After The War

by paraduxks

Once upon a very long time ago, a new land was discovered. Hundreds of soldiers died to fight for it, their names lost to time. Finally, the war was won, but at a cost. Money was one, yes. Lives were lost as well, but that was not of the utmost importance to two soldiers. For Arthur, winning had only broken his heart.

4. 1773, later on

1773, later on. A sunny day in New York City.

Arthur was an idiot. He shouldn't have come, he should have just stayed home with the curtains drawn and a bottle of alcohol nestled within the crook of his arm, clothing gathering sweat and stench, but today, he had screwed up his courage. It would have been what Seamus wanted, it would have been what Alfred wanted, and it was what he wanted, hell, he wanted this with every fibre of his being. But God, was he afraid.
Fear was like a fine ale, stinging your throat and burning in your stomach. And Arthur was as well as balckout drunk.

He wanted to run away so goddamn bad, there wasn't enough joy. He was too afraid to do anything right...Then again, that was what Alfred had done. Alfred had been terrified during the war, but smiled through it. If Arthur could go back to the time when they could just hold each other all night long without a care in the world for anything but each other, he would do it in a heartbeat. If he could go back to the time when 'I'm not cold at all, stupid' would mean that he would be with Alfred until he was sweating and maybe longer, if it was snowing, he would already be back in the fort, curled against Alfred as they hid from the rest of the soldiers behind a pile of firewood, and when Alfred though that he had fallen asleep to the heartbeat drum, he would kiss the top of Arthur's head and ears and forehead and eyebrows until he grew bored of the subject and laid his head against some wood, pulling Arthur closer before he groaned softly and fell into slumber, he would already be there.

And he knocked on the door with that memory in mind. Everything was silent for a brief moment, and then the door opened, although not by Alfred, but by a heavily pregnant woman.

"Hello, dear, what can I do for you?" She asked, one hand portectively around her stomach, the other resting lazily atop it. Arthur only gazed at her bulging dress before the words

"I'm stupid. I shouldn't have come." left his lips.

"Who's at the door, Esther?" Came the voice of a man, from the inside of the house.

Arthur looked over the woman's shoulder, and noticed the sillhouette of a man.

"Oh, God..." He whispered, before turning tail and fleeing before he saw Alfred's face again.

Alfred arrived at the door, and stood next to his wife.

"Who was that?" He asked. She shook her head.

"I'm not sure. I've never seen him before. He had flaxen hair and green eyes, and quite large eyebrows. Anyone you know?" She asked, turning back into the hosue. Alfred's throat tightened.

"Esther. I'm going out."