I hope you enjoy!
Chapter Thirty-Nine: Where There is Sacrifice
Matthew couldn't stop smiling, despite the utter noise of so many emotions filtering through him all at once.
He didn't care that his head felt like it was splitting open with everything. Nor did he care that tears, that were only partly his own, were streaming down his face. He felt like a limb he'd been missing for years had been reattached. He felt like he could breathe normally again without knowing he'd been choking.
He felt whole.
A glance around him told him that the others who were Talentborn we're experiencing something similar. Seychelles had ripped off her eyepatch, her navigation eye restored and glowing golden like a compass in the center of scar tissue. Francis' eyes were no longer milky, his blue eyes vibrant in his face. Esther was moving too fast for him to keep track. Alejandro had smoke billowing from his nose before he joyously let out a burst of fire from his mouth. Gilbert had hands over his ears but was grinning wide despite how much the noise must have hurt after nothing but quiet for so long. Rosa and Kiku were not as obvious, but the tears rolling down Rosa's cheeks and the way Kiku had tipped his head back, looking as relieved as Matthew felt, said it all. Matthew turned and glanced behind him at Toris who was smiling at Raivis, the boy shyly forming portals again with an amazed expression on his face.
Feliks and Basch were smiling wide as they watched their friends. Matthew knew Basch's tears were for his sister, hopeful that she too had been restored to normal. Matthias and Oskar were cheering and even Nikolai and Berwald were smiling softly. They had turned to continue fighting back Ivan's followers while they were all distracted, but as many of their attackers were also impacted by returning Talents, and struck by what that meant, most hurried to retreat.
Matthew would have kept on smiling until his face cracked from it as he watched his friends celebrate and thought about all the others not here who were hopefully back to normal as well. But then the unease and dread he felt curl into his consciousness from Tino and Yao brought him back to earth. That, and the fact the earth that was still cracking and breaking as the quaking from before resumed violently.
"The Balance is still rupturing!" Tino shouted, jolting everyone back to reality as he tried to contain some of the shaking happening around them. Yao looked drained but kept redirecting the furious arcs of magic erupting around them. "Ivan must have still overloaded the unstable magic here!"
"What do we do?" Seychelles yelled as she and Francis ducked out of the way of a whip of lightning. "What can we do?"
Tino's fear-tinged face was not encouraging.
Before they could start to truly panic, a portal opened to Matthew's left and Alfred was falling through it, Matthew barely able to steady him in time before it closed.
"No! Arthur!" Alfred shouted, eyes frantically staring at where the portal had closed.
"Al, what—?" Matthew started before his brother whipped around, eyes wild and fearful.
"That, that asshole, he," Alfred started before he stumbled over the words, as if they pained him to even say. "He stayed and sent me away because he knew I'd—he's going to himself killed and—and—"
"Alfred, breath." Matthew spoke slowly, the raging emotions from his brother almost bowling him over. He grabbed hold of his hands and tried to project some calm to him before he hyper ventilated. "Start at the beginning, yeah? Like mom used to say."
"I—yeah," Alfred breathed out, in time with Matthew's guiding inhales. His face looked desperate and scared in a way Matthew had never seen color his brother's face before.
"Okay, Arthur sent you away?"
"Yes," Alfred got out. "He—he must have reversed what Braginski did, what he stole, because I changed back from an old geezer to normal and Braginski turned super old and he spoke, like out loud, and—and—"
"Yes, he did, Arthur did it, Al," Matthew soothed with an encouraging smile. He glanced around as the others gathered around him and shook his head shortly, warning off any of them from intervening. "We've all got our Talents back. What happened next?"
"Arthur he—Braginski started running his stupid mouth about how he still won, how the Balance was breaking, and he had made Ruthenia better and Arthur he—he said he knew how to fix it. And then he fucking sent me away! I need to get back to him, I need to—"
Whatever else Alfred needed to do was halted by a sudden shift in the ground beneath them and the air around them. They all turned their attention to watch as the wild magic arcing and splintering the air seemed to freeze, ripple, and then start to retreat back into the earth. And as it did, the cracks in the earth closed back up and all the unnatural plants and terrain surrounding them morphed. Shifted, until it looked normal. But not what the Barrens had looked like before Ivan, a dead and decayed wasteland.
No, it looked normal.
Green grass and pine trees sprouted up from the earth, a normal meadow taking shape under their feet. The noxious green and purple clouds in the sky dissipated and gave way to the sun, gentle rays from the afternoon sun shining through. The flowers that popped up were natural and sporadic. Normal wildflowers. Normal everything. Beautiful in a way that was ordinary.
"It is as it once was," Yao murmured softly, wondrously, drawing all their attention to him. "As it was before the folly of the last Emperor of Ruthenia."
"What the hell is happening?" Alfred yelled, breaking from Matthew's hold and crowding the sorcerer. "Do you know—is Arthur doing this?!"
"Yes, I believe he is," Yao said calmly. "He is upholding his end of a Fey bargain struck and he is—he is changing the nature of the corrupted magic infecting these lands. Also, I suspect, Ruthenia, and everywhere else impacted by Ivan's actions. Changing it into something that is not corrupted. It is truly amazing."
"He convinced it to change," Kiku said, eyes wide. His ears flicked back and he held out a palm, reaching for whatever energy he could feel now that his ability to channel magic had been restored. "It's stabilizing the Balance."
