Hola! Just wanted to let you know, I've started working on this prompt. I'll be using the bonuses as ideas for interactions between the empath and nations. Are their any others that the OP would really like to see? Or any thing else you want included?
That's great, I can't wait to see what you come up with.
Anything else, not really. I would like to see what the empath thinks about Canada's emotions and if you could add Russia, that would be really interesting. And the bonuses.
But really, that's all optional. I'm just glad to get a fill. :)
Liam worked in a building that was almost always empty. He didn't know why it was empty for eleven months of the year. He didn't particularly care. He was responsible for any deliveries, cleaning and security. It was relatively easy work that paid well. There were a lot of nice leather chairs and Macintosh computers that thugs could try to steal if Liam wasn't there.
Every morning Liam came in with his black coffee and took a deep breath. Empty. That's how he liked it. No one else around to dictate how he should feel. It was a blessing when he got this job. He had to go through several newspapers and online searches before he found a job where he could work alone or with just a few other people. The few times that he had to do in person interviews for his solo jobs, the employers were always shocked that a young guy was interested in such a lonesome job.
Liam pushed the cleaning cart through the quiet hallway. He figured he'd clean first then he could sort any deliveries before having lunch. He opened a wooden door. Behind it was a long oval shaped table with dozens of empty leather chairs sitting at it. He'd polish the leather chairs first since they were coming tomorrow.
They only came once a year, a horde of young, international ambassadors. He heard from the last employee that they descended onto the building with all the chaos of an upturned hornet's nest. When they were here he was also responsible for any paper work, incoming calls and human resources. He hated human resources. He hadn't been here the last time they were in the building. He'd started this job right after their last conference. The previous attendant had left Liam the keys and information to the building while repeatedly thanking him.
He sat in one leather chair while polishing another. The leather went from a dusty, dull mud color to a gleaming dark chocolate. He rubbed his rag along the back of the chair. Sometimes he'd play music when he cleaned. Today he just listened to the silence.
The real reason why he wanted to work alone was because he could feel everything. Every person who walked past him, who spoke with him, who he saw, he could feel them. No other job he'd applied to offered him such independence. He figured the one month trade off of having to babysit some foreign dignitaries would be worth it. He moved on to the next chair, then the next.
When he was a teen he'd struggled because he always wanted to help people. One time he'd recommend to a guy to admit to his feelings to his crush. Liam knew she liked him back. After they guy did, Liam had the guy coming back every day to ask him for more advice. That guy told his friends and his friends told their friends and eventually Liam couldn't get a moment to himself. It'd led to him having a colossal break down. No one should have to feel all that pressure all the time. It was bad enough he could never turn off everyone else's feelings. The hours moseyed on by. After he'd made it half way around the table he took a break for lunch. The polishing was taking him longer than he'd expected.
He had a cucumber and mayo sandwich for lunch. It was what his mother had always packed for him in school. Even though he knew he couldn't do it anymore, Liam still always wanted to say something to the really poor souls he ran into. He never let himself though. If he started giving counseling advice again, he'd wouldn't be able to stop up and in the end he wind up advising every Joe-smoe he felt sorry for. Then he'd really never get a moment to himself.
Liam licked his fingers and crumpled up his trash. Spinning on the leather chair he shot the tin foil into the garbage.
"Score!" The word broke the silence like an explosion.
Liam smiled before getting back to his cleaning. They were coming tomorrow.
Liam breathed in the heavy smell of his coffee. It was cold in New York in December. Florida had been so much milder. Last night, his boss had called him. He told Liam to be in the office early the next day and speak of what went on with the ambassadors to no one else. Liam had agreed quickly, able to read the older man's anxiety even though his tone of voice was perfectly even. Liam swiped into the building and set about unlocking all the doors. He struggled a bit to remember which key went to which door. Usually he only opened the back door for himself.
His early morning activities went quickly. He laid out the files that'd been delivered the day before, let the caterers into the conference room and answered the phone. They were set to arrive at nine. Liam's stomach was in knots. The past employee had seemed really eager to leave after his month with the delegates. He knew once the first person arrived he'd only feel their emotions, his would be blotted out until he get alone again.
A door opened and Liam felt a cold draft. Their was no sound from the entry way. Liam sat behind his secretary desk fiddling with some sticky notes. He couldn't see the person yet but they were close enough to change his mood. A bubble of mischievousness rose up in him along with a tendril of smugness. Liam cracked a grin and before he realized it, he'd kicked his feet up on the desk. He waited for the first delegate to walk into his line of sight. A white head of hair rushed into his line of sight.
"You didn't see anything!" A good looking young man called over his shoulder as he went speeding into the conference room. Liam chuckled at the amusement coming from the man. As the white haired guy ran out of Liam's empathy range he took his feet down from the desk. He really should have more control than that. He'd have to get use to having so many people around again.
The door slammed open again, "Prussia! Get back here gott verdammt!" a heavily accented voice yelled, "You are not a nation so you are not allowed at the world conferences!"
Frazzled and indigent, those were the surface emotions that washed over him. The empath wanted to run a hand through his dark hair, but managed to keep it on the desk instead. A blonde man stalked into his line of sight.
"Excuse me!" the blonde said, "did you happen to see a white haired idiot run past here?" The delegate stood in front of him with a small German flag pinned to his lapel.
Liam froze behind his chair. Normally he just got surface emotions… like what happened earlier, but this guy. This guy… god, there was so much. Bunches of pain, humiliation, anger, and regret. Tucked away, practically hidden was a tender flower of pride and enthusiasm.
"Uh," Liam stuttered, "no, sorry."
These were not the emotions the man was feeling currently, was it? One person usually only felt so much when they were having a huge break down or flip out. Not when they were talking with someone they just met.
The man ground his teeth, "thank you," he murmured before heading towards the conference room. Liam stared at his retreating back, wondering what the hell was going on with the German.
As the foreign dignitaries made their way into the conference room Liam picked up on their emotions. The men, because the majority of them were men, who stopped to ask Liam a question or get directions to the bathroom or whatever, all had the same type of conflicting oceans of emotions rolling through them.
Halfway through the day the conference room door burst open and two blondes spilled out. They were arguing. Liam saw them yelling at each other, but they were just too far away to hear. As they moved closer Liam could almost make out the colors of their pins. His eyes roved over their lapels… both red, white and blue. That's when he heard the accents.
"You lecherious frog!"
"Ah mon petit chaton…"
When the two came closer to Liam the emotions crashed into him like a tsunami. He froze in his seat. Lust made his nerve endings feel like they were on fire while annoyance gave him heart burn. As they passed by Liam jumped up awkwardly. He had to touch. He looked at the two men as they began to walk away from him. The shorter one had the best ass Liam had ever seen on a guy and he wasn't even gay! But that ass was round and plump and…
"What do you think you are doing?" a British accent screeched.
