Twilight's Last Gleaming - Chapter 9
This chapter includes actual revolutionary-war era medical treatments. Hint: they were not very good. Fun fact: menstruation was actually considered a "malady". In case anyone has forgotten, I do not own Hetalia or the characters. On with the story now.
Colonel Hughes and the doctor rushed into the tent, and Arthur quickly followed. Alfred was now rolling around on the bed, his forehead wet with perspiration.
"Arthur help me hold him down!" Yelled the colonel, as the doctor ran around the tent, frantically preparing something. He was a short, stout man and ran around as fast as his stubby legs could.
Arthur quickly held down Alfred's legs so that he would stop kicking, as the colonel pinned down his chest onto the cot. Alfred moaned again and his eyes rolled into the back of his head.
"He's having stomach pains", explained the doctor as he brought a tin mug of water to Alfred's lips. Alfred drank some of it, then went back to moaning.
"Arthur I think I've got him, can you go fetch some ginger root for his stomach? It's in the small food supply tent next door."
Arthur nodded and quickly ran off. He found the small, brown, food storage tent just to the left, It was about half the size of Alfred's roomy one. His heart pounded in his chest because he knew that the faster he found the ginger the better. There were so many barrels, sacks and crates to look through and Arthur didn't know where to start. Apples, nope. In this sack maybe? Nope that's potatoes. Over here? Wine. In these crates? No that's just mead. Hanging in with the herbs perhaps? Nope. Then finally he saw a small burlap sack on the ground, filled with ginger. He quickly grabbed it up and bolted out of the tiny tent. His heart was still racing. Sure, it was a stomach ache and not the pox or yellow fever, but it had to be the most intense stomach ache he had ever seen, even among his own men, some of whom had had lead poisoning before. Headaches and stomach aches caused by lead poisoning were known to sometimes be extreme, but this level of pain was something Arthur had not yet witnessed. Just as Arthur was about to enter the large, double-height tent, the doctor stuck his head out.
"He has a headache too, could you please fetch some apples and barley for it?"
Arthur felt overwhelmed, but quickly thrust the ginger into the doctor's arms before heading back into the food tent. He had at least seen where the apples and barley were before, so he was able to find them quickly. Arthur burst through Alfred's tent carrying an apple and a sack of barley seeds. The doctor was trying to quickly shred the ginger with a pocket knife as colonel Hughes continued to hold Alfred down. The doctor quickly beckoned Arthur over to him. Arthur dropped the barley and the apple down onto the table that the doctor was working at.
"Here try to feed him these peelings."
Arthur held his hand out as the doctor dumped the ginger into his hands. He then rushed over to Alfred's side. Alfred was struggling against the colonel, trying to escape, as his eyes were closed shut in pain. The pain was so intense by now that Alfred was actually panting. Arthur cupped one side of Alfred's head, in a caring sort of way as he lowered a piece of ginger into Alfred's mouth. Alfred's blue eyes suddenly opened to meet Arthur's green ones, and for a moment he stopped struggling. He took the ginger, and chewed it up quickly before making a face of disgust. Arthur removed his hand, and offered him another but Alfred tried to move his head away.
"Alfred please, it will help you."
Alfred moaned in agony, as an intense pain shot through his stomach. Without much hesitation, Alfred turned his head back towards Arthur. His blue eyes looked up desperately at Arthur, and Arthur quickly fed him two more pieces of ginger.
"Arthur, try touching his head again", said the doctor. "It seemed to have some sort of calming effect on him."
Arthur sat down on the bearskins next to Alfred as the colonel continued to hold Alfred down. He gingerly caressed Alfred's jaw line, before placing his hand lightly against the side of Alfred's face. Alfred's whole body froze in place as Arthur's hand started to touch his face. His blue eyes darted over towards Arthur's worried face. Then Arthur heard Alfred breathe out slowly. His breath slowly started to become more even as he held his gaze on Arthur. Arthur grabbed hold of one of Alfred's hands with his free hand, and let Alfred squeeze it as the pain shot through his head and his stomach. Alfred bit his lip as he did so. Arthur hated seeing Alfred in so much pain. It made him feel anxious and worried. Worst of all though, was the feeling that arose in Arthur's chest every time he heard Alfred moan and every time that his body jerked. The heart, it seemed, just like any other muscle, could get overworked and sore. However, it seems that the doctor was right. I am somehow helping him cope, thought Arthur to himself. Colonel Hughes stopped holding Alfred down, seeing that he had stopped moving around so violently.
"I have prepared some barley water for his headache. And he should eat this apple too. They should work within half an hour", said the doctor. "Let's get him to sit up. It will make it easier for him to drink and eat."
Arthur gently put one arm under Alfred's legs and one arm under Alfred's back. Alfred clutched tightly onto Arthur's shoulders, just like how he had clutched Arthur's hand. Alfred was heavier than Arthur, so Arthur was not able to pick Alfred up more than an inch off of the bed, but it was enough to get him re-positioned. Arthur lowered Alfred down into place, then sat down next to him on the bed. Alfred moaned again, and clutched his stomach. Arthur felt the pang in his chest return as Alfred's face contorted in agony. Arthur picked up Alfred's tan, smooth hand once again and held it in his, giving it a light squeeze. Alfred picked up his head to look at him, and Arthur saw that Alfred was now sweating so much that his hair was now sticking to his forehead. The doctor walked over and brought the tin mug of barley water to Alfred's lips. Alfred gulped it down, and nodded to the doctor in thanks as he bit his lower lip. Then the doctor handed Alfred the apple. Alfred bit into it quickly, trying to rid himself of the headache as soon as possible. After eating the apple, Alfred finally spoke up.
