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hetalia2010-05-21 10:37 pm
silvey.livejournal.com) wrote in hetalia2010-05-21 10:37 pm
Entry tags:
Fanfiction - England/Japan - For Vegas 1/2
Title: For Vegas 1/2
Author/Artist: Silvey
Character(s) or Pairing(s): England/Japan.
Rating: PG
Summary: Japan demands that England take responsibility.
15/4/2010
As he stared into the bottom of the glass all England could think was that he should have known better than to come to Vegas. There was a strange sense of foreboding about the entire trip, as though everyone was just waiting for something to go terribly wrong. Or maybe it was just him. Of course holding the world meeting in Las Vegas wasn’t odd in itself. America had been pushing it for a while. What bothered England was that somehow America had managed to take them from a perfectly reasonable debate about Greece’s economy, Poland’s boss and nuclear weapons to a trip to a casino.
The gambling held little interest to England. Of course, he wasn’t above a little flutter on the horses, he’d been very excited about the Grand National just last weekend, but that didn’t translate over to the odd fascination America seemed to have with gambling. Horse racing was a sport after all, there was no sport here.
Still, a lot of the other countries had been drawn in. Russia in particular had seemed transfixed by the machines and card tables, dragging America round and having him demonstrate them for his amusement. Most of the nations had filtered of in small groups into the crowd, which was fine really. England could make out France from where he was sitting, charming his way through a poker game, and Japan, China and Hungary were sat just down the bar from him having a stilted conversation about the global politics of homosexual marriage, of all things.
To get through the night England had gone immediately to the bar, and he was quite content to stay here propping it up. True, he was a bit of a lightweight and no doubt the other nations would laugh at him later but it was nothing they hadn’t seen before and there was no other way he was going to survive this evening. While America’s beer might be terrible it was better than his slot machines. At least he was spending his money on a pleasant drunken forgetfulness, not on supporting America’s casino.
Of course, though, no amount of drinking could keep that bastard America away. He emerged from the crowd, all goofy grins and large hand gestures. It’s seemed that he’d lost Russia somewhere along the way and England couldn’t have but feel glad about that, he definitely didn’t want to be dealing with Russia right now.
“How are you all doing folks?” America cried, drawing the attention of the group a little way up the bar to himself as well as England’s.
That was when it happened.
England had been curious about the glass in Japan’s hand for some time. He knew by reputation that the Asian countries were considered even more susceptible to the perils of alcohol then he was. Japan tended not to drink with the other nations, but the drink had been flowing tonight, and England wasn’t surprised that when Japan slid of his bar stool to meet his host he stumbled.
England may well be a drunkard but he was also chivalrous. Without thinking he reached out an hand to steady Japan, though the amount of alcohol in his own system caused a slight misfiring and he only managed to altered Japan’s trajectory so instead of falling to the floor he fell back against England, his legs opening to let England’s knee between them, his hand landing square on England’s crotch, England’s own hand slipping down to cup Japan’s ass.
It was, quite frankly, a miracle that the two of them didn’t both die from embarrassment right there. Even the fire in his cheeks couldn’t distract England mind from the soft, almost nothing pressure and warmth coming through is trousers from Japan’s hand. It was as though every nerve in his body had chosen that moment to remember just how long it had been since someone touched him there and, well, it was inevitable really.
Japan made a small noise somewhere between a squeak and a scream and jumped up, pulling his arms up protectively and burying his face in his hands. England blinked at the lost heat. He hadn’t even really gotten around to registering the feel of Japan’s ass in his hand yet, the sensation of Japan’s thighs around his leg, and he felt horribly deprived. As his senses widened again he finally took in China looking vaguely disgusted, Hungary clutching a camera and America laughing so hard he needed to grip the bar to keep up. That was entirely unacceptable, there were a lot of things England could cope with while drunk but America laughing at him was not one of them. He shifted slightly and would have made a good attempt at punching him if Japan hadn’t chosen that moment to intervene.
“You have to take responsibility,” he said suddenly, the words seeming to startle him as much as anyone else. He moved quickly, dropping his hands from his face and then lifting them again to the lapels of the jacket England was wearing. “You can’t...you can’t just touch me like that!”
“I didn’t mean to!” England protested, though rather traitorous parts of him were busy mentally stripping the suit away from Japan.
“That’s not the point!” Japan stuttered, turning even redder. “That was indecent! It was...you have to take responsibility!”
“He’s right, England!” America perked up. Part of England’s brain managed to get itself together enough to glare at the other country, and to notice the almost evil smirk on his face, a smirk that in any other circumstance would have England running at a hundred miles an hour in the other direction, but right now the way Japan was moving gradually closer and closer to him was far too enticing.
“See, you need to take responsibility,” Japan said again. He looked almost fevered now, his eyes wide.
“What do you want me to do?” England asked. Japan bit his bottom lip gently as he considered the question and England’s body quickly turned traitor again. He’d never been like this before, not with Japan. It was the booze, the time, the city.
“You have to marry me,” Japan said, a sudden clarity and stillness coming over his face.
“Now?” England squeaked. “I can’t...” but his mind had deserted him, reason and intelligence had both given up the ghost and gone into hiding and all he was left with was drunken haze and libido, both of which were overly preoccupied with how close Japan was standing and how adorable the flush of his cheeks made him.
“Sure you can,” America said, patting England enthusiastically on the back. “This is Vegas, anyone can marry anyone. And you always used to go on at me about taking responsibility...”
“This is different,” England snapped, trying to stop his traitorous hands reaching out to touch Japan.
“You’ve disgraced me, touching me in such a way,” Japan mumbled, voice low and eyes downcast. “And I’ve disgraced you; we must do the only honourable thing and be married.”
“But...”
“Let’s do it now before you can change your minds,” Hungary said, suddenly stepping in and pulling England away from Japan. In that moment England knew he had lost. He stood there drunk with no reason left in him with Hungary determined to have him married to Japan right now, and getting Hungary to let go of something like that would be hard enough when he was sober.
As soon as he gave in and stopped fighting things became easier. Time seemed to flow around him in a blur. He remembered the air on stepping out of the casino, the strange un-Englishness of it and how for a moment it had brought some semblance of reason back, then Japan had taken his hand and it had soon gone again. He remembered the chapel, his vague surprise that it had seemed pretty normal and there wasn’t a single Elvis impersonator in sight. He remembered America chatting with a guy and passing over some money while Hungary fussed over her camera and Japan gripped his hand as thought he was trying to break bone.
He didn’t remember the vows, though Hungary made a video to remember them by. He remembered leaning in to kiss Japan and Japan turning in shock, leaving England to press a light kiss to his cheek. He remembered concentrating hard on signing the wedding license, though it wasn’t legally binding but symbolic. He remembered leaving the chapel, Japan’s hand still clutched in his, feeling suddenly and oddly helpless.
Honestly, the trip to the hotel passed in a blur too. Hungary just kind of swept them along in her enthusiasm, bundling them into a cab and taking then to the hotel. England was almost sure she would have followed them into his room, camera at the ready, if America hadn’t been there to hold her back and extract her.
Then he was alone with his husband and he wished very much for Hungary to come back. It had been easy with Hungary and America around to let the alcohol take control and be swept along but now they were gone and he really wanted a cut of tea.
Japan seemed equally at a loss, looking at him worriedly. Of course, this was probably Japan’s first wedding night. It was England’s too though, and the alcohol wasn’t helping him work out what you should do in this situation. After blinking stupidly a few times he heard himself say tea. Japan nodded enthusiastically and England moved quickly to put in a call to room service for a pot of Earl Grey, though he wasn’t surprised when the most they could promise him was ‘tea’.
While he’d been on the phone Japan had moved to the small table by the window and cleared the few personal items and was now fighting with a chair, looking as though it was taking all his concentration to extract it from the table and get it so he could sit on it and it suddenly England was aware of just how drunk the other nation was. Of course, he wasn’t sober himself, but whatever France and America had to say about him he did at least hold his booze better then Japan and he’d probably had less that evening too.
