Written for USUK Summer Camp 2012

July 25: A Whole New World

A Whole New World

By HamburgerWithTea

/Summary/

Arthur wins a Meet 'n Greet with the famous actor Alfred F. Jones, and despite his expectations they actually end up chatting and start getting closer and closer and they both start to experience each other's worlds…

The green eyed, pale skinned and blond Arthur Kirkland was feeling really excited as he walked down the corridor. He was currently being guided by a security guard, who seemed to know exactly where they were heading in the labyrinth of corridors. Today was the day he'd been waiting for since he'd won the contest. His the first prize was a meet 'n greet with the famous actor and singer Alfred F. Jones.

Normally Arthur wouldn't like people like Alfred; they were obnoxious, hyperactive and childish, but this time Alfred had seemed to just captivate him. His acting, Arthur had to admit, was flawless and the type of roles he plaid varied. The best Arthur liked his roles in historical dramas and wild west films. The roles Arthur liked best involved historical dramas and wild west films.

To meet with Alfred, Arthur had flown all the way to America –Hollywood to be exact- from his small village in England, United Kingdom. The plane flight –which was paid for by the organisation, luckily- had been long and Arthur's legs hurt from all the sitting he'd done, but he was convinced it was worth it.

Arthur had been rather impressed as he had seen the famous letters on the hill appear: 'HOLLYWOOD' it spelt out, bright and hard not to notice. The Briton had found it a tad obnoxious, but then again that's how most Americans are.

He'd taken a cab and had grumbled about the price of the car trip –damn swindlers they are- but now he was here, in Hollywood, on his way to the meet he didn't really care any more about all the difficulties. He could hardly even believe this was actually happening.

The walls seemed so much bigger, so much brighter than normal places. One could almost taste the fame in the air as Arthur could swear he saw a few famous celebrities pass by. And the closer they got to their destination, he noticed, the more of Alfred's co-workers he saw.

He didn't dare to speak a word, too scared to accidentally insult someone one way or the other, which would result in him being kicked out. And that was something he tried to avoid at all costs!

Arthur was a fine gentleman, yes, but he did have a bit of problems with expressing himself at times. Most people would mistake it for arrogance or snobbery, which made it hard for the blond to make friends. He just hoped that for once he won't screw up and would be able to have a nice meeting with Alfred. He seriously didn't want to insult his favourite celebrity.

The security guard in front of him made a sudden stop as they arrived at a door with a small paper stuck up on it; A. F. Jones, it said. As Arthur stared at the paper, he could feel his heart begin to beat even louder and his hands make nervous fumbles around the trim of his dress shirt. He just hoped he didn't look too casual, as normally he'd wear a sweater vest over it, but it was too warm in Hollywood to do so.

A few small knocks on the door by the guard and almost immediately a voice responded. It was a familiar voice, yet it sounded so much better in real life. In films and recordings of songs it was beautiful nonetheless, but it missed out just a tiny bit of emotion that could only be heard if one were to talk in reality.

The door opened slowly but surely and before Arthur was prepared, he could see the man sitting in a comfortable chair in the room. Alfred was sitting right there. In front of him. The real Alfred!

"Hello there!" Alfred greeted him, immediately jumping off his chair in order to shake hands with Arthur. The latter couldn't come up with anything to say and ended up nodding while staring at the man. This was real!

Alfred seemed to notice he was nervous and somewhat overwhelmed as he decided on asking Arthur his name.

"A-Arthur Kirkland," The Briton responded, still star stuck. He blamed himself inwardly for stuttering, it made him look like a fool, "Pleased to meet you." He added to show some form of politeness.

"Haha," The laugh was so loud yet so honest, "Nice name there, you're the one for the Meet 'n Greet right?"

That was a stupid question who he obviously just asked to start a conversation. As Arthur mumbled a yes, he was lead to the sofa standing opposite to the chair.

"Care for a drink?" Alfred asked, and his assistant –Arthur only noticed her sitting in the same room just now- immediately stood up to fetch one if needed. Alfred seemed to hesitate about letting her get it, but she looked down on him sternly and he let it slip.

