~A Hero's Jacket~

by SeyLove

New york streets can be a mystery. Particularly in the nighttime hours when the stars wrap themselves around the city, guarding it from the outside dangers, confining it in its own world. To a small critter it is an adventure, everywhere another discovery, the night bringing the repose of birds and the freedom to roam. To a dignified being it is just another place to be housed and to use, just another place to put one's feet. But to a drunk man, wandering the streets in the lamplight, it can be constant terror, confusion, a obstacle that he has to overcome to survive the frigid darkness. Or it can also be a sanctum and a world of reconciliation.

There was a different kind of atmosphere at the Cherry Lips Jazz Lounge that night. On any usual night, the rooms would be filled with sounds of music and the clinking of plates and glasses and the subtle clack of pointed toed shoes and stiletto heels gliding across the floor in a personal rhythm to the music. This night, however, it was dead silent. All the usual customers had already fled from the place and there were only two living people left on the premise.

The light from the street was the only thing that framed their faces, making them look eerie, ghost-like. One of them, a boy, not older than 17, sat on a bench leaning heavily on the side. His eyes were glazed over and his legs were sprawled out in front of him, hardly holding him up. Next to him an exasperated figure stood, from her cherry lips perched a cigarette, freshly lit and releasing small curls of smoke into the air, which seemed to emulate the locks of her golden hair, which cascaded from her head in two neatly tied pigtails.

She opened her mouth to speak a few times, holding the cigarette out and leaning against the wall, but each time she seemed to have thought better of it. She eventually snubbed the cigarette out and tossed it to the ground, its black ash scattering across the pavement, she then turned to her partner.

"Why can't you ever behave?" She hissed at him, though her expression was more of tired bewilderment than anger. "Its prohibition Alfred! Do you even care?" The man, Alfred gave her a blank stare, as if he didn't understand the question. Finally a look of realization creeped onto his face and he sat up straight, about to say something, but the blank expression returned and he shrugged. "And what about your brother. Do you even care that he's going to grow up with an older brother that is constantly breaking the law?" Alfred paused for a second, mouth wide open. How dare she bring his brother into this.

"It's no use even talking to you is it? You're such an idiot sometimes. For one, you shouldn't be drinking at such a young age and for two I don't want you bringing your alcohol and drinking buddies into my lounge now is that clear Alfred?" Alfred seemed to understand this time but didn't seem able to form words, so she continued. "My dad worked hard to build up the reputation of this place and I won't have you destroying it now! Now you know I could very well leave you for another man, someone more my age. And you know very well that there are tons of men at my very beck and call. So why don't you do the th-!"

She was cut off abruptly by Alfred grabbing her shoulder, with a vice-like grip. "Just shut up!" he growled, "You're acting like I don't care about you! You're acting like you're oh SO much better than me! Well I'll tell you what. I don't need you or your money." With a low growl, Alfred swung at the girl, causing her to fall to the ground and quiver with the aftershock.

"Excuse me?" She muttered, trying to get back up, seeming not at all surprised.

Alfred growled and kicked her in the side, causing a low growl from her, "I don't need your sympathy. You're just a daddy's girl with her head stuck in a fairytale book. It's over Alice." Tears sprung to Alice's eyes but she continued to purse her lips in disgust as Alfred looked at her, then he simply walked away.

He walked, as anyone under the influence of alcohol would, a little off, and stumbled over his feet as he made his way down the sidewalk. The lights were dimly lit and it made the darkness of the night look even colder. After stumbling along for quite a while, he finally turned down into an alleyway, a one way crevice with two buildings bordering it and a small bench perfect for sitting on, pushed against the back wall. Alfred decided to make this his base for the night.

He plopped down on the bench, exhausted and confused. Definitely confused. He sat there for who knows how long, thinking about what just happened. What did he just do? He could hardly remember anything at all. But he did understand that it was something he knew he would regret when he was sober again. He brought his legs up to his chest, trying to keep out the cold and so he could think better. He thought that being in a smaller space he would have the ability to think better. He wasn't really thinking very well at all.