Suddenly he felt horribly unsure about the entire thing. He was drunk, but not so drunk he shouldn’t have stopped this. Japan was too drunk; he might not even remember this in the morning. He should...
He didn’t know what he should do.
With a sigh he moved to help Japan with the chair. Its legs were tangled in the handle of his carry on bag and he extracted them, feeling sobriety creep up on him with every ounce of concentration he put in to it. He freed the chair and held it as Japan sat, the other nation smiling shyly up at him, and was saved by the bell as the tea arrived.
As it turned out, the tea was a real blessing. Somehow England had forgotten Japan’s love for tea, a sure sign that as much as he was starting to feel sober he wasn’t yet, and they passed some time quite nicely discussing the deficiencies of America’s tea, different blends and their qualities and the eternal question of what one should or should not add to the tea. It was nice. Japan spoke slowly, clearly having trouble with his words, but his enthusiasm was genuine and as he was drunk he showed it so freely.
Then as suddenly as it came the tea was gone and England found himself staring at Japan over the empty tea cups, once more unable to formulate words. Then Japan bit his bottom lips again and sanity took a second’s break, letting libido back into the driving seat. Thankfully, it was only a second and once it was over England jumped up, mumbling excuses, grabbing his pyjamas and retreating to the bathroom.
The bathroom routine came to him mechanically and he was glad for it, forcing himself to forget the situation waiting for him in the bedroom. Still, brushing his teeth could only take so long and it seemed like only seconds had passed before he emerged again.
Japan was stood in the middle of the room looking at the bed in a strange way, as though he wasn’t sure if he wanted to run towards it or run screaming away from it. It was fortifying in a way, Japan was just drunk now, tomorrow they would clear this up and there would be no harm done. He found the spare pair of pyjamas he always travelled with and offered then to Japan, who thanked him profusely and rushed to the bathroom.
England distracted himself from the thought of Japan stripping, something his newly resurrected libido was planning on spending a lot of time thinking about, by turning the main light of, leaving only the bedside lamps lit, turning down the covers for Japan and finally climbing into bed himself, trying for the world to act as thought he wasn’t terrified.
Japan emerged from the bathroom and scurried to the bed, sliding under the covers and pulling them quickly up to his chin as if he were scared England might see him. England was a little scared of it too.
“I...I’ll just turn out the lights...” England mumbled, reaching for the switch. He was stopped by a hand on his elbow, and when he let himself glance at Japan the other nation was worrying his lip with his teeth again.
“England...it is our wedding night. We should...” Japan’s words stopped but his hand slid inexpertly up England’s arm, making it clear what he meant. England was beginning to wish very much that his libido had stayed more or less dormant.
“Not tonight,” England said, trying to sound authoritative though he knew his face was turning redder by the second. “Too tired. Let’s...let’s think about things like that tomorrow, ok.”
“Ok,” Japan whispered, and England couldn’t tell if it was a grateful tone or not. He turned out the light and listened to the sounds of Japan sliding into sleep next to him, knowing full well he’d be lucky to get any sleep that night.
~*~*~*~
16/4/2010
It was 7am. England’s head was pounding, the drunken haze having well and truly given in to a hangover the likes of which only America beer would produce in him. In his carryon bag there were some paracetamol. Beside him Japan was sleeping, facing towards England, his nose twitching lightly in response to whatever dream he was having.
England didn’t know what was worse, suffering the headache or having to deal with Japan. Of course, ideally he’d be able to slip out of bed, grab some paracetamol and take a shower and let Japan sleep, but he had the distinct feeling that the moment he moved to get up Japan was going to wake up. He wasn’t even sure he wouldn’t be the cause; he was far from graceful in this state.
He’d had maybe an hour’s sleep, but Japan didn’t seem to be troubled by a lack of sleep. England always slept badly after drinking though, the strange bed only making it worse. Now his head was pounding, sending sickening pains through him even as he lay still and he knew they’d only get worse when he moved. His stomach was clenching horribly and he had the horrible impression that before he could think about dealing with Japan he was going to have to go throw up a few times.
He resolutely tried to ignore the strange heaviness around his stomach, but there wasn’t a lot else to concentrate on. There was Japan, but he couldn’t think about that without panicking. They had...well...it wasn’t legal. But...it was an agreement. Even a drunken agreement should be honoured really.
But it was ridiculous. He liked Japan well enough, of course, but married? Marriage wasn’t something you could just decide to do while drunk in Vegas. And it would be so awkward, it could never work.
Even though Japan’s flushed face was quite adorable and he could think of a few other contexts he’d like to see it in.
His stomach turned again and he gripped the sheets in his fists, doing his best to suppress a groan. It was only getting worse with time. For a few seconds he thought it might calm down, he might buy a few more minutes to lay here and panic, but there was a sudden heave and he moved without thinking, rushing to the bathroom with a kind of single minded determination and making it just in time.
Once he’d done and his stomach stopped trying to crawl out of him as punishment for the pain he’d caused it he let go of the toilet and collapsed on the floor. The tiles were wonderfully cold against him skin and he rubbed his head against them, savouring the momentary relief from the pain.
“E...England-san, are you unwell?”
England looked up from his prone position to see Japan peeking around the door, looking groggy and worried.
“I’m fine,” he whispered, hoping his voice didn’t sound entirely like sandpaper. “America’s beer doesn’t sit well with me, I’m just hung-over. I’ll be fine in a minute...”
“Can I get you anything?”
England stifled the automatic assertion that he was fine and didn’t need anything. Right now he really did need something and if Japan would help him so much the better.
“Yes,” he croaked. “In my carry-on bag, there’s a packet of paracetamol. If you could bring me that and a glass of water I’d be very grateful.”
Japan nodded and left the room and England rolled gently to his side, curling in on himself and closing his eyes. He hoped he could keep the paracetamol down. He knew that if he could stomach them long enough for them to work he’d be able to face the rest of the day, but that was a big if.
Japan re-entered the room softly and England blinked up to see that the other nation hadn’t just brought the paracetamol but also a blanket that he dragged over England then reached around to tuck in. He moved the pill packet and water into England’s range and England sat up just enough to swallow the pills before letting himself down again. Best not to move until they’d had their effect.
“I’m just going to lay here for a while,” he groaned. “Just until I feel alive again. You should go get some breakfast or something.”
“That is fine,” Japan said, paddling lightly around the bathroom. A second later England felt a cold cloth being placed on his forehead. Maybe being married to Japan wouldn’t be as bad as all that.
That was no way to think at all. He wasn’t going to be married to Japan for long. As soon as he managed to peel himself off the floor he’d be able to sort all of this out and then they could go back to being friendly acquaintances and he could shout at America and Hungary and then everything would feel better.
“Can I bring you anything?” Japan asked, crouching on the floor beside him. England’s pyjamas were a little too big for him and they looked like that might fall of any second, which was oddly compelling.
“I’m fine,” England whispered, closing his eyes quickly before he could see too much and start blushing again. He didn’t know what had gotten into him. Thinking thoughts like that, and about Japan of all people. Japan gave of this air of almost innocence anywhere but the board room, it was wrong to think about him that way.
Though he was, apparently, now his husband.
He started a little when Japan touched the side of his head gently, his eyelids flying open. Japan was bright red, it was odd and worrying until Japan moved, gently inching closer and lifting England’s head, something he was in no state to do anything about, until England’s head was lying in his lap.
“Does...does that feel better?” Japan stuttered. England was a little worried the other nation was going to overheat and pass out, he was quite worryingly red.
“Yes,” he whispered, and oddly it did. Something about physical contact, he supposed, but somehow the world seemed more firm with his head pillowed in Japan’s lap. “You...you don’t have to do this, you know. It’s self-inflicted, you can leave me alone to suffer if you like...”
