#meanwhile we have john over here barely even trusting arthur well into the everything

[if-loki-was-a-fox]

very fond of John "distrusts everyone always" Doe and Arthur "defaults to trusting people" Lester's headbutting every time they encounter another person

[heart-of-gold-outlaw]

Welcome Home | Chapter Four: Bulletproof Heart

Ao3 Wattpad

All things considered, you think you're fairly well-equipped to handle yourself. You may not be the best at fighting (never really had the occasion), and you're certainly no gunslinger, but you have balance and enough adrenaline rushes to deal with things as they come. O'Driscoll's or bears, as long as you have friends to back you up, you'll be alright.

Well... that's the idea, anyway. In theory. In practice? Only time and experience will tell.

You haven't gotten much better with horses since your last encounter. You still think they're beautiful animals. From afar. And maybe one day, if whatever sent you back in time decides to keep you there, you'll get one of your own. But for now, you'll settle for what you can get.

As Arthur, Bill, John, and Kieran get ready to hunt down Colm O'Driscoll, you find yourself shifting nervously in front of Taima. You don't trust yourself enough to ride without problems. This, to make matters worse, sounds like a job you don't want to mess up. From what you've gathered over the last few weeks (months?), Colm O'Driscoll is bad news. Not that you're traveling with people who are much better, but they, at least, seem to treat people right when it boils down to it.

Arthur notices you standing there and glances at Taima. Looking back to you, he motions for you to walk toward his horse. He named it Florence, if you remember right. It's fitting. The beast looks like something out of a Renaissance painting, anyways.

"We'll let Taima have a rest," Arthur says as he gets in the saddle. He then lifts you up so you're sitting behind him. "And maybe save Charles some trouble."

You nod, trying your best to ignore how warm he is. "Uh-huh. Trouble. Right."

Bill and John ride up next to you, Kieran on the back of Old Boy. He looks nervous. You can't blame him. After the lies you spun, you're surprised he's not terrified. Well... that you can see, anyways.

"We'll have to move quick," Arthur says once you're all on the trail. He's letting John take point, and you grip him tightly, not wanting to face-plant on the ground. "Colm ain't getting away this time."

"Damn right!" Bill agrees from atop his horse. The thing's a beast and easily fitting for a man like him.

Kieran leads you all a little ways away from the Heartlands and into the forest. He sounds better, once he gets his bearings. You can't imagine life in camp has been easy for him. Getting tied to a tree doesn't sound fun in most scenarios. Still, he's not dead. Honestly, that's a step up from what it was looking like in the Grizzlies.

The forest eventually gives way into a small clearing, and Kieran tells everybody to stop. You find yourself holding on to Arthur just a bit tighter when Florence shifts underneath you. He glances back at you. You don't need to look very hard to see the amusement in his eyes. Embarrassingly, your face flushes an unflattering shade of red.

"It's just on the other side of this clearing," Kieran says, thankfully distracting Arthur enough for you to get back in control of yourself. "I would leave your horses here, if I were you."

After Arthur dismounts, you manage to do the same without falling flat on your face. It's a small achievement, but you'll take what you can get.

The five of you start heading for the cabin, Arthur and John taking the lead while dragging Kieran along. You trail behind with Bill. It doesn't take too long for a dilapidated structure to appear, and you're not surprised to see it's absolutely swarming with O'Driscoll's. Thankfully, they haven't noticed a damn thing yet.

"Well, this is gonna be a clusterfuck," you mutter.

Bill's head swivels your way. "What?"

"I said," you repeat, looking him dead in the eye, "this is gonna be a clusterfuck."

He stares at you for a moment, mouth slightly agape. You shrug. He should be used to that kind of language, considering he runs with a gang of outlaws.

Thankfully, Arthur interrupts the exchange before it can go any further. "We gotta keep this quiet," he says. "We can take 'em by surprise, maybe get the jump on Colm." He glances toward three people who are walking your way. "Starting with these bastards."

"You got those throwing knives?" Bill asks.

