A/N: Hello, welcome back! Thank you again to my reviewers, you really keep me going here. I'm not quite sure exactly how long this fic is going to be, but I know for certain it will be shorter than Like It or Not. Anyway, enjoy!

One thing he came to understand rather quickly was that Francis working in a bakery was not just for show. The man had baked them a cake entirely from scratch as a welcoming gesture, flavored a wonderful vanilla, and honestly, it was one of the few things Alfred had eaten over the past few months that actually had a taste to it. And to top it off, it tasted amazing.

Francis was going to cook dinner for them and Alfred was surprised at how eager he had been on the inside when he heard that news. If he could bake this well, he could probably cook nicely, too.

He wasn't quite sure how, but Francis had somehow convinced Arthur to hang around for a while. Arthur turned down a glass of wine, simply delving into a glass of iced water instead. He had to drive later, so that was probably why, but the wrinkle of his nose when he declined made Alfred wonder if he also hated the taste of it.

As usual, he spent more time listening than talking. It wasn't boring though; Antonio and Francis took time to talk about their lives too, and getting to know them better like this was rather interesting. They were Gilbert's friends, and he seemed to like them a lot. Learning more about them was something he wanted to do. He got to hear stories of days long gone, and even Arthur, who had previously complained about how much he 'didn't want to be here', was playing along. But really, the best part was the laughing fits everyone seemed to be going through. There was really nothing better than seeing other people happy. Bonus points if it was people he cared about.

He had a mental checklist up and running by this point too of facts he figured would be important to remember.

Francis and Antonio shared Gilbert's age of twenty-six, though Arthur was a year younger than them. It was a bit intimidating when he thought about it: being so young. Suddenly twenty-three seemed like such a tiny number; even Ludwig was a year older than he was.

"So, Alfred, are you working right now?" Arthur asked him, and he felt his muscles tense a little as all eyes suddenly swept onto him. He used to love being in the spotlight; these days it just made him uncomfortable. Fighting the urge to disappear during moments like these was tough. "Or anything you like to do? Besides hanging out with this hooligan."

Arthur nodded in Gilbert's direction for clarification, earning an 'aw, fuck off' from the snow-haired man.

Alfred was quiet for a moment as he tried to formulate a response. Gilbert had been talking with his friends so much that they hadn't really asked him any questions about his life yet. He knew they would be coming eventually, but it had slowly slipped his mind and he hadn't even come up with answers yet.

He knew Arthur was just curious. Everyone else had been talking about their jobs so far, so he should've been expecting this question. But he hadn't. He had been so wrapped up in what everyone else had been saying. Listening to others talk about their lives was always better than talking about his own.

And what was he supposed to say? Everyone else had something going on and he didn't. Arthur owned the floral shop, Antonio was a nurse at the hospital a city over, Francis owned a bakery… Even Gilbert helped out every now and again, popping up at Ludwig's office to file paperwork when he was bored out of his mind.

"Ah, I… No, I'm not working right now," he finally replied, shrugging his shoulders. "I don't have a lot of hobbies, either, I guess? Video games are pretty cool but I don't play them a whole lot anymore. Hiking is nice but that's…kinda hard to do in New York City, so, I guess long walks are the closest thing to it."

"Gardening?" Arthur asked him, a hesitant smile crossing his face. "Do you like that?"

"Honestly, I… I haven't really done it before. I water my brother's stupid fern when he forgets about it, does that count? That's about it, really."

"Ah… You could've fooled me, I suppose." Arthur was still smiling as he drank his water. "You should look into doing it more, I think. You seemed really relaxed when you were digging around outside. You did pretty well, too, I think."

"Oh, um." Alfred's lightly tanned skin suddenly warmed a soft, warm pink. He didn't seem to notice the suspicious look Gilbert was suddenly shooting at him. "Thanks."

"No problem." Arthur's eyes practically twinkled. He checked his watch, a black simplistic one, before he sighed and set down his glass. "I should probably go. I have another order to finish before closing."

"Lame," Gilbert drawled, smirking as he easily dodged the couch cushion Arthur threw at him. "You should really hang out with us more."

"Why would I want to torture myself?" Arthur asked as he fluidly stood up, sighing. "I've been dealing with the shenanigans of you three for, what, twenty years now? That's long enough."

"Your math is awful. You can't include the years I was in the army, or the years after I moved away," Gilbert argued as he folded his arms over his chest.

