I wish to tell you a story. It is quite a personal story which I have come to know. I can assure that all of the events I retell have really occurred although it must be warned that for many of the events that take place, I was not present. This being said, it goes to say I have taken a few liberties with some of the details to contribute to the story-telling. I hope that you take this into stride and do not take every word to heart. For now it is time for my story to begin and it begins with a boy by the name of Arthur Kirkland.
Arthur had always been afflicted by the presence of demons. From a young age, he could see what others can't and more often than not had the sensation of being watched by someone when there was in fact no one around. Being aware of sensations, Arthur turned to researching the supernatural early on in his life.
In primary school, he would spend his lunches within the school library reading up on books about ghosts, magic, myths and legends. When he was eleven he learnt about the existence of witchcraft. On his twelfth birthday one of his older brothers gifted him a spell-book bought from a psychic at a marketplace. Arthur spent the next two years performing the rituals within.
Arthur was fourteen when he summoned his first demon. It was the dead of night and Arthur was shrouded by a quiet unique to three in the morning. The summoned demon wasn't vicious or violent as Arthur had feared and the two exchanged a small conversation before Arthur closed the session. This is not to say that subsequent spirits and demons summoned by Arthur were not such, but his first experience had been pleasant enough.
Arthur over time developed an acquaintanceship with a select handful of demons who he summoned on multiple occasions. These demons did not try to harm him and for the most part simply enjoyed the company of Arthur in the times he summoned them. One particular demon he had come to know went by the name of Gilbert.
Gilbert was humanoid in appearances and was what in human terms may be described as an albino. His hair was white and colourless eyelashes hung over his eyes. His skin had the resemblance of paper and almost seemed to be as thin as the substance. An anomaly to the human definition of an albino was the demon's eyes: red and searing, like drops of blood on a sheet of snow.
When Arthur had first met Gilbert, he was quiet and standoffish. He had an arrogant air to him and did not spend time conversing with Arthur, his sense of superiority not wanting him to sink to such a level. Over time, however, Gilbert came to Arthur more and more, sometimes on his own inhibitions. Gilbert became friendly and Arthur quickly came to know him to be loud, enthusiastic, and overly fond of setting up tricks. His tricks were harmless and in good-spirit, only meant to embarrass the subject of such pranks.
On one lonely night, Gilbert sought out Arthur and the two discussed life as usual. Arthur, however, quickly became aware of a discomfort Gilbert seemed to harbour, characterised by nervous tics such as biting his lip and scratching his hair. It was as if a budding question danced in the demon's mind but would not project itself in the form of words. Hours had passed and Gilbert's lip had a pink bestowed upon them from continuous chewing before he allowed himself to ask.
The significance of the issue was disguised with a joking tone to blend into the rest of their dialogue, complete with a laugh to appear casual.
"Have you ever considering selling your soul to a demon?"
Gilbert's eyes were wider than usual, for fear of being scolded, and they scanned across the room nervously. Arthur himself was taken aback by the question. Of course, many a demon had begged and pleaded for his soul, reaching out for him with beckoning hands, hungry expressions, and a desperation in their eyes.
Gilbert had none of these traits currently and instead seemed as if he would just as much wanted to drop the conversation as carry on with it.
When Arthur didn't respond, Gilbert quickly assured in a stammer, "I just am curious, y'know? Not that I want you to sell me your soul or something…"
Arthur remained quiet a few moments longer, thinking hard about the question. Would he want to sell his soul? He rather liked his soul and did not want to lose possession of it. However, he felt as if he could trust a select few demons with his soul. Gilbert was one of these demons.
Finally, he let himself ask, "What would I sell it for?"
A wave of relief washed over Gilbert and he straightened himself up. With a shrug, he responded, "For anything you want, really."
Arthur ran his tongue over his lips which had seemed to go dry. He asked, "What would happen to my soul?"
Gilbert's eyes lit up with that spark easily identifiable as the spark one gets when their opinion is asked for on a subject they are more than knowledgeable in.
