A/N: I have almost no excuses for not posting this chapter before, besides changing the country of living and trying to find beta for this chapter (in which I failed miserably so I'm sorry if you feel the quality makes you suffer).
I hope that anyone that is religious wouldn't be offended by this chapter. If so, I'm sorry, that was not an intend of mine to mock any religion.
So, it's the final! I hope you'll enjoy it and thank you for staying so long with me.
It was dead of night when Alfred sneaked out of the room he was supposed to share with Matthew. He was unable to fall asleep, despite how many times he rolled, stretched and shifted in his bed. For the first hour he told himself it was all because of those unhuman noise his brother emitted in his sleep. He tried to wake him up, shaking his arms with as little delicacy as he could, but after quick argument and few curses, Matthew resumed his snoring like a broken diesel engine. After another hour he had to admit that it wasn't direct cause of his nervousness. He dressed himself and got out of his bed. He decided that he had to deal with the matter himself, rather than spending the rest of the night sleepless, overthinking it.
That's why he was currently walking the dark halls of the manor. His already quiet steps were muffled more by the thick carpet. He stopped in front of the door to the room Arthur was sleeping in. He was about to push the door handle down, but he hesitated with his hand mid-air. It was something normal to check up on a sick person, right?
Who am I kidding, he thought and lightly pushed the door open. He saw Arthur laying down on the sofa, exactly where he left him before. He came closer to the laying figure, observing slow raising and falling of his chest as he breathed in his sleep. He felt a cold breeze on his face and saw Arthur shuddering lightly. The door to the balcony was opened, so he stepped to close it. As he was closing it he thought briefly that he hear Lizzy's voice.
He walked back to Arthur. He took of his jacked and bundled the man up in it. Arthur rolled in his sleep, muttering something, and he held the jacked closer, absorbing its heat. His slender and pale fingers curled around the furry hem of its collar. Alfred looked at the man's pale cheeks, which seemed even paler in the moonlight that slipped through the window. His gaze shifted to Arthur's slightly parted lips, and he was overwhelmed by thoughts that he would never admit he had. He found himself leaning involuntary, being pulled closer by them. It was a force so strong like a magnetism, when he had no control over his body and could only be led.
"What the bloody hell do you think you're doing?" Arthur whispered, an angry underlying tone in his voice, his face bright red.
Alfred jumped back. His reddening cheeks were burning him, reminding him that this was reality and he'd just done something stupid. Like, incredibly stupid. Like, stalking and trying to kiss a person he'd met two days ago.
"I… I've come to check if you are all right," he laughed, stuttering a little. "You were out for so long I was afraid you're going to turn into some kind of zombie," he ruffled the hair on the back of his head, trying really hard not to look Arthur in the eyes.
"Well, I'm all right," Arthur huffed. "There's no need to trying… whatever you were trying to do." He gestured franticly around himself, new blush spreading on his cheeks.
"Ok, ok, I get it. I didn't try to do anything. You were just looking so-," Alfred bit his tongue before he said something he would later regret. "Listen, I was just worried. You used a lot of magic there and you said yourself that this fighting things take a lot of energy from you. You could even, I don't know, die from it, right? Besides everybody are busy with their own business and I thought you might be lonely when you wake up. Everybody was so concerned about Gilbert that I think they have forgotten about you." He smiled apologetically.
Arthur scoffed lightly. "It was predictable. As always the one who does the most work is forgotten." His eyes widened with realisation. "Gilbert! Is he alright? I don't understand why he-…"
"Chill out. He's doing fine. A minute after you passed out he woke up, like nothing ever happened." Alfred sat down in a chair next to the sofa.
Arthur leaned his head forward, clasping his hands under the chin. He furrowed his eyebrows, saying, "I don't understand. This should have never happened. We should have returned to our time before he was even struck. Not only this hasn't happened, but now you're telling me that he's walking sound and healthy. That's unbelievable! Not that I'm not happy for him, but I just wish to understand," he sighed, leaning heavily on his hands.
"Yeah, we sort of talked about this during dinner. Mattie thinks that it could be Gil's magic. You said yourself that all of us have some super abilities and Gil never did anything unusual." Although Alfred was pretty sure that most of the people would say that Gilbert was unusual himself.
