[Winter Challenge Day 4]
Title: Along the Lines of Partying, Flirting, and Being a Gentle Person
Author: miss_auto1621
Characters: England, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Prussia, Germany, Austria, Hungary
Challenge: Holiday Winter Challenge-Theme #4: Attract
Rating: I want it so bad to be T, but sadly, K+ is as far as it goes. *sulks*
Summary: She never expected to fall for an Englishman.
A/N: Companion to A Stubborn Nation’s Stubborn Plan.
Luxembourg wore an extravagant burgundy gown. Even though she was a young country, she knew she needed to look her best, especially when it came to the world scene where everyone would be watching. She knew the other countries had prying eyes that would just be dying to see who dresses in what, and she wanted to make sure to be one of the nations who were dressed wonderfully, if not properly for an autumn ball. Plus, she would be meeting Germany and wanted to look like a respectful young lady.
Needless to say, she was ready.
She did not know about England’s current mental state, but he always radiated an air of confidence, and sometimes, arrogance, but she did not mind that because she felt that a powerful country should be able to defend their title by the pride present in their presence. Another reason why she wanted for her sister to be with England.
Before Luxembourg had the chance to tell her brother about going with England to the ball, the Englishman went on ahead to let him know so he could see he showed no fear, and respected his sister. The Dutchman was not pleased with this, but he approved anyway, surprising her by telling her it would be alright for her to be accompanied by England. She was determined to not show any fear, either, because quite frankly, he terrified her. But she wanted to show him she was strong and confident nonetheless.
He did give them a condition, though. Once they would arrive, England would take Luxembourg to him so she would not be left to wander around the ball unsupervised. They both agreed, realizing that Netherlands did not take this as a date, but rather a sort of ride that Luxembourg wanted to experience.
“Are you ready, dear?” England asked as they arrived to Austria’s home.
“The question here is ‘Are you ready, Mr. England?’”, she said.
His smile was answer enough, but he loved to add to things. “I’ve never been more ready in my life.”
“Wonderful,” she said as she intertwined her arm with his at his offer.
However, the truth was that she was quite nervous. She had never gone to a ball before, but she would never let anybody know, especially England. She had to work with it, though, and had to make everyone believe she knew what she was doing. She would not be taken lightly just because she was a young country.
When they walked in, she took in her surroundings and noticed that everyone looked so sophisticated it was entrancing. She was not intimidated, though. She knew she was dressed better than more than half of those nations present, so she had nothing to worry about.
“Would you like for me to mingle with you until we spot your sister?” he asked softly.
“No, take me to my brother,” she said. “I don’t want for you to miss out on this ball, nor do I want to force you to be with me. Enjoy it and when you’re ready, start courting my sister.”
“Very well.”
“However, if you see Mr. Prussia’s brother first, remember to introduce him to me, please.”
“As you wish, Luxembourg,” he said as they spotted Netherlands and walked towards him. He then kissed her hand and bowed before excusing himself as she curtsied in return.
The odds were on their side, though, because Belgium had informed her she had ended her relationship with Spain and would not plan on going back, even if he begged her. Luxembourg had to hug her with joy when she was told and jumped around like a giddy child. Belgium was quite aware of her annoyance and disapproval of Spain and was not surprised, but she minded a little bit that her sister was overjoyed over her break up.
“I am not being mean about this,” she told the Belgian. “I am just so happy you are no longer with that Spaniard. I always said he was never right for you.”
Belgium agreed.
“Now, you will have more suitors in Austria’s ball. Worthy countries that can give you the time of day better than him!”
“You are right,” Belgium admitted. “Perhaps one of them will become brave and court me. Then, we’ll see how it goes from there.”
Luxembourg made sure to tell England beforehand so he would not feel uncomfortable charming her. She was a free woman now.
England spotted Austria and walked towards him.
“Chap, the ball looks great!”
Austria chuckled as he took notice of him. “Coming from the Ball King himself, I’d say I have done a fine job. Do you think I can top yours, though?”
“Only if you try,” England said with his own chuckle.
“He vill try, don’t vorry about that one,” Prussia said as he came towards them with a glass in his hand.
“Drinking already, Prussia?” England asked.
“I brought you one so you vouldn’t feel left out,” Prussia answered as he handed England his own glass.
