A/N: I'm not going to even try to come up with an excuse for how late this is. Sorry to everyone...haha.

They left the station a quarter to eight, as Arthur had multiple things to run over with Kiku. He was surprised Alfred had waited so patiently, as they had kind of stuffed him in Kiku's office (after locking his computer and any cabinets with important case notes in them) and said they'd be back in a bit. But, Alfred was ever so professional about waiting for them, and seemed to stay true to his word about not touching anything.

Alfred requested they stop by his apartment so he could pick up a coupon or gift card for a movie of some sort. Arthur didn't particularly want to go to a movie, but he figured this was a good opportunity to take, as much as he didn't want to admit it to himself quite yet.

Alfred advised him to not wait in the car alone, as a random person the apartment complex hadn't seen before could very easily be treated poorly. Arthur didn't even try to argue, suburban New York could still be dangerous from time to time. Hell, this apartment complex was the recent scene of a murder.

In the lobby of the complex, Alfred ran into a woman with a large grocery bag and a child trailing close behind.

"Hello," Alfred said, grinning. "How are you today? Do you need help with that?" He indicated towards the woman's grocery bag. Arthur closed his eyes before he could roll them.

The woman smiled. "That would be lovely, Alfred," She said, handing the bag to him. Alfred looked sideways at Arthur, winking and turning back to the woman.

"This is Arthur, he's investigating the case on Gilbert," He told her. Arthur was dazed for a moment, as he hadn't expected to be introduced professionally. He shook his head at himself and stepped forward, holding his hand out to the woman.

"Hello, ma'am." He greeted her, her smile tightened and she nodded.

"Hello," She shook his hand, turning back towards her child and pulling him closer to her.

Arthur was aware he looked the opposite of intimidating right now as the short angry British man with a permanent scowl, but he knew the simple fact of his job could concern anyone.

Alfred was still smiling, "Let's head up, then."

To Arthur's annoyance, the woman continued to thank Alfred as they headed up a couple steps. They didn't even need to walk up the stairs, but upon seeing a kid in a wheelchair getting into the elevator Alfred had said "Walking is good for us,".

"Any women in your lives?" The mother said, intending to make small talk, she indicated this towards the both of them, despite only really seeking an answer from Alfred. She touched her child's shoulder, showing off a hand that was absent of a ring. Arthur thought of Detective Héderváry, then tried not to laugh at himself, as she wasn't at all in the category of "women" the lady was asking about. For Arthur, no "woman" was. He stifled a laugh again.

"No," Arthur answered politely, trying to sound disinterested.

Alfred smiled at this. He turned more towards the woman. "My answer's no different from the last time you asked, still a no," He finalized, making what would sound annoyed coming from most people amiable. After they reached the fourth floor, Alfred handed the woman her grocery bag.

"Thanks," She said, eyeing Alfred with appreciation. Arthur looked away.

"Anytime," Alfred replied easily, crouching down and ruffling the child's hair, who giggled. "You all don't get in too much trouble," He grinned.

The woman laughed and nodded, unlocking her apartment and attempting to wave without dropping the grocery bag before closing the door. Alfred and Arthur headed off down the hall.

Arthur's expression must've been questioning, because Alfred felt the need to explain. "Ms. Brooks," He said, turning to Arthur with a smile. "She's nice, divorced and a bit desperate, but nice."

"Ah," Was the only thing Arthur could think of to say. He was silent for a moment. "Are you close with all of your neighbors?"

Alfred was clearly not expecting that question, and took a moment to think about it. "I wouldn't say close. I try to be awesome and heroic-" He flashed Arthur a smile. "-when I can. Honestly, the whole Gilbert thing has kind of brought everyone together. I don't know if it's the fact that the situation's terrifying or that we all kind of loved Gilbert, but..." He trailed off, looking at Arthur with a slightly perplexed expression.

Arthur tried not to feel ashamed, he hadn't even really meant for the conversation to go to Gilbert. Alfred recovered quickly, though, and laughed heartily. "You know, man? It's going to be hard to tell if your questions are genuinely things you want to know or if you're getting more information for your case."