Matthew started to smile, as clearly that was a good thing, but it fell as he took in Tino and Nikolai's faces as they approached Yao. Both looked anything but happy by that news. The other Nordic men looked discomfited too; even Oskar's sunny disposition was dimmed.
"But, if what Ivan did was spreading through the leylines, throughout the world," Tino started.
"It's too much. It will kill him," Nikolai finished, his voice uncharacteristically emotional.
Alfred let out an anguished cry and Matthew almost keeled over by the wave of grief he felt from his brother at that announcement. The emotions that came from the others was not much better and Alejandro came over to steady him as he hurriedly tried to remember how to shield himself.
"Not necessarily," Yao countered, face thoughtful. "The Fey obviously thought him powerful enough to accomplish it, otherwise they would not have struck their deal with him."
"But there is always a cost," Kiku cut in sharply, ears flat against his head.
"Yes, there is," Yao agreed, solemnly. "A balance, a sacrifice, you might say. But it may not have been his life."
"I need to get back to him!" Alfred exclaimed, pushing aside the arms that tried to reach out to him as he stormed away from Yao. "You guys were all heading towards me and Ivan before, right? What direction?"
No one responded at first, but then Esther pointed in the direction Tino had been taking them before the earth had started cracking and they'd been attacked. Alfred didn't wait and took off sprinting, his Talent strengthening his strides so that he was gone before anyone else could do anything. Matthew turned towards her, an angry retort ready on his tongue, but she waved him off, eyes dark.
"None of us would have stopped him," she said shortly. "He is blind when it comes to Arthur. Don't worry, I will follow him, I can keep up faster than Tino can. Come after us."
And with that, she took off, her speed propelling her forward and out of sight as she followed Alfred. Matthew leaned heavily into Alejandro, the emotions around him and within him almost making him nauseous, hoping Yao was right.
Hoping the cost to their victory didn't break his brother's heart.
Alfred could only think about getting to Arthur. Could only think about getting back to him as fast as his legs could carry him. Could only think about how gentle and sad his face had looked as he sent him through the portal. About the 'I love you' he had given Alfred and how green his eyes had been.
How that all had felt like goodbye.
He felt like shit about being so single-minded about it. Especially when he knew the rest of the crew cared about Arthur too. He knew Mattie must have been worried about him. And Alfred was so relieved his brother was all right after being kidnapped and that he had his empathy back. But he just couldn't care about anything else. He needed to know Arthur was all right.
He needed to find him alive.
Footsteps echoed to his left, and he turned to find Esther matching pace with him, her Talent spurring her to match him in speed. He felt comforted she had followed him, even though he hadn't given anyone a chance to before he took off. She nodded at him and didn't try to say anything as they continued to run. Not like there was anything she could say.
Finally, they passed the white tents of the base camp Braginski set up and he knew they were close. As they crested a grass-covered hill, the clearing he had been kept in came into view, the wooden posts and the piles of once-glowing stones scattered all over the ground. He saw Braginski collapsed to the side. And there, maybe twenty feet from him, was Arthur.
Collapsed and still on the ground, his eyes closed.
The noise he let out at the sight was involuntary as he skidded to a stop when he reached Arthur, practically sliding towards him on his knees. His hands frantically touched his motionless body, looking for wounds he knew he wouldn't find.
"Artie, Arthur!" Alfred cried, gathering up Arthur's limp body into his arms, watching as his head lolled until he tilted it to rest on his shoulder. His skin was cold and there were dried bloodstains under his nose and his ears. He ignored the tears that started to fall down his face. "Arthur! No no no no!"
Esther pulled up next to him and he heard her sharp intake of breath. She didn't think he was—no, he was breathing right? He couldn't be-he couldn't be, not now after they had finally fucking won!
"Artie, honey, you can't die, you fucking asshole!" Alfred cried, tucking his face into Arthur's cold neck. "We—we're supposed to go back to Columbiana, after all this, back home. You promised me you'd help me with inventing, we—we have to build an airship, Arthur, you promised!"
"Alfred," Esther whispered, her tone drawing his face out from Arthur's neck. "Look."
He followed her hand and saw what looked like floating lights coming towards them. Alfred hiccupped and pulled Arthur tighter against him, watching as more and more of them started closing in on them. At the forefront, a glowing blue light came close, and Alfred could see the outline of a small body start to take shape. As it solidified, he found himself staring at a tiny fairie. Her skin was pale with dark hair and blue wings. Alfred blinked at her as she got closer, her face looking at Arthur eagerly. His arms tightened even more around him, and he leaned away.
"Oh, he did it! Sir Arthur did it! We knew it, we just knew he could!" The fairie's voice was high and almost sounded like she was singing. All around them, the other balls of light started to tinkle, like bells. Alfred felt his face heat up in anger as he realized these were the stupid Fey who had tricked Arthur into a deal for the pendant, a deal which had—had—
"Stay away from him!" He growled, gathering up Arthur in one arm and he raised his other hand threateningly at the fairie. The fairie pouted at him.
"We would never harm him, mister," she said, offended. "He has done such good. Look! Look at the earth, it is healed! Oh, he was so clever. He changed all the corrupted and hurt magic trapped here and calmed it! Now, these lands and Ruthenia are no longer blighted, and the Balance has been settled. Things are as they should be."
"Yeah, you made him do it with your stupid deal and now he's—" Alfred's throat tightened, and he couldn't continue.
"He is not dead, silly human," the fairie scolded. "Can you not see he breathes? We told Sir Arthur the deal was a good one! We do not lie to those like Sir Arthur, who can See us on their own. Periwinkle, the pendant!"
