North Korea sighed out as he looked up at the residence a certain Filippino had told him about, a nuke; it was a plushy, though he'd never admit it; in hand. (He had to keep [i something] familiar with him at all times that he could actually see, after all.) 
Was he really about to go attempt to take care of that ball of sunshine's brother because he got injured? Yes, reluctantly, though that's only because the rest of Asia was busy trying to convince China that capturing Taiwan was a bad idea. Not to mention, he owed the Philippines a tiny favour regardless, and when his own brother had jumped on board to convince North into agreeing, nobody; not even his disapproving self; could say no. 
"Stupid idiot just [i had] to get hurt while I was prepping for global war, didn't he?" The Korean muttered to himself, letting out another grumpy sigh as he walked up to the door, gently knocking on it. Given, he was never really told what [i kind] of injury Martial had sustained, so he had no idea if he'd be able to even answer the door or not.

Martial Law was always stubborn, especially so with his wounds. But when he had tried to help the others convince China not to capture Taiwan (he was their backup, and he'd failed to threaten the larger country, unfortunately for his pride), he'd been injured. Pretty badly too, and Del Pilar wasn't able to take care of him, so when he heard the door, he assumed it was someone coming to take care of him. "Ugh...It's open!" He called, rubbing his eyes quietly as he attempted to sit up on his own. "So annoying, I could've taken him if they'd just distracted him better. Anong masamang taktika..." He grumbled out, looking up to see him and sighing quietly. "Great...and they sent North Korea to take care of me. What, are you here to euthanize me or something?" He hissed out, his eye glowing softly while he covered the other with his free hand. "Fuck."


["What bad tactics..."]

"Now you're just [i asking] me to do a shit job looking after you. You'd be long gone by now if I wanted to do that anyways, 빌어 먹을 바보." North Korea hissed out with an eye roll, taking a small step so he had an easier time seeing exactly how badly injured the Filippino had gotten. "How sad, to be bedridden by China. What made you think you'd be the one to take him down? Especially so when you can barely handle yours truly?" He almost teased as he cracked a tiny, amused smile, but that much was to be expected from him considering his apparent obsession with violence. "Have you managed to eat anything yet?" North asked once a pause had passed, apparently taking the task he was convinced into semi-seriously at the very least. 


["fucking idiot"]

He had a decent gash on his side and there seemed to be something wrong with his eye that he was covering up, huffing softly before nodding. "I got something small to eat on the way back. Phil paid for it. It's surprised to see you here. Your threats are the only ones people seem to take seriously anymore besides Russki and China. It's funny, actually, when I tell people I've faced you and not taken any repercussions." He chuckled as he took his hand away from his eye, wiping away some odd black fluid in the process. A soft hum escaped him as he watched him silently, crossing his arms. "I would've thought you'd cringe at the idea of playing babysitter to someone."

"Bold of you to assume I didn't cringe when I was first asked." He retorted sarcastically, glancing around the room briefly. "I only owe Phil a small favour. Somebody has to look after you, and considering the rest of Asia is busy and the fact I don't instantaneously want to turn you to ash, I agreed to your brother's request." North explained in a monotone voice; theoretically to mask any emotions that threatened to claw into his voice; waltzing around the room a few paces only to pull up a chair, calmly taking a seat in it. "Do you have a problem with that? Cause I'll more than happily go back to my factories and leave you alone and defenceless if so."

“Not like I have much of a choice…I can’t defend myself in this state.” He grumbled out softly, crossing his arms and sighing out heavily. He honestly didn’t want to be taken care of, but at the same time, he was kind of a sucker for his little brother and he knew Phil would be upset if he didn’t let himself be taken care of for at least a little while. It was just in his nature, the innocent little sunshine boy. They’d both seen wars, but Martial had shielded him from many blows, mental or not. He was there providing support when Phil needed him, and he was prepared to do anything for him. Even if it meant adding to his veritable menagerie of scars littering his body, and inevitably this wound on his side would end up being one of them. He sighed as he came out of his small reverie, looking at North and humming softly. “I’ve never known you to be the type to give in so easily, even to my little sun of a brother. I’m assuming there was a third person…Russki? I know you don’t like how many arms he has compared to you…although you wouldn’t give in to threats, especially for my sake.” He tapped his finger on his chin as he thought, then grinned softly. “Was it South? You still love your brother, after all this time…how touching. We really do have a lot in common.” He laughed softly, grinning to himself and covering his mouth to muffle his softly melodic laughter.

