AN: So I finished this chapter a lot earlier than I expected and I'm definately happy with the results. It's much longer than the last two and probably the average length of chapters to come, which is a huge improvement. Please review, review, review! It'll help me out so much!
Enjoy, darlings~
Alice came around a corner into the bar, gasping as she ran into the small Italian. "Good lord, Valentina! Could you not stop in the middle of places like that!?" she hissed, pushing her to the side.
Valentina didn't even flinch, staring wide eyed at the bar and beginning to excitedly flail her arms. "It's even better than I'd imagined!" she squealed, running to a group of strangers at a table and instantly joining their conversation.
Annaliese sighed and slowly shook her head. "I'll get Miss Sociable. You go get us a spot on the bar."
Alice nodded, putting her right hand on her hip. "Make sure she doesn't break anything while we're here this time..." she grumbled.
"No promises." the Austrian breathed into an irritated sigh as she walked off.
Alice sighed, looking over at the bar. It was completely filled with other patrons, but that wasn't going to keep her from some well deserved ale. She walked in between two men, a twenty dollar bill in each hand.
"It's yours if you move," the Brit breathed, waving the money in front of their faces. Instantly, the two men took the bills, taking their alcohol with them to another table.
Alice chuckled in success and slowly shook her head, sitting down on one of the barstools. "I'll have a glass of your finest Irish ale," she said to the blonde man behind the counter.
The man didn't say a word, going to the tap and getting her a full glass. Without even turning to see her face, he sat the full glass on the counter in front of her.
"Rude," Alice grumbled, taking a sip of her ale. "I take it you're new here? Otherwise you'd probably be a bit more sociable."
Silence from the man.
The Brit fumed, putting a firm finger onto the counter. "Where are your customer service review forms? I need to fill one out for you, pronto!" she growled rudely. She took another large drink and glared up at the man. "The nerve you have of just ignoring me!"
Annaliese flinched as she came up behind her friend, putting a hand over the Brit's mouth. "So sorry, sir! She's a bit mouthy at times!"
More silence.
The Austrian raised an eyebrow. "Eh... S-so anyway..." she mumbled, sitting on a stool as Valentina sat beside her. "I'll have any German brand beer-"
"And I'll have-a the oldest wine you got!" Valentina cut in, giggling loudly as she spoke.
The bartender did what was asked of him, making sure not to make any eye contact with the woman. But this really upset the small Italian. She looked sadly down at the glass that was placed on her counter and sighed.
"Why is the man being so mean to us?..." she mumbled sadly, tears almost in her eyes.
This pushed the blonde man over the edge. He turned around and glared fiercely at the small Italian. "I just was broken up with today and I'm not in the mood to speak with anyone!" he bellowed, his ice blue eyes staring daggers into her.
The woman just tilted her head to the side in sympathy, putting a hand on the German's, which was on the counter. "That's terrible..." she breathed quietly. "But you know, it probably wasn't to last! Something was telling her that-a both of you needed to move on, to find your soul mate!"
The man looked down at his hand, rudely pulling it out from underneath Valentina's hand. "I don't believe in that soul mate bullshit," he growled, turning his back on the Italian and cleaning a mug.
Valentina gasped, leaning over the counter. "You have to! Everyone has that special someone out there!" she insisted in a defensive, high-pitched voice. "You just a-have to be patient and wait for them! Trust me, mister! It'll be worth the wait! I promise!"
The man looked over her shoulder sternly at the woman. "I seriously doubt it."
"Oh..." Valentina mumbled sadly, she crossed her arms and slumped back into her chair. A loud crashing noise came from the full wine glass as it shattered against the countertop. She squeaked in the noise, jumping up onto her stool to make sure none got on her dress.
"I'm-a so sorry!" she squeaked loudly. "It was an accident I swear! Not like anyone would do this on purpose, but still! I'm so sorry!"
