“Make it double,” a hearty laugh bounces off the walls of the saloon just as the patrons hit their glasses together. Despite the smell of wood and dust, nearly everyone is having a great time. That is the kind of environment that is cultivated at Sunny’s Saloon. Everyone laughs before drinking from their glasses. The woman who commands the obedience of everyone else chuckles to herself, standing up from her seated position at the bar. “We did great, everyone,” she compliments the men and women at the tables. Her red gem almost seems to glow in the sunlight. Stepping up on the table, this gunslinger laughs with a smile on her face before pulling out her revolver and aiming it at one of the bottles on a table, shooting it effortlessly. “Start the music and celebrate!” The gunslinger takes a final sip from her cup, dropping it down to the table before the piano starts to play.
“Adagio Dazzle,” a stern voice calls out to her, making the gunslinger turn her eyes towards the bar. The music doesn’t stop, but the smile on her face disappears for a moment. Standing behind the bar, a woman with orange skin and red hair looks at her with a disappointed look. Her cyan eyes, as beautiful as they are, make the siren feel a little annoyed. Of course she would be mad at her again.
“Give me a moment, everyone,” Adagio tells her gang, sliding off the table easily. The gunslinger walks over to the bar, trying to ignore the festivities going on. Right now, she has an angry bartender to appeal to. “Shimmer~ How can I be of service now?” Adagio asks her in a sultry tone, dragging her finger under the bartender’s chin.
“I told you to not wave that gun around in my saloon,” Sunset tells her with an annoyed tone, not affected by Adagio’s advances. Adagio can’t help but chuckle slightly, leaning against the bar.
“You can’t tell me you’re seriously mad at me, are you? You are my favorite bartender after all~ Why do you think I keep coming back?” Adagio reaches over the bar, grabbing a bottle of Four Roses Single Barrel. In normal circumstances, Sunset would slap the hand of anyone who tries to grab her bottles, but for Adagio? It is a special circumstance…
“Just because you helped me save my saloon doesn’t mean you’re exempt from the rules, Adagio,” Sunset tells the siren sternly, still letting Adagio get away with whatever she wants.
“That was a year ago, Shimmer. I only saw a rival gang and a poor woman who needed help. Besides, you promised me a heavy discount for as long as I live.” Pouring the contents of the bottle directly into her mouth, Adagio savors the taste of the whiskey on her tongue. No matter how she tried to spin the story, Adagio can’t deny one simple fact. One of the main reasons she saved Sunset was an undeniable attraction that she has never felt before. Even though there are better bars in bigger cities, she can’t seem to stay away from here. Adagio could get any woman she wants from the cities, but none of them had that personality that Sunset has. There’s something special about this bartender. Yet Adagio herself doesn’t know exactly what she wants from this scenario.
“Adagio, we’re talking about the rules here.” Sunset’s anger is seemingly gone, replaced with disappointment. Sunset shakes her head before wiping down the bar, waiting for the siren’s response. In a way, Adagio feels… upset. She doesn’t know why, but she knows that she hates seeing that expression on Sunset’s face.
“Alright. I’m sorry,” Adagio tells her quietly while everyone else enjoys themselves to song and drink. “I won’t do it again. And if you want, I’ll stop bringing my gang around here.” Adagio stands up from the bar, giving Sunset the bottle she took. Why would this one person’s disappointment matter to her? She’s supposed to be a siren… Adagio can’t seem to figure that out for herself…
“Why would I want that? You’d be taking away the biggest source of my revenue,” Sunset tells her with a chuckle, placing the bottle back down. Her eyes finally connect with Adagio’s again, a sense of happiness behind them. For some reason, Adagio can’t help but… enjoy it. “You’d also be taking away my favorite customer,” Sunset whispers with a wink, making the gunslinger blush for the first time in her life. In her long life span, she had never met someone who affected her like this, but maybe… it’s because Sunset is similar to her.
“Is that supposed to be me?” Adagio asks with a smirk. Sunset simply pulls down Adagio’s hat over her face, laughing to herself.
“It’s someone in this room, at least.” Without saying another word, Sunset smirks at Adagio, wiping over the counter. Adagio chuckles at Sunset’s words, adjusting her hat once more.
“Alright, everyone. I think we have overstayed our welcome,” Adagio tells them with a clap of her hands. Pulling out a pouch of gold, she lays it down on the counter. Everyone stands up after finishing their drinks, walking out of the small saloon. Adagio is the last one to exit the door, looking at Sunset one more time before tipping her hat. “I’ll be back, Shimmer,” she states loudly in her confident bravado. Sunset simply gives her a small wave, giggling to herself.
