A/N: I am a horrible human being. Say it with me now, 'Eyebrow-extravaganza is a terrible writer'. I'm so sorry I haven't updated in nearly a week! I've been in Derbyshire for a while, and when I got back I had tonnes of exams... and revising for them took up all my free time :(
It gets worse - on Saturday, I'm going on a school trip to Iceland until the 30th... oops. Of course, I won't have access to internet half way up a volcano, so you're gonna have to wait a while on this story to update then! Please don't give up on NTLL though - as soon as the new half term starts, I should be back to fairly normal updating.

Anyway, this chapter was fun for me to write, and we get to see the introduction of a new character... Honda, anyone?

Enjoy chapter 10, and thank you to all who review, read, fave and follow!

So Plan the First had failed mightily. As true as that was, Alfred was assured that Plan two would be a huge success. After all, this one was one of his own, and he was extremely pleased with it if he could say so himself. All he needed to do was wait for a dark and stormy night, and then he could sneak in Arthur's bed and ask for a cuddle of reassurance. It was so simple that it would work - it had to. Almost a week had passed since The Bet had been made, and with only one month and three weeks left every second counted! So now, for probably the first time in his life, Alfred was... checking the weather reports.

"And now for the weather with Charles Burton. Charles, what's the situation at the moment?"

"Well, Christina, we can see here the last remains of hurricane Amelia here is the south of…And over here we have… And reports say that…"

Alfred had never been so bored. What's worse was that there were no storms in sight - the last hurricane to strike the area had been less that a puff of air, and it was long gone from their town now anyway. Alfred rubbed his chin thoughtfully and hastily turned the radio off. God, he couldn't listen to much more of this crap - and it was clear no storms were gonna grace them anytime soon. There was only one thing for it - he'd have to improvise. Trouble was, he was the first to admit he was pretty crap at acting - a storm would have made it seem more realistic, but just scared 'because'? Nah, he couldn't pull that off. Which meant he had to actually get scared - he really wasn't the best actor despite his self confidence - or at least think of a ploy that would assure Arthur he had a reason to be terrified. And there was only one thing Alfred knew of to give him proper, full blown fear…

It was time to watch a horror movie.

"Hello?" A soft, accented voice called through the phone.

Alfred grinned. "Oh, hey Kiku! I was just wonderin' if you could help me with a little something," he explained airily.

"Ah, Alfred-san. It is good to hear from you; you have not spoken to me for a while. What can I help you with?" the young Asian man replied; Alfred knew he was happy to hear from the rambunctious American despite the lack of emotion in his voice. Kiku had always been socially challenged, but Alfred knew him well enough by now to tell what the shy boy was feeling. Now was no different.

"Good to talk to you too, Kiku! Well… you know how you have this kickass collection of horror movies?" Alfred asked excitedly.

There was a pause from the other line.

"…I remember you crying over them."

"W-well, yeah, but they were super badass dude! So, seeing as we're buddies-for-life, besties-forever, blah blah blah… can I borrow them?"

Another pause from Kiku, and then a small cough.

"You may borrow my bad ass horror films if you wish," came the reply, quiet and soft but still audible.

Alfred grinned big. "Cool bro! You're like, the best. So how quickly can you get them to me!?" he yelped down the phone, practically hearing Kiku wince from the other line.

"Ah… I could possibly bring them to you later on this evening - you are staying with your new master, yes?"

"Aw, yeah, did one of the trio mention it to you? I've been pretty busy, no time for a social life," he chortled.

"Ludwig told me having heard from his brother. I can deliver them to you, as there is a chance I am heading out that way this evening," he mumbled. "And please, Alfred, do not speak so loudly. It is not good for your voice," the Japanese boy fretted, and Alfred laughed loudly.

"Dude, this is like, my quietest voice," he snorted, and a sigh was his only reply. "But anyway -I gotta run now, but thanks for everything man! See ya later and shit!"

"Alfred-san. Please do not swear. The words are unnecessary and -"

"Bye Kiku!" Alfred cut off quickly before the Asian boy could start lamenting to him about the importance refraining from swearing - he got enough lectures from Arthur, thank you very much! But the movie progress - that was good. Yeah, this plan was definitely gonna work better than Francis'! Feeling much more motivated, he suddenly felt the urge to clean the house for Arthur to express his optimism.

Wait a second. Me, doing housework willingly? What's wrong with me? he asked himself reproachfully, wondering why and when he started caring about the housework so much. Sure, he was supposed to care 'cause he was a Butler and all but he was also Alfred, the King of Heroes and Procrastination! He never cleaned voluntarily!

"But I guess if it's for Artie," he mumbled to himself, and then flinched at his wording. "So... so he doesn't get mad at me, of course," he corrected himself hastily. Yeah, he was just gonna do it so Arthur didn't fire him or something.