The blonde was staring at him over his shoulder. His eyebrows were quite thick. The long haired blonde was practically choking on laughter. His endless hon, hon, hons were turning his face quite a fetching red. Maybe he'd kiss those plump lips… give him something to really blush over. Liam blinked. He'd gotten up from his desk and his hands were on that ass. Slowly he massaged those cheeks once before a pain bloomed in his cheek and he fell down hard.
The punch was exactly what he needed to reign in his raging lust… or the Frenchmen's raging lust. Damn how could a guy feel that horny all the time and not be hitting on everything with two legs? Liam pinched the bridge of his nose. He should not, not, not have done that.
Liam focused his attention on the shorter blonde who was spitting words at him. The young man tried to focus on his emotions instead of the other's lust. There was annoyance, embarrassment and a touch of rage, but just behind that was determination, confidence and maturity. He could use those emotions to fix this.
"I'm so sorry, sir," Liam apologized, "I have no idea what came over me. That was extremely out of character for me."
"And it bloody well better be!" The Brit exclaimed, "I expect that type of treatment from this frog, but not from the staff here!"
The Frenchmen laughed, "relax Angleterre, what is a little grope among friends, oui?"
Liam looked at him and instantly that lust infected him again. The man's blonde hair looked so silky to the touch and his lips were so womanly, how could Liam not like them? Liam quickly closed the gap between the two of them. He kissed the man. It was the first time he'd ever had to tilt his head up to kiss someone. Faintly he felt his own bafflement and almost disgust at the thought that he was kissing a strange man after only meeting him. Unfortunately for the empath, the long haired blonde's attraction only got more intense when Liam after kissing him.
Liam dipped his tongue into the other man's mouth. His tongue skimmed over the other's teeth. The taller man sucked on his tongue and Liam moaned into his mouth. Even as he was making out, the empath could feel a new set of emotions fall into the mix of the Brit's and Frenchmen's. Sadness, depression and confusion. It wasn't either of these two guys... there must be someone else in the area. He distantly realized the man he was currently making out with might have a girlfriend or something and he should stop.
The thought came and went. He just didn't care. He was really freakin' horny. The Frenchmen nipped at Liam's lips and his hands wandered down to grab at the delegate's ass. Only when those negative emotions got closer did Liam break for a breather. He pulled back to see dark blue eyes glazed over and a cocky smile settle on that handsome face.
"Why are you so horny all the time?" The question left Liam's mouth before he could catch it.
A set of hands pulled Liam away from the blonde. Traces of confusion, maturity and curiosity. It was the Brit. God he was so going to loose his job after this.
"Son… are you alright?" The accented voice was deeper when he wasn't yelling.
"Shit, I'm so sorry!" Liam exclaimed. His own emotions flared bright for a moment and overshadowed the strange men's feelings. Liam was baffled and embarrassed.
"I can't help it! You guys feel so much. This has never happened before... I should have better control. God, I'm going to loose my job! Can you not tell my boss about this? Oh what am I saying of course you're going to tell my boss!" Liam would have continued to ramble, but a calloused hand pushed his jaw shut. His voice was muffled behind his lips until he noticed he'd been shut up. Then he went silent.
"Take a deep breath," Liam breathed in, "first tell me what you're name is."
"William, but I go by Liam," he answered.
"That is a strong English name," the shorter blonde said.
Liam tried to get his thoughts in order, "Thanks, my mom was from Dover. It reminded her of her home."
"Lovely to meet you, I'm Arthur," the Brit said, "I have a bit of an odd question for you Liam."
Liam nodded his head ready for anything. The phone number for his boss? 603-357-0401. When's lunch being served? 12:30 pm. Is he gay? He didn't think so ten minutes ago.
"Are you an empath?"
His breath shuddered out of his chest and he stared at Arthur. Well, he thought he was ready for anything.
Watch me flail anon, I didn't even know this was here! Did you post it to the fills list? I didn't see it on there.
I love Liam and how he deals with being an empath, like finding solitary jobs and staying away from other people's problems. Also him trying to deal with other people's emotions as well as trying to identify his own amongst them must be really difficult and you showed that well.
Him meeting France and England first was both unfortunate and fortunate. He met France but at least England will recognise what he is. And Germany's emotions with the hidden feeling of pride was so sad.
I hope you post it on the fills list because I think that other anons will want to read this story!
Arthur was smiling and he looked thrilled to be meeting Liam. That wasn’t a new experience for the empath. He probably wanted relationship tips or something. The Frenchmen was silent next to Arthur just staring at Liam.
“You’re a telepath?” a voice called out, “Oh my god man! That’s so cool!”
Liam felt himself be dragged away. He looked up to see another blonde. This one had an American accent. Was this really the delegate for the United States? The American pushed Liam into the conference room and yelled out, “Yo guys! I found a telepath! How cool is that bros?!”
Liam looked up to see all the foreign dignitaries staring at him. Some had their jaws dropped, other’s exclaimed, and others loudly protested that their was no such thing. But Liam could feel what they all felt. And they all felt surface curiosity, but under that was pain, pain, pain. And betrayal and unrequited love and joy and bitterness and friendship.
Liam started to hyperventilate. He needed to get out of here. He tried to pull away from the tall American, but his grip was too strong. He was sending out an overwhelming air of bitterness, anger and false cheer. It was sickening for Liam to feel and he hated the American for pretending he was ok when he wasn’t. The young empath tried to stretch his connection to find a stable emotion. To his right was a man wearing a pink scar with an more negative emotions. Liam tried not to let in well in him, but they were those negative emotions were strongest and closest emotions.
“I’ve got no idea what you’re talking about.” Liam said, “Telepath’s don’t exist. I’m just the attendant for the building.”
Liam could feel when Arthur and his make-out buddy entered the room. He hoped they would be able to distract the annoying blonde so he could escape back to his desk. Their were too many emotions here. He couldn’t think properly.
“But I just heard you say that to Arthur and Francis!” The American said, “didn’t he?”
Ah so Francis must be the Frenchmen. Fitting.
“I believe it is time for the lunch break!” Arthur exclaimed. This got a physical reaction out of everyone and Liam wanted to kiss him for getting everyone to leave so quickly. One short brunette even leapt from his seat shouting, “paaasta!”
Pretty soon the room was empty except for Liam, Arthur, the tattle-tale American, yet another blonde and a brunette. The American was still sending out his bitter cocktail of false cheer and resentment. Arthur turned to the American and said, “Alfred, I saw a McDonald’s down the street this morning. I bet you could make it there and back during the lunch break.”
Alfred looked like he was going to refuse, but then seemed to realize something and exclaimed, “of course! The hero needs to have his awesome lunch!” Alfred turned for the door, “I’ll see you dudes later!”
With that Alfred dashed out of the room. Liam was left with Arthur and the mystery duo. Now that other people had left the room, Liam was able to read them and they all practically vibrated with surface excitement.
“I’m really not a telepath. You know that right?” Liam didn’t want to talk to them.
“I appreciate you getting me out of that,” Liam gestured to the room, “but I have work to get back to.”
