And the plot thickens! Well, it'll thicken even more as the world meeting commences! With America's outrageous ideas, England's arguments, and Germany's short patience with them, what could possibly go wrong? Besides the usual madness, Prussia and Spain have a surprise for Ireland. Wonder how he reacts to it...
If the translations or historical notes are wrong forgive me. I hope you enjoy this chapter!
"Now, if you all chip in, I'm sure my plan to stop Global Warming will work!" America declared to the whole room. England, who was sitting next to him, sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"For the last time America," the Englishman said slowly, "we are not doing this!"
"Why won't you give my idea a chance?"
"Because it's idiotic! There's no way it'll work!"
"Well maybe if a certain old man wasn't being so negative, some people might agree to it!"
"I agree with America-san."
"Thank you Japan!"
"Don't motivate him, Japan!"
"Tell us what you think!"
It was another normal world meeting filled with arguments, America's ridiculous ideas, and England's insults. The only thing that was missing was Germany's yelling.
"He doesn't really believe it'll work, does he?" Ireland asked France who was sitting next to him.
"America's idea about getting a superhero to save the world from Global Warming?"
"Yeah. This is the third time he's brought it up at a meeting."
"He'll give up eventually. He just needs time."
"Tell that to England." The Frenchman chuckled, making Ireland look at him from the corner of his eye.
"England never had much patience." Ireland went back to staring at the two arguing nations.
"I guess."
As England and America continued to argue, everyone began to chat with other nations and mess around. France had joined into the argument, only making England angrier with his opinions. Russia was attempting to make other nations a part of him but frightened them instead (although, that could be because Belarus was behind him giving the other nations evil glares). Italy was doodling on a sheet of paper, not caring or paying attention to the environment around him. Spain was aggravating Romano with his affectionate ways. Canada was sitting in his chair with his bear, hoping someone will ask for his input on the argument. Germany appeared to be losing his patience and on the verge of taking over the meeting as usual.
Ireland watched them with bored eyes. He just wanted to have his moment to speak and then go home. Ireland closed his eyes and began day dreaming. Despite the constant chatter in the room, Ireland was able to drift off to a certain memory. Another memory from his earlier days with his brothers. Wales had finally reached adulthood, Scotland was coming close to Wales, Ireland and his northern twin were well into their teens, and England was just reaching his teenage years. With puberty and loss of childish innocence, there was more chaos between England and his brothers.
"England!" Scotland's voice boomed through the house. The family had gathered at Ireland and his twin's house to celebrate Halloween that year. They had all dressed up in horrifying costumes to scare off any bad spirits, and Wales and Scotland were about to go outside of the village to perform in the yearly ritual. The only problem was that Scotland was having a hard time finding his mask.
"England! Where the hell did you put my mask?!"
"What makes you think I have something to do with it missing?!"
"You were the last one to hold it, so you should know!"
"I was not the last one to touch it! North was!" Ireland's younger twin looked up and gave England a dirty look.
"What are you talking about?" North asked in an angry tone, "I didn't touch it at all today."
"You liar! I saw you!"
"Who are you calling a liar?!" England lunged towards North, nearly knocking over the table in the living room. He was stopped from punching the Irish nation by his cape being pulled at his neck roughly. England was forced backwards and landed on his butt. He looked up to see that the one who stopped him from attacking his older brother was the southern part of Ireland.
"Deartháir Beag," Ireland said in a calm voice, "You don't have to resort to violence over a small dispute." Ireland then pulls out a demonic looking mask from inside of his cloak. "I guess I forgot to put it back after North let me look at it." Ireland gave Scotland a sheepish look, hoping he wouldn't get too mad at him.
Scotland was still mad but he appeared to be relaxing a bit. He snatched the mask out of Ireland's hand and examined it to make sure it wasn't damaged.
"You guys are so lucky it's still in tact," was all Scotland said in an irritated voice before putting the mask on. The devilish mask hid their brother's face with its demonic appearance. It was starting to freak out North a little.
"How does it look?" Scotland asked his brothers.
"Not much of a difference from your other mask," England replied.
"Which one?"
"The one with the red hair, pale skin, and green eyes."
"Shut up you twit!"
"I think it looks gruesome, Scotland," Wales complimented.
"Eldest is right!" Ireland exclaimed, "You did a really good job this year!"
