Coition: Chapter 8

In which a kind gesture is gracelessly rejected.

Author's Note: I'm SUUUPER sorry for how long this took to update! I was going through a rough couple of weeks, what with work and school. Bleh. Unfortunately school-related depression somehow turned into a writers block of sorts. But I hope I will not have many more delays in further chapters. Coition is actually one of the only fanfictions I've been able to update with any sort of regularity before now.

Anyway: I hope you like this chapter :P

All reviews are appreciated and loved3

"STUPID,STUPID,STUPID,STUPID,STUPID,STUPID,STUPID, "

Arthur slammed through the front door as he stomped inside his mobile home, his face contorted in that special expression of anger that only he could wear through his domineering eyebrows, and stomped over to the kitchen table where his boyfriend sat, fork of chow mein inches from his mouth, before sinking into his chair and dropping his forehead in it's surface with a groan.

"Tough day?"

Slowly Arthur raised his forehead to glare at the brunette.

"No. it was just peachy."

Charlie took a moment to slurp up a noodle, before glancing back at the Brit.

"Wanna talk about it?"

Another groan.

"I mean you don't have to if you don't want."

"..."

"Was it one of your clients?"

Arthur shuddered at the tone, but shook his head, rolling it side to side on the table.

"Well, whenever you wanna talk."

The Brit sighed. "My colleagues are idiots."

"Oh, really? I thought you got along with the girls."

"Yeah…" Arthur avoided Charlie's gaze as the brunette finished eating, getting up to wash his dishes ( a miracle if he ever saw one). He felt just a bit deflated.

The truth was, his coworkers weren't really the problem, but Arthur could hardly tell Charlie about his new acquaintances at the Hideaway. There was something the man already disliked about his work; adding the fact that Arthur now had other people he was going out with would only make things worse between them, and just when they were starting to turn around. No, he thought, he would keep it to himself.

The real culprits for Arthur's mood were himself, but he had no problem blaming it on more of Francis' friends. (Apparently the guy had billions of them). Arthur had earned a nice amount of tip from the bar, and was about to head home, finding himself in a rather good mood between talking with Matthew and restraining himself from beating up Francis again. He was just finished packing up when the party that was Francis' posee, showed up to wait for their companion. One was a rather tall albino man, smirking evilly as he waved at Matthew before taking out a cigarette and standing out the door, cursing at the people passing by. The other man was a Spaniard with a long curl of hair bobbing at the top of his head, that Arthur recognised as a manager at the Pizzeria the Vargas brothers worked at.

"Gilbert! Antonio! How good to see you, mes amis!" France greeted, a towel draped over his shoulders under his wet hair.

"Francis, dry your hair properly before you get a cold," Matthew was saying, grabbing up his backpack.

As Arthur straightened the tie over his sweater vest, he did note that the nights were getting much chillier, and vaguely wondered about that coat he was putting off buying, as he waited for the group of men to get out his way so he could leave, when he was noticed by the albino. Gilbert was it?

"And who do we have here?" he said, grinning. His canines looked rather much sharper than a normal persons, giving him the effect of a deviant.

"Oh, that's just Arthur. I'm sure Alfred spoke of him, no?"

"Oh yeah! That makes sense. The eyebrows!"

Familiarly the vein in his temple began to pulse.

"He was right! They're huge!" Antonio was saying.

"Undoubtedly."

"Oui, monstrous."

"Gigantic."

"Colossal."

"Titanic-"

"Can we bloody well stop talking about my eyebrows!?"

Amusement appeared on their faces at the outburst and Gilbert leaned over to whisper in his friend's ear. To the side Matthew tried to comfort him. ("They don't like that bad on you")

"You know, they almost remind me of that dog you had a while back Francis."

They doubled over in laughter while Arthur tried to control his blush, not to mention his rising temper.

"Are we quite done here? Some people would like to go home!"

"Oui, oui! We were just leaving Sir Arthur. But that reminds me! We have found this great little pub no too far from here. You should join us!"

The Brit almost winced. As tempting as the offer was, there was Charlie to worry about, plus it was late. He should just go home.

