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porkchop-ao3 · 5 years ago

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A Thrill I’ve Never Known (Chapter 56)

Brandywine Drop

Arthur and reader have some much needed respite away from the crumbling gang. We also meet a familiar face! Warning for some animal death/hunting-ish.

Tagging @emily-strange ❤

(All chapters tagged with #ATINK and also posted on Ao3, username PorkChop)

We set up a campsite with Arthur's tent at Brandywine Drop, a short distance away from the huge waterfall and as far from the train tracks and trail as possible. We were set up under the cover of a patch of trees with a clearing big enough for us to set up a little fire. It was evening time once we were settled, with Rayna chewing on some wild carrots I'd pulled up for her, and Arthur heating up some cans by the fire for us. It was a little late to find something to hunt for meat so it'd be a light and bland supper, but it didn't matter. I played with Rayna's mane while she ate, listening to the peaceful sounds around me; it was a wonderful place. The constant shhh of the waterfall put me at ease, coupled with the familiar crackling licks of the fire and the sound of birds singing a final song before they found a place to roost for the night, it made the tension in my shoulders fall away as I stood there by my horse and my love. This is how life is meant to be, I thought.

I suddenly remembered the letter in my pocket from that morning, and looked over my shoulder at Arthur. He was prodding at the contents of a can with a fork, trying to stir the congealed substance to heat it evenly. I reached inside my pocket and retrieved the letter, looking down at it for a moment before walking over to him. I held it out to him silently, and he glanced at it before meeting my eyes.

"This came for you this morning," I told him. He took the letter from me and looked at the writing on the front. I could tell by the slight shift in his eyes that he knew who it was from. "It feels like there's something inside," I added.

Arthur tore open the letter and knocked it against his palm. I was correct in my guess that it was a ring, it fell into his hand and he stared at it for a while before unfolding the letter. He tilted it towards the fire to get some better light to read it with and I wandered away, back to Rayna, to give him some privacy. He didn't need me standing over him as he processed whatever she'd written.

I scratched Rayna under her chin and kissed her nose, whispering to her soft words of affection. She'd been neglected a little bit by myself over the past week or so, and she needed some love. I didn't want her thinking that Kieran was her new papa or something, considering the time he put in making sure that she and the other animals were happy.

Barely a minute passed and I heard the sound of folding paper. I looked over my shoulder and Arthur was staring at the ring again, a mild frown on his face. He must've been hurting but I didn't know how to comfort him. How does one comfort a lover who is hurting over a previous one? It was an odd situation.

"I don't really know the right customs when it comes to these things… but I feel like it'd be in bad taste to–" he began, then stopped and met my eyes. "She's giving me this back because she thinks it'll help her forget about me, I think," he clarified, holding the ring up to me.

My heart did something funny when I saw him like he was; happening to be on one knee as he crouched by the fire, now showing me a ring. The mental leap I made made me ache with some kind of longing. I pushed it away, for the time being.

"She put in her letter that maybe I should give it to someone else. Maybe even you," he continued. "I feel that's a little… odd. Considering I bought it for her all those years back. But I guess… do you want it?" He asked, a slight shrug coming with his words. I couldn't help but laugh.

"No," I breathed, shaking my head but grinning. I walked back over to him, bending over and cupping his face, tilting it so I could kiss him. "I don't want Mary's old ring. But thank you."

"I thought as much," he murmured, tucking the ring away in his satchel, "I thought I'd ask in case you thought it was pretty, or something, but it wouldn't be special," he shrugged.

"Special?" I repeated, a little unsure of what he meant.

"It was her… you know I asked her to marry me," he said very quietly, looking away from me. I nodded even though he wouldn't see it. He took a breath and met my eyes again, "I plan on buying you a ring of your own when that happens," he said, his tone light and casual, yet making my entire body burst with tingles and adrenaline.

"When that happens?" I repeated, choking the words out. Arthur's face seemed to pale as he realised what he'd said.

"If, when, I don't– you know what I– shit, I didn't mean anything by that. That was just a slip of the tongue. I just meant I… I wouldn't propose to someone with the same ring I did with someone else, it was just a general statement, I wasn't–" oh, he was panicking. I snickered and pressed my fingers to his mouth.

"It's okay. I understand," I nodded.

"I guess I… I love you and I can't imagine not loving you, that just slipped out like it was a normal thing to say," he justified, his eyes comically wide. I shook my head in amusement and carefully lowered myself down to sit next to him on the ground. I wondered how I'd get up again but that was a problem for later.

"It's alright. I'm not gonna take that too seriously," I sighed, leaning into his side. "This is an odd situation and you were just trying to say the right thing."

"Perhaps I'll… I'll sell it," he shrugged his shoulders.

"Maybe you could give it to John?" I suggested. "Perhaps one day he and Abigail could have a use for it, you know?"

"You think?"

"Abigail loves him. They're working things out, it seems. Aren't they?"

"Yeah, they are," he nodded, sitting down properly on his backside and wrapping his arm around my shoulders. "Maybe you're right. If he's got any sense he'll marry that woman. He ain't ever gonna find someone else who'll put up with him," he snorted.

"I think that would be sweet, if you gave it to him. That way, someone gets to use the ring and it ain't odd… plus I get my own ring, when the time comes," I smirked mischievously. "I like sapphires, by the way."

"Sapphires," he chuckled breathily, "noted. You know, that bracelet Penelope gave to me was sapphires."

"It was?"

"I still got it, you want it?" He asked. I chuckled and shook my head.

"The money's more important," I said.

"Well, she said it would be worth some," he nodded.

"My mama had a beautiful necklace with a sapphire in it, had to sell it, though. I always begged her to wear it," I told him, fondly recalling it. "Was only allowed to once, I remember," I lifted one finger.

"When was that?"

"My tenth birthday, we went to the park in Saint Denis, I was dressed up in my best frock. Mama said now that I was in double figures she needed to see if I was grown up enough to wear such a special necklace. I was so scared of losing it all day that I never asked to wear it again," I laughed, and Arthur chuckled too. "Couple years later we sold it, keeping a roof over our heads was more important, you know?" I added, and Arthur nodded.

"I suppose, lookin' for silver linings and all, at least we ain't gotta worry about losing no roof, living how we do," he sighed.

I nodded slowly. "And I think I prefer having no fixed abode. Don't know for sure why, but I like this," I gestured around us. "Always have. Much more now I ain't alone."

Arthur scrubbed his hand up and down my arm and then shifted forwards to retrieve the cans from the fire. He used a pair of sticks as pincers to lift them out carefully, placing them on the ground in front of us. He sighed down at our dinner.

"How we splitting this, you want beans or peas, or shall we have half and half each?" He asked.

"Half and half?" I shrugged.

"Alright, here you go," he handed me a spoon from his satchel and I started on my half of the peas while he went at the beans. It was certainly no banquet but it was something warm to fill our bellies.

"So, Colm's dead, I tried to throttle Micah… what a day this has been. Sadie told me that you and Dutch had a disagreement at the saloon earlier," I delicately broached the subject.

"That why you went and spoke to him?" He asked. Aw, shit.

"Yeah, I guess," I shrugged. I sensed him looking at me. "I just didn't want him treating you like crap because of me, so I went and told him that it's just me who wants us to leave."

"That ain't true," he protested.

"Yeah, I know. But it's simpler if Dutch thinks that."

"He ain't gonna be good to you, he thinks you're against him like that," he warned, and I shrugged carelessly. And I really didn't care. Dutch could fuck himself, to be frank.

"Whatever, just let me take the load off of you. You don't need him doubting you, you've got enough to worry about," I muttered, shaking my head and shovelling some more peas into my mouth. "I'm more interested in how you're feeling. He must've upset you."

"Just felt like he was throwing the past twenty years back in my face. I figure I've spent so long earning his trust and proving myself to him, and all it takes is me wanting the best for the woman I love for him to tell me that I ain't loyal. Maybe I ain't loyal to him no more, I don't know," he shrugged his shoulders, "if I'm not, that's only because he's been acting crazy."

"If he wants everyone to blindly trust him, no matter what, he's gotta do better," I shrugged. "I don't trust him to have everyone's best interests at heart. If it was me running this gang, I'd've given John a bunch of money and told him to get lost with Abigail and Jack by now. The poor kid got kidnapped and he's been shot at in his own home at least twice," I used the term 'home' very lightly, but it was true nonetheless.

"We could probably afford to do it, too. John's brought in plenty of work, ain't like he hasn't earned his cut," Arthur mused under his breath, a bean falling off of his fork down his shirt when he paused before putting it in his mouth. He sighed and scrubbed a hand over the mark it left.

I looked down into my can. "I do understand why you can't leave, when I think about these things," I told him quietly. "I don't think I could live with myself either, if we ran off and left everyone else in this mess."

Arthur met eyes when I looked up at him. He didn't say anything but I saw him relax a bit, read relief in his eyes. I could tell it put him at ease to learn that I was on a similar page to him. We ate for a while longer and then swapped cans, and finished off the last of the peas and beans between us.

"How's your leg?" He asked, leaning back on one elbow, head tilting towards the sky where the stars were out.

"Getting there. You saw me walking without my cane today. That weren't on purpose, I forgot it, but maybe I don't need it no more," I replied, leaning back on my hands and looking down at my outstretched legs before joining him in looking at the sky.

"Just be careful, princess," he whispered. There was a stretch of silence before he spoke again, "I'm still hungry after that. Maybe I'll go out in the morning and get us some proper food," he said, and I chuckled.

"You ain't got no more food?"

"I got some biscuits, not many though. Prob'ly not enough for two," he told me. I reached over and patted his belly.

"I won't ask for none," I assured him with a grin.

"You sure? I'd feel bad eating them in front of you," he said.

"I had some chocolate earlier, and I never shared it with you. Go for it."

"Where'd you get chocolate?" He asked, sitting up and retrieving the snack from his satchel.

"Pearson gave it to me, bless him."

"Pearson never gives me chocolate," he muttered to himself and I snorted, shaking my head.

It was quiet save for the crunching of Arthur's biscuits, and I leaned back, lying on the ground so I could watch the stars again. I felt sleepy and at peace. It was so good to be alone with Arthur, just quietly enjoying his company, completely alone for the first time in weeks. I wore an easy smile and released a content sigh, prompting Arthur to look at me.

"That's more like it. It's real good seeing you smile," he commented, brushing the biscuit crumbs from his short beard.

"It's just nice here. So peaceful," I noted, and he looked around and nodded.

"I keep thinking I can hear Karen yelling, drunk, or Micah winding somebody up. Mind's playing tricks on me, it's just the waterfall," he said, shaking his head.

"You sure? They ain't found us, have they?" I joked, making a show of looking around. Arthur laughed and laid down next to me, rolling over to half lean over me. He held himself up with his hand beside me, leaning down to kiss my forehead, then the tip of my nose.

"You look so pretty when you're happy. Not that you ain't pretty all the time, but when you're like this… makes me wanna wrap you up in my arms and keep you there," he said in a low, rumbling tone. I cupped his face and connected our mouths for a slow, open-mouthed kiss.

It went on for some time, we lost ourselves in it indulgently, always letting the background of our surroundings slip away when we kissed like that. I could do it for hours. It might've been one of my favourite things to do with him. Arthur shifted so his elbow held him up and his free hand could go to my waist, his thumb rubbing the spot back and forth, his fingers squeezing in my shirt. I was hazy with adoration in moments, bringing one hand to his torso where I wrapped it around his suspender.

When we broke away for air, Arthur's voice was gravelly and deep, almost a mere vibration in my ears.

"This is making me want you too much. Since the other day my thoughts ain't been anything close to pure–" he began, hearing himself and chuckling. "Sorry. I can't stop thinking about it. I wanna take you, out here, so I can watch your face while I make you feel good."

"I'm still– my monthly ain't finished," I whispered, though I was immediately turned on.

"I ain't squeamish," he said without missing a beat and I gasped and barked out a shocked laugh, smacking him lightly on the arm. He parted from me a bit so he could see my face properly.

"Arthur! That's so…" I laughed, shaking my head, not knowing what to say. "Dirty! In more than one sense."

"I'm sorry, I'm getting carried away again. You do that to me," he said, his cheeks reddening.

"It's okay. I just think– what a mess," I snickered, feeling my own face heat up with embarrassment. Arthur breathed a laugh too and laid down on his back next to me.

"You're probably right," he sighed. "It was worth a shot."

"Dirty boy," I muttered in faux-reprimand.

"Only since I met you," he retorted accusingly.

"I was a virgin when I met you, remember that?"

"What're you insinuating, that I'm the one who's turnin' you dirty?" He smirked at me and I chuckled.

"I don't know. Either way I'm not complaining."

"Mm, me neither."

His hand brushed against mine and he linked our pinky fingers. We were quiet for some time, and I was the one to tentatively break the silence.

"Mm, you know, if we were to go inside that tent…" I began, trailing off quietly.

"Yes?" His voice rose in pitch playfully.

"I might not be able to offer you the full fun and games, but I've got a perfectly serviceable pair of hands," I squeaked. He hummed a sultry laugh.

"Miss Jemima," he breathed, shaking his head in false disapproval.

"Is that a refusal?" I questioned. Arthur laughed breathily and rolled over onto his front enough to push himself to his knees. I watched him from my spot on the ground with a wide smile on my face.

"Sweetheart, I'm in no fit state to refuse anything from you. Come on," he jerked his head playfully towards the tent and I snickered, sitting up and shuffling along with him inside.

I awoke to an empty bedroll beside me. I noticed the little piece of paper laying atop it quick enough not to panic over Arthur's absence, and plucked it up to read it.

Gone hunting for some breakfast, back soon. Won't go far.

Love, Arthur

I folded the note and slipped it away in my satchel, its sentimental value manifesting itself in an instant despite being something so simple. It had the memories of such a beautiful place and a peaceful night attached to it, of course.

I scooted out of the tent; the fire was going strong, Arthur had obviously tended to it before he left so I'd wake up to some warmth. It wasn't the warmest climate this far north. I warmed myself there for a few moments before tackling the act of getting to my feet. It was trickier than it looked without the ability to bend my leg as far as I needed to, but I got there in the end and headed away from our campsite into the woods to take care of some morning business. Then I headed towards the water to clean up a bit and splash some water on my face. The place looked different in the daylight, with the vivid violet snowdrops dotting the foliage and the sun glinting off the churned up surface of the water by the waterfall.

