[Summer Camp] Holding Out : Military
Title: Holding Out - Part 4: Military
Characters: England, America, Denmark, Norway, mentions of Hungary and Austria, barely there Denmark/Norway.
Rating/Warnings: PG-13. 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.
Summary: Arthur's anti-Super military cousin shows up one day.
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3
Arthur had a cousin. His name was Mathias, he was 25, and Arthur didn’t like him much at all. Mathias was in the military, some special ops weapons division or something, he never really paid attention. This meant that, thankfully, Arthur only saw him every now and then.
He also happened to be a bit, and by a bit, he meant very, anti-Super.
So when Mathias and an army friend named Nikolas, who Arthur didn’t mind so much, stopped by unexpectedly one day, Arthur had a mini panic attack when Alfred showed them upstairs.
“Oi Artie! I didn’t know you were kidnapping kids off the street for human contact now!” Mathias grinned as he disturbed Arthur in his study.
“Mathias! I wasn’t expecting you. Get the hell out.”
“Oh come on, is that any way to treat your cousin?” He got Arthur in a headlock, “Since Nick and I were in the neighborhood and have a few days off, we decided to pop by and visit!”
“You can’t have any money,” by this time Nikolas and Alfred had entered the study as well, both standing in the doorway, a bit unsure how to react, “Hello Nikolas, it’s good to see you again.”
“Likewise Arthur,” he nodded, “Do you want me to get him off for you?”
“If you could.”
A few smacks and a rather feminine screech from Mathias later and Arthur could breathe again.
“So,” Mathias jerked his head towards Alfred, “are you going to tell me who the kid is or am I forced to make assumptions about you?”
“This is Alfred, he’s staying with me for a bit,” Arthur gestured towards Alfred, “Alfred, this is Mathias, feel free to ignore him.”
“Hiya kid!” Mathias grinned and held out his hand, “I’m Arthur’s beloved cousin. I’m sure he’s told you all about me.”
“Hasn’t mentioned a word,” he smiled and shook the hand, “I can only imagine because he’s jealous.”
“I like this kid,” Mathias laughed and clapped him on the back, “Where did Arthur find you?”
“Oh, he saved me. You see I got into a little trouble with-”
“Mathias!” Arthur barked, “Roderich and Elizaveta have the day off today. If you’re going to insist on staying here for however long the military managed to get rid of you this time, you’re going to have to bring your own things to a guest room.”
“Geeze, you would give them the day off when I decide to come over. Can’t you hire more servants?”
“Get your things before I decide to burn them.”
This only made him laugh harder, “Come on Nick. Let’s take the room right next to Artie’s and keep him up all night,” he winked.
“I hate you,” Nikolas responded as they both left the office.
“I’ll help,” Alfred began to follow, “I’m sure you have a lot of stuff.”
“Thanks Al,” Mathias grinned, “So considerate, unlike some people in this house.”
“Actually Alfred,” Arthur interrupted, “I need you to start dinner.”
“But it’s only three o’clock…”
“Unless you want me to start it of course.”
“I’ll go start dinner,” Alfred couldn’t get to the kitchen quickly enough.
Mathias laugh boomed as he went downstairs. Nikolas raised his eyebrow and gave Arthur a look before he followed after him.
Arthur rested his head in his hands. He didn’t know how long Mathias was staying, he never did, but for Alfred’s sake he couldn’t get him to leave soon enough.
*_~*_~
Mathias and Nikolas had been over for about a week. At this point Arthur was going to hurt someone, preferably Mathias. He and Alfred had hit it off surprisingly well. Not all that surprising actually; they both were a tad obnoxious (Mathias more so then Alfred), blonde, and with the way Mathias kept exaggerating his war stories and Alfred’s habit of adoring hero stories, yes, they would get along well.
