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The canyon was quiet by nightfall, wind whistling low between the stone and scrub, hooves muffled in the dry earth. Isagi’s horse trotted steady beneath him, but his jaw was tight, brows furrowed. He’d followed the trail for hours.

Boot prints. Fresh ash. The distant scent of tobacco and that shitty rose parfum.

He found the outlaw’s camp just before midnight, nestled in a bend of the land where no sane man should’ve risked firelight. The flame flickered low behind the canvas of a tent, and just above it, pinned to the flap like some sick joke, was a Wanted poster.

His own. From before he became a man of the law. From before being redeemed as a sheriff. His eyes stare back at him, the lack of color in the photograph’s print still not enough to conceal the flame in his gaze.

Kaiser had taken a piece of charcoal and written across it in messy, taunting script:

WANTED INSIDE

Isagi’s stomach twisted. His thighs clenched against the saddle. His fists curled in his gloves.

That bastard.

He dismounted in one smooth motion, drawing his pistol as he yanked back the flap, only to find Kaiser sprawled shirtless on his bedroll, chest dappled in firelight, hat tipped back off his forehead, one arm propped behind his head like he’d been expecting this exact scene.

“You’re late, Sheriff,” Kaiser drawled. “I was about to come find you.”

Isagi aimed the pistol at his heart. “You really hung my poster out here like a trophy?”

Kaiser smirked. “Yeah. I use it to rub one out while I’m traveling. You're prettier than a painted lady, Yoichi.”

Isagi’s boots hit the ground hard as he stepped into the tent. “I should gut you right here.”

“You won’t,” Kaiser said, slow and easy. “Because you didn’t come here to arrest me. You came here for help. Or closure. Or a good fuck. Maybe all three.”

Isagi’s gun didn’t waver.

“There’s a child missing from Nuevo Paraíso. I traced the blood trail east, then it disappeared. And you know this land better than anyone.”

Kaiser reached lazily for his flask. “You didn’t ride four hours out here just to ask me to play deputy.”

He took a swig, eyes locked on Isagi. Then added, “You came out here because I make you excited.”

Isagi lowered the pistol just slightly.

“Tell me where the girl is,” he demanded.

“Tell me what you need,” Kaiser countered, voice velvet dark. “And try not to lie.”

Isagi’s breath hitched.

Kaiser sat up, closing the space in two strides. “What are you so scared of, Sheriff? That I’ll touch you again? That you’ll feel good again?”

“I can’t fucking stand you,” Isagi hissed, even as his fingers reached for Kaiser’s collar.

“Yeah?” Kaiser leaned close. “Then why’d you come wet?”

Isagi shoved him hard, but Kaiser caught his wrist, spun him, and pushed him back against the pole of the tent. Their bodies collided like they were meant to.

“I could throw you over my damn saddle right now,” Isagi growled.

“You could ride my thigh instead,” Kaiser whispered, lips ghosting over his jaw.

That’s when Isagi snapped, grabbing the edges of the wanted poster, ripping it off the tent, and shoving it in Kaiser’s chest.

“You wanted me inside?” Isagi hissed. “Get on your knees.”

The firelight cast flickering shadows along the canvas of the tent, the warm glow dancing over Kaiser’s bare chest as he leaned back against his bedroll, one arm tucked lazily behind his head. His smirk hadn’t faltered since Isagi had shoved him inside.

“Take the gun off me first,” Kaiser said, voice smooth and low, like they weren’t one wrong word away from chaos. “Startin’ to feel like you don’t like me much.”

“Not a chance,” Isagi spat, stepping closer, the Colt steady in his hand. His hat tipped low, obscuring his eyes, but he’s sure the fire’s glow caught the flush high on his cheeks. “You so much as breathe wrong, and I’ll make sure you stop.”

Kaiser chuckled, the sound rich and deep. “You don’t really want me dead, which is worse for your pride but a lot better for both of us.”

Isagi’s jaw tightened, and for a moment, the only sound in the tent was the crackle of the fire and the faint rustle of the breeze outside. 

“You know what I think,” he said, looking down at Kaiser on the mat. “I think it’s a whole lot worse for your pride. Sitting around, waiting for me to come give you attention.”

He moved, quick and sure, straddling Kaiser’s hips in one smooth motion, the gun still trained on him. Kaiser’s smug expression faltered for half a second, his sharp blue eyes widening, but the spark of heat there didn’t dim.

“I’m not here for your games,” Isagi said, voice tight, breath hitching as his knees pressed into the firm muscle of Kaiser’s thighs. Goddamnit, these thighs. Isagi hated them. They must be big as they are ‘cause of the way he rides that horse. “If you’re going to make yourself useful, then shut your mouth and let me handle you.”

The smirk returned, softer this time, teasing. “Handle me? Sheriff, I’m all yours.”

Isagi growled, free hand trembling as it slid to Kaiser’s belt, yanking it open with rough, angry tugs. The metal clinked in the quiet. Kaiser hissed softly as Isagi’s fingers brushed against him, already half hard, the outlaw’s body thrumming with the anticipation he’d never voice out loud.

“Already?” Isagi sneered, voice shaking just slightly. “You’re disgusting.”

“Funny,” Kaiser said, his voice breathy but cocky. “You’re the one dripping on my lap.”

Isagi shuddered, a wave of heat crashing over him, pooling low in his stomach. His hand tightened on the gun, pressing the muzzle into Kaiser’s firm chest. “Shut up.”

Kaiser tilted his head back, exposing his throat, the winding blue roses, that damn smirk unwavering. “Make me.”

Isagi moved then, yanking down the waistband of Kaiser’s trousers just enough to free him. His cock stood hard and flushed against his stomach, the sight of it sending a jolt through Isagi he’d never admit. He shifted, positioning himself over the tip, his thighs trembling as he lowered himself down.

Kaiser groaned, deep and guttural, as Isagi took him in, the stretch stealing the air from his lungs.

“You’re so—tight,” Kaiser hissed, fingers curling into the bedroll beneath him. “God, you feel like—”

“Don’t,” Isagi cut him off, voice trembling, his hat tipping forward to shadow his flushed face.

But he couldn’t stop the shudder that ran through him as he sank all the way down, his body clenching, trembling, heat pooling between his legs. His free hand braced against Kaiser’s chest, the gun still pressed into him, but his grip was weaker now, unsteady.

Kaiser grinned up at him, panting. “Careful, Sheriff. You keep squeezing like that, and I’m not gonna last. I’m not talkin’ about that pretty trigger finger either.”

Isagi growled, nails digging into Kaiser’s skin. “You’re not in control here.”

“Yeah?” Kaiser’s hands moved to Isagi’s hips, steady and strong, guiding him into a slow, torturous grind. “That’s alright with me.”

And god, Isagi hated him, hated the way his body betrayed him, the way heat coiled tighter and tighter with every slow roll of his hips, every breathless taunt. He could feel his cunt clench tight around the intrusion, wet and messy, slicking every thrust as Kaiser’s cock hit something inside him that made his vision blur.

“You look good like this,” Kaiser murmured, his voice softer now, rougher. “Like you were made to ride me.”

“Fuck—off,” Isagi gasped, his voice breaking as he ground down harder, faster, his thighs burning, his hat slipping further forward until it obscured his vision entirely.

Kaiser groaned, his hands tightening on Isagi’s hips, and Isagi could feel the way his muscles tensed, the way he was holding back, even as his breath came faster, rougher.

The gun wavered the closer he got.

Isagi’s thighs trembled as he rode him, each roll of his hips grinding Kaiser deeper into the slick heat of his insides that made his breath catch and pleasure sing down his spine. His hat tilted low, hiding the flush spreading down his neck, but the sharp sting of his glare still burned through.

“You’re such a cocky bastard,” Isagi hissed, his voice shaking as the firelight caught on the sheen of sweat slicking his skin. “You think I’ll let you get away with—”

“You’ve already let me,” Kaiser shot back, voice rough and teasing as his hands gripped Isagi’s hips and pulled him up and down, nails digging into soft flesh. “You’re the one riding me, Sheriff. Maybe you should look in the mirror before calling someone cocky.”

The words struck a nerve. Isagi growled, his free hand tightening on Kaiser’s chest as he ground down harder, his thighs burning with the effort to keep his pace steady. The gun still hovered between them, the cold metal of the muzzle pressed firmly to Kaiser’s forehead. Even with the safety off, the man didn’t seem to give a shit.

The outlaw’s hips bucked once, sharp and deep, and Isagi gasped despite himself, his legs shaking as he nearly dropped the weapon.