“I couldn’t,” Japan mumbled, blushing. “What kind of husband would I be if I left you here when you are so ill, however you became ill?”
England didn’t have a ready answer for that so shut his eyes quickly. It did answer one question, Japan definitely did remember what they’d done last night. In a way it would be easier if Japan hadn’t remembered. It wasn’t legally binding after all; he could have just pretended it never happened. There was no chance for that now.
The other implication was that Japan apparently considered this marriage valid. That complicated things rather a lot. He’d been counting on things making more sense in the morning. He’d counted on Japan agreeing with him that this was all a silly mistake and they’d finish the meeting and nothing would happen. It seemed that at the very least he was facing a very uncomfortable conversation with the other nation. For now, best just to avoid it.
He must have slept for a while, it wasn’t hard with Japan gently rubbing his forehead and humming to him, and when he woke up again he felt almost human. He dared to climb of the floor and when he didn’t immediately collapse again went through to the bedroom. It was at that point he realised he had thirty minutes to make himself presentable for the meetings.
“Japan,” he said, sticking his head back into the bathroom where the other man was carefully tidying up. “We need to hurry, the meetings start soon.”
“I had presumed you would be too unwell to go,” Japan said, frowning slightly.
“No,” England said, waving a hand dismissively. “I’ll be fine now, I promise. Don’t worry, it’s just America beer, it doesn’t agree with me. If we hurry we can still make the opening speeches!”
Japan nodded and without further comment dressed and rushed off to change for the day. England busied himself with making himself look like a nation and not some kind of crazy homeless person which took most of the concentration he could drag up. Somehow he wasn’t surprised when, before the meetings started, Japan reappeared at his door to walk with him down to the meeting room.
~*~*~*~
“Surprise!”
England froze, he was sure he looked a picture, and with Japan frozen next to him they must have made a fine pair. The meeting room wasn’t a meeting room any more, tables and chairs have been rearranged, a cake placed on one of them, and the other nations were standing around grinning at them. England felt oddly like he’d just been the butt of some very strange joke.
“What...” he mumbled, looking for America in the crowd. He didn’t have to search hard; the other nation was heading it as usual.
“Hey, we can’t let you get married without having a party,” he said, shrugging in a way that was probably supposed to be apologetic but really wasn’t.
“But...the meeting...”
“It’s not every day nations get married,” America interjected, “And we’ll have the meetings, just shorter ones. Hungary’s hooked up the video from last night and we’re going to watch that, then we’ll put everything back and do business, but we’re only going to do the essentials and finish early then we’re all throwing you two a party!”
“Really, that will not by necessary,” Japan mumbled. England looked over and saw that the Asian nation looked at shell-shocked as he felt.
“Don’t be so modest,” America cried. The crowd around him had started to break down now, moving to take their seats where they could see the screen. It was then in a moment of panic that England realised he didn’t remember reading the vows. He could have said anything, might have said anything.
This was all going wrong.
Then Japan took his arm and pulled him out of his thought. He gave the other nation a small smile. He imagined that, as embarrassing as this was for him, it must be more so for Japan who was such a quiet nation. He nodded at some seats in the back and Japan smiled at him, then they made their way to the back of the room while America was distracted arranging the other nations. England took a chance to glance around. They called it a world meeting but in reality not everyone could attend. Some nations boycotted, some had big problems at home, and some just didn’t have the resources to come to America for a conference. Still, most of the nations in the room couldn’t be interested in this and England felt a pang of guilt for them. He certainly hadn’t intended to cause trouble.
Then the film started. As it did Japan jumped and reached out, apparently on instinct, and gripped England’s hand. It was odd, he didn’t think he’d ever touched Japan before last night and, well, this was hardly physically demonstrative on the level of someone like Italy who was currently hanging on to Germany’s arm but...it was more than he was used to.
On the screen they had got to the altar and were preparing for the ceremony. They were both flushed red with the alcohol and Japan was clutching England’s hands in his as thought he was afraid England might run away any second. The ceremony started. England was glad to note that he hadn’t stumbled over his lines, but something kept drawing him back to the expression on Japan’s face. He looked so...so sincere. So like this wasn’t a horrible mistake after all.
The official declared them married and under the table Japan squeezed England’s hand.
This was going to be more trouble than England had hoped.
~*~*~*~
Of course, nothing was achieved in the meeting that day. The uninterested countries excused themselves and went off, no doubt to escape the waves of excitement coming of America. An excited America was rarely a good thing. Germany had tried his hardest but Italy kept trying to lean on him and there was only so much dignity and poise a man could project when his lover was leaning on his shoulder playing with his hair.
They disbanded the meeting early, the remaining uninvolved countries running away, then Hungary took control, directing the moving of tables which they all seemed to get pulled in to until the floor was cleared. Then the cake was brought back. It was large and white and England was highly suspicious that they’d managed to get hold of it so quickly.
Waiters moved in, obviously employed by America, and began circling with champagne and for a while England found himself distracted as country after country came over to give their congratulations. Somewhere in there a buffet was set up at one side of the room and a sound system was installed with music of America’s choice booming out of it.
It was not a party England would have chosen to attend, yet he couldn’t leave as it was being thrown in his honour, in a way.
This was just one big mistake, it had to be. There was no way this could be a legitimate marriage. He just had to find Japan and talk to him alone, but that was easier said than done. It seemed everyone in the room wanted a piece of one of them. China gave him a lecture on taking proper care of Japan, though most of his advice may well cause more harm than good. France insisted on dancing with him twice, pulling him around the floor and declaring how proud he was. None of them seemed the slightest bit interested in what he had to say.
For once he was sensible enough to avoid the alcohol. Alcohol may have gotten him into this but it certainly wasn’t going to get him out of it.
He tolerated the congratulations and the threats, veiled and obvious. He tolerated the loud music and the dancing and the celebration in general, but when he saw America bringing a karaoke machine into the room he knew he had to escape. He quickly excused himself from Greece who was asking some very odd questions and nearly sprinted for the bathroom.
He was glad to find it deserted when he got there. For the first time he was thankful of America’s extravagance as he sank down into a couch that was for some reason in a small seating area in the bathroom. It was best not to question what it was intended for or, indeed, what it had been used for. He had enough on his mind already.
He was married to Japan. Japan was his husband.
It just couldn’t be. He liked Japan well enough. The other nation was quiet, well mannered, mostly sensible...he came off as well as anyone if you looked at his pros and cons and he was, also, a nice person. He liked tea and dogs and as far as England was concerned anyone who liked tea and dogs couldn’t be too bad.
Still, England had no intention to marry. If anything he’d been drawing further away from people. It was hard, these days, to know where you stood. In the old days things were much clearer. Enemies would declare themselves by sending their fleet to destroy you; friends would send gifts and visit. He’d have no particular relationship with most countries. Then there’d been the colonies and suddenly he’d had a house full of rebellious nations and of course it had collapsed and now they had this diplomacy where you said something to some people and other things to others but with the internet everyone knew what everyone was saying all the time and it just made his head spin. Was Europe right for him? Did America really care about him or did he just pretend? Was Iraq really that against him? How was he meant to know? Much easier to withdraw and not think about it.
Only now he had a husband. Because he had tried to stop Japan’s fall. What would this mean for his people? Would they accept it? Could he accept it? He and Japan, they were so far away from each other. He just didn’t like the idea of hurting the other nation.
It would all be simpler if Japan wanted out of this relationship too, but he got the distinct impression that wasn’t what Japan wanted. Not that it was always possible to tell with Japan, he was so evasive at time.
However you looked at it, it was a rather large mess. England didn’t need a husband right now, he needed time alone to think and put his life in order. But somehow there was something about Japan. The physical attraction was undeniable, almost painfully so at points. It wouldn’t be so astonishing if it hadn’t been years since he’d really been turned on. With all his politics and the small amount of power he had as America kept growing and growing, he’d just had other things on his mind. It wasn’t like people hadn’t gotten close, but he just hadn’t responded.
