#wpr snippets

[whitepeachrum]

Nighttime Scaries

Fandom: Hetalia (personified) Pairing: Alfred x Nat (BelaAme/AmeBela) Content Length: Short (~700 words)

“N-Nat?” Alfred asks, swallowing a lump in his throat as he shifts his eyes from the dim corridor.

“What?” She asks as she walks up to him, putting lotion on her hands.

“Dude, I think there's a little girl in the hallway.”

“Sure,” Natalia rolls her eyes at his absurdity and continues with her nighttime routine.

“I swear!! Didn't you hear her giggling!? It's just like from the scary movies!! It's so freaky, oh my god!!” Alfred hides his face behind the blanket, hoping it'll protect him from the ghost.

“Hey, you're on my side,” Natalia pouts, displeased that his who-knows-where-they’ve-been clothes were touching her freshly washed sheets. She yanks the blanket from him.

“AHH!! NAT!! Give that back. I'm so scared, holy shit. She's like right there. What if she possesses me?!”

Nat angrily turns around to look at the corridor to inspect it's presumed inhabitants and finds it void of anything or anyone.

“You should really stop watching those movies, Al. They're just messing with your brain. You need to- Hey! Let me go!”

Alfred had wrapped his arms around her legs and looked at her pleadingly.

“Naaaat,” he whines.

“You're being a baby again. Why can't you just be a man,” she says with a fist on her hip, looking down at his pathetic whimpering.

“I saw it, Nat. She had like these bloody eyes and a little stuffed toy and it was FREAKYYY.”

“Well, what do you want me to do about it?”

“Something!! Perform an exorcism! Send her back to hell! Kill her, oh my god, I don't know!!! She's too scary for me, man.”

“I can't do any of that. I can't even see her!”

Alfred shrieks suddenly and makes a bolt for the bathroom, hiding behind the door and peeking over to see if she's still there.

“What now?” Natalia turns sharply to see what the hell he did that for and he points with a shaky finger beside Natalia.

"S-She's..."

Natalia looks around and even walks around, showing the scaredy cat that there's nothing there.

“Al. There. Is. No. Ghost. Now, would you stop being like that and get ready for bed already? My god, when will we ever have a normal night?” She gets under the covers on the clean side of the bed and fluffs her pillows as she relaxes.

“Nat?” Alfred’s voice cracks. “S-She disappeared..”

“Good.”

Feeling something cold beside him, Alfred's body fills with dread. He slowly turns and sees the phantom’s curls from the corner of his eye and immediately makes a run for it, slamming into the door before opening it again, and running out of the room completely.

“Al!”

“NOPE! Screw this!! I’m not staying here, Nat!! I’m sleeping in the truck!!”

Natalia sighs, shakes her head, and gets out from under covers to investigate what scared him. She puts on her slippers and walks over to the bathroom, hearing Alfred slam the front door on his way out.

Confirming that he was gone, Natalia squats down to the little ghost girl to meet at her eye level.

“You did a good job scaring him,” Natalia says.

“My first haunt!!” The little ghoul giggles, hugging her torn bunny.

“It was really good for a first time.” Nat holds up her hand for the girl to high-five her back. She happily returns the gesture.

“Can I do it again?”

Natalia tilts her head in thought, then smiles a bit. “Sure, why not?”

With another giggle, the girl disappeared momentarily. Nat returned to the bed with a chuckle on her breath and an estimate of 10 seconds before Alfred would discover his passenger princess.

A series of shrill and desperate screams coming nine seconds later confirmed it for her that the second haunting was undoubtedly a success.

Finally, she could enjoy a peaceful night, knowing Alfred was not going to be anywhere near her tonight.

[whitepeachrum]

For Me? For You

Fandom: Hetalia (personified) Pairing: Ivan x Kiku (RusPan/PanRus) Content Length: Short (~800 words)

It was the middle of the night when a loud set of knocks jolted Kiku from his sleep. What time was it..? He looked around in a daze, slowly computing that he had fallen asleep in his bed while reading one of his history textbooks for a class.

Kiku quickly got up and walked over to the door. He slowly peeked around the edge of it, making sure that the sudden change in brightness didn't give him a migraine.

“Yes?” Kiku asked, curious as to which floor resident needed him at this hour.

One of the taller residents, who often kept to himself, was standing before him. Kiku adjusted his large spectacles, trying to get a better look. What was his name again? Bra- Bruh-

“Ivan! Yes, Ivan. Is everything alright?”

“I apologize for bothering you at this hour,” Ivan smiled. He just stood there and smiled.

“How… can I help you?”

Ivan gestured for Kiku to open his door a bit more. Kiku obliged in confusion, but did not open it far enough to wake up his sleeping roommate. Not that anything could wake him up, really…

“This is for you,” Ivan picked up a bag he had earlier placed by the door and handed it to Kiku. It looked like there was a box inside.

“Eh? For me?”

“Yes.”

“What is it?” Kiku gingerly accepted the gift and looked inside the bag, making sure that there was nothing illegal inside. Many people have previously offered bribes in exchange for special treatment, but it never worked out in their favor.

“I heard you are a fan of cheesecake.”

Kiku blinked. Cheesecake? He loved cheesecake! Especially the ones with-

“Blueberries. I love the ones with blueberries.” Kiku admired the contents of the box with a glimmer in his eyes and a sudden appetite for a sweet treat. It would go splendidly with some tea, which would be perfect for a chilly night like tonight.

“Good, I am glad. Then you should definitely like this one,” Ivan continued to smile, happy that his secret little birdie did not lead him astray to strawberry cheesecake. Strawberry seemed a bit too cliche for a unique man like Kiku.

“Wow,” Kiku was entranced by the special gift. In fact, he was pleasantly surprised to have received something that wasn't illicit.

“It’s all for you.”

“Thank you. I….” Kiku blinked, “I didn't expect this at all. It almost seems too good to be true.”

“Please enjoy it. It's my treat.”

“Did… you want something in return..?”

“No, no. I don't need anything. Your happiness is more than enough,” Ivan turned to leave.

“Ah, wait. Ivan?”

“Hm?” Ivan stopped and looked around the corner at Kiku.

“Where did you find this?”

“Oh. I made it myself,” Ivan smiled one last time and disappeared into the stairwell.

He made it… himself?

Kiku closed the door behind him and brought his gift over to his desk. He carefully and quietly took the box out from the paper bag and set it down. It was so neatly packaged: a simple white box with no decorations other than a golden bow that wrapped around it and a folded business card.

He slid the card from under the ribbon and read it's contents.

“Happy Birthday, Kiku. - From, Ivan”

Kiku felt his heart skip a beat as he re-read the contents again. A simple note and yet it brought out the warmest feelings from within. How thoughtful was it of Ivan to even care enough to do all this?

Especially since he and Ivan haven't spoken much except the occasional “hello”s in the hallway. In fact, this was probably the most they’d ever spoken with one another.

But Kiku found it wasn't enough. He wanted to ask Ivan more questions like “how did he know that it was Kiku’s birthday” or rather “why he did any of this for him”. And it seemed like the further Ivan walked away, the more his desire to connect with him grew.

He noticed the phone number listed on the card and gave it a call, walking over to the window to see if he had gone far.

Ivan pulled his hand out of his pocket and answered the call.

“This is Ivan speaking. How can I help you?”

“Thank you again…”

Ivan stopped in his tracks as he recognized the voice. He turned around to look at Kiku’s window and found him staring back. Ivan's smile grew wider as he laid eyes on Kiku’s creepy-looking silhouette in the dead of the night. It looked hilariously eerie, but it was heartwarming to know he was there looking back at him.

“You’re welcome.” Ivan chuckled, his breath forming a cloud in the cold, dark night.

“Let’s enjoy the cake together when you come back. I’ll make some warm tea for us.”

“Sounds like a birthday party to me.”

[whitepeachrum]

11:11

Fandom: Hetalia (personified) Pairing: Ivan x Kiku (RusPan/PanRus) Content Length: Short (~1300 words)

“Have you ever played the Pocky game?” Kiku asks.

“I have not. What is a ‘Pocky’?” Ivan responds, curious about a new game. Kiku shows him the box and Ivan is confused as he reads ‘Rosku’ on the packaging. Ah, it’s in English lettering.

“It is a biscuit with usually a chocolate coating, but it comes in many flavors. It is like a Kit-Kat, but slimmer.”

“Ah, so it's a sweet treat. I don't really like sweets.”

“It’s not that overwhelming. Here, try one.”

Ivan takes a biscuit and bites into it. He shrugs as he analyzes it's flavor, deeming it ‘alright.’

“So how do you play a game with it? Do you try to see how many fit in your mouth at a time?” Ivan asks, still interested in the game suggestion.

“No. This game is not about quantity. It is about speed.”

“Speed?”

“Yes. For Pocky game, you have one stick for two people. You hold onto it on each end with your mouth and then you munch, munch, munch until there is no more Pocky.”

“You said this was about speed.”

“Yes. Usually the fastest person wins.”

“Can’t I win if I just took one big bite?”

“No big bites!” Kiku quickly shook his hand. “Only small bites. Big bites are dangerous. They can be a choking hazard.”

“Ahh. I see. No big bites then.”

“I will show you how to do it. Hold it with your teeth and I will play first.”

Ivan does as he's told and bites the uncoated end of his unfinished pocky stick to hold out for Kiku to bite. His eyes follow Kiku closely as he watches him slowly get closer to him until he almost kisses him and pulls the snack from his teeth.

“Just like that, but with two people.”

“Oh, that is an exciting game. Can I try it on you too?”

“Oh,” Kiku blinks, “Yes. Yes, you can.”

“Alright, be still. I want to focus.”

Ivan puts both hands on Kiku’s neck to stabilize his head. Kiku’s face, in return, begins to warm up. He didn't expect Ivan to put his hands on his neck, he just expected him to bite.

And he did, but he went so slowly that it made Kiku’s heart race with every bite he took and chewed on. Did he have to go so slow? Going faster would make his mind wander less about what Ivan’s intentions were. But perhaps it was a good thing that he was going slow if he was just learning. The tension was eating him alive.

The worst part of it all was that Ivan was staring right at him. Not blinking at all. And his face just kept getting closer and closer and closer…

“Ah…” Kiku squeaked quietly, his face completely flushed by the time Ivan was one bite away from their lips brushing against one another.

Ivan grabbed the last part with his teeth, being careful to not accidentally kiss his friend, and pulled it out successfully. He chewed on the piece and pulled himself away from Kiku, who was completely stunned by his behavior. Ivan smiled, thinking he nailed it.

“Was that good?” Ivan asked innocently as he wiped his mouth of any possible residue.

“That…” Kiku blinked as he attempted to register some of his words.

His smile faded as he noticed Kiku just staring intensely at him. He must’ve gotten the rules wrong. “Mm. I guess not. Maybe I should practice once more. I think I took this one a bit slowly.”

Kiku nods and Ivan puts another sweet treat between Kiku’s lips.

Ivan repeats his process, this time with a bit more speed, managing to get Kiku looking as bright as a beet. This was somehow worse than him going slow. What kind of man stares down the other one during a Pocky game like that?! It was diabolically unnerving.

“That last one was close. I almost ate you instead.“ Ivan chuckles mildly at the situation.

“Almost… yes…” Kiku stammered, struggling to say anything after that.

“Alright, I think I’m getting the hang of it. Let’s begin the game.” Ivan holds the Pocky between his teeth and Kiku looks down at the treat picturing getting to the end of it as quickly as he possibly could.

