Not Over Yet
Part 13
To Arthur's surprise, he did remember everything after the initial shock of waking up in the woods, and had managed not to flail about in his surprise. To his, admittedly, delight, all three of the Jones siblings were still in dreamland. It made him spare a thought to how long the older brothers had actually been asleep when he found them—How long had they all been asleep? Being as careful of movement as he could, he shifted about to gauge were the sun was, which was about the middle of the sky. Noon, or close to it, then? It was not as bad as he was expecting, but he was still in hot water. The others back at Alfred's house no doubt got up bright and early, which meant there was no way his disappearance went unnoticed. What was even worse is that it was not like he could get back on his own. He needed the slumbering siblings to guide him if he had any chance of actually making it back to the civilized world, or as close to that as their world was. That made it all the worse considering how reluctant he was to wake them. He knew Alfred was not the type to wreak havoc simply because it was morning, but when he had been stressed he certainly had some bite to him, and he had no clue of the other siblings' waking habits. Jackson had normally made sure he was awake well before Arthur ever saw him at least, so he assumed there was plenty of room for him to not be a morning person. Of course, all of this about the rising habits were merely an excuse, and he knew it. He had no clue what Alfred's, especially, reaction to his presence would be and he really was not sure if he wanted to find out. The balance scale in his mind said that outweighed anything the frog could say.
"I believe this is called trespassing, comrade."
Arthur's body went completely rigid. He could not even bring himself to move his head to face the direction the voice was coming from.
"I know you are awake, so you should stop pretending, da?"
"W-what exactly are you d-doing here, Russia?" Arthur stuttered, gripping a handful of the hammock fabric as willed himself to look in the direction of the voice.
Plain as day, the Russian nation stood only a few feet away, but on Jackson's side of the hammock. He had his usual smile in place, as well as coat and scarf. It was like the fire never happened in his mind.
"It is natural for allies to spend time in each other's countries." the Russian stated, still not moving from his spot, "You should know, seeing as you used to visit Fredka all the time."
"I still do!"
Even through all of his apprehension, Arthur could not stifle the cry. He still visited Alfred, he was still his ally!
Russia did not seem at all shaken, "Nyet. You did not once visit last month, or even the month before that."
Arthur could not even formulate the words to express the absurdity of his implications. He had been under house arrest, because of this Russian, and was giving Alfred space over the Nikkita issue before that. He had no choice in the matter at the time, not when you really thought about it, but he sure did now.
"I was… Preoccupied." Arthur managed, through gritted teeth, "But allies forgive and forget."
"They may forgive, but never forget, comrade." Russia assured, slightly glancing over at the siblings as he spoke.
Arthur's eyes followed his and eventually stopped on Alfred in particular. They never did forget. Russia was right there, but forgiving anyway was far more important. He learned that lesson rather recently, himself. The memories of that trial made him reach out and stroke Alfred's hair before he even realized what he was doing. Why did someone so young have all the wisdom he lacked? As if the question had been audible, Alfred stirred, his azure eyes cracking open just a fraction before closing again. Arthur thought he had merely fallen asleep again, but the boy abruptly jumped to life.
"Arthur. Ivan."—his eyes could not decide which of the two to land on so they raced from one point to the other constantly—"People. What are you doing here—GUH!"
"Shut up and go back to sleep." hissed Jackson, more asleep than not as he recoiled his fist from Alfred's stomach.
After taking a moment to catch his breath, Alfred began again, noticeably quieter, "What are you guys doing here?"
By this point, Arthur had shifted to where his feet were next to where Alfred's head would be if they had been lying down, but at his waist with the boy sitting up. It would have been a little awkward at the position Arthur had slept in since their faces would have practically been touching, especially as the boy flailed about. Speaking of which, even in all that chaos, Alfred had managed to move Nikkita, rabbit and all, into a comfortable position between Jackson and himself without waking her, or getting her involved in Jackson's sucker punch. The Brit could not help but mentally applaud him.
"I came to visit, of course. Silly Fredka." Ivan giggled, drawing the attention back to himself.
Alfred rolled his eyes, "More like pressure me into signing. Not happening!"—his steeling gaze swiftly moved to Arthur—"But, what about you?"
"S-same as him, actually." Arthur confessed rather anxiously.
Alfred seemed a little taken aback by that. Was it really already so strange for Arthur to come and visit? It was just two months, even if he had been feeling the effects rather drastically. Maybe, just maybe, they had as well? The possibility made Arthur want this all to go away even more. Wait a minute. Did he really forget why he was here already?
"Bloody—I still need to know what on earth is going on with you two, though." Arthur added quickly.
Alfred's look shifted to that of amusement, "Just to visit, huh?"
