It's here ^_^. Note for this chapter: Gerhart=Germania in Hetalia. Michelle=Seychelles
And danke for reviews and watches and stuff ^_^. Very grateful, I am!
Hetalia does not belong to me, but Hidekaz Himaruya...da-ze!
Warning for...for...I think there are a few bad words in this? I don't know...
"Oh, Alfred…" Arthur's words seemed disappointed, but not truly. "Alfred, I…" He picked up the painting gingerly, holding it as if it was the most fragile thing in the world. The words 'For Arthur, for being so nice to me' were written in the bottom left-hand corner in ink over watercolour paint.
"Alfred, I don't know how you did this, but you must be incredibly talented."
"Huh? No! I'm really not that good, I-hngph!" He was cut off by a punch to the stomach that winded him completely. He keeled over onto his back and looked up. "What the hell was that for?"
Arthur stood, towering menacingly above him, "Don't you dare say that you're not talented, because you really, really are, and you're just insulting everyone else by claiming that you're not. So please don't say it again."
Alfred could only lie there, gaping as if he'd been slapped with a wet fish. He opened his mouth a few times before he could form a few words.
"Is this how you proclaim 'talent' here?"
"Yes. Now get up. I need to introduce you to my parents before they find you or suspect something." He took the unsuspecting blond by the wrist roughly and dragged him down the stairs, two at a time. It was around the halfway mark that Alfred lost his footing and tumbled right onto Arthur's back, throwing them both all the way down. Arthur landed painfully on his face, Alfred on the other's back, hooting with laughter.
"Dude, that was awesome!"
"Hnnng…" came the reply, a mere groan. The spiky-haired young man lay there, trying to recover, and just managing "You git."
"Come on, get up. I want to see your family." Alfred jumped up quickly and peeled Arthur off the floor. His face was bruised and mashed. Alfred thought for a moment, before offering the only suggestion he could. "You can sort of…smooth your face out later with a few warm flannels."
"Bloody twat."
"Good for you! Now let's get going."
"Oh, how you abuse me so." Arthur planted his feet in the floor and began to attempt to walk without falling over and making a fool of himself. They trudged together down the stairs and into the dining room where Arthur's parents were sat.
"Ah. Hello again Arthur. And who's this?" Arthur's father sat up from the table and frowned.
Sweating, Arthur came up with the best answer he could think of. "He's new here. He's also my friend."
"You make friends so quickly like this? I thought inviting someone over was usually reserved for best friends?"
"Dad! I'm trying to make him feel welcome!" He rolled his eyes, flashing emerald.
"Ah. So sorry." He turned to Alfred, "Hello, I'm Arthur's father, but you can call me Gerhart if you want." He held out his hand to the blond. Long hair, braided around the back shifted while he stood. He seemed to be wearing a kind of traditional green robe.
"Pleasure." Replied Alfred and shook it.
"And I'm Michelle." The woman sat next to Gerhart stood up and shook his hand as well. She wore her black hair in two pigtails that almost reached her waist. "I'm Arthur's step-mother."
Alfred smiled "Nice to meet you." he said.
"Actually, I still have some fish left over in the pan. Would you like some, Alfred?"
"Yes please!" He confirmed eagerly, following her into the kitchen to get it. It was swordfish, and it smelt delicious. He watched as Michelle slapped some of it into the plate and handed it to him, along with a gleaming knife and fork.
"We very rarely eat it, and it'd be a shame to put it to waste. It's endangered now, so we can't have it very often at all." She sighed, "But, that is life I guess. C'est la vie. So many disappointments.
"You're very right there." Alfred put in, and followed her back into the dining room. He spotted Arthur, ready, sat by his plate, splashed with the dim light thrown by the obviously worn light-bulb. Sitting down to eat, he noticed Arthur. He was smiling...but something wasn't quite right, as if he was forcing the smile. Quickly plucking up the courage, Alfred asked "Are you okay?"
"Of course I am, you git!"
"Arthur! Language!" Interrupted Michelle.
"I'm sorry."
There was an awkward silence. Arthur's parents tucked in, while Alfred just looked at his new friend. Quiet and polite munching quivered in the air, while the atmosphere grew tenser. Trying to distract himself, Alfred looked around the room, taking in his surroundings. The table was quite old and worn, as he had seen the night before, but now there were more people around it, it seemed...somewhat smaller. It was barely covered by a linen table cloth, adorned with pansies and geraniums. The curtains bared the flowers as well, but they were a deep scarlet colour. There were real flowers as well. Lillies in a vase on top of an oak bureau, the smell so powerful that he almost sneezed. Really, it wasn't like any of the other rooms. It was a little more...quaint. Maybe older.
