-A/N:-

Good Lord that took ages.

I am so sorry for the delay,

Although I don't expect you to believe

Me, what with all my inconsistency

And such. I hope you all enjoy

This chapter, extra long

Just for you!

(Let me know if it gets too cheesy.)

"Honey?" Alfred's mom called through the door. He ignored her, hoping she would go away. Honey? You've been in there since you got home, is everything alright?"

No, everything was not alright. Alfred was glad when she finally left, grateful for the absence of her increasingly-worried voice. That worry only poured salt in his open wound.

He reprimanded himself. What did he expect Arthur to say to his confession? 'I love you too stay with me 'till the end of time and oh yeah, let's make out'? Hardly. Alfred kicked the too-small rubbish bin next to his desk, the contents pouring out. He had managed to not embarrass himself in front of Arthur, simply flipping him the bird and stalking off, but as soon as he got home, the angry tears began to fall. This, naturally, just served to make him angrier. Why the hell was he crying, anyway?

Alfred hated this. He should be more pissed than upset, but the fact of the matter remained; he just wasn't. In fact, he was more sickened and hurt than he ever had been, and all for a petty crush. It shouldn't be this big of a deal. This was totally unlike the Alfred he was used to, the one who had turned down so many people coming to him with shy confessions and red faces. Although he had to admit, begrudgingly, that it wasn't simply a crush any longer. It had progressed to far more than that.

Fuck it. Alfred thought. All this thinking was doing nothing for him, and just made him want to curl up and sleep (not that he hadn't wanted to before). Curling up on his bed, he hoped against hope that he wouldn't have any dreams about the blonde haired boy that vexed him so. Luckily for him, sleep came quickly.

Arthur sat at his desk, brooding. His face was dark, and it was taking a tremendous amount of self control to keep himself from smashing every possession in the vicinity. Who the hell did that Alfred think he was, anyway? No one but him would even think of approaching the 'apathetic dark kid' in the back of the class. Maybe you're just afraid he'll screw you over. The voice in the back of his head whispered derisively. With an angry reprimand to himself, Arthur picked up the mug of tea next to him.

"Shite—!" He snatched his arm back reflexively, upsetting the tea onto his desk. The mug was far too hot.

Mopping up the spill, Arthur tried once more that day to quiet the little voice, but to no avail. You're just scared to get close to anyone.

In a brief moment of insanity, he snapped. "You know full well that getting close to anyone is a hopeless cause!" Realizing how odd it was to be responding to himself, he quieted, one last mutter escaping his mouth. "He'll just betray you like everyone else…"

In his mind, Arthur knew that his thoughts were pathetically cliché. Someone else had to be thinking of relationships and betrayal every day, in one part of the world or another. His life was no motion picture, no shotty film thrown together by a mediocre American director. He had no right to be pitiful over the many people who had forsaken his trust. After all, what could he do about his own wary nature?

Despite feeling as he did about Alfred, he couldn't help but be guilty in the far-back depths of his mind. That, combined with the lovely little voice that told him he could have been nicer, did very little to ease his guilt.

As much as Arthur hated it, as much as he wanted to forever be rid of the impetuous and annoying individual, the part of him that needed someone to rely on won out. As miserably tiresome as Alfred was, Arthur knew he had to fix this.

The doorbell rang. Alfred's mother had mentioned something about a package that was to arrive today, rudely waking him up on her way out the door. Having gone to the store, she wouldn't be back for some time. Trudging to the door where he was expecting the postman, Alfred was rather surprised to find Arthur standing there instead.

He was far too shocked and angry to react the way he would have liked, which of course was slamming the door in Arthur's face, so instead he stood there, mouth agape.

"Hello" Came the only half-forced greeting. The boy on the porch had his hands in his pockets, shoulders slumped forward. He wasn't raising his head, giving him the overall appearance akin to that of an admonished pet.

It was plain to see that Arthur didn't much want to be there. Alfred, noting the others' furrowed brow and tight lipped mouth, chose to break the silence.

"What are you doing here?" Alfred was surprised to find his voice had remained steady, and his face, wary.

"May I please come in?" Silence.

"Why?"

Arthur looked up, his face a mixture of anger, pain and embarrassment. "Look, just let me in alright?"

Alfred sighed. "Fine." He stepped back to allow the other inside. "How did you find my house?"

Arthur snorted, and gave a grim smile. "It wasn't particularly challenging, what with you going on about 'the house across from 94th St. Market' yesterday."

