Relaxation in the Common Room

Francis sighed happily.He loved sitting in the common room,with or without his friends,and today,it happened to be that he was alone.This was fine for him,because he was busy trying to read.A while ago he had borrowed a book from Arthur,a copy of A Midsummer Night's Dream,and he was just now finding the time to read it.He sat curled up on one of the couches,reading by the light of the end table lamp beside him.He had a pair of square rim glasses perched on his angular nose,ones he only wore when reading in private.He was sort of embarrassed about needing glasses to read,so he never told anyone.He seemed to have forgotten that it was a public room,as he was too absorbed in the book,and failed to realize anyone could walk in at any moment.

Strangely, you could sense him before his steps were heard. They were lumbering footfalls in winter boots constructed of animal hide. The poor animals must of never attained their dying purpose for no means of skin or material could absorb the sheer heaviness he stepped with.

Ivan's lilac eyes drew alight as he noticed he wouldn't be alone in this bright common room. If he was lucky, an actual human voice would speak to him this time, rather then that from his politic videos and the dainty whispers of book characters. Not to mention the other voices...

"Oh, k'hello!"

After grabbing some tea from the cafeteria, Arthur made his way to his room. He wasn't up to dealing with anyone right now and only wanted to relax, read a book, perhaps converse with Suzie and the rest of the fairies that constantly flew around her.

He opened the door to the common room with half a mind to relax there instead. His plan was scrapped when he quickly noticed a very familiar Frenchman not far from the door, reading.

"So you DO know how to read." he couldn't help but snicker. "I also didn't know you wore glasses."

Francis's eyes shot up and he looked towards the doors.Not just one person,but two people caught him with the glasses.He quickly pulled them off and tucked them inside his sweater sleeve."U-Uhm,hello,Ivan..Hi Arthur.Oui,I do read.And..What glasses?"He chuckled nervously,raising the book to cover his face a bit.He watched the two of them,visibly shaking a bit.

"And then I'M a bad liar." Arthur huffed, going to his side after nodding at Ivan. "SO. What were you reading so intently before we interrupted you? It better be something good, nothing like Twilight, or I'm going to hit you." he crossed his arms, standing in front of Francis.

Francis raised the book a bit."Remember?You let me borrow this a while ago,"he said,smiling a little bit.He patted the spot of the couch beside him,signalling for Arthur to sit with him."It's very good.I'm enjoying it greatly.Thank you for letting me borrow it."He nodded happily.

At the sight of the Shakespeare book in Francis' hand, Arthur froze, his heart skipping a beat. Francis reading Shakespeare. Well.... That certainly modified his personal opinion of him.

"Uh..." he started, finding no words to express his glee at seeing a classic in his boyfriend's hands. "Okay." he finished lamely, making himself comfortable next to Francis and leaning over. "You're not too far. Are you comfortable with the language? Even I had some trouble with the old English used. You should always have a pencil with you and work as you read the text. It makes it easier to understand. Ah, here comes Titania. She's a feisty one. I'm sure you'll like her..." he ranted on, trying to sound like he didn't particularly care. But he did. The simple fact that Francis was reading one of his favourite works made him feel so warm inside.

Ivan's smile shrunk a couple molars as he stood rooted on spot, his educational books clasped tightly in one gloved hand as he literally overlooked their conversations.

"Is that smoke I smell?" He asked, a darker undertone to his otherwise high and childlike voice.

Francis smiled happily,sitting a little closer to Arthur.He nodded a little."Oui,the language is a bit tough,but I love it..Over summer break,I did a performance of Hamlet with a little community theater group..Don't laugh,but I was Ophelia.I had to shave my beard and everything.Lucky that I don't have a very muscular body,or I might not have received a part."He laughed a bit,looking over the words on the page he was on in the book.

The Frenchman looked up at Ivan's words.He blinked."Smoke?That's not good,"he said softly."Are you sure you smell smoke?"

Arthur raised a brow at this and resisted the urge to burst out laughing. He could practically imagine Francis playing Ophelia's part, lovely Ophelia with braided flowers in her hair as she drowned to death... A morbid, but funny enough thought when he imagined Francis in a dress.

