[Darlin'] ••●•• An Arthur x Reader Fanfic

III

Arthur awoke to an empty bed. [Y/n] wasn't in the room, and he began to panic. Until he heard a voice. "Well, hello there little lady.." The voice said. "H-Hello.." Said another voice. Arthur could tell it was [y/n]'s. "So, wha's a pretty thing like you doin' in Arthur's room? Come spend the night with a real man." The man said. Arthur then realized who it was.

Micah.

Arthur heard [y/n] reject Micah, but knew that wouldn't stop him. Micah was a bad man, and [y/n] was a beautiful lady. That was not a good match. Arthur stepped out of his room to see Micah bothering [y/n]. "Hey! Leave her alone." Arthur said in a low, intimidating voice. A voice that sent chills down [y/n]'s spine. "Oh, didn't realize she was your catch Arthur!" Micah said, smirking. "She's nobody's, Micah." Arthur said, stepping closer to Micah. "'specially not yours, Micah." Arthur growled.

"Woah there cowboy." Micah said, putting his hands up. "You can have her." He said, pushing [y/n] onto Arthur, who caught her in his arms. Arthur glared at Micah. "Don't you dare lay yer hands on her!" Arthur shouted, hugging [y/n] close. She was softly crying. "Hey, its okay. I won't let him touch you." Arthur said, rubbing [y/n]'s back to comfort her. She nodded and wiped her tears, pulling away from Arthur. "I- I was thinking about asking Ms. Grimshaw about work." [Y/n] said, smiling up at Arthur. He nodded. "I thought about it, and im goin' to go tell Dutch you want to come with us to rob some folk." Arthur said, walking downstairs with [y/n]. "That would be great!" She said, smiling widely. Arthur smiled at her reaction. "Okay, i'll go find him now." He said, walking towards Dutch's tent. [Y/n] nodded and walked to Ms. Grimshaw.

"G'mornin', Miss O'Shea." Arthur said, tipping his hat at Dutch's lady. She smiled back. "Good mornin' Arthur." She said, walking off. Arthur stepped into Dutch's tent and sighed when he saw the man leaning over a map. "Ah, Arthur! Right on time, my son." Dutch said, putting a hand on Arthur's shoulder and leading him to the table. "Erm, Dutch- I came here to talk to you about something." Arthur said, scratching the back of his neck. Dutch raised an eyebrow in response. "So, [y/n]-" Arthur started, getting interrupted by Dutch. "Ah yes, the lovely lady! How is she settling in?" Dutch asked, writing something down on the map infront of him. "Good. She's over with Ms. Grimshaw to find out about some work." Arthur said. "Speaking off her and her work, she was wondering if she could assist us with robberies. Y'know, play a lost girl or a drunken harlot like Karen." Arthur said, glancing down at what Dutch wss working on. "Now that is a good idea, son." Dutch said, smiling. "Really?" Arthur asked, raising an eyebrow. Dutch almost never allowed the women on missions. "Of course! Could be a wonderful way for the lady to prove herself." He said, putting a hand on Arthur's shoulder. "How about you and her take a few of the guys into town and look for a good house to rob." Dutch said, dismissing Arthur. "I'm very busy, so now would be a good time." He said. Arthur stepped out and began walking towards Ms. Grimshaw to find [y/n]

Arthur saw her washing the laundry, sitting by the ladys' wagon. He smiled at the sight of [y/n]. Her beautiful (h/c) hair pulled back, out of her face. Her tongue was slightly sticking out of the corner of her mouth, her eyebrows furrowed in frustration. She was working on on of Javier's shirts, trying to get a stubborn blood stain out. Arthur chuckled when [y/n] held the shirt up, smiling, the frowning when she realized there was another stain she had missed.

"Havin' trouble?" Arthur asked, smirking. [Y/n] scoffed. "No, its not that difficult to get stains out." She said, frowning as she scrubbed. " Sure. Dutch said us and a few of the boys could go robbin', but if this isn't hard then maybe I should jus' let you stay." Arthur smirked. "No! No, I want to go with you." [Y/n] blurted. "'Lright, Missy. You can come. We'll take Javier, Bill, and Charles too." Arthur said, walking over to the guys and telling them. The five walked to the horses, [y/n] greeting Kieran as he handed Arthur the reins of his horse, Baylow. Arthur put his hands on [y/n]'s waist and lifting her up onto Baylow's rear. Arthur's hands resting on her waist made her blush.

"So, where are we goin'?" Charles hollered at Arthur. "Were goin' over to Saint Denis to try and find a house to rob." Arthur hollered back. "And- no offense to the little lady- but why is she here?" Javier hollered with a smile. Him and [y/n] had become good friends. "Well, i needa work, don'tcha think? I'm going to be a distraction." She hollered back. The rest of the ride was silent. When the boys- and [y/n]- got to Saint Denis, they headed for the saloon. The group split up as they went in, Javier going to the bar, Bill going to the poker table, and Charles going to a group of men, leaving Arthur and [y/n] to hang around the back, listening in on conversations.

The five regrouped outside around an hour later to talk about their findings. Javier didn't find anything out- except for the fact that rich old men who hung around the bar usually kept wads of cash in their pockets, Charles didn't have much luck either, but Bill had found out about a rich couple living on the outskirts of Valentine- it turned out he was playing poker with a gang of robbers.

The gang saddled up and began the long, 2 day ride to Valentine. They had no problems getting up to Valentine, since they were an intimidating group. They arrived at Valentine around halfway through the second day. Valentine was a small, rather peaceful livestock town, having almost no problems except for the occasional bar fight.

The group made their way over to the trees behind the house on foot, not wanting to alert anyone. "Are you sure you can do this?" Arthur asked, looking at [y/n] with worry in his eyes. She nodded, standing up to walk over to the house. She had messed up her hair and dress to look like the character she was playing- a girl who had been kidnapped. She was going to get the couple to take her to the sheriff so the boys had an opportunity to sneak in and rob the place.

[Y/n] knocked on the door, painting fake a look of terror on her face.

Little did any of them know, that fake look of terror was going to turn into a real one.