I felt arms gently shaking me awake. With a small groan I swatted in their general direction. They removed their hand and chuckled. The movement caused the blanket to slide off my head, exposing me to the bright morning sunlight. I whined and tried to bury myself back under the blankets.

"Fredka. It's time to wake up. We need to get ready." He said soothinly. I knew it was Ivan. No one else would try to wake me in the mornings.

"Do I have to get up?" I whined from under the covers. I was still so tired, I did not want to wake up.

"Da. You are the one driving." He slowly pulled the blanket off me exposing me to the cold air.

"Vanya! It's cold!" I protested and tried keeping the blanket on me.

"So is bucket of ice water."

"You wouldn't." I challenged, looking him in the eye.

He bent down and picked up a bucket that was previously just out of sight. From inside I could hear the slosh of water and the clicking of ice. I gasped and looked at him in bewilderment.

"Time to get up Fredka." He repeated with a large grin.

"You're a dick!" I shouted as I scrambled to get up.

"Hey, I heard shouting from in here. Is everything alright? Is someone hurt?" Mattie asked walking into the room. While I did hate people walking into my room and invading my privacy, my brother was an exception.

"Vanya's a dick!" I shouted again pointing to him.

"I threatened to dump water on him if he does not wake up." He admitted to the other snowy nation.

"Trust me Ivan, if you did that, we'd be going to a hospital instead of the ice rink. My brother does not like being woken up on a good day, eh. And dumping cold water on him," Mattie tsked, "he would shred you to pieces."

"Oh, he does not need a warning. He's already seen first hand how aggressive I can be when woken." I laughed.

"Then why?" He asked pointing to the bucket.

"We're still rivals. We will always try to one up each other or do something to drive the other crazy. That's just how we work." I said with a smile. I turned to Ivan who still had the bucket in his hands. "Go dump that bucket out, it's leaking water out all over my carpet. And please make sure everyone is ready?"

"Da." He said and left.

"So, he sleeps with you?" Mattie asked when he left.

"Yea, that's what England was shouting about last night." I rolled my eyes. I walked over to my dresser to pull out a set of warm clothes for today. "He really needs to-!" I stopped mid sentence when my stomach lurched. I placed a hand over my mouth and stomach.

"Alfie, are you okay?" I heard my brother ask.

I felt my stomach lurch again and raced to the bathroom. I barely made it to the toilet on time. I hurled all that was in my stomach while Mattie rubbed my back. He soothinly whispered compherting words to help keep me calm.

When I was finally done Mattie got me a cup of water. I had always kept a few papper cups in my bathroom for situations like this. He handed me the cup and I nodded my thanks. I was too out of breath to say anything at the moment.

"Are you okay now? Do you feel sick? Are you too hot or cold? Do you need me to get Ivan?" He started bombarding me with questions while looking me over.

"I feel fine now. I don't feel sick at all. Maybe I just ate something weird or my stomach didn't like me getting up as fast as I did." I suggested after taking a few sips of the water.

"Do you want me to get Ivan?" He repeated.

"No. I love him, but he's been Russian mother hening me ever since he found out about my problems. I don't want to give him another reason to be unnecessarily protective of me." I told him with a wave of my hand. "Besides. I don't want to ruin today for anyone. The ladies really seem to be excited about today and I don't want to ruin that."

"Well, if you really feel better now, I guess their's no reason to sound the alarm, eh. Just take it easy today, got it." He demanded more then asked.

"You got it doc." I saluted with a small laugh.

He rolled his eyes, but a smile was on his face. He looked down and his smile faltered a bit. I looked at him confused, then remembered that I didn't have any sleeves on. I turned my head away when he took one of my arms. He ran a finger down the big scar. The one that showed that I tried to take my own life.

"These have healed up nicely, eh. The stitch marks are even gone." He commented softly, a hint of sadness in his voice. Guilt gripped my heart harder then ever. Tears started flowing down my cheeks. A small sob shook my body. "Alfred?"

"I-I'm sorry. I-I'm s-so sorry th-that I put y-ou through th-that. I'm so-rry." I choked out as more tears started down my face like small waterfalls. "I-I never wa-wanted to h-hurt you, I was j-just so tired o-of all the in-sults. I just wa-nted it t-to end."

"Shh, shh. It's okay Alfie." He soothed, pulling me close. "I understand. You don't have to apologize. Any one could have, and probably would have, done the same thing if they were in your place. People can only take so much, and you took much more then anyone else. I'm just thankful that you're still here today. We're twins and I love you, now and forever."

"I love you too Mattie." I sniffed and smiled as I calmed down.

"That's it, take a deep breath. Get changed, clean up, and when you're ready meet us downstairs." He instructed me gently with boop to my nose. He gave me one more hug and helped me up. "See you down stairs bro."

"Yea. I'll be down in a minute or two." He nodded and left.

I stayed where I was for a moment taking in a few deep, calming breaths before getting ready. I washed my face off to remove the tear stains and get the salt out of my eyes. They were still a little red and puffy, but would go down soon. I walked back into my bedroom and picked up the clothes I had dropped before darting into the bathroom.

