Don't hate us. It's been rough and there was miscommunication! Here it is and we promise the next one will be on Saturday!
Warnings: Zombies, anger and foul language!
The day passed at a rather lazy pace, after their nap, Leon and Gilbert returned to where the rest of the group was discussing what they wanted to accomplish before they set out in the next few days. Sighing as the moment that they stepped into the room, they were met with smiling faces explaining that they were going to be going through the upper floors in search of useable supplies. They exchanged glances before lifting up the bags that were offered to them. Chuckling, Gilbert agreed to take Jessie up to the fourth floor to start searching while Antonio and Arthur took the third and the rest of the kids stayed down in the lobby with Elizabeta.
Wrapping his arm around Arthur's waist, Antonio smiled as he tugged Arthur towards the third floor, earning an amused look from the Englishman. "In a hurry for some alone time, love?" Arthur asked, amused, sitting back while he watched Antonio kick open one of the doors sprawling out in front of them, still waiting to be searched. Shrugging, Antonio grinned over his shoulder, his eyes sparkling as he took Arthur's hand and lead him inside the room.
"Maybe." He winked playfully before moving up to one of the suitcases on the bed and beginning to rifle through it. Pulling out a bottle of wine, he grinned, waving it in Arthur's face with a laugh. "Wine, amor?" Arthur chuckled in amusement and shook his head, lowering the bottle out of his face.
"I have absolutely no alcohol tolerance, Antonio." He explained with a smile, placing the bottle aside for Antonio to take if he desired. "And I don't think that you'd appreciate having to carry me on your back while I spiral into a state of emotional turmoil and intoxication should something happen. I'd probably end up demanding you accomplish something impossible, and then get upset when you explain that you can't do it." He winked before pulling a few shirts out of the bag and grinning when he found a few his size.
"You know I think that you're too harsh on yourself…you can't be that bad!" Antonio laughed, wrapping the bottle in a shirt for later before storing it in his bag and lifting up a bright red dress with a grin. Holding it up to himself he earned an amused look from Arthur. "What do you think?"
"It's lovely, dear, really brings out your eyes, but I'm not sure how functional it would be." Arthur smiled softly before holding the shirts that he found up to his chest. "Hmmm…I feel like we really shouldn't be shopping for new things to wear, but I'd move to grab a few of these as well." He murmured as he tossed a few into the bag before moving to remove a shirt with a hum.
Wincing when his shoulder throbbed the moment that he pulled his arms over his head, he sighed and gasped, feeling warm fingers gently ghost over his bruised shoulder. Turning around in confusion, he came face to face with a concerned looking Antonio.
"What's wrong?" He asked, his eyes concerned when Antonio's hand slid off of his shoulder and came to rest on his arm. Antonio smiled shakily when Arthur looked back at him and sighed, his eyes flashing with concern.
"Your shoulder…why didn't you tell me that it was still bothering you?" He asked softly rubbing his thumb over the skin of Arthur's upper arm. Shaking his hand, Arthur sighed as he reached up and cupped Antonio's cheek in his hand.
"I'm fine pet…I promise." He assured the man earning a frown from Antonio, who obviously didn't believe him. "Antonio it doesn't hurt that bad I'm fine." He repeated, taking his hands with a smile before moving to pull the shirt he selected over his head. When Antonio still looked unconvinced he sighed and turned towards him. "What? What's wrong? Antonio even if it was bothering me I wouldn't make a fuss about it. She bruised my shoulder…that's all." He promised though he didn't know for sure himself.
It hurt, yes, but that didn't mean he couldn't ignore it. As long as no one was prodding him and he remembered to take the painkillers he had picked up at a pharmacy they had rummaged through on their way to the hotel, he could easily pretend that the dull throb on his back was just a bruise.
"Amor…has anyone looked at your shoulder?" Antonio asked, his patience sounding a bit strained when Arthur jerked away from his reaching hands when he tried to get a better look at the swollen, bruised skin.
"Not…necessarily." Arthur murmured, his hands moving to bat Antonio's hands away when the man reached out. "Anthony, honestly I am fine! Can we just get back to what we were doing, please?" he snapped, not wanting Antonio to worry about something he had no way of fixing even if he wanted to. Antonio flinched away with a sigh, a bit hurt by the outburst when he only wanted to help.
"But Arthur…" He started wanting to at least have the man sit down and put something cool over the shoulder until the swelling, that was still obvious on the wound, went down.
"No but's Antonio. I'm fine." Arthur huffed as he shook his head, tossing a few bars of soap into his bag before lifting it onto his good shoulder with a wince and heading back to the door. "Let's go to the next room please…" His voice was tired when Antonio hesitated, obviously about five minutes away from pinning Arthur down and tending to the injury by force.
Antonio looked reluctant, but with a sigh he grumbled as he pulled his bag onto his shoulder and brushed past Arthur. He didn't want to admit it, but Arthur's words stung. All he wanted was to help him. Couldn't Arthur see that?