Which is why it didn't surprise him when a young boy came walking down into the alleyway, carrying a cup of coffee. The boy didn't seem to mind him, but came over and sat down next to him on the bench, quietly holding his treat, the warm steam spiraling upwards. The man gazed at the boy. The boy looked back at him, matching his gaze. He gazed at him, as if looking straight through him, then he thrust out the mug to Alfred smiling. Alfred wondered why he was being so generous, the kid looked much colder than him. But he figured if someone gives something to you, you ought to take it. So he did, downing the whole glass quickly as the warmth seeped through his body. He wiped his mouth on his arm and took another look at the boy.

He seemed about 10 or 12 ,not nearly old enough to be out at this time, and he wore a newsboy cap and a big bomber jacket that looked about twice his size. His face was round, but cute in a way, and he had bushy blonde eyebrows that reminded Alfred a bit of caterpillars. Now, because Alfred was beginning to sober up a bit, some responsibility struck his thoughts.

"Hey kid," He croaked, "What are you doing on the street at this hour?" The boy looked at him with a puzzled expression, then he looked at the mug he had given Alfred.

"Well I was taking that home," He thought for a second, "I should probably go get a new one now..." Alfred looked guiltily at the cup.

"Oh well... I'm sorry," He realized he had just taken something from a child, something only thugs and classless people did. But he thought, Hey, the kid offered it to me didn't he?

The boy shook his head, "It's alright. You looked like you needed it." He said kicking his dangling legs around in a fidgeting way. He sat there for a while and the longer Alfred looked at him the more appealing the coat around his shoulders looked. The boy looked warm and happy, the exact opposite of how Alfred was feeling. However, in fear of lowering his morality even more by taking that too, he kept his mind off it.

"So mister," The boy began, looking at him inquisitively for a moment, "Why are you out here?" Alfred frowned, he didn't want to recollect what happened, nor did he think it was really appropriate to tell a little kid, but he couldn't think of any excuses. Plus the youth's eyes seemed to be staring into him, it was unnerving. So he decided to to tell a little bit.

"I got into a fight," He stated

"With who?"

"My girlfriend."

"Why?" the boy asked, beginning to get on Alfred's nerves.

Alfred stared at him and replied, "None of your business, now go home kid." The boy frowned and looked up at him, immediately locking eyes with his superior. Then suddenly his gaze softened and his shoulders relaxed into the bench.

"You're a drunk aren't you? And you do illegal things and you waste your money on gambling and disrespect women and get into bar fights. Your girlfriend tries to help you but all you do is hit her. Funny, I didn't think someone like you could get a girl like that." Alfred was in shock. How the hell did this squirt know every single goddamn thing about him? Why was he acting so holier-than-thou anyways? What did he know about what was right or wrong. "And you have a little brother... you hit him too. Don't you?" This caught him completely off guard and he blinked a few times.

"S-so," He stammered out, "Why do you care?"

The boy thought for a second and shrugged, "I just do." He kicked his legs a few time in thought and then pulled out a small piece of paper from his pocket. He handed it to Alfred who took it with a quaking hand. It was an old photograph of three children, to the left, a boy with bright sparkling eyes and long, slightly girly hair, to the right, a girl with a curly ponytail attached to the side of her head and a tiny scowl on her face, and in the middle, the child that sat next to him. He forgot his anger completely.

"Who are they?"

"Those are my siblings," He smiled at the mere thought of them, "Well, they aren't actually my siblings. We're all adopted. We were all orphans on the street before. But legally we are all siblings now that Tino adopted us. Tino is really nice, he tries to care for us as much as he can. But him and Berwald, the man who lives with Tino, don't really make a lot of money. Taking care of three kids on a school teacher and gardeners budgets is hard. But we do the best we can to help them and we always try to be their 'little bit of sunshine'. That is we did until, Paulette..." He pointed to the girl,"Fell ill... She died only a few days ago. Both Tino and Romeo are sick with the same thing now. I was going to bring them coffee to try and warm them up but..." Alfred felt sick to his stomach. He felt terrible now for drinking the beverage and more terrible that the girl had died. He couldn't even begin to determine his regret. He grimaced but gestured for the boy to go on.