Alfred watched as one of the white balls of light flew closer to Arthur, towards his pocket, and he saw it solidify into another fairie, this one snow-white with dark eyes. She smiled, all sharp teeth, at Alfred and grabbed the pendant he had seen Arthur wear for months from his pocket. She flew away, fading back into a ball of light as she went.
"He upheld his end of the Deal for this and now no longer needs it. He simply sleep to recover from his efforts," Blue-wings said before she narrowed her eyes at him. Then, she clapped her hands excitedly. "Oh! You are who could hear him, yes? The one his heart spoke for?"
"I, yes, I guess," Alfred said, his eyes immediately going back to Arthur at her words. He was breathing, and Alfred pressed his fingers to the pulse point in his neck, letting out a shaky laugh at the faint beat he felt against his fingertips. He should have checked this first, of course he should have, but he hadn't been thinking straight and now—Alfred was just so happy he was alive.
"I am Maribel," the fairie said. "It is good to meet you, mister. You love him very much, I can tell. As much as he loves you; I can see the thread that binds you together. This is good, he will need you."
"Why?" Alfred asked sharply. "What did he—is he okay?"
She nodded, but her face went solemn as she flew in close and stroked Arthur's messy hair gently. "Yes, he will be fine. But there is always a cost to power. To calm the magic here and every it touched, it needed to be given something untarnished to soothe it. Sir Arthur gave it what he had."
Alfred blinked and looked down at Arthur. "He—his Talent? His magic? He—he gave it away?"
Maribel nodded. "He provided balance, at sacrifice to his own. Very brave of him, and so clever! You cannot ever force the earth to be changed, look at what happened when foolish humans have tried, but if you persuade it to change on its own—well, look! Much better."
"So, basically, he argued it better." Alfred looked back down at Arthur and smiled hopelessly at him. "Of course you did, Artie."
"Yes. But not to worry!" she exclaimed happily. "The Balance works in ways we do not always understand. What we lose is never really lost. Sometimes, it just changes. Still, it may be hard for him, and he will be very tired and weak for some time."
Alfred didn't know what the hell she was talking about, but he didn't care. He didn't care if Arthur wasn't super powerful or if he had to be carried around until he got his strength back or if he lost all his damn hair from this. As long as he was here and breathing. As long as he stayed. That was all he wanted and cared about.
Maybe he said some of that out loud, or it was super obvious on his face, because the faerie smiled brightly at him and patted his hand. "You are good for Sir Arthur, he will be happy with you, I think."
"I hope so," Alfred admitted.
She nodded. "When he wakes, if he should ask, tell him the Fey consider our Deal concluded. And that we are grateful to him. If he ever needs us, he only needs to call to us. We will always answer for him."
Then, she disappeared back into a blue ball of light and flew away towards where the others were, tinkling brightly on the horizon in a shimmering rainbow. The Fey lingered a bit until the others arrived on the earth-transport thing Tino controlled, giving their friends a glimpse before they blinked away. Alfred sniffed and got his other arm und Arthur's knees, lifting him up as he stood, tucking his head under his own chin as they all approached, faces anxious and worried.
"Is he all right?" Seychelles asked.
"Were those fairies?" Francis asked disbelievingly. "Incroyable!"
"Do we need to go kick some Fey ass? Because I will for Eyebrows." Gilbert glared out where the lights had all been.
"Is Ivan—?" Toris started.
"Al?" Matthew prompted.
"He's okay," Alfred answered, smiling softly as the looks of relief rippled across everyone's face. "And I don't know about Braginski—I don't think he's dead."
"He is not," Yao answered from where he was crouched next to him. One hand carded gently through Ivan's hair. Like one would for a kid. Alfred tried not to frown at the action. "He is depleted though, weak. Much like Mr. Kirkland, I think."
"Yeah, but Arthur'll be okay," Alfred said, smiling down at Arthur. He carried him to the rest of their crew, the relieved looking Nordic guys, and his brother, in the opposite direction from Braginski and Yao. "You hear that in that thick head of yours, Artie? You'll be okay."
The first thing he was aware of as he woke was that he was warm. Warm and safe and cozy, like he was wrapped tight in a blanket on a cold winter morning.
The next was that his head bloody hurt. Again.
But hurt was good. Hurt meant he was alive, which was good. Brilliant, actually.
He had hoped for the best, but he honestly had no idea if he would walk away from that field or not. Not after using his Voice to change the magic polluting the earth. It's not like he had much experience using that amount of power to save the bloody world before.
Arthur blinked his eyes open and groaned, out loud, at how bright it was, and paused, one hand going to wrap around his throat. The fact that his groans and words all made sound again was gloriously novel. He smiled and let out a breath, a soft laugh, a snort and smiled wide at each innocuous sound made. The sound of his own voice was like music to his ears.
He squinted his eyes open again, slower this time, and as his eyes adjusted to the light, he took in the fact that he was so warm and comfortable because he was covered in blankets on a bed. A bed that was familiar. The whole room was familiar actually—he was suffering from déjà vu because he had absolutely woken up from injury in this room before.
"You're up." Arthur turned his head towards the door at the sound of Tino's voice, the other man's eyes wide and smile breaking his face wide. "Oh, oh you're up! Alfred! He's awake!"
Arthur sat up a little as he heard the pounding footsteps of running until Alfred skid into the doorway, his smile brilliant and relieved and so beautiful Arthur felt like he could bask in its radiance and never be sad.
