Alfred tightened his grip on his younger sister's hand as the crowd jostled them around. It was the late summer, and the carnival had come to town, which prompted his mother to have him take his kid sister Madeline out for the day. One of the benefits of having a much older child was that that child could help care for the younger one, after all. Navigating through the group of strangers, Alfred wiped the sweat from his brow. Today was a bad day to wear his Marvel hoodie, but if he took it off he'd have to carry it, and he didn't want to do that.
"You want some ice cream or somethin', Maddie?" He asked once the crowd thinned, turning his head to look down at her. Madeline, who'd turned eight a month ago, shook her head as she looked up at her brother through big, round glasses.
"Not really..." She spoke in her always mellow voice. "You don't have to hold my hand, Alfred," She added, giving her hand a slight tug to try and get it back.
"You bet I do, Maddie, Mom'll kill me if I lose you." Alfred chuckled, continuing to walk as they past a few stands. Some stand sold food, while others advertised games. "Well," Alfred spoke again, checking out the stands. "If you're not gonna get ice cream, we can spend the money on games instead. See anything you wanna win?"
Madeline bit her lip, taking her time in looking over the prizes in the booths. She then pointed, and Alfred followed her gaze to a large stuffed polar bear in a Ring Toss booth.
"Alrighty, Madds, let's get over there and win ourselves a bear." Alfred nodded, grinning as he approached the red and white striped booth. The man running the game had his back turned when the others approached, polishing a bottle in his hands. He looked up when Alfred gave a hearty 'Hello!' and set the bottle down before turning to them.
He was in a white shirt with a red vest, and black slacks. He had a black bow-tie around his neck, and a straw boater on the top of his head. Alfred's cheeks flushed pink as he realized this man was also very, very cute.
"Ah, welcome!" The man smiled, leaning forward on his booth to look down at Madeline. He spoke with an accent, which made Alfred's cheeks darken further. "You think you can win?" He asked, Madeline nodding her head vigorously.
"Right, then, you get three rings. If you get one or two rings, you can pick one of the little prizes. Get all three and you can get one of the big prizes, okay?" He grinned, gesturing up to the giant plush toys, which included the polar bear.
"It's a dollar-fifty to throw the rings, okay?" The man continued, now looking over at Alfred. "So, you'll have to ask your dad if you can play."
Alfred's eyes widened, and he found his voice for the first time since he'd laid eyes on the man. He shook his head quickly, placing his hands on the booth.
"No, no, I'm not her dad, I'm her- Madeline's- brother, and, I'm twenty-one, so, no kids, ha, um, I'm Alfred!" He stammered, looking down with an embarrassed sigh. The man behind the stand rose a brow, a small smile coming to his lips as he gave a nod.
"Well, then, I'm sorry for the mistake. I thought you looked a bit young to be a parent. My name is Arthur." He greeted, reaching over and shaking Alfred's hand. He leaned on the counter, and Alfred stared at him until Madeline tugged on his sleeve.
"Oh! Right, dollar-fifty," he mumbled, reaching into his wallet and setting the money on the counter. Arthur took it and placed it in a metal box, then handed three colored rings off to Madeline. Madeline stood on her tiptoes, throwing the rings and missing every one of the bottles, causing her to give a small pout.
She gave a longing look towards the bear, and Alfred sighed, placing another dollar fifty onto the counter. "Here, I'll give it a try, 'kay Maddie?" He smiled, and she nodded, expression brightening as she hugged him.
Arthur handed over the rings, giving him a small, but genuine smile as he stepped back. "Very kind of you. Best of luck."
Madeline watched with wide, expectant eyes as Alfred tossed the rings, visibly disappointed when he missed quite spectacularly.
Alfred was about to turn away, but glanced at Arthur once more, and Arthur gave a small, apologetic smile. He took a deep breath, and then slammed another dollar-fifty on the booth, Arthur's eyes widening at the surprise and the sudden sound. He gathered up the colored rings, handing them to Alfred, and this time his gaze stayed on him for a while.
