Still based on Lollidicator's manuals and Hetalia. All credit goes to Lollidictator and Hidekaz Himaruya. Also a sequel to Finally I Write This :P
An apartment bustled with activity as a woman in her early 20's prepared for work, shuffling around the bathroom and doing her make-up while fixing her hair. It was in a bun and was a light shade of blonde, and her black glasses reflected the bathroom light as she dabbed on lipstick. A call from her cell phone could be heard from the living room and she dashed over to get it, cursing as she pressed the end call button instead of the receive call.
"Damn touch phones…" She muttered, calling back the person as quickly as she hung up. As she waited for the call the TV blasted the news, and the woman dropped down to her coffee table and picked up the remote, turning it down a few notches.
"Today the last of the sex slave industries supervisors was found, a Jack Daniels, who was found drunk at a casino bar in Las Vegas. This crackdown of the Mint Flying Mint Bunny Corporation and it's affiliates had taken two years to jail every employee that was working in the Corporation. The 'units', or clones, as they were called, were all released and given free citzenship to whatever country they chose after the infamous trial of Monroe vs. Mint Flying Bunny Corporation, which was the lawyer Erica Monroe's lawsuit against the company for creating clones and selling them as sex slaves to countries all over the world, from Canada to the United Kingdom to Japan to even the USA. The trial focused mostly on the cruel and inhumane hardships of the clones and with teary eyes the jury convicted the Mint Flying Flying Bunny Corporation guilty of all charges, and the company immediately went bankrupt. Erica Monroe faded out after the case and is now-"
"Erica? Hey, you there?" The voice from the phone jolted Erica from the news story.
"Y-yeah, I'm here."
"Come on over for work, you're late." Ah, Amelia could always deadpan the worst things with the greatest of ease, she thought. "And Brittany brought donuts. Again."
"I like them, okay?" Brittany's guilty voice drifted through the speaker and Erica smiled.
"Alright, I'll be right there."
She hurried out the door, slipping her phone into her pocket and smoothing down her black pencil skirt before leaving. After giving a quick greeting to her neighbor, Christie Hilgard Vargas Lopez Burns Corson Roosevelt Gillard Monroe, she ran down the stairs and dove into the tram station directly across from her apartment, ignoring the stares from people as she jumped on the moving tram. The conductor didn't notice and it kept going, eventually making a stop at a tall skyscraper downtown. She got off and ran inside, almost tripping on her high heels. Before she got inside she got a glimpse of a stray blonde hair and spun around, trying to see it. After a second she shook her head and went inside the building, checking in with the receptionist and then taking the elevator to her floor, the tenth.
Her friends greeted her and Erica grabbed a donut to eat before going inside her office, which had a beautiful view of the city.
"Ms. Monroe, someone's here to see you," The phone on her glass desk beeped, and she pressed a button and said, "Tell them to wait until I'm on my break."
"He says it's very important." Erica sighed, thinking, Well, if it's another one of those clients then there'd be no point in trying to stop them. "Let them in."
Erica sat down in a swivel chair, exaiming all the cases she'd have to do next. All of them had to do with suing a fast-food chain. She breathed a sigh and sat back, closing her eyes and resisting the urge to rub her temples like she had always done nine years ago. She always used to do that, and that habit developed in the summer after the ending of middle school, where not only she changed, but her ideals changed, too.
The sound of Brittany squealing brought her back from her memories and back to the present. She got up and began to walk to the door. It was opened before she got there and she stared, dumbstruck, at the large, blonde-haired and handsome man before her. He smiled at her softly as she said,
"Well hello there, Mr. Jones."
"So was work good today, honey?" A man an inch taller than me asked as he placed a plate of pasta down in front of me. I stuck a fork in it and twirled it around, staring at the noodles as they were wrapped around.
"It was, if you don't count being visited by your childhood memories," I added with bitterness in my voice. The man raised an eyebrow but sat down at the table with me, smiling like he always did.
