[Fic] Summer Camp: Holding Out Part 1
In an attempt to do something for every day of USUK Summer Camp over at usxuk, I've decided to put most of the stories in this AU-verse ha, this part's 2,970 words like hell am I going to get something done every day. Basically, if I don't have an idea for a prompt already (like I already have something planned for '4th of July' and 'Period Piece,') it'll just be another part of this AU. Yeah. Anyway, prompt 1 was 'Hero.'
Title: Holding Out - Part 1: Hero
Characters: America, England, Switzerland, mentions of Prussia, Russia, Canada, and Hungary.
Rating/Warnings: PG. Sorta X-men-universe crossoverish kinda sorta except I call 'mutants' 'supers' so maybe The Incredibles crossoverish kinda sorta? Point is, some people have superpowers. And it's a pseudo-police state. And Switzerland's kinda a douche.
Summary: Alfred knew he made the right choice running away after they found out he was a Super, even if they found him again. But maybe the resident reclusive, not-quite-a-child-anymore billionaire is here to help?
Alfred ducked around the corner and leaned against the brick wall to catch his breath. Those guys had been chasing him for what felt like forever, but he was confident he had finally given them the slip. At least, he was until he felt a pair of hands grab on to his wrists, forcing his arms behind his back.
“Let go!” Alfred shouted as he felt the hands work a pair of handcuffs on him. Not just any handcuffs either, heavy steel ones, completely solid so that not even he could break through them.
“‘Alfred Jones,’” Officer Zwingli’s voice sounded as other arms started grabbing at Alfred, “Age 12, former residence Hetalia Orphanage, former guardian Berwald Oxenstierna,” he was standing in front of him now, looking down at him as three more officers struggled to keep Alfred pinned, “For procedure’s sake I have to ask, that is you isn’t it?”
“No,” Alfred gasped as he tried to fight his way out, “No, that’s not me.”
Officer Zwingli clicked his tongue as he turned to the next page in the file, “Now we both know that’s a lie. It says you started showing signs of ‘unhuman behavior’ about a year ago. Since Mr. Oxenstierna is the state appointed official who takes care of the, children of the city,” he sneered down at Alfred, contempt clear in his eyes, “he was also the one who reported your behavior. Unhuman Behavior 2A: Above-Human Strength, is what this says. Is this true or false?”
“False,” Alfred ground out as the officer right behind him grabbed his hair to make him stay still.
“You shouldn’t lie, Mr. ‘Jones,’” Officer Zwingli sighed, “You’re only making it worse. The fact that you ran is bad enough.”
Alfred could only manage a glare at him. Of course he ran. He'd heard of five other kids at the orphanage, knew a few personally, who had run after Mr. Väinämöinen sold them out. Sure, Mr. Oxenstierna’s name always went on the official paperwork, but despite his intimidating aura, he’d never hurt a fly. Every kid who’s passed through the walls of Hetalia Orphanage knows that it’s Tino Väinämöinen who you really need to be wary of, kind face and cheery attitude be damned.
‘Unhuman Behavior,’ it was such a ridiculous phrase to Alfred. The fact that he could lift a few extra tons was apparently less human than forcibly bringing him in, shoving him into yet another system and forcing him to work at whatever task they deemed his powers best fit the state. Who wouldn’t try to escape that fate?
“‘Alfred Jones,’ records show that you are unregistered as a ‘Super Human’ yet have displayed ‘Unhuman Behaviors.’”
Of course there were groups, organizations working on reforming the system, but too many of them were focused on changing the wording rather than the system itself. So far they’ve managed to make it so that his behavior is different and wrong but overall he’s just super. It was political showboating. Politicians would say they would work on fixing the system in order to win votes, but any attempt at real progress was slowed down, stalled, until it just stopped all together. On the flip side, which was always louder and had a voice, they would remind everyone of why state control of Supers was necessary, bring up the death and destruction that occurred before when Supers were left to their own devices.
