I'm starting to actually like Arthur's 'mum'. She may be a bit terrible, but she's just so easy to relate to (for a villain). She's a bit of the worst of us, and she reminds me of that. Maybe I like her because of a monologue I wrote for theater class about her. She was just looking over her life and her son, and she really does care. She's just not the best at showing it. I'll stop now.
Chapter Ten
We're Equal
"And I can't change
Even if I tried
Even if I wanted to
And I can't change
Even if I tried
Even if I wanted to
My love, my love, my love
She keeps me warm"
Lyrics from Macklemore and Ryan Lewis' 'Same Love'
"A-And the ugly duckling...the ugly duckling...aahhh..." Alfred licked his lips. Arthur rolled his eyes and pulled his book closer to him.
"It says, 'the little duckling said with tears in his eyes, "I'm lost"'" Arthur corrected. Alfred covered his mouth.
"Aaawww, th'ts su sad." Alfred cooed. Arthur rolled his eyes and bit back a smile.
"I suppose," he agreed. The more he was around Alfred, the more accepting he became of him. Alfred said this was because they loved each-other. Arthur wondered how long he'd be in denial.
"Wh't h'pp'ns n'xt?" I d'n't w'nt ta read it." Alfred asked, his mouth still covered by his hand. He then uncovered his mouth. Arthur scooted closer to him, blushing. He was just starting to get used to this sort of affection.
"Well," he coughed, "the ugly duckling is taken in by a nice-"
"Lady?" Alfred asked, anxious to show that he knew stuff too. Or so Arthur guessed. He was still learning how to read Alfred's mind.
"A nice woman." Arthur corrected.
"And what else?" Alfred asked. One thing Arthur and him had in common was their love for books. This didn't need pointing out, but Arthur loved reminding himself.
"When spring comes, he leaves the woman's house. He finds a lake and some swans tell him they're family. He looks into the lake, see's his reflection and..."
"Aaand?" Alfred injected. Arthur sighed but smiled.
"And he saw-" The door flung open and Arthur and Alfred let out an 'eep' in unison.
"Hello babies! Aw look at you two!" said Arthur's mum. She walked over and pulled Alfred off Arthur's lap, not caring much if she hurt him. She lifted Arthur up a bit more carefully. Arthur frowned.
"Hi mum." he mumbled. He glanced at Alfred, who was rubbing his arm and sitting on his rump.
"I made you two soup and grilled cheese!" mum chirped. She offered the door for them and they walked out, followed by mum.
The boys walked down the stairs, weary not to run or get yelled at. They sat next to each-other at the table, nibbling on their food and giggling about various things. Mum sat across from them, watching. After a minute she cleared her throat. The boys got quiet.
"So, what were you two doing?" she asked. Alfred looked into his soup.
"We were, ah, reading. The ugly duckling." Arthur replied.
"I see." she mumbled and tapped her chin. Then she stopped and stared at 'the two'.
"I love that story. It shows how a nerd can turn out to be worth more than the rest of us." Alfred looked up.
"Worth more?" he asked, his voice dripping with concern.
"Of course! Today's society doesn't appreciate brains, but us with them know our own kind." she replied. She smirked and looked away, as if she knew something the rest of them didn't. The rest of them being everyone (excluding 'her kind'). Alfred made weird faces, which he sometimes did when he didn't understand something. Arthur frowned. Why did mum have to spoil everything? She had a bad habit of doing that, especially to people.
"I'll be in my room." mum said. And with that she left. Alfred scarfed down the rest of his lunch, Arthur right behind him. When they finished they ran up the stairs leading to Arthur's room, and Alfred ran over to where they'd been sitting. He waited. Arthur remembered he was supposed to sit, so he did. Alfred sat in his lap. Arthur tried to pick up the book, but Alfred stopped him by gently pushing it down.
"I want you to tell me the ending." Alfred said. Arthur kept himself from smiling.
"The ugly duckling went to the lake and found some swans. They said he was part of their family. He looked at his reflection and-" Arthur sighed, "and he was still ugly. But the swans loved him anyway. The end." Arthur expected Alfred to giggle. Silence.
"So I kind of don't get what your mum said then." Alfred mumbled. Arthur gave Alfred a reassuring squeeze.
"I don't either. She's crazy." He pecked Alfred's cheek and Alfred let out his signature giggle.
"Okay. Let's go play cops and robbers now! I claim cop!" Arthur smiled, happy to see Alfred back to his normal self.
"All right."