Three hours, two minutes, 46 seconds, about five cigarettes, two pills, and a cup of coffee. Better late than never.

Of course, he welcomed each and every one as he was supposed to. They had varying commentary on the residency. Ivan commenting on how quaint it was, sardonic grin and all. Arthur started talking about spirits residing here. They almost felt like Yelp reviews. It was pretty annoying. He didn't need reviews on his own home. As if they knew anything about it.

Feli and Lovino were the last to arrive. Lovino came rushing to the house complaining how cold it was while Feli trailed behind, looking around in awe.

"Please tell me the heat is on in there." Lovino whined as he made it to the porch.

"We have a whole fire going and everything." Alfred informed him.

"Bless your soul." With that the Italian ran in.

His brother trailed in with a smile.

"How old is this house?" Feli asked.

"Around two hundred?" Alfred looked up to think for a moment and try to recall when the house had been built. "No wait-a little over three hundred."

"Ah, that's almost as old as you."

"Don't make me feel old, man."

"Oh? You feel old?" Feli giggled.

"I know you're basically ancient but that doesn't reverse my years, old man." Alfred smirked.

"I see." Feli simply smiled and turned around to head to the door. Alfred stood to follow suit. Even he was starting to get cold.

The rush of warm air hit his cold face. The door clicked shut behind him, and he shed his coat. He hung it on the rack. The hall eerily quiet despite there being so many occupants at the moment. The walls with unchanged wallpaper were darkened with the lack of light. It was almost tunnel vision with the way the light at the end of the hall creeped in. So uncomfortably familiar, yet so distant.

For being the most powerful country in the world, Alfred sure was jaded. Maybe it was the monotony of everyday life. Maybe it was how exploited every facet of information was. Maybe it was how everyday arose issues that called for scrutiny from the rest of world. It's not like he had friends. They couldn't be human because of the whole being basically immortal thing. They couldn't be other countries because he really couldn't trust anyone. The world was against him no matter what.

But who really cared? Surely, none of his very unwelcomed guests. He had better relationships with some more than others but they were still against him. He couldn't blame them. With the way he's treated them all in the past, the hate they carried against him was inevitable. Strange that he felt the hatred was unwarranted.

He made his way into the house, the light of the living room burned his eyes. Tall windows showed off the natural autumn light into the room. A few of his guest were huddled around the fire place in the center towards the windows. The creaky floorboards gave away his presence to the whole room. Suddenly, all eyes were on him like birds noticing a crumb on the ground.

The whole scene felt off, and it wasn't because they were all staring at him. It was just strange to have so many people here. This was a house he roamed alone for most of his life. If anyone else was here, it was usually one other person so it didn't really fill the rooms like it did now. There was almost this pang of nostalgia in his chest. This is how it could've been in the past if it weren't for the political nonsense that is being a sovereign nation. A damn shame indeed.

Anyway, time for a head count. Romano and Feli, stood nearest to the door by a few feet, Francis and Arthur had been talking to them, taking a seat was Kiku, he was probably talking to Ludwig next to him, Ivan had probably been talking to Toris just a few feet away from the others. Everyone was here.

"Welcome everyone, I hope you enjoy your stay!" Alfred forced enthusiasm in hopes that it would get him out of small talk. Today was possibly the most exhausting day of his life considering the preparations that needed to be made in order to have any of these idiots in the house. He was already getting a migraine just thinking about it. "Before we get you all settled, i have to go over some rules."

"Rules?" Arthur decided to pitch in with a smirk. "You don't really seem like one to have rules." Some in the room erupted into chuckles. Bless his passive aggressive heart.

"My house, my rules." Alfred responded firmly. "Anyway, there's five rules. Plain and simple." He raised a hand to emphasize his point. "Number one, respect my things, pretty much everything in this house is priceless." He put his thumb down. This was a partial lie, some of it was legitimately priceless but every couch here had been replace at least twenty times in the past year due to his own irrational emotions. "Number two, you must be accounted for during breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It's a safety issue to have you all roaming around in here so to make sure you're not trying anything, times will be strict." He put down his pointer. "Number three, if any assistance is needed please inform me or Toris." His middle. "These last two are the most important so pay attention. Number four and five, don't even think about entering the attic or the basement. Don't ask me about it, don't mention it, completely forget they even exist in this house." Down went his last two fingers.

"Why tell about the rooms if you do not want us to explore them?" Ivan asked curiously.

"So you know there will be consequences if you by chance decide to waltz on in there." Alfred dropped his hand. "I won't take the matter lightly and I've been authorized to punish any of you who break these two rules." The room was dead silent upon such a statement. Any amusement left was gone. Satisfied, Alfred smiled. "So have fun and enjoy your stay! 'Kay?"