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

Alfred kissed him back slowly and he just smiled up at Arthur, running a hand through his hair. "I love you too," He whispered softly before wrapping his arms around the other with a soft hum.

He soon relaxed, nuzzling against him and still completely ignorant to what the other knew.

"I slept really well actually. Mm, and not sleeping like a log. I'm excused...I worked hard yesterday to get us over here," He pointed out before sighing softly against the other's lips.

"Love you so much. The only one for me."

And Arthur really was. He loved him so much that it was ridiculous.

Alfred had never really stared at too many girls in his time in high school. He would certainly fantasise and hope that he would be desirable enough one day but he was too focused mainly on being acceptable to what his classmates wanted to see. To actually get a social life and not be a disgrace to his brother. He didn't want to be the 'fat brother' or the 'dork' or the 'nerd' or anything like that.

Arthur shrugged, “I suppose so. But wouldn’t you rather be awake with me? It was incredibly lonely being awake on my own, you know.” He was teasing, of course. He stilled a little at those words, searching Alfred’s face for some sort of conflicting emotion, something that would tell Arthur that he was lying. But there wasn’t one.

He felt all warm inside.

“My heart and hearth,” he replied, voice soft. And he meant it. The very fact that he did made him a little anxious.

Arthur was pretty sure that, yes, he wanted to spend forever with Alfred. But he didn’t know if Alfred felt the same way about him. He was so much younger, after all. Four years younger. And he didn’t even know when Arthur’s birthday was (which, in a way, Arthur didn’t mind). They hadn’t told each other all of the secrets and lies they told as children, their fantasies and ambitions.

But they would, he was sure.

“Come on, you soppy bastard,” he smiled, kissing him again before pulling away completely. “What’s the plan for today?” He hopped off of the end of the bed and began to pull on his trousers (skinny jeans, just because he knew Alfred appreciated them).

Alfred playfully rolled his eyes before humming a bit. "Of course I would rather be awake with you. But sleeping with you wouldn't be bad either. Especially at this time in the morning." He soon yawned, rubbing his eyes but then he brought his gaze back up to the other, pausing for just a moment.

Then he smiled a bit.

"Of course," He whispered softly, stroking his hair. "I'm the luckiest man, to find someone as loving and kind as you."

He wanted to learn everything about Arthur and at the same time, he wanted to keep things a secret for now so he could learn about them later. It was always nice to have some mystery in the relationship just to find out and learn new things about your lover.

He returned the kiss briefly before finally pulling away. "Well, I don't really know what Matt or mom have in store for us, if they have anything that is. Not much around here to really show you though. Not as interesting as the city."

Soon enough he went to stand up and pull on his own clothes though he couldn't help but glance over at where he kept his old journal. Curiously, he went over to grab it, soon flipping through the pages quietly.

Arthur always enjoyed those moments of intimacy that they shared together. It always made Arthur feel as though he was special, particularly because it was Alfred, his golden boy, saying it. Anything nice Alfred had to say always filled him with glee, gave him warm feelings in his chest.

He raised an eyebrow, glancing across as Alfred got off of the bed. He pulled on a t-shirt, choosing to be somewhat more casual than he might usually opt for. Since getting together with Alfred, his taste in clothes had definitely improved. He’d lost touch with pop culture once he came off of drugs and was only just starting to catch up with it again. Although he still preferred the good old days, really.

“I’m sure there’ll be something that we can do.” He picked up his book from the floor (it must have fallen during the night) and put it on the nightstand. That was when he noticed Alfred looking at his journal. He wasn’t sure what to say, seeing as how he knew what was in there.

He walked over to him, sliding his arms around his waist from behind to hug him. He kissed the back and the side of his neck before resting his head on his shoulder.

“Anything interesting?” he feigned a false-sounding interest to his voice, as though to throw him off track.

Alfred also enjoyed those moments of intimacy between the both of them. It always made him feel so light deep inside and it reminded him that life has changed. That he was happier now with the man that he loved. That those worries which plagued his past were no longer there, were no longer a concern to him.

He definitely enjoyed the more casual look to Arthur. It was always a nice change from the business suit that he always seemed to see him in.

"Yeah, for now though, we can wait until Matt wakes up. He's a pretty late riser actually." He laughed at the memories. Everyone always thought that Matthew was an earlier riser but normally he slept a lot later than himself. Not only that but Arthur woke him up earlier than he really wanted to wake up. Rubbing his eyes, he just gazed down at the book and read it quietly.

