Chapter 4:
In which Arthur makes a friend.
Author notes: Sorry if this chapter is super short. I wanted to make sure to put this in here, but I got writers block on how to finish it up, but I didn't want to keep waiting, other wise it would turn into my OTHER fanfics.
Alfred was staring at him again.
He could feel it.
Arthur paused in his writing to take a quick glance at the blonde American and
as soon as he looked at that tanned face he saw the pair of sky blue eyes peering up at him;
the man even had the audacity to smile and wave when their gazes met, as though nothing was wrong.
Quickly he tore his eyes away to glare down at the shift report he'd been filling out. Anything to keep himself from looking at that blasted face!
Ever since the earlier hubbub, after which Francis was comforted, and the excitement in the bar was dissolved, Alfred, instead of going home like Arthur would have expected, decided to hang around, plopping down in front of the bar and ordering a drink.
Since then, for the last hour and a half he'd simply sat there, chatting along with the girls in the bar, drink, and in general annoying him with his presence. Because it certainly was his presence that was the most annoying.
After a few minutes however, Arthur decided that this was too annoying, closed the accounting book he was now penning out, with a snap and sent a glare at the american male.
"What" he stated, ignoring the jump of surprise from the taller man, "pray tell, are you staring at me for?"
Blue eyes blinked innocently at him behind glasses.
"Huh?"
"Don't play games with me; you have been incessantly staring at me for the last hour!"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
The grin on Alfred's face only served to annoy the Brit more.
It was later on that Arthur decided to remove himself since he couldn't remove the annoyance, by sitting in one of the plush armchairs a little bit aways from the bar, and thus from Alfred.
He was feeling rather proud of himself too, until, just like a child seeking attention for a petty deed, the man appeared at his side, the weight of him shifting the small chair.
To Alfred the reaction was much akin to a startled cat.
"Gyah! What the hell are you doing?"
"I'm just coming over to sit next to you. After all is was starting to get a bit lonely there, and you would be as good as company as any."
Flabbergasted was the word Arthur would try to find, to describe the feeling rising in his chest as he glared right back at Alfred. How often did he seem to need that expression, he mused?
With a sigh and an extra show of patience, Arthur laid his papers and books on his lap and flattened his hands over them, to breath in, then exhale, before he turned to the other blonde.
"It seems that there is something that you have yet to comprehend-" he started before he was cut immediately off.
"Hey Arthur?"
"- What?!"
"Why don't you seem to like me?" came the sickeningly innocent question that all but halted Arthur's train of thought. Why did he not like Alfred? The question more should have been why Alfred and his idiotic pansy of a friend didn't like him! After all he'd done nothing toward either of them, besides possibly accuse the American of being bigoted and ignorant. Thoughtfully he bit his lip as he decided on a decent answer.
"I suppose my reasoning stems from the opinion that you, yourself, did not very well like me." he admitted with a final shrug.
The O that became Alfred's mouth was almost comical.
"What?! I never said I disliked you Arthur," the man scratched at the back of his neck nervously. "I know we started off rockily enough, what with me mistaking you for a girl, but I really wasn't trying to insult you!"
With that Arthur was surprised further as the man stuck out his hand, a serious look that was well out of character on such a usually cheerful face.
"I want to start over."
"You what?"
"You know! I want to wipe the slate clean, pretend that it never happened before!"
He grabbed the Brit's hand, ignoring the resulting stutters as he shook it.
"Hello! My name is Alfred, it's so nice to meet you! I hope we'll become good friends!"
"What the- you-you idiot! You can't just go and force someone to do over a first meeting!" Arthur's face was red in embarrassment, as several heads in turned towards the excitement.
"Aww, why not?" Alfred said with a pout.
"W-well-,because- it just isn't done! it's rude and-"
"But you said already you only thought I didn't like you and that was the reason you didn't like me, so what's the problem?"
"It's not like-, it's just that…Arg!" Arthur finally caved under the pressure of the onlookers in the bar, and Alfred's very intense gaze. "Fine!"
"Yippee! Hear that Francis? I just made a new friend!" Alfred called the Frenchman who'd previously been cooing at the front door, at a handsome guest who'd just left.
"Well, my dear Alfred, do what you must!" Francis cried in a weary manner that made Arthur roll his eyes. By now Francis well knew that Alfred was incredibly stubborn. So he was also well aware that no matter who the person was, if Alfred decide to make them a friend, neither he, nor the other party would have any say in the matter.
And by the way Alfred grinned at his new 'friend' Arthur became nervously aware of the same thing.