Hi hi! I wrote this fic for the USUKUS Twice Per Year collection on Tumblr, which is filled with lots of wonderful fics and fanarts done by many fantastic people! It was a lot of fun participating in the event, and I hope you all will enjoy reading! ^_^
A Pink Spring
An angel. A blond haired, green eyed angel.
That's who Alfred F. Jones, a college junior, believed was standing in front of him right now. The door to the heavens had opened up and there was an angel there to greet him. The cherry blossom petals floating down into his field of vision, from the tree right beside the entrance, was making his situation even worse; as if this was some shoujo manga and he was meeting his soulmate in the springtime of youth.
Dressed in a white button up shirt with a grey vest and a black jacket, with matching pants tailored to accentuate his curves, and with his hair neatly slicked up and to the side, the angel gracefully bowed and spoke, "Welcome back, masters. Please come in."
There was one tiny problem, however. The angel spoke Japanese. If he was supposed to answer back, Alfred had no idea what he was supposed to say.
The flustered Alfred turned to his close friend and roommate, Kiku Honda, for help, with his eyes darting back and forth from Kiku to the angel. Kiku merely tipped his head in a 'follow me' fashion, as he entered the building. Alfred followed close behind.
"He was only greeting us," Kiku translated. "No need to be nervous, Alfred-san."
Noticing that Kiku was speaking English, the angel quickly switched languages. "My name is Arthur, and I shall take you to your table."
Alfred gulped. An English accent. His angel had an English accent. Alfred knew he was doomed the moment he laid his eyes on Arthur. Not only was his physical features unfairly attractive, but his accent also struck Alfred right through his heart.
Once Kiku and Alfred were seated at their table, Arthur unfolded a napkin and meticulously placed it on Kiku's lap first, then did the same for Alfred. Alfred may or may not have noticed, but Kiku's sharp eyes caught Arthur's hands lingering over Alfred's lap for a while longer, as well as how Arthur had taken more time to place the napkin in Alfred's lap. However, the Japanese man just smiled and kept the little detail to himself.
Afterwards, Arthur bowed and said, "Excuse me for a moment. I shall go and prepare your meal."
Once Arthur was out of sight, Kiku turned to Alfred and asked, "So, Alfred-san, what is your first impression of my family's café?"
Alfred wasn't only thinking about his first impression. As if his memories were stored on a disk, his mind went into rewind mode, as Alfred recapped how in the world he ended up at Kiku's family-owned café in Japan during their spring break.
A loud bang resounded through the dorm room as Alfred enthusiastically slammed open his door, startling Kiku, who was hunched over on his desk working on an assignment.
"Kiku! Dude! I know it's only January, but do you already have plans for spring break?"
"Um, I have not thought about it yet. Why do you ask Alfred-san?"
"My parents entered this lottery-like thing, and they won 2 plane tickets to Tokyo, but they said they weren't expecting to win anything and they had work, so they couldn't go. So, they're giving the tickets to me, and since you're from Tokyo, I thought we could go together during spring break and you would get a chance to visit your family!" Alfred gushed in one huge breath.
"That is… very nice of you to invite me, Alfred-san. Thank you. I actually might take you up on that offer. I did not get a chance to go back during winter break."
"Your parents are gonna be super psyched!" Alfred added. "It's gonna be my first time in Japan too so I thought it'd be great if I had you with me too!"
"Ah yes, do not worry Alfred-san," Kiku reassured with a small, mysterious grin. "By the way, did I ever tell you that my family runs a café?"
"When you told me about your family's café I was not expecting this," Alfred whispered. "And my dude, you never warned me that there was someone this good looking working here!"
Kiku chuckled. "Well, my house is near Ikebukuro…and I'm sure you know what types of cafes are popular in places like Akihabara and Ikebukuro. Also, I specifically requested Arthur-san to serve us. I thought having an English speaker serve us would be easier on you as well. Not to mention, Arthur-san is amazing at this job. He has been working at Bluebird for four years now."
"D'you think I'd be able to ask him out for like one date?" Alfred gushed, hope sparkling in his eyes.
"Hmm," Kiku hummed. He then leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms. "Our establishment technically doesn't have any rules against any of our employers going out on dates so it all depends on Arthur-san. But-"
"Nice!" Alfred interrupted cheerfully, with his mouth spread out in a huge, endearing smile. "Actually I don't even know if I can ask him out, but I can try…sometime later. Also, I gotta say, your family owns a pretty sweet café. You guys must have a lot of customers."
"We have…a large pool of interesting customers," Kiku answered with a small chuckle. His fingers played with the ends of the napkin that Arthur laid down on his lap. "I'll bring you back here again for dinner some other day. You and I have been close friends ever since our first year, but I realized that I never told you much about my family. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to come back home."
