Chapter 4 is here. I know there has been a lot of M-rated content up until now, but there won't be much more for a little while after this. The story will still be good though, so don't go away.

Check out my other story, Behind His Eyes, also USUK, a western AU.

I do not own Axis Powers Hetalia.

Honestly, the only thing Arthur could think of was the Alpha from the club. As he wrapped himself in a blanket cocoon and shivered and sweated, he was the only face that came to mind. The toys just weren't doing serving their purpose any longer, not after what he'd had that morning. They weren't satisfying or even relieving, but frustrating and cold and fake. So horribly fake. Relief now lasted even shorter periods. This heat had Arthur clinging to the precious moments of sleep he managed to get. Not that sleep gave him an escape. He dreamed of the Alpha. He imagined Alfred lying with him in the poorly constructed nest (since Arthur had come home that fateful morning and hastily pushed blankets together), imagined breathing him in and having something alive and warm to hold onto. It just sounded so wonderful. So much better than this.

Unfortunately for Alfred, he could not hide away from the world for the entire week like he wanted to. He wanted to curl up in bed and forget everything for a few days, forget that he may have impregnated the Omega. But life wouldn't allow it. He had classes to attend, classes that he and his parents had spent a fortune on. He spent the entire weekend doing nothing and dreading the coming days for one reason- the prospect of telling his friends or having them find out what he might have done. Again.

"I can't believe it... how could I be so stupid?!"

On Monday he had no choice but to suck it up and get to his morning lecture. He stopped for a coffee and was at the hall shortly after. Alfred groaned as he found a seat and let his head rest on the table next to his notebook. He was absolutely not in the mood to be dealing with any of his-

"Al, where were you all weekend?" came a loud voice from a few seats down. Alfred didn't even bother looking up at its owner, already having identified the person as the one man he wanted to see the least that morning. "Someone's tired, eh? What the hell did you-"

"Nothing," Alfred snapped. He hadn't noticed how irritable he was until that very moment. "I did nothing, leave me-"

Gilbert snorted. "Ah? No way, you got a problem? What'd ya do, wake up on the wrong side of the couch this morning?" he taunted, grinning from ear to ear, messy platinum hair and crimson eyes contributing to his impish look.

Alfred finally picked his head up, a scowl present on his tired face. "Shut up." Couldn't Gilbert tell he was pissed off? He just felt so incapable and dumb, having made the same mistake twice now. It was a considerable blow to his ego, and it made him want to kill something out of frustration. The American sighed and propped his elbow on the desk surface, leaning his cheek in his hand. Perhaps he had been a bit of a jerk to other as well. Alfred sighed, chest deflating. He glanced wearily up at Gilbert. "Hey, man, I... I'm sorry... for sayin' all that shit in my apartment. I was just-,"

"Oh, so that's what this is all about." Gilbert nodded mildly. "It's all good, Alfred, I figured you didn't really mean it." He would definitely settle for that response. He got the sense that Gilbert wasn't mad at him. Thankfully. Alfred wasn't mentally prepared for another showdown.

"So, anyway, what happened with that Omega? Is he home?"

"Yeah."

There was a pregnant pause as their eyes shifted around."So...?" Gilbert pressed.

Alfred's stomach lurched uncomfortably. Gilbert couldn't just let it drop, could he? He really could use to forget about it for a while, and even though his own brain wasn't letting him, the German certainly wasn't helping matters. Alfred's expression fell. He couldn't get the Omega out of his head. He was sad for him, yet hopeful that he would avoid conception, remorseful and frustrated because of what he'd allowed to happen again. The worst part was that he'd been completely sober that morning when they'd gone all the way. A bit hungover, but still sober. He made the conscious decision to have sex with Arthur, and Alfred could have killed himself for it as he sat there in class, roasting in his own guilt and anger. He'd never forget the look in Arthur's eyes when it all dawned on him. The guilt was eating him alive from the inside.

Alfred shifted in his chair to face Gilbert properly, squaring his shoulders. "So what?" His jaw set firmly, the American turned away from the other Alpha and leaned on the table provided by the lecture hall.

"So, you-" Gilbert cut himself off before he could say much, and Alfred realized too late that turning that direction had been a bad idea. "Nice hickey, Al..." Gah, he should have worn a sweatshirt or something that wrapped higher around his neck, trying to hide the evidence from Gilbert. But he'd noticed, and the questions were sure to come.

"How far did you go with him?" And there it was. Gilbert was being unpleasantly serious. Alfred couldn't stand it. Lucky they were in a lecture hall, Alfred couldn't nail him in the jaw here.

"It's none of your business."

