~17~
The sound of knuckles rapping against the door sent Natalya sitting up in a confused mumble, rubbing her eyes and yawning quietly.
The room was a tad cold, the ac still whirring in the background, blowing the drawn curtains about. Throwing rose sheets from her legs, she groggily got up, groaning at the frigid touch of her foot against the floor. The knocking continued, as she slowly approached the door, reluctantly reaching for the doorknob.
As was the room, the doorknob was cold to the touch, as she threw open the door, the dim hall lights stinging her eyes alongside the morning sunlight.
Her eyes met trembling lavender orbs, as a curl anxiously bounced from a head of messy wheat blonde hair.
"B-B-Belarus..." Canada quietly stuttered. Frightened eyes suddenly landed on her body. She backed away in complete disgust at his stare, as Matthew began to panic. As the Canadian was hyperventilating, she noticed she still wore Alfred's shirt he made her cover up in last night. Her cheeks glowed a vibrant red, reasoning the lack of context in this situation.
"Did you!-"
Natalya slammed the door shut with trembling hands, panting and shaking.
As much as she would have liked this assumption to be true, it was nonetheless humiliating.
Her eyes darted back to the bed, hoping Alfred was there. To her disappointment, he wasn't. Last night had gotten awkward enough that Alfred shut himself in the bathroom for an hour. Belarus couldn't bring herself to talk to him, so she simply fell asleep under a weight of utter embarrassment.
The bathroom...
Natalya tore across the floor and to the bathroom, yanking the door open in a flash.
The bathroom light dimly flickered over the slumped figure of America. His legs hanging motionlessly over the bathtub, he sat slumped over, his hair hanging in a tangled mess, shirtless and in the same boxers from, the night before.
She began to panic, searching his neck for a pulse. To her relief, a steady sleepy pulse beat against her fingers. She heard long breaths escape his mouth, indicating he was simply asleep.
He looked in serene peace as he rested, his chest rising and falling in patterns. She drew a hand to his chest, debating if she should wake him from such a peaceful space. Then she thought of the unexpected guest at the door...
"Alfred, Alfred please wake up," she hissed, shaking his shoulders. He stirred in his sleep, and brilliant blue eyes came to life as he slowly began to wake up.
"H-huh?" He mumbled, reaching up to rub his eye, and slowly sitting up.
He looked up to meet Natalya, and he quickly sat up straight, biting his lip. "Erm...is there something wrong?..."
Natalya nervously gripped his shoulders, staring down at him. "Your brother is here," she whispered, looking back at the bathroom door and out into the motel room.
America shifted his legs back into the bathtub, and fumbled for a second, trying to crawl out in his sleepy state. "Did you call him here or something?" He sighed angrily, steadying himself and stepping out of the bathtub.
"No, he just showed up!" Natalya groaned, sheepishly watching as America stretched his back, and pulled his bunched up boxers down to cover his exposed butt.
America slid past her and bounded out into the motel room, yawning and rubbing the back of his neck. With a jittery pace she followed close behind, as Alfred opened the door. To her surprise, the Canadian was still there, nervously staring down at his boots. He glanced up at Alfred, and squeaked. Eyeing him head to toe, he threw a shaky finger in Alfred's face.
"Alfred why are you naked-."
America caught onto his brother's shock, and almost doubled over, crossing his arms to cover his nipples and chest. "Shit Matthew, it's not what it looks like!"
Canada stormed in, still pointing a finger at him. "You're in your underwear. She's wearing a shirt your size! Did you two-."
Canada pondered on his thought and turned a pale white, his knees shaking.
"Sex-?" the Canadian squeaked, before swerving around, and fainting beneath the door frame.
Alfred let out a horrified yelp, and crouched down, seizing his brother by the shoulders. "Matt, hey Matt!" He screamed, shaking him about. "Don't conk out on me! You've got the wrong idea, we didn't sleep together!"
"We got kinda close to," Belarus sighed under her breath as she watched America continue to shake Canada frantically.
He eventually turned to Natalya. "Get some cold water!" America snapped, pointing to a complimentary stack of paper cups atop a coffee maker on the desk in the corner of the motel, then pointed to the bathroom sink. Natalya scampered onto her feet and snagged a paper cup and darted into the restroom. Fumbling nervously, she turned on the faucet and watched the water reach the top of the cup. She sprinted into the bedroom, water droplets dribbling down the lip of the cup. She got onto her knees and handed the cup to America.
He snatched it from her, and dumped its contents onto Matthew's face. Canada sputtered and sat up, wide eyed and soaking wet. "America?" he wheezed, taking off his glasses, hyperventilating. "What is the meaning of all of this? You're in a fucking sex motel!" Canada exclaimed, shoving Alfred back, so he could attempt to get onto his feet. He teetered back for a moment, but pulled himself up onto his feet.
