[Fic] Draw a Circle - Mou Ichi Dou! (chapter one)
I figured it was about time I posted this. I've been tweaking it for a number of weeks now and I can't seem to get it to be just the way I want it to be...So, without further adieu, I present to you the first chapter of my sequel! Enjoy!
Title: Draw A Circle - Mou Ichi Dou!
Sequel to: Draw a Circle
Warnings for this chapter: none
Rating: M
Character/Pairings: USxUK, minor FrancexCanada
Summary: On the day of her third birthday, little Emma Kirkland Jones makes a wish for a playmate. The fairies are at it again, making sure the daughter of Arthur Kirkland has her wish come true!
Soft lips pressed gently up against his own, the feeling of another body on top of his pushing him further into the mattress below him. A contented sigh passed through his lips along with the smallest of moans which did not go unnoticed by the American above. Youthful sky blue eyes grinned down at him as his lover pulled back to admire the man underneath him.
“I thought you said you didn’t want this,” Alfred whispered, his lips hovering over the Briton’s ear. “Thought it wasn’t ‘proper’.”
Arthur’s eyes snapped shut, his hands curling into fists and his body struggled to suppress the shiver that ran up his spine as Alfred blew hot air into his ear. Despite the fact that his body was screaming for this, his mind remained firm, ever the gentleman. “We should really be checking on her. She’s bound to wake up any second.”
Alfred’s signature puppy dog pout made its appearance, blue eyes growing larger in size as the American’s bottom lip protruded and quivered ever so slightly. “Aww, Iggy,” He was whining. Arthur hated it when he whined. “We never get to do this anymore.”
“We just did last night,” Arthur protested, emerald green eyes opening to stare up at the pouting American. Honestly, sometimes he thought he had two children.
“But that was last night,” Alfred pouted, shifting his weight so that he wouldn’t crush the smaller nation. “I meant we never have sex in the mornings anymore.”
“And why do you suppose that is?”
“Because you’re a grump.”
He should have expected the glare he was given. He was quite used to it by now. That being said, he also should have known that a lecture was coming his way. Arthur never failed to deliver. “No, Alfred,” he began slowly, as if speaking with a two year old. “It’s because we have a child to tend to. She can’t feed and clothe herself yet, so we have to be mature and do it for her. You can’t expect me to lay around in bed doing whatever I damn well please while my daughter is out there starving for breakfast, can you?”
“She isn’t starving,” Alfred countered.
“You know what I mean,” Arthur gently pushed Alfred off of him, sitting up straight in bed. “We have a responsibility now.”
Alfred seemed to think on this for a few seconds before offering Arthur a genuine smile. A pair of strong arms came up to encircle the island nation around the waist, pulling him close. “She’s the greatest responsibility ever.”
Arthur’s lips curled into a smile, embracing his husband back and leaning against his firm body. He really did feel like going back to sleep since Alfred had kept him up most of the night, but he had to get up and face the day. “Then I suppose that means you’ll be helping me out today?”
Alfred gave a nod and kissed Arthur between his massive eyebrows. “’Course! It’s what heroes do!”
Arthur had opened his mouth with a retort ready on the tip of his tongue, but the sound of the door hinges creaking had broken his concentration. Both nations turned to look over at the source of the noise, finding a disheveled soon-to-be three year old standing in the doorway, her stuffed unicorn clutched tightly in her hands. She rubbed sleepily at her eyes, staring back at her parents shyly, as if she wondered if she was interrupting something.
“Em!” Alfred was out of bed in a flash. He flew to the doorway and scooped their child into his arms, doing some fancy aerial maneuvers with her before coming in for a landing on the bed next to her mother. “Happy birthday, baby!”
Emma’s laughter rang through the bedroom as she soared through the air like a plane, bouncing on the bed beside her mummy only to jump back to her feet and smile widely at her parents. “Thank you, daddy!” she cheered, giving a toothy grin.
Arthur smiled and held his arms out, waiting for Emma to run to him, which she did with eagerness. He kissed her soft cheek and stroked her wavy, golden hair, his smile widening with the amount of giggles escaping his daughter. “Happy birthday, love.”
“Thanks, mummy!” Emma chirped, pulling back to plop back down on the bed. She placed Winston the unicorn in her lap, running her tiny fingers through his knotted mane. “The fairies woke me up! They said happy birthday and left lots of dust all over my room!” She spread her arms out wide for emphasis.
A weak laugh escaped Arthur, knowing that he would now have one more room to clean before the party that afternoon. “Did they now? I hope you were well mannered around them.”
