Wow this is my longest chapter yet.
Last chapter was writen with major writer's block so I understand the lack of reviews (but it still makes me sad :( ).
I'll keep the author's note short: enjoy, please leave me you opinion on the story, thank you to all those who read the story and Hetalia doesn't belong to me.
Lichtenstein was well known for being a sheltered kid, mostly due to her overprotective brother. I'm sure you all picture her as a goody two shoes with a heart whiter than that of a toddler. No one blames you for that stereotypical image of her, especially since it was true. While some people desire fame, money, reputation or endless happiness, all the little nation wanted was to please her dear brother. She gave little importance to teenage stuff such as shopping, drinking, trying to get laid or hanging out with friends as long as her brother could smile. Well not smile per se, Switzerland doesn' t smile, just maybe show signs of happiness like the frequent blush he had when he bumped into Austria. At first it was just to repay him for saving her in her moments of distress but the reason had long changed. It was simply sibling love now and she knew very well it wasn' t one sided. Apart from the aristocrate, Lili was the only one to manage to summon Vash's relaxed and joyful side, however the mutual brother-sister supporting also had its negative consequances.
For one the girl had never faced the dark side of people's personnalities and became somehow unable to detect hidden meanings such as sarcasm, irony or lies. She wasn' t stupid and knew no one was an angel which itself lead to the destruction of any trust she had for anyone but her brother. Whenever one would say something to her, Lichtenstein was unable to react and that often ended up in a lot of awkwardness. She could barely hold a conversation with Austria and her fellow female nations (minus Belarus) and slowly came to avoid social interraction. As long as she had her brother, she was okay.
Another problem triggered was Switzerland's self restriction. He held back from doing what he wished to attend to his sister's needs and safety and despite his success in doing such, the man' s stress only continued to pile up until it became unbearable for Lili to watch. She knew it was her fault. She knew he drew a cross on fun for her. And she hated that.
So when the opportunity for the ever so neutral country to have a blast fell into her hands, she took no time to grasp it and throw it in her brother' s face. Her mind warned her not to, as it knew that opportunity would present itself as a torture for her but she couldn't allow herself to be the cause of Switzerland' s misery anymore.
Now how does a pure, innocent saint behave in an alcohol filled bar? Oh how she wished she could have the answer. She had promised her brother not to drink as an argument to convince him to break his shell and quickly found out that people who didn' t drink or talk to others grew bored in bars. Especially since Vash had left her to go drink with other countries, as she had begged him to. The girl shifted in her booth desperate for somethig to do. Anything was welcomed. Anything that would not disappoint Vash that is. Maybe she could improve international relations? Yeah right. She mentally laughed at her own suggestion. They could take advantage of her to get to her sibling. And anyway, she knew very well her fellow nation would bore his mind to death talking to her. The topics she could discuss were very little in number.
Engrossed in her self-pity, Lichtenstein failed to notice Latvia and Sealand getting dragged in her direction by a slightly buzzed Germany. The serious blonde dropped the two personnifications in her booth and began a lecture on underaged drinking and the lethal effects of alcohol between sips of his beer. If Lichtenstein knew what it was, she would be declaring irony. Thanks to Prussia (who somehow ended up in Poland despite not being invited to world summits anymore), the lecture only lasted twenty long minutes. The two germans left to join up with the other nations. Of couse, it didn' t take England' s scones for Mr. Awkward Silence to take refuge in the booth for underaged nations. Sealand was in an angry at everyone for not acknowledging him mood, Latvia was shaking from getting caught trying to get polish vodka and from the trauma of Germany' s scolding and Lichtenstein was, well, Lichtenstein (AKA: Social incompetance).
Then again, if Mr. Awkward Silence hadn' t been such a stain on a white sheet in the bar, Iceland and Irene might never have spotted the table, whether it be for the best or the worst.
