'You may not have my eyes or smile, but you have my heart.'

The next few days passed in a blur. Many of the other nations accepted his presence there, and slowly warmed up to him as he proved to be more than just the scary nation he was in meetings. Canada hung out with him a lot, mainly because his polar bear Kuma-Kaji-Kuli (or was it Kaji-Kuli-Kuma?) kept gnawing on his head. He apologised, a lot, even for apologising. They shared laments of cold weather and overbearing America ("At least you're on a separate land"), and enjoyed each other's company when they were watching Wy and Sealand play Exploding Snap, setting one of the shrubs on fire.

"My rosa caesia!" screeched England as he flapped a towel at it. Canada just watched the garden slowly descend into fire and chaos with a cheerfulness more reminiscent of his twin brother, making Russia roar with laughter. "These are rare you know!"

Thinking of America, he didn't seem to be at the gathering, which was a small relief, because he would bet his entire land that America would not approve of his presence. However he dared not ask, because bringing up America the other day had set the entire family on edge for several hours. That was the most subdued they had been.

So eventually they all went inside, and Russia could have sworn he saw a teenage Paris flying on a broomstick... Maybe his imagination was playing tricks on him. "How does Exploding Snap work anyway? Without destroying the cards, I mean."

"Oh, some magic thing," Wy said airily, then chased after Paris. Russia suddenly felt someone land on his chest, knocking him over, and stick something to his forehead. Realising it might be someone small (and pushing back the reaction that told him to smash their head in) he lay there. It was Sealand, who grinned at him.

"There, now you really are part of the family!" he announced, while Canada took one look at his face and started laughing. France came out of the reception area to see what the fuss was about and screamed, "Mon dieu!" on seeing his face too. Feeling a little worried, he reached up and felt...

A pair of eyebrows.

Russia facepalmed as France ran circles around him. "Mon dieu, we must get you to a doctor! I didn't know those were infectious! Do you feel faint? Or like you want to eat England's food? If I had known I never would have slept in the same bed as him..."

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, YOU'VE BEEN SLEEPING IN MY BED?!" yowled England, hitting a pitch that would make bats uncomfortable. Another fight cloud descended (sixth one if he was counting correctly), when Canada pulled him up on his feet.

"Are you going to take them off?" asked Canada, as they went to the second floor balcony, which was thankfully quieter, where the slightly calmer nations like New Zealand were taking some time. Russia felt them again.

"I don't know... I feel so different from you all," he admitted. Ever since the night England had sung him to sleep, he felt as though he was bleeding words and emotions. "This actually makes me feel a little better... If a little horrified," he added. Canada smiled, tilting his head back, taking some of the sun in.

"You know he cares about you," Canada said. "In every meeting, he just turns to check on you. I heard from Papa that he looks in on you at night too, when we're all together that is. It really doesn't matter that you're not related. I'm not directly related to half the nations - colonies - who are here, yet we all share the same parents.

The thing with Maman is - when he loves you, he will love you deeply and completely. He will give you a small piece of his heart, and no matter how many times you may crush it, break it, tear it to pieces, it will reform, and at the end of the day it will still belong to you. There is nothing you can do to change that. If Maman loves you, Papa will love you. He will do anything for England to make him happy. And in time, I'm sure all of us will accept you in the family. You don't need blood ties, or even government ties to be a family. All that binds us is the love our parents give us."

The moment broke as Hong Kong ran out with Gibraltar onto the the smouldering front garden. Both of them had a glint in their eye as they began to light fireworks. One spiralled out of control and landed in the chimney, and a second later, there was an explosion from down below.

"See, this is why we can't have nice things!" roared England. The two laughed comfortably.

"I think I will enjoy having you as a sibling, Canada," he said quietly.

"I won't say welcome to the family just yet, because you're still finding your place here," Canada continued. "But if you ever feel like you're not meant to be here... Just look around you. We're all scattered to the winds, from all types of places and climates. You only need England's heart to belong here - and I think you've already got it."

18.11.18: Didn't post last week because it was remembrance Sunday, so it didn't seem appropriate... Besides I better get writing some more chapters, only a few pre-written ones left lol.