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Harder than it seems Ch.4
The two nations spent the better part of an hour sitting on the cold bathroom floor. They moved to the living room only after America's stomach began growling. England was also feeling rather peckish, but only ate half of the sandwich America made him. They sat down on the couch and silently noticed the still open folder that Dr. Pierce had provided them. America picked it up with one hand and looked at ,what he had slowly been coming to terms with as, his unborn child.
"So... how far along?"
"That's actually something Pierce said was strange. In reality I've only been..., like this,...for a month or so. The ultrasound shows that I'm a little more than three months along."
"Fuck, really? How does that work?" England sighed and explained what Dr. Pierce theorized. As a nation, while generally human in form, he was metabolically different. It was common knowledge that nations healed faster than normal mortals; so too did they grow older (if their social, political, and economic situations called for it). Pierce and England deduced that as England's situation at home continued to be stable and no new issues arose, the pregnancy would progress at increased rate. England did not mention that his own peace of mind about the child inside him played a theoretical part in its growth.
"Dude, you don't look it." America commented cocking his head to the side and inspecting his partner for a bulge of some kind.
"Well, for the record I shouldn't yet, but I'm sure that it won't be long. Another month and it'll be obvious." England stole a glance at the picture of the small figure in America's hand and his brow furrowed.
"What's up?" America asked noticing the Brit's gaze and setting the folder back down, the intense green eyes following it. England answered quietly and more darkly than America had expected.
"..I don't want a baby America, and neither should you. We can't handle a child properly! Not with who we are- nay WHAT we are!" England's gaze saddened as he looked down from the table.
"Hey," the American turned to face England and grasped his hands. "we'll make it work. I have absolutely no idea how right now, but I'll come with an awesome plan and everything will be cool, a'ight?" England did not respond besides a small sigh. "And you know something Arthur?" The irate and emotionally damaged Brit locked eyes with him and waited. "I know from experience, that you'll be an amazing mom." England glared and smacked the giggling American, yelling obscenities of varying reference. In order to protect himself from anymore beatings and/or any of the threats England had made against his genitalia, the larger blond scooped the other into his lap and held him closer till his chest met the smaller country's back. He spread his legs over the couch and laid them down with his head resting on the arm of the frequented furniture. England struggled briefly before simply huffing and trying to relax.
"You know what Alfred?"
"Hmm?" America responded as he lightly kissed England's shoulder.
"I think I know why you felt so 'close' to me last night, and why you fell into a daze this morning in the kitchen when you felt my stomach." America looked over England's shoulder and glanced up at his face.
"Oh ya? Would you care to comment?" England laughed, dryly, at the mocking news reporter tone. He looked back down and as America noticed the small blush start to form, he wondered if he should start feeling jealous of the ground itself. Suddenly the Englishman grasped one of his hands, slowly set it on top of his stomach, and held it there silently for a while before speaking.
"There is a piece of you, right there. It is only natural you'd feel connected to it." England closed his eyes and leaned back on to America's shoulder. America couldn't hold in another small laugh as he kissed the British temple. He rubbed his thumb over the hardening stomach and to England's surprise remained silent for a good three minutes. He opened his eyes slightly and whispered, "Al, you alright love?"
"WHOA now. Two nicknames in a row? And not in the bedroom? Don't be breaking the status quo quite yet Artie. Just 'cause you're preggars doesn't mean you can use names like 'love' outside of pre, during, and post sex. It would be weird for me if you changed now." England rolled his eyes and America smiled sweetly. However the Englishman corrected his statement.
"Is everything alright, Alfred?"
"Ya I guess. Guess it's kinda surreal, ya know all of this. And you calling the baby 'it' didn't help-"
"That is what it is, America." America held him just a little tighter and nuzzled his face into the shoulder he had previously been kissing.
"No. That is our baby. We should come up with a name we can call...him-slash-her till they get here." England groaned and rubbed his face. Why couldn't America understand how much trouble they were in now? "Look, England...do you just wanna go out for a walk? Like, around the park?" England contemplated for a minute while he played idly with America's collar. It would be a good opportunity to think of and answer questions either of them could have.
"Of course. Let me up."
For the next while, the expecting pair did not tell anyone except their doctors and bosses that they were pregnant. In actuality, they hadn't told anyone, but their doctors had relayed the information very quickly. All in all no one, including America and England, was ready to call this "miracle" a joy. Not yet anyway. Everyone had extremely mixed feelings about nations raising children, and despite America's optimistic attitude, he had to agree. Luckily, amid the constant emails and calls from various governmental figure heads and the lingering feeling of foreboding that they felt, the daily 'goings-on' of the two countries did not noticeably change. America was still able to take England around the city and the pair still had their own quality time (albeit a tad more subdued when and if it came to England topping in the bedroom). The only immediate change was America's slightly altered attitude towards the Englishman. This annoyed England more than anything else.