“Yup!”
Alfred took a seat back on the bed, reaching out to ruffle his daughter’s hair. He had decided against protesting the existence of the fairies, seeing as he was now outnumbered. He was shocked to say the least the first time Emma had seen one of Arthur’s mythical friends. At first he thought she might have been suffering from a fever or perhaps food poisoning (something she had to deal with every time Arthur insisted he had finally gotten a recipe right), but when it started becoming an almost daily occurrence he could no longer fight it. Arthur had practically taken a victory lap around the property, shouting the existence of fairies to the world and cackling madly (the neighbors now questioned his sanity even more than they had previously) only to later shove it in Alfred’s face in the privacy of their bedroom.
“Are you ready for breakfast, Emma?”
“Can we have pancakes?” Emma asked, turning her gorgeous eyes on her mother. Certain things about her reminded Arthur a lot of Matthew and perhaps that was why the two got along so well. At least she was a well mannered child and had outgrown a lot of her Alfred-like tendencies. Arthur was positive she would become a beautiful young lady some day, one that he would be proud to show off to everyone.
“Sure! It’s your birthday, Ems, so you get to choose.” Alfred replied, leaning in to kiss his daughter on the nose (earning a squeal of delight from the three year old).
The ringing of the phone interrupted their family moment, causing Emma’s face to light up the instant she heard it. “I’ll get it!” she cried as she practically flew from the bedroom like a puppy chasing after a tennis ball. She sped down the stairs, ignoring her mother’s shouts to be careful, and skidded into the kitchen to grab the phone off the table and jam the on button with her thumb.
“Hello?”
A soft voice answered her from the other end of the line. “Happy birthday, Emma!”
The biggest smile imaginable broke out on her face and she practically shouted back into the receiver. “Uncle Matty!”
The Canadian nation laughed happily back at her. “I hope you’re having a good birthday so far. Uncle Francis and I should be over soon.”
Emma swayed on her feet, nearly dropping the phone from excitement. “The fairies gave me lots of dust, Uncle Matty!”
“Did they? That’s real neat, eh?”
“Mmhmm! And daddy and I are gonna make pancakes for breakfast!” Emma began walking in circles, her little feet slapping lightly against the wooden floor of the kitchen.
Alfred entered the room and smiled down at her, placing a hand on her head to get her attention. “Who is it, Ems?”
“It’s Uncle Matty! Wanna talk?” Emma held the phone up to her father, who took it and pressed it to his ear.
“Yo, little bro!” Alfred greeted, crossing the kitchen to start on the pancakes. Emma quickly followed after him, helping to get the ingredients out of the fridge. “What’s up?”
“Francis and I just got to the airport. We’re getting a taxi now. I just wanted to let you and Arthur know that we would be there soon.”
The sound of an egg dropping and hitting the floor caused Emma to jump back with a small scream before she broke out into a giggle fit. Alfred couldn’t help but smile at her as he grabbed some paper towels and cleaned the mess up off the floor. “That’s great! Iggy and I’ll need all the help we can get. Ya know nearly every nation on the planet is comin’ over today?!”
As usual, Matthew sounded worried about this, the sound of the airport around him nearly drowning out his quiet voice. “I hope Arthur knows how many people you invited, Al.”
“Yeah, yeah. He does. It isn’t like I’m letting him do the cooking,” Alfred took an egg from Emma’s hand and cracked it into a bowl before helping his daughter up the step stool. Emma grabbed the whisk and eagerly started mixing the batter while her father held onto the bowl. “We’re having the whole thing catered.”
“Not by McDonalds, I hope.”
“McDonalds isn’t the only thing I eat, Matty.” Emma giggled at this, eyeing the empty bag of fast food on the kitchen table and accidentally spilling some of the batter down the side of the bowl.
“Right. Well, just let Arthur know that Francis and I will be there in about an hour.” Alfred could hear Francis speaking softly to his brother in a language only the two of them could understand, and he felt his skin begin to crawl.
“Sure thing, bro. See ya soon.”
“Bye Uncle Matty!” Emma called, standing on her tip toes to get closer to the phone in her father’s hands.
“Bye Emma! See you soon!”
- - -
Breakfast went off without a hitch and soon the kitchen was spotless once again, leaving Arthur with one less room to clean. He began tackling the task of cleaning the others while Alfred went upstairs with Emma to help her get dressed. Only moments after the two disappeared Emma came skipping down the stairs, humming a happy little tune she had just made up and clutching Winston in her arms.
