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Arthur runs into them right near town. Two men in jail clothes, disheveled but high spirits despite them begging for his help. Mr. Black and Mr. White, they introduce themselves as, and Arthur bites his cheek a little to hold back a smile. He notices at the end of their bickering they seem quite close and fond of each other how they wrestled hard but without deadliness. The look in their eyes to each other was familiar, something Arthur has felt himself before.
He tears down their posters, and cant get their closeness out of his mind. Their bickering reminds him of something he can't quite place. Bringing them back the posters, he eyes their closeness again by the fire before they notice him. It reminds him of a time in Colter, him and Charles warming their hands by the fire, Charles looking at him with softness. He thinks of how Charles' lips felt brushing soft against his own, a quick fleeting moment, something he could've dreamed in-between sleeping and waking. His chest feels funny.
The second time Arthur finds them, they're ill by the riverbed. Mr. Black is in bad shape but his worry for Mr. White is greater. His hands rests on his sickly comrade, the tenderness apparent. Arthur already has medicine, and hesitated sharing it with the two idiots until the real worry Mr. Black has for his partner pulls at Arthur's heartstrings.
Arthur is reminded of a moment back in camp, Javier's hand on Bill's face whilst in the shrubbery, their faces close with overconfidence of assumed security. Arthur had slipped away unnoticed. Hosea mentions sometime time later to Arthur that he's caught the two "canoodling" instead of fishing, like they promised.
Hosea had left a note in one of their fishing bags wishing good luck, suspicions confirmed when no one had remarked on the note, nor had a clue about it when inquired. It stayed a secret, between Hosea and Arthur, and of course, Dutch.
He wonders then too, if Javier felt the same worry over Bill after asking Arthur for help saving the big man from bounty hunters. Javier doubling Bill up on Boaz, riding off together while chatting quietly. He didn't know then of what they were up to, but the pieces came together easily enough.
Arthur has no idea what Javier's business is, fooling around with a buffoon like Bill, but then again, He could wonder the same in what Charles sees in fooling around and sharing time with Arthur.
He gives the men his medicine, thinking himself a fool for hoping if he or his family were in a similar situation, help would find way to them.
The last time Arthur runs into the pair, they are in a stilt shack. Their clothes are new and they're in good spirits. They're excited with their new home, eagerly shouting at Arthur down below, jovially arguing and shoving. The home is small, barely a bedroom with a stove, Arthur's searched it before.
He thinks of Charles, and sharing a camp with him for a week. How the closeness was barely inconvenient, felt natural whenever they were together. He thinks of nights shared together with the younger man, how right it felt to share a bed. He thinks of drinking coffee together in the morning, thinks of a private moment shared before they both part on their own daily tasks.
His heart feels like it's snagged in a bear trap, thinking of Charles. Dreaming of a similar shack, heart leaping in his throat when Charles tries to ask in a nonchalant way if Arthur ever thinks of moving on from the gang, moving on from Mary. He wonders if Charles would've found joy in a small home like that, in secluded forest, living quietly and out of the eyes of civilization and crime. How easy it would be for just the two of them to carve happiness out of simplicity, the only company being the two of them, sharing work, and happiness, and freedom.
The vice around his heart squeezes harder yet, thinking about Charles, and how he can no longer hold him close, share quiet time with him or kiss the man that quietly wormed his way into Arthur's life. His cough steals strength from his whole body, and the way he can't get a full chest of air makes his body so weak it scares him. Arthur has never been so unsure of himself in his life, and to pass the pain to Charles is unthinkable. It's unthinkable even through to torture of distancing himself from Charles, to see his sad eyes when Arthur doesn't let him too near, to keep him safe.
He waves goodbye to Mr. Black and Mr. White, eyes their hands not quite holding the other's, but fingers knocking all the same. He wonders if they're happy, he thinks of Bill and Javier teasing each other at camp in a new light, and he dreams of a life where he can share a life with the man he's grown to love without danger.