Switzerland was woken from his nap on top of some economic reports by a loud knocking on his front door. He was currently on sick leave and working from home and wasn't expecting any visitors. He frowned. 'Liechtenstein?' he asked, still sleep dazed. But it couldn’t be Liechtenstein; she would have phoned him if she was visiting, and wouldn’t knock so loudly before she visited. He checked his messages just to make sure he hadn't missed anything, then picked up his gun and headed to the door. Whoever this stranger was they had better be ready to run.
He opened the door, then closed it again on principle. There was a curse as the door slammed shut on the visitor’s foot. ‘Switzerland, please don’t be so cruel as to lock out your neighbour.’
Switzerland relented and opened the door, mainly to tell France to remove his foot from the doorway. ‘France, remove your foot from my doorway. You should be working on solving your own woes, rather than bothering me at my house.’
‘Solving my “current woes” is the reason why I am here! We had a meeting today, which I had stayed up all night preparing for, only to arrive at your office and have your boss tell me that a junior minister would have to take the meeting because you were off sick.'
Switzerland's frown lightened somewhat. He had had a meeting scheduled with his neighbour for today, concerning the very economic papers he had fallen asleep on. 'Very well. Though that does not explain the home visit; I'm sick, and not ready for any meetings.'
France laughed and pushed his way inside the house, ignoring Switzerland’s gun. 'In all the centuries we've known each other you've never missed a meeting. You even barged into my house when I missed a meeting in bed with recession flu, and you were sicker than me!'
Switzerland frowned at France’s back, seriously considering changing his "no shooting inside the house" rule, and just tossing France's dead body back over the border, to hell with diplomacy and staining the carpets. 'As I said, I'm sick. Now get out of my house before I shoot you.'
'But I brought coffee.' France shook the bag of grounds, inviting himself into Switzerland's kitchen.
Switzerland followed France into the kitchen. He should kick the other nation out but... France was a very important neighbour for him, and also a very generous guest. He had brought a very good brand of coffee with him, which he would then leave behind, allowing Switzerland to have good coffee without having to pay for it. Once again, frugality won out over common sense, though he would not allow France to remain for long 'As I said: I'm feeling sick and so couldn't go to work today. Your visit will have to be short.'
'Your economy must be worse than we imagined for you to miss work for two weeks.' France had dug the French press out of the depths of Switzerland’s cupboards and was carefully measuring out the coffee into the flask.
'My economy is-' Switzerland’s brain caught up with the sentence. ‘How do you know it’s been two weeks?'
'Oh, just something your boss said.' France shrugged, feigning nonchalance and watching the coffee steep. 'But Liechtenstein has been visiting you, hasn't she? I don't imagine she would leave you alone if you were sick.'
Switzerland scowled at France's back. 'I asked her to leave so she wouldn't catch my illness.'
'Of course.' There was an uncomfortable silence for a few minutes, until France set two cups of coffee down at the table. 'You do look very tired though.' France reached out and touched Switzerland's face. 'You know you can always ask big brot-' There was a sharp crack as the fingers that had been touching Switzerland were broken.
Switzerland backed away from France, breathing heavily. France was looking at him with fear in his eyes, holding his hand to his chest. 'You should go.' Switzerland said.
France shook his head. ‘Not yet. You aren’t yourself, Switzerland. We are all concerned about you, and Austria says-’
Switzerland snorted. The Eurozone was gossiping again. They could take their concern and keep it. More likely they were worried about what his personal disappearance from the European stage may mean for them. ‘You should leave. I'll reschedule the appointment for next month, if you weren't able to do anything with my ministers today.'
France sighed, knowing he shouldn’t push Switzerland’s unique brand of hospitality, especially not with a gun so close to hand. He also really needing to get medical attention before his fingers set out of place. 'There's no need to reschedule. We managed to discuss everything that required attention. But my phone is always turned on, and you are always welcome in my house.'
'I’ll keep that in mind.' Switzerland walked France to the door, then watched as the other nation walked away. He almost wanted to stop France, to be able to tell everything he couldn’t say to Liechtenstein to somebody. But he couldn’t; not with France, or anybody else. He turned around and returned to his kitchen. The two mugs on the table looked so lonely, and for once Switzerland felt a pang in his heart. He picked up the mug France had been using and tipped the contents down the sink. This was another problem he would have to face alone. He picked up his mug of coffee and returned to the study.
Six days later, France was woken at two in the morning by a knocking on his door. He stumbled to the front door and opened it, still half asleep and rubbing his eyes. ‘Suisse? What are you-?’
Switzerland brushed past him and into the house, his eyes darting around frantically until France closed the door.
France was shocked awake by Switzerland’s ruffled appearance and the dark bags under his eyes. ‘What’s the problem, Switzerland? Has something happened?’
‘I- I can’t do it anymore. I can’t sleep. I can barely leave the house. I can’t go to work but I can’t stay at home. My work is suffering, and I think I might be starting to make my people troubled.’
