Author's note: Hello! Yes! Finally, I get one done in time…actually a day early! I'm so happy! Anyway, thanks to all of you for your great reviews and taking the time to read this fic!
Oh yeah, and a reminder. Lukas and Mikkel are Norway and Denmark, respectively. Just in case anyone forgot since they haven't been around for a couple of chapters
"Um, let me see…is it: cum guzzling gutter slut?" Gilbert asked.
"Took you long enough," Lovino grumbled, filling in the remaining letters on the paper. "I almost won that time," he said, pointing at the almost fully drawn stick figure that was hanging in the poorly drawn noose.
Gilbert snorted. "You come up with the weirdest shit!"
"Oh please," Lovino huffed. "The best one you could think of was 'ducks are cute.'"
Gilbert's retort was stifled by a quiet knock on the door.
"Come in, bastards!" Lovino yelled looking past Gilbert to glare door as if it was offending him. The two of them were sitting on Lovino's bed—as far from the opposite wall as possible—trying to pass the time while they waited for permission to leave their room.
"Like they really want our permission anyway," Lovino muttered as the door slowly swung open to let Antonio and Dr. Roderich inside.
"Hey, guys…how are you doing?" Antonio asked in a surprisingly soft voice. He looked really tired, and his left cheek looked a little red and swollen. Had Matthew punched him?
"We're bored!" Lovino snapped, crossing his arms over his chest.
"I just wanted to talk you two for a little while," Roderich said, walking closer to them, he stopped once he reached Gilbert's bed. "Is it okay if I sit here?" he asked.
"No problem," Gilbert answered, shrugging.
"Any reason you're not sitting on your own bed?" his doctor inquired as he sat down with more elegance than Gilbert thought possible.
"We're playing hangman," Lovino answered quickly, holding the notebook and felt pen they were using up. Unfortunately, it still had "cum guzzling gutter slut" written in large, red letters. Roderich raised an eyebrow as he read the phrase, looking displeased. Misreading the look, Lovino huffed angrily, "We weren't making out or anything, perv!"
"I was in no way implying that, Lovino," Roderich sighed. As he spoke, Antonio walked over and quickly snatched the notebook away, tearing out the profane page and stuffing it into his pocket.
"What the fuck, bastard?" Lovino snapped. "There's nothing wrong with that! Gilbert's the only one who will see it! Does he look traumatized to you?"
"Actually," Roderich said carefully. "Both of you look a little shaken up…that's why I wanted to talk to you."
"Fuck you," Lovino snapped. "I'm fine!" Gilbert had to wonder if all of Lovino's sessions with Roderich went similarly to this.
"Lovino," Antonio started to warn quietly, but trailed off mumbling, "Mi querido…" under his breath.
"What, bastard?" Lovino snapped glaring at the orderly.
"I know you," Antonio said, pointedly looking away from the angry Italian. "Don't keep everything in…"
"Oh shut up! I fine!" Lovino snapped. "So what if I saw someone flip shit? I'm not going to cry about it! I mean: hello? It's just another little reminder that I'm surrounded by nut jobs!"
Both Antonio and Roderich stayed silent, as if they were hoping Lovino would continue speaking. Gilbert didn't know if he should be offended by the nut job comment. Beside, him Lovino was shaking slightly and his hands were clutching the blankets beneath him in a white-knuckled grip. Based on his reaction to the incident itself, and how he was acting now, Gilbert figured that Lovino actually shocked and maybe even upset over what happened. Gott knows I am… he thought.
"So what if it was someone who…" Lovino finally muttered after several moments.
"Some who…?" Roderich prompted, his serious expression showing hints of hopefulness.
"I didn't think it would ever be him, okay?" Lovino yelled. "He was the quiet one…why was it him who snapped like that? Do you even understand what I'm saying?"
"I do," Gilbert said softly. "It's kind of terrifying how someone in this place can seem fine one minute and not the next."
"Witnessing a peer go through something like this can be very distressing. It is normal to be shocked," Roderich said. "Thank you for sharing your feelings. If you want to speak further on this incident…"
"No thanks Roderich, I think I'm good," Lovino growled.
