~...~
"Thank you guys!" a loud German voice rang out in the arena. Loud cheering covering the sound. "Have an awesome night!" The lights on the stage dimmed, signalling the audience members to leave. Slowly, the crowd started filing out, leaving only stubborn fans to be escorted out.
On stage, the band members are gathering their instruments to go home. A group of volunteers are picking up the necessities and placing them in a u-haul. The band members remained onstage as the volunteers started picking up the amplifiers and electrical cords.
"Let's go home, Al," the same German voice that spoke earlier suggested. A caramel blonde looked up from his empty water-bottle towards the man.
"I'm gonna go help the dudes with the equipment," the blonde stood up from chair, walking towards the u-haul where their manager, Ludwig - who also is their drummer - is. He turned around last second, looking at his band-mates with his eyebrows raised. "Guys, you gonna help?"
"I'm too awesome for manual labor!" the German said proudly.
"I am going to go sign signatures," a Frenchman said while walking off the stage, towards the exit.
"I'm going to go with Francis, sorry Al," a soft-spoken man said.
"Gomen, Alfred-san. I must go help Yao-san with some things," a Japanese spoke up, bowing slightly before walking out the back of the arena.
"I need to help the people with the drum set!" a Finnish man stated cheerfully.
Alfred sighed to himself. He left the arena and walked up to Ludwig. "Hey, drum-master!"
Ludwig gave an aggravated sigh, looking at Alfred from the corner of his eye. "I would enjoy if you would stop calling me that." He walked behind the u-haul, checking if everything is secure. "We finished already, Alfred."
The American pouted, realizing that his help was not needed. He sat down roughly on the steps, closing his eyes.
"Tired?" Ludwig asked. Alfred hummed in response. "When aren't you tired?"
"When I eat hamburgers!" the American stated cheerfully. Ludwig rolled his eyes, attention back to the equipment in the u-haul. The silence lasted until there was a muffled yell.
"Give me back my wallet, wankers!"
~...~
"Why did you make me come here?" Arthur asked. His voice muffled by mass of bodies that surrounded him. The girl beside him - Elizabeta - looked at him curiously.
"I thought you would enjoy yourself!" she stated sternly, a deep frown on her features.
"You know how much I hate American music!" the Englishman yelled over the screaming of fans that were practically humping each other at this moment. Elizabeta rolled her eyes in frustration.
"If you hate America so much, why'd you move here?" She froze after she asked the question.
"...We've been over this already," the man said sternly, glaring at her. With a huff, he looked away from her, sternly looking at the stage. The girl started to panic.
"Arthur," she said softly, but loud enough over the sound of the concert. "Arthur, I'm sorry," she lightly touched Arthur's shoulder in a comforting way. Arthur sighed, looking back at his friend with a grim face.
"It's fine." One of the band members said goodnight on stage, the lights turned off immediately after. Arthur glanced at the dark stage and back at Elizabeta. "So what now?"
Elizabeta led Arthur away from the crowd to a place less populated. There, they met up with a red-haired man with a curl off to the side.
"Ciao!" the man greeted cheerfully.
"Hey, Feliciano! We are going to go get an autograph!" the girls exclaimed at the same level of joy.
"Well, you two can go do that. I'm going to go home." Arthur started walking towards the crowded exit. When he took two steps away, he felt a hand in his back pocket removing his wallet. He swiftly turned around to the two friends. Both of them were giggling, trying to control their laughter. "Give me back my wallet!" He took a step towards them, making both people take a step back.
"You have to catch us to get it back~!" Elizabeta taunted. She grabbed Feliciano's hand before darting off towards the side exit that no one took. Arthur followed them out the door.
"Give me back my wallet, wankers!"
~...~
Ludwig and Alfred looked at each other. Both of their eyebrows raised in silent question. Alfred stood up from his spot on the stairs, looking down the alleyway towards the sound.
"Ah! Arthur's going to get me!" a panicked voice yelled.
"Keep running, Feli!" a female voice yelled breathlessly. "He's catching up!"
"Uwah!" the footsteps got quicker and closer towards the two confused men.
"When I get my hands on you!" an annoyed voice seethed from further away.
"You'll never catch-" a soft thump could be heard. Ludwig and Alfred looked at each other, shrugged and looked back towards the sound. "What was that for?"
"That's for taking my wallet and making me run!"
