John Marston X Female Reader (Arthur's younger sister)
Summary: You are Arthur's little sister and John has been a part of your life since you were a child. It doesn't take too long for you both to realise that your love isn't platonic. To put is simply, you and John have been together since you were kids.
Word Count: 2700
You joined the Van der Linde gang with your older brother, Arthur, when you were only a child. Dutch and Hosea had taken you both under their wing, getting you off of the street and giving you a home as well as a new family. A few years later John Marston joined the gang, he was about your age so it was natural that you both became friends.
Arthur, John, and you became close pretty quickly. You were family and would do anything for each other. As the three of you got older it became pretty clear to John that the way he felt for you was very different than the way he felt about Arthur, he felt closer to you. His love for you wasn't platonic.
John was your first kiss, your first boyfriend, your first everything actually. And you were his first everything as well.
-----
You were about 15 when you shared your first kiss with John, you had known him for about 3 years and you knew that you definitely had feelings for him. Arthur was drinking and talking with Dutch and Hosea, not paying any attention to you or John.
"Hey" John smiled as he stood in front of you, you knew that he was up to something from the little twinkle in his eye. "Come with me" he insisted, nodding his head towards the trees.
"Where are we going?" you asked as you followed him towards the treeline, it never took much convincing for you to follow John into whatever scheme he had planned that day. If John got into trouble, the chances were that you where right by his side.
John turned to you and showed you the bottle of whiskey that he had stolen from camp, you just raised an eyebrow and laughed to yourself. Just before you both left the camp, John grabbed a lantern, since it was getting dark. You continued to follow John until you found somewhere in the forest to sit down, somewhere were the others wouldn't be able to see you.
You both sat down, crossed legged, on the ground, sitting opposite each other. John placed the lantern down beside you both and placed the whiskey bottle down between the two of you.
You and John weren't allowed to drink since Hosea and Dutch told you both that you were too young, and Arthur is very protective over you so he doesn't like the idea of you drinking too much just yet. Occasionally your brother or one of your adoptive fathers would give you both a beer or two when they were celebrating but that was pretty much the extent of it, they were surprisingly responsible when it came to you.
"Here, you can have the first drink" John offered as he opened the bottle and held it out to you, what a gentleman.
"Thanks" you smiled as you took the bottle from him. You brought the bottle up to your lips and took a confident sip, the liquid burnt your throat on the way down causing you to cough as you lowered the bottle. You laughed to yourself as you held the bottle back out to John. "That's awful" you cringed, stilling laughing as you shook your head and John took the bottle from you.
"I can't be that bad" John scoffed before taking a sip with just as much confidence as you had, just as you expected, he reacted the same way. He attempted to hide his cough but it just made you laugh, and John ended up laughing along with you. "Okay, it was that bad" he nodded, silently apologising for doubting you.
"It's probably just something that you get used too" you hummed, since you knew that Dutch could drink this stuff without even wincing.
"Yeah, I think you're right" John nodded before taking another sip from the bottle, this time he didn't react as badly. "The second sip isn't so bad" he assured you with a smile as he handed you the bottle.
You took the bottle from him and took another sip from it, this time a little more cautiously. This time it didn't burn in the same way and it didn't make you cough, maybe the shock had something to do with your original reaction. It still wasn't great but it was much better than your first sip.
"Yeah, that was better" you agreed with a small chuckle.
You both continued to sit together and share the bottle but it didn't take long before you were both tipsy.
"Do you think they've noticed that we are missing yet?" John asked, glancing in the direction of the camp.
"Nah, they were talking about some Job that Hosea heard about. They won't notice we are missing until they're done talking about that" you shook your head, knowing that they will take a while longer before they even notice you two are gone.
John nodded, taking another sip from the whiskey bottle before placing it down but he accidentally knocked it over, causing the whiskey to spill from the bottle.
"Oh crap" John cursed, attempting to catch the bottle but missing. He ended up just pushing the bottle away, discarding it. You laughed at the look of defeat on his face, you thought that he was just adorable. "You have a great laugh" he compliment with a soft smile.
