Same Job, Different Time and Place [R-18] - Part 2

Alfred was happy that Arthur would at least give him an hour to sleep before he had to wake up. At least it was some kind of sleep and he wasn't used to being this far away from home. He actually wasn't all that used to travelling out of the United States either so it was definitely an different experience. Though the jet lag was absolutely killing him.

"Mmm...yeah, lots better." He mumbled as he leant up to kiss Arthur for an long moment before letting his head fall back on the pillows.

It didn't take him long to soon fall asleep while he dreamt of the possibilities that could happen in Australia. Australia of all places! All the beaches and the warmth and everything about it! Just so cool!

Arthur returned the kiss but then left Alfred to fall asleep. He had things that he could be doing, things that weren’t going to make him fall asleep, too. He instead decided that he’d call Jack and let him know that he had safely arrived back to bother them and check their progress.

He went out on to Alfred’s balcony, his mobile phone in hand as he found the Australian in his contacts and phoned him. It rung a few times before there was an answer.

“Arthur! Mate, it’s good to hear from you!”

This was when Arthur closed the door behind him because he had a feeling that Jack’s loud voice would travel and disturb Alfred from his slumber.

“Yes, it’s been a while, hasn’t it? How are you?”

“Could be worse. I’m in the office at the moment,” there was some shuffling and Jack’s voice sounded more muffled as he said: “Guys, it’s Kirkland on the phone!”

There was a brief cheer from several of the men in the office. Arthur felt himself blush a little. They were so ridiculous.

“You should be doing some work, you daft sod,” he said, lacking bite.

“Yeah, well, we’ve got plenty of time for that tomorrow when you’re in, eh?” Jack sounded like he was grinning. “Unless you’re callin’ to tell us that you got on the wrong plane or somethin’ fuckin’ stupid like that.”

“No, of course not. Don’t be ridiculous. How the hell is it possible to get on the wrong plane?”

“Steve-o did once.”

“Good Lord.”

“Exactly. So, you up to anythin’ this evenin’, Kirkland?”

“Um, not as such. I’m just recovering from the journey but I thought that I’d give you a ring to check that you all are just as insane as ever. Also, I want to warn you that my assistant is going to be with me this time.”

“Ah, right. You want us to give him some sort of initiation ceremony or somethin’?”

Arthur furrowed his brow, “Actually, quite the opposite. I’m sure that you’ll get along but… go steady with him? I don’t think that he’s been abroad before.”

“So the fucker ain’t ever been out of his country?”

“Nope.”

“American?”

“Yes.”

“Right. Well, we’ll play fair. I’m sure he’ll love it here.”

Arthur moved so that he could look back through the door at his resting boyfriend.

“You promise? You aren’t going to show him a spider or anything like that?”

“Hey, it was a tarantula. There’s a difference, Kirkland.”

“Of course. But, should you do that, then I will be forced to remind you of the force of the British Empire.”

“What empire?” Jack chortled. “You’re so fuckin’ strange.”

“Quite,” Arthur said tensely and then sighed, wistfully watching how Alfred’s chest was slowly rising and falling.

“You’ll have to come out on Friday. We were goin’ to hit the bar again.”

“Like every day, you mean?” Arthur smirked, observing Alfred as he twitched.

“Wanker.”

“And nothing less.”

“I’ll take that as a yes, you wanna’ come.”

“That would be lovely.”

“Good. Well, d’ya’ fancy a game of cricket at some point, too? Show the Seppo a real sport.”

“Sounds great, Jack. I’ll see you first thing tomorrow. Don’t work too hard.”

“We will. Cheers, Arthur!” And Jack hung up.

The rest of the hour was spent by Arthur returning to his room for a shower (he took Alfred’s key so that he could get back in), changing into a fresh set of clothes and reading some more of his book. When he decided that Alfred had, had enough time to rest, he returned to Alfred’s room. He didn’t bother trying to close the door carefully, just so that it’d be easier to wake Alfred (the sleeping log) up.

“Alfred, it’s time to get up now,” he patted Alfred’s leg, a little harder than necessary.

Throughout the whole time that Arthur was talking, Alfred was simply shifting around on the bed, happily asleep and never really wanting to wake up. He wondered if he would be able to meet Arthur's friends here. He was certain that he heard them when he called him last time Arthur was in Australia. It was actually extremely amusing. Hopefully they would take a liking to him.

He hadn't really been out of the Americas though. He had been to Canada a few times because of his brother (who had always showed an huge interest in Canada) but other than that, he really didn't have the opportunity to get out. Not only that but he didn't know much about Australia. He thought he could do a pretty sick Australian accent though.

