Day (afternoon) fourteen: In which families meet, bicker and food is an eternal peace offering.

A/N. Warning for, and I quote, 'disgustingly sappy and cute reunion scene.' You have been warned. All blame goes to EmiKougamine, so hah.

Chapter 13

It was with some relief that they all made their way onto firm land once again. Ludwig ran the gangplank down for them, looking incredibly relieved to be off the ship. The rest followed, Peter and Alexandru tearing their way down and giggling at the slightly dizzy feeling of solid ground under their feet. Hans followed them rather more sedately, but with a hint of a smile as he saw the adult's slight stumbling as well.

Having stayed to make sure everything on board was tight, Arthur was the last to leave. He came down the gangplank holding a scroll, which he handed to Lars.

"Show this to whoever is the authorities around here. You were the one who signed the contract, so you'll have to. If this works the same as anywhere else, it should be enough to let us dock here."

Lars nodded sharply. He turned on his heel and strode forward determinedly, his scarf trailing out behind him.

They watched him go for a moment. "And if not?" Francis enquired mildly.

Arthur shot him a glance. "Then you'll have to swim, won't you?" He shook his head crossly. "That will be quite enough, I assure you. If not, we still have enough to bribe them. That will work wonders."

"Bribery should never be used to overrule the authorities," Ludwig stated sharply. Gilbert clapped him on the shoulder, sighing dramatically. "You still have so much to learn, little brother." He shook his head sadly. "Loosen up a little, would you? This isn't home, the rules don't apply here."

Ludwig frowned at that, shaking his brother's hand off. "That is no excuse."

Gilbert threw his hands in the air, defeated. "Aah, you're too young. You'll learn."

Ludwig merely raised an eyebrow, turning his head away. Gilbert rolled his eyes affectionately, making Francis and Antonio laugh. Ludwig's pale cheeks darkened with anger, but he refused to look at his brother.

They waited for Lars to return, passing the time by looking around with interest. The feeling of the docks was very different to the town they had left. That had been largely open, set back a way from the main town, and built of stone and timber.

Bathed in the late afternoon light, the buildings were made of dark, stained wood, leaning against each other almost haphazardly. Their large, stately galleon looked very out of place, surrounded by low, thin sloops, their long, narrow triangular sails pointing up to the sky as if reaching for the weak sunlight. The air smelt not of fish, brine and wood, but of spice and silk and altogether foreign.

The children were peering around curiously, their faces wide with amazement as they took in the sights and smells around them. They sniffed the air, giggling when the scent of food made their stomachs grumble.

"Arthur, can we go get something to eat? Please? I'm boooored," Peter moaned.

Arthur gave him a halfhearted wave. "You might as well get something for all of us then. Here." He handed him a purse, tutting when Peter all but snatched it from him. He took a quick glance inside, marvelling, then his face twisted in thought.

"Will this be ok?" he asked, looking up at his brother.

Arthur looked down at him. "What? Oh, yes. I should think so. I made sure to change it before we left. Look, get someone to go with you, alright? I have to wait here for Lars."

"I'll take them," Antonio offered. Arthur glanced at him gratefully, nodding.

"Then I'm coming too, bastard. I'm starving, damn it."

Antonio turned to Lovino with a winning smile. "Why do you think I offered, querido?" he asked simply.

Lovino glared at him, but couldn't think of a comeback. "F-fine," he muttered eventually. "But this doesn't mean anything. You just said it first, bastard."

Antonio shook his head, amused. "Of course not, Lovi."

"D-don't laugh at me, you bastard!"

Antonio's eyes glinted with

"Come on, come on! I'm hunggggrrryyyy." Alexandru tugged at his brother's sleeve, pulling him towards the others. "Hans, are you coming?" he turned back to the micronation, who shook his head. "I'm quite alright. I'll wait here."

Alexandru nodded happily. "Ok! I'll get something yummy for you, don't worry. But we. have. to. hurry. up!" he tugged Vlad's sleeve with every word, using all of his small weight to pull him forward. Vlad looked down at his brother fondly, allowing the boy to tug him forwards.

