Title: Just The Usual Antics
Author: PwnedByPineapple
Summary: In a burst of inspiration, America decides to play matchmaker. He's better at it than you'd think. England/Liechtenstein.
Rating/Warning(s): K; none
Notes: Written at the request of the awesome Faith Altoire. This pairing needs more love.

Disclaimer: This fangirl owns nothing.

It was because of two separate and significant instances during the week-long world conference that the United States of America chanced upon a most brilliant idea.

The first of these instances was merely an observation on his part, of a rather unusual occurrence that planted in his mind a subconscious seed of scheming. It took place in the prelude to the first official meeting; there was a general rush of arriving nations, with greetings and threats and raucous jokes being exchanged, and an equally collective hastening for the coffee and refreshments that had been set out. America was making a beeline for the coffee machine, because the hour that these first meetings were usually set at was ungodly, and if he did not receive caffeine in the next five minutes, he was going to go to sleep on the floor.

Many other nations seemed to be of the same disposition, and the line that trailed from the coffee machine was just as horrendous. America found himself behind at least six people, and he let loose a plaintive sigh. Oh, he just wanted caffeine. Was that really too much to ask?

Biting his lip in impatience, he waited for the line to move and let his eyes wander around the lobby. It was only for a moment, but it was enough. In one glance, he saw much the same of everything - Romano yelling at Germany, France being, well... himself, etc. - but not everything was the same.

To be precise, he saw Liechtenstein's eyes following England.

Oh, really? America's wandering gaze immediately fixed on the small principality, who stood next to her brother. The American watched Liechtenstein's eyes trail after England's movements as the Englishman crossed the room. The principality's gaze was thoughtful and interested; though she was usually always smiling, there was a certain sparkle to her expression now.

Well, wasn't that unusual?

America began to grin at the sight. It looked as if little Liechtenstein had a crush, which was actually kinda cute. But... a crush on England. America would have never imagined that to be a viable thing. England was so old and stuck-up and not fun; who wanted to crush on that?

Still... America grudgingly supposed that his older brother wasn't lacking in the looks department. And if one ignored his entire personality... well, it was feasible. Liechtenstein was so nice that if she did have a crush, she was probably able to overlook every annoying thing about England.

America was so caught up in these musings that it was only just in time that he noticed he was next in line. As Estonia stepped away from the coffee machine, nodding to him in brief greeting as he passed, America eagerly dove for his own share, and any thoughts of Liechtenstein and England were driven from his mind and replaced with the delightful caffeine buzz of coffee.

The creatures were hovering near England, occasionally spinning and performing wild little mid-air dances as they flitted about the male nation. They were humanoid and beautiful, brightly colored and shining, and Liechtenstein couldn't help but think that they were adorable as well. She watched them with great curiosity, wondering, as always, what they were and why they clustered about England like so, but only at certain times.

But she'd never asked before. It wasn't really her business, and truly she was happy just to see their tiny, lovely forms. Liechtenstein got the feeling that she was one of the few who could see them; she'd once made a passing comment to Switzerland about the beautiful little people, and he'd only become confused. And no one else seemed to take any notice of the creatures - save England, who talked to them only when he thought no one was looking and seemed to be greatly cheered by their presence.

Liechtenstein didn't want to disturb that, and so she was content merely to watch and wonder, a contemplative smile upon her face.

The second instance, which cemented the scheming that had been going on in America's subconscious ever since he'd made his rather erroneous observation, was very much an accidental occurrence. It took place a day later, when evening had at last arrived; he'd invited a large group out for a drink as soon as the day's meetings had been concluded, and naturally, he was running late.

Muttering under his breath, shrugging on a jacket as he jogged down the hotel hallway, he caught sight of something out the corner of his eye and skidded to a halt.

A door had been left ajar, and he'd glimpsed Liechtenstein within the room. She was seated at the dressing table, focused on the needlework in her hands, and America reconsidered that observation. Needlework. Wait a sec...

"Hey," he said, poking his head through the door.

Liechtenstein looked up in surprise. A moment later, she smiled politely and set her work down, nodding to him. "Oh, hello, Mr. America," she said pleasantly. "Do you need something?"

"I... um... you like sewing 'n stuff, right?" America inquired, studying her needlework for a moment.

Liechtenstein nodded and looked puzzled by this question.

"Oh," said America, fighting to contain a devious grin. The scheming was being brought to the surface of his mind; he was in the midst of speedy planning, hardly aware of what he was even doing, such was the charged nature of his brain. "Hey..." he said again, giving her a grin. "Since your brother would probably kill me if I invited you to the bar, how about you come to breakfast with us tomorrow? I don't want you to feel left out or anything."

Liechtenstein's face lit up in surprise. "Oh, I don't feel left out," she assured him. "But thank you! I'd be glad to accept."