Right? He'd better do something else first, to assure himself that he didn't care that much. Maybe... he could take a nap? Yeah, that was just the right amount of slacking off. He sighed, leaning back. Now that the radio was off, the house was silent, and the couch was so goddamn comfy. And his eyes were beginning to slip shut… yeah, a short nap would be fine. Then he'd clean up, and Arthur would be proud of him, and everything would go smoothly.

...And all the while he remained completely oblivious to the pair of ears pressed up against the door nearest to him.

"See, I told you he liked him!" Alice hissed to Amelia, jabbing the American girl in the side harshly.

Amelia winced. "Yeah, and I never disagreed with you!" she exclaimed loudly.

Alice panicked and frantically waved a hand in front of her mouth.

"SHHH! He could hear us, you twat!" she said hotly, and Amelia glared at her.

"Uh, duh. We shouldn't even be eavesdropping anyway," she grumbled. Alice raised her hand as if to slap her, but seemed to think better of it and settled for clamping her hand over the other girl's mouth.

"It was your bloody idea in the first place, you MORON!" she cried, momentarily forgetting about their vow of silence.

"Nuh-uh! I just said -"

"That we should listen to him talk on the phone!"

"Nah! I said -"

"Shut up!"

Alfred, meanwhile, was sitting on the couch as he slipped off into an afternoon doze, his eyes becoming droopy and his body warming in the sunlight shining through the window onto his lap.

"Shut up!"

A cry interrupted his slumber, and Alfred fully awoke with a start. Rubbing his eyes, he glanced in confusion towards the door.

"But it totally wasn't my idea!" Another voice blasted through the door, and this time Alfred frowned. That sounded like Amelia and Alice; what were they doing outside his door?

"And all I did was tell you about how Alfred was in love with Arthur and then you had to go and mess it up!"

Alfred choked on air. Since when were the maids aware that he loved Arthur!? Not that he did, of course, because he didn't! He just… had a little eensy-weensy little man-crush on him, that was all.

Honestly!

Chewing his cheek anxiously, he cautiously approached the door as quietly as he could manage. He grasped the handle silently, and was tempted to yell 'gotcha!' as he pulled open the door. He didn't, however, and the result of his silent and swift uncovering was two shocked and abashed maids falling through the space where a door had definitely been a second ago. Amelia cried out in worry, and Alice slapped a hand over her mouth in horror.

"Uh, we can… um, that is, we were…" she trailed off, brushing down her apron as she blushed, trying desperately to come up with some sort of excuse.

Alfred coughed. "Girls, chill. I eavesdrop all the time, 'kay?

"We weren't -"

"Hey, it's okay! I just wanted to correct ya on something. I'm not 'in love' with Artie!" he blurted, waving his hands dramatically for emphasis.

Both the maid's jaws nearly hit the floor.

"Y-you…heard all that!?" Amelia squeaked, pulling the other maid's hand away from her mouth as she stared in horror at the Butler.

Alfred shrugged. "Eh, it doesn't really matter. I mean, girls gossip all the time, right?" he grinned sheepishly.

Alice chewed her lip in discontent. "Still, it was rather... inappropriate... oh, I feel ashamed," she bemoaned.

Alfred shook his head. " Don't worry about that! Just - stop that little rumour about me and Artie, 'kay? 'Cause it's all lies! Utter lies!" he said, just a little bit to vehemently to be fully believable.

The maids nodded in unison, their hair bouncing frantically as they tried to edge away.

"We'll - just forget that then."

"Yup! Nothin' happening here!"

Alfred sighed as they disappeared rapidly around the hallway corner. He figured he'd have to tell them about 'Alfred x Arthur' sometime - after all, it would be kinda hard to keep their 'relationship' secret once they were finally in one - if it could be called that. Was it still a relationship if only one person was actually in love? Alfred winced at his wording. Wow, that really made him sound like a cheapskate, didn't it?

"I guess that's what I am - agreeing to this bet and all," he mumbled quietly, and hastily glanced around the room, paranoid that the maids would still be hanging onto his every word. It was one thing the girls gossiping over who he liked, and another to have them knowing about The Bet. Thankfully, the door was open, no prying maids in sight. Sighing, he closed his eyes again and allowed himself to drift off into troubled sleep.

"Oi! Git, wake up - there's a visitor! He must be yours," a British voice cut into Alfred's slumber, sounding agitated and extremely put out.

"Who'zzit?" the American mumbled, yawing widely and sitting up. Arthur stood in the doorway, his arms crossed and his expression sour.

"Well I don't bloody know, do I?" he ground out, a finger pointing accusingly out of the window. "He's Asian. He's waiting outside the door. I think he's a salesman; he's holding some magazines or something. I looked through the window - I think he saw me," the British man muttered, cheeks flushing as he shuffled his feet.

