Operation Red Herring (Countryhumans Alternate History)

Chapter 12

This had to have been one of the most awkward Christmas dinners Canada had ever had to sit through. And that was saying a lot, considering how many awkward Christmas dinners Canada was forced to attend throughout the years. Everything was beautiful- green garland hanging over the fireplace, a lush tree with an assortment of bright ornaments hanging from its branches- it was all the way it was supposed to be. And yet, as he sat at the table, poking at a bland piece of turkey with his fork, he was painfully aware of how wrong everything was. The seat next to him was empty, and the room was too quiet for his liking. Well, that wasn't true. He enjoyed quiet. It was more the reason why it was quiet that was bothering him.

And it was weird, because if you had asked him a year ago, when he had a splitting-headache at Christmas and all three of his siblings had decided to attempt to sing Jingle Bells in Russian (don't ask), if he would like a quiet Christmas dinner, he would've said yes. But he hated this. In fact, he had spent these past three days hating the absence of things that usually annoyed him to no end. He didn't have to endure his sister's less than careful flight style on the way, didn't have to mitigate any bickering between her and his father, and didn't even have to physically drag her out of bed for midnight Mass. And yet, he still found himself missing her.

He looked up from his plate, glancing at his father, who was eating with a face so neutral that it was obviously fake. Australia and New Zealand were sitting across from him, whispering to each other. They had just found out about the whole... situation a few days ago. Australia had responded with anger, and had threatened to raid America's shores himself. New Zealand had been a bit more calm about the whole situation, though was still upset. That was most likely what they were whispering about now. The two of them always thought through these sorts of things together, and he imagined that this was no different.

He honestly didn't know how to react to the situation. On one hand, his father had messed up. You shouldn't attack people, especially your kid. But on the other hand, he was upset that America hadn't thought to talk to any of the other allies before joining the f*cking Axis Powers. He was certain that if she had just confronted him about it, he could've explained that Britain had acted alone, and that the rest of her family weren't on board with it. Granted, he wasn't sure exactly what would've happened then. He knew that he wouldn't have declared war on his dad... but maybe they could've found a peaceful solution? Or at the very least, the two of them could have dealt with it together... she knew that he would have helped her deal with it... right?

Ugh, he felt another headache coming on.

"...Dad?" He waited until the older man looked at him before continuing, "May I be excused?"

Britain sighed, looking more tired than Canada had seen him in weeks, "Yes, you may." Canada nodded, quickly standing up from his half-eaten plate and heading for the door. He opened it, stepping out onto the balcony. The cold December air burned his lungs, and didn't do much to clear his head. He sighed, watching as his breath, visible from the cold, floated up towards the moon. After a few moments, he heard the door open behind him.

"Can? Ya good, Mate?" He chuckled, looking back at his brother. He was standing in the doorway, with New Zealand peeking over his shoulder.

"Hey guys. Yeah, I'm all good. Just getting some air." Canada responded. The two of them came out, standing next to him. All three of them looked out at London's decaying skyline, which was practically demolished after an extremely bad air raid a few days prior.

"I forgot how much Dad's cooking sucked." Australia blurted out, earning a surprised chuckle from New Zealand.

"Yeah, it's pretty bad." He laughed, "Did you see the gravy? It was like gelatin."