"What about you Gilbert?" Roderich asked, Gilbert started, not aware that he was zoning out slightly while thinking of the previous events.
"I think I'll be good for now, Roddy… Thanks though," he murmured, missing the slight worried glance his doctor shot his way.
"Well, I'm here if you need me," he said. "Now, for some other important matters…during her visit, did Ms. Jones speak to you in an inappropriate way?"
"Why do you want to know that?" Lovino huffed.
"For the incident report," Roderich said matter-of-factly. "Apparently you described yourself as 'distressed' after speaking with her."
"What the? Antonio!" Lovino yelled. "What the fuck are you doing telling them stuff like that?" Gilbert jumped a little at the angry outburst. He remembered Lovino using that word choice with Antonio earlier and it was surprising that he had repeated it to Roderich. However, Lovino seemed more than surprised. Instead, he appeared to be majorly pissed.
"Lovi, it's my job to…" Antonio started to explain, letting out an exasperated sigh.
"Just shut up! I don't care bastardo! How could you just turn around and report me?"
"Lovino…"
"Do you relay everything I say to you back to your boss, is that how it is?"
"It's not like that…" Antonio protested, looking upset. "I was concerned…"
"About what? Did you think that I was going to fly off the handle too?" Lovino yelled.
"Settle down please," Roderich interjected.
"No! Fuck you!"
"Lovino…" Roddy warned again.
"Querido, please…"
"No! Do NOT call me that!"
"I thought…"
"I don't care what you think!"
"I thought what you said was right!" Antonio finally burst out angrily. "You are a patient here, and she was treating you badly! I thought that if we could get some sort of evidence to keep that…woman…away from the hospital…then we—I—could protect you…I mean…everyone…" he trailed off quietly as he anger fizzled out.
"Antonio," Roderich said quietly. "Do you want to switch posts with someone?"
"No," Antonio sighed, turning to stand closer to the door. "I'm fine."
The room filled with an uncomfortable silence for several minutes. Gilbert wasn't exactly sure what he had just witnessed and kept looking back and forth between Antonio and Lovino. Across from him, Roderich seemed to be having the same internal debate of whether he should say something or not.
"…sorry…" Lovino finally mumbled, his face steadily turning a deep shade of red.
"S'okay, Lovi," Antonio said, smiling slightly.
"I'll tell you about that bitch if you want…"
Roderich's pen scribbled rapidly across his notepad as he finished up writing down their account of the afternoon's events. Something told Gilbert that this guy didn't have the stereotypical doctor handwriting. Honestly, it was probably just as perfect as West's script.
"Thank you both," he finally said as his hand stilled. "I'll have quite a time removing the expletives…"
"Oh come on!" Lovino groused.
"Wouldn't that jeopardize the authenticity?" Gilbert asked, chuckling as he recalled the shear multitude of inappropriate diction his doctor would have to omit. Roderich shot him look and shook his head.
"I'm sure it will be fine, but thanks for the sentiment," he said dryly, standing up. "I'll be going now, but remember, I think it would be a good to talk about today's events a bit more so…" Lovino snorted loudly at this, but sighed after glancing towards Antonio.
"I'll let you know okay?" he huffed.
"Um, yeah…me too," Gilbert added, puzzled over the nonverbal exchange.
"That's what I like to hear," Roderich said as he walked towards the door. "You've got about another hour of free time until dinner. You're welcome to go out to the common room, or you could stay here if you like." With that, he and Antonio left the room, letting the door fall shut behind them.
As soon as the door closed, Lovino leapt off the bed and hurried over to it.
"What…?" Gilbert asked only to be shhhed.
"Shut up and get over here, idiot!" Lovino hissed, beckoning him with his hand. Gilbert, still confused, shuffled over to his roommate's position.
"What are you doing?" he whispered.
"Just listen!" was the irritated response. Gilbert mirrored Lovino's stance with his ear to the tiny crack left by the improperly-shut door. Surprisingly, he could hear Roddy's voice outside.
"…look tired. Maybe you should take the rest of the night off," Roddy said quietly.
"No, no…I'm okay," Antonio answered.
