A/N: Next chapter! Up a bit earlier than expected, but I hope you like it nevertheless!

The first thing Arthur did when he got to the computer was order a new TV, and then got caught up shopping around for some pool toys. After a while, he caught himself, and forced himself to focus on work. It was a good thing he could run his company from home most days of the week.

Just as the Brit had started to get bored and doodle on his desk, the phone rang.

"Hey Kirkland!" Gilbert Beilschmidt's voice rang out through the device. The German man was Arthur's neighbor, and he lived one floor down with his husband and their child. "Would you be able to look after Fritz tomorrow? From like 3 until 6?"

Arthur winced and moved the phone away from his ear- the damn idiot was always way too loud. He could have sworn the other did it to annoy him. "I should have known..." he murmured. "What's it for this time?"

"Mattie's got a thing to do and I gotta go with him," Gilbert explained, his voice rising with each word. "And come on, you know Fritz really likes you- you always give him cool books and he has fun. Please?"

Sighing, Arthur leant back in his chair and thought about what to do. He could keep the child away from Alfred, he supposed, and it did seem rather important. "...Fine," he grumbled. "I should really start charging you for this."

At that Gilbert laughed. "As if. We all know you enjoy it too much."

"Oh, shut it," Arthur said with a roll of his eyes. "Bring the lad round."

"Thanks Arthur! I'll bring him at 2:30"

"All right. See you then."

And the next day at exactly 2:35, Gilbert was standing in front of Arthur's door. He knelt down to Fritz's level. "You'll be awesome, right? Behave and stuff?"

The small child nodded his head fiercely, a cheeky grin plastered on his face.

"Good." The German leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his forehead. "Love you, little man." He stood up again and knocked.

Soon enough, Arthur arrived at the door, frowning gently at the albino outside.

"What is it, Kirkland?"

"Well you're the one who knocked at my door, you idiot," Arthur replied with a huff, before looking down at the child. "Hello, Fritz."

"Hi!"

"Yeah well what's with the frown?" Gilbert gave the boy a soft push forward.

"You're late," Arthur replied, watching as the boy hugged his father's leg before running to Arthur's side. He raised a brow, though he wore a small smirk.

"Wow, five minutes. It's the end of the world." Gilbert rolled his eyes and waved before strolling off.

Arthur shook his head. "See you," he called after the other, before turning to Fritz. "So, anything you want to do?"

It took Arthur almost an hour to get the excitable child settled with one of his books, and he finally had the time to go and explain to Alfred what was going on. He ran an already exhausted hand through his hair as he opened the door to the pool and peeked in.

Alfred's head popped above the water. "Arthur!" he called happily.

Immediately, a chuckle found its way to Arthur's mouth. "Hello Alfred," he said, walking to the pool and making sure the door was closed behind him.

The merman moved to the side of the pool. "Hello!"

"How are you doing?"

"Okay!" Alfred reached out and touched him. He hadn't seen the human all day and had missed him. "All alone..." he chirped sadly.

"I know," Arthur replied softly, giving the other an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry. It can't be helped, I'm afraid... And I can't stay for long now, either..."

"Why?" Alfred further saddened. "Stay! Please!"

"I'm sorry, Alfred." Arthur's hand came down to stroke Alfred's hair gently. "My neighbors went out, and I need to look after their child for a few hours."

"Oh..." Alfred thought he understood. His eyelids fluttered as he leaned into the stroking but his shoulders were still slumped in sadness. "Child?" He looked up at him curiously. "Can I see?"

"I- Alfred, I'm not sure that's wise..."

"Oh. Right. I'm unique..." Alfred pursed his lips and sank lower in the water.

"No, Alfred..." Arthur sighed. "Listen to me, that's a good thing. Your personality is unique and individual. But... I don't want him to see you without me explaining things to his parents, then go off and tell everybody he knows, then for people to come and look at you and prod at you. I don't want you to be hurt, so for now, at least, we have to be careful, okay?"

"I know." Alfred gave him a small smile. "Tell him... Friend says hi."

"I will," Arthur replied, smiling back. "And, hey, I'll come back to see you still. Once he's gone I can stay for longer, hm?"

"Okay." Alfred tilted his head up and nuzzled to Arthur's hand for a moment. "See you."