~X~
Jessie beamed as she followed behind the two men, watching them sort through the belongings that the adults had abandoned. They hadn't been up onto the fourth floor; Leon had said that they could wait until after they ran out of supplies on the bottom few floors first. Humming as she pulled open a woman's purse she grinned, pulling a small clip from the purse and placing it in her hair.
"Leon what do you think?" She asked, pouting when the boy barely glanced up from the bag he was sorting through.
"Yeah it looks great." He pointed out, tossing Gilbert a few rolls of toilet paper he found in the bathroom. Jessie sighed as she adjusted the clip, wandering to the door of the room and peeking outside again. This was boring….why couldn't she stay downstairs with Elizabeta with the others?
Looking around the hallway, she blinked when she spotted the next door they were supposed to go in. There was some sort of mark on the wood…something that looked oddly like a handprint. Peeking over her shoulder, she assured herself that Gilbert and Leon were still talking softly about whether or not they should take any of the electronics if not just for parts before moving up to the door.
She knew it was a bad idea to run off, but she was curious, and she didn't know why some of the rooms on the top floor were all taped off. She knew that this place had been used as a safe zone for a while, before the adults all left, maybe they left some important things in the rooms further down the hall?
Walking past one of the rooms, she jumped when she noticed that the door was open…and she swore she heard movement inside. Her heart thundering in her chest as she heard footsteps shuffling across the floor, she looked up at one of the walls where someone had hastily scrawled out some warnings.
"Do not enter"
"Infected"
"Quarantined"
Squeaking at her findings, Jessie moved up to the open door and with a shudder peeked inside. There were at least six of the things in the room, stumbling and staggering around as they moaned and snarled. Shuddering violently at the knowledge that the only thing keeping these things from stumbling down the stairs was a partially open door, she started to move backward quickly.
Turning around though, she felt a small shriek fall from her lips, as one of the creatures from another room down the hall came reached out and tried to snag her around the wrist. "Leon!" she wailed, stumbling backwards and sprinting towards where Leon and Gilbert were rummaging. It wasn't Leon she ran into though, instead, she rammed into Gilbert's broad chest, gasping as she looked up at him. "I…Their…They!" She stammered as a small horde of the creatures started to claw their way out of the rooms in search of her voice. They were all but surrounded.
~X~
Antonio and Arthur were working in an awkward silence, the brunette holding back his irritation at being ignored by the man in front of him and the blonde attempting to keep working without showing how painful his injury really was. Glancing over at the other man, two pairs of green eyes met, before lowering again back to their own work.
Why was he taking this so personally? It was his decision not to tell him…it wasn't like being hurt was affecting anyone but himself. Arthur decided as he tossed a few water bottles he found into a bag with a bit more force than what was actually needed.
Why was Arthur so stubborn?! He just wanted to help! If Arthur thought it wasn't a big deal then why wasn't he just letting him help? Antonio raged silently as he glanced over at the blonde, opening his mouth to speak only to clamp it shut again. He'd let Arthur apologize first, and then he'd tell him to let him look over his shoulder properly. Until then he was going to let Arthur pout and huff until he decided to be an adult about this and let him tend to his wound.
Fed up with the silence, Arthur whirled around to say something to the man when he heard a screech of terror coming from upstairs. Glancing at Antonio, he grabbed his gun before sprinting out the door, Antonio in hot pursuit with his ax in his hands.
Coming up the stairs, Arthur gasped as he spotted the three Germans fending off a small horde of infected, somehow managing to be backed up against a door. "Gilbert over here!" He called as he fired into the skull of one of the creature's trying to snag onto Leon's arm from the side. Wincing as its head exploded with a pop, he grimaced and shot a glance at Antonio.
"Where did these bastards come from?!" He demanded furiously as he lurched towards the others who were struggling to wade through the infected.
Leon sprinted to Jessie's side and pulled her away from the gnashing teeth of the hungry infected and in the same second drew a hunting knife from his hip and stabbed it up into the infected's skull where it fell limp at their feet. Glancing over at Arthur and Antonio he grabbed onto Jessie's shoulder and directed her towards them. "Get down stairs!" He snarled as two more heads turned in their direction, moans of hunger and misery dropping from their lips. "Go go go!" He shoved Jessie in front of him, pushing her towards the stairs. "Verdammt..."
Jessie let out a terrified shriek as another creature burst into the hallway, cutting off their escape. Sobbing, she lashed out with Leon's bat and slammed the creature back, but didn't manage to have the power in her swing to kill it. "Leon! There's too many!" She wailed as the creature was joined by others, drawn by the sound of the other attacking infected. Squealing as one of the creatures lurched between herself and Leon, she stumbled back, swinging madly with the bat to try and fend it off.
