Re: Same Job, Different Time and Place [R-18]

[Mr. Kirkland]

“No particular reason,” he lied. “I just thought that it might be nice if I could borrow you for the day – to show me the city, I mean.” Arthur had yet to explore New York properly. He tried to concentrate on his food and not look at Alfred. It didn’t work.

Eventually he looked up at him, politely putting down his knife and fork to look at Alfred inquisitively.

“Would you be interested?” he rather hoped so. This would be a real chance to get to know one another. If things went well, Arthur might even be inclined to invite him to another night of passionate love making… or dinner, which was probably the more savoury option out of the two.

He had been meaning to see the rest of the city since he’d first arrived, anyway. He’d been too worried to look around on his own lest he got lost.

[Assistant Jones]

Alfred blinked a bit at that and he thought as he continued to eat his food. Once he saw Arthur politely place down the knife and fork, he followed suit yet more hesitantly. Now that he thought about it, Arthur never really did get the chance to look around New York City, had he? He swallowed thickly before smiling and nodding.

"Of course I would be interested!" He exclaimed. "I'm sure I can bring us to some pretty cool places around here that you might not have been able to see yet." He murmured as he continued to eat his food.

Honestly, he still had no idea what to think about the two of them being...well...together in any shape or form but the fact that Arthur was his boss was starting to bother him less and less. He hoped that it wouldn't be too awkward for him to show the man around though he had a feeling that they could have some fun.

[Mr. Kirkland]

“Excellent,” Arthur gave a smile and a nod.

He rose from his seat and headed towards the cabinets, which he rummaged through and produced two glasses. He went to the fridge, taking out some bottled water and orange juice before returning to the table. He gave Alfred a glass.

“I’m sorry, I don’t have any coffee,” he shrugged and he couldn’t be bothered to make tea. It was just coming up to ten o’clock at that point. “As I said earlier, feel free to use the shower. You might want to freshen up a bit – I mean, it was pretty hot – pretty sweaty,” he corrected himself, “in the club.” And in the bedroom, but he wouldn’t mention that.

He poured himself a glass of orange juice, absently eyeing the food remaining on his plate. He wasn’t particularly hungry anymore, but he felt rude to leave it… maybe if he left it, Alfred wouldn’t notice? After all he wolfed his own food down like a power house.

[Assistant Jones]

Alfred smiled back and laughed softly before looking at the two glasses as well as the bottled water and orange juice. He soon grabbed the juice before pouring himself some before thirstily drinking the glass in just a few seconds flat.

Honestly, he was still rather thirsty from...last night's activities and all that. He couldn't help but be flustered as the thought but it was true! He expended a whole lot of energy though he wasn't able to get anything to drink right afterwards. Alfred grinned a bit and shook his head.

"Nah, it's fine. I like orange juice just as much. Probably better considering that it's not a work day today and I don't really have to be up or anything." The moment that Arthur said hot and pretty sweaty, his mind automatically referred to their night in the flat, alone. Though when he really thought about it, the club was rather hot and sweaty as well. Yet what followed afterwards was much more so.

Soon looking down at the leftover food on Arthur's plate, while his own was empty, he couldn't help but ask. He didn't really want to seem like a glutton. "Are you going to eat that?" He questioned, pointing down at the plate.

[Mr. Kirkland]

“It’s much healthier for you, too. I approve,” he chuckled. “It’s good to see that you aren’t constantly filling yourself with caffeine, my dear American,” he teased. He couldn’t really talk, as he usually had a cup of tea when he came home and relaxed with a nice biscuit and a good book. He would usually drink about three to four cups, if he had the time; an entire tea pot’s worth.

“Ah,” he was jolted from his thoughts at the question, “No, go ahead.” He pushed the plate towards Alfred but took away his cutlery from the plate. He attempted another smile before taking his knife and fork and putting them beside the sink. He returned to finish his orange juice at the table.

“So where do you think we should go today?” he asked, genuinely interested (and even a little bit excited).

[Assistant Jones]

Alfred grinned slightly at that though he rolled his eyes a bit, soon pouring more orange juice for himself before drinking even more of it. "Of course not! I'm not a complete caffeine addict!" He defended though he couldn't help but redden a bit when he heard Arthur mention...him...being called 'my dear American'. He probably shouldn't be over thinking it but he honestly couldn't help himself.

