A/N: hello, everyone! Here we are again with another chapter!
Here's a light, nice chapter for you guys. Hope you like it! As always: thank you for your nice reviews and kind words. It means a lot to us!
Answering reviews:
Alguien22792: Good to see you again, and also to know you like them. Hope you enjoy this update as well! :D
Lara: Thank you so much!
SzilRa: In this AU, you can't tell the baby's type before it's born, unless you do some invasive and expensive tests. Also, although the type is what will really shape social expectations, the sex still plays a role there. So knowing the sex of the baby is still a thing for people in this AU, as it helps parents come up with names and etc. Hope this clarifies your doubt and that you keep enjoying the fic! ^^
Chapter 05: What Lives in a Shell
February 10, 2018
"Do I really need to take off my clothes?" Arthur asked, his brows furrowed as he wrapped his coat around himself.
It was February.
It was cold.
And they were in a beach.
A cold breeze made Arthur shrink even more: he was in his pants and sneakers, but wearing only a short-sleeved shirt under his coat. The sound of the waves would be reassuring if it weren't for his quivering chin.
"Can't I... wear this for the pictures...?" he tried.
"Come on, Arthur," Alfred insisted, bringing his camera closer to Arthur's face. "It won't even look like we're at the beach if you stay all covered up like that! Not to mention you need to show your belly! That's the whole point of the photos!"
Alfred's goal on that trip was to take all kinds of pictures of pregnant Arthur so that in the future he would have an album of them to show to his baby. Arthur was over twenty weeks pregnant, and his belly was very noticeable now. It seemed like a good time to take the typical "pregnant on the beach pictures". Well... Except for the fact that it wasn't a good time to go to the beach in general.
"But it's so cold..." Arthur complained, shrinking his shoulders a little more.
Nearby, Alfred's children were sitting on the ground, making sand castles. They were both warmly dressed and laughing, having so much fun. Arthur ended up smiling a little at that.
When Alfred suggested they went to the seaside for the weekend to take those pictures, Arthur immediately declined his invitation. He didn't want to give that kind of hardship to Alfred, especially since Alfred had no obligation to him. However, when Alfred remarked that it had been a long time since he or the children had gone to the beach, and that it would be good for them to go on a short trip, Arthur had a hard time refusing. He knew how much Alfred loved his children and that he didn't have much time to do things with them. In a way, that trip to take photos of Arthur during his pregnancy was a small excuse for Alfred to go out with his children, and that was something Arthur could not refuse.
He sighed,
"Can I just… take off my shirt and keep my coat?" he asked, "I don't want to freeze."
"Yeah, that's fine. I can agree to that." Alfred laughed, still holding his camera very close to Arthur's face. "Can I take a picture of you right now? Just like this. You have the funniest expressions, you know."
"What do you mean by 'funny'?" Arthur asked with a grunt, furrowing his brows and making a small pout with his lips.
Alfred took a photo of that pouty face, keeping it for posterity.
"They're funny. That's all." he replied happily, taking more pictures while Arthur, embarrassed, tried to steal his camera.
"Hey!" Arthur protested, but he gave up when he saw that he wouldn't be able to get Alfred's camera.
Giving up with a sigh, he took off his coat and put it on the towel Alfred had laid out on the sand. His orange shirt was a little tight on his now visible belly. Arthur took it off and immediately hugged his body as he felt the icy wind of the beach against his warm body.
To see that amount of Arthur's exposed skin, even if only for a short time, was something that Alfred was not mentally prepared to deal with, and he gaped slightly, letting his camera slowly go down at his chin level and staring at Arthur, somewhat dumbfounded.
But Arthur was feeling too cold to notice that, and simply grabbed his coat and put it on, hugging it closed while his chin trembled.
"O-okay... the pictures will have to be with... with the coat open, right? So... you're going to have to be quick because... I'm cold". he said, and then hesitated, "... in what pose should I ...?"
Oh, right, yes. Take pictures. That was what Alfred was doing, right.
"How about you put your arms behind your head and lean your belly forward? That's a common pose for this kind of photo, I think." Alfred suggested, adjusting the position of his camera and kinda intentionally hiding his face behind it.
"Okay..." Arthur muttered.
He timidly put his hands behind his head, closing his eyes because of the cold wind. Somewhat awkwardly, he looked at Alfred, hearing the sound of the photo being taken. He ended up smiling a little, and then he heard the noise again.
"How many pictures will you take?" he asked.
"About eighty, I think!" Alfred answered completely honestly. Seeing Arthur's jaw drop, he added, "Not all of them in this pose, of course!"
"Why so many?" Arthur questioned, his chin trembling.
"So we can choose the best ones and make an album, duuuh! Now, pose as if you were kicking the sand!"
Alfred seemed to know a lot about pregnancy photos on the beach, because after that, he asked Arthur for at least fifteen different poses, albeit similar. And he took from each one at least ten photos at different angles.
Of course, since it was really cold, they would stop after three or four poses at a time so that Arthur would put on his coat, curl up on the towel, and drink something warm to stay hydrated and warm. Omegas needed special care after all, especially when pregnant.
During one of those resting moments, Arthur found out that Alfred had learned all those poses during Antonio's two pregnancies, although in his case, the photos of his mate were taken during the summer and by a real photographer.
They also watched the children play - bored with the castle, they ran across the sand, their laughter echoing along the beach and making Arthur smile. Alfred took a picture of that as well.
When Alfred was finally satisfied with the amount of photos they took, Arthur was feeling like there was sand up in his hair and he was feeling really tired. While he was eating a sandwich, he rubbed his eyes.
