The world conference meeting was just as boring as always, every nation was yelling at the top of their lungs to put their own point across; everyone was talking over each other. It was like being in a room full of small children, all fighting over the same toy, and he would know something about that. Francis couldn't wait to get out of this stuffy conference, and he could tell that his friends were feeling the same. From the twitch of their hands to the tapping of their feet they were all relaying the same impatient message. It was Friday, and the self-dubbed Bad Friends Trio had a mission, like they always did every Friday. As soon as the dull meeting was over the trio would leap out of their seats and make their way to the streets, and when the last speaker had finally shut up that was just what they did, to the murmuring of the other nations that remained behind to gather papers and other nuisances.

"There they go…"

"Probably going to go get drunk…"

"Or worse."
Francis turned to the rude nation that said this and sent a friendly kiss in their direction, he loved seeing "haters" faces when he did that. (He was fairly certain that was the term, his dear ex-colony Matthew told him about new slang often to keep him from using terms like "groovy" still, a term he used well into the eighties.) He didn't really care what the other nations thought of them, this was their day, and no one could damper his mood.

"So are you two ready to be awesome?"

Francis chuckles and nods along with Antonio as they walked to the hotel for the things that they would need for this "mission".

"Si! Hurry it up!"

The trio collected some things from their hotels and drove through the packed streets of Paris fidgeting with excitement until they reached their highly anticipated destination.

Their highly anticipated destination was a small run down orphanage in the heart of the city. The orphanage was a sick shade of yellow with the paint peeling off, but it was kept as clean as was possible by the little girls that stayed within its walls, their ages ranging from toddlers to some younger teens. The privately owned orphanage had seen some better years, but the elderly woman who ran it was desperate to keep it afloat, she couldn't bear the thought of any of her "little girls" getting separated from each other. They were more of a family after all.

The trio had first found this place when walking to their hotels after their carpool car had broken down and Gilbert was too proud to hail a cab, Francis remembered that conversation distinctly. "Nein I am too awesome to get inside a stinky cab, we will walk!"… He had been pissed beyond belief at the many mile trek that they had to endure on Gilberts behalf, but that all changed when they saw the orphanage, they had originally thought that it was a ruin but on that first Friday the girls at the all-girls Mrs. Jeaunes Orphanage for special ladies had swarmed the trio at the gate, as if they had never seen any adults before. It was like a small herd of bright grinning pigtails and skirts and even though the girls lived in such a rundown place they were the happiest girls they had ever seen, and all of them wanted to play with the new adults, despite the fact that said adults hadn't even stepped foot within the gate. The trio had spent that first Friday playing games with the charming girls (how could they say no?) and when it came time to leave the girls held them hostage by latching onto their legs until they made a promise that they would be back.

So the trio kept coming back.

This Friday was no exception to the herd rule for as soon as the trio stepped out of their car one small girl about the age of five saw them and sounded the alarm.

"THEY'RE HERE!"
As soon as the trio reached the gate they were surrounded by a sea of bright shining faces all eagerly shouting the news from the last week since they had last seen the trio. The more introverted girls stood in the back, but managed to make their voices heard since all of them were comfortable with the trio by this point.

"I lost a tooth!"

"I made an A on my history quiz!"

"I drew you a picture of a dog we found!"

The trio smiled and hugged the girls that were all asking for hugs, and did their best to answer to the girl's news that kept on being shouted to them. While it was all chaos, they loved it. For all of them it reminded them of when they used to take care of their little brothers, and they reviled in the delightful chaos that children brought.

By the end of it all Antonio ended up with two girls latched onto his legs like leeches, Gilbert had one in his arms and Francis was happily holding one in his arms and one on his back. When things had finally calmed down a little more the last girl approached them as usual, her being one of the shyest out of the bunch. She handed them a note with her news and waited until they had all read it. The note had been written by an older girl since Eloise was not able to write yet, or at least she was working on it as the note stated.

"Ah I see mon petite chou, very nice job on your writing then Eloise!"

The girl nods mutely but with a smile as she then tugs on Francis's free arm for dress up time. With that the trio was off, pulling out their own separate bags of toys so they could visit and play games with the girls.

Gilberts POV

After helping with science and history homework for the older girls (his specialty, all the girls were making A's with his awesome help) Gilbert had finally gotten a chance to search for the other parts of the awesome trio. Last he had seen of Antonio he was playing guitar with the little ones and teaching them how to dance, but he hadn't seen Francis for a while now, that left him to assume that some of the little ones had kidnapped him and were forcing to play unspeakable games like dress up and having a tea party where he would mostly be made to wear a feathery scarf and a plastic tiara….He had to find him and rescue him from such an unawesome fate.