“I’m counting on it.”
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The smell of smoke and dirt fills Adagio’s lungs. Dismounting her horse, she makes sure to hitch the horse to a post, looking at the gang hideout. “We’re here!” she tells everyone, making them get off their horses. In the back of her mind, Adagio can’t help but think about how Aria and Sonata are. Technically, she left them here when they didn’t want to go drink at the saloon. Trixie even offered to watch over them, which was a little weird considering that she usually loves going to the saloon. Regardless, a part of her can’t help but hope that Aria and Sonata aren’t coming down with some sort of illness. Adagio gives the fifteen gang members behind her a thumbs up before approaching one of the main buildings on the property.
Taking a cigarette out of her satchel, Adagio lights it, but before she can put it in her mouth, she notices it is way too quiet. Usually, the gang is happy to be back here, roughing around with each other. If there were gang members who stayed here, they usually greet her at the door, but instead, she’s standing on the porch’s first step with no greeting. Something didn’t sit right in Adagio’s stomach… Her mind ran wild with thoughts. Putting out the cigarette on the porch railing, Adagio looks at her waist to check the ammunition in her revolver. Perhaps their hideout was hijacked while they were gone…?
Slowly looking back to the other gang members, Adagio can’t believe her eyes. The hairs on the back of her neck stand on end… Approximately fifteen pistols and shotguns were all aimed at her, everyone looking at her with a cold, unfeeling expression. Every fiber of her being wants to do something, but she’d be dead in a second with this many guns… Maybe she could deflect a few with her magic, but all of them? Not really…
“What’s going on?” Adagio slowly asks them, turning her body to face them. None of them spoke up, clearly telling Adagio that they aren’t the leaders of this little mutiny. Then who is…? “Listen. I don’t know why you’re doing this, but I can assure you that I-”
“Will lead them to their deaths?” a snarky voice cuts in making Adagio look to her right. Standing at the side entrance of the house, Trixie holds a gun to Aria’s head, chuckling to herself. “Hiya, Adagio. Enjoyed your last outing?” she asks her in an annoying tone, grinding on Adagio’s nerves.
“Trixie, what do you-”
“Ah ah ah! I’m the one talking,” Trixie states, walking over to the other gang members, dragging Aria along. A gag is in her mouth and her hands are tied, making Adagio’s mind run wild. What happened to Sonata…? “I’m really sorry we have to do this to you, but it was for our own good!” Trixie states with a laugh. “You have done nothing but make stupid decision after stupid decision in the last few months. Now, the great and powerful Trixie has better ideas with what we should be doing.” Adagio holds her hands up and takes one step down the porch. Trixie immediately stops her in her tracks by pushing her gun closer to Aria’s temple. “Easy, cowgirl. Don’t want your friend to meet the devil, do you? I don’t want to hurt her either, but I will do it.”
Taking a deep breath, Adagio backs up, still holding her hands in the air. “Trixie, don’t. Whatever you want, you can have it. Just let her go,” Adagio responds in a low tone, trying her best to not lash out in anger.
“What I want is for you to leave us alone. I’m going to take the gang to better heights than you ever did. But I’ve got a feeling you won’t stop chasing us down if I do that.” Trixie throws Aria down onto the ground, still aiming her gun at Aria’s head. Holding her hand out, she lights a match and points at a trail of liquid Adagio hadn’t noticed until now. “Sonata is tied up inside. I’ll let you girls live, but let this serve as a reminder not to try anything funny.” Throwing the match onto the liquid trail, the fire quickly spreads, moving towards the house. Adagio quickly turns around, opening the door to the house.
…
The sound of a singular gunshot flies through the air, just as Adagio’s stomach feels like it had been hit by a train, her body falls forward, hitting the ground with a powerful thud. Using what little energy she has, she looks back at Trixie with a fire in her eyes. Trixie’s gun is aimed at her and even though she can’t hear what she’s saying, she can make it out just fine.
“By ‘you girls’, I meant Aria and Sonata.” Cutting Aria free, Trixie laughs and turns around right as the fire reaches the house. The last thing Adagio sees is Aria sprinting towards the house before her vision finally goes black…
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The sound of galloping can almost sound like a harmonious beat at times… The cool air brushing past Adagio’s face, makes her wince. Why is she feeling anything right now…? Didn’t she die? The last thing she remembered was dying on the floor of that burning house. All she wanted was for Aria and Sonata to make it. Yet here she is, feeling the air and hearing the hooves of a horse hitting the ground. Barely opening her eyes, she sees bushes and wildlife pass her by quickly, the light of the moon shining down on her. Her body is tied to someone else, making her realize she’s riding a horse. Right beside them, Sonata is riding a separate horse, looking over at her every few moments.
