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

Arthur tensed as Alfred started to cry. He felt incredibly guilty for it. He hushed his gently and squeezed Alfred’s knee. He just listened helplessly for a few minutes before he finally gathered the courage to speak again.

“Don’t be silly, poppet… don’t be sorry. It’s okay.” He sat awkwardly for a few moments before he got up and went to the other side of the bed so that he could sit beside Alfred. He pressed a kiss to the top of his head softly before settling down.

“No you’re not,” he murmured. “There’s nothing wrong with crying or for being upset. He was your father and you loved him, and I know that it hurts… but he was so proud of you. I could tell, just from meeting him that one time. As you say, he’d want you to be strong… but there’s nothing wrong with grieving.”

He slid his arm around Alfred’s shoulders and held on to him tightly; he tried to pat and stroke Alfred’s arm soothingly. “I’m here for you. I love you.”

Alfred just nodded shakily, automatically leaning closer to the other so he could be held by Arthur. That was all that he really wanted right now. Not to try acting strong (even though he really, really wanted to just for his father) but he needed the comfort right now. He had been there to comfort his grieving mother but all he really had so far was himself when it came to his own state of mind.

He had tried to be strong and he finally broke down in the end.

He bit his lip and nodded again, rather shaky as he sniffed and buried his face against Arthur's shirt. He just wanted to get closer to Arthur, so much closer and he just wanted to lay with him all day. Lay there and forget everything that was going around them, forget just about what was burdening his life right now.

He knew Arthur was right though. Completely and absolutely correct. And he was glad...he was glad that he had a lover like this.

"I love you too." He whispered back, that being the only thing he could say right now.

And he felt so tired all over again.

Arthur tried to be as accommodating as possible, shifting his limbs so that he could curl himself around Alfred, almost in a protective manner. He kissed the top of Alfred’s head yet again. One, two, three times.

“Mhm,” he murmured softly. He had both of his arms around Alfred, holding him closely.

He hadn’t ever seen Alfred like this, and nor did he want to ever again. It was too upsetting. It was heartbreaking, even. He could only hope that he would be able to protect Alfred from such pain again.

The next few hours were spent holding each other, Arthur occasionally singing beneath his breath, trying to be comforting; a particular favourite of his when it came to the thought of Alfred was You are my sunshine. Arthur cradled him in his arms and let Alfred relax, or sleep. Which ever took his fancy. He would be there to hold him and keep him safe.

Alfred just relaxed under the kisses, breathing softly as he closed his eyes and just felt himself be wrapped in that lovely, wonderful warmth. He didn't want Arthur to see him like this. He really didn't want to upset him like this and maybe that was another reason why he tried to hide it away. So Arthur wouldn't see him like this and be hurt in turn.

So he just let himself be held, relaxing and sometimes sleeping as Arthur's voice lulled him to sleep and sometimes he would wake up though he would never open his eyes all the way.

Instead he would just press lazy kisses over Arthur's skin, comforting himself and letting himself know that Arthur was still there. Arthur was still here with him and he hadn't lost him. He had never lost him.

He was here right now with him.

And that was the reassurance he needed. That even if he lost one of the closest people to him in his whole life...he still had the other closest person. Someone who he held equally if not even more in his heart.

And as he looked up at Arthur...he knew that he was the one.

He always had been the one.

And he was put at ease.

Arthur soon fell asleep again, just as Alfred was looking up at him. He was so in love, so glad that at least his Alfred was okay, and that despite the short-term effects, he would be alright.

~
Everything seemed to return to normal after that, or as normal as it could get for the both of them. Work was hectic; Arthur was still getting threatening letters from Romano Vargas in the post. And, as far as Arthur was aware, Alfred seemed to be doing okay. He’d been down for a week or two but he was looking much happier again now. He looked much more like his beautiful ray of sunshine.

