So...two months, five years, does anyone really keep count? I certainly don't...
I'm sorry for the delay, I've had the worst writers block and so many things have been going on in my life. Finally though I actually enjoy writing again! So I really, really hope it stays that way because I'm so excited to continue this story and hopefully finish it soon.
Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia nor any of the characters
Chapter 3 - It's a long way to the top
"Mattie!" His voice didn't seem to carry far over the boiling sea as the blonde boy desperately clung onto the debris floating in front of him. "Damn it…" Alfred coughed from the dark, thick smoke, almost seeing double for a moment. He couldn't give up now though, he had to find Matthew before the boy drowned.
The young boy let go of his only safety and started to swim through the water, ignoring the dead bodies floating around him. There was no time to feel sorry for the fallen, he could do that later when he and Matthew were safe.
"Boy, look out!" Matthew looked up just in time to see one of the burning masts about to fall on top of him, the wood groaning forebodingly and giving way more and more. Alfred cursed in his mind as he quickly swam out of the way, watching the mast hit the surface where he had been just seconds ago, slowly sinking down into the depth. The one that had shouted was Smith, somehow having survived the attack. "Come on, boy." The man stretched his hand out to Alfred but the boy slapped it away.
"Not before I find my brother," he retorted before he simply turned against them, prepared to keep on swimming but was stopped by a large hand grabbing the collar of his shirt. "Hey, let me go!"
"You brother is dead," Smith hissed, hoisting Alfred into the boat, almost throwing him onto the floor. "We tried to get to him but he was stuck in debris and sank, I'm sorry." It was a lie; they had not seen the boy anywhere but he couldn't possibly be alive in this turmoil. Smith watched the different emotions going through Alfred's eyes, the boy trying to process the situation.
"Y-you're lying!" Al got up on his feet violently, causing the whole dinghy to shake and take in water. "He wouldn't get stuck, he wouldn't die!" Another pair of hands grabbed onto the blonde's shoulders, forcing him down into the boat once more and holding him down despite the young boy's struggles. "H-he can't be…" The struggling slowly turned into sobbing instead as he was lying on the floor in a foetal position.
Smith and the other man exchanged glances but they didn't say anything. They couldn't waste time on soothing a sobbing child now, they needed to get out of there alive first. The other man pressed a ripped piece of his shirt against Alfred's mouth to protect him from the smoke before he took the oars and started to row them away from the burning ship, not finding anymore survivors on their way.. Once outside of the poisonous smoke they could cough and fill their lungs with fresh air.
A quick glance towards the horizon told them the pirates had just fished up any cargo they had been able to find in the wreck and Smith spat in the water with disgust.
"Rats, all of them," he muttered as he glanced down at the still crying boy, slowly helping him to sit up before taking him into his arms. "I'm sorry about your brother… We lost a lot of good men today. But we need to keep going towards the capital. So, for your brother's sake, keep the tears in, stay hydrated. If you die here you only let the pirates win." Smith looked down at the boy, Al starting to calm down slightly as he now had his face pressed into the large man's chest. He couldn't muster any words but he nodded, knowing it would be foolish to die here. "Good boy." Smith managed a small smile, ruffling the blonde's hair before he looked up towards the horizon. "Continue in this direction, Hassan. We should meet at least one ship before we thirst to death."
"Ay ay," the tanned man said, not seeming very hopeful but he continued to row, feeling slightly relieved the further away they got from the burning masses of the once proud, royal ship. "The pirate attacks have become a lot worse lately. I never thought they would have the balls to attack a ship flying the royal colours."
"They are cowards. Otherwise, they would have boarded us and tried their luck getting all the cargo. Now they choose to sink us and pillage whatever was floating. Pathetic." Smith huffed the last words with a sigh before he glanced down at Alfred that had started to pull away from the man. His eyes were red and swollen but he seemed calm, glancing out over the now peaceful ocean.
"I will live for us both, Mattie. Just you wait and see." He glanced up towards the sky, mustering a sad smile as he saw the pale moon still visible this early in the morning. "And when we meet again… I'll tell you all about our life."
oOoOo
Three days had passed since the attack, the three males starting to feel the effects of severe dehydration. If it wasn't for the sudden rain the day before they would most likely already have died. Their eyes looked hollow and their skin was missing all the resilience it should have.
