Arthur thought Alfred developing feelings for him would solve his problems, but he was quickly discovering as they continued on it was quite the opposite.
For how much he was painfully aware of Alfred's every move before, he was ten times as aware now, and Alfred, it appeared, felt the same way. His eyes seemed to find him every few minutes, and Arthur was about ninety percent sure he was walking closer to him than usual, if their brushing hands were anything to go by. He found himself achingly self-conscious for some reason, despite knowing, for once in his life, Alfred was going to love him no matter what idiotic things he managed to do.
He blushed. No more using the L word. He wasn't ready to use the L word.
"Arthur, watch out!"
He blinked, Alfred's cry of alarm tearing him out of his thoughts just too late to stop him from tripping over a tree root and falling face first onto the dirt below. "Ow," he groaned.
"Arthur!" Alfred gasped. Arthur felt the other trainer leaning over him as he was pulled up gently by the arm so he was sitting upright. Alfred smirked in amusement, though his eyes let on how truly worried he actually was. "You okay, dude?" he asked.
"Bloody perfect," he grumbled. Alfred chuckled.
"Here, lemme see your head. Looks like it might be bleeding a little."
Arthur's eyes widened. "O-oh, no, that's quite all right. I'm sure-"
Alfred ignored him, reaching up and gently brushing Arthur's hair aside to better see his forehead and assess the damage. Arthur flushed, Alfred's gentle touches sending shivers through his body. "Hm, you definitely got a little scratch, but it's not too bad."
"Alfred-" he began, but the younger trainer continued.
"You have some dirt on you, though. Let me get that for ya."
And now Alfred was running his fingers slowly across his forehead and down his temple, the tips of his fingers brushing against Arthur's now surely blushing skin. His blue eyes were focused on his task, looking more serious than Arthur had seen them in a long time. Before he knew what he was doing, he was leaning forward, ever so slightly. "A-Alfred..."
Alfred's soft caress slowed considerably, his eyes finally meeting Arthur's. "Yes, Arthur?" he whispered, leaning forward slightly as well.
Arthur's breath was caught in his throat as Alfred's eyes began to flutter closed. Oh Arceus, this was actually happening, they were actually going to-
"Mag!"
The trainers jolted apart at Mismagius' sudden cry, suddenly aware of what they were doing. Alfred hopped onto his feet, brushing off his pants and looking everywhere but at Arthur. Arthur glared daggers at his pokemon, who gave him a stern, disapproving glare in response.
"W-we should probably get going, huh?" Alfred asked, looking to the sky, his face a deep, crimson red. "It's gonna get dark soon."
"Good idea," Arthur agreed, pushing himself off the ground so he was standing again. "We should find a place to set up camp for the night."
They walked in relative silence after that, Alfred now walking a purposeful meter ahead of him, much to Arthur's annoyance. Mismagius, for her part, looked unashamed, making it clear to Arthur just how much she disapproved of this whole thing.
Arthur found he didn't care much about what Mismagius thought. He was going to enjoy this while it lasted.
O
They set up camp a short while later in a small clearing deep in the woods. Alfred and Braviary left to get water, leaving Arthur to start the fire and set up a tent for the night, since the weather had been reporting a cold front coming through their area. Mismagius, of course, was being stubbornly unhelpful, and Arthur refused to call for one of his other pokemon on principal, so he was still working on the tent when Alfred returned.
"Hey, need some help with that?" he asked, placing the bucket he had been hauling near the fire.
Arthur glared down at the post he had been wrestling with. "I am just fine, thank you."
"You suuure?" he persisted.
Arthur's grip on the post tightened. "Positive."
Alfred shrugged and retreated back over to the fire, presumably to start their dinner. Arthur sighed in relief. As much as he was enjoying the extra attention, things had been a little tense since their near-kiss out on the path. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Alfred poke at the fire with a stick and start opening some cans of what looked like beans.
By the time he got the tent together, the sun had already sunk below the nearby mountains, bringing with it the comfortable heat of the evening. He shivered as he took his seat next to Alfred by the fire, gratefully accepting the can of lukewarm beans Alfred offered. Their fingers brushed as he was handed the can. He pretended not to notice.
"You okay?" Alfred asked.
"Just a bit chilly," he explained.
Alfred seemed unimpressed. "Chilly? Dude, you're shivering."
"It's a bit cold away from the fire is all."
Alfred scrunched his nose up adorably. "Shit Artie, if you're that cold, take this."
Arthur jumped as a sudden heavy weight was dropped across his shoulders, and almost dropped his dinner when he realized that heavy weight was Alfred's jacket.
His heart caught in his throat. Alfred's father's old league jacket was practically an extension of Alfred himself, hardly outside of his sight, if it wasn't on his person. Arthur caught himself taking a short sniff of the jacket's collar, delighting in the fact that it smelled like an intoxicating mixture of fresh air, old leather, and something wonderful that could only be Alfred himself.
Oh, he thought to himself, he could get used to this.
"Better, I assume?" Alfred laughed.
Arthur scoffed, fighting off the urge to bury himself in that scent and remain there for the rest of his life. "Wont you be cold?"
"Nah," Alfred said, arrogantly waving him off. "A little cold could never bother the hero!" He flexed his arm with a wink.
Arthur blushed. What a ham; there he was showing off again.
Arthur loved it.
They finished their dinners in pleasant, casual conversation, scooting ever so closer to each other on the log and periodically looking upwards at the stars. After a while, the urge to rest his head on Alfred's shoulder crept itself into Arthur's brain, and after he found he couldn't shake it, he decided to go for it. He held his breath, too nervous to make a sound and ruin his only chance to indulge in something he had wanted for over half a decade.
Alfred tensed at the contact at first, but after a few seconds, he began to relax. After a few minutes, he even slowly let his arm rest comfortably around Arthur's shoulders. Arthur's heart did a somersault in his chest. Was this really happening?
"Getting tired?" he heard Alfred whisper.
"Mmm," he muttered noncommittally.
Alfred chuckled low and soft. "Okay Sleepyhead, let's get you to bed." He tapped Arthur on the head and stood up, taking Arthur's hand and helping him up as well.
They changed into their pajamas and slipped into the tent, unrolling their sleeping bags and snuggling in, enjoying the warmth. Arthur watched as Alfred scratched at Braviary's feathers before letting it cuddle into his side, and for a moment Arthur missed the company of his Mismagius, but as long as she was being grumpy, he was happy to enjoy Alfred's attention without her.
"I had a wonderful day today," he said quietly once they had settled in. He couldn't see much of Alfred in the darkness of the tent, but he had a feeling he was watching him.
"Me too," was Alfred's own quiet reply.
The small sentence hung in the air for a few moments, like Alfred was going to say something else, but nothing came. He shrugged it off and wished Alfred a good night, surrendering into a serene and peaceful night sleep.
O
Stupid, sappy fluff is my lifeblood.
The last chapter will be up next Sunday, Valentine's Daaaay! Hope you are enjoying so far! And thank you to everyone that found me on tumblr, it's good to see you all!
Until next time!
-Car