"Sure it is, you're my friend and I'm tryin' to-"

"Fine! I knotted inside him, you fuckin' happy?" he finally admitted, blurting out the blunt truth so the other wouldn't have to ask anymore stupid questions. Gilbert wasn't anyone of authority, and, thankfully, not Arthur's Alpha sibling or parent. Had that been the case, Alfred would have had quite the problem.

His friend just looked away, glancing quietly at some point past Alfred's head. "I tried to warn you..."

"I know, Gil..." Alfred sighed heavily, drained of any energy he would have needed to continue being angry. Now all that was left was guilt and uneasiness. He would have done anything, given anything to make time flow backward, to stop this from happening. Arthur didn't deserve this. "It's just... I can't forget about him. It's different this time, I feel so horrible..."

Gilbert's eyes flicked back over to the American's crestfallen gaze. "Hm..."

Lecture was starting, driving Gilbert back to the chair he'd claimed before he'd spotted Alfred. It probably would have been an interesting lesson with useful information had his mind not been otherwise occupied. There was no way he could have concentrated on the lesson even if he cared enough to at the moment. Alfred wondered why he had even come to class today. He supposed it would be a waste of time to attend the rest of his classes that day, but what else was he supposed to do? Moping would not do any good. Unfortunately, that was all he wanted and felt up to doing.

Later, Alfred moved robotically through a laboratory session, measuring chemicals and wiping mortars as they came along. His motions were absentminded as he mind was very much absent, well at work thinking about Arthur and the situation they'd been thrust into. Vaguely he wondered how the man's heat was treating him. He hadn't seen Arthur in a few days, and he guessed that he was probably hiding out in his bedroom trying to sleep. "Sounds like a good idea," Alfred thought, a faint, but bitter grin poking at his lips.

Arthur had no idea what time of day it was, having woken up from a listless sleep during some small hour of the morning disoriented, hot, and filled with intense need. He whined and groped around for a toy to take the edge off the urgent feeling. It was horrible and he felt disgusting. On top of the now dirty sweat and semen and slick-stained blankets he'd utilized to make the slipshod nest on Saturday morning, he'd been unable to satisfy his craving and need for physical contact. And he was damn sure it was all Alfred's fault.

Arthur was becoming horribly desperate. Surpassing the toys, what brought him over the edge countless times that week was remembering how it had been that morning in Alfred's apartment. Amazing. Gratifying. Satisfying, so sweetly satisfying. Without it, his heat was unbearable. He had reason to be desperate.

Not that that made it perfectly alright to call the man (still practically a stranger) over. Remembering that Alfred had left his cell phone number (for reasons Arthur had yet to figure out), the Briton managed to find his own phone and, after a decent amount of time spent trying to come up with an excuse to ask the man to come to his apartment without making himself look pathetic, dialed it. He just smelled so amazing, felt incredible, and Arthur was sure that even just a whiff of that intoxicating Alpha scent would send him spinning in ecstasy.

His excuse was actually pretty plausible. He'd murmured over the phone after the other's uncertain greeting that there was someone outside his apartment building that smelled rather threatening to his hyper-active senses. Of course, there was no such person out there on the sidewalk, but Arthur had managed to get the other to agree to come (which hadn't taken much convincing or pleading at all, Arthur noticed).

He knew exactly when the other had stepped out of his car outside the building; his body's reaction was unmistakable. Arthur breathed deeply, trying to reacquaint himself with the wonderful scent as the Alpha moved into the building. "Nngh..." Arthur actually moaned, burying his face in the blankets directly after doing so. Damn him, that man. Arthur wondered if Alfred remember which apartment number he was. The anticipation was killing him, it was brutal, slowly wearing him down until he could think of nothing but the other buried inside him, hot skin pressed together, unbearably close. He was ripped from his fantasy, however, at the knock on his apartment door. Arthur shivered. He did remember the apartment number.

"Hello? Arthur?" came the familiar voice.

Oh gods, no. It wasn't a good sign if Arthur could barely handle hearing his voice. "It's open..." Arthur called back, unsure if his voice had reached the other from all the way in the bedroom, but the door was creaking open a few seconds later, so he must have just entered on his own will. Arthur bit his lip when he heard the door click shut again and sensed the other's presence in the apartment. No need to call, Alfred would find him.

He was quite pleased and slightly surprised that the man had actually come up to his apartment; Arthur hadn't specified that bit, only mentioning the "strange man" on the sidewalk below. Obviously, Alfred hadn't seen a man, so what was he still doing there? Arthur couldn't suppress another shiver as the source of the strong Alpha pheromones got closer to his bedroom door. He curled up tighter in the blanket he'd wrapped around himself, eyes trained on the door, waiting for the other's broad form to appear.

When it did, Arthur stopped breathing. The air had thickened in all of a second as their eyes locked. It was terrifying. Arthur looked away after a spell. "H-Hi..." he muttered.

