Glad You Came

by Many A Mistake

ReaderXVarious. Mostly the stories will be the reader saving the nation in some way or another. This may later contain dark themes, sexual content or feels. There will always be swearing because deal. So M just to be sure. Each story will have it's own warnings.

I'm Glad You Came.
Event 1 – Splendid Isolation.
England.

Author's Note: This one is pretty standard. Don't need to worry about rape or abuse or anything so great! First up is England.

When you first met Great Britain he was just that, great.
In the early days of your life as a newly formed country you'd watched on at the British Empire spread to every corner of globe, conquering and claiming lands left and right. You watched on as the Empire flourished and their beloved nation lead them on forward with all the class and poise one would expect of an English gentleman.
Oh yes, when you first lay eyes on Arthur you'd hated him with all of your being.

Your land was small, ignored almost entirely by all those around it. You did not mind that in the slightest, in fact if anything you were grateful for this fact. You knew as well as all the neighbouring nations that there was little to gain from overtaking you and it would be no easy task for little reward. You felt safe, secure and completely undesirable. So when the Great British Empire came knocking on your door you'd been taken by surprise.
It was only a matter of months before your homeland was completely overtaken by the Empire, you along with it.

Arthur Kirkland had many stolen nations and many young siblings, another small country was easily overlooked in his Empire and so even as a prisoner you were ignored.
Again you were not at all bothered by this. Solitary and working hard on your own was something that had become almost comforting to you in recent years. So as a result you did your work day in and out without so much as a complaint on your tongue.
However your anger wasn't quelled in the slightest. Whenever you'd catch sight of the noble nation you'd make a point to glare at him and completely disregard the usual procedure which was to bow one's head in a sign of respect. You did respect the British Empire though, it was hard not to when one stood as tall as he but you refused to let that show, he was still the nation that had overtaken you. There was no room for admiration in you – not for him.

"(Y/n)!" Hearing your name being called always did surprise you. The fact someone remembered it or was kind enough to use it always did strike you as a little strange. So when you turned to see it was the young nation of America approaching you with a smile on his childish face you couldn't help but smile back.

He was Kirkland's favourite colony, his favourite little brother. Oh he did have others, he had Canada the little invisible nation and the unruly youngest Australia but they rarely approached as often as little America did. The blonde haired youth rushed up to you with a goofy grin plastered over his face.

"What's got you into such a grand mood?" You asked with a small smile of your own. Alfred was a little bit on the thick side but he meant well and always seemed to be in high spirits.

"Big brother said he's going to show me the docks today!" Alfred explained excitedly, no doubt imagining the grand fleet of ships at the English Empire's disposal.

"Is that so?" You cooed, humouring the child. "That's exciting. Do you think you'll have ships of your own like your brother's one day?" You asked while kneeling down in front of Alfred.

Immediately his face lit up and he began to excitedly tell you about how he'd have the strongest fleet the world had ever seen. He'd have boats with wings –he claimed boisterously. You listened to everything he had to say, never once daring to tell him that it seemed impossible. A nation's life was long and with all the developments that came with time maybe he'd get his wish one day.

"Alfred?" The two of you stopped laughing when the strong voice of the child's older brother called. "Come away now." He ordered and with a last bright smile and wave he skipped away from you on over to Arthur. You stood, getting ready to return to your work when a distressed cry from Alfred caught your attention.

"But…but you said!" Alfred complained, his once smiling face beginning to turn to a crying one. Turning back to continued to watch as Arthur tried to console the child.

"I know lad, I know. But I have to be going now, I'll be back before you know it." He encouraged warmly.

"You said that last time! You were gone for a whole year that time…" Alfred protested angrily. "Don't go!"

"Lad…" Arthur sighed and took one knee so he could be face to face with his little brother. "I'm sorry but I have no choice. You're a big boy, I'm sure you can keep things in order here for a while. I'll come home more quickly this time and we'll go see the docks together, I promise."

With a brief smile Arthur hugged the younger nation before standing up and dusting himself off. He gave you a single glance and received the normal glare you reserved only for him. Arthur paused when he saw it but simply gave another smile and turned away.

"Big brother never keeps his promises…" Alfred murmured sulkily as Arthur turned and left. You walked up next to Alfred and when you looked down you saw the boy was crying. For a short moment you were too stunned, too heartbroken to react but then there came anger.

