Title: How 'bout a song?

Summary: Arthur had concluded in this short meeting that this guy was an asshole. It's a shame he's exactly what the doctor ordered. USxUK AU

Chapter 1: The Great Disappointment

...............

Arthur sat alone in his apartment, occasionally massaging his forehead. His hangover was beginning to wear out yet unfortunately his guilt and disgust still remained. For New Years, he had yet again exposed Peter to one of his ruthless 'co-worker parties' that he originally intended to be only a quiet get together with his peers to celebrate the New Year. That 'quiet get together' had become nothing but Arthur in his birthday suit save a small waiter's apron that covered his privates and his old bunny ears (which Peter didn't know about until that night) dancing to Black eyed peas, which was something Arthur was never the character to listen to. Not only that, his Frenchy co-worker decided to put it on YouTube, Facebook, MySpace, the lot. He was now an internet phenomenon, yet again. The last time he found himself on the internet was a Halloween night in college. An 'anonymous' French bastard put him up and he was known as the 'Britannia Angel' which he would yet again not like to speak about.

Arthur pressed himself against the kitchen bench, reading through the message again. He had found it poorly sticky taped on the fridge next to a picture of when Peter and he were young. Peter was on his back, pointing to the sky. He had remembered that day well, even though it was over five years ago. Those were the good old days.

A cockroach scurried across the cabinet and died almost immediately with a bang. Arthur wiped his hand on his pants and placed it softly on the edge of the paper. His eyes began to shift as he read through it yet again.

Dear Arthur.

Are you still hung over?

Well... hopefully you found this, cause it would suck if you went looking for me. For you, that is. I sort of hope you do, and that you catch a cold and die or something. That'd be pretty awesome.

Since you were hung over and stuff, I walked to the train station by myself (Yes, I can do that) and I'll probably be back next week. Have something planned for us to do. I can't just sit around and play with Lego all night while you get smashed with your pals.

Go die, Jerk.

This was a usual thing for Peter. Of course, Peter was angry. It was only... a natural thing. He said a lot of things he didn't mean.

Arthur huffed and reached in his pocket for a cigarette and a lighter. Whenever he felt over the edge, it was his natural instinct. It all started when he was at the sweet age of sixteen when he first tried. Study was getting him down and his father had come in for a 'little chat' and accidentally left a packet of Winfield blues on his desk. Afterwards it all came naturally. He didn't know how much he smoked at that point. Maybe a pack or two a day. It was alright to have another one, since he'd give up tomorrow. Maybe.

His resolution had been becoming a better brother and person. It's funny because he screwed it up almost instantly.

He had been a bad influence and a shit mentor figure. He shouldn't have even considered bringing alcohol to that party. He should have spent time with Peter, been that good responsible brother that he wanted. It was New Years, after all. A time where he had the chance to make a new start. Be that Perfect big brother that Peter wanted. But no... He had spent his time smoking, participating in a shot drinking game, and he had even stripped down and posed for a Frenchy.

Pulling the cigarette away from his mouth, Arthur breathed in lightly, feeling the smoke flow down his throat, a relaxing burn easing him. How many times have I said I'd quit since I started? He sighed, breathing it all out, watching it dissipate in the air. I won't quit, will I?

Feeling more pathetic every second he spent in his apartment, Arthur decided to go for a walk. His warm clothes remained forgotten draped on a small rack but he didn't care. The cold would be his retribution.

Holding back a shiver in his long sleeved shirt and skinnies, Arthur continued to walk briskly down the street. Maybe walking out like this was a bad idea. He'd only been out for a couple of seconds and he was already freezing his ass off.

No. This is good for you. You need to cool your head.

Snowflakes fell lightly around him, catching onto the tips of his hair and highlighting his pale English skin. It was a nice contrast with his black 'AFI' shirt and dark skinnies. A black shadow in a wispy white world... how cliché.

The sound of children calmed his senses and he decided the nearby bench was quite welcoming. Arthur sat himself down ignoring the chill and wetness of the snow covered seat. He dug into his pants reaching for another cigarette. To Arthur's dismay his lighter decided to completely stop working, which lead him to sit there awkwardly; thumb twitching ever so often trying to start a flame, cigarette slowly bending in his pursed lips.