Gerhart looked up. "Alfred, so, are you new here?"
"Yes, I am." Alfred gave his best shot at a genuine smile.
"You're very lucky. Arthur rarely invites anyone over. Even friends that he's been with for years." He sent a highly concentrated look at the thickly-eyebrowed boy. "We're glad that he might be finally opening up, socially, if you get my gist."
"Oh, certainly."
This was painful. This was very, very painful. Alfred could practically feel waves of embarrassment radiating from Arthur, and even Alfred himself was beginning to feel uncomfortable. It hurt him to be so polite, when it was so blatantly obvious that Arthur would have given anything just to melt into the ground.
"So, Arthur..." Gerhart pushed his face up against his son's, "How long has he been here for?"
"Oh, not long." came the squeaked reply, and a cough, "Only a few days. But-" His voice broke, and cleared his throat briefly, "we knew each other over the internet before."
"Really? Seems like such a coincidence, doesn't it?"
"Yes, how funny, haha." Arthur looked down, and then back up again. "Oh! Would you look at the time? I'd better go and study." He jumped away from the table as if it was white hot, or held poisonous spiders, slamming the napkin down, "Come on, Alfred. You'd better come too."
"Oka-" There wasn't even enough time for a word before Arthur had grabbed his arm and was pulling him out of the room, very forcefully. Up the stairs, along the squeaky landing, up the next set of stairs, and into Alfred's temporary room. Arthur flung the other boy down onto the bed quickly, but continued marching into the darkened corner, where the small shape curled up and shook.
Alfred shifted himself up onto his shoulders and opened his mouth. "Arthur?"
There was no reply, but a soft sobbing.
"Artie, what's wrong?"
"Don't...don't call me that, you git."
"I'm sorry." He waited for a minute, listening to the silence, occasionally broken by sniffs and sobs. Finally, he heaved himself up and trod the carpet to his friend's side. There he sat, and put his arm around him. Arthur almost jumped away, but slowly relaxed and settled. He rubbed his thumb up and down Arthur's arm, comforting him somewhat.
They sat there together, watching the sky slowly grow dark, until Alfred broke the silence with the inevitable question.
"What's wrong? You don't have to tell me if you're not comfortable with it. Just know that I'm here and you can talk if it helps."
Arthur was silent for a few minutes.
Alfred broke the silence again. "You don't think I'm annoying, do you?"
"No, not at all." Was the reply.
"Do you want me to go?"
"No...please don't." Arthur gripped Alfred's jacket, "I don't want to be alone."
"You're not alone, my friend."
"I'm not alone...I'm not alone..." Arthur sighed, almost contented, "Alfred, you're my friend."
"Of course I am!"
"Then will you stay with me forever? Whatever I do, you'll stay. Whatever I tell you, you will not go?"
"No. I won't leave."
"Then can I tell you what is wrong? I know I've only known you since...yesterday...but I feel like I've known you a lifetime."
Alfred nodded, listening to Arthur taking a few deep breaths.
"Alfred...No. I'm sorry. I can't do it." Fresh tears spilt over his cheeks, "I'm not familiar enough...damn...why am I such a coward?" He sobbed freely, pulling Alfred in, "I can't stand up to anyone...I'm not close to anyone...I feel distanced."
"That's okay. You don't have to tell me."
There was no reply. Slowly, Arthur quietened down, rocked by his friend.
Arthur sniffled, and looked up, "You still haven't told me more about you..."
"Hm. So I haven't." Alfred agreed, "What, do you want to hear about it?"
"Do you want to tell me about it?"
"...I think it would do me good to get it off my chest."
"Go ahead then."
"No! No! No!" Toris breathed quietly to himself, tears spilling over his cheeks slowly, "It can't be…"
"Toris-" Said Alfred sadly, beginning to pull gently at his arm, "Toris, we have to go."
It was true. The army had left the village, leaving scarlet flames to engulf the little houses, bodies strewn out across the path heading to the north. Animals had either been slaughtered where they stood or were being used to help the soldiers in their conquest. Nothing remained, and the group of men that had taken the community were re-banding back into their fearsome swarm, cheering and stamping in victory, screaming war cries.
"Toris, come now!"
"I-I can't…" Toris was transfixed by the terrifying chaos writhing like a dying fish in front of his eyes. "That's where I grew up, Al. It's where I belong, and they've taken it from me." The words sounded almost glossed like the brown eyes of their speaker.
