Red Dead Redemption II Preferences and Oneshots 3

Arthur Morgan: The Right Thing Part 4

Arthur Morgan X Adopted Daughter reader (8 years old)

Summary: you ask some tricky questions and Arthur has no choice but to answer them.

Word Count: 1800

It was about midday when you ran over to Arthur, your usual bright smile on your face. He was sitting on the cot in his tent, noting something down in his journal.

"Dad?" you asked, getting the man's attention.

"Yeah, sweetheart?" Arthur asked as he closed his journal and placed it down, patting the space on the cot beside him to encourage you to climb on.

"Why don't I have a momma like Jack?" you asked, so innocently, a small smile on your face. You didn't seem sad, just curious. Trust a child to just ask such a question, no beating around the bush.

Arthur supposed that you wouldn't really know any differently so you probably wouldn't feel sad about it but, now, he was panicking. His mouth opened but no sound came out.

He just didn't expect you to ask so soon, he thought that you would be older but...he shouldn't be too surprised. You were good friends with Jack and he had two parents, of course you wondered why you didn't.

"I, uh...I'm sorry, kid. I really have to talk to Hosea but...we'll talk about this later?" Arthur suggested, needing to take some time to sort his thoughts out before he said something stupid.

"Okay" you nodded, patient and understanding. Maybe you wouldn't take this as poorly as Arthur worried.

"Go play with Jack, okay? I'll see you later" Arthur smiled as you hopped down from the cot. You just smiled up at him, nodding before running off.

Arthur let out a breath and ran his hand down his face. What the hell was he supposed to do now?

Standing from his cot, Arthur left his tent and headed straight for Hosea, who was sitting at one of the tables in the camp.

"Hosea, can I talk to you?" Arthur asked, scratching the back of his neck.

"'course you can. Sit down" Hosea nodded, gesturing towards the chair beside him. He instantly knew that something was on Arthur's mind, he could be easy to read at times, as Arthur sat down next to him. "What's bothering you?" he asked.

"It's Y/n...she just asked why she doesn't have a mother like Jack does" Arthur sighed.

"Oh...hmm, I see why you look so worried" Hosea nodded in understanding, seeing how that would concern Arthur. Admittedly, he also thought that you would be a little older when you first started asking questions. "What did you tell her?" he asked.

"...I told her that I had to talk to you but I would talk to her about it later" Arthur confessed, looking at Hosea to see his disapproving look. "Don't look at me like that" he huffed, knowing he didn't handle it in the best way he could but not needing Hosea to remind him.

"Well, what are you going to tell her?" Hosea asked.

"I don't know...I don't want to tell her" Arthur admitted, which the older man expected.

"You have too, you don't have a choice" Hosea reminded him.

"I know" Arthur sighed.

"If you lie to her now, she'll only be angry with you in the future when she finds out the truth. And she will find out" Hosea told him and Arthur knew knew he was right. "She might just be a kid but kids understand more than we sometimes give them credit for" he tried to reassure the younger man. "She asked, she's ready to know" he gave him a small smile.