"Close enough," Arthur countered with a simplistic wave of his hand. "Still one hell of a long time. And regardless, I've still known you lot for twenty years total, so."

"You two knock it off," Francis interjected as he rose to his feet. "You know you love us deep down. Now come on, let me walk you to your car."

"It's like fifty feet, I can handle it," Arthur argued, but didn't try to stop Francis from following him across the living room as he made his way towards the front door. He spun slightly on his heel, giving a bit of a wave with one hand. "Nice seeing you, Ludwig! And nice meeting you, Alfred."

He disappeared outside with Francis in tow.

"Rude… Didn't even give me a goodbye," Gilbert complained, noticeably pouting as he sank into the couch. Ludwig merely rolled his eyes in response.

"I thought he was really nice, overall, though," Alfred said quietly. He jumped a little as Gilbert suddenly busted out laughing into boisterous laughter. "What's so funny?"

"Arthur isn't nice. He's a huge pessimist and kind of an asshole. Trust me."

"Well, the pessimism thing is true…" Antonio added as he sighed. "But, I don't know… I wouldn't really agree with the rest of that. He's just kind of grumpy and impatient sometimes, in my opinion, especially around us, since we've all known each other for so long."

"He didn't seem like any of those things to me," Alfred combated, a puzzled look coming over his face.

"He's nice when he meets new people, obviously. Impressions, you know?" Gilbert let out a snort. "But seriously. He doesn't have the reputation around here for being a nice, sweet guy. That's pretty much Antonio's rep. But that's beside the point. He's kinda seen as this cranky guy who is hard to get along with for the most part. It's kinda weird, though. Growing up he was really chill and pleasant, like how he's acting towards you. He was like that all the time for the most part unless you did something to royally piss him off. But, like, after all the stuff that happened with his brother he just turned into this big Negative Nancy. As soon as someone starts to get too close it's like turns into a total prick to get them to back off. He doesn't really hang out with us anymore, either. I mean, we've always got on each other's nerves, even as kids, but… I don't know. It's like he avoids us most of the time on purpose. It kinda huts sometimes."

Brother? Arthur has a brother?

"Um… I know it's not really my business, but…" Alfred started awkwardly. "What do you mean? Like…'stuff' that happened with his brother?"

Gilbert blinked for a second in a puzzled manner before what little color he had in his cheeks drained right out.

"Oh, shit, I…" Gilbert roughly shook his head. "I can't tell you. I didn't even mean to say that, I just… It's not my story to tell. Just pretend I didn't mention that."

If that wasn't suspicious then Alfred didn't know what was. Gilbert was never one to get anxious about anything, let alone one to attempt to retract a statement. He was notorious for being blunt, no matter the situation, and he often wound up hurting feelings because of it unintentionally. So why…?

He didn't get a chance to ask. Francis came back inside, starting to chatter with Antonio about what to cook for dinner. The two of them vanished into the kitchen and Ludwig rose to his feet as well, starting to tidy up the living room by collecting his and Gilbert's mess of beer cans. He wandered into the kitchen and returned with a trash bag. Gilbert seemed to be biting his tongue, wanting to say something, as his brother cleaned up. And when Ludwig stepped outside to take out the trash, he swiveled around to face Alfred immediately.

"Don't bring that up around Arthur, okay?" At Alfred's nodding, Gilbert released a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. "Good. There's one thing about Arthur I wanted to ask you about, though."

Alfred's head instantly tilted sideways in confusion.

"Do you like him?" Gilbert asked without hesitation. His eyes sparkled with mischief. "Like-like."

"What?" Alfred spluttered, composure instantly fraying. His face burned a bright red. "Why the hell are you even—"

"That's pretty close to the color you turned when he complimented you."

"I did not blush!"

"You completely, totally did! I saw you, you big fat liar!" Gilbert huffed. "You had such an easy time talking to him, too! You hardly even stuttered like you normally do and you kept the conversation going. You were actually really easy-going around him, Alfred…"

Alfred awkwardly avoided his gaze, suddenly feeling like he was backed into a corner. Gilbert's red eyes were suddenly twinkling.

"You totally like him, don't you?"

"I… I don't know… Maybe…" Alfred's voice was weak and lacked confidence entirely. He sheepishly looked down at his shoes. "Maybe a little bit…"

"I knew it!" Gilbert practically screeched before he seemed to realize how loud he was talking. He quieted himself, but his eyes still glimmered and Alfred was sure his tail would be wagging violently if he had one. "No wonder you were so calm when I told you he'd be hanging around us so often. New people usually give you the heebie-jeebies. Not judging, just saying."

