{A/N: Something I wrote a month or two ago for chocolateandcheeseburgers at tumblr for the song 'She Said Yes' by Chad Brock. I am a sucker for old country songs.}

Old Apartment

"Yello?"

"Uh, pardon me, but is this Alfred Jones?"

Al straightened up from his slouch in his office chair and frowned. "Uh, yeah? Who's this?"

"Wh-" The voice on the other end - male, and surprisingly British - cleared its throat. "This is Arthur Kirkland, and I just starting leasing a flat here, and your mail was dropped in my box. I got your phone number from Berwald downstairs, so don't make my courage be in vain." That surprised a laugh out of Alfred. His ex-landlord had a stare that cracked stone; he'd almost forgotten that.

"No, we can't have that." Al spun in his chair to check the time on his studio's wall clock. "Well, I just moved across town, so if you're gonna be there in, like… an hour, I can get it off your hands?"

"Yes, I just got home from work for the day and I don't have plans tonight. I'll be here."

"Sweet. I'll leave now, I'm at a stopping point."

"You might want to make a reminder to change your address with the post, as well."

Al laughed. "Yeah, wouldn't want to have to drive all the way over there every day." He stood from his chair and stretched. "I'll call when I'm at the building, sounds good?"

"Sounds lovely." They hung up, and Al bounced around his studio for his keys and his shoes, then walked quickly out to his car.

"You said it'd be an hour," Arthur's voice said in Al's ear just over half an hour later, amused. Al grinned as he pushed open the front door of his old building, which was supposed to be locked but rarely was (there was a reason he'd moved out), holding his phone to his ear with his shoulder.

"Yeah, well, traffic was nice to me. You're here, right?"

"Yes, I'm still here. I can meet you at the lobby-"

"Nah, no worries, I'm already half up the stairs. I'll knock."

"But-"

"See ya in a sec, Arthur!" Al hung up and open the door to the stairwell, jumping up the stairs two at a time.

When he got to the familiar door, he caught his breath, straightened his T-shirt, and knocked. There was a brief scuffling noise on the other end, then the slide of the deadbolt and a face.

Arthur was blond, like him, a bit shorter, with light freckles and green eyes. He cracked open the door a little more to show his whole body, looking up at Al with an amused twist of his eyebrows. Really green eyes.

"Hello, Alfred." Al beamed at him.

"Nice to meet you, I guess!" Al did what his instincts told him and stuck out his hand for a shake; Arthur, who had his mail already in his right hand, had to shift things around, but they managed the handshake with only a chuckle of laughter.

Arthur held out his stack of bills and junk, hiding his smile. "Here's your post."

"Thanks, man! It's really great that you called me, by the way." Arthur shrugged, looked away. "So, uh, you're British?"

"English, yes."

"Man, what're you doing all the way over here?" Al propped one arm on the door frame, leaning on it. "Can't think of much to bring you guys over here to our neck of the woods."

Arthur shrugged again, holding the door open and bracing against the edge, hands resting on the doorknob. "Work." When Al didn't move, he raised his eyebrows. "What, you really want to hear the story?"

Al grinned and shrugged. "Ain't got nothing better to do." Arthur rolled his eyes and pushed off the door, gesturing him in with a wave of his hand.

"Then you might as well come in."

Later that night, after a few hours of conversation around the furnished, beat-up coffee table, Al taking Arthur out to the best diner in walking distance, and a few touches under the table, they stopped on the sidewalk next to Al's parked car. "Well, it was nice to meet you, Alfred," Arthur said, stepping back as Al dug in his pocket for his car keys. Alfred smiled up at him.

"You know, I've got your number." And that's how you get people to like you, Al, he cursed at himself in his head as Arthur gives him a strange look. "I mean, I might call you up sometime, for, like, a movie or something. Y'know. Soonish."

A slow smile, one Alfred hadn't seen yet, spread across Arthur's face. "I'd like that."

"Great! That's great." Al found his keys and walked around to the driver's side, running into the bumper a little but recovering nicely. Arthur chuckled, and waited for him to drive off before heading back up to his apartment, where Al's mail was still sitting on his kitchen table.