Re: This Town is Big Enough...

[Crocky Kirkland]

Arthur rolled his eyes a bit at the comment about the hair but he understood, he wasn't fond of people latching onto his eyebrows.

How could someone not be interest in you? Arthur thought as he looked at Alfred. Honestly if girls weren't trying then American woman had no taste or eyes. Arthur stopped in his train of though, what he was thinking. Sure Alfred looked...attractive but Arthur should be angry if girls weren't jumping on that.

"I suppose," Arthur said thoughtfully. "I use to go with my brothers and charm girls. Of course charming girls for them was really fancying a shag." Arthur rolled his eyes. Though Arthur had charmed plenty of women, English and American, he never really did nothing else. He wasn't for just doing something with someone he meet.

Alfred startled him when he yanked him towards him, but Arthur soon found himself rather comfortable. He listen to Alfred ramble on and grinned a bit to himself. He was glad Alfred blocked him off, because he honestly would be on the run and such a beautiful place would have been passed by. That or he would be on his way to be some man's pay day. A shiver ran down his body, and he wiggled a bit closer to Alfred like it might go away. He blushed at the young sheriff's comment about his company.

[Sheriff Jones]

Arthur’s comment about his brothers twinged his curiosity once more. So he did have siblings then, but from the eye roll, it was clear they didn’t always get along. Not that it was unusual - him and Matthew were as different as day and night, and they were twins! For some reason, people always used to expect them to share the same thoughts or something - which was just plain stupid in his opinion. “So you have brothers then? Are they still in England?” It would be sad if he had been separated from his family in a situation similar to the one he had. Mattie had been his best friend, and the fact that he had yet to find him once more wore heavily on his young heart. But, he always remained hopeful that one day they would be reunited.

Alfred hummed lightly under his breath as another breeze cooled the sweat on his brow. Ah yes, that was nice. The hot sun was starting to wear on him, but he figured they could spare a few more minutes before heading back. Liberty nudged him again, but he simply patted her on the nose and let her wonder back to Victoria. All was peaceful. The only sounds around them were that of the wind that playfully kicked up clouds of dust and swept through their hair. He wished they could stay out here forever, but alas, their quiet haven was soon disturbed by the sound of hooves beating against the dry ground. Alfred frowned and stood up, gently taking Liberty’s reigns so she didn’t spook. Up ahead, a man was riding full speed towards them, a hand waving in the air. Once he got close enough, the young sheriff recognized him as one of the men from town. “Is everything alright?” He asked, eyes flickered over to Arthur in concern. Hopefully this wasn’t about him or the bounty hunter.

But the man paid no heed to the Brit and instead handed Alfred a dusty note, saying that it had just arrived from a couple towns over. The blond frowned and turned it over in his hands, reading it quickly. “Ah, I see. Thank you Robert. We’ll be back over as soon as it’s taken care of!” The other man nodded and turned to race back the way he came as Alfred handed the paper off to his companion. “Looks like we get to do a bit more traveling today.” He said with a slight chuckle, packing up the food and dishes in preparation. “A sheriff from another town caught wind of a heist that is supposed to take place in a few days time. He’s hoping to catch the perpetrator in the act and he wants me, well us, to go and assist him!” He said, practically giddy at the possibility. This obviously wasn’t a big time crook, but it was a large enough job that he was asked to come serve as back-up. It may not be the ideal job, but it was better then nothing. “The town’s just to the west of here. If we leave now, we can make it before nightfall.” Alfred hopped onto the mare’s back and gave her a pat on the neck before turning back to Arthur. “Well, ready to become legends?” He asked, blue eyes twinkling with mischief. Without waiting for a response, he took off, practically whooping with joy as the wind ripped through his hair. Finally, a chance to show what he was made of!

[Crocky Kirkland]

"Peter still lives in England with my parents, but he's younger than the rest of us." Arthur said thinking back to his family. Peter had been a shock to everyone, they were all older and not always willing to deal with the young boy, but they still all cared deeply for him. "Scott lives in Scotland, Patrick lives in Ireland, and Erin live in Wales. All of them running my father's business where they live." Arthur though about how him and Patrick would get into fights, fists and words, Erin having to tear the two apart. They Arthur had memories of Scott just lifting him away by his shirt and telling him to be quiet and sit on his bed.

Arthur wondered if Alfred had any family nearby. He obviously had family, and Arthur figured at some point there was a father and mother, but he wasn't sure about the rest. He questioned asking Alfred at the moment, before a messenger come galloping up. It perked Arthur's interest as well as bothered him beyond believe. How dare someone come trotting along and ruin their peaceful... company keeping? Arthur got to his feet, dusting himself off, before the messenger took off.

He took the note when he was handed it. Arthur blinked, this was right up his ally, sadly enough. Arthur knew the name of the town, though he himself had never been been there to that down. It had a train station, and there was no doubt in his mind there was his wanted posters plastered somewhere in town. Someone would recognize him, and Arthur really hoped the sheriff didn't think it was Arthur planning to pull something on the train. However it someone was spilling they were going to rob a train, they obviously weren't very good.

"Alfred wait!" Arthur said when he looked up from the note and found Alfred on his horse and ready to ride away. It didn't take him long after that. "Bollocks!" Arthur hissed, hurrying over to Victoria. His clothes and things were still in the stable stall, but there was no time to ride back now.

[Sheriff Jones]

Alfred’s watched Arthur’s face in silent surprise as he listed off his siblings names and whereabouts. Incredible, he would never have guessed that he had come from such a large family. But it was clear he cared about his family all despite how little he probably saw of them. “Four siblings huh? And where do you fall on the age line?” If the sheriff had to guess, he would say that he might be one of the older Kirkland’s (based on the fact that he had tried to fix his hair earlier - not a normal action of a younger sibling), but that was just a hunch. “I’ve only got one brother myself. We’re twins actually, although I haven’t seen him since we were kids.” He vaguely wondered what Matt had ended up doing with his life. He had always been the calmer of the two, so he wouldn’t be surprised if his sibling had wound up in a quieter profession with a kind wife and kids on his mind. Alfred smiled at the thought and silently wished, as he always did when he thought of his twin, that he was safe and happy wherever he was.

Racing on Liberty’s back was like a dream, and Alfred felt like he was ten feet in the air. It would take until nightfall to arrive at the designated town no matter what he did, but that knowledge alone did not calm his anxiousness. He glanced over his shoulder every once in a while to be sure that Arthur was following (he felt sort of bad for leaving him in the dust, but the Brit was finally catching up to his speed). Once the other man was by his side, he gave him a happy grin before settling his gaze on the horizon. They traveled for hours, stopping every once in a while to rest their horses and stretch their tired limbs, but just before nightfall they arrived in town. Compared to the tiny place he had been stationed, this place was practically a metropolis to Alfred. His eager blue eyes took in the sights of people milling about and the sound of the trains whistle as it departed from the station. “Wow! Would you look at that?!” He exclaimed, clapping his hands excitedly. It never occurred to him how childish he looked at the moment, far too concerned with the sights around him to be concerned with acting mature.

After dropping the horses off at a stable nearby, he grabbed Arthur’s hand and happily pulled him towards the town’s sheriff’s office. He didn’t notice wanted posters that were nailed to the side of the building until sound of whispering reached his ears. Looking around in confusion, he finally realized that townspeople were staring at Arthur. Oh, now he understood - it looked like he was hauling the Englishmen in to collect. “I guess you’re famous here already Arthur,” He teased, giving him an easy smile and he pulled him closer to his side. Hopefully no one would try and give them too much trouble - he didn’t want to have another situation like the bounty hunter. “Don’t worry,” He whispered, “I’ll clear things up with the sheriff here. He’s one of the more understanding ones; I don’t think he’ll give you any trouble once we explain the situation.” At least, that’s what he was hoping. As long as he gave Artie a chance to show off what he could do, there wasn’t a doubt in his mind that word would spread about the former criminal turning towards the path of justice.