The man sighed, turning around as he snatched the towel off of his shoulder and putting it on the counter. "Don't worry," he grumbled. "That one's on the house."
Annaliese raised an eyebrow, looking over at the Brit that sat at her left. "Alice? Don't you think you should slow down?"
Alice slammed her now empty mug on the counter, wiping the excess ale from off of her lips. "What are you talking about?" she grumbled. "I can take my ale." She turned to the bartender. "Oi! I need a refill!"
The bartender quickly obliged, getting more ale for the blonde before returning to the large spill of broken glass and wine.
"Well," Annaliese began quietly, "you can't take any other sort of alcohol. Why is ale any different?"
Alice took a large swig, setting it back on the counter and shrugging. "It's British?
"Perfect reasoning."
"Don't be such a wanker. Let loose a little."
Annaliese laughed obnoxiously. "You're telling me to let loose? Miss Stuck-Up-Prissy-Pants?" she teased dryly.
"Well at least I'm going to enjoy myself tonight," she shot back. "While you'll be bored and sober, I'll be carefree and tipsy." She giggled a bit, "Not the so-called 'drunk' you claim I become."
"I dunno, Alice..." Valentina mumbled quietly. "You get pretty drunk..."
Annaliese sighed and patted Alice on the shoulder. "Besides... You wouldn't want Alfred to see you like that... Would you?"
The Brit froze, the mug pressed to her lips. "A-Alfie would never let me live it down if he saw me acting foolish..."
"Exactly... So... I suggest you put down the alcohol and we can enjoy more of our night."
Alice's green eyes flashed from her mug, to Annaliese, then back at the mug. She shrugged as she tilted her head back and took another large drink. "I'll stop when I'm tipsy..." she promised in between gulps.
Annaliese rolled her eyes, taking a small sip of her own mug. "No you won't..." she growled under her breath.
"EEEEE!" squealed Valentina loudly from the other side of the Austrian. "No way! You like-a pasta too?!"
The German bartender shrugged, cleaning a mug casually. "Of course. I prefer when it has meat in it though."
"So like spaghetti!?"
"Ja. I like spaghetti."
Another loud squeal echoed around the bar as the Italian stood up. "That's-a so great!" She through her hands down onto the counter, her expression slowly changing. She lifted up her tiny hand, beginning to shake as she saw a thick, red hue come from underneath.
The German flinched, grabbing her hand and flipping it over to see a large shard of glass deep into her palm. "Oh gott! I'm so sorry! I-I must have missed it when I was cleanin-"
He was instantly cut off by loud screams from Valentina. She flailed her arm wildly, shaking her head back as forth. "GET IT OUT! GET IT OUT! PLEASE GET IT OUT!" she begged into her tear-filled sobs.
The German shook his head. "But that's going to hurt you more than it already i-"
"God save the queen! Get it out of her damn hand!"
"Seriously! Mein gott!"
The bartender groaned, reaching under the table and getting a pair of tweezers. "S-so... Tell me about yourself..." he mumbled awkwardly in an attempt to calm the woman down.
The Italian whimpered a bit, trying to pull away from the tweezers. "V-Valentina... V-Valentina Vargas..." she whispered, her eyes full of fear and focused his hands.
The man nodded, grabbing a cloth and dabbing the blood from her hand. "Ah... My name's Ludwig Beilschmidt... I'm from Germany..."
"I-I'm-a from Italy..."
"Tell me about where you lived..." he breathed softly, lightly dabbing a sensitive area.
Valentina winced it bit as she bit her lower lip. "W-Well... I'm from Venice... I-it's very pretty..."
"Ja... Go on..." he urged her, lightly grabbing onto the glass with the tweezers.
She shrugged a bit. "I-I used to sit on the docks... A-and... Swing my legs of the edge into the water..." she smiled slightly at the memory. "I miss it a-so much..."
Ludwig bit his tongue in concentration as he gave the glass a swift yank, instantly pulling it out. "It's sounds delightful..."
