Mexican Moon - Chapter 2

Chapter Summary: With their new camp set up at Horseshoe Overlook, the Van Der Linde gang explores their opportunities in New Hanover. In their endeavors, they find a lead on the missing Sean, and after Bonita assists in rescuing him, a celebration– and an unconventional opportunity to strengthen the bond between herself and Javier– ensues.

Media: Red Dead Redemption 2

Pairing: Javier Escuella/Bonita Dorado (OC)

Rating: Explicit, +18

Word Count: ~7.6k

CW: Smoking, alcohol, canon typical violence and language, NSFW/suggestive situations and dialogue

…

Horseshoe Overlook is a nice place. The Heartlands, in general, are lovely. A wonderful change of pace from the frigid Grizzlies West. The camp they've set up is nice, it's far superior to the one from Colter. Sure, they're back in tents and not cabins, but the tents are more separate, and no longer does everyone have to squish together to sleep and stay warm.

Ever since they arrived, Bonita and Javier have been stuck like glue to one another. Not that they never were like this before, but this time it's different. With their feelings finally admitted to one another and a proper relationship established, they feel…free. Like there are no more rules about how they should behave together. They had been so careful in the past to keep everything restrained, even in regards to their own friendship, being oblivious to how the other truly felt. But now, everything has changed, and they simply don't care about what others think of their relationship.

This is why it's strange when Bonita doesn't go with Javier, Bill, and Charles to the nearby town of Valentine to look for opportunities or leads of some kind. Arthur goes to meet up with them, and though he offers to bring Bonita along, she refuses. Javier is allowed to go places without her, after all. Being together romantically doesn't mean they truly have to do everything together. Though given their recent behavior, it's odd they'd think that way.

However, when Arthur returns with bruises and scrapes, Bonita does not regret staying back at camp.

“Dios mío, what happened to you?!” She asks him as he steps back into camp, hands on her hips. “Arthur, you're filthy! And you're all beaten up! What happened?!”

Arthur waves a hand dismissively and attempts to walk away from her. “It was just a little bar fight, it's fine–”

She crosses her arms. “A bar fight? Seriously? You, come here. Are you hurt?”

Arthur reluctantly walks over to Bonita, who begins to examine his face, her hands running gently over the newly formed bruises. It's only a few mild contusions, some scrapes, but it still angers her that someone did this to her friend, and likely to Javier as well.

“Who did this, huh?” She asks, her voice low, dangerous. “They do this to Charles, to Javier? I’ll fucking kill them. I will skin them like the filthy pig they are, you tell me who did this.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Arthur reassures her, his hand taking place on her shoulder. “Javier's fine. I took care of it.”

Bonita scans Arthur up and down. “Really? You took care of it? For good?”

Arthur nods and sighs. “Yeah, yeah, the guy won't be botherin’ anybody anytime soon.”

She nods in return, in respect. “Okay, good. That doesn't change the fact that you're all filthy, though. Go clean up before Mrs Grimshaw sees you.”

This time, Arthur does walk away. “I cleaned up already, but if you really think I'm that nasty, just give me a minute to recover, and I'll wash up,” he says as he departs.

Suddenly hit with the realization that Arthur returned without Javier and Charles, Bonita chases after him. “Wait, what about Javi and Charles? Where'd they go?”

Arthur sighs again. “Dutch met up with Trelawny in Valentine, says they found Sean alive and captive down by Blackwater. They sent Charles and Javier to go get him, and told me to join ‘em when I'm ready.”

“I'm going with you,” Bonita declares.

He scoffs and shakes his head. “No, you're not.”

She steps in front of him, arms crossed. “And why's that?”

Huffing in frustration, Arthur pushes past her, but gently. “Because Dutch asked me to go, not you. And since Javier's involved, that’s just gonna make you act crazier than you already do. It ain't worth the risk.”

“What's Javier got to do with anything?” Bonita asks defensively. “We go on jobs together all the time.”

“Yes,” Arthur says as he splashes his face in a nearby barrel of water, “and you two always end up makin’ things crazier than they need to be. Like I said, ain't worth the risk.”

As Arthur wipes off his face and begins to head off towards his tent, Bonita continues to follow him, to his annoyance. It only annoys him even further when her hands wrap around his bicep.

“What if I promise not to make things crazy?” She asks, holding him by the arm. “I'll…I'll stick with Charles, and you can stick with Javi. That way, we won't have the chance to make things crazy.”

Since he's tired of her pestering, and he honestly doesn't think it'd be a bad idea to have more eyes on Sean and more guns on his captors, Arthur finally sighs in defeat.

“Fine. Come along with me, then. But like I said, no crazy stuff.”

Bonita beams at him and claps her hands. “Yes! Okay, when will we go?”

Arthur takes a few boxes of ammunition from the back of his tent. “Soon as I stock up on supplies. Here, take some. I know you like that repeater of yours.”

She grabs the box of repeater ammo from Arthur's hand and smiles as she pockets it. “Thanks, Mr Morgan. I'll grab us some health cures, just in case.”

