Metal

Chapter 04: Strangers?

He had done it.

He had asked the question, and judging by the confused and somewhat horrified glance Alfred was throwing at him, he had evidently heard it. All Arthur could do now was act normally, trying to not put much meaning into that question. In the worst-case scenery, he could just play it cool and act like Alfred was taking things too seriously.

This would be a somewhat amusing solution to the situation, considering that Arthur Kirkland was taking it all so seriously that he felt he was about to have a heart attack.

"What? I'm not asking for your favorite sexual position or anything. I'm just asking if you ever kissed someone," Arthur tried to smile teasingly at Alfred, but his self-awareness intervened, causing him to look away.

At that moment, he noticed that, despite the awkward situation, Alfred's hand was still over his, and that simultaneously reassured him a bit and made him even more agitated inside.

"I-I know but that came outta nowhere!" Alfred snapped, his voice slightly louder than usual. "Excuse me if I wasn't ready to talk about this when we were previously talking about the fact that you throw your trash in the trash can!"

Eh, he had a point. Arthur wasn't ready for that question either. It simply left his mouth as if he had coughed it. However, now that he had said it, he was waiting for an answer.

"Right, right. I get it. It was sudden," he said, without a drop of interest in keeping debating how they had come to that subject instead of discussing the subject itself. "Anyway, have you ever kissed anyone?"

The long silence that followed that question made Arthur raise his eyes in curiosity. He saw Alfred curl up, hugging his knees with his free arm, his face turned towards the lake. It was a little dark and it wasn't possible to see his expression, so Arthur had to pay attention to other signs to see what he was feeling. Alfred's scent was filled with anxiety, and his voice sounded timid and hesitant when he admitted:

"No, I've never kissed anyone..."

Oh.

"Surprising, right?" Alfred added sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

He had made that point in self-deprecating humor, but that sounded, indeed, a bit surprising to Arthur. Especially because Alfred's shy appearance at that moment did look good on him. The thought that no one tried to feel Alfred's lips against theirs, that no one had tried to hold his cheeks and bring him closer and closer to them... That was almost unbelievable.

Just by looking at him now, Arthur was feeling extremely compelled to kiss him.

"Uh... Not even a quick peck on the lips?" Arthur asked curiously.

"Maybe from my parents when I was a baby, but that's all," Alfred replied, still with his body shrunk.

Hearing this, Arthur felt a complicated mixture of feelings bubble up in his chest and a series of mental images poped involuntarily in his thoughts since he couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to kiss Alfred at that moment.

They were in a secluded place, with only the faint illumination of the park behind them and the stars above their heads... Alfred's hand was still over his. The atmosphere seemed appropriate. How would Alfred react if he kissed him? Would he blush? Would he enjoy it? Would he ask to do it again?

Arthur had no idea where these ideas were coming from. The person he was cogitating to snog was Alfred. It wasn't like Arthur was overloaded with pheromones because of him. He didn't even have a strong smell.

Even so, his usually only friendly affection for Alfred began to be stirred with curiosity and a strong need to touch him.

"If you want to test it out, I can kiss you," he blurted, feeling his heart racing as he said those words.