Arthur could feel the press of Alfred's grin against his cheek.

Arthur moaned, open-mouthed, eyes closed, allowing himself to be completely enveloped, held against the tall man, every atom in his body zinging.

Arthur breaths and the air is electric, it's an addiction, one that is not nearly close to being sated. All Arthur can think is more, more, more.

Please, just love me more.

Something tugged at Arthur, in the back of his mind, almost causing his eyes to open. They do. But only for a lazy, swift second, and then it's gone, because there's Alfred.

Alfred, holding him so close.

It almost feels like he would prefer never to be anywhere else.

No. Not quite.

Never be anywhere else, if Alfred couldn't be there with him.

The grin is back. Arthur can feel it as Alfred smiles against his cheek, all teeth and damp breath and the blissful smell of Alfred. Arthur wants to ask him why he's smiling, what makes him want to just hold Arthur, so close to his own body, and smile.

Arthur is aware that he's clinging to Alfred, one hand gripping his muscled back, the other buried under his golden-thatch hair. He makes another contented mewling noise, that would mortify him had it been murmured into anyone else's ear except Alfred's.

Arthur's stomach lurches as Alfred's lips purse and gently, lovingly brush Arthur's cheek.


And he's awake.

Arthur feels his heart skip a few beats in an honestly quite painful way that cannot be healthy.

His shock-contracted eyes dart about for a moment, taking in the washing of sunshine, the clutter of a students bedroom, and the fact that he is indeed cocooned within Alfred's grasp.

And Alfred is drooling against his cheek.


"C'mon!" Feliks ordered, clapping his hands and letting the plastic bangles hooped around his wrist clatter against one other. "Hurry up! Top Shop isn't going to empty itself!"

"It's too early to go shopping." Alfred whined, yawning, with one hand down the front of his sweatpants, the other in his hair.

Feliks ignored Alfred's boy-isms and instead turned to face him, hands on his slim hips. "Alfred Jones you get back in your room, put your wrist brace back on and you get dressed right now or so help me I shall burn every pair of sweatpants you own. I'm like, willing to make that sacrifice."

Alfred groaned again, about-faced, and slouched back to his room muttering about how he didn't like the wrist brace because it itched.

Feliks sighed and turned to Toris, letting a gloss-coated lip tremble.

"Oh, Liet." He sniffled "Why can't everyone be as fabulous as me?"

Toris looked over his partner, taking in the skin-tight leggings that looked like leather pants, the kitten-heeled ankle boots, the oversized jumper with the sleeves pushed up to his elbows, pulled in at the waist by a thick belt, and the little hair clips keeping his shoulder-length hair in place.

"Because you are on a whole other level, dear." He stated.

Feliks smiled and pressed his lips to Toris' quickly, then ran his manicured thumb over his lovers lip to brush away the gloss. "I know."


Arthur's defence mechanism had kicked in.

He could see how it annoyed people, confused them, but honestly; right now he was deeply, deeply embarrassed.

And the way he delt with that.

Assume the Queen role.

Arthur's inner voice sighed at himself. He would make it up to them later. Perhaps through cleaning.

But right now he had an Alfred to guard against.

"Dude, I said I was sorry!" Previously mentioned Alfred whined.

"Yes." Queen Arthur responded primly, surrounding himself in a safe bubble of authority. Authority was good. Authority he could deal with. "And I have accepted your apologies. You have just failed to supply me with the reassurance that it will not happen again, and I can't see that coming about any time soon with the fact that you insist I sleep in the same bed as you, and I wake up every morning to a living cocoon, which is frankly, suffocating and very warm."

Alfred pouted. "I can't help that I'm a cuddle monster."

"Indeed." Queen Arthur sniffed, but on the inside he was beginning to panic, his mind screaming 'it's not working, go for the low blow!' "And may I point out that because of that almost every morning I have to wake up to your...Natural predicaments. You are a teenage boy and hormones make things..ah..hard for you, but you must understand it gets tiresome after a while."

Alfred's entire face erupted into a glowing shade of pink.

