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 Posted: Thu Sep 02, 2010 12:38 am
Roderich could not help but feel a pang of sympathy for the sickly ex-nation. Never in his entire life did he think he'd ever see Gilbert in this sort of state... Or rather, have the albino have to rely on him whilst like this. However, he was unsure as to whether he was allowed to be a comfort -after all, ill or not, this was still Gilbert- or whether he was only meant to sit there. Both felt a little awkward to the aristocrat... But only because it concerned the albino. If it had been anyone else -probably excluding Vash however, as he would not allow it- then he'd feel much more secure in comforting them in this sort of state...
'I could always stop if he resists, I suppose...' It was half-hearted reasoning, and the Austrian knew it.
To sit and dawdle on the subject was just foolish... Alike to Gilbert, he supposed he had to be more reckless. Oh, heavens forbid being more like a hooligan...
He closed his own eyes as he rested his head on Gilbert's again, the arm around Gilbert shifting a little so he could drift his fingertips through the albino's hair in what was meant to be a comfort... Though the Austrian found it a little soothing to himself too. Not that he'd admit that to himself.
However, the situation was seeming so much more bearable now than he first thought it'd be.
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Yao watched as Heracles went, guessing that they had to follow in a few moments. However, there was one last thing he had to do before following the Greek, and that was... To make sure Ivan was fine. Yao had an uneasy feeling in his stomach that the Russian was certainly not fine with this at all... It didn't take him long to figure it out. After all, they'd been very close friends for a long time now. Then again, that brought up questions... Why did Ivan want to allow this if he didn't like it? It then occurred to Yao that perhaps the nation was trying to make him happy...
'Bless his poor soul...' Yao realised he was being terribly selfish, putting Ivan through this. As happy as it made the Asian to be around Heracles... He couldn't deal with the fact that Ivan was upset.
No, he had to deal with it; better yet, he had to help with it.
'Ivan... Ivan, look at me a moment, aru.' He shifted in the Russian's lap so that he could face the man, gazing up at him with a softened look. 'I can feel that you're unsettled... Talk to me about it, please.' Yao pleaded coaxingly, hoping that his warm, honeyed tone would sway the man to open up a little more to him now that they were alone. 'I can't watch you struggle, Ivan... My poor Ivan... What am I doing to you?' He wrapped one arm around Ivan's neck to keep himself steady, the other hand reaching to gently take the Russian's own hand so that he could comfort the man.
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Sindre couldn't help but smile a little at Peter, before getting out of the taxi himself in a slightly more dignified and quiet manner. Then again, that was who the Norwegian was... The quiet one in the background, always.
However, it seemed to be a little different. He glanced at the Dane, frowning a little. Mathias had been quite reserved and silent in the taxi ride, and it concerned him. Then again, the last time that Sindre had been concerned -in the plane- it had seemingly unsettled Denmark and had caused awkwardness. 'Mathias...' Sindre started, though the words he wanted to say next stuck in his throat. 'Shall... Shall we get going...?' He finished lamely. 'Are you alright...? Did I do wrong again? Was it awkward? Am I to blame?' The questions did not want to leave him, and instead circulated around his mind like a constant drone... 'I'm sorry...' He apologised almost silently, only wanting for Mathias to hear him. 'I should have walked, after all...'
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Toris could only imagine what his hair looked like now. It was feeling a little drier -probably due to the time this was taking rather than the actual attempt at drying, though he was sure it was helping in its own little ways too- though he feared that the tissue would have broken into little bits... However, he'd not heard any exclamation from Feliks to confirm his suspicions. Unless Feliks was concentrating on trying to remove the bits... Now that just made the Lithuanian feel worse.
'Feliks...? Are you okay?' He asked to break the silence, wanting some sort of word from his friend. It'd be a comfort if he knew what was going on, anyway. And there was always that little worry for his friend. 'You don't have to do this for me, you know... Though I appreciate it, I really do, I...' He paused, going a little red. He was babbling again... He really had to stop doing that. Really.
'Thank you... For your help, today... And for your concern.' He murmured quietly.
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Posted: Thu Sep 02, 2010 7:28 am
Shivering, Gilbert couldn't even gather his thoughts into clarity anymore. Everything was just buzzing around in his head, swirling in a confusing jumble. His eyes were closed as he tried to sort his thoughts, but it was like trying to count the starts. It would take forever to get even part way, and wasn't even remotely possible.
He barely noticed the Austrian rest his head back down, a hand running through his hair. The only thing that alerted him was the change in warmth.
When he had been sick, one of his King's had decided to fully care for him. Friedrich the II had called him a child and pulled him onto his lap, just holding him there when the illnesses got to be too much for his mind to handle. After a while, Gilbert's pride relented and he was able to take comfort from such an action. But...what about now, with Roderic being the comforter?
