Past-Part Fills Part 7

Feb 27, 2011 12:31



!!! Discussion about moving the kink meme to Dreamwidth!!!

Past-Part Fills Part Seven

Fills from past parts can go here!
Fills from the current part (part 22) MUST go in that part's post until it is full.

Link to the original request (and if an ongoing fill, any previous chapters/sections).

Don't forget to link your new fill at the fill Read more... )

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[part 18] USUK - Enchanted Toy Soldier "Knickknack" anonymous April 1 2012, 23:29:13 UTC
knickknack [10b/?] anonymous May 14 2012, 16:10:16 UTC
Why bother worrying? Only the boring get bored, after all. He has his own private world of talking toys and mysterious disappearances (though the disappearances aren’t too mysterious, because Alfred is fairly certain it’s Francis that’s been taking his crayons one by one). Even if Alfred can’t share his secrets with the world - the story of the soldier, and his gallant attempts to protect said soldier - he can still internally cite it as why his life isn’t boring, why it isn’t routine.

Why it isn’t insignificant.

But he feels insignificant presently, as he takes his first step into his bedroom that day, deciding to throw his caution to the wind - to the wind outside, no doubt, because the raging gale is starting to make tree branches knock heatedly with gnarled knuckles against the nearest window ( ... )

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knickknack [10c/?] anonymous May 14 2012, 16:11:56 UTC
The butler lifts something from beneath his lapels, a blur of cream and blue. Alfred has to take a moment to work out what it is and he eventually recognises it as an envelope, one with his name written across.

“Your friend Gilbert dropped by to look for you,” Bonnefoy explains. “I told him you weren’t here, but-”

The rest of Bonnefoy’s sentence goes unheard. Alfred directs all of his attention to the object in Bonnefoy’s hold.

Gilbert.

The name bounces around inside Alfred’s head and his fingers quiver with anticipation; the urge to rip open the letter, to eagerly devour the first contact he’s had from his friend in weeks, is nearly overwhelming.

But there is always the matter of Bonnefoy. The nausea in Alfred’s stomach intensifies.

“Non,” Bonnefoy snaps, and the sudden frustration in his tone shocks Alfred into staring. “Before you accuse me of going through your private mail, I didn’t open it. I have not read the contents, for I am not the untrustworthy Robespierre you believe me to be ( ... )

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knickknack [10d/?] anonymous May 14 2012, 16:13:02 UTC
Alfred freezes, but he doesn’t have much choice. Fed up and tired, oh-so tired of fighting and arguing and living with bewilderment, he lowers his arms and stares back at his shoes, and when Bonnefoy releases him, he takes a step back, then another, until he’s back to where he started.

He is strangely relieved at knowing his fit of temper solved nothing.

“I can tell you are frustrated.” Bonnefoy starts to slowly tap his foot as he speaks, and it’s almost soothing. “I can tell you want to know why Arthur can’t remember anything - who I am, or the purpose you wish you could attribute to me - even my motivation behind involving my son ( ... )

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knickknack [10e/?] anonymous May 14 2012, 16:14:26 UTC
Whilst simultaneously keeping an eye on Arthur, Alfred tears open the envelope and pulls out Gilbert’s letter, annoyed to find that it’s been entirely written with cheap blue ink that rubs off on his hands. He ignores the mess and turns his attention to the words on the paper.

It’s barely half-a-page long, and the spelling is atrocious - it could be because English is Gilbert’s second language, but Alfred knows that isn’t the case. Gilbert’s younger brother, Ludwig, is far more attentive to grammar and correct punctuation than Gilbert is; Gilbert’s just lazy.

Arthur continues to stare at Alfred expectantly, but Alfred doesn’t read aloud.

Sup, the dispatch eloquently begins, This is GILBERT. Long time no see. If you are readin this, we have not hung out with each other four a LONG TIME and that is UNGOOD. I wonted to see you today but you WERENT IN. So this is a notice of RE-SCHEDUAL. I will be at your house on TEUSDAY and you better be their or else. This was GILBERT.To think, it’s the first letter Alfred has ever received ( ... )

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knickknack [10f/?] anonymous May 14 2012, 16:17:07 UTC
Maids.

Their purpose should be clear. They are hired to fulfil domestic service, their main duties involving organisation and housekeeping. However, unlike Emma, maids are not usually supposed to take care of children, nor supervise them, unless they’ve been assigned that particular task by the man or woman of the house.

The state of being a ‘maid’ is simply the state of being employed, so Alfred simply cannot work out why they’re so organised when it comes to annoying the living crap out of him.