Arthur felt a pang of guilt and imagined exactly where he would place Alfred's freshly washed and ironed clothes once they got back to the university. Thankfully, his saving grace came in the form of Feliks, throwing up an arm and flagging down a glossy black taxi to whisk them away to the shopping districts of London.


Arthur had never felt the need to compulsively, and thoughtlessly spend money before.

But here, in the bustling, beehive streets, he practically felt like an alien in the same city he had lived in his entire life. Never before had he spared so much as a glance up the wide roads of Oxford street and the circus' above the subways, with their towering images of beautiful people, somehow looking normal against the stone buildings. His place was below this city, where the only light came from florescent bulbs and club lights where he would pick up his next meal-ticket.

However it was like there was a drug in the air that told him to spend.

Thankfully he was made of stronger stuff.

Which couldn't be said for his peers.

"I'm thinking diamond patterned jumpers, I'm thinking slacks with statement shoes."

"Darling, I'm sure Arthur can find something he likes by himself."

Feliks gave a strange noise that had Arthur questioning what little he knew about human biology when he appeared to gasp without taking any air in. "How can you say that honey, no one has my eye, and I just know Arthur can pull off geek-chic like No Otha" This was acompanied by a complicated hand gesture. "Like, even I Would have difficulty looking fabulous in that style unless there was a lot of plastic, and a lot of warm colours, but Arthur." Feliks sighed normally, albeit wistfully as he extended his arms out to Arthur in the busy street, alarmingly Snow White-esque, "Has the bone structure."

Alfred somehow knew that there was more use of italics in that sentence then there ever should have been in a healthy conversation.

Arthur's bone structure was taking on the expression; Scared.

Alfred decided to save him.

"Look, dude." He drawled, slinging an arm around Arthur's neck and pulling him close. "Arthur and I can just toddle along to Superdry, no problem, no worries."

Feliks' face contorted with fury as he snatched Arthur back to Fabulous with lightning-quick agility, so that Alfred's arm remained raised where an Arthur had been just milliseconds previously.

"NO, Alfred Jones." Feliks hissed "I am not having you convert another soul to the Conformism Machine. He would look ridiculous in those godforsaken sweatpants, not to mention ew. Flannel. Drowning in flannel. What where you thinking."

Ok, so much for that idea.

And as per usual they filed behind Feliks and let him be fabulous and soon they where all holding a makeshift mountain in varying sizes (largest to smallest being Arthur to Alfred) of Feliks-approved clothing.

Alfred relinquished control over that aspect, but he could still win. "Well, I get to choose where we eat!"

"We are not eating at McDonald's." The three other men chorused.

Or maybe not.

Alfred was, however, allowed the luxury of entering Game.

Arthur watched Alfred out of the corner of his eye from where he was stood beside the previously owned Wii games.

Honestly, the American boy looked like he was about to cry.

Arthur gave up all pretence of stealth and stood on his tiptoes, peering over the stand, wanting to know just what could have the boy so emotional.

From what he could see the cover of the game had blood.

Lots and lots of blood.

With a jolt Arthur saw Alfred turn around, catching his eye. He made a sadface at him, holding the game to emphasize his point.

Arthur dropped back off his toes, and walked over to Alfred.

"There are dragons, Arthur!" He wailed "Dragons!"

Alfred's tragic display was put on hold as Feliks called for him to drag his ass out of the shop, and with a pout, he slouched away.

Arthur stood for a moment, hesitant. He grabbed the game back off the shelf and flipped it over, enjoying the feel of the glossy cover. His eyes bugged at the price, he put it back as if it burned him.

But Alfred seemed to really want it...

And Arthur had plenty of money, even after forking out for each ensemble Feliks put together for him, plus the appropriate accessories, his arms hurt with the amount of bags hanging off them.

Arthur managed to maneuver the clothes-rack that had been his arms, and just about managed to stick his fingers in his back pocket, pulling out the brand-new wallet and flipping it open. It was stuffed awkwardly with cash, but that was until he could journey, accompanied by Mr Felicita to the bank, which he was not looking forward to.

But still, he had plenty of money. At least until the first university fee. But he would try to get a job before then. And that was what student loans where for, with laws in place to make sure you had a steady income before paying them back, and even then it was slowly, and over a great deal of time. The more he learned about the system, the more he felt he could make decisions in life, his own decisions.

