Chapter 15

Arthur stood tall. The group of eight hadn't expected him to come out with a cocky grin lighting his face, but with his spellbook under his arm and his magician's pack strapped to his thigh he looked invincible.

The previous test was just to see how well you would do in a battle. Anyone who failed the test was disallowed to take this test.

This test alone was worth one hundred points if you did well, regardless of if you won or lost. It was also considered to be horribly dangerous as this test wasn't finished til a winner was decided.

"You don't have to do this, you know." Piotr spoke and Arthur shook his head.

"I do. I have to do this to prove to myself I can." He turned, a grin lighting his face. "It's nearly one o'clock now, so I only have three hours. If I haven't won by then, call it. I need to make sure I'm at Lukas' office by sixteen hundred." He sighed as he stepped forward, feeling the stone slabs of the battlegrounds beneath his feet. He held his book before him, his eyes closed and the man before him laughed.

"This'll be quick! The blind boy's going to read at me!" He laughed and Sasha walked forward.

"Are... you sure you're thinking this through, Arthur?" Sasha's soft tone passed his ear and Arthur nodded, smiling.

"Perfectly, and his own arrogance will be his own undoing." Arthur smirked, waiting for the call to start.

"You each can use any spell in your spellbooks. Try not to kill each other. Start!" He called and stepped back quickly.

Arthur pulled the book open to the half point, running his finger over the top corner quickly as he pulled the bar of chalk from his hip and snapped it in half, placing half back in his pack and enchanting the other half to first create an incendiary protective shield around him. He knew that should only take a minute and quickly started work on finding the right page. The sounds of the chalk stilled and he reached down, grasping it and touching the ground before starting another spell on the chalk and stood, concentrating as the fingers of his other hand checked the top corner while pressed against his chest. Finally he found the page and sent the chalk to start its next circle while Arthur opened the book, his fingers feeling the letters.

"Санто-Рита мига матер Ринго Иона Тито Марлон Джек Ла Тойя Джанет Майкл Домбпдора Проводник!" Arthur called out, surprising just about everyone nearby as the shield around him lit, flames forming pillars that flew into the sky. Arthur ran a few more pages ahead before running his fingers over more spells, and by now everyone realized he was reading.

The boy before him completed his circle and jumped into it, quickly fighting to put up some sort of defensive shield, terrified of the spells being flung nearly nonstop. Arthur completed three more spells and bent down, touching his fingers to the ground and a grid lit across the floor, the dots showing red where the other had stood. Now, through a grid before him, he could feel where the boy was and moved his fingers, the flame pillars bending and twisting like horrible long fingers reached down and grasped the boy, yanking him right out of his circle.

"Do you yield?" Arthur yelled out and the other, seeing the flames wrapped around his arms and legs closed his eyes. He concentrated, writing a circle against his hand with a finger from his other hand. It wasn't visible, so it could only be used once immediately. An ice blast flared from around him, but the flames didn't seem affected at all. Arthur, having felt what happened, reached out with both hands and started manipulating the flame vines, wrapping his arms and legs individually and started to stretch him.

With no recourse left, the boy finally caved. "I yield!" He called out.

Arthur put him on the ground after hearing Sasha call the fight. He held out his hands, absorbing the magic around him, surprising a few of the others around him. "How did he do that?"

"Forget that, how was he reading with his fingers? That was weird!"

Arthur grinned, feeling like a million bucks. He turned, feeling the world tilt again and stumbled forward, being caught.

"No falling after won such an interesting fight, mon ami." He heard and sighed, knowing who had him.

"Thank you, Francis." His arm was hoisted over the other's shoulder as Piotr ran over, grasping him and lifting him into his arms.

"Are you alright, Kitten?"

"Da." Arthur hummed, laying his head against his chest and closed his eyes, immediately falling asleep.

Arthur didn't know the time when his head started to work. He could hear voices in the room and turned, letting out a soft groan as he sat up, rubbing his head. "Here, drink." Piotr whispered and handed him a cup. He sucked down the water as quickly as he could, feeling the fog break up more and sighed.

"I didn't miss my dialysis, did I?"

"Ah, not exactly." Antonio spoke and Arthur felt around, realizing he was in his own bed. "You slept through it. Lukas and myself watched very closely over you, but it all came out alright." He heard a smile in the other's voice and nodded.

