Hello @annwritesallday I was your secret cupid for @rdr-secret-cupid:)
I apologise for the delay, my health kinda let me down and thus, I lost a lot of time.
I’m also more used to drawing, but your requests leaned more towards writing soooo… a chance to try something new, I guess? :)
English also isn’t my first language, so I’m sorry if there are mistakes!
Characters: Charles Smith, Arthur Morgan
Themes: Friendship, Emotional Comfort I guess?
Warnings: Hints at animal cruelty, emotional abuse and not so healthy drinking behavior
Summary: Arthur drinks a bit too much and tells Charles about his feelings (friendship)
———–
The sun had set hours ago at Clemens Point and by now, the lake was full of stars. It was a warm night, and in Charles opinion much more pleasent than the suffocating humid heat that lay over them during the days in this area.
He let out a sigh of relief as he sat down near the shore of the lake at the edge of camp. Drunken laughter and cheerful voices swept over to him, but they were dulled by the calm water in front of him.
Hosea had pulled of some kind of small scam today and had returned to camp with a crate of beer and a big smile on his face. One thing led to another and soon the overall interest in work and chores around camp had significantly lessened and rather turned towards storytelling, joking and singing.
And so, not much work got done that day, and though Charles did take over some of the other’s chores, there was still plenty to do. But that had to wait until tomorrow. It had been a long day and he was glad to finally have a quiet moment for himself.
He had considered joining Kieran at the scout fire, but the latter had also been doing more work around camp today than usual and not being the most outgoing person, he was probably grateful to have some time alone.
And so Charles had found himself this little spot at the shore, but after a few minutes, he heard footsteps approaching him.
The person stumbled a few times, clearly having had a bit too much whiskey, but Charles still recognized the man without having to turn around.
“Arthur.”
“Hello Charles”, Arthur greeted him and giggled as he struggled to keep his balance while trying to sit down next to him.
Arthur hadn’t been around camp for the past few days and had just come back this afternoon, a frown on his face and a distant look in his eyes. Something had definetly been on his mind and Charles wondered if Arthur had tried to wash it away with the alcohol. He hoped he was wrong.
His thoughts were interupted by Arthur’s slighty slurred voice.
“Really nice. The lake, it’s… is really nice. It’s… so much calm water. I like it. I feel…”
There was a shift in his voice and he paused.
Charles turned his head to look at Arthur, trying to figure out what was bothering him. But Arthur didn’t even seem to know himself as he gestured with his hands, triyng to find the right words, which appearently was made more difficult by the alcohol in his veins.
“I… I just… feel awful.”
It was a miserabel sight, really. Usually Arthur was well aware of the intimidating effect his size and appearance could have on others. He didn’t even have to do much, just stand tall, maybe cross his arms and put on a mean face.
But the man who now sat next to Charles on the dirty ground was nothing like that. He was slumped over, suddenly appearing much smaller than he actually was, not even trying to hide the emotions displayed on his face.
“Why? Arthur, did something happen?”
“Well, yeah… I think, I… There was this man and his - his horse… he said it died and he asked me to give him a ride.”
Arthur paused for a moment, letting out a defeated sigh, “I wanted to help him but it was a stupid… stupid trap an’ he’d killed the horse himself to make it look real and… and I jus’ wanted to help.”
He stopped once again, but this time, a small sob escaped Arthur. And Charles was glad the other man had to pause, as he himself also needed a moment to let it sink in.
It seemed so small and insignificant compared to other acts of violence he had witnessed over the years, and maybe that was why it wasn’t easy to understand. Killing a horse so you had the element of surprise while attempting to rob someone, not even knowing if they had any money at all? It didn’t make sense.
Next to him, Arthur was failing to keep his tears in check, so Charles carefully put his hand on his shoulder.
Arthur’s body tensed up for a moment and Charles felt a wave of disappointment rush through him, afraid that now Arthur would turn away and never open up to him ever again.
But after a few seconds, Arthur relaxed and continued to talk, “I thought I knew what I was doing. Jus’ wanted to do something right, as in… do the right thing. And I don’t know why it’s so… so hard for me.”
No matter how tough and dense Arthur sometimes acted, Charles knew there was more to him. He wasn’t quite sure yet what exactly, but people were complicated after all. However, some seemed to be more complicated than others. And seeing Arthur so hurt and confused? Somehow, it confused Charles too.