"Alright, alright, we're going!" Vlad pulled his sleeve out of the boy's hands, lifting his arm high. Alexandru pouted until Vlad lowered it again, then gripped his hand, almost jumping up and down with excitement.

Antonio laughed softly at the boy's actions. "Lovi, why couldn't you have been like that when you were little?" he asked.

Lovino simply scowled at him. He glanced towards Alexandru, his face almost softening slightly.

"Shut up," he said sharply. "You heard the kid, let's go. I'm starving."

"I'm coming too!" Feliciano ran forwards to his brother. Lovino rolled his eyes, but for once didn't object.

The six of them made their way towards the town, guided by the scents drifting towards them. It wasn't long before Feliciano stopped, tugging on Lovino's arm to make him stop.

"What is it, bastard?"

Feliciano pointed towards them. Through the crowds of people milling around, they could see a large group standing to one side, evidently deep in discussion.

Many of them were obviously family, all with the same dark hair. The others were a mixture, two seeming like leaders with their tall statures and proud bearing. The brothers both shuddered at them, Lovino remembering his years trying to evade capture from the masked man.

"What's up?" Vlad asked, seeing them both staring. He followed their gaze across the square, his eyes lighting up as he saw the man standing a little ways apart from them.

"Oh, brilliant!" he said.

"What? What? I can't see!" Alexandru tried to peer through the crowd, but with his shorter height, he couldn't quite see. Vlad picked him up, pointing across the square to them. Alexandru's eyes lit up too, and he wriggled in his brother's hold until Vlad put him down again.

Antonio looked across, his gaze darkening when he caught sight of someone.

"We'll go and get the food," he said. Lovino frowned at him. "Why us?" he asked crossly.

"Come on, Lovi, didn't you say you were starving?" Antonio avoided his question.

Lovino's glare intensified, but he caught sight of the man Antonio had seen, rolling his eyes in understanding.

"Fine. It was about your turn anyway," he said to Vlad.

"Mmm. Go on then. Meet us back at the ship."

Lovino scoffed at the order. He snatched the purse out of Peter's hand, ignoring the boy's protest, grabbed Feliciano's arm and marched off towards one of the many stands. Antonio followed, casting one last glance across the square. By coincidence, the man looked up at the same moment. His eyes narrowed in recognition. Antonio held his gaze a second longer, then turned away sharply.

"Hey! That's not fair!" Peter protested. "Why did you let him take the purse?"

"Because," Vlad answered.

"Because what?"

Vlad nodded towards the square. Peter followed his gaze, looking doubtfully at the group.

"Leon won't buy me anything," he said sadly. "He thinks I'm just a kid. Just because he's older than me. And he plays pranks on me!"

Vlad held back a laugh. "Yeah, and? It's what brothers do. I'm sure you do the same to him." He ruffled Alexandru's hair, looking down at him. Alexandru grinned up at him, not denying it. Peter sputtered, but couldn't exactly refute it.

"Anyway, you'll have more luck than anyone else. Come on." He stepped forward, strolling towards them. Alexandru and Peter followed, the latter still grumbling under his breath.

Alexandru tried to match his brother's slow walk, but seeing the group in front of them it wasn't long before his patience ran out. He tore his hand from Vlad's and dashed forward, ignoring the warning Vlad called after him.

"Dimi! Dimi!"

He crashed into the dark haired man, who turned with puzzled expression. Looking down, his face broke into a smile as he saw the boy clinging on to him. He looked up to see Vlad calmly walking towards him, Peter hot on his heels.

"Hey."

Dmitri nodded at him, returning his greeting. He hefted Alexandru into his arms absently, making the little nation squeal happily and cling on to his shoulders.

Dmitri held him for a moment, then made as if to drop him, holding him out to Vlad. "Yours, I believe."

"What? Me? No. You can have it." He smiled at Alexandru, who kicked him playfully.

"It does seem to like me," Dmitri agreed. He set Alexandru down, keeping one arm on his shoulder.

"But seriously, what on earth is going on?" he asked the Romanian.

"Brother was playing a game and then his friend cast a spell and we all ended up here but you weren't here so we had to get a boat and now we're here and everyone's all here and we can go home now!" Alexandru explained.

