Don't Let the Zombies Bite!
A zombie apocalypse AU of sorts. With blossoming Maple Tea.
"Nooooooooo! Feli!"
Matthew watched Lovino's head snap up at Alfred's shouts, looking around wildly. "Lovi?" There was a flurry of Italian curses that Matthew whistled at before Lovino took off up the hill just as Francis blew past them with Alfred close behind providing cover.
"Zombies, 'bout ten of 'em, bro," Alfred exchanged as he brushed past Matthew as well, hot on Francis' heels.
Matthew nodded and ran up the ravine after Lovino. The other two would be safe once they caught up with Arthur. Keeping a sharp eye out, Matthew didn't pay too much attention to Feliciano's prone body on the ground or Lovino crouched over him. His eyes scanned the area. Alfred had said that there were more of them out there; they had to be careful and quiet, and above all, they needed to vacate the area quickly.
"Big brother, why are you crying?" Feliciano laughed where he lay. "I get to be with Ludwig now!"
"You were supposed to stay with us!" Lovino yelled.
"Lovi," Matthew said firmly, placing a gentle hand on Lovino's shoulder. "There's nothing we can do for him now. We need to move on."
Wiping the tears from his eyes, he pushed himself to his feet while Feli smiled up at them both, stunned after the zombies' attack.
"Go on ahead," Matthew said quietly and Lovino nodded, picking up his gun with hands that were surprisingly steady.
Watching Lovino meet up with the group down in the ravine, Matthew turned back to the younger Vargas brother still lying on the ground with that bright smile. "This ought a' buy us some more time." He lowered his gun to rest on Feli's forehead. "I'm sorry Feliciano. Good game."
"We have to keep a low profile," Arthur hissed. "Control that animal of yours!"
"I'm afraid there's no controlling him," Matthew sighed, hitching his gun a bit higher up on his shoulder. "It's not like he's got an off switch."
Alfred continued to chatter away to Francis, bringing up the rear while scaring off wildlife. Francis who was not listening because he too was expressing his opinions on their situation though his words were much less positive than Alfred's.
"Report on Feliciano's status," Arthur said.
"He's been bitten," Matthew answered. "I shot him as a precaution before I left. That should reset the stun time. We'll have to make those seconds count."
But his words were drowned out by Francis' complaints.
"Will you stop it," Arthur shushed the French exchange student. "We're trying to make it to the checkpoint without raising the dead!"
"Eh, well it's a bit late for that," Matthew murmured.
Arthur snorted. "Right you are."
"It's not as if I came willingly," Francis sighed.
"You were working on your piece again?" Matthew asked kindly.
Francis sniffed. "The paint hadn't even dried before I was whisked from my studio!"
Matthew nodded as Francis continued on. It never took much to prompt one of Francis' tirades.
"My masterpiece!" he wailed.
"Can it, Bonnefoy!" Arthur hissed, coming to an abrupt stop. Matthew almost crashed into him, and he would've had he not known Arthur well enough.
"I'm tired," Lovino complained. "It's past fucking midnight."
"We have to make it to the checkpoint," Arthur said, glancing up at the sky. "Bear with it a bit longer."
Matthew looked between the two before making his suggestion. "We should take a break. The checkpoint isn't going anywhere, Arthur."
But Arthur was already trudging on, leading the group farther down the ravine. Matthew sighed, watching Lovino slog after them, trailing after even Francis. He turned back to follow Arthur, jogging up to walk beside him. Even though he was taller than him, he found that with Arthur's stubborn pace, he still had to walk briskly to keep up with him.
"Arthur," he murmured, this time waiting for a reply before he continued.
"What," Arthur asked, the impatience and worry clear in his voice.
Matthew smiled softly. Arthur's accent really came out when he was under duress. As with that focused look on his face that made Matthew wish that he could reach out and smooth those frown lines away and tell him that it was alright and that they would reach the checkpoint safely. However, Matthew knew that there was no guarantee and that Arthur's concerns were well-justified. So he dipped his head in respect, still with that gentle smile that Arthur had put there on his face. "Arthur," he said again, his name feeling familiar rolling off of his tongue. "Arthur, we should take a break. I understand that you want to get us all there safely. What happened with Feliciano... that was not your fault."