Arthur picked up the game and made his way to the cash register.

The gesture was small, but it was a start.


Alfred felt the tiny bag slap against his chest and he looked down, grabbing the bag before it could fall to the floor.

He held it, then turned it so it was the right way round. His eyes widened and he whipped the small plastic case out of the purple and white bag.

Letting the game sit safely inside one of the bigger bags, and resisting the urge to pat it, Alfred jogged over to where Arthur was striding smartly after Feliks and Toris, and pulled him into a one-armed hug.

Arthur jumped and flushed as he felt Alfred's grin against his cheek, making the innocent gesture far to inappropriate for a public outing and drawing uncomfortably close to the events of the morning.

Arthur shoved Alfred away, complaining about the amount of bags and pointy edges which made hugging an experience to be avoided.

Alfred laughed. "So this means you forgive me, right?" He said, meaning the awkward moment when Alfred had woken up to Arthur's screaming.

Arthur tried to keep his face stern, but for some reason he couldn't stop himself when a grin broke across his face.

Alfred liked it when Arthur smiled. He opened his mouth to say something but was cut off when he heard an un-Feliks-like curse.

It seemed like the skies had opened up to ruin their day.

Rolling grey clouds smothered what had once been a bank of blue sky and released rain that pelted down so thick that it made the hurrying figures of people with black umbrellas and magazines over their heads difficult to see. Soon the pavements where steaming and rivers where running down the gutters, taking with them the grime of London streets.

Abruptly the streets emptied of people until there where only a few figures rushing by, calling taxis and huddling under café roofs to escape the rain.

Alfred made a 'pfft' noise. "You British." He said. "You'd think you'd be used to rain by now."

Arthur automatically whacked him in the arm, but he kept his eyes on the sky, transfixed by how heavy the rain was. "It doesn't always rain." he defended his country.

There was an appreciative silence as they stood in the doorway of the shopping court, watching the colour drain out of the city, until it was grey, like an old movie.

Arthur liked rain. It gave him an inexplicable rush when it came down this heavy. Maybe there would be lightning. Traffic still flowed lazily through the streets, the rain-water flooding down them making it seem like they where odd looking boats, their reflections broken and churned up as they ploughed through.

"Should we call a taxi?" Toris suggested.

"No." Feliks replied, as if he where discussing military tactics. "I am not risking the new clothes in this."

The group sighed collectively, then moved to the wall, setting their bags down and shaking the stiffness and weight-heaviness from their arms.

Arthur watched a young father and his little girl, who sat on his shoulders, wiggling her feet and pointing at the rain for a moment, feeling his lip twitch in amusement as she squealed in delight.

"It's so heavy."

Arthur glanced at Alfred when he spoke.

"You're a sun person?" He asked.

Alfred shrugged, eyes fixed on the downpour.

"I like rain." Arthur said, turning his attention to the clouds again. "It keeps things fresh and green in England."

Alfred grinned at him. "There are no countrysides like the ones in England."

Arthur turned and smiled at him.

They smiled at each other for a moment, then before Arthur could get too embarrassed Alfred suddenly dashed out of the shopping court and under the waves of torrential rain.

Arthur gaped. "Alfred!" he called into the snake-hiss of rain hitting tarmac "Come back this instant!" Arthur tried not to liken himself to the parent and child he had just been watching.

Alfred spun in a neat circle, letting his trainers drag in the growing puddles, shoelaces trailing, almost as if he was dancing. He scrunched his face up and tilted it back towards the sky, ruffling a hand through his hair as the rain stained it darker and it began to plaster to his head.

"Pfft. Big kid." Feliks commented, eyelids lowered and glittering.

Alfred had a shock of de-ja-vu as the nightmare he had had in the darkness of his dormitory struck with a vengeance. It seemed so long ago since then. It seemed so long ago since he had a nightmare at all.

The rain pelted against his face as he revisited the wide, empty streets of his dreams. The sheets of ghost rain hadn't felt as warm as the rain did now. This rain was real, tangible, something that when he extended an arm out to touch, didn't give way to a London in a different world, where the buildings locked him in with his demons and the earth didn't fall away in red and galaxies of gravityless London traffic.