Without a word you took off, dashing from a surprised America's side as you ran after that bastard England. He had gotten further than you thought and it took you a great deal of effort to catch up and when you did Arthur was almost halfway down the hill.

"Hey!" You shouted after Kirkland, panting heavily as you stared at him from the top of the grassy hill. The great nation paused mid step, having heard your angry scream. Very slowly to his side to face you, his surprised green eyes staring back at your wild ones.
With him acknowledging your existence you began to stalk down the hill towards him, murder in your gaze.

"Whatever is the matter my dea-" He didn't get the rest of his gentlemanly question out before you reached forward to grab a fist full of his elegant clothes and jerk him towards you furiously.

"Don't feed me that 'dear' crap Kirkland!" You snapped furiously, startling the poor shocked nation.
"How can you just walk away from America like that? Do you have any idea of how much you hurt him just then? You made him a promise to see the docks today didn't you?...Didn't you!?" You all but shouted at Arthur, demanding an explanation for his neglect.

"You're out of line!" Arthur began to retaliate but you weren't having any of it. Your country was small and ignored but you were a proud and strong nation, breaking a promise to a child wasn't going to fly.

"You're the one that is out of line Kirkland!" You shouted back at him, if you had your way fists were going to fly. "Because you're so large and so grand do you think you can just walk all over everybody else? Is that it, oh great and powerful British Empire? You think just because you have some land you can walk all over us, all over America?"

"You-" Arthur was struggling to get even one word in as you tore into him.

"Shut up! You're going to end up on your own because you push everyone away and treat them like dirt! America won't stay by your side, your colonies will leave you and all of your conquered land will vanish like that. I absolutely hate people like you the most! You're going to be all alone."

With that said you released Arthur with a shove and walked away from the speechless nation without another word. You hated him so bloody much, so much it hurt, so much you couldn't think straight. You hated him so much you were sure it was going to get you killed one day.

On that day, the first day you'd ever actually spoken to the British Empire you'd hit the nail on the head and quite precisely predicted the downfall of Arthur Kirkland.

It wasn't many more years after that day that America did indeed leave Arthur's side. You'd watched it too. You'd watched on in silence as everything you'd warned Arthur about came true. One by one the British Empire lost its lands and bit by bit Arthur became more and more alone. It wasn't long before almost everyone was released from England, however you were not among them. You stayed behind simply because it was convenient, not that he would ever notice your absence if you had left.

After that day you'd shouted at Arthur the two of you had not spoken again, if he remembered you at all it was hard to say but you certainly did remember him. You remembered every part of him that he lost with his falling nation and you'd even pitied him somewhat.
It was both breathtaking and heartbreaking to see the once great empire on his knees weeping.

That was years ago.

Now days your life was sitting idly in the world meetings wondering when the other nations would stop playing power cards. You were small and no one listened to your voice unless it helped them in some way so for most meetings you were pushed to the side to listen in silence to their tedious arguments.

The loudest voices were who they always were. Germany's was the loudest of all but America's held the most weight. When you looked at America as he was now you were a little bit taken aback. He had grown up so much faster and so much stronger than anyone could have guessed. You still remembered the days he'd spend playing in England's gardens and watching you do the chores you had to, seeing where he was now…well it warmed your heart a bit.

It had the opposite effect on England.
Durring the meetings you were always seated close behind England and his voice did remain quiet loud and very clearly heard. Being a super power of the world must have been a good feeling.
Arthur seemed to have recovered from his losses the years prior and even though he choked on his own blood at the mere mention of the American Revolution he was at least able to uphold a fairly reasonable conversation with the other nation.

During that day's meeting you were writing down notes disinterestedly in the back for England to look over later when you felt someone touch your shoulder.
The scent of expensive wine and cheese tipped you off to who it was immediately.

"Go away France." You said coldly, not in any mood for the Frenchman's antics though to be frank you never bloody were.

"Oh, (Y/n)!" Francis exclaimed as though you'd broken his heart. "Why must you be so cold towards me? You should just become a French territory already…oui?" He suggested none too subtle about his intentions.

You were going to profusely deny him when someone spoke over you. You were relieved for the excuse to get away.

"Where are my notes?" Arthur asked irritated by the hold up. "Hurry up."

