"Hey! Hey, you guys home?"
Greece and Japan had just settled in for siesta when they heard the frantic and rapid knocking on the door. Both had sighed deeply; the only one who went about knocking like that was Alfred. Their only consolation was the fact that they didn't have to move much, didn't have to get up and get the door, because within five seconds America had let himself in anyway.
It took him, though, about ten minutes to actually find them, where they lay in the living room, tangled together, spooning, the chill of the autumn air getting to them both.
"Hey, guys, what's up? Can I cuddle too?"
Greece raised his eyebrows at the boy, sensing that, despite his sunny-as-usual exterior, he hadn't just come to chat and cuddle and to eat all of their food. He was usually the bearer of bad news, whenever it came, (seeing as Kiku himself was slowly dropping out of the pool of the first-informed and Heracles had never been in it in the first place) and he had the look he usually did when he visited with the job of unfortunate messenger.
Taking, anyway, the slight nod Greece unintentionally gave as a sort of affirmation, America dropped down to his knees and shuffled over to the couch, stopping to stare at the firm round bulge of Japan's tummy. He wasn't usually allowed to touch at all, unless Kiku was in a particularly good mood; nobody was, with the obvious exception of Heracles. Yet talking was not out of the question...
Before Greece could ask what exactly he'd come to say, Alfred was chattering happily to the unborn baby - Kiku had apparently fallen asleep, warm and distracted once he was wrapped up in Heracles' arms.
"Hey, buddy! Guess what? You and I, we're gonna be best friends forever. I'll take you hiking and fishing and to football games and to Six Flags and we'll eat Italian food in New York, and -"
Though he felt a little bad for interrupting the excited babble, after about five minutes Greece did so, placing one hand atop of America's head. Somewhat surprisingly, Alfred shut up instantly. At the same time, Greece nudged Japan awake gently, figuring that whatever it was, he'd want to know too.
"What ... are you here to tell us?"
"... So, what'cha think?" America was saying as he attempted to find out just how he was supposed to sit in the chair he'd dragged out into the living room for himself. Unbeknownst to him, it was some sort of 'art turned furniture' piece that Greece had picked up at an estate sale – he didn't know how exactly it was supposed to be used, either, but the internal chuckle that Alfred's attempts brought was well worth what he'd paid for it.
What the American was talking about, was an incident that had happened to him earlier that day. He was "hanging out with Artie, when all of a sudden he was just, like, daaaaamn that Japan's stupid! Or whatever. And I was like, 'nu-uh!' and he was like, we'll see."
Though the two others in the room were sure it happened just a little differently, they were still put off by Alfred's retelling of it. The fact that there were those who obviously disagreed with the decision was obvious, and something they'd all come to terms with, had even become used to. England, China, Turkey, even extremely unexpected nations like Finland and Sweden had voiced their opposition, though most of them did nothing to act on their words. For the most part, in fact, they left Greece and Japan alone.
"I... ano..." Kiku mumbled after a moment, honestly unsure. He knew this day would come, when everything that had been slowly stewing around them would come to an ugly boil. He'd been trying to prepare himself, in fact, but the comfort that his (surprisingly extended) support network had lulled him into a sense of security. He even felt little inklings of an attitude he thought he'd long buried, one that basically said 'screw the rules!'; one that most everyone he associated already had plenty of.
And, of course, as was the custom whenever Kiku started to develop a less-than-perfectly-respectful attitude (even if it never showed its face), the world just had threw a punch to the face his way.
Greece, however, who had his arms around Japan as they sat together, tightened his hold protectively. Kiku could practically hear Greece's eyes narrowing at America's description of the day, and how England planned to hold a meeting later, one of the focuses of it being discussing Japan's current delicate state, and the possible repercussions. While Heracles was typically nothing but gentle and doting and just himself with Kiku, there was a strong, protective side of him that was just waiting to jump out at the first sign of danger, and this seemed to be considered dangerous.
There was a short silence in which Greece seemed to be thinking something over thoroughly, as usual, and then: "we should go. Present our side of the case; hear whatever they have to say. It won't do any good to avoid them and let even more rumors crop up, right? Better to do it now than later..."
He is right. We have to do this now. Kiku reminded himself sternly, nervously straightening the sleeves of his custom-made suit. Although he was carrying small and most of him could fit into his normal suits, Liechtenstein had kindly stepped in to tailor one just to accommodate his new shape. For that he was extremely grateful; he would hate to wear an ill-fitting outfit, just for the sake of his belly (the unborn resident of which was apparently so treacherous as to warrant a whole meeting out of the regular conference).
To his right sat Heracles, who was not asleep for once - in his button-up shirt (the top three buttons left undone) and dark pants and nice sneakers, he was about as dressed up as Japan could get him. He looked very thoughtful, if not, to Kiku, angry - though he was pretty much the only one who would pick up on the cues that Greece gave off. His abnormally good posture, the little tilt of his eyebrows, how his eyes darted all over the room... it was almost obvious, really, but who could blame him?
