A/N: This is going to be the longest chapter, I think!


Arthur immediately stopped in his tracks, turning bright red as he stared at the other. "Wh-What...?"

"Kiss me, please!"

"Wh- Why the hell-?!" Alfred wanted to kiss him?

Alfred shrank back, his face falling. "I-I just..." He looked down. "I'm never gonna find a mate. I'm never gonna k-kiss someone... I just wanted to experience it, but that's okay..." He turned away, sinking lower in the water.

Arthur blinked. Ah, so that was it. Shifting from foot to foot, Arthur lowered his gaze himself, feeling a little guilty. "...All right," he mumbled.

"You don't gotta if you don't wanna," Alfred muttered back, not turning around.

"No, it's fine," Arthur replied quietly. "...I-I didn't realize, I'm sorry."

Alfred finally twisted around, though he still didn't dare to look up. "R-Really?"

"Of course," Arthur said, giving the other a small smile and crouching down.

The merman's heart fluttered and he moved closer to Arthur. His face tilted up and his eyes closed as he waited. After taking a deep breath, Arthur shifted forwards and took the merman's face in his hand. Then, after a moment, he leaned forwards and gently pressed his lips against Alfred's. His heart taking off, Alfred's eyes flew open for a bit before closing again. He leaned into the kiss, propping himself up on his arms.

Arthur simply pressed forwards a little for a moment before starting to move slightly, keeping the kiss soft. It felt amazing, better than anything Alfred had ever felt or tasted before, and he never wanted it to end. When Arthur started moving Alfred mirrored him instinctively, their lips molding and moving together. Almost lost in the kiss, Arthur continued moving along with the other before he snapped out of it and gently pulled away, face hot.

"A-Arthur..." Alfred's eyes opened slowly, and his cheeks were flushed as he continued looking up at the human.

After a moment, Arthur himself glanced up at the other, his head still tilted down. "...Hm?" He asked quietly.

"Thank you. That was...amazing," Alfred whispered back, his eyes wide.

"I-I-" Arthur's already red face became even darker. "Don't worry about it..."

Hand reaching out, Alfred stroked Arthur's cheek. "Really. If I'm only to ever have one kiss, I'm glad it was with you."

Arthur blinked and looked at the other, his eyes widening. "Alfred..." he murmured, shifting slightly. "My kisses are nothing special..."

"Arthur. To me it was."

Not long after, Arthur smiled a bit. "...All right. Sorry."

"Don't apologize to me." Alfred smiled back and touched his own lips with a finger.

"Okay," Arthur replied quietly.

The next moment Alfred vanished under the water to clear his head, and when he came up again he was no longer blushing. "Did you bring food?"

"Ah, right, I did, yes," the Brit said quickly, suddenly remembering and standing up to go and get it.

The merman waited for him eagerly, his features turning predatorial.

As soon as Arthur got the fish, he brought it back to the other, sitting by the poolside.

"Give it or throw it?"

"I don't mind, whichever you prefer."

"Throw 'em! And throw 'em high!" Alfred surged to the middle of the pool, readying himself.

Grinning softly, Arthur nodded, throwing a piece out and over the pool in a high arc.

In an instant Alfred had shot up, muscles rippling in the sunlight, and caught it. He fell back to the pool with a mighty splash. "More!"

Arthur chuckled. "All right, all right," he said, throwing a few pieces this time.

Alfred eagerly scrambled after them, twisting into various poses and subconsciously showing off his muscles a little bit.

Arthur smiled more, his gaze admittedly straying a little once or twice, though he quickly snapped it back up. It wasn't his fault Alfred's body (or, the human part of it, at least) happened to be his usual type.

Alfred, meanwhile, couldn't stop thinking about the kiss. Belatedly, he realized that he never should have asked for it. He wanted more now. He wanted Arthur to kiss him more. The merman was so tangled up in his thoughts that during one of his leaps he almost crashed into the edge of the pool, but luckily twisted out of the way at the last moment. He shook his head- now was not the time to think about what he couldn't have. Collecting himself again, Alfred leapt after another fish. After a while it was all gone and he swam slowly to the edge.

"Hi there, Artie!" he said, eyes bright. "I realized I never told you hello, heh..."

"Hello," Arthur replied with a smile. "Was the fish alright?"

"It's always perfect!"

"Heh, that's good."

"Yes!" Alfred swam up against him, placing his chin in Arthur's lap and trying not to stare at the human's lips. "How are you?"

"Ah, well, uh... I'm all right, yes," Arthur replied with a small chuckle, his eyes intently locked on the others', lest they otherwise slip away.

"All right?" Alfred wasn't really satisfied with that. "Tell me more! How did you sleep? How do you feel?"

"Wh- Well, okay. I slept well, thank you. And I feel good."

"That's good..." Alfred's expression relaxed into a warm smile.

Arthur couldn't help but smile back at that. "Yes. What about you?"

"I'm okay! I've got a full belly and nice company. What more could I want?"

"I-" Arthur chuckled slightly. "Really..."

"Really what? It's true!"

"Heh, well thank you."

"Don't mention it! Hey Arthur, read me another book?"

"Another book? Now? All right- is there anything you want to hear about?"

"Umm... Umm... More nice stories like the other one!"

"Okay," Arthur replied with a grin, quickly going to retrieve a book and sitting by the pool again.