"Francis? Where you at?"

"Ahem….In here…."

Gilbert quirked an eyebrow and enters a bedroom through the pink doorway. What he saw inside would remain with him until he died, and would be going into his diary for sure. Inside was Francis, surrounded by the youngest girls, but that wasn't the best part. The best part was him. Francis had been decked up with costume makeup, his nails were painted , his hair was in pigtails with pink bows, and the girls had somehow found a dress big enough for him (more than likely snagged from cabinet from her Cabaret days..) …..He looked like a very cheap impression of a drag queen, and Gilberts prediction was true.

"Ahem….so….Am I pretty mon ami?"

As Francis played with his short pigtails; a wide smile on his face, Gilbert fell over clutching his own stomach as he bellowed with laughter.

"Yah sure bro! You're the prettiest girl! Why don't you give me a twirl so I can see that pretty dress of yours sway! "

Francis nods slyly to one of the girls as they shut the door and smiles a wicked grin.

"I'm glad you think so, you can be pretty like me now, and then we can both sway in our pretty dresses…."

"What….No…Girls….NOT AWESOME!"

Gilbert's pleas went unheard as an army of girls armed with hair bows surrounded him….

Antonio's POV

He honestly had no clue.

Just….No clue…

"Err….Amigo…. I can understand Francis being in a dress but…."

"DON'T SPEAK OF IT!"

Antonio holds his hands up, ever the peacemaker. However….He couldn't hold back a smile, or stop the girls that were behind him from giggling. His friends just looked so silly in their makeup, and pink/red frilly dresses. Francis was posing like a model for the girls while Gilbert was hiding his face behind his hands, which were freshly painted in sparkly pink nail polish. The little ones could be very strong when they had to paint nails forcefully.

"Ah, cheer up mon ami! You look very pretty in that dress, red suits you!"

Francis could only laugh as Gilbert gave him a glare.

"…Not a word francy pants…."

However, coming from a man in a pink dress that threat did not hold much, and only made everyone else laugh harder. Finally Eloise took pity on Gilbert and bashfully handed him some makeup wipes. Her bright green eyes lit up as she smiled up at him as she pointed to her own red hair and his red dress, pointing out that they were practically the same shade.

"Ah! Finally a true friend! Eloise you are my new best friend, ok? And this dress would look much better on you, it's like your awesome fiery hair."

Eloise only smiles and nods, then points to Antonio and Francis who were still red with laughter.
"Nein, those are not my friends anymore….Unless they want to buy me some adult drinks later at the bar!"

Francis laughs his typical laugh and nods, taking off his own makeup as well, his makeup already streaking down his face from the tears until he finally got it all off.
"Oui, I think the sight of you in a dress is worth the price of an adult drink."

Gilbert finally lets out a laugh as he sits down to let his new best friend help him with taking out the hair bows.

"Nice! I guess this was worth it then….Girls did you enjoy dressing us up?"

All around them a chorus of "yes" went around and Gilbert sighs.

"Hmmm…..Next week I expect to see Francis in a blue dress, something to match his eyes!"

The girls around them laughed as Eloise silently points to his red eyes, and then to some red nail polish.

"W-What?! Eloise! You're supposed to be my new best friend! Ah I feel so betrayed!"

Gilbert flops over onto the floor with a dramatic flair.
"And just when I was about to let you all pet Gilbird….."

The girls gasped and then surrounded him, all begging to see the little bird, the dresses forgotten, but only for the moment. They would reappear next week; they could be assured of that. Francis took this as a chance to go and get changed out of the dress; he was looking a bit short of breath as it was squeezing his innards like a corset. Antonio also took this chance to slink away to the kitchen to make dinner for the girls; it was his turn this week after all.

Gilberts POV

Well that worked.

The little girls that surrounded him soon forgot about making him wear another dress (he hoped) as he whistled for his little bird friend. Gilbird came quickly as he always did and soon the little girls were petting him and trying to put him into tiny little hats that they had made for him in the past few weeks. His bird was a brave little guy who underwent all of this and even floated around on the girl's heads, making them all laugh with his antics. Although why that was so funny Gilbert had no idea, this bunch of girls were always giggling about something it seemed…..It was actually really adorable, and this was coming from him, one of the manliest men alive!

The girls were just about to make Gilbird wear a tiny tie when Antonio finally reappeared in the doorway.
"Dinner is ready!"

