Alfred awoke later than usual, far past dawn. He smiled, sighing contentedly as he reflected on the dream he had last night. That wonderful, blissful dream.
He had kissed Arthur.
And he had just looked so stunning, beautiful beyond description in the silver glow of the moon. Gods, how he wished it had been real. The fact that Arthur had been out in the Moor and not laid up made it painfully obvious to Alfred that it was all, indeed, a dream. A mere fantasy contrived by his wild imagination. But even so, he thought to himself with a smile, that didn't mean he didn't want to reflect upon it for a while.
He rolled over onto his back and yawned, stretching and looking up at the ceiling.
The ceiling lined with his trinkets.
Alfred sat bolt upright and whirled around; sure enough, he was lying in his own bed, where Arthur should have been. He frowned as he hurried out of bed and ran into Matt's room to don proper clothing-when had he fallen asleep there? Why was he wearing his coat? And more importantly, where had Arthur gone?
He nearly fell out of the door in his haste, cursing and grabbing haphazardly onto the doorframe before he lost his balance.
"Mornin,' Alfred," a familiar voice greeted, "Or should I say afternoon?"
"H-hey, Gil," Alfred stammered weakly, looking around, "What time is it?"
"Beats me," Gil answered with a shrug, "Your lazy ass just get outta bed? What's the matter with you?" he teased, punching Alfred playfully on the arm, "By the way, I started your work for ya before Fhinn noticed, but you need to hop to it soon," he added with an arched brow.
"Thanks. Where's Arthur?" Alfred blurted as he worriedly looked around.
"Who?" Gil asked, blinking, "Oh, you mean the new guy," he deduced with a nod, "Over there, talkin' with Leesy,"
Alfred followed Gil's arm as he gestured in the direction of the village. Arthur was perched upon a boulder, no doubt patiently listening to Leesy ramble on about the haunted Moor or other such nonsense. He made a beeline for them without thinking, hastily bolting past the tree in their front yard.
"Hey!" Gil exclaimed, stepping in front of him to block his path, "Why the rush? It's not like Leesy's gonna kill him or something, you loon,"
Alfred sighed, managing a weak chuckle. He had to keep himself in-check; he was starting to act crazy. That dream. That stupid dream.
"Sorry, Gil," he apologized with a shrug, "I just...he's my responsibility, you know?"
"Sure," Gil agreed as he clapped a hang on Alfred's shoulder, "and from what I've heard, you've been doing a great job," he praised with a smile as Alfred smiled back gratefully.
"So, what's his deal? I heard he got robbed or something?" Gil asked, leaning on the tree and folding his arms, "I mean, I can barely get a word outta 'im," he added with a scowl.
"Yeah, he got jumped and all of his wares got stolen," Alfred answered as he took a sidelong look at Arthur and Leesy. Arthur looked rather annoyed, actually-Leesy was probably lecturing him about wandering around and exacerbating his injury.
"And they dumped him in the Moor, of all places?" Gil asked, shaking his head and whistling lowly, "He's lucky you found him before the Folk did,"
Alfred nodded, frowning.
"Matt doesn't like him, though," Alfred muttered, mostly to himself. He wasn't certain why, but his brother had made it very plain that he wanted as little to do with their guest as possible, which suited Alfred just fine.
"Eh, Matt doesn't like me either," Gil snorted, "Maybe you'll luck out and he'll get married first. Then you get the house to yourself!" he added with a bark-like laugh.
"Heh. Yeah, maybe," Alfred muttered. He didn't really mind living with his brother, though.
"But that Arthur guy...kinda quiet, isn't he?" Gil asked, glancing over at Arthur and frowning uncertainly, "Not exactly friendly,"
"Cut him some slack, Gil," Alfred insisted as he frowned, "He's been through a lot. And having Leesy over here yelling at him probably isn't helping,"
"Yelling?" Gil blurted with a laugh, "I don't hear her yelling, Alfred,"
"You know what I mean," Alfred snapped as he began walking toward Arthur.
"Oh hey!" Gil said as he caught up, stopping Alfred in his tracks, "I forgot to mention-we're forming a hunting party, gonna leave in two days. You in? I know it's kinda short notice, but...ya know. We'll only go out for probably, like, five days or so. No big deal,"
Alfred paused. He loved going out into the wilderness, but with the current situation...
"What about Arthur?" he asked.
"Matt can watch him," Gil reasoned, "It's only gonna be for a few days,"
"No, he wouldn't like that," Alfred said, referring to Arthur and not to his brother, "That's not fair to him,"
"Fine, maybe Irunya can help out, yeah?" Gil suggested as he tilted his head, "Matt ought to love that, won't he?" he added as he wiggled his eyebrows.