"You're like the first friend I ever made at college Kiku, and I really appreciate all those times you've helped me with school! And you're like one of the few people I like playing games with," Alfred brightly confessed. "Thanks for being a great buddy!"
"Pardon me masters."
Alfred and Kiku turned their attentions to Arthur, who had just returned and was balancing, on one hand, a tray with a white teapot and a couple of delicate white teacups with floral patterns on them. While Arthur professionally placed the teacups and teapot, Kiku took the chance to speak.
"Long time no see, Arthur-san. I see that work is going well for you."
"It is, Master Kiku. I'm glad to see that you're back," Arthur replied calmly.
"There's no need to act this professionally around me, Arthur-san. We're friends after all," Kiku reassured. Knowing that Arthur was still on the clock though, Kiku quickly followed up, "Let us meet up after you finish work, Arthur-san. We all can have a nice chat then. You can come by my house after your shift."
"Certainly, Master Kiku," Arthur responded. After he had finished placing Alfred's teacup down, he straightened up and asked, "Is there a specific meal set that you would like to order, masters? Or would you prefer to have today's special set?"
"Today's special set for me please," Kiku replied.
"As you wish," Arthur confirmed. He then turned to Alfred. "And for you, master?"
"You," Alfred replied without thinking. After he realized that he let his desires slip, the American muttered a small 'oops' and tore his eyes away from Arthur.
The professional smile that Arthur had always maintained until now slowly turned into a small, awkward, confused, yet still adorable frown. "E-Excuse me?"
Before Alfred could dig further into his own grave, Kiku kicked his shin under the table, earning a grunt from the American, and interrupted, "Please do not mind him, Arthur-san. May we please get two of today's specials?"
"Er, of course, masters. I shall be out with your orders. Please ring the bell in the middle of the table if you have any questions or would like to add to your order." With that, Arthur bowed slightly and walked away.
"Alfred-san, please, I know you tend to speak before thinking, but try not to make things too awkward for Arthur-san," Kiku whispered. "We will be meeting up with him later, so feel free to flirt then."
A speechless Alfred merely nodded and raised his teacup to his lips to take a sip as he tried to subtly veer his eyes away from Kiku and towards Arthur. Of course, unfortunately for Alfred, his "subtle" gazing doesn't escape Kiku's attention.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Kiku. I had to help clean up and set up for the night too," Arthur apologized once Kiku opened the door to usher Arthur inside. Kiku waved his hand back and forth, wordlessly telling Arthur that it was okay.
The blond man took off his shoes and stepped in the house, not failing to notice the extra pair of shoes lying on the ground. "About your friend today…"
"Ah yes, I still have not introduced the two of you," Kiku reminded himself as he led Arthur further in to his house. He opened the door to his room only for the two of them to be greeted by a half-naked Alfred in just his boxers sitting on the floor, with one hand stuck in a bag of chips and the other holding a PS4 controller.
Kiku heaved a sigh and massaged his temple while Arthur immediately turned a bright shade of red. Suddenly, Kiku's anime figure collection seemed so much more interesting to the Brit. When Alfred finally realized that the waiter/butler he was hitting on earlier in the day was standing in the doorway with Kiku, the hand stuck in the bag of chips immediately shot out to grab his t-shirt lying nearby and quickly stuck his head in as he attempted to put it on.
As Alfred flailed around, trying to get his shirt back on, he stood up and greeted Arthur, "Oh hi there! It's great to meet you agai—!"
The gods have definitely had something against Alfred, since as soon as he took a step forward, he stepped on the other PS4 controller, let out a high pitched yelp, and ended up barreling straight into Arthur while Kiku swiftly sidestepped to avoid being tackled by his bulky roommate.
"Alfred-san. While I am used to you staying this way back in our dorm, maybe you should keep your clothes on while you are here. You never know when my parents will barge in… or in this case, if Arthur-san decides to visit," Kiku advised while trying to hold back his laughter.
Alfred pushed himself up slightly, only to find himself mere inches away from Arthur's face. Arthur's emerald green eyes widened ever so slightly once his brain processed that Alfred was very much on top of him and that he had Arthur caged between his arms, which, Arthur noticed, was quite toned. Arthur's eyes trailed up, admiring Alfred's arms, and soon caught Alfred's gaze. The Brit realized how obvious he was being and quickly broke eye contact with Alfred, shifting his gaze to the side, and kept his eyes glued to the ground.
Alfred, on the other hand, wasn't even trying to hide the fact that he was checking Arthur out. He noticed how Arthur's cheeks was dusted in an adorable pink hue. Then his eyes travelled down to Arthur's exposed neck, which looked super appealing to Alfred all of a sudden as he resisted the urge to just lean down ever so slightly and nip on the Brit's smooth, pale skin and leave his mark…
A cough interrupted Alfred's thoughts and snapped him back to reality where he found himself even closer to Arthur's neck than he thought he initially was. Alfred gulped and slowly brought his head up to see Arthur, who was blushing even harder, and had one of his hands covering the lower half of his face in an attempt to hide his embarrassment.
