"What happened yesterday, daddy?" You asked Romano and rubbed the sleep out of your eyes.

"You fell asleep, bella." Romano giggled.

"Oh no..." You were distraught that you hadn't stayed awake for your first world meeting.

"Don't be sad, you didn't miss much..." He refused to meet your gaze.

"Are you okay, daddy?"

"S-si!"

"Okay... Can I ask you a question?"

"Hm? What is it?"

"Well remember yesterday, with Ms. Hungary?" You recalled.

"Si, what about it?" He was confused about where you were going with this question.

"Well she called Uncle Veneziano, "Uncle Italy."

"... So...?" Romano muttered angrily at the mention of his brother.

"Well, you said you were both Italy..."

When he finally looked you in the eye you noticed something different then his usual soft gaze. It almost seemed like hate.

"Because everyone prefers my freaking fratello over me!" He snapped, "Just because he's the better artist, and better cook... Even Grandpa Rome liked him better than me!" He punched the wall to express his frustration.

"D-Daddy!?" You spoke out to him, concerned about his behavior.

He exhaled sharply and once again refused to meet your gaze, "I'm fine, just... Just go downstairs..."

You nodded and skipped through the halls and down the stairs into the living room.

"Oh, ciao, bella!" You turned to face your uncle, who looked wide awake, "Are you-a hungry? I was going to make pasta for breakfast!"

Veneziano's cheery attitude was infectious, making you feel slightly better. Still, you couldn't help but worry about your father. The usually oblivious Italian seemed to notice this.

"Ve? Are-a you okay, _____?"

"Daddy's mad..." You said, suddenly taking interest in the floor.

"It's okay, bella!" He comforted, "He get's mad all the time!"

"But he never gets mad at me..."

"Don't worry..." He picked you up and hugged you, "He'll be fine in a few minutes! For now let's-a go make pasta!"

-_-_-_-_

"-It's not like I want to start a war or anything! But she was my territory first! Honestly, think of all the resources that she could have! I bet those Italians are after it as well..." The Brit ranted.

"That's why you're worried!? Blimey, you're a bigger jerk than I thought!" Sealand yelled.

England glared at the young sailor, "If you were a country you would understand."

"I am a country!"

"No you're not! You're just a useless hunk of metal sitting in the ocean!"

That pushed the micro-nation over the edge as tears started to peek from the corners of his eyes, "I am to a country! And I'm more than a hunk of metal!" He yelled and ran away.

"Maybe that was a little harsh..." England sighed, "But he needs to learn how the world works. Now back to ______..."

-_-_-_-_

It turns out your Uncle was right. A short while later, your papa came down the stairs with a guilty look on his face and walked over to you.

"Sorry, about that, bella... I'm not mad at you, I was just annoyed about-a something..." He wiped some excess pasta sauce from around your face.

"Are you gonna be okay?" You asked concerned.

"Si. Oi, how about we-a go out for gelato later?"

"Si!" Both your Uncle and yourself shouted excitedly.

"Not you idiota!" Romano glared at Veneziano.

"Please~?" He whined.

Romano paused for a moment before sighing in defeat, "Fine, but you're paying!"

"Yay!"

-_-_-_-_

"They should-a make pasta gelato!" Veneziano exclaimed as he hungrily licked his frozen treat.

"That's fucking disgusting..." Romano stated flatly.

You just giggled at the two brothers and continued to happily lapped up the sweet <flavor>-flavored gelato. They were both strange in different ways, but that's what you love about them. That's what makes them your family.

Your eyes darted around the park scenery to observe the beautiful surroundings. The sun was shining, warming up the area, but not so much that it was unbearable. Along with the natural greenery and sounds of children playing, it only enhanced natures beauty.

"_______!" Someone from behind you whined with a British accent.

The three of you turned around to find a blonde boy with bushy eyebrows and wearing a sailor suit running towards you.

"Sealand!" You cried with glee. It'd been a while since you seen him.

He picked you up and began rubbing his cheek against your's affectionately. You still managed not to drop your gelato however!

"Who the hell are you?" Romano glared at the blonde, feeling protective of you, especially when it was obvious the boy was British.

"I'm Sealand!" He stated proudly.

"Never heard of you. Why haven't I-a seen you at any world meetings, eh?"

"W-well, I'm not accepted as a country yet! I blame England for being a git!"

"Whatever kid. Now how the hell do you know mia bambina!?" Yes, Romano's parental side was showing all right...

"We used to play together over at Jerk-England's house!" He smiled, "I'm practically her big brother!"

"Ve, that's happy!" Veneziano grinned.

"Daddy, can we keep him?" You asked.

"Wha-? No!"

-_-_-_-_

You and Sealand were sitting under the shade of a large tree talking, while your papa watched you two intently from a bench.

"What are you doing here, Sealand?" You asked as you ate the last bite of your gelato.

"England was being a jerk, as usual, so I got annoyed and decided to look for you! He said something about you being with the Italians and, well, here I am!" He stated happily, "I think I'm going to stay here for a few days!"

"Really? That's great! We can play again!" You jumped up and flailed your arms for emphasis.

"Ve~ You can stay with us if-a you want!" Veneziano offered, appearing out of seemingly nowhere.

"Damn it, fratello!" Romano yelled.

-_-_-_-_

"You can sleep in my room! I never sleep in there since papa let's me sleep with him!" You led Sealand in the living room, but he wasn't paying that much attention to you because he was busy observing the Italian-style mansion.

"Wow, this place is amazing!" He awed as he took in his surroundings.

"Grazie..." Romano muttered.

"C'mon! Let's go play with my toys!" You whined, tugging on Sealand's arm.

"Alright!" He gleamed and allowed you to drag him to your room.

"He seems nice, eh Fratello?" Veneziano asked his brother as he watch the two of you fumble up the stairs.

"I still don't trust him if-a he's associated with that British bastardo." He glared back.

"Why not? _____ trusts him. They're friends."

"Because, I don't want mia bella ____ to get hurt!" Romano snapped, making the younger of the twins cringe.

"You-a heard them. They're like brother and sister! Besides, we're here to-a protect her!"

"Yeah, I-a guess..." He muttered, flipping through the pile of mail until he came upon a letter that said "To the countries of ______ and Italy, from The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland" in bright red letters on the front of it.

"Shit..." Romano cursed and felt a chill run through his spine.

"What's wrong, fratello?" Veneziano peeked over his brother's shoulder to see what had spooked him.

"I-it's from England..."

"It l-looks pretty important... Maybe w-we should open it..."

"No shit!" Romano ripped the envelope to pieces to reveal the short, but highly important message.

"Dear Italy,

I didn't want it to come to this, but you've left me no choice. I will give you one more chance to surrender _____ to me, or I will be force to start a war over the newly found nation. Answer quickly and carefully.

-England"

The two of them stayed silent for a moment and let the meaning of the letter sink in. Moments later, matching, high-pitched screams rang through the halls of the large house.

"Oh my god, what are we gonna do!?" Veneziano yelled, panicked as he ran through the room flailing his arms.

"I don't fucking know! Call Spain, Austria, even the potato bastards for all I care! Just get some fucking help!" Romano screamed equally, if not more, panicked.

"Daddy, what's wrong?" You peeked your head around the corner of the hallway to see what the commotion was.

"Nothing." The brothers said at the same time and tried to hide their panic from you.

You looked skeptically at them for a minute before nodding your head and returning to your room to play with Sealand. Once Romano and Veneziano were sure you were gone, they dived on the couch, each grabbed a pillow, hid their faces in them, and screamed at the top of their lungs.