Just before Arthur could cause a scene, a lighter was lit in his face, hitting the tip of his smoke and lighting it perfectly. Thank god.

"Bad night?" The stranger asked, throwing himself down next to Arthur and running a hand through his hair.

The man looked young. Very young. Not young enough to be in school but young enough to be in college. He wore thin rimmed glasses that occasionally dropped down to his nose, which were probably fake since they were fogged and stained with snow. A thick blue scarf was casually draped around his neck and shoulders, with a bulky (and comfortable) bomber jacket underneath. The man also wore two pairs of jeans. Idiotically enough, both those pairs of jeans both had belts and the second pair was loosely fitted, barely covering his ass. Lucky his first pair did. Otherwise Arthur would have had to kill him.

"Could say that" Arthur replied with a slight croak in his voice. A nice conversation was good once in a while "Is it that obvious?"

The stranger laughed, turning his head to face Arthur, a dashing smile lighting his face. "Extremely. Can spot it a mile away. Used to have that face until I dedicated myself to the holy bible" He said with pride.

Arthur crossed his legs uncomfortably and looked away, not wanting to hear another biblical preach. The last thing he wanted was religion forced down his throat. At this, the man burst out in loud joyous laughter, patting Arthur on the back so hard that Arthur felt like he was going to spit his smoke out any minute. "I'm joking!" The man scoffed.

Arthur laughed sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "You've probably seen a lot of it today. The look, I mean"

Of course he and his peers weren't the only ones to do ridiculous things on new years... right?

"Nah. Can't say i have. To be honest, I don't even know what 'The Look' is... Just came over cause I saw you on YouTube"

Arthur froze, smoke drooping in his mouth. He had concluded in this short meeting that this guy was an asshole.

"What did you see?" Arthur growled, clutching the man's scarf and bringing his face so close their noses were touching. This might have looked ridiculous, since Arthur was quite shorter than the man.

"Everything" He smiled slyly "You're not very modest, are you?"

Arthur turned beet red and began to stutter "H-how many people do you think ha-have seen?"

The stranger seemed to ponder at this "Hmmn, the last time I checked, over five million" Arthur's mouth dropped and he sat there for a few moments, gaping like a fish. His cigarette had long since dropped to the ground and sizzled out in the snow.

"It's you, isn't it? The one in the waiter thing and the bunny ears?"

That was it. Arthur had had enough. He let go of the stranger and strode away, hands in his pockets, teeth chattering like crazy. He recognised footsteps crunch against the snow behind his and a rough hand had gripped his frail shoulder, twisting him around. Before he could control himself, Arthur cried a strangled "Fuck off!"

This really wasn't his day. He didn't need to be ridiculed further. He had already been embarrassed enough. "I don't want to continue this humiliation! I feel bad enough and I don't need you to remind me and to be honest, I don't really appreciate a complete stranger sending me on a guilt trip!"

The stranger lifted his hands in defence, waiting for another outburst which strangely did not come. He watched as the Brit just stood there, teeth chattering and red rimming the outskirts of his emerald eyes. He looked on the verge of tears. Before he could control himself, the man unzipped his jacket and swung it around the shorter one's shoulders. "A stranger? I'm Alfred. Lemmie buy you an espresso" He said softly.

Arthur just stood there, eyebrows descending more and more every given second. He didn't like coffee. He also didn't trust this guy. This Alfred was unpredictable and slightly conceited. Well, the man had given him his jacket.

Finally giving in, Arthur shoved his arms in the sleeves of the nice smelling (not to mention warm) jacket and reached out to shake Alfred's hand. "Arthur. And I'd prefer a cup of tea, thanks. "

The man grabbed his hand tightly with a grin stretched across his face "Don't care" he said, still grinning.

Arthur looked at him in disbelief. How rude could this man be?

"I think I like Iggy better" He concluded, not letting go of Arthur's hand. Oh, so that's what he was talking about... wait. Iggy?

Before Arthur could protest, Alfred had started to walk, his hand still tightly clutching onto the poor Brit's.

As Arthur sat, hearing the now apparent American chatter on, he could not help but feel slightly overwhelmed. It was an unusual feeling – something different from what he had felt before. For the first time, his barriers were down without the help of alcohol and he was actually socialising with someone outside of work.

