Chapter 25! ^_^ Whoa...another two-in-one day, eh? XD
Nathan never, EVER wanted to go to a hockey game with his new cousin and uncle.
At least, not without his father's protection. Even though the game was on TV, every missed call, every fight, every single play seemed to draw fury from some unseen emotional aquifer in the Canadians. It was weird enough to see Wyatt become infuriated with something he clearly knew couldn't be changed.
But seeing Matthew screaming at the screen, cursing, snarling, was just too surreal. Nathan felt a sizable portion of his pride say 'eek' and curl into a ball as he cowered behind the couch, attempting to dodge the Canadian fury.
They had only been waiting at the Kellogg Conference Center for two hours. The meeting wouldn't start until everyone had arrived - including Laura, Arthur and Alphonse after their conference - so Alfred had pulled them all into a smaller room, pulled a TV out of a cabinet, and decided for all of them that they would watch TV.
They'd flipped through hundreds of channels before finding the hockey game. Alfred had tried to flip past it quickly, but Matthew had somehow managed to wrestle his twin to the floor and steal the remote to keep the channel on the game. Nathan knew he should have probably helped his dad, but Uncle Mattie was freaking scary when hockey was involved! It hadn't helped that Wyatt had made it very clear who he supported in the bout.
Weird. Nathan hadn't thought they'd hit it off all that well when they'd first met. He and Alfred had left Matthew and Wyatt alone in the living room for a few minutes while they made dinner (hamburgers! Nathan's favorite!), and when they'd first left, the Canadian father and son had been awkwardly trying to start conversation. When the American's had returned, Wyatt and Matthew were laughing, smiling and acting as though they'd been best friends for life.
Honestly, Nathan thought it was a little creepy.
He heard the doors open as Alfred came back in. He'd left five minutes earlier to answer a call from one of his international buddies. Nathan breathed a sigh of relief and leapt up from behind the couch. "Dad!"
"Hey Nathan!" Alfred grinned. "Listen, I've gotta go to the airport and pick up-oof!" Alfred nearly had the wind knocked out of him by Nathan's flying, somewhat desperate hug.
"Take me with you!" The young man pleaded. "Don't leave me alone with those two!"
He was lost.
The little boy had wandered off for just a moment, entranced by one of the stained glass windows of the conference center. When he'd turned around, the man he'd found to be his father, and the man he'd been talking with, had disappeared. He'd tried to follow them, but he wasn't able to navigate the imposing hallways.
The little boy hugged his plush bird closer, burying his face in the feather-patterned fabric. This wasn't fun. He didn't speak English like the other children here, and he couldn't read any of the English signs on the walls. He whimpered softly, starting to run now. "P-papa?" He called out shyly. He got no response. "P-papa?" The little boy came to an intersection and stopped. He turned in a circle, trying to figure out which way to go. The hallways were all marked, but in English, which he couldn't read. He started to whine. "Papa?"
"Hallo?" A large shadow fell over the boy, who immediately froze up. He turned around slowly, and found himself facing a pair of large boots. He looked up….and up….and up until he found a pair of amethyst eyes, set above a childish smile. "Ah, Mini-France!" The child's eyes widened. "Benoit, da?" Russia knelt down and pet the little boy on the head. Benoit flinched every time, sinking lower and lower behind his plush bird. "I wonder if you will grow up with your father's sexual habits?" Russia paused as Benoit made an odd sound. Moments later, the little boy began to cry.
"Waaahhh….je veux mon papa…" (I want my papa…)
"Hn? Mini-France is sad?" Russia lifted Benoit by his armpits and stood up, head tilted curiously. "Why do you cry? You are not injured." Benoit only cried harder, burying his face in his plush toy. Soon enough, his sobbing dissolved into one discernible word, which he repeated over and over, growing more and more desperate.
"Papa…papa….papaaaa…."
"Mr. Russia!" The towering nation blinked and looked to his left. "Kindly put my son down! Maintenant!" (Now!) Russia shrugged and lowered the sobbing 10 year old back to the floor.
"Okay. Your son is a crybaby, anyway." Benoit hiccuped and scrubbed at his eyes with the back of his hand.
"P-Papa…" He held his arms up pleadingly. France quickly swept him up, whispering soothingly in French and stroking his hair. Benoit hugged his plush bird and buried his face in his father's hair, eyes squeezed shut. China, who had been standing behind France, and helping him look for the little boy after he'd disappeared, cleared his throat.
"Russia….maybe you and I should leave, aru."
"Da." The Russian simply turned and walked away. China continued on to the meeting room - their original destination - and left France with Benoit. The Frenchman patted his youngest son's back as he began to calm down.
"Ne vous promenez pas de pareil ça. Vous m'avez papa…" (Don't wanter off like that. You scared papa…) France admonished softly. Benoit sniffed.
"Desole, papa…" (I'm sorry, papa…) France's eyes lit up, and he cuddled the little boy with a dreamy smile.
"Ahh, Aucun mal fait du, bebe." (No harm done, baby.) France started walking toward the meeting room, cradling Benoit on one hip. "Allons rencontrent les autres, bien?" (Let's go meet the others, okay?)