I looked out across the river to the other side, taking in the trees that surrounded me. Movement caught my eye between them, all the way across the other side of the water. I stepped a little way to the left so I could see better, and spotted two figures in the trees. A gunshot made me jump, but it sounded like a varmint rifle so I wasn't too alarmed. I'd used one enough over the years to recognise its particular sound; less full-bodied than most rifles and almost a little hollow sounding.

I squinted and leaned forwards, trying to make out the figures. I was certain one of them was Arthur, recognising his blue shirt, but he was with someone else. A woman. From all the way across the river she looked a bit like Abigail, but there was no reason why she would be out here.

I decided to investigate. I glanced back at our campsite and ensured that nothing valuable was left unattended, and whistled for Rayna who immediately closed the space between us. I used my good leg in her stirrup to lift myself onto her, side-saddle, and clicked at her to get moving. I crossed the water at the shallowest point, Rayna's big hooves thu-dunking and splashing through noisily. I followed the path around into the part shrouded by trees, hearing their voices as I got closer.

"Get ahold of its legs, have a firm grip, give it a hard pull. Straight down," Arthur was explaining. I didn't want to creep up on them but I also felt strange shouting out, so I waited until I was close enough for them to notice.

Arthur turned, his face brightening with a smile once he saw me. The woman hadn't noticed, focusing on skinning the rabbit in her hands. She tore the skin off in one clean pull, a technique I'd never had much success with myself, but she seemed to do okay.

"Darlin', you're up," Arthur greeted.

"I saw you from across the water," I said, suddenly feeling a little odd about having sought him out. I hoped he didn't think I didn't trust him.

"Oh, hello there," the woman said when she noticed my arrival. I smiled at her as Arthur approached and helped me down off of Rayna, his hands on my waist as I slid off ensuring that I wouldn't land too hard on my feet and hurt myself.

"Hi," I replied, taking in her appearance. She looked slim and tired, her skin a little sallow and dirtied with mud. Her smile was weak behind her politeness, but she was pretty.

"This is Mrs. Balfour, she lives in a house just up there," Arthur introduced her, pointing up the path. "I came across her when I was looking for game."

"Charlotte," she nodded, reaching her hand out towards me, then spotting the rabbit blood on it and thinking better of it, "you must be Mr. Morgan's partner. My sincerest apologies, it's my fault you're having to wait for your breakfast," she chuckled weakly.

"Oh, not at all," I shook my head.

"He was helping me find some food, he taught me how to skin this rabbit," she said, holding up the animal. "My… my husband passed, and I've been struggling ever since. Well, we were struggling before he died but that's a different story," she shook her head, looking off in the direction of her home.

"I'm so sorry," I frowned. She gave me a small, grateful smile.

"I haven't eaten in days, but this will keep me going. Thank you so much," she turned to Arthur.

"Don't mention it," he said, gesturing with his hand for her to start heading back. "Let us walk you back."

I tagged along with them, sounding for Rayna to follow and taking hold of her reins.

"Did your husband do all the hunting?" I gently asked, concerned about her lack of knowledge when living so far out of civilisation.

"Tried to. Neither of us were any good, as I said to Arthur, we were City folk," she sighed, "just looking for some new escape. I don't know the first thing about hunting, can't even fire a gun properly."

Arthur and I glanced at each other, sharing the same look of worry.

"You should probably learn… no use me teaching you how to skin an animal if you can't catch any," Arthur suggested and she nodded her head, looking down at her feet.

Rayna suddenly dug her feet in, pulling on the slack of the reins, whinnying in distress. A moment later there was a gasp from Charlotte and then a choir of wailing howls from above. My blood ran cold, I'd never heard that sound so close and I swivelled to see three wolves up on the slope, looking right at us. I froze in place, my legs going numb as Rayna tore the reins from my slack hand and understandably bolted in the other direction, a second before the wolves pounced forwards.

Instinct sent my hand to my holster, pulling free my revolver and fumbling to pull back the hammer. This was why sidearms stayed loaded. A series of gunshots sounded before I fired, I watched one wolf slam into the ground and slide down, a second wounded. I aimed at the third and shot, missing a couple of times before finally landing a shot in the animal's chest, sending it down before unloading the remainder of my shots into it for good measure while Arthur finished off the others.

There were a few moments of still silence once the wolves were finished. Adrenaline made my hands throb and my head pound; I turned to look at Charlotte and Arthur with wide eyes.

"I would be dead now, if it weren't for you two," she breathed, shaking her head and shoving her hand into her hair, "I'm completely hopeless."

I shook my head, "you just need to practice shooting. I had to learn on my own years ago, I just kept trying. It gets easier, becomes second nature almost, aiming right," I told her in a tone I hoped would reassure her.

"Okay," she sighed and nodded, and we carried on towards her home.

I fell back a little to walk with Arthur, and spoke to him quietly. "Perhaps we could help her. Teach her how to shoot properly," I suggested.

"I was thinking the same thing," he nodded. "She just needs to eat right now but we could come back in a few days."

I nodded in agreement, then we reached the house. It was a pretty spot, right near the waterfall, neatly tucked away between trees and cliffs. Quiet and picturesque. I would've envied her if she wasn't so alone and struggling.

"I would invite you in, but I'm dead on my feet," she told us, breathing a little laugh. "But please, if you two are ever out this way again, do come and visit."

"Of course," I said, and Arthur nodded too.

"It was nice meeting you both."

"You too, you take care ma'am," Arthur tipped his hat at her and I dipped my head politely.

"Thank you, for this," she looked at Arthur sincerely and Arthur awkwardly shifted on his feet.

"Ain't no trouble," he shook his head.

"It's the kindest thing anyone's done for us since we… I appreciate it, a lot," she told him. "Enjoy the rest of your trip."

"Thank you," Arthur nodded, then Charlotte closed the door.

Arthur and I looked at each other then headed away.

"That was good of you," I told him, hooking my hand over the arm he offered. "You're a sweet man."

"I just did what anyone would've done. She was starving," he shook his head dismissively but I didn't let him get away with it. I reached up to kiss his cheek.

"It was a kind thing, I'm proud of you," I said, smiling up at him, "this is why I love you."

He met my eyes, his own softening and warming.

We reached the wolves and paused. "I guess this can be breakfast," I said.

"I suppose. And lunch, and dinner…" he chuckled, "better than letting it go to waste."

And so we set to work skinning and butchering the wolves. The pelts weren't in great shape, torn up by bullet holes evident of a panic, but they'd still come in useful around camp for extra warmth when the temperature dropped, as it occasionally did at the new camp. I stocked Rayna's back with the three pelts while Arthur finished cutting the usable meat from the animals, wrapping them up and distributing them between our satchels and the saddlebags. When we were done we took a moment to wash our hands in the river, cleaning away the blood and grease before mounting up together and heading back towards our campsite.

#rdr2 #red dead redemption 2 #arthur morgan #fanfiction #arthur morgan x reader #atink #arthur morgan x female reader #reader insert #rdr2 fanfic

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somethinwickedthiswayrides · 5 years ago

Note

hi! could i get a javier escuella smut? if you write smut i mean. the idea is that the reader is an o’driscoll who was captured and everyone’s mean to her (except kieran), including javier until she finally breaks down in the middle of camp and dutch makes everyone lay off, and javier apologises later. if you want, smut added at the end would be appreciated!

IT’S DONE! IT’S DONE! IT’S FINALLY DONE! After a week of working on this fic, it is finally 100% complete! :D My 100 follower special is finally complete!

Anon, I don’t think that you fully comprehended the can of worms you opened when you sent me this ask.

That being said, thank you all so MUCH for getting this new Tumblr user to 107 followers!

WARNING!; This is a LONG AF fic, almost 9000 words, so yeah. Also this fic contains smut, so be warned.

TW: Past abuse, mentions of rape, suicide attempt.

You were caught not too long after Kieran was, by Charles and Arthur on their hunting trip. You were heading back to the camp with supplies from the nearest town.

They had found you, captured you, and took you, along with the supplies, back to Colter. The entire trip you were silent, save for the whimpering while you were tied up in the back of the wagon.

Upon arrival at the snowed-in camp, you heard the two men chat with another before one called out that he was going to take you to see someone by the name of Dutch.

The name made you panic. If this was the Van Der Linde gang you were in deep trouble. They had a long-standing feud with your gang, the O'Driscoll’s, for years now. Ever since Dutch killed Colm’s brother.

A sudden hand on your calf knocked you out of your internal panic, and with a squeak, you shot your bound legs out and kicked whoever it was square in the chest.

There was a grunt and the crunch of the show told you that you either knocked the man on either his butt or his back. You backed yourself into the farthest corner of the cart and curled up as best you could.

“You alright there Charles?” You heard one of the men laugh.

“I’m fine,” the man you presumed to be Charles grunted, you must’ve caught him off guard, “I must’ve startled her, she’s got a mean kick though.”

“Need me to come over there?”

“No, you’ll just scare her worse.” Charles chuckled and reached up to pull the blanket covering the cart off, you blinked and squinted at the harsh light reflecting off the snow. Out of the corner of your eye, you saw a gloved hand reached out for you and with a gasp and a harsh flinch, you tried curling into an even tighter ball.

Charles gave a soft frown before gently placing his hand on the back of your shoulder, letting you get used to the touch while muttering low, so only you could hear, that he wasn’t going to hurt you, you slowly relaxed enough for him to pick you up and throw you onto his shoulder.

You squeaked and thrashed a bit while Charles muttered to you a bit more before finally asking if you’d prefer walking. You settled down a bit before making a small noise of agreement and he, as gently as he could, set you back on the cart before pulling out his hunting knife to cut at the bonds.

As soon as the knife got near your legs you whimpered and flinched again, causing the much larger man to pause before placing the knife on the rope to cut at it. As soon as the ropes were off you fidgeted and rubbed your ankles together trying to sooth the rope marks. The large man sheathed the knife and gave a small pat to your head.

“See? Nothing to fear from me.”

“You’re being too soft on her Charles!” Another man called out, you looked over your shoulder as best you could to see a heavy-set balding man and the other man from earlier, who had hogtied you and set you in the wagon.

The man in question simply grunted before helping you to your feet and placing a firm hand on your bicep.

“Since I don’t trust you not to run away, I’m going to keep my hand on your arm and guide you to where we need to go.”

“Not like I’d get far, even if I could outrun you my arms are still tied behind my back.” You mutter under your breath as you looked down, you flinched again when the man chuckled.

“So she does speak.”

You had gone silent again, keeping your eyes straight ahead as Charles guided you to Dutch and Hosea.

“That’s an unusual looking deer, Charles.” You heard an amused chuckle as you entered the slightly warmer building. You saw it had come from an older man sitting by a fireplace, a bundled-up woman peeked her head out of the nearby room to look at the newcomer, then you laid eyes on the one and only Dutch Van Der Linde himself.

He was a lot closer than you thought and you flinched so hard you accidentally knocked into Charles.

“Jumpy isn’t she?” The woman piped up with a raised brow, her accent tipping you off of her Irish descent.

“Very, it looks like she’s an O'Driscoll.” Dutch commented, frowning slightly at the green neckerchief wrapped tightly to your neck as a makeshift scarf.

“We found her taking up a cart full of supplies up to that camp you guys bushwacked. Ammo, food, that kind of stuff.” Charles stated as he placed his hand upon your lower back to steady you. You perked up slightly at the news that the camp had been taken out before your heart hurt for the loss of the only one there that seemed to care about you.

“Ha! We send you boys out for some food, and you come back with presents!” Dutch barked a laugh before setting his sights on you. “What’s your name miss?”

You were silent, eyeing him warily, looking for some kind of punchline, or just a punch. Dutch raised his hand a bit, reaching for your face and you flinched so hard that if it wasn’t for Charles steadying you, you very well would’ve ended up on the floor.

“What did you boys do to her? She’s acting like someone’s going to attack her at any moment!” The woman voiced her concern.

“It most likely wasn’t the boys, but those O'Driscoll’s that did this to her, they never did treat women very well.” Dutch frowned and gently placed his hand on your cheek, his thumb gently rubbing your cheekbone.

You continued eyeing him until you saw the older man getting out of his chair.

“Charles bring her over here, let her warm herself up.”

Charles nodded before gently guiding you toward the chair and had you sit down. The older man reached behind you and undid the ropes on your arms, freeing you. As you rubbed your wrists you listened to the men converse among themselves.

“Don’t mind them too much, they may be outlaws, but they’re good people.” The woman from earlier came over with a soft smile as she sat down in the chair next to you.

“I was always told that the Van Der Linde’s were far worse than any O'Driscoll.” You muttered looking into the fire.

“Sounds like something they’d say. Most folk here have a softer spot for women, they won’t hurt you.” She placed a hand on your knee with a smile, before introducing herself as Molly.

“Y/n, Y/n L/n.”

“Well Miss Y/n, now that we have your name, I was hoping you could tell us what you know of the O'Driscoll’s.” Dutch sauntered over with a small smile on his face. You raised a brow.

“Not quite sure what I could tell you that you don’t already know.” You muttered up at him before staring back into the fire.

“Tell us what you do, and we’ll see where we go from there.”

So you told him, you told him about the train, why they needed the extra supplies, what they were going after, and, while you didn’t know his exact location, you knew that Colm was planning on heading to one of his hideouts in New Hanover.

You didn’t have to tell them about your abuse, they could tell by your actions, the way you flinched, the way you paused when someone shifted, how you never looked at them in the eye.

After telling them all you knew Dutch had a new man, Lenny, come and take you to a small shack with a lit furnace inside, tying your bound hands up to a beam. You could tell the dark-skinned male was conflicted, you were an O'Driscoll, an enemy, but you were also a woman, a very scared and jumpy one at that.

He was polite, but it was clear he didn’t trust you, which was fine, you didn’t trust him either.

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In the following days, you didn’t see too much of the outside world, didn’t see too much of the people in this camp barring the change of your guard.

Lenny was a kind soul, once he found out you were literate the two of you would talk for ages about books, even going as far as to recommend some for each other once you got off this snowy hellscape of a mountain.

Charles was another, he was a much quieter sort, and you didn’t mind. Conversation with him was light, but the silence was never uncomfortable. He was the only one who took the ropes off your wrists to let them heal for a bit, very assured that you were either smart enough to know to not run, or in his abilities to stop you if you tried.

Bill was a sort that confused you, he was usually drinking, very loud and somewhat animated, but he didn’t seem to take any pleasure in you flinching or scooting away from him. The conversation usually boiled down to him insulting you for being an O'Driscoll, insulting your gang, and the odd awkward comment that you weren’t sure if you should take as a compliment or not.

