A/N: Okay! Kudos and cookies go to Grimm and Zenorules101 for finding the hetaoni references! XD They were the grey monster chasing after Italy and the little black book! I acknowledge your extreme and utter awesomeness and must grovel and shield my eyes at your greatness. Also thanks to everyone correcting my FAIL grammar. I love you guys so much and bow down to you as well. You have no idea how thankful I am! Hearts to everyone!
" Alfred! Chin up! Tilt your head to the head a little and don't forget to smile! Yes! That's it!"
Posing in front of camera flashes, Alfred leaned into another position, ensuring that the smile on his face never faded. Living in front of the heat of a studio and camera flashes were his element, and, despite his light attitude to everything else, the American's job was one he took with earnest. Even if it was difficult to tell.
" Wink at the camera, Alfred!"
Obeying the cameraman, a peculiar Turkish man that went by the name Sadiq, the blue eyed male hurriedly wiped a drop of sweat from his brow, eye contact with the camera refusing to break even once. Two hours had already passed since the start of the photoshoot, and, seeing how it was already nine pm, a visit from a certain Briton was already past due. At least it was according to the schedule he received from Kiku.
Sunday. Work from five am to one pm. Break and bus to work. Another job from two to eight pm.
Weekdays. School. Free time 'till seven pm. Bus to work. Work from eight to twelve a.m.
Saturday. Work from five am to one pm. Two hours free. Work from three to eleven pm.
It was Sunday.
Running over the schedule over his head and ensuring himself that the fact he memorized it wasn't creepy in the slightest Alfred glanced at the clock, silently wishing that the shoot would end and sooner and that the agonizingly slow ticks of the clock would quicken. There was already a fifty percent chance that the Briton wasn't even in the Bonneland building and another twenty five percent chance that the boy would be sleeping. Waking the green eyed male was not something the American wished to do yet having the boy asleep would be boring. Therefore, catching him when he was awake was his only option.
" Okay! That's a wrap!"
Dropping his full out smile and wink into an expression more neutral yet happy, Alfred blinked, relaxing his pose as well. He stretched out, grinning once more as he removed several kinks from his back from being frozen in several difficult poses. The Turkish man, on the other hand, removed himself from behind his camera, striding towards the model and fixing the position of a strange white mask on his face.
" Good job, Alfred!" Giving the model a thumbs up and a smile, the Turk walked passed the other, preparing the stage for another photo shoot,leaving the American to his own devices. Alfred grinned in response, nodding and heading to the door. He had someone to look for.
Arthur Kirkland was at Bonneland modelling agency. Nine pm, tired as hell and knowing he should be asleep by now, the green eyed male dropped his head against the table, wondering why in the Queen's name he was still here. Oh yes, Francis stole his apartment keys. So why wasn't the frog dead yet?
" It has been a long time, da?"
Ah, he forgot. He was having a conversation.
Propping his elbows on the table, the Briton tilted his head at a pale haired Russian, returning his attention to the other.
" I spoke you two weeks ago, Ivan." Replying, Arthur adjusted the scarf around his neck, a General Winter brand wear that he had just received from the Russian, garnering a smile from the purple eyed male.
" Da. But that is a long time, yes?" He smiled childishly at the Briton. " You are enjoying the scarf?"
Mumbling an affirmative, Arthur confirmed the point by tightening the scarf around his neck. Ivan Braginski, age 20, was another one of Bonneland agency's top models, his popularity peaking during winter campaign months. Tall, with a muscular built and soft white hair with violet eyes that seemed to glow, the Russian's popularity rivalled that of a certain American. Generally quiet with child-like tendencies and thought to be borderline insane, Arthur found, that if he was careful not to anger the man, he was fair tea drinking companion- though there were times when he questioned if the clear liquid in the man's cup was really tea. Sighing tiredly, the Briton attempted to continue the conversation. " How is your relationship with Yao these days?"