"Gooooddd he's so cute. How can he be this cute?" Alfred mentally gushed, with his eyes glued on Arthur's embarrassed face. Arthur's irises flicked left and right as he tried to not stare directly at Alfred. As cheesy as it sounded, Alfred secretly found Arthur's attempt at hiding his embarrassment, so adorable he could squish the man in a tight hug right now.
His traitorous body would have done it too, if not for Kiku clearing his throat loudly.
"As much as I hate interrupting you two lovebirds, I would really, really advise you two to not 'get it on' in my bedroom," Kiku warned half-jokingly.
Now Alfred's face was as red as Arthur's as he scrambled to get off of the Brit. After clearing his throat in a poor attempt to dissolve his awkwardness, Alfred spoke, "Uh, so we met back at the café…"
"Yes, I remember quite clearly," Arthur replied while he pushed himself back up to his feet as well. Arthur took a breath to calm himself back down and stuck out his hand. "Arthur Kirkland. Pleased to meet you."
Alfred quickly took Arthur's hand in a firm handshake. "I'm Alfred Jones! It's great to finally meet you…uh… officially."
"I've heard some…interesting stories about you from Kiku," Arthur commented, which earned Kiku a quick, panicked glance from Alfred. "No worries, he hasn't revealed too crazy of a story yet."
Alfred threw a glance at Kiku, mouthing, "I'm watching you from now on", while Kiku merely gave him an innocent smile.
"Well, now that you two have officially met, why don't you get to know each other better?" Kiku suggested. "Arthur-san you don't have your night shift today at the café, right?"
At the words "night shift", Alfred noticed that Arthur tensed up slightly. "Erm, not tonight, no," Arthur answered. "If you were planning to stop by during my night shift…"
"Oh, I was only asking to see if you were free tonight," Kiku interrupted with his usual, calm demeanor. "That being said, shall we go then? I was planning on the two of us showing Alfred-san a bit of Shibuya and getting dinner there together, if you don't mind."
"I don't mind," Arthur replied. "Do you have somewhere in mind already?"
Kiku walked over to his chair to grab his coat. "Yes, I do. Let us go then."
After an extremely satisfying dinner and with Alfred constantly raving about how good the set meal he had was the whole way back home, the trio finally arrived at Ikebukuro Station. Kiku was content. He had a great dinner and he managed to get two of his closest friends to get to know a little more about each other. Kiku was a little concerned that it would be slightly awkward at first, since he knows that Arthur can be hard person to talk with. However, Alfred, with his charm and constant questions, somehow eased the Brit into making conversation. Kiku was a great friend to both, always ready to jump in with embarrassing stories about both Alfred and Arthur, much to the two blondes' dismay. The night was over, and the trio parted ways. Arthur walked back to his house in one direction while Kiku and Alfred went in the other.
"That was some goooood food," Alfred groaned as he proceeded to slither down onto his back on the floor of Kiku's room once they got back home.
"I'm glad you enjoyed it," Kiku commented.
"Oh yeah, I almost forgot to ask," Alfred started. "I remember you telling me about this flower viewing event that a lot of people do here in spring. Are we gonna do something like that sometime?" the American excitedly asked.
Kiku folded his arms and thought for a while. "I think the best day to go flower viewing may be in a couple of days. I, unfortunately, have to meet up with my relatives for a few days, so I have to apologize; I may not be able to take you to hanami."
"Aww, that's totally ok!" Alfred assured. "Uh, do you think Artie would wanna go?"
"Oh?" Kiku smirked. "I'm sure Arthur-san would love to. He's always enjoyed hanami in the past. If you ask him to take you, he would probably… well, he would probably pretend that he has no interest in it but take you anyway."
"Awesome! Thanks Kiku! I'll ask Artie then."
"I suggest going to Inokashira Park." Kiku said as he made himself comfortable on the floor. "It is a bit far from here, but it is a beautiful park with a lot of sakura trees. Other than flower viewing, there are many other things you can do there as well."
"Cool! I can't wait!" gushed an enthusiastic Alfred. "Ahh, honestly, I hope Artie will see this as a date and not just volunteering to guide a friend's friend."
"Hmm," Kiku hummed. "Just ask Arthur-san out, and I will tell you of some things you can do at the park." Kiku pulled out his phone from his pocket and started finding Arthur's number.
"Woah woah," Alfred panicked. "You want me to ask him out now?"
"Why not? If you ask him now it will also give Arthur-san some time to prepare for your date."
"I can't just ask him out on a date out of the blue," Alfred weakly argued.
"You seemed to have no problem hitting on him in the café," Kiku retaliated.