Arthur gives him a look. "The ones you so kindly forgot to tell me about?"

There's an eye-roll from Bill, followed by his snide retort: "Last goddamn favor I do you."

You watch the O'Driscoll pissing by a tree, lips curling in contempt. You've heard about them, about what they did to Dutch's sweetheart, and about what a nasty gang they are. Not to mention how they made Mrs. Adler a widow. Sadie still won't talk to you—or to anybody, for that matter. If anything, this hit might give her a little peace of mind.

"Alright," Arthur says as he motions for Bill and John to get into position. "We take care of the pisser, then move up on 'em." He turns and hands you a revolver, one you recognize as looted from an O'Driscoll back in the Grizzlies. "Y/N, you keep an eye on ol' Kieran here."

You sigh. "So I'm babysitting now? That's some bull."

"He tries anything," Arthur continues, ignoring your complaint, "and I mean anything, you shoot him dead." He glares at Kieran. "Got that?"

"Yeah." You look at the revolver. You've seen enough movies to know a little about how they work. Still, you don't think watching Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is a great safety lesson. "Got it."

Arthur, Bill, and John head out to ambush the O'Driscoll's, leaving you with Kieran. For a few minutes, the two of you just stare at each other. He's still terrified. That much is pretty clear. You roll your eyes and settle against a tree with a huff.

"You do know I'm not gonna shoot you, right?" You ask him.

"Y-You're..." He looks astounded by the revelation. "You're not?"

With another eye-roll, you slowly sink to the forest floor. "Nope. Far as I'm concerned, you're an okay guy."

He watches you warily. You can see him thinking rapidly, can see him wondering if you're telling the truth, and you give him a small smile.

"Listen," you say, just as gunshots start echoing throughout the clearing. You look over to make sure Arthur, Bill, and John are okay, then go back to Kieran. "You and me? We're kinda in a similar boat. We're both new to the gang... well, for different reasons." You shrug again. "Guess I just want a friend who kinda understands."

It takes him a few moments, but eventually, he returns your smile. "Thanks, Y/N... For not killing me."

"Yeah, well," you settle back against the tree again. "I can't make any promises for everybody else."

Kieran laughs a little at that, but then immediately sobers when he glances toward the cabin. "Y/N—look!"

You follow his stare in time to see Arthur heading that way. Through the windows of the structure, you can just barely make out a figure getting ready for an ambush. And Arthur's none the wiser.

Without thinking, you're suddenly on your feet and sprinting toward him. You grip the revolver tightly in your hand. You've never hurt anybody before, never had reason to do so. You've also never shot a gun. But when the door to the cabin bursts open, knocking Arthur to the ground and momentarily stunning him, all hesitation flees from your mind.

A giant of a man steps out into the open. He stands over Arthur, aiming a gun directly at him before he can even react. It takes less than a second, but you fire your revolver and hit Arthur's assailant square in the chest. There's a flare of pain on your hand, but you scarcely notice it. The man drops to the ground, choking and sputtering, and then goes still.

"You okay?" You frantically ask Arthur. You let go of the revolver and run to stand over him as he gets to his feet.

"Sure," he says. "Thank you."

He checks the cabin. You, meanwhile, take a look at your hand. There's an angry burn mark splayed out across your palm, and it's throbbing like all hell. But none of it comes close to the pounding in your head as you slowly move to stand over the dead man on the ground... the man you just killed.

You stare at him. His eyes, sightless and glassy, stare up at the sky. Painfully loud, a high-pitched ringing fills your ears and deafens you to whatever else is happening. Distantly, you're aware of Arthur storming out of the cabin. You don't hear what he says to Bill and John. You don't hear much of anything.

Then—he notices you standing there, still watching the dead man. You see something in his expression soften as he steps closer to you. Still, everything's ringing and ringing and ringing. When Arthur's mouth moves, no sound comes out.

He finally reaches you and gently grips both of your shoulders. With a light shake and some persuasion, you find yourself looking at him. There's something in his eyes you can't quite place. But it sure does look like worry.

