#♘ ⭒ ° 𝙞𝙩 𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙛𝙡𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙡 — answered

[mcswoon]

McDoon's stomach is pressed to the grassy ground, hands wrapped firmly around the bars of the small half-window that laid in the ground and building. It looked into a cell within the jailhouse basement, a cell occupied by @femraged. She was peering up at him with large brown eyes, her own hands around the bars as well. Their fingers laced and layered, connecting. He gives a tug of the bars as if they'll budge, but they don't. They don't even wiggle in the slightest indicating they're stuck pretty firmly in place within the brick building. He curses under his breath and he turns with intention to say something to Cletus, but stops when he feels her hand release one of his touch his cheek. The gentle touch drew his eyes and head back to her, mouth going dry as he waits to hear what she's going to say.

❛ forget about me and save yourself. please. ❜

The hissed whisper stills him, eyes widening and heart dropping to his stomach. He shakes his head and quickly furrows his brow, forcing a look of frustration onto his face. His hand comes up to take hold of hers and gives it a squeeze. He whispers back in the quiet, "I ain't about to leave without ya, Kate." A shaky breath and he licks his lips, rubbing them together after before speaking again, "I think it's a little too fuckin' late to be banking on my ego wanting to save itself over you." That was a confession. He knew it was, but at the moment she was set to hang the next day. There was no getting around that if he couldn't get her out before then.

He could hear Cletus hiss some warning behind him, but rather than break away from where he's laying on the ground... he stays. He stays with a long look at Kate, stomach twisting around the heart still sunk within it, "We're both gettin' out of this town." He said it quietly then turned his head, lips brushing her palm for a delicate kiss. He held the touch then muttered, "I'm going to get you out of this."

[mcswoon]

They're laying in the post glow of having just tangled up in his tent. The two of them having crawled into it shortly after battling each other for dominance in a kiss. It wasn't different from most nights since it started-- the two of them always falling into one tent or the other. Why they continued to put up three was beyond him, but he didn't question. He assumed it was some sort of desire to show the independence she still had with this trio. He and Cletus may be a duo, side by side, but she was stand alone. She didn't need either of them and yet... here she remained. He often wondered if that had anything to do with her chase of finding her ex-lover's killer, but... he didn't ask. He stopped asking questions about Sam and Trout when she started aiming a gun at him figuratively. Her words shooting holes through him whenever he tried to understand more than what she'd already shared. But while that part existed.. so did another. A part of him that wondered if she stuck around because of him.

See, now, you're probably wondering why the likes of a Bandit King would care what a woman thought of him, but that's where your business snooping stops. McDoon isn't going to get into the reasons he thought she stuck around because of him. If he did? He'd have to start admitting she was encroaching on his own thoughts and soul. That she was more than just another bandit he ran with, that their kisses and touches held weight. He didn't want to admit that. Couldn't. Wasn't in his nature. Maybe his thoughts, but not his being. He could often daydream or fantasize about a life without all the robbing and stealing, but that wasn't who he was. McDoon was a bandit. An outlaw. A man forever on the fucking run. He wasn't allowed to feel anything substantial for anyone.

None of them were. Not even Kate. She'd chosen a life where she couldn't feel that again, right? She'd lost the one man she'd loved and turned to a life of this. Whatever this was for her. Bandit. Criminal. Killer. He didn't question it, but he wondered. He had so many curiosities pertaining to her and most of them were things he knew would never get answered. Maybe that was for the better though. Perhaps the life she was trying to live in turn beside them was one she only wished to be known for. But despite whatever she was doing-- she still chose to roll around with McDoon.

All of these thoughts were buzzing and brewing, repeating over and over the words she'd just uttered to him as they laid there. He could still hear the crackle of the fire that was slowly going out and he was almost certain he heard Cletus move around in his tent. But McDoon's thoughts were running rampant trying to catch up and ensure he'd heard her right. Had he?

tell me you love me … i won't hold you to it, just say it.

She's laying against his chest, her cheek pressed to his hammering heart that he was sure she could hear. He could chalk it up as being because of what they'd just done, but truly? Really? The sentence spoken into the world was one he'd never been asked of before. No one's ever asked him to say that let alone feel it, but here she was telling him he could say it and that there wouldn't be weight. That all she needed were the words spoken out into the universe, but that was the thing with McDoon. He'd never actually said those words out loud, not even when he's charming his way from bed to bed. He's never lied or misled with words of love. He gave promises, empty ones, but never anything that would proclaim something like that.

He blinks, eyes on the roof of the peaked tent and body rigid. He'd gone stiff under her-- could she sense that too? His hand on her arm, his own wrapped around her, was gently stroking her skin with his thumb. The action now paused. His other hand on his stomach twitching and slowly curling into a fist, short nails digging crescent shapes into the palm of his hand. He needs to say something. He needs to speak up and let her know whether or not he can or can't do that. But why wouldn't he be able to? It was easy to say three words, easy to lie.