"I hope you're satisfied with the photos, Mr. Jones." he grunted with a small smile.
"I'm quite satisfied, yes." Alfred nodded, sitting down next to Arthur on the beach towel they had stretched out on the sand. He was a little tired of leaning in different poses to catch Arthur's various angles. "You would hardly go in a trip like this in the later stages of pregnancy, so I wanted to do it as soon as possible."
"I don't know why you bothered so much about it, honestly." Arthur muttered, hugging his legs, "You didn't need to, you know. I mean... I know you used this as an excuse to spend some time with your kids too and you're paying for everything, but still…"
Alfred looked at Arthur and blinked in confusion.
"We are friends. Isn't it normal for me to be excited to register an important moment for you?"
Arthur shrank a little more.
"I don't know. My other friends wouldn't do something like that just for my sake. A trip, I mean... I'm not complaining! I just… I don't know." Arthur said, then briefly smiled, "You're too good to me, I guess."
Too good to me.
Alfred blushed a little and looked away, trying to avoid the shadow of a guilty feeling suddenly hitting him.
"I'm not doing much, really. As you yourself said, this trip was something for my children too. That was no problem for me."
However, instead of playing with his children on the beach, Alfred let them play by themselves and focused his attention on Arthur. It was really difficult for someone to steal his attention from his children but Arthur had somehow managed to do it.
Arthur nodded.
"Thank you." He said, "For being such a good friend." He smiled, and then flinched even more. At that point, he looked more like an acorn than a person, hugging his knees like that. " I... I think I'm going back to the inn now... I need a hot bath. You can stay and play with the kids. You barely spent any time with them."
"Arthur, actually...!"
Before Alfred could finish what he was about to say, Emily and Billy ran towards them with equally lively smiles. Emily was holding a flyer in her hand.
"Did you see it? Did you see it?" She asked excitedly.
"Fireworks! Fireworks!" Bill added. "Can we go? Can we?"
What? Fireworks? What were they talking about?
Arthur took the flyer from Emily's hand and exclaimed an "Oh!"
"There's going to be a fireworks display tonight." He read, and then handed the paper to Alfred, smiling at the children. "Do you want to see the fireworks?"
"YES!" the two of them answered in unison. They seemed super-excited about it.
"What time is it?" Alfred wondered, searching for this information in the flyer. "Hm. Nine o'clock. This is past Bill's bedtime and almost at your bedtime, Emily. You know you are supposed to sleep the amount of time that equals the sum of your age plus a number, and Bill is six."
The children pouted.
That was too adorable for Arthur,
"Oh, come on, Alfred. Only one day is not going to be so bad, is it? We can stay just a little, just so they can see the fireworks. And then go back and go straight to bed. And tomorrow they can sleep in a little bit... " he suggested.
Hmmm. That wasn't good. His kids always disobeyed bedtime when Arthur was around and Alfred didn't want to make that a habit. On the other hand... Well, they were on the beach and it was a special occasion. He could make an exception this time.
"Okay," he conceded. His children started to celebrate that victory way too soon and he interrupted them to add firmly. "However, as soon as the show's over, we're going straight to the inn, okay? No negotiations on it. Don't even try to cry your way into staying."
The children quickly agreed to that, and Arthur winked at them.
He then yawned.
He had woken up early to go to Alfred's house, from where they headed toward the coast. They drove for hours until they reached their destination. Then, they checked in the inn, left their belongings there, and came straight to the beach where they had been at for hours.
Arthur was tired.
"Well, then... we'd better go back. I'd like to nap a little before the fireworks." he admitted.
"Yes, yes. I agree. We'd better all rest for tonight." Alfred said, getting up and tapping on his bathing trunks to get the sand out. "Emily and Bill, get your toys, okay? We're going back to the inn!"
Arthur helped Alfred to collect the towel and their bags and they all walked towards the inn, the children talking excitedly about the fireworks and asking if they were made of stars. It was cute.
Alfred explained how fireworks worked but Bill decided that they were really made of stars and end of story. It was so adorable.
As soon as they arrived at the inn, as they only had one bathroom for the four of them, Arthur proceeded to first take the dirty cutlery and pots out of their bags to wash them.
"You can shower the children in the meantime." he said, "I want to spend a good time in the tub later."
"Oh, thanks! Emily already bathes on her own but Billy doesn't. By the way, Emily, can you make Arthur some company while I help your brother? Thanks, princess!" Alfred said quickly before rushing after Billy, putting him on his back and playing with him, pretending to be a airplane as he took him to the bathroom.
"Hey, Emily. Did you have fun today?" Arthur smiled as the little girl approached him, sitting down on one of the chairs. He folded the sleeves of his shirt to do the dishes - but first he changed the water to warm.
"Yep! Bill and I made sand castles and collected shells! I just think it was lame that dad didn't let us get into the water!" she made a small pout while saying that last part. "I wouldn't drown! I have swimming lessons in school!"
"He didn't let you go to the water because it was cold." Arthur said, "Weren't you cold?"
"Well, nope. I'm an alpha." Emily shrugged. "I don't think Bill was feeling all that cold, either. Daddy was probably just worried about Billy drowning, since he's too small. I mean, I understand his reasons…" Emily admitted resignedly. "It's kinda lame not being allowed to swim in the beach but I do understand dad being worried about us."
"Well, I'm glad you understand, Emily. He only wants the best for you." he smiled. "And I'm sorry I took all his time today. You should have played together for a bit at least …"
"It's all right." Emily smiled back at Arthur in a patient, gentle manner. "We made a deal about it that today he would focus on taking photos of you and tomorrow he would play with us all day. We knew he was going to be busy with you today. Oh, hey! Do you think he's going to let us play in the sea tomorrow?"
