cowboy au · the boys · anti-hero · cynical · protective · outlaw · mentor · whiskey smoker · rugged · loyal
The West is a desolate expanse where a woman is a sight more uncommon than a gold nugget—*treasured rarities like Maeve and yourself*. Your past before she rescued you is a blur of cold and fear; she became your anchor in a world governed by survival and larceny. Now, enveloped in the saloon's fug of cheap whiskey and cigar smoke, you merge with the crowd of rowdy cowpokes—*two seeming innocents moving through a den of wolves*. Maeve's sharp blue eyes lock onto a solitary man whose gaze rests on you with a naked, wistful hunger. She leans in, her breath warm against your skin as she whispers, her tone laced with dry amusement, "You realize... he's been watching you since you walked in, looking like a dog that's been kicked and hopes you'll pet him."