Of Silence and Thievery (5/12ish)
There was a moment of silence after Alfred started that grew between them, where both kind of just stared at one another, which of course made Arthur feel like an utter loon. He played with the blanket covering him for a bit, waiting for Alfred to continue, but when the young man remained silent, staring unfocused and still, Arthur sighed and snapped his fingers in front of him, drawing Alfred’s attention back to the present.
Toris? Arthur mouthed, prompting Alfred to go on.
Alfred paused, smiling sadly at the memory of a person unknown to Arthur…Arthur tried to suppress the ridiculous surge of jealousy he felt begin within him. “Yeah ok…well, you see, we had a lot more people with us when I first started this…Ivan had been attacking people for a long time and there were lots of people who wanted revenge, be it for themselves or for someone they cared about…Toris and Feliks were that. Toris he…had this crazy powerful ability to heal, so powerful that even after he’d been attacked by Ivan, he could still heal just about anything that wasn’t life threatening…
“Feliks was a longtime friend of Toris and even though he didn’t have a gift of any kind or something stolen from him, he joined us anyway…wanted to make sure he stayed safe with us probably. Anyway, Toris could still heal at nearly full strength, kinda like how you can use your voice at nearly full ability even though you can’t actually speak.”
Arthur motioned at Alfred, grabbing his black tablet and scribbling fiery orange letters on it before Alfred could continue. Or you, with your strength. Or Frances.
Alfred shrugged and smiled sheepishly. “I guess kinda with me but not really with Frances. His other senses of heightened and he can more or less ‘see’ where he is, but he doesn’t have visions anymore, not unless it involves Braginski…which the bastard apparently knows about and manipulates…”
Don’t blame yourself, you idiot. Arthur frowned and shook his head at Alfred, motioning down at himself and his injuries and then at Alfred’s. It’s done and we’re both still here.
“Yeah, I guess…but anyway, Frances and Esther aren’t really the same…I mean, Esther’s still fast because she works out and stuff but she doesn’t have any of her speed…you’re different, like Toris.” Arthur rolled his eyes and pointed sharply with his quill at Arthur, indicating that Alfred ought to be lumped in with him as well. Alfred laughed and held up his hands in a surrendering motion, his bright smile making Arthur’s stomach start pleasant little flips. “Ok, ok! Me too then…but the point is, we’re different. Braginski’s stolen from us but we can still use that power and, from what I can tell, he can’t as well as he wants.”
Alfred got up slowly from his chair before Arthur could protest that a concussed man should really stay still, and scooted his chair closer to Arthur’s bed slowly, careful to not make sharp movements. He sat back down and grinned as he rested his elbows on the bed, rather too close to Arthur’s legs than was recommended for Arthur’s sanity, picking at the quilt as a sad look entered the blue eyes.
“He found out about Toris. He’d taken people before, taken them wholly instead of just stealing gifts and powers but…he found out that Toris could still heal, could still use almost his full ability and he came for him. No one’s really sure how it happened since he sent us on a goose chase, dropping all these hints he was going to steal a woman’s ‘steel’ skin from a nearby village…that woman ended up being in league with him, a girl by the name of Natalia. All we know is when we came back to the ship, most of the crew left behind were seriously injured and Toris was gone, a note left behind by Braginski saying he’d take him off our hands.”
Arthur felt a chill settle against his skin at the thought. It so easily could have been him, what had happened to this Toris had almost happened to him…though it may have been not just him. Arthur looked at Alfred and remembered how Ivan had looked at him…it wasn’t with hatred or anger as Arthur would have expected from a man facing the one who had dedicated his life to stopping him. No, that anger had been directed towards Arthur himself…Ivan had stared at Alfred with something Arthur could only identify as longing…which made him feel irrationally offended and angry. Alfred, however, seemed oblivious to this.
“Feliks was livid and he left soon after.” Arthur looked back up at Alfred, trying to shove his previous thoughts aside and focus on the young man before him, not whispers of what could have happened. “Said he’d look for Toris on his own…we’ve only seen him a handful of times since then.”
And Toris?
Alfred frowned and shook his head, leaning back on the chair and staring moodily out the window. “Nothing. Wherever he is, he’s where Ivan calls home...but he’s probably still alive. Makes no sense to go through all the work of stealing someone just to kill him later.”
Arthur nodded and waved his quill, bringing Alfred’s attention back to him. So he wanted to take me because I can still use my ‘voice’?
Alfred shrugged and nodded. “Tino seems to think so…which makes sense I guess. I mean, Braginski stole your voice and you can still use your ability…and it didn’t seem like he used your voice when he was fighting us so maybe he can’t use it like you can. That’s why we think he took Toris; he couldn’t use the healing ability as well as he wanted. I don’t know though, maybe he just likes you!”
It was meant as a joke, Arthur knew, but something dark and angry entered Alfred’s tone of voice and eyes when he said it. He knew what it sounded like…it was how Ivan had sounded when he discovered that Alfred ‘liked’ Arthur; he wasn’t sure whether to be angry about hearing it or excited (no, definitely NOT excited…let’s say interested, yes good safe word there). Arthur felt a bit out of his depth at the moment. True, he’d gotten used to the ship and the constant magic and even Francis and Gilbert to an extent but now this…
Back in Britannia, he’d made a point to avoid relationships and their messy entanglements, preferring nights and encounters that were just that, a night or an encounter, to some sort of ridiculous affair. It had been easier that way and he’d already had enough on his plate dealing with his brothers and the bookshop…but now, now he found himself drifting further and further away from the life and ideas he’d held for so long. Every time Alfred smiled at him, spoke to him, looked at him with eyes that had to be dyed to be that blue, he found himself falling a little bit more with you idiotic, but brave young man. Which was just ridiculous because there was all this other stuff going on, what with being pirates of a sort and hunting down a thieving madman; but he couldn’t seem to stop it as much as he tried.
And it didn’t help that Alfred would look at him like he was now or how he’d risk his personal safety and fight with a supremely powerful man to help Arthur…in fact it was very detrimental to his overall well-being. It certainly didn’t help how close he was sitting now, looking at Arthur as he tried to think of more to say or something to say to Arthur to maybe ease any reservations he had about joining their party. Or how nice he smelled…all right, that was enough of that. Arthur cleared his throat silently and scribbled down on his tablet, sitting back against to pillows to try and put distance between himself and the young man.
Well, seems a good idea I decided to stay with you lot then.
Alfred’s eyes widened comically, losing most of their darkness as he stared in disbelief at Arthur and the small smirk he allowed himself to have at the expression on Alfred’s face. “Wh-how do you figure?! You just got the crap kicked out of you by the psycho and I told you he already stole someone successfully!”
But you came, didn’t you? Arthur flashed the message and then scribbled down a new ones as the letters faded, looking away with red-tinged cheeks as Alfred’s smile turned, shook itself of all remaining anger and sadness and was simply happy. Thank you for that, by the way.