The Russian seemed to light up at the question, answering immediately. " We are good, he is still very shy, but, he will not be shy soon, yes?" Smiling childishly, his expression was accompanied with a dark glint in his eye as he continued to smile at the Briton, his mind elsewhere. Arthur sighed as he noticed the violet orbed male's eyes go blank, his mind most likely wandering through an erotic fairy tale between himself and his Chinese lover, who, unfortunately was also one of the green eyed male's employers. Relaxing and allowing his head to fall back on the table, Arthur himself began to have his own mind wander into happier times when the door banged against the wall, an American rushing through it.
" ARTIE! Yes! I knew it! You're still here!"
Grinning with enthusiasm with the sight of the smaller blonde, Alfred began to run towards the teen before freezing at the sight of the third party in the room. His face dropped theatrically in recognition as he alternated his sights between both males, his eyebrows furrowing deeply. It wasn't long before he resumed charging towards his target, screaming.
" NO! Artie! Why are with that commie bastard? ! He's gonna kill you!" Lunging in to protect the sandy blonde teen, Alfred only stopped at a glare that could only be given by one who stood at the threshold of utter darkness and exhaustion.
" Do not take a single step closer, Alfred. If you do so, I will castrate you where you stand."
Instead of an expression of fear, the American's face dropped into a smile. He could never get used to Arthur finally calling him by his first name. It just sounded so nice.
Torn between listening to the Brit and jumping him, Alfred remained in his place, actually contemplating what he should do. And idea entered his head as he walked backwards farther from the Brit, who, in turn, sighed in relief at the boy actually listening to him. Of course, that relief was short-lived. Stopping at the door, Alfred turned back to the emerald eyed male, suddenly breaking into a sprint. Lost once more into a charge, the American jumped from the place he had first stopped. He didn't take a step closer. He took a leap.
" Arrrttttiiieeee!" Propelled in the air, Alfred aimed himself at the Briton, effectively smashing into the smaller teen and succeeding to force him onto the floor, the larger atop the smaller, their faces almost touching.
" You bloody prat! Get off of me!" Struggling beneath the other male, Arthur scowled at the other, groaning in pain, his head throbbing as the weight above him never ceased. " You're lucky that the butter knife is out of my bleeding reach or I'd castrate you as we bloody are!"
Alfred laughed at the threat grinning down at the other with utter happiness despite the fact that the both of them were a mess from the fall. " Geez, Artie! I mean, if you wanna touch it so much..."
Frowning blankly at the statement, the green eyed male scowled as he realized the meaning behind the words, his face tinging a slight red. " Git! Why would I want to touch your thing ? !"
" 'Cause my little Alfred is awesome!" He winked. " And I know you wanna!"
Smiling, Alfred rubbed his cheek against the other male's face in a gesture of affection, garnering a protest and another painful grumble. If the American's weight wasn't complete atop the other, Alfred would have most likely already received a knee to the groin, but, as he dipped down to steal a kiss, he was fortunate he was. Unluckily though, Arthur's hands were still free, pushing the blue eyed male's face away.
" Aw! Artie! Just once kiss!" Alfred attempted to get past the wall of hands as he tried for another kiss, only to be pulled away by the back of his collar.
" It is nice that you are so close, da?" A cold voice entered Alfred's senses as he hung a foot above the Briton before being tossed off the other male. " Yao and I are close too. That is why I do not like it when someone interrupts my good dream of him."
Whining as he fell onto the cold floor, Alfred noticed that the room's table was in disarray as well as the chairs. It would have seemed that by jumping onto the Briton, he had shoved the furniture right into the Russian's gut. Getting up, he pouted to see that Arthur was already brushing himself off and thanking the violet eyed male. It was then that the American noticed the scarf. The General Winter brand scarf.
His face began to shape a horror expression as he stared at the scarf, the purple scarf – the same colour as the Russian model's eyes around the Briton's neck.
" Arthur! Why are you wearing that scarf? !"
Attempting to unravel the piece of cloth from the smaller teen's neck, Alfred only had his hand swatted away.
" Don't touch that, you git!" Fixing his scarf, the green eyed blond glared, earning a whine from the other.
" But, Artie! That's Braginski's brand of clothing! If you wanted something warm, I could've-"
" The only thing warm you have is that bloody line of bomber jackets! I'd rather drop dead that wear something like that!" Cutting off the other male, Arthur attempted to make his way out of the room – away from the American and the commotion – and go home, stolen keys be damned. He would just tell the landlady and she would most likely change the lock for him. But, of course, life was never kind to him.
