a/n: two in one day, whew! although this one I worked on a little bit before
I love this au btw c: and read the table of contents, pls!!
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Before college, mornings had been a big pain in the ass for Alfred. They were especially bad during college, about as fun as getting kicked in the balls. But on break, mornings were the best thing in the entire world.
Because winter, spring, and summer break meant waking up to the most cuddly- and, somehow, also the most stubborn- guy in the world nestled snugly in Alfred's arms.
Alfred moaned as he woke up, screwing his eyes shut against the sunlight that flooded his eyelids. He tried to block out the light by burying his face in the back of his boyfriend's neck. It didn't exactly work out the way he expected, but now Alfred was breathing the smell of sweetly scented shampoo and soap, so things could've been a lot worse. He exhaled and smiled slightly, no longer worried about the open curtains letting in warm rays of sun.
The still-sleeping boy stirred softly. He made a noise as he stretched his legs before tangling his limbs with Alfred's. "Artie?" Alfred murmured. Arthur shook his head, making the former male smile more. "Not awake?" Arthur shook his head again, more rapidly that time. "Sure," Alfred said sarcastically.
He pressed a kiss on the back of his boyfriend's neck, his tongue flicking out for a taste of Arthur's skin. Salty, but not really. Alfred hummed and continued to move his lips. Arthur squirmed, and Alfred could feel the shiver running down his lover's spine. He ran his hand along the vertebrae in Arthur's back, marvelling at the bumps protruding ever so slightly from that wonderful, pale skin.
"Like it?" Alfred breathed. Arthur hesitated before nodding. "Just making sure." He leaned down to kiss Arthur's jaw, but the boy twisted in his grasp and reached behind himself to touch Alfred's cheek.
"I want to see your face," Arthur signed as best he could with one arm tucked under his body.
Alfred laughed softly and nodded. "Alright," he signed back with his hands. He waited for his boyfriend to turn around so they were facing each other, and Alfred realised how much he wanted to look at Arthur, too.
The smaller boy looked pretty funny in his state of half-consciousness. His blonde hair stuck up in every which direction, one side more matted from being slept on. Arthur had red lines marking all up and down his face and his body from the wrinkles in the bed sheets and the pillow case. To top off his appearance, a dried bit of drool was stuck to the bottom of Arthur's chin.
Alfred loved looking at him.
"Hey, gorgeous," he murmured, opening his arms for his boyfriend to move in to. Arthur frowned.
"Don't call me that," he signed, his movements brash and sharp in annoyance. Arthur looked down at Alfred's chest with his eyebrows drawn together, and Alfred was confused if he had done something wrong to make Arthur not want to hug him. "I can't talk if we cuddle," Arthur then signed, looking off to the side. He let his hands drop into his lap and hunched his shoulders in embarrassment, his cheeks flushing a dark pink.
"Oh, right. Sorry," Alfred said.
One thing he always forgot that most people didn't realise right away in the first place: Arthur was mute.
His boyfriend, the absolute most perfect, intelligent, and definitely the most handsome guy in the whole wide world, couldn't say anything.
Alfred never really considered it to be a handicap, though. Sure, there were days where he would get upset he would never hear Arthur say 'I love you,' but he'd always have to tell himself it wasn't fair to be sad about something his boyfriend couldn't have. After all, Alfred had to admit he liked the secret conversations they had in public with their hands. Him and Arthur could be loving and goofy and so obnoxiously soppy, and no one would even know what they were saying. Arthur could write notes to people, of course, but he had stopped doing that ever since he started dating Alfred. Alfred liked to think it was because he was one hell of a good interpreter.
