A/N: In the light of yesterday's events, I'm so sorry this is yet another story about a visit to a Christmas market. -.- At least it's set in Vienna… *sighs* In my defence, I started the story several days earlier; in fact, this was originally intended as a fill for Day 14, but I didn't get I had to write my name in the Google Docs spreadsheet for the event at the time. ^^" (No hard feelings, Niniel is a wonderful writer and her fill for that day is amazing!) Anyway, I hope you're able to enjoy reading the story nonetheless!
"So … did you pressure him into coming with us this year or is he here out of his own volition?" Bavaria nudged Austria with his elbow, pointing to Prussia with his chin. Austria linked arms with his brother and nudged him back, not without affection.
"He said he's doing a case study of my behaviour in various situations. I believe the truth is he just wants to take part in a larger portion of my life … even if that involves visiting me in Vienna and going to a Christmas market with my undesirable relatives."
"Hey!" Bavaria gave him a light punch in his side. Austria smiled and cuddled his arm for a moment before he let go of him.
"I'm not speaking from my point of view, silly. Aren't we over pretending we don't like each other?" Bavaria seemed placated, so Austria went to his boyfriend. Prussia was standing in front of a booth, engaged in a conversation about woodcarvings with Kugelmugel.
"…and this one in particular needs quite a skilled hand to make," the micronation explained, pointing at one of the carvings that were for sale at this booth. "All of them are pretty good, though. Maybe bit too conventional to my taste."
"Don't decry those carvings just because they're conventional," Austria criticised him leniently. "Not every artist can be as nonconforming as you, Friedl. Anyway," he added, "May I abduct my boyfriend for a while?"
"If you must," Kugelmugel pouted. Then he glanced around, looking for Liechtenstein. "Lilly," he called out as soon as he had spotted her next to her brother at another booth. "I'd like to show you something!"
"So," Austria said. "How do you like it?"
"The Christmas market?" Prussia blinked at him. "It's … uh … okay, I guess? Lots of handmade articles at sale, as far as I can tell."
"Well, it's a Culture and Christmas market," Austria explained. "It's famous for that. And the location quite nice, with Schönbrunn Palace in the background and all that." He hoped it wasn't too obvious that this was a huge understatement. In fact, he thought the backdrop of this particular Christmas market was magnificent.
"Hey, I get you." Prussia snorted with laughter. "And not too far away from your villa, too." Austria linked arms with Prussia and gave him a light punch; quite similar to the one Bavaria had given him before.
"I'm not that lazy, you know."
"She just ran away with that irresponsible child," Switzerland told Bavaria indignantly. "It's unbelievable!"
"Now, now," Bavaria tried to calm him. "Take it easy. Lilly likes Friedl just like a little brother; that's all." Switzerland muttered some incomprehensible words into his non-existent beard.
"Anyway, I'm astounded Gilbert is willing to put up with the both of us for Rodi's sake," Bavaria added in order to change the topic. It was the first thing that had come to his mind.
"Not all that astounding, if you ask me," Switzerland objected. "They may be an odd couple, but then again, when has Roderich ever been in a relationship that wasn't odd?" He didn't need to point out he meant Austria's marriages to Spain and Hungary; Bavaria understood him very well without additional explanation.
"In a way, the thought of Rodi in a relationship alone is odd," Bavaria added.
"That's just because he's your little brother." Good marksman that he was, Switzerland had hit the mark dead centre. Bavaria always felt a little uncomfortable at the thought of his brother sleeping with someone; a circumstance that didn't prevent him from teasing his brother about his relationships time and time again.
"Look, there's your sister with Friedl!" Bavaria waved into the direction of the approaching figures. He was glad those two had showed up again just in time to allow him to change the topic again.
"Brother, Brother!" Lilly exclaimed. "There's this really cute booth with accessories made of cloth! You have to see that!" Without much ado, she took her brother's hand in hers and pulled him along. Bavaria exchanged an amused smile with Kugelmugel.