As with the last story, Alfred lapped it up eagerly. It was different than the last one Arthur read to him but it still enthralled him nonetheless. As Arthur read, Alfred had sat down next to him and looked over his shoulder, placing the writing to the words as he listened. He could read most of it on his own, but Arthur helped him figure out that last little bit he didn't know.

They only got through about the first quarter of the book, though with some pleading and puppy eyes Alfred managed to up that to the first third. Finally, when they reached that spot, Arthur really had to go back to work. Alfred nodded, drooping a little bit, but he was cheered by the fact that Arthur would be back later. Plus there was that really cool movie about someone called a hobbit playing later, which he wanted to see. So he slipped back into the water and waited for Arthur to leave.

He left not long earlier, moving to his study to work- the Brit had a new first chapter draft to look over to see if he was interested in the story.

Not an hour had passed before his phone rang shrilly, Gilbert on the other end.

With a sigh, Arthur answered. "Yes, hello?"

"Yo, Eyebrows!"

"Hello, Gilbert. What is it?" Arthur replied, raising a brow.

"So I was thinking we should all get together and have a dinner at your place tomorrow night, as thanks for all the times you've watched Fritz. We'll bring the food, of course."

Arthur blinked in his surprise, his eyes widening. "Wh- As thanks?!" Gilbert was thanking him? Ah, Matthew probably put him up to it- but still, it was a very kind offer. Wait- they were coming round his house, and bringing the food? That was odd... Arthur shook it off anyway, not one to pass up a nice dinner. "Well... All right, then."

"Yeah! Awesome, so we'll uhh, just come by at like six? Does that work for you?" Gilbert asked sweetly.

"Uhh...sure, I-I guess..."

"Awesome!" Then Gilbert hung up, the faintest snicker heard before the line went dead.

Arthur blinked at the now silent phone, utterly confused and just a little happy. Then he stood to go and tell Alfred the news.

The merman was excited, hoping that Fritz would be able to sneak away at some point to see him. He was wriggling around eagerly for the rest of the night and didn't sleep for a long time. Consequently, he took lots of naps the next morning, but that was all right because Arthur was cleaning the house and getting ready. Finally, when it was around 5:30, the Brit entered the pool room to spend some final moments with him, and Alfred had to be careful not to get his clothes wet.

"You look happy, Arthur..."

"Ah, do I?" Arthur said, a small, pleased flush to his face. "I-I'm not really that much..."

"Yeah you are! And I'm happy that you're happy!" Alfred gave him a soft smile. Seeing Arthur happy and smiling always made his heart skip a beat.

"Oh, well... Yes," Arthur murmured, smiling a little back. "That's good."

"Come visit me at some point though?" Alfred pleaded. "Doesn't have to be for long..."

Arthur nodded. "Of course. And I'll bring you some food too."

"Really?" Alfred's tail flicked eagerly in the water. "That would be awesome! Thanks!"

"Not at all," Arthur replied with a smile.

"Mmm..." Alfred rested his chin on the edge of the pool, a few inches away from Arthur's leg. "I hope you have a nice time."

Yes." Arthur's smile quirked up more and he ruffled the other's hair for a moment.

"Ooh-!" Alfred squeaked at the initial contact, but then he sighed happily and leaned into it. "When- When are they gonna be here?"

"Mm, soon, I think."

"Oh... Well touch me until they do?"

"Wh-" Arthur's face darkened a little, but he hid it by ruffling the other's hair fiercely as a distraction. "Fine."

"Thank you, Arthur!" Alfred's rump wiggled a little bit in happiness.

"No problem..." he murmured, stopping and just resting his hand on the other's head.

"Hmm?" Alfred tilted his head so he could look up at Arthur. "Why did ya stop?"

"No reason," Arthur replied, tilting his head a little as well.

"Okay..." Pursing his lips, Alfred sat up straight and tilted his head the other way.

"Hm?" Arthur frowned slightly, shifting a little. "What is it?"

"No, nothin'." Alfred shook his head and sank lower in the water, straightening out completely. "I was just wonderin' if you'd tilt your head again."

Arthur blinked. "Ah, all right..."

"Yeah!" Alfred shook his head a bit and then moved to the center of the pool. "Have a good time, okay?"

"A-Ah..." Arthur slowly lowered his hand and nodded slightly. "Okay..."

"Yeah! And I'm s-" Alfred was interrupted by the doorbell ringing a few minutes early. He smiled sadly. "See you, Arthur." Then he dove beneath the waves.

Arthur blinked, then looked towards the door and stood. "...See you later, then," he mumbled, before heading to the door and opening it.

Gilbert was standing there, holding Matthew's hand and a plate of roast chicken. Fritz was on his other side. "Hey Artie! Hope you don't mind we're early!"

"Ah, evening," Arthur replied with a small smile, greeting the three and standing back to let them in. "Do come in. And it's Arthur, how many times?"

Matthew chuckled a little as he stepped in. "It's been a while, Arthur. How are you?"

"Oh, I'm grand, thank you for asking. Yourselves?"

"Pfft, you could tell me a thousand times and you really think I'll listen?" Snickering, the albino entered, Fritz on his heels, and moved to the dining room table to set down his load.

"Of course not, but it's worth reminding you," Arthur said with a huff.

"Mm, you should come visit more often- we're only one floor below," the Canadian said.

"Really, Artie." Gilbert looked at him. "You've got friends."

Arthur blinked back at the other, his face flushing a little as he looked away and huffed. "I-I know! You say that as if I'm a lonely old hermit or something!"

