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"Percy..." Arthur's voice was almost silent, broken in half by emotion.
It was overcast. He and Sally were standing in front of a grave, the name on it recognizable by everyone present. Well, everyone who could read. The baby was excluded
Percival Hastings
"God, Percy, I'm so sorry..." Apologizing was something Arthur was doing a lot lately. He felt so much more than he once had, his emotions were so much stronger. Especially remorse.
"It's all my fault-" His eyes began watering as a wave of sadness washed over him. It hurt, but it was so much better than not feeling anything.
There was some sort of weird mixture of him kneeling down and his legs going out from under him. Soon enough he was on his knees with a worried Sally crouching beside him.
"Arthur, I'm... I'm so sorry," her voice was soft as she tried to console him, a hand on his shoulder.
"We were supposed to look out for each other, Sally, we were going to protect each other." Arthur's own voice was just short of a sob. "He needed me and I left him alone."
"Arthur," her grip on his shoulder tightened a little. Unrelated, but the noise was beginning to wake Gwen up. "Arthur, I don't... I don't think his life was hinged on you being there. Sure, it would have been a lot easier but... Percy could manage himself."
"Manage- manage himself?" He looked up a little bit, confusion clear behind watery eyes. "How do you know? How do you know that I didn't-"
"Arthur, look again."
There was a silence.
"Oh my god, Percy," a saddened laugh left the man, tears rolling down his cheeks now.
"Arthur?" Maybe that hadn't been the best way to approach it.
"Percy you absolute fucking madman," another stronger laugh left him, a hand coming up to scrub at his eyes.
"Hey come on, let's-"
"Five years! Five years ago, Sally!" He was still crying, seemingly unable to stop. "He made it through the fucking war by himself and couldn't wait another five years for me!" His tone wasn't one of anger, rather, it was one of disbelief.
"God, Percy... you really could handle yourself," his voice quieted down as he focused back on the slab in front of him. "Guess you had to get back at me somehow, huh? I miss you a lot."
There was another silence. Then a distant rumble of thunder, and Gwen started to cry.
"Hey, Arthur, we should go," Sally suggested, her hand on his shoulder again. "It's going to storm soon, and neither you nor Gwen need a cold right now."
He let out a soft sigh, forcing himself to get up again. His knees were covered in mud. Wonderful. "I'll come back and visit." He wasn't sure if that was a promise to Percy or himself. "With flowers next time."
Sally smiled sadly, moving to pull gently on Arthur's arm. "We'll come back, " she assured him, "for now, let's go find somewhere to stay."
Arthur nodded a little, sniffling softly as his tears finally stopped. He returned the sad smile. "Yeah, let's go."