"So I can guess that it was Alfred, right?" I scoffed and took a bite of the pasta. He continued, "You shouldn't worry about those kinds of things, it's all in the past."
I finished the bite of pasta and replied, "He asked me out to dinner."
The man, his name was Richard, laughed. "Did you tell him you were married?"
I glanced down at the sparkling ring on my finger. "No, but I think he got the idea."
"If you want to go you can; I won't stop you," He explained as a ding was heard from the stove. "Oh! The breasticks must be done." He winked at me and got up hurriedly, grabbing a mitten and taking the food out.
I got up also, bringing my plate with me. He stopped me with his hand, warning me in an Italian accent, "You-a be careful, it's-a really hot."
I smirked and brushed past him, picking one up then flinching at the sting of heat, dropping it. I knew he would say something about it so I turned around and rebuked, "Don't you-a dare say anything-a, bub."
"Bub?" He laughed. "That's not Italian!"
"It is now," I muttered, picking the breadstick up with a paper towel and setting it on my plate. "Because whatever I say goes."
"Sure it does," He said, grabbing a hot breadstick and taking a bite of it. "That's why we're getting married, remember?"
I rolled my eyes and shoved him lightly. "You were so nervous about it you could've peed your pants!"
"I almost did," He admitted, staring into my eyes. "But I'm glad I did." He wrapped his arms around me and I got out, poking him with the breadstick.
"Wait until the honeymoon, loverboy," I warned, but kissed him on the cheek before I went back to the table.
"So are you going?" Richard asked from the counter.
I took a bite of the breadstick, chewed it, and swallowed.
"Of course not, it's just like you said, all in the past."
Apparently Alfred didn't get the message. I got another call from the head desk that following morning. "Ms. Monroe, the gentleman from yesterday wants to see you again." I could hear the receptionist giggle in the background.
"Tell him I'm busy," I said, stacking papers in front and on the side of me.
"He says it's urgent, like an emergency," She pressed, and more giggling was heard. I sighed and replied, "Let him in."
I prepared myself for the boy's (or was he a man now?) arrival. I folded my hands together and waited, tapping my foot on the ground to take up time. The door swung open and in burst Alfred, huffing and puffing like an athletic that had just finished a marathon. I was about to greet him but he slammed his hands on my desk before anything could be said.
"You didn't come!" He yelled, eyes on the brink of tears. "And I was having a totally awesome cook-out too!"
I blinked at him. "I didn't come because I was busy last night, and I don't intend to come to any of your gatherings at any time or any place, actually." I put seriousness into my words and Alfred backed up, looking like a puppy thrown out of their home.
"Why? We're old friends, we should at least group together once in a while to reminisce!" He yelled, being as melodramatic as ever. My eyebrow twitched but I remained calm.
"We might be old friends, but I'm afraid I need to leave the past behind to get on with the future, and attending even one of your parties could endanger that." Alfred slumped and stared at me with baby-blue eyes. I met his, letting the power of my words consume my aura.
"Now leave before I have to call security."
He frowned at me and yelped, "You're worse than Arthur!" But opened the door and exited, slumping over sadly as he went out.
After he left I facedesked, gripping a piece of paper in exasperation. The man was incomprehensible, simply unfathomable. I sighed and brought my head up, noticing with irritation that one was stuck to my face. I pushed it off and began writing a memo for the receptionist:
DO NOT LET A MAN WITH BLONDE HAIR AND A CURL INTO MY OFFICE, HE IS A NUISANCE AND POSSIBLE STALKER.
I reviewed it quickly and placed it under my pencil tube, reminding myself to make sure to give it to her later.
"Why now, Alfred?" I couldn't help but mutter. "It's been two years, so why now?" The thought made me curious but I brushed it away dismissively. It doesn't matter, I'm getting married soon anyway.
After that they'd be out of my life for good.