Arthur narrowed his eyes. "This may be hard for you to comprehend, but I do participate in activities other than work,"

Alfred chuckled and held up his hand. "Hey, it's very possible you've hardwired your job priorities into your brain and you're subconsciously questioning me about it,"

Arthur raised his eyebrows. "That sounded incredibly like a poor pitch for a science fiction movie,"

Alfred looked pleased at this reply, but didn't say anything. They reached his apartment and he pulled out a set of keys, opening the door widely to Arthur.

Arthur had to admit he was a bit shocked by Alfred's apartment. It was very open, and could've very easily fit multiple people. The kitchen was very nice and it's setup was overall pleasing to look at. It was a bit messy, but not at all as bad as it could've been. "H-how?" Arthur found himself choking out, still surprised by the largeness and fanciness of the rooms in front of him. He shouldn't have been surprised, as he had been in Gilbert's apartment a couple of times for the case, but he was starting to realize how differently he had categorized Alfred and Gilbert in his head, despite the fact they were neighbors and shared a good bit of similarities. "This must've cost so much..." He caught himself saying, wanting to smack himself for making the comment.

"Dude, I think you're judging me by first impressions. Just because I work at a Mickey-Ds doesn't mean I'm a deadbeat." Alfred said, not at all abashed by Arthur's bluntness. "The only reason I work there, really, is to stay out of debt for my classes."

"Classes?" Arthur asked, realizing he really didn't know anything about Alfred other than the facts from his case and that he was possibly into guys.

"Yeah, I'm getting my masters." Alfred said casually, as if this wasn't the first time he had had to explain this to somebody. "Neuroscience."

"Really?" Arthur said, turning to him. "That's..."

"A lot of work? Yeah," Alfred smiled. "I've got about a semester left, though, so it's not too bad." He wandered over to the fridge, pulling out a beer, the movie giftcard seemingly forgotten.

"So you can take care of yourself," Arthur said humorously. "Manage, I dare call it a job, school, and the incredible amount of rent I'm sure you're paying here."

"Yeah, I'm basically amazing," Alfred tapped the side of the fridge, standing up again and indicating towards the apartment with outstretched arms. "All this, though, is my family. They paid for most of it when I was in my second year of college so Mattie and I could 'get a good start on our lives', when the whole thing happened with Carlos...Matt was slightly determined to stay with him," Alfred's tone was slightly darker now. "So Mom and Dad decided I got to stay because of the whole 'promising path' thing I've got going on."

Arthur was quiet for a moment, not wanting to bring up a sore topic. "Matthew is doing very well, too."

"We're both lucky," Alfred's tone was upbeat again.

Arthur stepped further into the apartment, surveying a satisfyingly full bookshelf. "Yet, you don't have a car,"

Alfred was laughing, his eyes were on Arthur, humorously sympathetic. "Okay, so, that was a bit of a lie,"

Arthur snapped his gaze upward. "What?"

"I wasn't exactly discreet about it, I thought you could tell I wasn't telling the truth." Alfred's eyes glinted. "I didn't completely lie, though, I'm not that huge of an asshole. My car really is getting repaired right now, I have been taking buses."

"What's the point of lying then?" Arthur's tone was snarky, he didn't sound as annoyed as he would like.

"You would've found some kind of flaw, if I acted like I didn't have a car at all I had nothing to lose."

"That doesn't make any sense," Arthur snapped, Alfred only laughed at this, looking at him from across the room with an almost hesitant grin. Arthur cleared his throat, looking away. "So, you're twenty three?"

"Twenty four," Alfred seemed to shake himself out of his daze, opening his beer and taking a drink. "You?"

"Twenty six," Arthur answered, becoming occupied in Alfred's bookshelf again.

"Pretty successful, already being a murder Detective and all," Alfred held his beer towards Arthur in a way of acknowledgement.

"Murder Detective," Arthur muttered, that was a new one, he wasn't exactly the protagonist of a crime show. "Ah, well, I'm not a neuroscientist," He sent Alfred a teasing glance. "I guess you could call my partner and I somewhat of a...dream team. Without the other, we both kind of plateau ranking wise."

"That's cool, though. That you guys have the chemistry and are compatible enough to be a kickass Detective team." Alfred said, Arthur was a tad bit surprised at the genuine amount of interest he was showing him.

