I can't believe my luck. I must be the luckiest guy in the world!
"That's a very pretty name, Vash," said Alfred with a stupid smile. Embarrassed, he shoved the rest of his face into the bowl. Alfred's smile still didn't go away. He looked like a mischievous boy, busy looking into a woman's bath house. Except he was just looking at this new fellow he just met. Maybe 'just' was a little too casual.
"I-I'm sorry, I must be pretty weird. And, I can assure you I'm no freeloader. I can pay for this later. I'm so sorry," stuttered Alfred nervously as he scratched the back of his head, his grin dripping of vanilla. He just felt so nervous, knowing the young man's eyes were right on him.
"It's alright; I wouldn't have offered it to you if I didn't want you to eat it, now would I? Here, you have a spot," said Vash as he reclined over the table, Alfred spotting a napkin in his hand. Alfred clenched his eyes, only to feel a finger wisp over his mouth. He opened his eyes to see Vash finish sucking on his finger. Alfred's grin turned to a bashful grin; his face went redder. He did not know what to say.
"Mustn't let it go to waste, right?" laughed Vash. Alfred's smile returned.
"Y-yeah!" he squeaked finishing his bowl.
"So, do you live nearby?" asked the fellow as he returned to staring at Alfred, his head resting on his left palm again, almost in an admiring gaze.
"I live out by the woods. It gets pretty scary at night though. I live alone now. I don't go out much as much as I'd like to. My boss is a real tight ass," laughed Alfred.
"Oh, then are you familiar with the malls, arcades, and restaurants here?" asked Vash.
"Of course! I might be locked up at home much of the time, but I love to go out! Like right now I'm not supposed to be here!"
"Really? Why is that?"
"Well, cause a friend of mine just left, I promised my friend Ludwig I'd think stuff over and stuff," mumbled Alfred meekly as he stared into his bowl. The chocolate on the sides reminded him of Toris's brown hair. He made a small frown.
"What kind of stuff?"
Alfred looked up to see Vash watching him attentively.
"Wow, you do like asking lots of questions."
"I'm sorry if it startles you, I'll keep quiet now," said Vash raising his head from his palm.
"It's just that, I've been awful lonely," said Alfred as he put the spoon back.
"I've been wondering a lot lately. Who I really want to be with. What sort of relationships I should have with some of the people I know. I know you're just a nice stranger I happen to meet but, do you ever wonder those kinds of things?" asked Alfred meekly looking at the man. Vash reclined back to his chair, his hands on his lap. He looked to the side, avoiding Alfred's eyes.
"Why yes, I do. Right now I think I might be in love, but I'm wondering if they love me back," said Vash almost embarrassed. Alfred noticed Vash's face go red, as if on cue. He swallowed hard. His palms felt very sweaty now.
"Don't worry about it, I'm sure with your personality, you won't have a problem!" smiled Alfred. Vash turned to him.
"Heh. You think so?" chuckled Vash.
"Of course! I mean, first time I set eyes on you, I thought I was literally going to fall on my knees!"
"You were on your knees," added in Vash.
"See! That just proves it! The young lady should be honored to have such a fine gentleman such as yourself to worry about her!"
"He."
"H-huh?"
"A young man. A he," said Vash. Alfred felt his enthusiasm paralyze for a sec. He thought he had just met a wonderful stranger, who he actually thought was kind of handsome. At first he was glad for the fellow to love a lady, but with a he, he felt . . . something snap inside. Why?
"ALFRED!" yelled a distant voice. Vash and Alfred turned around to see a short man pushing a rather large kart with heavy bags inside heading straight for them.
"Shit," mumbled Alfred as he stood up from his seat. Vash turned to him confused.
"What's going on?" he asked.
"It's this guy who's pretty pissed at me right about now. Um, look, thanks for the-"
"ALFRED!" yelled the voice louder as Kiku shoved past customers and passerby's as best he could with his small figure. Alfred felt panicked. He wanted to have something with Vash. Maybe meeting the young man was a sign. His dream and this man. Maybe he was destined to meet someone new. Someone who can understand what he feels and wants. Someone who cares.
