A/N: I got it finished! *dances* My procrastination aside, this was an interesting chapter to write, but I hope you guys like it anyway XD Thank you for all the reviews on the last chapter! My A/N is going to be cut short for today (lucky you guys lol) oh but one more thing.
Haru-shira-kun:
a) I plan on making the story pretty drawn out, so as far as getting together and such, not for a long while yet XD ( I tend to like more drawn out stories better then the ones where they just start dating right away lol) As the story goes on, you'll all definitely start to notice the changes in their relationship but nothing for a while (although I hope you enjoy the bits I put into this chapter ^^)
b) And as I mentioned in a, probably a very long while XP I haven't actually addressed this before, so I'm glad you brought it up. As far as my mind can fathom, this is going to be a very very VERY long fic (most of which I pray turns out to be better then just non-sensical drabble XD
OH! and one more thing! To the people who have offered to beta/ help me with my horrid dealings with language thank you very much! I've been considering getting a beta for a while now, but I'm always so late with my chapters that I would feel bad for anyone beta-ing my stories XD Still, I am considering it so if I decide to and you're interested please go ahead and ask ^^ As for my language I'll take ANYONE'S help with that XD
Btw if you haven't noticed this little guy: XD is my absolute favorite emoticon (so i hope i don't XD anyone to oblivion with my over use of it lol)
Wow... so much for a short Authors note... Oh well!
Onward!
O ~ O ~ O
Twenty loud minutes later, four groups had been formed. The cooks, Yao, Francis, Antonio, Feliciano and Romano, were settled around the kitchen island jotting down recipes, ingredients, and rooting through the food that was already in the house. The second team, consisting of Berwald, Ivan, Gilbert and Ludwig, was to go and gather whatever they could find to build the house emblem. The third team, which held Tino, Matthew Roderich, and Elizaveta were working on scheduling and chore assignments (it had been shortly after Alfred's proclamation of hunger that Ludwig had suggested they put together a schedule as well as a chore list to keep the cabin looking at least somewhat decent). The final group, much to Arthur's dismay, consisted of himself, Soren, Lukas, Kiku, and of course, Alfred. Leave it to Ludwig to assign a team like that.
And so, after running quickly up stairs to dress, all four teams assembled and began their work. Well, all except for theirs. They'd been standing for at least five minutes in front of the cabin, arguing about which way to go.
"We should go back to the cabins along the path we came up here. That way it will be easy to get back." Arthur snapped.
"No way. Let's go behind our cabin and see what's on the other side of the hill." Alfred argued.
"We don't even know if there's a path back there!"
"Well no better time to find out." Alfred spat defiantly. Shoving his hands deep into the pockets of his blue sweatshirt, the cerulean-eyed American stormed off in the other direction, leaves crunching loudly beneath his sneakered feet.
"Al wait up!" Soren called out, jogging to catch up to his friend. Alfred slowed momentarily to let the Dane fall in step with him, and then continued forward and around the side of the cabin without even a final glance behind him.
"That twat," Arthur hissed menacingly. "I swear of all the idiot's in this world he is by far the worst! He should go find his bike and ride it."
"Arthur-san." Kiku mumbled beside him. "I think Alfred is just being Alfred. We might as well go along with them, since they're already started in that direction right? Ah but um what do you think Lukas-san?" He asked, turning his attention to the ever-silent boy. Cobalt eyes snapped upward, hidden ever so slightly behind iridescent blonde bangs.
"Don't care really." He replied nonchalantly. It struck Arthur suddenly, that he had never really heard the quiet blonde speak before. It was odd, because although in many ways his silence resembled Matthew's own reluctance to speak, it didn't seem as if this one chose not to speak out of shyness but rather, out of spite. His voice was smooth like velveteen, words slipping effortlessly from his mouth like water pouring from a cup. For someone who didn't speak often, he sure had a way about it.
"I would say we should go the other way, just to bother them, but then the work we were assigned wouldn't get done and that would be a waste of both time and effort." Lukas drawled out, tugging on a stray piece of hair that curled off the side of his head.
"So then we're following them." Arthur sighed, running his hand through the back of his hair.