Leon slammed his knife into one of the creature's eye sockets with a snarl, irritated and terrified now that he had been separated from Jessie. Even after Arthur and Antonio had joined them he realized just how hopeless this fight might be. "GILBERT! What do we do?!" He thundered, yelping as Antonio's ax came whizzing just over his head and sent the heavy bladed weapon cleaving through one of the infected's skulls. Blood splattered everywhere, but the Spaniard, nor anyone else, stopped to comment on the foul smelling gore as they battled against the cannibalistic corpses.
Gilbert felt his stomach drop as he spotted the ten or so creatures that were lumbering towards Leon and the others. Snarling, he aimed at a few who were closest to Jessie and Arthur and killed them with three well placed shots, grimacing as Arthur and Jessie were both coated with the gore that splattered out from the creatures.
"Damn it Gilbert! A little warning?!" Arthur protested, wiping at his face and shooting a creature that wandered too close to Antonio for his liking. "Damn it all!" He roared as more creatures stumbled into the hall as another door cracked open behind them, one of them slamming into Jessie and sending her spiraling to the ground. Gilbert and Arthur rushed forward at the same time, Arthur ramming into the creature and Gilbert scooping Jessie up into his arms.
Arthur didn't realize how bad of an idea it was to tackle the creature with how injured he was until it was too late. Yelping, he saw stars for a moment as his shoulder screamed, but managed to blast open the creatures head with a well-placed bullet before it could clamp its jaws around his wrist. Standing he swayed, his shoulder howling in pain as he stumbled towards the others.
Leon growled angrily as the creatures swarmed around them, growing in numbers as they burst through the splitting doors. "Gilbert we need to get out of here before they get downstairs!" He said, sounding determined as he slammed the knife into one of the creature's head once more.
Moving behind the young blonde, Antonio wore a vicious grin on his face as his ax cut one in half, a triumphant sound rising in his throat as he brought the blade back down into the same creature's skull.
Wiping blood from his face, he turned toward Gilbert. "Amigo... He's right. If many more of these things come, we don't stand much of a chance."
Gilbert nodded and placed Jessie on her own two feet as he fired at a few more of the creatures killing two but leaving three in their place. He knew very well the situation they were in. "Gott verdammt..." He growled keeping Jessie firmly at his side, his eyes flickering from person to person attempting to keep them all in his line of sight. "Arthur! Two on your left!" He barked before turning his attention back to Leon determinedly "Leon! Move towards me now I'll keep them off you!" He ordered, firing into the skulls of two of the creatures closest to Leon.
Antonio moved to help Arthur when he saw him sway, but actually hung back after a brief second's hesitation, not wanting to anger the man. Instead he turned towards two infected that were charging at the group with screams of starvation, dispatching them easily.
Arthur hissed as he clutched at his shoulder shakily, his head swimming with pain and the blood pounding in his head. Groaning, he stumbled towards where Gilbert shouted from, only to flinch as another creature burst into the hall and barreled into him. Yowling in pain, he rolled in a desperate attempt to throw off the infected woman who was attempting to bite into his throat. Kicking up with a grunt, he sent her flying backwards and shakily stumbled to his feet, firing into the creature's skull.
Herding Leon and Jessie to the stairs, Gilbert turned to Antonio and Arthur and whistled once he was sure Arthur was back on his feet. "Let's go you two there's too many!" He barked gesturing for them to follow as he dove down the stairs with Leon and Jessie held protectively in front of him.
Antonio didn't have to be told twice, scooped up Arthur in his arms he reluctantly let go of his ax with tears in his eyes. He'd never be able to retrieve it after this... When Arthur opened his mouth to protest noisily, he glared down at him.
"Argue with me about carrying you and I'll throw you back to them!" He threatened, being dead serious. He had seen Arthur swaying, had seen his face screw up with pain. Like hell he was going to let the Brit walk down stairs if he couldn't even stand normally. He hissed in pain as clawed finger's scored down his back, leaving deep crimson ruts in is tanned skin, but before the creature could grab them both, he took off down the stairs after the other three.
"Antonio your ax!" Arthur yelped in surprised protest scrambling too late to grab it as he dropped it. Wincing as he pulled his shoulder when he lurched suddenly, he shook his head. He couldn't grab it. Instead of protesting Antonio carrying him, he turned until he could look behind him and began firing at any creature stupid enough to come close to them. "I'm sorry…" he whispered as they followed after Gilbert.
"Just forget about it." The Spaniard rasped, eyes glazing with sorrow for a moment. That ax had not only been the only inanimate thing he had in the apocalypse that held any meaning, but also was the only tangible memory he had still owned from his abuelo. He shook his head as each gunshot sent his ears ringing noisily, trying to shake the clinging grief.
"I'm so sorry Antonio...I'm so so sorry." Arthur whispered when he caught the grief in his eyes. A pang of guilt welled up in his chest as he fired into the growing crowd of infected. Was he the reason Antonio had lost the grand weapon?
