#so much happened that I'm camping by clemens point just to feel better

[arthursfuckinghat]

Bluewater Marsh - Lemoyne

[majesty-madness]

Within the Cover of Night - Arthur Morgan x reader (sfw)

Summary: At first, she thinks it’s nothing but her imagination; that because of the life she lives, she’s letting her paranoia get the better of her. And then she’s snatched up in the dead of night by a pair of unfamiliar hands. 

Word Count: 3600+

Warnings: established relationship between Arthur and Y/N, horror themes, kidnapping, stalking, violence, blood, injury, cursing, pissed off Arthur, crying, attempted rape, mentions of sexual assault, panic attack, attempted murder, serial killer, hostage situation, brief escape, comfort 

a/n: Not proofread. Hardly anything happens in this part, the next part will be much more intense.

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HOUR TWO

HOUR ONE

For a while now, she had been meaning to ride out into Strawberry but the camp has been a little too hectic as of late with the whole moving again thing. 

They had just gotten settled at Clemens Point, one of the more muggy spots but still beautiful nonetheless. 

With things quiet, Y/N felt she finally had an opportunity to venture a bit so that afternoon, she packed up her horse and headed right out. 

Thankfully it was a clear day out, not a cloud in sight coupled with a light breeze. These were the days she admired most, nothing crazy just a nice warm day and a cool wind blowing through her hair. 

It’s what made her love this country. 

Around twenty minutes passed, when Y/N could see the edge of Strawberry in the distance, maybe about a couple hundred yards, before a voice yelled out. 

“Help me, please!” 

Her head jerked to the side of the road, seeing a distressed man looking up at her and waving his arms about. “Oh please Miss, help me.”

“What’s the problem?” She immediately asked following his plea. 

He sighed drearily. “My horse got scared by a snake and threw me right off! I tried to catch myself but I hurt my leg in the tumble. If you could give me a ride back to town, I would be very grateful.”

Y/N outwardly cringed, not sure she was willing to do what he asked. “I don’t know, sir…”

“Please Miss! I’m staying in a small hotel just in Strawberry. It shouldn’t be that far from here…” He desperately explained, planting both hands together in what looked like prayer. 

Y/N looked back up toward the road, eyeing the distance it would take to travel into the town. Truthfully, it shouldn’t take any more than ten minutes on horseback. 

Loudly, she sighed and shook her head. “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to take you back to town.” 

“Thank you so very much, miss. I really appreciate this!” The man gleefully exclaimed as he scrambled on the back of Y/N’s horse. 

Once the man had got on back, Y/N noticed her horse beginning to act fidgety, jerking her head back and forth while occasionally pawing at the ground. She had thought that was odd but Y/N continued with tugging on the reins and leading her down the dirt path. 

As soon as Y/N’s horse, Maple, began a steady sprint the man spoke. “I’m lucky you came by when you did, Miss or else I might’ve been stranded with a twisted leg.”

“I’m sure somebody would have come by eventually.” 

The man laughed out loud, almost too loudly. “Maybe, but regardless, I'm still glad you stopped. I do apologize though, I have a terrible sense of direction so who knows how long I might’ve been lost.” 

Already Y/N could see the front gate leading into Strawberry at the end of the road. “I guess you do; Strawberrys’ just down the road here.” 

The man’s grip on her shoulders tightened the slightest bit. “My ma always said to stick to the path cause I was always gettin’ confused. I’ll never learn, I suppose.”

Y/N said nothing, instead took note of his slowly tightening grip on her. It wasn’t becoming obvious per say, she happened to feel the difference in pressure. 

“Lay off a little there, sir.” Y/N thought to herself, keeping her eyes focused on the road forward.

If this man kept persisting in his hold on her, she may say something about it but as soon as the thought entered her mind he hadn’t made another move to tighten his grip. 

Perhaps he was scared of falling off the horse. 

“Those were good times though, riding down the trail with my ma. I’ll tell ya, she knew her sense of direction.” The man continued to babble on and on. 

“Is that right?” Y/N replied nonchalantly, pretending to be engaged in what he was saying. 

“Oh yes, Miss. She was the one that taught me everythin’ I know.” 

Then Y/N’s horse passed the gate to Strawberry, heading right to the center of town. The man kept talking, like he didn’t know how to stop. 

“It was always just ma and me; the thing I remember most about her was how pretty she was.” 

Y/N hummed, finally stopping next to the hotel only a few feet away. 

However, the man didn’t make an immediate attempt to hop off or make any kind of gesture that he was getting down. Suddenly he leaned forward, lips nearly touching the shell of Y/N’s ear and whispered to her.

“But I think you are the prettiest thing I ever did see.” 

The sound of his lowered voice sent chills up her spine, a cold sweat to form on her forehead. Every nerve in her body stopped functioning altogether and all she could do was sit there. 

Before she could push him off her, he quickly jumped down and waved her goodbye. “Farewell, Miss. I know we’ll be seein’ each other again.” 

When Y/N flicked her eyes up to meet the man’s, she no longer saw a helpless person with a piss poor sense of direction, now she saw a physically able man who knew exactly what he was doing. 

If that smirk on his face wasn’t any indication. 

Y/N felt a spell of fear wash over her as she watched him sturt away, leg working perfectly. 