And so America's plan commenced. "Awesome!" he said and heard movement in the hallway. Oh, crap - what if that was Switzerland coming back? "They serve breakfast at eight o'clock," he added hastily. They also served at six, but he was not about to get up that early, not even for any brilliant plans he happened to concoct. "See ya!"

With that, he ducked speedily out of the room and heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that it was only room service and luckily for him, not a trigger-happy nation who happened to be overly protective of his little sister.

"America, this is entirely uncalled for. I want sleep, and I don't want to look at your face!"

Internally, America was frustrated. Trust England to go and drink too much the night before and nearly ruin America's genius plan with a hangover. The Englishman was scowling as America tugged him into the open restaurant. It was 7:55 a.m., much too early for someone who needed to sleep off an alcohol-induced headache, and the soft lighting was causing England to blink rapidly, his eyes watering. Well, he'd just have to deal with it. America was not going to put hastily improvised effort into this for nothing.

"Fine!" the younger nation said, latching onto the protest with early morning inspiration. He practically pushed England towards one of the tables for two and made him sit, flagging down a waiter. "You don't have to look at my face, then!"

And with that, he turned and fled, leaving an outraged Englishman behind. "I don't want to eat here alone, either!" England called, furious, then seemed to reconsider that statement with a different conclusion. America, who'd hidden himself behind one of the decorative pillars a good distance away, grinned when England didn't leave, only shook his head and accepted a menu.

So far, things were going great.

Liechtenstein found America crouched behind a column outside the hotel restaurant.

"Pardon me," she said gently, and the male nation jumped a good foot in the air, clamping a hand over his mouth before anything inappropriate could come out.

"Liechtenstein!" he yelped around his fingers. He grinned at her nervously and immediately dropped his hand. "Sorry 'bout that. I was... checking up on things."

He was acting very oddly, but then again, he usually was. He was of an energetic sort, although Switzerland had choicer words for it. But Liechtenstein liked America; though strange, he was kind and cheery, and it seemed he was also thoughtful. She hadn't expected to be invited to breakfast like this.

"Anyway, something just came up," America said apologetically. "I need to take care of it right away, so I don't know if I'll be back in time to get breakfast. But England is here! You can still eat with him!" He grinned again and gave her a thumbs-up, gesturing within the restaurant.

Liechtenstein nodded in pleasant surprise, her gaze following where he pointed. She could see the little glowing creatures darting about England as he perused a menu - the fairy creatures. "Oh, that's too bad," she said to America, but it was natural for emergencies to pop up when one was a nation. She gave him a smile. "I hope whatever it is gets resolved soon."

"Oh, I'm sure it will," America said airily. "Have fun! Bye!" He left speedily, as seemed to be his habit, and like the evening before, Liechtenstein got the distinct impression that a whirlwind had just passed through.

"Is this seat taken?"

Startled, England lifted his head from the menu, blinking against the headache pulsing in his temple. To his surprise, Liechtenstein stood across from him, smiling rather shyly. She was wearing a beautiful little blue dress that England immediately identified as being handmade, and he found himself impressed. It was skilled work.

Well... if he absolutely had to spend the morning with anyone, then he'd rather it be someone like the principality. He shook his head. "No, go ahead," he said, and Liechtenstein took the seat across from him.

As England raised a hand for the waiter to bring a second menu, he heard his fairies beginning to whisper excitedly. Where they'd been occupying the space around his head, they now flitted towards the girl, darting about her. At first, he thought nothing of it - Liechtenstein was a stranger to them, after all, and one of his kind - until he saw that her eyes were following them.

He dropped his hand, his eyes widening.

"Is something wrong?" Liechtenstein asked, her eyes returning to him as he stared at her.

He had to fight to make the words leave his throat. "You... you can see them?" he asked in astonishment.

Liechtenstein blushed a little and nodded. "They're very pretty," she said, and there was real enthusiasm in her tone. "Are they your friends?"

England could hardly believe what he was hearing. He'd thought that, besides Norway, he was the last of his kind who could see magical creatures. He'd never known that Liechtenstein had the same ability. She'd never brought it up! And she seemed to take it in perfect stride - not at all shocked that they existed or clustered around her, but merely curious and delighted.

All England was able to do was nod.

"Oh, thank you!" Liechtenstein said, as the waiter arrived and handed her a menu. She giggled when the fairies began to flutter in circles around it, showing off their flying prowess to this newcomer who could see them, and England found that his headache had eased considerably.

"Well... this is a surprise," he said at last, and a small laugh accompanied his words. Finally, someone else with the Sight, and someone who wasn't obnoxious or irritating or just plain stupid. It was turning out to be a good morning after all. "I had no idea!"

