To Serve And Protect. [R18]

Arthur chugged the water greedily, not leaving even a cup of water in the cup. "And I still say I never promised you any such thing," he shot back, pulling out some clothes and finding his discarded trousers. He checked the pockets before putting it the laundry basket and was surprised when he pulled out several folded papers. He examined them closely and suddenly felt a bit better. "Domestic abuse, huh?" he said mildly. "I forgot about that." Now that he had been reminded of it, he remembered how outraged Alfred had been to be accused of abusing him. 

"I'll be fine," he said, waving off his partner's concern. "I'll just go shower and we can go to class. Or we could wag." He didn't give Alfred a chance to reply before stumbling into the bathroom. He left the light off and showered quickly, the fragrant scents making his stomach churn. Afterwards he dressed in a sensible pair of trousers, shirt and cardigan and left the bathroom, clutching at his stomach and shielding his eyes. "Do you want breakfast?" he asked Alfred while making their beds to try and take his mind off how he was feeling. Honestly, Arthur knew that he wouldn't be able to stomach anything, possibly not even tea. 

"Noticed you haven't done anything yet either despite how grumpy you've been." Alfred says unable to hold back a smile. It does lessen however when he spots the papers. "You can throw those away you know." He says as he steps into his shoes and kneels down to tie them.

Before Alfred can ask what wagging means Arthur has shut himself up in the bathroom. So he kicks back and leans back onto the bed staring at the ceiling. After sleeping on the floor the bed does feel quite nice and he can't help but shut his eyes for just a moment. His arms Automatically reach out for something but nothing is there. "Ah..oh yeah." He mumbles to himself with a sigh. He doubted that Arthur would be in a cuddling mood again anytime soon.

He jumps as Arthur comes out of the bathroom and tries to pretend that he wasn't thinking about what he was just thinking about. "Ah, Breakfast? Do you think some food will do you any good?" He asks running a hand through his hair but not sitting up.

Arthur tried not to look too closely at the way Alfred was sprawled on his bed. "I honestly don't think I can keep anything down," Arthur said, sluggishly towelling his hair dry. "But it's better than staying cooped up in here, at any rate. Fresh air usually does me some good." Maybe he'd be able to force down a cup of tea, which would maybe help to settle his stomach. Life was full of maybes. He sighed, and made his way over to Alfred. 

Arthur's eyes had mostly adjusted to the light and though he still felt ill, he had to keep his reputation. So he jerked the pillow out from under Alfred's head and and quickly whacked him with it as hard as he could in his present state. "There," he declared woozily, "I haven't permanently injured you. That was for not stopping me from drinking, by the way." Unconsciously, he hugged the pillow to his chest as he sat at the edge of Alfred's bed. "Did we even get anywhere last night?" he asked. "Did we find anything else?" Had last night been a selfish waste of time? They needed to find the killer before anyone else wound up dead. "Oh," he said, remembering something, "did we find any more parties? 'Lizzie''s party is tonight, and at this rate we might end up going." 

"Then let's go out. If you get to feeling sick again we can always come back." Alfred reasons. He was hungry but he didn't want to drag Arthur out anywhere he didn't want to go.

When his pillow is pulled out from under him he goes to sit up only to be hit with said pillow and fall back to the mattress once again. He just continues to grin rather warmly. That had been anything but painful, it was actually more on the enduring side. "I'll be sure to stop you properly next time then." He promises sitting up fully now. He groans at the mention of their case though. "Ah, I don't think so unfortunately." He reaches over and pats Arthur on the back lightly. "It's alright man, things are just going a little slow. I'm sure they'll pick up again soon and we'll catch this guy in no time!"

He swings his feet off the bed thinking. "No other parties I'm afraid..Do you think we should go?" He asks wondering if they really were getting any closer to catch their criminal or if they were just messing around and going in circles. He sighs and before he can catch himself he leans over on Arthur's shoulder a bit, eyes drooping for a moment.

Just as fast however he shakes his head and straightens himself out. "S-Sorry, I'm a little tired still."

