a Smirk Pulls On Joel's Lips At Her Response - Of Course, He Didn't Believe A Word Of What

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     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 .

QUASTARI // indie private multifandom multimuse

featuring BARRETT TORBON ; a fandomless bear-shifter original character

stan pines tag drop.

it was never common practice to ask for details when arthur was getting paid for a job. in his experience, FEWER details made the job easier. & frankly, he did not care to know the circumstances - only how much it paid.

escorting a bride-to-be across statelines was among his more duller jobs to date. the details were not something he spent much time thinking on.

the door is kicked shut with enough force to wobble on its rusting hinges, & arthur's long sigh follows like a low rumble of thunder. the pay of bringing her to her wedding was HANDSOME enough - this ain't too far from bounty-hunting, come to think of it.

❝ perhaps you would prefer sleeping outside in the dirt, princess, ❞ arthur mutters out, giving a shake of his head. ❝ nah, trust me - the first place them bounty hunters will check is the fancy hotel. we're better off here. ❞

he falls into a wooden chair in the corner of the room, offering hope baxter as much space as the room would allow. if arthur wasn't so wound up, perhaps the reality of being ALONE in a hotel room with a women would be more apparent.

a small, admittedly quite mortified, ❝ 𝒐𝒉 . ❞ is all she manages for a bit as the realization of what he is saying settles in her mind . in all of her sheltered naiveté of course she hadn't considered that , yet another reminder that there is terrifyingly 𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐋𝐄 she knows about the world beyond her daddy's church doors.

embarrassment rises hot into her cheeks. it was bad enough to feel ignorant, oblivious to the uncensored reality arthur has been steeped in all of his life - but the cacophony of debauchery seeping through the thin walls merely serves to rub salt into the wound. He was 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕, & she was becoming increasingly certain this world would eat her up alive if it weren't for him.

hope follows closer behind, trying her best to ignore how her mind 𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐒 dangerously - the sounds don't help, neither does the thought of what these rooms were typically for . Especially unhelpful is the way his frame dwarfs her own , taking up so much of the little space available to them in this narrow hallway . . .

it's also not lost on her that if she hadn't gotten cold feet, 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 would have been her wedding night.

❝ alright, alright - i catch your drift, cowboy,❞ she concedes, hoping that will get him off her back for a moment at least.

entering the room they had been given for the night, there is no hiding the crinkle of her freckled nose at the state of it. of course, being thoroughly humbled by their exchange in the hall - among many other times since he had ridden into her life - she keeps her mouth shut.

hope hovers for a moment, frozen - unsure how to relax in such . . . 𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒄 accommodations. she doesn't hesitate long, opting to teeter on the edge of a portion of the mattress free of any questionable stains.

❝ not sure how comfortable i can get . . . considerin' the circumstances,❞ she huffs, an attempt at a joke to ease the growing tension as it suddenly dawns on her that the room is woefully sparse - only one bed for the two of them.

she swallows, 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐃. it's going to be a very long night.

     with his mouth in a tight line, arthur's head turns away to look straight ahead. hers is not an unfamiliar sentiment - one that's been mostly BEATEN out of arthur some time ago, but still there somewhere. still huddled inside the shell of a killer & a thief.

           ❝ ain't no shame in lookin' for the GOOD in the world. ❞

     his words are low, as if arthur were sharing a secret. the next moment, he's waving his hand up & shouting for the attention of the barkeep. ❝ lemme buy you somethin', ❞ he says, giving maeve a sideways glance. ❝ seems like you need something to get your mind off things. what'll you have ? ❞

reputations are everything, maeve isn't blind to that. she hides behind whichever one suits her best - those who label her as just a gentle, sweet woman. those who notice cleverness, that underestimate it all the same. everyone seems to be painted by so many artists... it's almost hard to keep track of which whispers come from where.

like seeing in the dark, it's often a matter of gut && experience.

her time with bobby was far from kind, far from gentle. but that doesn't mean she wants to let herself become used to the bad over the good.

"I just worry once I let myself always expect the bad, I'm setting myself up for that being how I see the world forever." and at that point, it becomes only surviving, not living. maeve can't help the part of her that is sure it's risk the danger to herself to simply... try to keep seeing at least some good. "I learn my lessons, I just don't want to forget there's a world outside of those bad moments. which probably sounds silly."