FANFIC: You Can Do Better (Oneshot)
Title: You Can Do Better
Genre: Angst, slight humor
Pairings: USUK, slight FrUK, mentioned JapanxGreece, hinted PruHungary, HungaryxAustria
Rating: Hard PG-13 for language and Adult Themes
Warnings: AU, cheating (?), strong language, mentions of sex
Summary: Inspired and based of the song “Marvin’s Room” by Drake. Alfred goes out to the club with some friends to have fun, but his recent breakup with Arthur keeps him from having an enjoyable evening. In the mist of his depression, he decides to drunk dial Arthur.
Wow, I'm actually releasing this to the internet. I really love Drake's music (maybe living in the center of hip hop culture helps with that), For some reason, while listening to his new singles, a plot bunny came forth and sprotted this. I hope you enjoy.
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Whenever Alfred entered the party, he was the center of attention. All the women would gravitate toward him. On top of being quite good looking with his golden locks and his sapphire blue eyes, he gave off an aura of sex, charisma and confidence that drove them wild. Right now, though, was not one of those times. He was currently seated at the bar in the rear of the club, staring blankly into a glass of scotch. The night started off as normal as he walked in, immediately catching plenty of attention, but things just didn’t seem right. He had come with Gilbert and Kiku, who were nowhere to be found at this point. Kiku had run into some Greek guy he knew and Alfred hadn’t seen him since. Gilbert was probably off having sex with some random chick by now. That’s when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He checked the screen and saw an incoming text.
Well speak of the asshole.
“gtg. getting some ass. nite bro. :)”
Alfred snorted and clicked off his iPhone, he thought it was funny how psychic he was when it came to these things. Well, Gilbert was predictable after being his friend for so long. He always followed the same routine: go to the club, drink until he was smashed, sweet talk some broad and take her home. Though, Alfred didn’t look down on him, he actually felt for the guy. The only girl he ever loved goes and marries some douche bag concert pianist. She even had the audacity to invite him to the wedding, but of course Gilbert had better things to do, like go drinking until he couldn’t walk straight. Alfred knew that Gilbert was really a great guy, but right now, he needed to drown his sorrows in liquor and lust.
Currently, Alfred was more focused on the liquor than the lust part. He had checked the time on his phone and it showed 2:04. He had been in the club for about four hours now, and he needed to leave soon. Though, he just wanted to stay a little bit longer and finish off his drink. The girl in the flashy white top and black mini skirt was staring at him and shooting him looks through her Rosé. He looked her way and saw her giving him that coy smile but he didn’t feel like picking up on her flirting tonight. He pretended to be oblivious to her rather forward flirting and stared at the rosé in her hand.
Rosé. French. Goddamn French.
Alfred took the rest of his scotch and shotgunned it. He waved down the bartender to order another one. He knew his tab was going to be huge tonight, but at this point, he didn’t really care. He just wanted this tightness in his chest to go away. The girl who was trying her damn hardest to get his attention moved around the bar to sit next to him.
Oh, fuck. Here we go.
Alfred knew this wasn’t going to end well.
She leaned in close next to Alfred’s ear so she could be heard over the loud, thumping techno music.
“Hello. My name is Christine. What’s your name, love?”
This was going to be worst than he thought, she had the fucking accent. This girl was going to make him go crazy, and not in the good way.
“Hi, Christine. Nice to meet you.”
“What is a lovely man like you doing at the bar, drinking alone. Did you girlfriend dump you?” she asked.
If the smell of wine on her breath wasn’t enough, the last comment put the nail in the coffin. He didn’t want to be anywhere near her at this point. The bartender finally placed a new glass of scotch in front of him. He quickly took a sip to keep him from doing something stupid.
“No, I’m just tired. I’ve been in this club for a very long time. Actually, I was about to head out. It’s been a long day.”
Christine was apparently inebriated because she was awkwardly learning toward him, intruding on his personal bubble. Her face was only mere inches from his and Alfred was feeling a bit uncomfortable.
She smirked, “Why don’t you come home with me tonight, love. I’ll show you a jolly good time.”
Wow, very subtle.
Alfred wasn’t amused, but even when drunk, he knew how to be a gentleman. She was a lady after all, underneath the apparent stupor of alcohol.
“I’m sorry, I just can’t. Thank you for offering though. If it were any other time, I would, but not tonight. I’ve got work tomorrow and I should already be in bed at this point. I’m already going to pay dearly for this in the morning.”