In all honesty, he rather disliked tea unless it was iced tea, which was a lot better with sugar and some lemons! Now that was good!

Soon he took the food over to his side and he grinned a bit, making certain to clean the plate off before bringing it to the sink. He thought about it for a moment, humming. "Is there anything you particularly want to see? Any hobbies of yours or something so I can bring you to good places for those things?" He asked, wondering.

[Mr. Kirkland]

Arthur took his now empty plate to the sink, as well as his glass. He shrugged.

“I’d like to be familiar with the city’s layout, I suppose. I can use the subway but I don’t really know which places to go to for what.” He tugged his t-shirt down further as it began to ride up slightly.

When it came to hobbies, Arthur didn’t have many. He liked reading, cooking (which he was terrible at) and he enjoyed embroidery and knitting quite a lot – but Alfred didn’t need to know about those last two. He had to admit that he was surprised that Alfred hadn’t noticed his bookshelves in the sitting room, but then again it wasn’t as though they had been commenting on the décor in there the previous night.

“I like books,” he said, at last. From fiction to non-fiction, Sudoku books to children’s fairy tales – Arthur’s usual requirement was that the book actually be good for him to consider reading it. He had always read, and he felt as though he had a rather good eye for books. He had journals filled with book titles and his opinions of the book. If he ever felt like re-reading something, he would refer to those journals.

[Assistant Jones]

Alfred thought about it before he looked around, noticing that there were mainly books. He soon smiled a bit as he glanced over at Arthur. It wouldn't be too bad showing the man around at all.... In fact, he actually would love that. Though he wasn't certain what Arthur would like to be shown...

"Books?" He questioned before he thought about it for just a longer moment before smiling. "Well, we could always go to the New York Public Library if you wanted to check out some books! One of the largest libraries in all of North America!" He grinned a bit before shifting around a bit more.

"And well..." He swallowed thickly. "I mean...only if you want. I...suppose I can..." He dragged off, cheeks slightly red as he glanced away. "I could take you out on a nice dinner cruise during the evening which will show you the main parts of Manhattan."

He soon paused a bit before looking back at Arthur. "Only if you want though!"

[Mr. Kirkland]

“That would be interesting,” he nodded. He enjoyed libraries and the serenity that he felt inside of them. He merely hoped that Alfred wouldn’t get too bored whilst they were there. He didn’t seem to be the reading-type. The glasses were not any indicator either; Arthur highly doubted that Alfred was wearing them from having read in the dark too many times as a child.

The next idea made Arthur blush. This really would be like a date – one that they could both be aware of and have consented to. He could feel butterflies in his stomach. Arthur, red as a berry, nodded.

“Yes, that would be… really nice. I-I would like that,” he admitted shyly. “It’s very thoughtful of you, Alfred,” he sounded genuinely surprised, because he was. “Would you like to start this, uh, ‘tour’ when we leave my apartment or would you prefer to meet up later? I’ll understand if you want to go home and change.”

But he knew what he would rather do.

[Assistant Jones]

Alfred smiled a bit at that and though he didn't necessarily find libraries to be the most interesting thing, he could still check out some things that he might like. Just because he wasn't that fond of reading didn't mean that he completed hated books. In fact, he found the research books they had in the library to be extremely fascinating. He thought about it for a moment before humming as he tugged on his wool jumper once more.

"Well, we can go to the library for a bit of time and then afterwards, we can go back to our homes to get ready? So I can reserve a seating for us and also get ready. It is a rather nice cruise." He smiled even more now.

He hoped that was alright with Arthur though.

[Mr. Kirkland]

Arthur hummed in agreement, “That sounds like a good day out, to me.” His voice was still somewhat quiet, finding it difficult to admit things like this.

A date. A real date. The first, first date Arthur had been on since he was twenty two. He could barely contain the nerves that sparked within him at the thought. To not grin like an idiot, he grabbed the orange juice and water that was on the table and went to put them in the fridge again. It was clear that Arthur hadn’t quite started to trust the running water in New York – he wasn’t completely certain that it was safe to drink. So why take the risk?

“I’ll get a c… a jacket. Will you need to borrow a scarf?” he asked as he headed to the coat hanger in the hall. He tugged on his leather jacket, which he usually saved for moments like this where he had no choice but to wear it. “And should we pop back to that club to get our coats, whilst we’re out?”