“But you are something special, otherwise Arthur would never have stayed.” The blonde said coolly, “My name is Lukas Thomassen and I’m sure your paper work can wait.”
“Very nice to meet you, Mr. Thomassen.” Liam replied, “I’m William Ferry and it really can’t.” He really shouldn’t be reacting based on his emotions though. Liam knew that. If he left for his desk, he had a feeling though that if he left they’d just follow him. Arthur hadn’t given Liam a last name to address him by, but this guy, he demanded formality.
“Yes, the boy is an empath,” Arthur said, ignoring Liam’s statement about work.
The brunette tipped his hat at Liam, “Ion Noica, pleased to meet you.” His accent was thick making his words slippery and hard to understand, but he had cheerfulness, curiosity and kindness floating on the surface.
“Um,” Liam murmured. His smile widening at the cheer then he himself fall into a half glare again. No more reacting to their emotions. Liam greeted him back quietly. The three herded him over to a seat, telling him they had questions for him. They just stared at him for a moment and Liam looked down. The concentrated attention of these three was equal to what he felt like to be in a classroom in high school.
The table needed to be windexed when the delegates left today. Their were finger prints everywhere. Like a rising wave, Liam watched as the three foreigner’s curiosity built up. He knew any moment they’d be asking him bunches of questions and he had to figure out how he’d answer them or escape.
Arthur knew he was an empath. He’d figured it out just by watching Liam. Although admittedly most people didn’t just start making out with strangers… but he could have just been eccentric! But no, Arthur had realized he had some affinity for empathy after just a few moments with Liam. Why had he confirmed it? He could have just lied then and said no he was just really horny! This was a complete mess.
“How does your empathy work?” Arthur said.
Liam expected that since he was the one who’d stumbled across Liam. Arthur spoke fast and even without his empathy Liam would have been able to tell he was in a better mood then the first time he’d seen Liam. He had a smile on his face and a little notebook out. Was Arthur really going to be writing this down? He’d just be direct. He wasn’t a lab rat after all. And usually people just wanted advice, not how it worked!
“Sorry, I think you’re confused.” Liam said, “I never agreed to answer any questions.”
All three faces fell at the same time and Liam could feel confusion from Mr. Noica and Arthur and almost scorn from Mr. Thomassen. None of them were apologetic. He wondered how they’d feel if he asked them why they felt so much pain, pain, pain. They probably would think it was an invasion of privacy. What they didn’t understand was this was the thing. He didn’t ask them, they shouldn’t ask him!
Oooo, Liam has a really good point. He's not going around pointing out everyone's emotions (although it would be interesting to see him reach his breaking point and going around doing just that) but Norway, England and Romania are treating him like an experiment. On the other hand, I really want him to ask them those questions about what they're feeling and find out about them being nations.
Maybe they could do ask a question, answer a question but then again, Liam's not curious at all. He just wants to get away from them.
America's emotions are interesting and I really love how Liam is so eager to get away from him because he hates the falseness. Is 'pink scar' meant to be 'pink scarf'? Is that Russia? Oh, I can't wait to see how Liam reacts to him. And to everyone really.
Sorry for the long ramble, but I saw this on the Fills List and was really excited. I hope you continue this soon, I'm really looking forward to the updates. :D
Haha glad you think so! And those are great thoughts... I wrote out two options to decide how I wanted Liam to proceed. I think you'll like where things are going :)
And YES! Pink scar was supposed to have an f on the end of it! I don't know where f decided to vacation too... so yeah that'd be Russia. And I LOVE your ramble. I'm please to hear you're enjoying it!
Anywhoo gotta stop replying to people on here and get back to writing it :D
Really fascinating fill so far, anon. I'm only vaguely familiar with the concept of an empath, so I'm learning a lot by reading this fill. It's interesting to see how very straighforward Arthur is once he's got Liam alone, as opposed to how (relatively) tactful he was in public. I'm looking forward to seeing how this all pans out.
That was a rather fascinating introduction to nations for an empath..And those were some interesting internal looks at Germany and America. I would've expected pride to be America's dominant emotion. Trying to 'act normal' with some of those wild feelings around would seem near impossible for Liam. Can't blame him for not sharing, though, it isn't as if the nations are sharing their nation-ness with him..
Glad anons are enjoying it! I've been using the links the OP left to help me suss it all out. Yeah I've been trying to go further than what you'd find on the surface of the countries. I think pride would definitely be a huge part of America, but when I asked Alfred how he felt that's what he said. So I was like ok, but you gotta tell me why eventually :D
The silence hung in the air for a moment until Arthur said, “Son… they’re just questions.”
Liam was disappointed, no Arthur was disappointed and Arthur wasn’t planning on giving up. Liam sighed because knew that he had to deal with these delegates for the rest of the month. He didn’t want to be harassed by them the entire time. Just sitting here for the last five minutes with them made his skin prickle from the uncomfortable static electricity feel of their curiosity. It might be pathetic, but he’d rather tell them once and get it over with than prolong the experience. At least then he could be left alone again.
“Fine, fine….” He let the words escape, “I don’t know how to answer you’re question though…” Part of himself was angry for giving in so easily, but it was quickly squashed by the excitement coming from the three foreigners. He rolled side to side in the leather chair.
“Just try,” Mr. Noica coaxed. He didn’t realize, but Liam was trying! He pulled some calm out of Mr. Thomassen. It made him feel cold inside, but he was able to answer without yelling.
The empath stopped fidgeting. “Why do you want to know anyway?” Liam asked, “What reason should I tell you something so personal? Will you reciprocate or am I just suppose to spill my secrets to you?”
Everyone was startled and the Romanian stuttered out, “Uh… I didn’t realize it was so personal for you.”
In the back of his mind, Liam noticed a group of people lingering around the conference room door. Was lunch over already? All of a sudden there was a spike of anger. The unexpected emotion wiggled into him before he could stop it and then he was yelling.
“Of course it is! It’d be like me asking you what you’re deepest desire is or why you have so much pain?!” Liam shouted. His nails were biting into his palms.
“No person feels as much as you guys feel. It’s not normal!” The anger kept coming, Liam couldn’t feel the other guys’ emotions anymore.
“What? Do you want me to “read” your emotions for you? And do what then? I’m not a circus attraction!” Liam exclaimed.
The door burst open and heaps of dignitaries fell into the room on top of each other. On the bottom of the pile was the American. He was visibly upset. On top of him were three brunettes, Francis, the mischievous albino, another blonde with glasses. Looming above them was the German and a man with a rifle. It’s safe to say the anger he was feeling was from those two. However, he could also feel curiosity from them all. There was hidden love from Francis towards the blonde boy with glasses. What Francis didn’t know was the blonde had unrequited love towards Francis. Their was an odd mix of paternal feelings their too…Liam’s stomach rolled. Please, don’t let it be incest! He did not know how to handle that!
Everyone seemed to be stunned into silence. The American traced circles into the carpet. He looked completely unconcerned at being on the bottom of a six person dog pile. He should be in so much pain from that weight... Liam was beyond confused. And with the added people his emotions were dangerously chaotic again.