Micah was the kind of man that the O'Driscoll’s told you the Van Der Linde gang was, he was rude, crude, cruel, and trigger happy. He took vast amounts of pleasure watching you flinch away from him. You tried not talking to him, but he just filled the void by speaking himself. Often insulting you, and describing just what exactly the boys could do to you. He made you want to take off your neckerchief and strangle him with it.

Javier was… Odd to say the least, he barely spoke to you at all, and when he did it was almost always in what you assumed was Spanish, and almost always what you assumed was an insult. The one thing he asked you in English was how you came to be with the O'Driscoll’s. You didn’t answer but the haunted look on your face told him not to press the matter.

One morning while Charles was watching you you both heard a commotion outside, Charles got up to take a look before walking your way to retie your bonds.

“Looks like we’re finally moving camp,” Charles stated as he got you to your feet and lead you outside. You blinked at the harsh white surrounding you, you were handed off to an older looking man, who simply called himself Uncle.

You were barely listening to the man spout stories while you watched everyone pack up the wagons, it was then that Javier and Charles started dragging someone very familiar out of the barn toward one of the wagons.

No…it couldn’t be…could it?

It was! It was him!

“KIERAN~!”

Everyone’s heads shot up and turned to look at you, this was the loudest they’d ever heard you, Kieran’s head popped up as well, and, while it took him a little longer, as soon as he spotted you his face lit up.

“Y/N!!”

Javier and Charles had to strengthen their grip as Kieran tried breaking free, fighting to get to you. By the time Uncle came around and thought ‘Hm, maybe I should tighten my grip on the lady’ you had already broken out of his weak hold as you bolted at top speed across the camp.

“Mierda! She’s fast!”

The next thing anyone knew you had tackled Kieran so hard that it ripped him right out of Charles and Javier’s grasp and right into the snow. Everyone looked on at the giggling sight of the two of you with partial amusement, partial irritation, and slight fear. Because if you were that fast in mud and snow, how fast were you on solid ground?

You and Kieran were giggling in the snow as you got your arms over his head to hug him, thankfully Charles bound them in the front rather than behind your back like Kieran’s were, while Kieran had to use his chin to pull you as close as possible.

There was a mix of gleeful ‘you’re alright’ and ‘you’re alive’, Kieran suddenly pulled back and looked you over.

“Did they hurt you?”

“No, no, I’m fine! Did they hurt you?”

“Who cares?!”

“I do!” You smiled as you nuzzled your face into his neck, his chin resting on the top of your head with a smile of his own. You two were suddenly snapped out of your happy reunion at the sound of angry Spanish, looking over you saw Javier yelling at a very sheepish Uncle.

“¡Estúpido Maldito idiota! You had one job! One!” Javier shouted at Uncle while several others from camp either shook their heads, glared at Uncle, or were just amused by the entire thing.

Charles had stayed by you two but was still glaring at the older man, he had trusted him to keep you from bolting or doing something equally stupid. Though, to be fair, no one knew you were going to react that way when they brought out Kieran.

You reached out and lightly tapped at Charles’ leg with your foot, not daring to untangle yourself from Kieran. Charles looked over at you two and saw a pair of sheepish and uneasy smiles.

“Sorry, I guess we got a little excited.”

“A little?” Charles raised an eyebrow as the pair of you turned scarlet and chuckled nervously.

“Come on, break those two up, we need to get out of here!” Dutch called out and everyone returned to work, Charles reached down and pulled your arms free from around Kieran’s neck while Javier dragged him to his feet. The two of you were placed into separate carts, and while you were a bit sad that you were separate, you were relieved that he was alive and well.

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The trip from Colter to Horseshoe Overlook didn’t take too long, before you knew it you were being unloaded with the cargo. Kieran was tied up to a tree behind the chuckwagon, while both of your ankles were bound and you were left at a nearby tree closer to the horses.

Seeing as you could do nothing else you simply watched as the camp put itself together, watching as everything got unloaded and everyone gets to work.

The hours turned into days, and you were barely moved from that spot, though now you were tied by the ankle to the hitching post. At least you could pet and talk to the horses. Even get up and walk a very short way.

While you still had Charles and Lenny who was relatively kind to you, now that you were out in the open, your aggressors only grew. The worst of which was Sadie Adler, who was cruel to you and Kieran to the point of being unnecessary.

Micah wasn’t much better, but he seems to have graduated from being crude and ruthless to being crude and perverted. Trying to 'woo’ you into his bedroll with empty promises.

Javier was another unnecessarily cruel one, though only in passing, calling you names in Spanish, or just outright calling you an O'Driscoll whore.

The rest were a mixed bag, some days they were nice and others they were mean. Usually mean.

It was getting rather hard to ignore them, Micah you could deal with, you’ve dealt with his lot before. But the rest, they never did anything but hurl names or harsh words. You were more used to people hurling rocks or throwing fists.

And poor Kieran was taking all this abuse while being starved. At least they’d feed you a little. Though you often wonder what witch the camp cook pissed off to make his cooking taste so bad.

One day Charles, Javier, and Bill rode out, and only Bill returned, you heard from passing conversations that they went down to Blackwater to collect one of their own. Then Micah and Lenny rode out to do some scouting, while you were sad to see Lenny go, you were kind of glad Micah left too.

One day you heard Kieran shouting and you called over asking if he was alright. He shouted back that he was fine, but it was strained, but since you couldn’t see him you couldn’t tell for sure.

There were some hushed voices than you saw Arthur pushing Kieran toward the horses. He called over Bill and John, with whom you haven’t had much interaction.

“Kieran, what’s going on?”

Kieran stopped his transit to John’s horse and was quickly by your side, cupping your face and making promises you weren’t sure he could keep. John called out to him to hurry up.

“Don’t worry little O'Driscoll, as long as he’s not spinnin us a yarn, we’ll make sure your boyfriend comes back in one piece,” Bill called out sounding snide.

Que you and Kieran looking at Bill like he was a lunatic and speaking over each other cause no, that’s my sibling, just no.

“Alright already, we get it, your more family than lovers, can we just get going now?” John piped up putting an end to you two screeching at Bill, even though you all could hear Dutch laughing by his tent.

As they all rode out of camp, and you called after them to stay safe, Dutch came up to you with an amused smile.

“Brother, huh?”

You flinched, not expecting him behind you. But looked up at him anyway.

“Yeah, we’ve kept each other out of enough trouble with our 'gang members’ that we adopted each other.” The venom dripping from your voice wasn’t lost on Dutch, and he smirked at it.

“Well, that little show you two pulled in Colter made everyone assume you two were husband and wife.”

“You mean you wouldn’t fling yourself at your best friend who you thought was dead cause someone told you that they bushwacked and killed everyone in the very camp they were at?”

“Fair enough.”

Dutch left you alone at that and you were subject to your thoughts. Which were enough to drive anyone insane. You didn’t even last an hour before you called over Mrs. Grimshaw and begged for something to do since you were half bored out of your mind and the other half was worried sick.

Within a few minutes one of the girls, Tilly, if you remembered correctly, brought over a large basket of clothes that needed to be mended, and she untied your hands and you two got to work.

Tilly was nice enough, and with some half-decent conversation you two had worked through the entire basket and were patching up smaller items when Kieran returned with John and Bill.

“Kieran!” You yelped and gently set the article you were working on back into the basket with the sewing needle as you launched yourself at the man, only you forgot that your ankle was still tied to the hitching post, so you just landed in the dirt with a thud.

“What’s she doing untied?” Bill asked as Kieran got off John’s horse and made his way to you.

“Apparently she stress works,” Tilly smirked as Kieran picked you up and set you back on the crate Tilly had kindly brought over for you, while you frantically checked him for any injury.

“Yeah, she does that.” Kieran chuckled and when you found no injury you breathed a sigh of relief before wrapping your arms around his neck.

“So how’d it go?” Dutch called out as he walked over.

“Well, Colm wasn’t there, but we took out several of their boys, Arthur stayed behind to raid the camp, and this little maggot actually saved Arthur’s life,” John smirked over at Kieran.

“Arthur must be getting sloppy if he needs help.” Dutch laughed and there were a couple of chuckles around the small group.

“I-I was wonderin if Y/n and I could join the gang? Out there, we’re as good as dead, but here, we might stand a fightin chance.” Kieran piped up as you looked up at him in surprise then at Dutch in hope.

Dutch looked thoughtful, on one hand, he’d saved the life of one of his best, and you’d shown you were willing to work and were gettin less shy around the men in camp. On the other, you both were asking to fully defect from the O'Driscoll’s, and while it could be that you two were just looking to get away from them, there was always the chance you two could be trying to play both sides.

“Hmm. Well, alright, I’ll give you two a chance. But you’ll only get one.”

You and Kieran looked at each other in pure joy. Kieran reached down to untie your ankle from the hitching post.

“And miss? That,” he pointed at your green neckerchief, “needs to go.”

“With pleasure.” You smiled as you pulled it off, and once your ankle was free you walked over to the scout campfire and tossed it in.

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Even though you were now in the Van Der Linde gang, things were looking harder than ever.

You and Kieran were picked on and ridiculed more than ever now.

A couple of days after you two were released from your binds Arthur had ridden out to meet up with Javier and Charles in Blackwater. A few hours later, closer to nightfall, they came back with a scraggly little loudmouth of an Irishman.

He seemed pleasant enough, not paying you or Kieran any mind, too wrapped up in the faces he knew.

There was a party that lasted throughout the night, song and dance, drink and merriment.

Even Kieran let himself go and had a couple of beers.

Knowing what he was like when he was drunk, you stayed sober to keep him from doing anything stupid.

You woke up extremely early in the morning, the sun hadn’t even started to rise yet, but you just couldn’t get yourself back to sleep. So with a sigh, you pulled yourself up, checked on Kieran to be sure he hadn’t covered himself in vomit or kicked his blanket too close to the fire, and got started cleaning up the camp of the empty beer and whiskey bottles.

“Well look at chu. Hard at work and it ain’t even dawn yet.” You jumped slightly and turned around and saw Arthur rubbing the sleep out of his eyes with a lazy smirk on his face.

“I’m sorry Arthur, I didn’t mean to wake you.” You gave a soft smile which he returned as he walked over to throw a few logs onto the camp’s main fire.

“You didn’t, I went to bed early last night, I like Sean well enough, but he just doesn’t know when to let a party die.”

You chuckled as you placed the empty bottles into crates to take into town.

“Yeah, I noticed that. I think the silence is what woke me up.”

Arthur laughed as he got the fire back to a roaring state.

“I’d be careful is I was you, I think Bill may have told Sean that you two were O'Driscoll’s.”

Great, just what Kieran and you didn’t need. More hate for the gang you two are trying to leave behind.

“I take it he’s not a fan?” You rolled your eyes as you wet a rag to clean off the tables, cause someone thought it would be a wonderful idea to play Five Finger Fillet while drunk off their ass.

“No one here is, but Sean should only give Kieran a couple of bruises and you a couple of harsh words. But he’ll warm up to you two rather quickly. He’s all talk.”

“Great.” You groaned which earned another chuckle from the older man. You were happy that at least Arthur had warmed up to you two, maybe more you than Kieran, but still.

Just as Arthur said, as soon as the day got along Sean made himself known to you two. Kieran was first, while you were sewing with Tilly, Karen, and Mary-Beth, holding some somewhat pleasant conversation, Kieran had stumbled over and called your name, his hand covering his nose.

As soon as Kieran had your attention he dropped his hand a bit for you to see his bloodied up nose. You gasped, set your sewing down, and had his sit on the crate you were.

You assessed the damage rather quickly and gave him an old cloth of yours to catch the blood while you ran off to get some water to wash his face clean.

In your rush to get to the water barrel, you had failed to notice Sadie stick out her foot to trip you. You hit the ground pretty hard, resulting in a few scrapes of your own.

“You should watch where you’re going little O'Driscoll.” Sadie’s raw voice cut threw you, you frowned to yourself but didn’t look up at her, simply standing up, dusting yourself off, and continuing to the water barrel. Though taking the long way around to avoid the blonde terror on your way back.

After cleaning off and patching up Kieran you sat back down to finish your sewing.

“Are you alright?” Tilly asked, motioning to your scrapes.

“I’ll live, I’ve been through worse than falling.” You mutter but never taking your eyes off the sock you were darning.

After the Sewing, you popped out to help Kieran with brushing down the horses, when you were stopped by the Irishman himself.

“Well now, you must be tha’ lady O'Driscoll I’ve been hearin 'bout.”

You flinched pretty hard at the new voice and looked up at him, though only keeping your eyes level with his neck.

“I-I-I guess so.” You cursed yourself for stuttering and the man chuckled.

“Well, just know I’ll be keepin a real close eye on you girlie. Can’t have you be runnin off to Colom, now can we?” While you raised a brow at the pronunciation of Colm’s name you couldn’t hold back the biting response.

“If I’m running off to that bastard it’s to shove a rifle up his ass.” You flinched again when Sean laughed rather loudly.

“Now see, things like that’ll get you somewhere!” Sean grinned and went to put his hand on your shoulder, only to find you a good few feet further away.

He blinked a bit but shrugged and let you get back to where you were going with a wave and another 'O'Driscoll.’

As you made your way toward Kieran you spotted Javier coming from that same direction, he gave you a sneer and called you a coño, whatever that was, nothing good you assumed.

That afternoon Lenny had galloped back into camp and called for Dutch, explaining in a hurried pant that Micah had been caught up in the Strawberry jail and that there was talk of hanging him.

Dutch had Arthur take Lenny into Valentine to get themselves a couple of drinks and they didn’t return until the next morning, both heavily hungover.

The next few days had been much of the same, abused by Sadie, ribbed by Sean, cussed at by Javier, sprinkle in the occasional harassment from Bill and you had your week. It was enough to make even a sane man crack.

The morning was thick and heavy, there was rain was on its way, though when you weren’t sure. Trying to get as much stuff you could get done before the rains hit you never really saw Sadie watching you.

You relaxed by the woods for a moment having a smoke break before returning to work when Sadie waltzed up to you for her daily abuse. But she had a different tactic today.

Walking around you, telling you how you weren’t wanted, how you weren’t needed, how useless you were, that if you weren’t here neither would Kieran, he would’ve left long before now, probably wouldn’t have come back at all.

Before she left she shot one more bit of abuse at you, that you should just kill yourself and save everyone the trouble.

You weren’t going to show her just how much she had gotten to you, but once you were sure she had fully left you crumpled. The recent weeks of abuse, the years of torture, and just how much you truly hated yourself rearing its ugly head.

