On The Force (Case 2) [R-18]

Arthur flinched as he was cornered against the door, almost chest-to-chest with the other man. "A... 'vacation', huh," he repeated softly, not looking up at Alfred. But then Alfred said something that made his breath catch in his throat suddenly, and he looked up with wide eyes.

"When you say... 'both', are you referring to you and Matthew, or..." He bit his lip but forced himself to retain eye contact with Alfred. It should have been obvious from Alfred's choice of words, but Arthur had to make sure. Matthew had threatened to take Alfred away, and going back to their parents' place would have made sense, right?

"Are you... going to come back?" he continued, finally breaking eye contact and instead focussing on the nearest cardboard box. If Alfred really had meant the two of them... how would that even work? It had been a struggle to even leave his flat; how was he supposed to travel to an entirely new place? Alfred would no doubt look after him, but Arthur wouldn't be able to offer anything in return. It wasn't going to work, was it?

Alfred looked confused yet again. Was he not being clear enough? "Yeah, I meant..you and me. I mean Mattie will be there to and mom but they won't bother us too much." He looks Arthur over, the man seemed scared and it down Alfred's hopes down immensely.

"But.. you don't want to, do you?" Alfred says looking a little disappointed. "T-that's okay. It was only a suggestion." Alfred moved back to let Arthur have some room once more. He hadn't meant to get so close but he was scared Arthur would have run off without letting him explain again.

He turned to go back to idly arranging the flower in the glass. "Of course we'd come back. I mean we couldn't miss work for too long after all, right? I love my home but I don't want to move back in with mom or anything for permanent."

Alfred was really making an effort, wasn't he? Arthur swallowed heavily. It wasn't fair that Alfred kept trying, yet Arthur was too afraid to reciprocate. Alfred was inviting him to go back to his home, and to meet his mother. That was supposed to be a step forward in a relationship, wasn't it? And after so many steps backwards lately, maybe it wouldn't be too bad to try.

"I..." He had to stop and clear his throat, but he followed Alfred back into the flat slowly. "I do want to," he said quietly, standing a few steps away from the other man. "Truly, I do. When are you planning to leave?"

Arthur hesitated for a moment before coming closer and taking over the job of arranging the flowers in the vase. "Are you sure that you want me to come, though?" he asked. What he really meant was Am I really someone that you can introduce to your mother, as your boyfriend? God, what if Alfred's mother was homophobic? A lot of the older generation were, and Alfred had said that he hadn't had a boyfriend before Arthur... "I don't want to cause any problems for you."

Alfred is wary of letting his hopes get up again as he eyes Arthur letting him take over the flowers being so much better at arranging them than he was. "In two days. At least that's when we had planned to leave..If you hadn't shown up today we probably would have waited a little longer." It had been Matthew's idea actually. He had made Alfred wait for Arthur to show up himself and casually hinted that perhaps he and Alfred could come back with him. Alfred would be convinced that he thought up the whole idea himself.

Alfred shook his head moving to lean against the counter. "It's no problem really. I mean as long as you don't mind chickens and dogs. We got a lot of those back home." Alfred looks a little lost in thought as he moved to the fridge and toke out a carton of milk, drinking it right from the package. "I'd..be honored to introduce you to mom actually." He admits making sure to look away as he said so embarrassed. Alfred really did have it bad for Arthur. He knew he had wanted to bring him home the moment the moment he admitted to loving the man. That would be a personal secret of his though, no letting it get out he was rather old fashioned in love.

"I... Would be glad to go with you, in that case," Arthur said shyly, fiddling with the roses. Maybe things really would work out after all. Alfred wanted to introduce him to his mother. That was a big step. "What is the weather like there," he asked, "so that I know what I need to pack?"

Two days later found him nervously attempting to zip his suitcase shut. Was he really going to Alfred's childhood home? How was he meant to act? What if Alfred's mother decided that she didn't like him? So many things could go wrong, and Arthur almost felt like calling the entire thing off. But no, he couldn't do that. Everything had already been organised and he owed it to Alfred to make this trip work. 

He tidied up his flat as he waited to be picked up. Scott had been instructed to check on Arthur's home every couple of days. Everything was going to be fine. His stomach churned as he waited though, and he self-consciously pulled his sleeves down as far as they would go until they were all but covering his hands entirely. 

Alfred was overjoyed that Arthur agreed to come with him. In told him what to expect and pack and the next two days just flew by. Matthew swears he hasn't seen Alfred this excited since his first visit to the zoo when he was five.

They packed up a good bit of Alfred's things along with Matthew's belongings he needed to bring back with him and put them all as neatly in the back of the truck as possible with Alfred's supervision. They stop at Arthur's house to pick him up and Alfred gets out and practically carries him to the truck.

Finally everyone's buckled in and they are on their way. The drive is a good half a day away they should make it there just in time to for nightfall. Alfred starts out driving but Matthew takes over half way there so Alfred can pass around snacks and take a nap. Arthur has the entire backseat to himself and Alfred makes a point to check on him often to see how he's doing.