AN: This song was requested by a few people, and I've been planning to do something for it a while now. I hope that you like it! The parts that I gave to the nations are largely based off of this( watch?v=zMCW6XKVhqg ) video.

Disclaimer: The song is Wavin' Flag by K'naan and it's sung by a ton of different Canadian artists. Hetalia belongs to Hidekaz Himaruya.

Music was… well, it was a funny thing.

It spoke, but it could take away the need for speech. It could bring people closer to others, or it could give them the space they needed to go far away. It was its own language, but it could also require none.

Ludwig knew all of this. He'd seen these things happen in the meeting room when someone chose to bring out music. He'd witnessed it through his brother, who had always been fond of instruments and never shy to share them. He had come to know at least a few of those things himself from drumming…

If he was honest, he wasn't angry with the interruptions anymore. Well… he wasn't above being annoyed with them at times, no, but the anger had gone.

And now… at this point in the meeting he wouldn't mind someone pulling out their music.

The meeting room was quiet for once, and it wasn't a work day. No one had gone too far or exploded out of frustration. In fact, there hadn't been any arguments at all. More than a few nations were less than lively and the room was filled with a sense of anxiety; of dread. It was a little odd, but it was bound to happen every now and then, especially in their line of work.

Despite the dreariness, however, there seemed to be far more communication going on between everyone. They listened when someone spoke; they nodded and added their own ideas when appropriate. It felt almost unnerving to some of the older nations, if they were honest with themselves. The calm before the storm. But they knew what was coming, and they knew that it would help.

Ludwig knew something was coming, too.

Every now and then someone's eyes would wander, as if they were wondering who would be the one to start it. And Gilbert hadn't been too secretive about it on their way here. He'd mentioned something about it; he had said that it wasn't anything to worry about.

His brother was right of course.

They made it through the majority of the meeting without so much as a hitch, and when someone-Arthur- finally raised his hand, it didn't really feel like an interruption. On the contrary, it felt like someone was bringing up a new topic for discussion. Ludwig nodded, being the host of the meeting this time around, and they moved on for a few minutes to wrap things up.

When the time came, it was Feliciano who pulled out his phone. That was a bit odd as well, but the German was beyond questioning their methods at this point.

Next to him, Gilbert shuffled through a few of his papers until one caught his eye. Smiling encouragingly, he held it out. "This is your part… if you want to."

Ludwig raised an eyebrow and slowly took the paper. As he skimmed over his part-small though it was- he started to recognize it. It was a song that they all knew, and well at that. His eyes wandered the room. Everyone was waiting, though not entirely on him. Most were far more focused on the dubbed 'Magic Trio', who were muttering to themselves. The German wasn't sure what they were doing, but he suspected it had something to do with sound proofing the room. After a few moments, one of them looked up and nodded.

Feliciano smiled a few seats away and looked around. Most everyone nodded, and he pressed play.

Music filled the room that was already near silent with anticipation. There was the steady beat of a drum set, and the long chords of strings. Some of the nations were already smiling. Moments later, their voices came from seeming nowhere and echoed all around him.

"When I get older, I will be stronger… they'll call me freedom, just like a wavin' flag."

As soon as that small chorus ended, Yao began. For someone who had yet to sing, his voice was strong and unwavering. There was still a certain softness to it as he sang the lyrics, though. Something that could only come from living as long as he had. "Born from a throne, older than Rome, but violent prone, poor people zone…"

A few seats away from him, Mei immediately took up the lines, smiling softly. "But it's my home, all I have known…" She looked towards Alfred, and he nodded, continuing.

"Where I got grown, but now it's gone…"

Across the room, Natalia cut in, her voice as strong and unyielding as ever. "Out of the darkness, in came the carnage… threatening my very survival…"

Suddenly, Gilbert sat straighter next to him. He gave a different, nostalgic kind of smile, though his eyes seemed to be radiating happiness as he looked at all of them. It was nice to see. "Fractured my streets, and broke all my dreams-"

There wasn't so much as a pause, and Roderich continued after his so called rival, "-feels like defeat, a retched retreat…"

Ludwig looked down at his paper. The lyrics on it were approaching fast, and he wasn't so sure about joining in…

Feliciano met his eyes across the table and gave him an encouraging smile. Gilbert did the same next to him. "So we struggling…" More eyes turned towards him expectantly.

Biting back a sigh, Ludwig sang awkwardly, "…fighting to eat…"

Just like that, everyone lit up. They smiled- some grinned- at him. "And we wondering…" They nodded, encouraging him.

The German sang again, a little stronger, fighting a blush and, oddly, a smile. "If we'll be free…"

Thankfully, one of the African nations cut in. "We cannot wait, for some faithful day…" Her voice grew stronger, and she smiling widely, bellowing, "It's too far away, so right now I say..!"

Everyone joined this time, including him. He had forgotten how their voices could sound when they were all together. It would be hard for anyone not to smile. "When I get older, I will be stronger… they'll call me freedom, just like a wavin' flag… and then it goes back, and then it goes back, and then it goes back-"

The Nordics, all sitting next to one another, chorused, "Woah..!"