"Well..."
"C'mon, Alfred! You're the best tracker in the village!" Gil whined.
"All right, all right, I'll ask them," Alfred conceded, throwing his hands into the air.
"Good man!" Gil praised as he clapped him on the back, "See ya soon, then!" he chirped as he darted off in the direction of the fields. Alfred barely heard him as he hurried over to where Arthur was seated.
"...told 'im he should worry more about 'imself than about any damned-oh, Alfred! Good afternoon!" Leesy greeted with a dazzling smile.
"Good afternoon," he muttered, bowing his head.
"I was just talking to our new friend here," Leesy continued in that signature high-pitched voice of hers, "Surprised to see 'im up and hobblin' all the way out here. Should be restin,' gettin' his strength back,"
"Uh...yeah," Alfred agreed, noting how Arthur's eyes had narrowed at her while she spoke, obviously irritated, "Hey, Leesy, you're probably busy, so-"
"Oh, don't be ridiculous!" she interrupted as she embraced Alfred and squeezed him, "I love talking to Arthur! It's...well, it's almost like I've found me another son," she added quietly.
Alfred smiled sadly, returning her embrace. She had been the one to raise him and Matt after their mother had died. Sweet, but gods help whoever crossed her. Alfred had a switch taken to his backside on many occasions as she made sure to "keep him in line." She wasn't as quick as Fhinn was to dole out punishment when he was a child, though, which was nice. She made sure to check in on him and Matt often, sometimes too often. But, really, he would never even think to not welcome her into his home. He and Matt were the only children Leesy had, after her son had died years ago.
"We've been discussing a great number of things, haven't we?" she asked Arthur with a wink, releasing Alfred and grinning at him.
"Indeed," Arthur said coolly, folding his arms.
"Alfred, dear, have you gathered up enough food for the chickens?" she pried as Alfred fought the urge to roll his eyes, "I noticed last week that you were running a little low and I just wanted to-"
"I've got it under control, Leesy, thank you," Alfred insisted with a grin, "I have twice what we'll need in storage,"
"Good, good," she praised with a crooked grin, "And did Gil tell you about the hunting party? I think it'd do ya good to get out,"
"Yes, he did," Alfred answered as he stole a look at Arthur. He had arched an eyebrow at him, clearly listening.
"Good. And yer goin,' right?" Leesy asked pointedly.
Alfred hesitated. He didn't want to leave Arthur, but this was the one thing he was useful for. Were it not for that, Alfred was fairly certain he would have been left in the wilderness to fend for himself years ago. The village couldn't afford to waste resources on someone who contributed nothing, after all.
"Yeah, I'm definitely in," Alfred answered as he forced a smile onto his face.
"Good! Oh, I'm glad," Leesy exclaimed as she clapped her hands excitedly, "Well, I'll let ya make preparations, then...see ya both soon!"
"See ya, Leesy," Alfred said as he waved her good-bye.
"Hunting party?" Arthur asked before Alfred even had a chance to open his mouth.
"Y-yeah, we're going out to bring back meat for the village," Alfred explained, feeling guilty for having to leave him, "You know...deer or elk, if we can find 'em, maybe a bear if we're lucky or-"
"When?" Arthur asked abruptly.
"Two days," Alfred responded, surprised. Arthur acted...upset?
"For how long?" Arthur asked with a thoughtful frown.
"Not too long...probably about five days or so?" Alfred guessed as the guilt came crashing down on him, "I-I mean, I wouldn't go if I didn't have to, but-"
"Five days," Arthur mused, looking down at the ground. Alfred squirmed, that damned dream from last night nagging in his mind's eye. He licked his lips, fancying vaguely that he could taste-
"If you don't want me to go, I won't," Alfred blurted suddenly, causing the other to look up at him in surprise. Gods, those green eyes.
"No, no, I understand," Arthur insisted with a small smile, "It'll just be much...quieter without you around, I suppose,"
"Y-yeah," Alfred laughed awkwardly as he watched Arthur's expression. As usual, he couldn't read him. At all.
"So I take it you're feeling better, being all the way out here and all," Alfred asked as he gestured toward the walking stick he had made for Arthur which was braced against the boulder, "You know, you're not supposed to be using this thing yet," he scolded.
"But I can," Arthur stated matter-of-factly, arching an eyebrow at him, "and it's not that far from your home," he added pointedly.
"Well, sure, but you're also going to mess your leg all up," Alfred pointed out as Arthur sighed.
