He never expected to fall in love. Arthur Kirkland was more than content living out his life without the love of a romantic partner in it.

That is, until he met Alfred F. Jones.

Arthur was seventeen years old, and Alfred was a freshman, who was just entering the world of high school, when they met. Alfred was interested in sports, he received decent grades, had a fair amount of friends, and even though he was in the middle of puberty, he had a handsome face and was a good height. You either loved Alfred F. Jones or you hated him. There was no in between.

Arthur, of course, was not instantly fond of the American. He viewed Alfred as a person who was far too oblivious for their own good. The git was so disgustingly optimistic and talked to everyone about practically anything!

And so, it was just his luck when Alfred became attracted to Arthur like a month to flames. Arthur could never understand why the boy was so fixed on talking to him and trying to befriend him. It made no sense; they were practically polar opposites! Arthur put all of his focus into his school work, he didn't play or even enjoy sports, he liked to drink tea and knit, and he often read books and even wrote his own original stories. Alfred had no reason to be so interested in him, but alas, he was. Alfred was so drawn to the older boy and wouldn't let him go until the snappy Britain grew to like him.

And that's explain what had happened and more.

By the end of the year, he and Alfred had become best friends. No one was completely sure how or why it happened, but it worked out and that was that. Arthur was always there for Alfred. Despite hating sports with a passion, he went to his football games and cheered him on, he helped him study, he gave him advice, and he even stayed up late on weekdays when the younger boy couldn't sleep and talked to him on the phone until one of them passed out.

The favor was returned, of course. Alfred was always there for Arthur. He comforted him in times of need, he read the books that the older boy recommended to him, he read Arthur's own original stories, and he even proudly wore a warm hat all winter long that the British boy had knitted him. But the greatest gift that the American gave him was the gift of true friendship; something that had previously been a void in Arthur's life.

On the last game of the season, Arthur surprisingly cheered the loudest. If you were to presently ask him about it, he would say that all of the pain that his voice took that night wasn't even worth it considering how terrible Alfred did (the poor boy was downright awful at sports). Nevertheless, the faint spark in his green eyes would tell you otherwise.

And when the day of Arthur's high school graduation came around and the principal called his name and he walked up to the stage proudly, Alfred cheered the loudest… louder than he probably should have, according to Arthur and the poor people seated around Alfred. The British boy found it absolutely embarrassing to watch his young best friend stand on the metal chair all while unprofessionally whooping and throwing his fists animatedly into the air… But if you were to ask Arthur about that day, he would leave out that part entirely.

After the ceremony, Arthur ended up driving them away to a park that was near Alfred's house. There, at that park at 1:15pm in the vacant grassy hills, was when the boys shared their first deep conversation; the conversation that had really begun it all.

Arthur had initiated it. He confined in his best friend about how, despite how mature he made himself out to be, deep down, he was honestly afraid of growing up. He was afraid to be an adult and he was afraid to live out his own life due to his fear of something going wrong, just as his childhood was. Things got even more emotional when Arthur continued on the subject of his family and revealed to his for once silent friend about how he was never close to any of his family members. While his mother did baby him when he was an infant, both of his parents were more than often busy trying to maintain enough money to support their large family. Arthur wasn't even close to his brothers to begin with and he often secluded himself away from them. His parents were hardly ever home, and his brothers were never there for him, and so Arthur was forced to teach himself how to do this and that and what this means and how to properly use that. As a result, Arthur had grown up too quickly. He explained that he figures that it is the reason why he was so different from Alfred and the rest of their peers.

And from that note, Alfred revealed his story. For the first time in their friendship, Alfred had let his seemingly invisible walls down for his best friend. Quietly, the blue eyed boy told his story.

