Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia: Axis Powers or Black Mirror. All rights go to their creators.

Chapter 11: File Folder

Lovino and Feliciano scrambled to get everything ready for the meeting. The android's were charged, and packed. They were both wearing tan suits with yellow ties. Lovino didn't understand why Feliciano insisted he wear one too when he wasn't even going to be talking at all. He wasn't even going to stand up there. Feli was going to explain his fashion design choices and that was all.

Lovino felt his palms sweating as they were riding in a taxi on their way to the Lionessolutions London Branch Headquarters. The plan was for him to ditch Feli and the bins on the elevator and send Feli back down. Feli would probably be confused, but he'd lie and say he had to go to the bathroom.

He'd sent Arthur the floor maps and texted him Liên's descriptions of the testing lab layout. He had earbuds so Arthur could guide him through just by talking. Lovino also had a flash drive to download some files if he needed to.

Lovino had asked Ludwig on the car ride yesterday about how old this branch was. Ludwig said the branch was 6 years old and that old technology from the New York Branch was sent here to either be used or put in storage. Old files were stored here as a backup to digital files from the 90's. They also shared a database between them.

Ludwig seemed impressed that Lovino seemed to care about the company's inner workings. Something about 'showing initiative' or whatever. But honestly he could care less.

"Oh I'm so nervous!" Feliciano said, rubbing his hands together. "All those scary businessmen and Kiku! I really don't want to mess this up for him."

Lovino furrowed his eyebrows, "You're fucking perfect, everyone loves talking to you so what are you so worried about?"

Feli frowned, "But Kiku's counting on me, and I don't do well under pressure. I-I could mess it up and then the company would go bankrupt!" Feli was taking in a few rapid breaths, gripping the door handle.

Lovino had never seen Feliciano like this, worried about anything, he's always just done things. Granted he's never had to help save someone else's career.

"Just do what you usually do. Don't worry about the damn company, or those fucking suits, just focus on me. I'll be there and your damn boyfriend, look at his ugly face. I know that cheers you up."

To which unexpectedly Feli grabbed Lovino's hand for stability, as he calmed himself down. Once his breathing was back to normal Lovino snatched his hand back.

"Thanks Lovi." Feli turned to him and gave him a grin.

"As much as I'd love to see you freaking out, there's too much riding on this presentation."

It has got to go on long enough for me to look around.

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Feli trotted up to the front desk where a young Indian woman with her hair in a braid was typing on a computer. There was the low murmur of phone ringing, chatter, and fax machines going.

Lovino was pushing the two bins with the androids on a dolly.

Feli asked her where the conference was. There was a bit of back and forth because she didn't know who they were. Feli mentioned Kiku and said something about how it was a secret. She was not budging, and still wouldn't tell them the directions.

"Just text him!" Lovino yelled through their talking "Or, or here! Fuck." Lovino fished out his phone and searched for Kiku's email to him about the floor plans. He walked over and showed the woman his phone. "It's got his little signature and heading on the bottom and shit." Lovino continued.

The woman squinted her eyes before telling them the conference was in room 2B. She directed them to the elevator and let them through the turnstiles with her ID.

Feli was bouncing on his toes and humming as they rode in the elevator to the second floor.

Lovino bit his lip, he'd have to hurry if he wanted to get this done.

"You go on to that conference without me ok. I'm gonna go to the bathroom first."

"Why didn't you ask the lady where it was?" Feli raised an eyebrow and cocked his head to the side.

"Cause I don't need her to find it for me. Just take the androids and go. I won't be long."

"Ok, but if you get lost ask the front desk ok? Don't take too long."

"I won't, I just said I won't, don't you listen?"

"I just don't want you to miss it. I'm gonna be looking for you to calm me down if I get nervous." Feli made brief eye contact with him.

The elevator dinged and the doors opened. As soon as Feli stepped out, he gave the dolly a hard push out the door. It hit Feli square in his back just as he pushed the elevator doors closed.

"Whaa!?" Was all he heard before he pushed "3" to go to the third floor. Feli lost his balance and fell to the ground right as the elevator doors closed.

Lovino put in his earbuds and pushed the call function on the Iggy Two app. He checked the time, 8:47am. He had a good 15-20 minutes before they came looking for him

"I looked over the floor plans while you were sleeping and there are 5 suspiciously large rooms you could check." Arthur said.

"Five? I don't think I have time for that many."

"Well you'll just have to be quick."