"I've already been told all of this, I assure you," he said flatly, "I just...needed a change of scenery, I suppose,"
"Sorry, don't mean to be a nag," Alfred laughed as he cautiously sat down on the edge of the boulder beside Arthur, "I get it. I get like that a lot, actually," he added quietly.
Arthur was quiet for a moment, staring not at the village, but out in the direction of the Moor. Alfred eyed him warily, mouth going dry. Was he angry about him stealing his bed? What if Alfred had forced him to leave or something and didn't remember? And why had he had his jacket on?
"Did you sleep well, Alfred?" he asked after a time, turning to look at him. Alfred gulped, digging his fingernails into his palm to keep himself in-check.
"Uh..." he blurted stupidly, "...yes?"
"Well that didn't sound very convincing," Arthur said with a snort, the smallest of smiles perking up the edges of his lips, "You were quite restless last night,"
"I was?" Alfred squeaked as he felt heat rising in his cheeks, "I...well, I...Arthur, I'm sorry!" he spluttered, clutching his knees.
"For what?" Arthur asked innocently, those green eyes blinking at him.
"S-stealing your bed," Alfred mumbled, looking down at his hands, "I...did I kick you out or something?"
"What? No, no, nothing like that," Arthur said lightly, waving his hand.
"Oh," Alfred exhaled gratefully, "Oh, good. I was afraid that I-"
"You climbed into bed with me," Arthur stated frankly.
All rational thought ground to a screeching halt as Alfred snapped his gaze onto Arthur in horror. The other man tilted his head, obviously confused.
"Are you all right?" Arthur asked, "You turned rather pale just now,"
Alfred managed a few jumbled syllables as he struggled to collect himself. Oh gods, WHAT had he been THINKING? Was it something he had eaten before bed, perhaps? Damn Matt and his infernal vegetable dish he had made for supper that night, full of odd spices. Maybe one of them had done something to his mind, made him...sleepwalk?
"Uhh, w-well," he stammered as he sprang to his feet and stared out at the Moor, at the village, at a renegade chicken darting across the path-at anything that was not Arthur, "It's just...I didn't mean..."
He trailed off as, to his great surprise, Arthur laughed. Breathy and soft, more like a sigh. He reluctantly turned to look at him. Green met blue as Arthur shook his head.
"It's all right, Alfred, really," Arthur said, "It technically is your bed. You just wandered back into it, that's all,"
"But you...uh..." Alfred blundered, waving his hand, "...you know,"
"I didn't mind," Arthur added.
Oh.
Wait.
OH.
No way. It was simply too good to be true.
Stop it.
STOP.
"Uh, o-okay! I, uh, I'll make sure that doesn't happen again, then!" Alfred practically screamed as he hunched his shoulders to hide his blazing red ears, "I'll just...maybe I'll just lock myself in the wardrobe or something tonight so I won't sleepwalk-"
He cut himself off with a decidedly unmanly squeak as Arthur gently touched his shoulder. Alfred had missed seeing him stand up, too preoccupied with the present wave of sheer panic. To his surprise, no...odd feeling ensued. None at all.
"Alfred," Arthur stated.
"...yeah?" Alfred rasped, reluctantly turning to face him.
"I truly don't mind," Arthur insisted as he took his hand away, "I mean, it's fairly common, yes? You and Matthew were sharing a bed to accommodate me," he pointed out.
"Well, yeah, but he's my brother. You're..." Alfred blurted in horror before he could stop himself. He instantly regretted it at the look on Arthur's face. His eyes seemed to lose their brightness, somehow, ever so slight but enough that Alfred noticed. His mouth twitched into a frown as he nodded slowly and looked away.
"Ah. Of course," he stated simply as he took his walking stick and began hobbling his way back to the house.
"Wait!" Alfred shouted, cursing his lack of tact as he rushed to his side, "Arthur, I didn't mean-"
"I understand, Alfred," Arthur sighed, not stopping his walking (although it was painfully slow), "You are horrified at the idea of being so close to me. That's fine,"
"What? No!" Alfred blurted, "That's not it at all! I...I just feel like I invaded your space, that's all. I don't want to make you feel... you know, weird,"
"But I already explained that you didn't," Arthur pointed out.
Alfred gaped at him for a moment, snapping his jaw closed with an audible click.
"But you are obviously uncomfortable by it, which is fine," Arthur continued as he finally made his way up to Alfred's front door. He grasped the handle and pried the door open while Alfred stood in stunned silence.
That wasn't it. That wasn't it at ALL, but...
Alfred sighed, running his hands through his bangs as the door closed behind Arthur.
Arthur frowned, shaking his head as he entered the humans' home.