France stared at Switzerland. He had never even thought that Switzerland could be so troubled. ‘Come to the lounge room. You can sit down and I’ll make you some coffee.’ France hoped that sitting down with coffee would help Switzerland to relax, or at least it would help to wake him up more so he could deal with Switzerland in this state.
When France returned to the lounge room with the coffee, he found Switzerland sitting stiffly in a corner of his armchair. He handed a mug to Switzerland, and sat down on the other end of the couch, relaxing back into the leather before taking a drink. ‘So then, what has brought you to my house at such a time of night?’
Switzerland took a deep swig of his own coffee, allowing the warm drink to relax him. He sat in silence for a while, ignoring France’s eyes, before finally placing his mug on a side table. It was time to bite the bullet and tell someone. 'I was raped' he said quietly.
France froze, coffee mug at his lips. Whatever he had expected Switzerland to say, it wasn't that. A million thoughts rushed through his head; things he should say, things he shouldn't say, actions, words, thoughts, all piled up in a tangled mass. 'A-ah' was all he managed to say. He looked at Switzerland, who seemed to have shrunk into himself after that single sentence. After a few more moments of heavy silence, France tried again. ‘What..?’
‘What happened?’ Switzerland asked, not looking at France.
France shook his head. ‘You don’t need to tell me! I- This must be very difficult for you, and-’
Switzerland shook his head, cutting France off. ‘I need to tell somebody. It was three weeks ago. I was walking home and one of my children tried to mug me. We fought, and he knocked me down. When I woke up he-' Switzerland's voice broke, and France hurriedly searched for a tissue. 'He was inside me. He was holding me down, and I couldn't get up.' France handed the tissue to Switzerland, who wiped his eyes and then continued speaking. 'I couldn't get up. And I enjoyed it. I must have. I... I...'
France went to put a hand on the shaking nations shoulder, then stopped at the last minute. Switzerland was panicking, and touching him would not help. 'Switzerland, Switzerland, it's over. You do not need to be scared anymore.'
Switzerland looked at France. 'I do understand that.' His voice was acidic; France nearly flinched. Switzerland sighed and looked down at his hands, and the heavy silence returned to the room.
France coughed. ‘You said you enjoyed it?'
Switzerland started crumpling the tissue up. 'I enjoyed it. I didn't want it, but I still got pleasure from it. Do you understand what that's like? I've never had that before, and he forced it on me.'
France could understand that; sometimes the body, even that of a nation, would betray its’ owner. It would make a normally horrifying situation ten times worse, and to have been a virgin... He took another tissue and wiped the tears off Switzerland's face. If he ever needed to be big brother to another nation, now was the time.
I love the developments of this part. Including France was a really good way to make the story progress, and I love the way you're writing him here. The interaction between him and Switzerland is exactly as I would imagine it. Great job!
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Re: Untitled- chapter 7, part 1/2
(Anonymous) 2012-09-09 03:09 am (UTC)(link)Switzerland was woken from his nap on top of some economic reports by a loud knocking on his front door. He was currently on sick leave and working from home and wasn't expecting any visitors. He frowned. 'Liechtenstein?' he asked, still sleep dazed. But it couldn’t be Liechtenstein; she would have phoned him if she was visiting, and wouldn’t knock so loudly before she visited. He checked his messages just to make sure he hadn't missed anything, then picked up his gun and headed to the door. Whoever this stranger was they had better be ready to run.
He opened the door, then closed it again on principle. There was a curse as the door slammed shut on the visitor’s foot. ‘Switzerland, please don’t be so cruel as to lock out your neighbour.’
Switzerland relented and opened the door, mainly to tell France to remove his foot from the doorway. ‘France, remove your foot from my doorway. You should be working on solving your own woes, rather than bothering me at my house.’
‘Solving my “current woes” is the reason why I am here! We had a meeting today, which I had stayed up all night preparing for, only to arrive at your office and have your boss tell me that a junior minister would have to take the meeting because you were off sick.'
Switzerland's frown lightened somewhat. He had had a meeting scheduled with his neighbour for today, concerning the very economic papers he had fallen asleep on. 'Very well. Though that does not explain the home visit; I'm sick, and not ready for any meetings.'
France laughed and pushed his way inside the house, ignoring Switzerland’s gun. 'In all the centuries we've known each other you've never missed a meeting. You even barged into my house when I missed a meeting in bed with recession flu, and you were sicker than me!'
Switzerland frowned at France’s back, seriously considering changing his "no shooting inside the house" rule, and just tossing France's dead body back over the border, to hell with diplomacy and staining the carpets. 'As I said, I'm sick. Now get out of my house before I shoot you.'
'But I brought coffee.' France shook the bag of grounds, inviting himself into Switzerland's kitchen.
Switzerland followed France into the kitchen. He should kick the other nation out but... France was a very important neighbour for him, and also a very generous guest. He had brought a very good brand of coffee with him, which he would then leave behind, allowing Switzerland to have good coffee without having to pay for it. Once again, frugality won out over common sense, though he would not allow France to remain for long 'As I said: I'm feeling sick and so couldn't go to work today. Your visit will have to be short.'
