Looking For What?

by ChamiriHatake101

Arthur is just an Brit living in Little Falls, but his life changes as soon as he comes across a sentence spray painted on a wall. He calls the number that was plastered with the sentence, but doesn't realize that simple call will change everything.

Arthur sighs as another day of work is finally done; he just finished his shift at Kinney Drugs and was heading home. He comes around the corner, shivering as the night's wind chill blows around him. He lifted his collar, trying to protect at least some of his face from the cold winter air. Walking down the hill, he peered at the movie theater right across from the street and smiled; the movie The Lorax was out and he kept watching all the families walking in and out with their children all giddy about seeing a Dr. Seuss movie. I wouldn't mind watching it either, but I don't have the time or money to do what I want at free times. He sighed again and looked ahead, stopping at the crosswalk.

Arthur waited for the right to go; moving his eyes back and forth, following the jetting cars on the road, and finally glancing at the other cars that slowed down for him to walk. He stopped observing the vehicles that were near him and quickly crossed the road, so he didn't hold up traffic or get hit by a car. He reaches the other side, almost run over by a truck going over 45 miles per hour. "Watch the speed limit you bloody twat!" He shouted. He knew they wouldn't hear him, and decided to flip them off as well since they were too far away to see him.

Arthur walked on the clumped snow piled onto the sidewalk and turned to descend the stairs down into a tunnel; the tunnel went under the train tracks and was the only way to get to the other side by walking. He finally got off the stairs and walked down the wide hallway. He glanced at the wall to his right and stopped as he spotted some graffiti on the wall. He scowled, but when he saw what it said, he blushed. "Who the bloody hell would write something as stupid as this?"

The writing on the wall had said "Looking 4 Gay Love?" and it had a phone number at the end for anyone who wanted the "gay love". Arthur never noticed it there before, since he usually just focuses on getting home after work, and he was shocked beyond surprise. He had only been in Little Falls for three months now, but he thought that he should've seen it earlier. It's a stupid thing to be overly concerned or disrupted over, but he just didn't like it. It's not that he doesn't like gays, in fact he doesn't mind them and doesn't know if he's gay himself, it's just that this was too immature of an act for someone to do.

He took a look at the number and utterly regretted it; he has a numerical memory, so what ever number sequence you give him, he'll remember it for the rest of his life. His mind is like a filing cabinet that a secretary puts all the important information in them. Arthur sighed for a third time and shook his head. "Who ever did this is a real git." He turned his head back to his exit and continued walking home, trying to forget about the most ridiculous question he'd ever seen.

He came out of the tunnel and jay walked across the street as he walked to the only apartment building he could find in this area. He knew there were houses in Little Falls, but he'd rather be closer to his working place. He went up three flight of stairs after he entered the building and nodded to a boy who passed him. Arthur had finally reached his room and took the keys out of his pockets, dropping them on the floor as he flipped other keys for a specific one. "Damn it." He swore as he bent down and picked them up. He shook his head as he stood, keys firmly in hand and in the deadbolt, and opened the door. I swear I have butter fingers a times. Thank goodness I haven't broken a tea cup, knock on wood. He chuckles as he knocks on his wooden door then closes it.

His apartment wasn't that bad; it was actually normal, excluding his room. As you walked in, you had a small hall holding one door on each side of the walls. The one door on the left is the decent sized bathroom, and the other lead to his bedroom which is a mess, at least to him it is. If you continued down the small hall, you would enter the living room combined with the kitchen; of course, there is a green carpet, silky to his feet, in the living room, and wooden tiles, that he could easily slip and slide across in his socks, in the kitchen. In the kitchen is a small counter with tall chairs to sit in; that's where he eats when he doesn't want to look out the window. He only looks out the one window when he has tea, and enjoys watching the Mohawk River flow under the bridge. His living room had the usual furniture: sofa, recliner, television, bookcase, etc., and he loved how it was small and had everything that he'd need to use.

Arthur slipped out of his coat, hanging it on a hook, and went into his living room, grabbing the newspaper he got early in the morning before heading to work. He turned the TV on for some noise, and opened the paper to read the news, or the most interesting news at least. He liked reading some important things like "Obama" this or "Obama" that, but it irritated him to the point he stopped reading the headline stories. He now reads the little things: obituaries, prayers, stories, if he could find any, and the comics. His favorite little strip of drawings he likes to read is Calvin and Hobbs, but when he couldn't find one of those, he searched for a Peanuts comic strip.

This time, he couldn't get his mind settled or focused on the paper; his thoughts kept backtracking to the little "work of art" (scoff) on the tunnel wall. Annoyed as hell, he put down the paper and sighed, getting up to make a cup of tea for himself.

Arthur put the kettle under the faucet, filling it with water, then on the stove to heat it up. He stood in front of the stove, pondering his curious thoughts as he waited for the whistle. One thought: I wonder if the Beilschmidt's are home, yet. I bet they wouldn't mind having a drinking buddy for tonight. He smiled as he remembered that he doesn't have work tomorrow; Sunday is the only day he doesn't work and he's loves that fact. A second thought: Should I call the stupid number or just leave it be? He focused on the question and shook his head. "I don't want to get into trouble or something. It'd be stupid for me to call a number that I don't know if it's real or a prank." He nodded to his thought, agreeing with himself, and picked up the singing kettle now filled with hot water.

He poured himself a cup of the steaming water then grabbed a tea bag of Earl Grey. Once it was perfect to him, he threw the tea bag in the garbage and went back into his living room. He sat down and watched the uninteresting show that was on. Taking a sip of his favorite tea, Arthur heard a hard bang on his door. He gave his door a curious yet concerned look and waited; another one came and he stood up, setting his cup down, and went to get it. He peered through the whole and tried his hardest not to smile as he saw who was disturbing him.

Gilbert was on the other side of the door with his brother Ludwig and had an annoyed, upset, and pissed off look on his face as he banged on the door a third time. Arthur sighed and forced a scowl on his face as he flung open the door. "What the bloody hell is your problem?" He asks the albino Prussian.

"Just turn off you television, grab your stuff, and get your ass out of the room." He gave a devious grin at Arthur, who looked confused, but then returned to his pissed look. "We're going drinking." His smile returned and Arthur smiled along with him.

"Bloody prat, if that's all you're asking for then you didn't need to bang your fists so hard on my door." Gilbert chuckled as the Brit did as he was told and locked his door behind him. They walked down the hall and were soon on the street, walking to the closest bar. "You know what's freaky?" Gilbert glanced at Arthur and implied the question "what?". "I was actually thinking about drinking with you two just a few minutes before you almost broke my door from all those "knocks"".

The Prussian laughed. "I guess the awesome me had infested your mind already there Artie." The younger man scowled at his nickname and Gil clapped his shoulder. "And I wouldn't have broken down your door. If you were in trouble, maybe, but I'd never break it down." Arthur shook his head. "I mean it! I'm just strong; that's why my knocks sounds like I'm banging on the door."

"Really?" Arthur gave his friend a disbelieving glance then chuckled. "All right, I'll believe you," Gil smiled, "but if you do it again, you're going to pay for the damage you make, prat." They laughed and entered the bar behind the German.

Ludwig saw a friend of his and decided to drink with him since he knew his brother and Arthur would be chatting with one another. He left the two and crossed the bar to sit with the small Italian who was drinking whine. Prussia smiled even more and shook Arthur a bit. "I will and I'm also paying for the drinks." He goes over the the bar counter, Arthur following him, and places an order. "So," Gil said, facing his friend again, "how was work this week?"

Arthur rolled his eyes and grabbed the beer filled mug set in front of him, taking a quick swig before speaking. "Bloody aggravating like usual." The Prussian chuckled a bit and gulped down half of his beer, listening to his buddy's complaints. "I was set to organize the shelves again, and I was yelled at for "doing it wrong"," he made the quotations with his fingers as he rolled his eye, making Gilbert chuckle again, "again." Arthur sits there as Gil shakes his head and shakes his own. "You'd think they'd leave me alone; I mean, I've been working there for three months and I know what I'm doing." He drinks more of his beer. "They're just twats that I want punch in the face."

Gilbert laughs. "Jackasses will be jackasses, Arthur." The Brit scowled and ordered for another mug of beer. "Anything else happen today?"

The blonde nodded and took a swig of his newly filled beer mug. "Shockingly, yes." He thought about what he was going to say, but shrugged and gazed into his beer. "You know that tunnel I walk in to get to and from work?" He didn't really need to see Gilbert nod as he continued. "Well, I noticed some graffiti on it and you wouldn't believe what the words I read said." He took a sip then looked at his friend. "It said: "Looking 4 Gay Love?""

Gilbert blinked then cracked up laughing. "What kind of idiot writes that on the wall?" Arthur shrugged and the two took a final swig of their beer mugs, ordering another. "So are you?"

Arthur blushed. "Damn it Gilbert, you know that I'm uncertain about that." Gil laughed and took a drink. "Also, it had a number for whoever wanted to call if they did want some, you know."