Arthur didn’t wait for a response and began the hunt for his trousers from the previous night. He was dismayed to find them, and his boxers in the sitting room. After fishing the ticket from his pocket, he disposed of the clothes into the wash basket in his bedroom.

He soon joined Alfred again.

[Assistant Jones]

Alfred smiled a bit at that. Honestly, it was hard for him to just have a one night stand and then leave. Even though it was completely out of line for him to be doing this, he really couldn't stop himself from trying to at least take him out for dinner or something. It wasn't like this was unwilling on his part. In fact, he was rather willing to do this.

He couldn't help but raise his eyebrows when he saw the bottled water though, needing to comment. "You know that the water here is actually really safe. You don't have to buy any bottled water or anything." He murmured before smiling. "If the water here was bad, then you might as well see an epidemic over here!"

With that, he thought about it before nodding. "Yeah, a scarf sounds pretty nice actually!" He agreed before taking a scarf and wrapping it around his neck. Grabbing his own ticket as well from his trousers, he looked at Arthur before nodding once more.

"Let's drop by the club. Shouldn't be all that far from the library." He mentioned. He really didn't want to lose all those things! He really liked them! With that, he started to head out of the flat.

[Mr. Kirkland]

Arthur shrugged, “If it’s anything like the water from taps in London, I’d rather not risk it, thanks.” Yes, the water in London is clean but not nearly as clean as it was in other places in the UK. Sometimes it could be a game to guess which areas of London of had safe drinking water (certainly not the restaurants).

When he was at Alfred’s side again, he nodded and began to follow him out of the flat. He grabbed his keys and wallet as he went, shoving them safely into his pockets. He made sure to lock the door behind them.

In the elevator, Arthur couldn’t help but remember what had happened in there the previous night; Alfred had pushed him against the wall and kissed him. And God, it had been good. He blushed and looked down at his shoes, trying to concentrate on them rather than the American.

“Let’s just hope that they’ve kept our belongings, eh?”

[Assistant Jones]

Alfred laughed a bit at that. "I've been drinking tap nearly every day over here and I haven't got sick yet." He mentioned before going into the elevator, stretching out slightly as he looked around. He could vaguely recall what happened here last night. How he was the one that initiated the kiss in this elevator but he soon decided to focus on something else.

Definitely not on last night! Though he couldn't deny the fact that it was just absolutely amazing. That night...amazing.

The American soon nodded, swallowing thickly. "Yeah, seriously. I don't know what I would do if they threw out our belongings!" He laughed. "Well I would just have to deal with it but still..." He dragged off before shaking his head. Once they got to the ground floor, he immediately headed out as he hummed to himself.

Once they left the library, he would have to go back to the work building so he could grab his car. He didn't want to leave that there! Plus he had to pick up Arthur later. Waving for a cab, Alfred soon gave the name of the club before he crawled into the back, waiting for his boss to come along with him.

[Mr. Kirkland]

Arthur scoffed. “Well, then I suppose I’ll have to think of a better excuse not to drink from the tap, yes?” he smiled coyly. “I’m sure they won’t have, lad… unless they want to hear from my solicitors.”

Arthur didn’t have a car; he’d had one in England that he’d used to visit his parents outside of London, but that was all he used it for. Most of the time, he’d stuck to public transport. The traffic was appalling in London but he was certain that it would be ten times worse in New York. That was the sole reason why he didn’t bring it, actually.

Arthur climbed in beside Alfred, putting on his seatbelt, unlike the night before. He also kept to his side of the seats; back straight, hands in his lap. If there was one thing to be said for Arthur, he had very good posture. He rarely slouched.

“So how much of a walk do you think it will be from the club to the library?” he tried to keep the excitement from his voice. The library was somewhere he’d wanted to visit (and join) for quite a while now.

[Assistant Jones]

Alfred grinned when Arthur said that and simply chuckled a bit, shaking his head slightly. "I don't understand why you have such a thing against tap water! It's not that bad, not that bad at all!" He tried to convince though he knew that this would most likely be useless in the long run. He raised his eyebrows at the mention of solicitors before he also put on his own seatbelt. "So serious for just some clothes!" He joked.

At first he didn't want to drive a car, especially considering New York City traffic. It was much easier just to go through public transportation but considering his salary and all that, he couldn't pay for public transportation everyday and then expect to feed himself. Which was the main reason why he grabbed his old car from Massachusetts and dealt with that.

