Author's note: I know it's crazy that I'm updating again so soon, but I'm getting to a point where I feel like this story needs to be finished – but in a good way. :)

So, somehow this chapter ended up being the Sexy Chapter. :) I think that was just bad timing on my part because originally the beginning of this chapter was going to be the end of the last chapter, but eh, it worked out. HOWEVER. I have bumped the rating up to M, because I think the latter half of this chapter warrants it. Be forewarned. (Also, I played a bit with the seme/uke thing. ;) Hope you don't mind.)

Chapter 10

The café was paneled in dark wood with matching furniture, but it was well-lit by large windows facing a quiet street. It was comfortably full, but Arthur and Alfred were given a table in a corner that felt almost intimate. Each table had a single pink rose as its centerpiece – a fresh one, not fake or dying. They got sandwiches and their respective drinks – tea for Arthur, coffee for Alfred – and took their time. They talked about little things, general things, but Alfred found himself increasingly distracted by the way Arthur would rest his chin on one hand and gently loop his fingers through the handle of his teacup with the other. His eyes would drift towards the window as he spoke, a shadow would fall across his throat. . . .

"Alfred," said Arthur.

"Hmm?" Alfred realized that the green eyes were looking at him with full force. He grinned sillily, not even trying to disguise the fact that he had just been staring at the man across from him. Arthur's mouth curled into a smile in response.

"Were you even listening to me?"

"Not really."

Arthur rolled his eyes, though he was still smiling. "Let's be done. I'm out of tea anyway. We can go for a walk."

"Sure," Alfred said happily, and they stood up.

It was warm outside and the sun shone pleasantly. It didn't take them long to end up back at the hotel, and then with a casual comment of, "Let's go upstairs, it's quieter there," in Alfred's room. Alfred opened the door and winced. "Haha, I forget it's so messy sometimes," Alfred said as he pushed a pair of jeans out of their way with his crutches.

Arthur immediately began to make himself comfortable, picking up books and clothes off the floor and neatly folding them on top of the dresser or the bed. "I don't blame you," he said in an understanding tone, "What with your injury at whatnot. Besides, I'm never as neat in a hotel as I am at home. Always only half unpacked, sort of thing."

"Er, right," Alfred said, not wanting to see Arthur's face when he learned that his room was like this all the time. "Well, anyway, there's some space on the bed," he said as he leaned his crutches against the dresser.

"Mm-hmm," Arthur said, and the moment he sat down next to him, Alfred captured his jaw with one hand and pulled him into a kiss. It was warm but quick. When Alfred pulled away Arthur gave him a smoldering look of, "What, that's it?" and it didn't take them very long to decide that they had pretty much done enough talking for the day.

Alfred had never opened his curtains, so the room was lit by a soft light. Though their eyes adjusted easily, it felt dark and cool, and when Arthur slipped off Alfred's shirt, neither of them minded at all.

A newly bare-chested Arthur swiftly undid Alfred's jeans and slipped a hand inside. Alfred sighed and let his head loll back against the pillow. He casually ran a hand along Arthur's back until it came to rest in the hair at the back of his head. Arthur kissed him, and Alfred pulled him closer and kissed him back. Arthur's hand slipped deeper inside his jeans and Alfred let out a soft moan. Arthur sat up and began to pull Alfred's jeans off impatiently. Alfred's eyes shot open and he grabbed Arthur's wrist. Arthur paused and looked at Alfred, wide-eyed. "Wait," Alfred said, his breath still coming fast.

Arthur's grip on the fabric loosened and he sat back on his heels. "Sorry."

"No! No, that wasn't what I meant." Alfred didn't release Arthur's wrist. He propped himself up on one elbow into a partial sitting position. "I just– You should know that when my hip went . . . it was pretty bad. I got pretty beat-up."

Arthur frowned slightly. "Was I hurting your hip?"

"No, no, this doesn't bother it at all. It's just. . . . There was a lot of scaring."

Arthur blinked. "Does that hurt?"

