Chapter I

I ignored Arthur as he grumbled all along the way; my mind was already so full that I'm not even in the mood to tease him as usual. "Look, Arthur," I sighed painfully after he grumbled for at least ten minutes straight. "We both know that this is our bosses' request, so won't you deal with it?"

Arthur stared at me with a disgusted look on his face. "Yes, and do you suppose I'm supposed to just be happy about it? If your boss wants to make a deal with my country, then I suppose you two should be the ones who come to my country," he said indignantly. "You Americans are all the same… So arrogant, even when you're the ones who ask for help…"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," I mumbled unclearly as the streets of New York zoomed past. Ignoring Arthur's burning glare, I continued to stare outside. It's not like I didn't understand what his problem was, but I already had too much work on my side that I really couldn't care less about him.

After ten minutes, the car stopped in front of a big office building; its windows glimmered in the morning sunshine. We got out of the car and walked into the tall building together; Arthur still frowning while I walked carelessly as I checked the folder I brought along. We got into the elevator, and we stood in silence as the elevator zoomed upward. When the elevator finally stopped, both of us stepped out. At the end of the corridor, I saw my boss and Artie's boss chatting together. When my boss saw me and Arthur got out from the elevator, he smiled.

"You two, hurry up here!" My boss grinned. "We had come to a sudden decision about the meeting."

Arthur quickly smoothed his expression into one of polite curiosity as we walked toward them. "What is it?" I asked politely when we finally stood close to our bosses.

"Well, Alfred," Arthur's boss started. "Both of us had agreed that the two of you already had enough work to do, so we decided to give you both free times when we're in New York. Both of you can leave us while we're on the meeting."

"Really?" I grinned. On the opposite, beside me Arthur frowned disapprovingly.

"Is it really okay for us to just drop off work? Maybe I should stay…" Arthur offered.

"No, no. You had had enough work this week, Arthur. You should rest for a while. Now, Alfred," Arthur's boss turned to me. "Show Arthur around New York, will you? I'll be glad if you're willing to do so," He continued, winking at me.

Arthur's frown deepened almost instantly, his spectacular eyebrows furrowed to form an incredibly awful scowl.

"Now, off you go, both of you," My boss shooed us as he turned back to continue chatting with Arthur's boss.

Arthur looked extremely displeased to be told to spend some quality time with me, especially with the fact that it was his boss that had told him to do so. We stayed silent as the elevator we were in descended down. The silence was so thick that my eardrums felt like it was pressed using an iron. Reluctantly, I turned to Arthur, grinning weakly. "So… Umm…" I started.

"Leave me alone, Alfred," He barked. "Don't you dare think that you can steer me off anywhere you wanted to just because I'm in your city."

"Well, unless you didn't notice, your boss happened to told me to keep an eye on you. Unless you wanna get lost in here, of course," I said irritably.

We continued to bark at each other all along the way down. I didn't know how come I became that easily irritated. It looks like the pressure from the mountainous work I had had all week finally hit my nerves. All I felt was that I was sick of Arthur's constant cursing and grumbling. I had forgotten that – just like me – Arthur also had had a rough week on his side as well.

As we walked through the lobby of the building, we were already screaming at each other. When we finally got out, we were ready to chop each other's head off.

"Look, it's not like I'm the one begging to spend some time with you, you idiot!" I nearly screamed at the top of my lungs, trying to hold his hand. "But who knows if you get lost like a little baby…"

"YOU FUCKING GIT!" Arthur's face was extremely flustered; his eyes were glaring with pure fury. "Get off me! LET ME GO, YOU ARSE!"

"Now, don't be ridiculous, Iggy…" I tried to talk some sense into him, although I could feel anger burning through my veins as well. Suddenly though, Arthur had kicked me swiftly on my soft spot while I tried to hold his hand to prevent him storming off somewhere.

I was jumping on the spot and screaming when Arthur wrenched his hand off and glared at me. Then, suddenly he stormed off. I was too startled to chase after him; after only a few seconds, Arthur had disappeared amongst the mass of people in the Fifth Avenue. I still jumped around writhing in pain like an imbecile for a few seconds before I realized that Arthur had gone. Oh my God, my boss is so gonna kill me.

In the current situation, I did the only thing rational in my mind; I completely panicked. A full scale panic attack invaded my mind completely; I was unable to think of how I should find Arthur amidst Manhattan. Suddenly, my Blackberry started to ring, waking me up from my panicked state. I pressed the button and pressed the phone onto my ear. "He… Hello?" I whispered hoarsely.

"Ah, Alfred?" My boss's voice rang through my ear. "I just want to inform you to come back on time for lunch, okay? And please make sure that Arthur won't get lost."

"Ah… Yes, a- About that…" I stuttered.

"Alfred, what happened?" My boss asked sharply after hearing the tone of my voice.

