.A/N: *mentally deletes last chapter in her head even though it was a necessary filler chapter*
Chapter 11: Left-Behind City
The first thing that Arthur registered upon opening his eyes was that he was freezing cold. The next thing he painfully discovered was that his head felt like it had been bashed in with various rocks. Oh, and did he mention that he was almost completely naked only with a blanket, a pair of female British flag boxers (Arthur would never admit to the fact he found them damn comfortable to wear despite them being a little…small), and a thin tank-top. He sat up and shivered violently wrapping the blanket (thankfully thick) around his form as he stood. He looked around him to see he was in the middle of what anybody would define as "nowhere". He couldn't even see a street. The ground was icy but grass could still be seen poking through it so the snow wasn't all that thick here. He didn't know how he wound up where he was but he thanked the gods that it hadn't heavily snowed recently. The sun hadn't risen yet but the vestiges of night were fading with the colours of the sky beginning to paint into a wonderfully cheerful array of pinks, oranges, and light blues.
Arthur spun around to get a better look at his surroundings knowing that before he could even figure out how he got where he was he needed to find any kind of landmarks (like perhaps a house or at least a fucking road). A car zoomed by not too far away which signified that there was indeed a road just a few meters away. Arthur had apparently found himself just far enough from the road not to be spotted but close enough that he would have no issue finding it. Luckily for him there seemed to be a sign so he began to stumble on cold feet towards it. It was during this time period he considered his situation and how he had even arrived there.
Last night had been Allistier's birthday and naturally the teacher was more than inclined to be even more of an alcoholic than usual. He didn't have his usual drinking buddies (that being his friends or family because Arthur knew his family loved to drink when given the right opportunity) so he had included Arthur in on the festivities. Usually Arthur wasn't one to become inebriated around his elder siblings (too many bad incidents occurred that had him end up in jail with them on a few occasions or slapped across the face) but he too followed the family name and happily took up the strong scotch. Arthur didn't become drunk often (he liked to have his wits about him) but he had been quite the drinker during his "rebellious" phase and so could down the strongest and the best of the beverages. It seemed that he had one too many last night –which wasn't unusual- and he couldn't remember a blasted thing. He did remember having a great time with his brother for the first time in a while, though. Had he perhaps been mugged? He was stripped after all and –he looked down at his attire- bloody hell, is that a woman's shirt? It was bright pink. Either it was a woman's or Allistier had taken the liberty of dressing Arthur up in a new wardrobe. He resisted the urge to rub his throbbing head, preferring the warmth of his blanket. He hoped that he hadn't been mugged; his stones had been in his clothing after all. Jeanne was still wrapped around his neck but she was silent at the moment and her presence was absent. She was probably still sleeping.
After only a minute of walking Arthur came to the road and looked at the sign. Cultural Heights: 5 miles. "Fuck!" Arthur yelled only to wince. His town was five miles away, he was in the middle of nowhere without a car, and he was barefoot. He was doubtful anyone would pick him up either. He had no choice but to walk and so he began his trek. He was thankful for all of those years he had spent running around barefoot in the open wilderness back in the British Isles as his grandmother had taught him. He was to always know the land around him and give thanks to it. He had loved to run through streams and climbed trees. He had taken it upon himself to be one with the land, in a sense. He could run swift-footedly and confidently even through the thickest of forests knowing he didn't need to care of injuring himself. All injuries could be taken care of. The excitement and freedom that thrilled his very soul in those moments where he touched no place that any human had previously touched before were the absolute best. He doubted that any feeling came close to it. At the very least, he had yet to experience it.
It was ever so much better than the books he read. He would imagine adventures for himself as he and the local faeries grew closer and began to play games. One day he would be Peter from Peter and the Starcatchers and pull out a stick to swing around and fight with some of the fae that were –at the time- taller than him and pretend they were pirates. Of course he would respect them too but they grew fond of this young boy who respected their lands and paid such homage to their ways that they would indulge him on occasion. Even when Arthur moved away the word followed him (along with a few of his friends, sometimes) and he was almost always greeted kindly if not somewhat suspiciously. But faeries were faeries and each were their own person and had their own ways. Arthur learnt and lived cheerfully. It was only as he grew and his life grew darker did those childish plays end. Nevertheless the fun had hardened his feet to the point that the five mile trek was in all honesty not the worst he had ever had to deal with.
This wasn't to say that he wasn't tired as he arrived home at last and found the spare key to open the door. His toes were numb and frozen (he would have to warm them soon) and his throat burned with an icy-hotness that was bitter in its oxymoronic life. He was sure his cheeks were a bit wind-burnt as well but he was well awake and he had made it back home roughly an hour before school started. He noticed the truck was already gone and wondered if Allistier had left for work already. At least Arthur had time to shower so he made his way upstairs dropping the blanket off. It was only then that he noticed that there was a piece of paper sticking out of the tear in the material. Curious Arthur grabbed it and read it as he walked towards the bathroom.
