Chapter 10: In Which The Riddler would be Absurdly Happy

Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia. That is all.

~~~~ON~WITH~THE~STORY~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sweden stared at his fellow Nordic countries. Ever since the last World Meeting had ended so abruptly, all the Nations had been allowed to return to their homes and things in his home had been very strange (And "allowed" was the correct term. While the Nations certainly hadn't been held at gunpoint, the amount of delays that "randomly" occurred had been very coincidental.).

It was not chaotic. There was no loud screaming, or laughter. Denmark—while still enjoying his drinks—had not been actually drunk for awhile and Norway had locked himself up in the basement to communicate with his spirits. While the latter was not any stranger than a Tuesday fog, the feelings and obsession festering inside them all was.

A movement caught the tall, intimidating man's eye and for a second his stance relaxed as his heart warmed. Tino had just walked out of the bathroom. Even when he has finished emptying his bowels, he is still as beautiful as the sunrise, Berwald thought with a love struck sigh. That was when his love, his sun, his wife, noticed him and smiled. Berwald knew that his face betrayed none of the warm, melted goo that his heart had become upon seeing such an angelic smile. There were some upsides to having a face less expressive than rocks.

Tino, his angel, spoke, "Hey Berwald, how are you doing?"

As his stomach flipped—like it wanted to do whenever Tino said his name—he spoke in his steady, grunt, "'M d'ng f'ne. You?"

Tino laughed, "Well, Mr. Norway said that he should have the twins located soon, so I'm very excited. Mr. Denmark is already drawing up plans so that we can best share them. It will be great! I can't wait until we have them in our grasp." The beep-beep of the oven startled the small Fin and got rid of the licentious look that had been creeping across his beautiful face like a cancer, "Oh! That would be the tarts! I need to get them out of the oven before they are burned as badly as England's scones. It was nice talking to you!" With a jaunty wave and a smile, the angel was gone.

That conversation highlighted Berwald's fears and unease. Tino, sweet wonderful Tino, was talking about using two other Nations as sex slaves for the Nordics, and no one but him saw any problem with that! The worst part was that there was a part of Sweden that didn't see the problem either. Part of his mind wanted the twins so badly; he felt he would go mad. His body ached for the twins and it felt like each day the ache was worse. But his heart…

In his heart, Berwald deeply, truly loved Tino. This uncanny need was tearing him apart with guilt. He had NEVER wanted anyone else but Tino and now… these lusts, these urges wanted him to go after a set of twins that frankly he still considered "underage."

The true kicker of all this, the cherry on top, was that before whenever he looked at the twins, he had always felt a paternal link to them. He would fantasize to himself that they would be what his and Tino's children would have looked like. Alfred especially resembled the Fin physically, but had (in Sweden's mind) his blue eyes. Matthew, on the other hand, had Tino's beautiful violet eyes (again only a little bit more blue coming from Berwald).

So, now to feel this lust towards boys that he had always fantasized as his sons… Sweden rushed into the unoccupied bathroom and vomited. After he was done, he flushed the toilet and rested against the cool tile wall. The cool, smooth tile felt like heaven against his burning skin as his body still trembled from the aftershocks of his illness. As Berwald lay against the tile, he closed his eyes and cried inside… he hated himself and he hated Tino just a little bit.

He wondered if he would ever wake up from this hell…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~A~GOODBYE~TO~SWEDEN~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Belarus glared at Prussia and wandered towards the back of the plane. They had landed near Treriksröset, in Sweden. Treriksröset was the meeting place of Sweden, Norway, and Finland. Treriksröset was actually the name of a monument built on the Lake Goldajärvi. This was the lake they were going to have to dive under to get to the Gate. The Gate would lead them to some Nordic god who kept Odin's eye. To be honest she hadn't really been listening when the invisible one had been talking. No, she had much deeper worries than some god's eye.

She buried her face in her hands and tried, for the sixteenth time, to convince herself that killing her brother and sister had been the right decision. That she had no other option. That once the curse was lifted her siblings would understand and forgive her for her sins. And, as with the other sixteen times, she was unsuccessful.

The crunching of leaves warned her of company. She quickly smoothed her face back into a mask. If it was that damnable Prussian albino then she would have to flay him alive. She would remind him WHY Hungary wasn't the only woman he should be frightened of.