Not even moving or opening his eyes, he ventured out in a slurred voice that lacked any conviction, "what are you doing?" He was quite comfortable.
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High-functioning Ladykiller
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High-functioning Ladykiller
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Posted: Thu Sep 02, 2010 7:35 am
Brought out of his thoughts when Yao shifted, he smiled down at the Asian lightly. He shook his head, but met China's eyes calmly. "Nyet," he argued, lying, "is fine." It was not hard for him to look someone right in the eyes and lie through his teeth, as sad as that may seem to some.
He made a faint sound of confusion when the Asian wrapped his arm around his neck, while his other hand went to touch his own gloved one. He glanced down at the hand holding his, noting just how much smaller Yao's was. How much smaller Yao was, compared to him.
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Posted: Thu Sep 02, 2010 9:03 am
Kiku rolled his eyes at the American's response. A typical thing for Alfred to say, but it was what gave him his 'hero' nature. Turning his attention fully on the American, Kiku rose an eyebrow at Alfred.
"America-san, why is it that you never reacted to what Arthur-san said?" Kiku asked, true curiousity painting his voice.
Kiku knew that Alfred and his brother...what was the boy's name...Ah, Canada, were raised by Arthur and -surprisingly- Francis. Why is it that the American never did anything when his...er...father figure was upset.
"Then again..." Kiku thought to himself, "China-san raised me, but I could careless about what happens to him...Maybe America-san feels the same way?"
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High-functioning Ladykiller
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Posted: Thu Sep 02, 2010 1:25 pm
Glancing over his shoulder as Kiku decided to head back to the meeting, Arthur gave a distracted nod and turned back to his desk. He started to reorganize his desk, fitting in his older brother's paperwork in with his own in order of importance and deadlines. It didn't take very long, because his own paperwork had already been organized carefully when he had received it.
Once that was done, he reached down and unlocked his alcohol drawer. He dimly noticed the scratches on the lock, noting how his brother had gotten into it. He opened it and glanced around over the bottles, noting that it had been his best aged and favourite bottle of scotch that was gone.
He grabbed one of the bottles of rum - another well aged bottle - and screwed off the top, gulping down a large amount of it. Fortunately, Kiku had left and wouldn't catch him drinking before the meeting.
Taking the rum with him, Arthur walked outside to the balcony, shut the door, and leaned his back against the railing. Pulling out a cigarette, he placed it between his lips and lit up with a match. Freeing his hands, aside from the bottle of rum, he took a deep breath of smoke and removed the cigarette with his fingers, breathing out the smoke lightly. He then took another gulp of rum, sighing.
He stared through the window of the door, watching his open window numbly. Knowing his luck, someone would walk in and catch him drinking. Unless it is his Queen or someone who would alert the Queen, he would care less about who it was. Excluding the Frog, of course.
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Posted: Thu Sep 02, 2010 1:58 pm
Alfred blinked at the question and though for a moment before responding. "Probably because I'm use to it I suppose?"Alfred rubbed the back of his neck lightly. He couldn't find the right words so he could explain it. "I mean...He raised me, I know what he's like...mostly, and if I said anything more he would of really started slinging words. 'Sides! It was mostly so I could tick him off anyways!"He finished softly with a grin.
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Quotable Conversationalist
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Posted: Thu Sep 02, 2010 8:47 pm
Kiku nodded at the American's explanation, understanding fully what he was trying to say. After all, Kiku was raised by China and he knew how the nation got when he was upset. That probably lead to why Kiku decided to betray China. A deep secret of Kiku's was that he actually took pleasure in upsetting China, for it amused and pleased him greatly.
"Please, America-san," Kiku told the nation, a smile on his face, "If we compared stories of who acted out more against the nation that raised him, I would win that competition."
It felt nice for Kiku to let out his playful side, for he rarely had a chance to. Being able to casually talk with Alfred kind of helped clear up Kiku's loneliness. Alfred was relatively easy to talk to and so was Arthur. Perhaps it was time for the Japanese man to start letting more people in his life.
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Posted: Thu Sep 02, 2010 11:56 pm
Roderich's hand paused. So, he'd been found out... Then again, he'd not expected for it to have just been able to pass smoothly. And, when prompted to explain his actions, the Austrian found himself at a loss for words. 'I don't know.' He murmured in a reply, opening his eyes again as he allowed his hand to fall back to its previous place with an attitude much like a scolded dog; slinking away with a metaphorical tail between metaphorical legs. '...Sorry.'
Perhaps he had gone too far with that. However, he couldn't help but feel a little proud of himself for actually having the bottle to do such a thing... It was so unlike himself to try it. 'We're almost home, Gilbert.' He supposed, when putting it like that, the choice of words made it seem more welcoming...? Hell, he didn't know. It was a change of subject, and a dull one at that.