"Ah...as interesting as a child's journal can get," He commented, laughing a bit though it was a bit empty. "Guess a lot of not so great memories in there also...but that's what a journal is for."

Arthur gave Alfred a look.

“You say that as though you’re an early bird, my lovely. Which you are not, might I add.” He nuzzled his shoulder a little, quiet as Alfred continued to speak. He just held on to him tighter. “We all have bad memories,” he said softly. “But that’s all that they are; memories. They’re in the past, long gone and something we shouldn’t trouble ourselves with anymore.”

He soothingly rubbed one of his hands along Alfred’s side.

“So long as you’re happy now, that’s what matters. Hopefully I can help with that… all I want is for you to be happy.” My ray of sunshine. “If anyone… if anyone ever tried to hurt you Alfred, I’d – I’d fight for you. You know that, don’t you?” He would as go as far as saying he’d kill for him, but that felt somewhat dramatic.

Alfred just listened to Arthur and he couldn't help but nod in agreement. "Yeah, you're totally right. It's just sometimes hard to get over them at times, you know?" He chuckled a bit. "I'm mostly over them now but sometimes I can't help but think back to them or be reminded in some way. But it's not that big of a deal now. I had also a lot of great memories in here also."

Despite everything, he felt comforted by the hand rubbing him soothingly and he just relaxed.

Though he couldn't help but be a bit curious when he heard Arthur.

"Of course I know that." He smiled over at him before leaning over to kiss him. "...And you already know pretty damn well that I would do the exact same for you."

If punching Francis wasn't already enough of an hint.

The Brit returned the kiss before pulling away.

“Just worth checking. I know that it’s good to hear sometimes,” Arthur assured with a small smile. He pursed his lips and returned to his suitcase, finding socks to wear. He didn’t want Alfred to dwell on the bad things from his past, wanted him to focus on the good things. Talking about it, he didn’t think, would help.

“I’m hungry,” he lied, just to change the subject and touched his stomach with a small frown, as though the concept confused him. Arthur, hungry? How unusual. Of course, it was a little bit true. He felt quite ravenous, actually.

“Will anyone else be awake?”

Alfred laughed at that and he nodded, soon standing up so he could tug on his shirt before putting the journal down on his nightstand. He was pretty sure that Arthur really had no interest in seeing anything in there. Instead he looked back at Arthur, raising an eyebrow before laughing a bit.

"Really? That's a new one. How about I cook you up something! What would you like? I'm not that bad of a cook actually," He assured with a smile before heading towards the door.

Though he paused and thought about it.

"Huh...awake? Dad was always the one who woke up the earliest. Mom...I don't really know. She's been getting a later sleeping schedule lately." Though he really wouldn't blame her for that one.

“That’ll be a first,” Arthur deadpanned upon instinct. “Well, yes, I suppose? If you’re sure you can do it?” he scratched at the back of his neck, standing up from the bed (where he’d sat to put on his socks). He gestured for Alfred to go on ahead, taking a moment to yawn a little. He felt tired, he had to admit… but not enough so to go to back to sleep.

He touched Alfred’s lower back in what was supposed to be a comforting manner.

“Understandably,” he said softly. “But that doesn’t get you out of cooking me something, for once,” he added cheekily, trying not to dampen the mood. “I fancy something not sugary, please.”

Alfred scoffed and rolled his eyes, laughing a bit. "Oh shut up," He retorted lightly though he definitely didn't mean it. "Of course I can do it though! Let's go downstairs."

With that, he started heading down the stairs, stretching out a bit and rubbing his eyes tiredly. He soon looked over at the other, thinking about things that weren't terribly sugary. "How about you look in the fridge and see what you want? I'll start boiling some water for you for the tea so you have something to drink while I'm cooking."

Soon he grabbed the kettle and poured some water in it, also grabbing some water for the coffee machine as well before putting the coffee grind in there.

“There’s tea in this house?” Arthur sounded surprised. “Did you tell your mother to buy some in advance?” he realised how ungrateful he sounded, recalling his comment in Australia with dread. “Tea would be lovely,” he concluded before heading to the fridge. But he couldn’t see anything particularly appetising and he wasn’t in the mood for arguing about plastic bacon again.

“I think toast would be nice, actually. I’m pretty sure you can do that,” he teased, giving Alfred’s bum a pat. “I might sit down in the sitting room for a minute, if that’s alright? My back is aching a bit.” From having been launched on to the floor the previous night.

