To Serve And Protect. [R18]

"Yes, that sounds good," Arthur agreed, "I'll see you there after class then." He looked up, startled, as Alfred complained about him taking his mushrooms. "Well, do you like them?" he asked, pointedly peeling another mushroom off Alfred's slice. "What are you going to do about it, hmm?"

He took half a step back as their elbows bumped, and waved off Alfred's apology, face pink. Damn his pale skin! "No, no, my fault. Um, I've had enough now so you can keep the rest of your mushrooms." Arthur fled into the bathroom to get ready for bed. When he emerged a few minutes later in his plain green flannel pyjamas, he pulled his laptop from his bags and crawled into his bed, lying on his stomach as he waited for the wireless network to connect. "Remember to brush your teeth," he said absently as he typed into the search engine. 

Alfred is surprised by Arthur's reply taking it as a challenge. Oh he hadn't one of those in a long time. At least not playfully. He grins and something glints in his eye like he is about to do something about it.

Then all too soon Arthur is retreating into the bathroom and nothing happens. Alfred sighs a bit disappointed. Really though what was he expecting to happen?

Alfred takes the time Arthur is in the bathroom to change into his own pajamas, similar to the ones he had worn at his apartment when Arthur had slept over, boxers and a loose shirt.

He is about to slip into bed when he hears Arthur speak up. He looks over at him, with an expression caught between pouting and annoyance. "Your a regular mother hen." He jokes before stumbling off to the bathroom to brush his teeth. He leaves the door open as it doesn't take him no time at all to finish up and clamber back to bed as he intended to do before.

As he slips into bed and pulls his covers up tightly around himself he glances over at Arthur. "What are you doing?" He asks, eyeing the laptop curiously.

He attempts to lay his head against his pillow only to remember the glasses he has on. He slips them off and sets them onto his night stand, blinking as the world goes fuzzy once again. Arthur is now just an outline against the other side of the room as he looks at him.

"I'm not a mother hen!" Arthur protested. "It's just basic hygiene! It's important to brush, especially since we just ate!" He huffed against his pillow, muttering about the lack of hygiene in the country. 

"I'm just trying to see how wide-spread the drugs are," he explained once Alfred had slipped back into his bed. "Red Queen seems to be quite common underground, especially around this city, but Alice seems to be very new." He sighed, opening a blank document to take note of everything they'd learnt. It was just to reinforce all the points in his mind, he'd close it without saving later. "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is just one long drug-induced dream anyway. Perhaps that's why they called it Alice -- who else would be daft enough to eat a strange mushroom, just because a caterpillar told her to?" He knew it was a literary classic but still-- the stupid girl had ingested so many strange substances in a foreign landscape. 

Arthur glanced over at Alfred and was about to remind him to take off his glasses until he saw that the American already had. "Your vision... Do you think it will improve again? Was it causing you any more trouble this afternoon?"

Alfred opted to close his eyes since he could barely see anything anyways, instead just listening to Arthur. " I could believe that." He replies thinking about it. "A lot of the people acted so casual about the drugs so maybe they're used to expecting something like that to happen."

He has to smile at Arthur's continued literature talk. "Hey, if we were in wonderland I'd do it." He says rather wistfully. "Gotta dive in and go for things ya know, otherwise you never experience new things." He supposed maybe that was what all the students thought. Maybe that was why they went to these parties, for something new? He shifts in his bed at the thought. How far were they going though? He ha to remember they were on a murder case, this wasn't play time. That thought alone kills his mood a bit.

He rolls over to where he's facing away from Arthur now. "I hope so, I mean it's likely right?" He didn't know why he asked that as a question, Arthur didn't know anymore then he did. "No, it wasn't bad. I think I'm getting in one of those nerd habits though, where they push they're glasses up every few minutes." He laughs quietly.

After a few moments pass, listening to Arthur type away and vaguely trying to fall asleep a question bubbles up. "Arthur..." and then it's gone before he can find the right words. "Nevermind."

"Would you really?" Arthur asked in response to Alfred's Wonderland statement. He cocked his head to the side and considered. "So you would really drink strange liquids labelled 'drink me'?" He said dubiously, "And follow the instructions of a smoking insect, eating strange woodland fungi because said insect claimed it'd have special effects on your body? Somehow, I wouldn't have expected that of you." He'd have to keep an eye on the lad, if he was spouting dangerous nonsense like that. The last thing he needed was a partner who was an addict. 

