The kiss prompt is 50: A kiss, followed by more that trail down the jaw and neck.

Warnings: none

Being in love with your best friend's older brother was horrible for you.

Alfred and you had been best friends since forever.

And it literally meant forever for you, Alfred and you had been born at the same time in the same hospital.

Once your mothers had realized that they had befriended each other, and Alfred and you had grown up together, since you didn't live too far from each other.

It was wonderful to have your best friend so close, but having his five years older brother around made your life difficult.

Aethelred was kind, gentle and strong, and much too good looking for your taste.

You had always admired him, but that one day changed when you realized that you were, and had always been, head over heels in love with him.

You hated the situation you were in, especially since you loved Alfred far too much to lose him over your romantic feelings for his brother.

What helped you though was that Aethelred didn't seem to return your feelings, or at least that he did a decent job at hiding them if there were any, and that he indeed was five years older, which made him out of reach for you.

You kept away from him as much as possible, and once he went away for university you felt miserable because of it.

You didn't want to be the little girl fawning over her best friend's brother, but you just couldn't help it.

When you finally graduated and went to university you felt much better, because while it had hurt that you couldn't see Aethelred the distance had helped you bury your feelings a little, and because in university an age gap of five years didn't matter as much as if you were still in school.

Alfred went to the same university Aethelred did, and you tagged along, though it was a financial struggle for you.

You parents certainly weren't as rich as theirs, and neither did you ask for money nor did Judith ever offer you any.

You were left to work for your tuition, while Alfred constantly suggested to pay it for you, but you wouldn't accept that.

What his family did come up for was the apartment you two shared, and you were grateful for it, though it stung that you were at their mercy.

The first time you saw Aethelred after shortly over a year was the first day you moved in, since he welcomed his brother and you at the apartment.

You had grown up quite a bit, had lost some weight and gained some muscle, and you had changed your wardrobe into a more mature and fitting one.

When you first saw Aethelred you averted your eyes, or you would have stared.

His shoulders had become broad and he had had a haircut, his usually longer hair now cut, making him seem older as well.

You loved the way he looked, but you wouldn't tell.

After Aethelred gave his brother a long and strong hug he moved on to look at you.

He seemed to do a double take, his eyes raking over your body before looking away quickly.

"Hey", he greeted as he shot you another look, never looking at you for longer than a few seconds and you watched as he opened his mouth slightly to wet his lips.

He looked back at his brother before he took a box to take it into the apartment.

Once Aethelred was gone Alfred looked at you quizzically, but after you gave him a look that said 'what?!' he shook his head and bent down to bring a box inside.

Aethelred visited you often, he sometimes even had dinner with you and stayed on the couch overnight, and you could see how much the brothers had missed each other.

It was rather sweet, seeing them interact with each other, and you loved the older boy's presence.

One night when he was staying over you were too thirsty to stay in bed, so you moved your blanket aside to walk to the kitchen to get a glass of refreshing water.

You did so, and you had entirely forgotten about Aethelred's presence until you tiptoed past the couch, glass in hand, and you heard a voice breathe out your name, making you jump, spilling a little water over your hand and the floor, and nearly letting the glass of water drop altogether.

You looked to the couch through the dim light, seeing Aethelred sitting up and looking at you.

The lights of the street gave your livingroom a small glowing light, so you could see Aethelred sitting up.

You heard a chuckle when he saw your reaction.

"Don't wake Alfred", he said softly and you nodded.

"Come here", he suggested and you moved towards him slowly, as not to spill more water.

You put your glass on the table in front of the couch and you saw Aethelred pulling his legs into a sitting position, motioning for you to sit down beside him.

You did so hesitantly.

You were only wearing a tank top, no bra, and a matching short, and he was wearing only his underwear, as he usually did whenever he stayed over.

You didn't dare look at him, because you knew that if you would you'd be staring.

"You've grown up", he said softly, always keeping his voice low so he wouldn't wake his brother.

You glanced at him in irritation, but you saw in his dimly lit face that he meant it kindly.

"So have you, so has Alfie", you answered, and he chuckled.

"Yes, but Alfred is my brother. You... are neither male, nor related", he laughed slightly and you did too.

You felt your heart speed up when he said so, and you clasped your hands as to not make him see that you were nervous.

"You're beautiful", you heard him say and you nearly fainted.

It was the first time the two of you had an actual conversation, and it was the first time he talked about seeing you as anything but a child, and his brother's best friend.

Your eyelids fluttered at his compliment and you blushed, not knowing what to do.

"I... thank you, you've always been", you stuttered, and you could have punched yourself for being so stupid and answering with that.

Aethelred chuckled and answered you, and you could hear the smile he had on his face in the way he spoke.

"Thank you", he answered you softly.

After that it was silent for a little while.

You were too intimidated to say anything, and you knew he didn't know what to say.

"I've never actually seen you until recently, you know...", he began and you dreaded what he was going to say.

You wanted him so desperately, but you knew it wouldn't be good for either of you in the future.

Nor for Alfred.

"You've grown and I... I don't like what I'm saying but I'm really attracted to you", he said and his voice became softer at the end.

You were quiet, because you were too shocked to respond.

"I know you're my brother's best friend, and he sees you as a sister, but I don't. I can't", he said and you turned your face to look at him.

He was so beautiful, and you couldn't stop staring at him.

He felt your eyes on him and moved to face you, watching you as you watched him.

You could see it in his eyes, that he knew you felt the same.

Maybe he had always known it.

Your eyes went to his lips as you realized that he had recognized you now, that you were grownup just like him, and that meant you were able to look at him in the way you had always wanted now.

