[Part 2] Halcyon [Mister + Assi] - R-18

Alfred just lightly grabbed the other's hand and he looked over at the other.

"Please, Francis. If not him, at least me. My kingdom will pay for any reparations and not only this, but will give Gaul the western Greater Antilles as well as parts of the Lesser Antilles."

He looked at the other pleadingly.

"Please, Your Majesty. It will benefit you greatly in the end, that I'm certain of."

Francis looked between them.

“And how am I to convince my men?”

“Tell them of the atrocities that Albion has been committing to its people. Every year, thousands die in the winter just from the cold or starvation whilst the castle is bountiful and warm. And tell them of the… what they did to me.”

“Et c’est quoi?”

Arthur hesitated, fumbling for words for a few moments.

“My-my back… they…” he hadn’t even told Alfred exactly everything that happened to him. “Water-boarding, starvation, beatings and whipping was what I experienced as a prisoner of less than three weeks. My only crime is that I love Alfred and no more.”

Francis didn’t look like he believed him entirely.

“Montrez-moi,” he said quietly, gesturing for Arthur to come across to him. Arthur looked nervous, unable to look at Alfred now that he also knew that Arthur had gone through.

He got out of his seat and gulped, blushing a bit.

“Is this necessary?”

Francis just gave him a look. Arthur sighed and removed his cloak, hanging it over the back of the chair he’d been sat in. He then took off the belt around his slim waist and lifted his shirt, swiftly turning his back to Francis as he did so.

The Gaule looked mildly disgusted.

“Affreux…”

Arthur quickly redressed himself.

Alfred just quietly watched them though his eyes widened when he heard of everything that Arthur had gone through. He...didn't know that some of those things happened and he felt absolutely terrible for it.

He never wanted any of that to happen to Arthur.

He just sat there quietly, keeping his gaze on them and swallowing thickly. He knew that it wasn't a beautiful sight and...he knew that Arthur probably would have been a lot better never showing it to Francis but....it was a necessity.

"Albion can become better under his rule, Francis."

Francis stared at them both silently for a few moments before standing up.

“So long as you hold to your word, I will keep mine. I will help you… you may stay in the palace, if you wish until we come to a more solid agreement?”

Arthur looked at Alfred for his response to that.

Alfred just quietly looked back at Arthur, hesitating for a moment.

Was it really a good idea to stay in the palace where they something wrong might possibly happen? It would be more comfortable though.

But still.

"I prefer staying back at where we are staying for right now...but it's your choice, Arthur."

Arthur pursed his lips. For safety reasons, it would probably be better for them to be in the palace but if they were in their own place then they’d be less at risk if Francis changed his mind.

“I must insist,” Francis furrowed his brow. “Staying out of the palace will only mean that you are more likely to be captured by mercenaries. “I think that we’d all prefer it if you didn’t get caught, uh?”

Arthur was quiet.

“Perhaps if we just lived near the palace instead? We’ve come to value our privacy, you see,” Arthur pursed his lips and Francis shrugged.

“D’accord… il y a une maison près d’ici que je loue. You may stay there for now.”

Arthur frowned, “It’s not where you take your… sex partners, is it?” he blushed a little.

Francis just laughed coolly.

“Non, non. Do not be ridiculous. Do you really think that I would let my lovers sleep on a straw mattress? Ah, Arthur, you are so funny. You have not changed,” Francis grinned. “Alors, Jean!” he called for a servant who promptly ran into the room.

“Oui, mon Roi?”

“Allez à ma maison sur la colline.”

“Bien sûr! Allez-y, messieurs,” the servant smiled to both Alfred and Arthur.

Alfred just glanced between them, swallowing thickly before nodding.

"I guess...that would work out," He murmured softly.

He just hoped that the house would be somewhat nice. At least as good as where they were staying at, though at the same time the inn wasn't always the most comfortable place in the world.

At least they could pretend that it was their own house for a bit.

"...Merci beaucoup, Francis." And with that, he went to follow Jean.

“De rien,” Francis replied absently and flounced off into another room.

Arthur was hopeful that this would be a nicer place than where they’d been staying – although they still owed the inn keeper rent. They returned to the inn, paid their debts (grudgingly on Arthur’s part) and took their belongings (though they were few) to their new, temporary home. It was on the hill beside the palace, overlooking the glowing city. The city of light, as Arthur had started to refer to it as.

