Sorry for the delay, everyone. The writing and comedic genius have been divorced, so to say, so it took me this long to pick back up where we left off. Nevertheless! The show... must go on.

The Family Just Keeps on Growing...

Wang Yao held a small cup way away behind him, busily arranging a meal. "Mei, pass me the sauce, aru!"

"Shì de!" A young girl's voice called out. Soy sauce flew through the air and landed in the cup.

"Kiku, how's the Lāmiàn coming along, aru?"

The boy 'tisk-ed,' stirring a gianormous bowl inset in the island-counter with a huge ladle. "The ramen is almost ready to be served, Wang-san."

Yao looked affronted. "Don't call me 'Wang-san,' like you don't know me, aru! Who's raised you since you were Xiǎo Kiku? I have, aru!" He walked over to the outer counter, setting down some Bao buns, Ngohiong, and a dish of Peking chicken. "Order up!" He rang the bell and young Anh ran up, shooting him a glare before leaving to serve. What had he done wrong by that girl? Yao frowned to himself and went over to Kiku, taking the ladle from him. "Anyways, let me take care of that," something whizzed past his ear, "And take those knives away from Yong-Soo before he kills us all, aru!"

Yao's other boy was chopping up vegetables with blinding speed, grinning like a maniac. "Hibachi was created in Korea, ya know!"

"Give. Me. That." Kiku swiped the knives from him, cleaning them off and exchanging one for a spatula, "Let an old pro show you how it's done." And then the spatula was flying. It flipped, it flashed, it whirled, it spun off the counter with a clang right back into his hand. He tossed it over his shoulder and caught it behind his back. Kiku took a few eggs and juggled them, tossing two in the air and catching them with the edge of the knife, cutting the eggs in half while spinning the other on the spatula.

His youngest, Mei, hid a smile behind her little pink fan. Kiku was just as much a show-off as Yong-Soo, no matter what he said. She glanced over at her 'father-brother' figure with a small leer. "So… Why are we here again, lǎo Wáng?"

"Because both sets of staff have the day off, aru," he sighed, nursing a migraine. Plates crashed in the restaurant, Anh started shouting, and the phone chose this wonderful moment to ring "I'll get it!" Yao abandoned the Lāmiàn to little Mei and ran to the other side of the room, catching it, and nestling the phone in the crook of his shoulder. "Chickety China, the Chinese Chicken. Put it in your mouth an' your brain starts click'n, aru. What'll you have?"

"…Chickety China, the Chinese Chicken?"

"Rodrich!" Yao jumped and nearly dropped the phone, bouncing it between his hands before putting it to his ear again. "Gah- ah, I mean! Aru, ah… What do you need?"He asked coolly.

"Yong-Soo came up with that?"

Yao glanced about guiltily. "…Yes?"

"Would have thought as much." Ah. Disaster avoided. "No matter, I need to call in a favor."

The Chinese man narrowed his eyes slightly. "What kind of favor, aru…? -Kiku, get the oil away from Yong-Soo!" He'd just made a hibachi-styled volcano, and was running around the kitchen with it on a spatula.

"You see, we are sort of hosting a party at our place and-"

Mei walked up to him and tugged on his sleeve, pointing to several bowls of Lāmiàn on the counter. "Oh, just take those to Jaidee, qiānjīn, he'll know what to do with- Tömörbaatar! Leave the Shào jiǔ alone, aru!" The grizzled old man had snuck into the alcohol stores, and Lord knew what that man was like when drunk. "I'm sorry, Rodrich, please continue, aru."

"And Arthur's catering."

Yao was silent for a moment, a blank expression coming over his face. "I cleaned Arthur's kitchen once and there was a pot on the stove. When I took the lid off it growled at me, aru."

"So you see what my problem is?" A problem, indeed.

"One cannot refuse to eat just because there is a chance of dying, aru!" He was quite adamant on this point. "We'll be there, Rodrich, never fear." The Austrian thanked him and they both hung up. Yao walked over to the Mongolian with a quiet smile. "Tömörbaatar, I need you to do your best Genghis Khan impression for the guests, aru."

"…Why?"

Well, after that strange event, Feliciano made his way up the neat cobble-stone drive to the Carriedo home, 'oo-ing' and 'ah-ing' at all the pretty trees and flowers, all in bloom. When they finished the picnic at home, they should have one here. They could sit by the stream way over that way and make pasta, and he could make pretty little flower crowns, and necklaces, and broaches, and there'd be pasta…

Through all of his day-dreaming, Feli failed to notice the clatter and crashing that came clanging down through an open window, Senor Carriedo's voice rising above the noise."Ché! Faustino! I told you not to play soccer in the house! Cierra, cariño, you know that'll stunt your growth. Philip, can't you do something about Armando? He's tracking mud into the house a- No, Lovi, not there!"

"It's your fault for having such a huge house, stronzo!" A little banging, and bashing, and a quick succession of bumps later, Antonio kicked the door open and stumbled over to a clump of bushes, holding a kicking and screaming Italian out and arm's length.

"Ciao, fratello! Uncle Antonio!"

They froze. Antonio turned his head slowly with a bright grin plastered all over his face. "Feli! Good to see you!" Lovi growled something about letting go and pinched Antonio's wrist. His eyebrow twitched. "Ah, you just get cuter every time I see you~!"

Feliciano pouted up at him. "You don't look so good, Uncle Antonio…"

"Si, well…" The Spaniard chuckled and turned his wan grin to the open door of his usually peaceful manor. "Things have been really lively lately." A soccer ball flew into view and bounced between the door frame before launching back inside, followed by the crash of glass, laughter, and shouts of 'GOAAAL!'

"What're you doin' here, anyways, jerk-wad?" Lovino scowled indignantly down at his little brother and crossed his arms, totally ignoring the new way some of the bush's leaves glistened.

Feliciano looked confused for a second before it dawned on him. "Oh, right! Papa's having a party at his house tomorrow, and you're invited! There'll be pasta, and pizza, and games, and pasta too!" Feli practically sparkled at the thought.

Antonio nearly jumped at the chance, but, "Well, not… everyone's invited, are they?" he asked nervously.

Feliciano thought about it for a while. "Mama only said Uncle and fratello… But if you want to, then-!"

"That's fine, that's fine!" He said quickly, setting Lovi down now that he was through with his business. "Rodrich wouldn't want us all clogging up his place!" What with his aunts, and uncles, and cousins, and his brother's family, and his cousin's second sister's twice removed family…

"Okay~!" Whatever Antonio decided to do was fine with him! "And you're coming too, right, fratello?" No response."Fratello? " A humph. Lakes welled up in his eyes and he sniffled. "Lovino, you have to come…!"

Antonio winced, knowing that tone. "Lovi, be nice to your hermanito," he warned, bracing himself for a screaming flood of Italian.

Notes:

I never got over the fact that most of the countries never got to have their characters portrayed. I kinda just want to take the Animaniac's 'Countries of the World' song and draw all of the countries to it, but… so much research. Anyways! This is Antonio's house during the Family Reunion season! We won't get to see much of Latin America, but at least they're here. And a good portion of Asia, too.

China says:

Shì de: ((I forgot. Something affirmative.))

Lāmiàn: Chinese ramen

Xiǎo: small, young, little ((Like an endearment))

Lǎo: old ((Used like Xiǎo, but more like Jr. vs Sr.))

Qiānjīn: darling (daughter/ 1000 gold)