American Trains
Chapter 3: Good Night
Warning: This story will contain: violence, character death, swearing, sexual acts (yaoi/slash/boyxboy, whatever you want to call it) and some sensitive material.
Hetalia and all its characters, etc. belong to Himayura Hidekaz. I own nothing but the plot, the cowboys and their horses. ;)
Beta-ed by ykwyh26 (Kay). :)
A/N: Hurray for chapter 3! :D
Again, Arthur tends to swear a bit so mild warning again. A tiny bit of affection between Alfie and Arthur if you squint with a high-powered microscope!
Hope you guys enjoy! I rather did enjoy writting this and looking up some information! *is a history buff*
Arthur leaned back in the saddle, his arms crossed before his chest. He watched the desert landscape as the horse beneath him walked with a slow steady beat that was lulling the American in front of him to sleep. When the cowboy slouched and slipped further against the saddle, Arthur felt obliged to give him a hard flick on the back of his neck.
Alfred yipped with a start and fixed his posture, then glared back at Arthur with a tired scowl. The Englishman offered a shrug and cocky smile.
"Didn't want you falling asleep at the reins is all." Alfred growled at this.
"There are nicer ways of doing that, y'know."
"I'm sure there are, however, that was my way."
"You're so lucky I'm a nice guy and I'm too tired to hit ya."
"Aren't I just a blessed fellow?" Arthur spit back rhetorically with an air of smugness.
Alfred shifted his glasses and sighed heavily. Arthur wasn't going to survive the night if he thought any of the other cowboys were going to put up with that attitude. He barely dealt with them, and that was mostly in silence.
"I guess I ought to warn ya."
"Warn me of what?" Arthur asked, curiosity getting the better of him as he unfolded his arms and leaned closer to Alfred. The cowboy chuckled and rubbed his tired eyes.
"That you'll get yourself shot or left behind if you start talkin' like that to anybody but me." He said with a lazy smile. "Just yer fair warnin' now."
Arthur scoffed and flicked Alfred's neck again.
"I'm hardly afraid of your rag-tag band of cattle drivers."
"Ya should be. They got guns and horses; ya got a shredded suit and a limp." Alfred rubbed the back of his neck where Arthur had left a painful red mark just above the tie of his dark blue bandana.
"Oh shut up." Arthur retorted, crossing his arms again and glaring out into the desert night once more.
Alfred obeyed as they moved closer to the camp, the light of the dimming fire beginning to glow lightly against their skins. The soft clap of the horse's hooves must have alerted a light sleeper as Alfred could see a firelight-silhouetted figure sit up.
"Hey, that you Al?" The figure called into the darkness in a sleep hoarse voice. The American recognized the voice and called back.
"Yeah, it's me Jem! Wake the others, I found somethin'!"
"Someone, my dear brute. I am not a 'thing.'" Arthur grumbled and he hovered his hand over the nape of Alfred's neck again.
"Alright, alright! Don't flick me again! It's already gonna bruiseā¦" The Englishman lowered his hand.
"Good boy."
The other cowboy, Jem, had started to stir the others and by the time Alfred brought his horse to a halt near the edge of the fire pit, all the others were more or less awake, forming a semi-circle around Alfred, Arthur and their horse.
Alfred dismounted and offered a hand to help Arthur down, who promptly ignored the offering and slid off on his own. He winced as feet hit the ground and his legs visibly shuddered. He gave the American a pointed glare, as if daring him to say anything of it. Alfred merely shrugged and turned to face the others of his working team.
"So, while y'all were sleepin' I found this here fellow." Finishing with a motion of his hand to Arthur, who had inched closer, and stood behind Alfred. While he'd claimed to be unafraid of the cattle drivers, looking at them now started to form doubts in his head. There were more of them than he'd first guessed, and they certainly did look a lot rougher and meaner than Alfred.
One of them stepped up to Alfred and reached his arm to clamp his hand onto Arthur's upper arm and nearly dragged the unwilling Brit out from behind the cowboy.
"Let's see your catch then, Al." The other cowboy gruffly spoke out.
"Unhand me this instant!" Arthur barked sharply, tugging in vain to escape the rough man's vice.
The cowboys, excluding Alfred, laughed and the emerald-eyed man suddenly felt small. They were unnerving, the whole lot of them and their ugly jeers only made it worse. The man who had grabbed him shoved him roughly to the cowboy beside him. Another bruising grip on his arm ensued.