It was strange how their relationship had progressed so much. They had started out like a couple of virgins, completely nervous and unsure whilst around each other but now, they were totally comfortable – Arthur had even stopped caring about changing in front of Alfred and was no longer so anxious about his scars. He knew that Alfred wasn’t about to take off. For the first time in Arthur’s life, he felt like he belonged. He wouldn’t change their current situation for anything in the world.

Which was why he struggled to sound cheerful whilst on the phone to Feliciano, who was excitedly chatting away and telling him how they would have to travel to Paris with him for the new collections and their shows. He was incredibly excited about getting new designers to sign up with the company, some of his old ‘friends’, Feliciano had said.

It wasn’t the task that was the problem. It was Paris. Paris was in France. And Arthur loathed France. Not because of the country itself, but for his experiences with a particular Frenchman in his youth. He really didn’t want to go back to Paris (especially since he’d have to come up with an excuse to tell Alfred about why he could navigate the city so well) but it seemed that everyone was going: Feliciano, Ludwig, Antonio, Vash… and Alfred and himself.

“Alfred, can you come in here, please?” he pressed the buzzer on his desk; a newly installed piece of equipment that he was secretly enjoying the use of.

He sat back in his chair and stretched, waiting for his assistant/lover to come into his office.

Alfred had slowly began to recover back to his normal self though he still wasn't up to a lot of physical intimacy. He would make out with Arthur but he usually wouldn't go much farther than that before he turned in for the night. But...he was determined that he would make it up for Arthur. He was determined to make up for every moment that they lacked in their physical intimacy.

It really was amazing just how much their relationship had progressed and of course there were still a few insecurities here and there or problems that came up. Yet what was an healthy relationship without these things?

He was just glad that he felt like he could tell Arthur anything now and that the other didn't feel a need to hide his scars away. That at the very least was extremely reassuring to him.

He couldn't imagine taking off now. He never could have imagined it but now he wanted to be with Arthur...and for a very long time. And it showed through his smiles, through his loving gazes and everything. He really did love everything about Arthur and it certainly showed. The other man had helped him recover and he was quickly becoming his usual self again, though he always wore the dog tags underneath his shirt as a reminder for himself. A reminder to stay strong for his father and for Arthur.

Yet maybe more unfortunately was that Alfred had taken a liking to wearing the jacket around (even if Ludwig got a bit angry about that every so often). Alfred really never seemed to care though and stubbornly wore the jacket.

Hearing the intercom, Alfred smiled a bit before pushing up his glasses a bit, heading into his lover's/boss's office.

"Yeah, Mr Kirkland?" He asked, closing the door behind him as he looked over at him curiously. He knew that he was already taking care of a few things that Arthur needed so he really couldn't imagine just what else Arthur needed from him right then.

"What is it?" He asked, approaching the large desk.

At first, Arthur found himself smiling adoringly as Alfred came in but he quickly recovered and attempted to return to being serious.

“We’ve been invited to attend the fashion shows in Paris, in three weeks.” Chouchoute were not all that good at giving warning for these things. “Our tickets have been bought for the planes, the shows and the after-parties…” he cleared his throat. “Feliciano wants us to come and he’s already convinced Ludwig that it’ll be beneficial to the company.” At least Ludwig knew better than to try and separate Alfred and Arthur for long lengths of time.

“We’d be there for two weeks. We won’t have meetings everyday but we will most certainly have events to attend. I don’t know if Ludwig will be happy for us to appear as a couple, but Paris is pretty much the gay capital of the world. I’d be extremely surprised if he refused because Feliciano made it pretty obvious that everyone at these shows knows that Ludwig is his partner… so, what do you think? Are you happy to go?”

Arthur had memories of sitting in cafés, drinking wine in the evenings and with his lunch. He could almost envision the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe. It was all so prominent in his mind that it could have been yesterday. But it wasn’t yesterday. It had been over five years since he’d been in Paris. He was amazed that he could even remember it at all. He’d been high a lot during his time there.