"Guess so." Lukas shrugged, pulling his indigo jacket tighter around him and starting forward. Arthur frowned in displeasure, but reluctantly stepped forward through the damp leaves and followed the little blonde around the house to where Alfred and Soren had just disappeared. It was infuriating, how easily it seemed that that American idiot could get people to do as he pleased. All he had to do was open his mouth and everybody listened to him.
It was odd, really. But he looked so natural standing up in front of everyone, like he was meant to be there. In fact he looked, dare he say it, somewhat attractive. The way his eye's seemed to go midnight blue, and glowed with authority; voice crisp and assertive, words so self assured that they rolled easily off his tongue. Everything about him seemed to brighten, from the warm, tan tone of his skin, to the rich golden hue of his hair. It was like he was a different person. No longer the obnoxious, hardheaded brat that he had to deal with, but a bright, intelligent leader. And it pissed him off. Because deep inside, he was jealous of Alfred. Jealous that this boy whom he hated so much, had the ability to do just what he had been dreaming of being able to do for four long years. To change himself.
"Arthur-san?" Arthur blinked in surprise, shaking his head to knock himself from his stupor.
"Sorry Kiku, what did you say?"
"Um you stopped walking. We hadn't realized so the others sent me back to get you. Alfred Soren-san and Lukas-san are behind the house waiting for us." Kiku smiled gently.
"Oh!" He cried, looking around him to find that he had indeed, stopped moving. "I didn't even realize, I'm sorry. I was... thinking."
Kiku laughed, tugging at the top of his plaid red scarf and tilting his head. "You must have been thinking about something very important, for you to just stop like that."
Arthur's face burned red and he shook his head violently. "No I wasn't thinking of anything important at all. Trust me, it was a far cry from that," He muttered, stepping brusquely past the Asian boy.
"Ah Arthur-san wait up!" Kiku called, rushing to catch up to him. "I didn't mean to upset you I just thought... um well never mind."
"It's alright you didn't upset me." He sighed, slowing to let the smaller boy match his pace. "And Kiku you don't have to call me that. You know, the san thing I mean. You..." He trailed off, casting the Japanese boy a curious look. "You don't address HIM with that -san ending do you?"
Kiku blinked slowly, as if thinking about whom Arthur could possibly be talking about. "Oh you mean Alfred?" He inquired. "Um well no, but that is because he asked that I refrain from adding the honorific. Does it bother you as well?"
"No no it doesn't bother me." Arthur insisted, waving his hands in front of him in protest. "It's just, it is quite formal isn't it? And I thought you know, since we're team mates and all, well it's not really necessary don't you think?"
He paused, as if thinking it over, and suddenly turned to Arthur, giving him a wide smile. "I hadn't thought of that! Thank you Arthur-s... I mean Arthur." He nodded gratefully. "I hadn't imagined that my honorifics might be unnecessary around team mates. I will keep that in mind when addressing everyone from now on."
Arthur shook his head and shoved his hands into his jean pockets. "Never mind." He muttered stiffly. Idiot, obviously it's because I thought we were going to be friends. He thought bitterly.
"Arthur!" Kiku yelled, worry lacing his voice. "I'm sorry have I done something to upset you again?"
He smiled wryly, staring at the ground. He was just being kind. Of course Kiku would think to include everyone, why wouldn't he? Just because he wanted to be friends didn't mean that he should force the other boy to turn his back to everyone else. He wouldn't dream of something like that. Shaking his head he turned and sighed, giving the other boy a small smile. "No it's ok. I'm just thinking too much, that's all. Please don't worry."
"Hey! Would you two hurry up?" Arthur furrowed his eyebrows in annoyance and tossed the boy who had called a sour look.
"We're coming calm down." He snapped, storming around the remainder of the house and behind the cabin.
Soren, Lukas and Alfred stood casually against the back of the cabin, each looking a different kind of irritated. Lukas was staring off into space as usual, but he kept clenching and unclenching his hand, occasionally glancing back towards the tall Danish boy venomously. Soren on the other hand, was making no attempt to hide the cold look that he kept pinned on Lukas and seemed as if he was trying to bore a hole in his back. And of course Alfred, arms crossed and mouth set into a scowl, was glaring at him.
"What were you two doing down there that took so long?" Alfred asked coolly.
