It finally happened. Arthur's old, rusty, piece-of-crap car had finally kicked the bucket; croaked, keeled over, had left this world and gone to explore the country roads way out yonder, gone to the scrap heap in the sky. Leaving him stranded without a mode of transportation. No co-workers to help him in this plight, Arthur would from now on, forever be forced to fend for himself in this time of hardship and despair.

'Alright, I'm overreacting a bit here.' He thought to himself. In reality, his car wasn't exactly broken as such, just… Out of commission for a while. Something had gone wrong with the clutch or something with the engine or maybe it was the suspension (He was no car expert obviously), and so his car was in the garage, getting some work done by actual professionals. However, this meant that for the past couple of days, Arthur had to make his own way to work; thankfully there was a bus that went around where he lived and didn't stop too far away from his work. However, that also meant that he had to walk to and from the bus station, and pay money for said bus; which wasn't really that bad either but Arthur loved to have something to complain about.

However, on only the second day of not having a car, Arthur wanted to rip his hair out.

It was the end of his shift; the winter now settling in nicely and causing the days to end sooner and sooner. It was already dark by the time that he left the shop; and the Englishman had to walk from his workplace to the bus station and wait for half an hour before he could catch the bus home.

So of course, the heavens would have to open at that precise moment.

Everything was instantly soaked as rain began to pour around him; Arthur stood under the canopy of the shop and stared around him as the sound of rain hitting tarmac filled his ears. Now he'd have to walk to the bus station in the pouring rain, wait for the bus in the pouring rain (admittedly, the bus ride would be bearable but slightly uncomfortable), and then walk home in the pouring rain. What made this whole situation worse was that Arthur had consciously decided to leave his umbrella at home that day. Of course.

Arthur stared up at the sky and slowly scowled; his rage building. 'Of course it would be today wouldn't it? Of course it would be the one day where I have an eight hour shift and leave my umbrella in my stupid flat and now is the time when it starts to rain. Of course. Oh wonderful. Isn't this lovely.'

Arthur growled and threw his arms out to the sides; taking in a deep breath and not caring who heard.

"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME!?" He shouted at the sky, very glad that no one was really around to hear him.

"Arthur?"

Almost no one.

Arthur jumped out of his skin and spun around to see Alfred standing right by him under the canopy, he was wearing his normal thick coat but had the hood up and over his head, so he was protected from the rain. And he was giving Arthur an incredibly puzzled look. Arthur was completely frozen as he watch Alfred raise an eyebrow and slowly tilt his head to the side.

"You okay there?" Alfred asked; the amusement clear in his voice. Arthur prickled slightly and stood up straight, swiping imaginary dust off of his sleeve and regaining his calm and collected attitude.

"Yes I'm perfectly fine thank you." He said smoothly in a clipped tone.

"Forget your umbrella?" The America smiled sympathetically and put his hands in his pockets. Arthur looked at him and took a slow breath, averting his eyes.

"… Yes." He said blankly. "Wonderful timing isn't it?"

"Oh yeah definitely!" Alfred chuckled. "If it makes you feel any better, I forgot mine as well. Sucks huh?"

"Indeed. However, you do have a hood." Arthur pointed out.

"Yeah I guess there's that. But hey! At least we can just run to our cars and then we're okay, right?" He grinned. Arthur sighed slightly.

"You can, perhaps." He said

"You don't have a car?"

"Not anymore. It's broken; I took it in to the garage to get fixed." He said bitterly.

"How've you been getting to work?"

"Bus." Arthur said blankly; he didn't look happy. Alfred was quiet for a moment.

"The bus station's a pretty long walk from here." He said; Arthur nodded.

"I know. But it can't be helped I suppose." He sighed; stalling as much time as he could before having to walk out into the rain. It was then, that Alfred had an idea; a fantastic idea. He smiled happily and stood in front of Arthur.

"I'll give you a ride." He grinned; Arthur looked at him for a moment, clearly taken aback.

"Pardon?"

"I'll give you a ride! I'm parked like, just over there; I'll bring the car round and give you a ride home." He smiled. Arthur paused, studying Alfred's face.