“Aria! Adagio is awake!” Sonata yells over to her. Adagio looks down for a moment, yet the sight makes her want to vomit. A nast gunshot tore through the left side of her stomach, making her think about life. The siren can’t help but think about the possibility of death in this instance… Is this really the end of the line…? Thousands of years coming to an end because of one mutiny? One gunshot?
“Ugh! God damn it! Hold on, Adagio! We’re getting you to town,” Aria yells back to her, yet her words don’t register in Adagio’s mind. Adagio just looks down at her injury and wonders if there was really no way she could have stopped this… Maybe if she wasn’t so blind to Trixie’s desires. No… Adagio knows she can’t blame herself. This is all Trixie’s fault that this even happened in the first place. A pit of fire is lit ablaze inside Adagio’s stomach, temporarily making her forget about the pain in her stomach.
“God help your soul, if I survive this,” Adagio states to herself, thinking only about Trixie’s betrayal. Aria looks back at Adagio with a confused expression before shaking her head, concentrating on the path ahead. Adagio can see some light ahead, recognizing the town she had gone to earlier in the day. The town that Sunny’s Saloon is in. The town… she lives in…
An emotion Adagio had never felt before creeps up on her… The feeling of remorse. Never before in her life has she felt remorse for what has happened. Guilt, sure. But remorse? Never. Now, here she is, on the back of a horse and bleeding out. Her seemingly last thoughts set on a certain woman she isn’t even friends with, yet… she can’t get Sunset off her mind.
She can remember when they met… Sunset was being blackmailed by another gang and Adagio just wanted a drink. However, the siren felt empathy for Sunset. Hell, that was the first time Adagio can actively remember feeling empathy. So, she ended up fighting them all single-handedly. Sure, her magic was a big help, but what saved her life was her skills with a gun. Sunset was more than happy about Adagio’s stunt and offered her a permanent discount on all services. Her smile was so wide and… Sunset ended up talking with her. For hours…
Despite what the siren believed, Sunset believed that there was some good in her. Sunset believed in her and that was something that Adagio never forgot. There were plenty of nights she stayed at the saloon to just talk with Sunset some more. Nothing happened, but being close to this person who believed that maybe there was more in store for Adagio’s life helped boost her confidence.
Was she really going to die in the same town Sunset lives in? After all those nights that Sunset told her how much she believed in her. How Sunset… cared about her… Adagio never got to ask her to clarify her answer on that, but she will never get that chance if she dies tonight…
Grabbing Aria’s shoulder, Adagio pulls herself closer to her friend, struggling to breath. “Don’t let me die. You hear me?” Adagio whispers into Aria’s ear, the fire in her heart burning brighter than ever. This fire is mostly due to her thoughts about Sunset, yet even the siren doesn’t know why…
The lights of the town get closer and closer until they are finally entering the small desert town. Aria turns her horse in the direction of the doctor’s, running right past the saloon. For a brief moment, Adagio can see inside the dimly lit building, the same woman she’s been thinking about is standing at the bar, looking at one of the bottles. Biting her lip, Adagio makes a silent promise before her consciousness finally eludes her once more…
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“It’s a miracle I could even help her. The bullet hit a good portion of her liver.” The sound of birds fills the air… The smell of chemicals is ever present and Adagio can’t help but feel a massive headache. In her mind, she cusses out whoever is talking right now. They’re only making her headache even worse. At least, that’s what Adagio thought.
“Thank you, Doctor,” a familiar voice responds to the masculine-sounding doctor. The voice sounds so… calm. Soothing. Similar. The only person she remembers having this type of voice is a certain bartender…
Opening her eyes slowly, she finally notices a wet rag is placed on her forehead. Her abdomen feels heavily bandaged to the point that she’s barely able to move. However, she’s not really surprised by that fact… Looking to her right, she finally sees a man talking with Sunset Shimmer. Her hair shines in the light. Her skin is absolutely flawless, but the most impressive part about her is how… kind she is… The man seems to notice Adagio’s wakefulness, turning to look at her.
“I will leave you two alone for a few moments then,” he tells Sunset before leaving this room, closing the door behind him. Sunset’s eyes look towards Adagio, a big smile on her face. She quickly brings her chair closer and grabs Adagio’s hand, trying to compose herself.
“Hey, outlaw~ How are you holding up?” Sunset asks her with a compassionate tone, her warm hand tightening her grip on Adagio’s hand. Groaning slightly, Adagio tries to move before Sunset stops her, shaking her head. “Don’t move. You’re going to need time to heal.”