"Y-Yeah..." North stuttered, "I-It looks a b-b-bit t-too real..."
"Thank you for your input everyone. Except you, England. Your opinion doesn't matter to me."
"Likewise."
"All right, you know the routine, Ireland?" Wales asked the twins.
"Y-Yeah..." North replied quietly.
"Yes, Eldest!" Ireland exclaimed, "You and Big Brother are going to the ritual tonight while North and I watch Deartháir Beag!"
"Make sure the bad spirits stay away," Scotland reminded him as he adjusted his mask.
"Will do!"
"Okay, we're leaving now," Wales said while donning his mask, "Remember that there's food in the kitchen for your supper tonight, don't relight the fire, and make sure England doesn't cook."
"Shut up! There is nothing wrong with my cooking!"
"I'm not going to argue with you tonight. Now, go to bed at a decent hour. We've got another big day ahead of us tomorrow."
"We will, Eldest!" Ireland assured his oldest brother, "Oíche mhaith! Have a nice ritual!" (T: Goodnight!)
"Nos da." (T: Goodnight) Wales and Scotland turned and left the house to participate in the yearly rituals of Halloween.
North got up and walked upstairs to the bedroom he shared with Ireland.
"Where are you going?" the older twin called up to him.
"Upstairs..."
"All alone? Why don't you stay down here with me and Deartháir Beag?"
"Deartháir Beag, Deartháir Beag..." North sneered, "It's always Deartháir Beag! I swear you spoil him to death!"
"North!"
"No! Don't even deny it! You defend him when we yell at him! You cover for him when it's his fault! And you lied to Big Brother's face just now! You never even touched the mask!"
"It's better than setting him up to be yelled at!"
"This is what brothers do, South! You act more like a father than a brother to him!"
"If that's true then so be it! What you, Big Brother, and Eldest are doing is cruel! I tolerated it when we were young but we're older now! You should've learned to get along by now!"
"I don't like him! None of us do! We never liked him from the beginning!" Ireland stared at North in shock. It was rare enough to hear him yell but to hear him voice out his hatred for England? That was very rare. He usually keeps that to himself and only says this on occasion. Ireland must've really made him mad.
"I don't know what you saw in him or why we ever agreed to claim him as our brother!" After that, North disappeared up the stairs and slammed their door. Ireland looked over at England who was staring out the window. It was a cold dark night but it was actually clear. The stars and moon were out and a pale mist began to move across the land.
"You okay, Deartháir Beag?" England looked away from the window and noticed the worried look in his brother's eyes.
"Their words don't bother me anymore. They just piss me off."
"Really? You're not just saying that to get rid of me?"
"Yes. I'm telling the truth." England turned and looked Ireland in the eye. "I have no reason to lie to you." This made Ireland smile as he reached for England's hand.
"Okay, Deartháir Beag, I believe you." Ireland took England's hand into his and widened his eyes. England's hands were as cold as ice.
"You're cold, Deartháir Beag. Really cold."
"I didn't notice to be honest."
"Come here."
"What are you-" Ireland wrapped his cloak around England's shoulder, pulling him into an embrace. The Englishman blushed a little and looked up at his brother.
"South? What are you doing?"
"Warming you up. You'll get sick if you stay cold like this."
"You don't have to do this."
"But I want to." England blushed a little more but accepted Ireland's kindness. He wraps his arms around his green-clothed brother and buried his head in his chest. In return, Ireland brought his hand up to England's blond hair and ruffled it. It was turning into a very nice Halloween.
"Sásta go léir oíche roimh na Naomh, Deartháir Beag." (T: Happy All Hallow's Eve, Little Brother) England had heard enough Gaelic to understand what Ireland was saying. Besides, Ireland kept saying this phrase every day for the past few weeks and all day today.
"Happy All Hallow's Eve, South."
"Enough! All of you be quiet and sit down!" Ireland was forced out of his thoughts by Germany's yelling. The German had finally snapped more than a few nerves and was taking over the meeting. Just another normal world meeting for the nations.
Everyone stopped what they were doing to listen to Germany's commands, returning to their seats to start the actual meeting. He stated the rules of how things will be done before their break in an hour. The nations groaned or silently complained as they accepted this.
"If anyone wants to go ahead and do their report, speak now before I have to volunteer someone!" Italy lazily raised his hand from the left of Germany. He looked over at his friend and gave the Italian a glare.
