Chapter 9
A gathering with the Nordics
A few days passed since Ridina's meeting with Joshua and the young American was sitting at home after another long day at school. It wasn't that anything BAD happened but sometimes the students could be a little bit tiresome and obnoxious which isn't something he EVER aspired to be! Sometimes Joshua wished that he lived with the Nations because, while they could have their drama, it was always in a humorous manner that made him crack up more than want to go commit some violent crime.
And speaking of said nations…
*RING RING*
Joshua's phone rang and when he saw the number at first he hadn't a clue who it was but after answering he quickly found out. "Hello" Joshua said as he answered the telephone and when the person answered he could tell it was a fairly "older" gentleman. "Hello Joshua. This is Sweden. How are you doing today?" The nation asked and Joshua told him that everything was fine before the man continued. "Myself and the rest of the Nordics are having a gathering in a few days and we wanted to know if you wanted to come. I already know that you have an issue with my wife (yes he acknowledged him as that in here much like the Anime) but I was hoping that you two might be able to work out a truce while here." Sweden explained and the fact that he said about more than 3 words in a sentence meant it must have been important to him. Joshua told him that he'd think about it and if he did come then he would do his best to be nice to his wife. Sweden accepted that answer and told him what time to come if he did decide to go and Josh wrote it down as well as already mentally planned his outfit for such an occasion.
As the time came and went and Joshua got closer to the day for the gathering Josh paced his room like a caged animal. It wasn't that he wasn't going to enjoy his time at the event ,for he knew that he would, but it was figuring out how to get past whatever mental grudge he had with Finland and he didn't want it to blow up because of that.
The day of the event came and as Joshua punched up the program to go visit the "Nordic Five" his first thought was immediately going towards how to greet Finland but he didn't let that show as he stepped through and stood in front of their front door. As Joshua went to knock on the door a tall dude with hair that looked like Goku when he went Super Sayian and an empty beer stein (who did this guy take after…Germany?) greeted the teacher and introduced himself before letting Joshua in.
"Hello Joshua" He began "Denmark's the name and I hear that you are here for the dinner today correct?" Denmark finished and Joshua nodded as the tall Nordic let Joshua pass and go towards the dining area. Remember how sweet the house was that Austria had? Well this was no different and when Joshua again was awestruck by the décor…why didn't he take interior decorating tips from these guys again?
As the two walked into the dining room the first thing Joshua saw was the spread on the buffet table that they were going to be chowing on and Josh became insta-hungry (as opposed to the country that was Austria's first wife but I digress) but held off as he took his seat next to a gentleman that had blonde hair and a striped shirt with a blue tie and Denmark introduced everyone as he took his seat at one end of the table. "The gentleman sitting next to you" He began "is Norway and he is the big brother of the man sitting at the opposite end of the table in Iceland. The animal that Iceland has sitting in front of him is called 'Mr. Puffin' and he's actually a pretty cool animal. Ice makes him wear a bow tie but I digress…" He trailed off as Josh didn't need an intro for the other two.
"And you would be Sweden and Finland correct?" Joshua asked and Sweden nodded while Finland tried to shrink into his chair. Joshua could sense the fear in the Finnish gentleman so he did his best to calm his nerves. "Relax Finland. I made a promise to your husband today that I would try to make peace with you and I intend to keep that promise. You don't have to worry about any drama or issues going down today because I'm not here to start any problems." Joshua explained to the rather sheepish gentleman (best way I could put it) and he nodded without saying anything.
As the dinner/gathering went on the gang sat and chatted about what things are like in his world and how different it is for him to walk around in their world and see the countries that he teaches about as well….people! Iceland asked him if there were any particular places he wanted to visit in world and Joshua nodded before answering. "I've visited Austria and Hungary's place and now I've visited with you gents. I think if there is one place I actually want to visit next it'd be either with Canada or the Baltics. I've heard rumors about the eccentric Poland so I might save him for last and by last I mean we may never meet. If Finland thought I had issues with him they are nothing compared to that dude!" Joshua exclaimed and everyone was shocked when they heard this. Finland was pretty shocked because in a backhanded way, which was completely unintentional, Josh basically admitted that he would visit Finland long before Poland!
(In case you are wondering…yes Josh did apologize for the way the message came across to Finland after the dinner)
Day turned to night and Josh looked at Denmark's end where he had about 6 beers (that's when he gave up counting) and actually pulled Finland aside out of earshot of everyone else and, while he did apologize for the earlier statement, he also had something else to talk to him about. "Look Finland" Joshua began "I'm sorry about before. I know that when we've been around each other you've actually been nothing but nice to me and I've acted like an ass. I wanted to apologize for that and to show there's no hard feelings…" Joshua stopped and pulled a device out of his pant pocket that apparently came with the set he bought and handed it to the young man. "I'm giving you this device. It will allow you to come visit me whenever you want. All I ask is a little heads up so If there's something important going on I can find a way to assist you alright?" Joshua asked Finland and he smiled, nodded and then hugged Joshua for the present. Josh returned the hug and then walked with him to the dining area as sadly all good things had to come to an end.
"Well friends" He began solemnly "I do apologize for leaving so abruptly but I have to go to work tomorrow. I'll be sure to come by again oh and Iceland…" Joshua stopped as he addressed the Norwegian "be nice to your Onii-chan…alrighty?" Joshua asked and he just nodded as Joshua left the group for the day and not long after he got in his pajamas and ready to go to be because little did he know that the next two days were going to be emotionally draining!