"Alfred!" Arthur called again, getting exasperated as he watched the rain soak through Alfred's clothes, like ink pouring over his body, dying them darker.

Alfred opened his eyes to look at the man under the shelter of the mall. He jogged back to the entrance of the shopping court. Arthur sighed, standing a little straighter, relieved that Alfred had finished prating around.

He practically screamed as Alfred threw his sodden arms around Arthur, soaking him. Arthur pushed against Alfred's wet chest and suddenly he was released and Alfred ran away, his laughter echoing back to him through the rain.

Arthur was cold where he was damp and cold gave way to rage. He broke the safety of the shelter and bolted after Alfred, who yelped and took off.

Arthur sprinted after Alfred, puddles of water splashing up and soaking his jeans to the knees. The rain was already soaking through his shoulders, and running down his stomach and back and soon he was just as sodden as Alfred.

Who suddenly turned and enveloped Arthur in his arms before he could skid to a halt.

Alfred shifted his grip to hold him a little closer.

Arthur couldn't do anything except let his hands brace themselves against Alfred's chest. He stopped, trying to clamp down on the burn that was ignited in his stomach and dogmatically making it's way through his body. He wanted to slide his arms around Alfred's broad shoulders, lock his hands behind his head, or just feel the muscles in his back, trace them, like he did when they where asleep. But he couldn't do anything, he didn't have the carelessness he seemed to have in his dreams, where everything was already perfect, healed and light. He couldn't move under the weight of what the implications of such an action might mean, what they would be interpreted as and he was thinking too much.

Arthur ducked his head and focused on breathing through the strange gripping heat in his chest. He focused on the rain as it ran over his hair and rolled down his face, dripping from the tip of his nose and off his chin. It was uncomfortable, but there was so much that there was no point in wiping it away.

His focus on breathing was broken as he felt Alfred's hands shift on his back to cover more space, to touch more of him. The action was almost experimental and Arthur glanced up to see Alfred's face.

Why would he want to touch him? Why would anyone want to touch him? Well he knew the reason people wanted to touch him in the past. But he couldn't understand what it meant now. What any of what Alfred did meant. In part it was his personality. His hero complex. But others...Other actions. He looked away again.

He understood that Alfred was a rare and honestly good person. That was why he saved him when he was in trouble, putting himself at risk when he was already lost and hurt. It was why he took such pleasure in the little actions of affection for others, like cooking for his fellow students, taking care of Toris and Feliks, accepting people for who they where with little gestures like touching their arms, making them coffee and giving easy much needed hugs.

But other actions...The delicate press of his lips, waking up to him wrapped around his body at night, going so far to help him...Him. This worthless nobody. Someone who, had events been different, he never would have met, never been touched by Alfred's glow of happiness, protection...

A fear that was dark and twisting jolted through him and Arthur looked up again. He searched Alfred's eyes behind his softly fogging glasses. He needed to settle this twisting, burning feeling in his chest, to sooth the tightness in his stomach.

Alfred leaned forward and pressed his mouth to Arthur's in a clumsy kiss and the world exploded.

Arthur squeezed his eyes shut and breathed in sharply through his nose. Several droplets of rain broke from the ends of their hair and ran in tiny rivers down their faces. Arthur pressed his hand to the back of Alfred's head, letting his fingertips bury into Alfred's soft, wet hair. He felt a thrill of pleasure as Alfred wrapped his arms around Arthur tighter, letting Arthur feel the strength underneath the wet fabric and soft skin.

Alfred broke away abruptly, worry evident in his face. Arthur stared at him from under lowered eyelids.

Alfred ran his tongue along his lower lip, glancing away and Arthur wanted to kiss away the droplets clinging to his eyelashes.

"I'm sorry."

Arthur blinked, the words seeming to get lost on the way from Alfred's damp, warm mouth to his brain.

"I shouldn't keep..." What? Kissing you? Touching you?

Alfred lifted a hand and pressed it to his forehead as he looked, face stricken, at nothing. God dammit why was he so obvious?