"Of course there's a possibility that it will get better," he agreed gently. There was no way of knowing for sure, but it was somewhat unlikely that the American's vision would go back to the way it was, right? He must have been hit pretty hard. Arthur gently fingered the side of his face where he'd been backhanded, finding the area still tender. If Braginsky had been able to put that much force behind a mere slap, the damage he'd be able to do with a punch was nothing short of destructive. "You don't look like a nerd," Arthur reassured him, "They make you look mature. Gilbert was just being a tosser this afternoon."

Eventually they fell silent. Arthur typed for a few more moments before logging off and shutting down his laptop. He closed the lid of it and tucked it under his pillow. "Hmm?" he hummed upon hearing his name being called. "What is it, Alfred? Speak up now, lad." He turned onto his side and curled up into a loose foetal position, hugging his arms across his middle. 

"Well, not like in real life or anything. People are weird in real life. It worked out for Alice in wonderland though right? She got back home?..er.. was it all a dream? I don't remember." He shrugs against his bed sheets, just making small talk for the time being. It was nice to talk about things other then the case before bed.

"Really?" He asks peeking over his shoulder back at Arthur. Was his insecurity that obvious? "Mature's good." He agrees although his heart just doesn't seem to be in it. Maybe he's too tired.

"Nothing." He insists speaking a tad louder. He had just been thinking a lot since they had started their undercover work. Now wasn't the time to be questioning this odd feeling in his guts though. Now was time he should be sleeping. They had class tomorrow after all.

"All right, then," he said suspiciously. Arthur knew that Alfred was keeping something from him but decided not to pursue it. There'd be time for that later. "'Night," he mumbled into his pillow. His eyes drifted shut and he sank into dreams of parties, white rabbits and cornflower-blue eyes.

He woke early the next morning, just as the sun was beginning to rise. Arthur glanced over at the other bed, making sure that Alfred seemed all right before making his bed and heading into the bathroom. Fifteen minutes later he made his way back out, clad only in his boxers and an unbuttoned shirt. Arthur dug in his bag for clothes, deciding on another sensible pair of trousers and a sweater-vest. He then took the time to repack his satchel, bringing along his laptop, a notebook, pens, his phone, wallet and timetable. 

"Alfred," he called, "we have to get to class soon." He made his way towards the sprawled out body, trying not to flush as he caught sight of excessive amounts of skin. 

"Goodnight." Alfred replies and soon after is pulled into sleep himself. He doesn't remember much of his dreams although he must have dreamt something because overnight he gets himself tangled in the covers of his bed an nearly turned around completely.

In the morning he is still out cold while Arthur is getting ready. It isn't until he hears someone speaks that he rolls over and mumbles something into his pillow, reaching out with his hand as if to turn off an alarm clock that he is used to slapping around in the morning. Instead his hand lands on his glasses and he cracks his eyes open, sliding them on to see Arthur standing over him.

"Mornin'" He slurs out still half asleep.

"Good morning," Arthur replied, trying to cover his smile. As a child, he'd always had a weakness for cute things. He'd played in the company of the tiny faeries that had inhabited his mother's garden, awed by their tiny features and their ability to just make things happen. When his brothers picked on him, he'd cried and cuddled with Flying Mint Bunny, who was soft and kind and super cute. His love for cute things hadn't changed over the years, though he was better at hiding it now. And a rumpled, tousle-haired, bleary-eyed Alfred was indeed cute. If they weren't police partners and if he wasn't a grown man with a reputation to uphold, Arthur would have cooed over how adorable the American looked. But of course they were, and he was, so Arthur settled on giving Alfred a gentle smile. 

"Come now, lad," he said, seating himself on the edge of Alfred's bed. "It's time to wake up. We've class to attend. If it makes you feel any better, you don't actually have to pay attention. That's not what I'll be quizzing you on when I see you this afternoon."

Arthur crossed one leg over the other and resisted the urge to poke the other man's cheek. "If you wake now, we should still have time for breakfast after you shower and change."

Alfred sees that smile and returns it with one of his own. A silly sloppy smile that doesn't fade as he props himself up on his elbows before promptly pulling the covers over his head. "Quiz? No one told me there was gonna be a quiz!" He groans although it is rather more for theatrics than anything.