Arthur's cheeks colored, "I still came to visit, I just want answers as well—and I think I deserve them."
Alfred's mood took a nosedive.
"I signed a treaty to replace the one we lost with Russia." he explained, "You should know that much from our replacements at the meeting."
Arthur quirked an eyebrow, "I do. What I am asking is why. You said yourself that he broke the treaty, why do you need a new one?"
"We wanted one."
Arthur felt his body stiffen. He had almost forgotten that Russia was there, and his words were a chilling reminder.
"Alfred?" Arthur probed, eyes firmly on the blonde American.
Said American sighed, "Well, yeah. The treaty we had was basically a list of common rules to play by. It kept things pretty civil when it came to space, and everybody just felt better having them on paper even if we were going to play by those rules anyway. Basic things, like do not blow up the other guy unless he is trying to blow you up. We did the same thing this round. It is no different than having the rulebook with chess. You feel better because it is there, but you do not need it. The most important thing, though, is to protect Nikki. Even if the secret is out, we both protected her this long so it only makes sense that we continue to."
"But that does not make any sense when you were so opposed earlier!" Arthur insisted, "You did not want to renegotiate the treaty."
Alfred began to run his fingers through his hair, "Of course not! These rules were made with the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Even if we play by them now, we have changed the way we played the game so much. Now that we finalized the same rules again we could revert back to the original game at any time, especially since it is out in the open this round. If we had to, I kind of wanted different rules."
"Then WHY?!"
"Because I tricked you, da? Or should I say manipulated?" Russia interjected, taking his first steps toward the hammock the entire time he had been there.
Arthur felt his heart stop, and then proceed to crack when he saw the first look of genuine hurt on Alfred's face that he had seen in a while.
"Did you all really have to turn on me?" the American asked rather quietly.
Before Arthur could say anything, Russia cut him off, "Yes. Your boss is so stubborn, just like you, that I do not think he would have agreed if you even had one ally. Besides, I had to involve my own boss just as much in this. It was the only way for either of them to even think about a treaty. You know that, Fredka."
"It's true." Alfred murmured, "Neither would be happy about the treaty being broken, but they would be doing things far from trying to create another to mend the rift! We were all under pressure and had to do something. I did not have time to create the new rules I wanted. I did not have time for anything. My schedule has been completely packed every single day since that stunt. Him, too."
Arthur could not have held back his next words if his mouth had been sewn shut, "So if I had taken control of my government, none of this would have ever happened?"
"Da—"
"Knock it off, Ivan!" Alfred snarled, before looking Arthur square in the eye, "Look, no one knows, but probably. We were well tuned in to what all the other countries were doing, so we would have known, but do not think I am saying you should have. I was involved. I had no clue he was going to set the meeting place on fire and trap you guys there—I would have never let that happen, and you have to believe me there! But I did let him handle getting everyone on board for a new treaty, because convincing both of our governments seemed impossible, but he said he had an idea. So, I did as he asked, and did not go to the meeting that day. Heck, I even went all the way to Moscow because the plan was for him to deal with all the whiplash of what I assumed would be warning you guys about the treaty. No one was supposed to be able to find me for the first little while, which really added to this. Jackie and Nikki were with me the entire time, of course."
Arthur had no clue what to say. He had been right after all. If only he had come to the conclusion earlier. How could he ever think that Alfred had anything to do with the fire? He raised the boy and then burned his capital. He knew better than anyone that Alfred, and Jackson, too, for that matter, understood the pain of fire. Neither would have consented to it, and yet, here they were.
"You're so loud!" Jackson growled as he began to shift from sleep, "I swear if you are playing with squirrels again, Alfred, so help me I will—"
"I was depressed and in Russia!" Alfred cried, "What else was I supposed to do?"
"Hush! If you wake Nikki, then we've all had it."
It was only then that the teen realized he had company, one of which was even in his own hammock. He was noticeably shocked, and rather displeased once it faded. However, instead of complaining he merely pulled Nikki and her rabbit into his arms and sat up shoulder to shoulder with his brother.
"What did I miss?" he quizzed, politely, though rather gruffly.
This time, both Alfred and Arthur opened their mouths to answer, but were beat to the punch.
"How America almost ended up in isolation again, da?"
Arthur's eyes widened.
"I repeat: I was depressed in Russia."
"Depressed?" Jackson scoffed, "More like full on meltdown. We worked the cost of your remodeling of Ivan's office into the treaty. It was finished besides the signatures, and we had to go in and add that last minute! It is why we got nothing from the compensation promised in the first treaty."
Russia chuckled softly, "My office has needed remodeling for a while. No big deal."
