Arthur cursed the snow, trudging inside the warm building with a sigh. He stomped his feet on the entry mat in hopes of dislodging the majority of snow caked onto his boots. After fluffing his coat once or twice and adjusting his scarf, he walked inside. He briefly waved at the lady behind the front desk, and then went through a side door, stopping momentarily to toss aside his scarf and jacket. He signed his name on a little sheet hanging by the door, and grabbed an apron. Once done, he went back out front.

"Ready for another long day?" the lady asked, giggling to herself. She was adjusting the flower in her hair. She stood and followed Arthur.

"Always Eli," Arthur sighed. "At least we can have a moment's rest and let the children watch a movie. I heard that Tino is home with his son for the day."

"Oh! I hope he'll be okay," Eli said. Eli was short for Elizaveta, but as most of the children couldn't pronounce her name correctly, she just kept it simple for their sake.

"I'm sure he will." He and Eli entered the main room, ready to tackle the children in another hectic day.

Arthur and Eli worked at a Boys and Girls Club daily. Arthur, in particular, was the main director of arts and music, with Eli as his main helper. Eli had joined the group only a few months ago. She was married, but unable to have children. To help her cope, her husband suggested working at an after school's club. It helped, and Eli had rapidly recovered from her shock of knowing she was infertile.

On the other hand, Arthur didn't have much to say for his reasons for coming. Many of the others guessed as to why; perhaps he wanted children of his own, maybe he was earning college credits (even though he was out of college), or maybe he was just perverted. But Arthur, next to Tino, had been working the longest in the club since it had been opened two years ago.

Eventually Arthur had scurried his main bunch of children that would come in and sit in the art hall to paint and color. Most would even sneak in to do homework. If Arthur was in a good mood, he didn't mind either way who stayed or went.

However, when Arthur entered the art hall, he found someone new. Not a new child, per say, but a new adult. For a moment, he feared it was a pedophile, but he calmed himself quickly when he reassured himself it was a new volunteer. He had a sticker badge on his apron and was cleaning up the art supplies.

"Hello," Arthur said pleasantly. "Are you a new helper?"

The man turned, and Arthur was caught off guard once more. The man was more than just a man; he was beautiful. Arthur's eyes quickly scanned his Hollywood-styled hair and shinning blue eyes behind smudged glasses. He smiled widely, holding out an enthusiastic hand to Arthur and Eli.

"Hi! I'm Alfred Jones! I just started today! Nice to meet you two!" Alfred exclaimed.

Eli took his hand and shook it vigorously, her own wide smile in place. She might have been married, but she was well known to get crushes on the young volunteers. It was by sheer luck her husband never found out.

Arthur shook Alfred's hand and smiled slightly. "Charmed."

One of the children that generally clung to Arthur poked his head from around his legs. He stared up at Alfred with imploring eyes. "Who are you? Are you new? You look young. Can you draw good too?"

Alfred belted out a laugh, startling Arthur. He bent down to the child's level, ruffling the boy's hair. "I'm Alfred, and yeah, I'm new! Only nineteen! That's really old to you, huh? I bet I'm like a gazillion years old, huh?"

"You are! But Artie's older!" The boy looked up at Arthur and chuckled. "Artie's an old goat!"

Alfred laughed again, but this time, Arthur was more embarrassed than startled. He blushed and hustled the children to their seats. Arthur started to lecture about shading, before letting the children do as they please.

During free time, the children could go to any part of the room and use any of the materials. Eli, Arthur, and now Alfred, were there to help them should they need help or encouragement, or even just to talk. Arthur found himself glancing over a few too many times in Alfred's direction. They hardly talked the majority of the time, but Alfred did pat Arthur on the back and flash him a smile whenever their eyes met.

The following day, Alfred was there. He explained that he had to do art for two of the five days, while the rest of the days he would be in the gym. He was going to college for basketball, but his hobby was in art. Eli pushed for Alfred to share in his work, but the boy constantly turned her down. Arthur was quietly disappointed.

On the days Alfred was absent from the art hall, the children seemed quieter. They still painted and colored and talked and sometimes bickered as children often would do, but it just didn't feel the same anymore. Alfred would more than likely be there with loud laughs and new takes on life and jokes, sometimes hassling poor Eli.

He never included Arthur in any of his antics, but one of the children mumbled, "That means he likes you. He wants to make you jealous."

Arthur blushed and scoffed off the idea of someone having a crush on him. That little boy from the first day wasn't far off base. Physically, Arthur was quite young, but mentally he was an old fogey. He tended to keep to himself and hated doing anything that wasn't a part of his schedule.

And yet, Alfred was a welcome respite from the dreary and snowy days in the club.

Sometimes when there were few children in the art hall, Arthur could afford some time away. Normally he would've wandered to the locker room to be alone. Anything for some good 'ol free time. But now he wound up watching the children, and more often than not, Alfred playing in the gymnasium.

Alfred was a natural with the children from young to old. The preteens and the few teenagers in the club rarely got along with the workers of the organization. It was more common that they would form cliques and keep the younger children out, leaving the volunteers the chore of asking them to include the young children.

But with Alfred, the teenagers were much more accommodating with the younger children. It was no surprised Alfred had been accepted into his college on a basketball scholarship. Watching the way he played was a lovely sight indeed. He weaved in and around the children, leaping into the air, and dunking the ball with effortless ease.

The children, disturbed and up to a challenge brought on by Alfred's talent, ganged up on the older man. They tried to pile atop him, clinging to his legs and shoulders in a futile effort to stop him. Arthur chuckled at the amusing sight of a nineteen year old boy wading through a mass of children all hugging him and trying to knock a little basketball from his hands.