He peeks out from under the covers soon after though. "Breakfast?" He echo's, eyeing Arthur hopefully. "Will there be coffee?" He slowly lowers the covers with childish expression on his face.

He looks rather convinced finally and slides out of bed, stretching and wonders over to pick up his jeans off the floor from the day before with every intention of putting them back on.

Arthur shook his head fondly at Alfred's childish actions. "Of course there will be coffee," he reassured the American. "As much of it as you like. I don't know how you can stomach the stuff though." He watched Alfred reach for his jeans and frowned. "Alfred," he said seriously, "you didn't shower last night. Which means you should shower this morning. And those are horribly wrinkled; don't you have any other trousers to wear?" 

Arthur placed his hands on his hips and and glared for a moment before pointing at the bathroom. "Don't forget, you're posing as my significant other-- I will not be seen dating an unkempt man!" He bustled around the room, making Alfred's bed and picking up loose articles of the taller blond's clothing. "If you don't hurry up, you'll have to go to class without your coffee!"

Alfred looks up as he is inspecting the clothes in his hands. "Yeah, I got another pair and alright, I'll go shower." He says surprisingly without much of a fight. He drops the jeans in his hands and goes to rummage through his bag for more clothes.

He looks over his shoulder as Arthur continues to comment about the situation. "Hey, I'm not unkempt. Just trying to save the whales n' stuff...By not wasting water." He pretends to huff as he heads for the bathroom. Closing the door behind him he dumps his clothes on the bathroom floor and takes his pajamas off before stepping into the shower.

It doesn't take him long as he is awake now and rather motivated to get his coffee. Only a few minutes later does he step back out, dressed, a towel hanging over his head lazily. He pockets his phone and keys, looking towards Arthur. "Coffee now?" He asks.

Arthur nodded approvingly as Alfred went to shower without too much fuss. When the American emerged from the bathroom, Arthur immediately went to rub vigorously at his hair with the towel. "Yes, yes, you can have as much coffee as you'd like, now," he promised, pulling the towel off Alfred's head and hanging it up to dry. 

After making sure they hadn't forgotten anything, the pair left the dorm. Arthur reached out to snag Alfred's hand, clasping it firmly between them. They wandered lazily towards some of the cafes, where quite a few students seemed to be desperately purchasing coffee before they keeled over. 

"Oh my God!" came a high-pitched squeal from behind them. Arthur turned, unconsciously placing himself in front of Alfred defensively.  A young woman with long, brown hair beamed at them. She looked vaguely familiar, but Arthur couldn't quite place her. "You're Al and Artie, aren't you?"

"Er, yes, but--"

She cut him off, waving a camera. "I heard that you're proudly gay and together, and well, you're holding hands so... Will you kiss for me?"

Gives a laugh as Arthur attacks his hair again with the towel and goes to put his shoes on. Once he's done with that and they make for the door he goes to put his hands in his pockets. Before he can however, Arthur has his hand again. He just smiles to himself and keeps walking. It is far too early to think too much anyways.

He nearly jumps at the unexpected sound that reaches his ears just as he is about to be rewarded with his precious coffee. He just stares at the girl responsible for the noise, shifting a bit as Arthur stands in front of him so that they can keep their hand's linked.

"Eh, Where did you hear that?" He asks before he can help himself. Who did this girl think she was anyways. Asking someone to do something like that for show. He looks to Arthur for his opinion on the matter. He wasn't sure if they should try to shoo her off or play along for their act. Some part of him was surprisingly disappointed if the former was the case. Not that he wanted to kiss Arthur again, the first time had just been so fast, taking him by surprise then it was over. He had been distracted by that harassing trio then as well. "I..I don't know. What do you think Arthur?"

"Oh, everyone's heard about you two," she said matter-of-factly. "I hear you put on quite a show two nights ago."

Arthur fidgeted, glancing between the girl and Alfred. Did Alfred want to kiss him again? He'd stolen the poor lad's first kiss; hadn't he done enough damage already? "I... Oh, hold still!" Arthur leaned up and pressed a quick, chaste kiss to his partner's cheek, withdrawing before the girl had a chance to take a picture. "There," he declared, "I've kissed him. Now if you'll excuse us, we're here to get some breakfast, not snog."

