The game's afoot!

[godsavemy]

WHO: Arthur and Alfred
WHEN: Thursday Afternoon
WHERE: A random sidewalk in Liberty
WHAT: Arthur and Alfred's first encounter. Oh yes, this will go well.

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[godsavemy]

Arthur was face down in a puddle of rainwater on the pavement and didn't know why.

He was so sure that he had been upright only a moment ago, plodding along and stopping every so often to admire the store fronts. He promised himself to visit this quaint stretch of shops again once the weekend was upon them and indulge himself in a purchase or two. He felt he deserved a little reward after all.

Yes, he had still been vertical then and was only a couple blocks away from the library, when...when what?

Well, he couldn't quite remember what exactly happened next. Everything was a bit of a blur. That is, except for the sensation of his body still smarting from painfully embracing the rough cement and the sense of breathlessness he was experiencing now.

A few frozen moments later, Arthur realized he couldn't breathe. Because...because there was a weight on his back, practically crushing his lungs into dust and he couldn't--!With all the strength he could muster, Arthur shoved off whatever was pinning him to the ground, only succeeding

[godsavemy]

Let it never be said that Arthur Kirkland ever backed down from such a blazingly obvious challenge - especially not one from a naïve fool who thought he could insult Arthur's masculinity and escape unscathed.

"Tell me, do heroes usually try to justify their blunders by blaming perfectly innocent bystanders of not being man enough to withstand idiots crashing into them," Arthur asked in a utterly even tone.

A cocky smirk that hadn't graced his face for years suddenly danced on Arthur's lips, and he just knew his words would hit a sensitive spot.

[13_foundations]

It had been a well-aimed jab, and Alfred flinched under it. Ouch. This guy could hit where it hurt, and seemed pretty pleased with himself. No, heroes wouldn’t do something like that. Alfred couldn’t lie about something like that. And the way that the statement had been worded just made his excuses seem more and more like foolish babble.

“No…” He muttered dejectedly.

But it wasn’t fair! He’d apologized, it had been an honest mistake, but this guy just seemed like he loved holding grudges! And Alfred wasn’t willing to accept full responsibility for the destruction of whatever that writing had been.

“But heroes know when things aren’t entirely their fault, and won’t let someone lamely insulting them try and prove otherwise!” The taller blonde stated firmly, his scowl returning easily. “I know I’m right, so you’re just going to have to deal with that, ‘kay?” Alfred insisted, ready to draw a close to this twisting argument so he could finally get to his job.

[godsavemy]

Something in Arthur just would not allow the younger man to leave thinking he was right, and he quickly snatched up the closest wrist to prevent a premature getaway.

"Do you think you could just--" Before he could launch into another rant, a wave of exhaustion suddenly engulfed Arthur, leaving him momentarily dizzy. With a couple steadying breaths, Arthur regained his bearings, only to look up and see the other man eyeing him warily, as if he were waiting for Arthur to detonate.

And then just as suddenly, Arthur wondered what was he doing.

It was true his manuscript that he put his heart and soul into was damaged beyond repair, but what was the point of standing here and throwing a fit? It's not as if Arthur could force the other to rewrite the whole thing or turn back the clock to a time when his papers were immaculate.

Suddenly feeling childish and worn out - when was the last time he had slept? - Arthur released his hold on a wrist that was now slightly stained with the blood from Arthur's palm

[13_foundations]

Slowly, Alfred let his free hand, which had instinctively reached out to steady the other man, drop to his side unnoticed. His other hand he jerked back a bit more harshly once it was released from the other’s hold, not noticing the red smear left on it.

“Don’t worry, I am. See ya.” He said with a grin, a hardly hidden biting tone and a two-fingered salute

[godsavemy]

Arthur blearily watched the other until he was out of sight (running, did he ever learn?), half-wishing he had throttled the man when he had a chance. His younger self certainly wouldn't have hesitated to take such an action...

But back then Arthur had been a different person and now... Now Arthur simply wanted to return to his house and rid himself of the fatigue that plagued his bones.

Arthur hung his head, feeling older than his twenty-three years, and let out a small groan when confronted with the sight of his scattered papers once more. Despite knowing they couldn't possibly be restored, Arthur slowly gathered the pieces of parchment, careful not to smudge or rip them any further.

And, Arthur realized as he stared mournfully at his failed project, soon he would have to decide if there was any value staying in Liberty any longer.