Tumgik
#honestly my one small porkchop of a dog will happily eat anything you put in front of him
dragonanon · 3 years
Text
Regular dogs: Oh boy! Dry food! I'm the luckiest dog ever! :D
My spoiled ass dogs: *Condesendingly glancing down at their bowls of high quality dry food mixed with high quality wet food and two whole chicken hearts each* What is this filth, peasant? I asked this to be mixed with turkey and bison wet food, this is mixed with turkey and LAMB wet food! How DARE you show us such blatant disrespect!
1 note · View note
emily-strange · 4 years
Text
Second Chances
Wow so this chapter...feels like I’ve been working on it for years! haha But we got there in the end. I’m going to be on and off here today because it’s my birthday and I’ll either be off playing games to distract myself or in a cupboard crying because I feel old haha
Really hope you enjoy this chapter!! Please let me know what you think xx
Tagging: @porkchop-ao3 @redeadepression @lucacangettathisasss @janewilson-rdo @gangofgunslingers @fangirl-ramblings and @sleepylunarwolf who asked but if you’d like me to stop let me know :) Apologies if you’ve asked to be tagged and I haven’t - please just send me another message! :)
For the premise of this story, Jack is a little bit younger. I just can’t hurt that boy’s feelings!
Summary: You’re Sadie Adler’s 18 year old daughter who was visiting when the O’Driscoll’s attack. How will you cope with gang life and your increasing feelings for someone who, on the surface, isn’t up for grabs?
Pairing: John Marston x female reader
Warnings: None that I can think of!
Chapter 7
You see Hosea glance at you but you don’t make eye contact with him, you just play with the skirt of your dress and try to seem less frazzled than you actually feel. He’d caught you off guard and you know he noticed it.
Hosea whistles and calls for Arthur to loop around and come back to the wagon, which he does with the greatest of ease. Even with your new little horse in tow. When he reaches the front of the wagon, Hosea pulls on the horses to stop the wagon.
“It’sa nice day. Miss Adler ‘nd I are gonna take the scenic route back ta camp. You good?” Hosea asks Arthur even though you all know it isn’t a question. Arthur looks at you and then scoffs a little bit, shaking his head while grumbling something like, “Alright” under his breath. He really can be so grumpy.
Hosea takes out the large stack of bills from his breast pocket and dolls it out amongst the three of you. He hands two piles to Arthur for camp and himself, then hands a pile to you.
You take the stack and look through bills, “Wow…” you say quietly to yourself. Trying to forget the people, or person, that the money came from. You then turn to Hosea and say appreciatively, “…..minus the amount for the horse?”
Hosea chuckles and stuffs his pile back into his pocket, “Now, I’m making an….executive decision here and sayin’ that boys an investment fer the camp. So, camp’ll pay….You two happy with that!?”
Hosea looks at Arthur who holds up his hands up in surrender before putting his money away. You open your mouth to protest but Arthur beats you to it saying, “I’d just agree if I were you Miss. He’s likea dog with a bone when he gets an idea into him.”
“Okay…” you say to Hosea, your smile beaming, “Thank you Mr Matthews.” You lean across the seat and give Hosea a small kiss on his cheek.
“Best not be doin’ that either, think his heart’ll give out!” Arthur laughs heartily and Hosea reaches for his gun. “Think that’s ma queue!” Arthur says before manoeuvring the horse’s round again.
“Can you please tell my mom that I’m fine….oh and ask Kieran to check over my new baby?” You ask Arthur who shakes his head and replies, “That best not be his new name.”
“Well….” You pretend to think to yourself, “….he is a Morgan. Maybe I’ll call him Arthur.”
Hosea bursts out a large laugh and Arthur grumbles to himself, “Never heard that one before.”
You smile at Arthur who huffs lightly and tips his hat. He gently kicks the horses into a gallop and you smile watching your new horse trot away, knowing he’s safe with Arthur. He’s grumpy but he loves those horses. You’ve seen him sneak your boy a treat or two already.
“Shall we?” Hosea asks readying the reins and you nod happily singing, “We shall!”
Hosea gets the wagon going again and you ride in comfortable silence for around 15 minutes. He stops at a lovely grassy bank next to a large lake and you eagerly jump down, not waiting for Hosea to help you. While Hosea secures the horses, you walk to the waters edge and squint as the sun glares off of the water.