The Prussian's eyebrows raised as his mouth was placed on the rim of his mug he held. "Really?" He took a sip and put the drink down. Arthur nodded and took a drink of his own beer. "Do you plan on calling the guy?"

Arthur spurts out his beer and looks at Gilbert, shocked. "What? No." He shook his head. "No way in hell would I call that number." He took a quick drink, hiding his face.

Gilbert then knew he was lying. "You're thinking about it aren't you?" His friends face was still in the mug, but he could still see the flustered face on Arthur. He smiled. "Go for it." Arthur choked on the bit of beer that was in his throat and put his drink down, looking at the Prussian, again, with shock on his face. Gilbert laughed and shrugged at the questioning face Arthur gave him. "You'll never know if you like guys if you don't go for a chance."

Arthur pondered on the said statement and he nodded. "All right," he said a bit slurred, the alcohol was getting to him now, "I'll call him tomorrow." Gilbert smiled and the two clanked their mugs as they took a gulp and ordered for more.

Hours had passed and the two were near their fifteenth drink. They were making up jokes and laughing at the silliest thing, mostly everything. Arthur slurped his beer and slammed it on the counter, almost spilling some drops onto the counter and vaguely remembered why they were here. He looks at Gilbert and hics before speaking. "You were pissed at sometin'?" Gilbert was confused. "You had a pissed face when you said we were getting beer."

"Oh!" The Prussian set his mug down and showed the face Arthur was talking about, but it soon disappeared as he burped. He laughed. "Elizabeta dumped me." Arthur looked sad, but Gilbert slapped his shoulder. "Don't give me that face! I don't really care!" Arthur would've shook his head if he was sober, but, being drunk, he smiled. "Actually, I could care less about that bitch. I didn't like her anyway. The awesome Gilbert doesn't need that psychotic Hungarian, so screw her!" He was lying, but it felt good to disown the woman who would abuse him; verbally, physically, and sometimes mentally when he dreams about her.

Arthur smiled some more. "Good for you old chap." He holds up his beer mug. "Let's make a toast."

Gilbert nodded, but thought. "To what?"

Arthur pondered and laughed. "To us."

The Prussian loved the idea and they clanged their cups. "To us!" They shouted as they downed the rest of the beer. Everything was great when spending time with friends; drinking beer and making jokes as they made each other feel better from their day's trouble. Only one thing was hated about drinking alcohol.

When Arthur woke up the next morning, he had a splitting headache from the hangover. It was hard enough not to fall down the stairs when they were dead drunk, but was happy he made it home. He only wished that he didn't have the pain in his head as he walked around. He was up in the kitchen, making himself some tea and trying to shield his eyes from the bright sun rays peering through the curtains. He grabbed his filled cup and took it to the living room as he closed the curtains for his relief.

Arthur sat down and tried to think about what happened last night, if he remembered everything or not; sadly, he did. He sighed and slouched in his couch as he thought about his statement. "I'll call him tomorrow." He huffed and shook his head. What was I thinking when I decided to share with Gilbert about that? He sighed once more then turned on his telly for noise.

Oooooooooooooooooooooo

Another set of hours had passed and Arthur was resting on his couch, dreaming of more days of possible joy, but he knew there would be none for him. Nothing in his life could contain joy anymore; he did too many unspeakable things in his homeland, and felt he didn't deserve happiness. With this in mind, it gave him an excuse for him not to call the mysterious idiot that wrote that absurd question.

His life back in old England was an okay life, but not that much made him happy. Yes, he had his family, but the family was more distant that glued to the hip. His mother was a busy woman; a retail lady selling as many good homes to those who needed/wanted them. She never really paid attention to her four boys, but did try to spend some time to eat at the table even though it was awkward. Arthur's father...he never really tried to get close to him; that man was always drunk beyond drunk and he feared him. He witnessed his father beat Aiden and Alun, two of his brothers who were Irish and Welsh, and didn't want the same treatment. His brothers, including his Scottish brother Alistair, kept their distances as well, but when they were close enough, they tortured him; it made them feel better and superior. Arthur hated that and started to hate his brothers.

That was a simple summary of his family, but the thing that made him unhappy and unable to receive joy was nothing compared to what his brothers did to him. He was seventeen, and ready for his eighteenth birthday so he could leave without a word to his parents. Arthur knew about most things then, at least the things that interested him; books, school ending, college acceptances, possible sex, and plenty other things. He was just doing what he usually did when he was home, lounging around and looking at random things. He was scanning the walls and his gaze fell onto something black in his father's jacket. His curiosity beat him and he walked over to see what it was. Out he pulled a pistol, fully loaded and waiting to be used.

He gasped and dropped the gun; it hit the carpet and so did his arse. He fell from the sudden shock of holding a gun. Arthur looked around vigorously, making sure his Dad didn't hear the thump. His gaze fell back on the black artillery that lay before him, and thought about what to do. Should I put it back? He knew if he did, all his father would do is use it on his sons. Should I hide it then? He thought about it and quickly grabbed the object and retreated to his room. He looked around hurriedly and decided to put it in the drawer but froze when he heard his father. Arthur was scared shitless now and panicked as his father emerged in his door way.

"Arthur," his dad said entering the room, "have you seen something of mine?" Arthur shook his head as he turned around to face his father. He held the gun behind his back and kept it from his father's eyes. "Now don't lie to me, boy. Did you see something that belongs to me?" Arthur shook his head again. His father sighed and glared at him. "You're lying; I can see it on your face." He went for Arthur and the boy pulled the gun out from behind, pointing it at him. The man yielded and held his hands up. "Now don't be stupid, Arthur. I know you won't pull the trigger." Arthur actually never thought about pulling the trigger; he was going to toss it to the other, but when an idea hit him, he kept the gun pointing at his father. He thought: No one would care if this bastard died, right? All he does is beats his kids, and drinks till he faints. Shaking his head in disgust, he turns the safety off. "Arthur," his father was becoming a bit frightened now, " what are you doing?"

"Something that should've happened a long time ago." Was his response as he pulled the trigger. He wasn't aiming for the heart, but it hit close to it.

The large man grasped his heart and fell to the floor. Arthur was proud about what he did but was also terrified. What did I just do? He looked at the pistol in his hands and dropped it like before. It didn't go off, but he still flinched at the noise. It was his first time shooting a gun, and at a living person, too, and the loud shot made his ears ring. He glanced at his father again and broke down; he didn't cry, but he ran from the terror that was consuming him. He ran to the farthest place he could think of going to, his grandmother's house. He passed through the doors, lunged up the stairs, and locked himself in his room. His Grandma knew it was him since he was in his room and knocked on the door.

"Arthur, honey, what's wrong?" Her sweet buttery voice that reminded him of a singer made him tear up and sob. She heard the familiar sound and let herself in. "Arthur?"

"I shot him Nana." He shows his red eyes and tear stained face to her. "I shot my father." She crouched beside him and cradled him in her arms, trying to sooth him. "I shot him...I can't believe I shot him." He kept crying for a long time until he fell asleep in her hold.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Arthur opened his eyes as his memory ends and sits up. He holds his head and sighs. "That bloody dream again." He peered through his fingers. That was only half of the memory though. It forgot to show the moment when I shot Alistair in the side as he tried to cut my wrist "for the hell of it". He shook his head and got up off the couch, forcing his memory out of his conscience, and made a cup of tea.

He waited as his tea was being made and mixed together, and thought of going out again "just for the hell of it." He chuckled and shook his head. "I've had enough hangovers for the day." He grabbed the cup and made his way to the couch again. He turned off the still rolling telly and sipped his tea in silence. Usually the silence killed him, but right now he didn't want to hear anything. Every time he has that memory replay in his head, he can still hear the bang from the gun and feel the recoil from the power. He didn't like the feeling or that sound so he tries to listen to the quietness around him and focus on his steaming tea that he drinks.

He takes another sip of Earl Grey and closes his eyes as he savors the flavor. As soon as he saw the back of his eyelids, he saw the number which he was trying to forget. Arthur groaned and slouched in his couch, almost spilling his tea on his shirt and carpet. "Why do I have to have a damn numerical memory? It's bloody annoying when I remember unimportant things." And besides, I have no reason to call the idiot that spray painted the wall. He sat and let his statement brand itself with his mind, but sighed as he still couldn't get rid of the accursed number. "Bloody hell." He sets his cup down and walked over to the phone, picking up the receiver and dialing the damned number that was haunting him.

Arthur looked at the numbers and pushed the elven numbers engraved into his memory; as he pushed the last number, he listened to the first long ring. He waited and heard the second ring; by the third ring he was about to hang up, but it picked up. "Hello, this is Alfred F. Jones," he was going to say something to the man, but was interrupted, "I'm not here at the moment, so please leave a message after the beep."

