AN: I have plenty of other stories to be working on, but my sister said I should upload this. It's been sitting in my Hetalia folder for months so why not? Not sure when it'll get updted next.
1. School Blues
Arthur Kirkland surveyed his new classroom with thinly veiled horror. He'd been trained for high school students. True, he'd went ahead and gotten a degree in early childhood education because he was, if you listened to his brothers and sister, an overachiever, but he'd never expected this.
He'd searched over three states. Three. And not a single one would hire him at their high schools. One had been very close, but after they'd discovered his preferences he'd been given the boot. Stupid super conservative Catholic schools. So finally he'd crept into a rather empty Café and met Berwald Oxenstierna.
After getting over his initial wariness (terror) of the intimidating man he'd found him a rather good listener and begun unloading his problems. And Berwald had even told him a friend of his was searching for help. But he hadn't expected it to be a Day Care. It wasn't that he disliked children. No, Arthur adored children and wanted some of his own. The problem was their parents. In his experience parents did not approve of men like him teaching their small children.
Stupid. True. Prejudice. Damn straight. The way the world worked at the moment. Unfortunately.
The little ones looked up at him expectantly and Arthur blushed. One of the boys in the back snickered. Or at least he thought it was a boy it might have been a girl. He cleared his throat and realized he was making an idiot of himself in front of a bunch of kids.
"Hello there, I'm Mr. Kirkland." He said in what he hoped was a friendly voice. Considering the trembling that started in the front row Arthur worried he was sounding like a pedophile.
A small hand rose in the back. Relieved by the distraction Arthur pointed to the curly haired little blonde. "Yes you there."
"Sir, where's Miss Arlovskaya?" the little blonde asked sweetly, a slight accent tingeing his childish voice, his glasses slipping down his nose in the most endearing manner.
Arthur flinched. Worst question ever. His new boss, Tino as he insisted on being called, had told him about the woman's firing. She'd been fine with the children. Loved them even. One she loved too much. Apparently the problem had been she'd become obsessed with one of them. A poor boy named Ivan Braginski who apparently had declined her advances. It had ended rather explosively and last Tino heard she was hiding in Belarus. No one was sure what exactly she'd done to the boy while she'd been here, but it was enough for him to mentally scar according to the child psychologist.
"She had to go away." Arthur said delicately. The blonde frowned unsatisfied, but settled down looking away shyly when he realized the rest of the class was looking at him.
"Alright," Arthur said abruptly eager to change the subject. "Why don't we go around the class and say our names so we can get to know each other."
"But we already know each other!" a high pitched voice protested, coming from a white haired shouter behind the shy one who'd spoken. Arthur did a double take on the child and realized one of his students was an albino.
"Yes, but this way I get to know you." Arthur said glibly. The boy, or was it a boy, frowned at him cutely and muttered something to another blonde next to him. Arthur was fairly sure five year olds were not supposed to know words like that.
"Okay, now get in a circle and we'll start." The children looked at each other, but complied.
"I'll start off, so you can get to know me." Arthur said feeling their eyes focus on him. He swallowed hard at their gazes. A few were actually glaring at him (!). Mentally he scolded himself for being so nervous about children.
"I'm Arthur Kirkland, and I moved to America from England two years ago." They started muttering amongst themselves. "Igirisu." "What's that Kiku?" "Where Kirkland-sensei is from in my native tongue." "Let's call him Iggy!" Arthur cleared his throat and gave the small Japanese boy and the grinning blonde wearing pigtails a pointed look. The blonde just smiled, waving a little as she mouthed 'Iggy.' at him.
"I like fairies and magical creatures." "Pansy." "East behave." "He is a pansy West don't deny it." Arthur twitched slightly and noted that, yes, the albino was in fact a little girl, and a little girl with a rather good sneer. "And I have three brothers and one sister."
"Now why don't you all tell me a little about yourselves?" Arthur said smile a bit strained. Arthur turned to look at a squirming brunette beside him. The brown haired boy beamed at him green eyes bright.
"I'm Antonio Fernandez Carriedo!" he told them brightly, Spanish accent adorably prominent in his baby voice. "I like tomatoes, Gil, Feli, and most of all Lovi!~" The child then proceeded to jump on the smaller brunette to his right, who shouted that the 'stupid Spanglo had better get off of him and that he didn't look like a tomato!'. Arthur's lips twitched in suppressed laughter as the smaller brunette screamed and threw Antonio off him when the boy pulled a wild curl on his head. Blushing the small brunette glared at Arthur as if it was his fault.
"I'm Lovino Vargas! And I hate stupid Spanglo!" the boy snarled. Arthur worried for a minute that he'd hurt Antonio's feelings, but the resilient child simply bounced up with a happy smile plastered on his face and a cheerful shout of "Lovi!~" The boy next to Lovino looked like the other boy, only his hair was lighter and his curl was in a different place. He also didn't look like he'd spit flames any second.