“Veee, can you tell me what I’m feeling?” A small Italian wiggled out of the heap and scurried over to Liam.
“Feliciano!” Another Italian called out scrambling after him, kicking the last brunette in the side as he did. A pained, “Looovi,” was exclaimed with a Spanish accent.
Feliciano plopped down in a seat next to Liam, “Read me, Mr. Empath! Read me!” Liam sucked in a breath. The three in front of him looked stunned at the strange turn of events. The possibility of him getting out of this? He looked at the eager faces.
Zero.
“Fine… just fine,” Liam sighed. A chorus of exclamations went up. “Just don’t say anything alright?” Liam asked looking over the group carefully. “Oh and back up,” he waved the rest of them away from him. The all just stared at him strangely.
“Back up! I can’t feel him if you’re all crowding his emotions.”
The made little oh sounds and moved away. Arthur, Mr. Thomassen and Mr. Noica stayed at the front of the group though. The empath rolled his eyes and spun the chair back around to face the Italian.
“Feliciano, right?” Liam asked. The boy bobbed his head.
“Alright so there are a bunch of ways for an empath to read a person.” Liam could hear the sound of a pencil scratching behind him. He turned and grabbed one of his own so it’d be easier to remember everything.
“What I want you to do is think about a particular event in your life and I’ll tell you the emotions behind it. Ok?” Liam was doing this because it was safer than exposing everything the boy was feeling right now.
"Do you have an event?" The brunette nodded, eyes closed. Liam nodded also and let himself zone out. The emotions were right there, so easy to grasp. Liam sat soaking up his emotions, he barely even had to concentrate.
“Don’t you have to be touching him?” Mr. Thomassen asked.
“Stop talking to me,” Liam replied, concentrating on remembering each emotions as it came up.
Terror and bravery mixed together in the first sequence, then a burst of nostalgia, and excitement. The next sequence was longer and a flower of friendship was the main emotion, but then there was worry. It was strong enough that Liam was able to pin down the reason too. It was about being abandoned by another person, a guy, Liam was almost positive. There was jealousy (over someone, not something). More bravery and terror along with a healthy dose of tenderness then a rapid fire of wonder, joy, and excitement.
In the absence of the event's memories, Liam was able to clearly see the trails of Feliciano's worry about abandonment under almost all of his other emotions. Liam scratched down the emotions on a scrap piece of paper. “Ok Feli, do you want to tell anyone what you were thinking of?”
Nerves cropped up and Feliciano searched the rest of the nations. Not finding whoever he was looking for he shook his head. Protests broke out, the loudest was, “How will we know if you’re telling the truth?” Liam ignored them and recounted the emotions for the small brunette.
As Liam spoke Feliciano’s eyes got wider and wider. The last thing though, that he wouldn’t say to the Italian in front of other people so he wrote it down and slid it across the table.
You’re still worried he will leave you for someone else.
Feliciano’s eye’s nearly bulged out of his head and his face went white. He snatched the paper off the table and stared at it. He gave a high pitched giggle before exclaiming, “Veee, this made me hungry for some PASTA!” He booked it out of the room faster than Liam had ever seen someone move. The piece of paper was crumpled up in his hand.
The room was silent for a moment before the other Italian, Lovino, broke ranks and approached Liam. He appeared puzzled but inside Liam could feel a growing desire to know. The boy from high school had a desire like this after he’d learned Liam’s advice was sound. The empath wasn’t sure how he was going to get out of this.
“Go ahead bastardo, read me now,” Lovino demanded.
Liam could feel his own hurt for a moment before the Italian’s false anger replaced his emotions. Liam snarled, “You and I know what you show on your face, it’s not how you really feel about him,” Liam nodded his face in the Spaniard’s direction, “and don’t call me a bastard.”
The other ambassadors were bewildered by him, he could feel it, but Liam was heading for the door. He was so out of here. His job was not to pander to the foreigners, it was to maintain the building. That was it.
As he was striding away from the room, he could hear the British, Norwegian and Romanian delegates calling after him. He knew this wouldn’t be the last time he heard from those three. It was definitely past time for him to go on his lunch break.
The following days the building had never felt so crowded. Everywhere Liam went someone was there. If he was going into the restroom, someone was walking out of it. If he was making himself a mid-morning cup of coffee, someone was there adding sugar to theirs. If he was emptying the garbage bins in unused conference rooms, someone had escaped into that exact room to do last minute paper work. Liam felt like a pregnant woman with all the mood swings he had to deal with! And to top it off Liam constantly had to be on guard for the magic trio. Why was Liam calling them the magic trio? Because they frequently appeared out of nowhere, making a childish part of Liam blame their successful sneak attacks on him on magic.
This particular morning he had to attend to the computer lab which meant a busy morning. He’d have to run virus tests, update the software, download the latest patches, replace the printer’s ink and paper… the list felt endless. The good thing was it kept him away from the others. Liam settled into a brisk dusting, aiming to get the physical task out of the way quickly. The room was split in half, half Macintoshes, half PCs. Soft padded, rolling chairs sat before each computer, thankfully not leather so they didn’t need to be polished. Soft light filtered in from the large bay windows. It was a pleasant morning. Quiet. If he let himself get into the routine of his dusting he could almost pretend that he was alone in the building again.
A soft creak and the tread footsteps broke the silence. Liam didn’t have to turn around, he knew who that person was. The German. Liam glanced up and yes, the blonde German was sitting down at a PC. The two caught each other’s eyes. The German nodded to Liam. Liam stared at his stoic face. None of the guilt, remorse or fury broke through the other man’s mask. With a moment’s hesitation Liam nodded back.
The German proceeded to go about his business and Liam tried to get back to his. Only now he couldn’t concentrate on what he was suppose to do. The despair clung to the blonde like an old friend. Liam felt like his lungs were being crushed by it. Dazed, he began running software updates on the Macs. A flame of humiliation rose up from nowhere and Liam’s cheeks darkened. He shifted and looked over his shoulder. The German was taping away at the key board, occasionally stopping to read something. He was so embarrassed, no, mortified. But he hadn’t even done anything to be so embarrassed. A feeling this intense normally was felt in extreme situations… it wasn’t something paperwork should trigger. Guilt was next. It was heavy, smothering. Liam’s dark eyes glazed over as he spaced out. He couldn’t think around the guilt.
Liam stood. He had to get out of there. It would take a while for the Macs to update anyway. He just had to go. He started to make his way towards the door. Before he could get away though another emotion crashed down around him. It was as if every shade of sorrow was blooming inside of him: anguish, remorse, grief, regret, distress, heart ache, misery. Liam nearly caved in on himself. His heart couldn’t take this. Tears sprang into his eyes. It felt like what he’d felt after his mother had passed away. Only six million times worse.
The empath crashed into the bathroom. Great, gasping sobs ripped their way out of him. He let himself sink down onto the floor, pressing his face against the cool tiles. Tears rained from his eyes. He couldn’t even pull himself into a stall. He just laid against the wall unable to move any further, so desperate for the heart ache to stop.
