After a long day, all Arthur wants to do is shut out the world. When you notice his stress you decide Arthur needs to be treated to a relaxing night away from camp. 2,035 words.
The gang has just relocated camp to an area called horseshoe overlook. It's nice to be out of the freezing temperatures of Colter. Although everyone is in higher hopes, food is becoming scarce. This morning, Dutch had sent Arthur hunting so early that you hadn't even woken up yet. Exiting yours and Arthur's shared tent after getting ready, you decide to busy yourself by helping Tilly with laundry.
As the day passed, you kept busy with odd chores around camp like you do most days. Once 4 o'clock rolled around you begin to wonder what could be taking Arthur so long. You try not to worry be usually he's back at about noon, especially if he leaves that early.
Pushing those thoughts to the back of your mind, you sit down at the table with a bowl of stew. As you finish your food and chat with the other women, you hear a voice from the entrance of camp. "Who's there!" you hear Bill shout. A familiar voice then barks back, "Arthur, dumbass!" You can't help but smirk at his response. Standing up to greet him, you smooth out your long skirt. As you approach him you see he's covered in dirt and the blood of the deer that hangs over his shoulder. "Arthur," you say, greeting him. As he walks past you, it's almost as if he doesn't notice you.
You follow him at a distance and watch as he lugs the deer across camp. Once he reaches Pearsons butcher table, he slams the carcass down and huffs away into your tent. You walk toward the tent and peer inside through the crack. He stands in the middle of the canvas walled room and drags his hands over his face and lets out a loud sigh. "Arthur?" you call quietly through the flaps. "Can I come in?" you ask, hoping for yes as a response. You hear another huff before he pulls the canvas aside and and meets your eyes.
Once he lets you in he walks over to the cot and sits down heavily. A lantern illuminates the small space and allows you to notice the scrapes he adorns across his face and the exposed parts of his arms. "Arthur, what happened?" you ask, slightly concerned. You seat yourself next to him on the cot before he begins to speak. "Damn horse bucked me off right on the side of a hill," he grunts out as he dusts his sleeves off, trying to remove the caked on dirt. You stifle a laugh, luckily he doesn't seem to notice. "All these scratches are from rolling down a hill?" you respond, a little confused. "The hill lead right into a bunch of thorn bushes. It wasn't exactly the smoothest hill either," he adds. He hangs his head as he begins to remove his boots.
As he pulls his boots off you stop him. "How about we go into town and get you a bath. You've been working real hard lately," you say to him in a gentle tone. "No, no, it's fine, I just-," you cut him off before he continues to protest. "Put your boots back on," you tell him in an assertive tone. He groans before putting his boots back on. He decides not to argue with you since you're too stubborn to be told no the majority of the time.
Exiting the tent, Arthur heads towards the hitching post to saddle up his horse. You quickly grab the leather luggage bag that sits in the corner of your tent. You fill it with your linen chemise, an extra dress, a change of clothes for Arthur, and his spare union suit. Arthur sighs as he sees you exit the tent with the bag, knowing you were going to make him stay in the hotel. He knows how deeply you care for but he can't help but feel guilty when you treat him this well.
You mount the back of his horse with the bag and wrap you arms around his waist. You can't help but feel how tense his muscles are as you lean against him back. The ride took slightly longer than usual due to the fact that Arthur doesn't like to go very fast when you ride with him. You've told him a million times you will be fine but he doesn't want you to fall and get hurt.
As you ride along the road, you spot the town of Valentine. Although it's not very pretty and it's usually disgusting , you always thought it had a sort of strange charm to it. As the two of you arrive at the hotel, Arthur hops down from the horse and offers a hand to help you down. One thing you always admired about him is that no matter how tense he was, he was always a gentleman to you. After he hitches his horse the two of you walk inside.
Upon entering the hotel owner greets the two of you kindly. "Welcome, how can I help you fine folks," he says. "A room and a bath please," you reply with a smile while slipping him a few dollars. "First room down the hall to the right," the owner says as he hands you the key. You take Arthur by the arm and walk with him to the room. You set the bag on the bed and grab Arthur's clothes before walking back over to Arthur who is standing by the door. "C'mon then, the baths not gonna come to you," you say, cracking a smile. Arthur huffs a laugh through his nose and follows you across the hall to the bath.
When you get into the room, you're immediately greeted by the strong scent and warmth it holds. You set his clothes down on the small table in the corner while he undresses. Red creeps onto your cheeks as he removes his clothing revealing his toned body that's dusted with blonde hairs. Although you've seen him like this many times, it never fails to make you blush.
