Not So Little Mermaid (USUK) Ch. 10

He slept that night with a small smile on his face that didn't seem to leave, and he even woke with it the next morning. He saw Alfred as usual, then settled down at his desk to work- but first, he had a phone call to make. Picking up his phone, he flicked through his contacts and pulled up Gilbert's number.

"Heeeeey?" Gilbert's sleepy voice came through the speaker.

Arthur raised a brow at this. "Still in bed at this hour, Beilschmidt?"

"Yeah. Mattie and I have a day off so we're cuddling. Say hi, Birdie." There was a shuffling sound as presumably the speaker was pressed against Matthew's head.

"Mm, good morning... Who?"

"It's Arthur, Matthew," the Brit replied.

"Ah, right. Morning, Arthur."

Gilbert took the phone back. "Yeah. It's not that late. So what do you want?"

"Mm, actually... Alfred was wondering when Fritz would next visit."

"Oh. Oh." Gilbert grinned. "Whenever you want."

"What's with that tone of voice?" Arthur sighed slightly. "I'm not sure, really. But it would be good for Alfred to have someone with him sometimes, when I'm busy working..."

"Just means Mattie and I can have awesome sex more." The albino snickered. "But yeah, sounds good."

Arthur shook his head. "Of course... All right, so I guess whenever he next wants to come round?"

"Yeah! I'll take him down, or maybe Mattie. Good luck with your boyfriend until then!"

"He's not my-!"

"Yeah, yeah..." Gilbert rolled his eyes and hung up.

Arthur huffed at his phone and put it down to focus on his work instead. When he next looked at the clock, it was already evening, and he jolted out of his chair and to the pool room.

Alfred was sprawled out on the pool side, and he started whining when the door open. He was mewling pitifully a few moments later.

Eyes widening, Arthur quickly headed to his side. "A-Alfred- what is it?"

"Left me! Artie left me!" Alfred whined, writhing on the floor. "So long since Artie was here!"

"Wh-Wh- it hasn't been that long..." Arthur said tilting his head.

"It haaaaaas!" Alfred cried, continuing his dramatization.

"H-Hey- I'm sorry, I just- Y-You know I had to work..." Arthur said, biting his lip as he held a worried hand out to the other.

Alfred immediately gripped the proffered limp and yanked Arthur down on top of him. "I-I know!" he wailed, wrapping his arms tightly around Arthur's waist. "It was just longer than usual and I felt so alone! But you're back noooow!"

"A-Ah... Alfred..." Arthur wrapped an arm around the merman. "I'm sorry... I just got really into it..."

"It's okay..." Alfred snuffled into his neck, squeezing him tight. "You're here now..."

"Yes..." Arthur gave the other a squeeze back. "Hm... Hey, the mattress came earlier, by the way."

"Did it?" Alfred looked up at him, his eyes flickering with excitement. "That's awesome! Bring it in!"

"Now?" Arthur raised a brow, chuckling slightly. "Well you'll need to let go of me first."

"...No! Bring it in a few minutes!" Alfred huffed, holding him tighter, almost possessively.

"Ah-" Arthur gasped slightly and chuckled. "All right, fine by me."

"All right!" Squealing happily, Alfred rolled over and into the pool, making sure that Arthur was only underwater for a few seconds.

"Ah..." Arthur blinked down at it then smiled and nodded. "Of course," he said, following the merman.

Happy that Arthur was tailing him, Alfred did little loops and tricks underwater, always making sure that at some point he brushed up against the Brit. He didn't even know why he was doing it, but it made him feel happy and his heart jumped whenever they touched and honestly he just wanted to touch Arthur so much and feel him everywhere.

And Arthur himself shivered at every touch, and he chuckled pleasantly as he watched Alfred's movements.

Noticing the shivers after a while, Alfred increased the amount of touches. He wanted to see if he could affect Arthur that way more. And he could- Arthur shivered more, letting out a soft sigh every so often and glancing down at Alfred, wondering if it was accidental or not. But Alfred would always simply smile mysteriously at him before going right back into his routine.

Arthur found he didn't mind, smiling back gently.

After another few minutes of this, Alfred finally got bored and floated in the water normally. "Go get the mattress now?"

"Ah, right," Arthur replied, swimming to the edge of the pool and getting out, quickly getting the package and bringing it back.

During that time, Alfred had noticed that Arthur had an exceptionally well-shaped butt, though he waved the thought away as soon as it came to him. He perked up though when Arthur brought the mattress in, swimming closer. "It looks...boxy..."

"Boxy?" Arthur raised an eyebrow, chuckling. "Well, it is in a box."

"Hah! Free it!"

Laughing a little more at the merman's wording, Arthur took the mattress out and unfolded it, then pulled the pump out too and started looking for the hole to blow it up.

"...That's going to take a long time to pump up..."

"...Yes." Holding up the pump, Arthur looked over it. "It shouldn't be too bad. It's got a good pump with it."

"Okay! Work it, Artie!"

"I- r-right." It took a while to get it set up, but after a few minutes, Arthur had the pump up and running, and he started pressing on it to pump the mattress up.

