*authors note at the bottom if interested

**bit of a timeskip lol

America held three bags, one duffle bag and two backpacks. He approached his parents and held out his arms. They all embraced each other as Canada joined in from America's back.

"Did you get everything? Are you positive? Didn't forget anything?" France would question, causing a chuckle out of her two sons. They stepped back, America stepping towards the huge doors of the palace.

"Yes mama, don't worry. If I forget anything just bring it to the next meeting, you'll be flying out to New York for the meeting anyway so it'll all work out." America said with the biggest smile on his face, Canada ruffled up his brother's hair.

"Not if I take it, you have some nice things dude."

"No you won't not if I HAVE ANY-"

"1812 America.. 1812.." Canada cut off America with the side comment. Britain and France burst out into laughter, shortly followed by Canada. America smirked, knowing he deserved it.

"Well, this is my proper goodbye. Have a safe flight America." Was all the British man said before turning to his wife. France gave America a smile of reassurance and forgiveness, as she helped her husband walk away from the main entrance. America would look over at Canada, still standing there with America.

"Well, that's one way to say goodbye." America said in a hushed tone as he felt Canada's gaze on him.

"Well, all honesty, could've been a bit worse."

"...yea I guess."

"Don't be sad about it man, have a safe flight alright? Message me when you get back to the United States." Canada would hug his brother once again, in hopes of making him feel a bit better.

"Thanks man, love you. You're honestly the best I hope you know." America complimented his brother, as he pulled out his phone and earbuds. Putting in one of the wired earbuds and shuffling his classic rock playlist. America strengthened his grip on the duffle bag as he turned his back towards the palace, ready to walk out. The older country almost tripped over himself as his brother jumped on his back again, to give one last hug.

"Nice seeing you, safe travels." The Canadian would let go of his brother, a big genuine smile on his face. America would turn his head, giving the same kind of smile back before continuing walking out of the palace waving at his brother.

America walked towards the street, where a car with some British army kind of guys were in. America opened the back door and climbed inside, sitting near the window. He buckled up and placed his things near his feet and on his lap. He would look around the car, noticing the lack of conversation.

He saw three very professional looking soldiers, two in the front of the car and one in the back sitting at the other window. He saw the driver start the car, because he was sitting diagonally from the driver's seat, and they were off.

The car ride was very awkward, and America wasn't used to it. With him and his soldiers, they are usually pretty friendly and open to conversation. But with his fathers they seemed very distant, secretive almost, as they kept a straight face and the same threatening demeanor. America would turn up his music a little bit more, not loud enough for anyone else to hear, but in this quiet as hell car it was a bit noticeable.

He felt the gaze off the soldier sitting next to him. With his sunglasses still on, he did a quick look over at the soldier trying to be as secretive as possible. The soldier turned his gaze to the passenger off the car, who America saw give an aggressive type of look in the rearview mirror of the car. The soldier continued looking straight forward, weird interaction. America realized he was listening to some random Def Leppard song, maybe the soldier liked the British 80s rock band. Or hated it, who would know?

The car ride came to a stop, as America realized they were at a military airport. About 9 minutes for that entire car ride, impressive. America unbuckled his seatbelt as all the soldiers got out at the same time, realizing that he would quickly grab his things as the door right next to him opened. America would step out, realizing the soldier that sat next to him opened the door.

"Thank you British Soldier number 3, appreciate it."

"..Anytime, sir." The British soldier was in some kind of shock, but wasn't really surprised. America chuckled and smirked as he began to walk to the familiar plane he can see in the distance. It wasn't a commercial plane by any means but it certainly wasn't fighter jet size. Kind of right in the middle, for enough space for the country. The other two soldiers walked steadily behind him, while the third one caught up eventually.

America kind of sped walk there, not at his usual pace, as he noticed the soldiers struggling to keep up with him under all their layers. America would chuckle again as he noticed Private step out of the plane, standing at attention. The country would come face to face with the pilot in a short time, the biggest smile on his face as the other three soldiers approached behind him.

"Hello sir, are you ready to go?" Private would ask, going to shake the hands of the soldiers who escorted the country.

"Of course! Nice to see you bud, thanks for coming so quickly."

"Of course sir, please, make yourself at home." As the pilot gestured to the open door of the plane. America would make his way up the stairs, hearing a small side conversation between the American and British soldiers.

The country would find his seat and place his bags where they were supposed to be. The duffle bag under his seat for safe keeping, the backpacks over head. He buckled up and took out his phone and immediately opened the messenger app. Quickly going to his brothers groupchat, opening it up, and immediately typing:

America: "finally going home lol. hope i dont crash and burn"

America took some time to wait for a response, from any of his brothers. As quickly as he closed out of the app he got the ping that Australia and New Zealand were typing back.

