Dutch van der Linde X Female Reader
Hosea Matthews X Female Reader
Summary: The reader is a loyal member of the gang before and during the Blackwater robbery, but she gets caught by the law and they lose track of her. Once they find out she's expected to be hung in a nearby town, they go and rescue her and bring her back to safety. They both end up confessing their attraction, but she decides that their strong friendship would last longer than a romantic relationship with either one.
Word Count: 2230
You had known Dutch and Hosea for a long time, you all trusted each other with your lives and had been close friends with them since before Blackwater. They were your best friends and you wouldn't know what to do without them.
Dutch and Hosea loved you. You loved them too but they loved you in a different way.
They had been in love with you for a while now and you had no idea that they felt that way. They knew about each other's feelings towards you and agreed not to pursue you.
They didn't want to ruin their own friendship by fighting over a woman, they knew that one of them would be heartbroken if you chose the other, but they also didn't want to force you to choose between them or hurt one of them. They didn't want to do that to you or to each other.
When you got captured by the law while the gang was fleeing, Dutch and Hosea were distraught even if they tried not to show it. They tried to find you, the whole gang did, but they just couldn't find you and they completely lost you. Dutch and Hosea tried not to let their worry show but the whole camp knew that they were both scared for your well-being and heartbroken over your disappearance.
Dutch missed the way you would both talk about the books you were reading, the smile on your face and the glint in your eyes when you were talking about something you were passionate about. He missed watching you take control over a situation, like when the gang was arguing and you would just step up and set them straight even when he couldn't.
Hosea missed just sitting with you, reading together. Even though it was in silence he enjoyed it, it gave you both a place to go, away from the chaos of the camp. He missed the way you made him feel more relaxed just by being near him, he missed the way your smile lit up his day because it was definitely the most beautiful thing in his life now.
They missed just having you around, being able to go on rides with you, being able to go into town together, being able to talk to you. They missed you a lot and were afraid they wouldn't see you again, but they wouldn't give up on you.
Arthur had come running into the camp, carrying a newspaper. He pushed past until he got to the table that Dutch and Hosea were sitting at. He threw the newspaper own on the table between them. "Y/N is going to be hanged tomorrow morning" Arthur told them, pointing to the article in the newspaper. Dutch and Hosea both grabbed the paper at the same time, both on them tugging on it slightly in order to read it first. Dutch huffed as he released the paper, letting Hosea take it in his hands.
Dutch stood from the table and walked around to Hosea, reading the newspaper over his shoulder. "We've got to get her" Dutch exclaimed as he began to walk away, obviously in a hurry.
"Dutch, just wait a second-" Hosea sighed as he stood up from the table, following after the other man.
"Wait? They are going to kill her, Hosea" Dutch raised his voice as he turned around to face Hosea. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. You were in trouble, your life was on the line and Hosea was telling him to wait?
"Tomorrow, they are doing it tomorrow. We are breaking a woman out of jail, we need to be smart about this. We will do it tonight" Hosea shook his head, they couldn't just run into town with their guns blazing. It was likely to get you and the rest of the gang in trouble.
"Hosea is right, it will be easier to do it during the night. They aren't going to let her out, they know that she works with you, Dutch. We have to break her out" Arthur nodded, trying to encourage Dutch to take the smarter option. He was acting on his emotions instead of any rational thought, he just needed to be guided back to reality.
"...fine. Round up anyone who is free, tell them to bring guns and we will meet at the horses" Dutch ordered, running his hand through his hair. Arthur just nodded before beginning to tell other members of the gang about what was happening, and they were happy to help.
"I'm coming, Dutch" Hosea said, not giving Dutch a chance to tell him to wait in the camp. There was no way he was going to sit back and wait for something to happen. He was going.
"I know you are, wouldn't have it any other way" Dutch smiled, placing his hand on his friends shoulder. They shared a sad smile before heading over to the horses, ready to get you back home.
-----
The gang headed to the town you were being held at and waited outside, scoping out the town and deciding on a plan. They waited until it got dark before quietly walking into the town. You had heard them talking, you would recognise Dutch's and Hosea's voice anywhere. When you heard them you stuck your arm out of the bars of your cell window, hoping that they saw you. You didn't want to attract anyone else's attention. They saw your hand waving and ran over to you.
They used dynamite to blow a hole in the wall and Dutch held his hand out for you to take, helping you climb out of the cell. Obviously that had attracted a lot of attention. You and the rest of the gang had to fight your way back out of the town, but you managed to get away without any of you getting hurt.
-----
Once you got back to the camp you, everyone welcomed you back with hugs and kind words. Eventually everyone had spread out in the camp, going back to doing their own things while you turned to face Dutch and Hosea.
"I was beginning to think I would never see you two again. I really thought I was going to swing tomorrow" you admitted with a sad smile. You were overjoyed to see these two again but to be honest, you were terrified sitting in that cell. You really thought you were going to die tomorrow morning.