After they’ve stocked up on everything, Bonita climbs onto Fresca, and Arthur mounts his horse Snowbelle, a dapple grey Hungarian Halfbred he'd stolen from a debtor of Strauss's. The two then ride off, destined for the outskirts of the town that wants their heads.

“So, you and Javier seem to be, err…closer than usual,” Arthur mentions as they ride alongside each other. “You finally realize he loves you?”

Bonita blushes. “Since when did you know that he loves me?”

Arthur chuckles. “He told me once, during a drunken game of five finger fillet. Was convinced you didn't feel the same way.”

“And what did you say to him?”

“Told him it was pretty damn obvious that you did. But he was in denial, convinced bein’ friends was as far as you’d go. Since it turns out I was right, well, I suppose I should tell him I told him so.”

A smile spreads on her face. “I see. I was in denial, too. Weird how it works that way.”

“Definitely weird,” Arthur says with a scoff and a shake of the head. “But you're good for each other. Don't normally have much hope for love, but…you two seem different.”

Bonita tilts her head. “Did I hear that right? Am I getting relationship support from Arthur Morgan?”

Arthur scoffs again. “You can hear whatever you wanna hear, Miss Dorado.”

They continue on, and the ride through West Elizabeth isn't as enjoyable as Bonita would like it to be. It being that they are still wanted in the area, this leg of the trip is tense, and hardly any more pleasant conversation is made. Even though their voices wouldn't be the first thing someone heard encountering them, she and Arthur still do not speak to one another once they cross the state line.

It takes all night to get there, but they finally arrive at a small camp on a ledge that Charles and Javier are staying at. The ledge overlooks Blackwater, the sight of which makes Bonita nauseous, but her troubles fade away when she sees Javier, lying prone next to Charles, peering into binoculars.

As Bonita and Arthur approach the two, Javier says, “How many?”

“A lot,” Charles replies. “Uniforms everywhere.”

“You see Sean?” Asks Javier.

“No, I don't think so.”

“Damn it,” Javier swears in frustration. “Where's Trelawny?”

“Who knows?”

“Just…keep your eyes open.”

“I am.”

With that, Arthur and Bonita join the two men on the ground.

“Hey,” Arthur greets them.

“Hey,” Charles replies. He then looks over and sees Bonita. “Oh, Bonita, you came, too?”

This gets Javier's attention. He looks over to her and smiles. “Bonita! Maybe now we'll actually get some work done.”

“You think you'll get more done with her around?” Arthur asks with a scoff. “Anyway, where is that little Irish bastard?”

Charles tells him, “I'm not quite sure. Trelawny’s off trying to find out.”

“Has anyone gone into Blackwater to see how things lie?” Asks Arthur.

“Place is crawling with Pinkertons…bounty hunters…pictures of Dutch and Hosea,” Javier answers.

“We got a lotta money sittin’ in that town,” Arthur says, his tone indicating a desire– at least, a small one– to go back and get it.

Javier shoots down that desire. “And that's where it's gonna remain, for now.”

Arthur then takes Charles’s binoculars and takes a look down at Blackwater. Meanwhile, Bonita looks at Javier, admiring how handsome he looks when he's serious. Though, now is certainly not the time for that, and may lead to, as Arthur put it, “acting crazier than usual,” so she focuses back in on the conversation between Arthur and Charles.

“Why haven't they hanged Sean, I wonder?” Arthur ponders aloud.

“I think he's bait,” Charles answers, “or they want to trial him publicly.”

With this, Arthur hands back the binoculars, and footsteps momentarily approach behind them. Bonita snaps her head around the quickest, considering she's already on edge, only to be relieved that it's just Trelawny.

“Gentlemen…oh, excuse me, I didn't realize the dear lady would be here. My apologies,” Trelawny greets, then apologizes.

Bonita rolls her eyes. “I'm no “dear lady.” Just stick with gentlemen.”

“Right, sorry,” Trelawny actually apologizes. “Gentlemen. Sean is being moved to the Upper Montana…then to a federal prison out west.”

“Damn,” Arthur says. “Well, we can't be rescuin’ people from some federal prison. We either rescue him now, or…cut him loose.”

Charles glares at him. “We're not cutting anyone loose.”

“Of course not,” Arthur retracts his previous suggestion.

“Ike Skelding's boys are moving him to a camp nearby…before handing him over to the government,” Trelawny informs them.

“So, I guess we need to stop them before they get to camp,” Arthur concludes. “Charles, Bonita, why don't you head up on the north side, and then we'll head up on the other side of the valley, that way we have ‘em either direction.”

“Wait,” Javier interrupts, “why is she going with him? Can't she go with me?”

Though he looks over to Bonita, who initially looks frustrated, Arthur gives her an expression that reminds her of their deal, and she inhales sharply.

“Javi, I'd love to come with you, but I think four is a crowd. Charles will be on his own, that's not fair.” She doesn't like saying this, but it's what she promised Arthur.

“Okay, okay,” Javier relents, though there's a tinge of jealousy that Charles gets to partner up with Bonita.

“Come on,” Charles says to her, gesturing for her to follow him.

