Chapter Text
John squinted at the broken down home in front of him. It looked even worse than his first house — if you could even call it that — on Beecher’s. The roof was closing in on itself and the stench made John’s face expression twitch.
He slid off his horse and shoved the lead into one of the fissures in the dry desert rock, “stay here, girl,” was his issued command with a little pat on the neck for Rachel’s trouble.
His hand went to his gun as he opened the front door. After all, he was on the look out for a very dangerous criminal. His eyes barely adjusted into the darkness before someone’s weight came barreling into him, the press of a knife into his right side.
“Te destriparé como a un pez,” even if John could not understand the language, he knew a threat when he heard one from the low growl in the voice that hit him like a freight train.
“Nice to see ya’ too, Javier.”
John’s raspy, southern drawl was brimmed with nonchalance. He had no reason to believe Javier would ever hurt him, at least not in a physical sense. Javier hadn’t had the gall to point a gun at him let alone stab him directly. There was a lot of things about Javier John no long trusted but his ability to hurt John usually landed below 0.
And he was right. The knife retracted and John turned around and flinched.
Javier looked, well, like shit.
His clothes were hanging off his gaunt body and he had the look of a very paranoid man, his eyes wide and somewhat crazed.
“Nice to see you too, old friend.”
Javier’s words were mirthless in the face of John’s distaste.
“You look awful. And it’s seems like you’ve been actin’ real awful too, the price yer kicking up.”
“Is that why you’re here John?”
The bitterness of Javier’s tone was apparent.
“Bounty huntin’?”
John had a lot to say about that bitterness. Like Javier hadn’t abandoned him in the worse way possible, like he had any sort of right to be bitter.
But he said none of those things.
“Naw. No one’s gonna actually pay me if I bring ya’ in, all skin and bones. Ain’t much of a scary outlaw anymore, Javi.”
Javier chuckled, “no, I guess ‘m not.”
“Them days is long gone so why are you still actin’ a fool?” He hoped the accusation was clear — you chose this life, you left me, you abandoned the things you claimed to love so much, now look at you
Javier was always good at picking up on the double meaning in John’s words and he had at least the dignity to look ashamed.
“I ain’t tryin’ too. It’s hard down here, John.”
“Clearly.”
“Just— here. Ya’ know, I know a place we can get a drink.”
“You got a horse?”
John definitely hadn’t seen one.
“In th’back. Can’t have anyone thinkin’ people occupy this place.”
“In this heat? Jeez-us.”
Javier frowned, “when it gets too bad, he sleeps with me.”
“That explains the smell then.”
“Har har.”
Javier’s sardonic laughter made John feel a type of way which immediately had him turning out the house.
He didn’t wait for Javier to follow him, he simply assumed he would. Javier was the one taking him out for drinks now apparently.
When Javier pulled up with just about the ugliest horse John had ever seen, he couldn’t help but snort.
“What? What’s so funny?”
“Ya’ bought the horse from a rancher that lived in the gutter or somethin’?”
“He does his job, that’s all that matters.”
As he said that, he urged his horse to start moving and John did the same. The pace Javier took was a trot and John strolled just below him.
“Guess the horse really does reflect the owner.”
“You’ve gotten real smart, John.”
“And you’ve gotten real stupid if you think what ‘m saying is smart.”
“Y’know what I meant.”
John just shrugged innocently, “ya’ better lead faster. Ain’t no horse likes being in a sun like this for long.”
It was John’s way of shutting down what was quickly becoming easy banter. Which made him uneasy.
Falling into a routine with Javier should not be easy and he had to remind himself of the things he nearly lost to harden his heart significantly.
“Alrighty then.”
Javier was always good at reading between the lines when it came to John’s words and he understood the finality of his statement.
The ride to the bar was quiet.
———————————
The bar Javier was taking him to was not pretty. That was the first thing John noticed. It looked dilapidated and old. The people slinking around looked like Javier — paranoid criminals on the run.
