Arthur's leg bounced in place. Each fretful moment he spent waiting made his skin crawl. His fingernails were chewed to their beds and the loose threads of his sweater were pulled and snapped off every which way. He couldn't handle this anymore. He was a bottle of champagne shaken too many times, except now, his cork finally came unscrewed and he was spilling all over the carpet floor. He wanted a carefree and stressless life but that wasn't practical when he bottled up his feelings to the breaking point.

The echo of footsteps and chatter from the dorm hallway kicked Arthur's anxiety into overdrive. The confidence he held in his square shoulders and straight back evacuated his body as soon as reality set in. He froze. Could he back out of the situation? Was it too late? There was the horrifying reminder that yes, it definitely was too late to take back what he had said, before Arthur went straight back to bouncing his leg.

Arthur was the king at avoiding things. How many times had he dipped his toes into the cold water of exposing himself before recoiling back into the warmth and safety of silence? Too long! By now, he was hurting Alfred-his deeply loved and charming boyfriend-in the process, and the weight was becoming too much for Arthur to hold on his shoulders. Their relationship was threading apart the more Arthur ignored his problems. He was sure Alfred noticed it too; the lack of upfront honesty in talk about his childhood, the hesitancy in conversation and the dodged subjects that didn't seem unusual for his open book of a boyfriend. Their relationship was going down the drain and Arthur was permitting it solely because he didn't have the balls to admit his… Situation.

Arthur's lungs ceased to function as soon as he heard someone turn the handle of the front door.

It swung open.

"Yo! What's kickin' little chicken?" Alfred greeted, a bright grin in place as he tossed his bookbag onto the floor.

Arthur re-crossed his legs uneasily.

Alfred's happy grin started to slip from his lips. "What's it that you wanted to talk about, Art? You can't just send me a long and vague text message talking about how there's something 'big and important' that you've been meaning to tell me and then like… Not tell me! You scared the shit out of me in the middle of Bio-Stats. You better not be like, dying or married or moving away or something because that would be sad. What's up?"

Typical Alfred. Always so laid-back and casual. And, knowing Alfred, Arthur would have to be straightforward and blunt about things lest it go straight over his head. Alfred was looking at him expectantly, his eyes wide as he stared from behind his wire frames.

Arthur took a shaky breath.

"...I'm transgender."

"'Kay." Alfred shrugged off his jacket and tossed it over the back of the sofa. It wasn't long after before he plopped himself down on the cushion beside his boyfriend. "What's for dinner?"

Arthur gaped. He had been pressuring himself to tell Alfred for months! Weeks of sleepless nights plagued with fear of rejection fueled his unstable confidence, and it was beginning to tumble down. He had gone through all of that emotional trouble for the simple reply of "'Kay"? Alfred had a habit of not listening, surely, but not when he knew he was being told something important!

"Did you even hear what I just said?" Arthur questioned, bewilderment plastered across his face.

"Well, yeah," Alfred shrugged. "Did you even hear what I just said? It's date night, isn't it? We usually go out for dinner. What's the plan, my man? Let's get some food!"

"Alfred, this is serious."

"I know it is! All I had was a package of peanut butter crackers and ramen for lunch. I could totally go for a couple slices of pizza right about now. Ooh, yeah. Definitely pizza. I'll pay! Should we go for combination, pepperoni, or that chicken tomato kind you love?"

"Alfred, you're still not listening!" Arthur chastised, his fists clenched tightly together. Tears stung at the corner of his eyes and unsettled his nerves to his very core. As much as he adored Alfred for his fun-and-games attitude, it got on his nerves when he was trying to have an actual conversation with the American. Did he think this was some sort of joke?

Alfred seemed to falter. His carefree smile fell from his lips as his brows creased in concerned worry. Arthur didn't think he had ever seen his boyfriend sober up so quickly.

"I am listening, Art…" Alfred assured, slipping an arm over the back of the sofa before pulling Arthur into his chest.

"God, Alfred! You do this all the time. I'm trying to be serious!" Arthur pulled away from his boyfriend's embrace. "I… I've been meaning to tell you this for months and I've finally managed to gather up the courage to come clean to you! We've been growing so distant the past few weeks and I feel like it's my fault because I know this is something you should know-"

"I just-" Alfred tried to interject.

"...about me and because this has been a gigantic weight on my shoulders ever since we started to date! I haven't been able to be completely honest and personal with you and it makes me feel like shit because you've told me so much about your family and yourself and your struggles and I haven't been able to return the favor! I care a lot about you, Alfred, a-"

"I know-" Alfred started.

He noticed Arthur was beginning to cry.

"-nd I don't want to be hiding any secrets or details about my life from you anymore! I honestly didn't think our relationship would feel as good as it does now when we first started dating and I've like, I've been afraid to come out to you because I feel like it would change how happy we are as a couple!" He wiped his sleeve under his nose before continuing. "You've completely blown me away with how wonderful and perfect and charming and nice and sweet you are and I've been trying to find a good way to tell you but I realize there's never really a "good time" for anything. I'm… I'm so sorry that I've took so long to come out to you because I want to be intimate with you and talk about my childhood with you and celebrate the changes in my life that come with transitioning and-"

Alfred quickly pressed his lips to Arthur's, silencing his worried ramblings. When he finally pulled away, he actually began to laugh. Arthur shrunk in place and Alfred realized that laughing wasn't the best response to Arthur's tense state.

"Art. Artie. Arthur, baby. I already knew."

"...What?"

"Well, I mean… I kind'a figured. Did you forget that we've been dating for like, months? I wasn't going to corner you and ask because it wasn't any of my business and I trusted that if you wanted to tell me, you would. There were little things that I picked up on. Like… The little pride flag charm on your phone? And the way you'd look at me whenever there was drama in the news about the community? You'd look at me all wide-eyed and nervous, and if we started to talk about it together, your voice would get higher and you'd start bouncing your leg like you do when you're anxious. You think that would change the way I feel about you? I'm not that shallow. You being the "T" in "LGBT" doesn't stop me from being the "G". I like you. Inside and out. It doesn't matter what's under your clothes."

Alfred was never one for delicate and sweet words, so the lack of articulation in his consoling speech was to be expected. The genuinity, however, wasn't. Arthur was stunned into silence. Alfred had noticed all of those little things about him? And he wasn't upset or angry for not coming out sooner into the relationship?

"...Oh."

Alfred gave a lopsided grin and a lame "yeah" in reply. He wiped away the tears on Arthur's cheeks with his thumbs, watching his expression change from awestruck to happy to relieved as he wrapped his mind around the conversation.

"So, my handsome little man, with that settled… Can we please order some damn pizza?"