"That may be it." Arthur straightened his back and sank back into the sofa. "It's good that everyone is unharmed. That's why I tend to avoid those particular periods of time."
Alfred stood up and walked towards the door, seeing as Arthur was getting more tired, and wanting the man to have some more rest. He smiled at him. "You have nothing to be afraid of. You were a total badass there, throwing flames and shields all around." He swished his arms through the air, mimicking Arthur's previous actions, and gaining a small smile from the man. "Anyway, you should rest for now. Don't want you to pass out randomly again. Once was scary enough."
He turned back to the door and was a step away from getting out of the room, when Arthur called after him.
"Alfred," he said, his rough voice sounding like a scolding. Alfred looked at Arthur to see his jacket being thrown at him. He had enough time to catch it just before it landed on the floor. He looked back at Arthur, and saw a small smile lingering on the man's face.
"Thank you," Arthur said to him, only this time his voice was soft and quiet, and there was no trace of bitterness in it.
Alfred breath hitched a little, and before he could do or say something he would regret later, he stepped out of the room.
They all had gathered in the kitchen. The next morning, when Arthur had realised that he accidentally transported everyone to twins' and Gilbert's timeline, including Italian brothers, he decided it was best place to hold a serious discussion. There was a moderate amount of modern household appliances. Small enough to let Alfred say it looked like old granny's house, but large enough to let Lovino freak out when he saw a fridge, and start punching Arthur in a murder attempt. Eliza was glad that Arthur was asleep when the brothers saw the telly.
"Alright. Now that we're all here together I think we should be able to sit calmly and talk about the issue like civilized people," Arthur said, glancing at Lovino with angry scowl. "That means no shouting, no punching, no act of any violence, especially any kind of lethal damage."
"Except for Gil," Alfred laughed. "We know we can kick this bastard anyway we want because he can't literally die."
"Hey! It's still hurts," Gilbert protested.
"And please watch your language here," Arthur sighed. "At least try to use proper grammar."
Alfred stuck out his tongue as his reply.
"Can we please go back to the important things?" Ludwig sighed.
Arthur cleared his throat, abashed from the boy's scolding. "Yes. As I was saying in the chapel – Ludwig must go back to his own time. We can't say what the effects of his prolonged stay would be, but it's definitely nothing good."
"And what would you know about it, huh?" Lovino snapped. "It seems to me that there are a lot of things about which you have no idea," he gestured angrily towards Gilbert.
"Lovi," Feliciano looked disapprovingly at his brother. It was only a fleeting moment, and second later he had his usual bright smile on his face, but they couldn't believe how drastic the change in his features was when he was angry.
"If it's really such a big problem then maybe you should just go back to your family," he continued with his smile, placing his hand on Ludwig's shoulder.
The gesture held much caring but nothing could mask the hurt that was visible on Ludwig's face. Feliciano didn't seem to notice as he carried on, "I'm sure He will allow you to visit from time to time. And if you're going to be too busy it doesn't matter. After all, we will meet again when my humble life will end and I will join you in our Father's gardens. Then I can meet your magical angel family again." He looked at the rest of group with hopeful smile.
"Oh dear," Arthur sighed, trying to hide his exasperation.
"I've told you million fucking times," Lovino barked at his brother. "His not an angel! More like a devil himself. Look where we are!" He gestured around himself, sending particularly strong glare at the fridge.
"Feliciano, if I'm going to leave then it's forever. I won't visit you anymore and we will not meet each other again," Ludwig said with exceptionally calm voice. He laid his hand on top of Feliciano's.
"But that's…" Feliciano looked ready to cry, his voice trembling a little.
"I've never said anything about not visiting," Arthur said, raising his eyebrows, surprised.
"What?" Ludwig looked at the magician, disbelieving what he had heard.
"You can visit on your own when you'll learn how to control yourself," Arthur said. "As long as you spend at least a considerable amount of time in your own timeline," he smiled at the word-play.
"Are you sure about that? Won't he cause the any side effects?" Matthew asked worryingly.