He responded to Japan.
Such a mess!
The cycling of his thought was interrupted by Germany entering the bathroom. The two nations nodded to each other solemnly then tried their best to not further acknowledge each other’s presence. It was a time honoured tradition and it bolstered England a bit. He let his mind drift back to the problem, though all he could really think about was how he’d like to have Japan straddle his leg again, a small part of him trying to bring his attention to the other body parts contacted in that stumble and an even smaller part suggesting that now he was Japan’s husband he had the right to at least ask if they could get into a position like that again.
He was desperately trying to shush that part of himself when Germany came back through. The other nation paused, looked at England. Looked away. Took a few steps. Paused. Looked again. Then, with a determined air, he turned and walked over to England, sitting down on the couch opposite him.
“Allow me to express my congratulations,” he said, blushing a little.
“Thank you,” England murmured. Just what he needed, more congratulations.
“I’m sorry to intrude,” Germany continued. England couldn’t help but wish he hadn’t. “I just...I didn’t know you and Japan were so close...”
“We’re not,” England replied flatly.
“Then...why...”
“We...we fell in a compromising situation,” England mumbled, staring at the table so he wouldn’t have to meet the other nation’s eye. “Japan insisted I take responsibility, then America joined in and before I knew it we were married...”
“That sounds like Japan,” Germany said, a note of understanding in his voice. “He takes things very seriously. Still, you’re married now. I suppose you’ll just have to make the best of it.” England made a non-committal noise. He didn’t want to make the best of it, he wanted out of it.
“You know,” Germany said, softly. “Letting people in close isn’t a bad thing. I mean, there are plenty of people out there who’ll hurt you, but it can be worth it.”
England glanced up to see the deep shade of scarlet in Germany’s face which confirmed he was talking about Italy. Of course, Germany had been a loner; he still was in some ways. But Italy had done a world of good for him.
“I’m not you and Japan isn’t Italy,” he shot back without thinking about it.
“No,” Germany agreed. “But, I think we have more in common then you think. Anyway, Japan’s a serious kind of nation. He’ll be really upset if you reject him right now. I know it isn’t my place but I guess, well, what I’m asking is that you give him a chance before you turn him away.”
“When did you become an agony aunt?” England asked, staring at the joint at the corner of the coffee table between them.
“I’m not,” Germany said with a sigh. “I don’t know, maybe Italy’s just getting to me. I just wanted to help. I’m sorry, I’ll leave you to yourself.”
England listened but didn’t look as Germany rose and moved to the door. Now he really didn’t know what to do.
~*~*~*~
When England finally gathered himself enough to go back to the party it was obvious that the drink had been flowing freely while he’d been gone. There room was filled with the kind of behaviour that was, no doubt, making Hungary very glad she had a digital camera with an exceptionally large memory card. Japan, thankfully, was stood at the side of the room and England had no problem catching his eye. Japan seemed to infer his message and moved around quickly so they could slip out of the room together.
Japan looked worried, though he supposed he had been missing for a good portion of the night by this point so it was only natural, given it was meant to be a celebration of their wedding. Still, there were things he needed to be certain of.
They made the trip to his bedroom in silence and once they were there Japan went to the phone and called for tea. England took the time to remove his tie and loosen his shirt. He hadn’t felt this tense in years, it was ridiculous. Still, he had a feeling this evening wasn’t going to be pleasant. The room service arrived quickly and they sat down at the table. He wasn’t surprised to see that Japan still looked worried.
“Japan,” he said, trying to keep his voice level. “I think we need to talk.”
“It would seem so,” Japan said slowly, stirring his tea. England watched his hand move. He knew this was the hard part; it didn’t make it any easier to say.
“I need...I need to know what you want to do about our relationship,” England finally managed. He could feel the flush in his cheeks. He was really about of practice with this relationship thing. Too much isolation for far too long.
“I believe it is your decision to make,” Japan said, his frown deepening until it was almost a scowl. “I had thought that the matter was settled last night.”
“Can I be honest?” England blurted, almost cutting Japan of. Japan nodded sharply so he continued. “I...Look, if I’d been sober last night I wouldn’t have married you.”
“I understand,” Japan said, standing quickly, “The matter shall be dropped.”
“I don’t think you do understand,” England said, standing quickly and moving to block the other man, laying a hand on his shoulder. “I wouldn’t have married you, but now everything’s confused. I mean, I did marry you, that’s a fact. And I am an honourable man. I don’t want to hurt anyone, or disappoint anyone...”
The room fell silent, Japan refused to meet his eye, looking instead to where England’s hand was lying on his shoulder.
“I’ve said it all wrong and made a mess of it, again,” England muttered, sighing. “Can I start again?”
Japan nodded again, his expression more subdued now. England was sure he was working hard to hide his emotion, though if it was pain or anger he couldn’t guess. He dropped his hand from Japan’s shoulder, and then took Japan’s hand in his instead.
“Japan, I know we aren’t the closest of friends but I do care about you and respect you,” this sounded better, more like the things he’d meant to say, the things he’d reversed in his mind when sitting in the bathroom.
“Yet you do not wish to marry me?” Japan interrupted, his voice soft. England flinched.
“I...What I’m trying to say is...”
“It would be better if I left.”
“Please don’t,” England whispered, tightening his hold on Japan’s hand. “This all started because of a misunderstanding, we shouldn’t end it that way. I just...ok, maybe I’m going to sound like an idiot saying this but I don’t want a divorce. I want...I’m not sure what I want. It’s all new, I’m not even sure that I’m a nation who can open up to others any more, but the thing is, I’ve been thinking about it hard and I want to try. Maybe it won’t work, but maybe it will. I think, I think that it’s worth trying for, that you’re worth trying for.”
England trailed of, focusing his attention on Japan’s shoes. The other man’s hand was still limp in his. He felt like such an idiot, saying things like that...but it was what he was thinking.
“You wish to try with me, you do you wish it was another nation standing here with you now? America or France?”
“No,” England said sharply, forcing himself to meet Japan’s eyes. “I admit, I don’t know you as well as I know them, but I do know that you’re an honourable person. I think, I think we could have a very good marriage. If, if after the mess I’ve made of tonight you’ll still have me.”
“I believe I would like to try.” His voice was soft, England almost missed it. It still sent shivers through him though. Goodness knows, tomorrow he could be regretting this all over again, but for now...for now it was worth a chance.
“Thank you,” he said slowly, squeezing Japan’s hand. Japan nodded, and then looked up at him.
“Since you’re my husband, will you kiss me?”
England froze for a second. But...but he was giving this a chance. And surely this was a part of being someone’s husband. He nodded once, then he kissed his husband.
For a few seconds Japan responded, leaning forward to press his close lips against England’s. England moved his left hand to gently lay it on Japan’s hip, encouraging the other nation to come ever so slightly closer, parted his lips slightly...
Japan fell over backwards in his rush to get away, his face turning bright red. England stood and blinked for a second, his left hand suspended in mid air where Japan had been a second ago.
“I’m sorry,” Japan said, breathily. His face was flushed red and it really wasn’t helping England control his libido. “I...I’ve not been that intimate with anyone before and I know you’re my husband but...”
Japan continued apologising but England’s brain had short circuited. Of course, given Japan’s reaction to their falling the night before it would have been sensible to conclude that Japan didn’t have experience in these things, obvious now that he thought about it...but his libido was quite big on action instead of thought. Of course, he had to pick such an innocent country to marry.
“It’s ok,” he said, hoping the smile he’d managed to force onto his face to go with the words was genuine. “I...understand. Let’s, let’s take it slowly, ok?”
