-And time will make fools of us all.-
All That You Are; Goo Goo Dolls

-Hetalia-

The July heat made the bedroom sweltering hot, especially when Alfred forgot to turn on his fan before he went to sleep. A not-so-thin layer of sweat coated his brow when he woke up next to a still sleeping Matthew, and his bangs clung to his face. Alfred reached for his glasses on the nightstand and first found Matthew's, which he realized when the world became twice as blurry after he put them on. Trying again, Alfred found his own pair and slid out of bed carefully, so as to leave his brother undisturbed. Once he'd set the fan to its highest setting, and spent a good twelve minutes or so with his face nearly pressed against the whirling blades, he turned back to the nightstand, his eyes falling on his cell phone.

Would Arthur have texted him? Would he even have an answer yet? Alfred was beginning to regret what he'd blurted out the night before. It felt right then, but, was it really a great idea to ask someone out right after they'd broken up with someone so important to them? Francis probably knew Arthur better, after all. They'd had so many classes together over the years, being the same age, and they'd been on and off dating for years…

"Come on, this is totally un-heroic," Alfred scolded himself, snatching up the cell. He pressed a button to pull it out of sleep mode, and saw there were two messages from Arthur. He opened the earliest one, and found a one word text.

Yes.

Alfred stared at it for a while. Then he let out a whoop and began dancing around his room with his trusty pal, McBurger, the stuffed hamburger.

A small noise came from the bed as Alfred did some kind of cross between a Fox Trot and the Charleston (in all honesty, he didn't even know what he was doing.) With a quiet groan, Matthew lifted himself up on his elbows and stared at Alfred. Alfred danced his way back to the bed, handing Matthew his glasses and grinning like a drunken moron. After a long, quiet moment, in which Matthew blinked at him at least five times, the silence was broken.

"Al?"

"Yeah, dude?"

"Why are you so happy?"

In response, Alfred handed Matthew his cell and danced back across the room while Matthew pulled himself up into a sitting position with a grimace.

"I don't understand," Matthew said. Alfred stopped dancing and turned back around.

"What do you mean, dude?"

Matthew raised an eyebrow at him. "All this says is 'Yes'. Yes what, exactly?"

"Yes he'll go out with me!" Alfred shouted, grinning so wide his face actually hurt.

"W-wait, what about Francis?" Matthew asked, looking at Alfred like he'd just said he was pregnant.

"They broke up last night, apparently." Alfred shrugged. "But that's not the point, dude!"

Matthew made a face, and Alfred guessed he was in pain from his injury.

"And you just asked him out?"

Alfred nodded. "And he said yes!"

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted the forgotten bag of popcorn and the soda from the night before. Matthew looked back down at the phone and tapped the screen a few times. Alfred just watched him from his favorite hero pose, not caring if Matt went through his phone. He was still waiting for the Canadian to and say "That's great, eh?" or something. He got ready for it when Matthew looked back up at him.

"Did you see this?"

Alfred deflated a little.

"Dude, you're totally failing at the worshiping little brother role," Alfred complained, pouting a bit as he came to see what Matthew was talking about.

"Oh, sorry," Matthew said. "I'm happy for you," he added. It sounded a little weird, the way he said it, but Alfred shrugged it off and took the phone to look at the picture message Arthur had sent earlier that morning.

A flyer was taped up in a store window, advertising an amateur band competition that would be held in two weeks to raise money for the local fire department. Arthur had added a few words to the message.

This is why I'm the manager. Tell Gilbert for me.

Alfred grinned and looked at Matthew. "Dude, this is perfect!" Matthew smiled back at him and nodded a little.

"Yeah, it looks like a good place for our first gig. You should call Gilbert and let him know."

Alfred nodded and pressed a speed dial button. He grinned when he heard the Prussian grunt over the line.

"Hey, Gil, guess what!"

-H-

Matthew was lounging on the couch, reading a book, when Alfred came into the living room.