Dmitri looked across at Vlad helplessly. "Right."

Vlad chuckled "it's like this," he said. "Uh, wait. Guys!" he called across to the others.

Ivan turned to him with a faintly curious look. Gulping slightly, Vlad tried to look nonchalant. "I guess you'll want to hear this too," he suggested.

"Nah. I get it."

He turned to the one who had spoken. Leon looked serious, as always, but his dark eyes shone with amusement.

"The old man tried to do magic and it went spectacularly wrong, am I right?"

Vlad tilted his head. "A bit more than that, but yeah, I guess."

Leon shrugged. "Good enough. So I'm guessing this was that whole 'game made real' thing he came up with ages ago."

Vlad gaped at him. "How do you know about that?!" he asked incredulously.

The teen shrugged again. "Went through his books one day and a piece of paper fell out. Seemed to be some kind of spell. It looked pretty old even then, so he'd obviously never used it. Guess this was what he was doing when we were all together, then? I kinda remember something weird happening, but it's like I forgot about it till now."

"Hey, you're right!" A voice cut in. Leon glanced at Yong-Soo, who raised a hand to his chin in thought.

"We were all round my laptop, you remember? Man, and it was totally getting to the good part too!"

"Hai. That's right." Kiku flushed when the attention turned to him. "So, you are saying that Arthur-san cast a spell for the game he and the others were playing, and it sent all of those who were in the room at the time into the game itself?"

Vlad nodded, impressed. "You know, you guys get this a lot quicker than the others did," he remarked.

Kiku flushed again, looking away. "I…am familiar with this situation," he admitted quietly.

"Aww, he's gone shy! Just admit it, you're an otaku! Though manga totally originated in me, da-ze!" Yong-Soo jeered.

Kiku shot him a dark glare. "That is not true. It is a highly debateable matter."

"Dude, you were the one who showed us that show to start with," Leon put in.

"Stop teasing him!" Mei grabbed Kiku's arm protectively, siding with him. "I liked it. Just because you can't lay claim to it doesn't mean you can insult it."

They kept bickering until they were interrupted by an exasperated cry.

"AI-YAH! Shut up! All of you! Just shut up!" Yao reached up and cuffed Yong-Soo again, making him wince. Paulo, Lien and Somchai exchanged amused smiled. They never learn, do they?

Yong-Soo opened his mouth to argue, stopping when Yao turned his fierce glare on him "Don't start! You are centuries too young to talk back to me, you hear? And the rest of you, quiet!" The three elder nations hid their laughter behind their hands. Antonio and Miguel chuckled, sharing a smile.

The bickering youngsters quietend down immediately, ashamed. Yao regarded them all for a moment, his eyes flashing in anger, then turned to Vlad politely.

"Sheesh, they are exhausting. You were saying?"

Vlad merely smiled. "They got it pretty right. Me, Arthur, Alfred and Matthew were playing, Alfred complained it was boring, Arthur cast the spell, and hey presto. The reason you didn't know what was going on is because you weren't playing the game, so you were sort of put into a role anyway. You began to remember because we were getting closer to you. So, we're here now."

"Matvey is here? And Alfred?"

Vlad turned to Ivan reluctantly. "Y-yes. Both of them. Why?"

Ivan merely nodded happily, but didn't say. Yao's dark eyes flashed with something, but he didn't comment.

"Anyway, you said the others are waiting? Where are they?" he asked.

"Back at the docks. Lars went off to register or whatever. And-oh, here they are now, actually."

Whatever Vlad was going to say was lost by the appearance of Feliciano, Lovino and Antonio, who were all holding large bags filled with something that drifted steam.

"Hey, you guys! Wow, there's so many of us now!" Feliciano cheered. He jerked back slightly when his gaze met Ivan, drawing close to Kiku.

"Here, look! Food! It's not pasta, but it's really yummy!"

Kiku looked into the bag doubtfully, his expression clearing as he saw the sweet dumplings. He took one politely, muttering 'itadakisamu' under his breath.

"Here!" Feliciano handed the bag to Mei, who passed it around.

