Disclaimer: Hetalia and its characters do not belong to me - unfortunately - they belong to their respective creator/owner.
Author Note: May end it next chapter or so. This chapter is the longest yet! Enjoy and leave feedback!
Assignment 7
Colin stared at the double doors, complete with a guard of two impressive-looking bouncers, with a put-out kind of expression. He thought being the assistant to such an important individual (though why mister Karpusi was important he still couldn't figure out) would entail that he would be privy to a lot of secret information. Access to locations barred from the public. Knowledge kept from politicians.
No, none of that here. As soon as he and Hercules Karpusi had arrived for this great "meeting", he had been asked (threatened) to stay outside of the meeting room itself! Wasn't he supposed to enter as well? What was he doing here, in that case? Many others less professional-looking than them had entered the room without a blink from the two guards at the door. What the hell! He didn't understand…. All he was told was that this meeting was important for other countries, including Greece, and that, as always, he was to accompany his employer. Already he was starting to feel useless and bored with being here.
There was nothing interesting in the hallways and he wasn't sure if he should wait for the other Greek or leave to do his own thing, whatever that would be. Exploring the building, maybe. Indecisive, Colin finally stood and paced down the corridor and down the stairs to the building's lobby. It really makes a person want to leave more quickly when two muscled, clearly-armed-and-dangerous bouncers are staring at you meanly for an hour straight. In the lobby, nothing had changed from when they arrived an hour ago except for the fact that it was now significantly less crowded and nearly silent. Sighing and wondering how to occupy himself for however long this meeting took, he helped himself to some of the complimentary coffee on the desk against the wall. Compared to what he usually experienced when with his employer, this new-found quietness was almost too boring for him.
Taking a sip of his beverage, he glanced around the floor at the few people still milling about. Men and women dressed for work, on their way to offices, on lunch breaks, or leaving for their home. A few individuals, non-workers, waiting for documentation for whatever suited their needs. A delivery man wheeling in a stack of boxes. A child sitting alone. Colin did a double-take on that one, his professional adult side reeling. A boy in a sailor suit was sitting alone on one of the couches in an alcove, coloring and writing vigorously. Looking around yielded no concern for the lone child and Colin shrugged, thinking the kid belonged to one of the in-view receptionists.
Seeing as he had run out of coffee in the little cup, he turned around to get more when he noticed a lot more was missing from the pot than there had been before. Confused, he glanced to his left and right. No one had walked up while he was lost in thought – he would have seen them since he was standing right in front of the desk. Frowning, he lifted the handle of the coffee pot to pour him more as he glanced to his right one last time. The person next to him appearing so suddenly like a specter caused him to twitch in surprise, spilling hot coffee on his fingers.
"Ah! Dammit!" he cursed in pain as he hurriedly got some napkins and dabbed away the hot liquid.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I scare you? I didn't mean to. I mean, I almost thought you saw me when I walked up, but I guess you didn't…."
Shaking his hand to get the cool air on it and lessen the burning, Colin faced the apologizing male. Blonde hair, violet eyes, a long-ass curl hanging messily, and an unassuming personality was the first thoughts that had entered his mind. This person was someone who had been pushed around…or still was. He was so quiet, it almost seemed like he spoke in whispers.
Colin blinked. "What?"
The person – man, he supposed – shifted anxiously. "I didn't mean to startle you if I did. I thought you noticed me when I walked up, so…."
The guy's hand shifted and Colin noticed the other was now holding the same coffee cup. Huh. He must've been more lost in his thoughts than he first guessed. He gave a reassuring smile. "No, it's alright. It doesn't hurt much anymore. No harm done." Apparently he had given the correct response as the other smiled, relieved.
"Oh, good. I was afraid you'd get mad at me. I tend to startle others and they don't much like it when I do, even though I can't help it. Heh!"
Jeez, could this guy speak any lower? Colin had to strain his ears just to hear him. "No, I know it was an accident. I'm Colin, by the way."
"I'm…Matthew. Are you here for something specific, if you don't mind my asking?"
"I'm here for the meeting going on upstairs." Colin replied, pointing briefly to the ceiling.
The other – "Matthew" – blinked in surprise. "Oh! Are you a representative, then?"
"…'Representative'? Of what?"
Matthew visibly withdrew. "O-Oh. Nevermind. I thought you were someone else."
Colin watched, put-out again, as Matthew now sipped his coffee nervously as an obvious sign of stalling for time. Damn, he had said something wrong and the other had clammed up – he probably wouldn't get any answers about this secretive meeting from the man unless he bullied him out of the information. But Colin wasn't one for bullies. …Or tests of strength, really. Matthew could probably kick his ass in a fight, anyway, despite the other's submissive nature. Sighing, he turned back to watch the people in the lobby go about their business.
It was already getting boring again. Might as well make conversation, right? "So, are you here for the meeting as well. Or, rather, for someone in the meeting?"
Matthew glanced up at him from his cup then down again. "I'm…here for the meeting. But I couldn't make it inside in time."
"They won't let you back in?"
"Well…I usually try to be early because I can never get back in. People don't seem to notice me…and they lock the doors after they're closed…."
"Oh. Can you make it in at all?"
"Well…they usually break for a brief lunch. I can usually make it in during that."
"Hm."
…Geez, this was getting awkward now. Silence again. Colin shifted.
"Um, well…."
Matthew looked at him. "You never did say why you were here exactly. Are you…an assistant of some kind?"