"I don't know." Arthur said honestly, "It's possible. Do you want me to ask him?"
Emily nodded.
"I'll ask him later then." Arthur replied with a wink.
Emily let out a relieved sigh, looking pleased.
"Do you want help with the dishes?" she asked, pointing to the pile of dirty pots in the sink.
"Hm, you can help me to dry the pots if you want." he suggested as he turned on the sink to do the dishes, a contented smile on his lips. Emily was such a responsible and kind child! "You can take that cloth there for it."
With that settled, Emily helped Arthur until Alfred and Billy came out of the bathroom. Bill's hair was wet and messy and he was being carried in Alfred's arms wrapped in a towel, laughing at Alfred saying "and once again, the sea monster was defeated by Billy, the hero!"
"Hey, now it's your turn, Em!" Alfred told Emily and she gladly let go of what she was doing and ran to the bathroom.
Arthur smiled at that scene, and then looked at his own belly. He hoped to be a good father like Alfred was.
"Thanks for the help, Emily!" he said to the little girl as she ran to the bathroom. Then Alfred informed him that he was going to help Bill get dressed and be back back soon.
Meanwhile, Arthur finished the dishes, dried the rest of the pots and left them on the table for them to make more sandwiches for the next day.
When Alfred came back into the living room, the dishes were already cleaned and stored, and Arthur was comfortably lying on the couch.
"Dang, you were fast. I didn't even have time to be a gentleman and offer help!" Alfred joked mildly impressed.
"Emily helped me." Arthur informed him.
He had taken off his shoes and curled up on the couch (on a towel, so it wouldn't get dirty with sand). It was nice laying there but he still felt cold and uncomfortable.
"Where's Bill?" he asked as he looked around and didn't see the boy.
"He's taking a nap now to have energy for later." Alfred answered, sitting on the arm of the couch since Arthur was occupying its three places. "To be honest, you seem about to do the same."
"Yes, I'm exhausted..." Arthur replied as he rubbed his eyes. "I just want to take a bath to warm myself up. What about you? Are you going to do that too?"
Alfred stretched out and yawned. He was a bit tired as well.
"Yes, but only after you. Pregnant people and children have priority, you know."
Arthur nodded.
"True." he rubbed his eyes again. "You should take a shower first, though. Like I said, I was thinking of staying on the bath for a while relaxing for a few minutes. It wouldn't be fair to make you wait."
"Nah, I can wait. I still have to help Emily with her homework. I'm not in a hurry."
The moment he said it, Emily came out of the bathroom, wrapped in a blue towel, walking past them and heading straight for the bedroom.
"Put on warm clothes to sleep! It may get colder later!" Alfred warned her and she showed him a thumbs-up before closing the bedroom door behind her.
Arthur laughed a little, then stood up.
"Okay, I'm going to take a bath now, then. he said as he stretched.
He grabbed his bag in the bedroom after Emily dressed up and filled the tub with hot water, just undressing after making sure the water was warm enough. He put some salts in the water and closed his eyes as he entered it, the hot water relaxing his body completely.
He felt so relaxed he almost fell asleep.
So he decided to get out of the tub after only about fifteen minutes. Yawning, he put on warm clothes and left the bathroom, finding Alfred and Emily sitting at the kitchen table doing her homework together.
"I'm done with my bath. I'm going to take a nap now." he informed them.
"Where? If it's here, we can leave." Alfred offered.
"Oh, no, no, I'll take a nap in the bedroom. So you guys can stay here and study, and I keep Bill company." Arthur replied.
"Ah, thank you. I feel calmer with someone sleeping next to him." Alfred smiled with sincere gratitude to him.
"When I'm done, I think I'll join you." Emily yawned. "I'm tired."
"Yes, you should do that so you'll be awake for the fireworks later," Arthur nodded, touching the top of her head for a brief moment and then retreating, blushing a bit in surprise because of his own gesture, "Well, then, I, uh, I'm going to take my nap now. Good homework!"
"Thank you, Arthur!" Alfred and Emily said in unison, showing almost identical smiles. They really were father and daughter.
Arthur's cheeks were still reddish when he entered the bedroom, but he was too sleepy to worry about his maternal instincts for much longer. There were two double beds in the room. In one of them, Bill was sleeping all stretched out, which made Arthur smile. He covered the small boy with a blanket and then crawled in the other bed, falling asleep not much longer.
He was tired.
Alfred and Emily didn't take much to finish with her homework after Arthur went to sleep. They were almost done when Artie came to them and Emily rushed a little after listening to Arthur's advice. As a result, impressively, just ten minutes later, Emily was getting up and getting her stuff to take to the bedroom.
Alfred took advantage of the fact that he was alone to take a look at the pictures he took of Arthur that afternoon. He couldn't stop smiling at the different poses and faces that Arthur did in certain photos. Even though he was clearly freezing, he did his best to be photogenic. He was so adorable.
It was a good thing that his kids liked Arthur so much. Arthur was always himself and could get a little shy in front of them, but they seemed to appreciate the fact that he was always interested in knowing what they were doing and that he could make great desserts.
Arthur was pretty cool, actually. Despite being in such a difficult situation, he was doing his best to keep his life in order and to be happy. He was super-considerate and even when he worried too much about little things, Alfred still found that side of him lovely. Arthur also seemed to have a good sense of humor. He hardly ever joked but when he did, it was always fun.
