Anyone else having problems with slow profile related stuff or is it just me? Taken me an hour just get upload -_- ANYWAY! We proudly present, Chapter 2!
UPDATE: Now going on hour 10... Sorry guys! We were trying ALL DAY. it is now 10 at night... still can't upload. I apologize again. -Ace
UPDATE 2: Hey look everything is back up now that it's 1:15 in the morning on SUNDAY! Stupid fanfiction :I NOW we present chapter 2
Warnings: Zombies? That need to be a warning...? Kind of... implied... so that also mean some gore, some violence... some incredibly awkward people...
Three bloody blocks?! Arthur thought in dismay as he followed after Antonio as best as he could manage. He wouldn't say anything out loud, but between the fall that he swore would claim his life, and the added effect of the night before, he was struggling to keep up with the man's pace. His lungs ached from his hard run, easily bringing back the tang of irony blood in the back of his throat, his neck stung furiously as the stitches pulled with each movement. He could hardly ask for them to slow down though, not when the blasted creatures could be lurking anywhere just waiting for warm, living flesh to cross their paths and giving them something living to sink their putrid teeth into.
No sooner had the thought crossed his mind as he labored behind the ax wielding Spaniard than he caught one of the stumbling creatures crawling out from under a car just as it grabbed for Antonio's ankle. "They're under the bloody cars!" He gagged as the creature's head split open with a wet crunching sound when his knife instinctively sunk deep in the creature's skull. "That's disgusting..." He swore he'd be sick as he jerked the knife free, looking a little ashen and moving into a sprint once again. "How much further?!" He demanded, the panic obvious in his voice as the creatures began peeling out from the streets, surrounding them.
Antonio jumped back, eyes huge in their sockets as he watched Arthur clean the blood and gore from his knife. He'd have been bitten just then without even realizing it until after it happened had the Englishman at his back not acted so quickly. The creatures really were coming at them from every direction now, moving out from under cars and from behind houses, stumbling off of balconies and falling to their deaths with a disturbing squelch. Curious and wondering if they had heard something rather than frenzied, though it wouldn't stay that way for long. With a stifled roar, he sent his ax cleaving the head of one of the foul creatures clean off and sending it sailing a few meters from them, breaking open as if it were an overly ripe, gore filled watermelon.
He could feel Arthur's panic rising as tangible waves of apprehension and fear buffeted him from behind. They had to be getting closer. There! He could see Vash's bland white house up the street! They were almost there. "It's just up the street! Five houses down. Arthur, we are almost there!" He cried, warily regarding each car they passed, expecting an infected to be underneath each. He prayed Vash was still alive, or, if he wasn't, that at least his house was unlocked, no matter how unlikely either would happen. As a creature barreled towards them, he slashed it open as easily as the other, another meeting their demise soon after, splattering them both with ratting flesh and questionable, oozing liquids. "Come on Arthur! Look there! This one up ahead!"
Arthur followed after where Antonio pointed cautiously, easily spotting the house when he noticed the large truck sitting in front of the building. "That house there?" He asked hopefully as they stumbled up the street, lashing out at any creatures who moved too close to them. It was hard to swallow back his gag reflex with each drop of discolored, liquefied fluids spattered his person, but it hardly mattered when his feet hit this man, Vash's, driveway. Rushing up to the truck he moved to pull open the door only to curse in hopeless, furious exasperation. "It's locked!" He groaned, turning towards the house. Why had he expected anything different? Unlocked with the keys in it... when had he ever been so lucky? "Do you think...he hasn't left so...do you think he's dead in there?" He rasped breathlessly, looking over his shoulder at the large house behind him.
"Guess we'll have to find out..." Antonio growled, his own panic setting in now that they very easily could be trapped. He made his way to the door and turned the knob, only to find it locked as well. Dismayed, he let a fist bang against the door, desperate for an answer. "Vash! It's Antonio. Open the door! Por favor!" There wasn't a single sound to suggest life, but knowing a few things about Vash, that wasn't surprising. The man wasn't exactly friendly, nor was he trusting. "A window. Look for a window. We might have to break into the house..."
Arthur swore and immediately moved to the window next to the door almost before Antonio's words were out of his mouth, attempting to pry it open. He swore when it wouldn't budge. "Bolted shut... was this man paranoid or something?!" He demanded furiously, lifting up a rock and hurling it at the window only to yelp as the glass shattered with a much louder crunch than he anticipated. "Umm...it's open now." He muttered, dusting the glass aside with his jacket, not wanting to cut up his hands, and poking his head in. "Hello? Anyone home? We're coming in!" He called, looking over his shoulder at Antonio when no one spoke back. "I can't hear anything...and they're coming." He whispered, looking over his shoulder at the encroaching infected, their senseless moaning slowly turning into agitated snarls and howls of hunger.