"That was an accident!" an embarrassed Alfred retorted. "Ok, I really do wanna ask him now but can you give me some time to like, prepare myself-"
With a sly smile, Kiku shoved his phone into Alfred's chest. "Too late, the phone's ringing."
"Wha—"
"Yes, Kiku?" Arthur's voice rang clear from the phone.
Alfred quickly pressed the phone to his ear. "Ah uh, Arthur! Hi, it's Alfred. Can I uh ask you something?"
Alfred could feel and hear his heart pounding. He doesn't even know why he was getting so nervous over asking out Arthur on one little date. The worst that could happen is face rejection…and humiliate himself in front of Arthur…which Alfred clearly doesn't want…
"Oh that's great," Alfred sarcastically thought to himself. "Now I'm just making myself more nervous."
"Alfred?" Arthur called. "Are you okay? You haven't been responding—"
"Oh, yeah, uh huh, I'm totally fine!" Alfred quickly answered, but didn't sound too reassuring since his voice jumped to a higher pitch. "I'm uh…are you free? And I don't mean now."
"…When?" Arthur followed up. "And for what purpose?"
Alfred gulped. "So uh, Kiku just told me about flower viewing! Yeah, so since I've never done that before, I was wondering if you could come with me and we could view flowers…together?"
"Ahh, hanami?" Arthur confirmed. "Well, I, er, do not really have much interest in it, b-but since you've never experienced it before, I'll accompany you."
Alfred released a huge breath he didn't even realize that he was holding. "You will?"
"Yes, I will, b-but that's only because you've never gone flower viewing, alright?" Arthur defended.
Alfred was grinning from ear to ear now. "Ok, ok, I got it! Thanks, Artie!" Alfred let his little nickname for Arthur slip.
"A-Artie?" Arthur repeated. "Oh well, it's my pleasure. What about Kiku?"
"Oh right, Kiku said he was gonna be busy meeting relatives and catching up and stuff, so he can't come with."
"I see. Well then, do you have a preference on what day and where you would prefer to go?"
"Mmhm! Kiku told me that Inokashira Park…" Alfred turned to Kiku to confirm that he was saying the name of the place correctly. Once Kiku gave him a thumbs up, he continued, "…is a great place! He also said a good day to go would be in a couple of days."
"Hm, that is true," Arthur agreed. "Alright then, meet me at the train station early in the morning, perhaps around 7 or so, so that we can find a spot in the park easier."
A beaming Alfred replied, "Ok, I can do 7! I can't wait! I'll see you then?"
"Yes, but do not be late," Arthur warned. "Many people tend to arrive very early, especially to reserve a spot for flower viewing, so if we are late, there's no guarantee that we will get a spot."
Alfred nodded. "I got it! I'll wake up super early!"
"Good to hear," Arthur said. "You have a temporary phone card right? You should save my number in case we need to contact each other. You can send me a message with your number so that I have yours as well."
"Got it," Alfred promised.
"Then, for tomorrow I will bring some food and drinks for us. Do you mind asking Kiku if he has a picnic sheet for us to use?"
"Sure!"
"Thank you. Then, I shall see you in a couple of days."
"See you, Artie!"
With that, the two of them hung up. Kiku immediately jumped in, "He was willing to go, wasn't he?"
"Yeah, he sounded kind of excited, even," Alfred said. "You were right too. He pretended that he wasn't even interested, but he accepted real fast."
"Did he say he was bringing food?" Kiku asked.
"Yep!" Alfred nodded. "Oh, and he also asked if you had a picnic sheet we could use…Kiku?"
"Ah, yes, I do," Kiku answered. "I will say one thing though, Alfred-san…"
"What?"
"When you try his cooking…good luck."
"Wait, what do you mean?" a curious Alfred asked.
"You will see," Kiku mysteriously replied.
On the night before his date, Alfred checked his phone multiple times to make sure that he set an alarm for the morning. Thanks to Kiku, he made sure that the outfit he was going to wear for the date was neatly folded and set out so that he doesn't need to rummage through his suitcase at the last minute. Once he was sure that he had everything ready, and that he had sent his number to Arthur, Alfred crawled under his blanket, closed his eyes, and attempted to fall asleep early. Five minutes passed, and Alfred still found himself very much awake. He tossed and turned under his blanket, trying to get more comfortable, but in the end, gave up and reached for his phone.
"I'll just browse Twitter and Facebook for a few minutes," Alfred promised himself. "Just a few minutes…"
Of course, a few minutes turned into a few hours. Alfred started nodding off, then completely falling into a deep slumber with his phone still turned on, in his hand, pressed against his chest.
….
…
"Alfred-san!"
Alfred felt someone frantically shaking him awake. Alfred's eyes refused to open, so his only response was to let out a groan of complaint. The frantic shaking continued for a few more seconds, but then the person gave up and opted to tear Alfred's blanket off of him instead. Due to Kiku's house (like most houses in Japan) not having a centralized heating system, Kiku's room was quite chilly, and the cold suddenly bit into Alfred's skin, immediately making the American's eyes fly open.
