A/N: And here it is! The long awaited 5th chapter! I know it's not much, but I'm building it up. I also wanted to make this a lighter chapter after the little bit of drama. All things in moderation!
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"Iggy! Come on man, wake up!" A loud, obnoxious voice pierced through his sweet dreams.
Arthur Kirkland cracked open his eyes, only to immediately shut them at the blinding light. He groaned, rolling over. "L've m'lone." He muttered, only to find himself with a face full of pillow seconds later. Arthur quickly sat up and swung wildly at his attacker, swiping at air. At the edge of the bed, Alfred sat with a stupid grin, one day holding up a pillow.
"What the devil do you want?" England nearly growled, stifling a yawn.
"Dude, it's two in the afternoon. I was just making sure you were alive."
"Wha-" Arthur glanced at the clock on America's night table. "How did I sleep in so late?" He asked himself. Normally he was an early riser.
"Beats me." Al shrugged. "You must've been super tired from doing that spell thingy last night. Or maybe you just had too much to drink!"
Arthur rolled his eyes as he pushed himself out of bed. "I did not have too much to drink."
"Whatever you say, Iggy."
"Are the others still here?" England asked, ignoring the previous comment.
Alfred shook his head. "Nah, they all left about two hours ago. It's just you and me dude."
"Oh, just wonderful."
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After a rather uneventful lunch (breakfast for Iggy), Alfred offered to drive the Brit down to the airport. Of course, Arthur had argued that he was perfectly capable of getting himself there, he found himself an hour later standing in front of the terminal for flight with the damn American standing beside him.
"Flight A-19, non-stop to London, England is now boarding First Class passengers." A flight attendent's voice echoed over the P.A.
"That's me." Arthur sighed as he picked up his suit case.
"Right... hey, Arthur?" Alfred said, stopping him just as he was about to get into line.
Cocking an eyebrow, Arthur turned back to America. "Yes?"
"Um... nothing. Just keep in touch." Alfred smiled.
Arthur mirrored the grin softly. "Sure thing. Of course. Maybe next time you can visit me instead."
"That would be so awesome! We could hang out, and eat, and do whatever it is you do for fun in Britain!" Alfred went on excitedly.
"Calm down, git. I said maybe!" Arthur snapped back to his usual grumpy self as he stalked off toward the gate.
"See ya then, Artie!"
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It had been two months since the Independence Day fiasco. The nations who had stayed to help clean up and make sure Feli was okay had left the day after, leaving Alfred to go back to his "Adviser" position in the White House (which of course really meant working with his boss). The dust had settled, everything was back to normal.
But there was a constant nagging in the back of Alfred's head that told him he couldn't quite get over it. In his two hundred years as a country, and hundreds longer before that, he had never been attacked by his own people with such animosity. He had been mugged, beaten and insulted, but never had it happened because of such a personal grudge. He shouldn't have let something like that happen, there must have been something he could have done...
Shaking his head, Alfred forced himself out of the staff kitchen and out into the halls of the White House. This place meant more to him than anything. It was one of those few places that evolved with time but truly never changed. He quite literally knew it inside and out, having wandered off and explored it too many times to count.
His cerulean eyes travelled over the paintings and decorative vases that lined the hallway, not paying any attention to the hallway ahead of him. His feet knew where to take him as if automatically, and there was usually no one out at this hour of the afternoon. Everyone else was on lunch break, but he had finished early and got bored.
Perhaps though, he should have paid more attention to where he was going, if only to avoid colliding with another person. Stumbling back, he was met with Bill Kingston's dull, fishy eyes, and he instantly gave a mental groan. Not this guy...
"Jones. Watch where you're going." The 46 year old hissed as he picked up the brief case he had dropped.
"Sorry, dude- I mean Mr. Kingston." Alfred quickly corrected himself. No matter how long he had worked in the White House, he always seemed to forget that calling people "Dude" was inappropriate. Some habits aren't meant to be broken.
Bill glared at him, before straightening his fine pressed suit. "You're lucky you are even here Mr. Jones. Not everyone is appointed Adviser fresh out of High School. I suggest you learn some respect."
Alfred's eyes narrowed. "It was an honest mistake, it could have happened to anyone."
"And yet, it always seems to happen to you." Kingston snapped. "Listen carefully, boy. Learn. Your. Place."