Alfred was hanging slightly over the edge of the dinghy, giving the water longing stares but he knew better than to actually drink it. While it perhaps would soothe the thirst in the short run, it would dry him out even more and bring him even closer to death than he already was. Smith soon joined him on the edge, having just giving over the oars to Hassan and he pulled a shirt over both their heads to protect against the sun.
"It is tempting, isn't it?" Smith said with a small laugh that ended in a cough instead due to his dry throat. "Not to mention…all the fish swimming down there. What I wouldn't give to catch one and roast it over open fire."
"Are you trying to make me suffer even more? Asshole…" Alfred sighed, feeling how his mouth wanted to water by the thought of food but he had no saliva to produce. "It should come a ship soon. We just have to survive." That earned him another little laugh from Smith, the dark-haired male just smiling as he glanced up against the horizon.
"I guess you're right. Our only job now is to survive…"
Several more hours passed, Alfred this time being the one in charge of rowing. The two others had wanted to protest but they really had no energy to argue with the stubborn boy and since he actually got them forward, there wasn't any idea to argue either.
"H-hold on, I see something!" Hassan got up, his otherwise tanned skin seemingly pale now and his black hair hung flat around his head. Slowly he crawled to the fore of the dinghy, watching the silhouette of a ship appear at the horizon. "Oh, please don't be pirates, anything but bloody pirates."
Smith managed to sit up as well, sweat pouring from him as he had been rowing just before Alfred. His sight was significantly worse than Hassan's but he could see it as well.
"I don't even care if it's pirates, just give me something to fucking drink." He quickly got back into rowing position, facing Alfred now and grabbing the oars together with him. "We'll get there quicker if we both row." He managed a faint smile towards the boy before they started to row together, using their remaining strength to aim for the ship while Hassan stood in the front, waving the best he could without falling into the ocean.
The ship seemed to change course slightly, now heading towards them and as they got closer they could see the marine crest on the mast, the three almost crying from relief. As they finally ended up side by side with the ship the last of both Alfred's and Smith's energy died and they collapsed, panting loudly. Hassan smiled widely up towards the railing, watching some of the soldiers throw down a rope ladder to them.
"Thank you," he managed to get out with his hoarse voice, starting to climb with shaking arms and somehow getting over the railing with some help of the soldiers pulling him over. As they looked down at the boat they could see the two still there, guessing none of them would be able to get anywhere and so two of the soldiers climbed down into the dinghy. They managed to get each of the survivors onto their backs, telling them to hold on tightly, before they started to climb up the ladder, not caring about taking care of the dinghy since it was worse for wear by now.
On the deck Alfred curled up slightly, feeling the robust floor beneath him instead of the little dinghy and some tears did escape him now. They had survived.
"Hey, someone get some water and bread for them!" One of the men turned to the stooge that gave him a bored glance but decided to not argue as he moved down below deck to follow orders. "You're okay now." The man smiled towards them, earning a thankful look from Smith.
The stooge soon came back, putting some mugs before the three and a couple of loaves of bread to share. The survivors were quick to gulp down the water like they had never drank anything before in their lives, not caring about the bread until their thirst was soothed.
"Are you survivors from HM's Tide Runner?" The young boy looked at them curiously, probably only being a couple of years older than Alfred. His white hair glistened in the sunlight and those red eyes made the three slightly uncomfortable at first. "We heard about the pirate attack."
"We are," Smith said, sitting up but having to lean back against the railing due to his lack of energy. "I couldn't find anymore survivors but the smoke was heavy from the fire and we had to get away from it before suffocating. We have been in that bloody dinghy for… I don't really know, three or four days I think."
"You did well," the man said with a little smile, shooing away the stooge before he filled their mugs with more water. "We sent a ship there as soon as we heard about the attack. The pirates were long gone and they found no survivors, sadly." He reached the mugs with water out to each of them but stopped in his movement when Alfred grabbed onto his arm, surprisingly hard for someone being on the brink of death.