"Smoke, you say?" Arthur decided to sniff around, hoping that the new development would keep his mind off of a beardless Francis in a gown. "I don't smell anything. Are you sure?"

"Da, like Arthur's punk years, trying to sell heroin to Yao-kun," he said determinably.

Francis could tell Arthur wanted to laugh at his confession and decided to merely curl up a bit,leaning slightly against the Briton,and reading his book again.He slipped his glasses from out of his sleeve and put them on so he could see the words.He placed one hand on Arthur's hand as he read.When Ivan spoke again,he looked up.

"You mean you smell opium?"he asked.He glanced at Arthur and pulled his hand away after a moment."Odd.Maybe that means Yao is nearby then,eh?"He chuckled.

Arthur went red at the mention of that time and looked down, somewhat ashamed. He still hadn't figured out where his punk phase had popped up from. Those weren't his best days.

"Maybe it's just my idiot brother who forgot that smoking is prohibited inside the building." he muttered solemnly, not wanting to meet any gazes in particular.

The atmosphere cooled around Ivan, his smile was apologetic but for what intention wasn't certain as he responded pleasantly, "maybe" pretending to go with a comment he'd rather beat up with metal shackles, "or... I vonder if that perfume you keep in your dorm is flammable? It seems to be coming from the lockers, da? Very near dorms."

The smell was sulphuric now. No longer the nearly pleasant spiced fragrance that used to be found on said feminine boy, but ghastly with crackling to mirror ripe Cimmeria.

"If dis fire kills you, I'm not to be blamed, da?" He said with his arms behind his back as he
tilted to his other foot, trying to get a better look.

Francis hold of Arthur's hand and squeezed it tightly.He leaned down to kiss the back of it and went back to being curled beside him comfortably.He continued to hold the hand tight,wanting to prove that he didn't care about the past,that he was here to help Arthur.Then Ivan said what it smelt like and such.

"Well..I didn't know you had perfume in your room,Arthur..I thought I was the only one."He chuckled nervously,wondering.Is the dorm on fire?Will they be hurt?"Ivan,did you do something?"

His eyes rounded infantile, "do vhat?"

"Like..I don't know..Start a fire?"Francis asked,frowning more.He wouldn't put it past the Russian to do something foolish like that,but,at the same time,he also thought that he wouldn't be foolish enough to start a fire.

Arthur went a bit whiter than before and looked at Ivan with a raised brow.

"Perhaps I still have a clogged nose from my sickness, but I don't smell smoke. All I smell is his dastardly perfume." he nudged Francis. "And I seriously doubt that even his sense of smell is bad enough to choose a smoke-scented perfume."

"Smoke scented purfume?Mon dieu,I might as well buy cologne then,"Francis chuckled,still seeming a bit worried."Ivan,if you really think there's a fire,let's go check it out,oui?We should find out and alert someone.I'd hate to have a fire get out of hand and possibly burn a whole section of the school.."He slowly sat up and stretched before standing and walking over to Ivan.

Another quick orchestra of snaps convulsed the sound and air.

"I don't know, it looks like fire to me."

Francis blinked.When he heard the noises,his eyes went wide.He grabbed Ivan's hand."You're coming with me!"he yelled,quickly running out of the common room to find the source of the smell and the sounds of crackles.

One of the lockers where blazing! As if they'd only now caught fire after they'd stalled there horses for so long.

Ivan ripped his arm out of Francis's constraint with ground braking force, having a harder time to fake his patience.

"Now if you'll excuse me."

The giant completely disregarded the catching flame. It's feverant dance glistening against the hallway wall and black smoke catching the next locker as it leaped dangerously to the side. Feeding off the paper within.

No one was around for miles except this trio. Wunderbar.

"Tovarishch, if it's any constellation, my nose just saved your life. But now your life is your problem," he turned off the heel of his moleskin boot and left with more speed then seemed able for someone his sheer size and bulky coat.

