This is a request I got from an Anon on Tumblr. It'll be three chapters long.
I'm not gonna give you the request just now - I'll add the original request at the end. But it would spoil the story if I told you what it was, you see.
I think this first chapter is a little... Meh. But I'm sure the next two will be better!
It started with an observation.
When Arthur arrived at school that morning, he wasn't at all surprised to hear Alfred's shouts from behind him. Sighing, he paused and waited for him to catch up.
"Hey, Artie!" Alfred cried as he skidded to a stop beside him. "What're ya doing here so early?"
"You know fine well why," Arthur retorted, rolling his eyes. He took in his best friend's state of disarray: chequered trousers turned up at the bottom; shoes dirty and trailing mud; white shirt rumpled and done up wrong; blue blazer hanging off one arm; tie wrapped around his neck like a scarf. On closer inspection, Alfred appeared to have bags under his bloodshot eyes and his hair was such a mess his usual cowlick was lost. Arthur dismissed the fluttering in his stomach; the milk he used that morning may have been off. "I think the question here," he said, "is what the hell happened to you? Honestly, you look like you've been dragged through a hedge backwards. And that's being generous."
"Haha, funny story..." said Alfred, grimacing and turning red.
"I have a little time."
"Well... Keeks was playing Five Nights at Freddy's last night and he sounded like he was having fun so I..."
"Oh, Lord," Arthur sighed. He closed his eyes and asked for strength. "So you've had no sleep? But... Why are you here so early?"
"Ah, I finally fell asleep, like, two hours ago? I woke up at half seven and read my clock wrong. Totally thought I was gonna be late."
"You, Alfie, are a right mess." Arthur shook his head. "Come on – we'll get you straightened up and you can doze in the editor's room."
He led the way to the administration corridor where the reception and the student council met. Beside those rooms was a smaller one within which a large conference table had been crammed. An awkwardly situated door led to the desks of the editor of the school paper and his second-in-command: a facsimile of an office. The printer and scanner were also there and Arthur would have headed straight to them were it not for his companion. Instead he dropped his bag onto a chair at the conference table and turned to Alfred who was yawning widely.
"Sorry," he said when he finished, his eyes watering. Alfred rubbed at them as he tried to stifle another yawn. "I don't know how I'm gonna survive the day."
"You probably won't," Arthur replied, crouching down to sort out his trousers. Once that was done, he unbuttoned the shirt, straightened it and began to button it up again; he stopped breathing for a second and he didn't know why. The distraction of the fiddly buttons meant that he instantly pushed it to the back of his mind.
"Thanks," Alfred murmured, smiling slightly. "It's nice to know I have ya looking out for me."
Arthur blinked up at him as he unconsciously continued his work, pulling the blazer onto Alfred correctly. "What's that supposed to mean?" For some reason, Arthur felt a little nervous, rather surprised that Alfred was being nice about Arthur's fussing for once.
"Y'know..." Alfred trailed off, blinking rapidly as he obviously tried to keep himself awake. Arthur hurriedly sorted out his tie lest he choke the taller teenager when he fell over from exhaustion.
"I don't know," he answered, flicking the tie over his hand in a smooth arc.
Alfred grunted. He stared at Arthur as the editor pulled the knot tight and smoothed it down against his shirt, something stirring within Arthur at the action. "Artie," Alfred said while Arthur buttoned up his blazer. "Y'know... What... Um, what're ya-?"
They were interrupted by the door opening and Arthur's assistant and other best friend walked in. Kiku looked between the two of them, frowned a little and then seemed to shake himself from whatever was upsetting him, smiling at them as he carefully set down his folder. Arthur knew from experience it contained all the perfect photos and was once again relieved that he had such a good photographer as his right hand man.
"Good morning, Kiku," Arthur said, smiling at him.
"Good morning, Arthur," Kiku replied, glancing between him and Alfred who looked awfully upset. Arthur figured he was just tired.
"Morning," Alfred mumbled, rubbing at the back of his neck. He was attacked by another fit of yawns though, this time, he covered his mouth with his hand. "Sorry," he said to Kiku. "God, I needta put my head down for a few minutes.
"You can use the office," Arthur told him. "We'll do our work here and come to get you when the bell rings."
"Right. Thanks. Again." Alfred flashed Arthur a smile before retreating.
Arthur turned to Kiku. "I hear you kept him up with a horror game."