"Arthur," he breathed, shouldering past Tino to reach him, kneeling on the floor beside the bed. "You're awake."
"Hello there, love," he said softly. "I assume we won, then? World's saved and all that rot?"
Alfred let out a loud, infectious laugh and crawled into the bed, wrapping his arms around Arthur until and pulling him close until he was completely covered by Alfred too. "Yeah, you jackass, we won. You did it, you saved everyone, and I am so fucking mad at you, but I love you too and you're not allowed to do that ever again!"
"Yes, well, not planning on it."
"I'll go let the others know you're awake, Arthur," Tino said softly, smiling as he backed out of the room, shutting the door behind him, leaving just him and Alfred alone.
Alfred wasted no time kissing the pants off him then, the weight of it made Arthur feel dizzy and buoyant even with Alfred pressing him down into the bed. He returned it as much as he could, but he was exhausted and had to break away sooner than he would have liked.
"I'm bloody knackered," he huffed. "Shove off, you're heavy."
"Again, with the insults, Artie," Alfred teased. "Gotta be careful with all those sweet nothings, you'll make me blush."
Alfred grinned triumphantly at the damnable blush that Arthur's felt heat up across his face, the prat. Still, he dutifully rolled off Arthur. He pressed a kiss to the tip of Arthur's nose as he went, which made Arthur's stomach go all a flutter.
Alfred grabbed a chair from across the room and dragged it close to the bed. He helped Arthur shuffle into a reclined position against the pillows before he sat down, grabbing one of Arthur's hands between both of his. His face went more somber then, his eyes serious as they roved over Arthur's face, his hands gripping his tight.
"You scared the shit out of all of us, Artie," he said softly. Arthur felt the familiar hot swoop of guilt at that, not bothering to argue when he knew it was true. "We didn't—we thought you—it was so dangerous, what you did."
"I know," he said, quiet himself. "It had to be me. I could not let what Ivan did ruin the world and I was the one who made the blasted deal with the Fey and I—I am sorry though. I'm sorry I frightened you."
They were quiet and Arthur cleared his throat. "How long have I been out?"
"About a week."
"A week?!"
"Yeah," Alfred huffed, eyes still upset. "Tino and Toris had to basically rig up a drip-thingy, so you got water and stuff. You nearly died, Arthur. You—what you did should have been impossible, but you did it and…and well, there were, um, consequences."
Arthur had a vague memory of what those consequences could have been. What he had bartered with when he had been elbow deep in the earth. "My Voice is gone, isn't it?"
Alfred was uncharacteristically quiet, which was all the answer Arthur needed. He felt a hollow pang of loss and couldn't help the tears that gathered in his eyes. He gave a frustrated huff and hurriedly wiped them away. He knew he would have done anything to save the Balance and Alfred and the others. Given the choices he'd had, and the stakes, it seemed such a small thing in the grand scheme. And hadn't he told everyone and himself he'd be content if, in the end, it was only his voice he got back? Even if that was before he had truly let himself embrace his Talent. Even if that was before he knew what it would mean to him.
"The fairies you made the deal with, they said that was how you convinced the magic to change," Alfred explained, his hands a warm comfort. "Kiku thinks that maybe you're just tapped out, like you used every bit of magic you had and now your tank is empty, But he warned it might not—it might not come back."
"Right. Well. That's that then," Arthur said, sniffing, smoothing his hands absently across the bedding covering him. No use crying over spilt milk. If he kept telling himself that, maybe eventually it would feel true.
"You saved everything, Arthur," Alfred said firmly, He tipped Arthur's chin up to meet his eyes. They were almost burning with their earnest admiration. "You did. Even if your Voice doesn't come back, you are still going to be the most amazing person in the whole damn world."
"You-you're ridiculous," Arthur stammered. He cleared his throat and glanced away from how much love and affection he saw brimming in Alfred's eyes. "Well, a week is quite a spell, tell me what else has happened? Is Ivan, ah, well, gone or…?"
"No, he's not dead, at least I don't think he is," Alfred grumbled. "That wasn't my call, but Chelles discussed it with Yao and Yao took him into custody. What you did to him, reversing all the stolen power, really did a number on him so he's pretty weak. Yao said there's a council, like of sorcerers, he sort of reports to that has prisons for this kind of stuff. Hopefully we don't ever see that asshole again."
Arthur nodded and hoped for that as well. "What else?"
So, Alfred filled him in on what he'd missed.
With little Raivis able to make portals again, he had allowed them to all head back to their camp at the base of Mount Strobilus and get supplies they needed, including little Asmin. He had also created a portal for Oksana to take Natalia back to Ruthenia and then, with Toris' help, had created one to Herzliya so Seychelles could check on the Evangeline and the rest of the crew. She had directed them to sail to Ahvenanmaa so they meet up with them in the Nords, opting not to join them until then so she could be here when Arthur woke up. He felt a swell of affection for Seychelles at that detail.
Nikolai and Matthias had ensured that any lingering followers of Ivan had scurried off and after, they had headed back to Tino and Berwald's home with everyone in tow. The house was not really built to accommodate so many people all at once, but Tino had insisted it was fine and shaped the earth outside and in his garden into makeshift huts for them. With their gear from the camp, it was doable, and they were not all so crammed in the house.
