Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia :P

Chapter Fourteen- Can't

The temperature in Antonio's car was absolutely Baltic. Since the heating didn't work, they were forced to endure the sub-zero climate. At least Antonio had the sense to keep blankets in the back of the car for the cold winter months, even if the Lion King blanket Lovino had wrapped around himself was a little embarrassing. Lovino hadn't protested very much about the childish blanket though – they had reached that point. They had probably passed it.

It had been extremely easy to tell Antonio everything. He didn't interrupt once; he just sat there quietly, listening with his full attention. Once Lovino had finished the first sentence, the rest came naturally. And although he had suffered for years, the memories he kept locked away torturing him, he was actually starting to think it had all been worth it. It had led him to Antonio, after all.

After he had finished his story, Antonio paid the bill and offered to take him home. Lovino, seeing that he had been treated, felt as though this was perhaps a little closer to a date than he had wanted to admit at first. Why break the trend? He willingly agreed to the proposition. Inside the car was no warmer than outside, but he would get home quicker this way. And he did get to spend a little more time with Antonio.

"To think that a few weeks ago, it was like summertime," Antonio laughed.

Lovino smiled. "It's like the weather decided to bypass autumn and go straight to winter," he agreed. He drew the blanket a little tighter around himself and clutched his hands. When he breathed through his mouth, little white puffs formed before him. It reminded him of a game he used to play with Feli when they were younger.

"I'm glad it did. I like summer better than winter, but I don't like autumn very much. Summer is warm and sunny. Winter may be cold, but snow is beautiful. And there's Christmas too! But autumn is just cold, rainy and windy."

If Roma heard Antonio say that, he would probably smack him across the back of the head. "That's not true," Lovino said. "Sure, autumn is wet and it can be cold. But autumn is the most colourful season. See the trees over there? Look at all the different shades of orange and red there are. It's beautiful! And there's harvest time to look forward too. You should see my grandfather's nursery in autumn. Or even just our back garden. There are so many colours."

"When you put it that way, it's very hard to disagree," Antonio replied, admitting defeat. "Is autumn your favourite season, Lovi?"

"I think so."

"Spring is my favourite. There's so much life~ I think it's wonderful!" Spring certainly did suit Antonio. It held as much life as his stunning emerald eyes did and it was as refreshing as his wide grin.

Silly conversations that held no real meaning were the best. It was through the conversations that started out as meaningless that Lovino would find himself learning something about Antonio, even something as irrelevant as his preferred season. Lovino wanted to know all the little details that made Antonio who he was.

It seemed as though they had went from the coffee shop to his home in the blink of an eye. Lovino was reluctant to climb out of the car, but tried not to show it. "Thanks for today. It was… nice." He didn't really know what else to say.

"I'm really grateful that you told me all that, Lovi." A jolt went up Lovino's arm as Antonio patted it. "Seriously, I mean that."

"I know you do," Lovino blushed. He would be forgiven for prolonging the contact, surely.

"Do you think we could meet up this week?" Antonio queried, and Lovino couldn't help the grin that appeared on his face. He didn't give a damn that it made today seem even more like a date – there was no point in denying that he wanted that. "You see, it's Marcos' anniversary on Thursday. It's fine if you don't want to go; I guess it's a weird question."

"No, I want to go," he said before Antonio could take it back.

"Really? That's great! I'll text you all the details later! The cemetery isn't too far from here. Maybe we can go for a cup of coffee afterwards too." Antonio's smile was bright enough to guide a ship on a dark stormy night.

"I'll see you on Thursday then," Lovino replied happily. He left the car and ran out into the cold air, stopping at the front door to wave Antonio off. When Antonio beeped the horn, Feliciano peeked out the window and Lovino grimaced. Preparing himself for the assault course of questions, he stepped through the door. He slipped his shoes off and padded into the kitchen.

"What happened?!" Feliciano asked breathlessly. Racing down the stairs had obviously tired him out. Lovino enjoyed watching him dance around anxiously as he poured a glass of orange juice for himself, leaning casually against the worktop. "Tell me!" he begged.

"We had coffee."

"Coffee? He's playing it cool." Feliciano was apparently very informed on the subjects of blooming romance and dating. Lovino supposed his younger brother did have more experience than him. "What did you talk about?"

