Title: And Found

Warnings: More implied sex

Summary: The sequel to Lost. Alfred pops in for a surprise visit.

Ugh God... my phone was going off at one in the morning? What the hell did I do to deserve this? I crawled out from under my warm bed, mumbling obscenities as I groped around my night table for the blasted mobile.

"H-hullo?" I answered groggily, not even checking who it was. If it wasn't an emergency, I was going to track down whoever was on the end of the line and bloody murder the-

"Artie!"

My eyes burst open at the sound of his voice and I suddenly scrambled for some clothes (as I was completely undressed). It was dumb, I realized afterwards, considering Alfred was on another continent when he called me, and not in my bedroom. I paused with my trousers halfway up and replied.

"Alfred?"

"The one and only! Art ya won't believe where I am right now."

I sighed and sat down on the edge of my bed.

"If it's not the hospital, you're going to be there the next time I see you."

The laugh that followed never ceased to make me smile. I was beaming like an idiot right then, even though I'm sure Alfred just called to tell me something silly. He'd probably have some funny story, like that one of the cows had wondered off and gotten its head stuck in the chicken coop or something, and he'd just forgotten the time difference between America and England. Either way, with a laugh like that, I couldn't stay mad at him for long.

"Art, you're such a joker," he commented and smiled. "But guess again! This is fun."

I rolled my eyes even though Alfred obviously couldn't see the gesture.

"I don't know, the grocer? Love, you do realize you've rung me at a ludicrous hour."

I could hear small breaths from the other end of the line as Alfred presumably stopped to think.

"Aw shucks! I always get that mixed up, specially since it's only eight here in Boston!"

"Yes, and love, I know you mean well, but- Wait a moment, Boston?

Alfred made some peculiar ringing and booming noises through the phone as if I'd just won a game show.

"You got it, Art! I'm in Boston!"

I asked the question I knew he was waiting for.

"Why on Earth are you in Boston?"

"Well I had to transfer planes somewhere!"

"Transfer planes- Alfred, what on Earth are you going on about?"

"Crap, Artie, they're telling me I gotta hang up now. I'll see you in London in seven hours!"

"Wait what? Alfred, don't you dare hang up this pho-"

The dial tone. Blast all. So my much missed boyfriend had planned a trip to London without even discussing it with me? That was lovely, minus the fact that he completely forgot I lived in Manchester, not London. I sighed, pulled my trousers up and stumbled over to my laptop. As I was already up, I'd might as well find a train ticket.

I arrived in London at about seven in the morning, but I had to transfer three times to make it onto the Piccadilly line which would take me to Heathrow. Assuming that Alfred had flown to Heathrow and not Gatwick... honestly, if this wound up being a joke, Alfred would most definitely be reimbursing me for the railroad and Tube fare.

I moseyed around the airport for about an hour. Going off what Alfred had said, his plane should have arrived around eight, British Standard Time. But, many planes arrived at about this hour, and there were three coming from Boston alone. I wasn't even sure if he'd transferred again, so I didn't really know what I was looking for on the arrivals board. Eventually, I walked over to the Costa nearby and picked up a chai tea, then sat back down outside of immigration to wait patiently.

I'd only taken a few sips when I heard him. I looked up and found that familiar tanned face with brilliant eyes looking back at me. I put down my cup as he came in to hug me.

"Artie, gosh, it's been so long! I missed ya!"

Less than a minute Alfred was with me, and already I was reacting to him. I found myself smiling into his shirt, and when he lifted my chin up, I wasted no time in diving in for a kiss. When I pulled away, both Alfred and I were grinning like idiots.

"You actually came. I thought perhaps this was some elaborate hoax for me to waste £150."

Alfred grinned and pressed a kiss to my temple.

"Now why would I do that?" He took my hand, and started dragging me out of the airport with haste, completely forgetting my tea on the airport floor. "Come on, Arthur, ya gotta show me everything. I've never left the States before ya know!"

I let him lead me, and found myself extremely content. I hadn't quite realized how much I missed him, until he was here with me, clutching my hand, and never letting go.

"Alfred, look out!" I hollered at him, as I pulled him back onto the curb. "This is England, the cars come from the right. Did your mother not tell you to look both ways before crossing the street?"

He smiled and acted as if he hadn't almost been hit by a car.

"Actually, nah, she never did. What was there to run me over, a tractor?"

I rolled my eyes and together we crossed the street. We'd already been walking around for a few hours, and I was surprised Alfred had not yet shown any signs of jetlag. Though, for the past fifteen minutes he had been complaining that all he'd eaten today was the rubbish plane food and that he was famished. I dragged him into the first pub we came across, and watched as his smile grew.

"Wow, a real British pub!" he grinned as I hung up my coat and led him to a table. "Can I get some of 'em fish and chips here?"

"Of course," I stuck my tongue out at him. "That's basic pub grub, Alfred."

"Great, then I'll have two orders of that and a Coke."

"A Coke? Even though we're in a pub?"

Alfred just shrugged his shoulders and looked around.

"I'm pretty beat. I could use the caffeine."

I nodded in understanding, and went off to place our order at the counter. When I returned, Alfred had started up a conversation with a group of regulars, who seemed to have welcomed him warmly. I joined in, and soon enough we wound up playing darts with the group until our order was ready. We sat back down grinning, and after a few minutes of eating, it actually dawned on me to ask the question I'd overlooked the whole day.

"Alfred, why did you even come in the first place? We never discussed you flying over."

He finished up a chip he'd been holding, then smiled grandly at me.

"I missed ya, Art! Ain't that a great reason for anything?"

I gave him an incredulous look, and after a few minutes of scrutiny, Alfred's cheeks began to bloom. He'd also started to play footsie with me under our table.

"Well it's true that I missed ya... but also, uh, a guy has needs ya know?" he said a bit embarassed, but I just grinned enticingly.

I slapped a £50 banknote on the table, and the two of us ran out, fairly hot and bothered.

"I believe there's a hotel about two blocks from here, though it's rather pricey-"

"Don't worry, I got it."

So we ran faster, hands clasped and sweaty, eager for what lay ahead.

"Alfred?" I mumbled tiredly from beneath the sheets. What time was it? I didn't even remember falling asleep.

"Grrrobb ooo ed," was the murmured response I received as I was pulled closer to his warmth. I smiled and snuggled in closer. I kissed Alfred's neck, and nuzzled myself nicely into the space under his chin.

"I love you," I whispered quietly, and watched as Alfred blinked open bleary, blue eyes and smiled back at me.

"I love ya too, Art," he said before promptly falling back into a deep slumber. I snorted as he released some light snores and kissed his neck once more.

It's strange how life can take you on these peculiar paths that you'd never imagined yourself going down. I'd gotten lost at a time, and here I was, a year later, with a man that had come to find me. And what have I learned? Love is something that can never be misplaced.