To say Arthur was nervous would be the understatement of the year.

He decided to let at least a day go by before calling Alfred for coffee - so that he wouldn't seem as desperate and to settle his nerves. He also spent quite a bit of time trying to figure out if that had actually happened or if it was just a hallucination brought on by his own guilt, fantasies, and exhaustion. He still had a bit of trouble sleeping at night, after all…

After a bit of time, however, he decided that whether it was a fantasy or not he could still call him and either make a total fool of himself or lay down the foundation to work on rebuilding their relationship. And, when he put it like that, the opportunity sounded too tempting to pass up.

Arthur wasn't sure what he had been hoping for when he called; did he want their old relationship, or just a friendship? Or maybe something less lasting - just an apology? Maybe he just wanted to see Alfred again? He wasn't sure… He didn't even want to attempt to decipher what Alfred wanted from this coffee meeting, but he didn't hope for much. For all he knew, the hero could be taking him out just to tell him to stay away from him for good this time. Anything was possible.

But, nonetheless, one awkward phone call and a few hours later, Arthur had arrived first at a Starbucks shop and was waiting on his pumpkin spice tea, since he didn't really like coffee all that much. He'd usually order black tea, but he was feeling a bit festive - autumn was his favorite season, after all.

Maybe he won't even show up… Arthur contemplated, frowning slightly. Or maybe I imagined everything - the grocery store, the phone call… He discreetly took out a swiss army knife and pricked his finger with it, not satisfied until he saw a drop of blood. He knew this would look odd to anyone else, but this was one of the only ways he knew how to check if he was in the real world. Whenever he saw blood, it seemed to take him out of anything he could possible be in, since he was a bit squeamish. Besides, then he could also use his power to make him see his finger as fine. When he focused on one, singular, specific trait, it was easier to distinguish between what it felt like in his mind vs. reality.

Well, I guess I'm really here, Arthur said, taking a napkin and holding it to his finger. So, we'll just wait a few more minutes.

His tea arrived, so he took it and walked over to an open table by the window. After all, no need to pick anywhere private, right? This could be many things, but he hardly supposed a "date" was one of them.

Eventually, after having to wait for a few minutes, he saw a wiggling cowlick bounce by in the window as Alfred walked past where Arthur was sitting and came into the coffee shop.

Tingle!

The door softly opened with a jingle of the bell above, and there stood the sandy blonde. He was standing at the counter, a neutral look on his face as he picked out what drink he wanted and then took a number. Quietly, he walked over to where Arthur was sitting and took a seat. He seemed so unemotional as he sat down and intertwined his fingers together and rested his chin on top of his hands. Blinking slowly, he looked up at Arthur and gave a soft yawn, "So, you came?"

Arthur felt his mouth run dry and he took a quick sip of his tea. "I'm the one who called - it'd be rude if I didn't…" He stared down at his cup, focusing and trying to turn it green. When he accomplished that, he took a deep breath and imagined imaginary walls being broken down, allowing the cup to turn back to it's normal, brown color. He looked back up. Alfred was still there.

So this part isn't a dream… Hopefully.

"How have you been?" Arthur asked, taking another sip. He was going to have to get another one at this rate - it was already half gone.

A small smile tugged at the corner of Alfred's mouth. It looked almost like a smirk of sorts as he blinked his sandy lashes slowly - thoughtfully. "Heh. I've been fine."

"That's good," Arthur replied quickly, out of habit. He chewed at his lip a little. "Um… I hope I'm not interrupting your work…"

"I have the day off today, but it's going to be a personal day for me to…" he looked away and closed his eyes thoughtfully, sounding as though he were having trouble thinking of how to word what he wanted to say. "Ah…. Hmmm….."

"... Get things done?" Arthur guessed, tilting his head a little. Honestly, his first thought was so that he could spend time with his kids, but… he supposed he just didn't feel right mentioning Alfred's kids right now. And he supposed that Alfred didn't want to talk to Arthur about his children, for obvious reasons.

Alfred opened his eyes, smiling behind his hands and finally adding, "Oh! And to decorate Françoise's room with some more furniture, since, after all," he seemed a bit too cheery as his smile grew. "I haven't seen my little girl in over a year, and now she's old enough to tell me what kind of furniture she likes~"
"... Ah, yes…" Arthur felt that familiar wave of guilt crashing into his stomach, colliding and swirling with his tea and making him feel quite ill, though he just returned Alfred's smile as he took another shaky sip. "That… makes sense." Don't talk about it, Arthur told himself. Let him talk about it - he's allowed to. If he asks questions, answer them and nothing more.

Alfred seemed to have a rather… Evil look of glee in his eye as he started babbling about all the new things he had learned from his growing little girl, and would have gone on longer about her, too, till he heard his number called.

"Oh," he noted dully, standing up as that gleam in his eyes disappeared instantly. Yawning again, Arthur noticed that there were rings around Alfred's eyes as he turned swiftly and went up to the counter to grab whatever it was he had ordered.

Arthur frowned a little as he watched him. He could understand why Alfred would be acting this way with him - he deserved it, after all - but he couldn't help but feel that something else was going on with him. He had assumed that Alfred might be feeling… upset over finding out the truth for awhile, but more angry than anything else. Seeing the bags under his eyes, and how easily he turned back to "bored and yawning" made him wonder if… Alfred had trouble sleeping at night, too. But why would he? He knew the truth now, he had his little girl…

Arthur felt something cold jolt through his as he remembered that Alfred proposed to him. It was something he had thought about before, of course, but now he thought about it under new light… Alfred most likely felt betrayed by him - after all, you don't go doing something like proposing lightly… He must have felt worse than Arthur thought - maybe he even felt that, that Arthur had been lying to him the entire time, and was just using him for his own amusement… he was a "villain" after all… Did he - no, he couldn't have cried over him, could he have?