"Well, you are," Gilbert said, snorting and slinging his arm around Matthew's shoulders.

Matthew responded by gently elbowing the other to reprimand him, but smiling and leaning into the other anyway. "Still, it'd be good for you to get out more."

"...I-I'm not a lonely old hermit!" Arthur exclaimed, mouth slightly agape.

"See? Even Mattie agrees with me!" Gilbert leaned down and gave Matthew a kiss on his cheek.

"Oh, stop it," Matthew replied with a chuckle as Arthur huffed and set the table.

"Heh." Gilbert leaned closer to him, kissing his ear and whispering into it at the same time. "You got the stuff?"

"Nn... Yes, yes," Matthew replied with a sigh and a roll of his eyes. "Couldn't we just ask him?"

"Nah..." Gilbert's breath ghosted against his ear. "This way's much more...fun."

Eyes gently shutting, Matthew sighed again. "Ah, fine, if you really have to..." Then he opened his eyes again, glancing up at the other with a small smirk. "...You're such a bad influence on me."

"Heh, you love it." Red eyes warm, Gilbert leaned down to peck Matthew on the nose. "Und ich liebe dich."

Matthew smiled softly at this. "I love you too," he said quietly. "Now let's get back to Arthur, eh? Find out about this mystery man."

"Ja!" Gilbert gave him a squeeze and took his place at the table. "Hey Kirkland, you have some drink?"

"Hm?" Arthur looked up at the others, having just finished laying the table. "Of course, I have some wine...?"

"That's fine! But how about something non-alcoholic for the kid?" Gilbert gestured to Fritz. "Y'know, he's not quite old enough."

"Of course, of course, there's plenty." Arthur nodded to the child. "Do you want to come and choose something?"

"Yeah, go off for a bit with Uncle Eyebrows." Gilbert gestured for Matthew to come sit on his lap.

"Can you not encourage your child to call me that?" Arthur said with a huff as he took Fritz out, leaving the Canadian to happily place himself in Gilbert's lap.

"Too late, Kirkland!" Gilbert yelled back, before focusing his attention on the man before him. "Well hey there, little Birdie," he purred, wrapping his arms around Matthew's shoulders.

The Canadian blushed a little, smiling pleasantly. "Mm, hello," he replied.

"Mattie, Mattie..." Hand reaching up to tangle in the blond hair, Gilbert forced Matthew's head closer and nuzzled to his ear.

"Mm, Gil..." Matthew murmured, closing his eyes and wrapping his own arms around the other.

"Hey. Hey Mattie," Gilbert breathed. "Once we find out about Arthur's lil friend let's send Fritz over more often so we can have awesome sex more."

Matthew chuckled slightly at this. "Well, do you think he'll be okay with that?"

"Hey, if he's got a mermaid friend to keep him occupied as well as Arthur's books, he'll be fine."

"Mm, that's true. ...You don't actually think he's going to be a mermaid, do you?"

"Honestly, I don't know. I don't think Fritz would lie..." Gilbert met Matthew's gaze. "If he is, then that's awesome!"

"Mm, true. But mermaids are myths..." Matthew shrugged a little. "It was probably just some secret boyfriend that was in the pool, you know what his imagination's like."

"Pfft, probably." Snickering, Gilbert kissed down Matthew's ear to his jaw, and then on to his neck.

"Ah- Gil..." Matthew's eyes slipped shut, and he hummed softly.

"Hmm?" Smirking, Gilbert bit down ever so softly.

Matthew shivered a little, betraying the small frown on his face by leaning into it a little. "Nn... We're at somebody else's house, you know," he murmured.

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Pouting, Gilbert leaned back. "Get to your seat then, Birdie. I think they're coming back."

Right on cue, Arthur and Fritz walked in, only just missing the scene before as Matthew sat down.

Gilbert smiled at them. "So you found something to drink?"

Fritz nodded, a tiny smile on his face and a glass of juice in his hands.

"Awesome. So let's eat now?" Eat, get Arthur comfortable, tie him up, then check on the boyfriend in the pool. Gilbert's grin grew.

Arthur, oblivious to all this, nodded. "All right," he said, taking his seat.

There was a comfortable air around the table for the first few minutes as they got settled and passed all the dishes around to get a bit. Then silence for a few minutes while everyone tasted the food, and then Gilbert started his master plan. "So Arthur," he said over a bite of chicken. He quickly swallowed it. "How's your love life going?"

"Love life?" Arthur raised his eyebrows, eyes widening a little as he lowered his fork. "A-Ah, well it's all right, I suppose... Nothing particularly special..." he said, pausing before quickly shoving another forkful in his mouth.

"Nothin' special, huh?" The red eyes gleamed in the light. "So who's the...lucky guy?"

"Wh-What?" Arthur sputtered, turning red, before quickly swallowing. "What lucky guy?"

"Well you said nothing special so... Is it a quiet relationship? Secret? All hush-hush? From your reaction, there definitely is someone..."

"I-I- no! There isn't anyone!"

"Reeeaaaally now?" Gilbert's smile turned wicked. "Mattie, get him!"

"Get me- wh-" Arthur frowned, perplexed as Matthew came up behind him and pulled out a rope. "Wh-what are you doing?"

"I'm sorry, Arthur..." Matthew said awkwardly, quickly tying the Brit up.

"Yes, yes, good Birdie!" Gilbert looked approvingly at the handiwork when Matthew was done. "Now Fritz! Lead us to the supposed mermaid!" He turned to Arthur. "Don't worry, Eyebrows, we won't hurt him. We just want to meet him!" Then he gestured for Fritz to go.

