#I had an ask way back for Javier x micah x bill and I haven’t been the same since

[meeks-just-wants-to-scroll]

Micah, Bill and Javier as their animal versions cuz they keep me sane

[queenxxxsupreme]

Protector (Arthur Morgan x f!reader)

A/N: In most of my Arthur fics, if I mention the reader’s horse his name is Calvin and he’s blind in one eye so if you’ve noticed it that’s awesome! If you haven’t no worries! I just wanted to point it out before anyone gets confused. I’m not sure how many times I’ve mentioned it but I know in my head that’s how it is 😂

Warnings: Micah being a dick, no actual animal abuse but it almost happens, Micah roughly grabs reader but that’s it, nothing out of canon

Word Count: 2.6k

Summary: You can defend yourself. Arthur knows this. But he makes sure Micah knows you aren’t the only reason he should keep his hands to himself.

***

You hummed softly to yourself as you helped Mr. Pearson prepare dinner. 

You looked up from the potato in your hand for a moment, eyes flickering around camp to take count of who was present. 

Mrs. Grimshaw had pulled Pearson away from his wagon and all the way to the other side of camp. Mary-Beth was sitting on a chair near her shared tent with the girls, busying herself with a book in hand.

 Abigail and Jack were towards the back of camp. Abigail was doing her best at keeping Jack occupied with the flowers growing in the grass back there. Molly was fixing her makeup in her tent at the center of camp.

 Micah was near the horses, messing with a saddle bag on his horse. Everyone else was gone. Today was one of those days that everyone was busy away from camp. 

“Son of a bitch!”

You lifted your head up from the potatoes you were peeling, turning your attention to where the horses were hitched. 

Micah stood by your horse, a gray Dutch Warmblood named Calvin. Micah was cradling his hand to his chest as he cursed, but then he looked at your horse and pulled his fist back as if to strike the animal. 

You were on your feet and crossing camp in a matter of seconds, grabbing the back of his coat and pulling him away from your horse. 

“Don’t you dare put your hands on my horse, Micah Bell.” You spoke through clenched teeth, holding the knife you’d been using to peel potatoes in your hand at your side. 

“That damn bastard of a horse bit me! Nearly took off my fucking hand!”

“Then don’t get close enough to him for him to grab you!” You raised your voice to match his, holding his gaze as he glared at you. 

Micah took a step towards you, knowing very well that he could use his height to appear more intimidating. But you weren’t one to back down so easily.

“Maybe if someone taught you a lesson in manners, that horse would behave better.”

“You don’t get to say shit about me and my manners, Bell.” You shook your head, pointing at him with the tip of the knife. “Don’t touch my horse, or I’ll put a knife between your ribs.”

You moved to return to the potatoes but Micah wasn’t about to let you off so easily. 

“Now see, girl, I don’t much care for that attitude you have.” He grabbed your arm and pulled you back around to face him. You didn’t even get a chance to use the knife to defend yourself because he’d grabbed the arm that you held the knife in. 

“Let me go, Micah.” You spoke through your teeth, glaring up at him. 

“Oh, Mr. Morgan isn’t here to save you, sweetheart. You’ve gotta face the consequences of your actions.” He smirked as he looked down at you. His grip on your arm was unbelievably tight and no matter how much you tried to get loose, you couldn’t seem to break free. “Don’t you raise your voice at me like I’m some little bitch of yours. I’m not your cowpoke. I ain’t scared of you, and I ain’t scared–,”

You cut him off by headbutting him. He immediately released you and stumbled back, cursing. 

“Don’t put your hands on my horse, Micah Bell.” You repeated your warning, readjusting your grip on your knife. 

“You think you’re big and bad because you’re sleepin’ with Morgan, don’t you?” Micah took a step towards you, wiping the blood from his lip. “Goddamned whore! Probably sleeping with half the fucking camp too!” 

“Micah!” Charles called his name. 

You turned your head to see Charles moving towards you and Micah. 

“Is she sleeping with you?” Micah pointed an accusing finger at Charles but Charles ignored him. 

“Y/N, are you okay?” Charles asked you. 

“I’m fine, Charles.” You gave him a little smile, hoping that maybe he’d let the whole thing go. “Just had to have some words with Micah.”

“Looks like it was a little more than a few words.” Charles glared at Micah before following you back towards Pearson’s wagon. 

“Well, with someone like Micah Bell, words barely get through to him.” You returned to peeling potatoes. “Too damn stubborn.”

“That’s one way to put it.”

Just a few moments later, Arthur, Bill, Javier, and Lenny returned to camp, hitching their horses up beside Calvin. 

Bill tethered Brown Jack to the same post Calvin was on. 

“Be careful of Calvin, Bill.” Lenny warned, pointing to your horse. “He likes takin’ a piece off of whoever passes by too close.” 

You grinned a little as you listened to them joke around about Calvin. He was a sweet horse, he was just crotchety and being that he was blind in one eye didn’t help that either. 

“I think it’s just you boys he don’t like.” You spoke up as the small group made their way into camp. “Kieran can brush him down any time of day and Calvin is just as sweet as could be.”

“That’s ‘cause Kieran sneaks the old man treats.” Javier spoke as he sat down at the table not too far away from Pearson’s wagon. “Found out how to get to Calvin’s heart. Sugarcubes.”

“Oh, it’s just ‘cause Kieran’s a sweet kid.” You teased, eyes flickering up to watch Arthur. 

He grunted, shaking his head. 

“Ain’t nothin’ sweet about an O’Driscoll.” 

You finished cutting up the potato in your hand and then put the knife down. 

“Damn bastard!” Karen shouted as she hitched her horse to a post.

“Who are you cursing at, Karen?” Lenny asked. 

“Micah! He nearly ran right into me running outta this place!” She brushed her skirt off. “What’s got him all pissed off?”

“The wind probably blew the wrong way.” Arthur said. 

You chose to stay quiet. You turned your head to look at Charles. He was near the backside of Pearson’s wagon. His eyes found yours. You took a deep breath, shaking your head just slightly, then turned your attention to Calvin. He was okay, you knew that, but you couldn’t help feeling the need to make sure he was okay. 

“Excuse me, gentlemen.” You wiped your hands off on a rag and set it on the table before making your way towards the horses.

Arthur took note of your behavior. You usually were the first one to poke fun at Micah, to comment on his antics. It was unlike you to stay silent when his bad attitude was brought up. 

Arthur sat down in the seat you’d previously been in, absentmindedly scratching his scruffy jaw. 

Seeing that Javier and Lenny were engaged in a conversation of their own, Charles moved to Arthur.

“Arthur?”

“Hey, Charles.” Arthur greeted him.

“Can I talk to you for a minute?”

Arthur nodded and followed Charles towards the lake away from everyone else. 

“I didn’t see everything, but I was coming back from switching out guard duty when I saw Micah had ahold Y/N’s arm.” 

Arthur’s eyes darted across camp to you. 

“Don’t worry, Arthur. She’s okay.” Charles assured him. “I just wanted to tell you because I don’t trust Micah. I don’t know if he’ll do anything or what he was trying to do. I don’t know what goes through that man’s head, and I don’t want anything to happen to Y/N.”

Arthur let out a heavy breath, running his hand over his face. Anger bubble in his veins. 

“He’s a snake, Arthur.” Charles spoke quietly.

“I know he is, Charles.” Arthur shook his head, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. “Did you…. Did you see him put his hands on her in any other way?” 

“No. All I caught was him holding her arm and she headbutted him. Caught him right in the nose and mouth.”

“He didn’t hit her or nothin’ did he?”

“Not that I saw.”

Arthur nodded his head, letting out a heavy breath through his nose. He put his hand on Charles’s shoulder, nodding his head once, then moved across camp. 

***

You approached Calvin on his right side so that he could see you. His left eye was the one that was blind and he didn’t react well to anyone coming up to him from that side. 

“Hey, handsome.” You cooed, smiling softly as you reached out to rub his nose. He huffed and leaned into your touch. Your touch moved along his neck and down his side, then to his hindquarter. “My good boy, huh? Just don’t like no one else, do ya?”

“Think you have a thing for grumpy old fellers.” 

You looked up to see Arthur rubbing Taima’s nose. 

“I like the challenge that comes with the grumpy ones.”

He chuckled.

“You, uh, you know why Micah left like he did?”

“No.” You shook your head, moving around to Calvin’s blind side. “But it’s hard to tell what’s going through that man’s head.”

“Just thought maybe you’d know since you were here with him.” Arthur thought at loud.

You shook your head. You could feel his eyes on you, studying you like a book. 

“You’d tell me if something happened, wouldn’t ya?”

Your eyes flickered up to meet his. You were quiet for a few moments, locking your jaw. 

“Charles told you, didn’t he?”

Arthur nodded silently.

“He almost got a knife in his gut. He raised his fist like he was gonna hit Cal ‘cause Cal bit him. But I had it under control. No need to worry. Micah’s just a sour bastard. Don’t like being told off, especially not by a lady.”

Arthur let out a sigh. 

You gave Calvin a loving pat on the shoulder and moved to go back to Pearson’s wagon. 

“I don’t like leavin’ you here at camp with him.” Arthur followed behind you.

“I know you don’t, but you don’t have much of a choice.” You washed your hands and started to get back to work. 

His hand wrapped around your wrist and he carefully pulled you back around to face him. 

“Don’t egg him on when I’m not here.”

“I can fight my own fights, Arthur. And I’m not gonna let him hit my horse-,”

“That’s not what I’m sayin’, Y/N.” He cut you off, looking down at you. “If he ever put his hands on you, I wouldn’t hesitate to kill ‘em.”

“I know.” You placed your hand on his chest. “I know. But you, Arthur Morgan, also know that I can kick ass just as good as any man here. You shouldn’t worry so much.”

“I’ll always worry.” Arthur took your hand and brought it up to his lips. “Micah’s a snake.”

“Worrying is bad for such an old man’s heart.” A grin tugged at the corners of your lips as you moved away from him. He allowed you to slip away, watching you return to your chair by Pearson’s table. 

Arthur chuckled at you, shaking his head. 

***

Arthur settled back into bed, getting comfortable while you changed into a chemise and fixed your hair for the night. 

“I think I gotta go to Strawberry tomorrow.” 

“What for?” You slipped on your chemise, pulling it down over your head and into place. 

“Dutch said there’s someone there who has information on a train comin’ through.” Arthur tucked one hand behind his head and watched you turn to face him. His eyes flickered down to look over you. 

Though the lighting from the lamp wasn’t the best, he could see an odd marking on your bicep just above your elbow. It was darker than the rest of your skin and seemed out of place. 

Arthur sat up, brows furrowing together. 

“Come here a minute, pumpkin.”

“What?”

“Just come here.” He patted the bedside next to him. 

You moved to sit on the edge of the bed, confused but unaware of what he had seen.

Now that he was close enough to see just exactly what they were, he could tell they were bruises. 

You looked down to see what he was looking at. 

“What is that?” You furrowed your brows together.

“Looks like finger shaped bruises.” Arthur just barely brushed his fingers over the markings. “Micah’s lucky I don’t cut off his goddamn hands.”

“Don’t, Arthur.” Your eyes shot up to find his. “I’m serious.”

“I am too.” Anger clouded his blue eyes, making them a stormy gray instead of the pretty vibrant blue you adored so much. 

“He ain’t worth you gettin’ in trouble, Arthur. I probably broke his nose anyways.” You stood up. “Let’s go to bed.”

Arthur was silent as he laid back down and you climbed into bed with him. You curled up against his side, resting your head on his chest. 

“Just don’t want nothin’ to happen to you, pumpkin.” He murmured, kissing the top of your head. 

“Nothin’s gonna happen to me.” You assured him. 

***

Once Arthur was sure you were asleep, he put his clothes back on and slipped out of his tent. 

He looked around camp, spotting a small group gathered around a campfire near Pearson’s tent. He could spot Dutch, Hosea, Javier, Bill, John, and most importantly Micah. 

Arthur took a deep breath, fighting the urge to cross the camp and start throwing punches at Micah. 

Instead, he calmly made his way to the fire and sat down on the log next to John. 

“Thought you went to bed.” John commented. 

“Nah, can’t sleep.” Arthur shook his head. 

“Arthur! So glad you could join us!” Dutch’s voice was unnecessarily loud. Arthur hoped you wouldn’t wake up. 

“Hi, Dutch.”

“Thought you and Miss Y/L/N had gone off to bed for the night, cowpoke.” Micah offered him a beer but Arthur declined, lips pressing together in a tight line. “What happened?”

“Figured I’d stay up a little longer. Spend some time with you guys.” Arthur forced a smile on to his lips. “Don’t get to do that much anymore, do I?”

“No, as a matter of fact you don’t. You’re either off playing hero or-or…. or your off playing hero.” Bill swayed in his seat. He had too much to drink. 

“Or you know, you’ve got certain people around here up your ass.” Micah shrugged his shoulders. “Don’t have time to sit around and drink with your brothers.”

John furrowed his brows, looking over at Micah. 

“What the hell are you talking about, Bell?”

“Shut up, Marston.”

“You know what? Maybe you’re right.” Arthur tilted his head to the side a little as he looked at Micah. “What happened to your nose? I’ve never noticed it was so crooked.”

Micah scowled. 

“Or maybe it’s not.” Arthur shrugged his broad shoulders. “Maybe I just never got a good look at it.” 

“My god, Arthur, I think you’re right.” Hosea leaned forward as if to take a closer look at Micah’s nose. “Looks absolutely terrible, Micah. You might need to get that checked out.”

“Go to hell.” Micah started to stand up. 

Arthur stood up too, stepping towards Micah. 

“The next time you think about putting your hands on Y/N or her horse, the least of your concerns is gonna be her breakin’ your nose or pullin’ a knife on you, you hear me?” He spoke lowly. 

Micah held his gaze for a few moments before turning and skulking away. 

Arthur turned back to those who sat at the fire. Everyone was silent and didn’t know what to say. 

“Is Y/N okay?” Hosea asked. 

“She’s fine.” Arthur muttered, clenching his fist together. “I don’t like that fella.”

“Don’t think many of us do.” John sighed, standing to his feet.

Taglist: @winterwolf @doggone-cowgirl @lauramb7 @caraqas @bluscryn @nonodino @krenee1drful @thefirelordm @sargeantsea @sokkasdarling @thecollection @mayday1284

If your name is in italics, it wouldn’t let me tag you :(

[reddeadreference]

Blog Progress Update (Travel Blog Style😎 #5)

Went back out to try and get a damn woodpecker and ran into Javier because Bill got taken by Bounty Hunters. (I think I only had this happen to me once before, I don’t remember Javier saying how much of a problem Bill is... ironic... you have no idea amigo...)

Found one. A woodpecker that is. Only a good and not a perfect. So ... damn...

Trying yet another spot.

The sound of pecking wood haunts Arthur’s dreams....

I swear the game is doing this on purpose, after 2 more good woodpeckers I finally got the perfect, but it hit the water and started going down river NEVER giving me the lil paw symbol to indicate that I had killed it/that it was even there.

Luckily Arthur spotted it in the water, followed it, and got it. We officially have all the little critters we’re gonna need.

Finally spoke to John. The look on Arthur’s face... look how shocked he looks that John has a good idea. Like “Wait a second... who are you and what have you done with my dumb brother...?”

Went to get an oil wagon for John’s plan. (See Dutch, what John has is an actual plan. Spent weeks standing by a tree and staring at a blank piece of paper that magically turned into map planning this plan out. Take notes Dutch.... take notes.)

Oh hey, John, buddy, pal, friend, bro… This oil wagon.... it doesn't actually need to be full of oil, right? Not like the train driver will know if it has anything in it, right? Why am I asking? No reason. No reason at all. Huh? What am I covered in? Uh.... I slipped in mud. Really really dark mud.