"Oh it was!" the woman continued, hardly noticing the pain as Ludwig pressed the cloth to her palm. "You should go there one time!"
Annaliese crossed her arms, looking at the two with a raised eyebrow. "Wow, Ludwig..." she mumbled quietly. "I'm impressed. I've never seen anyone ever calm this one down from crying."
The man shrugged. "Well, thank you, I guess," he grumbled in his husky voice as he bandaged her hand gently. "I'm usually not much of a people person."
Valentina giggled happily, waving her free hand around excitedly. "Well I think you're great!"
"Thank you... Eh... Valentina is it?"
"Yeah! Ve~"
Ludwig nodded slowly and smiled at the cute little Italian. "Well, Valentina," he began, wringing out the towel into the sink, "anything you drink tonight is one me, in apologies for the glass incident."
"Wow! That's-a so nice of you!"
Annaliese raised her eyebrow and looked at Alice. "You see what's going on here, right?"
The Brit put her third empty glass on the counter and nodded. "Good god, yes," she half slurred. She turned to the other bartender and put her hand up. "Oi! You! I need another!"
The white haired man peeked over his shoulder, his red eyes wide with shock. "Holy hell, lady! You know how to drink your alcohol!" he observed, genuinely impressed. "But yeah! Another one's comin' your way!"
Annaliese peaked up slightly, her face slightly flushed at the sight of the man.
Alice smiled wide, snatching the mug out of the second bartender's hand and bringing it straight to her lips. She pulled it back and smiled a tipsy grin. "Thanks, mista..." she mumbled, her accent getting thicker the more alcohol she consumed.
"The name's Gilbert," he said smoothly, leaning one the counter in front of Alice. "But you can call me Gil."
The Brit flashed her left hand up at Gilbert., flashing the gigantic ring on her finger. "Taken," she grumbled, taking another huge swig of ale.
The German's expression fell at the sight, sulking back against the wall. "Just my luck," he grumbled under his breath.
"You weren't much of her type anyway," Annaliese mumbled into a soft chuckle, her eyes closed as she slowly shook her head.
Gilbert raised an eyebrow at the woman. "What do you mean?"
"You see, she's into the handsome, sporty type, hence her fiancé."
A vain of anger appeared on the bartender's pale forehead. "You're implying that I'm not handsome," he growled darkly.
Annaliese giggled softly, crossing her arms. "I didn't even notice," she teased.
"Well who the hell is her husband, anyway?" Gilbert grumbled, beckoning his head towards the Brit, who was telling a story to the poor man opposite of Annaliese.
"Alfred F Jones, renown first baseman of the Yankees."
Gilbert nodded a bit, crossing his arms. "Damn..."
"Ja," she mumbled, taking another small drink of her beer. "She's a bit out of your league, if you ask me.
"But I didn't ask you, little sassy girl," Gilbert grumbled immaturely. "Besides, I could get a girl like that! Easy!"
Annaliese rolled her eyes, putting down her now empty mug. "I seriously doubt that," she teased into a quiet chuckle.
"Someone as truly awesome would have no problem getting a prissy, high-class girl like you two!" he snapped, puffing out his chest a bit in self-pride.
This only made the snooty girl laugh aloud. "If you're going to act like that, you'll have no chance!" she barely choked out into her loud bout of laughter.
"Stop being such a prissy hoe," Gilbert growled under his breath. "I'm sure if I wait five damn minutes, she," he pointed a thumb at Alice, "would think I'm her fucking husband."
The Austrian's expression dropped as she began to glare fiercely up at the man. "You touch her and you'll get my foot up your damn ass," she shot back, her violet eyes like daggers into his.
The bartender flinched backwards, waving his hands defensively in front of him. "Hey hey! Woah! Calm down, chickie!" he nearly squeaked. "I'm just sayin'! I wouldn't do something like that!"
"You're damn right you wouldn't."