He almost shuddered at the thought.

“Well?” he prompted.

Alfred's eyes widened at the mention of going to Paris. Wow, for being just a simple assistant, he was able to go to a lot of places now. Though considering their time with Ludwig...which didn't turn out the best if he had to be honest...he really wasn't all that surprise. Ludwig wouldn't dare try tugging them away from each other for long periods of time if only because both of them would be a depressed mess first, then an unspeakably horny mess next.

Instead he smiled. He knew that Paris was the City of Lights, the city of romance and everything! It would be a perfect time to catch up on their relationship and to romance Arthur!

He would definitely make it up to him for all those weeks of little to no touch.

The very thought of it all excited him, gave him quite a bit of hope.

Instead he laughed a bit, being just a bit unprofessional so he could press a kiss to his cheek. "Well, to be honest, I'm pretty sure that San Francisco or something is the gay capital of the world. We should visit there one day also! It's a really cool city!" He chirped in excitement. "But I'm sure Paris isn't all that bad either." He soon nodded, still feeling that excitement bubble up in him.

A trip to Paris was exactly what he needed to fully pull him up to his normal self. "I'm extremely happy, as long as I get to go with you."

Hopefully the Parisians wouldn't mind all that much that...well...his accent was horrid and not only that, but he hadn't practised his French in a long time. He was more well acquainted with Spanish but he was pretty certain they wouldn't mind!

"We're gonna see the Eiffel Tower, right? Right?" He asked, beginning to babble off about Paris.

Arthur hummed appreciatively at the kiss, but didn’t reciprocate it. He’d learnt his lesson about Ludwig having eyes and ears everywhere. He chuckled a little at Alfred’s comments about San Francisco and just nodded, indulging him for the time being. It wouldn’t be too bad to head down there some day. It was much warmer down south, anyway. Arthur loved the sunshine, probably because he was deprived of it when he lived in the UK.

“Good, I’ll let the kraut know.”

Arthur, on the other hand, could speak French relatively well. He’d been forced to take lessons whilst at boarding school and it had turned out to be pretty useful for him later on. He’d been able to catch when ever his boyfriend had been bad-mouthing him or whispering something sweet which he wouldn’t dare say ‘en anglais’. Arthur, however, did not like to admit that he spoke the blasted language (despite that it was on his resume). Unlike his other abilities, he didn’t like to show off his language skills. French was the only language that he had ever been able to grasp, though (well, French and some basic Latin). Like a typical Englishman, he felt no need to learn any other languages. Everyone else spoke English, so why bother?

“Yes, of course,” Arthur laughed quietly, his gaze softening somewhat as he could see the excitement flickering in Alfred’s eyes. “We’ll go up there, as well, if you’d like…? There’s one hell of a bloody queue though.”

Patience wasn’t exactly Alfred’s strongest trait, after all.

Alfred didn't really mind that Arthur didn't reciprocate the kiss, knowing that if he did, they would probably get a bit too carried away. They always had the tendency to get carried away when they started to make out. Though honestly, he really wouldn't mind.

Of course Ludwig would think otherwise.

He just laughed a bit at what Arthur, grinning in good humour. "Yeah, yeah. How mean, calling your own boss Kraut." He joked.

Alfred really didn't know all that much about Arthur's previous boyfriends or what language he could speak. It wasn't something that he was always that keen of learning about. In fact, he would rather not hear about it at all. He had a rather jealous personality, though he would hate to ever admit it. A jealous personality never really mixed well with past stories. Of course Alfred wouldn't do anything about it but he would probably brood a bit if he heard of Arthur's experience before.

Fortunately enough he would probably never meet Arthur's exes. If he did, he might as well punch them in the face.

He never was all that great with proper greetings or self control.

Alfred was like a lot of Americans around him. Learning just English and any other language that struck his interest, which ended up being Spanish in his case. He learnt French from a part of his fammily and was forced to take a few lessons, but he was never that great in it. He quickly forgot it after high school.

