In The Air
Title: In The Air
Genre: Romance/Fluff
Pairing(s): USUK
Word Count: 2,060
Rating/Warnings: PG
Summary: Done for the usxuk ' Summer Olympics'. Alfred promises something to Arthur if he wins gold. AU.
"We are standing outside the Village at this moment. Athletes and their families are swarming all around us and the atmosphere is electric." Feliciano Vargas, one of the reporters picked for the Olympic Games, was basking in the attention. He was not lying, the atmosphere here was incredibly and he searched the crowd hoping to get someone to interview. "Here's one of the United States athletes, Alfred Jones, with his brother, who has flown over from the States to watch his brother take part. How are you feeling at the moment, Alfred?"
Alfred grinned, looking tanned and muscled in his sleeveless top and his normally striking blue eyes were hidden partially by his glasses. "I'm feeling really excited about everything. You were right, this atmosphere is great and everyone gets really pumped up being around so many people who are sharing the same excitement." Feliciano nodded, looking interested before turning to Matthew.
"And how about you, Matthew? Watching your brother taking part, being able to come to the Olympic village, that must be quite exciting. I know I find it quite exciting just being out here." His grin was wide and sincere, causing Matthew to smile back.
"It's been really good fun to here. Al has mostly been training a lot for his big chance but whenever he's in training, I do all the tourist traps." Matthew grinned and Feliciano let out a little laugh, just like he was supposed to. "But it's been really exciting and you can literally feel it in the air."
"What about the gymnastics? Are you looking forward to it?" Feliciano asked, pushing the microphone underneath Alfred's chin.
Alfred thought for a little moment. "I'm really looking forward to it, 'cause this is what I've been training for the last four years. But I'm really nervous as well for the same reason. I hope I do myself proud out there and my nation proud as well."
"I'm sure the whole of the States is cheering you on, Alfred." Feliciano was looking happy and genuinely excited for Alfred. He was always one of the nicer reporters. "And I hear that a certain someone is also cheering you on as well." Of course, he was still a reporter first and foremost and always had the most up to date information. Alfred did not mind, he knew it would come up sometime.
"Yeah, my partner, Arthur, is in one of the other events. Luckily, we're not competing against each other otherwise that would have been awkward but it's nice being involved in the same thing." Alfred shrugged, knowing that he was going to have some complaints for mentioning Arthur and not particularly caring at the moment.
"It must be good. I suppose that Arthur is also living in the village as well?" Alfred nodded and Feliciano sensed that for an impromptu interview, it was starting to get a bit long. "Before we leave you to it, is there anything you want to say to Arthur?" A mischievous grin suddenly spread over Alfred's face and Matthew shook his head, an amused smile on his face.
"Oh, yes. Arthur, I vow, here on TV so it definitely happened, that I will do something very public and very embarrassing if you win." Feliciano looked stunned for a moment as Alfred grinned at the camera and Matthew snorted in the background.
"But won't that put him off winning?" Feliciano asked, now honestly curious.
"Nah," Alfred disagreed cheerfully. "He'll be so curious about what I'll do that he'll want to win just to find out. Always surprising him, I am." Feliciano laughed before nodding.
"Well, good luck to the both of you. Thank you so much for your time." Alfred nodded and smiled at the camera. "Back to you, Gilbert, at the studio."
"So, what are you going to do to him if he wins?" Matthew asked curiously as they walked away from the camera. Alfred grinned, looking happy and smug at the same time.
"When he wins," he corrected, "I am going to do something on cameras that he'll secretly like but also find deeply embarrassing. And I can't tell you because it has to be a surprise to everyone, including Arthur." Even though he was annoyed that he was not going to find out the secret, Matthew still smiled at his brother. He and Arthur had been together for years, both of them understanding the amount of training hours they have to put in. The fact that the world knew about their relationship was fairly recent though.
"Oh, Arthur is going to kill you." Alfred laughed, knowing that what Matthew said was true. Arthur would appreciate it though.