"Kikuuuu lemme nap for like 5 more minutes," Alfred complained while curling up into a ball.
"Alfred-san… please tell me you remember what day today is," Kiku reminded.
Still half-asleep, Alfred turned over on his other side and mumbled, "Mm someone's birthday…?"
"I've had Arthur-san call me three times already," Kiku casually commented.
At the mention of Arthur's name, Alfred's eyes flew open and he immediately sat up. "No, no, no, no…" Alfred started chanting as he went on his knees and started feeling around the ground for his phone.
"If you are looking for your phone, it's charging on my desk," Kiku said. Alfred jumped up, off the ground and stumbled over to Kiku's desk to take his phone. "When Arthur-san called the first time, I checked your phone to see why your alarm did not ring. It seems that you did not lock it last night, nor did you charge it, so it ended up running out of battery."
"Oh maaaan," Alfred moaned. "This is already going really badly. Dammit, I promised Artie that I'd meet him early!" Alfred then unlocked his phone to check the time, only to drop his phone and cradle his face in his palms in distress. "Ughhh you've gotta be kidding me, it's already 9? Arthur's probably given up waiting for me…"
"Actually," Kiku interrupted. "I received a call from him some time ago and he is actually on his way here." Coincidentally, the doorbell rang. "That is probably him, so I suggest you get dressed, Alfred-san. I also need to leave in about half an hour, so please hurry."
Alfred nodded and rushed off to the bathroom after grabbing his clothes while Kiku went to open the door for Arthur.
"I am so, so, so, so, so, sorry!" Alfred frantically apologized as he and Arthur made their way over to the station. "I swear, I set the alarm and checked so many times, but I couldn't fall asleep too early, so I ended up going on my phone and then I didn't even know when I fell asleep—"
Alfred's long apology was interrupted by Arthur's sigh. "It's okay, Alfred, we'll just have a bit of a harder time reserving a spot."
"No, no, it's totally not okay," Alfred insisted. "I messed up big time and made you wait for so long, and you even had to come to Kiku's house to get me. I'll make it up to you, I promise!"
Arthur folded his arms and tilted his head up to meet Alfred's intense gaze. "Alright then, I'll take you up on that."
Alfred beamed. "Thanks Artie! Again, I'm suuuuper sorry for messing up so early…"
Once they arrived at the park, Alfred was pretty surprised to see so many people. Like Arthur said, they had to walk around for quite a while to find somewhere nice to lay their picnic sheet down and reserve a spot. As they were walking, Alfred did get distracted by the many beautiful bloomed sakura trees, but he didn't allow himself to get too carried away staring at the flowers. Once they secured a place, Alfred was free to drink in his surroundings and fully appreciate the beauty of the cherry blossoms that were both bloomed on the trees and fluttering down to the ground. Arthur and Alfred were also lucky enough to find a place close to the lake so not only were they able to admire the flowers, but they were also able to look out at the lake and see swan boats, paddle boats, and row boats circling around.
"Wow," Alfred breathily exclaimed. "It really is beautiful." He looked around and soon his eyes were fixed on Arthur, who was staring in the lake's direction. "Yep…beautiful," Alfred quietly added on.
Arthur turned his head to face Alfred. "Did you say something?"
Alfred shook his head. "Nah, I was just…admiring the view."
"Yes, the view is quite nice," Arthur agreed, a soft smile spreading across his lips. The sight made Alfred's heart skip a beat. "Oh right, I brought some food for us." Arthur started taking out the both the food he bought and prepared out of his bag. He handed a bento box to Alfred. "I wanted to try making a bento, but I decided to just put time into making my favorite scones," Arthur explained. "I'm not too used to making a bento yet, but I'm more confident in baking, so…if you like, you can try the scones after the bento."
Arthur cleared his throat after making his offer to mask his slight embarrassment, but the blush that tinted Arthur's cheeks didn't escape Alfred's sight. The American gave Arthur a bright grin. "I'd love to try your scones Artie!" After scarfing down the bento at the speed of light, Alfred took one of Arthur's scones and popped the whole baked good in his mouth, resulting in him almost immediately regretting his decision.
"Is…Is this what English scones are supposed to taste like?" Alfred asked himself as he attempted to chew the unnaturally hard dessert that also seemed to taste a bit…just…a bit… burnt. "My God, this is hard to chew."
Arthur gazed at Alfred expectantly. "So? What do you think?"
Alfred took one look at Arthur's excited expression and tried to swallow the whole scone, completely giving up on chewing. He then faced Arthur and gave him an awkward smile. "Well… it's pretty uh… unique?"
Arthur's shoulders slumped and he heaved a heavy sigh. "Still no good, huh?" The older man then faced away from Alfred and pulled his knees up to his chin, a small pout visible on his lips.