Once they arrived that the sheriff’s, Alfred was more then a little eager to skip the introductions and get straight to the action. This of course, was an inconceivable dream, especially when they walked through the door and the sheriff immediately reached for a gun. “Hold on!” He shouted, stepping in front of Arthur and holding up his arms in submission. “He’s here to help, not be of any trouble. Arthur’s my new partner.” The older sheriff frowned and lowered his gun slightly, though he did not drop his hold on it. In Alfred’s mind, that was the best go ahead to continue with his explanation he could hope for. “Artie here has promised to give up his crooked way in favor of helping me catch the real criminals! He’s got a real good handle on how those messed up guy’s work, so I think he could be of real help to us here. And I know you’re thinking he’s just going to take what he can and run, but believe me, I’ve given him plenty of opportunities to do that and he’s still here. I trust him completely.”

The sheriff just stared at the two, his lips pursed together in a harsh line. For two, agonizing moments, he said nothing and Alfred began to suspect the worse. But then, to his relief, the man let out a long sigh and set his weapon down against the table. “You’ve always been an idiot Jones, but I’ll hold you to your word. If he slips up though,” He motioned towards Arthur, dark eyes narrowing in warning, “I won’t promise anything.” The threat rang true, but Alfred lightly squeezed the Brit’s shoulders and gave him a pleased grin. One chance was all they needed. “Now, we got wind that a major heist would be taking place tomorrow evening. The reason I called you was because I was recently injured,” he motioned to his leg and Al noticed for the first time, a slight limp, “And I needed somebody who can move if our man starts running. And Alfred, promise not to start shooting unless it’s completely necessary.” The blond nodded eagerly, somewhat resembling a puppy who was desperately trying to please it’s master. The more experienced sheriff sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “We’re not acting until tomorrow, so just go and amuse yourself until then. I expect to see you both back here tomorrow evening. And don’t make a mess of things Jones.” He warned, before shooing them out of his office.

Once they were dismissed, Alfred took Arthur’s hand and pulled him back out onto the dusty street. “See Artie? That wasn’t too bad. And we have a chance to show off what we can do!” He grinned happily, practically bouncing from excitement. Too bad they had to wait nearly twenty-four hours before any of the fun stuff began, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t celebrate a bit! He could see a saloon not too far from them, the usually obnoxious tavern music appealed to him in a way that it never had before. “Come on,” he said tugging on Arthur’s arm. “Let’s go get a drink to celebrate.” One drink and they would go in search of a place to spend the night. The poor man was probably exhausted from being dragged around by him all day, so he owed him at least a bed to sleep in. But, that could wait for Alfred was already tugging open the swinging doors and making his way over to the bar. “Two whisky’s please.” He asked, happily sitting on a stool. Within a minute the glasses were set before him and he lightly clicked the two together before sliding one to his companion. “To our new partnership.”

[Crocky Kirkland]

Arthur groaned as he urged Victoria after Liberty. Honestly how was he suppose to answer Alfred's question if he road away from him. He figure he would just answer it later, find a way to work it into a conversations and tell Alfred that he was the second youngest. Peter was far younger than the rest of them, and Arthur had been his closest brother so Arthur often looked after him when his mother couldn't. Girls always found it adorable when the two walked down the street for a simple errand. He shock the memories from his head, after all Peter was probably at some boarding school in the country, and Arthur was in America miles away. He shouldn't be thinking much about him. However the fact that Alfred had a twin surprised him. Arthur figured he a lot like Alfred in many ways, and he sort grinned wondering who Alfred's brother might have caught and turned around.

The ride was long and for the most part rather quite, Arthur was thinking about a lot of the letter and other things to really want to talk. He wanted to know who was so stupid as to blabber to someone about a heist. That or maybe they were just cocky. Still Arthur figured his success come from the fact that he kept quiet and hid away. However the moment they reached the other town Arthur felt the eyes on him.

It started in the stables, the boys working there gently shoving each other whispering. Alfred ripped him quickly away and he was rather happy about. Then it was the others in town, woman held children closer and tighter, men doing the same to their woman and valuables. Alfred excitement was little to distract him from all the looks. It's just a Train town. Arthur thought with boredom. Arthur had seen bigger, been in bigger, he lived in a massive city, this was nothing. but the stares were making it seem like something.

Arthur laughed fakely at the joke, but the young Sheriff's words were comforting. Still the other Sheriff was quick to go for the gun when they entered. Arthur looked down at his waist, he didn't even truely own again, he took one, from a dying man who said he could have. "If you can't kill me, and I'm asking, your won't use it without purpose." Arthur remember the words, but he didn't even have the gun with him, he didn't think they were going to jump town and he might need a weapon. He folded his arms and pouted a bit, why did everyone think he would shot. He watched from behind Alfred keeping his mouth shut, figure his voice was better left unheard. What would he say that would make it clear he changed?

Listening to the other sheriff's words the robber didn't seem like some bumbling idiot who figured he would give crime a try, well aside from letting word out. No, someone planned this out and they looked into everything. Still he latched on to the two theories, silently biting his tongue, from wanting to tell the other American that he was the idiot for going with the man's plan, if he was thinking correctly. They were dismissed soon after, though the Sheriff shot a hard glare at Arthur as if he was warning him.

Alfred quickly grabbed Arthur and dragged him along again. This time to the saloon, Arthur really wanted to rest and get away from all the eyes staring at him. However Arthur figured Alfred was too excited to very much listen to him.

Once in the saloon people looked at them, but they all minded their own drunken business. Arthur blushed at Alfred's words, can't you pick better words, git! Still he took the glass and worked at it with a small grin. He let out a sigh, this was going to be a long wait for the heist.

[Sheriff Jones]

Sitting at the bar was somewhat comforting to the young American. No matter where you ended up in the west, every dusty old tavern was exactly like the one before it. Although he had never been drinking, it still made him feel better to be in a place he understood. At least people around here were too busy with their drinks to focus on him or Arthur - so that would hopefully put the other man to ease. Well, somewhat at ease. After all tomorrow they had their first test as a team and all Alfred could hope for was it would go off without a hitch. The older sheriff had made it sound like a simple job; but given Alfred’s luck, he doubted that would be the case. The young blond took a shot of whiskey, willing it to bring back his former confidence. He was here now, the only thing left for him to do what he could and hope for the best. And besides, Arthur would be there to help him through it too. He had absolutely nothing to fear.

“What do you think about all this Artie?” He asked, looking somewhat nervous now that the excitement had died down. “I mean, it seems fairly simple, right? You and I can handle this no problem.” He laughed nervously and ran his fingers through his blond locks before taking another shot of liquor to cool his nerves. He could do this. The sheriff obviously thought he had some potential if he had taken the time to ask him to come down, so that was a good sign. Plus he had Artie! How many people could say they had a former (successful) criminal helping them on the side? There was no way he could lose! Yet the seed of doubt was already starting to form in the pit of his stomach. Alfred groaned hopelessly and laid his head against the counter top. Oh it was hopeless. This is exactly why nobody bothered to give him a chance - he always froze up! “I can’t do it Artie... What if everything goes totally wrong? What if I mess up and somebody gets hurt? No wonder nobody trusts me with anything important.”

