A/N: Oh man, I've had this next scene stuck in my head for at least 3 years. Every detail, every expression, every word. Sorry if this takes a little while to post, but I want to make sure that they come out just right. *Cradles story gently* As much as I complain about writing this story, I've honestly started to truly love it. So I want to make sure to write the rest of the story the best I can, because every long story deserves a satisfying ending.
It had taken hours to get to his phone. It wasn't that Ivan was preventing him from getting it for bad reasons either. The problem was Ivan had insisted that Alfred stay on the couch and rest, to the point the older nation had insisted on sitting on the couch with him to make sure he wasn't sick again. Hell, Ivan had gone as far as bringing out his knitting so he had something to do. Everytime Alfred tried to get up, or hell, even tried to hint that he really needed his phone because it was super important he talked to Arthur God damn it, Ivan would insist that it could wait and him feeling better took priority.
The worst part was, Ivan was genuinely trying to help him. The other nation didn't realize Alfred was in the middle of the emotional crisis of the century, so Ivan thought he caused him to throw up due to the sea food not being fresh. So every time he tried to get up, Ivan would look at him with a guilty expression and tell him to rest, making Alfred feel worse. It wasn't like Alfred could just tell him what was really going on, because he sure as hell wasn't going to drop that bombshell on them, but he also hated that Ivan was blaming himself. Fuck his life, this was so stupid.
At some point, Alfred had finally admitted that he wasn't getting anywhere anytime soon, and had reluctantly tried to rest. He did finally manage to get a few hours of restless sleep, but his mind was racing too much to actually get any decent rest. Eventually, he had just given up, just pretending to sleep so he could try and deal with his emotional crisis in peace. To his relief, this seemed to satisfy Ivan somewhat, and around midnight he had finally gone to his own room, assuming Alfred had finally fallen asleep for the rest of the night. Of course, to his annoyance, this made Alfred feel worse, because now he felt like he was going behind Ivan's back. Why did emotions have to be so damned annoying?
He waited another hour or so, making sure that Ivan was really going to stay in his room, before he finally felt that it was safe enough to get up quietly from the couch and sneak into his kitchen, (again, this was so stupid), and grab his phone. As soon as he did, he quickly opened up his text messages.
Me: Arthur, get your ass up. This is important.
Alfred waited for a minute, before he quickly texted another message.
Me: I'm not joking, wake the hell up.
He waited for another couple of seconds, tapping his foot impatiently as he waited. Then, deciding that he didn't care about his older brother's sleep, he started to spam his phone.
Me: I'm going to keep texting you until you answer.
Me: Get up
Me: Arthur
Me: Arthur
Me: Arthur
Me: I swear to God, if you have your phone on silent again I'm going to tattle to Mattie.
Me: Arthur
Me: Arthur
Me: Arthur
Me: ARTHUR
Me: GET UP
Me: Please?
Me: Bruh, please get up! I need you!
Me: Stop ignoring me!
Me: …
Me: Stop putting your phone on silent! I swear to god I'm going to put your phone on parental lock for this!
Me: Look, I know you might be asleep you heartless jerk, but GET THE HELL UP!
Me: …
Me: …
Me: Look, whenever you wake up, please text me. Remember what we talked about last time you were here? Well, now I need you. I don't know what to do!
Me: Please just wake up.
Me: You know Mattie doesn't answer my texts this late, and I CANNOT CALL YOU GUYS, BECAUSE OF REASONS.
Me: SOS
Me: Don't make me text France, I'm still mad at him
Alfred had to stop himself from letting out an aggravated groan. Of course, the one time he needed Arthur he couldn't reach him. Irritated, he threw his phone back onto the table and walked back to the couch with an air of defeat. He could try spamming Mattie, but he knew his brother turned off his cell phone at night. Something about not wanting to deal with drama in the middle of the night. Flopping onto the couch, he grabbed one of the pillows and pulled it over his face as he screamed into it in frustration.
Looks like he was going to have to wait till morning whether he wanted to or not. Of course, as he tried to try and get some sleep again, he didn't realize that his phone had shut off because the battery had died. So as he stared up at the ceiling, unsure about what he was going to do, he didn't know that across the city, England had just put his phone onto charge.
_Later_
Alfred wasn't sure when he had fallen asleep again, but he was jolted awake by a knock at his door. Confused, he forced his frankly exhausted brain to try and work as he looked over at the clock. To his bewilderment, he saw it was only six in the morning. Looking over at the windows, he saw that the sun hadn't even risen yet. Before he could get his wits together, there was another round of knocks on his door, sounding a bit more frantic this time.
"I'm coming." Alfred half yelled, half grumbled as he dragged himself up. As he shuffled towards the door, he heard Ivan moving in his room. Not that he was surprised, he was sure that the whole damned floor had probably been woken up by whoever was knocking on his door.