“Mummy! How do I look?”
Arthur turned around, feather duster in hand as he looked his daughter over from head to toe. She was wearing a frilly green dress, one that showed off her eyes spectacularly. Her hair was tied back in green ribbons which curled with the texture of her locks. She rocked back on her heels and waited for her mother’s praise, something he didn’t fail to deliver. “Like a princess, Emma.”
With that, the birthday girl bolted over to her mother and hugged him around the legs. “Thank you, mummy!”
Alfred came down the stairs moments later, dressed in casual clothing and smirking at the scene before him. “Did I do a good job, Iggy?”
Arthur combed his hands through Emma’s hair and smiled over at his husband. “Yes, Alfred, you did. You know, I never really thought you would get the hang of putting on dresses, but you’ve proven me wrong.”
The sound of car doors slamming shut were heard from out front and Emma was up on the couch peeking out the window in an instant. “Uncle Matty and Uncle Francis are here!” she squealed, jumping on the cushions (causing Arthur to cringe inwardly).
Alfred pulled the front door open and practically pulled his brother into the house, wrapping him up in a huge bear hug. “Matty! Long time no see!”
The Canadian gave a startled noise, dropping his suitcase just shy of Emma’s foot (the girl had raced over once her uncles appeared). “A-Al! N-Not so hard!”
Francis set his suitcase down and smiled over at Arthur, who simply threw a glare his way. Despite the fact that the two nations saw each other more often lately due to the relationship between Matthew and Francis, Arthur had never gotten over his dislike of the French nation. In fact, one might say that he disliked Francis even more now due to one simple little matter.
“UNCLE FRANCIS!!”
“Ah, ma petite niece!” Francis took Emma into his arms, sweeping her off her feet and standing up with her. “You look very beautiful today.” He kissed her cheek, causing her to go into another giggle fit as his beard brushed against her skin.
Arthur was inwardly seething, his fists clenching and his teeth grinding together. Out of all the nations in the world, why did Emma have to be most attached to Francis?! Arthur really began to wonder if someone up there had put a curse on him; first getting him pregnant, going through the pregnancy, delivery, finding out that Emma was a practical Alfred clone, and now this! This was some kind of torture, wasn’t it?
“So, how can I help?” Matthew asked, adjusting his glasses once Alfred released him from his choke hold.
At least Matthew was still nice to him. Bless his little heart. “You can help me set up the food outside while Alfred readies the tables and decorations.”
“I guess that leaves me to watch after Emma, oui?” Francis smiled at the toddler and began carrying her outside. “Let us go play hide and seek then!”
“Yaaaay!!!”
Arthur inwardly cursed that French bastard.
- - -
The guests began arrive at two o’clock on the dot, coming from nearly every corner of the globe and carrying presents big and small for Emma. The three year old greeted everyone as politely as possible, even going so far as curtseying for a few (such as Austria and the more sophisticated nations). The females squealed over Emma’s outfit and matching bows, giving her far more attention than she needed. She politely conversed with them the best she could but eventually made a bee-line for her Uncle Francis.
“Are the girls borin’ ya, kid?” Gilbert asked, munching on a few chips and bending down to Emma’s level.
Emma shook her head, hiding behind Francis’s leg slightly and looking Gilbert over. He always looked menacing to her and never really paid much attention to her before, but today he had a few drinks in him and seemed to be more cheerful.
“They are simply admiring your beauty,” Francis told her, tucking a rose (that he acquired from seemingly out of no where) behind Emma’s ear. She gave him a bright smile, a blush spreading across her face.
“Si! I bet they’re just jealous, Emma,” Antonio blurted out, getting far more excited than he should. “I only wish that the babies I have with Lovi will be as beautiful as you!”
Beside him, Romano was fuming, crossing his arms tightly over his chest. “I told you a thousand times, we aren’t having any kids, you damn tomato bastard!”
“Lovi! Language! There is un bebito present!”
“She isn’t a baby, you moron!”
“She shouldn’t be exposed to your bad language.”
“She shouldn’t be exposed to your stupidity.”
“Hey, hey, hey! Can’t we all just get along?” Gilbert slung his arms over the Southern Italian and the Spaniard, pulling them close. “This is a celebration, after all!”
Emma looked up at her uncles, watching them continue to fight lovingly with one another, and when the opportunity presented itself she snuck away, only to be stopped by yet another nation.
“Vee! Emma!” her Uncle Feliciano sat on the grass before her, making flower necklaces out of some daisies he had picked. “I’m making you a gift!”