Colin smiled in surprise. "Yes, that's exactly it! No one ever seems to know what my job is – you're the first person to get it right."
Matthew shrugged. "It's not that hard to figure out. Who's assistant are you? Ger- Ludwig Beilchmidt's?"
"Uh…no. Do you know who Hercules Karpusi is?"
Asking such a simple question – Colin was surprised at the wide-eyed response he received because of it.
Matthew nearly choked on the last of his drink. "Gr-Greece?"
Colin gave him a look. "Well, yes, he's Greece's representative (we're both Greeks, by the way), but…. Why? Is there something wrong with him? You know, besides the usual?"
Matthew wiped his mouth to avoid answering right away. "…No…."
"C'mon, guy. You know something."
"N-No. It just…caught me by surprise is all. You seem like a nice person."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Um…. Oh, look – it's time for their break! I better get up there! Heh heh!" And with that, the (American?) man ran up the stairs and disappeared around the corner.
Colin sighed silently as he threw his cup away and followed. So many secrets amongst these 'representatives'. Well, it was understandable, if they were really as important as they seemed. Still, Colin couldn't help but wonder if there was more to these people; the secret-keeping seemed just a little too over-the-top. Making it to the correct floor, Colin had to sidestep quickly before he was run over by a herd of people making their way to the lobby. The hallway, previously devoid of any life, was now swarming with professionally-dressed males and females (of all ages, it seemed). Not good with crowds, Colin tried his best to make it quickly through the throng of people, searching for his employer. A person to his side suddenly jumped back and slammed him into the wall as a result.
Okay. That hurt. Ow. Shoulder aches.
"Look what you did, you big lummox! Watch where you're going!"
Well, jeez, it wasn't his fault! Turning to the speaker to either speak his mind or apologize (again, he wasn't good with confrontation), he realized that they weren't even addressing him, but a blonde man with glasses, who patted him roughly.
"Hey, guy, you okay? Didn't see you there!"
Colin struggled to get his bearings. "Uh, er, it's alright, sir. D-Do you know where mister Hercules Karpusi is?"
"Huh? That guy? Why?"
"Because I am his assistant."
The man in front of him laughed, startling Colin at the suddenness. "What, really?"
Colin studied that reaction. Again, why did everyone seem to react that way lately whenever he told them that? Something was obviously amiss. "Uh…yes, sir."
The man continued to chuckle as a shorter man with rather large eyebrows pushed him away.
"Karpusi is that way," he stated, pointing. "Just ignore everyone else and don't look them in the eye, bunch of ingrates."
Colin thanked him before escaping. He was starting to feel overwhelmed at the sheer amount of people still crowded into the hallway. Many noticed him but didn't comment. It was through a lull in group traffic that he saw his employer speaking to two others. Reaching them he called to his boss.
"Mister Karpusi."
Said man turned toward him. "Oh, assistant. I wondered where you were before."
"'Wondered'?"
"Yes. Then I forgot."
"Ah." Well, that made sense. He looked at the other two people there, very aware that he may have interrupted them. "A pleasure to meet you, sirs."
The black-haired one (Asian?) bowed his head. "Likewise, Galanos-san."
The other man, however, laughed loudly as he pointed at Colin. "It's you!"
Colin gasped, affronted, as he recognized the voice; the same one that had called the house that day with insults readily thrown at both him and mister Karpusi. "You!"
The other man leaned toward him. "How is life going for you, jail bait?"
"I-I don't know what you mean by that, but you have the wrong idea about my employment-!"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever."
The Asian man cut in. "Galanos-san, it is my pleasure to meet you. I have heard much about you from Karpusi-san."
Colin blinked and smiled. "Really?" …Wait. "Anything good?"
"…Ano…."
He sighed. "Right."
His employer shrugged. "I only tell the truth."
"Bullshit! No, you don't!"
The other man (…Turkish?) pointed at his employer. "Hey, 'Greasy', you let your assistant talk to you that way?"
"Sure. It's payback because I make his life miserable."
Colin, who was worried he had let his mouth get him in trouble, now relaxed. "Well at least you're honest about it. Wait! You're aware you screw around with me!" A nod. "Then make yourself stop if you know you're doing it!"
"No. It's fun."
"Not for me!"
"Oh, there is the intermission bell. Almost time for the second half, yeah? C'mon, J-man, let's go back to our seats and leave these two weirdoes to deal with their sexual tension."
Colin called after them. "I'm not weird; he's weird! And it's not like that!"
His employer clapped him on the shoulder as he moved passed to follow the others. "I have to go."
Colin panicked, not wanting to wait for an unknown number of hours before he got any direction in this place. "W-Wait! What do I do while you're attending, sir? I'm not sure what the job requirements are if I'm not even allowed to enter in the first place."
Greece shrugged as a group of other representatives passed him. "Do whatever you want. Most assistants leave within the first ten minutes." With that, he turned back and walked into the conference room that Colin was not allowed to enter. He stood there, flummoxed, until the doors closed.
Then he began to walk towards the lobby and to the car.
He had driven his employer there so there was only one car for both of them. But since he had to endure feeling useless and awkward, suffering coffee burns, being slammed into the wall, and being harassed (by the same guy) again all for no reason at all. Well, the man could find his own way home.
With a jerk in his movements, Colin sped off in the car with a middle finger up in his mind.
TBC...
Post Script - Oh, Greece, you broke Colin again. Dang it. We need some cat therapy up in here.