As soon as he reached the door, there was a third round of knocks, much to his annoyance.
"I said I was coming! Hold on." Alfred huffed as he finally unlocked and opened his door, only to blink in confusion when he saw his own face looking back at him with a serious expression. It took a few moments before he realized, that no, that wasn't his reflection sternly looking back at him, but his twin brother.
"Mattie? What the hell are you doing here? Do you know what time it is?" Alfred asked in bewilderment.
"Unfortunately, yes I do." Mattie said with a sigh, folding his arms with an exhausted look. "Al, keep your damned phone charged."
"What-?" Alfred started to ask, before he finally remembered what he had done a few hours ago. "Oh."
"Yes, oh." Mattie said, giving his brother a fond, but exasperated look. "Sometimes I think you like giving Arthur heart attacks."
"I didn't mean to." Alfred admitted, looking slightly guilty.
"I know, but he still freaked out when you didn't answer him back. He showed up at my hotel room a few hours ago, convinced you were ignoring him because he missed your texts. I told him it was because it was three in the morning, but he couldn't be convinced. I got him to chill out by telling him I'd come over and get you as soon as it was socially acceptable. Get your coat, I have a cab waiting."
"Say what now?" Alfred asked, not sure he had heard his brother right.
"You thought that we were going to let you go through this without us?" Mattie asked in amusement. "We know you, you'll be heading for the hills soon because you're going to overthink this. We're not letting you back out now Al. Come on, before you actually realize you aren't panicking yet."
"I already puked, and I'm not panicking anymore! I mean, at least not as bad as I was?" Alfred admitted reluctantly when his brother gave him an unimpressed look. "Sort of? Look, I wasn't asking you guys to come over. A text would have been fine."
"Yeah, even more reason for us to get going. You're clearly in denial."
"Bro, I'm in my pajamas." Alfred deadpanned. "It is the crack ass of dawn. I don't even have Texas on. I'm not going anywhere. At least let me get dressed or something."
"And I'm not giving you a choice." Mattie said. "In fact, forget your coat, you can borrow some of my clothes when you get to my hotel room."
"Mattie-"
"Nope, as of now I'm kidnapping you." Mattie said, and to Alfred's shock his brother grabbed his arm and with a surprisingly firm grip he started to drag Alfred out into the hallway.
"Cut it out!" Alfred snapped, pulling his arm back. They stood there for a few seconds, stubbornly playing tug of war with his arm when a tired voice asked from behind Alfred, "What is going on?"
The twins froze as Ivan came around the corner, staring at them in bewilderment. Ivan's eyes went from staring at a freaked out Alfred, to a slightly surprised Canada and back to Alfred again with a quizzical look.
"Am I missing something, or…?" Ivan asked, gesturing at the sight in front of him.
Alfred's face turned a bright pink in embarrassment, and Canada's eyes narrowed slightly at his brother's reaction. Before Alfred could even think of an excuse, Canada took advantage of the situation by yanking his brother out into the hallway.
"Family emergency. I'm sure you understand. I'll drop him off later." Canada said pleasantly, before slamming the door shut on Ivan and trapping Alfred on the other side.
"Mattie, I don't even have my shoes on!" Alfred hissed, trying not to wake up his neighbors as his brother dragged him towards the elevator.
"Don't be such a cry baby."
"It's freezing out there!"
"Excuses, excuses."
"Matthew!"
"Alfred."
"Don't you get sassy on me!"
"When am I not?"
"I hate you."
"Oh no, whatever will I do?"
They continued to bicker like that as Canada dragged his brother into the elevator, then all the way down to the lobby. As Canada dragged his now sulking brother towards the cab outside, Alfred made eye contact with Greg and gestured at him for help. Greg simply shook his head in amusement before he went back to his newspaper. Now completely out of options, Alfred reluctantly allowed himself to be dragged outside, (Holy fuck was it cold), and thrown into the cab.
Alfred sulked in the back of the cab all the way to the hotel. His brother didn't seem to mind much, instead looking slightly amused by the whole thing. Little shit. When they finally arrived, Canada threw a large roll of money at the cab driver and he dragged Alfred into the hotel. If any of the staff were confused by Alfred's strange appearance, none of them said anything. Alfred allowed himself to glance around the lobby as his brother steered him towards the elevators. He could have sworn he saw a few nations gossiping in a corner of the room, but before he could make out what they were saying Canada pushed him into the lift and before he knew it he was standing outside his brother's hotel room.
Canada had barely knocked on the door when it was yanked open, and England's frantic face was staring back at them in relief. It was quickly replaced with a puzzled look as he took in Alfred's appearance.
"He wouldn't let me get dressed." Alfred explained with a huff.
"I see that." Arthur said with a slight hum of amusement, stepping back so they could come in.
"I couldn't let him get away." Canada explained as he pushed Alfred into the room.
