GerUk/GerEng Collection

Alfred the Match Maker

"That git said he'd be here an hour ago," Arthur grumbled as he glared at his phone. Ludwig assumed it was Alfred's latest text from this morning. The three of them had made plans to go to the carnival (or Alfred made the plans and Ludwig and Arthur hesitantly agreed) that had come to town for the next two weeks.

"Why not call him?"

"I've tried that before meeting you."

"Why not try-" Ludwig was cut off by the buzzing of Arthur's phone. Though he didn't want to pry, he still looked over his friend's shoulder to see who was calling. In big white letters 'Brat 1' popped out. Knowing the Brit and his relationship with his little brother, it was best to guess it was Alfred

"Where the bloody hell are you?" Arthur growled into the phone. "What do you mean- what?... Why you little...Wait I'm not-" Ludwig didn't think it was possible, but Arthur's frown became deeper as he shoved the phone into his pocket. After a deep breath, Arthur turned back to him. "Looks like Al won't be coming," he said with a sigh.

"Oh..." was all the German could manage as a reply. What followed was a long moment of awkward silence and occasional glances between each other and the ground. Eventually, Ludwig couldn't take it anymore, "Well, I guess we should head home and reschedule for next weekend or something." He began to head back to his car, but something pulled him back.

"Wait," Arthur said, gripping his arm tight, "he already bought us the tickets...a-and we're already here, might as well salvage what we can of the night."

Ludwig thought for a moment. He and Arthur didn't really hang out outside of class, but at the same time, Ludwig had found himself with a massive crush on the Englishman. That last fact only made a night alone with him less appealing. But at the same time, he couldn't say not to those sparkling green eyes that were now full of hope instead of their usual anger or annoyance. "I...I guess."

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Curse Ludwig and his inability to say no Arthur. Now Ludwig was not good at holding a casual conversation, even with his friends, and being with Arthur made this inability ten times worse. As soon as the two entered through the arch of lights leading to the carnival, things became silent between them. Ludwig worried that Arthur could hear his fast-beating heart with how quiet everything seemed. At least when they were officially in, the voices of those around them drowned it out.

For the first hour or so, they just wandered. Actually, Arthur wandered aimlessly and Ludwig followed like a lost puppy, focusing on the man in front of him, while also trying to steady his breath and calm his racing heart. "How about ring toss," Arthur finally piped up, pointing towards a booth up ahead.

Despite seeming so excited to play, Arthur was horrible at the game. Ludwig had to stop himself from chuckling at the sight of a red-cheeked Arthur, gazing intently at the bottles out in front of him as he wound up his arm. He either threw too hard or too soft with no in-between. "Godamnit," he muttered after his 7th failed attempt.

Finally, Ludwig couldn't hold his laughter in any more and let out a quiet laugh, "How about I try this time." Handing the money over to the vendor, he picked up a set of rings. Tossing them with just enough effort, he effortlessly landed the rings on three bottles. The vendor smiled at him and handed a brown rabbit plush to him. Ludwig in turn handed it to Arthur. Although he couldn't bring himself to meet Arthur's gaze, Ludwig swore he saw the other man blush out of the corner of his eye. With a grumble, The Englishman was on his way again and Ludwig quickly joined him.

"You choose the next game," Arthur said, squeezing the stuffed animal closer to his chest. Ludwig had to admit the image was cute. He never imagined Arthur could look so childish with his rosy cheeks and slight pout. But he couldn't focus on the image for too long as he now had to look for a game before Arthur got suspicious. He was never a fan of carnival or festival games, even when he went to such events with Felicano and Kiku. They were too quick, too expensive and at least half of them were rigged. But when he was with Arthur, all common sense and function were thrown out the window. Perhaps he could impress the Brit with their next game. This led him to give in to Arthur's request and choosing the strength test game.