Immediately you pulled away from France and went to hand Arthur the notes. He did not so much as glance at you when handed the papers, you were fairly sure he didn't even realise a nation was handing them to him – most likely he did not even know your name.
This was annoying for quite a few reasons, first off it was just plain bloody rude and secondly if France knew your name how could a nation you actually lived with not know? Were you seriously as invisible to him as Canada was to everyone else? Well…Arthur never did sit on you so maybe he realised that there was at least a body there which was more than one could say for Russia and Canada.

As you settled back down into your seat to start writing new notes it dawned on you that Arthur had never asked for notes during a meeting before. Had he been napping or something? If he'd dozed off someone would have noticed, you would have been the first to notice as you were basically his shadows. So why had he asked for them?
Pushing the question to the back of your mind you ladled it as unimportant and went about writing the notes.

"That concludes this meeting dudes." America declared, sounding far too happy about that fact. "Make sure you come to the next one. It's going to be at Iggy's place!"

"What?" Arthur piped up angrily. "We didn't agree on that, we never even suggested it!"

"Well we're agreeing on it now." Alfred laughed cheerfully and you rolled your eyes, all but feeling another argument coming on between the two. It was then that the familiar sensation of being undressed by a Frenchman's eyes returned and you all but broke your notebook in two as the set of masculine hands came to rest on your shoulders.

"They are going to be at this was a while now." He told you in his overly seductive voice. "I would be happy to help you get home." If you went anywhere with Francis home was going to be the last thing on his mind.

"Or better yet, you could come and live with me instead."

"That sounds great and all but…" You began to deny him like usual when someone grabbed hold of your upper arm and gave a sharp tug. You almost dropped your books to the ground when jerked forward so roughly away from Francis who lifted his hands in an innocent 'I surrender' type of fashion. How fitting for France.

"Bug off frog face." Arthur's angry voice growled from above you. You glanced up in surprise, Arthur wasn't looking at you at all but was instead scowling at France who was beginning to make excuses. "We're going home." He spoke bluntly and began to drag you from the meeting room.

You didn't protest or make an effort to pull away as you were dragged through the meeting room and out away from the other nations. What surprised you most was…well Arthur was touching you. He never touched you, ever. You were all but a ghost to him, if he saw you he never showed it. If he knew your name he never said it and above all if he knew you were there he never ever touched you. So this was kinda breaking all of the silent rules.

Despite all of this life changing information you had to process all at once neither of you said anything. Perhaps he still did not entirely realise your existence, just like how he could suddenly remember Canada and then forget him just as quickly. Perhaps once he let go, you would return to your ghost like existence in England's home. The grip on your arm slowly lessened and you waited for the moment he'd let go and forget again but instead of releasing you his grip moved down to your hand and wrist, holding your small hand tightly in his as he continued to drag you.

Arthur's skin was surprisingly warm against yours and it made your face flush dark red before quickly shaking away those strange kinds of thoughts.

Should I…speak to him? You wondered faintly, not sure what to do. If I said something would he hear me anyway?

Too nervous to try it out your walk continued in silence. All the way out of the building, all the way down the steps and through the courtyard and finally to the awaiting car. No words passed between you and Arthur as the two of you climbed into the car. This irritating silence continued to build throughout the car trip and any time you would glance at Arthur he was looking somewhere else in that bored way of his.

So he can't actually see me. Figures. You thought dully, not sure why the realisation hurt your heart so much. It was a miserable day, the drizzling rain only serving to dampen your mood as the car drove on in that eerie quiet. It was a half hour to the house and no one even thought to turn the radio on, all they got for sound in the car was the slap of rain drops against the windows and the steady hum of the car's wheels against the wet road.

You must have dozed off at some point because when you opened your eyes next the car was rolling to a gradual stop under the garage roof. It was now dark inside the car, the only source of light being the small light that flicked on when Arthur opened the car door. You quickly gathered up your things and opened your own door to climb out of the car. Arthur moved more swiftly than you as he entered the house, taking off his coat and handing it to you as he casually walked inside. It was always amazing to you how much he seemed to overlook you. Still this normally didn't bother you, today it frustrated you.

"Would you like some tea sir?" You asked flatly while hanging up his coat and shrugging off your own.