But before he could recover, Kaiser moved. In one swift motion, he flipped them, twisting Isagi onto his back against the cold earth with his cock still buried inside him as the outlaw pinned him to the bedroll. His breath left him in a sharp moan.

“Your move, Sheriff,” Kaiser murmured, grinning, and then he thrust, hard and deep, drawing a broken whine from Isagi’s lips.

The gun pressed harder to Kaiser’s forehead as Isagi struggled to push himself up, but Kaiser pinned him effortlessly, hands locking around his wrists and shoving them into the dirt.

“Still think you’re in charge?” Kaiser asked, voice low and rough, his smirk widening as he rocked his hips forward.

“You’re—” Isagi gasped, trying to shove him off, his face flushed deep red. “You’re disgusting—”

“God, Sheriff, you’re a mess down here,” Kaiser shot back, one hand slipping from Isagi’s wrist to trace the slick heat between his thighs, his fingers brushing against his swollen clit.

Isagi’s breath hitched, his legs tensing as he tried to twist away, but Kaiser only pressed closer, his free hand wrapping around the gun, guiding it lower until the muzzle brushed against his lips.

“What are you—” Isagi started, but the words cut off in a choked sound as Kaiser’s tongue flicked against the cold metal.

Kaiser grinned, his breath warm against the barrel. “What’s wrong, Yoichi? You’re not going to blush over this, are you?”

Isagi’s face burned hotter, his body trembling beneath Kaiser’s as the outlaw wrapped his lips around the muzzle, his tongue tracing the edges before sucking gently.

“Stop—” Isagi grunted, his voice breaking as his hips bucked up against his will.

“No can do,” Kaiser murmured around the metal, his teeth grazing it before he let go, the smirk on his face sharp and wicked. “Just lie there and take it, like you always do.”

Isagi’s hand shook with anger, the gun slipping slightly as Kaiser shifted lower, his hands gripping Isagi’s thighs and spreading them wider.

“You’re all talk,” Kaiser continued, his voice low as he pressed himself against Isagi, the thick heat of him sliding out of Isagi’s slick cunt just to ram back in. “But when it comes to me, you’ll always be like this.”

“You’re no better,” Isagi growled, but his voice was weaker now, trembling as Kaiser fucked him harder, the stretch stealing the air from his lungs.

“Still going to pretend you’re not enjoying this?” Kaiser asked, his breath hot against Isagi’s ear as he thrust deeper, harder, his hips snapping against Isagi’s with a rhythm that left no room for protest.

Isagi’s hat slipped forward, falling into the dirt as his head tipped back, his nails digging into Kaiser’s shoulders, his body arching into Kaiser’s with every thrust.

“Say it,” Kaiser demanded, his teeth grazing Isagi’s neck as he slammed into him harder, the sound of their bodies meeting echoing in the quiet of the tent. “Say you need me.”

“I—” Isagi choked on the words, his body trembling as the heat built higher, faster, threatening to consume him.

“Say it,” Kaiser repeated, his voice rough and breathless.

“I hate you,” Isagi gasped, even as his legs wrapped tighter around Kaiser’s waist, pulling him closer, deeper, the words lost in a broken moan as his body shattered beneath him. Kaiser followed with a grunt, hand braced beside Isagi’s head.

Kaiser pulled back after a minute and smirked, his lips brushing against Isagi’s as he whispered, “Close enough.”

The fire was dying, a soft hiss in the silence. The air in the tent was thick with sweat and smoke and the sharp, dizzying scent of sex.

Kaiser groaned low as he pulled back, his hips rolling one final time before slipping out. Isagi gasped, too wrung out to curse him, a faint tremble still shaking his thighs.

The slick sound of Kaiser dripping out of him was obscene in the quiet, and Kaiser watched, transfixed, his release wet and glistening, sliding from between Isagi’s sore thighs and onto the rumpled blanket below.

“Look at that,” he murmured, voice like velvet. “Took all of it like a good little lawman.”

Isagi’s face was flushed, turned away, one arm flung over his eyes. “Just be quiet for once.”

Kaiser didn’t. Of course not.

Instead, he reached lazily for the revolver Isagi had dropped somewhere in the mess, still warm from being pressed between their bodies, and rested it against Isagi’s palm. He leaned in, lips close to Isagi’s ear.

“Go on,” he said, amused and low. “I’m callin’ your bluff.”

Isagi blinked up at him, dazed, annoyed, and exhausted, but his fingers curled around the grip anyway, one pressed delicately to the trigger.

“Pull it,” Kaiser said, smirking. “Let’s see how mad you are.”

Isagi narrowed his eyes, lifted the gun, and without a word, clicked the trigger.

Nothing. Just a soft, hollow click.

A blank.

Kaiser grinned, too wide, pleased.

“Fuck you,” Isagi muttered.

“You already did,” Kaiser whispered, lips brushing his, then catching in a hot, wet kiss, messy and deep, almost tender despite the taste of laughter in it. Isagi didn’t kiss back, but he didn’t stop it either.

When Kaiser pulled away, smug as sin, Isagi let out a long sigh, rolled onto his side with a grimace, and tugged a blanket over his aching body.

“Be quiet and go to sleep,” he muttered.

Kaiser chuckled, dropping beside him with a stretch, the warm weight of him pressing against Isagi’s back.

“Night, Sheriff,” he said, low like the fire.

Isagi didn’t answer.
____

Morning burned through the tent, dry and bright. The kind of heat that crept in slow, curled up under your shirt and settled behind your neck like a warning that you didn’t have many hours before it was freezing cold at night. That’s just how the desert liked to work, her own force of nature that few could survive.

Isagi stood beside his horse, brushing down her flanks with practiced movements. She flicked her tail at flies, snorted into the dusty air. His hands moved steady, but his eyes, goddamn traitorous things, kept drifting back toward the fire.

Kaiser was crouched there, long limbs folded easy, stirring something in a dented pot over the flame. The smell of strong coffee and questionable beans drifted up. He hadn’t put his shirt back on.

Just the low slung, half fastened trousers and those fucking suspenders hanging loose at his hips.

The tattoo on his arm flexed every time he shifted, lines sharp and black, curling up the ridge of his throat, vanishing beneath the loose wave of his blonde hair. Kaiser was awfully flashy for someone who was always on the run from the law. 

Isagi figured a man with a bounty that big might try blending in once in a while. Maybe ditch the bright colors that made him look like a peacock. Maybe not look like he’d strutted straight out of a film.

But Kaiser just laughed when Isagi brought it up. Said the blue dye and the tattoo were exactly what they looked like. A promise, not a disguise. A sign that he wouldn’t hide, not from anyone.

“Anonymity’s for cowards,” Kaiser had said once, tilting his head toward the firelight, the blue ink along his throat gleaming as he smiled. “You disappear long enough, and people forget you ever mattered. I’d rather die.”

Isagi didn’t have an answer for that. Not one he wanted to say out loud, anyway. Because even if Kaiser was a damn fool, painting himself in blues and golds while half the West wanted his head, there was something about the way he said it that made Isagi believe him.

It wasn’t just pride. That loud, reckless hunger to be seen, to have the highest price on his head, to burn so bright the whole world had to look. And maybe that was why Isagi could never quite stop watching him.

His skin caught the light, pale as all hell for someone who spent this long outside in the sun, unlike the slight golden tint Isagi’s has taken up from soaking up the heat, every move slow and lazy like he knew he was being watched. Fuckin’ white devil he was. 

“Starin’ a lot this morning, Yoichi,” Kaiser called without looking. “I put somethin’ in the coffee, or are you just fond of my ass?”

Isagi clicked his tongue and went back to brushing, face hot. “I’m watching to make sure you don’t poison us both.”

“Mm,” Kaiser grinned, straightening up. “You were riding me harder than this horse last night. You can drop the tough act.”

“I’ll shoot you,” Isagi muttered.

“You already tried,” Kaiser reminded him, voice smug as ever, and handed over a chipped tin cup full of steaming coffee.

Isagi took it. Drank. Didn’t meet his eyes.

They packed camp in silence after that, saddle leather creaking, dry grass crunching beneath boots. It wasn’t tense exactly, but it buzzed with something between a dare and an unfairly familiar memory.

By the time they were mounted, riding side by side down the worn path east, the sun was already unforgiving. The dust kicked up around their horses’ hooves, and cicadas droned lazily in the brush.

And still Isagi couldn’t stop watching him.

Kaiser rode like he owned the earth beneath them. One hand on the reins, his other resting loose on his thigh. His hat was pushed back slightly, letting light hit the messy strands of golden hair that curled just under the brim.