However, the owner looked nice enough.
John didn’t know how he felt about a woman running a bar of criminals on her own but the way these men eyed her warily made John think that there was much more to her than meets the eye.
She gave Javier a look as she glanced over at John but said nothing when she handed him two drinks without him even asking.
She mumbled something in his ear quickly. John knew it was in Spanish and Javier whispered back furiously before taking the drinks.
John frowned slightly.
And then Javier led him to a table in the corner and slid him a glass.
John jerked his head over to the woman, “who is she?”
“A friend.”
Javier answered.
“Gives me scraps when I can’t find anythin’ myself. Retired gunslinger or somethin’. Ion really ask about her past.”
“Your friend got a name?”
John said while picking up the bubbling yellow liquid and taking a swig. It wasn’t bad alcohol but he’s had better.
“She ain’t much for sharin’.”
“Seemed fine with sharin’ with you,” John mumbled into his drink.
“What, are you jealous, Marston?”
John choked on the alcohol, coughing into it as he placed the glass onto the table.
“I was jus’—“
“Curious, I know. ‘M messing with you.”
Javier was grinning and it was the first time John saw a light in his eyes that didn’t look completely crazy.
“Ain’t funny.”
“Sorry, sorry. I didn’t know I was sharin’ a drink with a sensitive soul now.”
“You— you know why I don’t find that funny.” He hissed low and his tone accusing.
“John—“
“It might be easy for you to forget everythin’ that happened since you escaped with your tail ‘tween your legs like a damn coward but it ain’t easy for everyone else.”
“Oh come on, I didn’t mean t..”
“You’ve always been so goddamn spineless. You didn’t mean to? Yer a grown man. You were a grown man then too. Couldn’t make a decision for yourself.”
“I went lookin’ for you.”
Javier blurted out before John could cut him off again.
“I did. But I couldn’t find ya’. I kept lookin’ ‘nd lookin’ but ya’ disappear real good, Marston.”
“I wouldn’t have wanted to see your face anyways.” John said as scathingly as possible.
It only made Javier laugh weakly, “well, it’s a good thing I ain’t find you then.”
“So what? Ya’ gave up lookin’ and took yerself home, decided that th’criminal lifestyle suited you and became what you are now?”
“‘M a criminal in the states and in Mexico. I chose Mexico.”
“Didn’t work out so well for you, did it?”
“Why are you here then? If you hate me so goddamn much, can’t stand the sight of my face, why did you come see me?”
“Arthur.”
John spit back at him.
“Said somethin’ bout a price on yer head in Mexico. S’lots of money. But ya’ ain’t worth a cent of it.”
“So you are here bounty huntin’?”
“I was jus’ making sure you hadn’t already been caught. And yer real easy tuh catch by the way, light as a feather and I found ya’ pretty easy.”
The second part wasn’t particularly true. John had to work to find Javier but he didn’t need to know the effort John put in just to see him. He might twist it into something and it wasn’t like that, least that’s what John told himself.
But Javier was too good at finding the double meaning behind John’s words.
“Y’ain’t had to find me. You found me because you wanted too.”
It felt like being cornered.
So John did something he hadn’t done in a while — he started to run away.
“Ya know, yer fine. I see you and all your physicality and I think that’s my cue to leave. Hope ya’ live a good long life Javi.”
“John Marston, sit down. Stay. Ya’ haven’t even finished yer drink yet and I paid for those, y’know.”
“What, yer friend don’t give you them for free?”
Maybe he was slightly bitter. For reasons unknown to him.
Javier laughed, “hell no. Sit.”
John huffed a breath, “I ain’t a damn dog.”
“Please stay.”
Those two words tugged at what John thought was a broken and frayed heart string. Goddamn it.
“Fine. Only for the drinks though ‘nd then I’m leaving.”
“That’s fine by me.”
Javier raised his drink.
“To the good old days.”
John sat back at the table and raised his own drink lazily, “to the good old days, I s’pose.”