"Uhm," Arthur was still a bit overwhelmed by it all, "Tea, please." The assistant gave a quick nod before leaving the room. Arthur realised the guard had also left, and apparently he was alone with Alfred now. His heart remained beating quick and fast.

"Glad you could make it," Alfred said, "Had a nice trip?" Arthur nodded.

"Yes," he replied, "But the incredibly long plane flight was horrid." Alfred chuckled.

"Haha, don't get me started on that! Experienced it too often to still joke about it," His voice was young yet deep and his blue eyes shone. He looked as if he was truly glad to meet Arthur, "Wow I'm actually glad you're here. I enjoy talking to my fans, you know! They mean a lot to me."

"I understand," Arthur replied. He seemed to relax slowly but surely and he found it weird to experience that; normally he had a hard time opening up to others. A small silence fell, in which Arthur didn't know what to say in order to keep the conversation going, but lucky for him, Alfred spoke up again. He seemed to be good at keeping the conversation going.

"So, got anything you would want me to show you? I can give you a small tour, it'd be boring to just sit here around while talking anyways" The American gave a small movement with his hand, showing the room that indeed looked rather boring.

"Uhm, nothing in particular," Arthur said, "But isn't your assistant coming back soon with the drinks? Wouldn't it be rude to leave suddenly?"

Alfred grinned, "Don't worry she's used to it, now c'mon I gotta show you around. I swear it's gonna be fun, I was so excited when I saw it for the first time!" and with that he made his way towards the door. Arthur hesitated only for a second before following after him.

After they stepped into the corridor, Alfred had soon left the building after a few waves to other actors –either because they are friends or because it was considered polite. They were currently standing in the bright sun of two past noon.

"So no preferences to parts of Hollywood you want to see?" Alfred asked and Arthur shook his head, "Okay then, I'll just show you some stuff. C'mon gotta grab one of these golf cars; it's awesome to ride around in them and that way I can show you more!" And that's how they ended up touring the place.

Arthur had seen a lot of sets of famous films, and some props he thought he recognised. Alfred had to manoeuvre around some people who quickly jumped aside as they saw him driving towards them. Sometimes they would throw an insult but Alfred would just snicker about it.

"Told you, this is the best thing of Hollywood!" Arthur just clenched the chair hoping he would survive this trip, and at one point he couldn't help insulting Alfred himself.

But surprisingly enough, Alfred also just laughed that off. It was a bit annoying, but it was much better than that he'd come to hate Arthur. That could might even turn out into Alfred insisting on him being thrown out. Instead the lad would just laugh and at one point he started to insult Arthur too, but all felt well. They knew they didn't mean it.

Far too soon for either of their liking they arrived back at the building they had left off. One arrived the American told him he had to shoot a scene for some new series soon. Alfred's assistant had been furious about him leaving but with Alfred's stupid, childish grin he seemed to be able to stop people from being mad at him.

Arthur was worried this would be it, that he'd have to leave now, but before that could happen Alfred –who was slowly being dragged off by his assistant- turned back around to him.

"Hey, care to see some of the filming for real? You gotta be quiet, but I think you can, so I might be able to arrange something with the director?" Arthur was surprised to be offered such an opportunity and for a moment he thought Alfred was just joking with him, making fun of a commoner was one good joke after all. But despite his doubts, Alfred honestly meant it and Arthur decided to nod.

"Yes, if that were possible it'd be lovely," He was still a bit wary, but he figured he shouldn't waste his chance.

Surprisingly enough Alfred had made the director be okay with it all and so he ended up hanging around the set as scenes were being filmed

It was weird to see Alfred wearing makeup; despite how it looked on TV, he actually wore quite a lot. On screen it looked natural but in real life it was almost laughable and Arthur had to hold in his laughter, but failed. As a reply he got a comment about his eyebrows which hadn't pleased him, but before he could tell Alfred off, the American was required on the set.

In the end it had turned out to be along day and Alfred let out a loud sigh as he sat next to Arthur on a bench.

"Man, that was tiresome," he said, "Was it any good? Ain't you bored?" By now, especially after the innocent insults in the golf car, Arthur found it easier to talk and his heart wouldn't jump out of his chest anymore; instead it had a nice, calm rhythm and it made him feel relaxed.