Antonio raised an eyebrow and couldn't help but grin. "Well, that's as good a way as any to break into his house. Vash is either dead or gone, we'd both be shot dead by now for that if he was still alive. Get inside before they figure out where we are..." He urged, shoving Arthur closer to the window. "Unless you rather I go first?"
Arthur looked up at him with a raised eyebrow and frown as he repositioned his jacket over the broken glass as a way of possible protection before crawling through the open window carefully. Landing with a soft noise on the other side, even knowing silence was a tad on the superfluous side, he looked around the small opening and sighed in relief when he didn't spot anything. "It's all clear...come on in quickly." He called softly out to Antonio, moving away from the window and looking around the neurotically clean house. "This man was definitely a bit OCD wasn't he? OCD and paranoid..."He muttered as Antonio scrambled in after him, pulling the drapes in front of the gaping hole where the window had been.
"He was a bit... Odd." Antonio agreed with a sigh as he shoved a bookshelf in front of the window with a grunt of effort, knocking many books to the floor and revealing... An inky black, wicked looking gun, though seeing as Antonio knew next to nothing about the lethal weapons, he had no idea what it was. "Dios mio Vash... In the bookshelf... are you..." He shook his head with an exasperated chuckle. "Where there is one, there are more..."
Arthur knelt down and scooped up the weapon, unhooking the clip from the gun so he could peer inside. He was familiar with guns, having shot them quite a bit growing up in England, but from the clueless look Antonio was shooting the weapon he figured he hadn't dealt with them much before. Sure the Spaniard had said to expect ammunitions, weapons and hopefully a safe plac for a little bit in the very least, but an assault rifle? He could hardly believe his luck, especially with hos terrible his had been as of late. "Hopefully he didn't have any children...this gun is loaded." He muttered, reattaching the clip and pulling the strap over his head. "I'll teach you... if you'd like." He pointed out, moving into the first door he found and finding himself in a well-stocked kitchen. Too well-stocked, as if the man was prepared for some form of apocalyptic crisis. "Holy hell...look at all this food." He pointed out, moving over to the open pantry in awe and lifting up a few cans. "We should take some of this..." He muttered looking up at Antonio. "Did you find the keys for that monster outside?"
Antonio shook his head as he followed Arthur and eyed the gun with wary eyes. "I suppose you might have to... I'm sure Vash has a few duffle bags around here. We can take some food with us and put it in the truck when we find the keys... As for kids? He had a little sister... but that's it. Suppose he'll have his keys in his room?" He asked with a raised eye brow, sounding hopelessly lost and confused as he moved deeper into the house.
Arthur glanced over at Antonio with a nod, feeling very much like the sun kissed man was childlike with how easily flustered he was getting. "If they're not in here I would assume so." He sighed, trying not to sound placating as he stood and moved over to the hall closet, pulling it open to rifle through it. Watching as Antonio made his way up the stairs he sighed and continued looking, admittedly a little worried about the man going off on his own. For a reason unknown, he couldn't shake the feeling of dread as soon as Antonio was from his sight. Pulling out a duffle bag as he tried to shake the feeling, he smiled triumphantly and moved back into the closet. "Alright...did you find them?" He called over his shoulder just over a speaking voice, still afraid that the infected would hear them. The fear of being heard by the infected wasn't too strong for him to feel the need to check up on Antonio.
Antonio was about to responded when he rounded the corner and came face to rotting, gnashing, putrid face with Vash. With a startled yelp he pulled his ax up to protect his face just as the Swiss' jaws came crashing towards his neck, leaving him doe eyed and pale with absolute, mind numbing terror. Arms wrapped around him in his moment of being stunned, and finger nails clawed into his shoulders and arms and face, all the while the unnaturally strong creature tried to munch away at him. He couldn't move in the vice like arms that were around him and he struggled fiercely with cries of anger and terror, his only saving grace was his ax. Vash was having a hard time getting past the scarred wooden handle in his mouth to bite him. "Get off! Aiee!" He cried, thrashing wildly with his heart roaring in terror.