What could only be described as a mob flocked to the dinner table leaving the trio wide eyed, as it always did. Antonio was the first to recover as his face lights up with that joyful smile that he was famous for.
"…Well at least someone appreciates my cooking!"

Antonio brimmed with pride as they went to the table joined by the owner of the orphanage who had finally made it out of bed. Mrs. Jeaune was mostly confined to it due to her arthritis and the older girls usually had to watch the younger ones. Today she looked a little red eyed as she smiled at the trio.
"Ah it's so nice to see you boys here again!...Young ladies what do we say for this wonderful meal?"

The girls turned to the trip and chorused a polite yet loud "thank you."

Antonio beamed as he watched the girls squirm in their seats, waiting eagerly so they could eat.
"You're welcome…You can eat now you know."

The girls didn't need any more urging as they all eagerly dug into the food, only barely managing to remain polite and eat with good table manners.

Francis's POV

The girls ate with an appetite that only young growing children could possess. It reminded him of when he had Mathieu as his little colony, it wouldn't seem like it but he had as big of an appetite as his brother.

"Oh mon petite you have rice all over your mouth!"

The culprit, a little blond girl named Marie looked up and hastily wipes her mouth, making sure to keep her special princess costume clean.
"Oh, thank you for telling me !"

Francis chuckles softly and nods as she eats at a much more graceful pace. He gazed around the table to check on the other girls and he noticed a certain girl who was sulking at her plate.

"You are welcome….Now what is wrong Eloise?"

The small girl looked up from her sulking at him and points to her broccoli, shaking her head as she made a face.

"Ah I see, not a fan of broccoli?"

Eloise nods and then shrinks sheepishly back in her chair, not wanting to seem ungrateful.

"Hmm…Well then just pretend that it is a tree, and you are a little beaver!"

Eloise lights up at the idea of being able to play at the table and eagerly dug into her veggies with her new game. Soon enough most of the younger ones had joined in on the game (much to the "embarrassment" of the older girls) and Francis gloated to Gilbert.

"That always works like a charm, I used that trick with mon petit Mathieu!"

Gilbert rolls his eyes, obviously fearing that Francis would gush again about his "little colony"…..He was honestly just as bad as Antonio when it came to that sort of thing.

"Mhm nice one fancy pants, now eat so we can have dessert!"

Francis pretended to be hurt but soon finished his plate. They had to set a good example for the young ladies after all, and that meant clearing their plates like the children. They also had to wait for everyone to clear off their plate out of politeness before Antonio pulled out a platter of churros.

"Did everyone clean off their plates?"

The girls proudly showed off their spotless plates to a beaming Spaniard.

"Good! Then you can have some dessert!"

He passed out the churros and sat down at the table once again as the girls started to chat, now that they could finally talk without full mouths. Marie looked at the trio and raised her hand as if she were at school.

"Ahem….Oui?"

"You guys are really smart so you must know! My teacher is going to have a baby but when we all asked her when it came from she wouldn't say and got all red in the face! ...So….Where do babies come from?"

The trio stared blankly, not even chewing as all of the young girls turned to them, all wide eyed with curiosity. Under the table the trio hastily played rock paper scissors, leaving the loser to make something up. That someone was Francis who quickly took note of the fact that most of the girls were not old enough to know the truth….This was going to be tricky. Despite his reputation he would explain the truth, just not to smaller children.

"Ahem, well you see…err…When a mother….Ok non not that way ahem… It's complicated girls."

The girls started to protest, urging Francis to come up with something since that would obviously not be enough for this curious bunch.

"It's complicated because…. I have been sworn to secrecy! You see when you become an adult you are entrusted with that secret, and I cannot tell you. It's for the baby's safety you see. If I were to tell you then I would be…er…turned into a fish…. "

The girls were about to pester for more info instead of such an obviously fake and honestly cringe worthy answer, one glance at his friends told him that Gilbert had slammed his head onto the table.

"A fish?"

"Oui! A fish!...Right guys?"

Francis was about to die until Antonio came to his friends rescue, some of the more gullible girls were staring at the fish dinner that was left over with horror.

"I just realized that… we have not had a tea party yet!"

The older girls thankfully took this hint and helped Antonio usher the smaller ones into the playroom where the plastic tea sets were. When they were all gone Francis heaved a sigh of relief while Gilbert just laughed at him.

"That was close…."

"I'll say! At least you didn't make up some bull-….Stuff about a crane or a stork! Although that whole fish thing was a bit lame man…And by a bit lame I mean that was pretty terrible..."