Once he's bare, he steps into the warm water and sinks down into it slowly. A deep sigh falls from his lips as the warmth envelops his body. He relaxes his body slightly and rest his head against the towel that hangs over the edge of the tub. With his eyes closed, he speaks to you. "This feels real nice," he admits. You hum an mhm before sitting on the stool next to him. You reach out to his body and run your hands along his chest. His eyes open and meet with yours as he flushes a shade of pink. "Sit up," you say to him and he obliges. You shift the stool to the area behind him and press your hands to his shoulders. He lets out a deep breath at the contact. Using your thumbs, you begin to work the tense muscles. "You're really tense sweetheart," you tell him. "I know," he replies.
You continue to massage him, now working your hands down to his lower back. He occasionally groans when you hit a particularly sore spot, causing you to grin. Once you're done massaging his back, you pull his shoulders signaling him to lean against the tub. Once he leans back, you bend forward to press a kiss to his check which makes him smile. You're happy to see he's in a slightly better mood now that he's alone with you. As you sit back up, you grab a handful of water and let it fall over Arthur's hair. He hums quietly in pleasure as you massage his scalp with your nimble fingers. He feels as if he could melt under your touch. He could never deny the affect you have on him.
As you wash his hair he's silent but suddenly speaks up. "Ya know, you've been working real hard too," he says to you. "What?" you ask him, confused by his sudden statement. "Why don't you get in with me," he turns his face to you with a smirk playing on his lips, "I'm sure it would feel nice," he finishes. "I don't know, I don't want to-," you start to say before he interrupts you, "Get in." You sigh as you release your hands from his hair and stand up to get undressed. He's right. You've been working hard recently and a warm bath doesn't sound half bad at the moment.
You can feel his eyes watching you as you strip your clothing off. You feel rather vulnerable as the air hits your bare skin. As you approach the tub Arthur whistles at you cause you to slap his arm playfully and smirk at him. You step into the tub and descend into the water. You're sat with your back to Arthur. He reaches out and wraps his strong arms around your waist and pulls you towards him. Your body is at ease as you sit surrounded by warm water and Arthur's comforting body.
Arthur sits and holds you for a little before he takes his hands to your hair and begins to unravel the braid that it's in. His large calloused finger are always surprisingly gentle with your hair. Your long y/h/c locks flow down your back. You lean into him further as he runs his wet hands through your hair. It feels so nice to be taken care of, you could sit like this for hours. He washes his hair as you begin to massage his legs, focusing on his calves. His hands rub up and down your arms and legs getting you nice and clean and you do the same for him.
The water begins to get cold and Arthur stands up and pulls you up with him. You both step out of the tub into the now cold air of the room. He grabs the towels sat across from you and wraps you in one before drying himself. Once he's dry he grabs his clothes off of table and looks at you. "Ready?" he asks you. "What are you talking about?" You respond. "Come here," he says while reaching out for your hand. You walk over to him and he grabs you by the wrist and peers out the door. You're about to ask him what he's doing again before he pulls you by the arm and runs to your room.
He pulls you inside the room quickly and shuts the door and locks it. You both look at each other and start to laugh. "You're such a strange man," you joke with him. He pulls your towel wrapped body to his in a gentle hug. "You know that means you're in love with a strange man," he says in the same playful manner. "I suppose it does," you finish. You're glad he's relaxed now and back to his usual self. He'd never let anyone but you see this side of him and it's something you're very grateful for.
It's beginning to get dark now. The two of you must have been in the bath for quite sometime. Arthur puts on his union suit and you join him in the bed after pulling on chemise. Laying next to him, you roll over and lay yourself against his side. You drape your hands over his chest and bury your head under his arm. He adjusts as you get comfy, wrapping his arm around your back as you lay pressed to him. His other had strokes the back of your hair and he looks down at you. "How did I get so lucky to deserve you, Y/n," he says, honestly. "I'm not sure what I did to deserve you either," you reply.
He presses a gentle to kiss to your forehead and continues to gently stroke your hair. He notices that you're beginning to fall asleep and pulls the blanket up over the both of you. He relishes in the feeling of your body resting against his. Before he knows it he's been lulled to sleep soon after you.
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If you made it this far, thank you for reading! This is my first time writing something like this and I had a lot of fun. I love a good, tough guy melts for his lover, story.
Requests are open!