A/N: Alright, getting into the actual plot here soon. Oh, and a quick note on how I write Berwald; I dn't m'k h'm t'k l'k th's. It's annoying and takes away from the actual story.
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The drive up to Tino's winter cabin was amazing. Finland was one of those countries that they just didn't get to go to as often as others, which really was a shame. It was a truly beautiful, serene country, reflecting Tino's own nature. The Finnish countryside rolled by as Alfred and Matthew followed their vague directions to the cabin. The snow fell gently, covering the land in one large blanket. Alfred leaned his head against the passenger side window, slightly put off that Matt hadn't trusted him enough to drive in the snow. Pft, he was a great driver, and he'd have gotten them there an hour early too.
"There it is." Canada pointed toward a large wooden house nestled on a hill just a few kilometers up the road. It was a decent size, more than enough room for all of the nations staying. A barn sat just behind it, inside the fence of the reindeer's area. A few of them dared to brave the cold and snow, walking curiously to the edge of the fence to watch their car pull up.
Alfred drummed his fingers against his leg somewhat nervously. This would be the first time he saw anyone after the earth quake. Sure, from what Matthew had said, everyone was fine, but he was still worried. He pushed that thought to the back of his mind as the car came to a stop beside the barn. Alfred popped open his door, giving a small nod to his brother as he took the presents he'd gotten everyone from the trunk and immediately put them in the barn. He'd called Tino earlier to get permission to hide everything in there, and the Fin had even pointed out the best spot to put it all. Thank god too, he'd have no idea where to hide England's present; he had been worried enough about bringing it on the plane.
Once everything was hidden safely, and he double checked England's gift, America ran back out to the car to get his luggage. Together, the north american brothers walked up a small path to the front door. Matthew knocked twice, waiting patiently for someone to answer. The door was suddenly thrown open, revealing a severely pissed off Arthur who punched Alfred on the shoulder. "Idiot! I was worried sick!" He admonished.
Alfred couldn't help but laugh a little, holding his arm. "Sorry Iggy. I'll be sure to call the next time I'm buried under my own ceiling."
That of course earned him another good punch to the arm. "Bloody well better! I had to hear from Matthew that you were even alive!" He scowled before realizing Matthew was there too and giving him a friendly embrace. "Good to see you're well, Matthew."
"Same to you, Arthur." Matthew smiled.
"Well, come on inside." Arthur moved aside to let the two nations in. The inside of the cabin was nothing short of cozy. The walls were stone and dark wood, matching the floors. A wooden fireplace sat against the far wall of the living room, where a tall, beautifully decorated Christmas tree stood in one corner, surrounded by dark red couches and an intricately designed rug. The wide paned windows overlooked a small village settled down into the valley.
"Alfred, Matthew, glad you could make it!" The cheery voice brought their attention to Finland, just stepping out of the hallway. "Make yourselves at home! The bedrooms are upstairs, feel free to choose one." He smiled.
The twins nodded their thanks, about to head up the wooden, spiral staircase when they heard a soft crying from down the hall Finland had just come from. "What's that?" Alfred asked. Tino's face fell for a moment. Noticing this, Arthur stepped in.
"I'll explain, Tino." He offered, quickly ushering the boys up the stairs and into a room with two queen beds and a view of the valley. After the two had set their luggage down, Matthew turned to Arthur, sitting on his chosen bed.
"What's going on?" He asked, clearly becoming concerned.
Arthur sighed, choosing to lean against the window sill. He crossed his arms over his chest, eyebrows furrowed as he tried to decide how to go on. "Sealand... is gone." He said grimly.
Alfred shot up, heart leaping out of his chest. "Peter is-?"
"No, no, no." Arthur quickly interjected. "Peter is fine. He was staying with Berwald and Tino when the earthquake happened. But the platform... it's completely destroyed. The poor boy is devastated. Mys guess is he's surviving the same way Prussia is... no one knows." The guilt was clearly written across Arthur's face. Sure, he and his "little brother" didn't get along very well, but when it came down to it, he cared about Peter. He just... wasn't the best qualified to raise him. That's why he'd been elated to learned that Berwald had offered to adopt him. Peter was happy with Sweden and Finland, and to Arthur, that was what mattered. "My government is looking into restoring it, but it will take time, and money that might be hard to come by."