Eventually, you come back to the real world. It's startling, to say the least.

"I..." You somehow manage around a rapidly tightening throat. "I killed him."

Arthur nods and carefully pats your back a few times. "You did." He gives you a small, grateful smile. "Thank you."

A quick glance around reveals that the entire camp of O'Driscoll's is absolutely demolished. Arthur notices this, then sighs.

"We need to get outta here," he says as he carefully steers you back toward the horses. "We didn't get Colm, but this hit'll hurt him pretty bad." His expression darkens. "And I need to have a few words with Kieran."

You look up at him. "You know," you say, voice sounding distant to your own ears. "He was the one who noticed you were in trouble. I wouldn't have seen it, otherwise."

For a moment, you expect Arthur to ignore everything you just said. When he's on the warpath, you've come to realize, it's not easy to drag him away from it. But, much to your surprise, he looks like he's considering everything. And then, eventually, he nods his head.

"Alright." He keeps a steady hand on your shoulder all the way back to the horses. "Maybe Kieran ain't worth killin'... Yet."

A/N: And here’s the next update! Sorry it’s a little late y’all!

Next Chapter: Alone Together

Previous Chapter: Dirty Rotten Bastards

Inspired Playlist Track: My Chemical Romance - “Bulletproof Heart”

[ugly-crying-over-bucky-barnes]

Roguish Women Part 33

Summary: Kate is an American who fled to Paris to escape her past life. Now she's dancing and playing the part of a courtesan at the Moulin Rouge. There she meets Tommy Shelby who thinks she can be useful in expanding his empire. But has he been blinded?

Part 33:  Kate finds solace in her new friends and Tommy wants to escape for a bit. 

            When Michael returned to the office, it was tense, to say the least. He and Tommy got into shouting matches a few times and everyone could clearly hear them in the office. But it seemed that Michael was too invested in the company to let things get in the way. As well as Tommy wasn’t willing to give up his accountant.

            So, things died down a couple of weeks after he returned. Meanwhile, the deal was written and the company was now working with the Forty Elephants. Kate kept in regular contact with Alice and Maggie, building a repertoire as she did with Alfie. Of course, like with Alfie, she found she enjoyed the women’s company. They were women who understood her, understood the things she did. Before, Kate had no one who really understood her other than a group of men. Still, how could they understand what it was like to be a woman in their line of work?

            So, being friends with Alice and the rest of her close cohorts was refreshing.

             “So, Alfie told me you were in Boston for some time.”

            Kate had invited Alice and a few of the other women to join her for lunch at Arrow House. Maggie came along as well as Ruby Sparks and Lillian Goldstein. What looked like a typical ladies' lunch out on the patio was actually a gathering of some of the most dangerous women Britain had ever seen. And Kate felt right at home with them.

            “There were things from my past that caught up with me,” Kate admitted. “Things I needed to take care of.”

            While Alice looked genuinely interested, Maggie seemed a bit more intent on digging for anything that might garner mistrust. The contract was signed, but that didn’t mean they completely trusted each other yet. They were women who knew the true value of loyalty and how rare it was to find.

            “Stuff like what?” Maggie inquired.

            “A man I had dealings with.” Kate realized that there was no reason to skimp on details. These girls would understand. “I hired him to kill the man who killed my mother. A man in the Chicago Outfit. I promised him money for doing it but fell through. The deal was either I paid or I married him.”

            Ruby made a noise of disgust. “Fucking pig. Who on Earth does he think he is?”

   ��        It made her smile a bit even though the memory was so painful. “He caught up to me eventually so I had to return to Boston.”

            “Do you need him killed?” Alice asked bluntly. “You name the day and way, love.”

            “Fucking castrate him and throw him out on the streets,” Ruby muttered into her teacup.

            “Thank you, but he’s dead,” Kate assured them. It was different, hearing them become angry about it. The reactions were similar to Alfie and Tommy. They all wanted to kill the man who treated her poorly. But Alice and the others were acting on empathy instead of sympathy. They understood the plight of being a woman. Struggling under the thumb of a man. They understood the anger and desire to change the tides. To make other men feel the pressure on the back of their necks. It was a shared existence. And as hard as he could try, Tommy wouldn’t understand.