Francis merely laughs softly at his friend, knowing that he was right after all. He clears off the table, watching as Mrs. Jeaune hobbled back to her study to work on paperwork, something about her was pestering him.

"Oui well I hope they forget about that question, and that was the first thing I could think of! I blame Antonio and his fish dinner.… Gilbert don't you think this is all a bit strange?"

They could hear the little girls playing with the tea sets and probably dressing Antonio up in a feather boa as Gilbert looked at Francis armed with a rag to wash the dishes.

"What do you mean?"

Francis shrugs nonchalantly and filled the sink with sudsy water to work on the dishes.

"It just seems that this place never gets better, no matter how many donations we collect…"

"Yeah well….The girls eat a lot of food, and you know how their outfits get. That's probably why the building is still in bad shape. "

Francis thinks for a moment and then gave a light smile as he passed dishes to Gilbert to clean.

"Perhaps you are right; after all, the girls seem to have new outfits this time. That is probably where the money went."

"Yeah francy pants! Don't be so suspicious, Mrs. Jeaune loves these girls!"

"That is true. Now then, I think we have a tea party to attend to."

Francis just grinned as Gilbert straightens out his suit and then gave Gilbird a little pat.

"Let's do this."

Some fake cookies later and the day had closed to an end. They had visited and donated the next bit of money for the week which was met with many thanks as usual. The trio stuck around long enough to help the older girls wrangle the younger ones into bed and then said their goodbyes to the sleepy lot.

"You'll be back right?"

The trio stood at the door as the girls waited anxiously, despite the many times they had been through this.
"Well mon petites….Do you promise to do your homework?"

The girls nodded eagerly, smiles' forming as they went through the usual pattern of promises and their childish anxiety was relieved.

"And to eat your veggies? Even broccoli?"

They nodded, a bit more reluctant this time. Francis was about to finish off when Gilbert cut in.

"And you promise to be awesome?"

The girls giggled and nodded with a resounding "yes!"

Francis could only chuckle softly as their cheerful faces.

"Then we will be back."

The girls cheered, even though they knew that the trio would be back, no matter what they did. They had charmed the trio too much for them to stay away.

One week later

Another dull meeting, another Friday in the freezing bleak winter the engulfed the city. This particular meeting seemed excruciatingly long as this Friday was different from all the others. This was the day that the trio had finally gathered enough money to fix up the orphanage, for good this time. It hadn't been easy, but they had done it. They honestly couldn't wait to surprise Mrs. Jeaune with the check, and to see her face as they help her fix the home for the girls. It would be the perfect gift for the Christmas that was quickly approaching.

Arthur was about to start on another rant about global trade when the heavy doors of the meeting hall struggled open. It wasn't until they adjusted their line of sight and looked down that they saw the culprit. There in her special princess dress stood Marie, looking like she was about to cry. No one spoke as she scanned the crowd until she saw the trio.

"Mr. Francis! Mr. Antonio! Mr. Gilbert!"

Marie ran to them sobbing now as all eyes were on her. She leapt into the arms of Francis who tried to calm down her sobs, while also trying to figure out why she was there, and possibly more importantly how. He looked at the others in his trio wondering if they knew what was going on but they looked just as clueless as he was.

"Mon petit! What are you doing here? Where is Mrs. Jeaune..."

"I- came- a-lone-! E-E-Eloise is – she's….MISSING! A-and you said that if we were ever in trouble then we could find you h-here!"

Marie sobbed again as Francis rubbed her back, now pacing with her as he tried to avoid the stares of the other nations, and also tried to keep the panic from building up in his chest. Finally it was Arthur who spoke up.

"Ahem…..Who is this...Who is Eloise?"

Francis sighs softly as he held the distraught girl close to him, as much for himself as it was for her.

"This is Marie, an orphan from Mrs. Jeaunes Orphanage for special ladies…. The place that we visit every Friday…Now if you will excuse us, apparently another girl is missing…"

Alfred at that point leapt up from his seat, eager to help already, without knowing any information. Francis had to admire that about the young nation.

"Wait! Let us help! Come on this is serious! Also why didn't you tell us that you guys visit orphans every Friday? That's awesome!"

Francis smiles softly, a bit relieved. Leave it to Alfred to play the hero. And if Eloise was truly missing then they would need all the help they could get…

"Merci Alfred. And well…We wanted it to be our own secret… Now then, Marie, where did you see her last?...Why did she leave the orphanage, she knows you aren't supposed to go off on your own."