And then down the row on the right went Greece, America, Candia (that was his name, right?), Spain, Romano, Argentina, Vietnam and her sisters, Hungary and a few of the other women, Germany, Italy, France, and, surprisingly, Russia and his two sisters... and a few more, still. Kiku pinked a little when he saw many of them looking back at him as he scanned their faces, a few with serious expressions but most with supportive, confident smiles.
At the opposite head of the table sat England, looking very professional and businesslike, as he oriented himself and organized whatever he had in the folder he'd brought along. To his left sat China, Turkey, the Cyprus twins, Switzerland, the Baltic brothers, Poland, many Middle Eastern and African nations, even Sweden and Finland.
To both Greece and Japan, the reason why the last two would oppose them was completely befuddling. Japan was actually rather good friends with Finland, and Sweden and Greece got along by default, so it couldn't be personal. And they were very rational people; surely they didn't buy into the argument that a child of nations always has to be a new, potentially dangerous, nation...
Before he could be caught staring, Kiku tore his gaze away from the two uncomfortable-looking Nordics, instead glancing down at his tummy, and then, as if embarrassed, quickly back at Heracles. Under the table, they held hands - or it was more like Greece held Japan's hand in his. The latter's was so small compared to the formers that, unless their fingers were laced together, proper hand-holding was sort of a challenge. It was all he could do not to scold the other for so much PDA.
The white noise of chatter and papers being flipped through and other such noises gradually began to die down once someone took the podium and cleared their throat into the microphone. It was so calm, for a meeting. No fights had broken out... yet, Japan silently added, trying to remember all of the points he had prepared in his own defense as he was stared down by the man at the podium - England himself.
"Be settled, everyone, please and thank you. Now." He paused to shuffle some papers and peer around at the audience. If anything could be said about England, it could be that once he got down to it, he really was a charming speaker. He even ignored most of the smartass comments people shouted, waited until after the meeting was adjourned to give the punks a piece of his mind. Usually, at least.
"We are here today to discuss a matter of importance - some could say grave importance - to all of us. That would be, of course, the fact that Japan is expecting a child. Now, we have all experienced this before, in one way or another. The 'miracle of life', if you will. And, now, why is it that we are so concerned over the fact that it is Japan having a child, and not, say, Miss Seychelles? For one, there is the classic point. What if the child born is, indeed, another nation? In this day and age it is unlikely, but not impossible. And what if this nation rises up against us? What if its formation does nothing but hurt the human citizens gathered under its name? That has been, and always will be, a concern. This not simply a private matter; it could concern us all. Both Greece and Japan are nations with a long legacy of empire and power. Who is to say that the child will not inherit these, in ill spirit?"
England nodded and took his seat after speaking a bit more, to the instant chorus of shouting from "Kiku's Side". Those on the opposite side of the table looked to be anything, from bored, uneasy, angry, confused, mournful, or a strange combination of any of those. On their opposite, everyone suddenly was angry, confused, annoyed, scared, uneasy, or, well, any combination of those.
After a few moments, Japan took a very deep breath and stood, stepping over to the podium set up on his side of the room, barely remembering to bring his papers along with him. When he opened his neatly organized folder, he saw that Greece had scrawled the most important, 'do not forget' points out for him, in simple and clear language, and stuck the paper in the very front. This little sign of consideration lending him strength, Kiku began, instantly capturing the attention of everyone in the room.
"Thank you very much, England-san, for your insight. And thank you, too, everyone, for attending this meeting on my account. I am deeply sorry for any inconvenience caused." He furrowed his brows, trying hard to remember something that wasn't a formality. One glance down at the paper helped immensely, and he launched into explaining his first point immediately.
"First and foremost, I believe that it is the business of only Greece-san and myself, and those who we choose to confide in, what happens with the child. That is the way humans do it, and in the interest of keeping our humanity as intact as possible, as I am sure we are all concerned with, the value of privacy should be carefully considered. It is a violation of both my own rights and that of the child to attempt to interfere with his life, no matter the reason."
The morning quickly melted into the afternoon, which, in turn, melted into the evening. The meeting spanned three whole meals, and still, at the end of the day, they were not even close to a clear-cut conclusion.
Japan, and many of those who had gathered in his support, chose to sit a while by the hotel's fancy pool after the meeting was adjourned for the day. They were attempting to relax and regroup before heading in for bed, or heading out into the city for the night. Some were floating and swimming in the water, some were in the hot tub and still others sat scattered around the pool.
One of the biggest things in common was that they all had too much to talk about - it was as if they couldn't get the words out of their mouths and hear each other quickly enough.
"That bastard!" Hungary spat, kicking her feet into the water. "I know you agree, Herc! Turkey fucking attacked you! Said you were gonna be a bad father! That's... that's illogical! Fallacy!" She shook her head and wound down into a long tirade of curses and broken Hungarian, professing the fact that Turkey was biased and 'obviously stupid' and his opinion shouldn't be considered in the first place.