What other sides of Arthur he had yet to discover?, that was something Alfred wondered about more and more often. He wanted to find out more about Artie. About his tastes, about his history, about his sense of humor... Alfred wanted to see different expressions on his face and his reaction to the things Alfred liked.
However, despite knowing he wanted to learn more about Arthur Kirkland, he didn't fully understand yet the reason for his own curiosity.
When Arthur woke up a few hours later, the first thing he saw when he sat on the bed was Alfred's children sleeping on the bed next to his. Bill had found a way to uncover himself again, but Emily was hugging him in her sleep and, honestly, that was the most adorable thing. Arthur's heart was filled with a lukewarm feeling and he caressed his own belly as he watched them.
At times like those, seeing Alfred's children so at peace, he felt excited about his own pregnancy, eager to be able to look after his baby as well.
He left the room still groggy because of sleep, and noticed on the clock that it was a little past seven in the evening.
Alfred was sitting in the couch in the living room, and Arthur walked to him.
"Good evening…" he yawned, "You decided not to take a nap?"
Alfred was genuinely surprised to see Arthur awake, saying "good EVENING." He didn't realize how much time had passed since Arthur went to sleep.
"No, I was... Uh... I…" Alfred blushed a little, averting his eyes. Why was he feeling so embarrassed? Why? "I... I put your photos in my laptop and I was editing some things. You know, doing collages and stuff. Uh, it's not too late, right?" he picked up his laptop from the coffee table and checked. 19:15. Okay. There was still time for him to dress himself up and the kids to go to the beach.
"You should have taken this time to get some rest," Arthur commented, sitting down beside Alfred for a moment. "Are the photos good, at least? Did I make a lot of faces?" He took the opportunity to ask, looking at the screen of Alfred's laptop.
"You did," Alfred confirmed, laughing a bit. "But I like them. I did a collage with the best ones in my laptop." he said, selecting the document in question in his photo folder and opening it for Arthur to see.
Alfred had made a collage of several of Arthur's faces and grimaces. The way the photos had been clipped and pasted one over the other added an even more comical air to the file. Arthur laughed.
"You're forbidden from showing this to anyone!" He said, "Damn. Look at that one there. I look like one of those cats reacting to cucumbers."
Arthur rarely laughed, so listening to him laugh, even briefly, Alfred felt his heart racing. A feeling he tried to ignore.
"What a loss to the world because these are incredible!" he replied, smiling and pushing Arthur's shoulder against his. "Ah, but I also got some photos that look legit professional. Do you want to see them?"
"I do, but later," Arthur replied. "Let's make some sandwiches for dinner and wake up the kids. They will be upset if they miss the fireworks." he suggested.
"No, we can just buy something. You're right, though. We shouldn't waste time. We should get dressed." Alfred agreed, closing his laptop and putting it back on the table. "Do you want to change into the bathroom while I wake the kids?"
"Oh, hm. Okay. I mean, we bought things for sandwiches on the way here, so wouldn't it be better to use them?" He asked because Alfred was already spending so much on that trip…
"Yes, but what if we find something tastier on the way to the beach? Let's leave the sandwiches for tomorrow!" Alfred argued, standing up and stretching, feeling his energy spreading through his body after a whole afternoon with him sitting on the couch. "When you travel, you need to eat the local food, Arthur!"
Arthur shrugged,
"Local food is often overpriced to take money from tourists. But, well... it is winter. Maybe they're not that overpriced now..." he commented almost to himself, "Well, anyway. Go wake the kids, I'll get dressed."
"All right, but you have to come with me to get your clothes! Your bag is in the bedroom, right?"
"Oh, duh, right." Arthur nodded and followed Alfred to the bedroom.
He grabbed his bag and smiled at Alfred as he left the room, watching briefly as Alfred shook Emily's shoulder and heard her grumbling.
Once in the bathroom, he chose a warm sweater and pants because if it was already cold during the day, it would become even colder at night. As he changed, he felt something... odd.
He paused for a moment, feeling something similar to cramps. He had felt something like that a few times before, but he figured it was something to do with his pregnancy and didn't mind it. Now, however, it seemed a little more intense. It didn't really hurt. It was more like... Looking at his own belly, he felt that slight discomfort again, and this time he saw something moving beneath his skin. That was...! The baby was kicking!
He stood still for a moment and put his hand on his belly, smiling at himself as the baby kicked again.
Oh.
That was... odd, but so amazing.
He left the bathroom at once and ran to Alfred. He needed to show that to someone.
"Alfred!" he called, excited, "Alfred!"
Alfred was in the bedroom with the children, who were both already awake. Arthur approached him smilingly and took his hand to place on his belly.
"Look!"
Alfred was totally unresponsive for a moment. He had no idea what the heck was happening. One moment he was telling Bill that he had to put his clothes by himself because he was six years old and in the other, Arthur came in only in socks and underwear, putting Alfred's hand on his body and Alfred lost completely his train of thought.
What was happening? How should he react to that?!
"Uh... Arthur... What?" Alfred murmured in confusion, barely managing to organize his own words. He felt as if his tongue was melting in his mouth.
And then something very curious happened.
He felt something in Arthur's stomach push his hand.
"The baby is kicking! Can you feel it? It has never kicked like this before!" Arthur explained excitedly.
He was, in fact, too excited to notice Alfred's scent or how much he was blushing and staring.
Fortunately, his enthusiasm eventually passed to Alfred who was able to ignore the fact that Arthur was almost naked in front of him, holding his hand firmly against his bare skin to focus on the fact that it was the first time Arthur felt the baby kicking and that it was an important moment for him.
