Chapter Text
"Okay, class," Arthur—or as he asked Alfred to address him in school, “Mr. Kirkland”—started as he made his way to the chalkboard. He leaned back slightly, trying not to get chalk on what seemed to be a new suit. All Alfred knew is that he had never seen it on him before until now. Arthur put his hands together. "Today, I have some great news."
He looked around the classes at the faces, but was met with the usual blank, uninterested stares. Despite this, he continued on. "We have been assigned penpals from Japan." This seemed to have piqued the interest of some, as some heads snapped up from their phones and notebooks. Oh great, Alfred thought, another assignment for him to badger me at home to do. That was one of the many downsides to having your caretaker be your English teacher.
“I have the first letters they have sent us. Please be polite and make sure to try and not use slang.” Arthur grabbed a stack of letters from his desk that were wrapped up in a rubber band. “Oh,” he looked up as he struggled with the rubber band. “I will be reading these, so don’t think you can get away with not taking this seriously.” He chided.
He began to pass them out to the class, each envelope with the name of a different student’s name. Alfred had already known about the idea, or more like he vaguely remembered Arthur bringing it up one night during dinner. It was something about a friend he knew teaching English in Japan wanting to start a correspondence with one of Arthur’s own classes. Arthur is always looking for something to brag about, so Alfred isn’t surprised that he jumped at the offer.
Finally, Arthur had made his way over to Alfred and dropped a letter on his desk. Their eyes met for a brief moment, Arthur giving him what seemed to be an annoyingly knowing look.
Alfred yawned as he opened the envelope. He had practice yesterday and then a mountain of homework and studying to do, so he only got two, maybe three hours of shut eye? It didn’t matter to him away, he just knew that it definitely wasn’t enough to function in school. He had practically begged Arthur to let him stay home, but there was no way Arthur was going to let him. Alfred was resigned to think that he liked to watch him suffer.
He pulled the (very formal looking) paper from the envelope and unfolded it. Alfred adjusted the glasses on his face and began to read.
Dear Alfred Jones,
My name is Kiku Honda and I am a student here in Japan. As a project for English we will be spending our remaining two terms writing to your class. I’m very excited at the opportunity to have an authentic conversation with a fluent English speaker.
I attend the school your teacher’s friend teaches English at which is in Osaka. Osaka is very lively, though not as lively as Tokyo in my opinion. I have been studying English for a very long time as I have always been striving towards a career path in business. I hope it isn’t too terrible to read and I’m sorry for any mistakes I may make. My teacher proofreads and helps us, so hopefully I will not make too many.
Sincerely,
KIku Honda
Alfred continued to stare down at the letter even after he finished reading. The handwriting was incredibly neat for someone who wasn’t a native speaker, Alfred was a little jealous. Words that had been used to describe his handwriting ranged from scribble to chicken scratch.
Once the class became restless after finishing the letters, Arthur spoke, leaning against his desk. “Your assignment is to write a response. It is due at the end of the week, so you have time, I don’t want any excuses.”
From there he began the lesson on Henry IV, Alfred attempted to stay awake through it all, but he wasn’t surprised when Arthur shook him. “Alfred, wake up.”
Alfred looked up and wiped his eyes. Students were filing out, heading to their final class of the day. “What? Oh?”
Arthur practically glared at him. “You fell asleep during my lesson.”
“Sorry, dude.”
“It’s Mr. Kirkland.”
Alfred stood up from his seat and threw his backpack onto his shoulder with a sleepy grin. “Whatever.”
“Hey—wait, where are you going? Alfred F. Jones get back here right this minute!” He left Arthur to his sputtering and went to his final class. He would want him to get to class after all, right?
“You look beat, are you sure you still want to do this?” Matthew asked, the concern obvious in his tone.
Alfred nodded with a grin. “So what if I’m a little tired? Ice cream with my little bro beats sleep anytime.” He put Matthew in a headlock and ground his knuckles into his brother’s head.
“Ouch.” Matthew tried to wiggle out of his hold. Alfred let him go and watched as he smoothed over his hair. “Don’t do that, please.”
Alfred pat him on the back. “Okay, only because you’re so polite.”
It was time for their usual once a week meet up after school. It was at the behest of their caretakers, Arthur and Francis. When Francis had moved into the town with his younger brother, he and Arthur thought it would be good for them to stick together and “strengthen their brotherly bonds”. Alfred was confused because he thought they already had those from, you know, being brothers, but he was glad either way. It was better than once a month skype chats and once a year visits.
The brothers chose the Italia gelato shop in the town center as their meeting space. It was a quaint little shop with only a few patrons, especially when it started to get cold. It also served ice cream, which they both loved. The shop was run by someone who was definitely not Italian, in fact he was a Spanish man who went by the name of Antonio. Alfred asked him once why a Spanish man was running an Italian gelato shop and he just smiled in response and said that he learned the trade by someone close to him.
“One regular vanilla cone and large sundae, please.” Alfred ordered excitedly, his mouth practically watering at the prospect of ice cream.