If lives hadn't been at stake, Arthur  might have been content to just stay there with Alfred. He might have openly acknowledged his like of every little movement the American made, every casual touch, every kind word. He shook his head slightly to bury the thought. Lives were at stake, and he'd been selfish enough to go drink himself into a stupor, all because he'd kissed his partner and liked it. He wasn't supposed to enjoy any of what he'd done, with anyone. The moment he enjoyed it rather than thinking of those things as a necessity, he became nothing more than a common whore, something unworthy of Alfred's respect. 

"We chose to take this route," Arthur reminded the American quietly, "so we can't leave out any possibilities. Until we know for sure that 'Lizzie' has nothing to do with all this, we'll treat her parties as suspicious."

Arthur had to force himself not to flinch when Alfred suddenly leaned on his shoulder. "T-that's quite all right," he stammered, "I'm also still quite tired." Thankfully, Alfred moved away quite soon and Arthur could relax. He didn't want to make things awkward between them just because Alfred was awfully nice to him. 

His phone rang then, and Arthur dug through his satchel to find the buzzing device. He answered it and listened intently, head cocked slightly to the side. "Oh," he said, "oh, yes, I see. Er-- should we-- yes. All right." He hung up and looked at Alfred, brows furrowed.

"Our witness in in the hospital," he announced, rubbing his eyes tiredly. "Drug overdose. Looks like we'll be going after Braginsky's boyfriend for now."

"Alright." Alfred agrees easily enough. He knows that they have a duty to do and he does feel like they've been shirking on it a bit since the day before. "We'll cover all the bases and get the job done!" There is that spark again. His hero mentality along with his desire to help everyone to the point that he'll take on more then he can handle. "We can both get some sleep tonight after we're done."

When the phone rang Alfred was a little surprised, weren't they supposed to check in with the station later this week? Why would they be calling now? He could tell it was something work related at least. He didn't think it would be bad new though until Arthur's expression changed and he hung up. "Oh no!..I mean, is he going to be alright?"

He hated to think that anything would happen to the kid. He had promised that he would be put under some kind of protection after all. It..almost made him mad. He balled one of his hands into a fist on the bed. "Dang it ..I..We need to find a way to get to him somehow then. All we've heard so far are things about him, never actually seen him." He's a bit frustrated but he tries to hide it. Behinds his glasses his own eyebrows are creased in worry.

He does the best he can think to do and stands up. "Well, we can't sit around here all day..."

Arthur shrugged with a sigh. "All they told me is that it's a local recreational drug, and he took it willingly-- or unknowingly. If it was one of the drugs that Gilbert was talking about, then we absolutely must find Braginsky's boyfriend. The doctors have pumped the lad's stomach, they're just waiting to see just how much has already entered his bloodstream."

Arthur just felt tired. Exhausted. Damn that American, and his way of making Arthur feeling ashamed of everything he had ever done. Would it really have been so hard let Arthur to give himself to Braginsky and become closer to him that way? But no, that wasn't morally right.  Fuck that. But it was too late to change how things had played out, so Arthur let out a frustrated growl and rubbed at his temples. 

"Well Braginsky is your friend now," he said steadily. "He doesn't think much of me, so you'll have to approach him." He took a moment to repack his satchel. "Well, let's be off, then."

"I just hope he's alright..Maybe we should go see him when he get's better." Alfred wonders aloud. Because Alfred feels guilty that he got hurt. That he couldn't prevent it somehow.

Alfred runs a hand over his face to concentrate. "I..need coffee." He says, grabbing his things which include Arthur's hand as he tugs them both out the door. "We can stop by that coffee stand from yesterday and then go to class if you want. Err..I can go with you to your class maybe since that was were that jerk was last time. Seems like the best way to track him down right now at least." Alfred grumbles at the friend comment but doesn't add anything else.

He looks back at Arthur to see how he's doing. He has to remind himself after all that the other had been rather violently ill just a few hours ago. He slows down his walking just a bit trying to be considerate as he realizes he had been in some sort of a rush before.