Hope you enjoyed your walk, little idjit brother. That's for spending my money.
Needless to say Arthur's screech could be heard for miles.
Arthur's mood had soured to a very low level which caused the throbbing in his head (still currently being worked on by a migraine pill) to increase tenfold and his tolerance to fall to abysmal levels. His hair was properly dry but Arthur could still feel the chill of bitter defeat on his skin as he stormed his way into first block. He had made it with plenty of time for school despite his thrashing about in an effort to regain any semblance of his normal routine back. His clothing that had been taken from his body from the previous night had ended up thrown carelessly onto his bed. It was nice that at least Allistier hadn't been so much of an arse as to just haphazardly throw his stones around and had instead placed them (in their bags, luckily) onto his altar. It had been the only good note of the morning besides the reminiscing Arthur had gotten done during his walk.
Allistier was not in fact in the classroom when he had entered –but that really wasn't such a surprise considering how late the man always was every day- but Arthur's friends from the class along with Lili already were. Arthur wasn't sure of the topic of the conversation was but the boys were talking rather animatedly about it, leaning over to look at something. Elizaveta and Lili were unimpressed with it –Lili even looked to be rather uncomfortable- and looked relieved to see Arthur come in. She grabbed Lili's hand and led her over to him to grab his hands.
"Where have you been, Arthur? We missed you on yesterday. There was a party in the boys' dorm!"
Arthur harrumphed. He hadn't wanted to go to a party anyhow. "I wasn't aware of it and quite frankly I had my own 'party' to deal with." At their curious looks he elaborated, "It was Allistier's birthday yesterday."
"I'm guessing it didn't go well?" Lili asked sympathetically, taking in Arthur's grumpy attitude. Arthur's shoulders hunched and he dropped his school bag in his chair before he crossed his arms even as Alfred hurried over to lean between the two girls and greet him. Whatever they had been looking at earlier had been put away now as Kiku and Vash drifted over as well. Ivan occupied himself with his phone even though he sat near them to listen in anyway. It was as if they knew Arthur had a story to tell.
He scoffed. "You have no idea." Not that he had a much better one considering he still lacked the memory of the previous night. "I only remember waking up five miles from here missing a majority of my clothes and having to walk back home to discover Allistier had dumped me there last night."
Alfred let out a hoot of laughter as Kiku looked dismayed. "Why?"
The British boy grumbled under his breath. "Revenge." It wasn't unusual in their family to play cruel tricks on each other and by this point in his life Arthur had taken the brunt of it enough not to take it to heart too much. In this case it was at the very least warranted. He was more angry that he hadn't been able to slip under the radar for that one. He hadn't been able to get money in time considering he had barely been paid for the job he had done before getting fired (goddamn Alfred and Gilbert) and he hadn't yet started his job with Katyusha. He would be doing so tomorrow considering this was the last day before winter break.
The bell chimed three times to signal that students only had a few minutes left to make it to class on time. Arthur had apparently missed the first ring of the bell and didn't notice his other classmates starting to flood in. He said goodbye to Lili as Vash walked her out of the door, holding her hand to lead her through the opposite flowing students. Elizaveta moved over and kneeled next to Arthur's seat a bit to get in close to him. A flush appeared across his cheeks as her well-developed…figure pressed against his arm. It was no wonder Gilbert had such an issue letting a girl like her escape. She was beautiful.
"Aren't they such a cute couple?" She whispered to him happily, pointedly looking at the adopted siblings conspiratorially. "I'm so glad Lili's feelings have finally been returned."
Arthur rolled his eyes at her words, rather amused. He noticed that his mood had improved greatly since he had arrived even though it had only been a few minutes. Was it coincidence or is this just what it felt like to have friends to talk to? He wasn't sure of the answer but either way the idea tickled him in a happy way. "Of course they would. Anybody would notice the attraction between those two."
Elizaveta smiled at him with that sly look still. "Oh yes? You sound so perceptive of such things."
"Of course I am." Arthur sniffed rather haughtily. He had read enough romance books and had people-watched enough to read a number of emotions. He prided himself in his "skill".
Elizaveta giggled a bit. "You don't even notice your own affections, though!"
Arthur frowned at her, confused. Somehow he felt flustered, his cheeks heating up a bit. "Affections? For who?" He demanded. As far as he was concerned he cared for nobody in such a way. He was completely content with just having friends. In fact that was rather more than enough than what he needed. "Enough" was all he really needed and he daren't wish for any more than that. Beside him Alfred sat down and leaned towards them.
"What'cha two whispering about? I wanna know secrets!"
Elizaveta tsked him. "Al, this is between the two of us. You don't need to hear about Arthur's love life."
