What was and what is

Part 14
Year 2716½.

Kirkland was cold, but he didn’t feel like moving around, for right now he had his arm around Arthur, and the guy was sleeping with his cheek resting in his lap. It looked more gay than he liked, but since his crew were sleeping their drunken minds away underneath the deck, it wasn’t like anyone was around to throw him a nasty comment anyway. So he allowed his dignity to fall for a little while.

It was weird watching himself sleep. Especially considering it wasn’t really him. It was more like a resemblance of what he would become in the future. Still he wasn’t sure whether or not he liked what he saw.

The face was unchanged. The body pretty much the same. But the mind, the way the guy spoke, his outlook on life - that had clearly changed. And it struck Kirkland that he was going to turn into a boring man within a few decades.

“Fuck,” he mumbled, leaning the back of his head against the mast. “That’s just sad.”

In the horizon the sun was getting up. Kirkland grabbed the bottle of whiskey next to him and drank the last mouthful of liquid. It was going to be a long day, he felt.

“Alfred…” Kirkland stiffened as Arthur suddenly spoke. He threw a concerned look down at the guy, but he was just mumbling in his sleep. “Alfred.. Don’t.. I am not.. Love..”

Alfred. That was the name of that child he was going to raise, right? The one that would fall in love with him. A shiver went down his spine. Incest. Like that could ever turn anyone on. Anyone besides Alfred, that is.

He couldn’t help but feel kind of sad for Arthur - and by that himself, too; having raised a person with all the experience you’ve got on the matter, just to figure out that you did something wrong along the way. How else would your own son fall in love with you? Unless he was born with a brain damage, which he doubted nations could. Then again - there was always the French.

“Alfred…”

Kirkland let go of a sigh and let his gaze slip from the rising sun to Arthur’s face. He looked so peaceful when asleep, while awake he was like a cartoon-character. It could be due to the fact that he had just been thrown into his past. But Kirkland found that was a boring explanation, and therefore didn’t wanted to believe it. He liked only what had adventure in it. Excitement in it.

‘Speaking of excitement - why am I still looking at his face?´ Realising this awkward fact, Kirkland made sure to look at everything but Arthur. ´Shit, that’s what you get for letting another man rest his head in your lap. Wait - he said he was gay, right? What if that’s an illness he can pass on to me?!´

“Hey, wake up!” Kirkland shouted, giving Arthur’s head a good shove. Arthur dumped his head down onto the deck, growling with a little pain.

“What?” he mumbled, pushing himself up in sitting position while strangling a yawn, “what is it now, Alfred?”

“I’m no bloody Alfred.” Arthur blinked with the eyes. His sight was blurry at first, but as Kirkland’s stern face turned clear in front of him, he yelled in surprise and stumbled to his legs.

“You’re! I’m! …oh…” As it all came back to him, his face fell into a peaceful grin, and he slipped down to sit facing Kirkland with a relaxed laughter. “Oh, sorry, I think I was still daydreaming.”

“Yeah, daydreaming it is - the sun is getting up.” Kirkland nodded towards the horizon. Arthur turned to watch.

“Already? We’ve been up all night?”

“I’ve been - you fell asleep-” He was about to add ‘in my lap’, but in the last second he decided not to, and just nodded as if he was done with his sentence. Arthur send him a funny look, but didn’t comment on it.

“I see…” Arthur scratched the back of his neck.

“You do not look sad for one who has just dreamed that everything was alright and then wake up to this?” Kirkland made a gesture with his arm to point out the ship and Arthur’s current situation. The Englishman’s smile fell, and he looked down, nodding a little too.

“Yeah, you’re right… But I guess…” He hesitated.

“You guess?”

“It’s kind of embarrassing to say, but it’s a relief. Not waking up to Alfred’s constant ‘I love you’ and following me and sending me notes and…” He shook his head. He did not want to continue the thought. He did not have to.

“Oh!” Kirkland reached into the pockets of his pants. “Oh, I almost forgot - since you’re no threat, I guess you can have this… thing… back.” He took out Arthur’s cell phone. Arthur’s eyes widened and he grabbed it with a grateful sigh.

“I thought you threw it away.”

“Nay, I thought I could sell it for a night.” Arthur wrinkled his brows.

“For a night?” He asked. Kirkland rolled with his eyes, gesturing towards his groin. “Oooh… That kind of night.”

“Indeed.” Arthur looked down at his mobile. It was weird being on a pirate ship, and still be sitting with such a modern thing.

Even weirder that it apparently still worked. He could see at least three unanswered calls from Alfred. Reminded him - the phone had worked earlier, too. Something was really screwed up in this world.

“Well, better go waken up the crew.” Kirkland stumbled onto his feet. He drew in a heavy mouthful of air, his face whitening as soon as he straightened up in the back. “Shit,” he mumbled, placing a hand over his eyes. “I didn’t thought I had so much to drink.”

“Not feeling well?” Arthur asked, not bothered with the amount of alcohol he had consumed. After all he had had a few more years getting used to it than Kirkland. Said person didn’t even bother to answer, he just stumbled to the railing, leaning over it as he vomited. Arthur wrinkled his nose, looking away. Oh yes, he remembered all to well how it had been in his younger days.

Somehow he didn’t miss it quite so much.

“Damn.” Kirkland was on his way back. He looked even paler than before, and it made Arthur wonder why his crew had even bothered to respect him when he was in that state.

Dumb question.

As Kirkland returned from downstairs, his crewmembers followed him - everyone looked more busted than the other. Arthur had to bite hard down onto his lower lip not to roar with laughter. It was like some kind of bad pirate-movie.

The men were looking at him. It was like they all wanted to ask, what the hell the demon-angel-something-freak was still doing on board. Kirkland had felt the tension building up, and as they were all once again gathered on deck, he cleared his throat, gesturing for Arthur to come over to him.

“I know what you’re all thinking,” he said, placing a hand on Arthur’s shoulder as he stopped next to him. “And ya’ll deserve an explanation. So…”

The mobile rang. Kirkland send Arthur’s phone a glare. Arthur smiled as an excuse before answering it. Everyone’s eyes were locked on him. “It’s not evil,” Kirkland assured them.“

Arthur here - Alfred, is that you?” Arthur tried to ignore the glares from the other’s, concentrating on the heavy breathing coming from the other end of the line.

“Arthur…”

“Yes, it’s me, Alfred. Can you hear me?”

“Arthur…” There was a low chuckle. “Arthur… Be aware… I’m coming to claim that life of yours.” There was no joy or joking to find in Alfred’s voice. Arthur blinked with the eyes.

“What is that supp-”

“Arthur…” Alfred’s whispering voice was intimidating to listen to. “Arthur… You’re going to die.”

Duud… duud… duud…

Alfred had cut the connection. Arthur slowly raised his gaze to Kirkland. The man looked wonderingly.

“What? What’s up? Did your thing say anything?”

“It was Alfred,” he mumbled, “and he said he was going to kill me.”