First of all, I'm so sorry for the delay! My laptop's hard disk gave up on me so I lost everything! It was a devastating time for me so writing the latter parts was delayed for a week or two.

standard disclaimer: The series, Axis Powers Hetalia and World Series Hetalia are not mine.

Alfred often wondered how he got into these situations. He knew he should have stopped asking the how's and start with the why's. Like why didn't he see this coming when it had been quite obvious with the fact that he was talking to Francis of all people; or why hasn't he gotten used to these conversations of questionable content when Francis was an active participant; or most importantly, why hasn't he learned his lesson and still spoke to Francis?

All things considered, it was too late to regret or berate himself for his lack of foresight. He was already cornered into his current sticky situation.

xxx

The day had started normally, or at least as normal as it could get in an office where traditional French and English relationships (read: rivalries) still prevailed. He arrived a quarter before nine. Arthur's coat already hung on the backrest of his seat and Alfred resisted that infinitesimal urge to steal a whiff, because Arthur would know (he always knows) and gloat about it at Alfred's expense. Everyone else arrived a few minutes after him. Not even a minute after Francis had set foot in the office, half of the staff who were already there could hear their banter from the pantry. Kiku barely made it on time because there was a minor road accident on the route he took to work. Arthur reentered their team's workspace when the clock struck nine, business mobile phone in hand, looking rather miffed. He pocketed it but picked up his work phone that was neatly placed on his desk, right beside his personal mobile phone.

"Alfred, how are the collats[1]?" He asked distractedly as he typed away on his work phone. Alfred said nothing as he opened his e-mail to check if the advertising agency Nokia hired had finally sent it. He grimaced while scanning the downloaded attachments.

"Should I be honest?"

Arthur hummed in approval. His phone was already on his ear, waiting for the other end to pick up.

"Bad, really bad," Alfred enlarged one image and regretted it. "Cringe-worthy."

"Expound on that please."

"I expect you to start cursing in British, lash out on people in Welsh, and then get violent like a Glaswegian."

Arthur rolled his eyes at the assessment, sauntering to where Alfred sat. "Lovely. That's just what I needed today." His fingers lightly tapped on Alfred's desk, still waiting for the other person to pick up. His movements stalled when the ringing stopped and he greeted in his pleasant voice, "Good morning, Feliciano. I trust you recall that we have a meeting at ten sharp, today." he paused and Feliciano's muffled voice sounded through the speaker. "Yes, yes. There is no need for you to worry about that. It's all in the past- oh for god's sake, please do not cry." Arthur paused again, opening and closing his mouth, trying to get a word in but failing. Massive eyebrows scrunched up in frustration. The scene amused Alfred more than it should. He was already leaning back on the chair, watching the shifts in Arthur's facial expression when the Briton noticed the eyes on him. "Feliciano, please wait a tic." He covered the microphone with his hand and motioned for Alfred to move closer. Although slightly reluctant, Alfred leaned towards his boss, making sure he held his breath to avoid another possibly embarrassing incident. Arthur appeared to not have noticed and merely gave him a task that would have him frantic for at least thirty minutes.

"Alfred, please fix those naff[2] collats. I trust that your artistic sense is better than those gormless[3] advertising employees. Be a luv and do hurry! We only have less than an hour before doomsday."

Alfred couldn't decide whether he would feel flattered for the semi-compliment or kick Arthur for giving him a job that needed to be done in half an hour.

At 10 AM Arthur and Kiku had a meeting with Feliciano Vargas, Atlanta Journal-Constitution's account executive. Alfred managed to create semi-decent collaterals for the presentation that would be used for the meeting. Arthur thanked him with a rare grateful smile before he walked in the meeting room with Kiku trailing him closely. It had taken a full minute for Alfred to realize he had been staring at the same spot with his mouth hanging open like a fish out of the water. He promptly closed it and started working on the TV commercial placements, fully determined not to think about how nice Arthur looked when he smiled or how those green eyes lit up and sent his heart to a marathon.

The rest of the morning dragged on as Alfred was left to his own devices. After an hour of checking and double checking the available time slots and their prices, he was positively bored and desperate to have someone to talk to. He minimized the Excel file and stretched his limbs. He wasn't usually left alone since Kiku was with him. Arthur and Francis were usually out with the clients. And the other team members? Nonexistent (There used to be one more but Antonio quit the job barely a week since Alfred started his internship). Alfred groaned and let his head drop on the table. Their team was severely understaffed.

When the meeting adjourned, Arthur looked like he would wring someone by the neck and choke them to death. Alfred sat a little straighter, not wanting to be the unlucky person to have hell unleashed on by Arthur. Francis and Kiku exited the meeting room next. They shared a worried glance at the fuming Briton before they split up. Kiku went to Alfred while Francis bravely approached Arthur who was practically glaring at the road traffic seven floors below. Feliciano exited last, looking ready to cry any moment. No doubt Arthur had lashed out on the poor man during the meeting. Alfred almost felt sorry for him. Feliciano was a good man but a terrible account executive. He was an airhead who often forgets the previous agreements and push for new ones (usually very different from the preceding agreement). Arthur would often raise his voice when he talked to him on the phone. The worst was when Arthur had refused to deal with him for a week and passed the phone to Alfred every time.