Australia: "That'd be a shame huh? Safe travels Ame."

New Zealand: "He hasn't even spoken in this group chat since he went to go visit Ma and Dad. Maybe this is for the better."

America: "awwww yall missed me so much"

New Zealand: "i hate you"

Australia: "go to hell"

America: "ouch maybe ill go bother someone else>:("

New Zealand: "We can talk later I got stuff to do"

America closed out of the groupchat, his brothers.. Damn did he miss them. They all love each other, but they have that special brotherly bond that really makes the four of them stand out. He'd smile, thinking of who else to annoy. Then a certain Slavic country popped into his mind and just as he was about to go to the country's profile, the pilot came back into the plane. He told America briefly they were about to take off, so be prepared. America put down his phone and waited for the plane to go up into the sky.

It didn't take that long for the plane to take off and be on its track to the United States, America didn't know how long it would take to get back but that's alright. Time for him to hatch his master plan. Once he saw that seatbelt sign was unlit, he took out his phone again quickly going back to the messenger app. He knew his plan was going to work, only if the victim was awake America pressed on the profile of a certain tri-colored country and began typing.

America: "heyyyyy"

Now all he had to do was wait. Did he know international time zones? No. But no matter the time we would be surprised to not have the country awake. To him, Russia seemed nocturnal almost like an owl. He kind of looked like an owl sometimes as well, with his piercing brown eyes and sharp "claws"(they were just his nails that he never cut). He also ate like some kind of carnivorous owl, never did he really see the country enjoy green foods. Maybe that was a trait he inherited from his father, because sometimes he seemed like he would never shut up about him. In America's eyes, he was the walking stereotype of an average Slavic man.

Wife beater tank top, some kind of sweatpants that America never cared to learn the brand off, and seemingly always very aggressive is what the country thought to be a stereotype of Slavs. Although Russia did have some personality, always wearing his military grade combat boots the country never seemed to take off and his noticeable scars and bandaging present on the left side of his body.

America recalls the time Russia had told the story, but he didn't really remember the finer details. From what he can remember, it was about the battle of Stalingrad during WW2. Something about how his father took most of the damage and battle scars, but a younger Russia also being heavily wounded. America could relate to a certain level, with all of the American revolutions and many other wars he has participated in but he never liked to "show them off" in a way Russia does. The tri-colored country takes pride in them, despite his fathers horrible history and roots, while America is kind of just like "yea, I have scars. So what?"

Suddenly, America felt his phone buzz on his thigh and went to immediately pick it up hoping it was the country he messaged. Quickly opening the phone and eyeing all of the notifications, his face lit up seeing that his favorite country responded. Eagerly opening the app, he began to think of a snarky response to start this conversation off right.

Rossiya: "What"

America: "im bored u should talk to me"

Rossiya: "Why should I? It's 1am here"

America: "to a) prepare yourself for the meeting b) practice your english typing and finally c) because you love me"

Rossiya: "Did you completely ignore the part where I said it's 1 am here?"

America: "boohoo ur a night owl its not like u were gonna sleep anyway"

Rossiya: "Fuck you"

America: "lol!"

America: "anyways since im finally a free man again i think me helping you with your english typing and spelling would be a great way to pass the time yknow"

Rossiya: "What if I don't want to practice, what if I keep typing in Russian? You can translate everything"

America: "but ur typing in english rn"

Rossiya: "I hate you."

Rossiya: "And stop using slang its throwing me off."

America: "but it can help us communicate better:(((( learn it now or never"

Rossiya: "But what if I don't want to."

America: "then what other idea do you have genius"

Rossiya: "Me going to bed and you doing whatever you do?"

America: "nuh uh"

Rossiya: "...what do you mean by that?"

America: "exactly how it sounds just nuh uh"

Rossiya: "Your stupidity confuses me."

America: "yknow for someone sooo against my help youre pretty good at typing in english"

America: "should still consider my offer btw:))"

Rossiya: "Thank you, I try really hard."

Rossiya: "What the hell does 'btw' mean?"

America: "this is exactly my point...."

America: "lemme teach you please...."

America: "please?"

Russia stopped responding for a bit, America could only assume he's trying not to pop another blood vessel. He saw this conversation as a success but something in him kept urging him to continue talking to the Slavic country. He'd just have to wait patiently for him to respond, which will take god knows how long.

America sighed, turning his gaze to the window on the plane. The view was dark and you could just barely make out some kind of city structure below. The thought of "damn this is gonna take forever" finally entered America's mind, making him sigh again. He could try sleeping, in Brit time it's about 9 or 10 pm.? But that's way too early for this American and his ego.

