Ashley dismounted her horse before grabbing the animal skins off of the back, glancing over to Charles who had rode in just behind her. He also dismounted his horse and grabbed the hunting rewards that he had been carrying. "I think we did well, this should be enough for Pearson who use for a little while" Charles nodded as they carried their winnings over to Pearson, who was currently preparing the ingredients for a stew.
"Yeah and we can sell the hides" Ashley nodded as they handed everything over to Pearson, who thanked them before they turned away.
Ashley smiled to herself when she saw Micah leaning back against a table with his arms crossed over his chest, glancing over at her. "I'll see you later" she smiled up at Charles and he said a short goodbye before she walked over to the blonde.
Micah made no visible reaction to Ashley approaching him, until she was standing right in front of him with a natural smile on her face. "Your hunt go okay?" he asked as one of his hands landed on her hip.
"Yeah, so you're welcome" Ashley shrugged, a smirk forming on her lips.
"What the hell you welcoming me for?" he asked, his brow furrowing in confusion.
"Hey, I just put food on the table. I think you need to step up your game" she shrugged again, chuckling to herself when she felt Micah's grip on her hip tighten slightly. Ashley just took a small step forward, moving closer to him. Neither of them said anything but it felt good to be able to be so close and not care who was looking.
"Oh, do ya now?" Micah asked, his voice lower now and he tried to sound dangerous. Perhaps that would have worked once or one anyone else but Ashley knew that she was perfectly safe with him.
"I do" Ashley teased as he tugged her closer. She smirked as she leaned closer to Micah, looking at him as if she was daring him to do something.
"Hey Ashley! We are heading out, we need ya" Arthur called out as he walked past them, paying no mind to their proximity. He was growing used to it, plus he did have a little longer than the rest of the camp to wrap his head around the whole thing.
"I'll be right there!" Ashley called back as she glanced over her shoulder at the other man, she then looked back to Micah with an apologetic smile before stepping away from him.
"I'm coming too, boring as hell around here" Micah shrugged as he followed her towards the horses.
"Don't get me wrong, I'm sure hell isn't all fun and games but I don't think people would describe it as boring" she laughed, knocking her shoulder into his arm before smiling up at him.
"Oh, shut up, smart-ass" Micah rolled his eyes, placing his hand on her shoulder only to push her away from him. Ashley laughed as she stumbled away from him before steadying herself on her feet again, returning to walking by his side as they approached the horses.
"Well, aren't you two just adorable. Now stop flirting and move your asses" Sean rolled his eyes at the couple, he was already sitting on top of his horse ready to go.
Ashley chuckled and rolled her eyes as she mounted her horse. Micah muttered something under his breath as he mounted Baylock, Sean didn't seem to notice his annoyance but Ashley did so she offered him a quick smile before the four of them rode out of the camp.
"So what are we doing anyway?" Ashley asked as the four of them rode along the dirt path, not seeming to be in much of a rush.
"Sean spotted a homestead that looked promising. A group of O'Driscolls is holding up camp in there. Dutch said that they had stolen some money from him, we are going to collect it" Arthur explained, glancing over his shoulder to look back at the woman as he spoke.
"Yeah but we also figured that it could cause some trouble, so we decided it should be a three man job. Didn't realise you would be bringing the wife along" Sean joked, flashing a playful smile at Ashley making her fight off a small laugh.
"Anyone ever told you that you're real funny, MacGuire?" Micah asked through gritted teeth, trying to hold back comments and fight of his anger and irritation with the Irishman.
"All the time!" Sean exclaimed happily as if he didn't even notice Micah's foul mood. Of course he did notice it, he just enjoyed it too much. Ashley being here was like knowing that he could poke the bear without it ripping him apart.
"Alright you two, leave it alone. Arthur, I thought we were robbing some folk not babysitting" Ashley rolled her eyes, deciding to talk to the other mature adult in this situation.
"Really, Ash?" Micah huffed, turning his head to look at the woman riding beside him.
"Aw, come on. I'm just messin' with you" Ashley chuckled, sending Micah a sincere smile. "Sean leave Micah alone, he's come to help. Micah, try not to kill Sean" she rolled her eyes at them both before focusing her attention back to following Sean and Arthur along the dirt road.
"Hey, wasn't the first job you two did together robbing a homestead?" Arthur asked the two outlaws riding slightly behind him.
"Yeah, nearly killed him" Ashley nodded, chuckling to herself while Micah just rolled his eyes.