Smirking briefly at Arthur's reaction, Alfred watched with curious and wide eyes as the mattress slowly pumped up. "It looks really cool!"

"It- It does?" Arthur replied with a small chuckle.

"Yes! You picked it well!"

"Heh, thank you," the Brit said, then sat back as he finished. "There."

"Lemme at it, lemme at it!" Alfred scrambled out of the pool, suddenly shrieking as his tail scraped heavily over a particularly rough part of the edge of it. Whimpering, he fell back and curled in on himself. A tiny wisp of red stretched from his body and dissolved into the surrounding water and a single blue scale was caught on the edge of the pool.

His eyes widening, Arthur dashed forwards to the merman's side, looking at him in the pool. "A-Alfred?! Oh God- what's wrong-?"

"H-Hurts!" Alfred wailed, sinking beneath the waves and cradling his tail. His shoulders shook with soft sobs.

"Shit- Alfred!" Arthur gritted his teeth, trying to think what he could do, but then ripped his shirt of and splashed into the pool, swimming down to the merman and gently placing a hand on his shoulder.

Sniffling, Alfred raised his head to look at the Brit when he felt the touch, his eyes puffy and red from tears. "H-Hurts a lot!" he whimpered.

Sighing softly and saddened by the other's expression, Arthur nodded to the edge of the pool and started to gently pull Alfred there, supporting him to cause as little pain as possible.

"N-No, no go there!" Alfred struggled against him lightly, not wanting to go near the spot that had hurt him, but also not wanting to hurt Arthur in the process.

"H-Hey, Alfred, it's okay..." Arthur said softly, turning to the other and holding his cheeks gently. "We need to get out of the pool for me to have a look at it, okay?"

The merman still trembled, but the touches on his cheeks helped calm him down. "O-Okay... I trust you, Artie."

"Okay, good." Arthur stroked his cheek a little more before gently pulling him to the edge. "Come on, then."

"I'm coming..." Alfred allowed himself to be dragged along, but he eyed the edge of the pool apprehensively.

Getting out of the pool first, Arthur turned to face Alfred. "It's okay, Alfred. I won't let you get hurt again," he said, holding out his hand

And Alfred trusted him wholly. He took the proffered hand and sniffled, giving Arthur a small smile.

Arthur smiled softly back, carefully pulling Alfred up and even resting his own hand over the edge of the pool so Alfred wouldn't hurt himself again.

Flinching initially as he was pulled up, Alfred's eyes widened when he felt Arthur's hand under his tail. "You'll hurt yourself!" he cried, distressed.

"No, no," Arthur replied, giving the other a smile. "I won't. Don't worry."

"A-Are you sure?" Alfred still didn't look convinced.

"Of course. It's fine, Alfred."

"Okay..." When he was out on land Alfred relaxed, though his face was still screwed up a little in pain.

"Hey, hey, it's okay..." Arthur murmured soothingly, stroking Alfred's hair while moving down to look at the wound.

There was an angry chafe down the side of Alfred's tail, near the hip. It was long but shallow, though it was still bleeding a little bit, and some of the scales around it were dislodged.

"Okay..." Alfred mumbled.

Arthur smiled slightly at Alfred and nodded. "Yes, yes it is. How badly does it hurt?" He asked, looking over the cut with a frown and moving his free hand to lightly touch the area.

"Badly!" Alfred mewled, whining more and flinching as Arthur brushed against the sensitive scales. "It hurts a lot!"

"Ah- sorry-" Arthur quickly pulled his hand away and thought. "Hmm... I have some bandages that should work in water. It'll be good in salt water, but for the moment it should be probably be wrapped up..." Arthur frowned more, unsure what to do.

"I don't know either. Usually in the past I'd just forget about it and let it heal on its own..." Alfred shrugged. "You probably know better than I do though."

Arthur bit his lip, then nodded decisively. "I'm going to go get a bandage for you."

"Okay!" Alfred chirped, giving Arthur a tiny smile. "I trust you know what's best for me!"

Arthur gave a small smile back and dashed off, coming back with a long bandage. "Keep your tail still and flat, then," he said.

"Okay!" Alfred nodded seriously, and to take his mind off what Arthur was doing, he picked up and played with the scale that had fallen off.

Gently, Arthur started to wrap the bandage around his tail, trying to be as soft as possible.

Although Alfred initially flinched when the bandage touched him, the scale helped distract him until the process was done. When Arthur lifted his hands away he inspected his newly wrapped tail, nodding approvingly. After a second of hesitation, the merman then held his scale out to the Brit. "Here. For you."

"Wh-What?" Arthur blinked down at it, then looked at Alfred with wide eyes. "Alfred..."

"What?" Alfred tilted his head. "It's for you."

Arthur looked at the scale a moment more, before accepting it with a chuckle and a soft smile. "I have you right here, you know," he murmured, stroking the other's bandaged tail gently. "...Does it still hurt?"

Alfred's heart jumped at those words. "B-But I want you to have this too..." he mumbled, stuttering the words out. "And it's okay..." Still, he shifted his tail out of reach.