"B-bien…" (O-okay…)
The knock on the door startled him.
Alphonse Berriet jumped at the sound, then remembered where was, and closed his self-help book to answer the door. First, he checked through the peephole, but once he recognized the face on the other side, he began to smile and opened the door.
"Laura," He smiled. The woman stepped forward and hugged the slightly taller man. Arthur couldn't help but notice how the other stiffened ever so slightly before relaxing and returning the gesture.
"It's good to see you, too, Al'." Laura smiled, pulling back. "May we come in?"
"Oui, entrez, s'il vous plait." (Yes, come in, please.) Alphonse stepped back and opened the door wider. As they entered the room, Arthur closed the door behind them. He glanced around the room. It didn't look like Alphonse had been there long - there was a suitcase sitting in the corner of the closet, nothing on the hangers, and the only thing disturbed was the bed. Either the man had arrived moments before they had, or he really didn't take up that much space.
"….really?" Laura had found the self help book left on the bed. "Prettier Woman - how to turn away and move on from your whorish past." She looked at Alphonse. The man shifted awkwardly, glancing first at Arthur, then back at Laura.
"….well, they don't make those for men….uh….qui est-il?" (…who is he?) Laura set the book down and smiled gently.
"It's alright, love." She promised. "He won't judge you…" Here Laura gave Arthur another steely glare. The Englishman was the first to look away. "Arthur, this is my friend, Alphonse Berriet…Alphonse, I'd like you to meet my father." Laura introduced. "Arthur Kirkland."
"Ah, c'est un plaisir…" (It is a pleasure…) Alphonse nodded politely in Arthur's direction. "So….you are like us, I assume?" Arthur nodded.
"Indeed." He replied. "I think I can guess who your father is…" Arthur smirked. "You look just like him." Laura smiled approvingly, and Alphonse took that as a compliment. The man started some tea (which, to Arthur's surprise, was quite good, despite being made in a coffee maker), and the three sat and talked for a while. Arthur just sat and listened, quietly sipping his Earl Grey as Laura and Alphonse conversed in French.
Really, he was a little amazed by his daughter's language skills. So far, he'd heard her speaking Russian with Svetlana, Turkish or something over the phone on the drive down, and now French with her companion. His own skills with the language were more than a little rusty, but Arthur was understanding enough words to catch the gist of the conversation…and Alphonse's body language was enough to get him the rest of the way.
Already, he could fathom a guess at the 'immoral profession' Laura had mentioned, and just how seriously all those decades of it had affected the blonde man. Arthur could see the way Alphonse's hand shook against his cup, and how he need both hands when he went to take a sip. His body posture, overall, was tense, as though he were permanently before a crowd. Arthur felt a little uncomfortable scrutinizing the man, and looked down into his cup as he tuned back intuit he conversation.
"... N'ont pas eu un autre cauchemar, que vous avez?" (…haven't had another nightmare, have you?) Laura was asking. Alphonse sighed, somewhat shakily.
"Aujourd'hui même, en fait ... J'ai essayé de faire une sieste et s'est réveillé mes voisins ..." (Just today, actually….I tried to take a nap and woke up my neighbors…) He admitted. Laura reached over and patted Alphonse's hand, letting hers linger, and their fingers entwine.
"Vous savez, vous n'avez pas à prendre la parole aujourd'hui…" (You know, you don't' have to speak today…) Laura pointed out. "…vous pourriez leur dire que vous êtes malade, ou quelque chose ...." (You could just tell them your'e sick, or something…) Alphonse gave a grim sort of laugh.
"Si je reculer maintenant, n'est-ce pas, comme la remise à ce sujet?" (If I back out now, is that not like surrendering to this?) He mused. Laura bit her lip.
".... Je comprends votre point de ..." (…I see your point….) She sighed. She patted Alphonse's hand one more time, then stood up. "Alright, well….it's nearly time for us to speak…" She pointed out, a tad regretfully. "Dad, I need to stop to change quickly, then you'll have to wait for us. It shouldn't take long; neither of us like to hang around these things…" Alphonse chuckled quietly.
"A great place to meet great minds, is also fantastic place to meet overinflated egos." He mused. Arthur chuckled.
"Aye, those do get on the nerves." He stood up and held out his hand. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Alphonse. The tea was quite lovely." Alphonse smiled and shook Arthur's hand, though somewhat gingerly. Then Laura led the way out of the room. When the door had closed, Alphonse self-consciously locked it again. He sat down on the bed, and after a moment's hesitation, picked up the self help book again.
OMG, this chapter has Canadians! 8D
1) SunflowerKolKolKol - XD To make that mental image more interesting…his grandkids are twins. And then Nathan and Sve-...wait. Whoops. XD
2) LuckyNumbers - Canadian Bonding! XD And eventually, yes, Alexi probably will die. Or disappear on his way back to Russia. XD And for what he'll do in later chapters, trust me, Laura WILL kick his ass…XD
3) Aviantei - Yesh….Benoit is terrified of Russia and Hungary. Because both try to pick him up every time they see him. XD
4) Rain Karami - Don't worry! The Prussians will arrive soon!