November 5, 1918
"Which one of you has a piece of paper I can use?"
"You can't make anymore planes, Alfred. It's a waste."
"Don't be an ass. I need to write something."
Arthur Kirkland, Alfred Jones, and Francis Bonnefoy sat around a rickety wood table inside a tent on the outskirts of Germany, contemplating their plans for the days ahead of them. The Great War was finally coming to a close with Turkey's signed armistice at the end of October, followed closely by Austria-Hungary's on the 3rd. The only one left was Germany. The three knew that they had finally brought Ludwig Beilschmidt to his hands and knees, but the German remained persistent and returned fire anyway. It couldn't be long, they thought, until he eventually gave it.
Arthur narrowed his eyes at Alfred.
"Like what?"
"What the hell, Artie? You'd think I was Kaiser himself."
Francis sighed, sensing another useless and annoying argument coming on. He rested his head in his hand, swirling the brandy in his cup before him lazily.
"Please, Arthur, just give him the paper. This constant bickering is pointless."
Arthur shot a glare at his neighbor before producing a notebook and handing the American a sheet of paper. Alfred took it and found a comfortable position hunched over, blocking his frantic writing from his two allies. The French and Englishman watched with curiosity, until Arthur felt the need to inquire exactly what he was writing.
"I'll tell you when I'm done."
"Alfred, we're your allies. You need to tell us what you're writing, trusting it concerns our situation."
"Just wait a minute."
A minute passed, followed closely by a few more minutes, then an hour. Francis and Arthur, out of pure boredom, broke from the table and indulged in other more "exciting" activities, while Alfred continued to write.
Two hours later, he was done.
"Hey, Artie and Francis, come over here, it's important."
Francis and Arthur found their places back at the table, both with exhausted faces.
"I wrote a letter to Ludwig."
Arthur's eyes widened as Alfred's words shook him awake.
"You what?"
"I wrote a letter to Ludwig concerning an armistice and my Fourteen Points."
There was a pause where Arthur and Francis exchanged worried glances.
"Alfred…don't you think your Fourteen Points are a bit impractical?"
"No."
The Englishman sighed, looking at Francis again, who spoke.
"I agree with Arthur. And if we were to take land away from Germany, I want it to be more than you have listed. I won't suffer from another German invasion!"
Arthur forced Francis to sit back down. Instead, Alfred stood.
"Well, I'm sending it. If we can get Ludwig to agree, that's all that matters."
"Fine, but we're talking with him face to face."
"I know, Artie. I have it all planned. It'll be fine."
November 11, 1918, Compiegne, France
The Allied Powers sat in Ferdinand Foch's parked railway carriage, waiting for their guest. The three had prepared an Armistice for the German to sign in hopes that he would agree to cease fire. The thought of meeting their enemy face to face was nerve racking to Francis, upsetting to Arthur, and exhilarating to Alfred.
They could hear sloshing footsteps approach. A knock came at the door. Alfred took the liberty to step forward and open it, coming eye to eye with the man he'd never physically come across before. The American paused, staring back into icy blue eyes; ones that could only be described as piercing and cloudless, eyes that could give any man the feeling of being completely translucent and vulnerable under his cold gaze. The two didn't move. Alfred remained fixed on the German, and the other merely watched the American's face with an expressionless veil. Arthur coughed, trying to bring distraction to Alfred. Alfred blinked.
"I- Come in."
Alfred stepped back and let the German enter the car fully, closing the door behind him. Ludwig Beilschmidt removed his hat, revealing the rest of his short, slicked back, golden blond hair. His neck was thick and chest broad with muscle, adding size to his already large stature; something his blue-grey uniform couldn't conceal. He had a firm jaw and a serious but young face that was tired from war. The German was what most would consider the epitome of an intimidating, yet beautiful man.
He found a seat across from the other three as Alfred pushed a paper and ink toward him.
"I have already prepared the armistice document; all you have to do is sign."
Ludwig looked from Alfred to Arthur to Francis, who squirmed under his gaze, and then to the paper before him. He cleared his throat, speaking in a soft yet deep, hard, and assertive voice that remained monotone.
"Und the details we discussed are to be included, Herr Jones?"
Alfred nodded, confirming that the Fourteen Points were in the agreement.
Ludwig hesitated before picking up the fountain pen and signing his name on the line that asked for it. He dropped the pen and looked up at the other Europeans in the room, who appeared as if they had been holding their breath the entire time. He stood, and the others followed his action.
"Thank you, Mr. Beilschmidt."
Alfred extended a hand to Ludwig. The German looked the American up and down once before turning around and letting himself out of the train car, deciding not to shake the other's hand, leaving Alfred in somewhat of a shock. He retracted his hand and looked over to the other two.
Francis let his head fall to the table, sighing in absolute and genuine relief, muttering thanksgivings in French under his breath. Arthur rubbed his face with both of his hands.
"Oh, God…it's over…it's over…"
He looked up at Alfred.
"Let's go get drunk."
June 1919
Alfred, Arthur, and Francis stood at the head of the rows of tables that occupied the conference room. It had taken since January to get to where they were now after discussing the details of peace treaties and what to do with Germany.