"I think I'll pass."

"Aww, don't be a party pooper!"

"Si! You should come along!"
"Oui, surely your cross stitches can wait another night." The Frenchman teased

Arthur quickly thought of violence.

"Cross stitching is an artform you frog!" He cried.
"Ahon! But that does not answer the question; won't you please come and join us, mon ami?"

"I already answered. I'm going home."

He turned to start walking to the bus stop when Francis' next words put a completely unreasonable shiver down his back.

"Did we mention Alfred would be there?"

He turned to glare quickly at the Frenchman, then he realized he'd walked into a trap as he saw the smirk on Francis' face and just as quickly looked away, trying to ignore how his face was heating up.

"Oooh~ Did that get your attention?"

"Of course it didn't, fool! I was just wondering why you would think it mattered!"

'Yeah, that was it.'he tried to convince himself. He was just trying to figure out why the tall blonde American was being brought up at all. No more, no less.

But even so Francis was sending him a knowing smirk, and Matthew looked something between amused and uncomfortable. Luckily Antonio and Gilbert had their attention on some voluptuous woman passing by.

"I only figured you would have missed our dear Alfred; you are so used to him coming in to keep you company non?"

Even that sounded extremely embarrassing to Arthur and he fought another rush of heat to glare Francis down. Just because it was true did not mean he had to admit it!

"And also sure he missed you as well~"

"Hush up frog! I already said that I'm busy."

Then the thought came to mind of that golden face, smiling sadly. It pulled at his heart.

"Although I suppose if you're going to make a big deal about it, I can stay around for a little while. But only since it was insisted; It can't be helped after all."
"Ahon. It always surprises me just how dishonest you are mon ami! Come, we must go!"

Francis grabbed the Brit by the hand before Arthur could deny being anything but truthful, practically dragging him along as the group walked; Gilbert, Antonio, and Francis making noise and flirting with ladies on the street, Arthur trying to hide his face in embarrassment but unable to get his arm out of the Frenchman's grasp, and Matthew trailing behind everyone with quiet amusement.

When they finally got to the pub, Gilbert made a ruckus, laughing at the waiter about his 'penguin suit' as they were led through the restaurant. Alfred was already there, sitting at a couple of tables pushed together in a corner, across from another burly blond man with a stern look on his face. The American waved cheerfully at the trio, before his gaze caught on Arthur being pulled along by his French friend.

"Arthur! Hey! What are you doing here?"

Arthur felt his face flush along with a rush of annoyance at the greeting. Not quite the reaction he was expecting, although he also felt shameful for the reaction that maybe he had wanted.

"I-It's not like I wanted to come along. I've been forced!" He exclaimed, avoiding that wide blue gaze. But if anything Alfred's grin widened.

"Well, I'm glad you came along!"

Suddenly Arthur found himself under the American's arm being guided to the seat right beside him. He dearly hoped that the speed of his heartbeat was from walking as he was practically pressed against the other man.

While the others settled down, taking off their jackets and joking a bit too loudly for the space of the restaurant, the arm continued to lean across his shoulders, making Arthur rather self conscious from the looks of ladies in the pub who'd been eyeing Alfred with varying amounts of interest. Uncomfortably he reasoned that this should be expected in such a public place; Alfred could be considered very handsome he supposed. And as subtly as possible he observed the America out the corner of his eye under his lashes.

He hadn't quite gotten around to admiring how well sculpted the taller blonde was, but with the way their sides were squished together, Arthur was getting a good feel of the muscles under Alfred's shirt, and maybe it was just the light of the pub but as he examined that face that was grinning merrily across the table, laughing along to his friends, he really started to appreciate the way Alfred's forehead curved under that flash of yellow hair, those prominent cheekbones, his straight nose and strong jaw. And then he caught himself again, and ignoring that stupid fuzziness in his chest, he looked as determinedly far away from the American as he could. This was terrible. What was he doing? Charlie was finally starting to come back to him, and now he was here in the middle of a pub oogling some other man.

He shifted in his seat to try and distance himself from the other man, but that only caught Alfred's focus.

"You okay dude?"