"What do you think?" he asked, spreading his arms to give his brother a good look. Matthew looked him over for a long moment before finally commenting.

"I think Arthur will complain."

"Aw, what?" Alfred whined. Matthew gave him an apologetic smile.

"Arthur complains about everything."

Alfred stared at his brother for a moment. Matthew was giving him a weird look. It was almost... sly? But, this was Mattie. Sweet, innocent, wouldn't hurt a speck of dirt Mattie.

"Dude, did you just...tease me?" Matthew smiled a little and looked down at his book.

"Yeah, I'm sorry, Al. That was mean."

Alfred burst out laughing.

"Man, we're rubbing off on you," he grinned.

Matthew chuckled slightly and looked off to the side. "I guess. But you look fine, Al. I'm sure it won't matter to Arthur, anyway. You've been friends for years."

Alfred grinned and nodded. "'Kay, be back later. Keep your mom outta my room," he called over his shoulder as he made his way to the door.

"I will," Matthew called back.

Alfred made his way to his truck, checking his pockets again just to be sure he hadn't left anything. Satisfied that everything was accounted for, Alfred hopped into the driver's seat and went to meet Arthur.

It barely took any time to drive to Arthur's house, and Alfred was there before he could even think about being nervous for their first date. Parking on the curb, Alfred hopped out of his truck and made his way towards the door. But before he'd reached the step Arthur was opening the door. Alfred grinned and waved to him, even though the Brit had already seen him. Arthur smiled and walked across the lawn to meet him.

"Hello, Alfred."

"'Sup, Iggy!"

Alfred grinned, turning to walk side by side with Arthur to the truck. He hesitated by his door, not sure if Arthur would expect him to open his door for him or something, but Arthur opened it without a complaint, so apparently not. Alfred quickly walked around the truck, pulled open his door, and climbed in, working as fast as he could to turn the car on and get the air conditioning back in action. The July heat hadn't let up in the few days that had passed since Arthur called in the middle of the night. If anything, it'd gotten worse.

"Do you know the way?" Arthur teased as they buckled in and Alfred began to drive them away from Arthur's house.

"Uh, where are we going again?" Alfred joked back.

"The hospital if you're driving," Arthur grinned. Alfred turned a corner and shrugged.

"Well if you feel that way, feel free to jump ship."

"I suppose it would be jump truck."

"You know what I meant."

"You should say what you mean."

"You should mean what you say."

"You shouldn't quote Alice in Wonderland. And I mean that," Arthur smirked. Alfred snorted.

"Only you would have Alice in Wonderland memorized enough to know a quote from it, dude."

"I wasn't the one who quoted it, though." Damn. Alfred couldn't think of a response to that.

"Yeah, whatever," he shrugged.

"Are you conceding a victory, Alfred?" Arthur mock gasped. Alfred grinned.

"Nah, I'm just being the bigger man and walking away."

"Don't you dare try to sound all responsible now; that's my job."

Alfred started laughing, making Arthur chuckle a bit as well. They'd reached their destination anyway, and the banter was dropped when Alfred parked the truck.

"Ready?" Alfred asked as he unbuckled.

"Yeah." Arthur nodded before getting out of the truck. Alfred followed suit and walked along side him to the little café on the corner.

The café was blessedly cool, a godsend compared to the heat wave raging outside. Alfred and Arthur sat at a table in the corner and ordered small sandwiches when the eager waitress asked what they'd like.

As Arthur took a sip from his glass of water, Alfred shifted uncomfortably. He wanted to chat with Arthur, but now that they were dating and actually inside the café, things felt different. They were on a date, which meant he had to remember that certain behaviors were 'inappropriate' according to the Brit. Normally he'd just ignore that, but he kinda wanted there to be a chance of a second date, so yeah, he should probably try to 'behave.'

Alfred looked around the café, trying to find the words to start a conversation, when a couple walked past their table, the girl clinging to the guy's arm and giggling softly. Alfred cringed.

"I agree," Arthur said.