“I would appreciate that,” Japan mumbled, then he climbed uncertainly to his feet, his face still bright red. England couldn’t help but sigh, this was going to be another long night.
~*~*~*~
Author/Artist: Silvey
Character(s) or Pairing(s): England/Japan.
Rating: PG
Summary: Japan demands that England take responsibility.
15/4/2010
As he stared into the bottom of the glass all England could think was that he should have known better than to come to Vegas. There was a strange sense of foreboding about the entire trip, as though everyone was just waiting for something to go terribly wrong. Or maybe it was just him. Of course holding the world meeting in Las Vegas wasn’t odd in itself. America had been pushing it for a while. What bothered England was that somehow America had managed to take them from a perfectly reasonable debate about Greece’s economy, Poland’s boss and nuclear weapons to a trip to a casino.
The gambling held little interest to England. Of course, he wasn’t above a little flutter on the horses, he’d been very excited about the Grand National just last weekend, but that didn’t translate over to the odd fascination America seemed to have with gambling. Horse racing was a sport after all, there was no sport here.
Still, a lot of the other countries had been drawn in. Russia in particular had seemed transfixed by the machines and card tables, dragging America round and having him demonstrate them for his amusement. Most of the nations had filtered of in small groups into the crowd, which was fine really. England could make out France from where he was sitting, charming his way through a poker game, and Japan, China and Hungary were sat just down the bar from him having a stilted conversation about the global politics of homosexual marriage, of all things.
To get through the night England had gone immediately to the bar, and he was quite content to stay here propping it up. True, he was a bit of a lightweight and no doubt the other nations would laugh at him later but it was nothing they hadn’t seen before and there was no other way he was going to survive this evening. While America’s beer might be terrible it was better than his slot machines. At least he was spending his money on a pleasant drunken forgetfulness, not on supporting America’s casino.
Of course, though, no amount of drinking could keep that bastard America away. He emerged from the crowd, all goofy grins and large hand gestures. It’s seemed that he’d lost Russia somewhere along the way and England couldn’t have but feel glad about that, he definitely didn’t want to be dealing with Russia right now.
“How are you all doing folks?” America cried, drawing the attention of the group a little way up the bar to himself as well as England’s.
That was when it happened.
England had been curious about the glass in Japan’s hand for some time. He knew by reputation that the Asian countries were considered even more susceptible to the perils of alcohol then he was. Japan tended not to drink with the other nations, but the drink had been flowing tonight, and England wasn’t surprised that when Japan slid of his bar stool to meet his host he stumbled.
England may well be a drunkard but he was also chivalrous. Without thinking he reached out an hand to steady Japan, though the amount of alcohol in his own system caused a slight misfiring and he only managed to altered Japan’s trajectory so instead of falling to the floor he fell back against England, his legs opening to let England’s knee between them, his hand landing square on England’s crotch, England’s own hand slipping down to cup Japan’s ass.
It was, quite frankly, a miracle that the two of them didn’t both die from embarrassment right there. Even the fire in his cheeks couldn’t distract England mind from the soft, almost nothing pressure and warmth coming through is trousers from Japan’s hand. It was as though every nerve in his body had chosen that moment to remember just how long it had been since someone touched him there and, well, it was inevitable really.
Japan made a small noise somewhere between a squeak and a scream and jumped up, pulling his arms up protectively and burying his face in his hands. England blinked at the lost heat. He hadn’t even really gotten around to registering the feel of Japan’s ass in his hand yet, the sensation of Japan’s thighs around his leg, and he felt horribly deprived. As his senses widened again he finally took in China looking vaguely disgusted, Hungary clutching a camera and America laughing so hard he needed to grip the bar to keep up. That was entirely unacceptable, there were a lot of things England could cope with while drunk but America laughing at him was not one of them. He shifted slightly and would have made a good attempt at punching him if Japan hadn’t chosen that moment to intervene.
“You have to take responsibility,” he said suddenly, the words seeming to startle him as much as anyone else. He moved quickly, dropping his hands from his face and then lifting them again to the lapels of the jacket England was wearing. “You can’t...you can’t just touch me like that!”
“I didn’t mean to!” England protested, though rather traitorous parts of him were busy mentally stripping the suit away from Japan.
“That’s not the point!” Japan stuttered, turning even redder. “That was indecent! It was...you have to take responsibility!”
“He’s right, England!” America perked up. Part of England’s brain managed to get itself together enough to glare at the other country, and to notice the almost evil smirk on his face, a smirk that in any other circumstance would have England running at a hundred miles an hour in the other direction, but right now the way Japan was moving gradually closer and closer to him was far too enticing.
“See, you need to take responsibility,” Japan said again. He looked almost fevered now, his eyes wide.
“What do you want me to do?” England asked. Japan bit his bottom lip gently as he considered the question and England’s body quickly turned traitor again. He’d never been like this before, not with Japan. It was the booze, the time, the city.
“You have to marry me,” Japan said, a sudden clarity and stillness coming over his face.
“Now?” England squeaked. “I can’t...” but his mind had deserted him, reason and intelligence had both given up the ghost and gone into hiding and all he was left with was drunken haze and libido, both of which were overly preoccupied with how close Japan was standing and how adorable the flush of his cheeks made him.
“Sure you can,” America said, patting England enthusiastically on the back. “This is Vegas, anyone can marry anyone. And you always used to go on at me about taking responsibility...”
“This is different,” England snapped, trying to stop his traitorous hands reaching out to touch Japan.
“You’ve disgraced me, touching me in such a way,” Japan mumbled, voice low and eyes downcast. “And I’ve disgraced you; we must do the only honourable thing and be married.”
“But...”
“Let’s do it now before you can change your minds,” Hungary said, suddenly stepping in and pulling England away from Japan. In that moment England knew he had lost. He stood there drunk with no reason left in him with Hungary determined to have him married to Japan right now, and getting Hungary to let go of something like that would be hard enough when he was sober.
As soon as he gave in and stopped fighting things became easier. Time seemed to flow around him in a blur. He remembered the air on stepping out of the casino, the strange un-Englishness of it and how for a moment it had brought some semblance of reason back, then Japan had taken his hand and it had soon gone again. He remembered the chapel, his vague surprise that it had seemed pretty normal and there wasn’t a single Elvis impersonator in sight. He remembered America chatting with a guy and passing over some money while Hungary fussed over her camera and Japan gripped his hand as thought he was trying to break bone.
He didn’t remember the vows, though Hungary made a video to remember them by. He remembered leaning in to kiss Japan and Japan turning in shock, leaving England to press a light kiss to his cheek. He remembered concentrating hard on signing the wedding license, though it wasn’t legally binding but symbolic. He remembered leaving the chapel, Japan’s hand still clutched in his, feeling suddenly and oddly helpless.
Honestly, the trip to the hotel passed in a blur too. Hungary just kind of swept them along in her enthusiasm, bundling them into a cab and taking then to the hotel. England was almost sure she would have followed them into his room, camera at the ready, if America hadn’t been there to hold her back and extract her.
Then he was alone with his husband and he wished very much for Hungary to come back. It had been easy with Hungary and America around to let the alcohol take control and be swept along but now they were gone and he really wanted a cut of tea.
Japan seemed equally at a loss, looking at him worriedly. Of course, this was probably Japan’s first wedding night. It was England’s too though, and the alcohol wasn’t helping him work out what you should do in this situation. After blinking stupidly a few times he heard himself say tea. Japan nodded enthusiastically and England moved quickly to put in a call to room service for a pot of Earl Grey, though he wasn’t surprised when the most they could promise him was ‘tea’.
While he’d been on the phone Japan had moved to the small table by the window and cleared the few personal items and was now fighting with a chair, looking as though it was taking all his concentration to extract it from the table and get it so he could sit on it and it suddenly England was aware of just how drunk the other nation was. Of course, he wasn’t sober himself, but whatever France and America had to say about him he did at least hold his booze better then Japan and he’d probably had less that evening too.