Intrigued, Emma sat down beside her most cheerful uncle. She watched his skilled hands work, tying knots that weren’t too weak but weren’t strong enough to break the stems either. Gathering up a few daisies of her own, Emma tried to copy her uncle’s actions, making a chain that was a bit more sloppy than that of the Italian.
The two conversed as they completed the rings, making as many necklaces as their collection would allow. Feliciano mostly spoke about pasta, while Emma listened and giggled at how happy he sounded. The voices of her arguing uncles drifted to her ears once more, causing a question to surface in her mind. “Uncle Feli?”
“Vee?” Feliciano looked over to the girl, his hands stopping their movements. His ahoge blew gently in the wind.
“If you and Uncle Lovino are twins, why do you act so differently?”
Feliciano had to think this over for a moment, his head tilting to the side as chocolate eyes turned to the blue sky up above. “Nii-chan is just always cranky. I never really thought of why before. Maybe he doesn’t eat enough pasta.” This earned another laugh from the emerald eyed child beside him, causing Feliciano to laugh a bit himself. “But your daddy and his brother aren’t very much alike either, right?”
Emma stopped her giggling, staring into the sea of nations and quickly locating her timid uncle. Matthew was watching the ones around him talk while he sipped quietly at the drink in his hand. Emma’s father, on the other hand, was deep in one of his heroic stories, illustrating his points with wild hand gestures. His voice boomed loudly over all of those around him (Arthur had to elbow him in the ribs a few times to quiet him down). “I guess they aren’t.”
Feliciano gave a thoughtful nod before returning to knotting his daisy stems together. The smile quickly returned to his tanned face, another song coming from pursed lips. The oblivious Italian didn’t notice that the young girl beside him had completely abandoned her daisy chain to stare down at her hands in her lap.
“Uncle Feli, why don’t I have a brother or sister?”
“Vee?” Feliciano’s concentration broke as he stared into slightly saddened emerald eyes.
Emma fell silent for a minute, observing other members of the party. It seemed each one of them was related to someone else; if not closely then at least distantly. Russia had his sisters, Litchenstein had her big brother, the Italy brothers had each other, and even her father had her Uncle Matty. Emma would be lying if she said she didn’t want to experience what it felt like to have a sibling. She felt something tighten in her chest as if her body were getting ready for her to cry, but she refused to resort to such childish behavior (despite actually being a child. Her mother had taught her better than that). “Everyone has a brother or sister…Except me.”
“You can wish for one!”
Lifting her head up, Emma stared curiously over at her uncle. “How?” she chirped, getting easily excited at this new found secret.
“Vee, with your birthday wish, silly!” Feliciano held up a finger, tapping Emma playfully on the nose with it. “Before you blow out the candles on your cake, you make a wish! If you wish really hard that wish will come true!”
Emma felt her heart leap in her chest. Was that really true? She could wish for anything she wanted and it would come true? It was like something out of a bedtime story her mother had read her! She launched herself toward her Italian uncle, hugging him around the neck. “Thank you, Uncle Feli! I’ll do that!”
- - -
The cake was so large that it took up an entire table all to itself (after all, it had to feed all the nations of the world). The words “Happy Birthday Emma” had been spread across it in decorative frosting and giant strawberries perched on the rim, each one evenly spaced apart from the others. Alfred was practically drooling as he held his daughter by his hip, watching Arthur and some of the others light the candles. Emma hooked one of her daisy necklaces around her father’s neck and he kissed her cheek, hugging her close and letting her know that she was thankful for the gift.
The happy birthday chorus sounded atrocious since some of the nations insisted on singing it in the native tongues, each ending at a different time, but Emma didn’t care. She laughed and clapped her hands, smiling widely at everyone before Alfred brought her in close to the cake.
“Make a wish, take a big breath, and blow out the candles, Em!”
Emma nodded enthusiastically, closing her eyes and wishing her little heart out. When she thought she had done an efficient job she took a deep breath and blew out as many candles as she could. Alfred and Arthur bent down and helped their daughter blow out the remaining candles as everyone else broke out into applause and cheers.
“Great job, sweetheart.” Arthur whispered, kissing Emma on the cheek and taking her from his husband so that Alfred could cut the cake.
“I wished really hard, mummy!” Emma exclaimed, throwing her tiny arms around the British nation’s neck and hugging onto him.
“That means your wish’ll come true!” Alfred explained, wiping a bit of frosting on the tip of Arthur’s nose, which earned him a rather unpleasant scowl.