The Brit held the phone away from his ear as he heard the tone; he couldn't believe what he did and what happened and hung up, not bothering to leave a message. "Well that was great," he mumbled, going back to his tea, "just a waste a my bloody time." He sat down and sipped at his tea which was disappearing quite quickly. He stared at his cup, and sighed. Why did I want to call that number, anyway? It was just a stupid thing to discover, and he should've just threw the thought of calling away when he had it...but that wasn't possible since it bothered him. "Damn tunnel."

Just as he started cursing the tunnel he walks through every day, the phone rang. He jumped and almost spilled his tea on his shirt, what was left of it anyway. He set the cup down and quickly went to the phone. As he reached for it, it rang a second time. Arthur was going to pick it up, but then thought how it would appear he was anxious about a call and waited until the fourth ring started. He picked it up. "Hello, this is Arthur Kirkland."

"Damn, I thought you would never pick up!" He pushed the receiver out of his ear as the voice on the other end shouted. "What the hell took you so damn long?" The Prussian on the other side was a bit livid and Arthur just sighed. "You know that the awesome me doesn't like to wait for someone."

"Besides a certain Hungarian." The Brit retorted. Gilbert started to stutter and make up lies that were half true and half not. Arthur shook his head. "Sorry Gilbert, I thought you were someone else."

"Who?" Arthur blushed for no reason and Gilbert instantly knew. "Did you call that dude?"

"What? Pft. No." The Prussian didn't believe him and he sighed. "Bloody twat wasn't home, so I just hung up." On the other side, Gilbert nodded then asked if he left a message. "No." The platinum blonde shook his head. "I believed, since he doesn't know me, I didn't need to leave a message."

"But don't you want him to know you." It was more of a statement than a question, and Gilbert laughed as he heard Arthur try to lie.

"I don't even know the guy, Gilbert; why the hell would I want to know someone who's stupid enough to paint an idiotic question on public property and give out his number for free, with no problem what so ever?" Gilbert laughed some more. "What the bloody hell is so funny?"

"You." Arthur sighed. "Man, you so totally want to see him. Hey did the answer machine say his name?"

"Yes, his name is Alfred F. Jones." The Prussian smiled on the other side. "It's a typical American name, and he sounds like an energetic twit that probably plays games all day."

"You got that from just hearing his voice and name?"

"Basically, yes." Arthur stared at his refrigerator and furrowed his brows. "Hey, Gilbert, why did you even call me?"

Gilbert was silent at first, but then started making up some stories in his head. He was going to tell Arthur a lie, but ended up sharing what he wanted to talk about. "I would usually say 'can't I just call a friend and see what's up?' but I do want to talk about something." He paused and Arthur leaned into the phone. "I got home last night, right?" Arthur nodded and Gilbert continued. "Well, I went back to the bar to drink some more, and...met some one." The Brit raised his bushy eyebrows. "The dude was totally sober, but he sat with me and didn't have a problem with my boasting. He has wavy blonde hair that barely touch his shoulders, has eyes that have a purple-ish blue hue, wears circular glasses, and has a long piece of thin hair that comes out like this." He puts his finger to his forehead, right where the hair line is, and extends it out, making a little loop at the end. Arthur rolled his eyes as he can't see his friend explain the hair. Gilbert realized that and chuckled. "It comes out and makes a little loop at the end." The Brit chuckled.

"So what's his name, or were you too drunk to ask?" Gilbert blushed and started so many sentences that could retort Arthur's one question, but sighed.

"Yes, I did ask for his name, and I was drunk, but not that drunk." Arthur chuckled again. "His name's Matthew Williams. He's Canadian, and has a twin brother that he vaguely mentioned. I'm guessing they don't get along that well, but it's just a guess. I could tell he didn't want to talk about his brother, so I just changed the subject."

"How kind of you." Gilbert groaned as the Brit kept teasing him. "Also, haven't you been looking for a Canadian to date? The last time we chatted about dating, I recall that you said something like 'It'd be nice to go after someone that's not Hungarian; A Canadian, probably?'"

"How the hell can you remember all these things?" Arthur shrugged. "And I don't remember saying that. Also, when did I ever hint about dating men?"

"Is there something wrong with dating men?" Arthur couldn't help, but ask the question with some anger in his voice which confused him; he isn't dating anyone, and he has never dated another male before, yet he feels...well confused and frustrated.

Gilbert shook his head on the other end, realizing what he said wrong. "No, hell no, it's just...I've never thought about dating men, that's all." Arthur calms down and sighs.

"I know what you mean, and how you feel." Gilbert nodded, knowing all to well that that was true. The Brit was going to continue the conversation, but heard his phone beep. He looked at the phone, and soon realized he was getting another call; he has a phone connected with the cord, but the face of the holder has a screen for caller ID. The number he saw on the little screen made him pale and panic a bit. "Uh, Gilbert, I need to let you go. I'll talk to you when we get together again."

"All right then. Tell me what you're up to after you get back from work tomorrow." The Prussian hung up leaving the Brit confused.

"What the hell will I share with him tomorrow? Is he guessing that I'm getting another call? That be weird if he did, and I'd like to know how." He shook his head and hung up the receiver. Just as he placed it back on the holder, it rang. He sighed and decided not to pick it up just because. I'm not scared about picking up the phone I just...don't feel like talking to a stranger right now. He convinced himself once more, and let the phone ring.

It rang for a final time and he heard his answering machine pick up saying: "Hello, this is Arthur Kirkland. I'm away from the phone right now, so please leave a message after the tone."

He laughed at his recorded voice and made a note to make a slight change. The machine rang it's tone and Arthur leaned on his elbows to listen closely. "Uh...hi!" Arthur closed his eyes and rubbed his temples as the voice grated his head. "I just got home and uh...found I had a missed call? I checked my calls list and found this number and...felt like I should call." Arthur glanced at the machine. Felt? "I also would like to ask...how did you get my number? Did you dial wrong or did you get my number from somewhere?" The Brit rolled his eyes and chuckled. He was so tempted to pick up the phone and tell him how he got this idiot's number. "Yeah, so...um...I guess I'll hang up now? Yeah, uh..." Arthur knew it was Alfred once he said "Hi!" His voice was the same. His hand reached for the receiver just as soon as the other was going to hang up, and put it to his ear. "Well...Arthur...bye, I guess."

"Bloody idiot." Arthur said just before Alfred hung up.

The other man was about to put the phone down until he heard Arthur finally respond. "So you are home." Alfred stated.

"Of course I am." The Brit didn't know exactly why he suddenly felt annoyed, but knew it was because of this "Alfred" he was talking to.

"So uh...you were listening to my message?" Arthur felt his face heat up and didn't respond. "Well, you must have for you to finally pick up." He rolled his eyes and sighed. "Yeah, well, how did you get my number?"

Arthur blushed some more. "Idiot. I got your number from a damn tunnel that goes underneath the train tracks. It was spray painted on, I believe, and it had the most ridiculous question in front of it." Alfred was confused as Arthur told him the truth.

"What are you talking...oh wait. Are you talking about the 'Looking 4 Gay Love?' thing?" Arthur confirmed his question with a hesitated "yes" and Alfred blushed. "Oh, uh, yeah. That thing has been on there for a year or two now? Why did you call anyway? Are you going to be another one of those people that go "Wipe off that shit now." or "You need to get ride of that vile message; think of the young kids who'll see that"? If you are then, please just forget my number and leave me alone."

Arthur was shocked, but shook his head. "No, I'm not. I just saw the...thing and your number. I have a numerical memory, so any number combination I see, I'll remember it for the rest of my life. When I saw your phone number, it was engraved into my mind, and I sort of got curious as to who the owner of the number was. I also want to ask: why the bloody hell would you post such a thing up there?" It's embarrassing and a bit uncomfortable for me. Wait, I just basically told him that I was interested in who he was. Shit. I hope he doesn't think I want to get with him...because I don't! I barely know the guy!

Alfred's mouth turned into a smile. "Oh really?" He chuckled and Arthur blushed. "As for why I put the thing up there, my friends thought it'd be a funny joke, but they didn't realize that I'm really gay; also, I am 'Looking 4 Gay Love' so it's not that funny to me. I didn't mind them putting the stupid ass question up, but when I saw they put my number up on the wall, I told them what I thought. "This is so stupid, and did you forget that I'm gay?" They looked a bit guilty, but haven't done anything about it yet. I'm still upset because people still call me and tell me to erase it. I've been meaning to call my friends and tell them to fix what they made, but I've been really busy." Arthur took this all in and his mouth dropped. I can't believe he just admitted to a stranger, me, that he's gay. Alfred started talking again, and he leaned into the phone to listen some more. "I know you probably don't care since you don't even know me, but I've been busy with college and work; that's why I haven't done anything about it yet." He paused for a second and remembered Arthur said he wasn't here to complain. "Hey, since you're not calling to complain, what did you call for?"

