Hi everyone !
So, I know I'm taking liberties with how the US are, and work, and would react, and all that stuff. So, I'm going to say it once and for all : this is a fictional story. It is NOT meant to be realistic in any way.
Now, with that being said, enjoy ^^
A few minutes later, Alfred finished a summarized version of the night's events to his closest relatives. He then proceeded to let them scream and chastise him a bit for not giving them a warning beforehand. After a few minutes, though, he started to frown and shoot back.
"I did not tell you because you'd only have tried to stop me ! It's not like I had another option !" America yelled, crossing his arms in front of him.
"We could at least have tried to find other ways" Matthew countered. "You didn't even give us a chance to help you !" he added, and there was hurt in his eyes. Alfred felt a pang of guilt in his chest at the sight. The American nation loved his brother dearly, and it had pained him as well to keep his plans a secret even from the one person he trusted most.
"You couldn't help me" Alfred sighed and tried to calm down. "What else could be done ? Legal procedures would have taken forever if it even worked, and it wouldn't have stopped the lobbies from having more and more weigh in politics."
"I don't give a shit about your politics !" Arthur yelled. England was having difficulties controlling his own anger, as evidenced by the green sparkles escaping from his clenched fists. "I'm mad that you asked Belarus for help ! BELARUS ! Are you insane !? What the hell were you thinking when you asked her to kill you !?" his father shouted, looking absolutely furious.
"At least I knew she would pull the trigger without secondguessing" Alfred shrugged, completely unphased.
"You can say that again" Francis muttered. His blue eyes, a shade darker than Alfred's own, were looking at his son in a mix of deflated anger and worry. "You're lucky she even waited until you came back to start torturing you."
"Please, papa" Alfred rolled his eyes dramatically. "It's not like I was actually risking anything when she had only used ropes to tie me to the chair."
His point had the effect of actually stopping his family's protestations, and the three blonds sighed collectively. Arthur's gaze remained furious for about five seconds, then let go altogether. The usually restrained English nation even let himself be pulled into a family hug with his husband and sons.
"We were so worried about you, Alfred" France whispered. "Please, don't do that again without warning us. We won't interfere, we just want to be here for you. You're not alone."
America tensed up a bit at the first sentence, so similar at the one Ivan had used not even an hour ago. There was the same genuine concern vibrating in the voice, even if the undertone were slightly different. Francis' voice was laced with parental worry, while Ivan's voice had been more like...
They broke the hug, thus distracting Alfred from his thoughts. Arthur and Francis sat in the available chairs, while the twins were using the sofa.
"Don't worry about it, papa" Alfred promised. "It was a once-in-a-century kind of thing" he explained, and saw both his fathers raise an eyebrow at that, while Matthew chuckled. Right. Sometimes Alfred forgot his dads counted centuries like he counted decades. Old World and all that.
"Talking about revolutions" his brother said in a knowing voice, and Alfred had to bit back a grimace, "was that Ivan I thought I saw leaving the house before we arrived ?"
Alfred scolded his feature in carefully composed disinterest. "Yep, he stopped by."
"I beg your pardon, Russia did what ?" Arthur asked, green sparkles tingling again around his hands, and his eyes starting glowing in a threatening manner.
"Relax, dad" Alfred placated him immediately. He didn't fancy blowing the house now of all time. "He was just curious and wanted to know what I was up to. We chatted a bit and he left. No big deal" he shrugged, perfectly aware that he was twisting the truth a bit. Just a bit, though.
"Vraiment ?" Francis' eyes widened. "That's not like him at all" he added in a pensive frown.
"Let's just say" the American nation admitted reluctantly to avoid his French father digging further, "that I found a way to get back at him and that we're even now."
Three nations looked back at him in utter shock. His satisfaction must have shown on his face nonetheless, because soon, Francis fondly shook his head, Matthew chuckled softly, and Arthur narrowed his eyes to find any hint that would let him now it was a lie. England's looking search came back empty, however, and he merely sighed.
"How did you do that ?" his English father asked, dubious.
"Sorry dad" Alfred smirked. "It's classified."
