~Chapter 1: A Git from above~


"Sun! Sun! Sun! That's what you'll be seeing all through out the day! So put away those umbrellas and rain boots, because the week of non stop rain has finally come to an end!"

Smashing. Arthur flicked his car radio off and scowled at the sun light that shown through his sunroof. Leaning back in his seat, he closed his emerald eyes to concentrate on how the unfortunate areal weather news report was going to effect his plans that he had been arranging for quite some time, and preciously on this day.

Troublesome. Truly a troublesome turn of events. For days Arthur had kept track of the weather and planned his schedule preciously dependent on the forecast. Sunday, which was today, called for non-stop steady rain showers. With that being the prediction, Arthur had exercised that as his opportunity to scavenge the trails in search of finding the perfect location to take photos.

Arthur was a photographer who took photos for either magazine submissions or just for the pure joy of catching something remarkable from behind his lens. Then wasting no time in having them printed and hung around his loft for reminders of his personal accomplishments to himself and the few he invited over.

Sighing in disappointment, he opened his door and stepped out into the gaudy light of the American sun. He swore that the sun back at home in England was much kinder in the sky. Not as harsh on his delicate skin and sensitive eyes.

He strolled to the back of his red mini cooper and elevated the trunk, revealing his camera equipment. Next to it was an umbrella and protective gear to secure the equipment from any water damage. The supplies were always kept in his car for the reason that he almost always took nature shots while it were raining or during day break when the earth was still fresh of dew.

The trunks lid casted shade upon him from the intense sun as he put together his camera and slinging the strap over his neck when complete. Looking back at his Union Jack umbrella that sadly wouldn't be needed, he remembered what shoes he had on. Glossy red rain boots. With no other shoes to change into, it appeared he would have to hike the land in un-necessary attire.

Grunting while yanking the trunk handle back down, he slammed it shut before pushing a button on his key and waited till he heard the mini chirp in alert that it had been locked. With his camera ready around his neck, car securely locked, and sun blazing down upon him, Arthur Kirkland was ready for his photo shoot.

~.~

Damn the sun and all its vexatious glory. Arthur squinted his eyes against the rays of light that would peek through the trees limbs and catch him off guard by shining light in his face. Cursing when his eyes would have to readjust to his surroundings, causing them pain and no instant relief afterwards like most people.

'The suns rays are a gift from above to give us warmth!' Is what the any other person would think, but Arthur Kirkland was not just any other person. He liked to think of himself just a tad higher than the common folk but lower than his beloved Queen. After all, nobody was above the Queen. He didn't see the graceful streams of light that casted from the heavens. The only thing the Englishman saw was a stream of leaking radiation that would slowly kill them all. Time doesn't kill people, radiation does.

His red boots would every so often crunch against twigs or fallen leafs despite his best efforts to keep from doing so. The noises disturbed the forests slumber like state and made any near by animals scurry off in fear of the un-known. Unfortunately, those animals in their natural undisturbed habitats were the principle for his photo shoot. His real intentions were to capture the animals in their avoiding the forest shower affectation, but when did things ever go exactly his way? The weather was definitely now on his list as one of them.

Arthur stopped on the natural dirt trail and ran his pale fingers through his scruffy sandy colored hair in his own misfortune. The day went by with no animal sightings or anything truly worthy of his film. Thinking about retiring early for the day, Arthur slung his camera across his back and made his way back to his car in a walk of abashment. What a disappointment the day turned out to be. The only thing keeping his spirits high were the thoughts of rain following over the land in the days to come. Seeing the earth in its greenest appearance as the rain continued to pour into its roots.

Maybe on his drive home, he could stop by his favorite bookstore and pick up something new to entertain himself while not working. He's been reading Pride and Prejudice over and over again to the point where if he were to go to the theater and someone on stage had some dramatic fall off; he would leap onto stage and fill in for the poor lad or lass. But he paled at the thought of a large audience gazing at him under a spot light. Being in the spotlight is and forever will be, the thing in life Arthur despised the most. Having all eyes on you like you are some sort of monkey act that the crowd expects the best performance from. Or what? No flowers after the curtain fall?