Alfred cracked a smile. "No. It just doesn't look very nice." He released Arthur's wrist and lay back down. After a pause, Arthur leaned back over him and pulled his jeans downward. Alfred arched his hips to help him, and watched his face curiously.

The skin of his right leg was twisted and deformed almost beyond recognition. The worst of it spiraled down Alfred's leg, as if he had tried to twist free. Some of it, Arthur could tell, was from burns.

Arthur regarded it all silently, and then ran a hand along it. Seemingly satisfied, he stripped off the last of Alfred's jeans and straddled him. He looked into Alfred's eyes. "It really doesn't look that bad."

Alfred grinned a little. "Yeah? I just wasn't sure, you know. I'm pretty used to it at this point."

Arthur nodded, and then kissed him, and when he drew back with a slight smile Alfred grinned up at him wolfishly and pulled him back down again.

They didn't get much farther, but after a certain point Alfred was content to simply hold Arthur against him. Arthur let his head rest against Alfred's broad chest with a little sigh, his eyes glazed from pleasure and drowsiness. "It must be hard, being a firefighter," he said softly as his fingers traced a small scar on Alfred's left side.

"It's not so bad. It's worth it," Alfred said, and ran his hand through Arthur's hair.

"Was this vacation from it a welcome one, then? The long one, I mean."

Alfred opened his mouth and then closed it again. "Yes and no. It's frustrating, not being able to do my job. I know I help a lot of people." Arthur tilted his head so he could watch Alfred talk. "But, it has given me a lot of time to think. And after all, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to meet you." He squeezed Arthur's shoulder and smiled down at him.

"But you miss it."

"Yes."

Arthur nodded. "I see."

Alfred shifted onto his side so that he could see Arthur better. He cupped Arthur's face in his hands. "You really are beautiful, you know that?" he whispered.

Arthur blinked, but he was too tired and relaxed to get very embarrassed. "Well, thank you," he murmured. He laid a hand on Alfred's cheek. "You're . . . something yourself."

Alfred grinned and kissed him, and that night he took him out to dinner again, and one day seemed like forever away.

Alfred made it almost all the way through Thursday. He and Arthur ate breakfast together, took a walk together, ate lunch together. He sat with Arthur while Arthur had tea and biscuits with jam, and then they went out to dinner. They sat down, ordered, and then half-way through the meal, Alfred panicked.

He completely lost his appetite. Suddenly the restaurant felt too close, too loud, too hot. All he could see was Arthur sitting across from him, his green eyes wide in concern. "Are you alright?" Arthur asked, and set down his silverware.

Alfred swallowed. "I don't have to leave tomorrow. I don't know why I didn't think about it before. I have the whole weekend. You're going to be here during the weekend, right?"

"Alfred. I imagine you were leaving today for a reason. You'll need a few days to recover from the jet lag, right?"

"Yeah. Well no, not really! I mean, I can probably take Monday off if I need to." He was leaning across the table, pleading. "I don't need to leave."

Arthur tried very, very hard to not let Alfred affect him. It didn't work. His chest hurt, and he could feel his resolve wanting to weaken. "That would just be putting off the inevitable."

"But it would be more time."

Arthur didn't have anything to say to that. His throat felt tight. He picked up his knife and fork and cut another piece out of his dinner, and ate it. Alfred put a hand to his eyes briefly and then did the same. "I'm sorry. I know you're right."

But I'm not right, Arthur wanted to say. There is no "right" option here.

They shared a molten chocolate cake. It was half gone when their eyes locked. Alfred waved down the waiter, got the bill, finished off his part of the cake, and got them out of there in record time.

They didn't even make it all the way down the hall to Alfred's room before Alfred backed Arthur against a wall and kissed him.

"Not here," Arthur said breathlessly when he got a chance, and reached in Alfred's pocket to pull out the key. He found Alfred's door and jammed it in the lock. Arthur dropped the key on top of the dresser and Alfred locked the door behind them. Arthur came back to pull Alfred into a kiss, and Alfred dropped his crutches and pushed Arthur backwards the rest of the distance to the bed.

