Aghhhh, I really don't have much to say, except that this chapter was kinda hard to write. Dx I'm sorry. I didn't mean for it to take this long. I really didn't.
Ah well, it's done now. I'm sorry if it's really too USUK, Liet and Po-centric. But I had to add Matthew in there somehow too. ;)
Oh, and the part that's in italics, signifies a flashback to that part when Arthur and Alfred had that meeting at the end of chapter 6.
And thanks a lot for the reviews and alerts and favs everyone! I love them all!
Warnings: HEAVY USUK, lots of mentions of sex and sexuality, language, and Rebecca Black's Friday.
Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia or the Office.
Chapter 7
Alfred beamed.
"Yeeeeeeessss, that is correct, Toris! We will be laser tagging as a team-building exercise."
Toris looked at the directions. He hadn't gone laser tagging in years.
Feliks shot a glance in Toris' direction. He bit his lip, then went over to Feliciano to get a ride with him. Ivan smiled and went up to Toris.
"Do you need a ride?" he asked.
"Oh sure! I'd love to ride with you," Toris said. "Thank you, Ivan."
"No problem, Toris. Come now, Raivis. Toris, you can take shotgun."
Raivis squeaked as Ivan took his hand and followed him.
"Toris, how are you?" Ivan said.
Eduard and Katyusha were accidentally squishing Raivis in the back row. Ivan had turned on Pan's Labyrinth for their enjoyment. They looked horrified.
"I'm fine. Thanks for asking," he replied.
Ivan glanced sideways at him. "Are you alright? You've been acting a little...funny."
Dammit. That man was perceptive. "In what way?"
"Well, you've been acting rather odd around Feliks. I thought you two were best friends."
"Umm, we were?" Toris said. "I didn't even notice."
"Oh God, that's sick!" Eduard screamed, but unable to tear his eyes away from the screen.
"Don't try to deny it, Toris," Ivan said. He smiled. "I see everything."
Toris bit his lip. "Uhh, maybe I just want to hang out with other people instead of him," he said.
Ivan shrugged. "That sounds reasonable, but a little unrealistic. Most people just don't fall in and out of friendships that fast."
"Maybe I do!"
"Holy cow, look at that blood!"
"IT'S FRIDAY, FRIDAY! GOTTA GET DOWN ON FRIDAY!"
Ludwig felt like curling into a ball and putting his head down on the dashboard. Unfortunately, he was driving, and that would spell an accident. Kiku looked back at the two curiously.
Maybe an accident would be better than listening to this...
"Can you two keep it down back there?" he shouted.
"Like, what, Ludwig?" Feliks asked.
"I didn't get that, sorry," Feliciano said.
"Can you prease keep singing?" Kiku asked. "This song is rather interesting."
Oh, why didn't Feliks get a ride with the new kid?
"FUN FUN FUN FUN!"
Oh mein Gott...
"Here we are, everybody!" Alfred shouted as soon as they got inside. "LazerQuest! The Boston area's finest center for laser tag and fun!"
Inside, the lights were set on low and bright neon lights ran along the walls. Down the hallway, there was a stairwell leading to a room for parties. The main room, however, was gigantic, holding both a small restaurant and an area filled with rows of various arcade games. Small groups of kids and families were there as well.
"Come now, everyone!" Alfred clapped his hands and led them into a brightly lit room to the right. "Let us begin our wonderful adventure!"
Toris sat down on one of the benches and waited for the small room to fill up with the rest of his employees. Ivan and Eduard sat next to him (Raivis was still reeling a bit from the movie). He looked behind him. Feliks talked with Elizabeta and made a glance in Toris' direction. Their eyes met, and Toris swore he saw something click in Feliks' before he returned to Lizzie. Toris did not notice Ivan's eyes narrowing at him. A rack of blue and red vests were on the side, along with blue and red guns. Two blue and red doors were right next to them.
After the entire room had been filled, the instructor, who reminded Toris of a squirrel, went up to the front.
"I'm assuming that you're all the Herozone group. You don't have any kids." He smiled nervously. No one smiled back.
