AN: Trigger warnings for violence and homophobic slurs. Be warned.

Chapter 10: Terror

Alfred met with his friends at the karaoke bar that Friday night after agreeing with Arthur that they could take a night off from seeing each other. They had spent the night at Alfred's every night that week and Alfred thought he could bear one night away from his secret lover. He was wrong. Around ten pm, after he had only been at the bar for two hours, his fingers were itching to text Arthur. He refrained because he didn't want to call attention to himself.

"What are you going to sing tonight?" Natalia smiled prettily at him.

"Nothing probably," Alfred said. "I'm not really in the mood."

"But you didn't sing last week either," she pressed. "You have to sing this week."

"Maybe," Alfred glanced around the bar.

"Looking for your secret boyfriend?" Feliciano teased. He still didn't believe his friend's story about meeting a man at their bar on a random weekday.

"No," Alfred said as he sipped his beer. "I'm just…restless I guess."

"Then you should sing something," Natalia insisted. "It will help with your heartache."

"I don't have any heartache," Alfred said glaring at his friends. "I'm perfectly fine. I just don't want to sing tonight. I don't even know what I would sing anyway."

"What about 'My Heart Will Go On'?" Feliciano asked in a bright voice.

"Uh, no," Alfred scoffed. "Anything but that."

"I haven't decided on my song yet either," Feli said. "I was thinking something from Rocky Horror though maybe."

"That's a risk," Natalia pointed out. "Especially with the frat boys here," she gestured to a table near them that held four burly college age guys wearing football jerseys. "They would probably beat you up or something if you sang 'Sweet Transvestite,'" she laughed.

"Yeah," Feliciano looked downcast. "They probably would."

"What about Britney?" Alfred pointed at the song book that they had placed in front of them. "Everyone likes Britney, and you can sing her octave."

"Perhaps," Feliciano glanced at the list. "I'll make up my mind later."

"Things going okay with you?" Alfred placed his hand on Feliciano's wrist. "You seem upset."

"Well," the Italian man sighed. "I haven't seen Lud—I mean, I haven't seen my boyfriend for a few days now and it is making me somewhat upset. That's all."

"I'm sorry dude," Alfred consoled. "That's rough."

"Who's your boyfriend?" Natalia asked, a glint in her eye.

"No one," both Feliciano and Alfred answered at the same time.

"Well," Natalia huffed. "That's not suspicious at all." She smirked at them for a moment and took a deep drink of her straight vodka. "I'll find out one day you know. And I already have an idea in my mind."

"Your idea is wrong," Feliciano said firmly.

"Maybe, maybe not," she smiled. "I did see you coming out of Dr. Beilschmidt's office that one day looking…disheveled. And I know how much you like him."

"Come on Nat," Alfred said. "You really think Dr. Beilschmidt would fuck around with one of the staff? He's not like that."

"No he isn't," Feliciano said, his voice shaking a bit. He was beginning to get nervous as to how close Natalia was getting to his secret.

"Whatever," Natalia said. "I'm going to sing Lady Marmalade with some of the girls." She stood up and joined a few of their fellow nurses on stage and the familiar strains of the famous song came out of the speakers. The performance was excellent and Feliciano and Alfred clapped loudly for their friends when they had finished singing.

"Thank you for covering for me," Feliciano whispered.

"I told you," Alfred said quietly back. "Your secret is safe with me."

The two friends clinked their glasses together and smiled at one another, confident that their friendship was strong.

Around midnight, Alfred couldn't hold it back any longer and he sent a quick text to Arthur. He was a bit tipsy and was glad that he hadn't driven to the bar that night. He and Feliciano had given in to Natalia's peer pressure and done a few rounds of shots with the girl. She seemed perfectly fine, but Alfred could feel the world tilting a bit. Feliciano had finally gotten on stage after two chocolate cake shots and sang 'I'm a Slave 4 U" which got a rousing round of applause from the entire bar with the exception of the frat boys in the corner.

Alfred pulled out his phone and texted Arthur. 'I miss you. Can I come over?'

He received a message back almost immediately. 'Let's meet at your place love, I'm worried about Ludwig seeing your car again.'

'I don't have my car tonight. I can take a cab to your house.'

There was a few minutes while Alfred stared at his phone and toyed with the full shot glass in front of him. 'Fine. I'll see you soon lad.'