~X~
"Leon!" Dexton cried as he spotted the boy running down the stairs. The children were all clustered in the room, safe, with Elizabeta, who had herded the children to the front doors when she heard the noise, standing in front of the younger children defensively. "Are you ok?" The young German boy demanded, throwing his arms around his brother's waist only to squeak as his brother scooped him off the ground.
Gilbert moved up behind Leon with a relieved sigh and gathering what he could and handed the bags that Elizabeta had grabbed to the children. "Run...outside get in the black truck waiting just outside the doors." He ordered, pressing the keys into Leon's hands and closing the boy's hands around them. "Wait for us, we'll be there soon." he explained, ignoring any protests or questions pouring out of the children's mouths. "I have to hold them off until you guys are safe. I promised didn't I? Now hurry." He barked, turning around and firing at a few infected stumbling down the stairs clumsily
Leon met Gilbert's eyes, every fiber of his being telling him to stay until they could all escape safely, but his brother and the other little kids came first. He took the keys and herded the children forward and out the doors. He fervently thanked God that there weren't any of the damned creatures in the parking lot, but with all the noise they were making, they were sure to attract more. He scooped Eve and Dexton up as they struggled to keep pace with him and Jessie, who had already scooped up Anna.
With steady hands he handed the keys to Dexton as they were heading through the lobby doors, seeing the black truck easily. "Unlock it bruder.. Click the button. It's like Mutti's". He nodded approvingly when the truck blipped once, headlights flashing.
As the five reached the truck, he threw the door open and sat the two kids inside, pushing them down to the floorboards. "Don't look up until you hear Mr. Gilbert's voice ok?" He commanded before walking a few paces in front of the truck, turning this way and that to watch for infected that tried to come at the truck. Satisfied there weren't any close, he pulled himself inside and locked the doors. "It'll be ok guys. It'll be ok." He promised. Worse came to worst... He'd be able to dive them out.
Cowering, the children hunkered onto the floor. Eve was crying silently, confused and overwhelmed by the sudden change of mood after just being woken up. Clinging onto Jessie, she hiccupped and flinched as she heard gunshots filling the air. Dexton remained desperately quite, his own baseball bat clenched firmly in his hands. Anna was silent as well, her head on Jessie's lap as they stared desperately at the door.
"Where are they?" She squeaked, terrified. "They didn't...die did they?" She could still hear gun shots, but the idea of losing the only adults they knew terrified her.
Leon rested a hand on Dexton's quivering shoulder as he listened. Slowly he peeked out the window, his heart stuttering to a standstill before thundering rapidly as the adults came into view. "They didn't die liebling. They're coming. I can see them." He whispered softly in Anna's direction, itching to get out of the car to help, though he stayed where he was, knowing it'd be better for the other four if he stayed. It was frustrating as he watched the others, only to freeze when he realized he couldn't see Elizabeta.
All five of them jumped when someone banged on the window of the door, many of them screaming. It was Dexton who recognized the figure as Elizabeta's, and he fumbled with the keys, unlocking the door for her.
The Hungarian flew the door open and climbed inside, tossing aside her bloodied frying pan. "Are you all alright? None of you are hurt, right?" She demanded, taking the keys from Dexton and slamming them into the ignition. The truck roared to life as she started it.
"Come on Gil... Come on." She chanted, watching her husband with fearful eyes.
Antonio shook his head and sprinted for their car where it sat beside Gilbert's monster of a truck, a sudden realization dawning on him. "Arthur. I need you to get the keys out of my pocket." He said in as calm of a tone as he could manage. The result was fairly even despite his roiling irritation, fear and adrenaline hyped nerves.
Arthur nodded and reached inside Antonio's pocket, pulling them free and scrambling to his own feet as they reached a stop. Opening the door with a grunt, he jumped into the passenger seat and jammed the keys into the ignition. "We're good!" He called over his shoulder pulling Antonio into the car with him.
Gilbert stayed firmly in front of Antonio and Arthur's smaller truck as he blasted the infected that were attempting to clamber their way through the still open door. Swearing as they started to break through the glass, he shot a reassuring look at Elizabeta, feeling her eyes on him. He was about the rush at truck, but the zombies lurched in towards him suddenly and with a curse he allowed Arthur to heave him into the car as well.
"Elizabeta drive!" He roared over his shoulder, praying the woman heard him as he slammed the car door behind him while Antonio crawled into the driver's seat.
Elizabeta shivered as Gilbert disappeared into the other car, but hearing the screams of the infuriated infected they were escaping, she pressed on the gas, tires squealing in protest as the vehicle leapt forward, crashing into the bodies of some of the infected with sickening squelches.
"Get into a seat and buckle up, all of you!" She commanded, voice higher pitched than usual from stress.
The children scrambled to obey immediately, Jessie moving into the front seat with Elizabeta and pulling on her seatbelt while Eve and Dexton squeezed together to use one of the ones in the back, Leon and Anna taking the remaining two.