Emma could feel her heart soar up high into the clouds like one of her father’s toy airplanes. Her wish was going to come true, she just knew it! All she would have to do now was wait patiently until it did.
Title: Draw A Circle - Mou Ichi Dou!
Sequel to: Draw a Circle
Warnings for this chapter: none
Rating: M
Character/Pairings: USxUK, minor FrancexCanada
Summary: On the day of her third birthday, little Emma Kirkland Jones makes a wish for a playmate. The fairies are at it again, making sure the daughter of Arthur Kirkland has her wish come true!
Soft lips pressed gently up against his own, the feeling of another body on top of his pushing him further into the mattress below him. A contented sigh passed through his lips along with the smallest of moans which did not go unnoticed by the American above. Youthful sky blue eyes grinned down at him as his lover pulled back to admire the man underneath him.
“I thought you said you didn’t want this,” Alfred whispered, his lips hovering over the Briton’s ear. “Thought it wasn’t ‘proper’.”
Arthur’s eyes snapped shut, his hands curling into fists and his body struggled to suppress the shiver that ran up his spine as Alfred blew hot air into his ear. Despite the fact that his body was screaming for this, his mind remained firm, ever the gentleman. “We should really be checking on her. She’s bound to wake up any second.”
Alfred’s signature puppy dog pout made its appearance, blue eyes growing larger in size as the American’s bottom lip protruded and quivered ever so slightly. “Aww, Iggy,” He was whining. Arthur hated it when he whined. “We never get to do this anymore.”
“We just did last night,” Arthur protested, emerald green eyes opening to stare up at the pouting American. Honestly, sometimes he thought he had two children.
“But that was last night,” Alfred pouted, shifting his weight so that he wouldn’t crush the smaller nation. “I meant we never have sex in the mornings anymore.”
“And why do you suppose that is?”
“Because you’re a grump.”
He should have expected the glare he was given. He was quite used to it by now. That being said, he also should have known that a lecture was coming his way. Arthur never failed to deliver. “No, Alfred,” he began slowly, as if speaking with a two year old. “It’s because we have a child to tend to. She can’t feed and clothe herself yet, so we have to be mature and do it for her. You can’t expect me to lay around in bed doing whatever I damn well please while my daughter is out there starving for breakfast, can you?”
“She isn’t starving,” Alfred countered.
“You know what I mean,” Arthur gently pushed Alfred off of him, sitting up straight in bed. “We have a responsibility now.”
Alfred seemed to think on this for a few seconds before offering Arthur a genuine smile. A pair of strong arms came up to encircle the island nation around the waist, pulling him close. “She’s the greatest responsibility ever.”
Arthur’s lips curled into a smile, embracing his husband back and leaning against his firm body. He really did feel like going back to sleep since Alfred had kept him up most of the night, but he had to get up and face the day. “Then I suppose that means you’ll be helping me out today?”
Alfred gave a nod and kissed Arthur between his massive eyebrows. “’Course! It’s what heroes do!”
Arthur had opened his mouth with a retort ready on the tip of his tongue, but the sound of the door hinges creaking had broken his concentration. Both nations turned to look over at the source of the noise, finding a disheveled soon-to-be three year old standing in the doorway, her stuffed unicorn clutched tightly in her hands. She rubbed sleepily at her eyes, staring back at her parents shyly, as if she wondered if she was interrupting something.
“Em!” Alfred was out of bed in a flash. He flew to the doorway and scooped their child into his arms, doing some fancy aerial maneuvers with her before coming in for a landing on the bed next to her mother. “Happy birthday, baby!”
Emma’s laughter rang through the bedroom as she soared through the air like a plane, bouncing on the bed beside her mummy only to jump back to her feet and smile widely at her parents. “Thank you, daddy!” she cheered, giving a toothy grin.
Arthur smiled and held his arms out, waiting for Emma to run to him, which she did with eagerness. He kissed her soft cheek and stroked her wavy, golden hair, his smile widening with the amount of giggles escaping his daughter. “Happy birthday, love.”
“Thanks, mummy!” Emma chirped, pulling back to plop back down on the bed. She placed Winston the unicorn in her lap, running her tiny fingers through his knotted mane. “The fairies woke me up! They said happy birthday and left lots of dust all over my room!” She spread her arms out wide for emphasis.
A weak laugh escaped Arthur, knowing that he would now have one more room to clean before the party that afternoon. “Did they now? I hope you were well mannered around them.”
“Yup!”