"I know you don't do this for the pay, Antonio…but overworking yourself is never good." Soft chuckling could be heard after this. It was definitely Antonio's but held a hollow quality that Gilbert had never heard.
"Yes, yes. Thanks doctor…" he sighed.
"At least have Yao look at your cheek," Roderich advised. "And maybe take a short nap in the overnight room…" Footsteps were now audible as Roderich's voice got quieter and quieter, indicating that the two staff members were walking away.
"You see," Lovino whispered after they could no longer hear the two staff members' voices. "Whenever they don't leave the door wide open, they want to talk to each other outside the room." He was still looking a little red in the face, and his permanent scowl seemed to have morphed into an uncomfortable frown.
"Lovino, are you…"
"Shut up! This is important information I'm telling you!" Lovino snapped."It's not like I care about that stupid bastardo or anything! He can be a workaholic idiot as much as he wants to!"
"Totally wasn't going to ask you about Antonio…"
"Oh…well…shut up!"
Suddenly the door burst open, effectively smacking both of them in the face.
"Fucking piece of shit!" Lovino screeched. "What the fuck is your problem?" he asked, slamming the door closed again while glaring daggers at a very upset looking Arthur.
"The frog told me something happened…" Arthur panted, looking like he had run all the way to their room. He ran his hands frantically through his badly disheveled hair, pacing around in a circle. "The fairies keep telling me that…shut your mouth!" he snapped suddenly. "None of that's true…you're lying to me! You always do this…"
"Oi, cocksucker!" Lovino growled, rubbing his forehead angrily. "Cut it out!"
"D-don't swear in front of them!" Arthur yelled.
"Don't slam doors into my head!" Lovino countered.
"W-what happened? Are they okay?" Arthur asked. "T-they're not…either of them…d-d-dea—oh my god!"
"Dude, calm down," Gilbert said. "The twins are fine…sort of…"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"They're not physically hurt, don't worry," Gilbert explained, slightly understanding where Arthur got his ridiculous notions about his friends getting hurt. But why were his fairies telling him crap like one of the twins had died? He had always thought Arthur's imaginary pals were friendly entities…
"Oh. Okay…" Arthur whispered. "Thank you…um, what did happen then?"
"Matthew flipped shit," Lovino answered. "Tried to choke their annoying cunt of a mother."
"And Alfred?" Arthur asked tentatively.
"Not sure."
"He was with his doctor earlier…" Gilbert added. Arthur turned to look at the door that led to the shared bathroom.
"Is she still in there?" he asked.
"Doubt it…" Lovino said.
"Can we, uh…"
"Fine, let's see if he's okay…" Lovino grunted. They walked over to the bathroom; stopping at the second door to listen is Dr. Braginskaya was still in the room next door.
"Why is there a romance novel in the toilet?" Arthur suddenly asked.
"That's where it belongs," Lovino answered.
"I would have taken it…is that a unicorn on the cover?"
"No, fairy-lad, that's just a regular horse. You know: the real kind?" Lovino growled. "The book's called Comanche Heart, for fuck's sake."
"Unicorns are real too! You are angering my friends!" Arthur yelled. "Will you stop with the constant swearing?"
"Well, excuse me Princess…" Lovino muttered.
"Guys! Shut up!" Gilbert snapped. "What if she's still in the room?"
"I don't hear anything…" Arthur whispered.
"Let's go in already! You guys are so fuc—dam—darn slow!" Lovino snapped, attempting to correct himself after being given a dirty look from Arthur. "Here, I'll open the door for you pansies!" He twisted the knob and kicked the door open, guaranteeing trouble if the doctor was still in the room.
Thankfully, she was not, but Alfred was. He was sitting next to Matthew's bed, hugging his knees as he stared blankly at the door. His eyes were red and puffy and his lip was quivering pitifully. Arthur immediately rushed over to him, taking a knee near his shaking form. Gilbert held back and instead stood next to Lovino, who was looking more than a little uncomfortable.
"Alfred! Lad, are you alright?" Arthur asked, tentatively placing a hand on the other's shoulder.
"…where's Mattie…?" Alfred mumbled.
"Alfred, I think…I think he's in solitary…" Arthur whispered. "Didn't your doctor tell you?"