His hips rolled naturally with the rhythm of the stallion’s gait, every bounce making the muscles in his stomach flex, his trousers tightening around his legs just enough for Isagi to swallow hard.

“You watching the trail, or my thighs?” Kaiser asked without turning.

“I’m watching you fall off if you keep sitting like that,” Isagi said flatly, eyes front again, biting down the heat in his gut.

“Mm. You’d catch me,” Kaiser said, then looked over with that slow, knowing grin. 

Isagi rolled his eyes. “You want to walk the next five miles?”

“I’d follow you on my knees if I had to,” Kaiser said lightly, as if it meant nothing.

Isagi didn’t answer, just clicked his tongue and spurred his horse into a faster trot. Kaiser followed, always right beside him, grinning.

The sun had dipped just enough that the shadows grew long across the canyon trail. The dirt kicked up under the horses’ hooves, dry and brittle beneath the weight of two riders making slow, steady progress eastward.

Isagi shifted in his saddle with a quiet wince. Every step Ebi took was a fresh reminder of the night before, and Kaiser’s saddle creaked just a little too closely beside him.

“You ever gonna tell me what kind of mess dragged you out this far?” Kaiser asked, his voice easy, the wind tugging at his golden hair under his tilted hat.

Isagi glanced sideways, then forward again. “Girl’s missing. Fifteen. Parents both locked up—did some real bad shit to her, you don’t need the details.”

Kaiser’s smirk faded.

Isagi continued, voice clipped. “Got sent to a group home three counties over. Escaped, or vanished. Last known sighting was a ranch hand who said he saw her walking toward the drylands. That was four days ago.”

Kaiser whistled low. “And they didn’t send a posse?”

“They said it wasn’t worth the manpower. Said a kid like that wouldn’t survive out here anyway.”

He said it without flinching, but Kaiser heard the bite beneath the words. Kaiser was about to say something when Isagi slumped forward a little in his saddle, just enough to catch his breath.

“You good?” Kaiser asked, frowning.

“I’m fine.” Isagi didn’t look at him.

“You’re half asleep in the saddle.”

“I said I’m—”

Kaiser clicked his tongue. “Let’s stop at an inn. There’s one not far, south trail.”

Isagi shot him a look. “We can’t be seen together.”

“So don’t see me,” Kaiser said, already pulling his blue bandana up over his face like it was nothing. “Boom. Outlaw problem solved.”

“Yeah, because nothing about a six foot something bandit in leather with gold hair and a damn rose tattoo is memorable,” Isagi muttered. “They’d remember you if you were dead in a ditch.”

Kaiser made a show of shrugging. “Flattery will get you nowhere, sheriff.”

Isagi sighed through his teeth and tugged gently on Ebi’s reins. “Camp it is.”

They set up just off the trail, under a patch of high rock and shade, where scrub trees bent like old men and the wind whistled through bone dry weeds.

Kaiser handled the fire while Isagi unsaddled Ebi, careful and quiet, fingers brushing over the mare’s warm flank like he’d done it a thousand times. She nickered, shaking out her mane.

“You got a soft spot for her, huh?” Kaiser asked, watching from his crouch by the fire, arms resting on his knees. “That mare of yours.”

Isagi glanced at him, then back to Ebi, adjusting her blanket. “She’s earned it.”

“What’s her name?”

“Ebi.”

“Sigh, Yoichi, serenade me in your beautiful eastern language.”

Isagi turned, scowling. “She’s named after lobsters.”

Kaiser blinked. “Like the thing rich folks eat?”

“Not like that.” Isagi huffed, brushing out her mane. “It’s because when she gets irritated, she does this little sideways shuffle with her back legs. Just like a lobster tail.”

Kaiser stared, then burst into laughter, leaning back on his hands. “That’s adorable.”

“Shut up. They’re my favorite animal.”

Kaiser raised both hands in mock surrender. “Hey, no judgment. We all got our weaknesses. You’ve got crustaceans. I’ve got men with blue eyes, double pistols and bad attitudes.”

Isagi muttered something under his breath and went back to brushing Ebi, but his ears were pink.

After a beat, Kaiser stood and crossed over, tugging a curry brush from one of the saddle bags. “Here,” he said. “Let me help.”

“You even know how to use that?”

Kaiser winked. “I know how to get my hands dirty.”

Isagi rolled his eyes. He wanted to doubt Kaiser, but his hand was steady, gentle, like he’d done this before, like something in the rhythm calmed him, too.

They didn’t say anything else for a while. Just the wind, the mare’s quiet breath, and the fire popping in the background. Not nearly enough distance between them.

Camp was quiet now. Fire down to embers, shadows long and golden in the fading light. Ebi stood still, head bowed as she chewed at some dried grass, content and glossy from the careful grooming.

Isagi was adjusting her saddlebag when a shadow fell over him.

“You know,” Kaiser said, slow and low, voice all obnoxious swagger as he stepped behind him, “you make it real hard to behave when you’re bent over like that.”

Isagi didn’t look back. “Try harder.”

But Kaiser didn’t back off. He stepped closer, boxing Isagi in against the mare. His long fingers hooked lazily into both of Isagi’s pistol holsters, thumbs pressing just inside the leather, tugging slightly.

Isagi stiffened. “What the hell are you doing.”

“Being bold,” Kaiser said, breath brushing Isagi’s ear, his grin audible in his voice. “I’ve been so well behaved today. Don’t I deserve a reward?”

“You made fun of my horse’s name and my favorite animal.”

Kaiser leaned in further, pressing Isagi gently against Ebi’s side, the warmth of the mare against his chest and the outlaw against his back making his whole body tense. “No fair,” Kaiser fake pouted. “You’re saying I played along with goody goody Yoichi for no reason?”

His mouth ghosted the side of Isagi’s neck, just under his jaw.

Then, carefully, like asking without words, he turned his head and leaned in for a kiss.

And for one brief second, Isagi let him. Lips caught in something slow and hot, his hands still hovering by the saddle strap. The kiss was soft, deeper than it had any right to be. Familiar.

Then Isagi pushed at his face with two fingers and scowled. “Not while she’s watching.”

Kaiser blinked, stunned. “She’s a horse, Yoichi.”

“I don’t care,” Isagi muttered, cheeks flushed. “She’s sensitive.”

“Sensitive?” Kaiser repeated, voice flat.

That’s when Ebi craned her long neck around, ears flicking, and chomped directly onto the two thin rat tails at the nape of Kaiser’s neck.

“OW—!” Kaiser yelped, jerking back as Ebi tugged on them like they were her personal snack of hay. “Yoichi! Yoichi help!”

Isagi just stepped free of his grip, smug as anything. “She probably thinks they’re two cattail reeds,” he said, folding his arms. “Good taste.”

“She’s trying to scalp me!”

Isagi stuck his tongue out. “That’s what you get for calling her adorable.”

Kaiser flailed, trying to gently pry her off, and Ebi just chewed like she had all the time in the world.

Eventually Isagi shushed her gently with a pat to her muzzle, she let go with a snort, tossing her head like she’d made her opinion known.

Kaiser stood there, hair mussed, looking mildly betrayed.

Isagi didn’t even try to hide his grin. “That’s what you get for trying to feel me up in front of my girl.”

“She’s not your girlfriend,” Kaiser groaned.

“She’s a lady, and she’s got manners.”

Kaiser glanced sideways at Ebi, who blinked once, regal as a queen.

“…I liked her better when she just ate grass.”

The fire sputtered low, sparks drifting up into the deepening sky as Isagi spread the few clues he’d gathered on a flat rock. A torn scrap of cloth, a scuffed bootprint sketch, a rough note from a local farmer.

Kaiser lounged back on his elbows, watching with a smirk. “All this for one runaway kid? Why’re you using your vision on this.”

Isagi sighed, rubbing his jaw. “She’s not just any kid. If there’s even a chance she might still be alive out here, I have to find her.”

Kaiser raised an eyebrow. “So why not get that bumbling bee Bachira to help? I hear he’s got a nose for trouble.”

Isagi snorted. “Because I care about Bachira. If he got involved, he’d get hurt. Or worse.” His eyes flicked up to Kaiser’s. “I don’t want that on my conscience.”

Kaiser pouted, a little. “You’re really using me ‘cause I’m a mercenary for pussy and hot meals, huh? I’m just a body to you, how crude, Yoichi.”

Isagi smirked. “Don’t flatter yourself. You’re mostly here ‘cause I can keep you alive.”

Kaiser let out a slow breath, then narrowed his eyes, leaning forward to study the scraps laid out. His grin faded. “Hold on.”