Arthur wanted to be annoyed with his partner. He wanted to want to jerk his hand away from Alfred's as the American dragged him out of the door. But even though he was cranky and hungover, the simple touch of Alfred's fingers entwined with his made him relax. They could do this. Even if Arthur couldn't use his own methods, he wasn't alone this time. Things wouldn't end in disaster like last time. 

Alfred was going too fast and Arthur was struggling to keep up. Not only was Alfred taller and miraculously not hung over, he was also pulling them ever closer to the source of coffee and the smell was making Arthur's stomach lurch. Alfred seemed to realise that he was going too fast and slowed down, but it didn't stop the smell of coffee from becoming stronger as they approached. 

Finally he snatched his hand away from Alfred and clapped it over his mouth, staggering towards the stone edging around one of the gardens. "Yes, yes," he gasped as he seated himself unsteadily, "do whatever you like. Just-- Go get your coffee. But don't bring it here." He ducked his head between his knees and breathed deeply, trying to curb the churning in his stomach. 

When Arthur pulls his hand away Alfred comes to almost a stop. He thought Arthur was going to be sick again but fortunately that wasn't the case.. at least not yet. He gives a glance between his partner an the coffee stand. He doesn't want to leave Arthur alone but..

Alfred tries to make it quick as he runs to the stand an gets in line. It doesn't take long an Alfred is on his way back. He doesn't have a cup of any kind in his hand though, just a donut in his mouth an a small bag in his hands. He walks over an sits down by Arthur.

He sets the bag down in front of his partner. "I got one for you. Whenever you start to feel better you'll be hungry I bet..." He was an airhead sometimes but he wasn't stupid. He knew the smell was getting to his partner so he bought something else so that he could keep close to him without making him sick.

Arthur gave a tired sigh as Alfred set the little bag down in front of him. "Let's just get away from the coffee," he said, almost pleadingly. He'd gotten his stomach under control for the time being but wouldn't be able to keep that control for much longer if he stayed near the coffee carts.  Arthur glanced up then and noted with surprise that Alfred hadn't bought himself any coffee. "Don't you need some?" he asked vaguely as he clambered to his feet, "caffeine, I mean." 

As soon as his partner was standing Arthur clutched at his arm, physically feeling a bit better but subconsciously wanting the comfort of Alfred's touch. He directed them towards his next class, one that he would be sharing with Braginsky. Even if Alfred desperately craved coffee, at the moment Arthur would probably get sick just from smelling it on the American's breath. It was awfully nice of him to give something like that up, though.  

They seated themselves towards the back of the lecture theatre. Arthur could clearly see the back of Braginsky's head from their location. The Russian was sitting about three rows in front of them, but whoever were seated on either side of him weren't tall enough to be made out easily. The lecturer walked in and began his talk and, knowing that Braginsky probably wouldn't approach them until the lecture was over, Arthur allowed himself to doze, resting his head on Alfred's shoulder. 

Alfred stood up once again, putting an arm around his partner to steady him. He shakes his head at the question and points to the donut in his mouth, trying to talk and eat through it at the same time. "Nah, there's enough sugar in this I'll be fine. I'm more worried about you."

When they got to class Alfred settles down into his seat. He doesn't even know what class it technically is and doesn't really care. Ivan is in the room and they need to talk to him. He keeps an eye on the tall Russian not really paying attention to the instructor at all.

He doesn't mind Arthur leaning on him. This way he feels like he can be a little more reliable anyways. He slips an arm around Arthur's shoulders, knowing that it is unlikely that he will protest right now. It makes Alfred feel nice, keeping Arthur close. Knowing that in the eyes of the public he is Alfred's to take care of and no one elses.

Somewhere halfway through the lecture Alfred starts to fall asleep himself. His eyes drooping and head rolling forward dangerously before it jerks up trying to stay awake. He had to catch Ivan before he left the class when it was over.

About three-quarters of the way through the lecture, Arthur was awoken by his satchel slipping off his lap and hitting the floor with a solid thump. The lecturer ignored the interruption, but several of the other students turned around curiously, Braginsky included. Arthur blinked back at them sleepily, loathe to move from his comfortable position. He saw Braginsky looking at them, then leaning down to talk to whoever was sitting on his left side.