"Actually…" Lovino felt a little guilty that he had talked to Antonio before talking to Feliciano (it had been six years), but he couldn't say he regretted it. "He told me about himself. I didn't expect any of it. Feli, he's had it really bad. And then I told him about me."

"Ve~ Does that mean…?"

"Yeah. I told him about the night mamma died."

Rather than jealousy or 'you should have told me first', tears of happiness welled up in the corners of Feliciano's eyes. "That's so great! Lovi, I'm so happy for you!"

"You are?" Lovino asked, more than a little confused.

"Of course I am! You opened up to someone, finally! We should tell nonno. He'll be so happy, ve~ And, you know, you guys are closer now too. Right? That's just what you need. I can't wait for the day when you come home and tell me you're going out with him~ It might take nonno a while to come around, but I'm sure he'll be happy too! Antonio has been so good for you."

"Wait, I am not going out with Antonio!" Lovino blustered, blushing furiously. Right now didn't seem like the right time to tell Feliciano that he and Antonio actually were meeting up during the week – especially if he was trying to prove that they were, in fact, not going out.

Feliciano simply waved it off. "You're not going out with Antonio yet," he corrected his brother.

"I'm not going out with him ever," Lovino said adamantly. "Even if I wanted to, I couldn't. He's a teacher, remember? Or a counsellor – same difference. I can't go out with him."

This was getting ridiculous. It seemed as though Feliciano was determined to counter his every argument. "Silly fratello~ It's love! Love will find a way."

"We're not in love!" Lovino squawked loudly as Feliciano skipped out of the room.

Oh, they so were.

"You've been out for a long time, and you look very happy. Got something to share?" Gilbert was sprawled out across Antonio's sofa, very leisurely. He was quite a relaxed babysitter. Or roommate – whatever. He showed no signs of budging. Antonio wouldn't have been surprised to find out that he had spent most of the day there, but at least he had done the shopping and managed to not eat all the food again.

Lifting the Oreos from the cupboard, he pulled out a couple for himself and threw the rest of the packet to Gil. "I don't know what you're talking about~" he sang.

Gil's manners really did leave much to be desired. "Sure ya do. My awesomeness can tell you've been out on a date with someone!" In the space of ten seconds, he had scarfed down half a packet of biscuits. What Elizabeta saw in him, Antonio couldn't tell. Perhaps she had a really keen eye.

"How can you tell?" he asked, taking a seat in the corner armchair. It was hard to see the TV from his viewpoint, but Gil was watching some action movie that didn't really interest him anyway.

"I can smell the coffee from here. You always take your dates out for coffee."

"No I don't! Oh. Yes, I do. Am I that predictable?" Despite the fact he scored very highly on the hotness scale, Antonio hadn't been on many dates. For the past few years, he had used studying as his excuse. When he was younger, he wasn't really in the right headspace for dating. Coffee was easy. Coffee was casual. It made him look sophisticated, kind of. Excuse him for liking coffee!

"Nein, it's all good. Just means that I know exactly where you've been. Who's the lucky lady? Or guy."

"Er, well, it wasn't really a date. I don't think so anyway… But it was me and Lovino. We just talked about some stuff, no es gran cosa. Can you believe that he'd never tried churros before? I made sure to change that~"

"Antonio, dude." Gilbert fixed his stare onto his oblivious friend. "That was a date. You had coffee. You had a wonderful heart to heart over a plate of churros. And you treated him, right? It was a date!"

Huh. It was starting to sound awfully like a date to him now. "I asked him to come visit Marcos' grave with me this week. Was that a bad thing to do?"

The albino frowned worriedly. "Not that I don't think you two would be great together – you're clearly smitten and Lovino doesn't seem like a bad kid, even if he was kind of a grumpy douchebag when I met him that one time. But that's the thing, Antonio. He's just a kid."

Gil was right, of course. The same doubts had been ringing in his own head. It wasn't something he could ignore. A six year age gap wasn't that bad, but Lovino was only sixteen. And Antonio was still trying to pay off student loans, not to mention the rent. He couldn't afford to lose his job. "It doesn't feel wrong," he mumbled thoughtfully.

"Mon ami, l'amour ne se trompe jamais!" Francis announced as he waltzed into the kitchen. "Unless you are in love with a family member. Even I have my limits. Don't laugh, Gil! I kissed Gabrielle once by complete accident. We were both very drunk, and –"

"We really don't want to hear about how you made out with your cousin," Antonio teased him.