Arthur sniffed and finally turned his gaze to the younger outlaw, “It’s so easy for you and I just… don’t even understand what’s right and what’s wrong. Always have to think about it. I think I’m jealous… because you just… you just do what’s right without wondering what the right thing is. And I don’t even know what’s right. I don’t even know why I don’t know. No idea what I’m doing. I just - ”
“Arthur, stop that.”
“What?”
“Talking like that. It’s nonsense.”
While Arthur had been rambling on, Charles had recognized one of the emotions that was growing stronger within him right now. With every single word Arthur got out with shaky breaths, his anger grew. It wasn’t directed at Arthur, but rather at the situation. And he had to do something about it.
Arthur didn’t try to back away, his eyes were fixed on his face, probably stunned by his sudden change of tone.
With his hand still firmly on Arthur’s shoulder, Charles continued, “I don’t know where you’re getting these ideas from, but it’s not true.”
“I…”
“Arthur, I know you’ve probably had one or two beer too many. But don’t think I didn’t notice that you’re always putting yourself down, wether you’re sober or not.”
Arthur blinked a few times, looking almost offended, “I’m not drunk, just…”
“Just a little bit drunk, I know”, a small smile escaped him at Arthur’s blatant lie and his tone softened, “Can you just… listen to me for a moment?”
Arthur still looked somewhat unsure, but still gave him an hesitant nod.
“I don’t always know what’s right. And if there’s someone who claims they always do, they’re lying. And whoever put those ideas in your head is also a liar.”
There was a flash of realization in the teary eyes of the older outlaw and he slowly turned his head away. Someone had obviously come to Arthur’s mind.
Charles had a feeling who it was and maybe Arthur was even thinking of more than one person.
But whatever the case was, given Arthur’s reaction, Charles had definetly hit a nerve.
Now that he had, Charles almost felt a bit guilty. Almost.
He pushed those feelings away and instead focused on Arthur again, gesturing towards the camp behind them with his free hand, “Look, all those people… The girls all had their share of… bad experiences, and they trust you. They’re not naïve.”
“I would never-”
“No, of course not, because you know it’s wrong and given your reaction, you never even thought of it in the first place.”
Arthur shook his head, a grossed out expression all over his face.
“I’ve seen the way you laugh together. They care about you”, Charles paused at the disbelieving look Arthur gave him and rolled his eyes in response, “Don’t look at me like that, they DO. You’re like… this grumpy, big brother. If you don’t belive me, I’ll go and get them to come over so they can tell you yourself. You want me to do that?”
It was an attempt at humor, but it completly went over Arthur’s head, “No, I don’t want them to see me like… well…”
He tried to wipe the tears from his face, but his red eyes and nose were not easy to miss, even though the only source of light were the fires and lanterns from the nearby camp and the moon in the night sky above them.
Charles moved his hand from Arthur’s shoulder to his back, carefully patting him as the other man continued to rub at his face, “It’s okay Arthur. It’s alright. Nothing wrong with having emotions.”
He could have sworn to have heard a soft laugh from Arthur at that, and as he looked a bit closer, there actually seemed to be a genuine smile on his face.
“I mean it. There are people who go through life and don’t seem to think about how what they’re doing affects others at all. Like that guy who killed his horse. And even if they do, I doubt they care to much. But you obviously do care. That’s a good thing.”
“But?”
“But please… stop comparing yourself to me as if I’d know everything and never make mistakes. You have to think and decide for yourself.”
“Hosea told me the same”, there was a smile in Arthu’s voice now and this time, it was mirrored by his face. Charles returned the smile, but raised his eyebrows in a manner of faked disbelief.
Arthur laughed at that and raised his finger in a scolding gesture, “Oh don’t you look at me that. I’m afraid I’m not drunk enough to forget about this conversation once I’m sober again… I’m sorry, I… I guess the drink loosened the tongue… damn…”
“Well, I sure am glad it did. Someone had to… well, at least try to talk some sense into you.”
But Arthur didn’t respond to the teasing this time, and instead seemed to struggle to find the right words once again.
“I’m…”, Arthur paused, then laid his hand on Charle’s shoulder the same way the younger outlaw had done before, “Thank you. For… this, for beeing honest and… listening and… For beeing my friend.”
Charles nodded, glad that he appearently had gotten through some of the self-doubt that occupied Arthur’s mind.