Two days?! He only had two days and then he'd be without Alfred for nearly a week. It was maddening. Sure, he finally discovers a wellspring of magical power that would be of use to him and it goes walking away.
Fantastic.
He dragged himself into what should have been Alfred's bedroom, his walking stick making loud thunking sounds on the floorboards. He hadn't killed Alfred the night before-thankfully-but he wouldn't be able to draw anything else from him safely at least until nightfall. No energy had seeped out of him upon Arthur touching him today. He had, in essence, mistakenly tapped the well dry. As an added point of annoyance, the healing process hadn't been as accelerated as he had hoped, but it had only been a single event. He had to be patient.
Which would prove to be a more difficult task than he'd anticipated, unfortunately. He knew the boy was (dare he even think it?) attracted to him, at least on some level, for him to pull Arthur into a kiss like that out on the marshy plains of the Moor. Arthur assumed it would be a simple task to get him to agree to bunk with him so he could feed on him at night, but that was not the case. Alfred had almost acted...disgusted.
Disgusted of him.
"Maybe it's because he can see you," his mind told him, mocking him.
"Stop it," he hissed, shaking his head furiously as he sank onto the bed. He closed his eyes and breathed through his nose, trying to calm himself. It didn't matter what Alfred thought of him, anyway. Arthur cared not for the affairs of humans. His task was to survive, to prove to those who had the audacity to exile him how wrong they were, to take revenge on that conniving, useless-
"It's better this way," Francis's voice soothed from somewhere in his mind, unbidden, "It isn't that I don't want to see you, but...this way, no one will see us. They won't ever find out about us as long as it's dark. You know how they talk. You wouldn't want that, would you? It's for our protection. To keep our secret safe,"
Arthur growled and hurled his walking stick across the room. It clattered to the floor as he drew his knees to his chest. His ankle throbbed angrily at him, not to mention his right hand, but he ignored them in favor of sulking. Who was he kidding? Alfred was only being kind to him because he simply didn't know any better. If he did, he would realize that Arthur ruined everyone who was unfortunate enough to get too close to him. He had even managed to ruin his own life.
He supposed the only exception had indeed been Francis. With him, there was simply nothing left for Arthur to extinguish. He was strangely empty. That's why...why Arthur had thought, perhaps...
Enough.
But that was Arthur's purpose in life, wasn't it? To ruin. To destroy. As much as he tried, that was what always happened. With every single life bound to his own.
He looked up as footsteps bounded into the house. Alfred appeared in the doorway, smiling.
"Hey, what are you doing inside?" he asked as he walked in. He paused to throw a wary glance at the walking stick lying on the opposite side of the room.
Arthur drew his knees closer to his chest, eyeing the human suspiciously.
"It's really nice outside today, you know," Alfred said gently as he slowly approached, "I could take you down to the village. You'd get a whole different view there. I'm sure you're bored of just staring at the ceiling all day," he offered as he sat down on the bed beside Arthur.
"No," Arthur snapped, "I don't want to. Besides, I can't even walk that far," he hissed.
"I'll carry you," Alfred offered, causing Arthur to gape at him. The human's cheeks turned slightly red, but he seemed sincere.
"You're serious," Arthur blurted.
"Course I am!" Alfred laughed, "And, Arthur, I'm sorry for earlier. I didn't mean for it to come across that way,"
"It's...fine," Arthur grumbled.
"No, really-I just want you to know-" Alfred tried.
"Alfred, I really don't-" Arthur sighed.
"I think you're great, Arthur, and I'd really like to spend more time with you," Alfred said suddenly.
It was Arthur's turn to be stunned. He blinked at Alfred in surprise for a few moments before regaining his composure.
"I...I'd like that too, Alfred," he managed over the lump in his throat. It was true, that way he could feed on more of that wonderful energy the lad possessed, "But I would rather you didn't haul me off to the village like a sack of grain,"
Alfred laughed, shaking his head.
"All right, all right," he conceded as he rose and crossed the room. He picked up his bagpipes from on top of a trunk Arthur assumed held clothing, then stooped down to retrieve Arthur's walking stick.
"Here," Alfred said as he handed the walking stick to Arthur.
Arthur arched an eyebrow at him and opened his mouth to ask what exactly Alfred was expecting from him when the human laughed. It was a nice sound, Arthur thought vaguely. Very bright. Melodic, in a strange way.
"Well if I can't drag you into town, you can at least let me play some music for you," Alfred said with a shy smile, "Sound good?"
Arthur felt something stir in his chest; he coughed to shove it down.
"Well, all right," Arthur sighed as he got to his feet and leaned on his walking stick, "If you insist,"