A few days after they had arrived and gotten Arthur settled so he could recover, they started getting missives from Ludwig and Roderich, letting them know what had happened from their end and that the people Ivan had attacked had recovered as well. The Vargas twins had regained both their minds and had immediately began using their restored Talent to help with repairs around Spandow following the earthquakes. Elizaveta had regained her Talent too and had helped produce grow to counter a food shortage caused by the damage to the city. And Lily had regained her youth. Arthur was relieved to hear little Lily was better and had even been brought here to reunite with Basch, Raivis opening a portal for her to join them here.
Others, whom Arthur had not gotten the chance to meet but who knew the crew, had sent missives as well. Word got out through the Talentborn community that the Evangeline crew were recovering in the Nords. People Alfred and the rest had encountered during their quest before Arthur had joined and even people they had never crossed paths with were sending in letters, thanking them and letting them know what had happened while they had been battling Ivan. Alfred had smiled at Arthur and told him he saved the letters for him to read. Many of them had learned Arthur Kirkland, a former bookshop owner from Britannia, had been the one to reverse what Ivan had done, thanks to Elizaveta and Roderich sharing his story, and included personal thank yous for him.
Arthur was not sure when he would be ready to read those, not with the loss of his Voice so fresh, but he gripped Alfred's hand tight, silently thanking him despite his ability to speak. Nearly a year of communicating solely in silence made some habits hard to break, it seemed.
Matthew and Toris had told them all about their friend Eduard. A young man who, despite once following Ivan of his own accord, had done what he could to try and stop him and help the Evangeline crew. He had died by Ivan's hand because of it. Matthew had told them he had always believed they would stop Ivan, that Arthur could do it. Arthur felt a pang of heartache for a young man he had never met who had believed in him. And then another as he remembered Sadiq, who Arthur had never got on with, but had given his life for Arthur's anyway.
Alfred detailed they had created a memorial for Eduard in the Nords, with Tino's help.
All the while, they waited for Arthur to wake up.
"No one wanted to leave without saying goodbye first," Alfred said in conclusion. His eyes were dimmer as he said that, likely not looking forward to everyone going their separate ways now that their mission was over. "Chelles did offer us all honorary spots on the Evangeline whenever we want, but I think she knows most of us want to go home."
"I'm sure," Arthur agreed, frowning as Alfred's demeanor went shuttered and closed off. "I'd be anxious to return to my own family and friends after so long abroad too, if I were them."
"Yeah, sure," Alfred said. His tone was dismissive and brooding, so darkly Arthur would not be surprised one bit if he started thundering like a storm cloud.
"All right, what is it? What's got your knickers in a twist?" Arthur asked, unimpressed.
"What? Nothing, I'm not in a twist!"
"You most certainly are," Arthur scolded. "What is it? Do you not want your friends to be reunited with their own loved ones?"
"Of course not!" Alfred exclaimed, affronted.
"Then what's the matter?" Arthur asked. Then, gentler, "It's not like you won't see them again, Alfred."
"Yeah, well, what about you?" Alfred snapped.
Arthur blinked, confused. "What about me? I'll miss them too, of course, but I don't see the point in getting chuffed when this certainly won't be goodbye or—"
"No, what about you?" Alfred repeated, his face tense and unsure. It didn't suit him at all. "Are you going to go back too? To Britannia? Now that you don't have to—now that you could. Go back, I mean."
"Alfred, what the hell are you on about? You think I want to go back to Britannia? After all this?" Arthur knew his voice was raised, incredulous, but for fucks sake! What rubbish was this?
"Well, I don't know, maybe!" Alfred volleyed back. He crossed his arms over his chest defensively before blowing out a deep breath, clearly trying to calm down. When his eyes met Arthur's again though, he did not look angry or frustrated. He looked nervous, perhaps a bit sad. "You didn't have a choice before, with your Voice and—and how Britannia is about Talents and magic but now—now you could. If you wanted to. To go back and see your family and—you could if you wanted, go home."
He sounded so very small, and Arthur felt a surge of affection for him, which overrode his annoyance now that he knew what was driving Alfred's behavior. He could not help the smile that played across his face, and he reached back for Alfred's hand.
"I don't want to go back to Britannia, Alfred," he admitted quietly.
"But you said you got why the others wanted to go home and would want to, too!"
"No, you wanker," Arthur said, affectionately. "I said if I were them, I would want to. But I'm not them, am I? Perhaps one day I'd like to check in on my brothers, make sure they haven't bloody well killed one another or burnt down our family home, but I, well, I rather thought we had already decided where I was going after all this."
Alfred grinned then, his previous unease slipping off his face like water from a stone. "Yeah?"
"Yes," Arthur returned, his face heating up. And the, feeling brave, he bared his heart and soul, something that the old him would have been horrified at. "I find I've grown rather used to adventures with you, darling. I don't want to give them up."
Alfred's smiling was blinding, and Arthur felt helpless to do anything but return it.
And he decided then, even if he had nothing else, if he remained without his Voice for the rest of his life and became boring old Arthur Kirkland again, as long as he could inspire that smile from Alfred, could have this happiness, he'd be all right.
They both would be.
After Arthur woke up, things moved at a nonstop pace.
The crew had been ecstatic in their visits when they'd learned he was awake and well. It had honestly been quite draining after Alfred had brought him out of the room to see everyone. Seychelles and Francis had both kissed him on his cheeks, to Alfred's annoyance which Arthur thought was adorable, while Rosa had hugged him tight. Lily had hugged him too, while Basch had clasped his hand bracingly, the little girl all smiles in her youthful, unlined face. Esther, Feliks and Alejandro had been more reserved but had still expressed their happiness at his survival. Gilbert, the utter git, had waited until Alfred had steadied him on the ground before picking him up and twirling him around the room like a maniac.
