Ill Burden [Alfred + Nico]

[Nickolaus F. Beilschmidt]

Come little children, I'll take thee away,

Into a land of enchantment...

Alfred F. Jones

621

Hope this works... He probably has been watched by Al quite a few times now by this point pfft

After several times trying, Nickolaus was finally able to jump high enough to reach the doorbell. He grinned, having told Gilbert he would be fine going to Al’s place by himself (granted the elder brother insisted he would bring Nickolaus at least to the floor of the apartment that Alfred lived in, and the boy agreed to that much). Once the brothers were on the designated floor, Nickolaus almost threw a fit about going to Al’s all by himself, and rushed to the door he had learnt to go to after several trips back and forth from here and his own home. After pointing to the door and grinning once Gilbert gave him the nod of approval, Nickolaus had been trying to reach the doorbell, shaking his head when he saw his brother almost try to come over and help.

He was a big boy, and he was going to do it all by himself.

Though, when he finally reached it, Gilbert nodded, as if he knew that Alfred was home. They already knew that Alfred was to watch the boy for the day, and never did the American break that promise. As if he was sure of that, Nickolaus waved Gilbert off as he watched him rush down the stairs to his ‘job’, as he said it. Maybe he was late or something? Who knew.

Sighing, the boy turned back to the door, raising a hand to press it against his forehead. The rush over to the house must’ve put a strain on him, seeing he felt it slowly grow warmer. He managed to hide his weakened state to Gilbert, having been fully aware that he had business to attend to that day (the elder brother was pretty good about keeping the boy informed as to when and where he would be spending his following days at night before bed, after all). Maybe if it wasn’t for the fact that he had to spend his day with Alfred’s, Nickolaus would’ve told Gilbert the truth and explained he wasn’t feeling well, but he knew he was already a burden in his brother’s busy life.

And he didn’t want to be any more troublesome than he already was.

Though, to be honest, he was starting to regret his decision as well. He knew himself pretty well; once the fever came, then it was fast. It would quickly rise, and it would cripple him to the illness, making him a heavy duty to care for. He knew just by watching his parents how troublesome he was, them having complained to him directly to his face that, this was not what they signed up for when they decided to give birth to him. That they wished he would hurry and grow up so he could take care of his own fevers himself, or better yet, grow out of them fully so he wouldn’t be sick again, thus not requiring them to pay for medicine or soup for him to eat.

And because of this, when he heard footsteps on the other side of the door, Nickolaus quickly pulled his hand away from his own forehead. He wasn’t going to let Alfred feel the same way his parents did. Nickolaus loved Alfred, and would’ve hated to see him say those words that the parents dared to speak to him when he was sick. A burden.

When the door opened, Nickolaus gave a small smile, though a weaker one than usual, and held his bag up for Alfred to take. ”Gil haf work… He run, maybe he late.” He said, explaining why he alone was at the door with his broken sentence, still adjusting to a language other than pure German. ”Gud Mowning, Alfwed…!”

by worldie for puchi

[Alfred F. Jones]

it's a

revolution

Word count: 842

Tags: Nickolaus F. Beilschmidt    

Notes: hi child

Alfred had been up since five, like he was most mornings. It wasn't by choice most days. There was always some new nightmare that made Alfred reluctant to go back to bed. They'd been easing up lately, though Alfred wasn't certain as to why.

Maybe it was Gilbert and Nico. The two Germans seemed to be at his doorstep every other day now. Gilbert had started dropping the kid off whenever he had an important business meeting or some other event that he couldn't bring Nico to. He always called ahead, of course, and Alfred could never really say no. He did owe Gilbert after all. And he didn't mind that much. Alfred liked Nico plenty enough, and he managed to get what he needed done while Nico napped or after the boy had left. It did make pulling cons more difficult, so Alfred had been spending more time working on the FF and hacking as opposed to hands-on cons recently.

