We Shall Rise

The Day After

"Hello?" Toris answered in his native tongue, small hands holding the phone up to his right ear. "Feliks? Good morning." He greeted in Polish, moving to sit on his bed. The door to his room opened a tiny bit as Ivan shyly peeked inside.

"Yes. We're doing fine." He said before greeting his new friend with a smile. Toris gestured for him to come closer. "We've made a new friend recently." The silence on the other end made him somewhat giddy inside.

"What?! Really?!" he had to pull the phone away from his poor ears, lest he lost his hearing. "Is he cute? Shy? Would he like us...?" Ivan's brows furrowed at the loud voice. A pink blush dusted his cheeks as he heard what the speaker was saying. He cuddled closed to the slightly taller boy, trying to ignore the words.

"Feliks..." the brunette said with a sigh. "I'm, like, telling the others! We have to, like, celebrate! See you, like, really soon!" the call was abruptly ended. Toris blinked slowly as it dawned on him. He hid his face behind his palms. "Eduard! Everyone's coming over today!"

Ivan was even more confused, since his companions did not seem to mind as much as they let on.

/

Eduard and Toris were busy in the kitchen so Ivan was stuck with nothing else to do.

The sound of a knock resounded within the almost empty hallway. Taking one look at his new friends (he still couldn't believe they would want to be his friends), he decided to answer the door for them.

"Chào bạn (Hello)."

In the doorway stood a girl. Her deep green eyes looked him over before she smiled and squealed. She promptly tackled him to the ground. "Cute!" she cried out. Eduard, who heard the cry, walked out the kitchen.

"Phuong! Get off him!" he shouted, tugging on the sleeve of her red kimono. Eduard dragged the taller girl towards the kitchen, where she immediately helped prepare breakfast. Russia stood in the doorway, eyes wide with confusion, as Eduard went over to him.

The blonde sighed and closed the door, before saying, "That was South Vietnam. We call her Phuong. Don't mind her clinginess. She just likes small, cute things... Ah...! I mean... Kuh... Never mind." An awkward silence enveloped them.

Eduard seemed to take interest on the golden patterns of the wall. A light pink hue dusted his cheeks.

Another series of knocking resounded in the hallway. Ivan went to answer, but his blonde friend was fast! Eduard held the door open for the newcomer. "Feliks... Would it surprise you if I said you're not the first to arrive?" green eyes looked shocked as the newcomer stood frozen in place.

"*sigh* You'll ruin the red of your coat if you stay in the snow for long." True to his words, snow had begun piling on the newcomer's blonde hair and red coat. Eduard's words seemed effective in gaining the boy's attention.

"Where's your new friend?" he asked, head tilted to the right. Eduard gestured towards Ivan who stood behind him, clutching onto his pale yellow shirt, seemingly hiding. "Ivan-kun, this is Poland." He said, meeting eyes with Ivan. At the timid nod, he looked at their new guest.

"Poland-"

"He's not calling me that! My name's Feliks!"

"*sigh* Feliks," he gestured to the boy hiding behind him, "Ivan-kun. He's shy." Feliks came closer, closing the door behind him. He silently studied the new addition to their group for a few minutes. "Isn't he Rosja (Russia)?" Eduard nodded. "Pretty!" Feliks declared and promptly jumped on Ivan.

"I can't wait to get to know you!" he exclaimed before dashing off to the kitchen. "Phuong! How dare you, like, come before me?!" "We visit each other all the time, remember? I was on my way already when you called to tell me."

"*sigh* White really should not be worn in the kitchen..." Toris slowly walked into the hall, a smudge of tomato sauce was visible on his shirt. "I'll just go change!" he told them as he began to climb the stairs.

The front door opened rather loudly.

"The great Preußen (Prussia) has arrived!"

"Good grief... Sorry about that..."

Russia slowly blinked his eyes as two boys stood by the door. A bird sat atop the white hair of the one who'd shouted. His right foot was raised, and his red eyes scanned the room.

The other boy sighed as he shook his head. His left hand combed through blonde hair, blue eyes looking at them apologetically. "He couldn't wait for an answer..." the blonde's blue eyes looked at them in apology. "*sigh* It's fine. It's just Gilbert..." mumbled Eduard as he tried to push Ivan in front of his two friends.

"The loud one's Prussia, also known as Gilbert. The blonde's Germany or... Ludwig, stop giving me that look. You can't always be there to apologize for him, and you know it." the blonde haired boy standing outside gave a huff.

"Can we get in now? All this snow can't possibly be good formon manteau(my coat)!"

Another boy shouted from behind the pair, snow was piling on his wavy blonde hair as well as his blue coat. His blue eyes were looking inside the house with a bit of longing. "Honestly, aren't either of you even the least bit cold!?"

"That's France. He would likely pester you until you call him Francis, so I suggest you do just that."

Ivan could only nod at Eduard, watching the children all but sprint the table where hot chocolate and tea were situated.

/

Ten minutes into breakfast, the sound of the door opening seemingly echoed in the comfortable silence.

Three children walked into the dining room. "Good morning~" Greeted the child in the middle of the small group. His brown eyes looked to his right, almost urging his look alike to greet them. "Good morning..." was the mumbled reply. "Buenos días (Good morning)!" the third child greeted, his green eyes shining with excitement.

"Brother~ We can eat now~" the child at the middle pulled his look alike over to the table. "Gah! I'm not hungry!" the one in question protested. "Haha~ Lovi~ You didn't want to leave the food, though~" the green eyed boy teased. "Shut up! You are annoying!" was the only reply. "Guys~ Stop fighting~" the child in the middle chastised, hazel eyes looking down on the arguing children.

"Sorry..."