Shooting Stars and Hopeful Wishing
Chapter 1
Arthur stared at the candle that stood at the edge of his desk. The flame created a dim light that reflected in his emerald eyes. He closed said eyes and sighed. By now, the whole house was quiet and everyone had gone to sleep. Francis put the boys asleep and retreated into the bedroom for he had spent the whole day working outdoors. He opened his eyes and pushed himself away from the desk. The Briton got up from the chair and grabbed the candle by its candle holder.
Letting the light guide his way, Arthur quietly crept down the hall to the boys' bedroom to check up on the little ones. He opened the door just a crack and stuck his head in. Matthew was fast asleep, bundled up in his blanket and clutching his favorite teddy bear. Alfred, however, was still awake, bouncing up and down on the bed with glee. He giggled and Arthur smiled, stepping further into the room.
"Still awake, I see," he murmured. The boy started to laugh, but Arthur put a finger to his lips, signaling him to be quiet so as not to wake Matthew.
"Sorry!" Alfred responded in a hushed tone. He grinned and hopped off the bed, landing softly on the floor and running towards Arthur. "Why are you still awake? Papa already went to bed and you're still..."
"I had some papers to look over, so I had to stay up late." Arthur said softly. "However, you shouldn't be awake, young man."
The boy frowned and mumbled, "I had a bad dream... B-But I didn't want to wake anyone up!"
"A bad dream? Tsk, you didn't seem that upset when you were bouncing on the bed like a little rabbit a few seconds ago," he said, pulling the small boy into his arms. "Care to tell me what this oh so scary nightmare was about?"
"U-Uh... A ghost! There was a ghost! A really scary ghost. He had dark eyes and scary teeth and... and..." As Alfred tried to explain his made up ghost, he began to grow in fear at the thought that was appearing in his head. He started shaking in Arthur's arms and shook his head. "He's scary!" The volume of his voice raised slightly.
"Scarier than Papa France in his nightgown?" Arthur joked, patting Alfred's head soothingly. "Don't worry about it, lad, nothing can hurt you. Do you honestly believe I'd let some monster hurt my little boy?"
The dirty blond-haired boy giggled and made a face at remembering when he first saw Francis wearing his pink nightgown. The sight of his hairy legs were enough to scare Arthur, Alfred, and Matthew all together. Especially Matthew, though. The poor boy feared that a monster was attacking Francis' legs.
"I know you won't let anything attack me." Alfred said with a smile, cuddling up to his guardian. "You always protect me and you're always there for me."
"Good," Arthur replied, hugging him. "Now, how about you and I go for a walk before bed?"
"But you always get angry at me for walking outside at night..."
"But this time you'll be with me, so it's alright. Just once wouldn't hurt," Arthur said conspiratorially. "So what do you say, hm?"
The boy's eyes shined brightly as his sense of adventure sparked. "That'll be great! Let's go!" Alfred squirmed out of Arthur's arms and rushed to the side of his bed to get his shoes. He was excited that he actually got the chance to explore outside. With Arthur, no less! After putting on his shoes, he sprinted back to Arthur and grinned up at him. "Ready to go!"
Arthur smiled and held his hand out, which the boy eagerly took. Hand in hand, the two went outside into the dark, open night. Arthur left the candle inside, knowing the area well enough to navigate on his own.
Despite being in Arthur's company, the smaller male felt a chill travel up his spine as they walked in the dark. He held onto Arthur's hand tightly and made sure to stay as close as him as possible. Feeling Alfred's presence closer than usual, he stopped walking and looked down at him.
"Is something wrong?" he asked.
"N-No!" Alfred said quickly, his voice uneasy. "Nothing's wrong! ...Where are we even going?"
"It's a surprise," Arthur told him, smiling to himself. He knew exactly where he was going; it was a secret spot the faeries had shown him a few years ago and he now frequented it at least every month. The faeries seemed to know where he was going for they giggled, dancing just ahead of him amidst the fireflies.
"If you look carefully, the faeries will show you which way to go," he said, pointing at the tiny figures lighting up the night with their dance.
Alfred became excited and looked towards where Arthur was pointing. However, instead of seeing the dancing mythical creatures he expected to see, he only saw the dimly lit forest ahead of him. "...I don't see anything."
"Look a bit harder, my boy." Arthur said gently.
"Mmm..." Alfred squinted his eyes and really concentrated. Suddenly, he saw the figures faintly moving. He gasped and smiled brightly. "I see them! I see them!" He tugged on Arthur's sleeve and pointed at them.