"Love life?" Alfred's eyes lit up with curiosity. "Now I have to know!" Arthur could feel his face burning despite the fact that there wasn't a "love life" to even speak about. The look in Alfred's deep blue eyes worried him, after all. He looked far too interested and Arthur knew that when the boy was interested it usually meant he was pushy enough to get his way. The American and the Hungarian shared a look that Arthur frowned at, immediately suspicious. Something had just passed between them and he had missed it. Damn it.
"There's nothing to discuss!" Arthur stated, pushing Alfred's too-close body away from him. His aura was blending with Arthur's and from the corner of his eye Arthur saw that the two were beginning to flow around each other in a type of exotic dance. He found himself temporarily distracted as the bright yellow-tinged-with-pink (the pink seemed much closer to the body and yellow seemed to be the more saturated colour) twirling and almost stroking Arthur's own familiar light blue and green (it was a mix between the two mostly) one. His heart thudded feeling as if the action was too intimate. His body had become used to the other boy to the point he felt drawn to lean towards him. He felt almost as if it was required of him. Really he needed to make sure that Alfred stayed away from him a good distance. Such an atmosphere was far too intoxicating (more so than the strongest of alcohols) for his mind.
Alfred leaned back only a bit but he was still well within Arthur's personal space. Arthur could no longer find it in himself to push him farther. He instead focused on Elizaveta's nearby aura. It flickered excitedly and swirled with colour that fascinated Arthur. He hadn't read up enough on auras to read emotions from the colours, though. He would need to ask Vladimir at the next club meeting to teach him. He was curious. "There has to be something! Come on, Artie! You got someone you like? Someone I know? Actually," the American twisted himself to be within Arthur's averted vision, "what team do you play for anyway?"
"Excuse me?" He asked, confused. When had this become a discussion of sports all of the sudden?
"Which way do you swing?"
"Oh." He realized and blushed again. Damn the fact that he was wind-burnt; his face kept feeling all hot. "Well I…I never considered it." He answered honestly. He had never seen the reasoning as to looking into his own sexuality. He'd had crushes on people (if his first love had been any indication) but he didn't really align himself with a particular sexuality. He found both men and women attractive but did he want to be with any of them? No, he hadn't found someone like that yet.
Elizaveta gasped and put her hands on his thigh. "I have to introduce you to some of my friends! They'd love you!"
"Nope!" Alfred grabbed Arthur and yanked his form to him. Arthur yelped as he fell backwards and half against Alfred's chest and partially into his lap. His bottom was still in his own chair and Elizaveta's hands were still a little too close to his privates for his comfort. However, his mind became heavily distracted by the sudden fact that he was so close to Alfred once again. The boy had a broad chest that fit rather perfectly against Arthur's back as the American wrapped his arms around Arthur's torso to hug him close. Now Arthur was sure his "wind burn" was worse than ever. "He's not going to meet your ensemble of gay guys, Liz. I think Artie's great the way he is." There was a strange way in how Alfred stressed his words that made Arthur immediately want to know of Alfred's hidden meaning. It had gone over his head –literally, considering their positions- but Elizaveta caught it. She seemed even happier by this development and sent a look to Kiku who was listening but staying tactfully out of the conversation.
Arthur struggled in Alfred's arms and finally squirmed away. "Keep your hands to yourself, you git!" He fixed his blazer and harrumphed. Alfred only laughed and ruffled his friend's hair which he received an angry swat from.
"Hey that reminds me, you're starting work tomorrow right?"
"Yes." Arthur reached into his backpack to pull out his pen and fiddle with it absently. "I need to talk to Katyusha about everything first, though. The Juice Bar was closed yesterday, though."
"Yeah, Ivan said his sister's helping him out before he leaves. Says she's a real mess."
"What?" He looked at him with concern. "Is she alright?"
"Oh yeah!" Alfred waved off the concern with a grin. "She a crybaby, so it's okay. She'll get over it. She just really loves her siblings."
"What a kind sister." Arthur could hardly fathom having loving siblings. One of said "loving siblings" entered the room then, shutting the door and locking it behind him. He appeared just as grumpy as Arthur felt at the sight of him. Arthur was little bit self-satisfied that he wasn't the only one sporting a hangover.
Allistier put down their finals on the desk and met his brother's eyes before grinning. His emerald eyes –just like Arthur's- flashed smugly. "I see ye made it back."
"Go to hell. You could've left me some goddamn shoes." Arthur scowled at him.
"Don't spend my money, then." Allistier sniffed.
"You…are a fucking asshole." He hissed.
"It runs in the family, idjit. Now let's get this shite over with…" He said and started to pass out the finals.
