Breaking point (F.A.C.E) [Under Editing]

CH 6: Comfort (edited)

A day had gone by and Alfred stayed by his brother's side, tightly holding onto his small hand. "..how was he when you took me out of the lake?" he asked Arthur quietly, carefully observing his sleeping brother and watching the slow and steady rise and fall from his chest from each small breath he took. "He waited each and every day for you to wake up, each night he would kiss your forehead and sleep on the ground but he would always wake up screaming late at night...he kept a night light on though," Arthur explained as he rested his hand against Matthew's forehead.

"He's still got a little fever, it should go away tonight." He switched his gaze to look at Alfred who was staring at Matthew with tear filled eyes. "You two really are inseparable.." He muttered in awe and pulled Alfred into a comforting hug. "Don't worry, he'll be okay." He reassured the distressed child in his arms and soothingly rubbed his back. "I promise."

Alfred curled up against his father's chest his eyes going heavy in exhaustion. "Dad..are you still sad about papa leaving?" he asked reluctantly, quickly bracing himself in case he would get yelled at, but surprisingly his father stayed silent and looked out the window. "I..I have no intentions of ever missing that bloody frog.." He muttered. "..alright." Alfred felt his heart drop in a sadness that was too unbearable, the tears that he was trying to hold back now trailed down his cheeks.

His sniffles alarmed Arthur. "W-what's wrong? Are you hurt? Are you feeling okay?" he asked quickly in worry as he thoroughly examined every inch of his son's body. He checked both of his arms to see if he had any bruises or scratches,  he checked his legs and face but everything seemed to be okay except the fact that his son was still quietly sobbing. "Alfred please tell me what's wrong." He demanded in concern as he sat him on his lap.

"Why did you and papa have to fight?... I thought you promised we'd all be a family." He avoided his father's gaze as he shakily spoke, Arthur froze in shock at his son's words, he took a shaky breath and held him tighter, pressing him against his chest. "...sometimes people fight because they might say or do something wrong or bad..your papa wanted to leave far far away from here and I didn't want him to..but, in the end, I was too weak to stop him from leaving us." He quietly explained.

Alfred let the words sink into his mind, his heart became heavier in his chest. "So..papa doesn't love us anymore?.." He asked curiously, feeling as if his breath was knocked out of him. What was Arthur supposed to say? He promised that he'd never let the children be depressed, but knowing that he could never hide it from them he sighed. "I'm sorry Alfred..but papa doesn't love any of us anymore." He felt as if someone had stabbed him in the chest.

"...oh.." Was the only thing that escaped Alfred's lips, he looked at the ground staying silent. After losing his mother and being taken to the orphanage he thought that he could be able to find him and his brother a family that would care for them, in the end, he did...or they them, either way, he was happy, but to his luck, the happiness didn't last so long.

Arthur softly stroked his son's dark blonde hair and held him closer to his chest. "I miss papa too, but we need to move on." Ge soothed him and hummed quietly. "..okay dad... I...I love you." Alfred stammered with a dark blush tinting his cheeks. "I-I..love you too Alfred." Arthur's cheeks were also a bright red but he cleared his throat to shake himself out of his flustered state.

Hours went by and Alfred had soon fallen asleep in his father's arms, Arthur quietly sighed and got up from the ground. "I know you want to protect your brother,  but for now I'll stay by your side." He murmured and walked to his room where he lied down on his bed and lied Alfred next to him he held his hand and soon drifted off to sleep.

Late at night, the moon was covered by thick clouds, a low rumbling shook the once silent air and then a clap of lightning lit the dark sky with its horrific light. In the other room Matthew awoke with a startled cry, he trembled violently in fear as the thunder and lightning continued outside, he expected for his dad to show up, but the unlit room and the empty space beside him signaled him that his father and brother were probably gone or asleep.