Alfred glanced up, blue eyes staring apologetically at the British man next to him. “I’m sorry Arthur. I’m probably the worst person you could have ever wound up with. I just don’t know what I’m doing half the time.” He groaned pathetically and started banging his head against the counter, much to the annoyance of the other people sitting at the bar. Thankfully the noise of somebody loud entering the building caused him to sit back up, staring somewhat glumly at his drink. “I should go see about a couple of rooms to stay at tonight. I think I owe you that much for dragging you around like this.” He groaned and stood up, waving his hand to keep Arthur from standing up too. “Stay here for now. I just need to go outside... I’ll be back in a moment and we can look for a place to sleep.” With that said he left the bar. Once he was outside, he pressed his back against the wooden building and breathed in deeply the rich air. He just needed to calm down and everything would work out. Alfred closed his eyes and took in three deep breaths, his pounding heart slowly calming within his chest. “That’s better...” He muttered to himself, enjoying the cool wind that gently fanned against his cheeks.

“Mon cher,” A voice before him suddenly called. The accent was so strange that Alfred would have opened his eyes anyway to see who it was, but the fact that it was directed at him caused him to become even more confused. Before him stood a man with long flowing blond hair, a stubbly chin, and a leer that made him feel more then a little uncomfortable. Alfred was about to respond when the man continued, pressing a single finger against the Americans lips to keep him from speaking. “I know you are playing the little game of hard to get, but lying about leaving town, that is just hurtful.” The young sheriff was growing steadily more and more creep-ed out as the French (yes, he finally placed the accent) man moved from standing before him, to practically pressing him against the wall. "You should know that I do not like to be toyed with mon cher. Now I will have to play a game of my own.” It was then, as the man leaned in closer and Alfred began to laugh nervously and push back on his shoulders. “Listen, I really think you’ve got the wrong guy sir. Or maybe your drunk. Are you drunk? Because, I’m nearly a hundred percent sure I haven’t the slightest idea who you are.”

This caused the Frenchmen to pout and pat down Alfred’s cheek (causing the Americans eye to twitch out of irritation). “Unless somebody else is walking around with your pretty face, then I doubt I am mistaken.” He said with another leer before leaning forward once more. This caused Alfred to frown and shove the Frenchman back more roughly. He really did not want to resort to brute force to get this creeper away from him (he probably was harmless, and not a bad guy when he wasn’t going around, mistaking people for other people), but this was getting seriously irritating - not to mention, creepy. “Seriously, I’m not who you’re looking for,” Alfred said sternly, holding both his hands up in order to keep this guy from doing... whatever it was he was trying to do. “Now get lost, alright? I don’t have time to deal with you-gah!” Instead of trying another frontal attack, the blonds hand shot up and began stroking his cowlick. Al’s knees grew weak, and he immediately slapped his hand over his mouth to keep from moaning. Dammit. Twice in one day somebody had touched him there, only this time he wasn’t even sure what the motivation was. Still, he slapped the guys hand away and shoved him back with more force then necessary. “I’m serious, cut it out!”

[Crocky Kirkland]

Arthur was shocked by the sudden change in personality. He blinked, he honestly thought Alfred could never be down or not content with something. He sighed he was not in the least bit good with comforting people. Sure his brothers got "depressed" but everyone was just moral support,they were never really quick to talk about feelings and how everything would work out. In Arthur's case it probably would have made things worse for him. So he had to think of something, and the but time he did the American up and lift for whatever reason and promised to be back.

Arthur watched Alfred go, finishing his drink and giving the bartender a grin. He didn't have money to pay and he wasn't going to just sit there and had the man look at him periodically like he was going to steal something. He motioned to the bartender for just a moment so he could get Alfred to pay and they could leave.

He left the saloon quickly, hurrying out to look for the American. He wasn't exactly right outside the saloon. However Arthur could her some chatter and one was clearly Alfred's voice. Arthur quickly went in direction of the noise, and found Alfred having a hard time stopping a man's advanced, and it was just any man either, it was a man Arthur knew didn't know the meaning of the word no.

Storming over he quickly kicked the other between the legs from behind, because going for anything in that area usually brought the man down. "Frog," he smeared out, before reaching for Alfred and pulling him away. "Alfred I believe, you should go pay for the drinks, I don't have any money with me." Arthur said calmly, pushing the other away from the Frenchman whom, he hated so.

[Sheriff Jones]

To say Alfred was relieved when Arthur came to his rescue was a bit of an understatement. He was not used to having somebody blatantly trying to put a move on him, so the forwardness came as a bit of an unpleasant shock to him and he scarcely knew how to react. Thankfully, the swift kick between the Frenchman's legs seemed to do the trick, because he was too busy clutching himself and cursing from the pain to prevent Alfred from escaping to the safety of his partner’s side. “Thanks for that,” He whispered under his breath, cheeks still flushed from the other man’s previous advances. At Arthur’s not so subtle request for him to leave, the sheriff gave a slight nod and slowly began walking towards the saloon. It was clear that the two knew each other somehow, although Arthur looked like he’d rather shoot the French man in the face then have a civilized conversation with him. Perhaps it was a good thing he was unarmed at the moment. Still, Alfred would do as he was told and let his partner take care of this (he really did want to stick around and risk being felt up again). “I’ll just wait for you inside then,” He paused at the door, giving Arthur one last look. “Don’t be too long.”

Pushing open the saloon door, he went back to the bar to pay for the drinks. The bartender gave him a glare (probably for leaving without paying), but Alfred resolved to ignore it. He nursed the glass in his hand, taking occasional sips as he thought about what tomorrow would bring. He didn’t want to run in without some sort of backup plan in case anything went wrong, but he wasn’t much of a planning kind of guy. So once Arthur finished up with the creepy Frenchie outside, he would ask what the other thought about the plan and if he could make any better suggestions. Perhaps he could even save them the trouble and name the man he suspected to be pulling the heist - although he doubted it. Even if Arthur knew who was behind it, they still would have to go through the process to catch him. Alfred sighed and finished off the amber liquid in his glass. Oh well. Nothing else left for him to do besides wait for Arthur to come back.

* * *
It took the Frenchman a surprisingly quick amount of time to recover from the sudden kick to the groin (probably because he was often on the receiving end of attacks such as those). He pouted a bit when Alfred escaped to the safety of the saloon, but did not follow. “Darling Mattieu is so cruel.” He sighed dramatically and leaned back against the dusty wall, blue eyes glancing to the British man before him. Instantly his lovesick, wounded expression shifted to one of pure mischief. “Ah, mon cher Arthur. I was so distracted by those massive caterpillar eyebrows on your forehead, I forgot to give you a proper introduction.” He said, giving the other man a rude hand gesture. “And what do I owe the honor of being subjected to your glorious presence? Last I heard, you were robbing your way up North. Did you come back just to try and see me again?” Francis grinned and leaned in, gently touching a mocking hand against the Brit’s cheek. “The offer still stands of course. You are welcome any time in my bed, as long as you drop that horrible attitude of yours.”

[Crocky Kirkland]

Arthur quickly tore the Frenchman's hand from his face, his eyebrows and eyes hard and unforgiving. He was already angry from the Frog being there to take much more from him. He quickly bent the man's hand backwards and watched with some joy as the man squirmed.

"I'd much rather be dead than have you for company in any form of the word." Arthur said darkly, he took some pleasure in the pale look on the Frenchman's face. "I honestly thought you were better than that, feeling up random people."

"I know him you, eyebrowed monstrosity." Francis said smugly, "His name is Matthieu, and I finally had him till you rudely interrupted."

