A/N: I'm very sorry for the slow update (expect more of them), but life hasn't been kind to me. Anyway, I guess now is a good time to address the main concern: I never would have guessed that the other chapter evoked that much of a reaction...but the previous chapter, although a bit harsh, was essential and if not the main thing the story is based on. Still, I hope you'll enjoy this next addition. It's kind of a filler but...something to lighten the mood from the last chapter? (Just saying, I have a weird sense of humor)

On behalf of Alfred, let me explain his actions a bit: he is kind of spiteful towards Arthur for what he did to Matthew when he wasn't around (basically threatening to kick him out of his apartment).

Because really, can you really love someone who was about to leave one of your relatives homeless, thus pulling you into the problem?

However, because he has to seduce him to help Matthew, he really has no choice but to act cordial (that however, doesn't mean that he can't become rather "evil" behind his back). Still, I want to say right now that although Alfred appears very manipulative, he knows that what he's doing is wrong (as mentioned in Chapter 1). But given the situation, he's stuck between a rock and a hard place. If it makes you feel better, this guilt will become more and more apparent.

And I don't have anything against Arthur.

"Oh…my…god! It's soooo hooooot!" Alfred repeated for the umpteenth time while lying on the couch. "Matt, fix the goddamn AC…"

"I heard you the first time, but I don't have the money to fix it right now," poor (still in both sense of the word) Matthew quipped back at his brother from the kitchen, making them lunch. "Plus, it'll just break again once it gets fixed,"

"Guuuuhhh, I'm frying!"

"At least you're not the one in the hot kitchen cooking eh?"

"But we had a deal remember? Thanks to me going on that 'date' a couple of days ago you're able to keep your apartment. Now where's my sandwich woman?"

"For your information, I'm making pancakes. Also, we're not in a TV sitcom, so you can drop the acting for now,"

"Hey, not my fault I'm so good at it. Besides, you should be grateful…seeing as though it won the heart of your landlord," the older smirked, knowing fully well that Matthew cannot deny that fact. The drama and acting class he took back in high school paid off after all, even though it wasn't his first choice. But because the student procrastinated and turned in his course sheet late, he was shoved into that class against his will. Still, in addition to his major, he did fairly well in the acting department.

"Now if only you were a mechanic who can fix the air conditioner yourself…" Matthew wished aloud.

"I'm a hero, not a repairman," Alfred groaned and planted his face on one of the arms of the sofa. "The fat lady just sang…"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Before the wise older brother could provide an explanation, a knock came from the front door. And even though the door was only a few feet away from where Alfred was still sprawled on the furniture in the living room, he lazily hollered "Come in, it's not locked!"

Arthur opened the door, and was hit by a wave of heat as well as a rather astonishing sight. Both brothers were in the apartment – Matthew busy flipping pancakes in a frying pan while Alfred was busy being unproductive…and drop-dead gorgeous! Because of the weather, both weren't wearing much; the younger had a decent red t-shirt on. Alfred on the other hand was wearing nothing more than a thin, white tank top and baggy jeans and sweating. "A-Ahem." He coughed out nervously.

"Al, Arthur's here," Matthew hissed at the inattentive blond.

"Wha-oh," Alfred snapped his head up from the couch arm to look at the fidgeting landlord. "Is that you Mr. Kirkland? I'm sorry, my glasses are a bit fogged up," he slowly removed them from his face, blew at the lenses, and wiped them clean with the hem of his tank top, revealing a bit of tanned skin and toned abs. By the time he was done with the whole process and placed the glasses back on, he saw that the sandy blond was blushing.

Whoa…I guess Mattie wasn't lying when he said this guy has the hots for me…

"Is there something I can do for you, sir?" Alfred sat up on the couch and crossed his legs.

"I…uh…were you sleeping on the couch?" Arthur sputtered, not really knowing what to say at the moment.

"Yes, there's only one bed in this apartment, and it belongs to Matthew,"

"Psh," the blond heard his brother scoff in the back. "If anything, you're the one sleeping on it…"

"Don't look so sad Mr. Kirkland, it's not so bad once you get used to it," the older brother tried to turn the Englishman's attention back to him, which wasn't that hard to do.

