Arthur Morgan x Reader

One

"Ginny!", you shouted up the stairs that led to the door of your private apartment. "It's almost noon. Get your ass up and dressed."

Nobody answered.

A deep sigh escaped you.

This wasn't the first time that you were served the cold shoulder treatment.

Every time you wanted something or important things came up, Ginny decided to either play the sick and dying child or disappeared to dust.

It was like this for weeks now and it slowly started to drain the energy from you.

And patience.
Lots and lots of patience.

Maybe it was the age.
Teenagers.

Yet again, eleven wasn't really a teenager. It was just the preparation like the staircase that lead straight down to hell.

"Ginny!", one foot was already on the first step of the stairs as the sound of the door opening reached your ears.

"I'm up!", the sleepy voice of a boy said. "Just gimme a minute."

You rolled your eyes.

"You've had one too many minutes, young man. Are you dressed?"

You stretched your neck to see if you could spot something.

But Ginny was a sly little fella and knew exactly how to stand so that the door was hiding him.

"I'll be quick.", he said and wanted to disappear again.

You called him back with a whistle.

His head popped out of the door.

He wasn't dressed.

You could tell by the look of his tired eyes and the messy hair that he had just fallen out of bed.

It was the same shade of (H/C) that also adored your head.

His eyes were different than yours though, darker and less sharp.

He had always been more curious than you, but a bit less brave as well. He watched from afar and avoided people. Things had to happen before he acted on them.

You, on the other hand, never gave a fuck. Whenever there was something out of the ordinary you let it go past you.

There were more important things in your life than chase after thoughts and the unknown.

Again, you couldn't help but sigh.

"I'll loose it with you one time.", you mumbled and walked up the stairs to greet him with two fingers flicked against his forehead. "We were supposed to be in church hours ago. Now we can only go and pray by ourselves."

Annoyed, Ginny frowned, stepped back and let you enter the apartment above the bar.

You had bought the towns saloon a few years back. The upper rooms had always been and remained work rooms for prostitutes.

But right under the roof had been so much wasted space that you had commissioned for it to be remodelled into some sort of an apartment.

Now there was enough space to host a kitchen, a living area and two bedrooms, both including bathrooms with tubs.

It was a comfortable way of life, especially in the west.

The furniture wasn't bad either. Real craftsmanship. It showed that you weren't poor, but it wasn't showing off.

Over the past years, town had grown and wealthier people had joined the bunch. Now, the saloon had turned into a meeting place for the filthy rich.

Not that you complained, they all had money to burn and it wandered right into your pockets.
It was enough to feed two mouths and to give Ginny a few extra opportunities that you didn't had at his age.

Rubbing the space against which you had flicked your fingers, Ginny closed the door behind you and sat down at the kitchen table.

That was one thing you had taught him as soon as he had started to walk.

He always needed to make sure the doors were locked.

It wasn't just to keep his secrets secret but also to stay safe.

Robberies were nothing rare.

Especially not for someone who owned a casino right underneath a bar.

"Why do you want to go to church all the time?", he asked and snatched an apple from the fruit bowl on the gable. "You hate that fucker anyways..."

"Ginny!", you scolded him. "Who taught you those words?"

He gave you a glance from the side.

"You?"

A tsk escaped you.

"Go wash your mouth out with soap."

Immediately, his face fell.

"No! No, please! Last time I did that I swallowed some of the soap and burped bubbles all day long."

The hint of a grin tugged at the edges of your mouth.

"Then don't swallow this time.", you managed to press out and shooed him away.

With his head low he turned on his heel and disappeared to do as he was told.

Ginny was a good kid, that's one thing you had always appreciated about him. He didn't cause a lot of trouble besides stealing some eggs from the farmer next door every now and then.

Poor little thing never succeeded in it though. He was a lousy thief, too honest and too clumsy on his feet.

A soft expression of disappointment suddenly crossed your face.

Besides everything good, he was still a lot of work. He was a child with needs and wants and sometimes you struggles to fulfil the role of a parent.

Even though you loved him, he had taken some of your freedom. You loved him, but his existence made you realise that it wasn't about you anymore.

As someone who had been a spoiled little shit growing up, you had struggled with that realisation for a long time.

But you wouldn't treat him for the world.

With lowered eyes you crossed your arms and looked out the window.

"You really left me here with a child...", you mumbled and chewed on the inside of your cheek. "Why couldn't you just be reasonable for once?"

Steps sounded behind you.

Torn from your thoughts, you put on a smile and threw a glance over your shoulder.

Ginny offered you a vest.

"Can I get some help?", he asked and stretched his arms so that you'd help him into it. "It's hard to put on alone."

You eyed the price of brown fabric for a moment.

"I'll get you a new one.", you fixed the edges of his hair. "This one's too small anyways."