That was before Alfred’s time, but even he could tell they were making most of it up.
“As such, by the power invested in my by the Department of Homeland Protection, I am placing you in the custody of the Bureau of Super Human Control.”
Back at the home, survival of the fittest was the only law. Yes, Mr. Oxenstierna was a kind man who did care about what happened to them, but he was always busy with keeping the place open and running that he left most of the actual supervising to Mr. Väinämöinen. Mr. Väinämöinen himself wasn’t horrible as long as you were one of his favorites. If you weren’t, the best strategy was to stick by one (or more, if you could manage it) of the older kids.
That’s why Alfred befriended Gilbert.
“Since you are under the age of 18 and have no registered guardian to take you in, your consent is not necessary.”
Gilbert, who either never got one of the standard last names given to every orphan or simply refused to use it, was seven years older than Alfred. He was a loner and a bit of a jerk, but he could always get the good food and, as Alfred found out later, was fiercely loyal to anyone who did manage to befriend him. Gilbert was able to protect him and a few others before Mr. Väinämöinen found out he was a telekinetic, Unhuman Behavior Type 5H was what the man who came to take Gilbert away called it. Gilbert had run, just like they all did, and had managed to last three days before they caught him.
Alfred hadn’t heard from Gilbert since.
“You will be registered with the Bureau as having no adequate guardian to supervise your behaviors. As such, the Bureau will assign you one and appoint you with the task best equipped for your… talents that will contribute to society.”
Alfred didn’t personally know the next two who got taken, a girl a little older than him who rumors said could control plants and a younger boy who apparently could conjure fireworks, but he knew that they both ran, and they both got caught in the end. He did know the fourth, Ivan, who had ice powers, Unhuman Behavior 10D. Ivan chose to fight rather than to run, but he was taken down easily and never heard from again.
Mattie was the fifth, Matthew Williams, who was as close as a brother that Alfred would probably ever have. They had come for him last month, and he had run. Alfred was pretty sure they hadn’t caught him yet either, but it’s easier to stay hidden, he assumes, when your power is invisibility.
“That about does it for procedures,” Officer Zwingli nodded. The officers holding Alfred down pulled him roughly to his feet, all six of them still keeping a firm grip on his arms, “Let’s get out of here and get this over with.”
“What’s going on here?” a new voice asked. All heads turned to see an over-dressed teen complete with top hat and cane, leaning against the entrance to the alley.
“M-Mr. Kirkland,” Officer Zwingli started, “What are you doing on this side of town at this hour?”
“What, can’t a billionaire have some fun every now and then?” he swung his cane around and used it to tilt his hat up, “Or is that a crime now too?” When he received no response, he smirked, “So I ask again, what’s going on here?”
Everyone in the city, maybe even the country, Alfred had never left his hometown so he couldn’t say for sure, had heard of Arthur Kirkland. He was a reclusive child (although at 18, technically not a child anymore) billionaire who inherited his fortunes after the mysterious death of his parents ten years ago. He kept mostly to himself; almost completely isolated from the outside world in his manor tucked away on the outskirts of the city, save for every now and then when he’d throw a large sum of money at some grand gesture of some kind or another.
“Nothing you need to worry about Mr. Kirkland,” Officer Zwingli replied, “Just a runt on the run and some procedural details to go over.”
“And the department now sends seven officers to take down one child,” he chuckled as he kicked himself off the wall, “My tax money at work, right?”
“This is a… special case,” Officer Zwingli turned back to Alfred, who was still struggling, however feeble his attempts were, to escape, “It would be best if you were on your way, Mr. Kirkland.”
“No,” any semblance of a smile was gone from his face as he pushed past Officer Zwingli, “No, I don’t think I will,” Arthur’s eyes seemed to bore into Alfred as he stared down at him, “What’s your name?”
“What’s it to you?” that earned him a tap on the head with the cane.