It wasn’t really a total lie, he didn’t have work in the morning, but he was going to have one hell of a hangover.
“Come on, my dear, I’ll make it worth your time,” she whined.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t tonight”.
“You’ll find that I’m a persistent bugger, and I won’t give up until you take me home.”
At that, Alfred got off his stool and threw back the rest of his scotch. He pulled out a few large bills and set them on the table in front of the bartender.
“For my tab. You can throw in her drink too. Other than that, keep the change”.
He glanced over at Christine once last time before leaving. He sorta felt sorry for her.
“Good Night”.
With this farewell, Alfred left as quickly as possible, walking through the crowded dance floor toward the exit door. He needed to get out of there as soon as possible before he lost it.
One he made it outside, he took a deep breath. Sigh. It was a wonderfully cool night out tonight, probably from all the rain lately. It was softly drizzling outside, and it felt good against his heated skin. The club was quite hot and stuffy with all the bodies jammed in such a confined space. He saw as a bunch of girls left the club, huddled under a small, flimsy umbrella. Alfred chuckled,
Girls and not getting their hair wet.
Alfred walked down the street until he came apon a dinner. Alfred was a regular here and he needed something to cheer him up a little bit, and nothing worked as well as a nice cheeseburger. It was open 24 hours to cater to the late night crowds from all the clubs and bars who are craving greasy food to help them contain all the alcohol they’ve consumed. You could see the disheveled clothes and sweaty faces from a long night of dancing and partying on the patrons as he walked in. He took the first stool he saw at the counter and ordered a coke. He looked up at the menu board to see the specials.
He sat there in disbelief.
Fuck, really?! Someone must really hate me.
In hand written letters it said, “TODAYS SPECIAL: FISH AND CHIPS”.
Of all times they decide to be “cultural” they do it now.
Alfred just stared at the board hoping if he stared hard enough at it that it would burst into flames. This would be the perfect time to get powers like that girl in the movie Carrie. He wasn’t scared at all when he watched it by the way.
The waiter placed his coke on the counter and pulled out a notepad. He looked at Alfred stare intently at the specials board.
“Sir, would you like to try our special today? It’s actually pretty tasty.”
Alfred turned his head and glared at the waiter. The waiter just stood there stiff with a scared look on his face. He could tell that Alfred was pissed and didn’t know what had set him off. Did he say something wrong?
Alfred took a deep breath and sighed.
“I’ll just take the greasiest cheeseburger you have with fries, please.”
God smite me before I call them French fries. He now knew why all those crazy people insist on calling them freedom fries.
“Right away, sir.”
The waiter walked away to the back to put in his order. Alfred sipped on his coke pulling out his phone. Apparently he had an unread text message.
“Sorry for disappearing Alfred. I went to Heracules’s so don’t worry about me. Have a good night ^_^”.
What is it with everyone and getting some tonight.
Alfred text him back, giving him a “k” in return.
He started to go through his text messages and clear out his inbox. Man, he had way too many messages. He started deleting all the messages from some girls he had started to talk to after the last few visits to the club. He had amused them for awhile, but he got bored and moved on with his life. He never called or text them back. He felt bad for leading them on, but he never went passed kissing. He wanted to go further, but he just couldn’t...He scrolled down the vast list of texts and paused when he saw one in particular.
“Silly git. I can’t wait to see you tonight either.”
He just stared at the words on the screen, reading the sentence over and over, trying to internalize the words. The text conversation was really old, like months old, but he couldn’t delete it no matter how hard he tried.
Alfred started to feel sick as the tightness in his chest became worse. The alcohol wasn’t making it any better. He crossed his arms and placed his head on the cool counter. All he could do was lie there and stew in his own misery. He thought time would make him feel better, not worse. Whoever told him that lie was full of shit. If he could remember who said it, he would give them a piece of his mind the next time he saw them. He seemed to have moved on after the first couple of weeks, but then everything just started reminding Alfred of him. Just like now and that goddamn specials board. If it didn’t remind Alfred of him, then it reminded him of that “stinky cheese eating bastard” as Alfred like to refer to him. For some reason, Alfred had found himself with an aversion to anything French as of late.
While Alfred was in the mist of his despair and distain, the waiter returned with his food. He ate quickly, for he found he didn’t feel comfortable here anymore. There were just too many reminders. The world just didn’t seem to leave him be and let him move on. It just wanted to remind of him of what he had lost for not damn reason at all except to make him feel like shit.