"There was no making out, it was just-"

"Incest! Incest! Unclean! Shameful!" Gilbert yelled at him, rolling off the sofa as Francis threw himself across the back of it in an attempt to catch him and force him to endure some horrible (and knowing Francis, probably sexual) torture. Antonio made himself a sandwich as he watched the two chasing each other around the kitchen. It made for very good entertainment, especially when Gilbert caught the blonde in a headlock and started shouting in a very bad French accent.

"Ohonhonhon, le croissant! L'escargots! Oh la la, my national symbol, she looks like a très big penis!"

"If your penis looks like the Eiffel Tower, then I am very worried for you," Francis said smoothly. "Maybe I could take a look?" He began to choke as Gilbert tightened his hold. Struggling was pointless. Gilbert promptly let go and sat on him.

"The only person who gets to look at my five metres of awesome is Liz!" he told the writhing Francis.

"I wouldn't look if you paid me," Francis spat. "Now get off me, you imbécile! It feels like there's an elephant sitting on top of me. And I am never the one doing the bottoming." At that, Gilbert sprang off him with a look of disgust on his face. Content to forget about the whole business, Francis composed himself and sat beside Antonio.

However, Gilbert wasn't quite as ready to let it go. It was in his nature to antagonise people, of course. "The awesome me doesn't bottom either! Those faced with my awesomeness can't help but submit…"

Antonio just relaxed and enjoyed the show, starring two members of the Bad Touch Trio at their very best. Ah, friendship.

On a cold and blustery Tuesday afternoon, Lovino's bed was a more welcoming option than traversing out into the chilling air. Kiku's house may have only been a fifteen minute walk, but that was fifteen minutes too long right now in Lovino's opinion. Unsurprisingly, Feli had a skip in his step (more like leap) and a song in his heart. The prospect of seeing his beloved Ludwig outweighed all the cons. "Smile, fratello~! Look, I brought… Let's see, Just Dance, Mario Galaxy… We didn't have much. But Kiku's collection fills a whole bookcase! This is going to be so much fun~!"

Lovino wasn't much of a gamer. He had been bribed into playing a game or two of Just Dance, and he admittedly did kick ass at Mario Kart – barring that last episode at Alfred's house. It wasn't that he didn't enjoy games. He just couldn't be bothered. "If you say so," he grumbled.

"Don't be like that, Lovi. You always get so competitive at these things. Remember that time you threw juice at Arthur to distract him because he was winning at tennis? He was so mad! But then he beat you at Guitar Hero and you were mad at him, then Alfred sat on him for some reason and he spent the rest of the evening huffing in the corner. That was fun too!"

Okay, so maybe Lovino was more than a little competitive. He got wrapped up in the heat of the moment, the juice was there and Arthur had been goading him. "That was years ago! I'm too old to be throwing juice now."

"We'll see! Hey, did you know Arthur likes Alfred?"

"Feli, everyone knows Arthur likes Alfred, except for Alfred himself."

"We should help them out!" Helping, in Feliciano's dictionary, was a very ambiguous term. Lovino had fallen victim to his brother's 'help' more than once. Even though his most recent attempt at helping had resulted in him meeting up with Antonio, and he was grateful for that, nine times out of ten, 'helping' did not help at all. Lovino had nothing but sympathy for the unfortunate twosome as Feliciano planned their demise, completely unbeknownst to them.

Alfred and Arthur arrived together. They were a package deal. Arthur was laden down with what must have been a whole store of videogames, as well as his overnight bag, and Alfred could barely see past the various snacks that were piled sky-high in his arms. In true Alfred fashion, the American hadn't thought to bring anything other than food and games. And he had made Arthur carry the games. Really, who needs pyjamas and a toothbrush? Arthur was sure that Alfred had started eating on the way there. He didn't ask any questions, he just got on with his life.

"Alfred-san, Arthur-san." Kiku bowed respectively to his guests. There was no doubt that the boy's parents had bred him with proper manners. "Come on in."

When Arthur finally set the many bags down, he nearly burst into song. He could finally feel his fingers! Then the pain hit them, and he wasn't so grateful. "Next time," he told Alfred firmly, "you carry your own bloody games!"

"Artie, you're such a martyr," Alfred snickered, to which he received a grumbled reply that he strongly suspected contained some odd British swear words.

