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Jul. 14th, 2011 06:33 am
[Fic] Summer Camp: Holding Out - Day 13
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fivedayslaterTitle: Holding Out - Part 9: Sewing
Characters: America, England, Austria, Hungary, mentions of Canada.
Rating/Warnings: PG13, 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: As Alfred becomes a teenager, he's out later and comes home hurt. While Arthur fixes up his clothes, he frets and worries.
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8
Alfred had always had a habit of staying out later than Arthur would have liked. He was ‘looking for Mattie,’ and since Arthur never had the heart to tell him to just give it up, he would let him. For the most part he came back in good condition and he had always come home before 10. Lately, however, he’d been coming back later and later with more and more injuries.
But Arthur was definitely not worried.
“Stop worrying about him,” Elizaveta sighed as she continued doing laundry, “If he’s in any real trouble, he’d tell us.”
“He keeps coming home beaten and bloody,” Arthur protested, “What do you think he’s doing if he’s not getting into trouble?”
“He’s a teenager now,” she shrugged and put some more shirts into the washer, “it’s only natural that he comes home late a little worse for the wear.”
“A little – Elizaveta, did you see his face last Wednesday? That’s a bit more than worse for the wear!” When she only shrugged and continued with her work, he began to piece it together, “You know something I don’t.”
“W-what?” she let out a high pitched giggle and continued chucking clothes into the washer, “I have no idea what you’re talking about Master Arthur.”
Arthur gave her a wither glare that she continued to ignore, “Fine then, keep your secrets. I’ll find them out some other way.” As he turned to storm off, he noticed a pile of Alfred’s clothes in the corner of the laundry room, “What’s wrong with these?”
“They need to be mended,” Elizaveta waved him off, “Small tears and things. Don’t worry; I’ll get to them soon.”
Arthur took the liberty to pilfer through the pile. While some of the clothes did indeed have small tears, they were also ripped and torn in many more places. Most had at least one large hole, while others had buttons and sleeves completely torn off. He gathered them all up in a basket telling her, “You’ve been working so hard. I’ll take care of these,” as he left the laundry room.
*~*+~
Arthur had been mending Alfred’s clothes in the study for a good two hours before Roderich came in to join him. He hadn’t offered to help him mend anything, but was more than willing to indulge him in his skepticism about Alfred’s nighttime activities.
“He could be into drugs,” Arthur said as he violently finished stitching on a sleeve, “It always goes back to drugs.”
“I highly doubt its drugs,” Roderich rolled his eyes as he played with one of Arthur’s spare needles, “Maybe he is just hanging out with his friends like a normal teenager?”
“What friends?” he tied the thread off and cut it, giving the sleeve a few good tugs to see if it was tight enough, “He lives and goes to school here. He's not in contact with anyone he was at the orphanage with.”
“That you know of,” Roderich peered at him over his glasses, “Perhaps he still has a friend or two from that place that still talk to him.”
Arthur threaded the needle again, this time with red thread, as he picked up a red shirt and began stitching up the holes in that, “Doubtful. The only person he’s ever mentioned from that place is Matthew, and sometimes Gilbert.”
“Well, most likely, he actually is still looking for Matthew. Did that ever cross your mind?”
“His behavior is changing. If he was still doing the same actions, why would his behavior be changing?”
“He’s been at it for over a year,” Arthur paused in his sewing to focus on his butler, “He might be getting desperate, resorting to other means to try and find him.”
“Like, violence to get the information he seeks?” he shook his head and went back to his sewing, “That’s not Alfred.”
“Desperation brings out the worst in us.”
“That’s not Alfred.”
They descended into silence, save for Roderich tapping the needle in his hands and the soft sounds of Arthur’s mending. Eventually Roderich broke it, “Over a year of searching on his own and you don’t think it odd that he hasn’t asked us for help?”
“It’s his brother, it’s his quest,” Arthur focused on his sewing, “He wants to do it himself.”
“You and I both know there is next to no chance of Matthew still being on the streets even by the time you found Alfred let alone over a year later. I’m sure by now, even Alfred would be aware of his brother’s probable situation?”
Arthur bit the thread loose and tied it into a knot before he tested the holes and tossed it aside, pulling a pair of navy blue trousers off the pile and threaded his needle with blue thread, “Are you saying he’s in denial?”
“Maybe. I’m sure if you actually found where Matthew ended up for him, it would put his mind at ease.”
“Me?” Arthur raised an eyebrow, never taking his eyes off his work, “Why me?”
