Dutch Van der Linde X Female Reader (past)
Mary-Beth Gaskill X Female Reader
Summary: you move on with somebody who treats you well.
Word Count: 1900
Ever since your break up with Dutch, you had been staying in Mary-Beth's tent. She had been your rock after that. For the first few night, she had let you lay your head in her lap and she played with your hair, speaking soft words of comfort.
Molly and you had talked a lot, reminding each other that Dutch was a bastard and that you could both do a whole lot better than him. But it was Mary-Beth that reminded you of what you were worth.
Mary-Beth made you feel like you were on top of the world, just like Dutch once made you feel but tenfold. She was the one who brought you back when you got sad, when you were feeling insecure. It was the first time that you saw her get angry, she was angry that Dutch ever made you feel that way, but you just embraced her, glad to know she cared about you so much.
- - - - -
You were sitting with Karen, Mary-Beth and Tilly, the four of you talk between yourselves. You had already been friends with them before Dutch but you had definitely grown closer, which you were greatly thankful for. They were great friends. Molly was growing closer to them but slowly, she still liked to have her space but you were all welcoming when she wanted to join you all.
The conversation began to die down when the sound of footsteps started getting closer. The four of you looked up and instantly became curious when you saw saw Dutch walking over to you all.
"Y/n, can I talk to you?" Dutch asked and you just blinked at him, surprised that he was asking to speak with you.
"She has nothing to say to you" Karen scoffed, always the most vocal out of the four of you.
"It's alright" you assured her, patting her knee. She huffed, seeming unconvinced, but allowing you to stand. You gave the three women a small reassuring smile before walking away with Dutch.
"You know it's bad when Mary-Beth is mad" Karen commented, chuckling despite her annoyance.
"I'm not mad" Mary-Beth denied, tearing her gaze away from you and Dutch, turning back to Karen and Tilly.
"You sound mad" Tilly pointed out.
"I just don't want her to get hurt again" Mary-Beth confessed with a small sigh.
"I know but she'll be alright" Karen assured her with a sincere smile.
"She's smart and she isn't interested in him anymore" Tilly agreed and Mary-Beth nodded, knowing they were right. You knew what you were doing, she just cared about you.
You followed Dutch through the camp silently until you started to leave the camp, disappearing among the trees. You were getting restless, just needing to know what he had to say to you.
"What do you want Dutch?" you sighed, just wanting to get this over with.
"I just wanted to talk to you" Dutch told you, giving you a smile.
"About what?" you asked.
"I understand that you're still mad at me, I don't blame you for that" Dutch started.
"And?" you prompted tiredly, he was using that fake sincere voice that he used with strangers, you didn't have the patience for it. How hadn't you noticed these things when you were dating him? Were you that blind?
"And I want to apologise again, I want to ask you to forgive me, and I want you to give me another chance" Dutch spoke, his words catching you off guard.
"Another chance?" you asked as you suddenly came to a halt, looking at him with wide eyes.
"I made a mistake and I truly regret it. I can see now that you're the one I want, I hope you can forgive me and I'll do anything-" Dutch began his speech.
"Dutch, stop, please" you sighed, holding your hand up, needing him to just stop talking.
"Y/n-" Dutch tried to keep speaking but you stopped him again.
"No, just let me talk. You don't even sound sincere, you can't even fake it. I don't want to be with you, even if you truly meant what you were saying. You're usually very good at putting on a charming smile and telling people what they want to hear but I'm not interested in that. I want something real and that is not you" you told him with a tired expression.
"I...I guess that's that then" Dutch seemed taken back, thrown off course by your words.
"It is. I hope that one day you see how you hurt people, how you hurt me and Molly. And I even hope that you find somebody you really do care for and are honest with. But we are completely over, I don't want you, I don't want this. I'll see you later, Dutch" you gave him a small smile, deciding to try your best to be the bigger person.
"I'll see you later..." Dutch nodded, still at a loss for words, as you walked away from him and returned to the camp.
The three women you had been sitting with where still in the same place and looked up at you as you returned to them.
"What happened?" Karen asked before you could even sit down. You chuckled fondly at her eagerness as you sat down between Mary-Beth and Tilly.
"He...apologised again. He asked me to forgive him and to give him another chance" you told them, earning some wide eyed stares.
"And what did you say?" Mary-Beth asked, something you couldn't quite describe flashing in her eyes.
"I told him that I wasn't interested, that I didn't want him. Insulted his acting skills" you told them, making Karen laugh. "I'm confident that he won't try again" you assured them.
"Well, good. It's over" Tilly placed her hand on your shoulder, giving you a warm smile.
"It was over a long time ago and now he knows it" you shrugged.
"I'm happy for you" Mary-Beth smiled sincerely.
"Thank you" you smiled as you wrapped your arm around her waist, and she instantly returned your hug. "Now, let's talk about something more lighthearted" you pleaded as you pulled away from the embrace.
