In Which Arthur Fulfills his Duties as Emergency Contact

(Peter is 13)

Arthur Kirkland was very proud of the fact that at 21 he had a stable job that made enough for him to live in a modest apartment. It wasn't a glamorous or exciting job but that didn't matter much to him at this point in his life. To simply put it, his standard of living was greatly improved from his life in foster care or with his father and that's all that mattered. Arthur was simply glad to put the past behind him and make something better of his life than neglect and abandonment.

Which reminded him how eternally grateful he would be that Peter would never be put through such abuse ever again. It was such a relief to know that he was being taken care of by parents who loved him. Of course, no family was perfect and Peter's loud and slightly rebellious personality (it couldn't be helped, Arthur had been much worse as teenager and luckily had learned to control himself since then) did cause some contention, particularly as Peter was entering his teen years.

So it came as both a surprise and grudging expectation when Arthur received a phone call from Peter's middle school right as he was returning from his lunch break.

"Hello, is this Mr. Arthur Kirkland?" the cool voice at the other end of the phone inquired. "This is Midtown Middle School. We have you as Peter Kirkland's emergency contact."

"Yes, this he," he answered quickly. Immediately Arthur stopped whatever work he was doing, his breath caught in his throat. His mind was thinking of all the possible disastrous scenarios that must have occurred for the school to contact him. What could possibly have happened that neither Berwald nor Tino were available?

"Peter has been in a fight and needs to be picked up," the voice droned.

Arthur was thrown off a beat by the statement. Shortly after a sense of both relief (glad it was nothing serious or life threatening) and annoyance (Peter better not have started the fight, but from what Tino had told him, he didn't always get along with his fellow students) washed over him, as well as confusion as to why this wasn't something Peter's parents were handling.

"Yes, yes I can do that," he answered in a rush, already gathering his things.

The secretary offered a dry thank you and hung up. With his papers returned hastily into his shoulder bag and blazer draped over his arm, Arthur hurried to his supervisor's office and explained he had to leave earlier for a family emergency. The supervisor waved him off without a complaint- Arthur was an honest, reliable worker after all- though he was surprised that Arthur had any family to speak of. After all, Arthur was a private man who didn't talk of his personal life with his coworkers.

On the drive to the middle school, that thankfully was not very far from his office, Arthur tried to keep his thoughts unbiased and unassuming. He knew nothing of the situation, so he shouldn't get worked up and upset with Peter until he knew all the facts. Unfortunately, Arthur was not good at being unassuming. By the time he reached the school, he was fully prepared to give Peter a talking to that Tino could be proud of (Arthur had seen what Tino was like when he was upset, not that it happened very often, but it was frightening).

Arthur pulled his modest car into one of the few empty visitors' parking spots and headed straight to the front office. It was odd trying to navigate a middle school as an adult that had no place being there. Well, besides to pick up rowdy younger siblings. The bored looking secretary at the main office directed Arthur to the principal's office. There was only a rotund tall man, whom Arthur assumed was the principal, and a fidgety Peter waiting in the room.

"Hello, you must be Mr. Kirkland," the rotund man stood up in greeting and offered a hand to shake. He seemed pleasant enough. As Arthur firmly shook hands he added, "I'm Mr. Bannerman, the principal. Please, take a seat."

As soon as he sat down, Peter turned around in his seat and gave Arthur the most pleading, apologetic, hopeful expression he'd ever seen. Arthur returned it with a stern look that made Peter duck his head in embarrassment. A quick glance over Peter revealed a split lip, swollen cheek, and scraped knees that had already been attended too.

Mr. Bannerman cleared his throat to catch the sibling's attention.

"I apologize for interrupting your work to come down here," he began.

Immediately, Arthur politely waved it off. "I assure you, it's no problem," he insisted. He turned his gaze to Peter. "You don't have to apologize, Mr. Bannerman."

To his satisfaction, Peter cringed under Arthur's gaze.

"Now, I've already spoken with the other students involved," Mr. Bannerman continued, "Peter was provoked into starting the fight. However, that doesn't excuse his actions. The school maintains a strict rule of nonviolence and this is the third fight Peter's been involved in this year."

Arthur nodded, "That's perfectly understandable." He was careful to keep his eyes on the principal, but could see Peter withering in his peripheral vision.

Now understanding the facts, Arthur allowed himself to be fully disappointed and frustrated with his brother. He loved Peter, very much, which was why he was upset with him. Peter was capable of being better and the whole situation reminded Arthur too much of his own troubled past. He understood how hard it was when others provoked you, particularly about things beyond your control.

But that was no excuse. Arthur wanted the best for Peter, because he deserved better. This behavior wouldn't help him as Arthur knew well.

