Capitol Punishment
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Chapter 18
When England woke up late in the hotel room, London was already gone, and he momentarily panicked. Too tangled in covers to move correctly, he wiggled towards his bedside table and slipped a hand out to reach for his phone only for it to caress a slip of paper and a pen. He swiped it from the table and brought it to his face. Written in neat cursive was a note, with artful calligraphy that only London could master in his years of practice.
Went outside the hotel to meet Washington, he is attempting another escape.
London.
P.S. Try not to panic.
England groaned. Just lovely, he thought. Another day, another two fingered salute. He carefully untangled himself from the cocoon of bed sheets and arose to look out the window. The clouds were covering the sun hinting of a later storm, and England felt the pressure somewhere deep in his stomach. Something was going to go wrong today, he could almost hear it being whispered in his ear. It was pretty loud too, as if it was right next to his ear. Which it was.
"Hurry up! They're coming!" Flying Mint Bunny squeaked.
England stumbled in surprise, "Flying Mint Bunny, what are you doing here?" He smoothed out nonexistent wrinkles on his night shirt as he recollected himself. "Who's coming?"
Flying Mint Bunny flew in anxious circles and stopped in front of England's nose. England had to cross his eyes to see him.
"There is no time to explain! If you don't hurry, they could get both of them!"
England jumped in action, trying to change out of his night clothes as quickly as possible. "You must realize, my good bunny friend, that I would be in better intelligence if you stopped using pronouns and told me without ominous riddle." He hopped on one foot, not unlike a rabbit, trying to put on a sock as Flying Mint Bunny resumed his anxious circles and squeaked in frustration.
"England, there is no time for clothes! Hurry, hurry!"
England's temper got the best of him as he stopped hopping and face contorted in irritation as he yelled at the green rabbit. "For what?!"
"YO ENGLAND, WHO YA TALKING TO?"
England whipped his head around, wearing only pants and one sock to find America once again standing in his hotel room doorway. Face red in anger, he snapped at America.
"YOU GIT, WHY MUST YOU INSIST ON BREAKING IN WITHOUT ASKING FOR ENTRANCE? WHAT IF I WAS NOT APPROPRIATE?"
America snorted as if the answer was obvious. "Dude, it wouldn't be breaking in if I asked, now would it?" He waltzed in as if he owned the room and England's irate eyes followed his movements like a cat.
"Were you talking to your imaginary friends again?"
England crossed his arms, raised his chin and huffed, bristling at the question.
"As a matter of fact, I was. And Flying Mint Bunny was trying to give me a warning." At that, Flying Mint Bunny buzzed in another circle and nudged his face into England's shoulder. "You're going to be too late!" He squeaked.
America titled his head as if he heard something in the distance, but it ignored it to ask a question.
"And what was the warning?"
"That 'they are coming,' and 'could get both of them.'" England said as if it was a matter of fact.
It took a moment to sink in, and then England's eyes widened as he fumbled for the rest of his clothes.
"Oh bloody hell, we have to hurry!"
Earlier that morning in front of the hotel, Washington, in a Captain America hoodie that was complete with the masked hood up and over his eyes, had strolled up to London. London was trying very hard to keep a straight face, but it had gotten increasingly harder to do so as Washington got closer and dawned a stupid grin.
"Don't tell me that they fell for that get up," London laughed, "In fact, it is probably the most obvious disguise for someone like you. It would have been less suspicious if you walked around waving a flag."
Washington's grin only grew and he put his fists on his hips in a dramatic hero pose. Pedestrians passed them unaffected.
"HA HA! Hiding in plain sight, my friend, it works wonders!" Then he leaned closer to London as if he was telling a secret. "Dude, this is, like, the fourth time I've appeared in the Captain's stars and stripes, but they didn't suspect a thing."
"Then we shall certainly expect the Secret Service later," London quipped, "Off we go, then? And where to, I should probably ask?"
Washington lifted a dramatic hero finger to point down the street.
"To the Starbucks!"
London grabbed Washington's arm and pushed it down, and Washington pouted at him.
"First, you git, don't announce where we are going to the world when you are being tracked down. And second, why should we return to the same place you were tracked down? You are just begging to be caught."
Washington shook his head and smiled, and London became confused.
"Exactly, Brit stick," he said raising a finger, "There is one of two scenarios. Either they think that I'm too smart to go back to where they found us yesterday, or they think that I'm stupid enough to go back to where they found us yesterday."
London raised a brow, "So you are alright with being caught."
Washington looked down the busy streets, the cars honked in the early traffic and more people passed the two capitols on the busy sidewalk, unaware of the marvels standing before them. The air was thick this morning and so were the clouds, so the land around them was only as bright as the light that filtered through. Without turning back to London, he responded.
"Not exactly. I don't wanna talk about the government or custody or anything like that. I just want a break. But if I'm going to be caught again and talked over, I want it to be on my own terms. Make it difficult for them."
London rolled his eyes, but gave a sympathetic look. "Let me tell you early, that for a capitol, there is little time for a break."
He remembered how hard it can be sometimes, when the people and government are moving so fast that there is no time to breathe. In the Industrial Revolution, he missed meals and sleep, running around halls with sweaty palms and tired feet trying to put together some semblance of labor laws and regulations for the workers whose blood, sweat, and tears had gone into coal-fueled economy. Child labor, workers' rights, and health laws, had him shouting loudly over a debating Parliament, and while the industry and money flowed in like the Thames, the laws he needed enacted moved like molasses. But London made sure to meet these issues head on like the stubborn brit he was, while Washington seemed skittish, trying to beat around the bush and missing the mark. Sometimes, things can't go the way you want them to, and Washington needed to learn that, or at least face his problems instead of leaving them for another day.
"However, Washington, you do need to overcome this. Or let us help you fix it, because we want to help you. You do realize that you're not alone, correct? They don't have to be 'your' terms, they can be 'our' terms. You're one of us now, they don't own you anymore." London tried to give an encouraging smile, but it was not an expression he was used to. Washington didn't even seem to see it.
"Yeah, well I can discuss this over a cup of coffee later with congress, so I'm gonna need to get my Mocha grande." Washington said half-heartedly and began to turn towards the direction of the Starbucks.
London frowned, and opened his mouth to berate Washington for not listening to his heart to heart wisdom when a government vehicle pulled up in front of the hotel. Washington flinched, looking ready to bolt, and he would have had not America and England made their less-than-graceful appearance. They both stumbled out of the hotel and trying to get through the door at the same time had them tripping over some poor hotel guest's luggage. They landed at the capitols' feet, looking ruffled and out of breath. England's hair was even more unkempt than usual, America's glasses were crooked on his face, and their position sprawled shoulder to shoulder on the ground put Washington at ease as he started to smile. Soon, London and Washington had to hold each other up as laughter racked their bodies. It was just too funny. The almighty countries of America and England had fallen to the Louis Vuitton set, the luggage that brought them to their knees.
And luckily for them, the Secret Service was generous enough to let the countries collect their dignity and let the capitols settle down before approaching them on the sidewalk.