“Because you’re one of if not the richest people in the city. I’m sure he’s figured out by now that money means everything in this city; if you wanted to, you could find out what happened to Matthew within matter of days if not hours.”
“Orphaned Supers are hard to find, no matter how much money you throw at it,” he shook his head and kept stitching, “I will take your advice into consideration.”
*_~*_~
“Arthur?” Alfred called out as he entered the study, “Have you seen my yellow shirt? Elizaveta said you brought a bunch of stuff up here to mend?”
“Hm?” Arthur looked up from the socks he was darning and the sudden voice, Roderich had left him alone over an hour ago, “It’s probably somewhere in that pile over there.”
Alfred crouched down and started digging through the pile. Arthur set aside the sock and spent a few minutes openly staring at him before asking, “What’s wrong Alfred?”
“Wrong?” he questioned, still searching through the pile, “Nothing’s wrong. Why do you ask?”
“Your clothes have been rather torn of late. What have you been doing to cause them to be so?”
“Nothing out of the ordinary. Just a few scuffles here and there. It only looks like a lot because Elizaveta keeps putting off fixing them and piling them up in the kitchen.
“Alfred you’re not a very good liar,” Alfred froze and turned, still crouched, to face him. Arthur looked between the clothes scattered throughout his study before settling back on his face, “Why won’t you tell me what you’re up to?”
“It’s a secret,” he pouted and glanced away for half a second before returning his attention to Arthur, “I can’t tell you.”
Arthur tried to keep the hurt off his face, “Does it have to do with finding your brother?”
“Uh, a bit. I mean, yeah, what I’m doing is going to help find him.”
“Alright,” Arthur leaned forward in his chair to pull out the yellow shirt Alfred had been looking for. He placed it in his hands with an, “At least tell me what you’re doing is… good. That you’re not getting into trouble.”
“It is good,” Alfred smiled at the thought, “It’s great even, and I’m not… getting into trouble, or at least not the bad kind?”
“Well what other kind is there?” Alfred had no answer, and Arthur let it drop.
“I'm sorry if I'm worrying you Arthur," Alfred looked him right in the eyes, “And I know you are, don't try to deny it, but trust me when I say that I’m not doing anything… wrong.”
He handed him back the shirt with a weak smile, “That’s all I could ask for."
Part 10
Characters: America, England, Austria, Hungary, mentions of Canada.
Rating/Warnings: PG13, 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: As Alfred becomes a teenager, he's out later and comes home hurt. While Arthur fixes up his clothes, he frets and worries.
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8
Alfred had always had a habit of staying out later than Arthur would have liked. He was ‘looking for Mattie,’ and since Arthur never had the heart to tell him to just give it up, he would let him. For the most part he came back in good condition and he had always come home before 10. Lately, however, he’d been coming back later and later with more and more injuries.
But Arthur was definitely not worried.
“Stop worrying about him,” Elizaveta sighed as she continued doing laundry, “If he’s in any real trouble, he’d tell us.”
“He keeps coming home beaten and bloody,” Arthur protested, “What do you think he’s doing if he’s not getting into trouble?”
“He’s a teenager now,” she shrugged and put some more shirts into the washer, “it’s only natural that he comes home late a little worse for the wear.”
“A little – Elizaveta, did you see his face last Wednesday? That’s a bit more than worse for the wear!” When she only shrugged and continued with her work, he began to piece it together, “You know something I don’t.”
“W-what?” she let out a high pitched giggle and continued chucking clothes into the washer, “I have no idea what you’re talking about Master Arthur.”
Arthur gave her a wither glare that she continued to ignore, “Fine then, keep your secrets. I’ll find them out some other way.” As he turned to storm off, he noticed a pile of Alfred’s clothes in the corner of the laundry room, “What’s wrong with these?”
“They need to be mended,” Elizaveta waved him off, “Small tears and things. Don’t worry; I’ll get to them soon.”
Arthur took the liberty to pilfer through the pile. While some of the clothes did indeed have small tears, they were also ripped and torn in many more places. Most had at least one large hole, while others had buttons and sleeves completely torn off. He gathered them all up in a basket telling her, “You’ve been working so hard. I’ll take care of these,” as he left the laundry room.
*~*+~
Arthur had been mending Alfred’s clothes in the study for a good two hours before Roderich came in to join him. He hadn’t offered to help him mend anything, but was more than willing to indulge him in his skepticism about Alfred’s nighttime activities.
