"So," Arthur began as Alfred approached the swingsets, hands thrust into his pockets, "Hello."

"Hey," Alfred grinned, unable to stop the bright smile from appearing on his face, "You look great!"

Arthur blushed, mumbling out a few words in dissent, but that didn't stop the words from being any less true. Part of him was simply glad to see the other boy, not having seen him for so long after having spent almost every day together. The other part of him, well – he couldn't deny that Arthur was exceedingly attractive. Of course, he'd been attractive when they were in class together, but this was something different altogether.

Summer had been good to Arthur. His hair was a slightly lighter shade, the messiness of it complimenting his face, and his skin, though still as pale as it had always been, seemed to glow in the light. The clothes he wore were casual, the simple jeans and t-shirt looking odd (but not unflattering) on the usually formal boy. And then, of course, were his eyes – their emerald green shined so beautifully in the summer sun.

"S-shut up," Arthur eventually sputtered out, the glare he was sporting contrasting the redness of his face, "Anyways, what do you have planned?"

"Planned?" Alfred asked, jolting out of his daze, "What do you mean?"

"What are we going to do?" Arthur asked, raising one eyebrow, "You must have invited me here for a reason other than just showing it to me. So what were you planning on us doing?"

"Uh," Alfred looked around, casting his eyes across the fair in the hopes that something would jump out at him, "I, um…"

Arthur crossed his arms, a smirk firmly planted on his face, and Alfred hung his head in shame. "Alright, you got me," He admitted, "I didn't really think this whole thing through. But trust me, there's plenty of stuff here to do!"

"Oh yes, I'm sure that there is," Arthur replied, one side of his mouth tugging upwards even further as he began to walk away from the swingsets, "You just don't know any."

Alfred let out an indignant huff as he hurried to catch up with Arthur, running across the uneven grass. "I do too!" He pouted, crossing his arms, "But I don't know what there is to do there that you would like."

Arthur stopped abruptly, turning to face him with a strange look on his face. "Alfred," He began, furrowing his eyebrows, "I didn't come to a fair with you to do things that I enjoy doing. I came because I wanted to see the things that you enjoy. Isn't that the point of you taking me to my first American fair?"

"Oh," Alfred breathed out, a small blush forming on his face at Arthur's bluntness, "Um, well, I guess that we could always buy some fried Oreos. I always like doing that."

Arthur scrunched up his nose, following Alfred as he took off towards the pavement. "Fried Oreos?" He questioned, letting out a small laugh, "What on earth is a fried Oreo? Honestly, it sounds like some ridiculously greasy American thing."

Alfred turned to face him as he neared the food area of the fair, shooting him a grin. "That is exactly what it is." He confirmed, walking up to the counter and leaving Arthur standing almost dumbstruck in the grass. After a few short moments he returned, carrying two small boxes. He handed one to Arthur, who stared at the oblong shapes inside with a look that resembled contempt.

"Alfred, you cannot be serious," He deadpanned, poking at one and cringing when his finger came out covered in chocolate and powdered sugar, "This is a heart attack waiting to happen."

"Of course it is," Alfred mumbled out through a mouthful of food, Arthur rolling his eyes at the sight, "That's the fun of it. Don't worry though, I only get them once a year, so it's not like I'm going to die from it."

Arthur looked almost scandalized, crossing his arms as he sat his box down on a picnic table. "I wasn't worried about you," He denied, "It's just an unhealthy thing in general, regardless if you or anyone else eats it."

"Actually, come to think of it," Alfred continued, pensively licking his fingers, "This is actually my second time eating them this year."

Arthur glanced up from where he had been staring at the Oreos, eyes flickering in interest. "Why is that?" He asked raising one eyebrow.

"Me and Mattie came down to the fair two days ago for my birthday," He replied as he threw his empty box into the trash, having practically inhaled the greasy food, "And we got some then. Well, I got some then. Matt only comes for the elephant ears."

Arthur froze, blanching as he stared at Alfred in shock. "Your birthday?" He murmured, watching as Alfred turned towards him nonchalantly.

"Yeah, I was born on the fourth. Pretty crazy, right?" He laughed out, shoving himself down onto the picnic table, "It's kind of awesome though, having fireworks on your birthday every year."

"Your birthday was two days ago," Arthur repeated, his face pale, "And you never told me."

Alfred stared at him, watching as the other boy's face grew slowly redder by the moment. "It never came up." He reasoned.

"Alfred," Arthur bit out, eyes beginning to water as he stared, "We dated for who knows how long, and you never thought to tell me when your birthday was?"

Alfred shrugged, hoping that the motion would calm the other boy down. "You never asked." He replied, crossing his arms guiltily.

"It's your birthday," Arthur retorted indignantly, "I shouldn't have to ask."

"It's not even that big of a deal," Alfred pleaded, reaching his arms forward as if to embrace the other boy, "Come on, Artie, just drop it. We're here to have fun, aren't we?"

Arthur shook his head in anger, biting his lip. "You're impossible," He snapped, and within seconds he was gone, storming off across the grass.

"Shit," Alfred muttered to himself, slapping a hand against his forehead as he began to follow after him. Arthur was quick, however, and within seconds he was almost fifty feet away. Alfred felt that familiar feeling of guilt rising in his chest. He couldn't believe that he had messed things up that quickly – it had been less than five minutes, and he'd already ruined whatever chance they might have had once more.