Matthew was all gentle smiles, which looked more natural on his face then the hard, haggard countenance Arthur had first met him with. He had hugged him and told him he was lucky his stunt had not broken his brother's heart or else he would have had to bring him back only to kill him again. Alfred had laughed, but Arthur nodded, respectfully believing Matthew would absolutely have figured out a way to do that. In the brief time he had known Matthew, he had determined that while Matthew may look sweet, he was absolutely the more cunning of the Jones brothers, if pushed.
In the weeks that followed, Tino and Toris helped him with regaining his physical strength after being bedridden for a week. Kiku examined him for his Voice, and while Arthur had accepted what had happened and what he had given up, it still stung when Kiku's ears went flat and disappointed. Arthur tried to take heart in Kiku's belief that it may still be there and was just so depleted it would take time to 'recharge', but he was a realist. The best thing to do was just move forward.
After imposing on Tino and Berwald's hospitality for another week, the crew started to make their decisions on returning home. Which also mean their time together as crew of the Evangeline was also drawing to a close.
Raivis started making portals for those who decided to head home rather than wait for the Evangeline to arrive to port in Ahvenanmaa in another few weeks' time. First to leave was Esther, then Basch and Lily, the latter promising to say hello to Elizaveta and Roderich for them. Rosa left next, little Asmin following with her to settle in España instead of returning to her homeland. She and the little mind reader had developed a bond since Ruthenia and Rosa had no desire to bring Asmin to a place that may be less than kind to her.
Alejandro seemed content to stay close to Matthew, uninterested in returning home if that meant leaving Matthew behind. Arthur understood the feeling well.
Gilbert and Kiku opted to sail back to Spandow with the Evangeline, eager to see the Vargas twins, Antonio, and Ludwig, but not ready to depart everyone quite yet. Francis made it clear that where Seychelles went, so would he, which brought a lovely color to Seychelles dark skin.
However, with that decided, the day Feliks and Toris decided to head home, taking Raivis with them, spurred Alfred and Arthur into action as well. If they wanted to head straight home, they would need to have Raivis create a portal home for them before he left with Feliks and Toris. Matthew opted to head home via portal, Alejandro joining him. However, Alfred had simply asked Arthur if he wanted to check out the steam powered train in Lotharingia first, take the long way home.
An adventure he called it.
Arthur agreed and Alfred promised Matthew they would be home before spring. Matthew had simply rolled his eyes and made them promise to not get married (which had made them both flush tomato red) without him. Alfred had nearly crushed Matthew goodbye before they left, sending off Alejandro with a stink eye, but at least not starting a fight.
Leaving Tino and Berwald's house had been hard. Arthur had grown used to Tino's sunny smiles and Nikolai's dry wit whenever he, Matthias, and Oskar visited. But as they departed for Ahvenanmaa ahead of the Evangeline's arrival into port, Tino had promised him they would see each other again and he would earth-call regularly.
Leaving Seychelles, Francis, Gilbert, and Kiku was harder still.
Seychelles had crushed them both in tight hugs and made them both promise that they would write regularly or else she would march her way to Columbiana and smack them both upside the head. Francis had not been quite as dramatic, a change of pace for him, but had also requested they not get bonded without the crew. Alfred had laughed nervously while Arthur had shoved Francis away when the frog had laughed at their embarrassment. Gilbert had slapped them both on the back and told them to not get each other pregnant before skipping off.
If there was one thing Arthur would not miss, it was the utterly daft interference in his and Alfred's relationship by their friends.
Alfred and Arthur had both lingered in their goodbyes with Kiku.
Alfred had actually tried to convince Kiku to join him and Arthur on their way back to Columbiana and live with them on the farm, but Kiku had smiled softly and promised to visit. He had his ability to manipulate magic again after all, he could create a transport spell to visit them. Alfred had hugged Kiku tight before Kiku turned to Arthur, his ears flicked forward in question, always polite. Arthur had blinked back the damnable tears he had managed to keep at bay until now and moved to hug Kiku as well. He gave it a moment to compose himself as he felt Kiku pat his back, knowingly.
And then, they were off and parting ways, their friends boarding the Evangeline while Alfred and Arthur caught a ferry crossing the Baelta Straits to reach Lotharingia.
Seychelles had given Alfred and Arthur their wages from their time aboard the Evangeline before they had parted, so they had indulged when they arrived in Bruxels.
They had rented the nicest suite in the nicest inn they found and did not leave the room for two days.
They had not been celibate, exactly, since Arthur had woken up. But they also had never had true privacy. Not with everyone checking in on them, making sure Arthur was fine and enjoying one another's company until they went their separate ways. Arthur had been so weak those first few days and Alfred surprised in his exercise of caution. As a result, even when they'd had time alone, they had abstained from much beyond chaste touching. When they'd arrived in Bruxels though, they were alone, they were both healthy, and they both wanted with a frenzy neither had felt since they'd first crashed together in Spandow.
Arthur, in all honesty, could not honestly recall who had moved first after the snick of the lock to their room sounded. Nor could he recall who made the positively mortifying sounding groan when their lips finally came together (though he suspected it was him, not having to worry about making noise during sex for months had its downsides). What he did recall was once they collided, the fucking Balance itself could not have torn them apart.