They bickered for a couple of minutes about it, Arthur adamant that he needed to know how the Russian nation had been defeated so easily and Alfred not telling him anything. In the end, England reluctantly backed down and stood up.
"Fine. But if anything happens, and I do mean anything, you call one of us. Understood, young man ?"
Alfred shot him a disbelieving look. "Dad, I'm supposed to be dead now. Even with the wig and the lenses, I'm not risking being seen around the White House for at least a week or two."
Francis nodded in approval. Alfred recognized that gaze easily. His French father was happy to see him looking a bit better. Well, he wasn't wrong. Now that the worst was behind him, Alfred felt lighter, even with all the work that needed to be done. It was a fresh start, for his people and himself alike. It gave the American nation hope for the future.
Matthew rose as well, stretched, and smiled brightly when Kumajiro settled in his arms.
"I just had an idea" he suggested happily. "Al has a couple of weeks off, I'm still in vacation, and I know you two wanted a break as well. Why don't we all go hiking in my homeland ? There's thousands of awesome places to see and I can garantee there won't be any camera to recognize us. Or even anyone to see us, actually" he added and chuckled.
Arthur muttered a couple of complaints about how unpractical it was, but it was merely for the principle of the thing, and Francis looked absolutely delighted at the prospect of some family time. France started planning some details with the Canadian nation, both speaking quickly in French about the best places to go to.
Alfred smiled, but he wasn't fooled by this seemingly out-of-nowhere proposition. After hiding something so big from them, his family wanted to keep an eye on him. Post-revolution times were usually higly unstable ones for a nation, and they wanted to ensure he wouldn't stay alone in case something bad happened. Well, Alfred had planned eighty-nine different major scenarios that were more or less likely to happen in the following weeks, and none of them required his help, save from the few letters he had let to a couple of selected people.
Well, he thought, why not indulge his family and himself ? They would all benefit from it, and he had missed his family as well. Alfred stood up and winked at his twin to let him know he had understood.
"Well, I'm in" America smiled. "Give me some time to grab stuff to go hiking for some time, and-"
"Don't bother" Matthew cut him off with a happy grin. "I already got enough for all of us at my place, no matter where we go."
"Mon trésor, are you sure about that ?" Francis frowned, and before his son could rightfully take offense of it, the French nation pursued. "We all have different food preferences and appetites, and if we have to plan for more than a week's worth of meals without the possibility to shop or find what we want or need in nature, then we might need to make a stop at a store bef-"
"Oh, cut the crap, frog" Arthur snapped and rolled his eyes. "Who cares what we eat during a trek ?"
"Excuse me, très cher, but I do care very much ! Food is not to be taken lightly, no matter the circumstances !"
"Papa, why don't we leave so you can see what I got at my place ?" Matthew slipped before it could developp in a full-blown argument. "That way you can see if we need to go grocery shopping?"
The suggestion seemed to placate both of their parents, and Alfred bit back a chuckle. Well, it looked like the next days would be anything but boring, and a bright, fond smile stretched his features. Alfred was happy to have his family back.
Far away from the house, in a dark appartment in Moscow, Ivan raised his glass of vodka in a silent tribute.
-o-oOo-o-
Six months later, a much simpler gala was happening in Washington DC.
After the first few days of panic, shock, and respectful mourning, the United States had started reorganizing what was left of their institutions with surprising efficiency. What was left of competent, hard-working staff in the White House and both Chambers had done an incredible job at limiting the bad repercussions.
One name in particular had stood up, a certain Alice Anderson, previously working in the Foreign Affairs branch at a minor post. She was still young for a politician, barely over forty, and had brilliantly handled most of the international impact of the event. When she decided to make it her responsability to handle new presidential elections to ensure the US wouldn't stay leaderless for too long, rumour started to spread that she should be in charge.
A few months later, she was sworned as the first woman to ever be president of the United States of America. She had run her campaign on the need to freshen up the country. Her ideas and suggestions were a delicate balance between keeping the past in mind, and moving forwards with new ideas. Anderson's major point, and one of the most controversed as well, had been the need to write a new constitution, one that would match the reality of the year twenty-eighteen, and not seventeen-eighty-seven.