"France rented the room for us, jeez we weren't gonna fuck, okay Canada?" Alfred groaned, rubbing the back of his neck. "You've got some explaining to do then," his brother growled, gesturing him to step outside. Before he could, Natalya grabbed onto his arm, and gazed into his eyes with her own puppy dog stare. "I'll be back," Alfred assured, shrugging her off, and following Canada through the door. As it slowly shut, Natalya sighed and fell back onto the bed, nuzzling herself into Alfred's shirt. It still held remnants of his scent, strong in pine and sweat.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Are you gonna explain what the fuck is going on?" Canada groaned, dipping a spoonful of cream into his coffee, angrily stirring it around.
"It's a long story," America sighed, adjusting the hoodie Matthew gave him. He felt himself turning a hot red, feeling overly embarrassed.
"Okay so me and Natalya are only friends," he assured, leaning forward to take a sip from his own coffee cup. Matthew raises and eyebrow and takes an obnoxious sip of his coffee.
"Okay and we went on like one date, okay and that's it," Alfred mentioned, feeling himself sink into his chair. Canada starred at him with shocked lavender eyes. "Are you fucking serious," he whispered, trembling profersly. "I promised her one, but we didn't have anything, okay?"
"I want to know how you ended up in this motel, Canada sighed, looking around in silent disgust. "I kinda got into a fight with Russia...that ended in a river..."
Canada raised an eyebrow and put his cup down with a clink. "And then France rented this out for us..."
"Did you and Belarus do...do anything?" Canada stuttered, turning a ghostly pale. Alfred turned a hot red, the memory of her almost naked body burning into his retinas. "N-no.." Alfred lied. Canada frowned at him, and gave him "seriously?" look. Alfred sighed and shamefully twiddled his thumbs. "Okay but...she got kinda naked...and I touched her boobs."
Throwing a palm to his face, Canada slapped America with a huff. "I thought Iggy raised you better than that!" Canada exclaimed. "Hey now, she wanted me to, I got kinda horny, but that's it! I stopped immediately and told her it was way too inappropriate!" Alfred defended, crossing his arms and muttering to himself. Canada rubbed the back of his neck and sighed loudly. "I'm guessing that this is all one sided?"
Guilt hit Alfred like a freight train. Despite everything, it really was one sided. Or so he thought...
He recently had felt a confusing amount of strange new emotions. Oh that hair and that poisonous yet smooth velvety voice. He felt he was bringing driven wild by her, and for what? love? Impossible, he had sworn off his feelings for her, in order to win his side of the bet. Yet, her all to himself, felt slightly...appealing. He couldn't handle the crushing awkwardness between him and Canada. As he took a sip of his bitter coffee, America scanned the tiny diner, that sat attached to the motel. In the corner, he found his outing, in a glimmer of white and black keys. Alfred scooted out his seat and forced himself up, causing Canada to do the same. "We're not finished here," he said in a shaky voice, clearly too shy to tell him off anymore. Alfred suddenly found himself pulling Matthew along beside him, to the sick backed piano by the large window, the mountains in the distance giving off a dreamy cafe vibe. Alfred sat down at the piano, and dragged Matthew down as well.
"Alfred what are you-."
"I think we've done enough talking...remember our summer days at the old man's house?"
Canada suddenly looked as if he were looking off into a far distant memory. His lavender eyes flickered with light, as they would watch the sunset with Arthur every evening, with tea and warm slices of bread in hand. He could almost smile. but shook his head. "Yeah I remember," he simply said.
Alfred couldn't forget those days when they were little. Arthur was always so bossy, demanding rules and regulations. In the end, it had no effect on his free spirit. But Iggy could get the two brothers to behave to the sound of a dusty old piano in the study of his stuffy little home. And how they'd dance and laugh to his music, until they would fall asleep on one another. Alfred raised his hands, and touched the keys, playing a chord all too familiar to him. He'd remember those grueling lessons in which he was forced to endure, but in the end, he would play the most beautiful of duets with Matthew. Matthew recognized the chord, and he smiled, taking his turn to play his own chord on the piano.
Been a while hasn't it?" Canada sighed, starting to play his part of the memorized duet. Alfred joined in, and soon the cafe was alive with the sound of nostalgia's melancholy music. It was rich and it was full, as the two brothers moved their hands across every key, people turning heads and whispering ever so slightly. Alfred liked the attention, as it reminded him of his roaring twenties, the days where the stage was alive with his music and other jazz musicians. How he missed those carefree days.
As the music got faster, he felt as if he could leap from his seat and fly up into the stars and dance. And soon, in his dreamy little vision, he could see himself dancing with Natalya amongst the stars, the light of the moon setting their stage. He fell for those eyes and that gentle whisper. They danced faster as the duet proceeded, and Alfred dipped her, falling into a passionate kiss. Alfred's heart dropped, as the duet came to a close, the last notes echoing like a haunted reminder of what he had just felt. His hands drooped from the keys, and he looked down in utter confusion. Canada tapped him on the shoulder. "Are you alright, brother?"
