Valuable [Various x Reader x Japan]

    No one expected it. The small country of Atlantis to be in the centre of gold and gem trade.

    It wasn’t like the stories; Atlantis wasn’t an underwater city with mermaids, rare coral and abundant underwater life. It was a small country that was always at the edge of the map, so small that it looked like an accidental splotch of ink; a mistake the printer made. Atlantis had never excelled in any particular field; like France with wineries and cuisine; or Germany with cars; or Italy with their Renaissance art. Even Sealand had probably been more noticeable than Atlantis.

    Well, that changed when someone had went to an isolated river and found small gold nuggets mixed with the dirt; at the same time, a coal mine had been found with diamonds; and a daughter of a gold industry CEO had set foot on her private studio far from society.

    After that, everything happened so fast. There were the gold-panners that seemed to have come out of the`Gold Rush’; headlines that streaked across every nation; and negotiations attempted to be made.

    It was easy to see the last part; the negotiations; bantered between the personifications of countries and the country of Atlantis.

    “Ve! Atlantis, I really like your hair today! Do you want to come to dinner with me later, when this meeting is finished, bella?” a brunet Italian suggested, smiling. You smiled back, shaking your head.

    “I’ve told you to call me [f/n], North. Same to your brother,” you corrected. “Also, I’m busy after the dinner, I’m going to hang out with Japan for a bit.”

    The Italian’s curl drooped, and tears began to well in his eyes. “B-but, bella, I’ll cook some pasta! My brother will whip something delizioso with tomatoes.”  You began to panic; you didn’t really know what to do when either of the Italian brothers started to cry; they had only started talking to you after the Gold Rush.

    But then, a tall figure appeared behind North Italy, revealing a slightly pissed-off Germany holding two coffee cups. “Italy, are you trying to guilt-trip Atlantis to come to your house again? That’s not very nice,” Germany said, a threatening note on his voice. Italy squeaked, before giving a hasty smile.

    “No, of course not, Germany! I just, uh, had something in my eye!” And with that, the Italian ran away. The blond man sighed tiredly, before turning to you, an apologetic look on his face.

    “Sorry about that, Italy can be quite sneaky at times; despite his looks,” he told you. Holding out one hand with a coffee cup, he continued. “I got you some coffee, Atlantis. I figured it might be tiring to deal with these idiots.” Germany gestured to the other countries, doing anything but being productive. You grinned, taking the coffee.

    “Thanks Germany!” you said, before frowning. “Oh yeah, sorry, but I won’t be available tomorrow evening. Japan said that he needed help with something that was coming over.” At that, the blond man mirrored your frown, but cleared his throat, attempting a smile.

    “Ah, there’s always a next time,” he replied, before turning on his heel to control the meeting. You shivered; that smile had never reached his eyes.

    Your thoughts were interrupted when some hugged you from behind, leaning their chin on your shoulder. Smelling a strong scent on them, something between a sour fruity smell and a sweet flowery scent, you sighed.

    “Bonjour, France. How are you?” you asked politely, standing stock-still. You felt his breath tickle your neck, and you turned away, slightly pink in the face.

    “Ah, has the mademoiselle decided to try her tongue at the language of love? That makes me very happy,” France replied, and you pulled his arms from your waist and turned to face him.

    You rolled your eyes. “Sorry, but I’m no good at French; it twists my tongue.”

    “I know something else that might twist your tongue,” he whispered, trapping you with his arms against a wall that hadn’t been behind you before. “By the way, how are the diamond mines going over there at your place?”

    “Better than any jewels you might have here,” said a voice, before a foot kicked France squarely between the legs. The latter doubled over, falling to the side to show a glaring Brit glowering at France. He turned to you shaking his head.

    “I advise you stay away from that perverted frog, Miss Atlantis. Although you can always come to me if he’s bothering you; a simple alliance to keep away this sorry excuse of a country,” England offered, gesturing at the shaking mess that was France. “But I concur with the scoundrel on a particular subject; how are the gold and diamond mines going over at your place?”

    “Excellent actually! I’ve had a lot of visitors coming over to my house, including Mr America, Mr China and even Mr Russia, regarding that! Also, Miss Taiwan sent me a bunch of her stuff from her place, pinned with a letter inviting me over for a traditional Taiwanese lunch to discuss the use of diamonds. It’s really great!” you answered, and the usually grouchy England smiled at your wide, beaming face.

    “Ah, then am I late in the queue of inviting you over to my place? My gardens are simply beautiful at this time of year,” England said, taking your hand and placing a light kiss on it. “Of course, the flowers aren’t as splendid as you; no exotic plant could possibly match your beauty.”

    He smirked at your dark blush, which quickly disappeared as you saw a familiar face observing you two. Quickly, England straightened up, clearing his throat.

    “Hey, [f/n]. I didn’t know you were good friends with England; I would’ve invited you both over at my house if I had known,” Japan greeted, seemingly ignoring the blond. You shook your head.

    “I wouldn’t dare to say that. Engl-” you started, before Japan jolted like he had just remembered something.

    “Ah, [f/n], I forgot, I need to show you something,” he interrupted, guiding you away from England. Accidentally, he tripped over France, bringing you down with him to the floor. Both France and England helped you up, almost stepping on Japan, words of worry escaping their lips. Before you could assure them you were quite alright, Japan jumped up and guided you away.

    “Let’s go quickly, [f/n]. Before I forget,” Japan said, rushing to get away from the other countries. “By the way, how have you been?”

    You talked about the good weather that had hit your place, plus the fact that you had learnt some new things over the past months. As you chattered on, Japan turned murderously to face France and England, making a gesture he had seen America make to Russia in a previous world meeting.

    While you kept talking, unaware, England blinked repeatedly, not believing what he had just seen, and France’s mouth fell open.

    “Did he just pull the middle finger at me?” they both thought.