Well... Hmmm... I doubt that anyone expected this piece to be updated but I've always enjoyed a good surprise, so viola; chapter nine.

I have rewritten and reworked the previous chapters in order to move forward with this piece and updated the writing style for that purpose. While most of the core content remains the same, I have tweaked and added where necessary. You might fancy rereading it from the beginning but it would not be imperative that you do so. Then again... It's been awhile. You might not even remember the previous chapters anymore... Aha. Ha. Ha. Gomen nasai? Honto ni gomen nasai.

Hetalia does not belong to me. Neither do any of the countries mentioned. Get back to me after 'World Domination Phase 3' is complete.

* Quick note: a section written in italics represents inner dialogue or a memory.

Tired of Waiting

Canada stormed from the washroom in a flutter of anxious disgruntlement and France watched him leave. He seemed to stumble but the door had slammed back into place before France could see what had caused him to falter.

France was left standing alone beneath a flickering light with the realization that time flies much too fast.

He pressed his hands into his pockets and tilted his chin upwards in dramatic pose. He let his eyes slide closed.

He had been walking the earth for so long but it had made him foolish instead of wise. Would he ever learn?

He pulled his wallet from his pocket and opened it. The wallet was made of stitched leather without the worn borders of use but when he peeked inside he found a worried and tattered bit of parchment. He felt the beginnings of a sad smile.

No, he would never learn.

The washroom door creaked open with a whine and England stepped in with a concerned frown. His depression disappeared at the sight and he tucked his wallet back into his pocket.

"Ah, dearest! You've missed the illustrious presence of our love child!"

England started and his frown deepened when he saw who was in the washroom.

"Oh. Fantastic. It's you..." He paused. "What the hell are you doing here?"

France rested one of his hands on his hip and gestured with his other.

"It is a public washroom, yes? Besides, where else do you expect me to proposition men for sex?"

England spluttered and coughed.

"Excuse me? Not here!"

"Hmmm..." France hummed in disappointment. England pinched the bridge of his nose and began counting backwards from ten.

"This is ridiculous... Why would you..." He tapered off into a whisper and his eyes narrowed with sudden understanding. "Were you propositioning Matthew for sex? Is that why he was so upset?"

"I tried," France said honestly and England flushed to the tips of his ears. "But he is much too prudish. That's your fault, you know. Not mine."

"Yes, remind me to apologise for that, will you?" He sneered and the sarcasm dripped off of each word.

France was still deciding between a cutting retort or dramatic flirting when the door slammed open again and America came bounding in. He smashed into England and both of them went sprawling.

France cackled at his misfortune.

"I have a plan!" America shouted and thrust his index finger into the air. He made no move to get off of England.

"Why," England growled and his voice was muffled in the leather of the bomber jacket, "do your plans always seem to involve my getting hurt?"

America clucked his tongue as if the answer were obvious.

"That's because you're always in my way."

Prussia slouched forward in his seat with a frown. Russia was standing in the corner with his sisters and well out of earshot but he kept pausing to smile at him. It was unnerving.

Denmark was sitting three seats to his left, although it was not his assigned seat, and glaring at him. His axe was resting on the arm of the chair. It was less unnerving and more threatening.

The strangest and most unnerving was the fact that South Korea was sitting in front of him and staring.

No, he was not sitting in the chair across the table and staring at him.

He was sitting on top of the table in front of him with his legs crossed and staring at him from a distance of seventeen inches.

Prussia threaded his fingers through his hair and grumbled under his breath. He had known that the nations could be intense, of course, but this was a little much.

Canada had disappeared into the washroom a couple of minutes ago with a promise to return but Prussia was worried that he might have ruined his chances. He had sputtered nonsense and managed to seal the deal with a shocking statement.

And he did not even know if it was true or not. It had just sort of slipped out.

"Gah!" He ruffled his hair and seemed to surprise South Korea with his outburst.

It was too late. He had said it and there was no taking it back.

I like you.

He would just have to wait and see how Canada reacted to the confession. If he was not lynched in the mean time.

There was a harsh tapping of fingers against his shoulder and he twisted around in his seat to find Austria and Hungary standing behind him. Austria was frowning but Hungary offered him a small wave in greeting.

"Gilbert."

"Roderich."

"Elizabeta!" Hungary was not to be left out and added her own name to the terse acknowledgement. It broke the tension and Prussia smiled at her in appreciation. His morning had been strange enough without adding old blood to the mixture.

"What can I do for you, Roderich?" Prussia sighed as politely as possible.