"Y-yes…" Alfred answered, his head lolling slightly to the side. Despite sounding heartbreakingly pitiful, he was amazingly calm for the situation.
"Did she give you something?" Arthur asked, stroking his hair comfortingly.
Alfred nodded slowly. "I wanna see him…" he whispered.
"I-I-I can't…"
"Please…Artie…I need…" Alfred whimpered, tears forming in the corner of his eyes. "Please help me…"
"I can't take you to the solitary confinement ward, I don't know how…" Arthur answered.
"Oh." The disappointment in Alfred's voice was heartbreaking.
"Someone might…" Lovino said slowly.
"Like who?" Arthur asked.
"You'll have a fucking hissy fit, Princess."
"Please tell me it's not Francis…"
"Do you honestly think that Francis is capable of caring about someone enough to blatantly break the rules?" Lovino sighed.
"Just tell me, you infuriating child!"
Lovino glared at this, and seemed, for a moment, that he would not answer. Finally, he rolled his eyes and sighed, "Rumor is that Lukas goes up to see Mikkel from time to time."
Arthur scoffed. "Yeah, and rumor is also that Lukas couldn't even go to the grocery store by himself. The guy's a loon! I wouldn't trust anything he said; it's probably all delusional gibberish anyway."
"Well, he's the only person who may know," Lovino snapped. "What do you want to do? Just forget about it then?"
"…please…" Alfred mumbled, clutching at Arthur's shirt.
"Fine," Arthur said, pursing his lips in distaste. "You two go ask him. Don't cry to me if he sicks Mikkel on you though."
"Come on, Gilbert," Lovino growled. "Let's go to the Magical Fae Cave."
"That's what you call my room!" Arthur said, looking offended.
"Well, excuse me Princess!"
"Stop calling me that!"
"Okay, now be careful to say nothing that can be construed as offensive to either of them," Lovino explained as the two of them walked quickly down the halls, reading the signs next to the doors as they went. "Unless you want to be punched again…"
"I'll be careful, don't worry about me Lovi," Gilbert laughed. "You'd better watch your tongue though!"
"Shut up, ass-wipe!"
"Exactly."
Soon they reached an open door with a small plate next to it with slots that read: "Bondevik, Lukas; Densen, Mikkel" Lovino sighed loudly and walked boldly inside without knocking, Gilbert following closely behind. He readied himself to be pummeled again and almost put his arms out to shield his face, but stopped when he saw the scene in front of him.
"And then, Ariel traded her voice for a pair of legs…" Lukas read out of a badly worn book titled The Little Mermaid. His chin was resting on the head of an out-of-it looking Mikkel, who was apparently using Lukas' chest as a pillow. Neither party seemed to notice Gilbert and Lovino's presence.
"Luuuuuke…" Mikkel murmured. "But, but…does the Prince save her?"
"Shhh, just listen to the story, Mikkel…" Lukas answered softly, rubbing his hair affectionately.
Gilbert stood next to Lovino, wondering what they should do. Obviously they had walked into an intimate moment between the two of them.
Lovino coughed awkwardly, trying to initiate some sort of conversation. Lukas jumped and frantically pushed Mikkel off of him, shoving his confused roommate into the wall behind them. He stationed himself between Mikkel and the intruders, looking at them angrily.
"What do you want?" he snapped, his usually intense gaze even more intimidating than usual. Gilbert was more concerned with Mikkel however, and was starting to think coming to them was a horrible idea.
However, it was Mikkel himself who broke the tense atmosphere.
"Are you my prince, Lukas?" he asked, leaning forward to rest his head on the other's shoulder.
"Not right now, Mikkel," Lukas growled.
"Buuuut…I love you…you know that right? Right Luke? You do don't you?" Mikkel whined, wrapping his arms around Lukas, who squirmed and continued to try and appear intimidating, but was altogether failing.
"Yes, yes, Mikkel… That is a stipulation for proposing to someone isn't it? Don't be stupid."
"But Luuuuke…"
"Mikkel! Be quiet!" Lukas growled, before turning towards Gilbert. "What are you looking at?"
