Hi everyone !
Sorry for the late update, I only came home from my trip like, one hour ago, and this is the best I could do. Hope you still like it, and if you spot mistake, please point them out to me so I can improve :)
On the next morning, Alfred arrived perfectly on time, just as charming as the previous day. He explained politely that he wouldn't be able to stay for the next days since his new government needed him, however. No one objected too strongly about it, and a dozen of nations offered to share their notes with him.
Somehow, the American managed to appear even more charming and attractive than the previous day, which didn't go unnoticed. His appeal was reinforced with his constant effort to look everyone in the eye when he talked.
The first break arrived, and while a few nations noticed the Bad Touch Trio not-so-subtle escape to another room, most watched America leave his seat and take the direction of the coffee machine. Mexico joined him less than three minutes later, a bright smile on his face.
"Hey Alfred !" he said cheerfully, and leant on the wall with his arms crossed on his chest.
"Miguel" Alfred nodded and smiled as well. "How are you ?"
"Mostly bored by today's meeting" the brown-haired nation chuckled. "But overall way better since you got rid of your last president and his stupid border wall."
"You and me both" Alfred laughed, then winked. "He would have had a hard time building it anyway. My states were ready to transform his project into a bureaucratical nightmare. Not gonna lie, your boss' joke about the ladder was hilarious" he added with a grin. The little beep of the machine stopped their discussion for a second, and the blond took his cup before stepping aside. "You want a coffee ?"
Miguel shook his head in disgust, and both nations went back to the meeting room.
"No offense, amigo" Miguel teased him, "but that's not coffee. At best, it's caffeinated water."
"You remember I've been raised by England, right ?" Alfred grinned widely. "I survived eating his scones and marmite for decades. There's virtually nothing I can't eat or drink after that !"
They entered the room laughing, and Miguel naturally walked past his seat to continue his chat with the blond nation.
"I'm pretty sure that qualifies for child abuse" Mexico laughed, then leant on Alfred's desk in a seductive manner. "You should pay me a visit one of these days, I'll show you what real coffee tastes like" he suggested with a wink.
"Actually" a pretty dark-haired woman interfered with a flirtatious smile, "if you really want to know what real coffee tastes like, you should come to my place, Alfred. I'd be delighted to make you discover what it's like to have the best option at your disposal."
Miguel glared at the intruder. Lucia, the Colombian nation, was batting her eyes in Alfred's direction, and had seated directly on the desk at his left, her pencil skirt allowing her to show off her beautiful legs in the movement. Apparently, the competition to gain America's attention had started.
"Talking about enjoying the best option at your disposal" Brazil interfered while taking the chair on Alfred's right, "I'd love to have your honest opinion on my carnival. You should definitely come to the next one and enjoy the festivities with me. I could even teach you some capoeira, I'm sure you would be amazing."
Gabriel's intervention put the tension a step above, and the free nations glared at each other as discreetly as they could without looking too annoyed in case America was looking at them.
Alfred was having a field day with their attitude. It was simply too much fun. Absolutely every other nation on the American continent had been ready to stab him in the back until not even a year ago, and now they were all fighting for his attention. The sudden change of pace was almost comical, even if in a bittersweet way. Did they really thought he was stupid enough to not realise what they truly were after ?
His face showed nothing of his inward cringing, though, and he pretended to think about it for a couple of minutes. Then, he glanced in someone's direction, so briefly that no one else noticed, and made a face of carefully composed disappointment.
"Damn, all of your suggestions are so tempting..." he sighed. "I wish I could say yes to at least one, but with all the work I have these days, I can't even stay for the whole week of meetings."
Real disappointment appeared on the three faces, but it was softened by the relief of not being outright rejected because of one of them.
"Now" Alfred amended slowly, in a lower, seductive voice, "since I'm reforming most of my foreign policies as well, we will need to see each other in the upcoming weeks and months to discuss some treaties" the blond nation said, slightly raising an eyebrow in a suggestive manner and ending his sentence to make it sound almost like a question.
"Of course" Lucia answered immediately, her eyes shining brightly. "Just tell me when you come, and I'll make sure to be ready."
"Same here" Gabriel winked. "I'm always open to negociations with interesting partners."
"No need to plan things ahead with me" Miguel smiled, with a smug look destined to his rivals. "We're neighbours, after all. Just send me a text and I'll clear my schedule."
"Really, that's too generous of you" Alfred answered with a devastating smile. "You should be more careful, or I might take you all up on your offers" he added and stood up to go throw his paper cup in the trash, pretending to not notice the hungry eyes on his lower back.
A few steps away, Matthew was holding his breath. He had followed the exchange - like everyone else in the room - and was amazed by his brother's performance. Alfred's acting had been absolutely perfect, just flirty enough to let them know they had a chance, but actually rejecting any proposition for the near future.