Seeing his crush act this way was not good for Alfred's heart. "After seeing him work at Kiku's café as this classy butler, I never thought I'd see this side of Artie…" Alfred thought.
"Well, it looks like I'll have to try again," Arthur declared. He reached out for a scone himself and opened a small jar of jam. After spreading the jam on the scone, he took a bite. "I don't see a problem with my scones though…"
Alfred gaped. "How can he even eat them? Are his tastebuds okay?" The American doesn't voice these thoughts, of course.
The two of them sat and talked for some time after finishing their meal. Arthur asked Alfred about his college life and Alfred, in turn, asked Arthur what he was doing currently. They talked about future plans, other friends, interesting stories about both their lives, and family. Alfred learned that Arthur was the youngest out of four children and that even though he didn't get along well with his brothers when they were younger, they are all on better terms presently. Arthur also learned that Alfred had a twin brother, who was currently in a university in Canada.
Afterwards, Alfred pointed at the lake and excitedly suggested, "Artie, Artie, why don't we go and ride those boats too? I'll pay for the rental fee!"
"Er, are you sure you want to go out into the lake?" Arthur hesitantly asked.
"Yeah, yeah!" Alfred replied. He started packing up their things and collecting their trash quickly. "I wanna ride the one that looks like a swan!"
Arthur cleared his throat. "O-Oh, alright then…"
Once they finished packing away their things, Alfred grabbed Arthur's wrist and tugged him in the direction of the rental boats. Arthur was acting a little fidgety, but since Alfred was very much looking forward to riding a boat, he didn't notice Arthur's nervousness.
When they got to the boat dock, Alfred saw that they had to purchase a ticket from a vending machine first, and since he can't read Japanese, he just paid for the tickets while Arthur pushed the necessary buttons. They then handed the ticket over to the boat operator and headed into a swan boat. Alfred let Arthur go into the boat first, then followed.
"Wow, this is awesome!" Alfred cheered once he got in and curiously observed the inside of the swan boat. "So we just paddle and use this to steer…Artie?" Alfred finally noticed that Arthur was slightly frozen. "Artie? You okay?"
"Hah… I'm…quite alright," Arthur replied stiffly. "Wh-Why do you ask?"
Alfred kept paddling the boat out to the lake. "You kinda look a bit pale. Wait, do you get sea sick easily? Can you get sick just by going out to the lake?"
Arthur shook his head. "N-No, but…would you mind if I held onto your hand?"
Now Alfred was almost tempted to slap himself to check if he heard right. "Wait what?"
"Hands…is it alright if I hold onto…oh, nevermind, it's nothing," Arthur quickly covered up.
"No no," Alfred cut in. "You can hold my hand anytime!" Instead of waiting for Arthur to act or respond, Alfred himself grasped Arthur's hand. As his larger hands closed around Arthur's fingers, both of them started being even more self-conscious.
"Um, thank you," Arthur thanked. He positioned his hand so that he was also able to tightly grasp Alfred's hand. "I apologize for the sudden, and strange, request."
"I wanna hold your hand too," Alfred spluttered. "It's…it's really nice."
Both of their cheeks were heating up and they knew their blushes were obvious. "It's actually an embarrassing story," Arthur started.
"What story?" Alfred asked. Their clasped hands were starting to warm up, which was nice since the spring air was a bit chilly.
"When I was younger, I came to this park with my family," Arthur explained. "I really enjoyed pretending to be a pirate back then. So, when we got here, I saw the row boats and begged my parents to rent one. Unfortunately, the boats couldn't hold my whole family, so my parents just let me and two of my brothers go on. One of my brothers wasn't too keen on rowing out, so he just stayed behind with my parents."
"Your brothers could row?" Alfred asked, impressed.
"I was quite young, but they were quite a few years older than me so they got the hang of it quickly," Arthur answered. "So as they rowed out, I pretended to be a pirate captain and was having so much fun that I was not very careful."
"Did you fall in the lake?"
"I fell in the lake," Arthur admitted. "I also did not know how to swim at all, so I was just flailing around in the water while my brothers laughed on the boat." Arthur shivered. "Those arseholes…they did help me back up, with the assistance of some other adults who rowed over, but ugh…they made fun of me for so long after that incident."
Alfred stared at Arthur with a worried expression. "By any chance, are you scared to come out here now then?"
Arthur scoffed. "Hah, scared? I don't get scared; especially not of some body of water."
Although Arthur refused to admit it, Alfred finally put all the pieces together- why Arthur seemed reluctant at first to ride on the boats, why Arthur went a bit pale when he got on, and why he asked to hold Alfred's hand out of the blue.
Alfred squeezed Arthur's hand, giving the Englishman some reassurance. "It's okay, Arthur. I won't let you fall out."
"Wh-Who said I was afraid of falling off?" Arthur stuttered.
