NAMES: Bulgaria = Boyana

Romania= Vlad

Halloween was just a couple of days ahead and the world was preparing for yet another of America's costume parties.

In one of the world meeting rooms, Romania was patiently waiting for a surprise.

"So? How do I look, Ro?" Bulgaria smiled mischievously. From the look on her face, Romania knew she was waiting for a "correct" answer from him and he wanted to make her happy, he really did, but the fact that they had agreed on something else irritated him.

"I thought we agreed to go in matching costumes, B.?!"

"That's why I got one for you as well!" Bulgaria beamed at her partner's pouty face and she took out another SNK costume. "I will be Mikasa and you can be Eren! We match the personalities perfectly!" She was giggling and pushing the costume to his chest, her eyes begging him to try it on. Romania rolled his eyes.

"Those are not the costumes we agreed on! And how exactly do we match their personalities? You're too aggressive to be Mikasa and I'm way too composed to play Eren!" It was Bulgaria's turn to pout.

"I am as clingy and annoying as her and you've got that baby-face of his!" She was now pushing into him and staring directly at his chestnut eyes. They stared at each other for a brief moment before they burst out laughing.

"BG, you have to stop ignoring my serious faces!" Romania gently smoothed her dark brown hair and she grinned.

"So…we're going as Mikasa and Eren?" Romania sighed and surrendered putting his hands up. Bulgaria laughed and grabbed his ears with both her hands, pulling him down to her level and kissing his forehead.

"Oh, God! I just had a déjà vu! Why does this scene look so disgustingly familiar? Wasn't this your last make-up act after that war?!" A pesky voice interrupted the pair's genuine moment of bonding. "My least favourite European countries! And just when I thought that Romania was becoming a better country, Bulgaria has to burst in the Union and ruin his reputation yet again. When are you going to learn? She does way too much damage on her own and now she's found a partner in crime. She's bad influence, Romania! Choose your allies carefully and maybe you can become a thriving country one day. As America might say – ditch the looser."

"Oh, great seeing you again colonizer! I didn't think a rapist-pirate-punk could have an abundance of words, and I was right! Great usage of American-English! Did you forget your own, so now you're plagiarizing?" A demonic smirk had appeared on Bulgaria's face and a vein on her forehead was pulsing with anger. Her teeth were clenched and her fists were grasping the costume she was about to give to Romania. "Don't be so arrogant, Arthur! I would never do anything to hurt Vlad again and you know it!" Her face was on fire and her eyes ablaze as she fumed at the Englishman before her. He snorted.

"Since when are you so careful of his feelings? Decades ago you would have stabbed him without a second thought. Why are you making puppy dog eyes now? The last thing I need is countries like you to ruin us." He frowned at the last sentence and looked at her in a condescending manner.

"FUCK OFF! HOW DARE YOU…"Before Bulgaria was about to literally jump on him, Romania grabbed her arm and held her tight. She was surprised by this sudden action and turned around to look at him. He was staring coldly at England, and when she saw the strained look on his pale face, her facial features softened. She recognized that look of both anger and sadness. It usually appeared when their past was brought up. She hated it and just wanted to kill anyone who'd make him look so miserable.

"Stay down, savage! Lesser countries should know their place! And freeloaders like you, Boyana, might as well try to at least remember when to keep their mouths shut." England's tone was indifferent, but somehow demeaning. Romania's eyes became blood red, he growled and his pearly white fangs showed. Arthur flinched and stepped back a little. Usually, Vlad would just let such comments slide, but now they were directed at a person whom he cherished dearly. He was about to hit Arthur with a witty hurtful comeback, but he felt Yana's soft fingertips brushing against his temple, going down, and she rested her palm on the side of his neck. She didn't like it when he was angry, which rarely happened, unlike with her. He looked down at her saddened gaze, then closed his eyes and sighed to compose himself.

Arthur had had enough of the pair and decided it was time to go. "I suggest you two keep your opinions to yourselves. I've seen how much your words weigh, thieves!" And with that he turned on his heel and went on his way.

Bulgaria realized she had been gripping Romania's costume tightly and gasped when she saw the state it was in. "Damn it…" She laid it on the table and started frantically smoothing it out. Her eyes were narrowed and her teeth clenched, but instead of looking angry, as she usually did after such conversations, she appeared pained. Romania knew her actions at the moment were meant to calm her nerves, and as he decided to let her blow off steam he noticed tears prickling at the corners of her eyes. Her whispered curses became louder by the second. "Fuck…fuck…COME ON, just straighten up already! STUPID!" Vlad knew who the last word was meant for. He hated it when she blamed herself. He couldn't take it anymore. He grabbed her wrists and turned her towards him.

"You mustn't blame yourself because of the humans' decisions. We are here to serve our people, and sometimes our people will force us to do things we don't want and to hurt people we care about. That's the life of a country. We can't change it. We should leave the past in the past and focus on the present." Vlad smiled at Boyana and pressed her palms to his cheeks.

"I will never be free from guilt. I can never be free from my past actions. I could have prevented at least some things from happening. I hate the day I raised my weapon against you. I can't…" Romania interrupted.

"1916 is all a bad memory. We can't change it, but we can forget it. We already made up after that wretched event and all I want to focus on now is bettering our relationship." He pressed her head to his and held her in silence.

After a while she had calmed down. "Let's not fight again!" Bulgaria murmured, her words muffled by his chest.

"I'll do my best!" Yana punched his abdomen playfully and he laughed.

"Let's go fix your costume. It definitely has to be better than England's." Her devilish grin returned and he sighed in defeat.