"Toris!" Alfred yanked the hazel-haired man by the arms and looked him square in the face, "They haven't taken the village until they've taken you. The spirit of the whole community lives in you. We have to get away, now! We WILL fight them, Tors, I promise you. I promise you, that you will get revenge in one way or another." Alfred began to pull backwards, leading Toris, "But until then, we have to get going and warn other villages."
For a moment, Alfred thought that his friend was going to ignore his pleas, but almost to his surprise, Toris nodded and joined the blond now galloping across the plains and rocks.
Several hours later, the pair had warned almost every village in Southern Merga about the terror that might surely kill anyone who got in their way. Most of the people had heeded the warning and fled to the mountains in the North-East, but a few paid no attention.
Like the Lindberg family. They had been eating their evening meal when Toris and Alfred burst in, yelling about the army moving towards them.
"What is this?" Asked a middle-aged man, rising out of his seat and slamming his knife into the table with unnecessary force.
"They're coming! They're going to kill everyone!"
A woman stood up as well now. "Who are, dear?"
"The army!" Said Toris, tears welling up again, "They took my village, and they're going to take yours as well!"
"Don't be so stupid, boy! No-one's coming to kill us! We're staying here." He sat down and dismissed them.
Toris almost attacked the insufferable man in his anger that felt like it might eat him up, but Alfred put his hand on the other's shoulder and shook his head sadly. Five people. Three children and their parents. Doomed.
They couldn't stop. They continued warning everyone they could find, and sent a few willing helpers out to continue carrying the message. Evening turned into night, flaming sky dulling to a deep Prussian blue.
"You know what? We should make a resistance army." Alfred said, panting as he turned to Toris.
"You think so?"
"Yes! Absolutely! But, I think we need to start by following everyone to the mountains. When we get there, we'll set up a resistance group."
"But," Toris said, "Don't we have to warn more people?"
"Didn't we send around a hundred people to go and warn other villages?" Alfred said, raising his eyebrows.
"Yes. Yes we did. Good point. Let's go."
"I have to stop there." Said Alfred, "It's too late, and my head hurts."
The voice said otherwise, as it cracked.
"That's fine. What time is it?"
"It is...time you got a watch."
Arthur's expression was priceless. "I do have a watch. It is just on my wrist right now, and I cannot see my wrist because you are laying on it. Please remove your back, and then I shall be able to tell the time."
"Dude, how did you keep a straight face while saying that? That was hilarious!"
"Just move yourself."
Alfred shifted so Arthur was able to remove his arm and look at the watch. As all the blood rushed back, the numbness slowly left, and he got pins and needles.
"It's about 11. And I'll be lucky if my arm hasn't dropped off by the morning. Well, never mind. Never mind." He rolled his eyes, reflecting moonlight.
"It's late." Alfred stretched and yawned, "I think we should go to bed."
"..."
"Awkward. Oh well, goodnight." He stood up stretched again, making his back click grotesquely.
"That's disgusting, Alfred. Oh, well. G'night." Arthur also stood up and made to leave the room. A noise made him look back.
"Arthur?"
"Yes?"
"Don't forget about me. Ever. Okay?"
"Of course." Arthur smiled contentedly. "But you must, in return, promise never to forget about me."
"I won't. Goodnight."
"Goodnight." He closed the door softly behind him and crept down the steps, trying his hardest not to make a noise. Sighing, he walked towards his room, tiptoeing carefully along the squeaky landing and into bed, pulling back the covers on the way, brushing back strands of hair that had fallen over his eyes. He was glad it was so late. No-one bothered him at that time. He slipped slowly into a peaceful sleep, thinking about Alfred's story.
What if that had happened to you, Arthur?
No. That was stupid. He sat up and turned on the light. It was often night when rogue thoughts reached him, that would have sounded ridiculous during the day. It couldn't possibly have happened to him. Could it?
It didn't, he decided, and that was good. What use was it thinking about it anyway?
He turned the light off, rolled over, and went to sleep.
"Arthur?" The whispering broke through the silence of the night. Again.
"Hm?"
"Arthur? Are you awake?" A bright light shine directly into his eyes. Shying away from the overpowering brilliance, and squinting, he frowned.
"Well, I'm awake now." He rubbed his eyes, "Why do you have to do that?"
"I couldn't sleep." Alfred whispered back, "And I want to show you something."
"Urgh, why now?"