"Okay." Arthur's voice was soft and, as he leaned down to quickly press a quick kiss to the middle of Alfred's tail, so were his lips.

"A-Arthur?" Alfred jolted, his cheeks flushing red. "What was that for?"

"Just kissing it better," Arthur replied with a small smile, chuckling slightly at the other's reaction.

"Kissing it better?" Alfred frowned.

Arthur nodded. "Yes! It's a saying. If you kiss it, it helps make it better."

"Really? Kiss it more!"

"Wh- Alfred..." Arthur laughed a little, shaking his head, but leaned down to kiss the bandage more anyway.

"More! More!"

"Heh, honestly, you're so needy," Arthur murmured, giving the spot one more kiss.

"I-It hurts!" Alfred pouted as an explanation.

"I know, I know. It should heal soon, hm?" Arthur glanced down at the bandage. "...Do you know if the... The scale will grow back?"

Alfred looked down at the spot too. "I don't know. I've never lost one before. But I don't think so." He shrugged. "Ah, it doesn't matter too much."

"Ah..." Arthur's gaze dropped to the floor. "Are- Are you sure?"

"Yeah!" Alfred nodded and placed his hand over Arthur's. "And this way y-you can have a piece of me wherever you go!"

"Piece of you-" Arthur pulled a face, then smiled softly and turned his hand to squeeze the other's a little. "I'd prefer to think of it as... Being near you."

"Ah!" Alfred squeezed his hand back and grinned. "Yes! That's a better way to say it! You'll always be near me!"

Smile growing, Arthur nodded. "Exactly."

"Ah!" Alfred wriggled with happiness, wincing when his tail moved. He stopped moving and the smile returned to his face. "You gotta take good care of it though! I'm trusting you with it, it's special! Like me!"

Arthur moved forward, slightly panicked at that, but nodded again in agreement. "Of course, Alfred," he replied seriously.

"Hey..." Alfred lifted a hand and placed it on Arthur's cheek at the panic. "It's gonna hurt me a bit whenever I move it, but trust me, I'm okay. Don't worry about me. It's okay."

Arthur's face was worried, but he let out a soft sigh and smiled at Alfred's reassurance. "...Okay."

"Yeah..." Nodding himself, the merman rubbed his thumb gently over Arthur's skin. It was so soft, he noticed. "I'm okay now, Arthur. You helped me."

"Okay." Arthur's smile turned soft. "Well I'm glad."

"Could you help me into the water now?" Alfred inched towards the edge of the pool. He probably wouldn't be able to swim for a few hours, if not days, but he would feel more comfortable in the water- plus his tail was already dangerously dry.

"Ah, right. So we'll check out the bed another time?" Arthur said, holding a hand out to the other.

"No! You can still try it out!" Alfred said eagerly, looking up at Arthur with pleading eyes as he took the hand.

"You want me to?" Arthur smiled and gently helped the other back in the pool, taking care to not let it hurt.

"Yes!" Alfred did wince a bit as he slipped in, but once he was in the water the pain quickly faded. "Ah... Thank you, Artie."

"Okay. And it's fine," Arthur replied.

"Then get on!" Alfred commanded cheerfully.

"Hm... Should I put it in the pool first or just try it like this?"

"In the pool! Come join me!"

"Heh, all right." Arthur quickly pulled the mattress to the pool, kicking it in before slowly climbing onto it.

"Careful! Don't fall into the water!" Alfred told him, very helpfully leaning on the mattress.

"I won't," Arthur said, rolling his eyes steadying himself as the mattress wobbled.

"Good!" Grinning, Alfred rested his chin on the material, peering up at the human.

Arthur tilted his head, chuckling a little. "Hm?"

"Well? Is it nice?"

"Ah- well it's a little wobbly at first, but once it steadies out.. Yes, it seems quite comfortable."

"So it'll be good to sleep on?"

"Yes, I think so."

"That's good..." Alfred said, and in the next moment he was attempting to clamber onto the mattress.

"H-Hey, careful-!" Arthur held his arms out to gently help the merman up. "You don't want to tip it over."

Alfred practically fell into Arthur's arms, happily snuggling up to him when he was settled. "Ooh, this is nice..."

"Ah-" Arthur blinked in surprise, but then gently hugged the other back. "Yes, it is..."

"Ah!" At that, Alfred simply moved closer to him. "Artie, Artie!"

"Hm?" Arthur asked softly, tilting his head slightly, just so happening to bury his nose in Alfred's neck in the process.

"Mmm, you stay right here..." Alfred mumbled, closing his eyes and pulling Arthur even closer.

Arthur blinked, then closed his own eyes and relaxed into it. "...I wasn't planning on going anywhere," he murmured back.

"Really?" Alfred smiled and rested one of his hands on the back of Arthur's head. He sighed contently and ran his fingers through the Brit's hair.

Humming softly, Arthur leaned into it. "Mm, of course..."

"Good! I wouldn't have let you leave anyway!"

"Heh, I can tell that," Arthur replied quietly with a small chuckle.

"Yeah! You're mine!" Alfred nodded contently. "...At least for now."