"Ah. Yes," Kiku replied, grimacing and rubbing at his nose, a sure sign he was embarrassed. "I would not have told him about it had he not insisted."
"Hey, it doesn't matter to me," said Arthur, raising his hands in surrender. "I just thought I should explain the zombie appearance."
Kiku chuckled. "It does make a little more sense now, thank you."
"Anyway, shall we get to work?"
They settled down, side by side, to look over the photos Kiku had printed out. He also had more on his tablet: the ones in the folder were the ones he felt best showcased the music competition from the week before. Arthur had already written his piece and had a picture-less copy of the newspaper printed. He set it on the table and they began to discuss the pros and cons of each picture.
Time ticked away as the quiet school began to get rowdier. Finally, with ten minutes to spare, Arthur and Kiku had decided on the best pictures to put into the paper. Later, they would connect Kiku's tablet to the computer and Kiku would work his magic to get them arranged just so. Arthur slumped in his chair with a sigh.
"I thought we'd never decide," he breathed, stretching his neck and rolling his shoulders with a wince.
"Indeed. Would you like to see the other pictures?" Kiku suggested, pulling his tablet from his bag. "I'm afraid a lot of them have Alfred in them – he would not keep out of the way."
Snorting, Arthur rolled his eyes. "Of course he couldn't. The git pokes his nose into everything to do with the paper. Let's see them, then."
Obediently, Kiku tapped at the screen till he had found what he was looking for. He presented it to Arthur and they leaned in, staring down at a picture of the school band, each member grinning. Alfred was in the bottommost corner, arms in the air as if he had been waving wildly. Arthur imagined the chastising Kiku had given him while Arthur was interviewing the music teacher: it never had the desired affect.
Flicking to the next one showed Alfred in all his glory, grinning out at them. His eyes were agleam, no lack of sleep evident. The light within the room caught his hair till it glowed, that damned cowlick sticking up like a beacon. What caught Arthur's attention the most, though, was the happy grin, perfectly captured so it was as though they were gazing at the real thing. It was truly the epitome of picture perfect. He let out a sigh – and blinked in surprise. That had been in stereo.
Glancing across at Kiku, he saw his friend frowning at him. "Arthur? Did you-?"
"Did you?" Arthur's heart was beating far too fast and he knew his cheeks were red.
They didn't speak for a full minute. Kiku moved suddenly, startling Arthur as the former changed the picture. "Let us-" He broke off and stared, wide-eyed, at the next picture.
Looking down, Arthur saw that the next picture was of Alfred in the middle of taking off his hoodie. He had grabbed the bottom of the garment and was in the middle of pulling it up, his eyes twinkling at the camera. Unfortunately, his t-shirt had been caught as well and he was almost topless. The muscles gained from playing American Football were glaringly obvious and Arthur took in a sharp breath, forgetting he had company.
"He's..."
"... beautiful?" Kiku finished for him.
A stare down ensued. Arthur broke first. "Oh, my God. I... You..." Everything from the start of school made sense now: the fluttery feelings, the blushes, the breathlessness. He wasn't sure how he hadn't seen it before: he wasn't sure how he had missed Kiku's attraction to Alfred, either. Then again, he was usually distracted by Alfred's antics. With his homework and the newspaper club and his 'coven', he hadn't let himself think about it too much. These pictures, however, made it perfectly clear how much Arthur liked his best friend.
He forced himself to take a breath before he passed out.
"Yes," said Kiku, startling Arthur from his internal panic. Kiku swallowed as he stared at the table.
"What do we do?" Arthur asked, trying not to panic.
"We should act as normal," Kiku replied, flustered. His cheeks had turned red and he was rubbing his nose. When Arthur looked closer, he could see his friend was breathing a little heavily. Obviously he was just as shocked at the revelation as Arthur had been.
"So we shouldn't... pursue him?" Arthur asked, hesitantly. He was perfectly fine with that, seeing as he had only just come to terms with his feelings. It would take quite some time before he would be able to bring himself to openly declare this to the boy in question.
Besides, Kiku was his friend just as much as Alfred was – Arthur didn't want to hurt him.
"No," Kiku confirmed. "It would ruin our friendship. Perhaps it is best to keep to an equilibrium. We are both far too busy to have a relationship, anyway."
