Malevolent Stay in Addison au breakdown. What if Arthur was never given a reason to doubt Larson and stayed in the estate long enough to recover. How it would affect the plot, Arthur and John's relationship, and Arthur's ability to trust people. All au related posts in tag.
Uncle finds Arthur in Addison, BUT, lucky coincidence, either they put him in a different room where he doesn't hear the girl scream, or there is no girl there that night at all. Point being, despite still being naturally wary about Larson, Arthur is a lot more relaxed. Yellow definitely played a role by dropping stuff like "he looks kind", warping Arthur's perception from the start. Yellow totally bought into Larson's persona initially, and it affects Arthur too, even if subconsciously. And hell, Arthur is tired and in shambles mentally.
He actually stays in the room to collect himself and think. Larson, not shunned away by Arthur's question about the screaming girl (because there is none), lingers by the door to listen in on what Arthur will do next. He may as well have noticed how weird Arthur's eyes are, and he did pick up on the way Arthur pauses as if listening to an extra person in the conversation. Of course he's curious. And he does overhear Arthur speak to Yellow! Maybe Arthur even drops some juicy lore about the book or his Dreamlands misadventures because Yellow asks him about John again.
So, Larson takes an interest in Arthur. He's smart enough not to approach him directly about it, deciding to either earn his trust or keep Arthur within his reach for long enough to crack it himself.
Arthur eventually succumbs to sleep in his room again, and sleeps well, feeling safe for once. When morning comes, he's treated like a welcome guest by Larson, clothed and fed breakfast and dragged into pleasant small-talk that Arthur never knew he missed so much. The normalcy of it all, the pleasant knowledge that as of now, all Arthur has to do is wait for Larson to give him a ride to Arkham, which he already promised to do. It's a welcome change of pace.
That's when Larson informs him that the weather played a cruel trick on them both, making it impossible to get out of Addison. Perhaps it's the cold rain they mentioned, having frozen overnight and turning the roads into a health hazard. Maybe the rain caused a small avalanche that blocked the road. Maybe Larson just made it up. And maybe he didn't.
But Arthur has no choice but to stay. Is he in a hurry? Well, yes and no, but there is no option better than Larson. It's not like Arthur can go out and find someone willing (or able) to give him a ride that very moment, and Larson's already agreed to it, and, Arthur won't ever admit to it, but he enjoys his stay. After everything he's been through, stress and suffering and outright torture, having lost a friend, he yearns for the small comforts Larson offers him. He wants a good meal and a warm bed and simple, human connection. Perhaps he even comes off as a bit clingy, much to Larson's delight. Perhaps Arthur wants to take all the socialization he can while it lasts. And God knows, Wallace Larson is a lonely man.
Yellow is not too fond of being idle, but what choice does he have? It's Arthur and Larson's time spent together that teaches Yellow so much about humanity. So that comes back later as well.
A day passes, then two, three, and Arthur warms up to Larson more and more. A total stranger is a better companion than a stranger wearing his friend's voice.
After the first few days, Arthur succumbs to a fever, his body finally giving out as he's no longer in a constant life-or-death situation. Larson takes care of him, learning little details from his feverish blabbering.
Arthur's leave gets postponed even after he gets better. Yes, he's no longer ill, Larson agrees, but while tending to Arthur, he couldn't help but notice how worn out and malnourished he is. And those wounds of his! Arthur hesitantly agrees that he indeed needs some more time to recover. It's hard to let go of this, to let go of Larson. Not after losing John.
Yellow, on the other hand, is getting more and more frustrated. He's stuck in this body and Arthut is refusing to move on, disregarding his feelings, brushing him off like he doesn't matter. Yellow settles on giving Arthur the silent treatment. He won't guide or aid him unless both of their interests are acknowledged.
Larson notices this. If course he does, he's been carefully studying Arthur and whatever supernatural he has going on about him. So when Arthur abruptly stops conversing with his invisible companion, Larson takes note of it. He's long wondered what this entity is, what it can do (not much, he figures), and how he can make Arthur confide to him. Arthur doesn't seem too eager – so it's Yellow he tries to appeal to instead.
Arthur has long since gotten used to sleeping in Larson's presence. And when he does, Larson speaks to Yellow, not knowing whether he's even heard. He barely knows anything about who he's speaking to, but slowly, carefully, using the most inoffensive language imaginable, he manages to convince Yellow he has both of their best interests in mind. Yellow yearns to be seen, heard, respected. So he does eventually speak to Arthur again, slowly pushing him to the idea of telling Larson of their shared predicament. After all, Arthur already knows Larson's familiar with the otherwordly. To Arthur, he is a man who's struggling with the occult without having a say in it. To Arthur, they are oh so similar. And Larson can turn out so much more knowledgeable than him.
So Arthur comes clean to Andrew Larson. However, Wallace Larson comes clean to Arthur in return. They both misjudge the other. Both think about the other as a possible ally.
That's when Arthur learns all about Addison. The town, Larson's daughter, all and the same. That's when Arthur flinches away from Larson like he's just been burned, shocked, disgusted, and betrayed. They have an argument, both frustrated and hurt, and Arthur punches him, which triggers Uncle to attack him in turn. He dislocates Arthur's shoulder, throwing him to the ground, but Larson tells him to stop once he regains his breath. He insists Arthur go back to his room and think. He won't just let them both go – Arthur and Yellow. Arthur says he won't spend another minute in his house, yet Uncle drags him there by force.
Oh how it feeds into Arthur's guilt, to know he felt such tenderness towards a willing child killer. Oh how it stings, to rip out the remainders of affection he has for this man, starting to root into his heart.
Yellow is having a full on breakdown, hissing and cursing and burning with rage.
That's when John returns to him. Either Kayne found an appropriate moment, or it was the time when Arthur and Yellow's ties weakened the most, allowing John to go back in.
Arthur's very shaken mentally. He spent a good month, if not more, building a bond with Larson, and John's sudden return only makes him more unstable.
John's disoriented, and Arthur barely explains anything to him – only that they have to leave, now.
They sneak out of the room, and soon see that Uncle's guarding the hall. Roughly the same thing happens as in canon, although it comes off as a little more surprising to John. Arthur tells him something about cults and monsters, but it's too jumbled and rushed and there are too many sobs to be comprehensive.
They don't go to the mines. Larson didn't speak of them much, and Arthur's set on getting out, so they get Larson's car (and, well, some provision never hurts) and leave.
Arthur finds himself lying a lot. Lying about how much time he has spent in Addison (how can he tell John he wasn't making a single effort to bring him back?), and what really happened between him and Larson. Oh, the guilt is eating him alive. So lie he does. No, he doesn't know much about Addison. No, it hasn't been long. Lies lead to more lies, and it's actively affecting the trust between them. John is frustrated Arthur won't tell him much about Larson, even when he's becoming an active threat.