"I'm checking 3, take it or leave it."

Lovino could hear him groan. "Alright but I'm telling you which three."

The elevator dinged and the doors opened to a barren space that looked to be in the process of renovation. Lovino moved a piece of wood with his foot.

"First door on the right." He heard Arthur say. The lights were on at least, but the first one off the elevator was flickering,

"Right or left side?"

"Right."

The only sounds were of his loafers across the tan linoleum floor. He was in front of a wooden door with a screen and the numbers 301 on them. Lovino twisted the handle before giving it a few hard pushes with his shoulder. It was stuck but upon hearing a loud snap, he was able to open the door.

He was faced with 5 metal file cabinets, pushed along the walls. Going around and tugging he found that they were locked with a key.

"Fuck."

"What?"

"I don't have a damn lockpick."

"You see a screwdriver around?"

"I thought I'd need a bobby pin."

"That's only on television."

Lovino looked around but saw nothing in the room he was in, so he stepped back out into the hallway. He walked over to the open area with the collapsed drywall, moved some pieces of wood around and by some stroke of luck, a flathead screwdriver, along with a few random screws, and a saw had been left by whatever maintenance man or construction crew was there.

Lovino trotted back into the room and was happy to see that the cabinets were alphabetized. He jammed the screwdriver into the cabinet labeled G-K, wiggled it around, and was satisfied when it clicked and he could open it.

"How do you know about picking locks?" He asked as he thumbed through to find a folder labeled 'Kirkland, A.'

"I'll tell you later, any clues?"

"Nope, just some waivers the other you signed." Lovino skimmed through the papers in the folder. There was a summary of some test results that Lovino pocketed.

"Check some other rooms. Three doors down on the left."

Lovino wished he'd brought a bag, but he put the folder back where it came from, closed that cabinet and stepped back into the hallway. He checked the time: 8:56 am. Fuck.

Lovino walked three doors down and opened the door to a room that was filled with old desktop computers. It was like a classroom, probably an old workspace. They looked to be collecting dust and he tried to turn three of them on before realizing they were unplugged. Plugging one up he was pleased to see it was booting up, computer number 13 from its sticker.

It was 9:02am when it finally prompted Lovino to enter a password. Fuck. Lovino turned on his phone flashlight and looked around for a sticker, or note or something.

He found an ID and password. The computer couldn't connect to the internet, but could connect to a shared file network through a password. Lovino typed in a few random numbers and letters but of course none of them worked.

But he remembered that weird string of words and typed that in, "Lions Ate Rat, that's so weird."

"Don't spend too long in here."

"I won't, I'll just get a few files."

He saw files with names he didn't recognize, he looked for Arthur but didn't see anything, and lastly tried Iggy Two, which came up with a few folders within it. But it was like coding files, something named "Base." Lovino copied that folder to his flash drive.

Another folder called Legal Stipulations, had "Naming/Copyright", "Ethics regulation", and "News clippings" as subfolders. Lovino saved the main folder and took his flash drive out of the computer.

He scrolled through the news clippings, and the headlines:

Lionessolutions Wins Controversial Lawsuit

Lionessolutions Accused of Malpractice

Stuck out to him and he was going to read them when he heard the elevator doors moving. Lovino pushed the buttons to turn off the computer monitor and screen before scrambling to get up just as the elevator dinged.

He'd closed the door to that room and stepped a considerable distance from it when Ludwig spotted him. He had debated on hiding, but decided to just keep with his lie instead.

"What are you doing up here?"

"Trying to find the bathroom."

"There's no bathroom up here, not one that would have a working toilet." Ludwig stared at him before his eyes widened and he walked past him, down the hall. Lovino felt his heart rate spike until he saw him go into a room he hadn't been in. It was on the far end of the hall, what looked to be an old bathroom.

"You didn't use it?" Ludwig looked around, before talking to him.

"I just got up here a few minutes ago."

"You've been up here for a long time."

"No, I actually went down to talk to the receptionist first, you know, chat her up." Lovino wiggled his eyebrows.

"And you didn't ask about the bathroom then."

"I forgot."

Ludwig gave him a hard stare, those same cold icy blue eyes he'd seen for over a decade. Lovino tried to hold firm, but fuck was his heart going to leap out of his chest.

"I have to get back to the meeting, I was sent to fetch you so you wouldn't hurt yourself. I'll question you further later."

Ludwig led the way to the elevator and Lovino's heart was still beating pretty rapidly.