Antonio laughed at his excitement. “Alright that will be nine dollars, four cents.”
Alfred fished in his back pocket of his jeans for his wallet and produced the amount. “Here ya go.” He handed the money to Antonio.
He and Matthew made small talk while Antonio prepared their ice cream. He asked Matthew about how he felt about the next hockey season which was finally starting soon. Hockey was one of the few things that got Matthew’s eyes to light up and break out of his seemingly shy shell. Alfred cared about hockey to the degree that he knew how it was played and all the major teams, but all in all he preferred things like basketball, baseball and football. Especially football.
Antonio had come back with their ice cream. Alfred got his sundae (which was large indeed) and Matthew got his vanilla cone. They occupied their usual booth that was in the corner of the shop where the window was. Alfred always took the spot facing the window due to Matthew’s shyness.
“So, how’s the college search going?” Matthew asked a soon as they settled into their seats. Alfred paused mid-scoop, surprised that he of all people was trying to start a conversation.
“Did Arthur put you up to this?” He asked, with an eyebrow cocked.
Matthew shook his hurriedly. “Oh no, I just—I mean I’ve just been kind of worried about it lately with us being seniors and all. I feel like I can’t go a single school day without someone bringing it up.”
“Sorry, little bro, I didn’t mean to accuse you or anything.” He stretched over to pet Matthew’s head. Alfred went back to ravaging his sundae a scoop at a time.
“So, am I to assume the college search isn’t going anywhere?” Matthew spoke as Alfred spooned the last bit of sundae in his mouth. Damn, he loved ice cream.
Alfred put down his bowl and spoon, not bothering to wipe the bit of ice cream that had managed to stain the side of his lip. He shrugged. “To tell you the truth, I don’t really know what I want to do. I mean, I’ve always wanted to create video games, but everyone really wants me to play football, ya know?”
Matthew nodded. “By the way, how’s the game you’re making with Gilbert going?” Hidden interest lurked in his blue eyes. He and Gilbert had been working on a game for some time now, it didn’t have a name since neither could agree on one (Gilbert kept suggesting they name it ‘The Adventures of Mr. Awesome’ and Alfred insisted that the title be ‘The Adventures of Mr. Hero’).
“We’ve made enough progress with the plot, I’m working on the concept art right now since I’m the only one who sort of knows how to draw.” Alfred laughed to himself. “Gilbert can’t draw a stick figure even if he tried.”
Matthew smirked for a fleeting moment, which was a rare moment for Alfred. Matthew hardly smiled around him.
“So, how about you? Do you have any college plans?”
“I’m going to apply to a few nearby schools and see which I get into. I don’t really want to leave Francis’ nest yet.”
Alfred leaned back in his seat and threw his hands behind his head. “Really? I’m dying to leave Arthur’s place.”
“Why don’t you like him? I remember how much you loved him when we were kids.” The last part of his statement made Alfred blush. Yeah, it was true, as a child he did love Arthur. Truth is, he still did, he just needed some space, but there was no way he was admitting that to Matthew.
“It’s not that I don’t like him. It’s just he wants me to be someone I’m not, ya know?”
Matthew nodded before going back to his cone, which he was more than three quarters of the way finished.
When the boys departed they made the promise to meet each other again for dinner at Francis’ on Thursday. (Alfred couldn’t wait to escape Arthur’s horrid cooking).
Dear Kiku Honda,
I’m Alfred F. Jones and I’m from America (as you probably already know). It’s nice to meet you! You seem very sincere about wanting to learn English and I think that’s wonderful. Usually when people from other countries learn English they learn UK English, which is primarily used in the United Kingdoms, so I’m glad that you’re learning actual US English.
Don’t worry about making mistakes, that’s what I’m here for! If you have any questions or curiosity (whether it’s about the country or language), I’m here. (Also my guardian is my English teacher, so he’s there too, just in case I can’t answer them myself.) By the way, your handwriting is beautiful, where did you learn such lovely script?
Sincerely,
Alfred F. Jones
P.S. Where exactly is Japan?
Kiku Honda stared at the letter, all of his previous anxieties expelled. He was nervous that even with the help of his teacher, he would manage to make a fool of himself. Somehow, he hadn’t though or maybe, his partner was extremely nice. Whenever he thought about their compliment to his handwriting, he felt his heart do a little flip. He always worked hard to get every letter correct, it was good to know all that hard work was paying off.
It was the last line of the letter that left Kiku wondering. Had he really not known where Japan was? He had heard the stereotype that Americans were not all that knowledgeable about geography, but he never thought he would actually had to deal with it. Maybe he could manage to draw a small rough map on his next letter for him? It would really be a shame for his penpal to not know where he was writing to…
“Kirkland-sensei?” He approached the teacher after clean up, while all the others left to their clubs. He was the president of the school after all, the council meetings don’t start until he gets there. Plus, he was sure Ludwig and Feliciano’s antics would distract them all for about a solid fifteen minutes. How did those two strange foreigners make into the student council, he wasn’t sure, but somehow the duo managed the win over the hearts of the student body. Somehow.