"Huh?" Alfred looked at the blond, who was grimacing.

"I'm not a big fan of the lovey dovey, sweetums and swatums routine either," Arthur explained. Alfred laughed.

"Yeah, it's kinda gross."

"Rest assured I won't be giving you sickening pet names anytime soon."

"Wouldn't want you to," Alfred smirked, "Pumpkin."

Arthur raised an eyebrow at him, frowning, but then he smiled and Alfred could see 'So that's how it is' written in his eyes.

"Will there be anything else?" the waitress asked a moment later as she handed them their plates. Alfred didn't fail to notice the flirty look she gave him. A glance at Arthur told him it had been just as obvious from the other side of the table, and he grinned at Arthur, waiting to see how he'd react.

"I don't believe so," Arthur answered her politely. "Can you think of anything else you might need, Teddy Bear?"

Alfred couldn't hold back a snort and just shook his head as the girl left, looking a bit embarrassed. Arthur grinned in a way only Arthur could – sly and smug. Alfred had seen that grin plenty of times as a kid, just before they got in trouble, and he loved it.

"That wasn't very polite, Cupcake," he mock-scolded, picking up his sandwich.

"I have no idea what you mean, Jelly Bean," Arthur said before taking a bite. Alfred made a face at the awful name and Arthur smirked, clearly thinking he was winning.

"So anyway, how was work, Shnookums?"

Arthur nearly choked on his sandwich, but the look he gave Alfred once he'd recovered was nothing short of evil.

"Oh, it was quite lovely, Poopsie."

-H-

That they made it through lunch without choking, or being kicked out of the café for laughing so loudly, was a miracle. The names didn't stop at the door; they were both too eager to outdo one another. Once names like Cutie Patootie and Boo Boo Bear reared their hideous heads, Alfred knew they were playing hard ball.

Half a mile away from Arthur's house, Alfred got an evil idea. He was going to win this thing, damn it. Turning on the radio to a station he knew no one around town listened to, he grinned at the confused look Arthur gave him and waited. As the song ended and the station host gave out the request number, Alfred pulled out his cell phone, his grin widening as Arthur realized a few seconds too late what he was up to.

"Hello, you're on air with us here at HETA 20.5. What would you like to request?" the host greeted him. Arthur looked torn between laughing and strangling Alfred with his own intestines.

"Hi, I'd like to request Every Breath You Take by The Police for my precious Yum Yums."

A/N: Thank you so much for reading... whatever this has just become... I wish I could say I'm sorry. This chapter was very difficult to write, and it didn't go the way I planned. Originally, they were supposed to have a nice, civil conversation and enjoy themselves at the café before going on a minor shopping spree on Main Street. But I wasn't very good at writing fluff, and I was terrible at writing Arthur when I wrote this chapter, so this is where it went instead. I apologize if I made anyone nauseous with all the pet names.
Yes, USUK has come into play, but it won't be that easy. If the Hundred Years War was referenced in the last chapter, then the beginnings of the British colonization of America are represented, albeit very loosely, in this chapter. We all know how that ends.

Thank you very much to Hornet394 for beta-ing this story.

I know I've set a pattern here that implies Arthur will be the main focus of the next chapter, but as I've shown, I couldn't really write him well, so he unfortunately will get less screen time this round.

To the Guest reviewer: I am so beyond happy – I can't even find the words. Thank you so, so, so much! I'm very happy to hear how much you like this story. I believe your question on Arthur and Alfred was answered in this chapter. I hope Mattie will be okay too. I already feel guilty for the pain I've put him through. My wound was when I was eight years old, so it's perfectly fine now, but thank you for your concern :). You're very welcome, and I'm very excited to be posting this chapter. (Partially because it means I can move on from the mess the date turned into... I'm sorry). Thank you so much.

Translations for this chapter:
None again! I'm seeing a pattern here: Gilbert-free chapters seem to be purely English...

Thank you so very much for reading this story (and suffering through those pet names.)

~VV