"Anytime, Cowgirl." : Arthur Morgan X OC

Chapter 9

(A/N: The first part of this chapter is EXTREMELY fluffy, so proceed with caution. You have been warned!)

She woke up one morning, a week later, with a smile still on her face.

Mary-Beth was asleep beside her, so she silently slipped out of bed, shimmying on her shoes. It was dawn, and as usual, she was one of the few awake.

She made her way to the fire. Arthur stood there, who greeted her with a smile. She shyly returned it.

The last week, they were pretty shy around each other, and Arthur was pretty busy with jobs. They really only got to see each other early in the morning, and at night, but usually he was too tired to stay up and talk for a long time. They had only shared one other kiss since that first day, and it was only for a second. Jane longed for them to become comfortable again.

Handing her a cup of coffee, Arthur ran a hand across he back, which sent tingles through her.

She thought it was strange to see Arthur being affectionate. She liked it, of course, but she still wasn't used to it.

Sean eyed them suspiciously across the fire. "Did I miss some'tin here?"

Arthur and Jane exchanged a glance before they both shook their heads.

John laughed. "Oh, they're sweet on each other now. Saw them smooching on the edge of camp about a week ago."

"Aww, dat's sweet," Sean teased. "Who woulda thought that the big, bad outlaw would have a soft spot for sweet Miss Jane? Ah- look at dat- it's even got h'm blushing."

Jane looked up at Arthur, who's cheeks and ears were red. She couldn't help but giggle as he shook his head, pulling his hat down lower and rubbing his face with his hand.

"Ain't that sweet?" John said, trying to embarrass Arthur further.

Arthur glanced down at Jane, who hadn't stopped giggling at him.

"Are you laughing at me?" He asked in a joking tone.

She just shrugged. "I didn't know that big, bad cowboys like Sean said could get so embarrassed over teasing about a girl."

He smirked, and motioned for her to give him her coffee, which she did hesitantly, not knowing what he was doing, and he set them down. Then, without warning, slung her up over his shoulder.

She laughed and yelled protest.

"Shh," he teased. "You're gonna wake up all of camp."

She stopped making noise at that, but didn't stop struggling.

"You wanna know what you get if you laugh at me?" He said, walking towards the end of camp, to the cliff.

"What are you gonna do - drop me?"

He chuckled and set her down. "No, not right now, at least." He paused, relishing in her presence and the early morning. "It's nice to get away from everyone for a bit."

She hummed in agreement. The pair stood next to each other, almost touching, but not quite. The tension between them was thick.

Though they liked being around the other, it was a bit strange to be so affectionate around each other. They both had to grow to become more familiar with the other's touch. Uncomfortable wasn't quite the right word, but different wasn't either.

Jane spoke up after a minute, bringing up what they were both thinking about. "Things aren't gonna be... different between us now, right? Well, yes, different, but not strange. Or uncomfortable."