Fighting back the disgust settling in her stomach, Y/N jerked the reins towards the town entrance. Her instinct to hurry and gallop right out of there, but another part of her mind reasoned that since she rode all the way out here, she should at least check out what she wanted.

She reasoned however, if things got wary then she had her gun with her. Nothing a well-aimed bullet couldn’t fix, specifically a possible pervert who didn’t know how to keep his hands to himself.

Y/N made sure to go a bit of an obscure way to the local shop, going around the back of the wooden buildings, keeping her horse close to the exits. 

Surprisingly, for a small town shop, it looked very extravagant inside in a rustic kind of way. The floor and walls were shiny with polish, lanterns lining the expansion of the building, colorful woven rugs covering parts of the floor, framed windows paired with lacy curtains and small aisles of different kinds of items neatly placed on every shelf. There was even a corner of the room where people could sit and enjoy the company of a fireplace. 

It was real nice. It almost made Y/N forget what had happened only minutes ago. 

As she browsed the kinds of products the store had, she caught sight of a luster shelled ink pen. 

She’d heard about these; the new kind of pens where you didn’t need to dip into ink, instead they had their own ink inside the pen itself. She wasn’t quite sure how they managed that but it intrigued her. 

Looking at the unique design on the outside of the writing utensil, her thoughts drifted to Arthur. 

Maybe he’d like something like that. 

So without contemplating it for too long, Y/N bought the pen and headed right out. 

As she approached the back exit of the building she suddenly remembered why she had entered from the back in the first place when the familiar rush of adrenaline coursed through her veins. Her hand had raised to grab the doorknob, but froze for a second while she thought on all the possibilities that could happen as soon as she stepped out. 

Y/N raised her other hand to the revolver in her holster as she poked her head outside. She looked to the left then the right to discover nothing there. Not even a stray animal. 

Once that reality sunk in, she relaxed her arms to her sides and headed back to her horse hitch a  few feet away. 

At first, things seemed fine on the way back to camp, however the longer she rode, the more unnerved she felt. 

Even as she came upon the trail that led to camp, there was something wrong. Her horse had been fussing about the entire ride back, making more noises than normal, fidgeting, acting anxious and that told Y/N things weren’t right. 

Her horse was not easily frightened, but whatever was happening was really bothering her; enough to make her move about like a scared child. 

Before she stepped fully onto the trail, Y/N forced the animal to a stop and turned her a bit. Her eyes stared into the treeline in which she could barely see five feet into. 

She hadn’t realized she’d done it, but Y/N had slowed her breathing down, hearing only the silence of the forest. 

Her gaze bounced around the patches of grass, bushes, tree branches, and such seeing nothing yet suspecting malevolence lurking in the approaching darkness. 

One second…two seconds…three seconds….four…five…

She began to sweat fiercely. 

Six…seven …eight…

The pounding of her heart reached her ears like thunder in the sky, rushing over her whole being.

Nine…

She wanted to look away, but didn’t want to at the same time; feeling if she looked anywhere else she’d be doomed. 

Ten.

Y/N tugged hard again on the reins and forced her horse to take off in a mad dash for camp, away from the deep forest. 

Though Y/N wasn’t the one running for her life, she panted out with a heavy breath nonetheless. The hypothetical chance of someone following her causing her fight or flight response to kick in. 

It was by no means logical as she had no way to prove that there had been anyone beyond the treeline as her subconscious seemed to believe, although the sensations that surfaced were no less scary. 

In those short seconds, her brain came to a conclusion and didn’t like what it saw. 

But what did she see? What did her sixth sense pick up on that she just couldn't understand? 

What. Was. Wrong?

As soon as her horse made it into the camp, she slid off the animal before she’d come to a full stop and stared off into the distance behind them both.

Her eyes trailed over the path she took, and waited for something to happen. But after all that, nothing did happen and as far as she knew nothing was going to happen. All she could hear were the voices of her fellow camp mates and the occasional animal calls. 

She blinked a few times before shaking her head and walking off towards the center of camp. Y/N hadn’t realized it but her brain sent her straight to Arthur’s tent where he sat on his cot, jotting down something in his journal. 

He immediately heard her steps making a b-line for him, and the moment he noticed it was Y/N he smiled but it quickly faded when he saw the expression on her face. “Darlin’?”

She wasted no time in plopping herself onto his lap and curling into his chest, face tucked to his neck. 

The sudden display of seeming affection nearly caused Arthur to drop his journal onto the ground, so he quickly tossed it to his cot. “What’s wrong, sweetheart?” 

She quickly wrapped her arms around his neck to pull herself even closer to him, making Arthur let out a slight grunt as she held onto him tightly. 

Instead of trying to further prod her into speaking, Arthur chose to settle his hands on the small of her back to keep her steady against him. And he continued to hold her for several minutes, feeling her muscles relax as time went on. 

“Did something happen?” He whispered between the two of them. 

Y/N took a deep breath before finally lifting her head to gaze up at him, eyes shining with tears. “Sort of.” 

“What do you mean?” 

She shrugged, finding it difficult to find the words because now that she knew she was safe with Arthur she felt a little silly for reacting like this. “I..was on my way to Strawberry earlier today, because I heard they had these new steel pens, and on my way there, this man came along shouting that he needed help.” 