His father had abandoned his family long ago; so long ago, in fact, that Alfred couldn't even remember what he had looked like. His mother, who desperately loved their father, took her loss out on her sons. She put down Alfred and his brother Matthew and tore them apart with verbal insults and remarks, and had even physically harmed the both of them on more than one occasion. It was more painful for little Matthew than it ever was for Alfred, who always had a friend who was there for him and who was born a lot stronger than Matthew was. The soft spoken boy was seven years old when their father left and it seemed to him that every time that he had opened his mouth, he was shot down by his mother. And so, from a very young age, Matthew had taught himself to be invisible. Unfortunately, that had caused a lot of emotional damage to the little boy, who would often have mental break downs as he got older. His brother's distress broke his heart, and so Alfred forced himself to become a hero for his little brother. He tried everything that he possibly could to help him. He had spent most of his time with his brother talking to him, comforting him, had tried to get him to interact with others, and he had even tried to get him to talk to the school counselor.

Nothing ever worked. No matter what Alfred did, Matthew was still broken. And it killed Alfred. Nobody wants to see their sibling go through life like that… Alfred said that he couldn't wait until he was eighteen so that he could take Matthew away and escape from that prison, even if Matthew was still scarred. But what Arthur found the most amazing was that despite going through that kind of torture for years, Alfred had managed to stay strong. He had stayed bright and optimistic for himself and his brother because "someone has to be a hero".

Hearing that heart breaking story made Arthur feel as though his problems were petty little stones compared to Alfred's ocean of issues. The British boy could not understand why someone would treat their own children like that way. That god awful woman had ruined her sons from the inside out. She had one boy who forced himself to remain closed up and unseen for the majority of his life, and she had another who forced himself to always be happy just to give his brother a reason to live. It made Arthur's head fume and his heart fill up with rage.

All Arthur wanted to do was keep Alfred safe. He wanted to teach the younger boy that it was perfectly alright to not be happy all of the time, and that sometimes you need to let other people be the hero. He ached to whisk his best friend away from the jaws of the monster and pull him into the light of his arms. He never wanted Alfred to leave, and he wanted to protect him forever. He…

He loved him.

Yes, he loved him.

Arthur had never even wanted love, but then this thick headed, wonderful American with sparkling, sky blue eyes and an electrifying smile threw himself right into his life and made Arthur fall for him… And oddly enough, he was alright with it.

That was the day that Arthur had fallen in love with Alfred.

And the feeling was mutual.

"What on Earth even compelled you to buy that… that… completely horrendous piece of machinery!?"

"Aw, come on, Artie! I think it's really cool!"

Twenty-six year old Arthur glared at his best friend of almost ten years, who was leaning against a glossy, brand new motorcycle with a massive, dopey grin plastered across his face. Arthur leaned back against the cool wall of Alfred's house and rubbed the bridge of his nose in disbelief.

"You could've gotten something to do with your guitar, but no, of course you just had to spend your raise on something so utterly preposterous!" The Brit spat as he watched his friend rub the seat of his sparkling blue bike and fondly regard it as if it were a new born baby.

"Mattie likes it." Alfred pointed out, giving his beloved friend a playful smirk. Arthur crossed his arms, obviously unamused and opinion remaining unchanged.

"You brother is also dating the idiot who was convinced that my eyebrows were real caterpillars for the majority of our childhood." Arthur reminded. Alfred sighed softly and closed the space between them

"Arthur, don't worry!" He spoke playfully as he threw his arms around the shorter man in an unnaturally tight embrace, "I promise I'll be fine!"

"Let go of me, you twit!" He hissed. The younger man didn't obey, and instead clung to his best friend and practically lifted him off of his feet.

"Come on, Art! I know you love hugging me!" He teased with a joyful laugh and pressed his nose against Arthur's choppy blond hair. The man in question continued to struggle as his face flushed brightly.

"Yes, yes, but I also like being able to breathe!" He hissed and flailed his arms behind Alfred's back. The American let out a strand of heart warming laughter and finally released his steaming friend. Arthur panted slightly and fell to his bum. He leaned back against the garage and closed his eyes. Alfred soon followed suit and plopped himself down next to Arthur with a happy smile stretched across his face.

"I can take ya for a ride if you want!" Alfred bribed, gazing at Arthur affectionately. Arthur, however, snapped open his eyes and scowled at Alfred.

