Side B

Arthur noticed Alfred from outside the pet store. He was wasting time, have a quick drag before he decided he would glance in at the hidden store wedged in between a Laundromat and a sushi bar. He saw Alfred playing with the snakes, and while that in of itself was rather strange, it was the man's smile that drew Arthur to go inside for a few weeks and eventually hand over his cell phone number to the southern boy.

Alfred was beautiful, Arthur knew this, but he was also extremely enticing. His eccentric love of animals kept Arthur intrigued. When he came over to the man's house on a whim when Alfred said, "I have to feed my pets!" Arthur thought he meant maybe a cat or two. He didn't know the man had a small zoo.

"Is that…a turtle?" Arthur bent over and tapped on the glass.

"Ah, yeah." Alfred put the cat's food dish on the floor, and then went to the cupboard, pulling out crickets. "Isn't he awesome? And, here's my snake!"

Arthur watched, amused, but slightly worried. He wasn't a fan of animals, although he certainly did enjoy looking at them, but he wondered just how Alfred did anything else with so many pets. He seemed the social butterfly, but when out for too long, he began to fidget and wonder about his pets.

So Arthur would just come over more often. He brought food sometimes, and Alfred would grimace and eat it because he was a Southern gentleman, but after awhile he would cook up old recipes he loved and introduce them to Arthur. And then he'd teach him about animals, or ramble about odd things animals do, or watch funny animal videos online. And Arthur realized he had nothing to bring to the table.

It was Alfred who was so fascinating, even if his main hobby was anything and everything related to animals. But he still had other little tidbits of him that Arthur found absolutely adorable.

Nevertheless, Alfred was enamored with Arthur, to say the least. When watching a video, Arthur felt Alfred's eyes on him, and know the man was smiling, even if Arthur wasn't doing anything. Or when Arthur sat on the couch and pet Sir Fluffles lazily, he'd notice Alfred from across the room looking over every now and again.

One night, as they lay on the couch, Arthur began to kiss Alfred. He did so normally and enjoyed lying atop him if only to feel every bit of Alfred's body react to him. But he felt eyes on him and knew Sir Fluffles was watching again. The last time this happened, he had pounced on Arthur's butt and startled him, falling on the floor and landing atop of the poor cat.

Sighing, Arthur slipped to the side of Alfred, nuzzling into his chest. "Alfred…?"

"Yeah…?" he breathed in reply. Kissing Alfred always seemed to make the man react in a way like he was shocked, or had just gotten off of a roller coaster. It made Arthur smile.

"What…do you think of me…?"

Alfred chuckled and looked at Arthur. He traced a finger along the curve of his jaw. "Do I really need ta say anythin'…? You know I'm crazy about 'cha."

Arthur smiled, and buried his face deeper into the crook of Alfred's arm. "I just… You're so…fascinating. What could a man like you possibly see in me?"

"Whoa." Alfred sat up, jostling Arthur from his position. "What? Yer always so calm and collected! I thought YOU were the interestin' one!"

Arthur shook his head, his face heating up. While it was true, he was normally the reserved type that seemed a lot more confident than he really was, but in reality, he just didn't know what to say in response to most of what Alfred said. Because he wasn't as interesting.

"I don't have nearly as many interesting things in my life as you do…"

"Sure ya do!" Alfred tapped Arthur on the nose. "For one thing, ya listen to that punk music! I sure didn't think you were that kinda guy. And then there's all your love of tea! I dun think I can ever think of tea the same way again. And don't forget, them bushy 'brows!"

Arthur automatically touched his eyebrows and flushed, embarrassed. "W-what about them?"

"They were the first things I noticed about ya." Alfred winked. He put his hands on Arthur's and made him drop them to his lap. "I like 'em. Draw attention to yer eyes."

Arthur smiled. "Your accent grows thicker when you talk more."

Alfred laughed, leaning in to bump his nose against Arthur's. "Naw. I only do that because I'm talkin' to you more. I get all nervous inside."

"Even after all this time?" Arthur asked quietly. His eyes slipped closed and he framed Alfred's face with his hands.

"Yes," Alfred replied. "Especially after all this time…"

Hoshiko2's cents: So! I just wanted to dabble in on Arthur's POV and expand a little more with Al's love of animals since Haro's prompt was anything fluffy with animals and America's love of them. I hope she enjoyed it! Happy birthday Haro! And thanks for reading, everyone!