Lilli came in for the beginning of the next verse, her voice softer and a bit sad as she continued their conversation, "So many wars, settling scores…"

Vash nodded next to her. He was stone faced again, but before Ludwig could have sworn he had been smiling. "All that we've been through-"

Yao went on, "And now there is more."

There was a pause. "I hear them say, love is the way," Mei added, her voice stronger than it had been before.

Roderich, smiling, sang in agreement, "Love is the answer, that's what they say."

Eliza entered a few seats away, leaning against the table as she met everyone's eyes. "But we're not just dreamers of broken down grievers."

Matthias nodded, grinning from where he sat, and sang boisterously, "Our hand will reach us, and we will not see ya."

"But this can't control us, no it can't hold us down…" Kiku added softer, his smile matching the tone in his voice.

Antonio jumped in and sang, hopeful, "We gon pick up-" He nudged Lovino, who joined him despite his eye roll. "-even though we still-"

Everyone finished together, "Struggling."

Francis came in not a moment after. His expression was still worn, still recovering… but despite that he was still smiling. "Au nom de la survie." (In the name of survival.)

"And we wondering-"

The Frenchman looked towards Matthew, his smile widening, and the Canadian joined, "Battant pour nos vies." (Fighting for our lives.)

Every one of them came back in, thinking, waiting, hoping… "We patiently wait for some other day…"

Lars and Bella sang together, the older man barely covering up his smile, "That's too far away, so right now I say..!"

The room was filled with everyone's voices. Some of them weren't the best singers, but they belted it out anyway, and it sounded…good. Really good. "When I get older, I will be stronger… they'll call me freedom, just like a wavin' flag… and then it goes back, and then it goes back, and then it goes back-"

The Nordics chorused again.

"When I get older, I will be stronger..! They'll call me freedom, just like a wavin' flag… and then it goes back, and then it goes back, and then it goes back-"

Everyone started to quiet down. Alfred started talking- or, rapping. His expression had fallen a bit. Everyone knew that he had been under a lot of pressure, and things certainly hadn't been the best for any of them as of late. The American didn't look at anyone in particular, but his words were strong all the same. "How come when the media stops covering and there's a little help from the government we forget about the people still struggling and assume that it's really all love again, nahh…" He sighed softly. "See we don't have to wait for things to break apart, if you weren't involved before it's never too late to start…"

Matthew cut in next to him, smiling reassuringly. "You probably think that it's too far to even have to care, but take a look at where you live-" The two joined a moment, their voices suddenly powerful. "-what if it happened there?" They were surprisingly good. Matthew continued, "You know the urge to make a change lies within and we can be the reason that they see that flag rise again."

Yekaterina came in from the other side of the room, tone soft but words not the least bit hesitant. "When I get older, I will be stronger… they'll call me freedom…" She turned to her brother sitting next to her, and he joined in. "Just like a waving flag."

Lukas sang softly, "And then it goes back,"

"And then it goes back," Arthur echoed.

The Ukrainian woman's smile widened and she sang louder, "And then it goes back..!" Her eyes moved towards the door as she held the last word. Everyone's eyes followed, some regarding what they saw with a knowing look and others in complete surprise.

At some point, all of the Micronations had snuck in. The younger ones grinned widely, the older ones smiling from against the back wall. They joined the chorus, "When I get older, I will be stronger! They'll call me freedom, just like a wavin' flag..! And then it goes back! And then it goes back! And then it goes back! Whoa!"

As they repeated a second time, the nations couldn't help but think of their states, their provinces, their people… their childhood. Better days, worse days. War, and the sometimes false sense of peace that they had all felt. Peace, and the fear of war that would one day come knocking on their doorstep.

Still, they smiled.

"When I get older, I will be stronger! They'll call me freedom, just like a waving flag..! And then it goes back! And then it goes back! And then it goes back! Whoa!"

It would get better.

There was a brief moment of rest. Peter looked at all of them, absolutely ecstatic. He sang, "When I get older… I will be stronger… just like a wavin' flag."

Everyone paused simultaneously as the song came to an end. They breathed together. Their hearts nearly felt like they beat together. And then…

They laughed together.

Yes, music was a funny thing.

AN: That was fun to write. ...I just had to get the motivation to do it. Thank you all so much for reading! I hope that you liked getting to see how Ludwig actually feels about the little 'interruptions.' Also, sorry for any errors I missed in the chapter.

I imagine that all of them singing together would sound a lot like the Marukaite Chikyuu world version but louder. I don't know if any of you have seen that, but it's awesome. I keep trying to put hyperlinks in these chapters but they don't work so here's this: watch?v=PCEyeFs2hqg .

This chapter kind of sounds like it could be an ending to the story, maybe, but well... it's not. I still have a lot planned. And more requests I have to do. Oh, and Lars is Netherlands and Bella is Belgium. I almost went with the name Anri for her, but Bella is used more.

I will see all of you next chapter. Sorry for the wait and thanks again for reading. Please let me know what you think.