"No, it's fine," Arthur said, "I'm not a hyperactive brat as you." Alfred wanted to deny it, but as he turned to look Arthur in the eyes he found that the other was smiling a sneaky smile. Obviously he'd meant it the nice way and for some reason this look really suited Arthur.

"Alfred, time to go. We still have some small discussion to attend about one of your new jobs, so I'm afraid you have to say goodbye to Mr. Kirkland here." Alfred assistant said while walking towards them. For a moment Arthur thought he could see the other man pout, but soon after his right hand was grabbed and shaken up and down with both hands of the other.

"Pleased to meet ya, Arthur!" He said as his assistance was already walking away to say goodbye to a few more people. He took this opportunity to ask something he'd wanted to ask ever since the tour; "Hey, mind exchanging numbers? I often get dead bored and it'd be fun to spend more time with you for as long as you're here." He said it really quickly, almost as if he was nervous about asking it, but Arthur barely noticed.

Instead he was surprised about the offer. Not only had he actually won the meet 'n greet, he'd also ended up spending more time with Alfred and eventually he was now asked to exchange numbers even so he could be called to hang out more often. Arthur figured the other would probably forget about him soon after anyways, but it wouldn't hurt to exchange it right?

And so they did. Alfred looked like a kid who'd just received a new toy as he happily pressed the 'save' button on his phone.

"This is great!" He said, turning towards Arthur again as he put his mobile back in his jeans pocket, "For how long will you be staying here then?" he asked.

"A week," Arthur said, "But my flight back will leave at night so you can add that day with it too."

"Good, because I wanna show you some more of this area." A wide grin spread on his face as he stood up to leave the place, leaving Arthur behind, "If you wanna get to the exit, ask the director, he's a nice guy." And with that he'd left.

It'd taken two days before Arthur was suddenly called. By then he'd visited some famous places by himself and he'd actually thought Alfred had forgotten about him and had just exchanged numbers to be the 'nice actor' guy. But all of a sudden he was called and asked if he might have time to hang out. Of course Arthur had, it wasn't like he knew anyone around here, so soon he found himself waiting at a mall, waiting for the other to appear.

At first he'd barely recognised the American, who had obviously disguised himself in order to avoid paparazzi. But the familiar voice grabbed his attention as a nice, warm hand was placed on his shoulder, squishing it a little.

"Hey there, Art," he voice said, as his other hand pulled down the sunglasses for a brief moment to show two sparkling cerulean eyes looking at him with a childish cheekiness. For Arthur it was still new to all this sudden friendship –was he allowed to call this a friendship?- could feel his heart speed up again but only for a little while now.

They'd ended up just walking around the place, enjoying their conversations and having a good time. That was until Alfred suddenly decided he was hungry and they should go get a snack. In the end they went to some local food store, nothing really fancy despite Arthur's expectations. But overall he had to admit Alfred didn't act like any of these spoiled celebrities to begin with, which he appreciated. He was pretty sure he wouldn't have liked the man so much if he'd been like that.

"Wow man this burger is delicious!" Alfred said, which only made him be even more of a perfect stereotype American, take out the fat part. Arthur wondered how the man could have such a nice figure even though he just consumed at least three burgers.

By now they'd been talking almost non-stop and Arthur found himself liking the guy more and more. He really admired the fact he'd reached so much at such a young age already. Of course he'd been an actor since he was a child, but still it was impressive that he'd stayed in the film-business even though most child actors would never be employed after these roles.

Alfred had told him how his parents had been good friends with one of the directors and that this man really enjoyed teaching him how to act. Alfred had always liked acting and he just really had a knack for it.

He started to tell Arthur more and more personal stuff as the days passed and the time to leave got closer and closer. And in return Arthur did the same.

The days had passed with Alfred and Arthur calling in between the taller blond's jobs and slowly hanging out more and more.

Arthur had come to know Alfred really hated the whole Hollywood thing, actually. He was there just because he enjoyed acting, but he admitted he'd love to experience the normal world more. Ever since he was a kid he'd grown up as someone famous and it was hard for him to live like a normal person, even though he'd like to experience it.