He remembered ladies did not like the smell of liquor in men’s mouths, so he had to hold himself back. Even if Belgium knew him, he did not want for her to feel disgust when he spoke.
“Thanks,” he said anyway.
“Hey, England, do you see anyone you like?” Prussia asked. Obviously, he meant women.
“They all look lovely. Which one should we go to first?”
They were kidding though. Prussia was the flirtatious one of the group and was only teasing England because he opted to be a gentleman.
“Vell, purple has alvays attracted me,” Prussia began. “Do you know of any nations vearing that color of dress?”
England began to look around. It was alright to be his wing-man, right? However, through his search, he spotted Luxembourg, who was wearing her burgundy dress…
…He would not let Prussia know about that one.
“Unfortunately, I don’t see any nation that I know wearing purple, Prussia. However, I do see nations that I don’t know with that color.”
They proceeded to introducing Prussia to the unknown nation and England remembered something.
“After your dance, I’d like a word with you,” he said in a low voice.
Prussia gave him a questioning look.
“Nothing serious, chap.”
When he turned, Luxembourg was close to him, but far enough to not let anyone suspect anything. He noticed she was swaying slightly with the tune of the current song, but it came to an end all too quickly. He had an idea.
“Netherlands, would you mind if I dance with your sister?” he asked without the young country noticing.
The Dutchman gave him his usual hard stare.
“I do not mind, just as long as you handle her properly.”
He surprised her by extending his hand towards her.
“May I have this dance?”
She raised an eyebrow and gave him a pleasant smile. “Yes.”
They made sure to move as far away from Netherlands so he wouldn’t hear them speak.
“You’re supposed to be courting my sister, not me,” she said.
“I know. But I thought we should chat for a second.”
“You just want to let some time pass before you make your move?”
“That, and I saw you dancing by yourself. I thought you might like to have a partner for a dance.”
“Thank you for considering me as your first.”
“I am also making some time for me to introduce you to Prussia’s brother like you wanted.”
Luxembourg sighed. “You just need to let my brother know. He will hardly allow you to live if he notices you are introducing me to someone without his permission.”
“Believe me, I have thought of that. I, too, would feel it improper for a young lady, like yourself, to mingle with strangers without being supervised.”
“So, will we have more than one dance? Remember, if we share two or more, people may start talking and thinking you, a grown nation, is trying to charm a young lady that is far from adulthood.”
“Oh, you know the rules of dancing very well, Miss Luxembourg,” he said as he held her close, as an endearing gesture.
“And so do you, Mr. England,” she replied before he spun her around softly, finishing their dance number, and bowing and curtseying.
They also noticed Prussia finished dancing with his first partner of the night.
England went to Netherlands to let him know he would be introducing her to a friend. He showed some of his displeasure for this, but he saw his sister was having a rather good time, and he wanted a little time for him to mingle with the other nations, maybe make a few allies and such.
“Because he is your acquaintance, my sister will be your responsibility,” he said, with a warning voice. He then turned to her. “Please behave yourself and do not forget to comport yourself like a lady, do you understand?”
“Yes, brother.”
Prussia was surprised England asked for his younger brother and had to know his reason. Once England told him young Luxembourg wanted to meet him, Prussia inspected the country and actually smiled. It was the first time someone took interest in his brother and went to fetch him for this opportunity.
“Germany, this is Luxembourg,” England said as he introduced them.
Luxembourg did not blush, but Germany sure did. And his face reddened some more when he asked her to dance. She had to contain her excitement and remembered manners came first.
Before England could talk with Prussia, he was stolen away by Hungary’s swift movements. She held him in a dancing position and he reacted quickly, leading in the dance.
“Vhat are you doing?” she asked.
“What ever do you mean?” he countered.
They proceeded to give each other false smiles, as if they were talking about something pleasant and enjoying each other’s company.
“You are not trying to flirt with a young country, are you?” she elaborated.
“Oh, heavens no!” he said.
“Then, vhy are you suddenly spending time with her?”
“Does it bother you, dear?”
She purposefully stepped on him, causing him to groan while still holding his smile.
“No, but I do varn you to not play vith her or lead her on.”
“Hungary, darling, you don’t know me at all, do you? I would never do such a thing.”