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'Ivan... We're best friends, aren't we, aru?' Yao persisted in the same honeyed tone, gaze still locked with the Russian's as he attempted to decipher what was true and what was not. He'd known Ivan for a long time now... And knew that such a thing could be nearly impossible. 'You'd not lie to me... Would you? Even if you thought it'd make me happy, aru?' The Asian leant forward to lean on Ivan, nuzzling the side of his friend's face with a soft purr. It worked for cats, after all... Perhaps it'd work for him too.
'You can tell me... You know it'd make me happy to know what you're really feeling, aru...' He murmured into Ivan's ear.
He didn't want to lower himself to what seemed like emotional blackmail, but... This was damn close to it, and Yao was beginning to feel rather ashamed of himself. He was glad that Japan couldn't see him... What sort of example would he be setting?
Only then did Yao remember; Kiku didn't care. He was his own nation now. So perhaps... There was no harm in acting like this, for a little while... Maybe.
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High-functioning Ladykiller
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Posted: Fri Sep 03, 2010 7:43 am
Silent as Roderich pulled away, Gilbert kept his head rested on the man's shoulder. He damned his pride for not being able to just accept the comfort that the Austrian had been trying to give him. A tiny bit of the warmth had left when he pulled his hand away. He shivered again, eyes closed as he tried to think of something different.
Quiet, he suddenly got to his feet, knocking Roderich a bit roughly in the sharp movement. A wave of dizziness hit him for moving to quickly, and he leaned his hand against the back of the seat for a brief moment. Once assured of his bearings again, Gilbert walked down the aisle - stumbling once or twice - and went into the small room for the toilet. Not bothering to shut the door, he took out a black handkerchief that Ludwig had gotten him, held it under cold water, ran out the excess water, and placed the cold cloth against his forehead. Shivers ran through him as he leaned against the wall, closing his eyes.
{Once again, I'll have to do Russia's post later. I don't like school, it gets in the way..}
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Posted: Fri Sep 03, 2010 2:47 pm
Ivan was silent as Yao asked if they were best friends. He still didn't really understand that term; it felt too foreign and too Western for him mind to fully process. He crinkled his brow a little in mild confusion and nodded slowly. "Da..." he murmured, not exactly positive in the answer.
When the Asian asked him if he would lie to him, Ivan was at a loss. He did lie to Yao, not more than a minute ago. But...he lied to everyone, even his sisters. It was something his leaders had enforced in him over the centuries and it had become somewhat second nature to him. He couldn't possibly admit that he did, though. He was able to gather that much from the expression on the man's face.
He tensed when the Chinese man nuzzled his face slightly, blinking again in confusion. He felt a twinge of unnerve at the murmur into his ear, feeling rather uncomfortable with the man who was suddenly closing the boundaries between them at alarmingly fast rates.
"Ah..." Ivan closed his eyes for a moment, pondering. "Is lonely," he admitted softly, remembering the last time he had seen his elder sister. She had taken one look at him, her eyes welling up with tears, and bolted in the opposite direction. It had hurt. Badly. Really badly.
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High-functioning Ladykiller
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Quotable Conversationalist
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Posted: Fri Sep 03, 2010 10:00 pm
Alfred blinked and laughed. He then smirked. "Well..."He started, prolonging the word. "Maybe...Maybe not! Who knows?" He said, a childish grin painting his face. These kind of games were always fun. "I mean, I kinda did that whole tea thing..."He trailed off, trying to remember the more mischievous things he had done.
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Posted: Sat Sep 04, 2010 1:59 am
Well, that had certainly been abrupt. And a little painful, too... And of course, unexpected. Roderich couldn't help but feel a slight pang of rejection, but he quickly discarded such trivial thoughts... Gilbert was suffering, after all, and if he needed something, then his methods were most likely not going to be as polite as what the Austrian would want. And he supposed the dull pain that he was now suffering would only bruise, and certainly not be as bad as the state Gilbert was in.
However, that did not stop him wondering why Gilbert had gotten up so quickly. Perhaps the man had realised the slight... Awkwardness in the situation. Or maybe he had been quite freaked out -more than Roderich had first thought- by the way the Austrian had been touching him.
God, he felt ashamed for that now. Why he'd tried such a thing in the first place... It seemed so stupid now. Why he thought that'd be a good idea... 'I'm such an incompetent fool... Idiot.' He mentally chided himself with a bitter tongue, before standing in order to follow the albino to the restroom.
The door was open, so Roderich was relieved to see that he'd not been interrupting Gilbert during an actual toilet break. That would have been... Rather embarrassing, to say the least. Then again, this whole situation was a little... Strange.