Sometimes in your head you had this funny image of Arthur suddenly realising you existed and acting startled when you spoke but as always you were let down.
"I'll make some." You said in answer to yourself, he rarely answered you but the answer to tea was always indefinitely yes under England's roof.

England was standing between you and the kitchen but you paid him no mind and moved to completely pass him before a firm hand grabbed hold of your wrist, stopping you dead.
Your heart began to pound as you realised it was Arthur's hand that held you in place. Hesitantly you turned back to face Arthur, his gaze was not on you. He never looked at you even now when he was touching you he still wouldn't look at you for god's sake!

"Stay." The single word made you jump in alarm. You took a quick glance around the room to see if there was anyone there he could be speaking to but it was just you and him in the dimly lit house.

"Wha-?" His grip tightened slightly and you winced as he jerked to closer, his other hand grabbing hold of your chin to tip your head up to look at him.

Your breath caught in your throat as your eyes met with the familiar green hues. The last time you'd seen them properly was that day all those years ago when you'd been this close to one another and you'd shouted at him. Arthur didn't say anything else as he held you close and your shock kept you from running away even as his head dipped down and he captured your lips with his own.

Your eyes went wide and your entire body tensed up under Arthur, still he did not release you as you tried to pull back away from him. The hand that held your wrist tightened slightly and the one on your chin moved to wind around your waist, pulling you closer still.
Arthur's lips were soft but he was being too rough in the way he seemed to desperately kiss you, desperate to keep you close to him.

Finally you'd had enough and even though you didn't want to be rough you had to make a very strong point to Arthur. He wasn't going to get away with pushing you around like that Perverted French bastard. Without a second thought you bit Arthur, the metallic taste of blood spilling into your mouth as you broke the skin.

Arthur yelped and released you, hand going to his bleeding lip as he looked at you in alarm. With a glare you spat out the small amount of blood you had in your mouth and turned to scowl at Arthur furiously, you could feel a fit of rage coming on, you could feel the shouting beginning to build up in your chest but you were able to stay controlled enough not to snap completely.

Instead you took a single step away from Arthur and then turned and high tailed it out of there. You heard Arthur shouting after you but you ignored him and ran out the front door and into the rain. You barely got off the front porch before you felt Arthur's hand wrapping around your wrist, without thinking you turned and punched him in the chest.

Arthur stumbled back, a little winded by the blow. You didn't run a second time, wondering if you'd really hurt him but instead of doubling over in pain or cursing he was staring at you with those surprised eyes of his but quickly his eyes narrowed on you and a look of anger came over him.

"Fine!" He snapped angrily. "If you want to be so bloody uncivilised!"

"Uncivilised?" You scoffed. "I did not just suddenly attack you."

"I didn't attack you!" Arthur snapped back, he had quite the temper but what caused you the most surprise was the growing blush on his face. "I mean…su-sure it may have been a bit sudden but…" He muttered, words falling in on themselves as his face continued to glow brighter.

The embarrassment he was feeling made you realise just how utterly embarrassing the whole thing was. You'd never been kissed before and most shocking of all it was Arthur who had kissed you. As your own face turned red you covered your mouth and stared at the ground, almost mirroring Arthur's actions. Apparently the two of you did share a certain amount of Tunsdere behaviour though neither of you would admit to it.

"Ahem…" Arthur cleared his throat and tried to regain control of the situation. "I-In any case…you cannot go to France."

Glancing up from the ground you just stared blankly at Arthur, allowing the man to continue on with his absurd assumptions.

"Y-You belong here with the United Kingdom, you cannot before a French territory, I absolutely forbid it. And…and if you try to sneak off with France I-I'll…"

"Are you barking mad!" You shouted in alarm, shutting Arthur up. "Go with France? Who would want to do that?!"

"I heard his offer to you (Y/n)!" He retorted in frustration. "I'm not going to let him-"

"…You….know my name?" You said in absolute astonishment. Arthur stopped speaking again, looking up at you with his own puzzled expression.

"Naturally." He replied simply. "Why would I not know your name?" He asked innocently surprised by your confusion.

"But you…you never speak to me! You never call me by my name or even look at me!" You gushed, letting all of the frustrating questions our. "You treat me like a ghost, like you don't even know who I am!"

"(Y/n)….No you're wrong. Of course I know who you are…" He took a careful step towards you.

