Arthur Morgan X Female Reader
Summary: you've always been insecure about your artwork but when Micah makes a few comments about it, Arthur is determined to get some of your confidence back.
Word Count: 1800
You were sitting outside of the camp, in the spot where you always went when you wanted some peace and quiet. You were leaning back against the familiar large tree behind you, your attention focused on the book on your lap. You were doodling in your sketchpad, that was really just a leather bound journal much like the one that Arthur owned. In fact, Arthur was the one who got it for you.
"I've been looking for you" Arthur's voice rang from behind you, making you jump. You closed the book quickly as you looked up at Arthur. You hadn't even heard him approaching and you had no idea how long he had been standing there. He was leaning sideways against the tree, looking down at you with a soft smile on his face. You were pretty sure that he had been looking over your shoulder, you just hoped that he hadn't seen any of your work. You had always been sensitive about your art work, it had just always been personal to you and you weren't ready to share it with anyone. Plus, you were a little embarrassed about it, you didn't know how good it was. You blushed at the chance that Arthur saw your drawings, even if it was only your quick doodles.
"How long have you been there?" you asked, looking up at him with a surprised look on your face. An expression that Arthur thought was adorable.
"Not long but I'm surprised you didn't hear me. You really were lost in your own little world, weren't you?" he chuckled, shaking his head at you.
"Yeah..." you nodded, smiling at him as you stood up.
"Are you ever going to let me see what you do in that book of yours?" Arthur asked, gesturing down to the book in your hand.
"Nope" you smiled as you both started walking in the direction of the camp. "So, why were you looking for me?" you asked, looking up at him.
"Dutch wants to speak to us, he sent me to find you. I knew that you would be here" Arthur told you with a smile. He knew that whenever he needed to find you, you would be here drawing in that book of yours. Sometimes Arthur would even come out here and sit with you.
"Why does he want to talk to us?" you asked, already knowing that it would be something to do with another job.
"Just about some score, I'm not sure" he told you with a small shrug.
"Just one more score, huh?" you asked with an amused smile on your face. With Dutch, it was always just one more score before you all go off to live in some tropical land.
"How many times have we heard that now?" Arthur asked, the two of you laughing as you returned to the camp.
-----
You started to panic as you searched for your journal. You could've sworn that it was right here, under your pillow. You must have left it somewhere else but you just couldn't think where else it could be.
You sighed as you left your tent, glancing around the camp as you tried to think about where you could have left your journal. You completely froze when you saw Micah sitting at one of the tables in the camp, smirking to himself as he flipped through your journal.
Without much of a thought, you hurried over to him and reached out to grab the journal but Micah just laughed and held it out of your reach.
"So, this is what you do all day?" Micah asked as he stood up, beginning to look through your journal again.
"Just give it back, Micah" you huffed, reaching out for the journal again.
"We work our asses off making money for the camp and you sit around all day making shitty art?" Micah asked, laughing in your face as he held the book away from you again.
"I do just as much for the gang as you do, just give it back" you hissed, feeling the embarrassment beginning to build up.
"What's the point of it anyway? Do you want it to be hung up in some fancy museum one day? Do you actually think it's good enough? Because I'm telling you it ain't, it just useless crap. A waste of time" Micah scoffed, waving the journal around by his head.
"Micah, please" you were pretty much ready to plead and beg him to just give the journal back and to leave you alone. Micah could see that you were getting upset and embarrassed by he obviously didn't care, it only seemed to amuse him.
"Oh, this one is my favourite" an evil smirk appeared on Micah's face as he turned to the page with your sketch of Arthur. You were even more embarrassed now and the worst person that could have seen you drawings was Micah Bell, you wished that you could just curl up and die.
Just as you were beginning to lose all hope that you were going to get your journal back, Arthur walked pasted. He grabbed your journal, taking it from Micah's hand and getting it away from him. As he snatched the journal from Micah's hand, Arthur saw the sketch of himself and you flushed red, even more than you already were.
You just grabbed the journal from Arthur's hand before turning around and walking away, clearly in a hurry to get away from them both. You felt completely humiliated right now.