"It's not even that. I just…" Alfred was wringing his hands together anxiously. "I don't know. It's like I'm not…so nervous around him, kinda like how I am with you most of the time, you know? It's just a bit different."

"Hmm… I think I know what you mean." Gilbert suddenly beamed at him, smile dazzling. "I'll have to make sure to drag him more places then so you can hang out with him more."

"Oh… No, I mean, you don't have to!" Alfred was scrambling to piece a sentence together, completely embarrassed now. "I, um…"

"Alfred… If you like him, even just a little bit, and if he keeps you calm, again, even just a little bit, the least I could do is try to pull some strings to see if you could talk to him a bit more or get to know him better, or something." Gilbert's smile didn't falter for a second. "You're my best friend. So if this has the potential to make you happy, then I'm damn well gonna play along. I'd do anything to see you happy again."

"You're seriously the best, Gil."

The man's face continued to light up in response to that.

"I know."

Alfred accidentally came out to Gilbert during basic training, only a few weeks after they had first met. Gilbert had one of the biggest crushes on their drill sergeant, always bragging about how she 'obviously liked him back'. It was a painfully obvious one-sided crush though, and even Alfred could see that. He still wasn't sure what brought Gilbert to the conclusion that she liked him when all she did in response to his flirting was make him keep running until he almost puked. Not to mention it was surely frustrating to think you finished only to hear: 'another lap, Beilschmidt! Move it!'

All Gilbert would do was wink in Alfred's direction and mouth 'she digs me' before running off on his own to complete his punishment.

One day, though, his secret just slipped out. He and Gilbert had been out on their morning run and Gilbert was prattling on about her again.

"Héderváry is great, isn't she?"

"She's gonna snap your neck like a twig if she finds out you've been calling her that."

"Fine. Drill Sergeant is great, isn't she?" Gilbert muttered as he let out a snort. "It's not like she's gonna find out unless you snitch on me."

"I don't know, man, your mouth is pretty loud."

"What, and yours isn't?" Gilbert challenged, before he rolled his eyes. "Anyway, like I was saying earlier… Don't you think she's great? She's so cool!"

"I guess?" Alfred ventured, wiping the sweat from his face with the hem of his PT shirt as he jogged. "She's kinda strict."

"It's awesome, right? She's so pretty, and like, she'd probably be the type of girl to look good even when she's kicking someone's ass." He had the stupidest grin on his face and all Alfred could do was roll his eyes. "I want a girl like that, don't you?"

"Not really," Alfred replied as he shrugged his shoulders. "I mean, yeah, girls are pretty but I don't really want one in my life like that when I'm not interested."

The puzzled look Gilbert suddenly gave him was enough to make him realize how he had just royally messed up.

"So you like boys?" Gilbert asked with a simple cock of his head.

"Yeah, I… Fuck, I'm sorry. Please don't tell anyone I told you that." Alfred was the one rambling now. "Shit, I just… Sorry. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable—"

"Christ, Jones, I was just wondering. I'm not gonna tell anyone." Gilbert glanced over at him for a moment. "And why would this make me uncomfortable? We're friends, right? Friends don't judge for this kind of stuff."

Alfred was dumbfounded for a long moment. And then, slowly, his face warmed into a watery smile.

"You're the best, Gilbert."

"Thank you, I know."

Gilbert had actually been the first to know. After that happened he gathered more courage, and when he came home from his first tour overseas, he told Matthew. And once he started hanging around Gilbert during his time off, and spending time around Ludwig because of it, he eventually told him too. But they were the only three who knew. And it honestly meant the world to hear acceptance from those he dared to trust with that information.

Surely Arthur liked guys, right? Gilbert said Arthur and Francis were on the verge of dating when they were teens… And Gilbert wouldn't be willing to put in the effort to let him grow closer to someone that would only lead to a dead end, right? Right?

"Is something bothering you?"

Alfred snapped back to reality at the voice. His head swiveled a bit to look at Francis, who stood on the other end of the shopping cart, working on inspecting a carton of eggs. It was just the two of them; Francis had invited him to come along to the grocery store and Gilbert had practically shoved him out the front door. The guy was just too eager to have his friends all spending time together to get to know each other better.

