A/N: ...Did I mention before that this is my first time trying to write a romance-ish fic...? Because it is so it'll turn into horseshit I'm sure XD

Anyways, I noticed that in a lot of stories that it follows the "chaser" of the relationship rather than the "chased". So I thought, 'why not switch it around?' and so it's Alfred's thoughts you'll be hearing instead of Arthur's. Remember, he is the cold hearted snake and all star in this fic, so enough of my yapping and let's see what Alfred has up his sleeves~

Alfred really didn't know what to expect from this "date", but nonetheless entered the fancy parlor to look for Matthew's landlord. The younger brother had told him that Arthur already reserved their seats to be in the back of the place somewhere. And this was enough for the blond to figure out, judging by the emptiness of the area where only one other blond sat at a table with one other chair available. Before approaching him, Alfred breathed deeply and took the hands out of his black suit pants.

Show time!

When he was standing about two feet away from the figure, Alfred asked in a smooth voice "Excuse me, but is this seat taken?"

The other male looked into Alfred's blue eyes before saying "Ah it's you," he briefly glanced at his watch, then back at Alfred. "Right on time, p-please have a seat."

"Why thank you sir," the younger blond said politely. But before sitting down on the ornate chair next to him, he extended his hand out to Arthur. "I'm very sorry for my brother's brief introduction of me. I'm Alfred Jones," he gave the other male a dashing smile.

Arthur abruptly stood up from his chair and took the offered hand immediately. "My name is Arthur Kirkland, pleased to meet your acquaintance."

"Oh, the pleasure is all mine, Mr. Kirkland." Perhaps Alfred said it a bit too suggestively, because it earned him a cough from the other blond.

Once the two of them took their seats, Alfred looked around the area curiously. "My, what a marvelous place! You have great taste, sir."

"I-it's nothing, I come here often," Arthur said humbly, looking anywhere but the sapphire orbs staring at him.

"Is that so?" Alfred's eyes started wandering themselves, taking in the delicate paintings adorning the flourished walls, the pots of flowers mounted on the side with their vines crawling out. There was a chandelier hanging above them, shedding light on the silverware and porcelain, making them glitter like stars. The table itself smelled of mahogany, covered with a laced cloth of intricate designs. To his right, there was a short wall that stood around four feet tall to separate their little section from another customer. Lilies were planted on top of the wall and the leaves free to droop on either side.

What a swanky restaurant! Must be for rich people only or something…did Matthew say Arthur was going to pay the check or me?

While they waited to be served, Alfred thought this was a good time as any to check the guy he was supposed to be interested in. His best trait was probably his eyes – a deep emerald color.

Eh, sandy blond hair…kinda has that mop-head look. The accent is a nice touch I guess…And who does the eyebrows?

The landlord wore a black three-piece suit, a one up from Alfred's own simple dress shirt, suit pants and tie (which he was forced to wear).

Yeah…a total stiff…damn it Matt!

Arthur cleared his throat, fidgeting a bit and a light shade of red appearing on his cheeks.

Whoops, was I caught checking him out? Wait…I'm so not! I'm merely analyzing the person I'm forced to talk to…Oh well, this will all chalk up to Mattie's idea of "showing interest in him"

"So, Alfred, what is it that you do?"

"I'm sorry, but can you be a bit clearer on that?" Alfred requested and smiled casually at the older blond.

"I…I meant to ask for your occupation," Arthur clarified.

"Oh, I'm an astronaut-in-training," Alfred lied. That was what he wanted to be when he was a kid, but the cost and requirements to get into that field was too much for him. Instead, the closest he got was majoring in aerospace engineering at his college.

"That's amazing, how is the training?"

"Quite physically demanding," Alfred scratched the back of his head, not really knowing what he was saying.

Whatever impresses the guy…

Before Arthur could ask another question, a suited waiter appeared and served them what the sandy blond probably ordered before Alfred got there. Alfred thanked him, and raised the cup, making sure that his pinky was out (just to humor the landlord) before taking a sip of what he thought was soda.

"Guh-!" If it was any other situation, Alfred would have spat the substance he just put into his mouth at the person across from him. But fully aware of what he had to do, the blond instead slowly released the tea from his mouth back into its cup. The action may have been nasty, but not as nasty as the actual substance.

"Alfred, is something wrong?" Arthur sprang up from his chair, worry etched into his features.

Pretending to swallow, Alfred lowered the cup and gingerly placed it back onto its saucer. He then looked directly into green eyes. "Nothing is wrong, Mr. Kirkland. Just the fact that I just had the best cup of tea in my entire life," he smiled softly.

"Ah, I'm glad you're enjoying yourself," relief flooded Arthur, and Alfred noticed that the landlord was less tense, sitting back down awkwardly.

Learning to avoid his drink, Alfred instead focused on the pastries. He was about to dig in when he heard someone clear his throat.

Oh right, elbows off the table…

At least the cookies and cakes tasted good. To avoid suspicion, he would pretend to take a sip of the tea, but was just putting the cup to his lips, fake the swallowing, and place the cup back down with all of its tea still in it. And it may have just been his imagination, but the blond felt as though green eyes were looking at him for longer than he'd felt comfortable. After pretending to drink tea three more times, Alfred coughed three times before excusing himself. "Mr. Kirkland, if you won't mind, is it alright if I go to the restroom?"

"You don't need to ask my permission for such a thing, go right on ahead."