Though he wasn't willing to try just in case he humiliated himself.

It was an hour afterwards that he finally felt Arthur pat his leg a bit harder than necessary and trying to wake him up. He simply let out a loud groan, burying his face against the pillow and whining a bit.

"I don't wanna wake up. Mm...go away...'m still asleep." He mumbled, burying his face more against the pillow in hopes that he could get farther away from him. The farther away, the better of a chance he had to go to sleep of course!

His timezones were really, really messed up.

Arthur frowned a little and hanged tactics when he realised that smacking him in the leg wasn’t helping anything. He climbed on to the bed and straddled Alfred’s hips, forcing the American on to his back as he looked down at him a little agitatedly. He wasn’t sure what to do at first. How the hell was he supposed to wake him up? Luckily, Arthur was pretty inventive.

He slid his hands down Alfred’s sides, as though it was meant to be seductive and then back up to give Alfred’s (not-really-there-anymore) pecs a squeeze. Slowly, slowly his hands slid down Alfred’s front to his stomach, where he paused.

He started to tickle him.

“You won’t sleep later. You have to get up.” And it was pretty boring on his own. “Come on,” he encouraged, continuing to assault Alfred’s stomach, sides and ribs with his fingertips.

Alfred hadn't really been expecting anything from Arthur when he straddled his hips and in fact, he thought that he would try to arouse him awake. Which would completely suck if he had to deal with his hand, especially when they barely had any time to do anything more than that. An soft gasp elicited from his lips as Arthur slid his hands down his sides and then back up to squeeze his pecs.

He was really anticipating more on the sexual side and he was about ready to try closing his eyes once more but then the worst thing possible happened.

Arthur tickled his most ticklish spot.

"A-Arthur! Ahhhh! S-STOP IT!" He nearly yelled, flailing around and squirming as he couldn't help but bubble of laughter escape his lips. He was especially ticklish around his lower stomach and no matter how much he tried to get away from Arthur's hands, they were still always there in his most ticklish spot.

"OKAY! OKAY! I GIVE, I GIVE!" He laughed, tears stinging at the corners of his eyes as he tried to gasp for some air.

Arthur found himself grinning as he had to wrestle to keep his position atop of Alfred and not be catapulted off of the bed. The sound of Alfred’s laughter was like music to Arthur’s ears, even if it was rasping and sounded a little like yelping sometimes. He stopped when Alfred surrendered and laughed triumphantly, unable to help himself.

Still beaming, he leaned down and pecked Alfred’s lips, prolonging his need for air for a fleeting few moments before he sat up again. He swept his slightly damp hair back from his face.

“Good afternoon,” he greeted. “So glad that you could join reality again. Do you feel any better?” he didn’t seem like he was going to be moving from his position on Alfred any time soon. He was quite comfortable with Alfred beneath him, acting as a pillow.

Alfred really, really wanted to have the tickling stop! He could barely breathe and he didn't want to hear other people to hear them, especially when he was calling out the other's name in laughter. Though despite everything such as his pride, he finally gave up and was spared any more of that horrible tickling. Gasping for air, he tried to take in a few deep breaths as he calmed himself down though it took just a few more moments to get that needed oxygen after Arthur pecked his lips for an few moments.

He pouted up at Arthur, cheeks flushed and squirming a bit though he really didn't mind that the other was on top of him. If anything, he minded more about the fact that Arthur had easy access to his stomach again.

"Well, if by better you mean awake...then yes." He huffed though he really wasn't angry and it was easy to tell that he wasn't. He was just still a bit shocked with being pretty much jolted awake by tickling.

“Silly sod,” Arthur cooed. “I’m glad you’re awake again,” he rested his hands on Alfred’s chest to help himself stay sat upright. He tilted his head to one side and gave his lover somewhat of an affectionate look.

“I spoke to my mate Jack on the phone. You’ll meet him and the boys tomorrow but I’ve said that we’ll go out with them on Friday. You don’t mind, do you? I’m sure you’ll get along with them but if you don’t, then you don’t have to come.”

He glanced over at the door leading to the balcony where he had, had the phone conversation and squeezed Alfred’s hips between his thighs.

“The sea looks nice from the balcony, if you haven’t looked yet.” Which he was almost sure that he hadn’t, otherwise Arthur would have been updated about the fact that they could see the sea from the hotel. “What would you like to do today, anyway? It’s after lunch now.”

