Bet

Arthur had recently started hanging out with some people from work, going out for dinner and drinks every few weeks. Arthur tended to be pretty private about his personal life at work, so he was hesitant to go, but eventually he decided that it would be fun. He could use a drink after work after all. Arthur talked about his brothers and his parents a little, but didn't get too deep into his personal feelings about his family. He stayed away from the topic of relationships, but he loved to talk about his cats and show pictures of them on his phone. And once he got a few drinks in him, he loved to bitch about work, which started the fire in the group. A majority of what they talked about when they got together was complaints about work. But this time was different. It was a Saturday night, the weekend before St. Patrick's Day, and the goal was to get smashed. They were going out to a club that was having a special deal for the holiday that called to drinkers. Everyone in their group wore some kind of green and most of them had on a glow bracelet or necklace.

Their group consisted of three women and six men, including Arthur. When they arrived, half of them made a beeline to the bar while the other half went to find some tables for them to sit at. Arthur wasn't sure what to get at first, but Liz suggested something that he was really curious about. Something called a 'lipstick lesbian'. He didn't know what was in it, but it was damn good. Arthur was already a little buzzed when they arrived; he'd done some pre-drinking at home so he wouldn't have to spend as much in a bar. After all, he wasn't driving; he'd been picked up by Bella, Michelle, and Vlad.

Their table was by the pool tables across from the dancefloor. Gilbert and Antonio were playing a game of pool, Lovino stood by watching. Francis, who usually didn't come to their outings because Arthur insisted they not invite him, was out flirting with girls by the bar. Liz and Bella were on the dancefloor, and Michelle and Vlad were sitting at the table with Arthur. Arthur had a blue drink in his hand; he had no idea what it was but he knew it was strong and delicious.

"I can't believe they invited Francis, I hate that guy…" Arthur muttered before taking another sip of his drink. He was able to tolerate him better now that he'd had a few drinks, but he was still talking to him as little as possible.

"Don't even pay any attention to him," said Vlad. "Be glad that he's flirting with those random girls at the bar instead of with you." It was known that Arthur was gay, but he'd made it clear from day one that he wasn't interested in Francis. Though that didn't stop him from flirting with him any chance he got.

"Yeah, the more distance between us the better I feel."

Before too long, Arthur's eyes were drawn to the entrance. In walked a tall, really attractive man with blond hair and glasses. He wore a white V-neck shirt under a brown jacket with a furry black collar, tight blue jeans, and brown boots. The man went straight to the bar, quickly getting the attention of the bartender to order his usual jack and coke. "Hey, check him out," Arthur said, nodding his head in the man's direction.

Vlad and Michelle looked towards the bar. "The one with the brown jacket?" Michelle asked. "He's really cute~ I wonder if he's alone."

"He just walked in by himself," said Arthur. The Brit then grinned as he got an idea. "Why don't you go talk to him?"

Michelle looked at Arthur in surprise and slight embarrassment. "What, me? No, he's probably waiting for someone. No way doesn't a guy that hot have someone. What about you, why don't you go talk to him? He might like guys, there's no telling."

Arthur shook his head. "Nope, not gonna happen. He's way out of my league. Besides, you won't know if he's single unless you ask. And it's not like it has to go anywhere; you could just flirt, get him to buy you a drink." Arthur then sighed. "Though maybe you're right, maybe you couldn't anywhere with him."

Michelle looked from the cute guy at the bar to Arthur with a raised eyebrow. That sounded like a challenge. "You're saying I can't? I could get him if I really wanted to."

"Oh yeah? Are you willing to bet on that? $20 says you can't get that guy's number," Arthur offered.

"Oooh we're betting now, huh?" Vlad said in excitement. "I'll put $20 in saying she can! Hey guys, we're making a bet over here!" he called to the guys over by the pool table, which caught Antonio and Gilbert's interest. The three of them came back to the table to hear what they were talking about.

"What's the bet?" Gilbert asked.

"Arthur is betting a 20 that Michelle can't get the number of that guy over at the bar," Vlad said as he pointed out the man in question, who was now sipping his drink and looking out over the dancefloor. "And I say that she can."

Lovino was pretty uninterested, but Antonio and Gilbert were ready to take that bet. Michelle was super pretty and sweet, and they knew that if she really put forth the effort, she could make any guy putty in her hands. "Hell yeah, I'll get in on that!" said Gilbert, him and Antonio both putting $20 on the table with Vlad.

"So what do you say?" Arthur asked Michelle, since she hadn't actually agreed yet.

Michelle hesitated at first, but seeing how confident the others were in her ability to do it, she decided to go for it. "Fine, it's a bet. But if you lose, you only have to give up $20 which will have to be split up against all of us. And that's not fair. So in addition to the $20, if you lose…" She hummed in thought for a moment, trying to think of how to make this more interesting. "…You have to take your shirt off and twerk in the middle of the dancefloor for everyone to see."

Arthur blushed in embarrassment at the thought, but he nodded anyway. "You're on."

.

.

.

At the bar, the handsome man was leaning back against the bar with his drink in his hand. He appeared to be looking for someone on the dancefloor, but it was pretty crowded in there since it was a Saturday night. It was also pretty dark even with the flashing lights, a fog machine making it hard to make out faces. Michelle walked over to the bar next to the man and ordered another drink, making it seem like she was just there to get a drink without the intent to talk to anyone specific. While she waited, she looked over casually at the person next to her. She stood out with her glowing green bands around her head and wrists. "It's pretty crowded in here," she said over the music, getting the man's attention. "I wish they'd tone it down on the fog machine a bit, it looks like it'd be hard to breathe on the dancefloor."