They lost themselves in each other until Arthur felt positively stupid with sex and pleasure and Alfred. That first time, hard and fast, collapsed on the floor, Arthur fucking grateful for the thick, plush carpet that kept the knees burns to a minimum as Alfred fucked him until he saw stars. The second time, in the bed this time, with Arthur pressing biting kisses to Alfred's thighs, his knees thrown over his shoulders while Arthur was buried deep inside him. The third, fourth and fifth times all a blur of steam and hot water in the mechanized washroom hours later (Arthur on his knees with Alfred pressed up against the sink, Arthur's back pressed against the tiled wall with Alfred's hands bruising his hips, exhausted but not yet spent, hands curled around each other, their orgasms almost painful by that point). Countless more times that came after until Arthur felt like he would never walk again, and Alfred's breaths were labored and rough. There was sleep and food and gentle conversations that warmed Arthur to the tips of his toes too, somewhere in the midst of their lovemaking, and Arthur cherished those moment just as much.
After they emerged from their lust and love filled haze, they decided to stay in a third day, both too sore and bruised to really enjoy the city the way it should be (according to Alfred).
On the fourth day, Alfred showed Arthur all over the city and they enjoyed wandering aimlessly through dark alleyways and sprawling park greens, kissing one another whenever they could. Arthur dragged Alfred to various museums and libraries. While Alfred was not as enthralled as Arthur was, the smile he would give Arthur as he soaked in his explanations and words spoke to his interest just the same.
They left the city and journeyed through the countryside, deciding to explore and stretch their legs some—it was nice to explore without purpose. They stayed in small villages and small cities, along the coast and under the stars in the hills just the same. They crossed over into Gaul for a brief time before making their way back to Lotharingia and Bruxels to take the steam-powered train to Columbiana.
It felt like a dream, and there were times when Arthur felt like maybe he hadn't made it out of the Barrens alive. Maybe he had sacrificed more than just his Voice and this was an afterlife he had earned for that sacrifice. But there were arguments and bad nights and nightmares where Arthur failed and was forced to watch Ivan kill Sadiq and Alfred and Eduard, who had never even met, and all the others too. So, he took the bad with the good. When Arthur had particularly bad nights or felt especially despondent at trying to masochistically use his Voice, only for nothing to happen, Alfred would offer him a letter to read from Talentborn he had helped, that he had saved, and hold him while he read.
Those days were still bad, but they were easier to manage with Alfred's arms and own magic propping him up.
The winter season had gone mild as it faded into the beginnings of spring as they travelled back to Bruxels. By the time they took the steam train to Columbiana, arriving in Olympia in only two days, spring was exploding all around them as they walked up to Alfred's sprawling farmstead. Matthew had been there and welcomed them with what looked like half of the town, Alejandro standing out tall and tan above all the other townsfolk. Alfred had beamed at the attention and Arthur had done his best to not snap too much as Alfred excitedly introduced him to everyone.
All in all, Arthur could have imagined worse ways to spend the one-year anniversary of having his voice stolen and meeting Alfred, the start to his new life.
Arthur had some reservations about adjusting to farm life when he first arrived, but he found he enjoyed the work, especially with the animals. Matthew and Alejandro proved to be good company and eventually, they built their own home on the property, giving Alfred and Arthur privacy and space to grow in the house, making it their combined home with each new day. In their downtime, Arthur collected and curated books, creating a makeshift library for the town, and helped Alfred invent. He was not as much help as he would have been with his Voice, but Alfred was a surprisingly patient teacher. As summer closed and autumn began to sweep through the trees in a rush of red and gold, they actually had quite a few steam-powered machines for working the farm. Alfred had even begun preliminary designs for his airships.
That was what they were working on currently. Or, more accurately, it was what Alfred was working on. Arthur was trying to read, but found himself wholly distracted by Alfred as he worked.
It really was criminal that someone could look so attractive covered in sweat and grease, Arthur thought. He felt his eyes drift up from the same bloody page he had been trying to read for the past hour. Alfred made matters worse when he stripped off his shirt entirely and wiped at his face with it. Arthur huffed and shut his book audibly, glaring at Alfred from his spot on the porch.
"Do you have to do all that out here?" Arthur asked. "Do you not have space in the barn for all this?"
"The engine won't fit in the barn, Artie," Alfred grunted. He took his wrench and started tinkering with the admittedly large engine gracing the landing outside the house. "Besides, I need room to work. These damn hydraulics are kicking my ass."
Arthur bit at his lips and tried his very best to not glance down at Alfred's rather glorious arse at that. "Yes, well, perhaps instead of causing an eyesore on our lawn, you could build a hangar or something and work there. All this noise is distracting."
Alfred paused at what he was doing and looked over at Arthur, his pout transforming to a devilish smile as he realized what Arthur's real complaint was. He wished the git didn't read him so well. "You sure it's the noise that's distracting, honey? Or maybe it's something else."
Arthur sniffed and rolled his eyes. No sense in giving away the game completely. "I haven't the foggiest what you're on about."
Alfred's grin was shark-like in its sharpness, and he sauntered around the engine and up the steps of the porch towards Arthur, circling his prey. "Has anyone ever told you you're a shitty liar, Artie?"
"You. Repeatedly." Arthur titled his head up slightly as Alfred crowded him against the porch railing. He had to fight the urge to return Alfred's smile in order to maintain his unaffected front.
"Well, best not start now," Alfred crooned. "I think it's me you find distracting."
"I think you're full of it," Arthur snapped back, trying (and failing) to keep his eyes from darting down to Alfred's mouth as he leaned in close enough for Arthur to smell the grease on him.
