#beecher's hope AU

[exhaustedalien]

some stuff from a 1911 beecher's hope au :-)

[sentanixiv]

Thieves Landing... MacFarlane said they was holed up here. This ain't the way to sort being robbed, John. No one steals from my family, Arthur. Not no more.

I'll handle these fools. All's I need's you to watch my back. You ain't never had to ask, Marston.

John! Keep yer goddamned head down! Sonofabitch!

You hit? I'm fine, but this asshole's about to dance with the devil!

Y'all' ain't gonna mess with us again, y'hear? Or I'll come back and shoot the rest of you!

[finalslay]

@tviirus sent : john comes over, tugging the taller male into a quick kiss before pushing him away. he is quickly shuffling away before the other could say anything.

he's standing guard by the edge of camp, gun resting against the tree next to him. attention is fixated out ahead of him, but he still hears it — footsteps from behind him. still, despite the awareness of a presence, arthur is not expecting it : john's hands suddenly on the front of his shirt, yanking him down and pressing a quick kiss to his lips. instinctually, arthur moves to grab at john's own shirt, to tug him in even closer, but before he can, the younger outlaw is shoving him away and heading back in the direction he'd originally came from. arthur rolls his eyes, a little grin on his face. it speaks volumes that john had even come out here unprompted to do that ; arthur isn't blind. he sees it. and initially, the outlaw considers just letting him walk off — after all, john's ability to deal with feelings and emotions is even worse than his own — but then, he calls, “ ya know, you can help me keep watch if ya want ... up to you. could always use the company. ”

[pettypiastri]

the webs we spin

coho!jack hughes x fem reader

wc: 6.9K

warnings: swearing, drinking, alcohol, drunkenness, partial nudity, sexual innuendo/references, moderate NSFW scene (involves: degradation, dom/sub, name calling, taunting), fwb

a/n: this was inspired by the visuals/vibe in a (I THINK?) luke blurb where reader comes to get luke hughes when hes drunk (I THINK?) and i cannot remember for the life of me who wrote it though i will scour for it and give credit where its due! (EDIT: its this johnny beecher blurb from the incredibly talented @lucafantilli pls go check it out and her writing in general!) this is obviously a college AU of current devils at the university of michigan so miles= miles wood, dawson= dawson mercer, john= john marino, and nico= nico hischier ofc ofc. the game referenced is actually from a wisco game from two seasons ago just a diff opponent lmao.

its a bit different than my normal/preferred writing style/voice but hopefully its still good! 🤞 enjoy!

italics are flashbacks

Y/N POV

Chaos is not how you choose to start your morning. Scratch that. It’s not how anyone chooses to start their morning. But you did choose to let Jack fall asleep next to you last night after he came over. And that is a choice you still don’t regret. Despite his choice to cause an absolute ruckus leaving for morning workout. 

“Fuck Y/N where’s my hoodie?” Jack is frantically turning your bedroom on its head at a ripe 6:20am. You’re walking a fine line between helping/consoling him and telling him to shut the fuck up. God damn feelings makes it the former. 

“Jacky hun, I’m literally wearing it, did you forget? Here, take it. Just grab me something else to wear from the dresser.” Cooing gently to try and calm the rancid energy in the room you cross your arms over your head and remove the Michigan emblazoned hoodie from your figure. You suppose you’re so comfortable around him, after he’s seen you naked so many times, that exposing your chest doesn’t give you pause. But it certainly gives Jack pause. His cheeks flush as he looks down at your breasts. He’s shy, as if he didn’t spend 10 minutes leaving marks on them last night. Seeing his reaction makes you blush, cause if he’s blushing shouldn’t you be too??

You raise a nervous arm to drape across your boobs, sheltering what you can from his beady gaze. The movement seems to bring reality back to the forefront of Jack’s mind. He sees you’re nervous now from his staring and feels a sinking in his chest; that’s the last thing he ever wants to make you feel. He clears his throat and spins on his heel toward your dresser. Fuck, he hopes he hasn’t made you insecure. He flings open a, frankly, unnecessary number of drawers until he finds some big t-shirts and picks one up. Jack, with corrected reaction and head held high now, treads over to you smiling softly. Instantly the fire on your face cools and you find enough confidence to hold his gaze. Gently he reaches for the hoodie and plucks it out of your tight grasp. 

“Thank you, love. Here.” He drops the new shirt over your head, coaxing you to slide your arms through. It’s an intimate moment with him speaking so quietly and watching you with a renewed softness. Jack doesn’t hesitate to slip his hand against your cheek and lean down for a kiss. He holds you there for a moment and it feels all too domestic: your hockey player boyfriend leaving early in the morning for a workout, the soft touches and lingering stares. The claustrophobic feeling begins to rise, as much as you wish you could revel in the moment. You know it’s not real and you can’t convince yourself it is. 

You break the kiss smiling at Jack to avoid suspicion of the strings you’ve attached yourself to him with. Jack smiles back, unaware of the ploy. 

“Sorry umm sorry I fell asleep… well, no I mean I guess I’m more sorry for waking you up.” Jack stumbles over his own thoughts a little bit, revising as he goes. You don’t know whether to be brave or be safe. Given your heart’s armor is about as sturdy as some shitty copy paper right now, you decide to play it safe. 

“It’s okay, don’t be sorry. Have a good workout, yeah?” Your gaze stays strong though, pleading for him to hear what you’d really wanted to say: ‘You know you can always stay the night. I like having you here.’ He nods curtly and mumbles out an affirmation, leaning down to slip on his shoes. 

You don’t think it’s in your friends with benefits description to walk him to the door at 6:30am, so you curl back up on your bed, dragging the covers over your body. 

Jack grabs his phone from where you’d plugged it in to charge last night (grey area behavior too) and pats down his hoodie pocket checking he has everything. Satisfied, he moves toward your bedroom door waving shyly as he steps out. You both bounce soft “bye”s off each other, like tentative echoes searching for something. 

To be fair, the friends with benefits description has already been… well, edited I guess you could say. What started out as unspoken “Only when Jack doesn’t have practice” and “No staying the night” became “Only when Jack doesn’t have games the next day” and “No staying the night unless there’s early workout/class in the morning.” 

One thing that hadn’t been revised: “This stays between us.” Who decided that one, you don’t know but that was just some kind of stupid rule for all of these types of situations, right? Maybe that’s just what you told yourself to keep from getting attached. Ha, wishful thinking that was.

Jack had been intriguing from the beginning. That hard fuckboy almost exterior was alluring; he knew just what to say and how and when and what smile to give you and the eyes to make. He was pre-planned, meditated, and that was obvious from the girls you’d seen him hand pick from the bar crowd, say a few lines to, and take home. But never the same girl twice. He didn’t really know you and never hand picked you from any of those aforementioned crowds but the fates had it in store for you regardless. 

The stupidest trope really. Dumb jock has shitty grades. Prof targets smart punctual student to tutor him. A tale as old as time except you didn’t study at the library or the coffeeshop. No, from day one you invited Jack over to your place, thinking the environment of the library was much too sterile, not very helpful for making a struggling student feel comfortable. But it didn’t quite go how it normally does. He didn’t jump your bones the first time he came over. You didn’t fall into bed with him in a lustful craze and subsequently madly in love with the boy. Not even close. 

He was nervous, quite painfully so the first few times. Whether it was the vulnerable environment getting tutored for a class you really shouldn’t be failing, knowing his cocky attitude or athlete title wouldn’t make a difference here, or how taken aback he was at how pretty you really were up close, the first three weeks were professional and timely. Only when you suggested he come over early for some coffee before starting studying and only after you offered he stay for some of the take out that had been delivered to you while he was there, did he start to relax. And even then, it was another two weeks before you texted outside of just arranging study times. For as methodical a pick up artist he seemed to be, this situation was clearly more of a tortoise over the hare type of deal. 

In those stolen moments before and after studying, you slowly grew together and from strength to strength. He told you about his family when you shared details about your shitty highschool friends and he remembered that you were always most hangry on Wednesdays since you had kickboxing right before tutoring. It was natural really the way he started dropping his book down on the same side of the table right next to you rather than across, and how he would push your hair behind your ear when you were explaining something hunched over the textbook. It was so natural how you started to grab his bicep more when praising him for doing something right and how you would sit so close on the couch together afterwards that hushed whispers were the loudest you needed to speak. In fact, you’ll be damned if you actually remember the exact moment you went from friends to something more, the transition so seamless you don’t have a memory of the first time you kissed. 

But eventually you did start to end up in bed together. Whether after your study session or maybe as a tiny break in between chapters or maybe “we just don’t even need to study because you seemed like you understood things well enough when you were here well… yesterday.” 

“So I mean basically all this problem is about is supply and demand. There’s a lot of red herrings here that they’re trying to distract you with. Can you tell me what the product is and the initial supply and demand relationship? Before the market change?” You’re busy looking over the word problem trying to figure out how to step Jack through it next. But he’s taking an unusually long time to answer your question. You turn to look at him. Jack seems lost, but about what you’re not sure.

“Isn’t that a fish? A red herring?” He asks. You can’t help but sigh that THAT is all he decided to selectively hear from your initial question. 