I briefly wondered why I had thrown up. No one else has yet and we all are the same thing last night. Maybe it was just a fluke. Maybe something didn't settle right in my stomach and made it act up when I had moved too quickly earlier. What ever the reason may be, I feel better now so it didn't matter.

I finished getting dressed and looked myself over in the tall, full body mirror. I had on a light grey sweater thats sleeve ends have a hole for my thumbs to slip into to stop the sleeves from riding up. Underneath it I had put on a black tank top for extra warmth. I put on black skinny jeans so my skates wouldn't get caught in the loose bottom pants leg. I decided to grab a thin white scarf as well, just in case it was a little colder in the building today then normal.

"So, what do you think Hero? Do I look good?" I asked the white and brown feline laying in her bedded box. Next to her Lampushka slept soundly.

"Meow! Meerrow! Pppuuurrr!" She responded and blinked her beautiful sapphire blue eyes slowly.

"Awww, you know what. I think you're the most beautiful cat in the whole world." I cooed as I gave her a scratch under the chin. She purred and rubbed her head against my hand. I moved my hand down to her belly and rubbed her small bump. She purred happily at the attention and kneeded the bedding. "So what do you think Hero? Are they coming today?"

"Meerrow." She shook her head.

"No? Okay then. Looks like we have to wait a little longer. I don't mind though. I'll wait for them to be ready to come say hello." I whispered to her. She gave my hand a quick lick as a response. "Alright sweety, I gotta go now. I'll be back latter."

"Meow!" She cried out and looked up at the night stand.

I looked up and almost laughed. I had almost forgotten my rubber bands. I don't think she knows what I use it for, but she has picked up on the fact that I always have it now. She gets upset when something goes out of the pattern.

"Thanks sweety. I almost forgot this." I said slipping the red bands under my sleeves.

"Ppuurr." She purred at me. She blinked at me again and I blinked back.

"I love you too sweety. I'll see you latter." I smiled at her and walked out the room.

I walked down the stairs and headed to the first place I needed to visit today. I walked into the small vet office, past the living room where I heard voices coming from. I figured everyone was already in there and waiting on me. While I passed the kitchen I could smell coffee in the air, and while it smelt great, something told me not to drink it. Never one to ignore my instincts I chose to ignore the temptation of the caffeinated drink.

I walked into the small room and immeadantly whent to check on the rabbit. He was sleeping in a big, fluffy bed he made from his own bedding. He looked peaceful and content, if not a little tired. I checked his water bottle and food dish to find that both were full. The food dish even had some fresh vegetables in it. I looked at it confused for a moment before a big smile spread across my face. Natalia must have done this.

Despite the cold and dangerous demeanor she always displays, if you get passed it and see who she really is underneath the surface you will find a very sweet and loving girl. Someone who is willing to do anything to protect her family. That makes her scary to a lot of people. She loves her family with all of her heart. Sure, she has a dark and scary way of showing it, but she loves her family more then anyone else in the world could.

After finishing the checking on the rabbit I checked the clock on the wall. It read 10:09. Crap, we're behind schedule. Oh well, it wasn't that bad. As long as traffic isn't too harsh we should be able to get there on time.

As I was walking out of the vet office I could hear a loud comotion going on in the living room. Concerned I hurried down the hall. I was able to make out the noises as two people shouting. I ran in to the large room to see both Ivan and England in a very heated argument. Both were in each others faces. Also in the room where the others, all looking at least a little bit concerned.

"This is Fredkas house and you are the guest! You should be showing him more respect!" Ivan shouted at England angerly. He looked increadably furious, like he wanted to start a fist fight with the island nation.

"All I'm saying is that the lazy git made us have to be ready by ten, he should have been ready before us. Instead he sleeps in all morning. And since when did you care about how I treated him? You used to pick fights with him over everything." England shot back just as heated.

A dark arura emitted from Ivan, promising blood. I decided it was time for me to step in before someone got hurt. I ran between them and pushed them apart. It was a little difficult since both of them were stubborn and wanted to fight and neither seemed too happy about me interfering. The others, however, looked relieved at my arrival.

"Hey, hey, hey! I don't know why you two are fighting, but whatever it is it needs to stop. We are all here to have fun! We are all here to bond as a family! I do not need a fight to ruin any of that!" I snapped angerly. "So what ever it is that has you two in a tiff, put it aside for now. We'll discuss it when we get back home. Capiche?" I asked firmly, turning my head between the both of them.

"You should really learn to but out of other peoples conversations. You don't need to get yourself involved with everything." England said with an attitude.

"Yea, well, when it looks like that 'conversation' is about to turn into world war three in my living room, I think I have all right to step in and put an end to it." I shot back with just as much attitude. He glared at me with crossed arms but didn't challenge me further. "Now, today is supposed to be all about fun guys! Come on, lets see some smiles. That's it, big smiles everyone! Now lets get this show on the road. We need to get going if we wanna make the reservation."

I ushered everyone out, being the last so I could lock the door. Kumo and the cats were left here since pets aren't allowed in the places where we are going. I got to the care to see everyone had gotten the seating arangment figured out themselves. It was the same as yesterday, except France and England were in the way back. That's perfectly fine since I didn't want Ivan and England to get in another fight. I wanted this day to be relaxing and fun.

