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

Arthur merely bristled at how oblivious Alfred seemed to be. He muttered to himself, glaring at the headboard behind his boyfriend. At the explanation, at least the sinking feeling in his stomach disappeared. He grudgingly let himself be pulled upwards to be kissed.

“You just spoke to your mother whilst I had your dick in my hands? Good Lord, Alfred…” he sighed, albeit relieved. He irritatingly found himself beginning to laugh a bit. “Bastard,” he hissed, trying to stay angry at him for interrupting something that Arthur was doing purely to please him.

He turned his head to look at Alfred more closely, considering the question silently for a few moments. Eventually, he gave a small nod. He leaned in a little, pecking him slowly on the lips.

“But if you do something like that again, Alfred, then so-help-me, I will bite you,” he warned.

Arthur pushed the American on to his back again, leaving it there as he descended to his hips again where he started to stroke him back to full hardness. Soon, he pressed both of his hands to Alfred’s hips again as he, much less carefully than he had been before, engulfed him in his mouth again. He sucked at Alfred’s cock noisily as he bobbed his head up and down. It wasn’t so much about being nice now, it was much more about just getting it over with. He was still pissed off with Alfred, after all.

Alfred laughed a bit at that also, just smiling in good humour as he kissed his lover close. Okay so maybe he should have just turned off his phone but he just acted without really thinking through the consequences. Instead he returned the peck again and he lightly mumbled against his lips. "Mm...sorry. I promise it won't happen again." He said, smiling slightly though he knew that it wouldn't make Arthur automatically happier.

He could feel just how much quicker and rougher Arthur was than before and he let out a low moan, gasping in hearty approval. He shifted around more comfortably on the bed as he grasped his hair once more though he tried to be gentle with it.

"A-Ah...nn...fuck...yes..." He gasped out and while he definitely didn't want Arthur to be angry at him, he would definitely make it up later for him. Maybe take him out to a nice dinner or something along those lines. Show that he really did appreciate the other's efforts on trying to make him feel good.

"Oh...nn...Arthur...your mouth is so good." He whispered, heart pounding against his chest as he tried to push the thought of his mother down at the back of his mind.

The Brit let Alfred’s cock fall from his lips completely with a moan. He stroked him quickly with his hand, giving his throat and lungs a break from such activities. He pursed his lips, looking up at Alfred with predatory eyes.

His lips pillowed against the head again, collecting the pre-cum that formed there. He moved his remaining hand holding Alfred’s hip to squeeze at his balls, gently tugging at them as he continued to pump at his cock.

“Mmm, then let your neighbours know,” he chuckled darkly at what Alfred said, challenging him. He ducked his head again, sliding Alfred back into his mouth again, just sucking as his tongue slid over the vein in his cock, playing with the foreskin. He hummed, giving Alfred a look that said that he was allowed to be more active.

Fortunately enough for him, Alfred hadn't had any complaints about being too loud with sex and he was certain that the landlord wouldn't kick him out for the first time. Maybe he didn't have to be that loud though the way that Arthur was using his mouth, he probably wouldn't have any other choice but to let the whole damned neighbourhood know that he was receiving a pretty damn good blow job.

Normally Alfred wouldn't do it but he could see the challenge that Arthur was posing and so he instead smirked. He bucked his hips into the other's mouth, knowing that he was allowed to be more active and he began a slow pace in fucking the other's mouth though he was still rather gentle about it. He didn't want to hurt Arthur's throat or make it raw.

"A-Ah...fuck...!" He soon raised his voice just a bit more. "God...A-Arthur...yes! Your mouth is so good!" He moaned loudly, hips jerking a bit more into Arthur's mouth. He wasn't intimidated, he wasn't gong to back down especially after a challenge. "Yes! I love it when your mouth is around my juicy, large cock!" He nearly yelled, smirking down at the man though his breaths were ragged and his whole face flushed.