“Yes, Hughesy, but it’s also an expression that means a piece of information that is distracting from the main point. Kind of like what you’re doing right now.” The second part you mutter under your breath though and turn back to the book. More silence.

“...I’ve caught a tuna once, y'know.” 

“Jack! Focus!” Your chastising facade is easily disintegrated by an accompanying giggle. Jack looks satisfied, a little grin on his face that matches yours. Always the class clown. He’s more than happy he got you to smile and stop your tutor act. Though he doesn’t like how you sigh in slight frustration while setting your pencil down. He reaches a hand out to touch your thigh. The gesture makes you shiver.

“Hey I’m sorry. I think I understand it already though, there was a really similar practice problem I did before hockey today.” His soothing tone is matched by the gentle movements of his thumb on your skin. It takes you a moment to really hear what he said but then you smile. 

“You did practice problems today? Before practice? Without me assigning them to you?” You’re almost bashful when you ask, finally catching him in a moment of softness that you adored so much. It doesn’t go unnoticed by a blushing Jack either. 

“Yeah I did. I don’t wanna look totally stupid when we study y’know.” It’s sassy as always. You can hear the vulnerability though, you know him too well now. His expression morphs into more of a smirk, one side of his lips pinned higher up than the other. Jack reaches out his unoccupied hand to toy with a piece of your hair before slipping it behind your ear. “Was also hoping we could spend some time doing something else if I already understood the chapter.” His voice is a few steps lower and his eyes have already drawn more hooded as he looks you over. He’s trying to find the answer in your eyes. You fight an inner battle between what’s in your pants and what’s in your head. 

On one hand the past couple days of fooling around had been amazing but rationally you know this can’t end up being good for your tutoring situation. So do you give up or give in? As much as you wish the personal turmoil to be more prolonged, you think you already made up your mind how today would end when you first let Jack into your apartment looking so good in that backwards hat and flannel combo. You want him. He’s only empowering you with the way he’s running his hungry eyes over you. Fuck it. Professional tutoring and casual sex could both coexist right? Even so, you know the clench in your heart wasn’t from nerves but a clairvoyant reaction to how knotted this web would end up. 

In an attempt to stamp down the thought, you surge forward to kiss Jack. He’s ready to meet your lips, catching you in a soft but intent kiss. It’s only an extended moment before you pull away. His lips chase yours and the smirk that used to be on his face is now transferred to yours. You stand up. 

“You coming?” It’s a rhetorical question tossed over your shoulder on your way to your bedroom. No chance in hell he wouldn’t follow.

“Not right now Y/N geez. I can last at least 20 minutes, you know that.” Jack is quick to joke, wrapping his arms around you from behind and waddling as a pair toward your room. 

“Eww Hughes, I hate you.” You can’t help but laugh. His lips find their way to your neck and you can feel his smile. 

“Shh I bet you won’t be saying that in 19 minutes and 55 seconds, pretty.”

Jack was so gentle, he took his time to learn your body and constantly praise you for being so good for him. And after he learned you, you learned him, how he was rougher after games and always enjoyed a sneaky bout of morning sex. You never bothered to ask if he was seeing other girls too and frankly didn’t want to pain yourself with the thought. While Jack was with you, he was yours and that was enough.

Things were sticky from the get go. He’d always linger to ensure some pillow talk and maybe make you giggle a few times before he felt truly satiated. There were even times he’d come over after a tough loss and just follow you into the shower where you’d wash his body and let him hold you tenderly as long as he needed. Jack would bring you coffee when he knew you’d had an 8am and ask about how your sibling was doing. If you were really honest with yourself, you’d felt those butterflies and that childlike glee to just be in his company from that third week when you’d asked him to come early for coffee. Call it self destruction but knowing you could have him like this, however, taboo and hush hush it is, is better than what you were before when he didn’t even know you existed and what you might’ve been if he’d picked you as just another one of his conquests.

---

Jack's POV

The boys are already raging by the time Jack rolls up with John and Dawson. ‘It’s a weekend tradition,’ they say, to have a house party whenever they don’t have a Saturday game, since those occasions are so sparse. Obviously in between these off weekends are normal parties but those are much more lowkey. Normally, he’d be down but they haven’t had one of these full on ragers in like a month and a lot has happened in the last month. 

Jack really wishes you could be here, or that he didn’t have to be… your bed is so comfy. But it’s more than her god damn bed. From day one you never patronized him or made him feel stupid for not understanding fucking econ 102. You were entirely what Jack wasn’t looking for but desperately needed at just the right time. Some stability, a person separate from the rink. Trustworthy, someone who didn’t get to know him just for hockey. You’re smart and fuck… so gorgeous. It was really intimidating at first, trying to understand something he didn’t give a rat’s ass about while a pretty girl who didn’t know how pretty she was looked at him through her big glasses. After a while it wasn’t intimidating any more, just so god damn distracting. Always getting him coffee, doing things to make his life easier, hugging Jack so tight when he’d come and go. 

If he was honest he’d been hoping to get into bed with you from like the second week, but he knew you weren’t that type of girl, the type he normally would take home for one night and one night only. He’d known you were different and he wanted that; he wanted you. And for more than just a single fuck. So he’d waited. You were so gentle with him and Jack swears it’d felt like he’d just smoked a whole j by myself when you kissed him finally. At least he thinks it was you that kissed him first… Maybe Jack had actually smoked a whole j before coming over, you made him so fucking nervous at first. Not anymore though. Now you just make him smile and laugh and feel warm. 

He seems like a fucking simp which would be fine if he and you weren’t in the trenches of no man’s land right now. He doesn't really do this type of thing, the whole relationship thing. But he does want that with you, he just doesn't know how and he doesn't know if you want him too. Jack’s always worried you might see him as just his reputation. He’s worried you won’t be able to trust him not to hurt you. But you don’t hurt the people you love. 

Every moment you’re not with him he feels like he’s looking for you (like right now) and that’s because time spent with you doing nothing is always better than time spent without you. Jack’s so fucking into you it hurts and drives him a little crazy but he’d rather stay in between than lose you completely. 

“Holy fuck did you hear a word of that Hughes?” Nico shakes Jack’s shoulder and he knows he’s been caught in his daze. He tries to recover from looking like an absolute space cadet. 

“Nah dude I’m never usually listening when you talk, haven’t you noticed?” This causes some chuckles and a punch to the shoulder from Nico, but he smiles at Jack anyway. “We getting some drinks here or what boys?” He asks, trying to push the conversation away from his la la land behavior. The group moves en masse toward the open bar that one of their other teammates set up. Jack doesn't escape the attention for long though. 

“Haven’t seen you pick anyone up in a while? Something wrong with the little guy?” John chirps, giving Jack a crotch punch. Miles laughs so hard from over the shot glasses he spills some of the Tito’s he was pouring out.

“Fuck off John no. Just haven’t been feeling like a random fuck lately.” Jack scratches the back of his neck for once hating all the fucking eyes on him. 

“Haven’t been feeling like it? Has hell frozen over?” Nico absolutely refuses to let it go. Jack doesn't even know what to say so he just turns and glares at him reaching for a filled shot glass. He tosses it back. 

“Is this a fucking party or what boys? I’m not the only one drinking, am I?” The boys take the bait and soon Jack’s the least important of their thoughts as much as they’re the least important of his.

The arena is buzzing. Home game against MSU with 14 seconds left in the period. They’re tied 3-3. And he’s sweating his balls off. Absolutely gassed. Jack puts his hand up for Ian to throw him a towel, quickly popping his cage open and wiping off his forehead. Jack takes the opportunity to look over at the MSU bench. Their coach has a whiteboard out drawing up a play to score since they’ve got an o-zone faceoff. Coach Naurato just told them to break up whatever play MSU was planning. Very helpful.

 Jack’s mind starts to wander a bit, wondering if you’re seated somewhere in the student section. He knows you come to games but didn’t ask about this one; he’d forgotten the last time you-- erm “hung out.” 

The refs’ whistle luckily refocuses Jack’s mind back on the game. It’s go time. An icing meant he was back out there with the boys for this crucial moment. They had to stretch things to OT. No way was MSU scoring. 

He takes his position at the edge of the circle, to the left of his tendie. As soon as the puck drops Jack feels like he’s in slow motion. He moves hard out on the point searching for a loose puck or being ready to pry one loose. MSU’s centerman raked the puck back but Jack gets to it first skating as fast as he fucking can out of the pile. He’s moving despite his screaming legs, the lactic acid being almost too much to bear. 

He sees he’s got one of his liney’s to the left but has to get around the MSU defender first. Jack goes for a little chip play, which surprisingly gets around the d-man, despite his good gap. Jack’s in disbelief at this point, skating for his goddamn life; he could win this game for them.

The MSU goalie is being aggressive, creeping out of his crease to make himself bigger. But Jack’s still got his guy. A quick passing play and Jack re-receives the puck, psyching out the goalie just enough to find some space and sneak the puck in backdoor. Score.

Jack blacks out. Completely unsure what to do with himself, he starts frantically skating around the rim of the rink, arms up in the air as his teammates mob him against the glass. He’s fully screaming. He can feel the whole arena rumbling around him going absolutely nuts. Jack swears he’s never been happier than in this moment. They’ve won the game 4-3.

