Teddy Bear

Suggested by ninjapanda17! ^-^

Ever since he was young, Alfred had slept with a stuffed bear wrapped securely in his arms. They fought off the monsters and nightmares that crept up on him in his sleep and he absolutely would not under any circumstance, sleep without one after watching a scary movie. It was a habit that he had carried with him through his years, and the only people that had ever known were his Mother (who thought it was absolutelyadorable that her tough little boy still had a soft spot) and his brother Matthew, who had the same problem.

Alfred had tried to quit sleeping with teddy bears, only to find himself in a scare whenever the lights were out and he could have sworn the closet door was slowly, ever so slowly, inching open.

And now that he was a university student living in the dorms with his, well, lover he supposed would be correct term; it was even more difficult to try and conceal his childish habits. Arthur had a knack for picking apart his worst habits (elbows on the table while eating, talking too loudly, hiding snacks so he wouldn't have to share, etc.) and Alfred was near terrified to find out his boyfriends reaction.

That weekend Arthur had come back to the dorm room with a DVD case in one hand and a bag of M&M's in the other. "Um, er… I thought we'd do something… special, for our three month?" he had explained awkwardly, tapping the toe of his shoe on the floor. "I'm sure you like M&M's…"

Alfred couldn't bring himself to disagree at that, fearing that Arthur might feel rejected if he said no. He had pulled Arthur into an excited hug, kissing the British exchange student on the face until they were both reduced to goofy giggles.

He only regretted his decision once Arthur had put the movie into the DVD player as they huddled together on their pushed-together beds; the open bag of M&M's the only thing separating their chests beneath the blankets. Of course it just had to be the most horrifically frightening thing Alfred had ever seen in his life, and he clutched to the Briton with a steely grip throughout the entire thing. Arthur had simply chuckled at him, allowing him to cling and hide his face, but not without making a few snide remarks at his childishness.

Alfred frowned, if only Arthur really knew.

That night he gathered a large wad of his blankets, holding it to his chest as if to replicate the feeling and shape of his childhood comfort, but to no avail. The wind howled eerily outside their window, and he could have sworn he heard strange popping noises coming from absolutely nowhere whenever he closed his eyes. He sat up in his bed, his blue eyes scanning the darkened room before him.

Clink.

With an unmanly "eep", he scuttled over to Arthur's side of the bed, hiding under Arthur's blanket and shaking the Briton with a sense of urgency and desperation. "Arthur, Arthur, oh my god, Arthur wake up! Arthurrr!"

Arthur rolled to face him with a sleepy groan. "Wot ish it?" he mumbled, his accent thick and tired. Alfred would have smiled if he wasn't so scared shitless.

"Look, I have a secret and I'm only gunna tell you this once because I'm pretty sure I'm going to die, but okay, I used to sleep with a stuffed bear and shit when I was a kid 'coz they chase off nightmares and monsters and like I left my bear at home 'coz yanno I'm a man and well, men don't need teddy bears but like fuck Arthur what if those zombies are real and holy shit we're gunna die!"

Arthur's green eyes were wide and strange in the darkness of the dorm and for a moment Alfred was positive that his boyfriend was going to laugh and kick him out of the bed. But instead Arthur sighed, wrapping his arms around Alfred and tucking the American's head against his chest, so perfectly that his forehead nestled against Arthur's collarbone and his arm made a comfortable pillow to sleep on. "There's nothing to fear, love," Arthur murmured, his voice laced with sleep. "I assure you the zombie are not real. And no monster shall touch even a hair on your head. Not on my watch."

Alfred sighed deeply into Arthur's skin, allowing his limbs to relax, and focusing his hearing on Arthur's steady breathing. He may not have a teddy bear to hold, but now he had something better.

"I love you…" he whispered before drifting off into sleep, unaware of the light smile that spread across Arthur's face.


Hey guys! I just wanted to drop a thank you for reading these! :D They can all be found on my tumblr at prnd . tumblr . com, where I take drabble and one-shot requests. :3 Thank you guys so much! :D