"Ve! I'm Feliciano Vargas! I like my fratello, pasta, and cute girls like Gilberte and Alfreda! Oh, and Elizabeta too. And Madeline from down the street. And Grandpa's nice lady friends. And-" Arthur was fairly sure the happy brunette would have gone on to list every girl he found pretty, if his brother hadn't pulled his hair, but strangely enough purposely avoiding the curl.
"Owie! Fratello!" Feliciano protested and Lovino glared at him.
"Don't talk so much!" the boy scolded. Feliciano pouted, but his brother let go at his silence. But apparently the boy wasn't done, because he perked up obviously having forgotten something.
"Oh, I almost forgot. I love Ludwig, because he's my bestest, best, bestest, best, friend ev-er!" Feliciano said seriously causing the little blonde beside the albino to turn bright red. Arthur's heart melted at the heart warming scene.
"Yo shut it!" the albino shouted jumping up, looking gleeful. "It's the awesome me's turn!" she shouted looking quite serious. The other children went quiet, Lovino with a hostile glare, looking at the girl gravely. Arthur stared at the scene with surprise. The girl certainly could control a room, though from the terrified look on a few of the occupants it was likely she was a bully.
"I am the awesomely awesome Gilberte Beilschmidt, future Empress of the World and ruler of all you un-awesome, or less awesome in Feli, Toni, and Ludwig's cases." Okay arrogant little girl or not she as adorable Arthur decided. She suddenly turned to grin evilly at the small blonde next to her.
"I like awesomeness, wurst, people who are almost as awesome as me, like Alfreda's Papa and Toni. Oh and mostly I love Ludwig. My adorable little bruder!" Gilberte's grin only seemed to widen at the small blonde's horror and pink streaked face.
"That was very…nice Gilberte." Arthur finally managed. The albino smirked at him. "But please sit down and let your brother speak."
The girl did as she asked and the embarrassed blonde began to speak.
"I am Ludwig Beilschmidt and I have a sister named Gilberte." The boy said quietly and quickly buried his face in his hands. The other children did not seem to find this strange and the black haired boy with a twirl began to speak.
"I'm Roderich Edelstein and my best friend is Vash. I like Elizabeta." He told them proudly and looked towards the beaming brunette child beside him. "We're going to get married."
The children quickly began whispering excitedly and a blonde with green eyes looked at Roderich, clearly upset. Arthur suspected this child was Vash and he hadn't been informed of Roderich's plans for matrimony. Roderich also seemed to notice this.
The little boy frowned obviously not sure how to make his friend stop looking upset. Arthur watched curiously as the boy lit up, clearly having thought of something.
"It's okay Vash you can marry me too and then we can all get married together." Roderich decided with a grin. The blonde, Vash, looked thoughtful, but nodded his agreement. Elizabeta, oddly enough, looked even happier. Gilberte snorted.
"You can't marry another boy." She sneered and Arthur stiffened. Roderich turned to glare at her, as did to his surprise, the shy curly haired blonde who'd asked about Arlovskaya and the blonde girl with pigtails.
"And why not?" the pigtails girl snarled jumping to her feet. Gilberte glared at him.
"Because you can't marry two people!" Gilberte told him. Arthur relaxed, slightly startled by his students awareness and apparent acceptance of two boys marrying.
"Well then…" Roderich drifted off unsure. The little brunette, Elizabeta, piped in.
"Me an' Roddie can get married and then adopt Vash as our brother." The little girl suggested. Vash nodded seemingly pleased and Arthur was once again surprised by the fact they even knew what adopt was.
"I'm Elizabeta Héderváry!" the small brunette chirped in after a moment of quiet. "I like Roddie!"
Arthur smiled at Elizabeta, who beamed in return and held her 'fiancé's' hand. Perhaps this job wouldn't be so bad. Arthur decided, heart melting even more at his pupils' continued cuteness. The rest of the class introduced themselves quickly.
Kiku Honda was the little Japanese boy, seemingly glued to the pigtailed blonde's hip. Alfreda Jones, the pig tailed blonde, apparently thought she was a heroine and insisted that his name was now Iggy. Her brother, who strangely enough, had a different last name from her, was apparently her sidekick, despite his protests. The boy's name was Mathew Williams and apparently he liked his sister, his papa, and his stuffed bear Kumajirou. Vash Zwingli proudly announced he loved his new little sister who was growing in his mother's belly and he liked Roderich and Elizabeta.
And finally they came to the last one. He was a small boy it was true, but rather large for his age. His hair was fair as was his skin. He was wrapped up in a large pink scarf. He sat silently in the back of the room, watching the other children nervously. There was a small empty area around him, indicating he did not fit in completely with his classmates. Arthur looked over the child quietly.
"And you are?" Arthur asked softly. The boy's eyes flickered to him and he had to resist the urge to gasp. They were a brilliant violet. The boy quickly looked away and Arthur heard a snort from behind him. Alfreda was standing there looking at the boy disapprovingly.
"That's Ivan Braginski," she told him venomously. Arthur blinked startled by the emotion in the friendly child's voice and by her glare.