“Yeah, of course…wouldn’t have just left you…”
The unspoken words hung between them, unspoken because Arthur couldn’t say them and Alfred wasn’t sure how to; yes, Arthur drew a larger target on his back in deciding to join Alfred and his band, but he gained their protection as well. If Ivan had attacked him while he was in Gaul, trying to squeeze out a life there voiceless as he was, Arthur knew he wouldn’t have stood a chance. It was hard to call for help when your voice was gone and it meant the attacker didn’t need to go through the trouble of keeping you silent. Arthur would BE with Ivan if he had remained in Gaul…and for that, he was grateful he had been offered to come and would not regret it. Though, he certainly was going to make that perverted frog feel guilty at every chance he got…it was partially his fault Ivan knew he’d be in the Nords forest.
“We’ll stop him, Arthur. We’ll find him and stop him from attacking anyone ever again and we’ll get back what belongs to us!” Alfred smiled brighter, his eyes alighting with a determined fire and he adopted a somewhat heroic stance (which Arthur thought was impressive since the boy was sitting down and concussed) with a fist pump and decisive nod. Arthur’s smirk softened into a smile of sorts as the glasses slipped down Alfred’s nose a bit. “I promise, we’ll stop him!”
Alfred’s belief was infectious; Arthur nodded as Tino and Oskar came back in, saying that Alfred needed to get rest on a schedule due to his concussion, and he felt better than he had in hours. As Alfred was guided back out and Tino asked if Arthur was up to trying some small ankle rolls and stretches, the stress and horror (Arthur dared anyone who had just been attacked by a powerful, child-like stealer to not be afraid in the same situation) last few hours seemed to melt away into something else. Yes, they would stop Ivan…and they’d get back all that had been taken. Everything.
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The next few weeks were rather uneventful in comparison to the first few weeks, but Arthur chocked that up to being practically bedridden and stuck in a cottage for the most part (not that he was ungrateful…the cottage owners were awfully considerate and helping him heal after all). The crew of the Evangeline had, for the most part, departed back to their ship with Seychelles after the captain had apologized to Arthur for leaving him behind, but both Kiku and Rosa had joined the rest of Alfred’s group in the Nords forest. Seychelles had promised to have the ship stocked and ready to depart as soon as Arthur was able to head off, and while Arthur was a bit peeved that she had left him, he certainly didn’t blame her for what happened. However, it was rather hard to let her know when she rushed off after her apology…he had to write his response after all.
Arthur had spent most of the past few weeks regaining mobility and strength in his ankle and healing the multiple bruises and a few broken ribs he’d received at Ivan’s hands. The five Nord Brothers (as they were apt to calling their little group since it sounded better than the Nord Coven, which Mathias thought made them sound girly) had, for the most part, stuck around the cottage, Tino and Berwald of course since they lived there, but the other three as well. Oskar was pleasant but a bit of a trickster and had a fondness for using his wind abilities to pick up people sitting on chairs off the ground and spin them around. Mathias and Nikolai were in and out the most, but when they were there, Arthur was usually witness to their odd relationship and how often Mathias was usually doused and drenched in some form (Arthur had even seen him frozen once…Arthur suspected that was Berwald’s handiwork).
Berwald was silent and gruff, but Arthur felt an odd kinship with the giant ice-wielder, seeing as he’d been attacked by Ivan and had his voice box nearly crushed as a result, leaving him with limited speaking abilities and able to understand Arthur’s situation much better than anyone else. And Tino…well, Arthur was fairly sure that anyone who met Tino would be unable to do anything but like him…even if he was freakishly powerful and could uproot entire mountains (“not that I ever would, though!” he had said). Tino had also been the one who helped him strengthen his damaged ankle, smiling and encouraging even when Arthur feared there would be lasting damage from what Ivan had done to it.
That was where he found himself currently, out in the front of the cottage with Tino and Oskar, the latter using the air to keep Arthur supported while the other molded the earth to help Arthur’s ankle get used to the motion of walking. Berwald was off to the side, speaking in his limited manner with Gilbert, who had no problem understanding him as he read his lips, and Arthur knew somewhere down the road, heading back from the ship, were Esther and Frances. Alejandro was cooking inside (as the large man apparently was quite the chef) with help from Rosa and Vash was sitting with the aged Lily in the garden, Mathias performing fire tricks for the little girl.
Nikolai was speaking with Kiku and Alfred to the side, though Alfred was more or less not paying attention and kept looking over at Arthur…which was really proving to be counter-productive. Alfred caught Arthur staring back at him and he smiled widely and waved before turning back to Kiku, who was looking at Alfred and Arthur in a very annoying, knowing fashion. Arthur huffed and turned back forward, blowing his hair out of his eyes as he took another tentative step forward at Tino’s insistence. He didn’t need additional distractions when he was trying to walk on a badly damaged and recently repaired ankle, thank you.
“You’re doing much better…I think we can look at the prospect of splinting and crutches…maybe a cane.” Tino smiled brightly as Arthur reached him, oblivious to the snickers that erupted from both Gilbert and Alfred at the mention of Arthur using a cane (for some unknown reason, they both enjoyed comparing him to an old man…bollocks really as Gilbert was older than he was!). “Either way, I think you’re just about ready for the ship again!”
Really? Arthur mouthed as he let Oskar’s wind guide him down to a bench. He looked down briefly at the ugly splotches decorating his ankle and how swollen it still was before turning back to Tino…he liked to think Oskar’s ‘wind-pressure-therapy’ didn’t hurt as much when he wasn’t staring straight at it. How much mobility do you think?
“Probably still limited, but you’ll be able to hobble around well enough. It’ll still be a few weeks before you’re ankle will be better but we’ve done as much as we can…you’ll just have to walk on it and get it used to bearing your full weight again.” Tino glared at Mathias who snickered at the weight comment before he smiled confidently at Arthur. Arthur glared as well, but his glare was much more menacing than Tino’s and at least shut Mathias up.
“I can fashion a splint that could help,” Oskar chimed in. He was currently rolling tightly bunched, spinning globes of air over Arthur’s ankles, trying to working out the swelling and not aggravate the mending bones and tendons. “Something better than a pair of sticks and some tape.”
“Hey! That worked just fine you little twerp!” Mathias shouted back angrily as Oskar sent the taller man a mean smirk. “I got back out of that canyon, didn't I ?!”
“Oskar, don’t antagonize him, he’s still sore about that hiking trip and that splint would be wonderful actually, thank you!” Arthur was beginning to see why Berwald referred to Tino as his wife…he was awful mothering…and he did blush whenever Berwald muttered something incomprehensible to the rest of them but had Gilbert chuckling under his breath.
“Ok, I’ll work on that…shouldn’t take me too long.” The spinning globes of air vanished and Arthur let out a relieved sigh as the sharp pain and pressure let up. Oskar gave him an apologetic shrug before he headed up in the air, a small whirlwind supporting him and carrying him away to wherever his workshop was. Oskar lived with Mathias and Nikolai, but apparently didn’t trust the fire-wielder around his tools so he’d set up his own workshop apart from him.