"Ja. So put the claws away, prissy pussy cat."
Annaliese nearly quivered from anger. "Aren't you supposed to be nice to the patrons of your bar?" she challenged him.
"Probably," he muttered causally, putting his hands in his pocket, "but you're being bitchy, so I'm being bitchy."
Annaliese rolled her eyes, taking a swig of her beer. "Then why don't we start over?" She held out her right hand. "I'm Annaliese. Annaliese Edelstein."
The man sneered down at her hand, lightly shaking it. "Gilbert Beilschmidt," he grumbled bitterly.
"Now, now," she muttered, waggling her index finger teasingly in front of him, "none of that awful behavior. We're trying to start over, ja?"
A sigh. "Ja..."
"Good!" Annaliese chirped. "So... Where are you from?"
Gilbert rolled his eyes, leaning against a wall as he cleaned out a mug with a towel. "Didn't you hear his," a motion towards the other bartender, "little story?"
"Yes, but what's tha-"
"I'm his bruder," he interrupted the woman, as if it were obvious. "So we're both from Germany."
Annaliese huffed, rolling her eyes. "I said be nice," she warned. "But that's nice. You're from my neck of the woods."
"Yeah. I can tell by your accent. Are you from Switzerland or somewhere near there?" he asked curiously, an eyebrow raised.
"Austria," she breathed playing with a strand of her bangs that had escaped her hair tie.
"Close enough," Gilbert muttered with an amused chuckle. "But that's cool. So you speak German?"
"What a stupid question."
"We'll I was just making sure!" the German squeaked, hiding behind his mug. "I sometimes use German insults to tell women so that they think it's a compliment or something. I just have to make sure I don't try that stunt on you."
Annaliese couldn't help but laugh aloud. "That's clever," she marveled quietly, "but rude. I might have to try it sometime."
The two laughed together for a moment, the Austrian cutting herself off by a the rim of her drink. Suddenly, the Brit raised her glass high. "Gilber'!" she slurred, barely able to keep her head off the counter. "I need more o' dis stuff!"
"You'd better slow down, missy!" Gilbert teased into a soft chuckle, getting a new mug and filling it to the brim with ale. "I might have for you to talk to the nice man at the door!"
Suddenly Alice's drunken face turned, frowning as she shook her head quickly. "D-Don't do tha'!" she begged loudly. "Then Alfie will know and I don want 'im to see meh like this!"
"Then behave like a good little drunk and lay off the alcohol," Annaliese kidded into a quiet chuckle, crossing her arms slowly.
Alice beamed. "Or I can behave like a good li'le drunk an' keep drinkin'!"
"Whatever puts money in my pocket," Gilbert muttered under his breath, handing the mug over to the drunken Brit.
Annaliese rolled her eyes, taking a sip of her own beer. She set the cool glass down, looking at Gilbert with a raise eyebrow. "Didn't she just say she didn't want Alfred seeing her like this?"
"But she also said she wanted to keep drinking, so whatever," he mumbled with a chuckle. "If she gets much worse, we'll call what's his nuts."
"His name is Alfred."
"Does it look like I care?" Gilbert muttered with a chuckle, smirking a bit.
Annaliese rolled her eyes and giggled. "So... Gilbert..." she began. "I take it that you're the owner?"
"Ja," he said simply, cleaning another mug. "My bruder and I just opened it about a week ago and we're a hit! I never thought we'd be all that popular but here we are!"
The Austrian nodded slightly, smiling as she sat her drink back down. "I'd say. I'm happy for you two."
"Thanks!" he chirped happily, smiling a toothy grin. "He and I had it rough for a while... But the bank finally gave us the loan we needed after four years of begging and bitching for it."
Annaliese raised an eyebrow slowly. "Rough?"
"Ja..." he began quietly, sighing as he looked at the ground solemnly."He and I haven't been in a good place ever since our dad died when we were younger... But all the suffering and shit was worth it!" He laughed aloud and put an arm up, beckoning to the bar around him. "We're a fuckin' hit!"
