You clutched your Father's hand tightly and nervously as you stood outside of a large wooden door, hearing the sound of fighting going on inside. This was really, really weird. Your Father, one morning, told you to pack your bags because you were going to Russia for a bit. When you got here, you saw him talk to a few weird looking people at the airport, like one really tall guy with light blondish hair and violet eyes and another guy who wore a leather jacket with a plane on the sleeve, a star over his heart and a big number 50 printed on the back. The man with the jacket also had glasses and spoke really loud.
Then, your Father drove you to a big house and led you to a room, telling you that's where you'd be staying for a bit. You'd collapsed on the bed and fallen asleep. The next morning, your Father woke you up really early, told you to get dressed and then drug you down here. And now here you were, terrified of what lied beyond that door. He told you to sit in the hall and wait for him. He let go of your hand and walked inside just as a man, with a thick German accent, shouted at everyone to shut up. The door slowly closed behind your Father and then, the room was silent. You stood there, staring wide-eyed at the door, waiting for your Father to come out. Then, the door slowly opened. The first person to step out was a woman, wearing a dress similar to a maid's. She had long brown hair and kind green eyes. She also had a flower in her hair, which you thought was really pretty. When she spotted you, she smiled softly and walked over, kneeling in front of you.
"Hi sweetie, your Father sent me out here to watch you. I'm Elizabeta but you can call me Lizzie, Eliza or Hungary if that's easier." She said kindly, looking into your (e/c) eyes.
"Hi Lizzie! I'm (y/n)." You said with a little giggle at the end. This lady seemed nice so you decided to trust her. Besides, she kinda reminded you of your Mom who'd passed away about a year ago.
"(Y/n)? That's a wonderful name!" She said, giving another kind smile.
"Awww…You're so cute~! I could probably give you one of my old dresses and it'd fit you perfectly." She said, tapping your nose with her finger. You wrinkled your nose and giggled again. You liked this lady, Elizabeta. You could tell you were going to get along with her.
Just when you were about to ask her another question, the doors flung open and a man with white hair and red eyes stepped through the doorway. "Losers," He growled at the closing doors.
"Did your brother kick you out again, Gil?" Eliza asked with a small smirk on her face.
He rolled his ruby red eyes. "Ja, he just cannot stand my awesomeness!" A smug grin spread across his face.
Eliza rolled her eyes and scoffed. "Right," she muttered. "(Y/n), this is Gilbert, the annoying ex-nation of Prussia."
Gil would've normally been insulted and commented back on how she left his 'awesomeness' out of the description, but he was so focused on you that he didn't care. Besides, he'd be able to bug Eliza about it later.
"Hallo," he said, bending down in front of you. "Well aren't you an adorable little thing."
You clung to Lizzie desperately, staring wide-eyed at the man before you, who seemed to resemble a vampire, like the ones your Father told stories about. Eliza chuckled softly.
"It's okay, he doesn't bite." She said with a tiny smile on her face.
You nodded and then looked back at the somewhat offended Prussian man.
"H-Hi…" You squeaked out. He cracked a tiny grin at you and said something but you didn't hear him. You were busy paying attention to the little ball of yellow fluff that had appeared at the top of his head.
"Hey, (y/n), what are you staring at?" He asked, finally snapping you out of your daze.
"What's that?" You said, pointing a chubby finger at the yellow blob on top of his head.
"Oh, Gilbird?" He asked, staring up at the top of his head. Reaching his hand up, the little ball of fluff jumped into his hand and he lowered it down to (y/n)'s face. "This is ze Awesome Gilbird. He's my little friend. You can pet him if you like." He said.
Tentatively, you reached out and touched the bird's head. It chirped softly and bounced, causing you to giggle. Then, the doors opened yet again and your Father stepped out.
"(Y/n), come with me. Oh, Eliza, could you watch her in the meeting? I have something I have to settle with Francis." Eliza nodded and scooped you up into her arms. You wrapped your arms around her neck and clung tightly to her, immediately remembering your fear of what lied beyond the door.
"It's okay, sweetie, nobody will hurt you." She whispered in your ear. Prussia then looked over at your Father.
"What about me?"
"Ludwig said you have to stay out here."