"Alfred, there is no need to wait on me hand and foot! I can bloody well take care of myself!" England had been awoken that morning to the lovely smell of America cooking, but had barely rubbed his eyes and sat up before the blue-eyed nation appeared in the room with a tray of breakfast. The tradition of breakfast in bed, while a fairly sweet surprise the first time, had become the norm, and England merely wished he could take care of himself while he still could.
"Oh come on Arthur, it's fine. Besides, I like taking care of you. PLUS, once you really start showing the little 'bugger', as you seemed to have dubbed our child, you're not gonna to want to do anything." England scoffed lightly and ate in silence as America explained what work they had to complete that day and what he wanted to do once he was done. England only half listened. He was busy thinking about his own schedule.
It was almost the time when he was supposed to go back home to the United Kingdom. Would America let him go now that they knew he was pregnant? He was still physically capable of flying, and he was not worried about someone recognizing him as expecting. Still, England did not really want to leave either. Naturally he longed for his country and its people; however, perhaps because of the infant inside of him, he felt closer to America than normal. He felt slightly more at home in the foreign country's borders, and the thought of leaving saddened him. So much so that if he somehow did manage to keep a stiff upper lip about leaving, he knew that he would end up begging either America's or his own boss for another break in order to be with him again.
"Say, America," America looked up back to the Brit's face and raised an eye brow. His country name had been used so it had to have been a fairly big issue. "Do you think I could- if it doesn't distract you from working and such... stay here for this, um, period?" America's eyes widened with his smile.
"Are you kidding? Dude, I was using this breakfast thing in order to convince you to stay! Did it work?"
"Not particularly, I just have been thinking about it on my own time."
"Doesn't even matter! It'll be awesome to have you here! And hey, that means when the baby gets here, they'll be a citizen of mine! I mean, I know we could pull strings anywhere, but let's be honest, this makes everything soooo much easier. HAHA!" England was forced to smile at America's cheerful attitude, but finished eating silently before standing for the bathroom. America got up as well.
"Bleedin'- America, I can go to the damn water closet myself, THANKS."
"But what if you need my help?" America gave his kicked puppy look, in the hopes that it would somehow work in this situation.
"You are right daft. I'm fine on my own." The door was shut and America was left to stand on his own for a minute. Lately, and he was sure England had noticed, he was feeling more protective of the Englishman. He wasn't sure what caused it, but whatever it was, it was making America much more sensitive to England's feelings and actions. That was part of the reason why America had wanted the Brit to stay with him for an extended period of time. That way he could keep an eye on him during the rest of the pregnancy, and with how England had explained the knuts and bolts of it all, the younger nation wasn't sure how long that would be. So what if the P.M. wanted his nation back home? Just send the work over in an email, or if it is important, bring it over yourself! It would give their bosses a good chance to catch up and talk about their countries' current predicament. Suddenly America heard the unmistakeable sounds of someone hurling. He jumped up and tried the door. Locked.
"Artie, you ok?"
"What do you think, git?" The American had to wait for England to puke again before he got any more out of him. "Seems, the morning sickness has begun... Lord, I'm already too tired to deal with this buggery."
"Damn...and here I thought you were gonna be one of the lucky ones that didn't get it at all."
"You probably jinxed me." America heard the door unlock and the sink turn on. When America came in, England was washing his mouth out and splashing a little water over his face. "What are you looking at?" He asked with a blush rising on his face. America shrugged and ran a hand down his back soothingly.
"Nothin'. It's just kinda hitting me is all. This is really happening." England kept his gaze on the sink but nodded silently. "I love you, Arthur." He wrapped his arms around the Brit and hid his face in the neck in front of him. England let him stay for a moment, but then tried shrugging him off.
"That is quite enough of that! This is not the first time we've heard of this. I'm sorry that it is just now sinking in, but at least it has happened for you." England left the bathroom to get dressed for the day. The nations had to attend a meeting with their bosses in a couple of hours, but England was going to be 3/4 ready now, or so help him he was going to break down. America's brows furrowed but didn't say anything as he watched the Englishman ready himself. America was already in his socks, pants, shirt and tie, but he still managed to look relaxed. When it was time to leave, they hailed a taxi and made it to the large office complex in which they were supposed to meet with their figure heads. Upon entering the room, there was a dark overtone to the atmosphere.