They slipped off their shoes and followed Kiku into the sitting room, where everything was set up for their gaming marathon. Ludwig was sitting under the kotatsu, peeling an orange. Arthur practically dived for the table, longing for the warmth. He felt like he had been hugged by a snowman.

"Man, I don't know why my mom refuses to buy one of these," Alfred complained through a mouthful of Doritos. "They're awesome!"

Just as Kiku was about to sit down, Feliciano burst into the room. A much calmer Lovino followed him, their cheeks apple red from the chilly air. "Ve~ Kiku, your house is so lovely and warm! Can I sit down too?" Asking was a bit pointless; he sat down anyway. Kiku took the overnight bags that Lovino was holding and Feliciano emptied a paper bag, so all the games were strewn across the table top.

Alfred wasted no time in adding his games to the pile. The eyes of the avid gamer twinkled excitedly behind his glasses as Arthur watched on in amusement. He didn't understand what the attraction to gaming was – he would much rather sit down with a good book. But when he watched Alfred playing, he had just as much fun as him. Even if he didn't have a set of controls in his hand. "Lego Batman!" he shouted triumphantly.

Ludwig, who had been silent all this time, spoke out. "I think we should play this," he said gruffly, holding up some war game. Halo, was it?

"That looks a little violent," Feli tried, not really wanting to shoot anyone. It didn't matter if it was just a game. He hated guns. "How about we play this?" He waved Kirby's Epic Yarn so everyone could see.

There seemed to be quite a dilemma; they couldn't agree what game to play. Ludwig stuck to his guns (literally), Alfred was absolutely certain that he wanted to play a Batman game and Kiku wanted Donkey Kong. Lovino didn't seem to care very much about what they played, but he pointed at a Sonic game and mumbled something about watching the show when he was younger. And so, it fell to Arthur to decide.

Needless to say, the Brit was rather conflicted. He couldn't give a rat's ass about what they played, but he was forced to choose between four desperate friends that sat before him. At the least, Lovino seemed to be out of the question. His phone went off and he was suddenly very focused on texting whoever it was. Arthur had never known him so eager or willing to participate in social interaction, and was honestly quite curious to know who had piqued his interest.

"Artie, come on!" Alfred whined.

Ah yes, the games. Feliciano was looking at him with a hopeful smile on his face. Most girls would probably die from the sheer adorableness of it. The game he was holding didn't seem to be too bad. On the other hand, there was Ludwig, whom he was a little scared to refuse. But guns weren't his thing at all. Arthur had played Donkey Kong before and he had enjoyed it, so he thought it was most likely he would choose that game.

But Alfred. Alfred. Shit, he knew how to use those striking blue eyes to their best ability. With just one look at his best friend (crush) he felt as though if he said no, Alfred's heart would truly shatter into a thousand pieces, never to be whole again. It was not an easy ultimatum.

Then again, he wasn't too concerned about the problem. It was just a game, and they would be here all night anyway. "Batman," he sighed.

"I love you!" Alfred exclaimed, pulling a not-very-surprised-but-kind-of-embarrassed Arthur into a rib cracking hug.

His amazing skills of elocution came into play as he sputtered out a broken sentence made up from all the potential replies that his head suggested. "I-I don't-Batman is-Not that you-Fuck, Alfred, I can't breathe!"

Oh yes, Arthur. That was very finely put indeed.

The other three didn't seem too put out that Arthur had chosen Alfred over them (actually, Feliciano winked at him and Kiku gave him a thumbs up with a sharp nod). As requested, Alfred let go of Arthur and sweet air flooded back into his lungs. "Shall we go into the game room?" Kiku suggested politely. Alfred whooped and swept the mountain of snacks into his arms, leaving the rest of them to carry the games.

"Honestly," Arthur chuckled. "He never stops thinking of his stomach."

The remark was intended for his own ears, but Ludwig heard him. "Has he always been like this?"

"Yes. Do you know, he was actually disappointed when our nursery school teacher told him that you can't eat mud pies. I think we were about four at the time."

"I suppose he thought he had solved world hunger," Ludwig joked.

"Wouldn't surprise me," Arthur replied, remembering how much the news had shocked him. He had reacted worse at that time than how he had reacted when his mother had told him Santa Claus wasn't real.

"Feliciano is the same with his pasta. Pasta this, pasta that, pasta everything. But you wouldn't change a thing."