" Hon hon hon ~ Are the two lovers having a spat?" Finally appearing, the long haired Frenchman entered the room, twirling a ring of keys in his hand. Arthur growled at the new entry in anger, reaching for the keys to his home. " Frog! Return those to me!"
Surprisingly the Frenchman gave in quite easily, tossing the keys to the English teen, smirking. " Of course, mon cher! Now that you are here and the American is here, my plan is complete!"
Arthur cached the keys easily, scowling at the man's words. The Briton wasn't stupid. At first, it was only an inkling, but over several attempts, he now noticed every single try that several people had committed in hope to bringing both he and the foolish American together.
Gilbert's attempts.
Kiku's attempts.
And now, Francis' attempts.
Arthur grumbled as he pocketed the keys, cursing the people he called friends. Why couldn't they see that he didn't enjoy spending time with the younger male?
" I'm going home."
Turning tail, the slim blonde adjusted the scarf around neck once more, keys in hand. He left the room, looking straight ahead with a scowl, leaving two Europeans plus and American together. It was when the Briton disappeared that the Frenchman turned to his fellow blue eyed male, pinching the bridge of his nose with a melodramatic sigh. " Alfred, Alfred, Alfred. Mon cher Alfred. Pourquoi? ?"
For split second the American's face twitched in what could have been disgust as he mentally deigned himself freaked out by the repetitive use of his name by the senior model. Of course, the expression could have easily been imagined as the blue eyed male's trademark smile fell, once again, on his features. He waved a hand at Francis. " Yo. Wassup, dude?"
The Frenchman repeated his sigh, shaking his head. " Mon ami. It is a shame that you are so blind? Do you not see?" Alfred stared blankly, earning a frown from the other. " Le fortuit! The chance! The opportunity! I brought him here pour toi! So that you may comfort him! And, as you say, sweep him off his feet!" He shook his head harder. " Mais, non. You let the chance slip away. Tu es fou.
" Oh." Blank expression morphing into one of understanding, for a second it seemed as if the blue eyed male understood, though the expression quickly went away. " 'Kay. I get that you want me to sweep him off his feet. But, why'd you want me to comfort him? Did he get hurt or somethin'?" He smacked his fist against his palm in realization. " You guys just want me to share my awesomeness with him right? ! So that the frown that's stuck on his face gets unstuck, right? !
Instead of the Frenchman answering, a response surprisingly arrived through the Russian, who was previously left forgotten. " Nyet. Arthur is injured."
Bending forward so he was just below the American's height, Ivan tilted his to meet the blue eyed male's gaze, a seemingly innocent smile playing on his lips. " You really did not notice, stupid American? The little bird was not very feisty today, da? Usually he is very cute and fiery but not as cut as Yao. But he was not fiery today. He walked strange and he is hiding something behind the scarf. I saw."
" Huh?" Furrowing his eyes in confusion, Alfred stared at the Russian, his mouth in a slight 'O'. " Hey, how'd you know that?"
The purple orbed male only smiled. " I have known him from the time when he was the one who injured, not the one who was injured. He was very exciting then." He paused. " But, he is still amusing as he is."
Still slightly confused, the golden blond shook his head, shaking away the overload of information, leaving only thoughts of the Briton in his head.
" Then I'll go get him back! Can't let a chance just go!" The American took five large strides to the door, only to be blocked by the other blonde.
" Non, non, non. The time is no longer right, mon cher. Il est fatigué. He will not appreciate it if you run after him now."
" But-" Protesting, the sky blue eyed American tried to push through the door, frowning. Francis continued to block his way. " Non. You will get your chance when you see him again at school." He went quiet for a moment. " You will understand more then...and hopefully lessen your ignorance as well."
Arthur opened the door to his apartment, an old four story building that seemed just on the verge of collapsing. It was not the best place to live, nor his first choice, but, it was in a quiet area of the city, away from the bustle. Not to mention it was inexpensive, and the old aura of the building seemed to keep away most people.
" ...hell..."
