First, thanks again to everyone who's keeping up with this story! :D Sorry if this chapter seems kind of...rushed.
Again, I don't own Hetalia.
Please keep reading and reviewing!
Major Alfred F. Jones, USAF flying ace, awoke that morning with only one thing on his mind: breakfast. He stretched out his arms and took in a deep breath while simultaneously catching a whiff of his body odor and blanching at the smell. Scratch that: shower then breakfast. He hopped out of his bed, grabbed his supplies and headed down to the showers to wash up before the rest of his unit awoke. Saturdays and Sundays were always peaceful affairs at Yokota Air Base, which Alfred enjoyed for the most part. Sure, things were slower and he didn't have to be up at the sound of "Reveille" nor did he have mountains of paperwork to fill out, but sometimes it was kind of dull.
Alfred shut off the water before wrapping himself in the thin, government-issued towel and headed over to the sink in order to shave the stubble that was creeping in. He inspected the razor, noting that it looked like it was close to needing to be replaced; Alfred shaved carefully, making sure to get as close as possible without nicking himself. Facial hair was all well and good, but he liked the feeling of a smooth face. After shaving came brushing his teeth and making sure his hair looked presentable before heading back to get dressed. Finally, Alfred deemed himself presentable enough to get breakfast from the mess hall. Breakfast was a simple, relaxed affair even if the food was rather questionable. Following breakfast, Alfred decided that maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea to finish up some of the paperwork he had neglected on Friday, seeing how the day was looking kind of empty, before making his rounds. Sighing, he left the mess hall and headed across the courtyard to where his office was to get started on the paperwork.
The day actually went by pretty quick and before Alfred realized it, it was already approaching three-thirty and he had managed to finish Friday's work as well as get a start on Monday and Tuesday's. He stretched back in his chair, smiling in relief, and decided to catch up with his friend, Corporal Matthew Williams, who was no doubt finishing up some paperwork of his own. He hopped out of his chair and bounded out of his office, quickly making his way to the medical wing of the base.
"Hey, Mattie! Are you in here?" He called rather loudly outside of Matthew's office before pushing open the door. He smiled when he saw Matthew hunched over his desk, no doubt filling out his millionth penicillin prescription of the day. Matthew looked up in exasperation tinged with disgust.
"Alfred, do you know how many of these forms I've filled out this week alone? Twenty-two. Tell me, how hard is it to remember to use a rubber? They're free for crying out loud! We pass them out at least twice a day! There is no excuse for this!" Alfred was right, really if there was one thing Matthew hated filling out, it was VD prescriptions.
"Well, Mattie, what do you expect? We're on an island populated with beautiful women—"
"Who, up until seven months ago, was the enemy!"
"—And all they want is some big, strong soldier to keep them warm at night. Sometimes you just forget." Matthew snorted at that.
"I hope you're not speaking from experience. If I ever have to write you a prescription for penicillin, I'll kill you. You know how much I hate writing these damn things." Alfred flashed him a huge grin while shaking his head.
"You don't have to worry about me, Mattie. I don't have time for any of that." He said proudly, to which Matthew rolled his eyes.
"That's what they all say until they end up itching and standing in the penicillin line. Come on, I know you haven't done your rounds so let's go get that over with." Matthew said, grabbing his jacket after putting away that last bit of paperwork. Alfred shrugged good-naturedly and followed Matt out the office.
Rounds were pretty uneventful, if not a little long; when they finally finished, it was around four-thirty. Alfred was just about to suggest grabbing a bite to eat when Matthew checked his watch and groaned.
"What is it?" Alfred asked.
"I have to meet Arthur in an hour. I completely forgot that I promised to meet him for a drink. Don't give me that look, Al, you don't have to come." It was no small secret that Alfred and Arthur had never really gotten along and poor Matthew often found himself in the middle of their bickering. Alfred blanched, he hadn't seen Matthew all week and it looked like if he was going to spend time with him, he was going to have to see Arthur as well.
"I'll come, but I can't be held responsible if that jerk starts something." Matthew rolled his eyes, longsuffering apparent on his face.
"Come on, let's grab something to eat while we still have time. I don't want to be late."
"Where are you meeting him? Mess hall alright?"
"Some club in the Yoshiwara district. Yeah, the mess hall's fine."
Alfred and Matthew arrived at the club to find it packed, which was usual for a Saturday night. Soldiers from different units mingled with the girls in the smoky room while the jukebox in the corner played a Glenn Miller song. It was typical of this kind of place, Alfred thought.