'Your economy must be worse than we imagined for you to miss work for two weeks.' France had dug the French press out of the depths of Switzerland’s cupboards and was carefully measuring out the coffee into the flask.
'My economy is-' Switzerland’s brain caught up with the sentence. ‘How do you know it’s been two weeks?'
'Oh, just something your boss said.' France shrugged, feigning nonchalance and watching the coffee steep. 'But Liechtenstein has been visiting you, hasn't she? I don't imagine she would leave you alone if you were sick.'
Switzerland scowled at France's back. 'I asked her to leave so she wouldn't catch my illness.'
'Of course.' There was an uncomfortable silence for a few minutes, until France set two cups of coffee down at the table. 'You do look very tired though.' France reached out and touched Switzerland's face. 'You know you can always ask big brot-' There was a sharp crack as the fingers that had been touching Switzerland were broken.
Re: Untitled- chapter 7, part 2/3
(Anonymous) 2012-09-09 03:11 am (UTC)(link)France shook his head. ‘Not yet. You aren’t yourself, Switzerland. We are all concerned about you, and Austria says-’
Switzerland snorted. The Eurozone was gossiping again. They could take their concern and keep it. More likely they were worried about what his personal disappearance from the European stage may mean for them. ‘You should leave. I'll reschedule the appointment for next month, if you weren't able to do anything with my ministers today.'
France sighed, knowing he shouldn’t push Switzerland’s unique brand of hospitality, especially not with a gun so close to hand. He also really needing to get medical attention before his fingers set out of place. 'There's no need to reschedule. We managed to discuss everything that required attention. But my phone is always turned on, and you are always welcome in my house.'
'I’ll keep that in mind.' Switzerland walked France to the door, then watched as the other nation walked away. He almost wanted to stop France, to be able to tell everything he couldn’t say to Liechtenstein to somebody. But he couldn’t; not with France, or anybody else. He turned around and returned to his kitchen. The two mugs on the table looked so lonely, and for once Switzerland felt a pang in his heart. He picked up the mug France had been using and tipped the contents down the sink. This was another problem he would have to face alone. He picked up his mug of coffee and returned to the study.
Six days later, France was woken at two in the morning by a knocking on his door. He stumbled to the front door and opened it, still half asleep and rubbing his eyes. ‘Suisse? What are you-?’
Switzerland brushed past him and into the house, his eyes darting around frantically until France closed the door.
France was shocked awake by Switzerland’s ruffled appearance and the dark bags under his eyes. ‘What’s the problem, Switzerland? Has something happened?’
‘I- I can’t do it anymore. I can’t sleep. I can barely leave the house. I can’t go to work but I can’t stay at home. My work is suffering, and I think I might be starting to make my people troubled.’
France stared at Switzerland. He had never even thought that Switzerland could be so troubled. ‘Come to the lounge room. You can sit down and I’ll make you some coffee.’ France hoped that sitting down with coffee would help Switzerland to relax, or at least it would help to wake him up more so he could deal with Switzerland in this state.
When France returned to the lounge room with the coffee, he found Switzerland sitting stiffly in a corner of his armchair. He handed a mug to Switzerland, and sat down on the other end of the couch, relaxing back into the leather before taking a drink. ‘So then, what has brought you to my house at such a time of night?’
Switzerland took a deep swig of his own coffee, allowing the warm drink to relax him. He sat in silence for a while, ignoring France’s eyes, before finally placing his mug on a side table. It was time to bite the bullet and tell someone. 'I was raped' he said quietly.
France froze, coffee mug at his lips. Whatever he had expected Switzerland to say, it wasn't that. A million thoughts rushed through his head; things he should say, things he shouldn't say, actions, words, thoughts, all piled up in a tangled mass. 'A-ah' was all he managed to say. He looked at Switzerland, who seemed to have shrunk into himself after that single sentence. After a few more moments of heavy silence, France tried again. ‘What..?’
‘What happened?’ Switzerland asked, not looking at France.
France shook his head. ‘You don’t need to tell me! I- This must be very difficult for you, and-’
Re: Untitled- chapter 7, part 3/3
(Anonymous) 2012-09-09 03:12 am (UTC)(link)France went to put a hand on the shaking nations shoulder, then stopped at the last minute. Switzerland was panicking, and touching him would not help. 'Switzerland, Switzerland, it's over. You do not need to be scared anymore.'
Switzerland looked at France. 'I do understand that.' His voice was acidic; France nearly flinched. Switzerland sighed and looked down at his hands, and the heavy silence returned to the room.
France coughed. ‘You said you enjoyed it?'
Switzerland started crumpling the tissue up. 'I enjoyed it. I didn't want it, but I still got pleasure from it. Do you understand what that's like? I've never had that before, and he forced it on me.'
France could understand that; sometimes the body, even that of a nation, would betray its’ owner. It would make a normally horrifying situation ten times worse, and to have been a virgin... He took another tissue and wiped the tears off Switzerland's face. If he ever needed to be big brother to another nation, now was the time.
Re: Untitled- chapter 7, part 3/3
(Anonymous) 2012-09-09 12:50 pm (UTC)(link)