At some point Arthur had promised him to show him the 'normal life'. He couldn't wait for him to show Alfred around England, as the man seemed to be really interested in it whenever it was mentioned.

Despite all wonderfully friendly moments, there also were some arguments. Nothing bad, but just enough to spice it up and make it a true friendship. Arthur had come to wonder since when he'd been able to make friends this easily and laugh this much. At some point, he didn't know when, he actually looked forward the most to the time he got to spend with Alfred.

By now the last day of Arthur being in the US had come and their usually fast conversations had died down into something gloomy. They still talked about the occasional stuff, told each other about their own 'world' and experienced, and they would still have a laugh at times but all seemed a bit sadder now they knew they wouldn't see each other for a long time even though Alfred had promised to visit England as soon as his job was finished and Arthur couldn't wait for that time to come.

They stood at the airport as Arthur waited for his flight to arrive. Alfred had disguised himself again though some people still looked curiously at him. He didn't pay them any mind though, as he started to talk with Arthur again.

"Thanks," He said.

"What for?" Arthur was confused. If there was anyone to thank, it was Alfred for being so nice to spend time with him and show him around for free.

"For the great time." Alfred replied and turned towards Arthur as if wanting one last look at his good friend. It was weird that they both felt so melancholic, as if they'd been friends for years and had lived side to side.

"You too." Arthur said, "This was honestly, one of the best weeks in my life." And Arthur would've thought this was the last part of the conversation but before he knew it Alfred grabbed his head to face him. The cerulean of his eyes were deep and with all sorts of blue shades and it looked like stars were shining in them.

"I like your accent," He whispered. Arthur almost had to laugh at how dramatic he was acting –maybe something actors did?- but realised he was being out of character as he quickly came up with a smart reply.

"You would be able to speak the same if you wouldn't stick with that butchered English of yours. It's a shame to see how Americans ruined the language." Alfred pouted for a bit, but both knew Arthur didn't mean it. Arthur never meant any of the harsh words he said, and Alfred knew.

"Well, then I'll just like you only. Just you, not your accent or anything, but just you." He said, trying to sound casually but a small bit of nerves could be heard through his voice, "And please don't forget me, you still have to show me your world, a new world!"

"Yes," Arthur said in a soft voice, "A whole new world, just for you."

Just then they were interrupted by the announcement Arthur's plane had arrived and they knew this was their final moment of seeing each other for what would probably be a long period of time. But it didn't feel scary. It felt as if they knew they would meet again, talk again.

Alfred slowly removed his hand from Arthur's face, which he still held cupped, and they looked each other in the eyes. It was too early to know for sure yet, but both of them could feel something grow in them. Something warm, soft. Something special.

And as Arthur turned around with a last wave before disappearing behind a corner and into the plane, only fate knew that they would end up as a happy couple, living together for years and sharing their worlds to create a new world by themselves, up to their very last days.

Thanks to the precious NUTTY for betaing 3

/Author's Note/

Wohoo day 4 is up. It wasn't as awesome as I hoped, but at least it's something and maybe, just maybe you readers enjoyed it? Put less quotes of the song in it because I don't like the song –sorry!- but I did want to write!

Uhm I have to warn you though; I'm not sure if I can upload tomorrow. I would love to, but I'm leaving for France for 3 days (family celebration, they're not French but they have a 2nd house there and celebrate new wedding) and since we'll be off at 2am Friday, it'll be hard to upload. I normally upload around that time, so yeah xD especially with beta-ing it'll be a close call, but I do wish to write something.

Well obviously since I'm away on 27, 28and 29th of July, I won't be able to upload then. I didn't think up plots for these days so there won't be any 'later updates' either.

So now you know.

Also, I want to thank the LJ admins for the badges! Currently I have 11, not sure what I'll get for this story yet :3 Though I have to say, I don't even really participate for the badges XD I just find it important to get my lazy ass to work and this is wonderful to get inspired and contribute to my favourite OTP 3

Byebye, hope I can upload something before I leave and please review, for that really does mean the world to me! It's like hamburgers for Alfred and tea for Arthur (and me, oops tea addiction)!

I do not own Hetalia or the characters, those belong to their rightful (awesome) creator, Hidekaz Himaruya!

(07/25/12)