----

He’s out of press as quickly as possible. It’s not very extensive for D1 hockey players but there were still a few questions for the game winning goal scorer. Jack is still pumped full of adrenaline, hands practically shaking he’s so hyped up. He can think of only one person he wants to see right now, elevated testosterone sending his brain into a primal state.

“I’m coming over.” He texts. He’s never been so forward before, but his dumb boy brain can only think about one thing. For a split second Jack considers sending a follow up to ease the pushiness but he decides against it, shoving his phone in his dress pants pocket and making haste toward your apartment. 

He knocks at the door shifting impatiently, annoyed by an incessant itch he knows only you can scratch. You pull open the door and are suddenly standing in front of him; Michigan hoodie covering your frame and smooth legs exposed by a pair of sweatshorts. You seem a little shy unlike usual but still smile at Jack. Damn, has she always been this pretty? His lust works to heighten his senses.

Jack is swift, grabbing you and pulling you up around his waist. His hands fall greedily to your ass supporting you but also trying to relieve some of the tension in him by copping a feel. You’re feverish when you bring his lips to yours for a fiery kiss. There’s nothing innocent about it. His feet begin to move you both subconsciously toward your room as you make out with a fervor. The smell of your perfume swirls around him and fills his nose, fueling his lustful delirium further. You’re putty in his hands, arching generously into him, gasping wantonly for his kiss. Jack kisses you again and again even after breaking away until you can’t take anymore of the Dyonisian exchange. 

“Please--” Your plea is clipped and breathy. You’re not even sure if at first you know exactly what you’re asking for. But Jack hears you. He feels the way your body is screaming, vibrating electrically at his display. It strokes his ego in just the way his caveman mind needed.

“Yeah? You need me baby? Saw me score and now you need me to fuck you?” Jack’s almost taunting, his voice a few steps lower than usual. You feel no shame in giving into his provocation. You nod hastily, begging with your eyes rather than your words. Jack smirks, setting you on the floor of your room before backing himself toward the bed. He sits down, hands going behind him so he can lean back on his arms. He looks so cocky but still so sexy. Jack raises his eyebrows looking you over from where you stand stiffly before him.

“Well? On your knees baby, show me you deserve to be fucked.” He spits, making no move to do any of the work. You stumble forward, dropping to the floor in front of him and reaching greedily for his belt buckle. “There’s my good girl. Gonna let me fuck your throat sweetheart?” It’s condescending but it makes your stomach flutter. You love when he’s dominant. You wrestle his belt buckle open, beginning to tug on his dress pants. When you look up at him with doe eyes, pleading for him to do as he pleases with you, you see his smug smile. 

“Yeah ‘course you are. Always such a slut for me.” 

It all gets a little blurry after that first shot. Suddenly, he doesn’t remember a damn thing. Until Jack sees you. 

---

Y/N POV

You think it’s part of your dream at first, the incessant buzzing. But it’s coming from a flower in the garden and that doesn’t seem quite right… it’s still another fews rings before you fully flutter your eyes open. Still in a daze from sleep inertia, you reach blindly for your phone, holding it to what you think is your ear, and answering the call.

“H-hello?” You croak out, coughing almost immediately. The response on the other line is slow and you nearly fall back asleep in the second it takes them to speak.

“Hi umm sorry is-- is this Y/N?” Even in your haze you know that it’s weird that someone who’s calling you at the ass crack of morning isn’t sure of the name of the person they’re calling. It’s then you manage to sit up and pull your phone away from your ear to look at the caller ID. ‘Jacky Hughes.’ You’re even more confused now, because that voice certainly isn’t Jack and how the fuck does someone have his phone and why the fuck are they calling you?

“Uhhhhh yeah but who are you? Why do you have Jack’s phone?” You ask. The response is quicker this time.

“Shit sorry-- fuck this is John I’m buddies with Jack. Ummm we’re at the hockey house right now having a party but Jack is wasted and he just-- he kept asking for Y/N. ‘Y/N, Y/N, Y/N, where is she? I miss her. I miss my girl. Why isn’t she here?’ Really sappy shit and I mean none of the boys knew he had a girl so we’re like ‘Jack what the fuck are you saying man’ and he won’t explain he just keeps going on and on blah blah about Y/N. So we grab his phone right, and go through his contacts and look for a ‘Y/N’ and ta da, you’re the only one in there so we figured it had to be you he was talking about. Anyway, can you come get him? He's, like, totally plastered right now.”

‘John’ as he calls himself, is “like totally plastered right now” also, based on that rambly explanation. But really you don’t need any more convincing to drop what you’re doing (more like weren’t doing) and go to pick up a drunk Jack. 

“Yeah… yeah I’ll come now just uhh drop me a pin or something.” You barely wait for John to answer before ending the call to slip on some shoes, a hoodie, and grab your keys. As you lock your door on the way out, a text comes in with a location just like you asked for. 

You’d never been to the hockey house before but fuck it wasn’t hard to miss at this hour. Pretty multi color lights can be seen changing color inside and while the noise wasn’t atrocious it was certainly obvious. You risk it with double parking despite your nagging anxiety as it’s 3am and you don’t have time to find legal parking. You begin to tread up toward the porch but don’t have to go too far before your night vision fixes on a scene that makes you smile. 

Jack is sitting on the grass with his back against a tree mumbling incoherently, from the distance you’re at. There’s a few boys with him: some on the grass as well, one swinging on an epic rope swing tied from the tree and another just standing with his arms crossed. As you get closer you can make out Jack’s pouty face and loose limbs. The boy standing looks rather paternal as he monitors your toddler of a boyf-- erm.. friend. Thankfully, you don’t have to announce your presence as said paternal man notices you walking up.

“Hey are you uh-- Y/N was it?” He calls out. You nod but before you can speak Jack opens his big mouth just as you come to a stop in front of the group. 

“Aww Y/N she’s so pretty y’know-- wait you said she was coming, where is she Nico?” You look to see if Jack’s just suddenly lost all competency but notice that his eyes are closed. Your fond smile is involuntary. By now the rest of the belligerent boys have noticed your presence and are prodding at Jack saying ‘bro she is here’ ‘you’re so stupid Hughes’ and ‘oh my god dude.’

“Shhhh my head hurts be quiet you dumb fucks.” Jack chastises through a rather endearing hiccup. You move directly in front of Jack now, sinking into a squat to be almost eye level with him. Well you would be if he’d open his fucking eyes.

“Hey Jacky…” You call gently, placing your hand over his knee. He shifts only slightly.

“Only Y/N calls me that.” Jack whines, a lilt of sadness to his voice. Some of the boys have started laughing, egging him on while Nico just swears under his breath. Jack’s childishness makes you giggle. 

“Open your eyes dumbass.” You add now, squeezing his knee and giggling still. Jack furrows his brow and shakes his head side to side.

“Sometimes when I close my eyes, I can still hear her voice.” You’re fully laughing now, heart bursting with affection for this drunken fool. The Greek chorus opens their big mouths some more, fully ragging on Jack now: ‘Are you fucking serious bro’ and ‘Hughesy you idiot.’ 

The wheels seem to start turning, granted at a glacial pace, from all the berating. Jack shakes his head and you pat his leg encouragingly, his pretty eyes finally opening. When your eyes meet, he gasps comically loud and breaks into a beaming grin. It makes you feel even weaker for him.

“Oh my god, Y/N!!” He lifts an arm and starts flinging his hand about trying to find your face, to touch part of your body. You think he wants to hold your cheek but you’d rather he didn’t slap you in the face in the process. Gently you pick up his hand and rest your face against it.

“Hi stud.” You murmur at him, and even though he’s so inebriated that he doesn’t have control of his limbs, his thumb somehow begins to stroke your cheek. His head lulls to the side like a love sick puppy and he marvels at you with his starry gaze. He fish mouths for a moment before finding his words. 

“Is this a dream? Y’know I’m spinning so fucking bad right now I can see about three Y/N’s and that honestly sounds like fucking heaven to me. Must be a dream…” Jack mutters, almost to himself.

“Sorry to disappoint but I’m as real as that econ test you have on Monday Jacky. Glad to see you’re spending your weekend wisely.” The boys around you can’t help but chuckle at your rather mom-ish chirp. A few ‘gottems’ can be heard. Despite the roasting, it appears that Jack couldn’t care less. A delighted gasp leaves his lips and a sunshine-y smile rises on his lips. 

“Oh my god it IS you! I told Nico I wanted you to come get me and here you are! Will you take me home? Home to your’s? John’s being mean and Dawson isn’t as pretty as you.” He pouts as he says all this, making your heart clench. Home, he said. Your place. You’re already nodding without realizing. And if you lean forward to press a kiss to his cheek, it’s involuntary too.

“Yeah hun let’s go. I’ve got Welch’s in the car and a Ziploc bag with your name on it.” Your fingers run through his hair to soothe him just how you’ve learned to when he’s sober. You think he makes a move to stand and get his feet under himself but that battle is short lived. His ass stays firmly planted on the ground. 

“Geez Hughes here let’s go buddy. We got ya… yup there we go.” His friends are quick to claim limbs and hoist the 180 pound gentle giant off the dirt. You thank them and point out your car. Jack’s head lulls backwards so that he can still look at you even while he’s being carted off to your vehicle. The giddy smile doesn’t seem to leave his face.