“I assume that means I will survive?” Adagio whispers before coughing slightly. “I told Aria she better not let me die.” A small chuckle escapes Adagio’s lips, looking over at Sunset with a smile. “Where are those two anyway?”
“They’re resting back at the saloon. They had a stressful night with everything that happened.” Sunset frowns slightly before forcing another smile. “Speaking of which, I was never told what exactly happened. You know. How did you end up with a hole in your abdomen?” Sunset asks her while pointing to the bandaged area, trying to make light of the situation. In a way, Adagio can’t help but admire that about her…
“My gang turned against me. One of my most trusted members overthrew me and… shot me.” Looking towards the bedside table, Adagio sees a glass of water. Her hand tries to move toward it, but Sunset keeps her where she is. Instead, Sunset grabs the glass, gently bringing it to Adagio’s lips. The savory cool water quenches Adagio’s thirst in seconds, relieving her of that at the very least. After Adagio is done, Sunset puts the glass back down, smiling down to her.
“Well, you scared me. I thought for a second that I would lose my favorite customer,” Sunset teases Adagio with a chuckle. Both the gunslinger and the bartender laugh at Sunset’s joke. However, it makes Adagio come up with an important question…
“Is that all I am to you?” Adagio asks in the form of a joke, but they both know there is some underlying truth to her question. A blush appears on Sunset’s cheeks, clearly caught off guard by the personal question posed to her.
“I told you, outlaw. I care about you,” Sunset whispers in response, her cheeks still a bright red from the question. Adagio, however, isn’t happy with this answer… Forcing herself up on her elbows against Sunset’s attempts to keep her still, Adagio makes eye contact with the bartender.
“Can you elaborate on that…? Please?”
Sunset’s face brightens, her breath stopping almost instantly. From where Adagio can see, she can notice it is hard for Sunset to come up with the right words. Maybe it is because she isn’t sure for herself. Maybe it’s because of this situation. The only thing Adagio knows is that Sunset can’t seem to come up with the words.
“Please…” Adagio looks deep into Sunset’s eyes, pleading for some sort of answer. Something to make all of these awkward feelings worth it in the end. Something to make Adagio understand why she feels this way about a bartender of all people. She nearly died last night and her mind could only think about Sunset. Adagio’s eyes plead for an answer that would justify that kind of reaction out of the siren…
“I… I love it when you visit my saloon,” Sunset whispers, her eyes not breaking away from Adagio’s for a second. “I love hearing about your adventures and I love talking with you. Most of all, I… love you.” Adagio’s cheeks flush a bright red upon hearing those three essential words. A deep part of her mind knew it was coming, yet she still couldn’t prepare herself for how real those words felt. A few tears fall down Sunset’s cheek, making her try to compose herself by wiping them away. “You really scared me, outlaw… It’s hard for me to love a customer who might get herself killed,” Sunset says in an attempt to joke with the siren, only causing a few more tears to slide down her cheek.
For the first time since yesterday afternoon, Adagio can’t bring herself to care about her previous gang. She felt so angry before, but right now? Seeing Sunset cry makes Adagio prioritize her above all else. Bringing her hand to Sunset’s cheek, Adagio makes her reconnect their eye contact.
“I love you too,” Adagio whispers in response, summing up all the confusing tension and feelings in three words. “You’re… special. Whether that means anything from an outlaw or not. It’s still how I feel.” Adagio looks away from Sunset, but to her surprise, she hears Sunset chuckle to her words. What part about her statement was funny?
“Maybe being on the wrong side of the law isn’t where you belong. Maybe you could instead use those gun skills to help the law.” Sunset gives her a warm and wholesome smile. A silence follows her words, both of them unsure exactly what to say.
Even though Adagio didn’t know what she could say, she knew what she could do… Groaning slightly, Adagio pushes herself up a little more, much to the surprise of Sunset. Adagio places both of her hands on Sunset’s cheeks, looking into Sunset’s eyes with affection. Even though she’s a siren, Adagio can’t deny these feelings in her heart… In one movement, Adagio presses her lips against Sunset’s, solidifying her feelings with a single kiss… Her head swirls and she can’t quite make sense of her feelings, but… she knows that she will be able to work them out sooner or later…
The wooden door to the room opens suddenly, revealing the faces of Sonata and Aria. A shocked expression is almost instantly painted on their faces, interrupting the kiss.
“Oh my gosh! You’re kissing Sunset!” Sonata exclaims in an oblivious and innocent tone.
Adagio grinds her teeth slowly, grabbing her pillow. “SHUT THE FUCKING DOOR!”
