Flowershop

Chapter Twelve

Alfred wasn't seeing anything new.

His parents loved stuff like this, so he's been here plenty of times. But, Kiku has never been to the MoMa, so Alfred felt as if it was his duty to show Kiku everywhere. Right when they arrived, Kiku was dragged off by none other than Alfred himself, who had somehow managed to act as if he hadn't been before.

"Kiku, let's go see that!" He yelled, grabbing Kiku by the hand, leaving Francis and Arthur alone. Arthur scoffed, he would've rather had them all together, but it's Alfred. So all he could do was look after their disappearing forms with a slightly annoyed smile. But, it wasn't as if they were completely innocent either. They've been many times, knowing perfectly well Kiku is completely new to everything. So, they would be lying if they said they weren't happy watching them go. Francis smiled deviously, looking down at his husband in his wheelchair, starting to push it. "Where to?"

Kiku allowed himself to be dragged around by the American, looking at all the statues and art pieces. There were many times when Kiku had to stop Alfred from moving too quick. Some would catch his eye, drawing him in close. He would just stop and admire for a few minutes, mouth slightly open in awe. Alfred smiled at that slightly, loving the look Kiku wore. He had countless times to do the same thing Kiku was doing, just watching an unmoving picture for so long, staring at a single tiny detail in the mass of other strokes. Other times, it was the opposite. They'd get off track, screw around, not really looking at any paintings, just talking about insignificant things.

Kiku learned that Alfred liked sculptures of the human body, and he would catch him just staring into one area for a little, looking almost like he's staring into a whole other world. Kiku liked seeing this side of Alfred, it was much different from his usual, boisterous self. It seemed sort of calm, and fiery at the same time.

Looking at his tiny little map of the place, Kiku was trying to look at all the places they've covered, and how much they have left to go. They didn't have much left; and they were showing movies Kiku considered going to see. Kiku tapped on Alfred's shoulder and directed his attention towards the map. "They are showing a movie on the first floor later, do yo-"
"No, all the movies here are boring anyways, and I've been forced to see them all at least once," Alfred said, very uninterested. "And besides, we still have stuff to see still!" He said, seeming as though he had not seen everybody here many times before. Kiku was not unhappy with the decision, not really caring what they did here. Just the experience with this certain person made the whole thing more enjoyable.

"Where do you think they could've gone?" Francis asked warily. Arthur just gave an uncaring wave of the hand. "Knowing Alfred, anywhere. They'll be fine," Arthur answered tiredly. They made Francis looker around before spotting something that caught his eye. "There's a cafe over there, you want anything? I'm getting thirsty myself..." Muttered Francis. Not waiting for an answer, he wheeled Arthur over to the little cafe. "Oh, before we go, I want to go to the fifth floor, I wanted to see that one statue," Arthur said to Francis airily. Francis sighed slightly and began wheeling the chair in a whole other direction.

"Well, let's look at the fifth floor, there's something there that I want to show you!" Alfred said, once again pulling Kiku's hand into the crowd of people. Kiku walked fast to keep up with the American, holding his hand back, hard. They skidded to a stop right on the fifth floor. Kiku read about this; fifth floor: Art roughly ranging from 1880-1940. It was beautiful, many long murals everywhere. Alfred, still holding onto Kiku's hand navigated, to stop before a brilliant painting. "Yep, here it is! Claude Monet's Water Lilies.." Alfred said, staring at Kiku to see his reaction.

Kiku stared at it in wonder. It was a beautiful long mural, just purely water lilies. He stepped up close to it, admiring all the fine details, restraining himself from touching it. It was just all so beautiful... It made many thoughts whirl in his mind, and many old memories resurface; he stared at it in all its beauty and glory, and teared up a bit. He furiously wiped at his eyes, remembering he was in public. Only then did he recognize the warm feeling that it made flood inside his insides. Or perhaps it was Alfred that caused that warm feeling? He looked at Alfred calmly, heart beating at a normal pace. But, then again he felt sad, and a bit guilty. But why? "Alfred...why did you show me this painting?" He asked calmly. "Well, I just knew you'd love it, you love all kinds of flowers, and you know...it sort of made me think of you. So I wanted you to see it,"Alfred replied with a small smile on his face. Kiku looked at him, his thoughts ringing out the moment he thought them. "Alfred... You spoil me too much..." Kiku said, feeling a bit down at this. Why does the American always do this? What did he himself get out of it? What was Alfred's benefit. Alfred looked Kiku in the eye before smiling airily. "Nah, it's just because I love you," Alfred said casually, looking down at Kiku.