"Thanks" you blushed, glancing down at your lap with a smile on your lips.
"You're...you're really pretty too" John complimented again, now his own cheeks were turning pink.
"How much have you had to drink?" you asked with a laugh, looking back up at him to meet his gaze but still hoping to hide the blush that was on your face.
"Same amount as you...but I do mean it" he assured you. You couldn't help but wonder if John was actually flirting with you or if the whiskey had gone to his head.
"Well, thanks, John" you smiled.
John moved forward so that you were sitting closer together, your knees now touching. You watched him as he lent towards you, surprising you by gently pressing his lips to yours. John began to pull away when you didn't kiss him back but you followed him, keeping your lips against his and returning his kiss.
You both pulled away from the kiss before flashing each other a bright smile, you both smiled into the next kiss. The smiles remained on your faces as you pulled away from each other again.
"Y/N?" Arthur's voice called from the camp. The sound caused you and John to scramble to your feet, John kicking the whiskey bottle into a nearby bush, before you both walked back towards the camp.
"I'm right here, Arthur" you smiled, waving over to your brother as he approached you both.
"Thought you ran away for a minute" Arthur laughed before his smiles faced away, replaced by a look of confusion. He looked down at you and tilted his head to the side curiously. "Have you been drinking?" your brother asked, raising an eyebrow at you.
"No" you answered simply, while John shifted awkwardly beside you. You had always been better at lying to Arthur than John has been.
"I hope John isn't being a bad influence" Arthur joked, knowing that you were lying, and John flushed red.
"Not as bad as you" you joked back, making Arthur laugh and nod in agreement. Your brother patted your shoulder before the three of you walked further into the camp and towards the camp fire.
The next few weeks consisted of silent glances between you and John. A few slight touches, like his hand brushing against yours. Shared smiles and soft blushes but not much more than that. Finally you and John got some time alone, which is when the two of you shared your third kiss and your first date. Neither of you had told anyone about it since you both worried about what Arthur would think, but that doesn't mean that the gang was oblivious about your feelings for each other.
Dutch and Hosea even had a small bet going about how long it would take you and John to get together, since it had been obvious for a long time that you liked each other. Arthur never got involved with the bet, he thought it would be weird to make a bet on when his little sister would start dating their friend. However, Arthur would approve of your relationship with John, he thought that you were both sweet together. That doesn't mean that he wouldn't mess with either of you though.
-----
You and John were about 17 when you spent your first time together. You had both wanted to be intimate for a while but it was never the right time, either there wasn't any time or other people were around. There was simply never the opportunity for it.
By this point you and John had been together for about two years, and the other members of the gang knew about your relationship. Of course Arthur liked to mess with John but you all knew that he was only joking, mostly. Dutch and Hosea got to put an end to their bet, Hosea won.
-----
You and John were about 26 now, the pair of you had been together for 11 years now. The gang is possibly bigger than it has ever been and you have set up camp in Colter. The temperatures were around freezing here, thanks to the snowstorm, and the whole gang wanted to move camp as soon as possible. The gang had obtained a new member, a woman named Sadie Adler, but John had gone missing.
Arthur was quick to go looking for him, accompanied by Javier, when you commented on how long John had been out of camp for. Your brother knew how much John meant to you and he definitely wasn't going to let you lose him, besides John had become Arthur's brother now. He was family.
When Arthur and Javier got back with John, his face torn up by a pack of wolves, you were distraught. You could only watch helplessly as they bandaged up his face, as soon as you were able to, you were by his side.
You smiled down at his bandaged face, taking his hand in yours. "How are you feeling?" you asked, sitting down on the stool beside his cot.
"Not much better, can't seem to get warm" John mumbled, carefully turning his head to look at you.
"I'll get another blanket" you promised him, knowing that he needed to get warm but nobody could really keep warm around here.
"Too good to me" he smiled slightly, groaning in pain as he did so.
"Only because you've been eaten by wolves" you sighed, running your fingers through his dirty hair.
