Finally. Finally it had happened, when Arthur snapped. When Arthur snapped and told his brother off. Which only earned him a bad burn on the corner of his mouth, several burns up and down his arms, plus a push down the stairs. Lyle, his brother, is never right in the head. Well, I mean, he is, but...

Lyle was sober when he attacked my husband, and I'm almost afraid to know what it's like when he's drunk. I had heard strange noises by the door, but paid no attention to them. Arthur had called earlier and said he was going to be late for work. Then he walked into the house, calm. As if nothing had happened. He shut the door quietly, staggered to me and my place on the couch. He had his head down, but I could see the blood dripping off his chin, staining his clothes and running down his neck like a branching red river.

"A- Arthur!" I said, a sharp edge of worry panging in my voice, clear as day. "Are you okay? Oh my God, what happened to you?" He shook his head as I stood, clinging to me like a child.

"N- no." Came his weak, quiet reply. It was soft, but was shaky and almost sounded like he was speaking a different language.

I picked him up bridal-style, carrying him to the bathroom. "Shit, Iggy... You're covered in blood," I said, picking up the pace. I turned the corner to the hallway, then turned right, kicking open the door and setting him on a stool. He refused to let go of me; I could feel him shaking. He was a wreck. I started drawing a bath for him.

"What happened?" I asked again, firmly this time.

Arthur shook his head. "L- Lyle, h- he..." His voice seemed to get carried away by a nonexistant wind. I gave him a sharp look at hearing the Scot's name.

"What did that bastard do?" I almost shouted. I stopped what I was doing and glared at Arthur with sharp eyes. "Huh? What did he do?"

He shook his head once more. "He hates me..." He whispered in his soft, nervous voice. I could see him wince, his hand shooting up to cover the bleeding wound on the corner of his mouth. I later figured out that it hurt him to even open his mouth the slightest bit due to the burn, but Arthur... He's tough. He fought most of it out.

I practically growled like an angry dog. I gently helped Arthur out of his clothes, not being able to ignore the several burns on his arms. I led him to the bath and helped him into the water. "Wait 'till I get my hands on that bastard..." I caught myself clentching my fists. I uncurled my fingers and huffed.

Arthur stared at me, wide-eyed. "No, no, no, no," he stated quickly. But his words were hardly audiable and quite shaky. "He's g- going to hurt you, Alfred." I heard him sniffle a little. He was holding back tears, I know it. He was not like the Arthur I knew anymore...

"Do you really think I will sit back and let him do this? What kind of hero would I be if I let the villain do this?"

I had gotten no reply from him for a moment, before he spoke. "Just.. D-don't... He's... even worse when he's drunk, he g- gets drunk every other day... If you decide to go after him.. Fat chance says he'll be sober..."

I just gave him no answer. I grabbed hold of a rag, wet it down with warm, clean water, and began rubbing away the blood as gently as I could. Arthur gritted his teeth. It hurt, I could tell. He turned his head away. "Listen to me. Don't worry about i- it."

I love Arthur's voice. His accent, the way he speaks. It seems to suit him perfectly. But I can't stand hearing it when he's upset. When he's angry. When he's about to burst into tears. When his emotions are so mixed up, you can't even tell what he's feeling. I just ignored him. I began to rub shampoo into his hair as gently as possible. Arthur sighed and I felt him relax a little. But he was still very tense. His muscles on his shoulders and neck looked like they hurt so bad, being so tight and knotted. They looked and felt as if someone stuffed a large, flat stone under his skin.

"And he just... Walked away..."

I guess I had gotten a big rough with the rubbing, because Arthur said, "Hey, hey... Alfred.. It's alright, c- calm down... It's okay..." I stopped and mumbled a pathetic "Sorry."

"It's alright... One day I'll have things settled with him, I- I'm sure." Arthur. I can tell. You are far from sure. You don't sound anywhere close to sure.

I sighed, shaking my head and continued gently. "He steps one foot on my property and I'll show him who's boss..."

"H- he won't, that I'm sure of, t- too. ... "

"But if he does, don't stop me."

"Why shouldn't I? Alfred... I'd be worried sick if you went after him... You don't know him like I do..." And I knew that. I knew that Arthur knew his own brother and his ways better than I. But I didn't care. I snapped.

" Because I have to make sure that you and Benny stay safe! That is what is important to me!"

Benny... Our sweet son... I love him to death. If anything happened to him, I'd be devestated.

Arthur turned his gaze to the wall and said nothing. Almost like he was mute.

I started yelling. I regret that... "I won't hesitate to throw myself in front of a bullet for you two! I won't hesitate to take my own life for you two!" I pointed to the wedding ring on my hand... "When I said "I do", That was my promise to protect you. When I held Benny for the first time, I promised him I'll protect you both."

Arthur shook his head as a little tear ran down his face. "... I ... "

I had shot Arthur the worst glare ever. I stomped out of the room, punching a wall in the process. Arthur buried his face in his hands, mumbling.

"This is all my fault..." He rinsed his hair, grabbing a towel and wrapping it around his waist, finding me after a few moments and gently touched my arm. "Love...?"

I was... Silent for a moment. As if waiting for a tree to fall, waiting for time to stop, basically anything. Then I asnwered. "What..."

"I know... How you feel right now... I know you just want to protect family and everything... I know. Just... It's going to be fine... Everything is..."

I didn't even look at him, nor say a word.

"Alfred..." His voice was shaking. "Alfred... Look at me..." I couldn't help but glance at the little hole at the corner of his mouth. The blood stopped seeping out of it. Slowly, it was drying. The skin around it was purple and crusted, burnt, nasty looking. It looked so painful.. I couldn't even think for a moment, just trying to simply immagine his pain. "It's okay.. " He finished, and I snapped out of my little daydream. I shrugged his hand away, walking toward to kitchen. Arthur just stood there a moment, shaking his head, then follows behind me slowly, hesitantly.

" ... Why won't you answer me?"

I turned around, my once vibrant blue eyes a darker shade of blue and my smile replaced with a blank expression. " I... Need some time to think..."

The Brit stared at the floor, curling and uncurling his fingers nervously. "... Want me to leave?"

I let a single tear fall. "I... Don't know.. " Arthur looked up for a moment, wiping the tear away for me.

"I will.. I- if you'd like, if it makes things easier..."

I shook my head, walking out to the living room and grabbed my coat off of the couch. "No, I'll go. ..." Arthur gave me no answer as I walked out the door.