Unlike Arthur, he actually kept himself more slouched over than anything. His posture wasn't the best and he seemed more set on actually getting comfortable rather than anything else. He thought about the distance for a moment before humming.

"It should just be a ten minute walk! It's not that bad at all!" He mentioned. A ten minute walk wasn't bad at all and it might actually take longer just to take a cab that distance. Especially considering that the traffic was so horrid that they might as well be stuck in the same spot for a good ten minutes before they actually started to move again.

[Mr. Kirkland]

“Where I come from, Alfred, you don’t know what the tap water’s going to taste like. You have to be vigilant,” he laughed softly, looking across at Alfred. He then shrugged, “Well, perhaps I am over exaggerating, but I shan’t be pleased if they have gotten rid of them.”

For Arthur, it wasn’t a problem. He could replace them easily but he knew that things were bound to be tighter money-wise for Alfred. The boy would probably be unable to buy more clothes quite so sparingly. And winter was coming. He wouldn’t want Alfred to freeze.

“Ah, that isn’t too bad,” he agreed. Arthur walked to places a lot, it was his way of exercising; power-walking everywhere. Ten minutes was nothing considering the half-hour journey it usually took him to get from his flat to the office.

Now that he thought about it, surely this would mean that Chouchoute’s offices were not that far from the library? If so, Arthur could see himself spending lunchtimes in there, enraptured by books. It would be blissful.

[Assistant Jones]

Alfred rolled his eyes a bit though he was a bit playful at the moment. "Well fine, fine!" He laughed at that. "You win this round though you're just being a bit paranoid for nothing!" He exclaimed before he simply grinned. "Ah, well if they're gone, then they're gone. I can always try finding something new."

Actually that was pretty much a lie through his very teeth though he didn't take much mind to it. He didn't really have the funds to buy something else nice though he was certain that his lovely jacket would always suffice for winter. Though still.... He wouldn't freeze easily though he did prefer the warmer weather such as Florida and all that!

Alfred soon nodded in agreement and just a few minutes later, they were in front of the club. Paying the cab driver the needed money, he stepped out of the cab and headed towards the front entrance, keeping his ticket in handy as he was ready to explain the situation to the men who stood in the front.

[Mr. Kirkland]

“I genuinely feel like I have accomplished something today, then,” Arthur teased. “And yes, I suppose you’re right…” although he couldn’t help but eye Alfred a little more closely. He really was concerned – it wasn’t something that had crossed his mind until now. And unfortunately, Arthur was not the one in charge of setting the pay rates in their office.

Arthur had winter clothes – just not fashionable ones. Being Head of Sales, he often felt as though someone was going to comment on his suits or the state of his hair. He knew that in the next couple of months, he would have to be more aware of what he was wearing. Perhaps he should start buying fashion magazines, he mused to himself.

He murmured a thank you to the cab driver and followed Alfred out of the car. He clutched the ticket in his pocket, falling in step with the other. He couldn’t help but wonder what to say to the men outside. He decided that it would probably be best to stay quiet and let Alfred, a fellow American, do the talking.

[Assistant Jones]

Alfred smirked a bit at that though he laughed slightly. "You should. I usually don't let anyone win." He murmured as he stretched his arms out, still a bit tired from the day before but that was besides the point. "And of course I'm right!"

He really hoped that Arthur wouldn't be concerned about him. He didn't want to be a needless concern for the man. Despite the fact that they had a rather fun night the night before, he was certain that the Englishman...his boss...wouldn't really care about his financial stance.

After all, there was still quite a difference between their positions.

Alfred mainly had winter clothes that were just there for comfort, not necessarily something he always wanted to go out in the public with. Honestly, he couldn't always buy the clothes that he wanted. He was rather fashionable in nature but the lack of finance made it hard for him to actually get the clothes he wanted.

It was easy for Alfred to get in. While they didn't necessarily want to let him in from his reasoning, it wasn't hard for him to take advantage of the fact that this was a gay bar. He simply gave his charming smile (no matter how unintentional it was) and a few pleases and they hesitantly let him in. Soon looking around, he couldn't help but grin a bit when he finally went to the room where they hanged their clothes.

Great! They still had their jackets and scarves! Grabbing those, Alfred started to look around for his shirt and he soon looked around for one of the janitors, finally seeing a man cleaning up the leftover mess.