"So.." Arthur began, drumming his fingers on the booth as Alfred aimed a ring. "You live around here-?" He blinked and then rubbed his forehead. "I mean, shit, I know you don't live here, but, are you from this town or did you come for the carnival?"
Alfred threw a ring, and missed again, sighing as he answered. "Oh, uh, both I guess? I grew up here but I go to college in a different state. I'm just visiting." He cracked a smile, and aimed the other rings, missing the bottles once again.
Rubbing his neck, Alfred sighed. He debated leaving, but, if he left he wouldn't be able to talk to Arthur anymore. One look into those bright green eyes, and his mind was made up. He put some more money on the table, and Arthur rolled his eyes, but smiled as he brought him the rings.
The conversation continued between the two of them, Madeline leaning on the booth as she watched Alfred attempt to play. While the conversation was very clear, the game was a blur. Alfred vaguely remembered putting thirty dollars on the counter at some point, claiming it was all for Madeline.
It was growing late in the afternoon, and Madeline tugged on his sleeve. "Alfred," She began. "I don't want the toy that bad.. you don't have to try so hard to win it, it's okay.."
Curse her. And her stupidly kind heart. She was the only excuse he had, and if she didn't care about the toy then he had no reason to stay. He turned to Arthur, and excused himself from the conversation for a moment as he led Madeline off to the side. He knelt down, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Maddie, um, don't you want the bear? It's okay, I can keep trying-"
"You're not trying to get the bear." Madeline crossed her arms. She really was too observant for her own good.
"I..yeah. You're right. I'm not. But can we stay a little longer? Please?" Alfred begged, feeling a bit silly that he was pleading to an eight-year-old.
Madeline narrowed her eyes, looking up at Arthur and giving a slow but sure nod. "...Okay. He's nice."
Alfred beamed, and ruffled her hair before putting a twenty down on the stand.
The late afternoon turned to the early evening, and stands were beginning to close up. Alfred could get one or two rings pretty easily now, but he had yet to get all three. Madeline yawned, and Arthur looked up at Alfred. "You're either a very good brother, or you hate losing." He chuckled, removing the straw boater from his head.
"Look, Al, it's been great getting to know you, and I truly have enjoyed talking to you. Quite a bit, actually. But I've gotta close up. One more try, okay?" He gave a polite smile, and Alfred nodded.
"I..yeah. Sorry, I didn't realize it was getting so late." Alfred cracked an apologetic smile, cheeks pinking. He placed one last dollar-fifty on the counter, collecting the colored rings. He picked the first one up, and tossed it, hooking it onto one of the closer bottles.
He took a deep breath, letting go of the second one and landing it over another bottle. He pumped his fist in the air victoriously, and beamed at Arthur before tossing the last ring.
To be fair, it almost made it. The ring bonked against the side of a bottle, and then dropped rather unceremoniously onto the floor. Alfred's excited expression faded to one of dismay.
"Oh. Well, I..guess that's that. I'll...I guess I won't see you around, Art. Thanks for putting up with us all day." He picked up a drowsy Madeline, and started to head off before feeling a hand on his arm.
Arthur had taken the polar bear down from it's hook, and handed it out. "Alfred, um..really I can't not give this to you. Look, you spent so much money and time- take it, okay? For Madeline."
Alfred hooked the bear under his arm, smiling at him and nodding. "Thanks, Arthur. She'll love it. She'll like..talk about you forever." He laughed, and Arthur nodded with a warm expression.
"Oh, and Alfred?" Arthur spoke again as Alfred started to turn away. He held out a slip of paper with a phone number written on it. "This...this is your prize." He mumbled, and Alfred took it.
Alfred scanned it over, eyes widening before his face broke into a wide grin and he gave a whoop of excitement. He looked at Arthur kissing his cheek quickly.
He ran off as the carnival closed for the night, leaving a blushing Arthur behind.
Best hundred and fifty bucks he'd ever spent.