"Who the bloody hell is Matthieu?!" Arthur hissed out with a horrible sounding French accent just to piss the other man off. "I know that man, and I can tell you, that's not his bloody name." Arthur had no clue why in the world he was angry at Francis for laying his hands on Alfred and thinking he was some else. He knew the Frenchmen could tell people apart, rather well.

Arthur dropped Francis hand, and took a step back. He watched with disgust as the man cradled it like he had lost it. His green eyes rolled and then he remembered something Alfred had told him. He had a twin. He wrinkled his nose, if this was the man Alfred's brother, Matthew (he figured that was his English name), had turned around then they obviously were nothing a like.

"I could ask you the same bloody question, Francis." Arthur said folding his arms. "However you know there are only so many train stations and trains, Europeans only go for a select few lines."

Francis laugh, it was the annoying, overly French laugh of his that Arthur despised the most. "You here to rob this train too. What do you say we make it a competition?" Francis held out his hand as if to seal the deal. "Winner chooses punishment for the other, and I can tell yours will be a night with me."

"Fine," Arthur said taking the man's hand giving it a shake and letting it go. "I'm only doing it because I know I'll win, none of my plans have ever gotten out." He gave and smirk and walked back in the direction of the saloon. "May the best man win, Frog." With that he happily turned to the saloon and Alfred's company.

[Sheriff Jones]

Alfred jumped up when he saw Arthur walk back in. He immediately rushed over to him, looking him over for any injuries or signs that he had been fighting. When he found none, he smiled happily and placed a hand on his shoulder in thanks. “I’m glad you’re not hurt or anything. With the way you kicked that guy, I really thought you were going to start a fight out there or something. Do you know that guy? You really didn’t seem to like him very much. Not that I blame you, he was creepy. I think he mistook me for somebody else.” Alfred shrugged a bit, already over the fact that he was well on his way to being molested. He wasn’t one to really dwell on things of that nature anyway. He was just relieved he didn’t have to deal with that guy’s advances on his own - that would have probably ended up a disaster.

The young sheriff glanced around the saloon, no longer interested in wasting any more time there. All he wanted now was a bed and a good night’s rest to get ready for tomorrow. Taking Arthur’s arm, he pulled him back towards the door as he spoke. “Let’s go find an inn. We should probably get some shut eye before tomorrow,” He said, giving Arthur another bright smile. Although he was still extremely nervous about messing up the whole operation with one of his blunders, he resolved not to think about it until he absolutely had to. What will be, will be - nothing he could do would change what is meant to happen. At least, that’s the way he was choosing to look at it. He pulled Arthur from the saloon and glanced around (glad to see that the creepy French person had disappeared), trying to find a place that would put them up for the night. Hopefully he had tucked away enough money to buy two rooms, but if not, he didn’t mind sleeping on the floor. “I think there’s one over this way.”

Walking down the street, he lightly pulled the other man towards a modest looking in located a little way’s away from the noisy saloon. Alfred stepped inside and was greeted by a pretty women with long brown hair and a kind face. “Good evening ma’am,” He said, giving her a polite tip of his hat, “Do you have any rooms available for the night?” The women just smiled and nodded, telling him the price. Alfred winced and glanced down at his wallet. He sighed a bit. “Just one room, it looks like,” He said, handing over the rest of his money. He should have thought ahead and gone back to his own home to grab some more money and clothes, but he had been far too excited to realize his mistake. Oh well, couldn’t do anything about it now. He followed the women up the stairs and stopped before a plain wooden door. “Thank you kindly ma’am,” Alfred responded with another sunny smile. The women just laughed and pushed open the door for the two of them. “Have a pleasant evening gentlemen,” she responded with a mysterious glint in her eyes. The sheriff just tilted his head in confusion as she scurried away, cheeks red and a hand pressed against her nose. Well, that was weird.

He shrugged it off and stepped inside the room. Inside was one large bed and a few tables - nothing too fancy. Still, it was nice enough and it had a bed - that’s all he cared about. Alfred sat down edge of the bed and kicked off his boots, beginning to strip off his vest and guns to get more uncomfortable. “Sorry, I didn’t have enough money to get an extra room. I’ll take the floor again, don’t worry.” He stretched his back out, the edges of his shirt pulling up to reveal a bit of tanned skin. “Mm... So you never told me about what you thought of all this. The heist, I mean. You probably have a better grasp of what’s happening then the sheriff.”

[Crocky Kirkland]

The young sheriff's excitement startled Arthur a bit. He honestly thought, Alfred would be a bit more shaken up about Francis attempting to get in his pants. Well, Matthew's pants, if that was Alfred's twin's name. Arthur didn't know if Alfred was the oldest of the two, but he was quite sure he mind be a little pissed if he knew Francis was going after his brother.

"Alfred if I wanted to was going to fight him, you would probably think I was going to kill him." Arthur said with a sort of teasing tone. When Francis and him fought it took at least ten people to tear them apart and a mile between them for them to cool down. He was happy Alfred was ready to find an inn, and he was happily dragged off.

The inn looked rather high end (as high end as the West had to offer) when Alfred dragged him in. It was probably were most Europeans stayed when they were visiting for the trains. Money wasn't the least of their problems. He cringed at the price though, but figured it was because of his sudden need to conserve money and make it last still the next time he ran out of food. Still the woman at the counter seemed extremely pleasant. Arthur wondered if they could get a cheap meal, even if it wasn't much he wouldn't care as long as it was something home cooked.

He didn't pay her much mind when she showed them their room and left. He entered and found it wasn't much, but there was a large bed, obviously for a couple of sorts to curl up in and cuddle. Arthur blushed suddenly at the thought, but in honesty it was big enough for him and Alfred to sleep without have to bother the other.

"I understand, it's a rather pricey place. In all honest you should take the bed this time. The bed if rather big though..." Arthur said looking around the room once he noticed Alfred was starting to undress. The night before repeating in his head, causing a redder blush. Arthur sat down on the opposite end of the bed with his back to Alfred and took off his shoes and hat. What in the world is he thinking saying that? Arthur didn't know.

Alfred's second statement didn't let him dwell long though and he was fine with that. "I think the Sheriff is a babbling baboon, no offense if he's your friend. He's playing into a trap, if I'm thinking correctly." Arthur said with a sigh, he should tell Alfred about Francis, but he figured the man had had enough to do with him for the day. "Someone found out he was injured and knew you were in the next town over, inexperienced and young, figured you'd screw something up and they'd get away." Honestly saying it out loud, made it seem something too smart for Francis to think up. "However they'll be blindsided because you have me," Arthur was someone proud to say that, oddly enough. "We can trick them into thinking their plan if working." He grinned peeking over his shoulder to give Alfred a bit of a grin.

[Sheriff Jones]

Arthur’s statement surprised the young sheriff, but he surprisingly did not not dismiss it right away. Honestly, this was a large enough bed for the two of them to sleep comfortably, and then neither of them would be left with the unfortunate task of taking the floor. Of course, if they did that, it meant that they would be sleeping together in the same bed. Alfred couldn’t help but blush at the thought. He hadn’t shared a bed with anybody since he and his brother were separated. He remembered crawling into Matthews bed into the middle of night after their father would read him a scary story. Anything ghostly would (and still did), terrify the boy to the point that sleeping alone would have been impossible. Mattie was always understanding and would hold his shaking brother until he feel asleep. But this wouldn’t be like sleeping with his brother. This was Arthur. A crook turned for justice, a man who he barely knew. Could he even handle it?