"Let me join you," he said, his voice hoarse and lips cracked and bloody. Yet he didn't care for the reached-out water, not right now. "I will be a marine…for my brother. He died in that attack and I want to pin the pirates' heads on a pike myself." The man gave him an empathic look before glancing over at Smith and Hassan. They both seemed to focus on their water though.
"You're just a kid. Besides, I'm not the one making the calls about that, I'm captain of this ship, not in charge of recruitment." He watched the determination turn into disappointment in the blue eyes and the marine captain got a soft smile on his lips. "Here, drink some more water and eat. We're heading towards the marine base, perhaps I can put in a good word for you when we arrive."
Alfred looked up at him with big eyes, a smile forming on his lips before he nodded, now grabbing onto the mug with water and downing it in a heartbeat. The three survivors later split the pieces of bread between them and ate slowly, savouring every bite.
"I didn't know that bread could taste this good." Hassan was now actually crying as he took another bite, almost moaning from the flavour. "I'm so glad to be alive." The captain smiled slightly at them, waiting for the three to get enough strength to be able to walk before he showed them below deck and to where they could sleep. It was a large room with multiple hammocks where the crew slept.
"We do have some places over so feel free to take a hammock that doesn't have any stuff on it. We should arrive in the capital tomorrow morning; I suggest you manage to get some sleep before that so you don't look like ghosts when arriving." He gave Alfred a friendly pat on the shoulder before he walked up on deck once more, letting the three take their time. It didn't take long for them to find one hammock each, lying down and almost feeling like they were on clouds.
"Like hell I'm going to sleep like this though, I need to clean up." Smith sat up once more, at first not very willing to leave his temporary bed but he forced himself up either way. "You two, come here. We can't thank these gentlemen by stinking up their sleeping area." He pulled Hassan up with him, ignoring the many protests. Alfred was quick to follow, wanting to wash away all the salt on his skin from sweat, tears and the ocean. It almost felt like he had an extra layer of clothes due to it. The three of them looked around for a bit, soon having to ask one of the crewmembers that happily showed them the way.
Inside the bathroom was a big tank that held the water they could use to wash up. Beneath the tank was a small fireplace where they could start a fire to heat the water up before using it. The three of them got to work to warm the water up, soon enough being happy with the temperature since they didn't mind slightly chilly water now after the days beneath the sun. The three of them washed themselves, their smiles seemingly growing bigger and bigger the cleaner they got and soon Hassan burst into a song while washing up.
"My, my darling please don't cry. You know I will come home by the next full moon, ay? A sailor's life is the same as being free, but worry not my love, for in your arms are where I in the end want to be." He hummed the rest, having forgotten most of the lyrics but seemed jolly either way,
"And if I don't come back by the next full moon, ay. Then please, for me you should cry. Being free is not always the same as being alive. Know that wherever I am you will have to survive." Smith smirked widely as he sang with his crewmate, both of them seemingly in such a good mood now that they felt safe, clean and fed.
Alfred was relieved but he had a hard time getting into the same jolly mood. His mind was constantly slipping, thinking about his brother. Mattie must have been so scared, dragged into the water to slowly drown. Was he trying to shout his name? For him to come and save his smaller brother. Al shut his eyes hard, taking a deep breath as he tried to not think about it. He had to survive for them both, to succeed for them both.
As he was done washing himself he got up and walked towards the door, now noticing the new clothes that were neatly folded on a bench. Their old ones were nowhere to be seen, probably thrown or burnt. He didn't mind though as he took the smallest pair of pants and put them on, still half drowning in them but it was good enough. It was obvious they didn't usually have children onboard and these clothes were for teens. With a little shrug he put on the clean, white shirt as well, feeling the soft cotton against his skin. These were the nicest clothes he had ever worn.
The young blonde made his way back towards the sleeping area, only to stop as he was about to walk into the white-haired boy from earlier. He glared up at the older boy slightly, earning him a glare in return before he continued to walk. Soon enough he was comfortably lying in the hammock he had claimed, a blanket over his small body, and it didn't take him long until he fell asleep. He was completely out of it for the rest of the evening and night and he doubted even a pirate attack could wake him up.
oOoOo
"Haven't you learnt anything yet?! You have to tie it like this or it will come loose!" The white-haired male glared over at Alfred, trying to show him the correct way of securing the cargo.