“Says the former pirate.”
“Privateer, please.”
“Vhatever. I am talking to you about this because I care for her. She is a growing country. So do not try to hurt her or else you vill deal vith me.”
“Why do you care, though? Not even Netherlands is causing as much of a commotion as you.”
“Ve ladies stick together,” Hungary answered. “Plus, Prussia looks like he’s giving her an impure stare. I shall have a dance vith him to talk to him about this matter as vell.”
“You do that. But I must tell you that I am handling this well. I would not let her get hurt, or else her brother would surely have my head.”
“Vould it bother you if I said I vouldn’t mind that?”
England gave a low chuckle. “No, but I do mind you stepping on me all the time. What are your shoes made of? Iron?”
“My shoes must be of the strongest material in case I need to go into battle.”
“Splendid.”
The song ended and they finished off by her curtseying and him bowing.
“By the way,” he whispered, “your nonchalant way of asking me to dance was rather charming.”
“Thank you. I knew you vould like it,” she said before walking towards Prussia.
He spotted Belgium then. She wore a striking golden dress that brought every other gown to shame in that ball. He had seen her with emerald green, turquoise, amethyst, orange, and even red, and none of those colors were as beautiful as this one. They made her look so gorgeous it was illegal to let that woman be without a dance partner for more than five seconds. The world should be at her feet because she deserved it.
He looked at Luxembourg and was surprised she met his gaze and ordered him with her eyes to move it. Luxembourg knew what he was going to do. She would be fine. After all, she was dancing and chatting with Germany, something she had wanted since she could remember. And if Netherlands were to see that she was unsupervised, she would explain to him that Belgium was around as well and she was not technically alone. She didn’t blame her brother for wanting her to be around people they knew. He was only concerned about her safety and well being and would kill if it were necessary for her.
“Are you waiting for someone, madam?” he asked.
Belgium turned and was surprised to see England.
“Not really,” she sighed. “However, if that person would to be you, I would not mind at all.”
“Well, then, may I have this dance?”
“Of course,” she said. “However, do you plan to continue to dance with other women?”
He blushed. “Why?”
They began to dance.
“I saw you dancing with Hungary and my sister…”
England smiled. “I was only mingling with Hungary. And your sister looks adorable. I couldn’t not dance with her,” he explained.
Those were terrible answers he gave her, lies if you will, but he wasn’t considering them as that, but rather comments far from the truth. She raised an eyebrow in response.
He spun her around then.
“Alright, I’ll pretend to believe you for now, Mr. England.”
“As you wish, Miss Belgium.”
They kept dancing, and Belgium slowly forgot about what England had tried to explain. She just got lost in the steps and felt at ease with him leading the way while they made small talk and spoke charming words. She didn’t realize that they were getting closer by the song, and they had passed the ‘two dances’ limit. Quite frankly, she didn’t even remember how many dances they had shared. She only knew that she was loving it and his eyes were holding hers with such intensity and gentleness. His every move was gentle, but also pronounced, and she found herself flirting with her eyes, something she liked to do with the men she wanted to get close to.
The current song ended and their faces were much too close, having them feel each other’s breaths on their faces. It made her skin crawl and blush at the same time while England tried his best to stay composed. She was so lovely. He had never felt the desire to kiss her like he felt at the moment, but he knew it would be inappropriate to do so in public. She didn’t want to let him go and remembered what her sister said when she told her of her break up with Spain.
‘Now, you will have more suitors in Austria’s ball. Worthy countries that can give you the time of day better than him!’
And she had hoped for someone to be brave enough to court her. England was demonstrating that courage and determination. She had never really considered for their relationship to advance past friendship, but she sometimes felt that it could work. Now, what she really wanted was to know how those lips of his felt and felt her face heat up as she realized she was lusting for his touch.
But then, they began to dance again, and through every step, she made sure to let him know with her eyes she was willing to go beyond friendship, once and for all. They were both glad Austria had balconies outside his grand ballroom and could casually dance towards one of them to hold a private conversation.
Of course, Spain had to appear.
But he could not interrupt the dance as he would be seen as rude and ill-mannered. There were a lot of things that could not be done in front of people. Even sharing a kiss on the cheek would cause a commotion.