"Oh, shoot! We have to write down the date and the time somewhere! Do we have paper?" Alfred hurriedly asked, trying to get away from Arthur to look for it.
"We can take a notes on our phones!" Arthur suggested with a smile, staring at his belly and stroking it lightly. The baby kicked again and he laughed a little, feeling his eyes wet.
It felt so good to feel his baby moving. It was so... good to feel, more than to know, that there was a part of Gilbert still with him…
"Oh, right! Crap! I left my cell phone in the living room!"
"Don't swear, dad!" Emily complained, looking annoyed by all that commotion. She probably didn't understand what was going on. "Also, why are you walking around without clothes, Mr. Kirkland?"
"What? I'm no... Oh. Oh, uh..." Arthur replied, and then he felt his face burn in embarrassment when he realized that he was, in fact, practically naked. He swallowed hard and crossed his arms over his chest, muttering something before literally running out of the room and locking himself in the bathroom to get dressed as fast as he could.
What Billy had to say about that whole scene was:
"I'm also not wearing clothes, Em." he said, pointing to the fact that he was wearing only his underwear and socks as well.
"Well, you shouldn't be. I told you to put your shirt on, Bill. I'll help you put your pants on, but at least put your shirt on." Alfred said, again focusing on the task of making sure his children were well-dressed for the fireworks show. "Emily, I think you should wear pants. It will be cold on the beach. Wearing only a dress is not a good idea."
Emily looked at her red ruffled dress with a slightly disappointed expression.
"Can I just put my pants under the dress?" She tried to negotiate.
"Eh, why not? Go ahead."
Arthur was really embarrassed by all that. Even after having got dressed, he avoided making eye contact with Alfred and the kids for a while, hugging his own body and feeling ridiculously aware of his every move.
Being an omega, he had always been taught that he should absolutely never expose himself the way he had just done. And none of that had crossed his mind as he left the bathroom earlier because, hey, his baby was kicking for the first time and he wanted to share it with someone!
He knew he had done nothing wrong and that nobody would judge him - Alfred was a good friend, even though he was an alpha. So Arthur tried not to think too much about everything.
They arrived at the beach not long after and, as expected, it was cold. The wind was stronger and sharper because of the salty breeze. On the other hand, the beach was lit up and there were several people there, as well as some food trucks and live music. It seemed like a very nice event.
It was nice but kinda crowded. Alfred was worried about his kids getting lost, so he held hands with Bill and nodded to Arthur to signalize to him to keep an eye on Emily, since they were closer to each other.
"Where do you guys want to go first? Do you wanna eat something?" He asked the group.
Arthur shrugged.
"Where do you want to go?" he smiled to the children.
"For the hot dogs!" Bill replied pointing a hot-dog truck in the distance. Alfred was surprised. How in the world had that little child seen that truck with so many people passing in front of it? Wow.
"I'd rather have french fries." Emily said casually, walking with her hands in the pockets of her dress. "But if they don't have fries, I can eat hot-dogs too."
"We can check if we can find french fries before we go to the hot-dog truck," Arthur thought out loud, "This way we don't need to walk around with food."
"Do you see any truck selling french fries?" Alfred asked.
"I can look for it!" Emily said excitedly. "I will run and check all the trucks! I'll be back in five minutes!"
"Nope, little princess, you could get lost if you did that." Alfred dismissed that dangerous idea. "You can look for it with us."
"Awww but dad! I'm already nine years old! I assure you I wouldn't get lost!"
"My princess, even I could get lost here. We're tourists, remember?"
Emily sighed, nodding. She could understand his point.
Unfortunately for Emily, they found out after walking through a lot of people, chairs and a few trucks that there was not a french fries food truck. She sighed for a moment, but then decided she would eat a hot-dog just like her brother.
"We can have french fries tomorrow." Arthur offered, because he could not resist those kids' sulky little faces.
"Weren't we going to eat sandwiches tomorrow?" Emily asked surprised.
"We will." Alfred said, giving Arthur a look of 'seriously, don't worry about it'. "After all, we already have all the ingredients to make a sandwich and we can eat fries in our town any day."
With that settled, they ordered their food and sat down at a plastic table near the truck to eat.
As soon as he took the first bite, though, Arthur felt the baby kick again and absentmindedly touched his belly, caressing it over his clothes, and putting his food aside for a while.
Seeing this, Bill put his hand on Arthur's belly too and asked worriedly,
"Does it hurt?"
Arthur blinked, blushed, and then smiled.
"No," he shook his head. At that moment, the baby kicked again and Arthur's smile widened. "The baby is kicking. Can you feel it?"
Alfred smiled, content to be watching Arthur's interaction with his youngest child. Bill seemed impressed by the movements of Arthur's belly and Arthur looked so happy... He really had integrated himself well into Alfred's family.
As Alfred looked affectionately at both of them, something must have happened in his expression without him noticing, since Emily suddenly leaned over and whispered into his ear, covering her mouth with her hand to be more discreet:
"Dad, do you have a crush on Arthur?"
That question came so out of the blue that Alfred ended up reacting more strongly and awkwardly than he should. He turned his whole body to her at once, his face shocked and flushed:
"What?! No? Where did you get that from?! Also, where did you learn about this concept of having a crush on someone?! Who taught you that?"
Arthur lifted his face from his belly when he saw how awkward Alfred was sounding. He had heard what he had said and logically turned to Emily, his face slightly tilted to the side in confusion.
"Hn? Does Emily have a crush on someone?" He asked.
Oh, dang! Arthur heard that! Of course he had! Alfred wasn't being discreet at all! Still... Urgh! Now he was panicking!