"You… Really wouldn't mind giving me a lift?" he asked slowly; he was wary of the American's offer to say the least; but at the same time, he knew that Alfred was genuine and he was a good chap, Arthur… Trusted him… To a certain extent at least. Besides, he certainly didn't want to get soaked to the skin and the prospect of getting a lift home was extremely tempting. (Yes, it was completely for his own needs; and certainly not any untoward needs either! That was for sure! He just didn't want to get drenched! That was all!) When Alfred simply assured him that he would be happy to drive him home, saying it was no trouble at all, Arthur was silent for a long while; he shuffled his feet awkwardly.

"…If… If you really are sure that I won't be a burden." He said hesitantly, averting his eyes. He didn't see how Alfred's face completely lit up; the American grinned brightly and nodded.

"There ya go! Stay here, I'll be right back!" And with that, Alfred turned and ran into the downpour to the other side of the car park, leaving Arthur a little bewildered and alone under the canopy.

"Why do I get the feeling that this is a bad idea?" He muttered to himself.

After Alfred brought his car around; it was only a short sprint until Arthur was safe and practically dry in the heated car. Arthur took a quick look around and noticed that Alfred's car seemed much too fancy from someone of his age and attitude; he thought very little of it though and smiled slightly, fastening his seatbelt.

"Thank you for this Jones. You didn't have to. I really appreciate it." He looked over at the other man. "And you're sure it's no trouble?"

"Dude, are you kidding!?" Alfred chuckled and waved a hand dismissively. "I'm always happy to help someone in need! And right now, boy, were you in need!" He grinned and Arthur felt his face heat up slightly; he turned away and scoffed as Alfred made his way out of the car park.

They had decided that Arthur would direct Alfred where to go to get to his flat, so Arthur's plan was to sit in relative silence and look out the window for most of the journey; however, there was only about a minute of silence before Alfred hit his fist on the steering wheel with a look of dawning (Making Arthur flinch in surprise).

"Oh my God!"

"Ah What!?"

"This is perfect!" Alfred turned to Arthur with a wide grin for a moment before looking back at the road; Arthur on the other hand looked mildly horrified.

"Is it now…?" He said warily; suddenly regretting getting into the car belonging to a man he hardly knew. "Um… What is perfect exactly?"

"This whole situation! You know my brother's in town right?!" He didn't give Arthur time to answer, babbling happily. "He wanted me to show him around and stuff; I was on my way to drive out and meet him when I ran into you! This is perfect!" He grinned at Arthur again happily as they stopped at a red light. "Arthur, you can come with me and tell Matthew about all the places he can see!" he grinned widely; Arthur stared at him.

"Wot."

"Y'see, even though I've been living here for a while, I still don't know my way around properly." Alfred explained, still speaking in an excited tone. "I've only ever been to work and around the shops near here; I can't tell my brother about places like that! Besides, he's already been around the town! You've been here for a while right? I'm sure you know this area better than I do! And you and Mattie got along so well the other day!" Alfred was looking at Arthur like a hopeful child, grinning happily as he looked to the road again and continued driving; it was rush hour so it was taking a little longer than it should have. Arthur was frowning with confusion as he thought the situation over.

"You want me…" He started slowly. "To go with you to meet your brother. So I can… Tell him where all the good tourist spots are?"

"That pretty much sums it up yeah!" Alfred laughed happily. Arthur pressed his lips together and looked out at the road ahead of them for a moment before turning back to Alfred, raising an eyebrow.

"Are you kidnapping me?" He asked bluntly. Alfred glanced at him and chuckled slightly; he paused before turning to look at him, smiling at Arthur softly.

"Not if you don't want me to." He chuckled and Arthur stared at him with a furrowed brow; they sat in silence for a short while until Arthur broke the silence, sighing.

"Fine. But only because I feel like I owe you for giving me a lift. Not that I'm doing it for you or anything." He muttered quickly. "I'm helping a hopeless tourist. It's not like there's anything interesting in this town anyway." His eyes narrowed slightly when Alfred just chuckled and drove through the rain. "So, where are we to meet your brother then?" He sighed.