"I'll see you soon." Another quick ruffle later, and Arthur headed off.

Alfred blew bubbles in the water as he watched the human go. Arthur had promised to get him entertainment, but it hadn't come in yet so the merman was forced to find his own ways to amuse himself for now. Mostly he just did laps or slept or watched the world outside the windows.

Arthur quickly headed back to the room he'd left Fritz in, sighing with relief when he found the boy still sitting and reading.

They boy glanced up at Arthur when the other man came back in. He closed the book and set it aside. "Could I get another book, Arthur?"

"Oh, are you already done with that one?" Arthur asked, raising a brow. "Well all right, how about...this?" he said, passing over another book.

"This one's okay! Thank you!" Fritz took the book with a small smile. "I'm going to go to the bathroom too, okay?"

"Of course." Arthur said with a nod. "You know where it is."

"Okay!" Fritz darted up and moved into the hall that Arthur had come out of. Down it were three doors: to a spare bedroom, to a bathroom, and to the pool room. Arthur probably had been in the bathroom, but he had been an awfully long time... The boy shrugged and entered the second door. He stayed in the room for about two minutes, not really doing anything, and then flushed the toilet and came back out.

"So you're happy to just read the book, then?" Arthur asked upon his return.

"Well Papa said you're busy so I should play quietly by myself or read," Fritz replied, looking at Arthur with intelligent grey eyes. "And reading is fun."

"Heh. That's very true."

Nodding, Fritz seated himself and picked up the new book. Before opening it however, he glanced at Arthur. "You work at a place that makes new books, right? Papa said so."

Arthur tilted his head slightly, giving the other a small smile. "That's right."

"Did you have any awesome books made lately?"

"I only accept the 'awesome' ones," Arthur replied with a grin.

"Really?" Fritz's smile grew. "Are there any that I would like? Papa said he would buy them for me."

Arthur chuckled. "I'm sure there's plenty."

"Okay! I'll tell him." Still smiling softly, Fritz opened the book and started reading it.

Arthur sat with him for most of it, though he occasionally left for a moment to check up on Alfred, until Gilbert arrived back.

Little Fritz noticed every time he left- Arthur didn't have a peeing problem, did he?- but he didn't press the matter. When the doorbell rang he put the book away and trailed Arthur to the door.

"Hey there, Artie!" Gilbert grinned, though he looked tired. "How was he?" He looked down as Fritz latched onto his leg and ruffled the boy's hair affectionately.

"Excellent as always," Arthur replied with a small smile. "How was it?"

"Fuc- Really tiring." The German ran his hands through his hair. "But hey Mattie understood all that scientific crap so it went well I guess." He shrugged.

"Ah, right. Well give him my best, won't you?"

"I will, don't worry. C'mere Fritz." Gilbert hefted the boy into his arms. "See ya around, Eyebrows. Have fun with your publishing shi- stuff." He walked off, whistling softly.

Arthur waved after them for a moment, but as soon as they'd left, he closed the door and headed to the pool room. "Alfred!"

"Arthur!" Alfred leapt up from the water, doing a little flip in the air before landing back in it with a splash and swimming to the edge. "Arthur, Arthur!"

Unable to help a small chuckle from escaping, Arthur moved to the pool's edge and smiled softly down at the other. "Hello, there," he said. "How are you?"

"Happy now!" Alfred beamed up at him, almost the entirety of his body wriggling with the joy. "Stay now?"

"Heh, yes. It's just us."

"Just us..." Alfred murmured the words reverently, staring up at Arthur with wide blue eyes. He gently took hold of Arthur's hand and tugged it down to rest on top of his head.

"Yes..." Arthur blinked for a moment, before understanding the meaning and stroking Alfred's hair gently. "You like this, hm?"

"Yes." Alfred closed his eyes and practically melted under the touch.

Chuckling, Arthur ruffled the locks softly, tilting his head as he watched the other's reactions.

"Mmm..." Low groans and chirps worked their way out of the merman's throat. "Arthur..." His upper half sprawled out over the pool edge and he gave a happy sigh.

Arthur gave a small smile at this, finding the merman's reactions quite adorable. "...Come on, don't you want food?" he asked softly.

Immediately Alfred's eyes snapped open and the pupils dilated. "Food?"

"Heh." Of course. "Well, you've not had any, right?"