"N-No! That's not it! She was just talking about some fictional things!" He replied, waving his hands in a nervous and emphatic refusal. "L-Let's not dwell on that! Are you finished eating? The fireworks show will start any minute now!"
Arthur nodded. Bill, excited for the fireworks, hurriedly pushed the rest of the hot-dog in his mouth and stood up excitedly, jumping and asking to see the fireworks soon.
"Let's look for a good spot." Arthur suggested.
"Can you look for a good place with the kids while I buy something they can play with?" Alfred asked Arthur, feeling a little calmer by thinking on his children and ignoring more complicated matters. "I'm afraid they'll close businesses before the show is over."
"Sure." Arthur replied, holding out his hand for Bill to take it.
Bill took his hand and Arthur smiled with how easily he did it, so different from the little boy who who used to spy on him from behind his dad for months.
"Take my hand too, Emily. I don't want to lose you." He said, holding out his hand to the little girl as well.
As Alfred predicted, the trucks began to close before the end of the fireworks show, but unexpectedly, they actually began to be closed before it even started. Apparently, everyone was interested in seeing the fireworks, even the people selling food.
Shortly after he said goodbye to his kids and Arthur, people started to close their business, turning off the light of their food trucks or dismantling their tents. Alfred had to hurry to find someone who was selling kid friendly fireworks. He was probably overcharged, since he didn't have time to contest the price the seller presented him, but he found some pop-its for his children.
By the time Alfred was done with buying stuff and went looking for his family, there were several people sitting by the beach and he had trouble seeing where Arthur and his children were. Fortunately, Arthur stood up and began to wave his arms, which managed to catch Alfred's attention.
They got reasonably far from the rest of the crowd, sitting behind a huge rock near the ocean. Everyone had gathered where the tents and trucks were before, so Arthur had decided to walk more and go to a slightly quieter corner, which had been a clever move on his part.
Arthur had put a towel they had brought on the sand and sat on it again as the children ran to Alfred, excited about what he had bought. Arthur watched the scene as he hugged his own legs, the smiles and laughter of Alfred and the children lighting up his night.
Those three were so adorable together. It was so cute.
And then the fireworks began, attracting the attention of all of them, who looked up at the starry sky now filled with colors and lights and shapes.
It was such a beautiful show. The fireworks made rains of stars, chains of fire... It was an incredible scene that Alfred was immensely happy to share with his children and with his dear friend. Arthur's eyes widened slightly at the beauty of the fireworks, and his dazzled expression made Alfred's heart be filled with a warm feeling of affection.
However, the children didn't seem to share his fascination with the show.
"When will it end?" Bill asked in a slightly tired voice. "Very noisy."
"That's it? We can only look at it?" Emily asked, seeming to make an effort to disguise her disappointment.
Arthur laughed at those reactions.
Kids…
"Why don't you go play with the pop-its your dad bought?" he suggested, "But remember to pick up the paper after they burst!"
"And stay close!" Alfred added. "Play where we can see you and don't approach the crowd! Don't go near the water, either!"
The children nodded and ran through the sand, throwing pop-its on the ground to hear them burst and then collecting the paper as Arthur had asked them to.
Arthur watched them in silence for a moment, then sighed, turning to look at Alfred. They had been friends for a few months and Alfred had taught Arthur a lot about babies, about being a father and caring for children... But on second thought... Arthur knew so little about Alfred himself.
"Has it been a long time since you last came to the beach?" he decided to ask.
"Yeah, it's been a while. It's kinda dangerous to take two little kids to the beach, with no one else to help you keep an eye on them." this was Alfred's immediate response but after some thought, he ended up concluding that perhaps that question was an indirect way of Arthur asking if he had gone to the beach after his mate died. "It hasn't been that long as you might think though. My brother sometimes comes with us and we can go pretty much everywhere with him. It's only been a year, a year and a half. Something like that."
"Oh, I see. Not that long then. By the way... you talk a lot about your brother. Do you get along?" he asked, resting his head on his knees as he looked to Alfred.
Alfred was a bit surprised to hear that question. He did talk a lot about a bunch of things in his life to Arthur but Arthur rarely brought up these subjects and much less asked about them.
"Yes. We get along. We make some teasing remarks about each other and prank each other sometimes but it's a sibling thing. I know I can count on him for whatever I need." Alfred answered foundly.
Arthur nodded.
"Who's the oldest?"
"I'm ten minutes older." Alfred replied with a large smirk.
"Oh!" Arthur exclaimed, raising his head from his knees and raising his eyebrows, "Twins! You never said you had a twin. That's amazing. Are you two similar, then? Is it true that twins can understand each other without talking and things like that? Tell me more about it!" he asked.
Why Arthur would be interested now in learning more about Alfred's family? He had never been interested in that before so that kinda came out of nowhere. That was a little weird but… still very welcome.
"We're identical twins. We did all that 'shifting places to do tests' stuff." Alfred laughed briefly and shook his head, amused by the memory, "Also, Matt always asked me to dump people for him because he felt bad doing it himself. Now, we've never had those twins super-powers people say exist. I could be in the hospital and Matt still wouldn't feel anything paranormal telling him about it."
"Is your brother also an alpha, then?" Arthur asked, because... Alfred had such an interesting life. Arthur felt privileged to be a part of it. "Wait, does that mean you went to the hospital as a child?"
"No, in college," Alfred replied with a big smile on his face. "I slipped down the stairs of my dorm on a ironing board to win a bet and ended up with a broken leg. Matt just got to know that happened when everyone started shouting outside. Then he left his room, saw me on the ground and shouted 'you freaking idiot!' After that, he had to take me to the hospital. It was a pretty epic story."