"Fine then, ignore me!" Arthur muttered moodily, crossing his arms and grabbing Francis' book. Might as well do something constructive to do while the others went on their wild goose chase for a nonexistant fire.

Francis yelped.He quickly ran to pull a nearby fire alarm.A fire in the locker..This was horrible!He couldn't tell what locker it was,but he knew it would be bad no matter what.He pulled the fire alarm,and the sprinklers overhead went off,showering the hall and the blaze with water.He looked around and then ran back towards the common room.

"Arthur!Arthur..Fire!"He was dripping with water already.

[[Suddenly 'Chill out' has a whole new meaning.]]

Arthur looked up and groaned as the alarm went off. Okay, so maybe there really had been a fire. Oops.

"I think I figured when the alarm went off, frog." he looked at him a bit crossly as he ran in, noticing that he was drenched. "Well, don't you look handsome. You look like a wet dog, just for reference." he commented.

Francis quickly walked over to the Brit on the couch and stared at him."W-What do we do?Do we wake everyone?Oh mon dieu.."He ignored the jab at his looks and chose to slowly kneel on the ground,resting his arms on Arthur's knees and cradling his head in his arms.

"I couldn't see which locker it is..But someone's in for disappointment.."he muttered,shivering as the cold water seemed to just zap the warmth from his body.He was confused and worried,and also cold and tired.He didn't know what was the best course of action.

"Calm the hell down, pet." Arthur muttered the nickname both affectionately and teasingly, considering their position. "The alarm's blaring through the entire dorm block. I'm pretty sure that everyone who was inside the building evacuated from the emergency exists in the back already. The direction should have already checked their security cameras to check who pulled the alarm and should have seen the fire. The firefighters should be on their way here as we speak." he spoke coolly before gently pushing Francis' head off his knees. "Come on, now, you're getting me wet. Let's get you a blanket from your room and then get out from the back to join the others.

Rosa was busy having a nice, hot shower when she smelled smoke and heard alarms going off close by. She Haphazardly put her uniform back on (since she was in a hurry) and ran out of her room in the direction of the common room area.

Rosa's hair was soaking wet and not yet tied up, most of the buttons on her shirt were miss-matched, her tie was hanging loosely around her neck, her blazer was somewhere in her room, her skirt was severely crinkled, and to top off her look; she was only wearing one sock and no shoes. When getting dressed in a hurry, your outfit will never turn out the way you want it to look.

When she arrived, Rosa was greeted with the sight of Francis and Arthur, both of whom were looking equally worried. Rosa quickly approached the couple, not sure of what was really going on.

"You'll never guess, but one minute I was taking a shower and the next I'm out here. I heard alarms and smelled smoke. What's going on? Is anyone hurt?" she questioned them; words spewing out of her mouth at a record-breaking pace.

Francis stood slowly and wrapped his arms around himself to try and regain warmth.He looked over at Rosa."Fire in a locker,"he said slowly."Ivan told me about it,so I went to see if he was right.He was.."He pulled on Arthur's hand after a moment,shivering as he did so.

"Mon cher,let's hurry.I can't feel my body anymore,I'm so cold,"he said.

"Oh my gosh thats terrible! I hope no one gets hurt" she said. Worry was painted clearly across her face.

"Do not fret, both of you. The best is to keep calm and carry on. Rosa, go outside to where all the students should have evacuated and count them. Ask if they think anyone's still in the building. Then, lead them to the school so that you don't all freeze to death." Arthur ordered, practiced commands spewing out of his mouth at rapid speed. "As for you..." he looked at Francis a bit more softly. "Come. Let's make sure you aren't hypothermic by the end of the dy."

Francis nodded.He hugged onto Arthur tight,using his body heat to get a bit warmer.He smiled a bit,kissing Arthur's cheek gently."You're such a sweetie,"he said happily,nuzzling his head into his boyfriend's chest.He sighed a little and then let go,not wanting to upset the Briton with his touchy-feely ways.He began to walk to the door and waited for the others.