"I guess that makes sense." England sighed, quickly closing the door behind them. "Put him on the couch. I'll make some drinks."
"Got it."
"There are a couple of blankets on the couch already."
"Thanks."
"I don't suppose I get a say in this?" Alfred asked.
"No." Both of his brothers replied in unison.
"Figured, just thought I'd ask."
Alfred was quickly led over to a nearby couch, and as soon as he sat down his twin threw a few blankets on him. Then to his annoyance Mattie plopped down next to him, watching him like a hawk.
"Believe it or not, I'm not going to make a run for it." Alfred grumbled.
"Uh huh, right."
"I'm already here, aren't I?"
"I suppose so." Canada admitted. As he did, England brought out a tray of snacks and drinks, putting them on the coffee table. As soon as he was done, he sat down on Alfred's other side. For a moment, no one spoke.
Surprisingly, it was England who broke the silence first. "How are you doing? Be honest, we're here to help." He asked, giving Alfred a surprisingly gentle look.
"I dunno." Alfred said with a shrug. "Kinda okay? Kinda not?"
"He said he puked."
"Matthew, let him speak." England said with a sigh. "Weren't you the one who said I needed to listen more?"
"Sorry." Canada said, not looking very sorry.
"When did you puke?"
"Yesterday."
"Is that when you realize you liked…"
"Yep."
"Oh dear, so it's really going to be Russia then?" England said with a sigh, rubbing his eyes. "You certainly aren't one to make things easy, are you?"
"Ivan. Not Russia." Alfred corrected.
England just waved the correction away. "We can get into that later."
Canada leaned towards his brother with a smirk. "Did you figure out you liked him before or after he carried you off like a disney princess?"
Alfred let out a groan. "Seriously, how fast did that info spread?"
"Everyone knows. Panama is currently the top dog in the betting pool because of it."
"Matthew, let him at least explain himself before you bombard him with questions." England huffed.
"There's really not much to explain." Alfred admitted reluctantly. "I mean…it's just something I'm going to have to work out."
"Oh love…" England sighed, gently patting Alfred on the knee with a sympathetic expression. "It'll be okay."
"Will it though? It doesn't feel like it." Alfred asked miserably, and his brothers paused for a moment, letting the weight of those words fall over them.
"Al?" Canada asked, suddenly giving his twin a concerned look. "What do you mean by that?"
"It's not going to work. It can't work." Alfred admitted, his face falling slightly. "I just know it. I mean, I like him. A lot. But…I'm not stupid. There's no way in hell it's going to work. I'm going to mess it up. Somethings going to happen, and it's going to break apart. Hell, we've just become friends! I don't even know if this is just a crush or the real thing. I've never had to know."
"People usually don't puke when they have crushes on people." Canada pointed out.
"Do you not like having feelings for him?" England asked, giving the younger nation a worried look over.
"No! Yes? I don't know! It's confusing." Alfred said, looking even more miserable. "It's not like I hate the idea of liking him…"
"Al, it's okay to be nervous about liking him."
"It's a little more than nervous." Alfred admitted quietly.
Canada's face fell slightly at his brother's words. England gently took Alfred's face into his hands. Alfred didn't stop him as England studied his face.
"You have it bad, don't you?"
Alfred didn't say anything, but he didn't have to. Sighing, England pulled Alfred into a hug, which Alfred accepted without a fight.
"What am I going to do?" Alfred asked miserably into England's shoulder. "I don't know the first thing about liking someone like that."
"You know, love isn't supposed to make you miserable." Canada said, ruffling his brother's hair. "You could always try and enjoy it."
"Easier said than done." Alfred grumbled.
"Why don't you try wooing him?" Canada teased, poking his brother's side playfully. "I'm sure if you bribe him with never ending vodka he'd marry you on the spot!"
"Already got a vodka fountain at the party."
"Wait, really?" Canada asked in shock.
"Oh dear, I think this is worse than we thought." England muttered as Alfred pulled out of the hug, looking slightly less upset. "However, Matthew's idea could still work. Why don't you try going out a few times and see if you like it?"
"I dunno…"
"Alfred, how do you know it's going to crash and burn if you don't even try?" England asked gently. "You're assuming that it's going to fail before you've even tried. It's no wonder you're in such a sorry state if you've already assumed the worst."
"How am I supposed to ask him out on a date without admitting I like him?" Alfred asked, looking slightly lost.
"Don't call it a date." England said with a shrug. "Invite him somewhere. Have a good time. Maybe hold his hand and see how he responds. You're already living together, I'm sure you can come up with an excuse."
"Oh no, not hand holding." Canada teased. "If just realizing he has a crush is enough to break him, imagine hand holding. He might just die."
Alfred's face flushed pink. "Shut up Mattie."
"Maybe they'll, gasp, link arms!"
"Fuck you, Mattie."
"Matthew, stop teasing him." England chastised.
