Chapter 11
Arthur sipped his tea, but worried the damage had already been done. His shoulder had been hurting ever since his panic attack during the competition and he wondered if he'd injured himself again.
"Let's redo the room." Piotr spoke, and with Arthur's current lack of context, all he could do was stare in wonder.
"Huh?"
"The wall around your room is collapsible, so we could tear it down in about three minutes. We could move the bookshelves and desks together, so I can oversee what you're learning better and help you study more efficiently. Since we have four beds and only two of us, we could make one huge bed and share it." Piotr spoke, looking completely serious til the last few words brought out a blush and he looked up. "I thought it would be nice to not have to sleep alone."
"Will I be sharing your bed when we're back in the castle?" Arthur asked and Piotr frowned.
"I hadn't really thought about it." He sighed, leaning forward, already looking like he'd been rejected.
"I'm not saying no, but I don't know if I can do much to help. My shoulder's been hurting for the past while, and I don't want to injure it." Arthur took another sip of his tea, remembering when Ivan had told him his body was now under his command and sighed, blushing.
"Would it help if I massaged it again?" Blue eyes pouted as they looked him over and Arthur could only chuckle.
"I don't think so this time. I think it just needs to rest. That's part of the reason I'm worried about redoing the room, I don't want to lift anything, but if you still want to, it's fine." Arthur looked down, taking another sip, hoping Piotr wouldn't notice his nerves.
About a week into boot camp, when he started to feel like he'd been abandoned, Arthur had gone through a bit of a harsh patch. He started to remember flashes of the night he'd had the chocolates, though if he was asked, he'd deny it. Something about remembering his own behavior had him wondering what on earth he'd been feeling towards Ivan that day.
He thought he was beautiful.
He hated to admit it, especially since he'd always thought himself straight, even if he didn't have relationships or find many girls attractive, so wanting strong arms to hold him to that warm chest felt so horribly foreign to him. He'd wondered about what would happen when he was out of boot camp, but when Ivan never responded, never acknowledged his letters, he couldn't help but feel not only abandoned by the master who had stolen him from his home and dragged across the world, but on top of that, he felt like he'd been dismissed by a crush.
Finding Piotr had been Ivan the whole time had allowed him to dismiss part of the crush. It had been easier to see they had every quality to be friends. They worked well together, and knew well how to compliment the other's work, but now he'd come full circle.
He felt his heart pounding in his chest and he knew that the crush he'd been trying to deny for nearly a month was worming its way back in.
"I'll do the work then, if it's really alright with you. I don't' want to force you." Piotr spoke softly, watching as Arthur turned and shook his head with a chuckle.
"It's perfect, Master." He smiled before turning back to his tea.
They redid the room, and as Sasha came in that night to warm them of lights out he couldn't help but chuckle. The beds had all been pushed foot to foot, creating a giant bed with headboards on both sides. They'd pushed the desks beside the door, and had the bookshelves lining the wall. It was obvious Ivan had snuck back into his room at the castle, as a few of his personal belongings now sat on shelves and on his desk, like a small clump of bamboo he'd gotten from China years before. A very beautiful sarong from India covered over the bedside lamp and covered the room in multicolored clouds. "What do you think?" Piotr turned to Sasha, who smiled.
"You need to remember to magic the seams of the mattresses together so there's no holes to fall into. I think the group in room five would love to see this. They've tried doing something along these lines, without much success, mind you." Sasha watched as Piotr nodded, a little more pride coming into his work.
"Let's go see then!" Piotr stood up and Sasha nodded.
"If you want, I'll grant you guys an extra hour of up time. I was going to go to three next, but we can do five instead." Sasha watched as Arthur stood, nodding.
"If it's alright, I'd like to see. I'm curious about something." He spoke softly and the other two watched, happy to see him take an interest in something that wasn't written on paper.
Sasha knocked at the door and a man opened it, looking up. "Lights-" He saw Piotr and Arthur standing at Sasha's sides and stared, confused for a moment.
"I noticed the work you were doing with your room before. Piotr here started some similar work on his room and I thought you guys might be able to give each other some hints?" Sasha winked and the man stood tall, blushing like mad. "If it's not a good time-"
"No, it's fine! I just..." He stared at Piotr with intrigue. "Come in! Come in!" He stepped back, allowing them passage and Sasha smiled.
"You all have an extra hour til lights out tonight. Have fun!" Sasha smiled as he turned and walked down the hallway to tell the next room of the time.
The beds were together the same way. They'd put it in the center of the room, though, allowing for easier access from the other side of the room.
They did have four men in the bed, so it only made sense. Arthur noticed they'd pushed the desks front to front, two wide, so it was more of a rectangle than theirs was, but he felt if every time he looked straight forward he saw Piotr staring back he'd never get any work done. He couldn't help but chuckle as one of the men stared at him, curious.