Arthur dropped the belongings he was looting with a crash as Antonio's shouts filled the air, dreading what he might come across. He had been uneasy letting Antonio wonder off on his own, why hadn't he tried to stop him?! Turning, he sprinted up the stairs with the knife he had stashed in his belt, the gun forgotten in his haste to get to the man that had become something like his guardian angel. Spotting Antonio struggling on the floor, he snarled angrily, terrified but pumped to the bursting point with adrenaline, and slammed into the creature, but was unable to get him to release Antonio completely. "Get off of him you undead git!" He screamed, terrified at the idea of losing his only companion in this world. Pulling Vash backwards with all the force left in his arms, he remembered the weapon at his side and pulled it out slamming it haphazardly into the creature's skull only to swear as the blade slide off his head in his hurry only managing to cut into the bone a few centimeters. It took considerable acrobatics to keep the jaws from closing around the flesh of his arm is the stupid creature let go of Antonio's ax handle in favor of the distraction Arthur was presenting, not registering the new oozing wound on his forehead. Cursing and straining he pulled the creature back away from Antonio slowly and, lifting the knife once again, drove it into Vash's skull with a cry of anger. The creature slumped, motionlessly, with the blow as Arthur let out a small shuddering sigh and shoved the undead man aside, looking down at the blood soaked Antonio with wide eyes. "Are...are you ok?" He demanded, reaching out to examine the gashes on his shoulders.
Antonio was stunned and shuddering, but at Arthur's voice he seemed to pull himself together, though it clearly took some effort on the Spaniards part. In all honesty, it looked like he very well might break down and cry. His verdant eyes closed and he took deep, shuddering breathes to calm his racing heart and nerves, not wanting to stress out Arthur if he didn't have to. "Fine... I'm fine..." He whispered, not trusting his voice to speak any louder. "Gracias Arthur... You just saved my life..." And with that he paled and slumped against the wall with a choked sound, losing his calm front at the realization at just how close he had come to being one of them.
"Antonio...are you sure you're ok?" Arthur looked down at the man in concern, afraid that he had been hurt after all until he saw the terrified look on his face and understanding rushed through him. Recognizing after a moment that he was relatively uninjured he realized that was really what the problem had to be. Antonio had just taken a terrible fright. Sighing shakily, he hesitantly reached out and grasped the man's chin forcing him to look up at him. "It's alright." He whispered reassuringly, his grip tight as he held the man's face in place. "It'll be ok...like you said, we'll get out of here just fine." He insisted, forcing a smile onto his face to reaffirm his statement. He knew that this man and he were strangers, but at that moment he truly didn't care. He had been through more with him than he had with quite a few of his friends and for some reason, he trusted him every bit as much, if not more. "We're going to be fine."
Antonio flinched at Arthur's touch initially, but he found once he met the man's eyes he couldn't bring himself to look away. He focused on what Arthur was telling him and tried with all his heart to believe what he was saying, after all he had said the same thing before... A shudder ran through him but he slowly seemed to calm somewhat and he brought a hand up to Arthur's where it clutched his face, gently tugged at it. "I'm alright... That just... startled me a bit. Really... I'll be alright. We still have to find those keys... si?"
Arthur found himself stunned by the emotions swimming through Antonio's eyes. Completely trusting, a little lost, caring… He hadn't realized that Antonio had such brilliant eyes before...and for a moment he found himself staring at the man and truly studying his face. He was jerked out of his trance though when Antonio spoke and tugged on the hand he didn't realize was still rather gently caressing the other man's cheek. Flushing when he realized he had been staring he nodded. "I suppose we do." He sighed gently, removing his hands from Antonio's face and standing, extending a hand to help him up even though his face felt hot with a deep, rosy blush. "Do you still think they're in his room? The keys?" He asked once he helped Antonio to his feet. When he didn't get a respons from the shaken Spaniard, he opened one of the rooms and hesitated when the bright pink walls fell into sight. "Oh..." He whispered, pulling the door shut again and feeling his heart clench a little. He had a soft spot for children, and though he hadn't seen the child in the room... his realization that he had just slaughtered this little girls brother... while this little girl, monster or not, was still somewhere in the world… made him feel monstrous. "It's...not his room." He muttered sadly.
Antonio smiled a bit at the color that rose and stayed on Arthur's cheeks, and found himself thinking how attractive it was on the man. The thought startled him a bit, but he mentally shrugged it off. So he had an admiration for the man that just saved his life. It was nothing more than that.. "I hope they're in his room... If they aren't that means they're in his pocket..." And suddenly he paled again, looking dangerously close to falling back down but his eyes flashed with determination and he pushed the fear away. "That's his sister's room... I don't remember her name... She was a sweet enough girl... I can only imagine Vash got her out before himself and that's why he was turned..." He caught a flash of sorrow in Arthur's eyes and frowned in concern. "She'd... she'd understand I'm sure..." He whispered softly with a weak, reassuring smile.
Arthur nodded slowly, his hand still resting on the door handle as he shivered slightly while his mind flickered to his own family and friends miles away from where he was. "I...I'm sure." He croaked out, shaking his head and stepping away from the girl's room, unable to imagine the fear and grief the child would be feeling alone in a world like this. "Let's just...find the keys." He whispered, turning away from the door and moving to the next one slowly, pushing it open and revealing a more masculine room beyond. "Here..." He sighed, stepping into the room and peering around. Almost instantly he spotted a small key bowl and, inside it, a few separate keys. "Brilliant!" He whispered in relief, moving over to the bowl and beginning to sift through its contents. "Here...these are the keys." He smiled triumphantly as he withdrew the only car keys, turning to Antonio and pressing them firmly into his hand. "There... keep track of those." He ordered with a small, shuddering smile on his face.