“No hands this time.”

“No hands? What?”

“Using your hands is cheating.”

“Oh, I did not know that. You did not tell me that before. Maybe I should do another practice round without hands, then…?”

“No. No more practicing. It's time for the game.”

“Really? I can't practice again?”

“Just be confident. You are doing good already.”

“I don't want to be just good. I want to be the best.”

“…I-I'm going to start the countdown!” Kiku stood his ground.

“Fine, go ahead.” Ivan grinned cheekily.

Kiku wins the first round on speed alone. Ivan wasn’t quick enough to finish all the Pocky, so when it was gone after a second or so, Ivan looked stunned by his speed.

“So THAT’S how it works. I see.” Ivan nods, feeling more confident about his tactics. “This is a fun game.”

“It can be fun, yes.”

“Alright, next round.” Ivan warmed up his hands with excitement.

Being too hasty during the second round, the duo manages to break the stick before they get a chance to actually play. Kiku took this as a sign that his friend was quite competitive, which made the game all the more fun of course, but it made him all the more anxious. Watching Ivan’s passion and joy at playing a new game, made his heart swell even more. Maybe even too much.

Feeling like he can't handle his heart beating this fast, Kiku voices that he doesn't want to play the game anymore, putting a hand over his chest to try to ease the tension.

“Come on, Kiku. You can’t just win a round and say you want to stop playing. Let’s do one more round. It can be the last one.”

Ivan didn't even like the snack. Why was he so adamant about playing this game? Kiku hesitates, but reluctantly accepts to do one last round. He sets up the biscuit between his lips and closes his eyes tightly.

“Do you want me to count down?”

Kiku nodded.

“Alright. Three…” Ivan placed one hand on his face. Causing Kiku to shut his eyes even tighter. He was cheating! But it was the last round so Kiku thought to led it slide. It's not like he had enough willpower to tell him anything anyways.

“Two…” he placed the other hand on the other side of his face.

Oh come on, Kiku thought, just finish this game already.

“One…” Ivan removes the Pocky from their lips and when Kiku notices it drops, he opens his eyes to see Ivan lean in and kiss him tenderly with his own eyes closed.

Kiku should’ve expected this, since he did offer to play the risky game, but he had been completely thrown off-guard by him. He thought Ivan wouldn’t understand what he was going for, or worse, that he wouldn’t want to reciprocate his feelings back. But there he was kissing him without anything in the way. How long has he been holding this from him? What if he playing dumb this whole time? And why was he kissing him like that?! It made Kiku mad!

Kiku pushes Ivan off of him and covers his mouth, completely flustered by the whole ordeal, not expecting to have been kissed so sweetly. Ivan smiles at him and eats the last stick they had between them until it is completely gone.

“I win,” he says confidently, despite knowing well that he cheated his way into getting his sweet victory.

[whitepeachrum]

Color Vision

Fandom: Hetalia (personified) Pairing: Arthur x Kat (EngUkr/UkrEng) Featuring: Alfred Content Length: Solo Chapter (~2700 words)

“This is like the best Christmas, y’all.” Alfred smiled, bundled up in a knit blanket that Kat and Arthur had made together for him. He sat by the Christmas tree with the lovebirds on the other side of him, happily leaning on one another. It was the first year that all three of them were able to celebrate together and the hosts were excruciatingly content with how everything had turned out.

“I might just have to agree with him,” Kat said to Arthur, kissing him and adjusting the pompom on his festive hat as it interfered with their moment.

“What? You didn’t like last year’s Christmas? When I nearly burnt the house down?” Arthur raised an eyebrow.

“Oh, I loved that one too,” Kat chuckled politely and shook her head, recalling the night when her husband’s attempt at making a fruitcake turned into a soot-filled extravaganza with firefighters galore. “But I think this one is even better. I’d say it’s a lot more colorful.”

“Quite. It almost looks like we’re living in an animation this year.” Arthur chuckled a bit.

“Artie!! Remember watching Christmas movies before bed when we were little? Can we do that today too??” Alfred asked, his eyes sparkling from all the illuminated lights reflecting off his glasses and the genuine excitement of possibly reliving his childhood memories with his brother and sister-in-law.

“I don’t see why not. It would be a great way to end the evening. What do you think, love?”

“I think…” Kat playfully and dramatically thinks about it. “I think it’s a wonderful idea.”

“YES! Can I pick the movie??? WAIT! Can we watch Die Hard?! Oh my god, I love that movie!” Alfred excitedly shimmies in his seat.

“Die Hard is not a Christma-” Arthur frowns as Kat covers his mouth, stopping him from ruining yet another great year.

“We can, but before we do that, I think there’s one last gift you haven’t opened yet, sweetie,” Kat interjects.

“There is?” Alfred blinks, surprised that there’s more.

“Mhm. It's right there.”

“Where??” Alfred looks under the tree and doesn't seem to find anything.

“Here, let me show you.” Kat tries to get up, but Arthur beats her to it.

“I got it, love. You stay put.” Arthur walks over to a box placed in the center of the tree and picks it up to hand to Alfred. The younger of the two looks at the box in wonder. Not only did it magically seem to appear out of nowhere, but it happened to be wrapped with dozens of little ribbons and bows. It blended seamlessly with the tree’s shadows and textures, yet it was so outlandishly decorated that it was nearly impossible to miss.

“Duuude! This looks so cool! How many bows did you put on this??” Alfred looks to Kat, who shakes her head, suggesting she didn’t decorate this gift. Alfred’s eyes curiously shifted to his brother who innocently shrugged, implying that it wasn’t him either. Then who did? Maybe it was Santa?

“Let’s just say we used everything we had,” Kat adds.

“Why don’t you open it,” Arthur suggests.

“And ruin all your hard work?” Alfred turns the box over and counts all the tiny bows. “It’s like the Fourth of July on this box.”

“Just open the damn box already.”

Alfred eagerly opens the packaging and discovers a box with a pair of sunglasses inside.

“Woahhh,” Alfred examines it with a detailed eye, admiring how expensive they looked. “These look so cool. You guys, this must’ve cost like a million bucks…”

“You should try them on. I bet they’ll look cool on you,” Kat grins, excited for him to try it on.

“Oh! Yeah, totally. You guys got a mirror nearby?”

Arthur points to the mirror in the hallway, where Alfred goes to try on his new glasses. He places his regular ones on the collar of his ugly sweater and his new ones on his face.

“Oh YEAH! These look awesom-”

Hold up. Something is wrong.

Alfred suddenly feels a chill all around him. It felt like something had crept up on him and suddenly surrounded him. It was unsettling, it was foreign, it was something bizarre and… amazing. He was wearing sunglasses, but somehow everything seemed brighter than he had been used to. What were these things he was looking at? Was he finally seeing… colors?

“Woah.. Is that what I look like?” The blond spoke quietly to himself as he tried to process what he was looking at. The grays that once varied in shades were now presented as entirely different hues and tones. He blinked a few times, trying to register his blond hair as blond, his blue eyes as blue, and his ugly sweater as anything other than ugly. People had used these words to describe him his whole life and now that he saw it for himself, he finally understood what they had meant. Alfred’s heart raced with excitement. It’s definitely not what he’d been used to seeing for the last twenty-something years. 

He looked past himself in the reflection and sharply turned around, looking at everything else with brand-new eyes.

“WOAH!” Alfred blinks, his smile widening as various simple objects thrill and confuse him.

His ugly sweater was leaking everywhere!! The colors of reindeer noses were all over the room in the shapes of wreaths and Santa hats. The blues of his baby blues had been shining through hot cocoa mugs and books that he had never been able to see the titles of before. Paintings on the walls and streamers decorated the walls in a more diluted shade than the reindeer noses. He had been certain that those light gray colors were just light gray, but everyone had convinced him were “pink”. What colors were even on those walls?! Oh wow!! Look at the lights!! How are the lightbulbs in the overhead lamps different shades of bright white!?

His eyes darted to the tinsel that shimmered in various golds and silvers. Then to the messy pile of unwrapped gifts that had overflowed with combinations of patterns and contrasting colors. To the warm, crackling fireplace glowing a gentle amber the whole night. To the tree that he knew was green based on the pine smell and sappy feel alone, but had never seen before.

Alfred gawked at the sight as Arthur cleaned up the wrapping paper. He scanned his surroundings with blurred vision and a lump in his throat. All the shades of whites, blacks, and grays had finally revealed their true colors. And it was all so overwhelming. But he loved every single bit of it. What was red? What was blue? Things he had barely known to be green and purple were suddenly there and completely different from how he had imagined them. Honestly, he didn’t even know which color was which. And he didn’t care! They were so beautifully bright and fresh.

He places his hands on his head as the processing part starts to short-circuit his brain. It was nothing short of amazing, but boy was it a lot to handle.

“How are the glasses? Do they fit well?” Arthur asks him with a raised eyebrow and a gentle grin, admiring his brother’s wholesome reaction to the things around the house. 

“Yeah. Holy...” Alfred responded absent-mindedly, his mind still working hard at processing and re-wiring his neural networks. ”DUDE! LOOK AT THE TREE!” 

He starts jumping excitedly unable to contain his joy as he notices the colorful string lights. How did they change colors like that?! His vision might’ve been a bit blurry with the new prescription, but the alternating colors were exceptionally hard to miss. Normally, Kat and Arthur wouldn’t decorate their tree in this many colors, but this year they decided to go all out. Just for a moment like this.

“What is that??” Alfred pointed to something on the tree.

“Mm. What are you looking at?” Arthur walked over to help him out a bit and casually crossed his arms.

“That! What is THAT?!” Alfred pointed to a disco ball tree ornament that had been reflecting and sparkling with all different colors at once.

“This one?”

“Yeah, yeah.” 

“It’s just a disco ball.”

“Not the ornament, but that sparkly thing coming from from it.” Alfred leaned in to get a more detailed look at the beauty of something this shiny. Arthur gingerly took hold of the ornament and gave it a twirl. Alfred gasped as if all the air was sucked out of him. He became infatuated by the changing colors and couldn’t bear to look away.

“Ah. you meant the beams of colors.” Alfred nodded once, his eyes glued to all the surfaces where he saw rainbows. ”See, the ornament is refracting the light. So, you’re probably seeing all those colors transition quickly when I spin it. Practically a rainbow sprinkler. Isn’t it fascinating?” Arthur lectured.

“Do it again!” And so he did. Arthur watched Alfred’s childlike wonder shine through. He smiled fondly, remembering his reactions to Christmas presents when they were younger. The younger brother used to gasp the same way when he would get the same toy Arthur did. Now that they’ve gotten older and reunited after years of living their own lives, they could share so much more than just the same toy.

“Wow…” Alfred alternated his daily glasses with his special glasses to compare how he saw the colors. “This is so freaking cool.” Arthur looked over to Kat with raised eyebrows, asking ‘if she thought Alfred would like their gift’. She gave him a sniffle and an excited two thumbs up. Arthur chuckled and unexpectedly got tackled down by the brute. They both landed with an oof and then Alfred started laughing boisterously. He hugged his brother as tightly as possible, hoping he would feel how incredibly happy he was. Arthur rapidly tapped his shoulder to get out of his grip as the air was genuinely being crushed out of him.

“Al… can’t… breathe”

“Sorry, Artie. I just can’t help myself.” 

Alfred pulled back and then went to give Kat a more gentle hug. He had to be careful not to pop his niece out with all his strength.