"Ms. Monroe, you have 40 messages from a Mister Kirkland, a Mister Braginski, and a Mister Jones," The receptionist Peggy (real original am I right?) informed me busily as I walked by her desk.
"Just throw them away like all the others," I told her, ignoring the look of surprise from her as I entered the elevator. I never, never threw away messages without reading them, but these were obviously the exception.
It had been a week since Alfred's visit, and from there I had gotten non-stop messages, faxes, and calls from my released units, all calling me out to meet them. I quickly stashed them away and decided not to tell Richard, knowing that he'd get worked up over the fact that they were so persistent. He knew about the units, but there were some things that I didn't tell them since the memories were too personal.
I arrived at my floor and caught a glance from Amelia as she scolded Brittany for bringing in food, this time being brownies. I smelled the sweet aroma of them and was tempted to grab one, but seeing the two arguing so heatedly I decided it would be best not to get in-between.
The trials I was supposed to do were going to be this week, so I had to meet with the clients again to review everything. One lawsuit was for McDonald's, the other for Burger King, and the other for Starbuck's. I wondered what pursued people to sue every chain in America, but knew that they were just greedy for money. Everyone was these days.
"Ms. Monroe, a man is here to see you," Peggy announced over the phone speaker. Ah, that must be Gary O'Harris, who was suing Starbuck's for 'stealing' one of his recipes.
"Send him in." I checked my suit, picking off any stray hairs from the cat and fixed my collar. Satisfied, I sat down at my desk and waited.
Who came in was none other than Arthur Kirkland, the very same one that had been with me during those days of nine years ago. He closed the door softly then glared at me, eyebrows furrowed.
"I've gotten sick and tired of Alfred crying and bitching about you not seeing him!" He suddenly roared, charging at my desk. "He's a bloody nuisance, and he refuses to stop unless you see him! And don't even get me started with Ivan…"
I sat calmly in front of him, not affected by the anger coming off in waves. "I'm sorry to hear that, Mr. Kirkland, but I'm afraid there's nothing I can do-"
"Bloody hell there's nothing you can do!" He yelled with fury. "All you have to do is get your lazy arse down there and comfort the moronic gits!"
"Arthur." I said strictly, "Shut up for just one second and listen to me." It took all my might not to press for the guards, but if I did he would just keep coming back, and with even more Brooklyn Rage. He luckily obeyed and sat down, looking ready to spit.
I cleared my throat before explaining, "It's not like nine years ago, where I can just go to Las Vegas with nothing but a bag and a phone. I have a job now, a house, and soon-to-be a husband." I flashed him the ring and his eyes widened in shock. "I can't just neglect all my duties to meet up with you all, I'm tied up enough here as it is. So please, just leave me alone."
Arthur's expression turned from anger to sadness to disapprovement then finally to understanding. He nodded.
"All right, Erica, but you at least owe it to us to visit once," He replied, and added before I could object, "just once."
I stared at him in confusion, but eventually sighed, "Okay, Arthur, but only once. Got it?"
He smirked and I felt my heart beat once again. "Of course, master."
I wanted to say something witty but he left before I could, and I cursed myself for getting hot over him again. I only found him attractive, that was it, yet he still got to me. Oh well, that would all end soon.
Hopefully.
"Erica, what happened to you?" Richard's frantic voice barely went through and I looked at him with glazed eyes.
"Remember when you told me about how drunk you got at a college party once that you almost ended up in the hospital?" I asked, collapsing into the couch.
"Yes?"
"Think of that, but with no alcohol." I groaned and covered my eyes. "Ah, fuck my life."
"I believe you're supposed to say FML." He gently pointed out, and I threw a pillow at him.
"Shut up, hipster." He went over to me and sat down. "So it was that bad, huh?"
"Yes," I sighed, thinking back, "it was."