"Just a café up by here." Alfred smiled and turned off the road so they could park. "Thanks for this by the way Arthur. I really appreciate it. I would have been completely lost in this situation, so thanks." He smiled widely and turned off the car. "Think you can make another little run?" He chuckled as Arthur scoffed, opening his door.

"Of course I can." He mumbled and got out of the car, running under the canopy of the café and waiting for Alfred to lock the car and join him so they could go inside.

As they walked into the small café, Arthur looked around; it was a nice place, cosy and quaint, just the sort of place he'd expect a person like Alfred to choose. Despite how nice the café was, there was however, something that Arthur couldn't help but notice.

There was a distinct lack of Matthew.

"Huh. That's weird." Alfred mumbled and got out his phone. "Go grab a table I'll be there in a sec." He said absently as he pressed keys on his phone; Arthur nodded and made his way to a table that would save room for three people. He sat down and tried to not think about what he was actually doing, looking at menus and out the window so that he simply had something to do; thankfully, it wasn't very long at all until Alfred came over, the grin was back on his face.

"Matt says he'll be here in a bit and sorry for keeping you waiting." He said a little sheepishly. "But he's super glad that you've agreed to help him out! So he'll try to be here soon." Arthur just nodded as Alfred sat down; there was a short silence while Alfred looked at the menu, apparently not feeling as awkward as Arthur was.

"I'm gonna go order a hot chocolate. You want anything?" he asked with a smile; Arthur hummed slightly.

"Well I was going to say tea, but actually a hot chocolate sounds heavenly right now." He chuckled but didn't have time to get out his wallet, Alfred had already nodded and gotten up to order their drinks. Arthur watched him and slowly got his wallet out anyway, taking out some money because he'd be dammed if he was going to let the American pay for his drink. When said American did return, reporting that the drinks would be brought to them in a couple of minutes; he simply turned down any attempt Arthur made to give him the money.

"It's fine dude. Consider it a thank you for meeting with Matt!" He laughed

Seeing as Alfred had refused Arthur giving him any money, they had ended up sitting in a rather awkward silence until their drinks came; both of them too awkward to try and break it. Well, at least Arthur was; for as soon as the American tried to take a sip of his too-hot drink, he tried to strike up a conversation.

"So, I'm going to be going back to America to see my family for thanksgiving!" He said happily; Arthur looked up from his drink and smiled slightly, happy to latch on to any conversation in order to make the situation less uncomfortable.

"Oh, have a nice time."

"Thanks! Yeah, my family's awesome at thanksgiving! My mom cooks the best turkey in the world!" Alfred grinned and sat back in his chair, clearly more at ease when talking.

"Is that so?" Arthur chuckled.

"You bet! I'll only be going for about a week, cause of work and stuff; but then they're coming back with me to England so they can stay with me for Christmas! They said it's only fair seeing as I have to fly all the way out there to be with them for Thanksgiving." He said excitedly.

"Oh, so they'll be staying a hotel or something?" Arthur asked; Alfred just looked at him for a moment.

"No, they'll be staying with me."

"How big is your family?"

"Pretty big. It'll be nine of us all together; if everyone can come."

"Won't it be a little crowded?" Arthur asked slowly, frowning a little. Alfred just chuckled and scratched the back of his head.

"A little crowded I'll admit but hey, it'll be great to have them around again! Besides, the house feels kinda big and empty when it's just me y'know? Though I'll admit, I've loved the space and freedom I get with living on my own-"

"Wait wait wait, hang on a tic." Arthur interrupted. "You live in a house?" Alfred just looked at him in confusion.

"Yeah." He said slowly, an amused smile slowly creeping onto his face. "Don't you live in a house?"

"I live in a flat." Arthur said pointedly. "You mean to tell me that you live in a house that can comfortably fit nine people? A house with multiple bedrooms and everything?" The American paused before answering, seeming rather taken aback.

