Here is the prologue of my Victorian America fic

Enjoy

-OA

"Honestly I thought today was never going to end" Arthur groaned as he dropped unto the mattress. The lumpy material molding itself about his thin frame as if accepting him as his own. Stretching, the crack of his back was lost among the knock of the rain against the one bed-roomed home. Pushing himself off his stomach and to his feet the Englishmen peeled his wet clothing from pale skin, wringing the clothes into a nearby standing bucket. Standing on his toes the Englishmen stretched his clothes about a rope that hung from one end of the room to the other, squeezing the last drops into the bucket as to keep the water off of the wooden floor. Pulling a dry shirt of a stack of neatly folded clothes he pulled it over, forever unruly hair. Rubbing at his arms, and praying thanks at the dry cloth that began to warm him almost immediately. A pleasant hum escaped his lips before the creak of the door caught his attention.

"Ah! Bonjour mon amie Arthur, you're back early" the front door opened to reveal another man of blonde, yet with eyes of jasmine instead of emerald. The younger lad closed the door in haste behind him, struggling slightly with the packages in his arms.

"Ah good evening Mathew. Yes, the wind was becoming rather turbulent and with such rain they were worried that the cargo might get damaged so they closed the docks" Arthur moved forward to help the other inhabitant of the small house with his burden. Placing the parcels on the bed, he unwound the twine. "Ah the guys need more patchwork?" lifting up each piece of clothing from its confinement he examined each piece with a scrutinizing look.

"Oui, apparently quite a fair amount of the blokes in the lumber yard had an incident yesterday, most of them being newly hired, single fellows. Hence none of them havin' woman to mend their clothes, I happened to overhear them talking and offered them a solution. I do hope you don't mind the mass amount?" Mathew explained, worry creeping into his voice towards the end as he completed the same drying ritual his friend had.

"I can see that" Arthur murmured turning his back as Mathew stripped down. No matter how well the two knew each other, some things were just rude, staring at another man as he changed being one of them. Sliding his hands along the rough material he inspected the mix of tunics and trousers for areas that needed attention. "These are going to require a bit of work"

"Ah, if you can't get to them Arthur" Mathew stopped what he was doing to look at his friend with concern. Only moving to the stovetop to begin dinner once his friend waved him off.

"Oh don't worry yourself lad. It is quite fine, we should get a pretty penny out of all this work" grabbing a stool and a small box of needle and thread along with patches the Englishman propped himself on the furniture piece and began to stitch.

"That will be nice"

"I wasn't caught by surprise with the rain, though I heard even the captains were caught unaware at the strength of the gall" he paused listening to the sound of the rain once again, a sense of comfort running over his body. The sound of rain was comforting, it reminded him of his home in London. It was one of the few comforts, besides the sea that this place offered him. The Common Wealth of Massachusetts, a land in the New World, now the state of Massachusetts in America. The sea reminded him of home, which is why he chose dock work when he came to this newborn country. Listening absentmindedly he followed along with the humming that came from Mathew as he prepared their supper. Arthur had come from London whereas Mathew had come down from Quebec. The French speaking blonde was a kind fellow with a good heart, something Arthur appreciated with the utmost respect. "It really was a blessing that we ran into each other that day upon the docks"

"Ah yes" the laughter bubbled at the stove "It makes living much cheaper with another person. Plus" he added sheepishly "I am absolutely horrid when it comes to a needle and thread. You're able to repair my clothing and almost make it look like new"

"And you have saved me from the kitchen" Arthur sniffed with a slight annoyance. He had to admit, he was not the best cook but it was not the best of things when your dinner caught fire more often than not. But hey, he could make a mean cup of tea when he had the time to drink it. Plus Mathew was a whiz when it came to cooking, he made even the plainest of meals delicious. Looking up the brit found the other smiling brightly at him, he offered a small one in return before turning back to his work. I had been nearly a year since then and the two men had grown into close friends since then.

"I figured stew would be good on a night like this" Mathews soft voice came across much louder than it was in the small room as he distributed what he had been concocting in the pot into two plain bowls. Catching a piece of stray paper alight off the burner he walked about and lit the few candles placed strategically about the room. Folding the shirt on itself Arthur placed it beside his stool thanking the boy with much gratitude as he took the warm dish from him.

"Smells wonderful as always Mathew"

"Merci" Mathew pulled out another stool, settling it adjacent from his housemate. Looking upon the other man he watched the blonde eat with gusto, yet still managing to look prim and proper. Arthur had a knack for such things. Always stating 'the British are a proper folk, everything is done the way it should be'. The man in question was a few years older than Mathew, yet by no means old. If Mathew remembered correctly Arthur was four years senior his nineteen.

"Wonderful as expected" Arthur complimented after a swallowing a bite. The other smiled as he moved his spoon about the bowl. Arthur always complimented him on such simple things. The stew wasn't hard, it literally was just a mixture of cheap spices, potatoes, carrots, onions and peas. He wished that they could afford something more so he could really show Arthur something that was worthy of the constant praise. Suddenly a rumble of thunder vibrated the house down to the core, shocking the two men. "Bless the Queen" Arthur murmured casting a glance at the candles that shivered in protest.

"I wonder if it shook even their homes" Mathew murmured only continuing at the puzzled glance Arthur tossed his way. "Those of the wealthy folk. We had a large group of them stop by the bakery this afternoon and they ordered so many things. It's just been on my mind since then" he shrugged it off digging around for a potato chunk to munch on.

"Even if it did they probably wouldn't even notice" Arthur sniffed placing his bowl down beside his feet to once again pick up the tunic from the pile. "It could shake and ramble their homes until all of their fine china shattered and they wouldn't even bat an eye for they would just send for more" he sniffed once again, a scowl upon his features. Arthur made no effort to hide his disdain for the nobles or higher parties of the country. In his opinion only the Queen and sections of her parliament could do no wrong. Every other individual was lily-liver'd. "Do you want to work on your English again tonight while I patch up these garments?"

"Of course" Mathew winced standing up to scrub the dishes. Mathew knew English, yet had only learned the basics of street talk and wished that he knew more of the strange language. That's where Arthur's knowledge came in. Arthur was a well-read individual and his most prized positions being that of his books and pendant of his mothers.

"How about we read from Hamlet tonight lad" Arthur looked up momentarily.

"Sure" Mathew nodded making his way across the short distance to a box next to Arthur's bed. Sifting through the books with great care he pulled out the well-read copy of Shakespeare's Hamlet. Making his way back to the stool he hunkered down for his readings. This was a common night for the pair, one sewing to help make ends meet while another studied a language for the land he now lived in. The time passed by with soothing sound of Mathews voice accompanied by the occasional hum of approval from the adjacent male. Glancing towards the candles Arthur finished off the last of the clothes folding them neatly.

"Mathew let us call it a night. We need the energy tomorrow" standing up he stretched groaning as his back popped once again. Resorting the clothes he tied them off in bundles as Mathew placed the book back inside its crate. From there on the normal routine of preparing for bed continued on. Changing into night gowns that were folded at the end of the bed, laying out clothes for the working day to come, pulling back the blankets and blowing out the candles. "Good night Mathew"

"Good night Arthur" Mathew repeated as all talking ceased, the only sound was the pattering of the rain. Shifting in his bed Mathew pressed his cheek against his bicep. His mind traveling back over what had happened that morning, the group of nobles that had visited the shop. He felt a ting of jealousy in his chest. Arthur may have a strong hate for the wealthy but as for him he wanted what they had. Scratching his nose along his arm he heaved a silent sigh allowing his eyelids to slide shut, welcoming the wave of sleep wash over him.