"Did Gilbert make it out ok?" Dexton squeaked, looking over his shoulder at the car behind them with terribly worried blue eyes.
"I want my mutti!" Eve wailed clinging onto Leon desperately and sobbing into his shoulder, completely terrified and overwhelmed with their hasty escape and all the chaos that accompanied it.
Leon wrapped his arms around Eve, pulling her to him as best he could with the restraining seat belts. "You listen to me liebling. Everything will be ok. I swore to you that I'd never ever let anything bad happen to you, ja? I won't let them touch you... I won't let them hurt you. I know you're scared... Believe me, I know... But just remember your Mutti is watching over you. She'll keep you safe too." He sootherd, sparing a glance only to nod reassuringly at his brother.
Eve nodded and though tears continued streaming down her cheeks, she fell silent, wrapping her arms around Leon with a sniffle. "Ok..." She whimpered, not even looking up when Dexton hugged her from the side as well. On Leon's other side, Anna let out a shuddering breath and leaned against Leon shyly, closing her eyes with a sniff of her own.
Leon wordlessly wrapped one of his arms around Anna with a sigh, pulling her as close to him as he could manage. "You guys will always be safe so long as I am around. No matter what, I will always keep them away from you." He promised in a soft voice, the adrenaline slowly leaving his body as he calmed back down with the relative safety of the massive truck.
The children all nodded in unison, their eyes all red with tears they wanted to spill but held back just barely with Leon's words. Sniffling, they clung onto the older boy and shivered as the adrenaline ran out slowly from their systems.
"Should we stop somewhere and make sure that they're all ok?" Jessie asked Elizabeta softly her eyes locked stubbornly onto the road ahead, afraid if she looked anywhere else she'd see the gnashing teeth of the infected or the distraught eyes of her family. When the Hungarian woman shook her head, hands white knuckled on the wheel, she fell silent shyly, surprised to hear Leon speaking again.
Leon, after a moment, had began telling a story to the kids, his voice soft and soothing as he spun a tale about a young warrior who fought scary dragons and giants, trying to get the children to focus on calming back down and to distract them from their fears, if only for a little while. Though his ale was brave and valiant, he couldn't keep a creeping fear from his heart. How was he going to keep his promise?
~X~
Antonio followed behind her almost until their bumpers touched, not questioning the albino's presence for a second. "We'll stop as soon as we're free from these damned creatures." He promised, not taking his eyes off of the other car. "Gilbert. How medically savvy are you?"
Gilbert, who had just started to believe they had all made it out alright, was instantly back on high alert. "Did one of you get bit? Arthur? I saw that one tackle you, are you ok?" He asked, his eyes flashing with concern. "I'm fine...I'm fine..." Arthur repeated, his hand moving up to his shoulder and cradling the wounded area gently. "Antonio I'm fine..." He whispered insistently, clenching his eyes shut and shuddering violently, not wanting the other to notice that the arm basically hung useless at his side. "It...It's just a bruise...don't worry about me, just worry about getting us out of here."
Antonio's eyes darkened in anger and he grit his teeth hard enough that a tension line formed on his cheeks. He wasn't blind, nor was he dumb, and he could blatantly see the pain in Arthur's face. "A bruise" didn't cause that sort of pain.
"Damn it Arthur, if you say once more that you're fine you are all going to find yourself short of a Spaniard. Stop fighting against help, you prideful, stubborn, pain in my ass. You're only going to get yourself killed that way. Cut the crap before I get out of this car and find my own way to survive." He threatened in an ominously serious voice. At the bewildered look in Gilbert's eyes he narrowed his eyes in impatience.
"Your wife hit him with that frying pain of hers, hard enough to have killed an infected. He refuses to let anyone even look at it." He muttered, voice rough with his irate concern.
"I..." Arthur felt his heart pinch tightly. Scowling furiously, he looked away hurt and terrified that the Spaniard would actually leave him over something so simple.
"Hey...calm down would you? This is probably why he kept it hidden from you!" Gilbert barked, catching the horrified look in Arthur's eyes and glancing back at the Spaniard irritably. He knew Antonio was worried, but being so hostile wasn't going to help anything.
"I remember when she did that...I was starting to think she missed." He muttered, his eyes narrowing with concern. His Eliza had a nasty swing with the solid iron pan and he knew it. Better than most. "Arthur...when it hit you, did you feel anything pop... or break...? Did hurt a lot, or did it sort of just sear for a minute and fade?" He was no expert, but he at least knew where to start asking questions.
Arthur looked up at the albino slowly and sighed shakily, knowing he couldn't hide the truth any longer. "It...it's broken." He whispered, not looking at Antonio as he spoke. "Fractured at the very least...I can tell because...because I can feel the bone pieces rubbing together." He explained, earning a worried frown from Gilbert. "I...bandaged it and everything, but...I took the wrap off this morning when I said I was using the restroom and didn't have time to put them back on." He attempted to reason weakly.