“Silly boy,” Arthur shook his head, sounding for all the world like he chastising a family member in his own home rather than reprimanding a complete stranger surrounded by cops, “It’s polite to answer a question when someone asks it.”
He glared at him a bit, as if he still had the upper hand somehow, before he answered, “Alfred.”
“Lovely,” Arthur turned to face Officer Zwingli, “I believe you have made a horrible mistake Officer. You see, Alfred here is my little brother.”
No one said anything for a long time until Officer Zwingli finally spoke up, “Mr. Kirkland, you can’t be serious.”
“I am. Half actually, he’s a bastard child of my father and a beloved family maid you see, so my parents did their best to keep him out of the public eye. By the time they died, Alfred had just gotten used to being out of sight that he hasn’t bothered to show himself. Despite that, however, he is still a Kirkland, and my beloved little brother.”
“Mr. Kirkland, do you actually expect me to believe that story? We’ve been after him for days, we have all of his records, there’s no way your story can be true.”
“I told you, this is some kind of horrible mistake,” he thudded his cane against the ground, “Alfred is my brother. Isn’t that right Alfred?”
“Yes,” Alfred replied. Truth be told, he had never paid much attention to Arthur Kirkland or his antics, so why he was helping some kid he’d never met before was beyond him, but right now this reclusive billionaire was his only ticket out of his inevitable future, “Arthur is my older brother. He’s been looking after me ever since I can remember, and he’s been trying to get me to go out more since our parents died. But, I got fed up with him and ran away. I’m sorry about that, Arthur,” he looked up at his ‘brother’ with the widest eyes he could manage, “Really, I should have listened to you…”
“It’s quite alright Alfred,” Arthur’s smile could practically be considered affectionate as he looked down at his ‘brother,’ “I forgive you. Let me take care of this and then we can go home, alright?”
“Mr. Kirkland,” Officer Zwingli ground out, “We’ve put up with your eccentrics before, but there’s no way I can excuse this kind of behavior. If you have no way to prove that this brat is actually your brother-”
“Of course, since he’s a bastard, there are no official documents of his existence,” Arthur sighed, “A pity, but our names do follow a similar naming theme.”
“The fact that both of your names start with the same letter is not sufficient enough proof-”
“Yes, there’s that. But I was actually talking about the kingly nature of our names,” he chuckled, “King Arthur and King Alfred; my father did love monarchs.”
“Th-that’s still not enough proof!” Officer Zwingli stomped his foot and shouted, “Your story is completely illogical and-”
“He did deny it right?” Arthur raised an eyebrow, “I’m assuming you followed proper procedure and asked if he actually was this,” he leaned forward and read off the file, “‘Alfred Jones’ you’re actually looking for didn’t you?”
Officer Zwingli’s face turned red as he tried to come up with a response.
“He’s got a point Vash,” one of the officers holding Alfred commented, “The kid did deny everything.”
“They always deny everything!” Officer Zwingli snapped at him, “We’ve been following this exact brat for two days, ever since we found him at the orphanage.”
“Well,” Arthur bounced his cane on his shoulder, “Alfred’s been missing for three days. He probably just hid in the orphanage where you found him.”
“Ah, but you see Mr. Kirkland, we’ve been following him for two days and have witnessed his ‘unhuman behavior’ with our very own eyes. There is no ‘Alfred Kirkland’ registered. Considering how you’d be deemed an ‘adequate guardian,’ I’m wondering why you never registered him before.”
That was it. Perhaps Arthur Kirkland had merely felt pity for a child, being ganged up by the police like he was, but now that it had gotten out that Alfred was… different, there was no way he’d keep up this charade on his behalf. He’d just claim it was a terrible mistake, or that he was drunk and ‘mistook him for his real brother’ or something and go about his business, forgetting this event happened and possibly bribing the cops to forget as well.
Alfred shut his eyes and braced himself for the certain dismissal.