"Hm, not a bad place, just kind of small." Matthew remarked as though he read Alfred's mind.
"Eh, you've been to one of these clubs, you've been to them all." Alfred shrugged. "Let's hurry up and find Arthur." They slowly made their way through the club, looking for the Brit. They nodded in hello to people that they knew and Alfred couldn't resist flashing a smile at the girls, earning him a few smiles in return. He was busy grinning at a girl with short hair and a long curl hanging down in the front when he almost missed the fact that he and Matthew were almost separated when the other man turned suddenly to the left. He gave a sheepish grin to the girl who giggled in response before jogging slightly to catch up with Matthew.
"You know, for someone who claims not to have any time for it, you sure do enjoy the attention." Matthew said when Alfred made it to his side.
"What can I say," Alfred started, running his hand through his short blonde hair, "some guys have it, some guys don't." The other blonde rolled his eyes, still trying to find Arthur. Honestly, he thought to himself, it shouldn't be this hard to find a bushy-browed Brit in a club of this size. They continued on towards the back, near the bar.
Alfred chuckled to himself, keeping his eyes focused on finding Arthur. Despite him making a big show in front of Matthew about not having time, he did like the looks and attention he managed to attract from the local girls. He knew that with his short blonde hair, blue eyes, and muscular physique, he was considered very good-looking. And it also didn't hurt that he was considered a bit of a hero; he had managed to take down twenty-two enemy planes, including the most feared German aviator since the Red Baron, Gilbert Beilschmidt aka the Prussian Eagle.
"Hey," Matthew said, drawing Alfred out of his thoughts, "he's over there at the bar." Alfred looked over to where to the bar, scanning the small groups of people for any sign of Arthur when his gaze landed on a particular girl.
The girl was definitely different from any other girl he had seen, that was the truth. Large, chocolate brown eyes framed by long eyelashes were rimmed in light pink eye shadow. She had short, chin-length black hair that was adorned with a single pink flower and her bangs were swept off to the side, giving him a clear view of her face. She had a gentle, feminine face with minimal make-up, save for the aforementioned eye shadow and light pink lipstick, which was a huge contrast from the other girls in the club who slathered on the make-up. Since she was seated with her back to the bar, Alfred was able to take note of the simple black cocktail dress that fell at the knee that she had on and her shapely legs which were covered in opaque pantyhose. If there was ever a time Alfred wanted to catch a girl's eye, it was now, but the girl was too caught up in her companion, who coincidentally happened to be—
"Arthur! Oi, Arthur!" Matthew was waving at Arthur, drawing his attention away from the girl; Arthur looked slightly annoyed until he saw Matthew.
"Come on, Al, and do try and be on your best behavior. I'm not in the mood to mediate a fight." Alfred barely heard Matthew; his full attention was focused on Arthur's companion. As they got closer, Alfred made sure to run his fingers through his hair, making sure one of the hairs stuck up in order to give his hair a slightly disheveled appearance. When they finally caught up to Arthur, Alfred made sure to flash the girl a huge grin, earning a shy smile in return.
"Matthew!" Arthur exclaimed, rising from his seat to shake the other man's hand.
"Arthur! How's it been? Haven't seen you in awhile."
"Ah, you know, paperwork, paperwork, and more bloody paperwork. Probably the same as you've been except I don't have to do up prescriptions." Matthew chuckled before his gaze fell on Arthur's friend.
"Ah, Arthur, aren't you going to introduce us to your lovely friend?" Arthur looked embarrassed for a moment before nodding to his companion, who stood slowly.
"Gents, this my companion, Miss Kiku Honda. Kiku, this is Corporal Matthew Williams, he's an Army surgeon. Saw time in France, Germany, and Egypt. One of the finest doctors I know." Kiku smiled and gave a deep bow, before pulling out a small business card and presenting it to Matthew.
"I am very honored to meet you Matthew-san." Matthew accepted the card with a small bow.
"The pleasure is mine, Miss Kiku." Alfred gave a small cough to let them know he was still standing there; Kiku giggled while Arthur rolled his eyes. He was hoping that Alfred would take a hint and leave, but apparently that wasn't going to be the case.
"Asa-san, I believe you neglected to introduce your friend." Alfred gave Kiku another smile as Arthur rolled his eyes again.
"Kiku, this git right here is Major Alfred Jones, United States Air Force." Alfred chose to ignore the "git" part in favor of grabbing Kiku's hand and giving it a light kiss. Kiku giggled softly while both Arthur and Matthew rolled their eyes.