The bespectacled boy's countenance slipped, surprise showing through the caution. Regaining a bit of composure, Alfred spoke. "You remember that?"

A nod.

"…Creepy."

"Oh, shut up." Arthur snarled. There was a silent moment, then after a time, Alfred restated his question somberly.

"Why are you here, Arthur?"

"I… I came to say that I'm sorry. And, before you say anything, I realize the way I acted today was childish at best." Arthur rubbed the back of his neck. "I guess you could say I'm not the most trusting person…"

Alfred barked out a cruel laugh. "That's an understatement." Then, his face serious; "I was never anything but nice to you, you can't just go around getting pissed at whoever you want."

The other boy sighed, slightly annoyed. "Let's just forget about this, yeah?"

He received a cold look in response. "Why should I?"

"I apologized, alright? What more do you want me to do?" Arthur's voice was growing more heated.

"I don't know, man. An apology doesn't really fly with me right now."

When he next spoke, Arthur's voice was a bit softer, as was his face. "Then… How about this?" Hands still in his pockets, he leaned in and kissed Alfred softly on the lips. The kiss was far more gentle than the first one they had shared, and despite his anger, Alfred found himself kissing back.

When Arthur pulled away, he studied the emerald eyes before him, searching for any sign of degradation. All Alfred found was sincerity, and possibly a touch of worry.

"Yeah… That'll do."

When Alfred accepted his apology, Arthur couldn't help but smile a bit. The next question, however, caught him off guard.

"So… was that just an apology, or were you accepting my statement from earlier?"

There was a smirk plastered on Alfred's face, and it took Arthur a moment to register what he meant. He's talking about the confession, isn't he?

He gave a shrug. "Both, I guess."

The smirk grew wider. "Good." Alfred gestured innocently. "After all, I figured you'd come around."

Arthur feigned surprise. "Oh, did you now? Your ego certainly comes back quickly… Although, I suppose you were right." He could no longer deny the obvious attraction ever since that day at the coffee shop.

When Alfred casually flopped down onto the corner sofa, a thought occurred to the one still standing. "Hey, Alfred…? Where's your mum?"

The one sitting laughed at the look of worry that was probably on Arthur's face.

"Don't worry dude, she's gone. Won't be back until later."

He breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh. Alright then."

"Sit down if you want to." Alfred had put his attention towards finding the remote. Glad to be free of standing awkwardly in the middle of the drawing room, Arthur took a seat.

After what seemed like a great deal of time had passed, Alfred succeeded in finding the remote, and turned the channel to a movie. What movie it was, neither knew. They watched for a bit, before Arthur could no longer resist commenting.

"This movie is terrible."

Alfred laughed. "It's not that bad. Although, it's a bit sappy."

The two watched a bit longer, then, Arthur spoke once more. "Uh, Alfred."

"Hmm?"

"How long have you… you know, fancied me?" He asked rather awkwardly, trying to keep his face from growing hot.

Alfred looked over, attention no longer on the screen, and answered. "I don't know. A long time I think, but I only realized a while ago." The answer was vague, but sincere and honest. "Why?"

Arthur looked away. "I was curious…"

"Your ears are red!" Alfred grinned.

"Oh, hush up. There's no need to point that out."

"I can't help it, I just like looking at you." Once again, Alfred's tone had changed from teasing, to disarmingly honest.

Arthur's eyebrows raised, but other than that, he gave no reaction. Head still turned away, he asked; "Why is that?"

The other shrugged. "Just do."

At last, Arthur looked back over. An odd feeling, one he couldn't quite explain, crept up on him. He supposed it would be similar to possession, although it was much more giving than that. A purer form, which spawned not from jealousy, but from desire to stay with the object of affection eternally. The feeling was not one Arthur had experienced before, but he could tell it was rather significant.

"Al, turn off the telly."

Alfred had to keep from laughing. "What did you just call it…?"

Arthur gave an exasperated look. "Don't be ridiculous. Turn it off."

"Why do you want it off?"

Grabbing the remote, he muttered; "More efficient to get the job done myself…"

"Hey!" Alfred protested. "I was watching that!"

"You said yourself it was sappy." Arthur said. He scooted closer to the other boy, pulling him into a hug as he lay down. Alfred wriggled around, trying to get more comfortable. "What are you doing?"

"What do you think I'm doing?" The green eyed boy's voice was slightly muffled.

Alfred twisted his head around to look him in the eye. "I didn't take you for one that likes to cuddle." The smile was once more on his face, as it always was.