Sean is magically back in camp! (He wasn't even part of the mission I did that brought him back.. oh well. Wouldn’t be rdr2 without weird glitches...). I finally got a photo of his clothes and discovered he shares the tent with Rev. Swanson.... so... who’s bedroll is in front of Javier and Charles’? Is it meant to be Micah’s (Press X to DOUBT) I guess it’s just an extra for Javier to sit on when he plays his guitar...

Anyone ever noticed how… bouncy Sean’s walk is? Lil pep in his step. Was the term "swag" invented in that context yet?

Oh I'm "hanging around camp like a bad smell" am I Dutch? I “used to be a man of action” was I Dutch? Well this time Arthur isn't come back til someone comes for us. For real this time!

Come on Arthur, let's go see Albert. At least he appreciates us …

"Been here before"... Arthur, why are you talking like we're not still in Chapter 2? I know I’m not meant to spend this long in this chapter but... I want to. Dang... I’m gonna miss that funny little photo man…

Did some more hunting requests and took a trip to Saint Denis (I know Arthur, I keep promising we wont go back... I’m sorry.) Went on a shopping spree, got a hair cut, then went to the theater.

Look how dapper we look.

The show just refuses to show me the fire breather's 3rd act… so I gotta post the show's post without photos from that.

The little voice in Arthur's head is going to listen to the show while they work on posts.

---

I think I’ve FINALLY gotten all of Saint Denis done (At least what I can get done before Chapter 4) and I’ve got so many photos for Annesburg, Rhodes, and Strawberry I can start posting those soon too.

---

Just gotta get two animals and I’ll have done all the hunting requests.

I think it’s time Arthur meet a certain ginger man with a funny way of saying things so we can start getting some rock carvings. Just realized we haven’t even started looking for dino bones.

I hope it’s Charles who comes to get us... he actually cares....

[scumbagg]

The Last Time

Ruby x Charles

Notes: Thanks to the absolute KWEEEEN @verai-marcel​ for her amazing skills and helping me with this! You da beeeest. 

Summary: This is set right after the events of My Last Boy. Charles is leaving with the Wapiti; Ruby’s moonshine business is taking off.

Warnings: angst. implied recent sex. 

Word count: 1193

Ruby kicks Bones to a run as she rides through the humid air of Bluewater Marsh towards Van Horn, grateful for the breeze on her face, the dark clouds overhead threatening rain. Bones snorts in protest as she breathes in the thick air, but obeys nevertheless. Ruby’s stomach is twisted into a giant knot as she hears the words from Charles’ letter in his deep voice in her mind. Our usual room. 4pm, 25th of this month. Wait for me.

It had been weeks since Ruby had heard from him, let alone seen him. She’d read in the newspaper the events from the Saint Denis bank robbery, read about the capture of John Marston and deaths of Hosea and Lenny. Her heart throbbed as she saw Lenny’s infectious smile in her mind, Hosea’s kind eyes that never seemed to miss a thing, even when he had them buried in a book. The paper also stated that a large reward was on offer for information on the whereabouts of Dutch Van Der Linde, Arthur Morgan, Bill Williamson, Micah Bell, Javier Escuella and another man unknown by name but only given a short description matching exactly that of Charles’.

When she had received his letter three days earlier, her heart had fluttered and she’d almost collapsed with relief as she’d opened the paper to see his familiar handwriting. So he was alive. Ruby had wanted to run to Van Horn then and there.

Drops of rain hit her face as she pulls Bones to a trot, passing the old lighthouse that greets her as she enters the tiny, dirty town. Her eyes lift ahead to the building at the end of the road where the post office sits under the room they’ve made love in many times before. From this distance, Ruby can just make out the figure leaning against the railing on the upstairs balcony, the grey snow-capped spotted Appaloosa hitched at the post against the building below. She trots slowly through the grubby town, knowing Charles is watching her without having to look at him.

Ruby hitches Bones next to Taima, greeting the Appaloosa with an apple and a pat on her neck. Taima nuzzles her gratefully before nipping Bones affectionately with a snort. Normally not so tolerant to other horses, Ruby chuckles as her Norfolk Roadster snorts back with annoyance but allows the other horse to greet her. She gives Bones a sugar cube before heading for the wooden staircase. Ruby takes the stairs slowly, her legs feeling like lead. Her breath hitches in her throat as she finally lays her eyes on him.

Charles’ hair is different; normally flowing freely down his back, feather entwined in the end, it now snakes its way down his back, shaved at the sides of his head. Coupled with the hard expression on his face, he looks mean. His features seem to have aged since the time Ruby hadlast seen him, yet somehow he looks more beautiful than ever. His eyes soften as he takes her in, but his mouth remains firm.

For a long moment, they stare at each other. So many questions flood Ruby’s mind – Where have you been? Why haven’t you written? Are you okay? What happened in Saint Denis? All at once, every burning question overwhelms her and she lets out a choked sob – unaware that tears had even filled her eyes – and closes the distance to Charles where she falls into him, his strong arms catching her and holding her to his broad chest.

“Hey..” he soothes, holding her tight. “I’m here now. I’m with you. Come on,” he holds her out a little so he can look down at her face. “Let’s head inside. I need you so bad right now.” He pushes the door open to the small room, lifting her up in his strong arms and carrying her through the doorway, kicking the door shut behind him and placing her down on the bed.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 Ruby watches Charles pull his boots on as she sits in bed smoking a cigarette. He sighs as he sits back down, the bed groaning under his weight as it had done only moments earlier, the metal bed head knocking against the wooden wall under the rhythm of their bodies moving in sync together. The light from the flames in the fireplace casts a warm glow across the room, allowing Ruby to get a look at Charles’ pained expression on his face.

“Charles.” Ruby places a hand on his shoulder. “Talk to me. What is it?” She’d known something was different between them the minute she’d reached the top of the stairs outside.

He doesn’t look at her. Instead, he speaks to the wall across from him. “I’m leaving tomorrow. With the Wapiti tribe. Things went badly with their relations with the government and they need to escape, move away somewhere before there’s more retaliation and more people get hurt.” He looks at the floor, unable to look at her face.

Ruby’s mind is blank. She can’t seem to form a coherent thought. “So.. so what does this mean? What about us?” The room suddenly feels very cold, contradicting the warm fire blazing on the opposite side of the room.

“It means.. I’m leaving. I don’t have a choice, Ruby.” He says to the floor.

“Look at me, Charles.” Ruby’s words come out harsher than she meant, but it works. Charles finally turns to her, his eyes so full of pain she doesn’t know if she can bear to take it. His eyes search her face painstakingly, capturing her image to lock it away in his brain forever – she looked so beautiful, lips painted red with her winged eyeliner framing her huge green eyes – which were now looking at him accusingly as she sat in bed shirtless with a cigarette in her hand.

“So that’s it then? Weeks of no communication – I didn’t even know if you were alive! – to come right back just to fuck me and leave forever? That’s great, Charles. Thanks.” Her voice is laced with sarcasm as she spits out the last of her words.

Charles stands up, fully dressed. His words are desperate as he pleads with her. “Come with me. We can start over someplace new, we can actually be together! Get married, start a family!”

Ruby scoffs. “You know I can’t leave. Not now.”

Charles looks at her sadly. “And you know I can’t abandon those people.”

“What about me?” Ruby asks quietly. “You’re abandoning me.”

Charles leans forward and brushes Ruby’s hair behind her ears, stroking his fingers along her jawline as she leans into his hand. He takes her hand and places it over his heart.

“It’ll always be you, Ruby. Always.” Charles kisses her hand delicately before he walks to the door and opens it, the rain outside now hammering down.

“Your heart is too big for your own good, Charles.” Ruby says to his back. He turns his head to the side, unable to look at her, before he steps out onto the balcony and closes the door behind him, leaving her alone in the room with her broken heart.

[neon-junkie]

Mi Querido

Summary:  Whilst dating John, you finally realize who in the camp is in love with you, and decide to make those feelings mutual.

Pairing: Javier Escuella X GN!Reader

Word Count: 3522

Rating: SFW Tags: Friends to lovers, First kiss, Fluff, Slow burn, Guitar playing, Boat ride, Breakup, Angst.

Notes: This was meant to be a short drabble, maybe a few hundred words, but I got hella carried away lmao. Requests always open!

You and John had been dating for a few weeks now. It was quite sudden, though you always had a soft spot for the young cowboy, you never expected the feelings to be mutual. John was a sweetheart; loving, caring, soft. His confession of feelings towards you stumbled out of his mouth one day when the two of you were on a mission together. Maybe he was nervous? Maybe it was a genuine accident? Who knows. It led to the two of you coming back from the mission hand in hand with a nice wad of cash.

Everybody in the camp was so supportive. Abigail didn't seem to care.

You got along with pretty much everyone, hating Micah just like the rest of the clique. You had done your fair share of robberies with Arthur, hunting trips with Charles, drinking with Sean, fishing with Javier. You felt like you fit in well here, and it appears the gang felt mutual.

One of your closest companions was Javier. You wouldn't say you had a best friend, but Javier was one of few that you found yourself hanging out with the most. You tried to love all your friends equal, but it appeared that no matter what, you'd end up besides Javier as you sat by the campfire, or pitching your tent next to his. Maybe he gave you some form of comfort or protection?

Javier had been distant lately.

You had asked to go fishing with him, he quickly revealed he had made plans. It felt like an excuse.

You sat next to him at dinner one night, he quickly excused himself saying he was going for a piss, then never came back.

You asked him for a game of five finger fillet. For the first-ever time, he declined, saying his hands already ached.

You sat with John and a group of others at the table, playing a game of Poker. You weren't great but meh, who cares, you didn't bet much on it. John couldn't help but keep jokingly peek at your cards, making you giggle and hide them each time. Bill kept complaining you two were cheating and working together, so on the next game you and John sat closer and had a hand together. Bill couldn't complain if you shared your cards.

You could see Javier in the distance, sat around the campfire with few others, playing to himself and keeping his input to their conversation a minimum. Your eyes flicked over him and were met as he flicked his eyes over at you from under his hat.

You both looked away.

This happened a few times throughout the night.

You could feel Javier watching you. You could feel him strumming louder every time you and John spoke. Louder as you laughed. Louder as you both flirted.

Javier was drowning you out. You didn't understand why.

You lay awake that night, huddled up to John in his cot. His cheek rested against your forehead, lightly snoring, arms around you.

You thought of Javier.

You thought about the first time he took you fishing. How he helped you as you struggled to reel in your first catch, standing behind you and reaching round to place his hands on top of yours. You remembered the rough skin of his palms sliding over the back of your hand, his breath on the back of your neck, his chest pressed against your back. It was a big catch, Javier was thrilled for you. He congratulated you and looked at you with happy, puppy-like eyes.

You thought about the time you were ill for a week, bed-bound, unable to walk on your own. Javier had stuck by your side the most, but not to the point where it was clingy. He brought you food as often as he could, most of it from his own private stash as Pearsons cooking would only make you sicker. You thought about how he held a cold wet towel over your forehead often, how he stroked your hair to comfort you as you fell asleep, how he held you tightly and calmed you after you broke down, worried that you'd never get better.

You thought about the many times you wandered around the camp at night, unable to sleep. But the one time that struck you the most was when Javier had caught you awake. He had cooed you over to him and told you to get comfortable on his roll mat, picking up his guitar as you lay down. Javier strummed lightly. You watched him through half-lidded eyes, the campfire in the distance outlining him like a halo, his long black hair resting lightly over his face as his back half-faced you. You woke during the night to find him next to you, his blanket draped over you as he lay on his front beside you, arm lightly around your waist.

You had felt something then. You had felt something as you shuffled closer to him, pulling the blanket over him also. You had felt something as he instinctively rolled onto his side and pulled you into him, his thumb stroking over yours as you fell back asleep.

Back then you just thought it was a platonic feeling. You were glad you could snuggle up to your friends. Your interpretations of your own feelings were wrong.

You had felt something different when you woke the next morning to find him gone. Bill had questioned why you were sleeping on Javier's roll mat. You had shrugged him off and went back to your own tent.

Somehow, you had finally realized what these feelings were.

You got up from Johns cot, quietly making your way around the camp in the dead of night. Javier was nearby, on guard duty. He looked over his shoulder to see you coming his way, and quickly turned back, almost as if he pretended to not notice you approaching.

"Why have you been avoiding me?" You asked as you stood beside him, turned to face him. He kept facing forward.

"I haven't," Javier replied coldly.

"You haven't properly spoken to me in weeks!" You scolded.

"And it's taken you this long to notice? Not a day? Not even a few days?" Javier said as he turned to face you, holding the shotgun down beside him in one hand. Javier huffed as he looked away from you, facing forward, the shadow of his hat covering half of his angered expression.

There was a moment of silence.

"I know why you're mad," You said to him. Javier didn't reply.

"I never realized before that you were into me."

"How? Everbody could see it."

"I guess I just saw your gestures as being friendly. It only came to mind now. I feel ashamed that it took me this long to realize," you said as you looked down.

"Why does it matter now? You have John," Javier said as he waved his hand, shrugging you off.

You wanted to say more to him.

You didn't know what to say.

You left him to it.

The next few days you spent mostly alone, taking long walks, reading a book, going hunting, but never fishing, as that just reminded you of Javier. Lovely Javier. With his tanned skin and dark mustache that never met in the middle. With his long hair that he always tied back in a cute little ponytail. With his large rough hands that you now realized were always aching to be touching your skin.

Javier clogged up your thoughts.

Javier was the reason you failed to launch your bow at this deer you were hunting. The deer ran away.

More days passed. John was asking you on the daily if you were okay, kissing your temple, holding your hands in his. He loved physical affection, especially with you, but noticed you were sympathetically giving it back, rather than giving it back because you loved him. Your two-way relationship was turning into a one-way street.

You noticed John sat with Javier one night, talking to him quietly. Javier seemed to be acting himself, though slightly distant. You saw John talking for a while, he looked like he was stumbling on his words. Javier had shrugged back at him. John looked annoyed. You overheard Javier apologize to John and say he wasn't sure how to help him, then excuse himself from the table. As Javier was walking off, John raised his voice and asked if there was anyone in this camp who didn't seem distant and down. He huffed.

The day you broke up with John was not a nice one. It was dark and gloomy out, the sun seemed to never rise that day. You'd never apologized so much to someone in your life, saying how the problem was you, not him. John didn't seem surprised by the breakup, mentioning how you'd been so off with him lately. He couldn't be mad at you, and just wished you the best for your happiness. He asked if you two could still be friends, you smiled sweetly and said "always," before kissing him on the forehead one last time.

A few nights later, you sat at the campfire by yourself. Yet again you were up, unable to sleep. Charles had checked on you as he went onto his watch, giving you a hug and reminding you that he's always there for you. Charles was so sweet. You were glad you'd met him. A little while later you heard someone walking back into camp, it was Javier.

"Why are you awake?" He asked you as he approached you.

"Can't sleep," you replied.

"Mi querido, you can never seem to sleep."

You hadn't heard him call you that in so long. My dear, his dear. You had missed his company over the weeks, realizing how much you had isolated yourself.

"(Y/N)?" he asked. You clicked out of your train of thought, realizing you hadn't replied to Javier.

"Yeah?" You asked.

Javier paused for a while.

"You broke up with Marston," he said in a half statement, half questioning way.

"I did."

"Why?" He asks.

"I.. I don't know. I didn't feel right- I don't feel right," you said, correcting yourself.

"It is hard to love someone when your head isn't clear," Javier said, from experience. You hummed in agreement. The two of you paused in silence again.

