Arthur Morgan ☆ ONE-SHOTS ☆ RDR2

☆ What If We Could ☆

Water swished inside the tin bucket, soap foam moving from side to side like shallow wafing waves. (Y/n) could feel the running water drizzle down her hands and the sound of droplets splashing into the water.

   It was a hot day; the girls thought it would be the perfect opportunity to do laundry and use the sun's heat to neatly dry the clothes. Besides, most of the Van der Linde Gang stayed at camp, filling out chores and whatever else they hadn't had the time to do.

   (Y/n) twisted the rags in her hands, turning her knuckles white against her skin. While she worked, not only did she hear the sound of the water, but the busy talk of the camp grounds. Right next to her, Tilly and Karen giggled and chatted. There was never a moment of silence between them two, but it was fine by (Y/n); she enjoyed listening to their conversations.

   Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw him. Arthur Morgan, the handyman of the gang, carrying out chores around camp. With a keen eye, (Y/n) watched him carefully carry the bales of hay from the wagon to the horses as well as carry over several tin-buckets of water to them. He then started to brush their short, velvety coats, feeding them carrots and oatcakes in between.

   (Y/n) smiled lightly to herself as she watched, wringing the cloth over her own bucket of water and submerging another from the pile of laundry. It was as if she was mesmerized and felt the urge to stop what she was doing and walk to him, start a conversation and never get back to her work.

   Then, Arthur paused and turned his head to meet her gaze, directly looking into her eyes without hesitance. (Y/n) could feel her cheeks burn in embarrassment, until she saw the smile grow upon his face just by the sight of her. He tipped the rim of his hat and waved to give a friendly 'hello,' sending butterflies towards her way.

  Quickly, (Y/n) looked down into the water in front of her. In her reflection, she could see her messy hair friz around the frame of her face. She could only imagine what Arthur thought of her appearance.

   The rest of the day, she avoided looking at him as she was instructed. Dutch felt the two were growing too close for his liking and asked them to focus on doing their respective responsibilities separately. Usually, before the order, Arthur and (Y/n) would go off on their own, hunting and scavenging for wild herbs and berries to bring back to camp. These trips would last for days and maybe a little over a week since they took their time to spend for themselves.

   But Dutch began questioning their loyalty after noticing how often they left to run errands on their own. To prevent the worst, Arthur and (Y/n) agreed that they would remain apart but steal glances of one another every chance they got. They had also planned an hour they could have free to themselves every week when the entire camp fell asleep.

   Fortunately, that night was later on in the early hours of the morning. It was one of the only things either one of them look forward to these days, especially after observing the conflict rise within the gang between Hosea and Dutch with Micah. The gang just wasn't the same as it used to be, and Arthur and (Y/n) spent their nights talking about it more and more.

   So, later that very night when not a soul was awake in the camp, Arthur sneaked away into the thicket of the trees and brush to look for (Y/n). "(Y/n), are you here?" He asked, squatting close to the ground as he menuvered around the rocks and tall weeds on the ground. "You there, sweet heart?"

    "Yes, over here, Arthur," called (Y/n) behind the biggest tree. Once Arthur caught sight of the woman, he smiled in relief and held her in a close embrace. Without another word, she cupped his face and brought it close into a kiss. It deepened until the two broke apart apart breathe and speak.

    "I miss this," said Arthur, looking into her eyes as the moon's light seeped through the leaves of the trees above them. They looked like two crooks, scheming in the shadows for their net move. Arthur continued as he rubbed her cheek with his thumb. "I miss when we could just be together whenever, out there too, whenever."

   "I'm sure Dutch will change his mind—"

   "No, he won't," Arthur said sternly. "I know him, I do. He's... he's slipping away and everyone can see it, (Y/n)." He shook his head and backed away to sit on the cut down log behind them. "I think we need to start thinking... make a 'plan' as Dutch would say."

   (Y/n) furrowed her brows and followed Arthur to the log and sat beside him. "I thought that before, but I didn't think you would agree."

   "I didn't think that..." he sighed and rubbed his head. "Well, at least, I didn't want to think that. I mean, Dutch basically raised me since I was a boy. He's my father figure growin' up and now it's like he's... he's a different person. He's gone."

   It was quiet for a moment. Neither one of them wanted to speak and so they held each other's hands, (Y/n)'s head resting on his shoulder while he used his arm to hug her closely and keep warm. Though she didn't say it outright like he did before, she too missed it.

    "Then let's run away," she said, causing Arthur to shift his attention to her.

   "Do you mean it?"

    "Yes, I do," she then turned to face him, make direct eye contact and follow through. "We should just get out of here, run away and never look back. You said it yourself; this place is falling apart." She reached over and pulled Arthur close by the material of his cotton buttonip shirt. "Let's sneak off and find a train, camp on the side of the roads if we have to..."

   Arthur nodded and held her close once more, resting his head over hers. "Okay, we will then. We're getting out of here... tonight."

   (Y/n) pulled back and looked at him with wide eyes. "Tonight? You mean it, right now?" Though it was dark and hard to see rightly, she could make out the smile on his face.

   "Yes, right now, sweet heart," he lightly kissed her and then stood up, pulling her up with him. "Let's hurry up and pack our things, just the important stuff, and leave."

   And that's what they did. With one quick nod, (Y/n) followed Arthur back to camp with their hands intertwined the whole way back. The two of them did as they planned, grabbing the essentials and meeting up where Arthur's horse stood.

Arthur took her things and hitched it onto the horse before carefully helping her onto the saddle. Without wasting time, he hopped onto the saddle himself and they were off.

    As planned before, neither one of them looked back and sped along the dirt path to a new future. Eventually they found a plot of land in Tall Trees near the Great Plains and used whatever money Arthur had saved and earned through his bounties and heists. There, they knew Dutch and most of the gang would never be able to find them.

Of course, Arthur was a wanted man in those parts, but he fulfilled a favor with the local sheriff and proved he was a reformed man. He ended up taking a few extra bounty jobs before settling down with (Y/n).

    As for the camp the next morning after they had left in the night, Dutch threw a fit. Since Arthur left, he had no one left to do his dirty work, leaving him in ruins and frustrations with everyone he came into contact with. Eventually, John followed Arthur and (Y/n)'s example and left the next week over with his wife Abigail and his son Jack.

Hosea caught them leaving in the night, but he promised he wouldn't say a word to Dutch or the rest of the gang and, instead, encouraged that they leave. Infact, the next week after that, Hosea decided to leave the gang himself and traveled to where John said he was planning to go.

Luckily, John and Hosea had the same idea and ran into Arthur and (Y/n) in Tall Trees. From there on out, they formed their own personal family and built a lasting relationship with the local townspeople and community.

    As it turns out, running away was the best plan they had— better than what Dutch could ever think of.

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A/N

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     -S0UP66