Once he was done scarfing down his food, he paid his tab and quickly left the diner. Once he was outside, he started walking toward his apartment. He was still walking in a quick pace when he passed the 24-hour convenience store. He abruptly stopped and turned back towards the store. This was going to be a long night, might as well get supplies. Once he was inside, he walked toward the freezers in the back. He picked up a case of Budweiser and moved to the snack aisle. He just started stuffing anything of interest under his arm: chips, cookies, cakes, candy and other assorted junk food until his arms were full. He plopped it all on the counter and pulled out his credit card.
The clerk at the counter gave him a curious look. Alfred didn’t care. He just wanted to pay for his items and go home.
He finally left the convenience store with beer and junk food in hand. Maybe he would play Call of Duty before hitting the sack, it always made him feel a little bit better.
It will be interesting to see if I can still destroy all the noobs even when drunk off my ass.
He finally arrived at his destination, home. He worked his way up the stair to his door, pulled out his key and unlocked it. Once he was inside, he dropped all the bags on the coffee table then turned on the Xbox. Once he had the game running with controller in hand, he popped open a can of beer and started to drink. About three beers, a pound of junk food and several rounds of Team Death Match later, he was pretty wasted. By this point, he wasn’t even trying anymore and was just running head first for the nearest enemy. His team mates were all screaming at him through their headsets. He didn’t give a damn. Though, he felt a little chilly. The weather was unseasonably cold lately and he had accidently left the air conditioner on the whole time he was out. He got off the couch and stumbled toward the hall closet.
He was looking for his favorite blue hoodie when he found a small black blazer. He suddenly remembered whose it was.
It was his.
It was Arthur’s.
He just took it off the rack and examined. He inhaled the faint smell of tea and cologne. He just couldn’t handle this.
Alfred took the blazer and stumbled back toward the living room.
He took his phone from his pocket and looked through his contacts. He scrolled through his contacts until he saw his name, the name he just couldn’t bear to delete. He always came up with excuses for why not.
“Arthur Kirkland”
He just stood there with his finger hovering over the call button. Even when drunk, he knew this wasn’t a good idea, but he also knew that chances are he wouldn’t remember it in the morning.
He pressed call.
He placed it to his ear while the phone started to dial the number. The phone rang until there was a click,
“Hello?” the voice said.
God, he missed that voice.
“Arthur?”
“Alfred, is that you? Why the hell are calling me at four in the morning?!” the voiced hissed.
“I found your jacket in the closet”
Arthur moaned in frustration,
“You really called me about a jacket at 4 o’ clock in the morning?”
Alfred had a million things he wanted to say racing through his mind, but all he could manage was,
“No, I…” Alfred paused, “Fuck that French bastard Artie, he’s fuckin’ awful.”
Arthur went silent for moment, probably from the shock of Alfred’s words that seem to come out of nowhere.
“Alfred, you hardly know Francis, and my love life is none of your business, not anymore.”
Alfred couldn’t control his words.
“Artie, I know you still think of us. Still, think of the time we spent together.”
Arthur was perplexed. What the hell is Alfred saying?
“Alfred, are you drunk right now?”
“Yes, but that’s not the point. I’m just sayin’, you can do better. Tell me, has anyone else told you that lately?”
Arthur gasped. He was appalled by his words. Some of his friends had said some things, but he wasn’t about to admit that to Alfred. They all warned him of Francis’s ways and that he could probably find someone who could treat him better, but Arthur always did the exact opposite of what the majority tell him is best.
Arthur didn’t want to deal with this right now, but the mix of frustration, anger, sadness and pity made him continue their phone conversation.
“I know Francis has a colorful romantic past, but it doesn’t mean he can’t change. He’s a decent man Alfred”
“If he’s so decent then why are you talkin’ to me right now? If he was around, you wouldn’t have picked up.”
Alfred could hear the shock and anger in Arthur’s voice, and it was just adding fuel to the fire.
“Francis is an important man. When you’re a CEO, you tend to be busy a lot. Thank you very much.”
“That’s some bullshit Artie, and you know it. What the fuck is he doin’ on a Saturday night if he’s not with his boyfriend. There aren’t very many options, and they all don’t look good on his part.”
“Alfred, I don’t want to talk about this right now! I can’t believe you! Why must you do this to me?!”