"Like I would listen to you, Gilbert," Al retorted with a huff, putting his hands on his hips. "I've been on this ship for three years now and nothing I've secured have ever gotten loose."
"Because I've gone after you to secure it properly!" Gilbert gritted his teeth slightly towards his crewmate. Three years ago, Alfred had been taken in by the marines thanks to the good word of the captain of the ship they both now served on. Both of them had very strong personalities and did have a hard time getting along since everything ended in a competition or a brawl.
"Doesn't sound like my problem. Besides, I'm not here to secure cargo! I'm going to become a hero in the marines and put an end to this damn pirate era!" He smirked and stretched out his body, only to soon feel a bucket hit him in the back of the head. "Ah, what the he-"
"Your job is to do whatever the captain tells you, Alfred." It was the first mate on the ship, Silvia. She was in her twenties, long copper coloured hair always braided to get out of her face and a pair of emerald green eyes. She was a beautiful woman for sure and was one of the few that could silence Gilbert and Alfred for at least a bit. "So, if he tells you to secure the cargo you…?" She trailed of in her sentence, raising an eyebrow as she looked down at the now slightly flustered blonde.
"I…secure the cargo," he muttered quietly, discreetly trying to tuck in his white shirt to look a bit more proper in front of her. His answer earned him a pat on the head before she moved away, both boys looking after her with adoring eyes. It was obvious though they both were still children in her eyes.
"Congratulations for finally realizing the obvious. Are you going to learn how to do it properly now?" Gilbert huffed at Alfred that glared back at him before sighing in defeat. He couldn't do things badly if he wanted to become the admiral one day after all.
"Fine," he said, the word obviously not coming out easily as he had to strain himself to admit Gil was right. "Show me how you do it, oh stooge of all stooges." He bowed gleefully, ducking just in time for a fist to not hit him in the head before he reached his tongue out towards the albino.
The rest of the afternoon went to showing Alfred what things he had done wrong, which were a lot if you asked Gilbert. For once though the blonde seemed to actually listen and learn. At the end of the day he did everything with the same experience as Gilbert and the albino actually seemed content with the younger boy. Not that he planned on telling him that.
It was soon time for dinner, their chef having prepared a special treat since she had gotten her hands on some spices they didn't usually have. It smelt heavenly in the mess where they usually ate, the smell of spices filling the air and causing every crew member's mouth to water.
"Seems like granny is making something really special," Al said with a wide smile, both boys trying to sneak to the front of the line but got stopped by two, large hands grabbing onto each of their collar. "Hey!" Alfred looked up only to see a blank expression on the light blonde male behind them, swallowing slightly. "I mean…hey, Ivan."
Without a word the Russian man lifted them off their feet, turned and put them down behind him only to then show his back to them once more. Gil and Al exchanged glances between each other before they sighed in relief. Ivan wasn't much older than them but he was easily the scariest person on the whole ship so they both nicely waited in line behind him, not wanting to get on his bad side.
The closer they got to the food the longer it seemed to take for everyone in front of them. Both boys obviously impatient but each time Ivan glanced at them they innocently looked to the side, pretending they very patiently waiting for their turn as everyone else. Ivan almost acted as a big brother for those that were younger than himself, sometimes even to those older. His background was a mystery to everyone except for the captain, something that left a lot of room for rumours and exaggerations about the quiet, scary man.
"I heard he captured a whole pirate crew, by himself," Gilbert whispered quietly as they had sat down, far from Ivan. "None of them survived his torture." Alfred looked at him with big eyes, glancing over at the light-haired male, shivering slightly before turning back to his food.
"Well, as long as it's just pirates I don't care. They all deserve to die." He huffed before he took a big spoon of the food, almost inhaling it as a wide smile spread over his pale lips. "Oh man, this is amazing. So much flavour!" Gilbert was quick with taking a spoon full for himself, the albino soon grinning as well and the two boys let the food for once silence them.
It seemed like the spicy, warm food had that effect on the whole crew since everyone was quiet, just eating and enjoying. The elderly lady responsible for the food stood with her arms crossed over her chest, happy with the result as she looked out over the smiling faces. They had been out on the ocean for months now after all, they deserved something to warm their bellies.