He reached over, pointing to a faint smudge on the note, then the torn cloth.

“There’s overlap here.”

Isagi frowned, shifting beside him. “What do you mean?”

“The bootprint… it’s from a brand that’s common in the county, but the cloth? That kinda fabric’s from the trading post farther west, the one near the old mill.”

Isagi’s eyes widened a little. “You think she went that way?”

Kaiser nodded, voice low and serious. “Looks like it. Someone’s been covering tracks, but they left pieces behind.”

Isagi rubbed his temple, tired but alert. “We need to move fast.”

Kaiser smirked again, but it was sharp now, dangerous. “Good thing you’ve got me.”

Isagi’s lips twitched, and the firelight danced in his eyes as he leaned in close. “Yeah, well… you better earn your keep.”

Kaiser’s grin was all teeth. “Don’t worry, Sheriff. I always do.”

The night air was cold and sharp by the time they settled down, but the fire and closeness kept the chill at bay. They lay tangled in the same bedroll, the rough wool pressed between their bodies, breath mingling in the quiet dark.

Kaiser’s hand slipped down, cupping Isagi’s ass with a smirk in his voice. “You’re mine tonight Sh—”

Isagi jerked away with a sharp kick, enough to make Kaiser grunt.

“Don’t push your luck,” Isagi warned. “We’ve got a long ride tomorrow.”

Kaiser chuckled, settling back beside him. “Yeah, yeah. Sleep then.”

They drifted off with the sounds of the desert night around them, soft breathing, the faint scrape of hooves on gravel, and the distant call of a coyote.
____

Morning broke soft and golden. The sun spilled over the horizon, painting the sky with pale pinks and warm ambers. Isagi was already tending to Ebi, hands steady and practiced despite the remnants of sleep tugging at his lids.

Kaiser came over, tugging off his jacket and tossing it over a nearby rock. His shirt was open at the collar, the muscles of his chest catching the light just right. Isagi’s gaze flicked there, lingering longer than necessary.

“You up for a race?” Kaiser asked, grinning.

Isagi narrowed his eyes. “Against Nessie?”

“You know it. He’s faster than he looks.”

Isagi smirked, climbing into the saddle. “You’re on.”

With a sharp kick, both horses surged forward, hooves pounding the dirt as dust kicked up behind them. Kaiser laughed, a low, wild sound, as Nessie pulled ahead for a moment.

But Isagi kept steady, pushing Ebi forward, the thrill of the chase lighting his veins.

And as they galloped side by side, Isagi thought, it was always fun with Kaiser.

The town wasn’t much of one, at least, not the kind of shoot out, criminal ridden ones Isagi expected after half a day of riding under the sun. When the trail finally opened up to a neat stretch of coastline, all white brick, clean windows, and sailcloth awnings, Isagi reined Ebi in and stared, brow furrowed.

“This is the town?” he asked flatly.

Kaiser, who was already rolling up his sleeves, grinned over his shoulder. “Ain’t she pretty? Smells like lemon polish and dollar bills.”

Isagi’s eyes narrowed. “You said we were headed back to a post. This is too nice to be a post.”

“We are,” Kaiser said, swinging a leg over his saddle and hopping down. “Eventually.”

“Eventually,” Isagi repeated. “What are we doing here, Kaiser?”

“Sightseein’,” came the too casual reply. “And maybe… picking up something shiny.”

Isagi groaned. “You dragged me off course to steal again?”

Kaiser shot him a disarming grin, tugging at his open collar. “Steal’s a harsh word. Makes me sound like I’m some kind of outlaw.”

“I swear to God—”

But before Isagi could finish, Kaiser clapped his shoulder, all good humor and no shame. “Relax, Sheriff. Let’s grab somethin’. Then you can arrest me after dessert.”

“Kaiser,” Isagi warned, already suspicious as the outlaw laced up his boots with a gleam in his eye. “What exactly do you mean by ‘let’s grab somethin’ to eat’?”

Kaiser tipped his hat low, the corners of his mouth twitching. “Just a bite. Somethin’... fancy.”

That should’ve been his first clue.

The second was when they walked into a pristine waterfront square where the horses didn’t even dare poop on the brick laid streets. The townsfolk wore bowler hats and parasols, and some poor soul played a cello in the middle of a manicured courtyard.

Kaiser snapped the safety off of his revolver.

“Cover me.”

Before Isagi could ask with what, Kaiser strolled right through the pristine white gates of the Seabreeze Country Club & Oyster Lounge.

Isagi sighed. “Goddammit, no—”

Two shots rang out, just for show, probably, knowing Kaiser. Chaos erupted from inside. A lady screamed. A butler dropped a tray of rosé. 

Kaiser burst through the front doors, laughing and hauling a giant glass lobster tank in his arms like it weighed nothing. A bag of carefully wrapped tea sandwiches swung from his teeth.

“Go! Go!” he barked like a soldier under fire.

Isagi, trying to pretend he had any control of this situation, yanked out his badge and held it up. “Official Sheriff business!” he shouted at the confused bystanders. “This man is under—uh—observation!”

He took off after Kaiser, longcoat flapping behind him, both of them tearing through cobbled streets like outlaws on the run. Isagi tried to look convincing enough for people to think the situation was being handled. “Kaiser! I swear I’m gonna lock you up this time!”

“Only if I get top bunk again!” Kaiser cackled.

By the time they reached the rocky shoreline, the sun was dipping gold into the ocean and the lobster tank was sloshing seawater down Kaiser’s shirt.

They dropped it between them with a wet thud, both panting.

“You’re insane,” Isagi heaved. “We have to bring these back!”

Kaiser crossed his arms over his chest, “And let them get eaten?”

Isagi paused, wiping sweat from his brow. He crouched beside the tank, unlatching the top.

One by one, they scooped the confused lobsters out and set them in the tide. The crustaceans skittered through the shallows, disappearing into the deeper blue.

Kaiser crouched low, grinning like a madman, lobsters squirming in his hands. “Alright, watch this,” he said, hefting one into the air.

Before Isagi could blink, the lobster shot through the sky in a perfect arc, landing with a splash a good ten feet out. Kaiser laughed, loud and unapologetic. “See? Quicker! The seagulls won’t even have time to snatch ‘em!”

Isagi’s could do nothing but stare at him, unimpressed. 

“You know,” he said quietly, looking down at one of them trying to pinch his fingers off, “lobsters… they’re kinda amazing.”

Kaiser tilted his head, curious despite himself. “Amazing?”

Isagi shook his head, eyes fixed on the horizon. “No, listen. They can… shed their skin. Molt, grow a new one when they get old and tired of the old one. And they keep going. Some people say it’s like they can live forever.”

Kaiser raised an eyebrow. “Live forever? You talkin’ magic now?”

Isagi smiled faintly, the kind of smile that made Kaiser pause. “Metamorphosis. That’s the fancy word for it. They leave the old skin behind, make something new. That’s what I like about them.”

Kaiser leaned back on his elbows, letting the waves lap at his forearms, and studied him. “So… what, you’re sayin’ you’re like a lobster now, growing a new shell?”

Isagi sighed, meeting Kaiser’s gaze. “I don’t know…”

The last lobster in the tank was the biggest, its shell mottled dark red and sea green, claws banded with twine, eyes shifting slow and curious under the glass. Isagi crouched beside it, the tide foaming up against his boots, and ran a careful hand along its back. It was slick, cold, and alien in its own strange way, like something that didn’t belong on land at all.

“Look at you,” he murmured. “Stuck in a tank like some rich man’s trophy.”

Kaiser leaned against a driftwood log, watching him with that familiar crooked smile. “You really like those ugly bastards, huh?”

“They ain’t ugly,” Isagi said, lifting the lobster up in both hands. Its tail flicked, splashing saltwater onto his sleeve as Isagi cut the twine from its claws. “They’re survivors. Gotta be to live through gettin’ caught, shipped, caged, and still keep kickin’.”

“Too bad. Seafood’s delicious.”

Isagi ignored him, crouching closer to the tide pool where the others had already vanished into the surf. “Go on, then,” he said softly, lowering the lobster into the shallows. “You’re free now.”

The creature hesitated for a second, claws clicking like it was thinking, before scuttling sideways into the deeper water. Isagi watched until it was just a ripple, then nothing.

Behind him, Kaiser chuckled. “All that fuss just to let dinner get away. You know, they taste too good to be wastin’ like this.”

Isagi turned, the glare he shot him sharp enough to cut through the sea wind. “Say that again, and I’ll make sure you’re the one in the pot next time.”

Kaiser held up both hands, smirking. “Easy, easy.”