"I am here to inquire as to your intentions."

"Well, in two hours or so, I intend to eat lunch. Then I intend to steal everyone's left shoe."

"You know that is not what I meant."

"You've always told me that I don't know much of anything."

Hungary giggled and covered her mouth with her hands to smother the laughter. Austria tilted his head toward her in exasperation before turning back to Prussia.

"I refer to, of course, your intentions towards Canada."

"Oh, those intentions." Prussia glanced between the two of them. "I'm not sure yet."

Austria clenched his hands as if to keep them from strangling Prussia.

"Perhaps," Austria was strained, "it would be wise to forgo these attentions. You know as well as we do that it is crass and insensitive."

Prussia folded his arms behind his head and hummed.

"I don't know much of anything," he repeated.

Austria turned on his heel with a sneer and marched to the other side of the conference room. Hungary did not immediately follow him and instead took the seat next to Prussia.

She glared at South Korea and he scrambled off of the table without further prompting.

"Gilbert..."

"Yes?"

"We're just worried, that's all."

"You might be but Roderich's not. He's currently running through one hundred and three ways to murder me using only a paperclip, a stick of gum, and an elastic band, and don't you pretend that he's not."

She grinned and he felt himself relax despite the situation. She had always had that affect on him.

"Maybe he is. But that's not the point."

"It is if he succeeds..."

"The point is that you've been chasing after Canada."

"Look, I know that... That there is a bit of an 'embargo on Canadian merchandise' but..."

She giggled at his choice of words.

"There is, and you should know better. Oh, Gilbert. You're running with scissors and there's no stopping now. Someone is going to get hurt."

"I know that too... But I'm not sure I want to stop. I... I think that I like him..." He whispered the last part.

"Well, of course you do!" She laughed. "You and everyone else."

"I think that I like him a lot."

Her laughter came to an abrupt halt as she picked up on the subtle, childish choice of words and appraised him with new interest.

"'A lot'?"

"A lot," Prussia moaned and tangled his fingers into his hair again. It was just as embarrassing to enlighten his closest friend as it had been when he let it slip in front of Canada.

"Oh..." She was silent for a moment. "That might change things."

"How?"

"Well, now you have something to lose."

"Great, that's inspiring."

"No, but it's true. I had thought that you were looking for a one night stand." She lapsed into silence again before breaking it with a whisper. "You know, I like Canada too... But not 'a lot'. Not like that."

Prussia nodded.

"I want to spend time with him, Gilbert. I want to spend what little time we're allowed. And I'm not sure that I can with you in the picture. And that scares me."

He nodded again and let her continue without interruption. The truth of it was that neither of them were very good at expressing themselves with words, and that they never had been, which was one of the reasons he was in this mess. She seemed fragile in her openness so he listened without judgement.

"Canada made me a better person, whether he knows it or not. Perhaps he did not make me a better nation but he certainly made me a better person. He made Roderich a better person. I like him."

Hungary reached forward to clasp his hand.

"So I'm not going to let you have him without a fight." She was blunt without being cruel. "He owes me a rematch."

Prussia squeezed her hand and smiled to let her know that it was all right. She returned the gesture before standing up in a flare of emerald cloth and leaving.

She had not quite taken ten steps towards Austria when she paused and turned around as if she had forgotten an important point. Her pinafore spread out around her as she twirled and ran back to him.

He was about to ask her when she pulled a cast iron pan from the folds of her skirts and bashed him over the head with it.

"Ow! What the fuck was that for?"

"I promised Roderich this morning."

Russia had kept to the corner with his sisters when he returned but he made sure to watch Prussia as he chattered with the brunette. He narrowed his gaze when Prussia clasped her hand with a smile.

Betrayal.

He reached over to the nation sitting close to them and snatched his pencil. He snapped it in half and handed it back. Lithuania looked as if he wanted to speak up but decided against it.

Ukraine tugged on the end of his scarf with gentle hands. He turned back to her and she smoothed the knitted threads through her fingers with a soft smile. He felt calm wash over him and patted her on the head.

It was odd that his older sister was now shorter than him.

Belarus stepped closer to him and pressed herself against him. It was her attempt at comfort but not quite as effective. The thought was still there though.

Even if she terrified him most of the time.

"What's the matter? Ukraine asked in low undertone as she fingered the stitches.

"Ah. I am just thinking that Prussia is in need of more ventilation holes to cool his hotheadedness."

"That's a nice thought."