"My stomach feels better, I think the ginger worked. I mean it still hurts a little, but it's not bad. I'm still waiting on the headache to go away though..." Alfred trailed off as he winced and his eyebrows knit together. "I think I just need to give it a little more time. Thanks so much guys, all three of you, I honestly don't know what I'd do without you." Alfred then yawned. "I feel tired all of a sudden. I think I will nap soon."
"Sir, it's about seven o'clock now. Perhaps you should eat supper first. At least, after you feel better. Then you can go to bed early", reasoned colonel Hughes.
Alfred thought for a moment before responding " What's for supper?"
The colonel opened the rear flap of the tent, and looked out. Just behind the tent, about twenty feet away, the scrawny, red-haired cook was preparing a huge pot of something over a fire.
"Looks like beef stew."
Alfred smiled. "Ok then."
"Alright I'll set a bowl aside for you once it's done so it can cool."
With that, the colonel exited the tent. Arthur noticed that the colonel had not offered to get him a bowl of stew. I suppose it's quite understandable that he doesn't trust me or like me yet, thought Arthur.
"I think I'm going to go check on the men in the main hospital tent," said the doctor. "I'm quite pleased to see how much better you are feeling Alfred. Perhaps we ought to actually keep this fellow around!" he joked, before making his exit and waddling out.
As soon as the man left, Alfred turned to Arthur, his blue eyes sparkling and said "Thank you so much Arthur, you're the best. You always make me feel better."
Arthur blinked a few times, staring open-mouthed at Alfred. Eventually he was able to stutter something out.
"I...I am glad I was able to help."
Alfred smiled his big, goofy grin again, then laid his head on Arthur's shoulder. Their legs touched as they sat next to each other on the bed, their backs up against the headboard. Arthur felt a warm feeling build inside of him. He turned his head sideways slightly, towards Alfred and looked down at his soft, dark blonde hair. This is a bit strange, he thought to himself as they sat there in silence. This doesn't seem like something that two male friends would do, but I'm not complaining. His hair feels so soft, and he's so warm. Arthur decided to stop thinking so much and just enjoy it, whatever it was. So the two of them sat there on the bed, saying absolutely nothing and just relaxing until twenty minutes later, when the dinner bell rang.
Luckily, the cook offered Arthur a bowl of stew, which he wolfed down greedily since he had not eaten since breakfast. After dinner, the colonel took Arthur aside and showed him where he would be staying. Arthur followed colonel Hughes past Alfred's tent, and across the wide dirt path in front of it. In front of Arthur were two rows of identical tents, most of which were home to American soldiers. However, there was one which appeared to have a lot of patched up holes in the roof. Arthur assumed that this was his, and unfortunately he was correct. It seemed that Arthur would have to work to earn the colonel's respect.
"I think I might turn in early tonight", Arthur told the colonel.
"Suit yourself", he replied curtly, before handing Arthur a lantern and leaving abruptly.
Arthur turned around, and noticed that his tent had a few small puddles of rainwater inside of it. Wonderful, he thought. That bloody jerk. I'm going to have some choice words to say to Alfred tomorrow morning about this. After all, Alfred is this man's boss so why not? Too bad I can't tell him now. He's already asleep and I don't want to wake him, especially since he's not well. I'll just have to make due for now. Arthur pulled his sleeping mat out of his bag, and laid it down on the most dry side of the tent. Then he pulled out his wool blanket and settled down into bed.
Arthur was woken up suddenly by the sensation of someone touching his arm. He jerked awake, and then jerked again when he saw Alfred crouching next to him with a lantern.
"Hey Artie, I have another stomach ache", he said, as he bit his lip. "Can you give me a belly rub?"
Arthur sat up and glared at Alfred, then rubbed his tired eyes.
"Goddamn it." He sighed and then added, "Ok come over here."
Alfred laid down on Arthur's cot in front of Arthur, clutching his stomach and whining. It was then that Arthur realized he would be touching Alfred's bare chest. Slowly and shyly, he lifted up Alfred's nightgown to reveal Alfred's bloomers. Oh dear God, this is so inappropriate, he thought. He was certain that his face resembled a ripe tomato. Good thing it was dark. Then with a shaky hand he touched Alfred's stomach lightly. The glow of the nearby lantern illuminated Alfred's pectoral and abdominal muscles wonderfully. Arthur's face was so flushed that he felt hot. Slowly, he reached over his other hand and began massaging Alfred's lower stomach. Alfred closed his eyes and continued biting his lip. One of his hands clutched tightly onto the wool blanket. Arthur marveled at how smooth Alfred's bare chest was. It was as if he was touching silk. This is not good, he thought. This is really, really bad. What if he finds out somehow that I like him? Maybe it will show somehow? I think he's straight but I'm not sure. Maybe he's gay though?!God what do I do?
Arthur's thought process was cut off suddenly when he heard Alfred giggling. He looked down in shock to see Alfred smirking at him and giggling. Arthur then realized that Alfred had never had a stomach ache.
"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL?! OUT! RIGHT NOW! THAT IS REALLY NOT FUNNY ALFRED!"
Alfred laughed hysterically and said "Oh my god the look on your face!"
"OUT!"
"Ok, ok, fine."
Alfred exited the tent, taking his lantern with him, and Arthur sank back down into his bed, feeling rather embarrassed.