“Yeah…” Bonita mutters, though she looks longingly back at Javier.

The two mount their horses and head off in the direction Arthur designated for them. The ride is without conversation, but once they arrive, Charles finally speaks to her.

“You and Javier are in love.” He says this as a statement of fact, rather than asking her.

Bonita nods as she reloads her repeater. “Yes.”

Charles gets into position to wait for Sean's captors. “I knew it was only a matter of time before you two finally told each other.”

Standing up, she raises an eyebrow. “What? You knew, too?”

“He told me during a drunken game of–”

“Five finger fillet, yeah, he did that to Arthur, too,” Bonita cuts him off.

“Actually, it was poker,” Charles corrects her. “John and Uncle were there, too.”

Bonita throws her head back and groans. “Jesus, am I the only person who didn't know Javier was in love with me?”

Charles laughs. “I guess so. Pretty funny that you didn't, all things considered. You always act more like a couple than you do friends, and some people at camp are really not great at keeping secrets. I'm honestly surprised Uncle or Micah didn't tell you what Javier said.”

“Eww, Micah knows?!” Bonita says, disgusted.

“I mean, even if Javier didn't also tell Micah over a drunken game of five finger fillet, Micah is stupid, but not that stupid. He knows.”

“Surprised he didn't harass me about it before,” Bonita muses. “Whatever. It's out in the open now. We're not ashamed.”

“I know you're not. And I'm happy for you guys.” Charles gives her a genuine smile along with his verbal support.

The two then return to the silence from before, standing guard and waiting for everything to fall into place. As Charles looks around with his binoculars, he spots something not too far away.

“Look.” He hands the binoculars to Bonita, and she peers through them.

In the distance is a camp, no doubt belonging to the guys who have Sean. It's swarming with fellow bounty hunters.

“You think that's where they're taking him?” Bonita asks.

“I'd say so,” Charles answers. “We'll let the others know when we meet again.”

Bonita nods, and they return to their post on the edge of the cliff. They watch as a man is dragged off the boat coming up the river, and when the bag is removed from his head, it's revealed to be none other than Sean.

“Looks like you guys were right,” Bonita observes. “Ah, they're kicking the shit out of him.”

Charles gives a small laugh. “Don't you think he probably deserves it?”

Bonita nods her head to the side. “Hmm, maybe. He's said some things to me that I'd like to kick him like that for.”

Now, the bounty hunters are dragging Sean up the canyon, and Javier, Arthur, and Trelawny are reaching their location. Charles gestures at them, and they seem to notice this. Bonita and Javier, despite the distance, lock eyes and nod at each other. Even across a canyon, their connection remains.

“They're moving through the canyon, up to the river,” Charles says. “Let's move with them.”

“Mhm,” Bonita agrees, walking with Charles, though her eyes don't leave Javier, who continues up the river below them.

Once up the river a bit more, the bounty hunters stop– well, at least two of them do. Trelawny begins putting on a show for them– God knows which routine he's going with this time around. Bonita rolls her eyes at this, wondering how they could buy such an obvious act, and while the bounty hunters are distracted, Javier and Arthur sneak up on the two men and slit their throats. The act is swift, clean– they don't make a mess and they don't make noise.

“Holy shit,” Bonita whispers, clearly impressed– and possibly aroused– by what Javier had just done.

“What? You've done worse,” Charles says in response, misinterpreting her words as shock.

She blushes. “Oh, uh, no, it's nothing like that. I, um…it was just…impressive.”

Charles looks her over and catches on to what she means, then blushes, nods in understanding, and looks away. “I…I see.”

They continue watching as Trelawny takes off and Arthur and Javier move up. They take out two more bounty hunters in the same fashion, and Bonita is just as enamored with Javier's killing the second time. She keeps quiet this time, so as not to make Charles feel any weirder than he already does about her first reaction.

Suddenly, seemingly for no reason, though they'd likely come up with one, Javier and Arthur switch tactics, pulling out their guns and blasting at all of the bounty hunters throughout the canyon. One of the first shots Javier lands is a headshot, a bullet clean through the skull, and Bonita once more has to suppress her excitement and pride in his work.

“Cover them!” Charles commands, and Bonita raises her rifle.

She aims at a bounty hunter’s head, squints her right eye shut, and squeezes the trigger, the resulting shot blowing a hole through his head, even at such a distance.

“You're quite the sniper!” Charles compliments her.

“Thanks!” She replies with a smile, making quick work of another bounty hunter in the same manner as before.

Bang, bang, bang, headshot after headshot, Bonita covers her beloved and her friends. Though, in fairness, he doesn't need much covering– he's an incredible shot with that silver revolver of his, and Arthur is quite the marksman, too.

Once the men in the canyon are all dead, Javier and Arthur climb up the hill to meet Charles and Bonita.

“Here they are,” Javier says with a smile, his gaze lingering on Bonita.

“All good?” Charles asks them.

“Wouldn't go that far,” Arthur replies.

“No, seriously, Javi, you okay?” Bonita asks, stepping up to Javier and touching his face with gentle fingertips.

