Russia gazed blankly down at the empty vodka bottle grasped tightly in his gloved hand.
Stupid birthday…
Why would this year be any different from the rest? The tall man would go to all lengths to plan a festive birthday party for himself, inviting all of his fellow comrades and nations to celebrate with him, only to have no one show up, and him passing out by mid-afternoon from alcohol consumption.
It's the same every year.
Of course though, some countries would send him little gifts and useless trinkets that he did not care for. China- one of his closest friends, who normally gave him something relatively decent, was being stingy this year- and the only present that the Russian could see was a little yellow thing in plastic wrap.
Sluggishly, Russia took hold of the cookie, and quite mercilessly, squished it in his fist.
Stupid China…
He was going to throw the little mess away, when he noticed something little and white peeping through the shards of crushed dessert. He brushed the remaining crumbs off of the paper, and read-
Love is like wildflowers...it is often found in the most unlikely places.
And at that, he genuinely smiled.
Thank you, China.
If there was one thing Romano hated more than Spain's stupidity- it was Chinese food. Sure- the noodles were decent, nothing like Italian pasta of course, but let's be honest- how could a certain Spaniard (Spain) expect a full-bred Italian (Romano) to enjoy a full meal, without one little trace of tomato? It was pure blasphemy!
It was at the end of their meal, when Spain had to excuse himself to the gentlemen's room, to make sure his lip wasn't bleeding too badly. And yes, Romano had quite aggressively punched Spain in the face when the Spaniard insisted on making Romano eat the blasted tomato-less food.
"Stupid bastard…" The Italian grumbled, arms crossed defiantly over his chest. The poor waitress, who had been witness to the abuse of the nice looking Spaniard, was a little scared, when she came over to deliver the fortune cookies, as was custom at Chinese restaurants.
At the sight of the waitress, Romano instantly sat up straighter, and used his best manners when he was presented with the pretty cookies.
"Thank you miss." He said, even smiling at the pretty girl.
On the other hand, said waitress was utterly confused at the sudden change of behavior.
As soon as her back was turned, Romano grabbed at the cookie. Since he had refused to eat anything at this place, he was starved, and the cookie looked semi-decent.
Munch munch munch
Not bad.
He grinned a little in excitement when he finally found the little paper prize, opening it fully, he read-
The one you love is closer than you think.
"Wha…" His face turned bright red and his breath came out in shallow gasps, when two arms threw themselves tightly around his neck.
"LOVIIIIII!!!!!!!! You look just like a tomato!!!!!!!!!!!"
Ukraine sniffled.
I'm not going to cry. I'm not going to cry. I'm not going to cry.
This was the mantra she repeated in her head as she sat across the conference table from her beloved younger brother. Her gaze met his lavender eyes, and he smiled a little, and waved slightly at his weepy sister.
Ukraine balled her fists on her lap and tried so hard not to let the tears run down her face. She loved her brother, but things had become strained when her economy was failing, and her country had been so dependent on his, and…oh it was such a mess.
"Umm…excuse me…b-but..are you crying?"
Ukraine looked up; the tiny voice was barely audible over America's rants from the front of the room. She sniffed, unable to find the source of the voice.
Great, now I'm hearing things. Russia will think I'm such a baby…
"You d-don't need to cry. It's okay."
It was that voice again! Ukraine now jerked her head to the left.
"Look to your right."
She did as the voice said, and finally spotted the source-
"A-America…?" She whispered, not wanting to draw attention to herself or…
Wait a minute.
If America was at the front of the room…then who was…?
"Who the heck are you????"
The clone-America sighed sadly, and Ukraine immediately felt a little bad.
"I'm Canada."
"Oh, sorry Canada…"
Canada blushed a little when she said his name, and began to fade a little bit. It wasn't everyday that a girl actually spoke to him.
"That's alright. I j-just noticed that you were crying, and I wanted to know if you wanted something to make you f-feel a little happier…"
His blush deepened as she looked quizzically at the blonde nation.
He is kinda cute when he blushes…and his eyes look just like Russia's…awww…
"Umm.."
Canada drew his hand into his pocket, and retrieved what looked like a little golden cookie wrapped in shiny plastic.
At her baffled expression- Canada hurridly explained-
"It's something America gave me. He said it's supposed to be good luck. You can have it if you want."
Ukraine smiled a little, sniffled, and took the little treat from the Canadian's palm. When their hands brushed briefly, they both simultaneously blushed deep red.
"Thanks. I appreciate this."
At this, Ukraine turned and opened the treat carefully, and setting the cookie aside, pulled out the little good luck paper, and read quietly to herself-
One who admires you greatly is hidden before your eyes.
She blinked twice, before turning back to where Canada was sitting, and jumped a little when she found that he wasn't there anymore.
Where did he go…
She wondered sadly, missing him already.