"I will leave you to it. Goodnight," Javier said, then left. You wanted to turn around and call for him to come back, call for him to sit beside you so you could lay your head on his shoulder and entwine his fingers in yours. Your throat got stuck, unable to call out for him. Was it the fear of rejection? Who knows.

You woke the next day, still not used to being in your own bed. Your tent flaps were closed, keeping the rays of sunlight and the harsh morning cold out. Most of the company had small open tents, ones you thought could barely be called a tent. You had cashed out on a much nicer one, giving you both warmth and privacy. Slightly disorientated, you got up and reached over to your bedside table (which was just an empty crate) to have a sip of water. You felt your hand grab something silky and soft instead. You looked over to see a flower there, freshly picked, bright and loving.

Javier.

You had placed the flower into a spare cup of water and kept it beside your bed. Javier hadn't spoken to you much, only passing comments when you were in a group of people. He and you had had no alone time, and no chances to be alone together either.

But the flowers continued to come. Every morning one was added to your cup at your bedside. Always the first thing to brighten your day.

The cup began to fill quickly and one morning you woke to see it had been replaced with an actual vase, along with another fresh flower.

You had tried to stay up a few times in hope to catch Javier sneaking into your tent. Maybe you'd confront him. Maybe you'd pretend to be asleep. Maybe you'd ask him to stay by your side, hopefully forever. Though every time you'd always ended up falling asleep. For once you were able to sleep at night as if waking up to these flowers was motivation for you to get some rest.

The girls had once commented on how you always had a lovely bunch of flowers by your bed, seeing as you left your tent flaps open during the day. They asked who was picking them for you. You shrugged, pretending not to know. Karen bet it was John trying to win you back, Tilly half agreed, the other half thinking John had moved on by now.

A part of you then realized it could be John. There was nothing to say who it was. There was nothing to say it was Javier. For all you know, Javier could have also moved on by now and destroyed any hope he had in being with you.

You went to bed that night unsettled.

The next day you woke to a sight. It was as if the person who was leaving these flowers had heard yours and the girls's conversation the day before.

There was flowers everywhere.

Everywhere.

Your usual bunch sat on your bedside table, fuller than ever. But there were also flowers dotted around your tent. Bunches placed over the crates and chests where you store your clothes, petals scattered over the floor, the stems of some had been placed through the loops in your tent flaps, not that you ever did them up anyway, or at least you hadn't since they started leaving flowers every night. Your tent was covered. They were all different closers, shapes, and sizes. Whoever left them had clearly spent a long time collecting them, let alone placing them around your tent.

You were glad you didn't have hay fever.

You went to put your usual attire on when you saw a box on top of your clothes crate. You brushed the flowers off and opened it, looking inside to see clothing. By the shoulders, you pulled it out the box, presenting it in front of you. You eyed up the most gorgeous, and expensive (dress/shirt) you had ever seen. The fabrics pattern was of course, floral. You didn't hesitate to put it on and put extra effort into your appearance today. You felt special, you felt loved.

As you left your tent, the first thing you noticed was that the flowers didn't end there. There was a soft scatter of petals outside your door. A trail. You looked up to see where the trail leads off to - off into the woods. That was when you noticed the amount of eyes on you. Half the camp was eyeing you up, smiling.

The gang was a hard bunch of outlaws, but they seemed to be soft today. As if the loving gesture had an effect on everyone.

"You won't need your horse, it doesn't go too far," you heard Arthur call out to you. You nodded and began following it.

Arthur was right. It was a small walk, that leads you through a path in the woods, then broke off to head towards the beach. As the trail began to come to an end, you could faintly hear the soft strumming of a guitar.

Javier.

Without noticing you picked up the pace, coming out of the forest and into contact with the beach.

There he was.

Leaning back against a boulder for support, Javier was looking down at his guitar whilst he played. He looked smart; hair in its usual ponytail but clean for once, clean white shirt on, polished shoes, smart black trousers, and a waistcoat with a matching floral pattern to the outfit he had left out for you. There were flowers threaded into the head of his guitar.

"You came," he said as he looked up. It made you feel like he wasn't expecting you'd come, that he wasn't expecting you to still have feelings for him, if he even knew you had any to begin with.

"Of course," was all you could respond. You wanted to tell him to love him. You wanted to tell him you're sorry. You wanted to run over and kiss him. You froze in the moment.

"Join me?" Javier asked as he paused his playing to point over to the rowing boat pushed on the shore of the beach. You never even noticed it was there, too starstruck from the look of Javier.

You nodded, making your way over. You instinctively began pushing the rowboat offshore. Javier tutted you, ordering you to get in as he placed his guitar in there. How Javier managed to get the two of you offshore without getting any of his clothes wet was beyond you.

But here you were, looking over the landscape as Javier rowed.

"You're quiet. Something wrong, mi querido?" he asked.

"I was just admiring the view," you said as you smiled at him.

"Me too," he replied. You were the view. The only time he had taken his eyes off you was to check where he was rowing you out to. "You want to play whilst I row?" Javier asks you, eyeing at his guitar.

"Sure," you said as you picked his guitar up.

Javier had taught you a few things here and there. He was always very excited whenever you asked for a lesson off him. Never hesitating on sitting close to you, moving his fingers on top of yours to help you press the chords, moving his hands along yours, adjusting your arms. Javier teaching you anything was just an excuse for him to get close to you, because he could simply say he's just trying to help.

You were a bit wobbly but managed to strum out a simple melody he had taught you.

"Sorry I'm rusty," you said as you played.

Javier stopped rowing and shuffled to sit beside you.

"May I?" He asked, reaching his arms out slightly to assist you. This was the first time he had ever asked.

"You don't have to ask," you smiled. Javier smiled back and reached around you, placing his hands on top of yours, helping you play. You could feel his chest against your shoulder blade, his breath lightly on your ear, his rough palms cupping over the back of your hands.

You moved the guitar slightly so it sat more in the middle of you two, and took the opportunity to rest your head on his shoulder.

For the first-ever time, you felt him tense up at your touch.

His chest quickly softened out, and you felt his cheek rest on the top of your head.

The two of you synced up and played a simple melody. It felt magical. Unreal.

"I'm glad I finally know who the flower culprit is," you said as you continued your playing.

"Did you know it was me?" Javier asked.

"I didn't know it was you, but I always hoped it was."

Javier stopped playing, you did too.

"(Y/N)," he said as he took his guitar from you and rested it up against the side of the boat. He turned to face you.

"Did you break off with Marston for me?" Javier asked.

"Well, uhm," You paused.

"No, you don't have to answer that. I.. uh.. Well, I just want to know that one thing. It is behind me. I was an idiota for taking my anger out. I should have been happy for you, supported you. It was selfish to put my feelings first, above you, above John."

He paused.

"I'm sorry for the way I acted."

You took Javier's hand in yours and smiled at him.

"John is behind us now. I only hope to look forward to a future with you," you say to him.

You had never seen Javier blush until now.

"And I'm sorry for not realizing my feelings until later. I had always found comfort with you, but I never realized what I was feeling was love. I was so blind and so stupid," you continued.

"Mi querido, it's behind us now," Javier said as his spare hand came up to brush along your hairline and rest on your cheek.

"Be mine?"

You wasted no time in accepting his question by leaning forward to finally meet your lips with his. He kissed back, obviously. His hand running from your cheek, down your hair, to rest on your jawline. You felt like you could hear cheering in the distance. Maybe the gang was watching. Maybe it was inner you applauding you on.

You could feel Javier smile against your lips and he continued to kiss you. His hand lightly squeezed at yours, and you couldn't help but smile back against him.

The two of you slowly pulled away, resting foreheads against each other, eyes both shut.

"I love you, Javier," you said.

"I love you too, mi querido," he replied.

[emily-strange]

Growing Pains...

Bit of a short 2nd Chapter just to move things along....I adore the idea of Arthur as a big brother. Makes me love him even more! Also, taking a few liberties with timelines etc.

PS. I’m sorry if the punctuation isn’t really as it’s supposed to be. I’m kind of writing this for my own fun so I’m maybe not being as eagle-eyed as I should be. Hope that’s okay :)

Summary: Emmy has been with the gang since she was a little girl. Her mother moved on, leaving her to be raised by Dutch, Hosea and Susan. Arthur and John are her brothers (argue and she will fight you). Becoming a woman is hard when everyone still sees you as a child. Since the Blackwater mess she’s trying to find her feet while dealing with her new feelings for the gangs resident douchebag.

Pairing: None yet, eventual Micah x female OC.

Warnings: Swearing, Minor mention of blood (they’re outlaws after all).

Chapter 2

The next day brought with it the usual tasks after a party. Cleaning up the bottles, cigarette butts and Uncle off of whatever surface he collapsed on for the night. The one good thing about mornings after a party is that Susan is too tired or simply doesn’t care enough to bark orders at everyone. The girls especially. So, everything gets to run that little bit slower.

I love mornings like this.

I watch as Karen and Sean return quietly from the woods. Leaves, dirt and twigs stuck to their hair and clothes. Karen signals for me to stay quiet as she tiptoes past the tents on her way to the lake but Sean just collapses under the lean-to next to Javier. Hosea is up talking to John, who’s on guard duty this morning and from the way Abigail simply ignores him I assume he behaved himself after being sent to bed. Thank goodness. Last thing we need today is yelling. Not sure anyone’s head can take it.

After I finish washing the bottles, I make my way to Arthur’s tent. I didn’t get to see much of him last night after Sean was brought back and I’d like to catch up. On the way to the tent I see Micah, Bill and Kieran around the scout fire. Micah purposefully tries to trip Kieran up on his way to the horses.

“What the hell was I thinkin’” I mutter to myself as I see Kieran regain his footing. I wasn’t paying any attention to where I was going until I collide with the solid wall that is my brother.

“Woah watch where ya goin’ there miss. I got precious cargo here.” Arthur puts down the box of left-over whiskey and signals for me to follow him into his tent where he’s packing his satchel. “You have fun last night? Must be happy to have the Irish toddler back.” he laughs.

I sit down next to him on the cot but twist myself to face him.

“Yeah it’s nice havin’ him back. For a while there I thought he was, ya know, just gone.” I glance over to where I know Sean is sleeping and see Javier waking up. He must have drunk a lot; the poor guy looks like he has no idea where he is. “But I was worried about you being so close to Blackwater.”

“Nothin’s happenin’ to me little miss.” Arthur winks at me. I watch as he picks up his rifle to clean.

“You goin’ back out?” I ask trying to not sound as disappointed as I am. Of course, Arthur picks up on it though.

“Yeah Pearson won’t stop harpin’ on at me for more meat. I swear the guy pockets most of it.” He says shaking his head. I know he doesn’t really believe that. Despite all of their back and forth, I know they actually get on really well. Pearson’s been with us a long, long time.

My silence draws Arthur’s attention. “I’m sorry I haven’t been in camp more. I know it gets boring for ya.” I just nod and he continues, “How’s about when I’m back we go out shootin’. Work on that aim a bit more?”. Arthur chuckles as I smack him on the arm as hard as I can. I swear it hurts me more than him though!

“My aim is fine!” I say probably a little too loudly. Arthur finishes off cleaning the rifle and stands with his stuff. “It is fine” he says “as long as the bad guy stands absolutely still.” Again, he laughs. What is it with men and laughing at their own jokes!?

He hands me his rifle and picks up the satchel off of the floor.

“Walk me?” he asks and I get up, accepting the gun. We say a few ‘hellos’ on the way to Arthur’s horse and once we get there, he loads him up. After everything’s checked he turns to pull me in for a hug.

As always, I tell him “Be safe”. And as always, he replies “The safest”.

While watching him ride out of camp I look back over at the scout fire. I can see Kieran working on his saddle as usual. We need to try and get him involved more. But everyone else has dispersed.

I slowly make my way back into camp, kicking leaves and twigs like a bored child and think about what I’m possibly going to do for the day. I know Lenny got a tip about a homestead, maybe he needs a distraction or someone light on their feet? Or I know Hosea was talking about going fishing. I hate finishing but at least it’s a change of scenery.

A loud “FUCK” pulls me from my thoughts and I look over to the main campfire. Micah lies on the floor clutching his nose as blood drips through his fingers. Bill and Sean are holding Javier back as the girls giggle under their lean-to. It doesn’t take a genius to work out what just happened but as I see Micah scramble to his feet and spit in Javier’s direction, I find myself walking over to them anyway.

I catch Micah’s eyes for a split second before he casts them to the ground and storms off into the trees.

“Fookin’ hell I misst you crazy fooks” Sean laughs as he lets Javier go, seeing as he’s calmed down considerably. I walk over and pick up what I can assume is Micah’s chair and a letter underneath it.

“You okay Javier?” I ask while sitting down, fiddling with the piece of paper.

He finishes taking a big swig of coffee and breathes deeply, “Fine joven senorita. Just fine. Apologies that you had to see that”.

“It’s fine, I didn’t really see anything anyway. What happened?” I ask him but before he can reply, Sean jumps in. 

“Wot happened!? We was all havin’ a right dandy mornin’, Javi here handed out sum letters he pickt up yesterday right, and Micah goes batshit!” he shouts.

“Man’s Loco” Javier adds and finishes his coffee.

Sean takes a swig of whiskey and pats Javier on the back, “Loco indeed my friend! Now, where were we? You was tellin’ me about those lasses back home!”. And as quickly as the noise started, it finished.

Javier and Sean wander slowly away from the camp and I take a moment to look at the letter in my hands. “Dear Micah” it says and I slowly close it back up. I’d hate it if someone went through my journal so I’m not about to read his personal letters.

Micah is so infuriating. A punch in the face is the least he deserves and when he gets one, he has the gall to look sad! Not even angry. What does loud mouthed Micah Bell have to be sad about. Ridiculous. 

“What to do..” I whisper to myself and glance around the camp. People are either still in bed, cleaning up or look extremely worse for wear.

No one would notice if I disappeared for a few minutes, right?

Note: If anyone has any ideas about better titles please tell me! haha

[sad-sweet-cowboah]

The baby of an Outlaw

Arthur x Pregnant!Reader

This is my first time attempting this!!! I’ve had this in my head for a while now and I thought I’d finally write it down

It started with the aches. You wake up stiff and sore even though you haven’t done any missions or outings

You notice some spotting in your undergarments. It’s off and on, but your monthlies tend to be late, even skipping over a month sometimes*

You’ve been extra snippy lately, snapping at Micah (more than usual) but even some of the others at camp have been on the receiving end too

Understandably, food can be scarce at times. Even with surplus, you’re feeling much hungrier as of late.

But then the sickness sets in.

You’re out with Arthur one day when it hits you suddenly, you jump off your horse to vomit in the bushes

He’s concerned, but you just assume you had a rotten can of beans from the night before. They did seem to taste a little off...

As this happens more, Arthur gets more and more concerned

Tries to get you to the doctor, but you decline

One day in camp you’re downing a bowl of stew when it hits you again, you quickly excuse yourself to empty your stomach as quietly as you can

Why? Did Pearson use some rotten vegetables?

You come back trying to hide the fact that you just literally lost your meal, but someone was observant

Abigail sits you down and asks you what’s going on. You tell her it’s probably just some sort of sickness or bad food.

Abigail reminds you that you’re not the only one eating the same food, and no one else is getting sick

You begin to list off your symptoms. A knowing look crosses her face the more in-depth you go.

“Y/N, you’re pregnant!”

The news startles you.

Arthur is out hunting at the moment, so you spend the time preparing how to tell him

He arrives late at night, at this point it’s only you and the guard up. You hear the hoof beats in the distance.

