"Hey, Alfred, would you like some cherries?" Arthur asked, looking over to his younger friend who was lounging on his couch. He took up the entire expanse of his rather large couch, normally earning a prick of irritation from the smaller man. He even had his nasty feet on the end. He rolled his eyes. The bowl of washed fruit fit snugly in his hands; he thought he'd ask if Alfred wanted any since he couldn't eat them all by himself. Alfred looked up from whatever it was he was doing on his phone, glancing at Arthur's green emeralds.

"Uh…sure." He said, doing that thing he continuously would where he pretended to not really care whether he liked something or not, when he really did. It was slightly irritating to Arthur, but he usually ignored it. Arthur nodded curtly, walking over to the couch with the two different bowls: one with the cherries and one which was empty for the pits.

"Here," He sat down, not waiting for Alfred to move his feet, and placed the bowl with cherries on the coffee table. Alfred adjusted accordingly, sitting up. "And don't you dare spill them on my couch." He snapped, taking one by the stem and popping it into his mouth.

"Geez Arthur, don't have to treat me like a child anymore." Alfred retorted, grabbing one for himself. "I think I can manage to eat a cherry without dropping it onto your couch bro." Alfred popped the little red fruit into his mouth, not even bothering to remove the stem. Arthur frowned, spitting out the pit of his cherry.

"First off all, you are the clumsiest person I know, second of all, this couch is white , and thirdly you are supposed to remove the stem dumbass." Alfred seemed to pout at the slew of insults, though it looked rather odd with the small cherry poking out of his cheek. He paused for a moment, chewing, before the stem poked its way through Alfred's lips. He pulled it out, twisting the small thing between two fingers. He then spit out the cherry pit, swallowing the last bits.

"Good lord Arthur didn't know there was a specific way you were supposed to eat cherries." He snapped in return. Arthur frowned.

"Eating the stem is bad for your digestion." He replied with a twinge of irritation. Not that Alfred really cared much about his health. Alfred shrugged.

"It's just gonna come out the other end anyway." Arthur rolled his eyes.

"Really do you have to be so lewd?" Alfred snickered, reaching for another cherry.

"Lewd? You thought that was lewd? Come on bro." Arthur scoffed, wondering where he'd gone wrong. Arthur grabbed another cherry, pulling the stem off as he bit the cherry. "Hey, dude!" Alfred suddenly exclaimed, sounding suddenly excited. Arthur looked over at him, sucking the juice from the small fruit. They were the perfect ripeness. "I heard that if you can tie a cherry stem into a knot with your tongue, it means you're a good kisser!" He exclaimed. Arthur deadpanned, chewing on his cherry silently. Really, how childish was he? Alfred popped the stem back inside his mouth, quickly getting to work on it. Arthur spit out the pit of the cherry.

"Really Alfred, are you serious?" Alfred blinked.

"What dude? You try it!" He said with that grin that always seemed to warm Arthur's heart, no matter how ridiculous Al was being. Arthur twitched, unable to say no to that pleading face of his. He licked the red juice from his lips, and sighed in defeat.

"Oh alright." He muttered, sticking the cherry stem into his mouth as well. There were a few moments of silence that passed between the two. Arthur's cat jumped up onto the couch neatly, curling up right in between the two boys to take a nice little nap. Arthur stroked his back softly, frowning in concentration. Arthur was playing with the stem, turning it into a loop and flipping it in circles with the tip of his tongue. He wasn't having much luck tying the thing, but was getting close. He just needed to get a loose end through the loop.

Alfred, however, was poking his bottom lip out in frustration, knitting his brows together in concentration. He'd crossed his arms half way through the silence, pulling his legs up Indian style on the couch.

"Damn." He scoffed. "This is harder than it looks!" He exclaimed, removing the battered and fraying stem from his mouth. He twirled the stem between his thumb and index finger, examining it through a close eye to see if there was a reason that he couldn't possibly get the end through. Though, hearing no response from Arthur, he glanced over, to see the smaller male making a rather concentrated face, as if he was preforming open heart surgery or something. Alfred smirked triumphantly, seeing that the other couldn't do it either. "There's no way that rumor is true then…" He murmured, watching the other boy stick his fingers into his mouth.

Arthur's features softened, as he retracted his fingers from his mouth, producing a cherry stem. Alfred gaped in horror at the small stem – or perhaps it was the smug smirk on the smaller male's coy lips. Alfred blinked, nearly in disbelief at the tiny stem.

In the middle exactly, there was a tiny little knot.

Arthur smirked at the younger boy, flicking the stem into the bowl of pits.

"Yeah, not true because you can't do it." Arthur replied smartly, taking another cherry. "I didn't know you were a bad kisser Alfred, no wonder you don't have a girlfriend." Alfred clenched his jaw, now determined to get the cherry stem in a knot with his tongue.