"We don't know what they got but we can't afford a doctor..." He sighed and looked at the ground a little. "But we can hope it passes over, and support each other through this."

"But how can you be sure?" Alfred asked desperately, "How do you know its worth it? Even after she..."

The boy shrugged and looked up at him, "I just do. When you love someone you just have to keep fighting for them."

Alfred thought for a moment, confused and comparing his life to the boys. How did a mere child stay so positive when his life was so hard and why was he, Alfred, so angry all the time when he had, what would have been a perfect life. The thought of his own brother growing so ill and dying chilled him to the core. Though he would never admit it, he wouldn't know how to get through life without his brother. He was kind, caring and only once had he ever told Alfred off. But still, there was many a time where he treated his brother like nothing, like he wasn't important at all. This was, of course, a lie. The difference between the way he treated his brother and the way the little blonde treated his siblings were vastly different and Alfred couldn't understand why it burdened him so much.

The kid cut off his thoughts and continued,"You know mister, you have to care for the people you love, because you never know when they'll be gone."

Alfred looked at the blonde haired boy, the one who was a much better person than he evens at such a young age, then he looked at the ground. He felt tears jumps to his eyes and puts his hand over his face to cover it.

"Is everything alright mister?" Al shook his head.

"How am I supposed to help them when I can't even help myself?" He cried. The boy pulled a rag out of his pocket and attempted to dry his companions eyes.

"You could start by being someone that will protect them. Someone they can rely on," He suggested casually. "Then maybe they can help you in return." Alfred looked up from his hand. The night began to fade and dawn was quickly coming, he could see a small light on the horizon. "You can start by apologizing," The boy nodded a little. Alfred nodded back and shivered. He had forgotten the cold until now an he realized that his arms and legs were covered in goose bumps.

The boy quickly noticed this and stood up, taking off his brown bomber and flung it over Alfred's slumped figure. He smiled as Alfred looked at him in confusion. He looked around the alley briefly, taking great interest in the mold on some of the bricks, then he turned toward Alfred again, looking expectantly at him.

A loud popping sound reverberated through the street as a car came speeding towards the small alleyway. Alfred knew immediately that he was going to be saved, that Alice had come to find him. He had to apologize. But how? The boy grinned at him and whispered,"You're a good person Alfred. You just need to be the hero that you were meant to be." Al didn't know what he meant at the time, but the words struck him as he stood up. He took the coat and held it out to the boy but he shook his head. "You can keep it." Alfred nodded a bit in thanks then pulled it on. The plush coat was a perfect fit.

Soon a car pulled in beside the alley way. Alfred turned to the boy who smiled at him and urged for him to go forward. Alfred nodded as the boy leaned back on the wall and headed forward, ready to greet Alice and apologize for what he'd done. He realized, however that he didn't catch the name of the boy and he turned around to ask him, however the boy was not there. He had completely disappeared. Alfred wondered how he left since it was a dead end alleyway, but he shook it off as a boy stepped out from the car, a boy a few years younger than he with pale blonde hair and beautiful purple eyes hidden behind a pair of glasses. When the door open he caught a glimpse of Alice, sitting calmly in the front seat of the car.

"Alfred!" The purple eyed boy cried, "We've been looking all over for you.

Alfred said nothing as tears once again obscured his vision. He shook his head as he took a step towards his brother. Another step. Another. Soon he was full out running and as he reached the - year old he flung his arms around him in a close embrace.

"Mattie I'm so sorry."

Authors note:

Hello everyone! Here's my first fanfiction ever to be put on this website. Its exciting isn't it? I did not have a beta tester for this one, which is unfortunate because I really need one so I can post a fic that I'm titling "Color Me the Sea" which is written completely around my favorite character Seychelles. So I guess you can say that this is sort of like a call for beta testers. Really I need some beta testers really badly so if anyone can help out that would be fantastic.

Now I'd like to note that I am not trying to preach any thing through this fanfiction and that somethings in here dont necessarily express my views. However I wanted a strong moral to root the story in and there you have it, it has a strong moral.

So until my next fanfic. Au revoir.