Arthur had never seen Ludwig with such a gentle face before. When he looked at his Feliciano, it was just so obvious that he loved him. The way the corners of his mouth were curved just slightly, the gentle tone he spoke his name in, even the quirk of his brow. Did he look at Alfred that way too?

"I wouldn't change him for the world," he said quietly. If only he could say that to the person in question.

Come to think of it, Lovino was wearing a very similar expression earlier while he was texting. That was very interesting. Just who could make the grumpy Italian look like that? It had to be someone special. Even now, he was still staring at his phone as Feliciano handed him game after game. Arthur watched in amusement as he nearly walked into the doorframe and then pretended he hadn't seen it happen when the Italian glanced around self-consciously.

Snacks were abandoned on the floor of the game room. Since he wasn't one to sit still and wait, Alfred had already started up the game and was humming happily as he watched the opening credits of the game. Arthur manoeuvred around the various packets that lay on the floor and curled up on the sofa that sat in the corner. The smaller he curled up, the warmer he was.

With his eyes still glued to the screen of his phone, Lovino sat beside him and mumbled his hello. Arthur wanted very badly to lean over and see who his friend was talking to, but he kept the device very close to his chest. It was almost as if he were clutching it to his heart. But because Arthur was such a good friend, he respected Lovino's privacy and didn't look.

After watching Alfred 'kick some ass', as he said it, for far too long, Arthur was suitably bored. Everyone else seemed to be busy with their own thing. Kiku was supplying Alfred with so many cheats, Arthur didn't know how he kept them in his head, Feliciano was whispering something in Ludwig's ear and the German was blushing furiously. Lovino was still talking to whoever it was. You probably couldn't pry the set of controls from Alfred's cold, dead hands, which left him out of the picture too.

He would be forgiven for shuffling over to Lovino and peeking at the phone, he decided. So that was what he did. "Mind your own fucking business!" Lovino scolded him rudely, turning the screen away from him a moment too late. He had seen the name.

"You're texting Antonio!" Arthur whispered loudly.

"What's it to you?"

For God's sake, even Lovino was having better luck with his love life than he was. "Are you two…?"

"No." Lovino, rather than sounding angry or protective about the issue, seemed a bit more disappointed than was probably good. Perhaps he wasn't having as much luck as Arthur had thought and was currently stuck in the 'friend zone'. Just like him.

Feliciano squished himself between the two with a happy sigh. "Ve~ Lovi, you should hurry up and tell Toni you like him already! Oh, don't look so surprised," he giggled when Lovino looked at him angrily, shutting his phone. "There's only around ten people on your contact list, and most of them are here. You haven't been talking to nonno this whole time!"

"Che." Arthur couldn't understand Lovino's Italian ramblings, but Feli returned them with an innocent batting of his lashes before turning his attention to Arthur.

Much to his chagrin, Feliciano wasn't content in meddling in Lovino's affairs. "So, Arthur. Have you been talking to Alfred recently?"

"Of course I have," he replied, eyeing the deceptively innocent boy.

"What about? Ve~"

"Stuff," he snapped.

"Have you told him-" Feli's voice was purposely loud, and Arthur clamped a hand over his blabbering mouth before he could say any more. He was still a bit reluctant to remove the hand when he felt Feli's tongue on his palm – seriously, how old was he?! - but the disgust outweighed his hesitance. Thoroughly repulsed, he wiped the saliva on the culprit's top. "You need to get a move on," the annoying Italian urged him. "Someone else will get to him if you don't!"

"Don't know how…" Arthur mumbled. Since Feliciano was offering, he may as well ask his advice. What did he have to lose? Except a friendship that had lasted for nearly his whole life.

"Say it to his face, or he won't understand," Lovino cut in. Arthur supposed his advice would probably be better than Feliciano's, since it was likely that he had a better idea of what he was going through. Really, Arthur and Lovino were similar in quite a few ways. It was reasonable to assume that the objects of their affections were both unbelievably dense when it came to reading the atmosphere and romance. "No offense, but Alfred is an idiot."

"None taken; he's thicker than two planks when it comes to these things. I'm guessing Antonio is much the same?"

Lovino nodded, that expression flashing on his face, only to be quickly replaced by a frown. "You're lucky," he said shortly.