Suddenly he felt horribly unsure about the entire thing. He was drunk, but not so drunk he shouldn’t have stopped this. Japan was too drunk; he might not even remember this in the morning. He should...
He didn’t know what he should do.
With a sigh he moved to help Japan with the chair. Its legs were tangled in the handle of his carry on bag and he extracted them, feeling sobriety creep up on him with every ounce of concentration he put in to it. He freed the chair and held it as Japan sat, the other nation smiling shyly up at him, and was saved by the bell as the tea arrived.
As it turned out, the tea was a real blessing. Somehow England had forgotten Japan’s love for tea, a sure sign that as much as he was starting to feel sober he wasn’t yet, and they passed some time quite nicely discussing the deficiencies of America’s tea, different blends and their qualities and the eternal question of what one should or should not add to the tea. It was nice. Japan spoke slowly, clearly having trouble with his words, but his enthusiasm was genuine and as he was drunk he showed it so freely.
Then as suddenly as it came the tea was gone and England found himself staring at Japan over the empty tea cups, once more unable to formulate words. Then Japan bit his bottom lips again and sanity took a second’s break, letting libido back into the driving seat. Thankfully, it was only a second and once it was over England jumped up, mumbling excuses, grabbing his pyjamas and retreating to the bathroom.
The bathroom routine came to him mechanically and he was glad for it, forcing himself to forget the situation waiting for him in the bedroom. Still, brushing his teeth could only take so long and it seemed like only seconds had passed before he emerged again.
Japan was stood in the middle of the room looking at the bed in a strange way, as though he wasn’t sure if he wanted to run towards it or run screaming away from it. It was fortifying in a way, Japan was just drunk now, tomorrow they would clear this up and there would be no harm done. He found the spare pair of pyjamas he always travelled with and offered then to Japan, who thanked him profusely and rushed to the bathroom.
England distracted himself from the thought of Japan stripping, something his newly resurrected libido was planning on spending a lot of time thinking about, by turning the main light of, leaving only the bedside lamps lit, turning down the covers for Japan and finally climbing into bed himself, trying for the world to act as thought he wasn’t terrified.
Japan emerged from the bathroom and scurried to the bed, sliding under the covers and pulling them quickly up to his chin as if he were scared England might see him. England was a little scared of it too.
“I...I’ll just turn out the lights...” England mumbled, reaching for the switch. He was stopped by a hand on his elbow, and when he let himself glance at Japan the other nation was worrying his lip with his teeth again.
“England...it is our wedding night. We should...” Japan’s words stopped but his hand slid inexpertly up England’s arm, making it clear what he meant. England was beginning to wish very much that his libido had stayed more or less dormant.
“Not tonight,” England said, trying to sound authoritative though he knew his face was turning redder by the second. “Too tired. Let’s...let’s think about things like that tomorrow, ok.”
“Ok,” Japan whispered, and England couldn’t tell if it was a grateful tone or not. He turned out the light and listened to the sounds of Japan sliding into sleep next to him, knowing full well he’d be lucky to get any sleep that night.
~*~*~*~
16/4/2010
It was 7am. England’s head was pounding, the drunken haze having well and truly given in to a hangover the likes of which only America beer would produce in him. In his carryon bag there were some paracetamol. Beside him Japan was sleeping, facing towards England, his nose twitching lightly in response to whatever dream he was having.
England didn’t know what was worse, suffering the headache or having to deal with Japan. Of course, ideally he’d be able to slip out of bed, grab some paracetamol and take a shower and let Japan sleep, but he had the distinct feeling that the moment he moved to get up Japan was going to wake up. He wasn’t even sure he wouldn’t be the cause; he was far from graceful in this state.
He’d had maybe an hour’s sleep, but Japan didn’t seem to be troubled by a lack of sleep. England always slept badly after drinking though, the strange bed only making it worse. Now his head was pounding, sending sickening pains through him even as he lay still and he knew they’d only get worse when he moved. His stomach was clenching horribly and he had the horrible impression that before he could think about dealing with Japan he was going to have to go throw up a few times.
He resolutely tried to ignore the strange heaviness around his stomach, but there wasn’t a lot else to concentrate on. There was Japan, but he couldn’t think about that without panicking. They had...well...it wasn’t legal. But...it was an agreement. Even a drunken agreement should be honoured really.
But it was ridiculous. He liked Japan well enough, of course, but married? Marriage wasn’t something you could just decide to do while drunk in Vegas. And it would be so awkward, it could never work.
Even though Japan’s flushed face was quite adorable and he could think of a few other contexts he’d like to see it in.
His stomach turned again and he gripped the sheets in his fists, doing his best to suppress a groan. It was only getting worse with time. For a few seconds he thought it might calm down, he might buy a few more minutes to lay here and panic, but there was a sudden heave and he moved without thinking, rushing to the bathroom with a kind of single minded determination and making it just in time.
Once he’d done and his stomach stopped trying to crawl out of him as punishment for the pain he’d caused it he let go of the toilet and collapsed on the floor. The tiles were wonderfully cold against him skin and he rubbed his head against them, savouring the momentary relief from the pain.
“E...England-san, are you unwell?”
England looked up from his prone position to see Japan peeking around the door, looking groggy and worried.
“I’m fine,” he whispered, hoping his voice didn’t sound entirely like sandpaper. “America’s beer doesn’t sit well with me, I’m just hung-over. I’ll be fine in a minute...”
“Can I get you anything?”
England stifled the automatic assertion that he was fine and didn’t need anything. Right now he really did need something and if Japan would help him so much the better.
“Yes,” he croaked. “In my carry-on bag, there’s a packet of paracetamol. If you could bring me that and a glass of water I’d be very grateful.”
Japan nodded and left the room and England rolled gently to his side, curling in on himself and closing his eyes. He hoped he could keep the paracetamol down. He knew that if he could stomach them long enough for them to work he’d be able to face the rest of the day, but that was a big if.
Japan re-entered the room softly and England blinked up to see that the other nation hadn’t just brought the paracetamol but also a blanket that he dragged over England then reached around to tuck in. He moved the pill packet and water into England’s range and England sat up just enough to swallow the pills before letting himself down again. Best not to move until they’d had their effect.
“I’m just going to lay here for a while,” he groaned. “Just until I feel alive again. You should go get some breakfast or something.”
“That is fine,” Japan said, paddling lightly around the bathroom. A second later England felt a cold cloth being placed on his forehead. Maybe being married to Japan wouldn’t be as bad as all that.
That was no way to think at all. He wasn’t going to be married to Japan for long. As soon as he managed to peel himself off the floor he’d be able to sort all of this out and then they could go back to being friendly acquaintances and he could shout at America and Hungary and then everything would feel better.
“Can I bring you anything?” Japan asked, crouching on the floor beside him. England’s pyjamas were a little too big for him and they looked like that might fall of any second, which was oddly compelling.
“I’m fine,” England whispered, closing his eyes quickly before he could see too much and start blushing again. He didn’t know what had gotten into him. Thinking thoughts like that, and about Japan of all people. Japan gave of this air of almost innocence anywhere but the board room, it was wrong to think about him that way.
Though he was, apparently, now his husband.
He started a little when Japan touched the side of his head gently, his eyelids flying open. Japan was bright red, it was odd and worrying until Japan moved, gently inching closer and lifting England’s head, something he was in no state to do anything about, until England’s head was lying in his lap.
“Does...does that feel better?” Japan stuttered. England was a little worried the other nation was going to overheat and pass out, he was quite worryingly red.
“Yes,” he whispered, and oddly it did. Something about physical contact, he supposed, but somehow the world seemed more firm with his head pillowed in Japan’s lap. “You...you don’t have to do this, you know. It’s self-inflicted, you can leave me alone to suffer if you like...”