Boredom sort of settled itself in America, making him kick his feet. Or, he tried to because his feet touched the ground. He continued to stare out the window as he waited not-so patiently for his "best friend" to respond. The country took off his iconic sunglasses and shoved them into the duffle bag he placed right under his seat. Letting his eyes adjust to the lighting at their own pace. The lighting in the plane was very soft, almost comfortable is how some might describe it. But, wearing sunglasses almost 24/7 really does fuck up your vision.

America's patience ran thin as he just decided to reopen the app and just watch the chatroom for any activity from the Russian. And, almost like a switch, made Russia begin typing again. America felt himself smirk, whether that be because he thought he was that good that he could summon Russia to start speaking with him again.. or it was just pure luck.

Rossiya: "Maybe another day. It's way too late for me to learn anything new."

America: "very understandable"

America: "have i ever told u ur english is like really good"

Rossiya: "Is that supposed to be a compliment?"

America: "maybe"

America could feel his face heat up, out of embarrassment of course, only embarrassment no ulterior motives. Way to go America! What a backhanded compliment to give someone, he's totally gonna assume you're making fun of him now! Oh well, no going back now.

Rossiya: "Thank you? I guess??"

America: "i promise i didnt mean that in a weird offensive way ok"

Rossiya: "Oh, honestly I didn't take it that way if it makes you feel better?"

Rossiya: "I have been practicing English basically since I was able to learn efficiently."

America: "oh thank god lol please tell me more of this backstory"

America: "im kicking my feet please im invested and bored"

Rossiya: "Are you positive it's not that interesting."

America: "this plane ride has oh idunno maybe like 8 more hours in the air please go ahead"

Rossiya: "Alright I'll just type it into one thing."

America: "i can wait:3"

Rossiya: "It is really nothing, more just my dad trying to make me have a better future off? Maybe if he ever died I could take over negotiations and be able to do it by myself to show power and strength? I do not know that man was probably clinically insane."

Rossiya: "Never use that goddamn thing ever again."

America: "why not?!?"

Rossiya: "It's ugly, creepy, and weird coming from you."

America: "fine"

America: "wait i thought you like loved your father"

Rossiya: "Not love, I show him the respect most kids do with their parents. He was a horrible father and person to basically everyone and he had his death coming."

America: "oohhhh i see yknow i kinda do the same thing with my father"

Rossiya: "I didn't expect that from you, you always seemed like a child who bonded more with their father."

America: "ehhh kinda its sorta a long topic to discuss but yea i was when i was wayy younger lol"

America: "like back when i still was 13 colonies type of young"

Rossiya: "That's why you have two dog tags with different names?"

America: "yep! one with the name U.S.A and one with 13 Colonies"

America: "kinda a reminded honestly of history and such"

Rossiya: "I never learned much about your history."

Rossiya: "Can you summarize it? Or at least this time period of your childhood."

America: "damn what is this? we both getting lore from our childhood"

Rossiya: "Lore? I don't get what you mean."

America: "whatever anyways when i officially became like real britain called me 13 colonies. because i was 13 'colonies' and not the 50 states i am today"

America: "i loved him and loved like being called 13, but yknow how teens act lol after awhile i got sick of his shit and had a revolution to become usa"

America: "but thats just a very very super brief version of the story"

Rossiya: "And you keep the name 13 colonies with you as a reminder, right?"

America: "like i said earlier yea and kinda what you said early abt your father just a bit of respect"

America: "i dont completely hate him"

Rossiya: "I see, also what does 'abt' mean?"

America: "about dumbass that one is kind of understandable"

Rossiya: "заткнись"

America: "wait wait wait hang on i need to know what that says"

Rossiya: "я тебя ненавижу"

America: "STOP THE TRANSLATOR IS DOWN I DONT KNOW WHAT YOURE SAYING TO ME"

Rossiya: "Lol"

America: "DONT LOL ME THIS IS A SERIOUS MATTER"

Rossiya: "I'll let you suffer in peace I'm going to bed."

America: "i hate you what am i supposd to do for the other 97hours of the flight"

Rossiya: "Sleep? Maybe fix your grammar."

America: ":(("

Rossiya: "Goodnight you fucker."

America: "i wish you the worst but goodnight ig"

America sighed, but had a big smile on his face. He genuinely liked talking with Russia, he was kind of cool when he wasn't a complete dick. Oh well, there's more where that came from! He'd just have to wait about a week until the meeting. America only went to those meetings because a) his parents would kill him if he didn't b) UN would kill him if he didn't c) his brothers would kill him if he didn't and d) he liked annoying Russia.