He waltzes into camp with a buck over his shoulder. He drops it off and his eyes light up as he sees you

“Evenin’ Y/N. Why ain’t you sleepin’ yet?”

You pull him into your tent and sit down, wringing your hands nervously. You avoid his gaze. It takes you a moment to muster up the courage.

“Arthur, I-I’m pregnant.”

Arthur_Morgan.exe has stopped responding

His eyes widen, he stutters when trying to speak. You can see the panic rising in those blue eyes

You know about Eliza and Isaac, he’s made it clear that he wouldn’t think about becoming a father again. He thought he was being careful.

He goes quiet that night, and you’re unsure what he’s thinking

He distances himself from you for a few days, going out on longer trips and not speaking very much

You know the news is hard on him, but you can’t help but to wonder if he’s going to leave you

One day you contemplate going out to search for him yourself

Just as you’re saddling your horse, you see his unmistakable silhouette on his horse, trotting back towards camp

 You’re shocked, but he stops in front of you, dismounting and pulling you into a tender, long kiss

He pulls back and tells you that he’ll be there for you every step of the way.

Oh the relief that rocked you from head to toe!

He becomes more protective of you, asks that you stay in camp (even though you don’t) and insists he comes along with you for missions

Comes back from hunts with extra game. Comes back from towns and robberies with extra cans of food. He hands you some of his helping even though you’ve had your share. You decline every time but he makes you do it anyway

“You’re eatin’ for two, you gotta darlin’.”

Doesn’t question when you ask for strange foods. Venison covered in honey? Canned peaches and fish? Sure why not

When you sleep, his hand is always resting on your belly

Never hesitates to give you massages, even when he himself is exhausted

Despite the aches, nausea and mood swings, you get horny AS FUCK

Arthur doesn’t want to at first, concerned it may hurt the baby, but with some persuasion...

Sweet, slow and sensual. He loves it, in fact your growing belly becomes a bit of a turn on

The moment that little tyke moves, it’s underneath Arthur’s hand as he’s falling asleep.

You’ve never seen that man SMILE SO WIDE

The moment you start showing, word goes around camp

The girls are chattering excitedly, hoping it’s a girl so they can dress her up

Jack hopes it’s a boy so they can play together

Although Arthur doesn’t make light of it, he secretly wants a girl

He also lowkey teases John about how he’ll make a better dad

Sean the big goof he is makes jokes about dad Arthur

Charles makes little trinkets for you and the baby

Lenny, Bill, Javier, and Karen are all betting on which gender it’ll be

As the months draw on, Arthur has Miss Grimshaw watch over you, making sure you stay in camp and away from anything strenuous or dangerous

You go a bit stir crazy from it, but Arthur makes sure he’s back every single night to tell you about whatever adventure he had that day

Every once in a while he’ll take you out somewhere near, like a little spot in the woods, a field for a picnic or into town for quick shopping so you’re not completely losing your mind.

He draws you often, with or without your knowledge. He likes to draw you as you’re holding your belly

You two talk for hours deciding on names and how to raise it

When the final month approaches, Arthur himself stays by your side much to Dutch’s annoyance

SOMETIMES he’s forced to go. It’s a big argument, but after the fifth time Hosea steps up to defend Arthur. Dutch reluctantly agrees to let him stay until after the baby is born.

In the middle of the night, you wake up feeling SOAKED

Soaked through your clothes and your cot. It’s time.

You rouse Arthur who goes from 0 to 100 realizing what’s happening and hurries off to get some help

Abigail immediately appears with Mary-Beth trailing behind with supplies. Miss Grimshaw is busy keeping others from intruding your space

The labor lasts H O U R S, you’ve never felt pain so intense as those contractions get closer and closer every hour. 

Half the time you’re either laying down or taking small laps around your tent as Arthur is right by your side

When another contraction hits you grip his arms as he whispers sweet murmurs of encouragement in your ear

Finally as dawn approaches, the contractions are close together now. Abigail lays you down and orders Arthur out

Arthur wants to be there too, but Miss Grimshaw pulls him out, insisting he’d only just get in the way

It’s time to push.

You thought the contractions were bad? Ho boy.

Abigail is at your feet while Mary-Beth is blotting your face with a cool wet rag

Everything hurts. You’re exhausted. You think you don’t even have any more strength in you. But there’s just one more push...

You suddenly hear the gurgled cry of your newborn as Abigail wraps the little one in a blanket

“It’s a girl!”

She’s placed into your shaking arms. Pink all over, with a healthy set of lungs and a few wisps of sandy blonde hair on her head

Just moments later, Arthur pushes his way in

The face he has when he lays his eyes on you and his daughter, you watch his tough facade completely melt as he’s instantly by your side, placing a tender kiss on your forehead.

“She’s beautiful.”

*It was apparently common for poorer women in this time period to experience irregular periods due to malnutrition and stress.

I hope you like it guys!!!

[tj-is-tired-blog]

"Dammit" (RDR2 X Reader Fluff Headcanon/Blurb/Thing?)

Hey there um I accidentally posted an unfinished ask instead of saving it as a draft because I'm a fool and I can't find it anymore but I remember almost exactly what it was so yeehaw

@crimsonredemption asked: "Hey hey hey hey can you do 'fell asleep on my shoulder' and 'carrying you to bed' with arthur or javier from rdr2 with a gender neutral reader?" (Or something along those lines)

Answer: Hell yeah bröther let's do both

-------------

Arthur:

What started off as a simple fishing trip turned into so much more. You started at around three in the afternoon. About one or two hours after you set up a fishing spot, you found what seemed to be a stray dog. The dog looked malnourished and weak, but he still had a light in his eyes looking like he was filled with hope. He kind of reminded you of Arthur.

"Hey Arthur I found a dog!" You shouted with glee. You were petting the dog with your eyes lit up with joy. Arthur chuckled at how child-like you can be.

"We have a dog at camp (Y/N). We don't need anymore smelly animals than we already have." Arthur put his pole down and walked over to you. You were treating the dog like he was your son. The cowboy, now sitting next to you, was having fun watching you try to care for the dog.

"C'mon look at him! He looks like you but as a dog! Dog Arthur... Darthur!" The dog barked at you when you said the dumb name.

"Awe is that your name? Darthur, you're such a good bo a h." You said trying to imitate Arthur's soft spot for dogs. He was just laughing at how stupid the whole situation is.

"(Y/N) let's getchu' home." You looked at him with a pouty face and tried to fake cry.

"But the d o g." He shook his head and smiled.

"You're tired, c'mon. Get yer stuff." You frowned complied, stomping over to where you left your pole and bag o' fish. The dog followed you and you smiled widely

"I've been chosen!" You shrieked to the world. You looked over at Arthur only to see him loading his stuff on his horse, trying to hold in a laugh. He shook his head and broke. The cowboy, who rarely shows emotion of joy, was laughing a hard laugh. You smiled at this. Someone made tough man Arthur™ laugh and it was because of a dumb lil' doggy.

"Lessgo'." He said between laughs. You picked up the dog, disregarding Arthur saying they don't need anymore pets, and mounted your horse.

"Put the dog back-"

"But Arthurrrrrrrrrrrrrrr..." Arthur just smiled and rolled his eyes. The whole trip back you two were just cracking jokes and making sarcastic remarks. You checked on the dog every now and then, as it was slightly uncomfortable to ride on a small saddle with a larte-ish dog. When you did get to the camp it was about six o'clock at night and everyone was eating their dinner. You hitched your horses and you went to get a bowl of stew for the dog, and for your dinner.

"Now what in the hell is that." Micah, not really asking but demanding™, said, pointing to the dog.

"That is my new dog, and if you get anywhere near him I'll cut your eye out." You smiled sweetly, and continued to try and cool down the stew on the way to Arthur's tent. While waiting at his tent you were 'reading' a book you stole from Dutch. You were really doodling on all of the pages until it was unreadable. Then a certain yeehaw-man that you've spent your whole day with walked over.

"Why are you in my tent?" He looked genuinely confused.

"I can't leave evidence." You simply stated. Arthur huffed and looked at the page you were doodling on.

"Wait... Isn't that Dutch's favorite book?"

"Who knows at this point, you can't read it. Even the title isn't visible." You said snickering. Not once did you look up through the whole conversation. You just continued 'reading'. Big baby boy Arthur sat on the cot and you just kind of cuddled next to him. It felt natural.

"Where's your dog, (Y/N)?" You shot up and looked to where Micah was. Your sweet doggo wasn't there, so that's good. After a fierce whistle there was a bark, and both Cain and the stray walked over. You started making baby noises and pet the dogs. After your cute little dog fit, you closed the book with the pencil in it, and hid them in the wagon next to Arthur's tent.

"Why do you put it by me?" He whisper yelled.

"I can't be the one who gets caught. I'm the favorite." You added sarcasm to the last bit and flopped next to Arthur.

"You might be the strangest person I've ever met." He mumbled.

"Yeah, I know." You yawned out.

The next hour was just you two telling stories about your childhood. It was mildly emotional because you two just wished you could go back. Everything was less chaotic back then. You laid your head on Arthur's shoulder while telling about the past and slowly dozed off. Arthur was rambling and venting so he didn't notice you were asleep for a good while. When he eventually did figure it out, he just kind of stared in awe. He's never seen you so peaceful. You only had three emotions. Angry, sarcastic, and dog. Nothing more, nothing less.

He sighed and tried to pick you up. He struggled a little because not only was he tired and sore, he was trying to be gentle. It doesn't happen often because Arthur, being the big beautiful idiotic brute he is, thinks he's only good for destruction. But as we all know, that's a fat lie. Arthur carefully carried you back to your tent and got a few smart remarks from some of the gang members that were still up. He shot them glares and they shut up quickly.

When Arthur got to your tent he was trying to figure up how to set you down. He eventually figured it out after like six minutes. Arthur looked at you and you shivered a little bit. He looked around for extra blankets.

"Dammit..." Arthur laid down and cuddled you. You smiled in your sleep. He was like a big teddy bear.

You woke up with a start in the morning and you had no idea where you were.

"What the..." You looked around mildly panicking and found a note. You recognized the neat handwriting.

"I brought you here don't worry. You didn't get... Y'know." You looked over at Arthur chopping logs. He grinned quickly before getting back to his work.

--

Javier:

"Hey, Earth to (Y/N)!" You jumped and looked to your left. It was none other than Javier Escuella. He stifled a laugh due to your sudden reaction. You have a tendancy to daydream on guard duty, and now that it was getting later in the evening, you were dozing off every now and then.

"Huh? What? Who?" You yelled out aiming your rifle wherever you could. Javier sure did get a kick out of that. You just grumbled and sat down near a tree.

"Come on amigo, switch off with someone and get dinner. You haven't eaten all day." Javier stated, carving a piece of wood.

"Go trade with uh... Bill or Sean! Those two don't need sleep." You chuckled.

"Nah, I'm okay. Thanks for being concerned, I guess." You looked up at Javier, who yawned and slightly cut his finger with the knife.

"Gah! Mierda!" You shot up from whatever daze you were in, and immediately rushed over to Javier. He was probably being over-dramatic, as it was only a papercut, but you were still concerned.

"Hey wow, are you okay?" You gently held his hand and poured some water from your flask onto it.

"No, it really hurts..." He wasn't lying, but he wasn't telling the truth. It stung a little, but that was the only pain he felt from the small cut.

"Do you need a bandage I-" Javier cut you off.

"You can make it feel better with a kiss~" Javier purred out. You just groaned and threw his hand to the side. Always with the flirting. To be fair you should've expected it. He's almost never irresponsible when carving, or just handling a knife in general. Keyword: Almost.

"You're so stupid." You rolled your eyes jokingly and grabbed your stuff, walking back to your tent.

"Ah mi amor! Come back I miss you!" He laughed. You just scoffed and set your stuff back in your tent. Then you walked over to the campfire. Sitting at the campfire made you doze off again. However, you jolted awake at any sudden noise, trying to make it look like you weren't sleeping. Everyone noticed.

"How come you never go to bed (Y/N)? You always end up sleeping somewhere else." Charles asked carefully.

"Uh... I dunno. Paranoia maybe?" You shrugged and looked toward Charles' direction.

"It's because they always want to cuddle with the Mexican!" Bill mocked. You stood up and stomped over to him. He shrunk back in his seat and you grabbed his collar.

"Say something like that again, and I'll shoot you." You let go and walked to your horse. Little did you know, Javier was watching in the distance. He grimaced at Bill and went to go tell him off. You, however, went to go by the river and camp out for the night. Javier know this, as it was the spot you go to when you get mad.

"Stupid Bill, dumb camp, idiot people..." you mumbled on and on, leading your horse around the river. You grumbled and sat down on a rock.

"(Y/N)..." You whipped your head around and saw Javier. He had a soft, concerned smile on his face.

"Hey." You grumbled, hugging your knees. Javier dismounted his horse and walked over.

"I know you don't want to talk about it..." Javier said softly.

"It's fine. What's up with your eye." Javier beamed and put an arm around your shoulder.

"I knocked out the fucker." You just giggled and laid your head on his shoulder.

"Of course you did." You trailed off, cuddling into Javier's arm. You two sat in a peaceful silence until there was soft snoring from you. Javier looked down and smiled, admiring your features.

"Mi amor..." he mumbled. Javier cuddled you and eventually dozed off himself. You both had a rough night.

In the morning you woke up next to Javier in his tent. He was passed out cold, and snored loudly. You smiled and gave him a kiss on his forehead. Ever so slightly, you could see a grin on his face.

"Damn he's cute..."

-------------

UghHHHHH THIS TOOK FOREVER I'M SO SORRY! It's also a little longer and repetitive than I wanted it to be, but it was kinda fun writing it

[garyofrivia]

For They Shall Be Satisfied

Arthur Morgan x OC


Chapter 4

(masterlist in bio)

A/N: boy howdy, it’s been a minute on this one, huh? i’ve decided to not post this on AO3 anymore due to incredible typos and posting issues that i ran into. also, if you want to check out the other chapters, check my bio/page for the masterlist! i’m pretty sure tumblr is still weird with links in posts so this is likely how i’m going to handle chapter postings from now on. thanks to whoever reads, feel free to lmk what you think! i want to keep this one going for as long as i can... hopefully. Annie is a special one. enjoy <3

Warnings/Categories: Violence, Blood; Angst

(WC: 6,037)

“You boys ready to ride tonight?” Dutch boomed as he slung his saddle over The Count’s back. Annie looked up as she combed out Nero’s tail, studying Dutch as he worked.

“Aye, aye, cap’n,” Davey said, raising his hand in a mock salute while Mac giggled at his brother’s antics. Dutch just winked at the pair of them and carried on with his business.

 Annie and the rest of the gunmen stood around talking for a while, double and triple checking their guns and ammo as they waited for the sun to sink down over the horizon. The temperature would surely drop once night fell, so she slipped on her dark jacket over a black shirt. Even on a ridge, her dark outfit would help her blend into her surroundings once the sun went down. 

They decided to go with the original idea: three groups with three lookouts ready to raise the alarm at any sign of danger. They were to meet Benson and his men at the crossroads and head to the ambush site together. It was strange, being so uneasy about the plan. It was her idea, sure, but it wasn’t a good idea to move on it at all. The sunset caught her eye for a moment, all the orangey-red colors erupting over the Earth as a moment of clarity came over her. She couldn’t be distracted if she wanted this to turn out well. It was a silent promise she made to herself. 

“It’s more beautiful that I’ve seen in a while,” Charles said, joining her at her side as she gazed at the horizon.

“Yeah, I haven’t seen it this red in quite some time.” Annie said, glancing at him as she absentmindedly adjusted the buckles on her saddlebags.