Arthur frowned ever so slightly at this, a little confused. "Hm? What do you mean...?"

"What do you mean what do I mean? You're with me and with no one else and I'm not letting you go for a while so you're mine," Alfred explained.

"Ah..." Arthur gradually flushed a soft red, which he hid in Alfred's shoulder. "...Would that mean you're, in turn, mine? Hm?"

"Yeah!" Alfred lit up at the idea, giving Arthur a little squeeze. "All yours!" He ignored any romantic insinuations of the phrase.

"Mm..." Arthur shuffled closer, unsure how to feel. He really didn't like the idea of 'owning' Alfred, though he obviously didn't mean it like that anyway, and anything romantic was obviously out of the question- but somehow, he didn't really want to disagree.

Pleased when Arthur moved even closer, Alfred squeezed him even more tightly. "Always yours..." he whispered, almost too quiet to hear.

Arthur was relaxed in Alfred's arms by now, too relaxed to really be embarrassed, instead just humming softly. It was like the rest of the world spontaneously slowed down with Arthur's breaths, leaving only him and Alfred in the world.

"...What are you singing?" Alfred asked a few moments later.

Arthur blinked, suddenly snapping out of it. "What?"

"You were making music with your mouth...humming." That was the word. "What were you humming?"

"Oh..." Arthur thought about it for a moment- he hadn't been aware of it- and hummed softly to himself again to figure it out. "Ah- Phantom of the Opera."

"What's that?"

"It's from a film..." After a moment, Arthur started softly singing the song.

"Oh..." Alfred listened in awe, his eyes wide.

After a while, just about managing to get through the duets without it being dramatic, Arthur finished the song and shifted awkwardly.

"That was so nice!" Alfred let go of Arthur, but that was only for a moment so he could applaud him. The next moment, he had his arms wrapped tightly around Arthur's torso once more.

"Ah... It wasn't that good," Arthur mumbled, gladly going along with the other's hug.

"It was!" Alfred insisted.

Turning a little red, Arthur squeezed Alfred tighter to hide it. "H-How?"

"You have a nice voice and it was a pretty song!"

"Mm... Well, I'm glad you think so," Arthur murmured. "Thank you."

"Anytime!" Alfred impulsively pressed a kiss to Arthur's hair and he wasn't sure what exactly it was, but his heart jumped at the action because it simply felt so right.

Arthur himself let out a tiny gasp, his grip tightening a little at the feeling, and he smiled slightly.

Emboldened by Arthur's positive reaction, Alfred kissed him there once more before burrowing down and nuzzling to him. "I'm really glad you got the mattress, Artie..." he mumbled.

"Yes... It's nice," Arthur murmured back, sighing contentedly and letting his eyes droop shut once more.

Alfred was content to simply lay there with him for a few more minutes, and he would have happily done so for longer if it wasn't for his stomach reminding him of the necessities. After the rather loud growl Alfred went red, and Arthur's wonderful scent - had it always been so nice and so prominent? - wasn't helping. He felt his teeth grow more pointed and immediately wriggled back into the water.

Blinking as he was brought back to reality, Arthur looked down into the water, his eyebrows raised. "Ah- o-oh, I'm so sorry, I haven't given you anything yet. What do you want?"

"Anything," Alfred told him, his voice strained. He shook his head and snapped his teeth before vanishing under the water and swimming slow laps while he waited.

"Ah, right." Arthur nodded quickly before dashing off to get something, coming back with a small selection of meats.

When the door closed signaling Arthur's return Alfred thrashed in the water, creating small waves.

Arthur chuckled slightly - he'd started to find Alfred's predatory hunger rather endearing now - and sat by the edge of the pool, quickly throwing a few pieces in.

The merman immediately leapt up to catch the bits of food, wolfing them down within seconds. He then swam closer to Arthur, bumping against his leg to get more.

"Yes, yes," Arthur said, throwing more in continuously until he'd finished the tray.

And by then Alfred was full. He floated in the pool, belly up and eyes closed. "Thanks..."

"Of course," Arthur replied with a small smile.

"...Did you call Gil?"

"Ah, yes, I did. He said he'll bring Fritz round at some point, I'm not sure when."

"That's cool! I can't wait until he does!" Alfred wriggled happily.

"Heh, of course not." Arthur chuckled softly. "Well I'm sure it won't be too long."

"But now let's spend some more time together?"

The Brit smiled softly and nodded.

"Come in here then!"

Chuckling, Arthur slipped into the pool. "All right, all right."

The merman immediately wrapped around him. "Artie!"

"Heh, what is it?" Arthur asked, gently hugging the other back.

"Nothing, I'm just glad to be here relaxing with you! And my stomach won't bother us anymore so let's go back on the mattress?"

"Mm, all right." Arthur hummed slightly, then pulled back to smile slightly at the other. "You're in a very huggable mood today, hm?"

"Yes!" Alfred leaned forward and pressed their foreheads together. "I wanna hug my Artie!"

Arthur's breath hitched, and he turned red as his eyes met Alfred's blue. "Ah- yes..."

"Do you wanna hug your Alfred too?" Alfred questioned, tilting his head ever so softly.

