The Ballads of Rebirth (Arthur Morgan x Reader)

The Roll of A Dice

A/N: I may or may not have cried writing this. Like twice.

This the finale, but there will be an epilogue!

The AU ending and AU epilogue will be posted separate, and after the original epilogue is finished.

I was really tempted to actually switch the endings and have the AU ending be the original ending.. but I decided to be nice to you guys and leave it as is.

Follow me on tumblr @darlingsdevil
•••
In your heart you knew the sacrifice you had to make. You could choose between Arthur, the man who had saved you, the man you had known your entire life, the one who knew you the most. Or Lee, the man who showed you kindness when you swore the world was against you, the man who learned to love you despite your history, the man who could give you everything you had ever wanted in life — peace.

It was a troubling choice. You didn't want to pick, you dreaded it — but you knew that it was something you simply had to do.

"Lee.. can we go back to the apartment, I'm still tired from the hospital," You asked him while you stayed in each other's arms for what seemed like an eternity. Lee's chest slowed with every breath, you could tell he was calming down. The rain continued relentlessly, your clothes were already soaked, and so was your face — it would have been if it weren't raining regardless.

You felt Lee nod against your shoulder. He was tearing apart at the seams, and you knew it and he knew it. He was begging you to stay, and you were going to listen. This time you would.

He helped you get up, ever the gentleman.

The walk back to the apartment was solemn and silent, despite the sound of rain hitting the roads, and the vacant streets of Richfield seemed somehow even more empty. Neither of you were sure what to say, or perhaps it was the thought of cracking in front of the other. You felt like you had betrayed Lee in some way, and Lee could tell, that didn't mean you couldn't make things right. Lee needed you more than Arthur did. And as much as you wanted to run straight back to Arthur, you simply couldn't, Lee could not stand on his own for much longer if you left. It hurt, badly, like even the thought of it would burn you inside out, starting from your heart and the thick tendrils of smoke would suffocate you. Love was strange like that.

Maybe it was a selfish thought, that if you had never met Lee all of this could be avoided. Arthur would have found you, and you would not have to go through this process of picking and choosing. You could live with Lee, it was true, but your heart would belong to Arthur. As much as you tried to convince yourself it didn't, the way his face would appear in the crowds, or the convincing yourself that Arthur was a mere afterthought. But truth be told, you ran from the outlaw life, Arthur never left. You loved Lee, you did, you didn't regret dating him, you simply dreamed of bypassing all this heartache.

When you finally arrived back at the store, Arthur had already left. You walked up the rickety old steps onto the top floor, remembering how it felt when Lee asked you out all those months ago. It was bittersweet.

But first you would sleep, somehow all that talking kept you awake, when in truth you were still bonetired. You were sure Lee was tired too. So much had happened in the last few days, yet it still felt so far away.

You went into the bathroom with a fresh change of clothes and stared into the mirror, examining each bandage and bruise. It was incredibly foolish and impulsive to leave like that. That wolf could have easily killed you.

When you changed and left the bathroom, you nearly collapsed into the bed, crawling over to your side. Lee sat on the edge of the bed facing away from you, his hands intertwined in his lap, in deep thought. You stared at him for a few moments before he sighed and fell back into the bed next to you.