He Could Hear Me - A USUK oneshot fanfic
He Could Hear Me
A USUK fanfic
Rated T for language
By pasuterukyan/Galgenhumor (FF); kesefusohon (LJ); msmstee (Tumblr)
Arthur's POV
This is the LJ mirror~
"Hey, Artie! Mornin'!" he called out from the living room. It was 10 in the morning, a Sunday, and he had slept in once again.
"Not so early in the morning, Alfred." I groaned, his loud voice already getting to me. I stood in front of the stove, frying three, greasy, fatty strips of bacon. I was not the best cook out there, but I've steadily been improving on my cooking, to the point where Alfred could trust me with breakfast.
He was on vacation for a couple of weeks, and of all the vacation spots he had to pick, he had to pick my house. Sadly, my backyard pool, indoor bar and numerous other attractions can be found in my summer villa in Cornwall, not in the middle of London, much to his unhidden disappointment.
"What do you have there?" he asked me, a foolish grin spread on his features.
"The usual." I shrugged in reply.
"Mm, bacon… Make sure t' fry it up evenly, 'kay? Don't burn up the sides!" he laughed, to which I replied with an indignant grunt.
"I won't, unless you want an inedible breakfast today."
He only laughed, keeping quiet for a few moments. He seemed to be observing me, as if a man cooking was a rare sight, more so, a man in the form of Arthur Kirkland.
"Could you please stop staring at my back?" I said, after a moment of silence. I could honestly feel his eyes embedding onto my back by the intensity of his stare.
He seemed to have snapped out of his stupor. "You have a real' nice rear view there, Artie." he smirked playfully, waggling his eyebrows at me.
"Oh, shut up." I groaned and turned back to the bacon. Once it was done, I placed them on a serving plate, together with the eggs and pancakes.
"Eat up, now, it might get cold." I said, placing the plate in front of him. He watched me with eyes showing hunger and impatience. I sat down on the opposite side of the table, facing him. He separated it into halves, - or, at least, what he thought was called a half - each being our share. I watched him amusedly as he wolfed down his portion.
"Alfred, you left me with a quarter of the food!" I groaned as soon as I noticed it. He took three-quarters of the food yet again. I wondered if he's been doing this on purpose or he's just terribly hungry.
"'M sorry, Artie, bu' a hero's gotta ea', right?" he said, his cheeks bulging and stuffed with his breakfast, a grin on his face as the words came out muffled along with a few pieces of food.
"Don't talk when your mouth's full." I chided, wiping up the food around his mouth and on the table.
"Sorry, babe." he said, still grinning, after he had swallowed his bite. I felt myself flush a bit at his term of endearment, but I knew better than to make a big deal out of it. He'd just tease me all day about it, anyway. He had already finished his food before I was even halfway through my serving, which is ridiculous, because he took more food than me.
He leaned back on his chair, rocking it back and forth on its feet. "The chair might break." I frowned at him, before taking another bite.
"It won't!" he laughed.
Whatever. All I can say is, if it does break because of his idiotic weight and strength, he's going to buy me a new, identical chair.
I wiped my lips and stood up, having finished my food, and walked to the sitting room. Alfred stood up as well, and followed me, his face content after that (delectable) meal courtesy of Sir Kirkland.
"Hey Artie, it's not like you to leave the dishes out in the open!" he chirped, pointing to the plates we just left on the table.
"It's not a practice in my household." I said flatly.
"Yeah, so... Aren't you gonna clean that or somethin'?" he asked, puzzled.
"Me? You expect me to do that?" I laughed a bit; the idea was far too ludicrous. He's quite conceited isn't he?
"... It's your dishes, after all." he said, still not getting where the conversation was going.
"Oh no, Alfred, you took more than your share again today. As punishment, you're doing the dishes." I said. There was a tone of finality and authority in my voice.
"What? Why? No fair!" he whined.
"I've been cleaning up for two ever since you came here out of the blue; it's about time you get your lazy arse off that couch and help me out a bit!" I said; my eyebrows knitted into a frown. I won't take no for an answer this time. No matter how bad he makes the puppy eyes at me.
"Oh, okay." he groaned. "Meanie, grumpy Arthur, making me do nasty chores." he grumbled on his way back into the kitchen.
"I heard that, git!" I said quite loudly as I plopped down on the couch and laid down to rest my head on the armrest. I didn't get that much sleep last night, for some unknown reason, and as a result, my head was pounding and I could feel a nasty migraine coming up.
I was supposed go upstairs for some aspirin, but I decided to try and let it pass for a few minutes. The minutes grew longer, the tap water running in the distant background, as I slipped into a temporary slumber.
Of course, with a house guest, and ten and a half more hours of waking time, my peaceful nap was short-lived. I felt Alfred not-so-gently sit on the edge of the couch, just enough to avoid sitting on my right arm. My eyes fluttered open in a startle, and I found myself looking into his baby blue eyes.