Arthur began softly rubbing his thumb on a non-specific spot on her back as she spoke to quell the worries that plagued her. 

“Said he fell off his horse and hurt his leg, asked if I could give him a ride back to town. At first I wasn’t too keen on the idea but I felt guilty if I just left him stranded, so I let him hop on the back of Maple. I didn’t think much of it, but Maple started acting funny.” Y/N mentioned, lips pulling together in a frown. 

“How do ya mean, what’d she do?” Arthur asked in the silence between them as Y/N paused. 

Y/N let out a little huff, dipping herself further into him. “She was fussing about, making noises, pawing at the ground, stuff like that. Most things don’t bother her and since the man didn’t look all that threatening I thought maybe she was tired.” 

Arthur quietly nodded, waiting for her to continue with her story. “He kept going on about how he had no sense of direction and that his mother taught him everything he knew and for some reason, he mentioned how pretty she was. Said, it was what he remembered about her the most.”

“Then what?”

He could see the unease swimming in her eyes just by looking as she recounted what happened only a few hours ago. 

“Then he leaned in real close, and whispered into my ear: ‘I think you are the prettiest thing I ever did see.’” 

Immediately, Arthur’s stomach dropped while suppressing a cold shiver from crawling up his spine at the implication behind those words. 

Even though he hadn’t witnessed it, he couldn’t help the disgust rippling through him. Far too many times had he heard of the awful things done to women in saloons or back alleys where no one paid attention; far too many times he had seen the attempts men made at them when they thought there was no one around. The gunslinger in him would flourish with a rage at the idea of a man harassing some poor woman minding her own business, and promptly beat them within an inch of their lives for the simple fact that it was exactly what they deserved. And that was for women he didn’t know, now imagine what he’d do for the woman he loved, the woman he secretly promised his life to. 

God help any man who threatens her. 

“Did he do anythin’ else to you?”

Y/N quickly shook her head, leaning back into him again. “No, he just hopped off and walked away like nothin’ happened. And when he was walking away I noticed that his leg was working perfectly fine so he wasn’t even hurt to begin with.” 

Arthur let out a contemplative sigh, hands moving once more to create invisible in her skin. “I’m sorry, darling. There are some real bastards out there.” 

All Y/N did was nod, choosing then to sit quietly on Arthur’s lap, not uttering anymore words for a while. They spent several moments basking in each other’s presence as each ruminated on their thoughts. 

“Would it be alright if I sleep in your tent tonight?” Y/N asked promptly. 

Before Arthur said anything, she continued. “I know that it’s a bit sudden and we’ve never slept in a cot together but I really don’t want to be alone. And you make me feel safe.” 

His heart thumped with affection, giving her back a few pats and pressing a kiss to her hair. “I appreciate that, darling and of course, you can stay with me. I wouldn’t mind at all.”

“Thank you.” 

Arthur rocked her back and forth a few times when he spoke again. “Though, I can’t promise you’ll get a good night’s rest sleeping next to a big ol’ idiot like me.”

“Don’t you go saying nothing like that. It’s not true.”Y/N pouted, sticking her arm out to point him in the side where she knew he was sensitive and based on the way he tensed under her hand, she knew she got him good.

“Ah-alright, darling, I won’t go saying anything like that.” 

She poked him one more time causing him to reach down to quickly stop her, glancing down to see her bottom lip jutted out like a child’s. “You better not.”

With that, the rest of the evening carried on as normal with the exception of Y/N sleeping next to Arthur that night. Well, more like on top of him considering how small his cot truly was, but she didn’t mind in fact, Y/N liked that they got to be so close in such a vulnerable position. It was also thanks to the unexpected development that she managed to wake up the next morning with a calmness. 

And when Dutch had come to her once she was awake and walking around about a possible job, she didn’t feel the least bit worried. However when Arthur stated he was tagging along, she didn’t try to dispute it instead was thankful for his presence. 

On the ride to the nearest town, they chatted about this and that, the worry that plagued her long forgotten even as night fell and came the final decision for the night. 

“Are you sure, sweetheart?” 

Y/N nodded. “Yeah I’m sure, I’m feeling better today so I think I’ll be alright sleeping in my tent tonight.”

Arthur nodded silently to himself for a few seconds. “Alright then, but if you change your mind you’ll know where to find me.”

Promptly after, Arthur returned to his own tent for the night leaving Y/N to her’s. She stayed up for quite a while almost until the campfire outside had dwindled to small flickers of light and everyone else was asleep. This was a normal occurrence as she was a bit of a night owl but eventually she too became drowsy and without hesitation, laid out across her bed roll. 

Her eyes drifted to the ceiling of the canvas house, thinking on the events of the day where nothing particularly interesting happened and then, she fell asleep. 

________

A harsh pressure being pressed tightly against her neck is what woke her from her slumber. Her eyes quickly popped open, scrambling to fight off whatever was choking her in the dead of night. 

But the grip was too strong, no matter how hard she tried to peel away what she figured was someone’s arm, she couldn’t loosen the hold. 

Who was this person? What did they want? 

The darkness slowly started to creep in on her vision as she began to feel light headed and just before she passed out, she heard a familiar voice.

“You really are the prettiest thing.”