"I will..." Antonio said, accepting the keys with a wobbly grin. "Did... Did you want to go back downstairs for the food or did you want to look for more guns? Most of them will be in here..." He said, emerald eyes darting around too fast to take in the room. He wanted nothing more than to get out of the house and into the relative safety of the armored truck in the drive way, but if there were still things Arthur wanted in the house, he'd wait as patiently as possible.
"I'll look for guns...or at least more ammo for this first." Arthur whispered, looking up at the man and catching the panicked look in his eyes. Frowning, he sighed and turned away, moving over to the closet and cautiously pulling it open. When it revealed nothing threatening, he sighed and flicked on the lights searching through this stranger's clothes and drawers. It was all mostly mundane things. Boxers, socks, shorts, tank tops… Shirts in the closet. Finding a jacket made of sturdy material, as well as a bag loaded with ammo and weapons just lying on the spotless floor, he smiled and dragged them triumphantly back to where Antonio was standing, staring at the door warily. "Here..." He offered, extending the jacket to the man carefully after making sure he heard him approaching. "We can run downstairs and get food now... If you'd like. Then we can leave." He decided with an encouraging smile.
"You don't have to act like I'll break..." Antonio said with a sigh as Arthur made a special effort to be sure he knew he was there. He appreciated the gesture, even if he did find it a bit unnecessary. When he turned to look at Arthur and saw the jacket he smiled, the expression small but genuine. "Gracias... Food sounds good... then we should get the hell out of here! The longer we stay..." He trailed off and let his gaze drift to where Vash lay officially dead and shivered slightly, subconsciously tightening his hold on his ax. His shoulders stung like fury and all he wanted to do was dump a bottle of peroxide over the gouges to make sure they weren't carrying some disgusting infection, but that looked unlikely to happen. "Come on..." He said after a minute, heading back downstairs.
"I just didn't want to startle you." Arthur explained as he felt a small pang in his chest when he spotted the fear in Antonio's eyes. In that moment he wanted to hug the man to him and tell him it was going to be alright, but of course common courtesy held him back. This man was a stranger... despite everything, he barely knew him. Slinging the bag onto his throbbing shoulders, Arthur followed after him slowly back down the stairs at a trot. "We'll only take what we can carry in one trip." He explained as they moved into the kitchen. "I do not want to have to run back into the house for anything once we leave... there were quite a few of those bloody things out there and I don't like our odds if something goes wrong." He pointed out calmly as they began to load freeze dried foods, cans of soup, water, and whatever else they could get their hands onto into the bag. After opening the cabinets under the deep stainless steel sink, he found a large first aid kit and smiled, tossing it into the bag. They could look at Antonio's wounds later now, when they got away.
Antonio wasn't all too sure what he wanted. To curl up and pull a blanket over his head maybe, or maybe to just die right there... But then, he knew he couldn't do that because then that would ultimately lead to Arthur's death... and Antonio really didn't like the idea of being the cause of the man's death. He wasn't quite sure why, after all he didn't know much more than the man's name... but he found himself extremely attached to the Englishman that was behind him. That in it of itself was almost more frightening than the entire zombie situation; at least the zombies he could fight off... feelings were much harder. Of course... could he just think he had a small crush on the man simply because Arthur just saved his life? It was possible, highly unlikely, but possible. It wasn't like anything would come of it anyway. Certainly not in a situation as dire as the one they had miraculously been thrown into, head first, together. "I don't know that we'll fit much more in there..." He said after a while once the bag looked like it would have issues closing, casting a grateful look at the medical kit when he spotted it.
Arthur nodded, sealing up the bag with some effort and straightened. "There... That should do it for a while at least." He sighed, smiling up at the man proudly after what they had managed to accomplish. He truly hoped that this food was all they needed before they found help or somewhere safer to stay. This much panic couldn't last very long if the military stepped in. Sighing, he caught Antonio's eyes and grinned broadly. He hated to admit it, but this man was turning out to be more of a good luck charm that anything, and was glad that it was Antonio, not someone else, who he had run into if it had to be a stranger. "Antonio...I don't know why we got thrown into this mess...but... I'm really glad that I met you." He explained happily, if not a little shyly. "If it wasn't for you...I don't think I would have made it through the night. So...thank you."