But the voice proved not to be the nails on chalkboard of Prussia or the barely there whisper of Canada. It was the robust, warmth of America. "Hey Nat, we're going to be heading out soon. Mattie is communing with the beavers or something and will get us underwater here soon."

Belarus nodded, and turned to catch her eyes in the reflection of the plane's window. It was too blurry and dirty to see her eyes, the supposed portals to her soul. It felt oddly appropriate that she couldn't make a single detail out in the dirty window.

She nearly pulled her knife on him when he placed his hand on her shoulder. "Nat… I won't say a word for a few minutes. You can say or not say anything you want in those few minutes."

Belarus let a slow chuckle escape from her lips, any other Nation would have fainted from hearing such a sound come from her mouth without there being any death or suffering around her.

She took a deep breath, "I… I did the right thing. Russia will forgive me from saving him from himself. He does not like the cruelties he dealt out during the Cold War. He is always wishing that someone had stopped him…"

America waited.

She started to pace angrily, "I did not WANT to hurt them. I got no pleasure from it, or at least that is what I keep telling myself. You are so young, Alfred… I doubt you know winter. Yes, you have cold areas in your home, but you are warm. The coldness never touches you. When I was young… the Poland-Lithuania Commonwealth conquered me, I remember being dragged away from my family to live with them and be their maid. As I was being pulled away, Ivan… he called out to me and told me that one day he would be strong enough to get me back,"

She closed her eyes; remembering his Ivan's face that night; her eyes swimming in tears and his face, his handsome face, set in determination. "He did, and then he made me Communist. I was so happy to be with him, he was my hero and I knew that he would forever love me as much as I loved him. But then he… his bosses suppressed my culture, my language, and killed my people. It… it hurt! He hurt me by killing my people and burying my culture!"

She was nearly hyperventilating now. America came and wrapped her tight in his arms. She used that to anchor herself. When she felt calm again, she (lightly) stabbed him to get him to let her go. He gave her a look and rolled his eyes, but released her.

Belarus looked over the lake and whispered, "I did not kill him for revenge. I know that I did the right thing and it was not because I wanted him to feel the betrayal that I felt for past wounds. Please, Al, please tell me I'm not lying to myself," This last was said with a hitch in her voice and she turned to her friend, her judge, and jury. Her eyes pleaded for a verdict of innocent, because if he, Alfred, thought she had killed her brother in revenge and not for just causes…

He wasn't answering her or looking at her.

Her heart jumped into her throat while her stomach plummeted to her shoes, "Alfred, I—"

Whatever she had been about to say was cut off as a burger was shoved into her mouth.

For a moment all was silent.

Then Natalia Arlovskaya realized that yes, yes, Alfred F. Jones had just shoved a fucking cheeseburger into her mouth when she had been opening herself up to the bastard. Oh! Once she finished chewing and swallowing her makeshift gag… it was STABBING TIME!

America continued to look at a livid Belarus with a calm nonchalance, "Belarus, Natalia… cheeseburgers are a measure of righteous and innocence, only the good and just can chew the mighty patty of truth nestled under the cheese of purity and in between the buns of holiness. Since you haven't burst into flames or choked… I decree you innocent and a good little sister."

For one of the few times in her life, Belarus could do nothing but stare (and chew since she had a fucking cheeseburger in her mouth). To any casual observer, it looked as though she was still ready to unleash a demonic wrath upon the idiot in front of her, but the observer couldn't see her eyes. Her eyes which softened as most did when America did one of those grand gestures of his that were so stupid but so incredibly sweet at the same time, those stupid gestures that somehow always made the recipient feel better. As Belarus finished chewing the burger (it was good too; she knew most Nations liked to pretend they hated America's food, but that was just poppy-cock in Natalia's opinion, burgers—when cooked right—were absolutely delicious), she decided that she wouldn't kill her stupid friend.

America smiled and started to lead the two of them back to where Canada and Prussia were waiting. Well, started because as soon as he turned his back, Belarus brought her foot up and gave him a hard kick between the legs.

As she left the crying American to roll on the ground clutching the "family jewels," she gave a small smile. Hey, she said she wouldn't kill him, not that she wouldn't maim him. She was no saint after all.