Alfred stared at him for a moment longer, arms caging Arthur in, before he shrugged and made to leave, calling Arthur on his bluff. "I guess if I'm so gross then, I should head in and shower so—mph!"
Arthur reached out and snagged his shoulder, turning Alfred back towards him and kissing him quiet. Alfred smiled into the kiss before he returned it, pressing all up along Arthur's front as Arthur's hand skittered across the bare expanse of his shoulders and back. Arthur was so caught up in Alfred, he did not even care when those grease-stained hands ran through his hair. They snogged like teenagers until Arthur's lips started to feel a bit sore and he pulled back, flushed and warm all over in a way that had nothing to do with the afternoon sun. Alfred looked unbearably self-satisfied.
"Oh, stop looking quite so smug, you git," Arthur grumbled, embarrassed he'd been the one to give in so easily in their game. He always seemed to be the one who gave in.
"Nope, can't do it," Alfred chimed back. "You're so easy, Artie!"
"Yes, well, only for you," he replied. Alfred's grin softened into one that was horrendously tender, and Arthur cleared his throat to try and regain some semblance of control. "My vices aside, I do hope you're not going to just leave that out here when everyone starts to arrive."
"It's not even in the way!" Alfred whined. "Besides, they won't care! It's first time we're all getting together in a whole year!"
Arthur felt the same excitement Alfred was exuding at the thought of the reunion of sorts they were hosting in a few days' time.
It had been nearly a year since they had emerged victorious in the Barrens, and Alfred had wanted to celebrate with everyone from the Evangeline or met throughout their journey. They had seen some of their friends over the course of the intervening year (Kiku had visited several times, as had Seychelles and Francis on a brief vacation from the ship—Elizaveta had even visited with Roderich, Basch, and Lily once), but they were all quite scattered. As a result, they mostly relied on letters.
But the others had felt similar to Alfred and had readily agreed to make arrangements to travel to Columbiana for a visit. Even Esther and the Nordic elementals would be joining, the latter having freer rein to travel outside of their forest now that Arthur had healed the Barrens.
Matthew and Alejandro had been helping Arthur set up space for their friends between both their homes and at their neighbors, but they would need all the space they had to host everyone. Which meant Alfred's experimental airship engine could not be right in the middle of their front lawn. It was currently right where Arthur and Matthew planned to set up a big communal-style table for them to eat at.
"That engine is not staying out here, Alfred," Arthur said firmly. "I am not trying to seat upwards of twenty people around it."
"Ugh, fine! I'll move it behind the barn for now." Alfred pursed his lips as he headed back down towards the engine. "You know, I really should build a hangar or something. Especially as this gal starts to take shape!"
"Novel idea," Arthur grumbled to himself. As if he hadn't been suggesting this very thing to Alfred for months. He looked up as Alfred picked up the engine with ease and then tried to lean down and grab at his tools as well. "Alfred, just leave those, I'll grab them."
"No, I got 'em!" Alfred shouted, looking very much like he did not have them. This was confirmed when he lost his grip on the engine and it went careening out of his hold. "Shit, no!"
Watching Alfred's engine go sailing out of his grip and toward the ground, where it would undoubtedly break something and set Alfred back months triggered something in Arthur, something he had not thought to try in months after nothing but disappointment. Arthur flung out his hand and, without thinking, shouted out with his Voice.
"Please, stop!"
And then, slow and steady as the first fall of rain in a storm, Arthur felt the tell-tale rush of magic flow through his throat and the engine stopped mid-air. He stared at it in disbelief for a moment before a laugh bubbled out of him.
"Arthur, you—you stopped it!" Alfred shouted, up and off the ground where he had fallen and hurrying back up the porch steps to Arthur, his eyes wet and his smile blinding.
"Yes, yes I did I—lower to the ground," he tried. However, the engine remained suspended in the air, frozen in time. Arthur frowned and tried again. "Lower to the ground."
Nothing. He felt something like panic and disappointment roar at the base of his skull again. But then, he felt a calming presence wash over him. And whispers like words, tickling his mind. Suddenly, he knew what to do.
"Can you please lower to the ground and unfreeze?"
The engine did exactly that.
Arthur smiled, heedless of the tears that dripped down his face and felt something click inside that had felt ever-so-slightly unbalanced since that day in the Barrens. Alfred picked him up around the middle and spun him around, the laugh he let out high and clear. After Arthur felt dizzy, he brought him back down and pressed their foreheads together—his eyes were as blue as the Columbianan sky. "I guess we've got two things to surprise everyone with, huh? That we're getting bonded this week AND your Talent is back."
"Yes," Arthur said. He pressed a kiss to Alfred's lips as a world of endless possibilities opened before them both. "Yes, we do."
Well, here we are everyone. After 10 long years, this is the end of Silence and Thievery. Not going to lie, I'm a little misty-eyed right now. This was a joy to finish, hard as it was at times (and damnit, some of these scenes FOUGHT me), and I hope it was a joy for you to read. I'm happy, either way.
There is an epilogue, which is my love letter to this story, the characters, and to you, the readers. Thank you, to those who never lost hope I'd finish and thank you to those that are still here, old and new, lurker and non-lurker alike.
I don't know where I'm going to go from here, apart from uploading old, revised USUK works to this platform from LJ. I may write more of these boys. I may write for a new fandom (the Captive Prince series has literally captivated my soul for the past few years). I may not write anything fandom for a minute and write original work for me. Whatever the pathway, thank you for walking with me.
Yours,
Osco