On the other side, the Canadian couldn't believe the three Latin and South American nations thought their attempts had the slightest chance to win Alfred other. Matthew remembered witnessing a drunk moose trying to woo a female a few years ago, and it had still been more subtle than the pick-up lines Miguel, Lucia and Gabriel had used.
But more important than that, Matthew had made sure to keep an eye on Ivan during the entirety of the conversation. In the light of the previous evening's revelations, Alfred's behaviour made a lot more sense. And just as he admired his brother's act, Matthew was amazed at Ivan's self-control so far. No one beside the Canadian nation - and probably Alfred - seemed to have noticed Russia's raging fury at the display.
Ivan was motionless. He was forcing himself to remain perfectly still. If he moved so much as an inch, he would snap and slaughter three persons in the following seconds. He had nearly lost his cool when Alfred had glanced toward him in the middle of their ridiculous attempt to seduce the blond. The Russian had meant to ignore the provocation, and hearing Alfred's rejection - as carefully worded as it had been - had soothed his anger for a second.
But then, America had opened the door to more interactions with those hypocritical assholes, and his last reply was blurring the lines once more. As it was, Alfred looked like he enjoyed being courted by the nations of his continent, and might even consider making one of them his partner, be it romantically or only sexually.
And therefore, Ivan had stopped moving altogether. His muscles were tense to the point where he suspected he would soon get a cramp, but to anyone looking, he only gave an impression of being slightly bored. Inside, however, was a raging storm at the idea of losing Alfred to someone so unworthy of him.
Thankfully, the break was soon over and the meeting started just after France, Spain and Prussia came back. The three friends looked so innocent that everyone guessed a prank was to happen in the next minutes. In less than ten minutes, they excused themselves to the bathroom one after the other, thus successfully convincing every nation that something was up.
Someone knocked politely at the door, and Ludwig politely authorized the person to enter. Scotland's head appeared through the door, a wide grin on his face.
"Oh, sorry for the delay. Did I miss anything ?"
"Allistair, what the bloody hell are you doing here ?" England accused immediately.
"So suspicious" the red-head mocked. "I merely came to lend the guys a hand" he added innocently, without convincing anyone. Actually, almost all participants to the meeting stood up and started to take a step back in case of imminent attack.
No one had forgotten the legendary wool ball battle. In the end, Allistair walked in, closely followed by the members of the Bad Touch Trio. The three nations all had their hands hidden behind their back, which seemed to be the signal for three persons in the room to narrow their eyes.
"Bastardo..."
"Frog..."
"Gil..."
However, none of them managed to go through with whatever they had planned to say, due to a sudden water-based aerial assault. Allistair finished his spell less than a second later.
This time, it wasn't three, but six boxes filled to the brim with warm - they were in the middle of November, after all - water bombs who popped up in the meeting room.
And as would be expected, it took less than twenty seconds to launch another all-out world war. The only significant difference with the wool ball one was in the composition of the different sides, that was more geographically-induced than history-based.
In other words, everyone had allied themselves with the persons closest to their desk and box of ammunition. As a result, most alliances were... unexpected.
"Fucking hell Vash, just stop being an ass and start shooting ! You're the best fucking gunman we have !" Lovino yelled for the tenth time in about as much minutes.
"No way ! I've been neutral for the past two hundred years, I'm not changing that now !" Switzerland shouted back.
-o-
"It's unfair !" someone protested. "The Nordic Club was already together and Finland's the best sniper in the world !"
"Hahaha, fuck off haters, you're going down !" Denmark laughed in pure viking style.
"Mathias, calm down now" Norway commanded icily.
"Sorry love" Denmark apologised immediately, not wanting to upset his beloved - and powerful wizard - boyfriend
-o-
"Frog !" Arthur shouted at his husband. "Either you stop shooting me or you sleep on the couch tonight !"
"You're really going to do it ?" Romania whispered at his fellow sorcerer.
"Of course not" England answered just as quietly. "But he doesn't have to know that."
"Smart" Vlad approved in a smirk.
-o-
"Change of plan, guys !" Francis announced quickly. "I'm switching target !"
"What ?" Spain protested. "You can't do that, you're our best shot at getting Arthur !"
"Did you hear what he said ?" the blond countered. "What would you do if Lovi threatened you with that ?"
Antonio paled. "You know what, I wouldn't take the chance either" he admitted. "We switch. Go for Lovi, I'll take down Arthur."
"Deal !"
"HEY !" Gilbert intervened with a desperate voice. "Who's going to take down Birdie then ?"
"Your boyfriend, your problem" Francis answered and winked for good measure.
"No way ! He's England's son as much as yours, I'm not risking it ! Allistair, please ?"
"If you'd rather deal with Alfred, I'm up to take down my other nephew !" the wizard grinned happily.
"Still sounds better !"
-o-
And once again, the end of a meeting was filled with shouts, threats, betrayals, and a war like the world had never seen.