~~~BREAK~IN~THE~ACTION~SO~AMERICA~CAN~GET~FEELING~BACK~IN~HIS~LOWER~BODY~~~~~~~

America (having finally recovered from the vicious and unwarranted attack on his prestigious person) shook his head at his brother's silliness. Sometimes it was hard to be the mature twin, "Mattie… I understand that the beavers are being very nice to take us down to the Gate, but I don't see why we only get to wear our underwear and not anything like a scuba suit! It is freezing here and I don't want to give Florida a bad orange crop."

Prussia just sulked, "…I still don't get the beavers."

This caught Belarus's attention, "Beavers?"

Prussia grunted, "Yeah, beavers, where the hell did they come from? Are they even native to this region? Why did they suddenly appear out of nowhere as if some lazy god just placed—"

The ground started to rumble and an oppressive, disproving aura filled the air. Canada quickly paled, "Um, Gil… you know, ah, maybe we shouldn't question our good fortune and just accept that coincidences happen…"

"—No! This is ridiculous! BEAVERS SHOWING UP OUT OF NOWHERE JUST BECAUSE THE MAIN HEROES NEED SOME HELP FROM WOODLAND CREATURES ARE SOMETHING YOU'D FIND IN A DAMN BOOK! Not in real life!" At this the sky darkened and all the Nations became frantic. America quickly started whispering, "Just let it go! Just let it go!"

Prussia, finally catching on to his blunder, gave a shaky laugh and said, "But of course! How could I forget that the beaver is a majestic creature that lives in all Northern regions and can be found here?"

This comment seemed to appease the universe and the feeling of imminent doom left. The quartet released a sigh of relief and three of them glared at the Prussian. Said Prussian just gave a small shrug with a sheepish smile and mouthed, "Sorry! Sorry!"

Quickly Canada cleared his throat and responded to his brother's earlier question, "The reason we have to be in underwear, Al, is because… the little helpful hints that Manabozho and Nanuq gave us before we left said so. Says that it will make things much easier on us, don't ask me why."

America continued to whine, "But it looks cold…"

Belarus, who had already begun to strip, replied, "Suck it up. You ARE the hero, right? Well, it's NOT heroic to whine about cold water. Now strip."

Matthew looked relieved, "Belarus is right, Al. Now come on, you'll get used to the cold water. Think about it as training for that polar bear water dip thing you've got going back in the states."

America pouted, "Ganging up on me, not fair." Nonetheless he started to strip.

A loud whoop was heard to the right, "Look at me losers! Bask in my hotness… and don't worry Alfred, I can keep you plenty warm KESESESESESESESESE!"

The other three Nations could only stare in disbelief. Alfred managed to spit out, "L-leopard print?!"

The Prussian albino grinned and did some hip thrusts in his leopard print man-thong, "It takes skills to pull off a banana hammock, but the awesome me is totally up to the challenge!"

Belarus just snorted, "I see you still stuff, Gilbert. You really need to just come to terms with your five millimeters. I'm sure you can find someone who might love you despite your… shortcomings."

The albino turned red (which looked very interesting compared to his white skin and the leopard print man-panties) and started to screech, "HOW DARE YOU! THE AWESOME PRUSSIA DOES NOT STUFF!"

Canada rubbed the bridge of his nose and mumble irritably, "Guys. Stop. We need to go. It is getting cold and later in the day. We don't want to try and find the Gate in the dark, do we?"

Gilbert turned and ignored Belarus completely as he threw an arm over each twin's shoulder, "Don't worry my awesome little twins! The awesome me could find this Gate blindfolded, with one hand—"

That was as far as he got before Belarus punted him into the water.

She rolled her eyes and got in the water, grabbing a nearby beaver, "I don't want to spend any more time with that asshole than necessary, so let's go. The sooner we do this, the sooner he can put on clothes and hide his tiny shame. Honestly, it hurts my eyes even to look."

Gilbert, also grabbing a beaver, shook his fist at her, "Shut up! You're too unawesome to look. These five meters are only for the twins." With that he sent a charming smile and wink at said twins.

Said twins looked surprisingly unimpressed.