"What's it to you?" Arthur replied stiffly. "Anyway we're here now, so where to oh fearless leader?"
"Wait." Lukas interjected. "Before you," he turned to Alfred. "Or you," he said turning to Arthur. "Say another word, I'm suggesting we split up to get the job done faster. We all have phones right? We'll go by the other cabins and take pictures of them as we pass. That way we don't have to remember the designs and we get the job done faster."
"Fair enough." Soren muttered. "But who goes with who?"
"I'll decide that, obviously." Lukas retorted, rolling his eyes. "Alfred and Arthur will go together, Kiku with me, and you," he said, glancing at Soren. "Can go by yourself."
"I don't think so." Arthur hissed. "How about this? I go with Kiku, he goes with Soren, and you can go by yourself?"
"Because I'm not going alone." Lukas snapped. "End of discussion."
"Then you at least have to go with Soren." Alfred pointed out. "And Kiku can go by himself."
"But he's huge!" Lukas argued, pointing to Soren. "He'll be fine by himself."
"Um..." Kiku cut in. "I don't think it's such a bad idea. Besides it's good to start developing teamwork so..."
Arthur sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance. "Very well. If it really does make sense to do it that way, then I will."
"Yea." Alfred muttered bitterly. "If that will work best, then I'll do it."
Arthur narrowed his eyes, shrugging off the angry glare he felt boring into his back. He didn't need to agree too.
Kiku nodded gratefully. "Alright then. Should we meet back here in an hour or so?" he asked.
Lukas gave him a terse nod, already turning away. "Yea. And don't forget to take pictures and stuff." Without another word, he started down the right side of the hill on which the cabin sat.
"Hey don't walk off without me!" Soren complained, running after him. Kiku chuckled quietly at the scene and turned to give the two a bright smile.
"Well I'll get going too." He said. Giving them a quick wave, he started over to the left side of the hill, and disappeared down the side. And they were alone.
"Guess we'll go straight back." Alfred muttered, stuffing his hand in the pockets of his sweatshirt.
"I guess we should." Arthur replied tightly. Slowly, the American began his decent down the hill, and after a moment, Arthur decided that at this point his only option was to follow him.
O ~ O ~ O
"I told you we shouldn't have gone off the path! Now look where we are? Do you see a single cabin anywhere?" Arthur snapped. They'd been walking through the ever thickening forest for near twenty minutes, and still and yet to come across another cabin. Needless to say, Arthur was not happy.
"Look I'm sure we'll run into one ok? And besides if we don't we can just turn back and go the way we came! No big deal." Alfred argued. "Besides..." He trailed off staring into the unexplored part of the forest. "I kind of want to know what the rest of this place looks li-"
"No, no and absolutely NOT!" Arthur yelled, cutting him off. "Did you forget we have a JOB to do? The others are probably almost done by now, and we haven't seen anything but trees! Besides look at the sky you twit, it's going to rain!" He was right. The clouds that had looked as if they were thinning just over an hour before were now heavy and ominously dark. The air filled with the scent of rain, so much choking the air that Arthur could practically taste the water on his tongue.
Alfred shrugged, eyebrows furrowing in annoyance. "It's just water." He muttered. "Don't get your panties in a knot."
"Easy for you to say! You have that heavy sweatshirt, I'm in a thin ass wind breaker!"
"So your problem is being cold?"
"To be honest I'm having a lot of problems with the situation right now."
"I'll say you are."
"Ugh! Why are you so ridiculously hard headed?" Arthur spat. "Any idiot with eyes can see it's going to pour, and any idiot with a brain would head for shelter at a time like this! But no you just want to wander through the forest." He turned away, holding the top of his head in an effort to sooth his growing headache. "And while I'm talking, let me say something else. You-"
"Shut up."
Arthur bristled, clenching his hands at his side. That bleeding git! I'm going to give him a piece of my mind! Spinning around, he opened his mouth to yell at him, but he never got the chance. Because the minute he turned, instead of being met by a scowling Alfred, his face collided with something warm and soft and he was thrown into darkness. At least momentarily.