He never really saw the meetings as important as they should be, unless there is a national conflict going on that directly affects him. Otherwise he just goes for the fun of it. He does like seeing all his brothers and hanging out afterwards. Usually after each meeting the four of them hang out, at America's house apartment or at some local bar.

The meetings were usually held in New York and the brothers knew that America could always sniff out a good bar. They'd drink together and bond over random shit, catching up on each other's lives. America likes to reminisce about these times a lot, especially when other countries tag along. Sometimes his brothers or America himself invite other countries to their escapades just because they can.

Last meeting Canada invited Ukraine which by proxy made the Slavic country duo of Poland and Hungary tag along. Australia has brought along India a few times and New Zealand has invited some countries along that America couldn't remember, but was usually turned down because they were busy. America didn't mind the extra company sometimes but also loved the times it was just the four of them together, like in their younger days.

America continued to think of all these memories with his brothers and some other countries mixed in with them. Memories about how after one of the meetings they went straight to America's house and just smoked, like a lot as they sat on his couch having a good time playing some game on whatever console he had installed. It was primarily Canada and America smoking the majority while the other two sat and laughed at them. That night they played Mario Kart, atleast America thinks so, and the competition was insane. A lot of swearing, threats, laughing, hardcore bullying, and literally everything else in between.

Another time was at a more upscale club Canada insisted they go to because Ukraine and some of his buddies were tagging along. The four agreed and headed there right after the meeting. Still in their suits they sat in a booth, waiting for Canada and Ukraine's group to show up. America, Australia, and NZ were all making jokes about it as they sipped some expensive alcohol.

While the two ocean nations rolled up the sleeves of their suit jackets to reveal their arms, to try and cool off, America fully took off his suit jacket and wrapped it around his waist while also rolling up the sleeves of his black button up shirt. The tattoos on all of their arms were visible, which sparked up that conversation while waiting for the other group to arrive.

Countries can identify each other by simply knowing what the other looks like, the specialized pin that can identify a country from a human (that most don't wear), or specific tattoos. Most countries have their flag tattooed somewhere on their body and some get designs tattooed on themselves that correlate to their flags.

America had his flag tattooed on his back, not too big, and his arms had red stripes from the elbow down. His pale skin mixed with the stripes made it almost recognizable while he also had stars tattooed on his pinky fingers just for a little more design. Australia and NZ almost have identical tattoos, with NZ having four stars tattooed on 2 of his fingers on each hand while Australia had all of his fingers tattooed with the design with his right hand having a big star on it.

Usually if a country's flag are just colors, like Russia or Poland, they might have the tattoos on their arms but they are also recognizable by scarring. Also recognizable by other tattoos they'd have, like Russia having an eight pointed star on his right shoulder that wasn't too big but noticeable because of the country's attire. Poland did in fact used to have wings, but did lose them during the second world war. So, he got wings tattooed on his back. Although never noticeable, you could spot the Slavic country a mile away because of the very recognizable style of just a black hoodie and some kind of jeans. What makes it special though is the hoodie does seem to have a custom made design on the back that look like Poland's old wings, along with some kind of writing in Polish on the front.

America would come back to reality for a second, and realized he had been staring out the window of the plane while it made its way to the U.S.A. The country liked thinking about the past memories and more memories to come with the upcoming meeting. Maybe he can invite Russia along this time and hit up more of a local club than a huge fancy one. America's mind went back to just thinking of random countries. He, of course, could recognize most(no he couldn't he's lying to himself). All of the bigger countries he can remember and vividly picture them and their attire, while also remembering others he has close ties with.

America could feel his body closing its eyes, before he snapped himself awake. He was curious about what the time was. Quickly grabbing his phone that he sent next to him, he opened it. It was nearing 11 p.m. Damn, when did that happen? He swore him and Russia's discussion didn't take that long, and him just thinking about past memories also couldn't have been that long. When did he even leave Buckingham? Wasn't that around maybe 9 p.m.?

It doesn't really matter now, he'd guess. America would submit to himself, placing down his phone again and getting in a comfortable enough position to sleep in a plane. The country would close his eyes again, letting his mind race with many thoughts.

Thoughts of the upcoming meeting, thoughts of his family, thoughts of friends and acquaintances, and the most random thoughts in between all of the more important stuff. Soon enough, he felt his body relax more as he fell asleep smiling. The last thought he had before dozing off was Russia, and how excited he was to see him in a week.

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hurray for longer chapters!! i have decided to upload a chapter every friday! just so i can balance school and this fanfic evenly

i hope my explanation of how countries identify each other made a bit of sense lol. i wanted to go and add it before i would forget just so there is some explanation for why they are very human-like

i hope you enjoy and are prepared for the next chapter teehee