***
"Alfred," Arthur said in a sweet, casual tone that instantly made Alfred wary. "You know how I've tolerated you talking to the press about our relationship since it has only been public very recently and they won't stop asking questions?" Alfred twisted around to look at Arthur but he was looking down at the mail stack in his hand with an intense expression.
"Yes," Alfred said slowly. "You've been okay with it."
"So, why did you tell the press that you were going to do something embarrassing if I win the gold in swimming?" Arthur demanded, back to his normal voice and he was very, very annoyed. "Every interview I've done, every reporter I've talked to have asked about that in one way or another. I didn't realise my love life was so interesting but there's people on facebook and twitter going on about how they wish I would win just so they can see what you've got planned." Arthur sounded bewildered but Alfred understood completely. Having an openly gay couple that were both athletes and the fact that the media seemed to accept it as normal had helped a lot of people.
"They want to know. Isn't a good thing that they're wanting you to win?" Alfred asked, a little confused at why people wanting this was so bad. Arthur looked at him as if he was a complete idiot for not reading his mind. He got like that when he was in the middle of a rant.
"No! If I don't win, people will hate me because they'll never be able to find out what you were going to do. It'll be like that athlete who received those horrible messages on Twitter when he came 4th!" Arthur sounded really worried about this and he was now completely ignoring the mail so Alfred quickly got up to pull him into a hug.
"Then they're stupid. You've dealt with people like that before, don't let it freak you out now. We're still going to do the celebration vacation no matter whether both of us win or lose. If we lose, it's more going to be a 'spending time together after letting training devour our lives for the last few years' though."
Arthur smiled, just as Alfred had planned and hugged Alfred back. There stood in comfortable silence and Alfred was enjoying the warmth of Arthur's body against his. "Alfred," Arthur suddenly spoke but Alfred was too relaxed to move from where he was resting his chin against Arthur's shoulder.
"Mmm?" He made a sound to show he was listening but words were too much effort. His eyes had slid closed of their own accord and he felt like he was going to melt into a puddle right there on the floor.
"I still want that gold." Arthur sounded stubborn and so very sure of himself that Alfred smiled.
"I know." To Alfred, there was no doubt in his mind that Arthur was going to get it. The other athletes might have trained just as hard and have just as much talent but Arthur was brilliant. He had to win. Some may call him naive to believe this but he didn't stop thinking this, even though he was careful not to show just how sure he was, to the outside world.
Both of them would win gold.
***
The day of Arthur's match was here. Alfred was watching from the front row of the stands, his heart in his throat as he eyed Arthur with a half-proud, half-scared expression. Arthur was staring down at the swimming pool as if in some sort of trance but Alfred knew that his way of preparing so he did not shout or draw his attention like half of the people behind him were trying to do. Arthur would not hear him anyway.
"Is he okay?" Matthew asked, looking at Arthur with a worried look on his face. Alfred nodded, completely confident in this. He knew Arthur.
"Yeah, it's how he prepares for the race." The swimmers start to line up where their lanes were and, at the signal, dropped into the pool. Despite himself and his complete confidence in Arthur, Alfred grabbed his brother's hand and held on top. Arthur met his eyes for the first time and Alfred gave the biggest grin he could do. Arthur managed a small smile in return before getting into position. The smile slid of Alfred's face. "He's going to be fine," he said but cursed himself when the words sounded much more shaky than his words to Matthew.
The whistle went and they were off. Alfred could not see who was ahead judging by the water and was afraid to look at the screen that showed what was happening. He felt like a paranoid superstition had gripped hold of him and would not let him look away from Arthur.
The swimmers hit the end of the pool and sped back the way they had come. Everyone was on their feet and Alfred's fists were clenched. Matthew had wrenched his hand out of his ages ago so his fingernails cut marks in his hand without anything to hold onto.