Arthur nodded to Tino in thanks as the small man helped him to his feet and lent a hand in getting him back inside…that is until Alfred leapt up from his spot and practically yanked Arthur into his own arms, smiling brightly. Arthur scowled and tried to fight against the young man’s hold, but was severely limited due to his ankle, which provided no way to resist, and eventually settled for glaring darkly and muttering silent insults. Tino blinked for a moment before he smiled and began chuckling, trying to hide his laughter behind his hand as Alfred basically carried Arthur inside. Arthur did not care for the knowing look the Earth elemental shared with Kiku and Berwald (the latter shaking his head in an exasperated fashion).
“ Remember, Hero, no strenuous activity!” Gilbert jeered after them, earning Arthur’s glare to swing to him, which amused him further. “Wouldn’t want to break him anymore, would you?”
“I swear, one of these days I’m going to push him off the ship when we’re in the middle of the ocean.” Arthur looked back at Alfred, who was an adorable shade of pink and pouting in embarrassment; he smiled sheepishly and nervously at Arthur as he lead him to the kitchen. “Sorry…he’s just…he’s just stupid, you know? Doesn’t know when to shut up…”
Arthur felt his own embarrassment fade away at the sight of a flustered Alfred (which he was not happy about) and nodded tersely, looking away from the young man’s relieved face and wishing that he didn’t like how the boy smelled so much. Alfred guided him to a kitchen chair and stepped back when Arthur glared at him at trying to actually set him down in the chair as if he was a child-he was injured, not invalid. He hopped and sat down gingerly, raising his ankle onto another chair to keep it elevated. Arthur offered a polite smile to Rosa, who immediately bustled over and pushed Alfred out of the way.
“You should not crowd him, mijo*, the young man needs to breathe!” She frowned at Alfred before offering Arthur a pretty smile. “Are you hungry, amigo? Alejandro has been fixing up some food all day. I’d say it smells delicious, but we know I can’t, so does it?”
Arthur nodded and felt a smile quirk his lips at the beaming smile Rosa gave him. “Oh good…I may not be able to help like I used to, smell is very important to cooking you know, but it’s nice to know I haven’t become useless! Alfred! If Alejandro catches you sneaking a bite of his mole* he’ll skin you alive, mijo!”
Alfred smiled guilty, scooping up another spoonful of the brown, pudding like gunk and stuffing his mouth full before walking away; Rosa rolled her eyes and began muttering exasperatedly in her native, rolling tongue. Arthur grabbed his tablet from Alfred’s bag (which always seemed to appear in whichever room he was in) under the table and wrote down a question as Alfred sat back down beside him.
Why does Alejandro even sail with us when he hates you so much?
Alfred blinked at the orange letters before he laughed, drawing Rosa’s attention to the question as well, to which she smiled in a mysterious and knowing manner. Arthur looked between the two of them before he scowled and motioned for one of them to answer. Rosa wiped her hands free of flour and sat down at the table, shooting a still chuckling Alfred a fond look.
“Alejandro does not care for Alfred, this is true, but he cares very much for Matthew so he journeys with Alfred for him.”
“Hey, he likes me well enough…we just don’t see eye to eye on politics…and he’s violent when he’s angry when you disagree with his politics…but yeah, he’s in this for Mattie. I don’t think he’s really even after getting his fire-breath back anymore; he just wants to help Matt. It’s kinda sweet actually…still, if he even thinks about touching Mattie inappropriately, I’ll make sure he regrets it.”
Rosa rolled her eyes at Arthur and shook her head before she got back up and began rolling her tortillas (a unique and wonderful kind of flatbread from her homeland Arthur found himself quickly becoming addicted to) once more, muttering under her breath. It was odd, imagining a great brute of a man like Alejandro would be so smitten with anyone, much less Alfred’s brother, but he supposed it was sweet in a way. Caring about someone enough to risk everything for that person…Alfred chuckled again and looked back over at Arthur, nudging his unhurt leg under the table with his knee, which made Arthur shoot him a withering look and turn away. Alfred grinned wider and nudged him again…which prompted Arthur to through a roll on the table at his head, snarling silent insults at him all the while.
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Oskar returned not three days later with his engineered splint -it was small and lightweight, using inflatable bags of air to stabilize the ankle and keep it steady while a hard, protective shell surrounded it from the outside, using easily strapping bands to keep it all in place. Arthur still needed to bear most of his weight on his good ankle, but the ‘air-cast*’ as Oskar dubbed it was a vast improvement and did keep the ankle from moving too much. The five Nord Brothers guided the group out of the forest, vowing to let them know if they received and word on Ivan’s whereabouts or any new attacks.
How would you do that? Arthur had asked, to which Nikolai had smiled softly.
“Through the water of course,” he’d responded before departing with Mathias and Oskar back into the woods. Tino and Berwald and stayed a bit longer, walking with them to the docks, the large man resting his arm around the smaller man’s shoulders while Tino made them promise to visit soon. Arthur watched as Tino pulled Alfred aside and murmur something to the young man, something that had Alfred a slight shade of pink and Tino smiling gently in a brotherly fashion. Arthur had looked at him questioningly as Alfred helped Arthur up the gangplank to the Evangeline but the blue-eyed man ad just shrugged and said Tino suggested they visit his brother soon.
Arthur had the distinct notion that Alfred was lying but he didn’t press…it was easy to ignore badgering when he had to write down his pesterings.
Seychelles looked much less guilty than she had previously, for which Arthur was grateful (Vash and Esther had also felt guilty, but had apologized and were done with it…it was pointless focusing on what had happened as it was clear Ivan would have separated Arthur from the others no matter what), and boomed out orders to her crew once everyone was on board. She had looked towards Alfred, asking where they were headed which Alfred answered with little hesitation.
“Spandow* in Germania…I think it’s time we paid Gilly’s brother a visit.”
Arthur’s eyes narrowed at him…Germania did not sound like Merica where Matthew lived and even though he was intrigued with the information that Gilbert had a brother, he was more peeved that Alfred was not telling him everything. Which he then felt ridiculous for since it wasn’t as if Alfred had to tell him anything, it was his group after all, his mission…he cursed the ill-begotten feelings racing through him for the umpteenth time and scowled deeper. This really needed to stop…it was starting to become a serious problem.
The ship departed from the Nords at midday, departing back the way it had come, flashing one last glimpse of the majestic looking mountains and forests, home of the five men Arthur now owed quite a debt to. For nearly two weeks, they sailed down the coast line of the massive country heading south to the sunnier and more advanced country of Germania, a country Arthur was very familiar with since it did quite a lot of trading with Britannia. Arthur’s ankle continued to improve each day, applying a little more pressure to it each day while wearing the air-cast and doing the strength building exercises Tino had taught him before bed. Arthur found himself spending more and more time in the navigation room with Kiku, who proved to be a very pleasant assistant and also did not need Arthur to write down his words to hear him.
“I can read lips as well, Arthur-san. My people are adept at observing body language and facial behavior…we are encouraged to not speak for the majority of our youth to learn how to read a person beyond their words.” Arthur had thought it an odd way to raise children but it certainly seemed to help if Kiku was any indication…the man always seemed to know what you were thinking.
