Disclaimer: I do not own Axis Powers Hetalia.
Okay, so "Fidgeting" got really good feedback. I've decided that I can't resist writing a fan fiction with little Alfred and Captain Kirkland. You should read "Fidgeting" before reading this seeing as it is the prequel. It is only one page long. Here is a link to it: w w w . fan fiction s/7590656/1/Fidgeting
Summary: The kingdoms of the world have kept a strong hold on peace until a coup begins. Two crown princes are given to two pirate captains that must raise them to take their rightful places on the thrones. A continuation of Fidgeting. Human AU
Never Say Die
Chapter 1 – Raising the Rambunctious
Captain Arthur Kirkland gazed boredly at the rival pirate captain that was on his knees, visually begging for mercy. It was important to keep a menacing or indifferent expression when dealing with hostages or enemies. After all, Captain Kirkland could not afford to show a shred of compassion to anyone publicly. Though, of course, it was rather difficult to keep a stern stare while his new ward burbled and jabbered incessantly about a compass while subconsciously playing with Arthur's coat.
A slow smirk appeared on his face as he watched the man he conquered suffer from his ward's constant chatter. Only his brilliant green eyes looked down at the child. "Alfred," he spoke in a controlled tone that held a slight sharpness. The babe's head turned to stare straight up at his guardian's face. Arthur lifted his left index finger to his lips and curtly shushed Alfred, "Shh."
Alfred grinned brightly and pressed his right index finger to his lips, his finger pressing against his soft skin. He giggled and then mimicked Arthur, "Shbsth."
It would have been an adorable exchange if Captain Kirkland was not about to give an order. He returned his attention to one of his trusted crew mates, Ludwig Belschmidt. The crew mate was only sixteen, but he was far stronger than he looked and he could follow orders without hesitation. Alfred whispered and hummed under his breath while buttoning and unbuttoning the buttons on Arthur's coat as Arthur delivered his demand. "Ludwig," Captain Kirkland kept his curt tone, "strap a cannon ball to each of his ankles and toss him overboard."
"Yes, Captain," Ludwig answered immediately and respectfully before dragging the condemned man out of the captain's cabin.
Once the door closed, Captain Kirkland sighed deeply and his harsh expression dissipated immediately. He let his right leg down, pressing his right foot against the floorboards and allowing Alfred to sit more comfortably on his lap. "Alfred," Captain Kirkland ran a hand through his precious ward's hair, "you can't be such a distraction while I'm deciding on how to send someone away."
Alfred blew air up Arthur's sleeve as the hem of it rubbed against his nose. His bouncy voice hummed, "Was a disackton?"
Captain Kirkland laughed softly and wrapped his arms around Alfred, holding him to his chest. "A distraction is something that takes my attention away from what I need to focus on," he enunciated and explained.
Alfred pressed his small feet against Arthur's thighs, meeting Arthur's line of vision. His right hand reached up while his left hand rested on Arthur's right cheek and eyelashes. He pulled Captain Kirkland's pirate hat from its perch and let it drop onto his own head. Alfred mumbled while tipping the hat from side to side, "Imma distrahckshin?"
"You most assuredly are," Captain Kirkland continued the conversation as he stood up and nuzzled the tip of his nose against Alfred's left cheek.
Alfred giggled again and proceeded to hug the entirety of Arthur's face. "Awdur," he whined, "hungy. I'm hungy, Awdur."
Arthur's tone showed false worry, "Hungry?" He pulled Alfred from his face and stared into his eyes, "You are hungry yet again?" He let Alfred's body rest in his left arm as he used his right index finger to tickle Alfred's stomach, "Where do you store all of that food? I fear that you shall one day eat my entire ship and your belly will pop right open."
Alfred giggled and pushed at Arthur's finger, "I-I'm not gonna pop! …Am I?"