Arthur stayed as still as he could, taking to bracing himself by placing his hands astride of Alfred’s hips as he thrust upwards into his mouth. He closed his eyes and focused on licking when he could and swallowing occasionally. It hurt, of course it did. It wasn’t pleasant to have a dick shoved down his through (particularly one as large as Alfred’s). But he dealt with it, letting his throat and mouth be open and lax for Alfred to fuck to his heart’s desire.

He moaned quietly at Alfred’s words, re-opening his eyes briefly to meet his gaze. He would have returned the smirk if he could. Instead, he hoped that the warmth in his eyes would be enough. He closed his eyes again shortly afterwards.

Pretty much as soon as Alfred had shouted, there was a knock at the door. Arthur didn’t care who it was, he wasn’t about to let Alfred go that easily. He looked up at him again, the look in his eyes hopefully reminding him of the warning he’d given only minutes ago. It was probably just one of the neighbours, anyway. For good measure, he pressed his hands against Alfred’s chest, holding him down.

Alfred really didn't want to hurt Arthur and so he kept his movements gentle as he fucked the other's mouth though he had to admit that it felt really, really good to have that tight warmth all around him. It kind of made him want to go somewhere else and pleasure Arthur as well but he knew that this was mainly about him so he took what he had.

"G-God...yes!" He moaned more as his back arched a bit though he couldn't help but frown when when he heard a knock at the door. He was about to go and answer it but he soon looked back at Arthur and remembered the other's warning. Honestly, he worried more about his dick than the person at the door so he just smiled and let out another loud moan in approval.

"J-Just a bit more..!" He groaned loudly, letting himself be held down though there was a more insistent knocking at the door now.

"Sweetheart? Alfred! Answer the door, honey!" His mother called out. Alfred's eyes widened at her voice and he seemed a bit at a loss of what to do.

Arthur was beginning to try and coax Alfred just that little bit further to climax when the knocking at the door persisted. Arthur only heard the knocking and not the voice but he felt Alfred tense up beneath him. Finally, Arthur ran out of patience. He struggled to get Alfred’s hands off of him and pulled away with a cough. His lungs were hurting from lack of oxygen. It really pissed him off to think that Alfred cared more about who was at the door that Arthur deliberately pulling himself through pain to pleasure him.

“Just go and fucking answer it, Alfred,” he growled, getting off of the bed. “Don’t keep them waiting,” he rolled his eyes, getting up to get himself a drink of water. Despite how gentle Alfred had been in comparison to what could have happened, his throat was still sore. He went straight to the kitchen, disregarding the fact that he was half-hard and shirtless. He didn’t care. Why should he? If it was a neighbour, Arthur would be able to outsmart them. He was good at being bitchy if he wanted to be.

Alfred really did feel bad because he wanted to continue it but this was his mother and father. He really couldn't just ignore them. Swallowing thickly, he muttered an apology before he quickly tugged on his boxers and trousers back on, heart pounding against his chest. Oh God...he was unbearably hard. He was frustrated and why did his mother come so early? He swore that she would at least wait until the afternoon rather than the morning!

Yet at the same time, he was put off by Arthur's mood when it came to his own mother and instead he sighed. Grabbing a shirt as well, he tried to make himself look nice before going to the door and opening it.

Alfred's mother hardly seemed phased by anything though Alfred's father was rather different, instead glancing into the flat with narrowed eyes, wondering just who Alfred was with. He most certainly heard Alfred's voice, it was hard to mistake it as anyone else's.

Alfred's mother, Mary Jones, was a beautiful woman and it was obvious that Alfred got most of his looks from her. She had lovely wavy golden locks and bright, wide blue eyes and a sweet smile on her lips though age was beginning to settle in though still rather unnoticeable. She was a kind woman, gorgeous in almost every aspect and her accent light with a southern drawl. A true southern belle in a way. Alfred's father, David Jones, was quite different though with darker hair slicked back yet tall and handsome. His features were sharper and he seemed to be a serious man though one with a good heart.

Mary was more than happy to cup her son's cheeks into her hands as she reached up to kiss it. "Oh Alfred! I've missed you so much. How have things been going?" She asked as she stepped into the flat and Alfred sighed, stepping off to the side to let his parents in. His mother was a kind woman indeed but she was rather prying his life. She soon caught sight of Arthur at the kitchen and she raised her eyebrows for a moment before seeming to accept his presence though it was hard to tell just what she was thinking. In fact, Alfred was rather nervous.