All you could hear was the darkness of your thoughts, the memories of your mother’s death, the memories of the years being forced into men’s beds, the beatings, the abuse, the cruel names, the taunting, Sadie’s words.

They all went screaming through your head at a rapid pace. No one would care if you were to just disappear. No one could bring themselves to care about your well being. No one would bother loving someone so broken.

Kieran might even be glad your gone.

When you snapped out of your internal suffering you noticed that you had moved dangerously close to the overlook’s cliff. You don’t even remember getting up. You looked over the edge then back to the camp. Contemplating. You took a deep breath and made your choice.

And stepped off the edge.

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You felt something grab your wrist and you hit the cliff facing with a grunt.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?!” The person above you shouted.

You looked up and there was Hosea, he had kept an eye on you after he saw you moving through the camp like you were in a daze. He had rushed forward and was laying down in the dirt, hand tightly wrapped around your wrist, preventing you from falling any further.

His shouting had drawn in a couple of people from the camp, some of whom ran back to get someone.

“What do you care?” You asked, tears welling up in your eyes as nearly everyone in camp came rushing to the cliff, Dutch came forward to grabbed hold of Hosea’s jacket, so he doesn’t slide off the cliff with you.

“What do any of you care?!” You shrieked as you tried shoving Hosea’s hand off of your wrist and swinging around. Trying anything you could think of to make him let go.

Arthur and Charles both tried to grab your other wrist but you just slapped them away screaming at them to leave you alone.

“I’m just some pathetic little O'Driscoll who needs to just die, it’s what you all want, right?!” Your struggling was getting more frantic as the heavens opened up sending down a soft rain.

“It’s not like that!” You heard Javier call out.

“Bullshit! You were one of the worst!” With your current position over the cliff, you never saw Javier clutch at his chest and drop to his knees. Lenny had run off to get Kieran who was tending to the horses at the front of the camp.

“What about Kieran?! You just gonna abandon him like that?” Charles called out and that made you stop struggling.

“Kieran will be better off without me. Maybe he’d actually get away from you bastards before you end up getting him killed. Find someone nice to settle down with, he deserves it. He’d do so much better without his broken sister getting in his way.” You had stopped struggling by this point, though you were still trying to weakly push Hosea’s hand off of yours. You’re voice broken from the crying and screaming.

“Wouldn’t be much of a life without you though.” You looked up and saw Kieran holding out his hand to you, Arthur holding onto the back of his jacket to keep him from slipping off the edge himself.

“I’d be beating myself up every day that there was something I’d missed, something I didn’t say. Something that would’ve kept you here with me. So, please, Y/n, don’t make me face the world alone. Don’t leave me guessing as to why you left. Stay with me, and I promise you it will get better.” Kieran urged, tears welling up in his own eyes, begging you to take his hand so he wouldn’t be alone.

With a sniffle and a deep breath, you took his hand. He, Hosea, and Charles all pulled you up from the cliff facing and you collapsed into Kieran’s arms and just sobbed as the rain kept coming down.

Kieran pulled off his jacket to cover you with it, you never saw everyone’s pained expressions. How their actions had affected you so badly. You never saw how Hosea had to rub the aches out of his hand from how tightly he had to grip your wrist. You never saw how furious Dutch was becoming with everyone.

“Hey, Kieran, come on. Take her into my tent, I’ll close the flaps so you two are undisturbed. Let her calm down some.” Arthur muttered and Kieran nodded, picking you up and carrying you to Arthur’s tent. Arthur closed up the flaps and lit the oil lamp so it wasn’t as dark, before leaving you two alone.

Nothing was spoken between you two, not for a while. Both of you listening to Dutch and Hosea’s angry shouting about the whole situation.

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Kieran cut you off, “I’m the one who should be sorry, for not noticing just how much they’ve all been affecting you.”

“Don’t be, you can’t control how people are.” You muttered and heard Kieran sigh from above you.

You tuned out the angry shouting and listened to the sounds of the rain and Kieran’s steady heartbeat, falling asleep.

While you were asleep, Arthur came by to check on you both.

“How is she?”

“Fast asleep.”

“Can you come out for a moment? Dutch wants to have a word.” Kieran nodded and gently set you down, bundled up in his coat, before following Arthur outside.

To Kieran’s surprise, Dutch wanted to tell everyone your story. After a little persuasion, he relented and told what he knew.

From the kidnapping of you and your mother, to her murder, to your years of physical and mental abuse. He told them everything.

By the look on everyone’s faces, they were horrified. Even Sadie looked aghast.

“Kieran?”

Everyone looked over to Arthur’s tent and saw that you had woken up and were looking for your brother. Kieran jogged over to you and held you close, afraid he was going to lose for real this time.

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In the following days, the entire camp was in a bit of a strain, your near-death, Micah dragging Arthur into shooting half of Strawberry. Pinkerton’s finding Arthur and handing out threats and empty promises. Arthur, Dutch, and John shooting up half of Valentine. And to top it all off, the sudden move from Horseshoe Overlook to Clemens Point.

Everyone was tired and maybe a little cranky due to the heat and humidity.

Nearly everyone had come up an apologized to you for their behavior, including Sadie, which surprised you. The only one who hadn’t was Javier.

Well, Micah too, but you highly doubted he was going to apologize for being a creep.

Whenever Javier came near you he would put his head down and ignored you outright. You guessed it was better than harassment, but he always looked so pained.

You were left to wonder why.

You got your answer a couple of days later when Javier came up to you with something behind his back. He cleared his throat and took a deep breath, before pulling out a large bouquet of wildflowers and handing them to you.

“I know that my actions and words against you were cruel and unfair. It wasn’t right for me to add to your abuse. I don’t expect you to forgive me, but, please, accept my deepest apology. I am, truly, sorry.”

He breathed a sigh when you didn’t respond, too in shock to have received a gift and apology from someone you thought didn’t care. He looked up at you and was taken aback when he saw there were tears in your eyes.

“Why are you crying?” Javier asked, reaching out to wipe the tears off your cheeks, pleased when you didn’t flinch away from him.

“I’m sorry, it’s just, I’ve never received anything like this before.” You looked down at the bouquet with a soft smile.

Javier frowned and plucked a flower out of the bouquet to place behind your ear.

“That’s just a terrible shame, a flower as beautiful as you should’ve been doted on, loved and cared for. Not dealt the hand you had.” Javier smirked when a blush dusted your cheeks.

In the following days, whenever he wasn’t on a job, you and Javier spent most of your time together, Kieran had been spending more time with Mary-Beth as well. It was clear he was going sweet on her, and you didn’t blame him, she was a pretty young thing.

You wondered if Javier was going sweet on you. You doubted it.

One morning Javier asked if you wanted to join him for a fishing trip. You agreed and got your fishing gear, you usually went with Kieran but he was currently learning to read with Mary-Beth, and you needed to get out of camp for a bit.

Before you reached the hitching posts, where Javier was saddling up Boaz, you were caught by Micah.

“Well, where’s a beautiful thing like you going off too?” Micah curled his arm around your waist and you resisted rolling your eyes.

“Javier and I are going out fishing so Pearson can stop yelling at everyone about getting food.” Micah sneered Javier’s name.

“Why do you bother hanging around that greaser? I can show you a much better time then he can.” The grin on his face told you exactly the kind of time he wanted to show you.

“Thank you Micah, but, no, I’m not interested in the time you’re looking to show me.” Micah sneered and pulled you closer to his chest, only to have Javier call you over.

“I need to go Micah.” You said as you pulled away from Micah’s grip and headed toward Javier, who helped you up onto Boaz.

“Micah giving you trouble again?”

“When doesn’t he? I swear he’s just as bad as any O'Driscoll.”

You got a chuckle out of Javier at this as you two rode off toward his fishing spot.

While you were enjoying your time at the fishing spot, catching a few fish and just relaxing, Javier seemed…fidgety. Like he had something to say but he wasn’t sure quite how to say it.

“You alright Javier?” You asked, looking over to him. He took a deep breath and sighed.

“Creo que estoy enamorada de ti.”

You had to raise a brow, still not understanding what he said. Javier shuffled around some more before reeling in his line and setting down the rod. He gently took your rod and set it down before taking your hands in his.

“I…I think I’m falling in love with you.”

There was a long pause as you processed the information, falling for you, what?

“C-come again?” Your eyebrows were raised so high they might as well been a part of your hairline.

“Lately when I see you my chest has been hurting, badly. Your smile brightens up my day, and when I’m not in camp I’ve been missing you terribly.” I looked down, your face flushing but Javier gently takes your chin and tilts it back up.

“Then earlier when Micah had his arm wrapped around you all I wanted to do was to run over, rip him off, and kiss you.”

“I’m a broken woman you know.”

“I know, and I’m willing to do everything I can to mend your wounds.”

“And if they scar?”

“I’ll kiss them until they stop hurting.”

You thought about it, he was opening himself up to you, could you do the same? Would you finally feel like you were healing or would he wind up breaking you worse?

“I’ll take a chance, but, please, don’t hurt me.”

Javier gave a huge smile, absolutely delighted that you were giving him a chance. He pulled you in close and gave you a tight hug, his face burying into your hair.

“May I kiss you?” You heard him ask, the sound of his voice so close to your ear that you couldn’t suppress the shudder running it’s way up your back.

“Y-Yeah.” You flushed as he pulled back just enough to angle himself to press against your lips.

His lips were soft on yours, and he tasted of tobacco and this mornings breakfast. The kiss was sweet, gentle, and loving. He didn’t want to scare you off, but oh did he want more. The taste of you had started an addiction that he couldn’t get enough of.

As soon as he left the kiss he started leaving little pecks on your lips, causing you to smile and try not to giggle at each one.

“Sorry hermosa, I don’t want to stop.” He muttered through each kiss finally causing you to giggle and try to keep up.

🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺

You and Javier returned to camp, hand in hand, both of you carrying a good amount of fish for Pearson’s stew pot.

You certainly didn’t miss the way Kieran smiled over at you, even going as far as to wiggle his eyebrows at you. You chuckled and nodded your head over to Mary-Beth and the man went red.

That night Javier had pulled you next to him at the campfire and everyone had caught on at that point, giving a few hollers and whistles. Even more, after you whispered to Mary-Beth, and she outright plopped into Kieran’s lap.

The poor man was red for the rest of the night.

The following days were sweet as could be, every morning Javier came over for a good morning kiss, a kiss before he left camp for the day to scope out any potential leads or for a job, and several more kisses upon his return. He always pulled you to his side at the campfire, sometimes into his lap when he wasn’t planning on entertaining the gang with his music.

One night while Javier was quietly strumming on his guitar, you by his side, Kieran decided to pipe up and ask you to sing for the group. Javier lit up, while you tried to hide behind him.

“You sing cariño?”

“Prettier than any songbird,” Kieran answered for you, you gave the man a heated glare from behind Javier’s back.

There were a few people around the campfire begging/demanding for a song, Javier looked at you with a hopeful glint in his eye and you just heaved a heavy sigh and nodded resulting in cheers from around the fire.

You sang a soft song, with a romantic lilt. Eyes were on you but you closed your eyes to tune them out and concentrate on your singing. Javier barely remembered to play his guitar, having to redirect his attention away from your beautiful voice to play.

When the song ended there was a round of applause for the performance, then a few whoops and hollers when Javier pulled you in for a heated kiss.

🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋

You could tell Javier was holding back at times. You could taste the familiar mix of lust and want on his tongue. But he always held himself back, excusing himself before things got too heated. You wondered why, not used to a man holding himself back from what he wanted.

You got your answer one evening when you were sitting on his lap, your legs wrapped around his waist while kissing him. He pulled away and called things to a halt.

“Why do you want to stop?”

“I don’t want to force you into something you’re not ready for. And I don’t want to make you feel compelled too for my sake.”

You were touched, so used to a man just taking what they want, that you had forgotten that there truly were good men out there.

“What if I was to say that I am ready, that I want this?”

“Then I would say not here. If you are ready, how about tomorrow, we’ll take a trip into town in the afternoon, rent a room and a bath, and not have to worry about disturbing the camp.”

You let out a giggle and nodded, it sounded perfect. With one last heated kiss, you got off of Javier.

You waited through the whole day with eager anticipation, the thought of spending the night with Javier sending thrills through you and making you work extra hard so you could speed through your chores.

Afternoon came quickly enough and before you knew it you were on the back of Boaz heading into town.

Javier wanted to take things a bit slow, arriving in the saloon he paid for a meal and a beer for the both of you to enjoy. Conversation with him was light and easy. His hand resting on your thigh, his thumb rubbing in small circles.

After the meal, he guided you up to the bath, which had already been drawn, and began kissing your neck as his deft fingers plucked at the buttons and laces on your clothes. Your fingers working on his as well.

You two didn’t stop kissing each other until you two were fully undressed. You pulled away from each other to look and see what you were working with.

Javier gave a pleased groan at the sight of your soft curves and the neatly trimmed curls.

You were in awe at the sight of Javier’s chest and were pleasantly surprised that he was already at half-mast.

Javier smiled at you and he stepped away to sink into the warm water of the bath and beckoned you to join him. With a small smile you sunk into the bathwater with him, both of you sighing and enjoying the feeling of each other and the warm water.

Javier grabbed the nearby bar of soap and quickly brought it to a foaming lather to wash away the filth from the last few days, gently massaging any aches away. Smirking at every moan you gave him from his teasing touches.

When he was done you took the soap from him and washed down his chest and shoulders, planting soft kisses along his collarbone before moving onto his arms and legs, continuing to plant kisses after they were nice and clean. You couldn’t hold back the smile when you cupped him to clean his now fully hardened dick and he let out a low moan.

After the two of you had been thoroughly washed you two stepped out of the bath and dried each other off, wiping away the trails of water as they ran down your bodies.

You two dressed just enough to be presentable and with a final heated kiss you two left the bathroom made your way into the bedroom.

Javier was back on your neck, kissing it while he once again peeled off your clothes from your still-damp skin, this time kissing and caressing every new inch of skin that was revealed until you were once again standing naked in front of him.

“You’re beautiful mi amor.” He muttered as he laid you down onto the bed.

“You’re pretty good lookin yourself, handsome.” You giggled as you pulled his shirt off to caress his chest and stomach. Javier smiled and shed himself of his pants so he didn’t have to deal with them later and returned to caressing your sides.

Javier leaned down to capture you in a searing kiss which you returned wholeheartedly, wrapping your arms around his neck to pull him as close as possible.