"Well," Gilbert started off with a deep breath, "A demon having possession of your soul would have no impact on you until you pass away. At this point, it will just be a way of marking who gets your soul when you do die."
"And what happens after I die?" Arthur interjected.
"Depends on the demon who takes it. Some eat souls and some use them in like rituals and stuff. Others try to make their own sorta afterlife, y'know what I mean? Like, by default your soul will go to either God or Satan's afterlife if you're Christian depending how you lived. But there are like… smaller party's afterlives popping up here and there."
"Let me guess, you are trying to cultivate your own afterlife?"
A large grin spread across Gilbert's face, "Yeah! It's going to be so fucking sweet, man."
"And you want my soul to go there?"
Gilbert shrugged awkwardly, "I mean, if that's cool with you. I can trade you anything you want."
Arthur squirmed around on the spot. It was a hard decision. He really valued his own soul and could not bear the thought of something bad happening to it. On the other hand, he did trust Gilbert probably the most out of any demons that he had encountered in his life. If he were to sell his soul to any demon, he would want it to be to Gilbert. Plus, there was quite a few things he wanted in life.
"What is your afterlife like? Who else is there?"
"Well… you'll be the first signed up, honestly. I haven't really sorted it out yet but I can assure you it will be fucking sick."
Arthur blinked, "No one else?"
"I'll sign up some people, I swear!"
"You haven't sorted it out?"
"I bought an awesome dimension. It's a bit small and empty but I can have it all fixed up and swanky by the time you die."
"How did you buy a dimension? Do spirits have a form of currency."
"Yeah, we- that's not really relevant to what we're talking about."
"Do spirits have capitalism? Is there capitalism in the afterlife?"
"You're getting off topic…"
"Right, right," Arthur nodded before asking, "Is there capitalism?"
"Arthur!" Gilbert yelped, "It doesn't matter!"
"No, I mean, is there capitalism in your afterlife. The one you're making," Arthur said, "I've got to know before I give you my soul."
"I… do you want capitalism? I didn't really put too much thought on what fucking government structure to use in my afterlife," Gilbert groaned.
"I don't know. I will have to think about it. What other options are there?"
"God, I dunno… A monarchy and you can be king? I don't fucking care."
"You sound so annoyed right now," Arthur laughed softly.
"Yeah, I'm trying to be serious here and you're asking about capitalism…." Gilbert grumbled.
Arthur rolled his eyes, "I'll stop talking about capitalism."
"Thank you…"
Gilbert remained quiet for a moment, mumbling and grumbling to himself under his breath, most likely still annoyed at Arthur. An awkward silence fell between them and Arthur went to fiddling with the cloth of his shirt. After a while had passed, Arthur felt it only appropriate to speak again.
"So there's no souls yet?" Arthur leant in.
"Nope. You'll be the first," Gilbert repeated, "We've been over this."
"Well… what if you can't find any other souls before I die?"
Gilbert blinked before saying quietly, "Well… I guess um…"
"I would be there alone?" Arthur asked.
"Yeah… Yeah, you would be," Gilbert nodded.
"I don't really want to be alone for eternity," Arthur murmured.
Gilbert let out a groan, "Then sell other people's souls too."
"Am I able to do that?" Arthur blinked
Gilbert nodded, "Yeah! Sure! All you need is a bit of blood from them and a signature."
"I don't know if many people would want to go to your afterlife. No offence."
"Offence taken. But like… they don't have to know."
"What do you mean?" Arthur frowned.
"You can… y'know… just get their blood and signature without telling them what it's for," Gilbert shrugged.
Arthur frowned at this suggestion, "Is that allowed?"
"Well, no," Gilbert admitted quietly, trailing off.
"I'm not going to just… take someone's soul? What am I meant to do? Walk up to someone and say 'hi I know this may sound weird but can I have a sample of blood and also sign this paper'?"
"That's the spirit!" Gilbert cooed in exclamation, "So, you'll do it?"
"What?! No!" Arthur yelped.
"Arthur! Come on!" Gilbert whined, his enthusiastic demeanour becoming downtrodden from rejection.