He smiles and takes her hand in his, kisses her knuckles, and moves it to drop at her side. “I'm just fine, Bonita. Don't worry.”

Charles nods in the other direction. “Their camp's up this way. Come on.”

Now reunited, the group crosses a nearby road to the bounty hunter camp, which is full of armed men.

“Charles,” Javier says, “you take the right, I'll go left.”

“I guess,” he responds. He knows Bonita's easily excitable self is going to be going with him.

And yet Javier looks at Bonita expectantly, hoping she'll follow him this time, but once more, Arthur gives her a look, so she exhales sharply and follows Charles instead.

“What the hell, why does she keep going with him?” Javier whisper-shouts to Arthur.

Arthur sighs and finally admits the truth. “I told her to stay with him.”

Javier makes an annoyed expression, thick eyebrows knit in outrage. “Why?! We always work together!”

“Yeah, you work together alright,” Arthur replies with a scoff. “I didn't want emotions getting in the way, that's all. She gets crazy when she's around you.”

Rolling his eyes, Javier aims his gun forward. “Whatever. Let's take these hijos de putas!”

Though she's not too close to Javier, Bonita hears what he says, and she smiles at his words. Arthur takes the first shot at the bounty hunters, and another shootout ensues– bullets flying, shots ringing out, curses and sounds in response to pain filling the air. A typical day for them, though it isn't ideal.

“Goddamn army of these bastards! How much is Sean's bounty?” Arthur asks loudly as he ducks in cover, next to Charles.

“Maybe we should turn him in ourselves,” Charles jokingly suggests.

Arthur replies, possibly joking, possibly not, “Still time.”

At this point, Charles and Arthur are sharing cover at one point, Javier is adjacent to them, and Bonita is a bit further off. She doesn't approach Javier, and he doesn't approach her, because of what Arthur said.

“On top of the tower, who's got a shot at him?!” Javier calls out, referencing the poor attempt at a sniper perched on the aforementioned tower.

Arthur didn't say Bonita couldn't listen to Javier, and she's very good at that, so she takes the shot, right through the neck, killing the man instantly.

“Bien hecho!” Javier shouts, flashing her a big, proud smile.

Bonita smiles back, and the same fire that normally ignites in her when they go on jobs together becomes fully lit. In disregard for Arthur's rules, Bonita rushes over to Javier and stands back to back with him.

“I was beginning to get a little jealous of Charles,” Javier half-jokes, then peeks out of cover to take a shot at one of the bounty hunters.

“No need. In fact, he’s happy for us.” She does the same thing he did, landing yet another headshot.

Arthur looks over, only to see Javier and Bonita fighting side by side. He groans in annoyance, fearing that they are going to escalate the situation even further.

“Goddamn it!” Arthur yells. “That girl just don't listen, does she?!”

“Ah, leave them be,” Charles says. “They fight well side by side.”

Arthur watches as the pair take out man after man. Bonita and Javier's performances do seem to improve when they're fighting together, so Arthur sighs in defeat.

“I guess you're right.”

“Another one, coming out of the cabin,” Charles yells– Arthur shoots the man before Charles can even aim.

There is seemingly no end to the waves of bounty hunters– they crawl out of the woodwork, like the cockroaches they are. But one thing they do stick to is staying back from the gang's gunfire. They're scared.

“Move up, come on!” Javier calls, encouraging his comrades with a gesture.

Bonita sticks close to him as they go, firing off a couple of shots while in motion. They take cover in a new spot, across from Charles and Arthur. And, as Arthur had admitted, Bonita's “crazy” approach works– she guns them down with little to no fear or remorse, not ducking for cover, and Javier, by her side, does the same. Arthur and Charles barely have to do any work as the couple blasts away at their enemies.

Javier looks up and notices a group of men coming down the hill, and calls out appropriately, “I can't believe it…there's more of them!”

“Look out left, on top of the cliff!” Charles informs everyone, also noticing more approaching bounty hunters.

Beginning to grow tired of this, Bonita slings her repeater over her back.

“Hey, what are you doing?!” Javier asks her.

Pulling revolvers from both of her hip holsters, Bonita gives him a wicked smirk. “Making things crazy. Sorry, Arthur.”

With her dual-wielded revolvers, Bonita begins blasting in double time at Sean's captors, barely pausing to take cover. Which, in all fairness, is fine– she's making every shot she takes, dropping the men like flies alongside Javier, Arthur, and Charles. Perhaps more than them.

Soon, the bounty hunters have apparently lost more than they can handle, and cannot handle any more, and thus they begin retreating. This doesn't stop Bonita from downing a few of them as they run off, but they don't fight back.

“Hey, hey, they're gone,” Javier tries to calm her, patting her shoulder as she continues to fire at the men. “Put the guns down, Bonita.”

“Shit,” she breathes, shaking her head and holstering her guns at his request, “sorry about that.”

“Look, they're running away,” Javier says to Arthur and Charles. “Okay, let's get Sean.”

“Takes an army of bounty hunters to bring in Sean MacGuire,” Sean calls out, his arrogant personality remaining despite his situation.