"Oh... I would have told you before, but I just assumed it was private," Liechtenstein said, and once again England found himself amazed.

Private. Someone who respected privacy. Bless this girl.

"It's no problem," he assured her. "I'm just glad to know now." He was growing curious. "Have you always been able to see them?"

Liechtenstein nodded, though she looked a bit uncertain. "I don't always see them around you," she told him. "It's usually only when conferences are held here."

This, more than anything, was real confirmation. His fairies tended not to like leaving the shores of the British Isles, and it was only occasionally that they accompanied him to foreign places. But as England was the host nation of this particular world conference, they hadn't left his side the entire time.

"What are they?" Liechtenstein asked, drawing England out of his thoughts.

He began to explain hesitantly at first, but with growing enthusiasm as the girl displayed a genuine interest in the subject and proved more than a match for intelligent conversation. She showed no disbelief when he delved into old legends that had once resembled fact more than anything, and he found himself speaking more than he intended, falling into a rambling on old culture such as he had not been able to talk about in years.

And Liechtenstein didn't seem to mind. She was actually asking questions.

England couldn't help but beam. He didn't even have a headache anymore.

America was watching from his clever new hiding spot - the balcony of the second floor, which gave a bird's eye view of the restaurant below. He peered as unobtrusively as possible over the railing, observing the breakfast that was carrying on even longer than he'd thought it would. He couldn't hear a word of what was being said, but it didn't matter - his plan was working splendidly.

He wasn't entirely sure where the notion had sprung from, as even he acknowledged that he had a slight tendency to run with crazy ideas before even examining their motives. But he supposed there was something about sneaky plans that just appealed to him, and Liechtenstein's crush really was cute. Plus, England would owe him for this big time, assuming it all turned out for the best. Which it would only do if Switzerland was dealt with, and America wasn't even sure where to begin with that one.

God, he didn't want to confront Switzerland. He liked not getting shot, thank you very much.

And naturally, the voice from behind him happened to belong to the problem.

"America," Switzerland snapped, and America spun around in a panic.

The highly suspicious nation was emerging from one of the elevators, scowling fiercely. He advanced on America, stepping out from the alcove, and America began edging away and to the side. Oh, God, don't look over the balcony.

"Where is Liechtenstein?" Switzerland demanded. America didn't see any guns on him. That didn't mean they weren't there. "She mentioned something about you last night, and I can't find her."

"Um... we already ate breakfast 'n stuff," America said with a nervous chuckle, swallowing hard. "So there's like, no reason for you to look there or anything. None at all. Heh."

Switzerland's eyes narrowed. His head began to turn, towards the balcony and the restaurant below.

No! America improvised wildly on the spot, and lucky for him, he chose the right option. With an alarmed shout, he turned on his heel and bolted away, hoping fervently that Switzerland would follow him... and thankfully, the other did.

"Get back here!" he heard Switzerland bellow, right on his heels, and America felt a thrill of horror.

He was probably certifiably insane for doing this, but oh well. He wasn't going to let his hard work go to ruin just because Switzerland happened to be ridiculously overprotective. As America made a mad dash for the stairs, heading as far from the restaurant as the hotel allowed, he just hoped that his luck would hold.

"Was that... my brother?" Liechtenstein asked, sounding concerned, as she, England, and the rest of the restaurant patrons gazed up at the balcony, where a commotion had just taken place and seemed to disappear into other parts of the hotel.

"Was that mine?" England asked, though far less anxiously. America had likely done something to piss Switzerland off, which wasn't too surprising or worrisome. The lad could take care of himself, and besides, he most likely deserved whatever was coming to him.

Liechtenstein bit her lip, still looking rather worried. It was, in England's estimation, a very cute expression. "Should we check on them?" the principality asked, and England gave her a reassuring smile.

"Oh, they're fine," he told her. Absolutely not. He was not about to ruin this perfectly nice morning with a dose of America. "Just the usual antics." Placing his napkin back down on the table, he stood, pushed his chair in, and crossed around to offer his arm to Liechtenstein. "What say we continue this elsewhere? The grounds have a lovely riverwalk, and it's quiet - no distractions. It's also very beautiful." He completed this offer with a gentlemanly wink, and had they been there, many of his fellows would have been surprised to see him in such good humor.

A faint blush came to Liechtenstein's cheeks, but she smiled and nodded. Taking his arm, she rose, and England guided her towards the exit - and it seemed that America's luck was indeed holding, because the direction they took was directly opposite of the way that Switzerland had pursued the mischievous matchmaker.

England and Liechtenstein strolled on in comfortable silence, heedless of the general chaos that the hotel currently hosted in the form of all the gathered nations, and upon the picturesque riverwalk, their pleasant, quiet conversation and companionship went undisturbed.