I'm so late, sorry! I saw you updated but I hadn't had time to read or comment. Anyway, I really love what's happened so far and poor Liam and poor Germany!
Being cornered probably wasn't the best way for them to talk to Liam, I like how Liam is standing up against revealing everything or being a test subject, especially if the nations aren't going to reveal anything. I hope something is revealed now that he's collapsed.
I wonder what triggered Germany's embarrassment and shame, whether he saw something while he working.
Anyway, I'm still really enjoying this story and I hope you update soon!
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Author Here!
(Anonymous) 2012-02-11 03:13 am (UTC)(link)Just wanted to let you know, I've started working on this prompt. I'll be using the bonuses as ideas for interactions between the empath and nations. Are their any others that the OP would really like to see? Or any thing else you want included?
OP
(Anonymous) 2012-02-11 06:58 am (UTC)(link)Anything else, not really. I would like to see what the empath thinks about Canada's emotions and if you could add Russia, that would be really interesting. And the bonuses.
But really, that's all optional. I'm just glad to get a fill. :)
Empathy or Why He Liked To Work Alone 1/?
(Anonymous) 2012-02-12 04:26 am (UTC)(link)Every morning Liam came in with his black coffee and took a deep breath. Empty. That's how he liked it. No one else around to dictate how he should feel. It was a blessing when he got this job. He had to go through several newspapers and online searches before he found a job where he could work alone or with just a few other people. The few times that he had to do in person interviews for his solo jobs, the employers were always shocked that a young guy was interested in such a lonesome job.
Liam pushed the cleaning cart through the quiet hallway. He figured he'd clean first then he could sort any deliveries before having lunch. He opened a wooden door. Behind it was a long oval shaped table with dozens of empty leather chairs sitting at it. He'd polish the leather chairs first since they were coming tomorrow.
They only came once a year, a horde of young, international ambassadors. He heard from the last employee that they descended onto the building with all the chaos of an upturned hornet's nest. When they were here he was also responsible for any paper work, incoming calls and human resources. He hated human resources. He hadn't been here the last time they were in the building. He'd started this job right after their last conference. The previous attendant had left Liam the keys and information to the building while repeatedly thanking him.
He sat in one leather chair while polishing another. The leather went from a dusty, dull mud color to a gleaming dark chocolate. He rubbed his rag along the back of the chair. Sometimes he'd play music when he cleaned. Today he just listened to the silence.
The real reason why he wanted to work alone was because he could feel everything. Every person who walked past him, who spoke with him, who he saw, he could feel them. No other job he'd applied to offered him such independence. He figured the one month trade off of having to babysit some foreign dignitaries would be worth it. He moved on to the next chair, then the next.
When he was a teen he'd struggled because he always wanted to help people. One time he'd recommend to a guy to admit to his feelings to his crush. Liam knew she liked him back. After they guy did, Liam had the guy coming back every day to ask him for more advice. That guy told his friends and his friends told their friends and eventually Liam couldn't get a moment to himself. It'd led to him having a colossal break down. No one should have to feel all that pressure all the time. It was bad enough he could never turn off everyone else's feelings. The hours moseyed on by. After he'd made it half way around the table he took a break for lunch. The polishing was taking him longer than he'd expected.
He had a cucumber and mayo sandwich for lunch. It was what his mother had always packed for him in school. Even though he knew he couldn't do it anymore, Liam still always wanted to say something to the really poor souls he ran into. He never let himself though. If he started giving counseling advice again, he'd wouldn't be able to stop up and in the end he wind up advising every Joe-smoe he felt sorry for. Then he'd really never get a moment to himself.
Liam licked his fingers and crumpled up his trash. Spinning on the leather chair he shot the tin foil into the garbage.
"Score!" The word broke the silence like an explosion.
Liam smiled before getting back to his cleaning. They were coming tomorrow.
Re: Empathy or Why He Liked To Work Alone 2/?
(Anonymous) 2012-02-12 04:27 am (UTC)(link)His early morning activities went quickly. He laid out the files that'd been delivered the day before, let the caterers into the conference room and answered the phone. They were set to arrive at nine. Liam's stomach was in knots. The past employee had seemed really eager to leave after his month with the delegates. He knew once the first person arrived he'd only feel their emotions, his would be blotted out until he get alone again.
A door opened and Liam felt a cold draft. Their was no sound from the entry way. Liam sat behind his secretary desk fiddling with some sticky notes. He couldn't see the person yet but they were close enough to change his mood. A bubble of mischievousness rose up in him along with a tendril of smugness. Liam cracked a grin and before he realized it, he'd kicked his feet up on the desk. He waited for the first delegate to walk into his line of sight. A white head of hair rushed into his line of sight.
"You didn't see anything!" A good looking young man called over his shoulder as he went speeding into the conference room. Liam chuckled at the amusement coming from the man. As the white haired guy ran out of Liam's empathy range he took his feet down from the desk. He really should have more control than that. He'd have to get use to having so many people around again.
The door slammed open again, "Prussia! Get back here gott verdammt!" a heavily accented voice yelled, "You are not a nation so you are not allowed at the world conferences!"
Frazzled and indigent, those were the surface emotions that washed over him. The empath wanted to run a hand through his dark hair, but managed to keep it on the desk instead. A blonde man stalked into his line of sight.
"Excuse me!" the blonde said, "did you happen to see a white haired idiot run past here?" The delegate stood in front of him with a small German flag pinned to his lapel.
Liam froze behind his chair. Normally he just got surface emotions… like what happened earlier, but this guy. This guy… god, there was so much. Bunches of pain, humiliation, anger, and regret. Tucked away, practically hidden was a tender flower of pride and enthusiasm.
"Uh," Liam stuttered, "no, sorry."
These were not the emotions the man was feeling currently, was it? One person usually only felt so much when they were having a huge break down or flip out. Not when they were talking with someone they just met.
The man ground his teeth, "thank you," he murmured before heading towards the conference room. Liam stared at his retreating back, wondering what the hell was going on with the German.
Re: Empathy or Why He Liked To Work Alone 3a/?
(Anonymous) 2012-02-12 04:29 am (UTC)(link)Halfway through the day the conference room door burst open and two blondes spilled out. They were arguing. Liam saw them yelling at each other, but they were just too far away to hear. As they moved closer Liam could almost make out the colors of their pins. His eyes roved over their lapels… both red, white and blue. That's when he heard the accents.
"You lecherious frog!"
"Ah mon petit chaton…"
When the two came closer to Liam the emotions crashed into him like a tsunami. He froze in his seat. Lust made his nerve endings feel like they were on fire while annoyance gave him heart burn. As they passed by Liam jumped up awkwardly. He had to touch. He looked at the two men as they began to walk away from him. The shorter one had the best ass Liam had ever seen on a guy and he wasn't even gay! But that ass was round and plump and…
"What do you think you are doing?" a British accent screeched.
