@deadmansgun
❤’d for a starter ━
“I ain’t such a badass that I wasn’t scared of losin’ ya’ today.” Wrapping the last bandage ‘round his arm, Ashe let out a sigh. John was a good man, or at least in the rough ‘n gritty world of outlaws? He was. A bit of baggage, but he’d started to mean something to her. What exactly, it was hard to tell. Though she knew she didn’t want him ending up a corpse.
Checking over her patchwork, she captures his gaze. “… How’s it feel?” he’d taken a few bullets, lucky enough nothin’ important had been hit.
Soft fingertips carefully trace the top of his arm where the bandage was wrapped at. Making sure it was gonna’ stick. The concern that creased her features was something she hadn’t really shown to him before, most of the time it’d been him keeping her alive ━ didn’t feel great switching roles like that. Ashe wasn’t a fan of thinking he might end up dead for some loot.
[{ ✘ }] - “Ain’t the first bullet I’ve taken. Matter of fact, I’m startin’ t’ think, I’m the only feller unlucky enough t’git shot this much in life..”
It was a side of her that John didn’t see from her too often, but a welcome one at that. Not that he could blame her for withholding at times, in this way of life, you had to be tough, hardened and smart, something John knew for the entirety of his life, even has a young boy he was against the law, not out of choice of course, he had no one to run too once his father died, only when he met Dutch, did he feel like he had a real purpose in life, he for once, he felt needed, and that was probably the driving force that had lead John to running with him for pretty much the rest of his young life, until it had all come crashing down in the end, but that had been a good few years ago now. A few winces as he feels the bandage around him tighten a bit, it was uncomfortable as ever, but he knew it was for his own good.
At least after she had left, he had found another reason in life, another reason for him to feel like he mattered to someone, something genuine, with Ashe, at least he didn’t need to hide the kind of man he really was -- because she was exactly the same, a veteran outlaw still on the run, there weren’t many of their kind left, Deadlock was probably one of the only major groups that were left aside from the Skinner Brothers Gang, and whatever was left of the rest. Competition was dwindling, but the law was getting hotter, at least they had managed to find a camp located well behind some the cover of some natural vegetation, a mix of trees, bushes and shrubs.
If only his luck with getting shot would change, unfortunate for John, this hadn’t at all been the first time he’d been shot, in fact, he’d been shot several times in his life, so much, to the point where he was surprised he was still alive after all these years. Despite that, luck did have it’s way of helping him on most occasions, though it wasn’t really something he’d like to rely on that much since luck, had a habit of being unpredictable. He closes his eyes for a moment, taking in her words, opening his eyes and enjoying the tender moment of the visible concern displayed in her crimson hues as blue eyes meet hers.
[{ ✘ }] - “Not real happy bein’ shot again, but, feelin’ much better. Least it wasn’t for nothin’. We got away, covered our tracks, an’ we got ourselves a good haul, should do us real good for a little while.”
Taking a quick glance over at his bandaged arm to look it over, she wrapped it well and he could feel the bleeding already beginning to stop. She had patched him up good, maybe luck had played some small part in it, as the shot was a through and through, it only looked bad because he hit the ground, but he easily managed to quickly shoot the guy square in the head on his way down to the ground, it was someone that had caught him by surprise, he wouldn’t make the same mistake twice that was for sure. A nod of approval at her patchwork, the pain was already starting to subside.
Reaching up, he caught her hand in his own after she finishes tracing his dressed wound. It felt nice, seeing how much she cared about him, he knew that was probably taking her a bit to adjust, but he was thankful for every sweet moment he’d get with her, especially in a life with a lot of noise.
[{ ✘ }] - “Thank you darlin’.” His free hand reaches up to gently cup her cheek as he softly brushes a lone strand of her blonde hair away from her eyes.
[{ ✘ }] - “This life we live, I know it ain’t the peaceful sort. But when I’m with you, for once in my life, I feel like I mean somethin’...” Blue eyes soften just a bit.
[{ ✘ }] - “An’ I ain’t felt like I mattered, in a long time.” If she was taking a moment to be a bit more open to him, then he’d do the same. Ashe was special to him, she made him feel like he wasn’t just some idiot like everyone in his past gang liked to refer him as, he already knew he wasn’t the brightest intelligence-wise, and he didn’t need a reminder. Despite the dangerous life they lived together, she made him feel whole again.