Antonio had suspected something was wrong, and the fact Arthur hadn't trusted him enough or thought to tell him stung badly. "Do you not understand that you are the single most important thing in my life right now? Do you not realize how much I love you and just want you to be safe and ok?" The Spaniard grumbled ominously after a long moment of silence, blinking back tears of absolute terror for the Englishman as he continued to drive.
He held up a shuddering hand as Gilbert opened his mouth to speak, looking ready to defend Arthur. "Don't you dare try to tell me this isn't fair to him Gilbert..." He rasped, sounding both incredibly angry and concerned all in the same instant. "I know damn well you'd be reacting the same way if it was your wife."
"I...I didn't..." Arthur stammered tears forming in his eyes as he looked up at Antonio, his eyes silently beginning for forgiveness, but he ended up looked away, eyes locking onto the window.
Antonio said he was the most important thing in his life, but had also said moments ago that he would leave him. The pain of those words stabbed into his heart and rendered him unable to speak for fear of sobbing. He was too proud to cry in front of the man who couldn't seem to understand that he didn't say anything because he had it under control. There was nothing he could have done but worry profusely anyway!
Pulling a first aid kit from the floor of the passenger seat, he tugged off his shirt and wordlessly began binding his arm, creating a makeshift sling now that he had nothing to hide. "I... Didn't want you to worry..." He whispered quietly, praying Antonio would understand.
Antonio didn't speak anymore after that, too angry and hurt to have any desire to speak. He didn't want to say anything he was thinking out loud anyway. Why didn't Arthur tell him? It didn't matter if there was nothing he could do about it, he still would have liked to know just to make sure he was careful! Did Arthur really think so little of him to believe he wouldn't care about him hurting? Not to mention the man had straight up lied to him! He had asked when Elizabeta had first hit him if he thought it was broken...
Gilbert watched the whole exchange guardedly, feeling miffed at both parties; Arthur for not speaking up about his injury, and Antonio for lashing out at the man despite the obvious distress it was causing. Watching calmly as Arthur wound his wound slowly, he sighed and sat back in his seat rubbing his temples. "We should stop soon... If you can find a house or something, Antonio." He pointed out, glancing at the Spaniard.
Arthur glanced up out of habit as the man spoke, but catching the conflicted look in Antonio's eyes he flinched and glanced away again, wanting nothing more than to just disappear into the floorboards. This version of grief was a terrible, numb feeling that crawled into his chest and nested, leaving him to curl in around himself stiffly a single tear rolling across his cheek only to be wiped away determinedly.
Antonio, once again, stayed silent, only reacting to Gilbert's words by flashing his lights at Eliza and pulling around her, taking the lead to find some place to stop, as requested.
His heart twisted painfully in his chest as he drove, trying to understand why Arthur hadn't said anything. Why he had lied, yet the longer he thought about it, the angrier he felt and the stronger the sense of betrayal became. He hadn't realized he was slowly gaining speed until a firm hand rested on his shoulder.
"Antonio slow down...if you come around a corner and there's an abandoned car or something you're going to hit it and we'll all die." Gilbert barked firmly, his eyes narrowed onto the Spaniard. "I don't know what's going through that head of yours, but don't let it endangers us all." He commanded, glancing to the side with a scowl. "House coming up on your right. Just stop there ok? We'll figure out this mess when we get there." The silver haired man assured with a sigh, squeezing Antonio's shoulder in grudging reassurance.
Arthur flinched slightly at the amount of anger and hurt he could feel rolling off of Antonio. What had he done wrong? He... He only wanted to protect Antonio, and with the man as worried as he was about him already, he had thought avoiding the topic would help, but looking at the damage he had caused, he felt a terrible pain in his stomach. Antonio didn't deserve to be saddled with someone like him... He didn't deserve to be stuck basically babysitting some klutzy idiot who did nothing but hurt him no matter how hard he tried.
~X~
Elizabeta's eyes darkened with worry as she struggled to get the truck to go fast enough to keep up with the other. What was she missing that was causing such speed from the other vehicle? She relaxed though as break lights flared and they slowed back down to a more comfortable speed. "Don't let us lose anyone today... "She whispered under her breath.
Anxiety tightened her stomach as she turned after the smaller truck onto a road she would have over looked. The road wound on for a ways before she pulled up to what appeared to be an abandoned farmhouse of decent size. "Everyone stay put a bit. I'm going to go see if Gilbert wants to check the house before we let you all in." She instructed, surprised to look back and only find Leon's calm blue eyes. The others were fast asleep.
