Chapter 16

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Alfred's POV

I start laughing as hard as my lungs will allow me, watching Arthur wiggle his large, frosting covered eyebrows at me. We may or may not have gotten into a small fight of wiping various ingredients on each other.

"Okay, getting back on track," I state, pulling the cupcakes out of the oven with mits covering my hands. "Let's see how these puppies turned out."

They slide out of the oven, a beautiful golden brown color. "They look fantastic," Arthur compliments, making me grin.

"Thanks, babe," I return, causing him to blush. You'd think that after having sex he'd be a little less shy, but nothing much has changed. I love it, too. It's the cutest thing I've ever seen.

I set them on top of the stove, checking the time as I sigh. Arthur said he wanted to leave around this time, but we haven't even frosted the cupcakes yet. We won't be able to for another twenty mintues, too. They have to cool down.

"We should head out," Arthur murmurs, following my gaze to the clock as he wipes off the last bit of frosting left on his face. 

I nod, sighing. I wanted this happiness to last for as long as possible. I don't want to think about the arson, but I guess that's inevitable. We can't run away from our problems. "Yeah, let's just grab our coats and stuff. Peter and Eric can decorate the cupcakes if they want to."

Arthur chuckles. "It'll keep them from having sex on the damn couch."

I laugh at that, ruffling his hair gently. He smiles shyly at me, making my heart flutter. Damn this guy. He never fails to make me feel like I'm still a teenager, young and in love.

After letting Peter and his lover, who are making out on the couch, know that they are allowed to decorate the cupcakes, Arthur and I head out, driving to the police station through the thick wonderland of snow. It flies up around us as the car eases down the road. Thankfully, the police station is not very far from his house.

"Bloody hell! It's so cold!" 

I laugh, wrapping an arm around the Brit's shoulders. "That's the understatement of the year," I tease, chuckling at the slap in the chest the comment results in. 

Shivering, we enter the station as fast as we can, quickly closing the door behind us to seal out the bitter wind. It's cold and windy outside, not the best combination.

Greeting the officer at the desk, I let Arthur do the talking, which leads us back to the desks of the detectives handling the case. The lead detective, a kind brunette woman that leads us to her desk, setting out chairs for the two of us.

The man who looks to be her partner sits on the edge of a desk nearby, watching us carefully. He seems to be the type that doesn't trust anyone, and it's almost putting me on edge.

"I'm sorry to have to tell you this, Mr. Kirkland, but we discovered that the fire was started intentionally," the woman says, sitting across from the two of us with a grim look on her face. She looks to me. "I'm sorry. I don't believe we've been introduced. I'm Anne, the lead detective on this case."

I shake her hand firmly, smiling gratefully. "I'm Alfred Jones," I state, glancing to Arthur. "I'm his boyfriend." 

Arthur clasps my hand in his directly afterwards, stressfully leaning against me. "Can you tell me what you've found out?" he asks, nibbling his lower lip adorably.

On impulse, I kiss the top of his head, swallowing thickly as the face of the woman's face falls slightly. "We've discovered that the source of the fire was caused by gasoline and matches. I don't think whoever wanted to start this fire wanted it to spread as far as it did. But, the flames caught onto the place and started to burn it. The building was old and made of wood, so it burned easily."

Arthur nods. "So for the most part, it was an accident," he repeats, and the man on the desk to our right nods, catching our attention.

"That's what we're thinking. The evidence suggests that it was some sort of prank that went wrong, but there could always be the chance that they knew what they were doing, whoever it was."

Arthur breathes out shakily, and I hold him tighter in response. "So do you have any idea who could have done this?" he asks, and the woman shakes her head.

"We were actually hoping that you could tell us. Is there anyone that has a problem with the auditorium or the classes held there?"

I glance at Arthur, feeling my heart sink. He clutches at my hand as I sigh. I don't want to think it could be any of them. Sniffing and refusing to let tears fall out of pride. "My students recently got in trouble for some vandalism. They've had to take music class instead of their regular football and cheerleading practice, but they're good kids. They wouldn't do anything like this."

"We'll take that into consideration," she says softly, glancing to her partner. "What about rivals? We all know high shcool rivalries can get pretty out of hand."

I swallow. "They were disqualified from any competitions, so the rival school could easily have wanted to have the games and competition to sort out those games, the ones that are really big events in the school year."

I've started rambling, and I know it. I can't bring myself to stop until Arthur wraps his thin arms around me and brings my head to his shoulder. I feel so conflicted about this. If it were one of my students, they could have easily killed Arthur, but at the same time, they're my students. They're the children I never had.

"It's alright, love," Arthur whispers, bringing me back to the real world. I sniffle, trying to seem like I wasn't just balling my eyes out onto the shoulder of my lover in front of two very awkward looking detectives.

Arthur gives them an apologetic look before kissing my forehead and rubbing my back. I thought he'd be the one to cry, but I didn't think my students would be brought into this.

"I'm sorry," I say, wiping at my eyes and sniffling pathetically. "I'm a mess," I add, laughing bitterly at myself. Arthur does his best to comfort be, rubbing my back and squeezing my hand lovingly. I'm so lucky to have him.

Anne, the woman cop sighs, glancing at her partner. "We'll contact you if these leads turn up any new evidence," she tells us, standing up.

Arthur and I take that as our cue to leave, standing up as well. "Thank you," my lover says, shaking her hand and turning to me.

Feeling too awkward, I give her a curt nod before clasping Arthur's hand in my own and leading him out the door, towards the exit.

"Who do you think did this?" the blonde asks me, nibbling his lip in worry.

Sighing as we rush out to the car and hop in, savoring the warmth the heater provides as the car turns on, I give him a serious look.

"I'm not sure, Arthur. I'm not sure."

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Heylo, my lovely little nuggets! I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter! Don't forget to leave any comments or suggestions if you have them.  They always make my day :) Anyway, I'll see y'all nuggety readers in the next update! Until then, have an absolutely fantastic and fabulous day! Bai!!! >:3 

-IggyScones

P.S. I think I have a problem, because I already have more USUK stories planned and the chapters done (but not uploaded). The ideas come faster than I can write all of the plots down. I need help, like, psychological help. I'll show up to a meeting and be all "Hi, I'm Lizzie, and I'm addicted to writing yaoi" ;-;

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