But was it a lie?

"Kate, I... " he finally starts, breath swallowing and chest lifting with a deeper breath. He shakes his head a little then lifts it, allowing himself to look down at her even if she wasn't going to look at him. "I can't do that." He shifts, hand sliding from his stomach and moving so his elbow can press into the ground and he can carefully lift himself slightly. He rests on the elbow, eyes on her, "That ain't something to just be throwing around-- empty or not." He feels a weird tightness take over his chest, a sense of panic he's not used to, "Is that what you're lookin' for in this? Hearin' something that may not mean a damn thing? You can't be lookin' for this onion man in every fuck we share. I'm not him." He frowns, "And the way I feel about you holds its own weight." That was too much to say, too much to let on.

[mcswoon]

The moment couldn't have called for more dramatics. He and @femraged near the edge of a cliff with their voices raised, shouting at each other. He knows their throats have to be raw at this point, his is, but he doesn't let up. He's laying it on thick and angry, letting her know just how mad he is about her stepping in. She's equally as angry, screaming back at him about his doing the same thing not even three days prior. He knew the moment. She'd been lining up a target of her own when he'd stepped in, boldly proclaiming she was with him. He'd done it for a couple reasons and had attempted to explain it to her then. The guy had a revolver she wasn't aware of hidden by his jacket along his back and he was starting to get handsy. Handsy in a way that she may be used to, but not one he was. McDoon didn't enjoy sitting back watching her get pawed at. He knew it made him a jealous bastard, possessive and greedy. Something he didn't allow her to feel. He was a hypocrite for it. He could kiss the back of hands all day, but the moment she got too close to another man-- he was really cramping the style of Kissin' Kate Barlow.

This time around he'd been chatting up an heiress, some woman with big blue eyes and bigger breasts in attempt to learn more about her. What she had, what she didn't, what she could get. It was going well up until she started running fingers along his bandana around his neck, tugging at it a little with a flirtatious thing that was abruptly cut off. Whiskey flying from a glass that came around McDoon's back, soaking the woman with shock and liquor. She immediately broke into a rage, but was cut off when a revolver McDoon recognized as Kate's settled on his shoulder pointing at the heiress. It had ended the situation instantly and eventually led to them riding out of town, the two of them bickering the whole way until finally they were both stood flat on the ground. Voices raising the longer seconds ticked by.

They had just finished screaming at each other that they were both a pain in the ass, they were both getting in each other's way. He barked at her that there's gotta be a reason she can't mind her damn business, but she was quick to throw it back as if holding up a mirror using it as a paddle. She lobs the words back, telling him easily that he'd been doing the same with her. He growled and nipped, hands on his hips as he hisses out, "Difference between that situation and this is that I was trying to make sure you didn't get yourself shot--" he can see she's fuming and he steps forward, continuing, "So you can get pissed all you want, but you don't got a reason to have stepped in like you did." He was so oblivious, wasn't he? So oblivious that she could feel something for him beyond the way they rolled around so well together. At least he was... till this point.

❛ i don't want to argue with you anymore. i love you. is that what you wanted to hear? ❜

The three words are spoken in the same breath as everything else, but pointed. They smack him hard, knocking him back a step physically and forcing his mouth to snap shut. Their eyes are locked, stare hard on the others'. It feels like he's being challenged, but he knows this isn't a battle. This isn't a war between her, this is now a confessional booth. She was speaking directly and giving him more to work with than he ever did. He could claim all he wanted that she was in danger that day, but the idea of watching her lead some man upstairs? Green looked good on the bandit king.

His brown hues cut away and he sniffs a breath, straightening and reaching a hand up to adjust his hat. His other hand grips at his hip as if he could somehow pinch himself in the same instance with the tight grip, wake him up from this moment. Dream? Nightmare? Both? Whatever it was... it didn't feel real. He didn't know if anyone's ever said that to him. His father certainly didn't... much less anyone else. Love? Was that a thing for bandits like them? For outlaws? Were they allowed to feel that? Is that what that green beast in his chest was trying to scream at him?

McDoon exhales a breath and looks back at her, hand falling back to his side only to find himself reaching out. He lets his hand move with instinctive intentions, raising to brush fingers against her cheek in a delicate touch. He tilts his head and speaks, voice calmer... softer, nothing like the tones they'd been exchanging just moments ago, "Say it again."

