Same Job, Different Time and Place [R-18] - Part 3

Alfred had taken a long shower, spending most of his time concerned over Arthur though at the same time, wondering if he really would have the full approval of Arthur's family. He knew that now that his father was gone, Arthur didn't necessarily have the full approval of his own family...but still. He felt as if he was an intrusion in all of this. An intrusion in what though?

It really wasn't as if they all had a good relationships in the family. So far from it actually. Maybe it was best that he intruded in it, at least for Arthur's sake.

And it didn't really seem as if Arthur's brothers hated him. Far from it actually but still, he wanted that approval if only because he wanted to be able to make Arthur feel as happy as he could without worrying about what may be lying ahead of them simply because they didn't approve of him. He was simply trying to make Arthur as happy as possible. There was never anything wrong with that. He didn't care if people thought that they shouldn't be together. He was making Arthur happy and like hell he was ever going to leave as long as he continued to make him happy.

He knew that Arthur had experienced so much though all at the same time, he felt as if Arthur deserved so much more than him. So much, much more. He was nothing compared to what Arthur could potentially have but for now, he would be happy that at least he could have Alfred.

Even if he was always a bit nervous that Arthur would realise that he did deserve better than him and would leave him because of it.

Liam just looked over at Arthur and tried to give an encouraging smile over to him though he instead took a sip out of his tea. Though if he was to be completely honest, he would like a lot of alcohol at the moment. While it was always an option, he knew it wasn't the best option.

Alfred soon finished his shower and sighed (knowing that he was in the shower for maybe a bit too long). When he finally got out, he could see Arthur just pulling on his pyjamas and considering his return, he decided that it was safe to actually come into the room. Closing the door behind him, he gave a small smile over at his lover, noting the red and puffy eyes though he soon pulled on some boxers.

He didn't say anything until he finally sat down on the bed, his arms opened for Arthur.

"Hey, come here," He urged gently.

Arthur didn’t seem to be bothered as Alfred came into the room. If anything, he was just glad for his company. He looked across at the American nervously as he sat down, opening up his arms. He sighed a little but came over regardless. He wanted to be with Alfred. He wanted to be held. He placed one leg on the bed before he allowed himself to get close to Alfred.

He wrapped his arms around him and held on to him tightly, burying his face into his neck; his hands clutched desperately at him, as though he’d fade away into nothingness. Arthur didn’t want to start crying again, but he was grateful for Alfred being so willing to lend himself to holding Arthur. He kissed Alfred’s neck softly, where his lips were nestled against his skin.

“You won’t leave me, will you…?” he murmured, barely audible.

Alfred just held Arthur close, smoothing his hand over his back as he pressed a kiss to the top of the other's head before settling back into a more comfortable position. He enjoyed the closeness and he was glad that Arthur didn't want to completely stay away from him. He didn't say anything though, instead enjoying his company with Arthur and holding him and wrapping him up in all the love that he could ever give.

He could feel how desperately his hands were clutching at him and he just wanted to keep him close. He would always be there for Arthur, even if it was just holding him.

"Of course I won't," He whispered. "You're the best thing that ever came into my life."

Normally Arthur would have scoffed at what Alfred said but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He wanted it to be true. He wanted Alfred to believe in what he was saying and to actually feel that way. He couldn’t mock it.

Arthur couldn’t think of many suitable responses so he just pulled away a little and held either side of Alfred’s face in his hands. He gazed at him for a few moments, admiring the bronze of his skin, his golden hair, the beautiful sky blue of his eyes (not hidden behind glass frames), the small dusting of freckles that he had… Arthur leaned in and slowly kissed Alfred.

Alfred knew it sounded rather silly and maybe even somewhat corny but he couldn't help but feel that way. That Arthur really was one of the best things to happen in his life and it felt embarrassing to say it. Though it didn't mean that he regretted saying it or meant any less of it. In fact, he was certain about it.

He just kept quiet though, not really knowing what to say (he was incredibly dumb with his words sometimes) and instead he let Arthur observe him. He let out a soft breath, ghosting over the other's lips and he observed him right back. He admired everything about Arthur despite the slight puffiness to the corners of his eyes or the wear. Soon he leant forward to press his lips back against Arthur's, slowly kissing him back, comforting and reassuring more than anything else.