"I've told you that I don't know what can or can't happen if he does that," Arthur sighed, getting irritated. "I only assume that if he does that in limited amount it should cause no harm."
Gilbert took a step forward, clenching his fists from the rage that was quickly bubbling inside him. "Yeah? Like you assumed that we know that from the start? Or you just didn't bother to tell us and enjoyed the fight?"
"If you'd cared enough to actually listen to what I'm trying to say to you then you would know that," Arthur rose up from his seat, irritation stepping aside to anger in his voice.
Alfred, seeing what was happening, catch Gilbert by his shoulder, stopping him. The man tensed visibly under the touch, but didn't move further.
"Gil, calm down," Alfred said. "It's over. Luddie is safe, you're alive and nothing really happened. Besides, Artie did his fair share of saving our asses down there."
"So that means Ludwig can still visit the church?" Feliciano beamed, looking at Arthur with hopeful eyes.
"Yes, he still can," Arthur answered, forcing a smile toward the Italian, while he was still angered. "Of course after he learns," he added.
Gilbert relaxed, stepping back a little and shrugging Alfred's hand from his shoulder. He threw an accusatory look at his friend, but beside that he said nothing.
"That's fantastic!" Feliciano latched onto Ludwig's arm, clearly making him uncomfortable. Ludwig's face was looking torn between happiness and embarrassment.
"Now you don't have any excuse to come home," Gilbert grumbled. "Ok, I think I'm done here. This whole talking is making me more unawesome, and seriously, I had enough fighting and arguing for a long time." He stretched his arms above his head. With one arm he grabbed Matthew by his shoulder and led him towards the door. "Come on, Birdie. Let me crash at your house. I'm tired of this magical shit."
Matthew looked surprised but didn't protest, emitting only small sound of approval as he let himself to be led out.
"Oi, and Luddie," Gilbert shouted from the doorframe. "If you don't show for dinner with our parents I'm going hunt you and make you come. Remember that now I know that you're not dead." And with saying that they left the kitchen.
Ludwig turned to Feliciano, saying, "Would you like to see the place that I used to live in? There's really nice forest around our house that I'm sure you would like." He cleared his throat lightly, trying to mask his embarrassment.
"Like hell I would leave you alone with my brother after all that had happened," Lovino said angrily, a growl growing at the back of his throat.
"Right!" Feliciano exclaimed. "Let fratello come with us. I'm sure he would be bored if he stayed here and not see all those wonderful things you want us to see." He tightened his hold on Ludwig's arm.
Ludwig looked torn. He sighed and agreed to take Lovino with them, nodding his head slightly, much to Feliciano's happiness.
"You're going to stand too much from the crowd in the clothes that you're wearing," Arthur said, his gaze lingering on tattered clothes Lovino was wearing and long robe of Feliciano. They were clearly looking out of place. "Let me give you so-"
"I will take them," Alfred interrupted. "I'm one of mine or Mattie's old shirts and pants would fit them. And we're really close so there's no danger." He flashed Arthur a bright smile.
Arthur deflated a little. "You can go then."
Before anyone could blink an eye they were out of the kitchen. Feliciano was dragging Ludwig with barely withhold excitement. He was followed closely by fuming Lovino and laughing Alfred. They could hear Ludwig shouting from down the hall, "We will be back soon!"
Arthur sighed heavily, feeling that his short encounter with this strange group made him more stressed than ever. He realised that the amount of sighs that escaped his lips for the past few days was probably beyond any measure. He hid his head in his hands, tugging lightly at his hair like it would help him regain his balance.
"I'll make you some tea," Elizabeth said calmly, laying her hand on his arm. He grumbled in response, not rising his head, knowing that she would understand him.
For the couple of minutes there was only Elizabeth's bustling that could be heard in the kitchen. She placed a cup and a saucer before him, which made him shook out of his thoughts. He inhaled the mixture of sweet and bitter aroma and raised the cup to his lips, feeling the tension floating away.
He sipped from the cup and smiled lightly at the girl. "Thank you my dear. I believe that nobody can make better tea than you," he said and looked at her. He saw her tensing at his words, deep concern visible on her face. Arthur wondered briefly if she wore that kind of expression for the whole time they're in the kitchen. It could be possible, he admitted to himself. If he had to be honest, he wasn't paying the girl as much attention as he should.
