FANFICTION: Scrapbook Pt. 13 (APH)
Chapter 13 - Half Secret
Note: Poland and Lithuania’s bosses are not based on real people. I kept the genders of the present presidents, but other than that, the characters in here are purely my creation.
If Lithuania had his way, no one besides him, Poland, and the seahorse fairy would be aware of anything until the child was at least ten years old, if not older. But even he had to concede that it couldn’t be kept a complete secret; there was no getting around the fact that their bosses had to be told, if no one else. There was no telling how their having a child would affect their counties and respective politics, and it was only right that their bosses know what was going on so that perhaps they could better handle any situation that might occur as a result of the child.
So, when Lithuania entered his fourteenth week, they each called their respective bosses and set up meetings. Poland giggled throughout the conversation with his boss, coyly hinting but refusing to answer any direct questions. Lithuania, on the other hand, stammered almost to the point that he was incomprehensible and ended up having to hang up and try again.
“I don’t know if I can do this,” Lithuania muttered nervously as they waited outside his boss’s office, a few days later. “How will we explain this to her? What will she think of me - us? I mean, she hasn’t even met you yet!”
Poland rolled his eyes. “Jeez, Liet. You act like you’re telling your mom or something. Seriously. It’ll be fine, y’know? This is totally just legal stuff.”
“But you know it’s more than that -!”
“Yeah, but like think of it that way, okay?” Poland interrupted with a wink. “It’ll be fine.”
Lithuania smiled weakly, but it was pained and didn’t make it to his eyes.
“Mr. Lorinaitis?” the secretary said suddenly from behind her desk. “The President will see you now.”
Immediately, all the color drained from Lithuania’s face, and his hands began to tremble. “Oh, God, Poland, I-I can’t do this . . .”
“Don’t be stupid,” Poland retorted. “Of course you can.”
“But-!”
Poland let out a grunt of exasperation and snatched Lithuania’s wrist. “Yes, you can,” he said firmly.
Lithuania opened his mouth to protest, but before he could get any words out, Poland had already dragged him past the security guards and into the office.
As the door clicked shut, Lithuania swallowed and forced himself to at least look calm, even if he could actually be calm. His president was sitting comfortably behind her desk, peering appraisingly at both him and Poland through her thin-rimmed glasses, that slight, formal smile that every politician learned to do fixed firmly on her lips. She nodded in acknowledgement at Lithuania and cocked an eyebrow at Poland’s energetic wave.
“Hello, Toris,” she said warmly. “Sit down.”
Obediently, Lithuania sat on one of the two large green-velvet chairs that stood before her desk and silently gestured for Poland to take the other.
When both had settled comfortably in their seats, the president leaned forwards, lacing her fingers together as she gazed inquiringly at them. “How are you, Lithuania? Are things going well?”
“Y-yes,” Lithuania stammered. “I mean, I sense the rebound from the recession will continue.”
The president nodded. “That’s good to know. Now, why did you wish to speak with me? And who is this that you’ve brought with you?”
“Erm . . . this is Poland. His human name’s Feliks - Feliks Łukasiewicz.”
“Like, hi!” Poland said cheerily, offering a hand.
The president took it and gave it a firm shake. “Poland?” she echoed, eyebrows raised. “Why, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I have never met another nation personification - other than Toris, of course.”
“Yeah, of course!” Poland agreed. “But it’s, like, totally cool to meet you, too. Liet thinks you’re a not-lame boss.”
“Thank you?”
“That was totally a compliment,” Poland assured her. “But, like, we’re here because we have some seriously important news to tell you.”
The president nodded, glancing between Poland and Lithuania. “Do you?” she asked. “What is it?”
“Umm . . . ,” Lithuania began weakly. He’d gone over how he was going to say this countless times, muttering it like a mantra to himself for hours on end. And yet, now that the time had suddenly come to actually say it, it seemed all his careful planning and practice had flown out his head. He could not remember for the life of him even how to start. “Well . . .”
