Where Thou Art, That Is Home (Hetalia Fanfic, Part 2)

Chapter 141~!

There might be a Captain America: The Winter Soldier spoiler in here... Just fair warning.

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"Wah!" I screeched when a book randomly tumbled off the bookshelf and boomed against the floor like a cannon shot.

'Wh-What was that all about?' I wondered silently, bending down to pick up the fallen tome. I brushed off the cover and my eyes widened. "This is--!"

It was that old book that Evan had taken from Kadi's house! Wow, that had been so long ago, I'd completely forgotten I had it!

"But... what made it fall?" I asked, looking at where it had been lying on the bookshelf, not filed away between other books like it should have been. Then again, it wasn't exactly my book in the first place...

'Probably should have returned this to her sooner...'

But I was opening it a second later and poring over the pages that I still couldn't make heads nor tail of. It was all written in a language I didn't know one word of, and the letters (or maybe they were more like characters?) were floating around on the paper.

I sighed heavily, my breath lingering against the pages open before me, and I was just about to close it when something really strange happened.

The letters... stopped shifting. They literally froze on the page, and then it was like someone pressed rewind. They started moving backward until they were in their proper places, and I could actually read them!

"Oh my gosh...!" I breathed, running into the master bedroom and sitting down on the edge of the bed so I could study this new occurrence in peace.

~

"Happy New Year!" the entirety of the party yelled happily when the countdown fell all the way to zero. All of our visitors from Christmas, except for France, had gone home to spend New Year's with their families within the comfort of their own borders, and now we were in our living room, watching the countdown on the television. It was a lot more comfortable than being out in the middle of the street with a million other people all around you.

And let's not forget my husband's sad "ability" to not be seen by most people, eh?

In such a huge crush like that, the night would be a disaster.

"Happy New Year!" I called out, smooching my husband's cheek strongly only to get a firm kiss on the lips. I pulled back, smiling brightly, when France threw his arms around us and kissed our cheeks as well.

"Ah! Haha!" I couldn't help but laugh.

"Happy New Year~ New Year~ New Year~" Tiana chanted giddily as she marched around.

"What are you doing up?" I asked, leveling my gaze on my daughter.

"I couldn't sleep," she admitted with a bright grin. "And it's New Year's!"

"It is. But it is way too far past your bedtime," I said, shooing her up the stairs. "Go to sleep, Tia."

"Awww..." She pouted, but did as she was told.

"Anozher year," France commented as he sank down onto the couch, a glass of wine in hand.

"2034 will be a snap," Canada added, and I ran to knock on a door frame repeatedly.

"Don't jinx it!" I laughed, "scolding" him.

Really, a small get-together for New Year's had been a great idea. After so many big parties, like the one we'd just had for Christmas, some well-contained fun was a nice change of pace. I had my own glass of wine in hand as I lounged on another couch and shut my eyes to rest them. It had been a long night...