lovely day for it! | we happy few oneshots

brothers again (platonic arthur + percy)

(1271 words)

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arthur didn't know how long he'd been walking for. he knew it had only been a few hours since he escaped wellington wells, but it felt like he'd been walking for days. he sat on a tree log, taking a minute to let his swollen ankles have a break. he looked out over the ocean nearby. where would percy even be? did he escape germany? did he ever even get there? would he recognise or even remember arthur? is he even alive? questions flooded his head, and he knew the only solution was to continue searching. even if percy didn't make it to germany, arthur still owed him the effort of at least trying to look for him. percy may have been dim, but he wasn't stupid. arthur knew he'd be able to survive by himself. at least that's what he liked to believe.

after another breather, arthur finally felt some energy return to him, as he stood up and continued walking. to take his mind off things, he wandered back to memories of his childhood, all the times percy and him would go camping together, or when their mum would take them to the park. arthur remembered how percy always loved the swings and begged to be pushed on them, even if he was fully capable of doing it himself. edmund would join, too.

edmund was percy's only real friend who wasn't a family memeber. arthur remembered how the two loved to bird watch together and play chess, they were pracitcally inseparable to eachother, especially since edmund seemed to have a similar condition to percy, miss byng always described them both as being 'dim'. a part of arthur was sad that he couldn't bring edmund with him, but it was probably for the best. poor sod could barely sit right, let alone walk, and while arthur did care about him, he wasn't really up to carrying a guy all the way to germany.

he thought back to the many sleepless nights percy had, where he'd beg to sleep in arthur's bed. or how even on summer nights, he'd burrow himself with blankets just to be able to sleep comfortably, if at all. or how he had that baby toy he refused to sleep without until he was 10.

he wondered if percy ever got over his thing with yeast. he never understood how percy could 'smell' the yeast. who on earth could smell yeast?? he remembered how stressed their mum got with percy's eating habits, especially his phases where he'd only eat foods of a certain colour. as much as arthur loved percy, he couldn't stand his eating habits. maybe he even grew to like chocolate, if they still had it germany.

he wondered if percy ever got a job. maybe he became a delivery boy like edmund? or a scientist like doctor verloc? maybe even a chemist like sally. as kids, percy always spoke about his dreams of being a train conductor, even if the loud whistling of the trains hurt his ears. he probably didn't want to be one of them anymore.

arthur spent the next few weeks like this, getting closer and closer to germany while remembering percy. a majority of his time was now spent rationing what little money he had left to buy food and stay in cheap hotels, along with the odd nice family offering him a spare bed because they took pity on him. his clothes were stained and torn, small patches of fabric sewn into places to still seem somewhat presentable. arthur also found himself finding it difficult to break habits he'd learned in wellington wells. he complimented almost everyone he saw, and often absentmindedly reached into his pocket to reach for a joy pill, only to be met with some loose change. but the townspeople were normally nice enough, most taking pity on him for wearing such ragged clothing and seeming so dirty, how he'd flinch at every police officer that went by and he how he seemed so fascinated with the children that lived in the towns. he never stayed in one place for too long though, he made sure to leave within at least 2 weeks.

arthur didn't know how far away from wellington wells he was at this point. he could still see glimpes of haworth labs and the bridges from here, but he had to squint to see them. and for once, arthur finally felt free. it had been at least more than 3 months since he'd taken joy and he could pretty much remember everything, and while some memories hurt, he was glad to have them back. he often found himself feeling genuine happiness, something he hasn't felt since he used to hang out with sally. he hopes she got out alright.

arthur stumbled across a small town, nothing special stood out about it but arthur needed a better place to sleep then the muddy floor of the woods. he wandered the streets, hoping to find a hotel. it'd only be for one night, so he wasn't looking for anything special. he'd be gone before anyone noticed.

after a relatively comfortable sleep, arthur hopped in the shower since it'd been a while since he had one, even if he knew he was just gonna get dirty as soon as he started walking again. he left early in the morning, around half past six, and made his way out of the small town. by now, wellignton wells was but a foggy silhouette in the distance, even with his glasses on. he'd wondered what had happened to it. did sally escape? did ollie escape? have they all died of starvation? maybe he'd go back and see what became of it once he found out what happened to percy.

arthur took in the area surrounding him. it was densley populated with foliage and wildflowers, berries grew and vines climbed as a soft breeze flew around. arthur had forgotten how much he loved the forest, and how his mum would take him and percy to climb trees that covered the edges of the fields. but suddenly, arthur was taken out of his thoughts by a familiar voice.

"arthur?"

"... percy? is- is that you?" arthur looked at the figure in front of him.

he looked exactly the same as he did when they were kids, only his hair is slightly longer and some facial hair had grown on his face. arthur had seem to catch up with percy height wise, now being similar heights (arthur may even be taller than percy) and percy having a bag draped over his shoulder.

"wh-what are you... are you doing here? You should be... should... you should be in the... village." percy mumbled. arthur almost found it comforting how his speech pattern hadn't changed.

"no, percy, i had to come find you."

"why did you... did you leave me, arthur?"

"i... i didn't want to, percy, i swear, i-i just... i don't know what i was thinking, i was so... scared, and- and you seemed so excited t-to go, i couldn't-"

"it's okay, arthur."

"huh?"

"i said it's okay. i don't think... i-i don't... i don't think i've forgiven you, but... but i have... have missed you. and i want... i want us to be brothers again."

arthur doesn't know why, but that hit him like a truck. he couldn't hold back anymore as he pulled his older brother into a tight hug, scared that if he lets go he might lose him again. arthur was delighted when his hug was returned.

"i want us to be brothers again too, percy."