“Charles, if… if there’s ever something you’d like to talk about… I care about you, too. And if you need to talk, I’ll be there too, okay?”
howdy,@painterlypeach !! I was your secret cupid this year ^0^ I went with the coffee shop au charthur prompt, and it was a delight!! I’ve never drawn anything for a modern au so this was a lot of fun lol. Thanks so much for your patience, and thanks a million to @rdr-secret-cupid for hosting the event!! Hope you like it!!!
red dead redemption 2、シェイディベルの戦い（The Battle of Shady Belle）で時短の為線路走ってたら何回やってもジョンが決まって落ちて「待ってよぉ～」って時間稼ぎするし玄関の一人に絶対に逃げられて一掃できずながら念願の個室ゲットしたんですけどちょっとチャルアサにはベット小さいかな～横がダッチの部屋だと思うんだけどそっちがキングサイズのベットでこっちで思いっきりチャルアサを‥と思う日々です。
red dead redemption 2 平和をつくる者は幸い(Blessed are the peacemakers)でコルムのアジトから逃げる時ひとしきり逆さブラブラした挙句傷の治療にモタモタして見張りに見つかりまくって敵の馬を奪ったり引きずりおろされたり大騒ぎしてキャンプ帰ったんですけど、キャンプで倒れたアサモちゃんがポマードもとれてなくて一昔前の女優みたいに全然汚れずすっごい可愛いんですよね。でこれは彼氏（charles！)がお姫様抱っこでベットに運びマウストゥマウス（男のロマン）で薬飲ませる（キスをすると治りが早いらしいよ！）パターンのやつや！と思ったら手負いの虎（ピアソン）がarthurのダイナマイトボディを重そうにヨロヨロ運んだ挙句女子に看病とかとほほ～とりあえず一杯（A QUIET TIME)みたいに金メダル取ったらオチが変わったりしない？（まぁ傷治療するの何回やってもモタモタするわけだけど）
red dead redemption 2 とりあえず一杯（A QUIET TIME)初回ダッチに話しかけられる前から既に3D酔いで気持ち悪かったのに酔ってふにゃふにゃアサちゃんのラインダンスやら可愛らしい場面やレニー女体化、レニー×レニーなど同人展開があるもののarther以上にこっちが酔って画面が見れずベランダから落ちたりしまくりでとりあえず終わらしてたのを3Dに慣れたし久々にやってみますかせっかくならメダル狙っちゃうぞ☆ってリプレイしたら再び酔った。メダル条件に後輩（レニー）のエッチを目撃せよとか儂はチャルアサエッチしか目撃したくないんですけど。ショーンのお帰り会でも狼の心臓のアクセサリーのせいで一人だけ素面のなかジョンのテントでカレンとショーンがしてるのばっちり聞いちゃったし。わしはチャルアサのしか…ジョンのテントって他と違って回りが覆われてチャルアサもやるならあそこしかないなとは思うけども‥シェイディベルでやっと個室確保出来てたわけで。
red dead redemtion 2、PC版まだ鹿アーサー半ばで馬上で狙うが出来なくなり徒歩のミッションしかできない不具合が発生しておりますが、そのうち狼アーサーもやってみたいなーって思ってるんですけどチャールズやドジっ子写真家メイソンに嫌われるの嫌だし強盗チャレンジの初っ端の町民を5人脅せで苦労したからな～元カノの依頼を断る、他人のｓｍプレイを覗き見する、マーフリーの殺した死体から物を盗るなどコツコツ悪事を重ねて頑張りたい。
RED DEAD REDEMPTION 2、シンデレラのドレスって色合い的に夏のガンマンっぽいので1着欲しいところ。arthurがおしゃれして社交界デビューするTHE GILDED CAGE（黄金の檻）女の人にお酒注いで回って「紳士ね♡」とか言われたり花火を見てはわわとなったり可愛さ爆発なんですけど。アサちゃんってモテないとか言ってるけど強盗チャレンジ最初の町民を5人脅すで堅気には迷惑かけられねぇと白人至上主義者やインチキ本セールスマンを脅したもののカウントされず泣く泣く「弱い者いじめをするな～」とか言われながらエメラルド牧場の農夫を脅して名誉下げまくったので名誉上げの為にサンドニで挨拶しまくったら「奥さん今日も御綺麗ですね」とか元カノっぽい服装の人に「知り合いに似てる」とか言って婦人方から軒並み好印象でモテモテじゃねぇかって感じ。強盗チャレンジ最初以外馬盗みは馬売り場の近くの線路沿いでキャンプはってる鴨がネギ背負ってる状態のルモワンから盗んだうえそいつら縛り上げて線路に置いたり最後は切符買って列車乗って倉庫の車両から高級たばこ取って降りたら咎められずを繰り返して達成出来たのでカードもたまるし楽勝だったんだよね。
Red dead redemption 2 、Saint denisのネズミの帽子でシティボーイ感出してるのに地元の糞餓鬼に「男好きの田舎っぺ」って見抜かれてチャールズ好きな事分かったとか鋭いガキだなって思ってたら「大金出したら女買えるかもな」とか男か女かどっちなんだよ悪口に一貫性がないな。素敵な彼氏（チャールズ）とデートで見せつけてやりたいものです。サンドニ罠師と盗品商が近くて便利なんだけど都会で路面電車や馬車多くて避けるのに酔うしちょっと馬止めてたら馬が電車に轢かれて死んで前まで戻したりとあんま行きたくない場所田舎が一番だぜ
Dutch thought Charles would be a good match for arthur.