"Who is this fine fellow?" She asked curiously. Was he a roommate of sorts, maybe a friend? Or goodness...she clearly heard Alfred...oh my...

Arthur washed his hands and gargled out the unpleasant taste in his mouth. He poured himself a drink of water. He heard a woman’s voice at the door and slowly began to realise that it was Alfred’s mother. Shit. He wasn’t even clothed. He hadn’t even showered or shaved yet. Well, this was going to go horribly. He could be polite – he was English, after all. Keep calm and carry on. And God, had he earlier told Alfred to lie back and think of England…?

He heard them approaching and willed for his own erection to disappear as he drunk from his glass. He turned to greet them as he was mentioned. As he turned to face Alfred’s parents (he had only just realised that Alfred’s father was there, too), he put on a small smile. Only Alfred would be able to see that it was fake; it was pretty convincing to most.

“I’m Arthur Kirkland,” he cleared his throat after hearing how low his voice was. He held out his hand to shake, making a mental note that he was glad that he’d washed them. “Pleased to meet you. I take it that you are his,” he glanced at Alfred, “parents?” Hopefully his accent would charm them somewhat.

Mary was pretty. She was so similar to Alfred that it was hard not to think so. David was the epitome of ‘the mysterious, dark-haired type’, it seemed. He reminded Arthur of his own father. He flashed him a brief smile, trying to be polite.

Before they could get too much of a good look at him, he folded his arms across his chest, somewhat sheepish.

“My apologies, I’ll get dressed.” He made his way past them and Alfred, giving the man a somewhat exasperated look that he was sure Alfred’s parents wouldn’t see before heading into the bedroom to freshen up a bit. He was certain that Alfred’s parents were used to seeing Alfred in his pyjamas. And they were his parents, whom he had invited over – Alfred was more than capable of dealing with them until Arthur was dressed, as far as he was concerned.

He changed into some black jeans (and black socks to match) and a red jumper. He rarely wore red because of the symbolism that went with it but today, the blood red would be fitting for the mood he was in with Alfred. It was partially why he'd left Alfred to explain his own presence. He wanted him to suffer; but he also didn't want to get him in trouble with his parents. He picked up his clothes littering the floor and placed them in the dirty laundry basket. He then fished out Alfred's phone.

After a sprits of deodorant, he was at least a little more acceptable to appear in public and exited out into the sitting room.

“Sorry about that,” he said to Alfred’s parents. He held out the phone to Alfred as he came to stand next to him, silently. In a way, it was Arthur’s way of saying that the reinforcements had arrived.

Alfred actually did quite regret that he didn't warn Arthur beforehand that his parents were coming earlier (well actually he did but he didn't know that they were going to be coming back this early). Though to be fair, he wasn't as ready either and he looked like a miserable mess considering that he hadn't showered or shaved either. In fact, the moment that he ran his hand along the side of his face, he could feel the light hair on his face already. Just lovely.

Admittedly though, he was slightly turned away from his parents so he could hide the erection that was straining in his trousers. Fuck, that was extremely uncomfortable though he just tried to think of the more unpleasant things in order to lessen it. Though to be fair, the whole entire interruption was enough of a turn off for him in reality.

Mary simply smiled and she shook Arthur's hand before David did the same, his grasp firm and a small smile on his own lips. In fact, they seemed rather interested by the English accent that the other was sporting. "It's a pleasure to meet you too, Arthur. Yes, we are. I'm Mary Jones and this is my husband David." Mary answered as he straightened out her dress, brushing off the imaginary dirty from it.

Alfred's mother really was a nice looking woman though her age was just starting to catch up to her. She shared so much with Alfred that it was quite interesting but in fact, she shared even more with Alfred's brother Matthew, including an almost fragile looking side of her. If anything, Alfred looked far from fragile. David could be considered as an epitome of the 'dark-haired and mysterious type' but Alfred was completely aware that he wasn't all that mysterious in familiar company. He was a loving father who had enjoyed going out and playing sports with his sons, taking them around the small Virginian town and the like but he knew when to discipline them as well if they were misbehaving.