"Ah, memories. How romantic" Sean teased sarcastically.
"Shut up, Sean" both Micah and Ashley said in unison, making them look at each other. Ashley started laughing to herself while Micah just had an amused smirk on his face.
"Oh, now, I don't like that at all" Sean shook his head, referring to the pair speaking simultaneously with a look of horror on his face that made Arthur laugh to himself.
Finally the four outlaws rode up to the cabin that Sean had talked about, approaching through the trees so that they weren't seen by any O'Driscolls that might still be there. The four dismounted their horses and moved to a spot at the outskirts of the trees to get a better visual of the cabin. They all crouched down and hid among the trees and grass.
"They're still here. The fire is lit" Arthur hummed, having had noticed the smoke as they rode up to the cabin.
"Yeah, I can see them moving around in there" Ashley nodded, sighing as she lent against the tree beside her.
"So, what are the options?" Sean asked as they continued to watch the movement through the windows.
"One of us could knock on the door, distract them, one of us waits back here with a gun in case things go wrong while the other two sneak into the cabin and grab what they can" Arthur suggested with a slight shrug as he turned to face the other three.
"We can't tell how many are in there but I'm guessing there is quite a few of them, they won't all come to the door" Micah shook his head, they couldn't get them all out of the cabin that way.
"That's a good point, it's risky. We could just wait a while, they might all go to sleep and give us a chance to just sneak around and search the place" Ashley nodded, looking between the two men.
"What if they have people on watch? They could be taking it in shifts to sleep so that they aren't attacked" Sean pointed out and turned back to face the other three who all nodded.
"Damn, when did O'Driscolls get smart?" Arthur sighed, leaning back against the tree behind him.
"So...we are just going to have to do this the fun way?" Micah asked with a smirk, making Ashley roll her eyes even if a small smile tugged at her lips.
"I think Micah is right. If we want to do this, we might just have to take the first shot" Sean nodded, already pulling his gun out. Sean liked to shoot even if he rarely hit his target.
"Oh, this is a good day" Micah chuckled, patting Ashley on the shoulder.
"I'll go knock" Arthur nodded before standing up and walking towards the cabin, making sure that his handgun was easily accessible. Sean nodded at the other two before walking away, positioning himself further along the treeline. It was better to have the guns spread out so that they all have a different view of the cabin.
Once Sean was out of sight, Ashley turned and nodded up at Micah before beginning to walk away. Her eyes widened slightly as Micah grabbed her wrist and pulled her back to him. "What are you-" Ashley began to ask but was silenced by Micah quickly kissing her. She kissed him back before they both pulled away. She smiled at him and just laughed before walking in the opposite direction to Sean. Micah smirked to himself before taking his guns out of his holsters and turning his attention to the cabin.
Sean and Ashley readied their guns as well from their positions, all three of them focusing on Arthur and the cabin. They watched as Arthur knocked on the door, his other hand hovering over his gun in his holster.
The door opened to reveal an O'Driscoll, he glared at Arthur but didn't seem to recognise him. He asked what he wanted and Arthur put on his best innocent passerby act as he backed away from the door. Arthur put his hands up in front of him as if he was telling the other man that he meant no harm and he continued to step backwards. The O'Driscoll huffed before calling for someone. He stepped out of the cabin followed by three other men.
Arthur dropped his hands back to his sides. The four had to work quick and work together to avoid Arthur getting shot. Arthur's hand twitched over his handgun and the three outlaws hidden by the trees shared a look with each other.
Sean and Micah looked to Ashley, silently asking her for some instructions. Both of them knew that Ashley knew what she was doing and they all had to be on the same page. Ashley pointed to Sean and then at one of the O'Driscolls, she then pointed at Micah and then to another O'Driscoll, finally she pointed to herself and at another one of the O'Driscolls. Unfortunately they just had to hope that Arthur acted quickly and gets the last one of them.
The three of them lifted their guns and aimed at their given target. As soon as Sean and Micah heard Ashley's gun go off, they shot their own. Arthur was quick to pull out his pistol and shot the final O'Driscoll. The four O'Driscolls fell to the ground before they even had a chance to pull their guns out. Arthur turned and ran towards the trees, taking cover behind a tree before anymore gang members walked out of the cabin.
They heard some rustling around in the cabin and it wasn't long before a few more O'Driscolls came running out of the cabin, shooting towards the trees. The four outlaws stuck close to their trees since they acted at their only cover. They two groups shot at each other, occasionally the members of the van der Linde gang would glance at each other to make sure that they were alright.