It wasn't how Arthur would normally describe his situation, but compared to Lovino's situation? Sure, he may be in love with a complete git who didn't read much more than his cereal box in the morning. Yes, he had been friend-zoned for the past few infuriating years. If this went wrong, he had everything to lose. Yet his chances were much better than Lovino's. If Lovino were to act on his feelings and they were found out, what would happen to Antonio?

At the very least the Spaniard would lose his job and there would be a permanent red mark on his teaching record. But if they were to engage in… (Arthur shuddered at the unwelcome image here.) There were lists for people who took advantage of under eighteens like that. It didn't matter if Antonio returned Lovino's feelings. It just wasn't that simple for them.

"I am lucky," he realised. He was in love with his best friend – wasn't that what everyone wanted in a relationship?

Still. Curse his Y chromosome.

Finally. Alfred was kicked off the console and was forced to crawl back to Arthur. Now was the time to do it. Lovino frowned at him, which Arthur took as encouragement to man up and do the job. "Alfred," he said. Casual Arthur decided to leave him, leaving Nervous Arthur holding the reigns. "Er, I'm going to get a drink."

As expected, Alfred was unfazed by the Brit's jitters. "Cool. I could use a soda myself!" Because he was always prepared when it came to food, Alfred had made sure to bring a few six packs of Coca Cola with him. He was pretty sure he had seen Kiku carrying them off towards the kitchen.

The Honda kitchen was a very quiet room. The tap didn't drip, the fridge didn't hum and there was a digital clock on the wall. Arthur could almost hear his thoughts.

He could do this. Feliciano had given him some pointers too. Look relaxed, he said. So Arthur leaned against the counter and took a swig from the can with one hand on his hip. In his mind, he looked like one of those cowboys that Alfred had been so fond of when he was younger. He didn't even choke on the drink. Suddenly filled with confidence, he was sure this would go better than he first imagined. "Seen any pretty girls around school?" he asked.

Good start Arthur. Figure out his team first.

"Not really," Alfred shrugged, opening his second can.

"Lily Zwingli is quite attractive," Arthur said, pulling a random girl's name from his head. He couldn't even remember what year the girl was in. In fact, he barely noticed her around the school.

"Guess so. But her brother threatens to kill any guy that gets within ten feet of her. I ain't gonna face that! And I heard he has a big-ass gun too!" A very valid point. Vash Zwingli, though he had been amiable anytime Arthur had encountered him, had a reputation that made any boy who dared to approach his younger sister cross their legs.

This really wasn't going well. First he chose the wrong girl, now Alfred was giving him strange looks. He had to give him some credit; Alfred always knew when he was acting out of sorts, even if he was a bit thick with those things. Obviously this was strange. Despite his best efforts to remember back, Arthur had never talked about girls with Alfred before. Maybe once or twice in nursery school, but only to say how 'yucky' they were. For Pete's sake, they were no more than five at the time! All five year old children think the opposite gender is horrible.

Time to try again, but through a different means. "You know, I've been thinking of asking Mei out." Mei Lee was one of the prettiest girls in the school, and she just so happened to be on the student council. As his form representative, Arthur had regular contact with the council. He got on very well with Mei. It was a believable cover up.

Yet Alfred seemed disinterested. "Oh. That's cool. When are you gonna ask her?"

"Er… I have to work up the courage first." Honestly. Mei Lee. Probably the most attractive girl in the school. Arthur was gay, and you could still get a slight reaction from him, albeit very tiny. In his opinion, Alfred was much better, but really! Was Alfred asexual?

"This is kinda weird." At last, Alfred had said it. "Why are you telling me this? I mean, it's not that I mind listening. But we've never really talked about… y'know, girls and stuff. I don't really know what to say."

"Maybe I was just trying to find out whether or not you like someone." It was the truth, but not the whole truth.

Alfred wrinkled his nose, his thinking face on. "Not really."

Too vague, Jones. Not really? So perhaps there was a little something for someone. "Would you be jealous if I asked Mei out?" Damn, what had Feliciano said? Move a little closer to him. Tilt your head to the side. Stare him down, but don't make him uncomfortable.

He looked away – Arthur was sure he had heard his older brothers talking about girls a long time ago, and if they couldn't meet your eye, they were either terrified of you, hated you or liked you. Now if only he knew if it applied to boys too. "No. Mei's not my type. I don't really care if you ask her out."

