Jolly Holiday
Title: Jolly Holiday
Genre: Romance/Fluff
Pairing(s): USUK
Word Count: 1,463
Rating/Warnings: 12
Summary: Arthur sees enough tourists in his line of work, the last thing he wanted was to see another one. Or, maybe not. AU. Done for the ' holidaymaking' prompt of Sweethearts Week.
Arthur ignored his boss as he ranted on about paying attention at work and why did he even bother coming into work if he was just going to read his books all day? Arthur decided to not point out that they were in a shop that sold souvenirs catering for tourists and that it was nearing October. No one came to the beach when it was this cold. But the only reason Arthur still had the job was that he put up with his boss' strange mood swings and so let him yell the place down.
His boss left him to it as he stormed out the shop, which was exactly how Arthur liked it. During the summer months, he had to deal with tourists but in September when the shop was still open but the tourists had left, he had all day to read his books and plan what was going to be his job after this shop because he was definitely not doing this forever.
The sound of the bell at the shop door caused him to look up and the sight caused him to straighten up. Two unfamiliar young men had come into the shop and were now looking around in interest at the different items on the shelves. They could only be tourists since Arthur didn't recognise them but ones that had obviously decided to come to the beach at the end of September and had holiday time as well.
One of the men caught Arthur's eyes, even though he tried hard to disguise it. Customers generally did not deal well with members of the same sex hitting on them, they tended to be offended that they 'looked gay'. And Arthur's ability to tell who was gay seemed to be strangely lacking, unlike his boss who could pick out a gay man at ten metres.
The man that had caught Arthur's eyes, who seemed to be the younger of the two, approached the till.
"So, what are these things?" His hand gestured to a box full of thimbles and his accent was unmistakeably American. Or Canadian. Arthur never could work out the difference between the two. On the other hand, it was not just American and Canadian accents. He had once offended the owner of the corner shop by asking if he was from Spain. Arthur had discovered that he was Italian, had a very bad temper and he really did not like being mistaken for Spanish when he wasn't. Arthur had also discovered that he was very bad at small talk and now the Italian man glared at him every time he came in.
"They're thimbles. They are put on the fingers when sewing to prevent the needle from stabbing your fingers. These ones don't though, they're just decorative. Some people collect them." And Arthur guessed this man was not one of them.
"Who sews anymore?" The man said to the other man, who could only be his brother with nearly exactly the same face shape, only with different hair and eyes. "It just seems so girly." Arthur inwardly sighed even as his face broke out into an angry flush. No chance with this man then.
"I sew in my free time," he spoke up, trying not to sound as angry as he was, but knew he failed when the man stared at him with wide eyes. There was an awkward silent moment between the three of them before Arthur took a deep breath and regained control of himself. His boss would kill him if he lost any more customers due to his temper. Arthur turned away from the two men to pack away his book and his papers. He had a funny feeling that they would be here for a while.
"I didn't - I didn't mean - " The man stuttered and Arthur turned back around. The man was looking stricken and very apologetic even as his brother sat back and looked between him and Arthur like they were an interesting television programme.
"It's all right. You're not the first person who said something like that." Arthur waved off whatever he was about to say. His temper had settled as quickly as it had risen and now he was just thankful that the man had not called sewing 'gay'. There was another moment of silence before Arthur decided he was going to have to be speak up. The man looked like a desperate puppy wanting Arthur to coo over him in the shop window. "So, what can I help you with?"
"We would like something for our Aunt," the other man said and with a hint of reluctance, Arthur turned his attention to the man's brother. "She recently moved back to America from England and she says that she misses it horribly. We were hoping to get her something to cheer her up." Arthur nodded. He felt sorry for their Aunt, whenever he went abroad for longer than two weeks, he was always glad to return home. He was right about the accent though.
"What about a blanket? Or a cushion? We have some nice ones with the Union Jack on them. Or there's the wall posters, several from World War II, which are always interesting." Arthur pointed to where each thing was and the young man thanked him before going over there to search around. The first man stayed near the counter, shuffling awkwardly. Maybe Arthur could try his hand at small talk again.
"So, you both come from America?" The young man looked happy at Arthur's question and nodded.
"Yeah, we came over here on vacation cause our time off was really weirdly set out. But it did mean that everything's cheaper 'cause it's out of season." Arthur nodded. That was generally why they got a few stragglers at the beginning of September, before school started. However this late in September was really unusual.