The two teenagers made their way to the noise deprived table, avoiding other's attention. Lichtenstein understood why pretty quickly. For humans to be in bars was nothing out of the ordinary, neither was nations talking to humans (as long as they didn' t reveal who they were) or teenagers in bars. Those things could almost be called common. But Iceland who only ever had one friend (unless Puffin counts) and who admitted to knowing the human girl to be hanging around the brunette? The nations wouldn' t need a calculator to put two and two together and figure out the emeraud green eyed teenager was in fact Irene.
At first, the human tried making small conversation with all of them but Lichtenstein backed out when a possibility to presented itself and Iceland just ignored the others, tired of Irene and Hong Kong' s constant teasing. Thank God it was four in the morning for Xiang. The belgian just shrugged and continued talking with those who felt like it. It was only when it was too late that Lichtenstein regretted not having joined in to redirect the conversion. Before she knew it, the words she heard were those her brother dreaded to hear from her own mouth.
" So let's just steal some drinks to confirm if it's genetics!" Chirped a happy micro nation.
Obviously, Iceland had decided to lend the conversation his ear at the same moment Lili did. His face showed clear annoyance, though no surprise since Hong Kong was one to demand such outrageous actions. The nordic just groaned and facepalmed "Really? I stop paying attention to you for three minutes and you' re already planning on breaking a law?"
" It's for scientific purposes!" Irene smirked.
"I'm sorry," apologized the swiss nation "I wasn' t really listening but c-could you please refrain from doing such a thing?" she stuttered, a bit shy in front multiple people "I don't mean to ruin your fun but you are sure to get caught with so many nations around."
"Awww, come on Lili!" complained Sealand "Don't you wanna know if alcohol tolerance is inherited from parents?"
"It doesn' t matter much to us, we don' t have parents." reminded the germanic country with slight bitterness in her voice "Ah, I didn't want to sound so angry, sorry."
"You have nothing to apologize for, I can't imagine how painful it must be to see all the people around you enjoying something you don't have." Irene sighed with a knowing smile. She lost herself in her thoughts for a split second before taking the first sip from her drink which had arrived sometime during the conversation. Her face scrunched in disgust "Ewwwww... That is NOT apple juice!"
"Let me see!" Sealand grabbed the transparent glass and took a chug too, getting the same reaction as the human "Who would drink that stuff? Here Latvia, try some."
The Baltic wasn't exactly convinced drinking the golden liquid was a good idea after witnessing the two youngest present struggling to get the bitter taste away from their apple juice, or what was supposed to be apple juice, it could have been expired for all he knew. Germs and funghis could have been taking long awaited vacations in the drink, worst, England could have made it. Lucky his child self got him sent to bed early by France. The blonde latvian stared at the glass. There was simply no way he was ever going to bring it close to his mouth. Even Lichtenstein looked horrified at the thought, and she truly was. Her own apple juice had tasted fairly good. What if her taste buds were dying?
"Hey, Hong Kong?" Irene asked to her phone. The four other teens tried stopping her the moment her voice had resonated in the small booth. How could she not realize how early it was in eastern asia? A wave of pity was sen to China's Special Administrative Region. To their heart's discontent, the girl all but stopped "I've been meaning to tell you this for a while, your language sucks." A pause was needed there for everyone to register what the brunette had just said "No really, all your people sound like they're constantly yelling at each other and you feel agressed whenever they ask you something! Why don't you speak normal chinese? Granted it may be hard to learn, I have enough experience to say that, but at least it limits itself to four tones! Who the Hell needs eight different tones anyways? Also, do something about the pollution! I remember coughing for two whole weeks the first time I stepped on you! And by you I mean the land, not the actual you with the boob oriented mind." A pissed reply was heard from the other line but Lili could not hear the words.
Apparently, Irene did. Might have had something to do with the whole phone next to her ear thing "Pfffffff! I never said that! I wouldn' t even dream of living anywhere outside Hong Kong. And don't get me started on Taiwan. Her drivers should learn to actually drive instead of hooking their car with every slut of an object they see on the road. And what abut her - Hey! You can't hang up on me!" the girl frowned at her phone before throwing a bag of colourful insults at it, as if it was entirely its fault.