“Me and Bessie stopped at this lake many a time on the way back from town.” He says looking out into the water. You can tell whoever she was meant a great deal to him.
“Bessie was my wife” Hosea confirms and moves to sit on a large overturned log; groaning a bit as he sits, “We lost her a while back now. Still feels like yesterday.”
You take a seat next to him and think about your father.
“Does it ever get better?” you ask Hosea in a small voice, “Sometimes I feel like I can’t breathe it hurts so much.”
Hosea sighs and you know he’s choosing his words carefully.
“It doesn’t always get...better..” he says, stopping briefly, “but it does get easier to carry.”
You nod, mostly to yourself and Hosea bumps your arms with his. Bringing you back to the present.
“Now, I’m not usually in the business of gossiping.” He begins, giving a slight chuckle, “However..John..” Hosea trails off and shakes his head, almost as if he isn’t sure how to phrase it. You sit quietly and allow him the space to think. After about half a minute, Hosea continues, gesturing with his hands as he speaks.
“You haveta understand that John and Arthur, they grew up tough. It was hard on them. Those boys…” Hosea sighs, “Me and Bessie, we couldn’t have kids. Probably for the best considering our lifestyle but..they were ours you know? We raised them as ours.” You smile and nod, imagining a pair of young (and grumpy) misfit teenagers.
Hosea sees you smile and laughs.
“You know, I don’t think John’s properly cut his hair since Bessie died. She used ta have Arthur pin him down just so she could shear that mop.” He grins while putting his head in his hands dramatically.
“Something I’m sure he appreciated greatly” you laugh. You look at Hosea and watch as his eyes swim with all the memories his heart clearly holds. He takes a moment and adjusts his hat, shielding himself from the bright sun. And possibly shielding his eyes from you.
“But as I was sayin’. They didn’t have it easy. Arthur’d been with us a long while before Dutch saved John..” Hosea continues but your brain jumped at the word “saved”. You opened your mouth to ask but Hosea cut you off, “Now I’ll let John tell you about his past. Some things a man should be allowed to keep to himself if he so chooses.”
You try to understand where Hosea is coming from but it just confuses you.
“Why share anything with me then? About John?” you ask, honestly curious as to why the older man would ‘indulge in gossip’ as he put it.
Hosea glances at you and gives a small, sweet smile, “Honestly? Because no one’s ever seemed bothered before...about how John is. Not since Bessie anyway…I think that might be the biggest reason he ran off.”
“Something was mentioned about him leaving….” You say quietly.
“Mmhm for about a year. After Jack was born…it was tough on him. But runnin’ off…” Hosea is the picture of a disappointed father as he shakes his head, “for a while we thought he was dead. But then people’d seen him about so. That’s when we knew. If I had’ta guess, I’d say that’s what hurt Arthur the most. Thinkin’ his brother was dead. Then finding out he’d just taken off.”
“I get it..” you say begrudgingly. Part of you had hoped Arthur was being petty in his feelings towards John but honestly you really did understand. You take a second to ponder over how someone might feel if you just took off one day, or night, without a word. The memories threatening to invade your mind make you feel less than relaxed so you jump back into the conversation with another question. “Did he just..waltz back in one day?”
“Basically” Hosea nods and gives a grim laugh, “I think he was expecting more of a fight. He came in with his back up, waitin’ for a punch but Arthur just…walked away.”
“That was probably worse.” You recognise and Hosea agrees. “John said he went to Arthur when Abigail told him she was pregnant. That all he said was that it was time to ‘be a man’.”
Hosea scoffs, “I’m sure he did. Arthur had his reasons for reacting that way…but I agree with what you’re getting at. He could’ve handled it better.”
Hosea gets up and stretches out his back with an over the top groan. You watch him as he settles his hands on his hips and turns to you. “Now, Miss Adler, why don’t you just ask what I know you’re dyin’ to ask.” He says smiling perceptively at you.
“John’s not Jack’s father is he?” you blurt out and Hosea lets out a long, deep breath before simply saying, “I don’t believe so, no.”
All of a sudden you jump up from your seat on the log, causing the older man to flinch. You stomp childishly over to Hosea and find yourself in front of him before your brain even registers that you’ve stood up.
“I don’t understand you people!” you almost yell, “He’s…he’s struggling. He doesn’t eat, do you know that? He thinks no one notices, but I did, I do. He doesn’t…people are...and well Abigail she’s..” you flail your arms around. Completely exasperated, “I don’t understand you all.”