Alfred deadpanned. "Jeez, for a Gentleman you're pretty harsh. Let Kiku in! He's a friend!" he cried, gesturing wildly to the door outside and realising he was going to have to be the one to explain Arthur's rudeness.

The man rolled his eyes. "Well, of course I'll let the fellow in - now that I know who he is. Did you really expect me to welcome in a complete stranger?" he growled, and spun round to turn back to the hallway.

"Don't be too mean to him, babe," Alfred called in a sudden burst of cheeky optimism, practically seeing his master's furious blush in his mind's eye.

"Excuse me!? Don't call me that!… Incompetent fool," the reply came, muttered from down the hallway. Alfred smiled to himself.

He sat up from the couch with a groan, stretching his aching arms and hauling himself up. He figured that the two would be bristling at each other; after all, Kiku was quiet and sweet unless provoked and Arthur was just… prickly. Sighing, Alfred realised he'd have to go and sort it out. He headed down the hallway to the grand front door, fully expecting to have to reassure Kiku and scold his master.

"Hey guys, break it up. I really don't wanna have to -"

"Oh, hello Alfred-san. Arthur-san and I were just talking - I'm stopping by for a cup of tea, if you do not mind," Kiku smiled, his large brown eyes cheerful and amiable.

Arthur stood beside him, a smile also plastered on his face and his green eyes glowing.

"Yes, it seems we share a common interest in our drink tastes - your friend is a very good-natured person, Alfred. Very different from you," he said airily, and the two tea-lovers walked calmly to the kitchen, leaving a slack-jawed Alfred in their wake.

…What the hell?

"Why don't you come and join us Alfred-san? I'll give you your movies then," Kiku added, and the American boy followed as his mind reeled. So… the fact that they were both sensible and boring made them have a connection? Alfred realised he felt slightly hurt as he took this new information in. He knew he got on well with Kiku; they shared a common love for different cultures and popular shows and movies, but with Arthur - he realised he couldn't actually think of anything they had in common. If they hadn't met through their work, they probably would have been the sort of people who avoided each other in the street.

Alfred frowned as his stomach coiled in an unknown emotion, and wondered why he felt so threatened by this. After all, he was only pretending to like Arthur for the bet, and this silly little crush he had on him was nothing more than a fleeting emotion!

He winced as he came to the conclusion that he seemed to be saying that a lot recently.

I'm in denial… just great, he thought with a groan. Didn't that only happen in teen flick movies?

"Alfred! …Alfred? Are you coming, boy?" Arthur's impatient voice interrupted his thoughts with a snap.

You didn't speak to Kiku like that, Alfred's mind retorted childishly, although he knew he was just being jealous and over dramatic. It wasn't good for the bet or for his job to be cross at Arthur. Despite this, he glared at the Gentleman's retreating form.

"Nah, it's fine. You guys have your little tea party - just tell Kiku to leave the movies outside my door," he said angrily, and spun around as he headed back to his room.

Arthur turned around in bewilderment, his mind spinning in confusion. Why did Alfred seem so annoyed? Shrugging, he presumed it was just his teenage hormones coming into play, and excused his butler's poor behaviour in favour of turning to the kitchen where Kiku - and more importantly a cup of tea - was waiting for him.

"A-alfred-san? I have the horror films here - will you take them or should I just… leave them here?" A doubtful voice called softly through his door. Alfred looked up from his iPhone, momentarily pausing his game of Plants VS Zombies, and opened the door cautiously in case there was a fire-breathing Arthur behind him. Kiku blinked up at him innocently, and Alfred felt a stab of guilt strike him. Yeah, he'd been overreacting - there was no way Kiku would intentionally 'steal' Arthur from him. He was just too sweet.

"Oh, no worries Kiku. As if I'd let you leave without saying goodbye! I'll take 'em now," he grinned, stretching out his hand.

The short boy nodded, handing the collection of movies over silently and bowing slightly.

"Have a good night, Alfred-san," he said with a smile, and turned to leave. Before going, however, he looked over his shoulder briefly. "Oh, and Alfred-san? There's a book in there for you as well - a comic book. You may find it…useful," he said evasively, and was gone before Alfred could question him further.

Raising an eyebrow and shrugging, the American retreated back into his room, flicking hastily through the collection of DVDs Kiku had handed him - before his eyes caught on a paperback volume. He looked at the words printed neatly in the top right corner:

Kiss kiss!

