Chapter Text
The first thing Alfred F. Jones noticed about the new transfer student was that he looked painfully alone.
Not in the cool, mysterious kind of way people in movies liked to romanticize.
No, this was different.
The kind of loneliness that sat quietly beside someone like an old friend.
Kiku Honda stood near the classroom window while their teacher introduced him to the class, hands folded neatly in front of him, posture perfectly straight. His dark hair framed his face carefully, and his expression remained calm and unreadable despite the dozens of curious eyes staring at him.
“Our new transfer student is from Japan,” the teacher explained warmly. “Please make him feel welcome.”
The classroom erupted into whispers immediately.
“He’s cute.”
“He looks strict.”
“Do you think he speaks English fluently?”
“He’s kinda intimidating…”
Kiku lowered his gaze politely, clearly pretending not to hear any of it.
Meanwhile, Alfred Jones was staring openly from the back of the room.
Matthew sighed beside him before nudging him with his elbow.
“Don’t.”
Alfred blinked. “Don’t what?”
“You’re making the face again.”
“What face?”
“The one where you decide someone is your friend before they even speak to you.”
“I do not do that.”
“You literally dragged Gilbert into our friend group because he looked lonely at a vending machine.”
Gilbert, overhearing from two rows away, slammed a hand onto his desk dramatically.
“And it was the greatest thing that ever happened to you people.”
“No it wasn’t,” Ludwig replied instantly.
“Yes it was.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
At home, Arthur and Francis was havin' a 'meaningful conversation'
“Our son inherited your inability to behave normally,” Arthur muttered.
Francis smiled brightly. “And your terrible habit of falling in love immediately.”
Arthur nearly choked. “I do not—”
“You absolutely do.”
𓇼 ⋆.˚ 𓆉 𓆝 𓆡⋆.˚ 𓇼
Kiku’s first few days at the school were exhausting.
Everyone stared.
Not maliciously, usually.
Just curiously.
Teachers praised his politeness. Students whispered about how pretty he was. Girls from another class giggled whenever he walked past. Some boys attempted awkward conversations about anime before immediately embarrassing themselves.
Kiku handled all of it with perfect manners.
But inside, he was tired already.
Transferring schools halfway through the year had not been his idea.
Ivan and Yao had insisted it would be “better for his future.”
Better opportunities.
Better education.
Better connections.
Everything was always about what would be better for his future.
Rarely about what Kiku himself wanted.
At lunch on his third day, Kiku quietly sat alone beneath a tree outside, carefully eating homemade food Yao had packed for him earlier that morning.
Then suddenly—
A shadow fell over him.
“Hey!”
Kiku looked up slowly.
Alfred stood there grinning brightly while holding three lunch trays balanced in his arms.
Behind him were Matthew, Gilbert, Ludwig, Feliciano, Lovino
It looked less like a friend group and more like complete chaos gathered into human form.
“You’re sitting with us now,” Alfred announced confidently.
Kiku blinked. “Pardon?”
“You looked lonely.”
“That is not necessary.”
“Too late.”
Without waiting for permission, Alfred dropped into the seat beside him.
The others followed.
Immediately the table exploded into noise.
“MOVE YOUR ELBOW.”
“I WAS HERE FIRST.”
“Feli stop stealing food from my plate!”
“But Lovi, yours looks tastier!”
“That’s because it IS my food!”
Gilbert pointed dramatically at Kiku. “New guy, you have officially been adopted by the coolest people in school.”
Ludwig looked horrified. “Please do not listen to him.”
Matthew offered Kiku a small apologetic smile. “They’re loud, but they mean well.”
Kiku stared at all of them quietly.
Then at Alfred.
Alfred smiled at him so openly and warmly that something uncomfortable twisted in Kiku’s chest.
Not bad uncomfortable.
Just unfamiliar.
“You don’t have to talk if you don’t want to,” Alfred said casually while opening a soda. “You can just vibe.”
“...Vibe?”
“Yeah.”
Kiku had absolutely no idea what that meant.