"Eh. Anyways, in accordance with the team-building exercise that Mr. Jones suggested, we shall be playing a game of capture the flag. I'm sure you all know the basics of the game, you have to steal the flag of an enemy base and take it back to your own.
"You all are going to be separated into teams of ten, the blue team and the red team. Each of you are going to have to wear these vests that correspond to the color of your team." He slipped on a red vest and grabbed a gun. "The areas where you can be shot are your vests and gun. Whenever you shoot a member of the opposite team, your team gains 500 points. If you accidentally shoot a member of your team, you lost 1000 points. Also, when you're shot, you're gun is disabled for ten seconds. When your team successfully retrieves the others' flag, your team wins 25,000 points.
"Inside, it's going to be pretty dark, so I'm just going to read off some rules for your guys, and there's only two. No running and no tackling. I don't care what your excuse is, you can't pummel an opposite team member to the ground."
"Dammit!" Alfred exclaimed.
"So...that's the extent of my speech. Break yourself into teams, and then, give me a thumbs-up, Alfred, when you're ready to go."
"Alright!" Alfred got up and stood in the front. "I will be the leader of the Red Team, because red is crimson, and crimson equals Harvard! Soooooo, who wants to be with me?"
No one stood up except for Marvin.
"I'll be with you, Alfred!" he said, going to join his brother.
Ivan stood up and went next to Alfred. "And I will be the leader of the Blue Team." He smiled at Raivis. "Would you like to be on my team, Raivis?"
Raivis shuddered. "Uhh, s-sure, Ivan."
"I'll b-be with Ivan then," Eduard said.
"Then...I guess I'll go with Ivan, too," Toris said. They both joined Ivan.
"I'm, like, heading with Alfred." Feliks headed for Alfred, shooting a quick glance towards Toris.
"I'm with Ivan." Arthur glared at Alfred before joining the rest of the Blue Team. Alfred pretended that he didn't exist. How strange. Toris swore that he talked with Alfred yesterday...
Eventually, both teams filled up. The Red Team consisted of Alfred, Feliks, Maddox, Elizabeta, Vash, Kiku, Ludwig, Feliciano, Francis, and Antonio. The Blue Team was Ivan, Raivis, Eduard, Toris, Katyusha, Natalia, Lovino, Yao, Yong Soo, and Arthur.
"We're totally going to kick your asses!" Alfred shouted, pointing his gun at them.
Toris slipped the blue vest over his head and stumbled forward from the weight of it until a strong hand grabbed the back of his shirt.
He blushed a little. "Th-thank you, Ivan! I almost fell there."
Ivan chuckled and pat his head. "Be careful there, little Toris." He turned around to say something to Katyusha, but then turned back to Toris.
"Hey, Toris?" he whispered.
"Hmm?" Toris looked up at him. He really was a tall guy.
"I just want to apologize for the mess that happened with Natalia. I don't know why I didn't say anything earlier, but I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get your wrist or your heart broken. It's just...Natalia is a little difficult, and I thought your dating her would make her smile more." He sighed.
"Hey." Toris put his hand on Ivan's shoulder. "Don't worry about it, Ivan. It's in the past now."
Ivan smiled. "Well, if you can't have her, you know you can always have me!" He laughed and walked pass Toris.
Toris blinked and followed Ivan through the door.
It was dark. Very dark. Arthur couldn't even see his hand in front of his face if it weren't for the fact that his vest glowed neon blue. Fog misted all around the area, and there were black pillars and arches and walls lit up with neon lights. It was all a great maze for Arthur. He could vaguely see the outlines of his other teammates.
Suddenly, his vest and gun began to vibrate.
"Who the bloody hell could have shot me that fast?" he yelled. Similar shouts were heard from the other team members.
What the—?
Something moved around in the shadows, his shoulder-length blond hair highlighted in red. Of course.
"Dammit, Vash," Arthur muttered and continued forward. Alfred was the first one out the door. He could be anywhere, which made it even harder for Arthur to talk to him.
He held a sobbing Alfred in his arms.
"Alfred, d-don't cry," he said. "This call doesn't mean anything. It just—"
"Did you even hear the call?" Alfred clutched his shoulders. "Th-they said th-that they're g-going to cut us out! Us! Great-Grandpa Jones f-founded this company a-and the branch—I went t-to Harvard—c-corporate bastards!"