Which Alfred always was the one getting punished, unfortunately.

When Arthur finally disappeared into the bedroom, Alfred's parents stares immediately redirected towards him in an almost questioning fashion though they didn't outright ask. They really didn't have to. Alfred knew right away to start explaining himself out.

"Oh...um...he's a close friend of mine actually!" Alfred gave a large smile, cheeks a bit red when he thought just how close Arthur was. "He's living with me for a while until we can find him a place again." Okay, so he wasn't necessarily lying about that but his parents seemed even more confused now. He really was struggling to find the right words to explain Arthur's presence but he was rather relieved to find Arthur back at his side.

...Was he wearing red? He never wore red.

Taking the phone in hand, Alfred just smiled at his parents. "Do you guys want some coffee? It must have been a long trip all the way from Virginia." He said.

"Of course, Alfred." David politely accepted and Mary nodded as well so Alfred quickly got up and headed towards the kitchen to start making them coffee. He desperately needed a drink also. He motioned for Arthur to come with him into the kitchen and the moment he stepped in, he swallowed thickly.

"Arthur...look...I'm sorry. I didn't know they were going to come this early." He whispered as he started to make the coffee.

Arthur arched a thick eyebrow as Alfred gestured for him to follow. He flashed Alfred’s parents an apologetic look before following the dolt into the kitchen. He instantly began to frown up at him, arms folded across his chest.

“Yes, well…” he struggled to think of something witty to retort and instead just sighed. “It can’t be helped. If you really didn’t know, then there isn’t a lot that we can do about it. I’ll behave.” Arthur was currently staring at the floor as if it was indulging him in a much more interesting conversation than Alfred was.

It was strange to remember that even Alfred had parents – especially when Arthur had such an awful relationship with his own parents. It was almost unimaginable that Alfred would also have such terrible creatures in his life. When he was sure that Alfred wasn’t looking, he glanced up at him and examined his face sceptically for a few moments.

“Look, Alfred… why don’t you go and get dressed? You’ve even forgotten to put on your bloody glasses. I’m surprised you can see anything,” he tried not to sound as though he cared too much (and failed). “I’ll give them the coffee and talk to them for a bit.” He paused and then added to save face: “But you owe me.”

Arthur wasn’t going to sugar-coat himself, though. He wouldn’t lie about himself to Alfred’s parents.

Alfred was actually a bit nervous about Arthur's reaction. He really, really didn't want him to be angry with him. Not over his parents nonetheless. They ran on their own agenda and he really couldn't do anything about it. It wasn't as if they were doing anything wrong by visiting their own son during the weekend and so he was relieved that Arthur seemed to understand that at the very least. It really was quite different from Arthur's own relationship with his parents. With Alfred's own, he truly did love them and did have a good time with them though he found his parents to be a bit too...well...always being there at times. At times he wanted to have his own sense of independence and so when he went into the working world, he was glad to be given that opportunity.

He started making the coffee, just glancing over at Arthur before he smiled a bit to himself. He really, really was thankful that despite his parents cutting in on an very unfortunate time that Arthur was still understanding, though he did have to owe him for it. Alfred couldn't help but laugh a bit to himself. "Of course I can see!" He proclaimed. "Just not way too well but I'm not that blind." He assured before nodding and quickly glancing over at the sitting room. He couldn't really see his parents and they seemed to focused on looking at the pictures that Alfred had around the house.

So he quickly snuck in a kiss on the corner of Arthur's lips. "Thank you, Arthur." He whispered. "I definitely owe you." And with that, he headed towards the bedroom to get himself ready, going through his daily process of cleaning himself up (though he tried to speed it up so Arthur wouldn't be stuck with his parents.)

Arthur just grunted in response to the kiss. “Don’t take too long and wear your sodding glasses. You have them for a reason,” he rolled his eyes and picked up the cups of coffee, careful not to spill them as he headed back into the sitting room. He carefully placed the mugs on the coffee table and hung at the side, trying to seem as casual as he could.

