Sorry it's late. -D
xxxxx
Marcy
Game over, you lose.
This popped up on my screen along with Lovino's and Li Xaio's. They were busy fighting over which one of them cheated.
"You guys," I said, "Nobody cheated. And we're on the same team! 'Cept Basch."
I looked up at the victor and for a spilt second I thought I saw a flicker of a smile.
"Did you win, big brother?" The girl, Liechtenstein, or Tutsia said softly. Switzerland nodded.
Tutsia smiled and said, "I'm glad."
I was so absorbed into how adorable she was that the sound of my own name startled me.
"Marcy!" I turned to see Prussia standing over me, "Vhere. Is. Gilbird?!"
I blinked. "I'm sorry, Prussia. I haven't seen him."
"Liar!" he yelled, bringing his hand down to grab me. I rolled to the side and stood, only to be shoved into the wall. "Vhere'd you fucking hide him?"
Behind him I could see Alfred, Dia, and Ludwig walking towards us.
"Gilbert I swear I don't know where he is, but I'd love to help you f-,"
"Do you expect me to trust you?"
"I haven't given you a reason no-,"
"You took him Vhen ve first got here!"
"But I gave him back!" I screamed back at him finally, "I gave him back because you weren't having fun! For me, messing with someone isn't fun when they get hurt!"
The room was still. Prussia dropped his hands and looked at his shoes. "You sound like a child," he said quietly.
I took a deep breath before speaking. "Sometimes, that's a good thing." Another deep breath and my smile was back. I slipped out of between him and the wall.
"Hey," I said, poking him in the shoulder.
He glared back.
"We gotta go find Gilbird!" I beamed. "Where'd you last see him?"
Gilbert looked like he was debating answering me or strangling me. "I vas vith Francis und Antonio," he finally said.
"Then let's start there."
As I walked by her, Dia stopped me. "Are you okay?" she asked in a hushed tone.
To be honest, I was a bit shaken, but not hurt. So I forced all the confidence I could into one smile and said, "You bet. And I'll be even better once we find Gilbird!" I continued walking to France, who smiled charmingly at me.
"Marcelette! I'm so sorry about Gilbert. 'E 'as a bit of a temper, no?"
"Gilbird is missing," I stated dryly, careful to keep my eyes trained on the floor and not France, "If you guys were half-decent friends, you'd help us look for him."
"¿Gilbird?" Antonio pondered, "Ah, si, I saw him!"
"Where?" Prussia and I said in unison.
Spain turned and gestured at the cupcakes, one in particular had been brutally murdered by a fluffy yellow ball of icing.
"Gilbird!" Prussia squealed, not at all like a fourteen year old girl. He picked him up and brought him close to his face, getting yellow icing on his nose.
"Uh, Gilbert," I said, holding out my hands, "Gilbird's kinda dirty. May I give him a bath?"
Prussia stared at me with a hesitant look on his face. Slowly, he handed me his precious pet and followed me closely to the kitchen sink. With one hand I held Gilbird and with the other I turned on the hot water and waited for it to heat up. After a second, I turned on the cold. I looked up at Gilbert. He was watching my every move like a hawk.
"Do you wanna check if the water's good?" I offered. He relaxed a little as he put his hand under the water, turning the cold up a bit more.
"Zere," he said, nodding in approval. I grabbed the sprayer and tested the pressure on my wrist; not very hard at all. Satisfied, I began to rinse off the baby chick.
"I'm uh," Prussia hesitated, then cleared his throat, "Vell, vhat I mean is, zat vas a little unawesome of me to fly off ze handle like zat."
"Not at all," I replied without looking up. "You were just worried about lil Gilbird here."
I could practically feel him staring at me. Then, he laughed. "Man, you're almost as bad as Matt." He looked down at the now soap covered bird, "But Gilbird seems to think you're awesome and vhat Gilbird says goes!"
I chuckled, "Who would dare to question the awesomeness that is the Great and Mighty Gilbird?"
"Nobody zat enjoys breathing!"
We both laughed as I finished rinsing and drying the "Great and Mighty Gilbird."
"There you are," I said brightly, "One very clean, very fluffy, very awesome Gilbird."