"You were on the track team in high school. It isn't so bad for you!" There was a loud sigh and footstep that got further away. Suddenly the footsteps stopped, leaving both Alfred and Ludwig questioning.
"Get out of my way," the English voice commanded. The night was silent for a moment. "...Hey! No! Where'd you get that?!"
"Give back Elizabeta's happy place..." Fast paced footsteps got closer to the two band members.
"Get him, Liz!" a cheerful voice encouraged. "Just don't hurt him!"
Both musicians could hear a faint 'No promises' from the girl voice. The footsteps kept getting louder until a dark figure rounded the corner into the alley. Not having quick enough reflexes caused both Alfred and the Englishman to collide with each other, falling to the ground with Arthur straddling the American's lap. The footsteps of the followers stopped upon seeing the scene in front of them. Slowly, Arthur lifted his upper body off the American. He looked over his shoulder towards Elizabeta with a frying-pan in one hand, the other hand with a phone looking like she was taking a picture.
"Liz!" Arthur yelled at her, glaring dangerously at her. She jumped, almost dropping her phone. She smiled sheepishly at Arthur, placing her phone back in her pocket. Arthur looked down at Alfred, glaring less fiercely. The American placed a hand behind his head, rubbing it gently.
"You okay, dude?" the American asked. The Englishman raised an eyebrow.
"I should be asking you that." Arthur stood up from lying on top of Alfred. He straightened his clothes and offered Alfred a hand. He grabbed it, surprised at Arthur's strength. "Sorry about that. I blame this whole incident on my two 'friends'." The two in the background grinned proudly, not at all embarrassed. Arthur rolled his eyes and looked at Elizabeta. "Was that really necessary?"
Elizabeta nodded vigorously, a big smile on her face. Arthur sighed deeply, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "I'm heading home," Arthur stated bluntly. He turned around and started walking down the alleyway, only to be stopped by Elizabeta.
"Arthur, come on. We'll let you get drunk after this." Both Feliciano and Elizabeta had pleading looks on their faces. Arthur glanced back and forth between the two, gaze finally landing on the two band members. One of them, a tough looking man, had an emotionless stare. The other man, who seemed very childish, was trying to contain his laughter. Little clips of giggles emitted from the man, causing Arthur to raise one of his eyebrows. Alfred's eyes grew in size before he fell to his knees laughing almost uncontrollably.
"Your eyebrows, dude!" Alfred yelled between gasps of breath. In the background, a few girly giggles could be heard. Arthur swiftly changed his attention to Elizabeta.
"What are you laughing at?" Elizabeta innocently smiled at Arthur. Sighing to himself, he looked back at Alfred. "Will you stop laughing, you git?" After a few more agonizing seconds of laughter, Alfred calmed down to just small chuckles. Wiping the small tears from his eyes, he stood up and smiled brightly at Arthur. Arthur rolled his eyes, turning to walk away again.
"No!" Elizabeta shouted. "You are not walking away this time!" She tackled Arthur to the ground, pinning him. The two friends glared at each other for a moment before Arthur looked to the side, signaling defeat. Her once cold stare was replaced with an overjoyed smile. She leapt from Arthur and walked towards Alfred. Slowly, Arthur stood up, glaring at Elizabeta.
"Hello," she greeted eagerly, "sorry about all that stuff that just happened. I blame Arthur, and so does Feliciano." Feliciano gave a loud 've~' towards Arthur. Arthur sighed once again. "Arthur, quit your sighing and quiet complaining and get your ass over here!" she ordered. Arthur glanced to his side, looking down the alley, and back to Elizabeta. His eyes widened.
"Where do you put that?" Arthur shouted, pointing at the iron frying pan now in Elizabeta's hand. Elizabeta quirked an eyebrow along with one side of her mouth, forming an evil smirk. Arthur held up his hands in defense, walking up next to Elizabeta. On the other side of her stood Feliciano staring off into space mumbling about pasta. Elizabeta nudged Arthur's torso, signaling he should talk. Sighing once again - earning an evil glare from Elizabeta - Arthur held out his hand in greeting. "Greetings. I am Arthur, but apparently to these two, I am 'The Source of All of Our Problems'." The caramel blonde shook the offered hand enthusiastically, causing Arthur to yelp and retract his hand from the grip. He rolled his arm, causing a loud pop to be audible. The group cringed at the sound while Arthur hissed under his breath. He shifted his shoulder slowly, cringing only once. Glaring momentary at Alfred, he presented his hand to Ludwig. He took the hand firmly, but with less strength as Alfred, thankfully.
