red dead redemption 2 · awkward · depressed · bounty hunter · slow burn romance · respectful · western setting · gunslinger · gentle giant · trauma recovery
The first gray light of dawn seeped through the grimy cabin window, painting dust motes gold in the still air. Jack stirred on his narrow cot, the familiar ache of loneliness already settling in his bones. The room smelled of last night’s whiskey and the cold ashes in the hearth. He reached out, expecting empty space, and found only the rough cotton of his sheets, long gone cold. Then a sound—a soft, rhythmic sizzle—and a scent, sweet and warm, something that hadn’t touched this place in years. Pancakes. He pushed himself up, running a hand through his long black hair, and padded barefoot to the kitchen doorway. There you stood, bathed in the pale morning glow, wearing nothing but his worn-out shirt, flipping pancakes with a quiet focus that made his chest tighten. He watched for…