Off in the distance, Charles stood on night duty. These shifts were never entertaining but he supposed that was a good thing especially when you run with a gang of outlaws; himself included. 

Charles walked back up the path a bit, towards camp just to see if anything was amiss. He hadn’t noticed anything in the forest surrounding the camp, however when his eyes drifted over to the horses, it piqued his curiosity. 

Most of them seemed…antsy, like something spooked them. 

Already alarm bells were going off in his mind so he grabbed a lantern from the center of camp and began to walk along the numerous tents creating a semi circle around one firepit. He made his rounds first over to Lenny’s tent, seeing he was fine then to Abigail and Jack’s, then to Sean’s and up until he reached Y/N’s which sat between Sean and the other girl’s tent. 

He wasn’t sure what made him stop but his instincts screamed at him to take a closer look, something was off. 

Silently, Charles apologized to Y/N for the ill manners of barging in and pulled back the front flap of the tent only to see Y/N missing and the entire backside canvas cut completely in half. He stepped inside of the tent, hurrying out the back to discover drag marks and footprints that were far too big to be Y/N’s. 

Immediately he understood. 

Charles ran out of the tent out into the middle of camp, shouting for everyone to get up while making a b-line to Arthur. From the shouting, Arthur had already begun to stir. 

“Arthur, Y/N’s gone.” Charles stated matter of factly. 

The words went in one ear and out the other. Arthur, for a moment, thought he wasn’t even speaking english. “What?”

“Y/N’s gone, she’s not in her tent. Someone ripped open the back, and now she’s gone.” Charles explained with a sense of urgency. 

Now Arthur was awake, and as soon as the words settled in, he thought back to what Y/N had said the day before. 

“He kept going on about how he had no sense of direction and that his mother taught him everything he knew and for some reason, he mentioned how pretty she was.”

Arthur jumped up from his cot, running back to where Y/N’s tent lay now undisturbed, and nearly toppled the whole thing over when he pushed his way inside. 

“Then he leaned in real close, and whispered into my ear: ‘I think you are the prettiest thing I ever did see.’” 

He saw what Charles was talking about, not only was the entire back wall of the canvas material cut in half, the items inside the tent had been thrashed around as if someone had put up a fight along with tracks in the dirt leading outside into the trees. 

Y/N had been taken.

________

a/n: ran out of time so I had to break this into two parts, sorry ya'll! I'll try to be better about this in the future.

[the-awkward-outlaw]

Hello! I'm not sure if you know, but Sadies does in fact call herself as Mrs. Kilgore if you follow her to the store during the mission Further Questions of Female Suffrage. Reader discovers jealousy here and misunderstood everything, that she abandons the mission by running back to camp and avoids Arthur and Sadie when they come back. It's against the rules to abandon gang members but she doesn't care. Writer's choice on how to end this.

Yo, so I had to replay this mission just to see, cuz I had no idea! And you’re right! She totally does call herself Mrs. Kilgore! Anyways, here you go, my friend! Hope you enjoy! 

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The wagon bumps down the road, away from Clemens Point. You sit in the back of it, watching the trees go by. In front sits Sadie, the widow from Colter. Recently she’s really come into her own. Before she was a mourning, sobbing mess who could barely lift a cup due to the funk she was in. You won’t soon forget the day Karen stopped her from trying to shoot herself. Now Sadie’s starting to grow confident and sure of herself. This morning, you were sure she’d kill Mr. Pearson. 

Next to her sits Arthur, your good friend and the man you’ve been crushing on for ages. Out of everyone in camp, you trust him the most. He’s the one you’ve always been able to count on, to confide in. For the first few years in the gang, the two of you were just friends, hunting partners. Then just before Blackwater, something changed. Even you’re not sure what it was, but you started to see him differently. He was more attractive, more alluring. Surely he hadn’t meant to make you develop feelings for him as his behavior hadn’t changed. 

When you first started to know you felt things for Arthur, you tried to suppress them. It wouldn’t be good for anyone right now for you two to get together, especially Arthur. He deserves a lot better than you, you know that. But lately, it’s been getting harder to hide how you feel. More than ever, he’s been inviting you to go hunting which has resulted in spending a lot of time alone with him. 

Then Arthur got that letter from his ex-lover Mary Linton. That really reminded you of how much Arthur is out of your reach. Watching him speed out of camp to go meet with her and then all the gossip that arose from that with the others made it perfectly clear that he still loves her. He could never love you. Still you felt a pang of jealousy for this woman, but you did your best to stuff it down. 

You pull yourself from your thoughts as Sadie tells Arthur to hand her Pearson’s letter. He tries to argue with her about it, but eventually gives in. You laugh with him as Sadie reads it aloud, adopting a poor rendition of Pearson’s rough voice. Just as she finishes, Arthur pulls the wagon into the dusty town of Rhodes. 

“So what’s the plan here?” Sadie says and she pulls out her pistol. “Shoot the store owner and rob him?” 

“What? No, are you insane?” Arthur growls, putting his hand on her gun to lower it, looking around to make sure no one saw. “We ain’t shootin’ anyone!”

“I thought we was outlaws!” Sadie retorts. 

