Always Beside You

A shed in the backyard is not the most ideal place to fall asleep in. It is also not the first place you would think of for planning an adventure in either. That is what Alfred F. Jones also thought as he stopped at the tiny wooden building in his back garden, opened the stiff door with a swift pull and drank in the odd sight before him.

Then again, Alfred thought further, Arthur Kirkland is a quirky sort of fellow. When Arthur didn't want to be found, it really did feel like he'd performed The Great Escape! It had taken Alfred a good half an hour to find his fellow house-mate, pirate disguised as a gentleman and sometime best friend. Although both men lived with each other just for "convenience" (sharing rent and bills), they were almost joined at the hip with the amount of time they spent together! Although if you ask Arthur, he would claim that Alfred is "a headstrong brat with idiotic ideas and he needs to be baby-sat"! Ask Alfred and he would claim that Arthur in turn is "a senile old man who forgets where he puts his underwear half the time and can set fire to cereal"! Now at last, Alfred's reward lay before him: Leaning over a dusty, old desk with his head pillowed in his arms and snoring gently without a care in the world.

"Typical", thought Alfred fondly. For all that Arthur complained that Alfred had a short attention span, Arthur was always the first one of the two men to fall fast asleep. A single lightbulb hanging from the shed's ceiling swayed precariously to and fro, shedding a flickering light onto Arthur's hunched form. Alfred leaned over to peer at Arthur's face. He smiled and tentatively stroked Arthur's thick eyebrows, as if to test the waters. Luckily for Alfred, Arthur didn't stir. Alfred sighed with relief. He'd always wanted to do that to Arthur since they first met, to see if they felt as furry as the giant caterpillars they appeared to be! Alfred knew better not to do that while Arthur was awake; he had found out the hard way with two black eyes and a few kicks to the gut that Arthur had a terrible temper under his "keep calm and carry on" temperament! Alfred cast a lazy eye over the desk that Arthur was currently sleeping on. He spied a yellowing scroll filled with hand-drawn islands, looped handwriting and drawings of wild and colourful monsters lurking in the oceans.

Ah, looks like Arthur's planning an adventure, mused Alfred as he also caught sight of Arthur's notes dotted between the Caribbean Islands and the Atlantic ocean. Some map-reading instruments had rolled under Arthur's forearms. Alfred loved adventures, whether it was reading about them or going traveling himself in search of treasure and lost civilisations. He had had many adventures with his twin brother Matthew in a local forest when he was growing up. After meeting Arthur when he moved away to join the army, the adventures had become more hair-raising, deadly but thrilling all the same! Seeing that Arthur was up to something new had the cogs in Alfred's brain turning with excitement.

"Full of surprises 'aintcha, I see the old pirate in you is back" whispered Alfred in Arthur's ear as he looped his arms around his sleeping friend. "But that can wait until tomorrow, it's past your bed-time!" Alfred declared loudly, as he suddenly scooped Arthur into his arms and over his shoulder. Arthur muttered incoherently as Alfred shut off the light and kicked the shed door shut.

"It wouldn't do for a hero like me to leave little old guys alone in the cold now, would it?" Alfred continued chatting as he carried Arthur inside their house. Arthur still didn't wake up but muttered again, this time something that sounded suspiciously like a dark retort or British curse!

"Yeah, that's you all right, cursing even when you're asleep!" Alfred laughed as he trotted up the stairs. Elbowing the door open to Arthur's room, Alfred blustered inside and teetered on the tips of his toes, narrowly avoiding an open, half filled suitcase.

That was too close, thought Alfred as he hovered over Arthur's double-bed. He looked down at the suitcase and frowned.

Is Arthur thinking of leaving without me?