"Nice going idiot, I told you not to stay in there too long." Arthur grumbled, he still had in an earbud.

It was pounding in his ears, his heart, it was so fucking loud, fuck, fuck, fuck.

Lovino let out a shaky breath and tried to calm down, and appear normal.

"You might want to take those out. It will appear rude if you're listening to music while the meeting is taking place." Ludwig said as the elevator dinged.

Ludwig stepped out, and Lovino audibly swallowed as he followed him out.

"Also the bathroom is the second door on the left. Don't be too long, I don't want to have to get you again." Ludwig said before walking into the conference room. His eyes held a more dangerous edge to them. Lovino nodded, message clear.

Lovino made a beeline for the bathroom. He didn't have to go to the bathroom before, but Ludwig literally scared the piss out of him just now.

"Fuck, Arthur."

"You're a terrible liar." The little bot had the nerve to laugh at him, "But at least he's off your arse until the meeting is over."

"God fucking damnit!" He flushed the urinal, "You're a right bastard, if I get fucking arrested or sued or jumped in an alley way–"

"Calm down love. You say he's a hard arse but your brother is his boyfriend. I doubt he'd let something bad happen to you. I'll think of a good lie you can tell him, alright?"

Lovino turned on the faucet and pumped some soap into his hand.

"Fine." He said through grit teeth while he was washing his hands.

Lovino calmed down and ended the call. He took out the earbuds and put them in his pocket.

When Lovino walked into the conference room, Kiku and Feli's gazes flickered to him as he looked around for a seat. They were standing at a podium with the androids on display. Feli gave him a grin. Hedervary surprisingly patted the seat next to her.

Kiku continued with his presentation.

"Mister Vargas, it's a pleasure to meet you." She whispered. And then she leaned in close, her lips almost brushing against the shell of his ear, "I hope you aren't planning to cause me any trouble."

Lovino met her gaze, piercing in a way that made his skin crawl.

"I would hate to see something bad happen to you while you're here in such an unfamiliar place." She placed a hand on his shoulder, and squeezed it briefly, enough to be painful.

And then she turned back to the presentation. Kiku was explaining how the androids could sync with the Iggy Two App by plugging your phone into it and asking by voice command.

Lovino's stomach was now doing flips. Ludwig was such a fucking narc he told his boss already.

There was no way he'd be able to get in the NYC headquarters to look around. If there was a sliver of a chance Arthur was being held in a freezer, Hedervary would be keeping an eye on him.

He knew they were up to something shady but wasn't sure exactly what it was…you know besides the possible incubator thing.

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Hedervary and her business advisor Janssens, who smoked cigars, closed the deal with the owner in London, some Swiss guy named Zwingli, to further develop Kiku's androids for the Iggy Two brand. They had hope they could pull in investors and that it would keep them afloat financially.

Hedervary seemed to have a few choice words with Kiku for doing this behind her back.

They'd gone out for drinks to celebrate at some pub in London: Lovino, Feli, Kiku and Ludwig. Apparently you could get flat on your ass drunk at 11am around here.

Lovino had one glass of scotch to give him the liquid courage to go to Arthur's parents' house.

Lovino lied and said he had to go to the bathroom, and slipped out the bathroom window. He hit the dirt, and dusted off his pants before making his trek toward the edge of the city.

He called a taxi to take him to a garden center near their address. Good on his word, Arthur gave Lovino his parents' address. He'd told him he was just going to get it over with today. Plus he was wearing a suit, the most impressive outfit he had packed.

The man at the garden center had a harsh British accent but was friendly. He told Lovino about the various handheld tools they had and suggested he also buy a rattan wicker basket to place the tools in.

Lovino ended up getting the three pack tool set: hand shovel, transplant shovel, hand rake, and some rose plant seeds.

Lovino texted Feli, who had left him a few messages because it had been an hour at this point, that he had gone back to the hotel. He told him to have fun or whatever.

Yeah, yeah he said he'd let Feli come with him to meet Arthur, but it wasn't that serious. Plus he didn't want to get Feli mixed up in this, Ludwig might start thinking he's a part of it or something. That and Feli can't keep his damn mouth shut.

As Lovino was coming upon Arthur's parents' home, he felt that jittery feeling again. It went through him like cold water in his veins, and he was shaking. Their home was on a hill with a lot of grassy areas around, not much sidewalks. The mailbox had "Kirkland" written on it, free standing in the front yard.