So, for a start, the view was spectacular.

And though the inside was quite bare, the decoration was lovely. The walls were made of light-coloured stone and the furniture had obviously been made fit for a king. Arthur wondered if this was where Francis had lived up until his father’s death.

“Il y a un passage,” Jean told them as he lifted a fur rug to show a trap door.

“To the palace?”

“Oui, si c’est dangeroux.”

“Okay… merci, Jean.”

Alfred was actually a bit happy once he got to the new house. He was definitely getting used to the new and simple life style but it was still a relief to have this.

It was...it was still not fancy like he was used to, a huge display of wealth but at least it was nice.

He gave Arthur a small smile, waiting for Jean to leave before he went over to hug the other.

"I guess...things haven't turned out that badly yet," He stated with a small quirk of his lips.

It was true at least and he just hoped it would remain this way. He would at least keep his sword near his bed just in case something did happen.

Arthur was quite surprised as Alfred hugged him but just laughed it off, good-naturedly. He pecked him on the cheek.

“Not badly, at all… considering that what happens after tonight goes well, too.” He kissed Alfred on the lips quickly. “But I’m exhausted.” He was only running on an hour’s worth of sleep, after all.

Alfred just kissed Arthur back on the lips and he nodded in understanding.

He was rather tired as well, though probably not nearly as tired as the other. "Well, we can try out the new bed, yeah?" He asked with a small yet playful smile. He soon tugged him towards the bedroom, seeing the rather modest but lovely bed.

It looked much more comfortable than the bed in their inn. With a wide grin, he headed onto the bed, soon stretching out.

"Wow! It's been so long since I felt something so nice!"

“Other than me inside of you?” Arthur joked distastefully and took off his boots before lying back on the bed. It was really, really comfortable in comparison to what he’d been forced to get used to as of late.

“It’s really comfortable,” he concurred, closing his eyes. He was just about ready to fall asleep on the spot.

Alfred grinned at that.

He wasn't all that tasteful himself and if he didn't know Arthur any better, he would have been absolutely shocked about hearing such a thing from a man who seemed to be so stodgy on the outside.

"Mmm, maybe that's an exception to what I just said," He teased lightly before curling up against the other.

He couldn't help but close his eyes, starting to drift off to sleep as well.

The next day Alfred found himself in the pub that they always went to. It was quite a good distance from the castle but at the same time, they had made some valuable friends.

Arthur had rationalised with him that they should convince their friends and despite his hesitancy at first and maybe even a bit of nervousness, he decided to tentatively agree with this. He was still a bit nervous as to how his friends would take the news of...well...who they were.

Arthur ordered them both ales at the bar before returning to the table of their friends. He sat between Alfred and one of his own friends. Admittedly, the majority of people Arthur spent his time with at work were women but there were a couple of men he’d made friends with from there (including the shop owner) and there were people that they had met at the pub itself.

“Soo, how’s everyone’s week been?” Arthur asked openly.

Alfred just grinned at some of his friends, trying to act normal though there was certainly a nervousness to it.

There were a few cheers from the guys around him (quite a bit of them Alfred's friends ) but he was glad that they were able to make friends.

In fact, there quite a few people who spoke their language and it was quite nice. It seemed as if the capital really was an global city.

Antonio grinned, leaning in.

"Buen!" He called out, taking a sip from his drink before glancing at Alfred, noticing that something was wrong but not making a mention of it.

“Shitty,” Gilbert, to Arthur’s side, grumbled. “Why?”

“Just being polite,” Arthur shrugged and took a sip from his ale. He had to not get drunk tonight. Or at least not unless they agreed immediately and they were celebrating.

Some of the people at their table had a military background, such as Gilbert. Gilbert was a rouge knight from Germania with years of training and a world-renowned title to boot; he was on the run from his ex-wife who he was still in love with but she had long since had enough of his letters and had threatened to kill him. Arthur supposed that Gilbert was probably more at fault.

Alfred just laughed at that.

"Nothing wrong with being polite." He glanced around at the others, spotting Kiku, who was more of a reserved man. He was from the East and though he was only staying here for a few more months, he had an expansive amount of contacts all over the kingdoms. He was a merchant of sorts, always having exotic items there with him that seemed much too alien to really even comprehend at times.