“Outlaws, not idiots! We rob those who rob others. These people are just tryin’ to get by!” When Arthur’s sure Sadie won’t shoot anyone, he starts heading off for the train station to deliver Pearson’s letter. You follow Sadie inside, chuckling to yourself. She’s certainly turning into a fearless woman, though she still has a lot to learn about being an outlaw. 

You walk up to the store clerk and hand him Pearson’s list, Sadie looks around for a minute and then she walks up to him. “I wanna see what clothes ya got,” she says to him. 

“Okay. We have a decent amount of dresses and skirts, just got a shipment last week.” 

“Nah. Lemme see what pants and shirts ya got,” she replies. 

The clerk fumbles for a minute, but then he shrugs. “We got some of those. Not as many, mind, but some.” As he reaches for the catalog and hands it to Sadie, he continues on. “So, your feller don’t mind your attire, huh?” 

“Excuse me?” Sadie says, as she hadn’t really been listening to him. He repeats the question and then gestures to her left hand, which still has her wedding ring on it. “Oh, uh, no he don’t mind.” 

“I see,” the clerk says. “And where should my boys put your items, miss…” 

Sadie looks around quickly and then says, “Er, Kilgore. Mrs. Kilgore, and I have a wagon out front.” 

You’d been looking around the shelves, thinking about maybe buying some chocolate, when you heard Sadie say that name. It stops you cold. Kilgore. That’s the name Arthur often adopts when he wants to hide his identity. Why is Sadie using it now? Anger flushes through your chest at the thought that maybe she’s developing a crush on Arthur. How could she not? After all, Arthur was one of the first to help her after her husband was killed, he’s always made sure to check on her to make sure she’s okay. 

Not that you blame Sadie on having feelings for Arthur, you’re no better. However you thought things were bad enough when you were competing with Mary, a woman you’ve never met. But now you’re competing with Sadie? A woman who must be infinitely more desirable to a man like Arthur than you could ever hope to be? Sadie’s strong, confident, doesn’t take anything from anybody, and she’s a beautiful woman. 

Thinking of Sadie and Arthur together makes you feel like you’re sinking. The image of them being together seems more real to you than the thought of you being with him. Arthur doesn’t know what kind of lure he has on women. You can’t even begin to count how many women you’ve seen checking him out in towns, how obvious it is that they’re interested. Arthur could have just about any woman he wanted. There’s no way in hell he’d ever want to be in a relationship with you. His behavior has made it clear that friends is as far as he ever wants to go. 

This, though, is one strike too many. If Sadie starts making moves on Arthur, then there’s absolutely no chance for you. Not that you have much of one now. 

As Sadie continues to talk with the clerk, you hear something roaring in your ears and the walls feel like they’re closing in. Your chest starts to tighten, so you quickly go outside. But even here, out on the dusty road, it doesn’t feel right. You have to get out of here. 

Then you look down the road and see Arthur approaching. Once again, the image of him and Sadie together pops into your brain and you just can’t take it. Before he gets close, you suddenly dash off towards the saloon. You can hear him calling your name, but you ignore him. 

Once at the saloon and out of Arthur’s eyesight, you head down the dirt road, not caring that your horse is too far for you to call for, not caring that people are passing you by without a word. All you know is that, for your own mental health, you have to sever ties with Arthur. Clearly you can’t be friends with him as your feelings will always be there to complicate things, and you can’t stop yourself from loving him, as much as you want to. The thought of having no interactions with Arthur crushes you, but it’s something you have to do. 

A few hours go by, and you’re a little hurt about the fact that Arthur didn’t come after you. However this only solidifies that he doesn’t really care about you. Hell, has he ever seen the two of you even being friends? Maybe you were nothing but a hunting buddy for him. Perhaps you’re a bigger fool than you even thought. This makes you even more sure that you have to cut ties with him. With that thought, you head on back to camp. 

It takes another hour to get back since you’re walking on foot, but when you get there, you straighten yourself up and do your best to hide the dried tears. When you walk in, you greet the others like normal. Sadie then walks up to you, a repeater in her hands. 

“Well, ‘bout time you came on back! Where the hell you run off to?” 

“No where. Just… felt like going for a walk,” you say stiffly. 

“Must’ve been some walk. Well, here.” She hands you the repeater. “Hosea says you’re on watch duty next.” 

Without complaint, you take the rifle and head to the outskirts of camp, relieved to have a reason to be alone a while longer. You’re still not really sure what you plan on saying to Arthur next time he tries to have interactions with you. As you stand and wait for something to happen (which you know won’t), you think about what you will say to him. 

Should you come off as aggressive? Rip off the bandaid to make sure he leaves you alone? No, that won’t do. You’ve never been able to be angry for long periods of time with Arthur. However, you won’t be pouty with him. He’s never taken kindly to people who act that way. 

Before you really have a chance to decide on how to act, you hear his voice from behind you. 

“Hey, you okay?” 

“Oh. Hello, Mr. Morgan. I’m fine, thank you.” 

Arthur instantly knows you’re upset with him for something. You haven’t called him Mr. Morgan since you were still new to the gang and were breaking into the ranks. You’ve also never been so formal with him. He racks his brain for a second, trying to pinpoint why you’re upset. 

“You sure about that? You left the store in a big hurry.” 

“Yes. I just wanted to go for a walk. It’s such a beautiful day, I felt it would be a wasted opportunity.” 