"My name is Ludwig, and this is Alfred," the German man introduced. Both Elizabeta and Feliciano squealed at meeting the band members, all the while Arthur has his arms crossed over his chest, not caring one bit. Arthur glanced down the alley again. Maybe he could escape from Elizabeta's grasp - she is conveniently distracted by these two.
When Arthur was about to run for it, Elizabeta grabbed Arthur's upper arm, dragging him. Even with his patients thin, Arthur reluctantly followed. Wait, why are they going back into the arena? Arthur must have not heard about heading back in.
"Okay, dudes," Alfred exclaimed as they walked across the stage towards the group of band members. "you get to meet the band since you seem cool enough; well, except for Mr. Grumpy Pants over there." He nodded his head towards Arthur who only huffed in annoyance. "Exactly my point." They walked up to the group, finding them in a middle of a card game.
"Alfred-san," the Japanese man from earlier walked up to the group of five, curious evident on his usual calm face. "who are these people?" He motioned at the three behind Alfred. Alfred only grinned.
"These dudes were running outside the arena, and this dude right here - Mr. Grumpy Pants - ran into me," Alfred exclaimed boisterously. Arthur fumed in the background, beyond pissed. He just wanted to get home, have a cup of tea, and go to sleep. Arthur tried continuously to escape from Elizabeta's grasp - finding out his efforts were futile. He glared at the back of Alfred's head, wanting to smash it into the nearest surface. The Japanese man noticed this, but reframed from speaking about it. Instead, he walked in front of the three guests, bowing slightly.
"Konnichuwa, my name is Honda Kiku. If you do not know, my first name is Kiku, not Honda." Feliciano ran up to the Japanese man and tried to give him a hug, but Kiku dodged it last-minute. Feeling dejected, Feliciano returned to his spot by Elizabeta. Elizabeta looked Arthur sternly in the eye before she let go of Arthur. To her utmost joy, Arthur stayed where he was. Arthur and Elizabeta bowed and introduced themselves - along with Feliciano. Kiku nodded slightly and walked back to the band members who crowded around a cardboard box with their card game.
Alfred motions the trio to follow him towards the group. Feliciano follows close behind Ludwig while Elizabeta follows close behind Arthur - pushing him forward. Arthur puts his entire weight on Elizabeta, causing her to struggle. Arthur smirks when Elizabeta cannot move him. He did not see Elizabeta's own smirk before she let go of Arthur completely, causing him to fall backwards onto the ground. The stage erupted in joyous laughter as Arthur groaned in pain. Elizabeta smiled brightly as she walked away from where Arthur fell. Letting out another sigh, he stood up and straightened the small amount of wrinkles in his clothes. He glared maliciously at Elizabeta, who wasn't looking at him. She turned around to look at Arthur before stepping away slowly. The group glanced at her then at Arthur. Slowly, everyone not playing the card game, started inching away. That was, everyone except for the American idiot who can't read the atmosphere to save his life.
Alfred glanced around at his friends, realizing they are farther away than they were a few seconds ago. They all look frightened at something. He looked at where the group's eyes were trained on. He snorted when it turned out to be Arthur. He walked up to Arthur, wrapping an arm around his shoulders, ignoring the 'I'm-going-to-castrate-you-then-shove-your-balls-i n-your-mouth' glare he was receiving.
"I know his eyebrows are practically caterpillars," the glare deepened to a 'You-and-your-family-is-dead-tonight'. "but that doesn't mean he's going to eat you!" the American laughed. The Englishman wiggled in the tight grip, but only to have Alfred tighten it. Slowly, realizing his obvious defeat, Arthur calmed down enough to a point where his evil smirk was a 'You-are-lucky-you-lived'. The group relaxed, but the tension in the air never disappeared. Still oblivious, Alfred dragged Arthur to the group around the cardboard box.
"Will you stop dragging me!" Arthur demanded, pushing against Alfred's torso. The American seemed unfazed by the aggressiveness, unfortunately for Arthur.
"Not until you stop being a stick in the mud."