Javier groaned into the kiss and reached up to massage your breasts, then kissing his way down to kiss and suck on the rising peaks. You quietly moaned as you rubbed his shoulders and back.

Javier looked up at you through his lashes as one of his hands trails down to gently massage at your folds, groaning at just how wet you were.

“So wet for me already mi amor?” Javier smirked as you gave a moan and bucked your hips up into his hand.

Javier slipped one of his fingers into your core and groaned at just how tight you were, he gently thrust his finger into you as he continued sucking on your breast. You were groaning and panting at just how good he felt, but wanting to return the pleasure you reached down to cup at his throbbing dick, Javier moaned but reached down and pulled your hand off.

“Not tonight amor, tonight it’s just about you. I’ll get my pleasure, but you’ll get yours first.” Javier gently placed your hand back onto his shoulder before returning to your breast.

Javier slipped another finger into you and started kissing his way down your body, gently moving one of your legs over his shoulder to kiss and lick at your folds and that little bundle of nerves while his fingers stretched your entrance.

Your moans were getting louder, anyone on the other side of that door would be able to hear what you two were doing, but you didn’t care. Javier’s fingers and tongue were talented and he was going to pull every moan he could out of you.

You were getting close and he knew it, speeding up his hand so his fingers were pounding into you.

“You gonna cum for me amor?” You managed a hard nod while you were squeaking in pleasure.

“Do it, cum for me.” Javier wrapped his lips around that little bundle and sucked on it, hard, while swirling his tongue around it.

Your orgasm crashed through you while you let out a loud squeal of pleasure, your hips bucking up into Javier’s mouth.

After a moment Javier pulled back and removed his fingers to watch you ride the last of your climax, stroking himself with his slicked up hand, readying himself.

When you had calmed down enough to be able to look him in the eye he positioned himself right at your entrance, before kissing you hard.

“You ready?” He whispered in your ear. You wrapped your arms around his neck and planted a couple of kisses along his cheek and neck. Before responding that you were.

Javier nodded and slowly started pushing into your tight heat. The both of you moaning at the feeling of you stretching to accommodate him. When his hips were flush with yours you wrapped your legs around him.

Javier pulled you into another kiss, keeping his hips still so you both could adjust to the feeling of being connected. He didn’t want to hurt you, nor did he want to lose control and release to quickly.

“You feel amazing, mi reina.” Javier muttered against your lips, eyes still closed as he held himself back from moving.

You groaned and rolled your hips, not trusting your voice for much of anything right now. Javier groaned into your neck and he started gently pulling out and pushing back in.

Once he was sure he wasn’t going to hurt you he picked up the pace. Steadily going faster and harder, angling his hips to he would brush against your clit, one arm holding himself up while the other busied itself with your breast.

Another orgasm was building fast for you, with Javier working your body so well, and his lust coated voice heavy in your ear, you knew you wouldn’t last long. You tried telling him but all you could get out was moans and his name.

“You gonna cum for me again? Go ahead, I want to feel you come undone around me.” Javier growled into your ear as he picked up the pace even more. He knew he wasn’t going to last much longer either but he was going to feel you release around his dick if it was the last thing he did.

The faster pace sent you spiraling over the edge into the strongest orgasm you ever felt, with the blood rushing in your ears you couldn’t hear what you were saying, but Javier could, mostly his name and several proclamations of love.

Javier was reaching his limit and pulled back a bit so he could grip your hips and really pound into you, by now you had come back down from your climax and couldn’t do much more than squeak at the over-stimulation.

“I’m close amor, may I cum inside? Please?” Javier panted voice strained from the effort. You let out a weak 'yes’, your voice horse from all the moaning and panting.

With the last of your strength, you clenched your lower muscles to assist in sending him over the edge.

Javier let out a choked moan at the sudden tightness before pushing into you as far as he could go and spilling his seed deep inside you.

“¡Te amo! ¡Te amo! ¡Ay mi reina, te amo!” Javier cried out as he rode out his climax panting into your ear.

You stayed like that for a moment, Javier slowly coming back down to earth.

Once he more or less came to he gently pulled out, both of you moaning at the feeling, before flopping onto his side and pulling you close and kissing you again.

“I love you, Javier.” You smiled as you looked into his eyes.

“I love you too, my beautiful queen.”

#Somethinwickedthiswayrides #cleverslimepruneeggs #ANON REQUEST #smut #javier escuella #Javier Escuella x Reader #100 follower special #long post #very long post #rdr2 #red dead redemption 2 #red dead redemption

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rheyninwrites · 5 years ago

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Old Friends Part 14

A week or so later, we were getting ready to head out. It was Friday night, and all of us were going to get together at a bar in town. Lenny finally had some time off, and it was far enough in advance that Mary-Beth could plan her schedule around it. Abigail and John had found a great babysitter- an older man in their neighborhood named Mr Matthews. His wife had died a few years before, and they’d never had children, so it seemed he had “adopted” their family. I thought it would be as good for them as it was for him, since they’d had either really shitty parents or none at all.

As usual, Arthur was wearing a t-shirt, jeans, and boots. The colors might change a little, but it was always the same. But, hey, he was comfortable and it looked good on him. Really good, tonight. The shirt was black- my favorite color on him- and just a little tighter than usual, probably meaning it was new- he wore them until they wore out. The jeans were that perfect level of worn that meant they were almost t-shirt soft, and fitted perfectly. He’d showered after he got home from work, and actually taken the time to smooth his hair back away from his face, meaning his cheekbones and eyes were on full display. When I first saw him, I let out a low whistle of admiration.

“You look good. Planning on finding someone special tonight?”

“Nah, just thinking that after seeing me dirty all this time, you might’ve forgot what I looked like clean.”

“Definitely a good look on you. You should try it more often.”

He laughed while I sat on the couch to pull on my boots. Normally in the summer, you won’t catch me wearing anything more than sandals, but this was a special occasion. So I traded in the comfortable minimalism I usually went with for something a little more festive. I had on a tight green tank top, with equally tight denim shorts- cutoffs with enough stretch that I didn’t feel constricted, but not enough that they would be falling off by the end of the night. My chest tattoo was on full display, due to the wide neck of the top, and I had actually made an effort to put on one of the few necklaces I owned, along with a couple of bracelets. Being a minimalist, they were plain black leather strips, with one silver chain on the opposite wrist, but it was still something. The final touch was my boots- an old pair of doc Martens I’d gotten in college, heavy enough to be tough, but worn enough to be comfortable. When I finished lacing them, I stood up to let him appreciate my outfit like I’d appreciated his.

And appreciate he did. He eyed me up and down, circling me to get a full view. His eyes widened just a bit, and he raised one eyebrow. Then he stood back, his thumbs hooked on his belt. When he spoke, his voice raised just a little bit.

“Okay.”

That was high praise from him.

I grabbed my phone and shoved it in my back pocket, then headed out the door ahead of him. I looked back to see if he was coming and saw he was checking out my ass. At least he had the decency to look embarrassed. Just a bit, at least.

I climbed in on the driver’s side, then scooted over to give him room to get in. He still hadn’t fixed the passenger seatbelt, so I was in the middle, our shoulders pressed together. I usually made an effort to keep my hands in my lap, but this time I opted to just let them fall wherever, which meant that my elbow was resting on his thigh. Luckily, he didn’t seem to mind, and we chatted away as he drove. At one point, he made a joke and grabbed my knee, but left his hand on it. I guess he found it encouraging when I didn’t move it or say anything, because he let his hand slide backwards a bit and tucked it underneath my thigh. In response, I laid my head on his shoulder and we drove the rest of the way in silence.

When we got to the bar, we could see that most of our friends were already there, so we headed inside. Tilly, Charles, and Mary-Beth were at the largest table with a man I didn’t recognize. She introduced him as her boyfriend, Kieran. Apparently he worked at the same construction company that John and Javier worked at, and they met at one on Javier’s famously wild parties. I was surprised that quiet Mary-Beth would go to one, but found out that it was the first, and last, time for both of them. Kieran seemed really nice, and very reserved and quiet- a perfect fit for Mary-Beth. I was more than a little happy for her, as if always worried that her desire to stay at home and write all of the time would keep her from finding the family life she wanted. Although it had made her a top ebook seller of romance novels.

We were soon joined by Lenny, Sadie, and the rest of the gang. The bar wasn’t overly crowded, considering it was a Friday night, but we made more than enough noise with all of our catching up. I got to hear about all of my friends successes, and more than a few hilarious stories as I nursed my beer. Kieran and Mary-Beth left early, the crowd being a little too much for them to handle, and I promised Mary-Beth that I’d come and visit soon. Abigail and John were quietly dancing in the corner, and Karen and Sean were loudly making out near the bathroom. The rest of us had either finished or nearly finished our drinks, so Arthur and Lenny went to grab more. As soon as they were out of earshot, Sadie burst out.

“What the hell is going on with the two of you, anyway? He ain’t left your side all night, you keep leaning on him, and both of you is looking at the other like the they’s a steak dinner and you ain’t ate in months.”

“Oh, please. It’s not like that Sadie. Well, maybe it is for me, but it’s not for him.”

“Uh-huh. Then tell me why he’s over there staring at you from across the room.”

I wasn’t going to turn around and look, making it obvious we were talking about him. I knew if I did he’d get all self-conscious and wouldn’t let it go until I told him what it was- and that wasn’t to happen. Instead, Charles, who was sitting beside Sadie, confirmed it. I rolled my eyes and assured them once again that it wasn’t like that.

“You know I just got out of that bad relationship, and he’s been watching out for me. We’ve sort of fallen back into that best friend mode, that’s all.”

“Well if my best friend looked at me like that, I’d definitely think they had more than friendship on their mind.”

“Shut up, Sadie. It’s just- not that.”

“Well why not? You’re single, he’s single?”

“He doesn’t like me that way.”

“How do you know?”

Because I’m a hideous fat bitch who doesn’t deserve love.

“Well, what about this fella coming up over here? I been watching him stare at you all night.”

I looked over where Tilly was pointing, and saw a big, beefy guy with heavily oiled hair and black cowboy boots coming toward our table. I prayed he was going to tell me I had something on my face, because he was definitely zeroed in on me, and so far from someone I’d be attracted to it made me nauseous to look at him. Yes, I know lots of people are into heavily muscled, hyper masculine dudes, but I wasn’t one of them. I wanted a guy who would spend more time with me than at the gym. If he’s muscular, it should be because of his work, natural.

He pulled a chair up next to me and sat down. I could see Charles and Sadie both trying to keep a straight face, while Tilly at least had the decency to look sympathetic. I kept my face forward, trying my best not to acknowledge him. He wouldn’t have that, though. He leaned around the table, far too close to my face for comfort, while tapping on my shoulder.

“Hey, sweetheart. What are you doing in here tonight?”

I grimaced, then turned to him with what I hoped was an obviously sarcastic smile.

“Spending time with old friends, is what I’m doing, and that’s all I’m doing. And I’m not your sweetheart.”

“Oh, I think I can change that. I like your tattoo.”

He reached out to trace the tattoo on my chest, and I slapped his hand away.

“You don’t get to fucking touch me unless I say so. Back the fuck off and leave me alone.”

I’d backed my chair out, angling it to give me space to leave if I needed. Charles and Sadie were standing up, and this scene was drawing far more attention than I liked. Instead of leaving, however, he leaned in closer to me, consciously trying to invade my space.

“Oh, I think you’ll give me permission. In fact, by morning, I think you’ll be begging for it.”

As he reached out to grab my chin, I put my arm up to block him, intending to stomp on his toes and leave, but I didn’t get the chance to, as he fell on his back to the ground and a familiar figure stood over him, using the iciest, most menacing voice I’d ever heard.

“I suggest you get your ass out of here without saying another word, or I will break every goddamn bone in your body.”

Rather than waiting to see what happened, I screamed Arthur’s name and pushed him toward the door. Through clenched teeth, I spoke

“Outside. NOW.”

#arthur morgan fic #rdr arthur #rdr 2 #modern rdr2 #arthur morgan #arthur morgan fanfic #rdr2 fandom #arthurmorgan #red dead redemption fandom #red dead redemption two

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my-funky-little-cowboy · 5 years ago

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Got a writing idea for you if you're ever bored or looking for something to do, short and simple prompt, do what you will if you decide to bother with it~ Hamish finds out Arthur is a wanted member of the Van der linde gang (+and possibly how you think Hamish would react)

Ooooh I like this idea!

Themes: Angst, HH Arthur, RegretCharacters: Arthur Morgan, Hamish Sinclair,Words: 1340Leave a tip?

Arthur had spent too much time around camp, the depressing aura hung heavily around the camp. Those that were left sat in gloomy silence, everyone was on edge, the love that was once there all but gone. Arthur let the lid of his chest close as he buttoned his clean shirt before turning to the campfire to grab some coffee, pulling his suspenders into place as he walked. He quickly drained the coffee and stored the cup heading off toward the horses.

Kieran was sorely missed, the horses pawed nervously at the ground as he approached, they were looking thin from the near constant running. Ulysses nickered as he approached trotting over and pushing his head into Arthur’s arm, Arthur chuckled and handed the eager horse an apple leading him over to get him tacked up. He looked around for anything to share with the other horses, coming up empty, he would have to see about that next time he was in town.

Today he was on his way back west, the camp needed supplies and though they were smaller now he still felt it was his job to do what he could to care for the ones left. They weren’t going to survive the year, he was sure of his fate, but if nothing else he could keep those left alive and would save them if he could. He would give them a choice that so many hadn’t had in the past couple weeks, to live, even if it killed him. Hell, especially if it killed him. It was all that mattered, all that was left; to make sure he saved as many as he could to atone.

Arthur pulled back on the reigns, he had been traveling for the better part of the morning when he began to recognize the area around O’Creagh’s Run, he redirected Ulysses toward the Hamish’s house, one of the few good things Arthur had found in their mad dash east. He would drop by and check on the man, maybe fish a bit and depending on how that went he would try and hunt something a bit more substantial.

Three Sisters crested over the hill as he approached, the lake coming into view as he reached the top. It really was something else, breathtaking in any other situation. Arthur let his mind wander, he could see himself settling in an area like this, not that he had that option anymore, but it would have been a nice place to live out his last days. He approached the house, Hamish was sitting on the porch, gun slung across his lap, reading the paper. Arthur cleared his throat on his approach, though he was sure that Hamish had heard him coming up.

