holster. "What's goin' on, Droop-a-Long?" he asked. "Is there an outlaw on the loose?"
"No."
"A bank robber escapin' the bank?"
"Nuh-uh."
"Then if it ain't any of those, what's got you so energetic?"
"It's snowin' outside, Mr. Ricochet!"
Ricochet rolled his eyes and groaned, sitting in the chair. "Ugh...I should've known the weatherman would be right about that..."
"You don't sound excited, Mr. Ricochet," Droop-a-Long said.
"Of course I'm not excited, Droop-a-Long! I hate snow!" Ricochet said. "Actually, I hate cold weather in general. I feel like my bones are gonna lock up an' the warmth's bein' sucked right outta me when I'm out thar. An' plus, I always get sick durin' the winter!" He looked up as his deputy was getting ready to go outside, dressed in a dark blue jacket, wearing red earmuffs and a blue winter hat with ear flaps. "Why're you so fascinated with cold weather anyway?"
"Well...I don't mind hot weather, but sometimes it's too much." He offered up a smile. "But I love the cold. There are more fun things ta do in it, an' I love the snow." He took a look outside, smiling as he saw several kids running outside to scoop up the snow that had gathered on the ground and toss it in the air. "We never have snow 'round these parts, so whenever I see it, I can't help but be a little excitable. U-uh, you wouldn't mind if I went outside, would ya, Mr. Ricochet?"
Ricochet sighed. "Well, seein' as you're all geared up and ready to go, I guess it's alright," he said.
Droop-a-Long's smile could've lit up a Christmas tree. "Really?"
"Really. But be prepared when-"
He didn't get much to say much after that, for Droop-a-Long ran out the door with a cheer. Ricochet walked over to the door, shaking his head as he shut it in order to keep a draft from coming in. "Never did understand Droop's enthusiasm for snow. It's like sand, but cold." He sat at his desk, stacking his paperwork into a neat pile. "Now, this is how I like to spend a snow day."
Droop-a-Long was outside on the front porch, rolling a large mound of snow into an oval. Whistling a familiar holiday tune, he then pushed that mound onto a smaller snowball, before patting it down with more snow and smoothing it out.
"Howdy, Deputy Droop-a-Long!"
Droop-a-Long turned around to face the chorus of voices that called his name. He smiled when he saw the schoolchildren, all of whom were dressed in their warmest winter gear. "Howdy, kids. Whatcha up to?"
"Oh, we were gonna go sledding," one of the boys said. He looked at the small sculpture that Droop-a-Long was building and then looked at the coyote. "Are ya buildin' a snowman?"
"Yup. I'm buildin' a snow version of Mr. Ricochet," he explained. "It's much smaller than a regular snowman, 'cause the sheriff's so short."
"What are ya gonna use for his ears? Ya can't forget his ears!"
"I'm thinkin' on that..."
"Hey, how about we help you out, Mr. Droop-a-Long? We know lots about buildin' snowmen!"
Droop-a-Long made to protest, but seeing the pleading looks of the children weakened his resolve. He looked at them with a resigned smile. "Alright. An' afterwards, I'll make some hot cocoa for all of you," he replied.
Everyone cheered loudly, and Droop-a-Long couldn't help but grin. "Alright, kids, let's get ta work!"
Thirty minutes later...
Ricochet had just finished his eighth page of his paperwork when he heard thuds against the walls of the office. He looked up from his stack of work with a start. "What the-"
Another loud thud hit the door, and someone shouted in surprise and pain. Ricochet jumped up then, swinging over the desk, and flinging open the door. "What's goin' on?"
A snowball to the face answered his question. Before he had time to say anything, he was pelted head to toe with snowballs. He sputtered and coughed, wiping the specks of ice off of him.
Cheerful laughter filled his ears, and Droop-a-Long chuckled. "Oh, nothin' but a little fun, Mr. Ricochet," he said.