“I,” he heard Arthur sigh and tap his cane against the ground a few times, “I haven’t gotten around to it yet.”
Alfred’s eyes shot opened as he stared up at Arthur. Officer Zwingli’s face turned beet red, “What did you say?”
“I haven’t managed to do that yet. Alfred only started showing signs of his,” he paused and gave Alfred and the cops a quick glance over, “abnormal strength, recently. I’ve been meaning to get it done, but he’s been resistant to the idea. Probably a reason he ran away, isn’t it?”
“Yeah,” Alfred felt himself nod, stunned that Arthur was still standing up for him, “Yeah, and I still think it’s a stupid idea.”
“But look what kind of mess you’ve gotten into because we haven’t yet,” he sighed, as if he was used to his ‘brother’s’ behavior after all this time, and gave Alfred another almost affectionate smile, “You’re always getting yourself into trouble. Honestly, what am I going to do with you?”
“Vash,” another officer started, “if he’s really Kirkland’s brother-”
“But he’s not!” Officer Zwingli stomped his foot repeatedly, “He’s not, and there's no way he can be!”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Arthur scoffed as the other officer’s released and uncuffed Alfred, “while you stand here wasting time with me and my brother, the real ‘Alfred Jones’ is still out there somewhere,” he placed a hand on Alfred’s shoulder as he stood up and led him out of the alley, “Come on Alfred. Elizaveta has been worried sick about you. Probably cook you a feast when we get back.”
“That sounds great!” Alfred beamed up at him and let himself be led away.
After a few blocks, when Officer Zwingli’s shouts couldn’t be heard anymore, Arthur let go of his shoulder, shoving that hand into his pocket and swinging his cane around as he did so. Alfred let the silence between them continue for a bit before he tried to break it.
“So, uh, thanks for helping me out there,” he mindlessly kicked a stone a little ahead of them.
“No problem,” a pause as Arthur cleared his throat and kicked the stone even farther, “They shouldn’t have been treating you like that.”
Alfred grunted in agreement, kicking the stone so that it bounced off the street sign at the intersection. They approached it, with Arthur glancing towards the left while Alfred looked right.
“So, thanks, and I’ll see you around, I guess, maybe,” he waved and quickly turned to leave but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder.
“Wait,” Alfred turned to see Arthur looking away, faint blush tinting his cheeks, “Where, exactly are you planning on going?”
“Oh, well, uh,” Alfred scratched his head as he thought about it, “Not sure. I can’t really go back to the orphanage now. I guess I’ll just wander around a bit. Maybe leave the city if I can, see the rest of the world.”
“Don’t be a fool,” Arthur scoffed and spun his cane, still not looking at him, “An unregistered Super would never be able to leave. They’ll end up catching you all over again after a few days if you’re wandering by yourself,” he sighed and tapped his cane on the ground, “It doesn’t look like there’s a choice. You’ll have to stay with me for a bit. I-if you want to, that is,” Arthur’s face grew red as he crossed his arms, “Don’t misunderstand! I’m not doing this for you! I just told those officers I’d register myself as your guardian! It would be improper of me to have lied to them like that.”
Alfred rolled his eyes, as if he hadn’t spent that whole conversation lying to them, but smiled up at Arthur, “If you’re offering, I mean, it’s not like I have anywhere else to go right now…”
“Yes, well,” Arthur cleared his throat and started walking at a brisk pace, forcing Alfred to jog to keep up, “Just remember, this is only temporary until you find someplace to settle into permanently.”
“Right, of course,” Alfred smiled even wider as he grabbed his hand, “whatever you say big brother.”
“Don’t call me that!” he snapped, but didn’t let go of the hand.
Back at the orphanage Alfred had heard stories, legends really, about an age where Supers weren’t hated or feared or oppressed, but honored, respected, and loved. They helped people in need and saved the world from the bad guys and were given the title ‘Hero.’ Ever since he was little, Alfred had wanted to continue that tradition somehow. Show the world he wasn’t evil or strange but a hero.