It wasn't often that Arthur gave him any kind of affectionate look but when he did, Alfred could sometimes feel his heart melt a bit. He smiled slightly at his lover, reaching up so he could stroke his hair lightly. Despite the other trying to wake up, Alfred was more than happy just to lay down here with his lover on top of him and just stay like this all day. Though he was certain that Arthur wouldn't allow that (unfortunately).

He couldn't help but raise his eyebrows though at the mention of Jack. Was that one of the guys that he heard on the phone last time? They seemed like an lively bunch. Hopefully people that he would be able to get along with. Soon he grinned back and shook his head. "Of course I don't mind!" He quickly replied, not wanting to be left alone in any of this.

Soon Alfred looked over at the balcony. He was so tired earlier that he hadn't even noticed the ocean outside. He nodded in agreement. "It's gorgeous..." He admitted before glancing back at Arthur. "I don't know. I'm still pretty new to Sydney here. What do you recommend?" He grinned, just turning the question back on Arthur.

The Brit leaned into the touch with a soft sigh. And yet again he was reminded that Alfred loved him. There was a warm feeling inside of his chest.

“Mm, well, it’s mostly sight-seeing, I think. I didn’t really see much of the city because I was with a bunch of people that live here. They weren’t all that interested in showing me around. He leaned forward, folding his arms and rested them on Alfred’s chest. He pressed a kiss to Alfred’s chin.

“I say that we should go to the beach. They sell ice cream there,” not that he would be eating any of it but he knew that Alfred would like it. “If you’re lucky, I might let you hold my hand,” he teased. They were in a totally new place, after all. He didn’t care if people saw them there, they weren’t going to be penalised for it because they’d never see them again.

“You did bring your trunks, didn’t you?” he kissed him one last time before (reluctantly) climbing off of him.

Alfred really did love Arthur and it was amazing to think that Arthur loved him back. It really never seemed to be an problem for other couples...to know that they loved each other. Yet it took the both of them months for them to finally realise this and in an way...it made everything seem a lot more special.

The younger man simply leant in against the kiss to his chin, laughing a bit though he nodded. "Well, we can always look around when we have the time." He murmured. Even though he was certain that they would get lost one way or another. ...Of course they won't! He had an amazing intuition when it came to navigation!

Though soon his eyes lightened up at the mention of the beach. "...Let's go!" He urged, grinning widely and now a bit pleased that Arthur was climbing off of him. Ice cream, the beach AND holding Arthur's hand? Those were three of the best things that he could hope for. Returning the kiss for an long moment, he gave Arthur an thumbs up.

"No worries! I have them." He said with a smile, soon climbing off the bed so he could throw off his other clothes and pull on the trunks from his suitcase. He really, really was excited. He needed his tan. The winter of New York seemed to always make him lose that lovely tan he seemed to have during the summer times.

Arthur tried to hide his amusement at Alfred’s excitement. He headed for the door.

“Come and get me once you’re ready and don’t forget your keys,” and with that, Arthur left Alfred’s room to return to his own again. He wasn’t really sure what to wear to cover his top half. He knew that Alfred was going to look good in comparison to him, regardless. He dressed himself in his swimming trunks (white with a red stripe on the side of each of his thighs) and began to search for something that wouldn’t look too outrageous. Whatever he wore, the bottoms were going to make him look reminiscent of the England Rugby team.

He eventually settled on a black, scoop-neck t-shirt. He would look awful whatever he wore so why should he bother?

He completed his outfit with sandals. Arthur got himself a couple of towels and shoved them into a small bag to carry. He packed sun lotion, his wallet and sunglasses (yes, even Arthur had some). He waited patiently for his boyfriend’s return.

Alfred just grin and nodded before he simply grabbed an towel and pulled on his blue trunks with an red stripe on one of the sides. He was too lazy to really grab anything for his top half and so he decided to just bring an large shirt with him just in case he needed it for some reason or another. Putting on some sunglasses instead of his normal lenses, he soon stretched out a bit and was quick to come to Arthur's room after he slipped on some sandals.

Soon he knocked on the door, waiting for Arthur to answer it as he shifted from foot to foot. He adored the beach and he was more than ready just to take off the shirt and just relax under the sun or jump in the water. Well maybe he would jump in the water later, after he finished his ice cream of course.

He couldn't help but wonder if Arthur would come into the ocean with him. Hopefully he would. That would definitely be a lot more fun rather than just swimming alone in the beach. Of course, he forgot the grab his hotel key on the way or well he couldn't find them from an first glance and he was too excited to really remember about them.

Arthur smiled up at him as he opened the door and swiftly moved past him to leave.