Ricochet glared at Droop-a-Long. "You did all that to get me outside?"
"Well, we were just havin' a little snowball fight," Droop-a-Long explained, "an' one of the kids wanted you to come outside an' join us."
"Yeah! Can you come out and play with us, Sheriff Ricochet?" A small boy asked.
"Well, I'm sorry, kids, but I ain't fond of snow," Ricochet answered. "Plus, I've got work to do."
Droop-a-Long's mouth curled into a small frown. "But you've been workin' for several hours, Mr. Ricochet. You should take a little break," he said.
"I'm fine, Droop-a-Long. No need to go around an' get soakin' wet an' cold," Ricochet said, waving him off. He turned and walked back into the office. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some more paperwork to sort out."
"Awww..." The children groaned unhappily.
"Don't worry, kids. I'll play with ya 'til it gets too cold, alright?" Droop-a-Long offered. "We'll go sleddin' up in the hills next." He looked up at Ricochet. "I won't stay out too late, Mr. Ricochet."
"You go on an' have fun, Droop. I'm stayin' by the phone just in case," Ricochet said. "Besides, you won't find me two feet near a pile o' snow."
"Well, alright, then. Come on, kids," Droop-a-Long said, leading the children away from the office. "We'd best go now before it snows even more."
Ricochet watched his deputy leave, and then shut the door. "Better go an' dry off before I catch a cold," he muttered, heading for the washroom.
Forty minutes later...
Ricochet heard the cheerful shouts coming from the other end of town. He peered out the window and saw Droop-a-Long and the assembled group of schoolchildren, dusting snow off of their clothes and carrying sleds. They were all laughing and one of them was scooping snow from the street and dumping it on them. In less than a minute, a miniature snowball fight erupted in the street.
Ricochet sighed, but not out of irritation this time. "Shucks, that kinda looks like fun," he said. "Can't do that in the summer, though..." He sat back at his desk with a small sigh. "Reckon they'll be comin' in for some hot cocoa in a little while."
He attempted to sit back to do his work, but the sounds of laughter from outside made that impossible. He sighed out of both irritation and resignation. "Well...ya know what they say. If ya can't beat 'em, join 'em," he remarked. He got down from the chair, and made his way upstairs. For the first time all day, a smile came onto his face-a crafty, mischievous smile.
Boy, was Droop-a-Long in for a surprise.
"Deputy Droop-a-Long! You can't keep those kids out here all day! They'll catch cold!" someone shouted from the inside of the store.
"Don't worry, ma'am. I'll make sure they get home," Droop-a-Long said. He looked down at the schoolchildren. "Sorry, kids, but we'll have ta end our snow day here for now. You've been out here for a while." When he saw their despondent faces, he gave them a small smile. "How's about we go an' have ourselves that hot cocoa?"
The children barely had time to answer before a snowball beaned Droop-a-Long clean in the face. Some of them stared at him with wide eyes, while one of the boys turned around to see who had thrown it. Standing ten feet away was Ricochet, who was tossing another snowball in the air. His smirk was mischievous.
"Well...reckon you'll have to get through me ta get your hot cocoa, Deputy," he called.
"Wow, the sheriff actually decided to come out and play!" one of the kids cried, and the whole lot of them cheered.
Droop-a-Long wiped the snow from his face, and looked up. His green eyes widened in surprise and disbelief. "M-Mr. Ricochet? What are ya doin' out here?" he said.
"Well...I was gettin' right cramped in that thar office, an' I decided to stretch a bit," Ricochet answered. "Plus, this stuff's gonna be around for a while, so might as well make the most of it. So...are ya up for the challenge, or not?"
Droop-a-Long couldn't help but smile at that. He knew the rabbit well enough to know when he'd had a change of heart about something. "Well, then...guess we'll have ta take 'im up on that challenge, right kids?"
"Alright!"
"We actually get to have a snowball fight with the sheriff!"