Antonio smiled brightly, momentarily forgetting his fears as he felt touched and warmed from Arthur's words. He had to admit there were very few people he'd trade Arthur for. Suddenly he found himself so full of an unexplainable happiness that he hugged Arthur for a brief minute before pulling back abruptly with a deep blush on his face. "O-Oh... Lo siento amigo... I um..." He turned away and shouldered the bag, biting his tongue against the fiery pain shooting through the gouges on his shoulders. How had he forgotten the pain, even in his embarrassment? "Come on then..." He mumbled, keeping his burning face and embarrassed eyes averted from the man.
Arthur was stunned as he felt the man envelope him in a hug. He was so unbelievably warm, and in that moment Arthur felt as though he could forget all the chaos outside. He was so shocked, feeling a dark blush fill up his cheek, he didn't think to return the hug until the man pulled away and stuttered out an apology. Standing dumbstruck he shook himself to clear his head and smiled broadly. "It's...it's alright." He chuckled looking positively thrilled by the contact. "You don't need to apologize...it was just a hug." He pointed out, pulling his own bag onto his shoulder once more and moving forward clasping the man on the shoulder gently, avoiding the gouges from the infected. "You're lucky I didn't hug you first." He laughed jokingly, trying to get him to relax as he moved to the garage. "We should... We should probably go out this way... It's a shorter run from us to the truck then."
Hug him first? Was he being serious? Surely... even if he was joking... that the comment meant he had at least though about it.. Right? Or was he reading too much into a harmless comment? The strangest mix of apprehension, disappointment and excitement churned in his stomach. It was all so confusing! Antonio just wanted to... to what? Ask him what he meant? But... wouldn't that be strange? They were strangers! And yet... could he really call Arthur a stranger at this point? Sure... They had known each other less than 24 hours... yet he trusted Arthur more than anyone and knew he'd be devastated if he died... Besides, if Arthur was a stranger, he wouldn't care so much... would he? He shook his head in confusion and kept his eyes averted, blush deepening further. "Good idea amigo... The less distance the better." He mumbled, voice trembling in embarrassment.
Arthur looked over at Antonio and frowned. Why wouldn't he look him in the eye? It wasn't like he had meant anything by the hug...had he? Was he upset that he hadn't hugged him back? Arthur turned his gaze away again when he noticed the blush still prominent on Antonio's face and bit his lip. He didn't have time to worry about it then, he would ask him later once they were safe. Pulling open the garage door, he stepped into the neatly kept area and moved up to the sealed door. "There's an emergency cord there to open the garage." He stated, pointing to the red cord hanging from the ceiling. "Opening the door electronically will be both too slow and too noisy... we should just throw it open and run. Do you have the keys?" He demanded, glancing over at the man again and feeling his heart clench when he noticed he still refused to look him in the eye.
Butterflies knocked against the sides of Antonio's stomach at the sound of Arthur's voice again and he mentally screamed at himself. He was being foolish! They were far from safe in this garage and he was focused on his school girl crush! "Si! I still have the keys." He said, carefully looking around Arthur to the red cord. He pulled the keys from his pocket and gripped them in one hand while the other held his ax. "Be ready to run then... On three... si? He said in a voice a bit louder than a mumble, though it sounded a bit off. Strained and full of forced cheerfulness... Or maybe it wasn't cheerful more than it was... positive? It was hard to say for sure.
"Yes I suppose I'm as ready as I'll ever be..." Arthur muttered, glancing over at the man with a frown. "Antonio..." He sighed when he saw how distracted the man was. That simply wouldn't do at all! Anything less than one hundred percent focus on the task at hand would get them both killed in a heartbeat! Frustrated, he stepped forward and threw his arms around the man tightly, hugging him fiercely. "You don't need to be embarrassed ok? It doesn't bother me in the slightest that you wanted to hug me... we need to focus now and I don't want you worried about whether or not you upset me." He explained with a small grin, eyes stern as he pulled back, blushing softly.
Antonio felt little thrills zing along his skin as Arthur hugged him tight and suddenly he didn't feel so bad any more. He hadn't upset Arthur after all! The biggest issue now was, how on Earth was he supposed to focus now? He had the case of school girl crush bad! Well, maybe that wasn't the biggest issue seeing as there was still the matter of fending infection off with his torn up shoulders, living in a zombie infested world, getting to the truck in front of the house… Dios mio that's a lot to worry about… He smiled at Arthur regardless of his chaotic thoughts and nodded. "Good. I'm glad I didn't offend. Now... Let's get this over with."
Determined, the Spaniard walked closer to the red cord and took it in his tanned, warm hand. "One... Two..." He took a deep, shuddering breath as his heart pounded painfully hard and fast in his chest, and grit his teeth together in terror and apprehension. "Three!" The garage door flew open in one quick movement as Antonio pulled on the red cord. The sound that resulted seemed as loud as a crack of thunder and already there were infected who looked toward the garage, grumbling and growling eagerly. The grumbles quickly turned into full blown bellows of hunger and excitement at the prospect of fresh, living meat.