"Tsk, I don't [i love] him, I hate him. I simply didn't want either to continue to pester me; he and Phil are close apparently, they joined forces to convince me and it was getting annoying." North huffed out, pulling his nuke a little closer to himself as he looked away. Much as how his nuke was a plush replica he carried around, by no means was he openly going to admit he still cared for and had a soft spot for his brother. Brushing it off, the Korean went back to eyeing the other, motioning to the eye that was dripping with that weird black ooze. "What happened to you? I know you'd never let China rough you up that badly."

“Oh, that. Some of his cronies held me down and he took out my eye with my own knife. Pretty clean work too, if I have to be honest.” He hummed nonchalantly, as if he wasn’t talking about getting his eye stabbed out with his own damn knife. “I’m not sure what this stuff is, but it has the consistency of blood. Feels about as warm too.” He shrugged softly, grinning at him. “Maybe this stuff is just what I bleed now. Ebony fluid.” He seemed stupidly slow on the uptake on the fact that he was missing an eye, just giving him a look that said everything. He didn’t care, it was [i amusing] to him.

"It almost looks like oil..." North commented quietly, just barely speaking above a murmur, letting a sigh escape his lips as he set what he was holding down beside him. He shifted softly, grabbed a few tissues and shuffled to wipe away said ebony fluid before it leaked any further. "China's men are very well trained in every type of combat imaginable, even better than my own I'll admit. Use your brain next time you try to challenge him, 바보. I [i know] you have the brain cells to think logically, so use them." He grumbled, reclaiming his seat once he had wiped the Filipino's face clean from the dark liquid.

"Thank you...I suppose." The Filipino looked away as he sighed out quietly, hugging himself and grumbling. "Ow." He hissed out, yawning to himself and sighing out as he rubbed his shoulder. He stood up slowly as he looked down at him, raising an eyebrow. His eyes glowed softly as he cursed to himself, pain shooting up his spine at the deep slash in his side. The bandaging he'd done to himself was haphazard at best, but that would make sense, given he was bandaging himself. It at least stopped the bleeding for now, but if he kept moving, he very well could open it again.

North silently inspected Martial's bandaging from where he could. While he had eyesight that had gone to shit long ago, even he could tell that it wasn't wrapped correctly, much less holding together well to help for long. The nuke-obsessed Korean sighed out once more that day, hoping to his feet and wandering off to find a medical kit so he himself could properly wrap the Filippino's wound himself. It definitely took him a little longer than a "regular person" to find it, though one couldn't blame the fact he had troubles seeing hardly anything. "Sit down," North instructed dutifully, taking a seat on the bed himself and patting beside him to encourage Marital to sit there only to begin sifting through the medical supplies for all he needed.

A soft sigh escaped him as he followed him, grumbling to himself and sighing as he made his way over and sat on the bed with a heavy grumble in his native tongue. However, he pulled his uniform off to allow himself to be bandaged properly, having just enough pride to think that he should cooperate and not struggle too much since he would probably get nudged into submission either way. He closed his eyes as he sighed, an annoyed sound escaping him every so often. He was humming after a moment, however, thinking about what he wanted to say before he bothered to say it. He had to weigh his words, after all, since North Korea was about as volatile as Martial himself. He hummed to himself as he yawned softly, gripping his sheets under him as he glanced up at him. "...Thank you, I guess." He mumbled out, looking away quickly after making eye contact.

One of the few major perks of being adopted into an, almost excessively, large family was skillful knowledge of how to treat [i most] injuries. Most of the Soviet children had picked it up, either from they themselves getting injured or helping out the others who had been. That fact was no exception to the Korean, who silently worked away as if he had treated wounds similar to Marital's a thousand times over already. North Korea paused at the sound of thanks, however, easily going wide-eyed as a result. To be fair, he was only expecting to hear sarcasm or aggression from Martial; which he would have happily dished back in return. "...Don't mention it." He mumbled back in response, shaking the surprise off his face as he quickly finished bandaging the Filipino's wound. "I didn't think you even [i had] manners," North commented as a light joke, packing everything back into the medical kit before adding on, "It's nice."