"Yeah." He said simply and Arthur's jaw dropped. "When I moved to England for work, I reckoned I might as well have a house. I paid for it myself and everything. Well, I guess my parents helped out with the furniture and stuff. But most of it was all me." He said happily and grinned, but it faltered when he registered Arthur's expression. The Englishman's mouth was still hanging open; wearing an expression of shock and disbelief. Arthur couldn't believe that someone who seemed so young was so well off; being able to afford a proper house, practically by himself, and to brush it off like it was no big deal whatsoever. A house was a huge commitment and hassle to keep up, not to mention all the expenses; Arthur could barely afford his flat as it was, and he certainly didn't have any help from anyone! And for such a childish man to be able to own a house that can have nine people in it no less! In fact, now that Arthur thought about it, Alfred's car looked brand new, and it was a good model as far as he could tell; not only that but his phone was top of the line as well! Just what did this guy do for a living!? Arthur realised he was staring and cleared his throat sheepishly.

"Right. Well then. That's very impressive I suppose." Arthur said, still half dazed with disbelief. Alfred chuckled nervously, he hadn't really thought about what the difference in their incomes would be, but of course there would be a rather large gap. He decided to change the subject to try and get on more common ground.

"What're you doing for Thanksgiving?" Arthur raised an eyebrow at the question; wondering if he was actually asking seriously.

"Nothing." He said simply; Alfred looked shocked to say the least.

"What? Why?"

"I don't celebrate it."

"How can you not celebrate it!?" Alfred demanded.

"I'm English." Arthur said slowly with an amused smile. "Thanksgiving is an American holiday. It has nothing to do with me."

"Oh… Right. Of course not." He said quietly and pouted when Arthur chuckled.

"Forgot you were in England for a second there chap?" He teased. Alfred frowned slightly but smiled.

"No, I know but it's weird. I'm still not used to people NOT celebrating it. I forget I'm in a different country sometimes."

"Well, I'm sure seeing your family will be a nice change for you." Arthur smiled and took a sip of his drink; for a minute, there was a comfortable silence, but Alfred seemed to be deep in thought, frowning slightly at his drink.

"You miss the 4th July too…"

"Of course we do."

"But that's one of the best holidays ever!" Alfred practically whined. "I can't imagine someone missing the best day ever!" His smile changed to a slight smirk. "And it's also my birthday. Just sayin'."

"So your birthday must be pretty jam-packed then?" Arthur inquired, raising an eyebrow; apparently this opened a floodgate for the American because he suddenly started babbling a mile a minute.

"Yeah! We have a huge party and everyone's there and and I mean everyone! The whole family comes down, even the extended family and there are fireworks and cake and man! It's awesome! How can you not celebrate Independence Day!?"

"We're not the ones who gained Independence!" Arthur laughed.

"Oh I'm sorry, I can't hear you over the sound of my freedom!" They both laughed properly and Arthur didn't stop himself this time (If only he knew how thrilled Alfred was with this fact).

"I suppose we make up for the lack of fireworks in July with bonfire night. It's one of my favourite holidays." Arthur said after they had both calmed down.

"Bonfire night?" Alfred questioned before realisation crossed his face. "Oh! Is that why I heard fireworks a little while back? Yeah I saw it some places, uhhh. Some guy with forks blew something up or something right?" Arthur gave him a blank look, trying to decipher what the hell the American had just said; when he did figure it out, Arthur silently pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Oh Lord… You're actually serious. That's even worse than a Duke shooting an ostrich because he was hungry…" He muttered and his eyes flickered up to look at Alfred's confused expression; he frowned slightly and picked up a fork. "Not 'forks'." He said pointedly, gesturing to the utensil in his hand. "Fawkes. F-a-w-k-e-s." He spelt it out. "Guy Fawkes Night." He said slowly and saw the embarrassment slowly blossom onto the American's face. Alfred averted his eyes and bit his lips together sheepishly.

"Oooh…" He said quietly but recovered fairly quickly and smiled slightly. "And you have fireworks?"

"Yes. And bonfires."

"Cool!"

"Hm."

"What's it about?" Alfred asked happily; Arthur stared into his cup with a small smile on his face; he spoke softly, and Alfred would have been lying if he said that it didn't creep him out the tiniest bit.