Alfred took a seat back on the bed, reaching out to ruffle his daughter’s hair. He had decided against protesting the existence of the fairies, seeing as he was now outnumbered. He was shocked to say the least the first time Emma had seen one of Arthur’s mythical friends. At first he thought she might have been suffering from a fever or perhaps food poisoning (something she had to deal with every time Arthur insisted he had finally gotten a recipe right), but when it started becoming an almost daily occurrence he could no longer fight it. Arthur had practically taken a victory lap around the property, shouting the existence of fairies to the world and cackling madly (the neighbors now questioned his sanity even more than they had previously) only to later shove it in Alfred’s face in the privacy of their bedroom.
“Are you ready for breakfast, Emma?”
“Can we have pancakes?” Emma asked, turning her gorgeous eyes on her mother. Certain things about her reminded Arthur a lot of Matthew and perhaps that was why the two got along so well. At least she was a well mannered child and had outgrown a lot of her Alfred-like tendencies. Arthur was positive she would become a beautiful young lady some day, one that he would be proud to show off to everyone.
“Sure! It’s your birthday, Ems, so you get to choose.” Alfred replied, leaning in to kiss his daughter on the nose (earning a squeal of delight from the three year old).
The ringing of the phone interrupted their family moment, causing Emma’s face to light up the instant she heard it. “I’ll get it!” she cried as she practically flew from the bedroom like a puppy chasing after a tennis ball. She sped down the stairs, ignoring her mother’s shouts to be careful, and skidded into the kitchen to grab the phone off the table and jam the on button with her thumb.
“Hello?”
A soft voice answered her from the other end of the line. “Happy birthday, Emma!”
The biggest smile imaginable broke out on her face and she practically shouted back into the receiver. “Uncle Matty!”
The Canadian nation laughed happily back at her. “I hope you’re having a good birthday so far. Uncle Francis and I should be over soon.”
Emma swayed on her feet, nearly dropping the phone from excitement. “The fairies gave me lots of dust, Uncle Matty!”
“Did they? That’s real neat, eh?”
“Mmhmm! And daddy and I are gonna make pancakes for breakfast!” Emma began walking in circles, her little feet slapping lightly against the wooden floor of the kitchen.
Alfred entered the room and smiled down at her, placing a hand on her head to get her attention. “Who is it, Ems?”
“It’s Uncle Matty! Wanna talk?” Emma held the phone up to her father, who took it and pressed it to his ear.
“Yo, little bro!” Alfred greeted, crossing the kitchen to start on the pancakes. Emma quickly followed after him, helping to get the ingredients out of the fridge. “What’s up?”
“Francis and I just got to the airport. We’re getting a taxi now. I just wanted to let you and Arthur know that we would be there soon.”
The sound of an egg dropping and hitting the floor caused Emma to jump back with a small scream before she broke out into a giggle fit. Alfred couldn’t help but smile at her as he grabbed some paper towels and cleaned the mess up off the floor. “That’s great! Iggy and I’ll need all the help we can get. Ya know nearly every nation on the planet is comin’ over today?!”
As usual, Matthew sounded worried about this, the sound of the airport around him nearly drowning out his quiet voice. “I hope Arthur knows how many people you invited, Al.”
“Yeah, yeah. He does. It isn’t like I’m letting him do the cooking,” Alfred took an egg from Emma’s hand and cracked it into a bowl before helping his daughter up the step stool. Emma grabbed the whisk and eagerly started mixing the batter while her father held onto the bowl. “We’re having the whole thing catered.”
“Not by McDonalds, I hope.”
“McDonalds isn’t the only thing I eat, Matty.” Emma giggled at this, eyeing the empty bag of fast food on the kitchen table and accidentally spilling some of the batter down the side of the bowl.
“Right. Well, just let Arthur know that Francis and I will be there in about an hour.” Alfred could hear Francis speaking softly to his brother in a language only the two of them could understand, and he felt his skin begin to crawl.
“Sure thing, bro. See ya soon.”
“Bye Uncle Matty!” Emma called, standing on her tip toes to get closer to the phone in her father’s hands.
“Bye Emma! See you soon!”
- - -
Breakfast went off without a hitch and soon the kitchen was spotless once again, leaving Arthur with one less room to clean. He began tackling the task of cleaning the others while Alfred went upstairs with Emma to help her get dressed. Only moments after the two disappeared Emma came skipping down the stairs, humming a happy little tune she had just made up and clutching Winston in her arms.
“Mummy! How do I look?”