Arthur was furious with Alfred. Alfred always knew how to fuck things up.
“Arthur, I can’t do this anymore. I thought I would be able to get over this, but I just can’t. I miss you so much.”
“Alfred…”
“Arthur, I love you.”
Alfred dropped the bomb. While he was with Arthur, he couldn’t find the right time to say it. When he was ready, things fell apart. Well, why not tell him now?
“Alfred I don’t know what to say. This is a lot to deal with…”
“Listen Artie, I don’t know what I have to say, but I need you so much right now. I’ve tried goin’ out and meetin’ women, drinkin’, and partyin’, but it only was a temporary fix. The women I’ve talked to were all the same, nothin’ special. They were meaningless. I just want you…fuck. I met a girl at the bar tonight who had this accent like yours, but it didn’t sound right. It was whinny and more annoying that anything and it crawled under my skin. It just reminded me of you and how wonderful your voice is. Then I go to the diner to get a damn hamburger and they are servin’ fish and chips as the special. Fish and Chips Artie! It seems like some uncontrollable force decided to torture me for the rest of my life with reminders of you. It’s not fair, it’s not…”
Alfred’s words were cut off.
Alfred wasn’t tearing up…fuck it, he was, but he was too drunk to have inhibitions anymore.
Arthur could hear it through the reciever, and started to feel an uneasiness in his chest. He never heard Alfred cry before. It was shocking. It threw him off guard, and he didn’t know what to do. He could hang up the phone but there was no knowing of what Alfred might do if he did.
Arthur knew he might and probably was going to regret what he was about to do.
“Alfred…”
“Artie?”
“I’m coming over…”
Something fluttered in Alfred’s chest.
“Alright, you know where the key is?”
“Yes Alfred, I didn’t forget.”
“Thank you…”
“Don’t thank me just yet…I’ll be leaving shortly. Bye, Alfred.”
“Bye-bye Artie”
The phone went silent. A moment later Alfred collapsed and fell on the couch. He only had a few seconds to relax before there was a god awful feeling in his stomach. He clumsily rushed toward the bathroom and emptied the contents of his stomach.
Yep this was going to be a long night, for him and Arthur.
He didn’t want to think of the most awkward morning of his life soon to come afterwards either.
Maybe, though, something good could come from it.
~END~
Genre: Angst, slight humor
Pairings: USUK, slight FrUK, mentioned JapanxGreece, hinted PruHungary, HungaryxAustria
Rating: Hard PG-13 for language and Adult Themes
Warnings: AU, cheating (?), strong language, mentions of sex
Summary: Inspired and based of the song “Marvin’s Room” by Drake. Alfred goes out to the club with some friends to have fun, but his recent breakup with Arthur keeps him from having an enjoyable evening. In the mist of his depression, he decides to drunk dial Arthur.
Wow, I'm actually releasing this to the internet. I really love Drake's music (maybe living in the center of hip hop culture helps with that), For some reason, while listening to his new singles, a plot bunny came forth and sprotted this. I hope you enjoy.
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Whenever Alfred entered the party, he was the center of attention. All the women would gravitate toward him. On top of being quite good looking with his golden locks and his sapphire blue eyes, he gave off an aura of sex, charisma and confidence that drove them wild. Right now, though, was not one of those times. He was currently seated at the bar in the rear of the club, staring blankly into a glass of scotch. The night started off as normal as he walked in, immediately catching plenty of attention, but things just didn’t seem right. He had come with Gilbert and Kiku, who were nowhere to be found at this point. Kiku had run into some Greek guy he knew and Alfred hadn’t seen him since. Gilbert was probably off having sex with some random chick by now. That’s when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He checked the screen and saw an incoming text.
Well speak of the asshole.
“gtg. getting some ass. nite bro. :)”
Alfred snorted and clicked off his iPhone, he thought it was funny how psychic he was when it came to these things. Well, Gilbert was predictable after being his friend for so long. He always followed the same routine: go to the club, drink until he was smashed, sweet talk some broad and take her home. Though, Alfred didn’t look down on him, he actually felt for the guy. The only girl he ever loved goes and marries some douche bag concert pianist. She even had the audacity to invite him to the wedding, but of course Gilbert had better things to do, like go drinking until he couldn’t walk straight. Alfred knew that Gilbert was really a great guy, but right now, he needed to drown his sorrows in liquor and lust.
