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It's been so long since the events of Beaver Hollow, since the Pinkertons tracked the gang down for the last time, since the standoff that tore the gang apart. The obvious choice was to stand beside Arthur and John, which is what you did, leaving your former sweetheart on Dutch's side.
That was the last time you saw them. Their broken heart visible in their eyes, tears refusing to fall since they just couldn't believe you were turning your back on them. You weren't, you never thought you were; you were just siding with the right side, the side they should have been on, the side they clearly wanted to be on.
You moved on. You had to. You had to escape the surrounding area and push as far as your horse would take you, over the river to West Elizabeth, down past the Great Plains, heading over to New Austin.
You'd started a new life here, working on a ranch until you could afford a small one-person shack with a few chickens and your horse.
Season's changed. The leaves fell from the trees time and time again. Your former horse passed and you eventually got a new one. Your former lover never left your mind, despite how much you tried to shake them off. You'd tried to love again, tried to move on. You'd spend countless nights at the saloon trying to pick up anyone, trying to enjoy one night stands, trying to fall in love again, but nothing ever worked.
And here you are, currently feeding the chickens on a warm summers eve, the suns rays peeking from the mountains. You gaze at the sky, the red reminding you of all the blood that fell to the ground those many years ago.
Most of the time, you ignored those thoughts. You were used to them by now, those feelings of grief and despair now turning numb and hollow. But tonight was different, tonight your heart ached for the first time in a while. Something felt off, despite everything seeming normal.
You retire for the evening after shooing the chickens into their expensive coop, locking the pen behind you as you left. You enter your cabin, locking the door and putting your coat on the rack whilst you kick off your boots.
Dinner doesn't take long to prepare, re-heating leftovers from the night before, taking your time to eat whilst you write in your diary. You push the plate to the corner of the desk, giving you more space to write.
Something's telling you to go back through your memories, so you do, turning back through your diary, pulling your old one out from the set of draws built into your desk. There are pages and pages of camp stories, photos of the gang, small wrinkled bits of paper from where your tears had fallen as you'd written in the book when the gang was falling apart.
As you go over the pages, your ears perk up at the sound of your horse nickering, whining uncomfortably from their small sheltered pen. You get up to your feet, peering from behind the curtain that overlooks your horse's stable. They seem fine, nothing's there, they must have just gotten spooked from their own shadow. No surprise.
You go to sit back down but you hear the sound of your chicken coop gate opening, that distinct little clicking of metal from the lock on the gate. Somebody's definitely out there, probably attempting to steal your chickens. Unfortunately, you'd had strangers attempt to do this before.
You follow protocol, picking up your already-loaded shotgun, despite it not being fired in a while. After turning the safety lock off, you unlock your door, quickly slamming it open, cocking the gun as you raise it to your shoulder, ready to fire.
"What the hell do you think you're doin'?!" You bark, startling the stranger who's stood in the chicken pen, their hands about to reach down and grab one of the poor birds.
"No need for that," they reply, quickly standing upright and raising their hands. "I can leave," they tell you.
"I think that'd be wise, and don't bother coming back," You tell them, eye peering down the barrel of the gun. Something about them felt... familiar.
They shuffle backward out the pen, kicking the gate shut with their foot. They go to reach down to lock the gate but you cut them off. "Leave it," you order. Their hand returns to the air, continuing to slowly back away from your home.
Damn that large tree you had, despite it being perfect shade for your chickens, it's blocking the light from the moon, barely showing their figure, let alone their face. It isn't until they finally move back into the light that you feel your heart sink.
The beautiful shade of tanned skin, the shoulder-length black hair, the distinct facial hair. Either your former lover had an identical twin that he never told you about, or he's stood right in front of you, attempting to steal your chickens.
"Javier?" You softly ask, lowering your gun ever so slightly so he can finally see your face.
Javier's heart drops as fast as yours did, his mouth parting slightly as he realizes who he just tried to steal from.
"Amor?" He asks, his hands lowering from head height.
"It's you?" you question.
"It's me," Javier shrugs.
You're quick to prop your gun against the inside of the cabin, rushing over to him. Javier rushes over to you, in sync, removing his sombrero as chucking it to the ground so he can hug you properly. You've not felt a hug this tight in a long time, and you can't help the flood of tears falling from your eyes. Javier does the same, not holding back, allowing himself to whimper into your shoulder as he grips tightly onto you.
"I thought you were gone," you tell him through sobs, dampening the ends of his shortened hair as they brush against your cheek.
"I had to flee. And you..." Javier breaks the hug so he can cup your face, both hands on your cheeks. "...I thought you had moved away. Gotten married. Started a new life," he tells you.
You shake your head, your hands coming to rest on top of his. "I couldn't," you tell him.
"You've aged like fine wine," he smiles, tilting your head down so he can kiss your forehead.
"You..." you pause, finally taking a proper look at him through your tears. "...you look tired, Javi'. You look rough," you honestly tell him, noticing the bags under his eyes, the jagged way his hairs been cut, the weight he's lost.
"I am," he shrugs. "Too many sleepless nights without you," Javier tells you, moving his hands down to your waist so he can pull you back into a hug. Your arms wrap back around his shoulders.
The two of you hold each other for a few moments, enjoying the long-awaited contact, the touches you thought you'd never feel again. You move away, one hand coming up to cup his jawline, gazing into his eyes. He's really here. Your former love, your other half, the man you swore you'd spend your life with, is finally standing in front of you, his hands around your waist as he gazes at you with love-struck eyes.
"Come here," Javier whispers, moving his hands back up to your jawline, finally pulling your mouth against his. The kiss is gentle at first, shy yet so familiar. He feels different, but he still feels like he's yours. His mustache lightly tickles your upper lip, just how you remember. His nose slightly bumps against yours, just how you remember. His kisses are gentle and passionate, just how you remember.
You feel one of his tears run along your cheek, and all that does it make you cry more. "Javier, please, come inside," you break the kiss to tell him. It's not a question because you know he'll say yes. You know he'd walk to the other side of the earth just to see you smile, and you know he could never deny you of anything.
You take his hand, walking him back into your cabin, soon to be our cabin. He's quick to pick up his hat from the dusty ground, placing it on your coat hanger as he enters. You shut the door behind you, locking it, ready to spend the night crying and going over the years apart.
Javier's ready to stay by your side, this time promising to never leave, to never run, to stay loyal to what truly matters, and that's you.