Congrats to xxx4everAlonexxx for being our 50th reviewer on Parallel Lines. (You should go read it xD) This is their prizefic oneshot, enjoy!
Arthur hated America. The traffic, the fumes, all of the cheap nonsense they tried to sell to you on the plane. Everything. Down to the very last McDonalds. Even his home country'sfood had to taste better than this crap they served. And their television shows! Don't even get him started on their terrible comedy-dramas or whatever the hell they want to call it. Arthur scowled. America. The good ol' US of A. But it will never compare to Great Britain.
Oh, England! Glorious, glorious England! The young man smiled. The fond thoughts of his home country made the trip almost bearable. The smell of fresh rain in the London streets, eating fish n' chips on a wharf, ah, the list could go on and on.
But. There was one thing that made America slightly better. Just slightly. Arthur's phone buzzed. Alfred...Arthur smiled.
AlfredTheHero says: hey! you in the us yet?
Arthur typed a response.
arthurkirkland105 says: yea. just got off the plane. stupid flight attendants kept me up the whole bloody time, though
Yes. This was why. This was why he, Arthur Kirkland, had put up with having to go to on a company business trip to America. Alfred F. Jones. His, (and Arthur certainly denied this, but not Alfred) boyfriend. His Americanboyfriend.
Oh, but they had never met in person, oh no. They had been texting, emailing, private messaging of any sorts. They kept in constant contact. Arthur was ashamed to say, but he had to upgrade his data plan thanks to their endless conversations. The two had never heard each other's voices, seen the other's face. Never. Not once in 18 months.
But they still loved each other. Arthur knew everything about Alfred, and vice versa. The tiny things. How he never used correct grammar. Always spelling it "learned" instead of "learnt," and such. Alfred knew that Arthur would almost always say "bloody" in every sentence, and his strange obsession with magic and fairies.
But how had it all started? Funny thing, neither of them actually remembered. Perhaps it was Arthur's (annoying, perverted, and probably mentally deranged) best friend, Francis, who had set it all up. Maybe Alfred was really just Arthur's cousin's, neighbor's, sister's, ex-cousin's, lawyer's, daughter's, goldfish's, long-lost aunt's brother-in-law's son. The world is a big place. Anything could happen. Really, anything. Maybe even the coincidental meeting of two unlikely lovers.
.:Baka&Co:.
Arthur rolled his luggage behind him, reading the latest text Alfred had sent him. He chortled and quickly typed his response. Apparently they were both in New York today, perhaps they should arrange a meeting. This was certainly the last time Arthur would ever be in America, at least he hoped.
The crowded subway station was packed with people, and more than once Arthur had collided with pedestrians, seeing as he wasn't paying attention to where he was going.
arthurkirkland105 says: where r you? we shud meet up
AlfredTheHero says: totally! u near subway platform 2?
arthurkirkland105 says: im at platform 6. its quite a bloody long walk...
AlfredTheHero says: plz? ^^; i work right by there and my lunch break is only 10 minutes
arthurkirkland105 says: fine...git.
AlfredTheHero says: THANKS~! 3 you iggy! cya then! cant wait to see you :D
.:Baka&Co:.
It took half an hour for Arthur to walk to Platform 2. Through the crowds, hot dog vendors, and pigeons, (yes there were that many pigeons) he dragged his suitcase all the way there without getting lost. More or less.
"Aaagh. Where the bloody hell is that git..." Arthur panted as he leaned against some staircase railing. He pulled out his phone, ready to text Alfred saying that he was at the meeting place. Suddenly a dark figure pushed past him in a hurry, and Arthur fell on his back, knocking the wind out of his lungs. "Umph!" His luggage spilt out and flew down the staircase.
The young man turned around, startled. "Oh, dude! I'm so sorry, didn't see you there!"
Arthur sat up. "Bloody git! Watch where you're going!" Arthur took in the young man: he had sandy blonde hair, twinkly blue eyes, and a light blue hoody. Alfred had once told him about his favourite hoody: it was the same shade as this man's. But Arthur took no heed, why should he? There were a million people in this city.
"Hahaha!" The man laughed. "You have such a cool accent. 'Git' That's a good one!" Now Arthur was really pissed off at this guy. Americans! Always the Americans that mock his accent.
"Sod off, wanker! I'm waiting for someone!" Arthur spat back.
"Oh really? Cuz I'm looking for someone!" The man grinned. "Have you seen him? I'm looking for my boyfriend."
"Well I'm supposed to be waiting for my -er, boyfriend, as well." Arthur blushed madly, he had never called Alfred that before, though Alfred had countless times. " And how should I know?! You never told me what he looked like!" This guy was reallyan idiot if he hadn't figured that one out. Arthur stood up and began to recollect his things.
The man cocked his head. "You know, I hadn't thought of that."
Arthur paused. "Thought of what?"
"I don't know what he looks like, or what he's wearing today for that matter. How the hell will I know if it's him..." He began to help Arthur pick up his stuff.
"You don't know what he looks like? Well then of course you won't bloody find him! This city is bloody huge!...Wait. Why don't you know what he looks like?"
The man shrugged. "Never met face-to-face. We were introduced through friends or something. My brother's college roommate? That might be it. He's from England too! Maybe you know him!" He picked up Arthur's bag and dumped his things in it.
"I might. He sounds bloody familiar...What's his name?"
The man's gaze landed on Arthur's luggage tag. "...Arthur Kirkland."
"Yes, that's my name so who's -" Arthur was cut off as the man glomped him. "W-What?"
"IGGY!~" Alfred nuzzled Arthur's neck.
Arthur was blushing as red as a cherry. "A-Alfred?! What the-" Alfred ceased Arthur's confused rant by a full on kiss on the lips.
Alfred pulled away, breathless. "Hey dude!" He grinned. "So, how's life?" He slung his arm around Arthur's shoulders as if he'd done it a billion times before. And he might as well have. Because to them it felt natural. They weren't strangers. Alfred F. Jones and Arthur Kirkland had been dating officially for 18 glorious months. There was no lack of trust, no awkwardness between the pair. It was simply...natural. As if they had seen and met each other before, a long, long time back. Like old friends.
At first Arthur couldn't find the words. But then, he ended up chuckling. "Oh, same ol', same ol' I guess. And I met this really strange bloke today."
"Oh, seriously?" Alfred feigned surprise. "What was he like?"
"He felt quite familiar actually. It took all that I had to hold myself back from asking 'Have we met before?'"
Alfred entwined his fingers with Arthur. "Why, yes. We certainly have." He grinned again. "So, how's America so far?"
Arthur thought about that for a moment. He had stepped in some ice cream, along with other various substances, tripped over a rusted fire hydrant, was refused access to the public restroom (though he hadn't really wanted to go in there in the beginning), almost stepped across a subway train's path, almost got hit by (several) taxis, and had to run away from a flock of flying rat birds, aka pigeons. But he had got to meet his boyfriend face-to-face for the first realtime. So..."
"It's been brilliant."
A/N: So there it is! Yup. That was it. *hides* Please don't be dissapointed...
We'll actually consider continuing this story if we get enough good reviews xD
READ 'PARALLEL LINES' ! :D
-David & Chance
aka Baka&Co