"I'm done washing the dishes." he grinned down at me, not noticing the disturbance he had caused.
"And you just had to wake me up to tell me that." I rolled my eyes.
"I had no idea it was nap time already!" he laughed light-heartedly and positioned himself beside me, even if he knew that the small piece of upholstery could not really accommodate two fully-grown adults.
"Alfred, don't squeeze yourself in, we don't fit!" I angrily said, trying to push him off the couch, but his strength prevented me from doing so.
"Aww," he turned around to fully face me, "but I want to be beside Arthur!" he whined a bit, as I found myself centimetres close to his face. I could feel his breath on my skin already, and his blue orbs stared innocently at me. The tingling sensation of his breath somewhat irritated me, yet at the same time made me blush idiotically.
"The couch is too small, you're squeezing me already!" I manage to choke out.
Alfred didn't seem to mind. I was already squirming beneath him, trying to gasp for air. An enclosed space could only allow me so much oxygen.
"Get. Off. Alfred!" I snapped, my teeth grinding against each other and my eyes shut tight. With a heaving push, I exerted my efforts onto pushing him off the couch. I couldn't take it anymore, his unawareness of his idiotic strength annoyed me. I heard a bump, not too loud as the couch wasn't that elevated, and a groan.
"What the heck was that for, Arthur?" he said, all sweetness gone. He was just now utterly ticked off because I have evidently pushed him off the couch.
"You were squeezing the oxygen out of me! I had to get you off because I was running out of breath and you wouldn't listen!" I answered readily.
"Well, sorry 'bout that! Y' could've at least spoke louder!"
"Well, I couldn't, you were killing me already, crushing me into the couch's fold! If you were just a bit more considerate of your strength then maybe I wouldn't have much of a hard time being around you!" I said, my words were merely caused by pure, built-up annoyance.
"Yeah, I get it. I won't come near you again. Might accidentally kill you the next time I get too close." he stood up, his voice bitter as he walked up the stairs. Moments later, I heard the guest room's door close.
I just stared incredulously into his direction, the ghost of his action replayed before me. I... I didn't really mean that, right? But it was true; anyway, he really didn't know when to stop. I laid back down, dignity and pride prevented me from going after him. My cheeks were tinged pink with a mixture of embarrassment and anger.
Well, we can't stay angry at each other forever, can we?
I stared up at the ceiling. Hours slipped by and I didn't notice myself slipping in and out of consciousness, though I'm pretty sure I was asleep, because I was in the middle of some punk concert before I was sucked back into the reality that was my sitting room. On the third time I have woken up from my nap, I glanced at the wall clock to check the time. Half past five. I didn't hear him come down since all that. Was he still angry? I carefully sat up, rubbing my eyes as I got up. I should really go and apologise, right? I sighed and sucked it up, standing up from the seat.
I climbed the stairs, walked until I reached his room. It seemed oddly quiet in there. I tentatively opened the door and called Alfred's name. "Alfred...?" I said uncertainly.
Alfred was lying on his bed, lightly snoring, his hand going past the edge of the bed and his duvet sprawled all over. He still had his glasses on. He had such a peaceful appearance when he's asleep, in contrast to his loud, noisy, annoying demeanour whenever he's up and about. I don't know if it was just me, or if he really had a tiny smile on his face. I found myself smiling as well; he had infected me with his happiness even as he was snoring, his mind somewhere in the depths of dreamland. What could he be dreaming about right now? What could he be dreaming about to make him smile so angelically like this? I secretly wondered if he was dreaming about me, even if the idea seemed absurd.
"Hey, I just came to apologise about earlier." I said after I had carefully sat down on the edge of his bed, my words coming out brash, but nevertheless apologetic. I sighed. It doesn't count when you apologise to someone who's fast asleep, right?
I brushed away his bangs from his eyes and removed Texas, his trusty pair of black-rimmed glasses. He must've just suddenly passed out on the bed, with nothing better to do, and forgot to take his glasses off, like always. I stifled a giggle when his nose twitched a little and his eyebrows quirked a bit, slightly sensing the disturbance.
I figured it was time for me to prepare dinner. Both of us, if I am correct, have skipped lunch, so my hunger would make sense. I carefully got up from the bed, cringing at the light squeak the mattress made and leaned down to plant a light kiss on his forehead. I almost jumped backward in surprise when I felt his hand move and touch my face, an amused smile playing on his lips. He was awake the whole time? The cheeky bastard...
"Y-you were awake the whole time?" I said. My cheeks were heavily flushed red.
"Well, I kinda heard your voice and felt you remove my glasses." his smile grew broader; his eyes were still closed.
"You could have told me." I shook my head and grumbled, turning away from him to hide my face.