“I couldn’t,” Japan mumbled, blushing. “What kind of husband would I be if I left you here when you are so ill, however you became ill?”
England didn’t have a ready answer for that so shut his eyes quickly. It did answer one question, Japan definitely did remember what they’d done last night. In a way it would be easier if Japan hadn’t remembered. It wasn’t legally binding after all; he could have just pretended it never happened. There was no chance for that now.
The other implication was that Japan apparently considered this marriage valid. That complicated things rather a lot. He’d been counting on things making more sense in the morning. He’d counted on Japan agreeing with him that this was all a silly mistake and they’d finish the meeting and nothing would happen. It seemed that at the very least he was facing a very uncomfortable conversation with the other nation. For now, best just to avoid it.
He must have slept for a while, it wasn’t hard with Japan gently rubbing his forehead and humming to him, and when he woke up again he felt almost human. He dared to climb of the floor and when he didn’t immediately collapse again went through to the bedroom. It was at that point he realised he had thirty minutes to make himself presentable for the meetings.
“Japan,” he said, sticking his head back into the bathroom where the other man was carefully tidying up. “We need to hurry, the meetings start soon.”
“I had presumed you would be too unwell to go,” Japan said, frowning slightly.
“No,” England said, waving a hand dismissively. “I’ll be fine now, I promise. Don’t worry, it’s just America beer, it doesn’t agree with me. If we hurry we can still make the opening speeches!”
Japan nodded and without further comment dressed and rushed off to change for the day. England busied himself with making himself look like a nation and not some kind of crazy homeless person which took most of the concentration he could drag up. Somehow he wasn’t surprised when, before the meetings started, Japan reappeared at his door to walk with him down to the meeting room.
~*~*~*~
“Surprise!”
England froze, he was sure he looked a picture, and with Japan frozen next to him they must have made a fine pair. The meeting room wasn’t a meeting room any more, tables and chairs have been rearranged, a cake placed on one of them, and the other nations were standing around grinning at them. England felt oddly like he’d just been the butt of some very strange joke.
“What...” he mumbled, looking for America in the crowd. He didn’t have to search hard; the other nation was heading it as usual.
“Hey, we can’t let you get married without having a party,” he said, shrugging in a way that was probably supposed to be apologetic but really wasn’t.
“But...the meeting...”
“It’s not every day nations get married,” America interjected, “And we’ll have the meetings, just shorter ones. Hungary’s hooked up the video from last night and we’re going to watch that, then we’ll put everything back and do business, but we’re only going to do the essentials and finish early then we’re all throwing you two a party!”
“Really, that will not by necessary,” Japan mumbled. England looked over and saw that the Asian nation looked at shell-shocked as he felt.
“Don’t be so modest,” America cried. The crowd around him had started to break down now, moving to take their seats where they could see the screen. It was then in a moment of panic that England realised he didn’t remember reading the vows. He could have said anything, might have said anything.
This was all going wrong.
Then Japan took his arm and pulled him out of his thought. He gave the other nation a small smile. He imagined that, as embarrassing as this was for him, it must be more so for Japan who was such a quiet nation. He nodded at some seats in the back and Japan smiled at him, then they made their way to the back of the room while America was distracted arranging the other nations. England took a chance to glance around. They called it a world meeting but in reality not everyone could attend. Some nations boycotted, some had big problems at home, and some just didn’t have the resources to come to America for a conference. Still, most of the nations in the room couldn’t be interested in this and England felt a pang of guilt for them. He certainly hadn’t intended to cause trouble.
Then the film started. As it did Japan jumped and reached out, apparently on instinct, and gripped England’s hand. It was odd, he didn’t think he’d ever touched Japan before last night and, well, this was hardly physically demonstrative on the level of someone like Italy who was currently hanging on to Germany’s arm but...it was more than he was used to.
On the screen they had got to the altar and were preparing for the ceremony. They were both flushed red with the alcohol and Japan was clutching England’s hands in his as thought he was afraid England might run away any second. The ceremony started. England was glad to note that he hadn’t stumbled over his lines, but something kept drawing him back to the expression on Japan’s face. He looked so...so sincere. So like this wasn’t a horrible mistake after all.
The official declared them married and under the table Japan squeezed England’s hand.
This was going to be more trouble than England had hoped.
~*~*~*~
Of course, nothing was achieved in the meeting that day. The uninterested countries excused themselves and went off, no doubt to escape the waves of excitement coming of America. An excited America was rarely a good thing. Germany had tried his hardest but Italy kept trying to lean on him and there was only so much dignity and poise a man could project when his lover was leaning on his shoulder playing with his hair.
They disbanded the meeting early, the remaining uninvolved countries running away, then Hungary took control, directing the moving of tables which they all seemed to get pulled in to until the floor was cleared. Then the cake was brought back. It was large and white and England was highly suspicious that they’d managed to get hold of it so quickly.
Waiters moved in, obviously employed by America, and began circling with champagne and for a while England found himself distracted as country after country came over to give their congratulations. Somewhere in there a buffet was set up at one side of the room and a sound system was installed with music of America’s choice booming out of it.
It was not a party England would have chosen to attend, yet he couldn’t leave as it was being thrown in his honour, in a way.
This was just one big mistake, it had to be. There was no way this could be a legitimate marriage. He just had to find Japan and talk to him alone, but that was easier said than done. It seemed everyone in the room wanted a piece of one of them. China gave him a lecture on taking proper care of Japan, though most of his advice may well cause more harm than good. France insisted on dancing with him twice, pulling him around the floor and declaring how proud he was. None of them seemed the slightest bit interested in what he had to say.
For once he was sensible enough to avoid the alcohol. Alcohol may have gotten him into this but it certainly wasn’t going to get him out of it.
He tolerated the congratulations and the threats, veiled and obvious. He tolerated the loud music and the dancing and the celebration in general, but when he saw America bringing a karaoke machine into the room he knew he had to escape. He quickly excused himself from Greece who was asking some very odd questions and nearly sprinted for the bathroom.
He was glad to find it deserted when he got there. For the first time he was thankful of America’s extravagance as he sank down into a couch that was for some reason in a small seating area in the bathroom. It was best not to question what it was intended for or, indeed, what it had been used for. He had enough on his mind already.
He was married to Japan. Japan was his husband.
It just couldn’t be. He liked Japan well enough. The other nation was quiet, well mannered, mostly sensible...he came off as well as anyone if you looked at his pros and cons and he was, also, a nice person. He liked tea and dogs and as far as England was concerned anyone who liked tea and dogs couldn’t be too bad.
Still, England had no intention to marry. If anything he’d been drawing further away from people. It was hard, these days, to know where you stood. In the old days things were much clearer. Enemies would declare themselves by sending their fleet to destroy you; friends would send gifts and visit. He’d have no particular relationship with most countries. Then there’d been the colonies and suddenly he’d had a house full of rebellious nations and of course it had collapsed and now they had this diplomacy where you said something to some people and other things to others but with the internet everyone knew what everyone was saying all the time and it just made his head spin. Was Europe right for him? Did America really care about him or did he just pretend? Was Iraq really that against him? How was he meant to know? Much easier to withdraw and not think about it.
Only now he had a husband. Because he had tried to stop Japan’s fall. What would this mean for his people? Would they accept it? Could he accept it? He and Japan, they were so far away from each other. He just didn’t like the idea of hurting the other nation.
It would all be simpler if Japan wanted out of this relationship too, but he got the distinct impression that wasn’t what Japan wanted. Not that it was always possible to tell with Japan, he was so evasive at time.
However you looked at it, it was a rather large mess. England didn’t need a husband right now, he needed time alone to think and put his life in order. But somehow there was something about Japan. The physical attraction was undeniable, almost painfully so at points. It wouldn’t be so astonishing if it hadn’t been years since he’d really been turned on. With all his politics and the small amount of power he had as America kept growing and growing, he’d just had other things on his mind. It wasn’t like people hadn’t gotten close, but he just hadn’t responded.
