Hetalia One-Shots

UsUk : Prisoner of Your Love (part 1)

Alfred's POV

  The days get lonesome trapped behind bars. The only divertissements available are the sounds of the TV from afar, the stories written on the walls, the occasional crosswords, and the best of all, the patrolling guards. Many inmates take pleasure in talking and fooling around with the strict officers. Their reactions sometimes lukewarm, sometimes amused. From that little game, the prisoners learn how to irritate certain guards, learn to coax others. That way obtaining favors becomes easier.

I had managed to figure out every guard passing through my ward by the end of my second week. It wasn't difficult, all you had to do is observe and listen to what the others had to say. In less than three weeks I was living in royal comfort with all I needed. Well, royal comfort with what the prison could obtain, which at least meant a private cell, special meals, access to certain rooms to be alone, basically better treatment in general.

There was just one, simple guard that I hadn't managed to wrap around my fingers, Officer Kirkland. That British bastard was so blank and emotionless I still hadn't pinned down his weakness after one whole month. That's when we invented our own little game. Every time it was his turn to patrol, he would stop by my cell last, it being on the far end, and we would stare at each other. He would simply stand there, watching me anger as I couldn't find anything about him. Though it was very frustrating for me, I enjoyed the game. The more I played, the closer I was to add him to my collection.

I tried speaking to other guards but they were just as clueless as I was. He apparently never talked and performed his job efficiently. Other members of the staff were almost afraid of him just like the other inmates were too. Since no one knew about him, they all feared the worst. His strict ways and harsh glare weren't welcoming either.

After two months of captivity I began to go crazy. I had read every book provided by the crappy prison library, TV was just boring and there wasn't even a physical activity which entertained me long enough. Arthur and I had lost interest in our game, so I created a new one. Thanks to sources, I had found out the strict officer's full name and one of his only known hobbies: reading.

My interest in reading was somewhat low. The books I had read the weeks before were simply to occupy me, I didn't obtain any pleasure from any of them. So one day, I moved the first pawn into the game. As Arthur walked past my cell late in the evening, I asked him to wait.

"Hey Arthur, I got a request for ya." The blond crossed his arms and lifted an eyebrow. I took the silence as an invitation to pursue. "I've been running low on books these days, do ya have any I could read? I asked around n you're the only one who knows a lot about books n stuff, so, are ya willing to help me?"

He kept his gaze on my face as his eyes lit up for a split second. He brought both hands down to his belt and rested them there. "I'll see what I can do."

I smirked as he walked away. I knew for sure I would soon be able to advance further on my play board.

The next night Arthur came by my cell to hand me a soft covered book. I cautiously took it and flipped a couple pages. It was Lord of the Flies by William Golding. I had heard of the book but never read it. Knowing it was an old book I cringed, aware that that kind of literature easily bored me.

"If you don't want it I'll take it back," asserted the guard eyeing me almost competitively. I smirked and set the book on my bed.

"Don't worry, I'll finish it in less than a week!" I replied confidently. Arthur nodded unconvinced and moved along. I was obligated to read the book for my game to take place, and so I did.

*

Fair enough, the book was read under a week and I had already moved to the next step in my game. Arthur's only weakness, or soft spot, was books. I knew if I wanted to reach out to him it would be through that bridge. That was the only way I could get in his head and play him to my advantage. So, I conceived a plan. In every book he would lend me, I would underline passages, each about different aspects of life. I would then tell him about the pages concerned so he would read them. The next part was all up to him, he would either react to those sentences and I would finally know more about him, or he would read over them and I would have to ask for another book.

"It was really interesting," I commented as he took the book back, "I even underlined a couple extracts which I found most captivating." Arthur didn't say a word and began walking away. I quickly grabbed his arm only to be swatted with his baton. "Ow! Chill dude, I just wanted to say something!" I whined shaking my hand in the air in pain. "I was hoping ya could lend me another book? Please?"

The blond latched his stick on his belt and crossed his hands behind his back. He nodded and really walked away this time. The lights were turned off and I waited for the next book to pursue the game.

*

Four more weeks had passed since I had first stepped into mine and Arthur's new pastime. I had so far read The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown, A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, and To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. None of those had brought up any sort of reaction from the prison guard. He never once bothered to chat a while about the books or lost any time with unnecessary eye contact with me. I almost felt insulted. Then again, that attitude was what kept me hooked on that man for so long. The only thing a man wants more than anything is what he can't have, and boy did Arthur make it hard for me to get him. It was almost like he wanted me to suffer, and that could only mean I was getting close.

I laid on my bed waiting for Arthur to pass so I could return his book. It became our routine now, every Thursday night I would return the book and request a new one. Each time Arthur would look surprised, as if he deliberately gave me boring books so I would stop asking for more. Although I really did find the books nice; despite my lack of interest in reading, I quickly got sucked into every story. The fact that the Brit and I were more or less getting along was great progress too. By 'getting along' I mean he didn't have such a fiery glare each time he would look at me anymore. For some ungodly reason, that actually made me happy, and I found myself looking forward to Thursday nights; it meant 5 minutes of me talking and Arthur staring. Somewhere along the line during those four weeks, a new pawn was placed in my game, one I hadn't expected to appear.

Arthur tapped on the iron bars with his stick. I sat up and grinned.

"Hello Arthur!" I said cheerfully. He didn't respond and only frowned, not liking when I called him by his first name. "So here's your book, it was really good by the way." I handed him To Kill a Mockingbird with a smile and was about to ask for another novel. Before I could, the blond already handed me a new book. I accepted it in surprise and read the back of the cover.

It was A Knight in Shining Armor by Jude Devereaux. It seemed to be a sort of romance, which was a genre he hadn't proposed to me yet. I thanked him and laid back down on my bed, impatient to begin the story. A romance was probably not the best type of book to give to a prisoner of 2 months but I was feeling the need for some lovin' due to xxx circumstances.

The next morning, I was so engrossed with the book that I skipped breakfast. Just like I had done before, Arthur had underlined phrases and passages. It flattered me that he responded to my advances, in a way. I tried to analyze them the best I could. In two days I was done with the book. My mind was blown away by how well the plot was written and by how all those emotions easily got their way into my heart.

I had read and reread the extracts Arthur had brought out. Given the book being a love story, I knew it had something to do with a relationship. My best guess was that the running and chasing romance the two characters have in the book would be our little games. Arthur had underlined many scenes where the heroine searches for her knight. The ending could be interpreted in many ways. But the green-eyed prison guard made it evident that both characters were not reunited in the customary way, if not at all.

He even added, at the very end of the book, on the last page where nothing but printing houses' addresses were marked, he wrote down "House of Verona" and "House of Capulet". Even I knew the reference and what it symbolized.

I slouched down against the wall in the recreation room, head between my legs. I had put together all the pieces he wanted me to, which in the end meant for me, rejection. I was aware that during the previous books I had hinted intentions other than distraction and manipulation. On the contrary to the other guards, I felt much more attached to the distant man. But as he stated in the books, whatever I was seeking was bound to be fruitless.

That it was all in my head, a little game too farfetched. Then again, it was my little games which got me locked in here, so why couldn't they be the ones to break me out..?