"Oh my god, Alfred!" Arthur said with wide eyes in a brief terror, but Alfred looked so proud of it that Arthur ended up laughing. "What were you thinking?!"
"Hey! There were 20 bucks at stake!" Alfred replied amused by Arthur's reaction. He seemed so relaxed and carefree. This was super-rare. Would... Would Arthur mind if he asked him personal questions as well? "Haven't you ever done anything like that in your college days?"
"Yeah, those twenty dollars must have really helped paying your hospital bill," Arthur rolled his eyes, smiling a bit. Then he shrugged, "Well, I was part of a band, I did graffiti on a wall once and got arrested for punching an alpha... But I've never got hurt for a bet or anything!"
"Yes, true, but you were freaking arrested! I mean, what the hey, Arthur! That's wild!" Alfred gasped, letting out a half-nervous but mostly impressed laugh. "What did that alpha do? I'm pretty sure it was their fault."
The children, distracted running down the beach and playing with the pop-its didn't even notice their conversation, even though Alfred's voice had begun to grow louder because of his enthusiasm.
Arthur laughed.
It had been so long since he had spoken of university, and there was something very pleasant about doing it. He hugged his legs as he explained,
"It was nothing dramatic. An alpha was being an asshole and harassing a friend who really didn't want anything with him... so when he tried to touch her, I just... I kind of jumped on him and punched him. A police officer saw me and took me to the police station... but when everything was cleared up, it was the alpha who got a warning." he smiled proudly.
"You were the hero of the story, then!" Alfred noted, with bright, happy eyes, leaning closer to Arthur without even noticing. "That's awesome, Artie! Even as a rebel, you were still a pretty great person!"
"It wasn't a big thing, really," Arthur shrugged. "We omegas need to take care of each other. But hey, 'Artie'. I think it's the first time you call me that." he smiled a little, his cheeks rosy. "My best friend in high school called me that…"
Alfred flushed a little too. He hadn't even realized he used that nickname. It naturally came out of his mouth.
"Er... Does that bother you?" he rubbed the back of his neck, looking away. "Sorry. We're not in the nickname stage yet, right?
Arthur shook his head,
"I don't mind," he smiled a little but blushed even more. "You're my best friend, you know. I don't mind if you call me by a nickname. Do you want me to think of one for you too?" he asked, serious. "How about Al?"
Every time Alfred thought the night couldn't get any better, something more magical would happen to prove him wrong. Best friend, BEST FRIEND! He never heard anything like that from Arthur before! It was so good to know that he had a special place in Artie's heart!
Alfred was ridiculously happy.
"Uh-huh. Yeah, sure. I like it." He covered his mouth with his hands, trying to disguise the obvious grin on his face. "Thank you, Artie."
Arthur smiled too.
"No problem, Al," he said with his face all red.
He looked at the horizon, hugging his legs a little tighter. Alfred's scent was... happy. It was a sweet, pleasant scent and it was calming Arthur, even if it wasn't his mate's scent, which was... a little odd. A good thing, though, because it felt good to feel that kind of serenity. He felt at peace, with all his worries seeming distant at that moment, with the children playing in the sand, the fireworks in the sky, and the stars, and the baby kicking…
He brought his hand up to his belly, smiling at himself.
"The baby is kicking..." he said, looking at Alfred, "... do you want to feel it?"
Alfred nodded, placing his hand very carefully over Arthur's belly, showing a big smile to him as he felt the baby kick it.
"So strong! He could be a kung-fu fighter!"
"Oh dear, I hope he doesn't keep kicking so hard. He'll end up hurting me." Arthur laughed a bit, stroking his own belly after Alfred took his hand away. "Speaking of which, do you usually play sports?"
Once more, Alfred felt a huge smile spread across his face.
"I used to in the past. I played football in college. I've been a bit sedentary lately, though. Nowadays, the most I do is dance in Just Groove and chase after my kids."
"Oh really? That's funny, you don't look like the sort of guy who would play something that violent... I would have guessed basketball or actual football - soccer as you would call it." Arthur answered thoughtfully.
"Hey, are you saying you don't think I'm strong enough for this kind of sport?" Alfred arched an eyebrow. His alpha instinct in proving his own strength had been activated at full strength. He had his pride! "I could still carry you in my arms, baby and everything!"
"I didn't say you're not strong, I just said it sounds too violent for you..." Arthur replied, amused by Alfred's reaction.
However, his response did not have the calming effect he wanted, and for the next few minutes Alfred was listing a number of things that he, as a very strong alpha, could do. And when he began to say that he could drag a couch with his two kids, Arthur and the baby on it through the house without sweating while singing the national anthem at the top of his lungs, Arthur couldn't contain himself: he covered his mouth with his hand and laughed, he laughed until his eyes were wet and he had to put his hand on the sand to keep from falling.
It was the first time Arthur had laughed so much in front of Alfred.
His eyes were glowing with tears, his cheeks were red and even if he was covering his mouth, it was so clear he was having fun by the way his whole expression was filled with joy.
So beautiful, Alfred thought.
Not his laughter itself, though it was too, but what Alfred thought was beautiful in that moment was Arthur. Arthur was completely gorgeous.
Even if Alfred could drag a couch with his children, Arthur and a baby through the house, he was completely weak against that smile.
It came like a flash. Like the sudden flash of colorful fireworks after a silent pause.
The realization that he really liked Arthur. He liked Arthur. Not only as a friend.
He really wanted to kiss him on that very moment.