It was approaching noon as Arthur arrived at the Juice Bar to begin his first day on his new job. Fresh snow had fallen the night before and lay thick on the ground so he made sure to bundle up. The sun was covered by a thick down blanket of grey clouds threatening to release another wave of the snow. Arthur puffed hot air into the sky and watched it drift upwards and disappear in the surrounding sky. He shifted in his large suede trench coat and maneuvered his scarf up over his nose to warm it with his own breath. Although it was noon it was nearing -5⁰C and he was really feeling the urge to get inside. He didn't much care for the weather elements and the cold brought back unwanted memories from some of the previous towns he lived in (although really he had "unwanted memories" from every town he's lived in thus far). Ivan had told him yesterday what time he was to arrive at his sister's bar in order to get his training over with quickly. Tomorrow would be a winter concert in the park and no doubt guests would want to get drinks. Arthur would need to get the job down rather quickly so he arrived at noon.
The Juice Bar, at the moment, was empty in exception to Katyusha herself as she cleaned up the counter. Her breasts bounced with each movement that she made with her arms and Arthur found himself staring. He quickly averted his eyes to her face biting back a blush of both embarrassment as he reprimanded himself and just a hint of arousal (he was a healthy teenage boy) as she looked up and smiled at him. "Arthur! You have come! Thank you so much for offering!" She hurried over to take his hand in hers, already teary-eyed. Alfred hadn't been kidding about her crybaby tendencies. "I was afraid I would have to manage alone without my little brother but then he told me that you would replace him, yes?" She squeezed his hand lightly, her accent thickening with her emotions. Arthur took a second to comprehend what he had been told.
"Yes, I have. I'm thankful you were willing to offer me the job. I need the money, you see." He hinted that he still expected to be paid for his service. The way the woman had spoken Ivan made it seem like he was helping out of the kindness of his heart (which very minimally he was because he wasn't heartless).
"Of course!" Katyusha agreed and placed his hand on her chest in what was meant to be a sentimental way but Arthur –receiving a full hand- took it differently and stiffened. He sensed it as Jeanne frowned deeply at him, disapproving of this touch. He felt that she didn't support Arthur being with such a woman romantically. "I would be glad to pay for help of my younger brother's good friend!" She released him and Arthur hurriedly snatched his hand back, blushing. He quickly tucked his hands into his coat pockets and followed the woman as she moved behind the bar. The next few hours Arthur spent learning all that he was to know about working at the Juice Bar. For the most part he was to help with serving drinks considering he didn't know the recipes for each yet. He was given a list of all of the recipes he was to learn (quite the list it was) and he had to memorize. It even had instructions on how to cut the fruit up or how to use the blender to give the coffee products the perfect foam. There was a lot to learn but Arthur loved to learn. Katyusha was a good teacher as she got down to it. She demonstrated anything that Arthur had particular questions about. She allowed him to try as well and offered to try whatever he made. At first her face turned a bit green and she turned away to gather herself. Arthur watched her, curious to know if he had been that great at it. She smiled painfully at him.
"That was horrible." She told him in a kind but stern voice. "You used far too much mint. You learn, yes?" Arthur watched the smile and shivered slightly. He could finally see the relation between Katyusha and Ivan. It wasn't pleasant and she grew much stricter with him after the botched drink. Many of the drinks turned out bad (if not worse than the first) but the more Arthur practiced the better he got. They had to spend so much time on him learning the recipes in between serving customers that they didn't even have time to start on any kind of baking when the time rolled around for the alcohol to start flowing. Arthur was dismissed from the job then seeing as he wasn't allowed to touch the alcohol or serve it.
He thanked Katyusha and bundled up again as he left through the trees. A sensation nearby him attracted his attention and he was alerted to the fact that there was a figure crouching near a tree in the darkness. Arthur's skin prickled as his hair stood up in alarm. He knew that there were "bad" faeries out in the world and no doubt that there were some living in this forest. He wasn't sure if he was looking at a faerie but one could never be too sure. Perhaps it would be best to move on but that's when he noticed that the figure was indeed human and it was talking to the tree. He approached the person a bit and recognized through the thick clothing that it was Lukas. He was murmuring softly to the fully grown tree, stroking the smooth pine bark slowly. He appeared relaxed and in his element as he had his back turned for the most part to Arthur.
Arthur considered not imposing when exactly who Lukas was talking to caught his attention. It was a beautiful dryad with long flowing green hair powdered with white snow. Her pale white skin was tinged with hints of browns and greens and pine needles covered only her lower form and created a necklace of sorts. She was conversing happily with the Norwegian as she touched his hand, smiling in a breathtaking way. No matter how many times Arthur saw any type of nymph (which wasn't often seeing as the girls tended to stray from humans) he swore that he could easily fall in love with them. He never did but still it was the thought that matter and that had flattered many of the few nymphs he had talked to in the past. She noticed him before Lukas did and she squeaked in fear before disappearing into her tree. Lukas gave a disappointed look before he turned his gaze to greet Arthur.
"Ah, I'm sorry." Arthur apologized quickly, more for the dryad's sake than Lukas's. "I scared you by accident. I didn't mean to intrude." He bowed slightly to the tree and turned to Lukas. "I didn't realize it was you, is all. I apologize."