Lovino had been accosted by Peter and Alexandru, who reached up demandingly.

"Why, you little!" he cut himself off, trying to moderate his language for them. Peter laughed at him. "You really don't need to try that," he said. "Arthur swears all the time. It's not like its bad. Not like really really bad. Not like-"

"OK! I get it! Shut up!" Lovino glared at him, although nowhere near as fiercely as usual. "You shouldn't even know words like what you were going to say." His eyes glinted in amusement. He leaned down to the boy, whispering.

"But if you want to know how to really swear, come to my place. I'll teach you things that would make even that bastard blush and run to his mother!"

Peter gazed up at him wonderingly. "Really? |We don't have a mother, but that would be really cool!"

Lovino nodded, trying not to laugh. "Sure. Whenever you want."

"Lovi, what was that?"

Lovino and Peter both stifled giggles. "Nothing, bastard."

Antonio looked slightly suspicious, but walked past him to the others.

Taking a deep breath, he smiled brightly at them. "Hola, Miguel."

His brother regarded him questioningly. Although they weren't exactly enemies, the two had never been very close, each occupied with their own colonies. Consequently, their meetings were always a little distant, each not quite knowing what to say to the other.

Antonio still held the bag out, his expression hopeful. After a moment, Miguel leaned forward, taking it from him. He reached in and took a dumpling, biting into it slowly.

His eyes widened in amazement. "Hey, this is really good!" he exclaimed. He gave the bag to Paulo, who took it gratefully. "Thank you."

"de nada." He turned back to his brother.

"It's good to see you."

Antonio smiled tensely. "Yes."

"We didn't talk at the last meeting."

"No. Lo siento. I was busy."

The two stared at each other for a long moment, until, almost simultaneously, they fell forward, hugging each other tightly.

"You're an idiot," Miguel said.

"Si. Whatever you say." Antonio hugged him back fiercely. Paulo looked vaguely amused, smiling politely.

Lovino raised an eyebrow. "Weird bastards. You're both the same."

He walked around them to hold the bag out again. "Here. Share them out, or whatever."

"Hey, cool! It's, like, totally sweet! Liet, have you ever had anything like before? It's totally yummy!"

Lovino rolled his eyes. "Whatever, weirdo."

Feliks narrowed his eyes. "You're, like, totally mean, you know." Lovino gasped mockingly. "No shit, dumbass."

Feliks grinned at him, bursting into laughter. "See, you act all mean, but you're actually totally not. You're pretty cool."

Lovino looked vaguely surprised at that. He looked away, frowning slightly.

Toris reached out and took the bag from Feliks' hands, passing it over to Ivan, who took one happily.

One by one, they each took one. Natalia and Eduard both waved it away, not wanting one. Sofia and Ivan were both licking their lips delicately, laughing when they saw each other's mirrored actions. Raivis held his delicately, at first nibbling at it like a rabbit, then taking a larger bite when he tasted the delicious filling. Toris made sure everyone else had had one before taking the last himself.

Meanwhile, the prospect of food had temporarily stopped the others from bickering. Yong-Soo had taken one look at the bag and crowed delightedly, as usual proclaiming that it was his. Yao cuffed him again, warning them sternly not to make any more of a disturbance than they already had.

Once they all had one, Kiku took the bag and walked a little ways off to where the last of the group were standing.

"Please, take one. It is quite delicious." He held the bag out politely.

"Is it?" a sleepy voice asked.

Kiku nodded to the man. As usual, Heracles looked half-asleep, standing in the late afternoon sun shading his eyes with one hand lifted lazily to his head.

"Ignore him. Shove it in his mouth, maybe he'll choke on it. Oy, catboy, wake up. Jappy offered you something. Be nice and take it."

"Sadiq-san, please, there is no need for such language. There is quite enough for all of us."

Sadiq smiled widely at him. "Ah, you're too polite. Hera is lazy, he wouldn't eat at all if someone wasn't here to look after him. How he even survived before I took him I don't even know."

Heracles glared at him. Taking the bag from Kiku, he reached in slowly.

"Oh, look. Just enough for all of us. Gupta, would you like one?"