"God damn it all!" Arthur swore as the door swung open to reveal the large collection of the infected stumbling in the streets now entirely focused onto them. "Unlock the car and run!" He order, pulling his gun from off his shoulder and firing at an undead man who had been staggering next to the garage when it opened. Moving forward as the first screeches filled the air, he covered Antonio as the man unlocked the door with badly shaking hands. "There's a whole lot more than I remember there being last time!" He roared, throwing open the car door when Antonio unlocked the rest and tossing the bag in, firing as they lumbered towards them at a much faster pace than he anticipated. Get in the car!" He roared, reacting faster than he had given himself credit for as Antonio hesitated outside of the truck long enough to have to swing his monster of an ax at two of the foul creatures.
At Arthur's shouted words, Antonio threw his bag into the car along with his bloodied ax, for the first time wishing he had a more easily transportable weapon even if the ax was what he was most comfortable with. Without arguing he stumbled and tripped into the car, willing Arthur to join him as more and more of the creatures surrounded the truck, slamming against the steel frame with furious, famished snarls. With a squeak of fright, he jammed the key into the ignition with trembling fingers and gave it a sharp turn. The brute of a truck roared to life with an almost excited sounding roar, its engine sounded every bit as hungry as the infected around it. "Arthur get in! Por favor! Get it!" He cried, adrenaline pumping through his veins, making his already pounding heart speed to new levels of fast. As Arthur continued to shoot the snarling undead he felt the blood leave his face, terrified the man was going to get himself killed. "Please!" He all but sobbed, shuddering so bad he couldn't see straight.
Arthur shivered at the desperation in Antonio's voice, completely shocked in how worried and scared it sounded. Not wanting to upset the man further, he leapt into the backseat, grabbed onto the car door and slammed it shut behind him scrambling away from the door as an infected slammed up against the side of the truck. "Drive! Antonio drive!" He yelped, his entire body shaking with terror almost as badly as the Spaniard in the driver's seat as the infected merged to surround the vehicle. "These bastards are relentless!" He choked as Antonio pulled the car out of the driveway, squishing a few of the creatures with sickening pops and crunches until they finally reached the road. Gasping for air, Arthur placed his hands over his face with a shudder and groaned. "Let's never...ever do that again." His voice was ragged, only to be expected after fighting for his life. When he noticed how hard of a time Antonio was having hanging onto the will past his shuddering, he reached out to him and rested his hand on his shoulder. "Antonio I'm alright. You're alright… Calm down, pet." He attempted to sooth when he himself was having a hard time calming back down, eyes clenched tightly shut and breathing rapid like his heart.
Antonio was white faced and knuckled, and was trembling so bad it was a miracle he managed to drive at all. Regardless, he sped off as fast as he could coax the metal beast to go, thankful it had a full tank of gas and a gas can sat on the floor of the passenger seat. At Arthur's touch, he calmed considerable, though his emerald eyes were still bright with terror. "Can you crawl up here?" He asked after a few minutes, having calmed enough to at least speak a bit though his voice was high pitched with fear and stress. He didn't really want to be alone, and even though Arthur was right there, he couldn't see him with his own eyes, only his reflection in the rear view mirror. "I never plan to do something that stupid ever again. Ever. No no no."
Arthur slowly opened his eyes as his breathing calmed and nodded at the man's request. Sitting up stiffly, he crawled clumsily into the front seat still shuddering like a leaf as he realized how close they had been to being torn apart only a few moments before. "Are you ok?" He demanded, looking over at the man as they wove in between cars and the undead at a rapid pace. He didn't know where they were going, but as long as it was away from the city he didn't care. Looking over Antonio carefully he was relieved to find that though the man was pale and terrified he appeared to be uninjured save his lightly bleeding shoulder. Slowly his heart rate decreased as they drove until it leveled out to a more relaxing level, though it spiked again when the Spaniard didn't confirm that he was alright. "Antonio?" He pressed warily.
"S-Si…. I'm ok…. I-I…. Si…." Antonio stuttered, chewing on his lower lip until it bled, his teeth cutting through the delicate skin easily. Slowly he too relaxed, shudders subsiding for the most part, along with his rapid, ragged breathing. His eyes flitted over to Arthur as the man buckled himself in after a few minutes, the mundane action pulling a tiny, wobbly smile to his lips.
