Disclaimer: I don't own it, I just ship it
Warning: AU, strong language, boy x boy pairings, violence (more so bullying in the beginning), and because this was inspired by the manga Iris Zero, there may be some minor spoilers for it.
I know. I'm annoyed they aren't dating yet too. Right now, it's really coming down to Lovino being chained down by his insecurities that have been instilled in him since the moment he was deemed an Iris Zero. Lovino loves Alfred, that's not the problem. The problem is that Lovino doesn't love Lovino. We'll see how long those insecurities last with Alfred becoming all fired up to date him no matter what.
oOo
Alfred lived farther out in the country than most of the students he went to school with. After his parent's divorce, his father bought a new house and proceeded to turn it into the land of his dreams. Ethan Jones's dreams consisted of a 65 inch HD TV, a son to watch football with, and several horses. Unfortunately, to maintain that dream, he had to work a lot and spent more time away from his son than he would have liked. Business trips were almost becoming routine, but both had gotten used to it.
Currently, his dad was in New York for some kind of conference, leaving Alfred with the house to himself. The blonde made good use of his time alone and busted out his top-secret courtship notebook he had started the day after he kissed Lovino. He liked to call it his Tomato Note (because 'Love Diary' was too girly and 'Lovi Logbook' was too obvious). Jogging over to the stables, he retrieved it from its secret hiding place – a waterproof bag hidden under a loose floorboard in the far corner of the stable.
"Just where I left you…" he grinned.
It wasn't that he felt like he couldn't talk to anyone about his feelings for the tsundere who stole his heart…he just didn't know how to bring it up and with who. Lovino would have been his go-to person for talking about anything, but since this directly involved him…it was a little more complicated. Then there were his parents and twin brother, who supported him no matter what, but they were all busy with their own lives at the moment. After them, Arthur was probably his closest family member. The two of them were able to talk about a lot of things, but crushes weren't one of them. Ironically, neither trusted the other not to blab to the world the name of their secret crush before they got the chance to confess (not that it really applied to Arthur anymore). So, Artie was out. Alfred suspected Francis probably knew about his crush on Lovino, what with an Iris designed specifically for that reason, but Alfred wasn't 100% sure he could talk to the resident love expert. The Hero was confident and comfortable with his own feelings for Lovino, but talking to Francis might lead to the Frenchman telling him Lovino's affection arrow pointed to someone else. Alfred didn't know what he'd do if that was the case.
Since talking to someone was out, Alfred settled on scribbling ideas in his notebook. It was how he recorded funny ideas for wooing the Italian, places he'd like to visit with Lovino, food he wanted to cook together, and things he wanted to say to him one day. Whenever he hit a stumbling block, he would meet with the Council of Three – the only ones he trusted not to give away his secrets. Today was one of those days. Alfred opened up to a specific page and consulted with Eclipse, Rocket, and Blaze about potential strategies as he reviewed it.
"So I was thinking about writing a song," Alfred informed them. "I know Lovi likes music, so I figured it would be a good start. Maybe I'll even throw in a dance number too. What do you guys think?"
Eclipse gave him an annoyed, I-am-so-done-with-you snort that only a horse of such sass could muster, Rocket nuzzled his owner's arm while searching out treats, and Blaze was swishing his tail, distracted by the flies that kept bothering him all afternoon. Based on their invaluable advice, Alfred fed them, scribbled out the part about him busting a move, and cranked up some music to get his creativity flowing again. He continued working on his chores and plots simultaneously. Of course, now there were a few random dance moves thrown in for good measure. The blonde spun back over to his Tomato Note when another idea hit him – build the Batmobile and take Lovino out for a ride in it. Who wouldn't love that? The Council of Three watched their master with little concern. They had long since gotten used to his…unique problem-solving methods.
That's right. His master plan consisted of a notebook filled with doodles and blaring 'Eye of the Tiger' loud enough for the neighbors to question his sanity.
Isn't this how all great love stories started out?
oOo
The great World Academy Student Council met the following day to hash out the details of the Host Club. Roderich was initially horrified by the idea, but Kiku came prepared. Several business plans, customer population surveys, and some very professionally done graphs finally convinced the stingy Austrian. With his bitter consent, they were able to move on to deciding roles. Kiku directed their attention to the rough schedule shown on the interactive board with his laser pointer.