Lukas shook his head. "It's fine." He stated and gazed at the tree once more with a small smile before it disappeared and he joined Arthur. "I was only having a chat."
Arthur nodded a goodbye to the tree before he and the Norwegian boy left through the forest to head for the park. When they were out of earshot Arthur decided to speak, "I didn't know you were friends with the dryads. I had barely been able to see any before."
"I've been friends with her for a while." He responded as he slipped on his gloves.
"She was lovely and quite fond of you, it seemed." It seemed as if she was in love with you. Are you cheating on your boyfriend? He asked unspoken.
"I was the one who planted and cared for her." She loves me but the feeling is not mutual. Arthur read from the boy's tone.
"Ah." They didn't speak more than that and walked in companionable silence for a couple minutes before Arthur began to recount some of his stories of childhood adventures with Lukas. He hadn't met anyone else who'd had the Sight in a long while and he wanted to express his feelings for the creatures he had met. He felt almost obligated to in the face of someone who obviously cared for them just as much as Arthur did. The English boy had often seen faeries accompanying Lukas in various places and even had found the boy playing with them on occasion. He'd even seen a troll or two following after the boy. He wanted to know more about this person who came from such a different background –and such a different country- and Lukas obliged to him. They talked for a long time which was the most Arthur had ever spoken to him. They walked around the town not minding the hour and only stopped once to buy some warm drinks and treats at the Vargas's place. Even then they had so much to discuss. Arthur found himself laughing as Lukas regaled him with tales of how he had pulled pranks with his faerie friends and Lukas in turn laughed at some of Arthur's more mischievous adventures. Arthur could hardly believe that he was smiling so much but he felt such a strong companionship with the previously freaky boy who had unnerved him. Perhaps, he decided, I should open myself up just a bit more to my friends. But then he remembered that his duty to destroy his oldest "friend" was not over with yet and he pulled back such thoughts. Just…a bit.
Christmas was around the corner for the town and the heavens seemed determined to make it a white Christmas. Snow fell in layers from the sky and coated the bustling town. If school was in, Arthur decided, he was certain that there would be multiple snow days. Yule was also just around the corner but it didn't fall on Christmas day this year but rather a couple days before it. Arthur needed to set up his altar at his house accordingly and decorate for the beautiful holiday. In his mind he could already picture the blues and whites of the candles as well as the flowers he would lay on it. He considered what exactly he wanted to do for this holiday and whether or not Lukas and Vladimir wanted to join in on the festivities. They probably did but they didn't have a meeting about it before. He would need to go to the dorms eventually and ask them. No doubt that this time appropriate attire would be needed rather than going skyclad.
Work at the Juice Bar became easier after a couple days of trial and error (mostly error) with the drinks. Customers didn't complain as they saw that Arthur really was trying his hardest and he almost always got it perfect on the second try. His duties required him to not only go into town to buy supplies for the Bar but to also take orders, make them, and clean up. Naturally Katyusha helped as well but there were occasions when Arthur was on a successful streak that boosted his pride and she just let him have at it with all of the customers. Working at the Bar was fun for him. He didn't really like having to deal with all of the people (and thus their auras) so often but most of the auras were rather weak anyway and he could block out the rest. He was a good employee after all and more than earned his pay.
It was the evening before Yule and the Bar was slowly shifting into a more adult bar as the pastries began to be put away and the fruits were to be stored for tomorrow. Arthur went over to a table where someone had spilt a smoothie and wiped it down quickly before he went to go hang up his apron. "Thank you so much, Arthur." Katyusha called to him from the store room as she began to bring out the alcohol. Arthur moved to help her but she waved him off with a friendly smile. Arthur smiled back at her and pulled on his trench coat.
"Good bye, then." He said and pulled the front door shut behind him to start walking. He jumped as he bumped lightly into someone and hurriedly apologized. "I'm sorry, I didn't see you."
"Nah, it's cool." He blinked in surprise to see that he had run straight into Alfred but Alfred appeared distracted as he looked past Arthur with a frown at the Juice Bar. He tilted himself to look through the windows using Arthur's shoulders for leverage to see higher as Arthur watched curiously. Finally after a minute of appraisal he looked at Arthur with a grin, not releasing his shoulders. "Hey, did'ja just come out of there? Was anybody in there?"
"Besides Katyusha, no." Arthur shivered at the warmth literally radiating off of Alfred. Maybe this was why the boy was always cold in this weather? All of his heat was too busy being worked off of his skin in massive loads. "Why?"
Alfred clicked his tongue with a frown, glancing once back more at the Juice Bar. "Damn. I'm looking for Matt. He ran off with Gilbert saying they were going out and I wanted to follow them. Thought for sure that they would come here. Oh well." His hands slid down Arthur's arms causing the boy to stiffen before the hands dropped off and back to Alfred's sides. "How's work going? Is Katyusha letting you cook? Please tell me she's not letting you cook."