“Yes, Kiku-kun?” Peter Kirkland smiled at him. He was a very young man, probably only a few years older than his own students and fresh out of college.
Kiku held up his letter. “I have some questions about the letters we were sent, I need some clarification for certain parts…”
“Oh, gladly, Kiku-kun! Here, tell me what you need explained.”
He had spent several minutes more than he had initially expected, having Peter explain the unclear parts to Kiku. He promised he would jot down some notes later when he got back home, but he had to get the council meeting room before Ludwig and Feliciano got out of hand. He sped through the hallways whenever a teacher wasn’t walking and speed walked when they were.
Eventually he made it to the council room in time and boy, was he glad he did. Ludwig had Feliciano by the shirt collar, yelling at him to calm down.
Ludwig let go of Feliciano’s collar when Kiku entered. “Hey, Kiku-san.”
“Hey, Kiku-kun.” Feliciano said in an almost dejected tone.
“Hello,” he greeted everyone in the room. He waited for everyone to sit before he did
They began by discussing the upcoming Sports festival and made a list of all the sports clubs that would be presenting.
“Well, our swimming club seems to be getting popular with the students of the school. I think we should give them a slot this year.” Ludwig suggested. Several people nodded in agreement.
Feliciano peeked over his notes. “Uh, what’s the captain’s name again?”
Everyone around the table looked at each other.
“I think it might be Jett-san.”
“I could’ve sworn I heard someone call him Kyle-san.”
“Just write down ‘the captain of the swim club’, Feli-kun.” Kiku whispered to Feliciano who nodded and scribbled down on his notebook.
A person from Kiku’s right spoke up. “Heracles-senpai mentioned the basketball team wanting a slot…” He resisted the urge to clench his first.
“Yeah, he told me to mention it was the meeting today too,” spoke someone to his left.
“Well, the basketball team did make it to the championships and has the winter cup coming up soon, so why not.” He mumbled.
Feliciano scribbled and Ludwig gave Kiku a concerned look.
They all took their turns coming up with a reasonable list of sports teams to include at the festival. They tried their best to find a balance between clubs that were popular among the students and the clubs that were known for all the trophies and titles they accumulated.
Still, Kiku knew that he was going to have to talk to him and something in the pit of his stomach had told him that he had planned for this to happen.
“Nice seeing you here, Kiku-chan.” He heard an annoyingly familiar voice say as he left the building. He stopped in his tracks.
Kiku wanted to roll his eyes, but turned around to face the source of the voice calmly. “You knew I’d be here, Heracles-san. I always leave at this time.”
Heracles came from where he was leaning against the wall and gave his usual lazy smile. “I wanted to walk you to the train station.”
“I’m actually walking with Ludwig-san and Feli-kun today,” he lied. Ludwig and Feliciano were probably already gone.
“But, I wanted to tell you this funny story about my cats—“He lifted a hand to place on Kiku’s shoulder and Kiku instinctively ducked. Heracles turned around with a confused expression. “You’ve been weird lately… If it’s about that night, you know you could just tell me—“
Kiku didn’t give him time to finish, he just took off, knowing that Heracles wouldn’t run after him. He somehow knew that he never would.
He didn’t stop running until he reached the train station.
Dear Alfred F. Jones,
Hello again! Thank you for the compliment, I appreciate it. I drew you a map at the bottom of the page to answer your question from last time. It may not be completely accurate, but I traced it from a real world map. Also, we are learning what you call UK English, it’s just that our teacher wanted us to be exposed to the many dialects on English. My teacher is an Englishman, his name is Peter Kirkland.
How has your school year been so far? I just came from planning the Sports festival at my school which is like a day where students participate in different sporting events. I am the president of the school, so it is my duty to make sure it is interesting for both the students and public. Do you play any sports, Alfred? I know sports are really popular in the United States.
Sincerely,
Kiku Honda.
Alfred leaned forward, staring at the letter before him wide eyed. He looked at Arthur, who was sitting in his chair, pretending to read a book so he would seem busy while the class read. Did Arthur have a brother he never talked about? But, if they were on bad terms, why would they have their classes write each other? Or were they friends because they shared the last name?
He was tempted to bring it up at dinner, but, sadly Arthur ruined that for him.
They were sitting at the dinner table, Alfred was forcing himself to eat whatever bland meal Arthur had cooked (he would just sneak some chips up to his room for later). The two ate in silence until Arthur decided that his presence wasn’t enough.
“So, Alfred,” he started slowly, setting down his fork. “Have you been thinking about your college plans?” He folded his hands together and looked at him with an expression that screamed “c’mon, make me proud” and it annoyed Alfred to no end.
As a kid he had craved the looks and when he had got them, the effects would last for days, even weeks. Now, he had entered the part of his life where he realized he wanted to do things for himself and not for someone else’s satisfaction.
Alfred shrugged and took a sip of his water before going back to eating.
“Do you have plans for after college at all?”