Arthur watched him go and sighed, ignoring the fact that his shirt was all wet now.

"Go out from the back, avoid the front at all costs. And close all the windows and doors you come across, alright?" he advised, tapping Rosa's shoulder. "The fire shouldn't be big enough to get out of hand, but better safe than sorry. Good luck." he patted her once more before jogging towards Francis.

The poor guy was trembling, and Arthur wasn't so sure if taking him outside would be a good idea, evacuation or not. Still, like he'd said, better safe than sorry.

"Move it, frog, before you freeze to death and I have to leave you in a burning building to thaw you out." he called, running up to the door to the dorm rooms and holding it open for Francis. "Make an effort, your room's not that far from here."

Francis quickly ran with Arthur,nodding a bit."Oui,oui,"he said.He ran past Arthur and went into his dorm.He left with a sweater and a blanket wrapped around him and went back to Arthur."Let's go."He smiled at the Brit before quickly leaving through the nearby back exit.He was still worrying about who started the fire,and if it was Ivan or not.He sighed and tightened the blanket around him.

"Where the fuck are the firemen?" Arthur mused out loud as he led Francis at a quick pace towards the main school building. "Haven't the people at the security department seen all this yet?" he frowned as he spotted the black smoke inside the hallway. At least the windows around the part where the fire was were closed...

He suddenly stopped in the middle of the deserted courtyard.

"Windows..." he whispered, eyes going wide. "The windows in the upper hallway are still open. The ones in the common room are too. And I left the door to the dorms open." he bit his thumb nail. "Bollocks."

At this rate, the fire would spread to the entire dormitory block, and they couldn't have that. So many things destroyed, perhaps even people who hadn't been able to get out on time...

"Fuck this, I'm gonna go close the windows and doors. Unless you want to become a block of ice, I suggest you get inside the school as soon as you can. Yell at people to make them understand that we need firemen in the dorms RIGHT NOW. I'll be right back." he patted Francis' drenched hair teasingly.

Rosa ran as fast as she could to the school, closing all of the windows that she came across on her way there. When she arrived, she began carrying out Arthur's well thought out orders.

Francis blinked.He smiled a little at the hair touch and then shook his head."I'm coming with you,"he said simply.He began to walk back towards the door they just left out of,his stride fast.He looked up at the school,wondering which windows they had to close.He nodded to himself and quickly went inside.

"Idiot!" Arthur exclaimed as he broke into a jog, stopping in the middle of the common room and looking around. "If you die, I'm not going to be held responsible!" he gritted his teeth before pointing at the windows on the wall. "Close those windows and close the door to the dorms. And then, run the fuck back to school and make sure they've got the firemen informed!" he ordered before running towards the door to the hallway.

He exited quickly and closed the door behind him, assessing the progress of the fire. It was a bit further away from him, towards the beginning of the hallway, close to the main entrance, but it was still spreading rapidly. A small part of the roof had caught on, too.

Huffing, Arthur started running. The furthest open window he could spot was a few feet away from the last tendrils of fire, so if he hurried, he could close that one before the fire gained on him. The only problem was the smoke that was now starting to come further down over his head. He'd have to hurry.

Francis watched Arthur worriedly.He quickly did as he was told,but instead of going back to the school,he went back to where he last saw Arthur.He followed him,using the blanket to cover his mouth and nose from the heavily increasing smoke.He had hoped the sprinklers would have taken care of the blaze,but the fire had been to powerful for the weak work of sprinklers.He sighed slightly and followed after Arthur's form,which was dark and hazy due to the smoke.

Arthur shut the few windows open in the middle and quickly ran back, away from the fire that was gaining on him. His hands were slick with sweat as he briefly struggled with a window, snapping it shut with a growl with his one free hand. The other was holding his shirt up to cover his nose.

He turned around to run to the next window, not taking two steps before he harshly collided with someone. As both of them went down, a bit weak from the smoke inhalation, Arthur realized it was Francis.

He quickly caught himself before he could start yelling, though, because oxygen was sparse and he couldn't afford to waste any. Instead, he made a sign for Francis to follow him and army-crawled towards the door, keeping his head low under the smoke.