Arthur loved that smile.

"When are we next going to work on the project? We should probably get it done." The blue eyes staring into his own were inquisitive.

"I don't care about the project right now."

Alfred gasped mockingly. "You? Don't care about the project? I would almost call that a crime."

"Hmm… I suppose I just care about you more." Came Arthur's reply. "Now lie still, or you're going to fall off the sofa."

"That's not going to happen."

"It will if I push you."

Alfred laughed. "Why would you push me?"

"To prove you wrong." Arthur smirked. He rather liked playful banter, and the smile of the boy in his arms was infectious.

"That's pointless."

"Hardly." He said with a shove, sending Alfred sprawling onto the floor. Managing to grab Arthur's shirt before he fell, Alfred pulled him down with.

The two landed in a heap on the floor. Alfred was cackling madly, while Arthur tried to right himself.

"Dude, that look on your face…!" The other said.

"What look?" He looked to be annoyed, but the ridiculous situation made it impossible not to laugh a bit.

The two sat for a moment, in thought as well as an awkward position. Alfred was lying on the floor parallel to the couch, which wasn't horrible. Not in the least. The addition of myself, however, is a bit more odd. He thought. This was because he was on top of Alfred, albeit slightly askew. Realizing that the position was probably not just uncomfortable for him, but for the blue eyed boy staring up at him from the floor as well.

"I'm sorry, I must be hurting you like this…" He began to get up, when Alfred grabbed his wrist and pulled him back to the floor.

"You're not. Stay here."

The intense look that he was receiving wasn't disconcerting as Arthur would have guessed it would be, but rather alluring instead.

He tried to look anywhere he could, to take in the sight of Alfred. It was unbelievable that just a short while ago, they were furious with each other. He wanted to preserve this image forever in his mind, but he kept coming back to Alfred's eyes. Those deep blue eyes were mesmerizing, and he couldn't stop staring. Before he realized it, they were kissing again. No matter how many times it happened, Arthur couldn't get enough. It was as if the apathy and dislike he felt towards everyone else had disappeared. The only thing left right at this moment was Alfred. He couldn't have it any other way.

As they grew more heated, the feeling of 'possession' he felt before skyrocketed, combining with a passion he didn't know he had. This was no platonic love. Honestly, Arthur was surprised. Apparently he didn't know himself as well as he thought. Or maybe it was just Alfred. He had to admit, the kid had a knack for bringing out the best in people. More often the angriest, but occasionally he had his moments.

Arthur let out a chuckle at the thought, and Alfred pulled away momentarily to smile. "You seem to be a bit happier than usual." He said, pushing his glasses up.

The only response he could offer was a smirk. Not ready to let go of his usual disposition quite yet, he decided to reply with; "I wouldn't get used to it. You still bother me more than anyone in class."

"I promise to try harder then." Alfred proclaimed, sitting up half way. "You have to pull your weight too, though. You don't want me running off with Ivan, do you?"

Arthur snorted. "He's your first choice?"

The other boy flashed a smile. "No, you are. Duh. But if I had to choose, after you drive me away with your cold personality, I would run to Ivan."

The comment, though offhand, inspired a sudden angry feeling. Arthur's expression turned into that of jealousy. "That's not happening. You're not leaving, now that this has happened." He brushed a bit of hair that had gone astray out of Alfred's face. "And I promise, if Ivan even thinks of approaching you, I'll personally execute him." A joking half-smile, now.

"I feel bad for him, then. I am pretty irresistible."

Still staring into his partner's eyes, Arthur leaned in. "That you are." His hands were roaming over the person under him.

"Love yooouu." Alfred sing-songed sweetly, instinctively pressing towards him.

Chuckling, Arthur's hands were about to invade the other's shirt when he heard a noise at the door.

"Was that…?"

"My mom."

Both turned their heads to the door. Arthur got up faster than he believed humanly possible, and Alfred fixed his tousled hair. The door opened.

"And that's all we need to do for the project?" Alfred said.

Arthur nodded curtly.

With a smile, Alfred turned towards his mom. "Hey, mom! We were just finishing up."

Arthur barely concealed the laugh that almost escaped from his throat.

"Arthur was just going home."

Alfred's mom looked at the two for a moment, then spoke. "Would you… like to stay for dinner, Arthur?"

He shook his head. "No thank you, I should probably be off now… I apologize."

She gave a sad smile. "Alright… Well, it's a pity you can't stay."

Arthur nodded his head, and ducked out the door.

A pity indeed.