"So... are you guys... together then?" One of them asked, knowing Arthur was a slave. They'd heard Piotr was a farmer's son, but they'd never really heard him say it.
"Something like that. It's... complicated." Piotr blushed, looking off to the side and Arthur watched with curiosity before smiling.
"It can't be that complicated. Have you guys slept in the same bed?" The leader asked, his arms crossed over. He was about the same height as Arthur, and now that he looked him over, he wasn't much bulkier either. He seemed to have a radiant personality, to the point of hotheadedness. Green eyes and olive skin shone under reddish brown hair, a curl coming from behind his right ear. He had a thick accent, one Arthur wasn't familiar with, but it sounded somehow melodic, even with his abrasive tone.
"Just once, but that was before camp started." Piotr answered, turning more red at every second.
"Have you seen each other naked?" the man watched, realizing he was seeing something unusual and interesting.
"We shower together, but outside of that, I've only seen him." Piotr watched as Arthur's ears started turning red.
"Have you kissed?" The man leaned forward, now nearly dancing as he looked between the two, his gaze turning from uninterested, when they'd arrived, to downright captivated now that it had come this far.
"No." Piotr frowned.
The man watched with a grin, seeing both of the two before him almost looking disappointed and laughed. "Welcome to the group!" The man stood. "I'm Lovino, this is Antonio," He waved to one of the two on the bed. He looked taller and a little more bulky. His brown hair was ruffled about. He had green eyes, the same as Lovino's but they looked friendlier and laid on his stomach, his ankles crossed in the air as he read a book and waved over his shoulder. "This is Francis." He pointed to the other on the bed. He'd been reading in a similar position to Antonio when they'd come in, but he now sat up with rapt attention. He was still a little bulkier than Antonio, and quite a bit taller than Lovino, but they could tell he and Antonio were actually about the same height. Beautiful, long blond hair flowed like water around his face, ocean blue eyes watched with joy at the newcomers. "And that is Gilbert." He pointed to the one at the desk. He leaned back, probably the same height as the taller two. His hair was white as could be, like fallen snow, with blood red eyes.
"No, ve're not running trains on each other, if zhat's vhat you vanna ask." Gilbert's accent barely covered the harsh tone of his voice. It grated like nails on a chalkboard.
"He's an idiota." Lovino sighed. "Donna mind him, si?"
"Running... trains?" Arthur looked up with confusion while Piotr tried to hide his laughter.
"I forgot how innocent my kitty is!" He gave a jovial laugh, patting Arthur on the head like a child. He crossed his arms in a huff.
"I'm not a baby, you know." Arthur ruffled with indignation.
"Oh, you two are perfect!" Lovino watched with amusement. "Welcome in! I guess you were interested in how we were doing the room?" Lovino asked while Francis jumped up, grasping Arthur's hand and offered a soft kiss to the back.
"Any questions you have, mon chere, just let me know, oui?" He smiled softly and Arthur stepped back, surprised at the man before him.
"I haven't a clue what you mean, but unhand me." Arthur stepped back, something about the hungry look in his eyes terrified him. He clasped hard to Piotr's hand and nearly wrapped the arm over himself, hiding under the bulk he had.
"What's wrong? I was just being friendly." Francis asked, watching as Arthur went from embarrassed and innocent to terrified in a second.
"He's an insufferable flirt, but he's harmless, si?" Antonio sat up, realizing he wasn't going to be getting any more work done tonight. "Don't have to worry about him. Actually, we're all a little too harmless, si?" He glanced over at Lovino, who shook his head, bringing a hand to his forehead.
"Don't confuse your laziness with harmlessness. We're hard training soldiers, you bastard." He grumbled before turning to the two new ones, seeing honest terror in Arthur. "But I'm curious. Is he alright?"
"I'm fine. Don't worry about me." Arthur snipped, his tone soft and fast enough to let everyone know he wasn't fine. Something had really startled him.
"You donna look fine to me." Antonio stood and walked over, clapping a hand over his shoulder.
Arthur stumbled back, scurrying to escape his touch and Piotr turned, surprised to see such panic. He looked at Antonio, seeing the shock on his face and turned, seeing Arthur holding his head down, his own hand clasped hard over his shoulder. He pushed himself back til he was pressed against the wall.
"Arthur?" He spoke softly, only getting a violent head shake in response. He stepped forward, grasping Arthur's chin, trying to make him look up, to hear him scream, tearing himself out of the group, slamming hard into the corner. He knelt down to the floor, shaking like a leaf and Piotr stared before walking over, kneeling down before him. "Arthur, are you alright?"
"I'm scared..." he whimpered, looking up and seeing Piotr staring at him. "I'm sorry, Master. I remembered. I..." His eyes shot from Francis to Antonio and it dawned on Piotr what was happening. He reached over and pulled him into his arms, standing finally with the other cradled against his chest.
"You never panic near me so I didn't know you were still so scared. I'm sorry." Piotr rested his head against the other, trying to calm him.