“Enjoy it, sweetheart. Just be careful with them, alright?”

“I will guard these with my life. Scout’s honor.”

“And Arthur too. I need him in one piece.���

Arthur got up and straightened out his ugly Christmas sweater before patting his brother on the back, extra harshly on the last smack, making sure his brother felt a bit of the pain he had passed onto him.

“Oww,” Alfred whined. He deserved that. “Man, you guys just… I can’t thank you enough. This is so freaking cool..”

Kat smiled, feeling extremely glad that they decided to splurge on one expensive gift before the baby came and drained them of any spendable funds.

Oh! As Kat thought about spending money on gifts, recalled that she had bought something for the occasion. Initially, it was going to be a gift for their little girl, but Kat thought it'd be a more fitting gift for Alfred now. She looked around her on the sofa and rummaged through her small pile of wrapping paper. 

“Oh, where did it go?” Kat lightly panicked.

“What are you looking for?” Arthur asked, putting a hand on her shoulder to keep her grounded.

“The book. The little book. You know, the one with the, um... Oh, what are they called? The- Ah, I got it!” She rediscovered the baby book she had gotten earlier in the month and flipped through it for a few seconds, confirming that it would be perfect. “I want you to have this as well.” Kat handed the gift to Alfred.

“Me? Why? Wouldn’t it be better for the baby? I can actually read, despite what Arthur might think.”

“The baby can’t read for another year or so, but you can. And when you’re done reading it to yourself and familiarizing yourself with the colors, maybe you can read to her someday and show her all the different things that are blue, yellow, or pink.”

“Kat!!” Alfred pouted at her cute and touching gesture. “This is like the best companion gift for these glasses. I’m gonna read the hell out of this book. And then I’m gonna read the hell out of this book to my niece.”

“Be careful though. I think some of those colors might blow your mind.”

“What? Which ones?” 

“Orange, for example.”

“Orange? What’s up with orange??”

“You’ll see it in the book. And then you’ll see it everywhere you go.”

Alfred opened the baby-proof book and found different circles on each page with a one-word description of each of its colors. He stared at the colors and pulled the book closer as he discovered the overlapping circles. After staring at it for a couple of seconds, he pulled it closer realizing what she meant about orange.

“WHAT?!” He flipped to the second page to find out more. Kat and Arthur chuckled at his reaction. “How does that even work?? Man, now you guys gotta re-teach me everything. Wow..”

Alfred looks up to share his enthusiasm with the hosts and smiles to himself as Arthur and Kat share a quiet, loving moment. It was just like a scene from a movie. While they assumed Alfred was taking his time reading the book, Arthur softly praises Kat on her completely, brilliant success of a Christmas and sneaks in a kiss on her temple. She smiles right back at him. Of course, it was a brilliant success! With all that bedrest she’d been on, all she could do was plan the party to make it perfect no matter what, down to the last piece of confetti. As long as everyone showed up and had fun, she knew her hard work would’ve paid off tenfold. She rests her head on her partner’s shoulder, intertwining her fingers with Arthur’s and enjoying the warm inner glow of their happy family.

Alfred may have been colorblind, but he didn’t need any fancy or rundown glasses to see how much color his family had brought into his life. Had it not been for them, he probably would've been having takeout and watching the Christmas parade on his phone. In boring ol' grayscale. 

“Oh hey!” Alfred perked up, grabbing Arthur and Kat’s attention and smiling hugely at them. “I finally understand what they say about Christmas gifts! Family is, like, the best gift on Christmas, isn’t it? Everyone gets to spend time together and just be happy. That’s so nice..” 

Arthur and Kat’s smiles fade into looks of astonishment and they glance at one another, surprised that Alfred came to such a profound realization, especially after reading such an insightful book. He was certainly not the little kid they thought he was. They didn’t expect it from him, but they were incredibly touched hearing his remark. More so, it gave them peace knowing that they were bringing their daughter into a such a loving family. They hoped that she would one day feel the same way.

“Yes, it is,” Arthur said, looking back at Alfred with the understanding his little brother was all grown up now. Huh.

“You know, I don’t think we ever formally invited you into the family,” Kat noticed the time on Arthur’s watch and looked back at Alfred with a smug grin. ”Welcome to the party, Al.”

Alfred frowns, trying to process why that sounds familiar, then gasps and points to Kat.

“YOU-!!” Alfred’s head spins to face Arthur, “Dude, I'm so sorry, but when you go, I’m gonna marry her. She’s literally the freaking best.”

“She makes one Die Hard reference and suddenly you’re thinking of marrying my wife? Unbelievable.” Arthur rolls his eyes and looks at him skeptically, “Do you really think you have a chance against us, Mr. Cowboy?”

“Oh my god. Oh my god. OHMYGOD!!!” Alfred shakes in excitement, knowing exactly how to respond, but trying hard to refrain from cursing in their home. The last time that happened, he was banned from saying anything at all. And lord knows he's a yapper. There was no way he was going to stop yapping on a day like this. Arthur smirks as he watches his brother turn red from how badly he wants to say it.

“Alright. Go on, then-”

“YIPPEE-KI-YAY, MOTHERFUCKER! WOOO!!!”

This was definitely the best Christmas he could ever ask for.

[whitepeachrum]

Busy Mornings and Bunny Ears

Fandom: Hetalia (personified) Pairing: Arthur x Kat (EngUkr/UkrEng) Content Length: Short (~1100 words) (This snippet focuses primarily on Arthur as a dad.)

“Daddy?”

“Yes, my lovely?”

“Can you do my hair?”

“You’d like me to do your hair today?” Arthur looks down at his daughter, surprised at her last minute request.

“Yeah!”

”Alright, but we’ll have to make it quick. I’m running a bit late today.”

Arthur lifts his little girl up and sits her on the bathroom counter in front of the mirror. He grabs a brush and goes to brush her hair and she pipes up.

“Daddy no! I want curly!!”

“We can do curly when there’s more time, but today we have to be neat. You have to look proper for school.”

“I want-! I want your hair.”

“My hair?” He chuckles at her naivety. “You don’t want my hair. It’s messy. I can’t even brush it sometimes. See?” He tries to brush his hair and pretends the comb gets stuck in there. Thanks to the gel, it did actually get stuck. He pulls it out and wipes the residue off with a towel.

“But you…” She takes a breath, fumbling over words she wanted to say, but did not have the speed for, “Why do you go to work with bad hair?”

“Oh, I don’t need to make friends at work, I already have them. But for school you have to. You want to make a good impression, right?”

“Yeah..”

“So, you have to look presentable.”

“Okay..” She seems bummed by the idea that she couldn’t look like her dad today. She totally would’ve loved to have fun hair like him.

“So, what kind of style would you like to do today?” He takes the comb and gently brushes her hair, making sure to get the knots out with ease and then looks at his pouty girl in the mirror.

“I want curly..”

“Tell you what. Since we can’t do curly right now, I’ll give you a couple of options. We can do some braids, we can do some ponytails, and we can do just clips.”

“I want ponytails. And clips.”

“We can do that. Two ponytails?”

She nods.

“Up here or in the back?” Arthur gives her an idea of what she might want.

“On top.” She points to the top of her head and he gives her a kiss on the top of her head.

“Alright. Why don’t you pick out which hair ties you want and then we can add some clips.”

“Daddy, can I wear all the clips?”

“You want all of them?”

“Yeah!”

“I can only promise a couple because we have to be quick today. Tomorrow, we can do whatever style you’d like, okay?”

“Okay!”

Arthur evenly divides up her hair down the middle and brushes out each side. It's a good thing their daughter ended up with Kat’s easy-to-work-with hair. If they had to work with his messy hair in this short amount of time, mornings like these probably would’ve started and ended with meltdowns. Luckily, they have both been patient with him and, because of that, he was more than happy to help where he could.

“Are you excited for school today?”

“Yeah..” She says with almost no enthusiasm.

“Yeah? What are you excited for?”

“Recess time when I get to play with my friends.”

“Oh, recess time is a fun time. What do you play with your friends?”

“We play dragons and princesses. And hopscotch. And sometimes, when it’s raining, we watch a movie inside. I hope it rains again today.” The younger sat and said whatever came to mind first as she focused on picking out her favorite clips from the box.

“Is that so? No wonder you like school so much. What about classes? Anything fun?”

“Daddy!!” She whines as she witnesses his work in the reflection.

“What? What??” Arthur pulls his hands away from her, thinking he accidentally hurt her.

“You made them different!” She pouts at him.

“Didn’t you want them on top?”

“Yeah, but not like that..”

“Did you want them to be like bunny ears?”

“Yeah..”

“Ohh, I’m sorry, my love. I’ll fix that for you.” He sighs to himself. He should’ve woken up earlier when his first alarm rang.

She watches him fix his mistake then goes back to picking out the clips. “I want these!”

“Alright. Hold onto them and I’ll put them on for you.”

“Daddy, I like..” She took another breath, wiping a stray hair out of her mouth. “I like bunnies.”

“Bunnies are nice. I like bunnies too. Especially this one right here.”

She giggles and corrects him. “I’m not a bunny! I’m a girl!”

“I thought you were a bunny with these cute little floppy ears.” He shakes her pigtails in alternating directions and she laughs at it again, then turns to him to correct him.

“No, THESE are my ears,” she points to them.

“Let me see,” Arthur leans down and tries to wiggle them back and forth. “By jove! You’re right! You’re not a bunny at all. How could I make such a careless mistake? Silly me.” He boops her nose and she cutely scrunches it the way a bunny’s nose does. “Ready for the clips?”

“Yeah!”

“Alright. Let me see what you picked out.”

“I want these!”

“Oh, look at this variety.” She loves animals, so it was no surprise she wanted to wear the clips with the animals on them. Lately, she’s been loving the cute and cuddly animals like bunnies and bears. The fuzzier, the better. Arthur figured she’s soon going to transition into liking llamas or sheep, since she was more interested in curly textures lately.

“Daddy?”

“Yes, my love?”

“Is Uncle Al going to come to my dance?”

“Do you want him to come?”

“Yeah!”

“Sure, we can have him come. But you will have to ask him yourself if he can come. Hopefully, he’s not busy then.” He carefully inspects the symmetry of the clips on both sides of her head and readjusts a couple that seem wonky to him.

“Okay! I wanna ask him now.”

“You can ask him after school when he comes to pick you up, alright? So, what do you think?” The little girl looks at her hair, moving her head left and right as her pigtails follow her. “You like it?”

“Yeah,” she smiles. He nods, his masterpiece complete. “Thank you, Daddy.”

“You’re very welcome, love.” Arthur looks at his watch, noting that even though he managed to do her hair in record time, he is still running late. “Alright, let’s get going. Mommy said she’s driving us today, so we’re going to have to lock the door before we leave, okay?”

He lifts her off the bathroom counter and onto the floor. “Go ahead and put your shoes on. I’m right behind you.”

“Yay!” She sprints over to put her shoes on, excited for another morning where she gets to go to school with a cute hairstyle, fun clips, and all her favorite people.

[whitepeachrum]

Kiss

Fandom: Hetalia (personified) Pairing: Arthur x Kat (EngUkr/UkrEng) Content Length: Chapter (~1500 words)

“You ready yet, my love?” Arthur looked at Kat through the hallway mirror as he fidgeted with his tie. He’d been wearing his ties to work all week and absolutely hated how suffocating he’d felt in them. He would’ve loved to rip the stupid fabric off his neck but decided to hold out for the night. He just knew that Kat would get a big kick out of taking it off his neck later tonight and, honestly, so would he. For that, he was willing to endure his suffering a bit longer. 