Arthur could feel his neck and cheeks warming again.

"I-I'm quite alright." Blast him and his concerned smile! It was getting very hard for him to ignore the taller man when he acted so charming.

"If you say so! I missed hanging out with you today; I had a lot of work." Alfred pulled a face that was endearingly childish.

"O-Oh? I had heard something to that effect."

"Yeah. It gets pretty hectic this time of year. But things usually settle down mid October."

Arthur quirked a brow.

"I never gathered what you actually do."

"What?! I never told you?"

As Arthur shook his head he noticed Francis across from him, giving him an annoying smirk, and he tried to turn his head so he would be looking less at the handsome American's face.

"That's terrible! And we've known each other for so long!"

"Ha! I would hardly call 2 months very long Alfred." Had it really been 2 months? Arthur counted mentally. Yes; it had! It was already nearing the end of September, and it had been the beginning of August when Francis and the American showed up at Pele's hideaway. My how time flew.

"Fine fine, but yeah; I'm an accountant!"

"You're an... accountant?"

Slowly Arthur turned back to stare at Alfred. Did he hear that right? Alfred as an accountant? The concept of the loud boisterous American, sitting at a desk, crunching numbers simply could not form itself in Arthur's mind.

But at the look of complete confusion Alfred laughed.

"You don't have to be so surprised!"

"I-didn't mean anything by it.. it just came as a surprise. After all, when I think of an accountant -I don't know…"

"You think of some old geezer typing in a calculator right?"

"Well, yes."

He laughed again, and Arthur's worries of insulting the man were wiped away.

"Don't worry, I get what yuh mean. But it's actually not that bad you know? Math was always my best subject, and all I do is make sure we report the right stuff to the government. Save money for the company and all that."

"I see..." Arthur muttered, still unable to understand how the American could enjoy something so unexpected of his character."

"Let me guess, you're a literature nutt."

"I wouldn't say I'm a 'nutt' as you put it, but there is nothing in this world like good literature. The many ways one can express an idea with written word. It is amazing!"

That laugh again.

"I guess we'll have to agree to disagree. I never liked literature much. Sure if a story is really good I can deal, but what's with those old books and their funny writing? I always got lost whenever my professors made us read Shakespeare."

As Alfred talked he started to make gestures in the air, and removed his arm from Arthur's shoulders. The Brit found he missed the warmth.

"Hmph. This doesn't surprise me coming from you."

"Aww, don't be mean!"

The rest of the time at the pub included more conversations about work, as apparently Alfred, Gilbert, Matthew and until recently Francis worked in different departments in the same publishing firm. When asked why he'd decided to take a break for while, Francis' reply was something characteristically foolish, ("Ah~ I decided it was time to take a vacation of love~")

after which nobody decided to comment anymore about work. Francis and Antonio then began talking, about what suspiciously sounded like the seduction of a certain angry Italian he worked with.

It wasn't until later after they had all ordered drinks that Arthur finally noticed the empty seat next to him, and while at first that hadn't seemed very important it was when another member joined their group that Arthur almost kicked himself not for noticing.

"Good evening, everyone. I am sorry I'm late."

Arthur turned, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets at the familiar voice, and he nearly jumped at the face of none other than Kiku!

"Kiku! Dear God, I never expected to see you here."

"Hello Arthur-san. I didn't know you would be here either."

Kiku bowed a greeting before he was ushered into his seat next to the surprised Brit. Alfred even looked confused as he waved to the Japanese man.

"You guys know each other?"

"Hello, Alfred-san. Yes, we both went to High School together."

"Really?! I never knew that!"
"And how do you two know each other?" Arthur's asked looking at the two on each side.

"We work together; Kiku is in the marketing department though."

Arthur nodded. That made sense, since it seemed everybody else had connections to the company. "I never would have realized."

"But that's really cool that you knew each other already, Arthur. Kiku is like one of my best friends!"

Both Kiku and Arthur had to smile at that; it was just like Alfred to make anybody he remotely associated with, his friend. It wasn't long until everyone had decided what to eat and the excitement of Kiku's appearance died down.