This made it harder for Arthur to tell Alfred that Mathias hated Supers, which meant that Arthur hadn’t gotten around to telling him that yet. Instead he’d been running interference whenever Alfred was in a situation where his strength would be revealed to Mathias. When Roderich and Elizaveta came back and figured out what was going on, they chastised him for not telling Alfred but, in the end, couldn't tell him either and helped him out. Nikolas had apparently figured it out too (which if anything showed how incredibly thick Mathias was, thank god) and also began running interference as well.
Which made the whole thing more awkward when he finally found out.
It had been that stupid television of all things. Mathias had broke it again, fifth time during his stay, and was bringing in the new one when he stumbled in the kitchen, just a little, and lost his grip onit Alfred managed to prevent it from being the sixth broken television by catching it. With one hand. And then setting it on the nearby table like it was nothing, because to him, it really was nothing.
Elizaveta managed to distract Alfred with an, “I need some help outside Alfred!” to get him out of the room before Mathias realized what just happened.
“Did he just…” he pointed where Alfred just exited, “With one hand…”
“He works out,” Arthur shrugged, hoping his cousin was dense enough to buy it, “He used to live on the street, so-”
“He’s 12 Artie,” suddenly Mathias was glaring at him, “No matter how often a 12 year old worked out, that’s just not natural!”
“Mathias, you’re just overreacting-”
“Like hell I am Arthur!” he slammed his hands on the table, “Why didn’t you tell me you let a, a Super into your house?”
“Because I knew this is how you would react,” Arthur stirred his tea and refused to look him in the eye, “It’s honestly not as big a deal as you’re making it out to be.”
“Of course it’s a big deal! You just let some freak into your house without thinking about the consequences!” he sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, “Why do you always do things like this whenever you leave the house Artie…?”
“You’re just jealous he can beat you at arm wrestling.”
“This isn’t about me Arthur! Supers can’t be trusted. I’ve seen it happen, now that they let Supers in the military, and they’ll turn on you. They don’t have a sense of loyalty and trust that we normal people have.”
“Maybe that’s just because you’re an asshole Mathias,” Arthur shot him his own glare, “Did you ever consider that?”
“I’m just looking out for you! I know you always need to take on these little pet projects to occupy your time, but that kid is a menace! He’s dangerous and he wouldn’t have a second thought about hurting you!”
“Funny,” Arthur calmly sipped his tea, “He wasn’t so ‘dangerous’ or ‘menacing’ until a few minutes ago. You were getting along fine with him all weekend.”
“Because you didn’t tell me,” he pointed an accusing finger, “You left me in the dark about him-”
“Because it doesn’t matter! He’s still the same Alfred that fawned over your latest war stories, the same Alfred that laughed whenever you made me miserable. All that’s changed is his strength.”
Mathias didn’t say anything for a while, “You tricked me. He tricked me, because it’s in his nature,” he sighed and glanced imploringly at his cousin, “If you won’t kick that brat out I will.”
“You, dear cousin, do not live here,” Arthur stood up and placed his hands on the table, “This is my manor, and I say who stays and who goes,” his glare increased tenfold, “And I think you’ve overstayed your welcome.”
“Fine,” Mathias glared right back, “I wouldn’t want to stay here with that freak anyway. Nick and I can do something else during our time off.” He stormed out of the kitchen without another word.
Arthur sat back down in his chair and sighed, “How much of that did you actually hear?”
A small squeak sounded from the doorway, “N-none of it. I’m not even here.”
“Alfred…”
The door creaked open and Alfred entered, head downcast, “Almost all of it, actually.”
“Alfred, come here,” Arthur held his arms up as he shuffled over and pulled him into I hug, “Don’t let what he said upset you.”
“I know,” Alfred was tense but rested his head on Arthur's shoulder, “I know, he just… and it’s not like I haven’t heard it all before, but…”
“I know, for some reason, you liked him, but honestly Alfred, he’s a bit of a jerk anyway-”
“He’s not a jerk,” they both looked over to see that at some point Nikolas had entered the kitchen, “Well, he is a jerk, a massive one, and he shouldn’t have said those things. While I don’t agree with what he said or his opinion on the matter, I can see where he’s coming from.”