“Almost.” Her earrings dangled as her head swiveled to look at him. "Need some help with your tie there?"

“No, it’s fine. I can do it myself. Just keep working on your makeup.” He waved his hand and worked on evening out his askew tie. It was always something that had to be imperfect.

“Alright, I'll do just that,” Kat spoke softly. She returned to gingerly apply her makeup in front of the mirror. Kat looked to confirm that her eyeliner was more or less even on both eyes and carried on to layer her lip products as Arthur continued to play with his tie. He must’ve been nervous about their upcoming date. She smirked to herself, finding it charming that he still got nervous before their dates.

Arthur’s eyes darted to her mirrored image, admiring the way she looked so effortless when she applied her lip balm. It looked so much easier than tying a tie. Just one or two swipes and she was done. He loved the simplicity of it all. He especially loved it when she dispersed the product over her lips and gently smacked them together. It was mesmerizing to watch her lips squish and plump out to their natural elasticity. As she started removing some stray product with the tip of her nails, Arthur snapped out of his sudden trance and looked back at himself.

“Ah, goddamn it,” he muttered. He had been mindlessly undoing his tedious work. Kat glanced at his reflection and turned around to help him with the tie. He sighed and let her take care of the mess he's made for himself. Screw this tie.

“Are your fingers tying themselves into a knot?” Kat chuckled.

“Yeah, seems like it.” Arthur nodded, asserting that his flustered state was wreaking havoc on his digits. Something about the idea of getting dressed and slicking your hair back once in a blue moon made him anxious.

“You smell nice, honey. Did you get a new cologne?”

“I did. I thought I’d switch things up a bit for tonight.” 

She brought her nose to his neck and took a whiff of his cologne. It seemed to smell like bergamot and... lemon? No. Kat checked again. Orange? Grapefruit? Well, whatever it was, she just couldn't get enough of it.

“Oh, it’s so good. Wow..” 

Arthur looked into her sparkly eyes as she leaned back, noticing how big her pupils had become when she looked back at him. He adjusted her bangs so that they weren’t in her eyes when she did. It was like looking into an ocean that beautifully glistened from the setting sun: peaceful and stunning.

“Good. I’ll be sure to wear it more often.” Kat hummed contently in response. She gently pulled him close by the ends of his tie, kissed his lips, and smiled. She was so excited to spend date night with him. Arthur, on the other hand, couldn’t wait to get back home to get more of her kisses.

“You look so handsome tonight,” Kat commented on his attire, patting down his lapels after finishing with his tie. He slid his hands around her waist and kissed her neck. It's a good thing she didn't put any of her makeup there. He just didn't have the heart to ruin her diligent work.

“And you, my dear, look absolutely ravishing.” She gently pushed off of his chest. Kat hoped to get away from his warm hug quickly before either one of them decided to cancel date night altogether, but her actions only made him bring her closer to him. He gave her a firm squeeze and kissed her neck again.

“Arthur,” Kat chuckled at his reaction, “We’re going to be late for dinner!”

“I think they could wait for a few more minutes.”

“Mm. Tempting,” she pecked him back on the lips, “but no. If we want to make it to dinner, I have to finish getting ready.” He looked at his watch to see how much time they had left.

“You’re lucky I love you enough to let you go…” Arthur sighed and gave her butt a gentle, loving pat. She slipped out of his embrace and returned to the mirror to finish up her makeup. After taking a moment to gawk over his wife, he looked at himself in the mirror one last time and groaned.

“Great.” Off-center again. You know what? If Kat couldn’t fix it, chances are this tie was doomed from the start. He moved the tie side to side, gently loosening it. He was fed up with the damn thing.

Kat noted his irritation and decided to distract him from his festering thoughts by including him in her makeup process. She quickly swatched two colors on the back of her hand and turned to face him.

“Which should I go with? Glossy or matte?” Kat showed him two red-colored options. Arthur inspected the swatches and was intrigued that she was going with such a bold color for the evening. The two didn’t vary much in color, but the sheen for one was the polar opposite of the other. He debated which one of these he’d want to be branded with later. Gloss was sticky, but matte was harder to remove… Mm. 

“This is a tough decision, Kat.”

“Well, yeah. That’s why I asked you.”

“Hmm.” He brought her hand up to her lips so he could compare the colors better. The gloss would glide on smoothly, but the matte lipstick would look sharper… “I’m thinking the gloss will be good for tonight. Easier to fix if anything.” 

“Gloss it is.” She applied the product generously without looking in the mirror to save some time. 

“Maybe I should’ve said matte,” Arthur said to himself, second-guessing things.

“How is it? Is it even?” Arthur glanced at the application and nodded.

“Almost perfect.” He picked up a clean tissue and carefully cleaned up anything that stood out. The more he stared at the color, the more he noticed all the different little specks of gold and silver glitter that made her lips look even juicer than before. If they weren’t late, he would’ve loved to take a bite or two.

Arthur subconsciously smacked his lips together in thought and Kat grinned at the little mannerism he picked up from her. It was refreshing to see him put this much care and effort into her new rouge.

“Does it look better now?” She rubbed her lips together to tease him some more.

“Ah. Yeah, it looks great,” he pulled away from her, wiping the lip balm she left on his lips earlier with the napkin, and tossing the used tissue into the bin by the mirror. Arthur put his hands on his waist and re-assessed the makeup combination with her strappy black dress and shiny jewelry. “You look great. Really great, actually.” The matte lipstick probably would’ve looked even better. Damn it.

“I wonder how it would look on you.”

"On me? I don't wear lip gloss like you do."

Kat swiftly planted a kiss on his cheek and took a step back to admire her artwork. Her smile grew wider as she watched Arthur’s face flush from the accessory he sported on his cheek.

“You’re right, darling. It does look great. Reaaally great.” Kat beamed, extremely proud of ruffling some of his feathers. His eyes darted to the mirror behind her and he caught a glimpse of his pink face. He had completely forgotten about the tie by now. He was much more focused on stopping himself from blushing further.

Arthur wanted to hate it for how cheesy it was of her to brand him like that, but he loved that she made him feel like his teenage self. Specifically, the teenage self that showed up to their first date looking like a trainwreck. His flush deepened as he realized how ridiculous he would look in the public eye. But hell, he loved the affectionate stamp. He never thought his date would proudly leave kiss marks on his face like that. It felt like something out of a movie or a dream.

“Should we head out now?” Kat asked, grabbing her little purse and checking for the car keys. Arthur didn’t know what to say or do. He didn’t want to hurt her feelings by ruining her masterpiece, but he didn’t want to leave the ruby residue on his face for the world to see.

“Uh..”

“..What?” she asked innocently, looking over her shoulder. He shyly pointed to his cheek, then returned his hand to his waist, and mumbled something. She raised an eyebrow and smirked. Did he call it a beauty mark? He cleared his throat and looked back at her, waiting for her to do something about it.

“Oh? Did I leave a mark?”

“…Yeah.. Mark..”

“Oh, sorry about that. Let me fix it for you.” She gave his other cheek a matching stain. Arthur’s hand flew over his nose and mouth as he tried to contain his flustered self. He felt his heart working hard to quickly pump the blood to his face as she toyed with his emotions. It didn’t help that she looked so adorable when she played him like that, cocky smile and all. Why did it have to be a bright crimson?! He would've been fine with a peachy gloss!

“I’ll drive tonight, so you can look at the menu in the meantime. We don’t want to waste any more time, do we?” Kat cutely lifted her shoulders and walked out to go to the car. Arthur’s gaze lingered on her, his heart swelling with affection as he watched her leave.

When Kat noticed he wasn’t following, she turned with a huff and made her way back to him. Grabbing him by his tie, she playfully tugged him along.

“Come on. Don't make me help you with this tie again. I only know how to untie it.”

Arthur’s teenage self would’ve combusted if he knew how his love life was going to turn out.

[whitepeachrum]

Just One More

Fandom: Hetalia (personified) Pairing: Arthur x Kat (EngUkr/UkrEng) Content Length: Short (~1100 words)

Arthur had been sitting and glaring at his partner for the past three minutes. He couldn't stand it anymore. How was he supposed to enjoy a movie with her munching away on the sunflower seeds? They were noisy, they were messy, and they were occupying the space he had hoped to occupy: her lips.

But she was deeply invested.

Only noticing him looking at her when a stray seed fell off to the side, Kat wondered why Arthur had been so distant. Usually, he’d be curled up on the couch beside her, sharing the cozy blanket they had made together. Yet today, he was sitting in his armchair and staring. Hard.

“Want to join me here?” She patted the empty space beside her to invite him over.

“No. No, you enjoy what you're doing. I’m just going to read.”

Kat watched Arthur get up from his chair and stomp across her field of view. She quickly put their movie on pause, confused by his sudden departure.

“Wait. Why are you leaving?”

“I’m just dealing with a bit of a headache.”

Headache? Didn’t he say he was going to read? Something wasn’t adding up for Kat.

“..Are you mad at me for something?”

“Of course not. I could never be mad at you,” he put a hand on her shoulder as he walked by and gave it a gentle squeeze. Not a kiss, but a shoulder squeeze. Something was definitely off. Kat raised her eyebrows in worry and continued to visually follow him until he’d disappeared from the room. She chewed on the seeds mindlessly as she pondered his odd behavior.

Arthur’s eyebrow twitched. He could hear it all the way upstairs. With the television volume off and not a single other sound reverberating through the house, the sound of those damn seeds cracking bothered him with every. single. bite.

It wasn’t like he couldn’t tell her to stop eating them. That would not be very kind of him. The best he could do was try to cover his ears and hope that the thickness of his hands would buffer the noise well. And when he did, he felt sweet relief as he couldn't hear the crunching sounds as loudly. Just the sound of nothingness and the blood pumping in his ears. This was working well.

Except the sound now echoed in his brain, like a clock in the dead of the night.

Arthur growled frustratingly and crossed his arms in anger. Upon hearing the frustrated sound, Kat decided it’d be best to figure out what was going on before it became tomorrow’s panic attack. She set her bowls aside and tried to quietly approach Arthur. When she spotted him sitting like a grouch in his chair, she gently knocked on the doorframe to his study.

Arthur sighed quietly upon seeing the sound maker’s worried face.

“Sorry…” Kat held her hand up as soon as she was met with displeased eyes. Perhaps she was making too much noise. Maybe he was finally tired of her.

“It’s alright, love. Just go and enjoy the movie without me,” Arthur consoled.

“Does your head hurt a lot?” she asked with softness.

“It will pass with time. I promise I’ll be just fine.”

“Did I do something wrong…?”

“What? No, don't be absurd. It’s just a small headache. That’s all.”

“Then…” Kat rubbed her hands anxiously. “Did you not want to watch the movie…? We can watch it another time. Or we can watch something else! We don’t have to watch the romcom. Whatever you want.”

Arthur watched on as his partner tried to find ways to accommodate his sudden disinterest in their common time. His heart sank a bit and his brows slightly upturned at the realization that these small seeds that Kat loved would plant themselves as thoughts of doubt in her mind. He should’ve been more upfront with her from the start.

“…May I be frank?”

“Yes! Please,” Kat said as she sat down in an adjacent chair.

“Darling, I love you, I really do, but…” Arthur put a hand on her knee.