“Not every day I meet someone stupid enough to think shootin’ up a country club’s a good idea,” he shakes his head.

Kaiser’s grin turned soft around the edges, eyes gleaming with the gold light off the water. “Don’t pretend you didn’t have a good time.” Kaiser pulled one of the sandwiches out of the bag and handed it over. “Here. Rich folks’ loss, our gain.”

Isagi took it, brushing sand off the bread, and sat back on his heels. “Y’know,” Kaiser murmured, “if I die out here, I want you to put me in one of them tanks. Give me a fancy name, charge five dollars a look.”

Isagi rolled his eyes and shoved him lightly, but his lips twitched all the same. For a while, they just watched the last waves swallow the bubbles of the released lobsters, the glow of sunset flickering in Kaiser’s hair.

For a lawman and an outlaw, it was a rare kind of peace. 

“They’ll probably die out there,” Isagi said quietly, but he was smiling.

Kaiser shrugged, tossing the last one in with flair. “So will we.”

Isagi looked over at him, at the man silhouetted against the surf, hair windswept, sea breeze in his open collar. 

The sky was a molten shade of orange, fading into lavender as the sun dipped toward the horizon. The ocean stretched endless and gleaming before them, its surface catching fire in the evening light. The two of them sat side by side on the shore, sand clinging to their boots and pants, the air heavy with salt and the faint smell of gunpowder still lingering from their earlier scuffle.

Kaiser had a tea sandwich in one hand, a half crushed cucumber slice slipping out the side as he took a dramatic bite. “Y’know,” he said with his mouth full, “this is probably the fanciest meal I’ve ever stolen.”

Isagi leaned back on his palms, squinting at him. “You call this fancy? It’s a sack of snacks meant for the governor’s garden party.”

Kaiser watched a seagull swoop down into a wave and snatch up a lonesome lobster before answering. “Yeah, well. I saved those too, didn’t I? That’s charity.”

Isagi snorted, watching the bird fly off. “You robbed a country club.”

Kaiser shrugged, and they both made a wincing oohhh as the seagull dropped the lobster back into the water before breaking into laughter. “Semantics.”

Isagi turned his head toward him, watching the way the wind caught Kaiser’s golden hair, still mussed from the chase. He had that grin again, the reckless one that seemed to carve light out of even the gloomiest stretch of land. Maybe it was the sunset or the soft hush of the waves, but something about him looked almost human. Tender skinned, like the soft, white underbelly of a snake when all its scales gleamed like gemstones. 

“We oughta pay for these,” he said through the mouthful, trying to quell the strange feeling in his stomach with another sandwich.

Kaiser shifted close enough that their knees brushed. “Free is free.”

They sat in silence for a minute, listening to the ocean and crunching on cucumber and watercress like it was a banquet.

Isagi leaned just slightly into him. “Steal me a pie next time.”

Kaiser chuckled, low and rough. “You got it, Sheriff.”

The last of the sunlight melted into the sea, and Kaiser stood, unbuttoning his shirt as the breeze picked up. “C’mon,” he called, already walking toward the water. “We stink.”

Isagi raised an eyebrow as he watched the man strip bare with no shame. “We could’ve just stayed in town and bought soap.”

“Bought?” Kaiser scoffed over his shoulder, already halfway into the waves. “You been hangin’ around me too long to use words like that.”

“Still. I’m supposed to obey the law.”

“You saw that tub in the inn. Water looked like someone steeped a horse in it.”

Isagi snorted, watching Kaiser sink deeper in the water. “You're lucky I didn’t lock you in it.”

The water hit Kaiser’s chest, and he threw his arms out wide like a madman, hair slicked and gleaming. “Feels like heaven, Yoichi! Cold enough to wake the dead!”

Isagi hesitated only a moment longer before sighing, setting down his hat, and pulling his jacket from his shoulders. Piece by piece, he shed the dust and grit of the road until he felt ten pounds lighter.

He kicked off his boots and stepped in slowly. He waded deeper into the water, toes digging into cool sand. The water nipped at his ankles first, then his knees, until he was waist deep, shirt clinging to his chest. Kaiser waited for him past the first set of waves.

Kaiser turned, floating on his back and staring up at Isagi’s frown. “You’re mad,” he said sweetly. “I’m making you break your ‘days without a washin’ streak, ain’t I?”

Isagi gave him a flat look. “It was a matter of timing.”

Kaiser grinned, splashing water toward him. “Sure, sure. Bet the fish are passin’ out.”

“You’re an ass,” Isagi muttered, but his voice cracked on a laugh, especially when Kaiser swam over and looped his arms lazily around Isagi’s shoulders.

They stood chest deep in the surf, Isagi rolling his eyes as Kaiser’s fingers dragged slow, teasing circles over his shoulder blades.

“Can’t believe I’m letting an outlaw bathe me,” Isagi said, but it was more breath than bite.

“Can’t believe you’re blushin’ about it,” Kaiser murmured, leaning in to kiss the corner of his mouth. “We done a helluva lot worse than sharin’ a bath.”

Isagi huffed, hand rising to brush back Kaiser’s damp hair. “You’re just lucky this water’s too nice to drown you in.”

“You’re a saint,” Kaiser teased, his voice low as his hands slid around Isagi’s waist, fingers tracing the lines of his spine. “A righteous, beautiful saint.”

Isagi’s shirt clung to his chest, sheer and dark from the water. Kaiser’s gaze drifted down, and his smile softened. “Take it off,” he said. “You’ll catch cold.”

Isagi hesitated only a moment before peeling the fabric away, tossing it aside onto the sand. The sunset turned the droplets on his skin to gold.

Kaiser’s breath hitched. “Christ,” he murmured. “You’re somethin’ else.”

“Stop starin’,” Isagi muttered, though his voice trembled.

“Not a chance.”

Kaiser stepped forward until their chests brushed, hands sliding around Isagi’s waist again, rough palms skimming over wet skin. 

“C’mon, Sheriff,” Kaiser drawled, his grin wide and daring. “What’s the matter? Too cold for ya?”

Isagi scoffed, splashing a handful of water at him. “It’s you I’ve got an issue with, not the damn sea.”

Kaiser’s brows lifted. “Oh? Wanna settle that issue here, then?”

Before Isagi could retort, Kaiser leaned close enough that his breath skimmed the nape of Isagi’s neck.

“You could’ve left me back at the country club,” Kaiser murmured, voice low, as his hands found Isagi’s hips underwater. Isagi’s breath hitched when Kaiser’s fingers slid up his sides, ghosting over his skin. The water rippled around them, and for once, Isagi didn’t resist as Kaiser’s lips brushed his neck.

“I was tryna serve justice for those poor lobsters,” Isagi muttered, even as his head tipped back against Kaiser’s shoulder. “They didn’t deserve to be eaten by those snobs.”

“You could be one of them, those purebred ladies,” Kaiser countered, his hands now trailing down, pushing the water aside as he reached Isagi’s inner thighs, drawing a shiver from him at the contrast of warm skin and cold water. “You’re stunning. I could see you walking around with a parasol and one of those pretty hats.”

Isagi twisted in his arms, turning to face him. His eyes were narrowed, lips parted, and cheeks flushed as pink as the sky. “You always gotta run your mouth, huh?”

Kaiser smirked. “You love it.”

He leaned in, their mouths meeting in a kiss that started slow but quickly deepened. Isagi’s hands fisted in Kaiser’s damp hair, tugging as their bodies pressed together beneath the waves. Kaiser’s hands roamed, finding purchase on the backs of Isagi’s thighs and lifting him slightly, the water making them weightless.

“Wrap your legs around me,” Kaiser murmured, his voice thick.

Isagi never thought he’d fuck someone in an ocean. It seemed like being with Kaiser was a catalyst for all the risks Isagi usually kept repressed, just being around the outlaw wetting his appetite for danger. 

Isagi’s moans mixed with the sound of the waves, his head tipping back as pleasure coursed through him. Kaiser took the opportunity to kiss along his jaw, down his neck, leaving marks that the sea couldn’t wash away. When Isagi finally came undone, his cries were swallowed by Kaiser’s mouth as they kissed through the shuddering release. Kaiser followed soon after, his grip tightening as he spilled inside, the warmth spreading between them despite the coolness of the water.

They stayed like that for a moment, tangled together, the waves gently rocking them.

“Still hate me?” Kaiser teased, his lips brushing against Isagi’s ear.

Isagi let out a breathless laugh, leaning back just enough to look at him. “With every fiber of my being.”

Kaiser smirked, stealing another kiss. “Liar.”

