The door was shut. Then locked. It honestly didn't help either way seeing as how Francis had a key.

Alfred F. Jones had his face in his hands. Sulking. Something no hero would ever do. He was pitiful. Disgusting. Weak.

"Good morning," greeted a soft voice from the staircase. Alfred kept his face in his hands as the angel walked over to the exhausted and dejected blond. He tapped the other's shoulder guessing that the man had just fallen asleep.

The former hero peeked up from his hands and forced a smile, grateful that his eyes weren't too red. "Ah, G'morning. Francis and Mattie already left."

The British angel smiled and sat beside the blond. His heart was pounding frantically, still thinking about the night before.

"Alfred, is something the matter?"

"M'fine! Just sleepy from last night…"

Frowning, Arthur brushed the human's blond locks out of his eyes, and stared into the blue orbs as if the secret to his strange behavior would be hidden behind them. "You don't seem bloody fine. I'm sorry we kept you up last night with our bickering…"

"It's fine, it's fine," Alfred flushed and moved Arthur's hand away from his face and placed it in his lap, intertwining their fingers—which by now was almost, completely normal to the both of them. "You're walking a lot better now. Can I check on your wing?"

The green eyed angel beamed and stood up carefully as he raised the back of his shirt to show the human. Alfred carefully peeled the tape off of the wing and pale skin. He forced a grin when Arthur spread out his wings with ease.

Alfred was going to lose another person he cared about in only a matter of days.

If Arthur wasn't there he was pretty damn sure he would've choked out a sob. Instead, he put on his usual, lucky-go-happy act.

"That's amazing, Arthur!"

The Brit flushed as he peered over at the man. He could feel that something was wrong. So very wrong. The atmosphere was just so stifling.

"Arthur?"

"…hm?"

Alfred smiled weakly as he grabbed a hold of the angel's hand again. "Can we sit outside for a while? I need some fresh air. And it'll be nice to relax before I got to my other job interviews."

Arthur nodded as felt himself being pulled into the backyard. It was still lush and green from last night's rain. The blue eyed man led the angel to a bench that nestled in the shade.

He sat down, watching as the awkward creature took a seat beside him. The blond smiled politely before gazing out at the brilliant blue sky. Arthur noted that the color of Alfred's eyes were usually so beautiful that the sky couldn't even compare. But right now, they seemed so dull.

What's wrong with you?

"There's not a cloud in sight…" he finally whispered, breaking the thick silence that had fallen upon them. Arthur nodded in reply, giving the tanned hand a gentle squeeze.

What happened?

The American man smiled down at the worried green eyes. Yet, it wasn't the smile Arthur loved to see. It was broken and tired. It didn't reach up to his eyes. And it scared the angel.

Alfred pulled the green eyed man closer and wrapped his arms around his shoulders, gazing up at the sky. This was the closest he was going to get to heaven. The blond squeezed his eyes shut, breathing in this moment as Arthur reluctantly gave in to his hold.

"Hey, Arthur."

The angel glanced up at the man and nodded for him to go on before closing his eyes again.

"In heaven, will you promise to watch over us?"

Arthur stopped breathing. He finally realized why Alfred was acting so odd. The angel nodded once more, hoping his body was trembling.

"I bet it's really nice up there, yeah? Always sunny, soft clouds, roads paved out of gold, and all the people you love all together again," Alfred mused in what Arthur guessed was supposed to be an excited tone. It sounded nearly dead in his ears. "And then flying. It must be amazing to see the whole world underneath you. To feel the wind in your face and through your hair…it sounds…awesome."

The angel peered over his shoulder, noticing a wet shimmer in Alfred's eyes. He turned away and let the man's hand go.

"You'll be late to your interviews."

Alfred mumbled a quiet, "Yeah", and let go of him, heading inside. Arthur gazed up at the sky with what could only be described as a mixture of longing and hatred in his eyes.

After cursing under his breath, Arthur finally eased himself off of the bench and walked inside. The man was already gone.

Staring at the door, the angel subconsciously wished for him to come back.

But he didn't.

The green eyed creature wandered around the Jones' house aimlessly, trying to memorize every nook and cranny. After an hour or so he found himself in Alfred's room. So, he climbed in the bed and lost himself in the oversized covers. Alfred's scent lingered in the sheets and the pillows. Arthur closed his eyes. Even then, the blue eyed man was all he could see.

Everything was slipping away. He would have to go home. He would have to be alone. Again. It had all just started to feel like home.

He was in love. And he couldn't take it anymore.

Arthur Kirkland then hung his head and cried.

---

The bus ride home was terrible.

Apparently he had just picked the worst possible seat on the entire vehicle. He was the meat in an idiot sandwich: an overly energetic Italian—who most likely had some attention deficit disorder in front, and quite annoying Korean who kept claiming he invented everything, sitting behind him.

Oh, Matthew was definitely not happy with this turn of events. To put the cherry on top, the Italian was now asking him millions of questions every minute, only distracted whenever he saw a dog, or something concerning pasta. He grumbled under his breath and did his best to smile politely, trying to block him out. Luckily, he was let off the hook with a small Japanese boy became the new target to his bombardment of questions.

The curly haired blond sighed and removed his glasses, staring intently at them.

He didn't mean to get mad at his brother. He knew that Alfred tried so hard to be a good role model and would do anything for him.

But he felt like he was being treated like a child. A child who didn't understand anything or a child who was too young and oblivious to the world. But, little did his brother know, he was very smart. He had common sense.

For one, he knew that his brother and Arthur were in love, even if they were too idiotic and stubborn to figure it out for themselves.

Two, he knew that Francis wouldn't just move in for the hell of it. Oh no, he knew something was wrong.

But he just wished that his brother would stop belittling him. He wished that his brother could realize that he wasn't some kid. Matthew wanted to be the person his brother could turn to and tell him something's wrong. But then again, he also knew that Alfred was trying to give him the best of everything. To have him live in a perfect world where nothing would ever go wrong because the hero was taking care of him.

Matthew frowned. He knew life wasn't perfect either.

As the bus finally parked in front of his house, he made his way out. He couldn't stay mad at his brother. So, he was going to smile and tell him he loved him whether he had a job or not, because Alfred was still a hero to Matthew either way.

----

Alfred dragged himself into the house; his heart slightly lightened seeing as how he had three good interviews today.

Matthew greeted him at the door with a hug and a bright smile.

"Alfred, I'm sorry I was mad at you earlier."

The blue eyed man stiffened, obviously not expecting this apology. A smile spread across his lips and he wrapped his arms around his brother.

"No, Mattie. I'm sorry for not telling you. I'm not a hero. I couldn't even keep my job."

At this the smaller boy shook his head. "You're only human, Alfred. It's okay."

He stared down at his brother and fought back tears.

"You're a hero to me, Alfred. That's all that matters," Matthew grinned and took the blond's hand, leading him into the kitchen where Arthur and Francis were sitting. "C'mon, Uncle Francis brought some more want ads and applications. Let me help you this time."

Francis chuckled and motioned for Alfred to sit down between him and Arthur, who also was wearing a smile. It was weak and fragile, but a smile nonetheless.

Alfred wiped his face with his sleeve and gave a hearty laugh.

"All right, let's get this over with."

The house had never seemed so full of life.