Alfred- Freshman

Arthur- Sophomore

He was going to kill him.

And not in a nice way either. Arthur was going to kill him slowly and painfully, maybe even publicity. And then he would record it so that he could watch it over and over again. He might even sell copies.

No, even that was too kind. Alfred deserved so much worse for the embarrassment he had put Arthur through.

A couple of girls passed him on the sidewalk, giggling into their hands. Arthur sent them running with a venomous growl and continued his trek across campus.

It started with a simple visit from Matthew.

"Hey Arthur," he said happily once Arthur had opened their dorm door. "Is Al in? I wanted to remind him it's Mom and Dad's anniversary and he shoul- oh!" He coughed and plugged his nose. "What is that smell?"

Arthur rolled his eyes and opened the door wider, allowing Matthew to hesitantly peak inside. "Alfred hasn't washed his bloody practice uniform in weeks," he grumbled, kicking at the pile of sweaty, festering pads and uniforms. "I try to keep the window open, but it's getting awfully difficult to ignore the smell."

"I noticed." Matthew's nose crinkled and he quickly ducked his head out of the doorway, offering his twin's roommate a pitying smile. "He always left his football stuff laying around at home too. I'll tell Mom to rip him a new one when I call, okay? She's pretty good at getting him to do stuff."

"Thank you, that would be lovely," Arthur sighed. "I'll tell Alfred you were by when he gets back."

Matthew thanked him and headed off to class, leaving Arthur and the pile of laundry to themselves. Usually he could ignore it, as one could ignore anything they were around for extended periods of time, but anytime he was reminded of it, it was like he was smelling it for the first time and it took all of his self-control not to gag every time he took a breath.

He eyed the pile wearily. "I'm not going to wash you," he told it sternly. "You are Alfred's responsibility; he is never going to learn to be a responsible adult if he doesn't take care of his own things."

The pile remained as silent and smelly as ever. Arthur cringed.

"Then again, there is no reason that I should have to suffer for Alfred's laziness." He bit his lip. "B-besides, it's not like I would do it for him, I'm just sick of living in filth," he assured himself. "And once I find out if he does, in fact, know how to work a washing machine, I'll just make him do my laundry to make it up to me! Brilliant!"

Arthur gathered up Alfred's things into the boy's very much unused hamper, grabbed his detergent, and slipped his feet into his fuzzy, pink slippers (a gag gift from his eldest brother, but hey, they were warm and he would only be out of the room for a moment), and dragged the dirty clothes to the elevator. Luckily he didn't have class for a few hours, so if he hurried, he should have had time to start the washer, change out of his pajamas, wash up, grab a bite to eat from the student center, and put everything in the dryer before he had to go to class.

Thankfully the laundry room was empty when he got there, and Arthur was able to toss Alfred's football gear into his usual washer and shuffle out without too much time wasted. He set his watch for a half hour so he would know when the washer was finished and returned to the elevator. He grabbed his keys and-

Keys.

KEYS.

Arthur felt the color drain from his face as the panic set in. He instantly began pulling at the pockets of his pajama pants, checked the bottom of the hamper, and even peaked down his shirt to see if the lanyard was slung around his neck- all to no effect.

Tossing the hamper aside, he sprinted back to the laundry room as fast as his slippered feet could carry him, desperately looking for his keys on the ground along the way. His mind began constructing various scenarios to explain the whereabouts of his keys; he left them on top of the washer, he accidentally threw them in the washer, he dropped them on the floor and due to a series of unforeseen events, ended up kicking them under the vending machine.

A quick up-turning of the laundry room, his washer included, turned up empty, and Arthur knew he had to face facts. He had left his keys in his room, and thanks to World U's extreme security measures, he couldn't even get in the elevator or stair-well without them.

With a heavy sigh, Arthur leaned against the wall; he didn't even think to bring his cell phone with him.

He was going to have to go find Alfred to get his spare key.

He was going to have to walk across campus to find Alfred in his pajamas.

His unicorn-patterned flannel pants, Drive Shaft band t-shirt, fuzzy, pink slipper pajamas.

Fuck.

Arthur was brought back to the present by the howling laughter of one of his soccer (proper football) mates who received a violent slap with a slipper for his troubles, and continued his stalking across the quad. Despite the hoots and hollers and a very distinctive cat-call that sounded way too Elizabeta-like for comfort, the Student Activity Center came into view.

Arthur sighed and picked up his pace, the sooner this was over the better.

O

Every Tuesday and Thursday, Alfred got breakfast with a few of his football friends after his early morning class. Every once in a while they were joined by a roommate or girlfriend, but for the most part, it was just the four of them; eating too much, speaking too loud, and making too much of a mess.