"I am not a stick in the mud!" Arthur defended. "I just am not enjoying this at all." He turned his head to the side away from Alfred. He glanced around and found Elizabeta and Kiku with cameras out, aiming directly at Arthur and Alfred. He blushed a little, struggling even more against Alfred's grip. "Let go of me!"
"No," Alfred said dryly. "you'll just run away like you tried earlier."
"I will not." Alfred blankly looked at Arthur, giving the look of unbelieving. "I will not leave, I promise." Arthur insisted. Alfred retracted his arm from Arthur slowly, getting ready to pull him back if necessary. Arthur huffed in annoyance and straightened his clothes once again. He glared at Elizabeta who was looking at photos on their cameras. Arthur raised an eyebrow when he saw a box of tissues next to them. Why do they need that?
Arthur looked away from the odd pair, focusing on the card game. He inwardly laughed at it when he realized that it was Go-Fish.
"Tino, do you have any twos?" an albino man asked.
"Go fish!" a yellow-haired man replied.
"That's totally unawesome..." the albino said under his breath.
"Gilbert, do you have any twos?" a soft voice spoke, whose owner look quite alike to Alfred.
"What! This gets more unawesome by the second!" the albino - Gilbert - complained, handing the quiet man three twos. A small smile formed on the man's lips as he placed down four twos. "I think you're cheating!"
"You're just pissed because you suck at this game," Alfred joked. Gilbert mumbled something about being too awesome before he placed down his hand of cards. He stood up and walked towards Alfred, immediately spotting Arthur. His eyes widened and so did Arthur's. They looked at each other for a long moment before Gilbert's face broke into a big grin.
"Hey, Art," he greeted casually. "it's good to see you again!" Gilbert held out his hand, waiting for a handshake. Arthur took the hand, glaring at Gilbert.
"You know how much I hate that nickname," Arthur said dryly. "But yes; it is good to see you again Gilbert."
"Wait," Alfred interrupted the reunion. "how do you two know each other?" Gilbert glanced at Arthur and motioned him to explain. Giving another annoyed sigh, Arthur looked at Alfred.
"We know each other from high school," Arthur stated bluntly, not caring for details. Alfred looked expectantly at Arthur. Arthur rolled his eyes before continuing. "He was part of a group - I forgot what the idiotic name was - that always loved messing with me. At first we hated each others' guts, but later we ended up friends. We separated after senior year. I never thought I'd ever see this guy ever again." He pointed his thumb towards Gilbert who was smiling brightly at Arthur. "Thought he would've died of overdose by now." Gilbert frowned, nudging Arthur. Arthur chuckled as he balanced himself. "You know I'm just joking, Gilbert."
Gilbert laughed loudly. "I know," he said brightly. "your sense of humor never does change, eyebrows." Arthur glared harshly at Gilbert, elbowing him in the ribs. "And neither has your aggressiveness."
The two engaged in friendly conversation afterward, catching up on each others' lives. They were interrupted when the loud sound of a door opening echoed throughout the arena. Everyone looked toward to sound, finding Francis walking dramatically towards the stage. He swayed his hips as he walked up the stairs. He looked around the group of friends, finding Gilbert and Arthur. His eyes narrowed as he walked closer to the pair. His face broke into a wide grin when he looked at the large eyebrows.
"Arthur, mon ami~!" He trotted towards Arthur, who immediately started backing away. The Frenchman sped up his walk towards Arthur, who also sped up his. They went in circles around each other until Arthur turned and ran towards the exit.
"Get away from me, frog!" Arthur yelled over his shoulder. He was about to make it to the door, until a certain female blocked his way with a frying pan. Arthur stopped immediately, gulping nervously. The Frenchman stopped right beside Arthur, a smirk plastered on his face.
"Is that how you greet a friend?"
"I was never a friend of yours, Frenchie."
"Don't be like that, ami," Francis chuckled. "How about we greet each other properly; it's been quite some time, non?" He held out his hand like all the others had. Arthur was about to walk away from the Frenchman until he noticed Elizabeta's presence beside him. He reluctantly took the hand, cringing when he did so. Wordlessly, they returned onstage, ignoring each other. However, Francis' eyes wondered somewhere when he walked up the stairs immediately after Arthur. "Your body truly hasn't changed, Arthur," he purred. Arthur's face burned bright red when he realized what he was implying. Swiftly, he made it to the center of the stage, face still red. Gilbert laughed in the background in Arthur's direction. He glared at the albino before looking at Elizabeta who just walked on stage. She walked up to Arthur, frying pan suddenly gone.