Alfred seemed stiffen at the sound of his weak greeting. "Hey, uh, I think it's safe down there..." He glanced out the window for a moment. "I didn't see anything." The American's eyes came back to his after another second, but trailed off again, taking in the rest of his room, which must have smelled unbelievable to the Alpha, and his body, concealed by only blankets. Clothes didn't mix well with heat.

Arthur sputtered for a moment, at a loss for coherent words of any kind. Finally, after opening and closing his mouth a few times, he managed a small "thank you" from the depths of his blanket cocoon.

"Sure..." Alfred replied warily. Arthur noticed his tense shoulders and, well, tense everything. His whole demeanor was strained, but that was to be expected. The pheromone levels were probably driving him insane.

The Briton closed his eyes, searching inside himself for something to say, but with his body in overdrive he could barely think straight, which was probably why he didn't think twice when suddenly there were lips upon his.

The other's larger weight was on him the next second, warm through the blanket barrier. Arthur could only imagine how hot he would feel without it. He gave a needy mewl and yanked his arms out of the blankets to wrap them around the other's neck. Warm hands cupped his face and slid back into matted blonde hair, having gone without being washed since that fateful Friday. He'd never thought about this before, but Arthur imagined that he smelled rather foul, what with all the sweating he'd been doing, plus lying in the same pile of blankets for over three days. He'd never been so self-conscious while in heat, usually too busy trying to deal with the sensations wracking his body, but Alfred made him fret over every possible thing, even the way he smelled.

When the other pulled back a bit for air Arthur choked out "S-Sorry if I-", but wasn't quick enough, for the other dove back in for a second kiss a just a second later, strained demeanor from just before now hungry and feral. By the predatory haze in the other's eyes , Arthur assumed that he either didn't smell anything or didn't mind whatever he smelled.

He decided he was content to continue like that, clinging tightly to the Alpha's body and letting himself be devoured. It was only when Arthur began to push up against him that Alfred snapped out of whatever trance he'd been caught in and he sat up, lifting his hands from the other and holding them up and away. "Wh-What...?" Arthur muttered, suddenly very upset at the loss of the other's closeness. It was cold without him.

To Arthur's despair, Alfred shook his head bitterly. "I... I can't. We can't. Say you're actually not pregnant and we got lucky the first time- I don't think that'll happen a second time. I don't wanna increase the chances of conception..." Alfred explained, cerulean eyes glinting dejectedly.

Conception? Arthur had forgotten all about their little predicament when the other had entered his house. Alfred had an amazing, but dangerous effect on him, it seemed. But this was kind of cruel, to just come in and do that and then just drop everything. But Arthur couldn't argue with logic. "I-I guess..." Alfred was right, no matter how hard Arthur tried to deny the fact.

Arthur cast his eyes off to the side again, shifting in his blanket wrap, which was now considerably looser. He felt so desperate, so needy, so greedy, and it was all his body's fault.

When Arthur looked back up Alfred was gazing down at him intensely, taking in his blushed red face, watery, stinging green eyes and sweaty hair. He seemed to be at an internal crossroads, fighting himself about some decision. Arthur couldn't tell which side was winning. But what could he be struggling with? The situation was cut and dry, really.

It felt like an hour had gone by before Alfred opened his mouth again, though it was only a minute or two. "I can't give you what you need, but I can help you feel better at least for a little while..." he began, voice low and hoarse with emotion. He gave a quick grin and a wink of reassurance. "Meaning, my pants stay on." Alfred shifted and leaned back down some, running a hand over the folds of the blankets. "Just say the word..."

Arthur didn't know what to feel at that point. It was frustrating with Alfred here knowing they couldn't just get to it, but reasoning prevailed. He sighed, eyes wide and conflicted with his own inner turmoil. He supposed that it couldn't hurt to let Alfred help him feel if he couldn't decide how to on his own. "Well, erm... fine..."

The other gave a small smile at the affirmative answer but didn't waste any time, shedding his sweatshirt to combat the temperature of the room and leaning right in to press his lips to the other's neck. "You're not wearing anything under there, are you?"

Arthur turned a vibrant red. "You really need to learn some tact, twit, I-"

"I'll take that as a no," Alfred cut in, a humored smile gracing his lips. It brightened him that the other still had some spunk in him. "Let's get these blankets out of here..." he murmured, and sifted through them until he found the ends, pulling them apart and away from Arthur.

The Briton shivered at the sudden exposure to cooler air and instinctively pulled the other down to him, craving his natural warmth. He rocked his hips up against the other's clothed ones, any kind of contact welcome at this point. He just needed something. Anything.

