Kiku Honda walked to his local tea shoppe, like every weekly afternoon. It was a beautiful day outside - the flowers were blooming, and everyone looked happy. He gladly - although quietly - walked along the street. He was headed towards his favorite relaxation place - Bluebell Tea Shoppe. After that, he usually headed to the hot springs for rest and relaxation. He never got held up at either of the places.
Not too long after, he arrived at the tea shoppe. It looked a bit... different? Not bad different, just not like usual, which was a bit off-putting, but he supposed the owner wanted a change of pace. it only looked different on the outside, though - when he walked inside, it was the same, usual, tatami-mat flooring and bamboo chairs. It was a very homey lounge - you could relax there as long as you wanted. He never tended to do that though - in his opinion, the people here were a bit too talkative for his tasting. After he looked around, though, he saw that the same man who greeted him every day was not there. Instead, it was a tall, blonde man, a generous amount taller than him. He had green eyes - they looked like a sea of emeralds. He also had abnormally huge eyebrows.
"Sir? What would you like to drink?" The man said, looking very quizzical. He looked very impatient, as well. Kiku had not realized that he had spent so long staring up at him, that it got a bit creepy... "Oh. Ah, Sumimasen, gomen'nasai... One matcha tea, onegaishimasu?" Kiku didn't realize he had spoken partially in Japanese, though it seemed the man understood him. "Ah, i see. Man, this place has been crazy since i got put in charge." He put the tea bag into the mug. "Though, you're my first customer of today. It's been pretty relaxed since the flowers started blooming - everyone decided to go visit shops or shrines, or anyhow." Kiku couldn't speak. Obviously, this man was foreign - which was alright - but, although he had the urge to say something, he couldn't bring himself to it, for some reason. Maybe it was his captivating gaze...
"Alright, your tea's done. This place is pretty quiet right now- mind if i sit down with you over here?" Kiku's face went red. "Um, uh, no, no i don't mind. Feel free." They both sat down diagonally from each other, in one of the booths. The tea was good, at least - By now, though, he should've been on his way to the hot spring. But he didn't want to leave this man - Although he probably wouldn't be extremely offended, you never knew. So he stayed.
"Well, i'm sorry i lacked a formal introduction. The name's Arthur - I'm a tourist, from England - I probably won't be here too long, but since I'll be here the better part of the spring, I'd need a job. I found out that the owner of this place was on vacation and needed a replacement, and since i own my own tea place back in England, i was happy to oblige." He held out his hand for Kiku to shake it. Reluctantly, Kiku shook back. "Ah, yes, erm.. i am Kiku. I live here. I come here every week." He shrunk his hand back. He wasn't... uncomfortable, but those eyes... That face... He felt bad for feeling like this over someone he just met. "I had a few friends. They came here every once in a while. Their names were Ludwig and Feliciano." He smiled. He finally had the courage to talk a bit more after that. After all, this man - Arthur - was just like him, although maybe a bit energetic. "Ah! I have a few friends of my own. Alfred was his name... Ah, how i miss him." Arthur's face went red. Oh no... Kiku though that Alfred must be Arthur's significant other, or at least was.
"What happened to him? I don't mean to intrude, if you don't like talking about it." Kiku tried to sayit in a very calm way, as to not make Arthur upset had something happened to this Alfred. "Oh, i... I don't like to think about it." Arthur shook his head. Change the subject. "Do you live with anyone else?" Arthur chuckled. "Ah, i have a little brother. His name's Peter. We have a cousin named Kyle who has a little sister named Wendy, and they get along well. Although he's a bit of a riot..." Kiku had always wanted siblings. Well he kind of was siblings with Yao, but he wasn't the greatest that he could have. "I have one sibling. He makes me angry sometimes though." Arthur chuckled at Kiku. "You're so quiet, reminds me of another friend of mine, Matthew." He smiled. "He was so quiet, but still was never afraid to show his feelings." Kiku noticed he'd finished his tea, and it seems Arthur did too. "Can i get you some more tea?" He said, kindly. "Oh, erm, yes please. ArigatÅu." He quietly watched Arthur pour the tea. They both looked outside. "It's getting dark. I should close up the place." Arthur said. "You know, we have an area in the back. Since we're closing the place down, we can't be near the windows or people would think we're open." Kiku was surprised at the fact he'd been here all day, but - he found it rude not to oblige to Arthur, and part of him wanted to join him too... "Ah. Sure." They turned off the lights, and took their things into the room.
"And so, I said, 'Sir, you can't bring your horse into the pub.' But he persisted and did it anyways!" Arthur and Kiku laughed. They had been here for hours, just talking about... anything. Mostly their experiences with family, or friends, or in Arthur's case, experiences at his job. Japan looked at the time. "Wow, it's already 2 in the morning... I'm so sorry Arthur but i really should head back home." Arthur nodded. "Here, take this." Arthur handed him a little box and a bag full of tea bags. The box was locked, and had no key. "Hmm? What's this?" Arthur shook his head. "It's nothing. Just a box. Uhm, i'll be seeing you then?" Their eyes linked. "I'll make sure to come back." Kiku said, smiling.
On the walk back home, he could only think about Arthur and that box. His eyes... His face. Everything was perfect about him. He himself was perfect.
Hello ~! This is Oli, and welcome to the WidAU! This is the first title of the AU series. If i told you what the AU was about, though, it'd be spoiling you~ So i won't. I hope you like it so far, and i can't wait to release the next chapter to you all!
Note - "Watashi wa, anata o ahiteimasu" means "I love you" in Japanese.
Have a good day! - oli