"But I take it that something else discomforts you?" Arthur eyed the sputtering air conditioner unit, but immediately looked back at Alfred.

"Yes, and I don't know when it'll get fixed," he added distraughtly, peering at the landlord with sad, sapphire eyes.

"If you like, I'll call the company to fix it free of charge," Arthur offered not a moment too soon than Alfred and Matthew expected. "I-in the meantime, you can stay a while in my apartment…i-it's cooler…"

Alfred immediately accepted. "Really? Thanks so much!" He bounded over to the smaller blond, giving him a genuine and friendly hug.

"Alfred, let him go…I think he's hyperventilating," Matthew chided in a hushed tone.

"Oh, where are my manners! I'm so sorry sir," the blond did as he was told and released the man from his embrace. "I just wanted you to know how grateful I am for your philanthropy," He turned back to Matthew and gave him a wink and thumbs-up.

Put that on a t-shirt and sell it!

The younger only rolled his amethyst eyes at the attempt to sound smart.

Alfred didn't know what was wrong with him, but Arthur sure fell for it.

"Ah…you're very welcome. Should we get going then?"

Before heading towards the threshold (and when he was sure Arthur couldn't hear him), Alfred asked "Hey Matt, ya wanna come with? There's AC~"

Matthew truly considered it, but shook his head in the end. "It's alright, I'm used to it. Besides, the pancakes are ready; and this is a great opportunity for the two of you to get to know each other better."

"Alright, suit yourself!" He waved back at his brother before closing the door to follow Arthur down the hallway.

X.X.X.X

Wow! This must be like a penthouse!

He supposed it was just because he had low standards when it came to housing, but compared to Matthew's apartment, the landlord's apartment was luxurious. It was so much more spacious with seashell white walls. The kitchen connected to the living room was nicely tiled and neat. And the AC unit in one of the windows was doing its job and keeping the apartment cool. Alfred remained standing and absorbing the new environment until Arthur told him to take a seat on the black leather couch.

"Make yourself comfortable while I make some tea,"

It was a lot of effort not to scrunch his face up at the word. He wanted some coffee, but that would sound "rude". Sighing softly, Alfred once again forced himself to cross his legs and arms. The living room he was sitting in was a bit bigger than the one he was currently mooching at, and by the looks of the neatly arranged books on the shelf…

Is that embroidery?

The blond peered at the art work and tried to make out what the stitches were forming.

"It's ready," Alfred almost jumped out of his skin when he heard the landlord's voice.

"Oh…" Both looked at each other, mimicking the other's shocked expression. "Ah, Mr. Kirkland, I didn't know you were living with someone," Alfred started nervously, gingerly placing the unfinished product back down on the small table sitting next to the sofa.

He must have friends staying over or something, yeah…"girlfriends"

Arthur, tea tray still in his hands, looked away, clearly abashed. "No one is living with me…I…I made that…" Slowly placing the tray on the table in front of the other blond, he remained standing and avoiding incredulous blue eyes. "I didn't expect anyone to visit…so I carelessly left it out to work on later…"

Thank the Heavens Arthur wasn't looking at Alfred, for he would've seen how hard the taller blond was biting on his bottom lip to suppress his laughter.

Must…not…laugh…I can't blow this! I won't have a place to stay for the rest of my vacation…and that'd suck! Oh, and it'll hurt his feelings…

After a moment of what can be called awkward silence, Alfred thought he was ready and cleared his throat to get the landlord's attention. "There's nothing to be ashamed of, Mr. Kirkland," it was so hard to make his voice sound smooth and not shaking with snickers. It was also hard keeping a straight face when saying it. "I don't mean to sound suspicious, but was it really your fine craftsmanship that made this?" he raised the embroidery to take a better look at it.

Whether he was still quiet from embarrassment or shock, the sandy blond nodded his head to indicate that he was listening.

"I think it's a beautiful piece of art, and as I just said, there's nothing to be ashamed of. But if you're uncomfortable with it, I believe we were about to have tea…or would you rather I take my leave now?" Alfred was about to stand up when the other male responded.