After all four had grabbed a beaver, the beavers swam to the middle of the lake and then dived down taking their national cargo with them. Down, down, down… until finally, the four approached the Gate.

~~~MEANWHILE~IN~THE~LEGION~OF~NORDICS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Norway pulled back panting. He had found the twins. It had taken awhile, but it had been worth the struggle. His normally blank face slipped into a small smirk. His troll friend, Gary, grunted in happiness and clapped the Nation on the back. Norway nodded and headed upstairs to tell the others the good news.

He found Denmark the Annoying at the kitchen table with his younger brother Iceland, aka Emil Steilsson. They seemed to be debating over a calendar.

Denmark cheerfully laughed at Iceland, "No, no, no! I'm telling you that America will be happiest with me on his birthday since I've got the biggest Fourth of July celebration outside the US. It'll remind him of home and keep him happier which is what we want!"

Iceland looked calm and undisturbed on the outside, but Norway could make out the undercurrents in Emil's eyes that screamed annoyance and frustration. Emil's voice didn't betray his inner passion, though. In a steady monotone, he replied, "Anyone of us can up the celebration. He shouldn't go to you on his birthday just because you presently have the largest Fourth of July party."

Norway decided to interrupt the conversation. He needed to tell everyone his news; they could decide custody of the twins later. Norway cleared his throat gaining the two other Nations' attention.

Denmark cheerfully waved at the stoic man, "Yo Lukas! Got news my fine friend?"

Norway nodded, "Mikkel (he nodded to Denmark), Emil (nod to Iceland)… gather Tino and Berwald… I have found the twins. They are at Treriksrøysa."

Iceland looked up and Norway could see the fiery passion inside his little brother, "They're very close then. Good."

Norway agreed, "Yes, but who knows for how long? We need to leave quickly."

Denmark shot to his feet, "Damn right we do!" The Dane grinned as he grabbed his battle ax, "Let's gather the old married couple! We've got hunting to do!"

~~~~~~BACK~TO~THE~FOUR~AND~BEAVERS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They had found the Gate, and it was NOT impressive (or awesome, Prussia chimed in) at all. So when they all got sucked through what felt like a small straw, and ended up in a large room there was a little bit of surprise among the Nations. Just a little.

A young woman sat on a throne of bones, clipping a thread from a quilt. In fact the whole room seemed to be set up like a crypt. Pictures of death were carved into the walls and there were names written EVERYWHERE. At first the names seemed inconsequential until America found the name of his dead bosses. Quickly, all the Nations found names of their dead.

America was the first to break, "OH GOD! LET ME OUT OF HERE!"

The young woman stopped in her duty of clipping the quilt and looked with mild amusement and impatience at the American. With a calm and quiet whisper, she ordered, "Halt thy words."

All the Nations looked at her and readied themselves for battle. She giggled, and said with a sad sigh, "Nations, have no fear of me. I am Urdh of the One Braid and govern the Past. As thou hast seen, I choose to decorate my room with the names and faces of the dead. They belong to me for all that are dead forever remain in the past. Now, you must—"

America again screamed, "GHOST LADY!"

The regal way Urdh of the One Braid held herself was lost as she blinked at the American. She tilted her head and looked in confusion to the others. The other Nations shrugged helplessly and with an air of what-can-you-do? She turned her head back to the American and snapped her fingers. Instantly he was silent.

Canada looked upon Urdh with an expression of love and awe, "How did you do that? Would you be willing to teach me? Or if you won't teach me, would you be willing to come live with me so that you can do that whenever I need you to?"

Prussia grunted and Belarus mused, "England would kill to have such control over America."

America simply shot them looks that made it very clear that their betrayal was worse than Brutus's and Judas's combined.

Urdh coughed into her hand and spoke, "I am Urdh and I will be testing—"
Prussia interrupted her, "Yeah, can I ask why we had to do this thing in our underwear?"

Urdh looked very uncomfortable, "Ah… um, er, well… ah, great heroes of Norse legend would come and seek Odin's eye for wisdom, and, eh, they always were naked, so, um, it's traditional, to, er, showcase the manhood and resilience of the seeker." The goddess gave herself a pat on the back for coming up with that on the spot. The truth was that the lower Norns who normally guarded Odin's eye got weak-kneed at the sight of handsome warriors without clothes on and tended to make things easier for them. But there was no WAY Urdh was going to tell them that. Luckily they bought her lie—she managed to completely ignore the disbelieving looks exchanged among the Nations.

Urdh spoke again with authority, "Anyway, to make it pass me and my sisters and be graced with Odin's eye, thou must show cleverness. To get past us thou wilt need wits, not strength. Thus… are ye worthy? Here be my riddle:

Three brothers share a family sport:
A non-stop marathon
The oldest one is fat and short
And trudges slowly on
The middle brother's tall and slim
And keeps a steady pace
The youngest runs just like the wind,
A-speeding through the race
"He's young in years, we let him run,"
The other brothers say
"'Cause though he's surely number one,
He's second, in a way

What are the three brothers?"

