Arthur’s body collapses into the bed of his room at Shady Belle, careful of yours as it already lays there. His arms curl around you from behind, and he gently noses at the back of your neck in an affectionate manner.

“Hey,” he murmurs, his eyes heavy as his weary body starts to settle. “Y’mad at me?”

He’s been gone a lot lately, yes. Sean was killed by the Grays, Jack had been taken by the Braithwaites, camp had been moved from Clemen’s Point to Shady Belle; he had been working nonstop. Practically the moment everyone had moved into the old plantation home, Arthur was already riding off on his horse to go elsewhere with Dutch. It seemed only now that things were calming down; even if the party outside accompanying Jack’s return said otherwise.

Arthur practically radiates exhaustion right now. He smells of sweat and leather, and his breathing comes in heavy on the back of your neck. While he tries to hold on to you from behind, his arms are pretty much limp around you, and his eyes aren’t even open. However, his weariness does not stop him from pressing chaste little kisses against the back of your shoulders. He is feeling extra affectionate tonight, somehow. The prospect of having a loved one kidnapped leaves a lingering thought in the back of his mind. He doesn’t even want to think of it potentially happening to you.

Another few soft kisses meet your back, Arthur’s hands gently rubbing your sides as if to try and coax an answer out of you. He knows you must not be happy with him, and it makes his chest ache. “M’sorry, sweetheart,” he mumbles into your upper back. “Y’know I couldn’t just stand around and do nothin’. Didn’t want Marston to lose his head before Abigail had the chance to bite it off.”

He chuckles softly at his own joke, hoping to get something out of you too.