"Yeah! I can totally wait!" He grinned at that. "And we can go to the cafes and everything and that er...river thing that goes through. The Seine or something? I don't know." He really wasn't all that aware of France or even Paris. He just knew mainly about the Eiffel Tower and the fact that the French did love their wine.

Arthur rolled his eyes, “Exactly. He’s my boss. I can publically dislike him without public scrutiny.” He didn’t hate the man or anything, he was just a bit of a slave driver. He wasn’t a bad boss, though. He was… nice, sometimes. Ludwig just seemed to be an incredibly serious and dedicated man. He didn’t like to be distracted from work. He was sure that, despite being a stick in the mud, he made Feliciano happy. In a way, he hoped that he did; he could see himself in Ludwig sometimes, and if that were the case then Alfred would most certainly be his Feliciano. Which sounded odd to think about.

He wasn’t going to bring up previous boyfriends or anything of the like just because he physically did not want to remember or relive those memories he had. Luckily for Alfred, unless they actually ran into someone that was from Arthur’s youth, then Arthur would keep his mouth shut.

“Yes, yes,” he smiled, not bothering to hide it. “The Seine, darling,” he corrected lightly. “I’m sure that you’ll love it there… but don’t forget that this is a business trip. It’s not just a holiday in Paris, we actually have to get some work done. So, sometimes, I’d imagine that we have to be present for things, as I said before… hopefully it won’t be anything too boring.”

Alfred just laughed at that. "Well, with that logic, I might as well publicly dislike you considering that you like to slave drive me around half of the time." He joked...though it really wasn't a lie. He did get quite a bit of work if only to prove that he wasn't as useless as people might think he was. And maybe the fact that Arthur and him were dating gave the other man less of a guilt for working him harder if only because he could make it up later to him.

He didn't tend to think a lot about Ludwig's and his relationship or really anyone else's relationship. He didn't think of it to be interesting and half of the time, he really didn't know that certain people were dating. He really just cared about his own.

Alfred was happy enough to keep their pasts quiet. Both Arthur's and his own when it came to previous experiences.

"That's what I said! The Seine!" He smiled, still looking excited as he waved him off. "Doesn't matter! It's still Paris! Which is pretty damned cool no matter what you do in there!"

“And you wouldn’t have me any other way,” Arthur raised an eyebrow, smirking a little bit but his expression quickly because that of amusement at Alfred’s choice of words. “In there? What you do in there?” he repeated with a sly grin. “Stupid boy,” he jibbed lightly.

He gave Alfred’s arm a pat before returning to his computer screen with a sigh.

“I’m afraid that I have some emails to reply to, but I’ll see you a bit later,” he looked up at Alfred, somewhat reluctant to let him go.

Alfred just laughed a bit and he knew that he really wouldn't have Arthur any other way. If the other was any other way...then well...it just wouldn't be his Arthur. He was happy to be driven around like a slave, no matter how hard it was afterwards. Maybe it was mainly because Arthur always tended to make up for it afterwards in the flat.

"Pervert." He chided lightly, slapping his arm lightly before looking at the computer.

"Well, alright then. Call me if you need me! And make sure the computer doesn't crash on you!" He teased before quickly hurrying out of the office.

“Never,” Arthur had responded to the slap, still grinning. He just nodded and waved off Alfred. “Oh yeah. Be sure to let IT know that they’re help is shit!” He always found it patronising and that it never fixed any of the problems he had with the blasted machine. To put it simply, Arthur and his computer were arch-enemies.

The weeks leading up to going to Paris only filled Arthur with dread. It was a bit disorientating to be going back there after swearing that he would never return. It didn’t help that Alfred was so excited, either. He knew that he would have to try and be equally excited and not show how anxious he was. All he could hope was that his French wasn’t too rusty.