"Thank you for continuing, even though I couldn't say it was alright. It means a lot to me." He smiled, stretching out, feeling his muscles strain. His shoulder hurt, but with the fight he'd been through, something like that shouldn't be unusual. Magic took a lot out of someone, and with him casting about nine different spells and holding them all at the same time, it was practically expected.

"Here." Piotr spoke, laying a tray across his lap and Arthur laughed.

"I thought I was supposed to be the slave! You've been pampering me so much!" He spoke, unable to break a happy smile as Piotr sighed, running a hand over his hair. He didn't say a word, and that alone made Arthur's heart pound. It was only about an hour later Sasha came to the room and shooed the others away. It had been fun to chat with the group, but honestly Arthur didn't feel the room was large enough for eight people.

After the others left, Arthur could hear Piotr shifting. The sound of cloth rubbing against cloth caught his ears. Drawers opened and closed and after a while, he was lifted in warm arms. "Let's get our showers in, Da?"

"That sounds marvelous." Arthur nearly whispered.

As they stripped down, Arthur remembered the kiss earlier. His heart pounded in his chest as he thought about it. He stood still, his hands wrapped over his chest, feeling warmth pool in his cheeks. "Come." Piotr grasped his hand and lead him into the shower. He only turned on one and Arthur turned, feeling the water fall down around himself as Piotr wrapped his own arms around Arthur's chest. He leaned down, softly kissing his cheek before resting his chin on his shoulder. "Are you upset I decided what to do with you on my own?"

"You are my master. It's your right."

"That's not an answer. Are you upset with me?" Arthur could hear hurt in his voice and sighed.

"I'm a little confused, but when you told me you weren't getting rid of me, I forgave you. I know you well enough to know you have something planned, I just don't know what." Arthur smiled sadly. "Though I'll admit, I'll miss calling you 'master' after this." He closed his eyes, taking in the sensation of Ivan wrapped around him.

"I wasn't faking my tears." Piotr spoke. "When I realized what I should do, it broke my heart. I didn't want to give you away, even if it's just for a couple of hours." He turned Arthur to him. "You'll be free to leave if you want. There will be nothing I can really say to stop you if you go. I think the thought that you really could just walk away is what really scares me." Piotr sighed. Arthur could feel the warmth of his breath, even through the mist of the shower.

"I got mad when I thought you were getting rid of me. Why do you think I'd leave after that?" Arthur chuckled, running his hands over Ivan's abs, hoping the warmth of the water would hide his blush. "As long as you'll keep me by your side, that's where I want to stay." Arthur felt Piotr tense under his fingers.

"You really mean that?" His voice gave away his hope and for a moment Arthur was worried he was crying again. He felt a warm hand travel up to cradle his cheek.

"More than anything. Part of the reason I became so upset about this, two days ago I finally admitted to myself that I love you-" He couldn't finish before he was pressed against the wall, Piotr's mouth over his. It wasn't lusting like the kiss earlier. It was harsh, but tender. His cheeks held softly in strong hands, kisses were pressed tightly to him. His hands came up, running softly over wet cheeks as he tried to kiss back. It took a moment for Piotr to calm the sudden fire that ran through his veins at the words, and when he was able to think, he grasped Arthur softly.

"Did you mean that? Did you seriously mean that?!" He asked, completely elated and Arthur laughed lightly, running his thumb over Piotr's cheeks.

"Not right now. Not until you're you and I can see. I don't want to say it again and not be able to see the look in your eyes." Arthur spoke, softer and more gently than he'd intended, but somehow it seemed perfect.

"Da, da, you're right. There's no reason to rush, because you're not going to run away, right?"

"Run away?" Arthur laughed, the sound echoing softly like the sound of tinkling bells to Piotr's ears. "Don't think you can get rid of me at this point!" Arthur smiled, leaning forward to offer his own kiss. It was softer than what Piotr was expecting. The gentle touch of lips to his own made his head spin, happy and excited, calmed and careful all at once.

Finally rid of his fear, Piotr grabbed the washcloth and soap.

Arthur sat and stared ahead blankly the next morning. He'd gone to bed in his bed, and honestly had no idea how he'd gotten to wherever he was. He felt the walls, trying to find his way when someone came to him and asked if he was alright.

"I need to get back to boot camp." He spoke softly and the man looked him over.