Arthur stopped his tickling and took the pirate hat from Alfred's head. He placed his valued symbol of authority back onto his cranium and strolled out of his cabin while holding Alfred. His gaze immediately hardened and his caring smile disappeared the moment he stepped outside onto the deck. He looked around, monitoring his crew's progress while talking to Alfred, "Of course you're not going to pop, poppet. Now, what is it you want to eat?"
Alfred stared at the gulls that flew overhead and he waved his arms all around, attempting to grab one. He grunted and hopped a bit, "Hamburger. I wanna hamburger!"
Captain Kirkland's gaze returned to his ward and he seemed slightly confused. He passed the word 'hamburger' through his toddler/adult translator in his mind, but he simply could not understand what the child demanded. "Alfred," He spoke sharply in order to obtain Alfred's attention. Alfred stopped reaching for the seagulls and met with Captain Kirkland's line of vision. Arthur asked, "What is a hamburger?"
"A hamburger," Alfred spoke slowly as if processing the word, "is…a…hamburger." He paused and then grinned as he went on speaking, "is a burger. Is a hamburger. Is a burger. Is a hamburger." The child repeated the phrase and even added a fluctuation to the sound to sing it. His head bounced from side to side in tune with his humming.
Captain Kirkland bit his lip to keep from laughing at the excruciatingly cute display. He cleared his throat and spoke sharply again, "Alfred!" Alfred stopped his singing and his lips retreated to the inside of his mouth. Arthur stared at Alfred as the child bit his lip and formed his lips into all sorts of shapes. It was when Alfred was trying to pull his top lip over his nose and his bottom lip past his chin that Arthur set Alfred down on the wooden deck. He held both of Alfred's forearms away from his face. "Alfred," Captain Kirkland nearly hissed, "is there anyone else on this ship that knows what a hamburger is?"
Alfred nodded his head multiple times, but stopped when his guardian pressed his forehead against his. "Hamburgers make my tummy have a happy," He responded with a straight face.
Arthur snorted and ducked his head down in order to cover his expression and silent laughter. Once he regained composure, Arthur let go of Alfred's forearms and told him, "Show me who else knows what a hamburger is."
Alfred nodded again and ran across the deck with his shoeless feet. "Ludwid," he shouted at the top of his lungs, "Ludwid!"
Ludwig was leaning on the ship's railing, staring down at the receding bubbles of air in the water. He turned around just in time to see Alfred leap up at him. Ludwig gasped and dodged Alfred's tackle.
Alfred's shriek of excitement followed him over the side of the ship. Captain Kirkland sprinted over to the railing. His scream for Alfred echoed, sending all of the crew's eyes straight to where Arthur was leaning over the edge of the railing. He began to strip off his hat and coat to dive in after the toddler. Ludwig pushed pass Captain Kirkland and dove down into the water near where Alfred had landed. A long trail of rope followed after Ludwig.
Arthur and the rest of the crew stared with wide eyes into the water. Air came to Arthur in strangled breaths and his eyes refused to blink. There was a hard tug on the rope and Captain Kirkland barked at his crew to pull the rope. His crew complied and yanked on the rope, pulling Ludwig and Alfred out of the salty water.
Alfred coughed and was crushed against Ludwig's chest. Once the two reached the banister, Captain Kirkland pried Alfred from Ludwig's arm and held him close. Arthur buried his face in Alfred's honey gold locks and calmed himself. After about a minute, Arthur looked up at Ludwig, his face stern again. "Thank you, Ludwig," his voice nearly broke.
Ludwig nodded as if to say 'you're welcome'.
Alfred mumbled against Arthur's chest and pushed against it. Arthur held Alfred out at arm's length. He asked, "What was that, poppet?"
A bright grin spread across the toddler's face, "I wanna do it again!" His arms waved all around in excitement.
Captain Kirkland swallowed and shook his head negatively, "N-no, Alfred. Let us just focus on lunch."
