Stalker!England X Reader- Always There

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Chapter Eleven

Living with Arthur Kirkland was not what (Y/N) had thought it would be like. After what Arthur liked to call their 'little disagreement', he had been treading on eggshells around her, trying to make her feel comfortable and at ease in her new environment as though she were a scared puppy in a new owner's home. It turns out, he had not been joking when he had stated that he would treat her like a queen- whatever she wanted (as long as it wasn't her freedom, of course) she would have it, and within minutes too. Arthur seemed to cherish the ground she walked on, and she wished it was enough to keep her happy, but it wasn't. She didn't want this. She didn't want him, but he had fooled himself into thinking that she was perfectly content, and that, (Y/N) knew, was dangerous. If she expressed otherwise, he could get violent again, and so she had tried fervently to placate him, allowing herself to fall into his embraces and snuggle with him on the sofa as he insisted on watching endless reruns of Doctor Who because she had once told him that it was one of her favourite shows. God, she regretted that now.

As she stood in the shower, hot water cascading down her body, she thought once more about Alfred and how he was holding up. Did he miss her? Was he looking for her right now? She desperately hoped that the answer to both of these questions was a certified yes, but she couldn't help but worry about her friend's mental state. She sighed as she rubbed shampoo into her hair, scrunching her eyes shut in order to avoid temporary bubble-induced blindness- she couldn't stop thinking about him. Alfred had always loved playing the hero and protecting her, and the fact that she had gone missing was probably crushing him.

As she showered, she did a lot of thinking. Her tired mind reasoned that Alfred's problem was the fact that he was way too trusting, and so the optimistic American would fail to find it suspicious that Arthur had avoided offering to help in the search for her, and he would assume that Arthur was hurting just as much as he was. Francis, on the other hand, was wary to the point of distrustful and she imagined that he suspected Arthur of having some involvement in her captivity. It was this glimpse of rationality in her foreign friend which allowed her to put her faith in Francis, and she exited the shower with a renewed sense of hope that she would have to put up with Arthur's loving ministrations for only a short while.

Sighing, she turned the stepped out of the shower, allowing the cool air to embrace her as her feet touched the cold bathroom tiles. Arthur should really get a bathroom mat in here, she thought to herself as she grabbed a fluffy white towel from the heated rack and began to dry herself off. Opening the window to let some air in, she wrapped the towel fully around her and used a small towel to dry her hair. She opened the bathroom door and stepped into Arthur's pristine bedroom, her teeth chattering slightly. Placing the towel on the bed, she grabbed her red underwear set which Arthur had bought her (she didn't even want to think about how he had managed to buy the perfect sizes) and put it on so that she was clad in just a bra and pants as she rummaged through Arthur's wardrobe for her pyjamas. His wardrobe's messier than Alfred's, jeez.

Slam! (Y/N) flinched at the sound of the front door closing: Arthur was back, and the slamming of the door meant one of two things- he was either in a really good mood (and so didn't care about shutting the door properly), or a really terrible one. She only hoped that it was the first option rather than the latter.

"(Y/N), love, where are you?" he cooed as he moved around the flat. He absolutely hated it when he came home and he couldn't see her right away. It made him panic that she had left him. She had tried, a few times, but she had never been able to make it outside and one time he had actually caught her. He didn't punish her, but the openly hurt look on his face made her never want to do it again. "(Y/N)?" Arthur repeated and her eyes widened when she saw the bedroom handle move. Diving across the room, she grabbed the towel off the bed and hastily wrapped it around herself. "Oh (Y/N) there you are, thank God." Arthur then stopped, his cheeks flushed a bright pink as he realised that his beloved was scantily clad. "Oh, uh, sorry love, I didn't realise you were busy."