"Bloody hell, what is this?" He cried, clawing the unknown object off his face. He grasped it firmly in his hands, and stared at it, blinking slowly in astonishment. It was a jacket. A blue jacket. A blue jacket that just so happened to belong to the American standing in front of him. He slid his eyes upward, staring at the blonde boy who was now clad in nothing but a thin white t-shirt and his jeans.
"I don't want this." Arthur muttered, holding the navy sweatshirt out in front of him. "You shouldn't have-"
"You're right I shouldn't have." Alfred interrupted. "Because now I'm the one who's going to freeze my ass off. But you know, it's better then listening to you complain about getting wet and being cold. Besides, helping people... that's what heroes are supposed to do." He shook his head, running his hand through his hair. "Honestly though, you're the weirdest punk I've ever met."
That's because I'm not a punk! Arthur bit back sourly. Eye's downcast, he rubbed his arms uncertainly and looked back at the coat. "I should yell at you for that." Arthur muttered bitterly. "But... if it means you won't bother me about it I'll wear the stupid thing." Taking a deep breath, he began to pull the sweatshirt over his head. His skin prickled at the feeling of it as he lowered it over his head, as if every fiber of his being was rejecting something that came from him. Oh be quiet. He thought inwardly. I'm going to freeze if I don't, is that what you want?
Now, head fully engulfed under the warm fabric and forced to breathe, (he'd been holding his breath unconsciously for nearly a minute) his nose was hit with an unfamiliar scent. One that didn't smell like the trees or the leaves, the grass, or himself. Even the smell of the rain was washed out with this one. The smell was of some sort of spice; warm and soothing, like a fireplace or a soft blanket, mixed with the odd smell of something tangy. Like a lemon, or an orange. Definitely an orange. Orange, spice and another smell that he couldn't identify. Was this really what Alfred smelled like? Not just his clothes, but his skin and hair? It was so overbearing he was surprised he hadn't noticed it before. I guess I really didn't bother to notice before. He thought, pulling his head through the hole at the top.
His body still tingled viciously at the thought of having to wear something of his, but he forcibly pushed the sensation away as he slid his arms out of the sweatshirt. It was overwhelming him now, that smell. And suddenly, he wished it were the rain he tasted on his tongue, and not Alfred Jones.
"Alright. We'll walk for a little bit longer the way we're going and then we'll head back." The American said suddenly, turning his back to him. "Come on let's go."
I'm not really in a position to argue, especially after he leant me his jacket. Arthur mused begrudgingly.
"Hey are you coming or what?" Arthur blinked in surprise, and looked up to see that Alfred was already a good way's away from him. How the bloody hell had he done that?
"Of course I am you twat." He yelled back. "Slow up! You don't even know where you're going."
"Yea whatever."
They walked for several minutes in silence, Arthur trailing just behind him as Alfred lead them through the forest. And then suddenly, he stopped short and Arthur bumped awkwardly into his back. "Hey watch it! Why did you stop?" He hissed in annoyance.
"It's steep here." Alfred warned coolly, seemingly ignoring the anger in Arthur's voice. "And it's still slippery from the rain. Watch your step."
Arthur glanced around him and bit back a surprised gasp. It was like someone had cut away the gentle inclining hill with a knife, leaving it nearly a vertical drop into the gnarled bramble at the bottom. He shuddered inwardly, glancing back down the path from which they'd come. He would have suggested that they walk further away from the edge of the sudden incline, but they were backed against a thick wall of trees that would most likely have been just as difficult to get through as stepping along the side of the hill.
Alfred had already begun stepping tenderly across the top of the hill, glancing back and forth every other second to check his footing, and holding firmly to the tree's behind him. Here goes nothing. He swallowed, stepping forward. Almost instantly, he felt himself begin to slip forward from the water, but managed to steady himself against a tree before he really began to trip. "Damn it." He muttered under his breath. This was going to be harder then it looked. Gingerly, he placed another foot forward, pulling himself inch-by-inch across the hill and clinging from tree to tree as he went.
"Hey don't fall behind." Alfred called from a few feet in front of him.
"Idiot, I'm practically right behind you." Arthur ground out, currently calculating the angle at which he should take is next step. Know it, thinks he can tell everyone what to do. He hissed inwardly. If I had half a mind I would-
Thoughts interrupted, and mind gone numb, he called out in horror as the ground disappeared from beneath him, and he was sucked downward into the thorns below, reaching for something that wasn't there. And crying out the first name the came to his mind, his conscious went black, and he felt himself falling...