"Then why do you ignore me?" You demanded angrily. "If you want me to vanish so badly just say it! If you like being alone I'll leave!"

"No!" Arthur shouted, dashing forward to grab both your arms tightly, holding you in place as his eyes became frantic. "Don't leave me! (Y/n) stay with me, don't go! Don't leave me on my own…"

His feverish words struck you to your core and all of your anger was forgotten as you looked back at his desperate eyes. The rain had drenched both of you to the bone but neither of you seemed to notice as you stared at one another.

"Everyone…always leaves. I've been on my own for so long I don't want to be in splendid isolation anymore! There's nothing bloody splendid about it." Arthur spoke rapidly, an agonised expression on his face as tears mixed with the rain. "If you leave there is no one left at all! You're the last one I have…I need you."

You knew this…you'd always known this. You'd stayed by Arthur's side as his constant ghost for so many years but you'd never felt sad. Not really, you knew Arthur was lonely and some part of you was happy just to keep him company and remain his constant companion even if you were never acknowledged.

Of course you never noticed the small glances he'd take when he was sure it was safe to look or the secret smiles he held when you'd do something kind for him. You'd never see the little things he did in return, you never would have guessed where the extra blanket came from on a cold night or who it was that had placed all your broken or lost items in the middle of your bed as though they were brand new. Sometimes you thought it was Arthur but you still firmly believed he could not see you.

"How…long have you known I was here?" You asked quietly.

"Always…forever." He spoke in a calmer voice but he still held you tight. "I was afraid…if I looked at you or spoke a wrong word you'd run away as well. You always glared at me when I looked…I thought if I got caught glancing your way that you'd shatter away like an illusion. I don't want to be in splendid isolation any longer, please…don't leave."

"Arthur I-" You tried but Arthur was too busy panicking to notice.

"That bloody frog's place would be awful! He'd cheat on you all the time, flit with girls with you right there. He'd come home late and make you do everything, he smells like cheese an-and he is-"

"Arthur!" You snapped firmly, hands reaching up to touch his face gently. "Shut up for god's sake…"

Gently you pressed your lips to his, ignoring the rain as you returned the kiss you had originally ruined with a bite. You could still taste the faint tang of blood mixed in with the lingering taste of tea on his lips. Arthur was tense when you kissed him but ever so slowly his arms wrapped around you and returned the small sign of affection.

When the two of you broke away you muttered quietly to him. "If you ignore me ever again Arthur Kirkland I'll kick your ass straight into Russia's backyard." You warned him very seriously.

Chuckling softly Arthur rest his chin on top of your head while toying with a strand of your wet hair. "Dearly noted dear heart."

…

After that life did not change all that much. You continued on with your quiet work, taking notes in meetings while being overlooked by larger nations. Doing your usual chores while making tea for Arthur. The only thing that really had changed was your interactions with Arthur.

Now he looked at you and spoke normally, it took some coaxing but finally the two of you were able to treat one another normally. With that there came plenty of shouting and the tossing of tea cups, neither of you had a good handle over your temper, but it somehow always ended up with somebody pinned to a bed so while it was not harmonious it was happy.

Being a ghost may have been fun at times but you liked this much more, after all it was hard to kiss a ghost and Arthur did turn a very appealing shade of red when kissed.
Couldn't miss that right?

"Am I still the type of person you hate the most?" Arthur had asked you one day while you set down a steaming cup of tea in front of him. At first the question had surprised you but very quickly you grinned like Cheshire cat and responded bluntly.

"Without a doubt."

"What?" Arthur shouted and choked on his tea, spluttering in a very unflattering manner.

"Oh yes!" You continued on dramatically. "You are the type of uptight, unicorn seeing bastard I hate the most sir Arthur Kirkland. Oh dear lord the very sight of your cook is enough to make me critically ill." You continued watching Arthur's ears steam and just when it looked like he was about to explode you finished.

"And most of all I hate how much you make me love you." With that you hugged England with a wicked little laugh and kissed his cheek. He was giving you that usual 'I'm going to pour hot tea all over you for that' look and you grinned all the more.
Not harmonious in the slightest but very happy.

You loved him so bloody much, so much it hurt, so much you couldn't think straight. You loved him so much you were sure it was going to get you killed one day.

Splendid Isolation for both you and Arthur Kirkland was officially terminated.