“You want to break up…” Kat assumed.

“I jus— What?? No! Where did you get that silly thought from?” He frowned, confused by her train of thought. Looks like those underlying doubts were much larger than he thought.

“Well, you became a bit cold suddenly so I thought you got mad at me.”

“No, love, I wasn't mad at you.”

“So, what was that? Why did you get so distant with me like that?”

Arthur groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose as he found it stupid to even admit out loud.

“It’s… nothing…”

“Arthur!”

“Alright! It's the stupid seeds you're enjoying!”

“…What?” Kat blinked in surprise, not at all expecting to hear it.

“The sound of the seeds is irritating, but I didn't want to keep you from enjoying your snack, so I thought it was better to not say it out loud.”

“Arthur.”

“It was stupid, I shouldn't have…” Arthur waved it off, “..taken it so seriously.”

“Is that really it?” Kat asked as she placed her hands over his.

“I also really wanted to… you know…” Arthur mumbled, trying not to sound like a needy man.

“Hmm?”

“To just kiss you… a little bit, not too much. Just a small kiss… I thought it’d be nice. With the romantic movie and all.”

“Oh! Oh my gosh!” Kat felt her body release the worry she had been festering and a small smile formed on her lips, “is that why you were so angry?”

Arthur nodded, feeling shameful for feeling the way he had. Kat placed both hands on either side of his face and looked at him.

“You are a simple man, Arthur. If you want something, you can just ask for it.”

“May I have a kiss then…?”

“Of course, you silly goose,” Kat chuckled and placed one on his lips.

Arthur groaned and frowned right after.

“What is it this time?” she asked.

“I can taste the seeds.”

“Is that a bad thing…?”

Arthur tilted his head, contemplating how to answer honestly. He paused for a moment, thinking of the appropriate response.

“You know, I’m starting to understand why you gravitate towards them. Could I have another taste? To double-check, of course.”

“Just one more.” Kat grinned, seeing right through his cheeky remark, then happily complied with his request.

“Mm. Still tastes sweet to me.”

[whitepeachrum]

Desk to Dinner: A Shift in Priorities

Fandom: Hetalia (personified) Pairing: Arthur x Kat (EngUkr/UkrEng) Content Length: Solo Chapter (~1700 words)

With all the paperwork he’s been tackling and all the shifts he has been covering for his colleague, Arthur was up to his nose in meaningless work. He was tired of seeing numbers race across his mind when his eyes were open and when he tried to them close at the end of the day.  It was one peculiar morning when Kat noticed that he had looked exhausted. Not that he hadn’t looked exhausted the whole time. It just seemed to be extra prominent on this particular morning when he decided to have coffee. 

Arthur didn’t really like coffee, but she knew that it was often reserved for times when he was restless and needed a break from the monotonous day-to-day life. She wasn’t sure if he would be in the mood to talk this morning. So, she kept quiet until he was ready to chat. Unfortunately, Arthur needed her to say something. He was falling asleep at the kitchen table. Kat watched worriedly as his head barely managed to stay up.

“Arthur?” Kat put a hand on his upper arm to gently wake him up. Arthur sharply inhaled and looked at her, coming back to reality.

“Mm? What?”

“You’re falling asleep asleep at the kitchen table.”

“Oh. Yeah?” He wasn’t even forming full sentences!

“Honey, you have to take a break.” Kat took the delicate cup from his hand and placed it on the table so he wouldn’t accidentally break it or hurt himself.

“Yeah…”

“Could you take the day off?”

Arthur yawned and crossed his arms. “..Yeah.” He nodded off mid-breath and fell asleep in his chair.

“My poor baby.” Her fingers gently pet his hair and she spoke softly again to him. “You should go lay in bed. It’s more comfortable there.”

“Mm.”

“...Arthur?”

“Mm?”

“Are you going?”

“Mhm.” 

He lied.

Kat finished breakfast on her own and cleaned up the table. The sound of the dishes being cleared out signaled Arthur that he should migrate to the couch in the living room. Kat sat by his side in the armchair and decided to share a peaceful morning crocheting. Or as peaceful as his light snoring would allow it to be.

--

By the time evening came around, Arthur had felt guilty for wasting a day doing nothing but catching up on sleep. He thought working from home for the rest of the day would help him get back on track, but this was a decision Kat greatly objected to. If he was going to take the day off, he needed to rest. She walked over to his desk, gently pushed some of his papers aside, and sat on the sturdy wooden table, hoping to sway his mind.

“Hi, my love,” He placed an affectionate hand on her knee as his eyes remained glued to the confusing mix of words. 

“Arthur?”

“Yes?”

“I was thinking.”

“Mm? What about?”

“Maybe we should go on a date.”

Arthur’s eyes focused out of the text and onto her face. The confusion remained, but at least this time his eyes were looking at something much prettier than a monochrome Times New Roman on a bland canvas. “A date?”

“Yeah.”

“What do you want to do?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” she looked into the distance for a moment, playing coy. “Maybe some dinner, a stroll through the town. Maybe we could even check out that new karaoke place that opened up.”

“Do we have time for all that? It’s getting pretty late.”

Kat sighed dramatically and even pouted a bit. She was setting the trap for him and he was slowly making his way into it. I mean, how could he say no to a face like that?

“Well, I wasn’t going to say no, but I just wondered if it would be too much to handle in one night.”

“Should we just go to a bar, then? Or a club?”

Arthur debated on her suggestion. It did sound like fun to get plastered and just unwind after all the stress from work, but he didn’t want to be surrounded by people who were also plastered. They created a type of chaos that Arthur had difficulty shielding Kat from. 

“Are you drinking tonight?” Arthur asked, gauging to which degree he was allowed to be drunk. If she said yes, he’d need to be the designated driver. If not, he had to make sure they both got home intact. Arthur frowned, realizing that neither situation would allow him to let loose to the degree he wanted. Actually, there was no degree of drunkenness he could allow himself to be with Kat present. When did he become so lame? 

Kat glanced at his face and smiled, happy that her distraction now occupied his thoughts. 

“Maybe I’ll have a glass. We’ll see where the night takes us.” She slid the paper from his grasp and put it beside her.

“Well, I need to know, Kat. Do I drive? Do we take a cab?”

“We can take a cab for safety. That way you can drink more if you’d like, and we won’t have to look for parking either.”

“Hm. Right.” That made sense. He was fine with her reasoning, but what did he want to do tonight? Arthur contemplated his choices. Maybe karaoke would be fun…

“You know what? I will go and get dressed and then you can tell me what you think our plan for the night should be. Okay?”

Arthur sighed, frustrated that he had to decide at all. He got up and placed himself in front of Kat, putting his hands on her cheeks, and giving her a tender kiss. She smiled at him, feeling her heart thump with excitement about their night out. He then held onto the edge of the desk, leaning slightly into her bubble and looking thoughtfully at Kat.

“I am thinking..” he began, “that we skip dinner. Pass on the bar. Take a rain check for the karaoke place. Save money on cabs. And just go straight to dessert. What do you think?” Kat crossed one leg over the other, leaning into his face to assert her position on the stance.

“I’m thinking..” She said as she perfectly executed the triangle method. Arthur took note of it quickly and gripped the table tighter, his knuckles turning white as his face turned pink. “I’m thinking I have a new dress I’d like to wear out.”

“Oh, a new dress you say?”

“Mhm.”

“Couldn’t you just wear it at home?”

“And have it come off as quickly as I put it on?” She kissed him and chuckled against his lips. “I don’t think so.”

“Damn.” Arthur put his head down in defeat and she chuckled again at his reaction. He was so cute when he was flustered.

She knew she was getting under his skin. And she was right. Arthur was suddenly tempted, baited, and trapped in a situation where he had to make quick decisions to accomplish everything they wanted to do that night. He had considered the shortest path he could take to his happiness but knew that Kat would make him work for it. He had to think of her happiness as well. As a matter of fact, the decision was never really his to make. He just needed to pick what she wanted to do and hope it would satisfy their desires evenly. He realized that he was just standing around and wasting time. He sighed, gently tapping his foot in frustration.

“So, what’s the plan?” she asked again. 

“Alright. This is what I’m thinking: Bar. Stroll. Dessert. Leftovers.”

Kat considered his proposition and added, “And no more work until tomorrow.” He looked at all the paperwork. Looking at the pile of papers, he realized how miserable it had been to be enveloped by work that wasn’t even challenging. It was all just mindless and never-ending. It had gotten so bad that even his wife thought about his work when it wasn’t even her job. He would be willing to put it all on pause for a night. Maybe even two. 

He nodded, finally caving into her suggestion, and looked back at her beautiful ocean blues. “No more work for a lifetime.”

“Hm.” Kat hummed as she put her arms around his neck. He placed his arms around her waist, finding more joy in holding her in his arms than holding onto a desk for dear life. “Maybe I should reward my hardworking husband for all his efforts.” She ran her fingers through his hair, teasing him a bit more. Arthur pulled her hand away from him and gave it a gentle kiss. He knew what she was doing and could not afford to lose control this early in the night. His heart felt like it was going to pop out of his ears and it took every bit of willpower to keep his word to her.

“Not yet, my love. Dress first.”

“If you let me go, I can go do that.”

“I can never let you go.”

“Well then. Maybe I should help you with that.”

Kat untangled her arms from him. She pushed all the paperwork around her onto the floor and leaned back on the desk, proud of her accomplishment. 

“Whoops.”

Arthur smiled and looked away, shaking his head at her attempt to get him to let her go. “Unbelievable.”

“I think you dropped your papers, Mr. Kirkland.”

"I dropped them? I believe this was your doing."

"They're your work papers, aren't they?"

“Not for tonight.”

“But right now, there’s a mess in the house.”

“We can’t leave the house a mess before we leave, now can we?”

“Nope,” she smirked at him. 

He sighed and slowly let go of her, ushering her towards the door.

“Go. Go change. I’ll clean it up.” She happily got off the table and walked towards the door. He knelt to pick up the trash from the ground and snuck a cheeky glance at her. Arthur’s eyes watched the curves of her body exaggerate on each side as her hips swayed further and further away from him. He couldn’t help but smile and deeply blush at the ways of his flirty wife.

[whitepeachrum]

Mirepoix

Fandom: Hetalia (personified) Pairing: Arthur x Kat (EngUkr/UkrEng) Content Length: Short (~500 words)

A sleepy Arthur shuffled into the kitchen, drawn by the comforting aroma of a simmering stock and the enticing view of the lovely woman making it. He walked up behind Kat and wrapped his arms around her, giving her cheek a soft kiss, then resting his chin on the crook of her neck.

“Mm. Good morning, love.”

“Good morning, honey. Did you sleep well?”

“Mhm.” He closed his eyes, still feeling sleepy. “What is my beautiful wife up to this morning?”

“Well, I decided to start making some soup early so we can have something warm for lunch.”

“It's too early for soup, love.” Kat glanced at the time on the stove and noticed it was indeed a bit early from her usual start to the morning. She looked at him and put her hands on his.

“It is. And?”

“Come back to bed with me. It's so cold without you.”

“It is quite cold this morning, isn’t it?”

“Mhm.”

“Well, then, why don't I finish cutting up some of the vegetables first, and then I’ll join you again? Hm?”

“Couldn't you do this later?” Arthur pouted, tugging at Kat's heartstrings.

“You’ll enjoy it more if it simmers longer.”

“But I don't want soup. I want you.”