Well, okay then. Alfred shrugged, peering at the cover curiously. It was blank except for the title and a few pink swirls, and he turned the book over in puzzlement. Oh, there was the cover - this must be manga, the backwards Japanese books Kiku always read. Alfred had tried a couple, but preferred anime because it was more exciting and less confusing. The title was displayed more clearly here, the writing pink and cutesy. The picture depicted two men, glaring at each other in evident hate. The rather angry picture contradicted the fluffy, sweet book name quite drastically, and the butler pouted in confusion. Well, he may as well have a look. Still standing in the doorway, he flicked through the first few pages in interest.

The story started with the two men shown on the front cover arguing, yelling out their angst to each other as they fought verbally. This looked like some girlish comic - why did Kiku think he would like this chick flick drama? He read through the dialogue disinterestedly.

'Daisuke, I hate you so much!'

'Well how do you think I feel, Daichi!? You're so bad at telling me how you feel - one moment you're angry with me the next you're sweet and kind!'

'That's your problem you idiot!'

'Shut up and let me kiss you.'

Wait - what? Alfred's eyes skimmed over the page again, his eyes focusing on the last speech bubble. Why did 'Daisuke' suddenly want to mash mouths with 'Daichi'? A second ago they were arguing, and then… cautiously, as if the slightest movement would set off a bomb, Alfred turned the page - and nearly choked in shock. The next page was filled, stuffed to the brim with… snogging. Making out, lip-locking, smooching, whatever you call it, they were doing it. Two guys. With tongues, and sound effects, and -

"Aurghrugh!" the American yelped, his glasses slipping precariously on his nose as he stared in shock at the book. Where the hell had that come from!? They were really mad at each other, and then suddenly they were both gay and horny? Him and Arthur argued like that all the time, but you didn't see them suddenly eating each other's faces in the middle of a fight!

...Not that it didn't sound appealing…

Right. Put the book down, Alfred. You don't want to read this, it's making you think weird things, the sensible part of his mind pleaded with him. He nodded fervently in agreement. This was ridiculous, and completely irrational. As if that could happen!…

"I'll just… put this down here. On my bed," he whispered to the air, sitting down cautiously on his duvet with the kissing page still open on his lap. With a cautious glance towards the doorway, he glanced back at the comic.

And started to read.

By the time Alfred turned the last page, his hands were shaking. Well, that had been intense. Sweating profusely for reasons he'd rather not name, he threw the book vehemently to the corner of his room. What the fuck had he just read!? It was gross! It was disgusting! It was… it was appealing, dammit. His mouth felt like it was burning as well as his eyes, and he licked his lips anxiously. He shouldn't have enjoyed that. It was gay. Very gay.

So maybe Alfred was gay?

God, it seemed possible now. After all, it would explain why he liked looking at gay guys kissing, and felt butterflies in his stomach whenever Arthur smiled, and why he'd never felt attraction towards girls.

Yeah, he was gay.

"Wow…that's deep," he mumbled to himself, and decided he ought to say it, just to solidify the new information about himself. "I'm gay," he whispered to himself. There, that wasn't so hard. "I, Alfred Jones, am gay," he said, slightly louder but still mumbling. Right…

"I'M GAY!" he yelled at the top of his lungs, feeling a burst of confidence emerge with his voice.

"Excuse me?" A voice said disbelievingly from the doorway. Alfred stiffened.

Shit. That was not how he planned on telling Arthur.

Well, he had to find out some time, right? He needed to explain it, because of The Bet and all, and not because Alfred needed some reassurance. Nope.

"Um, yep, you heard me. I guess I'm a homo!" Alfred grinned sheepishly, flashing his teeth at the wide-eyed Brit. At these words, however, his face morphed into its usual frown.

"Don't say 'homo' - homosexual is the right term," he said prissily, seemingly now unfazed by the new information. Alfred bit his lip as he stole a glance at the book in the corner.

"Well… uh, you seem to know a lot about it, huh?" he tried, and inwardly winced as he saw the look of panic cross Arthur's face. Oh no - what it the guy was homophobic? It didn't seem likely, but… However, his worries were thwarted as a blush settled itself across the man's face.

"And if I do? What does it matter to you? Y-you're the gay one here!" he protested childishly, green eyes narrowed in irritation.

Alfred smiled at him encouragingly. "Sure, so we can talk about our feelings here, right? 'Cause you see -"

"Shut up, butler! Get on with your work. Your... sexuality... makes no difference here!" Arthur cried, effectively blocking out Alfred's confession as he pointed to the doorway determinedly. Great. Knowing he wasn't going to get anything out of the fussy Brit now, he stood resignedly and headed into the hallway, moodily shutting his door behind him.

The seducing would have to wait until tonight.

A/N: Ooh, I feel awful for leaving you for a week on a cliffhanger. Aren't I cruel ;)

Hope you enjoyed this chapter anyway, and please leave a review if you have the time!

~Eyebrow-extravaganza