She cleared her throat and looked directly into his eyes. "I…" She hesitated. "That's what I wanted to talk about. I mean, not about tea, of course, but about…" She averted her gaze and swallowed loudly. "Look, Arthur, I know you've been great to me, and I can honestly say that you've become a close friend, or like an older brother to me. But I also want to move on." She turned her head back and looked at him again.
"Oh. All right. I understand." Arthur lowered the cup to the saucer. He thought that the clank that made was probably louder than it should be, and hoped that Elizabeth didn't notice. He didn't want to show her how much emotional turmoil her words threw him in. A thought flashed through his mind, that he was probably too used to her presence, and it was all his fault that he took her company for granted. "I suppose I should have seen that coming," he continued. "We didn't plan for you to travel with me so much at the beginning."
Though it doesn't ease the blow of surprise, he thought bitterly.
She gave him a considering look. "That doesn't mean you couldn't visit me from time to time." She grasped one of his hands laying on the table, squeezing it lightly. "You know, like good old friends." She gave him reassuring smile.
"Of course. That goes without saying," he replied, trying to sound much confident than he felt. "Are you sure you're all right with going back to that house? I know we've talked about it multiple times, but I think it might be too much for you, especially if you're going to be alone there."
"Well, I thought that given everything we saw and heard today I could stay here for a while. I actually like this era very much. It's less green than it had been, but I feel like I could actually find and do something I like here." She looked at him, and Arthur thought he saw a silent pleading in those eyes. Pleading for him to accept her decision; to not make her feel guilty for it.
"If you think that's a good idea, then I have nothing more to say. You're a grown up woman, as you kindly reminded me all the time." He smiled, trying to release the tension. "You can stay here for as long as you like, or I can give you money if you want to settle somewhere else."
He felt her hand tremble a little. "I thought I would stay in Gilbert's and Ludwig's house. They said they have a spare room, so that would be all right."
Arthur inhaled loudly, taking all his nerves not to say something he would regret. He took his hand from Elizabeth's grasp and immediately lifted up his cup, just to mask his reaction. He didn't speak for a while, painfully aware of her gaze.
After he drank all the content, he finally looked at her and said, "If you're so sure that's the right decision, then I'm more than happy for your decision." He smiled at her and even for him that smile seemed fake.
"Arthur, I-" She reached once more to hold his hand, but he quickly rose to his feet and grabbed the kettle, filling it with more water for tea. Even after he put it on the stove he didn't turn back to her, fully intended on watching the steam forming from the water.
"Really, my dear. It's fine. After all, it would not be fair from me to expect you to choose the same unstable life as mine," he said with fake cheerfulness.
He didn't hear any response for a while. After few minutes of painful silence, when insisted on having his back turned in her, he heard chair scrapping the floor and the footsteps towards the door. When he was almost sure that she left the room, he heard her saying, "You were wrong. There are plenty of people that would be pretty capable of making you decent cup of tea. You just can't accept them into your life."
She left him alone in the kitchen, when his only companion was a lonely cup of tea, which he rose to his trembling lips with equivalently trembling hand.
It's been almost a month since they travelled to Italy in search for Ludwig. Arthur was sitting in the garden that was in back of his house, reading one of the bestsellers in the 21th century. Or trying to read, as his lecture was not very challenging and his mind kept wandering to the events of last week.
He help the Italian brothers travel back home the next day after they had argued about Ludwig's return. Both of them were really happy to be back. Especially Father Feliciano, who turned out to be terrified of the mere concept of a car.
Ludwig turned out to be exceptionally talented student. He learned how to control his direction and time really fast. After one day he stopped his random disappearances, and after another two days he was able to fully control it. Together with Gilbert they came up with plausible story for their parents, about how Ludwig wanted to travel the world for treasure hunting and become archaeologist. It became more believable when he showed them few trinkets form Ancient Egypt, he supposedly dug up, but in reality he bought them on one of Arthur's practices.