Arthur froze. He was hoping that Alfred wouldn't ask him since he didn't know how to answer. I called to see if you'd like to go out with me, you know, for gay love. Like he could say that freely. "Uh..." His mind was blank. No ideas were popping up in his head, and he really wanted one to come. Arthur blinked. Wait, I got an idea. "Oh drat." He paused as if to check his phone. "It looks like I have another call coming in. I'm sorry but I have to take it; it's my boss."

Alfred, being the complete oblivious blonde, didn't see that Arthur was avoiding his question, or so the Brit hoped, and nodded. "All right. Then I'll...call later?"

"No, you don't have-" Arthur protested, but Alfred already hung up, planning to make his call later. "Shit." The Englishman stared at his phone and sighed. "So much for avoiding the question." He put the receiver in the cradle, and sighed. I should think of what I should say the next time he asks me that question. He was about to go back into his living room and rest, but he heard a knock on the door. Arthur groaned. "Why the hell am I so bloody popular on the day I have off? I just want to rest." He goes to his door and whips it open. "What?"

"Jeez," Gilbert frowned and Arthur just groaned some more, "what happened to you to make you so "bloody" annoyed?" Arthur glared at him for quoting an English word, but shook his head, ignoring the Prussian. He was going to close the door on the other man, but Gil put his hand on the wooden object and opened it with his own strength. "Don't close the door on the awesome me." Gilbert pouted and showed the irritated Brit some beer bottles. "Would you like to talk about it?"

Arthur stared at the brown glass bottles and grabbed one, allowing the Prussian to enter. Gilbert smiled and made his way to the living room with Arthur following him. "It's nothing important, I'm just exaggerating."

"About your feelings?" Arthur nodded and popped the top off to drink the addicting beverage. "What happened? You said you had to let me go. Did you get another call; if so, who was it?"

The Prussian took a swig of his own drink and stared intently at Arthur. The younger blonde sighed and shook his head. "It was from that chap I told you about last night."

"The one who wrote his number on the tunnel wall with that question that unsettled you?" Arthur nodded and sipped his drink. He usually drinks unstoppably, but he just wasn't in the mood to drink away his emotions. "What did you two talk about?"

Arthur was silent for a bit and forced himself to remember the entire conversation. "Well, at first I let the answering machine get his call, and I listened to what he wanted. He has those phones that can tell you if you missed a call and tells you what number last called you or something. Don't we all have phones like that?" Gilbert nodded and Arthur continued. "He wanted to know how I got his number, so I picked up and told him how I knew his number. He understood and told me the story about how his number got on the wall. Oh and get this, he actually told me that he's gay. It didn't faze him a bit to share that with a stranger. Weird fellow. After he told me the story he asked why I called and I made something up to stop talking with him."

"Pussy." Gilbert gulped down his beer and glanced at Arthur's glare. "Hey, if you made up a story to not answer a question with the truth then you're officially a pussy."

"Could you not say that word?" Gilbert shrugged. "Saying 'coward' would be more appropriate." The other man laughed and shook his head.

"You're too up tight in the ass, there Arthur. You need to loosen up a bit, and say more things; like I do." He glanced at his friends flushed face and realized Arthur took his sentence in a different way. "Dude, you're such a pervert. I didn't mean it that way at all." The Prussian was also blushing and Arthur looked away.

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to take it that way."

"Yeah right." Arthur didn't dare to look at Gilbert. Gil looked at his friend and rapped his arm around him. "It's all right. You wouldn't have been the only one to blush from taking it that way." Arthur glanced at him, confused. "Hey, ever since my brother met a certain Italian, he's been blushing easily from all the sexual things that I imply." The two chuckled. "So what did you say to him?"

Arthur sipped his bottle again. "I said my boss was calling."

Gilbert laughed. "Why the hell would that ass wipe call you? Do you even know your boss's number?" Arthur shook his head. "Man Arthur, you're horrible."

"Not really." Gilbert gave him a disbelieving look and the Brit sighed. "OK, yes, but I wasn't 'horrible', I was being a jerk."

Gilbert blinked. "Dude," Arthur looked at him, "I think you just told the truth."

Arthur scowled and shoved the Prussian that started laughing, and started to laugh with him. "Shut up." They continued to drink and Arthur's phone rang once again. "Damn thing. I'm tempted to pull it out of the wall, so I can rest when ever I want and not be disturbed."

"But then you wouldn't be able to talk with the awesome me."

"Gilbert, I live right next to you." The Prussian pouted, but soon smirked as he chuckled. Arthur shook his head and answered the phone. "Hello, this is Arthur."

"Hey!" Arthur's eyes went wide and he almost dropped the phone. He put it back to his ear and heard Alfred continue. "So what did your boss want?"

"Uh..." The Brit looked at Gilbert, pleading for help; the Prussian laughed and walked over to listen. "I...I was mistaken; it wasn't my boss it was a friend."

"Oh, did you mix up the numbers?"

Gilbert chuckled. "Like he could mistake number sequences with other number sequences."

Arthur slapped the man's chest. "Shut up!" He mumbled.

"Do you have company?" Alfred, on the other end, was listening closely to everything on Arthur's end; he was somewhat interested in the stranger even though he never saw the man. "Am I bothering you? Should I call Later?"

"Yes."

"No."

Arthur glared at his friend who was smiling, and returned to the conversation. "Well, I will call tomorrow, if you're not busy."

"Hell, why don't the two of you meet?" Arthur scowled at Gilbert as he took the phone away from the short man. "Arthur would be delighted to meet you."

"The hell I would!" Arthur was getting furious as he tried to get his phone back. "Give me the damn phone and shut up! I don't need your help!"

"Then why did you ask for help when he called?" Arthur froze and blushed.

"What's going on? What do you mean?" Alfred was getting more intrigued by the minute.

"Oh, Arthur's a coward when it comes to talking to others; men mostly." Arthur shouted "Lies!" but Gilbert ignored him. "To tell you the truth, I'm the one who convinced the Brit to call you. He told me about finding your number in the tunnel and how it was bothering him, so I just said 'call him'. We were drunk of course, and I didn't think he'd do it, but he did. Really, since he saw the word "gay" he knew that the number must have belonged to a dude, and he was wondering if he should call or not?"

"Wait..." Gilbert paused just to hear what the other man on the end would say or ask. "are you telling me that he's...'Looking 4 Gay Love'?"

"Yup." Arthur's face was red as he flailed for his phone again. "Well, the guy doesn't know if he's gay or not, or if he'd be interested in men; so it's like that thing you painted on the wall was his chance to know."

"Shut up, Gilbert! Give me the phone!"

Alfred was blushing along with Arthur, but the stubborn Brit wouldn't know. "Oh...well...then I wouldn't mind meeting him. Just to meet him personally." Gilbert laughed.

"Sure, sure." He gave Arthur the phone and the Brit blinked. "I just set you up with a date."

"What?" He grabbed the phone and put it to his ear.

"It's not a date!" Al shouts. "I just want to meet him. Ever since I saw his number and heard his voice, I've wanted to meet him."

Arthur blushed even more. "Y-you have?"

Alfred went silent as he realized that he just basically gave a confession to the man he was talking about. He said the truth and meant every word, but now didn't know what to say. He also didn't know what to do even if he met up with Arthur. Wait. He cleared his throat. "Let's meet up tomorrow at five in front of the theater next to the Knight's Inn. I'll pay for everything, so you don't have to worry. I hope you come and I can't wait to meet you."

Before Arthur could refuse, Alfred hung up. The Brit, too shocked to move, stood there still holding the receiver to his ear. I...I can't believe it. He blinked and slowly put the phone on the cradle. I'm going to meet someone I've never seen before, and he wants us to go to the movies? This is basically a blind date. Arthur groaned and turned to the Prussian that started this all. "Thanks to you, I have to meet up with him in front of the theater at five."

Gilbert smiled. "Your welcome."

"Don't be too happy." Arthur walked over to him and slapped his friends head. Gilbert looked confused. "I'll be losing four hours or more of work. Did you forget that I work from seven in the morning to nine at night?" His friend shrugged. "Don't shrug! I need the hours and the money!"

"Don't we all?" Gilbert clapped Arthur's shoulder and smiled. "I'm going to leave for the night." Arthur pouted. "Yes, I'm going to leave you in a bundle of frickin' worry." He ruffled the Brit's hair and headed to the door. "See you tomorrow and tell me what happened. I'll also share what went on between Mattie and I."

Arthur smiled. "You most definitely have to share. It's only fair." He then pouted as he remembered Alfred. "Damn bastard."

"Love you too Arthur." Gilbert chuckled and left the apartment.

Arthur shook his head and went into the living room. He plopped onto the couch and laid his head back. So much for the day of rest. It's more like the day of stress.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Arthur couldn't believe what he was doing right now. He was standing in front of the theater a little before five. He wasn't going to tell his boss, but since Gilbert is friends with the Frenchman, he told him. Gilbert and Francis have been friends since high school, and they never hide anything romantic based. I'm so making a note to kill that damn Prussian the next time I see him. Since Gilbert told Francis, Francis went up to Arthur and said "You will leave at five." Arthur had blinked and asked "Why?"; the Frenchman just smiled and winked, "A little bird said you were busy at five, so I'm giving you the four hours off, but you'll make them hours up by coming in this Sunday for the morning shift."