Closing the door to his home, the Briton strode in, not bothering to turn on the lights. It wasn't as if there was anything to trip over, seeing that the room was virtually empty. So, heading in the bathroom's general direction, Arthur expertly manoeuvred himself in the dark, only flipping the light switch when he reached his destination, coming face to face with a mirror.
Examining his reflection, the blond noticed the purple bags under his eyes. He moved his arm to feel his face, flinching at the pain that the simple action garnered. Letting out a breath, Arthur tugged off his scarf, allowing it to fall on his bathroom counter as he pulled off his shirt as well, his breath hitching as he did so. Numerous bruises, accompanied with the odd cut littered his body, bruising up to the base of his neck. Really. It was a pain in the arse that bruises, and everything that came with them faded so slowly. Even though it had already been two days since he first received them. The Briton has had worse of course, but still, they still hurt like a bitch. He had been expecting them of course when he had first saw the death glares of those that the American had called his 'fans'. And seeing how it was already over a month since the boy had first transferred, he supposed that the attack was already past due. He sighed. These things were just too much of an annoyance to deal with. The American's fan's were just so lucky that he was too much of gentleman to hit women. Even if their behaviour resembled behemoths than actual girls.
" We want you to stay away from Alfred."
Turning behind him in the hallway, Arthur came eye to eye with a long haired blonde, face seemingly cat like and kind despite the malice directed at him through her eyes even as he stared back calmly. Running through the list of senior students silently in his mind, it seemed that the girl was one who transferred from Belgium. Bella was her name, he believed.
" Hm? What was that you said?"
The girl's eyes flared at the question as she glared at the male, repeating her words more forcefully. "WE WANT YOU TO STAY AWAY FROM ALFRED." She took a breath, continuing. "He belongs to all of us. It's disgusting how someone like you is keeping his attention! You're nothing more than a toy for him to play with anyways!"
Jealousy was truly an ugly thing, wasn't it?
" I didn't realize that Alfred was a piece of property that is divided among people. Maybe I should treat him as such the next time we meet. "
Arthur's response was laced with sarcasm as he stared the woman down. Bella was not perturbed. "You would stay away from him if you knew what was good for you."
" And if I refuse?"
The female's eyes narrowed as she shot out a hand, gripping at the other's wrist. " Oh, I insist."
Really. Women were such annoyances to deal with.
Splashing his face with cold water, Arthur yawned, rubbing one eye. He was tired. So very tired. Patting his face with a towel to dry, the green eyed male tossed his towel over the shower curtain rod to dry as he shuffled out the bathroom door, scratching his stomach from under his pyjamas - a simple tee shirt and cotton trousers. He was slightly hungry, but it wasn't likely that there was anything worth eating in his fridge, and, seeing how he was already having difficulties fighting off sleep as it was, it was decided that he would wait 'till morning before having a meal. So, walking back into the one room in his apartment, not including the kitchen and toilet area, Arthur dropped down onto the couch, which also played the dual role of his bed. He closed his eyes, glancing at the calender on his wall just before he fell asleep. November. It was almost Thanksgiving. Letting out a tired breath, the Briton turned over in his couch so he was facing nothing more than the semi soft fabric of the furniture. It was stupid.
What did he have to be thankful for?
A/N:
Whooo! I actually updated in time! Let's ignore that I took a sick day off school and ended up writing this. So...wussup? Heh. Well, last chapter was mostly about the past so, I wanted this one to take a peek at Artie's and Alfie's present life for a bit. Hm. I sorry to Belgium fans for making her out as a bad guy. I know she's really nice, I do! But, I didn't know who to give the role to and she was just there. I apologize. The Thanksgiving date confused me a bit though. I was actually planning a thanksgiving chapter before the Halloween ones when I remembered that American Thanksgiving is different from the Canadian one. So it'll have to come after. Well, I hope Alfred will be the hero next chapter...oh and just as a side note, I actually went and did that weird fiction idea that I was talking about. The initial reaction wasn't bad so, I think I'm gonna continue it. W-well...y-y'know...i-if you want...you could check it out...not that I'm asking you too! I-I'm not! Really! ...it'll just be on my profile if you wanna...okay... I'll shut up now.