Setting Up Camp & Starting Up A Fire Was Enough To Keep Arthur's Hands BUSY For An Hour Or So. Before
setting up camp & starting up a fire was enough to keep arthur's hands BUSY for an hour or so. before they'd been bushwhacked, arthur wanted nothing more than to settle down for the night. but now, as the sun begins to sink under the horizon, his knuckles are the same shade of red as the sky.
he rubbed at them absently as he watches the fire, his brows pulled tight together in thought. ms hope baxter had wanted to treat his wounds after arthur scared off the last of the bounty hunters. & arthur was THANKFUL when she allowed the matter to drop after he resisted.
it seemed she was protecting his pride as tightly as his life.
in true form, arthur hadn't thought of much to say before he ended up in front of her. his hands hang by his sides - their dull THROB helps ground his focus. pain always seemed to do that.
❝ that's precisely what i wanted to discuss, ❞ he replies in a stern, GRUFF tone. arthur shifts his weight, darting his eyes, pulling his face into a grimace despite the light swelling around his eye. ❝ i wanted to apologize. for puttin' you in that sort of position. i'm s'posed to be protecting you - not the other way around. ❞
if dutch had been here, he'd surely be tearing arthur a new one. scolding him for having been so distracted on a job. but the fatherly reprimand would've morphed into teasing. because dutch has always been real good at reading people, and he'd sniff out the CAUSE of his distraction like a bloodhound.
❛ my, arthur, here i was believing you were above such earthly desires. didn't think you had it in you, son. ❜
his ears BURN just thinking of it.
𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒕𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒏'𝒕 𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 ( accepting ! )
@quastari said : ❝ i . . . should probably thank you for that . ❞ ( from arthur )
the sun lies low on the horizon , shadows growing long in the golden light . they had set up camp for the night close to a stream , & hope took the opportunity to clean some of her more road-worn garments . she's quite 𝒐𝒄𝒄𝒖𝒑𝒊𝒆𝒅 by the soothing sound of rushing water , the current dragging at her fingertips , & the refreshing chill of fresh evening air . so much so , she doesn't properly register arthur's approach until he speaks up . she sets down her last blouse to dry , turning to look up at the man from where she kneels .
❝ for . . . ? oh , that . ❞ echoes of the struggle from hours prior still ring inside her head , another reason she'd needed to take some time alone with her thoughts & prayers . lord have mercy on her , she hadn't had a choice - & even if she did , she doesn't regret the one she made . hope is not even sure she had time to fully process what was happening , only that if she did 𝑵𝑶𝑻𝑯𝑰𝑵𝑮 arthur probably wouldn't have made it out of that scrap alive . . . so , she pulled the trigger . only hit the bastard in his shoulder , but it had been enough to turn the tables in their favor .
❝ think nothin' of it , y'would've done the same for me , ❞ she offers him a tight-lipped smile & a nod , as if to indicate nothing more needed to be said about it . from what she's gathered thus far traveling alongside arthur morgan , he probably had to work up to voicing his thanks . she doesn't want to push her luck or scare him off - but she does feel a warmth bubbling up in her chest , like . . . 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒅𝒆 ? she's happy to have done something right , to have helped . to be more than a burden to him on this journey .
lips tug into a full grin now , playfulness taking over her previously somber tone , ❝ besides , seeing the look on your face when y'realized who fired was absolutely 𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐒𝐒 . ❞
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jon dips his head in a single nod to acknowledge her words, though he's heard them from her before. his reply was normally to ASSURE her it wasn't a problem & they enjoyed having her here.
instead, he tosses the alien-fruit back into the container. ❝ making a good meal out of these is all the repayment we need. ❞
jon continues winding through container after container - only stopping to occasionally SKIM through a manifest report here & there. his focus was mainly on ellie. ❝ though, i hope you don't feel like you need to be helping out. i'm not going to maroon you somewhere because you aren't preparing dinner for us. ❞
｡･:*:･ﾟ🐬 BODY RAISES SLIGHTLY ... onto the balls of her feet , so that she can look into the containers as well. a bright smile crosses her lips as she pulls out a cucumber looking veggie - blue eyes look up at jon and her head nods , before she focuses back on the cucumber like food. ❝ these are great. ❞ chef had indeed ended up trusting her enough with the shopping list - just a little test. ❝ it's okay , captain. ❞ ellie replied , placing the cucumber back into the container and standing flat on her feet again. ❝ chef and i had a talk the other day. i'm not trying to push him out of his own kitchen. ❞ there was a laugh. ❝ but i don't want to just sit around in my room doing nothing , if i can do something to repay you guys for helping me. ❞
part of arthur didn't seem to want to breathe with hope so close. the smell of her clung to the inside of his throat like smoke - deceivingly sweet but still TOXIC in its own way. in the moment, however, it was impossible to describe it as it was.