He got up in front of the door and closed the window right next to it with a satisfied grunt, then pushed the door open, making a sign for Francis to hurry up and get out.

Francis nodded,following after Arthur closely.When they reached the door,he risked standing.He pretty much lifted Arthur and went outside,wanting to save him quickly.He held the blanket so it wrapped around them both as he walked towards the school building."Mon dieu.."he muttered,sighing softly."Are you okay?"

"I'm bloody well okay, and I would be even better if you just put me down!" Arthur struggled in Francis' arms until he was put down, like a petulant child of some sort. "Bloody hell, why do you immediately assume I'm hurt? I'm not made of porcelain, I can take care of myself." he huffed. "You don't have to... swoop in and save me like some of Prince Charming all the time... I can handle things on my own..." he muttered off. "Besides, you were the one that needed saving. You were all wet and ready to collapse and I was the one who was going to save YOU that time!" he growled in frustration, stomping off towards the school. "I'm going to make sure the bloody firemen have been called. Thanks to our efforts, the fire should be kept contained in the hallway now. Don't bother me." he called moodily.

Francis sighed."I just wanted to hurry out of there.."he muttered."And I wanted you with me.."He followed Arthur,lagging behind,afraid of upsetting him.When he reached the school he took one last look at Arthur before going to sit on a bench in the school hallway,wrapping the blanket tighter around his body.Now that he thought about it,he really didn't feel too well.Maybe a cold from the sprinkler water.He held the blanket tighter around his body and sighed a little.

When Rosa saw both Arthur and Francis approach the school, she couldn't help but to run to them and pull them into a suffocating hug. " Thank god you're both ok!" she exclaimed, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. "I was so worried you weren't going to make it".

"Don't be like that, we simply went back to close the windows and contain the fire. Nothing too dangerous." Arthur huffed, patting her head comfortingly. "Let's hope no one was hurt in this." he then winced as his eyes burned again, drawing tears. The smoke must have irritated his eyes due to prolonged exposure.

Speaking of which, Francis was probably having the same problems.

"Oi, Frog." he called back towards him. "You might want to wash your face, it's covered in soot. And rinse your eyes if they're burning. If you get trouble breathing go get yourself checked. It might be the smoke inhalation." he advised before turning around and stalking back off.

The advice changed nothing of how he felt, though. He was burning inside, just like the fire in the locker, and some part of him hoped that Francis would cool him off, too, just like he did to the fire.

Or perhaps it would be best if he cooled himself off before facing him again.

"Bloody fool." he whispered, entering the bathroom to get rid of the streaks of ash on his skin and in his eyes.

Francis wiped some tears from his eyes,a mix from the smoke and from plain stress.He went towards the bathroom shortly after Arthur.He bent over a sink and splashed the water in his eyes.He looked in the mirror over the sink and stretched his lower eyelid down a bit to see how bad his eyes looked.They were red,and he still had some smudges of ash on his face.He continued to clean himself off and sighed a little.

"Feeling okay,mon cher?"he asked Arthur softly.

"'m bloody well fine, I said." Arthur grumbled, drying his face with his uniform jacket that he then threw over his shoulder. "Stop asking." he fell into silence, the sound of running water being all that they could both hear.

And then, he decided to take his turn and ask.

"How about you...? Are your eyes okay? Can you breathe right? Are you still wet?" he mumbled, crossing his arms and turning against the wall, giving his back to Francis.

Francis shrugged a bit."Oui,still wet..My eyes hurt pretty bad still,"he said softly.He tightened his blanket around his body,using the corner of it to dab at his eyes,only to realize that it also had soot on it and immediately regretted his choice to do that.He made an odd,pained noise,and went to wash his eyes again.

The whine tugged at Arthur's heartstrings in a way that he just couldn't ignore. Still, he pretended that the sound of Francis suffering didn't affect him either and didn't move from his position.

"Get to the infirmary. The nurse will treat you and disinfect your eyes before they get worse." he simply added.