"Thanks!" Prussia quickly placed the chick on his head and took up a dramatic pose. "Now, let's go kick some ass in Halo!"
xxxxx
Diana
Once I was sure Marcy was fine and murder wasn't about to take place in the kitchen, I relaxed a bit. This party was doing next to nothing to calm me.
"He better not touch her again," I growled under my breath.
"If he does, you can use my frying pan." Sharp green eyes and a confident smile appeared next to me. "You know, to hit him in the head with?"
I glanced over at the young woman beside me. A mischievous grin crossed my face.
"Well, I wouldn't want to hurt him too badly," I bragged.
The young woman laughed. "Oh, don't worry. Countries can take a lot more damage than humans. You can hit him as hard as you want!"
"Really?" I asked, very interested.
The smiled woman stuck out her hand. "I am Hungary!"
"Diana." I took her hand and shook. Her strong grip matched my own.
"I think we will be good friends, Diana," Hungary said with complete confidence. "Now then. I suppose I should warn you what countries to look out for!"
She grabbed my shoulders and turned back towards the kitchen before I could say anything.
"See over there is France, Spain, and Prussia. They are idiots and douches, so never be afraid to punch any one of them." She turned me towards the couch. "The child is Hong Kong. He's a bit of a stinker, but pretty harmless. Romano on the other hand…" she pointed to the Italian that was grumbling under his breath. "He's a lot of bark, but he has also been known to bite on occasion. Literally." She looked me in the eye. "Never mention Spain to him unless you want an earful."
She kept turning me about the room, filling me in on little things that I hadn't found out during the brief introduction Alfred had allowed me.
"… never, EVER let England cook, never ask China how old he is, and always let Austria play your piano, no matter what time it is. Trust me, it's worth it." She smiled pleasantly.
"Wow," I managed to get out, head spinning from the onslaught of information. To my surprise, I felt myself calming a bit. The room wasn't full of complete strangers anymore.
I smiled at Hungary. "Thanks, I owe you one."
She laughed heartily. "Be careful! I might take you up on that when you become famous!" She teased. She then noticed the other three girls waving her over, and left to join them.
"It was nice meeting you, Diana!"
"Same." I gave a small wave.
Obnoxious laughter roared behind me. "HAHAHA, I should have know you'd get along with Hungary!" Alfred put his hand on my shoulder again. "Two kick-ass girls, am I right?"
Now how am I supposed to respond to that?
"Yeah," I said, unconvincingly. "Totally."
"Dude, you know what? I bet you're awesome at Halo!"
"Um… actually I—"
"Come on! You want to be on the Hero team!"
And once again I was being dragged away by Alfred.
xxxxx
"Did you finally find someone unawesome enough to be on your loser squad?" Prussia teased as Al came to a halt in front of the tv.
"Uh, we're the Heroes, dude, and we're totally gonna kick your asses!"
I sat down and accepted my fate as the final member of Alfred's team. While America and Prussia argued over just who was gonna kick who's lame-ass, Marcy and Germany were setting up the game.
"Okay," Ludwig said, his voice demanding the attention of the two bickering nations, "Ve've set it to low gravity, jetpacks, unlimited ammo, gravity hammers, sniper rifles, banshees, ghosts, und rocket launchers. You take minus one point for suicide and add an extra point for kill streaks. First to 1000 vins the game. Any questions?"
Prussia raised his hand, "How much money do I vin vhen I destroy you, West?"
Ludwig ignored his brother's question.
"Um, how do I play?" Liechtenstein asked. She sat between Marcy and Switzerland on the armrest of the latter's chair.
"I'll show you," Marcy answered sweetly.
Germany nodded, "If zere are no further questions or comments then the game shall commence." The people and nations in front of the tv sat quietly.
"On three-,"
"Three!" Prussia yelled, starting the game.
Germany sighed and moved to sit down when France ran up.
"Oh, Ludwig! It's the most terrible, 'orrible thing! We can't find Feliciano anywhere!"
Germany sighed, "Are you sure he's not in the bathtub again?"
"We've checked everywhere on the floor!" he continued overdramatically.
The game had started, but Ludwig's character stood still. He stood and followed Francis to the elevator, asking him when the last time he'd seen Feli was. Antonio was nowhere to be seen.
"Too bad, loser squad! Looks like this'll be an easy vi-,"
First kill bonus goes to me, for not putting up with Prussia's bull.