Arthur soon slid his arms around Alfred’s neck, just holding him close as they kissed and enjoyed each other’s company. He sighed softly against Alfred’s lips, feeling much calmer than he had done earlier. He eventually pulled away with one final peck to Alfred’s lips. He climbed out of Alfred’s lap and lay on the bed, making it clear that he was waiting for Alfred by the way that he was looking at him.

He was fixated on Alfred, wanting him to be closer so that they could prove everything to each other. Being sensual before hadn’t really worked for them but this time… this time, he wanted it to be different.

Arthur reached out for Alfred.

Alfred just kept Arthur close also, kissing him back as lovingly as possible and just enjoying everything about the other that he actually could. He could feel the other relax against him though and it was a nice feeling. To know that he could actually bring peace to Arthur even if it was some momentary peace. He just hoped that this peace would stay, especially considering he hadn't seen his mother after she left. Maybe she left somewhere a gain.

He didn't know though and honestly, he didn't care as long as Arthur was alright.

Feeling Arthur climb out of his lap and lay on the bed, he sighed gently, smiling slightly before laying down also, leaning over to stroke his hair and press another gentle yet brief kiss to his lips.

Arthur gazed across at Alfred again, a loving expression upon his face. He leaned into the touch as Alfred stroked his hair. He shifted closer, draping his arm over Alfred’s waist. He pressed another quick kiss to Alfred’s lips, in his new position and exhaled slowly. He settled his head near Alfred’s, invading his personal pillow space by placing his head on the same pillow. He just wanted to be close and clingy. He felt much better when Alfred let him do that sort of thing.

“I love you,” he said softly, not for the first time that day. “There isn’t anything or anyone that could convince me to feel otherwise.” It was brutally honest, but it was true.

Alfred simply relaxed next to Arthur now, just happy that they could be together like this and that they wouldn't be sleeping separate tonight. At least there was that. Though considering how red Arthur's eyes were when he came into the room, Alfred had a feeling that he needed someone close to him after he had some alone time. Someone who cared. He let him stay close to him, nuzzling their noses gently together before shifting the pillow around so they both had more room on it.

He smiled though at the words, relaxed by them. "I love you too," He murmured gently. "And I'm glad."

Arthur sighed softly, his eyes closing a little. He began to acknowledge just how soppy he was now, thanks to Alfred. Alfred had effectively ruined him. He wasn’t a cold-hearted, stoic man like he was before. Arthur used to loathe the idea of wanting to snuggle up beside someone, snuggling was just not something that he ever imagined that he would do. Or think about. Yet here he was, curled up next to Alfred, desperate to be held and coddled.

“Hold me?” he realised how helpless he sounded and blushed, wriggling away a little so that his back was pressed to Alfred’s front. That was much too embarrassing. But he didn’t pull away at all, he stayed just as close.

Admittedly, Alfred could have never imagined Arthur actually being nice or affectionate or anything like that. Even the first few months that they were dating, the other always just seemed to be distant. Almost unreachable. If it wasn't for that night in the club...who knew where they would be right now.

Still assistant and boss of course. But...would any of this happened if it wasn't for that supposedly 'one night stand'?

So much for a one night stand. Though it was definitely one of the best decisions in his whole entire life. Where would they be now though if that happened? He didn't even want to think about it.

Instead Alfred smiled over at the other. "Of course," He mumbled before pulling Arthur close so he could hold him against his body.

Arthur didn’t like to think about what would have happened if he and Alfred hadn’t gotten together. He probably would have been living a lonely existence in New York, hiring prostitutes every other week. That would have been sad. Thinking about it just made him all the more grateful that Alfred had agreed to date. And for his own drunken forwardness.

He settled down for the night, soon falling asleep with the added comfort of Alfred holding him. He felt safe in Alfred’s arms.

Alfred just sighed softly, staying awake a while after Arthur and instead he continued on stroking his hair. He just enjoyed the warmth against him and the soft breath and just even watching that chest rise up and then fall back down slowly.

He didn't want to think about the possibilities. He would have been just even more lonely than he was before...too busy with work and probably barely any joy in even his work.

Soon enough, he fell asleep also, curled up around Arthur.

Arthur was the first to wake up, as he usually was.

