Halloween party, Pumpkin Carving Contest!
Disclaimer: No, I don't own Hetalia. Wish I did...
Note to readers: Welcome to my silly Halloween story. This, and What Lurks in the Night are connected but you do not need to read the other to enjoy this.
Happy reading!
America wandered around the gardens of his estate, checking that everything was set up and making any needed last minute changes to the nights preparations.
'Man, tonight is gonna be so sweet! This has got to be my best plan yet!' He thought. Though, he thinks that about all of his ideas, so nothing new there.
He nods as he's finally satisfied with the preparations, just in time too. The last lights of the dusk sky are beginning to fade, meaning that the party will officially be starting soon. America smiles wide, he can't wait.
XoxoxoxoxoxoX
"Come on, Nor! Help me out here, please!" Denmark whines to his fellow Nordic friend.
"No." Norway casually replies, not even turning to look at the pleading face of his friend.
"But your always so good at this, pleeeeaaassee!"
"I'm not helping you pick your costume. Besides what does it matter? There's no contest this year, not after how England flipped out at America for tricking him into that Robin costume that one time."
"But I still gotta look my best!" The Danish nation complained.
Denmark looked down at his bed, currently covered with 4 different costumes. He could go as the awesome ghoul, or the creepy demon, or the weird rock monster -a golem he thinks Nor called it- or, he could go as the adorable fairy princess. How is he supposed to choose?
"Noooooorrrrrrr!" He whines in his most annoying tone of voice. That usually get's him to cave, but, apparently not this time.
"No. Just pick one. And hurry up about it, your going to make us late. Look, it's already dark out." Norway complains frowning at the night sky out side the hotel window.
"Aww, What! Crap! Okaaaayyy... this one! He cries as he randomly grabs one of the costumes.
"Alright, come on Nor, what are you just standing around for? We're gonna be late!" The Dane cries as he grabs his friends arm and drags him out, as if it were Norway that was holding the pair up.
'Alright, time to party!' He thinks as they exit out onto the street. This is one of the few times of the year that they can all relax and have fun, and he intends to enjoy it to it's fullest. Denmark smiles as they begin walking down the street, he simply can't wait.
"Romania you pig, get out!" Hungry screams as said Nation bolts from her hotel room, cackling all the while.
"Hmph!" She huffs as she slams the room door shut. Behind her she can hear Austria sigh.
"How did he even get your room key?" He asks.
"How should I know? I still have both of mine. He probably bribed the hotel staff or something."
Hungary shakes her head as she moves back over to the bed to finish sorting her costume before they leave. She's really not sure how or why, but breaking into her hotel room at Halloween seems to be some sort of sick tradition of Romania's. Not that he ever really does anything, but he has the uncanny ability to always come in at the most in opportune moments. It's almost like he knows when is the exact worst time to break in and does just that. The thought sends a shiver down her spine. Just. No. She doesn't even want to consider that.
"Well, no matter. Shall we leave? Best that we don't turn up too late." Austria asks, heading for the door, costume in hand. She gives him a warm smile an nods.
"Sure." She says as she grabs her own costume and joins him, heading out.
This is meant to be a night to have fun, and who says that that can't mean getting a little revenge? Her smile widens, she can't wait.
"Hey Guys! Welcome to the party!" America greets each Nation as they arrive at the gates to his estate. Everything is going well so far, most of the Nations have now arrived, the music is playing, the lights are working and everyone looks happy and relaxed. Even so, he knows he won't be able to start enjoying himself until...
"Hey, Canada! France! You guy's made it!" He calls out down his impressive driveway, waving as he sees the two French speaking Nations approaching.
"Hey." Canada says once close enough, accepting the customary bear hug from his twin.
"Hello, America." France greets, wincing as he too, receives the crushing hug.
"Hey, where's England?" The American asks, looking past the pair as if he somehow missed the Englishman.
"He is not here yet?" France asks surprised.
America shakes his head in response, the trio sharing slightly concerned looks. It's rather unusual for the English Nation to be late. Granted, the party doesn't technically have an official start time, besides Sun down. But even for informal gatherings like this the man is usually a good 20 minutes early. Thankfully, any worries he may have had are dismissed as he hears a voice ask, "Oi! Aren't you supposed to be greeting your guests, hmm?"