Alfred set down his fork. “I just…I don’t know,” he sighed. His dream would be foolish in Arthur’s eyes and while he didn’t want to admit it…he didn’t want Arthur shit on his dreams. It’s not like it would dissuade him—or at least Alfred thought—he just didn’t want to know what his reaction would be to Alfred’s news.
“Well, Francis is taking Matthew to look at colleges this weekend. Why don’t you tag along? I would come with you all, but sadly, I don’t think I could take being in the same car as that frog.” Arthur looked passed him for a moment, glaring at nothing in particular. He and Francis apparently got into a huge argument from what Matthew told him. Neither of them knew about what, but whatever it was, it was pretty bad this time around.
“Sounds like fun, I guess.” Alfred agreed. He guessed he could sleep over Matthew’s house and use it as an excuse to visit Gilbert or maybe Ivan. The thought of the letters popped into his head and Alfred was reminded of his question from earlier. “Oh, yeah. Arthur?”
“Yes?”
Alfred was about to inquire about this supposed “brother” of his when Arthur’s phone rang. He held up his index finger as he dug up his phone from his coat pocket and left the table to answer it.
Alfred quietly went back to eating and when he was finished he grabbed his chips and left to his room, the sound of Arthur’s voice fading behind him.
Once he reached his room, he removed his sneakers in a few fluid motions and flopped onto his twin sized bed. It groaned under his sudden weight. He had assignments to be working on, practice took up at lot of his time most days, so most of his work had to be done in advance, but Alfred was not a very diligent student. He really just kept up his grades so he could play football and keep Arthur off his back.
His phone vibrated in the pocket of his jeans and Alfred pulled it. It read that he had a new snap on snapchat sent by IAmAwesomest. Alfred chuckled at the stupidity of Gilbert’s username, but checked it nonetheless. It was a ten second snap of a picture of a bouquet with the message Prom w/ me????
Alfred laughed, he thought that was the plan all along. They would go to prom together to avoid all the drama that came with choosing a date. (It also didn’t help that Gilbert’s ex, Elizabeta, was going with Roderich. Gilbert didn’t admit it, but he was definitely mad—or at least unhappy—about it.)
Alfred replied with a short video clip. “Duh, of course. Now, shoo, I have homework.” He then turned on a small playlist he reserved for study as he began to sort out which assignment he would get done tonight.
He started with his reply.
Dear Kiku Honda,
The school year has been going…smoothly, to say the least. In America, we’re only about a month into our school year, so everything is just starting to pick up. We have homecoming soon, which is a dance that takes place after a football game. I’m actually the captain of the football team here at my school. I’ve been playing football since I was a child and saw it on TV. My caretaker is British, so he couldn’t really teach me. Instead, he let me join a team and while I didn’t get to play much, they taught me how to play the game. I became good at it fast enough that I got to play before the season ended! I remember we won the championship that year, it was awesome. I play the position of quarterback, so a lot of people’s eyes are on me and my teammates look up to me. I love it.
A Sports festival sounds like fun! I wish we had something like that in high school. Some elementary and middle schools have something similar called a “field day.” I remember we used to play kickball and basketball…this one time I accidently kicked the ball to hard that it hit someone in the face and gave them a bloody nose. They just laughed and said it was okay, but I was scolded for being too rough. Still, it was a fun day. We got blue shaved ice at the end.
When do you guys have the cool festivals like in the animes? Anime is from Japan, right? Like, Sailor Moon (don’t tell anyone I watched that) and Dragon Ball Z? I’ve always wondered if the festivals actually look like that in real life. They look like fun.
By the way, thanks for the map! It really helped. It was a very President-like thing to do. My school has something similar, but ours…well, they have very limited powers and don’t do much except pick the themes for Spirit Week, which is like a week where you show school spirit (and it’s ridiculously hard to explain too). How much control do you have over the school?
Sincerely,
Alfred F. Jones
Kiku blinked up from the letter, feeling his head slightly throb. It was a lot to read and translate in his head. It’s not that he minded the length of the letter, he just wanted to make sure he understood it all so he could write an appropriate response. From what he read, this student had a very…endearing life. Reading his letter had made Kiku smile. The American seemed so outgoing and carefree. It reminded him a bit of Feliciano.
He stayed after again, this time letting Ludwig know he would be late for the meeting and handing over the reins to him. Kiku went over the letter in painstaking detail with his teacher. He was happy to help as per usual, with a good natured smile. This time Kiku took the notes while he was there, scribbling them down in English phrases.
“Thank you,” he said in English as bowed to his teacher. He then exited the classroom and headed for the meeting room of the school council.
Upon entry he bowed to those gathered around the table. “Sorry, everyone. After cleaning I had to ask my English teacher some questions.” He took his seat at the head of the table, everyone looked not to him, but at Ludwig, who was doing his job as Kiku’s temporary replacement. Feliciano passed his notes to Kiku and he skimmed them (which was hard due to Feliciano’s terrible penmanship).
They were creating the schedule and assigning different members to watch over various clubs and jobs. Kiku searched for his name and paused when his eyes rested on his name. Of course, he was left with keeping up with the basketball team. He held back his urge to sigh as he passed the notes back to Feliciano with a mumbled thank you.