"I… I lost Arthur in Manhattan."

There was a pause, and then my boss yelled so loud that I nearly dropped my Blackberry straight onto the hard concrete I was standing on. He yelled at me for at least five minutes, before he finally calmed down and said that he will send a car straight to Manhattan to help me look for Arthur. I apologized and thanked him weakly. He harrumphed at the end of the line and told me to hurry up and find Arthur, unless I wanted the deal between America and England to end in jeopardy. Then, after what felt like forever, he finally hung up.

I shoved my phone back onto the pocket on my pants. I gritted my teeth. Just you wait, Artie, I thought furiously. I won't let you get away with this.

I sighed as I lounged on the luxurious leather car seat. I had circled around Manhattan for four hours, and there was still no sign of Arthur whatsoever. My boss had been extremely furious that he didn't even bother to answer when I called him for the fifth time to tell him that I still haven't found Arthur. I wiped the sweat off my forehead and closed my eyes. God, Artie… Where the hell are you..?

My mouth was extremely dry that my throat was starting to hurt. I didn't remember when was the last time I had enjoyed a glass of cola. As the car zoomed past the streets of Manhattan, suddenly I saw something. It was a club I used to visit whenever I happened to visit New York. Tempted by the image of a glass of cocktail and loud music to soothe my ears, I asked the driver to stop by the bar. I got out from the car, and then I walked straight to the entrance; loud hip hop music that boomed from inside the club drowned the sound of my footsteps. I could hear girls chattering and screaming inside.

I entered the club happily, sighing with relief as I tried to find a seat near the bar. After finally I got a seat, I sat down and ordered a glass of apple martini. As I waited for my order to be ready, suddenly there was a series of very loud squealing and giggling fits issued from the dance floor. I squinted my eyes to see through the gleaming lights; there was a bunch of girls giggling, their cheeks blushed. They were circling around a blond youth who appeared to be entertaining them. I squinted my eyes harder; I could see that the guy had sandy blond choppy hair, and his eyes were a brilliant shade of emerald green that were sparkling mischievously beneath the lights. Wait… Emerald green eyes? Sandy blond hair? I wiped my glasses to get a better look on the guy. Then, I put on my glasses back on my eyes.

Who I saw standing there amidst the giggling girls was Arthur. Arthur Kirkland. The United Kingdom of Northern Ireland and Great Britain in person himself.

I could not believe my eyes; there he was, after hours of searching for him in this damn city of New York. His cheeks were flustered; delicate pink blush decorated his pale smooth skin. He very obviously was drunk; his emerald eyes slightly hazy as he swayed to the booming music. He laughed a lot as he sipped the drink in a tall glass within his fingers. His usually immaculately tidy hair was slightly ruffled; it stuck at different directions. Arthur looked as if he was no longer Arthur anymore.

And now that I take a look closely, this new Arthur seemed to have developed a new style. He was flirting with the girls; laughing as they squealed and pinched his cheek. He smiled naughtily as if he was Casanova or something. I was speechless; a drunken Arthur could actually act as if he was Francis rather than Arthur.

Up until now, I had never really thought about what girls think of Arthur. Only now that I realized the truth as it was shoved in front of my face. When Arthur swayed and danced to the hip hop music nimbly as if he had done a hundred times before, I saw how the girls actually see him as a guy. They were laughing and squealing; their cheeks blushed when Arthur winked impishly. I have to admit, Arthur do look quite stunning there, with his messed up hair and untidy blazer and shirt. He kind of looked like a young high school student who 'accidentally' got stranded off there.

As I knocked myself off my daze at the sight of Arthur, suddenly a prick of annoyance shot through my head. I hated to see those girls; laughing and squealing over Arthur. I didn't know why, but they really annoyed the hell out of me. Immediately, I walked briskly toward Arthur, who was still dancing and flirting on the dance floor. I pulled his hand briskly, jerking him off mid-dance.

"Arthur! What the hell are you doing here, you idiot?" I hissed furiously at him.

"What?" he asked me, his eyes slightly unfocused because of the alcohol.

"Aw, how cute! Is that your boyfriend over there, Arthur?" one of the girls chirped loudly. I glared furiously at her; causing her to retreat and hide behind her friend's back.

"No, no. More of an acquaintance, really," Arthur winked at the slightly terrified girl.

When I heard the 'A' word, my patience ran out of supply. I wrenched his hand so hard that he almost tumble facedown. "Get in the car," I growled deeply straight at his face. "Now."

A/N: Well, this fic is really written out of the blue. Got the idea months ago, but because of exams and such I was unable to actually write it off. This one is inspired by a song (again), although it didn't really the same with the song (which is why I didn't make this a songfic). Anyway, sorry for slight OOC-ness on Alfred, since he was a little irritable in this fic. Constructive criticisms are greatly appreciated as usual. Thanks! :D