Arthur sighed and looked at the clock. Six. Alfred had been sobbing and completely broken apart for over a half-hour, ever since the incredibly heated call between Alfred and Emilie ended. Alfred started to cry immediately and forgot the shun he had given Arthur the last month and a half.
Alfred wiped his eyes. "W-well at least the laser tag thing's still going on f-for tomorrow. M-maybe I could take everyone to my Nantucket house before we...we" He took a deep breath. "BEFORE WE SAY GOODBYYYYYE!" He collapsed into Arthur's arms again.
Arthur sighed, patting Alfred's back. "Al, everything is going to be alright—"
"HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT?"
Alfred pushed himself away from Arthur's arm, tears running down his cheeks.
"A-al—"
"We just got a call that says our branch is next in line to get the axe! How the fuck does that mean it'll be alright?"
"A-al, I'm just saying—"
"Then stop saying!" Alfred put on his coat and picked up suitcase.
"Al?"
"And don't call me that!"
Arthur shook his head and went onward. He knew that Alfred was still angry at him, even if he managed to talk with him for a half-hour. Hell, that was probably the reason why he snapped at him. He hid behind a pillar. Alfred was right there in the open, picking off blue team members and laughing the entire time. Tackling was against the rules, but if it was the only way to get Alfred to speak to him, then so be it.
He crept silently. Alfred shot at Toris, who ran directly in front of him. Idiot. Alfred turned his head in Arthur's direction. He froze and shot off in the opposite direction.
"Oh no you don't!"
Arthur rushed forward. Alfred was a faster runner in the long run, but Arthur's speed bursts easily left him in the dust. Like a cheetah.
He threw himself at Alfred and both men fell to the ground, twisting and squirming.
"Arthur, you son a of—"
"Don't move, dammit! I want to talk to you!"
Alfred pushed Arthur to the grounded and crawled on top of him, fire in his eyes.
"What?" he hissed.
Arthur shifted uncomfortably. Alfred's knees were on either side of his hips, certain...parts of their body touching ever so slightly. This was rather a compromising position. He blushed.
"A-Al...fred, I'm sorry," he whispered. "I know I've said that so so many times to you in the past few weeks."
"I know," Alfred whispered. "Arthur that...that really hurt. You broke my heart. Honestly, I...I honestly thought that we had something going. I...I loved you! B-but then you said...that. I guess we just never were meant to be." He moved one arm to get up.
Arthur grabbed it.
"Do you not understand? I do! I do want to be in a relationship with you!" He lowered his arm.
Alfred blinked, those adorable baby blue eyes starting to regain that old spark. "B-but you said—"
"A-Alfred, I'm sorry! I-I didn't know what came over me! I said that out of anger! I'm sorr—Mmmmf!"
Alfred clutched his cheeks and crashed his lips onto his, sliding his tongue across them. Arthur thwacked Alfred's back and punched his chest. Alfred finally pulled away and grinned.
"You moron!" Arthur shouted. "Don't make-out with me in the middle of a laser tag war!"
Alfred chuckled. "You talk too much." And he kissed Arthur again.
God, that was disgusting.
Toris shook his head and walked away from the scene of Alfred and Arthur making out. He seemed to be gun fodder for everyone on the Red Team. He had never once fired his gun because he had always been shot one way or another. He headed down a corridor. The Red Team base was supposedly that way, according to Ivan. Toris was starting to question Ivan, as he had not seen a single member of the Red Team.
He turned right and found himself at a dead end. Crap. Did Ivan trick him? He sighed and turned around and stopped in his tracks.
Fuck.
Feliks was at the end of the corridor, staring straight at Toris.
"Liet?"
The blond came forward, his hair highlighted with the red and his sex—pink skirt looking even more sexy—no, pink! His green eyes glowed red. He looked like some kind of hot—wait, cross-dressing demon.
Toris couldn't move, couldn't do anything. He just stood there, wondering what to do. The corridor was already small enough and Feliks was getting closer and closer with each step.
He threw himself at the wall behind him, fingers scrabbling, trying to get a hold in order to climb up and get over the wall.