“Mmm. Could you give me a couple of minutes first?”

“Kat..” He whined softly, wanting to do nothing but cuddle together. His hands were getting cold and he needed to warm them up soon.

She turned around to give him a kiss to placate her big baby for a moment. “Go back to bed, I’ll be there soon.”

Arthur sighed loudly, not wanting to let her go, but feeling the need to lay back down under the covers. He unpeeled himself from her and picked her up, carrying her like he did the night of their wedding. She yelped from the unexpected movement, wrapped her hands around his neck for support, and then laughed at his sudden gesture.

“What are you doing!?”

“I'm taking you with me.”

He carried her up the stairs to their bedroom, and laid her down on the bed, then covered her with the blanket and crawled underneath it, wrapping his arms around her again. So warm…

“Mm. This is nice.”

“You're right.” Kat snuggled up against him. “This is much nicer than soup.” She put her fingers on his lower back, beneath the top of his pajamas, causing him to flinch and groan at the sudden iciness. She giggled softly at his reaction.

“Oh yeah?” Arthur placed the back of his fingers against her neck and she squealed from the way the chill of his knuckles shocked her warm skin. “That's payback for what you did.” He smiled and gave her a gentle kiss that basically said ‘We are even now’.

She placed a warm and sweet kiss back onto his lips and nuzzled her nose into his neck, taking in his natural musk, basking in his warmth, and slowly falling asleep as she listened to his heartbeat thump evenly. He pulled the blanket up to her nose and buried his nose in her hair to keep himself warm too.

“Can you breathe, my love?” he gave her kisses as she fell asleep in his arms.

“Mhm.”

“Perfect.” He dozes off with a smile on his face, a warmth radiating from within, and the love of his life in his arms.

[whitepeachrum]

Memos

Fandom: Hetalia (personified) Pairing: Ivan x Kiku (RusPan/PanRus) Content Length: Short (~1300 words)

A knock came at Kiku’s door.

“I’m coming,” Kiku answers, opening the door to reveal his neighbor standing there, fresh from a morning workout. It took everything in Kiku’s power to not watch the way the sweat glistened off of Ivan’s body as it rolled down his temples. And down his chest. Kiku’s hands itched to run his fingers through his damp hair. Repeatedly.

“Yes?” Kiku asks.

“Is this yours?” Ivan was looking down at a baby blue sticky note.

“Sort of.”

“What do you mean sort of? It is a simple yes or no question.”

It seems like he didn’t have a good workout.

“Yes, but you can have it.”

“I don’t understand,” Ivan ever so slightly squints at him, confused by his intention.

“Well, I wrote it and put it on your door.”

“Why would you leave your things on my door?”

“It's some motivation for the day. I usually put it up on everyone's door the night before, so there is something pleasant or inspiring to wake up to.”

“Mm.” Ivan’s eyes glance back at the note in his hand and he taps his finger against its edge. “Is this something all people like you do?”

“People like me? What… do you mean by that?”

“I mean people who are friendly with their dorm mates. Do they always do things like this?”

“Oh,” Kiku blinked, relieved by his clarification, “I suppose so. This is my way of doing it. I'm sure others have different ways.”

“I see.” Ivan stares at the note as Kiku stands awkwardly staring at him. Maybe now was his chance to sneak a glance at his arms. Kiku snuck a peek and decided that it wasn't the time for a distraction. It was far too risky to look on.

But boy did that split second warm up his body.

“Is… there something wrong with the note, Ivan?”

“Mm.” He turned and walked into his room, closing the door behind.

What was that? What did that mean? Kiku gently closed his door as well and frowned. Did he not like the note? No, if he wouldn't like it, he would've thrown it out by now. Right?

He might've liked the note. If that's the case, Kiku could try again tomorrow… but then what? Would he keep going? Were these notes off-putting?

He decided to carefully, and as quietly as possible, lean against the wall that separated the two to possibly hear a reaction of some sort.

Other than the swooshing of Ivan’s track pants and the gentle thud of every step, he could not pinpoint any paper sounds or any human noises.

The verdict was inconclusive. Kiku unpeeled himself and wondered if he should just walk up and ask him.

Ah, it's just a note, it's not a big deal.

…But what if Ivan starts writing notes back?

With a hand gently clutching his heart, Kiku slid down his back against the wall as he imagined getting a note from him with his beautiful penmanship.

It would say something like “Do better” or “Be great” with that perfect cursive writing of his. A stark comparison to Kiku’s neat, but blocky, lettering. And it would be written with a 0.5mm ballpoint pen that smudges every once in a while when he presses a bit too passionately. And the ink he tries to take off the side of his hand leaves a mark everywhere his hands touch.

His hands…

Kiku cupped his face, partially covering his embarrassing blush and partially riling himself up over the thought of Ivan’s hands holding him. His face warmed up quickly as he imagined how focused Ivan could be writing a note just for him. A hint of a frown and a tight-lipped smile as he makes sure he gets every last detail right.

“Calm down, Kiku. You're getting worked up about nothing.” He said softly to himself.

It's just a crush. No big deal. It's not like the prettiest boy lives less than a foot away from you and barely acknowledges your existence. But at least he talked to you today!

Kiku froze as he heard a definite set of steps approach his door again. With a deep breath, he waited.

Knock.

A knock.

Come on, Ivan. Knock.

What are you waiting for?

Kiku stared at the door, hoping he'd talk to Ivan again, but it seemed like Ivan was just as hesitant to do so? Should he just leave his door open? He got up slowly and walked over to the door quietly. He peeked over the edge of his door to see if Ivan was standing there.

His heart dropped as he found Ivan staring right back. How terrifying.

Kiku, out of awkwardness, knocked on his own door and opened it wider to greet Ivan.

“Why did you do that to your own door?”

“Oh, uh… It's… something I do at home. It's a cultural thing.” Kiku lied. It would be easier to just play it off as a habit than something weird. As Kiku tried to convince himself it was a good idea, he just as quickly realized how much weirder it was than just being honest.

“That is… interesting.” Ivan dismissed him quickly. “What exactly are you gaining from these notes?”

“I don't really expect anything in return.”

“Then it’s a waste to make them then, is it not? You spend time, money, and effort into such a small thing. And you don't want anything in return. Why do it then?”

“It makes me feel better to.. spread some positivity…” Kiku began to doubt himself a bit. He was right. In theory, making such a note was a waste of resources. But wasn't this note helping bring the dorm members together? Weren’t they inspirational and uplifting the community?

Well, if anything, the cute stationary brought a smile to his own face.

“So… if, let's say, I am not in a positive mood and I see this note. How would you say this is spreading joy?”

Kiku re-read the small note. “Just do it…”

“If I plan on shutting the window over my head, are you saying this should motivate me to commit to this act?”

“A-Ah…” Kiku shakily said, his eyes getting wider and his frown deepening as the realization of what he meant set in. “I made a mistake…”

“You know what? Now that I look at it, it certainly does motivate me to ‘just do it’, whatever it may be. Perhaps your little sticky papers do have a motivating effect.”

“Ah! Please don't close the window on your head..” Kiku waved his hands in protest, a worried look across his face.

“Huh,“ Ivan mildly smirks, “perhaps talking to you is the positivity that comes with the note,”

“I…” Kiku gulped at his charming words and gently shook his head to get the silly thought off of him. “I just don't think that hurting yourself is a solution to anything..”

“You have nothing to worry about. My dark days are past me. I have new ambitions now.”

“O-Oh. That's… good…” Kiku rubbed his arm as they stood in a moment of awkward silence. “I should probably take the note back and try again tomorrow.”

“No, no! I'm not giving it back just yet.” Ivan pulled the note away from him as he went to reach for it. “This is my favorite note so far. It is unintentionally dark and funny.”

“I should've thought this note through before I put it up. I feel terrible now,” Kiku sighed defeatedly.

“I’m curious to see your work after this.”

“Yeah, it will be better. I promise.”

“Don't promise. ‘Just do it’.” Ivan glances at the note and chuckles. “You should've seen your face.” He goes back to his room to admire the note.

Ivan particularly liked how neatly written it was.

And how his door was the only one with a note on it all night.

[whitepeachrum]

Whiskers

Fandom: Hetalia (personified) Pairing: Arthur x Kat (EngUkr/UkrEng) Content Length: Short (~1000 words)

Arthur had a long day at work. His clients had never-ending requests and his colleagues bombarded him with non-stop questions. The worst part is that someone ate all his favorite snacks. (Spoiler alert: he’s the only one in the workplace who liked licorice.) All he wanted was a quiet night and for his head to touch the pillow as soon as possible.

He was tiredly brushing his teeth when he caught a glimpse of something odd and almost terrifying in the mirror. Normally, Arthur was not afraid of ghosts or intruders showing up in his home, but he was horrified by something he’d not seen before. In fact, he wasn’t sure what he was looking at.

Arthur spat the toothpaste out of his mouth and turned around to get a better look at her soapy beard. His wife was standing behind him, generously applying a cream to her face that was too thick to be a night cream and too thin to be whipped cream. 

“What are you doing?” he asked skeptically.

Kat looked at him innocently, her eyes overly saturated from the brightness of the vanity lights. “I’m going to shave.”

“You’re going to shave your face?”

“Yeah, I am.” She pressed her lips together and made circles on her cheeks, similar to how she did when she used a cleanser. She has very obviously never put on shaving cream before, but she seemed determined, that’s for sure.

“…Why?”

“I wanted to make my skin smoother.”

“You normally use this product for that, do you not?” Arthur examined the different colored products in the cabinet and picked out a dark green one and showed it to her.

“Yeah, that helps with toning, but I wanna get rid of my peach fuzz.” Kat spread the cream all over her face, including her brows. As soon as Arthur saw her cover them, he grabbed the hand towel and started wiping the cream off her face. He did not want her to impulsively do something she was going to regret. Honestly, he just didn’t want to hear her complain about it every night, for at least two months.

“Wuh-? What are you doing?!”

“Love, you are not shaving off your eyebrows. You’re going to look ridiculous.”

“Why not? It’s hair on my face, right?” Kat spat as some of the cream got in her mouth. It smelled so musky, but it was so disgusting. Bleh.

“You’re going to look ridiculous. I don’t want to look at an alien when I look at my wife. I love her brows the way they are and I wouldn’t want you to sabotage them. They’re mine too..”

“Well, yeah! Because you’ve got such bushy ones and I’ve got wormy ones. You can’t even see mine because they’re so light!”

“Are you jealous of my bushy brows? They’re not something to be envious of.”

“Are you kidding me?” She pouted at him. “You can do so much with thick brows! I want nice brows like that..”

“Shaving them off will not be the solution here.”

“But they say it will grow back thicker.”

“Then, by ‘their’ logic, the peach fuzz will grow back fuller too.”

“Fine!” She grabbed the towel from his grip and wiped her face.

“And I’m quite fine with peach fuzz. If anything, it makes your face more peach-like when you blush. I just don’t want you to do something as drastic as that.” He returned to brushing his teeth, far more relieved now that she wasn’t going to shave her brows.

She sighed and tried again to cover her face with the shaving cream, adding too much of it. Arthur’s eyes watched her and his brushing slowed down as she continued applying globs over her mouth to the point where the globs could no longer adhere to her face. She just kept going and going. He shook his head at her and looked down at the sink as he tried to finish brushing his teeth. He could still hear it. Plop. He closed his eyes and did his best to contain himself as he listened to it plop to the ground. Then again. Then once more. Plop.