"I just… I don't think it is right to steal someone's soul," Arthur sighed.
"I'll trade you something for every soul. And they won't mind, I promise," Gilbert whispered.
"I'll sell you my own soul. And that's all. But you better make sure to recruit some other souls before I die," Arthur gave in.
"Yes!" Gilbert gasped in excitement and jumped to his feet.
Gilbert only took a matter of seconds gathering all of the items for Arthur to make the pact. Amongst these items included the contract itself, a quill to sign, and a knife for Arthur to cut himself. It was a rather formal and businesslike exchange, much unlike as Arthur had predicted. Arthur felt almost as buzzed in excitement as Gilbert appeared to be.
The thing that Arthur traded his soul for was a body. A point about Arthur that many may feel as peculiar was the body he was born with. Unlike most boys and definitely the preconceived ideas of what a boy must be, Arthur did not have all of the correct parts. To put it into blunt terms, Arthur did not have a penis. Instead, Arthur was gifted with a vagina and a delicate pair of bosoms. This did not please Arthur and in fact gave him quite a bit of contempt during his teenage years regarding the topic.
And so what it was Arthur wished for was a body. This new body he traded his soul for suited all of his needs and was even a few inches taller, much to Arthur's delight. Arthur only thought of the predicament later of having to try to explain the fact that his proportions, voice, and even genetics had changed to everyone around him. This problem was temporary and until Arthur found it time to move out of home he disguised himself to the best of his abilities as if nothing had changed at all. This inconvenience and an I.O.U. made out to Gilbert on his soul were only small prices to pay for the body of his dreams.
After the contract he had signed with Gilbert, Arthur often found himself noticing even more near impossible wishes that a soul could be sold for. He had, of course, already given up possession of his own soul and so would not be able to have any such fantasies come true. This was until one day Arthur recalled upon a certain snippet of information Gilbert had told him back on that night.
Arthur's selling of his own soul paired with his selfish desires became a gateway towards the selling of other people's souls. It became a guilty habit of him to bind others in this contract for his own benefits.
His oldest brother's soul bought him straight-A grades. Another brother's soul bought him a winning lottery ticket and when a friend of Arthur's fell terminally ill his third brother's soul bought the friend's health back. After this point, he vowed to himself not to partake in the selling of any more souls that did not belong to him without consent.
This was, of course, until he met Francis Bonnefoy.
Their meeting took place at a party in the early months of Arthur's university life. Antonio Carreido, a sweet and cheerful friend of Arthur's, had invited him to a party to celebrate the end of another assessment block. Arthur had at first refused but after begging from Antonio's end and promises of a good time, Arthur had caved in and tagged along.
As Arthur had suspected, the majority of the night featured him cooped up in a corner over a cup of some miscellaneous alcoholic beverage. Arthur was not acquaintanced with many of the students Antonio was friends with and the few that he did at least know by name seemed to avidly avoid him. Antonio's party would have lived up to the promised epitome of fun if Arthur was anyone else. However, activities were lost on him as he was excluded and shoved to the side as more of an afterthought than an actual part of the gathering.
Francis more often than not during the duration of the party was under a meter away from Antonio. It was an understatement to say the two were close friends. When it became glaringly obvious that Arthur was a social outcast, Antonio took it upon himself to force together introductions between the two. As Antonio introduced them, Francis was full of life and hanging on every word Antonio said. When it came time for Antonio to leave the two alone to get to know each other, this demeanour went out like a switch. Left alone with Arthur, Francis simply pulled out his phone and ignored him.
What Arthur had learnt from Antonio's introduction was that Francis was four years older than Arthur and was currently studying for a postgraduate master's degree in psychology. He already had obtained a bachelor's degree in the course and worked part time as a counsellor for experience. To earn money on the side, Antonio also loudly announced that Francis was an underwear model.
What Arthur learnt from spending time with Francis was that he was very good at playing Snake on his phone and more likely than not did not enjoy Arthur's company in the slightest.
When Antonio walked back around to the two, Francis regained his energy and promptly left Arthur to tag along with Antonio.