Ludwig turned his attention from the group to Kiku. “We’re discussing relay and what games to play. Any ideas?”
“Well, the relay should stay the same as last year, though I think students should nominate the students they want to represent their class. As for games…maybe we could play kickball for a change.”
Several students giggled, a first year in the back raised her hand and Kiku nodded for her to speak. “Uh, I don’t think any of us have played kickball since we were kids.”
Kiku nodded and gave a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Yes, but won’t it bring back some memories? Also, everyone playing would be on an even playing field since no one really plays kickball anymore.”
They all mumbled in agreement and Feliciano wrote the idea down.
The meeting continued with game ideas, Kiku kind of just nodded to most of it though, the feeling of dread filled his stomach. He was going to have to talk to Heracles sooner or later whether he liked it or not and he wasn’t sure what he was going to say when he did. The other boy hadn’t tried to speak to him after the time that he ran off in a hurry, but now, there was no where he could run.
After the meeting, Kiku thanked Ludwig for his help to which Ludwig replied that it was no problem. The trio then split unevenly, Ludwig and Feliciano walked home together while Kiku left for the train station.
When he finally arrived home he slipped off his shoes and immediately went to the kitchen to make himself some food. He lived alone, as his father had business in another country and wanted as little as possible to do with him since his mother died. Occasionally he would be visited by his uncles who checked on how he was doing in school, but other than that he was completely alone in the small apartment. Not that he minded it.
He didn’t feel like making food today for the simple fact that he wasn’t very hungry. He wasn’t sure if it was the fact that he would soon have to face the problem he had been ignoring ever since school was back in session or if he really just wasn’t hungry. Kiku pulled out some rice balls he purchased at the convenience store for a time like this out of the refrigerator. He ate it quickly as he rested against the closed door of the fridge, his body shivering when his bare skin made contact with it.
The only thing he had to do tonight was study for his exams which were coming up soon. Kiku closed his eyes and tilted his head back as he chewed. He exhaled harshly through his nose. He had no idea how he could be worried about things with Heracles with something of that magnitude looming over him.
When he was done his food, he studied for hours on end until it came close to his bedtime. It was around this time that Kiku would start to practice his English, whether it was by writing, reading or speaking. He reminded himself that he had to meet with his English tutor outside of school this Saturday. The man was hired by none other than Kiku’s uncles in the hopes that he could one day become fluent.
Tonight he decided he would practice writing and wrote his response to Alfred, carefully picking and choosing his words.
Dear Alfred F. Jones,
I really enjoyed reading your last letter! I read the letter with a smile on my face the entire time. You’re childhood seemed to be very endearing and cute. I was a rather shy kid my entire childhood, so I was rather reserved from the other children. My mother always joked about finding me under a tree reading while everyone else played games with one another. In truth, it was not the other children’s fault, I just really like reading. Do you like reading? Also, what’s your favorite book? Even people who don’t like reading have a favorite book. I have read too many to have an absolute favorite, but one that I recently read was “Norwegian Wood” (or Noruwei no Mori, in Japanese). If you ever decide to pick one up, I recommend that one. The main character thinks back to his time in college and the two girls he knew. It sounds very simple, but it is really good, I promise!
As for your questions, we do have festivals in Japan and our school sometimes hosts them! (And, yes, anime is from Japan.) They are a lot of fun. If you ever come to Japan, I would suggest coming around the time of a festival so you can go and enjoy them. They have many games available to be played and we get to wear these vestments called “yukata”, they are so nice and freeing! I have a lot of them, it’s so sad that I barely get to use them now. Speaking of festivals, they also have food stalls with different types of foods like ramen and crepes. They are nice and hot too, which is great on a chilly night.
Being president in Japanese schools mean that I get to make minor decisions and I get to organize things like festivals and events. It’s hard work, but I like that people can rely on me.
You mentioned dances…what exactly are those? I’ve seen them from time to time when I watch American television shows, but there must be more to it than dancing and dressing up, right?
Sincerely,
Kiku Honda
P.S: I asked my teacher if I could enclose some photos of the last festival I attended and he said yes! I am the only Japanese boy in the photos, the other two are my friends Ludwig (the blond, tall man) and Feliciano (short, brown haired boy). They are both foreign exchange students, but they’ve somehow captured the heart of the school!
Alfred couldn’t stop grinning. He wasn’t even sure why. He pulled out the photos that were tucked in the envelope, behind the letter.
The first photo was taken of random colorful stalls with words in Japanese that he didn’t understand. Lanterns hung above the heads of the people walking by, lighting their way through the dark night. Alfred read Kiku’s handwriting on the back. Food Stalls. He drew a little bowl of ramen in the corner with the small words scribbled So Good!
The next photo was of fireworks in the sky. They were a plethora of colors, more than Alfred had ever seen at any firework show. They seemed akin to those large 4th of July celebrations in the major U.S cities. The back read: I love the fireworks show, they are always so pretty.
