Chapter 5

Alfred's POV

He looked so calm, so peaceful, and…so beautiful when he was sleeping. I couldn't help but notice.

I sat him on the couch in the living room, giving him as much comfort as possible. His head was placed precariously on my lap, a pillow in between us. It wasn't like I wanted him there or anything…I don't need to comfort him.

But those words…

"Hey, Alfie," I heard a soft voice, meaning Mattie, as the door opened. Was school out already? How had we wasted so much time sitting in silence?

"Hey, Mattie," I replied, as soft as a dude like me can muster. "How was school?"

"Fine wher-whoa…" He looked over me with confusion at first, which was then replaced with a sinister smile. It was something I normally didn't see on Mattie. His confidence has grown since he started dating Gil but even now, I had never seen a smile so devilish. "Why is Arthur here. Alfred, what did you do?"

"Why do you assume it's my fault?"

"Hey, babe, you guys are out of Coke, but I found some root beer…Whoa. Alfred what did you do?" Gilbert walked out of the kitchen next to Mattie. He held two root beers in hand and nearly dropped them at the sight of Iggy and me on the couch.

"First, how the hell are we out of Coke? And second, why do you assume I did something?!" I yelled slightly and felt Arthur stir, curling up into my abdomen. I put my hand on his hair, subconsciously playing with it as I spoke.

"Look, he fell down the fire escape in the library. It knocked him unconscious." I stated, looking down at Arthur like he was the world's finest treasure.

"And you didn't take him to the hospital? Alfred, he could be really hurt."

"He woke up within a few minutes of me finding him and spoke clearly. I'm familiar with sports injuries…and…and…" I stuttered, bringing Arthur as close to me as possible. They would never tear him away from me.

"And you didn't trust the doctors with him again, did you?"

"They're not going to touch him."

"Alfie we talked about this."

"Leave, Mattie. He will wake up by the time Dad gets home."

"I would hope so considering Dad called…He won't be home for another month. Issues at the base."

"Fine." It wasn't like I cared that I hadn't seen my Father since our "graduation" from Middle School. It would never matter as long as I had Mattie and Arthur.

"Gil and I are going to go up to my room to talk and I'll probably watch him play Xbox. Cool?"

"Cool. Just don't have sex or anything. Otherwise, I kill the Prussian bastard." I glared into the crimson eyes of my brother's boyfriend. He knows how strong I am. I nearly beat him to a pulp when Mattie came home from a party at the Vargas house. He was walking funny so I beat Gil up and then was forced to apologize because APPARENTLY their family owns horses and Gil wasn't even there.

I call bullshit.

"One day you're a best friend, the next, a Prussian bastard." Gil laughed. He and I have hung out since everything happened but it just hasn't been the same. Our Xbox live parties are just one dead line of awkward.

They left me then, off to their world of wonder and happiness. I felt Arthur stir again, putting his arms up and around me. How he even sensed what he was doing is beyond me. Maybe he has feelings for me?

Phst. As if.

Arthur's POV

What is that? Is that a humming sound? Arthur opened his eyes slowly to find Alfred, above him, half asleep from what it looked like. He was humming some song from Broadway or a rock band most likely, looking up at the ceiling. Arthur felt a calloused but soft hand caress his hair. When it hit him, his first instinct was to jump, move away from the comfort.

"Gah!" He shouted, sitting up. He looked around, trying to process what was going on.

"Iggy, are you okay?!" Alfred instinctively moved closer to him, his arms outstretched.

"Of course I am, you wanker. Why the bloody hell am I in here? Where are we?" Arthur's vision was still a little blurred and the light was dimmed, or was it nighttime already? He couldn't tell.

"My house…are you sure you're okay?" Alfred put his hand to Arthur's forehead, avoiding the bruise.

"YES" He got up but quickly collapsed at the shakiness of his knees. Alfred caught him in his arms, cradling him like earlier today.

"What are you doing? PUT ME DOWN." Alfred continued to hold him there for a while. He never realized how much he enjoyed having Arthur near him.

"You need to rest." Alfred spoke plainly, protectively. Arthur knew he wouldn't win already.

"I need to go home" he gave one final attempt.

"I already called your Mom. I told her you are spending the night. You need to get a break from those loud siblings of yours. You'll get a headache." Arthur sighed, he couldn't lie about how relieved he was at that. He needed a quiet night anyway.

"Can you at least put me down? This is rather uncomfortable."

"Funny, you didn't think it was uncomfortable earlier." Alfred laughed, almost painfully. His smile was still there, but it looked forced.

"What are you talking about?" Arthur gulped. What did he say? Did he reveal that he liked Alfred? Did he do one of those stupid subconscious things?

"In the fire escape? I carried you like this all the way back here. Well, not entirely. You woke up slightly and stood up in order for us to get off campus. But as soon as we were through the office, you asked me to pick you back up and carry you. You even used some very nice words of persuasion.

Yep, he did.

"I don't remember any of that. I must have been out of my mind." Arthur placed his hand on Alfred's chest, as he looked down at him, teary eyed.

"Yeah, out of your mind." Alfred sat down on the couch, keeping Arthur close to him. He nuzzled his nose into Arthur's hair, not thinking that the boy was fully conscious, meaning a slap in the face was coming. He knew it.

But the slap didn't come. Arthur stayed still.

"Alfred?" He asked.

"Yes," He stated.

"Yes what?"

"Yes."

"I didn't ask anything yet, you git."

"Well whatever it is…it's yes. Unless the correct answer is no." Alfred closed his eyes and leaned back on the couch until he was fully asleep against Arthur's body. Arthur tried to move but realized he was once again being held captive to Alfred's strong, teddy bear hold.

He collapsed into the grasp of the bigger boy and inhaled his wonderful smell. No matter how young Alfred was, he always had the same All-American scent. It had a mix of Coffee, Old Spice, and something sweet like apple pie. Arthur could never get enough.

The blonde shook his head, causing a stifled giggle to come out of the American's mouth as his hair rubbed against the other's nose. Arthur couldn't let this happen. He knew Alfred didn't like him like this. From the very beginning, Alfred always told him he was "just a hugger" along with being a gentle, loving person that has a tough, protective side no one sees. A lot of times Alfred would always get called a flirt when really he was just trying to be nice to someone. Arthur remembered all of those times and would convince himself that Alfred treated him differently.

He can't be led on like that again.

All it will do is lead him back to that darkness. Arthur observed a small slit on his wrist. It was covered completely by his shirt sleeve and looked like a simple kitchen accident…even if it was the first of many to come…

In truth, all of his friends in happiness only made him feel worse, despite always wanting to be happy for them. In truth, Alfred was his light, hope, and rock. He saved Arthur's life the first time he got depressed. Last night was his first relapse and Alfred was the thought that wouldn't leave his mind. Arthur fell asleep against Alfred, tears misting his eyes.

He woke up in the middle of the night. 2 am, just the right time.

"I'm sorry, Alfred. I can't. This is a dream come true, but I can't."