"What happened?" Antonio asked, obviously worried.
"Dmitri and Alexi, the two who had been in our room, they attacked him in the shower. I think it's better if other's don't touch him for now." He nearly mumbled and Francis stared, clasping his hands over his chest.
"Oh, Arthur, Je suis tellement désolé. I didn't know." He watched, seeing the other curl up in Piotr's arms and sighed.
"That explains why your room is down to two. But a slave and his master, how romantic!" Antonio grinned, glancing over at Lovino, who rolled his eyes.
"Donna think about it, bastard."
"But you'd look so cute in chains!" Antonio cooed, seeing Lovino turn bright red, Francis and Gilbert both laughing at the response.
By this time, Arthur had calmed enough to watch what was going on around him and turned, pressing his face against Piotr's neck. Something about the touch, the warmth, even the scent of him set Arthur's nerves at peace.
"It wasn't the touch." He mumbled and everyone turned, hearing the soft words. "Francis' eyes... they looked like Alexi's. I'm sorry I panicked like that. I'm sorry to have caused a disruption in your room. I'm sorry I ran from you too, Master." He mumbled and Piotr softly shook his head.
"We're both still new to this, and I think such things need to be learned and dealt with. I need to learn to comfort you, as well as the other way around, Da?"
"Da. Spasibo." Arthur sighed, leaning his head softly against Piotr's shoulder. "You can put me down if you want." He spoke softly.
"Nyet, I don't' want to now." He smiled and Lovino grinned.
"Sure, they don't know if they're a couple, but he's calling him master and it's obvious there's only one person who can calm him down." Lovino grinned. "You're right, though. He's still very innocent. You like to read, si?"
"Yes, a lot. Why?" Arthur watched as Lovino grinned and walked to the bookshelf, roving over the spines before pulling one back. He walked over, looking over the cover before handing the book over with a grin.
"This might answer some questions, and give you some ideas, si? Tomorrow, we should go see your room. We can trade ideas, if you want."
"That might be nice." Piotr looked down, seeing Arthur softly nod. "Da, after dinner, come on over to room one. I'll try and have it finished by then." He spoke with a kind smile. "I better get us to bed. Still have a lot of work tomorrow." He turned and bowed softly before heading to the room.
Arthur knew something was different. Piotr didn't have the normal need to fill any silence with words. He allowed the quiet, even though it was only their first night in the same room, really. He sat Arthur on the bed, and when he'd gone to stand, he shook his head, and lowered his hands, silently letting Arthur know to remain seated. He went to both dressers and chose clothes before walking over and lifting Arthur back into his arms. Arthur wondered what was happening as they went to the shower and Ivan stripped quickly, not allowing Arthur to do so yet. As soon as he was done with his own, Piotr started working on the straps and buttons on his outfit. Arthur stared, burning bright red at the realization of what he was doing, but something in Piotr's face told him not to stop him. After he was stripped, Arthur was lead to the shower where he was gently cleaned off, not even touching the washcloth with his own hands. Piotr washed himself quickly and did both of their hair before taking Arthur out of the water and dried him off quickly, still without words. Arthur watched, seeing a soft but solemn look on his face as he was pampered. Piotr got him dressed before drying and dressing himself.
Arthur was thrilled he hadn't gone for the things Sasha picked out.
He was lifted and brought to bed, Piotr pulling down the blanket and laying him softly on the bed before climbing over, laying behind him. Arthur couldn't explain it, but when he was delicately pulled to Piotr's stomach, surrounded in his warmth, a single arm wrapping over his waist, Arthur felt comfortable, and horribly safe.
"Good night, Arthur."
"Goodnight, Master." Arthur hadn't even realized it til he heard the tears in his own voice and Piotr sat up, turning his face to see. His thumb ran carefully over his cheeks, as worried eyes roved his face.
"Why are you crying?" Piotr looked near tears himself. Something in the course of the evening had horribly bothered him, and as he looked up, Arthur started to feel guilty for it.
"Somehow, I'm horribly happy." He nearly whispered, watching as the eyes over his stilled, surprised before a soft smile broke across his face. "Somehow you've become my comfort." Arthur watched as Piotr smiled brighter. "I know I'm supposed to be your slave, and I should probably feel bad about how this has gone, but having you pamper me so much made me feel really lucky."
Piotr let out a relieved sigh. "I was scared. You knew you didn't have to let me do that. I wouldn't have forced you. I wanted you to take comfort in me. I wanted you to let me try and help, and you didn't run away. I feel that tonight, I was the lucky one." Piotr smiled before leaning down and pressing a soft kiss to his cheek. "Sleep, мой ангел." He nearly whispered before laying down his head.
Just before he fell asleep, he felt Arthur wiggle, turning in his arms and give a soft kiss to his cheek before turning and laying down, wrapping his arm over Piotr's.