Behind me, I heard Marcy trying to restrain her laughter. "Oh, it's on now!"
The game continued this way for ten minutes. Prussia would get a kill or two, only to be sniped by Switzerland or blown up by Alfred.
"Tutsia," Marcy said, holding her own remote towards the girl, "If you have the gravity hammer out, all you gotta do is press this button over and over."
"FUCK YEAH, I'M IN THE BANSHEE!" Gilbert screamed.
I wondered if the rest of the building, heck the rest of D.C. heard that. He was in the air for about three seconds, when it was suddenly blown to bits.
"Watch your tongue," Basch said. He'd stepped out of his sniper nook to pick up that rocket launcher, and it cost his avatar its life.
"Oh! I killed Switzerland!" Marcy yelled, "That's the highlight of my skill, gonna go back to barely surviving now."
I rolled my eyes and looked for the opposite team.
"Haha, found West's spawn!" Germany's screen exploded in flames.
"Gilbert," Marcy said, "That's cheating."
"Cheating is having Switzerland on your team."
And, bam. Prussia blew up, courtesy of yours truly.
"Oh, I died," Liechtenstein said glumly.
Switzerland once again left his sniper spot and stood in the middle of the field.
"Aw yeah," Prussia said, killing Basch, "Grav ham to the face!"
"Dude?!" Alfred yelled at Switzerland, "What the heck, man?"
"Don't kill my sister."
Tutsia smiled with a hum.
Al jumped into a ghost and began running over Gilbert and Marcy.
"Hey, America," Prussia teased, "You do know what you're in right now, right? A ghost!" As he said the word ghost, he fell from a ledge and gravity hammered him to death.
"Dia! Don't let him get that ghost!"
My character spun around. Gilbert was already in the thing, turning and heading right for me. I jumped into the air, holding down the jetpack button, and flung myself forward to meet him. A perfectly timed swing of my hammer and the damaged ghost blew up, killing us both.
"Sorry about zat," Germany said stiffly, "It took us avhile, but ve eventually found Feliciano locked in the master bedroom closet."
I snorted, then looked around, happy to note that France hadn't returned with Ludwig and Italy.
"So, what's the score?"
"It's 872 to 891," Marcy reported, "We're winning!"
"Heck yeah, we're winning!" Prussia cried, his language remaining tame after many instant deaths at the hands of Basch.
Germany looked angry. No doubt, Prussia had France and probably Spain kidnap Feli in order to cripple our team.
"What's this?" Tutsia asked, walking up to a banshee.
"That's a banshee. If you climb in it, you can fly and shoot the other team."
Tutsia climbed into the banshee.
"Make sure to not crash or fly out of the map!"
Alfred and Marcy were having a battle of hammers, it seemed. I aimed my rocket launcher, and bam!
"Thanks, Dia!" Alfred said.
"No prob."
Welp, looked like friendly fire wasn't on.
Switzerland died again.
"Guys, I think I finally found his hiding spot," Matthew said quietly. I hadn't realized he was playing.
Suddenly, game over flashed across the screen. "What?!" Prussia screamed, jumping up from his seat. The leaderboard popped up. Our team won.
Alfred and I jumped up too, cheering and high fiving. He turned to Prussia, laughing his head off, "Oh, yeah! In your stupid face, Gilbert!"
"No fair, West totally cheated! There's no way he could get, like a hundred kills that fast!"
Sure enough, Ludwig was just below Prussia on the leader board with 123 kills.
"I believe kidnapping Italia is cheating," Germany responded dryly.
"Yeah, man, you can't just take Ludwig's pet Italy and expect to get away with that!" Alfred yelled.
"Did I win?" Tutsia asked.
Marcy shook her head, "No, sorry. It's my fault."
Tutsia looked at Switzerland, "Does that mean you won, big brother?"
He nodded.
She smiled. "I'm glad."
Oh, if cute could kill.
After that, the remaining nations started leaving, complementing the party as they left. Every compliment made Alfred smile wider, and by the time it was England's turn to leave, he was practically sparkling.
"Now remember," Arthur said as he waited for the elevator. "Let the poor girls sleep. They've had a full day."
"Yeah, a full day of awesomeness!" Alfred cheered. He looked back at us.
Marcy, sitting on the couch, gave him a thumbs up and a big smile. I had started picking up trash and didn't acknowledge him. If I'd looked up, I would have seen his smile fade a bit.
