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blood_wingedTitle: Can't Escape the Weather
Genre: General/Romance
Word Count: 1300
Rating/Warnings: U, none.
Summary: Slice-of-life fluff. The holiday is not going entirely to plan.
“I don’t believe this,” Alfred whined, his head propped up on his hands as he stared wistfully out of the window at the rolling ocean. The sky was a deep, angry purple and the rain was lashing down, pounding against the glass of the balcony door. There hadn’t been any warning about this storm and despite the rain the humidity remained stifling, the heat still well above what any normal human would have been comfortable with even with the ceiling fan whirring above them. On the other side of the room, Arthur was lying on the bed, a book open in his lap.
Tropical holidays, as he had tried to explain to Alfred before the boy simply brushed all of his protesting aside, did not agree with Arthur. Heat and humidity did not agree with Arthur and he didn’t cope particularly well with either of them, and had spent the first two days of the holiday suffering heat exhaustion after a day out walking in the sun. Not desiring to make a repeat of it, he had all but refused to go outdoors at a time that Alfred would have found to be acceptable, but he no longer had to worry about that.
The storm had rolled in off the sea, and they had been warned about it by the hotel staff scarcely hours before it had hit. If it got too bad, they had said, they would need to be moved to a more secure location but up until now it had been nothing but the rain hitting a steady drumming against the windows and the rustling of the wind blowing through the trees. For Arthur, it was one less thing to complain about. Rain was fine, rain was familiar, but Alfred was not quite so contented with the turn in the weather.
“This sucks, I wanted to-”
“Alfred.” Arthur set his book down against his thighs, glaring across the room at the other man. “This was your idea, now cease your complaining before I smother you in your sleep for being such an insufferable arse.”
“If I ever get any sleep, urgh, this heat…”
He trailed off. Arthur fixed him with the most unfriendly look he could muster, watching the way that the American nation’s lower lip stuck out and how he sullenly turned his eyes back to the window. Feeling strangely satisfied by that, Arthur curled his toes into the clean white bed sheets and settled back a little more, lifting his book up and lowering his eyes to the pages. As much as Alfred was irritating him he did have a point. The heat was everywhere all at once, with no way to escape save from lying flat on the cold stone floor and that was only a temporary relief.
They had been talking, for months, about taking a holiday together. The time they could spend together under normal circumstances was broken at best, usually coinciding with meetings or things that required them to be in the same country as one another. For them to actually be able to find time to spend together, away from work and away from their respective countries was very rare. Alfred sighed, quietly, but Arthur heard it, and he peered up over the top of his book. More so than for Arthur, the rain had always been a catalyst for melancholy in Alfred, and he could almost see the cowlick standing proud at the front of his hair drooping as his mood began to drop.
“Alfred…” He sat up, and Alfred looked over at him, perking up like a puppy gaining attention. When Arthur lightly patted the spot beside him he slid from the chair and moved up onto the bed, lying down and resting his head on Arthur’s stomach. The heat from having him so close was nearly unbearable, but Arthur didn’t have the heart to tell him to move and rested one hand on top of his head, threading through his hair and feeling the faint dampness around his hairline.
“I’m sorry, sweetheart,” he said, hooking the bridge of the younger blonde’s glasses with one finger and drawing them off him, setting them aside. Alfred blinked up at him, then turned his face against Arthur’s chest and mumbled half-incoherently into his shirt. “This isn’t really what you wanted, I know, but I could have told you that the weather might be like this… If I’d thought you would listen.”
Alfred grumbled, something about how he always listened but they both knew it was a lie. Scratching his nails over Alfred’s scalp, Arthur cast his eyes over to the window and frowned, then looked back down to his lover. He found himself smiling, then, to see Alfred already half asleep under the attention to his hair. Neither of them had slept much since their arrival, with the heat and everything that came with it, so he wasn’t terribly surprised.
“It should clear up by tomorrow,” Arthur went on, his voice a little lowered, hearing the quiet ‘mm’ of response. “What do you want to do?”
“Wanna go scuba diving.” Cracking an eye open, Alfred looked up, and Arthur quirked one brow slightly at him.
“You know I can’t swim.”
“Mmn.” Alfred shifted and wrapped one arm around the other man, nuzzling closer to his chest and now seeming intent upon using him as a pillow. “Then I wanna teach you to swim. Then I wanna go scuba diving.”
Blaming the heat in the room on the flush he felt rising to his cheeks, Arthur let out a low ‘tch’ sound, but he saw the tiny smile tugging at Alfred’s lips at the lack of a total refusal. “What else?”