Her main opponent had hugely played on that, but his others statement had been filled with so much hate and nonsense, that without the endorsment of the media and the financial help of the lobbies, he had all but been crushed in the results.
Therefore, Alice Anderson had been sworn into office, and had expressed her wishes for a refined, yet simple gala to celebrate her success. Amongst the politicians and cultural figures, a couple of nations had been invited as well to represent the tie between their country and the United States. Even though the president herself was the only one to be aware of their actual status, the other guests assuming they were simple diplomats.
Francis, Arthur and Matthew applauded politely at the end of Anderson's speech, and waited a few minutes to go and congratulate her.
"Thank you for your kind words, and for coming tonight" she smiled politely, then lowered her voice and briefly checked everyone else was engrossed in their own chat. "I assume you are Alfred's family ?"
They simply nodded, and Anderson's smile became a little more genuine. "He's incredible, isn't he ?" she told them. "Well, I admit I was quite horrified at first, but... he had planned everything so we could handle the transition as fine as was humanly possible" the President explained, and the respect was obvious in her voice. "I probably wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for his help and advice. You must be very proud of him."
"So we've been told" Arthur shrugged, but it was obvious the compliment had touched him and he was, indeed, very proud of his son. Francis had less reservation, and made his wine turn a bit in his glass.
"I assure you, we are proud of him" the French nation said softly. "He's an incredible young man, and I have no doubt you two will work well together. He has a high opinion of you as well, you know ?" he added with an amused smile.
The President chuckled lightly. "I think he made it clear when he suggested me to run for office. He was adamant I had what it takes to run this country and lead people on the right path."
"Pity he couldn't be here tonight" Matthew sighed.
"Actually" she amended, "I told him he was welcome, but he refused. Even with his most recent changes, he acts cautious were public events are concerned. He doesn't want anyone to connect the dots, as unlikely as it is."
"Well, better safe than sorry" Arthur approved begrudgingly.
"I'm aware of that" Anderson nodded. "However, I think he's ready to go back to your meetings. The United States need their nation representing them, after all" she added with pride. "Can I trust you to help him feel welcome there ?"
"Have you met my son ?" Francis smirked. "If anything, you should ask us to ensure the others are ready to meet his new self."
Matthew rolled his eyes fondly, and interveined. "We have his back. He's safe with us."
"Thank you" the President said warmly. "I'm glad he has your support. Now, if you will excuse me, I still have to attend to my other guests. Enjoy the evening, gentlemen."
The three nations bowed slightly, and let someone else take their place to congratulate the newly-elected President.
-o-oOo-o-
A few hours later, four blond nations were sitting in the living room of an appartment, and talking about the gala. To be more exact, America was listening, England was complaining about having to speak with perfect strangers, France was half analysing the hors-d'oeuvres and half analysing the designer's clothes, and Canada was trying to explain what had been said.
It took them some time to reach some form of comprehensible sum-up of the evening, but they managed nonetheless. It was Matthew who looked intently at his brother, with an approving glint in the eyes.
"Your new president seems promising" he said, and it sounded almost like a question.
Alfred grinned. "I know. She's hard-working, smart and actually concerned by people's well-being and safety. That's why I gave her a little help" he winked.
"I can't wait to see her in power" Francis matched his son's grin. "Some of her projects might be a hard pill to swallow for your people, though."
"She'll manage" Alfred shrugged. "The main thing is the new Constitution. She has planned to reuse a lot of the first one so people won't be too lost at first. If she manages that, the rest will follow. I'm confident."
"Well, best of luck, son" Arthur smirked. "Talking about politics, she told us you'd be back in nation meetings soon ?"
The phrasing was light, but the tone was anything but. America's almost year of absence was starting to weigh on everyone, and made it difficult to actually make progress on a lot of projects. Alfred grew serious and nodded.
"I talked about it with Alice yesterday" he confirmed. "I'll be present for next week's series of world meetings. At least, I'll be there for the first two or three days, depending on how things go here."
"That's fine" Francis assured him. "I have to say, I'm looking forward to everyone's reaction to your new style" he then laughed. Alfred winked at his French fater.
"Well, heroes are supposed to make a grand entrance, after all."