"I'm doing fine. Thank you," He murmured softly, bowing his head with a small smile.

He soon looked over at Arthur and Alfred, hesitating before finally speaking up.

"There seems to be something on both of your minds. Is everything alright?"

Arthur gulped and glanced at Alfred for a brief few seconds.

“Actually, Matthew and I have something to tell you all.”

“When’s the wedding? You announced it yet?” Gilbert interrupted.

“Uh… unfortunately, it’s not that,” Arthur flushed. “We, um… Alfred?” Arthur looked to him for help.

Alfred swallowed thickly and he saw how Kiku's and Antonio's eyebrows raised at the mention of another name.

He hesitated for a moment before sighing.

"First off...our names aren't Matthew and James," He hesitated once again before finally sighing.

"My name is Alfred Jones of Columbia and my lover's is...Arthur Kirkland."

He looked a bit nervous and Kiku kept his eyes steady on them.

"Ah...I've had a suspicion."

Alfred jolted at that and looked at Kiku with wide eyes. The man just gave a knowing smile, chuckling a bit.

"I've travelled far and wide, Alfred. Including Columbia and Albion. You both hold notable features from the families ruling and even for 'common men', you had a mindset much too sophisticated for common men. Habits passed from nobles."

Antonio just looked confused. Unlike Kiku, he hadn't suspected at all.

Gilbert looked irked by the concept, frowning a bit.

“Wait, what are you saying?”

“Alfred is the heir to the Columbian throne and I am heir to the throne of Albion,” Arthur said simply.

“So you’ve been lying to us the entire time?” Gilbert stood up, looking angry.

“It’s not like that, Gilbert,” Arthur shook his head. “We… we weren’t safe. We couldn’t tell you because we didn’t know if we would be found and killed. That could still happen at any moment but we need your help. Please. Just listen.”

Alfred quickly stood up as well, frowning over at Gilbert before he swallowed thickly.

"Gilbert...we just...we were almost killed by Arthur's own family because of our relationship. Just...just because of that. We had to run to Gaul because of it and we were just so scared that we would be found again. We didn't want to lie to you, Gilbert. We really, really didn't."

He hesitated before sighing.

"We just normally wanted to live our lives differently. Live a new life but..."

He glanced over at Arthur.

“Sit down, for God’s sake,” Arthur scolded, dragging Alfred forcefully back down into his seat. “Don’t exacerbate things.”

“You lied to us,” Gilbert repeated.

“Not to hurt you, to protect you. We thought we’d be killed, Gilbert. I was tortured for being in love with Alfred.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be married? To his damned sister of all things?!”

“Yes, I am but –”

“That’s disgusting,” Gilbert didn’t seem to want to listen. “You should be ashamed of yourself for doing that to a poor lady!”

“She’s not a poor sodding lady. She’s the future Queen of Albion and mother to someone else’s children that we are saying are mine,” Arthur explained simply.

Gilbert sighed and sunk back into his seat.

Kiku just quietly glanced over at the other, thinking for a bit before sighing and shaking his head a bit.

"Gilbert, it's best you be calm. They've both done nothing wrong and were only just trying to protect us and themselves. If what is said about Princess Madeline is true, then I feel obliged to help you in whatever way I can."

He smiled a bit at the two.

"And I don't see why you're so offended, Gilbert. Many kings take other women despite having a wife. It's not an uncommon practise and this is a more moral situation than just that."

Antonio just nodded in agreement.

"Sí! They have been good to us also and have always helped us out. They're not spoiled like many others and we've made good friends with them. Their backgrounds shouldn't change our times with them!"

“We were lied to!” Gilbert protested. “Why am I the only one that’s bothered by this?”

“Can you keep your voice down?” Arthur whispered.

Gilbert just looked irritated although he shut up. Arthur looked at Antonio and Kiku gratefully.

Alfred was about to say something though Kiku finally seemed to have enough, lightly smacking both of his hands on the table and staring Gilbert down.

"It was for ours and their protection, Gilbert!" He murmured, voice still calm though a bit more stressed than usual.

"They just wanted to live a new life." He frowned and glanced over at Arthur and Alfred.

"Please. They have come out to us now with hopes that we would respect them all the same as we did before."