"Nothing," Gilbert said, trying not to smile. Lukas was just looked so…funny...while trying to appear scary despite being forcibly cuddled.
"They upped his dose again," Lukas sighed as way of explaining the situation. "This always happened after…" Mikkel whined into his shoulder, cutting him off. Lukas just sighed again, louder this time. "Never mind…what the hell do you want?" He glared at them menacingly, still trying to keep up the threatening front.
"We need a favor," Lovino grumbled.
"Well that's too bad for—"
"Who's that?" Mikkel cut him off.
"What? The pissy Italian?"
"Nej, the other…"
"The mildly annoying albino?"
"Ja, Lukas…" Mikkel mumbled into his shoulder. "Did I…?"
"Yes, you punched that one in the face," Lukas stated simply, sighing a little.
"Oh…"
Lukas sighed again. "Get over here…you…" Gilbert was starting to think that Lukas didn't know his name.
"I'm—" he started.
"Don't care."
Gilbert turned to Lovino, giving him a questioning look, wondering if it was safe. Lovino merely shrugged in response.
"Um, okay…" he said quietly, walking towards the bed, anticipating pain. He stopped a couple feet away from Lukas, trying to avoid his scrutinizing gaze.
"Go ahead, Micke…" Lukas murmured softly. Mikkel peaked out from behind Lukas, seeming almost…bashful.
"Sorry…" he mumbled. "I-I-I didn't mean to…please don't be mad…I didn't…" Gilbert was reminded of what both Roderich and Lukas had said to him about Mikkel. Before, he thought that he could never forgive the guy who almost broke his nose for no reason but looking at him now… Mikkel looked so ashamed of himself…and, after the past couple of days, he could understand not being able to represses irrational bouts of emotion.
"S'okay…" he said, extending his hand towards the other.
"Really?" Mikkel asked, grinning widely taking the hand and shaking it vigorously.
"Yeah," Gilbert said. "I understand…my brother put me in here because I went battle-mode on a cat."
"What the hell?" Lovino exclaimed from behind him, only to be ignored by the other three.
"That happens to other people too?" Mikkel asked.
"My poor rabbit…" Lukas muttered.
"So, are you going to help us or not?" Lovino finally asked, crossing his arms over his chest. "Because if not, I've got other things to do." By other things, he meant reading more romance novels.
"I don't see why I should," Lukas answered nonchalantly.
"Luuuuke…"
"What is it now Mikkel?" Lukas sighed.
"Maybe you should listen to them…"
"Why?"
"Dunno, maybe helping will be easy. Maybe you won't have to leave the room. Please Lukas? For me?"
"…fine. What do you want?" Lukas asked, scowling. "And make it quick. I want to finish the story by dinnertime…"
"Tell us how to get to solitary," Lovino commanded, walking up to stand next to Gilbert.
"Well you could try screaming obscenities or biting someone, I'm sure that will work," Lukas answered in monotone.
"You know what I meant ass—" Lovino stopped in the middle of an insult, eyeing Mikkel warily. Lukas seemed to notice this and shifted as if to shield the Dane even more. "We need to visit someone."
"Why do you think I know how to?" Lukas asked.
"There's rumors…"
"Those must be false then."
"Luke," Mikkel grunted in displeasure. "I'm sitting right here, and I know you know how to sneak up there."
"No you don't!"
"I'm pretty sure I do."
"No! You're so drugged up when you're in that room you can't tell how many fingers you're holding up, let alone what are dreams and what are reality."
"Um, Luke?"
"What? Ah, shit!" Lukas swore. "Well…the fairies told me which way to go."
Lovino huffed loudly, rolling his eyes. "Not this shit…" he muttered.
"Maybe you should ask Arthur…I'm sure if his fairies were real they'd tell him…" Lukas scoffed.
"I'm sure his fairies are not real!" Lovino snapped. "You're both cuckoo bananas!"
"Well, so are you," Lukas retorted coldly.
"No shit Sherlock! Now tell us how in at least semi-lucid terms how to get to the solitary ward!" Gilbert was pretty sure this was not the best way to get information out of Lukas.
"I did tell you! Now get out!" Lukas said; the edge in his voice apparent. Lovino turned towards the door, but Gilbert stopped him, suddenly having an idea.