Arthur gave his goodbye, then left. There was silence.
I slowly looked up, hands full of trash. Marcy and Alfred were staring at me.
My eyes narrowed. "What?"
They shared a look, then smirked.
"You heard Arthur!" Alfred said cheerfully, walking towards me. "You guys need to sleep!"
Marcy yawned, "I'm tired and tired makes me lazy, Dia. Let's pick up tomorrow, okay?"
"C'mon," Alfred said, reaching towards me.
I was ready this time, but only managed to get a single step backwards before he yanked me off my feet and hoisted me over his shoulder.
"Alfred!" I growled. "Put me down!"
"Fine, but only if you promise you're not gonna clean and go to bed."
I kicked angrily at air for a second, then gave up with a sigh. "Fine," I mumbled. I felt like a child with an annoying babysitter.
As soon as he put me down I stormed into my room and slammed the door. I took a deep breath. I hadn't realized how tired I was until I looked at the incredibly comfortable king size bed in front of me. I was about to flop onto the bed when I heard a thump coming from the closet.
Déjà vu.
I opened the door to reveal France and Spain, bound and gagged, with my clothes, in my closet. Germany must have left them in there after finding Italy. I would have expected him to let them out before leaving. I walked over to Francis and undid his gag.
"Please be gentle," France cooed innocently. I glared at him, then rebound the gag.
"Alfred!" I yelled, "Your dad and friend are tied up on my closet and I don't have the patience to deal with them!"
Al, came barreling in the room. He burst out laughing when he saw the two.
I stifled a chuckle myself. This was a pretty ridiculous scene.
Alfred took a picture, then untied the two of them and walked them out of my room.
I closed my door with both hands, very happy to shut out the world. I let out a slow breath, and felt an attractive tiredness come over me. The feeling of having worked all day and having earned the rest you were about to get. I collapsed onto the wonderful king bed, barely managing to kick off my shoes before drifting off. Right before I passed out, I had one last thought.
Did World War II just happen in my apartment?
xxxxx
Epilogue
Diana
It was the break of dawn, and a certain blue-eyed, golden-haired young man was already up…
…and heading for the fridge.
Alfred crossed the mine field of trash that was the living room with surprising grace, wearing a white tee-shirt and unsurprisingly patriotic boxers. He grabbed several boxes of cookies off the counter, opening the fridge with his other hand and grabbing the entire milk carton. Juggling everything, he kicked the fridge closed and turned around. Then froze.
I had been cleaning around the corner, white trash bag in one hand and a broom in the other. I was wearing a tank and khaki shorts, earbuds trailing from my ears into one of my pockets.
We stared at each other a long moment.
"What are you doing up so early?" He looked a bit frustrated.
"Dancing the Macarena."
Alfred rolled his eyes. "Whatever." He started crossing the living room again, when he hesitated. He looked over at me. "What did I do wrong?"
I looked up at him in surprise. "Nothing?"
"Dude, come on! We just threw, like, the party of the century! And all you're worried about is cleaning up!"
I looked down at the trash bag, and shrugged. "Cleaning helps me relax." I looked at him. "I woke up and couldn't fall back asleep."
"Oh." Alfred's frustration disappeared. He silently began walking back to his room.
"Alfred."
He looked back at me.
I smiled genuinely. "That was the coolest party ever."
He grinned. "Damn straight."
And that's how I met America.
xxxxx
si - yes
Diana here.
Alright, guys, this is how it's going to work. This is the end of the Introduction, but there's a TON more to the overall story. So major and minor arcs will be posted as individual stories after this one. Major arcs will have the designation "Girls Meet World: (then the title here)." Minor arcs will just have titles.
Since we ARE trying to write this along a set timeline, from now on, all stories will have the month and year next to the title. And in case you're wondering, this first story took place in September 2014. We're going to try to stay a year ahead of the events in this story so we can incorporate current events (and already know their outcomes!)
Sorry about the info dump. Hang around, the story is just getting started! username: ask-diaandmarcy Please! Ask us anything about what it's like living with Alfred. Or the other nations, for that matter. (We need some way to vent.)
Hey guys. Dia here. Just a heads up, we're starting up an ask-blog on Tumblr:
Blog name: Professional Nation-sitters