He turned so that he was looking at Alfred, silently watching him in the dim light of the room. He noted just how young he looked, a reminder as to how much younger he really was. By the time Arthur was thirty, Alfred would only be twenty six. He had so much to experience in life to become the same sort of sage that Arthur felt he was. But whilst that was true, Arthur wanted to protect him from everything. He never wanted anyone to hurt Alfred. Ever.

He carefully brushed his hair out of his face and kissed him lightly. Arthur then managed to pull away and get out of the bed, not disturbing the silence too much. He headed to the bathroom to go and brush his teeth. Having done so, he returned to his bedroom, greeting his half-naked brother Bevan on the way.

Arthur dressed himself without causing a lot of noise and rubbed thoughtfully at his chin. There was certainly a lot of stubble there. He’d have to shave unless he wanted to look like the frog… ah, he’d do it after breakfast.

He carefully perched on the edge of the bed and leaned over Alfred, kissing his cheek softly.

“Alfred, it’s time to get up,” he said softly.

As always, Alfred was still asleep in bed, clinging stubbornly on the blankets now that his warmth was gone. He was usually a very timely sleeper, meaning he slept at a certain time and usually woke up at a certain time also. Though considering their timezones recently, his sleeping schedule has only been getting later and later since Europe was ahead in timezones. He sighed softly, a bit fidgety now that Arthur's warmth seemed to disappear but he still didn't wake up.

It was finally when Arthur came to wake him up that he slowly started to rouse from his sleep. Though the moment that he registered light in his vision, he immediately covered his eyes with the blanket.

"No..." He moaned lowly.

Arthur tried not to be amused, trying to convince himself that it was incredibly childish. He concealed his humour and pulled the duvet away from his face to nip gently at his ear. He gave his shoulder a gentle shake.

“It’s nine o’clock and you’ve promised my brother a game of that insufferable American past-time of yours. And we’re going to London today. You’ve got to get up,” he rubbed at Alfred’s thigh through the covers, trying to rouse him from his sleep however he could. He knew that Alfred was a heavy sleeper and was used to just giving him a kick and a slap in the morning to wake him up for work. But this was Arthur’s attempt at trying to wake him up nicely without having a sore throat for the rest of the day (as he had done once, and probably never again in punishment for Alfred answering the phone).

Alfred just stretched out and he could actually see that Arthur was trying to wake him up nicely. So he soon rubbed his eyes, still rather tired before looking up at his lover with tired eyes. Yawning again, he leant up to press a quick kiss to his lips before falling back on the bed.

"Nine o'clock 's too early for me. That's like...nn...really early in the mornin' in New York." He sighed and then sat up, hair sticking up in too many different places.

Alfred just sat there for a few moments, not moving in the slightest bit as he looked dazedly over at the wall.

“Yes, but we’ve been out of New York for over two weeks now, pet,” Arthur mused, moving to let Alfred sit up unhindered. He noted his expression and tsked, stroking his fingers through his lover’s hair.

“Did you not sleep well? You look exhausted.” He thought that they’d had a pretty good night’s sleep, all things considered. He was surprised that Alfred looked so tired. He just smiled slightly at him, eyes soft. “Are you hungry? Bevan said that you didn’t finish your dinner.” He could predict the answer. “I think there’s some nice, fresh bread downstairs for eggs and soldiers,” he kissed the side of Alfred’s head. “Apparently Andrew went and bought some this morning.”

He gave Alfred’s knee a squeeze and stood up.

“You still up for playing with Peter? You can always say no.”

Alfred rubbed his eyes tiredly and he groaned. "Still takes a while for me...to...y'anno...get used to." He yawned again and shook his head. "I slept fine."

And he did sleep fine. Perfectly in fact. He was extremely comfortable around Arthur but during his times off, he was an extremely lazy man. One who didn't want to go anywhere or do anything.

Though at the mention of food, the American perked up slightly, looking up at Arthur with bright blue eyes.

"Yeah! That sounds goods!" He smiled though it was obvious that he was still tired. He soon laid back on the bed so he could lazily roll off the mattress and make a pathetic attempt to catch himself on the floor before slowly standing up.

"And of course I'm up for playing with him."

Arthur rolled his eyes a little and stood up as well, but much more gracefully than his lover. He pulled teasingly at the elastic of Alfred’s boxers, enjoying the slapping sound as it bounced back against Alfred’s body. He smirked and reached up to kiss him before heading for the door.