Currently, Alfred was more focused on the liquor than the lust part. He had checked the time on his phone and it showed 2:04. He had been in the club for about four hours now, and he needed to leave soon. Though, he just wanted to stay a little bit longer and finish off his drink. The girl in the flashy white top and black mini skirt was staring at him and shooting him looks through her Rosé. He looked her way and saw her giving him that coy smile but he didn’t feel like picking up on her flirting tonight. He pretended to be oblivious to her rather forward flirting and stared at the rosé in her hand.
Rosé. French. Goddamn French.
Alfred took the rest of his scotch and shotgunned it. He waved down the bartender to order another one. He knew his tab was going to be huge tonight, but at this point, he didn’t really care. He just wanted this tightness in his chest to go away. The girl who was trying her damn hardest to get his attention moved around the bar to sit next to him.
Oh, fuck. Here we go.
Alfred knew this wasn’t going to end well.
She leaned in close next to Alfred’s ear so she could be heard over the loud, thumping techno music.
“Hello. My name is Christine. What’s your name, love?”
This was going to be worst than he thought, she had the fucking accent. This girl was going to make him go crazy, and not in the good way.
“Hi, Christine. Nice to meet you.”
“What is a lovely man like you doing at the bar, drinking alone. Did you girlfriend dump you?” she asked.
If the smell of wine on her breath wasn’t enough, the last comment put the nail in the coffin. He didn’t want to be anywhere near her at this point. The bartender finally placed a new glass of scotch in front of him. He quickly took a sip to keep him from doing something stupid.
“No, I’m just tired. I’ve been in this club for a very long time. Actually, I was about to head out. It’s been a long day.”
Christine was apparently inebriated because she was awkwardly learning toward him, intruding on his personal bubble. Her face was only mere inches from his and Alfred was feeling a bit uncomfortable.
She smirked, “Why don’t you come home with me tonight, love. I’ll show you a jolly good time.”
Wow, very subtle.
Alfred wasn’t amused, but even when drunk, he knew how to be a gentleman. She was a lady after all, underneath the apparent stupor of alcohol.
“I’m sorry, I just can’t. Thank you for offering though. If it were any other time, I would, but not tonight. I’ve got work tomorrow and I should already be in bed at this point. I’m already going to pay dearly for this in the morning.”
It wasn’t really a total lie, he didn’t have work in the morning, but he was going to have one hell of a hangover.
“Come on, my dear, I’ll make it worth your time,” she whined.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t tonight”.
“You’ll find that I’m a persistent bugger, and I won’t give up until you take me home.”
At that, Alfred got off his stool and threw back the rest of his scotch. He pulled out a few large bills and set them on the table in front of the bartender.
“For my tab. You can throw in her drink too. Other than that, keep the change”.
He glanced over at Christine once last time before leaving. He sorta felt sorry for her.
“Good Night”.
With this farewell, Alfred left as quickly as possible, walking through the crowded dance floor toward the exit door. He needed to get out of there as soon as possible before he lost it.
One he made it outside, he took a deep breath. Sigh. It was a wonderfully cool night out tonight, probably from all the rain lately. It was softly drizzling outside, and it felt good against his heated skin. The club was quite hot and stuffy with all the bodies jammed in such a confined space. He saw as a bunch of girls left the club, huddled under a small, flimsy umbrella. Alfred chuckled,
Girls and not getting their hair wet.
Alfred walked down the street until he came apon a dinner. Alfred was a regular here and he needed something to cheer him up a little bit, and nothing worked as well as a nice cheeseburger. It was open 24 hours to cater to the late night crowds from all the clubs and bars who are craving greasy food to help them contain all the alcohol they’ve consumed. You could see the disheveled clothes and sweaty faces from a long night of dancing and partying on the patrons as he walked in. He took the first stool he saw at the counter and ordered a coke. He looked up at the menu board to see the specials.
He sat there in disbelief.
Fuck, really?! Someone must really hate me.
In hand written letters it said, “TODAYS SPECIAL: FISH AND CHIPS”.
Of all times they decide to be “cultural” they do it now.
Alfred just stared at the board hoping if he stared hard enough at it that it would burst into flames. This would be the perfect time to get powers like that girl in the movie Carrie. He wasn’t scared at all when he watched it by the way.
The waiter placed his coke on the counter and pulled out a notepad. He looked at Alfred stare intently at the specials board.
“Sir, would you like to try our special today? It’s actually pretty tasty.”