The Nations looked among themselves.

Canada stepped forward, "The three brothers are the hands of a clock."

Urdh nodded, "Correct, Representation of Canada. Thou and thy company may travel forth and leave the Governor of the Past behind… so commands Urdh of the One Braid."

The feeling of being squeezed came and left and the Nations were pulled through to the next room.

This room was empty. This time the young woman who knelt in the middle at a loom had two braids. She turned and smiled, "I am Verdandi of the two braids, Warden of the Present and Emptiness. Since the Present never completely exists, and always has a foot in the past and in the future, I am with two braids. Now please answer my riddle, there be not much time!

Four of us are in your field
But our differences keep us at yield
First, a one that is no fool
Though he resembles a gardener's tool
Next, one difficult to split in two
And a girl once had one as big as her shoe
Then, to the mind, one's a lovely bonder
And truancy makes it grow fonder
Last, a stem connecting dots of three
Knowing all this, what are we?"

This time Belarus stepped forward. With no hesitancy, she answered in a strong voice, "You are the Spades, Diamonds, Hearts, and Clubs of cards."

The Warden of the Present smiled again and waved her hand.

The four blinked and they were in the newest room. This room held a young woman laid out on a couch. Her entire hair was done up in multiple single braids. She stared up at the ceiling with blind eyes while her hand traced patterns in a bowl of water placed next to her.

Her voice held an echo, as if she wasn't truly there, "Known am I, as Skuld of Many Braids. The Keeper of the Future and of the Blind, since none but me shall see the future… I give you the last of the Norn's riddles. You have come far but still have far to go so listen and answer:

If you break me
I do not stop working,
If you touch me
I may be snared,
If you lose me
Nothing will matter.

What am I?"

Belarus went to answer but the hand that had been lazily tracing patterns in the water, jerked up and made her silent. Again the dreadful echo, "Only those who have not answered before may answer now my riddle."

Belarus and Canada looked panicked.

America kept looking at the ceiling trying to figure out what Skuld was looking at.

Finally Prussia stepped forward, "The heart. You are the heart."

Skuld nodded, "The Elder Knight is correct… you may pass…"

And just as they felt themselves fading from the room, the echo reached their ears one more time, "Be careful, for He has come and He only plays by the rules when it suits Him."

~~~~~~~~~~~BREAK~IN~THE~RIDDLES~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Finland looked around at the old lake that connected his lands to Berwald and Lukas. "When do you think they will be done with the Riddle of the Norns?"

Lukas thought and then spoke with his usual lack of inflection, "I believe it will be awhile. The twins are craftier than they are given credit. I think they will solve the Riddle and obtain the Eye."

Finland idly agreed and looked over his sniper rifle again. It was filled with tranquilizers. When the Nordics had reached the area, they found that their Twins had already vanished to the Other World. Denmark had been enraged and had almost charged under the water to grab the two, but Lukas held him back.

It was very bad to mess with the rituals of the Gods.

Hence a plan had been crafted.

When the Twins and their protectors were done with their test, they would have to come back to the Mortal World, and then Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Iceland would engage them in battle. They would be distracted and forget about small, inconsequential Finland. That would be the mistake that would cost the Twins their freedom.

For Finland would be in the trees with his sniper rifle ready to put the four to sleep. And then the Twins would belong to the Nordics.

Finland got into place in his tree and began to wait. He shivered in excitement. Soon, very soon…

~~~~~~~~~~~IN~THE~OTHER~WORLD~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

America blinked at the figure and then proceeded to use his usual diplomatic grace and skill, "Hey, are you a Norn, cause you look a lot like a guy and I'm pretty sure the Norns are supposed to be, like, hot chicks or something…"

Canada, Belarus, and Prussia face palmed at the exact same time. America's tact was truly something of legends.

The male figure twitched and shouted, "No, you imbecile! I am not a Norn! I am LOKI! God of mischief… doomed to be tormented until the end of days and Ragnarök comes to this ball of dirt and the Asgardians fall and the stars die… but now, thanks to this curse unleashed by the Queen of the Fey, I am FREE of my dreadful imprisonment and free to bring the glorious hour of death and the end of all!"

America pointed with his finger and said in a loud, authoritative voice, "You're a Bad Guy!"

Loki looked to the other Nations, "…Is—is he always like this?"

