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Quiet, almost inaudible, steps made their way across the bedroom. It was as though Alfred was purposefully tiptoeing in order to mask his presence as much as possible. The right side of the large king size bed dipped as Alfred sat down, he glanced over to the opposite side where Arthur’s more slender figure was curled up beneath the sheets. He looked stiff and uncomfortable, with his back to Alfred, clearly making a show of his sulking.
Alfred held his gaze there for a moment as he mulled over his options. He sighed to himself, not able to make a decision in the moment, opting to just slip under the sheets instead, his back mirroring Arthur’s.
He craned his head over his shoulder after a moment of heavy silence to peek over at Arthur again, who was still and unmoving. He looked so guarded and far away with the vast empty sheets between them, it was a gap that neither of them were willing to close.
How badly Alfred wanted to turn over and pull Arthur back to the center of the bed with him, to wrap him in a warm comforting embrace and feel Arthur pressed up against him. Seeing as that would not happen, as his pride would not allow him to, he settled his head back against his pillow and drifted off.
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The next night was the same.
By now he had expected Arthur to at least be off the edge of the bed, though admittedly he looked less stiff but still rather grumpy. This time however, Alfred had gotten into bed facing Arthur’s back, hoping for the slightest bit of attention or acknowledgement, hoping that Arthur would at least turn to face him.
He didn’t. Of course, upon getting in bed he knew Arthur wouldn’t budge, yet he still craved something, anything. Alfred frowned at Arthur’s back as the dismal silence stretched on.
'Damn it.' He thought to himself. Alfred was battling his pride as the temptation to reach out towards Arthur grew. He wanted to, but had he waited too long? What if Arthur took this as a victory? He didn’t want that, Alfred was still upset with Arthur and didn’t want his action to be taken as a silent apology. Though he felt rather guilty as he was partially in the wrong, but that also meant Arthur was in the wrong.
'Enough is enough though.' He decided with a silent huff and gave in to his wants.
Alfred scooted towards Arthur, reaching out to wrap his arms around his waist and gently pulled him in. Arthur, to Alfred’s surprise, immediately allowed himself to be pulled into the embrace and pressed himself into Alfred’s chest with a sigh. No words were spoken between them, but some of the tension melted as they both relaxed into one another and fell asleep.