"Aw, but it's so fun too. Come on, It's been how many years since he's grown up? This is the first time we've been able to tease him about something like this!"
"You know he's just a child." England said, trying and failing to hide his smile. "He'll grow up one day. Maybe he'll even learn how to kiss someone someday."
"Fuck you, Arthur."
"Sorry, couldn't resist." England said with a laugh, ruffling Alfred's hair. "Just some light ribbing, I promise."
"It's not like I haven't slept with him already." Alfred said with a huff. He couldn't help but smirk as he saw his brother's freeze in shock for a moment. He quickly put on an innocent face as his brothers turned to stare at him.
"Alfred, what do you mean by that?" Canada asked, a forced look of calm on his face.
"What, you don't sleep with friends?" Alfred asked innocently.
"And when," England asked through clenched teeth, "did you two sleep together?"
"Hmm, it's been about a week or two? I don't know. Mattie, you'd know, you slept with us as well that one time."
"Excuse me?!" Canada asked in shock.
"Matthew?!" Arthur sputtered, almost dropping his drink in shock.
"No I didn't!" Canada denied quickly.
"Yes you did! You know, when you came over to watch movies, remember?" Alfred said, tilting his head curiously at his brother. "We all fell asleep on the couch. You kicked me off when I didn't want to move?"
"Al, that's not the same thing as sleeping with someone!" Canada snapped, clutching his heart in distress.
"Oh, it's not?" Alfred asked, never letting on that he knew otherwise. "Huh, never knew that."
"Oh thank god." England said, covering his face and taking a shaky breath.
"What the hell did you think it meant?!" Canada asked, looking distressed.
"Sleepovers, what else?" Alfred asked with a straight face.
"Arthur, did you even have the talk with him!?" Canada asked in horror.
England's face also dropped in horror. "Well…no. He left before I got a chance to talk to him about it. Then he never showed any interest in anyone, so I just assumed he knew-"
"How is he going to be in a relationship with someone if he doesn't know?"
"Know what?" Alfred asked, having to turn his face away because he was biting down on his lip to stop himself from laughing. After an awkward pause filled the room, he glanced back up at his brothers and he couldn't stop himself from laughing at their identical look's of terror. Finally figuring out that he was messing with them, the other two nearly collapsed from relief.
"Al, you're an ass." Canada grumbled.
"Oh come on, how long have I been around? Do you think I wouldn't have figured it out? It's not like I haven't been working on laws about it since I've been a country." Alfred asked, still laughing at them.
"Alfred, never do that again." England wheezed, still looking distressed. "My heart can't take it."
"Sorry, couldn't resist." Alfred said with a smirk.
"But you didn't sleep with Russia, right?" Canada asked.
"Of course not."
"Okay, just making sure. I was about to kill him for using you." Canada admitted.
"Oh please, don't be dramatic." Alfred huffed, glancing down at the drinks in front of him. As he did so, he missed the dark look of understanding that England and Canada shot each other.
"Yes, of course." England said slowly, deciding to switch topics. "Anyways, seeing as you're feeling better, should we get back on topic?"
"Yes, let's do that." Canada said with a frown. "When are you going to talk to Russia about how you feel?"
"I have no idea." Alfred admitted. "I mean, I've only just realized I like him. I haven't really thought that far ahead."
"How about at the party?" Canada suggested. "He's already your date."
"Date?" Alfred asked, this time actually confused. "I never asked him to be my date. He's just my plus one."
"Oh please, he's your date now!" Canada said, jabbing his spoon at Alfred. "You like him romantically. You're going to a party together. You'll probably have a few dances together. It's a date!"
"It's not a date unless both parties agree that it's a date." England pointed out.
"Okay, fine. It's a date in everything but name." Canada admitted. "It's still a romantic setting he could take advantage of."
"Wouldn't that be too soon?" Alfred asked with a worried expression.
"Let's see." England said, glancing at the calendar on the desk next to them. It's the 19th? The party is in about 5 days. That's almost four whole days to try and win him over if you don't count the party.
"I don't know, what if it goes wrong and I'm stuck with Ivan for six days? He doesn't leave till the 31st." Alfred said nervously.
"Tell him to get a hotel room." Canada said with a huff. "He doesn't pay your rent."
"Or if your boss won't let that happen, you can stay with one of us and avoid that situation." England said with a shrug.
"You know, you guys are making it hard to find excuses not to date Ivan." Alfred said, half joking and half serious.
"Alfred, like we said before, you're supposed to be excited about being in love with someone." England said, giving Alfred a soft look. "Of course, that's not to say that it isn't scary to try and court someone, but if it works out the outcome should make you happy. Even better, Ivan is one of us. You don't have to worry about him having a regular life span. You don't have to hide who you are from him. If something goes wrong? Wait a few decades. Our governments are always changing. There's never an always for us. Sometimes that's a bad thing, but that also means nothing stays awful forever. My most honest piece of advice is try. The worst he can do is say no and you don't talk for a while."