He kissed Alfred’s cheek and went on ahead without really waiting for a response. He headed into the living room and froze upon the sight of a very pale looking Katyusha. She looked up at him blearily, arms around her stomach.

Within a few seconds, Arthur managed to find it in himself to rush back to the kitchen.

“Matthew’s wife is in there. Uh, what’s her name? Katyusha. Katyusha looks unwell, Alfred.” Arthur hated feeling as though he had to go to Alfred but he knew that Alfred would be better at handling the situation and would know what to do whereas Arthur sort of panicked because he couldn’t deal with girls (unless he felt an affinity towards them, like with that celebrity from the Seychelles).

Alfred looked a bit confused before he smiled over at the other. "Matt drinks tea actually," He reassured before looking up at the tea selection that they had. Soon enough he grabbed something that looked familiar before finally starting to prep up the tea for the other. He chuckled a bit at the tease though.

"Oh shut up or else I'll never cook for you again. I'm not a bad cook." Nonetheless Arthur was someone who should have no right teasing him about it but he decided not to bring mention to that.

He just nodded, focusing more on the food than Arthur. "Yeah, go and rest your back." Though Arthur already seemed to be heading off to the living room.

Yet he found himself a bit surprised when he saw Arthur come back in and he hesitated, scrunching his eyebrows in confusion. "Feeling unwell?" He questioned before nodding. He really didn't know how Arthur was with other women. At times he saw him awkward with them but then there was that one time with that celebrity.... He decided not to think about that and instead head towards the living room, automatically looking concerned when he saw her.

"Shit...! Kat, are you alright?" He asked as he hurried over to her, hand on her lower back as he tried to be comforting. "What happened? Do you need medicine? What's hurting?"

Arthur just trotted after Alfred, back into the living room. He stood nervously in the doorway, watching the scene unfold.

“Ah, no, no. Don’t worry, Alfred. I’m okay,” Katyusha beamed at him, but it looked a bit forced as she sat herself down. “I feel sick, that’s all. I’ve been feeling sick for the past few weeks. I think I must have some sort of virus… morning sickness of some sort. I always feel better later on in the day,” she grimaced a little.

“I’ll get you some water,” Arthur spoke up, leaving the room yet again. He didn’t know the kitchen at all but he was sure that he’d be able to find an appropriate glass somewhere.

“I’ll feel better soon,” she promised Alfred with a meek smile.

Alfred just sat down next to Katyusha, rubbing her back soothingly and trying to comfort her. After all, as her brother-in-law, it was something that he had to do. Just for her comfort.

"Sick for a few weeks?" He asked quietly, raising his eyebrows before frowning.

"Does Matthew know about this?" He was certain that he would have at least noticed something. He just looked at her carefully, observing her appearance though it was really hard to tell what it was just from looking at her. He was by no means a doctor or anything like that.

"Wait, morning sickness?" He thought about it...could she be...but wouldn't have Matthew already known and seen the effects?

Katyusha was appreciative of his concern, she really was but she had to be honest and say that she would have preferred it to be Matthew rubbing her back.

“You know that he likes to sleep late. I’ve mentioned it but other than that, I didn’t think that it’d be worth saying,” she shook her head. “I don’t want to worry him. I’m sure it’s nothing. You won’t tell him, will you? It’s just a virus.”

Arthur returned with a glass of water and held it out to Ukrainian, who gratefully took it and sipped from it.

“If it’s been more than a few days, then it’s more than a virus,” Arthur said, a little blunter than he would have liked to.

Alfred knew that he was definitely by no means a replacement for Matthew but since his brother was sleeping late, someone needed to be there. Someone who wasn't awkward with women like Arthur. Instead he looked up at Arthur, listening to him quietly before nodding.

He hesitated for a moment before quietly approaching the subject.

"Ah...Katyusha. You said you were getting something like morning sickness? ...Do you think you might need a pregnancy test?" He asked quietly, voice gentle.

"I can go over to the store down across the street and grab one for you."

“What if I have cancer?!” she was starting to wail, tears welling up in her eyes but then Alfred spoke up, and she listened. She flushed crimson and gawked at the coffee table in front of her. It was a very likely possibility. They had been… well, they had been discussing children for quite some time now, ever since they’d gotten married. They hadn’t been ‘trying’ as such, however.

“You… really think I could be…?” Katyusha sounded hopeful, somewhat excited. “You really think so, brother?” the endearment made Arthur bristle slightly.

“Look, I’ll, um, I’ll go and get it.” Arthur glanced at Alfred, as though giving him a look to say ‘please just don’t leave me alone with her, please let me go’. “Where’s the shop?”