Arthur glared at him and held Alfred tighter, “To have said those things to Alfred-”
“To be fair, he didn’t know he was listening,” Nikolas sighed and looked up, right into Arthur’s eyes, as if begging him to understand, “He's been in the military for most of his life, we both have, and Supers in the military, well, it hasn’t ended very well for people who aren’t. I’m sure you’ve heard the stories; entire Super units going rouge or just disappearing, Super soldiers failing the, admittedly high, expectations of their comrades and leaving them all for dead. The list goes on. Most of the stories are just rumors,” he shrugged, “But for someone like Mathias, and others, who were raised in that environment on those stories, well, it’s hard to let prejudices go. It doesn't help that regular soldiers like Mathias tend to get passed over for Super soldiers. Not to mention his personal experience with, although, you were right, that was mostly due to him being an ass.”
“If you’re asking me to forgive him-”
“I’m not, not right now anyway,” Nikolas sighed and glanced at the floor to collect his thoughts before looking at Arthur again, “I’m just hoping you’ll try to understand where he’s coming from, I suppose. I think most of this problem stems from a lack of understanding from both sides. Maybe if you understand him a little, he in turn can understand you, and everyone can meet in the middle,” he turned his attention to the window, “Then again, maybe I’m just being overly optimistic.”
“That’s what I think too,” Alfred said, causing Nikolas to stare at him, “I mean, if we all understood each other, maybe things’ll get better.”
Nikolas smiled at that, and Arthur was sure that was the first time he saw him smile, “You’re a good kid Alfred. I hope someday we’ll meet again.”
Mathias and Nikolas left shortly after that.
That night, Alfred claimed he had trouble sleeping. Arthur agreed to let him sleep in his bed, on the condition that it was only a onetime thing and that he kept to his side of the bed.
Come morning, they both decided to ignore the fact that Alfred woke up in Arthur’s arms.
Part 5
Characters: England, America, Denmark, Norway, mentions of Hungary and Austria, barely there Denmark/Norway.
Rating/Warnings: PG-13. 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.
Summary: Arthur's anti-Super military cousin shows up one day.
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3
Arthur had a cousin. His name was Mathias, he was 25, and Arthur didn’t like him much at all. Mathias was in the military, some special ops weapons division or something, he never really paid attention. This meant that, thankfully, Arthur only saw him every now and then.
He also happened to be a bit, and by a bit, he meant very, anti-Super.
So when Mathias and an army friend named Nikolas, who Arthur didn’t mind so much, stopped by unexpectedly one day, Arthur had a mini panic attack when Alfred showed them upstairs.
“Oi Artie! I didn’t know you were kidnapping kids off the street for human contact now!” Mathias grinned as he disturbed Arthur in his study.
“Mathias! I wasn’t expecting you. Get the hell out.”
“Oh come on, is that any way to treat your cousin?” He got Arthur in a headlock, “Since Nick and I were in the neighborhood and have a few days off, we decided to pop by and visit!”
“You can’t have any money,” by this time Nikolas and Alfred had entered the study as well, both standing in the doorway, a bit unsure how to react, “Hello Nikolas, it’s good to see you again.”
“Likewise Arthur,” he nodded, “Do you want me to get him off for you?”
“If you could.”
A few smacks and a rather feminine screech from Mathias later and Arthur could breathe again.
“So,” Mathias jerked his head towards Alfred, “are you going to tell me who the kid is or am I forced to make assumptions about you?”
“This is Alfred, he’s staying with me for a bit,” Arthur gestured towards Alfred, “Alfred, this is Mathias, feel free to ignore him.”
“Hiya kid!” Mathias grinned and held out his hand, “I’m Arthur’s beloved cousin. I’m sure he’s told you all about me.”
“Hasn’t mentioned a word,” he smiled and shook the hand, “I can only imagine because he’s jealous.”