“Supposedly that means we’ll be getting good weather soon.”

“Good weather? Here? That’s likely.”

Charles chuckled lightly and returned his attention to oiling his gun. Annie caught Arthur’s eye as he was saddling Boadicea, strapping the girth as tight as he could. He hadn’t said much to her outside of hesitantly discussing details for the job. He glanced at Charles as he stalked away, and then back at Annie with a new look of tension in his eyes. She watched him angrily jam the buckle into place on his saddle and begin to adjust the rest of his gear. 

“You good, Morgan?” she called.

He didn’t look up to meet her eyes. “Yep. You?”

“Yep.”

“Great.”

Annie nodded and hid a sly smile. Whatever he was upset about, it was something trivial for sure. He wasn’t one to keep his opinions to himself unless it meant he knew it was about  something foolish. Not wanting to jump to conclusions, she bit her tongue as she thought of ways she could eventually confront him about his sour mood as of late. 

“What are you laughin’ at, Princess?” Micah drawled, making Annie’s skin crawl.

“I caught a glimpse of your ugly damn face,” she said, eliciting a snicker or two in the background. “Couldn’t quite help myself.”

“Yeah, ha-ha, very funny. You’ll be thinkin’ about my face tonight in your dreams… amongst other things.”

Sean and Charles snapped their heads up in horror to watch what would happen next, but Annie simply chuckled. “You’re right! I’ll be dreamin’ about your face and how twisted it’ll look when I’m skinnin’ you alive.”

Micah laughed. “You’re a little firecracker, ain’t you?”

“Micah,” Dutch warned. “You keep provoking her like that, I’ll be tempted to cut her loose on you.”

Annie tauntingly snapped her teeth at him as he stalked away to finish readying up. Dutch shot her a knowing smile and she just shrugged. Even though he was newer to the gang, it was a common thing for Micah to let his mouth run longer than anyone wanted to hear it, especially if it was directed toward Lenny, Charles or any of the women. Annie enjoyed putting him in his place, though admittedly, he figured out how to push her buttons fairly quickly. It was almost admirable. 

By the time the gang had shared cigarettes and a small bite to eat, it was dusk and Dutch called for them to mount up. As they took formation to ride off, Annie nodded to Karen who winked and cocked her shotgun to assume her place guarding camp. “Come back safe, y’all!” 

“Men! Let’s ride!” Dutch bellowed and spurred The Count to a gallop and the wild faces of the Van der Linde Gang cheered and took off after him.  

The thunder of thirteen horses racing across the plains would have been a fearsome sight to anyone. The ground trembled as they moved swiftly up the road in a tight two-by-two formation with Dutch at the head, Hosea and Arthur just behind him, and John and Annie taking up the rear. The rendezvous point was about a forty-minute ride north, though, it felt longer with the building anxiety in the air, no matter how hard Annie tried to ignore it. Arthur and Dutch began exchanging words up ahead, slowing the pace to a steady jog as they neared the location. She couldn’t make out what they were saying, but 

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” John mumbled, low enough for only her to hear. 

“Yeah,” she said, glancing over to meet his fickle eyes. “Me too. I… Let’s just get it over with.”

John looked nervous, but he nodded in agreement all the same. For a moment, she swore she saw Jack’s face flash before her. John had to stay safe for his son’s sake, if not his own.

Their posse moved at a steady pace down the road and with a glance around at the surrounding landscape, Annie knew they were getting close. Eventually, she heard a familiar whistle from up front. The riders slowed as Benson and a few of his men came into view just ahead on horseback. 

“Hello, gentlemen,” Dutch said, riding up next to them.

“Mister Kilgore, so nice to see you again!” Benson said. 

“I believe we can be straight with each other now, Mister Benson,” Dutch said, sliding down from The Count.

Benson sighed, resigning himself to the failure of his ruse. “Yes, I agree, Mister Van der Linde. I trust we can count on each other’s discretion.”

“Glad to see we have an understanding, then.”

“Certainly. Shall we proceed?”

“Of course.”

Annie was surprised to see that he only had three men with him. Though, that’s most likely why his “employer” was seeking the help of outlaws. He tensed when he recognized her, but he managed to smile politely. She tipped her hat and smirked, subtly reminding him that he was outnumbered if he felt the need to try anything.

Dutch confirmed the details of their plan and the diversion with Benson. There was an old abandoned house a few hundred yards off the road from where they would launch the ambush. Benson’s men would blow it up and make sure it caught fire to catch the attention of the escorts that were now all suspected to be lawmen. 

“Lawmen?” Dutch asked suspiciously. “All of them?”

“We have scouts along the route,” Benson said. “In Van Horne, they traded their hired guns for deputies. Not to worry, this shouldn’t change a thing. In fact, we can use this to our advantage. Deputies will be more inclined to answer a call for help along their journey. It will work.”

“Oh, I don’t doubt that it’ll work,” Dutch said. “I’m sure everything will go according to plan.”

“Indeed, Mister Van der Linde, it shall.”

“What my friend here is too polite to say,” Annie said and cleared her throat, drawing everyone’s attention to her, “is that if it don’t go according to plan, you’ll be the first one we come lookin’ for.”

Dutch turned back to Benson and clapped him on the shoulder. “She’s right, I am too polite to say it. But we have… an understanding. So surely that is not a situation that we will come across.” 

Benson avoided her eyes and cleared his throat. “I assure you, I anticipate this to go off without a hitch. I know you all to be true to your word.”

Dutch laughed and mounted his horse. “Yes, that we are, my friend. Let’s get this show on the road, then! Shall we?”

“Alright, everyone split off,” Arthur said. “Mac, Bill, Hosea, Javier you’re with me. John, Lenny, and Davey, you’ll go with Dutch and Charles, Sean, and Micah are with Annie.”

“Cream of the crop,” Micah grumbled to himself but loud enough for everyone to hear. Annie glared at him as he rode over to join her, Sean and Charles not far behind. “Who organized these damn groups, anyways?”

“I did,” Annie deadpanned. She wanted to keep an eye on the loose cannon of the crew and Hosea had been more than happy to let her take that responsibility.

“Aw, you really are sweet on me, ain’t ya?” he winked at her.

Charles groaned and Sean chuckled. “Last person she’d be sweet on is you, ya ol’ sack o’ shit.”

Annie chuckled quietly. She always had a fondness for Sean and his lack of a social filter. Silently, she motioned for her counterparts to follow and started off to the top of the northernmost hill.

“Watch for Hosea’s signal,” Annie said. They could see the silhouettes of the men on the opposite ridge illuminated in the moonlight, one of them waving. She waved back to confirm they were in view.

“This could take a while,” Sean groaned.

“Yes, and you’d do well to keep quiet,” Charles said. 

“Yeah, yeah, I know. Ambush, or whatever. That Benson fella seems a bit curious, don’t ya think?” 

“Shut up, Sean,” Annie said. 

“I’m jus’ sayin’.”

“Hmm, I agree,” Charles added. “He was a bit fidgety. This could turn out to be more than it seems.”

“I’m countin’ on it,” Annie mumbled. 

“That why it took so damn long for you fools to jump on this thing?” Micah asked.

“Shut your damn mouth and focus, idiot,” she snapped, shooting him a glare that could kill. 

They finally fell silent and Annie turned her attention to the horizon where the house was set to blow. Any minute, they would be coming up on the horizon...

There they are. About a mile off, she saw the first of the riders pull into view, illuminated by their lantern lights. She counted six escorts and four wagons. Hosea waved his hat and she returned the gesture and while Lenny was out of view, she prayed he saw him. 

“Here we go,” she said. “Masks up.”

“Oh, I’m fuckin’ ready,” Sean said, bouncing in his saddle. 

Waiting for them to get in range seemed as if it took forever. Annie’s heart quickened with each passing moment, filling her with anxiety where there’d usually be adrenaline. The seconds ticked by excruciatingly slow, yet so incredibly fast. She could feel the tidal wave of chaos building and building, waiting to crash down into the gully at any second. 

Hosea and he gave the first signal to Benson’s men, waving his white handkerchief. Within a few seconds, there was a massive explosion on the ridge behind him. The fire was quick to start, illuminating their silhouettes against the night sky with a haunting orange glow. Annie heard voices, Benson’s men, calling for “help”. The caravan stopped in its tracks and all but one rider took off immediately. She was almost shocked that it worked.

Hosea waved the rag in the air once more. Show time. 

Annie sucked in a breath. “You’re up, boys. Get goin’.”

Micah, Sean, and Charles raced down the hill to meet the rest of their Van der Linde counterparts and Annie whipped out her sniper rifle. She’d removed the scope since it would just limit her visibility in the darkness of the new moon - It’s a trick she learned while hunting at night, even though it was far more difficult to hit a shot without the proper sights for most everyone. But she wasn’t most everyone.

The fire in the background illuminated the scene ever so slightly as the horizon glowed like an inferno. She scanned the terrain, alternating between her binoculars and bare eyes, looking for any sign of movement. They were clear for now, so long as they worked fast. 

She kept on looking up and down the road and back at the gang. At the hills. Towards the horizon. Nothing. It seemed too good to be true. Surely someone would have heard the blast and would come to investigate. How much time had passed? It felt like it’d been an eternity.

The sound of snapping twigs behind her nearly made her jump out of her own skin. She whipped around, frantically shoving the bolt action of the rifle into place and bringing her grip up to aim.

“Who’s there?” she demanded a bit too loudly.

“Don’t shoot,” a familiar voice said softly. 

“What the hell?” Madelyn. 

The girl stepped into view from behind a tree. Her hands were raised in surrender and her fingers were trembling in fear. Even though Annie could barely see her face, it was certain that she was terrified out of her mind. 

“Give me one goddamn reason I shouldn’t shoot you right here,” Annie threatened in a low voice.

“They’re comin’. The O’Driscolls, t-they know about the job.”

“What?”

“They… took me… and I-I was-. They’re comin’. You gotta get outta here. They wanna kill the lot of ya.”

“Why should I listen to you?”

She seemed exasperated and desperate as she spoke.“Why the hell else would I come up to you like this? I ain’t got no gun. I’m just tryin’a help.”

Annie thought for a split second. She was right, but nevertheless. this could be a ploy. Though, then there’d be no way Colm would ever pass up an opportunity for 10,000 dollars to risk sending someone to warn them as a distraction.

Annie made a split second decision, one that likely saved the lives of everyone in the Van Der Linde gang that night. She barely noticed Madelyn flinch as she swiftly traded her rifle for her revolver. She turned her aim to the sky and fired three times. She turned toward the road to make sure the boys were preparing to make their escape.

When a few moments passed, her stomach started to churn. No one was leaving. She heard someone shout but couldn’t make out who or what they said. She looked up to where Hosea should have been, but he was sprinting down the hill on horseback. She jumped into action, leaving Madelyn in the dust.

“What the hell is going on?” She heard Hosea yell as she rode up. “You heard the signal! We need to move!”

“We’re almost… finished,” Dutch panted as he slung the first saddlebag full of cash onto his shoulder. 

“What is it, Annie?” Charles asked uneasily. “Why’d you sound it off?”

“It’s Colm,” she breathed. She could hear her own heart pounding in her ears. “He’s here.”

“Goddamnit!” Arthur cursed, kicking the wheel of a wagon. “That English bastard set us up.” “You seen ‘em yourself?” Micah said.

“That girl from the saloon found us and warned me. We gotta get outta here, now.”

“Annie, you can’t be serious,” Dutch said.

“Dutch, we don’t have time for this,” Annie said. “Why would she risk tellin’ me if it weren’t honest?”

“We stick to the plan,” Hosea declared, before Dutch could protest. “Split up everyone, and meet back at camp. C’mon!” He kicked his horse to a sprint. Lenny immediately followed, while Charles, Davey, and Mac swung up on their horses and chased after them. Javier hesitated, looking between them and Dutch, but eventually decided to take off.

“Damn it! We were so close,” Dutch said. He went to swing the saddlebag over his horse’s back, but a shot suddenly rang out through the pass. The bag exploded next to Dutch’s head, sending cash and coins flying in every direction. The Count reared, neighing loudly. Nero, as steady as he usually was, had also been spooked and started to pace. Annie tried to calm him as she turned and saw a horde indistinguishable silhouettes swarming the road from the west. 

“Go, get outta here! Now!” Annie cried.

The remaining members of the gang jumped onto their horse’s back and took off in the opposite direction. She glanced over her shoulder and watched as Boadicea carried Arthur down the dark road. Everyone was in the clear. Wait… Not everyone. 

Annie raced back up the hill. She didn’t know what came over her, but she knew she had to help Madelyn. If the O’Driscoll boys found her after she helped them, they’d most definitely kill her. Or worse.

She halted next to Madelyn and reached down with a steady hand. “Get on.”

“What? Why are you helping me?”

“Christ sake, get on the horse or get killed, I don’t rightly care.”

Madelyn nodded and hastily hoisted herself into the saddle behind Annie. She kicked Nero to a gallop and they started to make their retreat.

A shot rang out.

Annie cried out in pain and involuntarily kicked Nero’s side, making him skid into a sharp left turn. She toppled off his back and hit the ground with a thud, rolling clumsily to a stop, face down in the dirt. An indescribable pain overtook her body and her worst fear had been realized.

“Fuck! Fuck, I’m hit!”

Madelyn yelped and struggled to stay stop Nero’s back, but she gripped the reins so he would stop pacing nervously. “Shit! Are you okay?”

Annie ignored her and struggled to her feet, clutching her side where the bullet had torn apart her flesh - in through her back and out the other side. Warm blood was quickly soaking the inside of her shirt and started to pool where it was tucked into her pants. This ain’t good. This ain’t good, at all. She poked a finger through the hole in her jacket and groaned.

“Damn it, this is my favorite one,” she muttered. Her vision narrowed and everything suddenly seemed slower as the adrenaline started to kick in. 

“What do we do?” 

“You know how to ride a horse?”

“Y-yes.”

“Help me up, then.”

Maddie shifted her position into the saddle and held out a hand for Annie. She sucked in a breath and lifted herself onto her horse’s back, grunting as she held back a scream of agony. Her abdominal muscles were shredded just below her rib cage and she silently prayed that nothing important was harmed.

“Jesus Christ,” she growled through gritted teeth. They were chattering with the tension in the rest of her body, her mind getting blurrier with each wave of adrenaline being pumped through her veins. “Go that way ‘till you hit the river. Don’t stop.”

Doing as she was told, Madelyn urged Nero to a sprint and Annie clutched her side, trying to keep the bleeding to a minimum and to keep her balance on horseback without stirrups. 

She took a breath and clenched her jaw. In a flash of urgency, she turned behind her and fired in the direction of the pursuing O’Driscolls, managing to tag one on the shoulder and knock him off balance. Aiming as steadily as she could, she fired again and brought him to the ground. She snapped her sights on the next target like she was aiming down a long tunnel. All she could hear was the sound of her own gun as it went off in her hand again and again. 

BANG. BANG. Click. Reload.

Frantically, she grabbed six rounds from her belt and shoved them into the cylinder as fast as her fingers could manage. The pain - or maybe the blood loss - was blinding. Her vision was fading, slowly… and then quickly, in and out. One more shot. One more. 

One more… Another rider toppled off their horse as she found her mark.

“Keep goin’,” she grunted as Nero started to slow his pace. They’d been running for a while and he wasn’t used to carrying two passengers. 

C’mon boy. You can do it. She started to fire blindly to cover their backs, again and again. Her hands were shaky and slick with blood. Fumbling a bit more with her gun, gasping and grunting through gritted teeth, a few rounds slipped from her fingers as she reloaded. Focus. Focus, focus, focus… Feeling more and more unsteady, she gripped the saddle and tried to regain balance. 

