Character introduction time! (Yaaayyy!) Okay, Tino = Finland, because everyone loves Finland plus a secret /not so secret character at the end of the chapter! Enjoy ; )

The memory of the night that Arthur had spent with Alfred at David's grave was still fresh in his mind. Along with Francis, the Brit had spent quite a bit of quality time with Alfred and his boyfriend Honda as well. Even Gilbert and Matthew would join them for most of their outings. As the days passed, Arthur had noticed the American slowly returning to his old, happy self. Perhaps all he needed was for someone to listen to him, comfort him, and tell him that everything was going to be okay.

Today, however, the Englishman was on an entirely new adventure as he began his first day of his twelve – step program. Francis told Arthur how proud he was over breakfast, and, although he had never been so nervous for anything in his entire life, the green – eyed blond promised he would try his best no matter how hard things might get.

"Well… this looks like the place I'm supposed to be…" Arthur said with a deep breath as he opened the door with as much mental strength as he could muster. 'Smile, don't let them know how nervous you are.' He thought to himself. Truth be told, everyone else was probably just as nervous as Arthur had been.

"All right, everyone, let's take our seats!" The instructor called. He seemed friendly enough from what the Brit could tell. "As some of you may know, my name is Mr. Väinämöinen, but for the sake of confusion and headaches, you can call me Tino instead."

Arthur nodded. The instructor seemed friendly enough, perhaps he could tolerate these meetings.

"Now, I know that all of you had probably just woken up this morning and were a little afraid to come here, just like I was," Tony continued. "But I really would like to get to know all of you and I would like all of you to get to know each other."

A few grumbles could be heard around the room, and even the green – eyed blond showed an expression of worry with a shake of his head.

The counsellor laughed, his smile only adding even more innocence to his youthful features. "It's okay, I'm not going to ask you what brought you here on the very first day. Today, we're going to keep things nice and sweet, and maybe even play a game or two to break the ice. I've even made cookies this morning! Now, I'll start with the person on my right. Just tell me your name, and something about yourself. It could be anything you want, like who your favorite family member is, what kind of career you have, just very simple and no pressure."

Arthur must have been lost in thought throughout most of the session as he jumped when the person next to him lightly nudged him in the shoulder. "Oh, erm- I-I'm terribly sorry." The Englishman apologized with a blush across his nose.

Some of the people sitting around the circle smiled at his awkwardness and nodded, most likely finding him adorable instead of strange. Other people simply looked like they did not want to be there, either with angry or disinterested expressions on their face, or looking absent minded and holding onto their arm for a comfort mechanism.

"Well, my name is Arthur, and I work in a call center. I know, it's not very glamorous but I've been doing it for a few years now, and I guess I enjoy it. My boyfriend's name is Francis, who I've met at the office and my best friend's name is Alfred, who is our manager. My favorite hobby is quite simply. I enjoy drinking tea by the fireplace while reading a book after a long day's work by the fireplace, and that's all for now." He finished with a nervous smile and a rub to the back of his head.

The blond had to admit, he was very thankful that he did not have to admit what caused his addiction, how long he was on the drugs, or even mention the name Ivan. Truth be told, he had a rather enjoyable first day and most of the other men and women in the group seemed to have taken a liking to him.

Even though the day went better than Arthur had imagined, he was very excited to get home since Francis was making the two of them a special romantic dinner. The Englishman laughed to himself because the last time he had try to cook for Francis, it did not end very well but his boyfriend pretended to like the food nonetheless. He decided to check the phone and found a couple of text messages. One was from Francis, and the other was from Alfred. He decided to read the one from his partner first and tell him that he was on his way home.

Francis: I can't wait for you to come home, mon amour. You better not have ruined your appetite today! 3

Arthur: Don't worry, love. You know your cooking is my favorite. I'll be home in less than 20min.

Next, he read Alfred's message.

Alfred: Hey, Iggy! I smell something good cooking in your apartment! Save me leftovers!

Arthur: LOL! What are you doing in our apartment building, you creep? And yes, you can have the leftovers if you are lucky enough.

The man laughed and shook his head. That Alfred was always sneaking in and out of his employee's apartments, but he expected that from the American by now.

He suddenly felt a cold, eerie feeling as he approached the next block. A woman stood in front of him, she had long blond hair, wore a strange blue dress and had a large ribbon on the top of her head. Arthur tried to pay no mind to her and decided to keep walking past her.

This did not work well in his favor as the woman quickly grabbed him by the arm and forced him to face her.

"What the hell is your problem?!" He demanded. "I have no idea who you are, but if it's a fight your looking for, it's not very wise to start one with me!"