Ludwig's reappearance didn't help Gilbert's cause with their parents, but they'd at least stopped treating him like a criminal. After long discussions with Ludwig they came with this kind of schedule for Ludwig's attendance at home and at Feliciano's place, which left Gilbert with plenty of free time to himself. While he usually spent those with Matthew, lately most of his time was devoted to Eliza, who insisted on getting as much knowledge and experience of modern age as fast as possible. Those experiences usually involved movie marathons that tend to last for whole nights.
Of course all of them were always invited for those, but for some reason only Matthew was willing enough to come. He too stopped coming after few of them, explaining to Alfred that he felt like that one pancake that is too much. Whatever he meant by that. He and Alfred had resumed their school life. They had to do some explanation to their parents also, but overall things had returned to normal.
Which for Alfred felt like taking few giants steps back in his life. After this enormous adventure they had lived through, he had to go back to mundane reality. What was previously only a wish, turned out to be reality, making everything else in his life colourless. Mattie and Gil took notice of his subdued behaviour, as well as the rest of his so-called friends in school. Most of them thought he was missing the sport, seeing as school-year was coming to an end. Those who knew, understood, but thought it was just a phase that he would forget about in two weeks. Only Vladimir was giving him dirty looks, like he knew what had happened during those few days.
It didn't help that he passed by Arthur's manor every day after school. The house was tempting him, showing him the life he wanted but couldn't have. He almost wished that it would go back to being invisible, like it was before.
What was bothering him the most wasn't the house, but the man himself. He found his mind constantly venturing to Arthur. What was he doing? Where was he now? What new problem did he have to solve? Did he need Alfred's help? The last question was previously haunting Alfred's mind as well, but after he found out that Lizzie stayed with Gil it only grew stronger. If he had to admit to himself, he felt almost ashamed to think that the man would need Alfred's help. Honestly, it was more wishful thinking than anything else.
Not that Arthur knew anything about what was going on in Alfred's head. He only knew what Elizabeth told him when she came back for the rest of her possessions. That's why he was so surprised to see Alfred stepping in front of him, dropping enormous backpack on the ground.
"I finally found you, old man. You know how to hide in this big house, I have to tell you that," he smiled brightly and Arthur thought briefly that he had managed to miss the boy in such a short time.
"What are you doing here?" Arthur said, eyeing the backpack. He tried to stop hoping, but it was too late, as his heart was quicker than his mind.
"And what does it look like? I've heard Lizzie finally grew tired of your grumpiness, so I've decided to be your new companion. And before you say anything, I knew that in TV show Doctor used to have some relationship with his companions, but you have to know I'm here just for adventure. Not that it mean you're ugly or something," Alfred was rambling at this point, clearly lost in his own words. There was a faint blush spreading on his cheeks.
Arthur's thoughts were running too fast for him, so he said the first thing that came to his mind, "What about school? Your parents?"
Alfred ruffled his hair at the back of his head. "It's the end of the school year, so I kind of have a holidays right now, and Mattie is covering me before parents. I'm supposed to be at sport camp."
"I see you have it all thought through," Arthur smirked.
"Yeah, I thought about what you said to me earlier. That I saw this house for a reason. And I think I know what it is now." He flashed another beaming smile. "So would you let me live here for a while?"
Arthur shook his head. "I suppose I have no real choice in that matter." He returned the smile at the boy. "I'm working right now on a case of a Nordic family. Apparently one of its members lost his ability to feel any emotions," Arthur said with serious tone, eyeing for Alfred reaction to that. The boy had to know that it's not all about the fun.
To his surprise Alfred straightened his back and cleared his throat. "I think we started this from the wrong foot. Hi, I'm Alfred. Your new companion," he said and extended his hand with blank face.
Arthur smiled at that and shook Alfred's hand. "Nice to meet you Alfred. Do you know how to make a decent tea?" he asked smiling.
Alfred couldn't hold his serious face for long, as he erupted with loud laughter. "Oh man. I hoped for some supernatural stuff, not housekeeping," he whined.
He dropped next to Arthur on the wooden bench, and the magician couldn't stop himself from thinking that maybe he hadn't seen all the magic in this world yet.