Arthur's eyes fluttered open, and he stretched out his body, yawning as he did so. He glanced at his clock, the blue lights illuminating a few inches of the bedside table.
5:38 A.M.
He smiled, he got up at the perfect time, as always. He slung his legs over the bed, pulling himself out of the comforts of his warm bed. Arthur moved to the closet, pulling out a random black button up shirt and slacks.
Arthur moved sluggishly to the shower, stepping in and turning on the tap.
"Bloody hell!" He exclaimed, pressing himself against one of the walls.
The water was extremely cold, bone chilling even. The Brit gritted his teeth, he wouldn't let that sour his day. He lived in England, he can handle the cold.
He patiently waited for the water to warm up before stepping under the stream. He sighed, relaxing himself.
He finished his shower and pulled on his clothes, not bothering to button up his shirt quite yet. He ruffled a towel on his hair, trying to soak up at least half of the moisture.
The Brit went to his room, looking into his stand up mirror. He smirked, shamelessly giving his reflection a once over. Messy hair, bared chest, and cocky emerald eyes.
"I'm so hot I could kiss myself." He smirked, walking out of his room and down the hallway.
His flat was rather large, he could live with a flat mate or two. Though, his last one couldn't handle it. Something about his bi-polar moods and cooking.
Arthur was only mildly hurt, more annoyed. The man was a slob anyway, good riddance.
The Brit opened his cupboard, grabbing some tea leaves and placed them on the counter. He filled his kettle with water and set it on the stove. He proceeded to get a scone from the fridge, tossing in in the microwave.
He silently ate his scone as he waited for the water to boil. Once it did, Arthur put a few leaves in his cup, and filled it with the water, mixing it with a small spoon.
He carried his tea cup to the couch and held the remainder of his scone in his mouth. The Brit set the cup down on the small glass table as he sat down on his black furniture, reaching for the remote. He turned on the television to the news. Because honestly, who in their right minds watches Spongebob or something of the matter this early?
…Alright, sometimes Arthur does. But he insists it's only to relive his younger days! It slowly got brighter outside, it is seeming that the weather wont be as forgiving as yesterday. No matter to fuss about, it is England after all.
A few hours later, Arthur had finished his third cup of tea, and heard his cellphone faintly ringing from the back of the hall.
"Ah, that must be that photographer." Arthur stated to himself, hoisting himself up and jogging to his room.
He picked up his phone, answering it.
"Yes?"
"Hey, Artie? It's Alfred."
Arthur's eyebrow twitched, "Please refrain from calling me that dreaded name. Are you calling to schedule the interview?"
"Yeah! Where would ya wanna do that? My place, or yers? We could meet up at a restaurant or somethin'."
Hm, Arthur hadn't thought of it.
"Perhaps we could meet at a restaurant. I'll do a short interview while we wait for our food, and we can converse while we eat, sound like a plan?"
"Sounds perfect! When and where?"
"How about Hakkasan?" Arthur offered, he hadn't been there in a while.
"Uh, that's the one by the university, yeah?"
Ah, Arthur had forgotten that Alfred was still only a month into living in England.
"Yes, why don't we meet there about noon?"
"Sounds good! Um… Is it a fancy place or something? Should I wear a suit or whatever?"
Arthur chuckled, rolling his eyes. "Just something decent, no need to go all out."
"Alright, sorry! I haven't been inside. See ya then! Bye!"
"Goodbye."
Arthur hung up, and checked his phone for the time. It was about eight thirty, three and a half hours was plenty of time to get decent and walk to the rendezvous. He buttoned up his shirt finally, and walked to his bathroom. He looked at his hair, looked pretty normal to be honest, it was never really well kept. He shrugged, combing it out and ruffling it with his hand.
Then at least it looked like he purposely did it to himself. Everything else looked to be in check, so Arthur took a trip to his personal library, made from his ex-flat mate's room, and decided to read to pass the time.
He set an alarm for 11:30 so he didn't over-read. When the timer went off, he set his book back on the shelf and grabbed his work bag, slinging it over his shoulder.
His boss better appreciate this interview.
Bah, he wont, Arthur usually works on his days off anyways. Arthur slipped on some dress shoes, and grabbed his house keys, locking the door to his flat. He checked he had everything he needed with him and began walking towards the lift. He began his descent and left the large building, stepping out to the pavement.
It was mild outside, not truly cold but not warm either. Arthur started walking down the pavement. He arrived at his destination in about twenty minutes, spotting Alfred already waiting, sitting on a bench and twiddling his thumbs.
"Alfred?" Arthur called, stepping closer.
The dusty blonde looked over his shoulder, his eyes lighting up when he saw Arthur.
"Oh! Heya!" The American grinned, grabbing his back and slinging it over his shoulder.
The man had on a blue button up shirt and black slacks, though, he was wearing Vans, rather than dress shoes.
"Hello, shall we go inside?" Arthur greeted, holding out his hand.
"Yeah!" Alfred nodded, shaking Arthur's hand cheerfully.
The two pulled their hands back, and walked inside of the tinted black doors. It was clearly a very Asian themed place, it amazed Alfred. The walls were black and lined with gold paint. Paper lanterns and parasols hung from the ceiling, while different flowers were scattered around the large room.
"Woah! I wonder if they'd let me take a few pictures!" He grinned, looking around.
Arthur laughed, photographers must have one track minds.
"Ni hao! Welcome to Hakkasan! Just two?" A happy Asian woman asked.
"Yes." Arthur nodded.