Arthur scowled at him. "It's going well, thank you! And my cooking is perfectly fine!" He didn't like the reminder of how much his friends had all hated his treats that he had promised to bring them a long time ago. It had ended up with a lot of gagging (for those brave enough to try the "food"), some people not even trying them, Gilbert passing out, and Alfred complaining (yet he finished all of them off). He was still quite sore about the whole of the event preferring not to cook again for them.
"Well if you're cooking, I'll just have to buy all of them so as to save everyone's lives. Maybe I'll use them for charcoal for my next barbeque!"
"I swear to god, Alfred-"
Alfred laughed and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "I'm kidding. I don't need another beat down, okay? My lip has finally healed." Arthur smirked at him. He was actually rather proud that he had managed to take down the quarterback. "Hang out with me a bit; I'm gonna get a coffee."
"You can't." Arthur stopped him and ducked out from underneath his arm. His head was beginning to swim and Jeanne was reacting to it sending spikes of energy into him. It wasn't helping his head clear any. She was working against him. "She's already started serving alcohol. That's why I'm done for the night."
"What! It's not that late already, is it?" Alfred patted himself down for his cell phone and pulled it out. The blue light lit up his face and reflected in his glasses. He cursed.
"You do realize it becomes dark earlier in the winter, correct?" The British boy asked him amused as he began to walk away. Alfred hurried up to him and pocketed the phone.
"Of course I knew." He puffed out his cheeks in annoyance. "I just didn't think I'd been running around this long." They fell into silence as they walked companionably together. Arthur looked at Alfred's silhouette from the corner of his eye and continued to stare. The yellow light from the street lamps made the wheat-coloured hair of the American light up gold and created an almost majestic feel to him. He almost seemed like an elfin king that Arthur faintly recalled meeting once upon a time when he was very young. His skin was smooth without any kind of blemish of acne and his jaw was not quite square but it wasn't rounded out like a female's either. He had the faintest hint of laughter lines around his eyes and mouth already that one wouldn't notice unless they were looking as long and hard as Arthur was. He held himself high with a strong back that showed off his power to those around him. It was no wonder Alfred had an aura such as what Arthur could sense; the boy was strong in absolutely every sense of the word. He found himself wishing to feel that power for his own –to have the muscled arms around him, to have the full flare of that aura engulfing him, to feel the strongest of emotions Alfred could possibly give him. What sort of emotion would that be? Hatred? Fear? Joy? …Love? Arthur had no idea. He knew that love was a very strong emotion but he only knew of the love between him and his grandmother. Clearly he and Alfred couldn't share the same familial connection. What would it feel like to experience a different type of love? Arthur's curious and somewhat muddled mind begged to know.
Suddenly green eyes found themselves staring into questioning but laughing blue. Arthur's head had turned to stare openly at Alfred at some point in time during his thoughts. "You've been staring for a while, Artie. Am I that handsome?" His voice was slightly different somehow, Arthur noticed. It was a bit deeper and more rugged. It wasn't unappealing even in its teasing nature.
Arthur turned his head away quickly, flushing with embarrassment. "Of course not! Don't be so conceited! I w-was just considering how much of a fool you looked!" Alfred barked out some laughter not falling for such a blatant lie.
"Hey, you're not doing anything tonight right?" He suddenly asked. They were arriving into the playground area of the park so they weren't far from the street. Upon Arthur confirmation he suggested, "Well why don't you sleepover at the dorms with me? I doubt Matt will be home since he's been after Gilbert's tail for a while and they're finally on a date. You can take his bed."
Arthur grunted as he thought about the Canadian. True that there had been some type of awkward love triangle bouncing clumsily around between Gilbert, Matthew, and Elizaveta. Gilbert couldn't seem to get his feelings set straight and everyone else in the group tended to ignore it knowing how sensitive it was. Gilbert wasn't actively going after either of the two but it was clear that he wanted Matthew too…but his lingering feelings for Elizaveta were standing in the way. It didn't help that the poor Hungarian girl also had her own love triangle that was going on (as Arthur was informed by her herself) between her, Roderich, and Gilbert. She loved both of them and was trying her damndest to get over Gilbert so the waiting Matthew could have him but that clearly wasn't happening. And poor Matthew was stuck in the middle with a roller coaster of emotions taking him on a very hilly ride that didn't seem to have anyone who was willing to stop it at the moment. Arthur pitied his friends for their issues and was quite content with the fact that he didn't have to deal with such things. This was a small part of the reason as to why Arthur didn't like dating.
"No, thank you." He'd rather sleep in his own bed than Matthew's. Besides, he didn't think he could stand to be in Alfred's presence for so long as overnight. It was bad enough that he was addicted to the boy's aura but he didn't need to indulge in it as well. He wasn't a fool and that was dangerous.