"I guess it is. We're breaking the stereotypes of 'cops' too, with her being a straight female and me being-" Arthur was able to stop himself, but Alfred was already grinning and chuckling at him, a teasing eyebrow raised. Arthur scowled at him.

To his shock, though, Alfred didn't say anything else to him about it, instead finishing his beer and standing up, a gift card appearing in his hand. Arthur had a feeling that Alfred may had had it the entire time. "Are we going to get going, or...?"

"Yeah," Arthur shook his head, more at himself then Alfred. "Yeah, we should go."

Once outside, Alfred waved away the idea of Arthur's car, "We should walk, the fresh air is nice." Alfred told him.

"It's cold," Arthur grumbled, Alfred's expression was fond.

"Don't expect me to do anything about that," He remarked, smirking.

Arthur scoffed at him "I obviously wouldn't. Not from you," He turned to Alfred with a tight smile, who was grinning right back at him.

Arthur frowned at Alfred's cheer, surprised at how natural this flirtatious banter was becoming. The lack of overall awkwardness was miraculous in itself. Perhaps Alfred's confidence was rubbing off on him in some way, he usually strayed away from these situations after they were properly thought out.

They reached the movie theater, and Alfred stopped in front of it, turning to face Arthur. "You know what? I've thought about it and a movie is a terrible place to go. Sitting in a dark room for two hours is in no way going to help you get to know someone." He announced, pulling out the gift card and tossing it in the trash can.

Arthur raised his eyebrows, this was unexpected, but he was adapting to Alfred's surprises. "From what I know, you just threw away a perfectly good giftcard."

Alfred shrugged. "Dramatic effect for my monologue, I'm not really into new movies anyways. I'm more content with a blanket and Jurassic Park in the company of my own home."

Arthur nodded slowly. "Do we have anything to do, now?"

"Well, it's getting late," Alfred said, looking at his watch. "We could get something to eat..." He chuckled. "I know a place that's always open," He sing-songed.

"No," Arthur snapped.

"I'm also kind of notorious there," He continued, his expression mischievous.

"No," Arthur narrowed his eyes.

"Come on," Alfred grinned. "My treat."

"I'd rather eat my own arm," He growled, leaning towards Alfred.

"Okay," Alfred said, feigning disappointment. "You can go home."

Arthur twitched. "It sounds like you're challenging me again."

Alfred shrugged, sighing. "Does it really matter if I am?" He was clearly trying not to laugh.

"Fine, I'll go!" Arthur ran a hand through his hair, exasperated. "Bloody fucking yank."

Alfred looked pleased, raising an eyebrow at Arthur's choice of insult.

Arthur felt a sense of dread as Alfred and him approached the fast food restaurant, the golden arches glowing grossly.

"In payment, I have one more question about Gilbert," Arthur muttered as they entered the building. He might as well make sure it added up to what Matthew had said earlier that day.

"Shoot," Alfred said, waving to a few of his employees.

"Where were you that night?"

"The night of the murder?" Alfred lowered his voice.

"Yeah,"

"A bar somewhere in the cities," Alfred's smile was slight as he continued. "Definitely not making good decisions about my intake of alcohol."

"Ah," Arthur replied, checking off that mental note.

Alfred nodded once more in acknowledgement, "Anything you specifically want?" He asked.

Arthur found himself shaking his head, receiving a smile in return. "Hey, Nicole, whip up two burger meals!" Alfred yelled to the back.

After receiving their meal, they sat at a similar table to the one Arthur had shared with Detective Héderváry.

"You know, Arthur, I keep on telling you stuff about me without much in return," Alfred remarked after finishing about a half of his meal.

"Excuse me?" Arthur said, looking up from his untouched burger.

"I don't know much about you," Alfred clarified, leaning back in his chair and putting his hands behind his head. "Seeing as you kind of lied to me the first time we met, I've kind of only skimmed the Detective thing without asking much else."

"Well," Arthur started, folding his hands in front of him. "What would you like to know?"

"How long have you been working with Liza?" Alfred asked, Arthur thought it was a weird question to start with but answered anyways.

"A little more than two years,"

"Do you have any siblings?"

"Quite a few, actually. All of them assholes I don't care to deal with,"

Alfred let out a breathy laugh before continuing. "Any pets?"

"Absolutely not,"

"Major in college?"

"Criminology, are these questions going to get any better?"