I put on the radio and sparked conversations with the various passengers. Even though the atmosphere was still tense, everyone made an attempt at decent conversation. Before long the tension left, leaving the van with a lighter, more calm feeling to it. Finally everyone started relaxing.

"Oh, look guys. We're here." I said pulling up too a small building.

It was really cute, with many seasonal decorations and a chalk board with cheerful sayings. It had an outdoor seating area along with an indoor. Stickers of turkeys and autumn leafs were on the windows. Most noticeably the sign, which said 'Good Morning Dinner', had a bright sun on it with a smiling face in it.

I loved coming here because of it's peaceful atmosphere. The lighting was bright, the paintings calming, and the employees were always welcoming. Even if I only stopped in for coffee, this place was still nice to visit. I have even made friends with the owners Charles and Charlotte, and their daughter Charlie. I was a lot closer with Charlotte then the other two. She would often fuss over me and mother hen me when ever I decide to stop by.

In fact the second I walked in I was immeadantly greeted by Charlotte herself. "Alfred dear, how have you been?" Charlotte had caramel brown eyes, beautiful wavy black hair, and smooth chocolate brown skin with a tattoo of a rose on the back of her hand.

"Hello Charlotte! I've been doing great, how about you?" I asked accepting her bear hug. Though she may be a little on the chunky side she was pretty strong.

"I've been doing just fine dear. Thanks for asking. Such a sweetie. Well come on in. I have your table all set up for you." She told us as she led the way to a table in the back. It was one of the bigger one that could hold up to eight people. "I almost thought you weren't coming though. You're not usualy this late."

"Sorry about that." I said with a sheepish smile. "A little problem came up that I had to deal with before we left. I'm here now though."

"Yes you are. Now, are you going to introduce me to your friends or are gonna make me have to guess?" She asked with a playful smirk.

"Oh, right, sorry about that. These two are Francis and Arthur. I met Francis through my brother and Arthur I met when I was just a young boy when he was visiting the country." I said as I introduced them. I hated laying too her, even if it was only lying by omission. When they finished shaking hand I moved on. "This is my twin brother Mattie. He's older then me by three days."

"How in the world?" She asked confused.

"Our mother whent in to labor July 1 and gave birth to him just before midnight, but then I was stuck inside for a few days. She didn't even know she was pregnant with twins untill the contractions started up again on the third! I was then born just after midnight July 4. She believed more in the old ways and never saw a doctor. Even while giving birth. So while I technacly should have been a c-section, I was instead a natural birth." I finished up the story. It was a common story I tell people when they find out our birthdays were on two seperat days. While not entirely true, their was a ring of truth too it.

"My word. I have never heard of something like that happening before." She said amazed.

"And you probably never will again. The actual odds of that happening are so low, it vertualy doesn't exsist. In fact the only reason they do exsist at all was because of the incident." I laughed.

"You learn something new every day." She said shaking her head. "So, who are these other three."

"Oh! These are Katyusha, Natalia, and Ivan. I met all three of them through work. They live in Russia and occasionally the people I work for collaborate and do some trading with others in Russia. And when that happens I go and talk with these three. We make trade agreements, alliances, stuff like that. And that's how I met these three." I said with a few hand gesturs in the general area of Russia's location. A small, nervouse blush made its way to my face. "And, about a month ago, we kinda started dating." I said stepping closer to Ivan and taking his hand.

"You found yourself a boyfriend a month ago and didn't tell me? I thought we were closer than that." She said with false sadness.

"Sorry Charlotte. I wanted you meet him in person first." I apologized with a small smile.

"Oh, I'm not mad." She laughed and waved it off. She then turned her whole attention on Ivan. "Let me get a good look at you young man. I'm Charlotte McCain, it's so nice to meet you."

"Privot, I am Ivan Braginsky. It is a pleasure to meet you as well ma'am." He greeted back politely with a kind smile.

"Ooh, you have maners! It is so nice to see that Alfred has good taste in men. You are a looker as well. Almost want to take you for myself."

"Charlotte! You already have Charles! This one's mine!" I whined playfully and grabbed on to his arm.

"I'm just playing around dear. No need to make a fuss." She laughed and gave me a playful shove. She then turned back too Ivan with a very serious expression. "Now you listen here young man. Alfred is like a son to me. If I ever find out that you hurt him, I don't care if you live in Russia, I don't care if you live on the moon. I will find you and I will give you an ass whooping, you hear me?" She threatened with a deep tone of voice.

"Yes ma'am. I completely understand you. I just want you too know that hurting him is the last thing I ever want to do." He nodded his head respectfully. England snorted and I glared at him.

"Well, as long as you stay true to that then I don't think we'll have any problems." She nodded her head as well. "Now why don't you all sit down and let me cook you up something tasty. I'll be back in a minute to take your order, okay?"

"You got it Charlotte!" I giggled.

We all sat down and I passed the menus out for everyone. The dinner sold a wide variety of different breakfastes, even some from other countries. That's another reason why I chose this place. I knew everyone should be able to find something they liked. Even picky Eyebrows could find something.

"Charlotte seems like a very nice lady. You two also appeared to be very close. She did say you were like a son to her. How did that happen?" England said as he looked over the menue.