They fell over, Alfred supporting himself above Arthur with his arms and his good leg. Arthur pulled Alfred simultaneously down into a kiss and farther up onto the bed, while Alfred struggled to one-handedly unbutton Arthur's shirt. They paused for a moment and sat up to take off Alfred's shirt, and then Alfred ended up on his back with Arthur on top of him, caressing him through his jeans. Alfred arched his hips and ran his hand through Arthur's hair, stifling a small moan. Arthur trailed kisses down his throat and undid his jeans, and his hands got rougher, and Alfred pulled him closer.

Arthur's shirt was still hanging off of him, unbuttoned, and the fabric brushed Alfred with every motion Arthur's arm made. Alfred tried to pull the shirt back from his shoulders, but that was the farthest he could get it. He started on Arthur's trousers instead, and then Arthur finished the job he had started on Alfred's jeans, and Alfred was stripped completely while Arthur was still in his dress shirt and underwear. "Driving me crazy here," Alfred said with a grin, his hands everywhere, exploring all of Arthur that he could get to.

"Not yet I'm not," Arthur breathed, and he tested Alfred. Alfred groaned and spread his legs wider. "Where is it?" Arthur asked.

"Bathroom," Alfred gasped out.

Arthur went to the bathroom and flicked on the light. He dumped out the contents of Alfred's toiletry bag, not caring about the mess he was making. He found the small bottle and a few old condoms crammed in at the bottom. He brought them back over to the bed and stood beside it, popping open the top of the bottle of lubricant and then setting the condoms aside. "I should be on top because of your hip, right?" he asked uncertainly, the bottle half-way tipped towards his hand.

Alfred grinned up at him and sat up. He took the bottle from Arthur and poured some in his hand. "Honey, I really couldn't care less," he breathed in Arthur's ear, and in one quick motion slipped his hand inside Arthur's underwear. Arthur moaned. It was cold and moist, and felt so good. He didn't protest when Alfred deprived him of his clothes. Alfred lay back and watched him, waiting. Arthur's hands shook as he opened the condom and unrolled it over himself, quickly. He settled himself over Alfred, stroking him, and then remembered that he was in control and he knew what he was doing. He didn't need to guess when Alfred was ready, because Alfred looked up at him with eyes full of lust and need, and grabbed Arthur's shoulders and pulled him inside.

Arthur almost didn't care who could hear them. Alfred clearly didn't. Alfred moaned and kissed his shoulder and pulled him in deeper, and finally Arthur couldn't hold it in any longer. He buried his face in Alfred's hair and groaned, and then he was finished, and Alfred didn't take much longer. They lay there, sweating and exhausted, and Alfred trailed his hands along Arthur's back. "You're beautiful," he murmured, and all Arthur gave him by way of answer was a kiss.

He pulled out of him and flopped to one side. Alfred wrapped an arm around his waist. Arthur's hand slipped up to caress Alfred's hair. Eventually their breathing evened out, and Arthur could tell when Alfred slipped out of consciousness. Eventually Arthur, too, dozed, perfectly relaxed. After a while, Alfred shifted beside him. Arthur opened his eyes and looked straight into Alfred's blue ones.

Alfred kissed his forehead, then his hand, and then his lips. "Shower?" he asked hopefully.

"Sure," Arthur said, and tiredly roused himself enough to get out of bed. Alfred turned on the water and they stepped in. It was warm and pleasant, and Alfred hugged him and kissed his shoulder, and Arthur let himself lean against him. They stood in the stream of water for a long time, not saying anything. Then Alfred turned it off and offered him a towel, and they dried off and dressed. Arthur looked at the clock and saw in shock that it was late. He tugged self-consciously at his collar. "I suppose . . . I suppose I should be going."

"Are you sure?" Alfred's eyes were wide and disappointed.

"Yes." Because if I wake up next to you tomorrow morning, I don't think I'll be able to let you go.

Alfred kissed him and held him close. Arthur wrapped his arms around Alfred's waist. No words needed to be said. "I'll see you tomorrow," Alfred said as Arthur opened the door.

"Yes," Arthur said. Their eyes lingered, and then Arthur left.

Alfred slumped against the door after he closed it. I didn't think it would be this hard.