Alfred gasped and pressed the palms of his hands on his cheeks, "Oh, yeah!" He turned as best as he could towards Ludwig, "Ludwid! Ludwid! My tummy wans a happy!"
"Yes," Captain Kirkland echoed, "what is this 'hamburger' that Alfred desires so much?"
Ludwig's clear, blue eyes sparked in realization and a bit of a smile played onto his face. Alfred had remembered the sandwich made of bread and beef he had made him while they were still in Hamburg, Germany. "It is merely a sandwich I made for him," Ludwig answered, "It is made of ground beef and bread."
"Lettuce, tomato, onion," Alfred hummed under his breath the other ingredients he wanted to try on the sandwich as he squirmed against Arthur's hold on him.
Captain Kirkland hesitantly set the child on the ground, fearful that he'd jump over the side of the ship again. Instead, Alfred took Ludwig's hand and ran to the kitchen with him. Arthur sighed in relief. He was lucky to have so many babysitters on the crew. If he were to take care of Alfred all by himself, his body would surely give out from exhaustion. In fact, there was a surplus of babysitters that were all too glad to take care of Alfred once Arthur felt the need to rest. There was Ludwig, of course, and Alfred simply loved to cook with Feliciano, a sixteen year old Italian, in the kitchen. There was also the Russian pre-teen aboard, Ivan. Alfred often challenged him to feats of strength. Ivan always won, but that just caused Alfred to burn with a fire of determination and try harder next time. The rest of the crew would rarely admit to wanting to care for Alfred, but the babe's infectious grin and sparkling eyes were simply irresistible.
It was often that Alfred would take to sprinting across the deck, grabbing rope and dancing and jumping around with it. This constant jumping and dancing barefoot across a deck that was usually wet worried Arthur to great lengths. He was frightened and tended to wince whenever he saw Alfred in one of his humming fits, bouncing on the balls of his feet down the stairs or something of the like.
It was not every day that Alfred was allowed to accompany Captain Kirkland onto shore; in fact, Arthur nevertook Alfred with him when he went to shore. The other crewmates always managed to divide his attention enough to rile him up until he needed a nap. This plan had worked successfully every time they had stopped at a harbor, but this time, Captain Kirkland figured that Alfred was old enough to have shoes.
When Arthur told Alfred that he was going to take him on land, Alfred's sky blue eyes grew and shined like never before. "Land," he would breathe heavily, "I-I'm going on land!" He was nervous, yes, but he was going to be with his guardian. He would be safe even without all of the crew keeping their eyes on him. The feeling that was stronger than fear or nervousness was adrenaline - pure adrenaline. The thought of going on land terrified him and excited him to the point that he just had to run around the mast and shriek that he was finally going to be able to feel grass and sand.
It was a mystery where all of Alfred's exuberance came from. Every day, Arthur wondered how Alfred was related to his older twin brother, Matthew. The child was so meek and gentle - at least that's what he read from Francis's letters. It was regrettable that Captain Kirkland was not allowed to visit Matthew or even let Alfred know about his older twin brother until both of the twins were twenty-one. Arthur often thought that the separation of the crown princes of the United American Kingdoms was futile and unnecessarily painful, but then he remembered the coup and the full amount of danger Alfred and Matthew were actually in.
He liked to remember how small and adorable the twins were as infants. It was only a year and a half ago this whole arrangement started. Captain Arthur Kirkland and Captain Francis Bonnefoy were invited formally to the United American Kingdoms. As per usual, they hissed and spat insults at each other at the entrance to the regal castle which was stationed in the middle of the Americas. The two had arrived in normal attire for nobles. After all, they could not afford letting the monarchs of the Americas to know of their crimes as pirates. As the two entered the throne room, they viewed the King and Queen of the United American Kingdoms.