Crunch, crunch.

Sure, it would be a disappointment to have no one waiting on to congratulate you after your hard work had finally paid off, but who needs a pat on the back when you have two arms to do it yourself? He instantly scolded that idea from his mind.

Crunch, crunch.

Arthur continued his walk with his eyes on the path before him, nothing entirely interesting. Just lost in thought he seemed. Spoiling yourself in your own achievements seemed much more rewarding.

Crunch, crunch.

Snap.

Plus, who needs a person's approval of your life efforts anyhow?

Rustle, rustle, crunch.

Doing what you thoroughly enjoy for a living should be the biggest reward than any amount of pay!

CRACKLE, CRACKLE.

Arthur halted his hike and frowned in annoyance as he continued to listen. "I say, what is this noise all about!?" he darted his eyes around for an explanation. Finding nothing out of the ordinary, he continued onward with his green eyes scanning around, as he made sure to stay alert. What if it had been a bear? A picture of the beast would be a splendid submission. Arthur focused more on the outlook of the picture than the fact that he might be mauled to death by the very animal.

CRUNCH. SNAP!

He stopped all together and stomped his boot into the ground in frustration. "Is there an animal being mauled to death or something!? What the hell is going-"

Then out of seemingly nowhere, a man fell from one of the trees above and landed directly in front of the Englishman with a loud thud. He shrieked in terror at the astonishment as he leaped back instantly just in time from being crumbled.

Arthur took several steps back to give himself and the intruder more space in fear that the man may suddenly leap up and attack. The stranger was in a blasted tree! He could he delusional for all he knew, or some run away patient at an asylum.

"Ah, ouch, fuck, shit." The stranger groaned sorely, rolling over to his side to clutch his right arm. It appeared to Arthur that he was in intense pain. "That," the man gasped, "wasn't supposed to happen."

Arthur sputtered and looked around as if a group of friends of the mans would come running out from behind the trees with video cameras yelling, "That was awesome dude! Can you do it again?"

"Um, pardon me." Arthur awkwardly spoke up, making himself acknowledgeable to the other. The man was in Arthur's way. "Do you mind moving over just a tad? I need to get going." The man froze when he heard an others voice, obviously surprised that he was not alone. Slowly he rolled himself over so he could face his occupier.

"Are you fucking kiddin me?" the man snorted, staring at Arthur's red rain boots before trailing his eyes up to his face. His eyes softened for a spilt second before pain coated them over.

Arthur opened his mouth to reply back to the rude comment but found himself speechless. All he could do was stare at the familiar man on the ground before him. He was very familiar in fact for some off reason. Though covered in dirt, Arthur could make out the man's golden blond hair. His eyes were glazed over pain but that didn't take away the beauty from them.

So blue. More beautiful than any feather that sprouted from a blue jay.

The man waited for a response but was met with nothing but a glare. No point in wallowing on the earth's floor, the hurt man steadily raised him self and winced with all his slow movements. His back cracked loudly when he fully stood before hunching over slightly and grabbing it like an old man would.

Birds chirped from their perch, bugs whistled in song, and bones were being popped, and all Arthur could do was stand and listen. I suppose you could say the recent event startled the young gentleman in a state of shell shock or just belief.

Seeing the strangers face at eye level, well mostly eye to eye, the man was slightly taller than he were. Arthur realized the man to be about younger than him. Maybe around the age of 19 or so.

"I'm up now. No longer in your way so you can leave if ya like." He said unsure why Arthur was still gaping at him. But then it hit the younger and he groaned in annoyance. "Ok I get what's going on. You can't believe your eyes, is that it? You're now star struck and don't want this moment to end huh?"