Arthur scoffed and sped up. Matthew lengthened his stride and marched right after him. "But if you keep going on like this, we're going to lose more people. Arthur, listen to me. Your determination will get us through, but first we need to get some rest." Matthew tilted his head back towards the way they had come from. The other three weren't even in sight.
Arthur's eyes narrowed before he glanced up at the sky again. "Alright. No more than twenty minutes. These parts of the wood give me a bad feeling."
Matthew's smile widened. It was rare that Arthur gave in. As he turned away, he knew that Arthur would be rubbing at his eyes and yawning once he thought that Matthew couldn't see him. Stubborn man.
"Gimme the nerf gun!" Alfred demanded once they were situated under a bridge for cover.
"Your fighting style is incompatible," Arthur sneered. "What with your spray-and-pray, you'll waste the remainder of our bloody ammunition!"
"You're more of a melee-type," Matthew added, holding the gun away from him, trying to placate them so that Lovino would not be woken prematurely from his nap.
Alfred's hand closed continued to grab at it until Arthur took it. "Nah man, I can totally snipe them zombies!" He proceeded to run around the gully 'pew-pew'-ing.
"Idiot," Arthur muttered.
"Hey! I'm in aerospace engineering, I'm hella smart."
"Yeah, a smart-ass," Arthur muttered, turning away to peek around the corner.
"You know, being in aerospace doesn't make you any less of an idiot."
"Who are you!" a voice called around the corner which made them all jump. Arthur's right hand was hovering over Lovino, unsure of whether to wake him from his nap, while his left hand gripped Matthew's shoulder worriedly. Alfred's arms were wrapped tightly around Francis' torso, his face twisted in a silent cry at the sudden sound. Matthew gazed out into the darkness that was the forest at three in the morning, his gun held up, ready for use.
"Who are you?" came the voice again, and this time, Matthew recognized it despite the distraction that was the warm hand on his shoulder.
Matthew sighed. "We've been over this countless times, Femke. It's Matthew!"
"Oh. 'Kay, cool," Femke said, rolling out from the low-lying branch and down into the gully with the rest of them.
"The Belgian has joined our party!" Al laughed.
Arthur moved away from Matthew to give her room under the bridge to sit. At the same time, Matthew moved after him without thinking. Femke didn't think much of it and sat down fluidly beside Lovino's sleeping form.
"Got any weapons?" Al asked around his mouthful of snacks.
"Lost it in the woods," she replied, gesturing back at the trees. "That, along with Antonio. The woods are filled with zombies. Feli's with them now, did you know?"
"Yeah, we lost him back there." Alfred waved vaguely back in the direction that they'd come from.
"Lovi taking it well?" she asked.
"Cried like a baby," Alfred chuckled.
Femke smiled and then straightened up. "Well I'd best be off now."
"W-wait, aren't you joining us?" Matthew asked.
"Think of me as the vanguard," she laughed. "I'll clear a path for you guys so you'd best follow closely!"
"But you're not even armed!" Francis piped up, having finally managed to pry Alfred off of him.
"Ah yes," she murmured, seemingly as an afterthought. She stepped over their legs delicately and crouched down beside the napping figure. "Pssst, Lovi. Siesta time is over!" she sang. "Bella Femke is here to wish you good morning!"
When Lovino's eyes flew open, Femke was quick to pick the nerf gun from his grasp. She danced away, laughing. "Well, time to go to work!" And then she disappeared behind the tree line.
"On your feet!" Arthur called and Alfred and Matthew were quick to comply. Francis and Lovino however, were much less enthusiastic. Lovino, still disoriented from sleep, and Francis, reluctant to respond to barked orders from Arthur, crashed into one another.
"We've no more time to lose! Keep up or be left behind!" Arthur disappeared into the woods where Femke had slipped through the treeline. Matthew was close behind, followed by Lovino and Francis, with Alfred bringing up the rear and brandishing the nerf gun.