"Shut up." He grumbled softly as he looked away, crossing his arms. It was clear he was uncomfortable even letting this happen, but he glanced over at him for a moment again. He was curious about him somehow, just thinking silently to himself as he hummed slightly. North Korea would obviously know how to bandage people up, sighing to himself as he yawned softly. "Mmmm..." He seemed quite tired at the moment, probably having lost a lot of blood and the pain making him tired as he closed his eyes and sighed out. His eyes closed as he leaned his head back, yawning softly before stretching out. "Ugh..."

"Hey, don't you dare fall asleep yet. Stay awake a little longer, 바보." North hissed out, though there was no venom, nor a bite for that matter, behind his voice. He zipped up the kit and set it nearby in case he needed to find it again in the future, slipping off the bed soon after and trotting out the room to fetch a few things the Korean figured the other would appreciate. An eye for an eye, or, in this case, a thank you for further help. No, he didn't have a tiny soft spot for Martial, but then again, he couldn't disprove that either. Curse his inability to not completely hate others, he silently grumbled to himself, coming back with water and the best painkiller he could find. "Human doctors have shit taste for flavouring medicine. I'd much rather take strawberry over cherry any day, I swear..." North murmured out, sliding back over and nudging him a few times. "Sit back up and take this. Unless you [i want] to stay in pain, which is kind of kinky."


["idiot", fuggin that might just be Noko's nickname for Martial now /lh ]

Martial yawned and sighed as he sat up, letting out a loud grumble in his native tongue before popping his back and feeling his body complain at him. He rubbed his eyes and quietly got up, his reminder on his phone reminding him that today was the day of their gender reveal for their child. It made him smile, the fact that he'd adapted to it so quickly, and he eventually sat down on the toilet to use it while scrolling through the pictures he'd managed to get of his lover. North Korea didn't fancy himself the photogenic type, but Martial definitely did. He wasn't a very touchy-feely person, no, he just found his partner very aesthetically pleasing...as well as romantically and possibly even more. He sighed as he looked at the picture he'd managed to convince North to let him take on their last date before they decided to have children together, smiling to himself before finishing up and leaving the bathroom after washing his hands. He wasn't entirely sure where North was, but he decided to just get dressed and go downstairs to at least start coffee for them. He chose a decently nice undershirt to wear under his uniform coat, regular pants and a pair of combat boots. He made his way down the stairs stealthily, trying to ignore the rising complaints his body was already throwing at him. Hungry, thirsty, still tired...

North Korea was always one to follow a precise, rigid schedule that hardly ever changed from his original plans, typically made much prior in advance. Well, aside from that day: the gender reveal day. There were no missile testings scheduled, he didn't have to arrange talks with his brothers nor did he really [i want] to argue with America; all he truly had to do was have a pleasant day, for once. That didn't mean the Korean would entirely relax, per se, never being the type to fully let his guard down around others, but he could at least enjoy time spent around those he mildly trusted. Sticking somewhat true to the schedule he almost always had, North had woken up early and gotten himself dressed in the same military uniform he always wore, careful not to disturb his lover. Though, he didn't immediately have anything to do, so he busied himself by deciding to prepare a slightly more detailed, time-consuming breakfast and quietly chat away on the phone with China as he did so. He may as well treat Martial to a rare, home-cooked breakfast from him while he had all the time in the world to spare, North figured. Talking with China certainly helped to prep and follow instructions as well, considering the fellow mainland Asian country spent a significantly higher amount of time cooking, and thus more expertise than the Korean could ever manage. He ended up with a decent meal, to top things off, though he felt as if though something was missing... Right, there were no strawberries, what was he thinking? With a tiny happy smile, North slid over to the fridge to grab a couple of the winter-time fruits as, yes, he did fully believe that any meal was incomplete without his favourite fruit... And Marital enjoying it with him, of course, but the fruit, jokingly, came first.

The Filipino looked up and saw his lover working on breakfast, blinking in mild surprise before shaking his head and internally chuckling at his own perceived stupidity. He set his boots down on the ground near the door, coming up behind him and lightly putting his arms around his waist. "Magandang umaga, minamahal." He hummed out smoothly in his mother tongue, pulling back just enough to look at him as he tilted his head. "Up early as always, hm?" He chuckled as he put his hands into his pockets, rocking back and forth on his feet once before lightly pressing a kiss to his cheek. "I assume you've already got the invitations sent out to the people of your choice?" He teased slightly, smiling down at him as he tilted his head. The military leader, as per his usual, had memorized as much of his partner's schedule and patterns of his speech, as well as a lot of what he liked. He could recite them by memory at this point, and was now merely resting at a comfortable point in his life where he was ready to perform most of the duties he needed to. That included tending to the child slowly making itself in him, and he eventually sat at the table since there were cups of coffee there waiting. "I'm glad to see you up."


