Sluggishly coming to, Arthur gradually opened his eyes to find himself looking at his bedroom ceiling and not at the walls of Alistair's stomach. At first, the Englishman believed he was dreaming or quite possibly hallucinating, but a brief examination of his surroundings confirmed that this was in fact real. Somehow, he'd been discovered and rescued. Not only that, but he'd been cleaned up and put to bed. Arthur could have cried from a combination of happiness and relief, but prevented himself from doing so as a knock sounded at his bedroom door. Without pausing to listen for a response, Northern Ireland entered the room with a tea tray in hand, which he almost dropped in astonishment once he saw that England was now awake.
"Arthur! Thank Christ you're ok!" Cian cried, unable to suppress the tears and rushing to place the tray to one side, throwing himself at Arthur to embrace the blond tightly.
"I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry! I never meant for any of this to happen" The ginger wept, pulling himself away from his elder brother and drying his tears. England's response to his was to wear a neutral expression, folding his arms over his chest while casting an eye on his younger brother.
"This was your doing?! Care to explain?" Arthur croaked out, surprised by the raspiness of his own voice. Cian sat upon the plush duvet covers, fiddling with the seam while casting a gentle glance towards Arthur. Just how could he even begin to explain himself?
"I-I thought it would be a funny prank to shrink you, I thought maybe once you were wee that I'd be able to keep you safe until the spell wore off...I didn't think things through-" Northern Ireland stumbled over his word, subverting his gaze under the pressure of his brother's stare.
"Evidently! In what world would this be funny?! And just what were you planning on doing with me in my shrunken state?" England quizzed, glaring angrily at his sibling.
"I don't know, put you in a jar or something..." Northern Ireland mumbled, biting his lip as England erupted.
"A jar?! And what exactly did I do to warrant such treatment?! I was in Scotland's stomach, Cian! So as well as traumatising me, you've traumatised him too!" England roared, slamming his hands down into the mattress.
"I-I..." Northern Ireland searched for words to form a sentence, but there were none. His mind had turned blank.
"Answer me!" England shouted, gritting his teeth.
"I was just so SICK of you! Of you ignoring me and treating me like I'm nothing. Lately its like I don't even exist to you! I was so angry and then when I saw Medwyn's potion, the idea came into my head-" Northern Ireland stood up, red in the face and tears streaming down his cheeks.
"I haven't...I didn't...That's still no excuse-" England blinked multiple times, surprised to see Northern Ireland so distressed.
"I know it isn't! I know what I did was awful and I don't expect forgiveness...all I can do is try and explain why I did it..." Northern Ireland sighed, using his shirt sleeve to wipe his tears whilst leaning against the foot of England's bed. For a few minutes, there was a painful silence where neither spoke. Until Arthur broke it.
"I know I haven't been the best to be around lately. I didn't consider how that would make you feel, when I should have. But, just know that I didn't stop thinking about you in some way Norn." Arthur spoke eloquently, his temper subsiding, with a call for reflection causing him to mull over his own actions and behaviour over the last few weeks. Things hadn't been easy for any of them given the current climate, especially for Northern Ireland, so despite adamantly hating what he'd done, Arthur couldn't help but feel a semblance of pity for him, though he kept this to himself.
"Yeah right... I'm sorry, I don't know what else to say..." Northern Ireland sniffled. Before Arthur could form a counter to Cian's statement, a knock sounded at the door and Medwyn peered around it, his gaze shifting between the two brothers.
"Arthur! You're awake! How are you feeling?" The Welshman grinned brightly, jumping to England's side before he could formerly be invited into the room, feeling the blond's forehead.
"Ah, I've been better..." The Englishman coughed, his eyes fixed on Cian, who watched the interaction silently from the foot of the bed.
"Med, I owe you an apology too...I shouldn't have taken the potion without permission and used it for nefarious purposes. I'm sorry..." Cian anticipated Medwyn to reject his apology, to storm out of the room and proceed with the silent treatment he'd been giving. To his surpise, after exchanging a series of looks with Arthur to which Cian coupd not decipher the meaning of, the Welshman rose and approached.
"I accept. Don't you ever bloody do it again, you hear?" The Welshman's stern tone sent shivers down Cian's spine. Northern Ireland nodded vigorously, to which Wales then embraced him.
"Cian..." Arthur's raspy tone rung out, interrupting a vulnerable moment between siblings, "come here..." reluctantly, but with gentle encouragement from Medwyn, Cian presented himself at Arthur's bedside. England reached out, gripping Northern Ireland's hand while gazing at him intently. Cian didn't know how to take this; what would he say?
"Know that I do care for you, deeply in fact. You're my baby brother." Arthur moved over in bed and motioned for Cian to sit, which the younger accepted, kicking his shoes off in the process.
"I'm so sorry, I really am-"
"I know, and I trust you won't make the same mistake twice"
Medwyn couldn't refrain from a smile spilling out, witnessing his two brothers snuggling up to one another, with Arthur's arm draped around Cian's waist as though protecting him. The Welshman would have joined, if it was appropriate, but it didn't feel right, plus there wasn't enough room for him anyway. Medwyn tiptoed out of the room, carefully closing the door on his way out. Cian yawned, rubbing an eye sleepily as he wiggled closer to Arthur. Likewise, Arthur could feel his eyelids droop and allowed himself to fall into the depths of his dreams.
"Have you all made ammends?" Medwyn paused on the staircase, casting his eyes down to see Alistair waiting at the bottom.
"Yes, the pair of them are sleeping upstairs." Wales stepped down from the last stair, following Alistair into the living room.
"Good. I saw Cathal out." Scotland sat on the sofa, Medwyn beside him, the television played a re-run of Brave in the background. Briefly, the two sat with their eyes glued to the screen, until Medwyn laid his head on Alistair's shoulder. Perplexed, the Scotsman peered down at his younger brother.
"What're you doing?"
"I'm a little envious that I couldn't join Cian and Arthur upstairs, since I'm pretty knackered myself, mind if I close my eyes for a bit?"
"I suppose, but don't go thinking this is going to be a regular thing now."
"I won't. Thanks Scot."
Wales shifted in place so that his head rested on Scotland's chest, the man's heartbeat echoing in his ear. Soon, Medwyn was fast asleep and Alistair, somewhat amused by this, buried his nose into his sibling's fair hair.