The days blended into a pleasant string of familiarity, Arthur feeling more comfortable with his place within the crew than before and the comfort of knowing what they had to do next and what Ivan could do, while frightening, helped bolster everyone’s determination. If any good could come about from what happened in the Nord forest, Arthur thought, it was that. But Arthur tried not to think too much on that day, especially not how frightened Ivan had made him, especially in his behavior after Alfred had appeared and showed his readiness to defend Arthur…there was something dark in the man when it came to Alfred. Something that caused him to worry much more than worrying about the possibility of him following Toris’ fate.
It was these thoughts that were distracting Arthur as he sat in the navigation room, trying to figure out what would be a good pathway or route to examine first in relation to Ivan sightings with little success, when he felt a hand clasp his shoulder. He jerked back in surprise and turned around to stare into blue eyes that looked much too playful for Arthur’s liking. He glared and snapped the journal sitting on his lap shut and picked up his tablet, writing angrily.
Don’t you know it’s rude to sneak up on people, you git?
“Don’t you know how much of an old man it makes you to stay in here, hunched over maps all the time?” Alfred grinned back. He coked his hip to the side and rested his hands on his sides, tilting his head down at Arthur and painting quite the pretty picture. “Come on, I wanna show you something.”
I’m busy you twat.
“Not anymore!” Alfred had developed this annoying tendency of tossing Arthur over his shoulder when he wanted to get his way, knowing the slighter man was not able to squirm as much as usual without jarring his still healing ankle. Arthur really should have learned to expect it by this point. He struggled as much as could without aggravating his splinted ankle but Alfred just tightened his hold and laughed, carrying him out of the navigation room and onto the deck, picking up the tablet on his way out.
Arthur glared at the crew, who had grown used to this sight and barely even glanced at the two of them as Alfred made his way to the center mast of the ship. “I’ll put you down, but you have to climb up there, no running back to the room!”
Arthur swore silently for a few moments before he nodded his head, steadying himself against Alfred’s arm as he regained equilibrium. He looked at the ladder and sniffed in disgust at Alfred before he made his way, very slowly, up the ladder; it was awkward without full use of both ankles, but he managed by relying on his upper body strength, which was more potent than people seemed to realize. Alfred followed after, keeping an eye on each step, ready to clamber up if Arthur lost his balance.
The sun was setting by the time Arthur reached the top, gingerly swinging over the top of ladder and into the Crow’s Nest, Alfred following immediately after. The tall young man handed Arthur back his tablet, which he snatched away and scowled, taking the quill as well. He looked about, admiring the view of the ocean for a moment, before he scribbled down his question.
Well? What did you want me to see?
“Just watch.” Alfred turned Arthur around and pointed to a familiar coastline. Arthur had never been to this part of Britannia before, but he recognized it nonetheless, shooting Alfred a questioning look over his shoulder before Alfred turned him straight again. “Watch.”
Arthur did. Twilight was blinking away and leaving night behind…and then he saw them. He’d heard of the White Cliffs, heard how beautiful they were and how admired they were by sailors worldwide but he’d never seen them before…and he’d certainly never seen how they looked as the moon began to shine and the stars blinked out. A wall of white met his gaze, white that nearly shimmered as the sea’s reflection and ripples played out against its walls, creating different colors of silver, green, and blue. He had seen the Aurora Lights while in the Nords, seen how they played in the sky and danced with the stars (he had his poetic moments…he’d been a bookkeeper after all), but this was somehow more…dare he say it, magical. He felt a smile upturn his lips the more he looked, knowing that the Cliffs were no doubt beautiful during the day, but he’d never quite seen something so awe-inspiring as they were at night.
“I figured you’d never seen ‘em,” Alfred said softly, shyly. Arthur turned his head to look at the young man, watching them from the other side of the Nest, a soft smile on his face. “Even though you lived there…they’re pretty cool, uh?”
Arthur felt the flush of heat when Alfred turned and looked at him, face all aglow and what not, and nodded before he turned back to the Cliffs and the moon’s light and the ocean’s ripples, feeling something altogether frightening and new swell up within him. This was different, different than just feeling flustered, different than just thinking certain things, different than liking how Alfred smelled…it was more, so much more. And it was terrifying. Arthur could feel his breath speed up and, for once since this entire ordeal had began, he was glad his voice was silent.
Alfred must’ve kept looking at him and noticed something because the next thing Arthur was aware of was that he was standing entirely too close to him, blue eyes boring into him with a brightness and intensity that was hard to look away from. Arthur tried to glare or make it plain that he wanted Alfred to get the hell away, but Alfred frowned, the moonlight glinting off his glasses, placing a hesitant hand on Arthur’s shoulder instead. Arthur knew he should have shrugged the hand off, but once it was there, he found his body leaning in closer until the younger man was forced to wrap arms around him instead…he cursed at himself for a moment before he braved to look up.
“You’ll go back there, Iggy…I mean, they’re all kind of stuck in the mud but you’ll be able to go back once this is all done!” Arthur shook his head…that wasn’t what he wanted and in all honesty, he’d probably always wanted to leave Britannia…he couldn’t give a rat’s arse if he went back. But, Alfred was too dense to see just what his words did to Arthur so assumed that White Cliffs made him miss his old home…and frankly, it was fine if Alfred kept that notion. But no, Arthur had to shake his head no; why could he not lie to him?
Arthur took a deep, silent breath and looked up, prepared to shrug off the question and whole night because that was just for the best, but as usual when it came to Alfred, his plan did not go as planned. Alfred reached up at that same moment and cupped his face, freezing them both, simply staring amidst a sea of stars until, unconsciously (because Arthur sure as fuck would not admit he had done it willingly) leaned forward until the space between dwindled to nothing. However, just as breath mingled and Arthur’s eyes began to slide shut, everything came to a screaming halt with a few simple words.
“Hey, Hero! Get your ass down here, Seychelles said something about being out of those meat patties you like and wants to know if you’ve stashed any anywhere else!” Gilbert’s voice boomed up to them both from the deck, snapping them both away and leaving them to stare at one another in a decidedly much more awkward fashion than before. “You hear me?!”
“Oh…well I-I guess I’ll see you later! Happy you liked the Cliffs!” Alfred mumbled in a rush before he swung over the Crow’s Nest and slid down the ladder, smacking Gilbert on the head with a foot before touching deck and running off. Arthur took a shaky breath and sat down, closing his eyes and wondering what the bloody hell had just happened and what almost had. He had nearly kissed the ruddy idiot…kissed Alfred…and the only thing he could really feel in regards to it was how much he wished Gilbert had kept his fucking mouth shut.
That and how the hell he was supposed to get down now. But, one thing at a time you know, one thing at a time.
TBC…
Next Chapter: osco-blue-fairy.livejournal.com/30592.html#cutid1
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* Spanish endearment for a young/close male family member
**Mole- a Mexican sauce made from chili peppers, other spices, and chocolate
***I’ve used one before…much more effective than a wrap or splint see here: http://www.shopaircast.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/aircast-air-stirrup-ankle-brace-3-273x300.jpg
****Old name for German province of Spandau, one of the initial settlements closest to modern day Berlin.
Toris? Arthur mouthed, prompting Alfred to go on.