You could feel his eyes settling on your lips once he had realized you were staring at his, making you feel the need to wet your lips, which you did.

You could feel your breath quicken and you could hear his doing the same, but he just sat there looking at you.

After a few seconds you realized that he wouldn't act on his feelings, and you knew you shouldn't either.

You loved Alfred too much to risk ruining your bond with him by being friendly with his brother, but you couldn't hold in what you had held in for years already any longer.

You moved quickly, connecting your lips with his inexpertly, your whole upper body moving forward to reach him, setting your hand beside his boxer-clad thigh, which was still covered with the blanket he had used to sleep.

Aethelred reacted quickly, setting his hands to the sides of your ribcage and holding you close, his lips opening to envelop yours.

By the way he was kissing and holding you you immediately knew that he was far more experienced than you were, and that sent a pang of jealousy through your body.

After a while of kissing like this your body ached because of the uncomfortable position you were in, and your body made the decision to move for you.

You felt yourself settling onto his lap without breaking the contact between your lips.

Your innocent locking of lips transformed into a messy exchange of breath, exploring the other's mouth as you felt Aethelred's hands slip from their place on your ribcage down to your hips, gripping them and pulling you flushed against him.

You could feel Aethelred's thumbs tracing over the fabric of your top and you moved your hands to his hair, pulling at it gently.

You didn't have all too much experience with kissing, but you were certain that Aethelred was the best you'd ever had.

After a while of kissing you stopped, pulling away from each other and breathing heavily.

You were still sat in his lap, and you moved one of your hands to his face, gently letting your thumb trace over his cheek in silence.

Your lips were hot, tingling and swollen and his breath put a soothing cold to them.

Aethelred chuckled after a while.

"That was... the best kiss I ever had", he told you, whispering it to you as he moved in to lean his forehead against yours to enjoy your closeness.

"But God, we're screwed", he chuckled and you immediately knew what he meant.

Alfred.

Over the next few weeks you and Aethelred went behind Alfred's back to be together whenever you had the chance, and though everything would eventually come out and fall into place you just hoped that it would last for a while longer.

You didn't talk about what exactly the relationship between the two of you was, but you didn't mind.

All you needed to know was that you trusted Aethelred.

One evening Alfred went to bed early because he wasn't feeling well, leaving the two of you alone to clean up after dinner.

After making sure Alfred was alright you moved to clear the table, but Aethelred grabbed your wrist to turn you around, silencing you with a grin as he moved closer, lifting you to sit on the table and kissing you softly.

You loved the way Aethelred kissed you, his lips moving against yours as if to cherish you, and his hands always gently grazing your sides.

You giggled softly once Aethelred found the ticklish spot on your waist and he chuckled, pulling away from you to shush you and to put a finger over your lips to keep you quiet.

The corner of his lip lifted into a smirk as he moved in closer, pecking your lips softly.

Aethelred kept placing soft small kisses down your cheek to your neck and once he reached your sweet spot your back automatically arched against him.

You let out a low moan and you heard and felt Aethelred chuckle against your neck, but just when you were about to close your eyes you saw Alfred standing in the doorway to his room.

You felt a cold chill run down your spine and you pushed Aethelred off of you as quickly as possible.

Your heart was beating like you had been running a marathon as you stared at your best friend in shock.

Alfred stared back at the both of you, and you weren't sure what he was feeling, he didn't show any emotion.

You felt Aethelred's hand grab yours gently and you wrapped your hand around his.

Alfred's eyes followed the movement of your hands and he nodded once.

"How long?", he asked you and he looked so sickly that all you wanted to do was hug him, but you knew that was the last thing he'd probably want.

"A few weeks", you heard Aethelred answer for you and you nearly felt tears come up as you saw realization striking Alfred.

Alfred's eyes moved from your hand to your face, and you couldn't maintain eye contact.

You gently slid from your position on the table to stand next to Aethelred.

After that you looked back up at Alfred, trying to show him with your eyes how sorry you were.

His eyes had softened, and you knew he couldn't stay angry at you for long.

"I'm sorry", you said softly, but Alfred made a gesture with his hand to shush you.

That still didn't get you to shut up though.

"I'm really sorry, Alfie... but I...", you began but he interrupted you gracefully.

"You love him", he finished your sentence and you closed your mouth at the shock of hearing it.

You wouldn't have said it, but you knew he was right.

"Always have", he continued.

"I know, I've seen it", he said to you and you weren't sure if he was happy or angry about it.

"But I never thought my brother would reciprocate your feelings", he told you and your breath caught in your throat.

Alfred knew Aethelred better than you and for a short second your mind raced thinking that he'd tell you that Aethelred would never love you.

"The way you are with her is good, brother", he said softly and looked at Aethelred, which made you frown.

He wasn't going to be angry?

"Don't think I'm not cross with you for trying to keep it from me, but I'm alright with you two being together. I thought about it, of course, and I came to the decision that the both of you could be worse off", you saw Alfred smile slightly and Aethelred chuckled, leaning closer to you.

Alfred moved into the kitchen to get a glass of water, but once he was on your level he put the glass down to pull you into a hug.

It was a tight hug, almost too tight to breathe, but it was what you needed.

"I love you", Alfred whispered to you and you smiled at that, nodding.

You loved him too, with everything you had, but you loved his brother too, just very differently.

When Alfred closed the door to his room behind him you turned to look at Aethelred, who had the greatest smile of admiration and happiness on his face.

"Please be my girlfriend?", he asked you, and you obviously said yes.