hey y’all here’s some self indulgent charles stuff I thought of in the shower lmao here we go
Warnings/AN: none I think. hand holding? comfortable charles? he was really interesting in the epilogue and it was nice being able to see more of his personality. not sure if I did at good job at bringing it out exactly lmao but here we go
You were laying forward on your horse, the dappled Hungarian Halfbred grazing peacefully with you on his back. You had rested your head on his withers, your arms draping over the sides, holding your drying boots. Your pants were still quite wet on account of being jeans, and the bottom of your shirt was still damp. You were fine, though. It was a nice enough day, and the sun was out and you’d dry out eventually. For now you and your companion could sunbathe while he munched away.
You had left camp a few hours ago after finishing your chores early, deciding to have some fun in the river nearby. You had ridden down bareback, a rope around your horse’s neck to help you hang onto him. Otherwise, you were mostly at the mercy of his decisions and hoping he’d listen to you. He mostly did. Mostly.
You didn’t look up when you heard hoof beats that seemed to be approaching since your horse didn’t seem pay any mind to them. You smiled as they grew closer, recognizing the whinny of a certain horse. “Hello, Charles.” You hummed, not opening your eyes.
A soft chuckle greeted you in return. “How did you know?” The man questioned, and you opened your eyes to see him also bareback on Taima, although she still had her bridle on. His pants were rolled up, and he had no shoes on.
“Well,” you grunted as you sat up straight now, scooting up on his back, “Arthur would’ve said something first and if it was someone not from camp, ol’ Pinker here would’ve ran.” You stated simply, your fingers tangling at the bottom of the stallion’s mane. “And we...I..” your eyes flitted over to the large man, who watched you curiously, “..I trust you.”
Charles seemed like he wanted to say something before he just gave you a smile, which you returned. You were glad you had made a friend in him. You both had joined the gang around the same time, which helped, but it was still nice. He shook his head as he dismounted and started to walk towards you and Pinker. “I still can’t believe you named that horse Pinker.” His voice was full of amusement, a certain glint in his eyes as he held his hand out to help you down.
“What!” You barked a laugh. “I think it’s funny,” you continued to laugh as you dropped your boots off the side of Pinker before taking Charles’ hand and letting him help you slide off of your tall war horse. “I doubt that those Pinkertons even know he’s missing! Poor guy.” It was your turn to shake your head before you gave your horse a hearty pat on his shoulder. The horse nickered, bending around to nudge you gently.
Charles watched you in what might have been awe before he caught himself, clearing his throat. “Well,” he reached around, rubbing the back of his neck before he straightened up, “do you mind if we join you guys?” He asked, his guts twisting in nerves for a moment before it just as quickly dissipated at your happy nod and “of course!”
“It’s been a real nice day.” You commented as you walked back towards the running water, Charles trailing close behind you before he caught up, walking next to you. “We’ve just been...relaxing.” You concluded with a nod and a soft smile. You couldn’t help it. You haven’t felt this good in... months, really. “I hope we stay near the river for a while.” You said after a moment, stopping once your feet hit the refreshingly cold water. You sighed contently, turning around to look at your surroundings before your eyes landed on the man near you.
He followed your motions, sucking in a soft, surprised breath. “It’s a bit cold, Y/N.” He stated, a startled tone to his voice.
“Well, yeah.” You cracked a grin. “It’s melted snow, Charles.” You motioned towards the mountains. His eyes followed your motions before he gave a small nod, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth. He didn’t say anything as he continued into the water, letting the feeling of the stream pass around him ground him. You watched him curiously, before you wandered to a boulder nearby, leaning against it. You didn’t feel like getting your pants completely wet again. You decided to let him have this moment, instead focusing on the horses grazing a few dozen feet away.
A bit later he returned to your side, the bottom of his rolled up pants a bit damp. You looked up at him, your face soft. You couldn’t help not being vulnerable with him. You hoped that it wouldn’t bite you in the ass later, being soft around him. Charles frowned at the look that crossed your face as you thought. “Everything okay?”
You hesitated a moment, your eyes flickering away before returning to his own brown ones. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just overthinking ‘s all.” You said with a soft laugh, pushing yourself from the rock. You started to walk back towards the horses, Charles next to you as you both navigated the shallow water.
“If you say so.” He relented, deciding to not push it.
You two kept walking back towards the horses before you yelped, grabbing Charles’ arm as you started to fall. The large man helped steady you, a look of worry followed by amusement once he realized you were going to be okay. Your grip on his arm tightened as you two made your way towards the river bank. You two carefully navigated the rocky bank with your bare feet before reaching the grass, walking back towards your grazing horses. You hadn’t let go of Charles’ arm, although the grip was more gentle now.
“Would you like help up?” Charles questioned, looking down at your as you both approached your horses. You felt your cheeks heat up for a moment before you nodded. Your eyes widened when you felt his large hands grip your hips on each side, helping boost you up onto your horse. He hesitantly moved a hand to support one of your thighs, pushing you up until you were up.
You suppressed a grin, looking down at Charles. “Such a gentleman.” You teased, taking your boots from him after he picked them up for you. “Thank you.”
Charles gave a nod, going to mount Taima, though his cheeks were flushed with heat. “Of course.”
You nudged Pinker forward, moving over towards him and Taima once he was up on the mare. You hesitated a moment before you took his hand with your free one, giving it a small squeeze. You smiled when you felt Charles return the hand squeeze, meeting his gaze before you both started back towards camp.
A/N: Hey y’all, was that stupid? Probably! And I have like 20 more of these in my drafts so yee freakin haw (cowboy emoji)