Katyusha looked suitably more happy than she had done a few moments ago, even if she was still pale.

Alfred just laughed a bit and he smiled. To see Katyusha this excited...it was actually rather nice. He liked seeing his sister-in-law like this and though it was a bit silly for her to think that she had cancer, it was also a bit endearing.

"Well, we won't see until we get the tests, yeah?" He laughed again before looking back up at Arthur.

"I can go get it if you want, Arthur. I don't want you to bother yourself like this." He frowned before thinking. "But uh...it should be a right turn from here, go down to the street and turn right. It should be on the right side of the street. It's pretty close by. It's just an 7-11."

Arthur breathed a soft sigh of relief, glad that Alfred had understood what he was making faces about.

“It’s no trouble. Just make sure the tea doesn’t get cold. I’ll be back in a bit,” he gave a nod, grabbed his shoes and exited the house. He really, really, really hadn’t wanted to be left alone with Katyusha inside of a house he’d spent less than twenty four hours at.

He followed the directions easily enough, it was just trying to decide which pregnancy test was the best that was the problem. He spent about five minutes just staring at the shelves before he finally picked one out to buy it.

Within twenty five minutes, he was back at the house and ran the doorbell.

Alfred grinned over at him and he nodded before finally tending to Katyusha again. He wanted to be there for her since Matthew was still asleep though he didn't want to wake him up until the tests were certain. He didn't know how it would turn out but considering the effects on Katyusha, he had a feeling that she was definitely pregnant.

It wasn't like a lot of viruses that he had seen though he had seen a few last for a few weeks before. Though it definitely wasn't common.

The other seemed to behave enough though and when Arthur finally came back, he couldn't help but laugh a bit as he opened the door, letting the other in. "Hope you weren't asked awkward questions or anything," He commented lightly as he took the plastic from the other and grabbed the box of pregnancy tests. Soon he handed it over to Katyusha.

"Here you go. There's the bathroom right there though you already know where it is. We'll wake up Matt once we get the results." He smiled. "Also make sure to test a few just in case."

“The impertinent little shit behind the counter had the gall to ask me if I was pregnant,” Arthur grumbled. “I told him his mum probably was after I’d shagged her last night,” he added bitterly, handing over the pregnancy test. He’d had to resort to the basics in his insult book. He’d never been put in a situation like that before.

Katyusha just nodded meekly, taking the box from Alfred with a small smile. “Thank you,” she looked between the two of them before heading off, reading the back of the box.

Arthur sighed heavily, watching her walk down the corridor as he was reminded once again that he was preventing Alfred from experiencing all of this.

“You’re awfully calm,” he commented as he kicked off his shoes before heading into the kitchen, disappointed to find the water that had been boiled was cold.

Alfred barked out a loud laugh when he heard that, looking over at the other with quite a bit of amusement. "If you were pregnant? Now that's a new one!" He continued on laughing though he tried to quiet them down considering that his mother and brother were still asleep.

"I think that's the most sophisticated insult I've heard in my whole entire life."

Though soon he followed him into the kitchen, deciding that it would be best to make breakfast now while they were waiting. After all, toast wouldn't take an awful long time.

"Well, I'm pretty much freaking out on the inside. But I know that freaking out won't help Katyusha at all."

“Mm, exactly what I thought,” Arthur replied dryly, rolling his eyes. He leaned against the kitchen counter, watching Alfred. So much for a nice morning alone together.

He put the kettle on to boil again.

“I suppose so,” he agreed, pursing his lips. “Pregnancy and conception has always… boggled me.” He folded his arms across his chest. “It’s not really something that I know a lot about.” He stared directly at the wall ahead of him, frowning slightly as he tried not to think about what he was depriving Alfred of in life. A loving wife and kids.

Feeling insecure, he reached over to Alfred and ran his hand over the expanse of his back in what was supposed to be a soothing manner.

“Don’t panic, my darling.”

Alfred laughed a bit nervously and he sighed a bit, leaning against the other. "Well, once my mom wakes up, I don't have to worry about it. She can handle Katyusha afterwards," He murmured.

He never really had thought about the kids...well actually he had but he never felt as if he was missing out on so much because Arthur was there in his life. "Really? Didn't you learn from high school or something? I mean, you usually learn that stuff. Though I guess it's not something we really have to worry about, yeah?" He smiled, relaxing as he felt Arthur's hand over the expanse of his back.

"I won't try to," He mumbled and he did try to calm himself down.