"It still must be very cold for a holiday. No one goes in the sea now." The man smirked and Arthur had no idea as to why.
"Apart from Matt. He says that compared to the lakes in Canada, this sea is almost warm. I think he's crazy." The man said in a carrying whisper and his brother, Matt, waved at him as if to say that he had heard the teasing but was going to ignore it for now. Arthur wished that he had that sort of relationship with his brothers. Any teasing they did was normally meant to be taken completely seriously.
"I might have to agree with you there," Arthur replied. He hoped that these men were the type of customers that could take a joke. "So, how long are you in town?"
"Another two weeks. We decided to check out all the shops that we keep walking by everyday and I'm really glad we did." The man smiled and Arthur felt his cheeks warm. He would not be mistaken to think that the man was flirting with him, would he?
"I'll like to get these, please," Matt spoke up, passing a Union Flag cushion and a World War II poster to Arthur across the counter. Arthur rang them up on the till, very aware of both brothers' eyes on him. He turned back to see Matt watching his brother with amusement as he smiled at Arthur.
"I'm Alfred, by the way," Matt's brother said and Arthur shook his offered hand.
"Arthur." They stared at each other and the moment was only broken when Matt sighed.
"Oh, this could go on for ages. Arthur." Arthur turned his head to look at Matt, feeling slightly confused about what 'this' was. "Would you like to go and see a movie with Alfred tonight? There's a seven thirty showing of that new action movie."
"Mattie!" Alfred exclaimed, obviously completely humiliated. Arthur felt his cheeks burn at Matt's question but he managed to nod in answer. Alfred stopped looking horrified at his brother and stared at Arthur in wonderment.
"Alfred, would you like to go with Arthur to see the movie?" Matt asked, now turning to his brother. Alfred nodded and Arthur turned red at his enthusiasm. "Then you can both meet at the movie theatre at seven o'clock. Now I would like to go to the cafe because I am starving, so let's go Alfred." Matt dragged Alfred out the door, with Alfred giving one last wave to Arthur. Arthur returned it even as they vanished out the door, feeling slightly like he had been hit by a brick.
The next moment Arthur raised his arms up into the air in a silent victory cheer. Instead of spending his free time tonight curled up in front of the television, he had a date with a gorgeous man. Definitely an improvement.
Genre: Romance/Fluff
Pairing(s): USUK
Word Count: 1,463
Rating/Warnings: 12
Summary: Arthur sees enough tourists in his line of work, the last thing he wanted was to see another one. Or, maybe not. AU. Done for the ' holidaymaking' prompt of Sweethearts Week.
Arthur ignored his boss as he ranted on about paying attention at work and why did he even bother coming into work if he was just going to read his books all day? Arthur decided to not point out that they were in a shop that sold souvenirs catering for tourists and that it was nearing October. No one came to the beach when it was this cold. But the only reason Arthur still had the job was that he put up with his boss' strange mood swings and so let him yell the place down.
His boss left him to it as he stormed out the shop, which was exactly how Arthur liked it. During the summer months, he had to deal with tourists but in September when the shop was still open but the tourists had left, he had all day to read his books and plan what was going to be his job after this shop because he was definitely not doing this forever.
The sound of the bell at the shop door caused him to look up and the sight caused him to straighten up. Two unfamiliar young men had come into the shop and were now looking around in interest at the different items on the shelves. They could only be tourists since Arthur didn't recognise them but ones that had obviously decided to come to the beach at the end of September and had holiday time as well.
One of the men caught Arthur's eyes, even though he tried hard to disguise it. Customers generally did not deal well with members of the same sex hitting on them, they tended to be offended that they 'looked gay'. And Arthur's ability to tell who was gay seemed to be strangely lacking, unlike his boss who could pick out a gay man at ten metres.
The man that had caught Arthur's eyes, who seemed to be the younger of the two, approached the till.
"So, what are these things?" His hand gestured to a box full of thimbles and his accent was unmistakeably American. Or Canadian. Arthur never could work out the difference between the two. On the other hand, it was not just American and Canadian accents. He had once offended the owner of the corner shop by asking if he was from Spain. Arthur had discovered that he was Italian, had a very bad temper and he really did not like being mistaken for Spanish when he wasn't. Arthur had also discovered that he was very bad at small talk and now the Italian man glared at him every time he came in.
"They're thimbles. They are put on the fingers when sewing to prevent the needle from stabbing your fingers. These ones don't though, they're just decorative. Some people collect them." And Arthur guessed this man was not one of them.