"I'm telling you," Travis, the school's quarterback, grumbled around his muffin, "Professor Dobler is a total man-hater. I had my girlfriend do my work cited page for me, right? She gave her an A, and I got a freaking D+! It was the same damn work cited!"

"So call her out on it," Alan, a linesman, said with a shrug.

Alfred shook his head. "Dude, then she'll just get him expelled for cheating or something." Alfred slurped at the milk at the bottom of his cereal bowl and sighed. "I don't get how Arthur liked her."

Travis opened his mouth to make some comment about Arthur being every English teacher's wet dream or something, when his eyes landed on something over Alfred's shoulder and he snorted into his orange juice.

"What?" Alfred asked as the others turned around and instantly broke into loud and long laughter. Even the stoic Berwald, a fellow running back and 400 runner, cracked a smile and chuckled. Alfred slammed his spoon down into his bowl. "What the fuck, guys?"

"Yer wife is 'ere," Berwald mumbled, causing the others to laugh even louder and Alfred's pout to intensify.

Okay, he was used to Arthur being called his wife. His teammates knew of Alfred's ridiculous little crush on the English sophomore, and Arthur was just as well known for both his soccer and track abilities as he was for his love of embroidery and baking and unicorns to get a certain kind of reputation. But they never outright laughed him! Sure, he was a bit of a stick in the mud at the best of time, but he was still a respected, well-liked guy, and this was totally uncalled for.

"And he looks pissed!" Alan exclaimed. "Looks like Al's sleeping on the couch tonight!"

"Seriously, fuck you guys," he grumbled, turning around to welcome his roommate. "Sup, Artie? Decide to join us this mor-"

And he froze.

As his roommate, Alfred knew very well what liked to Arthur sleep in. He also knew very well that if he told a soul that Arthur Kirkland had an entire dresser drawer devoted entirely to unicorn-themed sweatpants, he would die a slow and horrible death.

Which is why it took a moment for his mind to compute that Arthur, his Arthur, always proper, perfectly groomed, never seen without a sweater-vest and khakis Arthur, was currently tearing through the SAC, looking positively ready to kill, in his pajamas.

"Artie?" he exclaimed.

Arthur stomped directly up to Alfred, and shoved a finger into his face, causing the young man to squeak and jump back in his chair.

"This is all your fault!" he snapped.

Alfred gulped and leaned back, and honestly, if he wasn't fearing for his life he probably would have laughed at his ruffled little roomie. "What did I do?" he exclaimed. "And why are you in your pajamas?" he couldn't help it, a small smirk peaked through.

Arthur puffed himself up even more, his eyes narrowing into vicious green slits. "I am wearing my pajamas, Alfred, because I locked myself out of the room doing your laundry!"

"W-what?" Alfred stuttered, flushing red. He heard one of his (traitor) friends snicker behind him. "W-why were you doing my laundry?" he cried. Arthur crossed his arms with a huff.

"Because it was smelling up our entire room, you git!" Arthur was blushing a bit now at this point as well, probably realizing how what he said had sounded, and just how many people were now listening in.

"Just give me the bloody keys!" he grumbled quickly, snatching Alfred's keys from the table and storming back out as intimidatingly as one could in pink fuzzy slippers. He stopped once, turning around on his heal and glaring at Alfred's shocked face. "Mathew stopped by," he said curtly. "It's your parent's anniversary. He wants you to give them a ring."

At that, he spun back around and stormed through the crowds of people. Someone whistled at him on his way out the door and was promptly punched in the gut, falling to the ground with a cry of pain. Alfred cringed and turned back to his friends.

Travis was grinning obnoxiously. "Are you sure you guys aren't married?" Alfred tossed his spoon at Travis's head and took a big, disgruntled bite from his donut. He willed his blush to disappear with little effect.

"I hate you guys."

A little less running and a little more dorm life! Poor Arthur. XD This happened to me multiply times when I was in college. XD I remember taking out the garbage once and forgetting my keys, so I had to stalk across campus with no shoes, no bra, no makeup and my hair a positive rats nest to find my roommate. I'm absentminded too, Artie, no worries!

Yes, when it's not track season, the boys are in their respective footballs! I have a bit of a sports kink if you can't tell. XD And yes, even the football team can tell Alfred and Arthur are totally crushing on each other. XD Poor boys are so oblivious.

Anyway, hope you liked this chapter! :) And thank you all for the great reviews, they truly help me crank these out faster! *hugs all*