The girl seemed disappointed at having only caught their faces in close proximity to each other, rather than kissing. "What about tomorrow night?" she asked. "Will you be at Lizzie's party? Can you kiss for me there?"
 
Arthur ignored her. 'Lizzie' didn't seem to have much to do with Braginsky. Was her party important? "Come on, love. Let's get some caffeine into you," he said to Alfred. He gripped Alfred's hand and began to tug him the few steps towards the counter.

It really is too early for this, Alfred feels like slapping his forehead. Had everyone been watching them at the party?

Before he can even register what's going on again he feels something brush his cheek and then it's gone. He looks down at Arthur, eye opening a bit wider in surprise. Guess that was his answer, so why did he seem to feel so disappointed.

Then his ears perk up a bit at the mention of a party. Weren't they supposed to go to all the parties they could? He brings his free hand up to rub his eyes and is soon enough tugged off again. He gives Arthur a still sleepy look. "Hmm, should we?" He asks in relation to the party before bumping into the counter in front of him now. He shakes his head and looked up at the worker standing on the other side.

"Ah, one large coffee please." He says, free hand chasing into his pocket for his wallet to pay for it.

Arthur smiled at Alfred's sleepy clumsiness. It really was too endearing to see Alfred stumbling around and bumping into things. "You have to eat something," he chided once Alfred had placed his order. "We'll take two of those bagels, the ones with cream cheese," he added to the order. "And a tea, too." He rummaged in his bag to pull out his wallet and split the total with Alfred. 

"I'm not sure," he said softly. "Do you want to?" He assumed that 'Lizzie' was Gilbert's 'Lizzie', who seemed to be against drugs and also wanted to film them. Was it necessary to go to such a 'safe' party? If there were no drugs... Would it be a party full of gay men and strangely-obsessed girls? Arthur didn't know if he had the energy or the patience to put up with a group of squealing girls. 

"Oh? Food..okay." He agrees and pays his half of the bill. It doesn't take long for their order to be filled and Alfred is handed his coffee and a bagel. He takes a long sip of the scalding liquid and brightens up nearly immediately. He tugs on Arthur's hand to pull them over to a small table.

"Do I want to?" He asks, eyes more alert and that usual smile tugging at his face again now. "I thought we were supposed to go to all the ones we could?" Then again he got the impression that this party would be full of girls like the one they had ran into. He wasn't sure how lethal that could really be. "Then again, I guess it wouldn't be any help to us to go probably." He agrees taking a seat and leaning against the table, keeping his coffee close.

Arthur allowed himself to be pulled to the table, nibbling at his bagel on the way. "We probably shouldn't skip any until we know what goes on exactly. How about we see if there are any parties on at the same time that are more suspicious, and if not then we'll attend this one?"

He sipped at his tea then, and pulled a disgusted face. It was too weak, and the aroma seemed to be almost nonexistent. He drank it anyway, knowing that he didn't have time to find a better cup of tea at another cafe. At least Alfred seemed to be enjoying his coffee. "They'll probably ask us to kiss again," he warned teasingly. "They probably just like seeing you embarrassed. It's rather disconcerting to know that everyone is openly watching us, though."

Alfred takes a bite of his bagel finally, finding it not half bad. "Alright, I guess that's a good choice." He says nodding.

He spies Arthur face though and gives a laugh. "Not to your liking?" He ask with a grin before holding out his coffee cup. "Want to try some of mine?" He doesn't share his coffee with just anyone but he figures Arthur is a good enough friend it's alright to offer.

Now it is Alfred's turn to make a face. "Why me embarrassed!? Gosh, I didn't know girls liked watching that kind of thing anyways. I thought only perverted people at that other party got off on weird stuff like that." He hides his face behind his coffee cup pretending to take a sip. " I mean, what are we gonna do? Do we really have to kiss in front of them?"

Arthur leaned over and gave Alfred's cup a tentative sniff. Instantly he recoiled, frowning. "How can you drink that?" he asked, taking a huge whiff of the almost-tea to try and clear his nasal passages. "It smells awfully strong. I can't even stomach the weak types."

