Hey, so I will be incredibly busy between now and September, but I will keep my laptop with me and work whenever I can, hopefully I will be able to update fairly regulary. I have parts the the other chapters written, but I feel like I am getting a bit reptitive, and I havn't even started on China's chapter. If you guys have any suggestions on what could have happened to him, I would love to hear them. Thanks :)
Arthur barely slept that night. He was still in his house, in his bed, but everything felt wrong and he couldn't sleep. It didn't help that the meeting was in the morning and he had set his alarm an hour early to make sure he wasn't late this time.
When Arthur got up he didn't bother with breakfast. He had opened one of the bags in the fridge, the contents were quite bloody. He wasn't about to eat anything in the fridge or the rest of the kitchen. After the meeting he would have to get groceries, and he would need to get pasta too.
Arthur figured he would start with the Axis countries, since he didn't know them as well, then work on the Allies. After todays meeting he was going to invite Feliciano over for dinner. But Arthur didn't know the first thing about pasta. He was going to ask Feliciano's brother for advice, but he had only met Lovino once and the Italian threw a baguette at Arthurs head. He didn't want too meet Lovino now, fearing it might be something sharper thrown at him.
Still not able to find his car, Arthur walked to the meeting again. As he walked in an sat down, Alfred was watching him like a hawk. Ludwig joined them a few minutes late, he looked awful and Arthur felt really bad knowing that was his fault. Before Alfred continued talking, Ludwig shot Arthur a look. Arthur wasn't sure if it was anger or sorrow, but it made his stomach twist in a knot.
Arthur tried paying attention to the meeting this time, taking small notes. Matthew was sitting at the opposite end of the table, next to Alfred. Arthur tried to get his attention, but Matthew seemed to be purposely avoiding his eyes.
After the meeting Arthur ran to catch up with Feliciano. The small Italian seemed eager to leave and was inching his way to the door while Arthur was talking to him.
'Hey, uh, Feli. So I was just wondering if you would want to come over for dinner? I am making pasta, I know you like that.'
Feliciano's eyes lit up just a little at the mention of pasta but he seemed to be searching for an excuse. 'Why? I mean, you've never had me over before.' He stopped inching to the door now.
'Well, that's why. I just thought it might be nice to get to know each other a little better. Come on, please?' Feliciano glanced at the door, then down at the small switch blade in his hand. 'Okay, when do you want me over?' He was almost smiling. Feliciano's smile was something Arthur knew very well, but hadn't seen at all in this time period.
'Is five o' clock alright?' Feliciano nodded and put the knife in his back pocket.
Arthur had never really cooked pasta before, and had a tendency to burn most things he cooked. He had already gone through four boxes of different types of pasta by 4:30. Muttering about broken equipment, he put a dish of lasagne in the oven, reading through the recipe for the sixth time. Spending most of the afternoon cleaning his house and thoroughly sanitizing the kitchen, Arthur hadn't left himself much time for baking.
Taking just a minutes break, he sat down at the kitchen table and flipped through an old worn cookbook for something sweet. Most recipes in the book had been attempted by him before, he thought they had tasted fine, but nobody else did. Finally he settled on one recipe that had been mostly a success. Forcing himself to stand up again, he dug through the kitchen for clean bowles and measuring cups.
The oven dinged at the same time Feliciano knocked at the door. 'Just a second!' Arthur called from the kitchen, setting the hot pan on the counter.
Feliciano looked rather uncomfortable standing at the front door. He had decided four times that he wasn't going to show up, but he did anyways. Arthur smiled politely as he opened the door and invited Feliciano in, but honestly, he was terrified of the little Italian.
He was still wearing the oven mitts when he answered the door. There was a lingering smell of smoke in the house as he walked in.
'Dinner will be ready in just a minute. Please make yourself at home.' Feliciano sat on the couch but stood almost immediately, feeling rather uncomfortable in this house he had never been in.
Arthur came into the living room with a bottle of red wine. 'Dinner is ready. Would you like a glass?' Feliciano nodded and followed Arthur to the dining area. Arthur waited until they had both started eating before trying to start a conversation.
'So, Feli, you seem pretty good with those knives of yours, eh? Why do you carry them with you so much?'
Feliciano sipped his wine before answering. 'The world is a dangerous place. One must learn to protect oneself. May I have another glass?'
'Of course.' Arthur shakily poured more wine for them both. 'So, you never were worried about protecting yourself before. What changed.'
There was a long pause before Feliciano answered again, like he was carefully contemplating his words. 'I guess I didn't have to before. I relied on others to do that, but they abandoned me.' He scooped another helping of lasagne. 'This is pretty good, Arthur. I haven't had lasagne in quite a while.'
Arthur smiled, genuinely for the first time in a while. 'Really? You like my cooking?'
'Of course.'
A timer went off in the kitchen and Arthur excused himself from the table. He took a dish of bread pudding out of the oven and brought it to the table, hoping it had turned out. 'Okay, Feli, I have a random question for you. What would be the reason for me to have bags of bloody... substances... in the fridge?' It had been bothering Arthur all day.
Feliciano laughed. 'For your cupcakes of course! You know, you haven't brought any to a meeting in a while, what's up with that?'
Arthur felt sick. 'Cupcakes? I.. I guesses I've just been busy.' He suddenly didn't feel like eating, especially anything he cooked, but he scooped out a small portion of pudding anyways.
feliciano began to talk about different types of pastas and how to serve them. Arthur tried to listen but had a hard time focusing. Not having slept much in the last two nights he began to nod off.
Eventually Feliciano noticed. He stood and took his dishes to the kitchen. 'Well, I had better be going. Thank you for dinner Arthur, it was quite delicious.'
Arthur yawned as he walked Feliciano to the front door. 'Good night, and, uh, thanks for coming. Bye.' After Feliciano left, Arthur began to clean up the rest of the dishes. He didn't get very far though, falling asleep at the kitchen table.