The Home of the Brave

8

I did a little time skip during this chapter for a reason. Also, a little more depth in the family dynamic between Great Britain, and the kids. Also, France approves!! Wohoo!!
Enjoy! And thanks for reading!

America's POV

"I do!" Australia and New Zealand shouted in union to my question.

"I second that" Canada called over his shoulder, leading Ukraine, Mom, and Father to our backyard table, like the good gentlemanly host he is. Ukraine gave me a quick smile before following. Australia scampered after them, talking about nothing but food. New Zealand strode over to me, probably because Russia was right behind me.

"Hey~" My sister winked, and I sighed and shook my head. She was really trying to flirt with Russia. Speaking of Russia, he just blinked, uninterested. New Zealand noticed. She crossed her arms and stuck her bottom lip out.

"You're not going to say hi back? You know, it's a common curtesy" She huffed, raising an eyebrow at an increasingly annoyed Russian.

"нет" He said simply, shrugging. New Zealand gasped dramatically, placing her hand over her heart in mock offense.

"Rude!" She exclaimed. I was getting even more annoyed than Russia was, and that was saying something. I was just annoyed, that was it. It's not like I liked Russia or anything...right?

"New Zealand, if that's your way of flirting, I pity you. Maybe later I'll give you some tips that will teach you to actually flirt, if you're capable of that in the first place" I teased my sister, who gasped even louder.

"Who said you could flirt in the first place?" New Zealand countered, pouting like the immature child she was.

"Me" Russia cleared his throat, smirking when I looked up at him in surprise. I shrugged. I'll take whatever I can get.

"See?" I winked at New Zealand, who just scoffed and walked away, arms crossed. Once she was gone, I started laughing, but not too much, I didn't want to drop the food I was holding.

"Thanks" I said between a few laughs.

"No problem" He said, smiling. His smile was beautiful, the sun shining on his straight white teeth. His eyes shining. I loved his smile, and it felt amazing to make him smile, since he did so rarely. But slowly, I could see he was smiling more, because I was making him smile more. And that in itself, made me feel like the luckiest country in the world. Though I knew it was fake. It was all fake. He and China were just using me to make Ukraine's life miserable, and if Ukraine loved Canada back, then I had the perfect plan. But I would still enjoy it while it lasted, even if nothing was real and everything was a lie. But when it was over...I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.

"Alright" I said, balancing the many plates of food on my arms "Let's get these over to the table, everybody's waiting"

"Are you sure you don't want me to help you with that Америка?" He said, looking worried as I lost my balance because of the bulky dishes and almost dropped a few plates. That was probably fake too. Like I said, everything was fake. But it still felt nice that he pretended to care for me.

"Nope, I've got it, I fought long and hard for my independence, I'm not going to lose it to you" I joked, rebalancing myself and continuing on my way. Awkwardly, because of all the imbalanced plates. I constantly had to keep correcting myself, so I wouldn't drop anything. I was still smiling though. He just chuckled and followed.

I glanced over at the table, and I locked eyes with none other than my father. His face darkened as he noticed me and stopped talking to Canada. His eyes were cold, harsh, and disapproving, boring into mine. My face fell, and I put my head down, avoiding his gaze. I straightened up and continued walking, silently with an unreadable face.