“I like this kid,” Mathias laughed and clapped him on the back, “Where did Arthur find you?”
“Oh, he saved me. You see I got into a little trouble with-”
“Mathias!” Arthur barked, “Roderich and Elizaveta have the day off today. If you’re going to insist on staying here for however long the military managed to get rid of you this time, you’re going to have to bring your own things to a guest room.”
“Geeze, you would give them the day off when I decide to come over. Can’t you hire more servants?”
“Get your things before I decide to burn them.”
This only made him laugh harder, “Come on Nick. Let’s take the room right next to Artie’s and keep him up all night,” he winked.
“I hate you,” Nikolas responded as they both left the office.
“I’ll help,” Alfred began to follow, “I’m sure you have a lot of stuff.”
“Thanks Al,” Mathias grinned, “So considerate, unlike some people in this house.”
“Actually Alfred,” Arthur interrupted, “I need you to start dinner.”
“But it’s only three o’clock…”
“Unless you want me to start it of course.”
“I’ll go start dinner,” Alfred couldn’t get to the kitchen quickly enough.
Mathias laugh boomed as he went downstairs. Nikolas raised his eyebrow and gave Arthur a look before he followed after him.
Arthur rested his head in his hands. He didn’t know how long Mathias was staying, he never did, but for Alfred’s sake he couldn’t get him to leave soon enough.
*_~*_~
Mathias and Nikolas had been over for about a week. At this point Arthur was going to hurt someone, preferably Mathias. He and Alfred had hit it off surprisingly well. Not all that surprising actually; they both were a tad obnoxious (Mathias more so then Alfred), blonde, and with the way Mathias kept exaggerating his war stories and Alfred’s habit of adoring hero stories, yes, they would get along well.
This made it harder for Arthur to tell Alfred that Mathias hated Supers, which meant that Arthur hadn’t gotten around to telling him that yet. Instead he’d been running interference whenever Alfred was in a situation where his strength would be revealed to Mathias. When Roderich and Elizaveta came back and figured out what was going on, they chastised him for not telling Alfred but, in the end, couldn't tell him either and helped him out. Nikolas had apparently figured it out too (which if anything showed how incredibly thick Mathias was, thank god) and also began running interference as well.
Which made the whole thing more awkward when he finally found out.
It had been that stupid television of all things. Mathias had broke it again, fifth time during his stay, and was bringing in the new one when he stumbled in the kitchen, just a little, and lost his grip onit Alfred managed to prevent it from being the sixth broken television by catching it. With one hand. And then setting it on the nearby table like it was nothing, because to him, it really was nothing.
Elizaveta managed to distract Alfred with an, “I need some help outside Alfred!” to get him out of the room before Mathias realized what just happened.
“Did he just…” he pointed where Alfred just exited, “With one hand…”
“He works out,” Arthur shrugged, hoping his cousin was dense enough to buy it, “He used to live on the street, so-”
“He’s 12 Artie,” suddenly Mathias was glaring at him, “No matter how often a 12 year old worked out, that’s just not natural!”
“Mathias, you’re just overreacting-”
“Like hell I am Arthur!” he slammed his hands on the table, “Why didn’t you tell me you let a, a Super into your house?”
“Because I knew this is how you would react,” Arthur stirred his tea and refused to look him in the eye, “It’s honestly not as big a deal as you’re making it out to be.”
“Of course it’s a big deal! You just let some freak into your house without thinking about the consequences!” he sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, “Why do you always do things like this whenever you leave the house Artie…?”
“You’re just jealous he can beat you at arm wrestling.”
“This isn’t about me Arthur! Supers can’t be trusted. I’ve seen it happen, now that they let Supers in the military, and they’ll turn on you. They don’t have a sense of loyalty and trust that we normal people have.”
“Maybe that’s just because you’re an asshole Mathias,” Arthur shot him his own glare, “Did you ever consider that?”