"I said let go of me!" Arthur sputtered out, much weaker then he'd intended. Alfred stepped in then, hooked his fingers in the neckline of Arthur's suit jacket and pulled him back. The startled Englishman crashed against the American's chest and was surprised the man behind him managed to not only keep his balance, but also actually stay stock-still.
"Quit messin' with 'im." The taller blond threatened, his voice low with warning.
The Brit picked himself up off Alfred and tried to regain a scrap of his dignity before brushing the dust marks of his dark green suit jacket with a false, but aloof smirk.
"Aww, Al we wasn't gonna hurt 'im or nothin'! Calm down!" Said the first cowboy who'd grabbed Arthur with a cocky chuckle. Some others chimed in with a raucous chorus of agreement and Arthur found himself leering at them, feeling bolder with Alfred between himself and them again.
"I don't care. Ya leave 'im alone or y'all will be sorry! Ya hear?" Alfred growled out, taking his horse's bit and bridle mount in his hand and Arthur's forearm in the other. The others snarled out some form of consent and started to disperse back to their respective sleeping arrangements. All but one.
"Tie 'im up." The antagonizing cowboy from earlier ordered and threw Alfred a length of coarse rope that he'd pulled from his belt. It fell uselessly at Alfred's boots.
"Nah. He ain't goin' anywhere. He's got bummed legs." Alfred responded, not even attempting to catch the rope. Arthur made a comment about his legs being well enough to give Alfred a swift kick in the rear and but both cowboys ignored him, their eyes locked in a defiant glare.
"Not what I was meanin.' Don't want 'im creepin' 'round camp durin' the night. I ain't gettin' frisked or cut by some foreigner. Now tie 'im up."
"I said nah." Alfred responded back, kicking the rope off his boots and turning his horse's head around to go find a spot to settle for the night.
Suddenly a rough hand on Alfred's shoulder yanked him back forcing him to let go of the horse and Arthur as he was thrown to the ground. The tall blond hit the hard earth with a thud and gasped. He looked up to the other cowboy looming over him, the length of rope in his gloved hand again.
"I said to do it, Yank, and you're gonna do it or I will." The man threatened and dropped the rope on Alfred's chest. "Don't make me say it again." He turned and walked away to the other side of the fire.
Alfred groaned and got back to his feet, picking the rope up and walking back to Arthur and his horse. Arthur started to speak but Alfred clapped his hand over the Brit's mouth to silence him a moment, before turning him around. He brought Arthur's wrists behind his back, looping the rope expertly as he tied them together before bringing the rope back around his torso to bind his now useless arms to his middle.
"You fucking git! What the bloody Hell do you think you're doing? How dare-!"
"Arthur!" Alfred yelled sternly and the Brit hushed and looked back at Alfred to see the taller's bleary, tired eyes silently pleading to him. They weren't cruel at all, only weary and desperate. He raised an eyebrow in question.
"Please, just be quiet, would ya?" He asked with a heavy sigh and finished the knot. He took up the horse's lead and Arthur's arm again and led them both to a more secluded part of the camp, which was lightly sheltered by rocks.
He sat Arthur down against the rocks so he could lean back comfortably and finally tied the horse to a nearby rock. He undid the straps holding his Spencer Carbine and sleeping roll. He slung the gun over his shoulder by the strap and the roll under his arm to walk back to the little camp. He set the gun gently on its side and undid the roll; all the while avoid Arthur's accusing glare. When he set the gun down Arthur smirked. He knew a bit about guns. Enough to know the weapon was beautiful and new and likely well out of Alfred's typical price range.
"That's a very nice weapon for a cattle driver." He commented and squirmed against his bonds some.
"Couple months worth of wages, but she's worth it." Alfred answered blandly, still prepping his sleeping arrangements. "Better than what we had in the war."
"War?"
"The War of the States. Confederates versus the Union." Alfred answered and lay down on the cushioned material, lying close to Arthur.
"I take it you served?" Arthur inquired, finally ceasing his struggling. He was still furious at Alfred for tying him up, but his curiosity really was insatiable.
"Yeah, I fought for the Union. That's probably why the others don't like me much."
Arthur furrowed his brows. He'd certainly heard of the Americans' war, though it had already passed and hadn't involved him, besides business trade at home.
"What has it got to do with that?" He asked watching the American shift uncomfortably.