He didn't always play basketball, Arthur found out. He was a whiz at computers too, and would pop his head into the computer labs to help out when there was a problem. Arthur, having missed the technological revolution, was quiet behind in the uses of smart phones and apps. Not meaning for it to be an excuse, but when Arthur caught Alfred helping a child with his phone, Arthur would scoot over and ask for help too. His heart leapt in his throat when Alfred's hand brushed against his when he handed his phone over once.

Oh no, this was certainly not a crush.

And seeing Alfred being so adorable with the children wasn't part of this rising infatuation. Nope. Not one bit. Because Alfred was more of a child himself than a boy on the verge of becoming a man. So when he laughed like a child, or gabbled on like a child, or smiled earnestly at Arthur in a way that said he wanted Arthur to come over, Arthur didn't think of him as a boy he was slowly becoming attached to. That would be silly.

And most unlike him.

On a particular Monday, a month after Alfred had joined the Boys and Girls Club, Arthur was stopped in the locker room by Alfred. "Would you like to have some coffee some time? Or tea? I heard you're from England. Makes sense since you've got that accent and all. Haha, am I making sense?"

Arthur chuckled, unused to someone being bashful and nervous when asking him to hang out. This was just a casual and friendly hang out. Not like it was an actual date. That would be preposterous. Surely Alfred didn't swing that way. There was no possible way.

For a moment it felt like Alfred was leaning in a little too close as he put a hand on Arthur's arm. Arthur blushed and started to pull away.

"What's coffee? Can I come?" a child asked suddenly.

Alfred and Arthur both jumped apart, and looked down at the child. It was the same one who clung to Arthur's legs. He stared up at Arthur and then Alfred, finally scooting closer to Arthur.

Having recovered from his small heart attack, Arthur chuckled and pat the child on the head affectionately. "Ah, well… You should wait until your parents come, my boy."

A pregnant pause followed and Alfred shuffled his feet around in the snow. He bent down to smile at the child. "Come on. We'll do something better than getting' coffee. Still wanna come, Artie?"

"A-Artie?" Arthur stuttered. He pulled his scarf over his obviously blushing face.

The child at his legs moved to follow Alfred as the man headed down the street. Arthur stumbled to follow along; after all, he was the one who was originally invited. He reminded himself to not be jealous of the six year old that was holding Alfred's hand.

The trio finally made their way to the park. In Arthur's opinion it was most definitely not what he had in mind when he was to hang out with Alfred. But Alfred was insistent on playing in the snow. They made snowmen and Alfred tried to instigate a snowball fight, but Arthur put a damper on the fun as he proclaimed he was too cold to do much else.

Arthur was promptly tackled by Alfred. They rough housed in the snow with Arthur finding himself on his back and Alfred sitting atop him with his hands pinning Arthur's wrists by his head. The two stared at each other, and for a moment, a very brief moment, Arthur had a trickle of a thought that maybe, just maybe, Alfred did care.

But it was soon ruined when the little boy jumped on them, making it a dog pile on top of Arthur. Arthur squawked in a most undignified manner, trying to push the two boys off of him- unsuccessfully.

After a time, the little boy had to scurry home, leaving Alfred and Arthur alone at last. Now, Alfred invited Arthur for some coffee. Arthur had no way to refuse. His back was dripping wet in melted snow.

Sometime on the way to the shop, Alfred began talking. He would do this and babble on about school, about something with his friends, or about basketball, and Arthur would listen. He supposed that was why Alfred enjoyed his company so much was because Arthur was a good listener. Not to say Alfred wasn't good either, but he was more prone to speaking his mind than anything else.

"So you know why I wouldn't let him go home yet?" Alfred asked suddenly.

"No, why?"

Alfred chuckled. "Jeez, Artie. You been there how long and you didn't know he's an orphan?"

Arthur stopped, and turned to stare at Alfred. His jaw was agape in confusion and surprise. "I… no… How did…?"

"I asked about him," Alfred replied, turning to face Arthur. "You know, I got to know him. I asked Eli about her life too. You know she almost divorced her husband when she first joined?"

"Y-yes, I did know that, actually," Arthur said a little hastily. He was almost upset at what Alfred was insinuating. Just because Arthur didn't know about one child's life didn't mean he didn't ask others. "Believe it or not, I do talk to the children and the other workers at the club. It's them who don't talk to me."

Alfred bit his lower lip in thought. Arthur found it hard to not think the man adorable. He was standing in his too big sized windbreaker with fake fur ruffling in the slight breeze, his glasses fogging up at the brim from his breath, visible in the frigid air, and a concentrated look on his face he got when he was thinking.

"Well… I'm talking to you, aren't I?"

For a moment, Arthur said nothing. Then he asked, "What is it you are talking to me about then?"

There. A smile. Alfred relaxed, and then Arthur smiled and relaxed too. "About you, if that's okay."

"My, my, Alfred. This sounds like a date."

"Yeah, and so what if it is?"

Arthur gasped, instinctively taking a step back. Intimacy and flirtation just made him uncomfortable at the first thought. But on second thought, he found the idea of spending more time with Alfred rather appealing.

"Th-then I would have to say this is a shoddy excuse for a date. You don't take your date out into the freezing cold air."

Alfred laughed. And Arthur joined him. And he felt that come tomorrow afternoon, he would reward that little orphan boy with a painting or some candy. Anything to thank him for a perfectly wonderful first date.

Hoshiko2's cents: On my tumblr, I jokingly posted that the first person in my inbox "owned" me for the hour. The person who won, shigatsuchama, asked for me to write a story with Al/America being cute and good with kids and Artie/England seeing it. This came from that.