"Bullshit! This stem was too short!" He retorted childishly. He dug around the bowl of cherries desperately, searching for the holy grail of cherry stems- one that was long.

"Sure Alfred," Arthur said, plucking a cherry with a short stem from the bowl, and getting to work on it. The thought of how childish the whole thing was faded from his mind as he strove to always prove Alfred wrong.

"It was!" He insisted, finding his holy grail. He shoved the cherry in his mouth, not even bothering to enjoy the taste. He swallowed the cherry, spitting out the pit as quickly as possible before pushing the stem into his mouth once again.

Arthur was already pushing the stem through the loop as Alfred set to work. He bit the end, pulling the loop back with his tongue. He pushed it out of his lips again, showing Alfred his absolute victory.

"Too short my arse." He retorted with a sneer. Alfred huffed as he sat with a determined face on Arthur's couch, trying in a futile attempt to prove to Arthur that was indeed, not a bad kisser. "Beat at your own game again, Alfred. Really, before you challenge someone to something like this you should make sure you can win."

"What?! How was I supposed to know your tongue was an extreme contortionist?!" Arthur chuckled.

"You forget that I've been around a long time. It's not unreasonable to think I've kissed someone before is it?" Arthur asked with a lick of the lips. He popped the cherry into his mouth, taking his time to eat it this time.

"Oh, so you were a slut in the fifteen-hundreds then?" Arthur inhaled in shock, nearly choking on the small red fruit. He couched, getting it far away from his trachea as possible. Alfred snickered at the dramatic reaction from the older man.

"You prat!" He smacked Alfred on the head, earning a whining 'ow!'. "No I was not a slut!" He spit out the pit, grabbing another cherry. "I just wasn't nearly as deprived as you are."

"I'm not deprived! I've kissed plenty of girls!" Arthur frowned.

"And you say I'm the slut." Alfred sighed in defeat. There was no beating the brit's twisted logic.

"I can do this." Alfred pouted on the other end of the couch, determined to get the stem in a knot.

"Sure you can." Arthur replied halfheartedly, taking another cherry from the bowl. The Brit relaxed into the couch, eating yet another cherry. They were about halfway gone now. At least they weren't wasted. He hated wasted food.

Just to humor Alfred, he began tying the others in knots as well. He produced the first one, showing him.

"Alfred, I don't think you're going to get it. It's just a silly rumor. Forget about it." He replied.

"No!" Alfred insisted. "You're going to go around telling people that I use too much tongue or something!" Arthur couldn't help but snicker, unbeknownst to him that there was more to it than just Alfred's ability to tie a cherry stem in a knot with his tongue.

"Sure Alfred, while you sit off in a corner trying to tie a cherry stem in a knot for the rest of eternity." Arthur replied, taking another cherry. He popped it in his mouth, speaking carefully around it. "Really, you don't have to be ashamed if you are a bad kisser-"Arthur never got to finish that sentence, however. His chin had been jerked quickly to the side, and a pair of lips crashed onto his. He sat there with wide eyes, frozen there in shock. The red juice of the cherry dribbled down his chin, and probably Alfred's too. Long slender fingers gently held his chin, the other gently placed on his neck like the touch of a longtime friend – or lover. He was astonished. Al's lips were soft, and the faint taste of cherries lingered on them. The breath was hot in his mouth, nearly making him shiver. It wasn't long before Alfred slipped his tongue across the Brit's lower lip teasingly.

The kiss lasted longer than he would've expected, and yet he still wasn't pulling back from the boy in front of him. Time froze there. Somehow Arthur had been cast into a dream where there was no sun outside, no white couch beneath him which was now stained with red, cherry juice, and there was no cat mewling between the two of them. There was only him an Alfred, kissing.

Arthur couldn't bring himself to move, or do anything really. Alfred's surprise attack had broken his brain. He couldn't comprehend what was happening – or rather he didn't know how to respond to it, or how it could've happened in the first place. Alfred was certainly fine with that, taking over the completely submissive man entirely. He was leaning forward, so much so that their chests were a breath's touch away. The embrace was only deepened when he moved ever so gently to the side, smirking triumphantly.

Alfred finally pulled back, swiping his tongue over Arthurs cherry stained lips on last time with a sly grin. Arthur was struck dumb still, unable to respond at all.

He was surprised that Al had actually kissed him, but that wasn't what held him still. He couldn't really discern what it was that kept him star struck. Was it that he had let it happen or was it that he - dare he say it- enjoyed it?

He didn't know, but…

Alfred may not be able to tie a knot in a cherry stem with his tongue, but he was a damn good kisser.

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