He made sure to keep a close eye on Lovino and Francis because Alfred was preoccupied with making laser noises and aiming his gun at the claw-like shadows of the trees on the dirt path. Arthur diligently followed Femke's path of destruction as it wound its way through the trees. Bodies of zombies were scattered along the route she had taken, lying stunned for the fifteen minutes that the rules of the game decreed, having been shot with the nerf gun that Femke had snatched from Lovino.
"Come on! The checkpoint is right ahead!" Arthur called, hauling Francis up over the ridge (a bit more roughly than needed, Matthew thought). "The arts building is just a bit further! Go!" Arthur pushed Lovino ahead of him and tried to usher Alfred and Matthew ahead of him. Alfred threw Lovino over his shoulder as he ran towards the lit building where Femke was waving them forward, bowling Francis over as they crossed the marker.
Matthew grabbed Arthur's elbow as they ran, keeping them together as the rest of the zombies began slipping from the trees behind them. They made it easily with many metres to spare between Matthew's back and the grasping hand of the leading zombie, Antonio. It seemed that when Femke had lost the Spaniard in the forest, he was gone for good.
Matthew collapsed on the ground beside the rest of their merry gang while Arthur chose to lean against the wall of the arts building coolly. All attempts to catch his breath were unsuccessful as Matthew began to laugh at Arthur's stubbornness.
"Eyy, listen up all you fresh meat!" Gilbert called. Everyone turned to listen to the upper year mod's announcement. "Thirteen humans have been taken by the horde tonight! It wasn't even a particularly difficult mission... this time."
"Fucking mods," Arthur grumbled.
"Well Gilbert is one of the more sadistic mods," Matthew whispered. "He's going easy on us at the beginning, just like the last time we played Humans vs. Zombies."
"Yes, but I seem to recall it being significantly less of a hassle to simply stay alive, and much more straightforward in the good old days."
"Meaning you'd be much more sadistic and the death toll would be much higher if we put you in charge of the game."
Arthur snorted and looked away.
Matthew bumped his hip against him slightly. "You know I'm right, Arthur."
"Yes, yes," Arthur said, trying to seem disinterested as he attempted to hide a smile.
"You also know that there's no one else I'd rather be stuck under a bridge at three in the morning with than you."
"Yes, yes, ye- what."
Matthew laughed at flustered prominence of Arthur's accent again, starting to turn red himself. "Also, there's no one else I'd rather be trapped in the cafeteria fighting zombies with."
There's also no one else I'd rather be trapped in the sheets with.
"Merde," Matthew mumbled under his breath. That was such an unprecedented thought. His own French roots starting to show along with the butterflies in his stomach.
"Ah, well, er—yes." Arthur fidgeted. "You do fight well." The tips of his ears were reddening, and Matthew figured he looked the same. "Er, well that's top. I'd best be off now," Arthur said, clearing his throat and beginning to back off, gripping his gun tightly.
Matthew's smile grew shy and he began to back off as well, clutching the strap of his gun. "Sleep well, Arthur," he murmured. That feeling could wait. For now, he was content to just stay by Arthur's side. He laughed softly and added: "Don't let the zombies bite."
A/N: This was written for chocoholic135 in the aphvalentineexchange on tumblr. I hope you enjoy and had a wonderful valentine's day! (Also, I quite enjoyed your gift to me so many thanks, friend!)
And nope, not a zombie apocalypse au in the strictest sense. They're playing a game called Humans vs. Zombies which is basically a huge nerf gun war between two teams on university campuses. Read up more about it on the official website!
Inspiration for this gift fic coming from the lovely prompt of zombie apocalypse au from chocoholic135, one of my best friends whose stories of his adventures in HvZ made me so jealous that this isn't offered on my own campus, and the relationship aspect in the light Maple Tea here came from another one of my best friends who I JUST DON'T GET. STRIKE WHILE THE METAL IS HOT, BRO. You shy guys make no sense to me lol.
Hope you guys enjoyed it!