Alfred had to stifle a laugh at the next one, the Italian, Feliciano was trying to catch a fish with a net that seemed to be as thin as paper. His face was comically set in determination—it didn’t look like he was used to wearing that expression. On the other side of him, the tall German man, Ludwig, stood beside him, covering his face in exasperation. Feliciano must have tried many times before and failed miserably every time. I’ve always disliked this game, it’s really hard. But, in the end Feli did get his fish…
The last photo was of Kiku. Alfred had to was surprised, to say the very least. He was a lot shorter than Alfred had imagined, with big brown eyes and raven hair. His eyes were narrowed and he wore a focused expression. He held a ring in his hand and held it inward, as if he were about to throw it. He was wearing a yukata with a beautiful pink floral pattern. An embarrassing photo of me doing the ring toss game. I did get a prize though!
Alfred could feel everyone’s eyes on him, curious to see what their classmate received. He even noticed Arthur glancing over his book at him and he knew he would bring it up for sure later.
He hoped he wouldn’t bring it up around Francis at dinner.
He did, of course.
Every week, they tried to have dinner together at least once as a family, mostly because Francis felt bad because he knew Arthur could not cook to save his life and felt bad for Alfred. Matthew usually would show up, but he had been coming up with lame excuses lately ever since he and Alfred went to visit colleges. He had also been bailing out on their ice cream plans as well. Alfred wanted ask him if everything was fine, but with Homecoming in only a day, he didn’t have much time to talk to him. He tried texting him a bunch of the time too, but he never got a reply.
“Can I see the pictures the student sent you?” Arthur asked at the dinner table. Francis looked over at Alfred with a curious expression.
“Wow, they sent you pictures? You must be quite the conversationalist, Alfred.” He said and Alfred smiled.
“Yeah, I guess so,” he couldn’t get the image of Kiku out of his head. With his picture he just seemed so much more…real? He couldn’t explain it well. “I’ll go get the pictures from my room.” Alfred stood up with his empty plate and put it in the dishwasher before heading up the stairs to his room.
He opened his backpack and fished around blindly for the envelope. Alfred made sure to put it in between the pages of the book he never touched, Henry IV. His hand made contact with the envelope and he slipped it from its spot between the book pages.
When he came back down, he immediately handed the photos over to Francis. He smirked at the annoyance that flashed in Arthur’s eyes. Arthur leaned over Francis’ shoulder to get a better look, Francis read the captions to each aloud as they saw them.
“Ugh, le Japon est tres beau. I’m jealous.” Francis uttered when he handed the photos back to Alfred. Arthur gestured for them and Alfred handed them over, still smirking.
Francis placed a hand on his shoulder. “It looks like you have made a friend. You should send him pictures back, n’est ce pas, Arthur?”
“English, but yes, he should. Pictures of Homecoming would seem fitting.” Arthur said as he stared down at the photos in his hand.
“By the way, who’s your date?” Francis asked, pulling Alfred close like he was going to tell him an important secret.
Alfred shrugged. “I’m going with Gilbert as friends.”
“Eh?!” Francis backed away to look at him. “You’re friends with that delinquent?”
Alfred nodded.
Arthur handed back the photos. “Out of all the people who asked you too,” he mumbled before walking past him and into the kitchen.
Alfred shrugged again. “It was less drama to go with a friend.”
Francis put a hand to his head, as if he were about to faint. “First, Matthew isn’t going and then you decide to go with a no good delinquent. Oh, where did we go wrong?” He looked over at Arthur who was coming back to the dining room with a cold beer in hand.
“Calm down, overdramatic frog.”
Francis scowled, but before he could say anything, Alfred spoke.
“Wait…Matthew isn’t going to Homecoming?”
Francis shook his head, a sad expression took over his face. “Non. I don’t know what happened. He just stays in his room most of the time, unless its hockey or food. It’s so unlike him.” He sighed. “I’ve been trying to get him to come out and tell me what’s wrong, but eventually I just thought I should give him time.”
“I wonder what’s wrong…” Alfred mumbled. The thing was, he felt like he had something to do with it, but there was nothing he could think of. Alfred had been told many times by fellow classmates and friends that he was terrible at reading people and easily offended some, so he couldn’t help the worry that pooled inside his chest.
Cheers erupted from the crowd as Alfred made the final touchdown of the game. It was rare whenever he did that, a straight run for the end zone right after the snap. It was refreshing and when he made it, he couldn’t help but bask in the feeling of doing something so epic.
The team rushed towards him and a look of surprise made its way to Alfred’s face as they hoisted him onto their shoulders. Alfred threw his head back to the sky and grinned at no one in particular. He laughed, feeling the adrenaline drain from him. He couldn’t wait to get back to the house where he could relax for a few hours before the dance. He was also spending the night at Gilbert’s so they could work on the game a bit before college applications took over their lives.
When he came from the locker room he was greeted by both Arthur and Francis, who had a camera hanging around his neck. “Alfred, you were wonderful out there!” Alfred laughed as Francis pulled him into an embrace.
Arthur smiled at him. “Good job, Alfred.”
