Chapter 1
Alfred sat with his back against the wall, glaring across from him in all three directions. It wasn't the largest table, but the company, he felt, needed shot.
To his left sat Arthur, glaring directly across from him with the same desperate hatred in his eyes. To Arthur's right sat Ivan, who didn't move his eyes from him for a second, and the last spot at the table held Francis.
They had been to a world conference yesterday morning. Alfred walked in to find Arthur drawing on the chalkboard and threw a fit when he wouldn't let him draw the pictures, which somehow turned into a fist fight. Ivan noticed the fight and decided to break it up with his 'Magic Metal Pipe of Pain', which ended out being caught in Alfred's hand and was quickly ripped from Ivan's grasp. Alfred fought off Ivan and Arthur at the same time, and when Francis walked in he laughed, til Arthur had realized throwing him on Alfred seemed like a fun idea.
Then the whole fight somehow ended out on top of Germany, but they didn't notice til Italy started to cry, and by then, the man had a broken leg.
That's why they were here, halfway across the world, in Hawaii, in a private cabin that Alfred was forced to use for this.
His boss smacked him on the head with a newspaper and yelled at him that he should be thankful the other countries hadn't pressed charges. As it was, they had to pay for Germany's leg.
"How long are we stuck here again?" He asked and Arthur turned to him with a glare.
"A month, you bloody wanker." He stood and stormed off, looking over the cabin.
Since they'd all just arrived two hours prior, they hadn't had a chance to look the place over yet. Alfred was hoping it wasn't in too bad condition, but knew they'd have to hit a grocery store, probably on his dime as well. Francis watched as Alfred headed towards the door. "Where are you going?"
"The grocery store. I'm going to buy some tea to THROW INTO THE FUCKING HARBOR!" He yelled before slamming the door and Francis stood, grabbing Ivan's arm.
"Why do we have to go?" Ivan groaned as Francis rushed him along.
"Do you really want to live off of hamburgers for the next month?" He asked and Ivan's eyes widened before he took off running as well.
It was a good hour before they returned, Alfred just happy they'd paid for some of the groceries themselves. "I still think that's the most fucked up version of a turnip I've ever seen." Alfred stared at the bags Ivan carried as the taller of them stared back, wondering. As they entered the house he called out.
"Arthur, did you, perchance, drop Alfred on his head a lot as a child?" He asked and Arthur rushed down the stairs, crossing his arms.
"What are you insinuating about my child rearing abilities?" He grumbled, to hear the answer back.
"Alfred, what is this?" He held up a bag with probably five large red root vegetables, which were easily recognized by both Francis and Ivan.
"They're fucked up turnips!" Alfred grumbled as he slid the ten pound package of ground beef into the bottom shelf of the fridge.
"What is it?" Arthur asked, coming closer and Francis smacked a hand over his face.
"Évidemment, je foiré vous élever en quelque sorte! They're beets!" Francis gasped out in exasperation and Alfred turned, staring.
"Aren't beets smaller than that? And don't they always come in a jar?" He asked and the others stared at him in shock.
"You realize food doesn't grow prepackaged, right?" Arthur grumbled, crossing his arms and Alfred snarled at him.
"Well, while we were shopping for food, which is kind of important, what in the hell were you doing?!"
"Cleaning the dust out of this place! When was the last time you were here, exactly?" Arthur grumbled back as Alfred shifted through more bags, lifting out more of the food he'd picked out.
"2011, the Tohoku Earthquake." He frowned. "I was here at the time, you know. Scared the hell out of me so bad I hadn't come back." He turned, seeing Arthur's eyes wide on him.
"I didn't know." Arthur mumbled, feeling a little ashamed now, having brought up something that was an actual tragedy.
"You never asked." Arthur sighed as he slid out a few vegetables, surprising the others. Lettuce and tomato made their way into the crisper before Arthur turned back around. "I'm kind of freaking out just being back here." He looked around, feeling a shiver run through his spine.
He'd been in his room on the top floor, staring. He'd heard there was a chance it could hit here and he'd gone to the top floor with the plan that if he saw the water coming, he was going to run to the mountain behind his house. He could jump up from the roof, and he'd cried, hoping his people had more sense than he did.
Somehow, it didn't hit him, but when he called Japan the next day he was horrified to discover he was in the hospital. He hadn't even been there, but the damage was so severe it took him out for a month.
"Don't tell me you were actually thinking about something." Ivan raised an eyebrow as Alfred snarled, turning back to the fridge.
"Fuck you, Commie bastard." Arthur grumbled as Arthur laid a hand on Ivan's arm, shaking his head. It wasn't often that Arthur defended his old /defunct/ colony, which told Ivan he may want to let the issue drop, which he did. He turned to Francis, who looked over the items they bought, having picked out quite a few things himself, and sighed.
"I say we cook meals in turns. The three of us, each day we'll take a separate meal, so we all get to make our specialties." He smiled, looking at the other two, who nodded, not wanting to complain now that the anger seemed to be ebbing away.
"What about me?" Arthur frowned and Francis snarled.
"You stay away from the kitchen! Sacre bleu, we want to live, Arthur, not be sconed to death!" He glared and Alfred chuckled with a smile.
"Maybe one morning you can make a batch for just us." He smiled over and Arthur was struck still for a moment in surprise before smiling and patting Alfred's hair.
"Thanks, love. I forgot what a dear you can be sometimes." He smiled before sighing. "You did get some tea, right?"
"Threw it in the ocean." Alfred responded without missing a beat, leaving Arthur staring, a bit shocked and honestly bewildered.
