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"There are three buildings to this thing."  Arthur had his face buried in the convention booklet the registration lady gave them.  "We've been in the main one here…" Arthur pointed to the big grey block on the page.  "Then there's the big hotel across the street…here-" he pointed again.  "…Hey, turns out our hotel has some stuff happening this weekend too."

Alfred belched loudly.

Arthur leaned away from him, not looking up from the book.  "You're bloody revolting," he said.

They were still in the burger place, Alfred finishing his food as they decided where to go next.

Arthur flipped a couple pages.  "Apparently there's not really anything going on in the hotels until Saturday, except this library thing they have going.  Most of the stuff is in the Congress Centre, that's the big one."

Alfred cleared his throat.  "Don't try to figure the place out, just go there and wander.  It works better."

The other shrugged and closed the book with a slap.  "Since it seems you're the expert, you lead us."

"So I will."  He stood up, scraping the chair loudly.  Arthur stood up after him and they headed out the door.

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Arthur looked up at the banner over his head as the pair walked through a huge archway into a more secluded part of the building.  "Artist Alley" the thing read.

Alfred noticed him looking up cluelessly.  "Sooo…yeah.  This is the place for practically anyone to sell their anime stuff.  Like, stuff that they made, not like in the dealers' room where it's mass produced stuff."

Arthur sighed.  "I'm learning just to go with the flow of this place," he said.

The aisles were filled with tables in long rows, each showcasing some kind of art, from pins to posters to stuffed…anime characters plus practically anything that Arthur could imagine and more.  Alfred would stop in front of a table every so often to stare at something and smile and tell the artist that they were great, along those lines at least.  Arthur would just tag along behind, not really understanding half the words coming out of Alfred's mouth.

Arthur tugged on the other's sleeve.  "You're going to have to teach me some of this fan lingo when we get back to the hotel," he said.

"Mmm…yeah, good idea.  You seem pretty damn clueless there," Alfred replied bluntly.  His head was waving left and right, and he seemed to be looking for something.

They turned a corner.  Alfred stopped and stared straight ahead, seeming to have found whatever he was looking for.  He walked faster, making a beeline for a table at the end of the aisle.  Arthur followed him looking confused.  He saw Alfred wave at the person behind the desk.  Coming closer, Arthur saw who it was.

"Kiku!" he said, surprised.

"Oh…konichiwa, Arthur-san," Kiku bowed as best he could from behind the desk.  He then proceeded to give Arthur a once-over, noticing what he was wearing.  He turned to Alfred and did the same.  "And Alfred-san."

He leaned in closer to Alfred and whispered.  "Ah…Alfred-san, you never told me that you and Arthur-san were-"

"We aren't," Alfred cut him off, blushing slightly.  "Anyways…" he looked left and right and leaned closer.  "You have that thing I was asking you for?" he whispered, barely loud enough for Arthur to hear.

"A-ah, yes, right here," he said.  He bent over a grabbed something from under his table, handing it to Alfred.  Arthur peered over his shoulder to see what it was, but Alfred quickly shoved it in the inside pocket of his jacket.

Alfred handed a crumpled 20-dollar bill to Kiku.  "S-so…how's the selling going?"

"Very good, arigato."  He turned to Arthur.  "How are you enjoying yourself, Arthur-san?"

"Erm…" he looked at Alfred's back, blushing and biting back the urge to correct the Japanese man's grammar.  "B-better than I thought I would, Kiku," he replied.

"Hey, you're gonna be here the whole weekend, right?" Alfred asked Kiku.

"Hai.  I'm selling here today and tomorrow and cosplaying Sunday," he said, nodding.

"Cosplaying?  Really?" Arthur said with a sideways smile.

Alfred grinned.  "As who?"

Kiku blushed.  "L-Luffy," he said, making it sound like "Ruffy."

Alfred bit his lip, holding back his laughter as he tried to picture the man in a straw hat and scruffy clothing.  Arthur just stared, confused.  "Hey, I'll need to get a picture of that," Alfred said, smiling widely.  He turned around to leave.  "Later!" he waved.  "And thanks again!" he winked.

Arthur gave him a friendly nod.

Kiku bowed to them, blush still visible on his cheeks as Arthur turned around and the pair started walking away.

As soon as they were out of earshot, Alfred burst out laughing.

Arthur cocked an eyebrow.  "What?"

"That guy he's cosplaying?  Luffy?"  He laughed again.  "You know what he's like?"

"Please enlighten me," Arthur replied, rolling his eyes.

"Well, he's a pirate."

Arthur looked up, snickering while trying to picture Kiku looking anything remotely like a pirate, let alone acting like one.  Add an eyepatch and…Arthur shook himself before letting himself get too carried away.  "I think he would have been a rather fitting Japan, actually," he said.

"So did I.  He's the reason I know what Hetalia is, you know.  I pointed out to him how much he acted like the guy.  So he went and got a haircut to go with it," Alfred said grinning.

Arthur gazed at the other, raising an eyebrow.  "I was wondering why he'd cut a foot of hair off all of a sudden," he said, remembering when Kiku had walked into class late one day with short hair and no one had recognised him.

Alfred laughed loudly.  "Oh yeah, that was aaaaaaaaalllllll me."  He seemed to be proud of it too.

Arthur smiled at him.  He could see how much the convention was lifting Alfred's spirits and in turn, his own as well.  He thought he'd hate it, but he'd ended up becoming rather attached to this Hetalia thing.  And the fact that the two of them fit the roles so perfectly.  Ugh… he thought, blushing and remembering the awkward incident from earlier that day.  Looks like I'm not going to be forgetting about this either.

Alfred caught his eye and noticed his significantly redder cheeks.  He blushed in turn as well, turning away from him.

Sensing the awkward silence, Arthur decided to change the subject.  He cleared his throat.  "Anyways…" he started, "Is America the reason you gel this thing up every day?" he pointed at the odd group of hair protruding from the top of his head.

"Nope.  I just wake up like that and don't bother to put it down, 'cause, you know…" he smiled sheepishly.

"Really?  I seriously doubt it just stays there…" Arthur reached up to poke it.

He had just barely brushed it when Alfred grabbed his wrist firmly.  His face was a deep red and his teeth were gritted.  He swallowed.  "Unfortunately…" he started, "It's very sensitive."

Arthur frowned, confused.  "How so?" He pulled out of Alfred's grasp, accidentally brushing the ahoge full-on with his palm in the process.

This caused Alfred to grunt loudly and lose his balance a little.  He grabbed the other's shoulder for support.  His gaze dropped downwards to his pants, which were getting too tight for comfort because of the bulge forming in them.  Arthur looked down as well and flushed a deep crimson.

Alfred looked back up at him.  "That's what I mean," he said.  He swallowed and let go of Arthur's shoulder.  "Walk with me," he hissed, heading in the direction of the bathroom.

Arthur nodded, still speechless.  He headed after him, being sure to keep Alfred right behind so he wouldn't…attract attention.  He shoved his hands in the pockets of his jacket.  Arthur, you bloody moron… he thought.  Way to make things with Alfred even worse than they already were.  He sighed.  I'm an idiot.

TBC.