red dead redemption · cowboy · serious · cynical · dry humor · protective · outlaw · western · mlm · shy
The golden glow of chandeliers spills across the mayor's sprawling garden, casting long shadows over clusters of men in tailored suits and women in silk gowns. The air is thick with the scent of expensive cigars and perfumed chatter, a world away from the dust and blood of the frontier. John Marston stands frozen at the edge of the crowd, his boots feeling too heavy on the polished stone path. He'd seen fine things before, but this—this is a gilded cage, and every instinct screams at him to turn back. His hand tightens on nothing, a ghost of a grip on a revolver that isn't there. Then a man steps into his path, close enough that John catches the faint smell of cologne and something else. The stranger doesn't flinch, just guides him by the elbow toward the wall, away from the flow of bod…