"No! Fish, fish!" Alfred jerked away from him and dove under the water, swirling in circles and seeming to look for the food.

"Ah-" What was he trying to achieve with that? Arthur chuckled to himself and shook his head. He could always throw it in. Quickly retrieving the fish, Arthur did just that, chucking in a piece at a time.

Under the water, Alfred's eyes widened. Arthur was- he was throwing them in? Fine then. A game it was. His teeth lengthening, he swept his tail more powerfully through the water and snapped up the fish almost as soon as they were thrown in.

Arthur grinned as he watched, throwing more and more pieces in at different angles and arcs.

It took Alfred a moment to realize what Arthur was doing, but once he did he changed his path and did larger loops to suit the new fish. A few times he almost crashed into the wall but a quick flick of the tail corrected his angle and he avoided that.

Soon enough, the fish was used up, and Arthur sat back and waited for Alfred.

When the rain of fish stopped Alfred froze, confused. He blinked a few times before realizing what had happened. Breaking the surface of the water, he whined slightly. "No more?"

"I'm afraid not," Arthur replied. "Do you need more?"

"No..." Shaking his head, Alfred slowly swam closer to the edge. "Want more."

"Hm. Well I can always get more for you."

"It okay." Alfred took hold of Arthur's hand. "Stay..."

Arthur gave the other a small smile and nodded. "Of course."

"Okay." Alfred bit his lip after a few moments, looking down. "...Arthur?" There was a request he wanted to make, but he wasn't sure what Arthur would make of it.

"Yes?" Arthur frowned softly, wondering what the other could want that made him seem so tentative.

"Could you...teach..." Alfred frowned, searching for the words. "Teach me...speak better?"

As Arthur watched the other carefully, a gentle smile spread across his face. "...Of course I can," he answered softly.

"Really?" Alfred grinned brightly back at him. "Good! Want... Want to speak better."

"Well then, I'll help in any way I can," Arthur said, sitting back with a proud huff and a grin to match. "And if you're talking about what you want to do, then you say 'I'."

"I? I...I want?" Alfred tried out. "I want to speak better?"

Arthur nodded appreciatively. "Very good."

"Good!" Alfred chirped happily at the praise. "Teach more!"

"Ah, ah, teach 'me' more." Arthur smiled gently at the other's enthusiasm.

"Arthur! Teach me more!" the merman requested cheerfully, wriggling a bit and moving closer to the edge of the pool.

"All right, all right." Arthur chuckled. "Well...where shall I start?"

"Anywhere! And...sit!"

"You want me to sit down?" Arthur asked, tilting his head.

"Yes!" Alfred patted the pool's edge insistently. "Please? Better- I- I bet-" He searched for the word- how to describe his emotions, how happy he was? He huffed in frustration when he couldn't. "I better!"

A soft smile twitched at Arthur's lips at this, and he gladly sat by the edge of the pool. "Do you mean 'it's better'...?"

That didn't sound right... "No! I- I am happy! I better!" Alfred started shaking slightly from the annoyance and disappointment he felt bubbling within his chest.

"Ah...hey, it's all right, I get it," Arthur said softly. "You are better?"

"I am happy!" Alfred cried, tears slowly forming in his eyes. Why didn't he just know the word? "I am better!"

"A-Alfred, it's okay..."

"O-Okay?" Alfred paused in his wallowing and looked up at him in hopeful eyes. "Okay I don't know what it is?"

"Of course it is," Arthur said with a soft smile, stroking Alfred's hair gently. "You'll get it eventually."

Alfred instantly relaxed at the strokes. "What... What is...for me happy? Or sad?" He reached down and touched his chest. "I happy...here. I am sad here. What is that?"

Arthur frowned a little, puzzled. "You mean...your feelings?"

"Feelings?" Alfred tried out the word. "I feelings better when you sit with me?"

"Feel." Arthur chuckled a little. "You feel better."

"I feel better..." Alfred sighed with relief at knowing how to say it. "I feel better with you, Arthur!"

"I'm glad." Arthur smiled at the other- just a couple of weeks ago his life was a routine of waking up, sitting at the computer, and going to bed. Just one evening dragged off by a slightly shady Russian and all of a sudden his run-of-the mill life had just been made a hell of a lot more interesting. "...Me too."