"England!" America cries happily at the man.
How he can sneak up on people so easily America will never understand, but as long as the elder Nation is here, he doesn't much care as he pulls the very reluctant Nation into a hug.
"Yes, yes, it's good to see you too." He gasps out, having the air squeezed out of his lungs from the hug, and slightly awkwardly patting America on the back. Smiling brightly America releases the man.
"Dude, What gives? You're usually earlier than this?" He questions tilting his head like a curious puppy.
"Just taking care of some last minute business, nothing special." The man shrugs his question off, heading into join the party.
"See you in a bit." He calls as the three head off to join the fun.
He'll join them soon enough, just as soon as everyone arrives, then the fun really can begin.
"Oooohh!" Denmark whistles as he walks through the estates gardens, admiring the decorations.
"Meh." Norway says at his side.
"Took you two long enough!" Romania calls out to the pair as they wander around.
"Blame the Dane, not me." Norway says, not caring for their lateness.
"Aw come on! Oh, hey Sweden's here!" Denmark waves as he heads over to the other Nordic Nation.
"Hey, Sve!"
"Mmh." The tall Nation hums in greeting.
"Hey, ain't Fin and Ice here yet?"
"Mmhm. Said they needed to fix their costumes before changing." He says, nodding towards the Manor.
"Oh, Well Okay then. Hey, where'd Nor go?" He asks as he just now notices his friend isn't beside him.
"Here he comes." Sweden point out as the Norse Nation joins them.
"Where'd you go?"
"None of your business." Norway replies flatly.
Denmark huffs as he looks out over the gathering, spying the buffet tables under the gazebo.
"Oooh, grub!" He says as he moves off, the pair following on behind.
As to be expected of a party hosted by America, there's no shortage of food. Everything from cakes and candies to slabs of meat for carving and finger food are laid out across the tables, even numerous punch bowls and a few chocolate fountains are set up!
Quickly grabbing a plastic plate, the Danish Nation begins piling up food. As he reaches one of the punch bowls he can see Prussia snickering out of the corner of his eye. Knowing instantly what's up, he turns to the laughing Nation.
"Hey, Pru! So... What'd you use this time?" He asks, not needing to elaborate.
"Vodka I stole from the last meeting in Russia." He admits smiling wickedly with no sense of remorse.
"Oooh, bet that stuff has a kick!"
"Kesesesese! You bet," He laughs, leaning in close to conspiratorially whisper in the Danes ear, "Took it from his private collection!" He some how whisper shouts.
"Ahaha! Oh, he's gonna be pissed if he finds out!"
"You both are idiots." Norway says as he joins the conversation.
"Hey, Norway."
"Why waste perfectly good alcohol like that if your not going to drink it? Or..." He says, giving the pair a challenging look, "Is it because you can't handle it?"
"What?! Psh, of course I, The awesome Prussia, can handle Russia's wimpy vodka."
"Prove it."
Prussia halts at that, but only for a second before laughing again.
"Kesesese, sure, easy!" He proclaims as he grabs a cup full of the spiked punch and takes a drink, wincing at the burn.
"Ah, see? No problem."
"One little drink hardly proves anything."
Frowning, Prussia downs the rest to prove he can handle it.
"See?!" He says perhaps a little too loudly.
"Hmm, guess you can handle it. At least better than the Dane could."
"What?! Nor, are you saying Prussia can hold is booze better than me?!" He asks affronted.
Receiving a deadpan look, his friend says, "Why don't you find out?"
"Alright Fine!" He cries as he too, grabs a cup and downs it. There's no way he'd let Prussia drink him under the table and he'll prove it. He doesn't notice the tiny smile Norway gives as he wanders off.
Damn it! Is there no end to Romania and his constant interference in her life? She had just been trying to make a few... adjustments to Austria's and her's costume when the annoying Nation burst in on her again and stole part of Austria's costume. Now she was having to search all the rooms just to find him and get it back. She wishes she had her frying pan with her... maybe she could borrow one from the kitchen?
There! Just down the hall, she can here his irritating laughter. Not stopping to find out what the room might be she throws the door open.