Alfred turned his head and glared at the waiter. The waiter just stood there stiff with a scared look on his face. He could tell that Alfred was pissed and didn’t know what had set him off. Did he say something wrong?
Alfred took a deep breath and sighed.
“I’ll just take the greasiest cheeseburger you have with fries, please.”
God smite me before I call them French fries. He now knew why all those crazy people insist on calling them freedom fries.
“Right away, sir.”
The waiter walked away to the back to put in his order. Alfred sipped on his coke pulling out his phone. Apparently he had an unread text message.
“Sorry for disappearing Alfred. I went to Heracules’s so don’t worry about me. Have a good night ^_^”.
What is it with everyone and getting some tonight.
Alfred text him back, giving him a “k” in return.
He started to go through his text messages and clear out his inbox. Man, he had way too many messages. He started deleting all the messages from some girls he had started to talk to after the last few visits to the club. He had amused them for awhile, but he got bored and moved on with his life. He never called or text them back. He felt bad for leading them on, but he never went passed kissing. He wanted to go further, but he just couldn’t...He scrolled down the vast list of texts and paused when he saw one in particular.
“Silly git. I can’t wait to see you tonight either.”
He just stared at the words on the screen, reading the sentence over and over, trying to internalize the words. The text conversation was really old, like months old, but he couldn’t delete it no matter how hard he tried.
Alfred started to feel sick as the tightness in his chest became worse. The alcohol wasn’t making it any better. He crossed his arms and placed his head on the cool counter. All he could do was lie there and stew in his own misery. He thought time would make him feel better, not worse. Whoever told him that lie was full of shit. If he could remember who said it, he would give them a piece of his mind the next time he saw them. He seemed to have moved on after the first couple of weeks, but then everything just started reminding Alfred of him. Just like now and that goddamn specials board. If it didn’t remind Alfred of him, then it reminded him of that “stinky cheese eating bastard” as Alfred like to refer to him. For some reason, Alfred had found himself with an aversion to anything French as of late.
While Alfred was in the mist of his despair and distain, the waiter returned with his food. He ate quickly, for he found he didn’t feel comfortable here anymore. There were just too many reminders. The world just didn’t seem to leave him be and let him move on. It just wanted to remind of him of what he had lost for not damn reason at all except to make him feel like shit.
Once he was done scarfing down his food, he paid his tab and quickly left the diner. Once he was outside, he started walking toward his apartment. He was still walking in a quick pace when he passed the 24-hour convenience store. He abruptly stopped and turned back towards the store. This was going to be a long night, might as well get supplies. Once he was inside, he walked toward the freezers in the back. He picked up a case of Budweiser and moved to the snack aisle. He just started stuffing anything of interest under his arm: chips, cookies, cakes, candy and other assorted junk food until his arms were full. He plopped it all on the counter and pulled out his credit card.
The clerk at the counter gave him a curious look. Alfred didn’t care. He just wanted to pay for his items and go home.
He finally left the convenience store with beer and junk food in hand. Maybe he would play Call of Duty before hitting the sack, it always made him feel a little bit better.
It will be interesting to see if I can still destroy all the noobs even when drunk off my ass.
He finally arrived at his destination, home. He worked his way up the stair to his door, pulled out his key and unlocked it. Once he was inside, he dropped all the bags on the coffee table then turned on the Xbox. Once he had the game running with controller in hand, he popped open a can of beer and started to drink. About three beers, a pound of junk food and several rounds of Team Death Match later, he was pretty wasted. By this point, he wasn’t even trying anymore and was just running head first for the nearest enemy. His team mates were all screaming at him through their headsets. He didn’t give a damn. Though, he felt a little chilly. The weather was unseasonably cold lately and he had accidently left the air conditioner on the whole time he was out. He got off the couch and stumbled toward the hall closet.
He was looking for his favorite blue hoodie when he found a small black blazer. He suddenly remembered whose it was.
It was his.
It was Arthur’s.
He just took it off the rack and examined. He inhaled the faint smell of tea and cologne. He just couldn’t handle this.
Alfred took the blazer and stumbled back toward the living room.
He took his phone from his pocket and looked through his contacts. He scrolled through his contacts until he saw his name, the name he just couldn’t bear to delete. He always came up with excuses for why not.
“Arthur Kirkland”
He just stood there with his finger hovering over the call button. Even when drunk, he knew this wasn’t a good idea, but he also knew that chances are he wouldn’t remember it in the morning.