Marie looks up at the expectant and now standing nations as she swallows her tears.

"Eloise said that she wanted to talk to you guys, she had something to tell you…B-but she can't even read so she must have gotten lost because I didn't see her on the way here! A-and she's mute so she can't even ask for help! A-and she didn't want Mrs. Jeaune to know that she was leaving so that's why I came to you! She's been gone for h-hours!"

Alfred looked at Marie with wide eyes, obviously realizing the gravity of this situation. Not only was she a young girl, but she was also mute.

"She's mute...Oh crap….Ok hold on."

After getting info on what she looked like not just Alfred, but all of the nations started to make calls, pulling strings to get some help. Alfred enlisted Tony to use his alien tech to scan the area, Francis called the cops and had them send out a search party while his other trio members got ready to go look themselves. Even the nations that had absolutely no connection to the trio or the girls gathered up their coats to join in on the search.

Antonio's POV

Antonio was a nervous wreck as they entered the car. He tried to hide it, but it was impossible. Who knew what could happen to a small mute child in the streets?! At least they had plenty of help. The other Allies were taking care of the north; the Axis was taking the south. Hungary and Ukraine were watching Marie, while the last of the Germanics (the unlikely duo of Switzerland and Austria) were taking the west with the rest of the Asian group.

That left them with the east.

"Gilbert cant you drive any faster amigo?"

Gilbert sighs softly as France intensely scanned the streets beside him, riding shotgun.

"No, unless you want to drive right past her…"

"Ah…right…"

Gilbert nods as his leg jitters beside him whenever he wasn't using it. The tension in the car was thick enough to cut with a knife.

"Any sign of her francy pants?"

"Non…..Why would she leave without Mrs. Jeaune's permission?"

"I don't know, something doesn't seem right about this guys…."

Gilbert sighs softly and nods along to Antonio's idea.

"I agree. You might have been right all along francy pants…."

Antonio turns to Francis with a questioning look and soon Francis had explained his suspicions from the week prior.

"It is strange….But what else would she be spending the money on?"

Francis thinks for a moment trying to imagine sweet Mrs. Jeaunes using the money in an evil way.

"…I have no clue; she's a bit old for things like drugs…."

Gilbert gave him a look as he turns into another side street. As they drive the sky darkened with the night coming on. Soon it would be cold, freezing even.

"Yeah, we're decades old and yet we drink, your point is?"

"….Well that's a bit different Gilbert."

"All I'm saying is that it's not impossible"

"Oui maybe not but…."

Antonio sighs as he listens to their bickering, deciding to keep watch instead. What felt like an eternity went by and the arguing died down as they grew more and more solemn. It was now fully dark, and the car read a temperature of -6 C. This was not good, to put it lightly.

Gilberts POV

Gilbert gripped the wheel tightly, his knuckles going white. They had all checked in with the other nations, and no one had seen her. Not even Tony's alien tech could pick her up. It was like she had fallen off the face of the earth. Gilbert finally pulls over and bangs the wheel, making the horn go off with a mighty blast that resonated through the nearly empty street.

"SHISSE!...Where is she?! It can't be this hard to find her! She's a small ginger in the middle of Paris!"

The others were silent as he sighs softly, running a hand through his own white hair.

"Where else can we look? I feel like we've been through these streets a million times…."

Francis sighs softly and looks out the window, eyeing the alleyway. They had been searching for hours now.

"We have been through all the streets in our area….The others said the same….She must have been kidnapped or is in a building. We must go out and look where the car can't go."

Gilbert heaved a sigh as he nods, grabbing his heavy coat while the others also bundled up against the bitter cold.

"If anyone has taken her I won't hesitate to shoot them…."

"You don't even have you gun amigo."

"I'll find a way!"

Antonio shrugs and they went out into the frigid streets, scanning each and every alleyway they passed. They peered into the few shops that were still open but found nothing. Gilberts hands felt like they were freezing, and his legs were about to give out after only thirty minutes.

They were just about to circle back again when they heard a trash can being knocked over. It was a slim chance but…Maybe….

"Eloise? Are you there?"

They were answered by another loud thump, and they spurred into action. The trio raced into the alleyway and instantly took up a fighting stance. A large man held Eloise by her arms and seemed to be trying to get her small pink purse which was full of thick stacks of money the poked out obviously, making her an easy target for a mugging.

Antonio growled, his eyes switched dark and menacing in an instant as he stepped towards the man. The last time Gilbert had seen him like this was during his conquistador days, and that was not a memory he wanted to relive…Except, perhaps, in times like this.

