Arthur and Y/n walked down the cobblestone path in total, almost agonizing silence, rows of desolate houses echoing the same miserable aura as the Downers, mumbling sorrowful words seemingly to no one but themselves. Arthur could tell that Y/n was uncomfortable, and not surprisingly so, seeing as she hasn't witnessed the truly grim conditions laying just outside the comfort of the city before now. She glanced at the passers by discreetly, a look of fear and empathy flashing over her face before she promptly resumed staring solomly at the ground.
Arthur recognized that expression, the same expression he had seen the time she'd caught him crying on his front porch, half-finished bottle in hand. Y/n had always been too sympathetic for her own good, especially towards the people who hurt her most. Like him, and Sally. Somehow, whether on purpose or otherwise, she had a way of effortlessly placing herself in another person's shoes, and soak up all their sadness, or anger, or even their shame like some sort of emotional sponge. Arthur assumed that this was exactly what she was doing right now, imagining the struggle and the suffering each of these downers must've experienced out here, isolated and abandoned by society, deemed "unfit" for a civilian lifestyle. He looked at her soft face again, tears had began to track down her cheeks as she continued to look on powerlessly at the misery set out before her. Arthur extended a hand, which y/n gently took without even acknowledging it. He gave the small icy hand a gentle squeeze in his rather lousy attempt of letting her know it's okay. She squeezed back, and dropped her gaze back to the ground in defeat, as if she couldn't watch any longer.
They stayed that way, hands clasped with a lowered gaze, until they finally passed through the village, emerging into the surrounding wilderness.
"We're outside, if you want to have a look." Arthur whispered, squeezing her hand one last time before letting go. Y/n gently lifted her head, and upon seeing the wide landscape before her let out a sudden gasp. She marvelled at the horizon of green, and breathed in the crisp air as deeply as she could without knocking herself out. The space was seemingly untouched, grass reaching up to the knee and trees swaying gently in the cool breeze. Shrubs, bushes and wildflowers plumed out from the ground in scattered clumps, with no sense of order or refinement - a sharp contrast, she thought, to her memories of the artificially boxed flowers she was begrudgingly accustomed to back home. She turned back to Arthur with a face painted with joy, and not manufactured joy, he noticed, but true, unadulterated joy that he couldn't quite understand. The look was foreign to him, but somehow it made his heart stutter to see a face, especially her face, with such honest glee.
"It's, it's so green." She uttered.
They carried on walking, and as they did y/n traced her fingers over each tree, each bush and each flower she saw, like she was discovering a new world. Arthur chuckled slightly as he gathered some nearby wildflowers, glancing over at her with a smirk. "What? Are you not amazed by this?" She asked, dropping her hand to gently stroke the tall grass.
"Well", Arthur said with a shrug, "No, not really. I dont get why you're so taken by it, you have seen trees in the City before, haven't you?" He quipped. Y/n leant against the nearby tree, staring up at its weaving branches.
"The trees at home are fake, boxed in and sad like everything and everyone else. They're not really trees in my opinion." She huffed, " But this, these trees are free, this chunk of land is virtually untouched by anything other than mother nature, and us. Doesn't that amaze you?" She said, walking back towards him. Arthur looked back at her, somewhat inspired by her raw enthusiasm about something as simple as trees.
"I guess you have a point, that is a pretty interesting way to look at it." He said, smiling ever so slightly. Y/n smiled back, but then her faced quickly dropped as she looked back at the path to the town.
"All those people... they've been practically left to die, and for so long." She sighed, staring back at the ground. "No one deserves to be ignored like that, and I'm part of the problem. Coming out here, I only thought about how great it would be for me, the suffering of all those people didn't even cross my mind." She began to well up again, but Arthur quickly stopped her, placing a hand on each shoulder and kneeling down to see her face.
"Don't be silly, y/n. The reason you came out here was to help me, and Percy. Don't you ever think you're a selfish person or an ignorant person, because honestly you're better than most of us." He spoke softly, staring into her gentle e/c eyes, now glassy with tears.
"Thankyou, Arthur." She whispered, cracking a smile and placing a small hand on his cheek. Arthur got back up, and looked over to see a broken down car in the distance. He presumed that meant they were on the right track at least.
"C'mon," he said, " I think we're getting closer to Faraday's, do you recognise it at all?" He asked, looking at y/n with hope.
"Not really, but I'm sure I will when we get abit closer to it. Let's go." She replied with determination, and began marching towards the broken-down car ahead.
After traversing a good few miles of tall grasslands, the directions based purely on y/n's vague idea on the Doctor's whereabouts - the scenery had changed somewhat in the time she'd spent hidden away in the reform club - they finally arrived at a clearing, and the familiar tall, shabby building y/n knew to be Doctor Faraday's home. Out in front was a conservatory, overrun with clumps of wildflowers surrounding it's foundation and long serpentines of green vines climbing over the window panels. Inside y/n could make out two squat, skinny figures engaged in a row. Arthur approached with caution, gently propping open the door and taking a peak. Y/n squeezed herself between him and the door. Her eyes widened and a squeal rose from her throat as spotted two very familiar boys, clad in white-and-blue sailor's uniforms.
"Roger? James! Oh, heavens it's so good to see you!"
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Lovely Day For It! We Happy Few Fanfic - Arthur Hastings x Reader
FanfictionArthur Hastings just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, when he bumped into the right person: His childhood friend, Y/n. Although he'd never acknolwedged her in his youth, brushing her off as another little girl in the faceless cro...
