Chapter Text
“Oh, come on now. You’re not gonna leave enough for us!”
You took one last drink from the bottle of liquor before handing it over to Karen, giggling as you did so. “There’s not enough liquor in the world for you, woman!”
She laughed loudly before taking a swig.
Living your life as a member of an outlaw gang was rough, for the most part. You were always on the run, you never had enough money, and your conscience never ceased to haunt you, making for a lot of sleepless nights. Therefore, any cause for a celebration was welcomed with open arms. Tonight was no different.
In a few short days, the gang had earned a considerable amount of money. Hosea caught word of some doctor in Saint Denis who wanted to open an office in Strawberry, and to do so he needed to transport a few stagecoaches full of medicine. Although robbing and selling the haul would have earned a pretty penny, the doctor was willing to pay nearly twice as much for protection. So, Hosea sent you, Arthur, Bill, and John to ride with the caravan and make sure it arrived in Strawberry unharmed. Other than a few Lemoyne Raiders that tried to give you trouble as you left Saint Denis, it had been a pretty quiet ride. It was nice to have an easy job that paid well and didn’t result in half the gang earning bounties for a change. When you returned to camp at Clemens Point, everyone was in good spirits, grateful for the money you had earned.
“Care to share that?” You saw Sean grab the bottle from a reluctant Karen, take a drink, and hand it off to Bill. You suspected that the bottle may never make its way back to you, so you got up to get a few beers from the crate near the food tent.
As you made your way to the crate, you heard laughter coming from the poker table. You looked to see Arthur smiling as he stood up to pull in the money piled in the center of the table. John, Lenny, and Uncle didn’t look as amused.
You returned to your spot around the fire just as Javier began to play a song on his guitar. Soon, everyone started to sing along, even those that didn’t know the words. You opened your beer and joined them.
This went on for a few hours. Everyone was drinking, singing, and the gang was having its first good time in a long time. You began to feel lightheaded, your lips tasted of booze, and whether it was from the liquor or the camp morale, you had a warm fuzzy feeling inside. At some point in the night you had a blanket wrapped around you, and you eventually started to drift to sleep, leaning your head against a nearby tree stump. It wasn’t until you felt someone nudge your shoulder and offer a bottle in your direction that you woke up. You shook your head at the offer and sat up from the stump.
“Quittin’ on us already, little lady?” Pearson asked as he took the bottle back.
“Well, Mr. Pearson, I oughta get to bed soon. If I don’t, I’ll sleep the day away tomorrow, and somebody has to put meat in the stew!” You both laughed.
You stood up from your seat and wrapped the blanket tighter around yourself. “Goodnight everyone. If you need me, I’ll be in my tent.”
As you started walking, you instantly realized that you had drank a little more than you thought. You felt as if the ground was moving, which made it difficult to put one foot in front of the other. You took a few steps and stumbled, which earned a few snickers from around the fire.
You took a moment to regain your balance, then continued your attempt to walk to your tent. However, as you passed by the poker table, you failed to see a crate that was on the ground and tripped over it. You reached for the nearest thing you could find to steady yourself, which happened to be Arthur’s shoulder. He turned around just in time to catch you in his lap. As you landed, you instantly felt his whole body grow tense.
“On second thought,” you said jokingly, “this will work just fine!” You heard more laughter from the group around the fire.
You considered Arthur a friend, but he always managed to keep a safe distance from you, respectful of your personal boundaries. It sometimes amused you at how careful he was to protect your privacy. He’d always call out for you when he came to your tent, even if the flaps were open. Anytime you went to the river together to cool off, he’d give you space in case you wanted to bathe. It was as almost as if he had built this invisible barrier between the two of you that he didn’t dare cross. So now, as you sat in his lap, you couldn’t help but laugh at how awkward he must feel.
That’s why you were surprised when, instead of helping you stand back up so you could walk to your tent, he eased back into his seat, wrapped one arm around you, and continued to play poker with his other hand.
You thought about trying to stand up on your own, but part of you actually wanted to stay in Arthur’s arms. The warmth of his body comforted you, put you at ease. As you sat there with your legs draped across his thighs and his arm wrapped around your waist, you felt safe, which was a feeling you hadn’t experienced in a long time. You ultimately decided that you were going to stay in his arms until he made you move—partly because you enjoyed it, partly because you didn’t think you could make it back to your tent on your own.
Uncle took the opportunity to make a joke. “Maybe you oughta quit while you’re ahead, Arthur. It looks to me like you got your hands full.”
You heard John and Lenny chuckle.
Without missing a beat, Arthur responded, “Uncle, with the way your luck’s goin’ tonight, I could play with a blindfold on and still take all your money.”
John and Lenny roared with laughter. Even you couldn’t help but crack a smile at Arthur’s retort, despite your dazed state.
You rested your head against Arthur’s shoulder and wrapped your blanket tighter around yourself. As you began to fall asleep, your head drooped forward until your face was buried in Arthur’s neck.
A few minutes passed before you were awakened by Arthur’s shaking chest and more laughter. You felt him lean forward to rake in his earnings. Your eyes fluttered open and you shifted your legs to move off of his lap. As you did so, you felt the arm around your back grow stiff, and you realized that Arthur was trying to keep you from leaving.
With your head against his shoulder, you looked up to his face for confirmation of this idea. You could see his eyes scanning the new cards on the table before moving to the cards in his hand. He noticed you looking at him and met your gaze, giving you a smile. He rubbed the small of your back before whispering, “Sorry to wake you. Get some rest.”
You had always thought Arthur’s eyes were beautiful, but now, as you were looking up at him and he was looking at you, you were awestruck. A couple strands of his hair blew softly in the wind, and behind him, a black sky covered in a sea of stars. You wanted to stay up and watch him all night, but you finally gave into your body’s need for rest and fell back asleep.
***********
The next morning you woke up in your tent and immediately noticed that your boots were off. You sat up on your bedroll and felt that your bandana, suspenders, and belt had also been removed. Every other piece of clothing remained untouched. As you looked around your tent, you saw your things in a corner, placed in a neat pile. You reached for your boots and put them on.
As you stepped out of your tent, you saw Arthur coming towards you, holding two cups of coffee. “I was just comin’ to bring you this,” he said as he handed you a cup. “I figured you might need it after last night.”
“Thanks,” you replied, reaching for the cup.
“Also, I, uh, was about to head into Valentine. I was wonderin’ if maybe you wanted to join me and we could get something to eat for breakfast?”
You didn’t respond, but instead took a sip of coffee, giving yourself some time to read his eyes. Was he asking you as a friend, or had his feelings for you changed after last night?
When you didn’t answer right away, you saw Arthur’s cheeks go red and he looked to the ground, noticeably embarrassed. “Or, you can just hang around camp and I can ride into Valentine alone. It was just a thought. I don’t want you feelin’ like you have to ride with—”
“Arthur.”
He looked up from the the ground as you spoke. “I could really go for some oatmeal right about now. I can be ready in a few minutes. Wait for me?”
His eyes lit up as he smiled. “I’ll go get our horses ready.”