"Don't be shy, my little cuties! There is a lot more food for you to eat if you're hungry!" The woman smiled widely as the hungry soldiers quickly created a line once more to refill their now empty bowls. Seemingly the captain was in a great and generous mood this special evening as well as he brought out the rum and the quiet dinner soon turned into a feast with singing, dancing, and drinking. Gilbert and Alfred were quick with getting onto one of the tables, having gotten one broom each and was half sparring, half dancing to the music.
"Go low!" Silvia shouted, causing both boys to follow her suggestion and it ended with them crashing into each other, skull against skull. "N-not both of you!" She looked a bit shocked at the two that had fallen on their asses, rubbing their sore heads while the rest of the crew just laughed loudly at the display.
The partying went on well into the night, the soldiers dropping one after the other as they fell asleep where they sat or stood. Soon enough it was only the cook and Ivan left standing in the mess hall, both of them looking over the snoring, twitching and drunk crew.
"They shouldn't lower their guard like this. It would be so easy to kill them all." Ivan glanced over them, his violet eyes stopped for a second by Alfred and Gilbert having fallen asleep in a pile. He turned back though when he felt a hand on his shoulder, the chef behind him just smiling a bit.
"Now, now, young Ivan. We all need to let loose every now and then. Besides, we have people on deck making sure to keep the ship prepared for anything. They will come and wake them up if something happens." She squeezed his shoulder with a comforting smile before she removed her hand, starting to take care of the empty pots and pans after the dinner. "Be a dear and help me, will you?"
Ivan nodded slightly before he started to move around the room, surprisingly silent for someone of his stature. He collected empty mugs and bowls, soon placing them inside the little kitchen and starting to wash them up while the woman was scrubbing all the surfaces, humming a happy tune for herself. It was quite comforting and the man seemed to actually relax a bit as he focused on the dishes, soon humming together with her. Perhaps he could recreate this melody on his balalaika and play it for her sometime.
oOoOo
The next morning more than half of the crew was lazy and grumpy, most probably having a pulsating headache while others were hanging over the railing, puking their guts out. Alfred was surprisingly well despite the amount of rum he had consumed but he was still playing on being hungover to not have the same expectations on him when he did his job.
They were getting closer to the capital and now they would have to stay for a bit until their next mission. Alfred was looking forward to it since he was able to train once more with some of the stronger recruits, meaning he could get better and stronger himself. While he and Gilbert were pretty well matched he needed someone stronger than him, someone better. His thoughts went back to three years ago, the last sparring match he'd had with his brother. Matthew had always been better than him even if he wasn't stronger. Despite losing he always learnt something from each match, how to improve himself.
"Oy, buttwipe! You missed a spot." Alfred glared up at the albino boy before glancing down at the deck where he had just scrubbed. Some very stubborn bird shit was still clinging onto the wood and the blonde sighed as he started to scrub even harder. "Were you thinking of your brother? You got that very distant look in your eyes you always get when you do."
"Yeah, I was thinking back to the good old days when I actually had a proper sparring partner I could learn something from," Alfred retorted, ignoring the glare he had gotten from Gilbert. "He would have wiped the floor with you and gotten all of this shit out of the deck."
"Oh, is that so? I would have liked to meet him, just to put both of you in your place." Gil smirked widely, dodging just in time as Alfred threw the dirty water in his bucket towards the white-haired male.
"Don't you have something better to do than to dream? I certainly do…" He huffed and went to refill his bucket to continue scrubbing the deck. He didn't gain anything from lingering in the past, no matter how he wished to bring those days back. It hurt more than it helped.
The day past, the soldiers finding more and more energy as the headache was dying down. Soon enough they could see the capital at the horizon and a joyful cheer could be heard from the crew. Many of them wanting to come back to their spouse and children, others just happy to have robust land beneath their feet while others were more excited about drinking and finding some company for the night.
Alfred was the first one to get off the ship, barely even waiting for the gangplank to be in place before he sat his feet on dry land once more. A large smile decorated his lips as he started to run towards the marine base, not wanting to lose a single second of training and getting stronger when he finally was in the capital once more.
oOoOo
Another three years had passed, Alfred finally being of the age to become an officer. For two years he had been under the command of Gilbert and it had bothered him to no end. Still, now he would have his own little group to train and make stronger than any other seamen and he was proud of himself.