Yep, you’re mad and he knows it. Arthur’s been around you long enough to know that you really don’t like being down here. You don’t like this humid heat, and you hate how the dust clings to everything, glued to any surface by the moist air. Besides, you only take long walks like that when you’re angry about something. 

“You wanna talk?” he says, noticing how you’ve refused to look at him, staring pointedly into the trees instead. 

“About what?” 

“I don’t know. Maybe about what’s bothering you?” He’s standing right next to you and you can feel his eyes on your face. 

“Nothing’s bothering me, Mr. Morgan. Now, I’m sure you’ve plenty of things to be doing rather than wasting your time on me. Perhaps Sadie needs help with something.” 

Arthur isn’t sure, but he thinks you sound a bit choked up when you say Sadie’s name. He also doesn’t like the way you brushed him off, the words you chose. 

“Well, I’m sure Sadie’s doin’ just fine. You know, on the way back to camp, a bunch of them Lemoyne Raiders showed up, tried robbin’ us. Sadie showed she’s more than capable with a gun. Frightened the hell out of me.” 

You blink and turn your face even further away from him, your chest tightening again. Great, now Sadie’s shown her fiery side. Arthur will definitely be interested, you just know it. 

“That don’t surprise me,” you say stiffly, trying to hide how close you are to crying again. “Well, why don’t you go and give her some pointers when it comes to guns? That is if you think she needs them.” 

Arthur puts his hands on his gunbelt. “Hey, what’s goin’ on with you and Sadie? She say somethin’ bad to you?” 

You sigh and shake your head. “It’s nothing, Arthur. Don’t worry about me.” 

Arthur’s starting to get frustrated with you, but then he realizes that he knows you better than anyone in this camp, and he knows that you’re not one to actively seek help when you need it. Your way of seeking help is to brush off even the tiniest offers of it. That’s when he knows that you’ve got something going on and in order to break through your walls, he needs to keep pushing. 

“But I do worry about ya. More than you’re probably aware.” Arthur scratches his chin. “And for the record, I don’t think time with you is time wasted.” 

This catches you off guard and for the first time, you look over at him. Encouraged, he gets a little closer to you. 

“Now come on, tell me wha’s botherin’ you,” he says in that gentle tone of his that makes you melt. 

You sigh and decide to relent. You leave out your feelings about him, but feel incredibly stupid by the end. To his credit, he doesn’t laugh about it. 

“That’s what made ya upset?” he says softly. 

You look away, but nod. “I just… I can see you and Sadie getting along really well together.” 

“As outlaws, sure. Sadie’s a pistol, anyone who wants to keep their skin would be wise to not make her mad. But she ain’t really my type, Y/N. ‘Sides, with how recently she lost her husband, I certainly hope she don’t go cruisin’ for another one any time soon. Ain’t healthy.” He rubs his chin and takes a step closer. “Point is, there ain’t nothin’ between me and Sadie. But, perhaps I’m a fool for hopin’ that maybe there is somethin’ between me and another woman.” 

He catches your eye for a brief second, blushes, and then hides his beneath his hat. Something tells you that you need to play coy. 

“Oh? And who may this other woman be? It’s not… Mary, is it?” you say, feeling like you really missed your mark. 

“Mary?” he looks up, his eyes hard. “No. That woman’s stayin’ in my past where she belongs. Last time I saw her, I realized she ain’t ever really been worth my time. No, I was thinkin’ of a different woman.” 

“Do I know her?” you say softly. 

“Yes, or at least partially. You know her as bein’ someone who ain’t worth much, I know that. Probably think she’d be better off away from anyone else where she can’t interfere with their lives. I don’t see her that way, though. I see her as a strong, confident woman, and I’d be a lucky man to have her by my side. Course, I ain’t known for my luck.” 

Arthur’s so close you can feel his breath on your face, he’s only inches from you at this point. Something tells you not to move a muscle, to not ruin this moment. Arthur’s hand comes up and cups your cheek. His palm is warm and rough, his fingers calloused, but his skin sets yours on fire. 

“What are you thinkin’?” he whispers. 

You swallow, your eyes darting down to his lips. “I’d say I’d go running with you anytime.” 

With that, you lean forward and close the small distance, placing your lips on his. He responds automatically as though he’d been thinking of the same thing. As you press your body against his, clutching his shirt on his shoulders, his strong arms wind behind yours, pressing you even harder against him. He tastes good, like coffee, and his body is much warmer than you could ever have imagined. His slightly chapped lips move steadily against your own and then his hands wind up into your hair. 

After a moment, he leans away, a small smile on his face. “Ya can’t imagine how long I been wantin’ to do that, darlin’.” 

“Seriously? I never even had the slightest idea you liked me.” 

He chuckles, his hand entwining with yours. “Well, I tried real hard to keep it a secret. Thought there was no way in hell you liked me back.” 

You smile and reach up to give him a tiny kiss, to which he accepts. “Arthur, I’ve liked you much longer than I think you know. You’re the best man I ever known.” 

“Darlin’, that ain’t exactly a compliment. I know the kinda men you run with most your life.” 

“Even so. It doesn’t change the fact that I think you’re a good man.” 