"Alright, come with me!" She grinned, skipping off. Her pink robes and brown hair flowed after her.
The two men followed her, being seated at a booth.
"My name is Hana, my brother, Yao, will be with you in just a moment!"
"Woah, isn't Hana flower in Japanese?" Alfred grinned.
The girl's eyes lit up, nodding.
"Yes! My uncle named me! He's from Japan." She grinned.
"Awesome! Thanks, Hana!" Alfred waved.
"You're welcome!" She bowed, skipping off.
Arthur smiled softly, "You seem to know a lot, for a photographer."
"Eh, ya pick up a few things when ya spend six months in Japan." Alfred shrugged.
"Oh really, what else can you say?" Arthur mused.
"Watashi no namai wa, Alfred desu. Anata wa?" Alfred spoke the words like it was his first language.
Arthur was fairly impressed. "Great, now I just hope that wasn't an insult."
"Wha? No! I said my name is Alfred, and ya?"
"You know my name, git." Arthur chuckled.
"Well that's all I know! I can say konnichiwa and hana, but that doesn't book ya very many shoots." Alfred huffed. "I can also say gomen'nasai."
"What does that translate to?" Arthur nodded.
"It means I'm sorry. So apologizing to everybody doesn't really work either." Alfred laughed, scratching the back of his head. "Trust me, I tried…"
Arthur was going to respond, but another young woman approached. Didn't that girl Hana say that her brother was going to come?
"Ni Hao, my name is Yao, I will be serving you. What would you like to drink?" Yao asked.
"Do ya got coke?" Alfred asked happily, much like a child.
"…Yes… Alright, a cola, and for you, Sir?"
"Guava and Passion iced tea, please." Arthur smiled softly.
"Alright, I will be back in a moment." Yao nodded, stepping away.
Alfred watched as the waiter disappeared.
"… Was that a guy?"
"I believe so." Arthur arched an eyebrow. "Perhaps we should start the interview?"
"Yeah, okay! Ask away!"
Arthur nodded, getting out a pen and his writing tablet.
"Alright, I suppose we should just start off with the basics, how old are you?"
"Turned twenty in July!"
"Oh, quite young, when were you hired by Code Bieldschmidt?"
"When I was eighteen. My boss, Gilbert Bieldschmidt, saw me taking some pictures when I was on vacation in San Diego, and liked my work, so he hired me."
"Where are you from?"
"New York City!"
"Ah, what is your most recent activity?"
"Well, right now I'm capturing Britain, and in a few months I'll be going to France, returning here, and going to Germany."
"How many countries have you been to?"
"Uh… Too many…?" Alfred laughed nervously.
The two continued the interview, Yao bringing them their drinks and small bowls of soup as well as a menu. They ordered and finished up the questions, filling up three pages for Arthur.
He stuffed his things back into his bag, and sipped his tea.
"So, how was it?" Arthur asked.
"Yer pretty calm about it, I thought interviewers were all rude and stuff. It was fun!" Alfred beamed. "Though, I've never been in such a serious state for so long, geez."
"Hm, you do seem like a man of childish nature." Arthur nodded.
"Ah, I just like to have fun. I'm honestly pretty mature." Alfred shrugged, smiling at Arthur.
The two had small talk, and Yao brought the orders. Alfred had gotten teriyaki chicken with wonton soup, while Arthur got a plate of dan-dan mein.
"So, tell me about yerself." Alfred nodded.
"What is there to tell?" Arthur smirked, sipping his tea.
"I don't know, age, occupation, favorite color, stupid things." Alfred shrugged, shoving a spoonful of soup into his mouth.
Some fell down his chin, but he wiped it with the back of his hand and slurped some more. Arthur's eyebrow twitched, that was something he should have seen coming from an American, but really, it would shock anyone.
"Well, I am twenty five as of April, I've told you that I work for a publishing company as I edit literature and write our interviews, and if you must know, my favorite color is green."
"Green? Why not red? Or ya know, white or blue?" Alfred asked, momentarily stopping his eating to arch an eyebrow.
"Well, those are nice colors, but green just suits my fancy, I don't know what to tell you." Arthur shrugged. "I absolutely loath orange though."
"Yeah, orange is a pretty gross color. It's not too bad though, I have a few orange shirts." Alfred shrugged.
"What!? As in button up shirts!?"
"No! T-shirts! For when I'm at home and playing games or something." Alfred laughed.
"Oh, that's a relief. I wouldn't be caught dead in public with you if you had on a God awful orange button up." Arthur cringed.
"Oh, so that means we'll be hanging out more, huh?" Alfred pushed his now, by some miracle, empty bowl aside, and stared at Arthur with a smirk.
"You bloody Yank!" Arthur snapped.
"What? Yer the one who hinted at it." Alfred defended, holding his hands up in defense.
"Hmph, I suppose you aren't too bad. I could do with having someone new around."
"So that really means ya actually wanna hang out with me again?" Alfred asked, his sapphire eyes sparkling happily.
"Yes, I would like to meet up again, preferably under less work related circumstances." Arthur nodded.
"So, friends?" Alfred asked, holding his hand across the table.
Arthur stared at it, before smirking and grasping Alfred's hand with his own.
"Friends."
To be continued~
Since I am just starting off this story, I do not expect a lot of feedback, but I appreciate what I have gotten, and what will get, so thanks for reading ^_^
Also, since it is just the beginning, there will be no real schedule for when I post quite yet, I want to get at least 4-5 chapters before I do that. I'll most likely post every Saturday or Sunday when that time comes, bye ^_^