Our Royal Duties

Chapter 4.1

Arthur blinked, taking a moment to collect his thoughts and another to process Francis’s question before letting himself attempt to reply. “Wh-what do you mean, that Peter…?” He frowned a bit. “N-no… our child won’t be like Peter, i-it will have a good life… P-Peter didn’t even get to see the outdoors until he was four years old…”

“Non, non, I'm not implying something bad. I'm implying a good thing." Francis tried to smile comfortingly, taking Arthur’s hands in his own. “I don’t mean to say that it will have a bad life, or something worse, heavens no. I just feel something around Peter...and it's not a brother-in-law way..." He sighed, trying to think of some better wording for it. "He's like a son to me.” He pecked a soft kiss to Arthur’s lips, hoping to stop the tears that were starting in his eyes. His hand crept over Arthur’s stomach, hoping to feel the beginning of a new life.  "Calm down amour. Even if our child simply isn't as wonderful as Peter...I...I don't know....It's so odd… I'm in love, cher. I've finally decided I'm going to accept your condition for what it is. This is our own little Peter. We can dedicate it to him and make him the godfather. Because honestly, Arthur…" He hesitated, turning Arthur’s face to his own. "As much as I hate to mention your little brother so much...His smile melted my heart of ice...and...I... From now on, I will try to be the best father and husband I can be… for him, for you, pour notre bébé.” He smiled a little, kissing the bridge of Arthur’s nose.

Arthur stared at him, smiling a little. “R-right…” he mumbled, although his mind had already started drifting into ideas of whether there was something different about Peter than there was from the rest of his brothers. As much as these thoughts persisted, however, he refused to believe them. They were absurd, and even with Peter’s unusual eye color that set him apart from all of his family except for Francis- if he counted. He sighed and hugged Francis, in need of a shoulder to cry on should he start doing so. “W-well… if w-we see him ever again, th-then we can tell him, okay?” he smiled a bit. “I-I’m sure that he’ll want to see you again… h-he seemed to have taken a liking to you… Heh, I-I remember during the wedding wh-when he ran up and h-hugged us, I w-was so afraid that he was going to call me by m-my real name and ruin everything... it feels like so long since I've seen him, b-but it was really only yesterday..." he sighed. Where was Peter now? Probably in the Blue Kingdom by now, enjoying real food and questioning Allistor as to why Arthur had been wearing such silly clothing the previous day even though the person he was supposed to be married to looked more womanly to him with their long, golden hair. Arthur chuckled, practically able to hear those exact words in Peter’s voice. He could only hope that Peter wouldn’t ask these questions to his past lover, who resided in the BlueKingdom. He hoped that they all assumed that Arthur was dead, or that they had been told so. It pained him to wish for such a thing, but in this situation it wasn’t like he could just leave Francis. “D-do you think that we’ll get to see them again?” he asked, looking up at him hopefully.

“Of course.” Francis grinned a bit, leaving behind his loving attitude. “You’ll see them on holidays, and even your birthday if you’d like…” he sighed. He looked at Arthur again, somehow feeling that there was sadness in his expression. "I have to say, I'm quite sorry all of this happened. I didn't even want to get married either. I'd stay shut in my room and I didn't want to talk to anyone. Mostly I've been in there alone and sleeping. My dreams were the only things giving me some sort of comfort…." He sat up a bit, staring at something in the distance that was easier on his eyes than looking at Arthur for the moment. “I’m sorry, I’m just not sure how to feel right now… You’re… well, you’re my spouse, and I hardly know anything about you. I’ve sort of rushed everything on you and now, if anything, you’re probably stressed out…” He looked at Arthur, who looked anything but stressed out although possibly a little afraid. “I… I need some time alone…” he muttered, pulling himself up and running off to who knows where. In truth he felt like he needed a quiet place to think on his own, to collect his thoughts, to let himself face the reality that had been so violently thrown into his and Arthur’s faces. Hell, he had ruined Arthur’s life himself when all he wished for the other was for him to be happy, back in his own home with his own family with no war, no prison, no unhappiness to tear them apart, but it was far too late for that. Now there was a list of deaths following behind him that was over a mile long and in one night alone he had destroyed Arthur’s life. He had torn him from his family, womanized him until just a few minutes ago, and had given him a child that he probably didn’t even want. He knew that he would have to apologize to Arthur- to really apologize- but he had done plenty of that for now and it would all sound as pointless as his other apologies had sounded. His heart was pounding, not only from his stressful thoughts but also from all of the stairs he was climbing on his way back up to his and Arthur’s bedrooms. He was in that very hallway when he stopped, finding a room with plain white walls. He looked around in it, finding that it was blissfully empty and taking a seat inside against the back of the door. He was sure that it wouldn’t be easy, but he would think of some way to help Arthur through the whole ‘baby’ thing, and he’d be damned if he didn’t.