The thing Alfred most desired.
He now understood what he has always wanted.
Alfred clenched his fists. He wasn't going to let a strange man have this blond stranger! It's time he set his foot down and start making moves instead of waiting for something to be done for him! He doesn't want another 'Arthur incident' to happen all over again. He let Arthur get away from him; he wasn't going to pass this opportunity!
"Vash, look, I like you. I feel like we were destined to meet. Please, I want to see you soon. Forget this other guy; I'd like you to give me a shot! Look me up, I'm begging you-!"
Kiku grabbed Alfred as he passed by on a runaway kart. Alfred fell inside the orange kart as Kiku lifted himself on top of the handle.
"GIVE ME A CHANCE!" yelled Alfred back as he and Kiku finally rolled out of sight. Vash stared into the direction for a while. He returned his gaze at the table. From his pocket he pulled out a cell phone.
"Did you get all that?" asked Vash into the phone.
"Yes, all here recorded," said Yao on the other line.
"Thank you," said Vash as he hung up. As his IPhone went back to main menu, Vash's screensaver reappeared. It was an image of a young Alfred in school uniform in his youth days. Vash licked his bottom lip a little as he inhaled in deeply, almost as if wanting to take in Alfred's scent.
"Soon you'll be with me," he muttered to himself as he put the phone back in his pocket, re-buttoned his jacket and walked off into the crowd of window shoppers," and far away from that stupid Arthur."
Outside in the parking lot where the sky still seemed dim and dark, Kiku and Alfred waited for Kiku's boss to drive the two home.
"What do you think you were doing running off from me Alfred? That's it, no more going out for you! Ludwig was right; it was a good idea to keep you at home-!"
"Kiku . . . ," muttered Alfred in a serious tone. Kiku turned to the young man, surprised. Alfred hadn't made a peep since they got out of the mall. This serious tone concerned him.
"Yes Alfred? Is something the matter?" asked Kiku.
"I don't think I need to be alone to find out what I really want anymore. I found it. I found him," said Alfred looking up at the cloudy sky. It had started to drizzle a little again.
"Oh no, Alfred, not this again-"
"I need someone who cares about me-"
"But we do. Ludwig, Toris, Matthew, me-"
"No! I need someone who really cares about me!" yelled Alfred turning to Kiku.
"And another crush isn't going to help you! We care about you Alfred, which is why we think it isn't such a good idea to start thinking about being in a relationship! You're too-"
"Too what? Crazy? Emotionally unstable? Paranoid? Stupid? I know everything that's wrong with me! I don't need you telling me that-!"
"No Alfred. You've got it all wrong. You shouldn't always think so badly of yourself-"
"Oh like everyone else doesn't. I'm the butt of love jokes. I'm tired of all of you bringing up Arthur all the time. My feelings are hurt when you bring him up. When I hear you are all speaking and meeting up with him. Why hasn't he approached me? I must mean nothing to him. No wait, you're right. I'm giving him too much credit. I've been the stupid one the whole time. To think I fooled myself that I meant so much to him. I always thought I had a special place in his mind. I guess I was wrong, I should have never blabbed so much of my dreams and feelings to him. He must think I'm some desperate man telling him everything about me so he'd be so well informed and caught up with me! I'm so stupid!" Alfred began to grab at his hair, almost pulling at it. Kiku then smacked his arm. Alfred, startled, stepped back a little.
"Stop being a crybaby. Everyone has problems and issues. You're no different from any one of these people here, or me. I'm able to handle it better, or hide it better, than you. You are very egotistical," said Kiku almost spitting the word out. He was surprised Alfred hadn't cried yet. He just looked angry.
"And I want to find someone who can live with someone like me," said Alfred, almost proudly as he stormed off to another direction.
"Alfred? Come back!" yelled Kiku.
"I'll see you soon Kiku. Say hi to Ludwig for me," smiled Alfred as he winked at Kiku before turning around and walking off. He speed-dialed his phone for a cab.