Alfred paused, smiling sadly at the memory of a person unknown to Arthur…Arthur tried to suppress the ridiculous surge of jealousy he felt begin within him. “Yeah ok…well, you see, we had a lot more people with us when I first started this…Ivan had been attacking people for a long time and there were lots of people who wanted revenge, be it for themselves or for someone they cared about…Toris and Feliks were that. Toris he…had this crazy powerful ability to heal, so powerful that even after he’d been attacked by Ivan, he could still heal just about anything that wasn’t life threatening…
“Feliks was a longtime friend of Toris and even though he didn’t have a gift of any kind or something stolen from him, he joined us anyway…wanted to make sure he stayed safe with us probably. Anyway, Toris could still heal at nearly full strength, kinda like how you can use your voice at nearly full ability even though you can’t actually speak.”
Arthur motioned at Alfred, grabbing his black tablet and scribbling fiery orange letters on it before Alfred could continue. Or you, with your strength. Or Frances.
Alfred shrugged and smiled sheepishly. “I guess kinda with me but not really with Frances. His other senses of heightened and he can more or less ‘see’ where he is, but he doesn’t have visions anymore, not unless it involves Braginski…which the bastard apparently knows about and manipulates…”
Don’t blame yourself, you idiot. Arthur frowned and shook his head at Alfred, motioning down at himself and his injuries and then at Alfred’s. It’s done and we’re both still here.
“Yeah, I guess…but anyway, Frances and Esther aren’t really the same…I mean, Esther’s still fast because she works out and stuff but she doesn’t have any of her speed…you’re different, like Toris.” Arthur rolled his eyes and pointed sharply with his quill at Arthur, indicating that Alfred ought to be lumped in with him as well. Alfred laughed and held up his hands in a surrendering motion, his bright smile making Arthur’s stomach start pleasant little flips. “Ok, ok! Me too then…but the point is, we’re different. Braginski’s stolen from us but we can still use that power and, from what I can tell, he can’t as well as he wants.”
Alfred got up slowly from his chair before Arthur could protest that a concussed man should really stay still, and scooted his chair closer to Arthur’s bed slowly, careful to not make sharp movements. He sat back down and grinned as he rested his elbows on the bed, rather too close to Arthur’s legs than was recommended for Arthur’s sanity, picking at the quilt as a sad look entered the blue eyes.
“He found out about Toris. He’d taken people before, taken them wholly instead of just stealing gifts and powers but…he found out that Toris could still heal, could still use almost his full ability and he came for him. No one’s really sure how it happened since he sent us on a goose chase, dropping all these hints he was going to steal a woman’s ‘steel’ skin from a nearby village…that woman ended up being in league with him, a girl by the name of Natalia. All we know is when we came back to the ship, most of the crew left behind were seriously injured and Toris was gone, a note left behind by Braginski saying he’d take him off our hands.”
Arthur felt a chill settle against his skin at the thought. It so easily could have been him, what had happened to this Toris had almost happened to him…though it may have been not just him. Arthur looked at Alfred and remembered how Ivan had looked at him…it wasn’t with hatred or anger as Arthur would have expected from a man facing the one who had dedicated his life to stopping him. No, that anger had been directed towards Arthur himself…Ivan had stared at Alfred with something Arthur could only identify as longing…which made him feel irrationally offended and angry. Alfred, however, seemed oblivious to this.
“Feliks was livid and he left soon after.” Arthur looked back up at Alfred, trying to shove his previous thoughts aside and focus on the young man before him, not whispers of what could have happened. “Said he’d look for Toris on his own…we’ve only seen him a handful of times since then.”
And Toris?
Alfred frowned and shook his head, leaning back on the chair and staring moodily out the window. “Nothing. Wherever he is, he’s where Ivan calls home...but he’s probably still alive. Makes no sense to go through all the work of stealing someone just to kill him later.”
Arthur nodded and waved his quill, bringing Alfred’s attention back to him. So he wanted to take me because I can still use my ‘voice’?
Alfred shrugged and nodded. “Tino seems to think so…which makes sense I guess. I mean, Braginski stole your voice and you can still use your ability…and it didn’t seem like he used your voice when he was fighting us so maybe he can’t use it like you can. That’s why we think he took Toris; he couldn’t use the healing ability as well as he wanted. I don’t know though, maybe he just likes you!”
It was meant as a joke, Arthur knew, but something dark and angry entered Alfred’s tone of voice and eyes when he said it. He knew what it sounded like…it was how Ivan had sounded when he discovered that Alfred ‘liked’ Arthur; he wasn’t sure whether to be angry about hearing it or excited (no, definitely NOT excited…let’s say interested, yes good safe word there). Arthur felt a bit out of his depth at the moment. True, he’d gotten used to the ship and the constant magic and even Francis and Gilbert to an extent but now this…
Back in Britannia, he’d made a point to avoid relationships and their messy entanglements, preferring nights and encounters that were just that, a night or an encounter, to some sort of ridiculous affair. It had been easier that way and he’d already had enough on his plate dealing with his brothers and the bookshop…but now, now he found himself drifting further and further away from the life and ideas he’d held for so long. Every time Alfred smiled at him, spoke to him, looked at him with eyes that had to be dyed to be that blue, he found himself falling a little bit more with you idiotic, but brave young man. Which was just ridiculous because there was all this other stuff going on, what with being pirates of a sort and hunting down a thieving madman; but he couldn’t seem to stop it as much as he tried.
And it didn’t help that Alfred would look at him like he was now or how he’d risk his personal safety and fight with a supremely powerful man to help Arthur…in fact it was very detrimental to his overall well-being. It certainly didn’t help how close he was sitting now, looking at Arthur as he tried to think of more to say or something to say to Arthur to maybe ease any reservations he had about joining their party. Or how nice he smelled…all right, that was enough of that. Arthur cleared his throat silently and scribbled down on his tablet, sitting back against to pillows to try and put distance between himself and the young man.
Well, seems a good idea I decided to stay with you lot then.
Alfred’s eyes widened comically, losing most of their darkness as he stared in disbelief at Arthur and the small smirk he allowed himself to have at the expression on Alfred’s face. “Wh-how do you figure?! You just got the crap kicked out of you by the psycho and I told you he already stole someone successfully!”
But you came, didn’t you? Arthur flashed the message and then scribbled down a new ones as the letters faded, looking away with red-tinged cheeks as Alfred’s smile turned, shook itself of all remaining anger and sadness and was simply happy. Thank you for that, by the way.