O ~ O ~ O
His body ached miserably; back sore and prickling, his ankle feeling like it had been twisted around, and this awful weight on his chest. "Aghhhh!' He moaned, moving to shift his body around to sit up. He couldn't. He felt panic rise in his gut as he felt around his surroundings (although still refusing to open his eyes). What had happened? The last thing he remembered was falling. Where was he? He'd actually survived that? His mind sparked in worry, as he remembered his companion.
"Alfred." He whispered. Where was the other boy? Had he left him to fall? Had he even realized what had happened?
"Don't say my name like that, it sounds weird."
Jade eye's shot open in astonishment, traveling instantly to his chest. The Americans face was buried into his blue sweatshirt, body sprawled over his own. His arms, Arthur realized, were hugged closely around his own form, entrapping him as well as protecting him from the thorns he knew they were surrounded by.
"A-Alfred!" He cried, scrambling to push himself up despite the other boys hold on him.
"That's the third time you've said my name in ten minutes. Ironically, it's also the third time you've said my name, period. I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't, it's awkward." Alfred muttered into his chest. Arthur felt annoyance rise in his throat.
"So is having you laying on me!" He snapped, forcing the other boy off of him as best he could. "Let go of me you twat! What the hell happened?"
"Can't move." Alfred groaned. "Ah god my arm."
Arthur's blood ran cold, pooling with dread. "Wait your arm? What's happened to your arm? You idiot answer me!" He hissed, trying to keep the urgent worry out of his voice as he pushed himself into a sitting position. Alfred's body slid slowly off of his own, although his head remained in his lap.
"Your accents getting heavier." Alfred mumbled, turning his head on its side. "I can't understand a word you're saying."
"Your arm." Arthur drawled out stiffly. "What happened to your arm?"
"I think I broke it. Or something." Alfred breathed out. "Either way I can't move it."
"Try letting go of me!" Arthur yelled, prying the Americans arms from around his waist. Alfred cried out in pain, burying his head into Arthur's stomach.
"Damn it!" the other boy choked out. "Agh shit it hurts."
Arthur turned his head away, forcing the embarrassed blush from his face. He must really be hurt, if he's clinging to ME of all people so tightly. He reasoned, glancing back at the whimpering American in his lap.
"Can you stand?" Arthur murmured.
"Probably." Alfred replied, voice still dripping with pain. "Just gimmie a sec Arthur."
He felt his heart practically leap from his chest in surprise at the sound of his name slipping from the other boy's tongue. Arthur? Had he just called him Arthur?
"Idiot don't call me by name either." He muttered hotly, yanking gently at the boy's cowlick.
"Augh!" Alfred moaned in surprise. "Don't pull at my hair you damn Brit! I'm getting up."
Arthur bit back and angry retort and watched as slowly (using only one arm) Alfred pushed himself to his knees. His face was a mess. Cheeks cut up, forehead bleeding and glasses looking very much broken. His shirt was also littered with thorns and rips.
"What's wrong with it?" Alfred gasped, sitting back on his legs and covering his face with his hand. "What's wrong with my other arm, can you see?"
Arthur winced at the pain in his ankle, but ignored it, sliding forward to get a better look at Alfred's arm. It was covered in giant gashes, far worse then the ones on his other arm and the rest of his body. On top of that it looked... odd. Not broken per say, but a little out of place. "Dislocated." He whispered. Shaking his head, he cleared his throat and spoke up. "I think you dislocated it. On top of that, you've got some really bad cuts here. Chance's are they'll scar."
"Brilliant." Alfred hissed into his palm. "You know how to put an arm back in?"
Arthur bit his lip and nodded. "Yea. I dislocated my arm once when I was little. My..." He trailed off scratching the back of his head. "Well never mind. Anyway, someone fixed it for me and it's pretty easy. Of course I've done it myself numerous times. I just have to pop it back in."
"Then hurry up and do it!" Alfred spat.
Arthur raised an eyebrow, dusting his fingers across the cuts on the other boy's arm. "Do you yankee's know how to say please?"