"If I were you I would back off….amigo."

The man pulled out a knife and held it out as Eloise struggled, her eyes wide with fear. Despite this her grip on her purse never loosened.

"Now look, you guys are unarmed, I am. She has money, I don't. It's that simple, so just sit right there while I take the money and everything will be o-"

The man's eyes went wide and he squeaked rather high as Eloise stomped on his foot savagely. That gave them enough time for Antonio to punch the man, Francis to drag Eloise out of his arms and into safety, and then for Gilbert to knock him to the ground and stand on his chest to keep him from standing, the whole process taking less than four seconds

They were a great team.

Francis's POV

A quick call to the cops and the other nations, and a tying down of a criminal later they were ready to leave. Eloise was bundled up in Francis's large "cloak" which was really more of a blanket on her and she smiled up at them through slightly blue lips. She had been hugged, lectured and then hugged again, all in the span of only a few minutes.

"Eloise we are taking you back to the orphanage after a quick visit to the urgent care, ok?"

Eloise looks up at them with wide eyes and shakes her head frantically, pulling out a small note. The note was written in large, scribbly letters and was utterly unreadable.

"….Mon petite I cannot read this, I am sorry…We really must go-…Hmm?"

Eloise shakes her head frantically and starts to sign hastily, even though she knew that none of them could understand her.

"We will take you back to the meeting hall, ok? There we can see if anyone reads sign language."

Eloise smiles brightly now, her fear gone as she nods. Francis returns her smile and kisses her head, relief coursing through his veins.

"Don't run away again though, alright?"

Eloise merely looked up at him and gave a sheepish thumbs up.

The trio got back to their warm car and drove to the urgent care where it was found that Eloise was fine, just a bit cold and then back to the meeting hall, where many nations were waiting to see her.

"Dude you're ok!"

"Ah da, it is nice to see you ok little one."

"Her hair is so cute, right Roderich?"

Eloise looked up at the group of nations and hid her face in Francis's side, suddenly shy.

"Ah, Eloise didn't you want to tell us something?...Can anyone read sign language?"

"I can eh….."

Alfred looked at his brother stunned, even though no one else really saw anyone there.

"Wait, you can?! Why?"

"I like to give a voice to people who don't have one…."

They looked for the source of the soft voice and Francis brimmed with pride as his Matthew came to the front and started to talk to the girl, reading her signs as she explained, while the rest of them looked on impressed.

"I see….Ok thank you….Here."

Matthew sent Eloise over to play and drink hot chocolate with Hungary, Ukraine and a very relieved looking Marie.

"So? What did she say?"

Mathieu sighs softly and hands Francis the small pink purse full of money.

"She says that you should have this back since Mrs. Jeaune was only using it for her 'happy juice'…Eloise saw her throw away a liquor bottle one night."

"Happy juice?!...Oh non I was right…."

Matthew nods with a small frown, looking over to where the girls were drinking hot chocolate happily and having their hair braided, as if nearly getting mugged and losing a friend was not that big of a deal…

"She said that she didn't want to tell you earlier because she was afraid that you would be mad and stop visiting them….She said that Fridays were always the best part of the week, and she couldn't risk losing that…"

"She said all of that?"

"Well….Yes, more or less anyway. I might have elaborated a bit eh?"

Francis nods and pats Matthew's shoulder with a small grin, nearly a smirk.

"Merci for translating! Mon petit chou."

Matthew hid his face at the French term of endearment used for children.

"….I'm going to make hot chocolate now…."

Francis could only laugh as Matthew scurried away to join the girls and Alfred spoke up.

"So….What now guys?"

One month later

The newly furnished Nations home for orphaned girls was finally ready to be opened to its "clients." The girls had all stayed at various nations homes during the renovation, which led to many funny phone calls from nations who were clueless, and even some wondering if they could keep their charge for longer. Those girls had somehow found a way to charm even the coldest nation, even including Austria who insisted that his charge learn piano before she could go back to the orphanage. According to him she would be ready to play Bach in a few weeks, and that he just needed a bit more time.

The girls and nations gathered in front of the house, ready now to cut the tape. They were all smiling widely as the tape was cut with a ceremonial snip and the girls rushed into the new house. Of course, the only thing that could dampen their spirits was the absence of Mrs. Jeaune who was now in a nursing home/rehabilitation center. She did love the girls, but in the end she loved her booze more.

However, they couldn't think about that now, as it was time for the tea party.