Based on the prompt that the fire alarm goes off in the middle of the night and an attractive neighbor is outside. Any comments or suggestions/corrections/constructive criticism, I'd love to read it! I do not own Hetalia. I'm still learning the formatting of FF, so, sorry that it's not the prettiest…
Just One of Those Days (RusAme human!AU)
"Auuugh!" Alfred exclaimed, slamming his phone onto his desk, brow scrunched in frustration.
"Another informative student provides satisfactory aid?" Arthur, his roommate, asked coolly from his spot on his bed, eyes not leaving his laptop screen.
"Like hell!" Alfred replied heatedly, glaring daggers at his unresponsive phone, the blackened screen staring back unhelpfully.
Although history and literature were not his forte, Alfred took pride in his ability to understand the sciences particularly well. Unfortunately, life did not always cooperate, and he was unable to attend his astronomy class earlier that week, and the professor had yet to reply to his email asking what the assignment was. Now, that alone was problematic but not unsolvable. What made it such a headache was that the majority of his class only took it hoping for an easy elective. Alfred swore heatedly as he reflected on how most of the class now was unable to tell him what the assignment was- and they had been there! It was just plain unfair to someone such as him who honestly tried in that class!
"What about the foreign one?" Arthur suggested, clicking away on his laptop, the glow of the screen reflected in his emerald eyes.
Alfred sighed tiredly, glancing out at the now completely darkened sky. "I don't have his number. And like hell anyone of the others will. Goddammit." He rose stiffly from his chair and stomped over to his bed, collapsing face-first onto the rumpled sheets. "This sucks," came his muffled comment, distorted by the bedspread. He certainly had meant to ask for that guy's number… The student with the platinum blond hair and thick Russian accent was the only one apart from Alfred who seemed genuinely to want to be in that class to learn. They had exchanged a few words before class beforehand, but the general rowdiness of the classroom coupled with the immediate stringency when the professor called for attention made it difficult to maintain a conversation. Then he- Ivan- would always hurry off to his next class, which was apparently on the other side of campus. Heh, when he was hurrying off to class, you could say he was Russ-
Arthur tsked. "At least you have your classes," he said tersely. "I need to find something that can work by the end of this week or my graduation plan is ruined. All for one damn requirement," he added coldly.
Alfred rolled his eyes, recalling the tale Arthur had told him. Arthur had been on his way to a Western Theater course when his adviser had passed him in the hall.
"Oh, Arthur, good, I sent you an email earlier. I need to talk to you," she began. "You have yet to fulfil your language requirement."
Arthur's sizable eyebrows furrowed in bewilderment. "Of course I have! I'm taking English!"
"Foreign language, Arthur."
"It's the Queen's language! How is that not bloody well good enough for them?"
"Arthur," she began again, her eyes leaving no room for argument. "You need a foreign language to fulfil the requirements of your major. English, here at an American college, does not and has never counted."
Which led to Arthur's current situation. "Aah, of course," he muttered to himself, clicking away still. "English is derived from German. It should be easy enough then- blasted!" He slammed his fist onto the keyboard. "It's full!"
Alfred rolled his eyes, turning onto his side to face the wall. Great. He was going to receive a zero not out of laziness but simply because no one could tell him what he needed. And he really did enjoy that class…he wanted it to reflect in his work… His eyelids drooped as his agitation turned to a kind of heaviness that made sleep imminent. His last conscious memory was of Arthur swearing with words Alfred had not even known existed, before he drifted off…
And was rudely awoken by a sound more unpleasant than the insistent blaring of his alarm clock. The fire alarm.
"Are you serious…" he groaned, not rising immediately, hoping maybe he could wait it out, that the unfortunate ruckus would stop the next second, the next one…next one…
It continued on. With a scowl, Alfred untangled himself from his sheets, seeing from the corner of his eye as Arthur fumbled clumsily out of bed as well, his laptop still open but in sleep mode. Wish I was sleeping, Alfred thought as he stumbled out the door, glad he had not bothered changing, and imaging Arthur felt much the same. Both had been too preoccupied to bother getting dressed.
"Let's go, everyone! Come on! Keep moving! Head straight out and onto the parking lot! As far as you can go!" an authoritative voice was shouting, its owner gesturing the students to keep going. Like sleep-deprived cattle, they filed out into the chilly night, mostly everyone in their nightwear. Many guys were shivering, huddling further into their nightshirts and slacks, seeking warmth. Others were less fortunate, wearing t-shirts and boxers, looking severely displeased with the situation, their sneakers looking quite out of place.
"Goodness, I knew you had poor hygiene, but sleeping in your day clothes? Truly, Arthur?" a silky French-accented voice said behind them. Alfred and Arthur turned round and saw Francis clad in an elegant silk bathrobe, looking like he had just stepped out of a magazine, not a strand of golden hair out of place despite the wretched hour.