Arthur turned around, feather duster in hand as he looked his daughter over from head to toe. She was wearing a frilly green dress, one that showed off her eyes spectacularly. Her hair was tied back in green ribbons which curled with the texture of her locks. She rocked back on her heels and waited for her mother’s praise, something he didn’t fail to deliver. “Like a princess, Emma.”
With that, the birthday girl bolted over to her mother and hugged him around the legs. “Thank you, mummy!”
Alfred came down the stairs moments later, dressed in casual clothing and smirking at the scene before him. “Did I do a good job, Iggy?”
Arthur combed his hands through Emma’s hair and smiled over at his husband. “Yes, Alfred, you did. You know, I never really thought you would get the hang of putting on dresses, but you’ve proven me wrong.”
The sound of car doors slamming shut were heard from out front and Emma was up on the couch peeking out the window in an instant. “Uncle Matty and Uncle Francis are here!” she squealed, jumping on the cushions (causing Arthur to cringe inwardly).
Alfred pulled the front door open and practically pulled his brother into the house, wrapping him up in a huge bear hug. “Matty! Long time no see!”
The Canadian gave a startled noise, dropping his suitcase just shy of Emma’s foot (the girl had raced over once her uncles appeared). “A-Al! N-Not so hard!”
Francis set his suitcase down and smiled over at Arthur, who simply threw a glare his way. Despite the fact that the two nations saw each other more often lately due to the relationship between Matthew and Francis, Arthur had never gotten over his dislike of the French nation. In fact, one might say that he disliked Francis even more now due to one simple little matter.
“UNCLE FRANCIS!!”
“Ah, ma petite niece!” Francis took Emma into his arms, sweeping her off her feet and standing up with her. “You look very beautiful today.” He kissed her cheek, causing her to go into another giggle fit as his beard brushed against her skin.
Arthur was inwardly seething, his fists clenching and his teeth grinding together. Out of all the nations in the world, why did Emma have to be most attached to Francis?! Arthur really began to wonder if someone up there had put a curse on him; first getting him pregnant, going through the pregnancy, delivery, finding out that Emma was a practical Alfred clone, and now this! This was some kind of torture, wasn’t it?
“So, how can I help?” Matthew asked, adjusting his glasses once Alfred released him from his choke hold.
At least Matthew was still nice to him. Bless his little heart. “You can help me set up the food outside while Alfred readies the tables and decorations.”
“I guess that leaves me to watch after Emma, oui?” Francis smiled at the toddler and began carrying her outside. “Let us go play hide and seek then!”
“Yaaaay!!!”
Arthur inwardly cursed that French bastard.
- - -
The guests began arrive at two o’clock on the dot, coming from nearly every corner of the globe and carrying presents big and small for Emma. The three year old greeted everyone as politely as possible, even going so far as curtseying for a few (such as Austria and the more sophisticated nations). The females squealed over Emma’s outfit and matching bows, giving her far more attention than she needed. She politely conversed with them the best she could but eventually made a bee-line for her Uncle Francis.
“Are the girls borin’ ya, kid?” Gilbert asked, munching on a few chips and bending down to Emma’s level.
Emma shook her head, hiding behind Francis’s leg slightly and looking Gilbert over. He always looked menacing to her and never really paid much attention to her before, but today he had a few drinks in him and seemed to be more cheerful.
“They are simply admiring your beauty,” Francis told her, tucking a rose (that he acquired from seemingly out of no where) behind Emma’s ear. She gave him a bright smile, a blush spreading across her face.
“Si! I bet they’re just jealous, Emma,” Antonio blurted out, getting far more excited than he should. “I only wish that the babies I have with Lovi will be as beautiful as you!”
Beside him, Romano was fuming, crossing his arms tightly over his chest. “I told you a thousand times, we aren’t having any kids, you damn tomato bastard!”
“Lovi! Language! There is un bebito present!”
“She isn’t a baby, you moron!”
“She shouldn’t be exposed to your bad language.”
“She shouldn’t be exposed to your stupidity.”
“Hey, hey, hey! Can’t we all just get along?” Gilbert slung his arms over the Southern Italian and the Spaniard, pulling them close. “This is a celebration, after all!”
Emma looked up at her uncles, watching them continue to fight lovingly with one another, and when the opportunity presented itself she snuck away, only to be stopped by yet another nation.
“Vee! Emma!” her Uncle Feliciano sat on the grass before her, making flower necklaces out of some daisies he had picked. “I’m making you a gift!”