He hadn't seen exactly where Arthur had gone, the other boy having disappeared around a corner, but he continued to search anyway, picking up his pace a bit. He knew that this would happen, and yet he had gone ahead and asked him to hang out. I should have just left well enough alone, Alfred thought, eyes welling up with tears, We might not have been together, but at least he didn't hate me.

Alfred ducked around a building, leaning back against the wall and wiping his eyes with the back of one hand. He wished that he could go back in time six months, to where he and Arthur had been rolling in the snow and laughing, happy and in love. But it was summer now, and there was nothing left for him but to accept the fact that he had ruined everything they could have had between them. Alfred slid down to the ground, covering his face with his hands.

Alfred waited there alone for a few minutes, not moving from the position he was in, before he heard the sound of footsteps rounding the corner. He quickly stood up, wiping his hands on his jeans and hoping that his eyes were dryer than they felt as he came face-to-face with Arthur. The other boy stared at him, an apprehensive look on his face as he held his hands behind his back.

"There you are," Arthur breathed out, squinting in the summer sun, "I've been looking all over for you."

"Hey," Alfred replied, coughing a bit in an attempt to hide the shakiness of his voice, "I thought that you left, so I just kind of…came here."

Arthur scrunched up his nose, staring at the other boy in confusion. "Why would I have left the fair? We just got here."

"I –" Alfred stammered out, staring at the ground in order to hide his guilty expression, "I thought that you were angry at me."

"Oh, I was. I am," Arthur corrected himself, furrowing his eyebrows, "You were a right prat for not telling me it was your birthday – honestly, it's vital information. But I wouldn't just leave because of that one little detail. What kind of drama queen do you think I am?"

Alfred blushed, his face heating up with embarrassment before he scrunched his nose up in confusion. "Wait," He began, running one hand through his sun-kissed hair, "If you weren't leaving the fair, then where did you go?"

At this, Arthur's face flushed as well, his eyes widening before he turned away, refusing to meet Alfred's gaze. "Ah, yes, well," He stumbled over his words, biting at his lip, hands still held firmly behind his back, "It's not very good, and not nearly as thoughtful as I'd like it to be considering that somebody didn't tell me until it was too late, but – well, here."

Suddenly, an object was thrust into Alfred's chest, and he stared down to find a small teddy bear resting in Arthur's hands. It was about the size of his forearm, its fur shining white in the sun, with a small red, white, and blue ribbon tied around its neck. Alfred took it from him, turning it over in his hands before staring at Arthur in confusion.

"Happy birthday," Arthur muttered out, still staring pointedly away from him, "It's just a silly little thing, I know, and you deserve much better than just a child's toy, but it's all that they had. If I had had any actual time it would something much better, but for now you're just going to have to deal with it."

Alfred stared at him with an emotion akin to amazement. "Let me get this straight," He stated, holding the bear gingerly in his palms, "You're not angry with me because I didn't tell you. You're angry with me because the fact that I didn't tell you means you couldn't get me a nice enough present."

"Well, when you put it that way it seems much less serious than it actually is," Arthur mumbled, indignant, and Alfred couldn't help himself – he reached forward and threw his arms around the other boy, a blindingly bright grin on his face.

"Alfred, what on earth –" Arthur laughed out, lifting his hands up to rest on his shoulders, the taller boy pulling back a bit to beam at him.

"You're the coolest person a guy could know," He blurted out, watching as Arthur's face somehow got even redder at the statement. In the summer sun, the blush seemed to make his face cuter than it usually was, and Alfred had to force himself away to keep from placing a kiss upon his cheek. I'm so glad that you're the person I'm in love with, Alfred thought, and his smile softened with fondness.

"This is perfect," He gestured towards the bear in his hand, love swelling in his chest, "You shouldn't ever feel like anything you do isn't enough for me, because you'll always be enough for me."

Arthur's breath hitched in his chest, and they both stared at each other for a moment, not a sound passing between them. After a few seconds, however, Arthur turned away, blush heavy on his cheeks, and Alfred did the same, lifting a hand to rub sheepishly at the back of his neck. "Anyway," He continued, "Where did you even get this thing?"

"What?" Arthur asked, shaking his head as if pulling himself out of a daze, "Oh, yes, that – I won it."

Alfred raised an eyebrow. "You won it?"

"Mhm," Arthur confirmed, nodding his head a bit, "At one of those little booths they had down the way."

"You've got to be kidding me," Alfred blurted out in amazement, "That's not even possible."

Arthur stared at him indignantly, crossing his arms. "I assure you, it certainly is possible. You've got the proof in your hands."

"No way," Alfred shook his head, beginning to slowly walk along the side of the building, Arthur almost unconsciously keeping in stride, "Look, no matter how good you may be at throwing rings or whatever, you just can't win a game at a fair. It's all rigged."

"I don't know what to tell you, Alfred, but I did win it for you," Arthur laughed out, "Honestly, it sounds like you're a bit bitter. Have you had many bad experiences?"

"Shut up," Alfred pouted, playfully shoving Arthur's shoulder. Arthur only grinned in response, not seeming to mind when Alfred left his hand resting there rather than moving it away.

Oh yes, Arthur, why would anybody ever think of you as a drama queen?

After two weeks, we're back! As it turns out, the SAT isn't really condusive to fanfiction writing. Either way, though, this story is back on track just in time for the end. Suffice to say, I have (once again) procrastinated the ending, so the next chapter will still be them at the fair doing other fair things.

Thank all of you so much for sticking with me through all of this! Your views, reviews, follows, and favorites are what keep me writing this even when it gets really difficult! You're all the sweetest readers a writer could have, honestly!

~Alix Marie