Arthur wiped his brow, doing little to prevent the sweat from dripping into his eyes.
'How does Alfred put up with this heat?' He thought. A cold sensation blossomed in the center of his chest, and he looked down to see a plastic cup full of lemonade being pushed towards him.
"Wh-"
"You looked hot," the other man interrupted.
"Bloody hell, Alfred, how can you stand this? Why couldn't we have gone to one somewhere farther north?" Arthur whined, trying desperately not to rub at the sunburn on the back of his neck.
"I like Texas. Besides, I haven't been down here as much lately. Gotta check up on all my states every once in a while." The older man sighed and took a sip of the lemonade. It was so sweet it made him gag, but at least it was nice and cold.
"So, what do you want to do next?" he asked through the overly sweet drink.
"Let's just walk around an see what they have first, then we'll decide." Arthur sighed, fully aware of the next several hours of torture before him. He lifted himself begrudgingly from the bench and glared at Alfred (albeit lovingly). His look escaped the attention of the upbeat American, who took Arthur by the hand and proceeded to drag him around the park.
"Hurry up and pick something, please. I can't feel my arm," the Briton groaned impatiently.
"Hold on! I have to find the perfect one." Arthur rolled his eyes and allowed himself to be pulled around more.
The sudden lack of pressure in his hand signaled him to look up. Alfred was pointing at something off to the right, his lips moving quickly.
"What was that, love?"
"Artie, dude! I should totally win one of those for you!" Arthur looked to where his lover pointed to discover a booth with several large stuffed animals hanging from the top.
"Why the hell would I want that?"
"To remind you of me when you go back to Sconeland!" The Englishman sighed frustratedly at the younger man's name for his country.
"Fine," he huffed, "but make it quick." Alfred got that look on his face again, the one that's so adorable it causes Arthur physical pain. The Briton smiled fondly as the childish nation ran off towards the booth.
Arthur inched over nonchalantly, getting in line at a concession stand and buying himself a bottle of water as an excuse to get closer. He made his way to a table and sipped at his drink as Alfred took his seat in front of a turret-like water gun, fingers hovering over the triggers.
Several people on either side of Alfred did the same, and a woman standing inside the booth gestured for them to start. They all pressed down on the triggers, aiming for a spot on a pole that caused a few platforms before them to rise.
Alfred's pedestal was the first to move upwards, and the American bounced out of his seat with excitement. Meanwhile, several meters away, Arthur stared at his lover's bulging biceps and triceps. With Alfred acting like such a child, Arthur had forgotten his true strength.
The game ended and an obnoxious cheer rang out.
"Check it, Artie! I totally won!" The larger man practically skipped over, a giant plush Bugs Bunny tucked under his arm. Arthur chuckled warmly.
"Thanks, love," he murmured, stealing a quick kiss from Alfred's lips. Alfred nuzzled the shorter man affectionately before pulling away and holding up the stuffed animal.
"Cool, huh? What's up, Doc?" The American wiggled the plushie's arm, donning a Brooklyn accent with the last part, which caused the Briton to smile softly.
"I'll cherish it."
"Awesome, bro! What do you wanna do next?"
"Whatever you want, I suppose." Alfred's face lit up again, and he resumed his earlier game of 'Drag the Iggy'.
Only a few minutes had passed before Arthur felt his shoulder relocate itself, which he took to mean Alfred had found his next activity. He looked up from his feet… and then kept going. His neck, straining to extend as far back as possible, couldn't go any further by the time he was finally able to see the top.
Three gigantic triangular pillars jutted into the sky, the color transitioning from blue go green, yellow, orange, and then red at the top. Arthur didn't want to think about what it did, but he had a pretty good idea.
"Are you going on that one?"
"Hell yeah!" Alfred shouted. "It's called the Scream."
"That's wonderful. I'll wait over here until you're done." Arthur began to walk away, but his wrist was caught before he could go.
"Actually, um… I was hoping you could come with me on this one?" The look of shock on Arthur's face made Alfred wish he'd brought his camera.
"You want me to do what?"
"Please, it would mean so much to me. I know you don't like roller coasters, but I don't wanna go alone on this one." Alfred clasped his hands together pleadingly, tears welling in his big, blue eyes as his bottom lip stuck out, quavering.
"Bloody hell. Alright, I'll go. But you owe me for this." The puppy eyes vanished and were immediately replaced with excitement.
"Thanks, sweetheart," he said, pressing a loving kiss to his lover's forehead.
"Wanker," Arthur muttered, cursing himself for agreeing to go.
The line was fairly long, leaving Arthur to wallow in anxiety and self-pity. Alfred sat on the railing, hands holding the bar on either side to keep him from falling off as his feet swung back and forth.
"Damn, that's pretty high," he thought aloud, doing nothing to help Arthur's state of internalized panic.
"Imagine being the one to have to paint that," a boy, looking to be about fourteen with ash-blond hair, standing in line behind them said teasingly. A brown-haired girl in a similar position to Alfred's, who looked to be about the same age as the boy, slapped his arm.
"Shut up, Zane! You're making it worse!" The boy laughed quietly, turning his head to the side and disguising it as a cough. Another boy, this one much shorter than the others, glanced suggestively back and forth between them, a cocky smirk on his face. The two glared at him for a split second before he was both flicked (courtesy of Zane) and delivered a kick to the knee from the girl. The boy doubled over in pain as his friends burst into laughter.
"Come on, the line is moving," Arthur snapped, bringing Alfred's attention away from the three kids behind them.
"Right, let's go," he replied, pushing through the turnstile and leading Arthur to a pair of empty seats at the base of one of the pillars. They buckled in securely, and Alfred noticed the three teenagers heading over towards some uninhabited spots on the same one he and Arthur were using.
One of the park employees went around to make sure everyone was strapped in tightly before starting the ride. There was a loud hissing sound as the ride slowly lifted upwards until they were about ten feet off the ground. Alfred could hear both Arthur's hyperventilating and the girl from before cursing her friends for dragging her into this.
Before long, the ride shot upwards. A high-pitched shriek filled the air and Alfred wasn't sure if it came from Arthur or Ashley.
"I'm the heroooo!" he called out as the ride rose and fell, until a few minutes later, when they froze at the top. Rapid, shallow breaths came from either side of him, and he pretended not to notice the death grip Arthur had on his arm. He craned his neck to look around the corner. Zane was sitting casually, gazing into the sky. Alfred reached over and poked him to get his attention.
"Your girlfriend alright over there?" The boy reddened.
"She's not my…" he sighed. "Yeah, she's fine." Alfred nodded and returned to his former position, a smile ghosting over his lips. The ride resumed as if it had been timed around his mini-conversation with the kid. They shot back down, finally returning to the ground.
"Bloody… bloody hell," Arthur gasped as he stood back up. His legs were shaking so hard that he immediately fell forwards into Alfred's chest.
"See? That wasn't so bad, was it?"
"Shut up, wanker," he choked out, wobbling furiously as he tried to walk by himself. The taller man chuckled, coming up from behind and swooping Arthur into his arms. Surprisingly, the Englishman didn't fight back.
"That's the last time I'll ever go on a roller coaster with you, twat," he muttered. His eyelids fluttered in a desperate attempt to stay awake before he gave in and fell asleep in Alfred's arms. The American pressed a delicate kiss to his lover's temple as he carried the man out to the parking lot.
"I had fun, too, sweetheart," he whispered, buckling Arthur's seat belt for him and driving away.
This summer promised to be the best one yet.