Prussia rolled his eyes and leaned against the wall, muttering stuff in German that you didn't understand. Then, Eliza carried you into the room. You immediately saw a bunch of people stare at you. There was the big tall man and the loud man from the airport, there was a man sitting at the head of the table with blond, slicked back hair and blue eyes. There was a person who sat next to him, his eyes shut and a blissful look on his face. You also noticed he had a little curl sticking out from the side of his head. Your eyes continued around the room, noticing very few women. There was one woman who had really big breasts and sort of grayish hair. When your eyes landed on her, she was sewing a button back into her shirt. The other woman you noticed was a girl, in a dress, who was standing in the corner, staring intently at the tall man from the airport; she was also twirling a knife in her hand, though she didn't seem to pay attention to it. You saw a lot of people that had weapons or people that looked scary and you didn't want to be here. You buried your face even more into Eliza's neck, hoping they'd all go away.
You let out a soft whimper and Eliza sighed sympathetically. She whispered something into your Father's ear, something you didn't catch. He whispered back and you could feel her freeze. You heard her ask for confirmation and you caught his next words, "Either introduce her to Ivan, Alfred, Feliciano or Lili. Lili would be a good person, another sweet girl for her to get to know…" Eliza then relaxed. You were then brought over to another part of the room. Eliza spoke with a man with blonde hair and a gun strapped to his back for a moment before taking you over to an area in the room where chaos was not erupting. There sat a girl with blonde hair, similar to the man's, and green, almost an aquamarine, eyes. She sat properly in the chair, her back straight, her body pulled up, and there was a tiny smile on her face as she looked over at the man who looked similar to her. You assumed that he was her brother or a close relative.
"Hello, Miss Hungary." She said in a sweet, quiet voice.
"Hello Lili. This is (y/n)." She said, tilting you a bit so that the girl could get a better look at you.
Her smile seemed to get a bit bigger and she stood up, straightening her dress a bit before looking back to you. "Hello, I'm Liechtenstein, but you can call me Lili."
"H-Hi," you squeaked out.
You had a small conversation with the girl before your Father finally called over to you and Eliza from across the room. The entire place fell silent at the sound of your Father's voice. He had that loud, booming voice that seemed to fill a room and make everyone listen, as if everything he said were an important announcement. Eliza set you on the floor and you put your tiny hand in hers as she walked over to your Father.
"Hey, pumpkin, I know you've met Eliza, Gilbert and Lili but there are a few more people I'd like you to meet, okay?" You nodded and then he took your hand. Eliza and your Father exchanged glances before she walked away, taking her seat at the table again. Then, the man at the head of the table cleared his throat.
"Since it is clear zhat Mr. (Last Name) will need to speak with a few of us, this meeting is dismissed. Mr. (Last Name), vould you like me to stay as well?"
You Father nodded.
"Yes, Ludwig, you and Feliciano should stay. The other countries know who they are." Ludwig nodded and took his seat yet again. After everyone else had filed out, the only people left in the room were Eliza, the man your Father had addressed as Ludwig, the tall man, the loud man, and the person with the curl. They all moved together, but everyone seemed to group together and then the tall man was one seat away from them. You wondered why this was so because he looked nice, despite the fact that he was really tall, even when he was sitting. He walked up and pulled a chair, facing it in a direction so that he could see all the people at the table.
"Hello everyone, by the way, thank you for staying behind for a bit. As you all know, the (last name) family has been deeply involved with the countries for many years and now the time has come for the next one in line to be introduced and begin being educated in the ways of the countries." They all nodded at your Father's words seriously, but that childish smile was still on the tall man's face. "So, first, let's go with introductions so (y/n) knows who you are and which country you represent. She already knows you, Eliza." Your newest friend, Eliza, nodded with a tiny, reassuring smile to you. "Ludwig, could you begin?"
The blonde nodded. "Ja, hallo, (y/n). I'm Ludwig and I represent the country of Germany."
"At least the west side!" Called a voice on the other side of the door. Ludwig sighed and furrowed his brow, closing his eyes. "Hungary?" He asked, and she nodded, grabbing a black skillet out of seemingly nowhere and stalking outside.
There was the creepy sound of "Kesesesesesese."
WHAM!
Then there was a thud. Two more weird, laugh-like sounds came from outside. "Fusososososososo~" and the one that really freaked you out, "Ohonhonhonhonhonhon~"
WHAM!