Star struck? What was this bloke going on about now? Finally Arthur seemed to find his voice and raised one of his large eyebrows at the boy. "What 'moment' exactly are you talking about?"

The younger one just laughed while shaking his blond head. "Dude it's alright, I get it. It's not every day a fan gets to meet me, Alfred F Jones." He fluttered his hands around as he said so.

Alfred F Jones. That name did ring some little bell in the back of Arthur's head. But he still felt in the dark on what 'Alfred' was going on about. Still, Arthur had better things to do than stand in the middle of the woods and talk to some lad who had just nearly fallen to his death. He glanced at his watch and sulked at the time. It was getting late and it was a Sunday. Stores closed early on Sundays and he needed to make it in time to that bookstore before it shuts its doors till morning.

Arthur put on a fake smile and did a little nod of the head before making his way past the younger. "As much as a pleasure it was to meet you Alfred, I have other plans I am in need to attend to with my time. Farewell." With a wave goodbye, Arthur walked away and left the boy standing there in complete silence, but that just can be assumed from the pain he seemed to be in.

Alfred listened to the Englishman talk but couldn't believe what he was hearing. It was definitely not was he was used to or what he had expected. The more he thought of it, the more embarrassed he started to feel about it. He stood and watched as the older man just calmly said his farewells and left him where he stood (and fell) in the dirt. Surely the man was just putting on an act about the situation. I mean he's Alfred F Jones for crying out loud!

"Hey! Wait up for a sec!?" Alfred called out as he limped awkwardly down the trial to catch up. Arthur wasn't paying the boy any mind and honestly didn't intend to till he felt his shoulder being grabbed roughly. Instinctively, Arthur spun around and clamped his fist down in a hard whack against the others arm.

Alfred hollered out a spill of curses and whimpers as he cradled his arm in pain. "What the hell man!" he shouted, rocking his arm back and forth as one would a child.

He assaults me and yells like it's MY fault for his hurt arm!? He fell from a bloody tree for Gods sake!

"Why are you following me? P-Please try to resist on touching me!" Arthur scolded the younger.

Alfred looked into those lively green eyes and found them fiercely boring right into him. Judging him with the same colors of the lax wild life that surrounded them. He immediately looked off somewhere to his right feeling slightly embarrassed. "Sorry about that. It's just you left and didn't even ask something from me. Suppose I just thought that maybe you-"

"Yes?" Arthur raised an eyebrow.

"Wanted an autograph or something ya know? Though most people want pictures of me with em…"

Somewhere in the distance a bird started to sing its song and waited for reply but received none. It tried again and was met again with the silent voice of the unknown. And at that moment, Alfred felt he knew how the little bird felt. He was that pretty little bird who called out and received zero attention.

Arthur didn't know whether to laugh out loud at Alfred or not because what he'd said was rather amusing. But the look on the boys face said that he was being quite serious. Who was this lad honestly?

"You thought I would want your autograph?"

The bird sang again. Still nothing.

This was honestly a waste of Arthur's time. He should have left some time ago but yet he was still wondering around in the woods with no purpose and a camera full of film. So why was he still here? Ah, yes it was because of this dirt covered blond lad. The amount of time he spent with the younger was wasteful yet compelling. Usually he would ignore any type of conversation that a stranger would spark up with him but here he was. Listening to a boy who had fallen from a tree and insisting to hand out his autograph as if he were some celebrity.

Glancing at his watch, the Englishman frowned in distaste. "Sorry to cut this short lad, but I have absolutely no clue what you're going on about. Pictures and autographs won't be necessary. Good day." With that Arthur turned and continued his way back to his mini cooper that patiently waited for him in the dirt parking lot. The thought of air conditioning sounded brilliant to him and made him pick up his pace. Maybe he would make it to the book store-

"Wait!"

Bugger…

Alfred ran up to the brit and walked beside him but had to speed up as the other picked up their pace. He had no problem since his legs were longer. "Do you mind if I walk with you back? I kinda don't know my way out of here."