"I've done my share of begging for the year." Alfred ground out. "I begged for my glasses back and that's as far as I go. If you won't do it, I'll put my own arm back in." Knocking Arthur's hand away, he gripped his other shoulder and took a deep breath.
"Ah wait, I'll do it." Arthur offered. "Seriously it hurt's when you have to do it yourself. I've had to and it's really bad."
"Don't touch me." Alfred muttered, still staring at the ground. "I don't want to owe you any favors." Wincing, the American ever so slowly began to lift his disjointed arm back into its socket.
"Damn it!" He swore, lurching forward. Arthur reached his hand out tentatively but quickly withdrew it. If this idiot wanted to do it on his own then he would let him. He watched as Alfred's knuckles whitened around his arm, and in a swift motion, he jerked his hand upward and back into its proper spot. Letting out a gasp of surprise, he fell toward Arthur, coming dangerously close to his lap again but this time, managing to keep his head up. He was silent for only a moment, as if holding back his pain, until he finally let out a relieved sigh.
"That's taken care of." He murmured, rubbing his shoulder gently. "That's going to hurt for a while..." He trailed off, cerulean eyes flitting up to meet Arthur's. "Alright now we can take care of your ankle."
Arthur blinked slowly at him, still awestruck at the fact that the other boy had actually managed to fix it on his own. "What's wrong with my ankle?"
"You twisted it." Alfred replied very matter-o-factly.
"How did you know that?" Arthur asked suspiciously. Alfred turned his eyes to the sky before glancing back at him.
"Before you woke up, my arm was so numb I couldn't feel the pain." He answered. "So I reoriented myself and tried to get you up. When that didn't work I um..." He trailed off, tugging at his golden locks. "I checked you over to see what kind of damage you'd taken. After that the pain kicked in and I sort of fell unconscious for a little bit."
"What happened?" Arthur asked stiffly.
"What do you mean what happened? I just looked at you ankle and saw-"
"You git that's not what I meant!" He snapped. "What happened after I fell? I blacked out."
"Oh yea that." Alfred muttered. "Well I heard you falling and you... you yelled out my name so I managed to get a hold of you before you start to really go down the hill... but I didn't really think about how I would keep my own balance and we both went down."
Arthur blinked numbly at him, trying to process what the other boy had just told him. "Wait... you saved me?"
"Yea and I'm not doing it again." Alfred replied sourly. "Fortunately, we managed to avoid most of the bramble patches although we both picked up a good bunch of thorns. And besides your ankle and my arm that's really the worst of it. You could have snapped your neck or something if you'd gone down on your own..."
"How did that happen to your arm?" He asked, guilt pooling in his gut. Alfred had saved him? Jumped out and reached for him as he'd fallen? It sounded so impossible, but he was alive and really unhurt. And seeing Alfred in the same condition, no even worse, he was inclined to believe him.
Alfred shrugged. "Dunno. It probably happened when we were rolling. I guess when I was holding on to you it must have gotten caught and yanked out. I really don't remember to be honest."
"What about the cuts?"
"I don't know how those happened either."
"Sorry." Arthur murmured earnestly, looking down. He'd saved HIM? Him of all people? If he had been in Alfred's position would he have done the same?
"Yea you should be." Alfred replied. "But now we're even. You gave me back my glasses, and I saved your life. Seems like a fair trade to me." Arthur forced down a small, amused smile at the sarcasm laced in his words.
"Come on." Alfred sighed, extending his hand. "There's nothing we can do about your ankle here, and we're going to have to figure out how to get back to the cabin because we sure as hell aren't going back up this hill."
Biting the inside of his lip, Arthur hesitantly extended his hand and allowed his fingers to grasp around Alfred's palm. "Come on." Alfred grunted, pulling both of them to their feet. Arthur let out a gasp of pain at the ache in his left foot, worrying for an instant that he was going to fall back down again until Alfred smoothly looped his arm around his shoulder.
"Hey! I can stand up on my own." Arthur snapped indignantly. Alfred turned his head and smirked broadly at him.
"I bet you can. But walking is a different story. So unless you want to stay here, I suggest you accept my help, reluctant as I am to give it."
