• this chapter makes no sense whatsoever but it's fine
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The freezing wind of the mountainside hit your face the second you stepped outside the small house in the little village of Colter. The gang had been driven up to the mountains after the Blackwater job gone wrong, running from the Pinkertons ever since and trying to evade them. Dutch had done a good job of protecting everybody so far, though the whole story behind the Blackwater job had been a little foggy ever since Dutch ran into camp saying everyone had to pack up and leave yet again. It was like Dutch to just run into camp right after a job, say something was going down and that everyone had to leave, but something about Blackwater was different from all the other times.
Being driven up into the mountains was terrible. It was cold no matter where you went, there was hardly and food or anything to drink, and the gang had just lost Jenny and Davey. (A/N: I think that is their names, I'm not entirely sure) Mac was missing, and it seemed as if everyone was just stuck in a rut. It was like no one believed that everyone would get off the mountain and back west, have a little ranch somewhere and take care of the animals and have everyone in the gang as ranch hands. Arthur, you had thought, would be the man to take care of the horses and stables, since he loved the majestic creatures so much. You and him had talked about it at length, joking around that he basically already looked like a ranch hand with his suspenders and cowboy hat.
Crunching of snow under your footfalls and the whipping of the wind brought you back to your task at hand, rubbing your hands together to get some sort of feeling to them again. You pulled your coat tighter around your body to try to keep out the cold wind rushing around you. The opening of the door caught your attention and you turned to see Arthur waltzing out of one of the cabins, probably just having talked to Dutch about something. "Hey, Y/N." He called, repeating your action from a moment ago and pulling his blue coat around his toned body. "Yeah?" You asked, your body aching to just go back inside and get by the fire and get warm. "Wanna go hunting? Pearson said he needs some meat or else we'll all starve." Arthur was already heading over to his horse tethered to the post outside the small cabin, greeting the animal with a small pat and a few whispered words of affection. "Sure." You agreed, walking over to your horse tethered up opposite Arthur's and greeted her the same way, slipping her a carrot with a smile. "Alright. Charles said there was some deer grazing a little further south, but not too far." Arthur called, pulling the reins and heading out of camp. You followed suit, urging your horse into a gallop to gain some speed and ride up alongside him. You both followed the snow lodden path out of Colter and into the wilderness, the fir trees covered with fresh fallen snow to the tips of their leaves.
The air around you was silent, the only noise was the crunching of the snow under the horses hooves as they plodded along in the freezing weather. It wasn't long before Arthur led you off the main path and into a small patch of pure white trees, the snow had stopped a few days ago but it was still freezing. "Alright, let's set up camp here." Arthur instructed before dismounting his horse and leading over to a nearby tree, throwing the reins around the stub of wood sticking out from the tree. You followed suit, dismounting and throwing the reins around a stump on the other side of the tree. Before long Arthur had set up the small tent with enough room for the both of you, and you had started a small fire right outside the opening. You were about to sit down by the fire and try to get warm, but Arthur clapped a strong hand on your shoulder before you could even start to bend down to sit. "We're gonna need food. Meat. That's why we're out here in the first place." He cheekily smiled, scoffing playfully when you threw him a look of pure annoyance. All you wanted to do was rest for just a moment, get warm and then maybe send Arthur out to hunt. "Ugh, alright. I'll get my bow." You grumbled and plodded over to your horse waiting patiently, reaching to grab your bow off the side of the tall beast. Arthur stood behind you with his bow grasped lazily in one hand, patiently waiting for you. "Okay, let's go catch us some game." You smiled, Arthur repeating the action before leading you a few feet out of camp.
He continued walking for a moment, keeping his beautiful blue gaze on the snow to see if he could spot any tracks. "Here." He whispered, waving you over to get a closer look. You peered over his shoulder as you both crouched in the snow, your chest almost touching his shoulder sending a jolt of electricity through you. "Look." His gloved hands reached out and ever so lightly grazed the snow, before looking up and into the distance where the tracks headed. "We close?" You whispered, your hot breath fanning across his ear and unknowingly causing the faintest of blushes to cross his cheeks. "Yeah." He answered, before moving forward in a slow paced crouch-walk. The crunching of the snow was barely noticeable under his feet, the sound almost not even there from how silent he was being. He continued a few more paces before stopping unexpectedly, causing you to almost run into him and send him a look. "There." He pointed, his gaze dead set on a deer grazing on the smallest patch of grass sticking out of the snow. "You want me to get it or you?" He kept his voice to a hushed whisper as to not scare away the camp's only supply of meat, looking over his broad shoulder to you crouched behind him. "It's all yours, cowboy." You smirked, amused at how he dipped his head to where the rim of his faded cowboy hat covered his expression.
