There's More (Hetalia)

4. Awkward Introductions and Small, Angry Children

"I will say," Matthew began as he led the other nations through the rooms, "it's a lot calmer right now than it normally is."

"That's because we let everyone know that there would be guest coming, and they would be in a lot of trouble if they were too rowdy." Toivo explained. "Brook, Corin, Bonaro, and a few others are distracting the territories, and all - er, not all, but most - of the pets were put into bedrooms."

Matthew chuckled. "How'd you all manage that?"

"Through the power of group chats and rumors," Anna said.

"I also left sticky notes on the coffee machines," Toivo added.

Matthew and the states, provinces, and capitals continued to chit-chat idly as they walked through the house. The nations, on the other hand, didn't say much of anything. Most of them observed the house as they walked through it.

They were walking through a hallway now. It seemed like it had been built a long time ago, but not necessarily because of it's aesthetic. The hallway was white with birch-colored wood flooring, with an unassuming runner running the length of it. The lights lighting the hallway seemed pretty modern, too. The odd painting dotted the walls, though none of the nations recognized any of them. But, as some of the nations noted, the hallway itself was kind of... short, at least for a modern home. The doors and archway along the hallway, too. It wasn't necessarily discomforting for the nations; in fact, some of them were very used to it. But for those of whom had visited Alfred in the past, it wasn't what they were expecting.

Eventually, the group turned into a larger archway, leading into a very large room. It followed the modern style of the hallway, but the ceiling was very high comparatively. There were various couches and lounge chairs around the room, most facing one way towards a large TV screen, but there were a few others sectioned off, facing corners of the room occupied by other, smaller televisions. For the most part, this room continued with a similar modern aesthetic to the hallway, but there was some odd furniture here and there that seemed to be from an older time period.

Similar to the patio, children were scattered throughout this room. The large screen was off, although there were a few individuals or pairs sitting on the furniture facing it. However, two of the three sectioned off areas were occupied, both with the respective TV on. For the most part everyone remained engrossed in whatever they had been doing, although a few children peered curiously at the nations.

"We could go sit over there, while we wait for Alfred to come back," Matthew suggested, gesturing to the unoccupied sectioned off area on the opposite side of the room.

"Are you sure?" Anna asked. "Alfred might not notice us there."

"He'll notice us," Matthew said surely. "Besides, it's better to be there, instead of in everyone's way here. If Alfred can't find us, he can always text me."

"That's fair," Anna said. A few of the nations noticed Toivo raise an eyebrow.

"I can stay here and let him know," George offered.

"Yeah that's fair. You guys don't need to stay with us if you don't want. Alfred will probably call everyone here in a little bit, but that doesn't mean you need to stay with us," Matthew said.

"Oh cool," Richard said. "I was planning on taking a nap on the couch while the chaos has died out for a bit."

"Alfred's back now, you're not in charge anymore anyways," George reminded him.

"Listen; I don't know everything about this... situation," Richard gestured to the nations, "but from what I do know, you're gonna need all the help you can get." George's face scrunched in confusion, almost as if he had taken offence from that statement.