"And so... I ran right through the crowd just to-"

Despite the rough start he had actually grown quite fond of Alfred in the little time he had known him. Alfred was an honest and kind down to earth boy, even though he made that more of a bad thing than good.

"So Alfred, why must you insist in calling me 'Iggy' again?" Arthur lowered his cup of tea, staring intently at the American with great interest.

"Well, it started from two things" At this, Alfred had subconsciously leaned in closer, clasping his hands together. "One: I've always wanted to say to someone who smoked a lot 'want a ciggy, iggy?'. Two: You're so damn... British" Alfred jerked his head to the side, a blush tinging his cheeks. For the first time in his life, he felt self-conscious. "But don't worry, I have a thing for Brits" Alfred instantly added in.

At first, one of Arthur's eyebrows rose to his hair line and then finally, a smirk crept across his lips. His hand tangled itself in his locks and he lowered his head, starting to shake like crazy. Alfred's first impression was that he was about to explode. And to Alfred's dismay, that he did.

Arthur's laughter rang out through the small cafe at the pathetic excuse of a pun. Never before had he met someone so pathetic and idiotic. It became even funnier when Alfred chuckled along with him, unaware that Arthur was laughing at him.

Alfred's smile vanished as soon as it appeared when Arthur bellowed "Haha... You're such an idiot. That was the most pathetic... Aha... thing I've ever heard!!"

As more laughter choked out, Alfred could hear Arthur's muffled "Maybe I should call you Merry for being so damn American... and happy for that matter. Seriously, who could be that damn jolly?" Arthur mocked sarcastically.

Alfred scoffed, feeling slightly offended "If I'm Merry, you're Pippin"

Arthur's laughter ceased and a serious scowl appeared on his face. "Did you just call me a hobbit?
Did you just make another short joke, or is it the fact I'm English?" Arthur's face continued to darken.

Alfred once again lifted his hands in self defence. Never before had he met someone so damn offended by everything "I was just kidding, Iggy" He said after a light chuckle to ease the tension.

Arthur still seemed tense until he finally decided to let it go. "I'm sorry. A lot's been on my mind lately... "

"We've all been there, buddy" Alfred consoled, leaning back a bit. "Say, what's got you down if you don't mind me asking"

Arthur ran a hand through his rough sandy locks, subconsciously enclosing the jacket around his torso further.

"I'm a failure" Arthur admitted. He took in a shaky breath and sighed. Finally admitting it didn't feel so bad. Yet the pitiful look he'd receive when he'd look up would feel worse.

Rough tipped fingers lifted Arthur's chin, and he found himself staring at passionate determined eyes, a light reassuring smile ghosting his face "Then do something about it" His words held strong resolve. So strong that those mere five words burnt themselves into Arthur's very mind, making it impossible to forget.

The moment was gone as soon as it came, as the waiter refilled their cups and placed their orders on their table. Alfred had resumed his slouching position, gazing absentmindedly out the window. This man was an enigma.

Much to Arthur's dismay, it was time to leave. The cafe was shutting soon and it was beginning to dim outside. It wouldn't be a good idea to bother Alfred further.

Arthur took another unsteady breath and stared up at Alfred with sight insecurity. He wasn't social. He didn't know what to do after this part.

"Listen, Iggy" Alfred murmured awkwardly. "Would you like to..."

"Yes?"

"Nah... It's too soon"

Arthur rolled his eyes. "Too soon to do what?" He said, making his irritation clear.

"Come back to my place and maybe watch a movie..? I need some company"

Arthur grinned inwardly "Well..." He began, trying to raise the American's insecurities "You did insult me... And you have seen me naked" A smirk stretched across his lips.

He could see how Alfred's cringe had deepened at each passing second and he enjoyed every last bit of it.

"But... that cafe had some damn good tea so... Lead the way, twat"

Soon enough the large grin that Arthur had grown quite fond of had stretched across Alfred's face once again.

Author notes:

Excuse my horrible writing and grammar. It most likely WILL improve as I continue writing. This is actually the first time I have really written anything for a while.

This chapter was sort of introducing Arthur and having the first meeting with Alfred. The next chapter will hopefully be more exciting, since I get to build on things from here XD

If you can guess all the references and send them in a review I will offer burgers and tea!! D