A/N: This is my first USUK fan fiction... Wonder how this'll turn out.
"How was your day in school, Arthur?" Asked Dr. Rossi, a middle aged man, whose most known features were his rosy cheeks and gentle, friendly eyes.
"You know that I will never answer that question, doc." Came the arrogant reply from Arthur, who seemed to not care about his arrogance and took a seat in front of the doctor with such natural movement, one might mistake the doctor's office for his own bedroom. He shrugged off his heavy winter coat and draped it over the chair he sat in, and then turned back to facing the white-haired doctor, a pleasant smile printed on his lips.
Truth be told, Arthur hated attending his therapies, however, Dr. Rossi is a man he respects greatly, and one that he is more than proud of calling a 'friend'. A slim hand reached out for a small box filled with seemingly random toys, most present just as a distraction for the clients who daily filtered through that very office. He put the plastic box on his lap and began looking through the toys mindlessly, waiting for the doctor to speak up.
"I heard you met someone new." Dr. Rossi finally spoke, his tone never wavering form its usual comforting tone, almost as if he were cooing to a child as he spoke. In Arthur's mind, that was nothing but an insult to his pride. However, throughout the years, the young Brit had learnt not to try and argue with the older man, and instead learnt to appreciate his kindness. "Would you mind telling me about that?"
Arthur finally stopped digging through the toys and averted his emerald gaze back up at the rosy-cheeked doctor. "Yes, of course." He answered in a monotone voice. How the doctor had the patience to cope with Arthur's slow and usually time-consuming talking was a mystery to everyone who knew of Arthur's therapies. If the doctor were any younger, people assumed, he would more than likely complain more frequently about the teen, maybe even become 'unprofessional'. "Alfred's his name." Arthur began talking, fingers squeezing and pinching the plush ball he held. "He's a sophomore." He looked back down at his lap.
"How did you meet him?" The doctor chimed in once Arthur started spacing out again.
Arthur shook his head slowly, a habit he developed and practices to do whenever he spaces out. "He's a new student in our school. I was chosen to give him a tour of the building." A silent sigh passed Arthur's thin lips, making the doctor arch an elegant brow. "He's rather loud."
"I assume the problem was the contrast in your personalities, then?"
"Something like that, yes. But it was not a bad type of contract, you see. Alfred was cheerful and energetic, something I did not expect from a bloke who approached me so carefully."
With a click of his pen, Dr. Rossi started to write something down, nodding before mumbling for Arthur to go on. The Brit did so with slight hesitation. "We talked a bit, formal and official on my part while friendly, warm and still careful on his." Arthur then closed his mouth, pursing his lips in a thin line, signing that he had nothing else to say. Unless questioned.
"What do you think of the young man?"
"He was obnoxious." Arthur stated firmly in his 'no nonsense' tone. "He was an arse half the time, and when I finally snapped, he did nothing but laughed!"
Another hum and more sounds of a pen sliding across paper smoothly. Dr. Rossi was more than intrigued by the reactions Arthur was showing. He slid his glasses further up the bridge of his nose and asked another question, this one not related to the 'Alfred' boy he and Arthur had just spoken about.
An hour later and Arthur finally left the darned therapy. He put on his coat, adjusted his tie and exchanged his farewells with Dr. Rossi. Short dinner plans were discussed, and soon, he all but dashed out the office doors.
The night air was crisp and clear, maybe a tad too cold for Arthur's taste. After all, his rather slim and not-so muscle packed body could start shivering like a leaf in no time in the chilly winter night. If it weren't for the heavy winter coat, he would be freezing to the bone. His fingers, despite being covered with a nice layer of cotton gloves, were numb at the tips, stuffed deep into the coats pockets to prevent any more numbness from reaching them. His flushed cheeks were nuzzling the scarf which was wrapped around his neck tightly, while puffs of white floated up each time he went up for air.
It was the beginning of winter and the holidays were just around the corner. Everyone was slowly getting into the 'holiday cheer', some people going out to buy presents early, while others were planning vacations or trips across the country to visit family members. Arthur, on the other hand, had nothing planned. Nor was he going to visit his family back in England. No, instead, he'll be staying in the US. Not that he minded.
Oh no, if anything, Arthur was glad that he was not going back to England. Now, he loves his home and family and few friends he had, however, he did prefer to stay 'home' with his father and just… relax. As boring as it sounds, Arthur would rather kick back and read a good book in front of a fireplace than deal with the hassle of his odd and at most times rude family.
The walk home was slow with the teen taking his time, enjoying the scenery of snow gliding across the air, and watching people passing by in a rush. Eventually, he reached his house, which was honestly not too far away from the centre of the small town he lived in. "I'm home." He called, waiting for the pitter-patter of small footsteps to reach him.
Biscuit, his pet cat, soon poked his head out from behind a wall. Arthur smiled down at the ball of fur and bent down to pick him up. Moments later, Arthur's father, Joshua Kirkland, too made his presence known with a loud thud and clank coming from the direction of the kitchen. Arthur rolled his eyes but had a smile on his face, nonetheless. Joshua, or Josh for short, cursed once, then twice, before starting to pick up whatever he had dropped.
"Not even a 'welcome home, son'?" Arthur said sternly in a joking way, making his father look up.
The by then embarrassed man cleared his throat, putting down a pan, which Arthur assumed he had dropped earlier. "Don't mock me, kid." Arthur chuckled, sitting down at the breakfast table and putting Biscuit on top of said table despite the disapproving stare he got from Josh. "How was school?"
"Good. Scored almost 100% on my English essay." Josh nodded, the high percentage obviously something he was used to hearing.
"Meet anyone new today? Did you talk to that new chap?"
"No."
Josh frowned but said nothing else, looking back at whatever he was doing on the kitchen counter. Arthur stayed in the kitchen for a few more minutes, a silence settling between him and his father. They had a good, healthy father-son relationship, one that was full of mutual trust and took years to build up to that point. However, at times such as these, the awkwardness that was still very much there grew, making both of them shy away from one another.
"I'll go up to my room." Arthur announced, earning himself a nod and a 'dinner will be done soon' from his father.
It was a casual evening, one not worth remembering, for it held no significance. And just like that, the evening passed and was forgotten, almost as if it never existed; completely erased by the suns morning rays seeping through windows and waking up the sleeping citizens. Arthur slept that night deeply, woke up as grumpy as ever, and left for school with a slightly wrinkled tie.
A/N: Thank you for reading~ I certainly hope that I will update this soon. I have a few ideas that I really want to work on.