WHAM!
Two more thuds. Eliza walked back in and sat back down, straightening her skirt and setting her skillet under the table. "The Trio of Idiots is knocked out for at least the next hour."
Ludwig nodded. "Thank you, Hungary."
Hungary nodded. "It was no problem, now, the introductions?"
"Ja, I was just finishing up. Italy?" He questioned the man next to him in a gruff voice and the man mumbled something sleepily, it sounded like he said "pasta" but you weren't sure.
"Ve~ Hello, bella! I'm Feliciano but you can call me Feli! I represent half of Italy while my fratello, Romano, represents the other half."
"Where is he?" You questioned, tilting your head to the side curiously.
"Ah, it's best if you don't meet him right now." Your Father cut in.
Feliciano nodded vigorously before he commented, "Oh and Germany forgot to mention, if you can't say his name right, just call him Luddy~!"
You giggled sweetly and nodded, glancing over at the German whose face dusted with a light pink.
Then, it was the loud man from the airports turn. "Hey! I'm Alfred F. Jones and I represent America because I'M THE HERO!"
WHAM!
Eliza's skillet made contact with his head, not hard enough to knock him out but enough to hurt the poor, unsuspecting American.
"Hey," he whined. "What gives?" He rubbed his head where he was sure a bump would form. Eliza blew on her skillet like one would a recently fired gun before pointing it accusingly at him.
"Nobody wants to hear it right now, Alfred. Now, be quiet and let Russia introduce himself so I can get back to my yaoi—I mean cleaning the house." She cut herself off mid sentence and the American raised an eyebrow.
You would've asked what 'yaoi' was but Eliza gained a light glare from your Father when she'd said that so you decided to leave the topic alone…for now. Then, it came to the final man. The tall one. When it was his turn, his childish smile widened and he gave one of those cute little closed eye smiles.
"Hello, sunflower~ I am Ivan and I represent Russia."
You nodded to the man and smiled back, making many of the others in the room nervous…for some reason. Still, you then turned and looked at them with wide, curious young eyes.
"Hi," you managed to say around your shyness. Eliza smiled widely and even your Father's lips had a trace of a smile.
"Alright everyone," your father said, his voice getting a bit quieter. He then looked down at you. "I guess I should explain what's going on." Then, your father launched into the explanation, of who these people are, what these people were doing here, etc. You remained calm and quiet as he spoke, sometimes asking other countries questions, most of them pertaining to the other people who'd been in the room earlier. To the countries dismays but your father's delight, you were taking a liking to Russia and, by the end of his explanations of the countries, you were sitting in front of Russia on the table, his hand mindlessly combing through your hair. Now it was time for your questions.
"Lizzie," you began, choosing your words carefully. "Who were those people you knocked out in the hall?"
Elizabeta rolled her eyes. "Well, you know Prussia, and then there were his two friends, Antonio, who represents Spain, and Francis who represents France. You'll probably be meeting Spain later on but, I hope, you won't have to meet France at all in your life."
"Why?"
Eliza then found herself stuck between a rock and a hard place. She couldn't really tell a child why they should avoid France, could she?! Sighing she replied, "Just know that you don't want to meet him. I'll explain when you're older."
You gained a confused look on your face but you nodded anyway. You had a few more questions to ask before, eventually, some of the other countries had to leave.
"I have to make sure bruder doesn't destroy ze house." Ludwig said and, following the blond like a puppy, Feliciano trailed behind him.
Eliza eventually had to excuse herself but, before she did, she walked over to you and planted a little kiss on your nose. You wrinkled it and giggled quietly. She then hugged you. "I'll see you at the next meeting, which is in Hungary, by the way." You nodded vigorously and smiled at Lizzie. "Alright, I'll see ya soon. Watch out for Natalya when you're around Russia, okay?" You nodded. You gave her one last hug before she reluctantly left.
That left just you, your father, Alfred and Ivan. You were still sitting right in front of Ivan but, somehow, Alfred managed to scoot over one seat so that he was sitting next to the Russian, but you could see him just barely shaking. This made you curious. Why were all these people afraid of Ivan? He was really sweet!
"So, (y/n), I have a job now, working with the countries."