“Yeah, of course…wouldn’t have just left you…”
The unspoken words hung between them, unspoken because Arthur couldn’t say them and Alfred wasn’t sure how to; yes, Arthur drew a larger target on his back in deciding to join Alfred and his band, but he gained their protection as well. If Ivan had attacked him while he was in Gaul, trying to squeeze out a life there voiceless as he was, Arthur knew he wouldn’t have stood a chance. It was hard to call for help when your voice was gone and it meant the attacker didn’t need to go through the trouble of keeping you silent. Arthur would BE with Ivan if he had remained in Gaul…and for that, he was grateful he had been offered to come and would not regret it. Though, he certainly was going to make that perverted frog feel guilty at every chance he got…it was partially his fault Ivan knew he’d be in the Nords forest.
“We’ll stop him, Arthur. We’ll find him and stop him from attacking anyone ever again and we’ll get back what belongs to us!” Alfred smiled brighter, his eyes alighting with a determined fire and he adopted a somewhat heroic stance (which Arthur thought was impressive since the boy was sitting down and concussed) with a fist pump and decisive nod. Arthur’s smirk softened into a smile of sorts as the glasses slipped down Alfred’s nose a bit. “I promise, we’ll stop him!”
Alfred’s belief was infectious; Arthur nodded as Tino and Oskar came back in, saying that Alfred needed to get rest on a schedule due to his concussion, and he felt better than he had in hours. As Alfred was guided back out and Tino asked if Arthur was up to trying some small ankle rolls and stretches, the stress and horror (Arthur dared anyone who had just been attacked by a powerful, child-like stealer to not be afraid in the same situation) last few hours seemed to melt away into something else. Yes, they would stop Ivan…and they’d get back all that had been taken. Everything.
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The next few weeks were rather uneventful in comparison to the first few weeks, but Arthur chocked that up to being practically bedridden and stuck in a cottage for the most part (not that he was ungrateful…the cottage owners were awfully considerate and helping him heal after all). The crew of the Evangeline had, for the most part, departed back to their ship with Seychelles after the captain had apologized to Arthur for leaving him behind, but both Kiku and Rosa had joined the rest of Alfred’s group in the Nords forest. Seychelles had promised to have the ship stocked and ready to depart as soon as Arthur was able to head off, and while Arthur was a bit peeved that she had left him, he certainly didn’t blame her for what happened. However, it was rather hard to let her know when she rushed off after her apology…he had to write his response after all.
Arthur had spent most of the past few weeks regaining mobility and strength in his ankle and healing the multiple bruises and a few broken ribs he’d received at Ivan’s hands. The five Nord Brothers (as they were apt to calling their little group since it sounded better than the Nord Coven, which Mathias thought made them sound girly) had, for the most part, stuck around the cottage, Tino and Berwald of course since they lived there, but the other three as well. Oskar was pleasant but a bit of a trickster and had a fondness for using his wind abilities to pick up people sitting on chairs off the ground and spin them around. Mathias and Nikolai were in and out the most, but when they were there, Arthur was usually witness to their odd relationship and how often Mathias was usually doused and drenched in some form (Arthur had even seen him frozen once…Arthur suspected that was Berwald’s handiwork).
Berwald was silent and gruff, but Arthur felt an odd kinship with the giant ice-wielder, seeing as he’d been attacked by Ivan and had his voice box nearly crushed as a result, leaving him with limited speaking abilities and able to understand Arthur’s situation much better than anyone else. And Tino…well, Arthur was fairly sure that anyone who met Tino would be unable to do anything but like him…even if he was freakishly powerful and could uproot entire mountains (“not that I ever would, though!” he had said). Tino had also been the one who helped him strengthen his damaged ankle, smiling and encouraging even when Arthur feared there would be lasting damage from what Ivan had done to it.
That was where he found himself currently, out in the front of the cottage with Tino and Oskar, the latter using the air to keep Arthur supported while the other molded the earth to help Arthur’s ankle get used to the motion of walking. Berwald was off to the side, speaking in his limited manner with Gilbert, who had no problem understanding him as he read his lips, and Arthur knew somewhere down the road, heading back from the ship, were Esther and Frances. Alejandro was cooking inside (as the large man apparently was quite the chef) with help from Rosa and Vash was sitting with the aged Lily in the garden, Mathias performing fire tricks for the little girl.
Nikolai was speaking with Kiku and Alfred to the side, though Alfred was more or less not paying attention and kept looking over at Arthur…which was really proving to be counter-productive. Alfred caught Arthur staring back at him and he smiled widely and waved before turning back to Kiku, who was looking at Alfred and Arthur in a very annoying, knowing fashion. Arthur huffed and turned back forward, blowing his hair out of his eyes as he took another tentative step forward at Tino’s insistence. He didn’t need additional distractions when he was trying to walk on a badly damaged and recently repaired ankle, thank you.
“You’re doing much better…I think we can look at the prospect of splinting and crutches…maybe a cane.” Tino smiled brightly as Arthur reached him, oblivious to the snickers that erupted from both Gilbert and Alfred at the mention of Arthur using a cane (for some unknown reason, they both enjoyed comparing him to an old man…bollocks really as Gilbert was older than he was!). “Either way, I think you’re just about ready for the ship again!”
Really? Arthur mouthed as he let Oskar’s wind guide him down to a bench. He looked down briefly at the ugly splotches decorating his ankle and how swollen it still was before turning back to Tino…he liked to think Oskar’s ‘wind-pressure-therapy’ didn’t hurt as much when he wasn’t staring straight at it. How much mobility do you think?
“Probably still limited, but you’ll be able to hobble around well enough. It’ll still be a few weeks before you’re ankle will be better but we’ve done as much as we can…you’ll just have to walk on it and get it used to bearing your full weight again.” Tino glared at Mathias who snickered at the weight comment before he smiled confidently at Arthur. Arthur glared as well, but his glare was much more menacing than Tino’s and at least shut Mathias up.
“I can fashion a splint that could help,” Oskar chimed in. He was currently rolling tightly bunched, spinning globes of air over Arthur’s ankles, trying to working out the swelling and not aggravate the mending bones and tendons. “Something better than a pair of sticks and some tape.”
“Hey! That worked just fine you little twerp!” Mathias shouted back angrily as Oskar sent the taller man a mean smirk. “I got back out of that canyon, didn't I ?!”
“Oskar, don’t antagonize him, he’s still sore about that hiking trip and that splint would be wonderful actually, thank you!” Arthur was beginning to see why Berwald referred to Tino as his wife…he was awful mothering…and he did blush whenever Berwald muttered something incomprehensible to the rest of them but had Gilbert chuckling under his breath.
“Ok, I’ll work on that…shouldn’t take me too long.” The spinning globes of air vanished and Arthur let out a relieved sigh as the sharp pain and pressure let up. Oskar gave him an apologetic shrug before he headed up in the air, a small whirlwind supporting him and carrying him away to wherever his workshop was. Oskar lived with Mathias and Nikolai, but apparently didn’t trust the fire-wielder around his tools so he’d set up his own workshop apart from him.