Not his type. Three words had so many meanings. "Just wanted to suss things out with you is all." He could push this a little further. Leaning a little closer, he put a hand on Alfred's shoulder. Judging by the look he was giving him, Alfred was totally freaked out. It was just a little bit cute. "Since nearly all the guys like Mei, and I don't want a girl to come between us."

Pfft. As if Arthur ever had to worry about that on his part.

"Dude, it's cool."

Oh, fuck this! Could Arthur be any clearer if he wrote it on a freaking chocolate bar wrapper?! He was practically pressed right up against Alfred now. A pair of green eyes were reflected by the lenses of Alfred's glasses and Arthur was staring at himself.

Coward, his reflection said. Git. Arse. Either man up and do it, or bugger off and go eat some scones.

Alfred or scones. Such a great choice. Either way, there would be no ignoring this rather odd encounter. It couldn't be laughed off and forgotten about. He should have stolen a swig of brandy from his father's liquor cabinet. Maybe it would have given him some courage.

Neither of them seemed capable of moving. Warm breath tickled Arthur's face, and if he was going to make a move, he needed to damn well do it now. "Are you sure you wouldn't be jealous?" he asked.

"I don't mind."

"And you really don't like anyone?"

"No." No what? 'No, I don't like someone', or 'No, I do really like someone'.

May as well go the whole hog now. "Do you know who I like?"

Poor Alfred was terribly confused. It was frigging adorable. "You just said you were gonna ask Mei out!"

"I lied." May as well come clean now. "Alfred, I like you."

"W-what? Me?" He could have been wrong, but most guys would have pushed Arthur away before he ever got this far. Alfred didn't sound disgusted, didn't sound horrified, didn't sound angry. There was plain and honest confusion written all over his face, but it didn't seem like he was repulsed by Arthur's confession. Although the puzzlement didn't exactly speak in his favour. "Artie, are you being serious?"

Not that Arthur could blame Alfred for doubting him, even if it did seem a bit too far for a joke. "Yes. God, Alfred, you really haven't got a clue. I've liked you for two years now. It wasn't even a properly kept secret; everyone but you knows, apparently."

"Wait, so everyone else knows? What the hell!" Ah, there was the anger. Well, it had to be humiliating to find out something that was so blatantly obvious to everyone else completed escaped your attention.

"Look, let's not fight. We always fight, and I'm sick of it! It was staring you right in the face, you know."

Backing away. Distance increasing. Feliciano hadn't told him what to do if that happened. "Shit. Shit, Artie, I can't. I'm sorry, but you can't expect me to give you an answer to something like that straight away. Give me time."

Moving closer, though his head told him not to. Accept his answer and walk away. That was the sensible thing to do, so why didn't he do it? "How much time do you need?" he questioned him, sounding more desperate than he had meant to.

"I don't know, I just need time!" It was reasonable and Arthur should have been able to endure another wait. So why, why, did he do what he did next?

He had to be quick, though Christ did he want to take his sweet time. But Alfred would run if he was too slow. He was already walking out of the kitchen. Alfred was strong; he was not so strong. But he pulled the American's arm tightly, forcing him to turn and face him.

Taking advantage of the surprise, Arthur leaned upwards and pressed his lips to Alfred's. Contact didn't last very long. There was no teasing breath on his face, no taste of Alfred left behind, no return on Alfred's part. It was short, but it left an impression.

"Alfred, I-"

"I can't." Alfred shook off the Brit's hand and retreated. He didn't even look at him again.

Bugger him if he ever took the Vargas brothers' advice again.

Hey, remember me?

I'm sorry it took me so long to put this up XP I've been stupidly busy with school (I know I say that in nearly every A/N but it's true). But I finally finished up with my Lit CA today and I thought I'd share my joy. In the end, I never finished reading Pride and Prejudice. Probably never will. Ah well.

I wasn't really sure about this chapter, but never mind. Alfie and Artie kissed~ :D Not really the ideal first kiss, was it? I'm not done with the two of them yet. Shit has yet to come. On the other hand, things on Lovino's side seem to be going quite swimmingly.

Heh.

Anyway, I chose a winner for the little thing I held last chapter: Allers3. The one-shot is coming soon, I promise! It might take a little longer than I initially thought, but I won't keep you waiting for ages. I hope. Anyway, look out for that in the weeks to come.

Until next time, I less than three you all~