Poland fidgeted beside him, clearly impatient and wanting to blurt it out himself. But they’d agreed each would tell his own respective boss, and he dutifully bit his tongue.
Lithuania took a deep breath and forced himself to look past his president to the Lithuanian coat of arms hanging above her desk. “The thing is,” he said to the shield. “I’m pregnant. And it’s Poland’s child.”
The president’s eyebrows knit together sharply, and her politician-smile faltered slightly. “What?” she said sharply. “Pregnant? I . . . I thought you were male.”
“I am,” Lithuania said, eyes still fixed on the shield. “But, yes, I’m pregnant.
For a long moment, the president was silent, her fingertips pressed together in thought. She frowned at the both of them, scrutinizing them meticulously with an uncertain expression, and then, just when Lithuania was about to continue, she said: “Can male nations get pregnant then?”
Lithuania and Poland exchanged glances. Poland shrugged, his eyebrows arching slightly.
“Well, I suppose they can,” Lithuania said finally. Although it wasn’t the complete truth, he supposed it was easier than explaining the existence of seahorse fairies.
“I see . . . ,” the president said slowly. “So, are you asking for maternity leave?”
“Eventually, yes,” Lithuania replied. “But not for a while yet. The more important thing is that you know about this . . . because, well, nations don’t have children often. They haven’t in our memory, so we don’t know what this can mean for our countries.”
“Elaborate, if you please.”
“We don’t even know if the child will be nation or human. If it’s a nation, it could very well be that parts of our countries break off to be the country of the child.”
“That’s logical,” the president agreed.
“The thing is, we have no idea,” Lithuania continued. “So, um, please stay on your toes. And if we can be sure to keep our diplomatic relations with Poland good, since he is the father, that would probably be for the best.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” she promised. “Is that everything?”
“Just one more thing - we’ll need doctors. Innovative doctors who can deal with anything, even the illogical. Doctors who won’t ask questions, or at least won’t run to the press.”
The president nodded. “I understand,” she said. “I think I can handle that. I’ll have my secretary call you in a few weeks once it’s all set up.”
“Thank you,” Lithuania said, and he allowed himself to exhale heavily, sinking back in his seat as the tension slowly began to slip away. He smiled weakly.
The president was shaking her head slowly, her expression lost. “Goodness, Toris,” she said, but her tone was completely different; less formal, it was almost friendly. “Pregnant? I don’t know where to begin . . . I wasn’t even aware you were . . . having intimate relations with Poland.”
Lithuania just flushed deeply.
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For Lithuania, talking to Poland’s boss was even more nerve-wracking. If he had been tongue-tied in his president’s office, in Poland’s, he was practically hyperventilating. At least with his own boss, he’d been able to have a general idea how she would react - overly formal, to disguise her confusion, but compliant enough - but he’d never met Poland’s boss. There was no way of knowing what kind of reaction they would face
“Like, don’t worry about it,” Poland had assured him. “My boss is totally cool, and you don’t have to say, like, anything, y’know?”
Lithuania nodded mutely, but he was uncomforted.
But Lithuania needn’t have worried. Granted, Poland’s boss was just as confused by the whole concept as Lithuania’s had been and actually told Lithuania quite bluntly that he would think of Lithuania as female for sanity’s sake. But at least Lithuania didn’t have to say anything and could stare at his hands while Poland did the talking - which Poland was happy to do, and did so energetically.
An unexpected bonus was that Poland’s boss was apparently a proud father himself and was more than happy to exchange fond, parenthood stories and offer heartfelt congratulations. Indeed, after getting over the initial shock of the pregnancy, Poland’s boss became remarkably enthusiastic about the whole situation and simply could not seem to stop giving advice or asking what they knew about the child so far. He even urged Lithuania to keep in touch and stop by every once in a while, just so he could see how the child was coming along.
Lithuania had to admit; when he left the office that afternoon, it was with the distinct sense that the baby now had a grandfather.