Greece, from where he sat next to Japan, just firmly nodded his agreement. It had been too long a day, there was too much to take in, to think about, for just one night. For the first time in recent memory, he felt that there was simply no time to sleep.
From England's point on the child being a potentially destructive nation, to Turkey's on Greece and Japan's ability to parent, to Uganda's point on gay marriage and Poland's ... point ... on it being 'just, uncool, y'know? Totes lame. You can't raise a baby! You're way too old for that,' to China's point on the possible consequences of two powerful nations having and raising a child in the first place, Kiku, too, was exhausted.
He knew that mostly, nations joined against him for personal, or completely biased and inarguable points, and mostly that was okay with him. Though he still wondered about Sweden and Finland, neither of whom had gotten a chance to speak, he was about ready to unwind and sleep.
For the first time in ages he felt almost safe, like he was at the very eye of an angry, raging storm. Nations he never knew cared about him - hell, nations he had even hurt with his own blade - and nations that he knew very well cared for him, had all risen up in his defense. In defense of the little one, kicking now, who had done nothing for (or against) them.
He was shocked, he was startled, he was safe and sound, but most of all - he was supported. And that alone was enough to carry him through.
Tired. Tired. Tired. Kiku repeated drowsily to himself, trying not to yawn aloud as he plodded slowly down the hall of the hotel, towards the room he and Heracles shared. It was such a relief, the thought that he would be catching a flight home the next morning...
Much unlike the first day, which had gone over with order, the second was just a festival of shouting, accusations, and all-around bigotry; and of course, Japan was the epicenter of it all. By lunchtime all of the apologizing, attempting to explain himself while still being polite, and paying attention to everyone had wrung out the last reserves of energy he'd had left.
At least the baby didn't seem to be affected; he still demanded that Kiku eat large amounts of strange things at odd hours, and had managed to add squirming around and rolling over to his ever-growing list of talents. He was doing so then when Japan heard the sound of someone running, coming from behind him, and getting closer. All thoughts of being tired flooded out of his mind; he turned quickly to see ... Finland, of all people, who stopped a few feet away from him a moment later.
Taking a deep breath, Tino flashed the other an apologetic grin and immediately said, both hands raised in surrender: "I just wanted to talk to you, Japan, if that's alright."
Though he was a little apprehensive, Japan offered Finland a polite smile and a nod, stepping a bit closer so they'd be at a more comfortable distance for a discussion. As if at the mere mention of being on his feet much longer, his feet and ankles began to throb again. Great...
"Alright," Finland began, suddenly looking slightly ashamed and uncomfortable all over again, "I know you've noticed that I'm opposing your decision and I know you're wondering why. Right? Okay, right. Well... I guess I just felt like I needed to tell you why, in person.
"It's not because of you or Greece, first off. I'd like to still be friends, if that's possible... And it's not because i'm afraid of the baby rising up against us or you both being bad parents or anything like that. I mean, that's your business. As long as the baby is healthy and happy, it's none of mine. Moi... I'm sure you'll both take to it really well.
"I guess... it's because i'm kind of scared for you, and for the baby, too. There isn't anything we can do about it now, but I remember... a long time ago, I was pregnant, too. Twice, actually, if you count... ... ah... Anyway! We lost both of the babies to miscarriage; it was horrible. You don't... Japan, you don't ever want to see the look on the father's face when you tell him, or on your own... it's unbearable. So when I heard that you're expecting, (at the time you were five months, in fact) and I remembered those times, I ended up speaking to England and there was just no turning back... And I guess I still don't wholly agree with you, and Sve's just going along with me. But, Japan, I want you to know that no matter what, I know you'll pull through it. You're one of the bravest people I've ever met, and Greece is a warrior, I can see that clearly..."
Reaching the end of his monologue, with an unreadable smile Tino pulled something out of his pocket - a small wrapped box - and pressed it into Kiku's palm. Murmuring a soft 'thank you, good-bye', the Finn gave the other a quick, awkward one-armed hug and was gone, presumably off to the comfort of Sweden's arms, before Japan could get a word in.
Said man was speechless. Not even trying to process the surprise confession yet, he brought the box up into his view and inspected it carefully. It was wrapped in pale blue paper, with a small navy-colored bow at the corner. Tucked into a fold, there was a small folded paper; inside it read, in careful print, 'Moi moi! Babies seem to like these a lot. Good luck!'
Inside was tucked a small bell - it was silver, and obviously well made, with intricate tiny snowflakes carved on the surface. When given a good shake, it gave off a merry little sound, something even Kiku found himself smiling at.
Though he knew the real gift was nothing a thank-you note could be made for, he carefully tucked the box away in his pocket and began composing what he would write as he made his way, a little lighter this time, back to the room and the warm pair of arms that awaited him.