Arthur let his eyes trail after the pair as they left, letting out a small sigh to himself.
Whatever train of thoughts Arthur's mind wished to start upon was derailed before they had begun as a voice laughed next to his ear.
"Oh man, is he cute!"
Arthur jumped in his seat in fright but chose not to turn to see who it was who had spoken. After all this time he could honestly recognise Gilbert's voice anywhere.
When Arthur did not respond due to not wishing to appear as though he was speaking to himself in front of a crowd of people, Gilbert continued on.
"Like, seriously, seriously cute. I would tap that," Gilbert snickered and let out a whistle. He quickly clarified, "The blond one that is. Do you think he's cute?"
Arthur remained silent.
"Yeah, you think he's cute," Gilbert concluded in place of Arthur, "You wanna bang-bang-bang him."
"Why are you here?" Arthur finally grumbled underneath his breath.
"Oh, Arthur, sweetie. Give me some credit… Four souls you've sold me. I think I know when you are thinking of selling another," Gilbert cooed with a pout.
Arthur scoffed and rolled his eyes, "I am not going to sell someone's soul just to get a chance with that guy…"
"But you definitely were thinking about it," Gilbert pointed out.
"Go away. I'm not selling any souls anymore," Arthur huffed dismissively.
"You heard Antonio! He is a psychologist by day and an underwear model by night," Gilbert gushed, "Plus he's pretty fucking gorgeous and by the looks of him definitely gay."
"How long have you been listening and hanging around me?" Arthur frowned and sat up straight, staring at Gilbert accusingly.
"Look, I don't have many friends of my own and so sometimes I hang out around you and pretend I'm the one who was invited to the party," Gilbert shrugged.
"That's… pretty pathetic," Arthur admitted quietly.
"Hey, I'm not the one who is at the best party of the year with an underwear model and am still sitting in the corner on my own," Gilbert scoffed.
"No, I think your situation is more pathetic…"
"Trust you to always turn the conversation away from what is truly important," Gilbert tutted.
Arthur raised an eyebrow and narrowed his eyes, "And what is important?"
"You selling me your soul to get in with that guy," Gilbert grinned.
Arthur let out a groan, getting annoyed, "Okay, first of all, what makes you think I can't get him on my own?"
Gilbert began to list off, counting on his fingers as he went, "He's an underwear model psychologist guy. He is way out of your league. By the looks of his clothes he is upper class and probably doesn't want to associate with a lowlife like you. He also seemed fairly down to Earth and probably wouldn't exactly appreciate your 'eccentricities' such as worshipping the devil and talking to yourself. You're a real freak, Arthur."
"Wow. You're a real pal, Gil. A real supportive friend," Arthur said quietly and looked away.
"I know I am. But yeah, despite all of that, I'm sure you could win him over on your own. You are really nice when people get to know you," Gilbert assured and rubbed Arthur's back.
"Do you really think so?" Arthur's voice wavered with a tinge of hope
Gilbert let out a loud snort, "No! Did you see the way he was hanging off of Antonio? Totally in love. Head over heels. He's just waiting for Antonio to get his head out of his perfectly rounded ass and notice that he loves him."
"But he- wait, did you just say Antonio has a 'perfectly rounded ass'?"
"I know a hot ass when I see one and quite honestly yours is no competition."
Arthur blushed and self-consciously pulled his jumper down over the back of his legs. He ignored the smug noise Gilbert made in response and asked, "So, if you think that Francis is in love with Antonio, don't you think we shouldn't interfere and should leave him with the love of his life?"
"Are you kidding me? Antonio may be the love of his life but he's the love of yours," Gilbert exclaimed loudly.
"I just met him!" Arthur yelped before quickly quietening down and hunching over as he noticed a few eyes straying his way.
"You may have just met him but you and I both know he is the most perfect man alive," Gilbert hummed knowingly.
"I don't really know if I should believe you, seeming as you are here to get some form of soul from me," Arthur pointed out with a grumble.
"Alright. Let the man of your dreams just get away. Suit yourself," Gilbert shrugged.