“What are you guys?” The abruptness catches you off guard and shatters your daydreaming. You turn to find Nico, the most sober of the group and the ringleader it seems.

“Huh? Oh umm-- we… we hook up I guess. Yea…” You stutter badly but this is your first time talking about your situation with Jack out loud. It’ll have to do.

“Hook up... like... repeatedly? No, sorry, I mean like, he comes back to you or-- fuck I’m tryna say like he-- he doesn’t-- you’re not a fuck and chuck?” You’re at least grateful Nico is lacking some eloquence as well right now. Still, you’re unsure how to go on. You laugh awkwardly.

“No-- or wait I mean yeah? We’ve uhh yeah been hooking up for a couple months or three I think now. I was asked to tutor him in econ at the start of the semester.” Nico looks shocked but you watch as his face morphs in accordance with the wheels turning up top. He smiles all of a sudden.

“Well fuck me. He said he had a pretty study buddy so I guess that’s why he’s been so MIA. Probably should’ve put that one together sooner.” Nico laughs at his blatant idiocy. You smile and shrug not really knowing what to say. He hasn’t really said anything that you can respond to.

“He doesn’t even eat when he gets back most of the time. If he gets back at all obviously.” You blush at the implication as he continues to glue the pieces together in his head.

“Yeah we usually cook together or order something.” Your admittance is bashful. You kick some rocks with your shoes as you continue walking behind the carrying party toward your car.

“Wow. I’m shocked really. I mean I’ve never seen him or heard of him spending this much time with a girl before. You must be special.” 

You must be special. 

It’s what you’ve been wanting to hear for months now, just from the wrong person. 

“Y/NNNNN!” Jack whines from the passenger's seat of your car where he’s been deposited haphazardly, albeit in one piece. You roll your eyes affectionately, walking around towards him. 

“Thanks boys. ‘Preciate it.” You smile at the group, shifting your weight awkwardly between both feet. John breaks the silence.

“Tell him to bring you around sometime. We wanna meet you for real. Seems like he really likes you.” 

Seems like he really likes you. 

“Sure thing. Thanks again.” You smile and offer a small laugh and wave. Quickly you look down to your boy-- no, Jack, and see him staring at you. 

“I told them that.” He mumbles drowsily. 

“Told ‘em what bub?” You ask leaning over him to buckle his seatbelt and push all arms and legs inside the vehicle. 

“That I really like you.” 

I really like you. 

You pause for a moment, looking him over warily, heart fluttering. He’s smiling at you just as genuinely as he normally would when sober. It’s calming for the moment and inclines you to believe him even in his drunken state. Despite how desperately you want him to sober up so you can hear the real truth, your nervous stomach accepts his admittance for the time being. You smile back at him and bend to kiss him on the lips. It’s just a peck but satiates the boy fully. He giggles gleefully when you pull away and meet his eyes again. 

“Alright Jacky hun, let’s get you home.”

------

After waking up at 2 in the morning to collect a 5'11” drunken idiot, you’d think he’d have the decency to let you sleep in. Wishful thinking apparently. 

“Y/N… Y/N! Wake up please!” Though Jack’s being gentle he’s still shaking you awake, a rather jarring way to come around. You groan loudly, letting him know how exasperated you’re feeling. Your hands reach blindly to push him away from you. Jack’s even more stubborn than you are though. “Please baby, I needa talk to you.” He’s gentler this time, leaning down to kiss your neck and rub at your side. The coaxing works wonders in getting you to peak an eye open. 

Jack looks adorable really. Soft hair flopping into his face and some dark blue bags under his eyes. He’s wearing a soft smile and the look in his eyes is one of adoration. It almost melts away your annoyance. Almost. 

“Jacky, what do you want? Are you still drunk? Why the fuck did you wake me up?” You whine. He just continues to look at you gently. He bends to press a kiss to the corner of your mouth.

“Hi gorgeous, I’m sorry. I-- I had to wake you up because well I blacked out last night which you obviously saw, but I woke up from my blackout when you were sitting in front of me smiling and telling me I was an idiot for not studying for our econ test. And I couldn’t wait another hour or more for you to wake up. I needed to tell you now that-- that I remember what I said and it was true. I like you, I really do. I’m so fucking into you it’s a little stupid and I’m tired of all this in between bullshit. I’ve wanted to be with you from like the second week we studied together and I don’t just wanna have sex anymore-- I mean don’t get me wrong it’s great and I would very much like to continue having sex with you but umm what I mean is I wanna introduce you to my friends and brag about you to them. About how my girl is so smart and funny and sexy and that she makes me laugh and fuck I’d ditch boys night for you because I like you that much. You make me feel so happy and safe. I love being around you no matter what we’re doing and I want you to be around me all the time. And I think I know that I’m not one sided in feeling this because I don’t think anyone could endure the pain of being so close to a couple but not actually being official unless they would give up the world for that person and well…  I would, I would give up the world for you and I hope that-- okay well that’s a lot to ask that you’d give up the world for me back but I hope that you at least like me too. Please tell me you do cause I’m so into you babe and I want it all with you. Late nights and early mornings… the fights and the love… the future. I’m not scared of losing you from saying how I feel because I’ve been yours for months now, so what’d you say? Be mine?” 

It’s almost too much all at once. You’re so tired and delirious and here’s this soft looking boy holding you in bed under the sheets, fingers dancing along your waist while he stares into your eyes and bares his soul to you. He had you at ‘I like you’ because it’s all you’ve been wanting to hear for months. Everything else was just sweet fluff that you more than loved but didn’t even need to hear make your decision. He says he’s been yours for months now but what he doesn’t realize is you’ve been his for just as long. And yeah, you’d give up the world for him too. All there’s left to say is yes.

You giggle at him pulling him down for a soft kiss. It’s a vessel for your emotion. An outpouring of love and devotion. You want him to feel that your actions mirror his words.

“Of course, Jack. I’m yours if you’re mine.” He beams down at you, smiling so wholly you think his face might get permanently stuck like that. He buries his face in your neck kissing you there. 

“Thank god.” He sighs. “I know I sounded all confident but I was still kinda shitting it that I might’ve had it all wrong there.”

[verdemoun]

au where fuck john marston because playing the epilogue has me upset. let kieran and mary-beth have the beecher's hope happiness

john replaces kieran in horsemen apocalypses with obviously much more devastating impacts

abigail is completely catatonic, leaving it to the gang to take over being jack's full-time carers

it has never been more obvious john was dutch's favorite son. chapter 5 levels of instability with hosea still there to watch his downfall and try to pick up the pieces

the gang go after colm in braithwaite fashion. in the process they discover colm has been working with bronte as mules to run bronte's weapon selling operation, and it was bronte that revealed where the gang were hiding thus leading to john's death

hosea joins in the assault on bronte's mansion, seeing dutch kill bronte and making a grim comment about not being the man he knew[loved], which almost seems to pull dutch out of it

no one realises hosea had in fact been shot until he falls off silver dollar dead, his last words to dutch anger and disgust

the gang are still forced to flee to beaver hollow in the aftermath of bronte's death, which the gang were much more visible and destructive in. all that was left of the mansion was soot-covered marble

except, kieran was able to claim colm's bounty AND retrieve the blackwater money, as an unknown member of the gang with no bounty in west elizabeth. there was an unspoken tension of the gang knowing they had enough money to flee, but dutch has no plan. dutch doesn't care anymore. he misses hosea, he misses his son

as micah becomes a more vocal presence and dutch has clearly reached a point of not caring, the gang falls apart quicker. arthur, knowing he's sick, forces lenny to leave and go find the future hosea wanted for him. strauss and trelawney both leave of their own accord. charles leaves to help the wapiti earlier, while eagle flies recovers from a bullet wound acquired trying to steal back their horses alone. miss grimshaw, seeing her words have no impact on dutch, who is no longer the passionate, charismatic man she had once loved, takes karen and tilly before their alcoholism/loyalty kills them both (arthur aggressively encouraging tilly as a sibling)

mary-beth stays because kieran (who she has fallen more and more in love with, and had those feeling requited) refuses to leave arthur, who he considers a friend and is devastated to watch waste away from illness and mourning, and because she is the only one left who can take care of jack.

abigail is captured by pinkertons, but with john's death, seeing how happy jack has been with mary-beth (who saved jack during the pinkerton attack, and can read with him and seemingly be a better mother than she has ever felt she was) fights more recklessly and is killed saving arthur from milton

sadie and arthur learn not only was micah a rat for the pinkertons, but he had also been an o'driscoll and ratted on them too. milton brags how stupid the vdls had been to let micah in, with micah telling colm their every movement, only to tell the pinkertons both gangs' secrets. which means micah had been responsible for john's death as much as bronte was, and micah had also lead to hosea's death

mary-beth and kieran leave with jack, under sadie's begruding protection while arthur tries to save dutch from blindly following micah's command as micah tries to replace hosea as the one dutch turns to when he doesn't have plan.

this leads to arthur's last stand, with dutch shooting micah as retaliation for john and hosea's death, and sitting beside arthur as he took his last breath. dutch would later be killed by pinkertons, still sitting beside his last son's corpse

mary-beth becomes an author, with jack always mentioned in the dedication as the proof reader. she buys beecher's hope with her book's first cheque because living in saint denis while trying to conceal they were part of the vdls is much more difficult

jack grows up spoiled with his love of reading nurtured and kieran a patient man teaching him about horses in a gentle way that inspires passion instead of the idea of performing masculinity. jack doesn't see his role models belittle his dreams of writing or choose revenge over staying with family. with him. they get a dog and name it merlin because the legend of king arthur is their favorite story to read together. jack reads it to kieran, who does learn to read for himself but will prefer jack reading to him

[scarfacemarston]

Ok, but like, imagine a Modern Au reader buying Beecher's Hope and it being haunted. Maybe some sort of Ghost John x Reader goodness. (Or Ghost Abigail? ) Or finding Arthur and he's a ghost in your apartment, the two of you hit it off. Or just be friends with them if you don't want romance or helping them move to the after life. Could be an interesting prompt for you all!