The whole ordeal was done at Ivan's house, which looked suspicously dark and gruesome for a place modeled after a Russian ambassador. I never got a chance to look at how creepy/grand it was because Alfred immediately glomped me along with Gaul!Francis. When I finally got them to let go Ivan did the same thing and I felt myself suffocate in his hug. Alfred noticed this and they started to fight, and Arthur and Gaul!Francis retreated into the kitchen while I was left to break it up. During that time Arthur touched the food, leaving it inedible and slightly green. Ivan tried to force feed it on us, using the excuse of not wasting food to satisfy his sadistic pleasures, but Gaul!Francis was lucky enough to sneak around him and dump the whole thing out before I could even find out what it was supposed to be. Because of this Gaul!Francis was chased around the house by a murderous Ivan and I had to take him into a closet with me, where he preceded to try and molest me. Arthur saved me the trouble of slapping him senseless and I was left to play games with Alfred and Ivan as the Briton scolded him. We played games for a bit, and soon Arthur said he was going to take Gaul!Francis back home for his sleep. After they left Alfred signaled to all the people that were hiding in various places around the house that they could come out and party with them. Ivan had invited the guests, however, and the Baltic Trio came out…in ballerina form…and danced a bit for the amusement of him. I rescued them later over Alfred's speech about heroism and not forcing people to dress up in tutus and make them perform Swan Lake. When I had let the Baltics go I came back and found the two men on the brink of World War lll, and had to give them vodka and beer so they wouldn't kill each other. It worked flawlessly and they tried to coax me into drinking with them, where I whole-heartedly declined and said I needed to leave to meet with one of my clients. They seemed disappointed but were too drunk to care and gave a drunken farewell as I left.
"You can tell me about it later," Richard said, patting my shoulder comfortingly. "But right now-football is on!"
He clicked on the TV and I watched with little interest as the football game was broadcasted.
"I don't see how you can watch all of that," I mumbled, getting up and going into the bedroom.
"I don't see how you can buy so many clothes!" He called after me, and I rolled my eyes as I closed the door. I quickly changed into my nightgown and sat down on the bed, staring out the window into the scenery. To think that all of that had happened in only a few hours completely baffled me.
"Oh well, at least it's over with now," I said, taking off my make-up and glancing at my reflection. I frowned at it. "Hopefully it is."
It was. From that day on the clones respected my wishes and didn't call, fax, or message me. At first I was sad but made myself get over it: I had told them that I would only meet with them once.
My cases went so-so, with a win for the McDonald's one but a lose for the Burger King and Starbuck's. While I collected money I had to give at least half of it back, and only got around 1, 200 dollars. It sounded large but wasn't, considering where most of it would go to.
"Ms. Monroe, your fiance is here," Peggy called from the desk, and I straightened a little as I responded, "Send him in."
Richard came in with a smile, and for a moment he looked exactly like Alfred. I shook the thought away and smiled back at him. He came over to me and kissed me on the cheek, and I heard a gasp of surprise from outside, probably Brittany.
"Hello, beautiful," He handed me a rose and I scoffed at it.
"Do you know how cliché you are right now?" I asked, smirking as I took it and curtly thanked him. He laughed and sat down in the chair.
"I thought that's what woman loved."
"Well I guess I'm an alien then," I replied, and got a short laugh from him.
"That would explain the dry humor," He reasoned, and I stuck my tongue at him. "Anyway," He continued, becoming serious, "I need you to come with me to a party thrown by my boss, you know the one."
I frowned. "The one with the mole on his neck?" He smiled at that.
"Yeah, him. Anyway he insists that we bring our dates with us, so…" He threw his hands up in the air. "Will you come?"
"I guess I have to, with your reputation of having the 'super-hot' fiance put to the test." I answered, and Richard covered his mouth in mock shock.
"You know about that?"
"Of course I do, I hear you talking about me to your guy friends all the time," I said, grinning as he feigned embarassment.
"Oh, no! I never meant to say that where you could hear!" He cried out, and I laughed.
"You're such a terrible liar!" I laughed more, and leaned against his hand as he got up and brought his face close to mine.