Arthur rolled his eyes, "Besides, even if I were to go along with this, I don't have any souls I can give you."
"I'm sure you could think of something," Gilbert assured.
"Right. I could get his soul. Go up and cut his hand and then marry him."
"I was thinking of something else. A promised soul, perhaps."
"What the fuck is that?"
Gilbert's face took on that familiar half-leer, half-smirk, with an enthusiastic gleam in his eyes. He began to explain excitedly, "Y'see… You know how in all those shows and that they're always like 'I will give you my firstborn's soul. Well-"
"No need to go into some long rant," Arthur cut Gilbert off quickly, "I can see where this is going. You want me to sell you my firstborn's soul."
"Yes!" Gilbert nodded with a grin and clapped his hand together.
Arthur let out a sigh, "I told you, Gilbert, I'm not selling any more souls. I don't even know this guy. How am I meant to know if he's 'the one'."
"Trust me, he's the one. Just… just look at him!" Gilbert sighed dreamily.
"I don't know if I should believe you, seeming as you want something from me," Arthur huffed, "And, hey, if you like him so much, why don't you go marry him?"
Gilbert gasped and placed his hand over his chest, "Arthur, you wound me. Your harsh, harsh words wound me. I'm not trying to get something from you. I genuinely care about your wellbeing. And your wellest being would be in the arms of Francis Bonnefoy."
"As I said, why don't you go marry him if you like him so much?" Arthur frowned and sloshed his drink around in the bottom of its cup.
"We both know why that won't work. He's human. I'm a demon. Plus, I'm already dating someone," Gilbert shrugged.
Arthur paused and raised an eyebrow, "Wait, you are? This is news to me."
Gilbert grinned and nodded, "Yeah! He's a grim reaper. Real sweetie of one too."
"You're telling me you're dating the grim reaper?"
"No, Arthur. A grim reaper. Learn to listen," Gilbert tapped at his ears for emphasis, "There isn't just one grim reaper in the world."
"Oh," Arthur mouthed quietly and sunk down, "I thought there was."
"I bet you think there's only one Santa Claus too," Gilbert scoffed.
"I don't think there are any Santa Clauses. I'm not a kid," Arthur scoffed.
"What?" Gilbert paused, "Then who delivers the presents to all of the kids in the world?"
"Their parents do," Arthur frowned and stared at Gilbert, "You're an immortal demon. Do you really believe in Santa Clause?"
"Their parents?" Gilbert yelped out in a defeated tone, "That's no fun…"
"I think you're the one who is taking off track this time," Arthur murmured awkwardly as he noticed Gilbert on the verge of tears.
"Oh how the turns have tabled," Gilbert laughed emptily as he wiped his face.
"Do you… do you need a moment?" Arthur asked in concern, "You look a little upset over this."
"Nah, nah… I'm fine," Gilbert assured, "So, uh… where were me? I mean we?"
"You want my firstborn's soul," Arthur prompted.
"Right!" Gilbert lit up again, regaining his trademark enthusiasm.
Arthur continued, "And you're not going to get it."
"C'mooon, Arthur. Where's your spirit?"
"Well if I'm not mistaken, you have it."
Gilbert frowned before pausing, a smirk rolling over his face, "Oh, I get it. Because you sold me your soul. Very funny."
"Thank you. Made that up just then."
"But maybe I could also have the spirit of your firstborn kid too."
"If you're trying to continue my joke you are failing miserably."
Gilbert's cheery disposition changed into a frown, "You know what, Arthur. I'm getting a bit sick of this banter. Do you want to trade your firstborn's soul for the man of your dreams or not? Believe it or not, I have other things to do than be here chatting with you."
"I don't actually believe you have better things to do-"
"I'm being serious, Arthur! I don't have all day. Do you want to be with him or do you want your opportunity to walk out of the door like he did after that boy Antonio?"
Arthur paused and pressed his thumb against his lip in thought. After a few seconds he asked, "Okay, so, what if I do?"
"Then you go marry Francis Bonnefoy and have kids together."