"Lukas, you have a brother right?" he asked quietly.
"What's it to you?" Lukas asked, clearly defensive.
"One of the twins is in solitary…" Gilbert simply said.
"Oh, the loud one? Not surprising…"
"No, the quiet one. Shocking I know," Lovino answered.
"We have to take Al to him!" Gilbert concluded. "Would you really want to attribute to the separation of two brothers?" Lukas said nothing, but continued to stare at Gilbert for several minutes.
"They took him from me…" he finally said, drifting his intense gaze towards the floor. "Unfit to be a guardian…how could they know? He wanted to be with me, he said so…he was crying…" His words quivered ever so slightly as he spoke, but suddenly he looked up, his passive facial expression in place once more. The mask was back on. "Fine," he grunted. "I'll help you, but only if you make sure to tell Arthur that I learned from my fairies, that are real." He glared pointedly at Lovino as he said the last part.
Gilbert sighed in relief, surprised that his tactic worked. "Thanks, man."
"So. Do you understand?" Lukas finally asked.
"Yeah, I think—" Gilbert started, only to be cut off.
"Shh!" Lukas hissed. "And put the freaking spatula down! I'll talk to you later okay?" Gilbert didn't respond, already used to Lukas' random outbursts of telling his "troll" to stop talking to him. After all, his explanation had been peppered with various threats to be silent. Despite enduring what seemed to be a constant assault on his ears, Mikkel appeared to be unfazed and was content to sit quietly as Lukas spoke. He would, however, occasionally interrupt to ask about the fate of the Ariel or to question Lukas in Danish. Lukas never responded, but the look on his face each time Mikkel said something was one of pure irritation.
Speaking of pure irritation, Lovino look like he was just about to scream every single obscenity he had kept bottled up during the conversation. "I think we got it," he said through gritted teeth, before turning stiffly to Gilbert. "Can. We. Go. Now."
"Yeah, that sounds like a great idea," Gilbert answered. "Bye Lukas, Mikkel."
"…will you just shut your mouth for five freaking minutes…wait, huh?" Lukas asked, turning to stare creepily at the pair of retreating roommates.
"They're leaving…" Mikkel supplied.
"Finally," Lukas said, his face blank.
"Hey! We can totally hear you ass—" Lovino snapped, only to be shoved out the door by Gilbert. "—wipe! Hey! Douche, don't push me!"
Lukas didn't seem to notice (or care). "Here," he said, holding out a piece of paper he had been scribbling while he spoke. "I wrote the directions out for you so you don't have to bother me again."
"Thanks," Gilbert said, taking the yellow construction paper. "See you later then!"
"You too!" Mikkel answered, grinning widely. Lukas scoffed.
"Let's hope not."
Gilbert quickly left the room to join Lovino, stopping outside to show him the written directions. As he waited for his roommate to look them over, he overheard Mikkel and Lukas resume their earlier activity:
"And then, Ariel traded her voice for a pair of legs," he could hear Lukas read. "With the help of Flounder and Sebastian, she swam to the surface. Climbing onto the warm beach she…"
"Luuuuke…is she going to meet the prince now?"
"Soon, Micke, listen to the story…"
Gilbert, a little uncomfortable with his eavesdropping, decided to start walking towards Alfred's room. Lovino, who was still reading the list, followed close behind, snickering as he did.
"What's so funny, Lovi?"
"Nothing," Lovino chuckled, before immediately stopping. "Oi! Fucktard! What's did I say about the nickname!"
Gilbert just laughed in response, enjoying the usual song and dance of annoying his roommate. Lovino, on the other hand, was not a happy camper (not that he ever really was). He decided to spend the whole trip back to the twins' room yelling rapid fire insults at Gilbert.
"Why can't you get it through your thick-ass skull that you shouldn't…" Lovino growled, only to be cut off by a loud "Shh" as he entered the room.
"Did you manage to get any intelligible information out of him?" Arthur whispered. "And do quiet that obscene mouth of yours; I finally got Alfred to fall asleep." He patted Alfred's head affectionately as the other used his thigh as a pillow.