That didn't sit well with Alfred. He took Arthur everywhere with him and vice-versa. Granted that Arthur had a fantastic car and Alfred had an amazing aircraft sitting in a hangar close to their home, it made sense that they would travel together. Alfred had half a mind to dump the sleeping man unceremoniously onto the bed covers and see if he would bounce off the bed. That would teach Arthur to go off on grand adventures with old treasure maps and play Pirate without him, ha! However, if Arthur was rudely awakened like that, Alfred would be chased around the bed, around the house and probably around merry old England too for the rest of their lives. Probably. So to save his sanity, he decided to be gentle instead. Alfred was surprised he still had any sanity left, after living with Arthur for five years. Arthur had certainly lost his sanity. After all, who left out honey for fairies and claimed to see unicorns under the dining room table? Alfred lifted the bed sheets to cover Arthur's body and lightly tuck him in.

"Goodnight Arthur" whispered Alfred. As he drew back, he heard Arthur snort in his sleep and saw his eyebrows furrowing deeply. Alfred shook his head, he should have known that Arthur would scowl in his sleep as he did during the day. As he turned to leave Arthur's bedroom, something happened that Alfred didn't expect. Arthur suddenly shot his arm out and grabbed Alfred by the wrist. Alfred yelped as he was yanked roughly backwards, falling onto the bed legs akimbo. Just as Alfred was about to yell "What the hell is going on!", Arthur pulled his housemate to him in a tight embrace and held on for dear life. Alfred looked down in surprise as Arthur's untidy but soft hair blond hair tickled his nose.

Well, this is new, thought Alfred as he lay stock still in Arthur's death-grip. It was usually Alfred himself that latched onto Arthur, afraid of shadows that reached too long in the night and of noises from potential ghosts under his own bed!

For Arthur to be afraid, he must be having a really scary nightmare!

Without a second thought, Alfred pried his arms out of Arthur's vice-like grip and settled them around Arthur's shoulders instead. He gently stroked the back of Arthur's head, sifting his fingers through his housemate's short locks to ease his troubled friend.

"Shh, easy Arthur" whispered Alfred soothingly, "It's me, Alfred! I'm right here, you're just dreaming!"

Arthur let out a shaky breath and his hands fumbled in a panic-stricken frenzy.

"A-Alfred" stuttered Arthur in a breathless rush, "P-please d-don't go! The water's too deep, I-I can't see!"

Arthur's afraid of water? But he's a Navy guy, he loves sailing! No wait, he's afraid of drowning? Why am I in his nightmare?

Alfred rambled in his head, confused at the new information tumbling out of Arthur's mouth as the nightmare raged on in his sleep. It seemed that tonight was full of revelations!

"Stay with me Alfred!" Arthur whispered in anguish, burying himself deeper against Alfred.

That last statement left Alfred reeling. He thought that he knew everything there was to know about Arthur. That Arthur was a cynical grouch who preferred his own company and only stayed with Alfred "for his own sake" as he often quipped. Yet to find that underneath the bluster and halfhearted fist-throws, Arthur genuinely wanted Alfred with him? Alfred felt a burst of warmth in his chest at that. He hugged Arthur even closer to him now.

"I'm not leaving you Arthur, I'm right here!" whispered Alfred protectively, "I'll always be with you, even though you're the one who tried to leave me behind and be all "Tomb Raider" without telling me, you sly dog!"

Arthur stopped struggling and snuggled into his pillow. After a few minutes, his breathing became less erratic, easing down to shallow gulps of air. Alfred thought that Arthur's nightmare was over.

I really should get out of the bed, but this feels so good! I haven't seen this side of him before, maybe we should hug more often!

Alfred reluctantly let go of Arthur and began to peel back the duvet covers. He was stopped by a sudden grip around his wrist again.

"Where'd you think you're going?" muttered Arthur sleepily. His eyes were still closed but was that a smirk on his face? It seems that Arthur was full of surprises tonight! Just as Alfred let out a bemused "Err" as he scrambled to give an answer, Arthur carried on mumbling.

"O' course I'm not leaving withou' you, I need you..."

"Oh?" Alfred asked hopefully. This was too good to be true, especially coming from Arthur!

"I need you...to fly the bloody plane! Fairies can't carry me there!"

Alfred deflated at that last statement. Yes, it was too good to be true!

Still, I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth, Alfred thought with some consolation, as Arthur pulled him back under the duvet covers. "I'd rather be with you in a bed than the Bogeyman anyday!"