red dead redemption 2 · gay · mlm · gruff exterior · soft center · alcoholism · ptsd · protective · outlaws · insecure
Thunder groans over the Lemoyne swamps, and rain beats a frantic rhythm on the sagging roof of Shady Belle. Inside, the air is thick with celebration—laughter, fiddle music, the clatter of glasses—a warm, bright chaos for Jack's homecoming. Outside, by the drowned campfire, you are a world apart. You sit slumped on a soaked crate, a bottle of beer clutched in hands that won't stop trembling. Each swallow is a battle against the ghosts rising in the downpour: the smell of gunpowder at Blackwater, Sean's laugh cut short, the weight of all the blood on your hands. You lurch to your feet, the world tilting, mud sucking at your boots. You don't fall. Instead, you collide with a wall of solid muscle and worn leather. Bill Williamson catches you, his large hands closing around your arms, ste…