"Well, I came in for coffee one day and we started talking. We clicked right away too. I just kept coming all the time, and, I don't know, she sort of adopted me." I told them. It was most of the truth.

I had came in here after a particularly bad meeting needing some time away. She had noticed that I was upset and tried to help make me feel better. When she found out that I was being bullied by the other nations, who I told her were my colleagues, she told me to come in here any time I felt over whelmed and needed a break. She always had an ear open and some kind words for me.

About four-ish months ago when my depression was getting to be at its worse I stopped coming. When I had gotten back from my month in the country the very first place I visited was here. And what do I find? Charlotte getting me a cup of coffee all made up, ready to lecture me with all the sass and love she could give.

"Dose that happen offten in your country? People adopting other people?" France asked intrigued.

"It happens quit frequently, across all ages too. More often then not an older adult who just got done raising a brood of their own will sort of take in a much younger adult or teenager. They become mentors to them, and family. Does this not happen in other countries?" I asked with a tilt of my head.

"They do, cher, just never with one of us." He said gestering to the other nations in the room.

"Really?" I asked surprised.

"Oui. We may have a favorite human we talk to now and again, but we never, or at least not often, truly try to connect with any of them. Humans have much too short of a life. They are always gone before you even realise it." He explained sadly, if not a little dramatically.

"I know humans die fast. Some times they're gone before I even realise it." I said looking down. My mind when back to Davie. My first real human friend. I hadn't realised that humans die so quickly at the time that I spent his entire life looking for that flower, only for him to be dead when I finally had a few. I looked back up, a small smile on my face. "But isn't that what makes loving them all the more special?"

"Huh? What do you mean?" He asked confused.

"Knowing you only have so much time to spend with them. That any moment could well be their last. Doesn't that make each moment you do get to spend with them that much more special and precious?" I tried clarifying. Both France and England were looking at me surprised. Like they couldn't understand how I had such an understanding of this part of life for nations. "We won't have them a hundred years from now. We'll only have the memories we make with them. And I know looking back at those memories hurts. Trust me, I have done this over and over again. But I would rather take the pain, having all these great memories with great people, then to never feel the pain, or the love, of someone amazing."

"...America. I had no idea that you could think like that. You usually only spout off nonsense or ridiculous ideas. But this, this was profound." England said amazed.

"Of course he deep thoughts! He's not an idiot! Sure, he does have his moments of ridiculousness, but he still is capable of true thoughts and deep derstandings." Mattie said defending me.

"I'm not saying he never can have those thoughts. I mean, even Italy has his moments deep thoughts. I'm just saying that I didn't expect to hear it due to his normal behavior." He argued back defensively.

"You never gave me a chance to show you." I whispered mostly to my self. Ivan heard me and took my hand in his. I smiled up at him gratefully. "Alright guys, that's enough arguing. Charlotte is coming back, so you need to have all your orders ready." I reminded them with a somewhat false smile.

"Are you all ready to order?" She asked when she came back.

I looked around the table and they all nodded. I looked back at Charlotte with a smile. "Yes ma'am, we're ready."

About twenty minutes later we're all enjoying a big, yummy breakfast. Most choose some form of pancake or egg. Mattie obviously ordered the biggest plate of pancakes they had. Then he proceeded to pull out his own bottle of maple syrup and pour half the bottle on his pancakes.

"Really Mattie? You want some pancakes with that syrup?" I teased him lightly.

He gave me a playful glare back. "Like you should be telling me what to and how much I should put on my pancakes. What did you even do to that fruit salad?" He asked pointing to my bowl.

I looked down at my bowl. I had put in pieces of sausage I got from Ivan. I also sprinkled some salt on, and some maple syrup as well. The final thing I had asked for was hot sauce to be mixed in.

I looked back up at him. A few others were staring at me with weird looks. "What? It's what I want. Leave me alone." I said taking a bite.

"Spending all those years with England has ruined your tast buds." France said with a disgusted face.

"I never fed him anything like that." England tried defending himself.

I rolled my eyes and blocked out their bickering. I instead chose to indulge in my admittedly weird fruit salad. I have no idea why this tastes so good to me. A week ago I would have only eaten this as a dare. Now this is the tastiest thing ever.

I glanced up to see Mattie looking at me weird. Like he was trying to find the answer to a particularly unusual problem. I had a feeling I was the problem.

I was about to question him about it when I noticed that France and Englands fight was starting to get a little loud. It was also starting to get physical. I tried stepping in to calm them down. Hands were flying and I was pushing them both apart when I felt a stinging sensation on my right cheek. The sound of a slap echoed through the dinner making more then a few people turn and look.

I pulled back and sat back down. France and England looked at me stunned. England still had his hand up. Mattie and both the ladies looked at all three of us in shock.

Ivan, however, had a completely different kind of look. He stared at England like he was about to kill him. His dark arura spread across this part of the dinner, making the temperature drop about ten degrees. "Kolkolkol kolkolkolkolkolkolkolkolkolkol."

"Alright!" I stepped in. "England, France, Mattie, ladies. Why don't you five head back to the car? I will take care of the bill. Ivan, keep me company?"

"Da." He said still glaring at England darkly.