"Why don't you follow them?" Arthur suggested, trusting his magical friends enough not to lead the boy astray. He looked at them for confirmation and the few closest to him nodded and began tugging at young America's clothes.
"Okay!" Alfred exclaimed, breaking off into a run after the twinkling lights that guided him. Arthur chuckled and followed at a slower pace, admiring the peace of the quiet night life.
The faeries stopped dancing and started flying towards the meadow nearby. They intersected their paths as they flew and giggled, obviously showing their excitement at having a new guest. They paused momentarily before squeezing through the wall of grass that Arthur always had to pull apart manually for him to get past it. Alfred stopped in front of the tall grass and frowned. Arthur finally caught up to Alfred, breathing deeply
"What's wrong, Alfred?" The Briton asked curiously.
"They went through the grass..."
"Oh, don't fret," Arthur said. He smoothly parted the grass just enough for Alfred to wiggle through. Once the boy was off chasing after the faeries again, he followed suit, letting the tall grass close behind him.
The faeries decided to fly higher in the air and began to circle around as they started a new dance. Alfred stopped in his place near the middle of the meadow and looked up in pure awe. Along with the sight of the faeries radiating colourful lights, the stars in the sky could be seen brightly and the moon glowed softly. The scene displayed in front of the young boy was absolutely breathtaking and made Arthur smile in content. He was happy to see Alfred was captured by the small show his friends were putting before him and enjoyed it himself as well.
Moments later, the faeries gave a bow and flew in different directions to leave Alfred and Arthur alone in the silence under the moon and stars.
"That was... That was so awesome!" Alfred breathed and smiled. "Did you see their colours?! And the stars looked so pretty behind them!" He looked up to the sky again, repeating what had just happened in his head.
"I saw them," Arthur said, smiling. It was the first time Alfred had actually seen the faeries. He couldn't help the feeling of happiness and pride blooming in his chest at the knowledge that someday Alfred would also be a friend and ally of all magical creatures, like himself.
He lay down on the soft grass and patted the spot beside him. "Come, let's look at the stars," he said. Alfred complied, coming over and plopping down next to his caretaker. He lay back and grinned. They stayed in that position for a few minutes, gazing at the twinkling wonder that was the sky.
Out of the corner of his eye, Alfred noticed something bright. He turned his head and gasped as he saw a shooting star glide across the sky. "Arthur! What is that?!" The American boy pointed at the star and followed it with his finger.
"Hm?" Arthur glanced over to where he was pointing and smiled. "It's a shooting star. If you ever see one, you close your eyes and make a wish. Then it will come true."
"Really?!"
A nod was given in response to the question. "Yes, now close your eyes and make a wish."
"Can I wish for anything?"
"Anything you want."
"Hmmm..." Alfred closed his eyes and thought for a few seconds about what he wanted to wish for. To grow up to be an awesome person like Arthur? For Francis to finally shave his leg hair? To make sure his brother doesn't get left behind somewhere like always? Within seconds, he created a list but he was sure one shooting star wouldn't grant him all of them. Thus, he narrowed it down and thought of the one thing he truly wanted.
"I wish I can always be with Arthur no matter what."
Once he was done, he opened his eyes and smiled up at Arthur, who was watching him with a tender smile.
"Did you make your wish?" the Brit asked, ruffling his hair fondly. Alfred nodded.
"Yep! I sure did!"
Arthur stood and brushed the dirt off his pants. He held his hand out to the young boy, who took it. "Let's go home," he said.
The two of them traveled through the dark once more to return to their house. Alfred began to fall asleep as they walked and slowed down his pace. Noticing this, Arthur picked him up and walked the rest of the way with him in his arms. Alfred cuddled against his guardian as he did so. When they entered the house, Arthur walked to the boys' room and placed Alfred in his bed. He took off Alfred's shoes and placed them on the floor before drawing his covers over his tiny body.
"Goodnight, Alfred." Arthur said softly as he planted a light kiss on top of Alfred's forehead.
In response, the blue-eyed boy yawned and mumbled a goodnight.
Arthur smiled and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.
"...I hope shooting stars always come true. I want to be with Arthur forever..." Alfred mumbled to himself before drifting away in a state of deep slumber for the night.
Alexandria: Heeeey guys... Lookie here, its our first (technically second...) fic! Finally found something to write about and here it is!
Zade: ...Took us long enough huh? Well, we're sorry for the wait, but we are very pleased to present you guys with this! We're actually on top of this one so you don't have to worry about it ending up like... another fic of ours we don't speak of. Anyhow, review and let us know what you think of this one~
Alexandria: Seriously... Guys, review. Reviews give us motivation! :3