Chapter 5
It was pitch dark when the civil officer arrived in Alfred's house. He came later than expected because he had bought a hamburger takeout for Alfred on the way here. Ever since Alfred had been banned from leaving his house, he was always in a bad mood. Something small like this should cheer him up.
He rang the doorbell and the automatic door opened immediately.
"Mr. Jones?"
The light from the hallway to the living room wasn't on. The civil officer thought it was rather strange, since he knew Alfred didn't like the darkness. He would leave a small lamp on in the hallway even when he wasn't downstairs. But there were sounds coming from upstairs, so he went up directly to the study where Alfred worked.
Once he was upstairs, he saw the door to the study blocking half of the room. Alfred was packing up inside.
"Mr. Jones!"
"Oh, sorry. You came upstairs."
Alfred stopped moving his hands and turned around. He looked even younger when he wasn't wearing the pair of glasses.
"What are you..."
"I'm packing up." Alfred continued his words, "Yup, that's right, I'm going out."
"But you cannot go out yet!"
"I remember there's an article in the Bill of Rights that says people have the right to enjoy personal freedom, right? Besides, I'm not breaking any law."
"But," The civil officer said uncertainly, "but you are an exception..."
"Oh." Alfred sighed in irritation, "An exception. But this is an 'exception' too! Damn it, I have to take a trip to London!"
"London? You mean the London in England?"
"Where else." Alfred responded in an impatient tone, "That bastard!"
It was about Mr. England again. The civil officer opened his mouth, wanting to say something but unable to produce any sound. He watched blankly as Alfred threw his key, clothing and wallet into the bag carelessly and zipped it up with a sudden force.
"Sorry, can you book a plane ticket for me? Preferably one that leaves before midnight."
"But..."
"I'm sorry for the trouble, telling you to do something like this. I know this isn't part of your job..." Alfred said, "But I broke my laptop by accident." The civil officer's gaze followed Alfred's gesture to the table, "My hand slipped while drinking water, so the keyboard is ruined."
The civil officer nodded understandingly, but he wasn't sure whether he should help him out or not.
"Mr. Jones, I think it's better to inform the higher-ups about this. It's not appropriate to leave at a time like this without approval..."
"If I need their 'approval' to leave, they'll probably catch me, dissect me and inspect me thoroughly before giving up." Alfred spat out, "What's with this ban? Oh, like I'm some kind of pet they owned!"
"That is because you are a country!" The civil officer refuted, "You are our 'country', it is our duty to protect you and yours to protect yourself!"
"... Sorry, I went overboard." Alfred rubbed his eyes. He felt really tired, "But I really need to go right now. No matter what."
"No matter what?"
"Yes. No matter what."
Seeing Alfred's firm attitude, the civil officer crossed his arms and thought for a while.
"I... still think you should report to the higher ups. I will find a plane ticket for you in the meanwhile. I hope you understand we cannot let anything happen to you... so before we are certain that everything is all right, can you please-"
"Ha! What a free 'country' this is!" Alfred broke him off loudly, "But I'm the least free out of all the people!"
"No, that is not it, we are only-"
"You guys have your considerations, I have mine!"
"... But you are us, are you not?"
The civil officer looked at him, an odd silence spreading out with the two of them at the center.
"... Yes, I am..." After a while, Alfred finally spoke up, "But..."
Alfred sat down in frustration, placing his elbow on the table and his hands to his forehead, "But Arthur..."
"Please do not think about Mr. England for the moment." The civil officer said, "You should pay more heed to state matters, right? "
"... Okay." Alfred replied ambiguously.
"Mr. Jones." The civil officer said in all seriousness, "Please promise me that you will not leave without permission before receiving a reply, all right?"
Alfred didn't respond. He only stared at the computer keyboard he broke and bit his lips. So the civil officer sought his assurance again.
"... I already dealt with the paperworks." Alfred finally replied.
"I'll wait for your good news."
Alfred saw the civil officer off in the hallway, saying farewell with a smile as usual. That smile seemed somewhat weak; the civil officer could tell he was really upset. After going back on his car, he saw Alfred waving goodbye at him through the rear-view mirror. The waving stopped when he drove to the end of the street and left this community.
The Door into Summer
The civil officer delivered the message to the higher-ups as they promised. He was staring at the computer screen and searching for a plane ticket at the same time. He held the mouse with his palm to move the mouse, with the cursor following up and down as well. He opened one window after another and felt he couldn't calm himself down. Something must have happened between Alfred and Mr. England again. And it was something serious, causing Alfred's odd reaction. He tried to imagine the possible reasons and explanations desperately, yet he couldn't eliminate the shadow that occupied his mind.
"He loves that Englishman, so he's betraying the very meaning of his existence!"