"W-What do you mean?"

"Nothing, really," Francis replied coolly, putting the eggs into the cart before gingerly nudging Alfred aside to start pushing again. His bright blue eyes swayed onto Alfred's face casually. "Just wondering. You look like something is on your mind."

"I… Yeah, I guess so," Alfred mumbled weakly, not able to look the older man in the eye.

"Did you want to talk about it?" Francis inquired, a single eyebrow arching curiously. He suddenly smiled at Alfred warmly. "If you don't, though, that's okay too."

"Well, um…" Alfred started, awkwardly fidgeting with the sleeves of his jacket. "It's kinda about Arthur?"

That seemed to spark Francis's attention.

"What about him?" he asked, instantly throwing a glance at Alfred over one shoulder, smile dissipating as he scowled suspiciously.

"N-Nothing bad, I swear!" Despite being noticeably bigger and taller than Francis, he raised his hands in front of himself in a defensive gesture. Gilbert had always teased him about being some type of gentle giant. Guess he wasn't lying. "It's just… Gilbert mentioned a few things and it's kinda been on my mind, you know?"

"Of course he did," Francis sighed out with a single shake of his head. "That man can't keep his mouth shut to save his life. I think he can keep a secret for about an hour, max. Regardless… What did he say that has made you so distraught?"

Truth be told it was about what Gilbert had briefly commented about Arthur's mysterious brother, and how he tried to backpedal after mentioning it, but he was certain bringing that up would not be a good idea. If it had the ability to make Gilbert so frazzled all of a sudden, surely talking about it so suddenly would be like walking out onto a minefield. So he decided to settle on the next best thing.

"When Gilbert mentioned that you and Arthur almost dated at some point," Alfred started cautiously, trying to pick his words carefully. Saying something offensive was the last thing he wanted to do. "Was that true? You guys don't really even seem like the pair to hook up with each other's type, you know? I know it isn't my business, but…"

"It was true," Francis replied easily, shrugging his shoulders as he sharply turned a corner and went onto a new aisle. "But I suppose you're right. We're pretty different from each other and we fight a lot, so… Arthur had changed a lot since then, though, I suppose. We probably fight more now than we did back then, but that's not the point. Why was that on your mind?"

What was he supposed to say? He couldn't give Francis the real reason…could he? He was one of Gilbert's friends, and the man always bragged about how cool his friends are, but… Could he trust Francis with this level of information? They had just met, for crying out loud.

"Are you interested in him?" Francis asked bluntly. Almost instantly, Alfred's tanned skin began to darken with an embarrassed blush. Francis laughed a bit, clapping an arm onto one of Alfred's thick arms. "I know that's pretty bold of me to ask, especially with us not knowing each other very well yet. You don't have to give me answers if it makes you uncomfortable."

"No, it's fine. It's just… Gilbert mentioned he wants me to hang around Arthur more to get to know him better, but… I mean… Besides mentioning that you two almost dated, I didn't have any other details, and I just…didn't…?"

"Oh. Oh, no, I wasn't a special case, if that's what you're implying." Francis casually shrugged his shoulders, starting to smile. "Though, Alfred, you never really struck me as the kind of guy to be interested in that type."

"I could say the same about you, honestly," Alfred countered, blinking in surprise when Francis suddenly started to laugh. "What?"

"Nothing much. It's just that now I can see how you and Gilbert became friends. You're both a couple of smartasses." Francis chuckled. "Though I can tell that isn't your intention. Gilbert, however, that's a different story."

"You and Gilbert don't even seem to have a lot in common," Alfred commented quietly, absently picking a can off the shelf to study it a bit closer. "You two don't seem like the type to be friends."

"Can't argue with that," Francis sighed. "The three of us actually don't have a lot in common at all. I think we've known each other for so long now that I forgot how we even became friends to begin with. It doesn't really matter, though, I don't think."

Silence fell between them for a brief moment. There was something on his mind, still, and he wanted answers, even if he had to beat around the bush to get there.

"Hey, Francis?" Alfred started quietly. "Um… If you don't mind me asking…what was it that you liked in Arthur?"

"Hm. Well… He's actually pretty confident and very determined. Individualistic, too. He used to wear his heart on his sleeve and it was…really nice, honestly. He has such a big, warm heart in his chest. But he doesn't do that anymore." Francis sighed. "It's still the same heart inside of him, just…behind a lot of walls and fronts. He's changed a lot."