"What the hell, Liet?"
He could feel Feliks' arms around his waist. Toris kicked wildly and tried to twist around in order to smack Feliks or something.
"L-Liet, stay still!"
"Get off me!"
Feliks had Toris' wrists in a death grip and flipped him over so that Toris was face-to-face with the seething cross-dresser. His chest rose and fell with each dress and a blush creeped up Toris' blue face. Their bodies were so close. Any closer and...
Feliks pressed himself onto Toris. He gulped, beads of sweat starting to form on his forehead.
"Why have you been ignoring me for these bad few days?" Feliks asked. "Was it, like, something I did or said?"
Toris shook his head rapidly. "N-no! Feliks, it's nothing like that!"
"Then why? Toris, you were like my best friend in the office. Why're you ignoring me like this?"
Toris could easily hear the hurt in Feliks' vote, and he dropped his head in shame.
"F-Feliks, it's nothing. It's—it's just. It's really hard to explain—"
Feliks' eyes shone. "Why can't you tell me? I...I thought you could tell me anything, Liet..."
He shifted slightly.
Toris' breath caught in his throat, as he felt something uncomfortably swell in the front of his pants. Oh God. No. No. No. No. No—
Feliks' eyes widened, and he looked down.
"O-oh..." He jumped away from Toris, shaking his head.
"Shit, uhh, umm—"
"T-Toris, I'm sorry! I-I-I-I—"
"Uhh, F-Feliks, I—"
"Gah! I'm sorry! I'm so so so sorry!"
Feliks ran down the corridor, turned, and went out of sight.
Toris slid down the wall and onto the floor, pulling his knees up to his chin and curling into a ball, wishing he could dissolve into the floor.
The game had been surprisingly easy for Matthew. No one had tried to shoot him, even if he was right in front of them.
He walked straight to the Blue Team base, the cries of his shot teammates sounding behind him. The base wasn't that heavily guarded, just Raivis and Katyusha. And Natalia. According to Feliciano, she had shot nearly everyone who tried to get near the base. The blue flag glowed in the center of a blue dais.
He shot at Natalia and hid behind a pillar. She screamed and pat her vest to try to stop the vibration. Raivis jumped.
"Ah! N-natalia, are you okay?" he demanded.
"S-someone shot me!" she yelled. When the vibrating stop, she raised her gun, eyes darting everywhere.
"Dammit! Who was that?" she hissed. "I will murder them!"
"Natasha, you won't be murdering anyone!" Katyusha said.
Matthew gulped. Natalia did like to carry that small knife with her...
He went on his belly and crawled, trying to make himself as low to the ground as possible. Natalia was still running around, Raivis was shivering uncontrollably, and Katyusha was being vigilant, on the look-out. He only had one shot at this.
One. Two. Three. Red lasers shot out of his gun as he fired at the three of them. Natalia starting cursing in Russian, Raivis yelped, and Katyusha screamed. Matthew launched himself (shoving Raivis slightly) and grabbed the flag.
"I WILL KILL YOU!"
Matthew's vest vibrated, but he couldn't stop now. He turned down a corridor, through a maze, and nearly crashed into a running Feliks.
"S-sorry, Maddox!" he yelled and ran off.
Matthew continued running. He felt like he was in school again and he was going to make that final goal so that his team won the championship. He felt alive, energetic, blood roaring through the veins.
He swerved again, and there was home base. Alfred was trying to deflect Ivan from stealing the flag, Elizabeta was tussling with Francis, and Yong Soo was stalking Yao (weren't those two on the same team though...?). The dais was there, the red flag still intact.
And Matthew ran. Ten feet, nine feet, eight feet, seven, six, five, four, three—
"FOUND YOU!"
"AHHHH!"
Natalia pounced on him from behind. Matthew fell face-first on the cold floor (a tooth didn't crack, did it?), flailing. The dais was only two feet away; if he stretched his arm long enough, he could make it! Natalia straddled his back, pulling his hair and getting a hold on the flag.
"GIVE ME THAT FLAG!"
"NO! NO!"