"That's great, Father!" You said, smiling widely at him. Another tiny, sad smile appeared on his face.
"But, I'll be traveling a lot. That means you'll be staying with the countries when I'm out on business, since you know my…relationship with your Mother's family isn't the best right now."
You sighed softly and nodded. The last time Grandma and Grandpa had visited was last Christmas…a few days before your Mother had died.
"So, you'll probably be spending a lot of your time with Alfred, Ivan, Ludwig, and since you take such a liking to her, Hungary." You smiled widely, happy that you'd be able to see all those people again. "I'll make sure to visit when I can; the schedule with the countries is already set up. You'll be heading home with Alfred, since I have some business here in Russia to deal with."
You sighed softly and nodding, keeping your (e/c) away from his…Here he goes again, dropping you off on someone else. In the mere four years of your life so far, your Father has dropped you off and handed you off to person after person and now he was doing it again? He continued on to talk about minding your manners and being respectful to the countries but, honestly, you tuned it all out. At some point during his lecture, you yawned widely and rubbed your big (e/c) eyes. He stopped mid-sentence and sighed softly. Then, he looked over at America.
"Alfred? Could you take her back home?" The American nodded, the goofy grin that was usually on his face now becoming a soft smile as he stood and picked you up. He then ruffled your hair with his gloved hand. He smiled and waved to Russia and your Father before stepping out of the room, knowing where he had to go. He looked down at your head that was on his shoulder and chuckled softly.
"I guess attending your first world meeting being only four years old will tire you out." He said, smiling at you.
You nodded and yawned again, struggling to keep your eyes open. You then managed to pull back and look at him. "Alfie," you mumbled sleepily. He let out a soft "hm" which meant for you to continue. "Why is everyone afraid of Ivan?"
He stopped dead in his tracks, frozen. Glancing down at you, he sighed softly. "Russia is a big country, nobody has conquered Russia. You'll learn a lot more about his history when you go to live with him for weeks at a time. Everyone's afraid of him because…Well, he's an intimidating country…and rather creepy."
"B-But…" You would've continued but you yawned again and you let your head slump against his shoulders. Then, you started to giggle.
"What are you giggling about?" Alfred asked, chuckling himself.
"I was jus' thinkin' about when Eliza and Gil were arguin' in the hall…They do a really bad job at coverin' up their feelins' for each other, don't they? They really are best friends, aren't they?"
Alfred laughed loudly, almost doubling over from laughter. "What? What did I say?" You asked.
"Nothing, nothing at all. You have a lot to learn, (y/n)."
"What do ya' mean?"
"I'll tell you on the plane ride back, okay?"
You nodded weakly, excitement now coursing through you. You loved learning, especially about these people. They were so…fun, kind, sweet and you just loved them. Not as the nations they represent, but the actual person.
Eventually, Alfred carried you out to a car and drove you to the airport.
"W-What about my stuff that I left there?" You asked, looking at him with wide eyes.
"That's going to stay there so you have clothes when you go to Russia and spend next month with him, okay?" You nodded and then sighed.
The rest of the night seemed to travel in a blur. You'd fallen asleep on the drive to the airport and Alfred ended up carrying you onto the plane. Thankfully, Ivan had gotten a private jet for the two of you, making all this much easier for Alfred. Airports and flying made the American very nervous, if he wasn't the one piloting the plane. Ever since 9/11 he'd been scared to death of airports, airport security and flying. Private jets made him much calmer but there was still that fear, that little voice in the back of his head that kept him from getting any rest during the flights.
- Le Time Skip To Ten Hours Later, Still On The Plane -
"(Y/n)," Alfred said, shaking your shoulder. You groaned and turned away from the American, not wanting to wake up.
"C'mon, (y/n), the plane's going to land in twenty minutes."
"Then lemme' sleep another tweny' minutes." Your voice was muffled and slurred from sleep.
"No, you have to be awake soon."
"Nuuu!" You protested, whining loudly. He sighed and crossed his arms, looking at you and thinking for a minute.
"C'mon, pleaaaaaaaaaaase wake up?" Alfred whines in a tone matching yours.
You glanced at the American out of the corner of your eye and pouted, he imitated the pout, causing you to giggle.
"Alright, I'm up!" You said, rolling your eyes at him.
"Good, now…you might want to brush your hair."