Right now, walking towards what will come to be his first real home with the man who would become the most important person in his life, Alfred can’t help but think that Arthur Kirkland was the most heroic person he’s ever seen.
Part 2
Title: Holding Out - Part 1: Hero
Characters: America, England, Switzerland, mentions of Prussia, Russia, Canada, and Hungary.
Rating/Warnings: PG. Sorta X-men-universe crossoverish kinda sorta except I call 'mutants' 'supers' so maybe The Incredibles crossoverish kinda sorta? Point is, some people have superpowers. And it's a pseudo-police state. And Switzerland's kinda a douche.
Summary: Alfred knew he made the right choice running away after they found out he was a Super, even if they found him again. But maybe the resident reclusive, not-quite-a-child-anymore billionaire is here to help?
Alfred ducked around the corner and leaned against the brick wall to catch his breath. Those guys had been chasing him for what felt like forever, but he was confident he had finally given them the slip. At least, he was until he felt a pair of hands grab on to his wrists, forcing his arms behind his back.
“Let go!” Alfred shouted as he felt the hands work a pair of handcuffs on him. Not just any handcuffs either, heavy steel ones, completely solid so that not even he could break through them.
“‘Alfred Jones,’” Officer Zwingli’s voice sounded as other arms started grabbing at Alfred, “Age 12, former residence Hetalia Orphanage, former guardian Berwald Oxenstierna,” he was standing in front of him now, looking down at him as three more officers struggled to keep Alfred pinned, “For procedure’s sake I have to ask, that is you isn’t it?”
“No,” Alfred gasped as he tried to fight his way out, “No, that’s not me.”
Officer Zwingli clicked his tongue as he turned to the next page in the file, “Now we both know that’s a lie. It says you started showing signs of ‘unhuman behavior’ about a year ago. Since Mr. Oxenstierna is the state appointed official who takes care of the, children of the city,” he sneered down at Alfred, contempt clear in his eyes, “he was also the one who reported your behavior. Unhuman Behavior 2A: Above-Human Strength, is what this says. Is this true or false?”
“False,” Alfred ground out as the officer right behind him grabbed his hair to make him stay still.
“You shouldn’t lie, Mr. ‘Jones,’” Officer Zwingli sighed, “You’re only making it worse. The fact that you ran is bad enough.”
Alfred could only manage a glare at him. Of course he ran. He'd heard of five other kids at the orphanage, knew a few personally, who had run after Mr. Väinämöinen sold them out. Sure, Mr. Oxenstierna’s name always went on the official paperwork, but despite his intimidating aura, he’d never hurt a fly. Every kid who’s passed through the walls of Hetalia Orphanage knows that it’s Tino Väinämöinen who you really need to be wary of, kind face and cheery attitude be damned.
‘Unhuman Behavior,’ it was such a ridiculous phrase to Alfred. The fact that he could lift a few extra tons was apparently less human than forcibly bringing him in, shoving him into yet another system and forcing him to work at whatever task they deemed his powers best fit the state. Who wouldn’t try to escape that fate?
“‘Alfred Jones,’ records show that you are unregistered as a ‘Super Human’ yet have displayed ‘Unhuman Behaviors.’”
Of course there were groups, organizations working on reforming the system, but too many of them were focused on changing the wording rather than the system itself. So far they’ve managed to make it so that his behavior is different and wrong but overall he’s just super. It was political showboating. Politicians would say they would work on fixing the system in order to win votes, but any attempt at real progress was slowed down, stalled, until it just stopped all together. On the flip side, which was always louder and had a voice, they would remind everyone of why state control of Supers was necessary, bring up the death and destruction that occurred before when Supers were left to their own devices.
That was before Alfred’s time, but even he could tell they were making most of it up.
“As such, by the power invested in my by the Department of Homeland Protection, I am placing you in the custody of the Bureau of Super Human Control.”