The room held strong feelings and the countries murmured amongst themselves, occasionally eying the American with expressions of loathing. However, he was too busy sorting out the bickering between the French and Englishman to take any notice.
Alfred cleared his throat and called the meeting to order.
"Alright my fellow countries, Arthur, Francis and I have the treaty that we wrote up and showed Ludwig. Please listen for any parts that concern you. This is final. We're going to meet with Ludwig tomorrow to have him sign it. Okay? Okay. Here we go for German land losses:
"First, Eupen, Malmédy and Moresnet are to go to Belgium."
The silence was broken by an outburst of whispers. Arthur stepped forward, raising a hand.
"Everyone shut it!"
Alfred nodded a 'thanks' to his ally and continued.
"Northern Schleswig goes to Denmark. Next, Troppau is to be transferred to Czechoslovakia. Great Britian gains Tanganyika and part of Togoland and the Cameroons."
Arthur straightened up and smirked proudly at the announcement of his new colonies, feeling quite superiour. Alfred made a quick glance to the side and smiled secretly at the Englishman, knowing that he had gotten what he wanted.
"The remaining African colonies are to be shared between Belgium and South Africa and the pacific islands are to be shared between Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand and Japan.
"Danzig is under full control of the League of Nations. No alliance between Austria and Germany is allowed, and finally Poland gains half of Silesia and Prussia, to see that he is seperated from Germany."
The mentioning of Prussia caused an uproar. Lovino, one of the Italian Vargas brothers shot up, hurling insults and complaints to the front of the room, while a crowd started to gather around Alfred, yelling and demanding their share of land from Germany. Yao Wang pushed his way through.
"Alfred Jones! I request Kiku Honda to return Shandong to me!"
"No, no, Yao, I told you I tried, but I can't."
Francis and Arthur fought their way through the other countries, trying to separate them from the American.
"Right! Everyone back to your seats! Come on!"
The mob settled down, creating a silence in the room again. Arthur raised his hand to speak.
"Who has something to say?"
The Australian stepped forward.
"I do, dad."
The Englishman sighed.
"Get on with it then."
The former British colony turned to Alfred.
"I want war reparations and to annex the German New Guinea. And I want the Japanese equality bill rejected."
Alfred let out a huff.
"Do you really wanted to flout world opinion by profiting from Germany's defeat?"
"That's about the size of it, Mr. Jones."
Arthur had enough and motioned the cheeky Australian away.
"Will everyone please just have a seat?"
Lovino Vargas stormed to the front of the room, dragging his twin brother, Feliciano, with him. He shook a fist at the American and Englishman, speaking in a furious tone.
"You stupid bastards! You do not listen to Italy when we want territory like rest of world! The idiot American only wants the stupid Brit to have it! You are very unfair and I spit on your grave when I kill you! Okay? Bye."
The room watched as the Italian pulled the other out of the room in a tiff. Arthur looked at Alfred, who looked almost equally overwhelmed as he did, thinking about how frustrated and pleased he will be tomorrow with Ludwig.
June 28, 1919, Versailles, France
"Gilbert's coming with him, right?"
"Yes, Arthur, you've asked a million times already."
Arthur, Francis and Alfred walked down the hallway on their way to have their final meeting with Ludwig to sign the treaty.
"Right, sorry. I'm just ready to shove it in his fucking German face and watch him fall to pieces."
Francis looked at the other two with a disheartened expression.
"That isn't going to happen, Arthur."
"Oh? And why's that?"
"Because, this is not peace. It is an armistice for twenty-one years. We have not weakened him enough. In twenty-one years, he'll just rise to power again. And next time, he will finish me."
Alfred stopped, causing the other two to follow suit. Looking Francis in the eye and placing his hands on the Frenchman's shoulders, he spoke in a reassuring and dauntless voice.
"Francis. Arthur and I will die fighting to protect you. We swore it to eachother in our own blood the day we both relized that there are somethings in this world worth dying for."
Francis stared back at younger man, taken aback by his words. He turned his head to his English ally for confirmation. Arthur swallowed heavily and turned a light shade of pink, avoiding the other's gaze. He gave a small nod.
"In our blood~"
The three men stood quietly in the hallway, sharing an intimate moment where no words needed to be said; where the moment could go on forever, trusting that obnoxiously loud Germans entering the building didn't interrupt.
The three dashed off toward the room where the treaty was to be signed, trying to appear calm and collected by the time the German and Prussian arrived.
Their footsteps could be heard from down the hall, and a vile, throaty voice rang above it all, echoing in the hallways. Arthur rocked back on his heels.
"Well, Gilbert's here."
The door opened and the Beilschmidt brothers entered. Ludwig closed the door behind his shorter, white skinned and haired older brother, who marched in, giving the three a sinister, toothy grin, showing off sharp cainines. Alfred motioned for them to sit.
"We gave you your three weeks to come up with your formal complaint. If you'd like to voice- "
The albino interrupted Alfred,
"Of course we have complaints to voice, you lying pig!"
Ludwig cut in, giving his brother a displeased look.
"Shush, Gilbert, I will be doing to talking here. You are not Germany."
