He could feel the anxiety swirling inside him. No, it wasn't his own. Although his did make up a major part of it. No, the anxiety belonged to his citizens. Half of his population was terrified of the new president. The campaign promises the president-elect made were nothing ever seen before- radical and unrestrained. Fear was growing in their hearts, and there wasn't much around to stop it.
The other half of the anxiety was from the issues that plagued his country. Controversy over police brutality. Never-ending budget cuts on education. Environmental policies. Russia. China. North Korea. The War on Terror.
A divided nation.
America sighed, catching himself absently rubbing one arm with the other hand. A nervous habit. The nation dropped his hand, shaking his head.
He never understood why he had that particular habit. Why not biting his lip, or scratching his neck? He didn't even know what to label his particular tick. Rubbing himself to calm his nervousness?
...That sounded strange. America made a face, disgusted at himself.
He pulled himself out of his thoughts as a nameless staff member of the White House suddenly appeared around the corner and spotted him. Rapidly outlining a few instructions, she shoved a handful of papers into his arms before walking off. Alfred didn't even have the opportunity to get a word in, much less understand what she was saying.
He did catch that the President-elect had just arrived.
A whole new bout of anxiety hit him all at once. America had to steady himself with the hall table he was standing next to. Quickly, he put down the documents- he realized it was a draft of the inauguration speech- and steadied himself with both hands. The ornate vase full of colorful, diverse flowers rocked on its base for a few seconds before settling back into its regular position. Alfred paid it no mind, choosing instead to control the sudden wave of emotions from his citizens, as well as himself.
His citizens were at the U.S. Capitol Building, waiting for the last hour to pass before the new President would be sworn in. They were close, so close, that Alfred could feel the full extent of their chaotic emotions.
Anger, pride, fear, glee, resignation, hope, lost faith-
No. Alfred quickly stood straight, reeling a bit from the suddenness. He would not allow himself to feel his citizens' losing faith in their country.
It was too painful a feeling to bear.
Alfred leaned against the wall, staring blankly at a painting of Lincoln as he heard voices down the hall, heading for the Oval Office. Among them, he could pinpoint his former President, as well as his old Vice President and the soon-to-be President. He didn't bother showing himself- the President-elect would be informed about his existence the day after the Inauguration- so he stayed hidden in the shadows, waiting until they passed him on the way. Only his former President noticed him, shooting him a subtle look of concern, before he disappeared around the corner. Alfred let out a sigh, letting his shoulders slump.
He needed to stop being so anxious. He's dealt with worse, after all. He shouldn't be so nervous about the future now- goddammit, he was rubbing his arm again!
"America?"
America jumped, shifting his gaze to the hallway where the others had just disappeared. His former President stood there, peering around the corner. America strained his ears for any signs of the others.
"Where are the others?"
"Heading to the office. I left Joe to handle him for a bit." The man came around the corner, striding toward him. America stiffened.
"No offense, but you should be with them, sir," America stated. The man gave him an amused smile.
"Well, I would be, but I had to go looking for the person who was supposed to bring the President-elect's speech to the office," he explained, pointedly nodding his head to the pile of papers on the table. America cringed, scratching his head.
"Ah, whoops. Sorry about that," he apologized, sheepishly. "I couldn't really catch what the writing member said…"
The man finished the short walk over, standing in front of the nation. He easily stood taller than him at 6'1'', while Alfred was forever doomed to be 5'10''. It didn't help that he was slumping against the wall. America curled a bt into himself, feeling intimidated by the human presence.
"America, I can't imagine what you're feeling right now," the President started. Alfred snorted.
"No kidding. You should've seen me on Election Day. I literally had to run to the bathroom to throw up."
That day, America felt the full blow of his citizens' emotions. He couldn't take it and immediately became nauseated from the surge of raw feelings.
Triumph and despair.
He didn't know it was possible to feel both at the same time.
"Either way, as a nation, you're going to get through this." The man gave him another smile, this time touched with dark humor. "Who knows? Maybe it won't be so bad."
America nodded silently, not really in the mood to talk about his country. He trained his eyes on his President's nice, polished shoes. He could feel the man's eyes bore into him, wordlessly observing him.
He really wished he was better at hiding his emotions.
Suddenly, a hand grabbed his arm and gave it a nice, firm squeeze. America blinked in surprise before looking up at his President. He was met with warm eyes, eyes filled with pride and faith.
"You can get through this, son," the President said firmly. "You're strong. This isn't going to be what brings you down. You're the strongest nation on Earth, with the best heart. The best ideals. The best citizens. The best youngsters, with the biggest dreams. You can get through this. And you will."
America stared at his President in shocked awe. He felt something stir in his chest, something nice and warm and invigorating.
He felt inspiration and strength.
Alfred smiled.
"...no homo, right?" he joked. The President gave a hearty laugh.
"No, I suppose not," he replied, shaking his head with a smile. The man gave America a reassuring rub of his arm before patting it and grabbing the documents. "Well, I need to go help the newbie with his big ceremony," he said. The man walked off, giving Alfred a small wave. "Stay strong, Alfred!"
"You too, sir!" Alfred called back, grinning. As the man disappeared around the corner, America looked at the arm that the President had gave a reassuring squeeze to. The spot was still warm from the firm grasp, yet the feeling somehow continued to feed America his strength. America smiled to himself before picking himself up and walking down the hallway.
Well, at least he knew why rubbing his arm seemed to comfort him.
Yo! I know, I never finish stories, which is why I decided to go for oneshots this time. If I suddenly stop, no love lost, right?
(gets punched in the face)
Okay, anyway, I was reading "News Feed" by MayAnny here and it definitely opened my eyes a bit. (Struggling with denial, but eh.) You feeling like you wanna read exactly how bad our world is? Hop on over there! (Not for the sensitive- the author pulls no punches)
That aside, I felt pretty shitty about being American, hahaha! Of course, I'm not gonna apologize for being American (don't try and make me) but I wanted to make myself feel better about ourselves. But there's more inspiration for this fic, hold on.
This isn't exactly JUST for Americans. Everyone needs a bit of encouragement sometimes. And yeah, sure, words help.
But did you ever realize that physically touching someone helps too?
(Yeah, we know what a hug is, Akina.)
So, today, I was feeling pretty down. For a few reasons. Not extremely down, but just not happy. Anyway, I caught myself patting/ruffling my hair.
Now, that seems normal. But in actuality, I found myself remembering a middle school teacher who was definitely a huge pillar of support to me back then. He would sometimes do this head pat/head ruffle thing.
So when high school came around and socked the air out of me like a bitch, I found myself missing those little pats. They reassured me, in a way. (And no, I don't have a crush on the guy. Come on.) And now I find myself doing it to emulate them, and wishing someone else would do it.
Just pat my head. No words needed. Just a pat.
Anyway, that's the message I want to get across with this fic. Little physical gestures are sometimes enough. Words aren't needed. (I know, the whole speech the Prez gave kind of ruined the "no words needed" thing, but hey, I think reassuring words would've definitely been welcome in this situation.
Anyway, this is gonna be a few oneshots that are based around gestures. Feel free to drop suggestions!