American Daddy 1

"...and they are drafting a bill for it to become an actual state." The President sighed as he looked at the young man sitting in front of him, staring ahead with a tell-tale blank look. "So then I told them that if they passed a bill banning the sale of hamburgers, I wouldn't veto it."

Alfred jumped to attention, standing, slamming his hands down on the desk. The President cringed as he heard the heavy wood cracking from the strain. "What? But that's not fair! What did hamburgers ever do to you? I thought you were just saying the other day that you appreciated their beefy goodness from time to time!" He was leaning forward with an intense look in his eyes, and the President could only sigh.

"Alfred. If you had been listening, you would know that was just something I made up. Of course I like hamburgers. Now, can you pay attention? This is a serious matter."

Alfred narrowed his eyes slightly, before sitting down and crossing his arms, muttering about falling for it every time.

"Now, as I was saying, there is a small faction in the House that is drafting a bill for the admission of the State of New Columbia. It's a little sad that our cars have license plates that read "Taxation without Representation," don't you think so? After all, what was a large factor of the Revolution?" Alfred was leaning forward in his seat now as he listened and he sighed.

"You want me to have another state." The President sighed and stood, walking around his desk to put a hand on Alfred's shoulder.

"You don't have to have another state. But, I think you know better than I do, that it certainly makes it easier to convince the stiffs in Congress to approve the bill when you do."

Alfred took off his glasses and rubbed his face with his other hand.

"It's not that. I'm not exactly seeing anyone right now. I know everyone thinks that I don't notice these things, but most other nations don't really like me all that much." The President nodded. It had been a rough few years, but he was working on repairing things. He only brought this up now because Alfred looked healthier than he had when he had first entered office.

"Alfred, the new state will be the home of the capital of the United States of America. It will arguably be the most powerful state in the free world. I know our nation's history pretty well. Don't you think it's about time you had a say in who the father of your states is? This is your chance."

As Alfred glanced up at him, he knew he had gotten him. Hook, line, and sinker.

He wasn't surprised when a week later, he received a letter from his nation, asking him to call a world meeting.

A month later, the other nations sat at their seats, looking at the small, numbered papers in their hands. No one had been told them why there was a meeting being held, but their bosses had asked them to go. The only nation that had yet to arrive was America.

Who walked in at that moment, carrying a stack of papers, and headed to the front of the room, dropping them on the table with a loud thud.

"Alright! Thanks for coming on such short notice! I'll try to make this quick!"

"I should have known that you were behind this somehow. Alright, what idiotic idea to save the world have you come up with this time?" Arthur crossed his arms and leaned back in his seat. Alfred pouted a bit for a moment, then smirked.

"Other than destroying all the kitchens in the UK? Nothing. That's not why I called this meeting!" He cleared his throat and looked at all the nations. "There is a bill running through Congress at the moment that will establish the State of New Columbia. So, I need to find a father for my newest state. I'm not playing fast and loose this time, so if you're interested, you'll have to fill out one of these applications."

He split the stack and put half the pile on either side of the table.

"You all have numbers in your hands. I don't know what those numbers are. Don't tell me. Don't write your name on your application, but write your number instead."

The nations looked at each other before most of them started to get up. They weren't going to do this ridiculous charade. There was nothing in it for them to be the father of another state.

"I should also mention that New Columbia will be the state established to give representation to the people who live in Washington, D.C."

There was a shuffle of chairs as the nations hurried to sit down again. The piles of applications were quickly passed down the table and a flurry of pencil scratches on paper filled the room.

Alfred smirked as he watched, then blinked a few times.

"Oh right. I'm really sorry ladies, but since I'm the one that has to have the state, uh...you can't apply." He dodged quickly as a knife flew over his head. He peeked over the side of the table to see Natalya glaring at him before she stormed out of the room with the other female nations.

When they finished, staff filed into the room, bringing in lunch for them. Alfred took the applications and headed out of the room to read through them. He would pick the ten best applications and begin the process of narrowing them down from there.

It seemed like hours to the eager nations before Alfred finally walked back into the room, carrying a very small pile of applications. He said nothing as he walked over to the chalkboard and started writing numbers. After he wrote the tenth number, he set the chalk down and turned around.

"If your number is not on this board, you may leave. Thank you for your interest, and I'm sorry to have wasted your time." He adjusted his glasses then walked to the head of the table, sitting down and looking at the applications in his hand again. "The rest of you stay in your seats. We'll begin the rest of the application process.

There were various grumbles and murmurs as nations checked their number against the ones written on the board. One by one, nations started to file out of the room.

After some time had passed, and there were no longer the sounds of people leaving the room, Alfred looked up again at the nations who remained, watching him quietly.

He wasn't surprised to see Arthur there. The application had a lot of questions about Alfred, and America in general, on it. It wasn't surprising that he got most of them right.

Sitting in the seat beside him was Francis. Again, this wasn't surprising.

Neither was Antonio. He had states with all of them before, even if it wasn't entirely willing.

Across the table from them were Yao and Ivan. Given the history with their nations, he wasn't surprised that they were there either.

The others were a little surprising however. He counted to himself as he noted the others at the table: Ludwig, Roderich, Vash, and Gilbert. Ok, actually, Gilbert was more than just a little surprising.

He frowned slightly and counted again, then looked at the board, counting the numbers he had written. There were ten. He sighed and turned. "Why are there only nine of you here?"

Matthew sighed, letting his forehead hit the table.