Alfred tugged on his cuff links, biting his lip as he tried to work up the nerve to ring the doorbell. It had seemed so easy when he had thought about it earlier, but now that he was standing on Arthur's doorstep it was a thousand times worse. When he had imaged prom as a child, it was always a very showy affair, with him showing up in a tuxedo and charming a pretty young girl in an elaborate pink gown. The reality, however, was of him in a rented suit sweating nervously in front of the door, unable to find the courage to actually open it.

He shook his head, pulling his shoulders back. He could do this – it was only prom, and it wasn't as if he hadn't met Arthur's family before. Granted, he had only talked with his brother Allistor (and been moderately terrified the whole time), but he assured himself that nothing as simple as this could scare a hero like him. He was practically indestructible.

He reached forward quickly ringing the bell and pulling his hand back to his side, standing rigidly on the doorstep. A few seconds later, the door opened and Arthur walked out, hurriedly shoving a hand over his mouth and quietly shutting the door. Alfred raised his eyebrows as he grabbed his wrist and began pulling him down the sidewalk. Once they had gotten out of the house's range of sight, the hand was removed from his mouth.

"Alright, I think we're safe for now, but we should move quickly just in case," Arthur sighed out in relief, "If my Mum catches us, she'll subject us to questions and pictures for so long we might as well skip the dance altogether. I thought it better that we just leave as stealthily as we can."

Alfred let out a small laugh, staring at him with affection in his eyes. "Hello to you too," He said sarcastically, "You look nice."

Though the words were spoken in a mocking tone, he really did mean it – Arthur looked absolutely stunning. His eyes seemed to sparkle, his usually unruly hair looked slightly tamer, and his suit fit him perfectly – he wouldn't be surprised if it had been tailored specifically to his slim frame.

"Oh, come off it," Arthur stated, rolling his eyes, "Don't act as if you wouldn't do the exact same thing, because we both know that you would."

"I wasn't saying that I wouldn't," Alfred shrugged with a sly smile, "I was just saying that you looked nice, is all."

Arthur snorted, but gave him a genuine smile anyways. "You don't look half bad either, I suppose."

"Thanks," Alfred snarked, grinning at him before turning his head to look at his boyfriend's house, "You know, we may want to go back, considering our carpool is waiting outside the door."

"Carpool?" Arthur asked, looking at him in confusion.

Alfred nodded, pointing towards the car parked in the street behind them. "Yeah, I mean that is how I got here. Gilbert has his license, so he agreed to drive us and Mattie to the prom."

"Oh. Yes, that would probably be a good idea then," Arthur turned around before stopping in his tracks, eyes widening in surprise, "Bloody hell, please no."

"What?" Alfred asked before turning and seeing Allistor, face pulled into a scowl as he stormed down the sidewalk towards them. Arthur returned the glare, but slowly and reluctantly walked forward to meet him, arms crossed.

"What exactly is it that you think you're doing?" Allistor questioned, looking over the both of them with a frosty stare.

Arthur huffed, lifting his chin up in defiance. "We're leaving for the dance. I hardly think it's any of your business."

Allistor paused, looking taken aback. "None of my business?" He laughed out, "I think when you're sneaking out of the house with some strange boy it's plenty of my business, prom or not."

"Allistor, I've been dating Alfred for months now, so I'd appreciate it if you'd drop this ridiculous over-protective brother thing!" Arthur burst out, eyebrows furrowed, "And you and I both know how Mum is – we'd be late if I didn't leave immediately!"

"I guess that is true," He replied reluctantly, "But still –"

"We're leaving now," Arthur interrupted, walking past him, "Don't worry, I'll let her take all the pictures she likes after the dance."

Allistor stood there, dumbfounded, as Arthur continued on his way, stopping only to raise an eyebrow at Alfred and gesture for him to follow. Alfred began to walk in the same direction, but was stopped by an arm across his chest.

"Hey," Allistor threatened, still managing to look menacing even after being told off by his little brother, "You better take care of him, or you'll have me to answer to."

"Y-yes sir," Alfred stuttered out, trying to pretend that he wasn't terrified of the man, "I will absolutely do that!"

"Oh, don't 'sir' the wanker, Alfred," Arthur called out from over his shoulder, "You'll inflate his ego more than it already is."

Alfred snickered as the both of them hopped into the backseat of Gilbert's car, ignoring the indignant shout that came from behind them. He flashed a grin at Arthur, slamming the door shut just before the car took off.

"Geez, what took you so long?" Gilbert complained, sneaking a glance to the backseat before concentrating on the road in front of them, "I was about to drive off without you."

"Extenuating circumstances," Arthur answered, and Alfred stared at him with a mixture of pride and adoration.

"Well, at least we're all here now," Matthew reasoned, causing Arthur to look up in surprise.

"Matthew!" He exclaimed, letting out a startled little laugh, "I honestly forgot that you were even here."

Matthew let out a long-suffering sigh before turning around and, with a tight smile, saying, "It's totally fine."

"What?" Gilbert cried out from the driver's seat, a look of disbelief on his face, "How could anybody forget the awesome me's date for the night?"

Matthew flushed, sending Gilbert a reprimanding look, but the damage had already been done. Alfred looked between the two of them warily, both of them avoiding meeting his eyes (not that it was too hard, considering they were both in the front seat).

"Wait," He paused, trying to comprehend what he had just heard, "You guys are going to the prom…together?"

"Well I wasn't going to go alone!" Matthew defended, a heated blush still on his face, "Gilbert asked, and I said yes. It's as simple as that."