[choco-1601]

Just thinking about Beecher’s hope morston au…just them being finally at peace..no more running..no more being on alert. Just 2 guys ranching and making love under the moon

[imsparky2002]

We All Dye - A Teen Titans (Girls) AU

Band: We All Dye

Founded: October 30, 1999

Location: Jump City, California

Fun Facts

The band is called We All Dye because at the time, everyone had dyed hair.

While they officially formed the band in 1999, they had been practicing together for about a year before the official founding. Their first concert was on Halloween.

Rachel Roth (Raven)

Born: May 1, 1986

Favorite Acts: The Cure, Korn, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Radiohead, Joy Division

Instruments: Lead Vocals

About: On stage, Rachel Roth is a gothic force of nature. She loses herself in the music, putting all her emotions on display and excelling in flair and passion. When she's offstage, Roth is the complete opposite. In real life, she's a reserved and mild-mannered kid who uses sarcasm and bluntness on a regular basis. Rachel's look on life had been jaded even before her mother's death from cancer, an which caused her to create the band as a way of finally releasing her emotions and hurt in a creative manner. She found that in making the band, she had found lifelong friends who would be there for her every step of the way. She tries her best to do the same for them.

Kori Anderson (Starfire)

Born: May 21, 1986

Favorite Acts: Bjork, Britney Spears, The Beach Boys, David Bowie, Rush, Sum 41

Instruments: Lead Guitar

About: An immigrant from Canada, Kori is without a doubt one of the nicest people you will ever meet. Though she's unapolagetically peppy, she's got a love for rock. She is trusting to a fault, which her older sister Kristen (Blackfire) would take advantage of. It was only after her bandmates showed Kori that she was being mistreated, did she finally begin to stand up for herself. Now she feels that she's finally gained true sisters.

Karen Beecher (Bumblebee)

Born: March 19, 1986

Favorite Acts: Jamiroquai, Green Day, Gloria Gaynor, Prince, Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill

Instruments: Rhythm Guitar, Backing Vocals

About: The mom of the group, Karen works alongside Kori to be the peacekeeper. She makes sure everybody's packed and ready to go for concerts. Karen's certainly busy as a bee, which just so happens to be her favorite animal. She's also a proud nerd, hoping to work in tech if the band somehow fails to work out.

Tara Markov (Terra)

Born: February 21, 1986

Favorite Acts: Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Joan Jett, Soundgarden, Fiona Apple

Instruments: Bass

About: Tara is a girl who is not afraid to get her hands dirty or speak her mind. This came from being bullied in childhood as a poverty-ridden kid needing to fight for everything she had. She chose to play bass as she felt it fit her "no-theatrics" attitude. Tara also is the most likely to argue either for herself or for other members of the band if she feels anyone is being disrespected.

Alina Hao (Jinx)

Born: August 8, 1986

Favorite Acts: Hex Girls (She won't apologize), Queen, Shonen Knife, Misfits, Stevie Nicks

Instruments: Keyboards, Backing Vocals

About: Alina is as wry, passionate and mischievous as they come. When Rachel was creating her on-stage persona, she mostly drew inspiration from Alina's theatricality. Funnily enough, Alina and Rachel had been rivals in elementary school, due to frequent bouts for spots in school plays. It was only after puberty and tragedy in Rachel's life did the two realize how silly their rivalry truly was, and Alina was invited into the friend group. Now she feels it's her job to back up her friends, and occasionally drive them nuts with pranks.

Rose Wilson (Ravager)

Born: February 21, 1986

Favorite Acts: Nine Inch Nails, Metallica, Alanis Morissette, Guns 'n Roses, Rage Against the Machine, Le Tigre

Instruments: Drums

About: If you want to keep Rose happy, don't tell her what to do without a good reason. She has problems with authority due to issues with her parents and being seen as a disappointment by most of her teachers. Having two younger brothers (with an older brother, Grant, who's serving in the Army) to protect from their mom and dad means she looks out for other kids going through a hard time. It's also caused her to become jaded, using snarkiness as a way to cope with the feelings of hurt and anger that have built up inside her. While she sees all her bandmates as sisters, she particularly bonds with Tara as a fellow victim of parental abuse, even if they bicker a lot.

So that's the band so far. Credit to Artzy for the name choice! Lemme know headcanons, and thoughts in the replies and reblogs. @artzychic27 @nerd-chocolate @msweebyness

[targetf0rce]

found my design for the standard Isaac morgan lives au, its a bit messy but i dont have the energy to fix it. you get the general idea

i imagine that jack, susie, jaime and isaac just vibe on beechers hope after canon. Isaac was some kid that Charles found in the factories in saint denis in 1906 who he mistook for Arthur before realising that was his son. he helped them build beechers hope and stayed on the ranch, i do kinda see an au of the au where he goes with charles after american venom but thats not for today. anyway. i see jaime as some guy who showed up in 1914 like "you killed my dad!" for jack to be like "no that was my dad" and jaimes like "okay. i live here now" and never fucking leaves. he just decides yknow what im gonna live with my father's killer's son and daughter and their quiet friend who keeps sitting on the damn roof drawing birds

i hope to draw something of them all together at some point but my brain atm,,

[spiralcookies]

Tonight’s morston AU obsession: Arthur thought he lost John for good 3 times (when they were young, John skedaddled, and chapter 6) without confessing his feelings and then finally after laying low for many years he found John at Beecher’s Hope and he finally said the words and they lived happily ever after.

[exhaustedalien]

silly little john at beecher's hope sketches

[big-boah-2]

RDR1 AU where John has to hunt down Arthur and Charles after Bill, he finds them in Veteran's cabin (Arthur's TB is in remission) and after convincing John they would help him (but refuse to be taken in by the law) Arthur and Charles agree to kick the Pinkerton's ass. Eventually they make progress, the Dutch cliff scene happens but it's Arthur AND John. Almost like the scene with Micah in American Venom but it's Arthur who shows up out of the cave while John has him cornered. (What would be crazy is if Dutch doesn't say anything to Arthur at all and his dialogue doesn't change)

They split before Ross shows up; they find Abigail and Jack, pick up Uncle, and they all escape with Arthur & Charles to Canada before the remaining Pinkertons can assault Beecher's Hope. Everyone lives happily ever after, the end!

[ozimagines]

Hello, this was very much inspired by your Holly and Fiona drabble: would you consider doing a "dating would include" between Fiona and Beecher? I think that Fiona would make for a fun step-mom for Holly! Maybe Beecher and Fiona end up as cell mates after Chris dies or its an AU where Chris is less murderous and more accepting of Beecher's choices? Thank you and I hope that you are feeling better!

And the Fiona love continues absofuckinglutely I’ll write this piece!!!Honestly the chances are better that Beecher would marry Fiona in real life than it is for Keller to be less murderous 😂 So he’s dead in this. But yeah this ask made me so happy. Plus I wrote Fiona St. James (the actor that plays Fiona) on TikTok and told him your idea and he said it sounded awesome! So it’s actually had the rare honor of being actor approved! Thank you so very much for this ask!❤️❤️

Tobias Beecher dating Fiona Zonioni would include… part 1/?

He made parole. Felt like a damn dream again. Only Keller wasn’t there to wake him up. He was found innocent of killing Keller, but he didn’t feel innocent. He knew their love was till death do us part, but it never felt so real until it was.

He was signing for his belongings. A watch. A picture of his family, now half gone, his wallet.

“Didn’t feel real until now, huh?”

Beecher’s eyes flitted to Fiona. She was also signing for her belongings. Lipstick and a compact. A string of pearls and a hand fan. It had her initials on it Fiona J. Zonioni.

“Yeah. Just been wanting it for so many years and now it feels different.

“Because he’s not here?”

Beecher agreed, looking away to stop from shedding a tear.

“Your journey to who you are is an inspirational one, Beecher. Prag to stag. Geek to chic. It’s a classic.” She signed and started loading her belongings into a frilly pink purse. “I’ve enjoyed watching you succeed.”

“Thanks, Fiona.” He grabbed his items and put them in his suit pockets.

They walked each other to the door.

“What’re your plans?”

Fiona sighed and shrugged.

“Try to get back in the drag game. If I’m not too old, anyway. Father’s gone now and mother won’t speak to me. Hurts.”

“Sorry to hear about your father’s passing.”

“Don’t be, I stabbed the bastard.”