“We could share,” He murmured, his cheeks turning bright red. There, he said it. If Arthur was completely horrified by the idea, let him be the one to say so. Alfred sat awkwardly for a moment before unbuttoning his shirt, tossing it aside when he finished. Slipping beneath the covers, he lays with his back turned so that the Englishman couldn’t catch sight of his flushed cheeks. He left the entire right side of the bed to the other man if he wished, but did not say anything else least he pressure him to do something he wasn’t comfortable with.

Hearing Arthur’s analysis of the situation made Alfred visibly cringe. Although he knew he shouldn’t take it personally, the fact that somebody thought he would be an easy man to get away from, hurt a bit. So what if he was young, that didn’t mean he would screw up every time he tried to do right. Well okay, he messed up quite a bit in his life, but he wasn’t totally useless! “Somebody thought this out pretty well,” He finally admitted with a sigh. “If it had just been me... I probably would have let them get away.” Alfred turned over on his back and stared up at ceiling. So, if what Arthur was saying was true, they had a chance to totally surprise the thief and come out on top. All they needed was a plan. Alfred suddenly grinned and tilted his head towards the Brit beside him. “We can make this work, can’t we Artie?” The young sheriff tossed his head back against the pillow and laughed, a weight having been lifted from his chest. They could do this - they really could do this. “I knew we would be great partners,” Alfred said, the mischievous glint appearing in his vibrant blue eyes. “Any ideas for a plan then Artie?”

[Crocky Kirkland]

Arthur felt the bed dip behind him, and he somewhat grinned to himself. Alfred honestly deserved the bed, especially with the morning they had had. Arthur turned to find Alfred shirtless, and giving Arthur a reasonable side of the bed. Arthur was use to sharing a bed. At least when Peter would come tugging on his sheet with a nightmare and Arthur would let him in because there was no one else who would let him in. All the others had let others sleep with them in their fright, always the older brother being shelter to another in that house. Peter only had Arthur. He slide his shirt off listening to Alfred chatter on.

Once it was over his head, Arthur realized Alfred was looking at him and felt the blood rush to his ears. Why did Alfred's eyes do that to him? Arthur had honestly gotten undressed in male company without a problem, especially in school where there were a lot of other boys, older and younger. The younger ones had always watched the older ones, and the older ones always teased each other at some point. He was use to it, but in front of Alfred he was oddly shy, and it felt so different from school or home.

He gulped a bit, swallowing down his blush. "I said 'they figured' could mean they just saw your age and how long you've been involved. That's something very lose to go off of. I don't underestimated." If it had come down to it, Arthur was sure Alfred would be all business and make the metal star on his vest proud to be there. "Criminals and Law figures think differently as well. I think you would have caught him in your own way." Was he comforting Alfred? "I've had quite enough ifs now, thank you very much." Yes, he was, and it was easier than he would have ever thought.

Arthur crawled into bed, curling up in his usual ball, but facing Alfred, who seemed to be waiting for his plan.

"We have to make the robber think his plan is working." Arthur said. Arthur's first thought had been complete idiots planning the robbery, and he was sure the Sheriff would play of that theory as well. "We need to let this Sheriff plan the 'attack,' you're his stand in, surely he would have some word on how things went. However we need someone to stand in for you, because in all honestity we need to sneak on train and look rich." Arthur said, and it would be an easy take for Alfred, he could get something American and no one would question him, as well as clean up a bit. Arthur needed something European to fit the part. "It's easy for you, but I'll need to borrow someone's clothes from the train, but besides that. We get with the people their after, the better the chance we have of catching him." Arthur felt somewhat odd. He was about to break into a train for justice and honestly he couldn't wait. "What do you think?" Hopefully Alfred was up for it.

[Sheriff Jones]

Honestly, Alfred hadn’t meant to glance over at exactly the same time Arthur had finished stripping off his shirt. He hadn’t meant to keep looking, even when he knew it was completely rude, not to mention inappropriate. And he most certainly hadn’t meant to look over the other’s lithe, but powerful body with less then innocent intentions. Of course Alfred hadn’t meant do do any of these things, but that didn’t stop him from preforming each act, one right after the other until his own cheeks were pink from embarrassment. Arthur was certainly less built then he was, but he was far from scrawny. Running from the law for lord knows how long kept him in good enough shape, although it was clear he did not eat as well as he should. Hopefully with the help that Alfred provided, he would slowly grow to be a bit healthier. Suddenly, as if realizing what he was doing, the young sheriff quickly moved his gaze away from the other’s body, trying not to appear too obvious as to what he had been previously doing.

Alfred listened quietly as the former criminal explained himself with more depth then before. Odd, it almost sounded like he was trying to comfort him about the situation. From the little he knew about Arthur, this seemed a tad bit out of character for him, so he wasn’t sure whether to take it that way or not. Still, a small smile appeared on Alfred’s face. “I doubt I would have been able to handle it on my own Artie... but thanks for saying so anyway.” He continued to beam despite himself as Arthur crawled into the bed beside him. Turning over on his side, he stared into the other’s deep green eyes eagerly. This is exactly why he wanted Arthur to team up with him - he was the man with the plans. Already if was confident with his choice since Arthur had been the one to spot right off the bat that they were about to walk right into a trap.

As the Englishman spoke, Alfred absorbed the information easily, turning it over in his mind to consider it. From the sound of it, they would have to do a bit of thieving in order to gather the clothes they needed to accomplish the task before them. He wasn’t totally comfortable with that, but he could make do if it was in the name of justice. Plus, they could return the clothing once they were done. “I can borrow some clothing from the sheriff; I know for a fact he should have something that would work. As for a double... I think that can be arranged fairly easily.” Alfred grinned and titled his head back towards Arthur. “I think you’ve thought of a fool-proof plan Artie.” He chuckled a bit and leaned back against the soft pillow. He was still a bit nervous about the day ahead of him, but with Arthur by his side, he felt much more confident than ever. They could really do this - there wasn’t a shadow of a doubt in his mind now.

“We can worry about preparations tomorrow. Thankfully the heist isn’t supposed to take place until evening. Still, we should get a good night’s sleep.” Alfred leaned over and lightly blew out the candle on the small table beside him, plunging the small room into complete darkness. He turned over on his side so that his back faced the Englishman and closed his eyes. “Night Artie.” He murmured softly. His head was still whirling from the excitement of the day to come accompanied by the strangeness of sharing bed with another man, but it didn’t take long for Alfred’s breathing to slow. His last thought before he drifted off into unconsciousness was about how glad he was that Arthur was with him now.

[Crocky Kirkland]

"No plan is fool-proof," Arthur said resting his head on the pillow and watching Alfred closely. Honestly the only thing that could blow their cover was the fact that Arthur wasn't trying to steal anything. Bonnefoy would be on the look for him, and he would probably go out of his way to find him. Arthur figured he might let his name slip to one or two people on the train just to get them riled up and nervous. Other than that, Alfred might not come off as being from money, but surely Arthur could fake having a sister whom Alfred was to marry and was merrily treating him and getting to know him better.

Alfred seemed happy enough. Arthur watched as he leaned over to blow out the candle by him, his green eyes oddly attracted to how his muscles moved under the skin. They turned away quickly when Alfred came to lay down again, not that Alfred would notice in the dark. "Good night Alfred." He said letting his shorten name go. He figured it wasn't worth it to tell Alfred again, and he was too tired. The excitement of the day was oddly draining.

However he didn't fall right asleep like Alfred seemed too. He lay still for a bit, his eyes still open adjusting to the little light that was coming through the door and where ever else light was coming in. He thought about where he was and where he might have been. Probably laying in the dirt some where by a dying fire. He thought. He grinned when Alfred suddenly let out a snore, he chuckled a bit. I'm glad I'm here he though before drifting off to sleep.