Alfred decided to spare Arthur and not push the subject any further, but the older man gave a small squeeze in return and muttered a "thank you", which was enough for Alfred's heart to soar.
For the rest of the boat ride, Alfred attempted to erase Arthur's bad memories and replace it with good ones. He told Arthur stories to take his mind off of his fear, and when a duck passed by, Alfred would point it out and try to feed it some of their leftover food while encouraging Arthur to do so as well. As they paddled around the lake, they viewed more sakura trees from different angles and admired how the cherry blossom petals that were scattered on the water gave the lake a unique beauty.
After their boat ride, they walked around the park and saw some people doing free performances. The duo stayed to listen to a couple of musicians as well as watch a magician. After watching some performances, Arthur was about to put some money in their hats, but before Arthur could, Alfred gently pushed down Arthur's hand and instead, tipped the performers for both him and Arthur. There was even one man who was making hats out of balloons. Arthur told Alfred multiple times that it would be quite awkward to walk around with a huge balloon hat in the shape of cartoon characters, but Alfred, as someone who wanted to always try new things, insisted that they get the hats; he offered to pay too, and after a lot of persuading, Arthur finally gave in and let Alfred do what he wanted. Thus, they ended up getting a Mickey Mouse hat and a Donald Duck hat. Alfred had no problems walking around with a huge balloon hat, but Arthur started feeling awkward once they attracted some stares, so he decided to take it off.
"Aww," Alfred booed. "The hat looks so cute on you though."
A light pink blush immediately made its way up Arthur's cheeks. "I look like a child, Alfred. A grown man walking around with a Donald Duck balloon hat is quite strange."
"But, but…" Alfred started.
Arthur knew what was coming. He knew Alfred was going to try his hardest to convince Arthur to keep the hat on. The Englishman sighed. "I am really not fond of walking around with this hat on for the whole day, Alfred. But…if it's only for today…I guess I can tolerate it…"
Alfred enveloped Arthur in a tight hug, surprising the older man. "You're the best, Artie!"
Arthur buried his face in Alfred's shoulder to avoid letting Alfred see his vulnerable expression. "Mm, well, thank you for buying the hat," was all Arthur could say without giving away his embarrassment.
The day was quickly coming to an end, and both Alfred and Arthur didn't even notice how fast time flew by. Only when the sun started setting and the sky turned into various shades of yellow and orange, did the duo notice how much time had passed.
"It's already evening," Arthur commented.
"Yeah, time flies when you're having fun," Alfred agreed. "So, should we head back?"
Arthur nodded. "I actually have dinner plans with my co-workers tonight, so…"
"Ah, yeah, I understand," Alfred said. "Man, I wish we had more time together."
After a couple of seconds of silence, Arthur confessed, "Me too. I…really did have a great time with you, Alfred. I admit, the day didn't start off too well, but it turned out to be much better."
"I had an amazing time today too, Artie! I honestly wanted this um…date to be perfect, but then again, I honestly don't really have much experience with going on serious dates, and I didn't wanna come off as too forward or disappoint you or—"
"Alfred," Arthur interrupted. "Like you, I…also do not have much experience with dating, and I did not know what the correct things to do on a date were—"
"But, I'm glad everything worked out in the end though," Alfred cut in. "Even if I made such a bad first impression by being late…"
"That I agree," Arthur pointed out. "However, I'm quite glad you invited me out, Alfred. I appreciate it. Thank you."
A wide grin stretched across Alfred's face. "Nah, thank you for coming with me. I'm glad I got a chance to know you better." Before Arthur could reply, Alfred leaned down a little and pressed a kiss on Arthur's cheek. When he pulled back, he still had a lovestruck grin on his face, but once he saw Arthur's petrified expression, his smile started to drop. "Oh, uh… too soon…?"
Almost immediately, a pink blush spread across Arthur's cheeks. The Englishman tried to hide his embarrassment by covering his face with both of his hands. "You…you idiot! Wh-Wh-Why would you just up and do that all of a sudden? What got into you? Wha—"
Alfred burst out laughing. "Oh man, Artie, your reaction…you're too cute."
"C-Cute? I am not cute," Arthur retorted.
"Nu uh, you are!" Alfred argued. "You're cute and no one can convince me otherwise."
Arthur could feel his face heating up even further. "Hmph, d-do as you like, you git," Arthur conceded.
Once Alfred's laughted started to die down, the American asked, "Hey Arthur, do you mind if I hold your hand?"
Arthur had already brought both of his hands back down, but instead of looking up and facing Alfred, he focused his gaze on the ground. "I-I said do as you like, didn't I?
Alfred's lips spread into a goofy grin as he reached out to take Arthur's hand. The American took initiative and intertwined their fingers. Arthur seemed to have no objections since he followed through and also held Alfred's hands in a firm grasp. The two of them then started walking back to the station to wait for the next train. If Alfred just lowered his head a little to try and peek at Arthur's face, he would see that the Englishman also had a genuinely happy smile.