"Alfreda?" Arthur asked uncertainly, the girl turned to him and quickly skipped over and grabbed his hand.
"You shouldn't talk to him Iggy!" she told him seriously. "He never talks. Well he used to some, because the Evil One talked to him and converted him to the dark side, but then he stopped talking to almost everybody, 'cept when he's being a villain. And he's a Russian! That means he's a Communist!"
"Alfreda!" Arthur scolded voice sharpening. "Just because Ivan is Russian does not mean he's a Communist. And that does not give you a right to pick on him. Apologize." The girl stuck out her lip and narrowed her eyes in a way that reminded him of his little sister Siobhan (Ireland).
"Now Alfreda." The girl stomped her foot and spun around in apparent frustration.
"Sorry Commie!"
"Alfreda!"
Arthur should have known it was too good to be true.
"It is alright Mr. Kirkland." A heavily accented voice told him. Looking away from the fuming blonde he'd begun to scold, he realized it was Ivan looking at him seriously.
"No it isn't Ivan." Arthur told him seriously, brows drawing together. "We are here to have fun and learn. You are not to treat anyone badly or make them feel bad about themselves. Bullying is not to be tolerated." The boy blinked his purple gaze at him blankly and looked towards Alfreda who was glaring at him accusingly.
Then in a voice filled with innocence and childish certainty. "But Alfreda is too stupid to understand such a complex concept. She is quite dim sir."
"Commie!" Alfreda screeched furious as she lunged. Ivan was ready though and tripped the girl. Arthur gaped horrified as Alfreda leaped and tackled Ivan to the ground, apparently gathering herself faster than the boy thought she could. The girl proceeded to begin pulling his hair and screaming in his ear.
"No!" Arthur shouted cold with horror and grabbed the girl around the middle. She did not let go of her victim easily and clung to him. Arthur gave her a strong tug and she pulled free, but not before grabbing a hold of Ivan's scarf.
Rip.
The silence at the noise made Arthur freeze. Alfreda was in his arms holding a good portion of the boy's scarf in her hands. Ivan was staring down at his chest face twisted in pain and terror. Cuddling the scarf in his hands as he muttered soft and broken heartedly in Russian, tears grew in the boy's eyes. As abruptly as they appeared they were gone and the boy was giving Alfreda a look the chilled Arthur's blood to see.
"I will get you for this you stupid American. I swear I will get you." The boy vowed with a seriousness that made Arthur clutch the blonde tightly to his chest.
Oh god why? Everything had been going so well, he moaned mentally as he gently tugged the scarf from Alfreda's hands. The little girl looked guilty, but stubborn and Arthur sent her over to her very upset brother. After calming the children down he bent down a few feet from where Ivan sat in a corner.
"Ivan." He whispered softly. The boy looked at him coldly. Arthur swallowed hard, surprised by the terror that a child could evoke with one look. "Ivan give me your scarf."
The boy tensed and held onto the torn garment like it was a holy relic eyes flickering around desperately. Arthur regretted his choice of words. Soon the boy went still and turned his calm cold gaze to Arthur.
"You are not taking it. They always try and take it, adults do. They say I should not be so attached to it. It is not healthy. Mentally speaking." Ivan told him, small hands twisting into the pink cloth.
"You speak very well Ivan," Arthur told him softly, backing up a little. The boy looked at him suspiciously, but then nodded.
"Yes, they have said that too." Ivan told him. Curt and short.
Alright Arthur you can do this, he encouraged himself. He took a deep breath and purposely placed his hands on his lap where Ivan could see them. The boy kept his eyes on them with a wariness that worried Arthur.
"Ivan the reason I need your scarf is to fix it." Arthur told him, trying to sound sincere and helpful. Ivan's eye narrowed and examined him coldly.
"It is broken you can not fix it." The boy sounded so desolate and broken right then that Arthur thought he would cry, but soon the cold exterior was back.
"Yes I can. I sew Ivan." Arthur explained. The boy blinked at him looking perplexed and as if he found Arthur a little strange.
"Men can not sew." He told Arthur like it was obvious.
"If they learn they can." Arthur told him calmly a little startled by the surety of the boy's statement. Ivan looked at him clearly taken aback and surprised by this.
"Father says they can not because it is a woman's task." Ivan said after a moment's consideration, but not looking as certain as a moment ago.
Arthur pointedly ignored the sexism in that and kept speaking quietly to his charge. "Not everyone considers it a woman's task Ivan and I had to learn because I live on my own."
Ivan blinked confused. Arthur watched patiently as the boy debated. One second his grip would tighten on the scarf and then loosen. Arthur did not allow himself to reach out and made himself wait until the boy was sure. Finally the boy loosened his tight grip and slowly unwound the scarf and handed it gently to Arthur. Arthur took it with equal care, if not with the reverence that the boy seemed to hold it in.
"You care about this scarf very much Ivan." Arthur said quietly Ivan's gaze did not drift from the scarf.
"Yes." And after a pause. "My sister Katyusha made it for me so I'd always be warm."
Why did the boy sound so sad?