Out of the corner of his eye, England noticed Prussia coming towards Spain to comfort him, but he did not dare look away from Belgium, seeing as she would get distracted.
Belgium tried not to look at Spain and opted for letting England know with her gaze she wanted to go to one of the balconies.
With a few swift movements, they made their way and concluded their dancing with a curtsey and a bow before he took her hand in his.
Once they were out of ear shot and prying eyes, Belgium let herself take an impulsive chance to feel the lips that had been talking to her throughout the night.
Oh, and they felt so sweet against hers. Who cared if it was not proper etiquette? If she wasn’t acting like a lady, like a gentlewoman? This feeling, this chance, it would never get repeated! She had to reward the person that had been brave enough to make his move on such a lovely night.
She made it a lot easier for him as well. He was not doing this for Luxembourg anymore. This was all for him. He was just glad the younger nation gave a slight push, though.
“Did Luxembourg…put you up to this?” she asked between their kiss.
England could muster a small amount of breath to speak. “She men…tioned it.”
“Did…you do…it for her?” she kept asking through their lip locking.
It amazed him she could do that, but he had to break away to catch his breath. “Of course not.”
She smiled as she tried to keep her focus. That kiss was intoxicating. “I’m glad. Although…you should know, I didn’t believe your explanation on why you dance with Hungary and Luxembourg.”
“Will you be upset if I do not wish to tell you at the moment?” he asked. He hoped this would not turn out to be a problem.
She placed her hands on her hips.
“Perhaps ask your sister?”
She looked at him with hard eyes Netherland usually gave him. “You are lucky you do not smell of liquor or else I would assume you are inebriated,” she said.
“I made the effort not to drink for you.”
“Good,” she said. “I don’t like kissing lips that taste like alcoholic beverages. I might get drunk as well.”
She kissed him again, softer this time, and coming close enough for him to embrace her.
“You know, Luxembourg wanted for me to find a worthy suitor in Austria’s ball,” she said.
“Really?” he asked.
“Yes. I’m glad she thought of you.”
He looked into her eyes then. “Are you?”
“Of course.”
“Then, would you allow me to be your suitor?”
She had to let a little giggle out. “Yes, or else I would not be letting you hold me like this.”
He could not help himself and touched his forehead with hers before kissing her again.
When they emerged from the balcony, Belgium notice Spain was looking like a desperate child that was being taken care of by Prussia. She did not pay attention to him, though, and let England lead her to where Luxembourg was. The younger nation gave them a smile of satisfaction and walked towards them to embrace them.
“You two looked lovely dancing together,” she said.
“Thank you, little sister,” Belgium replied as she looked up to see Germany looking at them.
Luxembourg proceeded to introducing them to him before Netherlands came to join them. The three nations were just glad he was not threatening England with another Anglo-Dutch War so he could remove his hand from his sister’s waist.
It was a ball, after all. And what could he do? He approved of England, anyway.
A/N 2: I love what I did, even if it took forever to write! I wanted for this to be short because I can't afford to write long fics due to the time crunch I am currently in, but this is basically my baby. It's the fic I wanted to write and feel like, "I did it. I wrote what I envisioned." Thanks to this lovely drawing, the inspiration was sparked, and because of this challenge and the fics I've been writing, it connected perfectly. This is the first time I feel so satisfied about a fic, I don't care if I'm repeating it, that I want to shout it to the world! And it doesn't have a curse word in it. I broke a record. Plus, I am in love with the fanart! I'm not trolling when I say I even love Belgium! I mean, I LOVE her and her dress! And England...everyone KNOWS I love HIM.
Anyways, in this fic, I imagined them being in the 1600s, and I just went with my head canon. Don't shoot me if this is historically inaccurate! I went with my gut feeling! I am aware that during this time era, the English spoke like 'goeth' and 'thou' and so and so, but it would have been incomprehensible in my fic, so I just made England speak in the language we all understand. I am also aware that Luxembourg is a boy (right? Unless the internet has lied to me!), but I love my head canon fem!Luxembourg a lot more. Simply because she can be like Belgium, only a lot more cunning and a lot more bubbly. Another thing, Prussia and Hungary are German states (at least, I think they are), so that's why I made them replace W's with V's because that's how they are said when a German talks English. Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed!
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