"All right," agreed Arthur. He held out his hand and Kiku shook it in lieu of a promise. "That's probably for the best. It's only a- Never mind. Er." Arthur faltered and glanced at the door of the office. "One of us needs to wake Alfred now..."
Arthur was thankful that Alfred was still extremely tired when he emerged from the office and walked with him to their history class; it meant that his embarrassed spluttering at his half-hearted teasing went unnoticed. Or, at least, he hoped so.
They managed to make it through the day without Alfred asking questions and then another and the weekend and Arthur relaxed. As long as Arthur didn't arouse Alfred's suspicions, he was sure they could continue their friendship as normal. Kiku's behaviour didn't change at all and Arthur fought to get his own feelings under control. He willed away blushes when Alfred touched him and forced himself to breathe when Alfred said something particularly sweet or seductive. Several times, Arthur became scared that Alfred had figured it out when the latter became overly serious. Thankfully, he was usually interrupted before he could say anything.
Two weeks passed and Halloween approached. Arthur looked forward to the usual shopping trip he, Alfred and Kiku went on. Sometimes they would buy costumes and sometimes they would buy materials to make their own. Once they had even gone as a group, dressing as Supernatural characters only the year before. Arthur had been rather amused to find himself in the role of Dean simply because he was the shorter between him and Alfred. Kiku made a good Castiel, too.
He caught up with Kiku on the Friday afternoon. "Kiku. Are you able to going shopping this afternoon? We just need to find Alfred..."
"Oh..." Kiku said, raising his eyes to the ceiling as he thought. "I am so sorry, Arthur. I have to go home – my cousins are coming to visit for the weekend. And, as for Alfred, I know that he has extra Football practice, I'm afraid."
"Drat," sighed Arthur. "Well... We'll arrange to do it sometime this weekend, then. I'll text you later to see about it."
With that, he waved his friend goodbye. Kiku returned the gesture though there was no accompanying smile. Arthur found it odd but supposed he merely felt guilty for scuppering Arthur's plans. Whatever the reason, Arthur soon forgot about it when he got out of the building. What on Earth was he supposed to do this afternoon? He had purposely set aside time for the shopping trip, falsely secure in the knowledge that Kiku and Alfred would accompany him no matter what.
Well, why can't I go on my own? Arthur thought. He could do a reconnaissance trip, see what costumes were available and if there were any in their sizes. Or maybe see what fabric he could find in second-hand shops for a cheaper costume.
So off he went, hopping on the bus into town. A few of his fellow pupils were also on the bus; they waved at him or said hello. Arthur spotted Lukas with Matthias and sat in front of them so he could turn around and speak with them to pass the time. Apparently, they were going to meet Lukas's brother and do the same as Arthur. The editor tried not to feel disappointed in his own friends.
They parted ways at the bus stop and Arthur spent an enjoyable, if lonely, afternoon popping in and out of shops. Pumpkins were prominent as were fake and cheery skeletons. Bats and witches and ghosts fluttered in the breeze or leered at him from shop windows. He spotted a few young children trying on tiny costumes and he resisted vocalising how cute he found them.
In fact, he was wearing a small smile up until he spotted them across the road.
At first, he believed that he must have been mistaken. But the laugh that drifted across the sound of cars and people confirmed his suspicions. For there stood Alfred, laughing, as Kiku swiped a witch's hat from his head, blushing all the while.
Arthur froze, staring at them, rather confused. What had happened to the Football practice? What about Kiku's cousins? Then, as he watched Alfred strike a pose with a helmet under his arm, as he saw Kiku's delighted look, he realised what was going on.
It was a date.
A date that Kiku had cunningly wrangled by lying to Arthur.
Someone bumped into him and Arthur realised that he was furiously glaring at the couple, hands clenched into fists. Slowly, he unfurled them, his heart beating far too fast. His breathing had sped up as well and he had to take several deep breaths to calm himself. Kiku may have been a conniving bastard but he was still their friend: he couldn't go around hitting him.
At that moment, Kiku glanced across the street and saw him there. He froze and Arthur swore he saw the colour drain from his face. When he glanced at Alfred rather nervously, Arthur relaxed a little. Kiku hadn't ensnared him completely if he worried that Alfred would see Arthur – obviously he had lied about where Arthur was. Arthur waited till Kiku looked back at him before smirking. His assistant editor looked worried. And well he should.
This meant war.