He grasped the bow in his hands a little bit tighter, the gloves covering his strong hands squeaking quietly as he adjusted his grip. He slowly and silently stalked forward, drawing an arrow and knocking it when he was close enough to the deer. Slowing to a stop, he raised the bow and aimed for the deer. The arrow released from its resting position, flying through the air with a quiet whistle. "Showoff." You muttered under your breath, thinking that Arthur couldn't hear you but the look he threw over his shoulder stated otherwise. He stood up from his crouching position, waltzing over to the deer laying in a crimson pool and bent over it. You followed close behind him, watching as he lifted the deer over his shoulder and turned to you. "Alright, we should head back to our camp, it's getting dark." He spoke as he walked by you, gladly carrying the weight of the deer himself without asking you to help at all, what a gentleman.
"You need any help with that?" You asked, Arthur barely looking at you over the shoulder with the deer. "Nah, I'm alright. It's not that far to camp." He dismissed, stopping in his tracks when the cracking of ice could be heard. Your eyes widened and your breath hitched when your glance fell on Arthur's feet standing on the cracking ice. "Damn." He muttered, before the ice gave way underneath his weight and he went tumbling into the freezing waters below. "Arthur!" You screamed out, dropping your bow onto the ground and rushing to the waterline. The deer floated at the top, the water turning color and having a pinkish hue to it. "Arthur, can you hear me?!" You hollered as you brought your face closer to the hole in the ice, your breathing picking up when there wasn't any movement. The water turned still, the silhouette of a hand making its appearance in the sea of navy blue."Oh god, oh god." You muttered to yourself as you reached into your bag slung over your shoulder, retrieving your lasso and flinging the rope into the water. If Arthur wasn't already unconscious by now, then hopefully he would grab onto the lasso. "Arthur, if you can hear me, grab on!" You screeched, feeling the rope float weightlessly in the water sucked all the hope out of you.
Your eyes watered as your chest tightened, the tears spilling over your rosy cheeks and tumbling down into the snow. But a tug on the rope made you gasp, hoping and praying to yourself it was Arthur since it couldn't be anyone or anything else. You pulled and pulled on the rope, finally seeing a head of ash brown hair rise out of the water. "Oh, thank god." You gasped out, dropping and abandoning the rope by the waterline and kneeling over Arthur's shivering body. "P-p-ple-as-e t-te-ll me y-you b-brough-t a b-lan-k-ket." He chattered, taking you by surprise that he was actually speaking after being in the water for so long. "Come on, you need to warm up right now or else you'll get hypothermia." You gathered him in your arms and slung one of his arms around your shoulders, trying to heave him up off the ground was proving to be a difficult task since he was all muscle. "You have to help me." You whispered to him, seeing those beautiful blue eyes open and blink a few times as if he was just waking up from a nap. He grunted loudly as he attempted to stand, his legs wobbling like a newborn fawn and your shoulders supporting most of his weight.
"Okay, just a little bit more." You wheezed, struggling to support the fully grown man leaning on you for support. In the near distance you spotted the tent sitting silently in the snow, silently thanking god you were at least close. You stole a glance at Arthur, seeing his full lips turning a pale blue color and his skin deathly pale. "Please, just hold on a little longer." You pleaded as you arrived at the edge of camp, Arthur nodding his head mindlessly and not really paying attention to what you were saying. You dragged him over to the tent and plopped him down on the makeshift bed on the ground, Arthur groaning and rolling his head to one side while closing his eyes. "Hey. No, no no no no. No sleeping, cowboy." You approached him and gathered him into a sitting position, slapping his face a few times to get him to stay awake. His teeth chattered as your survival instincts kicked in, starting to yank at his deep blue coat to get the wet article of clothing off. "You need skin to skin contact, it's the quickest way to get you warm." You muttered, talking more to yourself now that Arthur wasn't paying attention to much of anything.