"Why?"
"It looks like you had a family of squirrels nesting in it." He said, grabbing a mirror and showing you your reflection.
He wasn't lying when he said your hair was bad. In fact, what he'd said was an understatement. Curse your awful bed head! You blamed your mother for this…You had the same hair type as her, (thin/thick) (h/c) hair that was awful to manage in the morning.
You grabbed your white, compact brush out of your pocket (you always carried it with you because your Father always told you to keep your hair brushed and clean and your clothes neat). You then began the painful process of dragging the brush through your mane.
"Owwie…" You mumbled when you finished, looking at the brush in your hand. Clumps of your (h/c) hair remained entangled in the brush and had been pulled out during the process of taming the unruly mess.
About ten minutes later, the plane landed and Alfred seemed to relax when he stepped out of the airport.
Then, Alfred drove you to where he lived. Now, you were expecting either a normal home or a mansion, like Russia's, but you were slightly confused when he pulled up to what appeared to be an apartment building. He smiled widely and got out of the car, pulling his bag from the trunk and then getting you out of the car. He easily held you in one arm while the other hand gripped his suitcase.
The two of you took an elevator to the top floor and your eyes widened. The elevator let out in the living room, there was a large staircase to your left and the entire wall next to the staircase seemed to be nothing but a window. The staircase lead into a hallway and that was all you could see upstairs from where you stood. There were two couches; put together to make a sort of sideways 'L' shape, there was a table with a lamp on it connecting the two tables. There was a large, flat screen T.V set up just across from where you were standing. It was resting on a stand and there was many, many game consoles beneath it. You guessed that the American liked video games because he had a huge stack of them for each console as well as a few boxes underneath the T.V stand. He also had a small table in front of the couches where a laptop rested, a charging cord extending from the wall and plugged into the device. Glancing over to your right, you saw a curtain but you didn't know what was behind it. Next to the curtained area there was an archway that leads to the kitchen.
"Wow!" You exclaimed, your brown eyes wide.
He chuckled softly. "Glad you like it." He then told you that behind the curtain there was a movie room, and he showed you around the place. Your bedroom was upstairs, right next to his, and there was a door bathroom in between the two of them that both rooms lead into. Across the hall from you was an empty bedroom that was used as a guest room, and then another room next to it where America stored all of his superhero comics and movies.
Since it was the summer right now and you had Alfred watching you, you got to stay up a bit later. The two of you stayed in the movie room he had (which had a like, mini-movie screen that you thought was AWESOME) and watched a bunch of random superhero movies and ate pizza for dinner. He did make sure that you didn't eat too much though, even though he ate a whole large pizza himself.
'Nations must have big appetites.' You thought.
When the last movie you'd been watching, Thor, ended, he turned the screen off and flipped the light on.
"Time for bed, munchkin." He said, and you frowned a bit at the nickname.
"I'm not a munchkin," you grumbled and he laughed softly.
"You barely come up to my knees, you're a munchkin. Now, head up and get ready for bed."
"What about PJs?"
"Just look in your closet." He said, heading upstairs to change into his own Pjs. You scrambled up the steps behind him, not wanting to get lost in this huge place. He then walked into his bedroom and looked over his shoulder, seeing you peering into the room. He chuckled and crossed his arms.
"Go on to your room, everything's set up, okay?" You nodded and then walked over to your room. When you opened it, your eyes went as wide as dinner plates.
((A/N : I suggest going to my deviantART 'Hairbun503' to get the picture of the bedroom in the description of 'Our Quirky Family'))
The room was beautiful. You loved it! It was all (favorite color) and definitely your style. Walking across from the bed, you saw a big (favorite color) door and pulled it to the side, revealing a walk-in closet. Your eyes went even wider. One side had some of your favorite outfits from home that you hadn't packed, though there were a bunch missing, ones that you hadn't packed. You wondered where they'd gone before you glanced to the other side of the closet. A few of your favorite pairs of Pjs from home hung on that side as well as one that you didn't recognize but you immediately loved. It was a (favorite color) nightgown and it looked really silky. It had short sleeves that kinda poofed up and the hem and neckline had frilly white lace. It was so cute!
You walked over and saw a note hanging from it. Grabbing the note, you slowly read it.
