Submitted AU #189

"I lend you my PC so you can play the Sims but oops I forget I made a family where you and I are married ahahah"

And everybody told him getting hook-ups at the office was a piece of cake.

Well, the cake was a lie, Alfred happened to find out after a dozen fruitless and clumsy attempts at flirting.

But how was that even possible? How could anyone resist his charm and his incredible good looks?
Okay, maybe being gay made it a bit harder to find someone.
The statistic probability of coming across a hot twink in his field was not very high.
And he should know, since he was one of only two accountants in a small, shared office.

The other one could be considered cute if he wasn't so grumpy!

His name was Arthur Kirkland and he was the epitome of British.
Every single word that left his soft-looking lips was pronounced in a very, very thick accent and Alfred had to fight hard to keep himself from saying 'ello Govna'.

That would've probably earned him a punch to the face and since rough-play wasn't in his list of kinks, he decided to tone down the sass.

He walked up to the Brit's desk and decided to chat, since it was lunch-break and he was a bit bored.
And it was really hard to get in touch with your peers, when you had no access to the latest office-gossip and your nearest colleague was highly anti-social.

But somehow, Alfred still liked the man. They shared the same passion for numbers and he might actually have a thing for bossy Englishmen?

The American sighed into his collar.
To tell the truth, he had a horrible crush on the tea-addict. Alfred was so heavily gay for the small man, that he tried very hard to make him like him.

Alfred drank so much coffee at work, that he got himself some serious sleep-issues.
The brown drink wasn't his favorite beverage in the world, he preferred coke, but it sure looked like it was.

It was all just an alibi.
Because Arthur Kirkland, the cute guy with the most beautiful eyes Alfred had ever seen, loved tea.
And Alfred loved him. And if he always brought him the drink he loved so much, then maybe one day some of that love would reach the poor love-sick American?
Thus he needed an excuse to go into the kitchen to make him some, 'since he was getting himself coffee anyway'.

His infatuation with 'Mr.-hopefully-one-day-Jones' went so far, that he made sure Arthur Kirkland would never hear about the company's budget cuts that effected his beloved tea.

The CEO wanted to save every little penny and the fancy tea that Arthur always drank was quite costly.

But he didn't know this, since he never went to the meetings.
And Alfred couldn't bear imagining what would happen if the Brit didn't get his precious tea.
What if he would then get angry, walk up to the CEO's office and call him a condescending twat?
What if Arthur Kirkland got fired for it and had to leave the company?

No more grumpy greetings in the morning?
No more of the sweet little 'Thank you's the Brit muttered under his breath?
No more staring at him and imagining how it would be to cuddle with him?

No. Alfred couldn't let that happen and so he decided to buy all the fancy, expensive tea the brit wanted.
By now Alfred's whole garage was fill of tea, to make sure he always had enough to bring to the office.

"Hello Mr. Kirkland how are you today?"
Alfred sat a hot cup of tea on his desk and gave him a very warm smile, worrying a bit that it would give away his feelings.
He overslept this morning and was so late that he arrived just before lunch break started. Good thing the brit never had his tea any earlier.

Arthur looked up at him, looked at the tea, mumbled his 'Thank you' and sighed.
"I'm fine but...I'm fine"

The taller blond gave him a reassuring smile.
"What's wrong? You can tell me, I will try my best to help you"
He waited for a response and stood perfectly still, but inside him there was chaos.

Was Arthur alright? Did he find out about the tea? Did he feel harassed by Alfred?
What could possibly make the love of his life so unhappy?
Alfred tried his best not to freak out, until finally he got his answer.

"I'm just really bored and I saw you playing 'The Sims 3' on your computer yesterday and I...wondered if you could let me watch? Maybe?"

Alfred inhaled sharply. This was bad and good simultaneously. Arthur Kirkland knew 'The Sims', he had recognized it just by looking over Alfred's shoulder, he was able to tell which number in the series it was and he seemed to find the idea of watching someone play entertaining. Of watching him, Alfred F. Jones, the biggest groupie Arthur would probably never know he had, play a game. One that could be boring if played wrong and even more so if played by the rules.

What did that say about the Brit? Probably nothing less then this: Arthur Kirkland was interested in video-games. He might as well be a nerd. Someone of his own kind. Someone who stayed up late at night to play a video-game, because getting enough sleep was for stiffs.

His heart stopped for a second. They had something in common. More than just their job.
They had something in common! Something that had to do with having fun. Fun was good, fun could bring people together. Having fun could make people happy. He knew something that could make Arthur a little bit happier, he knew how to distract him from his pending doom. Boredom. Normally, it was just a sign that the task at hand was uninteresting, but in this case it was so much more.

It was a thread to Alfred's whole existence. What if Arthur Kirkland was bored because of the company's decision to not offer any activities to engage in during lunch break? What if Arthur Kirkland found that such a divine being like himself did deserve nothing less than seamless amusement? What if the boredom during lunch break made him realize that his whole job was boring? What if he had to change his profession to have fulfilled life? Alfred was really good at expecting the worst.

