Happy Trails

Imaginary (Arthur Morgan)

You really had to be a special case.

Sometimes, you got a little bold with your flirting, knowing that Arthur might not look at you as anything but a troublesome little sibling. When you were alone is when you were boldest, and if it really bothered him, you figured he'd start avoiding being alone with you, but if anything, your alone time together seemed to increase.

Your favorite thing to do was run your hand across his cheek, almost caressing it but disguising it as a more playful action by pinching it at the end (he doesn't seem to mind, but if the pinch is too rough, he does give you a look). You loved the feeling of his scruff, telling him on more than one occasion how disappointed you were every time he wore the clean-shaven look instead. You also had a preference in haircut on him, slightly long but not too long; when it started to get long you'd playfully come up from behind him, twirling a few strands of his hair and asking him if he personally wanted you to give him a haircut (with you adding you knew the kind the suited him just right).

You really couldn't be anymore obvious but it's not as though you spoke directly to him about whatever it is you had for him, and you think he liked that just fine; it was easier to deal with your imagination, the fake Arthur in your head that saw all these signs and secretly had a fire burning inside him that had him wanting you just as bad as you wanted him. Real Arthur was unreadable, though he never pulled away from your touch, even seeming to lean into when you caught him off-guard. You wonder if that's just your imagination too, thinkin' Arthur was just too nice to you for your own good because he didn't want to needlessly hurt your feelings.

You were too stuck in your fantasies though, enough so that Arthur thought you were likely infatuated with an imaginary him that didn't exist. He didn't see the draw to wanting him, what would attract someone like you to someone like him, and he didn't take your flirting too seriously; clearly, you had a different image of what your relationship could be in your head, instead of thinking of the reality of it all. He was a man with issues, ones that he couldn't burden you with, but it doesn't mean he didn't like to indulge in a fantasy or two involving you himself.

Soon enough, the reality would have to hit you both: you were idiots in love.