"Originally we had planned to limit the Host Club members to exclusively Student Council members," he stated. "But if this is any indicator, we would be working for an entire month, not a week."
"Good point," Alfred crossed his fingers on the table. "Any suggestions?"
"I would advise bringing in the Bad Touch Trio to participate and Roderich to help oversee things," Kiku replied. He glanced around the table, but no one opposed the idea besides Arthur, who kept his thoughts to himself. Kiku made a mental note of this. Mind-reading Irises came in handy from time to time.
"Think you can convince your minions to participate, Lovino?" the President asked.
"Let me see…convince them to show up, flirt with anything that moves, and charm their way into larger tips?" the brunette retorted sarcastically. "I don't think it will be a problem."
"They don't, er, I mean, we don't have to kiss customers, right?" the death-seeing Brit confirmed with Kiku.
"Not unless he wants to," Kiku smiled reassuringly. "Even then, it should only be on the hand or cheek."
Arthur was so relieved, he didn't even notice Kiku changed pronouns knowingly. He swore he'd kill Francis if he tried to cheat on him for the sake of the fundraiser.
Near the edge of the room, all three red panda babies scurried about, playing with the new toy Alfred had brought them. Roderich could feel his eyebrow twitch, but said nothing. He had learned long ago, it was a lost battle. Sure enough, both Lovino and Alfred had their eyes on him. Kiku watched the battle of the minds with a smirk he quickly tried to hide. Their thoughts were as clear as day to him.
'How dare they allow these little rodents to run around in here like a zoo…Such a disgrace…'
'Go on, bastard…Say something about them, I dare you…I fucking dare you…'
'Don't you dare say anything about the babies! I'm not going to save you from Lovino jumping the table and stabbing you in the throat with his pen…'
'…Why is the Iris Zero gripping his pen so tightly?'
Ludwig gazed around the table as he finished his report. Lovino was glaring at Roderich, which was normal, but for some reason Alfred was giving the Austrian a stern look too. Roderich himself was looking quite uncomfortable. Had the Advisor Assistant made some remark while he was preoccupied with his report? Then there was Kiku, who was…giggling? Odd. Across from him, the tsundere treasurer was frowning at his hands, deep in thought. (Arthur and Lovino's irritable mood was one of the few things Ludwig could count on for each meeting).
Was anybody even paying attention to the matter he was discussing?
"The next topic I would like to make you all aware of is tap-dancing bears in tutus left behind by a mad scientist in the library…"
If the group had heard him, they made no indication of it. Time for some trigger words.
"Moon Moon has declared all anime and manga to be grounds for expulsion. Tomatoes and tea are also prohibited and will be stored in the music room until they can be used as compost."
"WHAT?!" several voices shrieked at him.
Ludwig crossed his arms and the others realized they'd been busted.
"Sorry, dude…" Alfred scratched his head. "We'll get back to work…"
After the main details were sorted out, Kiku left to submit their business plan to the Headmaster. Alfred had adjourned the meeting and the others began leaving as well. He tried not to notice that Lovino was the only one left in the room as him, making himself look extremely busy straightening up his pile of paperwork. This was his chance to spend more time with Lovino! He just had to look busy until the Italian was ready to leave, so it would be a completely random happenstance that he was ready at the same time. Then they could walk home together, enjoy a candlelit dinner, and kiss again under the–
"H-Hey, Alfred?"
The blonde's daydreams came crashing down around him. Lovino looked troubled. Which meant the brunette had his full attention and whatever was bothering him would soon have his full Fist of Justice.
"What's up, Lovi?" he tried to sound casual. He was totally just sitting here stacking papers and not planning the rest of their lives out for them.
"I don't think I should do this whole Host Club thing with you guys…"
"Why not?" Alfred asked, fully aware of the fact that Lovino didn't yell at him for calling him 'Lovi.' This was more serious than he thought.
"Che…I'm just…I'm worried about ruining it," he admitted.
"Don't worry about it!" The Hero patted his shoulder reassuringly. "I'll make sure it all goes smoothly and nobody gives you a hard time!"
Lovino was still unsure.
"If our clients don't behave, I'll kick them out."
"That would defeat the purpose of raising money, bastard."