You finally got the article of clothing off and tossed it to the side, beginning to undo his suspenders and blue button down shirt he always wore. You finally unbuttoned the shirt and pushed aside the fabric, pulling his arms through the holes and desperately trying not to look at his chest even though you would be pressed together in a few minutes. Discarding the shirt and not even thinking of going after his pants right now, you began to remove your coat and throw it to the side as well. Thanking the lord you decided to wear an undershirt today, you quickly crawled over to the saddlebag situated in the corner of the room and pulled out a wool blanket. Returning to the shivering gunslinger still laying in the bed, you unfolded the blanket and threw it over the both of you, scooting closer to him and gathering him into your arms. You pressed his face into your chest trying not to shy away at how cold he was and how naked the both of you were. Your heart thumped in your chest and you were sure Arthur could hear, the man letting out an exhale and snuggling closer to his only source of warmth. "Damn, y-you're warm." He whispered, wrapping a freezing arm around your very warm waist, those deep southern drawls of his thankfully coming back and warming your heart. "Shhh. Rest, Arthur." You mumbled, drawing him closer and releasing a sigh of relief. He let out a hum, a deep rumbling in his chest you could feel since he was pressed up against you.
"You'll be okay, Arthur. I'm here and I ain't going anywhere."
-- Time Skip --
It had been a few hours since Arthur was pulled from the water, you had been sitting by the small fire outside the tent and staring into the flames. Arthur's clothes were laid out by the small pile of burning wood, far away enough to where they wouldn't catch fire yet close enough to where they would dry given some time. Your coat had gotten a little damp from carrying Arthur's soaking body back to camp, so your coat was laid next to Arthur's clothes as well to get the small part dry. You pulled the other blanket you had brought around your body, trying to keep the freezing air out. Rustling came from inside the tent, figuring it was Arthur finally waking up after he fell asleep all curled up against you earlier. "Hey, Y/N? Where are my pants?" He called, tones of confusion and slight amusement ringing through his deep southern accent. You snickered to yourself and got up, pulling the flaps aside wide enough for you to enter to see Arthur leaning back onto his elbow with a confused look burdening his perfect face.
"Our clothes are drying outside by the fire." You assured him, watching as a worried look crossed his face for a split second. "Don't worry, they won't catch on fire." You smiled, scoffing lightly to yourself and pulling the fabric up over your shoulder again when it slipped down. "You been sitting outside the whole time?" He simply asked, his eyebrows furrowing slightly when he realized you had given him the warm tent and had been sitting outside freezing. You nodded your head as you stood still by the entrance to the tent, not wanting to get too close and be embarrassed at the sight of his naked body. When you had taken his pants off after he went to sleep, you had given yourself a pep talk and forced yourself not to look at his..... area. But thankfully he was wearing his boxers, a relief that can't be stated or put into words. Arthur smiled lightly and sat up all the way, the blanket pooling around his waist and revealing his barrelled chest. You turned to go back outside to give him some privacy and let him rest, but his voice ringing out stopped you. "Where you going?" He called, leaning his weight on his hands and leaning back onto them for support.
You were about to reply to tell him you were heading back outside, but the look he threw your way made you shut your mouth right away. "It's warmer in the tent." His voice was quieter now, afraid that if he spoke too loud he would scare you off. "And it's warmer under the blanket." It seemed the more he spoke the more confident he grew. Your mouth opened and closed while trying to form a response, too stunned to try to even reply to his forward offer. Arthur could see your hesitation, therefore he produced a hand from where it was being propped up behind him to hold out in front of him. His raised hand extended out towards you, patiently and ready to pull away if you denied him. But you didn't, instead you stepped forward and slid your soft hand into his calloused one. He tugged gently to pull you closer, your free hand still holding the blanket around your shoulders slowly dropping to reveal yourself still in your tank top. The small lantern lit in the corner of the tent reflected off his pools of sapphire and emerald, making them sparkle and making you fall deeper in love with him. His body was bathed in the rich light of the lantern, the orange and yellow flickers covering his toned body only drawing you in more.
He finally pulled you down all the way to lay beside him underneath the blanket, the one that was wrapped around your shoulders now discarded beside the makeshift bed. He pulled the covers up a little bit more, up to his shoulders and propped himself up on his elbow to look down at you. You could feel the heat radiating off him, his body pressing into your side and sending waves of warmth through your body. His hair was still damp, the tangles of ash brown locks sitting messily atop his head. Your hand raised to brush a stray piece of hair out of his face, coming down and cupping his cheek and strong jaw. You cradled his face in your hands, the pad of your thumb running over the scar on his stubble covered chin and your eyes glued to his full pink lips. It was like they called to you, sitting there alluring and all primed and ready for someone to capture passionately with theirs. The muscle in his jaw twitched, his eyes hooded with impatience and lust as they rolled painfully slow over your face. His gaze flashed down to your lips as well, finding his eyes stuck there unwaveringly.