“So, Alfred mentioned that you’d come up from Virginia? Which route did you take?” Of course, Arthur had no idea of what he was talking about but it was certainly a way to make conversation, manly conversation that Alfred’s father would understand. “Unless you flew? American planes are absolutely excellent. I just arrived back from Australia a few days ago,” yesterday, “and I have to say that it was much better than any airline I’ve flown on before,” he grinned. What a total load of shit he was spewing.

Good Lord, he was awful at making small talk. Hopefully they’d just ask him menial questions about England and he’d be safe. He could talk about his home country with ease (although he was pretty sure that it would give him the urge to drink and mope).

Alfred just grinned at that and he laughed a bit. "Don't worry, I'll make sure to put them on." Though admittedly on the way to the bedroom, he did hit his shoulder against the doorframe, embarrassingly enough. While he definitely wasn't blind to his obstacles, he just...well...okay. So maybe he was a bit blind but it wasn't really all that bad!

David raised his eyebrows at that and he grinned a bit, shaking his head slightly. "Is that so? I know that domestic flights can be rather tedious at times." He said, knowing very well from experience. "We took a car here though. It was around a six hour drive so there were many routes we took." He murmured, still gazing over Arthur and just observing him. What a rather...interesting man. David seemed to be more questioning about Arthur himself than Mary, who immediately doted on his accent.

"Are you English, dear?" Mary asked with a small smile. "I adore England! We were actually going to move there when Al was young but David was still in the airforce at that time!" She said, humming pleasantly to herself. In a way, she could tell that Arthur was maybe straining a bit too much with a conversation and maybe this would help him talk about something more familiar.

If he was even from England.

It seemed as though they could see straight through his false politeness. Bollocks.

“I was in business class, so I suppose that I must have been lucky?” A twenty four hour flight was not lucky in any way, shape or form no matter where you sat on a plane as far as Arthur was concerned. “Ah, I see,” was all he said in response to David’s last answer. He didn’t feel particularly comfortable under his gaze; it was as though the man had his gaydar on and was trying to mentally figure out Arthur.

He swallowed thickly. Thank God for Mary.

“Yes, I am,” he smiled as charmingly as he could at her, trying not to look as tired as he felt. British charm was popular in the States, wasn’t it? “Really?” he raised his eyebrows. Finally something he was relatively interested in. Had Alfred of moved to the UK, they might never have met. Or perhaps they would have done, but whilst Arthur was still with all of his stoner friends from university?

“May I ask which part of England?” The north and the south divide was extremely prominent in the UK. It pissed Arthur off mercilessly but he knew that there was little that he could personally do about it. “I lived in Winchester whilst I was growing up,” he then realised that they wouldn’t know where that was. “But I was in London before I came here. If you haven’t been, it’s definitely worth visiting. It rivals New York, in my opinion.” He loved London.

David was still rather skeptical of Arthur, especially considering that he brought up the topic of planes being excellent. Commercial planes nonetheless. He certainly loved flying and Alfred shared his passion for aviation but commercial airlines were far from fun, especially as a passenger. He could easily tell that Arthur wasn't all that comfortable and Mary possibly was able to tell as well.

He just remained quiet though as he allowed Mary and Arthur to talk about England. Unlike Alfred, Mary was a bit more educated about England and she certainly knew there was more to it than London. Of course Alfred never really seemed to understand that and consistently assumed that all of the English were from London. Poor boy. Despite everything, Mary was rather charmed with the accent and Arthur's politeness.

"Southwest, actually. Somewhere about in Devon." She replied with a small smile back. She seemed more than happy to listen to Arthur and whether she understood where Winchester was or not was rather a mystery. Yet David kept on looking over at Arthur, observing the man who seemed to be a bit older than Alfred himself. Possibly near his thirties by now. There was still one thing that he was curious about.

"Ah yes, Arthur. I am hoping that everything was alright in here before we came in? We were certain that we heard Alfred screaming from in here." He inquired.