“Thanks.” Alfred mumbled, ignoring the warmth spreading in his chest.
After that they left to Arthur and Alfred’s house, so he could relax his sore muscles before the dance.
Gilbert knocked on his door at about 5pm, he was dressed, well—differently. He cleaned up, wearing a suit that almost looked tailor-made to fit his body. It was a dark gray that contrasted his hair perfectly. His jacket buttoned up like a coat, with four buttons in the middle.
“I look awesome, right?” Was the first thing he said to the very startled Alfred.
“Yeah, dude. You look great.” Alfred rubbed his eyes. He may have just been napping in his nice suit. (Francis properly scolded him when he heard the doorbell though.)
Gilbert looked him up and down as well and Alfred was pretty sure he saw him bite his lower lip. “Wow, I’d say you look almost as awesome as I do.”
Alfred chuckled, it was such a Gilbert thing to say, but after spending so much time with him, he knew to take it as a compliment.
Francis came rushing to the door where they were standing, camera in hand. “You two look absolutely stunning!” He backed up, lifting the camera to his face. “Come on, one picture before we go.”
Gilbert awkwardly came inside and Alfred shut the door behind him. He threw an arm over Gilbert’s shoulder and grinned as the camera flashed.
“Great, now let’s get going.” Francis led them to his car. He was being forced to chaperone, so he volunteered to take photos of the entire night for Alfred’s next letter.
When they arrived they were prompted to enter a name for Homecoming Queen. Alfred scribbled down the first name that popped into his head, which unsurprisingly was Eva Zwingli, who was one of the nicest girls in the senior class.
Just as they were about to leave, Elizabeta walked in with her date. Alfred had to admit, the red dress she wore looked amazing on her, but just as he was going to say something, Gilbert grabbed him by the tie and dragged him to the dance floor.
The songs were pretty upbeat, just the type Alfred could move to. He urged Gilbert to dance with him, but he refused, resigning to only tap his foot and bob his head to the beat.
After a few songs and a few dances with random girls, Alfred met his friend back at the punch bowl. “I wish my brother would’ve came. They’re playing his favorite song.” He yelled over the music Gilbert in between sips of his punch.
Gilbert and he sat in silence for a few moments. Alfred leaned against the wall of the gym that was near the table, trying to save some energy for later during the slow songs. The game had really did a number on him.
Gilbert stuck out a hand to him. “Dance with me, Alfred.”
Alfred looked from his hand to his very serious face and stifled a laugh. “Okay,” he took his hand and let him lead him to the dance floor. Alfred wasn’t too keen on slow dancing, he was known for stepping on feet or worse, but since it was his friend asking, he thought why not. They got a couple of laughs out of it. Mostly everyone ignored them, too immersed in their own lives to care. Though they did get a few stares from time to time.
Gilbert lead him through the moves and it was fun, even when he stepped on Gilbert’s toes from time to time.
Soon after it was time to announce Homecoming king and queen. The principal got on stage, he was a very serious man, who always wore the same stoic expression, no matter the situation.
“It is now time to announce who your homecoming king and queen is,” the crowd erupted in cheers despite his bored tone. He opened up the envelope that was covered in glitter and read off the card. “This year’s Homecoming King is Alfred F. Jones.”
Alfred’s eyes widened in surprise. He could feel Gilbert coaxing him forward. He walked his way onto the stage, deafened by the shouting and whistling. Alfred could definitely hear a French accent somewhere in there.
Once he got on stage, they placed a cheap crown on his head and he grinned at the people before him. He waved to them in thanks.
When the cheering calmed down, the principal spoke once more. “And your Homecoming Queen is Elizabeta Hedervary.” There was more cheering as she made her way onto the stage with graceful steps. Alfred looked at the crowd to find Gilbert, but he was nowhere to be found.
They had a quick dance together, in which Elizabeta asked how Gilbert was taking things. Alfred said he was doing just fine, but he wasn’t so sure now.
Alfred searched the gym for Gilbert, but couldn’t find any sign of him. So he ran out of the gym and headed towards the bathroom.
Gilbert was there, of course, taking a piss. “Oh, hey,” he said, looking back. “Awesome crown.” He finished and zipped up his pants.
“Thanks.” Alfred replied. “So, wanna get out of here? I’m pretty beat and this thing’s going to die out soon.”
Gilbert smiled mischievously. “Sure. Back to my place, right?”
“I kind of wanted to stop by my brother’s place first. He lives about a street or two away from you.”
Gilbert nodded. “Alright then, we’ll meet back at my place.”
The two had left the dance and random students congratulated Alfred in the hallways. Gilbert stayed silent through it all, whistling to the tune of the muffled music of the gym.
They split up when they reached Matthew’s house.
“Before you go,” Gilbert stopped Alfred by grabbing his arm.
He looked back. “Yeah?”
Gilbert closed his eyes as he leaned in for a kiss. Alfred put a hand on his shoulder before he could accomplish anything. “Um, dude? What are you doing?”