"Hey! I was wondering if you saw two shirts lying around here!" He soon started to describe the shirt and to his relief, the janitor pulled them out. Unfortunately enough, there was weird stuff on the shirts.... He would have to wash that out. Hell he was not going to wear that but he might as well keep it. It was a nice and somewhat expensive shirt. Some washing wouldn't do it any harm.

[Mr. Kirkland]

Arthur merely stared at Alfred in awe. That had been much simpler than he originally thought that it would be, all because of Alfred’s bloody smile. It seemed utterly ludicrous to him that someone could manage to get what they wanted with a smile. Arthur was used to exchanging favours with people in order to get what he wanted but there was Alfred, all grins and blue-eyes and they let him in without another word.

He heaved a sigh but followed him inside, extremely aware of the stares he was receiving from the security men. It felt like they were glaring at him – or leering at the tight fit of his jeans. Neither of which was particularly appealing to Arthur. He picked up his pace, soon at Alfred’s side again, still quiet.

He took his coat and scarf from the cloak room area, folding them neatly over his arm. He was surprised when Alfred asked the janitor about their shirts, again just gawking at him as he got his way. Perhaps smiling at people delivered results rather than scowling?

Whatever was the world coming to?!

When Arthur saw the state of the shirts, he turned a slight shade of green. It was unlikely that Alfred was going to know what it was on that shirt. He nudged Alfred and motioned for him to lean down to him.

“Alfred, those are… uh…” he blushed, “those stains are…” he was whispering into his ear but he couldn’t quite bring himself to do it. “T-those are probably semen stains.”

Their shirts could have easily been picked up and taken to the back rooms to be used instead of a towel. Arthur shuddered at the thought.

[Assistant Jones]

Alfred's smiles usually didn't work on a lot of people but when he was in a gay bar, they seemed to work wonders. They might have been hoping that he would come in later and give them a chance though in all reality, the American had no such plans. Especially when he had Arthur right with him.

He couldn't help but look at the stains in confusion. They didn't seem like food stains...not at all. He frowned a bit as he was rather tempted to lick it just to try but Arthur's words automatically stopped him.

Semen stains? That...that was disgusting! He nearly even dropped the damn shirt though he swallowed thickly.

"W-Well...we can just wash the shirts and all...just in case they are..." He murmured. He couldn't just lose this shirt! He soon immediately started to head out of the bar once more though he was holding the shirt at a distance now.

[Mr. Kirkland]

Arthur made a face, watching Alfred beginning to determinedly march away. He tried not to laugh at how comical he looked. He turned to the janitor, having not taken his own shirt. He gave a small smile.

“Excuse me, sir, would you mind… disposing of the remaining shirt?”

The janitor nodded.

“Thank you,” he nodded and quickly sprinted after Alfred, to catch up.

Who knew what kind of horrible diseases could be on that shirt; Arthur didn’t really want something that could have potentially been used for such vulgar activities. He almost felt sorry for Alfred, all humour aside. That shirt had probably cost him dearly. Hopefully it could be washed (and sanitized) safely.

“Alfred, I think that you should find a carrier bag to put that in – and somewhere to wash your hands…”

[Assistant Jones]

Alfred continued to grumble to himself and the shirt really was expensive for him. Maybe not in comparison to other people around New York City but he never had the best salary. He was simply an assistant. He had enough to live on but definitely not enough to spend things in excess on.

The American soon balled up the shirt, frowning a bit as he started to head towards the library, nodding in agreement.

"Yeah, don't worry. I'll ask in the library to see if they have any plastic bags." He admitted. It took about ten minutes for them to get to the library and already in the front, it looked very, very impressive. The building was extremely large which told how many books it held deep within its impressive walls.

"Here we are! The New York Public Library!" He exclaimed with a grin.

[Mr. Kirkland]

He couldn’t help but feel guilty about his shirt – if Arthur hadn’t encouraged him to take it off, then this wouldn’t have happened. But then again, last night probably wouldn’t have happened either. That would have been disappointing.

Arthur gazed up at the large building, eyes filled with wonder. That was one big library – it could easily compare to the one in London. He forgot to breathe for a moment when he thought about all of the books that would be in there.

“Very impressive,” he said softly before walking on in to the building. He glanced back at Alfred as they approached the main room (after marvelling at the dozens of booksehelves, of course). “So what kind of books do you like, Alfred?” he might as well try to make the effort so that the boy would enjoy this too, rather than just watching Arthur.

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