Arthur never really liked his boss and now he can have another reason not to. He knew his boss was into romance, as in he'll flirt with everyone man or woman, and he also wants others to have a great time. "France is the country of Passion." Arthur mocks Francis and scowls more. "When is the bastard going to show? Does he realize that it's dark out at five and bloody cold?" He blows on his hands. "I should've brought another coat."

The Brit waited a bit more and checked his watch. The only movie that was on at five was the Lorax, which he would love to see, but die before he shared that, and had already decided that if Alfred didn't show, he's going in and watching it himself. He looked out at the parking lot again, and saw a new car pull in. It wasn't really a car though; it looked like a beast. The vehicle was a hummer, and it's owner looks like a college kid. The man ran over to the entrance of the theater and looked at Arthur. "Hey." Just by hearing his voice, Arthur knew it was the idiot he was waiting for. "I hope you didn't wait long."

Arthur scowled but shook his head. "No, I didn't, but if you made me wait any longer, I would've given you hell for the rest of the time he hang out." Alfred chuckled.

"Thanks for warning me." He looks behind Arthur and checks his watch. "We should go in if we want to see the movie." Arthur nodded and walked in the building. Alfred followed him and once they got down to the ticket counter, Arthur saw what he looked like. As Alfred was paying for the tickets, Arthur looked him up and down. He's tall, blonde with a thick piece of hair that sticks up, is wearing a bomber jacket, and, when he turned around to smile at Arthur, the Brit saw his squared glasses in front of the most beautiful blue eyes he ever saw. "What would you like?"

Arthur snapped out of his thoughts and looked at the lady behind the counter. "A medium coke."

She nodded and looked at Alfred who order a large root beer, an extra large popcorn (the bucket), and some candy as well. Arthur was disgusted, but tried not to laugh as he carried all of his stuff in. Arthur was only carrying his drink and chuckled as he saw Alfred struggle to keep the popcorn from falling onto the floor. They chose some seats on the left side near the wall, and once they sat Alfred put the bucket in between his legs. "Man I can't wait to see this movie." He whispered to Arthur. "When I first saw the commercials for it, I thought it was going to be a good movie."

Arthur glanced at him as he sipped his coke. "But it's a Dr. Success story."

"So?" Alfred looked at the man beside him. "Is there anything wrong with adults watching kid movies?"

Arthur chuckled. "No." He then thought about how he said "adults". "You're an adult?" The man nodded then shook his head.

"I'm almost an adult. I'm a few months shy of being twenty-one." He smiled and started eating the popcorn. "I'll be able to drink when I do, and I can't wait to try the actual beer."

"Trust me, it's horrible," Alfred frowned as Arthur sighed "but it's addicting as hell." The American chuckled. "When's your birthday?"

"July 4th." He smiled with pride as he shared that he was born on the same day America gained independence from England, but Arthur just frowned. "When's yours?"

Arthur shrugged. "April 23rd." He too smiled. That day was a national holiday for his country, so he can also be proud of his birthday.

Alfred nodded and made a note to remember that from now on. He was going to make a comment or ask a question about that date since he remembered something about it being an English national holiday, but was distracted as the actual movie commercials came on. "It's starting!" He goes as he makes some of the popcorn fall on the ground.

Arthur chuckled as Alfred makes a guilty and apologetic face. "So it is."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The movie ended and Arthur smiled. He was really happy to have seen the movie, and was lucky that his date wanted to see it as well. Wait. He blushed as he realized he called Alfred his date. Why would I call him that when it's not even a date? He stood up and went into the aisle, looking back at the other blonde who was picking up the rest of his garbage. Alfred held his empty bucket and tossed the empty boxes of candy in it to make the load easier to carry. He looked up and smiled at the patient Brit; Arthur scowled and hurriedly walked out. Alfred quickly went after him and threw the garbage away.

"So what did you think of the movie?" Arthur glanced at the other and shrugged.

"It was all right." He turned and went up the stairs to the outside.

Alfred followed. "Well I thought it was great. It needed a bit more action, but it's still great." Arthur chuckled and Alfred smiled. The American stepped in front of the Brit, making the smaller man stop and look at him. "I'm Alfred by the way." He stepped back a bit and held out his hand. Arthur looked at it and slowly took it. "Alfred F. Jones."

Arthur nodded as their hands shook. "I'm Arthur. Arthur Kirkland." The college man smiled and the Englishman shook his head, smiling. "We already know each others names; why are we introducing ourselves?"

"Its better to introduce yourself even if the person already knows your name, right?" Arthur nodded agreeing with him. Their hands kept going up and down and Alfred glanced at them. Arthur did, too, and they both blushed. "I think that's enough shaking." Their hands separated, and Arthur frowned a bit. "So," he looked up at Alfred who was staring at him, "would you like to get something to eat?"

Arthur blinked and put a hand over his stomach. It wasn't growling, but he did feel a slight hunger rise in him. He shook his head, deciding it's better to eat home rather then at restaurants or hamburger joints. "I'm fine. I can just go home and cook something up."

Alfred nodded. "Do you live close by?"

"Yes I do, and I think I should start heading home." The Brit started walking, but Alfred caught his arm.

"Could I come over?" Arthur looked at the man, annoyed and tired. He just wanted to get home and get ready for tomorrow's day of work. "I could drive you if you'd like?"

Arthur shook his head. "It's easier to walk home. I live on the other side of the tracks." Alfred chuckled. "What's funny?"

"Nothing." His smile dimmed a bit as he looked at Arthur's eyes. "You're cute, you know that?" Arthur blushed and looked away. Alfred stared at the side of his face then glanced at his hummer. "Would you like to meet up again?" He moved his eyes to stare at the Brit, waiting for his answer. Arthur stood their, wanting to leave, but also wanting to stay. For some reason, he liked being around Alfred even though they barely know each other. He nodded and Alfred smiled brightly. He hugged the shorter man, making him blush even more, and started walking to his vehicle. "I'll call you tomorrow after dinner."

Arthur watched the other man get in his beast then drive off. He waited until he couldn't see the hummer any more then walked home.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The next day, Arthur was sent home early. He wasn't sick or anything, but his boss wanted him to "relax" and if possible "invite some friends over." "In fact," Arthur had glanced at Francis as the man thought over giving him vacation, "why don't you just take the week off?" Arthur's mouth dropped and the Frenchman chuckled. "Come back next Monday, okay? And tell me everything you did during your relaxing vacation."

"Why the hell should I tell you anything?" The other man just smiled and walked away. "Francis!" His boss chuckled and ran before Arthur could do anything to him. The Brit huffed a sigh of annoyance and glared at the spot where his boss had stood. "Damn pervert. That's the last time I share anything with Gilbert." He stood there deciding weather to go home or not; after a few minutes passed, he walked out the door with his coat wishing the rest a good day.

"Why do I have to have vacation?" He mumbled to himself. The Brit walked out and around the corner, stopping to lean against the brick wall. "I may complain about not having enough time to rest, but what the hell am I going to do with six days of freedom?"

He kept complaining about his old complaints, making him miss a very familiar looking hummer pass by him. The driver, though, didn't miss seeing him. The vehicle drove into the parking lot, and parked near where Arthur was standing. Alfred jumped out of his hummer and jogged over to his new friend. He was excited to see him again so soon that when he was right next to Arthur he shouted and hugged the smaller man, making him jump and blush. "Iggy!" Arthur blinked as he was embraced. "I didn't think I'd see you so soon!"

The Brit fidgeted in the American's hold. "Let go of me you twit." Alfred chuckled and released him. Arthur dusted himself and straightened his jacket, making his companion shake his head. "Where the hell did you come from?"

Al shrugged. "I just got out of my morning class and decided to drive around a bit. I was going to go home after having a good drive, but then I saw you standing here and couldn't help but pull off and say hello."

Arthur stared at the man and nodded slowly. Has he really taken an interest in me? He blushed and looked away from Alfred. No, we just met; how can he like me already? The American noticed him turn red and inched closer. Arthur blushed even more as he realized how close he was getting. He ransacked his mind, thinking of something to talk about then remembered the other calling him another name. "Iggy?" Alfred blinked. "Why did you call me Iggy?"

The American chuckled. "It's a nickname that I thought of calling you." Arthur glared at him. "I could call you Artie instead."

"No," his look went serious and Alfred was confused as to why his friend was getting all upside down to a simple nickname, "I have a name, so you can call me by that name. Don't call me by other names that aren't mine."

"Why?" Alfred put his arms behind his head. "I like the nickname Iggy, why can't I call you that?"

"Because it's not my name." Arthur's face was getting red, this time from anger.

