Bad Beginnings (A RDR2 Fanfic)

Old Friends and Cleanliness

(A/N: Thank you for 1K reads! Make sure to vote and comment because it only takes a second of your day to make mine. Enjoy!)

That morning, Arthur woke up in a nice hotel room. That had made it to Aurora Ridge the night before. Even though the hotel room was pretty nice, Arthur's boney hips protested when he stood up. He was sure the bed was comfortable, but his spot on the floor sure as hell wasn't, even when he rolled his sleeping pad onto the floor and had some of Dutch and Hosea's blankets from the bed on there.

Yes, Dutch and Hosea shared a bed. Arthur thought it was kinda weird, but he wasn't gonna say nothing. It's not like the men cuddled or anything. They could only get a room with one bed, so Arthur had to sleep on the floor because he's the youngest.

Dutch and Hosea finally woke up while Arthur was warming his feet by the fireplace while eating some canned strawberries. Hosea sat next to Arthur with a yawn.

"How'd you sleep, Arthur?" Hosea asked, warming his hands by the fire.

"I slept okay, Mr. Matthews," Arthur replied. "The floor's kinda hard, though."

This caused Hosea to laugh. "I'm sure. You know mine and Dutch's old bodies can't handle it."

"Of course, sir."

Dutch finally came over. He had gotten dressed in his usual black pants and black vest with the white undershirt with gray stripes.

"I think we'll try to hit the bank tomorrow, after we get Mr. Morgan cleaned up, then ride out, Hosea."

"Hit the bank?" Arthur asked.

Dutch laughed. "We have to make money somehow. You know what we do."

"Of course, sir," Arthur replied. He knew exactly what they did, he just never saw them act on it.

"Okay, then, get moving because we have a busy day!" Dutch replied, nudging Arthur with a socked foot.

As soon as Arthur scrambled into a pair of blue jeans, a light blue undershirt, and his brown jacket, they headed out to the town.

Dutch had a tongue that could talk a beggar out of his last quarter, so he naturally went to go scope out and get more info on the bank. This left Hosea to take Arthur to get his haircut.

He got his hair right right parted and faded in the back, leaving his neck clean and naked. To say Arthur felt free, would be an understatement. It had been close to a year since he's gotten a haircut.

Hosea ruffled Arthur's hair when they met back up outside. "That's the best I've ever seen you, son! You look older."

"Thank you, sir," Arthur replied. "I hope Mr. Van der Linde thinks it's okay."

Hosea laughed, throwing an arm over Arthur's shoulders. "I don't think Dutch has good taste. Have you seen his hair?"

Arthur laughed too, as they started to walk down to the bank where they were going to meet Dutch.

Until they heard a yell at them, "I heard that, Hosea!" Dutch jogged up the path to join them. "Y'all aren't nice to me."

"You would say the same about us, Mr. Van der Linde," Arthur teased. "You're plenty not nice, too."

"I'm nicer to you than I should be, Arthur," Dutch replied, also ruffling Arthur's new haircut. "We should head to the hotel to get you a bath before we lose more day."

The bath felt even nicer than the haircut. He probably hadn't had a bath in months, either.

He scrubbed down his arms and legs, happy to find the long dark hair that was growing there. He was growing up. He was scrubbing his scalp a bit, when there was a knock on the door and a lady walked in.

Well, a working lady walked in. "You need any help, honey?" She asked.

Arthur gulped. She had the biggest pair of breasts he'd ever seen. He felt like a baby, the back of his neck beating up.

"N-no thank you, ma'am," he finally choked up, meeting her eyes. She was probably Dutch's age, a little younger.

She smiled a little, her panther-like eyes softening. She must have realized how young Arthur actually was. "Okay, honey. Enjoy your bath."

He sighed, then finished washing quickly before any other working ladies could try to sell him something.

He climbed out, dried off, and pulled on his jeans again. Before pulling on his shirt, he examined himself in the mirror.

"You really are an ugly bastard," he muttered to himself, as he looked at his visible ribs and the scars that lined his torso.

His breath caught in his throat, and he felt his eyes burn. He hurried away and put on the rest of his outfit, then left.

He said he would meet Dutch and Hosea at the hotel room at noon and it was 11:30, so, naturally, he went to go see a person he left behind. Charlie.

Charlie was the man who helped Arthur get away from Lyle and even killed that bastard himself.

As soon as Arthur walked into the station, there Charlie was. His blond hair, thick eyebrows, and had grown out a long blond beard.

"Arthur? Arthur Morgan?" Charlie asked, standing.

"It's me, sir," Arthur laughed, as Charlie gathered him in a tight hug.

"You've gotten tall, son!" Charlie laughed, ruffling Arthur's hair. "It's good to see you! Where you been?"

"Down in Valentine, sir," Arthur replied. "Needed a change of scenery. I'm heading down to Armadillo tomorrow."

"I can't believe it," Charlie said, sitting Arthur down. "Have you finally learned how to ride a horse?"

"Of course, sir. And... I know how to shoot," Arthur admitted with a little smile, feeling awfully proud of himself.

"That's great son," Charlie said. "I have work to do but I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay?"

"Of course, sir," Arthur replied, standing. "I was going to head out anyway, soon. Thank you!"

Charlie waved to Arthur as he walked out the door. It was 12:15 when he made it to the hotel at last.

"A little late, Mr. Morgan," Hosea commented, as Arthur walked in.

"I know, sir, I'm sorry. Just visiting the sheriff," Arthur replied, standing near the desk Dutch and Hosea were at. Dutch had a piece of paper where he appeared to have taken notes.

"Oh?" Dutch asked. "What were you doing there?"

Arthur gulped. "He- uh..." he paused. "He was the one that... saved me, I guess you could say, from my daddy. He was the one who hanged him, too."

Hosea patted Arthur on the back. "Speaking of which," he broke the silence. "if you're up to it, we could go up to your old house."

Arthur considered it. "Sure." He figured that he probably could never stand coming back here after robbing that bank.

"Okay. We're going to finish going over the plan, then we'll head out."

"Sounds good, sir," Arthur replied.