The drive home is calming, at first.
“Hey… I’m sorry, about freaking out… You probably had a lot of work to do today…” I apologize to Arthur. He glances incredulously before returning his grassy eyes to the road ahead. Grassy? No… That’s not the real color that can describe his eyes… Chartreuse? No… They’re kind of the green of a ripe jalapeño, but they’re lighter than that… What is the same color as his eyes…?
“Sorry? Don’t be. Everyone has their moments, I knew you would need help calming down, especially after ripping out on my guitar. I think it might not be a virgin anymore.” He jokes lightly, before continuing. “And I didn’t miss much at work, my boss sent me any new projects via email.” I nod.
“Well… I still feel really bad…” I mumble.
“Don’t! It’s alright, you idiot! I’m planning on working at home from now on anyways!” He shouts. I tense, then realize what he just said.
“If you aren’t able to trust me enough to stay at your own damned home alone without freaking out, then it’s definitely not alright!” I rebuttal. He freezes as he realizes what he said, and gives a long sigh.
“…Tally, you know very well I didn’t mean it like that…” He mutters. I raise my eyebrows.
“Oh really, then what did you mean by it?” I whisper, hurt.
“I just meant… I’m worried about you.” He reddens slightly. “I don’t want to come home to see you hurting yourself, or… Dead. Although, when we die we come back about twenty-four hours later, it would just… Depress me, I suppose. Most of us have died from major war battles, or from simple things, like getting hit by a bus, or being at the wrong place at the wrong time. I just… Don’t want to deal with being alone myself, in a way.” He turns full on red, and I continue staring at him as he glares intensely at the road. I watch his jugular lower and rise with a swallow of nothing. “It seems I have grown used to you being around, even though it’s only been a couple of days…”
A small sigh escapes me, and I turn and look out the window. I’m being such a difficult housemate. I’m surprised he hasn’t kicked me out or anything yet. I’m such a waste of time and space, no wonder I represent a lonely little island out in the middle of nowhere… It’s the only place the world wanted to put me so I wouldn’t bother anyone else around me.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry…” I murmur desolately. “I’m such a confusing, idiotic waste of time… I’ve been a terrible housemate, please forgive me… I promise I won’t hurt myself or anything distasteful of that sort. I know very well that, although I know exactly how to hurt others in such a way that they could almost die, I would never use those abilities. I can’t hurt anything…”
“No, I’m sorry… I shouldn’t have suspected that you would do anything as drastic as hurt yourself or others. I should know that you have matured enough to understand that that would have consequences of its own, and that you would respect that… Although I won’t stay home every day, I know that I will on some occasions, just to make sure you’re okay. You’re living with me now; I want to make sure that nothing goes wrong while you’re under my care.” He reveals. I nod slowly.
“…Alright…” I reply. “Why did you say it was okay to come live with you? We barely know each other, and although my request was rather unexpected and random, you allowed it.” I question.
“Why did you sing a song for me? We barely know each other, and although it was unexpected and random, it was enjoyable.”
“…Good question. I just… I saw you and Francis fighting, and you looked like you needed something to make you feel better. Now you answer my question.”
“…Well, I want to get to know you better. You seem like someone I would want to know. Honestly, the song and the hair compliment were sort of win-over’s for me…” He answers, and I giggle lightly, reaching out to pet his hair.
“Well, I do like your hair, Arthur. It’s different, it’s unique.” I describe, tangling my hair into the locks. The car swerves lightly.
“Tally, will you stop that? It’s verydistracting…” He complains, although there’s not much venom in the words. I don’t move my hand, instead sliding a finger down to slightly feel his eyebrows.
“I like your eyebrows too, they’re wicked! Although not many can pull off brows like these, you seem to adorn them rather nicely. I honestly think you’d look weird without them. If you had everyday eyebrows, like America’s or France’s or someone’s, I would think you’d stick out more. These make you seem almost…” I pause, trying to find the correct word I needed. “…They make you appear more human, if you can understand. Without these, you might come off as ‘too perfect’. ‘Cause, I mean… Uh…” A blush flashes across my cheeks, and for a minute I’m surprised he hasn’t cut me off yet, blushing angrily, saying something along the lines of ‘shut up, you git!’. “Well… You’re pretty nice looking, I guess. I would say a bad pick up line along the lines of ‘You from Tennessee? ‘Cause you’re the only Tennis Sea... Wait a minute…” I release a gust of air from my mouth. “Tennis Sea… No… ten I see. Yeah, you’re the only ten I see!”
“Anyways, uh… Long story short… You look good with how you look.” I finish awkwardly, pulling my hand back, laying it lightly onto my lap. He continues looking out the front window, but I see his gaze soften a little from his analyzing, sharp gaze to something almost… Friendly. Close. He turns to me with those unfocused, unusual eyes, and blinks a few times, then smiles.
“…Thank you…” He murmurs, glancing at my features. “You… You look good too. I like the way you look.” I meekly nod.
“You don’t have to compliment me. I complimented you because I felt the need to. I feel like I should say what I think, y’know? If you compliment me back, it’s more of a forced thing. You feel the need to do it, but for a different reason.”
“But… I want to be polite, and I want us to be equal.” He explains, and after a moment’s thought, I reply. It feels strangely familiar, though I cannot place where I have heard it before.
“…Politeness may be a common courtesy, but every once and a while, some people need to be rude and straight forward. Blank stares and over spoken words are repetitive. Words and gazes with feeling, now that’s courtesy. What’s the point of being polite if you can’t be what you want? Be with who you want? Do what you want? …You may choose to be a mild mannered kind person, but I am not going to settle for it. I take what I want, and give what I don’t. It’s an easy lifestyle without stupid… facades…”
“Ah… I’m not sure how to reply to that.” He laughs a little. “I suppose I can be both. I’m more of a sharp-tongued gentleman, if there is such a thing.” I smile at him. I wasn’t expecting that for an answer, but what was I expecting?
“And if you want us to be equal, you have to compliment me when I least expect it.”
“…Fair enough.” He replies. “Deal.”
YOU ARE READING
The World I Live In (Crazy Hetalia Fanfic)
Fanfiction"What if... All of the worlds countries... Were people? And, to top it off, they followed all of their countries stereotypes?" Tally doesn't remember much after running away at the age of thirteen and travelling around the world. When she finds a my...