"They wouldn't let you in if you were blind." He mumbled, thinking someone was trying to pull some sort of scam and Arthur shook his head.

"I'm not normally blind, just for a couple of days. Please, if you could just point the way..." He asked and the man grumbled, stepping away as a child came up to him.

"Your eyes don't work?" He asked and Arthur stilled, hearing the tone.

"No, they don't."

"And you need to get home?"

"I need to get to the boot camp. Can you tell me the direction, please?" He asked and the boy chuckled.

"You're on the other side of town. How did you get out here if your eyes didn't work?" He asked and Arthur sighed.

"I walked away in my sleep." He sighed and the boy made an approving sound, grasping his hand and lead him through the streets.

"Were you trying to escape?" The boy asked and Arthur laughed softly.

"No, not at all! I actually really like it in the camp! I have a lot of friends, and people who care about me there! It was scary at first,"He tried to dumb the words down for the child, "but after I got used to it, it started to be a lot of fun." He smiled. "You know anyone at boot camp?"

"My older brother, Piotr is there." The boy stilled and Arthur felt a chill go down his spine. There was only one Piotr in boot camp.

"Nikolai?"

"I needed to go buy supplies. I wasn't expecting to find a blind, missing slave out and about." The child's voice became cold. "You could have been punished by death if you hadn't said what you had, you know."

"I know." Arthur sighed, realizing he was in trouble now. "Master knows I sleepwalk, so I'm hoping he won't be too upset with me."

"You also abandoned your post at the school, you know. You should be punished for that as well." He heard a smile in the childish voice before him.

"As long as you don't make me leave the school or my Master, feel free to punish me." He sighed, wondering what he'd be forced to do. He hoped Nikolai wouldn't kick him again after he regained his size.

"I will." He finally heard the smile return to the child's voice and nearly threw up with nerves.

As he was walked in, breakfast was half over. Piotr ran over while a few people laughed at the showing of the top student in the class wandering in late, filthy in his pajamas. "Guess who I found out and about?" Nikolai spoke, having regained his size at the side door of the building.

"Mister Fairy! Where have you gone to?" Sasha asked, a surprised and happy tone to his voice.

"I guess I walked away in my sleep. I hadn't meant to leave at all. I'm sorry." He spoke as Piotr walked up.

"You look horrible."

"I feel horrible. I doubt I got any decent sleep last night." He mumbled, feeling his shoulders burn and his left hip felt achy.

"Piotr, go help him get ready for the day. I don't want him near the rest of us until he no longer smells like dung. I'll have breakfast brought to your room so you can both eat before classes today. Fairy has to be punished for escaping the school, even if it was on accident." Nikolai grinned.

"What's my punishment?" Arthur asked, nervously squirming, feeling everyone's eyes on him.

"You're not only going to have to explain to your master why you disappeared in the middle of the night, but you'll both be missing exercises. I'll also be deducting the points from your scores."

"WHAT?!" Arthur jumped up, his eyes wide. "Nikolai, please, anything else! I can't lose points!" He grasped, pleading to Nikolai's coat. Nikolai looked up at Piotr, bewildered, as he figured the punishment was really minimal. "Kick me! Double my exercises, but not the points!"

"Kitten, calm." Piotr spoke. Arthur stood straight, his bottom lip quivering as he held back tears. "That punishment is acceptable. I'm sorry to have troubled you." Piotr spoke softly while Arthur held his head low.

"It's my fault, master. Don't apologize for me." He turned to Nikolai, tears making their way down his cheeks. "I'm sorry to have troubled you. I'm sorry for escaping the school."

"And for causing a scene?" Piotr's voice sang softly over his shoulder and Arthur nodded as Piotr grabbed him and lead him down the hallway.

"What was that all about?" Nikolai stared while Sasha grinned.

"As a present, if they win, Arthur's agreed to be his kitty for a whole day, my outfits and everything. Piotr's going to give him a bottle of Spanish rum and a box of cherry cordials."

"Fucking no!" Nikolai jumped back, horror etched across his face. "If I have to see that shit again, I'm going to die!" He stared at Sasha, who held his sides in his laughter.

"Stop being so over-dramatic!" He leaned in close, whispering in his ear. "He's going to give him his freedom. Arthur's joining the Assassin's squad."

"What?" Nikolai turned, his eyes wide for a moment before he turned to the hallway his brother had just left down. "Is he doing what I think he's doing?"

