M: Mittens

L: Luv

--------

L

In his agitation, Wehrmacht did not sense MA eavesdropping. He continued his debate with Germany. 

 "This isn't some WATCH party," the militant whispered fiercely. "It's risky for them to be here already but to stay the night, let alone TWO DAYS, is too much of a security issue. AND you're inviting that stuck-up EU." 

 "Uncle the past is behind us," Germany replied. "I've managed to reconnect with all of our neighbors and I want to do the same with Mandara. You should get along with Mandara Army too." 

 "I —" 

 "Don't be like Vater," Germany whispered before shouldering past Wehrmacht and going back to meet Mandara.

M

MA's eyes widened when he heard Germany say that last part, and it made him feel slightly sorry for Wehrmacht that he was being compared to Third Reich, even if they were brothers. He also smirked a bit when Wehr called EU "stuck up", at least that was one thing they could agree on. With the new found pity for Wehr, MA found him self able to relax a little for the remainder of the meeting, not letting his guard down, but enough to give his brother some room and to cross his arms rather than keeping his hand near his gun.

L

Wehrmacht's face fell at Germany's comment. For the remainder of the meeting, he kept quiet as Germany made plans with Mandara. He noticed that MA looked more relaxed than before, and so Wehrmacht also lowered his wings out of both lessened hostility and hurt from Germany's words. 

 "If you'd like, you can sleep in our estate's guest bedrooms for the next days," Germany said to Mandara. "Though I completely understand if you'd rather prefer a hotel, we have many five-star establishments nearby."

M

"That's very generous of you," Mandara cheerfully said. "We would be honored to stay with you." He then leaned forward a bit, "And between us, I think it would be very interesting to see our militant entities have to share the same roof, wouldn't you agree Thunder?" 

 MA stuck his tongue out at his brother, who just chuckled and playfully nudged him with his wing before turning back to Germany. MA then looked up at Wehrmacht and glared at him, basically saying 'keep to yourself and there won't be trouble'.

L

Wehrmacht growled at MA in response and shot Germany a glare for getting him into this mess. His nephew completely ignored him, however, and even made matters worse with his next words. 

 "I agree," chuckled Germany. "Unfortunately, I have a call to make to EU. Uncle Wehrmacht, why don't you show Mandara and Mandara Army to their rooms while I'm gone?" 

 The militant entity looked alarmed but Germany simply patted his uncle on the shoulder and walked away.

M

Mandara stood up right after Germany left and took a step towards the militant entity.

"Long time no see Wehrmacht," he said, trying to sound as friendly as possible, "looks like the years have been treating you well, your wings are still as glorious as when we last met." 

 MA rolled his eyes at his brother's compliments, he always considered him a bit of an ass-kisser, but he would never say that to his face.

L

Wehrmacht grunted at Mandara's comment, flicking his wings subconsciously. He scanned Mandara's and MA's multicolored wings, analyzing them in his head and—out of habit—judging whether or not he'd win an aerial duel against them. 

 "As are your wings," the militant finally murmured, his voice stiff. "Now let's get this over with."

 Wehrmacht turned without another word and trudged to the door of the conference room. He held it open and tilted his head at his guests, avoiding any awkward eye contact.

M

Mandara hummed in response to Wehr's disgruntled attitude, but walked out the room without a word. MA on the other hand stayed back a bit.

"Sheesh, Trigger was just trying to be nice, are you Germans always so brash around others?" he said, flicking his wing slightly.

L

"Only the ones we want nothing to do with," Wehrmacht replied. 

 Deep down, Wehrmacht noted he should let it go and be less rude. But he also admitted that there was another emotion, jealousy, that churned inside him. It didn't sit well with the German that there were other militant entities still active, still serving their original country while he had been forced to retire. 

 He sighed and led the way down the hall. They passed the occasional office worker, who stepped to the side to avoid Wehrmacht but nodded politely at Mandara and MA.

M

As they walked through the halls, MA and Mandara both noticed that Wehrmacht seamed to have an odd vibe around him. Mandara didn't know what it was, but MA could feel the jealousy and resentment coming off his wings. He didn't understand why Wehr was feeling that way, but whatever it was, it was most likely related to him and his brother being there.

L

They climbed up a flight of stairs and Wehrmacht indicated two doors at the end of the hall. "Your rooms. If you need anything, there is a desk with a button in each room that you can press to call room service." 

Finished with his tour, Wehrmacht stood awkwardly in the hall, looking anywhere but at his guests. He placed his hands behind his back, a gesture mimicking Third Reich's classic posture whenever he didn't know where to put his hands. He cursed his nephew in his head again.

M

Mandara politely thanked him and went inside, while MA again held back. He looked Wehr up and down, taking note of his posture and the way he held his wings. He was very good at telling how people feel based on their stance, and he wasn't fooled by Wehr's, something was bothering the entity. 

 "Are you ok Wehrmacht? I can tell somethings bugging you," he asked, flashing him a genuine look of concern.

L

The German jolted a little at MA's voice. He was more surprised to see the concern on MA's face. Wehrmacht loosened his shoulders. 

 "I'm fine," he said cautiously. "Usual stress. Although you and your brother would do me a favor by keeping to yourselves for the rest of this...visit." His gaze hardened. "Don't try anything and I won't either."

M

MA raised his brow at Wehr's lie but didn't press further, instead he sighed and just said, "Well ... if you ever need someone to talk to, I'll be there, you just let me know." 

He then entered his room, slightly brushing his wing against Wehrmacht's as a sign of peace.

L

His feathers tingled at the contact. The feeling remained even after MA went into his room. Wehrmacht stood outside for a moment, feeling grateful, guilty, and angry at the same time: grateful that MA seemed not to be looking for trouble after all, guilty that Wehrmacht had been especially rude today, and angry that MA would offer him help despite the German's attitude. It was a weird sort of anger, stemming from Wehrmacht's confusion and his inability to find out what MA's motive was. He shook it off quickly before it jumbled his mind too much and went back downstairs to find Germany.