Sighing, Arthur abandoned his resolve and let himself lean ever so tentatively against the other boy's body. "If you had just listened to me, none of this would have happened." He ground out. And just then, it started to rain.
O ~ O ~ O
"Arthur-san! Arthur-san!"
Why did that voice sound so familiar? And that honorific... who was it that he knew who added those things?
"Arthur!"
Arthur jolted awake suddenly, scrambling into a sitting position. "What, what, what's going on?" He gasped, eyes darting about. "Where am I? What happened?"
"Arthur calm down please." The voice pleaded. Arthur blinked slowly, allowing his muscles to relax and collapsing back into the sheets of his bed. Kiku was sitting by him, a worried expression tugging at his face.
"Arthur-san please don't strain yourself." He murmured. "You're still very hurt and soaked from the rain."
"What happened?" He inquired, falling back against his pillow and covering his eyes with his arm.
"You and Alfred got back a couple hours ago." He replied. "He told us what happened and of course we all gathered to help. He said you passed out again while the two of you were walking home, and he had to carry you back. That's why you don't remember getting back here."
"He..." Arthur trailed off, fighting to keep his jaw from going slack. "He carried me back?"
Kiku nodded. "Yes. You had both been gone for nearly two hours and we, Soren-san and Lukas-san and I, we had already come back to the cabin but you two weren't back yet. On top of that it had started to rain, so we had just been about to go out and search for you when Alfred came bursting through the door soaking wet and panting. Carrying you of course. We immediately got you into bed and called the rest of the team together."
"Where is he?" Arthur murmured, staring down at the sheets.
"He is down stairs, asleep on the couch I believe." Kiku answered. "But he didn't leave your side until just about half an hour ago. He was sitting with you for the whole time, waiting for you to wake up." Kiku chuckled into his hand and smiled at him. "He said he wanted to be the first you hit you over the head when you awoke. However, he was coughing fiercely and the wound on his arm was going left untreated in all the madness, so Ludwig forced him downstairs to get it treated and he fell asleep."
Arthur shook his head, holding his forehead in his hands. "There's no way that's possible." He murmured. "That he carried me back, that he stayed with me... that he SAVED me. Absolutely no way." He looked up, a wry smile tugging at his lips. "Why, kiku? Why would he do that? He hates me. And he knows I hate him. So why would he go to such lengths to help me?"
Kiku smiled gently, tilting his head. "I think that's just how Alfred is." He relied softly. "It's in his nature to be kind, even if it may not seem that way to you sometimes. I think Alfred-san, is a very good person. Don't you Arthur?"
He shook his head, rubbing his temples. "I think he's an idiot."
O ~ O ~ O
A/N: Horray! Woah. I can't believe I finished this chapter. Cannot believe it O.o. would you guys seriously believe I had not even four pages written this morning? XD I was seriously Freaking out lol. There was just this one part (you can probably tell where it is too because it's written so poorly XD ) That was giving me a ton of trouble and my story literally sat for five days unchanged because I couldn't think of how to get past it XD I know what I wanted to happen next, I just was stuck on how to get there lol. Anyway I'm happy to be finished with this chapter and nearly finished with school ^^ Also, is anyone else excited for the release of the fourth "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie? *raises hand* I'm so psyched! XD A bunch of my friends and I are going to see it when it comes out :D cant say im happy about the lack of Orlando Bloom, but Johhny Depp will make up for it XD OH! and as for Alfred's dislocated arm... I honestly have no idea what it's like to dislocate one's arm as I've never done it. Everything that happened in that scene was based off of information I've received over time from friends who have. Most of them said it hurt really badly, but all they had to do was pop it back into place XD and if that's not how it works I apologize *bows* of course this IS fiction so if I wanted i could have made him grow wings and acquire magic healing powers but never mind that XD
As usual thank you for your support and reviews! Oh, and about the team name... if you want me to be honest I actually have no idea what it's going to be XD I figure I'll come up with something when the group starts discussing their findings but I really am not sure for now... so if anyone has any ideas purely based on the story so far please go ahead it would be much appreciated (and if I use your idea I'll be sure to credit you for it ^^)
Ahhhh I just realized how much my head hurts... (has been writing for three hours straight) *rubs temples* Thank you all and see you next week! :D