"Really? You feel happy when with me?" Alfred's eyes widened and he leaned forward to nuzzle to Arthur's leg. He had been so scared before... And now, now he found there was a tiny part of him that was glad he'd been captured. It was a lonely life for him before, and full of danger, but now Arthur was there and Arthur would protect him.

"I do," Arthur replied gladly.

Alfred nestled his head on Arthur's lap. "Good..." he murmured, closing his eyes. "Teach more? Please?"

"Mm, well what do you want me to teach you...?"

"More! More like 'feel' and 'I'!"

"More words, hm?"

"Yeah!" Alfred paused. "Words? Words are...are feel and I?"

"Yes, those are words."

"So yes! Teach more words!"

Arthur smiled, and so the evening passed with him teaching Alfred better grammar and how to talk about people and tenses. It was a good thing he was a publisher, really, because he could teach the other good, British English and grammar.

And Alfred lapped it all up, eagerly learning and memorizing every word and phrase that Arthur fed him. By the end of the day he was confident that he could hold a proper conversation on at least the most basic of levels.

"So, anything else?" Arthur asked him.

"Okay for now." Alfred smiled up at the human. "You go now?"

"'Are you going now'." Arthur corrected. "And I don't mind staying for a little more, if you want me to."

"I want you to. Come here with me?" The merman pushed away from the edge and drifted towards the middle of the pool.

Arthur gave a small smile and nodded. "Sure," he said, standing to strip his top off before diving into the pool and swimming towards the other.

Smiling back at him Alfred allowed him to approach. "With me more fun than with grey longnoses, yeah?"

It took Arthur a moment to figure that out, and he chuckled as he did so. "Grey- ah, you mean dolphins? Yes, it is."

"Dolphins? Weird word..." Alfred muttered, shaking his head. But he smiled more at Arthur's words, reaching out to grab his arm.

"Hm? What is it?"

Alfred took a moment to construct the sentence in his mind. "I am happy when I hold you," he delivered softly.

Arthur blinked in surprise, then flushed slightly. If course, Alfred was just meaning it innocently, but... It wasn't very often Arthur heard that. "Ah... Well, I'm, uhm, glad."

The merman stiffened when he saw the bright redness on Arthur's cheeks. Red was never good. Red meant injury. Red meant blood. "Are you okay?!" He leaned in so their faces were inches apart and with trembling hands brushed his fingertips across the Brit's cheek. "Are you hurt?"

Eyes widening a little, Arthur moved back ever so slightly in his surprise. "I-I'm fine, Alfred, why would I be hurt?"

"Y-You got red-" Alfred whispered, gesturing to his cheeks. "Red is bad..."

"No- no it isn't always..." Arthur shifted slightly. "This isn't hurt. It's just because I'm slightly embarrassed."

"Embarrassed?" Alfred decided that the unfamiliar word felt weird on his tongue. He cocked his head to the side, waiting for Arthur to explain it.

"Ah... Well... It's if someone's a little awkward or... Shy. They get embarrassed, so they don't quite know how to react..."

"Oh. Why are you...embarrassed?"

Arthur opened his mouth, then closed it again as he looked up at the merman. "I'm not used to people being so close. And... People don't usually say things like that either."

Alfred's head lowered and he let go of Arthur. Did humans not show this much affection? Did they not mate so intimately? Not that Alfred was interested, but still. The fishman was affectionate by nature, so curbing that would be hard. "Sorry..."

"Hey, no, it's nothing to apologize for..." Arthur said quickly.

"You said...'not used to being so close'. I will stop being so close." Alfred gave him a crumbly smile.

"That-" Arthur frowned slightly. "That doesn't mean I don't like it. I'm just- it doesn't happen often."

"Still sorry..."

"Don't be. Please."

"Why? You said-"

"It doesn't matter! Honestly, Alfred, it's not a bad thing. Plenty of humans are just as affectionate- God knows plenty that are more so- just not usually towards me. Don't act different just because I was caught off guard." Arthur huffed softly.

Alfred had flinched and moved back at the initial tone of Arthur's voice, but by the end of his little speech the merman allowed himself to drift closer. "Okay..." he replied, just as quiet.

"Exactly. Come now, no need to be so tentative."

