#zen gives us the best chance though because cereus is zen's best friend

[marshmallowprotection]

Omg "Touch me. Feel my skin. I'm real, see?" promt for cowboy Saeran? :(♡

I miss him dearly

It wasn’t all that often you were graced with your outlaw’s presence. He had work to do that couldn’t stop for nothing. You were just as busy as he was, but you had the illusion of taking a break when he didn’t have that luxury. You could sit down on a bar chair and wax poetic to a crook without a second thought to get him to say what you needed to hear, but he couldn’t slow down and catch his breath to save his life.

You understood just how important it was for him to get his work done. His ass was on the line. He had to do what he had to do. The life of a criminal wasn't an easy one, but it was the life he had to live. Even if you didn't know the devil in the details, you knew he decided to walk down this path for a reason.

That reason mattered to you, and you trusted him to tell you when he was ready to talk about it, but until that day? You were okay to wait in the wings. It wasn't as if the moments in between weren't worth it. A day with your boss was the same as a day of fresh air, and that was all the more reason to enjoy the feeling of being cozied up in bed with an outlaw you called your own.

You could tell that Unknown hadn't slept in days when he showed up at your front door, and despite the wary look in his eyes, he decided to come inside anyway. It wasn't like Zen was around to kick him out. Your best friend was out of town for the week because he had some business to take care of in another city. You preferred to have visitors anyway, especially visitors who made you feel safe.

After you helped him wash up and clean his face, he huddled down in bed with you for God knows how long before you dozed off after him. He needed the rest and he needed the reminder that you trusted him enough to be vulnerable around him.

He didn't have to stay armed to feel safe, and you didn't have to hold onto a knife to feel comfortable around him.

Unknown was warm.

His breath was soft against your throat as you stirred out of sleep and found yourself staring at the dark walls of your cabin. You didn't have the energy to untangle yourself from him to find a candle, but it was dark enough outside to let you know he'd been there longer than just a little afternoon nap. You weren't upset about it, but you knew that it might upset him a little to have put you at risk of someone seeing his horse nearby.

You sighed, absentmindedly running your digits through his messy curls.

However, your moment of peace was destroyed in a heartbeat as Unknown's gentle breaths turned ragged. His peaceful slumber all but burned to terror as his body tensed and his lungs fought to stay in control of his fears. You knew he was having a nightmare, but also knew better than to wake someone from their nightmare knowing it could lead them to be more frightened than anything else.

You had to wait, holding your breath as his only grew worse, trying to coax him to a gentle valley of flowers far, far away from whatever set him off in the first place. It took a moment for you to find his hand in the sheets, but once you did, you cupped it against your cheek. Even if he wasn't awake, you knew he would respond to touch. He... always did.

For a man who let people believe he hated anything closer to him than twenty miles away, he was starved for a single touch.

You breathed a gentle instruction for his sake. He needed to know his dreams weren't doomed. He could save them. "Touch me. Feel my skin. I'm real, see?"

Unknown felt small in your embrace as he fought with his demons to maintain control of his dreams. He wasn't the tall outlaw who had to growl to survive when he was with you... he was a boy who never had a choice in what he had to do to survive. But, you refused to let go of his hand. You wanted him to know you could protect him, too, only if he would allow it.

It took a few minutes, but his breath began to even out again, and he sighed in response to your promise to protect him. You let go of his hand, but he kept it there against your cheek as if the only lifeline he had to stay at peace, making it much easier for you to cradle his head against your heart.

His heart... forevermore.