Ukraine may not have caught the threat but Belarus did. He had to pull on her ribbon to keep her from wandering off to do his bidding.

"Sister. You do not seem upset. I had been thinking that you were... Fond of Matvey."

Ukraine blushed and buried her face in the scarf. She mumbled something unintelligible.

"I apologize. I did not hear that."

She peeked at him.

"I said that I am."

"Then should you be upset with Prussia, da?"

"Ah, Ivan," she sighed, "I want Matthew's happiness more than I want him to be mine."

"That does not make sense."

"It will when you're older."

"You are not so much older than I." He had to tug on his younger sister's ribbon again to keep her from disappearing.

"But it's enough of a difference." Russia let the confusion show on his face and she laughed. "You'll understand when you're older."

Russia had never understood where her reserves of inner strength and infallible kindness came from. He sometimes thought that she had taken all of the kindness in the world and left none of it for anyone else.

He was certainly not kind.

And Prussia was irritating him more now than he had in two decades.

"I do not think that you should have to share."

"What would I do if I had him all to myself? You are fond of him too and it would be unfair."

Belarus stopped tugging and tilted her head in an odd shuddering motion. She was nodding.

"Ah. That is true." He did not know what he wanted to do besides the fact that he wanted crush Prussia beneath his boot. He just knew that this situation would not do.

Ukraine righted Belarus' ribbon with practiced motion. Belarus looked as if she either wanted to bite the fingers or lean into the ministrations. He was unsure which, and perhaps she was just as unsure herself.

"Do not let it bother you so much. Matthew is not going to suddenly disappear just because of a little attention... Maybe." She had meant it to be comforting but even she sounded unconvinced as she said it.

"Yes, but should we take that chance?"

He twisted to watch Prussia and the brunette argue as she threatened him with a frying pan and he ducked out of her reach. It seemed that she had already hit him once.

And the thought made him smile.

"Guess what! Guess what!" Sealand flitted around Finland with excitement. Finland sighed and looked to Sweden for some assistance but the scene seemed to make him smile and he refused to step between them.

He was on his own.

"Yes, what is it?" Finland rested his hand on top of his head. It was not entirely an affectionate gesture as it served the dual purpose of holding the child still for a moment.

"I saw Prussia kissing Canada!" Sealand said it with a little too much enthusiasm and the nations sitting near them heard. Some of them turned to watch Finland and Sealand.

"You saw them...?" Finland trailed off.

"Kissing!"

The nations surrounding the conversation turned instead to glare at Prussia, although he remained oblivious. Or perhaps he was just getting used to the hostile stares.

"Alright." Finland needed more information. "Where did he kiss him?"

Sealand faltered.

"There's more than one place for kissing?" He whispered in awe and Finland wanted to smack himself for opening that can of worms. If Sealand had no idea that there were different grades of affection, it meant that no one had explained the facts of life to him.

And he would be damned if it was going his responsibility.

"Yes. Where did he kiss him?"

"Right here!" Sealand pointed to his cheek.

"Th't 's alr'ght." Of course Sweden would choose this exact moment to come to his rescue and not when he had needed it. He was leaning against the back of his chair. "It 's alr'ght to k'ss there."

Sweden bent over to land a chaste kiss on his cheek and Finland felt the blooming of a blush. He would never be used to public affection but it had thus far failed to discourage Sweden. He should be furious with him.

But he did not have the heart.

"Ooooh!" Sealand was bouncing up and down again in excitement. "So where else can you kiss?"

Finland covered his face with his hands and choked on a sob. Sweden massaged his shoulders and if he did not know better, he could have sworn that he was enjoying this.

England tried to explain to America that painting himself red, white, and blue would not actually make him invincible but he was having none of it. He continued to fold his fingers into the shape of a pistol and pretend that the Wild West had never disappeared.

"Those are the colours of victory!" He shot at England with his index finger.

"No, those are the colours of the American flag... And the Union Jack... And the French flag... And the French have never won much of anything."

"I am standing right here, dearest." France crossed his arms over his chest and huffed.

"I am well aware."

"But red, white, and blue were our colours first and that makes them awesome!"

"No... Just no."

"Honestly, Arthur, who taught this child his history lessons?"

Belgium was searching for her brother and found him sprawled across the floor in front of the washroom. The sign was painted with a little male figure and she resisted the urge to vandalize it.

"Lars?"

"Ah."

"Lars? Are you alright?"

"Not at all."

"... Informative." She collapsed to the tiles beside him and prodded him.

"I think I'm in love with him."