Arthur didn't like Alfred's hand not being on him. He grabbed it and pulled it away from Alfred's face, then pressed his lips to Alfred's as he turned to look at him.

Alfred was kissing Arthur's face passionately, sometimes missing Arthur's lips completely and planting tender kisses against his damp cheeks, the tip of his nose, and his chin.

Alfred pulled away again and Arthur wondered if he had done something wrong.

"I don't understand" Alfred panted, face still so close as if he couldn't actually bring himself to drift too far away. "Earlier...You. You ran away. You didn't want me touching you..."

Arthur took a moment to catch his breath, his heart swooping from the closeness and the intimacy he shared with Alfred was making him feel like he had run several miles. His fingers flexed from where they where gripping the wet fabric of Alfred's jacket at the nape of his neck.

He focused on Alfred's question. Then answered as honestly as he could.

"I don't understand ether." Alfred blinked and pulled back a bit, but Arthur's tightened grip kept him close. "I don't understand anything. I don't know why you treat me so well. I don't know why you all give me a chance, I don't know why no one looks at me like I'm going to break something or steal from them or dirty them somehow by just existing because that's what people do." Arthur paused, aware that he was rambling and that his voice had dropped low, making it hard to talk. "At least, they did." He forced himself to look back at Alfred's face, he was looking at Arthur so openly and it made him want to cringe away, to go crawl into a dark place, but the thought of having to go back to who he was made him feel like something was dying in him. "My brothers just stopped coming back after a while, and I can't help but feel they found something better. I could barely take care of myself and I couldn't do anything about it. I had nothing so no one cared. I couldn't get a job and I couldn't go to school. And I needed money. It was the only thing I could do. And people would just...And no one cared." Arthur felt like he was tipped over the edge of something and dangerously close to falling, but he couldn't stop the words from coming out of his mouth.

"And It just got worse. It would get to me, what I was doing to myself, and sometimes I would feel like I was going crazy. I would just feel so worthless, Alfred. But then you came." He gave a choked laugh "You came out of no where and pulled me from it all. You look at me like I have hope, like I matter, and suddenly there are people who..." He frowned at the absurdity of it all.

"I feel like..." Arthur's voice cracked and he broke his focus on Alfred's face. Ducking his head and pressing his mouth to the back of his hand where it gripped Alfred's jumper. He took a deep breath, forcing the air past the chocking lump in his throat. He felt one of Alfred's hands come to grip his wrist, the warmth from it permeating his rain-damp skin. He forced his head back up and re-fixed his gaze on Alfred's deep blue eyes.

"I feel like every one close to me is going to leave."

That sentence felt like the hardest thing he had said in his miserable life. The strain it took on him was evident in the waver of his voice, the muscles of his back tense and painful, but mostly in his face. Alfred could see the pain and fear in the pinch of his eyebrows, the twist in his mouth, and in his eyes.

Arthur's beautiful, forest green eyes, held a terror Alfred had never seen before, and Alfred caught a glimpse of the void, festering deep inside Arthur.

Alfred sucked in a gasp as if he had been punched, then bundled Arthur tighter in his arms and buried his head in Arthur's shoulder.

After few seconds of raindrops and traffic noise passed by, Alfred drew back slowly and placed his hands on Arthur's shoulders.

"I can't promise not to leave you." He said, voice heavy. "No one can promise that. But...I want to stay with you Arthur. I want you to stay at the university and learn things about the subject you enjoy..." Dammit, now his voice was getting all wavery and emotional. "I want you to get a good degree so you can do what you want. And I want you to be happy."

Arthur was looking at him with an intensity in his eyes as if he didn't know where this conversation was going but he didn't expect it to have a happy ending.

"And I want to be there with you, Arthur." He said.

Arthur's eyes widened.

"I want to be with you." Alfred said. "For everything."

They stood there for a few more moments, Alfred's words hanging in the air. Alfred's hands shifted self-consciously on Arthur's shoulders, the silence causing nervousness to stir in his gut.

A smile tugged at the corner of Arthur's mouth, and the nerves evaporated with the rain.

Alfred grinned back at him. "Can I kiss you?"

Arthur's face erupted pink.

"And you won't run away this time?"