[mcswoon]

McDoon stands inside the cell behind iron bars, hands wrapped around them and face pressed carefully at a tilt to the cold metal. On the other side is @femraged, her own hands layering his and her head also tilted to meet his. Their lips connected for a soft, delicate, but necessary kiss. He hears the sheriff clear his throat and it forces the bandit to break the touch, a glare shooting in the direction of the man but he's already back to reading his newspaper. Or rather.. pretending to. It was clear he was more interested in making sure the visit from the blonde was just that-- a visit. And if he had it his way... it'll be McDoon's last. He's set to hang at morning break, the night already creeping up onto them with the sun setting behind the buildings of the town.

They hadn't been in the area for more than a day before McDoon was nabbed. The jump by the marshals startling the lot, Cletus getting away and Kate.. well, she was always a good actress. She made it clear she was nothing more than a woman following them around, didn't matter what resemblance she had to the wanted posters in the marshals arsenal. She was just a woman in love with the wrong man and they fell easily into believing that, muttering that she should be hung too for her involvement. But... pity was played hence her ability to visit him. Even that had been questioned and it was why there was an eagle eye on them from behind newspaper.

"You should get out of town, find Cletus," he says after returning his gaze to her, dark hues heavy with the frustrations of being caught. He wasn't sure how he was getting out of this one, but he knew it wasn't going to be simple. The smart thing for any of them would be Kate getting out and teaming up with Cletus, but even then... they wouldn't have time to save him.

❝ that’s a coward’s choice. a yellow - bellied coward. ❞

Her response is expected and he only chuckles low, right hand pulling away from the bar and from under hers. It lifts to gently catch her chin, thumb stroking the skin just below her pink lips and keeping her head level so their eyes can remain connected. He speaks, low and quiet so only she can hear in their close space, "Y'ain't gonna get me out of here, Kate. They got marshals crawling through this town." Had two standing outside the jailhouse. Guess that's what happened when you were as widely known as him. He sighs, "You'd be better off leaving." His eyes flick to the sheriff then back to her. He wants to kiss her again. Wants to answer and calm whatever thoughts she's having with those touches, but they were pushing their luck.

[mcswoon]

It's not often they get to stay at a real inn as opposed to staying in tents in the woods. He didn't mind the latter, but the former meant they got to bathe off days of grime with proper soap. Meant they could have some hot food that wasn't beans. Meant they were sleeping in beds rather than on rolls. It was a luxury that they weren't going to lose out on taking advantage of. Now of course there'd been some hissing between him and Cletus about where McDoon was spending the night, but he made it clear with a few direct words that he wasn't missing out on a bed with Kate.

It was complicated. This little group they had going for them. Kate and Cletus hated each other while McDoon didn't mind either of their presence. It sure got tenser when he and @femraged started rolling around in her tent, but McDoon wasn't going to ask about it. He knew it would turn into a whole thing with Cletus. He'd much rather just go with the fights and frustrations the man would thrust onto him. He could take it all out on Kate later when the two of them got tangled up.

Which is exactly what the two of them wound up doing the moment the door to their room was closed. Kate grabbing him by the front of the shirt and slamming her back into the nearest wall. They kissed for what felt like ages before their clothes were going-- layers shedding and hitting the floor in piles. A bath had already been prepared for them. The place they chose in this vast city being more luxurious than their other options, but they'd recently come into some money. It was what they deserved.

Their first stop was that tub, McDoon climbing into it to get settled only for Kate to follow suit. She slipped into the tub, a knee settling onto either side of McDoon's lap. Her hands sliding up his chest and moving to lock behind his neck as she lowers to press herself to his lap. It wasn't out of intimacy, but of comfort. Relaxing her frame and leaning forward to push their foreheads together, ❛ i've been waiting for this all day. ❜

Her words bring a soft chuckle from his chest, his own hands having moved away from the tub in order to slide up her sides. He settles them after a stroke, resting them on her hips under the water. His eyes are shut, taking in the moment and the closeness. The calm. They rarely had that in the midst of everything, but getting it and taking it in with her? That was more intimate than rolling around in the sheets. Maybe domestic too. Perhaps that's why Cletus was getting more annoyed with it. McDoon just wasn't himself in some ways around Kate. This? Letting his guard down for even a second, gunbelt hanging from a chair nearby... it hadn't been him even a year ago.

"The bath or the time?" He murmurs in asking, drawing his head back so he can open his hues and look at her, "Because I wasn't thinkin' too much about wipin' away the grime as I was gettin' my hands on ya, ma'am." He chuckles again, thumbs stroking her hips, "Moment I knew we were settling here I knew I'd be insatiable until we were alone."

[mcswoon]

McDoon's frame is against Kate's, hand on the wall behind her and other on her wrist next to her head. He's got it pinned, not caring for where her other is or where it may be. All he can focus on is making a display against the wall inside the general store and ensure that the men he'd heard whispering in the establishment were aware who she belonged to. They hadn't walked in together, but he wasn't going to pretend she was no one. Not when she drew attention as quick as she did-- her lips painted red with intent beyond staining his complexion. He knew she'd be pissed at his actions, knew that as soon as the moment was over she'd react accordingly.