"Probably not. Best friend?"

Arthur was quiet, as he didn't really have an answer for that one. He tried to hide his lack of words by taking a long sip of his water

Alfred eyed him skeptically.

"I'm not exactly the most agreeable person," Arthur finally snapped, not liking the silence.

Alfred started laughing, his reaction calming Arthur down. "I'm sure you have one, you're just too prickly to admit it."

Arthur glowered at him from across the table.

"Is it Liza?"

"She has other priorities than me, we're colleagues."

"Pretty close colleagues, you guys are the kickass Detective Dynamic Duo, from what I've heard."

Arthur rolled his eyes. "That doesn't mean we're friends, we don't even refer to each other by name most of the time."

"Okay, fine, do you know her friends?"

"I- I guess so. She's close with Kiku, and I've recently met some of her other friends. Her fiance seems like a nice lad," Arthur answered thoughtfully.

"Dude, you're basically in her friend group if you know those people," Alfred said, looking pleased with himself.

Arthur could only scowl and roll his eyes again.

"Who's her fiance?"

"Roderich Edelstein, he's a composer in the city."

"Fancy," Alfred said, and Arthur nodded.

"They met while she was still on the field, he filed a noise complaint because he was having trouble working on his music."

"Romantic," Alfred was smiling now, he took a bite out of his hamburger and swallowed, soon pointing at Arthur with a triumphant expression. "And see? That's only a thing a best friend would know."

Arthur shook his head. "She just talks a lot,"

"Are you invited to the wedding?" Alfred asked.

"Yeah,"

"Aha, you might as well stop trying to defend your case. The 'I have no friends' thing isn't working out for you," Alfred smirked, taking a sip of his soda.

"I never said I didn't have friends," Arthur snapped.

"Might as well have," Alfred was now smiling at him, not saying anything else, just smiling.

Arthur ate a couple of his fries, he was making a point to avoid the burger, but the fries weren't that terrible.

The silence was broken abruptly by the sound of Arthur's phone ringing, his expression must've been surprised, because Alfred was eyeing him with confusion.

Arthur pulled out his phone, looking from it to Alfred. "It appears I'm getting a call from my 'bestie'." He claimed.

Alfred broke out in a grin. "You better pick it up, then,"

Arthur looked at the time, grumbled something unintelligible, and answered the phone. "What the hell, Héderváry, it's past midnight!"

"Oh, thank god. I knew you were still awake!" Her voice was a bit frantic through the phone.

"How would you know you didn't wake me?" Arthur snapped.

"You sound pretty awake to me, Kirkland." She mumbled, continuing without missing a beat. "Something happened, can you be here as soon as possible?"

"Here?"

He could almost see her rolling her eyes. "My apartment, I need to go over some stuff with the case. I was going to wait, but I seriously can't sleep."

"I'm...busy?" Arthur said, glancing at Alfred, who shrugged and mouthed you can go. Arthur lowered his phone, Héderváry was still talking on the other end, but he didn't really care. Arthur looked at Alfred with a perplexed expression. "Are you sure? It's just...she's kind of freaking out," He looked back at his phone apologetically.

"Yeah, if it's important," Alfred's smile was relaxed. "We can do this another time...It doesn't seem like she will be able to," He indicated towards the phone.

"Yeah," Arthur intoned. "I really am sorry," He lifted his phone back to his ear. "Okay, okay, I'm coming." He reassured Detective Héderváry.

"Great!" She sang, promptly hanging up. Arthur just stood there for a moment, he shrugged at Alfred.

"Don't worry about it," Alfred declared, holding a hand out. "Could I see your phone?"

Arthur raised his eyebrows but handed it to him.

After typing a few things into it, he handed it back to Arthur. "To make it easier for you, a phone's harder to lose than a coupon," Alfred let out a light chuckle. Arthur looked at his phone, realizing Alfred had typed himself in as a contact. This was the first time either of them had acknowledged the coupon aspect of the first time they had met.

Arthur nodded at him, unable to find words, he was able to apologize again and then left, silently damning Héderváry.

Ey, I'm done. I can count the longer length as an apology, right? I'm really going to try to start updating regularly again, I really do miss this story.

I hope this chapter is enjoyed! Please review/favorite/follow! :D