Alfred was…confused. Amazed. Perplexed. Happy? He was even sure anymore. Watching the video play out in front of him, though…he felt his hands clench into fists. That bastard Ivan was the one doing all of this. Alfred wasn't going to allow him to come near him or his brother again.
"Good God," Arthur gasped behind him as Alfred flinched, watching as Ivan haphazardly swung a pipe directly at Gilbert's head. And then Ivan had the audacity to touch Matthew. Alfred clenched his teeth.
Gilbert actually stood up and Alfred found a small speck of respect growing for the criminal. It was obvious that he was protecting Matthew and Alfred gave him that much credit. Gilbert somehow mustered the strength to throw a rock at the window and then Ivan and the other men with him just left. Matthew fell onto his knees, on the ground, and Gilbert knelt down next to him.
"I need to learn more about this Ivan," Elizaveta muttered as the two slowly made their way out of the view of the camera. "He's obviously a dangerous person that no one's heard of yet."
"Did he often use that pipe?" Arthur asked Francis quietly.
"Not on me or Antoine," Francis muttered and Alfred flinched. Last time it was a knife. He wouldn't stand a chance against a pipe, especially by someone who would hit to kill like that. "Gilbert knew just what to say to get Ivan mad, even when he was just a kid."
Arthur took a deep breath as Alfred stared at the screen that had now gone blank. Elizaveta had begun to talk to other police officers nearby.
"Alfred, you should go home," Arthur muttered and Alfred turned around to look at his father.
"Are you shitting me?" Alfred snapped, but he froze slightly when he saw the look on Arthur's face. His dad was absolutely terrified. Alfred had to fight back his shaking looking at that expression. Francis simply sullenly looked to the ground.
"No, Alfred, I am not," Arthur stated. "I don't want you to be taken by that man."
"But I won't!" Alfred snapped, though Arthur simply decided to continue talking.
"He seems to be focused on Gilbert for now. It would be best for you to get to safety while he is distracted."
"You can't make me do anything!" Alfred argued. "My brother is still out there. Right now, his only protection is a man that just got the shit beat out of him! I have no idea what the fuck Ivan wants with Mattie but I won't let him get it!"
"Even if it compromises your own safety?!" Arthur snapped. "You don't get it, do you? You can't just get it through your thick skull that I want you to be safe?"
"I am perfectly safe!" Alfred yelled. "You can't get me to go onto a plane. I will get off it and go on my own, I don't care! I am getting my brother back, that's why I came with you in the first place."
"Things have changed, Alfred. You need to realize that. You are not safe. I want to know at least one of my sons will be fine."
"Are you saying you don't know if we'll get Mattie back?" Alfred asked quietly.
"I didn't…" Arthur sighed. "I didn't mean that."
"I know I will get him back," Alfred growled. "I don't care how, but I will. And I will keep him safe." Alfred didn't even bother waiting for a reply from his father before walking by him and Francis. Neither moved and Alfred simply let out a deep sigh, walking out of the store. He leaned against the wall next to the door, crossing his arms over his chest. The police officers were still around, examining things left and right.
His parents could think all they want that Alfred would be safer back home. He probably would be, but he wouldn't feel any better about what was going on. He would go back home once they had his brother and he was safe from any harm that could befall him.
"What if he's slipping up?" Elizaveta muttered to herself, walking out of the store. She didn't seem to notice Alfred standing there and continued. "Obviously, we haven't seen him before, but now we are. So something must be up. Does it have something to do with Gilbert? Obviously, he's not that important to him if he's willing to nearly kill him with a freaking pipe…"
Alfred let out a small sigh and pulled out his phone, which still had a cracked screen. He went onto the internet, searching the name Ivan. After getting tired of that, he searched things about Russia, any crazy serial killers coming from there named Ivan. There were none. Alfred let out a groan, hitting his head lightly on the wall behind him. He would need the computer that the FBI used or something to look up something like that.
"So, what now?" Alfred asked.
"Now would be the best time to catch Gilbert," Elizaveta sighed, apparently having noticed that he was there after all. "He won't be able to get away very quickly being as hurt as he is. It was obvious in the video that he's badly hurt. After we catch him, we might have more information on Ivan and we'll have your brother back. It's the easiest way to solve all of our problems."
"Where do you think they're headed?" Alfred asked.
"Gilbert had them walking in the direction of where I know a train is," Elizaveta noted, looking down the street. "We'll have to see if we can catch them there."
"And if we don't?" Alfred asked.
"Would it kill you to stop being serious for a while?" Elizaveta sighed, laughing slightly. "I kinda miss that pumped-up hero thing you had going on."
"I still am a hero," Alfred shrugged, grinning slightly. "I think I'm just a little tired. It's been a while since I've had a good sleep, after all."
Matthew let out a nervous breath, trying to steady his breathing and his thoughts. When he'd woken up that morning, he was amazed to find that Gilbert was actually still asleep. What alarmed Matthew the most, though, was the fact that Gilbert wasn't asleep; he was passed out. Matthew remembered clearly what happened the night before and he felt horrible. Gilbert was just protecting him and had all of that bad stuff happen to him…
Matthew had barely managed to get them on a train, passing off the barely conscious Gilbert as drunk and got them a private cabin. Thankfully, Gilbert still had some stolen money on him for them to use. For now, Gilbert was passed out on the other side of the cabin while Matthew leaned against the window frame and looked at him.