"Isn't that a good thing?" He whispered, and kissed me before I could answer. I smiled against his lips, taking in the moment. He leaned in for more and I pushed him away.
"We can do that later, now go, I need to work unlike you!" He frowned at me and gave me the puppy-dog eyes, and once again Alfred flashed into my mind. I ignored the image and had to use brute strength to get him out.
He restrained a little but eventually complied and left, saying before he did, "Don't forget about it, I'll text you the location later!"
"Ja, ja," I nodded at him and brought my eyes back down to the papers in front of me.
Keeping a serious face, my mouth slowly creeped into a smile after he left.
"So this is the place, huh…" I stared around the room, looking around the penthouse that was being used as a gathering place. Men wearing business suits and women wearing fancy dresses could be found as far as the eye could see, and I looked with a grimace at my plain black dress. Suddenly I felt an arm wrap around me and looked up to see Alfred.
I felt my jaw drop down in shock. "Alfred! Er…hi!"
He let go of me and gave me a thumbs-up. "'Sup, dude?"
I saw that a few people had noticed us. "Look, can we talk out on the balcony?"
He obviously didn't notice the suspicious stares and said, "Okay man, just let me go get another hamburger!" He ran back to what I assumed was the kitchen and I hurried outside, glancing around to see Richard so he could save me. He wasn't anywhere that I could see, and I sighed in exasperation.
My eyes flicked to the sky and I saw a beautiful sunset before me, descending slowly but surely below the city. I folded my arms and put them on the concrete in front of me, taking in the gorgeous scene with a smile. I felt Alfred's presence and turned around, gasping slightly at how the sun reflected off his glasses and his blonde hair glowed. He didn't wear the bomber jacket and had on a tuxedo instead. Feeling my heart beat I urged it to calm down, thinking that he was only an old flame, and barely one at that.
"The sun's really awesome, isn't it?" He stated suddenly, the far-off gaze he wore matching his words perfectly.
I coughed and answered, "Yes, it is. The ability for it to change so many colors so quickly and easily is quite admirable, and the textures it brings are-" Wait a second, why was I talking like a nervous geek? I gulped and finished plainly, "Yeah, it's pretty awesome."
I heard him laugh deafeningly. "Man, you really haven't changed!" He stared into my eyes, his glinting with mischief. "How about we get away from all this nonsense and-"
"Alfred." I interrupted, frowning at him. "I can't do that." I had liked him at one time, sure, but that was years ago, and I was engaged to an amazing and charming man now.
He blinked at me. "What do you mean by 'that'?"
I didn't answer, simply stared off into the distance. I gathered my courage and said, "I'm engaged, Alfred."
"Oh, well congratulations, dude!" He grinned at me and I gaped at him. That certainly wasn't the reaction I was expecting, but it was better than him getting upset. He held up his hand I gave him a high-five, feeling awkward doing so around such powerful people.
"Thank you, but that's why I can't go with you," I replied uneasily, and he looked at me in confusion.
"Why not? We can bring you and your fiance to the game arcade too!" He held up imaginary guns and shot them, "Pew pew pew!"
"T-that's what you meant?" I stuttered, relieved.
He put the imaginary guns down and replied, "Yeah, what did you think I meant?"
I opened my mouth to say something but noticed an arm drape around me. I saw Richard smile at me and he kissed me on the cheek. "Ello, love!"
I heard Alfred gasp. "Aw, you're British! Do you know Artie?"
"Who?" Richard raised an eyebrow and I cut in, "Richard, this is my old friend Alfred F. Jones. Alfred, this is Richard Monroe, my fiance."
Richard held out his hand and Alfred shook it, both of them smiling at each other friendly. They looked like Siamese twins in some ways
"Nice to meet you, you're pretty good-looking," Richard joked, and Alfred laughed loudly.
"You're not half-bad either! Good job on snatching her, if you wouldn't have I would've!" He laughed some more and Richard's happy expression dulled slightly.