Arthur nodded to Tino in thanks as the small man helped him to his feet and lent a hand in getting him back inside…that is until Alfred leapt up from his spot and practically yanked Arthur into his own arms, smiling brightly. Arthur scowled and tried to fight against the young man’s hold, but was severely limited due to his ankle, which provided no way to resist, and eventually settled for glaring darkly and muttering silent insults. Tino blinked for a moment before he smiled and began chuckling, trying to hide his laughter behind his hand as Alfred basically carried Arthur inside. Arthur did not care for the knowing look the Earth elemental shared with Kiku and Berwald (the latter shaking his head in an exasperated fashion).
“ Remember, Hero, no strenuous activity!” Gilbert jeered after them, earning Arthur’s glare to swing to him, which amused him further. “Wouldn’t want to break him anymore, would you?”
“I swear, one of these days I’m going to push him off the ship when we’re in the middle of the ocean.” Arthur looked back at Alfred, who was an adorable shade of pink and pouting in embarrassment; he smiled sheepishly and nervously at Arthur as he lead him to the kitchen. “Sorry…he’s just…he’s just stupid, you know? Doesn’t know when to shut up…”
Arthur felt his own embarrassment fade away at the sight of a flustered Alfred (which he was not happy about) and nodded tersely, looking away from the young man’s relieved face and wishing that he didn’t like how the boy smelled so much. Alfred guided him to a kitchen chair and stepped back when Arthur glared at him at trying to actually set him down in the chair as if he was a child-he was injured, not invalid. He hopped and sat down gingerly, raising his ankle onto another chair to keep it elevated. Arthur offered a polite smile to Rosa, who immediately bustled over and pushed Alfred out of the way.
“You should not crowd him, mijo*, the young man needs to breathe!” She frowned at Alfred before offering Arthur a pretty smile. “Are you hungry, amigo? Alejandro has been fixing up some food all day. I’d say it smells delicious, but we know I can’t, so does it?”
Arthur nodded and felt a smile quirk his lips at the beaming smile Rosa gave him. “Oh good…I may not be able to help like I used to, smell is very important to cooking you know, but it’s nice to know I haven’t become useless! Alfred! If Alejandro catches you sneaking a bite of his mole* he’ll skin you alive, mijo!”
Alfred smiled guilty, scooping up another spoonful of the brown, pudding like gunk and stuffing his mouth full before walking away; Rosa rolled her eyes and began muttering exasperatedly in her native, rolling tongue. Arthur grabbed his tablet from Alfred’s bag (which always seemed to appear in whichever room he was in) under the table and wrote down a question as Alfred sat back down beside him.
Why does Alejandro even sail with us when he hates you so much?
Alfred blinked at the orange letters before he laughed, drawing Rosa’s attention to the question as well, to which she smiled in a mysterious and knowing manner. Arthur looked between the two of them before he scowled and motioned for one of them to answer. Rosa wiped her hands free of flour and sat down at the table, shooting a still chuckling Alfred a fond look.
“Alejandro does not care for Alfred, this is true, but he cares very much for Matthew so he journeys with Alfred for him.”
“Hey, he likes me well enough…we just don’t see eye to eye on politics…and he’s violent when he’s angry when you disagree with his politics…but yeah, he’s in this for Mattie. I don’t think he’s really even after getting his fire-breath back anymore; he just wants to help Matt. It’s kinda sweet actually…still, if he even thinks about touching Mattie inappropriately, I’ll make sure he regrets it.”
Rosa rolled her eyes at Arthur and shook her head before she got back up and began rolling her tortillas (a unique and wonderful kind of flatbread from her homeland Arthur found himself quickly becoming addicted to) once more, muttering under her breath. It was odd, imagining a great brute of a man like Alejandro would be so smitten with anyone, much less Alfred’s brother, but he supposed it was sweet in a way. Caring about someone enough to risk everything for that person…Alfred chuckled again and looked back over at Arthur, nudging his unhurt leg under the table with his knee, which made Arthur shoot him a withering look and turn away. Alfred grinned wider and nudged him again…which prompted Arthur to through a roll on the table at his head, snarling silent insults at him all the while.
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Oskar returned not three days later with his engineered splint -it was small and lightweight, using inflatable bags of air to stabilize the ankle and keep it steady while a hard, protective shell surrounded it from the outside, using easily strapping bands to keep it all in place. Arthur still needed to bear most of his weight on his good ankle, but the ‘air-cast*’ as Oskar dubbed it was a vast improvement and did keep the ankle from moving too much. The five Nord Brothers guided the group out of the forest, vowing to let them know if they received and word on Ivan’s whereabouts or any new attacks.
How would you do that? Arthur had asked, to which Nikolai had smiled softly.
“Through the water of course,” he’d responded before departing with Mathias and Oskar back into the woods. Tino and Berwald and stayed a bit longer, walking with them to the docks, the large man resting his arm around the smaller man’s shoulders while Tino made them promise to visit soon. Arthur watched as Tino pulled Alfred aside and murmur something to the young man, something that had Alfred a slight shade of pink and Tino smiling gently in a brotherly fashion. Arthur had looked at him questioningly as Alfred helped Arthur up the gangplank to the Evangeline but the blue-eyed man ad just shrugged and said Tino suggested they visit his brother soon.
Arthur had the distinct notion that Alfred was lying but he didn’t press…it was easy to ignore badgering when he had to write down his pesterings.
Seychelles looked much less guilty than she had previously, for which Arthur was grateful (Vash and Esther had also felt guilty, but had apologized and were done with it…it was pointless focusing on what had happened as it was clear Ivan would have separated Arthur from the others no matter what), and boomed out orders to her crew once everyone was on board. She had looked towards Alfred, asking where they were headed which Alfred answered with little hesitation.
“Spandow* in Germania…I think it’s time we paid Gilly’s brother a visit.”
Arthur’s eyes narrowed at him…Germania did not sound like Merica where Matthew lived and even though he was intrigued with the information that Gilbert had a brother, he was more peeved that Alfred was not telling him everything. Which he then felt ridiculous for since it wasn’t as if Alfred had to tell him anything, it was his group after all, his mission…he cursed the ill-begotten feelings racing through him for the umpteenth time and scowled deeper. This really needed to stop…it was starting to become a serious problem.
The ship departed from the Nords at midday, departing back the way it had come, flashing one last glimpse of the majestic looking mountains and forests, home of the five men Arthur now owed quite a debt to. For nearly two weeks, they sailed down the coast line of the massive country heading south to the sunnier and more advanced country of Germania, a country Arthur was very familiar with since it did quite a lot of trading with Britannia. Arthur’s ankle continued to improve each day, applying a little more pressure to it each day while wearing the air-cast and doing the strength building exercises Tino had taught him before bed. Arthur found himself spending more and more time in the navigation room with Kiku, who proved to be a very pleasant assistant and also did not need Arthur to write down his words to hear him.
“I can read lips as well, Arthur-san. My people are adept at observing body language and facial behavior…we are encouraged to not speak for the majority of our youth to learn how to read a person beyond their words.” Arthur had thought it an odd way to raise children but it certainly seemed to help if Kiku was any indication…the man always seemed to know what you were thinking.