"What?" Arthur's eyes widened and he looked between the three.

Fritz himself seemed surprised, and he looked up at his father. "V-Vati?"

"It's all right, Frederick." Gilbert knelt down to the boy's level. "Don't worry, buddy, no one's gonna get hurt because of my awesome plan. Now take us to Alfred?"

Fritz blinked slightly, but then nodded, dumb, and looked apologetically at Arthur, who was staring back. After another moment of awkward shifting, Fritz shuffled to the door to lead them to the pool room.

A few minutes later, Alfred looked up, surprised when the doors opened. Arthur was coming in sooner than he expected- That wasn't Arthur. Again. It was Fritz. But this time, he had with him two grown men.

The merman yelped with fear, diving down and emerging on the far side of the pool, pressed flat against the wall. "Wh- What do you want?! Who are you?!"

"Ah- Alfred- D-Don't worry, they're just my dads!" Fritz cried, coming forward, panicked.

Meanwhile, Matthew's eyebrows arched, still not quite believing what he was seeing.

Eyes wide for a moment more, Alfred suddenly snapped out of it and his eyes then narrowed. "You- You told them! You told people!" His arms rose to hug his own torso tightly, and he curled up. "Go away!"

Fritz's eyes widened even more, his face dropping. "B-But it's just my dad..!"

"No! Go away, I don't like you!" Alfred's tail swished panickedly in the water.

Flinching, Fritz looked down and fiddled with the hem of his shirt, trying not to cry. "I-I just told Vati because he's my dad and- and it's different with him, and, and..." The child trailed off as he mumbled, biting back the small sniffles.

"He's still someone!" Alfred cried back. "I told you not to!"

"Hey, hey..." Gilbert stepped forward warningly. "Watch it, he's just a kid."

"And I'm the only one of my kind!" Alfred growled softly, taking on a protective stance. "I told him not to tell!"

"I just- I just-" Fritz was crying by now, sniffling as he chewed on his lower lip.

Then Matthew stepped in. "Hey... Listen - Alfred, right? - we're not going to hurt you..." he said quietly.

Alfred did feel bad about making the kid cry, but he tried not to show it. "That's still betraying my trust!"

Flinching, Fritz hunched over, sobbing softly.

Gathering the boy up into his arms, Gilbert hugged him tightly. He glared softly at Alfred. "Seriously, watch it."

"Then watch your child!" Alfred thrashed around in the water. "If he tells the wrong person-"

"He wouldn't!"

Hissing again, Alfred bared his teeth.

"Everyone, BE QUIET."

Arthur was standing in the doorway, hands still tied behind his back around the chair, having finally managed to stand and get to the pool room, and he glared at everyone in the room.

Jolting back, Alfred sank lower in the water while Gilbert whirled around to stare at him in shock.

Even Fritz stopped, hiccupping softly and clinging tighter to Gilbert and staring wide-eyed at the man now standing in the doorway.

"...Somebody untie me. Now."

Matthew quickly came forward, trying to figure out the knot he'd made.

The merman shrank back even more in the water. "A-Arthur..."

"Alfred... I'll talk to you later." The Brit waited until he was untied, then looked around the room. "...Anybody care to explain to me what the hell is going on?"

Gilbert shrugged. "We wanted to meet your fishy boyfriend." He stroked Fritz' hair softly, trying to calm the boy.

"He's not-!" Arthur huffed and turned red. "Whatever, that isn't important right now- you tied me up."

"Yeah, well would you really have told us the truth?" Gilbert raised an eyebrow.

Arthur's eyes narrowed. "You tied me up in my own home, burst into a private room, and caused chaos."

"Eh, no serious harm done. You got out of it anyway." Gilbert grinned. "Plus what's the fun in life without a little chaos?"

Arthur simply glared, a small growl coming from his throat. "Get out of this room."

Gilbert gazed evenly back at him, and then nodded. "Fine. C'mon, Birdie." He strode from the room.

Arthur watched them leave, before turning his eyes back to Alfred and sighing. "...I'm so sorry."

"Y-You're not mad?" Alfred still stayed low in the water, watching Arthur warily.

Arthur watched him for a moment carefully. "...Of course I'm mad. But you didn't deserve that."

"I-It's okay..." Alfred bit his lip, remembering Fritz's tears and starting to feel bad. "I don't think he meant badly..."

"Of course he didn't. He's only ten." Arthur sighed slightly. "Alfred, although I do understand where you were coming from, you were pretty harsh with him."

Alfred flinched back, his face falling. "S-Sorry..."

Arthur shook his head. "It's all right. It's not me you should be apologizing to."

"I was scared!" Alfred held himself tightly, his arms wrapping around his torso.

"I know, I know, I'm sorry, come here," Arthur said softly, holding his arms out to the other.

"Arthur!" Alfred surged towards him, practically hurling himself into Arthur's arms.

"Oof-" Arthur hugged the merman gently, softly stroking his hair. "You're not light, you know..." he murmured. "I know you were scared, and I'm sorry you had to go through it. I completely understand, but still, you should apologize to the poor boy, hm? He doesn't realize it was wrong."

Alfred ducked his head. "A-All right... But he's gotta know it's wrong..."

"Of course, I'm going to reprimand him, don't you worry about that.

"Okay..." Alfred shoved his nose against Arthur's neck and squeezed him tightly.