The man nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it makes it a little hard to see, but I know the layout well enough to find my way around."

"You come here a lot then?" she asked, trying to grasp onto something to keep conversation going. "This is my first time here."

"Yeah I come here all the time; they have dance classes during the week that are pretty fun." He held his free hand out to her to shake. "My name's Alfred."

He gave his name first, that was a good sign for Michelle. She took his hand and shook it lightly. "Michelle. I hope you don't mind me saying, but you're one of the better looking people I've seen in here." She knew it was a little bold to say so, but she had to be bold if she wanted to get this guy interested in her.

Alfred chuckled lightly and scratched the back of his neck, a nervous habit. "Thanks…You're…not so bad yourself," he said awkwardly. He wasn't very good at talking to people who were flirting with him when he wasn't interested. "I'm sorry; I don't mean anything by it. I'm actually looking for someone right now. I can imagine how drunk he must be by now and I thought he'd be on the dancefloor but I don't see him…I should go look for him."

Oh, so he was with someone. Could be just a friend, could be a boyfriend, but the point was that he didn't seem to be interested. Which was fine with Michelle, she was just doing this for a bet anyway. And if it was just her money on the line, she might've let it go. But Vlad, Gil, and Antonio were also betting on her, and she'd feel bad if they all lost money because she gave up too soon. "…Uh…well, here's the thing. I sort of made a bet with my friends that I could get your phone number…If you help me win, I'll buy you a drink and you'll get a funny show out on the dancefloor." It was worth a shot, people usually said honesty was the best policy.

And it seemed to catch Alfred's interest. "A bet? Tell me more, what's at stake?"

Michelle had her back to the table, Alfred facing in their direction. "You see the guys over by the pool tables with all the glow sticks? Look but don't be obvious."

Alfred glanced up over Michelle's shoulder to look at the group. He couldn't believe he hadn't seen them before with all the glowing stuff on them. "Yeah I see them."

"The blond one with the big eyebrows bet that I couldn't get your number. If he loses, we split $20 between us and he has to twerk on the dancefloor without a shirt on. And if he wins, he gets $20 from each of us…"

Alfred looked at Michelle with raised eyebrows of surprise. "Oh really?" The American grinned and snickered at the thought. "Now that I have to see. Alright, I'll help you out." Without any more hesitation, Alfred grabbed a little napkin from the bar and a pen, writing his number down before handing the napkin to her.

Back at the table, the boys couldn't hear them talking but they watched the whole time. And when they saw the man grinning and writing something down, Gilbert and Antonio started smacking each other's shoulders in excitement knowing that they were about to win. And Arthur was turning red with a mixture of emotions; embarrassment knowing that he was going to have to twerk in front of everyone now, and a bit of anger. Michelle soon turned around and headed back to the table with her drink in one hand and the napkin in the other. "I got it!" she yelled in victory, the guys who won cheering in happiness and excitement.

"You know what that means, Arthur!" said Vlad.

But Arthur wasn't paying attention to them. His focus was still on the American. The Brit stood up after downing the rest of his drink, walking over to the bar to the seemingly unsuspecting man, much to his friends' surprise. "You wanker, you gave her your number?! Why the hell would you do that?!" he yelled with his hands on his hips.

Instead of giving a verbal answer, Alfred pulled Arthur into his arms and dipped him back; leaning forward to give him a deep and passionate kiss on the lips. Arthur gasped into the kiss in surprise, wrapping his arms around the American's neck instinctually to hold himself up, even though Alfred wasn't going to let him fall. Meanwhile at the table, the guys were going crazy and freaking out as they watched the scene unfold. When the kiss broke, Alfred looked down at Arthur with a grin. "Because I want to see you twerk on the dancefloor~ Come on, Artie, you didn't really think I was flirting with her, did you?" He pulled Arthur back up straight but didn't let go of the Brit's waist.

Arthur's face was red, partially from the alcohol and partially from embarrassment. So Michelle told him about the bet. "…You're still a wanker for not letting me win. I don't think I can actually go out there and do it, I only agreed to it because I was so sure I'd win."

Alfred chuckled at Arthur's words. "Tell you what. I'll buy you a shot of liquid courage before you go. Just remember those dance classes and try to work the twerk into it. Look inside yourself and try to remember your punk rock days from back in college~ You didn't give a shit who looked back then, and you shouldn't care now. I'll be in the front, just keep your eyes on me."

Arthur took a deep breath and nodded. "Okay…Yeah, punk rock. I've got this." He accepted the shot Alfred ordered him and tossed it back, shaking his head trying to get it into his system faster. "Okay, here we go!"

.

.

.

In the front of the crowd watching Arthur dance and twerk with his shirt off was Alfred and the Brit's work friends. They were all learning a lot more about Arthur tonight. Like the fact that he had a tattoo of a red rose on his hip and a union jack guitar on his shoulder blade. Or the fact that Arthur was actually a really good dancer. But the most surprising thing that Arthur's work friends learned about him tonight was the fact that Alfred is his husband.

.

.

.