The other four left with England in the lead. Ivan stayed by my side, being sure to glare at England the whole time. When they left I ran my hand through my hair and sighed. I quickly payed for the meal, pluse a nice tip, and walked into the bathroom.

I whent strait to the mirror to check out the slap mark. You could clearly see every one of his fingers on my cheek. The area was red with slight bruising. I gently ran my hand over it and hissed in pain.

"Fredka, are you alright?" Ivan asked conning up next to me.

I turned to face him. He reached his and out and softly cupped my chin. He ran one finger across the mark softly and I winced. He quickled pulled his finger back and bent down to kiss my cheek just above the mark.

"I'm sorry I let this happen. I should have stepped in before he had a chance to hit you." He whispered before kissing my lips.

"Hey, it's not your fault, it's mine. I was the one that stepped in between two people show were getting ready to fight. I knew the risk." I smiled at him when he pulled back. "Besides, their's no real damage."

"You have a large hand print on your face." He deadpaned.

"Yea, well. It'll go away soon." I tried brushing it off as I dampened a paper towel with it water. I placed it on my cheek to help with the swelling. "The only thing I'm worried about is you trying to kill England when we go back out there. I really want us all to have a good day today."

"I will not hurt him. Yet. This week will only last so long." He promised with a sigh. He didn't look me in the eye, but I knew he would keep his promise.

"That's all I ask." I said giving him a kiss and a smile. I took him by the hand and we walked out.

I knew he was really upset about me getting hit. He was really protective of me when he was around. By hitting me, even by accident, England may as well have just dug his own grave. I know that Ivan won't do anything yet, but this week will have to end eventually. When it does, England better run for the hills.

*Time skip brought to you by an England digging his own grave.*

I pulled up to the large building in a spot, thankfully, close to the door. The building was made from red brick and had a blue metal roof. Window lined the upper middle, to high up to see in to. It was kinda plain on the outside, the only decoration being the bright neon blue sign.

"This is the place you're taking us to? It hardly looks like a skate rink." England sneered from the way back seat.

"England, you should know better then to judge a book by it's cover." I told him with a large smile as we got out. "This place is really cool on the inside. Pun not intended."

"Bullshit it wasn't intended." Mattie said from behind me.

"Now, when we go inside their are a few areas we can skate in. One is ment for people practicing hockey. Another is for people trying out new tricks. One is for just skating around. And the fourth area is for kids so they don't get trampled by adults." I told them as we stepped inside. It was easy to see where each place was. The hockey area had a glass wall around it, while the other three areas were more open. "It's also where people who've never skated before like to try and learn the sport."

"This place is tons of fun. I've been here before with Al when the place first opened up." Mattie commented from the back of the group.

"Yep!" I agreeded with a smile. I payed the lady at the front for the group. "Okay people, it's almost noon, so how about we meet up for a bite to eat and a drink at lets say, one thirty? Does that sound good to you guys?"

They all nodded their heads in agreement. I led them to the skate rental and got everyone a pair. The shoes weren't anything fancy, but they did get the job done. We picked a table that could be seen in every area so we could keep an eye on our stuff. I organized our stuff and stayed at the table.

I was content to only watch them. Mattie obviously whent for the hockey rink and joined a team. The second he did that team started wining every round. In the Stunt Rink Ivan and Natalia were performing tricks and dancing together. It was really nice to see them being able to bond. I know it was not easy for them over the years, and I'm greatful they can have this memory. In the Slow Rink is where the last three were. Kat whent around it in circles like a pro, completely happy to glide at an easy pace. France was slower and, while still more graceful then England, had a little trouble keeping his balance. England on the other hand was falling every two to five minutes. Kat would swing by to try to help him, but I could tell his temper was getting the best if him and it was making Kat nervous.

"Got a rubber band on under your sleeve?" I heard someone say next to me.

I turned my head in surprised to see a teen had sat next to me. He looked like you standered emo punk. Hair died red at the ends, all dressed up in black. Metal studs lined certain parts of his outfit.

"Uh, yea. How can you tell?" I asked him. My cheeks started to flush red.

"I could see you pulling at something on your wrists under the table. I thought you were only picking at a string at first, then you switched hands." He explained with a small smile.

"Oh, wow. I hadn't even realised I was doing that." I said embarrassed. My whole face felt like it was on fire.

"Hey, calm down. Their's no need to be embarrassed. I have a few scars of my own, so I ain't judging anyone." He said calmly. I calmed down a little, but I was still slightly embarrassed. "So, what has you stressed out? Maybe I can help."

"Oh, it's just your standard family issues. Only mines a little more complicated. I can't tell you why, it just is." I said not really touching too much on the subject. I didn't want to make him feel obligated to listen in case he was just trying to be nice.

"I get you their. We all have some sort of family issue. Some worse then others. So why don't you tell me what has you rilled up? I may be able to help." He asked again.

"Well, my problem right now, it's pretty complicated, like I said earlier. I have my entire family over for Thanksgiving. One half of my family hates my boyfriend. My brother is the only one who really tolerates him. That its self is causing problems. Then I have Arthur, he's the blond with caterpillar eyebrows," I said pointing each person out, "is hasn't stoped arguing with any and every one since he got here. I had to stop two arguments from becoming fist fights today, pluse I had to stop another one right after the second from even happening. It was an accident, but block brows over there slapped me earlier. That's what this mark is."

