Chapter One: Indiana

Arthur groaned and slumped against the back counter of the little record shop. Work was really the last place he wanted to be. His whole body ached something dreadful – it always did the day after a fight. In hindsight, he probably should have asked for the day off, but he needed the money. Rent in Boston was not cheap, no matter how dodgy one's apartment happened to be.

The one good thing about work that day was that it was the Saturday before Halloween, and people seemed to have better things to do with their time than browse through dusty racks of cds. Thus, Arthur had been free to work himself into as sour a mood as he pleased without fear of customer interference. This coveted (if rather masochistic) solitude continued on into the night, but was suddenly disrupted when three college-aged customers entered the store, dressed in costumes.

Arthur braced himself, already feeling the first prickles of irritation.

The middle one, (a short, dark-haired, Asian-looking fellow who appeared to be dressed as a cat), approached the back counter immediately, while the other two separated and began to wander around the store.

"Excuse me, sir, but do you know if Mister Heracles is working perhaps?" the dark haired boy asked timidly, blushing a bit more than the question allowed for.

"No, sorry" Arthur replied, lifting an eyebrow. "I don't think he's in today"

"Ahh," the boy sighed sadly, and Arthur felt a bit guilty for letting him down. "Thank you anyway" He went to rejoin one of his friends – a blond boy dressed in a rather provocative school girl costume, who immediately started going on about how the store "like, totally sucked" for not having the new Lady Gaga album yet.

Oh, brilliant. Just what I needed tonight. A bunch of whiny scene kids.

Arthur rolled his eyes and picked up the box of returned cds he needed to put away, wincing a bit as he did. The weight was not being kind to his over-extended arm muscles. He brought the box out into the store, shifting it around awkwardly in attempts to make it easier to carry, but apparently he shifted too much because it pitched forward, tumbling from his grasp.

"Woah! Careful dude!" The box was saved at the last possible moment, and Arthur looked around it to find the third young customer – a tallish boy with wheat-blond hair and the bluest eyes Arthur had ever seen. The boy was dressed as Indiana Jones, and Arthur couldn't help but think that the costume (stupid as it was) suited him perfectly.

"Need some help?" The boy flashed him a dazzling smile and made to grab the box out of his hands. For a short moment all Arthur could do was stare, but he quickly got back his bearings.

"No, I'm quite all right on my own, thanks." Arthur huffed, pulling the box away. He was already embarrassed enough; he didn't want the boy to think he was weak on top of it all.

"You suuuuure?" the boy asked tauntingly, and Arthur had a half a mind to smack that cocky smirk right off his face.

"Of course I'm sure, you dolt! Now would you kindly bugger off and get out of my way?" he growled back.

"Alright, alright!" the boy replied as he stepped aside, smug grin still planted firmly on his lips. "Geez, I had no idea British people were so touchy…"

"Perhaps it's because you Americans seem to insist on being a right pain in the arse!" Arthur returned, marching past him into the aisle. Leaning the box against the table holding the cd racks, he began to sift through it and (not very delicately) sort the cds back in their appropriate places.

The boy followed him into the aisle. "You know, that's not very good customer service. I could report you to your manager…" he said, his tone clearly teasing. Arthur could feel his blood begin to boil.

"I am the manager…" he snapped, wheeling about to glare at the boy. (He was actually only assistant manager, but the git didn't need to know that). "…And unless you plan to purchase something, Mr. Jones, I suggest you clear off before I really start to lose my temper."

The boy blinked in surprise, "How did you…?" he looked down at his costume "...oh yeah! Duh!" he smacked himself in the forehead, and Arthur found himself beginning to question the git's sanity.

"Okay," the boy replied, winking (to Arthur's ever-increasing agitation). "Guess I better find something to purchase then!" He turned toward the cds – lazily flipping through them with one hand while munching on a half-eaten fast food burger with the other. The boy hummed through his chewing, and Arthur knew he was doing it just to annoy him. But he for one refused to play into the git's juvenile games – he focused his attention back on sorting the cds, fully intent on ignoring the annoying American until he gave up and left.

Eventually though, curiosity got the best of Arthur. Sneaking a quick glance back at the annoying customer, who had by now stopped humming and was intently reading the back of a cd, Arthur found himself leaning forward just a bit to see what the boy had picked out. He pulled back in disgust when he realized it was one of those folksy hipster bands that seemed to be all the rage these days.

"You don't actually listen to that rubbish do you?" he asked, forgetting for a moment his pact to ignore the brat. Damnit.

