Hetalia does not belong to me. Neither do any of the countries mentioned. Get back to me after 'World Domination Phase 3' is complete.
Synopsis: Madeline needed a roommate to help pay the bills and Gillian needed a place to stay. It sounded perfect. But they would need to have a serious discussion on personal boundaries first… And whose turn it was to do the dishes. (Series of one shots, genderbent characters.)
This story takes place in an alternate universe created by 'heypray' on Tumblr. She calls it the 'Roomie AU' and she was nice enough to let me play around in it. I hope that she'll let me write more pieces for it and explore their relationship further. (I have so many ideas...) I also hope that she likes it.
Painted Lines and Boundaries
Madeline sat up and groaned. She cast around blindly for her mobile with one hand and rubbed her eyes with the other. She found it tangled in the blankets and checked the time.
It was four in the morning…
And someone was knocking on her door.
She ran her fingers through her stubborn mane and cursed under her breath. If this was her sadistic landlord again, well... She would just have to put him in his place. And did she have a few choice words for him!
… Such as 'Sorry', 'So sorry,' and 'Please don't kick me out'. She had never quite mastered the art of putting her foot down or speaking her mind. Which was a shame, really. It sounded wonderful.
Madeline stumbled out of bed and grabbed her housecoat, tattered and splashed with dried paint. It was hideous and orange, worn and torn, and the belt was actually a length of rope. One of the pockets was missing.
But she was not looking to impress her landlord. Not at four in the morning and not when she had a practicum in a couple of hours.
The knocking continued as she stepped over the paint cans and jumbled boxes in what passed for the den. She muttered and ran her fingertips over a stretched canvas. Her latest oil paintings were laid out to dry, side by side.
She was pleased to see that her rotten cat had not stepped through the paint. Yet.
It was a small apartment, with squeaking floorboards and crumbling walls. Several doors had been mislaid during renovations, including the bathroom door. The refrigerator needed to be latched shut and the faucet leaked and there were suspicious stains all over the rug.
Hell, there were suspicious stains everywhere.
It was not much, but it was all she could afford and that made it home. It was her home and her sanctuary. And someone was hammering on the goddamned door.
Madeline yanked it open.
"What?!" She growled, expecting to see her crooked landlord or perhaps even one of her more bothersome neighbours. Instead, she came face to face with another woman.
… And a beautiful woman, at that…
"Hey!" The stranger raised her hand and smirked. Her blue camisole was slipping off one of her shoulders but it hugged to her breasts. Her jean shorts highlighted her long legs. "Bad time?"
Madeline deflated, opening and closing her mouth a few times in disbelief. It was too late for this, or maybe too early. She stared at the other woman, confused and exhausted and just plain bewildered.
"What?" She asked again, a little softer than before.
"Is this a bad time?"
"… It's four in the morning…"
"… And?"
Madeline blinked as the woman bounced up and down in excitement. She was as pale as the moonlight but her expressions were as bright as the sun and the contrast was mesmerizing. Her smile was wide and welcoming; her eyes were expressive and the colour of garnets. Her frosted hair was unkempt and wild, and it brushed past her waist.
"… And it's four in the morning."
The woman shrugged and gestured to the suitcases at her feet.
"Is it really? I just couldn't wait to meet you."
"Uhm…"
"Hi! I'm your new roommate! Surprise!"
Madeline blinked again. And then she slammed the door shut.
She leaned against it, shaking and scrabbling against the wooden door. What was she going to do? There was a psychopath outside; a hot, terribly sexy psychopath! What a way to die!
She slithered down to the floor.
"Oh no, oh dear," Madeline rocked back and forth, clutching the edge of her nightgown. She was in trouble now. "Oh no."
"Maddie? Maddie!" The woman started pounding on the door again, even louder than before. "Maddie, let me in!"
And the psychopath knew her name! That was a bad sign. That was a very bad sign.
"Go away!" She shouted. She wondered briefly why none of her awful neighbours were checking in on her; they were usually so nosy. It figured that this would be the one time they minded their own damned business.
"Maddie, it's Gillian! We spoke on the phone."
Madeline stopped rocking and looked up.
... It was true that she was looking for a roommate to shoulder some of the rent, preferably in college and preferably female. She had been calling around setting up interviews. And she had spoken to a Ms. Gillian on the telephone. Just yesterday, in fact.
But she had never asked her to move in.
Madeline stood on her tiptoes, like that might help, and peeked through the door.
"What are you doing here…?"
Gillian scratched the back of her head.
"I'm your new roommate," she repeated, wrapping her tongue around the words as if Madeline was slow. "Remember?"
"No," she said bluntly. She crossed her arms over her chest and frowned.
"You called me. You told me to come down."
"For an interview." Madeline stressed, and come on, who would invite a stranger to live with them? Over the telephone? That was just asking for trouble.
"An… Interview?"
"Yes."
"Oh…" Gillian trailed off. She looked a bit baffled and depressed for all of two seconds before lighting up again. "Then fire away!"
Madeline pulled her housecoat tighter around her.
"… Excuse me?"
"Ask me questions; interview me, interrogate me! Whatever you want," Gillian propped one of her sneakers against a pink suitcase and put her hands on her hips. She stuck out her chest. "I'm a great roommate, I'll prove it. Just give me a chance!"
