Work Text:
Britannia dived into the bushes, making hundreds of butterflies of every colour flutter away in surprise. He giggled and tried to catch one in his hands but they were too quick.
He was happy today--exceptionally happy. Rome had decided to send a delegate to check on him in his stead for the last few months and Britannia could not be happier. That pretty little girl came for a visit again. This is the third time she's visited, along with some of Rome's people, and today--today, Britannia is going right up to her and talk to her.
He held his blushing cheeks, feeling warmth radiate from them. He remembered how he saw her the first time she came, walking up to his citadel with such fine clothes. Her long hair was like spun gold, beautiful and glowing under the rare sunshine. Britannia believes that she may have even brought the sunlight with her to Londinium. She's so pretty. Prettier than any other person he's ever seen in fact, even though she never smiled. She must have been lonely too. If it hadn't been for Britannia's crippling shyness, he might have hugged her the first time he saw her.
He smiled to himself. Today he was going to make her smile. He was going to bring her the most beautiful flower in the entire land and finally introduce himself. Today she'll know who I am.
With his solid resolve, he began looking for the most beautiful flower--something that would make even the queen of the faes jealous with its beauty. That will definitely make the pretty foreign girl smile.
Then he saw it, right in the middle of the massive garden sat a pink rose in full bloom that matched the pretty girl's eyes. Its dewy petals sparkled in the rare sunlight. It was perfect.
Gallia pulled at his sleeves grumpily. He hates these clothes. He always looks like a common Roman fool when he wears them. He would have torn them off if Rome wouldn't smack him later on. Whoever this Britannia kid is, he's lucky. He isn't even attached to the bastard so he hardly gets to be at the receiving end of Rome's blows, like the rest of them.
Speaking of which, I haven't seen him yet.
The kid is always nowhere to be found whenever he visits. He probably still thinks Rome does the routine check. He can't say he blames him.
He groaned and put his hands on his face. He just wants to go home. He doesn't even need to be here. He hardly gets any say in the meeting because he looks too young. He's more of an ornament, something the soldiers brought with them so the savages wouldn't feel so threatened.
"I want to go home," he mumbled into his hands.
Something stirred behind the bush. Gallia immediately grabbed a rock by instinct, stance already defensive. He has gone pretty far from the citadel in the hopes of some solitude. This part of Londinium was still pretty wild.
He gripped the rock firmly. He's not an expert at aiming, but he can throw pretty hard.
A little boy stumbled out of the bushes, looking scared and holding a pink rose. The first thing he notices on the kid was his eyebrows. They were massive and thick. Animals probably lived in it. Probably birds. They could pass for nests. The second thing he notices are the freckles. Freckles smattered his face like blood splatters, visible despite the angry blush that spread across his cheeks. He was a little shorter than him, almost up to his shoulder. Overall, he seemed harmless, mostly because he was trembling in fear.
Gallia lowered his weapon but didn't let go. It must be one of the savages who got lost. "Who are you?"
The little boy's lip twitched and he thrust the flower at him. "F-F-For you!"
He just looked at him. He didn't really know what to do. "What?"
"I-I-I'm Britannia."
Oh. So this is him. He scratched the back of his head. "I'm Gaul." Better to give him his name in the savage language. The only Latin this kid probably knows is his own name.
The kid nodded frantically. "I k-k-know."
He raised a brow at that, and then looked at the flower that Britannia still hadn't lowered. He had to admit, it looked pretty. "What's with the flower?"
The kid was shaking like a leaf now. "P-P-Pretty girls d-deserve the best f-f-flowers."
Gallia's eye twitched and he kicked the little runt square in the chest, knocking him down to the ground with a surprised squeak. "I'm not a girl, you little shit," he growled. He hated these clothes so much.
He glared at the pipsqueak, who was looking at him, absolutely terrified, and then burst into tears.
The tears shocked him, although he should have honestly expected it after what he did.
Britannia scrambled to his feet and bolted away as fast as a rabbit, before Gallia could even put a word in.
Faex.
It was almost dusk when he found him. It's not like he wanted to find him, really. It's just that he'll be in a world of hurt with Rome if something bad happened to his precious little province. He is assigned as the new minder, after all.
He had to admit, comparing him to a rabbit was spot on. He found the kid half-submerged in soil, almost like he tried to fit himself into some poor rabbit's burrow underneath a willow tree. It would've been cute if he were no longer crying. He briefly wondered how this kid hasn't run out of tears before he cleared his throat, announcing his presence.
The little boy tensed, ready to bolt.