Arthur thought about that and then asked, "Is that why you were in that tree?"

Alfred cracked a smile and nodded. "Yeah. I was tryin to get a hawk eyes view of the area to find my way out."

"How did that work out for you?" Arthur couldn't resist but to smile at his own antic.

"Real funny dude." The American scuffed, rolling his eyes. "You're lucky I didn't land on you!"

"Indeed…" He agreed glancing his eyes at the Americans body. He was quite tall and had a sturdy build. Surely the boy had to work out to get a body like that. A small part in Arthur made him a bit jealous.

They continued to walk in an awkward silence. Neither knowing quite what to say to the other. Occasionally their hands would skim each other's by accident causing them to swiftly yank their hands away.

Just as Arthur was beginning to enjoy the peaceful silence from the other, Alfred decided to ruin the moment by asking a question. "So… What are doin out here anyways? On a date or something?"

Arthur blushed as he kept his gaze straight ahead. His car almost being in visible view. Thank God.

"Do you see me with anyone?" he snapped for some reason causing Alfred to close his mouth and look down, sliding his hands into his pockets. Blasted. The Brit sighed before clearing his throat. He didn't mean to snap at the boy. What had come over him?

"I'm a photographer." He slung the camera from over his back to hold in his hands. Alfred watched and stared at the camera as if interested in the device. "Came out in hope of getting some decent pictures of the wildlife."

"And did you?"

No. Thanks to the overly paid weatherman and his tales of lies. "Sadly no."

"That's too bad. What do you take photos of? And who for?"

Why does he even care?

"Mostly scenery but I sometimes take shots of the animals if I happen to come across them or if my publishers request it. I take photos for my own interest and nature magazines. Nothing high paying, but I find it satisfying enough."

Alfred nodded as Arthur spoke as if he found Arthur did fascinating. As Alfred listened, he couldn't help but finding his eyes wondering to the Englishman's pale pink lips as he spoke. And the way his green eyes would gaze ahead as if he were off somewhere taking that one meaningful shot that every photographer strived to capture at least once in their career.

"And you?"

"Hm?"

Arthur rolled his eyes. "What are you doing out here?"

"I don't know. I guess I like how peaceful it is here. It's nice to get away from the world and get lost every once in a while. And I mean that literally. Getting lost in the woods is awesome! But not after dark, then it just gets freakin creppy as hell."

Getting away from the world? Arthur wouldn't have taken the American as the type to want to get away from society. He seemed like the sort that lived life to its peak and took chances, partied hard, and, Arthur wondered his eyes over the youngers body once more, worked out. The boy didn't add up and made Arthur interested in his life outside these woods.

The next thing Arthur said surprised him and Alfred both. "What exactly is your occupation that you are trying to get away from?"

To Arthur's surprise, Alfred let out a booming laugh and ran his fingers threw his silky blond hair. Not that Arthur thought it looked silky or anything.

"You don't watch much TV, do you?"

"I-uh suppose I don't. Does it relate to what I was asking?" Once Arthur thought about it, he really didn't watch the telly at all. Books could tell a story better than any over paid actor and their poor acting skills.

"Yup! But since you don't know, I won't tell you." Alfred winked and Arthur glowered at him through his rising blush.

"Why not? I told you of my profession. It only seems fair."

"Yeah I know but I like that you don't know. If you did then my entire adventure into the woods would have a huge waste of time."

Arthur scuffed at him mentioning time. If only he had more of it to spare.

Arthur didn't even realize it but they were both only a few feet from his car. He stopped and gazed at the driver's side. Why was he just staring? Why doesn't he just say his goodbyes to Alfred and leave already like he had planned?

"I take it this is your car huh?" the American chuckled and kicked one of the back tires with his shoe faintly. "It fits you somehow."

He looked at his mini cooper then back to Alfred's grinning face. "What is that supposed to mean? Are you referring that we are both minor?"