"Something that actually deserves our attention" Karen nodded, her hostile tone making you laugh.
- - - - -
Your eyes fluttered open but you squinted slightly when you were blinded by the sun, letting your vision adjust to the light.
"Well, it's nice of you to join me again. You're lucky Miss Grimshaw didn't come around and see us, she'd accuse us of slacking off" Mary-Beth teased and you suddenly remembered where you were.
You and Mary-Beth had been sitting in a little clearing near the camp, you laying with your head in her lap. The two of you had crept out of the camp to get away from the chores, it was a warm day and you could tend to them once it had cooled down.
"Sorry" you apologised as you sat up, even though you knew she wouldn't mind. "How long was I asleep?" you asked.
"Not long, about half an hour" Mary-Beth shrugged.
"And you just stayed there? You could have woken me up" your eyes widened slightly, feeling bad for just making her sit there for so long.
"No, no, don't be silly. You clearly needed some sleep and I didn't mind" Mary-Beth assured you with a kind smile. "Oh hold on, it's come loose" her smile fell slightly as she knelt in front of you, reaching up to your head to fix something in your hair.
"Mary-Beth...what have you done to my head?" you asked, pretending to be suspicious of her.
"Relax, I just braided your hair and maybe put some flowers in it. You were sleeping and I was bored" Mary-Beth explained with a small pout.
"Well, thank you. That's very sweet" you chuckled affectionately.
"And they look very pretty on you" Mary-Beth complimented, making you blush lightly.
You both just smiled at each other softly and only now did you realise how close she saw to you, with her hands resting gently on your shoulders.
Your mind was racing, you didn't even realise that she was leaning in until she pressed the lightest of kisses to your lips. Your eyes widened slightly, too surprised to respond the way that you wanted too.
"I'm sorry...shouldn't I have done that?" Mary-Beth apologised as she pulled away, guilt written all over her face.
"No!...no, I mean...I mean, it's fine" you assured her, catching her hands in yours before she could pull away completely. "You could do it again if you'd like" you suggested, pink staining your cheeks once again.
Mary-Beth smiled before leaning in and kissing you again, this time more confidently. This time, you instantly returned her kiss, bringing your hands up to cup her face.
- - - - -
You could admit it, you and Mary-Beth were an annoying couple. Well, the only person who expressed any annoyance was Karen, fake gagging whenever you two were 'sickening sweet' as she would describe it.
It was still the beginning of your relationship but that didn't make it any less serious, you were both happy and in love. Mary-Beth was a romantic as heart and the two of you liked expression affection. You also seemed to be attached at the hip, if one of you was around the other wouldn't be far away.
The gang didn't care about you both being romantic or affectionate around the camp. Everyone was supportive. Even Karen was only joking when she made jokes, she was genuinely happy to see you both together.
Everyone was happy, apart from one. Dutch was tense, arms crossed over his chest and jaw clenched, as he watched you both.
You looked so happy, a honest smile plastered on your face, as Mary-Beth rambled about one of her books. Dutch couldn't recall a time where he made you smile like that, only in the early days of the relationship, and here you were, beyond happy when you were sewing up clothes.
"Jealous?" Hosea asked, appearing by Dutch's side.
"Don't be ridiculous" Dutch muttered, not even sure when the older man had arrived or how long he had been there.
"Yes...it would be ridiculous if you cheated on somebody and then got jealous when they moved on and started seeing somebody else" Hosea nodded, receiving a warning look from Dutch for his sarcasm. "Absolutely ridiculous, can't believe I even suggest it" he continued sarcastically, shaking his head as he walked away.
Dutch huffed as he forced himself to turn away. Why was he even mad? He knew what he was doing when he went behind your back, when he went behind Molly's back, he knew that he had no right to be mad...but he was.
You just smiled as you listened to Mary-Beth talking about the latest book she read. She complained that it was cheesy but she still read the whole thing. You just loved listening to her talk about what she was passionate about.
"But, my god, it was so cheesy. Nobody actually talks like that" Mary-Beth sighed in defeat, seemingly finishing her rambling.
"Have you ever thought about writing your own novel?" you asked, thinking that she should definitely consider it.
"Me? No, I don't think so" she shook her head, laughing at the idea.
"I think you should give it ago. You clearly know what you're talking about and you could try to fix all those problems you find in over novels" you suggested.
"I wouldn't even know where to start" Mary-Beth confessed.
"I just think you should consider it, it's worth a try. I think you'd do great and I'd love to read anything you wrote" you assured her that her work would always have an audience, it would always have you.
"Yeah...maybe. Maybe I'll give it a shot" Mary-Beth nodded, a smile forming on her face.
"I'm sure it'll be great" you assured her. "I'll keep Grimshaw off your back, give you some time to write" you joked, knocking your shoulder against hers, and she laughed.
"I love you" Mary-Beth smiled as she rested her head on your shoulder.
"I love you too" you pressed a kiss to the top of her head before the two of you continued to mend the clothes of the other gang members.
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