(A/N: BOOSH, here is the second chapter, I hope I haven't been keeping you all waiting for long. Meh, I don't know and don't care; I don't know who would even bother reading crappy works of mine T-T
TO THOSE PEOPLE WHO READ THE LAST CHAPTER, SORRY IF YOU SAW FUCKED UP FORMATTING, LIKE IDK WHAT HAPPENED, THANKS TO A GUEST FOR REVIEWING AND SAYING THAT, I GOT IT FIXED! THANKS GUEST! YOU'RE AWESOME!
So yeah, more of "Alfred" and "Arthur", eh? x'D I don't plan for this to be a long fanfic, just a short story of fluffy US x UK and that's the end of it. Though…
I never said I planned for this to have a happy ending, right~? )
…
"Arthur? Shall I call you Prince Arthur then? As a token of respect?" Alfred couldn't help but tease around with the other, enjoying the irritated look that flashed across his face.
"I'd prefer it if you didn't. Frankly, despite my many years of royalty, I can't stand it when people bows at me wherever I go, addressing me so formally as if I'll kill them if they didn't." His tone became spiteful, though he kept a bored look.
Alfred could only gaze for a moment, then break into a smile, "You're one rebellious Prince, aren't you? Your royal ass must be in pain right now, eh?"
Arthur scowled down at him, "Terrible play of words, if you ask me."
"Well I didn't." The other snapped back just as peevishly.
Seeing his arrogant attitude, Arthur couldn't help but feel interested in the other man, "So, if you're my country's most dangerous outlaw, why are you out here? Did you escape?"
Alfred could only laugh at the simple, stupid question, "Well of course I escaped. Oh no, I mean, the guards let me out for a breath of fresh air and all that, of course!"
The other grinned back at him, a rather cruel smile, "I only asked because if you were such a high-level criminal imprisoned, how the bloody hell did you escape? Even though I don't know much of my own kingdom, I'm still fairly confident that at least we know how to keep our prisoners trapped."
Laughing, Alfred started to ease up despite the situation he was in, "Well, your royal pain in the ass, I would like to say I was wrongly accused, but I know you won't take any of that shit. Of course, rather I'd like to think myself as the Hero! And so, because I am the Hero, I easily have the skills to escape when I'm put in a disadvantageous position, don't you think?" Arthur was intrigued by his choice of words, especially his flamboyant attitude.
"Fair enough, I really could care less who you are right now, or what you've done." His tone went back to being lazy.
"Even under the possibility I could kill you, if I hadn't told you the truth?" Alfred challenged him.
Arthur gazed down at him, yawning slightly, "No, I would care about my own life. It's just that…" He seemed to have trouble saying what he wanted to say, "It's just that…I didn't really find you intimidating at all in the first place. Sure you appeared out of nowhere, looking scuffed up as you are now, but I saw the look on your face." Turning back to face away from Alfred, he spoke out calmly.
"That look on your face…it was one of someone who was desperate to flee, to flee from something that they didn't deserve." Alfred tilted his head slightly, taking in his words.
After a moment of silence, he then answered, "Is that so? Well, you'll be the first royal pain in the ass I have respect for. Not judging others so quickly without knowing about them first…"
Arthur grinned, "Well nice to know someone I've met personally immediately has taken a liking to me, but not in that kind of way." It took Alfred a moment to realize what Arthur had meant in the last part.
Immediately, his cheeks brightened up to a faint blush, "I didn't know you were into that kind of stuff, Your Majesty." Though he continued to tease the other, he turned away to hide his burning cheeks.
Arthur jumped up, a faint blush also emerging on his pale skin, even though he had been the one to say such things in the first place, "And I didn't know you knew such things—perhaps you're the one interested in such things?"
The outlaw merely sighed, sitting down, "Let's just stop now, alright? Or else we're going to be going into really deep and touchy subjects, for the both of us."
Frowning, Arthur's green eyes seemed to glitter in the dark, "What are you saying?"
"Guards talk a lot, even down on my level. I know all about the marriage proposal—I just didn't expect that you'd be one of them." Laughing again, Alfred turned away for a moment, a mischievous smile on his lips, "So…the two kingdoms that are making a peace treaty through a marriage proposal…both has only Princes, eh? So in other words, you're marrying another man."
Immediately, Arthur's entire face glowed a sunset red, "S-Shut up! Bloody wanker! I didn't decide this, nor did I expect such!"
