5. FIVE CRAZY SIBLINGS

Alfred swallowed thickly as he looked around the dinner table. Arthur was glaring at Ivan, Francis was carefully tasting the food to check if it was perfect, and Matthew was throwing glances around as well. On the other side of the table, Natalia was leering at him (which was oh so unnerving) and Katyusha was smiling sweetly as she spoke to Ivan about fixing up his scarf.

Overall, it wasn't Hell yet. Alfred knew this wouldn't last, but he was grateful they had at least a few more minutes of silence- even if it was filled with tension.

"So," Arthur suddenly began.

Damn it.

All eyes in the room landed on him as he cleared his throat. "The food is okay. I'm going to assume Alfred cooked since it isn't covered in vodka, correct?"

"Actually," Alfred was quick to respond before Ivan could open his mouth, "we both cooked."

"I see. That explains why it could have been better." Arthur sat up straight and proud. Ivan was giving him one of his fake smiles that made Alfred want to grab a rag and wipe it away. Alfred hated that smile because it meant Ivan was hiding again.

"Oh, Arthur hush. I think the food is lovely! Would have been a little better if you called big brother over though, hmmn?" Francis spoke up in an attempt to calm the British man down. Unfortunately, Arthur wasn't the only one itching to start something.

"I bet he didn't call you over because he didn't want to remind you about how badly my brother beat your face in." Natalia piped up with a triumphant smile on her face as Francis flinched.

"Much like how you weren't invited because your brother is scared of you," Arthur countered.

Natalia's smile quickly disappeared as her fingers twitched over the knife on her plate. "How about I take this knife and show you who won't be here next year?"

"Neither of us because he'll just be terrified of you more!" Arthur spat out as he stood up from his chair and urged the girl to continue.

"Arthur, se il vous plaît." Francis frowned at the man and shook his head. "There's no need for vio-"

"I can handle my own battles, frog!"

"Arthur, come on..." Matthew spoke but the British man didn't seem to notice he was there to begin with.

"Natalia!" Katyusha already had tears in her eyes threatening to fall as she reached over to grasp her sister's wrist. "Please, we came here to eat and enjoy the meal Vanya and Alfred made!"

"I'm not going to enjoy anything that involves big brother and him!" The younger sibling growled out as she pointed her knife at Alfred.

By the time all eyes were on him he felt like he had to excuse himself and go to the bathroom. Alfred lost his appetite long ago, now holding Ivan's hand under the table for support. Ivan's smile had disappeared to show a dangerous look on his face that dared anyone to continue the fight. Sadly, Natalia liked to ignore hints.

"It's his fault brother doesn't talk to us as much as he used to!" Natalia slammed her knife down on the table and stood up to mimic Arthur- whose position had grown less tense until she did so.

Arthur shook his head as he leaned forward, "Oh grow up! You're lucky you can see him at all! As nations we have a responsibility to our people before fam-"

"Shut up!" Natalia yelled before he could finish. "You don't know how it is!"

"Oh, yes, because having to fight the child I raised due to what my people wanted was SO easy for me!" Arthur seemed to have popped a blood vessel at that point.

Katyusha was crying and desperately trying to get Natalia to sit back down as Matthew sunk in his chair with an irritable look. Francis was rubbing his temples because this happened every damn year!

There was an awkward silence in the air for just a few seconds before Natalia smiled and Alfred knew this fight had just begun.

"It's funny because you didn't want what your people desired, but in Alfred's case he was happy to leave." She said the finishing blow with a laugh and Arthur froze on the spot.

"You watch yourself!" Francis warned with an angry expression.

"Please, no more fighting! We are here for Vanya and Alfred!" Katyusha sobbed as she furiously rubbed at her eyes.

"I need to be excused," Alfred abruptly announced as he stood up from his chair and just about ran away.

Ivan sighed heavily and stood up to chase after him. He would be in his husband's boat soon after if he remained there any longer.

The dining room was quiet once again when a minute later an unexpected figure rose from their seat and slammed their fist on the table. "Are you proud of yourselves?" Matthew shouted as Kumajiro happily decided to eat the food that was placed down once the fighting began.

"Alfred and Ivan still invite us here ever year because we're family! They should have cut us out of their lives if they wanted to! It happens all the time! A hundred years could have passed without them contacting us, but you know what?! They deal with us because they love us! And what do you do? You argue every year about the same things that don't matter!

"This is about Alfred and Ivan, not us! Plus it's nearly Christmas and you two are acting like a bunch of grinches! You want to fight? Do it on your own time! Not when Alfred and Ivan suffer enough from what the media all over the world has to say!"

Matthew was breathing heavily when he finished. Kumajiro put his chicken leg down in order to pat the Canadian on his back. With his fire quickly diminishing, Matthew thanked his bear and sat back down with his friend claiming his lap as a seat.

Arthur and Natalia had sat down during at some point during Matthew's speech. Looking guilty, the two glances at each other before immediately dropping their gaze.

"He's right, you know. We're very lucky to have our siblings still contact us even after everything we put them through." Arthur said quietly.

Natalia nodded as she replied, "Yes, what you say it true."

"What do you say? Can we behave ourselves for the sake of those two? We might not agree on many things, but we can agree on the fact we love our brothers." Arthur smiled as he spoke with a particular fondness in his eyes.

"I agree," Natalia responded simply as she straightened out her dress and smiles at Katyusha. The Ukrainian was wiping her eyes as she returned the grin. Francis released a heavy sigh of relief as he clasped his hands together. "Let's enjoy this beautiful meal now! Alfred took after big brother's great cooking after all!"

"Thank goodness," both he and Matthew muttered under their breaths as Arthur scoffed.

By the time Alfred returned with red tear-swollen eyes and Ivan's arm around his waist holding him closely, it's safe to say he was at least a little surprised to find Arthur passing the potato salad over to Natalia without a mean word.

Everyone on the table was smiling and honestly, it freaked Alfred out a bit. He looked up at his husband to find that he had the same lost expression on his face. "Did we get transported to another universe?" Alfred quirked a brow.

"I am not sure, but I liked this one more." Ivan replied and Alfred chuckled and nodded in agreement.

Not one fight broke out after that and it was the best family meeting Alfred had in his entire life.