The king's crown was perched precariously upon his long, blonde hair. The fur of its hem had small clumps of black streaking through it as small bits of reflected light traveled through the sapphires, emeralds, and rubies that studded across the gold hoop. Lengthy cords of pale blonde sprouted from the upper right hand corner of the man's smooth forehead and were swept across the left side of his face. The majority of the king's hair was pulled back into a flawless tail of gold. His dark eyebrows were arched into a constant expression of suspicion. His bleak, gray blue eyes had a hint of sorrow embedded within them, only to be broken by small sparks of white light. His nose was slim and long and halted above a firm frown. The chin was strong and showed no signs of faltering. This was a king of great pride, great regret, and experience.
The first thing that the two pirate captains noticed about the queen was her simplistic accessories. The gold shine of her crown passed through and between the rubies, emeralds, and pearls. Each jewel seemed to show a deeper world than the next. The translucent, pale lace head covering was kept in place with the golden crown and it bent and curved against the queen's oval face. The strings of hair at the height of her forehead curled naturally, as if afraid to hinder the beauty of the queen's face. Her milky skin glowed with understanding and compassion. Her nose curved elegantly and balanced out her features. The glossy shine on her lips made them seem perfectly rounded and blended with her flawless complexion. Short, yellow lines made up her even brow; perfectly arched and balanced against the snow white flesh. The most striking features were her eyes. They were emotionless, yet calculating. Lilac and brown swirled around within her distant eyes. Little flecks of pure white dotted amongst the indifferent eyes that were framed with long strands of gold. Overall, the cold, distant eyes and delicately arched features gave her a feeling of charity and strength.
Beside the Queen was a turquoise carriage of which the contents were unknown. That is, until, it began to shake slightly. Both of the captains' eyes diverted slightly to the elegant carriage with thin, gold wheels that were mounted on its sides. They saw one small, chubby hand reach and stretch from its resting place. Three more hands joined the first in reaching up high for the lace that lined the hood of the carriage. The two captains concluded that there were two babies in the carriage.
Arthur Kirkland looked back to the queen. Her graceful eyebrows tilted up in the center of her forehead, giving her a look of sadness. A feeling of regret lingered in her amethyst eyes as she stood and silently walked three feet to the carriage. Her slender fingers reached into the cradle and felt the soft skin of her babes.
The king tore his gaze away from his queen and then looked to the pirate captains. "Arthur Kirkland, Francis Bonnefoy," The King spoke in his strong voice while moving a rather long curl from his line of vision, "we welcome you to our kingdom."
Both Arthur and Francis bowed respectfully. "It is a pleasure to be here, your Highness," Arthur spoke in a serious tone and then stood straight.
"An honor," Francis echoed and mimicked Arthur, but Arthur did not take notice. He was too puzzled by the king's and queen's longing glances towards the cradle. "I cannot help but notice," Francis boldly began, catching Arthur's attention, "that your Highness keeps looking at the carriage."
Arthur subtly glared at Francis. He always knew that the French pirate was too forward and now he expected the King of the United American Kingdoms would silence him for it.
"Yes," The king answered, "yes, we both feel strongly that we must take precautions." Arthur directed his full attention back to the king, eager to hear what he was going to say. Precautions? Why should the United American Kingdoms take precautions? Why should anyone want to provoke such a rash kingdom? The king continued, "As you probably know, there are a great many people in my kingdom that disagree with my decisions." Yes, this was true. Arthur had heard that a coup would happen any day now. "They say that I've been too foolhardy and that I am killing my own people." The king's regretful expression turned into one of annoyance, "Of course people are going to die. This is the real world – people die." His tone heightened as he spoke on, "After all, to make a strong kingdom such as this, we must protect ourselves and the way to do that is to have the other kingdoms of the world fear us and – "
The queen cleared her throat just loud enough to interrupt the king. The king's furious, blue eyes darted to see the queen's calm gaze. He gulped lightly and licked his dry lips as he leaned back in his throne, relaxing. "What I am trying to say is that a coup is imminent and since there are so many people in my kingdom that hate me, we do not stand much of a chance. Here is where we require your immediate and most gracious assistance."