The little Egyptian nodded sharply. "Thank you." He nodded a greeting to Kiku, who returned it in the same manner.

Typically, it wasn't long before Sadiq and Heracles started bickering. With a shared glance, Kiku and Gupta exchanged a barely perceptible eye roll and left them to it, returning to the rest.

"So, what is the plan?" Yao asked.

"Well, now that you're here, it's really a case of going back to Arthur. Are we missing anyone?" Vlad looked around, trying to see them all.

"Nope. This is all of us."

Vlad looked at him curiously. "So, were you guys all here together, or what?"

"Nyet. We arrived a little later," Ivan cut in. Vlad turned to face him. "Oh?"

"Ivan is right. All of us were together. If what you say is true, this is because we are a family group, right?" Yao confirmed.

Kiku looked slightly annoyed at that, but refrained from commenting.

"Si. Or that you have…historical ties," Antonio added. His eyes flicked between his brother and Paulo, who smiled genially at him.

"Well, at any rate, they're all waiting for us at the docks."

"Wait!" Feliciano cried. The others all turned to him, startled by his outburst.

He grinned sheepishly at them. "Uh, we were supposed to bringing them snacks too, remember?" he giggled.

"Tch. They can get their own."

"Lovino."

"What? I'm not their servant. They want food, they can get their own." Lovino crossed his arms, annoyed.

"Lovino-kun, I think Feli-kun is right. If they are all waiting for us, it would only be polite to bring them what they asked for. I will come with you to buy some."

"Yay! Let's go then! Let's go! Kiku, come on!"

Lovino glanced at Kiku, rolling his eyes in exasperation, making a face behind his brother's back. Kiku smothered a laugh, making Lovino smirk in satisfaction.

"Hai, Feliciano-san. We are coming."

"Kikuuuuuuu, I told you not to call me that. It's Feli! Fe-li!"

"Of course, Feliciano-san." He shot a sideways glance to Lovino with a small smirk of his own.

Kiku turned back to the group. "We will meet you at the docks. I will give them your greetings. Please try to be prompt."

Yao rolled his eyes. "Ai-yah, will you never loosen up? Yes, we won't be long. Go on, hurry up. You know how cranky eyebrows gets. Go, shoo."

Kiku glared at him. Turning sharply, he caught up to Lovino and Feliciano, shaking his head in response to the brothers' question. He pointed across the square, and the three of them walked off.

A/N Aww. Did I do ok, sis? Here's the thing. She hates Turkey, but I do have a soft spot for him, and unfortunately for her the Ottoman empire was quite large, so he's here. So she said she would only read something with him if I agreed to include a 'disgustingly sappy and cute' reunion scene with Vlad, Dmitri and Alexandru. Obviously, she is far better at writing Moldova than me (please, go check out her stories, they're all amazing), but I hope I did ok with it. I tried to include as much from canon as possible with this, hence Lovi and Kiku. The Wikia says that they are very good friends, to the point that Kiku refers to him with 'kun' instead of 'san', and that Romano in turn respects him a lot.

As to why he calls Feli 'san' sometimes instead, it's purely to wind him up. He seems to get pretty annoyed with him at times in the anime, so it's his way of showing his subtle annoyance while gently teasing him. I imagine Feliciano is well aware of this, so it's all in good fun for them both. Flame me if you don't like it, but I thought it seemed to fit with Kiku's personality.

A quick note on everyone else. Regarding the Asians, I haven't included India, simply because I don't really know enough about him to be able to write him. As for the others, I've used Paulo for Macau rather than an Asian name partly because it's the one I know, but mostly because as a rough timeline it was a Portuguese colony at that time. For the others, I'm pretty sure Lien is the accepted name for Vietnam. Thailand's name I got from Levi Jones' videos on youtube (check them out, she's brilliant), which says it's the most commonly used fan-name. If anyone knows differently, please let me know and I'll change it.

Now that everyone is all here, it's only a matter of time before they meet up. I'm sad to say, but that does mean things will start to wrap up from now on. That said, I hope you enjoyed this and stick around till the end! Till next time!

Up next: Meetings and endings, or, there is a limit to how many people you can fit in one place.