When the others got out of the car, she unbuckled and got out to meet them, though the smile she had held for her husband slowly faded when she caught sight of a distraught and angry looking Antonio moving to stand in front of the truck, looking at the house. Slowly she turned to look back at Gilbert who had joined her side, eyebrows narrowed. "Gil? Is everything alright?" She asked, her eyes flickering over to where Arthur still sat, hunched over, inside the car. "Is something wrong with..." Before she could finish her question though, they heard Antonio kick the door of the farm house in and turned just in time to see the unarmed Spaniard move inside with dropping shoulders and a hung head.
"Is he suicidal?" Leon muttered under his breath, still in the car with everyone else.
"You ok? Yes... kids ok? Gut... Antonio is... Possibly... possibly suicidal. I'll be right back liebe" Gilbert muttered, kissing Elizabeta on the cheek and rushing into the house after Antonio before he truly heard his wife's answers.
Arthur glanced up at Elizabeta as she moved out of the car, and slowly stepped out into the open. Not looking Elizabeta in the eye, he moved over to the edge of the property and sat in the grass next to it, messaging at his bad shoulder gently. This was all his fault! Honestly he wondered if Antonio would be better off if he just wandered off into the forest and left him to take care of himself like he suggested.
"What's wrong with them?" Eve chirped in confusion from where she sat beside Leon, causing the boy to jump with a start.
Leon watched as Gilbert followed after Antonio, his pale blue eyes expressionless. An idea formed in his head, and while Eliza had told them not to get out, he didn't think there was any immediate danger around the outside. "Eve... Why don't you go talk to Mr. Iggy?" He suggested, carefully getting out of the car with her without waking the Anna, Dexton or Jessie. "He might need a friend right now..."
She waited until she nodded and ran over to him on little legs before he calmly walked to the house, not entirely sure on if that was the smartest thing to do or not.
Eve tugged at Arthur's sleeve, frowning when he didn't look up. "Mr. Iggy? Are you ok?" She asked, her eyes wide with concern. Arthur didn't look up, but he laughed dryly. "No little one...I'm not." He whispered, wiping at his eyes with the back of his hand.
"Mr. Iggy, why are you crying?" Eve demanded with a pouting frown, hugging the man from the side as he stared down at his hands. When Arthur didn't answer Eve looked up at Elizabeta in distress looking for answers from the woman a few meters away.
~X~
"Oi! You need to calm down and take a deep breath damn it!" Gilbert growled as he came into the house behind Antonio. "Do you think this is ok? Just... bursting in here on your own, completely unarmed? I'm sorry you're mad. I'm sorry you're hurt, but right now isn't the verdammt time to wallow like some scorned child!" He growled, the sudden burst of adrenaline caused by the man's brash action making him sound irate.
"I was coming to make sure none of the infected were here so we can look at Arthur's shoulder!" Antonio protested in his defense, eyes widening in shock at Gilbert's anger for a minute before narrowing as his own anger, already bubbling inside mixed with his hurt, raised in defense and challenge.
Grabbing onto Antonio and slamming him into a wall, Gilbert looked the Spaniard dead in the eye, expression both firm and angry. "And if those things were in here no one would have gotten to you fast enough to save your sorry ass! Suck it up! He didn't want to worry you, so he played his injury off!" He snapped, completely understanding where Arthur had come from; he had done the same thing himself multiple times.
Antonio growled and glared at Gilbert, more than a little angry by being pushed around. "This isn't some little injury he should be playing off! It is a huge problem that could get him killed!" The Spaniard roared, shoving Gilbert back in response to the previous physical contact.
"Listen to me!" Gilbert roared, thrusting him back again and holding the man a good few inches off the ground. "You are treating me like shit for trying to help and Arthur like an insolent child. I will not put up for this shit! I know you're mad at Arthur... Hell, I'm mad at him too, but damn it... We do not have time for you to be sulking around like a jilted lover! He made a mistake! So sue him! If you haven't noticed, it's been a rough couple of days for all of us! Instead of sitting in here, being a reckless moron, why dont you go talk to him?! Figure out why he lied to you! Right now...if something was to happen to Arthur and you were just sitting in here angry... How would you feel?! You don't have time to be mad at him! I'm sorry, but it's true! We cannot sit around and sulk all day like we used to be able to do! This is the God damn apocalypse, you hot headed idiot, and I swear to Gott if you put my wife or those kids at risk pulling stupid ass stunts like that again, I will personally kick your ass." The albino snarled furiously, his grip tightening little by little on Antonio.
"Don't pull that damn noble shit on me, puto! I don't care how self-sacrificing you are, si? That doesn't impress me, nor does it make me want to listen to you. Especially not while you are insulting me for being hurt over the fact the person I love hid something from me that could prove fatal for him in this apocalypse! I think no matter how you try to lead, you are stupid and irresponsible because you're just like Arthur! Hiding your pain from everyone, not really wanting to let other people help you. You want to talk about sulking? Don't even get me started! You didn't see what you did to your wife, shutting her out and being an ass to her for days when all she wanted to do was help! Your brother died! You are allowed to feel pain!" Antonio spat right back, his verdant eyes glittering in anger.