Arthur's eyes widened slightly as he understood. He looked to the queen, who lifted one of the babes from the cradle. Arthur glanced up at Francis to see if he understood as well. He could see the French man gulp inconspicuously. The king nodded, allowing the queen to explain the rest, "You two are to take the crown princes and raise them as if they were your own. Do not allow them to meet or know that they are the crown princes of the United American Kingdoms until they are both twenty-one. When that time comes, Alfred," The queen held the babe she held slightly to gesture that, that child was Alfred, "will rule the Middle American Kingdom and Matthew," she nodded to the other babe that was still reaching for the lace in the cradle, "will rule the Northern American Kingdom."
Arthur was no babysitter. He would have no part in this. Francis was even less interested. Take care of a baby crown prince as the United American Kingdoms would search, trying to slay them while trying to plunder and not get caught at the same time? Impossible, Arthur thought, utterly and completely impossible.
Arthur took a step forward, causing the king to lift his forearm. Arthur stopped and looked at the arm with a confused expression. "The second I lower my arm, the royal guard will burst into the room and cart you two off to the hangman's noose," He threatened, "You two can be replaced. We only chose you because you were so good at avoiding the eye of the kingdoms' navies. It is your choice; be hanged for your crimes as pirate captains, or raise my sons."
Both of the captains glared, not wanting to test how true that threat was. With a heavy sigh, the two agreed unanimously.
The queen's smile brightened a bit. "Arthur Kirkland," Her voice was of great contrast to the king's, "you shall raise Alfred, the younger twin." Arthur nodded in compliance and walked to the queen to receive the babe. He held out his arms, preparing to hold the child. The queen kissed her youngest son on his forehead as a tear slid down her cheek. She gently laid the younger twin in Arthur's waiting arms. Alfred moaned lightly before nuzzling against Arthur's green vest and promptly falling to sleep. A surge of peace and dread shot through Arthur's body as he realized that this child was to be his for the next twenty-one years. He nodded; he would try his hardest to raise the boy to be a fair and just king. Arthur walked back to the center of the room and stood beside Francis. "Francis Bonnefoy," The queen cleared her throat again to keep it from breaking, "you shall raise Matthew, the older twin."
After taking a look at how peaceful Alfred slept, Francis figured that Matthew would not be much more difficult. With slight hesitation, Francis strolled over to the queen. The queen reached into the cradle and held Matthew. Francis's eyes widened at the sight of Matthew's deep, lavender eyes. The babe stretched and yawned, causing a smile to grow on Francis's face. He accepted the child and spoke with a whisper, "Il est mignon." The queen smiled and thanked him in response. Francis walked back to Arthur and stood beside him.
The queen sat back down in her throne. One of her slender fingers wiped a tear from her cheek. "Remember," the king warned, "do not let them meet until they are both twenty-one at which time, they must come back to this kingdom and rule it." Both of the pirates nodded with new determination to carry out the job that had been cast upon them.
It was not long after Arthur Kirkland and Francis Bonnefoy had sailed away from the United American Kingdoms that the coup had started. Even now, as Alfred and Matthew were beginning to speak properly, the coup raged on. It was impressive how long the royal guard had lasted against the rebellion. Arthur just hoped and prayed that they would last.
A sharp tug on Captain Kirkland's arm interrupted him from his memories. Alfred shrieked with laughter as he swung from his guardian's red clad arm. The child could see the harbor in the distance. It would be only a matter of minutes before they reached the sea side town. Alfred was completely immersed in excitement and simply could not wait until he was to try on his new shoes. Sometimes Captain Kirkland figured that the queen knew how hyperactive Alfred really was and gave him to Arthur on purpose. She probably did. Arthur shrugged and swung his arm back and forth to amuse his ward. It did not matter now. At least Alfred was not much of a brat.