They nodded with no small amount of sadness.

Loki turned to glare back at the blonde hero, "Yes, I am a 'bad guy' and I am also the one who holds Odin's eye… so to get it you must answer MY riddle! Now which one of you has not answered yet?"

The other three Nations froze in horror before turning to look at America. America was jumping up and down and squealing, "Oh! Me! Me! I haven't gotten a turn yet!"

Loki looked at the others, they looked back at him. Loki laughed and cried out, "Oh, this is rich! The idiot! You must rely on the idiot!"

Canada came to defense of his brother, "Don't call him that! Al! You have to get this right, okay! So do your best."

America flashed them a smile and thumbs up. He turned to look the legendary Loki the Trickster in the eye, "All right! Let me have your riddle!"

Loki smirked, "Here by my riddle little Hero:

It cannot be seen, it cannot be felt,
Cannot be heard, cannot be smelt,
Lies behind stars and under hills,
And empty holes it fills.
Comes first follows after,
Ends life kills laughter.

What is it?"

Canada started to panic. His brother was actually quite smart; when it came to inventing things and anything science related, the Canadian knew he could depend on his twin. But this? Riddles were never Al's forte. His mind did not shape itself well to clever out the hidden truths and meanings in words. He was too straight-forward. And now he had been given a riddle that even Canada didn't know the answer to. It was official. They were screwed.

America lifted his head and gave Loki a steady stare. He spoke and the world went silent in anticipation.

~~~~~~~~~~END~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Can you guess the answer to the riddle? Let me know in reviews what you think the answer is. To people who get it right, a cookie. And please no cheating. That would be mean. Try to figure it out for yourself okay?

Also, I noticed something about myself. This entire story is mostly driven by the characters. Sure there is some framework of plot and I had some basic stuff planned out, but the plot is just my blank canvas. It is the characters who tell me what goes on the canvas and what to paint. I think that little self-discovery was very cool and I want to thank FICFAN3484 for really showing that to me. I also want to thank my betas (I've got two now!), ASHYNARR and KAYLM IDITRA, for all their hard work. Both of these girls take care of my editing for me so that I can be lazy! Yeah! Big round of applause for them!

NOW FOR MY ANON READERS:

CATGIRL963: The Nations in my headcanon cannot be killed like normal humans. They are basically immortal and only disappear when their people, culture, and land dies. Thus, they will die for three days and then come back to life. As I kind of hinted in this chapter, there may have been other reasons then just a split decision that she made in a crisis situation. Yes, she loves Russia with a fanatically love, but she can feel the wrongness of the curse and her own conflict caused her to make an out-of-character decision due to stress. Also, she knows they will come back to life… but it is still hard on her. Did you know the reason that Dickens was long-winded was because he got paid by the word? So he always made things longer so he could get paid more for the story. I am sorry I made you wait so long! Please forgive me! I am unworthy! PS: Prussia doesn't like you. Thank you for reviewing!

AWESOMEPRUSSIA: I am glad that curiosity made you click on this! I am glad that you are enjoying it and I am glad that you reviewed it. I love having new people read my stuff (not that I don't love my loyal readers!) and I hope that you will come back and read more. I will continue to write and make it as good as I can!

GUEST(7/30/12): Yes, murdering her family is very sad, but they will come back. They just have to forgive her for choosing Alfred over them. That shouldn't be too hard right? Thank you for your review, glad to see you liked it!

LOVEYOU: I am a huge fan of RUS/AME (it is one of my OTP's) so I liked this scene too… except for the whole "rape" part of it. That was sad. America will get comforted… eventually. But he was almost a male victim of rape. He doesn't want to talk about it and he doesn't want to be reminded that it almost happened in front of witnesses, including his twin brother. America is feeling emasculated and weak and powerless. That is going to translate to anger and aggression as he continues to try and deal with his trauma through not dealing with it. Right now is too soon though. So the comfort will happen, but later. Thank you for the review! I love your review sign thing! I love you too!

HI: Thank you for saying it is brilliant. That means a ton to me! I try to make my stories really detailed and driven by the characters. It just feels more realistic and rich and better to write like that. It is the little things that count and I try to make every little detail perfect! I'm happy that it has made you glad for the internet; Lord knows I don't know what I would do without mine! Thank you for reviewing, it takes time and effort and I value that you spent both on me.

I love you all!

91REDROSES