"Yup, it's beer." affirmed Latvia who had finished the beverage without anyone seeing him. Lichtenstein narrowed her eyes. She knew that guy was a ninja of some kind!
Sealand just looked confused " Does that mean she's drunk?" Iceland nodded "But she said her brother could drink two whole mugs of beer without feeling so much of a buzz!"
The nordic shrugged "Means alcohol tolerance clearly doesn' t pass from generation to generation." Was it really a question of alcohol tolerance? The girl barely took a sip of beer and got as drunk as one could get!
"But she's from Belgium! Irene said so herself: 'Belgians are born for drinking beer' " the mico nation whined.
"I'm not drunk!" protested the human, pulling the poor defenceless Lili in a bear hug "Oooooh, you smell like shampoo! I like shampoo! I like people who wash their hair! Do you wash your body with soap?"
The older girl desperatly tried freeing herself from the grip but she had somehow learnt about the girl's injury and decided against touching ether of her arms (yeah... she might have forgotten which arm was half dead) instead she just nodded uncomfortably.
"That's awesome! Me too! We should start a facebook page for all those who wash themselves!" beamed the 'not drunk' girl.
At this point, all the behaving girl wanted to do was to go home. No. She could not think like that. Her brother would never forgive himself if she was to suffer for him to enjoy life. For once she had to be a normal teenager. But what if she made a mstake? What if her brother ended having to sew all the holes she made by having fun? The girl sighed. Life was so full of dilemmas. God must have found it fun to watch humans tear themselves apart in front of impossible descisions. Lucky for her, she wasn't human.
"Isn't this the best opportunity to find out more about her?" Lichtenstein asked, putting everyone's heart at risk. "I-I'm curious too!"
"I like this side of you!" Sealand conplimented with a killer smile.
Iceland nodded in affirmation "My turn to tease her now."
Latvia smirked (okay, first he's a ninja and then he smirks like an evil mastermind? That guy is definitely not who we think he is.) before regaining his normal timid self and finnishing his third glass of polish vodka (When did he...? Nevermind.) "Why not?"
" Aaaaaaaaare you talking about me?" the aforementionned 'not drunk' sang, leaning further against a really awkward Lichtenstein like if she was a big fluffy teddy bear.
" Yup." affirmed Iceland "What do you think of Xiang?" he then asked with a mischievous glint in his eye.
"He's cool! And his eyebrows aren't as big as I thought they would be. And he's an awesome sensei... wazzit shifu? Whatever, awesome shooting teacher. So far, he' s the country I had most fun with. But cantonese sucks. How do people do to look so angry all the time?" the girl rambled bobbing her head from left to right.
"Yeah, I think we understood cantonese wasn't exactly your favourite language." Sealand muttered.
"My exact question is, do you have any feelings for him?" Iceland articulated, making a 'wait for explanations' sign with his hands (wich was more a simple 'wait' sign but who cares?).
"Don't know, don't care." the belgian declared "He's like my second favourite guy in the world... worlds."
The silver haired boy cocked an eyebrow "Who's first?"
"Adrien!" she chirped while releasing the now traumatized nation. For some reason, the blonde wasn't expecting that answer. Wether it be because she thought Irene had more important friends and family members than a guy she met a week ago or because she expected Hong Kong to appear on top of the list, she didn't know. Logic would have it that the first guess was the most probable, yet Lichtenstein couldn't get rid of the second one. Something was wrong with that girl, terribly wrong. She did not give off the vibe a normal teenager should. Truth be told, Irene frightened her.
"Who's Adrien?" Latvia asked, frowning when the brunette didn't answer. Irene's face was stuck to the table, her arms around her head and her back rising with her peaceful breaths. It didn't take a genius to figure out she was asleep.
