Always [A USUK fanfiction]

The Reminder

Classic rock played on the radio as Alfred continued to groom himself for the evening ahead. Outside, day was slowing fading into evening, signaling that it was nearly time to leave. The wind blew steadily against a tree, tearing away the last dead leaves that were still clinging to the rigid branch. Upon returning home, Alfred did everything he could to keep an optimistic mindset, considering the previous encounter with Arthur was rather rough. And while many encounters with the Brit were rough, this one was different. Unlike the other times, the edginess coming from Arthur didnt seem to spawn from pure annoyance, but from some other feeling. Embarrassment perhaps?

Nonetheless, Alfred had all the confidence in the world that he would not fail in his mission. Besides, whats the point of losing hope, when youre already losing precious time. After styling his hair as best as he could, he made his way back to his bed where the rest of his outfit waited to be added. The radio continued playing in the background, loudly blasting the rhythmic sounds of late twentieth century rock and roll. On the ground below, sat his nicest pair of dress shoes, charcoal black and recently polished. He sat down on his bed, slipping on his ankle length socks followed by each shoe.

After successfully tying each lace into a flawless bow, Alfred stood back up from the bed, only to be startled by the sound of his alarm clock signaling to him that it was now 7:00pm. He tapped the top of the clock to turn it off, then promptly turned the knob on his lamp, leaving the room nearly dark. Only the light from the newly risen moon shone through the windows. Tonight was extremely important, and he did not want to start it off by being late. While being a few minutes late to his job occasionally was acceptable, tonight, he could simply not allow himself to be even a second behind schedule. Not when time is so precious. He straightened his bowtie one last time in the mirror, and soon made his way out of the room. As soon as his feet reached the dorm frame, once again the alarm clock started ringing.

Puzzled by the sudden burst of energy, he immediately made his way over to the clock, this time firmly pressing the power button ensuring its silence. True he sometimes didnt fully press the snooze button in the morning, but he was certain he had a few seconds ago. But not that it mattered anyway, he had more important things to worry about. He once again set the clock down and started for the door, but as soon as he turned his back, it once again began to ring.

Frustration quickly grew in Alfred as he stomped back towards his nightstand to deal with the malfunctioning machine. He switched back on the lamp to give him a better view of the object. Once again, he pressed the off button, but this time the clock refused to obey. He pressed it harder and harder, until he finally grew impatient and quickly went to retrieve a screwdriver. True, the clock had a few years behind it, but never once had it acted this way. Once he found the tool, he made his way back over to the malfunctioning clock, carefully quickly removing each screw from the back.

He carefully removed the backing of the clock as to not damage the fragile plastic, and with a quick hand removed the pair of AA batteries. But to his absolute horror, the clock continued to ring. What the hell is wrong with it?

The ringing continued to blare throughout the room, until Alfred couldnt stand another second. Without hesitation, he slammed the clock onto the floor hoping to silence it forever, but what followed was anything but silence. The shattered glass of the face spread across the floor as the pitch of the alarm steadily began to rise. The frequency grew with each passing second, and the higher the sound went, the more deafening it became. It was a sound unfamiliar to Alfred, but he imagined it to be like one-hundred nails running across a chalkboard at the same time. He tried in vain to muffle the sound by any means he could think of, but the screech still reached his eardrums. The noise became a weapon that tortured one of the strongest of men known to this world. Unable to move from the sheer pain in his ears, the American could do nothing but crouch down low to the floor in hopes that the shitstorm would be over.