"Did you really?" He asked, not sure he could handle any surprises before Alfred lifted a box over his shoulder.
"English breakfast and Earl Grey. Those'll work, right?" He asked as he glanced over, seeing his old coffee pot. "Or it would have..." He sighed as he pulled a small notebook from his back pocket and turned to a page near the middle, writing something down before he looked over the others. "Look and see if you have everything you need. I'm not going for imports, but I need a new coffee maker, and I don't know what else might not work. Ivan." Alfred turned. "Why don't you drop all of the hairdryers into the bathtub and stick your hand in? If you get shocked, they work." He smiled and Ivan glared. He turned and walked away, not another word said.
"That was cruel." Francis frowned, looking at the youngest of the group. "You used to be so cute and affectionate. What happened to that sweet petit garçon ?"
"I fucking ate him, just like I eat everything else." Alfred turned, putting the rest of the groceries away. Francis, realizing something was honestly troubling him walked over, laying a hand on his arm.
"Truly, Amérique, if you need to talk, you know I'm here for you. We may not always get along, but I still care about you." He patted him again before heading towards the stairs, just as the electricity started flickering badly. They all stared in confusion for a second before Alfred yelled and took off running as quickly as he could, finding Ivan at the fuse box at the top of the stairs giggling like a school boy.
"Aw! You came to check on me!" He grinned as Alfred stared, trying to keep his heart from beating out of his throat.
He was horribly, honestly pissed that he'd been as scared as he was. "You're fucked up!" Alfred yelled before turning back down the stairs.
"Ivan, be nice. I know you like to keep your games going, but something's really bothering him." Francis looked down the stairs, unable to break the frown from his face. Curiosity was eating at him. Alfred didn't usually let things get to him, so what on earth could make him this irritable?
"You misunderstand." Ivan watched, his grin sliding off his face so easily it startled the other. "He needs me to mess with him, just as I need him to mess back. It's not just some game, it's what distracts us from the chaos in our minds." Ivan turned, walking into his room quietly. Francis turned and looked down the hallway. Four bedrooms. He knew it was only three on this floor, Arthur's full floor room on the floor above, but somehow it all seemed so small to him.
But all the same, this was to be his home for the next month. He frowned, thinking of who could send him some paints and supplies. Italy was his first guess, before remembering he'd accidentally helped squash Germany.
At least they were on a beach. It would be nice, pretty sunsets and the ocean was beautiful from here. He wondered if the local store had any decent wine. Maybe sitting here with a good bottle of wine and a few passing ladies wouldn't really be such a bad waste of a month. He smiled as he started making his way downstairs, finding Alfred taking his bags upstairs. "I thought we were looking for broken things?"
"Figured since I was on my way up anyway... you know." He huffed as he carried the bags up the stairs, causing both Arthur and Francis to stare.
"Did he look as tired to you as he did to me?" Arthur asked softly and Francis frowned.
"Something's going on with him, I just don't know what." He whispered, glancing down at the other. "We need to watch him."
"For once we agree." Arthur whispered, staring.
It was a good twenty minutes til he returned, checking each room before going to the living room and looked at the television. He was mostly on solar power out here, so no video games or television unless he wanted to not have lights that night. "Battery... operated... radio... Batteries..." He mumbled as he wrote the list down. "You guys come up with anything?" He still seemed tired, but they could only shake their heads.
"I found something." Ivan smiled as he came out of the kitchen. "Your stove is... no longer functional. It needs a new burner."
"New... stove..." He wrote. "Does the microwave work?"
"Da." Ivan stared, frowning. "You know, a new burner should only cost a little bit, and it's easy to install."
"I'm not worried about it." Alfred shrugged as he plopped down on a chair. "I order a new stove, it'll be here within three hours max. A burner will be a week easy." He glanced up as Ivan nodded.
How wasteful...
Alfred climbed to his feet and lifted the stove, taking it out to the side of the driveway. Ivan stepped in when it looked like he'd drop the large metal box, and Ivan couldn't help not notice something about the other.
He was weakening. The stove was heavy, but he shouldn't have needed the help. Alfred told him the space was fine as they sat it down and he whipped out his phone, looking up a number quickly.
"Yeah, I have a stove for donation. It has a burner out, but beyond that, it works fine." He sighed and Ivan nodded, at least happy it wasn't just going to the trash. Alfred gave the address before heading back into the house.
Ivan looked it over. A very large mansion, lots of glass walls around the living room gave it a very outdoor-like feeling. Palm trees and hibiscus dotted the yard, and even from the far point in the driveway the beach could be seen on the other side. A large metal fence wrapped around the property, from one side, around the front to the other, both ends at the sea, water lapping over the stone wall built at the bottom. "Why do you have a swimming pool if you're on the sea?" He asked, pointing to a pool off to the side and Alfred frowned.
"You never know when jellyfish will flock in, or when an endangered turtle species will swim past on their way to the other islands. Nature keeps going, even if we want to swim. That's why it's usually not filled. I only fill it in situations like that." He watched as Ivan nodded.
Not like he'd go swimming, Ivan thought as he made his way back to the house. Russia wasn't exactly known for it's warm, inviting nature, and though sometimes swimming could be a good past time, he'd never really learned how, and there was no way in hell he'd let America know that.
Besides, with a body covered in the scars of wars past, being seen in those trunks wasn't exactly his idea of a good time. "Do me a favor, go take off that coat. Just looking at you is going to give me a heatstroke." Alfred sighed as he opened the door, walking in.
"It's only a month." Ivan reminded himself as he walked in, closing the door behind himself. "Only a month."