“Anything interesting in there?” Arthur asked his free hand balled against this thigh. The gang had not exactly been lying low and their names had graced the papers more than once in the recent editions. He hadn’t spoken much about it with Hamish, it had never come up and their time together had been the closest thing to an escape that Arthur had in damn near a year. A truly selfish reason, but what had it hurt to not tell the man?

“I’d say, been a might of trouble around here.” Hamish let the paper fall slightly his eyes on Arthur. Arthur’s chest tightened, he knew that look, the distrust bored into him. He reached and pulled his hat from his head, carding his free hand through his hair, unable to meet Hamish’s gaze.

“I-I told you my name, ain’t no use hiding it, I figured you’d find out eventually.” He sighed heavily. “It ain’t how the papers put it you know.”

He didn’t even believe himself, why would Hamish. The truth stood starkly in front of Arthur, the past few months had been hard, decisions were made, but that wasn’t the kind of people they were. None of that mattered, because who they were? That died along with that girl in Blackwater, the amount of people they had killed in the last few months, that is all that mattered. Arthur Morgan: murderer, outlaw, lieutenant of the Van Der Linde gang that is all he was now. He stayed on Ulysses back, hat still clutched in his hands, waiting for the man to tell him to leave.

Hamish folded the paper and stood, dropping the paper into the seat and propping the shotgun against the side of the house. Arthur watched him unmoving, he wouldn’t fight if Hamish pulled the gun on him, it was what he deserved.

“We all got shit we ain’t proud of.” Hamish took a step toward the door, turning his back to Arthur as he went. “You ain’t never been nothing but helpful to me. Don’t see why our relationship should change based on some drivel I read in the paper from someone who’s never seen you.” He turned realizing that Arthur remained unmoving. “You comin’ in? I got whiskey, and I’m sure you want to talk.” He disappeared into the house. Arthur felt the anxiety seeping out of his body he pulled his hat on and dropped down from the saddle, hitching Ulysses and making his way inside.

Hamish was seated at the table in the warm cabin, a smile crossed his face as Arthur walked inside. He gestured for Arthur to join him at the table and offered him the bottle of whiskey. Arthur stopped momentarily in the doorway, his instincts still keeping him from relaxing fully around a man who showed him no threat. Arthur kicked himself, how this must look? Hamish was offering an olive branch and here he was slapping him in the face for it. He stepped into the cabin and remove his hat, placing it on the hook near the door, Hamish chuckled.

“Boy, you look like a grazing buck. Sit down! Have some whiskey, relax. We have a lot to talk about.” He wiggled the bottle in his hand, his smile unwavering. Arthur nodded slightly and slid into the chair, grabbing the bottle from Hamish’s hand he stared down at it.

“You don’t have to pretend you’re okay with this for my sake. I know I ain’t a good man, no hiding that.” Arthur gaze moved to the lake out the window, still not able to make eye contact with Hamish. He felt the arm on his shoulder and his eyes fell again before turning to finally look at the other man.

“Who we are in private reflects our truest selves. A bad man would have never stopped to help me like you did. You may have done some bad things, but I don’t believe that makes you an inherently bad man.” Hamish held out a hand for the bottle. “But if my whiskey isn’t good enough, give it back.” Arthur’s throaty chuckle lightened the air as he handed over the bottle.

“Well then, you ain’t the best judge of character. ‘Specially if you read what they say I did. But, I ain’t gonna turn away someone who knows what I’ve done and still wants to associate with me.” He shook his head and sat back, holding out a hand as a show of solidarity. Hamish guffawed and smacked the bottle into his hand.

“We all have our demons, boy. Any friend in this world is a good one.” Arthur turned to look at him for the first time completely lost for words. They sat in silence for a few minutes, sharing the whiskey between them. Arthur finally broke the silence, the whiskey helping him find the words.

“I don’t often get to call another a friend, but I’m glad to be able to call you one of them.” He raised the bottle to Hamish before taking a quick drink and handing the bottle back.

“Enough of this sappy shit! Let’s go fishing.” He polished off the bottle and slammed it onto the table. Arthur motioned for Hamish to lead the way and before following him out to the lake.

#arthur morgan #hyde tries writing #hamish sinclair #rdr2 #arthur needs to hear this #hamish would understand i think #red dead redemption 2 #sorry this took so long #i have been meh about writing #anon #ficlet #one shot #fanfic #high honor arthur #Anonymous

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krycss · 5 years ago

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Crossroads | oc:Alice Harkins/Arthur Morgan/Charles Smith | RDR2

Ch6: Clemen’s Point (Part 1)

[Read on AO3]

Previous Chapter - Next Chapter

Author Note: HOLY COW I LIVE. After 3 months there's finally a new chapter! My new job has basically sucked away any and all of my free time plus my energy so I haven't really been up to writing. However, I finally just sat down and finished this chapter. Is it my best work? No. But, it's something and I hope that you guys enjoy it nonetheless.

Arthur shook his head as he grinned at Dutch.

“Hoagy Macintosh? Really? That’s what you came up with?”

Dutch shrugged. “What? It worked, didn’t it?”

Hosea laughed as Arthur just shrugged. He couldn’t argue that, it did indeed get them close to the Sherriff of Rhodes. Which is not exactly how Arthur saw his day going when this was meant to be a simple fishing trip with the old men. They’d rescued Trelawney from the law after he’d gone and gotten himself caught, Arthur ran down some escaped criminals with a Deputy Archibald, and Dutch being Dutch, he smuggled his way into the good graces of Sherriff Gray. “Hiding in plain sight” as he called it.

Arthur could feel a familiar tingle in the back of his mind; he’d ignore it for now. As long as they didn’t bring any attention to themselves they were fine. They’d have enough trouble as is with the rival family feud that the Deputy had told him about. Arthur couldn’t help but wonder what Dutch had planned in that head of his about the rumors of gold.

Still, as Dutch had put it earlier, this was a lovely day. It was time for fishing.

They’d just gotten off their horses, spotting a series of boats near the fishing spot Hosea had found.

“I got a good feeling about fishing here,” Hosea said between his grunts from pushing the boat. “Supposed to be some incredible sturgeon.”

“Okay, here we go.” Arthur hummed as they finally got the boat into the water. “Let me row. You boys are too old for real labor no more.”

Dutch chuckled from the other end of the boat as Arthur took the oars from Hosea.

“And you’re too dumb for anything else.” Hosea quipped back, lightly thumping Arthur on the back of the head.

“You’re still too quick for me, old man!” Arthur said between laughs.

“I enjoy picking on children.”

He’d missed this. It’d been far too long since the three of them had done anything together. There were days when Arthur wished things could go back to those times. Things were simpler. There were less mouths to feed, and less drama. Less worrying about whether someone was going to die tomorrow because there were just too many people to keep track of.

Still, he wouldn’t change things, despite thinking about it. Especially now with Alice. And Charles too, he supposed. Arthur still wasn’t sure about things. He kept thinking that he didn’t deserve anything remotely similar to another relationship after what had happened with Mary. God forbid, he thought, if things ended up how they did with Eliza.

Arthur shook the thoughts from his head as he felt a pull on his fishing pole. After a bit of finagling, he’d managed to reel in a nicely sized steelhead trout. He threw it in the boat to bring to Pearson later.

He eventually tuned out the chatter between Dutch and Hosea until they caught his attention again.

“So,” Hosea said with a mischievous twinkle in his eye. “How are you, Arthur? How’s Alice?”

Arthur suddenly found his fishing pole very interesting.

“Oh, indeed, Hosea.” Dutch joined in, accentuating the syllables. “There’s certainly some interesting chatter around camp lately.”

“We’re fine.” Arthur gritted through his teeth.

“And Mister Smith?”

“I will tip this boat over.”

The two older men laughed. Arthur began rocking the boat just a small bit earning a yelp from them both.

“Seriously though.” Gone was Hosea’s mirth. “How are you three? There is chatter around camp, not always the friendly kind, and I’m sure it’s…difficult.”

Arthur sighed. He had hoped things in camp would remain rather normal but, there was hardly any privacy within their gang. Once one person put two and two together – or three and three - then it spread like wildfire.

“We’re figuring it out.” Arthur collapsed his fishing pole, having suddenly lost interest.

“I’m sure it can’t be easy, ‘specially for you.” Dutch also put away his pole, easing himself down onto the bench in the boat. “You’re still hung up about one woman and here you are, sharing Alice with another man. Don’t think I’d be able to handle that.”

Arthur bit the inside of his cheek. For a man whose eyes constantly dragged over other women when he had Molly back at camp, Dutch had some nerve.

“As I said, we’re still…figuring things out.” Arthur chose his words carefully. “’sides, who says I can’t handle this sort of situation?”

Dutch gave him a look that caused Arthur to roll his eyes. Sure, this wasn’t exactly the easiest thing to accept but, despite it only being a few days into it, so far things were good. Mostly just a little awkward as the three of them work out the details. They’re playing it by ear. However, it was all still so new and to be honest, Arthur really didn’t feel like talking with the two men about the early stages of his relationship. Relationships? He still hadn’t figured out what to call Charles in this particular scenario.

Arthur shook his head. “How ‘bout we head out?”

“Already?” Hosea spoke as he took a small trout off the end of his line and tossed it back.

“You ain’t been chasin’ down outlaws all afternoon!”

“Yeah, yeah.” Hosea slapped Arthur on the shoulder as he sat down.

Then they were off. Arthur spotted the horses following along as he rowed down the shore. His spirits were lifted when Hosea and Dutch began singing, Arthur didn’t know all the words but he kept up with the ones he did. With the sun setting to his left, Arthur couldn’t help but feel like this was the official beginning to something new and beautiful.

******

Alice had to admit, the humidity brought on by being this far south was well worth the convenience of having a lake right next to camp. Her and Mary-Beth were taking advantage of their new lake-front property by going for a quick bath in the little cove to that Kieran had told Mary-Beth about at some point. Their bath quickly turned into an afternoon of lounging on the shore, their feet still in the water once their chores were done. Mary-Beth, it seemed, had an ulterior motive.

“So,” She wiggled her eyebrows towards Alice. “You’ve gotta spill the beans. How in the world did you manage to wrangle not one, but two men?!” She clasped her hands together, sighing dramatically. “Handsome ones to boot! It’s like something right out of one of my books!”

Alice splashed Mary-Beth, causing the girl to squeal.

“Is that why you dragged me out here?!” Alice was trying her best to glare at her friend but was fighting a losing battle with her smile.

There was really no hiding anything from the rest of the camp. The gang was rather close-knit. Still, the trio hadn’t decided to announce it to everyone seeing as it was a new thing for them and they wanted to keep it as private as they could. The camp caught on rather quickly though, much to their chagrin. Hosea of course had his fair share of comments and jokes. Dutch hadn’t said anything to her personally, but Alice had spotted him talking with Arthur occasionally. Other than that, no one really had much to say after the initially teasing was out of the way. There was still the occasional snicker every so often which was put to rest with one of the three giving a rather nasty stink-eye. Micah had been the biggest agitator so far. His latest comment was during dinner recently. Alice was seated on Charles’s lap by the fire; it was easier for Charles and her to be more open to public displays of affection while Arthur preferred to enjoy Alice’s time away from prying eyes if he could. Micah had picked up on the situation and had been the cause of most of the snickering in camp and this particular night he had made the suggestion that since Alice apparently was being passed around, it should be his turn sooner or later.

Charles had attempted to deal with the situation himself but Alice had beat him to it.

“Mister Bell, even if we were the last two people in this God-forsaken country, I’d still rather die before that happened.” She had said with a smirk, continuing to eat nonchalantly as the people around her laughed.

Micah, of course, hadn’t appreciated it, but Alice and Charles were fairly entertained as he stomped off. He gave Alice one last parting quip about regretting that statement before retreating to the woods.

Alice was brought back to the impatient girl in front of her by being splashed in the face.

“Alright, alright!” She sputtered, spitting the lake water out of her mouth. “But you gotta tell me about you and Kieran, then!”

******

Charles spotted Arthur standing awkwardly on the edge of camp, his back to the water. He had been in the middle of sharpening his hunting knife when he got up to see what the cowboy was up to. When Arthur spotted him he gave a short nod.

“Hey.” Charles walked up next to him, hand on his belt. “What are you doing out here?”

“Uh…” Arthur coughed a little, jabbing his thumb behind him.

Charles could hear laughter and splashing. He could tell who it was by the laughs, the corners of his lips tugging up.

He chuckled. “Keeping watch, hm?”

Arthur blushed. Charles tried not to smile at how easy it was to fluster the man.

“Well now I am. I may have, uh, accidentally spotted them.” He scratched at his stubble. “Figured I’d make sure no one else makes the same mistake. Don’t want to embarrass them, ya know?”

Charles hummed, nodding his head quick.

“What you preparing for, anyhow?” Arthur nodded towards Charles’s hand which was still holding the whetstone.

“The greatest of gifts.”

“An unguarded stagecoach?” Arthur teased.

“No, you simple-minded fool.” Charles nudged his shoulder, letting him know he wasn’t being an ass. “Bison.”

“Bison?”

“Bison. From which you can get anything.” Charles turned around when he heard the sound of the girls getting out of the water. “There’s some over on the Plains, I believe. I saw a couple a long way off earlier.”

“Ah,” Arthur nodded. “Well, good luck then.”

Charles muttered a quick thanks but stopped a couple steps away. He had planned on using it as some time to himself but…

“Wanna come with me? When you’re done here.” He turned back. “I can show you how we hunt one.”

Arthur bobbed his head side-to-side, thinking it over. “Sure, why not?”

“Alright. Well, come find me when you’re done here, then.”

Arthur gave him his little finger salute which Charles nodded at.

He walked away, thinking back on things. He was happy with how things were going. It wasn’t as awkward as he had thought it would be, “sharing” Alice. It’s not like he didn’t know of others in similar relationships during his time on his own. It’s always different when it’s yourself, though. He was happy though, that much he could admit. For the first time in a while. He wasn’t sure how Arthur was fairing, he’d ask him while they were out. Alice seemed to be happy, though. She was smiling more and it seemed like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Charles could only imagine how much stress she had been under trying to figure out her feelings during these stressful times for the gang.

He glanced back at Arthur again when he heard the man explaining his situation to Mary-Beth and Alice. His face was hidden behind his hat but Charles could see the redness of his cheeks and neck as the girls giggled. Charles sighed, that man was far too easy to fluster.

******

Arthur was still trying to fight his blush as he rode alongside Charles towards the Plains in the Heartlands. Having one woman giggling at you while still soaked from water was enough to fluster him, but two? And one of which he was sweet on? Arthur thought this day would never end. Charles eventually broke him out of his thoughts by grabbing his attention.