“Katherine, what are you doing?” He looked over his shoulder and found a foamy Viking beard to be the center of attention. “What is this?!” The man laughed at her absurdity, pointing at her beard with the brush, unsure what to really do in this situation. Why was she just standing there and doing that? This felt like something his brother would do to him, not his wife.

“I’m shaving my whiskers,” she tried to say, but could not get out. Through the layers of soapy goodness, her words could not make their way to Arthur’s ears, let alone hers. She quietly laughed to herself as she found it incredibly funny that she could not be heard because of the thickness of the soap. Arthur put a hand to his mouth to try to cover up his amusement so he could better hear her, but then too fell apart at the stupidity of it all. He covered his face instead.

Kat pulled out a shaving razor from the pocket of her robe and started “shaving” her magical beard. With every motion, their faces turned redder. They both heard the plopping sound and only the plopping sound as it hit the tile. Kat’s shoulders shook from laughter as she tried to continue with her weird performance. But she couldn’t take it anymore. She walked over to the sink and rinsed the razor just to discover she forgot to take the safety cap off. Her realization caused her to burst into an uproar, covering the mirror entirely in the shaving cream.

All the air that Arthur had ever had in his lungs escaped him as he wheezed at the comedic sight. Kat gripped onto the sink and leaned over it as she couldn’t control neither her laughter nor the beard that kept dripping. Hearing the other one laugh pained their bellies and filled their night with joy. Kat reached for the towel to wipe her face with as she slowly regained some composure. As she glanced at her tear-stricken face in the soiled mirror, she caught a glimpse of her husband leaning against the wall trying to stop his fit of laughter.

“PFFF.” She burst out into laughter once more and the duo repeated the cycle until the pain made it unbearable to keep laughing. It was just one of those nights.

[whitepeachrum]

Game Night

Fandom: Hetalia (personified) Pairing: Arthur x Kat (EngUkr/UkrEng) Content Length: Solo Chapter (~2500 words)

Kat was sitting and flipping through a magazine, inspecting the different types of kitchen counters their favorite Swedish furniture store was trying to tempt them with. She pensively looked over the back of the armchair she was sitting in and mentally pictured the different options. Arthur glanced up from the dishes, noticed Kat looking in his direction, and turned off the water, thinking she called him.

“Hm? What did you say, love?”

“Oh, no. I didn't say anything, dear. I was picturing what light yellow countertops would look like in our kitchen. Arthur looked over his shoulder at the kitchen island and frowned, unable to picture it himself. He dried his hands with the nearby kitchen towel and walked over to her to get a better idea.

“Let me see what it looks like.” He squinted as he looked at the catalog and frowned again, trying to decipher what material the description said it was. “What’s it made of?”

“It says marble, but it looks too good to be true to be quality marble.” Kat took the glasses off her head and handed them to him so he could see the image better. 

“Mm.” He placed the glasses on the tip of his nose to look down at the showroom example then looked over his glasses at the kitchen island. He scrunched his face. “I don't know. Wouldn't it be a bit much?”

“Yeah, but it’s brighter than what we have right now. What if we painted the cabinets like this? It might look cool.”

“Mm, it would be brighter, I suppose, but it won't match the appliances.” Arthur reached into his pocket, hoping to silence the annoying ringing quickly. He looked at the caller ID and groaned.

“Is it Alfred again?”

“M’yeah. You want to talk to him?”

“He's calling you, sweetheart.”

“Fine,” Arthur picked up the call and didn't even have to say hello when his brother started asking him a question.

“-and I’m completely lost with it. I've been staring at it for so long, that I literally have no clue what it is.”

“First of all, hello. A proper greeting is how you commonly start any conversation.”

“Dude, I knew it was you from the moment you grunted.”

“I didn't grunt-”

“Listen, I need your help.”

“What do you need my help with this time?” Arthur rolled his eyes and sat down on the arm of the armchair. Kat continued flipping through the catalog, listening in to the conversation. Alfred spoke loud enough that they never needed to put the phone on speaker.

“I was thinking, like, who's the smartest person I know. And I called up dozens of my friends, but they're all jerks and not helping me because they said “I’m a cheater if I ask them”. So, I have to figure it out myself.”

“They're probably right, but what do you need help with?”

“And like they-”

“Al, I'm going to hang up.” Arthur handed the phone to Kat, feeling his patience run thin.

“No wait wait wait!” 

“Hi, honey. What do you need help with?” Kat propped the phone with her shoulder and continued examining the different types of cabinet door knobs, hoping something would catch her eye.

“Hey, Kat! So, listen. I'm trying to figure out this word on today’s Wordle and I'm down to one guess and, like, no matching letters.”

“What is today’s Wordle? What is that?” She looked up at Arthur to see if he knew about it, but he looked confused himself.

“I don't know. That’s why I’m calling.”

“No, I mean what is a ‘Wordle’?”

“You don't know what Wordle is?! Oh, man. I gotta download it for you guys. You're gonna love it.”

“Is it something for the phone?”

“Yeah yeah. It's like an app on the phone. You can play the game on it.”

“So.. it's a game that you play on your phone?”

“Yeah, yeah. Like the birds and the bombs game that Artie had on his phone. But this one is with words. You have to guess what the word is with 6 guesses. Every day is a different word.”

“Oh okay. Are you struggling with today’s word?”

“Yeah!! I'm stuck on it and I don't want to cheat, but like I don't wanna lose my streak either. If I don't guess this word, I'm gonna lose!! Then my friends are going to make fun of me that I'm stupid.” 

Arthur chuckled, thinking he didn't need a game to tell him the obvious.

“Alright. Well, what letters did you try?”

“Oh, hold up. I can just send you a screenshot.”

Kat flinched as a loud ding went off in her ear. She looked at the screen and saw a message from him, but it quickly disappeared. She put the phone back to her ear and came in mid-sentence. “Sorry. Could you repeat that?”

“Yeah, so the yellow ones mean that the letter is in the word, but not in that position. The green ones are the letters with the correct placement in the word. Gray ones are just wrong.”

“Green correct, yellow almost… Okay. I think I got it.”

“Sweet!! What do you think it is?”

“Oh. I didn't… I haven't looked at the message yet. We’ll take a look and call you back.”

“Okay, but can you do it before midnight?”

“...Is that when the word changes?”

“Yeah.”

Kat looked at the clock and gasped. “We’ll call you back in 9.” She quickly hung up and turned to Arthur with a fired-up look in her eyes. “We have to help your brother with the game.”

Arthur sighed, “Alright. Let’s go..” How could he say no to her? He walked over to the bookcase, picked up the scratch pad and a pen, and walked over to the kitchen island where Kat swiftly sat down to figure this out.

“What letters did he use?” Arthur asked as he sat beside her, leaning over slightly to get a glimpse at his brother’s attempts. As Arthur suspected, his brother was not very bright in this department. He had managed to list five types of foods and guess none of the letters other than an ‘e’ and an ‘r’ and even those letters were not in the right spots. “Oh, this is horrendous. It could be anything.”

Kat contemplated the combinations and quickly became overwhelmed by the time crunch. She had hoped this would be a bit easier, but Alfred did not make it so. All his words were food-related. His word options were very poorly chosen, given that he was probably thinking on an empty stomach. Kat chewed on her bottom lip.

After scribbling down a couple of options, Arthur put down the pen and looked at his fellow detective. “This is impossible, Kat. He has two of the most common letters and they’re not even in the correct spaces. It could be anything.” Her brows were furrowed together, giving her a look reminiscent of a grouchy bunny. As adorable as it looked on her, he knew she was getting frustrated. “Why don’t we just look up the word and tell him we figured it out? He doesn’t know any better anyways.”

“No, we can’t cheat. That’s against the rules.”

“These rules are not real.”

“We have to follow the rules, Arthur. A man’s reputation is on the line.”

“Alfred will be fine.”

“I meant you, sweetie.”

“Me?”

“Yeah, what’s gonna happen when you can’t solve it? Alfred will think you’re stupid too. I can’t have him thinking that. There has to be a smart man in the family and if it's not him, it has to be you.” He blinked. Damn it. She was right, his reputation was indeed on the line. He couldn’t let his brother down now, but he knew there was no way he’d discover the needle in the haystack. Arthur began to take the game a bit more seriously now. 

“I got it!” Kat exclaimed.

"What? How?" Arthur looked at her in astonishment. What did she know that he didn’t? How did she figure it out? Was she a mind reader of some sort? She opened the phone and dialed Alfred, putting the phone to her ear.

“Did you get it?!” Alfred asked with urgency.

“No, but can you download the app on Arthur’s phone?” Ahh. Arthur now had a better understanding of his wife's thought process. He quickly came to terms that she was in fact smarter than him. Maybe not to the extent of guessing the word from the first and only try... 

“Oh yeah!! I got Artie’s phone connected to my account. Hold on.” Kat sighed in relief as she found a way to solve it without cheating. Technically. She gave Arthur a thumbs up and he nodded back at her. Arthur admired her determination to win. “It downloaded.”

“Perfect! We’ll call you back!” Kat hung up and immediately opened up the app and attempted to quickly skip through the offers and tutorials while trying to find the ‘Wordle’ section. Kat and Arthur spent three of five of the remaining minutes trying out letters and were stumped when they ended up with three letters and no more guesses left. They didn't even notice the correct word appear on screen after all that.

Kat clenched her fists and the little forehead dimple reappeared. “What do we do..?” As Kat panicked, she watched Arthur attempt to make words with the letters they did figure out.

“I think… I think we might have to admit defeat.” Arthur took off his glasses and rubbed his tired eyes, ready to give up. Kat dialed Alfred once more and waited for him to pick up. The duo jumped at the sudden pop sound of the plastic dish soap bottle piercing through the silence.

“Oh my god.”

“Well, that scared the shit out of me.” Arthur exhaled, unnerved by the suddenness of it. Kat could almost say that it was eerie.

“Kat!” Alfred finally picked up. “Please tell me you got it.”

“Try ‘eerie’.” Arthur’s head swiveled to meet his wife’s face, not a dent above her eyebrows in sight. Just a confident look and a twinkle of hope in her eyes. A grin slowly crept up on his face as he realized she had gotten it.

“How do you spell that?”

“E-E-R-I-E.”

There was a silence, an unpalpable silence as everyone waited. 

“You guys…” 

Kat didn’t like the tone in which he said those words. Her eyes darted to the wall clock and she gasped softly as she realized they were a couple of seconds too late. “I love you guys so much…” Alfred sniffled, his voice cracking.

“Noo! Oh, honey... I’m so sorry.” Kat closed her eyes in defeat. She had let him down.

“Wait, what?” Alfred asked, his voice abruptly returning to normal. “What do you mean ‘sorry’? You got the word. I was just being dramatic.”

“What?! We did?!” Kat jumped out of her seat and cheered, letting her excitement echo through the quiet house. Normally, Arthur would discourage the noise, but he figured she deserved her moment. She kissed him and excitedly rattled her fists. Arthur smiled softly as he soaked in the visual of his beautiful lady as she experienced joy in its purest form. It felt like he was falling in love with her all over again. 

“We should do the next one!” Kat looked at the phone and realized she was still on the call with Alfred. “Oh! Alfred. Are you still there? Oh my gosh, I got so swept up in the moment that I didn’t realize you were still there. Do you want to do the next one together?”

“Oh, no worries, Kat. I already solved it.” Kat paused her celebratory moment, confused by his words. “You already solved it? How? It just changed.”