Beecher furrowed a brow and Fiona explained. Her dad always beat on her mom. Never laid a hand on her or her sister, but made her mom pay for it.

“One night, it was worse than usual. I told him to stop and he didn’t. So I did what I had to for her. And now…” she looked away. “I’m not sorry. I’m sorry it had to be that way but I’m not sorry I did it.”

“Can’t relate. I’ll hate myself for Cathy Rockwell forever.”

“And Schillinger?”

“I didn’t mean-“

“And Metzger?” She asked slyly.

“Didn’t know you knew about that.”

“The gays were a gang for a reason, Beecher, only we didn’t deal in drugs, we dealt in secrets. We kept yours for years.”

Beecher thanked her, though he wasn’t sure why. She smiled and patted his shoulder.

“You’re gonna be alright, Beecher.”

They stood at the gates together and Fiona chucked.

“Adam and Eve. The first man and woman in Eden.” She said, and left it at that. Their respective rides were waiting for them.

Beecher went to shake Fiona’s hand but she tutted and brought him into a tight hug.

“Remember who you are, Beecher. Always.”

“You, um… you can call me Tobias.”

“Are you a Theo or a Toby?”

“I’m a Toby.”

“How sweet. I’m a Fifi when I’m in a good mood.” She started to leave when Beecher stopped her and scribbled something on one of his sign out papers.

“It’s my number and address. Come over sometime, I’ll have you for dinner.”

“I’d like that Bee- I mean, Toby.” Fiona blushed which is something people rarely saw her do and said her goodbyes, rushing to the car with another girl looking just like her. Beecher assumed it was her sister.

Beecher got home that day; no one told Holly he was paroled. His mom just held a dinner for her and he walked in. Everyone cried. It was an emotional day.

That night, as he settled into his own bed, alone, his phone buzzed.

Night, Toby 🫶👑

He smiled.

Goodnight, Fiona. :)

He had her over for dinner a couple weekends later. He told Holly a friend was coming over. A friend she didn’t know.

“This person is someone I knew… in Oz.”

Holly couldn’t care less, her dad was home, that’s what she wanted.

“Is it going to be that guy you dated?”

“How do you know-“

“Gramma and Grandpa were talking. Said he might be the reason I was kidnapped. I know he wasn’t. You wouldn’t let that happen.”

Beecher was in constant awe of his daughter’s perception.

“No, it’s… she’s…”

“She?”

Beecher sat Holly down to explain some things to her. He said some princes want princesses, but some want other princes.

“I know what gay means, Dad.”

“Oh well… some princes like to dress like princesses. But they still like to be called prince. Some like to dress like a princess and like to be called-“

“She’s trans. You could just say that.”

Wow. Gen Z was really something else.

Holly helped him make dinner. She insisted on making pasta. Beecher asked several times why.

“Women like pasta. It’s romantic.” She shrugged and Beecher laughed and said okay.

There was a knock on the door. Beecher nervously went to answer. Fiona was the only person out of Oz that he invited over. He hoped it wasn’t a mistake. He opened the door to see Fiona.

She was wearing a sparkly red gown, hair done up curly, eyes a smoky purple color. Beecher was blown away by how good she looked when left to her own devices.

“I overdressed, didn’t I?”

Beecher smiled large and shook his head.

“You look FANTASTIC Fiona.” He helped her in and took her black coat.

“Aren’t you the gentleman?” She teased, but accepted the gesture proudly. She flashed something in a Tupperware container.

“I made cannoli. I hope you like it because I spent like fifteen hours on them and trashed my kitchen.”

Beecher smile and assured her that they would love them. Holly peeked out from the kitchen. Her eyes went wide and Beecher was afraid she was going to say something insensitive.

“Whoa! You look just like Jessica Rabbit!” She cheered excitedly and Fiona popped out her fan and dramatically hid her face.

“Child, you spoil me. She’s just who I was going for!” She grandly extended one of her gloved hands to the kid. Holly took it and kissed the top like she’d seen people in old movies do. Fiona was delighted and make a squeaking sound.

She pretended to be receiving her fans and extended her hand a few more times until she came to Beecher, who took the hand and mimicked Holly, kissing the top but letting his lips linger for a second.

“Chanel #5?”

Fiona put a hand over her mouth.

“And you know your perfumes?” She leaned down to Holly, as if explaining a secret. “He’s not going to be single for long. You have to be his bouncer. Make sure they’re good enough for him.”

Holly fake saluted and both Fiona and Toby laughed. He guided her to the dining room, which was made up quaintly.

Toby pulled out a chair for her and she sat down gracefully, which Beecher wasn’t sure was possible being how she was poured into that dress.

Holly pulled out her dad’s chair, and he sat down with a smile.

She left to go get their food.

“The royal treatment. I’m impressed, Beecher, most kids I meet are selfish assholes. Miss Holly’s already more of a gentleman than some of my lovers.”

Beecher accepted the compliment in the spirit in which it was given. Holly served their pasta, and Fiona clapped excitedly.

“Oh, good. I love pasta!”

Holly gave her dad and ‘I told you so’ look and sat down.

They chatted, sharing things about each other they never knew out of Oz.

“Dad can do a Rubik’s cube in like a minute!”

“Really? That’s quite impressive. Can he do this?” She turned her head and touched her nose with her tongue and turned around. Holly laughed and Beecher just stared. He realized in seven years, he never really knew how funny and charming Fiona could be.

“Tell me about yourself,” he said suddenly, and realized, how it sounded. “If you want to, I mean.”

Fiona thought for a second.

“I ever tell you I’m Chucky Pancamo’s cousin?”

Beecher choked on his drink and Fiona smiled.

“Well, I am. Distantly. We went to family reunions together. Never talked much but we knew each other. Took care of me in prison though.”

“Never realized you all talked.”

“We didn’t. But there was one guy before you got there, Derek Vaughn. Mean, nasty man. Always gave me trouble.” She shrugged with a smirk. “Until he didn’t.”

“Wow.” Was all Beecher could think to say. He told her he was starting to realize he didn’t know Oz at all.

“Oz was different for me than for you, Beecher. It’s… always different for people like me.”

She turned away to avoid from being seen as weak, biting her knuckles for a second. Holly kicked Beecher under the table and gestured toward her. Beecher put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

“We’re out, Fiona. And we’re gonna stay out.”

“Not for nothing, Beecher, but our definitions of the outside world are also different.”

“I can admit that. But, Fiona, you’re you. Just always yourself. I envied you for years for that. You’re yourself even when it’s hard. It’s an admirable trait.”

Fiona smiled.

“Takes practice.” She tasted the pasta and remarked on how good it was. Beecher gave Holly all the credit. She beamed proudly as she explained it was a recipe she learned on TikTok.

They had Fiona’s cannoli with dessert. Holly had never tried one before and was blown away by how good they were.

It came to her bedtime, and Beecher hugged Holly tight.

“Goodnight, Holly Jolly.” He kissed her head and tousled her hair. Holly looked to Fiona.

“Goodnight, Miss Zamboni.”

Fiona snorted at the butchering of her last name but she thanked the girl all the same.

“Goodnight, Miss Holly.”

Beecher turned to Fiona and asked if she wanted a nightcap, and at her scandalous expression, clarified he meant a cookie and some milk.

“Why do we have figures if not to build on. Yes, Toby, I’ll take a cookie.”❤️

Toby asked what kind she’d like and she said “surprise me, darling.”

He decided on the cookie; his most complex one. Dark chocolate and sea salt with dried strawberries. He even warmed the milk up for her.

“Realize I should have asked what kind of milk you want. Holly drinks hazelnut and coconut milk. When I was a kid and someone said milk, they just meant milk.”

Fiona giggled at his boomerism, and took the tiny plate, staring gratefully at the pristine cookie. She took a piece off with her fingers and dipped it in the milk.

“Mmm dark chocolate strawberry? And sea salt? Is that what you think of me?”

Beecher told her he didn’t understand and she explained with a glee in her voice that Audrey Hepburn said you can always tell what a man thinks of you by the kind of gifts he buys you.

“Or in this case, cookie flavor. I want to know if you chose randomly.”

“No. It’s my most complex flavor. It’s salty and sweet and bitter and fruity. It’s so many things in one.” He said, trying to justify his choice, unknowingly flattering Fiona more than she had ever been.

“What’s yours?”

“Guess.”

“Chocolate chip or oatmeal raisin.”

“Why oatmeal raisin?”

“It’s not for everyone but it’s yours and you own it. Plus it’s unreasonably sweet.”

He smiled and defeatedly showed her his oatmeal raisin cookie. 🍪 Fiona did a little victory dance that got them thinking of Busmalis.

In fact they thought about a lot of their prisoner friends and foes alike, all discussing where they ended up and what they deserved.

“Robson has aids.” Fiona informed and Beecher lamented that he didn’t feel sorrier.

They got closer and closer on the couch, laughing at some of their old prison stories. After a particularly good laugh about Jewel Schillinger becoming devoutly Jewish, Beecher found he hand his hand steadying himself on Fiona’s thigh.

He apologized one he realized.

“You’re fine, Tobias.” She waved it off but relished the burn of warmth where his hand was.

“You’re so much different than I thought. And I thought I knew you after seven years.”