"Huh, and here I thought France was the romantic one." Canada said, looking at England in surprise.
"He doesn't have a monopoly on romance, even if he likes to think so." England huffed. "That, and he's had his fair share of rejections. Including me." He added with a grimace.
"Wait, he seriously asked you out?" Alfred asked in surprise.
"He didn't ask me out, he asked me to marry him." England scoffed. "Bloody moron needed to get out of debt and tried to force me to marry him. Had the damned marriage contract with him and everything. Worst marriage proposal I've ever had. It still haunts me. Trust me, as long as you don't do what he did you should be fine."
"Do it Al." Canada said with a grin. "I'd pay to see the fall out from that. Even better, If we rig the betting pool we'll be rich. He might even say yes!"
"Yeah, how about no. I'm not that desperate to get married." Alfred said, giving his brother an amused side eye.
"Your loss." Canada said with a shrug.
"Regardless, you have plenty of time to get together." England said with a shrug. "If you ask him out, that doesn't change anything. You're just confirming you both like each other that way. The real struggle is staying together after putting up with someone's nonsense for decades. I honestly don't know how some of the other nations do it."
"Like Finland and Sweden?" Alfred asked, remembering the other couple.
"A better example would be Germany and Italy. I have no idea how those two put up with each other's nonsense." England said with a tired sigh. "God forbid those idiots not shout and run around the place when they're arguing."
"I'd hate to see the arguments between you and Ivan." Canada said with a hum.
"It's mostly just us being stubborn on a topic until one us folds." Alfred said with a shrug. "Sometimes we compromise. It's not that interesting."
"That sounds suspiciously civil." Canada said, narrowing his eyes at his brother.
"We've agreed to leave any nation business in the meeting rooms when we're not working."
"Ah, that's a good idea." England said, looking mildly impressed. "Where did you get that idea?"
"I dunno, just picked up on it." Alfred said with a shrug.
"Well, at least it seems like the nation side has been sorted out. Short of going to war with each other, that is." England said.
"Hopefully never." Alfred said with a grimace.
"Soooo-" Canada said casually but watching his brother closely, "-what are you doing for him with the party anyways? Do you have a present yet?"
Alfred gave his twin an unimpressed look. "Of course I do. Who do you think I am?"
"How about something to wear?"
"Uhh…"
"Alfred, what have I told you about having a decent wardrobe? How is it possible with all your wealth you never seem to have a suit or proper dress wear?" England nagged, shooting the younger nation an unimpressed glare.
"I don't like suits." Alfred muttered, pouting slightly.
"You look good in them! It's criminal that you walk around in rags when you should dress up properly! I swear, when you're not working the only thing I see you wearing are hoodies and jeans!"
"I'm not dressing up in a three piece suit to watch netflix reruns!"
"I meant when you go out!"
"I mean, I do have a few suits. I can just reuse them for the party. It's not a big deal." Alfred argued.
England felt one of his eyes twitch and Canada sighed, patting his twin on the shoulder while shaking his head mournfully. "Don't bother, Arthur. You know he's useless when it comes to fashion. We'll just have to take over in that department."
"Say what now?" Alfred asked, suddenly getting a bad feeling.
As if anticipating his reluctance, Canada's grip became ironclad on his shoulder. "Al, don't worry, we'll take care of your outfit. You know, I have a couple of outfits you could borrow." He said, his eyes suddenly shining with mischief.
"I don't think so…" Alfred said, trying and failing to get away from his twin.
"That's not a bad idea. What do you think he would look better in, light or darker colours?" England asked, suddenly looking a lot more menacing with every passing second. "You know, he still needs to borrow some clothes before he goes home, we could do a trial run…"
"I don't think-!" Alfred started to say, not liking where this conversation was heading, but he was cut off by Canada, who slapped a hand over his mouth.
""Oh, either could work, but maybe something a little darker for now. For the party though, I was thinking something…lighter."
"Oh, I see!" England said, his eyes shining with that same mischievous gleam in his eyes. "I think that could work."
Alfred, to his credit, did try and escape. But before he could even get up, Canada had grabbed his right arm and England had grabbed his left arm, and before he could do anything he found himself literally being dragged over to Canada's bedroom.
"Oh, Russia's not going to know what hit him!" Canada said, looking at Alfred with a menacing smile.
"You know what, I think I'll just freeze, thanks." Alfred said, desperately trying to squirm out of their grips.
"Nonsense. Just leave it to us." England said. "Now, tell us, do you like blue or black better?"
At Alfred's look of horror, the other two nations just grinned.
_Later_
"I swear, I saw him go through the lobby!" Mexico insisted, only for the other nations around him to roll their eyes. "America is here!"