"You're completely ridiculous!" Jeanne huffed, frustrated. Arthur firmly ignored her. Alfred led them around the large circle of the playground rather than the straight shot through to the sidewalk by the street.
"Oh come on," Alfred said, "you never join in on my sleepovers because you're never at the dorms. Don't you ever have sleepovers with friends?"
"I've never had friends to have sleepovers with." Arthur found himself saying before he really considered what he was about to say. It wasn't wrong because he'd never been invited to sleepovers before and the closest things he had to friends had either died or had been faeries.
Alfred jerked to a halt, shocked. "You haven't? Didn't you have any friends growing up?" The way he worded it stabbed at Arthur.
"No." He stared at his own steaming breath in an effort to avoid those toxic lovely blue eyes.
"Come here." He grabbed Arthur's hand in his own and led him quickly over to bench where he sat them down. He then turned halfway in the seat to face the boy. "Can we talk about something for a moment, please? This has been bugging me for a long time." Arthur felt a foreboding feeling and said nothing as he watched Alfred. The boy continued, "Arthur, is everything okay? Can you, like, tell me something about your past? I know it seems like a lot of bad stuff happened," Arthur scoffed mentally. This American had no idea, "but we're friends, right? Can you just…talk to me a moment?"
Arthur avoided his gaze to stare at the trampled snow in front of them. He folded his arm across his chest and huddled down slightly. "There's far too much to talk about and a majority of that I never want to discuss."
Alfred sighed and scratched his head through his ski-cap as he thought. "How about this then: why didn't you have any friends? And is that the reason you didn't want any when you moved here?"
Arthur glanced at him. Alfred could be perceptive when he wanted to be. "…Yes, to your second question." He hesitated to answer the first and waited a few moments to gather how he wanted to word himself before saying, "And I…was a victim of much bullying in the past. I moved around quite a bit because of…events. I never had the opportunity to make any real friends let alone have sleepovers."
"Bullying?" Alfred asked and twisted himself into a normal position facing the playground equipment. His body was a bit too close but Arthur enjoyed the heat. "How could they bully you? What was it about?"
"Stupid shite, some of which wasn't actually true. They called me ugly names and fought with me and called me things like 'faggot' even though they're the ones who would touch me. Bloody bastards." Arthur scowled, angry at the past but sighed to release it. It didn't bother him so much anymore (except when anything similar to bullying began to happen to him again) because it was overshadowed by events that usually happened after all of this had occurred. But Arthur would rather not think about that at the moment.
"Well are you a fag?" Alfred asked, watching him.
"I believe we've already had this conversation before."
"That's true, huh? Well as you can tell we don't really give much of a fuck about sexuality because of," he waved his hand in a general direction as he mentally indicated various friends of Arthur's that were dating people of the same sex, "and if it makes you feel better I play for both teams…you know, as in bisexual." He added remembering that Arthur didn't understand that metaphor.
"Really?" Arthur looked at him in mild surprise. "You don't strike me as one who would be a homosexual."
Alfred let out a frustrated huff of air and gave a rather exasperated look. "Are you serious?" He leaned in closer to Arthur and Arthur's eyes widened as Alfred's voice lowered some, "How is it not obvious that I like guys?" Arthur's face grew hot and he found himself mentally fumbling for words as he looked everywhere but at Alfred. Of course Arthur couldn't possibly know that Alfred was gay. Yes, he did seem a bit too touchy with males but he did that to females too (with some restraint). On top of that Arthur hadn't seen a single person that Alfred could've been interested in. How was he supposed to know?
"W-well," he stumbled on his words as a distraction but Alfred had leaned back and was now sitting back against the head of the bench rather lazily. His hand was still sitting next to him looking rather inviting without any gloves over those no-doubt cold fingers. Only his face was turned towards Arthur and the British boy made the fatal mistake of meeting those eyes. They burned with an intensity in them that reflected the atmosphere outside. Something was charged between the two boys and it was drawing Arthur in fast. He tried to resist (really he did) but he knew that he was captured. From the corner of his eyes he spotted their auras blending and encompassing each other as Arthur found his body leaning towards Alfred. He wanted to kiss him, he realized. It was like a sledge hammer hitting him right in the chest. He liked Alfred. He liked Alfred a lot. He wanted nothing more than to give in to the coaxing that was being given unto him and crawl into his lap and curl up in that warmth and electrifying feeling forever.
But reality was a harsh thing and he knew that he needed to resist. He needed to bury this emotion and he needed to bury it fast. He ripped his eyes away to glare sorrowfully at his slightly trembling hands. "Stop that." He whispered, unable to bring his voice any higher. To his shock it was rough just as Alfred's had been earlier. He swallowed thickly to try to clear it.