The group approaches Sean now, who is hanging upside down. He's tied up by his legs, swinging from a tree– luckily not in the way the law would want. Arthur pulls out his knife and cuts him loose, and he falls to the ground with a thud at everyone's feet.

“You know, you're a lot less ugly from the other angle,” he tells Arthur.

“Come on,” Arthur responds as he helps Sean up, ignoring his little quip.

“Do I get a hug, Arthur? A warm embrace for a lost brother, now found?” Asks Sean. “No? How about a kiss hello, Bonita?”

She cringes at his suggestion, and Javier steps in front of her defensively. “No,” they declare simultaneously.

Arthur chuckles before speaking. “You know, nothing means more to me than this gang. The bond we share…it's the most real thing to me. I would kill for it, I would happily die for it, but in spite of all that…I would've easily left you here to rot, if Charles hadn't stopped me.”

Sean can't tell if he's being serious or not, but nonetheless replies with, “I don't believe a word of that, Arthur.”

“Get him outta here.”

“You're a great man, Arthur Morgan,” Sean begins, “the kind a young whippersnapper can really admire.”

Arthur rolls his eyes. “Oh, shut up. Right, we should split up. Javier will escort Mr MacGuire back to camp. Charles, best you ride separately. Be careful, there's patrols everywhere.”

“What about Bonita?” Javier asks. When he realizes he didn't consider Arthur, he adds, “Oh, and you?”

“Bonita can go off on her own, too.” Arthur looks over at her, a stern expression on his face. “And I mean it, Miss Dorado. Don't risk gettin’ caught just to be with your man. I'm gonna see what's worth taking here. I'll meet you back there as soon as I can.”

“Your man?” Sean asks.

“Yeah, we're together now,” Javier says with frustration that Sean now knows, following this with a whistle for the horses.

“Ah, I knew it'd happen eventually!” Sean says with glee. “Was about to start a betting pool to see who confessed first. My money was on Bonita. Was it you, Bonita?”

She rolls her eyes at him. “Shut up, Sean.”

“Alright, okay. Come on,” Javier instructs Sean to follow him as he climbs onto Boaz. Sean follows and takes a seat behind him.

“Have I got stories for you,” Sean says to Javier as they ride off.

Javier sighs, wishing they'd cut out Sean's tongue or otherwise rendered him speechless. “Yeah, I can't wait.”

“I imagine you all missed me a lot, but fear not! The joy's back in our lives now.” That is the last thing Sean can be heard saying as Javier rides off.

Charles leaves, too, and Arthur begins poking around the bounty hunter camp. Bonita stands in the same spot as she has been, wringing her hands.

Arthur notices her, and looks confused. “Why are you still here? Get outta here before you get caught, and stay–”

“Away from Javier, I know,” Bonita cuts him off. “I just wanted to apologize for not listening to you.”

He points at her and gives a defeated yet proud smile. “You know what, Miss Dorado? You don't have to listen to me next time. You and Javier are a damn fine pair of gunmen together, and I'm not standin’ in the way of that again. Do whatever your strange, strange little heart desires. Except go with him back to camp. You do that on your own. Now.”

Bonita smiles back. “Yeah, of course. See you back there.”

She mounts Fresca and heads off towards camp, at a slow and stealthy enough rate that nobody catches her on the way there. By the time she returns, it's night, and Javier is sitting by the fire, playing guitar for everyone. The song he's playing is one of the ones meant for the English speakers, and Bonita doesn't really know it well enough to sing along. Everyone is drinking, singing, cheering, celebrating Sean's return.

“Bonita!” Javier calls, pausing his playing to wave to her. “Come sit with me! Have a drink, c'mon.”

A smile spreads across her face and she takes a drink from the crate on the table, opens it, and sits down next to Javier by the fire. As he plays, she sips her drink– some sort of bourbon, she guesses from the taste– and watches in enchantment as Javier's fingers move over the strings. His fingertips on the frets, the fingers themselves changing shape and place up and down the neck with each chord, the other hand either strumming or picking with just as careful detail. She finds herself enamored with his hands alone.

Two songs later, and the bottle is empty. Her gaze has shifted back and forth from Javier's hands to his face, drinking in every detail, from the scars to the facial hair to the texture. She goes to run a hand down his cheek, and he leans into it, his skin warm with blush. The crowd around the fire “aww's” at the interaction, and Bonita and Javier simply laugh.

“What's everybody goin’ “aww” about?” Arthur asks, finally arriving back at camp.

“Nothin’ much, certainly not you,” Sean greets Arthur in his own way. “Sit down, Arthur! Have a drink!”

Arthur shrugs and does as Sean suggests, taking a bottle from the same crate Bonita had previously taken one from.

“Hey, Arthur, can you toss me another of those?” Bonita calls, unmoving from her spot next to Javier.

He looks her over, noticing that while she isn't completely wasted, Bonita is at least somewhat inebriated. He can tell by the look in her eyes and the way she touches Javier, feeling his face and clothes like she's never touched them before in her life– she always does that when she's drunk.