You shake your head when Hosea stays quiet. You can see that part of him is ashamed. It’s in the way he hangs his head, avoiding eye contact with you completely. You go and sit back down on the log with a thud, “You all go on about being family…but when one of you are struggling….you’re just setting him up to fail.”
“I know it might seem that way y/n but John knew what he was riskin’ when he started seein’ Abigail. Dutch has always preached about goin’ outside’a camp for…companionship. Not that he practices it himself of course.” Hosea grumbles and comes to sit next to you as you listen, “I did warn him. As did Arthur.”
Hosea sighs and scratches at his chin. You don’t know what you’d expected when you decided to get answers from one of the gang’s elders, but this horrible sinking feeling wasn’t it. John’s situation seems well and truly stuck.
“Arthur’s always gained somethin’ from being alone. Like he thrives on that feelin’. Be it good or bad!” Hosea laughs humourlessly, “But John…being alone, it almost…cripples him. Used ta drive Arthur nuts, couldn’t get a moments peace when John was younger. Always wanting someone with him. Needing someone next to him when he slept.”
“That’s so…sad.” You say and Hosea looks at you. After a moment you both break into a morbid little chuckle which erupts into full blown laughter. You don’t know why you’re laughing, it’s horrible really. But it’s almost so sad that if you don’t find the humour in Arthur’s annoyance then all you’d do is cry.
“Oh and doesn’t that sum everything up nicely?” Hosea says once the laughter subsides, “Sad.”
You both sit quietly for a minute or two and just let the sun shine down on you.
“John’s always been sensitive” Hosea finally says, “It’s somethin’ Dutchs’ tried ta shake outta him over the years. He basically caused this…rivalry, between him and Arthur hoping it’d toughen him up.”
“Well, the man survived gunshots and a wolf attack. I’d say he’s pretty damn tough and I doubt very much that’s from years of being pitted against Arthur.” You say bitterly as your nostrils flare. You completely miss the smirk Hosea gives you. “So unless Abigail decides to be…forthcoming…with the truth…that’s that?” you ask, fully knowing the answer.
After a quiet pause Hosea says gently, “I know this world may be confusing fer you. If you ask me, you ‘nd your mother are better off out of it…not sayin’ you should just up and leave, but…I just think once you’re on yer feet…it may be worth thinkin’ long and hard about how you want your life to look.”
“And isn’t that the million-dollar question.” You say under your breath, but Hosea had still caught it and looks at you quizzically. “Sorry” you say laughing a little, “it’s something my pa used to say. When I asked for advice or his opinion…he used to say ‘now isn’t that the million-dollar question’.” You smile at the memory but find yourself falling into a pit of sadness. But before melancholy can completely set in, Hosea breaks the silence.  
“Now, I think I’ve been good and honest with you Miss Adler. Will you be honest with me?” Hosea asks, turning fully to look at you. You shrink under his intense gaze but nod anyway. “What is it about our Mr Marston that has you so…curious…as you put it?”
You know what Hosea is asking. He’s trying to suss out if you have romantic feelings or intentions towards John. Problem is, you don’t really know yourself. So instead of lying you decide to be completely truthful, part of you sensing that he’d know if you lied. So why try?
“Honestly Hosea…I don’t know.” You say before running your hands through your hair, getting it out of your face so you can look him in the eye better, “He was sweet to me. Kind. And, I think I want to repay that you know? Be a friend maybe…” You trail off and shrug, knowing it isn’t a concrete answer. It does however seem to satisfy Hosea who claps his hands onto his knees and pushes himself up.
“Alright then. Good enough.” He says holding out a hand to you. You take it and he helps you up from the log, “You know, my Bessie would’ve liked you. You have’a kind soul…but I also see the fire she used’ta have herself.”
“In that case I’ll take it as a wonderful compliment Mr Matthews.” You say making your way back to the wagon. “You know, I’d like to know more about her…if you ever feel like sharing.”
Ever the gentleman, Hosea helps you up onto the wagon and you smooth out your dress before sitting. You’re really looking forward to getting back into some jeans. After Hosea settles next to you, he quietly says, “I think I’ve had my fill of memories today Miss. But at another time, that’d be lovely.”
He gives you another soft smile before starting the horses back towards camp.
38 notes · View notes