"How bad is the damage?" John asked, looking up at you seriously.
"They got your face pretty bad, you're going to have a few scars on your face but it could've been much worse" you told him as you continued to play with his hair.
"You still gonna love me with the scars?" he asked, mostly teasing but you could hear that he was feeling defeated.
"Nothing could stop me from loving you. They'll just make ya look more rugged" you promised with a sweet smile.
"I love you" John smiled, amazed by how you could always make him feel better.
"I love you too" you smiled before leaning down and pressing a kiss to his forehead, John's eyes fluttered closed and he smiled at the affection.
-----
The gang has moved to Horseshoe Overlook now and it was much better than Colter, it was warmer and you felt a lot better here. John's scars from the wolf attack had healed nicely, just like you assured him that they would.
Arthur was sitting at a table in the camp when John walked over to him, something clearly on his mind. "Uh, Arthur, can I talk to you?" John asked, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly.
"Sure, sit down" Arthur nodded, gesturing towards the seat beside him.
John sat down at the table before turning to Arthur and sighing. "I want to ask Y/N to marry me, I thought that maybe I should speak to your first" he practically blurted out.
"What took you so long, Marston?" Arthur chuckled, shaking his head at the younger man.
"I don't know...we've been together since we were kids, for over ten years. It just never seemed important, it never seemed like we needed to get married...but then I realised that I wanted to marry her. I guess it's kinda dumb but...I want that" John explained, looking down at the table in front of him.
"Well you have my blessing, or whatever. Just promise me something" Arthur looked at John seriously.
"What is it?" the younger man asked, he would do anything for you.
"Don't tell her that you asked for my permission, she might kill both of us. It's her choice if she marries you, not mine" Arthur chuckled, shaking his head.
"Deal" John laughed along, letting out a small sigh of relief.
"She'll say 'yes', don't be nervous. Welcome to the family, brother" Arthur smiled and patted John on his shoulder before walking away, leaving John smiling to himself as he planned what he was going to say to you.
-----
You smiled as John lifted you down from his horse, planting you on your feet. "John, what are you doing?" you asked with a small laugh, wondering why John had been acting a little weird today.
John had taken you out of camp, asking you on a little date, so that you could both get away from the camp for a while. He had taken you to a sandy waterside area during the late afternoon. There was a soft breeze and very gently waves in the water, the most beautiful part of the whole thing was the sunset that was dipping below the water.
The pair of you walked hand in hand along the water's edge, pulling you a little closer to his side as you walked together. It had been a while since you and John had spent time together like this, it was nice to just be alone with him.
John came to a stop and took both of your hands in his while he moved to stand in front of you, you opened your mouth to question him but didn't get the chance before he fell down onto one knee.
"Will you marry me?" John asked simply, looking up at you with hopeful eyes, as if there is some chance that you would reject him.
"John...I...we have been together for 11 years, we're practically married already" you pointed out, wondering why he had asked for your hand in marriage now and not earlier.
"I know but...a real marriage, in the eyes of God, by law and everything. I want ya to have my name, I want ya to be my wife" John confessed, pulling a ring out of his pocket and holding it up to you. The ring was simple but beautiful to you.
"I love you, John Marston. Of course I'll marry you" you nodded with a huge and stupid smile on your face. There was no doubt in your mind that you wanted to spend the rest of your life with this man.
John smiled as he slid the ring onto your finger, quickly standing up and wrapping his arms around your waist. You happily wrapped your arms around John's neck as he pulled you against him and kissed you, holding you in a loving embrace.
"I've had that ring for a long time" John confessed as he pulled away from the kiss, resting his forehead against yours.
"How long?" you asked with a smiled, combing your fingers through his hair tenderly.
"Since before Blackwater, things got a little messy though...I don't know why it took me so long" he sighed, wishing that he had asked you this question a long time ago.
"I don't care, I'm just glad that you did it eventually" you laughed softly before tilting your head up and capturing his lips with yours, John instantly returned your kiss and pulled you as close to him as he possibly could.
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