Natalia's grip was strong, and she didn't look like she was going to relent any time soon. Matthew used his free hand to inch himself ever so closer to the dais. Just—so—
"GET OFF MY BROTHER!"
The flag was yanked out of both of their hands and placed in the dais. Everyone on the Red Team cheered and the lights went on.
Matthew rolled onto his back, panting. Natalia glared at him from up above.
"Ahh, Natalia, can you please get off me?" he asked.
"No."
Eduard's eyes were glued to the screen. Everything in the zombie game was already falling into place once he had hacked into the game's system. No matter how many times the zombies attacked him, his health stayed up. He never lost any ammo, and he always gained double points. He had already broken the high score, and he was only on level four.
"H-hey, can I play?"
Eduard paused the game. "Raivis, hey." He handed the smaller man a blue gun. "Here you go. I'll reset this." He closed the current game.
"Wow! That's a really high score, Ed," Raivis said. "Of course, I don't expect much less from you."
Eduard blushed slightly. "Th-thanks, Raivis."
He saved his high score and started a new game. Their two characters were in an empty mall, searching for any zombies to kill.
"Basically, you just shoot zombies, right?" Raivis asked.
"Yep, that's it. Shit! There's one!" Eduard flawlessly shot down one of the slowly-moving undead.
"Ahh! Ed, this game's kinda freaky, like that movie Ivan made us watch! Ahh!" Raivis' character was attacked by one of the zombies; his health dropped drastically. Eduard shot it down.
"A-are there any health things nearby?"
"Uhh, I dunno. Maybe..."
Two zombies went towards them. Eduard shot one down. Raivis tried to shoot at one, but the gun must've been too heavy for him or something, because the zombie came over and killed him.
"Aw man! I died!" Raivis exclaimed.
"I didn't know you could die here!" Eduard gasped.
"Is this some kind of advanced level or something?"
"No. This is the training area!"
"So, I've, like, called this emergency meeting of the Gal Pals!" Feliks yelled.
"But I'm not a girl, Feliks," Feliciano said.
"Oh, come on! You know what I mean..."
Feliks held this meeting at a small table next to the restaurant. Feliciano chewed on his pizza. Food would be too distracting for Feliks at this urgent time.
"What's wrong, Feli?" Katyusha asked. "You almost never call an emergency meeting."
"I'm soooooo confused!" Feliks clutched his head. "So, like, you all know how I like Toris, right?"
Everyone nodded.
"And you all got that mass text yesterday about how he's been ignoring me, right?"
More nods.
"Okay, so anyway, today I met him in the maze, and I tried to get him to tell me what was wrong. I kinda pinned him to a wall." He blushed. "I guess, we must've gotten too close for comfort because he totally got a boner! From me! He totally got a boner from me!"
A few people at the restaurant turned their heads at them.
"Can you keep it down, Feliks?" Elizabeta asked. "Who knows who's hearing in on this."
"You're right." Feliks sighed and rested his hands on top of each other.
"The thing is, now I don't know if Liet has feelings for me or not. Is he even gay? Most straight guys don't have boners for their guy friends."
Elizabeta shrugged. "Maybe he has a thing for skirts."
"Ve! Ludwig has a thing for skirts. I remember one time—"
Katyusha blushed. "F-Feliciano, we really don't need to know that!"
"Enough about Feli's sex life!" Feliks said. "We need to focus on my problems! I, like, called this meeting, remember?"
"Yeah, yeah."
"We know."
"Ve. I'm sorry."
Feliks waved them off.
"Well, Toris might have some feelings for you," Katyusha said.
"Plus, since he's acting all weird around you, maybe it's a sign that he does like you, and he's having some trouble trying to sort out his feelings for you."
Feliks sat back, tapping his chin. "That actually does seem to make sense. Especially if he hasn't had these kinda feelings before!"
"See. It all works out for you, Feli," Feliciano said, smiling.
"Yeah, I really hope that it'll work out," Feliks replied. "This meeting is now adjourned."
"H-Hey, Ed, can I talk to you for a little bit?" Toris asked.
"Not now, Toris. I'm busy." Apparently, killing zombies with Raivis was very hard work.
"Err, it's kinda important."