Back at the home, survival of the fittest was the only law. Yes, Mr. Oxenstierna was a kind man who did care about what happened to them, but he was always busy with keeping the place open and running that he left most of the actual supervising to Mr. Väinämöinen. Mr. Väinämöinen himself wasn’t horrible as long as you were one of his favorites. If you weren’t, the best strategy was to stick by one (or more, if you could manage it) of the older kids.
That’s why Alfred befriended Gilbert.
“Since you are under the age of 18 and have no registered guardian to take you in, your consent is not necessary.”
Gilbert, who either never got one of the standard last names given to every orphan or simply refused to use it, was seven years older than Alfred. He was a loner and a bit of a jerk, but he could always get the good food and, as Alfred found out later, was fiercely loyal to anyone who did manage to befriend him. Gilbert was able to protect him and a few others before Mr. Väinämöinen found out he was a telekinetic, Unhuman Behavior Type 5H was what the man who came to take Gilbert away called it. Gilbert had run, just like they all did, and had managed to last three days before they caught him.
Alfred hadn’t heard from Gilbert since.
“You will be registered with the Bureau as having no adequate guardian to supervise your behaviors. As such, the Bureau will assign you one and appoint you with the task best equipped for your… talents that will contribute to society.”
Alfred didn’t personally know the next two who got taken, a girl a little older than him who rumors said could control plants and a younger boy who apparently could conjure fireworks, but he knew that they both ran, and they both got caught in the end. He did know the fourth, Ivan, who had ice powers, Unhuman Behavior 10D. Ivan chose to fight rather than to run, but he was taken down easily and never heard from again.
Mattie was the fifth, Matthew Williams, who was as close as a brother that Alfred would probably ever have. They had come for him last month, and he had run. Alfred was pretty sure they hadn’t caught him yet either, but it’s easier to stay hidden, he assumes, when your power is invisibility.
“That about does it for procedures,” Officer Zwingli nodded. The officers holding Alfred down pulled him roughly to his feet, all six of them still keeping a firm grip on his arms, “Let’s get out of here and get this over with.”
“What’s going on here?” a new voice asked. All heads turned to see an over-dressed teen complete with top hat and cane, leaning against the entrance to the alley.
“M-Mr. Kirkland,” Officer Zwingli started, “What are you doing on this side of town at this hour?”
“What, can’t a billionaire have some fun every now and then?” he swung his cane around and used it to tilt his hat up, “Or is that a crime now too?” When he received no response, he smirked, “So I ask again, what’s going on here?”
Everyone in the city, maybe even the country, Alfred had never left his hometown so he couldn’t say for sure, had heard of Arthur Kirkland. He was a reclusive child (although at 18, technically not a child anymore) billionaire who inherited his fortunes after the mysterious death of his parents ten years ago. He kept mostly to himself; almost completely isolated from the outside world in his manor tucked away on the outskirts of the city, save for every now and then when he’d throw a large sum of money at some grand gesture of some kind or another.
“Nothing you need to worry about Mr. Kirkland,” Officer Zwingli replied, “Just a runt on the run and some procedural details to go over.”
“And the department now sends seven officers to take down one child,” he chuckled as he kicked himself off the wall, “My tax money at work, right?”
“This is a… special case,” Officer Zwingli turned back to Alfred, who was still struggling, however feeble his attempts were, to escape, “It would be best if you were on your way, Mr. Kirkland.”
“No,” any semblance of a smile was gone from his face as he pushed past Officer Zwingli, “No, I don’t think I will,” Arthur’s eyes seemed to bore into Alfred as he stared down at him, “What’s your name?”
“What’s it to you?” that earned him a tap on the head with the cane.
“Silly boy,” Arthur shook his head, sounding for all the world like he chastising a family member in his own home rather than reprimanding a complete stranger surrounded by cops, “It’s polite to answer a question when someone asks it.”
He glared at him a bit, as if he still had the upper hand somehow, before he answered, “Alfred.”