The thought made him feel even worse than before - he'd have to excuse himself to go throw up soon or something if this kept on…

And, suddenly, Alfred sat back down with his coffee and practically chugged it, looking like he was coming back to life as he put the cup down and grinned, now at Arthur, catching him off guard. W-why was Alfred grinning?!

"Um," Arthur shifted in his seat a little, glancing away. "Why are you… smiling like that?" He had been about to say "looking at me like that," but decided that was assuming too much.

"I just thought of something nice!" Alfred chirped, pointing out the window and gazing out it with a rather intense, almost distant look in his eyes. "Turn around…."

Arthur glanced back at him with furrowed brows, feeling as if something was off. He turned around to look anyway, though, seeing as he didn't feel as if he could refuse. "What is it?"

Looking out the window, he saw a lilac bush in full bloom outside the window, looking stunning with the light peeking through its branches.

Arthur's eyes widened as he looked at it, a blush coming to his cheeks as a memory assaulted his mind.

It was one of their dates again, before all of this mess. They took a simple walk through the park, like they would often do… It was nice to just walk and talk and hold hands, most times. This time, however, they strayed from the park path and went off into a more wooded area, blazing their own trail. Arthur tripped over a tree root, much to his embarrassment, though he yelled at Alfred and claimed it was his fault for going too fast - "You're probably hovering above the ground!" he remembered accusing him.

Before Arthur could get up, though, Alfred put a hand on his shoulder and pointed next to them. "Look!" he said. So, Arthur did, and saw a pretty lilac bush in full bloom. He smiled a little, thinking they looked nice, and apparently Alfred did, too, as he plucked one of them off and placed it gently in Arthur's hair. He had blushed and moved to take it out, but Alfred stopped him.

He'd never forget the hero's next words: "Keep it in~ That way you'll have petals and a blush both in full bloom~"

… Obviously, for the rest of the day, Arthur had to endure the torture of feeling his face burning as they continued their date, since there was no way he could refuse his request.

Arthur sucked in a breath as he came back to present time, feeling that his face had heated up during his memory. He groaned to himself and took a sip of his tea, trying not to smile - however sadly it would have been. "Th-they're pretty, in bloom like that," he mumbled, immediately cursing himself out. Why did he say it like that!?

Yet Alfred seemed to agree as his gaze and smile softened as he slowly swirled his mixing stick in his coffee and gave a curt nod. "Yeah… They really are…."

They sat there in silence for a minute, and Arthur couldn't tell if it was comfortable or awkward. For him, it was definitely the latter.

"E-excuse me for a moment…" Arthur told him, quickly standing up to fastwalk to the bathroom. He had to splash some water on his face - he felt much too hot for a casual meeting… He still wasn't sure of Alfred's motives, either. Right now he assumed that he just wanted to torment him and then cast him aside for good. It was the only explanation as to why he'd babble about Françoise and then bring up the lilac bush: to remind him what he lost, as if he didn't already know and antagonize himself over it.

But, on the other hand…. Alfred might not have that many ill intentions at all… It was possible that, really, he could have only wanted to antagonize Arthur for a bit, but, otherwise, the lilac bush... that was a bit of reminiscing that had randomly happened, just then, wasn't it?

Arthur shook his head a little, turning the water on as cold as it would go before pooling it in his hands. The cold helped him focus, just a little bit more, and it was time to ask himself a question as he splashed it over his face…

Should he look into Alfred's mind?

All of this mystery was driving him absolutely bonkers - if he could just figure out exactly what Alfred wanted out of this meeting, they could get there easier and Arthur wouldn't be caught of guard… But was it really right to look in his mind? He had done it once before, but that had only been for revenge, otherwise he gave Alfred his privacy. After all, he wouldn't want someone poking around in his mind!

He sighed and turned the water off, letting cold droplets drip off of his face and bangs into the sink, his eyes closed. What should I do…

He stayed there, thinking for a few moments. His hand reached out to grab a paper towel to wipe his face with as he concluded that he shouldn't look into Alfred's mind. He had already taken so much from him, he could at least leave him his thoughts…

Arthur discarded the paper before walking through the door, back to the table again with a small, polite smile. "Sorry about that."

Alfred gave him a concerned look and reached a hand out, yet it stopped in midair as he blinked slowly…. And then retracted his hand sheepishly and sucked in a breath. Looking away, he let it out and just shrugged. "I-it's fine…." Chewing his lip, he stood up suddenly and picked up his cup. "I'll.. See you later…" and with that, he started to turn away and exit the table, his shoulders looking tense - hell, his whole body language looked tense. "Just call me, bu-but I got to get going…."

"Um, okay." Arthur felt confused, but he stood up with him anyways, still holding up his smile. "Should we meet here again?"

Alfred stopped and turned back to look at him a little, his expression a bit mysterious as he nodded. "Yeah. Tomorrow at three." And, with that, the power walked out the door and left.

Leaving Arthur wishing that he had taken the chance and just peered into his mind. Why would he want to meet him again!? And what was this meeting for, exactly?! He felt like they hadn't accomplished anything!

Arthur sat down again, feeling frustrated as he downed the rest of his tea. He'd just walk around town for a bit… he needed to get back into his writing game, after all. Maybe he could do a nice little nature piece.

AU, Annzy: Hope you like how the story is progressing so far everyone! :) Please leave a review telling us what you think ^^