“You alright back there? Annie?”

She shook herself to consciousness. “They still chasin’ us?”

“No, they’re gone. I think you scared ‘em off.”

Annie tried opening her eyes, but she couldn’t even lift her forehead off Madelyn’s shoulder. “Keep… goin’.”

Each stride her horse took was a dull stab of agony. The constant movement was ripping apart each attempt her body was making to stop the bleeding. She didn’t even realized she’d fallen until she slammed into the ground like a sack of grain. It was a haze. The stars in the night sky swirled around her as if she was at the bottom of a tornado, looking up into the spiraling whirlwind of chaos.

“Annie! Shit!”

“Bedroll…”

“What-.”

“Bedroll. Get it… and a shirt… in the saddlebag.”

Madelyn did as she was told and retrieved the bedroll and extra shirt. She and spread the roll out and tried to help her move on top of it, but she swatted her hands away. Grunting, Annie took out her hunting knife and managed to cut out a long strip of the padded canvas, slicing it in half, working with her eyes half open and her whole world spinning.

“I can do this,” Madelyn said, trying to take the knife from her.

“No just-,” Annie groaned. “Help me patch it up.”

The blood on her black shirt made it look like an oil slick, as if she was an automobile leaking fuel. Maddie lifted it and there was a flood of red. It stuck to her fingers like tree sap, thickening every time she touched the fresher blood that oozed from the wound. She carefully placed the canvas padding on the dime sized opening in Annie’s abdomen. It was a scary thing that something so small could cause so much trouble.

“I’m going to roll over,” Annie mumbled, “and you need to get the other one on my back.”

Madelyn nodded and gulped, her hands shaking uncontrollably. She inhaled sharply and heaved herself off the ground, crying out as her weight shifted. Maddie helped her shed her jacket and pressed the second square into place, holding them together as if Annie would crumble into pieces if she let go.

“The shirt…” She tried to speak, but Madelyn was already tying the patches in place with by the sleeves. Annie had lost so much blood already, that she was starting to see in distorted colors. Red. So much red. It consumed everything, as if the earth had been swallowed by it. She knew she didn’t have long.

“Go on, get out of here,” Annie breathed. “I can’t…”

“No, no, no, we didn’t spend all that time patchin’ you up just for you to give up.”

“You can’t... lift me.”

“You’re gonna have to help me, then. C’mon.” She put Annie’s arm over her shoulders and snaked her own around her waist, careful to not put pressure on the patches. “One, two, three!”

Annie cried out as she stood, unable to form a coherent, thought let alone see anything beyond a few inches in front of her own face. Another round of adrenaline must have kicked in and she somehow made it onto the saddle, grasping onto the horn for dear life. Madelyn mounted behind her and put her arms around Annie, holding the reins out in front in case she fell again. She put her feet in the stirrups and peered over Annie’s shoulder, getting a clear view of the path ahead.

“Stay awake now, ya hear?”

Annie struggled against entering into a state of delirium. Trying to ground herself in reality, she realized something was missing… My hat! She groaned and let her head fall back against Madelyn’s shoulder. Madelyn… How kind…

“Annie! C’mon, stay with me.”

Annie ignored her panicked voice and said the only thing that came to mind. “Your name ain’t really ‘Madelyn’, is it?”

“No. It ain’t”

“What is it… then?”

“Jenny. Jenny Kirk.”

***

Arthur tapped his foot in anticipation as Dutch paced between the fire and the camp entrance. After everyone had split up, all but Charles, Javier, and Annie had made it back safe. It was risky returning to camp this early after a job gone bad, but they hadn’t been followed. Arthur figured that must have been what was holding up the rest of them.  

“Damn it, Dutch, we had a plan,” Hosea said as he massaged his temple. “Why’d you pull that shit back there?”

“Pull what exactly, Hosea?” Dutch said, whipping around to face him. Arthur had been listening to them go at it since they returned. “You need to calm down, my friend. Everyone here is capable of handling themselves.”

“Dutch, he’s right,” Arthur interjected. “We knew Benson wasn’t trustworthy. It ain’t a matter of how well we can handle ourselves, cause that wasn’t no gunfight. It was a setup, plain as day.”

Dutch shook his head. “We needed that money, boys. If you’re not prepared to take a little risk for that, then I don’t know what to tell you!” 

“It already was a risk!” Hosea said, exasperated. “That’s why we needed to stick to the plan.”

Dutch threw his arms up in defeat. “Well, it failed anyways, so why are we still arguin’ about this?”

The rest of the camp had gathered outside their tents to see what all the commotion was about. “What happened, Arthur?” Mary-Beth asked, pulling his attention away from the two men arguing. 

“Just a job gone bad.”

“So no money?” Karen asked. 

“Only a bit. Not nearly as much as we were countin’ on.”

Tilly joined them. “Have y’all seen Charles yet? Or Javier and Annie?”

Arthur looked through the trees and caught a glimpse of the empty road. “Not yet.”

“I hope they’re alright,” Mary-Beth said.

“I’m sure everything’s fine, Mary-Beth,” Tilly assured her, but her voice wavered enough for Arthur to tell she wasn’t entirely sure of her own words. 

Just ask she said it, two riders appeared on the road and made their way through the trees. Charles and Javier. 

“Boys!” Dutch called. “Good to see you back.”

“Sorry we’re the last ones to the party,” Javier said. 

There was a pause and the air grew tense. 

“You mean Annie ain’t with you two?” Karen said.

“No,” Charles said. “She’s not back yet?”

“We ain’t seen her, but I’m sure she’ll be fine,” Dutch said.

“That’s it, I’m goin’ after her,” Arthur stated, starting for his horse.

“Are you jokin’?” Dutch said, raising an eyebrow and stopping Arthur in his tracks. “O’Driscolls and lawmen are crawling all over these parts.”

“She’d do it for one of us,” Charles said. He nodded at Arthur. “I’ll go with you.”

“No, no, I need you both here,” Dutch said. 

“He’s right, boys,” Hosea said. Arthur glared at him. “We can’t risk any other wild adventures tonight. She’s capable, she’ll make it back in one piece.”

Arthur let out a sharp exhale and eyed the two of them, unable to think through his own rage. Annie was capable, sure, but this didn’t feel right. Dutch had screwed her, screwed them all. He told them to keep on with the robbery when she gave the signal. If they’d just listened to her signal...

The energy of the camp rippled, voices murmuring around Arthur, wondering where Annie had gone. The atmosphere was growing thicker with tension and the anxiety welling in his chest made it so he could hardly breath. He couldn’t take it anymore. Just as he turned away to get some air, he saw something down the hill, across the river. A single black horse with two riders. Holy shit…

“Hello?” a small, female voice called out, just barely over the sound of the rapids upstream. 

“Who’s that?” Dutch bellowed as Charles drew his rifle to his shoulder.

“It’s Nero…” Hosea said, his voice flooded with concern.

Arthur ran over to the ridge to get a clearer look. The black stallion was breathing heavily, glistening in sweat as he bowed his head in exhaustion. 

“M-my name’s Jenny. Annie’s here with me, but she’s hurt real bad.”

“No, Arthur, wait!” Dutch said, trying to grab Arthur’s shoulder as he rushed forward. He shook the hand off and took off down the hill to the riverbank. 

“Can you get him across?” he said, trying his best to hide the dread in his voice as he saw the limp body, slumped against the stranger’s chest.

Nero didn’t hesitate as he crossed the water, even though it was somewhat deep. The horse plowed through the flowing water and onto shore, almost as smoothly as if he was on land.

Annie was unconscious and the blood on her shirt glistened in the dim light of the distant campfire. Her face was white as a sheet and covered in a cold sweat. “Charles! Could use your help here!” 

He heard Hosea call Grimshaw for assistance as John and Charles came rushing down the hill. They took in the sight of the wounded woman, speechless. 

“Arthur?” Annie murmured, reaching out her hand to touch what she didn’t think could be real. “That you?”

“It’s me, alright.” He took her bloody fingers in his hand and squeezed. 

“Damn it, I’ve died and gone to hell,” Annie said, a hint of a mischievous smirk on her face. 

He smiled and shook his head. “No, not quite yet, Annie girl.” 

Even though she was dressed in black, the slick stain of blood covered most of the right side of her body, from her ribcage to her thighs. Streaks of red matted stray hairs against her forehead, mixed with the tear marks on her cheeks and the sweat on her neck. He wanted to say he’d seen worse, and he probably had. But this, for some reason, shook him to the core. 

He lifted her off the back of the horse and cradled her in his arms. She wasn’t light and his front was now soaked in blood, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. “Charles, hitch her horse at the posts, make sure he’s watered.”

“What about her?” John asked, gesturing to Jenny who was covered in blood herself.

“You, Miss Jenny, are with us now,” Dutch said, walking down to join them on the riverbank. “Go wash up, Miss Jones here will help you. You can have Annie’s spot until we find you a place.”

“Thank you, sir,” Jenny said with a breath of relief.

“‘Sir’ was my father,” he said. “You can call me Dutch.”

Arthur brought Annie up the hill as most of the camp watched. She was drifting in and out of consciousness, but at least she was alive. He gently laid her down on his own cot, making sure she was comfortable. She winced and her eyes fluttered open slightly.

“Step back, Arthur,” Grimshaw said, pushing her way into the small area, fresh bandages in hand. She replaced the bedroll patches slowly but securely, cleaning the wounds with what Arthur figured was gin as she worked.

“Ahh!” Annie yelped as the alcohol splashed into the open wound. “Huh. Nice to see you, Susan.”

“You too Annie, you lucky, lucky girl,” Grimshaw said. “Can I use your jacket, Mister Morgan? And will you give us some privacy?”

“Oh, uh, sure.” He said, shedding his coat and handing it over and turning away as Grimshaw carefully removed Annie’s tattered and stained shirt. She covered her so that only she could see as she wiped away the blood from the wounds with a wet cloth.

“Tilly, can you get one of Miss Bolton’s shirts from her things, preferably a light one?”

“Is she gonna be okay, Miss Grimshaw?” Mary-Beth asked with a look of horror on her face.

“Yes, Mary-Beth, she’s gonna be just fine.”

He saw her nod and bring a hand to her mouth, holding back a sob. The rest of camp was watching, but keeping their distance. He saw John say something to Abigail as she tried to walk over to help. She protested for a moment, but he pulled her into a small hug and shuffled her and Jack back into their tent. The suspense had settled since she was back and more or less in one piece, but Arthur’s own fists were clenched with anxiety. 

“Arthur,” Dutch called, snapping his attention away from the scene. He and Hosea were standing back, trying to keep everyone from crowding around the lean-to. 

Arthur sighed with frustration and walked over. “What is it, Dutch?”

“You alright, son?” Hosea asked. 

“Yep.”

“Arthur…” Dutch said, studying him.

“I’m good.”

“She’s gonna pull through.”

“Yeah, I know.” The shakiness of his voice was hard to disguise. “She knew it was a damn trap, too.”

Hosea furrowed his eyebrows, giving him concerned look he hadn’t gotten in a while. “We can get you a bedroll. You can sleep in the-.”

“I’m good,” he said, cutting him off. “I got the chair.”

“Arthur-,” Dutch started.

“I know what my goddamn name is, Dutch, quit sayin’ it,” he snapped.

Dutch sighed and raised an eyebrow. “I was just gonna tell you to keep an eye on her for the night. That’s all. Make sure you get some rest.”

Arthur sighed and ran a hand through his hair, lifting his hat slightly. “Yeah. Yeah, okay.”

Dutch squeezed his shoulder and sent him back to Annie’s bedside. Grimshaw finished with the buttons on the fresh shirt and stepped back.

“I can keep an eye on her, Miss Grimshaw.”

“Thank you, Arthur. When you can, try to get her on her side, she won’t listen to me. Let me know if you need anything.”

“Of course,” he said. He suddenly recognized the white button up Annie now had on. “Hey, is that my shirt?”

“Yes,” Tilly said as she balled up a few bloodied rags to be washed. “I couldn’t find any clean light ones of hers, I’m sorry.”

He shook his head and forced a small smile. “No, Tilly, it’s fine. Thanks. Get some sleep, I’ll take it from here.”

Tilly nodded and took her leave. Arthur turned back to Annie, hesitantly. Her eyes were closed but she had a slight grin tugging at the corners of her mouth. He reached down to the end of the bed and pulled the thin wool blanket up to her shoulders.

“They put me in your shirt?” she mumbled, eyes still closed. “You’ll have to burn it now, surely.”

“Do you ever stop jokin’?”

“Only when there’s nothin’ to joke about.”

Arthur chuckled. When this had happened before, she almost didn’t make it. It was terrifying to watch her fight against seemingly unbeatable odds. But nevertheless, she fought hard and won. He feared she wouldn’t be so lucky this time around. He felt a sudden urge to take her hand. Like his, it was calloused and rough, but smaller and somehow more delicate. He held it gently and she absentmindedly squeezed one of his fingers. 

She met his gaze and for a moment, Arthur saw the same sadness reflected in her cloudy, hazel eyes that had always been in his own. In a strange way, it was comforting to him. To know that he was just as afraid as she was, to know that the path ahead of her could prove to be treacherous. It meant she still was still breathing, her heart still pumping. It meant she had a chance. In that moment, somehow, they both knew everything would be okay. 

“Get some rest,” he whispered.

She grinned and her eyes blinked closed. “I’ll rest when I’m dead.”

[majoraagoras]

Consequences

Arthur Morgan x f!reader

NSFW

Sexual themes

————————

“You sure know how to hold yer liquor.”

“Well thank you Mr. Morgan.” Your reply sounds sluggish, even to your own ears, and it makes you laugh.

“Gimme a moment, after a bite to eat, I’ll sober up some.” You dismount, concentrating hard on caring for your horse now that you and the boys are back at camp for the night.

Arthur watches you with amusement and a bit of lust as he brushes down his own horse. Drinking with you has had its toll on himself. He hasn’t wanted a woman, sexually or otherwise, in years. Maybe almost a decade by now. It was a strange feeling.

Arthur, Bill, Javier, and you went into Valentine’s saloon to blow off some late evening steam. Now it was close to 2am and Arthur did not feel like sleeping. His drinks from that evening were still floating around his head making him bolder than usual. He slowly walked to the dying fire and dropped onto a fur covered log nearest to you.

“I already feel better.” You say, twisting from the ground to smile at him. A bowl of stew in your hands.

“Mmmhmm”

You turn away, but your insides burn. You want this man like none other but you know you won’t make the first move. Men always make it known. If he wanted you, he would of tried already. You drop your chin into your hand unhappily.

“Done?” Arthur asks while staring into the fire. You shrug.

“Ah.. well you wouldn’t mind hanging out with me a bit longer would you?” He still doesn’t look at you.

“Sure Arthur. I’m in no hurry to my cot.”

A comfortable silence fell between you two. He raised a whisky bottle to his mouth and took one last swig.

“How’s the gang been treatin ya?”

Arthur rests his elbows on his knees as he asks.

“Real nice, really.” You leave your empty bowl and spoon and scoot over so your lower back is against the log. Your shoulder touches his thigh.

He grunts in response. You’re unsure if it’s a protest to you touching him or answering his small talk. You hope he isn’t really interested in words and is just trying to keep you there. Suddenly he scoots forward onto the ground, now sitting next to you. His neck a deep red that almost reaches his ears in a manly blush. It gives you a bit of courage.

“Arthur? Do you ever just wish actions didn’t have consequences?”

“Sure. We’re outlaws after all, everythin’ has consequences.” He rubs the back of his neck.

“But I mean between people, not just stealin and the like.”