𓇼 ⋆.˚ 𓆉 𓆝 𓆡⋆.˚ 𓇼
The friend group was terrifying.
Lovino yelled constantly.
Gilbert somehow had endless energy.
Feliciano clung to Ludwig every five minutes like a cat demanding attention.
Only Matthew seemed consistently calm.
And Alfred—
Alfred was overwhelming in an entirely different way.
He was loud.
Bright.
Confident.
The type of person everyone naturally gravitated toward.
Students greeted him constantly in the hallways.
Teachers liked him despite his tendency to interrupt lessons.
He played sports, joined school events, made friends effortlessly.
Kiku could not understand him at all.
Which somehow made him want to understand him more.
𓇼 ⋆.˚ 𓆉 𓆝 𓆡⋆.˚ 𓇼
Two weeks later, their history teacher announced a partner project.
Groans filled the classroom immediately.
“Partners will be assigned randomly.”
More groans.
Kiku prepared himself mentally to work alone.
Then—
“Alfred Jones and Kiku Honda.”
The room erupted instantly.
“WHAT?”
“No fair!”
“Alfred always gets the pretty partners!”
Alfred looked delighted.
Kiku looked mildly alarmed.
Alfred slid into the seat beside him with an easy grin. “Guess we’re partners.”
“Yes.”
“You sound devastated.”
“I simply prefer working independently.”
“Ouch.”
Kiku immediately straightened. “I did not mean it offensively.”
“I’m kidding.”
Alfred leaned back in his chair casually. “So, what part do you wanna do?”
“You may choose first.”
“You always this formal?”
“Yes.”
“That’s kinda cute.”
Kiku nearly dropped his pencil.
Alfred blinked innocently. “What?”
“You should not say such things so casually.”
“Why not?”
Because Kiku’s heartbeat had suddenly become unbearable.
𓇼 ⋆.˚ 𓆉 𓆝 𓆡⋆.˚ 𓇼
The first time Alfred visited Kiku’s house was for project work.
Yao welcomed him politely.
Ivan stared at him for a long moment before smiling in a way that felt strangely threatening.
“So,” Ivan said pleasantly, “you are Alfred.”
“Yes sir.”
“You are loud.”
“Also yes sir.”
Yao sighed softly. “Do not interrogate the child, Ivan.”
“I am bonding.”
“You look like you are planning murder.”
Kiku quietly led Alfred upstairs before things escalated further.
His bedroom was immaculate.
Books organized perfectly.
Desk spotless.
Notes arranged neatly by color.
Alfred stared around the room.
“You actually live like this?”
“Yes.”
“My room looks like a natural disaster.”
“I can imagine.”
Alfred laughed loudly.
And for the first time that day, Kiku smiled properly.
Not polite.
Not restrained.
Real.
Alfred forgot what they were supposed to be working on for several seconds.
𓇼 ⋆.˚ 𓆉 𓆝 𓆡⋆.˚ 𓇼
As weeks passed, Alfred started noticing things.
Kiku never rested.
Ever.
He studied during lunch.
After school.
Before class.
On weekends.
Sometimes Alfred would text him at two in the morning only to receive a reply immediately.
“You were awake?”
“I am studying.”
“Dude go to sleep.”
“I cannot.”
At first Alfred thought Kiku was simply hardworking.
Then he overheard a phone call one evening while they worked together in the library.
“Yes father.”
Pause.
“Yes, I understand.”
Another pause.
“I apologize.”
Kiku’s voice sounded smaller somehow.
By the time he hung up, his shoulders were tense enough to snap.
“You okay?” Alfred asked carefully.
“I am fine.”
“That sounded intense.”
“It was nothing important.”
Alfred frowned.
Kiku always said that.
Nothing important.
I am fine.
Do not worry about me.
But Alfred was starting to realize those words usually meant the opposite.
𓇼 ⋆.˚ 𓆉 𓆝 𓆡⋆.˚ 𓇼
The pressure became worse after midterms.
Kiku scored second highest in mathematics.
Second.