Lovino let out a breath as he walked up the walkway and onto the singular step of the two story home. He rang the doorbell and heard it echo throughout the house. His palms sweating as he gripped the basket, throat tightening up, and shaking made for one odd combination of nerves.

After waiting a bit and peaking through the blind covered windows, he could see it was dark in there. No one was home.

Lovino took out his phone, called Arthur and waited for him to pick up.

"Did they call the police already?"

"No one is home. So I'm just going to leave the basket."

"There's a spare key under the rock right at the doorstep."

"You want me to go inside? That's trespassing for real!"

"Only if you get caught. Just stop in a tick, please? I want to see what it looks like now."

Lovino looked around and saw the neighbors were quite far away, and no one seemed to be watching him at the moment.

Lovino groaned, "I just don't want anyone to take the basket, so I'll leave it inside." He squatted down and lifted up said rock to find a key.

Lovino unlocked the door, twisting the bronze doorknob and walking inside. It was dark, so he felt along the wall for a light switch. He found it and was greeted by boxes as he closed and locked the door behind himself.

They're moving?

On a wooden desk sat a landline phone with a blinking "1" for the answering machine. Lovino pressed the button to play the message, surprised to hear that it was his own that he'd left a few days ago.

So no one's been here for a few days?

Lovino set the basket on the desk, grabbing a sticky note and pen on the desk to write, "For Mrs. Kirkland," before sticking it on the basket. He placed the spare key on the desk as well.

Lovino took a photo of this living area, with its couches and television. It looked the same from Arthur's digital recreation of it, just less spacious because of the boxes.

"How much of the house do you want me to take pictures of?"

"You're not going to just stand in the living room like a scared little baby are you?"

"Fuck you." Lovino walked to the back of the house and was met with a bathroom and a small kitchen. It had the washer and dryer stacked on top of each other. They were pushed against the wall. Boxes labeled "silverware" and "appliances" were stacked on the dining table.

Lovino snapped pictures of the bathroom and kitchen before wandering back out into the living room. He wasn't going down into the basement, no fucking way.

He went up the stairs, a creak sounding with each step.

"I'm going upstairs now."

"I wonder if our stuff is still in our bedrooms or did they turn them into office space."

Right across from the stairs was a room that looked to be used for office space.

Lovino clicked his teeth, "You were right. Somebody's bedroom is office space now. Probably threw out the bed." Lovino snapped the picture.

More boxes labeled "Office supplies" and "Desktop" were pushed against a wall.

Lovino walked backwards and went into the room adjacent to the stairs on the left. On the right seemed to be the master bedroom and another bathroom. He'd go in there last.

This bedroom seemed to be untouched in terms of packing, the bunk beds were tucked in. "You slept in a bunk bed?"

"Yes, my brother Alistair moved out and I had to bunk with my brother Connor to make space for my other older brother Dylan."

Lovino walked over to the closet, just across the door, he thumbed through the clothing items that looked to be mostly graphic t-shirts for someone young, before stopping upon an outfit that he's seen before.

The leather jacket, union jack t-shirt, and black jeans he's seen Arthur wear.

Weird that he still has this outfit. I guess his style hasn't changed.

Lovino spun on his heel, looking up at the various posters of rock bands he's not familiar with, and one girl group he didn't recognize before he looked over at the chest of drawers.

He thought nothing of it at first, the urn sitting on top.

"I think one of your brothers died." Lovino found himself saying.

"You're fucking terrible with delivering bad news, holy shit, why'd you say it like that? Which one?"

"I don't know, let me see."

Lovino stepped closer, looking around, but he didn't see a picture or anything. That was until something knocked against his foot. On the floor, face down, was a picture frame.

Lovino bent down to pick it up and was met with a guitar leaning against the window sill.

You'd think he would have sold it, right? Or something, because of how spectacularly bad it went.

Lovino looked at the picture as he placed it next to the urn. His phone slipped out of his hands, his shaking hands, and fell with a loud thump onto the floor.

"Lovino? Which one was it?"

And then Lovino heard the clicking sound of someone unlocking the door downstairs. There was a cold rush of fear that went down his spine just then.

He scrambled to grab his phone just as the door opened.

A voice he'd never heard before said, "João I think you're being paranoid." It wasn't rough at all, a bit high pitched.

"No, the guy was serious. I think he's been talking to Peter online."

"Peter knows better than that!"

Maybe he's nice? Nurturing even?