"Don't run. You've caused me enough trouble already," he grumbled as he walked in front of him. The kid was still holding on desperately to the rose, almost breaking the stem. He crouched down to the boy's level and looked into his bloodshot eyes. Turquoise. The boy looked back at him, entire face red. "I'm a boy. If you don't call me a girl again, I promise I won't kick you. Understand?"
The little boy nodded jerkily, sniffing.
Gallia sighed, satisfied. He offered his hand to him. "Let's go back to the citadel before it gets dark."
Britannia hesitatingly reached for his hand. Gallia's eyes widened at the blood on the little boy's palm. He grabbed it quickly and examined it, getting a startled squeak from the boy.
"What happened to your hand?" he demanded from the boy, and then saw that his other hand was bleeding as well, still wrapped around the stem of the thorned rose. His eye twitched. How stupid is this kid? He pried the rose from the other boy's hand and threw it behind him.
Much to his surprise, the kid stood up and went after it, holding on to it desperately.
"Are you stupid?" he scolded him.
Britannia's eyes welled up in tears again. Merde. He was starting to dislike this kid big time. He marched over to him and the kid held his rose defensively. "You can keep your stupid flower," Gallia snapped, grabbing one of the boy's wrists and dragging him with him. There was a creek nearby. He could clean he wound there.
The boy was still sniffing behind him as he was dragged to the creek. Well, it serves him right. They settled near the running water and he began to clean the hand he was holding a little roughly.
The little boy whimpered, much to his annoyance. This kid is too weak. The only reason Rome probably had in not being able to capture him sooner was pure luck.
As soon as he was done with one hand, he looked at the other one, which was still clutching the rose.
"Put it down," he ordered.
The little boy looked at him apprehensively.
He scowled. "I'm not throwing it away. I promise."
Britannia gingerly put the rose down and gave his other hand. Gallia grabbed it and proceeded to clean it with the running water, not getting any gentler.
When he finished cleaning, he tore off his sleeve. The little boy gasped.
"Y-Your dress!" the little boy protested softly with a shaky voice.
"Call it a dress again and I'll throw you into this creek," he threatened, as he tore the fine silk in shreds. He didn't bring any extra cloth with him and the kid obviously had to be patched up since his healing is probably much much slower. He grabbed the little boy's hand and started wrapping the wound up roughly. He'd get smacked later for ruining his clothes, he was sure of it. He took the boy's other hand and wrapped the remaining shreds of silk onto it. He examined both hands, and once he was satisfied, he let go.
"G-Gratias tibi ago."
Gallia raised a brow at him. Looks like the little savage knows how to speak some Latin after all. He grabbed the flower before the little boy could take it again.
"G-Gaul!" he squeaked in protest, looking worried.
Gallia shook his head and began removing the thorns carefully. "Roses can be pretty, but they have thorns. If you're going to pick roses, you have to make sure to remove them, fatuus. Once the thorns are removed, they won't hurt you."
Once he was done with removing the thorns and he was satisfied, he gave it back to Britannia, who accepted it with wide staring eyes and a red face. He didn't realise that the kid had been staring at him the whole time.
He stood up and offered his hand again. "Let's go back. The soldiers are probably looking for us."
Britannia nodded and accepted his hand. There was a big smile and a bright blush on his cheeks.
Britannia looked at the flower, smiling brightly. Earlier that evening, he planted the rose in a little bit of magic soil he had in his room. Surely now it would grow and make more beautiful roses. He wished he could show it to his new friend, but Gallia had gone to his quarters to sleep and he was similarly sent to his own room for sleep.
Gallia didn't turn out the way he thought she he would. He didn't want him to be angry. He only wanted to make friends. His delicate and pretty appearance didn't at all warn him of the rough personality lying underneath. Britannia had been scared. He thought that maybe Gallia was a lot like Rome after all. It wasn't until his wounds were being cleaned at the creek that he realised Gallia for what he really was.
He still couldn't stop thinking about how Gallia dethorned the rose. He was smiling at the time. It was hardly visible, but Britannia knew it was a smile. It had to be. It was the first time he saw her him like he was enjoying himself. It made Britannia feel warm and pleasant inside. Gallia looked even more beautiful when he wasn't frowning. He didn't seem terrifying anymore.
He looked down at his bandaged hands. He'll keep these silk strips when he's healed. He smiled to himself and nodded. He looked back at the pretty pink rose.
Gallia gave the rose to him. He wasn't frowning at the time. His hand flew up to his chest. His heart was being noisy today. He wonders why. He didn't really run that much at all that afternoon.
Roses can be pretty, but they have thorns.
He reached up and kissed the rose's soft petals good night. He tucked into his cot and fell asleep with a big smile on his face.
Once the thorns are removed, they won't hurt you.