"Stop what?" Alfred asked, a little confused. Still the intensity between them didn't diminish. His aura was still stroking Arthur's own flashing one. It was exceptionally intimate and made Arthur's heart pound faster with the urge to get further into it. He felt as if Alfred himself was stroking him –his arms, his face, his legs, his heart, his soul- and it was almost too much for the struggling boy to handle.
"Stop…everything. Stop looking at me that way. Stop this feeling. Stop…trying to make me fall for you." He whispered breathlessly.
"You finally noticed? I wasn't exactly being subtle about it." Arthur's heart jumped to his throat, so surprised he was by the sudden confession. But the effect was numbed down by his growing sense of sorrow.
"Alfred I…I can't. Please just stop it. Stop pursuing me."
"Why should I?" Alfred leaned forward in his seat and captured Arthur's hand. Arthur pulled it away and clutched his hands together.
"I'm not worth it-"
"Everybody is worth love!" Alfred denied with a quick angry shake of his head, repulsed by the idea that Arthur could even think of himself that way.
"People who love me die!" Arthur said vehemently with a glare at the boy, causing Alfred to freeze. His eyes misted over and he blinked them back looking back down at his hands. They were shaking worse now. He brought them to his lips and breathed on them to warm his suddenly cold skin. "Alfred, people around me die. That's why I can't have friends. That's why my family hates me. That's why I've moved to a completely new fucking country. It's all because anybody who becomes close to me dies!" He couldn't stop the hot tears now. He didn't even bother to try.
Alfred was silent watching Arthur's tears. He waited a few moments as Arthur gathered himself (he was thankful Alfred granted him that right) before he spoke. His voice was soft and full of emotion as a mother would talk to their precious child. He didn't touch Arthur but then again Arthur really didn't want him to. Physical comfort was not something that ever helped him so broken was he emotionally. "But you have friends now. All of us are alive and we're breathing and laughing and having fun –with you. You're our friend. And I'm alive too. None of us are dead." He smiled then as Arthur finally turned to look at him again. A single tear rolled from the boy's eye and down his cheek. Alfred reached forward and wiped cold fingers across the cheek with a mere brush –barely touching Arthur's skin but feeling like it was the most intimate thing they had done together thus far- to take away the tear. "So stop trying to fight it. Isn't it better to look at a happier future than to dwell in a sad past?"
Arthur's eyes closed as more tears dripped down his cheeks. The pain in his chest was intense and his throat was tight with a mixture of emotions. Rifling through them seemed useless so jumbled together were they. He couldn't tell the difference between the happy and the sad emotions. How long had it even been since he'd felt some of these emotions? Alfred was right, though. His friends were alive. Nobody around him was dead and for once, nobody hated him. Maybe he could actually have a bit of a brighter future. It was something he could look forward to, after all. Looking at a happier future, he agreed, would be so much easier to move forward to than one he knew would bring him nothing but pain. So he would let his first step be this. Maybe the pain in the future wouldn't be worth it or maybe it would. Who was he to know what the future brought? And so he would allow this to happen. He wouldn't force himself against something he so clearly wanted. And right now every part of him (like they already weren't before) begged him to just accept Alfred.
He found soft lips placed on his then. The cold of the metal in Alfred's glasses caused him to gasp but his body only moved closer. It was chaste with the pressure between them minimal. Arthur didn't ask for more at that moment as he experienced new emotions. For once he knew that the full feeling in his heart suddenly wasn't from Jeanne's coaxing. It was all this boy in front of him. It was acceptance and joy and the entire feeling of knowing that someone –finally someone- had come to want Arthur for their own. Someone had picked up the little broken doll that had rolled under the bed long ago and had been suffering in the darkness and had finally brought him out to see the world again as something other than a cold place. And although Arthur knew that the world was indeed a very cruel place and knew that at some point in time this decision would come back to him, he felt that in this singular moment he would ignore his logic in favour of everything that was entirely Alfred. With that thought in mind Arthur pressed deeper and Alfred gave way under his lips as Arthur tried to press all of these decisions into the other boy. He wanted him to understand him. And he wanted Alfred to know what he would need to do as he suffered from the consequences that was choosing to be with Arthur.
But Alfred didn't seem to mind. At least he wasn't complaining as his hands came up to cup Arthur's cheeks as lovingly as if he was holding Arthur's own soul in his hands. They pulled away from each other momentarily only to come back just as strongly, a surge of emotions keeping them locked. Arthur felt it as his own aura was wrapped up and completely encompassed by Alfred's own. It flowed around him with its intensity and filled him. The force was too strong to let either of them pull away from each other so soon. They would not be able to escape the sudden release of Arthur's unlocked heart so soon after it had been locked up for so many years.
But neither of them seemed to mind it.
A/N: Today's chapter is off of the song "Left-Behind City" by Miku Hatsune. I'm trying to make my chapters more detailed so if I'm doing well please send feedback. :3
Review! I expect to break 75 total reviews with this chapter so let's make this happen! :D