The blonde was staring at him over his shoulder. His eyebrows were quite thick. The long haired blonde was practically choking on laughter. His endless hon, hon, hons were turning his face quite a fetching red. Maybe he'd kiss those plump lips… give him something to really blush over. Liam blinked. He'd gotten up from his desk and his hands were on that ass. Slowly he massaged those cheeks once before a pain bloomed in his cheek and he fell down hard.
The punch was exactly what he needed to reign in his raging lust… or the Frenchmen's raging lust. Damn how could a guy feel that horny all the time and not be hitting on everything with two legs? Liam pinched the bridge of his nose. He should not, not, not have done that.
Liam focused his attention on the shorter blonde who was spitting words at him. The young man tried to focus on his emotions instead of the other's lust. There was annoyance, embarrassment and a touch of rage, but just behind that was determination, confidence and maturity. He could use those emotions to fix this.
"I'm so sorry, sir," Liam apologized, "I have no idea what came over me. That was extremely out of character for me."
"And it bloody well better be!" The Brit exclaimed, "I expect that type of treatment from this frog, but not from the staff here!"
The Frenchmen laughed, "relax Angleterre, what is a little grope among friends, oui?"
Liam looked at him and instantly that lust infected him again. The man's blonde hair looked so silky to the touch and his lips were so womanly, how could Liam not like them? Liam quickly closed the gap between the two of them. He kissed the man. It was the first time he'd ever had to tilt his head up to kiss someone. Faintly he felt his own bafflement and almost disgust at the thought that he was kissing a strange man after only meeting him. Unfortunately for the empath, the long haired blonde's attraction only got more intense when Liam after kissing him.
Liam dipped his tongue into the other man's mouth. His tongue skimmed over the other's teeth. The taller man sucked on his tongue and Liam moaned into his mouth. Even as he was making out, the empath could feel a new set of emotions fall into the mix of the Brit's and Frenchmen's. Sadness, depression and confusion. It wasn't either of these two guys... there must be someone else in the area. He distantly realized the man he was currently making out with might have a girlfriend or something and he should stop.
The thought came and went. He just didn't care. He was really freakin' horny. The Frenchmen nipped at Liam's lips and his hands wandered down to grab at the delegate's ass. Only when those negative emotions got closer did Liam break for a breather. He pulled back to see dark blue eyes glazed over and a cocky smile settle on that handsome face.
"Why are you so horny all the time?" The question left Liam's mouth before he could catch it.
The Frenchmen cocked his head, "excusez-moi?"
Re: Empathy or Why He Liked To Work Alone 3a/?
(Anonymous) 2012-02-12 04:31 am (UTC)(link)"Son… are you alright?" The accented voice was deeper when he wasn't yelling.
"Shit, I'm so sorry!" Liam exclaimed. His own emotions flared bright for a moment and overshadowed the strange men's feelings. Liam was baffled and embarrassed.
"I can't help it! You guys feel so much. This has never happened before... I should have better control. God, I'm going to loose my job! Can you not tell my boss about this? Oh what am I saying of course you're going to tell my boss!" Liam would have continued to ramble, but a calloused hand pushed his jaw shut. His voice was muffled behind his lips until he noticed he'd been shut up. Then he went silent.
"Take a deep breath," Liam breathed in, "first tell me what you're name is."
"William, but I go by Liam," he answered.
"That is a strong English name," the shorter blonde said.
Liam tried to get his thoughts in order, "Thanks, my mom was from Dover. It reminded her of her home."
"Lovely to meet you, I'm Arthur," the Brit said, "I have a bit of an odd question for you Liam."
Liam nodded his head ready for anything. The phone number for his boss? 603-357-0401. When's lunch being served? 12:30 pm. Is he gay? He didn't think so ten minutes ago.
"Are you an empath?"
His breath shuddered out of his chest and he stared at Arthur. Well, he thought he was ready for anything.
OP
(Anonymous) 2012-02-14 04:53 pm (UTC)(link)I love Liam and how he deals with being an empath, like finding solitary jobs and staying away from other people's problems. Also him trying to deal with other people's emotions as well as trying to identify his own amongst them must be really difficult and you showed that well.
Him meeting France and England first was both unfortunate and fortunate. He met France but at least England will recognise what he is. And Germany's emotions with the hidden feeling of pride was so sad.
I hope you post it on the fills list because I think that other anons will want to read this story!
Re: OP
(Anonymous) 2012-02-14 07:00 pm (UTC)(link)Re: Empathy or Why He Liked To Work Alone 4a/?
(Anonymous) 2012-02-14 07:07 pm (UTC)(link)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Oh, ah,” Liam admitted, “yes… how did you know?”
Arthur was smiling and he looked thrilled to be meeting Liam. That wasn’t a new experience for the empath. He probably wanted relationship tips or something. The Frenchmen was silent next to Arthur just staring at Liam.
“You’re a telepath?” a voice called out, “Oh my god man! That’s so cool!”
Liam felt himself be dragged away. He looked up to see another blonde. This one had an American accent. Was this really the delegate for the United States? The American pushed Liam into the conference room and yelled out, “Yo guys! I found a telepath! How cool is that bros?!”
Liam looked up to see all the foreign dignitaries staring at him. Some had their jaws dropped, other’s exclaimed, and others loudly protested that their was no such thing. But Liam could feel what they all felt. And they all felt surface curiosity, but under that was pain, pain, pain. And betrayal and unrequited love and joy and bitterness and friendship.
Liam started to hyperventilate. He needed to get out of here. He tried to pull away from the tall American, but his grip was too strong. He was sending out an overwhelming air of bitterness, anger and false cheer. It was sickening for Liam to feel and he hated the American for pretending he was ok when he wasn’t. The young empath tried to stretch his connection to find a stable emotion. To his right was a man wearing a pink scar with an more negative emotions. Liam tried not to let in well in him, but they were those negative emotions were strongest and closest emotions.
“I’ve got no idea what you’re talking about.” Liam said, “Telepath’s don’t exist. I’m just the attendant for the building.”
Liam could feel when Arthur and his make-out buddy entered the room. He hoped they would be able to distract the annoying blonde so he could escape back to his desk. Their were too many emotions here. He couldn’t think properly.
“But I just heard you say that to Arthur and Francis!” The American said, “didn’t he?”
Ah so Francis must be the Frenchmen. Fitting.
“I believe it is time for the lunch break!” Arthur exclaimed. This got a physical reaction out of everyone and Liam wanted to kiss him for getting everyone to leave so quickly. One short brunette even leapt from his seat shouting, “paaasta!”
Pretty soon the room was empty except for Liam, Arthur, the tattle-tale American, yet another blonde and a brunette. The American was still sending out his bitter cocktail of false cheer and resentment. Arthur turned to the American and said, “Alfred, I saw a McDonald’s down the street this morning. I bet you could make it there and back during the lunch break.”
