"Everything's going to be fine."
Alfred looked over at Kiku, smiling uneasily. Usually, it was the blond who reassured Kiku during times like these. Alfred would laugh, wrap an arm around Kiku, and the two of them would face whatever situation Kiku was nervous about.
Not this time. Alfred was shifting on his feet, playing with his hands, and laughing to himself like he was deranged. The only other time Kiku had seen Alfred this anxious was when the two of them went on a ghost tour together.
"Yeah, I know," Alfred reached up to fix his glasses, forgetting he had put in his contacts for the visit. "It's just, well, you're the first person I ever really… You know."
Kiku felt his lips twitch into a smile. He rang the doorbell, ignoring Alfred's shocked look. He heard the distant sound of footsteps, a few calls in a different language, before the door opened.
"Matt, you're here?" Alfred squawked.
Matthew smiled at Kiku. "Hi," he said quietly, "I've heard a lot about you, Kiku. I'm glad my brother finally got off his lazy ass to come and bring you to meet us."
Kiku bowed slightly. "It's good to meet you as well, Matthew."
"Ahh let me see him!" A woman pushed by Matthew, grinning. Kiku blinked. She had the same sandy color hair as Alfred, the same toothy smiles, and the same sparkling blue eyes. "Oh, Alfred, I can't believe you didn't let us meet him earlier! He's adorable! Honey, look at him," she called back to her husband. She shook Kiku's hand. "I'm Melissa, but you can call me Mom!"
Alfred blushed, shooting an apologetic look to Kiku. Kiku was rushed into the Jones household, plopped down at the dinner table, and given a gigantic plate of food to eat; Kiku saw where Alfred had picked up his eating habits. The rest of the family sat down, probing Kiku and Alfred with questions about Japan. Though, the majority came from Melissa.
"Wow, fax machines? I haven't seen those in years, right, honey?"
Daniel hummed in agreement, sharing a look with Matthew.
Alfred nodded, digging into his steak. After the first five minutes, he had been himself again. "It's crazy, Ma! And their emergency rooms aren't open all the time—they're like a store, you can only go certain times of the day!"
Melissa gaped at Kiku. He cleared his throat. "Usually, we don't hurt ourselves enough to need a visit to an emergency room."
Melissa clucked, nudging her husband. "We should go visit Alfie and Kiku in Japan sometime! We could go sightseeing. Kiku!" She whirled on the quiet man. "My son told me you work for the Japanese government. What's that like?"
Kiku withered under the table's expectant gaze. "It's very busy," he finally supplied.
Both Melissa and Alfred nodded, one in understanding and one in agreement.
"It's true, Ma. Kiku works so much! It's a good thing I work nearby, or we'd never see each other." Alfred elbowed Kiku, grinning. "We've got the awesomest little apartment, though. Kiku makes sure everything's in its place."
Matthew chuckled from the end of the table. "And you mess it up, Alfred?"
Alfred and Melissa continued to twittered to each other, roping in Kiku to give a polite, one sentence answer to one of Melissa's questions. Neither his boyfriend nor Melissa seemed to care, elbowing their respective partners and continuing to comment on life in Japan.
Kiku had always wondered where Alfred had gotten his carefree personality from. It turns out, it was probably forced on him at a young age.