“I have no idea what your talkin’ about Miss.” he’s looking down, his hat covering most of his face, elbows resting on the log.

Maybe the liquor is what pushed you up on your knees, straddling his long legs, and maybe liquor is what made him place his hands on her hips to steady you.

He didn’t push you away so you decide to keep going. Not entirely sure where you wanted this to go, but needing the physical contact with Arthur. You’re so lonely, not meant for months and months of no intimacy with another human being.

Maybe he feels the same way, you can only hope.

“I just... I’m not sure what I want except this- right now.” Your voice is a whisper, it is barely heard above the crackling fire. When he looks up at you, almost embarrassed to make eye contact you place your hand on his stubble cheek. It’s rough, and prickly but melts your insides and burns like a shot of whisky.

“I don’t reckon this is a good idea m-miss...”

“You don’t find me attractive? Or likable at all?” You can’t hide the disappointment but you try, you really do.

“N-no. No nothing like that.” He doesn’t say anything further for almost a minute.

You have broke many horses, and have dealt with many strong dangerous animals in the wild. It’s always about patience.

“I just... Well, you know you’re pretty-“ he waves his arm in your direction, almost hitting you “-I mean enough men trip over themselves to get close to you.” He shrugs his big shoulders, accidentally dislodging your hand that rests there. You let it drop, smiling a sad smile. He roughly grabs your hand and awkwardly slaps it back on its original place.

“Micah rubbin’ on me when I was brushing down Old Boy hardly counts. He just wanted to watch everybody get upset and fight.” You rub a your fingers gently under his suspenders where he placed your hand.

He clears his throat. “No, no that ain’t nothing. It’s the polished stone Charles brought you, Javier singing you songs all the damn time, even that little whelp Kieran carin for your horse, and beggin to have you teach him to read when Hosea already said he would... listen to me, actin’ like a jealous lover. I don’t care what they, or-or you do.” He looks away impatiently, staring out into the dark campsite. He’s embarrassed that he IS jealous for a woman he has no claim on and never will, she’s so far above him he doesn’t even feel he deserves her attention at all. But he doesn’t have the strength to make her leave him either.

The fingers resting on his shoulder begin to crawl up to rest under his collar, putting light pressured circles on his neck. Your other hand, resting on your thigh, also comes up- starting on his stomach. You feel it clench under your touch, but you continue upwards slowly.

“Can I have now with you Arthur? Just right now? I like you and want you something fierce but I know you don’t want anything with me.-“ he jerked his head up, where he was previously watching your hand, and cut you off.

“Now that ain’t true and you know it.”

You continue “-but I’m painfully lonely and I don’t want to be near anyone but you. Can we just... I’m not sure... but...” you connect with his eyes, hoping that he will agree to your nonsensical request.

“Sure.” He has that ruddy colored blush back and you cannot help but bend over and kiss his neck. The skin there is warm and tough and he smells of cigarette and mint, leather and horses. It’s an intoxicating combo.

“You don’t have to do anythin different in the mornin or treat me any differently than before.” You drag your lips down to his shoulder pushing his open collars shirt aside as you go, leaving open mouthed kisses. “Just let me touch you... Like a naughty dream.”

He grips your hips harder, rubbing circles with his thumbs. “I-I’d give you everythin darlin, if I could.” His voice is a bit shaky, but his grip is strong- a reminder that if he was so inclined he could take what he wants and you couldn’t stop him. But you trust Arthur with your life, and so the strength just adds to the growing fire inside you. “But my open interest in you may bring more trouble than it’s worth darlin...” You ignore that.

“With no consequences, what would you want to do to me, Arthur?” You spread your hands from the center of his muscular chest to his biceps and back slowly. He doesn’t answer.

“Would you like to just sit like this?”

“No” his hands raise from your hips to your waist, the blouse you wear tucked into your skirt being pulled at.

“Would you like to bare my skin to the air?” You coo into his ear. From his shaky breathing you know he’s enjoying the talk immensely. He tugs again.

“You want me to unbutton my shirt?” Liquor is still in both your veins but you’ve never felt more clear headed. Nobody is up around camp and the scout fire is far enough away you feel bold.

“...yes.”

“Yes, what?” You ask teasingly.

“Yes please. Please open your shirt for me.” His chest rumbles with a barely concealed groan.

You undo four buttons, showing the expanse of skin between your breasts before he leans forward, giving open mouthed kisses to your collarbone.

“Yes. Like that. Tell me if I hurt you ____.” His voice is deep and gravely, his grip almost painful and his mouth hot and wet. He travels to the top of one breast and he nips at the soft supple skin before switching to the other.

“Are you hungry for more?” You unbutton several more and then lean back, your hands resting above his knees.

He chases after you, leaning over and using his forearm behind your back to hold you in place. His growls is the only answer you get. He finds your sensitive nipple and begins to suckle. Using the flat of his tongue he presses it against the roof of his mouth and tugs with his teeth. You hiss and gift him with breathy moans. His name being ripped from your chest. Unconsciously you begin to rub against him, the hard evidence of his desire already pressing against his trousers. You find it easily, nestled where your leg joins your body, readjust it easily and put pressure on your clit through his pants and your bloomers. Not much fabric is dulling the sensation.

“Oh ____ you are bringing me to my knees. I can’t do this much longer. He breaths against your skin between bites and kisses.

“Do you need me Arthur? Do you want to sink into me? I’m wet and burning for you, love.” You breath into the night air and your words have him jerking against your core.

“But I know you’d regret it in the morning.” You look at him sadly and he returns the look.

“Why would you think that? Any bit you’d be allowin me to have, I’m gonna take.” He groans and rocks his hips against you a bit more insistently. You push your skirt away and begin to undo his buttons on his pants. He leans back against the log, panting, cheeks flush.

When you free his cock from its prison he groans. Your fingers lightly trace the head, using the clear liquid at the top to lubricant around the red thick head. You look back at his face as you grip him, starting a slow but strong rhythm.

He remains leaning back on the log, shirt open, sleeves rolled up, hat knocked off a long time ago. You can see his chest slick with sweat, his face painfully aroused. You are mesmerized by the sight, dragging out this moment for a long time.

“_____, please. I-I’m getting close...” He trails off, his eyes drop down to your hand. It shocks you then, this may end soon. His cock is weeping, the pre-cum dripping down onto his stomach. You lean forward and kiss him, realizing you haven’t even been able to yet. He lunges forward when he realizes you want to kiss and his hand comes around, gripping your head to him so he can explore your mouth. Your hand stops, not wanting this dream to end yet. His mouth is bruising, his tongue invades your mouth. Suddenly you want skin to skin. Needing it.

You pull back to rip your underclothes off and return right back to your spot, leaning back in for a kiss. Arthur looks frantic at this point, grabbing and kissing anywhere he can, his grip painful but arousing.

“You’re the most beautiful woman I have ever laid eyes on. H-have ever let me touch.” He groans against you as you position yourself above him.

“I want you like an animal, all I can think of is mounting you and marking you as mine.” He growls against your neck. He tried to push you down onto him but you angle your hips just right so that you trap him between his stomach and your wet hot folds.

“Do you? You wanna come inside? I have let only one other man inside me. I wouldn’t let any of these outlaws near me, but you... you’re somethin else.” His deep groans vibrate your body and he begins to rock against you, your own slick wetness makes it easy to slide across your clit.

He leans back, peering at you under heavy lids. He looks menacing and sexy with his barely leashed power but he is still allowing you to be in control. You lean forward and let your core slide over him noisily, wetly. You can feel yourself being brought to your own climax too fast already but can’t seem to care.

“Keep your arms on the log, love. Never again will I have this kind of control on such a sexy man, and I want to enjoy it the one time I can.”

“You always have had the control over me darlin.” His voice is hoarse. “I’d do anything you want, I’m always at your service my lady.” His voice is almost teasing at the end.

You lean in for more kisses and are not disappointed. He stabs his thick tongue into your mouth in the same rhythm as his cock slides against your clit. It’s almost too much to bare. But bare you do and you both continue this erotic dance for some time. Drowning in the sensation while he drowns in your moans, hearing your wet pussy, your nails digging into his shoulder.

“Let me... ah... I want to be inside you darlin. Let me.”

“I’m so close Arthur.” You whimper against his cheek, and your rhythm doesn’t slow down.

“Please. ___ please let me c-cum inside you. I need it.”

I consequences be damned, you lift up and his cock springs up, swollen and leaking. You aren’t much different.

You reach down and position him before forcing you to skink down onto him. The relief is dizzying and he reaches for you but pulls back suddenly, remembering you told him to stay still. His large hands grip the log, head falls back and as you stay immobile, you begin to memorize the sight of his hands, hairy forearms and his white button up shirt stretched over his shoulders. A small patch of hair that thins out into a small trail to his groin. The way a thick vein runs up his neck, his Adam’s apple. His cock twitches inside you as he fights his own climax, it’s all too much for your senses.

“A-Arthur.” Your breathy moan makes him snap his head to you just in time to watch the almost painful orgasm hit you. Whatever he saw in your face set him off as he abandoned the log, grabbing your hips as he grinded his own climax into you. Short small thrusts, hitched breath, nonsensical blubbering. How special you are, your name over and over. He held you still, painfully, as his hips jerked. His head rested on your shoulder- breathing heavily. He goes lax as the climax disappears.

[reddeaddenial]

Hi friend! May I request 38 with Micah? Thanks a lot! 💚

“Hand me the gun and I’ll kill him myself.”

Micah x Reader Part 1

[Part 2]

Word Count: 2051

Welp this turned into an angsty reader x micah somehow lmao. I’m gonna retcon some minor stuff after Guarma cuz it makes no sense imo but i dont think it’s too noticeable lol This got really long for no reason and I’m very sorry. I tend to write ramble when I’m not sure where I’m going with something so this just sorta happened haha

—–

Abandoning Shady Belle was a quick and panicked mess. You packed as quickly as you could, you knew you and the group couldn’t dawdle. Couldn’t have time to mourn. But it felt like like abandoning the old camp was also abandoning the others who they had to leave in Saint Denis after that horrible bank robbery gone wrong.

Good people died. Hosea… You adored Hosea like a father. Took you into the gang near a year ago when you had no where else to be. Lenny. That poor boy didn’t deserve the end he got. And then the others according to Charles, smuggled themselves on a boat. A boat that no one has heard about since. But there was mentions of an awful storm not a day later and everyone feared the worst.

That was a good portion of the gang missing and it was an awful blow to morale in their new camp in Lakay. Dutch, their slowly unhinging leader. Arthur, probably the most realistic voice of reason and right hand to Dutch. Javier, the group salvaged his guitar, but was left unplayed in a corner of the camp. Bill, they made sure to take all the horses, even those without their riders now; but Brown Jack was growing increasingly restless without the usual attention and pampering from his owner.  

And then there was Micah. And honestly, no one in camp made mention of missing his presence. Or any comment at all. At least not around you. Because for reasons that they and even some days you could not comprehend, Micah and you were sweet on each other.

Well maybe sweet wasn’t the right word. More of a tolerance. That tolerance started with holding your ground over Micah’s aggressive and rude talk to you and the others. Your quick witted back talk seemed to annoy him at first, but it then became the norm for you two to just banter. It was an amusing show to some, with how quick tempered who bother were and constantly clashed, but it kept Micah from harassing others in camp mostly so no one seemed to care. But then things…changed after a party at camp one night.

Too many drinks. You ending up in Micah’s lap, playfully arguing with him. Next thing you know, you’re both kissing heavily, much to the shock and disgust from those who noticed. After that, things were different yet… not. You would still shout and fight with each other. But more often than not after, Micah would yank you behind some trees or tent and fool around. A lot. What can you say? The man was an asshole but he was very skilled in other areas.

But what was most shocking and just a secret between the two of you, was just the normal conversations when alone. Stories about past robberies, or life before, complaining about Pearson’s food. It was small things, nothing earth shattering. But those tiny quick moments seemed to bring you both together more than any fooling around did. He wasn’t a nice man, you couldn’t fool yourself that he was even if you tried. But you liked him. A lot more than you should have. And you hoped to think the feeling was mutual.

But now the bastard had gone and got himself lost in a boat at sea. And you were more torn up about it that you ever thought you’d be. In a sense you were grateful no one made comments, good or bad about Micah Bell. Most days you could just go about camp chores without thinking too much on him. The times you did though.. He was probably dead. Dead and gone but no one would care. You cared. You cared enough to cry into your pillow some nights. You hated it, Micah would have called you out for being such a whimpering weak willed thing for crying. You cared and you hated that you did.

It took several days and nights but with a lack of hearing his name around camp, hearing his voice, you were getting better. Not over it, but you were more focused on keeping the rest of the group alive, helping Sadie and the others where you could.

But then, one day Arthur Morgan walked right into Lakay. Looking a bit worse for wear but he was alive. And according to him, everyone was. Dutch, Bill and Javier. And Micah. You didn’t know how to feel. Ecstatic at first but… Now you were just mad. Furious. You wanted to punch that fool. No. Shoot him in the damn leg so he couldn’t go wandering off on boats and getting shipwrecked in god damned fucking Guarma. Really? Guarma?!

The group could feel your storm of emotions and wisely left you be. They knew how you got when you were in one of your Moods. A day or so later, Dutch and the others showed up to camp, exhausted looking, but alive and breathing. And there he was Micha Bell. Alive. Not even looking in your direction and antagonizing Sadie and the others. You scowled, hating at how hurt you actually felt by it. You stalked off, going to find a place to cool down before you caused a scene.

About an hour later you wandered out of your hiding place in one of the wagons and walked about looking for the fiend that had an unfortunately tight grip on your heart. There he was, on the porch overlooking the swamps leaning back lazily in a chair. Alone. Good. Maybe you could both just… talk.

You walked across the porch, the taps of your boots across the rickety floor made your presence known as you stopped beside him. “Micah.”

Micah looked up at you with an unreadable expression, and just looked away indifferently. “What you want y/n?”

Ouch. You took a steady breath trying to keep your growing pent up anger from bubbling over. “Think you know Micah Bell. Haven’t seen you since that nightmare of a robbery in Saint Denis.”

Micah snorted and crossed his arms. “So? What, you here to check up on me?” You almost needed to physically restrain yourself from reaching for your gun to… to do anything. Anything to just get him to even fucking look at you. You swallowed your pride though and answered him honestly. “…Yes.”That had him looking at you again, but you caught a flash of genuine surprise in his eyes before it was hidden with indifference again. Which confused you all the more when he said “It’s no concern of yours. Now how about you run along and go chat up someone else? I’m not in the mood with putting up with your usual shit.”“Why are you acting so-?!… I thought you… and me…” Dread was filling your gut, the emotions of all the awful things that have been happening these past weeks were really messing with you right now and Micah acting so indifferent. You knew there was a good chance that he didn’t give a shit about you. You knew that the little bonding moments could mean nothing. You knew all of that, but your heart was being shot up into little pieces right now. You had only yourself to blame. You knew… but you had hoped. “You and me what? Thought you were smarter than that y/n.  Got more things to worry about than your pining.” “Pinin’?!” There is was, a crack in the dam keeping your anger at bay. Your voice raised a bit, eyes narrowing. “I’m the only one that tolerates your shit attitude in this damned gang! Sure you can shoot a gun, but if it ain’t for that. No one ‘round here woulda hesitated puttin a bullet in your head with the way you go on!”Micah scowled and stood up from the chair, facing you completely. This argument was different from all the rest you both had before. You could tell how the way he was looking at you. Something changed in him. Was it from the incident at Saint Denis? What happened in Guarma? You weren’t sure. But whatever cruelty he held back on you was let out full force in his next few words. “I never asked for you to tolerate me! Never asked for your company. Never asked for you to follow me around with your simperin’ feelings.” He stepped closer, getting in your face with a sneer and completely shattered your hopes in two quiet sentences. “You’re so easy to read now y/n it’s borin’. How ‘bout you wander off and go do something useful, and if I need your services, I’ll give ya a holler.”