It was a few moments later that Alfred finally stepped out of the bedroom, a lot more cleaned up and finally wearing his glasses. He shot an apologetic look over at Arthur as he gave him a small smile. With that, Alfred soon sat on the couch, just wanting this situation to be done and over with. Honestly, he really, really didn't want to be in this awkward situation with Arthur and his parents. At least with Arthur's parents, he knew that the mother hated him and he really didn't have to impress her. Yet with his own parents...well...he cared what they thought and he was glad that Arthur understood this.

“Devon is nice,” Arthur nodded. “The forest is beautiful there.” He could have imagined Alfred running around there and enjoying the countryside. The rivers, the woods – yes, he could see Alfred enjoying the outdoors lifestyle there. He smiled just a little too fondly at the idea before recomposing himself. It was merely a brief flicker in his expression.

Arthur stiffened a little at David’s question. Quickly, he raised an eyebrow.

“Why was Alfred screaming?” Alfred came into the room – wearing his glasses at last (the idiot). “Yes, Alfred. Why were you screaming? Would you care to explain?” He frowned a little at Alfred, acting as though it was his fault entirely that this had been brought up. “What on earth were you doing in there?” he glanced at Mary and smiled at her. “I was in the kitchen,” he said by way of explanation.

Although he’d told himself that he wouldn’t lie to Alfred’s parents, there were certain borders that he wouldn’t cross. Alfred had predominantly only dated girls – as far as Arthur was aware and he wouldn’t want to out him to his parents so cruelly. He was also socially aware enough to know that ‘I was just sucking him off, is all’.

Arthur looked at Alfred expectantly, folding his arms across his chest.

Mary smiled a bit at that and she laughed softly, covering her mouth with her hands. "Mm...it is beautiful." She said with a fond smile. "I'm certain that Alfred would have loved that forest. He was always such an outdoors child. Never came inside unless we called him in for dinner." Mary mused, running a hand through her lovely wavy blonde hair just at the mere thought of it. She was very, very fond of her son.

No matter how much of a trouble maker he was.

Alfred thought that he would have to not deal with such a question when he stepped inside but it seemed as if Arthur was the one who had to redirect it towards him. He was the one who made him scream and told him to do it! Why was he the one who had to do the explaining now? Alfred couldn't help but frown a bit, cheeks slightly red and face rather embarrassed. He was rather tempted to say, 'Oh, nothing much at all. Arthur was just using his lovely mouth to suck me off' but he knew that Arthur probably wanted to keep some of his dignity.

He really couldn't think his way around this. He was beginning to stumble over his words, just not knowing what to say to help him out.

"Well...i-it's a long story. Um...well...so..." He dragged off and Mary's eyes seemed to widen with realisation. She comfortingly reached over to pat him on the leg as she lightly whispered (though admittedly she was able to still be heard), "It's alright sweetheart. It's completely natural to jerk off! But Al, remember that you have neighbours and an roommate! It's a wonder that you haven't been kicked out of here due to noise complaints yet!" She lightly scolded though still tried to reassure.

That didn't help Alfred's case at all and David's eyebrows raised at that. In fact, Alfred looked like he was about to die right there from embarrassment, despite the fact that he wasn't a teenager anymore. In fact, he seemed to prefer to admit that Arthur was sucking him off rather than seem like he was being that loud when he was well...'jerking off'.

Arthur raised his eyebrows, as well. He was quiet for a few moments before glancing away, pursing his lips as he tried not to laugh. He raised a hand to cover his mouth, trying to stifle the small chuckles trying to escape his lips. Not only was the thought of Alfred jerking himself off as a teenager amusing but Mary had been so very blunt about it. She was very different from what his own mother was like. That, in itself was hilarious to Arthur.

And of course, no one but he and Alfred knew why he’d screamed. And he’d screamed his name, which was also somewhat satisfying.

Once he recomposed himself, he smirked over at Alfred, smug. He shifted his stance, trying to totally avoid looking over at David. Arthur was pretty certain that the man had worked it out; gaydar galore, and all that jazz. Or perhaps he had merely caught on to the fact that Arthur was gay?