"I'm not as patient as your wife. I'm tired of being pushed away and lied to. I've had to put up with it all my life already, being pushed away for who I am, and the one time where honest is actually important in saving everyone's lives, the only person in this world that I actually felt I could trust completely tried to shut me out and lied to me. So sí. I am a little pissed and rather hurt, and rightfully so. Stop being such a hypocritical ass, and put me down. I don't particularly want to hurt you, but I will if I have to." He growled through gritted teeth, trying very very hard not to take his anger out on Gilbert.
Gilbert's eyes narrowed dangerously at the man's words, quivering with rage, he slammed the man against the wall again and snarled furiously. "My wife and I have already sorted that out... I apologized and we moved on. I don't know if you've ever lost someone you were that close with, and I can't say how you would deal with it, but that was how I dealt with it! I'm sorry if that's not how you would have dealt with it!" He spat, his crimson eyes absolutely livid, mirroring Antonio's in all but color.
"What happened those days I feel extreme regret for... but I can't change that. I'm trying to give you the chance to fix what you are about to ruin. Arthur loves you, and I don't know why he hid his injury, but if I had to guess, it was probably because he didn't want you to worry about him! He's a mess without you caring for him right now, and you threatening to up and leave him? That was cruel. You could have said many things that wouldn't have upset me, but that? That was low. He hissed, struggling to lower his voice so it wouldn't carry outside.
"I don't care if you meant it or not...but you don't say that to someone you love. If I said that to my brother, or my wife... Gott I would never forgive myself!" He couldn't even comprehend saying that to his Eliza, and there were times they had been at each other's throats in the past. His brother too...
Antonio knew he shouldn't have said he'd leave. Not to Arthur. He had just felt so hurt by what Arthur had done with denying he needed help and was injured he had said words without thinking. Of course he never meant them! His heart lay in scattered ruins inside his chest, broken and crying, wanting to pull itself back together but not knowing how, and the knowledge he had hurt his Arthur only worsened the bitterness.
You always having to protect everyone don't you... Well why don't you go ask your brother how well that worked?" He bit out, completely not thinking until it was far too late and the words had already left and were hanging in the air like a time bomb. His eyes widened in sheer horror at what he had said and he looked away, ashamed, already scrambling to take the words back. "Hay Dios Mio Gilbert... Lo siento... That was cruel of me! I didn't mean it. Lo siento..." But the damage had been done and Antonio knew it with the way Gilbert's face screwed up as if he had been punched in the stomach.
Gilbert's hand dropped away from Antonio with a stunned look on his face. Lowering his gaze, he bit his lip fiercely and felt tears prick at his eyes that he couldn't keep from streaming down his pigment lacking cheeks. Snarling suddenly, he lashed out, slamming his fist into Antonio's jaw with enough force to send the man sprawling. "You can say whatever you want about me, verdammt bastard, but you leave MEIN BRUDER OUT OF THIS!" He all but screamed, lifting Antonio off the ground with a startling amount of strength, and tossing him aside again, his compact, hard muscled body radiating fury.
"Damn you! You son of a bitch! I could kill you for what you said!" He roared his lip quivering as tears streamed down his face. Shuddering, he stumbled back, spitting on the floor and charging from the house nearly running into Leon as he did.
"I...Leon...what...I..." Gilbert stammered before shaking his head, turning around and stalking over to the opposite side of the house, shouting and cursing as he stalked back and forward knowing if he went to face Antonio now he would kill him without a second thought.
Antonio stayed where Gilbert had thrown him, feeling completely, miserably wretched. He had definitely not meant that. Not at all! Not in any way shape or form. Gilbert had every right to be furious with him! Arthur too... They both had every right o drive him away. To hate him. Kill him even. There was no question in his mind that he deserved everyone's fury.
Blood dribbled from his mouth from when Gilbert hit him in the jaw, and hi back stung furiously both from the infected claw marks and being slammed around. The physical pains didn't compare to that in his heart. What kind of person was he to blatantly say he'd leave the one he loved? Or to drive a friend to tears and having death threats hurled at him?
Miserable and hating himself he just laid there until he got the idea that... Maybe he should just go? Gilbert certainly wouldn't want him around. Eliza either once she heard what he had said. Even the kids would probably hate him after this. Leon would understand Gilbert's reaction with how similar he was to the albino man, and it was already clear that anyone Leon disliked the others would follow suit... But their hatred he could live with easily enough... It was Arthur's he was most sickened by and afraid of.
Surely his Englishman would hate him after this? Yes... Leaving to save everyone the trouble would be best... With a grunt of pain he pulled himself to his feet and crept out the back door, careful to avoid Gilbert and Leon as he went. Maybe if he'd get lucky, he'd just die right there in the trees behind the farmhouse.
There we are then! Review even though it was really late? :D