"Oh…" Alfred mumbled, mentally slapping himself. Oh? That was all he could come up with? "Um… Does Arthur like things like that, too?"

Francis looked at him in confusion for a brief moment before he let out a chuckle.

"What, are you trying to ask me if you're his type?" he laughed softly. "Probably. I mean, I know he likes blonde hair, so you already have that down pact. But besides physical attributes, even if he isn't fond of what you have, Alfred, I'm sure you have a shot. I still don't know you very well but from what I've seen, and from all the stories Gilbert has told Antonio and I, you seem like a very sweet young man. I'm sure Arthur would be interested in someone as kind as you."

"Thank you." Alfred started to blush almost instantly. He was horrible at accepting compliments, and they always made him flustered, but saying thank you with a tongue in his cheek seemed to work nicely. Then he seemed to pick up on something Francis said. "Wait, Gilbert talks about me?"

"Oh, yes, quite a bit. Antonio and I still kept in touch with him while he was enlisted. He'd sometimes send us a letter or get to call us every now and again so we knew he was okay. And after asking us how we were doing, and talking about what was going on with him, he'd always bring you up, somehow. He'd always brush off the negatives and just say things like 'I'm hanging in there I guess, but it's fine, I have this really cool new friend here! You'll have to meet him one day'. He'd say things like that.

"When he came home and had to have surgery for his leg, Antonio and I flew out to see him. And I'm not even exaggerating here, he was so doped up on medication he barely even knew who he was or where he was. So Antonio, Ludwig, and myself were just sitting around catching up while Gilbert took a nap, and he woke up laughing. So we were asking him what was going on; we figured it was just because he was high as a kite. But no. He said he remembered a joke that you told him. And he laughed so hard in his dream he woke himself up. He couldn't remember your name but we figured out who he was talking about."

"Oh…" Alfred said lamely, eyes wide with surprise. "I… I didn't know that. I didn't know about any of that…"

"Mm. I figured; he's not one to try to be all mushy around people." Francis shrugged his shoulders gently, still smiling. "But even so, he loves his friends, even if he won't tell you that to your face. If you get him drunk enough he might fess up to it, but you know what I meant. But yes, he talks about you quite a bit. I'm pretty sure he's just as attached to you as he is to us. Congratulations, there is no escape."

Francis suddenly eyed him slyly.

"Though I guess if you're looking into chasing after Arthur, it's good that you're used to it already. Arthur's even worse at saying he cares than Gilbert is." Francis rolled his eyes as he let out a small chuckle. "I'm not sure if he's looking into dating right now, since we never talk about those kinds of things anymore, but you could give it a try."

"What do you think I should do?" Alfred asked hesitantly, shyly fidgeting. "You know him a lot better than I do…"

"You have come to the right person. I'm obviously the biggest romantic out of the trio," Francis replied, posing in a rather overdramatic fashion. Alfred couldn't help but let out a snort. No wonder these guys were friends; they were all dorks. "But I guess the best step for you to take would be just to talk to him more and see where it goes. He loves his job, which I'm sure you must have noticed from how much he ran his mouth about flowers and pestering you about gardening. So I guess an easy route would be just to take that path. Oh, and he's typically down at his job, so I guess if you really wanted to get closer to him, rather quickly at that, you could always pop up at his work. He's been complaining that he has too much work and not enough assistance, so if you offered to help out, he would probably let you."

"I mean, I don't want to rush anything. I… I think I like him, it's just a little bit…"

"Yes, well, you can't really see how far it will go or anything until you give it a try, right?" Francis patted him on the back. "I'm a man of love, Alfred. I'm more than willing to help out in any way that I can. Plus, I think Arthur would benefit quite a bit from being around you. He seemed to be really easygoing around you, and I haven't seen that in a long time. It may have been just to impress you, it may not have been, I'm not sure. But either way, I haven't seen that side of Arthur in a while. Maybe you can keep that side of him out a bit more. Plus, well… Gilbert told us you're going through a hard time. And I know that it is not my business, and I probably shouldn't have brought it up, but… Well, if this is the type of change you want in your life, if this is something that could cheer you up a little, then I'm more than willing to help."

"That's…kind of what Gilbert told me, too," Alfred said weakly.

"I said we didn't have a whole lot in common." Much to his surprise, Francis shot him a grin before winking in his direction. "I never said we didn't have anything in common, now, did I?"

Chapter 4: End