'Gilbert... Gilbert, are you alright?' His brow furrowed in a look of concern as he caught a proper look at the sickly nation. 'I... I wanted to apologise for my crude behaviour... And... For taking a slight advantage of the fact that you couldn't... Fight back... I'm sorry, Gilbert. I...' He felt the words stick, having to force them out. It felt so surreal to be apologising to the ex-nation... And even more so for something that was... A perversion of their normal relationship? Yes, that made sense.
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'Mm... You know I worry for you, Ivan.' Yao drew away to fondly ruffle the Russian's hair, smiling rather warmly. He'd felt the other nation tense up, and took it as a warning to stop the way he was behaving... He felt a little relieved. He didn't like acting so strangely... It was unlike him. He knew he'd not be able to forget his own sordid actions for a little while... And just hoped that Ivan would forgive him. And Heracles, too... For making him wait.
'We're best friends... So I'll not ever hide anything from you, Ivan, aru.' The Asian seemed to feel in a sunnier mood now, for some unknown reason... Perhaps he felt that he'd be able to get a little information out of Ivan later. He'd just remembered, after all, that they'd all be going out later... But then again, Ivan had a high alcohol tolerance. He doubted that the Russian ever got drunk... However, Yao was hoping that he'd get a little tipsy at least.
But then again... Yao himself had a terrible tolerance. He'd have to watch himself... Because he'd not liked the last time he was drunk. And he'd not done it again. He'd preferred the effects of Opium on his system rather than alcohol...
Perhaps he could ask the Greek to keep a watch on him when it came to drinking. Yes, that would be a good idea.
Oh yes. The meeting. They had to go. 'Shall we go to the meeting now, Ivan...?' Yao smiled a little as he slipped off of the Russian's lap in one smooth movement, standing up with a little stretch. 'Come... People are waiting, aru.' He offered his hand, eyes shining with a little expectance.
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Posted: Sat Sep 04, 2010 7:40 am
Kiku smiled faintly at the childish grin on Alfred's face, amused already with the idea of a game. It was easy to distract the American, but it was a lot more interesting when you had his attention. After all, it was Alfred who disbanded Kiku's military, leaving him to depend on the American for military uses. Keeping entertained by allowing himself to have a bit of fun was never wrong, correct?
"Tea thing?" Kiku questioned, now curious, "What tea thing, Amer-...Forgive me, Alfred-san? Just what did you do to Arthur-san?"
The Japanese man had to admit, he was now curious on what Alfred had done to Arthur now that he mentioned tea. Kiku then noticed that he had not only apologized to Alfred, but he also called him by his first name in addition to -san. What was going on with him? Was he finally letting more people into his life?
"Alfred-san and I have been aquantances for a while..." Kiku thought to himself, "Demo, we have also spent time together in each other's homes. I believe I can call him a 'friend' after all."
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Posted: Sat Sep 04, 2010 8:23 am
Alfred let out a happy laugh at the memory. "Ok. So, England started taxing my colonists way too much. For awhile they were silent, but after he started taxing the main items like, sugar, tea and such. Well, a lot of them just got pissed. And this is where I got dragged into it. At the time, I had disguised myself as a colonist, just to hear what they thought about this stuff.
Well, a friend of Paul was friends with me, so we all got this, just insane idea to dress up as Indians and storm the ships! You see, they had brought in the ships that had British tea on them, but, they never unloaded 'em. So we, being the nice gentlemen we were decided to unload it for them! So, late one night, Samuel and Paul led us other guys, we were all dressed as Indians when we did this, and we stormed the ship. We poured British tea in to the Boston Harbor. And, ya know?"
Alfred stopped to look at Japan's reaction. He didn't tell this story very much and he was trying to keep it interesting, but he had a good feeling that he was failing. "It's said that there's still tea feedin' the fishes in that harbor to this day!"
Alfred finished with a happy smile. He was glad to show his history to others, but he was afraid that Kiku lost interest.
(Boston Tea Party of 1773, lead by Paul Revere and Samuel Adams.)
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Quotable Conversationalist
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High-functioning Ladykiller
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Posted: Sat Sep 04, 2010 11:10 am
Another wave of dizziness passed through Gilbert, leaving him feeling weak and unstable. He barely noticed the Austrian come in. With a soft cough, he slid down the wall until he was sitting on the floor, pulling his knees up close with his free arm, keeping the damp handkerchief firmly against his forehead.
Directing his foggy red eyes on Roderich's face, his brow furrowed slightly. "What are you talking about?" he ventured, speaking and staring in such a way that it was as if the man had sprouted a couple more heads.
He rested his head against the wall, closing his eyes wearily. His fingers trembled where they were clasping onto the cloth.
'Why did I have to get this sick? I hadn't been out there long,' he thought, pondering weakly over his current predicament. 'To be this bad, this quickly... I had to have already been ill before going out into the rain.' Perhaps when he woke up this morning, it had not been a hangover that had made him feel horrible. Maybe he had been sick.
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