Hetalia - Axis Powers Fan Fiction ❯ The Time I've Lost ❯ Soldiers We Are ( Chapter 1 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

beautifully brilliant day was visible out the large windows of the discussion room as the World Conference went on.  The room was filled with the inane arguing of multiple nations, attempting to talk over one another.  Some complained about their domestic problems, while others accused other nations of improper actions, and yet other grumbled of international problems.biggest issue at the moment appeared to be that North Korea and South Korea were fighting yet again.  Apparently, the former had been the one to instigate the fight.stared up at the white ceiling above, fingers interlacing behind his head to support himself as he leaned back in his chair.  He peeked up above his glasses, Texas having fallen farther down on his nose.  There was always so much arguing and bickering.  Usually, America would be in the thick of it, loudly proclaiming his own view of the situation.“But what with my economy...” he mused, the corner of his mouth twitching downward in an uncharacteristic frown, “I haven’t been feeling the same lately.”“Well, we’ve been trying our hardest; what have you all been doing to help?!”“Well, at least I’m not as useless as America!  What has he done?”“Yeah, what about America?!”if cued by his last thought, the other nations forced America out of his daydreaming.  Adopting his usual way of dealing with the other countries, America slammed his chair back down with a loud clatter, grinning at them all eagerly.  “Yeah, what about me?!”  He paused, then scratched the back of his head, sheepishly.  “Uhm, what were we talking about again?”“Idiot!” thought the other nations in unison.“My God, America, try to pay attention!” looked across the table at the nation seated in front of him, already knowing who that obvious accent belonged to.  As usual, England frowned back at him, his green eyes critical, thick brows furrowed and arms crossed strictly over his chest.  England was always looking at him like that, never happy with anything that he did anymore.“Ever since... no, don’t think about it!” America reprimanded himself.  “A hero doesn’t dwell on the past!”resisted the childish temptation to stick his tongue out at the older nation.sighed, knowing that America obviously wanted to retaliate with some jab.  “Of course he would!  That boy has always fought me on everything I say!”cleared his throat at the head of the table, the unofficial leader and the best organizer at the conference.  “We were speaking about how there’s been an international crisis of the widening gap between the rich and the poor, along with our ever-pressing problem of global warming... but as far as the monetary gap, Finland brought up how your economic crisis probably isn’t helping, either.”frowned.  “Hey, my boss said that he’s on it!” he defended, trying to push the matter aside.  “He said that he had a plan, he’s gonna, you know, change some things-”“GOD, If I hear that word one more time, my head is going to explode!” England yelled, massaging his temple.“Shut up, old man!”“‘Old’, you say?!  Why you-!”“VERSCHLIESSEN, ALL OF YOU!!!!!!”room went silent at Germany’s outburst, scared of the forceful man.“We’re trying to get this meeting over with, now if you keep arguing and being stupid, we’ll never get it done!  We have one last problem, and then we can all go home, so everyone should just shut up and let us finish!  Now, America, we know your boss is trying, but we need some more results!”  America raised his hand as he was about to defend himself again, but Germany simply roared over him.  “Okay, next problem on the agenda is...”huffed as the meeting continued, his arms still crossed, his posture perfect.  He was still steaming from America’s insult; he always hated it when the boy called him ‘old’, regardless of their difference in age.“I’m not ‘old’... I’m not!”man glared across the table at the younger.  America seemed to have already forgotten their spat, barely listening but speaking over nearly every nation who uttered a word, always having the last say.  England sighed once again.  The boy had always been like that.  He had always plunged head-first into things, never really listening well to the opinions of others, yet ever ready to submit his own.  Always so damn eager... so enthusiastic...shook himself momentarily, as if he could shake his own melancholy out of him.  “There’s no use on dwelling upon it, now is there, chap?  You gave him his independence,” he told himself, as if that settled the matter.  He was just about to willingly come back to the conversation, when America’s loud, boisterous voice forced his attention.“Well, that’s because we need to make sure that global warming doesn’t kill us all first!” he exclaimed, passionately.  “I told you before, if we just build a gigantic hero to stop global warming, then we could-”“America, we already told you that won’t work!” France exclaimed, exasperated, clutching at his head.groaned, hating that he agreed with the lunatic to his right.  “Yes, America, has all of that fat you’ve accumulated finally gone to your head?” he asked dryly.grumbled, smashing his head into his hand in dejection.  “Here we go again...”abruptly stood, slamming his large hands onto the wooden table.  “Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?”closed his eyes, squinting up at the other nation, crossing his legs in contempt.  “It means, you git, that if you don’t keep shoveling those blasted burgers down your pie hole, you’re going to become obese and be even more stupid than you already are!”“Hey, I’m not stupid!  And at least I know how to make food!”finally rising to the bait, stood and struck the table as well.  “You bugger, stop insulting my food!”other nations all sighed, completely irritated with the two bickering idiots.  They merely allowed them to fight things out, too exhausted to cease the constant slinging of insults from one nation to the other.  Germany was about to step in when the sound of an opening door interrupted the squabble.“Sorry I’m late, everyone!”and England, along with the rest of the other nations, turned to the rear of the room to see a girl standing in the doorway, bent over while trying to catch her breath against the doorframe.  Her red-tinted hair, waving and frizzy, covered her face, but some of the nations seemed to recognized this intruder.straightened, his blue eyes inquisitive.  “Is that... ?”repositioned his own posture, his shoulders smoothing out.  “That’s her... no, why would she be here?  I haven’t seen her in so long...”  He felt a slight pink tinge creeping to his face from the memories of long ago.“Ireland!” Italy called out, his arms raised in happiness as other nations called out their respective salutations.curt nod from Germany.  “Yes, Willkommen, Ireland.”girl straightened her posture and, sure enough, it was Ireland.  Her red hair was swept haphazardly back into a small, tiny ponytail at the base of her neck, most of the hair in the front having escaped from her run to the conference.  Her usually fair skin, dotted with freckles, was flushed and her emerald eyes were bright from the exercise.smiled at the very large group, pushing her bangs from her face.  “My boss and I had some problems that we had to deal with last minute- a bunch of company closures and lay-offs- but we’ve got it all under control!  So what’d I miss?”Germany quickly gave Ireland the short-version of the notes and topics discussed (thankfully leaving out the foolish bickering), the other nations were given a small break.  America and England, finally self-conscious of their outburst, both sat down and cleared their throats.looked through his fringe and the space above his glasses at his previous opponent.  England was now sitting with his legs crossed and eyes closed, settling his breathing, assuming his position as the perfect gentleman.“Perfect gentleman, my ass...” America thought, sarcastically.was in the process of calming himself down.  “No need to get so upset,” rebuking himself.  “It’s just America.  It’s nothing new, he’s just being as much of a bloody idiot as usual!  See, look, he’s not even paying attention to our argument anymore...”enough, England cracked open his eyes enough to see that America’s gaze was elsewhere.  But he didn’t look as if he was gazing off into the oblivion as he reflected upon his anger; he definitely seemed to be staring at something in particular.  It was strange, England thought, to see such a pensive expression on America’s face.  As if following the dotted line of his vision, England saw that his sight was fixated on the exchange at the front of the room, between Germany and Ireland.“What is he thinking about...?”Germany cleared his throat at the head of the table.  “Entschuldigen Sie!  This concludes the final day of the World Conference.  Have a safe trip home, everyone.”exhaled, the corners of his mouth twitching into a grimace of relief.  They had been stuck in that conference room for far too long.“What I wouldn’t give for a good cup of tea...”stood, collecting all of his papers and neatly organizing them before setting them into his briefcase and shutting it with a satisfying click.  He was about to head out when he realized that America was now leaning up against the back wall, near the exit.  Stranger, still, was that he was completely silent.  Usually, England knew America to be in the thick of the conversation, the first one to begin talking as soon as a break was called.  Yet now, the lad stood still, back against the wall, strong arms folded over his wide chest, his eyes concentrated on something.knew that he should leave the boy to his musings.  Yet seeing him like that threw England off.  So despite his early teachings of how curiosity could kill, he decided to follow his urge and question America.“Wow, thinking, now are we?  Don’t overwork yourself, your brain might not be able to handle it.”’s eyes, now wide in surprise at the interruption, flickered over to England.  They righted themselves as he took in England’s words.  “Thanks, man, glad to hear you’re concerned,” he replied, sarcastically.turned to stand next to America, facing the same direction the other nation did.  “So... what are you looking at?”attempted to judge whether England was serious, or whether his aim was to mock him again.getting an immediate reaction, England looked out and followed America’s line of sight once again.  There seemed to be a small, enthusiastically-speaking group in the opposing corner of the room.  It comprised of Finland, Norway, Sweden, and...“Ireland?”’s eyes squinted a little as he gazed over at the girl.  She was happily speaking with the other Nordic nations, her face animated at whatever subject their conversation was about.  He noticed that she had fixed her hair from its previous state of disarray.  There was something about her smile, the way her round cheeks emphasized her happiness, how her eyes sparkled as she spoke...“What, something wrong with her, lad?”at the nickname, America straightened up, putting his hands behind his head.  “No, nothing wrong!  It’s just... I feel like I know her from somewhere...”’s chest gave a little twinge for the poor girl, making him chuckle without humor.  “Well, you should.  You two were nearly inseparable, for a while, back then.”’s eyes widened, obviously thrown off guard.  “Really?!  When?”gave his a look of disbelief.  He had long thought that America was a bit of an idiot, and not always thinking of other’s feelings.  But England had thought that this kind of ignorance was even beyond America.  “America... you used to always be together, back in the old days!”was silent momentarily.  “Oh...”could barely contain himself.  “Don’t you remember at all?!”bit his lower lip, gazing over at the girl with a look of confusion.looked over at poor Ireland.  “He doesn’t even remember her...?  All those times that they spent together, and he doesn’t remember her?  I find that exceptionally difficult to believe.”  He gave the girl a sympathetic look, glad that she hadn’t heard the conversation, hoping that it wasn’t the case.noticed that a spark flashed in his companion’s ever-blue eyes, yet he merely shrugged in response.  “Maybe a bit...” America finally admitted, his eyes shifting away from the elder nation.  “But not exactly of what we did.”nodded as the conversation in the opposite corner seemed to disperse.  Ireland waved goodbye to the other nations, then began to walk towards the exit door, which was to the gentlemen’s left.  Just as she was about to go through the walkway, she paused, glancing over at them.  A flicker of recognition was shown in her expression, which then brightened at the sight of America.“America!” she exclaimed, trotting over with an eager smile, which America returned with one as enthusiastic as her own.“Hey!  Ireland, right?  What’s up?”“Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten me,” she replied, a shadow of hurt passing over her face for a mere moment.chuckled in response.  Only England could sense the tiny degree of nervousness in his reply.  “Aw, naw, of course not!  My memory’s just a bit fuzzy, but I knew that it was you when I saw you.”“Yes, I suppose my hair’s not easy to forget or imitate,” she joked in return, pulling one of the strands for them to see.the two exchanged easy banter, laughing and joking effortlessly, England stood silently to the side.  His brow was furrowed and the corners of his lips were turned down as he peeked over at Ireland.  It had certainly been a long time since he had seen the nation, and not just at a World Conference.if aware of his thoughts, Ireland’s green eyes snapped over to meet England’s.  They were so similar to his own...’s manner changed slightly, not containing her easy energy from before.  She seemed a bit more reserved now.“And England... it’s nice to see you, as well.”nodded, clearing the back of his throat.  “Ireland... it’s been... far too long,” he managed to say.  Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed America, giving him questioning look.smiled warmly at the two of them, something England hadn’t seen directed towards him in decades.  “We should all get together sometime soon!  Catch up, and all that!”“Yeah, definitely!” America agreed, enthusiastically.nodded his agreement once again.“We’ll have to figure out a time at some point.  My boss has been having me run around like a mad woman, but I’m sure they could spare me for a night out!”  Ireland winked at them, knowing that they understood her position exactly.  Then she seemed to remember something.  “Oh, right... speaking of my boss, I better run!”“Geez, Ireland, your boss has sure got you workin’ hard!”gave the two an easy shrug, a sheepish smile on her face as she was nearly out the door.  “Well, of course!  I mean, it’s tough sometimes...”  Her trials showed on her face as she spoke.  “But I suppose, a nation’s got to do what a nation’s got to do!”  And with that, the girl was gone.chuckled humorlessly, a wry smile blooming on his face, then muttered, “I couldn’t have said it better, old friend.”Converting /tmp/php8GTFHF to /dev/stdout