"No. I'd rather spend a week straight with Francis than allow you to haul me around on that." He explained, nodded towards the bike. Alfred pouted and shoved his face into Arthur's hair.

"But it'd be so fun!" He whined and rubbed his long nose against Arthur's head. The older man flushed again and tried to shrug the American off of him.

"Stop being such an idiot, you're not fourteen anymore! And why the hell do you insist on being so touchy today?" He countered, successfully pushing Alfred's head away from his own. Arthur twisted around so that both men were facing each other. Alfred was fondly staring down at Arthur with his big blue eyes shining with friendliness, which caused the Brit's heart to flip. Arthur quickly averted his gaze away and heard the American chuckle softly.

"I'm hungry, let's go inside." Alfred decided as he stood up. Arthur rolled his eyes and followed Alfred's lead.

"That's nothing new."

He heard Alfred unleash another strand of obnoxious laughter as they made their way up to the front door. Alfred quickly swung it open and held it in place.

"Ladies first!" He sneered, earning himself a quick jab to the chest from Arthur as he calmly entered the home.

He had always felt strangely at home here. The house had a sort of sentimental feel to it. It was Alfred's first home, and Arthur was by his side to watch him pick it out. He was also dragged along when Alfred was given the clearance to view it in person, Arthur recalled smiling proudly as his friend was handed the keys, and he was even there to help him pick out cheap furniture. Arthur considered the home as sort of a step in their friendship. It was practically their home, afterall! He found himself smiling fondly as he pictured moving his own belongings into this very room after they become boyfr—

"Earth to Artie! You there?"

The older of the two friends blinked and jumped slightly. He hadn't realized that he had successfully managed to slip away into another daydream… Again.

"O-oh yes, Alfred, I'm here. What is it?"

He turned his sight towards the kitchen and got a lovely view of Alfred leaning against the arch of the kitchen wall, chowing down on a piece of cold sausage and pepperoni pizza and getting bits of it all over his mouth.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt your little meeting with the fairies and unicorns, but I was wondering if you were hungry?"

"Quit playing that card against me; I was fucking drunk!" Arthur spat, "But no, you can eat all of the damn food that you'd like. I'll pass."

Alfred shrugged and took another large bite of his poor excuse for a dinner and walked over to the tan couch.

"Suit yourself." He replied as he sat himself down on the excessively used plush cushions. Arthur quickly followed suit and sat down besides his friend. Alfred contently leaned back against the couch and clicked on the T.V. The pair was very loudly welcomed with the final scene of a crime show.

"Alfred, turn the damn volume down! I've been telling you for years that you're going to get brain damage from how loud you listen to the bloody telly!" Arthur scolded with a glare of disapproval. Alfred's reply was a stiffened laugh followed by a harsh cough, thanks to a bite of pizza going down the wrong pipe.

"And just what is so bloody funny that you choke on your own food?" Arthur questioned, changing his position on the couch so that he could stare, erm, glare, at him all he wanted. Alfred just continued to switch between laughing and choking as the protagonist in the program was shot in the stomach and screamed brutally. The T.V was still at an unreasonable volume, so while Alfred was having his fit, Arthur frowned and leaned over him to grab the remote and lower the damn volume so that their ears won't bleed. Alfred's little fit went down with the volume as he began to calm down.

"T… T… Telly…" He could barely finish speaking before he erupted into a fit of laughter, the half eaten pizza in his grasp long forgotten. Arthur raised his brilliant brows in disbelief.

"Are you serious? You still laugh at that? Alfred, it's not that funny!" He countered to no avail as Alfred continued to laugh. Arthur frowned; growing tired of this nonsense, and forcefully pushed Alfred off of the couch and onto the floor. The blue eyed blond landed on his stomach with a thud as his laughter slowly subsided.

"Are you quite finished now?" Arthur asked after Alfred's panting ceased. He nodded and stood up.

"Yeah… But you owe me another pizza." Alfred replied with a grin as he reached for the slice of perfectly good pizza that was now lying face down on the carpet. Arthur felt his cheek grow warm thanks to that stupid smile that he always ends up swooning over. Thankfully, Alfred didn't notice as he walked off into the kitchen to dispose of the food.

