Red Dead Redemption II Preferences and Oneshots 3

Micah Bell: Touch Starved

Micah Bell X Female Reader

Summary: Micah Bell being touch starved? He would never admit it, he would probably never even realise it. Then he starts to develop feelings for you? No way! It couldn't be!

Word Count: 2800

It all started not long after you joined the gang, Micah finding himself seeking you out, even if he wasn't conscious of it. You had just been woman in need of somewhere safe to stay, kindhearted but capable with a gun, it's what made Dutch offer you a place in the gang.

Micah had mostly ignored you, still sizing you up, then he would start to bother you as much as he bothered the others. All until one unfortunate run in with him. You had walked into him, neither of you paying attention, and that was the first real interaction you had with him. You had laughed it off, placing your hands on his arms as you smiled up at him, apologising for not looking where you were going.

He had just mumbled for you to pay more attention before you walked away but he could swear that he could still feel your hands on his arms. You had held him so gently, something that he was so unused too. Of course, he shook it off and carried on with his day, ignoring the feeling.

However, that was the start of the strange behaviour you were starting to notice. The way that Micah always seemed to be around you. When you first joined the gang, you never talked to him and only ever saw him from a distance, you never really took much noticed of him. Not until he always seemed to be around.

When you were discussing a plan with Dutch, Micah would be standing beside you, his arm occasionally brushing against yours. When you were sitting at the campfire, he would sit beside you, his knee sometimes touching yours for just a second. He never mentioned it so neither did you.

You found that you didn't mind it when he was close, for whatever reason it was. You also didn't miss the way he sent you glances when he was already sitting at the campfire and you didn't sit beside him. Since you started noticing the longing glances, you started taking the initiative when it came to sitting beside Micah, standing beside him, or just finding reasons to be close to each other. You still didn't understand, but you did it for him.

- - - - -

You were sitting at the campfire by yourself, considering it was pretty late at night and most people were asleep. You had just been clearing your mind before heading to your tent but those plans were wiped from your mind when Micah sat down beside you, a little too close to be accidental.

At first Micah hadn't even been conscious of the way he sought closeness from you but by this point he had noticed his own behaviour. And, apparently, you didn't seem to mind and surely you had noticed it as well. As long as you never spoke about it, he would continue to do what he was doing. If a brush of the arms was all he could get, he'd take it. He still didn't understand why he desired being close to you, why he just wanted you to touch his arm again, but he did, more than anything. How could such a simple gesture have such an effect on him?

His unexplained behaviour, as welcome as it may be, was tiring. You knew that it would never go beyond proximity seeking, unless you did something about it.

In a small moment of courage, you subtly reached out and cautiously took his hand in yours, waiting for a negative reaction. Micah's hand instinctively flinched away before he realised that you weren't trying to harm him in some way.

"What are you doin'?" Micah asked, looking at you with a furrowed brow, sounding almost offended by your action.

"Just relax for five minutes" you murmured as you laced your fingers through his, holding his hand in your lap.