 Arthur sighed softly and, keeping his head on Alfred's shoulder, gingerly took a nibble out of whatever Alfred had bought him. His stomach rebelled slightly but soon settled, so Arthur took a somewhat bigger bite and was pleased to see that he could keep it down. Then he hit the icing, and gagged softly as the sickly sweetness flooded his mouth suddenly. It wasn't that he disliked sweet food; on the contrary, he enjoyed sweets very much indeed. But he liked to have fair warning, thank you very much. He primly slid the rest of the doughnut back into the paper bag and slipped it into his satchel. Maybe he'd eat it later. 

When the end of the lecture came around, Braginsky indeed approached them. Arthur looked up to see the massive Russian calmly walking against the crowd to reach them. Iin no time at all, Braginsky was standing in front of them. "Friend Alfred!" he chirped, bouncing on the balls of his feet. Arthur instinctively pressed a little closer to his partner. 

Alfred was fully asleep by the time the class ended. What startled him awake was Ivan's voice. His head, that had been leaning down onto his chest shot up and Alfred whined as his neck hurt. He adjusted his glasses that had nearly fallen off and looked around for the source of the noise to make sure that he hadn't just been dreaming about the tall man.

When he saw Ivan in front of them, he shifted a bit to move his sleep numbed body and turned to look at Arthur who seemed to be still attached to him. He kept his arm around him, addressing Ivan. "Hey man. How's life? err especially with that boyfriend of yours?" He asks. He would stand up but either of them seemed to want to move from their chairs, which suited him fine for the moment. He brushed off a few crumbs on his shoulder as he waited for a response, glancing happily over at Arthur. Good, he had eaten at least little then.

Arthur scowled at Ivan took a seat next to him, since Alfred was sitting at the end of the row. He briefly wondered if there were any coffee cups still lying around the lecture theatre; his stomach was churning again, though not as badly as earlier. 

"I tried to do as you said," Braginsky sighed, leaning on the armrest separating him from Arthur. "I tried to protect him and make him trust me. But he only got suspicious. You don't give good advice, friend Alfred."

The lecturer and most of the other students had left by then. Only a few stragglers remained, glancing curiously up at the three of them. Braginsky waved to them and they blanched, quickly turning and hurrying away. 

"He does not appreciate when I try to help him. He thinks that I want him to do something in return. But... I only want him to care for me, yes? I try not to force him but I am not happy."

Braginsky sounded... Strangely reasonable today, Arthur decided. He shifted slightly in his seat, still leaning against Alfred. "Have you thought that maybe he just isn't the one?" he asked mildly, fiddling with the straps on his satchel. "Maybe you can find someone better."

Braginsky shook his head. "There is none better," he said. "You have not met him. He is the one I want."

Arthur glanced at his partner. Was this the opening they'd been waiting for? They could gently nudge Braginsky into setting up some kind of meeting between the four of them. But it had to be Alfred. For some reason, Alfred had gained the Russian's trust and Braginsky would look upon suggestions from him as genuine. Arthur tried to convey his thoughts with the look, hoping that Alfred understood. 

"Ah no, I'm pretty sure I give good advice." Alfred replies, keeping a close hold on Arthur just in case. "Sounds like he doesn't get it." Alfred makes a face in thought for a moment. "You just gotta keep up the work, take things slow....Have you told him why your doing this?"

Alfred a bit awkward. How had he become the relationship councilor when he'd never even been in a relationship. Maybe his advice wasn't that good after all..Then again he had to keep a straight face. His ego wouldn't let him admit that.

He continues to listen and sees that look that Arthur gives him. He has an idea already growing in his head. He tilts his head a bit towards Arthur so that they're leaning on one another. "Hey, What about trying something romantic. We could have a double date. That way I'd be there to couch you along so everything goes just right!"

This plan was brilliant Alfred thought. This way he could have a motive for being there and be able to observe Ivan's boyfriend without being suspicious. He looks down at Arthur hoping to get an approving look.

"Well, no," Braginsky admitted. "But we were placed together and told to keep an eye on each other-- should it not be obvious?"