"Poor Peter..." Matthew frowned.
"Berwald is downstairs with him now, trying to get him to cheer up, but the boy just won't have it. I just hope he comes around before Christmas." Arthur racked his fingers through his hair. The doorbell rang obnoxiously downstairs, followed by the swinging open of the front door, and muffled exclamations. Denmark was here.
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Really, the only reason he ever really ran the doorbell was because it was damn amusing. He never expected anyone to open the door for him fast enough to meet his standards, so he usually just let himself in anyway. "Yo! Tino, Berwald-y, your favourite is here!" He called out into the house, dumping his luggage carelessly onto the floor. Mathias kicked off his boots, just as Berwald came walking out of the hallways, a tired Sealand in his arms.
"Mathias." The Swed greeted.
"Hey, what's with little Petey?" Mathias asked, poking the boy's side. Peter simply buried his face into his adoptive father's neck, shunning out the rest of the world.
Sweden sighed. "He's a little upset..." He trailed off, hoping Mathias would understand. He'd told Denmark about what happened to Sealand right after the earthquake, when he and Tino were calling around to make sure everyone was safe.
Mathias nodded, for once seeming to understand what hadn't been said. "Ah, I see. Well, it's nothing a little but of time with Uncle Denny can't fix!" He grinned. "We'll go ice skating later, how does that sound? Maybe Canidia- I mean Canada will join us too!"
Peter peeked out shyly, sniffling as he answered. "That sounds like fun..."
"Hell yeah it does! We can even pretend we're vikings and pillage the town!" Mathias added.
Peter hesitated, before his eyes seemed to brighten up. "Okay."
"Awesome!" Mathias patted the boy on the back. "Why don't you go make us some viking gear and get your skates? Make sure it's extra scary!"
Peter nodded eagerly, scrambling down from Berwald's hold, before running off into the house to look for supplies. As soon as he was out of earshot, Mathias' expression seemed to dim. "Hey Berwald, when's everyone going to be here?" He asked, voice low.
The Swed frowned, wondering what had gotten into the usually hyper active nation. "Around seven. Why?"
"I got some interesting news from my government. I think we should all hear it." Denmark answered.
"Alright." Berwald shrugged, heading off to look for Finland. He paused before leaving the foyer, turning around to face the other nation again. "Oh, and thank you for helping cheer Peter up."
"Cheer him up? I just wanted to play vikings."
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It wasn't until eight that night that everyone had finally arrived and settled in. The nations scattered around the living room. Norway and Iceland stood at the entrance, by the wooden pillars, trying to ignore Denmark. Switzerland leaned against the opposite pillar, waiting for the Dane to begin. Austria and Hungary took up the love seat against the wall. France and England of course stood on opposite sides of the room. America and Canada took up the rug on the floor by the fireplace. Finland and Sweden sat in their respective arm chairs. Sealand, Latvia, and Liechtenstein were playing outside in the snow.
"Denmark, will you get on with it already?" Switzerland asked impatiently.
Mathias, who was in the middle of poking Norway's cross, paused as if he just seemed to remember he had to say something. "Oh yeah!" He exclaimed, turning around and grabbing a satchel from behind the pillar. He set it on the coffee table, pulling out a laptop. "Okay, so I guess no one's noticed yet because of the earthquake and everything, but check this out." He opened the laptop and turned it on. "My government was doing a quick satellite survey to check out that damage, and look at what the found." As the screen flickered to life, a picture of the globe appeared, zeroing in on the Atlantic ocean, Right in the middle, was a landmass, not all the big, but enough to be alarming. It spread across the middle of the ocean, following an invisible line. A collective gasp spread across the room.
"Looks like it was made when the plates moved together..." Arthur commented.
"That's what they told me." Mathias said. "If it'd gone any further... it would have gone straight through Iceland."
Iceland of course didn't like that idea. He frowned, shifting on his feet. Norway nudged him with his elbow, a subtle way of comforting his brother. Neither were the most vocal nations, so that was enough.