Ultimately, he decides that Bonita’s sobriety is none of his business nor his responsibility, so he tosses her a bottle. She catches it with two hands, though she does almost drop it, then immediately begins drinking when she has a handle on the bottle.

“You too drunk to sing?” Javier asks her, quiet enough that the others don't hear as he plays some random chords that pass as a song. “If not, I’ll play your favorite, and you can sing for everyone.”

Holding up a finger to signify, “wait a minute” as she drinks, Bonita downs a fair amount of the drink before answering.

“I can't. You sing one, Javi. You've got the prettiest voice,” she says softly, running her fingers through his hair.

He leans into her touch for a moment, smiling warmly. “I'd say yours is prettier, but okay.”

After moving his head from her hand, which she softly whines at, Javier begins to play and sing along to a more slow, romantic song in Spanish. At this point, several others have paired up to dance together, including Sean and Karen and Arthur and Mary-Beth. Bonita smiles at them, wishing she could do so with Javier, if only he was not the one providing the music.

As the song goes on and Bonita finishes her drink and half of another, her head is swimming. She leans on Javier’s shoulder, and he laughs, continuing the song until the very last chord. After this, he stops playing for that time, and focuses his attention on Bonita. He strokes his hand through the parts of her hair not braided down her back. It's soft– so soft, so clean. In fact, he and Bonita are the only people in the gang that seem to regularly actually wash their hair. It pays off.

“Javi,” Bonita says, her speech clearly impacted by her drinking, “y-you should have a drink, too.”

He pats her shoulder. “I did, before you got back. I had two, actually. I'm good for now, and I think you are too.”

Javier plucks the bottle out of Bonita’s hands, and she pouts. “Give it back, Javi. I'm not done.”

“Nope,” he says, holding it out of her reach, “you'll feel like shit in the morning if you keep drinking. Actually, you already will. You don't need any more. We can always go for a smoke, yeah? Come on, we'll go smoke.”

Bonita rolls her eyes, but ultimately gives up trying to take the bottle back and drops her arms. “Yeah, I guess. Help me up, Javi.”

With a smile, Javier takes Bonita's hands in his and lifts her to her feet. Though at first, she stumbles over a bit, which earns a little chuckle from Javier, she eventually finds balance and walks with him near the outer edge of camp. Javier takes a seat next to a barrel, leaning his back against it, then pats the ground beside him.

“Come on, Bonita. Sit with me.”

Doing as he'd asked, Bonita takes a seat next to Javier in the grass, and leans her head against his shoulder. Whatever cologne scent it is that he manages to find, even in their circumstances, is intoxicating. Combining with the smell of gunsmoke and leather polish he uses on his boots, it creates a melody of aromas that fills her senses with warmth and desire. And as she rests against Javier, the warmth only spreads throughout her body, and a smirk spreads across her lips.

Bonita shifts, now in front of Javier, and crawls between his legs. Her arms wrap around his neck, fingers stroking through his soft, dark hair, and she kisses him, soft and sweet. Javier welcomes the affectionate act, moaning softly against Bonita’s lips, and taking her lower back beneath his hands. They pull apart soon after, both smiling, though Javier’s smile is more innocent than Bonita’s.

“Te amo,” he breathes, pulling her closer. “Te amo, Bonita.”

She smiles and dives in for another kiss, replying to his words with a physical act instead. This kiss is messier, sloppier, more wet and open and hungry. Javier laughs against her mouth, not shying away from her advances. He furthers the intimacy with a bite to her lower lip, pulling it between his teeth and tilting his head back a bit. Bonita actually moans at this, much louder than she should, her fingers wrapping tighter into Javier’s hair until the hair tie falls out and it drapes loose down his neck.

Javier continues the kisses, though he soon grows out of breath, and pulls Bonita aside for the moment. “Hey, whoa, shouldn’t we settle down a little?”

Bonita shakes her head in response. “Um, no…? I want you, Javi…please…”

His face lights up. “Bonita, I…Bonita, we can’t do that right now. I mean, I want to, but you’re so drunk. I can’t take advantage of you like that.”

Narrowing her eyes, Bonita shakes her head. “So? So what if I’m drunk? It’s not taking advantage of me, I want it.”

Shaking his head, Javier places his hands at her waist and moves her aside. “No, Bonita. I’m sorry. Another time, when you’re sober. Besides, we’re supposed to be celebrating Sean’s return, right? Let’s have a smoke and get back to everyone else.”

She glares at him. “No.”

“Yes,” he laughs, digging in his pocket and producing a pair of cigarettes and a match. “Here.”

Bonita does take the cigarette between her lips, and she allows Javier to light it and his own, but instead of settling down and smoking like he’d anticipated, Bonita begins to toy with the buttons of her shirt. Though Javier wants to allow her to continue, everything is telling him to stop her.

However, that’s difficult when she finally pops that shirt open and is bare before him. Javier’s eyes widen at the sight, and while it is a pleasant one, he gently buttons her top back up. Bonita gives him a depressed look and an annoyed sigh, crossing her arms over her half-closed shirt.