Arthur scowled, his knee-jerk reaction anytime Francis was near him. Indeed, Arthur made it his goal to be near Francis as little as possible. As far as he was concerned, it was just as necessary of his curriculum as any required language. Though Arthur opened his mouth with a haughty retort, Alfred never heard it. His eyes had snapped to the figure a little ways behind Francis. Yes, that platinum hair could belong to no one else. Alfred made his way past Francis to stand by his astronomy classmate and immediately gaped. From over Francis's shoulder, Alfred had seen only Ivan's head, but now standing in front of him, he was treated to an entirely different view. Ivan stood clad in nothing but boxers and thick, fluffy, lavender slippers, which complimented his eyes extraordinarily well, even in the poor lighting of outside. His torso was in full view, muscles rippling with every little movement. The dusting of silvery hairs on his chest, arms, and legs were on end from the cold, though he himself did not seem uncomfortable with the temperature. That large, slightly hooked nose was crinkled in displeasure. His wide shoulders curved gracefully into powerful arms that were never fully shown off with all the long-sleeved shirts he insisted on wearing, and Alfred was sure if he were to reach out and touch his abdomen, it would feel rock-solid.
At that last part, Alfred gulped loudly, hand twitching at his side. "Uuuh…" he began intelligently.
Violet eyes locked onto him like amethyst searchlights, not at all easing the redness in Alfred's cheeks. "Dobrye vecher, Alfred," he said, his smile not quite matching his sullen tone. "Who knew this would happen, nyet?" he added, waving a thick muscled arm at the area filled with grumbling college students.
It was then that Alfred realized his mouth had been open. He promptly snapped it shut, only nodding in response. He made the mistake of letting his eyes travel back to Ivan's torso, and was soon once again left mesmerized.
"You were not in class the other day," Ivan pointed out, not failing to notice Alfred's scrutiny, causing his own cheeks to turn slightly pink. Blue eyes snapped back up to his face and he returned the glance in earnest.
Alfred blinked in mild surprise. He noticed? He smiled. "Yeah, sorry about that. I really wanted to be. But my dad got really sick. Mom was worried like crazy. Wanted to be there for them."
Ivan nodded understandingly. "That was kind of you. Is he alright now? What was it?" he asked, folding his arms over his chest, more to have something to do with them than from the cold.
"Oh, yeah!" Alfred assured quickly, finding it a bit easier to concentrate when Ivan's exposed skin wasn't there to distract him. "Yeah, no, he's fine. He pulled a muscle in his back really badly when he was working on our roof, but the doctors have him on the road to recovery." Remembering the mysterious assignment, he added "And, hey, what did we need to do for class? I tried asking a bunch of the others, but you're the only other one there who actually pays attention."
Ivan's violet eyes danced happily, his pale skin almost giving off its own light beneath the moon. "As are you. I wish the others were not there if they are not going to contribute properly. It is much more interesting listening to you respond so knowingly to the professor than listen to their babbling guesswork, not even knowing what the question was." Really, Alfred thought, the temperature in his cheeks skyrocketing as a proud grin stretched across his face, he should not be allowed to say that with only boxers on. This is too damn much.
"Aw, sweet of you to say," he replied in what he hoped was a suave manner, stepping closer and draping an arm oh so casually across Ivan's firm shoulders, relishing in the cool, smooth texture of his skin.
Ivan laughed appreciatively, and Alfred decided right then and there that he quite liked that sound. Patting the arm Alfred had draped over him, Ivan replied "I speak truly. And the assignment was to find instances when developments in the Space Race were made purely for the sake of discovery, not for the race itself."
Alfred felt electricity surge through where Ivan touched, quite forgetting the chill of the evening. As students continued to grumble sleepily and bitterly, Alfred felt himself pumped with adrenaline. He grimaced slightly, though, when hearing the assignment. "That's going to take a bit of time," he muttered, seeing the flashing lights of a fire truck approaching the campus.
Something sparked in those violet pools as Ivan glanced over at him, a knowing smile playing across his face. "If you want, I could help you with the research. You did not have as much time as everyone else."
Alfred opened his mouth to reply a hasty "Thanks, but it's okay," when his sapphire eyes locked with Ivan's amethyst ones, and he smirked. "Yeah," he said slowly, tightening his one-armed embrace. "Yeah, I think I could use some help."
"Oh, but Alfred," Ivan added as students began heading back toward their dorm building (it had been a false alarm; no fire had been started anywhere). "The assignment is only extra credit." It seemed only fair to let him know it was not at all required.
Alfred's eyebrows rose and he pretended to consider the words. "Eh, it's always good to go for the extra credit, yeah? Can never hurt."
Ivan nodded solemnly. "I agree."
In the end, with no other sections left open, Arthur had to take French as his foreign language.