"...I reckon one more wouldn't hurt."
Droop-a-Long scooped up some snow and made it into several snowballs. His smirk was just as mischievous as he looked at the sheriff. "I've gotta warn ya, Mr. Ricochet. I'm a pretty good snowball fighter."
Another snowball hit him in the face, and the children next to him laughed. "You were sayin', Droop?" Ricochet called, a laugh in his voice.
Chuckling, Droop-a-Long wiped the snow off of his face and then gathered some snow into his hands. "Oh, it's on now, Mr. Ricochet!"
With those words, another snowball fight quickly erupted in the street, and the squeals, cheers and laughter could've been heard from a mile away.
It would be a little after four in the afternoon when Ricochet and Droop-a-Long were back in the office. The former was wrapped up in a blanket, shivering and sniffling, a bowl of hot soup in front of him. The latter was at the stove, mixing together some hot cocoa mix in a pot of hot milk.
A loud sneeze filled the room, and Ricochet groaned. "An' now ya see why I hate snow, Droop-a-Long..."
"You need to eat some of that soup, Mr. Ricochet," Droop-a-Long answered, pouring some hot cocoa in a mug. "Your cold will get worse at this rate." He walked over and put the cup in front of Ricochet. "Hopefully, my ma's Firecracker soup'll knock that cold right outta you."
"T-Thanks, Droop," Ricochet replied. "I could use this..."
"No problem." Droop-a-Long looked at the sheriff worriedly as he picked up his bowl of soup. "I'm sorry, Mr. Ricochet..."
"Sorry for what?"
Droop-a-Long's ears lowered. "I kinda goaded ya into goin' out, even though I knew you hated snow," he replied slowly. "An' now I've got ya sick with a cold."
"Droop-a-Long, that's not true. You didn't goad me into it. I came outside on my own," Ricochet said.
"Yeah, mostly 'cause I was distracting you from doin' your work," Droop-a-Long said.
"Distraction or not, I did have some fun out there in the snow. In fact, I think the reason I don't go out in it much is 'cause I overdo it."
"As in, you have a little too much fun?" Droop-a-Long inquired. When Ricochet nodded, he nodded in understanding. "I see..."
"I still hate the cold, though. Ain't nothin' gonna change my mind on that," Ricochet answered. "But I can handle it to an extent, though."
"Yeah, I've noticed." Droop-a-Long pointed to Ricochet's soup. "You'd better eat some of that soup, Mr. Ricochet."
Ricochet sighed. "Alright, alright," he said. He took a bite and he started coughing, his eyes watering rapidly. Clearing his throat, he asked, "What did ya put in that soup, Droop-a-Long?! That stuff set my throat on fire!"
"My ma's Firecracker soup is made with the hottest peppers out here," Droop-a-Long answered. "She said it usually clears folks up after a few bites."
Ricochet cleared his throat again. "I-I can see why she said that...but even for me, that's too hot, Droop-a-Long!"
"Sorry, Mr. Ricochet. I put in more than normal 'cause of how you usually are with hot food," Droop-a-Long answered. "You can take two more bites of that an' that should clear you up."
"Sure thing, Droop." Ricochet sighed as he took another bite, his eyes watering over again. Reckon anymore after that would kill me...
The End
Wow, another feel good chapter from me? I know many of you are like, "What happened to the Iheart we know?!"
Don't worry, folks, she's still around. She's just warming up for another takeover, that's all *evil laugh*
I'm nearly done with my final project; once I finish my final exam, I'll be finished for the semester and then I'll move on to other stories, although this one will be still be updated sporadically.
I'm not sure what the next few shorts will be, but I think the next few will be warm ups to a "special event" that I've been planning along with my friend Vulaan Kulaas. I won't spoil...but all I can say is that if you thought the "Protector" arc was dramatic, you'll be in for a major surprise for what happens in this special.
Constructive criticism from you guys is most appreciated!
God bless, iheartgod175