Gilbert opened his eyes and he looked almost annoyed by his interruption. “Kissing you?” He said as if it were obvious.
Alfred couldn’t stop the blush from washing over his features. “Um, I thought we were just friends…”
“Not with the way you flirted with me when you were walking that pet—thing of yours.”
Alfred tilted his head to the side. “Pet thing…” Everything in his head began to click. “Oh...oh no.”
Gilbert scoffed. ”What?”
“You thought Matthew was me, didn’t you?” He asked incredulously.
His friend swore under his breath. “I never met your brother…”
“Well, you did.”
“But I called you Alfred and everything."
“I’m pretty sure I would remember flirting with someone.” Alfred looked in the direction of Matthew’s house and it hit him just how shitty he felt. “I have to go fix this,” he mumbled before taking of in the direction of his house.
“Matty? Hey, Matt!” Alfred yelled, but received no answer. He took the liberty of running upstairs, he knocked on every door he could find until he heard a reply.
“Go away,” a small voice yelled.
Alfred leaned against the door. “Matty, please open up. I…I know what happened,” he swallowed. “If you don’t I’ll camp out in the hallway until Francis comes back and kicks me out…or something.” It was a bluff, of course. He was pretty sure he was going to collapse from all the running he just did before he could set up camp.
The door slowly opened and Alfred got up from the door. Matty walked away and sat on his bed. He wore a solemn expression.
Alfred sat beside him. “I’m sorry, Matty.”
“Mhm.”
“Why didn’t you tell Gilbert you weren’t me?” Matthew looked almost annoyed by his question and took several minutes before he gave him an answer.
“Because….ever since I’ve moved here that’s all someone ever does—mistake me for you—or just completely ignore me. The one time I happen to make a friend…it just so happens that he knows you and thinks I’m you…I sometimes wish that Francis would move us back to Canada. I miss my friends there.” Alfred had never heard Matthew speak for long periods of times, so he was taken back by his mini rant.
“Uh…” Alfred wasn’t sure what to say, so he just stood up. “I’m sorry, Matty. I really am,” his blue eyes pleaded. He wasn’t exactly sure why he was apologizing, technically he wasn’t doing anything wrong by existing, but it hurt him to see his brother like this. “Is there any way I can make it up to you?”
Matthew took his pillow into his arms and gave it a squeeze. “Nothing right now, Alfred. I just need some time to…I don’t know. I just don’t.”
Alfred was torn between wanting to stay and fix it against Matty’s will and listening to his brother and hightailing it out of there. He took one look at Matthew, who wasn’t meeting his eye, but instead looked at the floor with a bored interest. He left without another word.
For the first time in a while, Alfred had experienced bad luck.
And it really fucking sucked.
Earlier…
“Kiku-kun?” Kiku turned around at the sound of Heracles’ voice. He had managed to make it the entire festival professionally, treating Heracles’ as if he were any other student. He knew this would happen during clean up. Kiku had imagined the conversation over and over again in his head and each time there was a different outcome.
“Yes, Heracles-san?” Heracles opened the door to the storage closet and motioned for Kiku to get in. He did, ignoring the thumping of his chest.
Heracles got in and shut the door, then reached up to turn the small light on. “You keep ignoring me, it’s cold.”
Kiku said nothing, only watched him, the sound of his rushing blood in his ear.
“Is it because of that one night? Like I said, we didn’t get very far. I would know if we did, trust me.” He placed a hand on Kiku’s head and messed up his hair.
“But,” he swallowed. “What did we do, Heracles-san?” Kiku asked, it was the one question burning in the back of his mind at all times.
He only remembered drinking with Heracles that day. Kiku was having one of his bad days that usually occurred during the summer vacation. He had nothing to do and soon his days were lapse into a mesh of time. Feliciano and Ludwig went back to visit their homes, but Heracles and stayed behind and offered him company.
He somehow had managed to find liquor and Kiku had to admit, he was curious. One drink led to another and he was sure he got ahead of himself. Soon enough they were both drunk out of their minds.
The next morning Kiku woke up with Heracles on top of him and he had marks—well, hickeys all over his neck. He even spotted them on Heracles’. In his embarrassment he hid away and shouted Heracles to leave, which he did, though mentioned that his memory was too fuzzy for him to remember what he did to make him so mad at him.
And thus, they ended up in the situation here, in the closet, staring at one another.
“Well, from what I can surmise from the marks on me…we just kissed and whatever.”
Kiku slapped him on the arm and Heracles flinched. Kiku was scary when he was mad. “Just kissed?”
Heracles rolled his eyes, it was something Kiku had never seen him do. “It didn’t mean anything to me, if that’s what you’re worried about. I just want you to stop ignoring me. You’re my only friend.”
Kiku looked down at his hands. “That’s good. It didn’t mean anything to me either. I mean, I think you’re a lovely friend, but I don’t think I…like you in that way, I’m sorry.”
Heracles shook his head. “Don’t be, Kiku-kun. I want to be your friend again.” He gave a small smile and he took his hand off Kiku’s head.
Kiku smiled backed.
He had his friend again .