Alfred sighed, burying his head in his hands. Paperwork was normally a difficult task for the sunny blond, due to his trouble with being unable to concentrate on one thing for a long period of time, but it was harder than usual today.
Alfred had been gone for a long time. One night, he had gone to bed, the same as he would any other night, and, while he was sleeping, he disappeared.
Even now, Alfred was unable to explain why he had gone, or how it had happened. All he could recall were the feelings and sensations he had experienced. Alfred pressed the heels of his palms into his eyes, having removed his glasses a while ago. As he did so, the feelings came back to him - Alfred remembered that it had been dark, so dark, and he had been alone, immobilized, suspended somewhere in limbo. It had been hard to breathe and even harder to remember how to make his lungs function. When Alfred had been able to open his eyes in this strange limbo world, he had only seen darkness.
Alfred shuddered, pulling himself out of the memories with some difficulty. Since it had happened while he was asleep, Alfred was terrified to fall asleep and, in fact, did not sleep most nights. He didn't want to risk disappearing again. He couldn't leave Arthur alone like that again; when Alfred had finally woken up, he had made his way downstairs for water and found Arthur, sopping wet and half-curled up in a ball on his kitchen floor. Alfred could still remember the way that Arthur had shuddered and shook in his arms, both of them wet and cold and in desperate need of the other's warmth.
"Are you working hard or hardly working, love?" a quiet voice asked from the doorway of Alfred's study, interrupting his thoughts.
The American sat up and blinked at the door, trying to bring the person he knew to be standing there into focus, and only then remembered he still wasn't wearing his glasses. Smiling as he put them back on, Alfred stood and answered, "Hardly workin', I gotta admit."
Arthur smiled softly at Alfred and walked a few paces into the study. "Perhaps I should go back to the airport and let you work."
Alfred grinned and strode forward, covering the distance between them and pulling Arthur into a tight embrace, his grin widening when the Englishman returned it with just as much fierceness as Alfred. "Nah, I got enough done to get the boss off my case. 'Sides, if ya left, I'd miss you and you'd miss me and then it'd just make me hafta fly out to you."
In Alfred's arms, Arthur chuckled and squeezed the taller man affectionately. "What makes you so sure that I would miss you, hmm?" he asked teasingly.
"Oh, just a feelin'," Alfred replied with another grin, pulling back from Arthur slightly to lean down and kiss him sweetly. "D'ya wanna stay in tonight or d'ya feel like going out?"
Arthur returned the kiss, humming in a pleased way into it and stopping once Alfred had pulled back. He gave the American a quick once-over, nothing the light purple bags beneath Alfred's bright blue eyes, the overly-ruffled blond hair, and, with a glance at the paper-covered desk behind them, the numerous empty coffee mugs and energy drink cans. Narrowing his green eyes slightly beneath his thicker-than-average eyebrows, Arthur asked, "When was the last time you slept, Alfred?"
The American glanced down, a slight crease appearing on his otherwise smooth forehead as he did so. Alfred looked back up, his blue eyes clear and the crease gone. "Last night," he answered cheerfully, smiling a tad too brightly for Arthur's taste.
The shortness of the answer set Arthur's alarms off, but he nodded in consent and gave the man another light squeeze before stepping back. "Let's stay in tonight," he suggested, a smile in his eyes. "Do you still have the ice cream you bought a few days ago?" Arthur took Alfred's hand and turned around, leading the man out of his own study, through the living room, and into the kitchen, where he let go and opened the freezer. Pausing at the contents, Arthur smiled and began to list them off. "Mint chocolate chip, chocolate, vanilla, cookie dough, rainbow sherbet, strawberry, and Neapolitan?" he asked, his smile evident in his voice.
Alfred chuckled from behind him, a bit guiltily. "There was a big sale at Walmart," he offered as way of explanation. He turned and walked across the kitchen, pulling out two spoons from the silverware drawer. Neither man used bowls when they ate ice cream together, and it was easier to do so; this way, there were less dishes.
"You could make your own Neapolitan, Alfred, why did you buy the actual flavor if you didn't need to?" Arthur asked, amused with Alfred's purchasing of so many sweets at the same time. He could be childlike at times and, to be honest, Arthur delighted in that; it made Alfred, well, Alfred.
Alfred walked back over to Arthur and dropped a kiss on the Englishman's cheek before reaching in and pulling out the strawberry ice cream, shutting the freezer after. "Because the actual stuff tastes way better than anything I could make." Excited now, Alfred took Arthur's hand and tugged him back to the living room. "Can I pick the movie?"
Chuckling at Alfred's eagerness, Arthur nodded and took both the ice cream and spoons from the man, getting into a comfortable position on the couch. Once Alfred had chosen his movie and put it in the player (it was some horror film; Arthur didn't care them, but he would watch them with Alfred; the same went for the ice cream he was now eating: it was something he only did with the American), Arthur shifted so that Alfred would end up resting on him once he sat down.
Even as Alfred leant against Arthur, his head on the other man's shoulder, he glanced up at the Englishman and asked, "Whatcha doin' this for, Arthur?"
Arthur only smiled and pressed a kiss to Alfred's mouth, effectively silencing any further questions as the opening scene started the film.
Throughout the film, Alfred felt his eyelids growing heavier and heavier. It was a film that Alfred had seen twice before, but it was also a horror with a fair amount of jump scares, and normally that would be enough to keep Alfred awake throughout it, despite how tired he was. However, he hadn't slept last night, though that was what he had told Arthur. Alfred actually hadn't slept for the past three nights, if he remembered correctly. Resting against Arthur, though, and nestling into his side, Alfred felt safe. He felt that, just maybe, he could grab a few moments of rest. I'm just going to rest my eyes, Alfred told himself as his eyes slid shut.
When Arthur glanced down at Alfred a few minutes later, the man was fast asleep, his mouth hanging open and light snores coming from him. Arthur smiled and kissed the top of Alfred's head. "Sleep well, Alfred," he murmured, resting his head on top of the American's and closing his own eyes to the film, a smile still on his face.
A/N: Finally, I'm over my writer's block! I hope you all enjoyed this piece; I wanted to write something short and cute and to the point, so I did. You should (hopefully) be seeing more from me soon. :) Please drop me a review; I would love to hear from you. Have a lovely day!
~Chari