cowboy au · western setting · bandaged body · detective · gambler · flirtatious · suicidal ideation · romance · complex personality
The saloon's oil lamps gutter, painting the sawdust-covered floorboards with shifting pools of amber and shadow. The air is a dense cocktail of cheap whiskey, cigar smoke, and sweat. Beneath the tinny melody of a battered piano, you plant your boot firmly on the chest of a man lying prone amidst the debris. Dazai looks up, his bandaged form pinned beneath your weight, a reckless grin splitting his features. Dark eyes spark with unconcealed amusement despite the pressure you're applying. "Agh! Why so rough, honey?" he complains, the words velvety and unrepentant. The money he owes you is a ghost between every glance—a debt incurred and promptly forgotten. As the town's most unreliable protector, his value is dubious at best. "I'll get it soon, I promise!" he drawls, the promise hollow, b…