"Come now what?" Alfred tilted his head.

Rolling his eyes, Arthur bridged the gap himself and pulled Alfred towards him into a hug. "Really..."

Alfred's eyes flew wide and he froze. Then, two seconds later he shook himself and hugged Arthur back tightly, his tail slipping between the man's legs.

After a moment, Arthur relaxed more fully and rubbed the other's back gently.

"Sorry Arthur..." Alfred mumbled. "I was...not me. I am better now." He leaned into the touches.

"It's fine," Arthur murmured. "Don't apologize."

"Okay..." Closing his eyes, Alfred rested his head on Arthur's shoulder. A moment later, however, he got bored and pulled away, vanishing under the water and swimming rapid circles around the human, much like a predator would. He was suddenly in a playful mood.

Arthur blinked at the sudden change, his head spinning as he followed Alfred's movements.

Alfred meanwhile cruised smoothly through the water, occasionally moving so close to the human that his tail brushed up against his legs.

Arthur shivered slightly when this happened. "A-Alfred? What are you doing?"

Moving more quickly, Alfred swam off to the shallower end of the pool where he built up the mindset and launched himself at Arthur, a few feet before an inevitable crash shooting up and soaring above the Brit's head. Then he landed safely in the deep end and resumed his circling.

Arthur tensed, but then stared in awe as he watched the merman jump. "Ah..." The Brit chuckled. "You're playing, hm?"

"Yeah!" Alfred sang under the water, brushing up against him a few more times. Then he surfaced. "Try and catch me, kay?"

Arthur raised a brow at the simple challenge. "I hardly think I'll be able to, but I'll give it my damn best shot," he grumbled, diving into the water and chasing after the other.

Laughing merrily, Alfred easily avoided him and shot off to the other side of the pool.

Arthur let out a huff, then quickly swam over to where Alfred was, kicking as hard as he could.

The merman simply chuckled and dove right under him, slipping away once more.

"Ah- Alfred!" Gritting his teeth, Arthur pushed himself in the other direction, reaching out when the other seemed close enough...he could stretch that far, surely?

Alfred felt the brief touch but kept on going.

Damnit... Arthur clenched his teeth and cursed under his breath as he felt the scales slip away from his fingers, and urged himself to get closer.

But by then Alfred was a good five feet away and still swimming lazily to the nearest wall. "You can do it, Arthur!" he encouraged cheerfully.

"Ah, shut it," Arthur grumbled to himself, following after the merman

"I know you can!" Once Alfred was backed into the wall, he allowed Arthur to approach.

Seeing the bait, Arthur weighed up his chances that it could be a trap and- damn it all to heck, he swam for it.

The merman, his happy smile still on his face, waited there until Arthur was two feet away. Then he darted off to the side, but he did so more slowly than he normally would have done.

And finally, finally, Arthur was upon him- almost literally, when he dove towards the merman and grabbed him, his arms circling the other's torso.

"Ah!" Alfred slowed in the water and laughed. "You did it, Arthur! I told you!" He wriggled happily and very slightly leaned into Arthur's unintentional embrace.

"Hmph. You let me catch you, didn't you?" Arthur said with a slight huff.

"What? Noooo! You caught me!" Alfred defended himself, though he somewhat shot his chances of believability by smirking a tiny bit.

"Don't go easy on me. I'll catch you properly, just you wait," Arthur replied with an equal grin.

"Okay!" Alfred twisted around so they were facing each other and grinned more. "More? You catch me more now?"

"Ah-" Arthur blinked, but then nodded. "All right, if you want."

"Let me go!" The merman wriggled happily in his grasp, and the moment he was released with a flick of his tail he was across the pool.

Shaking his head, Arthur chuckled and dove after him.

Arthur chased Alfred and Alfred ran away, occasionally slowing down ever so softly to give Arthur a better chance. The human noticed sometimes and groaned about it, but Alfred just smiled more. After half an hour of such play, though, Arthur regretfully announced that he had to go to bed soon. Alfred moped and moaned for a good minute, but he understood that there was nothing he could do about it so he said good night. When he was alone he curled up on the bottom of the pool and slept, waiting for both morning and Arthur to come again.

A/N: Gilbert would totally be that kind of person who would start to curse in front of little kids all the time, but then catch himself and try to salvage it. XD