“So, how are you holding up with things?”

Arthur knew what he meant without asking.

“Still getting used to it I suppose?” He took in a deep breath which caused tickle in his chest, making him cough a little. “I’ll admit I never thought I’d end up in another relationship with someone after…Mary.”

Arthur paused. No one else knew about Eliza…he still wasn’t ready to tell anyone.

“I never thought I deserved it, you know?” He continued. “Still don’t. ‘Specially with Alice. She’s just - she’s too good. And I’m just…me.”

Charles glanced over at him, slowing Taima down.

“She is a good person. Too good for our way life if I’m being honest. But, just like me, she sees the good in you. You deserve happiness Arthur, in whatever way you can get it. And if me and her have to remind you every day then, well, I suppose we will.”

Arthur puffed out his cheeks. Why’d these two have to gang up on him?

“You two are fools.” He mumbled.

Charles huffed a laugh through his nose as he picked up the pace, Arthur following shortly.

The bison were right where Charles said they would be. After telling him the history of his tribe and their closeness to the animal, Arthur was feeling a little stressed when Charles said that he could take one down while Charles went off to wrangle them.

Arthur brought Crayola to a run alongside the ringed-in bison. He took aim at one that was falling behind but still had enough meat on it to feed their ever-growing family.

With two good shots, the beast went down with a loud thump as the others ran off.

“Well done!” Charles called out as he rode up to Arthur.

Arthur found himself sitting up straighter in his saddle at the praise for some reason.

Both men brought their horses to the downed animal, Arthur hopping down to examine it.

“Alright, let’s skin and butcher it.” Charles pulled out the hunting knife he had been sharpening earlier and handed it to Arthur. “Take the horns too. It can all be used.”

Arthur went to work, quickly but methodically. He didn’t want to mess this up. Eventually both of their horses were tied down with either meat or furs.

Charles was looking over the hills surrounding them. Arthur hummed to get his attention.

“What is it?”

“I want to go check something out.” Charles spoke lowly, still staring over the hill.

“Where we goin’?” Arthur asked as he followed along.

“I thought I saw some scavenger birds over here, just want to see what attracted them.”

Arthur nodded, despite knowing the man in front couldn’t see the action. Charles’s shoulders were tense.

They became even more rigid when they came around the hill and discovered the source.

Three bison carcasses, their skin and meat torn to shred from the birds and other wildlife having had time to feast.

Charles growled. “Shot and left for dead, it looks like.”

“Why would someone do that?”

“I don’t know, but I see tracks heading in this direction. I say we follow them.”

Arthur watched as Charles’s jaw clenched, it seemed almost painful. He wasn’t sure if he was more worried about Charles, or what he’d do to whoever they found.

******

Alice had been helping sort through the piles of goods that Sean and Javier had brought in from their latest homestead robbery when Charles and Arthur rushed through the opening of the camp. Alice jumped to her feet, eager to see what the men had been up to while they were away. The smile on her face fell when she saw the expression on their faces. Charles quickly dismounted Taima, grabbing whatever was tied to the back of her and rushed past Alice towards Pearson. Alice watched as he discarded what appeared to be a bag filled with meat before he went straight to his tent, dropped off his things, and headed out to the woods nearby. Alice felt like a windstorm had passed through camp with how quickly Charles had come and gone. Her chest hurt at the expression she briefly saw on his face and took a step to follow him when she felt Arthur’s hand gently grab her shoulder.

“Give him some time to himself for a little bit.” He pulled her close, her back flush against his warm chest.

Alice tilted her head up to look at Arthur.

“What happened?”

“We went out hunting bison. Found some poachers.”

Alice nodded, resting her head back against his chest. She felt Arthur’s chin on the top of her head.

She knew how Charles felt about poachers. It was one of the things they had talked about oh so long ago when she was first getting to know him. She didn’t need Arthur to elaborate to understand that he was right. Charles needed space for a little bit. He’d be back. And they’d be here waiting for him when he did.

The quiet of camp was broken with a shout from Pearson’s wagon. Arthur and Alice looked over to see Sadie currently waving a rather large knife in Pearson’s face.

“For Christ’s sake.” Arthur muttered, resting his forehead on Alice’s shoulder. “Can there ever be a calm day in this camp?”

Alice chuckled, causing Arthur to lift his head to get away from her bouncing shoulder.

“I’m afraid not Mister Enforcer.” She pulled herself from his grasp reluctantly, pushing him towards the scene. “Go on now before we need to find another cook.”

“I dunno, I think our stomachs would be happier for it honestly.” Arthur chimed back, sending her a wink as he stormed off.

Alice shook her head with a smile as she watched the scene unfold from afar. It would seem they might have a new set of hands to help in the fighting if Sadie has her way. Alice couldn’t help but be a little relieved. After what happened in Valentine she wasn’t exactly thrilled at the prospect of being caught in any sort of gun fire any time soon. She still had nightmares about it sometimes.

She gave a wave and a cheeky smile to the grumbling Arthur as he and Sadie rode out of camp on the supply wagon. Alice’s attention went back to the direction Charles had stormed off. She knew there was a bit of a clearing in that area and wondered if maybe he had gone that way. She hesitated as she took a step, heeding Arthur’s suggestion of leaving him alone but, Charles didn’t have to be alone anymore. None of them did. Making up her mind, Alice quickly half-ran to Charles’s tent, grabbing his blanket. She then ran over to her own tent, grabbing her blanket as well. And finally over to Arthur’s tent to steal one of his. She stopped by Pearson’s wagon and wrapped up some fruits and other goods in the blankets and was off to the meadow. Even if he wasn’t there, she knew it wouldn’t take him long to find her.

She wasn’t sure if she was just that good at reading the man, or just extremely lucky but when she finally pushed through the last of the bushes, she did indeed spot Charles laying in the middle of the small clearing. He looked like one of the cats that used to lie around Blackwater, soaking up the sun. Alice knew that he knew she was there. He probably heard her coming a long while off with her stomping through the woods. Still, he kept his eyes closed. He didn’t say anything though – not that he said much – and Alice took it as a good sign to come closer. She sat tentatively on the grass next to him, the blankets bundled in her lap.

“Arthur told me what happened.” She spoke low.

Charles hummed. “I’m sorry about how I charged into camp.”

Alice shook her head, then realizing that Charles still had his eyes closed, she spoke. “No need to apologize, Charles. I understand.”

Charles sucked in a large breath before pulling himself up to sit.

“So,” His effort to change topics was obvious. “What do you have there?”

Alice smiled towards him. “Well, I thought I might try and cheer you up a little and while we don’t have much in camp, figured we could have some sort of picnic. Make sure to save some for when Arthur gets back, though. We all need some time away from camp I think.”

Charles nodded slowly. “He go somewhere?”

“Sadie finally made her attempt at killin’ poor mister Pearson.” Charles laughed at that. “Arthur took her on a trip into town to get her out for a bit. From what I could hear it sounds like she might want to start riding with you guys now.”

Charles hummed in question. “You not planning on going with us anymore?”

“Not into any sort of…gunfights. I don’t know.” Alice sighed. “After Valentine…”

Charles nodded. “I get it. Take your time. You’re a skilled thief anyways, you weren’t exactly known for your gun-slinging.”

“Hey now!”

Both of them were now laughing as Alice tore up a handful of grass and threw it at Charles.

“Well, let’s get this picnic set up, hm?”

******

Arthur was still grumbling to himself when he walked towards his tent. The simple shopping trip with Sadie turned into one of the wildest things he’d gotten himself into in a while. Couldn’t argue that the woman could hold her own though. He had a feeling she’d be making herself known in the gang fairly quickly at this rate. Still, doesn’t mean he likes being shot at out of the blue.

“The hell?”

Arthur scratched at the stubble on his chin when he reached his tent. His blanket was missing.

“Who the hell steals a blanket?”

He turned around, doing a quick search of the immediate area. His eyes were drawn to Alice’s tent not too far away. His brow furrowed.

She would. She definitely would.

As he made his way to her tent he glanced over towards where Charles’s stuff was set up and noticed that his too was missing.

“What in the world is she up to…?” He mumbled.

He announced himself before pulling the front flap of her tent open and peeked inside. No blanket.

“Looking for someone, Arthur?” Javier’s voice came from behind.

Arthur turned around. Javier was putting away his rifle from his watch.

“She headed off after Charles not long after you left. They went that way.” Javier chuckled as he pointed towards the small trail on the other side of camp that led to the woods. “Have fun, amigo!”

Arthur shot him an annoyed glare before thanking him and walking in that direction. He wasn’t all that surprised to hear that Alice had gone after Charles even after being told to give him some time alone. She was just too good. There were some days where Arthur was worried that the life they lead would taint her but, somehow she’s kept it.

As he got closer, using the tracking skills Charles had taught him what feels like ages ago, he finally heard laughter and chatter coming from ahead. He felt a smile form on his face immediately.

“Surely that ain’t true!” He heard Alice yell out in laughter.

“It is!” Charles replied with a loud laugh of his own. “It was knotted up so badly that we had to shave it all off in the end. There was no fixing it. It took forever for my hair to grow back. Mother was furious.”

Arthur stepped the bushes and his chest warmed at what he was seeing. There was a large pile of blankets sprawled across the grass. Some food piled in one corner, some having already been eaten. Alice was sitting cross-legged in front of Charles, doing something with some flowers. Seemed like she was making a version of one of Jack’s flower necklaces. Charles was sat behind her on his knees, he was currently working his way through an intricate braid in her hair.

“Well ain’t this a pretty picture.” Arthur called out as he walked closer.

“Arthur! You found us!” Alice smiled wide and waved in his direction; she could only turn her head so far with Charles’s hands in her hair.

He sat on the edge of the blankets and pulled off his boots, throwing them next to theirs. He picked up a can of peaches and quickly scarfed it down while Alice wasn’t paying attention. He’d gotten one too many lectures from her about how he shouldn’t just breathe in his food.

“What’chu two up to?” He said between bites.

“Well, we wanted to kill some time while waiting for you to finally show up, so I asked Charles if he’d braid my hair for me.”

“Couldn’t exactly say no.” Charles smirked. “Haven’t had the chance to braid anyone’s hair except my own in a long time.”

Arthur hummed. “Seems difficult.”

“Wanna learn?”

Arthur’s eye brows shot up, he had said that out loud?

“I….I don’t know. Think my hands are a little too…uncoordinated for this kind of stuff.” He mumbled.

“Just follow what Charles does!” Alice reached back and patted one of Charles’s hand. “Could he braid yours or is that…?”

“It’s okay.” Charles turned and smiled at Arthur. “If you want to follow along that’s fine. I’ll show you something simpler.”

He quickly finished up whatever braid he was doing on Alice and then stopped, letting go of some strands and moving some others around so that he was only holding three this time.

“You sure?” Arthur moved slowly behind Charles.

There was a part of him that kind of hoped Charles would change his mind. But then there was this other part of him that wanted to be able to do stuff like this for Alice as well.

Plus, he had always thought Charles had nice hair for a man. He also didn’t want to offend him if it was a…cultural thing.

“Come on.” Charles smiled at Arthur over his shoulder and then swept all of his hair back with his free hand.

“Now I’m kinda wishin’ I could see because I can only imagine how this is gonna go.” Alice snickered from up front.

“Watch it, missy.” Arthur playfully growled.

He could spot a grin on her face from the side. The stubborn part of him wanted to change his mind just to wipe the grin from her face. But he was already holding three strands of hair between his fingers so it was a bit late for that.

“Hey, it’s not your hair he’s practicing on.”

Charles and Alice laughed at that while Arthur just gently tugged on one strand of Charles’s hair.

“You two hush and let’s start.”

Arthur was forever thankful for Charles’s patience and trust as he learned some basic braids. He was currently being shown a little trickier one which involved four strands of hair so that Charles could finish the same braid on Alice. Whatever Alice was working on, she seemed to be finished as Arthur couldn’t see her hands moving anymore.

“Now just tie it off.” Charles said as he finished with Alice’s hair.

“I’m no expert but I don’t think I did half bad!” Arthur chuckled to himself, he tucked some fly-away strands behind Charles’s ears, feeling the man shudder.

“Only one way to find out!” Alice quickly turned around, shuffling on her knees to look at both men.

Charles just smiled and shook his head as he turned to show off his hair. It was braided from about midway on his head. There were some spots that were definitely messy or sticking out of place, but overall Arthur was happy with it.

“Not bad, Arthur. Not bad at all.” Alice grinned up at him.

“Don’t need to cut it all off?” Charles teased, earning a soft shove from Arthur.

“You knew the risk.” Arthur snickered, then his attention turned back to Alice. “What was you workin’ on anyhow?”

“Oh!” Alice leaned back, reaching for her mystery project. When she turned back around she was holding a crown made of daisies. “Since you don’t exactly have as much hair as me and Charles, I figured I’d make you something braided as well so we can all look nice together.”

She sounded like she was joking, but Arthur could tell that she was still a little nervous in giving it to him. Whatever witty comeback he had ready was stowed away in favor of a soft smile. He grabbed it from her hands, placed it on his head, and leaned over to kiss her on the cheek. He chuckled when he heard her squeak a little.

“Well ain’t this a pretty picture?” Charles laughed lowly, mocking Arthur’s earlier statement.

Arthur and Alice looked over to see Charles lounging back on his elbows watching the both of them. He had a small smile on his face.

“Aw, you want a kiss too?” Alice cooed.

Charles smirked, lowering his head a bit. He looked up through his eyelashes. “Maybe.”

Alice giggled. “Fine, you big baby.” She crawled towards him, sitting herself on his lap.

Arthur had thought he’d be more jealous seeing the woman he cared for sitting in the lap of another man. Especially knowing that the other man was her…other man. Instead the twist he thought he felt in his stomach was more like butterflies. He didn’t quite know how to describe it or what it meant. He found himself smiling at the cute scene that was Alice grabbing Charles’s face with her small hands and squishing his cheeks as she planted an exaggerated kiss on one of them. He was broke from his reverie when he realized they were both now staring at him.

“W-what?”

“Your turn, Arthur.” Alice teased, tapping Charles’s other cheek.

Arthur sputtered, feeling his face heat up. Surely she was joking? He scratched the back of his neck, trying to figure out what to do. Also to think about why he wasn’t exactly…against the idea? He glanced back towards where camp was, briefly.