In the distance, a young blond fellow sat in his car with binoculars, spying on Alfred.
"You think Kiku made him mad?" asked Gilbert has he stuffed some more syrup-filled pancakes into his mouth, sitting besides Francis.
"He and Kiku seemed to have had an argument, but Alfred seems pleased about it. He's probably riding separately from Kiku.
"Who was that he was speaking to in the food court?" asked Ivan as he ate some stuffed powdered donuts behind Francis's seat.
"A blond boy with green eyes," said Francis as he handed Ivan a small notepad with a sketch of the boy. Ivan and Gilbert both stopped chewing.
"Oh my," said Ivan as Gilbert began choking on his food.
"I couldn't get his name, too many people in the way for me to see anything also," said Francis.
"That's Vash! Crazy Vash! You cross him and consider yourself socially dead!" said Gilbert. Francis looked at both of them confused.
"Crazy? You must be joking sir," said Francis in disbelief.
"Da it's true. I hear he's very mean when he has to be. He doesn't like to associate himself with a lot of people," said Ivan.
"What do you suppose this 'crazy' Vash was doing talking to Alfred then?" asked Francis.
"I don't know man, but better keep a close eye on him, he's very aggressive," said Gilbert.
"-Sigh-. Sure sure, as long as he doesn't interfere with our secret mission, he won't be of any concern to us," said Francis as he turned on his car. He switched the wipers on.
"Looks like he's taking a cab, da," said Ivan as he looked thru the foggy window. The three glanced to Francis's left side of the car to see Alfred step into a cab.
"All of a sudden I feel concerned for the little guy," said Gilbert.
"Oh? How so?" asked Francis.
"He's pretty stupid," said Gilbert. Francis and Ivan stared at him in disbelief. Here Gilbert was a not so bright fellow calling someone else stupid. That really was a sight.
"Yeah, but stupid means crazy, and crazy means doing crazy stuff," said Ivan.
"Not to mention very interesting stuff," smiled Francis. He backed up the car and proceeded to exit the crowded parking lot.
"I hope to see indeed a very good show little Alfred."
Alfred sighed as he stared out the window. Maybe he shouldn't have shouted at poor Kiku like that. He felt like such a jerk at the moment.
"Stop being a crybaby. Everyone has problems and issues. You're no different from any one of these people here, or me. I'm able to handle it better, or hide it better, than you. You are very egotistical."
He had never considered thinking about other people's suffering. Wow, he must be such a selfish brat. An egotistical brat.
"You conceited brat," he recalled Arthur telling him once.
"A conceited brat you love!" he had replied with a big smile.
Alfred didn't want to think about his selfishness at the moment. Right now, he was focused about his need; the need of having someone truly cares and loves him. A person who can help him feel good about himself, who he can trust and confide everything in, someone he can kiss at night and not be embarrassed.
"How much longer?" asked Alfred to the driver.
"A good two hours. You live pretty far off," said the woman.
"Yeah, I do," replied Alfred as he nuzzled into his jacket. It was pretty cold. He felt very sleepy.
It might be a problem sneaking to go see Vash, if he could ever contact him ever again that is.
He could still see the young man's lovely green eyes. He must really like the color green. Arthur wore green, so did Toris. Both had green eyes as he could recall. He shrugged. He was glad Ludwig's eyes weren't green. He smiled. Ludwig could never be anything more than a brother to him. He'd do anything for him.
He curled into a small ball and raised his legs up to his chin.
Arthur, have you ever felt this pain?
He thought back on his dream. He had let Arthur also get shot by the stalker-boyfriend in his dream after Alfred had been shot. It had felt good, knowing Arthur was also hurt the same way he had, maybe even more seeing that Alfred voluntarily stopped being his shield.
I hope you have.
He yawned and closed his eyes.
"Wake me up when we get home," he muttered as he fell asleep. The woman tipped her cab hat up. She smiled.
A/N: I am really starting to enjoy my frequent updating with this story, I should update my other stories, and probably be studying myself to death for my AP exams. Eh.
Review~! xD