"'Remember, remember the 5th of November. Gunpowder, treason and plot.'"

"Wait a sec…" Alfred interrupted the poem. "I've heard that before… That's from "V for Vendetta!"

"That poem's in 'V for Vendetta' certainly." He scoffed and his brow furrowed slightly in thought; remembering what he had learnt.

"It's about a man who was arrested after being part of a plot to blow up parliament. The plot failed of course and Guy Fawkes and his associates were arrested and put to death for treason. In celebration, people lit bonfires across London; effigies of the man were burnt as well, and still are today. I can't remember how the man was executed… I remember something about being hung, drawn and quartered and then put on a bonfire himself; but I may be getting my facts mixed up. It's been a while since school history." He said simply and glanced to Alfred who, to his amusement, looked slightly paler than before. The American cleared his throat awkwardly, looking rather uncomfortable at the thought of the execution.

"That is horrible…" He said slowly; Arthur didn't miss a beat, gesturing to Alfred with his cup.

"Genocide of the American indigenous people."

"Yeah but… Shut up." Alfred pouted. Arthur chuckled and waved his hand dismissively, telling him it was fine.

"Bonfire night's a good way to be with everyone though I suppose." Arthur said absentmindedly.

"What d'you mean?" Alfred saw a small soft smile grace the Englishman's lips, his voice held a fondness that Alfred had never heard before as he reminisced.

"When I was young everyone in my village would go to one of my neighbours' house; they had a huge house and an even bigger garden. We would all bring food and have sparklers and set off fireworks and we'd all play with the other children." Arthur said softly and chuckled. "Yeah… It was my favourite holiday. When I was older, it was also a good excuse to get close to the one you're with, especially because it was colder." Against his will, Alfred instantly imagined them both snuggled together for warmth, watching the fireworks; he tried to push the image out of his mind as quickly as it had come. Arthur didn't notice as he smiled wider and chuckled. "We always went to our local park to see the displays; the professional fireworks displays were brilliant! With proper huge bonfires and fireworks shows that took our breath away."

"You'll have to show me one someday." Alfred smiled brightly.

"Hm…" Was the only answer Alfred received, but Arthur was still smiling, staring into his cup; which for some reason, gave Alfred a little hope.

Arthur told Alfred all about the celebrations that he used to take part in on Guy Fawkes Night, telling him in detail about the fireworks displays he remembered most and that led to Alfred talking about his most memorable fireworks displays as well as funny stories about his family. They both laughed and the conversation flowed, overall, being very enjoyable; Arthur couldn't really deny it, and it had been a long time since he had been able to actually let go and allow himself to have an honest good time. He didn't even notice how the time ticked away, neither of them did; they were so caught up in their own world that it was as if they had been friends for years, not noticing how people entered and left the café, and how everything seemed to shut down around them. The conversation turned again to the holidays and Alfred tilted his head sadly.

"So you don't see your family before Christmas?" He asked and Arthur shrugged simply.

"Not like you do, no. Not since we all grew up and moved out. We have Halloween, bonfire night – which we don't spend together- and then nothing until Christmas. Even then, it'll be rather quiet; my family's rather small. But I don't mind really; I don't get to see family often so it makes a nice change." He smiled.

"Will you be seeing them for Christmas?"

"Of course. Probably only for Christmas day though… I'm working the rest of the time." Alfred stared at Arthur in horror.

"You're working?!"

"Yep. Christmas Eve and Boxing Day. Yippee…"

"Ouch. Do you get paid any extra?"

"Not sure. Either way, it's more money, which I need, so I'm fine with it." He chuckled and Alfred smiled sympathetically.

"Well I guess all I can say is good luck, hang in there and do your best!" they both chuckled but it was cut off by Alfred's phone going off. He got it out of his pocket and tapped a few keys; after about a minute he sighed in a mixture of frustration and amusement. "Geeze. What a dummy." He chuckled.

"Is something wrong?"

"Nah. It's just, no wonder he was taking so long. Matt's just text me saying that he's caught up with some friends over here and he's having dinner with them; he tried to get out of it but he couldn't really say 'no' y'know?" Alfred said with a sheepish smile.