hope baxter has always been a forbidden fruit he was too SINFUL to hold. perched on a branch just low enough to reach. its sweet smell had been tempting arthur closer since the beginning but he always managed to turn away. it only took the smallest breeze to knock her loose right into his hands & now he finds he's AFRAID to learn how she tastes.
his eyes dart away when hope brings a hand up to his cheek. her fingers are soft & gentle - so contrasted from the more VIOLENT touches he is used to. yet, it affects him all the same. flinching ever so slightly, expecting it to hurt but realizing he wants more.
the line of his mouth tightens at hope's reply. her refusal to continue certainly would've made things far EASIER for him. ❝ i ain't sure on a lot of things. ❞ arthur admits, eyes returning to hers.
carefully, as if afraid to hurt her, his hands come up to hold her arms. he almost pushes her away. he almost pulls her closer. arthur decides on keeping hope still until he can decide.
❝ ... but i do know that this ain't exactly smart. runnin' out on your wedding was one thing - hell, maybe it was the right thing. but i can't have you gettin' involved with an OUTLAW like me. ❞
𝒔𝒐𝒇𝒕 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒔 & 𝒔𝒐𝒇𝒕 𝒔𝒌𝒊𝒏 ( selectively accepting ! )
@quastari said : ❝ are you sure ? we can stop if you want . ❞ ( from arthur )
lips remain parted as she tries to catch her breath , head still spinning in the aftermath of their lapse in judgement . she can still taste him on her tongue - tobacco smoke & something 𝒔𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒕 she can't quite place ; she still feels the scratch of his beard too , no doubt leaving her pale skin even more flushed . she has spent the better part of the last month imagining what it would be like to kiss this man , & perhaps it's the sheer anticipation of it all , ( or maybe it's that there is some deeper , much more dangerous connection between the two of them . . . ) but it is everything she's been fantasizing about - maybe even more .
his words take time to cut through the heady rush of emotions she's experiencing , their meaning sinking in like 𝑴𝑶𝑳𝑨𝑺𝑺𝑬𝑺 in autumn . the blue sky of her gaze eventually refocuses on arthur , the sun peeking back out from behind the cloudy haze she'd gotten lost in , his rumbling drawl the swift wind pushing it away - bringing her back to reality .
hands rise from where they had taken purchase , clinging onto his shirt for dear life . hesitating only briefly , she moves to gingerly cup his face . just for a moment , she allows herself another indulgence to satiate her pining , a thumb brushing across a stubbled cheek . her gaze brims with all of the affection she's been denying - 𝒔𝒐𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 even further in response to what he's said . even now , he's still trying to protect her . it's nearly enough for her to compulsively close the minuscule gap between them once again . somehow , she resists the urge .
❝ believe me , the last thing i wanna do right now is stop , ❞ she admits , a bit taken aback by how 𝑵𝑬𝑬𝑫𝒀 she sounds , speaking hardly above a whisper . ❝ i . . . ❞
. . . don't think i've ever needed someone quite like i need 𝒚𝒐𝒖 .
it takes her a moment to reconfigure her thoughts away from finally being honest with herself & to him , the 𝑰𝑵𝑻𝑬𝑵𝑺𝑰𝑻𝒀 of what she wants to say sending her heart into a panicked frenzy . she stalls , tongue darting out subconsciously to wet her lips , clearly still precariously wavering between lust & logic . ❝ are . . . are you sure ? ❞ turning it back on him , classic deflection hope baxter . well done .
i want a ‘you’ve been dating my brother, but he clearly doesn’t appreciate you, so ive come to save the day even though i’m entirely sure i’d be worse for you’ kind of plot.
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