Suddenly you hear a loud raucous coming from camp. Looking over to the fire, you see Uncle, Sean and Lenny getting into what looks like a pretty rowdy party. Not wanting to have the spell between you and Arthur broken just yet, you grab his hand and lead him further into the trees where you can’t be seen. 

There, the two of you enjoy just sitting in one another’s embrace, talking about all manner of things. You both admit how long you’ve been attracted to the other and afraid to admit it. You also explain why Sadie referring to herself as Mrs. Kilgore set you off and made you jealous. 

“Darlin’, you realize it’s because she ain’t taken away her wedding ring yet, right? Hell, I’m sure she only said it because it was the first name that came to her mind when the feller asked.” 

“I know, I realized that after I got upset,” you blush and bury your face into his chest. He chuckles and brushes your hair. 

“Well, maybe you and I can go into town soon. You can call yourself Mrs. Morgan if it makes you feel better.” 

You look up at him with wide eyes. “Woah, there Arthur. We literally just got together. Ain’t it a little soon to pull that trigger?” 

He laughs and rubs your back. “I only jokin’, darlin’.” 

You smile and lay your head back on his chest. A thought comes to mind that maybe one day, you’ll have the honor of calling yourself Mrs. Morgan.

[talesofesther]

Silence (Sean MacGuire x Reader)

pairing: Sean MacGuire x female!reader

summary: Sean got distracted during a job and you end up getting hurt. His guilt starts to eat him alive until you go see him to set things straight.

word count: 2044

warnings: angst but fluff to make up for it at the end

notes: Alright here we are, I finally fulfilled my destiny and wrote a Sean fic. But honestly, people seem to forget that Sean is actually a really emotional person, and there are nearly no stories out there about it. So me, being the emotional disaster that I am, obviously decided to fix that. Let me know what you think because I might write more stuff like this, I'm also open to requests ;)

You can read it on AO3 too

**********

It was a simple score, really.

Just go into town, rob the bank and get out. No big deal.

But right now, you were painfully riding in the back of Arthur's horse, back to Clemens Point because there was a bullet hole right on your left leg.

It was supposed to be simple, but with Sean, things were never simple.

You, Arthur, Sean, Charles, and Javier went to rob the bank. Sean stayed as a lookout, but when who knows what distracted him, you ended up getting shot on the leg and the whole shooting started. With Sean having to be dragged away from the line of fire by Charles.

Everyone managed to get out just fine, well, except for you. When everyone arrived at camp you were seconds away from fainting.

"Nice n easy now, girl" Arthur said as he took you down from the back of his horse and carried you to your bed.

He called Mrs.Grimshaw and Hosea to take care of your injured leg.

And for the first time ever, Sean was quiet. He didn't have any words to say. As soon as he heard the shot and saw you fall in front of that bank his heart dropped to his feet, he knew he fucked up. Everything happened in slow motion and he wasn't able to move a muscle, that's when Charles had to step in and drag him away from the gunshots.

The entire ride back to camp he kept glancing at you at each second that passed, just to make sure you were still awake. Still there. But he still couldn't manage to say a word.

And right now, seeing you there, laying on your bed as Hosea patches up your leg, your clothes all bloodied and your skin pale. He feels useless. No, he feels worse than useless. He feels guilty, and he knows he's right. Because if he had just done his goddamn job you wouldn't be in this situation, in this pain.

He wanted to get closer, to see if you were doing better, but he didn't feel like he had the right to. He stayed a couple of feet away from your tent, just watching as the people took care of you. He kept fidgeting his feet and playing with his hands like he didn't know what to do. And truth be told, he actually didn't.

You and Sean weren't a thing. You had kissed him once, during a party, both of you were kinda drunk. But he remembers, he remembers how soft your lips were, how his heart picked up its pace as soon as you began to lean closer. He remembers how he wanted to confess his real feelings to you the next day, but he saw you talking to Javier, and maybe that wasn't the right time. Maybe the kiss was a mistake and you didn't feel the same.

Well, he never got to know. He never truly had the courage to ask and he certainly wasn't going to do it now.

______________________

You don't see Sean for the next fifteen days.

You were recovering, slowly but surely. You could walk already, a little wobbly but it was better than nothing. Although you never wandered too far from your tent. But today your curiosity had the better of you and you wandered off to find Sean. It had been days since you saw him and it was very unlike him to stay away from you, especially when you were somehow hurt.

Sean told himself he was doing you a favor. It hurt, to stay away like that. It hurt because he missed you and he wanted to see if you were okay. But he presumed that you wouldn't want much to do with him after what happened. So staying away was the least he could do.

He had been quieter these last days. Barely talking at all. Which was completely out of character for him. Everyone in camp was noticing but when they asked him about it, he would just brush it off like it was nothing. Honestly, he didn't feel like talking, that's all. Most days he would wake up with a strange feeling inside, and it would stay until nightfall.

You didn't have to walk that far to find Sean. He was staying on the shore by the water, a little away from camp, but not too much. Apparently lost in thought, looking at the reflection of the sun on the water. You had to admit that he looked quite beautiful, without his hat, his hair was flowing with the light breeze. And the sunlight kissed his skin just right.

You approached him slowly, not that you could walk any faster, but the people in camp did warn you that he was acting... Different.