---

The next morning Arthur woke up rather early, earlier than the day before where a lot had happened and he treated himself. He could hear the little activity out side, it was pleasantly warm as well, he felt well protected from the somewhat chill in the morning air, and he grinned to himself before opening his eyes and found he was facing the wrong way. Arthur knew he really rolled around in his sleep, but he was oddly further away from the edge than he remembered being the night before. The Englishman attempted to move his hand but found he couldn't.

[Sheriff Jones]

The first conscious thought that Alfred remembered crossing his mind was how oddly comfortable he was. Usually he moved around so much during the night (due to nightmares involving ghosts, or being generally a fidgety person), caused him to rarely have a morning where he woke up pleasantly. The covers were always tangled around him, or off his body completely. Or, on the most unfortunate occasions, he was jerked awake by his head hitting the hardwood floor because he rolled too far during his slumber. But that morning was different. He felt warm and completely safe, despite the vague remembrance that he was not in his home. Still, he would have been perfectly content to lie in bed all day if it not been the fact that there was slight movement underneath him.

Alfred’s eyebrows furred in sleepy confusion. Bed’s weren’t supposed to move. But then again, they weren’t supposed to generate that kind of warmth either, but the young blond was far too comfortable to put the pieces together. He instead, mumbled sleepily and threw his arm over the thing creating warmth and yanked it closer, nuzzling his nose against what he perceived to be soft fibers. Alfred tried to settle back into sleep now that the warmth was close against his chest, but another small movement cause him to jerk back into semi-consciousness. “‘M still sleepy...” He almost wined, as if trying to coax the thing into being more agreeable. The movements continued however, pulling him from farther and farther away from slumber until he was forced to open his eyes.

At first, all he registered was the modest hotel room surroundings, which he vaguely connected from the previous night. Next he saw a mess of blond choppy hair beneath his chin, and for a moment, all he could do was stare. Then, like a rocket, he shot backward, managing to untangle his arms from around Arthur’s waist with an amazing amount of dexterity for an early morning. “I’m sorry!” He shouted, face now bright red as he frantically moved backwards to one side of the bed. “I didn’t mean to... It was just sort of a reaction... oh god.” Alfred groaned and pressed his face against the pillow beneath him, trying to hide his shame. Arthur probably thought he was some kind of pervert, like that French guy from last night. It wasn’t his fault he liked to cuddle!

Alfred gave himself a few moments to catch his breath before forcing himself to take a peek at the Englishman beside him. “I’m sorry...” He mumbled again, feeling more childish then ever having woken up cuddling a man he barely knew. He could only pray that Arthur wouldn’t storm out in disgust because of his actions. Really, it had simply been an accident - the reaction had probably been left over from the time’s he spent with his brother. Although, it had felt really nice... relaxing... but very different then what he remembered with Mattie. Gah! Stop thinking about it! Stop thinking about it!

[Crocky Kirkland]

Arthur wiggled more when he was pulled back. His cheeks grew red and he remembered he hadn't exactly been alone in the bed. Alfred He thought, wiggling to he could turn around and find that to be true. He gave a sigh and attempted to get free of Alfred's hold. At least that would save the man from embarrassment. Arthur was use to being snuggled, Peter and Erin snuggled so Arthur was use to getting out of their arms if he woke up early.

Alfred however seemed set on having him in his arms, and Arthur felt his blush spread when the Sheriff nuzzled into his neck. He bit back a squeak, trying to wiggle away. He was eventually let go of and shot across the bed. He turned to find Alfred's face looking like a tomato and he was quiet sure his was the same.

"Shh!" Arthur shushed Alfred when he shouted. Honestly they were in an inn, someone would surely hear them and wonder what had been going on to cause an apology. He sat up on the bed and sighed. "It's fine...I'm use to it." Arthur said running his hands through his sandy blonde hair.

He got of the bed, figuring the best get ready for the day and put this morning behind them as well. Is there ever going to be a morning I don't have to forget, Arthur thought as he flicked some wrinkles out of his shirt. He quickly pulled his shirt of his head and dusted it off. He didn't want to forget how warm Alfred had been, it was just right for him. Bloody hell!

"We...we should just get ready for the day." Arthur said oddly looking for words. "I'll see if I can get some breakfast...or something." Arthur said putting on his boots quickly and making his way towards the door. "You want anything...specific?"

[Sheriff Jones]

Alfred didn’t know if he felt better or worse about Arthur acting as if he were used to such an occurrence. Did he have a lover somewhere whom he had spent many a morning waking up in their embrace? He supposed it shouldn’t be that surprising. Arthur was older and more mature then him, of course he had probably seen his fair share of women. Why should it bother him he had been with somebody else? Not that it did bother him, he was just considering his new partner’s lifestyle in order to better understand his previous experiences. Nothing more, nothing less. Although that didn’t explain why he sounded so withdrawn when he responded with a gentle, “Oh... I see then,” before hiding his face in the pillow once more.

At Arthur’s question, he sat up slightly, holding the pillow close to his chest for comfort. “I’m alright with anything. If you can find the lady from last night, I bet she’ll send us something... You go, I’ll get dressed...” He responded, still quiet from his previous embarrassment. Once the Englishman was out of the room, he pushed the pillow away and collapsed face first onto the mattress. Dear sweet lord, why did he have to go and pull a stunt like that? Really, he had to cuddle with his new partner? Why did he still act like such a child all the time? Arthur was probably just being polite, or perhaps he really was used to it. Both options bothered Alfred for some unexplainable reason. He groaned against the sheets and sat up again, looking down at his lap. Oh, and there was the matter of that little problem too.

Alfred flushed again and glanced towards the door nervously. Normally he didn’t have a problem keeping his body’s... urges under control, but holding a warm body next to his for an entire night had obviously done more harm than good. All he could hope for was Arthur was clueless and would remain clueless long enough for him to get rid of the problem. Working quickly, he unbuttoned his trousers and slipped a hand inside, still nervously glancing over towards the door. He hoped to whatever god was up there, that it would take Arthur a long time to get back.

He began to quickly stroke his length, his head tossing back against the pillow as a sudden rush of pleasure overtook him. “Mmmph...” He moaned, moving a hand up to tug on his cowlick as he worked. Within moments, he was reduced to a flushed, panting mess on the bed. He tried to keep quiet, really he did, but the intense waves of pleasure coursing through his body made it difficult to focus on anything besides reaching his peak. When he finally felt the damn break, he arched his back off the bed and let out a moan, only half covered by one of his hands he had enough sense to slap across his mouth. In those brief moments of white hot pleasure, a face appeared wearing the same green eyes and choppy blond locks as his partner. Having just come down from his high, he was not ashamed to lightly whisper the name that he had been thinking of ever since he came into his life. ”Arthur...”

[Crocky Kirkland]

With Alfred's reply Arthur closed the door and stood there oddly glancing at the door. He hoped the American wasn't too embarrassed about what happened. Arthur had never really been one to work his way into, or wrap his arms around someone and curl up with them. He had always been the one being cuddled, and he had come to figure some people could help it.

Arthur started down the stairs to the main lobby area. He glanced around and found the woman at the desk was still there, her head down, brown hair tied tightly in a bun and focused on something. Arthur hurried to the desk and waiting for some of her attention to be turned to him.

"How can I help you?" She asked, and her voice had a slight European accent to it, and Arthur couldn't correctly place it.

"Um, do you have breakfast?" Arthur asked, he was sure the inn served breakfast.