["Good morning, beloved"]

North quietly hummed in affirmation at both questions he had been asked, thinly slicing up the strawberries he pull out and laying them out for visual effect on the sweet pancakes he had made. It certainly made them look a little more presentable, as far as he could tell, while he finished plating together all he made. "I'm glad to see you awake as well, 사랑. I do believe I sent them a while back unless they were delayed getting to everybody. Did you get yours, 중국?" North asked out, earning a soft laugh from the other side of the phone call he had been in. "I did, I did, and so did your fellow Soviet siblings. Last I checked, they weren't able to stop chatting about them." The voice, China, answered easily, earning the nuclear weapon-obsessed tyrant to slightly smile yet again. "That's good. I'll talk to you later, Chi." He stated, politely hanging up once the two had exchanged goodbyes. The Korean shuffled the plates over to the table once he himself was satisfied with how he arranged everything, offering up another small smile as he did so. Of course, while he was still standing, he stole a quick kiss to the cheek, peacefully sitting down soon after.


["love" "China"]

A soft hum escaped him as he picked up his fork quietly, taking a soft bite of his food and earning a gentle sigh as his body finally accepted some food. "How many did you invite?" He hummed out as he glanced over to his partner, tapping his fork on the table a couple of times as he hummed softly. "I just invited Germany and my brothers, heaven knows Del would have my head if I didn't at least inform him of the child's gender." He pretended to roll his eyes, chuckling affectionately at his brother's playful threat. After all, his brothers were the first one the Filipino told, after getting consent from North that is. "And yes, mahal, I am sure about carrying this child. You've got things to do, and even when I'm fully pregnant, I can defend myself." He huffed out softly as he glanced over at him, knowing that his lover had an odd habit of wondering about his capabilities to defend himself. Martial could defend himself just fine, thank you very much, even if his movement would be hindered when he was further along the term. He'd just adapt accordingly.

"Only Ukie, Bela, Kaza, and China. I would have tried inviting Ruskie as well, but he's been busy with America from what I know." North calmly explained, chomping away at the portion he served himself in a similarly calm fashion, his earlier smile quick to fall into gentle neutrality. He paused eating at the sound of Martial's last comment to glance up at him, his expression becoming unreadable for a few moments before he nibbled a strawberry slice, keeping his line of sight down. "I know you can defend yourself 사랑, I'm not saying that you can't. Though it wouldn't be a [i bad] idea if you kept a few nukes around, just in case... Or a few guard dogs or something at least..." He mumbled out, and while his expression might be fairly unreadable, his voice was a clear tell-tale sign of his worry. The Korean simply wanted to ensure his partner and child were kept safe, he couldn't help it; he finally had somebody he wholeheartedly loved and considered family, he wasn't just about to lose that, after all.

He hummed a neutral note out softly, shifting his fork to his other hand and slowly placing his blue hand onto the Korean's. "I didn't mean to sound rude." He hummed out in an attempt at an apology without outwardly saying it, neither of them perfectly enjoying actually apologizing. He took a soft breath before lacing their fingers together, smiling at him. "I could probably convince Russia to give me a couple if I...talked to him." His words were as measured as usual, although a few words slipped through his filter as he sighed slightly. "Mahal kita, Hilagang Korea, you know this." He spoke as he lifted North's hand to press a kiss to it, his lips connecting with his palm easily. He drew away after a moment, smiling at him halfheartedly before finishing the rest of his food quickly. Not enough to seem desperate, which he never showed people, even North, but he was definitely hungry. He'd both lost and gained a bit of weight, his body needing a lot of nutrients to make sure that the child would be as healthy as possible. He'd cut back on most activities that he knew would be stressful, Del Pilar having offered to take over his responsibilities and just allowing him to relax for a while. He still worked out, but he did it less and with a less stressful regimen. Typically Phil would be with him, just to make sure he didn't overwork himself.