"It's all right..." Arthur closed his eyes, focusing on stroking the other's back. "I'm sorry about all that..."

"It's okay... I was just scared..." Alfred trembled slightly. "I-I don't wanna get taken away from you..."

"Hey, you won't be," Arthur murmured, giving Alfred a small, reassuring squeeze. "I promise you."

"Really? You promise promise?" Alfred whispered.

"I won't let that happen," Arthur replied seriously.

"Okay... C-Can I talk to Fritz?"

"Of course." Arthur gave him another small squeeze. "I'll go talk to him and then bring him back."

"Okay..." Alfred slowly let go and flopped back into the water.

Arthur nodded. "I'll be back in a moment," he said, before heading off to find the others.

Alfred settled low in the water again, blowing bubbles and waiting.

Meanwhile, Arthur stormed back to the dining room to find Matthew, Gilbert and Fritz. "Right. Explain yourself, Beilschmidt."

Gilbert was lounging around in his chair, Fritz still on his lap and his arms around the boy. "I told you. We wanted to meet your boyfriend. ...I'll admit maaaaybe tying you up wasn't the best way to go around it, but." He shrugged.

"You're damn right it wasn't. You terrified him, you know," Arthur said, glaring at the other.

"I am sorry, Arthur," Matthew said with a small sigh. "I don't think either of us really realized..."

"My point still stands. I... I don't even know what to say. Even for you, Gilbert, I can barely believe you did that."

"Well I mean we weren't really sure if he was actually a mermaid!" Gilbert huffed. "...I'm sorry, Arthur."

"Good," Arthur replied with a shake of his head. "Even if he was just a human, that was still rude. And to think I thought you actually wanted to come round for dinner..." Arthur then glanced over at Fritz, who was burrowing himself further into his father as the Brit watched, and he let out a sigh. "...Hey, Fritz, come here," he said quietly, his face softening.

"Well I mean we did wanna." Gilbert grinned. "You're pretty cool company. Not quite awesome, but cool." He looked down at Fritz and gently nudged him towards Arthur.

Arthur simply raised a brow and huffed at the man, watching Fritz as he nervously shuffled away from his dad and towards the Brit.

"Come now, look up at me."

After a moment, Fritz hesitantly looked up through his lashes, Arthur crouching down to his eye level.

"Now listen." Arthur started softly. "I understand that you didn't mean any harm by telling your parents, and you were only telling them because they're your parents, right? I know you think it's different with them, but to us, it wasn't. Alfred trusted you to not tell anybody, and he meant your parents too, so of course he's hurt that you told them. If your parents were anybody else, this could have been really dangerous for us- Alfred could have been taken away and hurt by strangers." Arthur noticed that the other was getting rather upset at his words, so he quickly consoled him. "It's okay, luckily that's not what happened. But you have to understand that it could have. If somebody trusts you and asks you not to tell anybody, then you shouldn't break that trust, all right?"

The boy meekly nodded, fiddling with his shirt. "...Um... I-I'm sorry," he said quietly.

"That's okay," Arthur replied with a soft smile. "As long as you understand. Now let's go talk to Alfred hm? And introduce you properly," he said, looking pointedly at the older two men.

"Eheh, sure. Let's go meet your boyfriend the right way." Gilbert stood and pulled Matthew up with him.

Arthur stood too, raising a brow. "One more thing- he's not my boyfriend."

"Oh, oh. I get it. You haven't confessed yet."

"Wh-" Arthur turned his gaze, frowning at Gilbert with a reddened face. "No! It isn't like that at all!"

"Mhmm." Gilbert snickered. "Not yet. Anyway, let's go see the guy?'

"Not ever," Arthur grumbled, but led them back to the pool room. "Alfred..." he called gently as he entered.

"Arthur!" Alfred brightened up when he saw them, though he paused when he saw everyone else.

Taking a small breath in, Matthew glanced at Gilbert, then stood back to let Fritz go first, watching as Arthur gave the boy an encouraging smile and pushed him forwards gently.

Alfred was still slightly hesitant, but he did move forward as well.

Fritz glanced up at him, then quickly down at his shirt again, shifting a little. "...Mm... M'sorry," he mumbled.

"Sorry for what?" Alfred asked quietly, placing his hands on the edge of the pool and looking up at the boy with wide eyes.

"For- For telling..."

"I... Well it's okay this time... But you haveta promise not to tell anyone else. Ever. A-And don't betray me again?" Alfred asked hopefully.

Fritz nodded, sniffling a little. "I-I didn't think Vati counted, I won't again..."

"Okay..." Biting his lip for a moment, Alfred then held his arms out. "Gimmie a hug?"

Eyes widening, Fritz launched himself into Alfred's arms, clinging to him tightly as Arthur watched with a soft smile on his face.

"Heh-" Alfred caught him and held him back just as tight, glad that he could keep being friends with the boy. "I'm sorry too..." he mumbled to him. "For yelling and scaring you and making you cry..."

Fritz whimpered softly and closed his eyes. "You don't hate me...?"

"I... I don't. I'm...disappointed a bit, but I still want to be your friend. And Arthur told me you didn't know." One of Alfred's hands reached up to stroke Fritz's hair. "So it's okay this time."

"That's good..." Fritz replied quietly. "I am sorry..."

"It's okay..." Alfred gave Fritz a squeeze and then, without even thinking about it, leaned back to press a kiss to the boy's forehead. "But if you want me to be around here then you really can't tell anyone else, okay?"