The woman shot up at the sound of his voice, green eyes looking him up and down, before she sighed. "Yes, we have breakfast." She said before leaning a bit closer. "I've never been wrong before."

"Wrong about what?"

"Honestly," She said with a raised eyebrow. "I thought you were on the receiving end." She looked somewhat disappointed.

Arthur was about to ask her what when it clicked. He blushed brightly. Arthur had managed to escape...or "lose sight" of his brothers when they went out to charm women. Arthur didn't mind woman, they were wonderful people, amazing even, but he wasn't overly attracted to them. He had found secret places were men charmed each other and he rather enjoyed that, and he knew what she was talking about. Do we honestly look like we shag each other in the dark of night? They couldn't possibly, they only meet not even two days ago.

"We...I...nothing happened!" Arthur snapped, and the woman looked at him as if not to believe him. "I'm tell you the bloody truth, no one is that quiet. Now can I get some breakfast sent to our room or what."

"True, but no one has hair like that without some sort of fiddling around."The woman grinned before getting up. "Just let me find someone to cover the desk for me and I'll get to work on making a lovely breakfast for you two." And then she was gone and Arthur stood there for a bit.

He made his way up the stairs slowly, almost expecting the woman to come back and tell him he had to pay or something, but no one bothered him. He came to their door, and didn't feel like entering right away, afraid the blush was still on his face. He dropped his forehead on the door, willing his blush away.

[Sheriff Jones]

Those moments after orgasm were filled with a variety of emotions for Alfred. Initially he only felt disgust for himself. Never before in his life had he preformed such a intimate action while picturing another man’s face. Not just any man either, but Arthur - his new partner and possibly new friend. Then he felt guilt, for the act he committed would forever taint their newly formed relationship. He wouldn’t be able to look him in the eye after this, let alone be able to catch criminals with him. But after a moment the guilt faded away to an even more terrifying emotion - curiosity. This had always been Alfred’s weak spot. Most of the time he was oblivious to the world around him (well, according to everybody else he was, he never noticed of course), so when he discovered something previously unknown to him, he couldn’t help but wonder.

What would it be like to be with a man? Not that he had ever been with a women (too distracted), but he knew the basics. Women were pretty, delicate, soft looking creatures with big eyes and lips. To kiss them was to behave like a gentleman. But with a man, would it be rougher? How would it feel? Alfred’s mind wandered. After a few long minutes of staring up at the ceiling, a soft thump against the door awoke him from his trance. Immediately he shot out of bed and began throwing his somewhat wrinkled shirt over his head. Arthur was sure to be back any moment, and if he didn’t look presentable, he might start asking questions which would lead to a conversation he wasn’t sure he was ready to have just yet. Alfred washed his hands and smoothed down his hair, hoping he looked a little more put together then previously before moving towards the doorway. He had no idea how long his previous activities had taken, but he figured that a good fifteen minutes had passed since Arthur had left - far too long to be still searching for breakfast. Just in case somebody had decided to give the previous criminal trouble, Alfred decided it was best to find his partner.

The young sheriff opened the door and immediately a body stumbled into him. “Whoa!” He exclaimed, easily pushing the Englishman up again. “Sorry about that partner, I didn’t know you were there.” Alfred laughed awkwardly and rubbed the back of his head in a nervous fashion. Please let him have just arrived - he didn’t know how to react if he had heard him earlier. Alfred shifted awkwardly in the doorway, purposely avoiding the other’s gaze. Despite trying to desperately wish away his thoughts from earlier, all he could think about was what it was like to kiss another man. Damn him and his curiosity. It’s not like he could just go and try it! Arthur would probably punch him or something - he didn’t feel that way about guys, least of all him! “Uh... so, did you get us some breakfast?” He managed to say, staring at the spot right above the Brit’s head, his face flushed. Stop thinking about it. Stop thinking about it. Dear Lord, why could he not get this out of his head? “Gah!” Alfred slammed a hand against forehead, as if trying to suppress what he knew was about to come. Don’t do it. Don’t say it! Whatever you do, do not.. “What is it like to kiss a man?” Alfred blurted out, his face bright red.

[Crocky Kirkland]

He didn't realize how much he was leaning on the door till it suddenly opened. Arthur found himself stumbling into Alfred who quickly righted him up. This morning isn't exactly graceful. He thought, knowing this was only adding to the redness on his face. Honestly it felt as if some force in the universe wanted them to see something, but still made them wonder.

"It's fine," Arthur said oddly, making his way into the room and shutting to door, trying not to make it seem like he wanted to get away from Alfred. "I asked the woman at the desked, after some...conversation," Arthur said, "she's making some for us."

Arthur started to walk over to the bed when the young sheriff suddenly startled him. He turned quickly at his yelp and found himself hit with a question he wasn't expecting. Arthur didn't know what to say. No, he didn't? Alfred didn't seem like someone who went around and did things based off his religion. Alfred was over forgiving, but he certainly wouldn't be a Sheriff if he was like that. Asking a question about men kissing was something Arthur figured a Bible Beater would ask someone. So yeah, Arthur did know what it was like, but how to explain it? It was so innocent, it was adorable and hard to say. It couldn't be much different than when Peter asked him what a "shag" was after he heard Scott say the word during one of his visits back home. Arthur had made up a crappy story and told Peter he would understand when he was older. But Alfred was indeed older and he should honestly know.

Fighting back a fierce blush, Arthur swallowed loudly. "Neither wants to be the girl," Arthur said because surely Alfred's kissed a girl before and used his tongue. Arthur sighed, scratching his head, it was the only way he could think of explaining it. "Why do you ask?"

[Sheriff Jones]

As soon as the question passed through his lips, Alfred was mortified. He hadn’t honestly meant to ask Arthur, but the words kept bubbling up until they had to be released - it was unfortunate that the British man had been around to witness another act of Alfred’s stupidity. The sheriff’s face went from flushed, to red and he hastily tried to think of something else to say in order to counter the awkward question. But before he could bumble his way through an unbelievable explanation, Arthur was already speaking. Alfred’s lips slowly fell closed and he stared thoughtfully at the other man, trying to piece together what his words meant. “So...” he shifted awkwardly again, gaze dropping to his feet. “You’ve kissed one before? A man I mean...” That seemed a bit backwards - Arthur was so naturally charming with a refined touch that he thought women would find irresistible. Yet he had kissed a man before? This new piece of knowledge made Alfred more then a little happy, although he chose not to explore the reasons as to why.

“I’ve never kissed a girl either,” Alfred admitted, glancing back up at Arthur’s face with a sheepish look. “I was taught that it wasn’t the gentlemanly thing to do, unless you were planning on courting them. So, I’ve never kissed anyone.” It was a somewhat childish philosophy, but having only been raised by his mother for the majority of his life, he couldn’t stand the idea of taking advantage of a young women. But, now that he thought about it, there had never been a women he had particularly wanted to kiss in the first place. Of course there were some young ladies he had formed friendships with, and some he had taken out to couples events because they had no one else to go with, but he couldn’t remember a single time he had wanted to kiss anyone. At least, not until recently.