"나도 사랑 해요." North gently murmured in response, visibly seeming fairly comforted by the prospect Martial might reach out to Russia for a few of his personal favourite weapons. He, too, went back to eating, though eating nowhere near as quickly as the Filippino had. If anything, he quietly eyed his partner with a slightly raised brow at the fact the other had devoured his meal so swiftly, though he respectfully stayed silent and didn't question it. Only when his own meal was finished; spare for a strawberry slice or two he'd gladly eat in a little while; did North sip at his cup of coffee. "How are you feeling? Are you excited for today?" He inquired curiously, tilting his head ever so slightly to the side as the Korean continued to watch him, studying his already memorized features as if it were the first time he laid eyes on him. Geez, since when did he become such a mental softie? That was a question to be answered another day, he supposed.

"Of course I am, is that even in question?" The Filipino raised an eyebrow at his partner with a lighthearted huff, stirring his coffee with his spoon idly. "Admittedly, I very much do not like having to be poked and prodded with a piece of machinery to check the growth of my child, and the gel is cold, but I'm sure I'll have to be used to it for the rest of the time." His grumbles were something else his partner would have to get used to, since Martial would gladly carry the child but that didn't mean he wasn't going to complain lightly about how annoying some parts were. He placed a hand on his not-quite-grown belly, lightly rubbing his thumb over it out of a natural instinct and not quite realizing he'd done it. "...I'm nervous." He mumbled after a moment, quickly brushing it off with a hurried, "Probably first-time jangles. It's been years since I've had them." He swiftly busied himself with staring down into the mug in his hands, trying to ignore the Korean's analytical gaze on him as he swallowed his mouthful of coffee. He didn't speak again, just held onto the cup as he sighed slightly.

North, surprisingly, didn't offer up an immediate comment, nor did he linger for too long eyeing his partner. Rather, he seemed to brush it off, finishing the last sip of his coffee and slice of berry before standing up and gathering up their empty plates, calmly placing them in the sink for them to be washed later that day; he never did let them pile up too high, if at all. Afterwards, he walked back over to the Filipino and wrapped his arms around his neck from behind, mostly avoiding the chair. "Thank you for doing this, you 바보..." North murmured out kindly, giving him a small nuzzle as, while neither were truly the touchy-feely type, he knew well that some physical affection was appreciated from time to time.

He'd tensed at first, but he relaxed into his partner's touch as he sighed out softly. "...Thank you, mahal..." He whispered out as he leaned into him, stroking his cheek and sighing once again despite his clear nervousness. "I want this to go perfectly...I think that's why I'm nervous." He admitted after a moment of hesitation, feeling his partner's arm around and closing his eyes as he sighed slowly. "...But nothing can go wrong with us together, we'll have each other's back. Flanking, huh?" He smiled lightly at him before turning away and fidgeting with his cup for a moment, then handing it up to his partner. "I should go check if the room is ready." He mumbled out, standing up and wandering out after stealing one more kiss from his lover. He only let himself smile a bit after he left, taking a breath and smacking his cheeks as if that would force the flushed feeling out of them. "Come on, focus." He hissed to himself, checking to see if the relatively large room they'd made up for this event was ready and decorated properly. Which it was, pleasing the Filipino and allowing him to settle himself down on a chair for a moment.

The Korean softly hummed out, letting his eyes follow after the other until he had vanished out of his range of sight; which didn't take much distance at all between them; before turning his attention back to what he could see afterwards: the dishes. It wouldn't take him long at all to quickly wash, dry, and put them away, and it would allow for Martial to have a moment of undisturbed peace being alone in the room, so that's exactly what he did to busy himself for a bit. As expected, it didn't take North more than a few minutes at worst to clean and put all they had used away. After drying off his hands with a hand towel, the Korean slowly made his way to the room as well, calmly humming a note as he entered simply to make his presence known. "What do you think?"

"I think we did well." Martial's voice came after a moment, waving over to his lover before shifting all the cups and plates they had. He heard the door be knocked on, and swallowed before sighing. "Alright...well, would you get the door?" He asked lightly, crossing his arms as he looked down at the plates. He was nervous still, and didn't want to talk to people until he had to. He yawned quietly as he stood up from his chair, merely looking out the window and thinking to himself as he waited. After all, he was just going to wait for people to come to him. It was how he did things most of the time.