red dead redemption 2 Charles、ゲームプレーヤーに説明する為なのは無視して言いますけど普段無口なのにArthur相手だと凄い喋るんで好きなんだと思いますね。ダッチ、責任感があって一流のガンマンだけど基本ドジっ子子猫ちゃんギャングの跡取り息子アーサーにしっかり者のお婿さんスカウトしたんじゃないかと 新しい拠点の下見（2世帯住宅新居探し）とか旦那と一緒に行かせたりしてるし列車強盗の時二人でキャンドル（ダイナマイト）サービスしてるじゃんね 。
red dead redemption 2、ダッチはドジっ子後継ぎ娘の arthur morgan の旦那にしっかりしたチャールズをスカウトしたんだろってぐらい。チャールズを連れて行かせるんですよね。 “magicians for sport”で胸も露な悩殺（ボディコン）ユニオンスーツなど5回ぐらいアサモちゃんのお色直しをさせ（日が違うとチャールズも服が違う）フォトモード起動に全神経を集中させてたら馬上の一般人にぶつかってこっちは武器使えないのにキレて発砲されたけど彼ぴが始末してくれた優しぃ～。 アサモちゃん のジョサイアdis正反対の質素で無口なチャールズ大好きアピールだろって感じ。アサちゃん助けてもらった時「お金もらえば」とか言ってたけど中途半端な金もらうより殺して全額奪った方が良くない？と思ってしまう盗賊思考な私。チャールズの返しも拗ねてる彼女を宥める感じで「くぅ～」ってなった。この後ジョサイアと合流するまでチャールズがずっと後ろについてくるので急な方向転換などしてキスを狙ったが巧みに避けられた。でも馬呼んで一緒にホテル行こうと畑を離れたら「ジョサイアを置き去りにしてしまった」ってなるのよね～リトライしたら悪者がマトリックスみたいに上半身浮かして死んでるし‥
red dead redemption 2 嫌われ者のマイカの馬車強盗 （ミッション難しくて10回ぐらいマイカ死んだ） 手伝ったら アサちゃん（arthur morgan ）の事小さい木のでかい影とか持ち上げたり上等なライフルくれたりべたついてきたのに。キャンプに合流したらアサちゃんの悪口吹聴しまくって何なのあいつ。しかもキャンプの犬虐めてたのに発砲か殴るの選択肢が出ずビルが可愛がってるとこも追い散らしたので「俺じゃダメだビルやっちまぇ！」って応援したけどマイカに何か言われて項垂れてるだけで見損なったのでアサちゃんの彼氏（ charles smith ）にやっつけてもらった。
red dead redemption 2 この前描いたショーンお帰り飲み会の時Charlesが居なかったので違う日物陰に隠れる自主練をしてた時に見張りをしてたチャールズと話した内容を踏まえての妄想。ショーンを助けたら今まで停滞してたのが嘘みたいに怒涛の第3章突入でクリア後2週3周～やるつもりだけど初回のピュアなムラムラを大事にしたいんで一旦話を止めて漫画描いてるけど描くの遅いから全然進まない。今のところ姫ちゃん(arthur)の旦那は Charles一択。