“Oh um...” He had hoped Arthur wouldn’t ask, but he supposed it was too much to hope for. Now he was at a complete loss as to what to say. I was thinking about you and suddenly wondered what kissing you would be like? No! That would terrify the poor man and probably cause him to hop on his horse and ride far away from here. I saw two men outside kissing and wondered what the appeal was? That was even worse and made him seem like one of those bible beaters who hated anything different from themselves. Plus, Arthur wouldn’t believe that any two men would have the courage to be intimate in public. “I was just...” Nothing else came to mind, so Alfred resigned himself to his fate with a short sigh. “I was just thinking about it...” He blushed hotly and quickly sat down on the bed, grabbing his boots with slightly shaking hands. Working them back over his feet, he tried to avoid the other man’s eyes. “So, should we go downstairs for breakfast or wait here? Afterwards, I’ll go back to the sheriff to see about those clothes and you can check on Victoria and Liberty. They should be taken care of, but a little company wouldn’t do them any harm.” Alfred laughed awkwardly, still trying to yank the leather boot over his calf. Why did he have to let everything he was thinking come out of his mouth? Why couldn’t he just learn restraint? Who knows what Arthur thought of him now.

[Crocky Kirkland]

Arthur cursed when Alfred asked his next question. He should have seen that coming. He wanted to lie and say that it was just a guess, but he clearly would have said "Well I assume...". He didn't however and he couldn't cover it up so well. That and he couldn't find the will to lie to the sheriff, after all he had told Alfred more than he told any other person, outside family and close friends, about himself so easily. It come flowing out to Alfred, and it didn't seem like Alfred was going to judge him too quickly or run out the Inn to declare it to the world and leave Arthur in misery after that. We did sort of cuddle too Arthur thought, even though the cuddle was an unconscious event.

"I've charmed and been charmed." Arthur said sitting down the the edge of the bed. A dull blush on his cheeks, "I've kissed a few."

He gets rather lost in thought about it. He had kissed men before, but more women. Neither was exactly right. Arthur liked how men fought back, but sometimes it was too much. With women there was no challenge, no will to do anything but be kissed.

Alfred's voice suddenly brought him back to reality. He realized it was the answer to his question. It wasn't a very good one, but Arthur was going to press exactly what got him thinking about it. Either way Arthur was more than happy to have a change in subject.

"I don't know exactly what we're to do." He said turning a bit to look at Alfred's back. "The woman at the desk didn't say anything other than she would make us breakfast."

[Sheriff Jones]

A strange emotion began twinged inside Alfred’s stomach when Arthur confirmed his suspicions about having kissed other men before. Half of him felt almost relieved - at least he knew that the strangeness of the question had not caused the British man to run away in disgust, but another part of him didn’t like the thought of Arthur kissing another. It felt odd and twinged with something he could only identify as jealousy, although he would never admit it. Knowing that Arthur had been kissed before shouldn’t bother him as much as it did, especially since he wasn’t attracted to men. He liked women. They were kind, pretty, delicate young things who would love him and provide him with children one day - that was the life he was supposed to be having. And yet here he was, almost pouting because his partner had just admitted to having kissed before - as if there was anything wrong with that!

Alfred finished wrestling on his boots and stood up. “We should head downstairs then. I bet she’ll have breakfast waiting for us,” He said, moving back out the door without waiting for a response. He was far too embarrassed and confused to want to have to stay in that room alone with Arthur. His head was whirling, trying to make sense of everything he was feeling. His stomach twisted uncomfortably and his heart beat raced in his chest. Altogether, he felt sick, disgusted, confused, and exhilarated. He didn’t know what to make of it, and he sure didn’t want to risk asking Arthur about it - the response would have scared him too much. I just need to focus on the heist. He told himself, taking a seat in the parlor where the lady from last night was setting out plates. The heist was the most important thing right now. He could not afford to get distracted or mess anything up - both his and Arthur’s newly reformed reputation depended on it.

Alfred ate without really tasting his food, far too lost within his own thoughts to focus on something so unimportant. It was strange how this morning he had woken up feeling so well rested and ready for the day, and now all he wanted to do was crawl back into bed and never wake up. But he had a job to do, and he tried to pull his focus back to that. Finishing up his plate, he flashed the women a grateful smile and bowed his head respectfully. “Thank you ma’am, it was delicious.” He glanced over at Arthur for a brief second before turning his eyes towards the doorway. “I’m going to meet up with the sheriff to see about some clothes... I’ll meet you at the stables, and we can go to the train station together.” He paused for a second, as if to say more, but walked out of the room without saying another word.

* * *

It had taken nearly an hour to convince the sheriff to at least go along with Arthur’s plan. He had begrudgingly asked another man from town to act as Alfred’s stand in and set the young sheriff up with a set of nicer clothes. As a minor form of payback to meeting all of Alfred’s demands, the sheriff had forced him to suffer through a grooming session with his wife until he could almost fit the role of a young, well off America. His hair had been tamed (save for the cowlick), his face clean, and a pair of smart wire-rimmed glasses sat perched on his nose. He had been fitted into white, straight leg trousers and a matching jacket and on his feet where a pair of shiny black fitted dress shoes. When Alfred looked in the mirror, he scarcely recognized himself, although the slight discomfort on his face was enough to reassure him that it was still his reflection. Hopefully Arthur would approve of the transformation, because Alfred couldn’t wait to get back into his dirty jeans and boots.

Alfred sighed as he strolled down the street, completely oblivious to the looks the townspeople were giving him now. His little encounter with the sheriff had acted as a good distraction, but his thoughts were still in a whirlwind and the knots in his stomach had yet to disappear. Perhaps he simply was falling ill - he couldn’t remember a time he felt so conflicted. Hopefully his performance wouldn’t suffer today. It was imperative that he did his best and they successfully put a man in jail for his crimes. At least he had Arthur there to bail him out of something went really wrong. Alfred stopped in front of the stable to take one last breath to calm himself. This was it, he had a job to do now; he couldn’t afford to be thinking about anything else. Alfred forced himself to walk inside, blue eyes trained to the ground beneath him. “Arthur, are you here?”

[Crocky Kirkland]

Arthur felt himself sink when Alfred got up. There was an awkward air in the room, and he hopped Alfred wasn't rejecting him, at least not making it known he was. Still his suggestion about breakfast made Arthur get up at follow him down to the lobby.

The woman had made a small place for them to eat breakfast. It wasn't anything overly special, but it was enough to make Arthur feel like he was in heaven. Home made eggs, and some toast. Arthur hoped his eyes didn't roll into his head. Something finally handmade by someone else other than him. Arthur almost didn't notice Alfred get up to leave or catch the words he was saying. All he could do was nod dumbly at the young sheriff and watch him leave.

He finished his meal and turned to the woman. "Uh...thank you," He said oddly to her, getting up from the chair. Their earlier conversation echoing in his head and he would rather not think about it, because things had gotten even weirder with Alfred. He sighed and made his way to the stables.

---

Victoria seemed happy to see him, Liberty as well was somewhat happy to see him as well. Arthur tended to them both, asking some of the stable boys to assist him with getting some food and water. They put one boy in charge of watching him and Arthur rolled his eyes. Clearly he was only interested in two horses and both showed some happiness and knowledge of knowing him.

Eventually the boys felt when Alfred did nothing but tend to the horses and do little else. Time past and he wondered about Alfred. Surely the man was fine.

Victoria was shealing Arthur's hat when he was petting Liberty's nose, wanting Arthur's attention to be on her. He groaned when he had to go inside the stall to get back from her. There were the sound of foot steps, the feet being held in what sounded like nice shoes. Alfred's voice suddenly startled him.

"I'm with Victoria," He called back, attempting to get his had back, but he gave up and leaned out the stall. His eyes came to rest on Alfred all dressed up and he couldn't help but grin.

The Sheriff could differently clean up well. If Arthur hadn't meet Alfred before he would have thought he was from a well off family. He could look the part, Arthur just hoped he could play the part well enough.

"The Sheriff owned that!?" Arthur said with a smirk on his lips.

[Sponsored content]