            “Good.” Alice nodded. “You killed him?”

            “I wouldn’t let him kill me.” Her voice quieted as her brow furrowed in thought. “He took so much from me.”

            Lillian, who seemed to be the gentlest of the group touched Kate’s arm. “You’re still standing. You’re still here. He couldn’t take that away from you.”

            She nodded, not sure what else to say about the matter. There was comfort in knowing she had allies who understood. Then, Kate noticed the ring on Lillian’s finger. “Oh, I didn’t know you were married.”

            Alice, Maggie, and Ruby all snorted. “I’m not, technically.” Lillian looked to Ruby at her right. “Ruby and I…”

            It took a moment for Kate to connect the dots but she finally realized when they looked at each other. “Oh, oh of course. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have assumed.”

            Maggie studied Kate’s reaction with scrutiny. “It’s something we accept.” She spoke in a firm tone as if to ward off any criticism.

            “Of course, no I…I completely understand,” Kate assured them. “There are no rules when it comes to love, least not in my eyes.”

            Lillian smiled as Ruby reached for her hand. Both of them seemed relieved to act normally around Kate. There wasn’t anything to hide between the women.

            “We hope your men understand that as well,” Alice added.

            “Well, I can certainly talk to Tommy about it if you want me to. But I wouldn’t call them my men.” She laughed softly. “I don’t call the shots around the company.”

            Alice just shook her head with an amused look. “Men can think they’re in control, but it’s usually not the case. It’s usually the woman behind him.”

            “Yeah, the one who’s got his balls in her purse.” Maggie quipped making them all burst out into laughter.

            Kate realized how nice it was to laugh again.

 ~~~~~~~

            That same night, Tommy came home earlier than usual. Kate found him downstairs smoking a cigarette and flipped through some mail.

            He smiled when he saw her walk into his study. “Did you have a nice lunch today?” He asked. “Mary said you four were in stitches the whole time.”

            Kate laughed softly. “They’re very fun to be around.” She agreed.

            “All they do is give me the cold shoulder.”

            “Hm, maybe it’s how you come across.” She walked over to him, adjusting the collar of his shirt to turn his attention away from the mail in his hand. “I wasn’t very fond of you at first.”

            “That’s not true, you liked me.” He dropped the envelopes to pull her close.

            “Eh, you were difficult to like. At least you’re handsome.” She teased.

            He scoffed and shook his head. “Those women are a bad influence on you.” He joked.

            Kate laughed and ran her fingers through his hair. “It’s nice to have other women to talk to. It’s boring talking to men all day.”

            “Hm.” He hummed and wrapped his arms around her waist.

            “But I am glad to see you again.” She murmured and kissed him.

            He deepened the kiss, pressing his hands to the small of her back. But he knew it was up to her to lead. There had been a few times when Tommy overstepped, getting carried away with the moment and Kate shied away. She said it wasn’t his fault, but he knew he was responsible for making her feel safe.

            She pulled away and hugged him close, inhaling his cologne mixed with cigarettes to feel at home again.

            He lightly peppered kisses down her jaw and neck, holding her tenderly. “Want to go away with me this weekend?” He asked.

            “Sure, where to?” A little break sounded like heaven to her.

            “Doncaster. I’m going to buy another racehorse and there’s an auction there on Monday. But I figure we could make it a longer trip. If you’d like.”

            “That sounds perfect.”

            “We could make a week of it.” He proposed. “Go further north, somewhere on the ocean. Scarborough has a nice place to stay by the water.”

            Kate lifted her head to look at him. “I’ll follow you wherever, Tommy Shelby.”

~~~~~~~~~~~ 

            “Morning, Kate.” Michael greeted her as she entered the office.

            “Michael, how are you?”

            Tommy’s cousin didn’t answer because he noticed she had a luggage case with her. “Are you going somewhere?” He asked.

