Red Dead Redemption 2 Character X Reader Inserts/preferences

Sorry (John Marston X Reader)

"I'm pretty sure you just saved our skins back there. Ain't no need for apologizin'." He assured, and I nodded, my smile returning at the sound of his laugh.

"Well... I'm sorry for takin' you by surprise with it anyway." I said, mounting up shortly after he did. We walked our horses back onto the main road, and began the long haul back to camp.

"You know, it weren't a bad surprise." He spoke up after awhile of riding in silence, and I nearly fell off my horse at the sound of his words.

"Ah, you don't mean that." I mumbled, chuckling in a dejected manner.

"How do you figure?" He asked, and the sound of Old Boy's hooves stopped as John brought him to a halt in the middle of the street.

"What do you mean?" I asked, stopping my horse as well, and moving her to the side of the road.

"In the nine years we've know each other, have I ever once lied to ya?" He asked, and I felt my face steadily growing warmer.

"No... no, not once." I said without even a hint of hesitation. It was the truth after all. No matter what, he had always made it a point to be completely honest with me.

And it was that fact that had my heart threatening to beat itself straight out of my chest.

The rest of the ride home was in complete silence, and I couldn't help but be thankful for the clouds in the night sky that blocked out the moonlight. Because without the cloudiness, John would surely see that my face was as red as a tomato.

"We should probably make camp. I don't like the look of those clouds..." John called back to me. As though on cue, a flash of thunder rolled across the sky, lighting up the thick grey clouds from within.

"I'm with you on that one." I said as we quickly moved our horses off the road and into the more dense area of woods where there was more tree coverage.

"I'll need to get the fire going before the rain starts, so you go ahead and pitch the tents." He said, and I nodded before reaching back onto my saddle and realizing that I had left my own tent back at camp.

"What's the problem?" John asked, already managing to get a small ember started.

"I didn't think I'd need my tent..." I admitted, silently cursing myself for being unprepared.

"Then we'll share mine. Just... hurry up and get it set up, would ya? I'm startin' to feel raindrops over here." He said, sounding slightly irritated.

"Right... sorry..." I mumbled, sliding off of the back of my horse and approaching Old Boy to retrieve John's tent.

I managed to get the tent set up fairly quickly, and grabbed our bed rolls and blankets from the horses as well before tossing them inside. By the time I had finished all that, John had a roaring fire going, burning hot with a bit of animal fat, and a few hardy chunks of rabbit roasting and crackling over the fire.

As the rain started coming down, the thick canopy above us that was provided by the trees kept most of the rain off, and the small camp actually felt cozy.

"You think Micah managed to get away?" I asked, trying to make polite conversation to break the awkward silence between the two of us.

"I couldn't care less what happens to that bastard. After the bullshit he put us through today, he'd better hope I don't see him again for awhile." He said, resting his back against a tree and propping his arm up on his leg.

"Micah's... I mean, sure he's done some crazy things since he's been with the gang, but... he has his good qualities too." I said, not feeling all too confident with my words.

John simply gave me the 'you're insane' look, and rested his head back against the tree.

"I'll never understand how *you* of all people, became an outlaw." He said, and I couldn't help but feel somewhat offended.

"And what the hell's that supposed to mean?" I demanded,  and John snapped his head back up to look at me as I raised my voice.

"Don't take it like that. All I meant was... well, you're... too considerate." He said, taking a moment to choose his words carefully.

"Considerate..." I repeated the word, listening as it echoed off of the trees around us.

"Outlaws don't care about how others feel. We don't take time to worry if what we're doing in right or wrong. We're in it for the score. But you... you're just... too nice." He said, his eyes sliding shut as his mind seemed to drift off.

"Oh..." My voice was small, barely a whisper as I stood from my place beside the fire and turned towards the tent.

"I'm sorry..." I mumbled, the words slipping from my mouth before I could stop them.

"Godammit..." John mumbled, as I heard him shuffle ever so slightly. Before I could completely turn around to see what he was doing, he had already stood and had me pinned against the nearest tree.

"John-" I started, but he quickly cut me off.

"I don't want to hear you say that again..." He said, his eyes dark and his tone serious.

"You don't have a damn thing to be sorry for. It weren't your fault you forgot your tent, it ain't your fault that you're as nice as a person as you are, and..." He paused, his expression softening in the slightest as he realized the familiar osition he'd put us in.

"And... I'd... really like to kiss you again..." He said, his skin now shimmering slightly from the thin coat of rainwater that had trickled down through the branches.

I had to take a moment to be certain he had really just said what he did. All I could do in that moment was nod. It was the slightest of nods, but the moment he noticed it, his lips pressed against mine, roughly and full of need as his hands cupped my jaw and pulled me even closer.

I had forgotten to breath at first, but finally remembered to inhale through my nose as I melted into the kiss, my arms draping around his neck to pull him closer as my head tilted to the side. Just before pulling away, he lightly bit down on my bottom lip, and I had to press my back against the tree to keep myself steady as my head spun.

His eyes moved back and forth between mine before one of his rare genuine smiles emerged, making my heart flutter. He then rested his forehead against mine, and I was certain that he could hear my heart thudding against my chest with how close he was.

"Truth is, I'm the one that's sorry." He said after a moment of silence.

"You? What for?" I asked, surprised by his words as he pulled away from me.

"For being too much of an idiot to tell you that I've... been in love with you since the day we met." He admitted, only hesitating for a moment to take a breath.

A smile spread across my face that I no longer bothered to try to keep hidden.

"John Marston... you don't have a damn thing to be sorry for either." I said, as the rain fell all around us, drowning out the rest of the world. All that was left were the two of us, and no more aplogies.