Alfred stood up, trying to get a better look at the screen. "This place has been at the bottom of the ocean for... well, god knows since the dawn of the Earth. But with a little bit of work, it could become a new nation." He thought aloud.
"What are you getting at?" Austria asked.
"Well...what if we helped it out?"
Austria shook his head. "That's ridiculous."
"Why? I mean, we're all just coming out of the recession, money won't be hard to come by. Think about it," Alfred began to pace around the room, getting more and more excited about this idea, "we could all pitch in. This nation could be like... the mixing pot of the world! And if any of us ever get into fights again, this little nation would be the one to bring us back down to earth!"
"As much as I hate to say it..." Norway began. "But I think he's on to something."
"See? What could it hurt to try?" Alfred grinned.
"Well, let's not jump to any decisions." Canada stepped up, keeping his brother grounded. "We'll have to contact the other nations, our governments, and make sure we can actually work with that land."
"That sounds like a yes!"
"I said we'll think about it."
"That usually means yes."
"Shut up Al."
Before the twins could start squabbling, The back door flew open as Ravis and Lili ran in, laughing and shouting and shamelessly getting snow all over the floor. "Hey guys, look at what we made outside!" Ravis shouted excitedly.
"But bring your coats, it's cold outside." Lili added shyly.
Figuring that their discussion was over for now anyway, the older nations shuffled into the foyer, grabbing their boots and coats from the closet. After a good about of bickering in the limited space, they followed the kids outside into the cold finish night. The air spelt of pines and fresh mountain breezes, carrying light falling snow along with it. The young duo dragged the nations out into the back yard, looking down at the little town in the valley. Lights flickered down in the village, casting a warm glow on the mountain.
"Look! We made it!" Lili smiled, gesturing to a snow fort. They'd taken a few recycle bins and filled them with snow, packing them down before popping them out and stacking them on top of each other. The entire thing was easily taller than all of them, though not nearly as tall as the older nations. They'd even carved old castle-like designs into the sides, and stuck little tea-light candles on the top of the walls... which made Tino wonder when they'd snuck into the kitchen and taken them.
"It's very nice." Vash smiled slightly, putting his arm around his little sister.
"Nice? It's freaking awesome!" Alfred laughed, running over to check it out.
"Wait, there's one more thing!" Ravis exclaimed.
"What is it?" Alfred asked, now standing right in front of the snow castle.
"Snow ball fight!" A voice shouted from inside the castle. Peter popped up from behind the walls, armed with snow ball which he promptly threw in Alfred's face.
Sides were taken immediately. Lili pulled Switzerland into the fort with her, with Elizaveta and Berwald running in not far behind. That left Tino, Alfred, Matthew, Arthur, Francis, Mathias, Niklas, Geir and Rodrich exposed and being pelted with snow balls. The twins exchanged a grin before diving into the trees surrounding the area, using their cover to make their own snow balls. The others followed suite, soon launching their own cold weapons.
Laughter soon filled the mountain. Hungary landed a good hit right in Austria's hair, which he responded to by shaking it off and throwing his own snowball back, missing Hungary by an inch. Berwald had snuck out of the fort when no one was looking and snatched Tino from behind, throwing him over his shoulder. Tino laughed and pretended to fight back, but Berwald just smiled somewhat mischievously and stole him away to the castle.
Peter took a certain liking to pelting Arthur with snow balls. Alfred, playing the hero of course, jumped out of the over of the trees and tackled the Brit to the ground, saving him from a snowball to the head. Grinning like a mad man, Al propped himself up on his elbows looking down at Arthur, who was just recovering from the fall himself, smiling and shaking the snow from his hair. Both froze, realizing their position. A bright red blush slowly crawled up his cheeks, but before he could say anything, he was interrupted by Tino's call of. "I'm making hot chocolate! Come inside!"
Alfred quickly scrambled to his feet, trying to play it off like nothing happened. Arthur stood up after him, making a beeline for the door. As America watched him walk inside, a strange feeling filled the pit of his stomach; like butterflies. Why did he always get this feeling around Arthur...?
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FINALLY, SOME DAMN PLOT. We're getting closer into the story, my friends. And something tells me you're going to like the next chapter!