"After the war, a lot of the Confederates were hard pressed for jobs. No one wanted to hire losin' soldiers coming home from the battlefield. Good riders with good aim and the roughness ya need out here makes bein' a cowboy or cowhand yer only choice."
"So the others, they're ex-Confederates?"
"Yeah, some of 'em and they still holdin' grudges." The cowboy set his head down on the material, stretching out on his side.
Arthur nodded and waited a few moments.
"So soldier, care to untie me now?" He inquired smugly but didn't receive a response. "Alfred? Alfred Jones, are you listening to me?" The Englishman grumbled and stretched his cut leg out to tap Alfred's back, which faced him. Still no response.
"Barmy American! I know you are not asleep!" He snarled out and kicked Alfred's back, swearing as he reopened a cut on his thigh.
"Arthur?" Alfred mumbled and tried not to flinch as another kick hit his back.
"What!" Arthur roared.
"Go to sleep, please?" The cowboy pleaded with a soft sigh and felt the shoe on his back retreat.
Arthur felt his anger dissipate as he drew his leg back. The boy really did sound absolutely exhausted. The shorter blond spent the next few minutes watching the cowboy relax and finally drift to sleep, his breathing soft and even.
As Alfred's soft snores filled the air, Arthur squirmed until he managed to get his fingers into his trouser pockets and fished around. The Englishman clicked his tongue as he carefully pulled the slick gold penknife from his pocket. Undoing the cap with a bit of maneuvering he turned the blade to slice at the ropes binding his wrists. A few minutes later, he had the ropes frayed and lying in a slack circle around himself.
Recapping the penknife and slipping it back in his pocket, he scooted up to the sleeping American.
"Really now, Alfred? Didn't think to search me for anything?" Arthur chuckled. "You're rather lucky I owe you a favor. Anyone else and my knife would have been meant for their throat." He muttered darkly, knowing Alfred couldn't comprehend the information in his sleep.
The Brit sighed and rubbed the heels of his palms against his eyes. It had been a long day for Arthur as well and he lowered himself to the ground facing away from Alfred; their shoulder blades brushed. Even though the air was chill without the warmth of the other cowboys' fire nearby, Alfred's body heat seeping through their clothing warmed the Brit well enough.
The cowboy muttered something in his sleep as the Englishman's back brushed his and Arthur smiled lightly.
"Good night, you bloody brute." The shorter mumbled and let sleep claim him with a tiny sigh.
A/N: so let me just explain the history tid bits if anyone cares.
Yes, Alfie did serve in the Civil War; however you'll notice I didn't call it that. It's very rare for a 'civil war' to be called a civil war during or right after it's ended. I'm not sure when it started to be called the American Civil War. However since the story is set in 1870 which is about 5 years after it ended I wasn't sure it would be called that at the time. It was however referred to as the 'War of the States' by some and I think even by some generals so I went with that. You all got the idea, right?
Alfie's gun is a Spencer Carbine 1865 .45, 7 shot. It's a levered gun that shoots very quickly for the time. It shot about as fast a common revolver and was extremely reliable. By this time though guns had begun to be very expensive, especially on a cowboy's crappy salary. Many cowboys went unarmed (gun wise at least) on some of these trails. Hollywood will tell you otherwise, but they'd done so for some long amount of years so yeah... btw, the part about months worth of salary to afford? Tru factz. ;)
Civil war veterans often did move west after the war. Hardships certainly did hit the South after the war and being a cowboy was a perfect match for many soldiers' skill set. There was a quite a bit grudging held after the loss of the Confederacy even though the majority of people were tired of the fighting. I'd imagine the common soldier would feel rather poorly as well. Alfie being an ex-Union soldier makes him a perfect target for the sore ex-Confederacy cowboys around him.
And now you know why Alfie is miserable around his fellow cowboys! They practically want to shot the guy...Hell they were only doing just that for 4-ish years!
The pen knife. Marvelous little toy if I do say so myself! You could very well write with it, but the end held a wedge shaped blade. It wasn't a machete but it could cut rope and skin with a little effort.
*End history rant*
Do feel free to correct me if I was wrong. I'm taking AP US History this coming year so I did do some early research on the course! That and I simply love History so I just looked up random things and keep bits of info like this. I'd love to learn more if anyone wants to let me in on it! :D
Reviews. They make me smile. :D