Micah took cover behind the tree, listening to the bullets hitting the other side of the tree, when the sound paused he peered around the trunk and shot at the O'Driscoll assuming that he was reloading his gun. He was right.
It wasn't too long before the four outlaws were the only ones left standing. Once everything went quiet the four stepped out from behind their trees. "You all alright?" Ashley asked as they regrouped in front of the cabin, they all nodded at her.
Readying their pistols, they walked into the cabin. Cautious just in case there was anyone waiting inside. "Okay, so how much did they steal from Dutch?" Sean asked as they all began to search the main room.
"I don't know, Dutch didn't say. He just said to get his money back" Arthur shrugged, the others just hummed and nodded.
The four outlaws split up, searching different rooms and pocketing anything that was valuable. Arthur found a lock-box full of cash and figured that this was the stolen money so he tucked it away and went to find the others.
Ashley search through one of the draws in the dresser and gasped when she felt an arm wrap around her waist and a hand clamp down over her mouth to keep her quiet. Adrenaline coursed through her body as she brought the heel of her boot down on her attacker's shin. They cursed and loosened their grip, giving her the chance to pull away and turn around, delivering a clean punch to his jaw.
"Fucking hell, Ashley!" he snapped, groaning as he raised his hand to rub his jaw, looking down at her.
"Micah? What the hell?" she asked frantically with wide eyes, partially because of the fear in her still subsiding and partially because of the realisation that she just punched Micah in the face.
"You just punched me" Micah pointed out as he continued to rub his jaw.
"You attacked me!" she reminded him, throwing up her hands in disbelief, looking at him with wide eyes.
"I did not attack you but you have a damn good punch" he shrugged, chuckling a little to himself.
"I know...sorry" Ashley laughed quietly to herself before reaching up and pushing Micah's hand away from his jaw. She brushed her fingertips over his jaw, giving him a small apologetic smile.
"Well, you just proved that you can take care of yourself" Micah laughed, shaking his head at her. He should've known better than to sneak up behind her, in hindsight it was a stupid idea. He thought he was being cute, the ache in his jaw disagreed.
She knew that he had been trying to be playful and spontaneous or something but now was possibly the worst time to try something like that. Admittedly, Ashley still found it endearing. There was something about Micah, she didn't expect anything from him and yet he somehow managed to surprise her in pleasant ways.
Ashley smiled softly before gliding her hand around to the back of his head, pulling him down into a kiss. The adrenaline from the shoot out (and the false attack) still running through them both as Micah wrapped his arms around her waist. He grabbed her by the waist before lifting her up and sitting her down on the dresser behind her.
Micah stood between her legs, Ashley's arms wrapped around his neck and her fingers tangled in his hair as his hat was knocked to the floor. Micah's hands gripped her hips and pulled her closer to the edge of the dresser, pressing her chest against his.
They both pulled away from each other when they heard somebody clearing their throat. They both turned and looked at Arthur, who was leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed over his chest. "I found the money, it's good to see that you two were working hard" Arthur told him, a smirk forming on his face.
"Shut up, Cowpoke" Micah rolled his eyes as he stepped backwards away from Ashley, who remained sitting on top of the dresser.
"Come on, let's get out of here before anyone else shows up" Arthur chuckled to himself, nodding his head towards the door before stepping back out of the room.
"He ruins everything" Micah told her, pointing towards the empty doorway.
"Oh, stop complaining" Ashley rolled her eyes as she jumped down from the dressed, picking his hat up for him. She walked over to him and reached up, placing the hat on his head. Leaning up on her toes, she gave him a quick kiss before turning around and walking out of the room.
The four outlaws finished looting the cabin before returning to their horses and riding back to the camp. Each of them kept anything that they found in the cabin and Arthur went to give Dutch his stolen money back.
"You wanna drink?" Micah asked as they walked further into the camp.
"Sure" Ashley nodded, smiling to herself when Micah threw his arm lazily over her shoulders. "Sean, you going to have a drink with us?" she asked, glancing over her shoulder at him.
"Yeah, why not?" Sean shrugged as he jogged over, walking beside the couple as they went to grab some drinks and sit at the fire.
Micah hid his surprise, he would have assumed that Sean would have been quick to turn the offer down. The strange thought finally settled over him, people were warming up to him because of Ashley. He couldn't help but be confused by it. All he knew was that he was happier than he had been in a long time, he owed that to Ashley even if he wouldn't tell her that.