The first swimmer finished the race and Alfred was almost afraid to look up. At the silver and bronze being announced as well and the crowd uproar dramatically increased, Alfred peeked upwards.
"It's done! Arthur's won! He's won!" Matthew yelled as Alfred stared at the scream. He was not shocked, not really, but he could not believe that this moment was actually here. Matthew grabbed him into a hug and Alfred returned it as soon as his senses returned. The cheering seemed amplified and he could not take his eyes off Arthur as he found out that he had won gold. The joy on his face was indescribable and his eyes immediately moved from his teammate into the crowd before meeting Alfred's.
The smile said it all and the two of them moved closer automatically. Arthur's teammates let him go, seeing that his mind was on bigger things and they reached each other at the edge of the pool.
"So," Arthur said nonchantly but the smile on his face negated the tone, "I won."
"I noticed," Alfred replied, his own smile taking away the bite of his words.
"Where's my embarrassing, never-to-be-forgotten moment?" Arthur looked curious and completely happy. It was a wonderful sight and for a moment, Alfred just drank it in. Then he decided to act on his promise.
He ignored the roar of the crowd as he pulled Arthur close to him, ignoring his wet swimsuit and the water that covered his upper body. Arthur looked at him, slightly confused and Alfred swung them both round, dipping Arthur down in a movie star style. One of Arthur's legs stayed on the floor but the other came up to grip Alfred's hip, exactly what he had been hoping he would do. After practicing this move with Matt for so long, he should be good at it, even on a wet poolside floor.
Arthur stared at him with such a stunned and cute expression that Alfred carried out the next part of his plan quite enthusiastically. He kissed Arthur, a short kiss but with enough tongue to make them forget where they were for a moment, before pulling them both into a standing position. Now it sounded like Arthur was not the only one that had finished a race, with how hard Alfred was breathing.
"That's your embarrassing move?" Arthur asked, slightly sceptically but he was obviously too happy to get properly angry. Alfred laughed and nodded. He was right; they had both won gold and they had won it together.
Genre: Romance/Fluff
Pairing(s): USUK
Word Count: 2,060
Rating/Warnings: PG
Summary: Done for the usxuk ' Summer Olympics'. Alfred promises something to Arthur if he wins gold. AU.
"We are standing outside the Village at this moment. Athletes and their families are swarming all around us and the atmosphere is electric." Feliciano Vargas, one of the reporters picked for the Olympic Games, was basking in the attention. He was not lying, the atmosphere here was incredibly and he searched the crowd hoping to get someone to interview. "Here's one of the United States athletes, Alfred Jones, with his brother, who has flown over from the States to watch his brother take part. How are you feeling at the moment, Alfred?"
Alfred grinned, looking tanned and muscled in his sleeveless top and his normally striking blue eyes were hidden partially by his glasses. "I'm feeling really excited about everything. You were right, this atmosphere is great and everyone gets really pumped up being around so many people who are sharing the same excitement." Feliciano nodded, looking interested before turning to Matthew.
"And how about you, Matthew? Watching your brother taking part, being able to come to the Olympic village, that must be quite exciting. I know I find it quite exciting just being out here." His grin was wide and sincere, causing Matthew to smile back.
"It's been really good fun to here. Al has mostly been training a lot for his big chance but whenever he's in training, I do all the tourist traps." Matthew grinned and Feliciano let out a little laugh, just like he was supposed to. "But it's been really exciting and you can literally feel it in the air."
"What about the gymnastics? Are you looking forward to it?" Feliciano asked, pushing the microphone underneath Alfred's chin.
Alfred thought for a little moment. "I'm really looking forward to it, 'cause this is what I've been training for the last four years. But I'm really nervous as well for the same reason. I hope I do myself proud out there and my nation proud as well."
"I'm sure the whole of the States is cheering you on, Alfred." Feliciano was looking happy and genuinely excited for Alfred. He was always one of the nicer reporters. "And I hear that a certain someone is also cheering you on as well." Of course, he was still a reporter first and foremost and always had the most up to date information. Alfred did not mind, he knew it would come up sometime.