And so he decided to do everything in his power to make sure that Arthur Kirkland never got bored at work again. That work would become his favorite part of the day, something so enjoyable, that he was already looking forward to the next Monday. That the weekend was nothing more than a waste of time, time he would rather spent at work with Alfred.

How he intended to do this, he wasn't quite sure yet, though 'The Sims' was definitely a good start.
But he would have to concentrate to make sure he didn't accidentally confessed his undying love for the smaller man while complimenting him on his insane gamer skills.

Alfred had to bite on his own tongue to slip out of his daydreams and cleared his throat.

"Of course you can, you can even play it with me, if you want to. I will lend you my PC and you can play it, while I get you...us something to drink. And if you don't know how to play the game, let me help you, I am a Sims-sage and with my help, you will have the perfect digital family in no time!"

The Englishman raised one of his large but perfect eyebrows at Alfred's childish enthusiasm and smiled a very small but very, very cute smile. His lips formed words, but the American was to busy with staring at his rosy lips, wondering how they would feel on his...

"Are you okay? You have been staring at me for quite a while now. Do I have something on my face?"

Arthur began to muster himself in the reflection of his screen and Alfred's eyes grew wide in panic.
Oh no, he had to do something quickly, before he got to obvious.

"No, your face is perfect! I mean, it's perfectly well and now let's start the game. Let me just get my laptop and then we will start". Before I can embarrass myself any further, he added mentally.

Alfred got said laptop and Arthur rolled to the side a little, looking at Alfred, his face expressing his anticipation, which made Alfred stumble over a cable. He was scarcely able to stop his fall and was lucky that Arthur averted his gaze for a second to make room on his desk for another laptop.

When he finally managed to sit down without further mishap, the American let out a long, relieved sigh.

"Okay, did you already play the game?"
The brit shifted a bit closer until their shoulders were touching and his cologne was very evident.
It smelled like apple pie. Alfred was freaking out internally. Arthur Kirkland, the love of his life, who was probably a nerd just like him, smelled like his favorite dessert. Why? Did someone in heaven hate him? Did God send down this angel to lead him astray, to turn him into a lusty mess?
Would the floor disappear under his feet and send him gay to hell if he ever tried to touch him? Why did God hate him so much? He already had a hard time accepting that he was a homosexual, but this wasn't normal anymore.

He had to distract himself from his agony and hastily escaped the room to get some drinks.
Arthur was left behind, confused, and started the game on his own. The Brit did know the series very well and was already designing a new family by the time Alfred came back with the tea.

The tea was set down in front of him as usual and Alfred sat down next to him.

''Oh, so you already started and you already moved into a house?''

Alfred stared at the screen in astonishment. A carbon copy of Arthur was walking trough a digital house and the game was on full speed. There were even some objects he had never seen before. The Englishman must have installed some mods.

It was official now, Arthur Kirkland was a nerd. The American let out a love-sick little sigh.

Green eyes turned to face his and he blushed a bit, almost falling from his chair in shock.

''Are you okay?'' Concern was evident in Arthur's voice and Alfred's blush only increased in vividness.

''Yes, I'm just so happy that you like this game, because I really like it as well''.

After that silence settled over the two and only once in a while did Alfred comment on Arthur's game and was happy to make him laugh once in a while.

Then Alfred got up to get more tea and came back to a pair of eyebrows that were staring at him in disbelief.

Alfred wondered what he was going to hear and carefully put the tea down.

The words that left those pink lips and reached his ears made his heart stop immediately.

''Why did you make a couple that looks exactly like us, has our names and is married?''

Alfred's jaw dropped and he let out incoherent sounds for a while.

That was his end. He had been found out. What now? Flee the country? Flee the country!

He was already looking around to find the emergency exit when Arthur walked over to him, tugging on his tie.

''And why do you always make me my favorite tea, even thought the funds for them are long gone? Do you pay for it yourself?''

Alfred wanted to explain himself. He really wanted to. But his voice was gone, not a single sound would leave his mouth. Instead he just blushed and whimpered pitifully.

Then he decided that it was already to late, he might as well confess.

''I love you'' he said, his voice nothing more than a whine.

But then he noticed that Arthur blushed as well and hope slowly started to bloom in is heart.

Could it be...?

Soft, warm lips were pressed against his and a tongue swept across them. He gasped and the taste of tea filled his mouth.

Alfred moaned, completely overwhelmed, and fell back down into his chair.

Arthur climbed on top of him and straddled his legs, moving closer, until they were chest to chest.

Emerald green eyes looked into baby-blue and a small smile lingered on his soft feature.

''I love you too''

Alfred wanted to ask why, and since when and why, but the pink muscles invaded his mouth again and tickled his soft palate.

After a while, the two parted and Arthur gave him a rather pleased smile. Alfred's own impression wasn't any less prosperous. He was happy and just this morning he spent so much energy worrying about Arthur.