Matthew really hoped that he would be okay, especially after that hit from that pipe. But he also knew that they had to keep moving, especially with Gilbert as he was. He had said that they would be going to Milan, so that would be the best place to start. If all else failed, they could just hide out in one place for a while until Gilbert got better…
Gilbert let out a small groan, drawing Matthew out of his thoughts and Gilbert partially opened his eyes. Matthew wasn't entirely sure if he was really awake this time or not.
"Gil," Matthew knelt down in front of him.
"Hey, Birdie," Gilbert smirked and Matthew let out a small sigh of relief. He was still acting like himself, that was good. "Where are we?"
"On a train," Matthew reported. "Y-You said you wanted to go to Milan, right?"
"Thank Gott you listen," Gilbert sighed happily, the smirk staying on his face. "There's a guy there. I've been there before."
"A guy?" Matthew asked. He knew it probably wasn't very good to ask Gilbert questions, but he had to know where they were going and what they were doing.
"I've gotten the shit beat out of me before," Gilbert sighed. "He helped me. It's not like I can go to a hospital, right?"
"So, you're going to be okay?" Matthew asked.
"I'm awesome," Gilbert looked like he tried to roll over, but he winced, his hand going to his ribs. "Of course I'll be fine."
"You should sleep," Matthew muttered. "You really need it. Y-You've probably got a concussion."
"That's a guarantee," Gilbert shrugged. "My ribs, too."
Matthew wanted to ask how this guy could help if they couldn't go to a hospital. The only people that could help with this kind of thing would be certified doctors… But Matthew knew that Gilbert shouldn't be trying to focus too hard. Without having to say another word, Matthew watched as Gilbert fell asleep again.
He let out a sigh. He had no idea what to do with injuries, he'd only really had to worry about Alfred's various cuts or bruises. He was no doctor and he didn't intend to be. Matthew didn't even know the extent of Gilbert's injuries, he was probably good at hiding it. But if Gilbert was actually passed out, instead of on full alert, something must be seriously wrong. So, all Matthew could do was sit on the other seat and watch, hoping that Gilbert really was fine.
Of course he was fine. He's awesome.
It was hard to get himself to focus. The streets around him refused to stay still and his vision was constantly swimming. Focusing only made his head ache to the point where Gilbert couldn't take it. His feet were hardly obeying his orders and his breathing hurt his ribs. But he had to focus. There was one place that would be safe for both of them and he just had to get there. Then he could pass out.
"Left," Gilbert muttered and Matthew silently nodded. They were walking down the street, Gilbert's arm around Matthew's shoulders as they tried to walk. Gilbert knew he passed off as drunk, but it was some time in the middle of the day, so it would probably look a little weird. Thankfully, he had a hood on and Matthew had found sunglasses, so he hid fairly well without his hair and eyes. "Right."
"Are you sure you know where you're going?" Matthew asked quietly.
"I'm awesome," Gilbert shrugged. "I've got this."
"I'm sorry," Matthew glanced at the ground.
"Got nothing to apologize for," Gilbert sighed. "Right."
"But you were protecting me," Matthew explained and Gilbert shook his head in an attempt to get it to regain focus. It didn't work. He hardly knew where he was, but the streets looked familiar, especially in his current state. They weren't far now.
"It's in my job description as kidnapper," Gilbert mumbled, tripping over his own feet. He would have fallen on the ground if it weren't for Matthew. "We're crossing the street."
"O-Okay," Matthew nodded slowly. Gilbert looked over and saw, between the rushing cars making his headache worse, that door.
"It's the door right ahead," Gilbert said.
"Are you sure?" Matthew asked.
"Of course I'm sure," Gilbert muttered. "I'm awesome."
There was a small spurt of time where the traffic cleared enough for them to hurriedly walk, but Gilbert's feet were protesting. They barely made it when Gilbert discovered that he was dangerously close to passing out again. He gritted his teeth as they walked up to the door and Matthew knocked. Gilbert tried not to put all of his weight onto Matthew, knowing how weak the kid was.
Finally, the door opened, revealing a man Gilbert couldn't even focus on well enough to see.
"I should expect that the only time I will see you is like this," the man sighed and Gilbert smirked.
"Love you, too, Roddie," he laughed and allowed Matthew to help him stumble in.
"What did you get yourself into this time?" the man, Roderich, asked and closed the door. Gilbert didn't even get a chance to answer before the world went black around him once again.
Gasp! Roderich has made it into the story! What is the history between the two? What about Elizaveta? Will Alfred be sent home?
I love asking questions, I don't know why. Anyway, that bit at the top was hard for me to write, especially since the emotions just kind of came out without my control. But, whatever, it's fine. Gilbert's in pretty bad shape. Also, I have never had a concussion before, so I don't know what it feels or looks like, especially one induced by a pipe swung by Ivan… So, we're going off guess work here.
Anywho, please review! It's totally awesome!