"That looks too clean of a mark to be an accident." He commented dryly.

"Yea, Ivan thinks so too." I agreed with a nod. "But what has me worked up right now is Aruther looks like he's about to loose his temper over there and start yet another fight. It's just fight after fight with him. I'm trying my best to keep him calm for the sake of the other so they can have fun, but it's really stressing me out. I didn't even invite him, he invited him self and Francis over. I'm trying to make sure everyone has a good time. I really want us too bond as a family and for the rest of my family to accept him. It's just been really hard.

"All he wants to do is fight with everyone. Me especially. It's like someone keeps shoving a larger and larger stick up his ass. I mean, if that was really the case I would totally understand, but somehow I don't think it is." I said with a small laugh and rested my head on my hand.

"Yea, neither do I." He laughed as well. "It sounds like to me all your problems are starting from this guy."

"Yea, they kinda are." I nodded my head.

"So my suggestion is that you do something about this Arthur. He seems to be running your party and not in a helpful way. You need to stand up to him and tell him to back off and calm the fuck down or get out." He said firmly with a small glare. It wasn't directed at me, it was from his passion on the subject.

"I know that, and I've tried in the past. I just get so nervous, and I'm not sure why. I can take him in a fight no problem, but when he gets on his rants, I don't know why but I just stand there and take it. They hurt and I want him to stop them. I want to stand up for myself, but I can't." I tried to explain to him. "It's like I freeze up."

"You need to learn how to stand up for yourself to him. If you don't, then you will never be happy." He told me gently, but firmly and rested a hand on my shoulder. "And the second you take your power back from him, you will feel like all the weight of the world has been lifted off your shoulders and you will be much happier. It will be like all your problems have vanished. Trust me, I know. Only in my case I did it a little too late. Any way, I got to get going. If you ever need to talk to anyone, I spend all my time here, so just pay me a visit. And don't worry about me telling your secrets to anyone. I pretty much keep to my self." He said standing up.

"Okay, I'll keep that in mind. Hey, wait! What's your name?" I asked him before he could leave. "My name is Alfred."

"Alfred huh. Like the butler from Batman?" He asked with a grin.

"Yea, like the butler. Everyone always asks that question." I rolled my eyes but smiled anyways.

"You know, Alfred also means wise. I get a feeling you fit that better than butler." He laughed. "Anyway, my name is Joshua. It means generous."

"You know the meaning of lot's of names, don't you?" I asked with a tilt of my head and a smile.

"Yea, it's a party trick mostly." He said rubbing the back of his head. "Well, I'll see you later."

"Bye." I waved at him. He disappeared into the crowd a moment later. His name sounded familiar to me, but I couldn't recall why for the life of me. I decided to let it go for now and see if the answer came to me later.

I checked my watch and saw that it was nearly one thirty. I decided that now was a good time to get in line for food. I settled on getting everyone a big soft pretzel since we just ate not too long ago. It would hold us over untill diner latter tonight and wasn't too unhealthy of a snack choice. I got a combination of different dippings so everyone had a choice. As I was walking back to the table I noticed that Ivan and England were getting in yet another fight. I sighed and hurried back over.

"Hey guys. What's going on?" I asked with a forced big smile on my face.

"He was being rude to big sister when she was only trying to help him skate." Ivan hissed as he glared daggers at the island nation.

"I wasn't being rude, I only asked her to back off. She was being overbearing." He tried defending himself with crossed arms. This only caused Ivan to tighten his fists.

"It's okay little brother. I don't need you to fight for me. I am alright." Katyusha tried calming down the large snowy nation.

"It's about the point of the matter. He should not have been rude to you when all you where doing was helping." He told her angerly, although still much more gently.

"Okay. England, will you please fallow me into the bathroom. I would like to have a word with you." I said keeping my voice calm and non demanding.

"I don't see why I have too. I haven't done anything wrong." He answered.

"Mon amie, it may be in everyone's best interest if you go and hear what he has to say. If nothing else it gives every one a chance to calm down." France gently persuaded him.

"Alright, fine." He huffed as he stood up.

He stomped his way to the bathroom. I followed, but made sure to give France a grateful smile as I left. He responded with a nod and smile of his own.

"Okay, we're in here. What do you want?" He asked with a glare.

"Well, I was just thinking that maybe you've been a bit...tense the whole time you've been here." I started. I was trying to word my sentences carefully to not set him off again. "And I was hopping that maybe you could relax a little. You're kind of stressing everyone out."

"I don't see how I'm the cause." He snorted.

"You've been starting a lot of arguments these last couple of days." I tried telling him.

"I'm only stating my opinion. That's allowed in your country isn't it?" He asked with an attitude.

"Yes, but..."

"Then I will continue to state my opinion. If they don't like it then they can bugger off." He stated and waved his hand.

"It's not your opinion they're upset about it's how you're saying it." I tried again.

"I don't see where you think you're coming from trying to lecture me on how to talk to people when the only thing that ever comes from you is this self righteous attitude." He snarled.

