Arthur Morgan ☆ ONE-SHOTS ☆ RDR2

☆ Camp Fire on a Cold Night ☆

The night air sent chills down everyone's spine at camp. To keep warm, the Van der Linde gang gathered around the fire.

Karen, Mary-beth, and Tilly stayed huddled together under a blanket while Sean snuggled under his own, and (Y/n) sat there, hugging her knees as Javier played his guitar. Its strings played the most lovely music, soft and lulling; perfect for the day's closing.

"It's so damn freezing," remarked (Y/n), her teeth chattering as she spoke. She rubbed her arms as she held her knees close in an attempt to keep warm. She then looked over to the girls all bundled together under the same blanket from behind the fire.

The three of them were all snug as a bug, warm and unbothered by the cold. They giggled and talked amongst themselves until Tilly caught sight of (Y/n) through the dancing flames.

"Oh, (Y/n), we're sorry," said Tilly. She shook her head in sympathy, wishing she could do something to shield (Y/n) from the cold.

Mary-beth cut her giggling short; her attention instantly moved to (Y/n). "Yeah, we're sorry, (Y/n). If there were any more room under this blanket, we'd invite you over in a heart beat!" Her eyebrows furrowed and her smile quickly turned to a grimacing frown.

Karen chuckled. "I mean, Sean probably has some extra blanket to spare."

"Oi, you're more than welcome to come join me under my blanket, I don't mind!" Said Sean, flapping a blanketed arm over to Karen.

She snickered and pushed him away. "Get away from me, you Irish bastard!" Karen joked. (Y/n), Tilly, and Mary-beth exchanged looks; it was obvious Karen liked Sean, but she was too stubborn to admit it.

"Fine, suit yourself!" Cried Sean, wrapping himself with the blanket once more.

(Y/n) sighed and shook her head. At least she had a good laugh even if she was freezing. She tightened her grip against her legs, hoping it would help maintain warmth. Then, her attention moved elsewhere after hearing the grass rustling behind her.

"Shit, I think this might be the coldest night we've had yet," said Arthur, dragging his boots along the camp fire before plopping down to sit beside (Y/n). He clicked his tongue and rubbed his hands against his jacket's sleeves.

(Y/n) looked to her side to see the man next to her. She took note of his light brown hair, draping over his features. 'It's been a while since he's gone into town for a haircut, huh?' She thought. But, the longer she looked, the more (Y/n) felt her heart thump.

Nevertheless, she allowed her gaze to linger on him. As of late, (Y/n) accepted that she may be developing a kind of affection towards Arthur, though she did try to suppress the feeling. Then, her thought were suddenly interrupted at the sound of voice.

"Aren't you cold like that?" Asked Arthur. He nudged (Y/n)'s arm after catching her in a daze. "You ain't got a jacket or nothin' ?"

"Oh, uh, about that," she stuttered, rubbing her shoulder out of nervousness. "I had one, but I gave it to Jack. I overheard Abigail getting on to him about losing his, so I went ahead and let him have mine." (Y/n) smiled weakly as she recalled the look on little Jackie's face as he happily accepted her jacket.

Arthur nodded, looking into the fire and hearing it crackle afainst the breaking wooden logs. "Well, that's awfully generous of you," he said, looking back to her direction. "But, (Y/n), you didn't have to go on and do that. If I had known, I'd gladly would've found him another jacket to keep 'em warm."

(Y/n) huffed, making a puff of cold air to form a small cloud. "Yeah, well, he needed something to keep him warm now, not later." She kicked the dirt under her shoe. "Besides, couldn't stand to see the poor kid freeze."

He chuckled to himself and poked (Y/n)'s red nose, causing her to flinch. Arthur's smile grew and, while shaking his head, he said, "Yeah, I wouldn't want to see 'em freeze neither, but look at you; your nose is numb and red and I can hear your teeth chatterin'!"

"Ugh, well, what can you do?" She sighed as she ram her hand through her hair. "I got a fire and that's good enough for now." (Y/n) decided to bury her head into her folded arms, clearly accepting her situation.

"Sure it is," Arthur sarcastically remarked. He rolled his eyes and began to take off his coat. Without warning, he threw it over (Y/n).

"Huh- wait, Arthur, no- " she said, snapping her head to the man beside her in bewilderment.

He held up his hands in surrender. "Hey, you need it more than me. Besides, wouldn't want to see you, a tiny li'l thing, freeze, right?" The half-slanted smile he gave made (Y/n)'s heart melt.

She tried to reply, but no immediate words came out her mouth. "Well, um, thank you," she said, pulling the coat closer to her form. "But, what about you? I know you're cold too, don't lie." (Y/n) looked at him knowingly, waiting to hear his answer.

But, Arthur shrugged. "Yeah, can't lie about that, I suppose. But, what can you do?" He said, repeating (Y/n)'s words again.

Just then, (Y/n) realized how much closer he sat. She could feel the heat rushing to her face as she paused to look at him. Without a second thought, she cleared her thought and scooted closer to huddle with Arthur, leaning her head onto his shoulder. "Then come 'ere," she said with a pout. "It's warmer when we're together."

Arthur smiled and wrapped his arm around (Y/n) to cuddle a little closer. "Hm, I reckon so," he said, willingly wrapping his other arm around into a hug. "This way makes us even warmer, I think."

He then rested his head over her shoulder and ceased the conversation. Arthur closed his eyes while (Y/n) looked on the fire's embers float through the air like a flurry of snow.

Without either of them realizing, Tilly, Mary-beth, and Karen looked at the two with smirks and soft giggles. Just like how everyone knew Karen and Sean were fond of one another, everyone had also figured how Arthur and (Y/n) were particularly affectionate, as well.

It was only a matter of time before they openly accepted their feelings. But, until then, Arthur and (Y/n) enjoyed their night huddled by the fire with Javier's sweet guitar playing in the background.