"So?" The American gazed up a the sky. "I don't see why you have to make a fit over a nickname."

"I'm not making a fit." The Brit stated.

Al chuckled and glanced at the smaller man. "Right, and I'm not falling in love with you." He blinked as he heard what he said. His face went red instantly and so did Arthur's. I didn't mean to say that aloud, I meant to state it in my mind. Damn it, I hate being blonde. "I didn't mean to say that!" He was trying to calm Arthur, so the Brit didn't flip, but he was just making it worse by confirming that he just confessed.

Arthur just stood there, staring up into the flustered face of the man he just met last night. How can he...why did he...is he in love with me? But we just met. He watched Alfred get overly worried and he thought of something. We may have just met, but it'd be a lie if I said that I didn't think about having a relationship like that with him. Hell, I didn't even know him and I started fantasizing about the possibilities that our relationship would work; I only had a mere number and an absurd question to perk my interest.

Arthur sighed and Alfred froze. "Arthur?" The Brit looked at him in the eyes and he blushed even more as he lost himself in the grassy plains that were in Arthur's eyes. "Uh..." he didn't really know what to say, "y-your eyes are beautiful." He blushed out of embarrassment; so did Arthur.

"Git, don't say such stupid things." Arthur was smiling on the inside.

The two didn't know what else to say, so Arthur turned and started for home. "Where are you going?" A flustered American asked.

Arthur peered over his should for a slight second to glance at the other man. "Home." He continued walking, but then stopped as he turned to get a better look at Alfred. He sighed. "Would you like to accompany me home?" Alfred smiled widely and nodded. Before he went to his friend's side, though, he locked up his hummer and grabbed a his bomber jacket. Arthur shook his head as the American was by his side. They started for Arthur's apartment, and soon came to the tunnel. Arthur spotted the wall and sighed. "Still here," Alfred nodded with a blush, "you need to clean it up before you get bombarded with other calls of complaints."

The American chuckled. "True," he looked at the smaller man beside him, "but I don't want to do it alone."

Arthur didn't realize what he meant until he thought about it. He sighed. "So that means you want me to help you?" Alfred nodded. "That means I'll be spending more time with you."

"Yup. It'll be more fun that way, don't you think?" Arthur glanced at the younger man and scowled. Alfred frowned.

The Brit sighed again and looked back at the wall. "I guess so."

The American smiled and took Arthur's hand in his own. "Then it's a date."

Arthur blushed immensely and gave the younger one a look. "What? No, it's not a date." Alfred laughed. He just wanted to stir the Brit up a bit. After they stopped bickering, they walked to Arthur's home, hand in hand.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The Brit couldn't hold back his blush as he saw the American sit next to him. They just got to his apartment and the young blonde couldn't stop talking. He was glad, though; he didn't need to be in a silent room. It was the first time that Arthur had someone besides the loud mouth Prussian that lived next door in his house; it was quite different, but Arthur didn't mind.

Alfred was talking about his college. He went and told all the stories he could think of; how his brother was never really seen and how it pissed him off, how there were some other kids that he loved teasing, how an Italian kept talking about a German named Ludwig. "Ludwig?" Alfred stopped talking and nodded. "Did Feli happen to say his last name?"

"Yeah, it was Veilshmit, or something like that." Arthur chuckled and shook his head.

"It's Beilschmidt."

"Whatever." Arthur chuckled again. "Well, Ludwig, I hear, also goes to the college and that's how Feli knows him. I've never really seen him; only when I have gym and we play football."

The Brit nodded. "Yeah, well since his brother's too lazy to get an actual diploma, Ludwig went to get one; he's doing it for both his brother and himself."

Alfred nodded. "Who's his brother?"

Arthur merely shrugged. He was going to say "oh just a loud, obnoxious, beer drinking Prussian" but he heard a knock on his door. "Who could want to bother me right now?"

"Me." Alfred chuckled as Arthur gave him a look.

"Twit." He went to the door and looked through the peep hole. "Well speaking of the devil." He mumbled to himself. Arthur set a scowl on his face as he opened the door. "What in god's name do you think your doing?" Gilbert smiled. "Why would you bother me right now?"

"You're not busy, right?" He didn't let the Brit answer and just walked in. "I wanted to have a drink with you like we always do. Is that so wrong?" He walked into the living room and paused as he saw a new face in the apartment. "Who's this?"

Arthur shut the door and came from behind him. "He is none of your concern." Alfred frowned as Arthur was pushing the Prussian out the door.

Gilbert was confused until he remembered the night he came over and set Arthur up with a date, the date being Alfred. "Hey, is this the guy that I set you up with? Alfred was it?"

The two blondes blushed. "It wasn't a date!" Arthur's face was priceless to see as he was embarrassed; that's what Gilbert thought, anyway.

"Yes, I'm Alfred." The Brit glared at him and the American shrugged.

The Prussian smiled and sat next to the new guy, pushing Arthur away. "Nice to meet you, I'm the awesome Gilbert." The smaller man rolled his eyes as he sat on the other side of Alfred. "I'm sure Arthur's told you everything about my-awesome-self, and how awesome I am."

"Uh," the younger man looked at the Brit then back at the platinum blonde, "no...not really."

Gilbert's face showed his shock. "What?" He looks at Arthur who just sighs. "You haven't told him about my-awesome-self? You haven't shared with him how I've been your buddy since you moved in? You neglect to state that I've been your drinking pal?" He went on with his list, including an "how awesome I am?" question, and Arthur just kept shaking his head. Alfred started to chuckle. "You didn't even mention Ludwig?"

That caught Alfred's attention. "Ludwig?" Gilbert glanced at the man and slowly nodded. "And he's..."

"My brother." He stated matter-of-factually. "Why do you ask?"

"So this is the guy your were talking about!" Gilbert smiled as he heard he was mentioned. "The guy who's too lazy to get his own diploma, right?"

The Prussian looked offended as Arthur laughed. "Yup. He's the one."

"Why do you disown my-awesomeness?"

Arthur rolled his eyes. "I'm sorry to say this, but" his eyes meet with the Prussian's. Gilbert was ready to hear him say that "he's not awesome" but his friend didn't say that, "it's true." He blinked. "You are lazy; I don't mean to "disown" your "awesomeness". I was just stating a simple fact."

Gilbert smiled, glad to hear his friend disprove a thought he had, and sighed. "Well, there's nothing to do around here."

"You could get a job instead of spending your time drinking with...who was it again?" Arthur knew who he was talking about, but wanted the Prussian to say the name himself.

"Mattie," he smiled and Alfred gave him a bewildered look, "how could you forget his name so easily, Arthur?" The Brit shrugged. "Oh yeah, I just remembered why I came over." His smile went wider. "I met up with Mattie again. He's wicked awesome." Arthur raised his eyebrows and Gilbert laughed. "Yes, I just called someone else "awesome", but it's true."

"I don't know about that." The two looked at the young American. "What? I'm just stating my own opinion." The Prussian's stare was piercing, but it didn't faze Alfred a bit. "He is easily forgotten, you know that? No one remembers him and he's nearly invisible to everyone's eye sight. He also talks with a stupid polar bear like he can understand him. The only use he is is when he takes something that was meant for me, like a beating."

Gilbert had enough. He went over to Alfred and held him by the collar, raising his fist to punch him. Arthur panicked and held the Prussian back. "Don't Gilbert." His friend glared at him. "Please don't."

"Let him, I don't care." They looked back at the victim's face and saw that he wasn't afraid. "I deserve it anyway with the way I treat him."

Arthur couldn't believe his ears. "Alfred." The man looked at his new found friend and smiled weakly. The Brit sighed. "Let him go Gilbert." The Prussian didn't move. "Gilbert, let him go." His friend growled and let him go.

"Are you sad now? Guilty with the way you treat him?" He was venting his anger.

"Wow man, you barely know him and you're protecting him."

"That's what Arthur was trying to do for you, right?" Arthur blushed. "And he barely knows you. So don't pull that shit on me."

Alfred sighed. He sat back down and stared at the wall. "You want to know the truth?" Gilbert didn't need to answer the American; he knew what the Prussian wanted. "I feel horrible when he's hurt. It's not because we are twins; it's because we are brothers." Arthur took a seat next to him and stared at Gilbert, waiting for a reaction. "I get in a lot of messes and he gets what I'm supposed to get. He always comes home with at least one new bruise, and he tries to hide them from me. He's ashamed of himself and makes things worse for him; I try to get him out of that train of thought, but" he shook his head, "he never listens to me.