"What do you mean by that-"
"Okay!" I clapped my hands together and the two men looked at me. "How about I go and say hi to your boss, Richard? It's been a long time since I've met him."
Richard's face became full-on glad again. "Oh, right!" He turned towards Alfred. "Well it was nice meeting you, Mr. Jones, I hope I get to work with you sometime."
Alfred grinned. "Yeah man, so do I!" He replied with jubilance, and then waved a farewell and went off to mingle with the other guys. I felt Richard's hand slip into mine and felt it tighten, and I cringed at the strength in it.
"You'll have to explain that comment to me later," He growled as we stood at the balcony. I nodded solemnly and let him lead me to his boss, who had now grown a mole on his chin. We spent the rest of the night talking to Richard's co-workers, and I tried my best to avoid Alfred at all costs.
By the end of the night I was too tired to take my make-up off and I flopped down onto the bed beside Richard, who was snoring at a comforable pace.
"Explain later my ass," I muttered, but knew he was ten times more tired than me. I curled up beside Richard and hugged him, thankful for the warmth in the cold apartment.
Alfred could go to hell for all I cared.
"So can you tell me about you and Alfred?" Richard sat down next to me with a bowl of popcorn. I grabbed for a piece but he slapped my hand away playfully. "Nope, you don't get any until you tell me."
I glared at him, replying, "Stubborn bastard…" He smirked and put the bowl on the table next to him.
He folded his hands and stared at me seriously. "Now tell me what happened."
I sighed, looking the other way. He had been bothering me about it ever since this morning (even though he was a guy he still had 'feminine' traits), and once I had come home from work he'd bombarded me with questions. I felt guilty about not telling him, but it wasn't exactly easy for me to admit I had developed a crush on a unit when I was a teenager.
"Well, during that time when I was with the units, I started to like Alfred as more than a friend," I explained as swiftly as I could. I looked to Richard and he nodded for me to continue. "Anyway, we never did anything, we really didn't, except that before he left he…" I couldn't help it; I blushed. "kissed me."
I waited for his reaction. He sat there, deep in thought, thinking about what I had said. Honestly I couldn't see how this was a big deal because it was years ago, and it was obvious to me that Alfred had moved on, and it was obvious to Alfred that I had, too. Richard was never the jealous type but hated me keeping secrets from him, but it's not like all my old flame's would come back to haunt me (excluding Alfred of course).
"Well," He finally said, and I snapped my eyes back to him. "I guess it really isn't a big deal, except for the fact that he's now on my team." I gaped at this and heard him scoff. "Yeah, I didn't expect it also. He's not a rookie either; he's been in the service for two whole years."
Two whole years? That would explain the timing of all this…
"Well, you know I don't like him anymore, so don't worry that much about it. He's easy to get along with, too, if you get past the laugh." I reasoned, and Richard scoffed.
"Yeah, but is he over you?" I frowned at this. "Of course he is!" Richard sighed and passed me the popcorn.
"Here, take some before I throw it up in anger." I took it away from him, shock spreading over my face, but soon it changed into a sneer.
"Wow, I never knew you could be so jealous," I teased, munching on the popcorn.
He laughed, replying, "Do you know how hard it was to keep the other guys off you at that party? You got more compliments than I would've liked."
I giggled and grabbed his tie, something I had gotten the weird habit of. "Don't worry, Rich, I'm all yours."
He grinned and leaned in to kiss me, and my heart beat fast excitedly as he did. He went back, holding my head in his hands.
"Aren't I glad that's true." He kissed me again and I put the bowl down and clung onto him. We hung like that, hugging for a while, then decided to watch the new sitcom series Blown Away, which basically was a country girl going to the big city to become a high-class actor but kept falling short because of her own personal problems. It wasn't that funny, but it was great to make fun of, which made it our favorite show.
As I said before, Alfred could go to hell.
Heads up: I had to put the epilogue first so it made sense to readers who haven't read the first yet ;-_-