"I have heard many stories about Alfred-san from the others. It is a pleasure to finally meet you." Kiku gave another deep bow before handing Alfred a business card. Alfred eagerly accepted it, noting that it had slight perfumed scent. It was a simple card, with the name of the club and Kiku's name underneath in simple script with a golden chrysanthemum to the right and Alfred took great care to place the card in his wallet.
"Well, now that you're all properly introduced, don't just stand there, take a seat." There were two empty seats next to Arthur and Matthew took the one closest to the Brit, expecting Alfred to occupy the other empty seat but was surprised when he took the seat next to Kiku. Matthew raised his eyebrow slightly, sending Alfred a questioning look. Alfred smiled before turning his attention back to Kiku.
"So, I hope we didn't interrupt whatever you and the old man were talking about." It was a good thing Kiku was in between the two of them because Arthur nearly made a move to strangle Alfred.
"Who are you calling 'old' you prat—" Kiku gently laid a hand on Arthur's arm in order to calm him, giving him a sweet smile.
"It is alright, Alfred-san. Asa-san was telling me about his time in Malta. If I'm not mistaken, Asa-san sank four U-boats?" Arthur relaxed before covering Kiku's hand with his own.
"That's right, Kiku. One of the reasons they referred to me as—"
"Scourge of the sea. Yeah Arthur, everyone's heard this story before." From the other side of Arthur, Matthew groaned. For some reason, whenever Alfred and Arthur where in close proximity to each other, it was like a contest to see who could go the longest without killing the other. It's like a milder form of Francis and Arthur, Matthew thought glumly to himself. Arthur clenched his teeth, he was determined not strangle Alfred in front of Kiku, who was looking between them with mild amusement. He was about fire off a subtle insult when it was Kiku who finally spoke.
"If Alfred-san tires of hearing this story, then perhaps he should tell one of his own?" That time, both Matthew and Arthur groaned. No doubt he would tell how he single-handedly took down the Prussian Eagle or any of his myriad of hero stories. They mentally prepared themselves for at least two hours devoted to the Prussian Eagle one.
"Actually, Miss Kiku, if you don't mind, I think I would rather hear something about you." Arthur felt his jaw drop in shock and Matthew was staring wide-eyed at Alfred. Alfred never missed an opportunity to tell that story; it was practically a rule that any meeting with the blonde had to include at least three references to it. Kiku, on the other hand, looked mildly surprised at Alfred's request before giving a slight shake of the head.
"I do not think you all would want me to bore you…"
"No! I'm sure a girl as pretty as you has tons of exciting stories to tell!" Kiku blushed and Alfred couldn't help but notice how cute it looked.
"I-if Alfred-san insists, I could speak about when I was young girl…"
It was some time after midnight when Alfred and Matthew finally left the club, quickly heading back to the base in the chilly March air. Alfred was uncharacteristically quiet and that was beginning to unnerve Matthew. It was when Alfred pulled out his wallet for the umpteenth time that Matthew finally said something.
"What's going on with you, Al? That's the fifth time you've pulled out your wallet. You've been acting weird since we first met up with Arthur." Alfred looked startled before giving the other blonde a smile.
"I'm fine, Mattie. Just thinking." Alfred was about to put his wallet away when Matthew deftly snatched it out of his hands.
"Hey!" Alfred exclaimed, trying to get it back, but it was too late for Matthew had opened it and pulled out Kiku's card.
"Ah, ah," Matthew snickered, holding up the card like a kind of trophy, "does somebody have a bit of a crush?" Alfred felt the beginning of a blush creep across his face as he tried desperately to get the card back.
"No! It's not like that—I mean, we just met—Miss Kiku is a very lovely girl, don't you think?" Alfred's desperate excuses only made Matthew laugh harder, leaving him open for Alfred to grab the card and his wallet.
"Aha! I knew something was up when you refused to tell your Prussian Eagle story. Thought you didn't have time for such things, Al?" Alfred glared as he gently placed the card back into his wallet before pocketing it.
"I don't have to tell that story all the time, you know?" Matthew snorted in disbelief.
"Are you kidding me? You've told me it so many damn times that I can recite it backwards with my eyes closed. Someone's got a case of the puppy love for Miss Kiku."
"I do not! She's a very interesting girl! Quit laughing at me, damn it!"
When Alfred crawled into bed that night, he set his wallet down carefully on the nightstand after removing the business card and gently placing it next to his glasses. Before falling asleep that night, he vowed that he was definitely going to start frequenting that club more often, even if it meant he would have to see Arthur. At least he would be able to see Miss Kiku again.