Alfred cleared his throat.
"So if you'd like to start, Mr. Beilshmidt, the floor is yours."
The room remained hushed as the German began to speak.
"I find your entire proposal unfair. There is nothing in this treaty that involved Herr Jones' Fourteen Points. Neither Britain, France, or America had made any negotiations with me in the past six months. The rest of the world has been deciding my fate and my brother's."
Arthur smirked at Ludwig.
"Well, I can hardly blame the world for deciding how it did."
Both the German and the Prussian glared dangerously at the Englishman. Ludwig sneered at him.
"And more importantly, I do not apprieciate the revengeful attitudes I have received from the British."
A long, silent moment of tension followed his remark. He spoke again.
"Und I don't want Gilbert to go to Feliks."
The American sighed, changing the subject to become more convient for himself.
"Well, unfortunatly I don't find any of those points valid. Do you guys?"
Francis and Arthur shook their heads. Alfred shrugged.
"Okay then. Ludwig Beilschmidt, you have no other option but to sign this treaty, or else you'll have to face the concequences."
Gilbert leaned over to his younger brother.
"Don't do it, Ludwig."
"I have to."
"No you don't! Since when have English and French speaking pieces of shit like this ever told a German what to do. You are Germany. You're stronger than them!"
"Bruder! Bitte!"
Ludwig cast a sideways glance at the Prussian, wishing him to be quiet. He lifted a hand and ran it through his hair as the defeated expression he had been masking became more visible on his enthralling and bothered face.
"I…I will sign."
Alfred pushed the document towards the German, waiting patiently with his comrades for him to finish. Francis signed next, and then Arthur, ignoring the albino's complaints and vulgar language. The Englishman pushed it toward the American, who pushed it away. The room looked at him with wide eyes, as Arthur tried to force it back at him.
"Alfred, what are you doing?"
"I'm not signing it."
"Why not?"
Anger filled Arthur's voice, and Francis stared at Alfred in horror and panic. Gilbert cackled.
"It is because the bastard hasn't got any fucking balls! He is scared shitless of what my little brother might do to him!"
"Shut the fuck up, Gilbert!"
Arthur threw the pen in his hand violently at the desk, causing it to bounce back up and nearly hit Francis in the face.
"Why the hell aren't you signing?"
Alfred sighed, feeling guilty that he had dropped the news from his Congress so abruptly on his allies.
"Because my Congress didn't approve. I'm sorry, Arthur."
"God damn it, arsehole!"
Ludwig cleared his throat, rising to his feet.
"But it is signed now, regardless of whether Herr Jones did or not. I will be on my way."
Gilbert stood up as well to follow. Arthur, suddenly realizing that he had to detain Gilbert, swung around the desk, deciding it best to murder Alfred afterwards.
"Ah, ah, Gilbert, you're staying here."
"Fuck off, Arthur, I am going back with my brother."
"No you aren't, you belong to Feliks Lukasiewicz now."
Gilbert opened his mouth to insult and contradict Arthur when he was stopped by Ludwig.
"Gilbert…do not make this more difficult for me. I will be back for you in time. Bitte…stay."
Crimson eyes met blue ones.
"Was? Bruder?"
The younger of the two Germans nodded firmly, making his point clear to his astonished brother.
"In time, brother. It won't be long."
Ludwig turned, not wishing to prolong the agony he held deep within himself that came from leaving his family member in the holds of his enemy, and left the building. He didn't look back. His mind became a haze of anger and thoughts of revenge.
Inside, Gilbert regained his beastly demeanor again, smiling psychotically at the three. Alfred sighed and placed a hand on Arthur's shoulder.
"I really am sorry, Arthur. I'll take care of Gilbert for you."
Alfred produced a handgun from his belt, knowing better then to lead the Prussian alone without it.
"Come on, Herr Heinie."
He stepped behind Gilbert, nudging him in the back with the gun and ignoring the German insults hurled at him as he marched the bitter man out of the room.
Arthur fell back into the chair behind him, rubbing his eyes.
"God, Francis…I don't know how he could just do that to us…"
Francis sunk into the chair next to Athur's.
"You know you will not be able to stay mad at him, Arthur. Besides, we need him on our side if anything happens again. Don't make him an enemy."
"I won't. He's just…frustrating."
"I know. And considering that fact that you were the one that raised him, how could he not be?"
The Frenchman smiled softly at the Englishman's grouchy face before standing to make his leave.
"We should get a drink together."
"Fine, after Alfred's done, then he can join us."
*Pants* Julius Caeser, that took a lot of effort. Ta-da! The end of WWI! Lots of important characters were introduced *cough Germany is sexy cough* and lots of history went down. We can now see how Alfred and Arthur are bonding again as friends! Yay! *Squish face*
Want to hear something fun? Alfred's line to Australia: "Do you really wanted to flout world opinion by profiting from Germany's defeat?" And Australia's reply: "That's about the size of it, Mr. Jones." were direct quotes that President Wilson and the PM from Australia at the Paris Peace Conference. Well, I thought it was fun.
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW! I love you all for reading! Thank you! There is a much more coming your way!