"Mr. President..." America nodded in greeting.
"Prime Minister..." England followed suit and the two countries faced their leaders across a mahogany meeting table.
"Sit down boys." The President motioned with his hand and the blonds did so. "Alright then,...so we all know why we are here. The question is simply this: What are we going to do about it?" The Prime Minister nodded and addressed the nations.
"We have been in conference about this issue for the past week and have called you here in order to receive another update on your progress, and to let you know what we feel is the best course of action." The two nodded and England cleared his throat to speak.
"Yes, well, everything has been progressing well enough. No real change to report. I uh,...I believe I've begun suffering morning sickness as of today, however." The leaders nodded and the Prime Minister continued.
"How do you feel this will effect the economy and country as a whole?" England was rather surprised. He had no idea how to answer that, but he had to come up with some kind of answer.
"I believe...the economy will not suffer in any way, shape, or form. On the contrary, it is my understanding that it would be the other way around."
"Now how's that?" The American President interjected.
"America's doctor and I have discussed this, and we have theorized that it is in fact my nation's stability that allows the...process to continue running as smoothly as it has. If there was something wrong with the country, I believe it would be no fault of ours." The Prime Minister nodded and hummed as he took some quick notes. The President took a turn.
"What about you, Jones? How's the economy here gonna take a hit like this?"
"Huh? Oh, nothing should happen. I mean, I'm not the one who's-...Look! What have you guys been talking about behind our backs?"
"America, please!" England glared at the blond next to him and America met his glare.
"England, listen, they already have it in their heads what they want us to do, and I want to know what it is!" England groaned and rubbed his forehead.
"You're right Jones, no need to beat about the bush any longer. Have either of you considered terminating?" Both nations locked eyes with their leaders and inwardly gasped. An obscenely tense silence followed, which the President nodded once and broke.
"I thought not."
"The President and I thought that terminating and returning to the status quo may be the best course for the both of you. No Nation has ever carried a child before, and we would not like to risk it now. We also have public appearances as well as foreign relationships to maintain and Arthur would be in a very delicate position."
"But,...Boss, look I..." America wanted to have an answer ready, but he had no idea what to say. "You guys can't be serious, can you?"
"America, of course they're serious." England half whispered to his counter part. America faced him again and noticed the Brit's hands practically clutching his abdomen. America reached a hand out to touch England but stopped when the Brit closed his eyes and continued speaking to the mortal men. "Yes, sir. We have considered the possibility." America's jaw dropped until it could go no lower.
"Hold on a damn minute." America spoke darkly and slowly. England would not turn to face him, and instead kept his eyes trained on the table top. "Do you mean to tell me you've actually thought about this? I thought we passed over that after day one. England, how could you not talk to me?"
"I'm just not sure if we can handle this, alright? And this is exactly why I didn't say anything about it, because I know you! Whether you want to see it or not you are extremely conservative America, and I knew you would over-react to this!" The Prime Minister and President eyed each other as the couple fought vicously in front of them. In the end the men just wanted what was best for their countries and this topic obviously added an incredible amount of stress; the exact opposite of what was intended.
"Go figure it'd turn out like this."
"Too right, my friend." While the blond nations were distracted they held a brief, quiet conference together before clearing their throats to bring everyone back to order. America and England looked to their leaders for some kind of advice.
"Listen America, England," The P.M. began. "We can see what this particular course of action does to the both of you. So there is no need to consider it anymore." The nations nodded and sighed. "However, you must both act responsibly and in your country's best interest. Struggling with an infant, particularly one of this...interesting conception, may have unforeseeable repercussions." America and England nodded once again and stood as their leaders did.
"Good to see you Alfred. Arthur." The President shook hands with the blonds in front of him and smiled shortly before he left with the P.M. for a scheduled press conference.
By the time England and America made it back to the apartment, both were in foul moods. America felt hurt and a little betrayed by England's lack of communication. If he had been thinking about getting an abortion, why wouldn't he have wanted to talk about it till now? Meanwhile, England was not speaking to the younger country and busying himself with tidying their room and bathroom. Besides drinking tea and embroidary, cleaning had always been very relaxing for the Brit; the key point being that putting physical posessions in place tidied up his subconcious. The younger of the countries collapsedon to the counch and flipped on TMZ. America knew they couldn't give each other the silent treatment forever, but he saw no reason to stop it immediately. The silence was only broken by the television and the running of water as England washed out the tub.
Thanks so much for reading! I'm gonna try SOOO hard to get 5 up before xmas. I actually have it all typed up, but ya know... self-criticism and all that...