"But you're missing something here. We're both men. It's not as if we can conceive a child together."
Gilbert shrugged and leant back, "I don't fucking care how you get the kid. You conceive it separate to him with a surrogate, he conceives it. You adopt. You become the first couple to have a genetically modified kid related to two dads. It just have to be legally yours."
"Really? You consider adoption as a valid form of having a child for collecting souls?" Arthur asked.
"Yeah. We're pretty progressive like that," Gilbert nodded.
"And what if we don't have any kids at all?" Arthur pointed out.
"Well," Gilbert frowned, not entirely sure himself, "I will be really, really pissed off at you."
"So how do you know I won't just sell you my firstborn's soul and just not have a child?"
"Arthur," Gilbert's voice was weak and strained, "I want to think I can trust you."
Arthur's eyes widened a fraction at how small Gilbert's voice was. Such a small crack in confidence provided a window into how honestly useless Gilbert was and how much he depended on Arthur. It was a little bit sad, honestly, but for Arthur it was moving. In fact, it was the moving force which inspired what he said next.
"I'll do it."
"Really?" Gilbert exclaimed, instantly perking up as if nothing had ever been the matter.
"Of course," Arthur nodded.
"Wow, you must be really into this guy to sell your potential child's soul to win over," Gilbert scoffed.
"What, no," Arthur frowned, "I'm not doing this to win him over. I'm doing it for you."
"Whatever you say, kiddo," Gilbert rolled his eyes, "So should I get the parchment out now or-"
"Leave it until I get back to my dorm room," Arthur assured, "I'm sure everyone here thinks I'm weird enough already without me signing an invisible contract."
"I'll see you there then," Gilbert grinned and disappeared from sight in a blink.
Arthur relaxed and went back to finishing the remnants of whatever drink was still at the bottom of his cup. He could see from across the room that at some point during his and Gilbert's conversation, Antonio had wandered back into the room accompanied by Francis. At the other side of the room they stood, Francis hovering over Antonio's shoulder like a puppy in love just as Gilbert had said he had been doing.
Arthur honestly couldn't help to feel a little bad that he was using Gilbert to make someone fall in love with him. Especially when it was so clear he was already in love with another. Guilt hung over his shoulders at the possibility that he could be ruining a truly beautiful relationship from forming. However, this guilt did not run deep in him for Arthur was a selfish man. As soon as he had begun to feel upset over the feelings of Antonio and Francis, the sympathy was gone. Residing in its place was Arthur regarding to himself just how handsome Francis was and how lucky he was to have him. When he had him that was.
The contract was signed later that night along with a sample of Arthur's blood and as Gilbert had promised, Francis fell in love with him. It started off with a text a few days later from a number not yet in Arthur's contacts. It politely asked if this was the Arthur from Antonio's party and stated that the person texting had requested Arthur's number from Antonio and hoped he didn't mind. When Arthur responded that, yes, this was the Arthur from Antonio's party, the person went on to explain that it was Francis texting him. He apologised for appearing distant at the party for that night he came down with a horrid cold which more than explained his antisocial behaviour. He followed this up by asking Arthur if he wanted to tag along with himself and Antonio to some casual gathering. Arthur, of course, willingly agreed.
Over the next few weeks, Arthur was invited along to hang out with Francis' friends on many occasions. These gradually became invitations to spend time one on one and two months after the party, Francis asked Arthur out on a date. Francis confessed his love to Arthur soon after and on that night they shared their first kiss. The rest followed soon after that and before they knew it, the two were standing at a wedding altar announcing their vows. Antonio had remained close to Francis this whole time and was his best man and although none but Arthur saw him, Gilbert sat amongst the crowd happily smiling on.
Arthur ditched his past hobbies of witchery and rituals in exchange for a suburban life. He no longer summoned spirits and instead spent time arguing with Francis about what should be served for dinner that night.