The little boy nodded slightly, blinking up at Alfred. "Okay."

"Good! So we're still friends?" Alfred's tail swished a little bit.

"Ah, yes!" A small, hopeful smile came across Fritz's face.

"Okay..." Alfred smiled too, then glanced over at Matthew and Gilbert. "Will you introduce me to your dads now?"

Fritz nodded as he glanced at his parents coming forward.

"Hello, I'm Matthew," the Canadian greeted with a small smile. "Eh... I'm sorry about earlier. My husband can be an idiot sometimes-"

"All of the time," Arthur interrupted.

"Well excuse you," Gilbert replied with a huff. "I am not an idiot, I'm just sharing my awesomeness with everyone."

At that, Alfred couldn't help chuckling a bit.

"Right," Arthur responded, deadpan and raising a brow as Matthew laughed softly and nudged his partner with his elbow.

"Heh." Pleased with the laughter and Arthur's expression, Gilbert leaned down and kissed Matthew for a moment.

Alfred, remembering his own kiss with Arthur, flushed a bit and turned away.

But the albino picked up on that and set a catlike smirk onto the merman. "Oh? Is our little Alfred a newbie to the intricacies of relationships?"

Alfred flushed more. "W-Well I have kissed Art-"

"Wh- Alfred!" Arthur hissed, turning red as his eyes widened.

Matthew's brows rose, and he turned to the Brit. "You have?"

"My my..." Gilbert's smirk grew.

"I asked him to!" Alfred explained quickly, waving his arms around to help make his point. "I just wanted to know what one felt like!"

"A-Alfred, please," Arthur groaned, covering his face.

"Wh-What?" Alfred's face fell when he saw Arthur's posture, and he shrank back into the water.

"Hey, easy there." Gilbert slung an arm around Arthur's shoulders. "You're upsetting your future boyfriend."

"He isn't- oh for God's sake!" Arthur cried, glaring at Gilbert and shifting away to reveal his flushed face.

"Boyfriend?" Alfred tilted his head.

"Yeah!" Gilbert grinned. "Like you and Artie here together like me and Mattie."

"A-Artie? Is that another name for Arthur?"

"Yeah!" The albino smiled. "It's a nickname! Lots of couples have nicknames for each other, so you can call him Artie if you want!"

"Wh- Don't encourage him! A-And we're not a couple anyway!"

"Not yet!" Gilbert whispered conspiratorially into Arthur's ear.

"I- No!" Arthur moved away, frowning, and Matthew came and place a hand on Gilbert's shoulder.

"Come on, Gil, leave him to it," he said, though he had a small chuckle.

"All right, all right." Gilbert let go of Arthur, kissed Matthew, and knelt in front of Alfred. "So! I never introduced myself properly! I'm the awesome Gilbert Beilschmidt, but you can call me Gilbert or Gil!"

Alfred was at first taken aback by the albino's forwardness, but after a moment he recovered and smiled. "Nice to meet you, Gil."

"Aww, look at that. You're so innocent and clean-mouthed." Gilbert pretended to wipe a tear. "Let's try and change that, hmm?"

Soon enough, the German was lightly thwacked round the head. "Let's not," Arthur grumbled.

"Oi!" Gilbert looked up at him, pouting. "Why not?"

"Does it matter? Stop doing unnecessary things!"

"It's not unnecessary! He needs to know the ways of the world!"

Arthur sighed and rolled his eyes.

Alfred piped up then. "Artie?"

"Hah!" Gilbert exploded into a fit of snickering and ducked out of Arthur's whacking zone to stand next to Matthew.

Arthur's eyebrows rose and he quickly turned to Alfred- stumbling a little at the misaimed hit he attempted with his turn. "Yes? You don't have to call me that if you don't want to, Gilbert's just being silly."

"I-I do wanna..." Alfred's lips pulled down into a pout and his eyes widened sadly. "I like the name..."

Arthur blinked, his mouth stuttering a little. "I-I... All right..."

"R-Really?" Alfred brightened up instantly.

Off to the side, Gilbert nudged Matthew. "They are so going to get together..."

Matthew laughed and nodded. "Definitely," he said, watching as the two by the pool stumbled over each other and themselves.

"Y-Yes, it's fine," Arthur mumbled back to the merman, smiling a little back shyly.

"Okay." Alfred grinned more broadly and reached out to stroke Arthur's cheek.

Arthur blinked and leaned into the gentle touch a little, shifting a little. He could deal with being called 'Artie' if it was Alfred, probably.

"Artie, Artie..." Alfred smiled even more, pleased with the nickname. He pulled Arthur down more and hugged him tightly, still crooning the name into his ear.

Eyes widening slightly, Arthur paused in surprise for a moment before gently hugging back. Screw his last thought, he actually kind of liked being called 'Artie' when it was Alfred. "...What is it?" he murmured.

"I like saying your name," Alfred whispered.

Meanwhile, Fritz had found his way back to his fathers and was tugging at Gilbert's sleeve.

"Hmm?" Gilbert looked down and then knelt to his level. "What is it, Fritz?"

"They're busy," the boy replied, glancing over at the two men hugging, Arthur looking a little embarrassed. "So I came back here..."

"Heh, good boy. Leave the two of them to develop their gay." Snickering, Gilbert stood and hefted Fritz onto his shoulders.

"Ah-" Fritz quickly wrapped his arms around Gilbert's neck. "Develop? Are they gay?"