"I think so." Sasha smiled, patting him softly on the shoulder. "Vanya's growing up. He's not a baby anymore. We need to stop treating him like one." Sasha watched as Nikolai stared and turned, running down the hallway towards his room.

Sasha smiled, looking around. Everyone was growing up. Maturity was being reached, and Sasha knew it was never easy. Ivan was getting ready for the rest of his life, even if he had to lie and wait to make sure everything didn't blow up in his face, while Nikolai had to learn to let go of his big brother complex. He sat and stared, feeling a sad contentment. Childhood never lasted long enough, especially when you were watching it dwindle as the older brother.

Arthur stripped down while Piotr went to get him some clothes. He washed himself off, scrubbing off whatever dirt and filth had chosen to cling to him. By the time Piotr returned, Arthur was leaning, his hands against the wall, his head held down in disappointment. "Are you angry with me?"

"You didn't mean to walk off in your sleep. I'm a little confused as to why, as it's normally stress induced in people, and I'm worried maybe I caused it yesterday."

"It's not that." Arthur sighed. He stood straight, letting his hands fall to his side. "I hate being blind again. I can sense some things, I can feel things I normally don't even notice, but I can't see you smile. I grew used to seeing it every morning when I woke up, and every night before I went to sleep, and now I can't see it at all." He sighed. He felt arms wrap around him and jumped, surprised to feel the warmth of the other, even through his quickly moistening clothes. "What are you doing?!"

"If you can feel it, maybe it's as good as seeing it, Da? Let me show you my smile." Piotr nearly groaned out, turning Arthur and lifted him, surprising him. He felt the other's arms shift under his legs and his back hit the wall. He reached out, grasping to the walls and the ceiling, confused and honestly afraid before he felt Piotr's mouth wrap around him. All of the blood in his body seemed to shift. A gasped whimper broke from his throat as a strong tongue pressed him against the top of Piotr's mouth, suction adding and creating a sensation that forced all logical thoughts from Arthur's mind as his hands softly lowered, grasping Piotr's hair. "Oh, what are you doing to me?" Arthur felt his head spin as Piotr started shifting, moving to create friction which nearly had the other unable to breathe.

Arthur felt his heart pounding and shook his head. "Stop!" He cried out, trying to fight his way back and Piotr did as he asked, putting him down. Arthur clasped his hands over his chest, fighting to catch his breath, feeling his heartbeat irregularly and fell to the floor, clasped over it.

"Was it that hard to get through?" Piotr sounded crushed. "Was it too difficult to just pretend you enjoyed it?"

"You fool..." Arthur mumbled, feeling his heartbeat start to steady. "Take me to Lukas. Please." He mumbled, stumbling to his feet, feeling Piotr grasp and steady him. He didn't bother with the clothes, wrapping him in the towel and lifted him, carrying him down. "I'll explain there. Please, don't think that wasn't... amazing." Arthur pressed his face to Piotr's chest, trying to hide his blush.

As they entered the clinic, an obvious chuckle was heard in the otherwise empty room. "This should be an interesting story." Lukas said, a hint of amusement in his tone. "Why are you drenched, and you only in a towel?"

"My heart, I think it stopped for a bit. Can you check for me? Make sure I'm alright?" He whimpered, still feeling a tingle in his chest and Lukas sighed.

"Couldn't wait til the week was up, I take it?" He joked as he slid the glasses on.

"I... never told him why I wanted the treatments. This is my own fault." Arthur spoke softly and Lukas hummed, nodding.

"Take this." He slid a pill into Arthur's mouth. "If the pain isn't gone by the time we do the treatments tonight, I'll have to suggest waiting a couple of days and starting over. I can't have you dropping dead during, now can I?" Lukas sighed and some shifting was heard. "Here, take this too." He slid another pill into Arthur's mouth and Arthur swallowed, completely trusting.

"Blood thinners, I'm taking it?"

"Aphrodisiacs. Your heart is fine. It's supposed to pound when you're doing things like that, dumb ass." Arthur stared, his mouth hung open in shock as Piotr started laughing. "As my opinion as your doctor, Piotr, don't let him out of the room til he's calmed down completely... alright?"

"Yes, sir!" The tone was a little too chipper for Arthur's tastes and he covered his face, blushing the whole way back to the room.