“I’m complex. Like the cookie you selected.”

“Yeah.”

He asked if she would come over again and she said she wouldn’t miss it.

He walked her to the door and helped her with her coat. She let, giving him a hug, and he found himself kissing her on the cheek.

“I’m so sorry Fiona, I don’t know what came over me.”

“You missed.”

He asked what and she merely grinned and slowly placed her lips on his. It lasted only a second, but the warmth of her lips burned him inside.

“Goodnight, Tobias.” She pinched his cheek, caressed his face, and left.

Gentleman though he was… he did enjoy watching her walk away. 😶‍🌫️

He talked to Fiona every day. Always texted or called or visited in some capacity. Steadied him to talk to someone who knew his experiences. He found he very much enjoyed getting to know her.

One night, she invited him to one of her shows. He couldn’t believe the artistry involved, even if the lewdness of her act made him blush.

She’d come out dressed as Marlene Dietrich. A variation of the suit she wore in Morocco. Fiona was smoking in a sparkly, woman cut suit and it turned Beecher on more than anything.

She worked the crowd. Was good at what she did. Smiling and waving and blowing smoke in everyone’s face.

When she came to Beecher’s table, she smirked and leaned down, kissing him on the lips, hiding herself with her hat. It was something out of a dream.

Beecher waited until the end to give Fiona the flowers he brought. Hyacinths.🪻🪻🪻Pink and purple.

He knocked on the dressing room and entered at her request.

His smile disappeared when he saw she had a man in there. A handsome, shirtless man. Fiona pushed him off her when Beecher entered.

He was crushed and didn’t understand why.

“These are for you.” He said lamely, and she accepted them graciously.

“Thanks for coming, Toby.”

“Always, Fiona.”

Beecher was hurt that Fiona had a lover. He wasn’t sure why he was. They certainly weren’t romantic. Flirty, sure, but Fiona was flirty with everyone. Maybe that’s all it was?

At dinner that Friday night, Beecher broached the subject.

“Who was… I mean… the guy in your dressing room?”

“Damien? Oh, you know, e pluribus unum.” She said with a wink, and Beecher flinched. Fiona noticed.

“Any reason you’re asking?”

“…just curious.” Toby said, continuing to eat his meatloaf. Fiona dropped the subject till after dinner.

“Were you hoping to meet Damien? Because while he’s entertaining in other ways, I hardly think he’s the type for scrabble night.”

They did words with friends on their phones together. Fiona won every time. Like… every time.

“No. Sorry if I made it awkward by asking.” He took a bite from his cookie and muttered something. Fiona asked him to repeat.

“Maybe this time don’t battle a mouthful of cookie.” She teased.

“It’s just… you’re so wonderful, Fiona. I’d hate to think of you entertaining people who don’t deserve you.”

He’d expected Fiona to thank him and tell him she can watch out for herself. Fiona did not react this way. She got angry. Quiet angry.

“Thank you for your concern, Mr. Beecher. That said, it hardly seems like your business.” She sniffed and left it at that, but Beecher kept pushing.

“Does it make you happy? The dressing rooms and random men-“

“Beecher, enough.” She stood up, gathering her things.

“Fiona I didn’t mean-“

“I thought you were different, Toby. Don’t think I don’t know what I am to you and everyone else. I’m a back up. Someone to flirt with just enough to keep them around but when it’s time for romance it’s always someone else. You’re just that way. Just mad that your second place has other options.” She opened the door, careful not to wake Holly.

“Fiona, please don’t go. I’m sorry! I didn’t mean that. You’re not my back up-“

“You’re right. I’m not your anything.” She sniffed as a tear rolled down her face. “I’ll never be Keller.”

She left and Toby stayed up that night and cried for the first time in a while.

Holly saw him despondent the next morning. He was making her breakfast but with none of his usual talking.

“When’s Miss Fiona coming over again?”

“…probably not for a while, pumpkin.”

“What’d you do?”

He chucked darkly and figured he had nothing to lose. He told her that he’d kissed Fiona. That he’d really fallen for her. That he saw her with another guy and got jealous.

“Do you want to date her?”

“I think so.”

“You have to make a grand gesture. Like in the old movies. Something big and romantic to let her know you’re not just interested when someone else is.”

He thanked his daughter for having the brain cells he didn’t.

Fiona was with her friends, telling them about Beecher while she was getting ready.

“Men are pigs.” She stared flatly. “Thought this one was different. But we kissed a month ago and nothing until he sees stupid Damien in my room. Damien! Of all people! The kid with fewer brain cells than my left tit! That’s who Beecher’s jealous over.”

She was narrating to no one at this point but it didn’t matter. She fixed her mascara, trying not to cry again. She’d wasted enough time on that jerk.

Suddenly, music played over the loud speaker. It was coming from the stage. Singing, but not the usual boisterous melodies. Something sad and soft. Took Fiona a second to recognize the song.

“I got it bad… and that ain’t good.”

She sprung to her feet, grabbed a robe, and made her way to the stage with the other drag queens.

Beecher was there, in his father’s old suit, red rose in the lapel, singing softly into the microphone. She stopped at stage left, just watching him. He turned to her, and changed the song.

“Dream lover, where are you, with a love, oh, so true. And the hand that I can hold to feel you near as I grow old?”

She smiled softly. Dream lover.

“Because I want. A girl. To call. My own. I want a dream lover… so I don’t have to dream alone.”

The other guys cheered him on when he finished, and he would have thanked them, if his eyes had left Fiona even for a second.

She stepped forward, arms crossed. She pretended to still be angry.

“Causing a scene at my work?”

“Needed to see you. You haven’t played your word in days.”

She shrugged and went to turn away, when Beecher stopped her and touched her face gently, forcing her to look in his eyes.

“I love you, Fiona. I’m sorry I ever made you feel like you weren’t enough. You’re more than enough. Too much. Much much too much. But I’m greedy, and I want it all. You’re not my backup. You’re not second place. And you’re right, you’re not Keller. But I’m glad. Because I’m not the same Beecher either. I love the way you are around Holly. I love the way you make pasta arrabbiata, and I love that you sing to yourself in Italian while you do it. I love that you laugh at my jokes, even the ones that aren’t funny. I love that you’re so strong. That nothing ever stops you from being yourself. I love-“

“You done?” She asked, deadpanned. He nodded and turned to leave. She stopped him with an arm on his waist. “Because I’d like to start. I love the way you are with Holly too. I love that you call cookies a nightcap and that you make terrible, terrible dad jokes all the time. I love that you love salad and to you a salad isn’t just lettuce and dressing. I love you too, Toby.”

She leaned forward and kissed him softly on the lips, but he took full advantage and dipped her in his arms, absorbing her muffled squeak as he did so.

He waited for her to finish rehearsal and they left together, holding hands the whole way to his house.

“Don’t you have to explain this to Holly?”

“The suit was actually her idea.” He admitted sheepishly.

“Smart girl. Though if she were really smart, she’d have told you to pick up something chocolate and something shiny too.”

Tobias smirked triumphantly

“Check under your seat.”

Fiona pulled out a box of chocolates and a jewelry box with a shiny silver bracelet in there.

“I was looking for a necklace but Holly insisted girls like bracelets.”

They giggled the whole way home.

“Oh, Tobias, you missed my turn.”

“I was actually hoping you’d spend the night.”🔥

“Oh… I… OH.” Fiona understood what that entailed.

“Not that I’m not tickled pink by the proposal, honey, really I am. But… I look a little different without all my effects. You do know that right?”

Beecher pulled into his driveway and sat with her for a second.

“I just don’t want you to be disappointed.”😔

“Fiona, right now, you look like a million bucks. I’m gonna take you upstairs and make up for seven years of not ravishing you. And in the morning, when I see you without your makeup, and jewelry, and fancy dresses, I’m gonna kiss you and make you coffee and bring it to you in bed. That’s what’s gonna happen.”

Fiona, for the first time in her life, was speechless. 😶

“I…”

“I’ll also take you back to yours if you want. Your choice.”

She thought for a moment and in a flash, leaned over to him and kissed him passionately.

“Mmmm lets see what you got, Daddy.”

They exited the car, but before the entered the house, Beecher stopped her.

“I want this to be perfect.” He picked her up and carried her through the threshold. He carried her all the way to his room, laid her down in the bed, and started necking her.

He turned her over, placing his body weight on her and kissing her neck.

She was releasing soft “oh”s with each breath.

Fiona had been fucked many a time before but she would be hard pressed to tell you when the last time someone made love to her was.

That’s what this was. Each silent, squeaky thrust.

“Sorry if I don’t get hard. I’m back on estrogen.”

Toby chucked and husked in her ear.

“Did you honestly feel like you have to apologize for anything? Because you don’t.”🥵

They slept together that night in every sense of the term.

When they awoke the next morning, checked was spooning her, face in her neck. He took a deep breath of her natural scent.

She stirred. Tobias stared at her face for a long time. The masculine jaw and the womanly cheekbones. The soft eyes and the pursed lips. Her tanned skin and curvy body. She felt him staring and woke up.

“Hey.” she greeted him with a lower voice than usual. Beecher smirked. “Still like what you see?”

“Somehow, and impossibly, more than before.”❤️

He kept his promise, kissed her on the lips and went downstairs to make her coffee.