"Do ya work tomorrow?" Alfred asked as he trudged back into the living room. Arthur nodded as he absentmindedly watched the program. He felt the couch shift under Alfred's weight as he sat down.

"Yes, eight to four, per usual. What about you? Please tell me that you're not leaving me alone with Francis again…"

"Nope! Lucky you, I got scheduled for eight to four too! I might see if I can take the four to midnight shift the next day though. I want to take my new bike out for a spin around town."

"Why did you even buy it in the first place? You broke your bloody arm when you were fifteen because you fell off of your damn bicycle. What makes you think that you can handle that… Thing?" Arthur asked, glancing up towards Alfred, who was blankly watching the program.

"Dunno. But you never know until you try it!"

Arthur sighed in defeat. It was no use to try and argue with him. Alfred had bought it and he was hell bent on putting it to good use. But is it really wrong to be so worried over him? Arthur knew that plenty of people get seriously injured thanks to motorcycle accidents, and he'd be damned before he let Alfred get hurt. The boy was an oblivious, obnoxious, too much for his own good ball wrapped up in a hero complex, and while Arthur did have his days when the twit overly annoyed him… He loved him nevertheless. He honestly still loved him after all of these years, and he just wanted Alfred to be safe, even if it meant playing mother hen for the rest of his life.

The thought made Arthur's stomach flip, and he covered his mouth in embarrassment. He peered up at his friend to see that he was, thankfully, glued to the T.V screen. Arthur caught himself smiling. That's certainly a great example of Alfred for you…

The Britain suddenly felt the urge to rest his head against Alfred's shoulder and just cuddle with him then and there. Arthur felt his heart drop. Oh how he wished it could be that easy… His heart ached to be able to just finally be more than friends with Alfred. He wanted to know what his lips tasted like, what his smile looked like when he wakes up in the morning, what he—

"Artie? Are you alright?"

Arthur snapped his head up at the sudden interruption. His face flushed brightly upon realization that he was leaning against Alfred, and feeling Alfred's strong arm hung around his shoulders made his knees grow weak.

"You were doing the thing where you mutter to yourself again." Alfred exclaimed with a friendly smirk. Arthur cleared his throat nervously and quickly shot himself up onto his feet. He rubbed down his wool sweater anxiously and tried to avoid direct eye contact.

"Yes, well, I should be getting home now. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Hey, Artie, wait!"

Arthur paused just as he was about to turn around and leave without a final look back. He slowly revealed his green eyes to Alfred, who was looking up at him hopefully and oh, the look in his big blue eyes was so desperate, Arthur felt guilty for wanting to leave so suddenly.

"Would you wanna hang out tomorrow after work? We can rent a movie and come back here. I'll even let you pick it!"

Arthur's face softened and he smiled warmly down at Alfred. The smile seemed to make the American feel better, since he was starting to look less like a kicked puppy.

"Yes, Alfred. I'd love that."

Alright, so I have quite a bit to say about this story. First up, oh my gosh this thing has been in progress for so long. I started writing the prompt in October. 10 pages and two months later, it was finished. I started the first draft of this chapter immediately afterwards, and that was finished in about a month!

Now, on a more important note... This fanfic is based on a true story. It's based off of the story about my mother and her best friend. Obviously some things will be tweaked a bit, but it's mostly the romance considering my mom and her best friend were 100% platonic.

... Honestly, I am a very slow updater. Especially considering I have a side project going on (The Daily Life of The Bad Touch Trio) and two MORE fanfics (7 Days to Steal Your Heart and Best Kept Secret- the second one being one that is currently undergoing plot notes). Add artwork and amv making to that list and it's pretty long... But considering I have all of the plot notes already written (and in very fine detail, I may add) it shouldn't be too too long.

I am super duper excited that this is finally publish and I can't wait to hear what people think about it! This is probably one of my favorite stories I've written, and I hope that some other people enjoy it just as much as I do!

See ya guys soon!