"Let's find Rodi and Gil!" Kugelmugel suggested. "I've seen something I'd like to show to Gil."
"Do you?" Bavaria raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"
"You'll find out soon enough," Kugelmugel said with a secretive smile.
They caught the lovers in one of their You're an idiot—No, you're the idiot!—I love you anyway moments, as Bavaria had privately dubbed them. They were standing in front of a booth, each of them a bag of sweets in hand, and were apparently arguing about food. In the end, Austria said something, Prussia laughed, and they gave each other a quick kiss on the lips.
"I hope we don't bother you," Bavaria said, quite redundantly considering he saw they were doing just that. "Anyway, this young man wants to show you something, Gilbert." He pushed Kugelmugel in front of himself, holding him by the shoulders.
"Do you?" Prussia looked at Kugelmugel in surprise.
Kugelmugel nodded gravely, took Prussia's hand and started to drag him along.
"What was it you argued about earlier?" Bavaria wanted to know.
"Oh … nothing," Austria replied. "We couldn't agree which kind of food is more convenient for the Christmas season: Roasted almonds or hot chestnuts."
"Both are great," Bavaria said with a shrug. Austria smiled.
"That's precisely what we agreed on in the end."
"Hey Kugel, what did you want to show me?" Prussia asked. Kugelmugel gave him a dismissive look as if he wanted to tell him not to call him like that. To Prussia, the micronation was one of the many unresolved mysteries surrounding his boyfriend. On one occasion, Kugelmugel was lively and talkative; several minutes later, he was quiet and thoughtful and barely said a word. This was one of the latter occasions, it seemed.
Kugelmugel pulled him to another booth that sold wooden carvings and pointed at one of them. Prussia had to strain his eyes in order to see what it was.
"For my brother," Kugelmugel explained. "For Christmas." Prussia's eyes widened. The object was a carving of a cat sitting in front of a piano, about to bring one of its paws down on the keys.
"Do you … uh, do you really think he'd like that?" Prussia blushed. "I mean … isn't that too corny or something?"
"That's not corny," Kugelmugel said without further thought. "Conventional, yes, but not corny. Besides that, my brother loves you and he loves Wolferl." Wolferl was Austria's domestic cat, named for Mozart's nickname.
Prussia blinked. Maybe it really was as simple as that.
"Look! Vash and Lilly are over there!" Bavaria tried to drag Austria in the direction he had seen the siblings, one of them—Vash—with a large cloth bag in hand. Austria didn't budge.
"No, wait. Kugelmugel and Prussia are there." He pointed in another direction.
"Hellooo! We're here!" Bavaria shouted over half the place, winking zealously with both of his arms. Austria felt ashamed on his behalf. Still, he had to admit his brother's method was effective, at the least: The younger nations took their companions by the hand and dragged them along until they were reunited.
"How about a mulled wine, now that we're all in one place?"
Bavaria's suggestion was met with common assent. Soon enough, they were standing together in a circle, each one of them a hot beverage in hand. Liechtenstein and Kugelmugel had opted for a non-alcoholic punch; the others were drinking mulled wine.
"To repeat my question from earlier," Austria said to Prussia. "How do you like it?"
"Quite nice," Prussia replied, secretly touching the little parcel he had tucked safely into his coat pocket. He gave Austria a smile.
"I will never understand how they work as a couple…" Switzerland began.
"Yes; yes, I know," Bavaria interrupted him. "But they do."
Notes:
So they've finally found the Christmas spirit, I guess, even if it was with the aid of a little mulled wine.
The Culture and Christmas Market (Kultur- und Weihnachtsmarkt) is held in a yard (Ehrenhof) at Schönbrunn Palace in Hietzing, the 13th municipal district of Vienna. I hc that Austria owns a villa in Hietzing and a flat in Innere Stadt (Inner City, the 1st district and also the city centre).
Friedl: short form of Friedrich in Austrian/Bavarian dialect; my chosen human name for Kugelmugel (after Austrian artist and painter Friedensreich Hundertwasser).