Alfred grinned and downed the shot in front of him. He had no idea what it was but it burned like fire and he almost spit it out. Natalia laughed at him when he pulled a face at the liquid searing down his throat. "What the fuck was that?" he asked.

"Whiskey," she smirked. "You didn't like it?"

"It was a bit stronger than what I was expecting," Alfred admitted. "Well, I'm off. I'm gonna go home and go to bed."

"Sure you are," Natalia said, glancing at his phone.

"Bye guys," he stood up from his stool. "You gonna be okay Feli?"

"Yes," the Italian nurse said tipsily. He was wavering on his chair. "I'm going to leave soon too," he announced.

"Okay," Alfred threw down some money on the table to cover his drinks. "Remember we picked up a shift tomorrow even though it's Saturday."

Feliciano groaned. "I don't want to go in."

"Yeah, me either," Alfred laughed. "I'll see you in the morning."

He turned and walked out of the bar. There was a taxi sitting at the curb with its light on. Perfect. It was as though the universe was conspiring with him to see his precious Arthur that night. Alfred got in and gave the address to the driver and within seconds he was off, the lights of the bar blinking merrily behind him.

The cab pulled up in front of Arthur's place within a few minutes and Alfred paid the man with a generous tip. He glanced around the deserted sidewalk for a few moments as the cab pulled away before he ascended the steps to Arthur's town home. There was no one watching him. He didn't notice the rustle of curtains moving in the house next door and so he paid it no mind. He didn't even have to knock on the door before it swung open revealing his lover in only his boxer briefs.

"I missed you," Arthur said seductively.

"I missed you too," Alfred stepped into the house and shut the door behind him.

"I thought we were going to take a break tonight?" Arthur said, smiling up at him.

Alfred ran his hands down Arthur's chest and toyed with the Englishman's nipples for a moment. "I couldn't stay away," he admitted.

"I'm glad," Arthur said. "Tonight was pure torture knowing that I wasn't going to see you. I'm pleased that you changed your mind."

"So am I," Alfred smiled, leaning down for a kiss.

They stumbled up the stairs to Arthur's bedroom and fell into bed together, with Alfred's hands roaming over Arthur's body. The moonlight shone through the curtains, illuminating the surgeon's pale skin. Alfred drank in the sight. They moaned together as the night continued on and everything was perfect.

Feliciano stumbled out of the bar a few hours later. He had stayed past the time he had said he would leave and was the last one of their group left. He had gathered all the bills on the table left by his friends, and paid the bill with a nice tip. As he made his way into the night air he whistled a little tune. He managed to pull his keys out and realized that he probably shouldn't be driving. Just as well. He glanced up and down the street looking for a taxi. The lights of the bar behind him blinked out as they closed up for the evening. He was standing alone on the sidewalk, waiting for a cab to come by when he heard footsteps approaching behind him.

"Hey faggot," came a rough voice.

Feliciano spun around and came face to face with a broad chest. It was one of the frat boys from the corner of the bar. He had his three friends standing behind him looking menacing. "What do you want?" Feliciano asked, his voice straining to sound brave.

"We just wanna talk to you fag," one of the men said in a low voice.

"Yeah," announced another. "What was up with you singing Britney Fucking Spears? You wanna be a girl or something?"

"I happen to do very well with Britney's songs," Feliciano said, his voice hard.

"You're a fucking piece of shit," the leader said, poking Feli in the chest. "We don't want some fag running around the bar flashing his shit around."

"Then maybe you shouldn't drink at a karaoke bar," Feliciano suggested coldly. He was starting to sober up at the confrontation and he was becoming acutely aware of how alone he was.

"Fuck you," the leader said. "I'll drink wherever I want!" He pulled his fist back and threw it forward with a hard hit.

Feliciano's face burst into pain. He screamed and fell to the ground. Suddenly all four of the men were on top of him. Punching and kicking him in the gut. Feliciano curled into a ball and tried to fend off the attack, his arms waving wildly. "Stop!" he screamed out. But the assault did not stop. He heard slurs shouted at him as the hits kept raining down on his face and torso. He was no match for four men who were each twice his size. Large tears began to fall from his swelling face.

After a few minutes someone called out from the bar, "Hey, what the fuck!?" The punches stopped and someone shouted, "Let's get out of here!"

The last thing that Feliciano saw before he blacked out was the face of the bartender over him saying, "You're gonna be okay. There's an ambulance on the way."

AN: Sorry, so sorry for doing this to Feliciano. Poor baby!