Alfred kept an eye on him as he exited the suite.

xxx

Francis moved from his seat across Alfred's and settled beside him, eyes twinkling and mouth pulled up in a sly smile. He leaned on the table, his elbow supporting his body, and rested his chin on his palm. Alfred tried to act nonchalant and not show any sign of discomfort at the dirty looks Francis sent his way, but failed at the first word the Frenchman spoke, "Mon grand[4]," Alfred stiffened for a second and Francis grinned.

"Uh, can I help you, Francis?"

"Oui. You see my friend, I couldn't help but notice that your eyes would not leave Feliciano earlier today." Alfred saw Arthur stiffen at the question. He assumed it was because his boss wasn't in a good terms with the newspaper's AE after that meeting. Arthur had a tendency to hold grudges and would often stare down at the people he's not in amicable terms with. Francis wasn't an exception, but more often the not, the Frenchman wasn't deterred by the hard glare and the impressive eyebrows. Alfred guessed Francis reveled in the fact that he could tease Arthur until he was red in the face and still manage to go to the office instead of resigning like Antonio and several other former employees had done.

Alfred faked a smile and answered with ease, "Yeah? I was worried about the guy. Arthur here looked like he was about to chop the poor man's head." Arthur bristled and begrudgingly shoved a file folder in the cabinet. Alfred cracked another smile, fond and amused at Arthur's reactions. Francis laughed but was not deterred. He was a man on a mission.

"So you are concerned for his well-being, yes?"

"Uh, yeah? He's a good guy. I like him."

The smile on Francis face widened. Alfred had the feeling that the conversation was turning into the kind of conversation that was very Francis.

"Ah, so you are very fond of mon vieux[5], Feliciano."

It took a few moments for Alfred to realize his mistake. He had willingly walked into the Frenchman's trap. He backpedaled and tried to get out of the situation. His voice came out higher and more strained than he thought.

"When I said like, I didn't mean it in a romantic sense!"

Francis laughed again, as if he expected Alfred to react the way he did. "I neither said nor implied any of the sort! Why so defensive mon pote[6]?"

Alfred huffed. It seemed that he can't win against Francis. He normally wouldn't mind but at the moment he was mortified. Arthur was there. And he was listening! Alfred could care less that his internal panic meant that he admitted he liked Arthur more than a co-worker, because he doesn't want Arthur to misunderstand anything. He didn't like Feliciano the way he liked Arthur. Even if Arthur doesn't know about Alfred's romantic feelings for him. Aflred glared at Francis for instigating the inner turmoil that forced him to embrace what he had denied to himself for nearly a month.

xxx

Alfred was almost thankful for the thud that distracted him and Francis, but the rage in Arthur's eyes made Alfred's gut twist in a negative way, "If you have the time to talk about that incompetent fool, I suggest you should work harder and finish sorting these faster." Alfred swallowed the lump in his throat and went back to work. Francis neither said nor did anything. He stared challengingly at Arthur, blue eyes glinting slyly.

"Qu'est-ce qui ne va pas?[7]"

"Belt up. I have other things to worry about than listen to your frog language."

"Oui, oui, I will pay you no mind and you will do the same to me. I was harmlessly conversing with mon pote about his, ah, opinion on Feliciano when you rudely interrupted. So if you will excusez-moi, I shall return to my conversation partner and we shall be free from each other again!"

Alfred gestured Francis to halt from speaking when the Frenchman turned to him. "Francis-"

Francis wouldn't have any of it and steered into another conversation with a wave of his hand, "Non, I understand if you want to deny the signs of l'amour. So let us assume your claim and move on to another topic."

Alfred sighed in defeat. "As long as it won't be anything like earlier."

"Wonderful!" When Francis beamed and clapped his hands together Alfred knew he'd made another mistake. The teasing look Francis gave him gave everything away. He mentally prepared himself for anything. He knew he should be able to calmly react lest the teasing would go on. He would-

"So let us say someone paid you to sleep with Feliciano for a million dollars, would you do it?"

The folder in Arthur's hands slipped and Alfred turned red.

a/n: Thank you to the many reviews/alerts/favorites! I didn't expect it to be this well-received by fellow fans! But I would like to apologize if this update was a disappointment. I really struggled with the last part. I wanted to stretch it out a bit more but it kept on looking weird to me so I left it with a semi-cliff hanger. I would promise quicker updates but since I have no computer of my own, I know from experience that updates will not be weekly.

I'm neither British nor French. I merely researched about the following online. Feel free to correct me if there are any mistakes. Thank you!

translations:

[1] According to wikipedia (and personal experience) collats / collaterals in the marketing industry refers to the collection of media used to support the sales of a product or service.

[2] naff - British slang for tacky, ineffectual and generally crap. This could be a part of the reason why the French clothing firm Naf Naf recently pulled out of the U.K. It may derive from the 1960s gay slang language "Polari" in which it was used as an acronym for "Not Available For Fucking." (credits to septicscompanion)

[3] A gormless person is someone who has absolutely no clue. You would say clueless. It is also shortened so you could say someone is a total gorm or completely gormy. (credits to effingpot)

[4] mon grand - French non-romantic term of endearment for males

[5] mon vieux - French non-romantic term of endearment for males

[6] mon pote -French non-romantic term of endearment for males

[7] Qu'est-ce qui ne va pas? -What's wrong?

I deviated from the usual "mon cher / mon chere" because according to my research, the term is a term of endearment that is used for a person with whom one has romantic feelings for.