The Korean hummed out in affirmation, lingering in place for a moment longer to mentally prepare himself, having never truly been the chatty type nor was too comfortable in most social situations. However, he could tolerate it every once in a while for little events such as this one, and on that note, North strolled over to the door, pulling it open to be instantly greeted with the faces of a very evidently happy Phil; who had a hand gently glued to Del Pilar's wrist, presumably having tugged him along there; and China, who seemed much mellower than the ball of sunshine Filippino beside him was. Ukie, Bela, Kaza, and Germany were conversing not but a few steps behind them; North let them all in as he was asked to, murmuring out quiet "welcome"s as a genuine attempt to be at least semi-friendly.
Phil, as one could expect, made a beeline to his elder brother, still tugging along the eldest brother out of the three with him. The only time did he release Del's wrist was when he tugged Martial into a hug, taking a bit of precaution to be gentler than his usual.

"Ah- hello, little brother." Martial smiled softly as he put his hand on the younger's head, him and Del merely exchanging nods. Ukraine smiled to North quietly, clapping him on the shoulder before walking inside. Belarus seemed excited to be there, tackle hugging her brother and happily bouncing. "Congratulations, North! I'm happy for you two!" She chirped happily, putting a hand on his shoulder for a moment before walking inside. Kazakhstan was a bit more calm, offering a hand to shake before nudging him with a wing. "I knew you'd find someone eventually, кішкентай бомба." He chuckled softly before wandering inside, Martial smiling at everyone quietly before sitting back down as Del set down the cake he and Phil had made together. 


["little bomb"]

North smiled a slight bit more at the support from his family, visibly in a cheerful mood in comparison to his stereotypical scowl. He quietly shut the door closed once everyone had entered, receiving a gentle pat on the head from China, who soon wandered over with the Korean to where the others were. "Did you two make the cake? Or did you order it and simply bring it? I remember seeing you with it," China offered out, gesturing to the two non-pregnant Filipinos, a soft smile on his face. Phil, still as cheery as ever, chirped out a quick, "Opo! We did our best to follow nanay's recipe for this so it'll be delicious, guaranteed!" He explained happily while rocking on the balls of his feet.


["yep" & "mom"]

"Nanay made very good cakes." Del hummed out as he reached out to ruffle his baby brother's hair, letting out a soft chuckle as Martial let out a complaining whine. "Duuude-" He huffed out, getting up with his brother's help before going over and lightly hugging his lover. "I hope Del made most of it, maliit." He teased softly as he smirked at his baby brother, Ukraine letting out a soft snicker before setting a couple of wrapped gifts onto the table, Belarus doing the same thing while Kazakhstan lightly watched his brother's face to make sure he's being okay.

Even the two socialist countries had a lightly difficult time [i not] cracking a small smile at the tease, North giving his lover a small, gentle nuzzle while Phil practically [i emitted] shocked noises like a broken radio would emit static. "Okay, well, [i rude]! I might not be the [i best] at baking, but I helped out a ton at least! ...Er, more like I just helped with frosting it, but I still helped!!" The Filippino stated in response after a few moments of trying to figure out what exactly to say. China softly laughed, giving Phil a gentle pat on the shoulder, "I'm sure you're a decent cook, 菲律宾." Phil though, still in a playfully teasing and "combative" mood; only for the kicks and giggles of it; huffed and crossed his arms with a level of sass even the brattiest of children could only dream to replicate. "You have no room to speak here, noodle man. You actually [i know] how to cook; you don't know my struggle, and the struggle really [i is] real."


["Philippines" if that wasn't kinda,,,, semi-obvious enough? yesifeltlikeaddingalittlesass,i'msOrryhahaha-- ]

Del rolled his eyes playfully at his baby brother, ruffling out his hair and letting out an amused chuckle. Even Martial couldn't help but smile at his family's antics, kissing North's cheek lightly before humming lightly. "So, I'm assuming the color of the cake inside is the gender?" He hummed out, and the eldest Filipino nodded with a hum. "Someone else mixed the coloring into the batter, I just helped make it." He shrugged once, Martial lightly offering everyone seats with a wave of his hand. "Go ahead and take a sit if you'd like, I'm sure we'll have a lot to catch up on." He seemed quite happy with what was going on, even if he was nervous about how many people there were.