“Let’s go, shall we? I think you’ll like Bondi beach the best… it’s not far from here, either. I think it’ll be easy enough to walk to.” He would just have to hope that he could remember the way. He couldn’t help but notice how excited Alfred still was, though.

“How long has it been since you’ve been to the beach, Alfred? You’re bursting from the seams,” he smirked.

Alfred's eyes brightened up at the mention of Bondi beach and honestly, he heard that there was some amazing surfing over there. Maybe a bit too crowded at times though at the same time, it would definitely make it harder for any of their coworkers to potentially see them if they decided to go to the beach as well. They could just find an more secluded part on the beach and be around there if Arthur really desired some seclusion.

Soon he nodded and followed after Arthur. "Yeah, it's pretty close!" He hummed, still hopping a bit in excitement as he continued on walking behind him.

Now that he thought about it...how long has it been?

"Well, the last time was in Hawaii. It was actually pretty cool! It was about five years ago." Alfred gave a small smile. He really did miss it. New York or just New England in general was definitely no place for going out to the beach.

Arthur’s eyes widened.

“Five years?! Jesus, even I’ve been to the beach more than that.” English beaches admittedly but the Sand Banks were nice in the south… Arthur didn’t even like the beach that much (other than the fact that it was the best way to look at people and imagine them naked without being too creepy). “You’re in some serious need of some sea, boy.”

He paused.

“Hang on, have you been looking up beaches on the internet?” How the hell did Alfred know that the beach was close? “I thought that I told you that the internet at work was for work and email purposes only,” he frowned before realising what a bore he was being. “Well, at least you’re prepared.”

Alfred just gave an nervous laugh at that though he couldn't help the small pout. "Hey! If I had an beach nearby, I would have gone. But New England doesn't have a lot of beaches and if they do, they're miserable. I mean like, it's even colder than an Californian beach and those are fucking cold!" He mumbled with crossed arms. Luckily the beaches around this area of the world were supposed to be a lot warmer and with the temperature, he could imagine that being extremely true. He loved the beach and not to stare at other people but rather to just enjoy the sun and the water and even build an sand castle or two. He really liked surfing also but he didn't bring an surfboard so he couldn't really do that.

He hesitated for a moment before pouting. "O-Of course not! I've been looking on my laptop!" Well okay, so maybe he looked on the work computers also but he mainly did it on his laptop! Promise! He soon just grinned. "And technically, it was for work purposes. I mean, we are here on an business trip!" He mused as he soon stepped out of the hotel, soon heading towards the beach.

“Cheeky git,” Arthur gave Alfred a slap on the bum, not even caring if anyone saw; he was smiling.

It didn’t take them long to reach the beach. It was only a half-hour walk. Arthur could see an ice-cream stall and elbowed Alfred gently to get his attention. It wasn’t as hot as it had been last time he was there but, being Australia, it was still bloody warm.

“Would you like an ice-cream?” he was more reminding Alfred than anything else. He glanced out at the beach, feeling somewhat calmed by the sight of it. It wasn’t too crowded today; the sea looked relatively calm so he assumed that the surfers weren’t there. Something like that.

Alfred jumped up a bit as he was given a slap on the bum but instead he simply grinned and ran just a bit quicker away from the hand.

He really didn't mind the walk all the way to the beach. It was definitely nothing in comparison to all the exercise that he did (though at the same time he was slacking off recently. Which would probably explain the reason for some of his fat...which sucked). Unlike Arthur, Alfred found the temperature to actually be really nice and so he was more than happy to bask in the sun as much as possible.

Glancing over at Arthur, he nodded with an smile. "Ice cream! Let's get some!" He said as he searched around for an ice cream stand, finally finding it. With that, he soon stripped out of his shirt so he wouldn't be too hot under the sun and threw it on the towel to claim their spot before grabbing Arthur's hand and hurrying towards the stand.

"I want vanilla with some cookies and cream and maybe even an chocolate scoop and with some sprinkles on it!"

Arthur had just finished placing his own towel neatly on the ground when Alfred decided to grab his hand. He followed without complaint, of course. He hadn’t had an ice cream for years. He wasn’t even sure if he wanted one now but he knew that he should probably just accompany Alfred for the sake of it.

He hadn’t expected for Alfred to suddenly strip off, however. He found himself looking more closely at his boyfriend’s torso. He could see where his muscles had faded a little and was almost tempted to tell Alfred that he shouldn’t have something so calorific if he wanted to keep his figure – but he didn’t. He wasn’t quite that tactless.