The admiral himself was out on this day, by his side standing the top-ranking captains that all wore their white coats and their medals glistened in the sun. The one closest to the admiral was a blonde, tall man, invoking respect in anyone looking at him. That is, except for his younger half-brother that was defiantly staring at him from the other side of the courtyard. Gilbert had never forgiven their father and with that, he had a hard time for his brother as well seeing that Ludwig was their father's favourite. Not so strange perhaps seeing that Gilbert was a bastard.
"It is with great joy I hereby proclaim you all officers," the admiral said, his voice booming and could be heard all over the courtyard without problem. The marine's flags were flying proudly behind him and his captains, the red-haired male having a box with medals that each one of the newly promoted soldiers got to come up and get placed on their white coat. When it was Alfred's turn he had to hold himself back to not run up to the admiral, not being able to hide his wide smile though. The larger male smiled back before he placed the medal to the left on Alfred's chest, the medal hanging proudly over his heart. "I'm sure you all will make the marine very proud!"
After the ceremony Alfred ran over to Gilbert, smirking widely against him as he pushed out his chest more than was actually needed.
"Ha, you can't boss me around anymore!" He poked his tongue out to Gil that just rolled his eyes but a small smile could still be seen on his pale lips. Both the males' smiles disappeared though as they felt one heavy hand on each of their shoulder, almost threatening to push them right through the stone they stood on.
"Da. Congratulations, comrade Alfred," the large man said with a small smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Don't forget though, you still have to answer to me, your lieutenant." His hands squeezed both males' shoulders a bit tighter, causing them to grimace before he finally let go.
"Of course not! Like I would forget to obey your orders. I would lose my shoulder if I did." He muttered the last part quietly, massaging his shoulder slightly.
"Correct." Ivan nodded, agreeing with the statement which didn't make Alfred nor Gilbert feel much better. Why had they ended up on the same ship as Ivan? "Now then, I believe a celebration with the rest of the crew is in order. I know some man named Smith is waiting for you outside as well."
Alfred looked up at the other, his whole demeanour seemingly changing as he heard that name. He hadn't met him in a long time and so he hurried out from the base, soon seeing the familiar face in the crowd of people.
"Smith!" He ran up to the man, giving him a hug before he backed away slightly. The man had aged a lot during the six years that had passed since the pirate attack. The doctors said he had put too much strain on his already sick body and they had given him two months to live. Yet he was still standing. "You look a bit tired, should we go and get a drink?"
"That sounds good," the man said with a little laugh, ruffling Alfred's hair but it wasn't as easy now as the boy had grown taller than him a couple of years ago. Al was still just a boy in his eyes though. "Drinks on me, we have to celebrate your promotion after all!"
Both men walked towards the closest tavern, soon finding a corner where they could sit and talk without too many distractions. They started with a pint of ale each, soon catching up on everything that had happened since they last saw each other.
"Oh, you actually fought with Captain Viteri? I've heard he is a fearsome opponent. Seeing that you're still standing I guess he wasn't that bad." The older male gave his younger companion a teasing smile, earning him a glare and a huff from Alfred.
"I'll have you know he was very good, I just happened to be better." He smirked as he downed half of his ale in in gulp, letting out a delighted sigh from the taste. While he would never admit it to Gilbert, German ale certainly was much better than the one in the capital.
"So… I guess you have heard about the pirate ship that went under in a storm a month ago?" Smith glanced up at Alfred with curious eyes, the blonde looking back at him with a raised eyebrow.
"Why should I have heard about that? Pirates sink all the time; I don't bother reading up on them." He shrugged slightly before he took another sip from the ale, placing the mug down though with a frown as Smith didn't let go of his serious look.
"It was the same ship that attacked us, six years ago." He watched Alfred's eyes change, growing sterner and he gritted his teeth slightly. "Apparently there was a sudden storm, no one was prepared for it. They sailed right into it, no survivors except for the ship's doctor that got off in the city just before the ship sank. Apparently some believe he got tired of the captain and conjured the storm. The marines haven't been able to find him though."
