Lunch between frenemies~ (Finished~)

Alfred blinked, overwhelmed by the bustling atmosphere of the place. So different. He took his seat at the table with Carlos and snickered a bit when the waitress made the other man blush and splutter. Well she was a beautiful woman, he supposed.

He nodded as he was told what food they would having, reaching over and grabbing his own drink, taking a nice long as Carlos did the same. The beer was pretty damn good and highly refreshing after the long walk here.

He noticed everyone started to go rather quiet, with him guessing that the game Carlos had been talking about all day, was about to begin. "I see..." He listened as he heard the entire club cheer for the Blue Lions, assuming that they must be the home team, hence all the support.

"We are in Havana, Alfredo, we are in Lions territory. The rivalries are as fierce between the teams as they are you and me." he chuckled, taking another sip of beer. It felt so good discussing baseball with a fellow nation who appreciated the sport as he did.

The announcer's voice cut on sharply announcing the start of the game, in Spanish of course.

"It begins!"

“Ah right~! So I better cheer for the Lions then, yes?” Alfred grinned brightly. Even if the cowboys clearly had the better name he didn’t want to be the only one cheering for them in a building filled with Lions supporters. Anyway, he didn’t even know the teams so it would be best for him to just root for the home team.

Alfred was about to say something when he noticed the game had began. So he quickly shut up and took a sip of his beer, staring up at the screen, ready to see a great game of baseball.

Carlos nodded as he turned his beer bottle. He turned to the screen where the p players and officials took the field. In formation, the national anthem began to play. Everyone in the bar stayed quiet as the music played, Carlos included. It was his anthem, his melody. He felt a surge of pride rise in his chest as it concluded.

"Gets me everytime." he commented as the players took their positions on the field. The Cowboys were at bat first. "Ah, him,he has a good arm, he may try for an early run. I do hope for a good infield game, some brilliant strategy." he mentioned as their food came. "Ah, Gracias. It looks lovely as always."

He pushed the plate towards Alfred. "Dig in."

Alfred nibbled of the food Carlos pushed towards him absesnt mindedly as he became absorbed in the game of baseball. God it was a game he loved, something that never bored him in the least bit. He found himself cheering for the Lions anyway, getting caught up in the supportive spirit for the team in the room. The pride he felt they had, for their home team and country, it was the same he felt whenever his beloved home team was out there playing.

He nodded in agreement with what Carlos had to say, also hoping for a brilliant game as well. A good game of baseball always put him in a wonderful mood.

What a game it was. You could feel the tension in the room as the ball sailed just over the fence, scoring a home run. A lull tainted the room as the Cowboys creeped ahead in the fourth inning. "There is still time to turn it around.....I know there is" he said drinking his third beer. The corn fritters had gone cold and mostly eaten.

"Another round for you Alfredo?"

Alfred nodded in reply, reaching out to grab the last corn fritter, even if it was cold. He chewed on it slowly as he stared at the screen, un able to look away. Oh god, the last five minutes....and the game was so god damn close! Either team could win it now!

"Another beer would be good Carlos~" He smiled and finished the beer he had, just as he swallowed the last of the fritter. This game...he hoped that home team here won.

The stadium was quiet as the pitcher wound up. He was a formidable one, one of the Cowboys best. He was destined to go to the big time. You could hear a pin drop in the bar. Every set of eyes was glued to a television screen. The ball was released and set on its course.

Carlos gripped onto the edge of the table,chewing furiously on his cigar. The batter swung and.......it connected. He could see the sweat and fury in the sinews of the man's muscles.

Could it? Would it? Would it be a homerun?

Alfred held his breath, gripping his hand into tight fists as he watched the game with intense concentration. Oh fuck. This was close. So god damned close! Everyone in the bar was the same, it seemed as though no one even dared to breath during this moment. The tension in the room was so thick that one could cut it with a knife, though it would have to be a very sharp knife with the density of the tension there.

He bit the bottom of his lip hard as he watched the ball fly across the field. Many a fielder tried to catch it but to no avail. It just kept on soaring through the air. Then one particularly tall man made an effort to catch it. The jump he did was truly amazing and the ball almost touched his glove. Almost. It continued its path, never being caught once.

The batter made his way around the bases with ease, getting just what his team needed to win. A homerun.

A homerun. A homerun! It went quiet in the bar for a moment. "DIOS MIO! VIVA HAVANA!" he whooped loudly. He grinned happily as the bar exploded in celebration.

