Counting Stars - (Straight!AmeriPan)

Chapter 6: Rain and Sketches

I'm a sucker for fluff :}

Hey, it's been a long time since I've written anything!

...

A few days after that night, a horrible rain was brewing on the outskirts of town (credits to Eduard for owning the neighborhood's radio system) and most of Alfred's housemates agreed to stay home. It really was a beautiful day today... Swiss Cheese didn't choose to shoot their asses that morning when Mathias fetched his basketball that fell on the Swissman's front lawn. Everything looked so perfect and bright.

And then the rain came, and there was Sakura.

Sakura, who seemed so calm amidst all this thunder and heavy rain. Sakura, who silently read manga in the corner. Sakura, who seemed to be the center of gravity in the entire room, causing everyone to calm down whenever there was a lightning flash or the loud roll of thunder which Alfred has always been secretly afraid of. Sakura, who was just so damn adorable whenever she dressed in red or blue. Or both. And Sakura, who was awfully cute whenever her cheeks flushed that light shade of pink like it always does.

Alfred felt like he was going crazy.

Today...well, this hour, to be specific, Alfred received a text from Matthew saying that Alfred needed to come to his and Francis's house to deliver a pair of Adidas shoes Matthew had apparently forgot to bring home with him the last time he visit. Alfred only shrugged it off and agreed to bring it to Matthew. It's just a pair of shoes, there was no problem with that. He and his brother would always help each other out.

The problem was the rain.

Who in the world would dare to walk outside on the rainy streets? It was so dark outside anyone could hardly see anything.

And that's what led Alfred to stand behind the front door, hesitantly gripping his umbrella and staring at the window into the rain outside. The rain has quieted down a bit until it wasn't so strong anymore, but the streets were still wet and rooftops were still dripping from rooftops. He couldn't get anywhere like this.

At least, not alone...

"Sakura, bro!" Alfred cheerfully entered his friend's room, making the Japanese boy give a little jump and immediately stashed a lot of papers and notebooks to one side of his desk. "Alfred-san," Sakura smiled sweetly with a hint of danger in her voice. "Do you know how to knock?"

Alfred walked into the brightly lit room and looked at Kiku, his eyes full of an emotion Alfred couldn't quite get but has seen before on Matthew and Arthur - it was like he was hiding something.

"What's up, Honda?" Alfred peered over Sakura's shoulder to take a little peek at what she was doing. Alfred saw a very nice, colored, and detailed drawing of a familiar-looking guy with blue eyes, gray-rimmed glasses, and messy hair. Alfred's eyes widened. "Oh, dude, is that me?" Alfred swooped up the paper from his friend's desk, earning a cry of protest from Sakura with a cute, reddening face.

"I-It's mine..." Sakura said lamely.

"Whoa, it looks so cool!" Alfred exclaimed happily and raised it up with one hand, away from Sakura's range. The short Japanese student shrieked in protest. "It's like, in one of those anime I've watched...I saw a cool fanart of it! It's so awesome to have a fanart of me!" Alfred said.

"Alfred-san, please!" Sakura begged and made Alfred's heart sore with cuteness. How is this girl so damn adorable? Those little protests as she tried to reach the paper from Alfred's grasp instantly made his day. Alfred only laughed and gave Sakura back her drawing of him.

"Why are you even here, anyway?" Sakura asked quite harshly.

"To come get you!" Alfred gripped Sakura's arm and dragged her downstairs. "We're going to Matthew's house, and we're going to have fun walking under the rain!"

.

"We're not gonna have fun walking in the rain," Alfred finally decided one the pair walked out of the house. The rain was less intense, at least, but the way the two were so close together was not so gratifying.

"Alfred-san? Do we really have to share the umbrella?" a red-faced Sakura said, staring blankly at the road, her shoulders quivering a bit. Alfred mentally face-palmed. Of course, how could he have been so stupid? Sharing an umbrella was a symbol of love, like in some of the anime Alfred watched. Now his cheeks were heating up too.

"This is just a walk to Matthew's house," Alfred said shakily, his voice evidently quivering. "To return a pair of Adidas shoes. Nothing could go wrong."

"Alfred..." Sakura's dark eyes widened in understanding. "Don't tell me you're afraid of thunder..."

Alfred forced a smile, which for him was quite difficult at these times. "Me, scared? Pfft, of course not-"

BOOM!

Alfred suddenly hugged Sakura and buried his face on her shoulder so Sakura couldn't see his face. "I can't take it anymore! Alright, I'm scared, okay? I didn't want to tell you because I'm a hero and heroes never get scared!" Alfred explained in a rush, his heart racing fast. "I'm not a real hero if I couldn't get over my fear..."

Sakura sighed and stroked his American friend's blonde hair. "I read something once...it's a book by George deValier...well, it's okay to feel fear sometimes. Being a real hero means that you gotta save and protect the people you care for." Sakura kept stroking Alfred's hair, calming him down. Sakura didn't like it when she made any personal contact with other people, but at this time, it didn't matter. "Today, I'm your hero."

.

"Matthew, bro!" Alfred said as he knocked on the door of Matthew's house, his hair and Sakura's dripping wet from the rain. A very stunned-looking young Canadian peered at them from the living room. Alfred deduced that his younger brother was probably drinking coffee again.

Matthew's dark eyes widened. "Alfred? What in the name of maple leaves are you doing here?"

Alfred proudly dropped down the bag of Adidas shoes. "Just like you got em', little bro!" he said as he quietly listened to the music in the house. Counting Stars. How ironic. Alfred suddenly beamed happily and looked at his friend behind him. "Look, Kiku, it's our song!"

The Japanese person's cheeks flushed an obviously flustered shade of red... again.

Matthew tilted his head sideways in confusion. "What? Your song?" Then the Canadian smiled brightly in realization. "Oh! You're dating, right?" Alfred stared at Matthew blankly while Sakura proceeded to hide behind the American. Matthew blinked in confusion. "No? Okay, Francis is lying to me...he said that these were signs of love..."

Alfred laughed nervously. "Me? In love? Dude, no way! I'd be a total dork if I did-" Alfred was cut short by Sakura gripping his arm and dragging him outside. "Wait, Hon-"

"We'll be leaving now," Sakura said gently. "See you." And the two walked back into the rain, leaving the confused Canadian behind.