"How cute," Lovino sniffed, grimacing.
"Did you get anything out of that lunatic or not?" Arthur asked, irritated, but still keeping his voice low.
"He's just as wacko as you are," Lovino said, rolling his eyes while holding out the paper with the instructions on it. Arthur ignored him and took the paper, making sure to glare fiercely as he did. He scanned the list quickly, mumbling a little to himself as he did.
"Says to leave at night—that's to be expected…hmmm…why at this specific time though?"
"He said that at that time a good number of the night shift start preparing for the next day," Gilbert explained, remembering what Lukas had said. "There'll be less of them watching the monitors or patrolling the halls."
"Brilliant…but how did he figure that out?" Arthur asked, skimming the rest of the list.
"The fairies told him, apparently," Lovino said, chuckling at Arthur's snort of distain.
"What a load of crock that is," he muttered.
"Wait until you see…"
"Why is the last step 'mock Arthur and his non-existent fairies?'" Arthur yelled, causing Alfred to stir a bit with a whimper. "Sorry lad…" Arthur whispered, smoothing his hair as he fell back to deep sleep.
"So…how about we do it tonight?" Gilbert asked, feeling excited at the idea of breaking the rules.
"I don't think I can," Arthur finally said, looking bashful.
"What? Don't be a pussy!" Lovino yelled. "Man up Tinkerbelle!"
"That's not how it is! If Kiku wakes up in the middle of the night and realizes that I'm not there, he'll think I've been kidnapped and freak out!" Arthur explained. "There was this one time that I went to the bathroom and was totally interrupted in the middle of…ugh, never mind! If you want this to actually work, I can't come with you. And also, Tinkerbelle is sitting right next to me, so be polite!"
"Whatever…" Lovino grumbled. "We'll go without you then."
"You're going?" Arthur asked.
"Why not?"
Arthur looked down, his face reddening. "Didn't think you cared."
Lovino just stared at him for a moment, looking surprised. "I-I-I don't!" he finally said. "I just want to, you know…stick it to the man!"
"…right…" Arthur muttered, looking skeptical.
"Really!" Lovino snapped, blushing slightly. "It's not like I'm helping them because they're my friends or anything. They're barely tolerable after all…"
"Where's Mattie? Are we there yet? Are we close to Mattie? Where is he again?"
"Alfred, for the last fucking time: shut the hell up!" Lovino growled, clutching his head as if it were aching. "Do you want to get caught?"
"But…Gilbert!" Alfred exclaimed, tugging at his arm. "How much longer?" Gilbert sighed, trying not to look at his new arm leech. Whatever Dr. Braginskaya had given Alfred was wearing off and he was steadily becoming more and more nervously hyper.
"Wouldn't you think they would have given him another dose before bed?" Gilbert asked Lovino, trying his best to ignore Alfred's pitiful questions.
"Probably," Lovino grunted. "But if that numb nuts knows how to do anything it's how to avoid swallowing shit."
"Lovino!" Gilbert snapped. Thankfully, Alfred didn't seem to catch the jab and continued to babble about his brother.
"What?" Lovino asked, feigning innocence.
"Mattie—"
"Alfred I swear to God, if you don't shut up right now we're are seriously going to get caught!" Lovino growled. "Do you understand what that means?"
Alfred was silent for a couple moments, before he asked, his voice shaking: "No Mattie?"
"Fuck yeah no Mattie! Now stop sniffling and shut the hell up! They're going to hear—"
"Hey Jim, I think I hear something…" A voice was heard from down the hall.
"What is it Frank?" another voice asked.
"Sounded like voices…"
"Oh shit. Let's go see if someone's out of their room…"
The three of them froze as they heard footsteps coming closer and closer.
There was nowhere to hide.
Author fun time note thing: Oops! Cliff hanger! Sorry :C It worked better with the next chapter this way! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I think my secret addiction—I mean obsessive love (er, no I meant appreciation! Yeah…) for the Nordics (or at least Nor and Den) kind of came out in this chapter…lol. Oh and Frank and Jim aren't anyone…there just stock orderly type characters that I felt like naming…yeah…
Thanks for reading and reviewing!