"DID YOU SEE? DID YOU SEE?"

Alfred grinned and shouted loudly in glee, getting caught up in the celebrating that was currently taking place in the bar. They’d won! They’d really won! It had been a long game and it was so damn close right near the end but they’d managed to pull ahead to achieve a great victory! It took a moment for Alfred to realise that this in fact WASN’T his home team and that the pride he was feeling for their win was kind of misplaced. Ah but he couldn’t help it. Everyone was so happy here.

“I SAW~! I SAW~! OH HELL, THAT WAS CLOSE! BUT, BUT! THEY DID IT! THEY WON!” In his excitement he found himself pulling Carlos into a tight hug, still jazzed up about the win.

He hugged him? He hugged him! Any other time he would have decked the other nation but now, in this moment of celebration it was fine. He hugged him back tightly, smelling of beer and cigar smoke. His fellow fans whooped and shouted, watching the replay over and over. It was magnificent.

"Ah......ahem......Alfredo?"

Alfred froze for a second, unable to believe what he had just done. He had HUGGED Carlos. Not a man hug either with the hand shake and back patting. No, this was a full on, arms wrapped around the other, hugging back tightly hug! He felt himself flush bright red, jumping back and scratching the back of his head in embarrassment, staring down at the floor as he did so.

“Uh...I....um....p-pretend that never happened Carlos...” He dearly hoped that this would never be brang up again, the moment itself had already been embarrassing enough, he didn’t want to hear it being talked about in the future!

"Pretend what happened?" he said smirking. Oh this was pure blackmail fodder. He could not wait to tell Matthew about this. It was too much.

He sighed watching his countrymen celebrate around him. He sat back down and signaled for a drink. "This calls for something stronger. Rum?"

“Exactly!” He grinned, feeling as though the other understood that this moment was one that would never, ever be spoken about. Not to anyone. Ever. He coughed a little, still embarrassed by the whole situation.

“Oh, yeah sure~! Something stronger would be cool...rum sounds fine~!” Alfred smiled, sitting down as well. Even after that awkward moment everything was still going well.

The two were quickly served two glasses and a bottle of caramel colored liquid. He winked at the waitress who smirked and nodded at him. "Perfecto! A bottle to ourselves, seems Marcello finally is cashing in his debt."

Setting a glass in front of Alfred, he then poured a moderate amount of the spirit into it, then some for himself.

"To an excellent day, may ones like it come more often." he toasted then quickly sipped it. "Ah, a good year as well."

Alfred grinned as Carlos pored him a drink, staring at the alcohol before raising the glass to toast with the other, taking a small sip to taste the beverage. He sat there for a moment, tasting it before mentally nodding in approval. It was good, quiet good.

“Defiantly an excellent day~! Probably the best I’ve ever had with you ever~.” That wasn’t far from the truth really, it had been the best day he’d spent with Carlos by far, but then again, Alfred only had days filled with bitterness, fighting and hate to compare it with so it was no competition.

As he slowly drank his drink a pleasant smile made its way onto his face. Maybe Carlos wasn’t so bad after all, communist or not. After all, Yao was communist and was quiet a nice guy himself. Perhaps in the future he would have more of these days with him and hopefully they would all go as well as this one had.

"Si, most enjoyable. You have shown me you are not all you appear to be, that bratty, brazen attitude is not all you are. You may just earn my friendship one day. One day." he said making sure to repeat the last statement.

As he took in the spiced rum, a pleasant warm feeling came over his body. One of calm and happiness. He had truly enjoyed today. He was sad to realize it was almost over. But there was still time, time for it to sear into each other's memories. That today, today was the beginning of something he could cherish.

"Perhaps next time we can have a barbeque? I have a recipe for marinated flank steak that is perfect for the grill."

“And you’ve shown me that you’re really a nice guy, and that just because you’re a commie doesn’t mean you’re a bad person~” Alfred grinned as he said that, taking another sip of his drink. It really was good. “Oh, and I think I’ll earn it~ After all, you’re starting to earn mine~”

He smiled a little sadly as he continued to drink, disappointed that the day was almost over. Alfred wondered whether Carlos and him would be able to have another pleasant day like this again, or it this was just a one off thing. He hoped it was the former. He had really had a good time with Carlos today and hoped that they could hang out like this again in the future.

