Alfred F. Jones squinted as early morning light seeped from his bedroom window. The 14-year-old boy had bags under his blue eyes from lack of sleep, and his brows were furrowed in concentration. Most people in the town of Mertaivi were sound asleep, but Alfred was wide awake and determined to complete his project. His hands fumbled with the last piece to the sky boat engine in front of him. Alfred beamed and pushed back his sleepiness as he carefully completed the piece of technology.
"This time it will work for sure," Alfred whispered and smiled to himself before grabbing his tattered old backpack and shoving his prize inside of it. Now it was time for the tricky part, sneaking out of the house. The blonde boy quietly slipped through his bedroom door with the backpack securely on his back. Alfred began tiptoeing through the hall to make sure he would not wake his mother and father. The boy flinched as a floorboard suddenly creaked when he was walking past his parents' room. He held his breath as he watched his father turn around in his sleep in response to the loud noise.
When he was sure they were asleep, Alfred continued his walk until he finally made it to the front door. Smiling triumphantly Alfred threw the door open with more force then was necessary.
BANG!
"Alfred?"
Crap.
Alfred bolted and slammed the door behind him as he heard his mother's voice ring through the house. His mother had never supported his fascination with sky ships, saying that they were too dangerous and that sky pirates could easily hurt a young boy like him. Alfred scoffed to himself. Why would sky pirates come to a town like Mertaivi? Alfred ran through the roads of the town, occasionally shouting a greeting at someone he knew and was awake at that hour. Alfred had only one thing on his mind, and that was his sky boat.
Alfred smiled when the sky ship dock was in his sight and headed in the direction of the dock master's house. The blonde boy quickly picked up a handful of small pebbles and made his way over to a particular window of the home. Picking out one of the pebbles from his palm, Alfred furrowed his eyebrows as he made the window his target. He pulled his arm back and flung the pebble at the window, creating a small clack when the object connected with the glass. After waiting a few seconds Alfred prepared to throw another when the window suddenly snapped open.
"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?" A boy with green eyes and messy blonde hair shouted from the window. The 15 year old boy's slightly bushy eyebrows were furrowed with anger, and he was still in his night clothing.
"HURRY AND GET DRESSED, ARTIE! I GOT IT THIS TIME! I'M SURE OF IT!" Alfred called back motioning to his backpack. Arthur Kirkland rolled his eyes before slamming the window shut and disappearing back into his room. Alfred smiled and ran to the front door to wait for his best friend. Within a matter of minutes, the door opened and Arthur stepped out in day time clothing, rubbing sleep out of his green eyes.
"You couldn't wake me up at a more reasonable hour, Alfred?" the British boy complained rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Alfred simply smiled, grabbing his friend's wrist and dragging him to a small rickety shed by the house.
"I worked all night on this Artie, I'm sure it's gonna work this time." Alfred beamed and opened the doors to the shed. Inside was an unfinished sky boat with the word 'Heromobile' painted onto the side. The only thing it was missing was the item that was currently located in Alfred's backpack.
"I still don't agree with the name." Arthur muttered as Alfred took the bag off of his shoulders and placed it on the ground. Ignoring his friend's statement, Alfred pulled the engine out of his pack.
"Help out with this will ya?" Alfred said to Arthur as he walked over to the sky boat and placed his hands on the side. The other boy decided not to argue and helped Alfred flip the sky boat over so the bottom was facing up. Alfred then picked up the engine once more and placed it on the belly of the vessel.
"Hold this here while I attach it." Alfred told Arthur. Arthur, used to the routine, did as the American asked and held the engine in place as Alfred grabbed his tool box and set to work finishing the sky boat.
"Are you absolutely positive the engine will work this time, Alfred? Last time you managed to burn down-"
"I'm aware!" Alfred interrupted the other blonde, not wanting to think about what happened the last time they tested an engine. "I am positive that I can get it to work this time!"
Arthur sighed as he watched the younger boy work. The two had been working on their project to build a sky boat since they met, but they had never gotten the engine to work. Each time Alfred came to him with an engine, it started the same way with 'I'm sure it will work this time' or 'there is no way this thing can fail'. Despite the boy's promises, it always managed to end in disaster. Arthur, however, was unable to say no to Alfred's optimistic smile. He had met Alfred for the first time when Arthur's father took over the dock and he decided to explore the town. He found the American sitting under a tree doodling pictures of sky ships in the dock. Once they sparked up a conversation on flying they were inseparable.