"Ah, of course..." Arthur replied, smiling slightly as he followed the other's movements.

Noticing this almost instantly, Alfred's eyes narrowed a tiny bit and he tilted his head the other way.

"Hm?" Arthur frowned slightly, chuckling slightly in amusement and tilting his own head to match.

"You're being silly!" Alfred told him, straightening out and leaning away.

"Wh- How am I?" Arthur asked indignantly.

"You're doing what I'm doing!" Alfred told him as he pulled the both of them towards the mattress.

"Ah- and?"

Alfred waited until they were both comfortably settled on the mattress and curled up around each other to answer. "And that makes you silly!" he said with a bright smile, then nestled his head against Arthur's shoulder.

"I- Well that's silly!" Arthur replied with a huff.

"...It's silly that you're silly? What?" Now Alfred was just getting confused.

"It's silly that you say I'm silly!"

"Well you are silly!"

"I-I'm not!"

"You are!" Alfred suddenly lifted his head a bit and gave Arthur a gentle smile. "But I like silly."

"Ah..." Arthur blinked, face flushing a little as he grumbled. "You would..."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Alfred let out a huff.

"What? You're just that type of person!"

"Well I'm not any type of person!" Alfred huffed, pulling Arthur closer to himself. "I'm a merman!" he declared proudly.

"Wh- I know that!"

"Heh..." Alfred's breath ghosted against Arthur's ear. "But I still like silly! And you, Arthur, you're very silly..." He smiled.

Shivering slightly, Arthur huffed. "H-How am I?"

"You just are!" Alfred whined, wriggling in even closer. Soon he had Arthur's legs halfway under his tail and Arthur's head nestled against his shoulder. He wrapped his arms tighter around the human's waist and squeezed. "Just are..."

"Humph," Arthur grumbled slightly, but gently snuggled into the other, his eyes slipping shut as he let out a small sigh.

"Heh, tired there, Artie?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," the Brit mumbled, gently burrowing his face in the crook of Alfred's neck.

"Heh, sure you don't," Alfred whispered gleefully, burrowing his nose into Arthur's hair. "But it's okay. You can sleep. I'll protect you..."

"Mm... I'm not tired," Arthur murmured with a soft hum. But of course, the next moment he drifted asleep, warm in Alfred's arms.

"Eheh." Smiling down at the human, Alfred held him close and looked out across the pool, content to rest there for however long Arthur slept.

Not too long after, however, there was a shrill ring, making Arthur jump awake and look around in a panic. He quickly figured out it was his phone and, with cursed slipping from his mouth, swam to the edge of pool to answer it.

Alfred jumped too, and his face fell as he watched Arthur leave.

"Hello?" Arthur greeted a little gruffly, annoyed at being woken up. A small frown came over his face at the response. "...Free? For what?" Arthur listened to the man on the other line for a minute, but then grew tired of this and shook his head. "Look, just tell me what's going on, okay- What?!" The Brit flared, eyes widening as he turned around and leaned on the table. "They can't- oh for goodness sake, they're the one with the problem, why can't they come here?! I don't give a damn about that- Are you serious?!" Arthur waited for the response, but clearly didn't like what came as a growl came from his throat. "Well tell her to shove it up her arse!" he shouted. "Bloody fickle twat, she is- fine. Fine, whatever, email me the details, but give me one more day than that, for Christ's sake. Good. Yes. Great, bye." Then the phone cut off and Arthur looked at it with a sigh.

"A-Arthur?" Alfred was in the water, peeking around the mattress. Seeing Arthur like that- it was kind of scary. And he never wanted to be on the receiving end of such a tone.

"...I'm fine," Arthur muttered after a moment, stuffing his phone back in his jacket pocket and sliding to the floor.

The merman didn't look convinced, and he kept back. His eyes were wide and nervous, and he clutched the mattress tightly. "Wh- What happened?" he asked softly.

"Nothing. I just have to go on another trip in a couple of days."

"Oh, you are?" Alfred's face further fell. "I-I'm sorry!"

"Mhm. Why can't she sodding do it herself...?" Arthur grumbled, hissing the words out.

Alfred flinched again, drawing more back. "Wh- What?"

Noticing the flinch, Arthur hung his head guiltily, but he was too frustrated to do much about it. "Nothing," he murmured. "Just talking to myself."

"O-Okay..." Alfred hesitantly drifted closer. When he reached the edge of the pool he reached out and wrapped his fingers around Arthur's wrist. He gently stroked the skin, attempting to comfort the man.

Arthur started at the touch, his eyes flicking to Alfred, and he blinked, before letting out a soft sigh. "I'm sorry, Alfred..." he murmured.

"It's okay..." There was still a hint of fear in Alfred's eyes, though he didn't let up his stroking.

"Mm..." Inspecting him a moment more, Arthur sighed again. "...One of our writers is causing a fuss. She did something wrong and is blaming the mistake on us and... Well, I need to go sort it out. It's already making the company look bad, and... Well, I just have to go."