The days blended into a pleasant string of familiarity, Arthur feeling more comfortable with his place within the crew than before and the comfort of knowing what they had to do next and what Ivan could do, while frightening, helped bolster everyone’s determination. If any good could come about from what happened in the Nord forest, Arthur thought, it was that. But Arthur tried not to think too much on that day, especially not how frightened Ivan had made him, especially in his behavior after Alfred had appeared and showed his readiness to defend Arthur…there was something dark in the man when it came to Alfred. Something that caused him to worry much more than worrying about the possibility of him following Toris’ fate.
It was these thoughts that were distracting Arthur as he sat in the navigation room, trying to figure out what would be a good pathway or route to examine first in relation to Ivan sightings with little success, when he felt a hand clasp his shoulder. He jerked back in surprise and turned around to stare into blue eyes that looked much too playful for Arthur’s liking. He glared and snapped the journal sitting on his lap shut and picked up his tablet, writing angrily.
Don’t you know it’s rude to sneak up on people, you git?
“Don’t you know how much of an old man it makes you to stay in here, hunched over maps all the time?” Alfred grinned back. He coked his hip to the side and rested his hands on his sides, tilting his head down at Arthur and painting quite the pretty picture. “Come on, I wanna show you something.”
I’m busy you twat.
“Not anymore!” Alfred had developed this annoying tendency of tossing Arthur over his shoulder when he wanted to get his way, knowing the slighter man was not able to squirm as much as usual without jarring his still healing ankle. Arthur really should have learned to expect it by this point. He struggled as much as could without aggravating his splinted ankle but Alfred just tightened his hold and laughed, carrying him out of the navigation room and onto the deck, picking up the tablet on his way out.
Arthur glared at the crew, who had grown used to this sight and barely even glanced at the two of them as Alfred made his way to the center mast of the ship. “I’ll put you down, but you have to climb up there, no running back to the room!”
Arthur swore silently for a few moments before he nodded his head, steadying himself against Alfred’s arm as he regained equilibrium. He looked at the ladder and sniffed in disgust at Alfred before he made his way, very slowly, up the ladder; it was awkward without full use of both ankles, but he managed by relying on his upper body strength, which was more potent than people seemed to realize. Alfred followed after, keeping an eye on each step, ready to clamber up if Arthur lost his balance.
The sun was setting by the time Arthur reached the top, gingerly swinging over the top of ladder and into the Crow’s Nest, Alfred following immediately after. The tall young man handed Arthur back his tablet, which he snatched away and scowled, taking the quill as well. He looked about, admiring the view of the ocean for a moment, before he scribbled down his question.
Well? What did you want me to see?
“Just watch.” Alfred turned Arthur around and pointed to a familiar coastline. Arthur had never been to this part of Britannia before, but he recognized it nonetheless, shooting Alfred a questioning look over his shoulder before Alfred turned him straight again. “Watch.”
Arthur did. Twilight was blinking away and leaving night behind…and then he saw them. He’d heard of the White Cliffs, heard how beautiful they were and how admired they were by sailors worldwide but he’d never seen them before…and he’d certainly never seen how they looked as the moon began to shine and the stars blinked out. A wall of white met his gaze, white that nearly shimmered as the sea’s reflection and ripples played out against its walls, creating different colors of silver, green, and blue. He had seen the Aurora Lights while in the Nords, seen how they played in the sky and danced with the stars (he had his poetic moments…he’d been a bookkeeper after all), but this was somehow more…dare he say it, magical. He felt a smile upturn his lips the more he looked, knowing that the Cliffs were no doubt beautiful during the day, but he’d never quite seen something so awe-inspiring as they were at night.
“I figured you’d never seen ‘em,” Alfred said softly, shyly. Arthur turned his head to look at the young man, watching them from the other side of the Nest, a soft smile on his face. “Even though you lived there…they’re pretty cool, uh?”
Arthur felt the flush of heat when Alfred turned and looked at him, face all aglow and what not, and nodded before he turned back to the Cliffs and the moon’s light and the ocean’s ripples, feeling something altogether frightening and new swell up within him. This was different, different than just feeling flustered, different than just thinking certain things, different than liking how Alfred smelled…it was more, so much more. And it was terrifying. Arthur could feel his breath speed up and, for once since this entire ordeal had began, he was glad his voice was silent.
Alfred must’ve kept looking at him and noticed something because the next thing Arthur was aware of was that he was standing entirely too close to him, blue eyes boring into him with a brightness and intensity that was hard to look away from. Arthur tried to glare or make it plain that he wanted Alfred to get the hell away, but Alfred frowned, the moonlight glinting off his glasses, placing a hesitant hand on Arthur’s shoulder instead. Arthur knew he should have shrugged the hand off, but once it was there, he found his body leaning in closer until the younger man was forced to wrap arms around him instead…he cursed at himself for a moment before he braved to look up.
“You’ll go back there, Iggy…I mean, they’re all kind of stuck in the mud but you’ll be able to go back once this is all done!” Arthur shook his head…that wasn’t what he wanted and in all honesty, he’d probably always wanted to leave Britannia…he couldn’t give a rat’s arse if he went back. But, Alfred was too dense to see just what his words did to Arthur so assumed that White Cliffs made him miss his old home…and frankly, it was fine if Alfred kept that notion. But no, Arthur had to shake his head no; why could he not lie to him?
Arthur took a deep, silent breath and looked up, prepared to shrug off the question and whole night because that was just for the best, but as usual when it came to Alfred, his plan did not go as planned. Alfred reached up at that same moment and cupped his face, freezing them both, simply staring amidst a sea of stars until, unconsciously (because Arthur sure as fuck would not admit he had done it willingly) leaned forward until the space between dwindled to nothing. However, just as breath mingled and Arthur’s eyes began to slide shut, everything came to a screaming halt with a few simple words.
“Hey, Hero! Get your ass down here, Seychelles said something about being out of those meat patties you like and wants to know if you’ve stashed any anywhere else!” Gilbert’s voice boomed up to them both from the deck, snapping them both away and leaving them to stare at one another in a decidedly much more awkward fashion than before. “You hear me?!”
“Oh…well I-I guess I’ll see you later! Happy you liked the Cliffs!” Alfred mumbled in a rush before he swung over the Crow’s Nest and slid down the ladder, smacking Gilbert on the head with a foot before touching deck and running off. Arthur took a shaky breath and sat down, closing his eyes and wondering what the bloody hell had just happened and what almost had. He had nearly kissed the ruddy idiot…kissed Alfred…and the only thing he could really feel in regards to it was how much he wished Gilbert had kept his fucking mouth shut.
That and how the hell he was supposed to get down now. But, one thing at a time you know, one thing at a time.
TBC…
Next Chapter: osco-blue-fairy.livejournal.com/30592.html#cutid1
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* Spanish endearment for a young/close male family member
**Mole- a Mexican sauce made from chili peppers, other spices, and chocolate
***I’ve used one before…much more effective than a wrap or splint see here: http://www.shopaircast.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/aircast-air-stirrup-ankle-brace-3-273x300.jpg
****Old name for German province of Spandau, one of the initial settlements closest to modern day Berlin.