"That wouldn't have been much fun." he chuckled and sat up, putting his glasses back on. He opened his eyes and pulled me close, earning him a light, startled gasp from me.
"You're really cute when you think no one's looking, huh?" he grinned, nuzzling the crown of my head.
"N-no, I'm not! Anyway, I... I just came to say sorry. I should be preparing dinner already." my muscles tensed as he tried to get up. Alfred only pulled him back, his grip a bit tighter.
"Oh, come on, dinner can wait. Let's just watch the sunset here. It's been quite a while since I've seen it with you." he smiled, turning his head towards the window and looked wistfully at it. The light breeze entered the room and the curtains billowed as the wind blew around it. He's right, it's been a while… a few centuries to be exact. The last sunset I remembered peacefully sharing with anyone was with Alfred, more or less two hundred years ago, on that hill near their house. I remembered the energetic little kid, running towards the hill, leading the way towards the top. I remembered he was running too fast for me to be able to catch up and that I had to stumble along behind him. I remembered his face, a mix between triumph, relief and joy when he had reached the top. He had called out to me: "Engwand, Engwand!" in his tiny, little voice, beckoning me to hurry up to the top of the hill. When he'd finally caught up, we sat down, calmly watching the sunset, counting down the last few seconds before the sun was gone.
Outside, the magnificent, red-orange sun was slowly setting, disappearing down the horizon; it was a truly breath taking sight to behold. It was my second sunset-watching with Alfred. More than two hundred years later, we were in each other's arms, silently counting down to ourselves when the sun would completely set.
When it was done, Alfred breathed out, a peaceful smile on his face. He spun me around and took me by surprise as he kissed me on the lips. It was gentle and not needy, and it wasn't the kind that would last long. Yet, it was one of those kiss that said a lot of unspoken things, even if they were short. I smiled and kissed back, my fingers intertwining with his. We both pulled back moments later, still smiling at one another. He was a bit sheepish, so to say. He scratched the back of his head in an awkward manner, smiling at me modestly.
"I love you." he said, pulling me back into a backbone-shattering hug. I didn't mind it this time, though.
"I know." I chuckled. "I love you too, more than you know." I snuggled into his hug, his warm touch making me feel at ease.
It's moments like these that remind me why I'm together with Alfred, really. Don't get me wrong, I like all the various experiences I've had with him, from the ones in bed to the out of bed, everything had their strong points. These moments, though, remind me that even if Alfred is a huge oaf sometimes and even though he may act totally carefree and happy-go-lucky, we could still share a silent moment, a moment where we can just enjoy each other's company without saying a word.
Even if we argued today, I still think today was a good day, since I got to see the sunset with Alfred. Call me shallow, but seeing the sunset serenely really is a priceless moment especially when you see it with the one you love.
It was a normal Saturday for the both of us, well, as normal as a weekend could get when Alfred's your boyfriend, and we ate our dinner a bit more calmly than our breakfast. Both of us washed the dishes tonight and we just cuddled on the bed, until Alfred fell asleep.
I shifted a bit to my right, facing him more. I pulled myself closer to his chest, snuggling against it. I feel a bit more at ease there. I smiled as I looked up into his peaceful face, studying his features. This time, he remembered to remove his glasses and place it on the side table. He was dreaming about something again, I'm sure. The corners of his lips were turned up into a light smile again. I really want to know what's behind that smile of his. I sighed, deciding that I'd better get to sleep. It'd be much better than to try and guess what Alfred's dreaming of all night, after all.
"I love you." I whispered softly as I buried my face into his chest, a sincere smile on my lips.
Oh, right. He was asleep... Does it count when you tell someone you love them when they're asleep?
I felt him lightly place his hand on my back, the corner of his lip twitching amusedly for a fraction of a second. I knew what he meant by that.
He heard me the whole time. Knowing that, I smiled and dozed off to sleep.
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Author's Notes!:
Hey guys! Thanks for the reviews on my other fanfics! This is another oneshot I did last night, instead of studying for the finals. By the way, I'm changing my pen name to "Galgenhumor". So, it's pasuterukyan - Galgenhumor. Haha.~ I'll be updating my websites now. Also: I just read "American Dreams in an English Village" (up to the 26th/latest chapter!) and I absolutely love it. I have no idea why I only started reading now. ButterFish is officially my favourite fanfiction author. But everyone else is good in their own way, so haha :3 And I also read "I Am Not The One Who Will Cry", also by ButterFish, and I cried. So much, I don't even know. I took a video of myself and even turned it into a GIF on Tumblr. I AM SUCH A WEIRDO I KNOW.
Okay I'll stop blabbing for now. It's finals and almost the end of my school year so that means SUMMER and more time to do fanfics~! I wish you guys would give me ideas, though. I've been wanting to do a multi-chaptered fic, and somehow, I just really suck at those. OTL