“I’m just looking out for you! I know you always need to take on these little pet projects to occupy your time, but that kid is a menace! He’s dangerous and he wouldn’t have a second thought about hurting you!”
“Funny,” Arthur calmly sipped his tea, “He wasn’t so ‘dangerous’ or ‘menacing’ until a few minutes ago. You were getting along fine with him all weekend.”
“Because you didn’t tell me,” he pointed an accusing finger, “You left me in the dark about him-”
“Because it doesn’t matter! He’s still the same Alfred that fawned over your latest war stories, the same Alfred that laughed whenever you made me miserable. All that’s changed is his strength.”
Mathias didn’t say anything for a while, “You tricked me. He tricked me, because it’s in his nature,” he sighed and glanced imploringly at his cousin, “If you won’t kick that brat out I will.”
“You, dear cousin, do not live here,” Arthur stood up and placed his hands on the table, “This is my manor, and I say who stays and who goes,” his glare increased tenfold, “And I think you’ve overstayed your welcome.”
“Fine,” Mathias glared right back, “I wouldn’t want to stay here with that freak anyway. Nick and I can do something else during our time off.” He stormed out of the kitchen without another word.
Arthur sat back down in his chair and sighed, “How much of that did you actually hear?”
A small squeak sounded from the doorway, “N-none of it. I’m not even here.”
“Alfred…”
The door creaked open and Alfred entered, head downcast, “Almost all of it, actually.”
“Alfred, come here,” Arthur held his arms up as he shuffled over and pulled him into I hug, “Don’t let what he said upset you.”
“I know,” Alfred was tense but rested his head on Arthur's shoulder, “I know, he just… and it’s not like I haven’t heard it all before, but…”
“I know, for some reason, you liked him, but honestly Alfred, he’s a bit of a jerk anyway-”
“He’s not a jerk,” they both looked over to see that at some point Nikolas had entered the kitchen, “Well, he is a jerk, a massive one, and he shouldn’t have said those things. While I don’t agree with what he said or his opinion on the matter, I can see where he’s coming from.”
Arthur glared at him and held Alfred tighter, “To have said those things to Alfred-”
“To be fair, he didn’t know he was listening,” Nikolas sighed and looked up, right into Arthur’s eyes, as if begging him to understand, “He's been in the military for most of his life, we both have, and Supers in the military, well, it hasn’t ended very well for people who aren’t. I’m sure you’ve heard the stories; entire Super units going rouge or just disappearing, Super soldiers failing the, admittedly high, expectations of their comrades and leaving them all for dead. The list goes on. Most of the stories are just rumors,” he shrugged, “But for someone like Mathias, and others, who were raised in that environment on those stories, well, it’s hard to let prejudices go. It doesn't help that regular soldiers like Mathias tend to get passed over for Super soldiers. Not to mention his personal experience with, although, you were right, that was mostly due to him being an ass.”
“If you’re asking me to forgive him-”
“I’m not, not right now anyway,” Nikolas sighed and glanced at the floor to collect his thoughts before looking at Arthur again, “I’m just hoping you’ll try to understand where he’s coming from, I suppose. I think most of this problem stems from a lack of understanding from both sides. Maybe if you understand him a little, he in turn can understand you, and everyone can meet in the middle,” he turned his attention to the window, “Then again, maybe I’m just being overly optimistic.”
“That’s what I think too,” Alfred said, causing Nikolas to stare at him, “I mean, if we all understood each other, maybe things’ll get better.”
Nikolas smiled at that, and Arthur was sure that was the first time he saw him smile, “You’re a good kid Alfred. I hope someday we’ll meet again.”
Mathias and Nikolas left shortly after that.
That night, Alfred claimed he had trouble sleeping. Arthur agreed to let him sleep in his bed, on the condition that it was only a onetime thing and that he kept to his side of the bed.
Come morning, they both decided to ignore the fact that Alfred woke up in Arthur’s arms.
Part 5