He felt particularly daring today, after being pissed off by his boyfriend. Hence why he allowed himself to look over at David, the same smug look on his face from looking at Alfred. It was fleeting because he soon looked down at his clothes, brushing away imaginary specs of dust.

“It’s alright, Mary,” Arthur finally spoke up. “Alfred has been living here for a long time now, I’m sure that if there was a problem, someone would have spoken up.” He looked back at Alfred again, “Perhaps you should get out and get a girlfriend, Alfred? That boss of yours can’t be working you too hard.”

Alfred's eyes widened a bit at Arthur's laugh and he reddened even more. This was horribly embarrassing and he was tempted to pretty much 'come out' right then and there. Though he knew that he wouldn't just go after any guy. It had to be Arthur if he wanted to be with a guy mainly and he knew that could possibly change but it was only Arthur that he really had his eyes for. Yet he still couldn't believe that the other was actually urging the conversation towards it rather than not.

He knew that Arthur was in a mood with him but did he really have to go that far? He did say that he would try making it up!

David was smiling a bit in amusement at his son's embarrassment and honestly, he wasn't a bad man. In fact, his attention seemed to be shifted away from Arthur now as he mainly focused on Alfred. He seemed sympathetic in his gaze at the very least unlike Mary who was rather amused with the idea. Instead she just smiled at him and looked back at Arthur and then back at Alfred.

"You should, Alfred! Your boss couldn't be working you too hard! I'm still sure you have some time free to get a date or two with some of the girls around here!" She honestly couldn't believe that Alfred would ever really have trouble with getting a date around in New york City of all places. Alfred was getting in a bit of a mood in himself and he frowned, crossing his arms.

"I don't have time for a girlfriend and I don't want one." He stated before glancing back at Arthur, smirking slightly. "And yes, my boss has working me extremely hard. Takes up all my time nowadays." There were definitely second meanings behind his words.

Arthur’s legs were beginning to ache from standing still for so long and from being in an awkward position on the bed earlier. He didn’t want to sit down though, he was leaving the seating available for David and Mary; it was only polite to do so, after all.

“Don’t want a girlfriend?” Arthur echoed, arching an eyebrow. Although, a part of him was relieved that the American hadn’t caught the bait and said something hurtful. His last comments had little effect on Arthur who scoffed with a small smile, “Oh really? Quite the slave driver then, hm?”

He didn’t want to start bickering with Alfred. It seemed pointless. Especially in front of his parents – it would give the game away. Plus, Alfred actually seemed to be getting angry (which made a change). He hadn’t eaten anything yet, so it was no surprise to Arthur. He probably had low blood sugar.

He would have to wait for the right moment to suggest for them to go and get lunch. Hopefully Arthur wouldn’t have to go on that little trip and would be allowed to rest. He was still exhausted from travelling.

“I’m sure the right person will come along eventually, lad,” he said, somewhat softer than before, a little exasperated.

Alfred chuckled a bit at that though it was slightly strained, finally taking his gaze away from Arthur. "Mm...indeed. I really like my work though so it's alright." He said, more to himself than Arthur or his parents. Mary raised her eyebrows at that and she laughed a bit. "Don't become too much of a workaholic, darling!" She said, patting him on the back.

Though it was definitely true. Alfred was starting to get a bit uptight and somewhat angry yet how could he help himself? It wasn't his fault that all of this started happening. If anything, he would much prefer to be cuddled up with Arthur after a nice round of completed sex but instead he was stuck in the living room with his parents and being somewhat angry with the situation itself.

Okay so maybe the lack of food was definitely a reason for him to be a bit angry but there were definitely other reasons behind that as well! He had every reason to be angry, especially when he really didn't try to do anything to Arthur in the first place! Yet he couldn't help but have his mood soften slightly at Arthur's words. Mary just hummed to herself and glanced at her watch.

"Oh, Alfred and Arthur. Do you both want to come to lunch with us?" She asked and Alfred glanced over at Arthur, swallowing.