“You’re so boring right now, Javi.” She angrily drops herself beside him and takes a drag. “Do you even really love me?”

A pang of sadness zaps through his chest when she says this to him. “Bonita…how could you say that? Of course I do. It’s because I love you that I can’t do that with you when you’re drunk.”

Bonita nods, sighing as she finally admits defeat. “You’re right. Fine. I’m tired anyway.”

Javier tilts his head against hers and rubs her shoulder. “I know you are, Bonita. I know. I’ll take you back to your tent, how about that?”

She nuzzles up against him and groans softly. “Hmm…fine. I love you, Javi.”

“I know. I love you too. Now come on, let’s sleep it off.”

His arms scoop beneath her knees and back, then lift her up. Bonita squints, a headache beginning to settle behind her eyes, and buries her face in Javier’s chest. As he carries her back to her tent, Javier encounters several others, still celebrating. Arthur, who is still chatting with Mary-Beth, notices him carrying Bonita.

“Well, look at you,” Arthur laughs at Bonita. “Can’t handle as much as she thinks she can, now can she?”

Javier sighs. “Give her a break, she’s just…enthusiastic.”

“Yeah, shut up, Morgan…” Bonita mutters into Javier’s chest.

Arthur scoffs. “You take care of her, now,” he says to Javier as he departs, sitting back down next to Mary-Beth.

Mary-Beth giggles at the exchange. “Is she really that drunk?”

Taking a drink from his own bottle, Arthur nods. “Oh, yeah. Very drunk. Don’t you let me get like that, now.”

“I won’t, Arthur. Trust me.”

As Javier continues through camp, they walk by one tent that’s been closed up. Behind the curtains, Sean and Karen can be heard, half arguing, half having sex. Bonita whips her head around to face the tent and gives it a resentful look.

“Sean’s drunk off his ass and they’re still doing it,” she says to Javier with an annoyed tone. “Not fair…”

Javier laughs. “Yeah, well, Sean’s always drunk off his ass, little Irish bastard. It’s not the same as how you are.”

Going back to shoving her face in his shirt, Bonita rolls her eyes. “Whatever.”

Only a few feet away from the girls’ tents, Micah steps up. “Wow, Miss Dorado can’t handle her liquor, can she?”

“Shut up,” Bonita groans, not moving her face from its position.

“I mean, having to be carried around? You’re real pathetic, ain’t you, Bonita?” Micah continues, to both hers and Javier’s irritation.

Javier glares at him. “Can you just leave her alone? And get out of the way, that’s the girls’ tent. I’m sure you’re the last person they want around there.”

Micah scoffs. “Sounds about right. Women around here won’t have sex with you if you put a gun to their head.”

Bonita snaps her head around and looks at him, those dark eyes of hers filled with rage. “Oh, fuck you, Micah! If Javier wasn’t holding me right now, I’d…”

“Oh, you’d what, little girl?” he asks, hands on his hips. “Kill me?”

She reaches around and grabs him by the shirt. “Maybe so! I’ll gut you like a fish!”

Taking a step back, Micah frees himself from Bonita’s grasp and she nearly falls, however Javier catches her and pulls her close to him again.

“Come on now, don’t give him the satisfaction,” Javier says to Bonita, then uses his elbow to push Micah out of the way. “And you, seriously, get away from the girls’ tent.”

Micah laughs to himself as he walks away, and Javier locates Bonita’s bedroll and gently lays her down on it. She struggles to cover herself up, so he helps her by throwing a blanket over her and tucking her in. As soon as her head hits the pillow, she’s out like a light. Javier gives her a gentle kiss on the cheek and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, then leaves, but not before whispering that he loves her in her ear.

…

“Ugh…me duele la cabeza…”

This is all the girls hear all morning from Bonita, who doesn't even get out of bed for a good few hours after waking up. She manages to drag herself up out of bed eventually, and shuffles over to get coffee, and luckily, Javier is there, too.

“Well, good morning, princesa,” he greets her, taking a sip of his own cup of coffee. “You look pretty good, considering how you were last night.”

Bonita groans. “Yeah, you weren’t wrong about this morning making me feel like shit. I honestly, truly, one hundred percent regret drinking at all last night.”

“Really?” Javier asks playfully, handing her a cup of coffee so that she doesn’t have to bend down and get it herself. “Bonita Dorado, admitting she regrets something? You must really feel bad about it.”

Looking over Javier, who is in his “pajamas,” consisting of his white undershirt partly undone, plain black pants, and hair down, Bonita feels a zap of energy burst through her at the sight.

“Oh, definitely. For more than one reason…”

Noticing exactly what she means by the look in her eyes, Javier laughs. “Yeah, well, there are parts of it you can make up for later. Get your coffee, come sit by the fire.”

Bonita follows Javier over to the fire near his tent, where he takes a seat in one of the chairs and she rests at his feet. They sit in silence for a moment, until more people come to have their morning coffee around the fire as well. First comes Bill, who greets them both and, for once in his life, doesn’t start loud conversation. Perhaps he, too, is hungover. Then, John takes a seat on the makeshift bench created from a log, greeting them with a “good morning.” Arthur sits next to John, greeting everyone with “gentlemen,” including Bonita– nice of him to notice she doesn’t want to be called a lady, thanks to their conversation the day before with Trelawny. Finally, Mary-Beth comes to stand by the tree next to everything.