Holly saw him holding two coffee cups and smirked.

“I’m the greatest wingman ever. Where would you be without me?” She boasted to her dad’s blushing face.

She helped him make the coffee. Beecher was just going to bring it black with some creamer and sugar on the side.

“Don’t you know anything, Dad? She’s cool. Too cool for regular coffee. Make her a Frappuccino.”

Beecher couldn’t even pronounce the words she was saying so she signed and took over, sliding the blender past her dad.

Beecher carried his regular coffee and Fiona’s concoction.

Holly insisted on copious whipped cream.

“Can I come give it to her, Daddy? Please?”

Beecher told her sure but they had to make sure she was dressed first. Holly winked at him and he grimaced.

They knocked on the door.

“Honey? Are you decent? Holly wanted to say good morning.”

She told them she was and they wanted. She was sitting there in Beecher’s robe. It was everything I bush power not to take her for round two right then and there.

“Hi, Miss Fiona! I made you a hazelnut Frappuccino!” Holly gave it to her and then gave her a big hug.

“Take it easy on my dad.” She whispered in Fiona’s ear. “He doesn’t always say the right things, but he tries.”

Fiona nodded, and held Holly’s face in her hand, kissing her forehead softly.

“Thank you, child.”🫶

Fiona went to say something then turned her head. Holly and Toby shared a look. She was crying.

The both rushed to her sides.

“I’m sorry, Miss Fiona. I didn’t mean to upset you.” Holly said quietly. Fiona tutted and brushed away her tears to comfort Holly.

“You didn’t, my sweet thing. And he didn’t. These are good tears. Happy tears.” She sniffled. “Despite my face right now, I really am happy.”

“Is my dad your boyfriend now?”

Fiona giggled through the tears and stopped Beecher when he went to tell Holly that was an inappropriate question.

“I hope so.” She touched Beecher’s hair and stroked his face. “I could do much, much worse than Tobias Beecher.”❤️🫶

[verdemoun]

I love your au but can we have some angst?? How often do they cry??

oh boi i love angst

hosea cried learning about what happened to dutch. he didn't want to and he hated himself for it but he will always love dutch and it hurt knowing dutch became the very opposite of what he believed in. it devastated him in a way he didn't know he could feel grief anymore. much like how dutch was there for him when he mourned bessie, bessie had to be there for him when he mourned dutch or the sheer overwhelming depression might have killed him.

sean cries because he misses karen. in typical sean fashion he tries to pretend everything is okay but see post for details alcohol isn't enough to stop him crying over how much he misses karen. he doesn't cry over the gang so much because in a way he feels morbidly lucky for escaping seeing the gang fall apart. his death truly marked the end of the gang's golden era.

but you know what really fucked up the whole lot of them? going to a little field that used to be part of beecher's hope, all hyped up ready to be reunited with the powerhouse that is abigail marston nee roberts in the modern era equivalent of 1910 and instead, a tiny little girl still holding the teddy, stuffed squirrel her dad gave her appears out of thin air. the lost marston daughter, who died at aged 3, standing in front of them asking for her mom and dad

they try to tell her it's okay and she's safe but she doesn't know any of them. john never spoke softly about the gang, his family. he repressed it and tried to forget and as a result his daughter stares wide-eyed at the gang as terrifying as strangers. the gang literally faced with the fact john has been actively trying not to remember them.

sadie adler, who has not cried since the day the grief of losing her husband turned into rage, has to remove herself. abigail marston jr's nickname is addie as a direct nod to how much sadie adler helped the marstons build a new life. she held that little girl as an infant, and played with her as she grew into a toddler. she sobs because that little girl is so scared she doesn't recognize her auntie sadie and she can't even hold her to comfort her

arthur is able to convince addie marston she's safe by drawing her mama and dad and very gently explaining he's her dad's brother. he's her uncle arthur, who she's never met or heard stories about, but she doesn't need to be scared because her daddy will be there soon and uncle arthur's going to take care of her until then.

they manage to get her home and she almost immediately falls asleep still clutching her stuffed squirrel dressed as a cowboy.

arthur is fucking ruined. he isn't crying, he's weeping. it's the grief he felt all those years after losing isaac: losing a child. his brother lost a child and somewhere across time his brother is having to dig her grave alone and mourn her while she's safely tucked into arthur's bed. arthur has no way to tell him she's safe, she'll be protected and cared for until he's there because the canon era gang don't know the timewarp exists after death. he has no way to talk to him, to be there for him as someone who understands that grief. his little brother is as alone as arthur was when he went through mourning isaac and arthur can't do a damned thing about it because the cruelest irony of the timewarp is knowing what the surviving gang members are going through and not being able to do a damned thing to stop or change it.

charles has to cry silently, because he doesn't want arthur to hear and try to console him. he knows there is nothing he can do or say that will comfort arthur and that ruins him. even for those who escaped, those who lived a life after the VDLs, death still haunts them. there's nothing and no one to blame for addie marston dying at aged 3. she died of an unknown illness, like so many children in the early 20th century, and now they have to pretend they're okay for her sake and each other's sake.

[scarfacemarston]

Rest of the alphabet here. M: Mornings (How are mornings spent with them?)

Abigail is an early riser. She's one of the first people awake at camp, and it's the same at Pronghorn and Beecher's Hope. However, she would prefer not to speak until she's had her coffee. From there, she sets breakfast for everyone and starts her morning chores. She admits it's boring. Modern Au has her helping Jack to school. She drops him off, but once he's old enough, she sometimes takes him to the bus. From there, she works on the ranch or the garden before moving to even more house chores. 

However, I can see a partner / John, trying to convince her to sleep in with cuddles. It sometimes works, but she knows she's basically the one in charge in the morning. Having Jack, she knows she doesn't really have a choice to but get up early - Canon and modern. 

N: Night (How are nights spent with them?)

She goes to bed EARLY. She knows she's an old lady for it. She wants to be in bed by ten. She will go out with friends if she can find a babysitter, but that's rare. She's usually tired from working since 6:00 /7:00 a.m. Plus, finding a babysitter is hard. However, she's always happy to have company over to watch TV with her, play cards, or work on a craft. She'll watch cooking shows, knitting, and the occasional movie with Jack. Sometimes she'll watch "Fixing" shows with John - She's lost, but he's happy. She also loves to read. Sometimes it's agricultural or ranching magazines, sometimes it's a mystery novel.

 In Canon, it's knitting, listening to Jack read, sitting by the fire and singing, and really not much else.

O: Open (When would they start revealing things about themselves? Do they say everything all at once or wait a while to reveal things slowly?)

Abigail is absolutely not an open book. She is quiet but polite and even friendly. She is definitely the mom friend of the group, whether she likes it or not. She is the type that appears extroverted but truly isn't. Part of her feels it is her duty to look out for those who need someone. She is reliable and intelligent, and it's why people, like even MOLLY, come to her for advice. Despite this, she reveals very little about herself. She was even careful around Sadie, but in time, she began to let people in. She is only so secretive because of the numerous people who have hurt or disappointed her in the past. Hosea is the only one who truly knows and understands her. 

P: Patience (How easily angered are they?)

This is a tricky one. She seems easily angered, but remember the YEARS she put up with John being nasty. That was at least four years, and it was tumultuous with reuniting and then John leaving, reuniting, John leaving, and so on. Of course, she's going to be sensitive to whatever he does. 

However, Abigail HERSELF is patient in that she never truly gives up on him in the main story. It's why she doesn't take Hosea's advice to leave. The epilogue is different because that was an additional several years of putting up with John's attics. It was, again, desperation. 

She also has a lot of patience with Jack, which anyone with children knows can be very difficult. She deals with many things thrown at her but stays quiet most of the time to not make a fuss. TLDR: unless she is truly triggered, like with John or Grimshaw, she can be cool-headed - even with Micah.

[trappers-cloak]

Due to personal reasons I’m going to post RDR2 headcanons and au stuff bc it makes me happy and hey, maybe others will like it too!

Au where the Blackwater Ferry Heist does not occur and the gang move on after a year or so just bc they’re natural wonderers

Au where Arthur lives/no TB (I know I’m so original) and moves in with Marston fam at Beechers Hope after helping to save John

Additional campsite in Tall Trees at Aurora Basin (other side of the basin, by the indigenous campsite) bc it’s a perfect camp spot and the little house with the dock can be a lookout area :)

^^campsite would be like the Horseshoe Overlook one

Arthur and OC or reader love interest living together after events of ch6 in a redone version of the aurora basin house bc it’s a peaceful spot, Arthur deserves a place to call home, and it’s near Beechers Hope for some visits

Idk if this is a headcanon or not but like. Imagine an expanded campsite where all the gang members have an explicit place to sleep or at least more space to themselves. Like I imagine more of the lean-to tents surrounding a campfire (like where Uncle, Swanson, Sean etc sleep) and Hosea having his own big tent like John does. John sharing his big tent w Jack and Abigail

A large tent (the size that John has at camp) that has a bathtub in it - think of the fanfics y’all.

Idk these are just my ramblings but in conclusion I think if the gang had a camp across from Aurora Basin everything would be fine and dandy and nothing bad would ever happen. Besides bear attacks maybe.