"Oh. I'm sorry." Alfred gently tugged Arthur's hand closer and nuzzled to his fingers. "Don't be mad though, please."

Arthur smiled a little at this, though he still looked a little guilty. "...Okay. I'm sorry."

"Ah!" Alfred lit up when he saw the smile on Arthur's face. "Good, no more being angry!"

"Well of course I'm still going to be annoyed at it." Arthur huffed a little, but then shrugged with a half-smile. "But I suppose I can put up with it."

"But..." Alfred thought for a moment. "You're here with me now, right? You're mine. So don't be angry now," he said slowly, hoping that his words wouldn't offend Arthur more. "And whatever the problem is, you'll resolve it soon! And I mean... I don't want you to go, but I know you gotta. But you'll be back soon, and I'll be fine."

Arthur blinked, before a soft smile came over his face. "Yes... Thank you, Alfred." Shifting slightly, he glanced down. "I... Don't suppose it'd be too much to ask for a hug?"

Alfred's eyes widened. "You- You want a hug from me?" His gaping mouth slowly stretched into a broad grin. "You don't even gotta ask!" he declared, pulling back and opening his arms invitingly. "C'mere, Artie!"

"What's wrong with that?" Arthur asked with a huff, leaning over to hug the other gently.

"I mean I will always wanna hug you! You can just do it whenever ya want and I'll be okay with it!" Alfred said as he hugged back. At first he was okay with their slightly awkward positions, but after a few minutes he decided that he had had enough of that and tipped backwards, pulling Arthur into the pool on top of him.

The Brit landed with a splash, and though he dug slightly into the bandage around Alfred's tail, Alfred hid his wince by hiding his face in Arthur's neck. He wrapped wholly around him, squeezing him tight.

"This is much better, yeah?"

Arthur made a gasp of surprise as they fell in, but soon found it to be comfortable and closed his eyes. "...Yeah," he murmured.

"I'm so glad you think so..." Keeping the both of them afloat, Alfred gently drifted across the surface of the pool.

"Mm..." Arthur relaxed quickly, leaning gently into Alfred and feeling warm despite being half in the water.

"Heh, hey there Artie..." Alfred murmured to him, happily giving him a little squeeze.

Arthur raised a brow, smirking a little. "You said hello a few hours ago."

"So? You went away for a bit... So hello again!" Alfred smiled.

"Heh, all right. Hello," Arthur mumbled, grinning up at Alfred.

"Hi..." Alfred stared at that smile, seeming to get lost in it.

Arthur watched the other for a moment. "...Alfred?"

"Hmm?" Alfred suddenly snapped out of it and looked up into Arthur's eyes.

"What is it?" Arthur said with a small chuckle.

"You have a pretty smile," Alfred said simply.

"Wh-What?" Arthur blinked, flushing slightly, and his smile, though now a little incredulous, was still there.

"I like your smile!" Alfred declared, then buried his face in Arthur's neck.

"A-Ah-" Arthur raised his brows a little and held Alfred there. "A-Alfred? I- th-thank you..."

"You're welcome!" The merman's voice was muffled.

"Mm... Alfred, what is it? Are you okay?"

"I'm okay!" Alfred squeaked. "Don't worry about me!"

"A-Are you sure? It doesn't sound like it..."

"I am, please!" Alfred didn't want to lift his head to reveal his red cheeks. Since when did he even get embarrassed about telling Arthur how cute parts of him were?!

Arthur blinked and raised a hand to the back of Alfred's head. "Ah... Okay..."

"Yeah..." Happily leaning into the touch, Alfred eventually pulled back a few minutes later when he'd calmed down some.

"Hm... I think it's probably time to go to bed for me," Arthur murmured then, sighing slightly.

"R-Really?" Alfred clung to him a bit more tightly for a moment, but then let out a soft breath and let go. "Okay."

"Yes." Arthur smiled sadly at the other. "I'm sorry, Alfred. I just- I've had a busy day, and it's already getting late, I should go..."

"N-No, I know." Alfred looked down and moved away. "Good night then, Artie," he mumbled.

Arthur sighed once more, then frowned slightly and huffed playfully. "Hmph, are you not going to give me a proper goodnight, then?"

Face brightening with hope, Alfred turned back to him. "Wh- What?"

"Come on, give me a proper send off. I won't let you get away with not saying goodnight properly, you know," the Brit said, raising a brow.

"Proper... Artie!" Alfred flew at him, wrapping him up in a warm hug and nuzzling close. "I thought you didn't want it!" he whimpered.

"Wha- When did I ever say that?" Arthur said with a small huff.

"You didn't, but I just thought..."

"Well, that's ridiculous," the Brit replied, sighing softly and wrapping his arms around the other.

"S-Sorry," Alfred mumbled sheepishly, burying his nose against Arthur's neck and squeezing him tightly.

"Mm, don't worry about it." Arthur smiled softly, squeezing the other back.

"So..." Alfred pulled back eventually and pressed his forehead against Arthur's. "So you'll go now?"

"Yes," Arthur said with a small smile. "Good night?"

"Night night!" Alfred chirped, pressing closer to him for a moment before pulling away with a smile.