            “Tommy and I are leaving this afternoon for Doncaster then to Scarborough.” She answered, setting her case down so she could take a paper that Michael was holding out for her.

            The young man seemed a little disgruntled at the fact that his cousin was taking the time to have a holiday while the rest of the family was in turmoil. But there was little he could say or do. Mentioning anything would only lead to another argument. And Michael didn’t have the energy. He was only barely making it by, using snow to keep from crashing as he worked tireless hours.

            “I suspect he’s getting another horse,” Michael noted, remembering the last time he went to Doncaster with the rest of the family. When they were all still speaking to each other. Before the terrible nightmares, he had.

            “I suppose. I guess we’ll see when we get there.” Kate looked to the door. Tommy had followed her into the building but stayed on the first floor to speak with some of the workers. “How is your mom?” She asked. Seldom could she ask Tommy about the others. He never wanted to talk about what happened and always cast aside her concern.

            Michael sighed. “She’s not well. S’been seeing things because of the tablets they have her on.” He admitted. “Talks to spirits.”

            Kate had always known Polly as the strong, woman in charge. Secure and reliable, it was hard to hear how the imprisonment had such a negative effect on her. It didn’t matter how strong one was, there was always something that could break them. “I’ve tried to talk to Tommy about everything, I really have but…”

            “I know.” Michael nodded. “It’s okay, Kate, it’s not your place to fix things. It’s Tommy’s responsibility.” He scrubbed a hand over his weary eyes. “But they’re all too headstrong to face each other.”

            “Right, I’m aware.” She agreed, still glancing at the door every so often just to see if Tommy would walk in. She didn’t mind if he heard her talking about his family. But she also didn’t want the subject to sour their trip together. “And John and Arthur?”

            “Out in the countryside. Linda’s due any day now.” Michael figured. “Ada said she’d tell me when the baby was born. He won’t talk to me. Ada’s been…well the buffer I suppose.” He mumbled.

            “I haven’t spoken to her in a bit.” Kate admitted. She’d been so caught up in the deal with the Forty Elephants that she’d neglected to stay in touch.

            “Tommy’s sending her to Boston soon.” Michael shrugged. “Guess he’s got plans out there.”

            Kate’s heart nearly stopped. “What?”

            He looked at her blankly. “He didn’t tell you?”

            “No…no he didn’t.” She cursed under her breath. “I’m going to leave this here for a moment.” She said, gesturing to her luggage before leaving. “I need to find Tommy.”  

Permanent Tag: @papa-geralt-of-cirilla @giftofdreams @biba3434 @kimmietea @karmezii @enrapturedbythemoon @vampgirl1997 @tarafaithe @evelynshelby

Tag list: @radical-gecko @actorinfluence @meltingicequeen @merlettina

Masterpost

PB Masterlist

[notursdutch]

Arthur Morgan x Reader

gif by @arthrmorgann 

Title: “Lost and found.”

Summary: You found a small scared boy, who ran out of the woods right in front of you, and couldn’t just leave him there. Meanwhile Arthur’s devastated by Isaac’s and Eliza’s death.

Word count: 1,7 k

---

It was too windy and sometimes it was starting to rain, so you tried to wrap up yourself in the jacket, but it couldn’t save you from the cold autumn wind, which was making you shiver. The old brown hat kept falling on your face, making you even more annoyed. You sniffed with displease and firmly grabbed the reins, making your mare stop.  

You were at the crossroads and wasn’t sure which way you had to go. John talked you into treasure hunting, but it looked like he completely forgot about it. There’s no soul around, just you and your stubborn horse, which kept flicking its tail. Well, it definitely was great to get stuck in the middle of nowhere.

“John fucking Marston,” you muttered, carefully looking back and wondering, if it was worth visiting the nearest town. Maybe you could get some good cash there? But that was unlikely, that town was known as a dump with no rich folks around.

Nudging the horse and making it go in trot, you decided not to wait for Marston any longer and to star you way back to camp, which was pretty far from here. It took you the whole day to get here, so you definitely would need to stay somewhere for the night.