The first night they arrived, they would have time to themselves to settle in and then, the next day, they would have to go and be introduced to the people in charge of the shows. Hopefully none of them would be eccentric. Arthur wasn’t sure if he’d be able to cope.

After a long plane ride with Feliciano chattering away about how Arthur was going to really get along with the head designer, because they were ‘alike’, apparently. Drab, sarcastic and English? Arthur doubted it. What kind of designer could possibly be like him? Also, that awful Spanish bloke had not stopped glowering at Arthur for the entire journey. It was quite off-putting.

Each employee was instructed to get into a taxi and go to the hotel that way. Rather than taking the more cost-effective metro, of course. Bloody Ludwig.

“Come along, Jones,” Arthur glanced back at Alfred and headed out of the painfully familiar airport. He jogged on ahead to a taxi, cutting in front of some people that he felt were just swanning about.

“Rue de Louis, s’il vous plaît,” he said as he got into the car, hoping that Alfred wouldn’t hear him.

Alfred was frightfully American and he had made certain to be extremely ready for PAris. He was excited, extremely excited and most of the time in the flat was him trying to brush up on his old French.

He really downgraded though. He used to be rather decent but now...it seemed to be quite the opposite. That was probably what he got for not practising in over six years. Now that he really thought about it, that was a really stupid move on his part. Though if he knew that he would one day go to Paris, he would have tried a bit harder!

Alfred was excited the whole way towards Paris though he had no idea why Antonio was glowering over at Arthur half of the time. It really made him feel antsy.

It was surprising that Alfred was able to get away with the things that he wore, which included jeans, white trainers, a large backpack on his back, a t-shirt with a slogan, a black leather neck strap that held his money and passport and unfortunately enough...

A fanny pack. Something that he had put on when they arrived in the airport itself.

"Wow this is so cool!" He exclaimed, looking around in excitement. "I can't believe we're in Paris!" He trainers squeaked against the floor half of the time as he slung a camera around his neck as well.

He didn't hear Arthur speak to the taxi driver and instead he climbed in the back. "Uh so like, do we have to speak French here the whole time or something?" He asked, glancing over at the other man.

Arthur did not appreciate what Alfred was wearing. At all. But nor did he have the heart to tell him that he looked like an imbecile. They looked like total opposites. Arthur was dressed rather soberly in jeans, a shit and a jacket (quite the Hugh Grant, it seemed) – they looked like they had come for totally different reasons.

He raised his eyebrows disbelievingly at Alfred.

“We’re in France, you dope.” He rolled his eyes but then did add: “No, I shouldn’t think so. The people at the meetings will speak English. But not everyone in the street will.” Although, some people would often just speak English if they could tell it was your native language, which irritated Arthur quite a bit.

He just settled down for a long ride in the taxi, watching as Paris rolled by his window. He felt positively sick.

If any person looked at them at the moment, they would probably be certain that they weren't together at all. Not in any way, shape or form. Alfred looked quite positively ridiculous but they sold those things in America! He couldn't be blamed! They said it was perfect for travelling!

He didn't know why Arthur looked so clean though. He just hummed. "I'll pay for the taxi!" He said with a small grin.

When he really looked over at Arthur though, he couldn't help but feel a bit bad. He didn't seem as if he was the best off...but he decided not to question it. Instead he reached under his shirt quietly so he could grab the neck strap and pull some money out.

Looking through, he couldn't help but frown. "Er...never mind...I forgot to change my money." He said as he looked through the green bills.

He tucked his neck strap back in. Looking over at Arthur, he sighed and decided to lean over so he could lay against him. "Everything alright?"

Arthur tried not to chuckle, finding it somewhat sweet that Alfred would offer in the first place. He was glad that he had remembered to get some euros, or else they would have been screwed.

He sighed softly as Alfred leaned against him, although he had not expected it. He ignored how the driver seemed to be glancing back at them every so often and put his arm around Alfred, holding him close. He kissed the top of his head.