A bubble of awkward laughter escaped Arthur as he tried to stifle the raging emotion in his chest.

Alfred leaned forward slowly, eyes locked with Arthur's until he was just a blur and he closed his eyes to the gentle touch of Alfred's lips.


With great pride Alfred plugged the brand new shiny coffee machine with a red plastic top and lots of buttons and lights into his kitchen wall.

He stepped back and admired the machine with pride as it gave a happy bleep. That would teach Feliks. Taking the coffee machine when he moved out. The tranny had some nerve. He didn't even drink as much coffee as Alfred! Just because he paid for it...

He couldn't wait to test it out. Alfred beamed at his machine then called "Arthur! Do you want some coffee!"

"Tea please." Came the answering call.

Dammit. Alfred frowned. He would make a coffee drinker out of Arthur yet.

Temporarily abandoning the coffee machine, Alfred headed down the hall, ignoring the slight pang and the sight of the other door, leading to an empty bedroom on the other side of the hall, Alfred opened the door to his room.

Arthur narrowed his eyes at him from where he was sliding on a dry shirt, his hair mused from towel drying it.

"The least you could do is knock." He said with a strange mixture of affection and scorn.

Alfred walked in and pulled Arthur's shirt back up by the hem.

"HAY!" Arthur cried, flushing and yanking his shirt back down. He opened his mouth to yell at the younger man, but the words died on his tongue at the sight of Alfred's expression.

Alfred's brows where lowered and his eyes where still fixed on Arthur's shirt front, even though Arthur's skin was safely hidden away under the cotton shirt.

Alfred opened his mouth but words wouldn't come. He didn't know what to ask. Did it hurt? How long had those been there? How did he not notice?

Why would someone do that to him?

What did come out was; "Are they all over?"

Arthur eyed Alfred, the air suddenly suffocating, then he turned and pulled his shirt up.

Arthur's soft pale back was ripped and torn with scars. They criss-crossed and ran in every direction. Some where raised, white, sunken, smooth, jagged. So many of them. Just like his front.

Arthur lowered his shirt and slowly turned around. His shoulders where hunched and he looked like he was trying to gather himself up, as if he where trying to disappear.

Alfred hated that. Hated that Arthur was acting like those horrible scars where his fault.

"I know they're disgusting." Arthur whispered, holding himself, unable to look at the man in front of him. He had heard it so many times. He never took his shirt off after Francis said it. And now Alfred...

Arthur looked up as he felt hands on his shoulders. The expression in Alfred's eyes made his heart jump.

"Can I take your shirt off?" Alfred asked quietly.

Arthur looked at him, confused, he didn't really want to take his shirt off, to remove his shield, but he nodded.

Alfred knew about some of his deepest scars, then why not some physical ones?

He raised his arms slowly, muscles twitching as he felt Alfred's fingertips brush his stomach, hooking under the hem of the shirt.

He pulled it gently over his body, then tugged it off and dropped it on the ground in a crumpled heap. In his nervousness Arthur thought about the nightmare it would be to iron that out.

He jumped as he felt Alfred's hands on him. Alfred pulled back immediately.

"No." Arthur said, hating how loud his voice sounded in the stillness of the room "It's ok."

Alfred stepped closer again, then placed his hands on Arthur's chest, feeling the taunt muscles under his soft, warm skin, and the bumps of a few of his scars. Alfred looked closer, most of Arthur's scars where faded, muted, as if they had been there for so long that they had blended into his skin, healed over and just left this tiny mar on Arthur's body, nothing but a blemish, an imperfection, but they meant so much more.

He ran his hands down Arthur's front, trying not to count ever scar his fingers brushed, that he smoothed over.

Arthur twitched away at one point and Alfred glanced up, afraid that he had gone too far.

Arthur's mouth twitched in a sort of half-smile, unfitting with the look in his eyes. "Ticklish." He said.

Alfred felt his own face mirror Arthur's, but smiles seemed grossly inappropriate so he let it drop from his face and instead pulled Arthur closer and gripped him in a tight hug.

"It's all right, Alfred." Arthur soothed and Alfred felt angry that Arthur was doing the soothing. "Most of these are old."