You noticed a small boy coming out of the woods with a bad cut on his cheek and dirty clothes. Stopping the horse, you tensed and looked around, but didn’t notice anyone else. The boy tensed too, looking frightened and hurt.

“Hey kid, are you okay?” you said as softly as you could, not wanting to scare him even more.

The boy’s eyes were as wide as he just saw a ghost, his face, just as his clothes, was dirty and he had a cut on his cheek which was still bleeding. You frowned, wondering what happened to him, but he didn’t answer. He just kept staring, clenching his shirt in his small hands, too nervous and scared. He was really small- just four of five years old.

You dismounted and noticed how the kid took a step back, breathing heavily and staring at you.

“Look, I’m not gonna hurt you,” you showed that your arms were empty – no knifes or guns. “You look hungry, how about we start a fire and cook something?”

He was unsure, you could see that disbelief in his blue eyes, but in the end nodded and let you take his hand and lead off the road. Your mare followed you, thankfully she was a smart animal and she didn’t do anything to scare the poor boy.

You gathered some sticks and branches, starting a campfire, gladly warming your hands and then returned your attention to the kid. He hesitated, standing near the tree, definitely not trusting you.

“Come here, it’s cold today,” you smiled when you saw the boy sitting down near you.

The kid was shivering, the thin shirt wasn’t enough for being warm on such a cold autumn day. You sighed and got up, taking a blanket from your saddle and wrapping it around the boy, who gladly accepted it.

You also decided to warm up some beans which you two could eat them. You didn’t mind sharing.

“I see you have some blood on your face, can I take a look, please?” you tried talking as soft as you could, noticing that the boy was slowly relaxing and feeling better around you.

He nodded and you examined the cut. Grabbing some whiskey from your satchel you disinfected the wound, getting a slight squeak from a boy.

“I know it hurts, sorry,” you put away the bottle and looked at him with a concern. “Does anything else hurt?”

“No,” he said so quietly that you could barely hear him, but that was the first time you could hear his voice. It was a little shaky, he definitely was running away from something bad. Or someone. He had small cuts on his hands from the branches and bushes he ran through, but they didn’t need any desinfecting, they weren’t deep. They’d heal fast.

“That’s good then. Look, our dinner is ready,” taking a can with beans, you took a spoon and gave it to the boy. He didn’t seem to be willing to talk anymore, so you didn’t want to stress him and didn’t end up asking him any questions.

It was slowly getting dark, so you put up a tent while the kid was eating and warming near the fire, placing your bedroll in it. You couldn’t leave the boy here and decided to take him back to the camp with you tomorrow. Dutch and Hosea wouldn’t mind a new lost soul.

“Feeling better, huh?” you smiled and brushed boy’s hair, noticing that he slightly closed his eyes at that. He didn’t seem to be scared of you anymore, though looking really tired. “How about getting some sleep now? And in the morning we’ll go to the place I’m staying at? I live with good people, you’ll love them.”

As you had only one blanket you didn’t have anything to cover yourself at night, but the boy noticed that and shared the blanket, letting you lay on the bedroll next to him. He quickly fell asleep, quietly snoring, but you couldn’t. You didn’t move, not wanting to wake him up, but kept thinking about what happened to him and if it was dangerous staying here over the night.

But in the morning you packed your stuff, had breakfast with the kid and helped him to get on the horse, sitting in front of you. It was time to go home.

—

Arthur was drunk. Too drunk. He couldn’t stop thinking about Eliza and Isaac - he didn’t protect them. Whiskey blunted the feelings, but they were still too strong and kept killing him deep inside, slowly and painfully.

His vision was blurry as the burning teers kept falling from his eyes, but he just kept drinking.

That’s when John found him in the shitty saloon after a few days of trying to get him back to camp.

“Arthur, everyone’s worried,” John said. He never saw Arthur in such a bad state, but he didn’t know what had to happen to him.

“Leave me alone.”