"Who sews anymore?" The man said to the other man, who could only be his brother with nearly exactly the same face shape, only with different hair and eyes. "It just seems so girly." Arthur inwardly sighed even as his face broke out into an angry flush. No chance with this man then.
"I sew in my free time," he spoke up, trying not to sound as angry as he was, but knew he failed when the man stared at him with wide eyes. There was an awkward silent moment between the three of them before Arthur took a deep breath and regained control of himself. His boss would kill him if he lost any more customers due to his temper. Arthur turned away from the two men to pack away his book and his papers. He had a funny feeling that they would be here for a while.
"I didn't - I didn't mean - " The man stuttered and Arthur turned back around. The man was looking stricken and very apologetic even as his brother sat back and looked between him and Arthur like they were an interesting television programme.
"It's all right. You're not the first person who said something like that." Arthur waved off whatever he was about to say. His temper had settled as quickly as it had risen and now he was just thankful that the man had not called sewing 'gay'. There was another moment of silence before Arthur decided he was going to have to be speak up. The man looked like a desperate puppy wanting Arthur to coo over him in the shop window. "So, what can I help you with?"
"We would like something for our Aunt," the other man said and with a hint of reluctance, Arthur turned his attention to the man's brother. "She recently moved back to America from England and she says that she misses it horribly. We were hoping to get her something to cheer her up." Arthur nodded. He felt sorry for their Aunt, whenever he went abroad for longer than two weeks, he was always glad to return home. He was right about the accent though.
"What about a blanket? Or a cushion? We have some nice ones with the Union Jack on them. Or there's the wall posters, several from World War II, which are always interesting." Arthur pointed to where each thing was and the young man thanked him before going over there to search around. The first man stayed near the counter, shuffling awkwardly. Maybe Arthur could try his hand at small talk again.
"So, you both come from America?" The young man looked happy at Arthur's question and nodded.
"Yeah, we came over here on vacation cause our time off was really weirdly set out. But it did mean that everything's cheaper 'cause it's out of season." Arthur nodded. That was generally why they got a few stragglers at the beginning of September, before school started. However this late in September was really unusual.
"It still must be very cold for a holiday. No one goes in the sea now." The man smirked and Arthur had no idea as to why.
"Apart from Matt. He says that compared to the lakes in Canada, this sea is almost warm. I think he's crazy." The man said in a carrying whisper and his brother, Matt, waved at him as if to say that he had heard the teasing but was going to ignore it for now. Arthur wished that he had that sort of relationship with his brothers. Any teasing they did was normally meant to be taken completely seriously.
"I might have to agree with you there," Arthur replied. He hoped that these men were the type of customers that could take a joke. "So, how long are you in town?"
"Another two weeks. We decided to check out all the shops that we keep walking by everyday and I'm really glad we did." The man smiled and Arthur felt his cheeks warm. He would not be mistaken to think that the man was flirting with him, would he?
"I'll like to get these, please," Matt spoke up, passing a Union Flag cushion and a World War II poster to Arthur across the counter. Arthur rang them up on the till, very aware of both brothers' eyes on him. He turned back to see Matt watching his brother with amusement as he smiled at Arthur.
"I'm Alfred, by the way," Matt's brother said and Arthur shook his offered hand.
"Arthur." They stared at each other and the moment was only broken when Matt sighed.
"Oh, this could go on for ages. Arthur." Arthur turned his head to look at Matt, feeling slightly confused about what 'this' was. "Would you like to go and see a movie with Alfred tonight? There's a seven thirty showing of that new action movie."
"Mattie!" Alfred exclaimed, obviously completely humiliated. Arthur felt his cheeks burn at Matt's question but he managed to nod in answer. Alfred stopped looking horrified at his brother and stared at Arthur in wonderment.
"Alfred, would you like to go with Arthur to see the movie?" Matt asked, now turning to his brother. Alfred nodded and Arthur turned red at his enthusiasm. "Then you can both meet at the movie theatre at seven o'clock. Now I would like to go to the cafe because I am starving, so let's go Alfred." Matt dragged Alfred out the door, with Alfred giving one last wave to Arthur. Arthur returned it even as they vanished out the door, feeling slightly like he had been hit by a brick.
The next moment Arthur raised his arms up into the air in a silent victory cheer. Instead of spending his free time tonight curled up in front of the television, he had a date with a gorgeous man. Definitely an improvement.