“I-I don’t-”

As if sensing his dilemma, Alice backtracked. Charles leaned forward, knocking into Alice, mumbling that they’d get him next time. Arthur squinted over at the two of them – leave them alone and they scheme apparently. And now the stubborn side of him was surfacing again. He stood up quickly, causing the two of them to scramble to their feet. They were already starting to apologize again for teasing him when he marched towards the two of them, rather than back to camp like they must have thought he would. Before either could say anything else, Arthur walked up to Charles. The man was only slightly taller than Arthur, looking at him with a question behind his eyes. They stared at one another, Arthur’s eyes flicked from Charles’ to his lips. Arthur let out a quick huff of air before leaning forward and placing a quick kiss to Charles’s cheek. When he leaned back he looked between the two of them as his face burned hotter. Alice was sporting a small smile, her bottom lip tucked between her teeth. Charles was blinking rapidly and Arthur couldn’t help but feel a little smug about surprising the man - it was hard to catch him off-guard.

“We should probably head back to camp.” Arthur coughed, once the situation finally caught up with him.

Charles quickly agreed and the three went to work on picking up their supplies.

The next couple weeks for Arthur were an interesting time, to say the least. He was following up on Dutch’s plan to get Arthur close to the Grey family while Hosea worked on the Braithwaites. Turns out, that meant playing mailman for two kids in love from rival families. Really made Arthur think about his relationship and how at least the camp wasn’t going to kill them for being together at least. Turning into a mailman then somehow turned into becoming a wagon driver and newly appointed women’s suffragette member. To say that his feelings regarding a certain man back in camp were the least of his worries was an understatement.

Things between the three of them were definitely different after that day in the field. They didn’t talk about it but the air had certainly changed between them. Where before there would be little looks between him and Alice, Arthur now found his eyes drifting to Charles as well. It was as if he was seeing the man in a new light and all it took was one little moment. The moments by the campfires which had previously been awkward, with figuring out how they would all sit together, was now a mish-mash of the three of them practically sitting on top of each other. Alice frequently found herself seated on one of the men’s laps with her legs across the others’. And when no one was paying attention in camp, Arthur and Charles found themselves sitting closer than they had in the past. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t heard of things like this before between two men. The addition of a lady was new to him but Charles had told him stories from his travels that it wasn’t exactly rare either – usually just hard to spot out in the open. However, Arthur was still wrapping his head around his feelings for Alice, he didn’t need to be more confused about things. There was still that nagging voice in the back of his mind that sounded a lot like Mary telling him he didn’t deserve this. He found it amazing how just seeing people that he had known for months and years in a different light could quite literally flip his world.

Arthur bit the end of his pencil as he looked down at his notebook at what he had been writing.

He sighed, loudly.

He had it bad.

Before he could continue down the confusing rabbit-hole that was his emotions, he heard Molly call out for him from across the way. She was seated under a tree near the horses, overlooking the lake.

“Yes, Miss O’Shea?” Arthur helped her to her feet as he neared.

“Ah, call me Molly, would ya?” Her accent lilted. “Arthur, how is Dutch? I-I mean how does he seem to you?”

Arthur grumbled, shaking his head lightly in confusion. “About the same as usual, I guess?”

“I…I really love him, you know, but if he…” Her train of thought shifted. “Like he always says, loyalty is everything, so…”

Molly placed her hands on her hips, trying to find the right words. Arthur was still trying to figure out what she was trying to get at when Uncle called his name, running up to them.

“Excuse me, Miss O’Shea.” Uncle pushed past her with a gentle hand on her shoulder earning a glare from the woman.

“What’chu want?” Arthur growled.

“I bring a gift,” Uncle smiled. “The great gift of information.”

Arthur scoffed, shaking his head. “So, you got some tip off, so now, I can risk my neck, and make you some money, while you lounge around.”

Molly waved Arthur off, realizing she wasn’t being heard anymore. Arthur gave her an apologetic smile.

“You know, Arthur, bitterness, it works on the inside, as well as on your sour face.”

Arthur rolled his eyes, trying to walk away from the man.

“If you say so, but you can go find some other fool to run your errands.” Arthur sniffed as he leaned against the nearby tree.

Just then, Charles and Bill happened to walk by and Uncle flagged them down.

“Bill, come over here!”

Charles gave Arthur a questioning look from where he was to which Arthur shrugged as he lit a cigarette.

“Will you be my other fool?” Arthur didn’t have to turn around to know that Uncle was smiling at him as he said it. “You too, Charles.”

“What are you talking about?” Bill questioned with his hands.

“Arthur’s above a little stick up I heard about.”

Arthur’s head shot up. “No I’m not?”

“Well you just said-“

“Hey, I’ll do it as long as you ride with us.” Arthur spoke as he moved to stand next to Bill and Charles.

Uncle sputtered. “I got a serious medical condition.”

Arthur wheezed as he blew smoke out. “Yes, you are a compulsive liar.” He grinned at Uncle who puffed out his chest.

“No need to be like that. Charles, have I ever lied to you?”

Charles’s face scrunched together in confusion. “I hardly know you.”

Arthur smiled at his confused expression when Charles looked over at him. It was adorable, really. Arthur coughed on the smoke he inhaled when he gasped at that thought.

“Exactly.” Uncle continued, ignoring the coughing fit Arthur was having. “Now you boys should do this, it’s easy and I’ll only take a small commission for my information, but it’s now or never.”

Arthur rolled his eyes once more as he put the offending cigarette out. “Then it’s never.”

“Oh, God help me.” Uncle sighed dramatically. “Fine, I’ll do it!”

Arthur laughed, knowing he’d won. “Well, what is it?”

Arthur and Charles walked side by side as Uncle explained the job, sharing a knowing look.

This probably wasn’t going to go as planned.

******

Charles leaned his head against his forearm as he kept watch in the barn. He just knew this just was too good to be true. Nothing ever seems to go as planned anymore for the gang.

It had all started fairly well. The act of stopping and robbing the wagon went fine, it was just the addition of extra security that threw a wrench in the plan. So now here they were, crammed in a dilapidated barn with no horses, just hoping that no one would find them out here in the middle of the night. They had put some pretty good distance between them and Cornwall’s men but still, Charles was wary.

He flinched every time Uncle or Bill would snore, knowing it could blow their cover. Charles looked down at his feet to where Arthur was resting, his head leaning against Charles’s leg. Charles reached up and ran his hand over his hair. There was a small braid behind his ear that Arthur had put there the other day. He had used the excuse of wanting more practice but Charles could see through it, even if Arthur couldn’t.

It was during a late-night fireside chat that Charles had confessed that he perhaps had been thinking of Arthur as more than just a friend. He was a little surprised at Alice’s reaction at first. She had a little bit to drink that night so her emotions were high and had asked if that meant he’d rather have Arthur than her. Charles had laughed at that which just caused the poor girl more confusion. She understood though when he explained that it was just the same as her having feelings for both men, that he had feelings for her and Arthur. Or at least, he was considering it. The day Arthur kissed him – albeit on the cheek – he knew his feelings were confirmed. It was different than his feelings for Alice. With Alice he felt as though he had found his other half, his soul-mate, if he dared use the term. He could see himself with her as long as their way of life would allow. And however long society would allow, since it was a stickler for their kind of relationship. But with Arthur it seemed as though he had found a partner. It just felt natural. Two people who were very similar but also so different, coming together. It just worked.

Charles shook his thoughts away – those could be saved for another day. The other men were starting to wake up. Arthur suggested trying to get out of there now that it was nightfall. Uncle started grumbling something but Charles was quick to shut him up.

His eyes squinted as he spotted lights coming over the hill in the distance.

“Damn.” Arthur whispered, coming to stand next to Charles. “L-let’s just keep this calm. See what happens.” He motioned for everyone to get into hiding.

Charles backed into a corner, engulfing himself in the darkness. He could see Bill clear as day and was not confident that the man would remain hidden if anyone decided to check the barn.

Just as he had that thought the owner of the home shouted to the men knocking on his door about some noises in the barn. Charles cursed to himself. He and Arthur stared at one another as two men came closer to the barn. If they were fast enough they could probably take the men out without the others noticing too quickly. They nodded to each other, as if coming to the same thought. The men walked into the barn and Charles was certain they just might get out of this alive until Bill slipped on something in the back of the barn, causing all hell to break lose. Charles was quick to pull out his sawed-off and shoot the man closest to him. Arthur got the other man but they could already hear the shouts from the men outside the barn, as well as more being called in as backup. They were surrounded. Every opening to the barn that Charles could see was blocked and his hopes of all of them getting out alive was quickly dwindling.

“Behind you, Charles!”

Charles turned around but before he could fire off a shot, the man was already dead. He turned back to see Arthur nodding at him, reloading his gun.

They were firing from every angle but the number of enemies never seemed to go down. Charles grunted in pain as he felt a bullet whizz by his face, no doubt adding another scar to his collection.

“They’re coming in from all sides!” Bill yelled out.

“Oh, shit…fire!” Arthur yelled out. “The oil from that lantern!”

Charles look around, trying to assess the situation. Burning to death or getting shot to death cornered in a barn was not exactly how he saw himself going out. His irritation was growing with every passing second.

“Nicely done, Bill.” He growled out. “They teach you that move in the army too?”

“Can’t you keep your fat feet still for ten goddamn seconds?” Uncle chimed in.

Bill looked between the two men for a moment. “You got us into this!”

All of the men went back to shooting as their attackers got steadily closer. It was like there was no end to them.

“How about we stop robbing Cornwall’s men for a while?” Charles glanced at Arthur who returned a knowing look.

“I didn’t know we was robbing Cornwall, aright?” Uncle retorted, clearly annoyed that his plan didn’t work out.

“If we don’t get out of here soon we’re charcoal.” Arthur looked around at the barn as it started falling apart. Beams were now blocking a lot of the open windows.

Charles put his sawed off away, focusing on trying to find a way out while the others kept shooting. He headed towards the back wall. It was the side with most of the fire, but was also the side with none of Cornwall’s men. He assessed the standing wall, wondering how hard it would be to break through when another beam fell from the ceiling causing him to jump back with a shout.

Charles turned to the men. “This whole place is catching!”

“Come on, old man!” Bill yelled out as he ran towards the opposite wall.

Charles winced as he watched Bill ram his leg through the wood. No doubt he’d be feeling it later if the adrenaline wasn’t working through his system. Uncle was quick to follow Bill out of the barn as they both fired away at anyone outside. Charles stepped through, looking back at Arthur who was still firing shots away in the fire.

“Come on, Arthur!” He yelled out, his voice harsh from the smoke.

He ran back, grabbing Arthur by the hand to pull him out of the building. They didn’t let go of each other until they were heading towards the woods nearby, following Bill and Uncle. They had a bit of a reprieve as it seemed no one had noticed they had escaped for the time being.

“Where we going, Bill?” Charles called out, wondering what the plan was.

“We’ll try to lose them in the woods!”

They reached a dried riverbed.

“Let’s split up a bit, try to confuse ‘em.” Uncle whispered. “Arthur, with me.”

Charles and Arthur looked at one another briefly. Charles knew the man could handle himself, still, his newfound feelings didn’t make it any easier to separate from him in this situation. The four parted ways and Charles begrudgingly followed Bill.

“Anything dumb, Williamson, and you’re on your own.” Charles grumbled.

“Oh, shut the hell up.”

******

Alice had just come back from a rather successful hunt – three rabbits, a turkey, and a rather nicely sized deer. She was helping Pearson skin the rabbits when Uncle, Bill, Charles, and Arthur finally returned. She knew they had left for a job yesterday but it was supposed to have been a simple robbery. Sufficed to say she spent most of the night a nervous wreck which is why she felt the need to go hunting this morning.

She quickly dropped the rabbit she was skinning, shouting an apology to Pearson as she ran towards her men.

“Charles! Arthur!” She nearly collided into Arthur from her speed.

The men smiled down at her, enjoying her worry over them.

She took the chance to look over the men individually to make sure they were intact. They were both rubbing her arms as she reached their faces, her neck craning up to examine every angle. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw the wound on Charles’s face. It was just a scratch but still, that was a very close call. She wasn’t sure if it was because it was her time of the month or not, but her emotions seemed to be heightened as the thought alone of how close she could have come to losing Charles was enough to cause her chin to start wobbling and her eyes to burn. Both men sighed as they pulled her in close to their chests. Alice gripped their shirts, taking in the smell of them. They smelled of smoke. She could feel them surround her, hugging each other as well. She didn’t care if everyone in camp was watching them, she was just glad that they were okay.

“Ya’ll can’t keep giving me heart attacks like this. You hear?” She tried to sound firm but the sniffle that followed didn’t help.

“Yes ma’am.” Arthur hummed into her hair, placing a kiss on the top of her head.

Charles hummed in agreement, squeezing her tighter.

The three released one another but Alice was still riding on her emotional high. Again, she didn’t care that they were within view of everyone in camp. She grabbed Arthur’s face and pulled him down to meet her as she crushed their lips together. When she released him she did the same with Charles.

She could feel her face beginning to warm. Sure, she had kissed both men in private. But they had never kissed her in front of each other. That day in the field was as close as they had gotten. But Alice didn’t care. It felt right. Still, she kept her head down as she looked up at both of them through her eyelashes. They were staring between each other and her. As if figuring out what to do next. They smiled. Alice couldn’t tell if she should be happy or afraid that they both smiled at the same time. She tried to back away as they both leaned forward but Arthur grabbed her by the waist before she could get too far. He pulled her in close, dipping her back a bit to kiss her hard. A little too hard, but she wouldn’t complain. The man was much larger than her it was easy for him to forget. Alice had to grab onto his suspenders in order to keep her balance. When he placed her back on her feet she felt Charles spin her around before she had time to think about what was happening. Her stomach did flips as she was lifted into the air, her body seemed to weigh nothing to the man. It was interesting being taller than Charles and it certainly made kissing the man all the more interesting. She grabbed handfuls of his hair as they kissed and by the time he placed her back on the ground all her previous worries were long forgotten. She smiled between the two men before she heard applause and whistles from behind her. She jumped in her skin, quickly hiding her face in her hands as the camp whooped and hollered. Alice laughed to herself as she heard Arthur yell at everyone to mind their own business.

“Come on you two, let’s get ya’ll cleaned up.”

#fic: crossroads #my ocs: alice harkins #rdr2 #red dead redemption 2 #arthur morgan x oc x charles smith #arthur morgan x oc #charles smith x oc #arthur morgan x charles smith #arthur morgan #charles smith #rdr2 fic

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