For a long moment Arthur remained unconvinced, but then a slow but very sudden realization sunk in, making his hard, worried green eyes brighten and soften into excited, exuberant emeralds. "I...I can't believe we did it." He whispered when he felt Antonio's curious, wary eyes on him, looking thrilled and a little disbelieving. "We...we got out!" He laughed wiping at his eyes. We got out of that crazy place!" He cheered happily as a few more tears streamed across his face, tears of exaltation at still being alive. "Antonio we did it! We made it out! We're ok!"
The same slow realization took hold in Antonio's eyes at Arthur's tearful, joyous words. "I... I guess we did... Didn't we?" He marveled, smiling despite himself. They were far better off now than he had dared to hope they would be. Both of them were still scared out of their wits, but that was only to be expected after all. Really... How much luckier could they have gotten? He wove expertly between stationary cars and the undead and as they got further and further from town there was less and less to dodge around until there was nothing but road and the occasional car or infected. "We are ok... I can't believe... that we are alright." He said with a smile still on his face.
Arthur's laughs had turned into full out hysterics as he sobbed and laughed into his hands. The stress of the day had been too much, and despite his best efforts he couldn't control the tears rolling down his face. "We're ok...we're ok..." He choked out repeatedly, feeling relief and distress rolling off and out of him in waves. He knew that freaking out was the last thing he needed to do in that moment, in front of Antonio nonetheless, but it was hard enough to keep it together the night before and now that they were officially safe it was too difficult to keep the tears back. "Damn it... I'm sorry..." Came a soft, shaky whisper as he tried furiously to wipe the tears from his eyes as they streamed down his face.
Antonio was tempted to stop and hug Arthur again, wanting to comfort him as he broke down, but he didn't want to risk stopping... they were still too close to the city for comfort. Instead he slowly reached out and took his hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. Arthur's hand was much cooler than his own, but not unpleasantly so, and the difference between their temperatures made him smile slightly, but then Arthur's soft sobs drew his attention again and he rubbed the back of the man's hand with his thumb in a soothing gesture. "Shh... Amigo it's ok. It's ok... We're are ok. Breathe si? We're alright. We are safe. Don't apologize Arthur. We are ok." He soothed, though even he still trembled and he could feel the stress take its toll on his own body. The Englishman beside him, crying the way he was, made it hard to focus on the road through his worry.
Arthur looked down as he felt Antonio wrap his hand gently around his own. Seeing their intertwined fingers, he felt his sobs quiet down to hiccups almost immediately in his wonder and surprise at the strangely intimate gesture. The soothing feeling of Antonio's finger tracing across his hand sent soft little shivers shooting down his spine, leaving him thinking. He knew that he had just met the man, but in that moment he wanted nothing but to wrap his arms around the Spaniard and hold him. His voice telling him it was ok, was more reassuring than being told the same thing by anyone else would have been. Looking up at him, he smiled softly, his lips quivering slightly and nodded squeezing Antonio's hand gently. "Thank you." He whispered, wiping at his eyes with his free hand.
Antonio smiled and glanced over at Arthur for a few seconds, feeling a faint burst of curiosity at the look in the other man's eyes. What was Arthur thinking about? "Anytime amigo." He assured with a bright smile, though, even when Arthur seemed calm enough, he wasn't in any hurry to let go of his hand. It kept him calm enough to drive and smile and think. It was hard to believe they were relatively safe for the time after everything they had been through that day after all. "You know... I'm glad you came knocking at my door... I don't think either one of us would have made it this far on our own... Thank you amigo." He said, voice soft and full of gratitude and something more. Undecipherable but there, making his fluid-like voice sound strange even in his own ears.
Arthur smiled shakily as he spoke, hearing the softness in the man's voice and the sincerity in his smile broadened. Looking down at their connected hands once again he waited for Antonio to pull away, but when he didn't he felt a small bubble of warmth fill up his stomach slowly. "I'm glad you let me in and that you didn't kick me out even though you thought I was some sort of loon…" He whispered, his voice hoarse from the day's events and edged with the exhaustion from the lack of sleep he had managed to claim the night before, but also with a ring of something endearing, adoring of the man sitting next to him. "I was starting to think that maybe you were some sort of guardian angel...seeing as you appeared out of nowhere to save my life." The admittance of such a silly feeling brought a blush to the Englishman's previously pale cheeks, not having meant to say such a thing out loud.
"An angel? Hmmm... If that's true then you must be mine... You've saved my life as well, si? I'm sorry I called you crazy at first... And I'm glad we stayed together. This would have been much harder without you!" Antonio said, a soft smile still in place. He shivered a bit at the, dare he say adoring, tone in Arthur's voice and wonder, if just maybe Arthur felt the same confusing swirl of emotions, many of them happy and bubbly and warm, when he thought about him. It was then he realized he still held Arthur's hand, but Arthur hadn't tried to pull away... He kept their hands together happily. "I'll always do my best to save your life. If you need me, I'll try my best to be there." He promised, a blush returning to his cheeks as the words awkwardly fell from his lips.