Alfred looked like he was going to refuse, but then seemed to realize something and exclaimed, “of course! The hero needs to have his awesome lunch!” Alfred turned for the door, “I’ll see you dudes later!”
With that Alfred dashed out of the room. Liam was left with Arthur and the mystery duo. Now that other people had left the room, Liam was able to read them and they all practically vibrated with surface excitement.
“I’m really not a telepath. You know that right?” Liam didn’t want to talk to them.
“I appreciate you getting me out of that,” Liam gestured to the room, “but I have work to get back to.”
“But you are something special, otherwise Arthur would never have stayed.” The blonde said coolly, “My name is Lukas Thomassen and I’m sure your paper work can wait.”
“Very nice to meet you, Mr. Thomassen.” Liam replied, “I’m William Ferry and it really can’t.” He really shouldn’t be reacting based on his emotions though. Liam knew that. If he left for his desk, he had a feeling though that if he left they’d just follow him. Arthur hadn’t given Liam a last name to address him by, but this guy, he demanded formality.
“Yes, the boy is an empath,” Arthur said, ignoring Liam’s statement about work.
Re: Empathy or Why He Liked To Work Alone 4b/?
(Anonymous) 2012-02-14 07:07 pm (UTC)(link)“Um,” Liam murmured. His smile widening at the cheer then he himself fall into a half glare again. No more reacting to their emotions. Liam greeted him back quietly. The three herded him over to a seat, telling him they had questions for him. They just stared at him for a moment and Liam looked down. The concentrated attention of these three was equal to what he felt like to be in a classroom in high school.
The table needed to be windexed when the delegates left today. Their were finger prints everywhere. Like a rising wave, Liam watched as the three foreigner’s curiosity built up. He knew any moment they’d be asking him bunches of questions and he had to figure out how he’d answer them or escape.
Arthur knew he was an empath. He’d figured it out just by watching Liam. Although admittedly most people didn’t just start making out with strangers… but he could have just been eccentric! But no, Arthur had realized he had some affinity for empathy after just a few moments with Liam. Why had he confirmed it? He could have just lied then and said no he was just really horny! This was a complete mess.
“How does your empathy work?” Arthur said.
Liam expected that since he was the one who’d stumbled across Liam. Arthur spoke fast and even without his empathy Liam would have been able to tell he was in a better mood then the first time he’d seen Liam. He had a smile on his face and a little notebook out. Was Arthur really going to be writing this down? He’d just be direct. He wasn’t a lab rat after all. And usually people just wanted advice, not how it worked!
“Sorry, I think you’re confused.” Liam said, “I never agreed to answer any questions.”
All three faces fell at the same time and Liam could feel confusion from Mr. Noica and Arthur and almost scorn from Mr. Thomassen. None of them were apologetic. He wondered how they’d feel if he asked them why they felt so much pain, pain, pain. They probably would think it was an invasion of privacy. What they didn’t understand was this was the thing. He didn’t ask them, they shouldn’t ask him!
OP
(Anonymous) 2012-02-14 08:24 pm (UTC)(link)Maybe they could do ask a question, answer a question but then again, Liam's not curious at all. He just wants to get away from them.
America's emotions are interesting and I really love how Liam is so eager to get away from him because he hates the falseness. Is 'pink scar' meant to be 'pink scarf'? Is that Russia? Oh, I can't wait to see how Liam reacts to him. And to everyone really.
Sorry for the long ramble, but I saw this on the Fills List and was really excited. I hope you continue this soon, I'm really looking forward to the updates. :D
Author
(Anonymous) 2012-02-16 07:34 pm (UTC)(link)And YES! Pink scar was supposed to have an f on the end of it! I don't know where f decided to vacation too... so yeah that'd be Russia. And I LOVE your ramble. I'm please to hear you're enjoying it!
Anywhoo gotta stop replying to people on here and get back to writing it :D
Re: Empathy or Why He Liked To Work Alone 4b/?
(Anonymous) 2012-02-14 09:21 pm (UTC)(link)Re: Empathy or Why He Liked To Work Alone 4b/?
(Anonymous) 2012-02-15 10:18 am (UTC)(link)Author
(Anonymous) 2012-02-16 07:27 pm (UTC)(link)Re: Empathy or Why He Liked To Work Alone 5/?
(Anonymous) 2012-02-16 09:18 pm (UTC)(link)Liam was disappointed, no Arthur was disappointed and Arthur wasn’t planning on giving up. Liam sighed because knew that he had to deal with these delegates for the rest of the month. He didn’t want to be harassed by them the entire time. Just sitting here for the last five minutes with them made his skin prickle from the uncomfortable static electricity feel of their curiosity. It might be pathetic, but he’d rather tell them once and get it over with than prolong the experience. At least then he could be left alone again.
“Fine, fine….” He let the words escape, “I don’t know how to answer you’re question though…” Part of himself was angry for giving in so easily, but it was quickly squashed by the excitement coming from the three foreigners. He rolled side to side in the leather chair.
“Just try,” Mr. Noica coaxed. He didn’t realize, but Liam was trying! He pulled some calm out of Mr. Thomassen. It made him feel cold inside, but he was able to answer without yelling.
The empath stopped fidgeting. “Why do you want to know anyway?” Liam asked,
“What reason should I tell you something so personal? Will you reciprocate or am I just suppose to spill my secrets to you?”
Everyone was startled and the Romanian stuttered out, “Uh… I didn’t realize it was so
personal for you.”
In the back of his mind, Liam noticed a group of people lingering around the conference room door. Was lunch over already? All of a sudden there was a spike of anger. The unexpected emotion wiggled into him before he could stop it and then he was yelling.
“Of course it is! It’d be like me asking you what you’re deepest desire is or why you have so much pain?!” Liam shouted. His nails were biting into his palms.
“No person feels as much as you guys feel. It’s not normal!” The anger kept coming, Liam couldn’t feel the other guys’ emotions anymore.
“What? Do you want me to “read” your emotions for you? And do what then? I’m not a circus attraction!” Liam exclaimed.
The door burst open and heaps of dignitaries fell into the room on top of each other. On the bottom of the pile was the American. He was visibly upset. On top of him were three brunettes, Francis, the mischievous albino, another blonde with glasses. Looming above them was the German and a man with a rifle. It’s safe to say the anger he was feeling was from those two. However, he could also feel curiosity from them all. There was hidden love from Francis towards the blonde boy with glasses. What Francis didn’t know was the blonde had unrequited love towards Francis. Their was an odd mix of paternal feelings their too…Liam’s stomach rolled. Please, don’t let it be incest! He did not know how to handle that!
Re: Empathy or Why He Liked To Work Alone 6/?
(Anonymous) 2012-02-16 09:52 pm (UTC)(link)“Veee, can you tell me what I’m feeling?” A small Italian wiggled out of the heap and scurried over to Liam.
“Feliciano!” Another Italian called out scrambling after him, kicking the last brunette in the side as he did. A pained, “Looovi,” was exclaimed with a Spanish accent.