"Heh. Sleep well Alfred." Arthur's smile grew, and he quickly stroked the other's hair before heading to get out of the pool.

"You too! We'll have to try sleeping on the mattress sometime when you're not so tired and stressed!" Alfred called after him, then proceeded to try and get on said mattress. It took him a while, to say the least.

"All right." After once more small smile and wave, Arthur left. The next morning, the Brit came in with a tray of food for breakfast.

"Morning, Artie!" Alfred wriggled when he saw him, rolling into the pool and swimming up to him. "How are you?"

"Good morning," Arthur replied with a chuckle, setting himself down at the side. "I'm good, thank you. And you?"

"I missed you," Alfred told him with a slight pout. "But now it's okay since you're here!" he continued happily.

"All right. Well I missed you too," Arthur said, smiling a little.

"You did?" Alfred was happy. He noticed the plate of fish though and frowned a little. "Hey Artie? Could I get some more of the other human food?"

"Hm?" Arthur blinked down at the plate, nodding when he understood the question, and turned a smile to the merman. "Of course. Is there anything you particularly want?"

"Umm...hamburgers! Those good ones I had before!"

"Really?" Arthur raised a brow. "All right. But I'll only let you have them once a week, they're rather unhealthy."

"Th-They are?" Alfred's face fell. "Oh..."

"Mm. It's okay to have them occasionally though," Arthur answered.

"Well I can just have something else now..." The merman mumbled, glancing at the fish and reaching out to take a piece. Arthur had started cooking for it a while ago, and Alfred loved all the different flavours the Brit could get out of it.

"Hey, it's all right... If you want a burger, that's fine, hm?"

"But you said I can't have them a lot and they're unhealthy..."

"No, but it's okay to eat unhealthy things sometimes as a treat. As long as you don't have them every day, it's fine."

"Oh, okay. So can I have them now?"

"Of course," Arthur replied, smiling slightly and picking up his phone to order the food.

"Okay! Thank you, Artie!"

"Not at all," the Brit replied when he'd finished ordering. "The food shouldn't be too long, now."

Alfred grabbed his hand and nuzzled against the fingers. "Did you get anything for yourself?"

Arthur smiled softly at the gesture. "I did, yes."

"Good. I'm glad." Closing his eyes, Alfred pressed his lips against the fingertips.

"Yes..." Watching Alfred, Arthur shifted slightly. "What's this for, hm?"

Alfred looked up at him. "I feel like it," he explained with a shrug. "Do you mind?"

"Ah... No, not really," Arthur murmured.

The merman smiled and continued caressing Arthur's hand. "Then I ain't gonna stop!" he declared cheerfully.

"Heh, all right," Arthur replied with a soft smile, his heart skipping a beat unbeknownst to him.

Pressing a few more kisses to the hand, Alfred then leaned back. "So are you very busy again today? Can Fritz come?"

"Mm, I have got some work to do. And I'm not sure, maybe."

"Aww... But that's okay, there was a cool-looking movie going to run on TV later so I can watch it!" Alfred said, brightening and resting his chin on Arthur's lap.

"All right," Arthur replied with a smile, ruffling the merman's hair gently. "I shouldn't be as long as yesterday, though. I've just got a few emails to answer."

"Ah, really?" Alfred gleefully leaned into the ruffling. "I'll look forward to spending time with you later! And maybe we can sleep on the mattress tonight?" he asked hopefully.

"Mm... All right, that'll be nice."

"Okay! Okay Artie! I'll look forward to that too!"

"Heh, okay." Arthur gave the other a small grin. "So what do you want to do?"

"Mmm, what do you want to do?"

"I don't mind..." Arthur sighed gladly, tipping his head a little. "You haven't played with any pool toys in a while. Do you want to?"

At first Alfred brightened, but then his face fell a bit. "I-Isn't that kinda childish though?"

"Hm? Not at all," Arthur said, frowning slightly in confusion. "We could have a race if you like."

"But on the TV nineteen year olds don't play with toys..." the merman mumbled.

Arthur raised a brow. "Trust me, in real life, they do. There's nothing childish about having fun now and then, it just depends how you go about it." He sighed softly and shrugged. "I bought you them for a reason. If you don't like it, that's fine, but-"

"No, no! I do like them! I like them a lot! Let's play!"

Arthur raised his brows. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah!" Alfred gave him a smile. "You said we could race?"

Arthur chuckled and nodded. "There's those batons. First to pick up five of them and get back to the edge wins?"

Alfred bared his teeth in challenge. "Bring it on, human. Toss 'em in!"

Lips stretching sideways into a smirk, Arthur harrumphed. "Just a mere human, am I? Well, I'll show you," he said teasingly, fishing out the batons and throwing them in at random before joining Alfred, ready to start.

"Yeah, you are! You'll never win against a fish, Artie!" Alfred wriggled in anticipation, waiting for Arthur to give the signal to start.

"Humph. We'll see about that. Now, 3, 2, 1..." Then, as soon as Arthur said 'go', they were off.

Alfred shot forward like a bullet, immediately grabbing one then two of the batons.