"Okay, I'll steal their wallets, then kick them out!" Alfred flashed his signature crooked grin. "You're way more important to me than some stuck-up loser with crappy acceptance policies."
Lovino managed a smile that made Alfred's entire week on the spot. Even if the Italian couldn't remember the ending of Homecoming, Alfred was confident he'd treasure the memory enough for the both of them. If anything, it only made him want to redouble his efforts on winning over Lovino. It took him this long to figure out how he really felt about the tsundere, he wasn't going to let it pass him by.
oOo
Arthur and Francis were walking towards their respective cars, chatting idly. Although Francis had a reputation for being snobbish and completely self-absorbed (which wasn't entirely unfounded, in Arthur's opinion), he truly was a good listener and giver of good advice (when his mind was out of the gutter). Francis was capable of listening to his blonde boyfriend talk for hours on end, if he thought it would help somehow. It was times like that, Arthur felt like he was the center of the world. It was also times like that, he wished he wasn't so blunt and prone to speaking his mind about things that were bothering him. Before he knew what he was doing, the Briton brought up the subject of the Host Club, intriguing Francis.
"Then I simply must reserve all of your time slots to protect your modesty!" he laughed.
"What do you mean 'my modesty,' you bloody frog?!"
"Ohonhonhon!" Francis squeezed his hand. "I can't let anyone else seduce you, you're my boyfriend!"
"No one's seducing anyone, wanker!"
Arthur attempted to explain the concept of a Host Club in clearer terms for the slightly taller blonde. He kicked himself for being so paranoid. Why'd he have to go and bring it up? It would have been a hell of a lot easier to let 'Commissioner Vargas' to brief the three stooges. That way he would be stuck answering all their inane questions, instead of Arthur.
"Do you get it now, git?"
"Bien sûr!" Francis chirped. "If you need any practice in the art of seduction, I'd be happy to offer my services to—"
"I just told you, it's flirting, not seducing!"
"I'd still be happy to show you a thing or two…" he wagged his eyebrows suggestively.
"If I kill you now, I'm sure Kiku would be able to replace you in time…"
"Replace moi?" Francis looked shocked. "Impossible! I am going to make millions in this Host Club event!"
"I'd say not to get a big head, but I fear it's already too late," Arthur rolled his eyes.
"I'm only aiming for such a high goal because that's how much in debt you put us!" the other blonde replied cheerfully.
Arthur turned to smack the cheeky bastard, but something out of the corner of his eye distracted him. Three black butterflies flitted towards the boys. The tsundere's eyes widened and he stood in front of Francis, knowing that he couldn't protect him, but still not willing to let the horrible creatures touch him either. He could feel his throat tighten. All of the butterflies floated past the boys and back through the school gate. Arthur panicked, trying to think of who was still back there.
Professors…sports teams…coaches…the pandas, and dammit, Alfred!
Arthur took off without another word, Francis close on his heels. He had been around the Briton long enough to know the only thing that could make him act like this – his Iris.
oOo
Halfway across town, Gilbert and Antonio were waiting for Francis at one of the dance studios the Carriedo family owned. They had been using the place once or twice a week to practice the most important aspect of their new World Academy Police Force roles – the cool poses!
The trio had come a long way since their first session, in which they spent two hours tripping over each other. Through hard work, dedication, and profanity, they had all steadily improved. Gilbert was in charge of coming up with the various poses, many of which were doodles on the side of his algebra notes. Using his damn-near mastery of anything involving dance, Antonio laid out the basic footwork necessary to bring Gilbert's designs to life. From that point, Francis had been in charge of making it look more visually appealing, adding his own brand of polish to every pose. Once the trio got the choreography down, they looked awesome.
…Okay, they always looked awesome. The poses they practiced made them look even more awesome.
Today, Francis was late. He'd been fashionably late before, but never by this much. The other two had been waiting for over 20 minutes now. Antonio passed the time by playing Tomato World on his phone. Gilbird was perched on his shoulder, resting comfortably. His antsy master was pacing around the room in annoyance.
"Where the hell is he?"
"Maybe he forgot?" Antonio offered, not looking up from his game.
"How could he forget?!" the albino threw his arms into the air. "This is practically routine by now!"