He'd tried to become a coffee addict at one point. Back in secondary school, everyone had always praised the effects of coffee and had downed it almost religiously around exam blocks. Arthur had tried to imitate them, but only ever managed to force down a single mouthful before the smell of it became too strong and made him feel ill. He honestly couldn't see how coffee could taste or smell nice to anyone. He'd stuck with his tea, no matter how uncool it had been to favour the drink at an all-boys grammar school. 

"If you haven't noticed, a lot of the girls here like to look at you. And I think that the other people wanted to watch because it was of a sexual nature. These girls, it seems that they only want to watch because we're both male." Arthur chewed the last bite of his bagel slowly, savouring the taste of the cream cheese. "You don't have to kiss me if you'd rather not. But I hope you realise that it will be seen as a public rejection. Us... 'being together' is as convenient for you as it is for me-- unless you'd like girls swarming you."

"Nah, the stronger the better." Alfred says with a laugh, holding his cup protectively. The stronger stuff kept him awake better during school days, it always had. He still drank it occasionally during his work days at the station as well.

He gives Arthur a skeptical look over the table though. "There can't be that many girls who look at me." He protests. "Not like I'm a super hunk or anything." He pokes at his glasses, especially not with these, he wants to add.

"You gotta be kidding me?" He continues. "Maybe I'm the type of guy who doesn't want to make out with his..boy friend in public in front of a bunch of girls." He complains. He doesn't know why he's making a bit deal out of it, just earlier he was hoping for another kiss. A temporary leave of sanity on his part he swears. "Besides being surrounded by girl's doesn't sound too bad." He tries to laugh at his own joke but it is obviously pained.

"You'd be surprised," Arthur muttered into his cup. Alfred obviously didn't pay enough attention to his surroundings. Girls had been eyeing the American ever since he arrived on campus, and Arthur himself had felt more than one glare being directed at his back for supposedly taking Alfred off the market. It wasn't that Alfred was godly, or anything of the sort. But he had clear, tanned skin, unmistakably masculine features, a muscular build, brilliant eyes and an air of open honesty. Girls liked that sort of thing. 

Arthur cleared his throat before his thoughts strayed dangerously. After all, it wasn't like Arthur liked that sort of thing. "I don't think you can plead modesty at this point," he said pointedly. "You did grope me in front of everyone, and I'm sure Gilbert and the rest have told everyone about our snog the other day." He couldn't really remember the details of the dare being carried out, though.  He remembered being restrained by something, and being surrounded by warmth, and Alfred's breath in his ear. But when he tried to summon up memories of actually being touched, he hit a blank wall. Which was probably for the best, really. 

Did Alfred want to be surrounded by girls? Is that what he was hinting at? "We can still do the public breakup if you want them so badly," he joked weakly, wondering if Alfred was being serious and whether it was normal to be feeling a tiny pang of hurt. 

Alfred drains the last of his coffee and turns the cup up, tilting his head back to gulp down the last bit before crumpling the paper in his hand.

He just Arthur a questioning look. He really didn't need to be reminded that he groped and felt all over the man sitting across from him. Although it hadn't been unpleasant at the time and he can still remember the sounds...He shakes his head to snap out of it.

"M-Maybe your right." He says trying to sound lighter then he felt. "It's not that big a deal. I can handle kissing again. It'll be fine."

And there is that suggestion again, that they 'break up'. He hates it more every time Arthur says it and he's starting to wonder if Arthur think he isn't doing a good job in being his boyfriend. After all how many times had he scolded he so far. Told him he wouldn't be with someone like Alfred, told him to go look at the girls instead. Maybe Alfred was getting in the way. He frowns at the thought and looks down at his empty, crushed cup rather sadly.

"Oh do cheer up," Arthur said, exasperated. He hadn't missed the way Alfred's mood had shifted, but he wasn't sure what direction it had shifted in. Was Alfred regretting losing his first kiss to Arthur? Was he thinking about those girls on the field, dressed in skimpy clothing? Arthur knew that he shouldn't be bothered, even if he was right about the American's concerns. "Wouldn't you rather a pretty bird on your arm? People won't blame you for wanting better than someone like me." He tried to say it nonchalantly, but his weak smile began to slip. "God, there we go again. Like a real couple, right?"

He gathered up the rubbish on the table and threw it away. Arthur bit his lip before hesitantly taking Alfred's hand. They had to keep up appearances, at least until Alfred decided he'd had enough and staged the break-up. "Come on," he said, "we should start heading to class."