“Lovely,” Arthur turned to face Officer Zwingli, “I believe you have made a horrible mistake Officer. You see, Alfred here is my little brother.”
No one said anything for a long time until Officer Zwingli finally spoke up, “Mr. Kirkland, you can’t be serious.”
“I am. Half actually, he’s a bastard child of my father and a beloved family maid you see, so my parents did their best to keep him out of the public eye. By the time they died, Alfred had just gotten used to being out of sight that he hasn’t bothered to show himself. Despite that, however, he is still a Kirkland, and my beloved little brother.”
“Mr. Kirkland, do you actually expect me to believe that story? We’ve been after him for days, we have all of his records, there’s no way your story can be true.”
“I told you, this is some kind of horrible mistake,” he thudded his cane against the ground, “Alfred is my brother. Isn’t that right Alfred?”
“Yes,” Alfred replied. Truth be told, he had never paid much attention to Arthur Kirkland or his antics, so why he was helping some kid he’d never met before was beyond him, but right now this reclusive billionaire was his only ticket out of his inevitable future, “Arthur is my older brother. He’s been looking after me ever since I can remember, and he’s been trying to get me to go out more since our parents died. But, I got fed up with him and ran away. I’m sorry about that, Arthur,” he looked up at his ‘brother’ with the widest eyes he could manage, “Really, I should have listened to you…”
“It’s quite alright Alfred,” Arthur’s smile could practically be considered affectionate as he looked down at his ‘brother,’ “I forgive you. Let me take care of this and then we can go home, alright?”
“Mr. Kirkland,” Officer Zwingli ground out, “We’ve put up with your eccentrics before, but there’s no way I can excuse this kind of behavior. If you have no way to prove that this brat is actually your brother-”
“Of course, since he’s a bastard, there are no official documents of his existence,” Arthur sighed, “A pity, but our names do follow a similar naming theme.”
“The fact that both of your names start with the same letter is not sufficient enough proof-”
“Yes, there’s that. But I was actually talking about the kingly nature of our names,” he chuckled, “King Arthur and King Alfred; my father did love monarchs.”
“Th-that’s still not enough proof!” Officer Zwingli stomped his foot and shouted, “Your story is completely illogical and-”
“He did deny it right?” Arthur raised an eyebrow, “I’m assuming you followed proper procedure and asked if he actually was this,” he leaned forward and read off the file, “‘Alfred Jones’ you’re actually looking for didn’t you?”
Officer Zwingli’s face turned red as he tried to come up with a response.
“He’s got a point Vash,” one of the officers holding Alfred commented, “The kid did deny everything.”
“They always deny everything!” Officer Zwingli snapped at him, “We’ve been following this exact brat for two days, ever since we found him at the orphanage.”
“Well,” Arthur bounced his cane on his shoulder, “Alfred’s been missing for three days. He probably just hid in the orphanage where you found him.”
“Ah, but you see Mr. Kirkland, we’ve been following him for two days and have witnessed his ‘unhuman behavior’ with our very own eyes. There is no ‘Alfred Kirkland’ registered. Considering how you’d be deemed an ‘adequate guardian,’ I’m wondering why you never registered him before.”
That was it. Perhaps Arthur Kirkland had merely felt pity for a child, being ganged up by the police like he was, but now that it had gotten out that Alfred was… different, there was no way he’d keep up this charade on his behalf. He’d just claim it was a terrible mistake, or that he was drunk and ‘mistook him for his real brother’ or something and go about his business, forgetting this event happened and possibly bribing the cops to forget as well.
Alfred shut his eyes and braced himself for the certain dismissal.
“I,” he heard Arthur sigh and tap his cane against the ground a few times, “I haven’t gotten around to it yet.”
Alfred’s eyes shot opened as he stared up at Arthur. Officer Zwingli’s face turned beet red, “What did you say?”