"No…please stay a while…" the landlord's eyes were only looking at the carpeted floor. But then he raised his head and looked directly at Alfred. "Do you really believe my embroidery is that good?" emerald eyes were suddenly gazing at him cynically.

Ooh, this is gonna be a tricky one to pull off…is he catching on?

"Do you really have no pride in your work, Mr. Kirkland?" Alfred started, tracing a line in the art. "I may not be a professional at this, but it's painfully obvious that this was done with a practiced hand," he added with a soft smile while looking at the landlord in the eye. Standing up from the couch, he strode over to Arthur and gently grabbed the other's hand to place the embroidery in it.

The Englishman was taken by surprise and stiffened at the contact, but soon enough he was leaning into Alfred's chaste touch. And because of what the taller blond was wearing, he found himself staring at the muscular yet toned arms of the other. "Well…it is a hobby…" his eyes moved down to Alfred's lower half and stayed there.

Alfred chuckled inwardly.

At least he's honest

Just then the normally cheerful blond frowned slightly at the realization that he has been lying to the other man for a while now; but chose to push the thought away and released Arthur's hand. "So then, are we going to enjoy some tea before it turns cold?" Alfred sat back down and once again pretended to take a sip from one of the cups. Looking over the tea cup, he saw that the landlord joined him on the couch and gracefully drank the now lukewarm beverage. The embroidery sat on a cushion to Arthur's left, where it wasn't put back into its hiding spot.

When the atmosphere was less tense, the landlord said rather softly "Thank you…"

Alfred raised an eyebrow at this. "You were the one who invited me over and served me tea; it should be me who is thanking you sir-"

It was an odd feat when the gentleman interrupted the other blond. "You can just call me Arthur. We are well acquainted are we not?"

Oookaayy, maybe he is getting serious about this…

Alfred glanced nervously to the side before replying "If that is what you wish…Arthur," the name sounded weird coming out of his mouth.

"That's better, now, would you like to stay over for dinner?" the landlord asked with renewed confidence.

"…Dinner?"

X.X.X.X

"Can you just give me a minute?" Matthew took his time getting up from the couch to answer the door that looked like it was going to fall off its hinges.

"Open the door Matt!" Alfred groaned from the other side, pounding on the innocent piece of wood vigorously.

"What's the matter Al-"

The older brother didn't even pay heed to his younger brother as he flitted past him and toward the bathroom; making it just in time to throw up in the toilet.

"Oh god…Alfred, are you okay? What in the world happened?"

When it appeared as though the blond was done, he lifted his head up and turned around to look at Matthew standing anxiously at the bathroom doorway. "It was horrible…so horrible…" he gasped out.

"What? The apartment?" the younger wasn't quite catching on to what his brother was saying.

"No! His cooking! By the gods was it horrible…" Alfred's eyes widened as though he was retelling a horror story. "It was so unearthly! He gave me this thing called marmite-" his head was stuck in the toilet bowl again at the mention of the food item. When everything he just ingested a moment ago left his system, Alfred slowly stood up from his stooped position in front of the toilet. He then continued with his story. "I was only there for the AC, but then he invited me for dinner. I thought we were gonna go to a restaurant, so I agreed…but it was actually him making the food," the cheerful blond paled a bit at the recollection. "No offense, but his scones were so burnt that I won't even feed them to a dog!"

"Wait, so are you still having dinner with him? How come you had to come over here and heave?"

"I'm still under the contract right? 'Cause I really think Arthur would appreciate it if I threw up right in front of him from eating his food," Alfred answered back sarcastically. "You have no idea how long I had to sit there, regurgitating tea and force-feeding myself until he finally called it a night,"

"You mean you held it all in for that long?"

"Like a boss, baby! Arthur didn't seem to notice my discomfort at all; seeing as though he was distracted by this!" Alfred flexed his arms but then clutched his aching stomach.

"Well, if it was as bad as you've described it…that was amazing," Matthew had to hand it to his brother.

Endnotes: Time is a very precious thing, and I don't want you guys to waste it if you're not enjoying reading this fic. So I'm sorry if I did waste your time but for those who are still with me, thank you and remember, criticisms and opinions are always appreciated. I want to know what you guys think because I care~