"Because I think you'd be interested, and it won't reappear for months after this. Come on!" He yanked at the Englishman's arm, who was already cursing under his breath. Sighing and releasing profanities, Arthur heaved his body out of bed and followed the man downstairs.
"Where are we going?"
Alfred completely ignored the question, but asked one of his own. "Arthur, do you have a telescope?"
"What?" Arthur questioned, "Why? And you didn't answer my question."
Alfred sighed, as if he was dealing with a particularly stubborn three year-old, but answered nonetheless. "Because I want to show you something very special. Now, do you have a telescope?"
"Yes." He yawned back, "It's in the shed. So I presume that that's where we're going?"
"Yeah." Alfred continued to lead the blond haired man down the stairs, across the cream carpet, and out into the garden.
Arthur looked up, seeming almost drunk. "Alfred, we've forgotten our shoes."
"It doesn't matter. Now come on!" He sped up and marched smartly across the wet grass lapping at their toes, watching the shed emerge from the darkness, silvery moonlight hitting the dark panels of the roof, making patterns like spider's webs.
Beads of dew sprinkled the grass and splayed when stepped on, like the feet of the two people striding across the lawn.
"Alfred, what is the meaning of this?" Asked Arthur suddenly, shattering the silence with his sobered voice, "Come on, I'm cold."
"Just wait!" Alfred said, swinging the door open with the push of a hand and revealing an array of old, rusted, useless rubbing. "It is in here, right? You're sure?"
"Positive." Arthur replied.
"Excellent."
Alfred was in and amidst all of it in a flash. He pushed old cobwebs from the air with flicks of his hand, moved old rubbish quickly but effectively, stacking them all on top of each other, albeit precariously.
"Alfred, watch out! I don't want you dead under a pile of rubbish in the middle of the night."
"It's not going to fall." He said, continuing to wade through.
A box fell on his foot.
Hopping around, Arthur laughed. "Famous last words, eh?"
"You'll be sorry, my friend. One day!" He smirked past a grimace, and continued to walk. Minutes later, a happy yell confirmed that Alfred had found the telescope. "I've got it!"
A strand of blonde hair came bobbing back towards him, and Arthur stood out of the way so Alfred could get it outside. There, he stopped to watch him set it up with difficulty. More than once it collapsed, and Arthur doubled over with laughter, but eventually, it was fairly stable.
"Done!"
"Stop shouting!" Arthur whispered back, "You're making such a terrible ruckus, it wouldn't be surprising if the neighbourhood woke up. Then we'd be in trouble."
"Sorry, sir." The man with the glasses said back, before turning to look through the telescope and searched the sky.
Watching him from behind, Arthur felt more peaceful than he had ever before. He felt like he had a close friend, and he wanted nothing more than to shower him with the love he deserved for being so nice to him. The moon came out from behind a cloud and splashed silver light across sodden blades of grass, and onto the pyjamas of the blond fiddling with the telescope.
Say something, damnit!
"Stop faffing about. Get the telescope in the damn place already!"
"You sound like Lovino."
"Aye, that I do. Now, is it ready?"
Alfred cocked his head and nodded. "Yes. Come and have a look." He beckoned to Arthur.
Obeying, he trotted over and put his eye to the hole. "Now, can you see Ursa Minor?"
"Yes..."
"Now, just go upwards until you're level with the bottom star of Perseus..."
The telescope travelled upwards as Arthur followed his directions. "Yes?"
"Can you see an orange-ish glow?"
"Yep."
"Well, that's my Solar system. It's called Delta Arietis. I live on Acamar, the fifth planet out. Or I used to live." He grimaced and rolled his eyes. "It won't be present tense any more, will it?"
Arthur paused for a moment, but still muttered "No, I think not. Hey! If you move the telescope a bit to the left, you can see it more clearly!"
"Hm?" Alfred questioned, grabbing it off him and turning it. "Oh, so it does. Well spotted."
"Is there anything else?"
"Oh! Yes!" Alred replied, his attention piqued, "There's Furud, over there-" He guided the telescope over to the left, "That's visible all year around...there's Maia, Mira and Sirius, all contained in the Epsilon Draconis peninsula...Sargas, Pollux, Diadem, Ayla..." His voice trailed off as the telescope roved, moving to what looked like a shadow, where there were so few stars, it almost looked like a black hole.
"And that's Altiris. They started causing trouble long ago."
*Insert terrible cliff-hanger here*
I'm sorry that this chapter wasn't very exciting, but it was quite important, so I couldn't really miss it out.