Without the Sun
Pairing: Arthur Morgan X Reader
Prompt: 22 - “Don’t call me ‘princess,’ asshole.” Requested by @tinkerpistol
Warnings: Angst, Jealousy, Swearing
Word Count: 1,555
Part II
It had been three days. Three days since you got stuck in this God forsaken storm in the middle of your hunting trip with Javier Escuella. The two of you wanted to find some deer, and bring them back to camp. You were only supposed to be gone for half a day at the most. But, here you were, stuck in this tiny cabin on its last legs, waiting out the storm. The stables beside the cabin were actually sturdy, so you didn’t worry too much for your horses. In fact, you weren’t too worried at all. For a flirt, Javier was quite the gentleman. He gave you your own space, and when it got chillier, he would ask if you’d like to keep warm under the blanket he had found in the cabinet. It smelled old, but it certainly got the job done. What absolutely killed you was the boredom. There was only so much you could do in that small space. It was too cold and soaking wet to go outside, unless it was to check the horses. You already cleaned your revolver, your repeater, and your Calvary dagger. But, that had only occupied a small bit of time since you had been here. The two of you were growing bored and restless. Five Finger Fillet was dull now, and the playing cards you had with you were too soaked to play with. You mostly stared at the ceiling or out the window, and your thoughts drifted. You thought about how you needed better spurs, a new hat, Arthur Morgan, a new blouse since your favorite got soaked in O’Driscoll blood, Arthur’s big hands, throwing knives— Your face burned a bright red, as you sat up from the bed you had been laying on. You swallowed hard, realizing how much you thought about that ruggedly handsome gunslinger. He was on your mind more than usual lately. You knew you had a crush on him. How could you not? He was tall, handsome, sweet, and actually kind of funny. Even now, when your mind was empty, he came up effortlessly. You couldn’t help but give an audible groan as you shifted to lean against the window beside the bed, watching the rain pelt the side of the small building. Your face and chest felt warm, your mind wandering to Arthur being stuck here with you instead of Javier. “It should be letting up soon.” Javier said from across the room, leaning against the wall and whittling something with his knife. It brought you out of your daze. “That’s what you said yesterday.” You grumbled, irritated. You wanted to see the cowboy. You missed him. “I know, I know.” He gave a small chuckle. He walked over to you for a minute. “Ten.” You turned your gaze away from the window, and looked up at Javier. He held something in his hand. You blinked, and he gently gestured for you to take it. You took the item from his calloused hand, and smiled over it. It was what he had been working on the past two days with his knife. He had grabbed a branch on your way inside three days ago, and worked on it until he got it into that songbird you had pointed out to him on the way out of camp. It was your favorite. Your cheeks flushed as you looked it over, unable to contain the large smile on your face. “Finally, you smiled for me.” He remarked, standing up straight. He returned your smile, and you felt a new warmth bloom in your chest at the sight of it. You cleared your throat, standing up and holding the small piece of art to your chest, feeling a bit flustered. Honestly, you were a bit shocked at the feeling. Nobody besides Arthur had made you feel like that. Huh. “Thank you!” You smiled at him again. You hurried over, wrapping it in cloth and then sliding it into a pocket on your satchel to prevent it from getting wet. You turned around to say something more to him, but he quickly put his hand up to silence you. You blinked, and he pointed up to the ceiling. “The rain is letting up,” he said. He bolted for the door, and opened it wide to see the clouds breaking slightly. The rain wasn’t nearly as hard as before. It was actually the lightest it had been since this all started. “If we mount up now, we may be able to beat it before it gets worse. What do you say?” You quickly nodded. You gathered your things while Javier extinguished the fire in the fireplace. The two of you ran to your horses, checking them over quickly to make sure they were okay, before bolting out of there. The two of you rode along the trail. The ground was soaking wet, and incredibly dangerous. Javier called out to you to slow down to a steady pace so the horses wouldn’t slip. You pushed your steed a bit by not stopping to give him a break, afraid to get caught once again in the storm if it returned. You arrived at Horseshoe Overlook just as it was beginning to pick up again. People were scurrying into tents, securing down stuff that had almost flown away. Arthur was making sure the horses were huddled in a safe location when he saw you two ride in together, laughing wildly at the fact that you two were free from the confines of that tiny cabin. You jumped down from your horse, and Javier did the same. You cheered loudly, and he came over to you and brought you into a large bear hug. You hugged him back, as he spun the two of you around. He only set you down because you both got dizzy. You couldn’t help but laugh. Finally! You were back at camp! No longer trapped in that tiny cabin! What a relief! “Go get dry! I’ll go put the horses with the others.” You told him, leaning up to speak so he could hear you as the rain began to pick up. “Gracias, Y/N. No te tardes.” Javier buttoned your coat for you, and you nodded up at him. You led the horses to the others, and smiled up at Arthur. You couldn’t contain the fluttering of your heart at the sight of him. He wore his coat, his worn hat, and his boots were covered in mud. He was tending to the horses, wearing leather gloves to keep his hands warm. Your cheeks flushed, unable to hide how happy you were to see him. You put a hand on your head to keep your hat down as the wind picked up. He walked over to you, reaching for the reigns in your hand. “Sorry, Javier and I got stuck in the—“ Before you could continue, Arthur cut you off. “Look who finally decided to grace us with her presence, the princess and her knight in shining armor!” His voice was thick with sarcasm, feigning excitement at the sight of you. He took the reigns from your cold hands, and turned his back to you as he led the horses with the others. Your eyebrows pinched with frustration. Your mouth opened in shock, and you watched his back as he settled the horses in. The wind picked up further, and there was a ball forming in your throat. The excitement of seeing him was gone, and replaced with a bitter taste in your mouth. You had been quietly hoping he would be excited to see you. Why wasn’t he excited to see you? “Don’t call me ‘princess’, asshole.” You said rather harshly, taking a step forward. “Or what? You goin’ run off for another three days with Javier?” He retorted, raising his voice at you slightly, turning his head, but keeping his back to you. You didn’t like the way his words cut into you and what they implied. There was something in his tensed up back that made your stomach churn. His reaction to seeing you were okay was not at all what you had expected. You had been gone for three days, and he hadn’t been worried? He wouldn’t even give you the chance to explain yourself. You looked up at him, frustration and disbelief as clear as day on your face. He still faced away from you. You scoffed, and stomped away from him, feeling your throat become dry. “Hell are you goin’?” He demanded, calling out to you. “Away from you!” You snapped, your voice cracking slightly. Tears began to sting your eyes, and you had never been more grateful for the harsh wind and rain currently pelting your red cheeks. You went over to your tent, slipping inside. You kicked off your muddy boots, and shook off your coat. You placed it on the chair to dry, and went over to your chest. You removed your wet pants, and slipped on some dry ones after rummaging through your wardrobe. You crept into your cot, pulling the blanket over your head to hide your crying face from anyone who would peek inside. You felt like such a fool for believing Arthur Morgan could ever care enough about you to actually worry. Such a damn fucking fool...