Annaliese giggled along with the German, putting a hand on her mouth as she laughed. "I'm happy for you! Hopefully everything continues to go well for your two! You deserve it."
Gilbert smiled wide, scratching the back of his neck as his face turned a soft pink. "Aww! Thanks sweet cheeks!" he chirped gratefully, beginning to laugh again.
Annaliese flushed a noticeable red, laughing awkwardly. 'Sweet cheeks?' she thought. "Heh... N-no problem, Gilbert."
"Hey yo, Gil!" came a voice across the bar. "We need a refill over here!"
Gilbert chuckled, setting his mug down on the counter. "Be right back, cutie," he breathed smoothly, winking to her as he walked off.
Annaliese sighed quietly, resting her head on her arms, which laid on the counter. 'Oh gott... Why am I feeling this way?'
"Oh wow!" came a high-pitched voice from behind Annaliese, making her flinch. "Did you see that!?"
Annaliese squeaked and turned around as fast as possible. "Val!" she snapped sternly. "What do you want!?"
Valentina giggled and nudged the woman's arm slightly. "I think he likes you," she whispered excitedly, her tone like a gossiping middle school girl.
Annaliese rolled her eyes. "Val. If you haven't noticed," she held up her left hand, "I'm sort of already married."
The Italian frowned, her lower lip pouting a bit. "But Annie," she whined childishly, "he likes you! You can't go and lead him on like that!"
"I'm not leading him on!" she snapped. "Just because I'm married and he's interested in me doesn't mean I'm leading him on."
Valentina rolled her amber eyes, taking a sip of her wine.
"Yeah it does!" came the drunken slur of Alice, who was laying face-first on the counter. "The boy's gonna be crushed! You got'a tell 'im tha' you're taken!"
"Why would she do that?" Valentina cut in. "She liked the attention!"
Annaliese flinched, glaring intensely at the Italian with harsh, violet eyes. "You're damn wrong!" she squeaked.
"You're a damn lia'!" Alice shot back, sitting up and wobbling a bit on her stool. "You're face is red an' everythin'! I even heard you gigglin' at him like a lit'le schoolgirl!"
Annaliese blushed a bright, ashamed red at the Brit's accusation. "I-I was not!" she squeaked, her voice going up in pitch due to her defensive state-of-mind.
"Well if you were or weren't, that doesn't matter," Valentina cut in. "But I think that we should-a probably leave now."
Alice nodded in agreement. "Yeah. We don't nee' you cheatin' on Gari, now do we?" she slurred, holding tightly onto the counter to keep her drunken body upright.
The Austrian flinched, shaking her head a bit. "But I would never!"
"Annie... We both know you two have had some problems a-with your marriage," Valentina mumbled softly. "We're just a-looking out for you to make sure nothing... Impulsive... Happens."
Annaliese opened her mouth to argue, but unfortunately, realized that they were right. 'I really do need to get away... Gilbert's just a bartender... He sees plenty of women and probably flirts with them all... I don't know why I felt so special,' she thought sadly. "Ja..." she finally mumbled after a long silence."We should get going."
"I'm glad you saw it our way," Alice chirped, standing up and nearly falling face-first into the ground in the process. "Now let's get home!" The woman began to walk through the bar, laughing obnoxiously loud for no apparent reason in the process.
Valentina nodded, quickly hopping off the stool and following Alice out the door.
Annaliese sighed, looking sadly back at the bartender as she laid a hundred dollar bill on the counter. 'I... I need to see him again. J-just once...' she thought, beginning across the bar. 'I'll sneak out while Gari's on his next business trip and the girls will never know... I-it'll just be for another chat with him...' She glanced back at the bar, flinching as she caught the man's gaze, her cheeks turning a deep red as she flashed him a shy wave of the hand. 'I-I mean... One more visit couldn't hurt... Right?'