"Are you sure it wasn't just his brother?" Chile asked, not even bothering to look up from his phone. "You know everyone mixes them up."
"Eres estúpido? They're nothing alike!" Mexico asked, looking slightly annoyed. "You only have to look at them for three seconds to tell them apart!"
"Uh, I think you're the only one who can tell them apart from a glance." Cuba pointed out.
"It's the rest of you who are the problem! Anyways, we're getting off track! I saw his brother dragging him through the lobby earlier, so unless Canada can make clones now he's here! He was in his pajamas and everything!"
"Mexico, have you been hitting the tequila again?" Bolivia asked, looking unimpressed.
"I saw him!"
"Why would he even be here?" Peru asked.
"Oh, maybe his brother's finally heard about Russia making moves on America!" Brazil said, brightening up at the thought. "Do you think there'll be a fight?"
"I hope not, that would ruin my bet." Guatemala grumbled.
"Well, they might not be happy about them going out." Mexico said with a frown.
"Hold on, that bet wasn't settled!" Peru protested. "Switzerland says that unless they announce that they're going out the bets are still on!"
"Doesn't matter, I got paid." Panama said smugly from the couch.
"Shut up Panama." A chorus of voices shouted back, making Panama smirk.
"Well, all I know was I heard shouting coming from Canada's room earlier." Ecuador said. Instantly everyone's attention was on the them.
"Did you hear anything interesting?" Brazil asked, leaning forwards eagerly.
"Something about not wanting to do something. I heard a lot of arguing about how they were just trying to help, but I don't think America was very happy." Ecuador said with a shrug. "Honestly, I was only half listening. It was super early, and I was really annoyed because they woke me up."
"But the drama! How could you not snoop!" Chile asked in horror.
"Not everyone is interested in gossip, unlike you." Ecuador huffed.
The group collectively booed at that, but Ecuador just rolled their eyes.
"Still, it doesn't sound like America's family is too happy with him." Cuba pointed out.
"That's hardly surprising. You saw how England reacted to the rumors when we were at the last world meeting." Argentina pointed out. "I wouldn't be surprised if America told them to fuck off and mind their own business. You know what he's like."
There was a collective nod of agreement at that. Suddenly, they heard a commotion coming from the elevators. The group looked around to see what was making the noise, and to their delight they saw England and Canada arguing with someone in the elevator, most likely America.
"Shhh!" Mexico shushed, and they all crowded around behind a wall separating the lounge area and the lobby, trying and failing to hide themselves as they watched the show.
"Aw, come on Al, you look great!" Canada said, trying to pull the other nation out of the elevator with a big grin on his face.
"I'm not going back looking like this!" America's annoyed voice shot back. "Just let me change already!"
"Come on now, be reasonable! You'll be fine." England said, trying and failing to hide his smile. "You look like a fine young gentleman!"
"Oh, this is going to be good." Peru said, pulling out his phone.
It took another minute of bickering, but finally Canada managed to pull his brother off the elevator. The other nations could only gawk at the site in front of them. America was in a dark blue suit, complete with a blue tie and silver cufflinks. His hair had been swept back out of his face, and he was wearing a long black overcoat and gloves over his suit. For some reason, he wasn't wearing his glasses, which just made his blue eyes pop. If it weren't for his very annoyed expression he wouldn't have looked out of place in a fashion magazine.
"I'm not going!" America said stubbornly, glowering at his brothers.
"Holy shit, they put him in a monkey suit!" Mexico said loudly. Brazil tried to shush him, but it was too late. America's eyes went wide as he turned around and spotted them, and then to their delight his face turned bright pink in embarrassment at the unexpected audience watching him.
Unfortunately, this only caused the other nations to start cheering and whistling loudly. Some of them started to take pictures with their phones, causing America's face to go scarlet from embarrassment and anger. Mexico was wheezing from laughing so hard.
"Looking good amigo!" Mexico yelled at America, making America give him the double bird, which only caused him to laugh harder.
"Alright, that's enough of that." England said, taking Alfred's arm and pulling him away from the now catcalling nations.
"I hate you both so much." America growled, still staring down Mexico as he was dragged away.
"The only thing that matters is Ivan's reaction."Canada said, patting Alfred on the back. "And hey, at least you know you look good now! I think some of those cat calls were serious back there."
Alfred gagged, and England sighed. So much for being subtle. He only hoped their text to Ukraine had made it in time for their plan to work.
_Ivan_
Ivan was having a strange morning. First Alfred had been pulled out of the house without getting dressed, then his older sister video called him and insisted he try on some of his suits so she could see which one would look best on him for the party. He had relented, but as soon as he tried on his first suit, (a soft gray suit, with his white scarf and gloves) his sister had remembered she had something to do, and then hung up on him while promising to come over just before the party to help him get ready.