"See! No big deal." Alfred argued, but one look at Jackson's unconvinced face sent him in another direction, "Besides, excuse me for needing a mental health day."
Jackson sighed and conceded, "That you did need, without a doubt, but if I have to run the country, then I am doing it my way."
Arthur's eye twitched. He had a sick feeling that he knew where this conversation was going.
"Don't I know it." Alfred whined, "I get no more sick days without you signing that paper in my place. I am not going back into isolation, Jackie, never! Even if that means going in to work with the plague."
"That is not fair, Fredka." chided the Russian, "Jackson spent a lot of time drawing up the document and lobbying potential voters in Congress. You should just sign the papers, da? I have a copy with me."
"I knew that was what you were really here for, Commie! Get it through your head that Jackie plans to use you until he can cut you out completely."
"You will be well protected by Russia."
"We can protect ourselves just fine!" the two Americans chorused.
"At least the threat pulled you out of your depression." Jackson mused aloud, "If not you would still be depressed, in Russia, and playing with squirrels—And I would dealing with the rest of the world. Everybody loses."
"Why were you able to make friends with the squirrels when a hamster would not be my friend, Fredka?" inquired Russia, his malevolent miasma starting to consume him, "They were my squirrels."
Okay, after the comment about the hamster with Russia, Arthur knew that the three were forgetting he was even there. Of course, he was fine with that. He could only manage to half listen anyway at that time. What had all transpired in the month he had not been able to keep up with America was not only astonishing, but disturbing. Hard to digest was not even understatement level.
"Animals just love me, dude." Alfred elaborated, "Besides, Russian rodents are crazy! You could make friends with any American hamster you want."
"But it even liked Jackie, da? When he kept knocking it off his head!" the Russian persisted.
"Nikki and Jackson share those genes with me. The proof is right there."—he pointed at Nikki's rabbit—"Daisy was originally wild."
"Da, but—"
"Just let me get you an American hamster!"
"What is with the obsession with common vermin!?" Jackson burst, glaring at the arguing pair.
"Sonya, I thought you liked animals?"
Alfred laughed, "He does, just not the ones that he thinks are pests. A.K.A. Daisy. She is one of the many rabbits that I keep at my house in Virginia, but she always escapes, goes to Jackie's house, and eats his garden when she passes mine right up."
"That is not funny. Two hundred and seventy three rabbits that had to be taken to the vet and split up between our houses, all because you refused to return any of the ones Nikkita caught back to the wild. Which is another reason I want you to stop with the squirrels. The last thing we need is for her to catch a bunch of those, too." Jackson deadpanned, "Imagine if I had not gotten them all fixed, which was quite a bill might I add, how many garden pests we would have then."
"Hey, they were a birthday present. It would have been rude to let them go, and you know it. Nikki really wanted to surprise me that year. Besides, it is nice to have a pet at every place."
The mood suddenly went tense Arthur was at an immediate a loss as to why. Even Russia seemed rather rigid with the two brothers. He figured that at least one of them would not have stiffened to such a degree. They all seemed quite statue like, and silent for that matter. But wait, he could hear something. A yawn?
"They come visit me anyway. That is why Daisy eats Jackson's garden instead of Alfred's, I am there."
Arthur's eyes narrowed on Nikkita and he quickly realized that all of the other eyes were on her, too. The small child yawned again before her stomach growled.
"Jackie, I am hungry and Daisy wants carrots for breakfast."
The three loosened up as soon as her stomach growled and let out a collective sigh—of relief?
"She woke up naturally. Thank goodness." Alfred muttered under his breath.
"Da. She is scary when we wake her up." Russia added.
"We can eat soon, but Daisy has eaten enough carrots out of my garden to last her a lifetime, not to mention everything else. Pellet food is good enough for her breakfast." Jackson insisted, repositioning the child so she could see the guests from his lap.
"Morning Vanya, Arthur. Want to join us for breakfast?" the child asked, pulling the rabbit closer to her with a small yawn.
They had all been afraid of that?
"I would love to, my little sunflower." Russia answered promptly.
It took Arthur a moment to get his bearings about him. He needed to get out of the woods and back to Alfred's house anyway, might as well wait until they were all safely there to say that there were intruders waiting for them. Breakfast sounded really nice about now, regardless.
"It would be an honor, Nikkita."
Alfred laughed heartily, "Let's get out of these woods and go eat then. Maybe with you there, Artie, these two won't pick on me as much."
"Doubt it." Nikkita giggled, affectively popping his bubble.
Alfred began to pout, "Hey, I can always hope. Besides, the more the merrier."
Arthur really hoped he meant that as they finally left the hammock and crossed back over the tree line. It would be another long day if he did not.