Arthur watched you leave with a sigh, he knew how private your work was to you and he hadn't heard everything that Micah had said but he knew that it wasn't good. Micah just laughed to himself as he sat down, earning a glare from Arthur.
-----
You went to your usual spot, somewhere you could go to find some peace and to get away from the camp for a while. You needed some time before you faced Micah or Arthur again. You sat in silence as you lent back against the tree, a few stray tears rolling down your cheeks.
Not only did Micah completely insult your work, which you were already insecure about, but Arthur also saw your sketch of him. You were well and truly embarrassed. You and Arthur were friends, you had thought that there was something deeper between you for a little while now but you had never told him about your feelings. You were pretty sure that people don't platonically draw their friends, not a close up profile like that anyway...not so many times. He would probably think that it was weird.
Arthur knew exactly where you would go so that's where he went. When you heard footsteps approaching, you looked up at the person and quickly wiped your tears away. You watched Arthur with slightly widened eyes as he sat down beside you, neither of you saying anything for a moment while you turned your attention to your lap.
"You're really talented" Arthur told you but you just scoffed. "I mean it. Your art is really good, better than mine" he complimented again, this time you just looked at him. You knew that Arthur drew but he never showed anyone, much like you. "Don't listen to Micah, he doesn't know what he's talking about. He can't even write, never mind draw" he advised sincerely, his comment about Micah making you laugh.
"Thanks Arthur" you smiled, feeling a little more relaxed now.
"Here, this is my favourite" Arthur told you as he placed his journal on your lap. You looked down to see that the journal was opened onto a two page spread, which was covered in one of Arthur's sketches.
The drawing was of where you were sitting, the familiar tree standing tall among the grass and flowers. However, the focus of the sketch was you. In the drawing, you were sitting against the tree with your journal on your lap while you sketched something in it. You couldn't help but wonder when Arthur drew this, when he had been watching you work.
"It's beautiful" you complimented, slightly breathless. Arthur had drawn you. You. Of all people, he chose to draw you, to capture that moment.
"Only because of the model" Arthur smiled, making you blush but this time your blush was from something good. "You really do have a talent, Y/N. We could all improve with everything we do and there will always be someone telling you that your work isn't good enough. You can't let it bother you, you can't let it stop you. It would be wrong to stop doing something that you enjoy, something that makes you happy just because someone doesn't like it. You're art is incredible because it's yours and it's personal to you, don't question that" he assured you, his tone falling more serious so that you would believe him.
"...thank you, that...that actually makes me feel a lot better" you admitted as you handed him his journal back with a smile.
"Now, promise me that you won't stop drawing" Arthur encouraged, making you smile some more.
"I promise" you smiled up at him.
Arthur just smiled back before wrapping his arm around your shoulders, pulling you into his side affectionately. You lay your head on his shoulder and the pair of you just sat like that for a moment, enjoying the quiet and each other's company.
"That drawing that you did of me-" Arthur mentioned and you instantly blushed. You had hoped that he would have just forgotten about it. "-is better than the real thing" he finished with a chuckle.
"What? Don't be stupid" you frowned, lifting your head to look up at him.
"I mean it, your work is very flattering" Arthur complimented but it just made you frown some more.
"Arthur, I just drew what I saw. If you think that the drawing was flattering, you're just going to have to accept that you are attractive" you spoke softly, hating when he talked bad about himself.
Arthur looked down at you for a moment, not sure what to say as he scanned your face. "We should probably get back to the camp" he spoke quietly as he stood up.
"Yeah" you nodded and stood up as well, trying not to show any disappointment or hesitation. Arthur began to walk away but some sudden confidence hit you. "Arthur, wait" you grabbed his hand gently, making him turn around again and look down at you. But just like the confidence came to you, it left. "Never-mind" you smiled, shaking your head as you let go of his hand.
Arthur just smiled slightly as he wrapped your arm around his, tenderly pressing a kiss to your temple before pulling you further towards his side and walking back towards the camp.
You smiled happily to yourself, you would definitely keep creating art. After all, you had a lot of inspiration.
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