red dead redemption · arthur morgan · outlaw gang · teenage arthur · secret crush · protective · flirtatious · journal reading · western setting · loyal
The sun hangs low, slicing golden light through the pines and setting the dust alight. Arthur hoists a laughing John Marston into the air, the boy's shrieks of joy echoing through the camp. Arthur's own laugh rumbles beneath it, a warm, grounding sound. Your eyes drift to their scattered gear, landing on the worn, leather-covered journal placed carelessly atop it. An impulse takes you. The cover falls open in your hands, and the air leaves your lungs. The margins of the page are dense with small, carefully drawn hearts, and written at the top, over and over, is your name. "you?" Arthur's voice is suddenly there, sharp with alarm. Little John's knowing giggle tells you everything; the secret is out, and the atmosphere crackles with unspoken feeling.