With years gone by, Arthur forgot Gilbert. When the topic came up of starting a family with Francis, Arthur agreed more than enthusiastically. This agreement was not for Gilbert's sake, but for his own. The child was to be related to Francis and birthed by a friend of his who had happily agreed. Nine months went by and before the couple new it they found themselves in a hospital waiting room, ecstatically counting down the time until they would be able to see their very own child.
It came as a surprise when not one baby was born, but two. Identical twins, both boys, both beautiful. The first twin born was given the name Matthew Williams Bonnefoy, while the second was named Alfred Franklin Jones Bonnefoy. Celebrations were had and many photos had been taken.
As afternoon waned into evening and visiting hours drew to a close, the hospital fell into a quiet slumber. Although the lights flickered on inside just as vibrantly, darkness from the night spilled over the window sills. About to leave, Arthur was standing in the hall with his back pressed against a cold concrete wall. Francis had gone to a vending machine around the corner to buy the two a treat to get by until they got home and Arthur had nothing else to do but wait.
A warm fuzzy wave of content rose up throughout Arthur's body before pooling in his chest and pushing a sigh out through his lips. Eyelids slid half-closed over tired and empty eyes. He was at ease.
Such a feeling was ripped from him with a jolt as he saw someone standing beside him in the corner of his eyes. He lifted his head and his heart froze in his chest to see the demon Gilbert himself standing across the hall from him, cocky smile plastered on his face.
"What's the matter, Arthur? You look as if you've seen a ghost," he smirked smugly.
Arthur regained his composure and straightened himself up. With a glance over towards the direction of Francis to ensure he was not coming, he hissed, "What are you doing here?"
"What do you mean? I came to see your new kid. Or should I say, kids. Very charming. I mean, they're ugly. All babies are. But I'm sure they'll grow out of that."
Everything about Arthur was shaky. His breath, his fingers, his heartbeat.
"What? Don't tell me you forgot about me and our little deal?" Gilbert tutted.
Arthur didn't respond.
"Well," Gilbert stretched out, "There is no need for you to be in such a panicked state. It's not as if I'm taking the kids soul now."
Gilbert's attention was driven away as he heard the clicking of shoes coming down the corridor. Francis held a bag of chips and a bottle of soft drink in each hand. When he reached Arthur, he leant over to peck his cheek affectionately.
"They were out of the flavour of chips you want so I just got you original. Is that okay?" Francis asked as he handed Arthur his chips and drink.
"Aww… He's so sweet and considerate," Gilbert cooed.
"Yeah, that's fine," Arthur breathed out, ignoring Gilbert.
Francis ran his fingers through Arthur's hair, pushing stray strands from his eyes, "Hey, are you okay? You don't look so well."
"Yeah, I… I'm fine," Arthur assured and stood up straight.
Francis shook his head and pressed his forehead up against Arthur, "You know you can tell me if something is bothering you. And I can tell that something is bothering you."
"Because you're a psychologist?" Arthur asked.
"Because I know you."
Arthur let his eyes wander over to Gilbert before sighing, "I guess I'm… stressed out over this whole baby thing."
Francis' lips turned up into a smile, "It is a bit scary, isn't it? To think that tomorrow we will be taking home those bundles of joy."
"I'm just worried. What if they get hurt? What if someone hurts them and I can't stop them?" Arthur asked, his eyes staying latched on Gilbert.
Gilbert pulled a face and pointed to himself in fake shock, as if startled by the notion that he would hurt a baby.
Francis sighed and planted a kiss on Arthur's nose, "I know you're worried about that, but trust me, they aren't founded by any proof. You are going to be a wonderful father and I know it."
"You really think so?" Arthur asked softly.
"I know so," Francis promised and reached a hand up, wiping at Arthur's cheeks with his thumbs, "And if you can't do it on your own, that's alright. You've got me to back you up."
Arthur smiled and nodded, "Okay."
"Are you feeling better?"
"I am."
"And you know that nothing bad is going to happen to Alfred or Matthew?"
Arthur hesitated and looked back over to Gilbert. After a second he nodded, "I do."
"Let's go home. We'll come back first thing in the morning," Francis promised and took a hold of Arthur's hands before leading him out of the hallway and away from Gilbert.