As far as he knows, no maid has been told to constantly keep an eye on him. And yet, as he sits on the steps outside the manor’s front door, watching eagerly for Gilbert’s arrival, any maid that happens to walk through the hall insists on asking him a question or two. They are repetitive in their queries, as though they’ve held a meeting and have decided to keep firing off the same things - what are you doing and why are you sat there and are you feeling sick or something, dear?He blames his grandparents, at the centre of it. They ( ... )

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knickknack [10g/?] anonymous May 14 2012, 16:19:15 UTC
Last night, in a brief moment of peace, he spent some time thinking about how he’d feel when he saw Gilbert again - happy, overjoyed, utterly delighted and wholly enthusiastic. Now that the moment has arrived, he just feels confused, and irritated that Gilbert finds it acceptable to wander into his grandparents’ house without so much as knocking ( ... )

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knickknack [10h/?] anonymous May 14 2012, 16:21:09 UTC
“I warned you before about getting the floor wet,” Bonnefoy snaps, “and you willingly ignored my caution.”

Gilbert shrugs again. “So?”

The display of fury on Bonnefoy’s face strengthens, and Alfred tries not to laugh at the sight of it. He’s never seen the Frenchman so livid before.

“So? So, now you’re going to have to clean this up.”

“You can’t make me do chores,” Gilbert scoffs. “I’m the guest.”

Bonnefoy waggles a finger. “But you are not the guest, because you happily invited yourself into this house!”

“Liar, I’m Alfred’s guest,” Gilbert says, turning to hook an arm around Alfred’s shoulders. “And we are trying to have a confidential conversation.”

Bonnefoy fumes further but doesn’t say anything, and Alfred is in awe. Gilbert’s so smart. He knows how to silence Bonnefoy successfully and he knows way bigger words than Alfred does ( ... )

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knickknack [10i/?] anonymous May 14 2012, 16:22:19 UTC
Nobody could have predicted that Antonio would befriend Gilbert, and nobody could have predicted that Francis would later join the duo to make it a trio. They seemed so unlike each other, so incompatible as associates, but they somehow managed to form an extremely strong bond, their accumulated positives outweighing their accumulated negatives ( ... )

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knickknack [10j/?] anonymous May 14 2012, 16:23:32 UTC
To explain why, Gilbert will have to tell you about the pen-pal Antonio received ( ... )

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knickknack [10k/?] anonymous May 14 2012, 16:25:08 UTC
“I’m not lying!” Alfred says, flopping down on that box. “I asked about you all the time and tried to get you to come over, but Francis never told me nuthin’ and he wasn’t much help. I thought you hated me!” He thinks of that day he tried asking his grandmother if he could go down to the village alone - a failed endeavour, but at least it’s proof of his dedication. “I tried to meet up with you, but my grandparents wouldn’t let me ( ... )

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knickknack [10l/?] anonymous May 14 2012, 16:27:02 UTC
Three days, then ( ... )

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knickknack [10m/?] anonymous May 14 2012, 16:29:22 UTC
“Don’t be like that,” Arthur says, disappointed. “Let’s have a fresh start, eh? I’ll let you feed my horse...”

“Not until you apologise.”

It’s almost fascinating, how easily those four words instil sheer rage.

“Why the fuck should I be the one to apologise? I’m the one offering an olive branch!”

“I just wanted to make you happy,” Alfred sniffs, adjusting his awful glasses. “You didn’t-”

“Oh, here come the waterworks,” Arthur says. Alfred tries to speak, but Arthur gets in first. “You effectively ignore me all weekend and then think blubbering will fix things?”

“I didn’t wanna talk to you!”

“There’s a surprise. Mess everything up and then walk away- ”

“You didn’t hafta make me look silly in front of everyone!”

“Nobody knows anything about what happened in the attic except that French chap,” Arthur scoffs. “And if you really didn’t want him to know about it...”

“But... I didn’t want him to! I don’t know how he found out!”

“Well, I’m certainly not the one leaking him information ( ... )

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knickknack [10n/?] anonymous May 14 2012, 16:30:44 UTC
Before he can control his body, he’s moving across the en-suite tiles, one arm outstretched, and he watches himself turn the lock - vision sharp and crystal because of the ugly things on his face - to let Arthur into the bathroom ( ... )

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knickknack [10o(a)/?] anonymous May 14 2012, 16:34:42 UTC
“I couldn’t begin to explain it to you if I tried, but I don’t think I could go anywhere else,” Arthur says, wistful. “I don’t know much about myself, but… What I do know is that I’m at peace here, and I feel sick at the thought of leaving. This is where you found me, and… and…” His smile returns, weaker. “And this is where you’ll leave me.”

The nausea diffuses, and Alfred realises that this is why he’s been feeling sick. Not the prospect of leaving, but the prospect of this, and he suspected so but couldn’t let the notion overwhelm him. Gilbert’s tissue still feels heavy in his pocket, but he’s too tired to cry ( ... )

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knickknack [10o(b)/?] anonymous May 14 2012, 16:36:44 UTC
Alfred doesn’t pay attention to the other goodbyes that are passed around, from his tutor and the maids and the relatives he’s leaving behind, the words of support and comforting from his parents, the sound of the engine starting and the hand around his waist that drags him to the car’s back seats. He keeps his eye set to the mansion, specifically to the window of his old bedroom, expecting a curtain twitch or a flash of red or something, anything, to let him know that his soldier is watching ( ... )

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