Red Dead Redemption II Preferences and Oneshots

Charles Smith: By the Lake

Charles Smith X Female Reader

Summary: A ride through nature takes a welcomed turn when you finally build up the courage to tell Charles how you feel about him.

Word Count: 1400

The gang had just moved to Clemens Point and everyone was still getting used to the area. Dutch, Hosea, Arthur, and Bill had gone into Rhodes to see what opportunities presented themselves there. Others where looking for jobs outside of the town, others where still finishing with setting up the camp. However, you and Charles had other plans.

Charles wanted to explore the new area and get a good feeling for the layout of the place, this ended up with him deciding to go on a long horse ride. Since he thought that it would take all day, he asked you if you wanted to accompany him. Of course you said yes.

So now you and Charles are riding on his horse, you sitting in front of him, as you peacefully rode across the land. The plan was to eventually find somewhere nice to stop and sit for a while.

Charles had liked you for some time now  and he always enjoyed spending time alone with you. He knew that you loved nature just like he did and that you enjoyed finding knew beautiful locations, so that's why he asked you to accompany him in the first place. Plus, there is nobody else he would rather spend the day with.

You sat on Charles' horse, in front of him so that he could keep an arm wrapped around your waist and make sure that you don't lose your balance. You leaned back against his strong chest, smiling softly as you watched the scenery pass you by.

You passed by some farm land. The sun shone down over the growing crops, warming the men who worked in the fields. You never really found farmland to be a beautiful sight, watching the workers usually depressed you just a little, but this time it was different. You smiled as you watched two of the workers laughing together, enjoying  a cool drink under the hot day sun.

You passed through areas that were thick with trees and alive with wildlife. You listened to the birds sing as you watched the sunlight pour in through the branches of the trees. It looked like something out of a fantasy novel, the scene where the hero ventures through the enchanted forest, animals roaming around without any care for the passing horse. Charles' arm being wrapped around you only made the experience ten times better. You could do this all day.

You rode through an open valley, deer walking along beside you happily as they perceived no threat. The whole ride really felt like being one with nature, blending effortlessly among the wildlife. Charles began to steer the horse to follow the lake that ran through the open valley.

After a little longer riding, the both of you finally decided to take a break at the lake. Charles stopped the horses and dismounted. You were about to hop off of the horse but before you could, Charles reached up and held you by the waist. You rested your hands on his shoulders as he effortlessly lifted you down from the horse and placed you down on your feet.

"Thanks" you smiled, trying to hide the blush it brought to your cheeks. Especially considering that his hands were still on your waist. Charles only smiled at you before letting go of your waist and walking over to the edge of the lake, you let out a breath you didn't realise you were holding before following him.

The pair of you sat beside each other, just talking about the gang and the new camp while enjoying the peace of the lake. Opposite you both, on the other side of the lake, there were deer roaming around and drinking from the water. This was a well needed break for the both of you.

There was a pause in conversation as you both just began to relax. You weren't sure where it came from but something in you just knew that this was the right time. You knew that you would have to tell him how you felt eventually, and this seemed like the best opportunity you had in a long time. "Charles...I, uh, I wanted to talk to you about something" you said, knowing that you just had to start the conversation before you lost the confidence and talked yourself out of it.

"What is it?" Charles asked, quickly growing concerned as he looked at you. You were hanging your head, your cheeks were tinted pink, and you already looked a little defeated.

"It's nothing bad...well, I don't think it is. It kinda depends how you feel about it" you tried to assure him that nothing was wrong but you found yourself rambling slightly.

"Y/N, it's okay. You can tell me anything" he reminded you as he placed his hands on yours, stopping you from picking at your nails.

"Okay well...I've liked you for sometime now, and I mean more than a friend. Oh God, that sounds childish...what I'm trying to say is that I'm in love with you, I have been for a while now" you confessed, closing your eyes for a moment like you were scared of how he would react.

Charles didn't speak or pull his hand away from yours, he just started at you with slightly widened eyes. You looked up at him, waiting for some sort of reaction but continued to get nothing. Oh, you shouldn't have said that. You could feel the panic building in you, what if you had just ruined everything?

"Oh God, I knew that I shouldn't have said anything. I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable. I really care about you Charles and I don't want to lose your friendship so I hope that this doesn't change anything, I hope you can just forget about it" you rambled, just wanting the ground to open up and swallow you whole. "Oh God, I'm so stupid, I shouldn't have-" you continued, now Charles wouldn't want anything to do with you.

Your rambling was interrupted by lips pressing against yours. You were caught off guard but you soon realised that Charles was kissing you. Slowly, you began to relax, he felt the same way about you. As you relaxed, you began to kiss him back, you had been wanting to kiss Charles for so long and you were definitely not disappointed.

One of Charles' hand held your waist while his other hand gently held the back of your head to hold you against him, your arms wrapped around his neck, feeling his arm wrap around you. You ran your fingers through his hair, your chest pressing against his.

You both began to pull away from each other, neither of you really wanting to pull away from the kiss. Charles rested his forehead against yours, his hand cupping your jaw and his thumb brushing against your cheek.

"I love you too, Y/N. I'm so glad that you had more courage than me and confessed" Charles admitted. Of course Charles had been in love with you for a long time, he just never said anything in the fears of scaring you away. You both had a strong friendship and he couldn't be the one to ruin that.

"You...you do?" you asked, a smile forming on your face.

"Of course I do, I've loved you for a long time" Charles smiled, leaning in for a quick yet lingering kiss before pulling away again. "Now, please never call yourself stupid again" he asked of you, running his thumb over your cheek again.

"When you didn't say anything, I was so scared" you shook your head, letting out a sigh of relief.

"I'm sorry but you caught me by surprise" Charles frowned slightly, the last thing he wanted to do was to scare you, he just froze up a little when you confessed to him.

"Sorry about that" you chuckled, realising that it was probably a little startling. "I'm just glad that you feel the same way" you smiled softly, mindlessly running your fingers through Charles' hair.

"Not as glad as I am" Charles smiled, leaning down to press another kiss to your lips.

You hadn't cared much for the change of location when the gang had to move the camp but now you already liked it. Clemens Point was already your favourite place that the gang had set up camp.

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