"Well...I suppose I just might be a bit crazy" Arthur chuckled, squeezing Antonio's hand gently as he grinned up at the Spaniard. He felt warm, relaxed despite everything. Everything just seemed alright now that he was safe... and with Antonio. His smile broadened as Antonio blushed softly and he found himself looking towards the window to collect his spiraling thoughts. Such color on the man's sun kissed cheeks was positively breath taking. "Well I'm not going anywhere any time soon if I have a choice...so I'll be there for you as well." He whispered, feeling the need to promise this also as he glanced back towards the madly blushing Antonio behind the wheel. "I know it's weird...but... I feel like I've known you a very long time Antonio." He mumbled, smiling a bit shyly up at the man. Despite his soft spoken words, his heart thundered furiously in his chest. What if Antonio laughed at him for saying such a thing?
"I think we both might be just a little crazy for what we just did..." Antonio conceded with a soft, warm laugh, the admission of some form of feelings Arthur was trying to get at flying right over his pretty little Spanish head. All he knew was that he felt warm, fuzzy and strangely full inside, like he couldn't hold any more emotion than what he was feeling. It was such a strange mix of things he felt deep inside. Of course he had heard Arthur's words though, even if he had taken a very literal meaning from them. A bright, borderline adoring grin spread across his face, only widening when he caught the shy smile Arthur had graced him with. "You know... I feel like I've known you for forever! I like you, amigo and I think I trust you more than anyone ever!"
Arthur beamed up at Antonio his eyes sparkling slightly when Antonio agreed that he felt similarly as he did, even if it hadn't been quite what he was attempting to hint at. Did the Spaniard want him to outright say he could have ffelings for him, or did he really not get that was what he was trying to say? Chuckling despite the conflict he felt and the questions he had, he felt a blush crawl over his cheeks, coloring them a deep crimson as he looked down at their interconnected hands. "I'm glad that you feel that way...because I feel that way too." He smiled, feeling like nothing short of a school girl admitting he had a crush, even if it was so discreetly. "You can depend on me...I'm not leaving any time soon." He promised again, his eyes filled with adoration. "As long as you don't tell me to leave... I'll be right here." Gently he squeezed Antonio's hand. He didn't care how he did it, he was going to protect this wonderful, beautiful man.
Antonio could feel his blush deepen and soon he was laughing softly, giggly and all around happy to just have this perfect little moment in the oddest safe haven in the strangest, scariest scenario ever. Was Arthur trying to flirt with him? Was that what he was doing? He really didn't know! "I will never tell you to leave. Never. I plan on making sure we survive this mess together. I'll be here for you too amigo." He promised as well, a shy, hesitantly affectionate smile on his lips. This certainly was a bad time to decide to like someone... but so long as that someone was Arthur, and he stayed around, it would be ok. Only problem was Antonio had no idea how to even begin to let the man know! He was hopeless...
Arthur beamed happily, his cheeks a fiery red as he nodded. "I'll do the same... I think we can figure this out." He murmured, running his thumb across Antonio's wrist. He couldn't help but think that maybe, just maybe, he was falling in love with this stranger. It was almost frightening to think that it might be true, that just when he was most likely to lose him, he had found someone he wouldn't mind spending the rest of his life with, but he chose to ignore the feeling and instead just smiled happily back at him. He didn't let go of Antonio's hand even as they stopped talking so the man could focus on the road. Only when he finally dozed off, his head resting against
Antonio's shoulder without thinking about asking, did his grip finally relax.
Antonio couldn't remember ever being happier than he was in that armored beast of a truck with Arthur resting against him. So what if his scratches throbbed angrily at him? He had this wonderful, beautiful amazing man and that was worth any amount of pain or discomfort. With soft, hesitant fingers, he brushed a stray strand of hair from Arthur's face, heart in his throat. He wasn't a flirt or a charmer! He wasn't anything but a poor, awkward man who, being in his 20's had yet to kiss anyone, let alone successfully court another person! His face flooded with color and embarrassment induced heat rolled off of him. Even if he did manage, by some large help of God, he was able to successfully court Arthur, how on Earth would he keep him safe? He was a coffee shop owning, guitar player! Not hardly a fighter in any way... Suddenly though, he was very quickly swamped with fear induced images of Arthur being ripped apart by the undead. It was almost frightening enough to make him scream, but then he glanced down at Arthur and slowly calmed back down. Arthur was ok for now at least.
Maybe I should have warned about a character death? But... Does Vash being dead actually count? Dunno. So everyone should review. You should :) We like knowing people actually read it and don't just open the story up, go "Oh God this is awful" and close it back out. So if you'd all be so kind as to leave a review? We'd appreciate it :D