Madeline sighed in exasperation. What did she have to lose, really? Besides another hour of sleep.
She rubbed her eyes and cleared her throat. Gillian stood a little straighter.
"Fine. What's your major?"
"Business," Gillian stuck out her tongue.
"And how do you plan to pay your half of the bills?"
"With money."
Madeline snorted.
"Where do you plan to get the money?"
"Hell, mostly."
"… What?"
"I work at TeleCOM on Main Street," she explained, "which is also known as 'Hell on Earth'. I hate it there, but it pays the bills, so... In the summer, I walk dogs on the Upper East Side. That's much cooler."
Madeline smiled into her hand. Gillian was a telemarketer, then. Oh dear.
"Hell. Got it. What are your hobbies?"
"Drinking."
Madeline rolled her eyes.
"That's not a hobby. Do you smoke?"
"No."
"Drugs?"
"Sometimes."
"How do you feel about cats?"
"Uh… Good, I guess…? I feel, uh, 'good' about cats."
"You'll have to help out with chores."
"'Kay."
"And the groceries."
"Uh huh."
"Rent is due at the end of the month."
"Alright."
Madeline stared her down, drained and petulant and a little less timid than usual. She just wanted to crawl back into bed. Gillian met her gaze without flinching.
So she held out her hand. Gillian shook it.
And that was that.
"Come in, then. We'll work out the details in the morning."
"… It is the morning."
"And thank you so much for reminding me of that."
Gillian laughed and scooped up her suitcases. She kicked the front door closed behind her and looked over the mess of paint and art supplies. She grinned.
"You said you were a nurse on the phone," Gillian stepped closer to a canvas splashed with different shades of blue and brushed her fingers over the dried creases. She cocked her head to the side.
"I am."
"So what's with the, ah…?" She gestured to the piece.
"I like painting, so I… Uh, paint."
Gillian hummed and turned on her heel, taking in the piles of unfinished projects. She lingered in front of some and hurried past others.
"I can see that," she whispered in awe.
Madeline twisted her fingers into her housecoat and blushed.
"… Do… Do you like them?" She asked bashfully. She could be aggressive, sometimes, if she worked very hard at it, but never when it came to her paintings. Never. She put her heart into each and every one of them, and that left her vulnerable. It left her exposed. And she did not take criticism well.
Gillian twirled around and beamed. She threw an arm around Madeline.
"I love them!"
Madeline flushed darker and tried to hide behind her hands but Gillian was already leading her around the den in a strange sort of jig. She giggled.
She had never had a roommate before; she had never needed one, but this could be fun.
Madeline was introverted and self conscious and it was hard for her to make friends. She kept to the sidelines. She tended to paint until dawn and sleep in the next morning. Her hair was a knotted mass of uncontrollable curls and there were circles under her eyes and there were always oil stains on her knees. Her socks never matched.
She was not, exactly, a social butterfly.
But when Gillian smiled at her like that, she thought that maybe she could be.
"Your bedroom is at the end of the hall," Madeline laughed breathlessly. "I should go back to bed too…"
Gillian raised an eyebrow.
"Is there a, uh, matress in my room? Or anything?"
"I, erhm... No," Madeline bit her lip. She had forgotten that little detail, but it was not as if she had had much time to prepare. Gillian would just have to sleep on the sofa tonight.
… Except that the sofa was buried somewhere under the mountain of art supplies…
Whoops.
"That's alright," Gillian pulled her closer and kissed her on the cheek. "I'll just bunk with you."
Madeline sputtered.
"That… That's not…"
"It's the perfect solution!" Gillian picked up her suitcases again and balanced one on each shoulder. "Which way?"
"I don't think we should...!"
"It's this way, isn't it? I'm going to go this way." She started walking down the corridor. Madeline ran after her.
"Gillian! Wait! Stop!"
"Call me 'Gil'."
"Gil!"
Author's Notes:
I want to write a series of one shots for this alternate universe, which is the brainchild of the wonderful 'heypray' on Tumblr, but I wanted to establish them as roommates first. Then I can write individual encounters and the evolution of their relationship. It'll be chaotic. Just a bit.
They're sooo awkward, and it kills me inside, but it also makes it more authentic. I have a roommate, and I've had roommates in the past, so I am speaking from experience. More than that, I am a roommate, if that distinction makes any sense to you.
It was very nice of 'heypray' to let me play around with her characters. With her continued permission, I would love to flesh them out a bit more. Please visit her account and revel in the sweetness.
She wrote that Madeline (Maddie) is a starving artist looking for a new roommate. She ends up with Gillian (Gil). Madeline is a sophomore in college and she is studying medicine; Gillian is a senior and studying business. Madeline interns as a nurse but she would much rather paint. In the future, I hope that she can. Gillian does not know what she wants to do with her life but she's content in the meantime. She works as a telemarketer, and hates it, but it pays the bills.
I think that they'll be great friends! (And maybe more…)
Please remember to leave a review and feel free to offer opinions, advice, or criticism. All are welcome. You are free to leave an anonymous review; I do not mind. Please let me know what you think of this piece.