"He's so cute, Kiku, and handsome at the same time! He can be calm and mature at one point, and the next moment, he'll start blushing and be embarrassed…" Alfred trailed off as flashbacks of the date rushed back to him, reminding him of how much he actually came to like Arthur. Alfred ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. "How did I fall so far in such a short time, I wonder."
"You cannot stop love, Alfred- san," Kiku commented with a smile. He finished neatly folding another t-shirt and stacked it on top of another folded shirt. "Also, if I didn't give you the little push you both needed, I'm sure neither of you would have had the courage to even go on one date."
"Hey, I still would've asked him out," Alfred rebutted. "Although it would've taken…a while…"
"Your attempt at flirting when you two first met at the café was not too great Alfred-san," Kiku honestly said with a straight face. "And by 'a while', you mean at the end of break, I assume. You know it's true, Alfred-san."
Alfred just turned away and pouted by himself. "Sometimes Kiku, you know me way too well."
"You're just an easy person to read, Alfred-san," Kiku added as he kept organizing his suitcase. "I just remembered. I still haven't shown you our café at night, have I? Since our break will be over in a couple of days, what do you think of getting dinner at my family's café tomorrow night?"
"Uh, sure, I don't mind," Alfred replied. "Is it any different from what it's like during the day?" After a short pause, Alfred crawled over to Kiku and asked excitedly, "Will Arthur be there? Does he have a shift tomorrow night? Is that why you asked, Kiku? Wow, you're the best friend I could ever ask for, dude!"
After firing away all his comments Alfred locked Kiku in a bear hug, much to the young man's dismay. Kiku had to slap Alfred's shoulder multiple times to get his attention and tell him to let go.
"That is one of the reasons, yes," Kiku answered once he was able to breathe normally again. "I would rather leave the rest as a surprise."
"Wait, wait, wait! What do you mean, a surprise?" Alfred pestered. "Spill it, Kiku."
"No, you will have to wait until tomorrow night. Now, Alfred-san, please start packing your things or else we are getting take out tomorrow and staying at home until you finish packing."
That shut Alfred up, and the American gave Kiku a quick salute as he jumped up and walked back over to his suitcase.
The next night, Kiku and Alfred were back at the entrance of Bluebird café. Kiku opened the door and walked inside, closely followed by Alfred. The first thing Alfred noticed was the lack of butlers.
"Oh you've got to be kid—I mean… welcome back, masters!"
Alfred's attention immediately locked onto the maid who greeted him. He blinked. That sounded like Arthur's voice…albeit, in a higher pitch. The maid had the exact same bright green eyes Arthur had, and her long hair was the same shade of blond, pulled up in two twin tails. Alfred squinted and approached the maid. She looked so very much like Arthur that Alfred was tempted to say it was Arthur crossdressing. Alfred's eyes trailed down the maid's body and noticed how the skirt portion of the maid's dress was almost as short as a mini-skirt…and how a tiny bit of skin was visible between the end of the skirt and start of the white thigh high socks…
Alfred gulped. He was probably being a creep but he couldn't get out of his mind, the idea that this was Arthur. It wasn't helping that this maid's legs were as nice as Arthur's. Heck, he was so sure that if Arthur were to dress up like this maid, he would look amazingly flawless, and Alfred would be so long gone…
"W-Will you stop staring at me like that, you git," the maid hissed in a slightly deeper voice, taking care to not let other customers overhear.
Alfred almost did a double take. "You really are a crossdressing Arthur!"
His loud declaration attracted the attention of some of the customers while Kiku attempted to stifle his laugh. Maid Arthur snatched Alfred's wrist forcefully and kept a tight grip. Tight enough for Alfred to know that he screwed up.
"Masters, you must be tired standing there this whole time. Let me show you to your table," Arthur sweetly sang, with an innocent smile.
"Ah… um… uh huh…yeah," Alfred mumbled nervously.
Kiku chuckled as he followed the duo. "Well, this was certainly one eventful spring break."
Ahaha, before I started writing this, I was actually debating whether I wanted Arthur to work as a butler or as a maid in a butler/maid café. Then, I talked to some of my friends and they were like "why not both" and then I went "YOU RIGHT!" and so this happened. Also, I got the idea for the Inokashira Park scene from Yusuke's social link in Persona 5 cuz that was hilarious. Although I've been to Japan, I didn't have a chance to go to Inokashira Park, so to be accurate, I tried to read up on what the park has to offer. Luckily I found some blogs that talked about what people can do at the park!
This fic was just me wanting Alfred and Arthur to meet and fumble around their crushes like the dorks they are (especially Alfred. I love an Alfred who's head over heels for Arthur)^^. I hope it was a fun read!