Alfred gripped Arthur tighter. "It's NOT all right!" He yelled, hating how childish he sounded, he buried his face in Arthur's warm shoulder, "No one should do that to anyone." The words muffled against Arthur's skin.

Arthur sighed and patted Alfred's back.

Alfred huffed a sigh in response to Arthur's and stood up straight again. "Sit here." He said, gently walking Arthur back.

Arthur let himself be sat on the edge of the bed and looked up at Alfred questioningly.

His eyebrows rose as Alfred dropped to his knees and gripped his waist with his large, tan hands.

"Alfred!" He squawked, feeling a tug in his stomach. "What are you doing?"

Alfred didn't respond and instead pressed a kiss to one of Arthur's scars.

Arthur flushed and lay his hands on Alfred's arms, feeling Alfred's wrist-brace, the velcro rough against his skin. "Alfred, you don't have too..." Do this? Force yourself?

"I want to." Alfred replied inbetween warm kisses.

Arthur watched Alfred as he lay a tender kiss on every one of his scars, twisting into odd angles to get the ones low on his waist, tugging the hem of his jeans to catch the ones that ran under the fabric, lifting Arthur's arms to drag his lips over the ones on his ribs. Then when every scar had been accounted for on Arthur's front, Alfred crawled gracelessly onto the bed and started on the ones on his back.

Every so often Alfred would hit a spot that coaxed and shiver and a hum of pleasure from Arthur as he made his way over every one of Arthur's ugly scars, when that happened Alfred would spend a few extra seconds paying special attention to that spot before slowly moving on.

When it ended Arthur was lying on his front, fingers pressing into the soft sheets of Alfred's bed, the man himself laying on his side, hands resting on Arthur's waist, as he lay kisses on the last of Arthur's scars.

Alfred ran a thumb over the last scar where it lay in the curve of Arthur's back, then shifted up the bed, placing his head on Arthur's shoulder and wrapping his arms under his body, holding him close.

"I won't let any one do that to you." He whispered.

Arthur yawned, warmed by Alfred's body and his affectionate ministrations, "I haven't let anyone do that to me in years."

He turned and lay a clumsy kiss on Alfred's cheek, then let himself drift into sleep.


A/N; You know. I feel like i've said 'I'm back' a billion times in these things, so i'm just not gonna say it this time.

I posted this ages ago, but then i realised that no one was going to read it where i posted it so i'm moving it here kaithanksbye. -

{{{{I'm sorry i havn't been uploading in ages! (ffsht. Why do all my A/N's start with that?)

Anyway- i have been busy on this thing called The Challenge. And believe me. It is. Don't believe me? We climbed a fucking mountain.

They didn't even tell us.

Two more things. Bare with me.

One; I now have Twitter~~~! OH Em Gee~!~ and you can folow me on it as FiiTamae if you like (in the picture i'm wearing a red dress and sitting down). I would add you on facebook but the people i dont like tend to have facebook and Fics are a part of my life i would prefer to keep my own. However i may make an exception if you message me and make sure not to fangirl on my wall.

Two~~~! Is- i have an idea for a new series. It would be fem Arthur and fem Alfred as students. The thing is if enough people want it i would write it. But i plan for it to be extreamly graphic. And i dont just mean sex. I have thought for a while that teenagers need something to reassure them that what they are going through is normal- i would have killed for something like this at thirteen and upwards, but dealing with some of the more extreame teenage issues makes people uncomfortable and might get it removed from the site.

What do you think?

Ciao~~!~}}}}}}}

Wow do i sound hyperactive in that (somehow)

Also, seeing as how i posted that ages ago and was too much of a lazy bum (can you tell im anoyed with myself yet?) to get down and WRITE GODDAMMIT! (i have those very words on my white board) i have also turned a year older, realised that this fic is a year old, (yaaay), shitting myself over GCSE results and went to a party from hell that made me soooooooooooo glad i dont drink (well they made me drink a bit of this red fizzy stuff but then it all went to shit so now i am more against alcohol than ever- thank you horrifying events! you've made me a prude!) Srsly there was blood.

Plot will come soon! Sorry i didnt update in AAAAAAAAAAAAGES and i will try to write faster! Or actually sit down and write!