He responded to Japan.
Such a mess!
The cycling of his thought was interrupted by Germany entering the bathroom. The two nations nodded to each other solemnly then tried their best to not further acknowledge each other’s presence. It was a time honoured tradition and it bolstered England a bit. He let his mind drift back to the problem, though all he could really think about was how he’d like to have Japan straddle his leg again, a small part of him trying to bring his attention to the other body parts contacted in that stumble and an even smaller part suggesting that now he was Japan’s husband he had the right to at least ask if they could get into a position like that again.
He was desperately trying to shush that part of himself when Germany came back through. The other nation paused, looked at England. Looked away. Took a few steps. Paused. Looked again. Then, with a determined air, he turned and walked over to England, sitting down on the couch opposite him.
“Allow me to express my congratulations,” he said, blushing a little.
“Thank you,” England murmured. Just what he needed, more congratulations.
“I’m sorry to intrude,” Germany continued. England couldn’t help but wish he hadn’t. “I just...I didn’t know you and Japan were so close...”
“We’re not,” England replied flatly.
“Then...why...”
“We...we fell in a compromising situation,” England mumbled, staring at the table so he wouldn’t have to meet the other nation’s eye. “Japan insisted I take responsibility, then America joined in and before I knew it we were married...”
“That sounds like Japan,” Germany said, a note of understanding in his voice. “He takes things very seriously. Still, you’re married now. I suppose you’ll just have to make the best of it.” England made a non-committal noise. He didn’t want to make the best of it, he wanted out of it.
“You know,” Germany said, softly. “Letting people in close isn’t a bad thing. I mean, there are plenty of people out there who’ll hurt you, but it can be worth it.”
England glanced up to see the deep shade of scarlet in Germany’s face which confirmed he was talking about Italy. Of course, Germany had been a loner; he still was in some ways. But Italy had done a world of good for him.
“I’m not you and Japan isn’t Italy,” he shot back without thinking about it.
“No,” Germany agreed. “But, I think we have more in common then you think. Anyway, Japan’s a serious kind of nation. He’ll be really upset if you reject him right now. I know it isn’t my place but I guess, well, what I’m asking is that you give him a chance before you turn him away.”
“When did you become an agony aunt?” England asked, staring at the joint at the corner of the coffee table between them.
“I’m not,” Germany said with a sigh. “I don’t know, maybe Italy’s just getting to me. I just wanted to help. I’m sorry, I’ll leave you to yourself.”
England listened but didn’t look as Germany rose and moved to the door. Now he really didn’t know what to do.
~*~*~*~
When England finally gathered himself enough to go back to the party it was obvious that the drink had been flowing freely while he’d been gone. There room was filled with the kind of behaviour that was, no doubt, making Hungary very glad she had a digital camera with an exceptionally large memory card. Japan, thankfully, was stood at the side of the room and England had no problem catching his eye. Japan seemed to infer his message and moved around quickly so they could slip out of the room together.
Japan looked worried, though he supposed he had been missing for a good portion of the night by this point so it was only natural, given it was meant to be a celebration of their wedding. Still, there were things he needed to be certain of.
They made the trip to his bedroom in silence and once they were there Japan went to the phone and called for tea. England took the time to remove his tie and loosen his shirt. He hadn’t felt this tense in years, it was ridiculous. Still, he had a feeling this evening wasn’t going to be pleasant. The room service arrived quickly and they sat down at the table. He wasn’t surprised to see that Japan still looked worried.
“Japan,” he said, trying to keep his voice level. “I think we need to talk.”
“It would seem so,” Japan said slowly, stirring his tea. England watched his hand move. He knew this was the hard part; it didn’t make it any easier to say.
“I need...I need to know what you want to do about our relationship,” England finally managed. He could feel the flush in his cheeks. He was really about of practice with this relationship thing. Too much isolation for far too long.
“I believe it is your decision to make,” Japan said, his frown deepening until it was almost a scowl. “I had thought that the matter was settled last night.”
“Can I be honest?” England blurted, almost cutting Japan of. Japan nodded sharply so he continued. “I...Look, if I’d been sober last night I wouldn’t have married you.”
“I understand,” Japan said, standing quickly, “The matter shall be dropped.”
“I don’t think you do understand,” England said, standing quickly and moving to block the other man, laying a hand on his shoulder. “I wouldn’t have married you, but now everything’s confused. I mean, I did marry you, that’s a fact. And I am an honourable man. I don’t want to hurt anyone, or disappoint anyone...”
The room fell silent, Japan refused to meet his eye, looking instead to where England’s hand was lying on his shoulder.
“I’ve said it all wrong and made a mess of it, again,” England muttered, sighing. “Can I start again?”
Japan nodded again, his expression more subdued now. England was sure he was working hard to hide his emotion, though if it was pain or anger he couldn’t guess. He dropped his hand from Japan’s shoulder, and then took Japan’s hand in his instead.
“Japan, I know we aren’t the closest of friends but I do care about you and respect you,” this sounded better, more like the things he’d meant to say, the things he’d reversed in his mind when sitting in the bathroom.
“Yet you do not wish to marry me?” Japan interrupted, his voice soft. England flinched.
“I...What I’m trying to say is...”
“It would be better if I left.”
“Please don’t,” England whispered, tightening his hold on Japan’s hand. “This all started because of a misunderstanding, we shouldn’t end it that way. I just...ok, maybe I’m going to sound like an idiot saying this but I don’t want a divorce. I want...I’m not sure what I want. It’s all new, I’m not even sure that I’m a nation who can open up to others any more, but the thing is, I’ve been thinking about it hard and I want to try. Maybe it won’t work, but maybe it will. I think, I think that it’s worth trying for, that you’re worth trying for.”
England trailed of, focusing his attention on Japan’s shoes. The other man’s hand was still limp in his. He felt like such an idiot, saying things like that...but it was what he was thinking.
“You wish to try with me, you do you wish it was another nation standing here with you now? America or France?”
“No,” England said sharply, forcing himself to meet Japan’s eyes. “I admit, I don’t know you as well as I know them, but I do know that you’re an honourable person. I think, I think we could have a very good marriage. If, if after the mess I’ve made of tonight you’ll still have me.”
“I believe I would like to try.” His voice was soft, England almost missed it. It still sent shivers through him though. Goodness knows, tomorrow he could be regretting this all over again, but for now...for now it was worth a chance.
“Thank you,” he said slowly, squeezing Japan’s hand. Japan nodded, and then looked up at him.
“Since you’re my husband, will you kiss me?”
England froze for a second. But...but he was giving this a chance. And surely this was a part of being someone’s husband. He nodded once, then he kissed his husband.
For a few seconds Japan responded, leaning forward to press his close lips against England’s. England moved his left hand to gently lay it on Japan’s hip, encouraging the other nation to come ever so slightly closer, parted his lips slightly...
Japan fell over backwards in his rush to get away, his face turning bright red. England stood and blinked for a second, his left hand suspended in mid air where Japan had been a second ago.
“I’m sorry,” Japan said, breathily. His face was flushed red and it really wasn’t helping England control his libido. “I...I’ve not been that intimate with anyone before and I know you’re my husband but...”
Japan continued apologising but England’s brain had short circuited. Of course, given Japan’s reaction to their falling the night before it would have been sensible to conclude that Japan didn’t have experience in these things, obvious now that he thought about it...but his libido was quite big on action instead of thought. Of course, he had to pick such an innocent country to marry.
“It’s ok,” he said, hoping the smile he’d managed to force onto his face to go with the words was genuine. “I...understand. Let’s, let’s take it slowly, ok?”
“I would appreciate that,” Japan mumbled, then he climbed uncertainly to his feet, his face still bright red. England couldn’t help but sigh, this was going to be another long night.
~*~*~*~
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I can't wait for part two!! :D