“Wanna… hmm…” Sitting up, Alfred rubbed one side of his face and took Arthur’s hand, pulling him to his feet and towards the balcony door. The rain was slackening, but still coming down in force as Alfred slid the door open and stepped outside, pulling Arthur along with him. Each raindrop was like a tiny, ice-cold needle at his skin and he gasped, though unable to make any sound of complaint as Alfred turned to face him, rainwater already soaking his hair and running down his cheeks, and Arthur felt his knees go weak. The American leaned close, pausing just short of touching their lips together, and a warmth that had nothing to do with the temperature of the room swam up through Arthur’s body and dusted his cheeks with pink as he dipped his eyes closed.
Alfred kissed him, his hands coming to rest on the taller man’s narrow hips as every thought was focused on the movement and gentle pressure of the other’s lips against his. When they pulled apart he felt like he was tingling, and only half because of the rain, barely registering as he was pulled back indoors, dripping small puddles of rainwater onto the floor from the hem of his shorts. He was half undressed before he realised what was happening and found that he didn’t entirely mind, and they lay down together, the air from the ceiling fan now blessedly cool against his skin even with a warm and slightly damp American pressed close to his side.
“What was that in aid of?” Arthur asked after a few minutes had passed. Alfred let out a low sound almost like a laugh, pressing his nose into Arthur’s shoulder.
“I wanted to kiss you in the rain,” he admitted, paused, then made another of those little sounds. “And I wanted you out of your clothes.”
“You only had to ask.”
“I know, but where’s the fun in that?” Closing his eyes, the younger man smiled against Arthur’s skin and tightened his grip slightly. “Hey, Arts, there’s a nudist beach if it’s really just-”
“No.”
“Okay.”
Genre: General/Romance
Word Count: 1300
Rating/Warnings: U, none.
Summary: Slice-of-life fluff. The holiday is not going entirely to plan.
*****
“I don’t believe this,” Alfred whined, his head propped up on his hands as he stared wistfully out of the window at the rolling ocean. The sky was a deep, angry purple and the rain was lashing down, pounding against the glass of the balcony door. There hadn’t been any warning about this storm and despite the rain the humidity remained stifling, the heat still well above what any normal human would have been comfortable with even with the ceiling fan whirring above them. On the other side of the room, Arthur was lying on the bed, a book open in his lap.
Tropical holidays, as he had tried to explain to Alfred before the boy simply brushed all of his protesting aside, did not agree with Arthur. Heat and humidity did not agree with Arthur and he didn’t cope particularly well with either of them, and had spent the first two days of the holiday suffering heat exhaustion after a day out walking in the sun. Not desiring to make a repeat of it, he had all but refused to go outdoors at a time that Alfred would have found to be acceptable, but he no longer had to worry about that.
The storm had rolled in off the sea, and they had been warned about it by the hotel staff scarcely hours before it had hit. If it got too bad, they had said, they would need to be moved to a more secure location but up until now it had been nothing but the rain hitting a steady drumming against the windows and the rustling of the wind blowing through the trees. For Arthur, it was one less thing to complain about. Rain was fine, rain was familiar, but Alfred was not quite so contented with the turn in the weather.
“This sucks, I wanted to-”
“Alfred.” Arthur set his book down against his thighs, glaring across the room at the other man. “This was your idea, now cease your complaining before I smother you in your sleep for being such an insufferable arse.”
“If I ever get any sleep, urgh, this heat…”
He trailed off. Arthur fixed him with the most unfriendly look he could muster, watching the way that the American nation’s lower lip stuck out and how he sullenly turned his eyes back to the window. Feeling strangely satisfied by that, Arthur curled his toes into the clean white bed sheets and settled back a little more, lifting his book up and lowering his eyes to the pages. As much as Alfred was irritating him he did have a point. The heat was everywhere all at once, with no way to escape save from lying flat on the cold stone floor and that was only a temporary relief.
They had been talking, for months, about taking a holiday together. The time they could spend together under normal circumstances was broken at best, usually coinciding with meetings or things that required them to be in the same country as one another. For them to actually be able to find time to spend together, away from work and away from their respective countries was very rare. Alfred sighed, quietly, but Arthur heard it, and he peered up over the top of his book. More so than for Arthur, the rain had always been a catalyst for melancholy in Alfred, and he could almost see the cowlick standing proud at the front of his hair drooping as his mood began to drop.
“Alfred…” He sat up, and Alfred looked over at him, perking up like a puppy gaining attention. When Arthur lightly patted the spot beside him he slid from the chair and moved up onto the bed, lying down and resting his head on Arthur’s stomach. The heat from having him so close was nearly unbearable, but Arthur didn’t have the heart to tell him to move and rested one hand on top of his head, threading through his hair and feeling the faint dampness around his hairline.
“I’m sorry, sweetheart,” he said, hooking the bridge of the younger blonde’s glasses with one finger and drawing them off him, setting them aside. Alfred blinked up at him, then turned his face against Arthur’s chest and mumbled half-incoherently into his shirt. “This isn’t really what you wanted, I know, but I could have told you that the weather might be like this… If I’d thought you would listen.”
