UKUS: Last Chance C.4

“How on Earth did these two doofuses get their driver’s licenses?!” Alfred’s mind screamed as he tried to sit in the test car with Feliciano. This little lesson had actually started innocently enough, that is until he saw Romano driving the cars into their parking spots. He had never seen a car go in so many directions in a span of fifteen seconds. When Feli had asked him if he was ready, he had honestly thought about saying no way. But, he had forgotten about a certain teacher.

“Oh he’s just desperate to get behind the steering wheel,” Mr. Kirkland grasped his student’s shoulders and smiled so sweetly it almost gave Al a cavity, “Especially with your driving expertise to guide him my dear friend. You wouldn’t want to deny this innocent soul a chance to grow in his knowledge, would you?”

The young Italian blushed and shifted his weight from foot to foot, staring down at the tiled floor hide his embarrassed expression. “W-well-a when you put it like that I-a guess I could help him-a out still…” he smiled, “Let’s go-a~!”

“I’m not payin’-a for injuries…” Lovino mumbled as he tossed his brother the keys with his other hand shoved into his pocket, “I want you to use-a your own insurance this time Arthur.”

“Wait what injuries-”

Before the American knew what was happening, he was dragged into the test car and buckled in. He tried to calm down, thinking that maybe Feliciano would be a lot more coordinated and street safe than his older brother. But all of hopes of that were soon destroyed within the next five or six seconds. Then, the gas pedal was floored.

Alfred let out a not-so manly scream as he was jerked forward then pressed against his seat with his skin gluing tighter to his face. Light flashed and he saw his life going right in front of his eyes. That is if he didn’t die here. One thing to learn about Italians, they can’t drive. It’s as if you were no longer in a ground vehicle, but a rocket when it’s launching. It definitely brought that sickness that came on rollercoasters.

There was no way that was really driving. This had to be suicide! Where did this dude learn how to drive? Grand Theft Auto? Because that was pretty much how it was feeling like. Feli simply jerked the steering wheel around as if he was playing Mario Kart and that stupid grin stayed plastered onto his face. Maybe he really was Mario or Luigi, champions of bad and irresponsible driving.

“DUDE!” he shrieked, grasping the dashboard, “Aren’t you goin’ a little fast?! Isn’t there speed limits in your country?!” Feliciano only laughed, his eyes still closed as always which concerned the teenager even more of how he was driving safely.

“Ve~! Of course-a there are!” he looked over at him, taking his hands off the steering wheel, “But we have-a rather high ones since people-a need to get places-”

“PUT YOUR FUCKING HANDS BACK ON THE STEERING WHEEL AND KEEP YOUR EYES BACK ON THE DAMN ROAD FOR FUCKS SAKE!!” he screamed and suddenly pushed the Italian into the back seat, “THAT’S IT! LIKE SHIT I’M LETTING YOU KILL ME IN A STUPID DRIVER’S LESSON!”

He released the pressure on the gas pedal, veered over before they crashed into the foam edge of the racetrack, and got them back to the right side of the makeshift road. His heart still pounded against his chest like a stereo with the bass turned up too loud, but it calmed down somewhat. As he parked inbetween the sloppily painted lines he heard a rather distinct laugh.

Sticking his head out the window, Alfred’s jaw about hit the ground when seeing Mr. Kirkland sitting at the bar laughing so hard he was curled into a ball clutching his side. “WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU LAUGHING AT YOU BITCH?! I JUST ABOUT DIED!”

Between breaths and bursts of laughter the Brit managed to get a single sentence out. “Y-your-” gasp, “Face is-” gasp, “Absolutely-” gasp, “Priceless~!”

“EXCUSE ME?!!!”

The American jumped out of the car and stomped up to the still hysterically laughing teacher. “You psychotic, perverted, anti-social bastard! I could have died! And you’re sitting there laughing your fucking ass off?!”

Yet the weirdness didn’t even end there. In a blink of an eye, Arthur was sitting perfectly straight with a static expression on his delicate features. “I have no idea what you are talking about my young Padawan,” he managed to say with a completely straight face.

That really sent Alfred sputtering and stuttering in absolute fury. He looked over at Lovino, who was behind the bar, for some sort of support but he had a small smile as well. “I’m-a sorry ragazzo but Artie is-a right. And I think I might-a just like you now.”

“I have a rather good piece of news though,” Mr. Kirkland smirked, “Now you know how to drive. Congratulations Mr. Um, and here I thought you would be difficult to learn.”

“…THIS IS YOUR IDEA OF A DRIVER’S LESSON?!” he screamed, his voice rising by an octave. And judging by the grinning expressions of the adults in the room, he was definitely right.

~Le Time Skip~

“HOW DID I LOSE?!” Alfred whined, throwing his control down. This was his fifth time trying to get his written portion of his driving test done. Three weeks of coming here and trying not to get killed and finally he was getting close to achieving his license. Yet this still managed to get him.