"We wouldn't let that happen" Hosea assured and you instantly wrapped your arms around his waist, letting him pull you into a safe and comforting embrace. Hosea wrapped his arms around you while you buried your face in his chest. He always had a way of making you feel at home and cared about.
"We had to get you back home, alive" Dutch smiled, placing his hand on your shoulder in a comforting manner. It killed him to see you and Hosea holding each other like that, even if he knew it was only a friendly hug. You pulled away from Hosea and smiled at Dutch before leaving Hosea's embrace and wrapping your arms around Dutch's waist. Dutch instantly wrapped his arms around you, giving you a comforting squeeze as he kissed the top of your head. Hosea smiled softly at you both, it broke his heart to see Dutch's arms wrapped around you but he was just happy to have you back.
"Thank you" you smiled at them both as you stepped away from Dutch, standing in front of both of them again.
You furrowed your brow at them when you noticed that they were both looking at you strangely, there was a look in their eyes that you hadn't seen before, at least you hadn't noticed it before. "Are you two okay? Wanna grab a drink and talk about old times or something?" you asked, laughing tiredly as you pointed over to the campfire.
The two men in front of you shared a look, only making you more confused and even a little concerned. "Dutch, can I talk to you for a minute?" Hosea asked, turning to face the other man.
Dutch nodded at him before turning back to you. "Y/N, can you meet us in my tent? We won't be long" he asked before walking away with Hosea before you could even respond.
-----
You waited in Dutch's tent, sitting down and bouncing your knee nervously. You had no idea what was going on. Finally, the two men walked into the tent, closing the canvas behind them which only fuelled your nerves.
"What's going on?" you asked as you stood up, your gaze flickering between them both. They both had unreadable expressions on their faces but you could tell that they were hiding something from you.
"We weren't going to tell you, we thought that it would be better if you didn't know and it would be less complicated" Dutch started and you instantly thought that it sounded rehearsed. What the hell is happening?
"We just didn't want to make you uncomfortable or pressure you into making some sort of decision, and we still don't want to do that to you" Hosea explained, sighing slightly. Both of them looked nervous.
"But after tonight, after you went missing..." Dutch started but his sentence faded off towards the end.
"...we really thought we weren't going to see you again, but that didn't stop us from searching for you" Hosea finished Dutch's thought for him.
"And we realised that we couldn't keep this from you for much longer. You need to know" Dutch smiled nervously, trying to remain the charismatic leader but knowing that he never had to play any role around you.
"Maybe you don't need to know, but you deserve to know. We want you to know but please don't let this change anything between the three of us" Hosea all but pleaded. His words only worrying you more, what could they be so nervous to talk about?
"What are you talking about? Stop being so cryptic, you're really starting to scare me here" you laughed nervously, but your laugh fell short when you just saw the nervousness in their eyes.
"We are in love with you" Dutch told you, like ripping off a band-aid. Clean and quick. No messing around.
"...what?" you choked out, not sure that you even heard him right.
"I love you" Dutch nodded, sounding nervous about confessing to you but confident about what he was feeling. Like he didn't have a single doubt that he was in love with you.
"And I love you as well" Hosea nodded as well, your attention now focusing on him. You couldn't believe what you were hearing, they are in love with you? And Hosea sounded just as sure about his feelings towards you.
"...right...and you want me to choose one of you?" you asked, glancing between them again. You knew that you couldn't do that.
"Only if you want too, only if you feel anything for either of us. We never wanted you to feel pressured into this" Hosea nodded, trying to make sure you knew that you could just walk out of this tent and none of you had to speak about this again.
"I love you both, so much. Do I love you more than friends...I don't know, maybe, but I love you both equally. You are my family, my best friends, I'm not going to risk what the three of us have for something else" you shook your head, running your hand through your hair, unable to look them in the eyes. Your friendship with these two men was more important to you than any possible romantic relationship.
"Okay...that's all we needed to know" Dutch nodded, smiling at you to reassure you that everything was alright.
"Nothing has to change, it can all be the same" Hosea promised you with a smile of his own.
"Really? Are you sure? I just don't want thing to change. You two are everything to me, I wouldn't know what to do without you both" you admitted, smiling at them both. You just couldn't lose them from your lives.
"We're sure, Y/N" Dutch nodded.
You smiled at them both before walking towards them and pulling them both into a group hug. They both hugged you back instantly, wrapping their arms around you and having you pretty much pressed between them both.
"I'm telling you though, I'm am the luckiest woman alive to have you two by my side. The best men I have ever met" you smiled as you lifted your head up to look at them both. They both just chuckled before pulling you back into the hug, you smiled as you felt them both kiss the top of your head.
You loved these men more than anything you couldn't risk losing either of them.
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