"I was going to say British but that's one also!" Alfred snickered when the other furrowed his eyebrows looking away. Damn, he set himself up for that one.

They both stood there again in that obstinate silence. This time Alfred was the one looking away as Arthur watched the younger man. He looked as though hard in thought and that something was troubling him deeply. Had he done something wrong? Wasn't the lad just smiling and laughing at him only a moment ago?

The shorter man began to dread and scattered through things in his head for an answer to his current problematic. Replying their conversations over only to find nothing out of sort.

"Um hey,"

Arthur noticed that Alfred was staring at him with those blue eyes shining with determination.

"What is your name?" The question threw Arthur off before he remembered that he never introduced himself to the American. How dare he call himself a gentleman.

"Arthur Kirkland. Why?"

Alfred smiled and walked up to Arthur before stopping but only a foot from the Englishman. He then stuck out his hand for the other man to take hold of. Arthur curiously watched as he put his own hand into the others larger and tougher one.

"Nice you meet you Arthur. I'm Alfred F. Jones but you can just call me Al or Alfred."

Oh, how kind.

Arthur sympathetically smiled and shook the others hand in return. The feeling of his smaller hand in the others rough one was odd but nice at the same time. Reassuring.

"Do you have a phone by any chance Arthur?"

Of course I have a phone? Why on earth would the lad think I didn't?

Without really thinking much of what he was doing, Arthur pulled his hand away and went searching into his trousers pocket before presenting his iPhone to Alfred.

"Nice phone." Alfred took the phone from him and ignored the protest he got in return.

"W-what are you doing?" He watched as Alfred positioned the phone in front of face as he smiled that cheeky smile he seemed to always do before a flash went off and a snapping sound.

Did he just take a picture of himself with my phone?

He continued to watch as the younger blond went typing away, grinning to himself as he did so. Arthur had an idea of what he was doing but he dared not to think about it in case of getting his hopes up.

"There!" Alfred beamed handing the brit his phone back who just stared at it in question.

"What did you do to it?" he requested holding the phone as if it where about to shatter in his palm.

Alfred laughed at that then started walking backwards away from the elder. "You'll see!" he sang before darting off down the road leaving Arthur standing abandoned by his car.

Did he honestly just mess with my phone then run off? The insolence!

Arthur watched the blond run off till he was lost down the road and nothing but a speck. As he watched, something inside of him started to slow and die down. Leaving him feeling vacant and secluded. But why? The annoying American was finally gone and he was free to leave and do what he may! Though when it came down to it, Arthur would rather spend the afternoon talking to the blond than walking up and down aisle in search of a somewhat stimulating book. Arthur smiled as a silly though crossed his cognizance. In a bookstore, adorable blonds just don't go spilling from the rafters.

Did he just think of Alfred as adorable? Shaking his head to clear his reflections, Arthur opened his trunk to put his camera gear away then proceeded into the drivers seat.

The clock flashed 5:59. He grimaced as he thought about how much time had flown right by him. But it didn't feel wasted. Something fascinating filled in those bleak hours of nothingness that were caused from the weather not being on his side.

Suddenly Arthur's phone began to buzz and sing a song from the Beatles. Slightly astonished that someone was actually calling him, he looked at the screen and instantly became flustered at what he was saw.

A picture of a smiling American blond was grinning up at him with a toothy white grin. Above his picture was the glowing name of Alfred F Jones but the boy had put his name in as just Al. Under it was option to accept in green or decline in red. Arthur gulped and hesitantly brought the phone up to his ear. He was insanely nervous and he didn't even know why. For Christ sake he just talked face to face with the younger only a few minutes ago!

"Hello?" Arthur mumbled before a silly smile made its way upon his lips.

With his car window half open, a bird somewhere in the woods sang his song again and this time it was returned as the two sang in beautiful harmony.


AN: End of chapter one. Review? Oh and should this be a USUK or UKUS. Just curious