Alfred grumbled, something about how he always listened but they both knew it was a lie. Scratching his nails over Alfred’s scalp, Arthur cast his eyes over to the window and frowned, then looked back down to his lover. He found himself smiling, then, to see Alfred already half asleep under the attention to his hair. Neither of them had slept much since their arrival, with the heat and everything that came with it, so he wasn’t terribly surprised.
“It should clear up by tomorrow,” Arthur went on, his voice a little lowered, hearing the quiet ‘mm’ of response. “What do you want to do?”
“Wanna go scuba diving.” Cracking an eye open, Alfred looked up, and Arthur quirked one brow slightly at him.
“You know I can’t swim.”
“Mmn.” Alfred shifted and wrapped one arm around the other man, nuzzling closer to his chest and now seeming intent upon using him as a pillow. “Then I wanna teach you to swim. Then I wanna go scuba diving.”
Blaming the heat in the room on the flush he felt rising to his cheeks, Arthur let out a low ‘tch’ sound, but he saw the tiny smile tugging at Alfred’s lips at the lack of a total refusal. “What else?”
“Wanna… hmm…” Sitting up, Alfred rubbed one side of his face and took Arthur’s hand, pulling him to his feet and towards the balcony door. The rain was slackening, but still coming down in force as Alfred slid the door open and stepped outside, pulling Arthur along with him. Each raindrop was like a tiny, ice-cold needle at his skin and he gasped, though unable to make any sound of complaint as Alfred turned to face him, rainwater already soaking his hair and running down his cheeks, and Arthur felt his knees go weak. The American leaned close, pausing just short of touching their lips together, and a warmth that had nothing to do with the temperature of the room swam up through Arthur’s body and dusted his cheeks with pink as he dipped his eyes closed.
Alfred kissed him, his hands coming to rest on the taller man’s narrow hips as every thought was focused on the movement and gentle pressure of the other’s lips against his. When they pulled apart he felt like he was tingling, and only half because of the rain, barely registering as he was pulled back indoors, dripping small puddles of rainwater onto the floor from the hem of his shorts. He was half undressed before he realised what was happening and found that he didn’t entirely mind, and they lay down together, the air from the ceiling fan now blessedly cool against his skin even with a warm and slightly damp American pressed close to his side.
“What was that in aid of?” Arthur asked after a few minutes had passed. Alfred let out a low sound almost like a laugh, pressing his nose into Arthur’s shoulder.
“I wanted to kiss you in the rain,” he admitted, paused, then made another of those little sounds. “And I wanted you out of your clothes.”
“You only had to ask.”
“I know, but where’s the fun in that?” Closing his eyes, the younger man smiled against Arthur’s skin and tightened his grip slightly. “Hey, Arts, there’s a nudist beach if it’s really just-”
“No.”
“Okay.”
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2011-07-30 06:24 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-07-30 03:23 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-07-30 07:07 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-07-30 03:24 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-07-30 01:26 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-07-30 03:29 pm (UTC)I'm glad it made you giggle~ <3
(no subject)
Date: 2011-07-30 02:35 pm (UTC)(Although, there is one itsy bitsy part that bothered me -- heat stroke is a very serious, life-threatening condition and while nations are more hardy than your typical human, I believe what you were looking for was "heat exhaustion". Forgive me if I'm wrong, I don't mean to insult! D:)
(no subject)
Date: 2011-07-30 03:09 pm (UTC)You'd be quite right though, heat exhaustion would be more appropriate. The terms tend to be interchangeable here (much like 'cold' and 'flu', if you know what I mean). I'll change that :)
(no subject)
Date: 2011-07-30 03:58 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-07-31 05:54 am (UTC)<3
(no subject)
Date: 2011-07-30 03:58 pm (UTC)And kisses in the rain? Phwoooaaaaar what a completely romantic/cute/sexy action. Replace all those nasty memories with kisses in the rain, it makes total sense.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-07-31 05:56 am (UTC)And yes, that's what Alfred was trying to do, glad you saw that :)
(no subject)
Date: 2011-07-31 03:28 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-07-31 05:56 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-07-31 09:36 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-07-31 03:52 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-07-31 03:50 pm (UTC)The ending made me giggle, though I am sure it turned into a laugh ..
(Yeah. I hate the heat too, Arthur. I like anything cold, if not, anything cold as ice.)
FFFF -- The fluffiness murdered me. I'm in heaven and I am saying "I LOVE YOU FOR KILLING ME WITH THIS FICLET." ♥
(no subject)
Date: 2011-07-31 03:52 pm (UTC)Glad you liked it, though. There's two more fluffy things still for you to read :D