Once you were close to him, you greeted him with a soft "hey"

Sean felt a chill ran down his spine when he heard your voice, he would recognize it anywhere. His head snapped in your direction and he just stared at you for a few seconds.

He eventually managed a quiet "hey" back, but his eyes soon fell to the ground. Were you here to scold him? Tell him how he messed up again and let you down? He had already told himself that plenty of times on the last days, but he figured that you deserved the chance to say it yourself.

"I um... I haven't seen you in these last few days. Is everything alright?" You asked as you took tentative steps towards him until there was only a short space between you two.

The proximity made him nervous. But he gulped and answered "yeah, sure. Just... Just fine"

He was gripping the end of his jacket out of nervousness, his eyes couldn't really stop anywhere but every now and again he would steal a glance at your face. God, he missed you. He was so worried when you got shot, what if that was it? And it would be his fault. And seeing you here now, so close. It felt like all those feelings he had been bottling up inside himself on these last days came crashing over all at once. It was overwhelming, it's not like he had much experience in this matter.

You squinted your eyes at him "okay then. Look Sean-"

You tried to speak but he cut you off with a quiet "I'm sorry"

If you weren't staying so close, you probably would've missed it. When you looked up your heart clenched at the sight of him. His expression read pure sadness and guilt, and his light green eyes were starting to water.

When the first tear fell from his eyes he whispered again "I'm so sorry"

You didn't need an explanation, you knew what he was talking about. And the reason why he stayed away and was acting differently was clear as day now.

You shook your head and said in a low tone "it wasn't your fault". Already bringing your arms up to envelop him in a warm embrace.

His arms clung to you like you were his lifeline. His head rested in the crook of your neck and you soon felt your shirt and skin start to get wet from his tears. You gently combed your fingers through his hair, trying to reassure him that it was alright. But he kept mumbling nonstop apologies in the middle of the sobs that were starting to wreck his body.

You tightened your grip on him and said in a more serious tone "Sean, it wasn't your fault. You saw how many lawmen showed up, it was just an accident. I don't blame you, it's alright"

It seemed like you finally managed to get to him because he stopped talking, all that could be heard were his silent sobs. He wanted to look into your eyes and tell you how he felt, how scared he was, how worried he was, he wanted to ask how you were feeling and how you were recovering. But he couldn't bring himself to let go of you, not yet. He had missed you so much, he was so scared of the possibility of never being able to hold you again that right now he just wanted to enjoy the feeling of your body pressed tightly again his. Just for a little longer.

And you would hold him. Geez, you probably needed that just as much as he does.

After a while, you heard his hoarse voice speak up again "I thought I was gonna lose ya". He curled himself in your grip, even more, trying to get as close as possible.

You've always loved his voice, his accent. It was one of the best things about him. But hearing him sound this broken, it hurt.

"It alright Sean. I'm here, I'm fine" you pulled back to look him in the face. His green eyes were red and puffy from crying, and he looked tired. You cleaned the tear stains on his cheeks with your thumbs, he leaned on your touch. It was so soft.

"I missed you, my cute Irish boy" you said with a gentle voice.

He chuckled, giving you that goofy smile of his. You had to smile too at how adorable he looked. It was quite the sight, his eyes were red, cheeks flushed, but his smile was so genuine.

"I like you. I... I really like you" there it was, he finally said it. If he didn't say it now, he probably would never build up the courage again.

For some seconds the only things that could be heard were the gentle flow of the water and the rustling of the grass from the wind. Sean looked at you with those big hopeful eyes, his lips partly open, waiting for an answer.

You let out a tiny chuckle and a big smile formed on your lips "I really like you too"

His eyes widened for a moment, a part of him was expecting rejection somehow "r-really?"

You bit your lower lip and nodded. Slowly bringing your head closer to his. When your noses touched his breath hitched and he gulped, he slowly closed his eyes and waited. Your lips met his in a gentle kiss, just a touch at first, his lips were soft, a little chapped but so gentle. He felt like if he made any sudden movements he would wake up and all of this would be a dream. His hands still remained at your waist, gently tugging at your shirt. Your hands slowly made their way to the nape of his neck, caressing his soft hair there. The kiss got a little more passionate, but you couldn’t remember the last time someone kissed you with such gentleness. Your lips moved in perfect synchrony until you had to pull back in need of air.

You leaned your foreheads together and just stayed close for a while. Sean had an adorable smile on his face when you opened your eyes. You reached up and pulled his orange hair behind his ear, his eyes kept scanning your face for any signs that this might not be real. But he didn't find any.

______________________

Right now you were sitting against the remains of a boat by the shore, Sean was leaning against your chest while you messed with his hair. You had been talking for the past hours, enjoying the presence of each other. He looked much more relaxed now, his face held no traces of worry.

The sun was going down already, the water reflected the sunset and there was a light breeze passing. It was peaceful.

After a while, Sean noticed a different feeling on his hair.

"Are you braiding me hair?"

You chuckled "yeah, it looks good on you"

He let out a cute laugh and leaned his head back and onto your shoulder, looking up to see your face. His eyes held pure affection.

"Oh, I love ya" he said in a soft tone.

You smiled and gave him a kiss on his forehead, making him close his eyes at the sweet gesture. You brought your arms around his shoulder and in front of his chest and hugged him closer.

"I love you too"