The Spaniard gave a noncommittal hum. He was so close to harvesting the first of many Super Toma-Tomatoes. Just a little bit more water and they would be perfectly ripe. If he got this right, his village would have a parade for him!
"I bet that skank is fooling around with Arthur again…" Gilbert grumbled. "Verdammt! I'm gonna call him!"
"Okay…"
The albino tapped his foot impatiently. As soon as Francis's familiar voicemail played, Gilbert left him a colorful message involving his boot and where he was going to shove it if Francis didn't show up in the next ten minutes. He angrily tossed his phone back into his pile of things and took a seat by his tan friend.
"Dammit, he'd better have a really good reason for blowing off practice!"
oOo
Arthur doubled back to the school grounds, following the black butterflies to their final destination. His heart was pounding and he desperately prayed it was someone he didn't know. Inside his head, all he could do was think of horrible situations – what if Alfred got distracted and fell down a flight of stairs? What if Matthew had returned to school to meet his chemistry group and they had an accident in the lab? Had someone dangerous entered the building? Was there a gas leak?
Arthur cut through the courtyard and found it – a stray dog attacking an injured rabbit.
The blonde went off his adrenaline and started shouting at the dog, succeeding in scaring it away. He still feared he wasn't in time. Arthur turned around to see more and more butterflies swarming around the fallen animal. It didn't look good for the rabbit…anyone could see that, even without Arthur's Iris. Slowly, he knelt beside the bleeding creature and picked it up, cradling it in his arms. It was like his childhood memory was replaying itself in his mind on an endless loop. No matter how hard he swung at the horde of black butterflies, they remained until whatever they were fixated on died. There was nothing he could do against so many... He couldn't save the rabbit back then and he couldn't now…
"Snap out of it, mon cher!" Francis shook his boyfriend's shoulder roughly.
Arthur broke out of his trance and thrust the injured rabbit towards Francis.
"W-We have to save it! There isn't much time!"
"Then we'd better hurry," Francis replied calmly, not in the least bit affected by the animal or the bloodstains that would never come out of his uniform. Arthur was far more important. "Let's get back to my car and get her to a veterinarian."
The two quickly made it back and got in. The Frenchman drove them while Arthur clung to the rabbit, trying to will away the butterflies that were beginning to swarm around the bundle in his arms. A few broken speed limits later and they arrived at the vet clinic. Both dashed in and Francis explained the situation to the receptionist. He could tell it was really bothering his boyfriend and wanted to spare him whatever pain he could.
The veterinarian came out in a hurry and retrieved the rabbit from Arthur. He took one look at the shorter blonde's face and asked the boys to stay behind. Without another word, he took the animal into the emergency room. Two nurses joined him, closing the door behind them. All Arthur could think of was the hospital doors he despised so much.
Arthur collapsed into one of the chairs in the waiting room, covering his eyes with the palms of his hands. Maybe if he rubbed his eyes hard enough, he'd stop seeing hordes of black butterflies consume his friends and family. Arthur tried to pull himself together. Why did he have to relive losing everyone whenever his Iris showed him a butterfly? Why couldn't he just move on and not feel anything? That's what his family expected out of the Kirkland heir. Wasn't this the whole reason he steeled himself for situations like this? Wasn't that the reason he avoided getting close to others or paying much attention to his surroundings? Arthur worked so hard to be so detached.
Stuff like this isn't supposed to bother me, dammit!
Francis offered him a hand a few moments later. He pulled the Brit to his feet and explained he left his name and contact info with the receptionist. The rabbit would be in surgery for awhile, but she promised to call him with results later.
"But what do we do until then?" Arthur still felt a little lost, as Francis led him back to the car.
"Until then, we should get home, change, and have a relaxing cup of tea."
oOo
In the furthest corners of the academy, a dark room emitted a faint, unearthly red glow from the crack under the door. This was the room left untouched by sunlight for over a decade. For many years, all those who passed it believed it was left abandoned. However, in recent years it had become something of a ghost story.
They say if you pass room 414 after the sun goes down, you can hear the giggling of a student who killed herself during finals week. Listen closer and you might hear the sound of machinery and humans screeching. Some students swore they could hear chanting, as if someone or something was summoning the devil inside. Others claim it was a torture room, if the sound of blood dripping and splattering all over the walls was anything to go by.