Arthur soon caught up to him, though the very fact that he had to catch up was, in the first place, not a good sign. It took another few moments to locate and take the last few batons and start dragging himself back to the surface.

But then Alfred latched onto his foot and dragged him back a few feet, grinning as he passed the human and touched the wall.

"Ah-" Green eyes widened, then narrowed as the Brit propelled himself forwards more to finish with a huff.

"I win!" Alfred announced cheerfully.

"Hmph. That wasn't fair," Arthur replied playfully, shaking his head and rolling his eyes.

"In the ocean there's no such thing as fairness!" Alfred argued, grinning and drifting closer to him.

Arthur just huffed, then raised a brow and grinned slightly as the other came closer.

"...What?" Alfred paused, tilting his head.

"Hm?" Arthur's grin simply grew. "What what?"

"...Nothing?" Alfred's eyes narrowed ever so slightly at the smile, but then he shrugged it off.

"Nothing at all." Arthur hummed pleasantly, but then suddenly lurched forwards and tickled Alfred relentlessly.

"Aaaahh!" Alfred fell back with a loud squeak, writhing and laughing as he attempted to get away. "A-Artieeeee!"

"Hm?" Arthur raised an amused eyebrow, his fingers running down to the other's sides.

"Sto-o-oooop! Artieeeeee!" Alfred was out of breath by then, gasping and wheezing in between laughs.

"Heh. All right," Arthur said slowly, pulling his hands away and holding them in the air in surrender.

"Wheew. Oh my God-" Alfred kept on wheezing, leaning more deeply against Arthur as he caught his breath. "Meanie!"

"Hmph. I only gave you what you deserved," the Brit replied with an easy grin.

"Wh- Why did I deserve that?!"

"For being unfair in the race."

"It wasn't being unfair!"

"Well you did pull me back," Arthur said, raising an eyebrow.

"So? I was giving myself the advantage!" Alfred suddenly scooped Arthur up into his arms and towed him to the deeper area. "Like now! You have to hang onto me so you have to do whatever I want you to do!"

"Ah-" Eyes widening, Arthur frowned in defiance, but even so he was having to cling to the merman. "Wh- Why do I?" he huffed, flushing ever so slightly.

"Because if you don't then I'll let you go!"

"Oh... All right, all right. What do you want me to do?"

"That's easy!" Alfred's eyes were bright as he gazed down at the Brit. "Kiss me! On the cheek!"

"Wha- That's ridiculous!" Shifting slightly, Arthur felt the arms around him and sighed, not really wanting them to loosen suddenly. "...Fine." Leaning forward, Arthur pressed his lips to the other's cheek, murmuring against his ear along the way. "You win this time."

A shiver went down Alfred's spine at the whisper, and he felt his heart skip a beat. "T-This time? I'll win every time!" he said loudly, though his voice did crack.

"Heh, we'll see about that," Arthur continued quietly, grinning slyly.

"Yeah, we will." Alfred moved so the two of them were nose to nose, trying to pretend like he was tough and that his insides didn't feel like jelly when he looked into Arthur's green green eyes.

"Of course." Arthur's eyes were challenging as he smirked up at the other. "Worried I might win?"

"O-Of course not!" Alfred backed away a tiny bit.

Arthur raised a brow for what felt like the millionth time today. "You stuttered," he said with amusement, then huffed slightly. "And moved away- am I really that intimidating, hm?"

"Y-You're just my dominant male..." Alfred mumbled, lowering his head in a somewhat submissive gesture- he'd lost the silent battle between them by backing down. "For now, I mean!" He tried to puff out his chest.

"Your dominant male?" Now both eyebrows were raised.

"W-Well yeah." Alfred was stuttering horribly now, his cheeks flushed pink.

Interesting. Arthur tilted his head. "...What exactly do you mean by that?"

"W-Well you kept your composure longer," Alfred explained, looking resolutely down at Arthur's collarbone. "Which means that for now you won which makes you the dominant male. Like in a herd of horses! But I'll keep challenging you sometimes and when I get stronger then I'll be the dominant male!"

"Ah, I see." Arthur chuckled. "And here I thought it was a mating term. Still, you did win the race. Technically."

"Mating term-" Alfred coughed and turned redder. Oh. Oh. "Nah, definitely not a mating term, haha. And yeah, I did win!'

"Heh, indeed." Arthur noticed the tinge on Alfred's cheeks and tilted his head, chuckling sheepishly. "Sorry for any embarrassment caused."

"N-No, it's okay. I probably caused a bit too..." Alfred smiled more naturally and gave Arthur a squeeze. "Hey, the sooner you go work the sooner you'll be done! So go now and we can race more later!"

"Ah, all right... That is true," Arthur replied with a small smile. "I'll be off then?"

"Yeah! And I'll see you in a little bit!" Alfred declared, towing him back to the edge.

"Okay." Arthur climbed out, turning to give Alfred a smile. "See you later, then. Have a good day." he said before heading off.

"Bye!" Alfred waved and then when Arthur was gone he turned to the TV. After a bit of watching, he chased the batons more, timing himself so he would be able to win the next race.