The entire situation was actually very funny. Alfred looked like he was trying very hard to give good advice, even though the most he was involved in was this strange fake relationship with his colleague. Arthur wanted to laugh, until he heard Alfred's suggestion. 

"A double date?" he repeated, mildly horrified. 

"A double date?" Braginsky echoed, his face lighting up in delight. 

Was Alfred insane? He wanted to go on a double date with a man he wasn't even dating, plus two suspects? And what if Braginsky expected them to demonstrate everything for him? Arthur wouldn't mind, but it would surely scar Alfred for life! Alfred didn't like men. Alfred was normal, he liked women. But Arthur knew that they had take any chance they could get to try and approach the mysterious boyfriend. 

He tuned back into the conversation to find Braginsky chattering happily at Alfred. It sounded like they were discussing where to go, and when. Which meant that Arthur automatically got the girl's role. 

He shot Alfred an exasperated, yet slightly approving look. They needed to do this. And no, he wasn't the least bit excited by the prospect of going on a date with Alfred, no matter how much his traitorous mind cheered. Arthur felt his cheeks flush as he looked up at Alfred again. Not at all.  

Places together? That was a funny way a saying it, but Alfred would have plenty of time to look into that later when they were on their investigation date as he so chose to call it in his head.

He was glad that Ivan seemed to take to his idea so quickly. It would have been a pain to try and convince him if he wasn't. Instead he only had to work out a place and time.

Arthur didn't seem as excited as he had hoped he'd be. He'd been hoping for a bit of praise but he supposed that was going too far. At least he hadn't outright objected the idea. Although he might do that once they were alone again.

"Can, I get your number then?" Alfred asks Ivan. "It'll be easier to get in touch with each other that way." He says not mentioning that it might also help keep track of him when they needed to know where he was. He let's go of Arthur's shoulders long enough to reach over to pat Ivan on his, trying to be friendly and encouraging.

"Yes, yes," Braginsky agreed eagerly, "of course, here." He rattled off his number. "We can do it as soon as possible, yes? Tonight?"

Tonight? Well, it meant that they didn't need to go to the girls' party. Arthur leaned on Alfred's arm. "Yes, love. Let's go tonight. You better pick somewhere that will impress... What did you say his name was?"

"Yao," Braginsky supplied immediately. "He is small and cute like you, but less offensive."

Arthur scowled. Hadn't this man wanted to bed him just a day or two ago? What was the purpose of all of these insults? "Yes. Yao." he repeated stiffly. "Pick somewhere to impress Yao." And me, he silently challenged. Impress me so that I can get a taste of what I'll be missing when some floozy finally catches your eye.   Then he inwardly berated himself for even thinking along those lines. He didn't want to date Alfred. He was just... Starved of attention. Yes, that must have been it. He just liked having someone pay him so much attention. 

"Where should we go? When should we meet?" Braginsky was definitely excited. He was practically bursting with ideas and enthusiasm. "A movie? A picnic? Dinner?"

Alfred takes down the number in his phone nodding as Ivan talks. At least before he hears his suggestion about as soon as possible. Hearing Arthur's encouragement of the time frame though he agrees. "Tonight? Ah well, alright. It might be hard finding a place that's not booked up for tonight but we definitely should do dinner."

Alfred had to bite his lip at the comment Ivan made to Arthur. Really? Arthur was the more offensive one, when this boyfriend of his sounded mean already and they hadn't even met him yet. Alfred felt the need to stick up for Arthur. Not that he was actually his boyfriend or anything but still. He wraps both of his arms around him, bringing him close to his chest.

"So dinner, definitely and what else? Oh we could go to the drive in! I haven't been to one in forever and they're always fun." He suggests, looking rather excited himself now. His heart was practically thumping at the thought. Going on a date, even though it was for work. It was still a date though. His face flushes at the thought and he tried to squash it down.

Braginsky nodded in agreement at Alfred's mention of booking dinner.  "A nice dinner," he smiled. "A romantic dinner, yes?"