Then he had got a text from Canada saying that their family emergency was going to take longer than they thought, and if he could please hurry over to this address as soon as possible with Alfred's phone and glasses that would be oh so helpful. Please don't take too long, time was of the essence. Seriously, please rush. It may or may not be due to Alfred's well being. Ect.
Of course, Ivan had checked the address before he left, and saw it was at a nearby hotel. Thoroughly confused, and hoping that he wasn't being set up by Alfred's family for some reason, he reluctantly took a cab to the address, carefully holding onto Alfred's things.
He was slightly worried about Alfred's well being. It was rare that the younger nation got sick, and when he had seen him that morning he still looked flushed, and with Canada's text hinting that Alfred might not be getting better, he found himself growing more and more impatient as he got closer to the Hotel. As soon as he arrived, he threw a few large bank notes at his cab driver and he quickly walked up the steps and into the lobby.
He had only just taken a few steps into the building when he heard a large cheer from around the corner. Frowning, Ivan turned to see what was going on, but whatever was going on was hidden behind a corner of the room. Deciding he really didn't want to get involved, he turned to walk to the front desk, when he heard a familiar voice approaching.
"Ah, Russia! I was just wondering where you had gotten off too." England said, looking very pleased with himself for some reason as he walked up to him from a nearby sitting area. "I trust you have Alfred's things?"
"I do, da." Ivan said, frowning slightly at England's strange behavior. "I heard that Alfred was still not feeling well?"
"Oh, nothing that can't be fixed with a good meal." England said, his eyes shining with mirth.
"I…see." Ivan said slowly, not sure what to make of the situation. He got the impression that he was missing some context.
"Ah, in fact here he comes now." England said, glancing over his shoulder with a chuckle.
Looking in the direction England was, Ivan felt his eyes grow wide as he saw Alfred walking towards him. Alfred, for some inexplicable reason, was dressed up in a suit that honestly had no right to fit him that well. It seemed to hug him in all the right ways, bringing out all the right curves in all the right places, and without his glasses his eyes seemed to reflect the lights around him like stars. Alfred hadn't noticed Ivan yet, as he was too busy arguing with his twin brother, who seemed just as pleased as England about something.
Ivan was suddenly very unaware of his surroundings as he stared at Alfred, his mind seemingly stuttering to a halt. In fact, he was too busy staring at Alfred to notice England examining him with a slightly raised eyebrow. Nor did he see Canada glancing over at him with a quick smirk. Canada and England made eye contact, and with a quick nod England cleared his throat, causing Ivan to remember where he was.
"Alfred, over here." England called over.
Alfred turned to look at England with a scowl, but that was quickly replaced with a look of total shock as he realized that Ivan was there as well. To Ivan's wonder, Alfred's face seemed to turn pink again. Like at the theater, it started with his nose and bloomed out to his cheeks. He saw Canada coo slightly for some reason, and Alfred quickly turned and scowled accusingly at his brother again.
"He…seems better." Ivan said awkwardly, not sure what to say.
"Indeed. He was a mess when he got here, but we sorted it out." England said, giving Ivan another amused glance. "But we still can't seem to get him to stop getting a slight fever. We were just about to go out to lunch to try and let him eat something, but Canada and I are needed at a last minute meeting. Perhaps you would do me a favor and take Alfred out instead? He said he hasn't eaten anything since yesterday."
"I can do that." Ivan agreed, glancing back at Alfred, who seemed to be pouting as his twin seemed to all but push him towards the two older nations.
"Oh, Ivan. There you are! Good timing. Al, Arthur and I need to go to a meeting, so we asked Ivan to take you out to get some lunch."
"Honestly, I don't think my stomach can handle food right now." Alfred admitted with a slight grimace. "I'm not really hungry."
Canada rolled his eyes and patted Alfred on his shoulder. "You'll be fine Al." He said, giving Alfred a knowing look. "Remember what we talked about." Again, Ivan felt like he was missing something important.
"Well, you did say you were sick. Still, you'll at least need something to eat something light to help with queasiness." England said, leaving no room for argument. "Why don't you go to a great little restaurant near here? It's literally just around the corner." He suggested, handing Alfred a little piece of paper with directions. He gave Alfred a quick pat on the back, and after giving Alfred a pointed look, he smiled and said, "Well, have fun."
To Ivan's confusion, it seemed like Canada and England all but ran from them back towards the elevator, while Alfred's face seemed to flush up again as they found themselves alone again.
"Why are they acting so strange?" Ivan asked, glancing at Alfred, who was currently looking anywhere but at Ivan.
"Who knows? They're always doing weird stuff." Alfred said with a shrug, looking down at the piece of paper in his hand.
"And why are you in a suit?" Ivan asked, still trying not to stare at the shorter nation.
"Why are you?" Alfred shot back, giving Ivan a quick once over before quickly looking back at his paper. "I didn't expect to see you so dressed up."