It seemed like the former was going to happen after all. “A barbeque sounds awesome~ I bet you make a mean steak~. “

"Thank you for the kind words. Communism works for me at present and I am proud of it. If one day I become capitalist, I will be proud of that as well." he commented as he drank more of the rum. This bottle was truly a good year. "I am? How excellente." he chuckled

"I do, I do love to entertain. Steak, a little salsa music, some beer, a few people.....sounds like a good time. Maybe on the beach?" he asked mind churning with ideas. He did love to entertain and he did love food, music and people, why not?

"The night is young? Shall we continue with a little dancing? I know a casual club that has a wonderful house band."

“I’m sure it does work for you~ Otherwise you would have dropped it a looong time ago~. Anyway, it’s good that you’re proud of it, I guess, and it’s nice to hear that even if you switched over that you’d be able to keep up that pride~.” Alfred smiled as he finished his cup, downing the rum in one last gulp. “And yes, you are~ You’ve shown me a great time here today~.”

He stared down at his empty cup, frowning a little before grabbing the bottle and pouring himself another glass as he listened to Carlos speak. Music, beer, good people...that did sound like a good time to him. “Sounds like fun, Carlos~ And the beach would be a great place for it~!”

Alfred downed the entire glass in one go, nodding at what the other said. A little dancing sounded wonderful right about now! Or maybe it was just the rum getting to his head. Either way it didn’t matter as he considered pouring himself another glass.

"It is not perfect. No system is,each one is open for debate and question. Its a great platform for open discussion. One I would greatly like to have with you." he grinned, bringing the glass to his lips and drinking. "Ah Gracias Alfredo. Pride is a staple here, you of all nations understand it. It is something I like about you, one of the few things, until today."

"Perfecto! I shall plan it then. Please bring whomever you like."

Carlos finally began to feel the effects of the rum upon reaching his fourth glass. The bottle was nearly empty, perhaps another round or two and it would be gone. "Good! We finish this bottle and I will lead the way. They should be starting their second set about now."

He poured another shot and leaned back. A very good year.

“And one I’m sure we can have sometime soon~!” Alfred grinned as he said that as he poured himself another glass of rum, downing it before pouring more of the liquid into his cup and drinking it all down in one go. It had been a while since he’d last gone out drinking so he may have been going a little overboard with the drinks...but only just a little.

He held back a small drunken giggle as he leaned forward on his hands, nodding as the Cuban man spoke, only half hearing what he was saying. Something about pride and liking him? Oh and plans...for the beach thingy, right? Alfred made a mental note to invite all his closest friends to that, and Arthur too, of course. Not Ivan though. Commies he was learning to live with, Ivan though, he didn’t ever think he’d learn to live with him.

In his mind everything started to blend together and suddenly almost every word Carlos said was funny and every idea, a brilliant one. When drunk, everything sounded like a great idea to him, even incredibly stupid and dangerous things. Jumping off a bridge? Buckets of fun~! Drinking the contents of a bottle with a skull and cross bones on it? Exciting~! Following strangers home because they said so? Making new friends is fun~!

With Alfred in his own happy little blissful world of rainbows and happiness he stood up, pouring the rest of the bottle into his glass and downing it all. He then staggered over to Carlos and pulled him up with a drunken smile.

"Well, I know your birthday is next month, so how about sometime after that?" he asked, not expecting an answer right away. The other was clearly getting drunk. Drunk.......not just buzzed like Carlos was. So many lightweights. How was he to truly enjoy himself when he had to make sure his companion wasn't too inebriated? Oh well, at least he didn't whine like Antonio.

The bottle was empty when the other downed the last of it and pulled him up. He was so drunk. He was so......loose. It was hilarious and concerning. "Come on, lets burn off some of that energy." he instructed, letting the other lean on him a bit.

Carefully, he led him out of the bar, waving to the few remaining patrons and making their way into the streets. Some revelry and celebrating was going on but nothing serious. It would be a few blocks to the dance hall. Hopefully, he wouldn't be too drunk to dance.

“Yeah~!” A small drunken hic left his throat as he thought of how soon his birthday was coming up. It was really, really soon, wasn’t it? Like in just a few days! Alfred always loved it when his birthday came around. It was such a fun day, filled with celebration and parties and fireworks and just general awesomeness! One all about him.

He giggled a little as he clung onto Carlos and nodded, letting the other man lead him out of the bar. He wondered where they were going to go. Hadn’t he said something about burning off energy? Maybe something fun! He defiantly hoped so.

“Carlooooos~ Wheres are we gooooin’?” Alfred stumbled along with Carlos as they made their way down the streets, looking around at all the people he saw, waving excitedly at everyone he saw.