"He also hates to talk about me when hanging with his friends; the friends that don't mistaken him for me." Gilbert nodded to that as he remembered Matthew dodging the subject of his brother. "He doesn't talk about me with any of them because he doesn't want to remember all of the things he's taken because of me. He may be ashamed of himself, but he has come to hate me. 'Why do I have to be the one mistaken as you? Why don't you get mistaken as me?' He gets overly upset and lashes out his anger at me; I take it because no one else would listen to him. It also helps him calm down a bit, but when I say something silly or hurtful, he goes away and builds up more anger." Alfred paused a moment and sighed. "I hate myself when it comes to my brother. He takes all the pain and beatings that I deserve. You know, I actually wish to be mistaken as him sometimes. It won't happen though since I'm louder. That's another problem of his; he's too quiet." He shook his head and looked at Gilbert. "I'm sorry that you don't like me because more than half the crap I deserve falls onto him." He smiles and states the last thing. "Also, to contradict what I said earlier, he is a great person; nice, will listen, will be there for friends. I love my brother and I know that he's...awesome." He chuckled as he used the famous word that the Prussian uses.

Gilbert's glare softened as he heard the American's story. "So what you usually say, the nasty things, that's just an act?" Alfred nodded. The Prussian sat down and sighed. "Wow."

He thought for a second then stood back up. He started heading for the door and Arthur looked at him. "Where are you going?"

"To hang out with Mattie." Gilbert smiled at the other two. "I'm going to see if he'd like to drink with me and talk about things." He grabbed the knob and opened the door. "Nice meeting you Al." He told the others goodbye then left.

The two blondes shook their heads. "He's something."

"You can say that again." They laughed. "He's a bloody moron sometimes, but he means well." Alfred agreed. "So is it true?" The American looked at his companion. "About your brother?"

He nodded. "Yeah, and I told the truth about how I really felt. We may get on each others bad sides, but don't all brothers?" Arthur scoffed as he recalled his brothers. Yup, I know what he means; bloody hell, why do I need to remember them now? "But, I still love him."

Arthur smiled. "That's good."

Alfred chuckled and stared at his hands. "Yeah, it is, isn't it?" He thought for a bit, letting the silence overtake the room. What I said is true, and it's the first time I've mentioned my true feelings. He sighed. Maybe I should hang out with my brother sometime. Play catch or something; if the something is hockey, there's no way I'm playing that sport with him. I'll watch it with him but I won't play it with him. He shivered at the thought of playing that certain sport with his brother. I hate it when Canadians get super competitive; they're scary. He started to fiddle with his thumbs then stopped as he thought up a question. "Hey, what about you?" Arthur furrowed his brows. "Do you have any brothers?" The Brit's face turned dark; not out of anger, but out of sadness. He nodded slightly and the American, who was starting to feel a bit uncomfortable with the way Arthur's face looked, smiled weakly. "W-well, what are...they like?"

The shorter man glanced away, and focused on his telly. "I don't know." Alfred was stunned. How can he not know? What happened between his brothers and him? Arthur started to remember his brothers again and sighed. "Can we not talk about them?" The Brit didn't look at his friend, and the younger man fowned.

"Sure." The silence took over the room again, and Alfred started scanning the rooms. He scoped the kitchen, and looked down the hall seeing the doors. "Hey, uh," Arthur glanced at him for a second, "where's your bathroom?"

The Brit sighed. "Down the hall and on the right."

Alfred nodded and went down the hall. He didn't really need to go to the bathroom, but wanted to check the apartment out. He reached the door and paused as he stared at the other door on the left. I wonder if that's his bedroom? He chuckled. Of course it is, unless he sleeps on the couch. He glanced behind him and saw Arthur was watching the television; he smirked and quietly opened the bedroom door.

He peered in and his mouth dropped. It was cleaner than his room, but that's not why his mouth fell. He mostly saw either unicorns or flying bunnies. He moved in slowly and closed the door. He's really into the mythological creatures. The American scanned the room and saw there were also fairies. He couldn't help, but chuckle. How many years has he gotten away without saying he's gay? This is totally a gay room. His stare found a pirate and he shook his head. Excluding the pirate.

He took a step further in to see if there was anything that wasn't fairy tale related and saw there was; well only a few things. His clothes were normal, thank goodness, his desk wasn't fully cluttered with stuffed animals, his bed sheets were only the color blue, his lamp was an original bedside lamp; okay so his room wasn't as gay as Alfred thought, but the stuffed animals said otherwise.

Back out in the living room, Arthur glanced into the hallway wonder why going to the bathroom was taking so long. He got up and knocked on the door. When there was no answer, he turned to his bedroom door. He wouldn't. He opened the door and found Alfred holding one of his precious unicorn dolls. "What are you doing in my bloody room?" Alfred jumped and dropped his doll. The startled American looked at his host and smiled weakly. "The bathroom is across the hall, not here. Now get out of my room."

"Sorry," said the guilty man. He walked past Arthur and stood in the hall as the Brit closed his door. "Sorry," he said again. Arthur just shook his head and crossed his arms. "I got curious."

"What's so curious about my room?" Alfred shrugged.

"I just wanted to see what your room could tell me." The Brit furrowed his brows as he cocked his head. "They say if you look at someones room, it will tell you things that the owner neglects to share." He chuckled. "Your room told me that you are gay, but don't know it just yet; like your friend said before." Arthur blushed.

"Bloody twit." He turned and headed into the living room. Alfred followed. "Don't you need to get going?" The youngest man frowned, but he knew the Brit was right.

"Yeah, I guess I do." Arthur was standing next to his couch, no turning to face the other or to bid him a good night. "Well...I'll be leaving now, to my dorm room." He turned his body a little, still looking at the stubborn man's back. "Yup, back to the campus I go."

"Then just bloody go already." Alfred chuckled.

"All right, I guess I'll go then." He fully turned around and paused before leaving. "I'll see you tomorrow Iggy."

"Who said I'll be here tomorrow? And I thought I told you not to call me Iggy!" The American chuckled again and left before Arthur could yell anymore. The Brit sighed and sat on the couch. "Bloody American." His thoughts started running around and he started to smile a bit. "Bloody brat." He recalled how they were holding hands just hours ago as they walked to his house. "Bloody man." His head fell against the back of the chair. "I'm having a hard time not falling in love with you." He blushed. "I'm so glad that he wasn't here to hear that." And anyway, I'd keep denying that fact until I go insane. He sighed. It's a wonder what happens in peoples lives, and it's a miracle to fall in love with someone so quickly when you barely know them.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Weeks have passed and Alfred had kept coming to Arthur's place. Since he knew where it was, the Brit was getting annoyed every time he had an "unwanted" guest. The American was visiting Arthur's apartment for the dozenth time, or more, he stopped noticing a while ago. Alfred was waiting for him on his step. The Brit had just gotten back from his shift, and was shocked to see Alfred here. "Why are you here so bloody late in the night?" Alfred looked up, his red eyes meeting Arthur's. The Brit instantly started to worry. "What's wrong?"

"Let's talk about it in your apartment." Arthur nodded and quickly opened up his door, letting the upset American inside.

Alfred went instantly to the couch and plopped on it, laying down fully like it was a bed. Arthur sat his stuff in a chair and went right over to the man. "What happened? Why are you crying?"

"I'm not crying." He wiped his eyes to make sure there weren't any tears falling. "I've just had a bad day, that's all."

"A bad day?" Arthur didn't believe he was telling him everything. "Why are your eyes red then? They only go red if you cried hard, got drunk, or used some drugs." Alfred flinched as he heard the word "drugs" and the Brit looked at him fiercely. "Don't tell me your a drugy now."

"No I'm not." Arthur crossed his arms and the college man groaned. "I'm telling you the truth, I've just had a bad day." He looked up at the other man. "Can I stay for the night? I don't want to go back to the dorm rooms."

Arthur frowned as he sighed. "Sure, but you're sleeping on the couch." The other nodded and the Brit went into the kitchen. "Did you eat?"

"No."

"Would you like something?" Arthur opened the refrigerator and waited for the other to answer. There was a mumble in the other room and he took it as another no. "Would you like something to drink at least?"

"Coffee..." Arthur nodded and started making some coffee for the American as he closed the refrigerator's door. He glanced back into the living room. I hope Alfred's all right. He looked back at the coffee and grabbed it as it finished. He walked into the room and handed it to the American. He took it graciously. "Thank you."

The Brit nodded. "So..." Alfred took a sip of his coffee as his eyes met Arthur's, "what made you upset?"

The young man sighed as he set the cup on the table beside him. "It's nothing." He knew that Arthur wouldn't believe him, but he just didn't want to talk right now. "Hey Iggy, do you have any horror movies?" The Brit was confused but nodded. "Could we watch some?"

"Why?" Alfred shrugged.

"When I get like this, watching a horror movie usually relaxes me." Well, not all the time, but it does make me feel a bit better when I watch it with someone. "Will you watch it with me?"

"Sure." Arthur kept getting more confused, but got out his favorite horror movie from England. The movie is called "28 Days Later..." and it's the Brit's favorite horror movie made from England. When it comes to American horror movies, he likes the "Resident Evil" series; they're not that horrific or scary, but it's considered as a horror. "I hope you don't get frightened by this movie."