Eduard paused the game. "Is this about those sex dreams you have about Feliks?"
"Whoa!" Raivis exclaimed, putting his gun down. "You have sex dreams about Feliks?"
"Eduard, you moron!"
"Raivis, shut up!"
"S-sorry," Raivis said. "But do you really have sex dreams about Feliks?"
"Something like that. Anyway, something weird happened when I was with him during the game." Something weird, freaky, and just plain disturbing.
"What happened?"
Toris looked over Eduard's shoulder and pointed. "Oh look! It's Ivan!"
"Ahh!"
"What, where?"
Raivis sped past him. Eduard tried to do the same, but Toris grabbed his arm.
"Wh-what are you doing? I-ivan's right over—"
"Ed, I just did that to get Raivis away."
"O-oh..."
Toris released his grip on Eduard.
"Anyway, what was it you were going to say?"
Toris took a deep breath and shifted his feet. "Err, it's kinda embarrassing."
Eduard sighed. "Toris, you've told me about your sex dreams. What's worse?"
Toris looked away. "Uhh, yeah it can be worse."
Eduard narrowed his eyes. "Ooookay. How?"
Toris blushed again and looked down. "He kinda got a little too close to me during the game...and...uhh..."
"What?..." Eduard's eyes widened in realization. "Oh...That...must've been really...hard."
"That wasn't funny, Ed."
"It sounded better in my head."
Toris rolled his eyes. "Oh God, Ed, what do I do? I'm not bi! I know I'm not! But I just keep having these dreams and now this!"
"Well, maybe you actually are bi, Toris," Eduard said. "You just haven't realized it yet. Or you don't want to."
"Aw man, I don't want to be bi."
"There's nothing wrong with being gay."
"It's not gay, it's bi. Interesting how you jumped to gay though..."
Eduard blushed. "Uhh, umm, yeah." He patted Toris' shoulder. "Good luck, Toris!" He ran away.
Toris sighed again and spotted Feliks playing DDR with Feliciano. He figured that he should go over and apologize.
He went over to him. Feliciano stumbled nearly over every step, but Feliks was perfect, barely missing a beat.
"H-Hey, Feliks, can I talk to you?" he asked.
"Yeahholdon." Feliks was way too distracted.
Katyusha and Elizabeta looked at Toris funny.
"Wh-what are you staring at me for?"
Elizabeta giggled. "N-nothing." She poked Feliks. "Feli, a certain someone wants to talk to you."
"Hmm?"
Feliciano paused the game.
"Hey!" Feliks yelled. "I was playing that."
"We'll leave you two alone," Katyusha said. She and Elizabeta each took one of Feliciano's arms and dragged him off the stage.
Feliks grew red and looked at his shoes. "S-so...um..."
"Yeah...Umm, Feliks?"
He looked up at him.
"Look," Toris said. "I'm really sorry about what happened. I-I don't know what came over me, and I guess I just got confused, and—"
"Can we just forget anything, like, ever happened?" Feliks cut in. "I still want to be your friend."
"Y-yeah! We can just do that! It'll be great! Umm..."
Toris fidgeted. Feliks started playing with the edge of his skirt.
"Soooo..."
"Hey, wanna, like, play some DDR?"
"Oh, sure thing!"
Toris got on the stage and took Feliciano's place.
"What level is this thing on?" Toris unpaused it and gasped.
"The highest one, like, to the max!"
Alfred smiled at everyone as they went back into their cars, all happy and content with the content's of the day. It really was a good idea, doing the whole laser tag thing. It brought up everyone's spirits. It was a good day—he beat the Blue Team's asses, he got back with Arthur, and he heard some juicy office gossip that Feliks blurted out.
He turned towards Arthur. "Hey."
"Hey." Arthur smiled.
"You're not going home with Antonio."
Arthur shook his head. "It's really annoying in that car. Lovino kept screaming at him and Francis started to hit on me."
Alfred chuckled. "That's sucks. Sooooo..." He wrapped his arms around his waist. "...I'm not going back to the office, unless you brought some things."
"I didn't bring anything."
"Want me to take you to my place?"
"Definitely."
Hope ya liked it! Reviews, favs, and alerts make me happy!