"Roma- oh... A-Austria." She stutters as she comes to a stop. Her ex-husband is standing, currently in the process of relieving himself in the large bathroom she had just burst into. All thoughts of the Romanian fly out of her head as she stares. She shouldn't really, given the situation, but for some unknown reason, seeing him so flustered like this is somehow very attractive. Maybe it's the fact he's so flustered, maybe it's the thrill of being in someone else's home or maybe it's just her. But she knows what she wants, and she's going to get it. Oh, yes, she's going to enjoy tonight very much.
'Alright it's almost done!' America thought as he walked around the covered Olympic sized swimming pool.
"America are you really sure about this?" His twin asked giving the pool a cautious look.
Beside him England and France stand waiting to see what he's up to.
"Just wait, this is gonna be awesome!" He proclaims as he pulls back the cover.
He happily watches the trios reactions of shock as they stare at the now uncovered pool. But rather than being filled with chlorinated water, the entire pool is filled to the brim with jelly. America smiles down at his hard work. The jelly wobbles slightly from the cool breeze, the deep red of the cherry flavouring reflecting the gardens lights, and gives the look of the pool glowing. Suspended inside the jelly hundreds of apples can be seen.
"Wha?" The sound of English and French confusion meets his happy self.
"So, what do you think?"
The trio stare, looking between the pool and America. England is the first to recover.
"You can't be serious?" Odd, he doesn't seem nearly as excited as he had hoped.
"Uh, Yeah. That's why I made it. We can use the diving board to jump in and try to grab the apples in our mouths! It'll be sooo cool!"
"No, it will not."
"Killjoy. You'll see. Now I just need to make sure it's set then we can begin!"
They just don't realise the brilliance of his plan, but they'll see. America happily goes back to checking the pool jelly. This is going to be the best night ever!
Denmark wanders about the gardens, swaying ever so slightly. Okay, maybe drinking the whole punch bowl between them wasn't the best idea, but he had to prove he could hold his drink better than Prussia! Only, when he turned to prove how well he could handle it, Norway was no where to be seen. While looking for the other he decides now was a good time to get changed into his costume. Ah, there he is!
"Nor! Where the hell did you go man! Your not even changed yet, come on, before the contest starts!" He shouts, running up to his friend, he quickly pulls Norway into the changing rooms, throwing his costume at him in the process as he too, heads into a room to change.
"I don't know why your so bothered. Its an individual contest this year, your only making more competition for yourself by making me enter." Nor sighs, taking the clothes and heading into one of the rooms to change anyway.
"Because, it wouldn't be right if I left my buddy out!" He calls through the door. Of course he wants Nor to join in. As the leader of the Nordics, and personally, as a friend it's his job to make sure the others have a good time. He steps out an awaits Norway to finish changing.
Coming out, Norway stops and stares at the Dane before desperately trying not to laugh.
"Pff, hehe. Nice dress Dane." He attempts to say straight faced and fails. Denmark grins.
"Like it? I think I rock the fairy princess look." He says as he gives a spin showing off the puffy pink dress and tiny transparent glitter wings on his back.
"Hehe, yes, very well." Norway says still trying to regain his composure.
The Danish Nations grin only widens at seeing his friend laughing. Yup, the dress is doing the job. Now he just has to keep this up and he knows that Norway will have a great night, even if he denies it.
"Hehehe, oooohhhh, Austriaaaaaaa!" Hungry call's coming out of the on suite bathroom to join the man in the bedroom. She can't wait to show him the adjustment she's made to there outfits. She could get fully changed, but no one else is around, so it's fine for her to only be half dressed as she shows off her work. And besides, she love's seeing how flustered Austria gets around her.
Holding out the now transparent black and white dress shirt she waves it at the man, smiling devilishly. She herself is still only in her short blood red skirt and a half corset, the other Nation lying on the bed awaiting the return of his shirt so he can finish changing.
Just as she was about to hand over the shirt, the room door bursts open, and the last person she want's to see stood in the door way laughing. Turning bright red both in anger and at the intruder she screams, "ROMANIA YOU DICK!" As she tries to cover herself while also grabbing for anything to use as a weapon.
Cackling like the mad man he is, Romania bolts from the room as she grabs the lamp by the bed, pulling it free from the wall, and lobbing it through the doorway. God, he's so annoying!
America stands by the pool, feeling slightly embarrassed as he picks pits of apple and jelly off of himself.