Kingston's words dashed back and forth repeatedly in his mind, accelerating the clicking of the pages.
"What's with this ban? Oh, like I'm some kind of pet they owned!"
Alfred was right. He's their country, and government officials are the civil servants of the state. But a country is formed by the people, and civil servants are the people that formed him as well...
"What in the world is he? Just 'what is' he?"
He's a "country", or rather, consciousness. No, no, he's more than that-
"You guys have your considerations, I have mine!"
Who was it that said all human beings are born free and equal? Then what if he was something that was created by men? He has the form of a human being and emotions. He can love and be loved, but he's not free? In this very place that belongs to him!
He suddenly heard a loud ring. He stopped searching and picked up the phone.
The person on the other end of the phone told him his country had gone missing.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil, for you are with me;
Shadows were flickering on the intercontinental highway late at night. Alfred opened all the car windows, allowing the air of the summer night to flow in and blow his hair into a mess. He didn't care. It didn't matter anymore.
This is great. Human beings can't live without air, can't live without food, can't live without money, can't live without love, can't live without freedom; he thought he had everything, when in fact he had nothing. He switched from the pop music channel to the classical channel on the radio. Arthur always loved listening to the kind of opera which people screamed at the top of their voices. Now he thought maybe he would end up liking it too. It was a really pleasant torture to hear others sound like the way water whistles in a boiled kettle and not have to hurt his own vocal cord. It could also vent his feelings, or rather, make him even more excited.
He didn't know how much time was left. He looked at the monitor. In various meanings, he was chasing time and others were chasing him.
His cell phone suddenly rang. He was going to ignore it, but it kept on ringing persistently. Not even the screaming soprano on the radio could suppress the noises that damn little black machine were making. Alfred freed one hand and rummaged through the mess on the right seat. He grabbed the phone; the number was not displayed on the screen.
Ha! Is it from those CIA that always made loopholes?
He pressed down the talk button without hesitation. The person on the other end swore right at that moment.
"Fuck you! What are you doing, Alfred?"
"Hey, babe," It's Arthur, "How many times did you fuck yesterday?"
"Wanker! Where are you now?"
"Let me think, 495. This number should be smaller compared to how many people you slept with, right?"
"Stop yapping away about those things! Alfred! You're really an insufferable git!"
"Oh, so it's my fault again. So how many people have fucked that dirty asshole of yours? Or how many have you fucked? More than four hundred and ninety-five? Or less than four hundred and ninety-five?"
"... I only have you! Only you! For fuck's sake! Alfred! Don't do anything stupid!"
"Ha, that has got to be the funniest thing I've ever heard. Ha, ha, ha, ha; hey, I've already pretended I was fooled, you can say more, I don't care!"
"I'm not lying to you! Wanker!" Arthur shouted, "Alfred, stop before things haven't gotten to the worst yet, fuck it all, I'm begging you!"
"I think you know, it has been two years after all. Wow! I actually endured your horrible cooking for two years! If you include the past, then I really should be listed in the Guinness Book of World Records! I enjoy challenging my limit! Overcoming my limit!"
"I know!"
"You know!"
With no other choice, Arthur swore again then inhaled deeply, "Alfred, don't be like this... your civil officer told me it will put you in a dangerous situation... you know, those responsibilities and duties-"
"The hell with those!" Alfred slapped the horn in the centre of the steering wheel hard. Its piercing honk broke the silence of the night on the road. As if he felt this much noise wasn't enough, Alfred accelerated the engine so he could speed to his heart's content.
"Maybe I won't even see tomorrow's sun!"
For a while, he could only hear rapid breathing on the other end of the cell phone. Arthur was no longer shouting, but when he spoke again it was as if they had jumped over a century and the time had changed, "Wait for me."
"What for? You're coming over so I can fuck you?"
"Anything's fine." Arthur said, "It doesn't matter anymore."
"What do you mean it doesn't matter anymore? Yesterday wasn't good enough for you, so you want to satisfy yourself with your 'little brother'?"
"You're not my younger brother. I'm not your older brother either... I understand that better than anyone." Arthur's voice calmed down, "We don't have a real blood relationship like normal people do at all."
"I thought you'll mind that our people do. Oh, if they're still my people."
"I'll find you, no matter where you are." Arthur ignored Alfred's taunt. He only restated again slowly, "Wait for me, Alfred. If you still love me."
"... Then do you love me?"
"I'll tell you."
Note:
I think this is the shortest chapter for this fic... But a lot of things happened.
By the way, I'm surprised no one commented on Arthur's reaction to Alfred's confession in the last chapter.
(Oh, and just so everyone's clear, that last part in chapter four was said by Arthur.
The next chapter will give away clues to what's going on with Arthur!~
Any review would be appreciated. :)