"O-Oh, right." Arthur stuttered, guilty for the fact that he had actually forgotten all about Matthew; just how long had they both been talking? Before he could voice his question, Alfred did it for him.

"Oh damn! Look at the time! We've been here for like, two hours!" Alfred exclaimed as he checked the time on his phone; he turned to Arthur. "I'm sorry for keeping you for so long! And Matt never even showed up." He said apologetically, looking a little guilty.

"Oh. No, no, don't worry about it. If Matthew's alright, I'm sure it's fine." Arthur said politely, because he'd be damned if he admitted that he actually enjoyed the conversation. Alfred smiled and then he seemed to get an idea.

"Oh! I know! If you can just write down some of the places you think Mattie should see, that would be great!" He said, taking out a notepad and a pen and handing them to Arthur; who took them and scribbled down a few things.

The rain had lessened by the time they left the café; however, Alfred still insisted on taking Arthur home, seeing as he had promised to do so in the first place. Arthur agreed, but told himself that it was only because the American was so pushy and all busses to his flat had stopped by now. As they finally pulled up by Arthur's home, Alfred chuckled.

"Sorry about all the back and forth Arthur; but I really appreciate you helping us out like this." He smiled and Arthur shook his head.

"No, not at all, I was glad to help." Arthur smiled slightly before looking at his lap, opening the door. "And, thank you. For taking me home. You really didn't have to, and I really appreciate it. Thank you Alfred." And with that, he got out of the car and shut the door, heading to his flat. Alfred smiled and waved as he drove past, heading back to his house. It took a few minutes before Alfred actually realised what happened; before the shock of what had just happened between him and the Englishman actually hit him. And it hit him. Hit him like a ton of bricks.

And Alfred almost crashed the car.

"Matt!" Alfred screamed as he swung the door open; Matthew was lounging on the armchair in the living room and raised as eyebrow as his brother came shuffling in.

"Finally home are you? Where have you been?" Matthew asked and Alfred just whined, falling face first into the sofa.

"Maaaaaatt!" He whined

"Yes?" Matthew turned back to the book he was reading.

"Maaaaaatt!"

"What is it Alfred?"

"Matt it happened!"

"You finally went down a dress size?"

"We went to a café!"

"Oh is that the reason I got a text saying 'The eagle has landed'?" Matthew said almost to himself.

"We had hot chocolate!"

"That's not exactly a 'coffee date' now is it Al?"

"We talked for two hours!"

"Good grief, did you tie him to the chair?"

"He called me 'Alfred'!" He lifted his head from the sofa and Matt saw that he was grinning from ear to ear, his eyes practically shining; Matthew smiled and breathed out a chuckle before getting up.

"What does he normally call you? 'Idiot'?"

"Matt, he called me by my name! My first name! He's never done that before! He finally said it!" Alfred somehow managed to grin wider and buried his face in the sofa again, screaming into it quietly as if to make a point. When he looked up again, Matthew was in front of him, crouching on the floor; He smiled and ruffled Alfred's hair softly.

"Congratulations." He said softly. "You are now a smitten schoolgirl." He tapped Alfred's head lightly and got up to make dinner; but he paused to watch fondly as his brother fell off the sofa and rolled around on the floor, blushing and grinning all the while.

Well hey there! Haven't seen you in a while! *hit* Okay I'm really sorry that this took so long but things were goin' down and then I was away for two weeks so I'm sorry that I disappeared for a while. But hey! Have an update! and a super long one at that! take it as an apology from me for not updating this story more frequently X'D even though most of this is just conversation, but still!

Oh! and also if anyone got the "Duke shooting an ostrich because he was hungry" reference, then you're probably British and I'll love you forever. If anyone else got that reference then you are amazing! XD

I hope you enjoyed this chapter and if you could leave a review then that would be fabulous! I'll try to be better at updating and Thank you very much for all the support. See you next time with more dorky shenanigans owo/

-Lolo

PS. Matt needs to stop being a sassy big brother because I'm starting to like writing it too much XDDD