He felt a hand brush near his stomach and his legs parted. He yelped when it took hold of him and began a stroking motion, repeating over and over again for a minute or so until the other released his hold and hooked his hands under Arthur's knees, bring his legs up so he could kiss his knee and follow the inner part of his legs down to the sensitive skin between them. Arthur's hips jerked when those lips touched his sex, blowing air at the tip to psych him up. "Hn! Alfred-"

"Shhh..." Alfred took the throbbing organ in his mouth and everything went too quickly from there. He pushed the other to ejaculate in his hand and proceeded to arouse him again, which wasn't too much of a feat considering that he was in heat and his periods of rest didn't normally last too long. He attached his lips to the skin behind Arthur's ear while his lower half worked the other back into a pulsing erection. When satisfied with the mewls and groans of need from below he propped himself up on one elbow and eased a finger into the Omega.

"Mnnh," Arthur groaned, in wanton pleasure but in frustration as well. There would only be fingers, nothing else. But even they were better than plastic toys or his own fingers. They were thicker and rougher than his own. He gladly accepted a second and then a third digit, gasping out their welcome as the Alpha pleasured him as best he could without the danger of conception.

Alfred left that day feeling good that he'd helped the Omega get some peace for a few hours, having tired him out completely, but also ashamed and disgusted with himself for letting anything happen at all when he knew very well that they'd already gone way too far. He was also confused. He had no idea why he'd just dropped everything and raced to the other's apartment complex when his phone rang. It had been such a strong emotion propelling him out the door. Alfred drove home and went straight to bed, having not the energy nor the will to do anything productive. Everything was just so fucked up.

It was another day or two before Arthur showered up, scrubbing the crusted slick from his legs and loosening his matted hair, put on some pleasant clothing and left the house. He knew he was only supposed to miss class for his heats, something he'd worked out with the administrators at his campus, but he figured he could take an extra day for a perfectly necessary visit to the doctor. Arthur took his car over to the next town and nervously entered the waiting room in the building his doctor practiced in. He gave a bitter smile. He hadn't been this nervous to set foot inside a doctor's office since he was a small child.

Arthur sat stiff in a hard metal chair, staring blankly at the hazardous pile of magazines on the small coffee table in front of his seat until he was called in. "Arthur?" came the soft voice of one of the secretaries. The Briton didn't speak, only standing and following the woman through a door and into one of the examination rooms. It was a neutral beige color with a white tiled floor, furnished with whatever was necessary in a doctor's office. A bench, a scale, a counter and some drawers, nothing out of the ordinary. All bland and beige. "The doctor will be in shortly," the woman clipped, and Arthur offered her a nod as she backed out of the room and pulled the door shut.

The silence of the small room brought Arthur's thoughts to the surface. He was still having a hard time believing that Alfred had just come over at the drop of a hat and it had lead to... that. What Arthur didn't want to admit was that he'd enjoyed immensely, the relief from the throbbing heat a well-needed reprieve. It was welcomed. But it was a horrible idea in the long run. Arthur barely even knew him, still. Yet, as hard as he tried, no matter how many ways, Arthur couldn't stop thinking about him.

He had to stop thinking about him then, for the doctor had knocked and entered the room. "Good morning, Arthur, haven't seen you in a while. That's a good thing, is it not?"

Arthur had at least the decency to make light conversation. "It certainly is," he replied with a miniscule smile.

"What brings you in today?"

There it is. There was no point in delaying anything. Arthur took a breath. Doctors didn't judge, right? "I need a pregnancy test," he said quickly.

The other seemed stunned for an instant, perhaps processing what the Briton had said, although a second or two later he was smiling happily. "Certainly. May I ask who the f-"

Arthur cut him off. No need to lie to his doctor, or pretend this was planned and something to celebrate. "It... It was an accident. It... I just need to know if I'm pregnant or not..." he muttered.

"... ah. A-Alright, hang tight for a second, Arthur..." The doctor turned to leave the room, but stopped and looked back around at the Briton. "In that case... shall we test for anything that could have been transmitted?"

STDs, huh? Probably was a good idea. Arthur sighed. "Couldn't hurt."

It was about a week or so later that Arthur received the fateful piece of mail. He sat on his bed and opened it quickly, not one for dragging things out dramatically. It was unnecessary and just prolonged the horrible uncertainty he felt nestled in the pit of his stomach. Arthur's eyes whizzed through the printed words, comprehending at a speed only possible with a rush of adrenaline.

He passed the first part of the test, clean and free of any transmitted infections or diseases, but he almost couldn't believe the words he read on the next line.

There was only one thing left to do. Arthur dug his hand into his pocket and dialed Alfred Jones' number for the second time that week. It rang once, twice, three times...

He didn't wait for a greeting. "I'm pregnant, Alfred."