"We've determined that Peter will start meeting with the school councilor once a week to help him cope. The other students involved will be disciplined accordingly," Mr. Bannerman explained.

He continued talking, but Arthur wasn't paying much attention, instead being distracted by Peter. It was only when Mr. Bannerman stood up that Arthur was pulled away from his thoughts. He stood up and shook the principal's hand, before walking out of the office with Peter in tow. They walked together in awkward silence. It wasn't until they were out of the building that Arthur finally spoke up.

"Peter, what on earth were you thinking?" he demanded sharply.

Moodily, Peter crossed his arms and looked away. "Of course you're siding with him," he muttered to himself.

"Excuse me?" Arthur snapped. He'd heard his brother perfectly well, but he was not going to put up with attitude.

Peter rounded on him, arms at his sides and hands clenched. "You didn't even hear my side of the story!" he accused angrily.

"I don't need to hear it; you started the fight in the first place!" Arthur returned as he started towards his car. "There's no excuse for that Peter."

With a frustrated cry, Peter followed. Arthur ignored him as he grumbled about unfairness and threw himself into the passenger seat.

"Mom says I'm allowed to fight back," he stated.

Arthur raised his eyebrow as he started the car. Well, he couldn't say that didn't surprise him- Tino was fiercely protective of his baby.

"Ah, but you weren't defending yourself were you? You threw the first punch," Arthur countered.

From his peripheral vision, Arthur could see Peter bring his legs up and hug them to his chest. He didn't look angry anymore, but sad instead. They reached the Oxens-something-Vaayna-something (Arthur still wasn't sure how to pronounce their last name) household in a few minutes. Which reminded him- why hadn't Tino or Berwald called about this in the first place?

"Is your mom home? I can stay with you if he's not there," Arthur offered. "You know, I think I'll stay anyway. Your parents need to hear about this."

Instantly, Peter shot up and grabbed Arthur by the sleeve. "Please don't tell Mom and Dad!" he begged, panic on his face.

"Peter, they need to know about this," Arthur explained with a sigh. He moved to get out of the car, but Peter held onto him tighter.

Peter's head shook madly, "No! Please don't! Mom always gets upset when I get into fights."

"For good reason!"

"No, he's not just angry with me," Peter explained frantically, "Later, at night, when he doesn't think I'm around he cries. I think it makes Mom and Dad feel guilty."

This took Arthur by surprise. His thick brows came together in confusion. "Why on earth would they feel guilty?" he asked incredulously.

Peter released his sleeve and looked away. "Mom… he feels guilty that I get teased because of him and Dad," he explained softly. Arthur blinked in shock and waited for him to continue. "Because they're gay and all. That's why I punched that kid today. He was saying that we're all going to hell."

There was a pause and Peter wiped his sleeve under his nose with a sniffle. "I've heard what Mom says to Dad about not wanting me to experience the same things as he did in school."

Guilt instantly washed over Arthur for being so sharp with his baby brother. The teasing that he'd experienced in school was also related to his unusual family life. He understood that sometimes you just couldn't keep taking it without getting a little violent. Not that it excused anything, but still.

"That's why I had the school call you instead of Mom or Dad," Peter continued. "So just… don't tell them please."

Arthur reached out to pull Peter into an awkward hug. Peter's thin arms wrapped around him, clutching tightly. His body shuddered with emotion into the embrace. When Arthur pulled back, Peter wiped hastily at his eyes.

"Peter, we still need to let your parents know," Arthur explained gently. "They'll want to know how you got hurt anyway."

Reluctantly Peter nodded and the pair heading into the house.

Arthur spent the rest of the afternoon with Peter and his mom, talking through what had happened. Tino was visibly upset, Peter meek and guilty, and Arthur helped mediate. He observed that though he and Peter were very similar there was one key difference. Peter had parents who loved him and would help him work through his problems at school. They wouldn't react with indifference, but help him become the best he could be. Oh, sure, Arthur knew he turned out fine in the end and that he'd grown strong and independent as a result.

But Peter was going to be even better.

And that gave Arthur something to look forward to.

AN: This one's a shorty, but a goodie. I love writing Arthur! He's such a wonderful character. And angsty young teen Peter is also pretty damn fun too.

Alright, now for the bad news. As fun and wonderful this has been to write, it's time to bring this to an end. As NANOWRIMO approaches, I'm going to focus on my original writing. So, this will be the last chapter in my little indulgence, as it feels like a good spot to end.

I'd like to sincerely thank all of you who've taken the time to read this. Your favorites, follows and reviews have always made my day! I have some of the sweetest readers in the world and you've made this all the more fun for me.

Much love,
Allie