Chapter Text
It didn’t take long for Arthur to learn that Lukas Bondevik wasn’t a man of many words. A part of him wanted to make a joke about how Lukas and Alfred would make quite the perfect pair, but he knew a joke like that wouldn’t be appropriate in a time like this, so he kept his mouth shut and shifted uncomfortably on the couch under the other man’s sapphire stare.
“So I take it Kiku left off at his and Alfred’s breakup, huh?” Lukas asked. His eyes lowered to the floor. “Which means I need to tell you my part of things.” He sighed. “This whole thing is stupid, you know. What’s the point of all of it?” He looked back up at Arthur. “You know, the Alfred I knew wasn’t the type of man to orchestrate something like this. Someone got to him.”
Arthur opened his mouth to ask what he meant, but Lukas held up a hand to silence him.
“Here’s my part of the story. I don’t know how long it will take to tell it, but I had to swear to tell you the whole thing.” He crossed his arms and muttered things to himself that the other man couldn’t quite hear. “But here it is.”
.
Two Years Previous
Alfred twirled his pencil around his fingers at his desk in his room, fumbling around with his cell phone. Ever since his breakup with Kiku, he had been tempted to call Arthur and tell his best friend his true feelings, but he was worried about how that would go over between them. His heart ached to tell Arthur, but it felt like a heavy secret he needed to keep to himself. After all, what if it ruined everything between them.
With a sigh, he put down his cell phone. Why did feelings have to be so complicated? Things shouldn’t have to be this difficult between people. His heart pounded with anxiety, and he wished he could make it stop. It hurt to think of the possibility of rejection, but it also hurt to think of Arthur being with anyone else.
He decided to call either way. After all, they were best friends. There was no way they couldn’t at least talk. Besides, he really needed to hear Arthur’s voice. Maybe it would help him calm down. Sometimes the voices of other people had that effect on him. It had been a while since he and Arthur had talked on the phone anyway. They could use a voice call.
Mind made up, he decided to make the call. He listened to a couple of rings before Arthur’s tinny voice greeted him with a, “Hello?”
“Hey Arthur,” he replied, taking his glasses off and shutting his eyes. “What’s up?”
The phone made a shuffling sound and Alfred could make out a feminine voice complaining in the background on Arthur’s end. “I’m just at my girlfriend’s house.” There was the sound of a closing door in the background. “We were, uh, well….you know.”
Alfred’s eyes flew open as tears filled them. “Wait, you have a girlfriend? And I called while you two were having sex?” He could hardly believe the words leaving his mouth. Since when did Arthur have a girlfriend? Why hadn’t he told him? His world suddenly felt as if it were spinning out of control and crashing down around him.
Arthur coughed uncomfortably. “Uh, yeah. So I should probably get back to that…” He was silent for a moment. “Was there something you needed? Are you okay? You don’t normally call out of the blue, so I figured it was important.”
Feeling like a hollow shell of himself, Alfred struggled to keep his voice from breaking. “No, it’s nothing. I’ll talk to you later.” He quickly hung up the call and let his phone fall to the carpeted floor.
Arthur wasn’t a virgin anymore? He had a girlfriend? What else did Alfred not know? Why wouldn’t Arthur share any of this information with him before now? Weren’t they supposed to be best friends? Was Arthur moving on without him? What would become of their friendship if things ended this way? It terrified Alfred to think that his best friend was becoming more and more distant. What had happened to forever? Arthur was becoming a stranger, and it broke Alfred’s heart little by little. Why did he have to move away?
.
Present Day
“How are you feeling today, Alfie Jones?” Charlotte chirped as she walked into Alfred’s room. She leaned down and planted a kiss on his forehead. “Are you comfortable? Do you need anything at all?”
“You worry too much, Charlie,” he sighed. “I’m just the same as always.” His blue eyes stared out the window. “I will say that this room is getting boring, though. Can’t we go outside or something? I’m suffocating here.”
“I’ll ask your doctor when he comes to check in, okay?” She held his hand reassuringly as she sat down beside him. “Don’t you have physical therapy today?”
Alfred scoffed. “What good even is that shit? You know as well as I do that it’ll do nothing for me in the end.” He gestured to himself. “I’m always going to be like this. Do you know how depressing it is to even be alive? I used to be so much more.” Tears pricked his eyes. “Whatever I’m doing now, it isn’t living, Charlie.”
Charlotte choked back the sob that longed to escape her throat as she swiped her own tears away with her fingers. “Do you hate me, Alfie Jones?”
He looked over at her and frowned, seeing the tears on her cheeks. His hands reached up and cupped her face between them, using his thumbs to wipe her tears away. “I could never hate you, Charlie, even if I tried. And you know if I could go back in time, I’d do it again in a heartbeat. I can’t help it. I guess I just really love you or something.”
She couldn’t stop the small laugh that escaped her lips. “I love you too, Alfie Jones. You’re forever my hero, you know. I’ll never be able to repay you for everything you’ve done for me.” She leaned into his touch and closed her eyes. “But every day, I wish it were me here instead of you. It’s not fair.”
Alfred didn’t say anything in response. He’d already had this argument with her a thousand times in the past five months. It was pointless to argue with someone as stubborn as her. “Do you come here every day because you feel sorry for me? Is it because you feel you owe me for what happened?”
Charlotte took a deep breath. “I come here every day because you’re my best friend in the entire world, Alfie Jones. I come here every day because I want to be with my best friend. If you’re sick of seeing me, just tell me. Then again, even if you were sick of me, that wouldn’t stop me from coming.”
He smiled to himself. “Classic Charlie,” he scoffed.
“You’ll never be rid of me, Alfie Jones, so quit trying. I’m in it for life.”
Despite himself, his emotions got the better of him as his tears finally spilled. “Thanks.”