Not that babysitting Nico was without its frustrations. Alfred had had quite an abrupt experience with the boy's power on one of his first visits. Throwing a tantrum, Nico's voice had shattered Alfred's tv screen completely. Gilbert had apologized endlessly after the incident and offered to pay, though Alfred had waved him off. Alfred had his own money, and he wasn't fond of charity either. To which, Gilbert had argued, it was not charity since he was Nico's legal guardian now and it was only responsible for him to pay for any damages. They'd got into an argument about that, an argument that Alfred had won, though Gilbert had sworn he'd make Alfred take the money someday.

The truth was it made Alfred happy, seeing the two of them. Not that he'd admit to it, of course, but Alfred did crave interaction. He'd been so caught up in his job that he missed just, well, just having company. He missed not having to be the second-in-command for the FF, missed not having to pretend he was someone he wasn't. Alfred had moved past that with Gilbert, and Nico was a kid, so it was refreshing, to see the two of them. Sometimes Gilbert would bring dinner for the three of them and they'd all sit around the table and Alfred felt happy. They would all laugh about whatever was going on, whether that was a new movie Alfred and Nico had watched or how Gilbert had reorganized his folders in a new method he'd discovered the other day, much to his boss' chagrin. And it was always cute to see how Gilbert's face lit up whenever Nico had made him something, how he swore that he would tape it to the fridge or pin it on the wall of his office.

Nico was coming again today. Gilbert said he had a friend he had to pick up, or something along those lines. Alfred knew from experience that Nico wasn't always the easiest child to get to know, so it made enough sense that Gilbert was dropping him off. Alfred didn't mind. His relationship with Nico had vastly improved since the tv shattering incident, and though the child was unbelievably stubborn at times, Alfred liked to think that he could match him in that regard. They got along fairly well, though Alfred was realizing that he was really not the best candidate for the job. He knew very little about taking care of children, just assuming that it would come naturally. And to some extent it did—Alfred had few reservations about playing games all day—but there were times when Alfred wished that he knew more about how to deal with stubborn, inquisitive toddlers. Alfred had spent several hours looking through articles on Google on how to raise kids. Nico wasn't his kid, but he was Gil's, and Alfred owed Gilbert at least that much.

The doorbell rang and Alfred set his coffee mug down on the table before hurrying to the door. He could already feel a smile involuntarily widening on his face.

He opened the door to Nico, and for a moment, Alfred was confused. Maybe it showed, because Nico immediately piped up with an explanation as he held his bag up for Alfred.

Running late for work, huh. Alfred couldn't help but feel disappointed. Not that he didn't love having Nico with him, but... Seeing Gilbert was often the highlight of Alfred's day. It was nice, being able to talk to someone who was his equal, who could talk seriously with him or joke with him as need be. As much as he loved Nico or even Maëlle, they couldn't quite fill that role.

He quickly dismissed his thoughts though. Nico was here, which meant that Alfred had to be more attentive to his needs. "Good morning Nico," Alfred said warmly, taking the toddler's hand and closing the door behind them before leading him over to the couch to settle down. "Gil gave you breakfast, right? Do you wanna eat something else or do you want to go play something?"

i suppose

by Worldie for Leia

[Nickolaus F. Beilschmidt]

Come little children, I'll take thee away,

Into a land of enchantment...

Alfred F. Jones

423

Late and short i'm sorry >A<

Nickolaus held Alfred’s hand back as it was taken into the American’s hold, humming contently softly. He insisted on taking his shoes off as soon as they came in, not wanting to mess the carpet with the dirt he was certain he walked through on the way over, and let himself be led to the couch. Only once he was sat on the comfortable furniture and asked what he wanted to do did he finally speak again.

Taking the backpack onto his own lap, Nickolaus undid the zipper holding it closed and put his hand inside, searching for the items he brought to Alfred’s place. It was much less than those he would often bring when he knew he was going to stay at Alfred’s all day—Gilbert assured he would pick him up within a few hours, after all. And Gilbert had never broken such promise.