"Alright, Artie let's give her a whirl!" Alfred's voice shook Arthur from his thoughts.
"Let's get this over with," Arthur muttered helping Alfred carry the vessel outside.
"Have some faith, Artie!" Alfred exclaimed, setting down the sky boat and climbing in.
The blond patted the seat next to him for his friend to sit. Arthur hesitantly climbed in after the American and sat.
"Alfred, are you sure it is safe-" Arthur started but was cut off by Alfred's laughter.
"LIVE A LITTLE, ARTIE~!" the American shouted before bringing the sky boat to life and lurching them forward. Arthur felt as though his heart stopped and quickly threw his arms around Alfred's waist.
"ALFRED!" Arthur gasped realizing they were off the ground and gripped tighter to the American thinking they were going to crash back down to earth.
"IT WORKS! ARTIE, IT REALLY WORKS! HAHA~!" Arthur's eyes snapped back open not realizing he had closed them when he heard Alfred say those words laced with excited laughter. Looking up he saw the docks flashing by them as the vessel glided through the air. Wind flew through Arthur's blonde hair, and his green eyes widened in wonder. They had done it. THEY HAD REALLY DONE IT!
Laughter built up in the British boy's throat as he gripped what was happening. Alfred, hearing the noise, turned his head to face his best friend smiling in victory. Unfortunately, that was a huge mistake. As quickly as the flight started, it ended as a large bang resonated and the sky boat fell to the ground. Luckily, the vessel had not gotten that high yet, so the boys were uninjured. The same could not be said for the Heromoblie. Alfred and Arthur were flung from the sky boat and landed with a soft thump onto the dirt and wordlessly watched their work crash into a tree. They sat in silence for a few moments till Alfred stood up and started laughing and whooping.
"DID YOU SEE THAT! WE DID IT! IT FLEW, IT FLEW~!" Alfred shouted in celebration, throwing his fist into the air. Arthur was distracted by a small yellow feather that slowly fluttered down from the sky boat. He stood himself up and walked to the source to investigate, and was met with the sight of a small yellow bird.
"A-Alfred?"
Alfred was snapped out of his celebration by Arthur's voice. The boy looked over to his friend to see a small bird cradled in his hands.
"I-is it d-dead?" Alfred gasped, his face growing pale.
"No, I think it's just badly injured." Arthur said with his eyes locked on the small animal's form.
"Hurry, let's get it to Mattie so he could take a look at it. He is good at stuff like this," Alfred said grabbing Arthur's elbow and leading him in the direction of his house leaving the sky boat behind for now. Matthew was Alfred's younger brother that happened to love animals, and always carried around a stuffed polar bear he named Kumajiro. Arthur stroked the soft feathers on the top of the bird's small head as its labored breathing continued on. Alfred noticed this and quickened his pace until they reached his home.
Alfred stopped in front of the door to his house and took in a deep breath before looking back at Arthur. The British boy was starring at the bird with worry; Alfred felt his eyebrows furrow in determination before looking back at the door and opening it. He was immediately met with the sight of his mother running up to him.
"ALFRED! Oh thank goodness! You scared your father and I half to death! Don't you EVER do that ag-" his mother suddenly stopped when she caught sight of Arthur before looking back at her son and saying, "We will finish talking about this later."
Alfred timidly smiled trying to lighten his mother's glare before leading Arthur to his brother's room located right next to his. Matthew gasped when his door flew open revealing his brother and Arthur holding an injured bird.
"MAPLE! You scared me, Alfred!" Mattie yelled, though it was more talking than yelling because of his quiet disposition.
"No time for chit-chat, Mattie! You gotta help us!" Alfred exclaimed closing the door behind him and Arthur. Arthur held out the bird and Matthew realized the situation.
"What did you DO, Al?" Mattie gapped at his brother.
"I-It was an accident! It flew into us-"
"More like you flew into it." Arthur interrupted.
"Alfred! Please don't tell me you have been messing with sky ships again! You know how mom feels about that!" Matthew scolded his older brother. Alfred simply let out a sigh. Mattie rolled his eyes at his brother's defiance before taking the small chick from Arthur's hands. The boy examined the bird for external injuries before looking back at his brother.
"Al, can you get me a box, a towel, and some bandages from the cupboard?" He asked the older boy. Alfred nodded and left the room leaving Matthew and Arthur alone with the bird.
"Do you know what is wrong with it?" The green eyed boy asked. Matthew nodded and looked back at the bird.