"Italy... If you have anything to say about pasta or pizza, then put your hand down." At the blond's words, Italy lazily let his arm fall back to his side. He let out a dissatisfied "ve" as Germany volunteered Switzerland to begin his report.
It was over an hour later when Germany called for a break. Everyone got up or left the room to stretch, chat with other nations, or grab a snack before the meeting continued. Ireland decided to stand for a bit and talk to France before the break was over. France, however, was making his way toward England. Ireland could only assume that France wanted to trouble England and it would only result in another argument between them.
"Hey, Ireland~!" The red-head turned to see Spain near the double doors of the room. "Can you come over here for a moment?"
"Sure." Ireland walked over to Spain, wondering what he wanted. "What is it?"
"Can you walk with me for a bit? There's something I want to show you." A bit suspicious but cautious, Ireland agreed to go with Spain.
The two countries walked down the long hallway until they reached a dead-end. There were no windows or doors here; just a wall, some paintings and a plant in the corner. There was also a white-haired, red-eyed Prussian leaning against the wall with a smirk on his face.
"Guten tag, Ireland."
"Dia duit, Prussia. What's going on?"
"I'm sure you know. Why don't you tell us? Or, better yet, why not the whole world?"
"I think you need to clarify because I'm not quite sure what you mean."
"We know you're dating your brother, England." Ireland widened his eyes in shock.
So they do know...
"Don't try to deny it~!" Spain said cheerfully behind Ireland. "We might have to convince you to see it our way if you do~!" Ireland looked at Spain then back at Prussia, not sure exactly what they'd do to make him talk.
"What are you going to do if I happen to think you're mistaken?" The Irishman asked.
"Something tells me there's a reason you don't go out in public like this..." Prussia pulled out some photos from his coat pocket and showed them to Ireland. His dark green eyes grew even wider as he saw what was in the pictures.
"Ireland~? Is that a skirt you're wearing~?"
"It's a kilt! There's nothing wrong with it! Scotland wears them all the time!"
"Then what's with that reaction? Kesesesesesesese!"
"I can't believe you did this! How did you take these pictures!"
"That's not important! What is important is that you start talking or else the whole world will know that you love wearing skirts!"
Ireland stood between them, unsure what to do at the moment.
Shit! If I deny it, they'll hang this over my head forever! Even worse, the whole world will know! But, Deartháir Beag might be upset that I let this happen... Although, it was my decision to keep our relationship a secret... We should've discussed this earlier on... But... I guess...
"Fine... I admit that England and I are in a relationship. Happy?"
"Not quite!" Prussia said, pocketing the photos, "Now you have to walk through those doors and tell everyone in the room about this!"
"But our brothers are in there!"
"Then they'll at least be there to hear it from you instead of someone else!"
"You don't know them, Prussia! They can be very horrible to Deartháir Beag sometimes!"
"I think they'll be more shocked than anything," Spain chided in.
The three walked back towards the door of the meeting room to see a very strange sight. Everyone was quiet and staring at the one nation in the room that wasn't: England. He was yelling at France but it wasn't the usual banter from their arguments. He was really mad at France and whatever he was saying shocked the other nations in the room.
"You know why I agreed to this?! The only reason I did this was-"
Ireland stood there, frozen and rigid from the words England shouted. All his confidence slipped away. His fear of everyone knowing about them was crushed. The thought of what their brothers would do or think of them was erased from his mind. All he could think about was the rage building up inside him. Behind that rage was sadness and betrayal.
"You... what?" was all Ireland could say in a low voice as England turned to him with a worried expression.
Many years ago in Ireland, Halloween was celebrated much differently than today. Instead of going to strangers' houses, begging for candy, adults donned costumes and horrific masks to ward off evil spirits. They would put out the fires in the house to keep any bad spirits out and then go outside of the village to perform rituals. These rituals did include sacrifices but it was later outlawed. It wasn't until years later that neighbours would go to each other's houses to offer treats.
I keep forgetting to mention this but, if you haven't noticed, whenever there are flashbacks Ireland and his twin are addressed as North and South. This was before they were forced into the United Kingdom so at this point they were both seen as Ireland. Their brothers nicknamed them North and South to easily distinguish them, though, some of Ireland's friends called him "Ireland" instead of "South."