“I’m… not sure that they’ll do that flavour, love,” he awkwardly looked ahead at the stand. There wasn’t much of a queue but it looked pretty basic selection-wise. “Why don’t you just have vanilla or chocolate?” Or both, his mind added although he didn’t vocalise it.

Admittedly, Alfred was actually rather nervous to go around shirtless only because he was getting a bit chubbier though it really wasn't all that noticeable. Of course to someone who knew his body very well (like Arthur), the changes in his body were rather noticeable but to others, not so much. Yet still, Alfred took quite a bit of notice of his weight and so many times he found himself insecure despite not wanting to.

He couldn't help but wonder if Arthur was becoming more disappointed with his torso though he decided to push that thought out of his mind. All the stress recently had made him eat more than he wanted to but now that the stress was gone, hopefully he could get back into shape. It wasn't like he was bad or anything!

He couldn't help but pout though at the mention of that before shifting around a bit. "Mm...fine...double scoop! One with chocolate and one with vanilla!" He exclaimed with an smile, stretching out a bit as he brought his sunglasses up to instead perch on top of his head instead. Grabbing the cone from the ice cream man, he was quick to start eating it.

Of all things, Arthur couldn’t complain about being generally fit. He was skinny naturally (which he was grateful for) but he wasn’t exactly all that muscular either. He’d often forget to eat (although it hadn’t been so much of a problem with Alfred constantly reminding him) and go through stages of his ribs being visible – he’d often have bruises all over his body from not eating properly.

But nonetheless, he rolled his eyes as Alfred ordered both flavours. He was a bit predictable at times.

“Can I have a mint one, please?” Arthur’s request was delivered somewhat more quietly. He paid the man and thanked him once he was given his ice cream. He began to lead the way back to their towels, being a little more tentative about eating his ice cream than Alfred. He would have asked Alfred if he was enjoying his ice cream, but the answer was somewhat obvious by the way that he was eating it.

He could already see girls looking at Alfred, out of the corner of his eye.

Despite knowing that he was a lot more fit than many other people, Alfred still couldn't help that insecurity claw at him. Maybe it was just those times during middle school where he was at that awkward stage with his body with a few pimples here or there, a slight chubbiness to his face and limbs, and overall, a bit too much of a fondness for his beloved fastfood restaurants. Of course he grew out of that and became more noticed throughout the school (in the positive sense) as he started to work out and ever since then, he had been conscious about any fluctuations of his weight and loss of muscles.

He hummed a bit, looking at Arthur's flavour of ice cream as he kept in the back of his mind. Mint? Was that his favourite? He would have to keep that in mind for later on...just in case he ever went to buy ice cream again! He wanted to be the good boyfriend who knew the right flavour of ice cream!

Alfred was quick to eat his double scoops and to get down to the cone (which he really should have stopped doing considering it left an unsatisfying craving in his stomach for more) and he soon licked his lips. He glanced around around, just mainly focusing on the beach and the water and just how beautiful it all looked before looking back at Arthur with a grin, barely even noticing the girls. "How's the ice cream?" He asked as he went to sit back down on his towel.

Arthur, being much slower at eating his ice cream, was struggling to eat it before it melted. It was melting down the cone and on to his fingers. It was gross; it made him feel sticky and unclean. At least it tasted nice.

He sat beside Alfred on his own towel and shrugged at the question. There were small bits of ice cream around Alfred’s mouth that he wanted to kiss away but he contained himself, all too aware that there were a lot of people around them.

“It’s not bad… I can assume that you enjoyed yours?” it had been eaten in about two seconds flat, after all.

The ice cream was making him feel much colder, a more pleasurable temperature than he had been beforehand. He was beginning to get frustrated though, about how the sticky substance seemed to be working its way between his fingers.

Alfred just raised his eyebrows at Arthur's struggling and admittedly, he wanted to lick some of it away but he knew that they were in an public setting. But when he glanced around, he really didn't see anyone there that would be of importance. It wasn't like the Australian natives were actually going to be around such a popular beach, especially if they weren't interested in showing Arthur around the city. They might have settled for a quieter beach if they went at all...so there wasn't a lot of chance that he would be seen by anyone who mattered.

He laughed a bit, nodding as he continued sitting down. "Yup!" He said with an hint of satisfaction in his voice before grinning maybe a bit mischievously. He was quick to lean forward and take a large bite out of Arthur's ice cream before pulling away, not even caring how his teeth seemed to throb a bit in pain from the cold.

"It's pretty good." He said with a laugh, licking his lips a bit before eyeing the other's hands.