"Why in Gods name, prey tell, did you ever think this would be a good idea?" England sighs at him, shaking his head in disbelief.
"It sounded good at the time!" He tries to defend himself.
"In what world, does a swimming pool full of jelly and apples sound like a good idea?" He asks of him, sounding exasperated.
"Okay, so maybe when you say it like that it doesn't sound so good but, come on! It would have been so sweet if it worked!"
If, being the key point. He tries not to blush to much as he thinks about how England had to fish him out before he died in jelly. But that would have definitely been the best death ever if he had. He can hear England sighing again.
"Maybe I used to much gelatine? The consistency was good but the viscosity was too much to swim in." He mulls the issue over, looking back at the pool. Now with a sizeable hole in the middle, and a deep dent cutting through the jelly leading from the hole to the side of the pool. Evidence of his failure.
Okay so his jelly pool apple bobbing event was a bust but thankfully he has a back up. He just plays the whole think off as a silly stunt, offering the jelly up as the main dessert for the night. A quick dash about and he has everything set up for the true event of the night.
"Alright everyone!" He cries as he stands on a table to get everyone's attention.
"It's time for the contest to begin. Now this year rather than a costume contest, I've decided to throw a Pumpkin Carving Contest!" This proclamation is met with curious stares so he continues, "Everyone will be given a pumpkin and a carving kit. You'll have one hour to make the most impressive carving you can!" He calls as he jumps down and pulls the cloth off of the table, revealing rows and rows of pumpkins , all the same size. A carving kit sits beside each one.
"Ready?" He asks as everyone continues to look unsure, "Begin!"
With that he grabs a pumpkin and kit and starts to get to work. Italy is quick to join in, grabbing a pumpkin and kit of his own, pulling Germany and Japan over to join him. And just like that a chain reaction is set off, soon, everyone has a pumpkin and is quick to get to work.
America can't help but smile as the whole world sits down, laughing and throwing friendly challenges to each other as they work. This is what he lives for, even if it's just for one night, everyone is finally getting along together.
Off to one side the Nordics are hard at work. Sweden unsurprisingly, is quite good at carving out the pumpkin, making a simple yet somehow complex looking design.
Italy is living up to his artistic history, carving by far the most intricate design of them all. Beside him Germany is making a much simpler carving, relying on the simplicity of a basic design to maximise the look of his pumpkin. Japan for his part, seems to be carving some sort of anime character.
Canada he can see is carving out a likeness of his polar bear. England is making something, very creepy looking. America doesn't even want to know what that is, just looking at it is freaking him out. France seems to be carving the Eiffel Tower, surrounded by roses. Russia is, making a sunflower carving? His sisters by his side.
The Baltic's, South America's, African Nations, everyone. There all at it.
The hour up, the Nations all place their creations on the tables, each with a number to it. A candle is set in each and lit.
"Now to decide the best one!" America proclaims, handing out slips of paper, "Vote for only the best one. And you can't vote for your own!"
Once everyone is ready to vote, America grabs a box for the votes and turns the lights out, allowing the candles in the pumpkins to be the only light source. Many appreciative ohs and ahs are let out at the sight and he smiles brightly. Over two hundred lit pumpkins fill the gardens with there light, America has to admit, it's quite the sight.
"Okay, everyone's voted. Now to find out the winner!" America says as he begins to count the votes as the lights are turned back on. But even without the votes it's obvious who the winner is, the votes only confirming it.
"Alright, with a majority of 183 votes, the winner of this year's Pumpkin Carving Contest is..." He pauses for dramatic effect, "Italy!"
"Ve~ Yay!" The Nation cries at being named the winner. Though no one seems too surprised, everyone is in good spirits about it. After all, how can they be against the choice, it's perfect.
As the Italian dances about in celebration, pulling Germany and Japan into celebrating with him, America looks over at the winning Pumpkin and smiles.
The light flickers and dances within, shining out the worlds lands from the perfectly carved pumpkin globe.
Authors notes: So this is the other side to What lurks in the Night. Since the two are so different, and only related by taking place on the same night, I decided to upload them as two separate stories to go along with how this side is unaware of the other.
Reviews and feed back are always appreciated.
Till next time, stay awesome!