Arthur felt his partner wrap both arms around him and tug him to the American's side. He shifted uncomfortably as the armrest dug into his side, but made no attempt to escape Alfred's arms. 

"Yes, a movie. Movies are good for dates." It was strange to see Braginsly so excited. Arthur had almost begun to think of him as the prime suspect, but now it seemed like the hulking Russian was just another lovestruck fool. 

A drive in movie, though? He hadn't been to a movie for a very long time, let alone a drive in. It would just be Alfred and him, alone in a car, with the windows wound up... He shook his head, cheeks flushed. This was for work. It wasn't a real date or anything of the sort. 

Finally Braginsky made his exit after promising to meet them at  five thirty in front of the main gate. Arthur turned to his partner awkwardly. "A date, huh..." he said faintly. "You'd better go make reservations."

"Mhmm." Alfred nods humming. " A classic diner and a movie. Would knock anyone in the right mind off their feet. He'll be all yours in no time.' Alfred sounded more confident then he really was.

When Ivan had left Alfred slumped forwards against Arthur's shoulder. What had he just gotten himself into. "Looks like we're going to have to hurry and get ready. Five isn't too long from now." His voice muffled by the fabric of the others shirt.

He looks up and nods. "Yeah, I know. It'll be a miracle if I can find a place on such short notice." He groaned. "Will you help me?" He asks hopefully glancing at Arthur throwing a smile his way. " I don't have much experience with what's fancy anyways."

Arthur shrugged. It wasn't like he went out much at all. "We can have a look online," he suggested. "I have my laptop, so we can go back to the dormitory and search for any nice places nearby." He pulled out the nibbled on-doughnut and took another bite out of the plain bread, avoiding the icing. His stomach seemed to have settled, so they hurried back to their dormitory room. 

Once there, the two of them sat down and had a look at nearby restaurants. "... I don't think a buffet is a good idea," Arthur said seriously. "But we also don't know how much Braginsky is willing to spend. This place here, It's fancy and has good reviews. The menu seems to have quite a large selection too. But it's quite expensive. And since you and Braginsky should be paying..."

Obviously he was the girl, the bottom in this relationship. Well, according to observers, anyway. That meant that the top, the man, Alfred, was expected to pay for fancy dates. But he didn't want to be taking advantage of Alfred, especially since this wasn't a date, so he quickly added, "of course, I'll pay you back at the end of the night after they've left."

Alfred looked over Arthur's shoulder as they looked for restaurants on the laptop. Alfred really wanted this to go well. If it did, that could mean a huge step in their investigation. "Man,...you've thought of everything." Alfred comments as he listens to him rattle off things.

Eventually Alfred moves going to look through his clothes. "If it's fancy we should dress up too right?" He asks, not wanting to look like a fool but also not wanting to look silly either. He pulls out a button up shirt and holds it up to his chest turning to Arthur. "How does this look?...and don't worry about paying me back. I'll cover it." He would say that Arthur could return the favor next time but who knows if there ever would be a next time..He kind of hoped there would be, if all went well tonight. With Ivan of course, not because he wanted to make a move on Arthur or anything. No..Arthur would never have any of that. Not even if Alfred had realized so much since they had started working together.

"That shirt is good," Arthur nodded. "The restaurant isn't fancy enough for a suit, and you shouldn't need a tie either, though you can wear one if you'd like. Put on a proper pair of trousers though." He swapped his cardigan for a cream-coloured woollen pullover before jotting down the phone number of the restaurant. "Go have a look at movies and locations of drive-in cinemas."  

While Alfred was doing that, Arthur called the restaurant and made a reservation. Luckily a few people had cancelled just that morning, so he was able to secure a table for four. After he hung up, Arthur wondered if it would be bad to pretend, just for tonight, that this was an actual date and not just for work like all of his outings since high school had been. Was it selfish of him for wanting to enjoy this? But no, they had to focus on Braginsky and his boyfriend. Even if he wished that this was just the two of them, that Alfred was doing this willingly and happily... "No," he said. "I'll pay you back. It's not like it's an actual... Date..." he trailed off wistfully. "R-right?"