“Yes, I’m just tired from the flight, is all…” he looked out of the window again. “You can see the Eiffel Tower from here, look. It’s over there.” He pointed with his free hand and soon let it drop back into his lap.

The city was just as beautiful as he could remember. Nothing had changed about it.

“What would you like to do this evening, love? We can go for a walkabout, if you’d like…?”

Alfred was happy that Arthur ended up holding him close and he really didn't mind what the driver thought. Honestly. New York drivers were probably worse and he was easily able to ignore them.

So instead he just enjoyed the feeling of Arthur and the fact that they were in Paris of all places!

Curiously, he glanced out of the window, gasping in surprise when he saw the Eiffel Tower. "Wow! The Eiffel Tower! Like, the actual Eiffel Tower! Not as cool as Lady Liberty but still!" He chirped, grinning as he nearly pressed his face against the window.

Soon he looked back over at Arthur, smiling and nodding in enthusiasm. "Anything you want!" After all, he really didn't know much about Paris other than the large landmarks around there.

Okay, the taxi driver had definitely glared that time. Probably because he could tell Alfred was American.

Just looking at his boyfriend was reminding Arthur of an excitable child. He was genuinely really, really happy to be there. Wasn’t he? He smiled warmly, watching as Alfred moved excitedly. Such a stereotypical American, wasn’t he? He tired to make himself comfortable in his seat.

“Right… well, why don’t we put our belongings in the hotel room and just… I don’t know. We could go for a drink?” Paris was beautiful by night, after all. “Saint Germain is a pretty area.” It was where their hotel was.

Alfred hadn't noticed the taxi driver glaring over at him, not really minding either way. He just hummed a bit, still rather comfortable against Arthur. As long as Arthur was smiling warmly at him in this way...then he was perfectly happy right here in Paris with the man that he loved.

"Alright, that sounds good. Wine, right?" He asked, looking up at him curiously.

He wanted to experience French culture as much as he could! It seemed interesting enough and since he was here...he might as well try.

"You seem to know a bit about Paris though."

“Yes, wine. But not expensive stuff. It’s extremely expensive here if you aren’t careful.” Arthur gave Alfred’s arm a squeeze and continued to hold him. But at what Alfred said next, he stiffened. He cleared his throat and looked out of the window.

“Yes, well… I’ve been here several times before. I know the place quite well.” Not that he wanted to, or that he wanted to admit that he did. He loved the city, really. It was incredibly romantic, beautiful and historic but it was his memories that prevented him from really enjoying or liking it. He shifted uncomfortably, suddenly feeling under scrutiny.

“Just because you haven’t really left the Americas doesn’t mean that I haven’t.”

Alfred frowned at that and he shifted around a bit though he didn't lax on his hold of Arthur. Instead he just pulled him closer. "Well, I guess." He murmured. "Sorry, I kinda forgot. You know, this place is just so new to me."

He gave him a slight smile, not really noticing just how uncomfortable Arthur was. Instead he closed his eyes and rested back against him, rather tired from the trip. He would at least be able to see Paris when they walked around the city.

He wouldn't miss much by taking a quick nap.

"How much longer until we get to the hotel?" He quickly changed the subject, licking his lips lightly.

He wanted to see more of the city and as soon as he could! Just because Arthur was familiar with the place and probably the same excitement wasn't reciprocated in him didn't mean that his own excitement had to be muffled.

Arthur felt a little bad for snapping at him, but he didn’t apologise.

“Not much longer, about ten minutes from here, I would guess. The traffic flow in this city is pretty good,” he murmured, letting Alfred rest on him. “I’ll wake you up when we get there,” he promised, as though able to tell that Alfred wanted to get some rest.

“We’ll go and have a drink or two and have a look at the Notre Dame. Then we can go back and have a snog, alright?” Arthur was only half joking about the last part, punctuating his sentence with another kiss to Alfred’s head.