Belgium did not need to ask who he was referring to. There had only been one such nation in recent times.

"You're an idiot. You send him flowers like clockwork. Of course you're in love with him."

"Oh."

He seemed surprised by the revelation and she wanted to smack him upside the head. Her brother was so useless. Instead she prodded him a little bit harder.

"We're about to be late."

"For what?"

"For the meeting."

"Is that why we're here?"

"... You really are an idiot."

China watched as South Korea continued to stare at Prussia from much to close and wondered if he would ever find a tablet powerful enough to deal with the headaches South Korea created.

Hong Kong was lighting firecrackers where he thought China could not see him. He thought about stopping him but it seemed like too much effort, and besides, he was lighting them next to Russia and China wanted to see what would happen.

He was a bit sadistic that way.

The minute hand on the timepiece had settled at the '12' and the nations were returning to the meeting in twos and threes of shuffling chaos.

Germany stood outside the entrance and watched their progress.

He did not want to go in there.

He had thought to control their response to Prussia and Canada by restricting the information. He had wanted to keep them from jumping to conclusions or getting ahead of themselves.

It had not worked. At all.

The information had been compromised, though how he did not know, and the nations each seemed to be planning their own retribution. The meeting this morning had been meant to establish a common purpose and a sense of camaraderie. It had been meant to unite them.

It had not worked. At all.

Germany watched as Hong Kong lit firecrackers underneath Russia and darted beneath the table in a flutter of silk and poor intentions. The firecrackers went off in flashes of light and smoke and Ukraine and Lithuania shrieked at the sudden assault.

Russia did not even twitch and that disturbed Germany more than he wanted to admit.

Sealand was jumping up and down and crawling all over Finland when he should have been leaving the conference room as he was not a nation. Hungary and his brother were shouting at each other and waving their arms but neither of them seemed serious. Spain was wandering around calling for Southern Italy and Denmark was sharpening his axe.

Germany blinked. Denmark was sharpening his axe. That did not bode well.

France, England, and America shuffled past him after The Netherlands and Belgium. The last two through the entrance were arguing but that was a regular occurrence.

Germany just stared and watched the chaos unfold with a sick sort of fascination. He had already lost this battle. He should retreat and cut his losses.

Japan appeared beside him and waited, while Northern Italy ran past them and leapt into the scrimmage without a second thought. Japan glanced up at him with a small smile.

"This is a losing battle," Germany was straightforward and to the point. The small smile spread a little further.

"We have fought such battles before."

He was right.

Germany stormed into the conference room with as much bluster and command as he could manage. He slammed his hands on the table and began shouting over the roaring din.

"That's enough! Return to your seats in a quick and efficient fashion! Quit gossiping and take your seats! Now!"

Japan took his seat with that small smile still in place.

The nations settled into their seats and rummaged through their notes as his brother wrangled control and started the meeting not two minutes late. It might be a new record.

Prussia searched the conference room for a flash of lavender and blonde but he could not find him. Canada was missing. Canada was missing after he had promised to return from the washroom.

And it could only mean that Prussia had ruined his chances with one foolish slip of tongue.

Fuck.

Author's Notes:

In case you've missed the note at the beginning of this chapter: I've reworked and rewritten the previous chapters of this piece to update the writing style and add direction. It is not necessary to go back, as most of the core concepts are the same, but it has been a long time and a refresher course might be in order.

No memories in this chapter. Yes, it does happen. See chapters one, two, four, and now nine for confirmation.

See note in previous chapter for reference to the Tulip Festival.

'Ventilation hole(s)' is slang for bullet holes or punctures and can be used as a threat.

I am afraid to tell you that I am starting from scratch responding to reviews. It's the only option at this point if I want to continue responding, and I do, so I am stuck between a rock and a hard place. "Throw me the idol and I'll throw you the whip!" If I was unable to respond to a review that you've been kind enough to send me then I want you to please, please, understand how important it was to me. I can guarantee that it brought a little sunshine into my life, and honestly, I need all of the sunshine I can get. So, we'll start from scratch and do this right.

Yes, this is the longest morning in the history of fanfiction, I know, but I have an excuse: there are at least thirty (bleep)ing characters in this story! Roll that around in your head. Thirty! That's a lot of points of view and chaos, but that is how the online comics and the anime were written in the first place, so come along for the ride. We'll see what happens.

Please leave a review and feel free to offer opinions, advice, or criticism. All are welcome. You are free to leave an anonymous review, I do not mind. Please let me know what you think of this piece.