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Summer, 1899. East Grizzlies, Moonstone Pond.
He tried to think back to the last time he’d found himself under a peaceful sky such as that night, but no matter how hard he looked, he couldn’t come up with an answer. More likely than not, the answer was never before. Never before has his life been so still, soundless, as that moment. Never before had he stared up at a sky so bright. A coyote howled into the night. Arthur blinked slow eyes up into the dark blue, his mind lost between the faraway stars. The constellations danced above the earth, exuberant.
A rustle sounded from his left, gentle and barely louder than the sounds of the nature around him, yet his ears picked it up immediately, and he was in an instant brought back down to the ground where he’d been lying. The fire had softened as the night had gone, and neither one of them had felt the need to get up and stir the embers, throw in another log to keep it alive. None of them had fallen asleep yet, either. He turned his head to find Charles’ eyes already on him, sweet brown softened even so by the amber light the fire cast around them. Sweet brown eyes Arthur loved so dearly.
Charles lifted the cigarette between his fingers, offering. Arthur accepted it, sliding it between his own. He brought it between his lips and inhaled deeply, then slowly exhaled. Neither of them had spoken much into the night, none of them had felt the need to say anything. Moments such as these between them, simply enjoying each other's company, Arthur held most dear in his heart. He handed the cigarette back to Charles, and for the first time after a while that night, one of them broke the silence.
“You know,” Charles muttered into the sky, soft and gentle as if he didn’t wish to disturb the silence between them, “I’ve spent my whole life alone. Never stayin’ in one place too long, never letting myself get close to no one because that’s how I learned to survive. Then I thought perhaps what I needed was to be around people, ‘cause maybe then I’d feel… something. It’s why I joined up with the gang. I realized recently that wasn’t the case.” His admission was tender into the night. Arthur turned his eyes away from the sky to watch him. He watched as Charles breathed in, the cigarette between his lips. He watched those lips softly blow out the smoke. Brown eyes found his own again. Sweet, sweet eyes. “I only needed you. Since the day I met you, Arthur, I haven’t stopped feeling.” He watched Charles’ eyes as the man told him, the moths inside his ribcage fluttering their wings something so wild Arthur figured his heart might’ve stopped. What sane man just went around spouting nonsense like that to other people? Charles fuckin’ Smith, that’s who. And what the hell could Arthur possibly say to that?
Everything he could think of to say felt too little, useless. He’s never been one for words, never been smart enough to come up with them. He reached for the cigarette again, brought it to his lips and drew in a breath, but his eyes remained stuck on Charles. Couldn’t for the life of him look away from sweet brown. He exhaled the smoke. “I reckon you’ve lost your damn mind, Charlie,” he muttered, and he’d meant for his words to come out teasing, not breathless, sounding like some fucking love-struck idiot.
Charles smiled, a honeyed smile that only came out in hidden moments between them as that one, making Arthur’s fool heart soften all the more. His hair, soft and loose, rustled against the bedroll beneath him when he turned his eyes up to the sky. The smile remained, decorating his lips. “I reckon so, too,” he mumbled, amusement laced into his soft voice. Arthur stared after him, unable, weak, to do any way else.
“Charles?” Arthur whispered into the night. Charles hummed in reply, reaching fingers for the cigarette. There wasn’t much of it left. “Tomorrow, we gonna start talkin’ to folk ‘bout leaving the gang,” he whispered the words, words that five months ago he would’ve never dared to think, let alone utter. Words that’d taken him a long time to find the courage for. Charles’ eyes turned to him instantly. “I have to save my family. I gotta try.”
Charles watched him. He knew what this meant, they’d talked about it once, barely. Drunken words of hopeful dreams, plans in case things ever got beyond their control. All those treasure hunts, animal pelts, all that time they’d spent together making money doing jobs that Dutch disapproved of. They’d saved up every coin, not knowing what to do with it. Arthur couldn’t turn a blind eye anymore, couldn’t risk a single more life. He’d had enough of empty promises.
Arthur watched Charles in return. “Alright.” The word was spoken softly, not a hint of hesitation beneath. He’d never doubted Charles before, not for a moment during everything they’d been through together, and he sure as rain was wet wasn’t about to start now. There was no one else he’d rather have by his side.
Coyotes howled under the moonlight, laughing under the stars. Arthur reached to place a gentle palm on the other man's cheek, pulling lips to connect with his own. They tasted of sweet tobacco and promises.