He pressed call.
He placed it to his ear while the phone started to dial the number. The phone rang until there was a click,
“Hello?” the voice said.
God, he missed that voice.
“Arthur?”
“Alfred, is that you? Why the hell are calling me at four in the morning?!” the voiced hissed.
“I found your jacket in the closet”
Arthur moaned in frustration,
“You really called me about a jacket at 4 o’ clock in the morning?”
Alfred had a million things he wanted to say racing through his mind, but all he could manage was,
“No, I…” Alfred paused, “Fuck that French bastard Artie, he’s fuckin’ awful.”
Arthur went silent for moment, probably from the shock of Alfred’s words that seem to come out of nowhere.
“Alfred, you hardly know Francis, and my love life is none of your business, not anymore.”
Alfred couldn’t control his words.
“Artie, I know you still think of us. Still, think of the time we spent together.”
Arthur was perplexed. What the hell is Alfred saying?
“Alfred, are you drunk right now?”
“Yes, but that’s not the point. I’m just sayin’, you can do better. Tell me, has anyone else told you that lately?”
Arthur gasped. He was appalled by his words. Some of his friends had said some things, but he wasn’t about to admit that to Alfred. They all warned him of Francis’s ways and that he could probably find someone who could treat him better, but Arthur always did the exact opposite of what the majority tell him is best.
Arthur didn’t want to deal with this right now, but the mix of frustration, anger, sadness and pity made him continue their phone conversation.
“I know Francis has a colorful romantic past, but it doesn’t mean he can’t change. He’s a decent man Alfred”
“If he’s so decent then why are you talkin’ to me right now? If he was around, you wouldn’t have picked up.”
Alfred could hear the shock and anger in Arthur’s voice, and it was just adding fuel to the fire.
“Francis is an important man. When you’re a CEO, you tend to be busy a lot. Thank you very much.”
“That’s some bullshit Artie, and you know it. What the fuck is he doin’ on a Saturday night if he’s not with his boyfriend. There aren’t very many options, and they all don’t look good on his part.”
“Alfred, I don’t want to talk about this right now! I can’t believe you! Why must you do this to me?!”
Arthur was furious with Alfred. Alfred always knew how to fuck things up.
“Arthur, I can’t do this anymore. I thought I would be able to get over this, but I just can’t. I miss you so much.”
“Alfred…”
“Arthur, I love you.”
Alfred dropped the bomb. While he was with Arthur, he couldn’t find the right time to say it. When he was ready, things fell apart. Well, why not tell him now?
“Alfred I don’t know what to say. This is a lot to deal with…”
“Listen Artie, I don’t know what I have to say, but I need you so much right now. I’ve tried goin’ out and meetin’ women, drinkin’, and partyin’, but it only was a temporary fix. The women I’ve talked to were all the same, nothin’ special. They were meaningless. I just want you…fuck. I met a girl at the bar tonight who had this accent like yours, but it didn’t sound right. It was whinny and more annoying that anything and it crawled under my skin. It just reminded me of you and how wonderful your voice is. Then I go to the diner to get a damn hamburger and they are servin’ fish and chips as the special. Fish and Chips Artie! It seems like some uncontrollable force decided to torture me for the rest of my life with reminders of you. It’s not fair, it’s not…”
Alfred’s words were cut off.
Alfred wasn’t tearing up…fuck it, he was, but he was too drunk to have inhibitions anymore.
Arthur could hear it through the reciever, and started to feel an uneasiness in his chest. He never heard Alfred cry before. It was shocking. It threw him off guard, and he didn’t know what to do. He could hang up the phone but there was no knowing of what Alfred might do if he did.
Arthur knew he might and probably was going to regret what he was about to do.
“Alfred…”
“Artie?”
“I’m coming over…”
Something fluttered in Alfred’s chest.
“Alright, you know where the key is?”
“Yes Alfred, I didn’t forget.”
“Thank you…”
“Don’t thank me just yet…I’ll be leaving shortly. Bye, Alfred.”
“Bye-bye Artie”
The phone went silent. A moment later Alfred collapsed and fell on the couch. He only had a few seconds to relax before there was a god awful feeling in his stomach. He clumsily rushed toward the bathroom and emptied the contents of his stomach.
Yep this was going to be a long night, for him and Arthur.
He didn’t want to think of the most awkward morning of his life soon to come afterwards either.
Maybe, though, something good could come from it.
~END~