"Yeah, my partner, Arthur, is in one of the other events. Luckily, we're not competing against each other otherwise that would have been awkward but it's nice being involved in the same thing." Alfred shrugged, knowing that he was going to have some complaints for mentioning Arthur and not particularly caring at the moment.
"It must be good. I suppose that Arthur is also living in the village as well?" Alfred nodded and Feliciano sensed that for an impromptu interview, it was starting to get a bit long. "Before we leave you to it, is there anything you want to say to Arthur?" A mischievous grin suddenly spread over Alfred's face and Matthew shook his head, an amused smile on his face.
"Oh, yes. Arthur, I vow, here on TV so it definitely happened, that I will do something very public and very embarrassing if you win." Feliciano looked stunned for a moment as Alfred grinned at the camera and Matthew snorted in the background.
"But won't that put him off winning?" Feliciano asked, now honestly curious.
"Nah," Alfred disagreed cheerfully. "He'll be so curious about what I'll do that he'll want to win just to find out. Always surprising him, I am." Feliciano laughed before nodding.
"Well, good luck to the both of you. Thank you so much for your time." Alfred nodded and smiled at the camera. "Back to you, Gilbert, at the studio."
"So, what are you going to do to him if he wins?" Matthew asked curiously as they walked away from the camera. Alfred grinned, looking happy and smug at the same time.
"When he wins," he corrected, "I am going to do something on cameras that he'll secretly like but also find deeply embarrassing. And I can't tell you because it has to be a surprise to everyone, including Arthur." Even though he was annoyed that he was not going to find out the secret, Matthew still smiled at his brother. He and Arthur had been together for years, both of them understanding the amount of training hours they have to put in. The fact that the world knew about their relationship was fairly recent though.
"Oh, Arthur is going to kill you." Alfred laughed, knowing that what Matthew said was true. Arthur would appreciate it though.
***
"Alfred," Arthur said in a sweet, casual tone that instantly made Alfred wary. "You know how I've tolerated you talking to the press about our relationship since it has only been public very recently and they won't stop asking questions?" Alfred twisted around to look at Arthur but he was looking down at the mail stack in his hand with an intense expression.
"Yes," Alfred said slowly. "You've been okay with it."
"So, why did you tell the press that you were going to do something embarrassing if I win the gold in swimming?" Arthur demanded, back to his normal voice and he was very, very annoyed. "Every interview I've done, every reporter I've talked to have asked about that in one way or another. I didn't realise my love life was so interesting but there's people on facebook and twitter going on about how they wish I would win just so they can see what you've got planned." Arthur sounded bewildered but Alfred understood completely. Having an openly gay couple that were both athletes and the fact that the media seemed to accept it as normal had helped a lot of people.
"They want to know. Isn't a good thing that they're wanting you to win?" Alfred asked, a little confused at why people wanting this was so bad. Arthur looked at him as if he was a complete idiot for not reading his mind. He got like that when he was in the middle of a rant.
"No! If I don't win, people will hate me because they'll never be able to find out what you were going to do. It'll be like that athlete who received those horrible messages on Twitter when he came 4th!" Arthur sounded really worried about this and he was now completely ignoring the mail so Alfred quickly got up to pull him into a hug.
"Then they're stupid. You've dealt with people like that before, don't let it freak you out now. We're still going to do the celebration vacation no matter whether both of us win or lose. If we lose, it's more going to be a 'spending time together after letting training devour our lives for the last few years' though."
Arthur smiled, just as Alfred had planned and hugged Alfred back. There stood in comfortable silence and Alfred was enjoying the warmth of Arthur's body against his. "Alfred," Arthur suddenly spoke but Alfred was too relaxed to move from where he was resting his chin against Arthur's shoulder.