"Pfft- Well Mr. Frownface McGrumpypants over there is." Gilbert said, nodding at Arthur. "And then judging from the puppy look in his eyes our lil fishboy is too."

"Oh." Fritz watched them curiously. "Why do they need to develop it?"

"Because they don't realize that they like each other that way." Gilbert smiled softly and kissed the side of Fritz's hair. "Like your Papa was oblivious for the first few weeks of my attempts at flirting with him."

The boy tilted his head, leaning into it. "He was? How do you flirt?"

"Ah, that's a good question, isn't it?" Matthew appeared besides the two, raising a brow with a smirk on his face directed at Gilbert.

"What?" Gilbert made a face. "My flirting was totally awesome!"

"I know you, Gil."

"...Okay. Valid point. But in this case I'm not wrong!"

"Right, right."

"Well I'm not!"

Alfred, meanwhile, then let go of Arthur and turned his slightly reddened face to their guests. "S-So it was nice to meet you..."

"Ah, you too, Alfred," Matthew replied. "And again, sorry for the intrusion earlier."

"Heh..." Alfred tilted his head a bit. "It'll be a funny story in a few months! And nothing bad happened, so it's okay!"

Matthew inclined his head to the other. "All right then."

"Yeah! Uhm, uhm, did you finish your dinner?"

"Ah... No, we didn't, actually," Matthew replied, glancing at Gilbert.

"Oh... I'm sorry..." Alfred frowned softly. "You can go finish now!" If Alfred was totally honest, he was a bit exhausted from the whole ordeal and could use a bit of peace to think about it all.

After a moment, Matthew nodded. "Okay," he said, smiling at the merman. "Well it was good to meet you."

The four humans headed back to their dinner, and luckily it wasn't cold yet. So they ate it up, chatting as they did, and then the family left to give Arthur and Alfred some time- but they promised to come back later.

In the quiet that followed their exit, Alfred hauled himself out of the water and lay on the side of the pool. His fear had all but faded, and though he was a bit nervous about so many people knowing about him, he felt he could trust the pair from downstairs. And he would be able to learn more things this way. After a few moments he closed his eyes, the tip of his tail swishing a bit in the water.

It wasn't too long after that Arthur returned, peeking round the corner of the pool room door. "Alfred...?"

"Artie!" Alfred shot up, smiling happily. "Did they go?"

"Yes, they did," Arthur said, smiling gently in return. "They said they'd come back to visit, though."

"Oh, that's cool!" Alfred patted the spot next to him. "Come sit!"

Smiling more, Arthur made his way to his usual spot by the pool. "I really am dreadfully sorry about all that."

"I was so scared!" Alfred wrapped his arms around Arthur's waist and nuzzled close to his side. "But then they seemed okay. I think I like them!"

"I know." Arthur chuckled slightly, placing a hand on Alfred's head. He flushed a little as he remembered Gilbert's words from earlier, but he quickly shook it off. "Yes, they're good people."

The merman turned his face and nuzzled to Arthur's fingers. "I'm glad I can call you Artie..." he murmured.

"A-Ah..." Arthur gave a small chuckle. "You really like it that much?"

"Yes! I do! I like it a lot!" Alfred declared.

"That's silly." Arthur smiled softly, ruffling the merman's hair. "I- I'm glad you think so."

"Well you're silly!" Alfred huffed back and squeaked happily at the ruffling.

"Wh- No I'm not! How am I?"

"...I don't know. But if I'm silly you are too!"

"What kind of logic is that?" Arthur said with a chuckle.

"My logic!" Alfred grinned up at him, his lips brushing against Arthur's hand.

"I-" Conscious of the feeling, Arthur's mind jumped to the kiss, but then he pushed the thought from his mind and smiled softly. "You silly thing."

"You like it though!" Alfred wasn't sure how to react to Arthur calling him a 'thing' - his captors had done it enough and it wasn't pleasant - but he felt that Arthur didn't mean it in a bad way.

Arthur sighed softly, a chuckle coming out of his mouth. "...I do."

"I'm happy that you do!" Alfred shuffled closer to him, pressing right up against Arthur's thigh.

Arthur smiled, humming softly at the feeling. "Heh, of course."

"Yes!" The merman cooed happily, closing his eyes.

Arthur ruffled his hair quickly. "So is there anything you want to do?"

"Be with you..."

Arthur blinked, flushing a pleasant pink. "I- j-just that?"

"Yeah. Just that..." Alfred curled closer to him, wrapping his tail around Arthur's body and holding on tight.

"Ah... All right..." Arthur murmured, leaning into it and wrapping his own arms around the other.

"Artie..." Alfred lifted his head up to find their noses almost touching. He smile and leaned forward, rubbing his nose against Arthur's for a moment before shoving it against the human's neck.

Arthur blinked at the flash of blue eyes in front of him, breath hitching for a moment, before he leaned his head on top of the other.

"...What?" Alfred frowned, a hand going up to Arthur's throat to trace it gently. "You stopped breathing for a sec. Why?"

"Wh-What?" Arthur's breath shivered a little as he glanced down. "I... Did I?"

"Yeah. Just a sec." Alfred thought for a moment. "It was probably nothing... Right?"

Arthur frowned softly. Was it nothing? Why had it happened? But next moment, he'd shaken it off. "Right..."

"Okay. I don't want you to have any breathing problems or anything," Alfred said seriously.

Arthur couldn't help but let out a laugh at that. "I don't, don't worry."