That was it. You saw red, behind your damp eyes. You roughly pushed Micah’s chest away, making the man stumble back and hit the porch railing. You went for you gun. Micah’s eyes widening in shock as he realized what  you were doing. You had only just began to aim, when you noticed from the corner of your eye an outreached hand whipping out and grasped your wrist tightly yanking your pistol out of your grasp. You glowered at the man who only tiredly looked at you in disapproval and sympathy. “You need to calm down y/n. You’re lucky I got here when I did.” “This don’t concern you Arthur Morgan. Hand me the gun.” You spat out glaring between Arthur and an oddly silent Micah. “Look y/n, as much as I’d love to see this sack of shit dead you-” “Then hand me the gun and I’ll kill him myself!”

“-You can’t be doin’ that. We need every workin’ hand here to keep the gang together. We can’t ourselves killin’ each other when we have a whole lot of problems out there tryin’ to kill us!” He raised his voice over your own, trying to get you to see reason. And you did. Arthur was always good at that. After a few moments of silence you nodded. You sniffled and glanced at Micah, who was just watching you warily like he’s never seen you before. Squaring your shoulders, you collected yourself and took a deep breath. Enough of this. You were better than that. So much better. And definitely better than Micah fucking Bell. “You don’t get to talk to me. You don’t get to be near me. And you sure as hell don’t get to touch me. You… You are not worth this Micah Bell. I’m just sorry it took me this long to realize it.” And just like that, you turned your back to him and walked past Arthur who was still holding your gun. Micah didn’t say a damned thing. This was probably the quietest you’ve ever heard the man. He let you leave without a peep. You walked to the absolute farthest part of the camp away from Micah, leaning against a tree, wiping your tears. You were done with crying over that lowly snake of a man.

Footsteps.

You turn your head and see Arthur awkwardly shuffling there and your lips upturned to a faint smile. This man was awful with trying to cheer people up but offering your gun back was a good attempt. “Promise me you won’t shoot em? At least not yet.”“Promise. I’m… sorry you had to hear all that, had to butt in.” “It’s fine. To be honest, I’m surprised it didn’t happen sooner. Bright side, looks like you scared him quiet with that act. Wonder how long that’ll last though.”You gave a bitter chuckle and you both looked out at the fading sun through the gaps of the trees. “I’ve been a fool. But he’s an even bigger one. He’s gonna regret makin’ so many enemies out of people.”Arthur huffed a laugh and crossed his arms. “Don’t I know it. Till then… you ever feel like you’re about to get trigger happy on him, just come my way alright?”“Thanks Arthur… You’re a good man.” You smiled softly, hearing his quiet grumbles of denial. Lord that man couldn’t take a compliment. But you felt… better. Lighter. As much as you hurt right now in this moment, you knew you’d come out of this stronger. Arthur mentioned Dutch, Bill and Javier would be here soon as well. The gang together again, you could all move forward, get back on track. Lay low, earn money, and get the hell outa here. You could do it, you were a survivor. And no heartless Micah Bell was going to stop you.

[yeehawsimulator]

Arthur Morgan x Reader (gender neutral) One Shot

Arthur has been taking by Colm O’Driscoll, having you worried endlessly since you were unable to help him

Fluff/ a bit of angst

No warnings (Only blood appearing once)

Word count: 1,012

Requests always welcome!

•

“Dutch! Have you found him yet?” You yelled as you ran towards him, Dutch letting out a deep sigh as he got off his horse, placing his hands on your shoulders in an attempt to comfort you. “I’ve already sent Charles, Javier and Bill to search for him Y/N, I promise we’ll get Arthur back”

“He’ll be fine Y/N, he always has a way of getting himself out of nasty situations, no doubt this time it’ll be no different” Hosea added in, making you give him a worried look as you walked back to Mary-Beth and Tilly.

“He’ll be back soon Y/N, it’ll be alright” “It’s Colm this time though, not some dumb bounty hunters attempting to bring him in” You nervously replied to Tilly, fiddling with your fingers as you shot a glance at the path leading to camp every few seconds, still hoping to see him riding in just fine. “You should at least try to sleep, ya haven’t had a good night’s rest since he went missing” “I know Mary-Beth, it’s just that I keep thinking that they-.. they did something worse to him this time”

You felt the tears well up in your eyes and quickly blinked them away, clearing your throat as you stood up, the thought of it making you ill. “I’ll go feed the horses, get my mind off things for a bit” “Let us know if we can do anything” Tilly told you as you headed over to the back of the wagon, lifting a hay bale before walking over to the horses.

Your heart shot straight back up in your throat as Charles, Bill and Javier rode into camp, but the look on their faces turned your wonder into disappointment. You ran your fingers through Count’s mane as you let out another sigh, wondering if you should head out and search for him yourself, but you knew damn well you’d be unable to defend yourself properly.

Again you were unable to sleep normally that night, falling asleep for half an hour, laying awake for another hour and repeating the cycle until the sun finally rose.

You walked out of your tent to see Micah and Bill sitting by the smoldering campfire, barely able to pick up on their conversation. “I hope they killed the bastard, would save us a lot of pain. We could’ve used this time to get us some money, but no, Dutch rather spends his time searching for that cowpoke” “Shut up Micah” Bill groaned, your heart racing in anger as you balled your hands into fist. You let out the breath you’d been holding and relaxed your hands, you were tired as hell and Micah wasn’t worth the effort, son of a bitch will get what he has coming to him eventually.

The rest of the day went by rather uneventfully, the sun already setting again which sent most of the members back to their tents, but of course not you.

You thought you were imagining things again when you heard the sound of hooves coming from the forest, standing up to see it wasn’t your imagination this time.

“Arthur!”

You ran over to him as quickly as you could, Arthur barely holding onto his horse as you clumsily helped him off. You pulled your hand back as you felt something wet, looking down to see your entire palm covered in blood. “Dutch, Hosea! I need help!” You yelled, seeing the red blood stains on his otherwise white blouse.

“Oh son, you’re alive, thank god!” Dutch pleaded as he lifted Arthur’s arm over his shoulder, making a pained groan leave him. Other people started leaving their tents and Mary-Beth ran over to you, pulling you into a tight hug as relief finally washed over you. “Told you he’d be back” She laughed, making you do the same.

“Y/N, can you help me clean and bandage his wounds?” Susan asked you, making you nod as you followed her.

You helped Arthur take off his blouse as Susan poured alcohol over his open wounds, tying bandages around them afterwards. “You’ll get quite a fever but nothing looks to badly infected, you’ll live” “Thanks miss Grimshaw” Arthur groaned as he laid back down, Susan pressing a reassuring hand on your shoulder before she left you two alone.

“You look horrible Y/N” “How sweet of you” You chuckled as you sat down on his cot next to his side, making him grab onto your hand as another pained moan left his mouth. “It’s thanks to you worrying me half to death, you ass” You told him, making him laugh softly as he squeezed your hand. “Ah I don’t deserve someone like you” “Shut up Arthur”

A smile spread over your face as you gently ran your fingers through his hair, leaning down to press a kiss forehead which made a soft sound escape his lips. “Can you come lay with me, I’m cold” He sighed, making you laugh again. “I would laugh at you but I don’t know if you’re joking or not” You chuckled, taking off your boots as you laid down next to him, Arthur turning over on his side so he faced you.

“Are you okay? What’d they do to you” You softly spoke as you ran a hand over his jaw, feeling him exhale deeply. “Too much to name, Colm seems to carry a deep hatred for me” “I’m sorry” You breathed, wrapping your arms around his neck as Arthur’s wrapped around your waist, pressing his head into your neck as you let your chin rest on top his head.

“I’ll kick Colm’s ass next time I see that son of a bitch” “That’ll be a sight to behold” Arthur softly laughed, before a shiver spread through his body. You reached down and pulled the blankets over the two of you, hearing that Arthur had fallen asleep not much later, and you were finally able to do so as well.

[yeehawsimulator]

A Long Lost Love

Arthur Morgan x F! Reader (5/?)

Part 5 of my long Red Dead Fix-it

You, John, Arthur, Bill & Lenny head out to rob a train

Warnings: Cursing, Violence

Requests for one-shots are always welcome, I’ll write for everyone except Micah

•

You stood up as you heard that Javier and Sadie were back, Dutch walking over to them as well. “It wasn’t him Y/N, he truly didn’t know, Sadie pushed him to the edge and he still denied knowing”

“Shit, that means they know we’re in Valentine. That’ll give us a few days before they find we’re here” You sighed. “Enough time for one big hit, something better and less dangerous than the bank” Dutch spoke, You raising an eyebrow in confusion.

“John told me about a train carrying the rich passengers from Saint Denis, goes through Valentine every friday. If we manage to rob it when it rides through the forest it should be an easy job” “Then how do we make it stop in the forest?” You replied, looking behind you to see Lenny had listened in on the conversation. “We steal an oil wagon, place it on the tracks, driver will have to stop since he’s carrying important passengers.”

“I like your way of thinking Lenny Summers, let’s rest up for the night and head out tomorrow evening. Y/N, you tell Arthur about this, Lenny you tell John that his plan is going through. Five of us should be able to do it” Dutch spoke, but you quickly stopped him. “You showing your face in a train robbery after blackwater, Dutch? I don’t think that’s a good idea” “I guess you’re right-“ “I’ll go!” Sadie interrupted, but Dutch was quick to stop her idea. “No way miss Adler, Bill can join them” He replied before walking back to his tent.

“I’ll tell Bill as well, see you tomorrow Y/N” “‘Night Lenny” You told him, seeing Hosea, Pearson, Uncle and Strauss gathered by the campfire, deciding to join them to listen to their stories. “Oh Y/N, please join us! I was just telling a story about Arthur you haven’t heard yet!” “Is it an embarrassing one? If so, count me in” You chuckled, sitting down on the log next to Uncle.

“So, as I was saying, Dutch and I always used to go fishing together. Arthur never wanted to join ‘cause he always caught the smallest ones, and as you know he sees everything as a competition and hates losing” Hosea spoke, already making you snort. “And one day he comes back with this beautiful, large bass he had caught, Dutch and I obviously amazed at how he managed to catch it. We have a nice night together eating Arthur’s proud catch and head into town the next day. We walk past the shops and suddenly this shopkeeper calls out, ‘Hey you there! Enjoyed the fish I sold you yesterday?’. Oh the look on his face-“ Hosea got interrupted by Arthur softly smacking the back of his head, you and the others too busy laughing. “Can ya stop telling everyone that? It ain’t that funny Hosea” “It is funny” You laughed at him, Arthur quickly protesting, “I was 18!”

~

“You comin’ to bed? I need to tell ya somethin’” You asked as you placed your hand on his knee, Arthur humming in agreement. “Goodnight gentlemen” You told Hosea and the others, wishing you a goodnight back as you and Arthur walked back to your tent.

“Dutch has planned for us to rob a train tomorrow evenin’, he thinks it’s a better option than the bank” You spoke as you took off your jacket, sitting down on your cot as you heard Arthur exhale deeply. “Guess he ain’t comin’ along” “No he ain’t, me, you, Lenny, John and Bill” “Sounds like it’ll have to go alright”

You laid down on your cot and fell asleep soon after, your energy drained over the eventful day. You opened your eyes when you heard a weird noise coming from nearby, sitting upright and closing your eyes to focus on what the hell this sound was. “What in the name of jesus is that?” “The phenomenon we call Uncle, he was magically silent the past few days” Arthur replied, making you laugh as you laid back down.

~

“We got it!” Lenny’s voice sounded, you looking up to see John and him riding an oil wagon towards the secluded spot in the forest you, Arthur and Bill had been waiting in. “Nobody saw you two?” Bill asked as John got off the wagon, Lenny shaking his head. “Good job boys” You told them, circling around the oil wagon to see if it was still intact.

“If we ride towards the forest near Valentine now we should reach it near sundown, will give us time to set this up on the tracks and hide in the treeline” Arthur spoke, the rest of you agreeing.

Bill and Lenny took seats on the driver’s couch on the wagon after you declined their offer, grabbing onto the railing on the side of the wagon so you could hang from the side of it, John and Arthur doing the same.

The ride took a short while, John telling Bill to stop the wagon when they reached the right spot. “Let’s cover up and head to the trees” You spoke, tying a bandana around the lower half of your face before running into the forest, stopping when you noticed Arthur wasn’t following you. “What the hell are you doin’!?” “Makin’ sure this train stops” Arthur replied, climbing up on the wagon as you continued your path to the trees, quickly hiding behind one as you heard the train approach.

“Is he out his mind?” John asked you, you shrugging as you reloaded your gun, “Probably, but it usually does work out in the end” “Usually, yes” John grumbled in response.

The train came to a quick halt when it’s lights illuminated the oil wagon, Arthur jumping off and yelling for the driver to step out, who unfortunately for the feller was dumb enough to point his pistol at Arthur. You sprinted out of the woods and used the back of your rifle to knock the man out, feeling a tinge of guilt coming up, not used to having to attack innocent people. But what had to be done had to be done, the only mentality that will get you through this life.

“Lenny, Y/N, you two go through the passenger cabins and rob their money, Bill you go for the carriage holding their baggage, John you keep and eye out for cops, I’ll head through the entire train to see if we missed something” Arthur spoke, everyone quickly starting with the task they were assigned to.

“You or I do the intimidation work?” You asked as you grabbed the empty bag to hold the money, Lenny laughing at himself before answering, “Bet you’d do a better job than me at that, so after you madam”

Lenny yelled at the passengers to hand over their money, until one rich bastard decided not to comply. “Want me to hurt you dumbass? Your money ain’t worth your life” You spoke, doing your best to sound as threatening as possible. “Fuck off woman, what the hell are you trying to do anyways-“ The man couldn’t finish his sentence as you gave him the same treatment as the driver, only making sure not to knock anyone out.

“You’re wasting my goddamn time! Hand over your fuckin’ money!” You yelled, the man quickly fumbling around his pocket before pulling out a money clip which he threw into the bag Lenny held in his face, making sure to let a racist comment slip out while doing so. You hit him in the head again which did knock him out, spitting on his unconscious body before moving on to the next passengers.

“Guys! We’re in trouble!” John’s voice sounded from outside, Lenny and you quickly running out the cabin to see what was going on, only to see police men coming out the forest, one with his gun pointed directly at Lenny. You quickly pushed him to the floor with you, a bullet hitting the crate behind them. “Holy shit! Thank you” Lenny exclaimed before both of you hid behind the crates, trying to pick off some of the cops.

“John get your ass behind cover!” You yelled, John quickly jumping on to the train car you and Lenny were on. “How the fuck did they find out so quickly?!” John questioned, you shaking your head in confusion. “I-I don’t know, but let’s make sure all of us get out of here alive first” You told him, looking through the carriages to see if you could find Bill and Arthur.

You shot at some more of the men riding towards the train, the flow of police finally seeming to stop. “Let’s haul our asses out of here!” Arthur yelled as he and Bill ran down the side of the train, you and the other two jumping down the carriage.

You whistled for Florence who came running down the mountain, John and Bill’s horses the only other two that showed up. “Arthur c’mon!” You yelled, grabbing onto his hand as he quickly climbed on behind you, Lenny jumping up on John’s horse. “Let’s split up! Meet back at camp!” John yelled, “Sounds good, stay safe all of ya!” You replied, rushing Florence into a gallop as Arthur wrapped an arm around your waist.