“I got it on the first try somehow. Lucky me, I guess, right?”

“On the first try?!” Kat gasped.

Arthur’s smile dropped as he realized this was a far worse scenario than the one they were dealing with ten minutes ago. This time they had no clues, a whole 24 hours, and an entire Alfred to compete against. He knew she would not rest until she got it. And until that moment happened, Alfred was officially the smartest person they knew. Arthur motioned for her to give him the phone and she did.

“Can you believe it?!” She said as she handed the phone to him.

“Alfred.”

“Hey, Artie! Would you believe that I got it from the first-”

“Yeah, yeah. First try. Whatever. Delete the app.”

“Huh?”

“Delete it from my phone. We are not doing this again.”

“What? No way!” Kat tried to take the device back from him, but he took hold of her hand and kissed it, keeping her from getting involved. 

“Kat, love. I’m on the phone with my brother.” 

Kat scoffed, offended by his audacity to just rip this new fixation out of her grasp. She decided to go pout in a more comfortable place.

“Artie, you gotta do that on your own. I can’t do it on my end.” Arthur’s eyes followed Kat as she plopped herself back on the leather chair, pulled her knees to her side, and mindlessly flipped through the magazine again. This time, each flip was more aggressive than the last. He chuckled at her reaction.

“How do I do it?” Arthur asked.

“You’re gonna have to press the app and hold it until it gets all wiggly. Then press the ‘x’ and delete it.”

“Thank you. I’ll do that now.”

“Man, Artie. You’re so dumb.”

“Excuse me??”

“You can’t work your phone. You even had Kat figure things out for you.”

Arthur’s face fell flat at his brother’s lovely observation. 

“Good night, Alfred.” He hung up the call and walked back over to Kat, giving her a kiss on her temple, which she did not react to, but did not flinch away from. 

“I’m mad at you.” Kat started.

“I know. But you were going to get frustrated even before you began. Alfred has set an unreachable standard and you know it’ll be impossible to figure it out without cheating or losing your mind.”

She humphed at his remark and suddenly got interested in something on the page. Arthur looked at her for a moment, admiring the gentle yet versatile features of her face, then looked at what she was looking at.

“What did you discover this time?”

“White-tile countertops.”

“Huh. These might look quite nice. I do wonder if-”

“Great,” Kat smiled and looked up at him, closing the catalog as quickly as she had opened it. She didn't even give him a chance to envision it or even finish his sentence. “Then we’ll get them for our kitchen.” That... was a fast decision.

“Of course. Whatever you’d like.” He grinned back, confused as to why she was suddenly smiling after pouting. Did white tiles bring her that much happiness? She was so simple. Well, anything for her to be happy.

She got up, kissed him on the cheek, and cutely said, “Thank you, my love.”

He looked at her confused, his smile morphing into a more concerned one. Arthur knew something was up. She had gotten something she wanted with an ulterior motive and he easily caved in.

“Have a good night.” She walked over to the staircase, where she helped him out with his thought process by adding, ‘Oh, by the way, they also come in yellow and green’ as she walked up the stairs.

“Katherine! We are not turning our kitchen into a giant word game!”

“And you’re not going to bed until the dishes are all done.”

“Damn it!” Arthur sighed, frustratingly returning to the sink. She won again.

[whitepeachrum]

The Finale

Fandom: Hetalia (personified) Pairing: Arthur x Kat (EngUkr/UkrEng) Content Length: Short (~1400 words) Trigger Warnings: Implied Dying, Terminal Lucidity

“Sir, your wife is up.”

“She’s what?” Arthur frowned, not hearing the nurse all that well.

“She’s awake now.”

“Oh, well then I should go see her.” He hurriedly put the newspaper down, propped himself up with the help of his walker, and slowly made his way to see Kat. His shaky hand knocked on the door twice.

“Are you decent, my love?”

“Arthur, is that you?”

Not hearing what she said, Arthur pushed the door open and made his way into the room. After all, she was his wife and he had every right to see her whenever he wanted. He walked in and looked immediately at Kat who was tidying up the room. His face brightened at the sight of his lovely wife, but his eyes held a somberness.

“My love, how are you feeling?” He sniffed.

“I feel so much better, my dear. It looks like I just needed some rest.”

“Needed what?” He asked, not hearing the last of her response. Kat carefully shuffled over to Arthur and gave him a sweet kiss. Arthur grunted contently.

“You look beautiful today,” he said, looking at her beaming face.

“And you look so handsome in your vest.” Kat brushed off some of the dandruff on his shoulder and straightened out his knitwear. “Is this new?”

“No, Matthew sent it to me. He made it a while ago.” He made it while you were asleep.

“Oh, it looks great on you.”

Arthur looked around the room and noticed that the room was somehow cleaner than before and that the bed was made. It's been a while since he's seen the top of the bed flattened out so neatly.

“You cleaned?”

“Yes, Alfred is visiting us today.”

“Who?” Arthur leaned in a bit to hear her better.

“Alfred, your brother.”

“Ah. Is it Wednesday already? I thought today was Monday.”

“I don’t know, but he’s coming today.”

“What time will he be here?” Arthur walked closer to her dresser and parked his walker there. “Gah, stupid wheels.”

“Here, I’m coming to help you.” Kat shuffled over with her bad hip and helped him reposition the walker so he could sit closer to the bed.

“Sit down with me, my dear.”

“I think I'll stand for a bit. You know how my hip is.”

“Well, suit yourself.” Arthur locked the device with a frown and, with the support of the dresser, walked over to the record player on the other side. He turned the music on full blast and gently nodded along as the familiar notes he’d heard for the last 65 years mildly hummed in his ears.

Arthur shuffled back over to his walker a bit less grounchy now and carefully lowered himself into the seat, grunting from the effort. Kat changed her mind about standing and sat beside him on the bed, tapping her feet to the rhythm of the melody. Kat enjoyed being by Arthur's side, especially on such a beautiful morning. She put her hand in Arthur’s and stroked it with her thumb.

“Oh, I like this song.”

“What was that?” Arthur turned to her with a raised eyebrow.

“I like this song,” she repeated louder for him.

“Oh,” Arthur chuckled, “I knew you would.”

Kat hummed happily as she listened to the song they had their first dance to. Arthur was adamant about playing this song at their wedding as it was the song he heard when he first met Kat. It was the only song he had ever danced to and lately, the only song he wanted to listen to. Kat didn’t mind as it brought back wonderful memories they shared over the decades. 

Arthur grunted suddenly, carefully pushed himself off the walker, and took small steps to face Kat. He held out his hands to her and asked her to dance with him.

“You haven’t asked me to dance in so long. I thought you’ve forgotten already.” Kat gently placed her hands in his and they walked to the middle of the room where there was plenty of space for them to slow dance together.

Arthur gave Kat’s hands a somewhat dry, but tender, kiss and brought her close to slow dance with her. They didn’t really care for the music or following any beats, but just the natural rhythm of their bodies. Kat rested her head on Arthur’s shoulder as his lip quivered and he gasped quietly to himself. If only she knew how much he'd wanted to dance with her all these months.

Ever since Kat was bedridden, she hasn't been able to even recognize Arthur. But today, she was moving around with energy and excitement as if she was her old self again. And Arthur knew what that meant. So, just for today, he wanted to share one last dance together. They haven’t danced in years but it always felt like their first time.

“This is so nice, honey.” She said as he tried his hardest to hide his tears from her. When the song ended, Kat lifted her head and acknowledged his teary face. “What’s the matter? I’ve never seen you cry. Is it too stuffy in here? I could open the window and let some fresh air in.”

“I just love you so much. That’s all.”

Kat gave him a warm smile and gently wiped his tears off his cheeks. “Oh, that’s just the sweetest. I love you, too.”

“Don’t tell Alfred I cried.” Arthur immediately frowned at the thought of his brother repeatedly taunting him for crying.

“I promise I won’t.” She hugged him close and continued to move to her own rhythm. Arthur’s eyebrows furrowed and he held onto Kat tightly. He wasn’t ready to let her go. Not now, not ever.

He wiped his eyes with his shaky hands and kissed her gray hair, basking in her natural scent for as long as he could. He wanted to remember her in every way possible for as long as possible. Maybe it wasn’t her time to go yet, but if it was, Arthur had to make the most of it.

“Love, when is Alfred coming by?”

“He said around midnight.”

“Huh?”

“Midnight.” She said louder in his ear.

“Midnight? Isn’t that a bit late?” Arthur looked at her.

“He has a long drive here.”

“Ah, right.” He did not. Arthur knew Alfred had moved closer to them over a month ago, but he didn’t have the heart to correct her. If she said he has a long drive, then so be it. Happy wife, happy life.

“I should start cooking for him so he has something to eat when he gets here. You know how strong his appetite gets.”

“Darling, you don’t have to cook. He knows how to do it himself.”

“I know that. I just feel like making something today. What do you think he’ll like?”

“A cup of tea.”

“He does not like tea, sweetheart.”

“Ah, right, right.” Arthur waved it off, not caring about Alfred at all, and walked over to his walker so that he could join Kat in the kitchen. Any time apart from her was too long.

“I can make some tea for you.”

“What?”

“I’ll make some tea for you.”

“That would be lovely. Thank you.”

As quickly as her bad hip allowed her, Kat made her way to the kitchen to make Arthur some fresh tea. Arthur couldn’t stop sniffling as he slowly followed her to the kitchen. The nurse came over to Arthur to help him get the walker through the tiny hallways and Arthur stopped momentarily to ask the nurse.

“What day is it today?”

“It’s Monday.” The nurse replied.

“That’s what I thought." He recalled seeing 'Monday' in the newspaper earlier, so he wanted to ensure his memory hadn't totally failed him. "And is Alfred coming tonight?”

“No, he’s coming next week.”

Arthur’s brows furrowed once more and he nodded with tears in his eyes, confirming what he didn't want to accept. “That’s what I thought. And Kat. Is she..?”

“..She’s waiting for you in the kitchen.”

“Well, I knew that!” He snipped at the nurse, then grunted as he regretted his attitude. He let out a shaky and emotional sigh. “Could you tell my brother to visit us tonight?”

“Yes, I can call him.”

"Tell him to bring Mattie and everyone."

"I will."

“And don’t tell him I cried. I don’t need him asking me questions about it.”

“I won’t.”

“He’ll see it for himself when he arrives.”

His brows upturn again and his lip quiver returns. Arthur lets out another long, unsteady breath as he amps himself to reunite with his wife in the kitchen. 

“Are you alright, sir?”

“I just need a moment. I’m getting ready for her grand finale.”

[whitepeachrum]

When you haven't seen your younger sibling in a while and they suddenly look bigger than you remember them to be.

[whitepeachrum]

Introductions and Such

Hi there! I'm WhitePeachRum (WPR). Let's get to know one another!

I am:

🍑 A fanfiction writer and doodler! I create content I've had circling my mind for years. The fandom I like to create cute content for is Hetalia, specifically for the personified versions of the nations. (Note: This blog is a politics-free zone!)

🍑 A fan! I love seeing creations made by other members of the community. You got art? I wanna see it! Writing? Hell yeah. Ideas? Let's hear 'em!

🍑 A lil guy! I am slowly emerging out of my pit after a decade long death and I am hoping to thrive in a new environment! (Please be kind to me.)

It's a pleasure to meet you~! Stay as long as you'd like.

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[Updated Feb 28th, 2025]