“You feelin’ okay this morning, Bonita?” She asks. “You’ve been complainin’ all morning. I was beginning to get worried.”

She waves a hand. “I’m fine, Mary-Beth. Don’t worry about me. Karen’s the one you should look out for, she’s still drinking at this moment. And I’m not talking about coffee.”

Mary-Beth sighs and nods. “Yes, she’s been quite upset since last night with Sean. I imagine things didn’t go as planned when they were…you know. Intimate.”

Though Bonita wants to make a snide comment about how she wasn’t happy about her plans for intimacy, either, Javier gives her a look, so she knows to keep her mouth shut and just listen. Whether to Mary-Beth’s talking or to the songbirds in the sky, she’s going to stay silent and just listen for once in her life.

“I heard her say she was gonna kill him,” Bill finally comments. “With a knife.”

“That’s so terrible!” Mary-Beth gasps.

John simply laughs at this. “Oh, Mary-Beth. Don’t them romance novels of yours ever talk about partners havin’ a disagreement? It ain’t always wine and roses, I’ll tell you that.”

Arthur scoffs. “Yeah, maybe not with you and Abigail.”

Looking right back at him, in his eyes, John says, “Or you and Mary.”

Arthur’s jaw tightens and he slams a hand against the bench. “If I were you, Marston, I’d tread very carefully.”

Javier and Bonita both sense the tension that has arisen between the two “brothers,” and Javier decides to leave to alleviate it– at least, for himself.

“Okay, I think I’m gonna go stretch my legs. Bonita, you comin’ with?”

Bonita nods quickly and stands up to follow Javier back behind the tents, back to that barrel from the night before. Though Javier remains standing, Bonita sits obediently at his feet, leaning into his thigh. One of Javier’s hands drops down and begins to lazily run his fingers through her hair. They stay like this for a while, just enjoying the ambience of the forest around them, until the coffee runs out. They want to go return the cups to Pearson’s wagon, but decide against it, instead opting to remain side by side like this.

“You know,” Bonita breaks the silence, “I’m grateful that you made me go to bed last night. I know we wanted to…well, y’know…but I just don’t think it would’ve been enjoyable if I was drunk like that. You were right to turn me down, and I appreciate it.”

Javier smiles and sits down next to her. “Well, I appreciate you admitting that. I promise you, Bonita, we’ll get our chance. Maybe tonight, maybe another night, but it’ll happen. I just couldn’t take advantage of you, even if you thought you were okay, I knew you weren’t. It’ll be so much better when we both have a clear head, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Bonita agrees, stretching out her arms. “I do want to remember everything, after all.”

Javier takes one of Bonita’s outstretched hands and laces his fingers between hers. The hands then drop between them, onto Javier’s thigh, and he pulls her closer. Just like the night before, except with a clear head. Well, mostly clear, despite the pain in her head throbbing so hard she can almost see it pulse in the corners of her vision. The pair feel more at peace than ever before, knowing this was one of those situations between them that was meant to be.

Well, she thinks it is meant to be, but clearly Dutch has other ideas, stepping up to the pair, his body eclipsing the sun and making a shadow over them.

“Am I interrupting something?” He asks, knowing damn well that he is.

Bonita narrows her eyes at him. “Well, as a matter of fact–”

“What do you need, Dutch?” Asks Javier, filling in the sarcastic remark Bonita was bound to make.

“Mr Escuella, I’d appreciate it if you would get dressed and guard the clearing leading up to the camp for a few hours,” Dutch says.

With a defeated sigh, Javier nods and untangles his fingers from Bonita’s and stands up. “Yes, Dutch. I’ll get to it.”

Bonita looks stunned. “Wha– what about me, Dutch? Can I go with him?”

Dutch shakes his head. “No, Miss Dorado, you will be free to do whatever you want for now. I suggest using your time wisely. Get some things done around here.”

Bonita grumbles to herself as she stands up and dusts herself off. She and Javier head back to camp, and he pats her shoulder as they walk.

“Hey, don’t get too upset, it’s not for too long,” Javier reassures her. “Go talk to Mary-Beth, she seemed eager to speak with you earlier.”

She rolls her head in an overly-dramatic nod. “Yeah, yeah. Whatever.”

“Look, we can hang out again later, okay?” He tells her, pulling his hair back and combing his fingers through it. “Take some time to rest. I’m not going anywhere.”

Bonita finally concedes. “Yeah, I guess. Have fun standing around doing fuck all.”

Javier smirks at her as she begins to walk away. “I will. But I’ll be thinking of you the whole time.”

Her face lights up at his words, and she shakes herself. “Right. I’ll be doing the same.”

The two go their separate ways for now, Bonita deciding to curl up for an extra few hours on her bedroll. And what does she dream of during those hours?

Javier. Of course it’s Javier.