Feliciano plopped down in a seat next to Liam, “Read me, Mr. Empath! Read me!”
Liam sucked in a breath. The three in front of him looked stunned at the strange turn of events. The possibility of him getting out of this? He looked at the eager faces.
Zero.
“Fine… just fine,” Liam sighed. A chorus of exclamations went up. “Just don’t say anything alright?” Liam asked looking over the group carefully. “Oh and back up,” he waved the rest of them away from him. The all just stared at him strangely.
“Back up! I can’t feel him if you’re all crowding his emotions.”
The made little oh sounds and moved away. Arthur, Mr. Thomassen and Mr. Noica stayed at the front of the group though. The empath rolled his eyes and spun the chair back around to face the Italian.
“Feliciano, right?” Liam asked. The boy bobbed his head.
“Alright so there are a bunch of ways for an empath to read a person.” Liam could hear the sound of a pencil scratching behind him. He turned and grabbed one of his own so it’d be easier to remember everything.
“What I want you to do is think about a particular event in your life and I’ll tell you the emotions behind it. Ok?” Liam was doing this because it was safer than exposing everything the boy was feeling right now.
"Do you have an event?" The brunette nodded, eyes closed. Liam nodded also and let himself zone out. The emotions were right there, so easy to grasp. Liam sat soaking up his emotions, he barely even had to concentrate.
“Don’t you have to be touching him?” Mr. Thomassen asked.
“Stop talking to me,” Liam replied, concentrating on remembering each emotions as it came up.
Terror and bravery mixed together in the first sequence, then a burst of nostalgia, and excitement. The next sequence was longer and a flower of friendship was the main emotion, but then there was worry. It was strong enough that Liam was able to pin down the reason too. It was about being abandoned by another person, a guy, Liam was almost positive. There was jealousy (over someone, not something). More bravery and terror along with a healthy dose of tenderness then a rapid fire of wonder, joy, and excitement.
In the absence of the event's memories, Liam was able to clearly see the trails of Feliciano's worry about abandonment under almost all of his other emotions. Liam scratched down the emotions on a scrap piece of paper. “Ok Feli, do you want to tell anyone what you were thinking of?”
Nerves cropped up and Feliciano searched the rest of the nations. Not finding whoever he was looking for he shook his head. Protests broke out, the loudest was, “How will we know if you’re telling the truth?” Liam ignored them and recounted the emotions for the small brunette.
As Liam spoke Feliciano’s eyes got wider and wider. The last thing though, that he wouldn’t say to the Italian in front of other people so he wrote it down and slid it across the table.
You’re still worried he will leave you for someone else.
Feliciano’s eye’s nearly bulged out of his head and his face went white. He snatched the paper off the table and stared at it. He gave a high pitched giggle before exclaiming, “Veee, this made me hungry for some PASTA!” He booked it out of the room faster than Liam had ever seen someone move. The piece of paper was crumpled up in his hand.
Re: Empathy or Why He Liked To Work Alone 7/?
(Anonymous) 2012-02-21 07:17 am (UTC)(link)“Go ahead bastardo, read me now,” Lovino demanded.
Liam could feel his own hurt for a moment before the Italian’s false anger replaced his emotions. Liam snarled, “You and I know what you show on your face, it’s not how you really feel about him,” Liam nodded his face in the Spaniard’s direction, “and don’t call me a bastard.”
The other ambassadors were bewildered by him, he could feel it, but Liam was heading for the door. He was so out of here. His job was not to pander to the foreigners, it was to maintain the building. That was it.
As he was striding away from the room, he could hear the British, Norwegian and Romanian delegates calling after him. He knew this wouldn’t be the last time he heard from those three. It was definitely past time for him to go on his lunch break.
Re: Empathy or Why He Liked To Work Alone 8/?
(Anonymous) 2012-02-21 07:18 am (UTC)(link)This particular morning he had to attend to the computer lab which meant a busy morning. He’d have to run virus tests, update the software, download the latest patches, replace the printer’s ink and paper… the list felt endless. The good thing was it kept him away from the others.
Liam settled into a brisk dusting, aiming to get the physical task out of the way quickly. The room was split in half, half Macintoshes, half PCs. Soft padded, rolling chairs sat before each computer, thankfully not leather so they didn’t need to be polished. Soft light filtered in from the large bay windows. It was a pleasant morning. Quiet. If he let himself get into the routine of his dusting he could almost pretend that he was alone in the building again.
A soft creak and the tread footsteps broke the silence. Liam didn’t have to turn around, he knew who that person was. The German. Liam glanced up and yes, the blonde German was sitting down at a PC. The two caught each other’s eyes. The German nodded to Liam. Liam stared at his stoic face. None of the guilt, remorse or fury broke through the other man’s mask. With a moment’s hesitation Liam nodded back.
The German proceeded to go about his business and Liam tried to get back to his. Only now he couldn’t concentrate on what he was suppose to do. The despair clung to the blonde like an old friend. Liam felt like his lungs were being crushed by it. Dazed, he began running software updates on the Macs. A flame of humiliation rose up from nowhere and Liam’s cheeks darkened. He shifted and looked over his shoulder. The German was taping away at the key board, occasionally stopping to read something. He was so embarrassed, no, mortified. But he hadn’t even done anything to be so embarrassed. A feeling this intense normally was felt in extreme situations… it wasn’t something paperwork should trigger. Guilt was next. It was heavy, smothering. Liam’s dark eyes glazed over as he spaced out. He couldn’t think around the guilt.
Liam stood. He had to get out of there. It would take a while for the Macs to update anyway. He just had to go. He started to make his way towards the door. Before he could get away though another emotion crashed down around him. It was as if every shade of sorrow was blooming inside of him: anguish, remorse, grief, regret, distress, heart ache, misery. Liam nearly caved in on himself. His heart couldn’t take this. Tears sprang into his eyes. It felt like what he’d felt after his mother had passed away. Only six million times worse.
The empath crashed into the bathroom. Great, gasping sobs ripped their way out of him. He let himself sink down onto the floor, pressing his face against the cool tiles. Tears rained from his eyes. He couldn’t even pull himself into a stall. He just laid against the wall unable to move any further, so desperate for the heart ache to stop.
Re: Empathy or Why He Liked To Work Alone 8/?
(Anonymous) 2012-02-26 03:10 am (UTC)(link)Re: Empathy or Why He Liked To Work Alone 8/?
(Anonymous) 2012-02-26 10:02 pm (UTC)(link)Re: Empathy or Why He Liked To Work Alone 8/?
(Anonymous) 2012-02-28 10:59 am (UTC)(link)OP
(Anonymous) 2012-02-29 09:31 am (UTC)(link)Being cornered probably wasn't the best way for them to talk to Liam, I like how Liam is standing up against revealing everything or being a test subject, especially if the nations aren't going to reveal anything. I hope something is revealed now that he's collapsed.
I wonder what triggered Germany's embarrassment and shame, whether he saw something while he working.
Anyway, I'm still really enjoying this story and I hope you update soon!