"What are you talking about? I'm not li-"

He quickly cut me off. "You think you're perfect, but you're not. You are a child who thinks the whole world revolves around you!" He snarled at me as I slowly started to back up untill my back hit a stall door. He got right up in my face, close enough that I was able to count every shade of green in his eyes. Fear started to make its way in my chest. "You stick your nose into everyone's business and try to control every situation! You think you're the boss of the world, but you're not! You need to grow up and stop acting like a child and you need to stop telling others what to do!"

He gave me one final glare and walked out of the bathroom. I stayed there completely stunned and not knowing what to do. I didn't understand why he got so angry. I know I'm not the boss of the world. I was just trying to get him to stop picking fights with the others.

Tears came to my eyes from the overwhelming feeling fear and hurt in my chest. I locked myself in one of the stalls and stayed there. I tried to be quiet as I cried to not draw attention to myself from anyone who may want to enter. The only sound I couldn't control was the snap of rubber against skin as the band hit my wrist. I don't know how long it was before someone came to look for me.

"Alfie, are you in here?" I heard Mattie ask. He sounded worried and a little bit scared.

"Y-yea. I'm i-in here." I sniffed loudly. I could see his shoes from under the door where I sat on the floor.

I heard his hurried footsteps as he rushed to my stall. He tried opening it, but I locked it.

"Alfie, are you going to let me in? I can't help you if you don't let me in." He said through the door soothinly. I got up, undid the lock, and sat back down on the ground. He walked in and dropped to my level. His eyes imeadiently fell on my red swollen, and now slightly bruised, wrist. "Oh, Alfie. Let me see."

I gave him my wrist. He lightly prodded around the area. He carefully took off the red band so it wouldn't press into the swelling skin. I didn't pay much attention to the little bit of pain their was. I mostly kept my head down.

"God damn it! We had come so far! What in the hell did he say to you?" He growled out darkly. My twin was officially mad. He only caused when he got really angry.

"Nothing." I responded dully.

"Nothing my ass! What did he say?" He demanded and took my head in his hand. I turned away and didn't respond. "Look Alfie. I'm not mad at you. I'm sorry I yelled. I just want to help, but I can't help if you don't let me in."

"...I don't want to talk about it right now." I told him.

He sighed heavily. "Okay. I can't make you talk. I can fix up your arm though. Come on little brother."

He gently helped me up and led me to the sink. He wet some paper towels with cold water and presses them against my skin. I hissed as the icy water touched my buring skin. It stung, but I knew it would help it heal. He handed me another towel so I could start wiping the tears off my cheek and the salt out of my eyes. They were red and puffy, so I kinda looked like an alien. I laughed a little.

"What's so funny?" Mattie asked.

"I look like an alien." I smiled.

"A cute alien, eh." He smiled back. "We need to head back out soon. Ivan looked like he was about to strangle England when I left to find you."

We stayed in just a bit longer untill the redness and swelling whent down. Then we walked out to join the others. Both France and England were back out on the rink. The Snow trio, however, were waiting for us. When we walked over all three sat up strait.

"Fredka, are you okay? Do you need me to do anything?" Ivan asked getting out of his chair. He walked over to me and started looking me over.

"I'm fine. Mattie made sure of that." I said giving his cheek a kiss.

"Did he say anything to you. If he did I will hurt him." The larger nation growled darkly as he glared at the island nation.

"I'm fine." I told him. From the corner of my eye I could see Mattie giving me a look. "It doesn't matter. I just want everyone to have a good time." I said sitting down.

"Fine." He huffed sitting down next to me. On my other side Mattie sat down.

"Lets just enjoy our snack." He did a picking up my pretzel. It was the only one left.

"Al, why weren't you out on the ice earlier? Is something wrong? Are you sick?" Mattie asked me worried, clearly remembering this morning.

"No, I feel fine. It's just something in my gut telling me to stay off the ice." I told him.

"Are you sure it's your gut and not just your stress and paranoia? You've been running back and forth all day dealing with problems, especially with England, that what you think your feeling might just be you reacting to all the problems you had to deal with lately." He argued. "Come and join us on the rink. What's the worse that could happen? You falling?"

"Yea, I suppose you're right." I hesitantly agreed.

"Come on then. We'll all go to the Slow Rink if you're that worried." He said leading me to the ice.

I looked out at the ice. Diffrent colors shone from under it and slowy changed through a cycle. LEDS were what made the ice light up diffrent colors thermal regulators kept the ice frozen and the LEDS from breaking. I remember when the owners used dyies to color the ice. It was fun to skate on and see the different color ice pieces go flying. They changed that though about five or so years ago because it was too expensive to keep up with. This was nice too though, the colors blended together.

I got out on the ice and although it took me a minute to find my balance, I was skating like a pro in no time. I love the smooth feeling of gliding across the ice. It was almost like flying at times. I did small tricks like twirls and skating backwards since anything fancy was saved for the Stunt Rink. I also still didn't trust the ice for some reason.

I still managed to relax, however, and even start to really enjoy myself. I had a small race with Kat around the rink. I would fall in step with Ivan, Natalia, or Mattie and glide with them for a moment. Then I would be off again to skate at my pace. That's were I was now. I just turned and was sliding down the stretch when I heard shouting.