"I asked first." Ivan said, snagging the piece of paper out of Alfred's hand. Alfred shot him an exasperated look, which made Ivan feel very satisfied for some reason.
"If you must know, my darling brothers," Alfred's words dripping with sarcasm, "took advantage of the fact that I wasn't feeling well and made me try on outfits for the party." Alfred started pouting again, which did not help Ivan's heart calm down at all. Why did Alfred have to look so good in that damned suit?!
"Anyways, why on earth are you dressed up? Are you meeting someone?" Alfred asked with a frown.
"Only you." Ivan said with a small chuckle. "I came to drop off your things." Reaching into his jacket pocket he held up Alfred's glasses and phone.
"Texas!" Alfred's face brightened immediately. Ivan couldn't but let out a huff of laughter as he opened up the glasses and to Alfred's surprise the taller nation slid the glasses onto his face.
"Much better, da? You look more like yourself." Ivan teased, as he stepped back to admire his work.
Alfred felt his cheeks burning where Ivan's hands had brushed against them, but he just shot Ivan what he hoped was a confident smile. "Definitely better." He agreed. "So, are you going to keep admiring my good looks or are you going to tell me why you got all dressed up?"
Ivan's heart almost stopped at the thought of being caught, but after a second he realized Alfred had been joking, and he forced himself to calm down. "Ukraine called me. She wanted to know what suit I was going to wear to your party. Apparently she wants to match my outfit to hers and Belarus's dresses. I was in the middle of trying them on when your brother asked me to come over."
"Huh, that's weird, I thought her dress was going to be blue and yellow?" Alfred said with a thoughtful frown. "Why would she pick out something so light?"
"I do not know." Ivan said with a shrug.
Alfred hummed for a second, studying Ivan's outfit. Ivan felt his cheeks warming slightly as Alfred did so.
"Does it not look good?" Ivan asked, suddenly feeling a little self continuous.
"You look great." Alfred assured him with a reassuring smile. "I was just wondering how you'd look in blue. It is my favorite color. You don't wear it very often, so I was just curious."
"I will have to try it next time." Ivan said, making a mental note to look for a blue suit as soon as possible. "So, shall we get going?"
"Sure, just let me-" Alfred started to say, reaching into his jacket pocket to grab something, before he froze.
"Is something wrong?" Ivan asked as Alfred's face fell slightly.
"I don't have my wallet." Alfred said, letting out a sigh, pulling his empty hand out of his pocket.
"That is not a problem, I have mine. I will treat you." Ivan said with a grin, spinning Alfred around and pushing him towards the exit. "It is about time I paid for something, no?"
"You don't have to do that!" Alfred protested. "If we just swing back home for a second, we can grab it and get changed."
Ivan mentally thanked Alfred's brother for not letting Alfred grab his things that morning. He would have never forgiven himself if he let Alfred change out of that suit so quickly. "Nonsense, it is only lunch. We have to make sure you get something to eat. It is not healthy to skip meals when you are sick."
"But-"
"I insist." Ivan said with a large smile.
Alfred playfully sighed, throwing up his hands in defeat. "Do I really have a choice?"
"No." Ivan said cheerfully.
"Figured, just thought I'd check." Alfred joked. Although Ivan noticed he didn't look too bothered by that fact. "Lead the way."
As they left, neither one of them noticed England and Canada watching them from around the corner. Nore did they see their grins as they high fived each other as they watched them leave. Mission accomplished.
A/N: *Sniff* They grow up so fast. Anyways, I hope the fluff doesn't rot your teeth too much. We still have some sweetness coming soon! I thrive in fluff. It fuels my cold dead heart, and I admit I might have giggled a lot when I wrote this chapter. Sweet like sugar, soft like candy. And spicy. So, so spicy. ;P
Oooo, looks like the siblings are conspiring! I wonder what they're up to?
Canada and England were a blast to write. It's been awhile since we've had a dialogue heavy chapter, and that's where I thrive. When they're not bickering, those three do get along very well. They'll help Alfred the best they can, but not before they mess with him first. They've been waiting a long time for this.
Mexico can tell America and Canada apart easily because he interacts with them a lot, seeing as he's always bickering with America during meetings, and they're kind of frenemies. He also does a lot of trade with both of them, so he interacts with Canada a lot more than people think. Mexico's favorite pastime is messing with America, which is pretty easy because he knows how to push his buttons. He sometimes pretends to think America is Canada because he knows it drives him nuts. They do get along sometimes, but depending on the political climate their relationship can get a little tense. Outside of work they usually get along well though.
The South and Central American countries are so fun to write about! I imagine them all as very loud and cheerful countries, who all have very distinct and vibrant personalities. They all like messing with America, mostly because of their shared histories, but also because he has funny reactions. I really need to find a way to write short stories for them some day. Hmmm, now that I think about it….
Anyways, see you next time!