'These are for you, (y/n), Eliza and Katyusha helped me pick it out. I hope you like it.
Your Father, (Father's Name).'
You smiled widely but you had to wonder…Who was this Katyusha? You tried to remember her name but you couldn't…A tiny frown grazed your features before you smiled again and stripped, pulling on the nightgown and then scurrying into the bathroom through the little door in your room, next to the cabinet. Just as you walked in you saw Alfred finishing up brushing his teeth. He smiled over at you and rinsed his mouth before kicking a sort of plastic stool over in front of one of the faucets on the double sink. He handed you your toothbrush from home and the toothpaste.
You quickly brushed your teeth and then he tucked you in, making sure that you were comfortable before finally going back into his room.
- Le Time Skip -
You tossed and turned in your bed, groaning in your sleep as a cold sweat coated your body. "No," you muttered. "No…" you tossed and turned again in your nightmare induced fit. You were still sound asleep but you wished that you could wake up. Suddenly, you screamed out, "NO!" Your eyes remained shut tightly as the horrific scene of your nightmare played out.
You heard a quick thumping and someone called out your name. You recognized it as Alfred's voice. Then, you felt yourself being shaken, your name called again and again. Finally, you eyes snapped open with a scream. When you saw Alfred's worried blue eyes gazing into yours with concern, you latched onto the American for dear life, sobbing into his shoulder.
"I-It was so scary! A-A-And *hic* so REAL!" You choked out between sobs.
He held you tightly in his arms against his chest, whispering soothing words to you.
"Shhh, shhh…It'll be okay. It was all just a dream, darlin'."
Oh, there goes his Southern accent. It happens when he doesn't look out for it. He usually just covers it up around the other countries, and, of course, England also doesn't exactly like the Southern way of speaking, so he tries to watch his Southern accent around the Brit, if only to shut him up for a minute.
You just kept crying. You didn't like what you'd seen in that dream. Your Mother, your Father, Alfred, Eliza, Ivan, Ludwig, Feliciano…all of them just disappeared and you were left walking around a blank, black room that never ended, calling their names.
"Shhh…" Then, Alfred did something that he hadn't done for a long time.
"Come stop your crying
It will be alright
Just take my hand
Hold it tight
I will protect you from all around you
I will be here
Don't you cry,"
You immediately recognized the song…You and your Father had watched all the Disney movies as many times as you could. But, he never sang this song to you, no matter how much you loved it. He said he wasn't a singer…Your Mother, on the other hand, would sit at the piano and play your favorite Disney songs…This calmed you, but you still sniffled and cried. And Alfred continued his singing.
"For one so small, you seem so strong
My arms will hold you, keep you safe and warm
This bond between us
Can't be broken I will be here
Don't you cry
'Cause you'll be in my heart
Yes, you'll be in my heart
From this day on
Now and forever more
You'll be in my heart
No matter what they say
You'll be here in my heart, always
Why can't they understand the way we feel
They just don't trust what they can't explain
I know we're different but, deep inside us
We're not that different at all
And you'll be in my heart
Yes, you'll be in my heart
From this day on
Now and forever more
Don't listen to them
'Cause what do they know
We need each other, to have, to hold
They'll see in time I know
When destiny calls you
You must be strong cause I may not be with you
But you've got to hold on
They'll see in time I know
We'll show them together cause
You'll be in my heart
Yes, you'll be in my heart
From this day on,
Now and forever more
Oh, you'll be in my heart
No matter what they say
You'll be in my heart, always
Always I'll be with you.
When I'll be there for you always
Always and always
Just look over your shoulder
Just look over your shoulder
Just look over your shoulder
I'll be there for you always
Always."
As the song drew to a close and the last note died off, Alfred kissed the top of the head.
"I'll protect you from the nightmares. You have to trust me from now on, okay?"
You nodded and whimpered, clinging tightly to him still.
"C-Can I sleep with you tonight?" He smiled down at you, his blue eyes soft and kind.
"Sure," he said, picking you up and carrying you back into his room. Once he lay down, you curled up into his chest, your eyes shut tightly and your little fists balled up in his white shirt. He still had his strong arms wrapped around you, as if being a human shield against the nightmares. He kissed your head again.
"G'night," he whispered.
You yawned and then shut your eyes, whispering in reply, "Night night…Daddy…"