Alfred could only laugh even more loudly, falling onto his back and heaving, "So, I bet you'd be the bride if it came down to it, right? I'll admit, you're older than me, but your build just seem too…delicate and docile." Arthur could only flare up more, but he couldn't deny Alfred's words.
Gazing down at him, he noticed that Alfred had a strong build, despite the many scars on his body from his imprisonment. Then he gazed down at himself, noting how frail he seemed due to royal treatment. He sighed in defeat, accepting Alfred's words, "Don't tease me too much about it, alright?"
Alfred smiled widely, "Alright, for now anyways." He couldn't help laughing again, though wincing as his muscles started to ache from his running earlier, the sore throbbing mainly aimed at his wounds.
Arthur frowned in worry a little, then looked around for a moment, "Those wounds…they seem bad."
"You don't say, Arthur?" His cerulean eyes were filled with pain, even his smile became that of a grimace.
Not knowing why, Arthur felt a little skip in his heartbeat when Alfred said his name finally, then shook to clear his head. Continuing to look around, he then noticed a tree quite close to the balcony he was on, having a branch right next to drop off from, conveniently. Taking a deep breath, he steeled himself for what he was going to say next.
"Oi, Alfred, maybe I can take a look at your wounds for you." Alfred's head shot up just as quickly the moment Arthur was done talking.
His eyes were filled with disbelief, his brows furrowed, "You've got to be joking."
He shook his head, a faint smile on his lips, "Not at all. I already told you earlier that I don't believe you're dangerous." Then, he pointed at the tree he had seen earlier, "Come on up, if you can climb that is."
Alfred quickly struggled to his feet, "Of course I can! Don't you dare go calling for the guards later, or I'll become a real criminal worthy of blame." Immediately, he went to the tree Arthur pointed out, taking a firm hold upon the trunk before easing himself up.
"Oh, you mean murder me in anger and betrayal? Hilarious. I wouldn't sink that low, I have my own pride, you know. And I was talking about your wounds earlier, I was worried thinking you couldn't climb because of your wounds." Arthur rolled his eyes in exasperation.
Alfred merely replied by scurrying up the tree with ease despite his size, then sidle onto the branch that overhung next to the balcony, and dropped down. He grinned as he landed besides Arthur, staying in a crouched position, "Hello there, Prince Arthur." Arthur scowled.
"I'll push you off," he threatened, getting out of his bored stupor and placing both hands on Alfred's arms.
Grinning, Alfred merely placed both hands on Arthur's waist, then lifting him up and over his shoulder, "It's cold out, Your Majesty, you should be inside." He chuckled as Arthur started to hit his back over and over.
"I know that I find pity for you and wish to help you, but you have no right in treating me this way! Get off me, you prat!" As soon as he said that to Alfred, he immediately dropped Arthur, letting him fall onto the ground in a messy heap.
A string of colorful swear words slipped past his lips as he did so, Alfred merely stooped down next to him, a cheeky smile on his lips, "Did that hurt your royal ass?"
Arthur gazed up at him angrily, then reached up to flick Alfred in the head, finding no other violent methods to express his irritation. Interestingly, Alfred flinched, then rubbed a hand over the spot, "Ouch…that hurt, you know."
"Pfft, what do you think? It wasn't made to feel good, and I'm sure that you've…" He gazed at the numerous wounds on Alfred's body, "That you've suffered worse…"
Alfred noticed his gaze, then smiled a little sadly, "Yeah well…it doesn't really matter now, right? Anyways, weren't you going to help me fix them up or something? You invited me, a supposed dangerous man, up into your room already."
Arthur scowled a little, becoming more and more easily irritated with his sassy attitude, but made no comments about it. Sighing, he looked around for a moment, then pointed at Alfred, "You, go out on the walkway leading off to the side from the balcony." He pointed to the side, Alfred then noticing that the balcony branched off to create a relatively wide walkway bordering the walls of the castle.
Arthur brought his attention back, continuing his simple instructions, "Just…stay at the far end and hide yourself, alright? I'll go request for a few medical supplies, I'll come get you when it's safe again." To his surprise, Alfred nodded in agreement immediately, then turned on his heel and walked out onto the walkway.
The young prince didn't know how to feel; a little pleased to see someone cooperate with him so easily, but also a knot of pain in his heart. Alfred seemed too…trusting, even if he was just playing along, Arthur didn't feel good about it. Of course, he had no damn intention of giving Alfred away! It wasn't part of his business—directly, so he didn't need to say anything, right?