"I'm not sure...Arthur just came back from a business trip in Australia. He's really tired and I'm still a bit...worn out. Maybe dinner tonight?" He offered instead, hoping that things would possibly cool down by then. Mary seemed to nod and accept that as she stood up along with David.

"Alright then. We'll come over and we can all have a nice dinner tonight then!" She said with a small smile before going to Alfred to lightly kiss his cheek. "It was nice seeing you again, sweetheart!" She glanced back at Arthur. "And you too, Arthur." David smiled a bit and Alfred sighed a bit before stepping forward to give his father a light hug before giving his mother the same.

"Yeah, love you both. See you guys tonight."

With that, both of his parents left and Alfred sighed.

Arthur, terribly, was somewhat annoyed that he was being involved as a part of the group. Of course, they were just being nice (Mary was just being nice). They didn’t really want Arthur there; they’d come to see Alfred and not some scruff Brit.

“It was lovely to meet you,” Arthur smiled as best he could. “Take care,” he called as they left. He stood beside Alfred for a few long moments, submerged in silence. The morning had not gone well, not at all. He was grouchy and needed a shower. Even Arthur was starting to feel hungry (which was often a bad sign when involving him). He sighed heavily and muttered something like ‘thank God for that’ under his breath.

“They didn’t touch their coffee,” he stared at the mugs, still full, on the table. “Oh, and thank you for instantly involving me in this evening’s dinner plans,” he frowned.

Arthur collected the mugs both and went straight to the kitchen, pouring away the cold liquid into the sink. He began to make a start on the washing up, silent. It was a way to distract himself and to avoid Alfred. He honestly didn’t want to be bothered by the stupidly attractive lout.

Alfred just frowned a bit at that and crossed his arms, sighing as he watched Arthur go into the kitchen to take care of the chores. "You don't have to come if you don't want to. They were just being polite. I can tell them that you're busy or something." He mumbled, obviously still in a rather bad mood from everything. He thought that he would have been able to do this without getting rather angry since he was always able to keep his cool but the way that Arthur had turned the question on him rather than distract his parents...made...him a bit frustrated.

It definitely probably ruined his image in front of his parents and not only that, but Arthur was still in a mood with him. He really didn't even feel like getting food at the moment.

He thought that Arthur's return back from Australia would be much, much better and that he would have been placed in a better mood because of it but instead, it was having the exact opposite effect. Of course it was partly his parents' fault, though they really didn't know that. Soon enough he made his way towards the bed, huffing under his breath as he slipped under the covers and tried to close his eyes.

There really was no use being awake when there was a moody Arthur and when he was moody himself. It would only lead to unnecessary conflict. Honestly! What was up with Arthur? It wasn't his fault that this happened. It wasn't as if he asked for it.

Arthur pretended not to have heard him.

He spent the next half hour or so just scrubbing at the dishes (and none of it was his own, might he add). For some reason, he’d always found it soothing to do something domestic such as cleaning up. He had no idea why. Cleaning up in his family had always just been associated with the cleaning staff that they had hired in his parent’s house. He never really tidied up (although he did re-tidy everything in his room after the cleaners had left).

He understood that it wasn’t Alfred’s fault, but who the hell else was he suppose to blame?

Eventually, he finished cleaning up that and so he decided to make some toast. It wasn’t for him. He found some peanut butter lying on the side and decided that it was probably what Alfred liked, seeing as he had it in his kitchen, and all.

Soon enough, Arthur was in the bedroom, holding a plate with two (slightly singed) pieces of toast and peanut butter on top. When he saw Alfred under the covers sulking, it made him want to turn around and march out of the room. Instead, he put the plate on the bedside table.

“Get up and stop being childish,” he growled but it lacked bite. “I’m going to have a shower. Eat that and cheer up.” Strange instructions, but Alfred was much more pleasant to deal with when he was smiling. “Go play Xbok or whatever it’s called.”

With that, he turned and headed straight for the shower. He stripped himself of his clothes unceremoniously and climbed into the shower. He let out a relieved sigh as the water touched his skin. His legs were still aching, though. He sat down and leant against the wall of the shower, enjoying the pleasant stream of water.