“I’m surprised you’re still talking,” John tried to joke, but Arthur definitely wasn’t in the mood for that. He took another sip from the bottle, sighing. “Seriously. Let’s go.”

“Tell Hos- Hosea, that I’ll be back tomorrow,” Arthur said, not looking at John. “Leave me for now.”

John cursed, but left. He couldn’t understand what was going on, but Arthur didn’t seem to be willing to talk.

—

Arthur decided to go back the next day, as he told John. He sobered up a little, but didn’t bother taking a bath in the town or eating anything.

He didn’t deserve anything. They were killed because of him.

By the evening he got back, noticing Hosea approaching him with a worried look on his face.

“What’s going on, Arthur? You alright?”

Shrugging, Arthur dismounted and faced Hosea, not saying anything.

“They’re dead, Hosea,” bluntly said Arthur, noticing how Hosea’s face changed. “And that’s because of me.”

Hosea wanted to say something, but then heard Dutch yelling to him.

“Arthur! Go and meet our new friend,” Arthur frowned and looked away, noticing a small figure sitting near the campfire, glued to Y/N’s side.

Not wanting to discuss anything, being too devastated, Arthur took a deep breath and decided to go to his tent. But when he was closer he saw the boy’s face…

“Isaac…” Arthur muttered, not believing his eyes, wondering if he was just drunk or dreaming.

Dutch noticed Arthur and walked to him.

“Y/N found that boy somewhere in the woods,” he explained and frowned, noticing Arthur’s face expression. “What’s wrong?”

But Arthur ignored Dutch, turning around and walking to the campfire, his heart beating too fast in his chest and tears falling from his eyes. He grabbed Isaac and hugged him so tight, scaring the boy, but when he recognized who that was, hugged him back.

“Daddy!” Isaac burst into tears wrapping his arms around Arthur’s neck and burrying his face in his shirt. “They killed mummy! They-”

“Everything’s fine, Isaac,” Arthur said, holding Isaac and closing his eyes. He was alive, thanks god. He was alive. “You got me.”

“I was so scared,” Isaac said.

“You’re safe now,” Arthur carefully brushed Isaac’ hair, noticing that he looked clean and was wearing nice clothes. Looked like he was in the camp for awhile, while Arthur was just getting drunk. Idiot.

Nobody wanted to disturb father and son, understanding what happened. You got up and was about to leave, when the kid, now you knew his name was Isaac, called you.

“Don’t go!” he asked, lifting his head and looking at you with his red eyes. “Please.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” you reassured him, seeing Arthur turning around with Isaac in his hands.

“So you two know each other?”

“I found him,” you explained. “Brought him to the camp.”

Arthur nodded and got distracted by Isaac, who was saying something into his ear so quiet you couldn’t understand what was it. You smiled and decided to go back to your tent.

Everything seemed to be so unreal. So Arthur had a son? You never heard about that, but was glad for the boy. He looked really sad and scared before coming to the camp, but Hosea and Dutch were really welcoming, just like the others.

You woke up too early, deciding not to lay in bed for too long. Grabbing a cup of coffee, you stood near the trees, watching the sun rise. And then you heard someone’s steps behind you.

Turning around, you noticed Arthur standing behind. He looked nervous and kept looking away.

“So, Y/N, just wanted to thank you. For bringing him here,” Arthur said with his husky voice.

You smiled.

“I’m glad he’s fine. Just like you.”

Suddenly Arthur pulled you into a hug, burrying his face into your neck.

“Thank you,” he whispered again and then left a quick kiss on your cheek.

You blushed and looked at him, not sure what to say, but then you two were interrupted by Isaac, who ran out of Arthur’s tent.

“Y/N! Look!” he stopped in front of you and gave you a flower.

“This is so beautiful, thank you Isaac,” you smiled, noticing with how much love Arthur was looking at his son.

Isaac’s small hand took yours, leading to the campfire.

You smiled at Arthur, who just smirked.

“Sorry, a little busy now,” you said, following Isaac.

Thanks god you found him.