Every day, he would bring goodies over with him when he was told he was staying at Alfred’s. A snack, his favorite blanket, a coloring book and crayons, and sometimes even some movies. Today he was not given a snack to munch on, having been promised that Gilbert would pick him up before it was time to eat it. Sighing softly through his mouth, his nose stuffy already, Nickolaus pulled out a movie he brought over for the day. He gave one look to the DVD case he brought the movie in, having brought his favorite Beauty and the Beast movie, just as he blinked finally realizing what he was asked by the man.

“Alfwed, chu can’t have bweakfast two times. That’ll make chu fat.” He reported to Alfred, his brows furrowing. “I alweady eat,” he continued before tilting his head, “…Chu alweady eat too, wight? Chu have to have good big bweakfast, or chu be hungwy all day. That not good.” He explained, digging through his bag once more, finally giving a small whimper just remembering there were no snacks. And here he was, thinking of offering it to Alfred, pouting softly. Of course, of all the days to not bring his animal crackers, today had to be the one.

“Ah… Um… I can make Alfwed bweakfast if Alfwed has not eat, I can cook…!” He grinned, the very act becoming an activity for the boy. He then pushed the movie he just pulled out the bag to Alfred, grinning to him. “Alfwed can watch this, an I make something yummy…! I know how to make bweakfast, I see bwuder do it all the time…!”

by worldie for puchi

[Alfred F. Jones]

it's a

revolution

Word count: 503

Tags: Nickolaus F. Beilschmidt

Notes: Eyyyy here it is

Nico didn't look all that similar to Gilbert in terms of appearance. Really, he was much more like Ludwig, with his blue eyes and his blonde hair. Still, there were similarities to be drawn. They were both stubborn after all. Not that Ludwig wasn't stubborn, but it was particularly obvious in Gilbert and Nico. They were also all surprisingly neat. Surprising, really, on Gil and Nico's part. Gilbert, with his carefree attitude and almost wild personality, seemed like the opposite of organized. Yet every time Alfred went over to Gil's or when Gilbert brought takeout over, he was always the one who immediately started loading the dishwasher or clearing the table.

Nico could be quiet at times, even though Alfred had babysat for Gilbert several times by now, and Alfred noticed it as Nico walked towards the couch without a word. Alfred had never been a very quiet child...always chattering and running about and getting scrapes and bruises. One of his first memories was sitting in a hospital, chatting with his doctor about how much fun basketball was and how someday he would be the best dunker in the world. The man had then proceeded to tell Alfred that if he broke his finger again he would never be the best dunker in the world.

Alfred was pretty sure he'd started crying.

At any rate, Nico sat down with his favorite movie, Beauty and the Beast. Alfred had watched it with Nico more times in the past month than Alfred had in his entire lifetime. Not that Alfred minded too much; the two of them would make popcorn and Nico would have his apple juice and Alfred his coke and then snuggle into the blankets. It was always a nice way to end the evening, especially when Nico ended up falling asleep. Then, Alfred would pack up his things so that when Gilbert got back, he could just pick up the sleepy toddler and be on his way.

Nico looked confused when Alfred mentioned having another breakfast, insisting that it would make him fat. The wording made Alfred wince a little inside, but he smiled anyways and gave no indication otherwise. He had gone on his morning run as per usual, but still. He probably could've done more.

"Don't worry Nico," Alfred said soothingly. "I've already eaten breakfast. Do you—" But the boy had already gone off on a tangent, pushing The Beauty and the Beast into Alfred's hands.

"...Huh." Alfred paused, tapping his chin thoughtfully at Nico's suggestion. "Well...of course I'd like to see you make breakfast. But I wanna help, and you can teach me. Is that okay? You can be the main chef and I can be the sous chef."

There was clearly no way that Alfred was going to let Nico handle potentially sharp knives and hot surfaces on his own. The boy could be stubborn, but Alfred could match him in that if it came down to it, and there were certain places where Alfred drew the line.

i suppose

by Worldie for Leia