Every nation sitting at the long table for once were eager for the meeting to get started. Well, everyone except for England who sat at the head with a scowl. He'd rather be anywhere else than waiting for the evidence of his humiliating loss to open the doors and join them.

Russia smiled politely in a way he hoped was not showing his amusement. It was nice to see the self proclaimed world leader brought down a peg or a hundred pegs considering the British Army -the largest in the world-had just lost to a colony.

Russia pulled up his scarf to hide his lips just incase he could no longer hide his growing smirk.

Russia had been hearing the gossip from across the sea for years now. He remembered scoffing when he heard The Thirteen Colonies had challenged England, thinking it was a shame to see one of their kind die so young, but it really was none of his business if the New World was suicidal.

Then, the news got interesting.

It was said that the boy would not stay down. When England took land, America barely paused a second to register the pain before drawing his weapon and rushing to get it back in increasingly insane ways. The boy launched an attack across a river Christmas night. He set his own lands on fire. He wrote to other empires he'd never even met.

For America, it truly was liberty or death, and the boy was too stubborn to die.

So he won.

And there he was, walking into the meeting room. America pushed open the heavy meeting room doors and looked around with a smile so wide it was a miracle it didn't split his lips at the corners. That was the first thing Russia noticed about America. He smiled like the world was a perfect place and he was simply delighted with it, like he had never known suffering. Yet, the his injuries told a different story.

His eyes were too bright under his glasses. They looked like God had plucked out pieces of the sky to make them. Yet, one seemed extra blue because it was contrasted by dark bruises surrounding it. America held himself tall, but he leaned ever so slightly to his right, favoring that leg.

Russia felt disappointment but not surprise faced with the proof that ideals of the new world growing up without violence were nothing more than flimsy dreams. The unspoken promises to raise the youth better was ripped apart by the gears of history, forever driving them forwards no matter the cost.

France, Prussia, and Spain jumped up to hug their ally. Prussia went so far as to lift the new nation and swing around, whooping about victory. Everyone else stood to introduce themselves. A crowd of overlapping voices formed around the new arrival, and no one listened to England demanding that they should go along with the meeting as usual.

Russia was content to wait a few moments until they settled down. He would go introduce himself, but he wasn't in any hurry to meet another nation that would surely come to avoid him either from sensing his power as an empire or being put off by chilling demeanor.

With a sigh, he stood and made his way towards the crowd which parted before him like his peers believed they could freeze just by standing too close to him. America came into view again. The blue coat of his uniform swished around as the new nation swung his hands, in the middle some war story, but he settled down when he noticed a newcomer.

America looked up at the empire before him, and his smile didn't fade. He immediately came closer. Russia could see his own surprised face reflected in the boy's spectacles. America was nearly a head shorter than him, but he didn't seem to mind looking up.

"It's nice to meet you, I am the United States of America but you can just call me America or US for short! I know its a mouthful. I thought about just going with one name, but none of my founders could really agree on just one word. I like what we ended up coming up with anyway. Who are you?" America tapped his foot while he rambled. It was easy to think of this nation as perpetually moving.

The boy offered a hand in greeting, and when Russia took it to shake, he could feel the callouses from gripping riffles for years were already there. The boy had innocent eyes, but he was a warrior. It was important to know that. This was not a normal friendly face, was not a human child. America could be an enemy one day even though his gaze was open and his smile seemed genuine.

"I am Russia. It is a pleasure to meet you, America." The empire found his own smile felt real. It was America's excitement was contagious. Russia could use someone like that around, and his mind briefly entertained the idea of what it would be like to make this newly unowned land his.

"You hands are freezing!" America exclaimed and pulled away. "You should drink something warm. Do they have hot chocolate at your place? I haven't had that in a while, and everyone here is drinking coffee! Which is fine, coffee is fine, but its bland."

"I prefer tea." Russia said conversationally and America said without pause, "Gross."

Russia wasn't exactly sure how to respond to that. This new nation spoke to him like they were already friends.

Thankfully, America filled the silence. It seemed he was a chatterbox, "Darn sorry! I'm sure your tea is great! I just hate England's tea. That stuff tastes like boiled grass."

Russia laughed and quickly stopped himself, but America was already grinning proudly at successfully making a humorous jab at his old ruler.

"You should watch what you say. England is already mad enough at you. It is not wise to stir up tension when you are new." Russia warned when the amusement wore off. He didn't want to see this boy get in a fight he'd probably lose in his current state.

America huffed and crossed his arms immaturely. Yet, his gaze flickered to England who was all the way on the far side of the room. "I'd like to see the old man try! I've already beat him once." The youth was arrogant in his words, but his voice was quieter than it had been previously. He looked up at Russia and insisted, "I'm not scared of him."

Russia was reminded of his younger self standing next to his leader during the mongol invasion around five hundred years ago. He remembered putting on a brave face despite shivering in the face of a stronger enemy.

"Da, I'm sure you aren't." Russia said with more understanding, surprising himself by how much more gentle his tone was. "But it is good to learn to stay out of trouble anyway."

America considered those words for a few moments. He bit his lip nervously before replying, "Nothing gets done without stirring up a little bit of trouble. Thank you for the advise Russia." The polite tone seemed contrived, like thanking someone for a lousy gift.

America began to walk back towards the other nations, but he paused and turned back towards Russia.

Russia had no doubt America had already disregarded the tip to watch is words because the younger nation grinned and said in a much more chipper tone, "I have to actually try and present. I have some revolutionary topics to cover in this meeting."

Russia raised an eyebrow. "That doesn't sound like staying out of trouble."

America laughed, waved, and proceeded to talk about democracy in a room full of monarchies that believed in the divine right of ruling families and therefore that God was on the side of kings and queens.

At least America made a point to assure the nations present that he had no intention of spreading his ideology to them and that the last thing he wanted was another war. That should keep him safe for a while longer.

The new addition to world meetings was certainly unique.

Russia had a feeling America was going to cause a lot of trouble one day, and he couldn't help but looking forwards to seeing what the young nation would do next.