Intrigued, Emma sat down beside her most cheerful uncle. She watched his skilled hands work, tying knots that weren’t too weak but weren’t strong enough to break the stems either. Gathering up a few daisies of her own, Emma tried to copy her uncle’s actions, making a chain that was a bit more sloppy than that of the Italian.
The two conversed as they completed the rings, making as many necklaces as their collection would allow. Feliciano mostly spoke about pasta, while Emma listened and giggled at how happy he sounded. The voices of her arguing uncles drifted to her ears once more, causing a question to surface in her mind. “Uncle Feli?”
“Vee?” Feliciano looked over to the girl, his hands stopping their movements. His ahoge blew gently in the wind.
“If you and Uncle Lovino are twins, why do you act so differently?”
Feliciano had to think this over for a moment, his head tilting to the side as chocolate eyes turned to the blue sky up above. “Nii-chan is just always cranky. I never really thought of why before. Maybe he doesn’t eat enough pasta.” This earned another laugh from the emerald eyed child beside him, causing Feliciano to laugh a bit himself. “But your daddy and his brother aren’t very much alike either, right?”
Emma stopped her giggling, staring into the sea of nations and quickly locating her timid uncle. Matthew was watching the ones around him talk while he sipped quietly at the drink in his hand. Emma’s father, on the other hand, was deep in one of his heroic stories, illustrating his points with wild hand gestures. His voice boomed loudly over all of those around him (Arthur had to elbow him in the ribs a few times to quiet him down). “I guess they aren’t.”
Feliciano gave a thoughtful nod before returning to knotting his daisy stems together. The smile quickly returned to his tanned face, another song coming from pursed lips. The oblivious Italian didn’t notice that the young girl beside him had completely abandoned her daisy chain to stare down at her hands in her lap.
“Uncle Feli, why don’t I have a brother or sister?”
“Vee?” Feliciano’s concentration broke as he stared into slightly saddened emerald eyes.
Emma fell silent for a minute, observing other members of the party. It seemed each one of them was related to someone else; if not closely then at least distantly. Russia had his sisters, Litchenstein had her big brother, the Italy brothers had each other, and even her father had her Uncle Matty. Emma would be lying if she said she didn’t want to experience what it felt like to have a sibling. She felt something tighten in her chest as if her body were getting ready for her to cry, but she refused to resort to such childish behavior (despite actually being a child. Her mother had taught her better than that). “Everyone has a brother or sister…Except me.”
“You can wish for one!”
Lifting her head up, Emma stared curiously over at her uncle. “How?” she chirped, getting easily excited at this new found secret.
“Vee, with your birthday wish, silly!” Feliciano held up a finger, tapping Emma playfully on the nose with it. “Before you blow out the candles on your cake, you make a wish! If you wish really hard that wish will come true!”
Emma felt her heart leap in her chest. Was that really true? She could wish for anything she wanted and it would come true? It was like something out of a bedtime story her mother had read her! She launched herself toward her Italian uncle, hugging him around the neck. “Thank you, Uncle Feli! I’ll do that!”
- - -
The cake was so large that it took up an entire table all to itself (after all, it had to feed all the nations of the world). The words “Happy Birthday Emma” had been spread across it in decorative frosting and giant strawberries perched on the rim, each one evenly spaced apart from the others. Alfred was practically drooling as he held his daughter by his hip, watching Arthur and some of the others light the candles. Emma hooked one of her daisy necklaces around her father’s neck and he kissed her cheek, hugging her close and letting her know that she was thankful for the gift.
The happy birthday chorus sounded atrocious since some of the nations insisted on singing it in the native tongues, each ending at a different time, but Emma didn’t care. She laughed and clapped her hands, smiling widely at everyone before Alfred brought her in close to the cake.
“Make a wish, take a big breath, and blow out the candles, Em!”
Emma nodded enthusiastically, closing her eyes and wishing her little heart out. When she thought she had done an efficient job she took a deep breath and blew out as many candles as she could. Alfred and Arthur bent down and helped their daughter blow out the remaining candles as everyone else broke out into applause and cheers.
“Great job, sweetheart.” Arthur whispered, kissing Emma on the cheek and taking her from his husband so that Alfred could cut the cake.
“I wished really hard, mummy!” Emma exclaimed, throwing her tiny arms around the British nation’s neck and hugging onto him.
“That means your wish’ll come true!” Alfred explained, wiping a bit of frosting on the tip of Arthur’s nose, which earned him a rather unpleasant scowl.
Emma could feel her heart soar up high into the clouds like one of her father’s toy airplanes. Her wish was going to come true, she just knew it! All she would have to do now was wait patiently until it did.