Arthur, for his part, did not notice any of this. He was too distracted by those warm and happy feelings because it had been so, so long since the last time he felt anything like that...
Eventually he sighed and rubbed his eyes.
"Al, you're so funny. I believe you are strong. You don't have to drag a couch around your house to prove it." He finally replied, smiling at Alfred.
There was something in his expression that Arthur noticed then. However, he didn't know what it was, so he just tilted his head a little to the side, confused,
"Are you okay? You look kind of tense..?"
Damn, did Arthur noticed something? Did his scent told him what Alfred had just felt? That was no good, that was no good at all...
"Er... The show is over, isn't it?" he blurted, after realizing that their surroundings got suddenly quiet. Terribly quiet, he felt. He ducked back a little, involuntarily, to put some distance between him and Arthur. He was extremely aware of every expression, every phrase, and every possible sign of his feelings at the moment. "Can you tell the kids we're going back to the inn? I think they would accept it easier if you were the one to say it."
Arthur blinked in surprise but nodded. Then he sniffed to smell Alfred, because something seemed to have happened and he had no idea what it was. Alfred's scent had somewhat tense but at the same time soft and Arthur had no idea what that meant.
"… is everything okay though?" he asked.
Alfred's heart was beating unbearably fast. So fast and so strong that he could feel the throbbing in his neck. No, he wasn't okay. Nothing was okay.
"Y-Yes, I just... Uh..." Alfred hugged his own legs and turned his eyes to the sand, trying to disguise his feelings. The lights behind him began to fade as people began to leave the beach to return to their homes and everything was getting so much quieter every moment. "I was just thinking about some stuff... Don't worry about it. It's no big deal. Can you get the kids for me?"
That response made Arthur worried. Alfred's scent became even more tense and that made Arthur tense as well.
"Oh, sure, fine." he replied, standing up and walking to the children, looking back a few times.
He called out to the children with a wave and they came up to him and, with a small smile, he told them it was late and they needed to come back. Neither of them was overjoyed at this, but they agreed, and Arthur briefly messed up their hair before leading them back to Alfred.
"What did you guys think of the fireworks?" Alfred asked, putting his hair back and smiling with a small drop of disguised nervousness. "They were cool, weren't they?"
That question had been totally hypocritical on Alfred's part. He had been so distracted looking at Arthur during their conversation that he had barely payed attention to the fireworks in front of him. Actually, now that he thought about it, he couldn't see much when Arthur was in front of him. How hadn't he realized before that he... ?
The children cheerfully answered that they had had a good time, even if they had hardly paid attention to the fireworks as well.
"W-Well... Are we going back now? Or do you want to go somewhere else, Al?" Arthur asked. He had said this as he looked at Alfred, trying to understand what was happening, but Alfred looked away and bent over to fold the towel they had brought.
Arthur wondered if he had done anything wrong. He didn't understand that sudden change in Alfred's behavior.
"You can go ahead." Alfred smiled, his hands shaking nervously over his lap. "I'll stay here for a while. I want to enjoy some time alone with myself, you know?"
Arthur wondered what was wrong, if... if Alfred had been upset that he had laughed or something. Alphas were sensitive about that sort of thing. Arthur wondered if there was anything he could do to apologize…
However, since they were in front of the children, he just nodded and asked Alfred to be careful. He then took Billy's and Emily's hand and walked with them toward the street and then down the sidewalk to the inn. The children asked some questions about the fireworks and the stars and Arthur answered them as best as he could, but his mind kept coming back to Alfred, wondering if he was really fine.
Alfred wasn't fine.
He felt relieved to be alone and be able to admit it to himself. That he wasn't fine. That he needed to digest what he had just realized.
That couldn't be true, right? It must have been just a lapse on his heart. No chance he was feeling this way about Arthur. Haha. They were just friends! He... He was like Kiku to him!
"That's not true," whispered a voice inside him and he didn't know if it came from his brain or from his heart.
Not to mention that Arthur was nothing like Antonio. While Antonio was always smiling and lavishing energy, Arthur was an introvert who was selective about his expressing happiness. Alfred couldn't possibly have changed so much and fallen in love with someone completely different from his mate…!
"That's not true"
Arthur was someone nice that Alfred wanted to help. Nothing more.
"That's not true, that's not true, that's not true."
But as much as Alfred wanted to believe all this, now he knew, with absolute certainty, that he had wanted very badly to kiss Arthur just a few moments ago, and that none of those excuses nullified that.
He wanted to kiss Arthur and it was not just an "oh, I wonder what that would be like" distant thought in his mind. Every fiber of his being said that this was what he should be doing, that he should be kissing Arthur. He was so overwhelmed with fondness for Arthur that this feeling had almost turned into a force, pushing him in that direction which he wouldn't be able to return from.
Worst of all was that this feeling was… familiar. That wasn't the first time he felt this way, while close to Arthur. It was only the most intense, the one which had the clearest meaning.
He had already been captivated by Arthur's smile before, already felt like touching him, felt his heart race because of him...
He just had never connected the dots of what did it all meant.
His heart was still beating so hard. It was speeding up a little each time Alfred remembered the sound of Arthur's laughter and the effect it had on him.
How stupid, how dumb of him. What the hell was he doing? Why was he leaning against a stone, staring out at the sea and thinking non-stop about an omega that was supposed to be just a friend?
The answer was obvious.
"I like Arthur," Alfred murmured to himself. Saying those words aloud made him realize that they didn't sound absurd or strange to him. He felt almost relieved to finally say this, even if only to himself, as if that was stuck in his chest for a long time.
Facts were facts and needed to be faced as such. He liked Arthur. And that was true.