"It had a broken wing and some bruises but it should be fine. When it gets better we can let it go." The violet eyed 13-year-old said. Arthur nodded and Alfred ran back through the door, carrying the items he was sent for in his hands. He set the supplies on his brother's bed so Mattie could get to work.
"You can f-fix it…right, Mattie?" Alfred gulped not wanting to be haunted by some phantom bird for the remainder of his life.
"Stop talking about him that way you make him sound like one of your failed projects." Matthew sighed while wrapping the birds wing in bandages.
"HEY! They don't always break! WAIT! It's a dude?" Alfred exclaimed staring at the bird baffled.
"I just assumed!" Matthew blushed, "It's better than calling him an 'it'. Anyways, learning to determine the gender of a bird is not on my list of things I want to do."
Mattie turned back to the bird and gently tied off the bandages. Smiling at his work he folded up a towel and placed it in the box to create a nice cushion for the bird. Gently, the Canadian lifted the bird, cradling him in his palm before setting him down in the box.
"Well, if you a sure it—he- is going to be ok, me and Artie need to clean up our….mess." Alfred muttered awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck.
"Wait just a tick! YOU are the one that bloody cras-" Arthur started but Alfred quickly covered the Brit's mouth before anyone could hear of the crash. Alfred dragged him outside leaving Mattie to absentmindedly stroke the bird's soft feathers. Once they were out the door Arthur immediately shook the American off him.
"Have you ever heard of personal space?" He snapped and Alfred quickly held his hands up to calm the other down.
"No need to get all snappy, Artie. Anyways, YOU were the one who almost got us caught," Alfred defended.
Arthur sighed, and the two boys started the walk back to the wreckage. The town was beginning to liven up as the sun rose higher and more people started their day. This was normal for Mertaivi yet something seemed off. Many people were speaking in quick hushed whispers that seemed more urgent than the usual gossip. Arthur noticed this and silently tugged on Alfred's sleeve to get his attention. Alfred turned to his friend and his blue eyes looked at Arthur in confusion. Arthur opened his mouth to voice his concerns when a slightly feminine yet still male voice cut him off.
"Like, hey guys~! Did you, like, hear the totally huge news?"
Another blonde by the name of Feliks came running up to them, his face was full of excitement from that days gossip.
"'Sup Feliks?" Alfred asked.
"Well, I totally heard this, like, insane rumor that sky pirates are going to, like, come to Mertaivi!" Feliks exclaimed proud of his juicy gossip.
Alfred felt his blood freeze in his veins. Most children in Mertaivi did not know the extreme dangers of sky pirates since most people, including parents, had never truly seen them at work. With Alfred it was completely different. When his mother was younger she lived in a large town where lots of ships came for trade, this meant a large number of sky pirates came also. His mother moved to Mertaivi when her brother, Alfred's uncle, was killed in a raid. Alfred's mother had never forgotten the event and would always stress to her son how important it is to stay away from anything that had to do with sky ships.
Arthur's eyes immediately snapped to Alfred, knowing the severity of the situation.
Arthur's father had worked on docks since he was a small boy so he knew the dangers of sky pirates as well. Arthur knew how Alfred's mother passed her fear to Alfred, so Arthur hesitantly took Alfred's hand in reassurance. Immediately after his decision, Arthur flushed and Alfred suddenly locked eyes with him in silent thanks.
"Like, I totally hate to ruin your, like, moment or whatever," Now it was Alfred's turn to blush, "but I totally need to, like, spread the news! Later~!" With that the Pole ran off to spread the gossip to his friend Toris. Alfred stood in stunned silence until Arthur tugged on his arm, still holding his hand.
"Come on, we have to tell my father," Arthur said motioning for Alfred to follow him.
Alfred turned his head in the direction of his house wondering if he should tell his folks. He looked back at Arthur and at their hands, realizing that making sure his best friend gets home safe is far more important.
Right?
"We better hurry." Alfred muttered giving Arthur's hand a squeeze and following him to his house by the docks.
A/N:
Nitrogen is good eue
erase that please XD
^ No. I'm not going to erase that. You aren't going to read this over, you're just going to publish it. And then I will laugh at you.
^April fools I'm not done eue
To all the now-confused readers, this is a conversation between the author and the beta reader.
Please review~ orwewillhuntyoudown.
Thank you OveractiveTriggerFinger for being my beta~ even if I forced you.
LOL BETAING
Le real beta: kumakumajiro14