Snake Skin | John Marston

By 1907, The Year Of Future

Armadillo did not work for the pair no matter how hard they tried. The hot, dried-out side of New Austin wasn't treating them as well as Y/N hoped it would. The law stepped down from hunting the rest of the Van Der Linde gang and gave the outlaws a chance to rehabilitate themselves. As long as they behaved, they were somewhat safe.

John Marston and Y/N Colter were true outlaws, the last of their kind. The thought of them giving into ordinary life was insane yet it crossed their minds every night.

When the two made enough money, they took a huge loan and bought a nice piece of land right outside of Blackwater - Beechers Hope. That was their new start.

Y/N was an excellent hunter and it paid, John overworked himself at a farm for the cash. Through thick and thin they stayed together and no matter how bad their disagreements got, they always fell asleep in each other's arms.

Eventually, John reconnected with Uncle and Charles Smith. Those two helped John build up his farm, one building at a time. They had the dreams, and they had the future but the money was draining at a fast pace.

Beechers Hope looked like a property worth robbing and Y/N teased John about it every day.

After noontime, Y/N rode back into the ranch on her mount and headed straight for the house. She hitched the horse and walked through the house into the backyard where John was. He decided it was time to fix that table Y/N complained about. She smiled when she saw him working hard, "Hey, rancher!"

John turned around and got up from the ground, "Hey, you're back."

"You was hoping I was gone for good, huh?" Y/N joked.

"Maybe you were back to your old ways, Ma'am."

"I was in Blackwater, John. I saw the doctor about my sickness."

"And?" John asked as he came closer, clearly anticipating her to continue.

"I'm pregnant, John Marston..."

"What?" the man asked in shock.

"I'm pregna-"

"No, no. I heard you the first time, I'm just..."

"Then a blind lady near the saloon told me I've got a girl," the woman scoffed in amusement.

John's eyes grew wider and he approached Y/N to grab her hands into his, "We. We got a girl..."

"John..." she spoke softly. He leaned in and kissed her cheek. She closed her eyes and smiled. That was the normal life they dreamt about for a couple of years. And that was only the start.

"We can't listen to blind ladies, though. They can't see at all so what makes you so sure they can see what's inside of you?" John laughed as he pointed to Y/N's stomach.

"You're right," Y/N chuckled along. "Have you eaten?"

John shook his head and let go of her hands.

"I don't know about you but I'm hungry so I'll be in the kitchen. Come by when you're feeling it."

"Yes, Ma'am," John nodded and got back to fixing the table. Y/N stepped back into the house and noticed Uncle sitting on a chair.

"You still here?" Y/N asked in a sarcastic manner.

"I ain't got nowhere to go, Y/N. You ain't gonna kick out a sick old man, are you?"

"You forgot to add useless."

"Hey! I'll let you know I was sharp back in the day," the old man added as he pointed his finger up.

"Weren't we all?" Y/N joked. They both laughed about it.

Y/N started cooking something in the kitchen and Uncle asked her, "Did you see a doctor as I told you?"

Y/N nodded and focused on preparing the meal.

"So what he say?"

"He said I'm pregnant. Soon enough I'll start showing and my life will get only harder."

"Can't get much harder than this, living with John Marston must be a nightmare. Look at what he's got you doing, Y/N! Cooking! Never in my life have I seen a widely wanted outlaw such as yourself cooking for a man."

Y/N laughed, "...yeah. If it was still back then and he told me to go cook his meal, I would've stabbed him in the gut,"

"And then you'll be taking care of his kid," Uncle added.

"That I never imagined, old man," the woman nodded as she proceeded to cook in the kitchen. Uncle walked back to his seat and in a matter of 20 minutes, Y/N was done with the meal. John joined them right on time, he walked back into the house with the table in his grasp. Y/N saw him and nodded. She watched as her lover placed the table back where it belonged and took a seat next to Uncle.

"Alright," Y/N spoke as she placed the hot pot in the middle of the table. "Help yourselves, boys."

After the meal they shared, Uncle went out to do work but Y/N and John stayed in. The pair sat on the couch and chatted.

"That baby has not left my mind ever since you told me, Y/N. If all those years ago somebody told me hey look at that angry woman, she'll be carrying your child in the future I'd call them a crazy bastard," John explained as he pointed his finger at the woman to help her imagine the scenario that played out in his head.

Y/N huffed in amusement, "Angry? I'm not...but you've been through this...with Abigail, I mean."

"That was different. Abigail was a working girl when she joined us and when Jack was born...I ran from the gang for a whole year, I convinced myself he wasn't mine. I was a fool, Y/N, but this is different. It happened because, well, it was supposed to happen."

"You've always said that we met for a reason. It was fate, right?" Y/N spoke softly as she leaned her head on John's shoulder.

"I just hope they're okay. I hope they're doing as good as we are," John paused and looked at Y/N. "But ain't you nervous?"

"Oh, John, you have no idea. I'm terrified. There is a living being inside of me...I heard some women die at childbirth..."

"My mother, actually, died giving birth to me. She was a prostitute and my dad was her, well, I don't know," John explained and watched the woman's expression turn gloomy.

"I'm sorry, John. I didn't know."

"It ain't something I brag about, 'course you were clueless. I've always wanted to ask - why did you want to move to Armadillo so badly? When we ran with the gang, you always talked about it."

Y/N sighed, "Armadillo is old, dusty, hot and there's that sickness still going around. Nobody would expect me to go to a place of a pandemic. I also thought about fleeing to Mexico or even Europe."

"The law ain't after us now. We can even take a trip," John added.

"Like them rich folk. You a rich folk now, John?" she teased him.

"I'm sorry we couldn't stay in Armadillo, darlin'," John apologized and looked outside the window.

"Doesn't matter. We're free now," Y/N whispered as she caressed John's scar. He looked her in the eyes and leaned in for a kiss. She accepted him and they shared a sweet lovers' moment.