"I'm glad..." Alfred felt himself drifting off and jolted back into the present. "Hey, Arthur? Did you get that pool mattress?"

"Ah, yes. It should be here soon."

"Really? That's awesome! We can sleep on it when it arrives, right?" Alfred shot up suddenly, excitement written all over his face and posture. "We can sleep together then?"

"Ah- y-yes, of course..." Arthur blinked, reddening a little. "Uh... Alfred, you probably shouldn't say it like that though."

"Why not?" Alfred tilted his head to the side.

"It- ah... Usually, 'sleeping together' means, ah...'making love'."

"Making love? But isn't love a good thing?"

"N-No- I mean, yes, but that's not what I mean- um... It's like... Mating...?"

"Oh." Alfred suddenly looked down. How many other times had he said something like that? He remembered all of the previous times Arthur had gotten red and his face fell. "I-I'm sorry..." He slipped off of the pool edge and into the water.

"Hm?" Arthur frowned softly. "No need, you didn't know..."

Nodding, Alfred then smiled softly. "Okay. I'll try not to say uncomfortable things again."

"It's fine." Arthur replied, smiling back a little. "It's not uncomfortable."

"But it's still weird..."

Arthur shrugged. "I knew what you meant. It wasn't weird to me- just try not to say it willy-nilly to just anyone."

"I won't, I promise!" Alfred nodded and allowed himself to sink under the water.

"All right." Arthur smiled a little and tilted his head, watching.

Sensing Arthur's gaze on him Alfred swirled in the water, shooting out and doing a little flip in the air before splashing back and lapping the pool. His mouth was bared in a fierce smile, and he was determined to impress Arthur with his body and movements.

Arthur raised his eyebrows at the movements, his lips quirking into a small smile.

That spurred Alfred on with a squeak, and the merman fluidly changed gears and started doing more complex figures under the water.

Arthur grinned more widely, impressed, and relaxed back to watch.

Alfred leapt out a few more times, twisting his body in the air and coming down with a resounding splash. He laughed when he resurfaced then got right back into it. After a few minutes he stopped, panting, and floated on the surface of the water, his tail gently propelling him towards the Brit.

"Heh, that was pretty good," Arthur said.

"Pretty good?" Alfred looked affronted. "That was better than- than some trained seal in a water park show!"

Arthur chuckled. "Well you're not some trained seal in a water park show! Still, I didn't know you could do all that, it was quite something."

"Was it awesome?"

"Awesome?" Arthur raised a brow- Alfred had apparently already absorbed Gilbert's language. "It was very good, yes."

"But was it awesome?"

Arthur sighed slightly and grinned softly. "...Yes, it was."

"Awesome!" Alfred shot out of the water, managing to almost do a complete loop before falling back with a tremendous splash.

Arthur chuckled and shook his head.

"Artie, when can Fritz come again?" Alfred suddenly asked, freezing in the water.

"Hm?" Arthur blinked, his eyebrows arching. "Well, I'm not sure... Why?"

"I wanna see him again! He can teach me lots of things that you can't since he's a kid! Kids have different thoughts!" Alfred said, grinning.

"Well I have no problem with that, and knowing his parents, neither will they. But you want to see him for more than that, right?"

"Yes! Yes! I want to swim with him and have fun and watch movies and be friends!"

"Heh, good. Well I'll call them and see, then."

"Okay! Do that!" Alfred smiled, then yawned and smacked his lips.

Arthur raised a brow, amused. "You're tired?"

"Well yeah... It's been a tiring day! I met lots of new people!"

"Heh, that's true." Arthur gave the other a smile as he stood. "I'll leave you to get some sleep, then."

"W-Wait!" Alfred reached out to him. "Come down here for a sec!"

"Hm?" Arthur tipped his head, returning to the merman's side.

Alfred grabbed his cheeks and pressed their foreheads together for a moment, his eyes fluttering closed for the duration of the contact. He held Arthur's face there for a good twenty seconds before letting go and pulling back. "I saw walruses do that once!" he explained with a smile. "Or well, something similar. It shows a great bond between two people!"

Arthur blinked, his eyes widening, before he let out a small, soft laugh, grinning slightly. "That's really nice."

"It is? You like it?" Alfred smiled in relief. He had been worried that Arthur would take it the wrong way again, but this time it seemed he hadn't.

"Yes." Arthur flushed pleasantly, smiling softly."You think we have a great bond?"

"I-I think we do..." Alfred looked down bashfully. "I-I've never felt like this with anyone. Never been so close..."

"I-I... Really...?" Arthur murmured, turning redder.

"Yeah. My mom wasn't around that often when I was a kid cuz she had to hunt, I never knew my dad, and I only stuck with Whale for a few months, maybe a year and a half tops, before I split from him..." Alfred shrugged. "And then the humans caught me and I was so scared... And then...you came along."

Arthur tilted his head a little, watching the other. "Alfred..." he said quietly.

"Y-Yeah?" Alfred smiled hopefully and placed his hand over Arthur's.

Arthur's breath caught again at this, and then he smiled softly. "I... Th-Thank you. I feel very close to you as well," he mumbled.

"I'm glad..." Alfred said, then withdrew back into the pool. "Call Gil tomorrow?"

Arthur nodded as he stood again. "Of course."

"Okay. Good night, then?" Alfred gave him a final soft smile.

"Good night," Arthur replied, smiling in return before he left.


A/N: A cute little place to leave off for now~