Just One More

The sun was painting the clouds that floated in the untainted blue sky a mesmerising gold, just as Arthur opened the door to Alfred's apartment, fussing with his duffle coat and shoulder bag as he let himself out. Alfred stood in the doorway, leaning there and watching him with an unconscious smile of contentedness. They had known each other for three and a half months, and they had been going out for one and a half of those months; and yet, Alfred was still rather smitten with Arthur.

A brush of fingertips wasn't enough; he needed to hold Arthur's entire nimble hand. A hug wasn't enough; he needed to embrace Arthur and inhale all that he was. A chaste kiss wasn't enough; he needed a lingering one, or a multitude of them. Whatever he got from Arthur never seemed to be enough, and it drove him crazy, and he didn't even know if it was the good crazy or the bad crazy because his emotions were all a blur and the only thing that straightened him out was when Arthur turned to him, and smiled as if he wasn't quite sure of himself but wanted to give it a shot anyway, and his cheeks would pink and a lone laugh would escape his lips, and Alfred would be absolutely, undoubtedly, irrevocably in love.

And Arthur did it again, just then, after he had sorted his coat and bag, turning to him with pink cheeks and an unsure smile, and Alfred felt something that wasn't butterflies explode in his stomach, because butterflies had never felt quite so sweet. "Thanks for allowing me to stay." Arthur said, and Alfred sighed, because the Briton was ever so formal to a ridiculous extent.

"Anytime, Artie!" he replied in gusto, "I love having you over to stay. Maybe we could even move in together soon, yeah?" He wondered if he was being too ambitious suggesting such a thing so suddenly, but hell if Arthur already knew by that point that he was not, in any way, a patient person.

Arthur shoved his hands in his pockets and gazed downwards, shrugging and scuffing his boots across the floor of the apartment building. "I don't know." he said with a sigh, "We haven't been together that long."

"Yes we have!" Alfred retaliated, "A month and a half is a long time. And if it isn't, well, it sure feels like it. I mean, we've been progressing nicely in this relationship, and I…" he too shuffled his feet a bit, rubbing the nape of his neck, slightly embarrassed, "…I want to progress more. With you. Take another step, you know?"

Alfred didn't need Arthur to look up so as to see the scarlet blush that tinged his cheeks, and he smiled at how easily embarrassed they both got, and how did they even get as far as they did like this anyway? "I suppose…" Arthur finally choked out, hesitantly, "…I suppose we could…think about it…" Alfred smiled. If Arthur was thinking about it, that alone was a big step. The Briton could be a rather stubborn man, usually saying yes or no and not even considering maybe, so this was good.

"Alright, babes." Alfred continued to grin as he leant forwards, "Kiss before you go?"

Arthur looked back up, cheeks less scarlet but still with obvious tints of red in the pink. "Yes, yes." he exhaled, trying to make out that Alfred was pestering him with all this attention, but a smile betrayed his composure.

He leant forward too, and their lips met. It wasn't a kiss where they pulled one another closer and ran their fingers through their hair, because Alfred and Arthur both struggled to part from those. It was just a tender, lingering kiss with a lack of touch, heightening the tingling sensation in their lips, and even as they parted the wonderful feeling remained. "Goodbye, Alfred." Arthur breathed, walking towards the downwards flight of stairs, waving as he went, "I'll see you next weekend."

"Yeah, okay." Alfred replied, but it wasn't okay. It wasn't okay that he would have to do without that tingling sensation – without that warm, fuzzy feeling – without Arthur for a whole week. He didn't think he had the willpower. But work was work for both of them, and so, their weeks were busy. Nevertheless, did they really have to part right there, at Alfred's door? Alfred knew Arthur wasn't one for long goodbyes, but maybe just this once…

He dashed out of his apartment, hurrying down the flight of stairs until he made it to the U-bend where Arthur had just turned, and there he was stood still, his forest green eyes bewildered at first, but then they sparkled in the flickering lights of the apartment building as Arthur's lips upturned.

"What are you up to?" he asked, and such a playful smile as the one on Arthur's face Alfred could not even begin to resist.

"One more?" he asked ecstatically, and Arthur's smile faded and he quirked a brow, confused.

"One more what? Goodness, Alfred, you have vocabulary, of that I am sure, so use it."

"One more kiss?" he said, pleading, his eyes of cerulean practically screaming at Arthur to just submit to this whim, although he had done so for many already, because surely Arthur didn't want to wait a whole week for the fantastic sensation either.

There was a pregnant pause as Arthur blinked a little more, and then his smile returned at its fullest, and he got up on his tip-toes to reach Alfred on the set of stairs above. Alfred felt something fluttery bubble within him – a sort of triumph – and he leant down over the banister to reach Arthur, happily catching the Englishman's lips in another kiss, enjoying the warmth of their mingled breath and Arthur's lips that never went cold, in spite of the cold words and sentences that were prone to erupt from them.

They parted again, and Arthur nodded a fleeting goodbye at Alfred, because he had to hurry and catch the next bus home. But just as he met another turning point in the stairwell, there was Alfred again, still following him and beaming from ear to ear.

"Just one more?" he asked, and this time Arthur did not need to ask for him to come again, for he knew perfectly well what he wanted.