"I've probably seen it before, so I won't." Boy was Alfred wrong. He's never seen this specific movie before, and it wasn't half bad, at first. It wasn't until the infected actually came onto the screen and started killing that Alfred started freaking out. Half way through the movie, Arthur kept hearing him chant: "They're all going to die. I just know it, they're going to die."

Arthur couldn't really pay attention once the young man started doing that, and he had all he could do not to laugh at how silly his friend was being. It's not even that scary, and he's getting all worked up over it. I think I'll postpone the sequel for a while; I don't want him to get overly scared. The Brit chuckled and tried to watch the rest of the movie.

It soon ended and Alfred heaved a sigh. "I knew it'd all work out in the end." Arthur scoffed. "What?"

The ash blonde shook his head. "You thought they'd die." The American huffed and denied that he did. "Whatever you say." Arthur wasn't up for any fights, so he just got up. "I'm tired," he stated, "I guess I'll turn in for the night." He glanced at the other blonde. "Good night, Alfred."

The other just nodded and situated himself on the couch. The Brit shut the lights off and went to his room, leaving a scared American in the pitch black living room. After some hours passed, a storm had come through. Alfred was still up, unable to sleep, and jumped as lighting flashed through the windows. He was up and ran into his hosts room. He made his way to the bed and stopped as another flash came in Arthur's window. The American looked around then back at Arthur. "I-Iggy." Some thunder clapped and he jumped into the bed.

The sleepy Brit had woken up out of his sleep. "What the bloody hell?" His stare landed on a shivering body beside him. He sighed and lightly pushed the git. "What are you doing in my room?" All he got was a yelp as another thunder came through the walls. "What's wrong now?"

"I-I can't sleep." His blue eyes gazed up at Arthur's grassy eyes. "Is it all right...if I sleep with you?" The Brit blinked. "J-just for tonight!"

The Englishman scanned the man's face and softened his own. "Oh all right. Just don't make me be up all night."

"I won't." Alfred instantly went under the covers and settled in the bed. "Thanks Iggy."

"It's Arthur, brat." He settled back into his bed and rolled over to the side, having his back face the other man.

"Whatever." The blue eyed blonde sighed with relief, and was getting comfortable in the bed. "Good night, Arthur."

The Brit beside him blushed. He literally just called me by my name. He...he doesn't do that that often. "G-good night."

Some days passed after their first night of sleeping in the same bed. Nothing weird had happened between the two, and Alfred's increase of visiting Arthur supports that. It wasn't until one night that things started heating up a bit. Alfred was waiting for Arthur like always, and he smiled at the oncoming Brit. "Hey, Iggy~!" The ash blonde rolled his eyes as he approached his door and opened it.

"Did you get everything settled, yet?" His companion pouted, but nodded. "Good, would you like to fill me in on what you did?"

"Yeah, sure." The blonde shrugged and followed the Brit inside his apartment. Arthur started up a batch of coffee as soon as he set his stuff down; Alfred smiled and plopped onto the couch. "He apologized to me," Arthur came over to listen until their heated beverages were done, "after I called the police, of course." The Brit sighed as a smile came onto his lips. "You know, I've heard stories of teachers sexually harassing students, but I never thought it'd happen to me."

"I know," Alfred laid his head back on the couch's rim and saw Arthur upside down. The Brit chuckled and got there drinks. He gave his friend his coffee and sat next to him, "I bet you feel better with him jail." The American nodded.

"I have you to thank;" he smiled and Arthur blushed, "if it wasn't for you telling my stubborn self to report him, I would've been watching horror movies and scaring myself shitless for the rest of my life." The Englishman chuckled. "Thanks Iggy." He kissed the shorter man's cheek, and Arthur blushed even more.

"W-what was that?" It was the first move the younger one made on him, not that he's complaining, but it surprised him.

"A kiss." Alfred smiled more, but then toned down the brightness as he stared at the one he's been falling in love with the past few weeks. It's almost been a month since I met him, and I haven't done anything until now. I hope we'll get together. He may be stubborn and suck at cooking, but I still love the man. "I can give you more if you want."

Arthur's face flushed, and he started stuttering. "You don't need to! And who the hell says that? It's a bloody stupid line." The American chuckled as he embraced his companion. "L-let go of me! Git, I said let go of me!" He started to flail his arms, trying to get out of the others hold. Alfred refused to let the Brit go, and soon placed a kiss upon his lips. The ash blonde froze as he processed what just happened. He touched his lips shortly then tried to get out of the American's arms again. "Release me you annoying tosser!"

"Just give up. You're not going to get out of my hold." He chuckled as the other scowled. "And anyway, I don't want to let you go." Arthur sighed, but didn't give up.

"Why did you kiss me?"

"Isn't it obvious?" The American loosened his grip on the Brit as he gazed into the face he fell in love with. "I love you."

The face he was staring at turned red again. "How can you say that so freely and easily?"

"Trust me, it isn't." Arthur blinked and stared at him out of confusion. "Hey man, it took me an entire month to actually take a step and kiss you." He smiled at the Brit. "That's a good sign to me; that tells me that I really love you, and that I'll do anything for us to stay together and be happy."

"Sappy twat." Alfred chuckled and kissed him. "S-stop it."

"I know that you don't mind." One of his hands started to drift down to Arthur's waist, close enough to his private part. "If you did, you'd be fighting with me a bit more."

"S-shut up." The American finally grazed his hand over his part, and Arthur gasped as the other groped it. "Nn...stop it...don't touch me there."

"Too late." Alfred started kissing his lover, putting his hand down the other's pants.

"Don't!" The Brit started to fight against his partner, but couldn't as the blonde jerked at his dick. "Ah...nn..." Some drool was coming out of Arthur's mouth as he was getting turned on. "A-Alfred...st...op. Please." The American merely kissed him again and continued jerking him off. He was still fighting against the annoying brat, but gave up as he succumbed to his pleasure. There lips broke free for a breath of air, and Arthur moaned. "I-I'm coming." And just as he said, he came.

His flushed face fell against Alfred's shoulder as the one blonde looked at his messy hand. "You came quickly." He chuckled as the Brit hit his chest, saying "shut up". "Should we continue this in your room?"

Arthur thought about it and nodded slightly. The American picked him up enthusiastically and went into the other room. For a messed up Brit, Arthur thinks, I'm getting what I wanted; to be loved by someone. And all this started over a ridiculous sentence. He chuckled to himself as they stripped and Alfred started fingering him. "Nn..."

"Does it hurt?" He shook his head as he released a huff of air. "Okay, tell me when it does though." He nodded and once the American thought he was stretched enough, he started pushing himself inside. Arthur gasped and clung onto the sheets below him. Alfred knew that it hurt and started apologizing. "I'm sorry." When he was fully in, he sighed and the Brit swung his arms around the American's neck. "It's fully in." He stated.

"I can feel that." Arthur said. He was completely shocked at how calm he was and how they instantly were having sex. "It hurts." He mumbled.

"I'm sorry." Alfred whispered as he kissed his lover's lips. "I'll start out slow, okay?" The Brit nodded and the young blonde started thrusting.

Hours later, after they finished having there first round of sex, Arthur smothered his face into a pillow. I can't believe I just did it with him. He peered at the wall and sighed. I never thought I'd ever get this far...with anyone. And he didn't even warn me about it hurting; my bloody ass hurts like hell. He wanted to roll over, but figured it'd be best not to. He sighed again and started thinking about that certain wall. "Speaking of which," he glanced at Alfred, who was staring at him. He blushed, and cleared his throat, "we still need to paint over that insane sentence."

His lover pouted. "Let's do it tomorrow." He hugged his companion, making the other groan a bit. "I still want some more."

"Bloody hell, let me rest. That was my first time having sex with a man and my bloody ass hurts. Let it get better first before you do anymore." Alfred pouted again, but obeyed the request. He rolled over onto his side, and huffed, but soon started thinking about how they first met. It was because of his friends putting up that ridiculous thing on the wall. He chuckled. Looks like I'll have to thank my friends; because of them, I met Arthur and found the person who I'll give my everything to. And to think that the question: "Looking 4 Gay Love?" had brought this entire thing together. He chuckled again and kissed Arthur. "I love you, Iggy."

"It's Arthur you bloody wanker!" That just made the other laugh some more. The Brit sighed and smiled at Alfred. "I love you too, git."

---

Note: I'm sorry if this sucks. I just wanted to write a one-shoot that was a couple of pages long, but it went up to forty pages long. I had told my friend i'd make this story, so i did. Also, the thing about the sentence "Looking 4 Gay Love?" is true. I went to this Pen In Hand Conference and my friend, Emily, and i saw that as we went into the tunnel under the tracks. We laughed our heads off at first and the i was like "I totally have an idea for a USUK fanfic now." And she said "I was waiting for you to say that." So yeah, it was funny for us, but serious for Artie.

Like i said, i'm sorry if it sucks and no one likes it, or if it was mushy. I do thank you for those of you that read the entire thing, and if it's confusing i'll try to fix some things.

Thanks for reading! R&R!