I'm coming off of my haitus for a one-shot because the people in the space gays discord named me the god of aftercare

so yea here have this while im supposed to be doing homework

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Alfred was crying.

He didn't know why, exactly. Everything had been good, and he was enjoying himself, just as he always did when they had sex. But something... something just pushed him over the edge. Something wasn't right.

"J-jupiter," he whispered, just loud enough for his partner to hear. Russia immediately stopped what he was doing and back off of him.

"What's wrong? Are you okay?" Worry covered his features. It was then that he noticed the tears tracking down Alfred's cheeks, and his eyes widened. America covered his mouth with a hand and looked away from him in embarassed shame.

"I- I'm sorry, I just- I don't- I-" he tried, but couldn't manage to get the words out. His voice stuck in his throat, and he had to cough to clear it again.

Russia gently drew his hand away from his mouth, and tilted his head so that he had to look at him. "Hey, hey, it's alright. It's okay, Fedya." He leaned down so that their foreheads touched, and Alfred let out a shaky breath.

They stayed like that until Alfred stopped crying. "I- I think I'm okay now," he said, after taking a few moments to just breath. "But I think I'm done for the night."

Ivan bit back a sigh. He's going to beat himself up after this again, he thought. He grabbed both of the American's hands softly and pulled him up and against his chest. "Come on, we're going to make sure you get taken care of, solishko." He helped him to his feet, steadying him if he needed. Ivan would have prefered to just carry him, but he knew from personal experience that that made him feel helpless, and making him feel like that right now was not a good idea.

So instead, they slowly but surely made their way to the bathroom. Ivan turned on the water, making sure it was at the perfect temperature for him (hotter than most people's, and definitely hot enough to steam, but not hot enough to burn you), then had him get in.

By the time the tub was full, it was almost overflowing with baby pink bubbles that smelled like strawberries, and Alfred laid in the water with his eyes closed and a pleasant smile on his face. America drew a hand out and beckoned to him, silently asking for his company. Ivan was happy to oblige, slipping into the water behind him. He started rubbing circles into his back, working out any knots in the muscle under the perfectly tanned skin.

"Better?" he asked quietly, hopefully.

"Better," Alfred replied, leaning back to lay against him, resting his head on the other's shoulder.

Their eyes met, and they both were reminded that, as long as it was between these two, everything would be okay.