The long depated Mr. Awkward Silence came back with his wife, Mrs. Uncomfortable Atmosphere. The remaining teenagers and Sealand all decided against asking help fom an adult, mainly to avoid the exposure of a certain human and the endless questionning the presence of a random glass of beer (and four of vodka) would ensue. Was the beer really a mistake made by the bartender? How can anyone fail to realize they're pouring from a glass of beer into a glass of juice? Moreover, not only had he served four other glasses of apple juice but the alcoholic and non alcholic beverages were on opposite sides of the counter! Something fishy was going on... Fish live in the sea... Iceland lives in the sea... Iceland has a dark smirk. Much like Latvia, the nordic had the stereotyped 'my plans never fail' face. The two were quite close, Lichtenstein recalled, maybe not friends but definitely on good terms. If the glances the two exchanged were not enough to indicate an accomplice relationship between them, the 'sealed deal' handshake across the table was.
Somewhere in her heart, the female nation was glad Sealand looked as confused as her. It was hard to always be the odd one out. But the joy was short lived as she focused on the small Baltic again. She was intrigued by him, especially since she noticed that double personnality of his. Russia must have had affected him in some way, the guy drank vodka like water and played with people's minds like with puppets! She had heard stories of Russia's growing influence, seizing every opportunity to make everyone his... if not him. The girl was horrified. Poor Latvia! It was a truly terrible thing that had happened to him! Lili couldn't even begin to imagine the horrors of living with Russia.
Speaking of the devil is never a good thing. It's usually at that moment that he appears to take away your soul and ban your existence to an eternity of excrutiating agony.
Latvia, Sealand and Lichtenstein all froze when the giant stopped at their table. He tilted his head in a worried manner and reached out for the sleeping Irene, carefully avoiding her left arm. Iceland, who wore a wary look despite no fear, gestured not to worry with his hands, afraid to break the silence. The boy did seem like the type not to disrupt anything, he was more of a follower than a leader. The corners of Russia's mouth crooked upwards in a sincere looking way but Lili knew better than to trust the man. There was simply no way the former Soviet Union could truly care for a meek human. He was heartless, cruel and power thirsty. No matter how much Switzerland tried to stay neutral towards Russia, it was obvious in his words he felt such greed comming from the scarfed devil.
Yes, she was kind hearted. Yes, she hated hating. Yes, she knew times had changed. But her life could be depending on it and she still would not trust Russia. There was a reason everyone hated him, countries were too smart to stop at prejudices. Well at least, that was how Lichtenstein thought. Being the small dependent country she was, the others all seemed like Gods to her eyes, especially her brother.
The amethyst eyed man stretched is arms to wrap them around the sleeping teen and picked her up with ease, much like one picks up a feather. Sealand tried protesting against the kidnapping but Iceland held him back whist the two others were too intimidated to stand up against the world's biggest country. Lili threw an interrogating glance at Emil who himself had doubt in his eyes. He tried giving her a reassuring smile which failed. It mattered little to the swiss nation that Irene's name figured in her ''to avoid' list of people, the brunette's well-being was still partially her concern. Her confusion only grew when Russia thanked the island nation. Were the two of them friends? No. Allies? Russia couldn't have friends. The man probably didn't even know what it meant to give without receiving.
Against all forces of nature, Germany gave a friendly nod in Russia's direction as he came to pick up Sealand in Engand's stead. His eyes lingered on the human for a while out of curiosity but he showed no sign of hate. However, his face wasn't one of a friend but that of a colleague. A proffessional face that entrusted Russia with his job and nothing more.
Irene's arrival in this world was a curious thing. Everyone was changing, tensions were erased but also made, enemies became friends and secrets were multiplying. Was that a good thing? The girl certainly didn't give Lichtenstein a good impression. There was just something terribly wrong with her. She seemed so fake, so manipulating... But why was Lili the only one to see that?