He knew that even if those men had advanced on @femraged that she'd handle it fine, but he couldn't stop the possessive need to ensure everyone knew. He wanted this town that was supposed to be a stop know they were here together. But as quick as the kiss occurred it was over, her free hand coming up between them to smack with a harsh slap against his cheek. Her gloved hand burning his skin in a manner that made him think the skin could be split, but he only brought his head back forward after the turn forced on him.

His cheek stings, but he only chuckles and purrs a low, "Oh, you really wanna try that in public, gorgeous?" Brown eyes challenge her then fall to her lips, the color there now smudged somewhat from their rough kiss. "You know I like it when you get rough. Not scared to make it clearer what I'm feeling." He pauses then looks over to the men still watching them, frown touching his lips and gaze quickly coming back to her, "But I'd much rather we take it elsewhere."

[ CARESS ] for one muse to possessively kiss the other in public. [ slap ] sender slaps receiver in the face

[mcswoon]

McDoon had invited the pretty little thing on a ride out of town down to a watering hole nearby. It was late-- the moon high in the sky and the lantern he held in one hand their only sources of light. Hornet was letting out annoyed huffs every so often at having to cart around two of them. The mustang never a fan of anyone who wasn't McDoon, but he still walked slowly and at a controlled pace. He'd be rewarded with some sugar cubes at the end of the ride, they both knew that and it was only one of very few reasons he behaved. McDoon was grateful for it as it gave him the chance to talk in his low croon to her @femraged.

"Y'know," he starts off, body turning just a little and lantern lifting to light his face some, "some might think you're crazy for comin' out here with the likes of a newcomer." He chuckles then trails off, lantern returning to where he'd been holding it out prior. HIs head turns back too, "Either you got nothing to fear or you're just easily trusting."

He could be poking a bear without knowing it, but wasn't that the fun of the situation? He'd met her at the saloon and she'd mentioned being new to town rather recently, but settled with tending just the bar. He'd crooned and cawed with boisterous laughter to keep her attention, eventually murmuring a whisper in her ear as she poured him another whiskey. Asking if she wanted to go for a swim. She hadn't hesitated in her answer and soon enough they were riding off on his horse. Something mentioned about her home being in walking distance of the saloon, her horse stabled for the night.

"What'd ya say your name was again?" had she even said it?

[ COMPANY ] — SENDER joins RECIEVER out on a horseback ride

[mcswoon]

They're down at some riverbank. He wasn't even sure which river it was. Usually he wasn't turned around when it came to directions, but after the knock to his head? He hadn't been thinking straight for a bit. It was a damn miracle he didn't slide off Hornet's back as they made their way from the farmhouse-- McDoon battered and bruised, bleeding from here or there. He'd been there a few days before @femraged finally showed up to save him. Pathetic. He wasn't one for needing saving, but he'd been jumped. They both had, but they'd only made off with McDoon knowing the worth he had to both law enforcements and other bandits alike. They wouldn't say who they were. Just that they had business with him and what value he had, but fuck if that didn't stop them from beating the hell out of him.

He wasn't even sure how Kate got the upper hand on the men, but he could only assume it was during the break of less of them. When they'd sent off to get whoever they worked for. He hadn't even known she was causing a ruckus until he heard her voice telling him to wake up as she untied him from the chair. He had questions but she assured she'd get him answers later, after they were away from all this. Which is what led to them riding for near an hour before settling by whatever river they were at.

She'd set up a tent already for them, but they were sat by the fire that was crackling and burning low. A pot of beans for him was heating up, but he wasn't sure he'd have the appetite. He hadn't been eating much since being taken and his stomach still felt all kinds of twisted. Not to mention the burning pain of different parts inside and outside him? He couldn't focus on the idea of food. All he could focus on in that moment was the press of the cloth damp with alcohol to clean wounds. His shirt was gone, tossed aside to be replaced by a new one once they were done. But for now he was free of it, the cool night making it hard to not shiver. Not that his lack of food and hydration helped.

Kate is brushing the cloth gently against the rope burns on his wrists, most of his torso already covered in bandages from cuts received through multiple instruments. He stopped keeping up. His back? It'd been hit a few times with a whip that he was sure was done for enjoyment rather than any other reason. He'd been a toy in their hands. He winces as the cloth touches rubbed raw skin, frown hard on his lips and eyes on the task. He eventually forces his dark hues up, looking at Kate's face and the focus she had. He wants to thank her, but the words fail him. Instead he finds another set falling out, "How'd you manage to find me?"

[ wounded ] sender patches up receiver's wounds