“I haven’t managed to do that yet. Alfred only started showing signs of his,” he paused and gave Alfred and the cops a quick glance over, “abnormal strength, recently. I’ve been meaning to get it done, but he’s been resistant to the idea. Probably a reason he ran away, isn’t it?”
“Yeah,” Alfred felt himself nod, stunned that Arthur was still standing up for him, “Yeah, and I still think it’s a stupid idea.”
“But look what kind of mess you’ve gotten into because we haven’t yet,” he sighed, as if he was used to his ‘brother’s’ behavior after all this time, and gave Alfred another almost affectionate smile, “You’re always getting yourself into trouble. Honestly, what am I going to do with you?”
“Vash,” another officer started, “if he’s really Kirkland’s brother-”
“But he’s not!” Officer Zwingli stomped his foot repeatedly, “He’s not, and there's no way he can be!”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Arthur scoffed as the other officer’s released and uncuffed Alfred, “while you stand here wasting time with me and my brother, the real ‘Alfred Jones’ is still out there somewhere,” he placed a hand on Alfred’s shoulder as he stood up and led him out of the alley, “Come on Alfred. Elizaveta has been worried sick about you. Probably cook you a feast when we get back.”
“That sounds great!” Alfred beamed up at him and let himself be led away.
After a few blocks, when Officer Zwingli’s shouts couldn’t be heard anymore, Arthur let go of his shoulder, shoving that hand into his pocket and swinging his cane around as he did so. Alfred let the silence between them continue for a bit before he tried to break it.
“So, uh, thanks for helping me out there,” he mindlessly kicked a stone a little ahead of them.
“No problem,” a pause as Arthur cleared his throat and kicked the stone even farther, “They shouldn’t have been treating you like that.”
Alfred grunted in agreement, kicking the stone so that it bounced off the street sign at the intersection. They approached it, with Arthur glancing towards the left while Alfred looked right.
“So, thanks, and I’ll see you around, I guess, maybe,” he waved and quickly turned to leave but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder.
“Wait,” Alfred turned to see Arthur looking away, faint blush tinting his cheeks, “Where, exactly are you planning on going?”
“Oh, well, uh,” Alfred scratched his head as he thought about it, “Not sure. I can’t really go back to the orphanage now. I guess I’ll just wander around a bit. Maybe leave the city if I can, see the rest of the world.”
“Don’t be a fool,” Arthur scoffed and spun his cane, still not looking at him, “An unregistered Super would never be able to leave. They’ll end up catching you all over again after a few days if you’re wandering by yourself,” he sighed and tapped his cane on the ground, “It doesn’t look like there’s a choice. You’ll have to stay with me for a bit. I-if you want to, that is,” Arthur’s face grew red as he crossed his arms, “Don’t misunderstand! I’m not doing this for you! I just told those officers I’d register myself as your guardian! It would be improper of me to have lied to them like that.”
Alfred rolled his eyes, as if he hadn’t spent that whole conversation lying to them, but smiled up at Arthur, “If you’re offering, I mean, it’s not like I have anywhere else to go right now…”
“Yes, well,” Arthur cleared his throat and started walking at a brisk pace, forcing Alfred to jog to keep up, “Just remember, this is only temporary until you find someplace to settle into permanently.”
“Right, of course,” Alfred smiled even wider as he grabbed his hand, “whatever you say big brother.”
“Don’t call me that!” he snapped, but didn’t let go of the hand.
Back at the orphanage Alfred had heard stories, legends really, about an age where Supers weren’t hated or feared or oppressed, but honored, respected, and loved. They helped people in need and saved the world from the bad guys and were given the title ‘Hero.’ Ever since he was little, Alfred had wanted to continue that tradition somehow. Show the world he wasn’t evil or strange but a hero.
Right now, walking towards what will come to be his first real home with the man who would become the most important person in his life, Alfred can’t help but think that Arthur Kirkland was the most heroic person he’s ever seen.
Part 2