Italy stared at the document in front of him, reading it through once, twice, three times…

He looked up into the eyes of the other three nations in the room once his decision had been made.

"No."

The looks on Britain, France, and Russia's faces fell as they took in what the Italian had just said.

"Come again?" Britain questioned.

"I said, no," Italy repeated, pushing the document away from him and toward the other nations seated across from him. "I don't want to be allies with you. I already told Germany I would be allies with him! And then I also told Austria and Hungary, and if I betrayed them I don't know what they would do to me, and I don't want them to kill me, and – "

"Whoa, slow down, mon cher," France remarked, raising his hands in a calming gesture. "Do not worry, nobody is going to be doing any killing."

"Are you sure?" Russia spoke up. "Because I think it would be fun if – "

"No, no killing," Britain immediately cut the nation off, not hesitating to send a glare in the Russian's direction. "Now, listen here, Italy: We are aware that you had wanted to side with Germany and the others. But we are also aware that your agreement would only stand if one of them were to be attacked first."

When the Italian didn't respond, Britain took it as a sign to continue.

"Though those guys are tough and all, we believe siding with us would be the better option for your guaranteed success. All you have to do is just sign the document saying you'll be our ally and then you can be on your merry way."

Britain pushed the document back across the table toward Italy, prompting the young nation to glance at it once more.

Italy looked down at the document and back up again.

"Are you sure? Germany won't be mad at me?"

"Well," Britain responded. "There's no guaranteeing he won't be mad at you, but who cares what that bloody tosser thinks? All that matters is that you join our side."

"Yes," Russia added. "Become one with us, da?"

"I don't know," Italy bit his lip in contemplation.

"What if we give you something in return, oui?" France said. "More land, perhaps?"

"But what am I supposed to do with more land?"

"You could open more restaurants," Britain suggested. "That way you could eat more pasta."

At the word "pasta", the Italian's face instantly brightened.

"Ooh. I like pasta!" he said with a smile.

"So then you'll do it?" Britain said.

"I don't know."

The three nations groaned once more in frustration as each resisted the urge to slam their head against the wall. Just what was it going to take to get Italy to comply and join their –

"Nee nee papa wain wo choudai, nee nee mama, nee nee mama – "

The nations blinked as their thoughts were interrupted by the sudden noise.

"Italy," Britain raised an eyebrow. "Is that… your phone?"

"Yes," the nation responded as he pulled his phone out of his pocket and glanced at it. "Oh, it's my boss!"

He put the phone up to his ear.

"Hello signore capo!"

As Italy spoke to his boss, the nations watched as his expression slowly shifted to one of confusion.

"Okay, I'll talk to you later," Italy said once the conversation had ended. "Goodbye!"

The Italian put his phone back in the pocket and faced the other nations.

"What was that all about?" Britain questioned. "You seemed rather confused about something."

"Ve~, I don't know," Italy said. "It's nothing. My capo just said something about me not being allies with Germany anymore."

The three nations immediately exchanged excited glances at this, and turned back to Italy with matching smiles.

France pushed the document further toward Italy, placing a pen next to the young nation.

"Then whatever are you waiting for, Cher Italie?" he said, giving the Italian a sly smile. "It's now or never."

Author's note:

On April 26, 1915, Italy signed the Treaty of London, agreeing to enter World War I on the side of the Allies (which at the time included the Triple Entente of the United Kingdom, France, and Russia; America later joined the war two years later on April 6, 1917). Italy had, in fact, previously agreed to an alliance with Germany and Austria-Hungary, but the Italian prime minister later declared the nation free of its alliance obligations. Of course, Italy then jumped at the chance to expand its territory when the Allies offered to give it more land in return for joining their side– thus marking Italy's entrance into World War I.

Thank you so much for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful rest of your day (or night)!

XOXO,

Cora