[Part 2] Halcyon [Mister + Assi] - R-18

Alfred grinned at the thought of that and it was a relief...to think that they could move away from the oil they had been using.

"Mm...you naughty thing. Why am I not surprised that you're already thinking about this?" He growled teasingly, scooting a bit closer to the other though he let Arthur nuzzle against his neck.

This was complete bliss.

They should have done this earlier...even if it meant leaving all their stuff behind.

Arthur sighed out a laugh, smiling into Alfred’s neck.

“It’s a thought that’s been present in my mind for quite a few months.” Oil was definitely not a good lubricant, although it was the best that they had at the time. He nipped at Alfred’s Adam’s apple with a cheeky grin.

Their lives would be completely different now. Arthur had never cooked, never really worked, never had to draw water, never had to pay, never had to fend for himself. And now he’d been thrown in headfirst. He was lucky that Alfred had some experience at what it was like to be ‘normal’. It meant that he had more of a chance, at least.

Alfred chuckled at that and he leant his head back so he could better enjoy the nipping at his Adam's apple.

"Mm...you've been thinkin' a lot over the past few months. What else did you think of about when we got here?" He asked with a small smile.

He soon reached up to wrap his arms around the other, holding him even closer.

Luckily he had the experience and hopefully he could help Arthur with this needed experience. While he was by no means an expert, he knew that he was better off than his lover at this.

“Not that much else, really… just how we’ll be married and such. I’m looking forward to it. It doesn’t have to be a lavish wedding,” like his last, “I just want to be one with you. I want to be your husband – I want you to be my husband, too.”

Arthur began to blush a bit.

“Sorry, I’m getting carried away.”

Alfred laughed a bit and he soon intertwined their fingers together, looking at the other man fondly. He soon leant over to kiss Arthur lightly on the lips.

"...I want you be your husband, Arthur. I wish I could give you everything you wanted...but...I'll try my damned best," He murmured softly.

"But we can marry...just the two of us and...and everything will be as it should be. No one can take this away from us now."

Arthur rolled them so that he was atop of Alfred, straddling his hips. He placed his hands on the man’s chest, rubbing in small circles. He looked at Alfred with half-lidded eyes.

He leaned down and kissed his lips slowly for a few seconds before sitting back up.

“If my entire body didn’t hurt, I would be making love to you right now,” he murmured with a small, loving smile. Then he climbed off of him and straightened his clothes.

“Can we please go and eat now, though? I’m really, really, really hungry.”

Alfred just laughed at that, smiling up at the other and winking up at him.

"Well, we can save that for later. We...pretty much have all the time in the world now," He murmured back and it was true. Extremely true. They did have the time. They could spend each night with each other without any fear that they were going to be murdered or imprisoned just because of their sexuality.

He soon sat up though, quirking an eyebrow in amusement.

"I think for once you're hungrier than me," He teased though he soon stood up and headed towards the door so he could go downstairs to eat.

“I know,” Arthur agreed, unfazed. “We have plenty of time. There’s no more sneaking around.” And what a wonderful thought it was.

“I probably am,” he shrugged, not deciding to mention that he had every reason to feel as hungry as he felt. “Come on,” he ushered, hurrying out of the door to go down to eat.

Alfred just grinned widely as he heard that and he soon followed the other eagerly. He definitely was hungry though he was certain that Arthur was ten times hungrier than him.

He really couldn't blame him for that though.

The next day, they set off from the village, more relaxed now though there was still always the possibility of an assassination. He really hoped that wouldn't be the case. He was certain that Albion wouldn't really risk it though, but maybe they would.

He hoped not.

Yes soon enough they were arriving towards the lovely, gorgeous capital of Gaul and Alfred's eyes brightened up in amazement.

"Wow, this is gorgeous!" He piped up. It seemed extremely crowded, almost like the largest city in Columbia. Though he knew that the largest city in Columbia was one of the largest cities in all of the kingdoms. He was used to crowded but he definitely wasn't used to such a lovely culture! Albion had definitely a lot of history and culture but this was so much different.

"But...how are we going to start off?"

It had been a long, long time since Arthur had set foot in this city. It hadn’t changed much and was still as beautiful as it was all those years ago.

There were so many different types of people, many of them immigrants who had come for the same reasons as Alfred and Arthur. It made the Albion prince feel less ashamed of having run from his past to start afresh with his one and only love. He cleared his throat as Alfred questioned him.

“Um, well, firstly we should find somewhere to stay for the night. Then we’ll go and ask around for jobs.” Which made Arthur nervous. He’d never worked a day in his life, aside from being a politician. “Once we’re sure that we have the funds to stay somewhere else, then we can look for a home.”

Alfred just nodded and he smiled over at the other.

"I...I think I can handle it. I'm used to barely having any money!" He laughed at the thought of it. Despite that, it was a fond time of his life. He got to really work and he didn't feel as useless as he did before.

And that feeling was amazing.

Maybe they could go travelling in other places away from Albion and Columbia! This would finally be their chance!

"I'm sure I can get a job easily! I do have the strength for it!" He winked over at the other, flexing his arm to show him just how capable he was.

"But I'm sure this will work out."

Arthur arched an eyebrow as Alfred bragged and showed off his muscles. He just scoffed and rolled his eyes, slowly shaking his head.

“I’m not worried about you getting a job. You’re perfectly capable of doing so.” Alfred was a lot, lot stronger than Arthur and able for physical work. Whilst Arthur was by no means weak, he was not very skilled with manual labour (having never done any). Arthur’s skills were somewhat more specific and limited. But if he’d have to work with his hands, that was what he would do. He would become stronger as a result, and there were certainly worse things to gain from a job.