“Well, it’s your loss,” he said, referring to playing with Peter. “I’ll go see about breakfast and meet you in the kitchen, darling.” He closed the door behind him to give Alfred some privacy before he headed downstairs to greet Andrew in the kitchen; Bevan was also hanging about but Arthur was refusing to acknowledge him until he got dressed.

When Alfred got up, he stretched his arms up and got comfortable before yelping as Arthur pulled the elastic of his boxers and let it slap against his skin. "H-Hey! Don't do that!" He yelped, cheeks a bit red though he leant down to press the kiss back. Soon he pulled away after a few moments of contact, cheeks still red as he rubbed his bottom gently.

Instead he nodded, smiling. "See ya'." With that, he went and got a new change of clothes. After finding something that was comfortable and more fitting for outside, he finally went downstairs to grab some food.

He couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at Bevan though to be honest, he did it all the time in the flat. Even with less clothing.

Soon he sat down at the table, trying to resist his stomach from grumbling.

Arthur had been chatting to Andrew about having roast for dinner, but the Scottsman didn’t seem too keen.

“I di’nae know how to make roast,” he said simply. “We could’ve had mutton but you English twats don’t sell it.”

“We do,” Arthur protested, “just not in a lot of shops… but I’d like to show Alfred what it’s like before we head back to America.”

“Hmm… that ain’t my problem.”

“Well, then, do The Rose and Crown do meals?”

“Ay, I think.”

“That’s what we’ll have to do then,” Arthur said with a slight sigh. He watched Alfred come into the room out of the corner of his eye but continued conversing with his brother.

Bevan took it upon himself to talk to the American. “How did you sleep, Alfred?” he sat opposite him. The distinct differences between Bevan and Arthur’s build made it all the more obvious how skinny Arthur was. Bevan was quite stocky, quite thickly built. He had a strong neck and broad shoulders, but he was a little chubby around his waistline.

Alfred couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the mention of The Rose and Crown and he could only assume that it was an establishment of some sort over here in England. He didn't know though. Instead he began eating hungrily, rubbing his stomach gently as he still tried to rid of the sleep.

Did everyone in this household wake up early?

Though he didn't see Liam around. Maybe he was still sleeping. He always seemed like an early riser.

Instead he smiled, nodding his head at Bevan. Sometimes he wondered if all of these people were Arthur's brothers. They just all seemed so different, especially in build. "I slept alright. Not used to waking up this early though," He laughed, poking his food with the fork before popping it into his mouth.

“Not an early bird then? I’m not either but I got woken up by Andrew marching up and down the corridor, you see. He’s been up since six this mornin’, you knoow?” Bevan said in disbelief.

Arthur didn’t really seem to like how Bevan was just talking to Alfred as if he wasn’t half-naked and that Alfred didn’t appear to understand the principle of eating eggs and soldiers. Something that had to be corrected. He waved Andrew off and headed over to the table, running his fingers through Alfred’s hair to get his attention before he ripped a piece of break from the slice Alfred had been given. He dunked it into the yoke of the boiled egg and took a large bite from it. He raised his eyebrows, as though silently instructing Alfred how to eat properly, and not with a fork.

Bevan just quirked an eyebrow and laughed a little bit. “You two are such a married couple,” he stated and looked over at Andrew for reassurance. “They are, aren’t they? Like a propur husband and wife, you are.”

Alfred laughed at that, eyes a bit wide. "He's like Arthur...they both get up at insanely early times, you know," He mumbled lowly. "It kinda sucks when Arthur wakes me up though." Though he had to admit that he liked being woken up gently by Arthur. ...Though that usually wasn't the case.

Soon he felt Arthur's fingers going through his hair and Alfred visibly relaxed before looking up curiously, a smile on his lips. Though he soon watched Arthur eating the egg and soldiers and his eyes widened a bit. ...Oh...that's what the egg was for. Well...that...was interesting. Alfred silently thanked Arthur with a quirk of his lips upwards before grabbing a slice before dunking it into the yoke. With that, he leant forward to eat it, frowning slightly in embarrassment as the yolk dribbled down his lips.

Though Alfred soon shifted his gaze up at Bevan, reddening in embarrassment. "W-What?"