"Why is the light on then, Dyl?"

Lovino ran into the closet and closed the doors, his head pressed against multiple pairs of pants. His heart was hammering in his chest, he couldn't get enough air, but he was trying to be quiet.

"Lovino, what's going on?"

Lovino managed to shush him, shush it, shush this thing. He couldn't even focus on trying to turn it off, maybe just to have a witness if these people killed him for trespassing.

"Ally? You in here? It's me and João, I know you don't get along with him, but he was worried about someone trying to break in." Lovino heard the stranger walk to the back of the house.

"This basket, it wasn't here before was it?" João asked.

They're going to think I'm a fucking serial killer.

He came back into the room, his steps sounding to be near the bottom of the stairs.

"You think the burglar could still be here?" The stranger asked.

"I don't know, you check upstairs. I'll check the basement." João said.

And then Lovino heard the fast and pounding steps of someone, some man who could be one of Arthur's brothers or his father. He was going in the direction of the furthest room before making a beeline straight for the room he was in. His steps were so loud and so close they almost matched the sound of his heart in his chest.

The man, of which he could only see through the slits of the closet door, seemed to be a bit on the heavy side, with blond hair. He seemed to sigh in relief upon noticing that Lovino didn't take Arthur's guitar. And then he turned to the closet.

Lovino froze.

And then he was staring face to face with a man who was undeniably Arthur's brother. And all Lovino could do was scream, scream his lungs out because he was so fucking scared.

He was hoisted up by the collar of his dress shirt, "Did you take anything?" His previously pleasant tone, now had a meaner edge.

"No! I didn't take anything! Please don't hurt me! I'm not a burglar! I can explain!"

"You come to rob houses in a suit? Who are you and what the fuck are you doing here?"

There were more thumps and then João appeared in the doorway.

"I told you he was stalking Peter!"

"Are you some kind of pervert?"

"No! No! I don't even know who that is!"

Lovino felt tears stinging in his eyes.

"He's a liar. He knew to come here, so he has to have been in contact with him." João said, and Lovino really wanted to kick his ass.

"I'll make you wish you were never born." Lovino did not like the look in his eyes, he'd rather have been arrested.

"Dylan? Is that you?" Lovino forgot he was still holding his phone, and he was thrown carelessly onto the ground. Lovino hit his head against the closet door with a loud smack.

"Where–where did–?"

"I can explain, please don't kill Lovino."

Lovino was looking into Dylan's eyes again.

He couldn't stop the tears from falling upon seeing the man's watery eyes.

"The app. I-I don't know why it sounds just like him. It told me…"

Lovino stood up, truly at a loss for words on how to respond to this fucked up situation.

"...I-Im sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't know! I wouldn't have come if I'd known." He tried again.

"Get out of this room right now you fucking parasite and get out of this fucking house!" Dylan yelled.

"You're going to just let him go?"

"Belt up João."

Lovino didn't hesitate to run out into the hallway, down the stairs, and right out the front door. He kept running until he was next to the garden center, now closed. He leaned against the window to catch his breath, still shaking, before he bent over and promptly threw up right in the grass.

"Lovino, are you alright? I didn't think my brother would react like that."

"A-arthur I was right about you." Lovino said after he wiped his mouth with his sleeve.

"What? That I'm an arsehole?" His tone sounded exasperated.

"T-that you're not a h-human. You were never in a freezer because… the real you is dead."

Lovino felt himself shaking again as fresh tears spilled down his cheeks.

There was a stretch of silence before he heard:

"Th-that can't be…that can't be true." His voice was so quiet Lovino just barely heard it.

"I-I have to call a taxi to pick me up. So I have to end the call."

"Lovino, there has to–" Lovino pushed the "end call" button and went on an app to have a taxi come pick him up.

He saw he had a few missed calls from Feli. He sent him a text saying he would be back to the hotel soon.

After the taxi picked him up, Lovino made himself look presentable during the ride for when he'd have to explain this entire situation to Feli.

Lovino gave the driver his money and went up to his and Feli's hotel room. When he opened the door, he met Feli's uncharacteristically angry expression as he seemed to be pacing around the room.

"Lovi, I thought you said–"

"It's a long story, so you better sit down." Lovino said as he closed the room door behind him.

A/N: This house scene is the one this entire story is based around, and been building towards, I've been thinking about it alot, it's changed in my head so many times.

Thank you for reading! Constructive criticism welcome.