Alfred shot up and swiveled around, to look at the cafe entrance. In a way, he sensed she'd be there. At the entrance, was Belarus, peeking out from the doorframe, still wearing his shirt, her hair still messy and undone. Alfred turned a gentle pink and smiled goofily at her. "D-did you hear all that?" he whispered. Natalya slowly entered the cafe and slowly nodded. Alfred clutched his head in embarrassment, as Canada suddenly smiled up at him. "You've got that look, America," he laughed. America swiveled around and gawked at him. "What look?" he gawked. Canada shook his head and chuckled. "Never mind...I think you should go talk to her."
He suddenly turned pale. "I'm not...not really comfortable with her presence...you should talk outside. Alfred rolled his eyes and patted Canada on the shoulder, leaving for the entrance. Belarus waited outside as he opened the door, and stood in front of her. They remained in awkward silence.
There was the occasional passerby or car, as the two shared a dismal quietude. America cleared his throat, rubbing the back of his neck. "Sorry if I erm...shared our erm...personal moment with Matty...he really wanted to know what was going on."
Natalya sighed and shook her head. "It's fine...just don't go around telling anyone else. That was our private intimate moment, Alfie."
Alfred gulped and felt heat rising into his face. Yes, he supposed it was intimate, but he was nothing but puzzled at the rush of all of these new emotions. "Can we just forget about what happened last night?".
Natalya's face contorted into a sad glance. "But we were close to being one? I-". "I mean the awkward parts.."
Belarus pulled him into a gentle yet excitable hug. "Of course majo kachannie!" Belarus whispered. He knew he wanted to forget the entire ordeal, yet a small part of him could still feel her warm skin and soft breasts, yearning for a moment like that again. He shook his head to himself as they parted from the hug. He knew he had to let her have the last word, or else their private little conversation would become rather public. He just had to get past the awkwardness, and things could go back to normal, right? But could it really? These new feelings, that intimate moment, it spun like a tornado in his head.
Alfred still was a gentle red, watching her eyes move around, taking in her surroundings. Her eyes slowly landed on a poster taped to the cafe window, and she gently teared it off, handing it to America. "What is this?" she asked, pointing at the contents of the flyer. Alfred squinted with the lack of his glasses, and held the paper out to the light. It read, come to the 62nd annual MoonWood festival!
He turned his attention back to Natalya. "Some kinda festival..." Alfred began. Her eyes glittered, and he couldn't help but crack a tiny smile. "Can we go, Alfie?" she pleaded, snatching the flyer from his hands, and scanning the details. "There's dancing and colorful lights, and a barbecue."
His stomach growled for a brief moment at the mention of a barbecue. Oh what he'd do for some ribs or a nice hamburger. But still, he was hesitant. What if they got much too intimate again? What if he ended up falling for her? He stopped himself. He knew he didn't have feelings, so why would he come up with such a notion. Yet, he wondered if these strange new feelings were actually...love.
"Uhm...I don't know...people might get the wrong idea," Alfred mentioned, sighing and slipping his hands into his pockets. Natalya inched in closer and leaned forward, slipping her hands into his pockets to touch his hands. "But I wanna go with you," she scowled, frowning sadly.
Her eyes laced with poison seemed to now beg him with puppy dog eyes. His heart pounded and he felt sickeningly dizzy looking at her. He tugged on his sweater collar and gulped. "I just...I guess that our affair last night has made things..."
he trailed off and gently sighed. "Yeah...let's go...it'd be best if we try to get things back to normal."
Natalya's face lit up, and she took her hands out of his pockets, rocking on her heels and grinning. "Thank you Alfie, you won't regret it!". She stood on her tippy toes and pecked him on the cheek. His face turned a bright red, as he forced down a goofy grin. He felt warm and giggly, her lips soft and elegant. He snapped out of it and slapped his face, scolding himself for letting his feelings show. As Natalya rushed into the cafe to break the news to Canada, he felt shaky and lightheaded.
"Excuse me sir," he heard a frail voice say from behind him. He turned around to see an old woman, wobbling gently on a walker, staring at him with foggy blue eyes. "You are blocking the door, I need to get in please."
Alfred vigorously nodded and stepped aside, mumbling a genuine, "sorry ma'am."
As she reached for the door, she turned to him. "You should go to the festival dearie. Seems your girlfriend is very thrilled with the idea."
Alfred turned pink and before he could correct her and say they weren't dating, she was already through the door. He sighedt and leaned against the window, flyer still in his shaky hand. He glanced down at it, the colorful words Moonwood Festival stared back at him. Crumpling the paper in ibis hand and shoved it into his sweater pocket, he opens the door and walked into the cafe with a defeated slump.
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Hey germs, here's another long awaited chapter! So ye, this one was kinda rushed, but I promise the next chapter is gonna BE VERY interesting. So ye just hang in there, I have school work and I have all state orchestra auditions coming up in mid December so I'll be a bit inactive until after that, and be back by Christmas.
Enjoy this, and take some Amebel shit I did on my tablet
-Jameson (if you steal my art, or use it without crediting me, I will bite you)
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