Shaking his head to clear the thoughts, he strode back into the room, shutting the door to the balcony behind him. His room was massive, probably the size of a cottage itself, then there was also another door leading off to the bathroom, smaller than the main room but still plenty big. He walked to the grand double doors that led out from his room to the hallway outside, which connected to the rest of the castle itself.
He pulled on thick, gold rope tassel that hung beside the doors, knowing that down in the Servant's Quarters, a bell would be ringing for his room. After giving the tassel a few more tugs, he released it before walking back to his bed, sitting there patiently. In less than a few minutes, there was a knock on his door, "Come in," Arthur answered, folding his hands lightly.
A tall butler came walking in, a solemn look on his youthful face. He walked over to wear Arthur sat on his bed, standing in front of him, "What can I do for you, Young Master?" He bowed respectfully as he asked, his raven-like coat tails fluttering a bit.
Arthur unfolded his hands, crossing his arms, "I would like for you to go fetch me some medical supplies, Berwald." Berwald's eyes immediately widened, he straightened up immediately.
"Are you hurt, Young Master? Do you need tending to for your wounds?" The solemn look on his face changed slightly to show a worried look.
The other shook his head, "No, nothing of that sort. Just please fetch me medical supplies used for…umm, cuts? Shallow wounds?" Berwald immediately nodded, even though Arthur gave him vague instructions.
He bowed once more to Arthur, "Of course, I shall return shortly, Young Master." Then, he turned away from Arthur and walked out of the room.
Arthur only had to sit around for another few minutes before Berwald returned with his requested supplies, asking for permission to show Arthur what was what. He gave the butler permission, his attention focused upon every word Berwald said, and studied each tool and supply held up to him for show. When the explanation was done, Berwald got up once more, bowed again, then walked out of the room once more, closing the door firmly behind him.
Quickly, Arthur got up, walking towards the double doors before locking them from his side firmly, then dragged over a heavy chair from his wardrobe to block it for good measure. He turned to gaze back at the supplies set out on his bed, nodded to himself, then headed back out the door that led out to the balcony. Without wasting a moment, he headed down the walkway, twisting and turning until he came to the very end.
There, Alfred was crouched here, his head leaning against the wall of the castle, his body bunched up closely. Arthur quickly went over to him, kneeling down before lightly shaking Alfred, "Oi, you dolt! Come on, let's go now!" He shook Alfred again, but the other didn't stir.
Then, he froze, backing away from Alfred. No way… he thought to himself, his eyes wide in horror. He can't be! He isn't…dead, is he? He thought back on how Alfred was earlier, and didn't find anything wrong.
Alfred had been boisterous and energetic, though he admitted that his wounds had looked back, some still freshly bleeding. "H-Hey, you aren't dead, right? Don't play jokes, this isn't the time!" He nervously laughed, moving closer again to shake Alfred's arm.
Still, the other did not move.
Nervously, he looked at Alfred's chest, trying to see in the dark whether or not his chest was moving, showing that he was breathing. Gritting his teeth, he forced himself to move even closer to Alfred, laying the side of his head against the other's bare chest, trying in vain to hear his heartbeat.
There was a sudden yawn, then a surprised yelp, "U-Um…what are you doing?" Alfred gazed down at Arthur, his cheeks slightly tinged with red.
Arthur froze, not knowing how to react. In his last defense of dignity, he quickly drew back, an angry look on his face, "I thought you were dead, you bugger! I was scared out of my bloody mind!" Once more, he let loose a string of swear words, Alfred gazing at him in surprise as he did so.
When he was done ranting, Alfred chuckled slightly, wincing from time to time, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. It's just…I've become a heavy sleeper as a way for me to…you know, escape the pain. It was my only way of peace and comfort, you understand?" He heaved his shoulders up and down, showing his defeat, an apologetic look on his face.
Arthur didn't know how to respond, rather now he felt like hitting himself for being so harsh on the other. He cleared his throat, standing up, "Well, whatever, it doesn't matter now. You can come in now, so hurry up!" Without a second glance back, he walked back from where he had come from.
Alfred smiled, grimacing a little before struggling to his feet and following after.
…
(A/N: Meh, I don't know any British swear words/terms tbh, so I dunno what I just said? Anywho, I hoped you enjoyed that chapter? I know it's not long, but I don't mean for the chapters to be long in this fanfic, y'know? Unlike all my other fanfics, this one doesn't have any serious planning, just a little fanfic passing by to read for fun, nothing hardcore.
So yeah, please motivate me by favoriting and following both me and the story, AND please please please leave a review, it'll make me so happy if you did ;-; )
~~~This is Tsunami signing off~~~