____

The town of Valentine (the one they were actually meant to be in) was small, sunburnt, and tucked between ridges like it didn’t want to be found. Dust clung to every building like a second skin, and the wind carried the scent of sweat, iron, and cheap tobacco. 

They rode in slow now, Isagi up front on Ebi with Kaiser trailing just behind on Nessie. Children darted between buildings, a dog barked somewhere behind the blacksmith’s, and the tavern’s swinging doors creaked with lazy rhythm.

They brought the horses to the stable behind the inn. Isagi unsaddled Ebi with care, patting her neck and slipping her an apple from his pack. Kaiser fed Nessie with less grace, tossing his mane out of his face.

“We’ll grab a drink,” Isagi muttered. “Ask around about the mill, maybe the kid.”

But the second they stepped through the tavern doors, something shifted in the air.

Kaiser’s smile dropped. His posture changed, still relaxed, but coiled now in only a way Isagi would notice from knowing him so long, like a snake in the grass. His eyes swept the room, slow and sharp, until they locked onto a man in the far corner. He wasn’t looking back, but something about the tilt of his head, the way his shoulders didn’t move with the rest of the crowd, set something off.

“Come on,” Kaiser muttered, already stepping back.

Isagi frowned. “What—”

“Now, Sheriff,” Kaiser said, voice low and clipped, already turning toward the stable again.

The next moment they were back in the barn, and Kaiser was hoisting himself up onto Nessie’s saddle, urgency tightening his jaw.

“Up,” he said, offering his hand.

Isagi didn’t argue. He swung up behind Kaiser, settling against him as the outlaw flicked the reins. Nessie darted out of the stable with a snort, fast and steady, hooves pounding over the dry trail as they rode out of town.

Isagi’s arms circled Kaiser’s waist, instinctive and firm, his face brushing the back of his shoulder. “What did you see?”

“Didn’t see,” Kaiser said, voice tense. “Felt. That guy wasn’t just some traveler. He was watching us.”

“Think he’s part of it?”

Kaiser didn’t answer right away. His gloved hand tightened on the reins.

“Maybe,” he muttered. “But it was the same feeling I got before things went bad in Rothridge. I don’t like it. Let’s stake it out before we go in guns blazing like you love to do.”

Isagi’s fingers dug in a little tighter. He didn’t trust feelings, and he felt better to analyze everything from above like a classic match of chess, but he’d learned to trust Kaiser’s instincts, no matter how frustratingly smug the man usually was.

They staked out the stranger from a distant ridge, covered by shrubs and a crooked tree, with Nessie grazing nearby, obediently dozing. The man from the tavern had made camp in a clearing below, neat and silent. No fire. No suspicious movement. Nothing.

For hours, they watched.

“He hasn’t done anything,” Isagi muttered, lying on his stomach beside Kaiser in the dry grass.

“No,” Kaiser said. “I know what I felt.”

“You also once said you felt like a bear was staring at you and it turned out to be a rock.”

Kaiser turned his head slowly. “It was a suspiciously shaped rock.”

Isagi rolled his eyes, shifting. “You’re impossible.”

“Aw,” Kaiser drawled, already moving toward the horse. “Don’t be mean. You’ll hurt my criminal feelings.”

Ten minutes later, he’d mounted Nessie again, backward in the saddle like he didn’t give a damn about anything.

“Get over here,” he whispered, crooked grin shining in the moonlight. “Let’s make this stakeout more fun.”

“Do you not take anything serious?” Isagi hissed, but he came anyway, because of course he did. It was getting boring.

Kaiser yanked him into his lap roughly, settling Isagi across his thighs. The saddle creaked beneath them as Isagi tried to stay upright, straddling him, one hand braced on Kaiser’s chest.

Kaiser’s hands slid down to grab his ass, pulling him closer.

“Stop—someone could see—”

“See what? A sheriff trying to silence a known outlaw with his tongue? How noble of you.”

Kaiser kissed him, messy, demanding, hot. Isagi’s hat slipped off into the grass. He gripped Kaiser’s shoulders, grounding himself, already breathless. He should’ve stopped it, should’ve remembered why they were out here.

Instead, his hips ground down, Kaiser’s mouth dragging hot across his jaw and neck.

“You’re gonna get us both shot,” Isagi mumbled into his mouth.

“Then we’ll die happy,” Kaiser said, biting his lip.

Click.

Isagi’s eyes flew open.

There, not a foot away, stood the man from the tavern, expression blank, revolver cocked and pressed to Kaiser’s head. His shirt sleeves were rolled, boots dust worn, and his voice was the exact opposite of amused. 

“Well if it ain’t two homophiles makin’ love on horseback.”

Kaiser froze. “…Homophiles?”

“Y’all out here tongue wrestling in the middle of a stakeout like this is some erotic novel. Get off the damn horse.”

Isagi was already scrambling off Kaiser’s lap, humiliated, fumbling for his gun. 

The man raised an eyebrow, still calm. “And if I see a pistol, I’ll use mine first. You boys ain't subtle.”

Kaiser held up his hands slowly, one still resting casually on Nessie's saddle horn. “Hey now—can’t we talk about this? Or at least wait till after I come?”

“Kaiser.” Isagi snapped, horrified.

The man didn’t blink. “Try that line again, I will shoot you. Didn’t say I take kindly to your kind.”

Isagi stepped between them, hat back on his head, face flushed with anger and shame. “You’re not even part of this. Who the hell are you?”

The man lowered his gun slightly, considering him. “That’s the right question, Sheriff. Nice badge, by the way. And I’ll answer it, just as soon as you two put your pants back in order and listen.”

Kaiser muttered under his breath. “So now he wants to talk.”

He kept them at gunpoint, and ordered Isagi to tie Kaiser up while he watched. That was stupid, Isagi kept them tight enough to look real, but Kaiser was a crafty bastard, and he’d probably be wiggled out of them in ten minutes tops. He’d gotten out of handcuffs before, a bit of worn down twine wouldn’t stop him. 

They sat around a small, reluctant fire, the kind you build when you don’t know who’s watching. The stranger had taken over like he was born to it, gun always within reach.

Kaiser? Bound hand and foot, leaning against a tree trunk with rope looped tight around his chest, his expression somewhere between outrage and amusement, cause he never took anything seriously even with his life on the line. 

Isagi wasn’t bound at all. The stranger hadn’t touched him. Maybe he didn’t quite know who Isagi was, or his reputation, and chose to underestimate him based on his looks. It’ll bite him in the ass soon enough. 

“I can tell,” the man said, matter of fact, “you like this one enough to not try anything stupid.”

Oh. Or maybe that’s why. 

Isagi glared. “You don’t know anything.”

But the man just smirked, adjusting his hat as he stared into the firelight. “Sure I do. You could’ve pulled your weapon back there and saved yourself. You didn’t. You froze.” He tilted his head at Kaiser. “You let him get you soft.”

Kaiser made a sound like he was about to say something.

Both Isagi and the stranger whipped their heads toward him and snapped, in unison.

“Shut it.”

Kaiser blinked. “Well now this is a party,” he muttered.

The stranger chuckled and leaned forward, picking up one of the boot sketches Isagi had tucked into his bag earlier. “You’re chasing that girl, right? You’re closer than you think.”

“Yeah?” Isagi said, voice flat. “And you? You just conveniently watching from the shadows?”

“I wasn’t watching you.” He looked up, sharp now. “I was watching him.”

Kaiser raised an eyebrow. “You got a crush too? Damn, I’m popular.”

The man raised his gun again slightly. “Keep talking, goldilocks, I’ll make you less pretty.”

Isagi ran a hand down his face. “Okay, you—” he jabbed a finger at the stranger—“start talking. Why are you following him, and what the hell does this have to do with my case?”

The man’s grin was slow and grim. “Because your missing girl was last seen with him.”

Silence fell.

Kaiser blinked. “Now hold on a sec—”

“Christ, Kaiser, keep your damn mouth shut!”

The stranger straightened, dusting his hands off. He looked at them both with a slow, satisfied sort of calm.

“You idiots think I came out here alone?” he said, voice low and even. “Got a few more men keeping watch around the ridge. Try anything and they’ll be here before you can blink, then they’ll kill the foreigner, and take that pretty boy off with them.” He nodded at Kaiser with a leer that didn’t reach his eyes. “You two do whatever you need to do. Talk it out. Make amends. Confess. You tell me where the girl is, I’ll walk her back to your town, hand her to you, collect my bounty, and be gone. Clean and easy.”

Isagi let out a long, ragged sigh that sounded like exhaustion and resignation. At least they didn’t know about Kaiser and his bounty, because it was at least one hundred times larger than a measly girl. Also, only an idiot would have revealed he had company, but that only makes him and Kaiser stupider to think they could keep it in their pants during a stakeout.