“He could be into drugs,” Arthur said as he violently finished stitching on a sleeve, “It always goes back to drugs.”
“I highly doubt its drugs,” Roderich rolled his eyes as he played with one of Arthur’s spare needles, “Maybe he is just hanging out with his friends like a normal teenager?”
“What friends?” he tied the thread off and cut it, giving the sleeve a few good tugs to see if it was tight enough, “He lives and goes to school here. He's not in contact with anyone he was at the orphanage with.”
“That you know of,” Roderich peered at him over his glasses, “Perhaps he still has a friend or two from that place that still talk to him.”
Arthur threaded the needle again, this time with red thread, as he picked up a red shirt and began stitching up the holes in that, “Doubtful. The only person he’s ever mentioned from that place is Matthew, and sometimes Gilbert.”
“Well, most likely, he actually is still looking for Matthew. Did that ever cross your mind?”
“His behavior is changing. If he was still doing the same actions, why would his behavior be changing?”
“He’s been at it for over a year,” Arthur paused in his sewing to focus on his butler, “He might be getting desperate, resorting to other means to try and find him.”
“Like, violence to get the information he seeks?” he shook his head and went back to his sewing, “That’s not Alfred.”
“Desperation brings out the worst in us.”
“That’s not Alfred.”
They descended into silence, save for Roderich tapping the needle in his hands and the soft sounds of Arthur’s mending. Eventually Roderich broke it, “Over a year of searching on his own and you don’t think it odd that he hasn’t asked us for help?”
“It’s his brother, it’s his quest,” Arthur focused on his sewing, “He wants to do it himself.”
“You and I both know there is next to no chance of Matthew still being on the streets even by the time you found Alfred let alone over a year later. I’m sure by now, even Alfred would be aware of his brother’s probable situation?”
Arthur bit the thread loose and tied it into a knot before he tested the holes and tossed it aside, pulling a pair of navy blue trousers off the pile and threaded his needle with blue thread, “Are you saying he’s in denial?”
“Maybe. I’m sure if you actually found where Matthew ended up for him, it would put his mind at ease.”
“Me?” Arthur raised an eyebrow, never taking his eyes off his work, “Why me?”
“Because you’re one of if not the richest people in the city. I’m sure he’s figured out by now that money means everything in this city; if you wanted to, you could find out what happened to Matthew within matter of days if not hours.”
“Orphaned Supers are hard to find, no matter how much money you throw at it,” he shook his head and kept stitching, “I will take your advice into consideration.”
*_~*_~
“Arthur?” Alfred called out as he entered the study, “Have you seen my yellow shirt? Elizaveta said you brought a bunch of stuff up here to mend?”
“Hm?” Arthur looked up from the socks he was darning and the sudden voice, Roderich had left him alone over an hour ago, “It’s probably somewhere in that pile over there.”
Alfred crouched down and started digging through the pile. Arthur set aside the sock and spent a few minutes openly staring at him before asking, “What’s wrong Alfred?”
“Wrong?” he questioned, still searching through the pile, “Nothing’s wrong. Why do you ask?”
“Your clothes have been rather torn of late. What have you been doing to cause them to be so?”
“Nothing out of the ordinary. Just a few scuffles here and there. It only looks like a lot because Elizaveta keeps putting off fixing them and piling them up in the kitchen.
“Alfred you’re not a very good liar,” Alfred froze and turned, still crouched, to face him. Arthur looked between the clothes scattered throughout his study before settling back on his face, “Why won’t you tell me what you’re up to?”
“It’s a secret,” he pouted and glanced away for half a second before returning his attention to Arthur, “I can’t tell you.”
Arthur tried to keep the hurt off his face, “Does it have to do with finding your brother?”
“Uh, a bit. I mean, yeah, what I’m doing is going to help find him.”
“Alright,” Arthur leaned forward in his chair to pull out the yellow shirt Alfred had been looking for. He placed it in his hands with an, “At least tell me what you’re doing is… good. That you’re not getting into trouble.”
“It is good,” Alfred smiled at the thought, “It’s great even, and I’m not… getting into trouble, or at least not the bad kind?”
“Well what other kind is there?” Alfred had no answer, and Arthur let it drop.
“I'm sorry if I'm worrying you Arthur," Alfred looked him right in the eyes, “And I know you are, don't try to deny it, but trust me when I say that I’m not doing anything… wrong.”
He handed him back the shirt with a weak smile, “That’s all I could ask for."
Part 10
no subject
Nice chapter!
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Thank you!