Most students would have celebrated.
Kiku looked devastated.
“You got ninety eight percent,” Alfred said incredulously.
“Yes.”
“That’s amazing!”
“It was careless.”
“Kiku.”
“I made unnecessary mistakes.”
Alfred stared at him.
Then realization slowly settled into place.
This was not normal disappointment.
This was fear.
Real fear.
“What happens if you don’t get perfect scores?” Alfred asked quietly.
Kiku went silent.
Too silent.
Alfred’s chest tightened immediately.
“Kiku?”
“My parents simply expect excellence.”
“That sounds terrifying.”
“They only want what is best for me.”
“But what do you want?”
Kiku looked genuinely startled by the question.
Like nobody had asked him that in a very long time.
“I… do not know.”
𓇼 ⋆.˚ 𓆉 𓆝 𓆡⋆.˚ 𓇼
Slowly, Alfred started pulling Kiku into the group more often.
Movie nights.
Arcades.
Cafés.
Study sessions that somehow turned into Gilbert and Lovino screaming at each other for two hours.
“You are wasting time,” Kiku said once while watching the others argue over Mario Kart.
“And?”
“I should be studying.”
“You study literally all the time.”
“It is important.”
Alfred looked at him carefully before handing him a game controller.
“This is important too.”
Kiku blinked. “Video games?”
“Having fun.”
Something warm and painful twisted in Kiku’s chest.
He could not remember the last time someone had cared whether he enjoyed himself.
𓇼 ⋆.˚ 𓆉 𓆝 𓆡⋆.˚ 𓇼
Winter arrived quietly.
So did exhaustion.
Kiku’s grades remained excellent.
But he slept less.
Smiled less.
Spoke less.
Alfred noticed immediately.
Matthew noticed too.
“He looks exhausted,” Matthew whispered one afternoon.
“I know.”
“Have you talked to him?”
“He keeps saying he’s fine.”
Matthew frowned softly. “That usually means he’s not.”
Alfred already knew that.
𓇼 ⋆.˚ 𓆉 𓆝 𓆡⋆.˚ 𓇼
The breaking point came after dinner one evening.
Kiku had scored lower on an exam.
Ninety three.
Ivan had sighed quietly.
Yao looked worried.
Neither of them yelled.
That somehow made it worse.
“You must take care not to become distracted,” Ivan said calmly.
“I understand.”
“We only worry because we know your potential.”
“I understand.”
“You should strive harder.”
“I understand.”
Over and over.
Until Kiku finally escaped to his room feeling like he could barely breathe.
His phone buzzed.
Alfred: movie night rn. where are u???
Kiku stared at the message for a long time.
Kiku: I cannot come tonight.
Almost instantly—
Alfred: u okay?
Kiku: yes.
Pause.
Alfred: liar
And suddenly Kiku started crying before he even realized it.
Quiet tears.
Exhausted tears.
The kind that came from holding too much inside for too long.
𓇼 ⋆.˚ 𓆉 𓆝 𓆡⋆.˚ 𓇼
Half an hour later, Alfred appeared outside his house.
Kiku sat on the porch steps wrapped in a blanket while cold winter air curled around them both.
Alfred sat beside him quietly.
No jokes.
No teasing.
Just warmth.
“I’m tired,” Kiku whispered eventually.
Alfred’s expression softened instantly.
“Then rest.”
“I cannot.”
“Why not?”
“Because if I stop trying…” Kiku’s voice shook slightly. “I might disappoint everyone.”
Silence.
Then Alfred gently took his freezing hands.
“You know people can love you even when you’re struggling, right?”
Kiku looked down immediately.
“You do not understand.”
“Then explain it to me.”
So Kiku did.
About expectations.
About pressure.
About feeling like his worth depended entirely on achievement.
About constantly being afraid of failure.
Alfred listened to all of it without interrupting once.
And when Kiku finally fell silent—
Alfred squeezed his hands gently.
“You don’t have to earn being loved.”
Kiku broke completely after that.
And Alfred stayed beside him through every tear.