"So spoilt." he chuckled, but he got up on his toes again anyway, and Alfred leant over the banister once more, and their lips met yet again. Alfred savoured the taste of Arthur, and although he wasn't one for tea and scones, those foods suddenly tasted so amazing on Arthur's lips. He also tasted sweetly of the sugar he put in his tea (two teaspoons – Alfred had memorised it) and the butter and jam he spread on his pastries. They parted once more, and Alfred still felt he hadn't had enough, so he did not protest when his feet followed Arthur down to another U-bend.

"One more." he begged, not waiting for Arthur's permission before he had leant over the banister, awaiting the Englishman's lips. Arthur exhaled and rolled his eyes, but complied with upturned lips anyway, and this time Alfred took in the scent of Arthur – of tea leaves, and rainy days in summer, and a flower garden of secrets. Again, they pulled away, and again Alfred followed, asking for one more, and one more, and one more, and perhaps just one more, and, if Arthur would be so kind, one more would do.

"One more, one more!" Alfred exclaimed at the last set of stairs, although Arthur was already there, lips puckered and ready, because he knew what was coming, and he couldn't say no to those azures eyes which he could not see for another week – he did not want to decline Alfred and have those eyes be sad, and imprinted in his memory as such until the end of the week. He got up on his tip toes for the last time, his lips brushed Alfred's once more, and then he was hurrying towards the door, touching a finger to his rather attended-to lips, now red and plush and somewhat warmer than before.

But as his hand touched the doorknob, Alfred's hand touched his shoulder, and he turned around to Alfred and remembered that he hated persistent people, so why had he gone for one? Maybe because of the way those eyes shone with adoration; maybe because of the way his pearly-white grin never faltered; maybe because, even though Alfred had seen everything that was Arthur, even the worst parts, he still loved him, and Arthur just had to respect and adore him in return for that. Or maybe something more Arthur couldn't quite put his finger on at that moment – something that didn't matter as much as the man before him.

"Last one." Arthur said, folding his arms and staring the American down, in spite of how much taller than him Alfred was. Alfred's smile practically screamed victory, and he wasted no time in pulling Arthur out of his stance of authority, bringing the Briton into his arms and doing the thing he could never quite pull away from. He cradled Arthur's head with one hand, running his hand through his messy blonde hair, and wrapped his other arm around his waist, pulling him in tight and threatening to never let go. He smiled wider against Arthur's lips as the smaller man wrapped his arms around Alfred's neck, returning the kiss in full force.

With this powerful kiss, Alfred felt and tasted and smelt everything that was and belonged to his beloved Arthur, and surely the memory of such a kiss would stay with him all week, and so, as would the feel of tingling warmth and the taste of food he could never quite hate and the scent of a certain Briton's roses, and though he knew even that wasn't enough – never would be enough, for he was a greedy American – he also knew that it would do, and he would survive until the weekend, when he would see pink cheeks and a crooked smile and eyes resembling the depths of a forest once more.

It felt perfect, Arthur's lips moulding to his and fitting so well, like a puzzle piece that you had rifled through the box and searched endlessly for, and now finally found, and you would be damned if you were to drop it or lose it somewhere instead of immediately slotting it exactly into the space where it is meant to be. And when he parted with Arthur again, he wondered how fast or slow the week would go, and how long or short a time it would take for Arthur to decide to move in with him already because he couldn't stand missing him so much all the time.

They continued to hold one another for a minute, just gazing lovingly into one another's eyes, confident and perfectly happy with the fact that they belonged to each other, and then Arthur leant forward and placed one last kiss to the tip of Alfred's nose with a blush, and that urged Alfred to lean in for yet another kiss to the lips, chaste and less than a powerful moulding, but more than a gentle brush, and then Arthur had slithered out of Alfred's arms and was at the door, waving one last time.

"Goodbye, Alfred." Arthur said, and he couldn't help grinning like a fool as he said it. He continued waving, albeit slightly, as he began pulling the door closed behind him. But Alfred didn't feel that this farewell was complete, or sufficient, and it was just missing something, and he had to think of it, there in the hallway of the apartment building, before the door closed entirely…

"I love you." he said, and that seemed to make Arthur pause as the door seemed to just stop ajar, and there was a moment where it seemed like Arthur was just going to take the confession and leave wordlessly, but…

"And I you."

And then the door closed entirely.

Author's notes: This idea was plotless, yes, but it was so saccharinely sweet that I could not resist writing it. The idea came to pie1313 upon seeing this picture: post/28518253943/alwayzonsomethingluv-one-more-kiss-before-you. I changed the sort of stairwell (Alfred's apartment building in this isn't so posh compared to the one in the picture) and the clothing they wear, but I intended for their kisses to be just the same, always at the turning point, always with Arthur below, leaning up to Alfred, and Alfred above, leaning down over the banister to Arthur.
If you're wondering, they do move in together, very soon. In fact, the next time they meet, Arthur agrees, and then not long after that they move in together. Because those two are so adorable when sharing living space~
Critique is welcomed, comments are appreciated!
Thank you and enjoy!

Disclaimer: Alfred and Arthur belong to Hidekaz Himaruya.

AnorexicWalrus~