The last soul brave enough to enter the room uninvited encountered a demon with glowing red eyes and snakes for hair. He had done it to show off to his friends, but ended up needing therapy after the experience. To this day, he hasn't been able to even set foot on the same floor.
Today, like many days before it started off with ghostly giggles. These quickly doubled and tripled in volume, convincing any lingering students to bail while they could. Like clockwork, the crack under the door glowed an eerie crimson light, as if the doorway to hell was opening on the other side. None had the courage to stick around after that. World Academy's long, empty hallways carried the sound of machinery grinding and unidentifiable liquid dripping. What diabolical scheme was going on in there?
"Okay, Mei, the fixed prints are done! You can hit the lights!"
"Alright, Elizabeta," came a happy response before the room was flooded with light.
"Ow…I don't think I'll ever get used to this…" Kiku rubbed his eyes.
"That's because you're too used to watching anime on your computer in dim lighting," Mei chided him. "You're going to ruin your eyes that way."
"If the alternative is to stop watching anime, I think I will pass."
"The alternative is getting off your lazy butt and turning on more lights, silly."
"Elizabeta, what do you think?" Kiku asked the SHIP president.
"They're beautiful…!" was all she said, holding up their finished work.
The trio gazed upon the montage of shots they'd captured at the Homecoming dance. Dozens of happy couples looked back at them from the photographs Elizabeta and her trusted friends had spent countless hours enlarging, dodging, and burning various intensities, values, and colors. Digital photography and printmaking had its perks, but only from darkness could the light inside these photographs really shine…in the Hungarian's opinion.
"I can't wait to distribute these at the next meeting!" Elizabeta beamed, locking up the darkroom behind them. She proceeded to double-check it out of habit.
"Hee, hee…Do you remember the last guy who barged in here and almost ruined the Valentine's Day photos with the light exposure?" Mei giggled.
"I remember Elizabeta transforming into a powerful guardian spirit to fiercely defend all of our hard work and dreams."
"Hey, that guy had it coming!" the brunette defended herself. "If he didn't want to spend six months in therapy, he should have knocked first."
Their maniacal giggles carried down the hallway, sending shivers down the passing janitor's spine. Picking up his pace, he pushed his mop and bucket of cleaning supplies back into the elevator and forced the doors closed by rapidly pressing the emergency button. The Phantom of the Fourth Floor was back and he wasn't about to get cursed. He exhaled slowly as the doors shut completely. There weren't any more giggles or squeals that his ears could pick up. For now…he was safe.
He knew there was a reason he always cleaned this floor last.
oOo
It was late at night when Arthur's phone went off. Some obnoxious ringtone he didn't remember adding to any of his contacts…must be Francis.
"What is it, frog?"
"Hello to you too, mon cher," Francis was careful to avoid calling him mon lapin, like he normally did. "I just got a call from a late-night worker at the vet clinic…"
Arthur held his breath, waiting for the other to continue.
"It was a close call, but the rabbit is going to be fine. You saved her, Arthur…"
The tsundere felt himself flooded with too many emotions again. He tried to quell them because he sure as hell didn't know how to manage them all. Still, he managed to thank his frog.
"I promise we'll go visit her tomorrow," he added. "Maybe we can pick up some get-well carrots and bundle them up with a ribbon?"
The Briton managed to agree and said goodnight. The line disconnected and he sat down on his bed. His head was still a little dizzy from the barrage of feelings.
"I saved it…" he whispered. "This time things were different…This time I saved a life with my Iris…"
Arthur smiled.
oOo
A/N – About time Arthur's Iris does him some good. He's certainly suffered enough because of it.
At some point, I'll probably go more in-depth with how the World Academy Police Force was formed and the first disastrous dance studio meeting the BTT had.
Let me know if the Host Club thing is still confusing any of you. You could also look into Ouran High School Host Club. Either should be able to answer your questions XD
-Rajikka
Translations
Tsundere – A type of character seen in anime or manga known for appearing cold or hostile, but having a hidden sweet side. "Tsun Tsun" is the aloof or irritable side, while "Dere Dere" is the lovey dovey side. (Jp.)
Bastardo – Bastard (It.)
Bien sûr – Of course (Fr.)
Verdammt – Dammit (Ger.)
Mon cher – My dear (Fr.)
Mon lapin – My rabbit (Fr.)