“I hope so.”

Alfred just barked out a laugh, rolling his eyes.

"Mmm, you can do sewing or something. That seems like something you would enjoy. You can work with all the housewives in sewing pretty clothes for people," He teased lightly with a small smile.

Though to be honest, he could imagine Arthur doing something like that. It seemed very...him.

"Though I think the place where you could best get a job would be at the castle...but I guess the prince would recognise you huh..." He dragged off in thought before shrugging. "It'll be fine. We'll definitely find something that fits both of us."

Arthur glowered at Alfred.

“I refuse to work in needlework,” he seethed, not caring to elaborate that he could actually sew. “Besides,” he continued after a pause, “it’ll ruin my hands. I’ll be all cut up.”

He heaved a sigh.

“We’ll have to see. Let’s just find somewhere to stay for tonight. I think I can see an inn up ahead.”

Alfred just smiled over at the other and he laughed.

"Fine, fine. Maybe you should try out cooking or something! You haven't tried it before, yeah? I'm sure you would love it. I certainly loved it," He mused to himself.

He really did like cooking though he was just best at stews and meats. He definitely knew what to add at the very least.

But soon he looked over at the inn before letting out a satisfied yawn and a grin. "Let's go then!" He urged, hurrying over to the inn.

Cooking? Arthur hadn’t thought about that. He’d never done it before. What if he was really good at it, though? He could always try it out and maybe become a chef at an inn? That would be nice. He wouldn’t mind doing that.

Arthur nodded.

He led them to the stables, leaving his horse there for the stable boy to care for. Arthur eyed him, checking if he recognised him, but did not. Thankfully. He then headed for inside the inn, looking forward to their new life that they were starting.

Alfred glanced over at the other, raising and eyebrow and smiling fondly. It seemed as if the other was really taking that into thought.

He laughed a bit.

"Who knows, maybe one day we can start up our own business or something. Either an inn or a pub or who knows! Think about that!" He chuckled, scratching his cheek lightly.

If things got terribly bad though, he could always try becoming a guard for the castle...that would always work.

He sighed at the thought and soon headed inside the inn with Arthur, wondering how their life was going to turn out.

“May we have a room, please?” Arthur asked the innkeeper, who put on what was probably his most charming smile. The man was dressed in brightly coloured clothes, eccentric was the word that Arthur would have used to describe it.

“Quoi?” the man arched an eyebrow.

“Uhh… pour deux?”

“D’accord. Alors, uh… English? You want to speak English?”

“Yes please.” As though that wasn’t already obvious.

“Okay. For two? For how long?”

“Um…” Arthur looked at Alfred and then back at the innkeeper. “Indefinitely.”

“Quoi?”

“We don’t know.”

“You don’t know?”

“No.”

Alfred just smiled at the innkeeper and he hesitated, trying to think about what to say in the language.

Goodness...this would be harder than he thought.

"Uh...nous avon l'argent! U-Uh...to pay...pour acheter!" He gave a hesitant smile. "For a few months maybe...je ne sais pas."

He was terrible at this but it has been a terribly long time.

The innkeeper wasn’t quite so smiley anymore but at least he wasn’t kicking them out.

“Nom?”

“James and Matthew Williams,” Arthur glanced at Alfred, smiling a little at him.

“Suivez-moi,” the innkeeper sighed after scribbling down their name. He led them up the stairs to their room. It was bigger than the room they’d stayed in the other night, but not huge. It was bearable though, nicely furnished. It’d be their home for some time.

“Dinner is at six. Breakfast at nine.”

“Merci,” Arthur nodded.

“De rien,” the innkeeper left them alone.

Alfred sighed a bit and he smiled somewhat.

"Well, it not bad at all! Better than some of the other inns I've stayed at. I mean...not as nice as where we used to live but...I like it."

He glanced over at Arthur, hoping that he would at least like it as well.

"We can just rest for now," He murmured softly, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek.

“I wouldn’t know,” Arthur shrugged meekly. He went to perch on the edge of the bed. “Yes, I, um, I quite like it, too. It’s not a palace, but it’s not bad. I’ll get used to it, eventually.”

He leaned his cheek into the kiss and hummed softly.

“We should head out in a short while and start looking for work.”

Alfred just smiled.

"Well I'm sure you'll enjoy it more later. There's less of that fear, you know."

To think that they would end up here...it seemed unreal. When he was younger, he thought that he would never have the chance to get out of the castle.

But here he was...it was amazing.

Alfred groaned at that though, stretching out a bit.

"Ugh, I guess. Anything you have planned possible? I might as well do a physical job. I'm no scholar or anything like that."

“Whereas I am,” Arthur made a face. “I rarely missed any of my lessons. The few that I did were because of you.” He cleared his throat.

“I need to find something involving brains, not brawn… not that I lack brawn but,” Arthur didn’t bother to try and finish the sentence. “Perhaps I should find somewhere that makes books? Or even something like being a member of the city council? I don’t really know, if I’m honest. I don’t think that I should attempt to go for a high end job, however.”

Alfred just nodded at that though he couldn't help but smirk.

"Aw, you missed your beloved lessons because of me? How sweet," He teased with a soft purr. Though he really was flattered.

"But yeah, let's stay away from the high end jobs. Despite the fact that we're safe from the army, if they knew where we were at, they would probably send an assassin over or a mercenary." He frowned at the thought of it but he shook his head. "We can't have them find us, especially since we're not under the safety of the royal family here. But maybe a bookbinder and storytelling for social events just for a bit extra cash! It would be pretty cool if we could open up our own business though like a bakery or something!"

He had to admit that he was getting a bit excited at the idea. At the idea of living a simple life.