I looked behind me and before I even had a chance to react I was crashed into. I felt myself go flying. My feet had left the ground and I was half sliding half rolling across the ice. Their were shouts and smalls screams from all around me. I collided with a dozen people and I could feel the blade of their skates cut me open in a few places. The whole time I was curled into a tight ball.

When I finally stopped moving I was clear at the other end of the rink. I looked up at the wreak to see that nearly a dozen people were on the ground, most injured. At the far end of the rink where I was hit stood England looking dumbfounded. I looked back down feeling queasy.

"Fredka! Are you alright?" Ivan asked as he came to a stop next to me. Kat, Nat, and Matt were all next to him in an instant. "You are cut up all over your back and legs."

"I'll be fine. Let's just go home before cops come." I told them as I tried standing up. The four of them helped me, but when I stood the nausea worsened. "Let's get going. Arthur! Francis! Lets go!" I shouted at them as we made our way off the ice.

In the chaos we were able to slip away unseen. As nations we couldn't draw any sort of attention to ourselves. It was dangerous and could expose us to the public. That ment we could never come back to this skate rink again.

I ended up throwing up in the parking lot. I gave Mattie the keys since I was in no condition to drive. I sat in the front in an awkward position to not irritate the many cuts. Blood was slowly seeping into the fabric of my car, staining it. The four kept trying to make sure I was okay the whole ride home. It was sweet of them, and I appreciated it.

When we got home Ivan picked me up and carried me into the down stairs bathroom. It was large and held most of my medical supplies. Mattie whent right to work cleaning and bandaging me up. He even had to stich up a particularly deep cut. But despite the need for stiches, most of my wounds looked worse then they actually were. In the end I was mostly just covered in scratches and bruises.

Mattie, Ivan, and I walked out of the bathroom and headed into the living room where the others sat worried. They looked up and relieve washed over their faces.

"Alright, so I'm going to live. I know, so disappointing." I joked with a smile. They laughed a little themselves, but only half heartedly. "But I wont be able to take you all out for a ride around town. My apologies to those of you who were looking forward to it, but I need to go lay down. I won't be down for the rest if the evening, so when you get hungry just order some pizza. I have their number on the fridge. Theirs about fifty in the pizza jar, so just use that. So, yea. Have a nice evening guys, I'll see you in the morning."

"Their was a small chorus of good night from everyone and I walked up stairs. Ivan was right behind me to make sure I didn't fall. He helped me get changed and even layed down with me to keep me company.

He looked at me and smiled. I tried to smile back, but tears started pouring out of my eyes. I turned my head to bury my face in the pillow. Soft sobs racked my body. Ivan gently rubbed my back, being sure to avoid the cuts and scratches. Even the cats were up on the bed trying to make me feel better with licks and rubs.

"Fredka, dorogaya, what is the matter? Why are you crying?" Vanya asked me softly as he pressed soft kisses to my temple.

"Everything's going wrong. Their have been four fights today." I started as I peeked out of the pilliow. "Everyone is stressed from the fights. Theire were four of them today alone. I can't take anyone out for the walk around town because I got hurt. And I knew Kat and Nat were looking forward to going. I wanted to cook us a nice meal and sit down as a family, but I can't do that right now.

"Everyone was stressed out at the ice rink, everyone is stressed out now. Everything has just been going wrong. I just wanted us to have a nice, relaxing time. Today was instead a mess." I finished with a whimper.

"Hey, don't think of it like that. We all did have fun today. We had fun at the rink. Breakfast this morning was wonderful and we got to meet one of your human friends. She is quiet a character too." He smiled. I gighled lightly. I love Charlotte. "And we found out how wild of an imagination you have. Those were some interesting back stories you came up with."

"Yea. Half truths. I can't lie to her, but I can't exactly tell the truth either." I said with a small smile.

"Their you are, lyubit, smiling again. You should never have to frown Fredka." He told me. He gently stroked my face with his knuckles. I smiled contently and leaned into the touch.

"You're such a sweetie." I told him.

I leaned up and kissed him. He wrapped his arms around my waist and the back of my neck to hold me close. My hands rested on his cheeks. The kiss lasted for a long moment untill I heard I loud noise downstairs. I sighed and moved to get up, but Ivan pushed me back down on the bed. I looked up at him confused, face a little flush.

"You need rest. Matvey and I will handel problem. You rest." He leaned over and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I watched him walk out of the room and turned to the cats.

"I don't know about you Hero, but I think he likes me." I said with a smile.

"Meow. Pur pur pur." She responded and licked my hair.

"What about you Lamushka?"

"Meow. Meow." He said in a deeper meow then Hero.

"Glad you two agree." I said with a yawn. Sure, it was early in the day, but I needed a nap.

Today might not have gone exactly as planed. Yes, their were a lot of fights. Yes, somethings whent off script. But everyone still had fun. People bonded. We annoyed each others company.

In the end that's all that matters.

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This chapter is 9588 words. If I had realised it would be this long I would have split it in two. I should have done that when it reached 5000 words. But I kept thinking, it's not that much longer.

So, sorry about the long update, but that's the reason why. Hope you enjoy!