"So, you're telling me…that the assholes sinking the ship, killing my brother…sank from a bloody storm?" Alfred smashed his fist into the table, breaths trembling slightly. "I've been looking for them and been so close on several occasions to get them but they always managed to get away. Usually they used storms to hide in and all of a sudden they couldn't anymore?" He huffed and leaned back into the chair, chewing his lower lip. "I guess…their luck had to run out sometime but I wish it had been when I got my hands on them."
Smith smiled slightly, glancing over at him with a small nod. He didn't have much to add, knowing Alfred was probably upset. He had seen his revenge as something important, something to fight for and a reason to get stronger. Now that goal had sunk into the ocean together with its crew. He could only hope Alfred would find other reasons to live other than just revenge.
"At least they are gone." Smith looked up at the blonde once more, seeing a small smile on his lips as he raised his mug. "Hopefully it was long and painful." The older man just smirked slightly at that comment before he lifted his mug as well, clanking them together.
"I'm sure they suffered!" Both men smiled before downing their ale, being quick to order in some more and a bottle of rum to top it off. After some hours of talking and boozing they decided to end the evening, Alfred knowing he had to go back to the base so his crewmates could celebrate him as well.
"Thanks, Smith, I'm happy the news about the pirates came from you. I don't think I would have taken it as well otherwise." He downed the last of his rum, feeling the room around him spinning. "And now, to go and drink with my crew as well." He gave the man a large smile as Smith got up from his seat, the two of them paying their tab before they exited the tavern. They said goodbye before Alfred started to walk towards the base, not being able to go in a straight line but somehow he still managed to make it back.
When he was back at the base Alfred soon found the big mess hall where his own crew and some other crews were spending time and celebrating their newly promoted mates.
"There he is," one of the soldiers exclaimed, raising his mug to Alfred that just walked in. "Come on, we've already gotten drunk without you, don't force us to collapse without you as well!" Alfred grinned widely as he stumbled over to the table, soon sitting down between his mates, taking another mug of ale.
Gilbert was sitting at the opposite side of the table, pretty out of it already but still drinking. He and some of the other soldiers had challenged Ivan to a drinking game, a deck of cards being shuffled by one of them as they all glared up at their lieutenant. The Russian man didn't even look affected by the massive amounts of alcohol he had devoured and a small smirk could be seen on his lips, something that was quite unusual.
"Shouldn't you give up soon, little ones? Seems like you're about to fall asleep already." Ivan looked around the table, watching as their cards were dealt once more and he grabbed his own ones. The soldiers just glared up at him, refusing to give up and if so all of them would have to be brought to the medical wing they would bring Ivan down.
Thirty minutes later the little group had failed completely, all now on the ground or half hanging over the table, groaning. Ivan let out a deep chuckle, almost sounding a bit ominous as he looked up at the rest of the crew.
"Help these to their rooms, please." With that he took another gulp of his vodka, watching as some of the crewmembers helped their mates back to the barracks. After another couple of hours he was alone in the hall, everyone having gone to sleep by now. He put the now empty bottle down on the table, his violet eyes looking out through one of the windows to watch the moon shining outside. Sometimes he wondered why he pushed people away, especially since his crew obviously tried to involve him. A small sigh escaped his lips before he got up from the table, his large frame casting an even larger shadow around the hall. Slowly he made his way back to the barracks as well, still able to hear talk and laughter from the different rooms. He moved past the shared rooms though, soon walking inside of his own room which he had for himself. The tall male threw one last glance out the hallway before he closed the door around him, deciding to head for bed.
In a room not far away from the one-person quarters Alfred was lying on top of his bed, having already prepared for the night. Gilbert was sleeping deeply beneath him in the bunk bed they shared, completely out of it from all the drinking. The other two males they shared room with whispered between each other, talking about their upcoming mission that was supposed to still be a secret. Of course, things never stayed a secret for the ones that really wanted to know since there was always someone with loose lips if you bribed them with the right thing.
"You two, shut up now and go to sleep," Alfred muttered, turning his back to the two before he closed his eyes. Tomorrow was his first official day as an officer and he would get his own group to command. Obviously he wanted to make a good impression on both his fellow officers, the higher-ups and most of all, the group that would depend on him and trust him with their lives.