"I believe his place is higher on the chain of command than yours, Mr. Kingston." A woman's voice came from down the hall, her New York accent heavy. Bill's head whipped around to find a woman of about 40 standing just meters from them, arms crossed and hip cocked in her red blazer and grey pencil skirt. Her ruby red lips were set in a confident smirk, her dark brown eyes shinning. Rich brown hair fell in loose curls to her shoulder, tucked behind her ears. Her black heels clacked on the stone floor as she approached them.
Bill smiled, obviously forced. "Madam Vice President."
She nodded in return, not buying his mask. "Mr. Jones was chosen for his position on fair grounds, Mr. Kingston. He is a respectable, mature young man. Though I am quite sure you never doubted that." She clicked her tongue.
Kingston sneered. "Of course not. Have a nice day, Madam V.P. Mr. Jones." Sending one last glare Alfred's way, he continued on his way, disappearing around the corner.
As soon as he was out of sight, Alfred let the tension slip from his shoulders, slumping over with a sigh. "Thanks Maria. I don't know what I ever did to piss that guy off..."
Maria shook her head. "He's just a miserable man, Alfred. It's no secret he holds a grudge against you for taking 'his' position. Bill's been kissing as much ass as he can for years to get the Adviser position, and he's still not even close." She smiled up at him, holding out her elbow. "Now, walk me to the Oval Office, young man?"
Linking his arm through hers, he grinned. "Yes Mam."
Alfred loved Maria Stout- but not like that, ew. Even before she became Vice President, she had always been a sort of mother figure to him. She kind, but stern and knew what she believed in, and she was also one of the few humans who truly knew him; America. She kept him in line, and was always there to come to his rescue; which was a lot, considering his diaria of the mouth.
"Knock, knock!" Alfred shouted when they arrived at the Oval Office doors.
"Who's there?" A voice called from inside.
"Interrupting Cow!'
"Interrupting Co-?"
"Moooo!"
A burst of deep, rolling laughter was muffled by the door between them before a man called out, "Get in here, Jones!" As Alfred opened the oak doors and stepped into the infamous office, a grin was immediately plastered on his face. Sitting at his desk was Daniel Winston, current President of the United states. He was a fairly young man as far as presidents usually were, at 43. His dark hair was greying just the slightest at his temples, the laugh lines on his face showing that when he smiled, he smiled big, as he was at the moment. "That one was pathetic, Jones."
Alfred smirked as he shook the mans hand. "Then why'd you laugh?"
"I was amused by how terrible it was. I hope that doesn't affect the nation's humour, we'd have one sad country." Daniel patted America on the shoulder.
"No sir, my humour is 100% original."
The President's smile seemed to falter a moment. "Well, keep it up. Now, there is a reason I called you ."
Alfred frowned, as a heavier atmosphere leaked into the room. Maria unhooked her arm from America's and stepped back to better face him. "What is it?" He asked, almost certain now that Maria knew what was going on.
Turning toward the desk, the President turned a computer monitor toward the others. He pressed a button on the keyboard, the screen springing to life. A map of the Earth scrolled onto the screen, certain areas already highlighted. "You are familiar with that "2012 End-Of-The-World" nonsense, right?"
Alfred nodded, pursing his lips as he tried to figure out where this was going. "Well," The President continued, "I can assure you that the world is fine. However, there is some truth hidden in his urban legend. You see, on December 21, 2012- this year- all of the planets in our solar system will align. NASA has predicted a conflicted gravitational pull will occur, causing the Earth's plates to shift. We don't know what will happen exactly, but we have been assured that it won't be extreme. However, for extra care, we are issuing a nation wide plan to secure buildings and anything that could be affected. It's nothing to worry about, but I thought you should know."
Taking it in slowly, America nodded. "And what about the other nations? Have we warned them?" He asked.
Maria stepped up. "We sent them notification this morning."
"Okay then, no sweat!" Alfred proclaimed. Really it wasn't that big a deal in his eyes. His country was taking care of it, and his friends and fellow nations would too. So there really was nothing to worry about.
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Regarding the whole "2012" thing, yes, I know it's all bullshit. I don't even know 100% sure if the planets are even going to align. I just figured it would be a good point to work from. So I don't want to hear any bitching about it.