He moved forward ever so slightly, his face coming closer to yours and your heart stopped functioning correctly. Your breath was hitched in your throat when he sent a sly smirk your way, he knew how much he was getting to you and driving you crazy. One of his hands moved to capture your hips, moving down to your thigh to hike your leg around his waist. He moved forward again, invading your personal space now with his hot breath fanning across your blushing face. It seemed as if time had stopped, and it was only the two of you in that small tent and no one else in the world. There wasn't any gang, no problems with the Pinkertons, and especially no Micah anywhere. It was just you and Arthur, stuck forever in that moment.
He connected his forehead to yours, your breaths mingling together and your heart going into overdrive. He gulped loudly, his adam's apple bobbing up and down visibly and he seemed to be shaking. "Don't be nervous." You mumbled when his lips just barely grazed yours and sent a jolt of electricity through you, your body begging you to just end the suspense and collide your lips together. "Sorry, it's hard not to be around you." He meekly whispered, those full lips teasing yours with every word he spoke. A blush crossed your cheeks when he spoke, falling deeper and deeper in love with the outlaw. He moved forward a little more and gently pushed his lips into yours, your senses overwhelmed with him and everything about him. The kiss was slow and sweet, a complete opposite of how Arthur usually was around anyone else. He moved his lips with yours, kissing you with such a passion you've never felt before.
Arthur had been your first kiss, in the past you'd never been able to be in a relationship with anyone else because you were so head over heels for Arthur Morgan. You had tried to repress the feelings, to shove them in a box and lock them away and never be brought out again. But no matter how hard you tried you just couldn't seem to get him off your mind. He consumed your thoughts and clouded your mind every minute every day, like when he went out for a run into town your mind would flood with worried thoughts about him. What if he gets into trouble? What happens if there's Pinkertons and they figure out who he is? What if his horse keels over and traps him beneath its weight and he can't get out? But all those negatives always faded away when you saw him trot back into camp on his horse every time, a smile gracing your lips when your eyes locked with his.
But this was completely different, it was as if your stomach was doing flips and your heart stopped beating. Your lungs didn't function and your body laid completely still, it seemed as if the only thing your mind registered to do was kiss him back. And that's what you did.
You moved your lips with his, molding perfectly like two pieces of a puzzle that belonged together. His hands gripped your hips a little harder, your hands finding their way to his broad shoulders and steadying there to keep you grounded. He seemed to press his body into yours, craving to be close to you and share your warmth. Heat bloomed across your body and cheeks, lighting your skin on fire wherever he touched. But when his hands moved up slightly and tugged at the hem of your tank top, that was when you knew you would have a heart attack. Your hands pushed on his shoulders telling him to sit up, keeping your lips connected with his the entire time. When he was sat up you moved to straddle him, him gladly accepting the sudden movement and sliding his hand up your shirt. His calloused and strong hands fell onto the skin of your hips and stomach, your hands in turn sliding up and over his shoulders into his ash brown hair, eliciting a groan from the gunslinger sitting so vulnerable before you.
Arthur suddenly pulled away, missing the feeling of his lips on yours and the way his hands felt caressing your skin. "Y/N." He mumbled, pulling back enough to connect his forehead with yours. Your stomach fell, immediately thinking the worst and you frowned deeply. Arthur could sense how your mind was taking a turn and imagining all the bad reasons why he pulled away. "Listen. I love you, and I don't wanna rush this." He added, those sparkling eyes of his boring deep into your soul. They were flooded with love, sparks of lust and adoration flickered in his pools of emerald and turquoise. "I understand." You whispered, staring up at him as he removed his hands from under your shirt and placing them on your thighs instead. He smiled suddenly and chuckled, that deep rumble in his chest resounding and making your heart ache.
"Wonder what everyone will say at camp when they find out we're a thing."
"Hah, Dutch is gonna be pissed."
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• yes i know it's a crappy ending bUT I DIDNT KNOW WHAT ELSE TO DO :(