"I'm surprised that you didn't know Gilbert and Francis were here. They were performing in the concert."
"I wasn't paying attention to it for obvious reasons," Arthur spat. Elizabeta rolled her eyes, walking towards Alfred. While she was distracted, Arthur decided that he had had enough of everything. Swiftly, he crept towards the nearest exit, going unnoticed by everyone. Slowly, he opened the door. When it was just wide enough for his body, he slipped through, closing the door with the same amount of carefulness. The heavy door closed with a soft click, making Arthur release the breath he didn't know he was holding. He straightened his stature and walked towards his apartment.
~...~
Alfred handed back the piece of paper to Elizabeta with a smile. She took it swiftly, squealing silently.
"Thank you, Alfred!" she chirped, grinning widely. Elizabeta turned around on her heal, looking around. A frown appeared on the woman's face, drawing concern from Alfred.
"What's wrong?"
Elizabeta paused for a moment, looking around again. "...Arthur's gone." Her frown deepened, turning into a murderous look. She placed the autograph in her jean pocket, walking around to stage. "Where the hell is Arthur?" Elizabeta screeched, earning the attention of all everyone. She looked at the group, showing an annoyed look. "Did anyone see him leave?"
The group shook their heads violently. Elizabeta growled softly, looking around at the nearby exits. She seemed deep in thought for a moment before pointing to a metal door on the side of the stage. "He went through that door," she looked towards the band members apologetically. "I'm sorry about my moods. As always, I blame Arthur." With that said, she left the arena through the door that she pointed out, walking the direction to Arthur's apartment.
~...~
Feliciano sighed as Elizabeta left the arena. He glanced over at Ludwig, a small smile on his face. "I think I should be going too," he said. Hesitantly, he walked to the door, only to stop and turn around quickly. "We should get together another time!" he cheered smiling brightly.
"Yeah! We should!" Alfred agreed. "Where should we meet though?"
The group was silent for a moment until Ludwig spoke up. "There is a bar nearby, we could meet up there the day after tomorrow." The group agreed almost instantly - you could never go wrong with alcohol.
"Ve~, that's sounds nice!" Ludwig gave the address to Feliciano on a piece of paper. "See you guys! I'm going to go have pasta now!" Feliciano skipped out the same door the other two left, whistling a catchy tune.
~...~
"No."
"Come on! It will be fun!"
"I am not going."
"I won't stop begging until you do~."
"Go for it..."
"Please, please, please, please, please with a cherry on top?"
"I don't consider that begging."
"Oh your mightyness, I begath of you to cometh to thi bar tomorrow to grace us with your presence."
"...I'll think about it later."
"Oh come on!" Elizabeta yelled, getting up from on her knees in front of Arthur and sitting on the couch. "How do I have to persuade you to come?"
"You cannot persuade me," Arthur stated proudly, walking towards the kitchen of his apartment. Elizabeta had come running to Arthur's apartment, phone in hand, talking about meeting Overnight Unite again at a bar nearby. Being the smart one that he is, Arthur opened the door for her to say how he doesn't want to go. When he did open it, Elizabeta squeezed herself inside his house, saying how she is not leaving until he promises to go to the bar tomorrow - a gentleman always keeps his promises.
A smirk crawled its way on Elizabeta's lips, going unseen by Arthur. When Arthur returns from the kitchen, tea in hand, Elizabeta hides the smirk. "Okay," she states in a dejected tone, "I guess I can't persuade you; I'll just go. See ya around, Arthur." She stood up and made her way out of the apartment. Once the door was shut, the smirk reappeared, stronger than ever. She laughed lightly, exiting the apartment complex. "I never give up easily, Arthur," she whispered under her breath to no one in particular.
A/N:
Well hello there. This new story is dedicated to a friend online whom kept bugging me to write a USUK story. After losing a bet, I have been forced to write such a story. I feel ashamed of myself of losing the bet, but it was funny in the end. Anyhow, this story is a romance, obviously, it will have USUK in it sometime, somewhere, and I added a lot of humor into it. I don't really find my writing style of humor good, but I'm trying... So tell me what you guys think, it means a lot to me to know what I need to improve on. I live to improve.
~WAG