Three French Hens

The meeting adjourns late into the evening and Seychelles has kept her eye on Canada the entire time. The man didn't seem to notice as he was busy writing notes and asking questions, something she should have been doing.

People exist the room and Seychelles lingers to keep a close eye on her prime suspect.

"Are you ready to go, now?" Madagascar asks with an exasperated sigh, "Maybe that's all the gifts he's going to give you today. Or maybe he's not your secret admirer."

"Santa," Seychelles corrects him, "secret Santa and he was the only one in here before I got here. That gives him plenty of time to have snuck the mug in my chair."

The other island nation sighs and lays his forehead on the table. "But I'm so hungry…"

She ignores him and continues to watch as the North American nation converses with his brother and France. It just surprised her that him, of all nations, would think of something so sweet. Well, he is a really sweet guy but he's almost like a brother to her since both of them grew up under France and England.

It's just a little odd. Canada really is sweet though and maybe he has gifts for his other 'family' members too and she's just the first to receive hers, like she's the first two days of Christmas.

Seychelles sighs and sits back in her chair, cradling her mug.

"Can we go now?" Madagascar peels his face off the table long enough to whine at her.

She finally concedes. If it is Canada, they're staying in the same hotel so she'll just thank him after dinner. "Can I get a ride?" she looks up at her long time friend with a wry smile.

Madagascar returns the smile, his honey eyes bright and he pushes the headband holding his hair down back a bit more. "Sure thing, little one," he agrees then stands, turns and bends a bit so Seychelles can get on his back.

"I was hoping for something a little more exciting," she admits to him a bit woefully as they stand in the elevator.

His head tilts and turns so he can get a better look at her face. "What do you mean?"

She shrugs one shoulder and toys with the mug in her hands and pushes herself up a bit further on his back. "I don't know, I just…" Seychelles trails off, hiding her face in his tumbling curls.

"Just what?" Madagascar insists.

She knows what, but it's too embarrassing to say out loud. Sure, they'd been friends for a long time but this is the first time they'd ever talked about something like what she's thinking. It's always about fish or trades or pirates never about the possibility of somebody…liking her.

Seychelles huffs and his chocolate hair tickle her nose. "I just thought that maybe somebody saw me as more than England's little sister and France's little colony. " she squeezes her eyes shut, "…that somebody liked me…"

"Hey now," the Malagasy says happily as he bounces out of the elevator, "I like you."

"You don't count…" Seychelles retorts miserably.

"Well I still like you," he counters easily, "and if nobody else sees how great you are, they're blind. I mean, look at you. You're like the size of a cute doll, fun sized. That counts for something, right?"

It's enough to make her stiff a chuckle. Seychelles turns her head and rests her cheek against his hair, and draws her arms a bit tighter around his neck as the cold air hits them. "Yeah I guess…" her tone isn't much better but she feels a tiny bit better at the compliment.

"Look," says Madagascar and Seychelles doesn't even bother.

"I know, I know, I should be sa—,"

He quickly interjects, "No, look."

This time, the Seychellois woman pulls her head up and squints as she can see her car in the parking lot as well as a cage sitting on top. "No way…" she breathes in disbelief, trying to see as much over her friend's head as possible. "Is that…?"

"Three french hens?" He asks teasingly, "yeah."


A/N: Two for the price of one? Yeah, cause I'm in a generous Christmas kind of mood.