He looked at Kaiser, at the smear of blood on the outlaw’s collarbone, at the way Kaiser’s grin had gone thin the second the man mentioned the men on the ridge. 

“You couldn’t keep your hands to yourself, and now we get souvenirs,” Isagi muttered to himself. He didn’t like the plan, didn’t like the idea of turning a girl in who he hadn’t even proven innocent or guilty, but the stranger had a point. Make this a scene, get it over with, and maybe they’d get over uninjured. “Fine,” Isagi said at last. “We’ll play it your way. We settle this like men.”

The stranger’s smile widened. He patted his holster in a perfunctory, friendly manner and started to walk away, the sound of his boots swallowed by the scrub. “I’ll give you two lovebirds some privacy.”

The fire popped low, hissing like it knew something ugly had crawled into the clearing with them.

Isagi sat just outside the circle of light, his hat pulled low, fingers clenched around his canteen. Kaiser leaned back against the tree, arms still bound, but he was quiet now, his usual smirk faded into a dark calm.

Just the two of them now.

“I’m only gonna ask this once,” Isagi said finally, voice like a blade dulled from overuse. “Were you involved in what happened to that girl’s parents?”

Kaiser didn’t answer right away.

The quiet between them pulsed, the only sound the breeze rustling through the dry leaves.

Then, softly, no dramatics, Kaiser said, “Yeah.”

Isagi’s jaw tightened. “You killed them?”

“No,” Kaiser said, shaking his head, his voice distant. “She did.”

Silence again. Isagi looked at him, searching his face. “Why would you let her—”

“She had to.”

That stopped Isagi cold.

Kaiser met his eyes now, all the bravado stripped away, leaving something sharp and bare underneath.

“Because it doesn’t stop hurting,” he said, low. “Until they’re dead.”

His gaze flicked toward the firelight.

“I would know.”

Isagi stared at him. It was the first time Kaiser had ever looked older than his years. Like the world had bitten into him and kept chewing.

“She didn’t even cry after,” Kaiser continued. “Not a tear. Just looked at me and said ‘Now I can sleep.’”

Isagi swallowed, throat tight. “You could’ve turned them in.”

Kaiser laughed once, no humor in it. “To who? Town sheriff? State circuit judge? You think anyone gave a shit when they saw the bruises? No one helped her.”

Isagi looked down at the dirt between his boots. Everything inside him was twisting.

Law. Justice. Mercy. None of it mattered when the world didn’t care.

“…Where is she now?” he asked, voice hoarse.

Kaiser looked up at him with tired eyes. “Hiding. Running. I don’t know. I led you in the opposite direction. But I hope she’s free, and I know you do too.”

Isagi didn't answer right away. He just stared into the fire, the lawman in him warring with the man who’d seen what failure of the law looked like.

Then, after a long moment, he said quietly, “I won’t let anyone else hurt her. I’ll pronounce her dead.”

Kaiser’s smile was faint. “That’s why you’re the good guy, Sheriff.”

Isagi didn’t look back. “Don’t call me that right now. I'm still pissed at you, and we’re not out of this mess you put us in yet.”

His voice cut across the cooling air. “Hey!”

The man turned, confident he’d already won. He and Kaiser waited until he was a few feet away, hand back on his gun. 

“We don’t know where the girl is,” Isagi said plainly. 

The stranger’s face hardened. For a second he looked like a man who’d misread the room and realized the bill was due. “You don’t know?” he snapped. “Do you know how much trouble that is for me?”

Kaiser managed a laugh that turned to a snarl when the man took a step back as if to consider his options. “A beating usually works,” the stranger said quietly, too close to being pleasant. “I’ll just make him talk.”

“If you touch him,” Isagi said, “I’ll put more holes in you than you know how to count.”

The stranger’s eyes flicked to Isagi, appraising. “You think you can stop me?”

The stranger had a heavy hand. First a punch to Kaiser’s ribs, then another across his cheek. Isagi stood frozen at the edge of the firelight, fists clenched, jaw locked.

Kaiser spit blood into the dirt, laughing low. “You hit like my dead dad.”

The man cracked his knuckles and went in again, backhanding him this time. Kaiser’s head snapped to the side, golden hair sticking to his lip where blood smeared red.

“Stop it!” Isagi snapped, stepping forward, but the man pointed his gun at him without flinching.

“You stay where you are, Sheriff. He can take it.”

Kaiser laughed again, raspy now. “Isn’t this sweet. Watchin’ my lawboy squirm.”

Another punch. Kaiser’s body jerked, tied against the tree.

Isagi’s voice cut through the air, sharp and bitter. “Why are you still playing like you can’t kill this guy?”

Kaiser turned his head slowly, bloodied mouth twisting into a grin.

“Whyd'ya give me away, Yoichi? It was getting fun.”

Before Isagi could answer, Kaiser moved.

It happened too fast for even the stranger to stop.

His arms, never bound, just looped, freed themselves in a flash. His hand went to his boot, pulling out a hidden blade, then he lunged.

Steel pierced the stranger’s neck with a sickening sound. The man gurgled, blood bubbling up in his throat, eyes wide with shock and disbelief as he stumbled back, clutching at the wound.

Isagi didn’t move to save him. It wasn’t like he didn’t have it coming. 

The stranger collapsed, twitching, then still.

Kaiser stood over him, chest heaving, the knife dripping in his hand.

“I thought,” he said, voice light, breathless, “you’d swoop in and be my knight in shining armor.”

He turned to Isagi with a crooked smile, blood splattered across his neck.

“But I guess I’m still the one saving your ass.”

Isagi stared at him. At the dead man. At Kaiser’s bruised face, his ridiculous grin, the sweat and violence and goddamn drama of it all.

“You are insane,” he breathed.

Kaiser only winked, leaning down to take their weapons back, tossing both of Isagi’s guns back to him. “Yeah? That turn you on?”

Isagi catches them out of the air, tucking them back in his holsters. “Don’t flatter yourself.”

Suddenly, another shadow detached itself from the dark, moving swiftly toward them. Looks like the guy’s posse arrived.

Without hesitation, Isagi drew both pistols in one fluid motion, his signature double move. The barrels cracked twice in rapid succession, two precise shots ringing out. The second man froze, clutching his chest, staggering back as a stunned silence fell. 

Kaiser’s eyes sharpened, dark and cold.

From the other side of the rocks, a third figure lunged toward him, gun raised.

Kaiser didn’t even blink. His own pistol whipped out, the shot cutting through the night with deadly speed. The man crumpled instantly.

Isagi’s breath caught. That shot was faster than anything he’d seen before, not even Noa, the old outlaw whose legendary bounty price still whispered through the streets, had that kind of speed.

Kaiser’s lips curled in a grim smile as he blew the smoke off the top and reholstered his weapon.

They left the bodies where they fell. There wasn’t time to bury them, and Kaiser, despite his usual swagger, was beginning to lean more heavily on Isagi than he’d admit.

“Let’s get back to the inn,” Isagi muttered, casting one last look toward the blood slick dirt.

Kaiser slumped against a nearby tree with a wince. “Alright,” he said, voice hoarse, “but he cut me up pretty good. Might need to, y’know… be carried like a damsel.”

Isagi rolled his eyes. “Stop being a dame, you’re fine—”

Kaiser collapsed mid sentence.

“Shit.” Isagi was on him in a flash, hands on Kaiser’s chest, then throat. Still breathing. Pulse fast. Just bleeding more than either of them had paid attention to in the heat of the moment.

“Goddamn idiot,” Isagi hissed, tearing into his saddlebags for gauze, cloth, whatever the hell was clean.

He worked quickly, hands surprisingly gentle as he patched up the worst of the slashes across Kaiser’s side and shoulder. The man looked peaceful while unconscious, which was somehow more disturbing than when he was awake. Ew. It was so creepy, the man looking like he was a sleeping beauty when Isagi knew all the filth that spewed out of his mouth, that it made him shudder. 

When he was done, Isagi stood up, glared at the horse, and muttered, “Okay, Ness. Don’t kill me.”

Dragging Kaiser wasn’t elegant, but somehow he managed to hoist the unconscious outlaw up onto the saddle belly down, arms draped like a sack of potatoes across the other side.

“You’re lucky you’re pretty,” Isagi muttered, swinging up behind him.

Nessie snorted like he agreed.

The ride back was hell.

Kaiser’s dead weight shifted every time Nessie moved. Twice the horse tried to buck, and Isagi barely stayed upright, gripping the reins and his unconscious baggage with pure adrenaline and spite.