"Hm?" the boy turned to look at him, triumphant grin once again plastered across his face, clearly aware that he had won their unspoken battle. "Oh… nahh…" he answered, looking down at the cd. He took another bite of his burger before continuing:

"…my brofer's really into this shtuff..." he said through the half-chewed bite. Arthur looked on in horror.

"…but I'm more of a Journey guy myself" The boy finished proudly, swallowing the bite at last. Arthur was so repulsed by the whole burger display that it took a moment to fully comprehend what he'd just heard:

"Journey?" he repeated, completely incredulous. "You can't be serious!" He was so appalled he was almost stricken.

"'Course I am!" the git replied, smiling ridiculously. "Oh, c'mooon!" he insisted when Arthur only glared in return. "Midnight Train is like the most epic song there is!"

"Tripe and bollocks!" Arthur scoffed, growing more offended by the second "Honestly, a song that bloody cheesy would be better off baked into a biscuit than listened to!"

"But cheeshy is aweshome!" The boy replied through another mouth full of burger. Ugh. Really now, what was he? Six?

"Perhaps" Arthur muttered icily, eyes narrowed in disgust and annoyance. "…if you happen to be a mindless git who wouldn't know real music if it kicked him in the arse. And would it kill you to chew with your bloody mouth closed?" he added out of sheer frustration, as the boy took another huge bite.

"Meh'be" the customer replied through the bite, offering up a cheeky smile in return.

"ARGH!"

"Okay then, mister music wizard…" the boy said as he swallowed, snickering at Arthur's exasperated growl. "…what kind of 'real music' should I be listening to then, huh?" He raised his eyebrows and looked over his glasses, the challenge gleaming in his impossibly-blue eyes.

Arthur crossed his arms and snorted. "Pshh, as if a university brat like you could appreciate anything of merit"

The boy stepped forward, forcing Arthur to look up in order to meet his gaze. "Try me" he said, in a lower, huskier register, and Arthur suddenly felt his blood rush through his veins the way it did right before a fight. Only this… this was… different…

"ALFRED! We're like, totally gonna be late for the party!" The schoolgirl-costumed boy called out suddenly. The blue-eyed boy (Alfred?) paused, looking reluctant to break the strangely intense moment they were sharing – but finally, he shrugged and sighed:

"Ahh well. I guess I'll have to take a rain check then. Nice talkin' to ya, uhhh…" he looked down at the name tag that hung around Arthur's neck:

"…Iggy Hotpants?"

"W-what? No! It's Arthur!" Arthur sputtered, heat rising to his face. He pulled the name tag up to inspect it for himself. "Fucking Gilbert must've messed around with my name tag again, the albino German bastard!"

"Hahaha! That's hilarious!" the boy called Alfred laughed as Arthur seethed in silent rage. "Well, see ya later, Hotpants!" he said cheerfully, turning to leave.

"DO NOT CALL ME THAT!" Arthur shouted at the American's back.

"Whatever you say, Iggy!" he replied, winking as he pulled open the door.

"IT'S ARTHUR, YOU INFERNAL BLOODY TWIT!" Arthur roared, until he realized that the git had already left and that he was yelling at an empty store.

"Bollocks…" Arthur muttered hotly, rubbing the bridge of his nose. Thank god it was practically closing time; Arthur didn't know how much more of this day he could stand. That bloody college brat had really gotten to him…

Still fuming, Arthur went to the back office to grab the keys to close the store with. Flicking the light switch, Arthur shouted in fright as a loud THUD sounded from the back of the room:

"EYAHHH!"

"Umph! … ow…" A brown-haired head poked out from underneath the office's desk; a pair of blue-green eyes blinked, bleary with sleep and confusion.

Clutching his chest, Arthur tried to process the scene before him, before it clicked:

"…Heracles?" he asked at last, catching his breath.

"Oh… hey Arthur" The brown-haired man yawned, rubbing his head as he groggily emerged from his hideaway. "Sorry, must've dozed off…"

"You… you were here? The whole bloody fucking time?" Arthur growled, his fear quickly dissipating back into anger. The taller man only nodded; a small, sleepy grin still present on his lips. "Mhm..."

"…I didn't miss anything, did I?"

~(o)~


A/N: I had fun making up their costumes, (can you guess why Japan was dressed as a cat? ;D) And don't worry Poland, I'd be mad too if I couldn't get my Lady Gaga fix!

UP NEXT: Arthur heads to the bar, and we meet a few new characters...