AmericaXReader: Unexpected Courage

    “Where is he?” you questioned as you stood in front of the bus stop waiting for your friend. He wanted you to meet him there because he had something “really fun” planned for the day. It was five o’clock when you finally saw him running toward you.

            “Hey, dudette! Sorry for the wait,” he bent over softly panting, “it’s just that-”

            “It’s fine, Alfred. I just want to know what you have planned,” you looked into his blue eyes with excitement.

            “Okay, but you have to close your eyes,” he winked at you.

            “What?”

            “Please,” he pleaded.

            “Fine,” you shut your eyes and felt his large hand grab yours. It was soft and warm. He pulled you forward.

            “If you run me into anything I swear I’m gonna slug you so hard,” you warned him with a playful tone in your voice.

            “I wasn’t planning on it, but now I really don’t want you to run into anything,” he said with a shiver. You may not look it, but you could really throw a punch of which Alfred was all too familiar with. You finally stopped about a block and a half up the road.

            “Ok, dudette, we’re here! Open your eyes,” you slowly opened your (e/c) eyes to see a large building with a tacky ‘Haunted House’ sign above the front door.

            “You want to go through a haunted house?” you asked in shock.

            “Yeah, why not?” he was defensive.

            “Well no offense, Al, but your not very good at handling scary things,” you broke it to him gently and at the same time bluntly.

            “Hey, that’s harsh. I bet you I could make it through this haunted house,” he proclaimed.

            “And I bet you couldn’t,” you retorted.

            “Fine, what do you wager?” he smiled.

            “I’ll let you decide the terms.”

            “Okay loser has to do what the winner says at the end of the haunted house,” he held out his hand. “Deal?”

            “Deal,” you shook his hand, and the two of you proceeded through the entrance.

            You could tell that Alfred was having some difficulty making it through the house. His hands shook every now and then, but you let it go, considering he wasn’t spazzing the way he does during scary movies. You on the other hand loved this sort of thing and didn’t scare as easily as your friend. You glanced at him once in a while to watch him swallow many screams and wince whenever he wanted to jump, but he still hadn’t panicked. You gave him a lot of credit. You also thought it was rather cute when he asked if you were okay when it was clear he was the one in need of a hug.

            The one thought that kept racing through your mind was what you would have Alfred do once you won this bet. You really had developed feelings for Alfred for a while now, but you could never find the courage to say anything to him.

            ‘Maybe I could make him kiss me? No, that’s just crazy. That’s just too forward, and it wouldn’t go over well. Maybe I could have him take me to a movie or something small like that? I just don’t know,’ you thought to yourself.

            “Hey, (y/n),” Alfred gently shook your shoulder, “you spaced out for a second there. We finished the walk through.”

            “Oh. Well I gotta hand it to you Al, I didn’t think you could do it, but you fared pretty well,” you held your hands up in defeat. “What will you have me do now?”

            “Let’s see. Close your eyes,” he said after some thought.

            “What? Again?”

            “Come on, we made a bet, and you lost,” he looked at you with his puppy dog eyes, and you just couldn’t resist.

            “Ok, ok I’m closing my eyes,” you felt him get closer to you.

            ‘What is he doing?’ you asked yourself. You felt one hand on your shoulder and the other gently cradling your face. He leaned in and gently kissed you. You weren’t quite sure how to handle this, but you kept your eyes closed. After all you always kept your word, so you kept your eyes closed the entire time soaking in the moment you two were given. He broke the kiss and told you that you could open your eyes. You looked into each other’s eyes smiling like two giddy children. Suddenly one last puppet popped out for a final jump scare.

            “AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!” Alfred jumped behind you as fast as he could.

            “Now hold on a second. The haunted house didn’t end,” you stated as you turned to face him.

            “S-so?” Al was still a little shaken.

            “So that means I just won the bet,” you said proudly.

            “What? That doesn’t count. Neither one of us knew that was coming,” he stated.

            “Isn’t that the whole point of a haunted house?”

            “W-well,” he knew he was beat. “Fine. What I am I to do?” you pulled him down close,

            “Kiss me,” you smiled.

            “No complaints,” he leaned in and kissed you again. It seemed that both of you gained some courage that night.