"Thank you, sir." He flashed Arthur another dazzling smile before heading towards the bathroom.

"What's wrong?" Alfred heard someone ask him from behind while he was rinsing his mouth of the foul tea at the sink.

"Everything! Why didn't you tell me this was some sort of tea parlor?" The older brother whirled around to face Matthew. He had asked the younger to come along and spy on them in case Arthur pulled a fast one and spiked his drink when he wasn't looking. Matthew had argued that Arthur wasn't like that and that it was during the afternoon, but Alfred would hear none of it and wouldn't go unless Matthew went as well. Yup, he was that paranoid.

"Why am I not surprised that you didn't read the sign on top of the building?"

"So you purposely didn't tell me exactly where we were going?" Alfred narrowed his eyes at his brother.

"W-well…I know how much you hate tea-"

"With a passion, baby!"

"Right, so I didn't tell you. Otherwise you would have never gone…" Matthew looked down at the tiled bathroom floor, feeling ashamed of lying to his brother.

"Whatever, can I just end it now? It's been a good 45 minutes and these clothes are killing me!" Alfred emphasized his distress by tugging on the striped tie around his neck. "Plus I'm tired of being so polite,"

"But you're doing so well. Your 'awesome acting' is working,"

"Maaaattie!" the name came out as a long whine.

"Alright, alright. But make sure you don't sound like you don't like his company or something eh,"

Alfred smiled with relief at the fact that he would be out of here soon. "Gotcha!" With that, he left Matthew inside the bathroom to walk back to Arthur, who was patiently waiting for his return. "I'm sorry to keep you waiting,"

Hey…did someone drink my tea for me or something?

"It's no problem, Alfred," Arthur continued to eye him while he sat down again. "Your tie is crooked,"

"Hm?" Alfred looked down and indeed saw that the accursed thing was out of place. "Would you be so kind as to fix it for me?"

"Yes of course," the Englishman answered a little too quickly.

Once that ordeal was done, the two blonds exchanged a bit more small talk before Alfred looked at his wrist watch and feigned surprise. "Well would you look at the time! I was enjoying myself so much that I forgot I had to help Matthew pack up his things for moving,"

"Wait, do you two live with each other?"

"Yes, I moved from Massachusetts to live with my brother again. But it is so unfortunate that just as I arrived here, he cannot pay his rent and so the two of us have to find a new place to live," he put on a sad smile. "In fact, we may even have to go to Canada," he added as a safety measure.

"Oh…I see…" Arthur said softly, guilt laced in his voice. "B-but, can't you help your brother pay it?"

Alfred had no choice but to corner the landlord. Still smiling sadly at him, he shook his head slowly and looked into emerald orbs. "I truly wish I could, but because I had to spend a lot of money to move in, I'm afraid it'll be a while until I can help Matthew out."

Arthur was rendered speechless, his eyes focusing on the plates as he nodded his head to indicate his understanding.

"It's not your fault, Mr. Kirkland. You're only doing your job as a landlord, and a good one from what I can tell," he said before getting up from his chair. "I'm glad we were able to talk like this before I have to move again. Now, please excuse me," Leaving Arthur with his thoughts, Alfred turned around to the exit with a smirk on his face.

Hook, line, and sinker

X.X.X.X

The next morning, the photographer heard someone knocking on his door. "Just one moment, please," he said loud enough so that the person on the other side of the door was able to hear him. Putting down the article he was reading from the magazine company he was working for, he opened the door to see Arthur standing there. "Oh, Mr. Kirkland…I'm so sorry, but I just can't pay for this apartment any longer. Just give me until this afternoon and I'll be out of here," Matthew sounded pleading, even though none of his belongings were stowed away in cardboard boxes.

Arthur failed to notice this though, and instead stuck out an envelope. "You won't have to worry about that, lad."

"What's this eh? Debt?" Matthew took the white letter from his landlord and inspected it, acting surprised.

"No…it's your new rent payment. Apparently, there has been a mistake with the amount you actually have to pay. By the way, where's Alfred?" he asked while trying to look past Matthew and into the living room of the apartment.

"He's at a friend's house right now because this is the last day he'll get to see them," Before Arthur could voice his objection, Matthew added "Even if the rent is lower, I'm afraid I can't pay it right away…that's why I think we still have to move,"

"…I forgot to mention that I'll postpone the due date until the end of next month. Will that be enough time for you?"

"Oh, more than enough! Thank you so much," Matthew thanked the Englishman gratefully. He didn't even bother asking why Arthur had a sudden change of heart.

"Don't mention it, lad. And when you see Alfred again, can you tell him that I had a great time talking to him the other day? He is quite the gentleman,"

"I'll be sure to do that the moment he comes back, sir,"

"Well then, I'll be on my way."

After waving his landlord off, Matthew couldn't help but smile widely. He opened the envelope and found that the fee was reduced tremendously…almost to the same amount he had to pay when the previous landlord was around.

I can't believe this…he somehow managed to pull it off!...Just as planned

Endnotes: Spot the Death Note quote! -shot- I forgot to say this before, but I teared up at the number of people interested in this fic...THANK YOU guys! Especially those who reviewed and expressed their opinion on it, you guys are the best~

Once again, Matthew is invisible, but this time it was a good thing! XD Yes, he was spying on them the whole time (who do you think reminded Alfred to take his elbows off the table?)

Anyways, I hope this chapter didn't fail too much and as always, if you have questions and comments or want to throw me off a cliff, just let me know through a review~