USUK ONESHOTS!

No One Will Hear

Arthur had to catch him. He simply had to. No if's, and's, or but's about it.

Arthur was going to catch and lock away Alfred "Freedom" Jones once and for all.

Alfred was a serial killer, and a good one at that. He was a killer killer, but still a killer. The reason he's nicknamed Freedom is because of his signature. Beside the bodies of his victim, he would paint a messy version of the U.S. flag beside them.

And Arthur hated him with every fiber of his being.

You see, Arthur used to love Alfred. They'd been together for five years. They started dating when Alfred was nineteen and entering college. Alfred treated Arthur like he was his whole world. They handled Alfred's college, handled the distance when Arthur was in England with family, handled the stress of their jobs, everything.

Arthur was always tired from the cases he had to work as an officer. Threats he had to deal with and losses he had to help victim's families through.

Alfred was always waiting with comforting, inviting arms whenever Arthur returned to their shared apartment.

But, just a month before their third anniversary, the Freedom murders began. Just one every six months. The first kill was sloppy, strange. Clearly an amateur kill. The case wasn't solved, and came back into play when another murder came into play six months later. Much cleaner, less of a struggle. The third, another six months later, was cleaner, quicker than the previous. The killer was getting better, and it was clear he wasn't going to stop. Arthur was assigned to these Freedom Cases.

One night, Arthur came home to Alfred cleaning blood out of one of his shirts.

Alfred grinned. "Just a nosebleed, babe," was what he said. Arthur smiled and melted into his arms. The next day, there was another Freedom Case. Just a month before their fifth anniversary. Arthur was beyond tired of this killer.

Then Alfred proposed on their fifth anniversary.

To say Arthur was excited was an understatement. Arthur, of course, said yes.

Then, Alfred was caught five months later in the middle of his kill.

He ran before the police could catch him, but Arthur was devastated when someone explained this finding to him when he came into work the next day, wondering why his fiancé hadn't returned home the previous night.

Now he knew why.

The blood wasn't from a mere nosebleed.

Alfred was always strangely calm when Arthur talked about the Freedom cases.

Now, three years later, Alfred was still on the loose, vanishing for six months to return for another kill.

They tried taking Arthur off the case, but Arthur was persistent.

He will lock Alfred behind bars for the rest of his measly life. He swore it.

"Two more months." Arthur grumbled, glaring at the circled date on his calender as he raised two pages. "I'll get you."

"You sound so determined."

Arthur jumped, then pivoted. He sighed and relaxed. "Francis..."

The Frenchman chuckled and approached the Brit. "Did I freighten you, mon cher?"

The smaller man shook his head as Francis took his hands. "No... Just a rough day at work... Francis, in two months, Alfred is going to come up again."

Francis nodded, raising Arthur's hands to his lips. "Indeed. You need your rest, darling."

"Yeah..." Arthur trailed and looked down.