By the time they got back to the inn, he was soaked in sweat.

Kaiser came to slowly, blinking at the ceiling of a room that smelled faintly of soap and alcohol.

He groaned. “Ugh… Why does my ass hurt? Did you molest me?”

Across the room, Isagi didn’t even look up from where he was peeling off his bloody shirt. “I had to ride back on Ness. Who, by the way, hates me. He tried to buck me off twice. And you were tied over the back like laundry.”

Kaiser groaned louder, dragging the pillow over his face. “Tell me I didn’t drool.”

“You bled all over my coat,” Isagi deadpanned. “So yeah, you drooled.”

Kaiser peeked out from the pillow. “Did you cradle me lovingly?”

Isagi walked over and dropped a wet cloth on his face. “No. I dragged you up here by your ankles and let you bang your head on every stair.”

“Is that why I got a killer headache?” Kaiser smiled lazily. “You do love me.”

Isagi sighed, sitting on the bed beside him.

“I swear,” he muttered, “next time you pass out on me, I’m leaving you in a ditch.”

“I’m too tired to play quips,” Kaiser said, exhausted, eyes already closing again. “Thanks, Yoichi.”

Isagi just stayed there for a long moment, listening to the sound of Kaiser breathing, steadier now.
____

The first light filtered through the curtains, soft and pale. Kaiser was already sitting up in bed, fingers tracing the bruises on his ribs.

“I’m fine,” he declared, voice rough but steady. “Don’t need a nursemaid dragging me around all day.”

Isagi, sitting across the room with a fresh bandage roll in hand, raised an eyebrow. “You nearly passed out twice yesterday.”

Kaiser shrugged, eyes gleaming with that dangerous glint Isagi hated and secretly craved. “That’s just me keeping things interesting.”

Isagi sighed but didn’t argue. He knew better. “Fine. But if you collapse again, I’m tying you to the saddle and riding you home.” Kaiser snorted, a low, rumbling sound that made Isagi’s pulse hitch. “Not like that!”

By midmorning, they were back on the dusty trail toward Isagi’s town. Kaiser rode beside him, each bounce on the saddle making the outlaw wince but grit his teeth to hide it. His golden hair caught the sun beneath that damned hat, the tattoo at his neck peeking out like a secret.

Isagi stole glances whenever he thought Kaiser wasn’t looking, the tight line of his jaw, the way his hips shifted with each stride, and that fierce stubbornness etched into every muscle.

His house felt like an oasis in the desert when they tied their horses out front. He needed a drink, a snack from his stash of kintsuba, and a nap. 

The moment the door clicked shut behind them, Kaiser didn’t hesitate. His hands found Isagi’s collar, tugging him close with a roughness that was less about force and more about need. His lips brushed over Isagi’s, soft at first, tasting, searching. Like it was their first. 

Isagi’s breath hitched. “Bastard,” he murmured, voice low and teasing. “Why’re you actin’ like a virgin?”

Kaiser’s laugh was a gentle rumble against his mouth. “Can’t help it,” he whispered back, fingers threading through Isagi’s hair, pulling him deeper. “I missed you.”

That was all it took. Isagi melted against him, hands sliding down Kaiser’s back, feeling the warmth beneath the bruises and the steady thump of a heart that had been just as restless as his own. He groaned, fingers tangling in Kaiser’s hair as he pulled him deeper, skin burning to skin.

They moved slow, so much slower than usual, like they were trying to memorize each other all over again. Kaiser’s hands were tentative, tracing Isagi’s ribs, his hips, careful. Isagi’s skin tingled under the soft, feather light touches, every nerve ending awake and aching. He spread Isagi’s legs and settled between them.

Kaiser pushed in. Isagi’s body shuddered. His pussy clenched down hard, stretched wide around the head, swallowing inch after thick, inch like it hurt to take it but hurt more to stop.

When Kaiser finally bottomed out, Isagi gasped, not from the usual sharpness but a slow, sweet fullness that made his whole body hum. Kaiser’s hips rocked slowly, lips brushing over Isagi’s jaw and down to his throat.

“Feel good?” Kaiser’s voice was rough but soft, vulnerable even.

Isagi nodded, eyes closing. “More than you know.”

Isagi’s hands roamed up to Kaiser’s shoulders, gripping lightly when the feeling built, when the quiet intensity of the moment threatened to overwhelm.

“Fuck,” Isagi said whined, “You’re killin’ me here.”

Kaiser smiled against his skin, voice low and teasing. “Good.”

When Isagi’s hips jerked, the tight curl of pleasure making his whole body tremble, Kaiser pressed lips to the top of his head.

Isagi didn’t push him away. He let himself fall apart in Kaiser’s arms, soft and needing, exactly like he’d been pretending he wasn’t.

He was too exhausted to keep the act up.
____

The early sun filtered in through the window, casting golden streaks across the room. Kaiser sat on the edge of the bed, pulling on his shirt slowly, every movement measured and unhurried. His skin caught the light, dusted with a faint sheen of sweat from last night.

Isagi watched him quietly from where he leaned against the doorframe, the soft morning calm wrapping around them like a blanket.

Kaiser’s gaze lifted, catching Isagi’s eyes. Without a word, he leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss to Isagi’s hairline, soft as a peach, delicate and sure. Way too uncharacteristic of him. He had to be up to something.

“Got a plan,” Kaiser murmured, voice low and easy like the hum of a train on distant tracks. “Next one headed south. I’m gonna rob it.”

Isagi raised an eyebrow, a smile tugging at his lips. “You’re serious?”

Kaiser shrugged, sliding his hat on and tipping it low over his eyes. “Always am.”

Isagi shook his head, amused and exasperated. “You’re impossible.”

Kaiser grinned, standing up and grabbing his coat. “See you then?”

Isagi stepped closer, boots creaking against the old wood floor. The distance between them wasn’t much, barely a breath, but it felt like the edge of a canyon all the same. He reached up, fingers brushing the brim of Kaiser’s hat, then slipped it off slow. The air between them shifted, it always did when one of them stopped pretending.

Kaiser blinked at him, confusion flickering for a moment before softening into something that looked suspiciously like hope. Isagi didn’t say anything at first. He just set Kaiser’s hat on his own head, then took his own worn, dusty one, the one that’d been with him since his first ride out as sheriff, and settled it on Kaiser’s head.

Kaiser’s lips parted, a grin ghosting across them, but he didn’t ruin it with a joke. Not this time. He reached up to touch the brim of the hat, thumb tracing the faded leather. “That supposed to mean something, Sheriff?”

Isagi’s voice came low, steady, and his eyes softened, his hand still hovering near Kaiser’s chin. “Means I’m keepin’ a piece of you ‘til you ride back.”

“So we’re doing this the old fashioned way, huh?” Kaiser murmured, not looking away. “People will talk.”

Isagi rolled his eyes, but there was no heat behind it. “Don’t get ahead of yourself. Just means you owe me a drink when you come back.”

“Drink, huh?” Kaiser stepped in, their boots nearly touching now. “Not dinner? Not another night like last?”

Isagi’s mouth twitched, fighting a smile. “Depends how the robbery goes. Don’t embarrass me with your shitty aim.”

Kaiser chuckled under his breath, and for a second, he almost looked bashful, rare and fleeting. His gaze flicked over Isagi’s face, lingering on the marks he’d left on his neck. “Don’t miss me too much, Yoichi,” he said, his eyes clear and blue as a cloudless sky.

“I never do,” Isagi replied.

The outlaw reached up then, thumb brushing along Isagi’s jaw, rough calluses smoothing over his skin. “Careful, Sheriff,” Kaiser murmured, eyes glinting. “You keep lookin’ at me like that, I might actually think you give a damn.”

Isagi’s lips quirked. “Get lost, Michael.”

Kaiser took one last look around the room, the tangled sheets, the sunlight on the floorboards, the scent of gun oil and coffee that clung to everything Isagi touched. He tipped the brim of Isagi’s old hat, now sitting slightly crooked on his blond hair.

“See you then,” he said again, softer this time.

Isagi stood in the doorway as Kaiser walked out into the morning, his silhouette cut sharp against the dust and light. He swung up onto Nessie, the horse snorting like it shared his attitude, and with a two finger salute and that same goddamn grin, Kaiser rode off down the trail.

Isagi watched until he disappeared behind the ridge, until all that was left was the sound of wind and the faint clatter of hooves fading into the horizon.

He reached up, touched the brim of Kaiser’s hat still on his head, and huffed a quiet laugh.

“You know where to find me.”