Mr. Kirkland started to laugh, covering his mouth in an attempt to hide it. “Well not everyone passed right away Al! You need to try every once in a while!”

“Well this pencil can suck my dick!” Alfred huffed and threw his pencil onto the floor. Unfortunately, that just made everyone start laughing again. That included the Italian brothers. Arthur’s face was flushed with pink, eyes closed making cute crinkles appear at the sides, and an infectious smiled. Alfred blinked a few times, that same beating starting up again from when he got in the car. Except this time it was for a very different reason. He wasn’t sure what it was, but it was definitely there. Shaking his entire body until he couldn’t breathe. What could it even be? There was magic inside of that teacher if he managed to create such a reaction from the teenager.

Before anyone could realize his real feelings, he started to laugh along. That was how he was used to solving things.

Hiding it with a smile.

~An Hour Later~

Alfred sipped his coffee, groaning from his exhaustion. After another tiresome hour or attempting to not get killed by speeding and reckless Italians, parallel parking, attempts to get his picture taken, and learning how to put gas into a car he was finally given a break. Now he sat across from the younger perky Italian, Feliciano. He sipped some sort of wine with a smile on his face. “So how did someone like you become friends with a weirdo like Mr. Kirkland?” he asked while also thinking, ‘like you aren’t weirdoes yourself though.’

Feli made that “ve” sound again and set his glass down before pressing his hands into his lap. “Actually-a I used to be absolutely terrified-a of Artie! My brother was too-a!”

“Whoa!” he held his hands up, coffee cup carefully balanced, “You were scared of him?! How can you be scared of a shrimp like him?! He’s like the tiniest thing in the world! My bunny slippers are scarier than him!”

Feliciano tilted his head to the side, a confused expression on his face. “He didn’t tell you-a? When he graduated a year-a early he ended up trying to-a be a cop!” This just about made Alfred spit out his coffee, A COP?! No way, that stuck-up brat could have never made it as a cop! All of the criminals would run him over and then tie him to a flagpole or something!

“You’ve gotta be kiddin’ me. Right? How could Mr. Sixbrows be a freaking cop dude? He weighs like eighty pounds and would spend most of his time talking to the wall or something crazy like that,” he suggested but the Italian shook his head.

“Nope-a. Arthur was actually the most feared-a and successful cop in his unit-a! Not a single criminal got past-a him! Pasta?” he added, holding up a plate of Alfredo, “It’s fresh and-a the noodles are homemade from-a scratch~!” The American held himself back from flat out facepalming and politely passed.

“No thanks dude, now why were you personally scared of him? I mean you don’t strike me as a hardcore criminal kind of person. Lovino maybe… but you are too nice and stuff. Come on why are you really scared of?”

“I’m not-a lying!” Feli whined, his shoulders drooping a little, “I was a bank robber with-a my brother! We were really-a good at it too! But then-a he ended up catching us! We were stuck-a in the jail with him for-a months! Do you have any idea-a how scary he can be when he-a has a riding crop and that-a evil smirk?!” With every word, his voice grew shriller. The poor guy really was terrified of him. And as Alfred slowly slipped into his own imagination, he realized how thrilling it would be…

“So what shall it be you pig?” the Brit purred into his ear, lifting his chin up with his still gloved hand, “Admit to your crimes or we can continue with this little session~.”

Alfred spat out some blood, huffing as he glared up at the policeman. “I’m not the criminal here I swear!” he hissed, “I’m innocent!” His wrists were locked together by handcuffs which were chained above his head and to the stone wall. He wore an orange jumpsuit with his prison number typed boldly. He was no longer a person, just a barcode.

The cell wasn’t too comforting of his fate either. The blood of various previous prisoners reeked in the small cold room, sweat created another horrid smell, claw marks from nails scratched the floor from people being dragged out, and pieces of orange jumpsuits. So horrid, so strong, yet it added to the heat of the moment.

Arthur scowled, sitting on the American’s legs with his leather crop in his left hand which had been currently free. The blue police uniform wrapped around his small body, showing an almost hourglass figure, his blonde locks peeked out from underneath his cap, and his bright eyes sparked with the hunger of some sort of animal. “Oh you know what you did,” he snapped, slamming his back against the wall, “Now admit to all of it! Do you hear me you American pig?!”

Al let out the smallest cry of pain and panted, glancing up at the green-eyed man. “I am not the criminal here sir! You are!”

“How dare you accuse me?!” the policeman slapped him with the ridding crop, “What grounds do you trial me on?! What crimes have I committed bastard?!”

“The worst crime of all,” Alfred kissed Arthur hard, straining against the handcuffs the best he could, “Stealing my heart…”

‘OKAY NOW OUT OF THE FANTISIES!’ Al’s mind shouted, interrupting everything going on in his thoughts. That, was more terrifying than anything he had ever witnessed in all of his life. Where had something like that even pop up? The only thing that weirdo was to him was a teacher, nothing more. Mr. Kirkland. But the beating was there again, the thump of his heart racing.