The rest of diner went by smoothly. Or as smoothly as it could go with a group of rowdy men. There was plenty of alcohol and cat calling, and Gilbert would yell something offensive every once in a while. If Arthur thought that Alfred was obnoxious, the German (Prussian he claimed) took the cake. The night was ended when Francis thought it a good idea to feel up their waitress. She didn't seem to mind it too much, but none the less they thought it was better to go.

The most annoying moment for Arthur was when he tried to pay for his food, but was ultimately stopped by Alfred.

"What are you doing you idiot?!" he stuttered tipsily.

"Nuh uh uh uh~. The Hero's gonna take care of you!" Alfred exclaimed cheerfully, grabbing Arthurs cash to give the waiter his card. All attempts to snatch it back were thwarted as Alfred grabbed him by the arms, holding him away from the retreating waiter.

"I didn't ask you to do that!"

"Of course you didn't but I wanted to so I did anyway." Alfred flashed the shorter man his signature grin and a thumbs up as his card was returned. The group slowly trailed out of the restaurant and into the cool night air, leaving Arthur slightly jealous of the jackets of his companions.

"I don't need you to take care of me." he hissed. While Gilbert and Antonio were off again harassing Ludwig, to his chagrin Francis, Matthew, and even Kiku were watching the argument with apparent interest.

"Well it's too late for that Artie! As long as we hang out together, I refuse to let you pay for it."

"I guess I won't be able to 'hang out' then."

"What? But Artie!"

"No."

While in the back of his mind Arthur was aware that he was being unreasonable, there was something about the buzzing in his ears that fought to say dammit it all! If he didn't want to be treated by the git, then he shouldn't be forced to. He was too buzzed to remember the exact reason he didn't want to it; after all who wouldn't like to be treated to free food by an attractive and hunky man? But under the alcohol, there were feelings of anxiousness. What if his accepting it was taken out of context? Being treated for meal was going a bit too close to territory that he knew was off limits, wasn't it? Just that thought started to sober him up, and he angrily looked up at the American.

The two stubborn blonds stared each other down in silence, Alfred puffing his cheeks petulantly until he gave up. "Fine" he grumbled, turning to glare towards the passing cars and passbyers, rather than looking at the shorter man, unnerved at how quickly the mood had changed. He could never just be nice to a person, could he? All he did was cover a meal for a friend. The least Arthur could do is take it gracefully instead of the blatant rejection. Carefully Alfred glanced towards Francis and Matthew who were trying but failing to look like they hadn't heard the exchange, and he released a breath into the cool night air, watching it dissipate in front of him glumly.

"Well, I guess we'd better head home then. Do you wanna ride?" He ventured although he knew the answer.

Arthur's stony expression melting into concern at the new tone in Alfred's voice, and anxiously he glanced at that bespeckled face. If he didn't know any better his responding 'no' only served to disappoint the taller man more.

"A- thats alright."

Awkwardly his gaze dropped the sidewalk and he said his goodbyes, ignoring a silly comment from GIlbert and the look he was earning from Kiku, weather concern or disappointment it was hard to tell. With a final goodbye to Alfred and Matthew, he stalked off down the street.

On the way back home, Arthur found himself wishing he'd never accepted that offer to go out. How miserable. He'd single-handedly managed to ruin an outing with friends right at the end, and without even trying. But he supposed, that if it hadn't been tonight, it would have been another that Alfred finally started to get tired of his less than friendly and downright confrontational personality.

That had been partly why Arthur fought against being too friendly to the American. There were very few people in the world who could deal with him being the way he was. He was boring and critical on his good days, and moody, and sensitive on his worst, and eventually people would get tired of the fact that he was so hard to please and so confrontational over the smallest of things. Secretly he blamed it for why he had no friends growing up, and even now why Charlie had turned to others, although he'd secretly hope that his boyfriend was a special case. But it was a wonder why Charlie had stayed so long, or Kiku associating himself with him again. And angrily he wondered when even Kiku would be pushed away.

So it was that Arthur came home after a long day of work and what had been a pleasant evening, grumpy and slightly depressed.

*I had fun with the first line, for reasons.