"I didn't even know that you knew each other," Alfred pouted, and Arthur laughed, placing a hand on his arm.

"It's just a date, sweetheart," He assured him, "Don't let it ruin the night."

Alfred rolled his eyes at the almost motherly tone he had taken, but leaned forward and pressed his lips against Arthur's anyway. Matthew and Gilbert both scrunched up their faces in mild disgust.

"Thank god, we're finally here!" Gilbert exclaimed, "I don't think I could stand being in the car with you two for another second."

Alfred let out a snicker, sliding himself out of the car and practically running to the other side to open the door for Arthur. His boyfriend raised an eyebrow at his antics, but accepted it anyway, linking their arms together once he'd gotten both feet on the ground. He bit his lip, smiling up at him, before asking, "Are you ready?"

Alfred grinned, tugging him forward across the pavement towards the entrance to the school. "Ready as I'll ever be, babe."

"Hey, wait!" Gilbert called from behind them, running up to them with Matthew in tow, "I've gotta ask you guys something!"

They stopped in their tracks, sending him a questioning look, before he asked, "So have you guys put any more thought into the t-shirt thing? Because I know that you said yes, but we still haven't actually done anything about it, you know?"

Arthur stared at him in disbelief. "Do you really think this is the appropriate time to talk about this, Gilbert?" He questioned, not waiting for a response before re-linking his arm with Alfred's and hurrying towards the front doors once more.

"Yes!" Gilbert yelled, one hand cupped to his mouth, but he neglected to run after them this time, leaving them to walk in themselves.

Alfred grinned over at his boyfriend as they handed their tickets over and walked into the gym, the pink-ish light enveloping them in its glow. He wasn't exactly sure what the theme was that year (he thought that the posters said something about Italy), but whatever it was seemed to include a multitude of pink, red, and flowers in various shades of pink and red. It wasn't exactly his cup of tea, but Arthur seemed to like it, so he kept shut on the matter.

"Would you like to dance?" Arthur asked, extending one hand to him with a gentle smile tugging at the corners of his lips. Alfred grasped his hand with enthusiasm, dragging him towards the center of the gym, where there was a crowd of miscellaneous juniors and seniors dancing with abandon.

Alfred immediately began to dance in the most ridiculous and flailing manner possible, shaking his hips from side to side with his hands thrown up above his head. Arthur joined in, though much less wildly, asking, "Where did you learn how to dance?"

"Nowhere!" Alfred exclaimed, practically shouting over the sound of the music, "Why?"

"You have a very unique style," He snarked, almost drowned out by the noise, "I was just wondering if it was natural or something that needs to be taught."

Alfred pouted, the expression looking very off-kilter combined with the flamboyant movement of his limbs. "Okay, now you're just making fun of me," He complained, "But I'll have you know that the way I dance is totally awesome!"

"I never said it wasn't, darling," Arthur confessed with a smirk on his face, "In fact, I like it. It's very…you."

"What's that supposed to mean?" He questioned, an indignant look on his face.

Before he could reply, however, the music suddenly changed to something slower, more soft, and Arthur immediately paled. "You know, I'm actually feeling rather tired," He declared, trying to pull away from the crowd, "I think that I'd like to sit down."

Alfred grabbed his wrist, pulling him even closer to him than he'd been before. "But Artie," He whined, "It's a slow song! We've gotta dance!"

Arthur attempted to tug his hand away, but Alfred's grip was too strong. "That is exactly why we shouldn't dance." He explained, looking hopefully over at the section of the room that housed the tables.

"What?" Alfred asked, a little bit of hurt sparking in his eyes, "Why not?"

"It's just –"Arthur stopped, a blush appearing at the tips of his ears, "Well, frankly, it's embarrassing."

"Embarrassing?" Alfred questioned, "You think it's embarrassing to dance with me?"

"No!" He exclaimed, grasping Alfred's other hand in his own, "It's embarrassing to dance with you in front of other people."

Alfred pulled him closer, wrapping his hands around his waist. "Well that's just stupid." He declared, shrugging his shoulders.

"Excuse me?" Arthur asked indignantly as he rested his hands more comfortably against Alfred's chest, "And why, exactly, do you think that?"

"Well for one, I'm your boyfriend. Everyone knows it, so nobody's going to care. For two, you're my date, and literally everyone here is slow dancing with their dates because we're at prom. And for three –" He pointed out, a sly grin sliding onto his face, "We're already dancing."

Arthur looked down in surprise, suddenly noticing that they had, in fact, been swaying to the beat of a song for most of their conversation. He scowled, staring up at his boyfriend with contempt. "Alfred F. Jones, you are a dirty cheater."

"Yeah, but I still won didn't I?" He asked, a look of triumph on his face as he tugged him even closer, one hand resting in the small of his back.

"I suppose you did," Arthur reasoned, face even redder under the glowing lights, before leaning forward and burying his face into Alfred's chest, "But that doesn't mean that I have to like it."

Alfred rested his chin on the top of his head, grinning as he felt Arthur smiling into his jacket.

Well that was way longer than it was supposed to be! The whole reason I was writing this chapter was because of what happens after the prom, but it just got so long that I had to put that off until next chapter. So chapter 26 is going to start off not immediately after this one ends, but still on the same night.

This chapter also took way longer in terms of real time, too, which I am so sorry about. I tried to write as much as I could, but I had so much homework it was insane (I forgot how intense AP classes were). Thank you all so much for sticking with me though! You're all such sweethearts for reviewing, favoriting, following, and even just reading this, and I appreciate every single one of you!

~Alix Marie