“You-a really like him,” Feli suddenly said, “Don’t you-a? I can see how-a you are trying to deny it but-a it’s there. I saw your-a face flush earlier. And I know-a your heart is pounding. But I must warn-a you about Arthur.” The Italian clasped his hands together and bit his lip. “He can-a be a difficult person to love, especially-a since you are a boy. I-a have a boyfriend myself, a nice-a German name Ludwig. It will be a struggle-a and you might want to just-a give up on a relationship with-a that person entirely. Don’t give up on Arthur-a. He needs love in his life-a more than you know. But don’t-a rush into anything. I’m guessing-a you don’t know each other too well yet.”

This made Alfred blink a few times in confusion, what on earth was Feliciano talking about? But before he could say anything, Lovino and Mr. Kirkland came back into the table area. “Congratulations, you are now an official LEGAL driver Mr. Jones. It was hard but you pushed through like a trooper. I’m proud.”

The American grinned, pushing away his conversation with the younger brother of the Italians. “Thanks dude!” he took his license, “Wow! This is like totally awesome to extreme levels! Thank you so much dudes! All of you! I never even dreamed I would have one of these! It makes me feel powerful! Or at least something like that.”

It had his name and everything, even his face proudly pasted on there. It really did make him feel like a real man now. He was for a few moments, a normal teen.

~Le Time Skip~

“Now where are we going?” Alfred whined, his hands covering his eyes, “It’s already like 12:20 something!” It had been approximately two weeks since learning how to drive. Since then he had gone to the driving school every day after classes with Mr. Kirkland. Soon he really did feel prepared on the road and he was no longer scared. He knew he was in control and that really did make a difference. If you didn’t feel like you could take a handle on certain things then you really aren’t the right person for the job.

But suddenly, Mr. Kirkland had dragged his student to the car and ordered for him to keep his eyes covered until further notice. Of course he was excited for a surprise, but it was annoying when he had to wait so long. If you hadn’t noticed yet, he didn’t exactly know the meaning of the word, “patience.”

“We are almost there!” the Brit snapped, his own patience running thin, “Now calm down! If you would stop distracting me then maybe we would already be there you ignorant git!”

Al huffed and tapped his foot, thinking that would help distract him. But it was just too hard, his mind always went back to thinking about where they could be going. It had to be close to the school, it had to be something awesome, it couldn’t be another school, and it had to be connected to him earning his license. Right?

Finally after what seemed like forever, the car came to a stop and the engine was shut off completely. “You can open your door. But don’t open your eyes just yet, got it? Now slowly get out of your seat…”

As Alfred tried to get out of the car Mr. Kirkland came around the vehicle and took his forearm gently. His face flushed a bright red but for now he ignored it. “A few more steps to the right… wait don’t move. And open!”

He opened his eyes and about fell over. In front of him was a large black truck, and a nice one at that. “Wow! Dude are you serious?! This is a 2003 Toyota Tacoma! This is like a awesome truck! You’ve gotta be pullin’ my leg, right?!”

Arthur rolled his eyes and crossed his arms with a huff. “It is not a trick! And really it’s not a big deal, that truck is really old and I don’t need it with my KIA. Why throw it away to be scrap metal when I can give it to someone who really needs it? It’s full of gas but remember to watch that closely.”

“Dude I passed the test, no need to lecture me on all of that crap,” he gave a big grin though, “Seriously dude I really can’t thank you enough! This means so much to me!”

“Graduate with only one B and I might just think about that being enough for payment,” the Englishman mused with a smirk. Al blushed and hid behind the truck, pretending to still be examining it. “Listen, I don’t want you to have to make yourself or your brother walk to school ever again. You boys deserve so much better. Maybe I can even meet your brother and father soon. Wouldn’t that be just lovely?”

Just at the mention of that, he flinched. Arthur meeting his father? No way, that wouldn’t end well for anyone. If the Brit was a “retired” policeman then no way would he approve of their living conditions. He might even try beating Francis to a pulp with a riding crop or an electric guitar. Either way it would be a risk he would rather avoid when he had the choice.

“U-uh sure…” he mumbled, staring down at the wheels of the beautiful truck, “Thank you again though. I will never forget this.” No one besides his brother had taken the time to really try to do something nice for him. That is since his mother passed away. Something like this seemed like some sort of miracle that only happened in fairytales. But somehow this was really happening to someone like him.

Mr. Kirkland gave a smile and patted his shoulder reassuringly. “It’s fine Alfred. I was glad to help. Now promise me you won’t tell anyone, they might grow suspicious that you’re my favorite student.”

This finally put a grin on the American’s face. That was the cocky Brit he knew and enjoyed in the classroom. He knew that the real work was soon going to get started, but it had to be fun. With Arthur Kirkland as his teacher he knew it was at least going to be some sort of interesting. He was going to earn the right to that truck, the only way he knew how.

“Deal!”

To Be Continued… Maybe…