"Mmm?" He made a sound to show he was listening but words were too much effort. His eyes had slid closed of their own accord and he felt like he was going to melt into a puddle right there on the floor.
"I still want that gold." Arthur sounded stubborn and so very sure of himself that Alfred smiled.
"I know." To Alfred, there was no doubt in his mind that Arthur was going to get it. The other athletes might have trained just as hard and have just as much talent but Arthur was brilliant. He had to win. Some may call him naive to believe this but he didn't stop thinking this, even though he was careful not to show just how sure he was, to the outside world.
Both of them would win gold.
***
The day of Arthur's match was here. Alfred was watching from the front row of the stands, his heart in his throat as he eyed Arthur with a half-proud, half-scared expression. Arthur was staring down at the swimming pool as if in some sort of trance but Alfred knew that his way of preparing so he did not shout or draw his attention like half of the people behind him were trying to do. Arthur would not hear him anyway.
"Is he okay?" Matthew asked, looking at Arthur with a worried look on his face. Alfred nodded, completely confident in this. He knew Arthur.
"Yeah, it's how he prepares for the race." The swimmers start to line up where their lanes were and, at the signal, dropped into the pool. Despite himself and his complete confidence in Arthur, Alfred grabbed his brother's hand and held on top. Arthur met his eyes for the first time and Alfred gave the biggest grin he could do. Arthur managed a small smile in return before getting into position. The smile slid of Alfred's face. "He's going to be fine," he said but cursed himself when the words sounded much more shaky than his words to Matthew.
The whistle went and they were off. Alfred could not see who was ahead judging by the water and was afraid to look at the screen that showed what was happening. He felt like a paranoid superstition had gripped hold of him and would not let him look away from Arthur.
The swimmers hit the end of the pool and sped back the way they had come. Everyone was on their feet and Alfred's fists were clenched. Matthew had wrenched his hand out of his ages ago so his fingernails cut marks in his hand without anything to hold onto.
The first swimmer finished the race and Alfred was almost afraid to look up. At the silver and bronze being announced as well and the crowd uproar dramatically increased, Alfred peeked upwards.
"It's done! Arthur's won! He's won!" Matthew yelled as Alfred stared at the scream. He was not shocked, not really, but he could not believe that this moment was actually here. Matthew grabbed him into a hug and Alfred returned it as soon as his senses returned. The cheering seemed amplified and he could not take his eyes off Arthur as he found out that he had won gold. The joy on his face was indescribable and his eyes immediately moved from his teammate into the crowd before meeting Alfred's.
The smile said it all and the two of them moved closer automatically. Arthur's teammates let him go, seeing that his mind was on bigger things and they reached each other at the edge of the pool.
"So," Arthur said nonchantly but the smile on his face negated the tone, "I won."
"I noticed," Alfred replied, his own smile taking away the bite of his words.
"Where's my embarrassing, never-to-be-forgotten moment?" Arthur looked curious and completely happy. It was a wonderful sight and for a moment, Alfred just drank it in. Then he decided to act on his promise.
He ignored the roar of the crowd as he pulled Arthur close to him, ignoring his wet swimsuit and the water that covered his upper body. Arthur looked at him, slightly confused and Alfred swung them both round, dipping Arthur down in a movie star style. One of Arthur's legs stayed on the floor but the other came up to grip Alfred's hip, exactly what he had been hoping he would do. After practicing this move with Matt for so long, he should be good at it, even on a wet poolside floor.
Arthur stared at him with such a stunned and cute expression that Alfred carried out the next part of his plan quite enthusiastically. He kissed Arthur, a short kiss but with enough tongue to make them forget where they were for a moment, before pulling them both into a standing position. Now it sounded like Arthur was not the only one that had finished a race, with how hard Alfred was breathing.
"That's your embarrassing move?" Arthur asked, slightly sceptically but he was obviously too happy to get properly angry. Alfred laughed and nodded. He was right; they had both won gold and they had won it together.