Hello again, everyone. A special hello to the people of USUK fandom. If you haven't read me before, then this is the second USUK story I'm writing. I'm not a really big fan of it, but I decided to give it another shot. And this was the result.

I apologize for the auction description I will give. I don't know if they showcase something before an auction, but that will be the case in my story. If you know anything, then please don't hesitate to help me out about it.

Anyways, this is another human AU I've decided to try out. Enjoy!

(And yes, this chapter is supposed to be vague.)

.:|Silver|:.

P.S. The events that occur are merely fictious. Any similarity to any work of art, establishment or person is merely coincidental.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Hetalia. But if you do, I'm willing to pay you for the rights.


A Gelato Shop [Somewhere in Milan]

"Captain America has struck again! Last night, 'Paradox', painted by the famous painter Feliciano Vargas, was stolen from the Galleria Romulus. Apparently, they only found out about the missing painting, after all the alarms had been activated. By that time Captain America had escaped. We have a correspondent currently at the scene of crime. Giovanni, can you tell us about what happened?"

"Yes, Sarah, of course. The crime was conducted in Captain America's usual manner. So far the police have been unsuccessful in relocating the pianting. All that has been found is the usual mark that the Captain leaves…"

The brown haired man muted the television, scowling up at the machine.

"Ay, people these days. Stealing from others because their country has no talent of its own. E 'fastidioso," scowled the Italian shopkeeper, grey eyes glinting as he shook his head and glanced at the customer that was sitting in front of him, watching the news with interest.

"Yeah. This Captain America man is going to mess up soon enough," agreed the customer, pushing his ice cream bowl away.


Auction House [Milan, Italy]

People milled around the room, voices lowered, feet slapping against the marble floor, and shuffling the center of the elegant marble room was a glass case, inside, which was, displayed a set of diamonds.

"…19 carats, it says…"

"…Came from the royal family…"

"…Pink diamonds. Rather rare, if I do say so myself…"

"…Bidding will be quite high…"

There were more hums as ladies dressed in designer clothes studied the glass case, waving their Louis Vuitton's and Prada's around as they gestured to their husbands. Men in flashy clothes appraised each other and mentally made notes about which bidders to watch out for.

There was one man who didn't quite fit in. He was dressed in jeans and a hoodie, and was slouching as he peered into the glass case with interest, chewing a piece of gum loudly. He received many irritated looks and some appraising ones from the people around him. His blue eyes glinted as they cast a brief look at the diamonds before he turned and shuffled away, giving space to the others who wanted to see. No one could really kick him out. If he had come inside, it meant he had paid the rather expensive ticket for the diamond showcasing. The boy walked away, pulling his hood over his dark hair and putting his earphones in as he walked out of the building.

Inside, another man was studying the diamonds with a curiosity. He gave them a simple, cursory glance before walking away, tapping at his phone.

People milled around the glass case, studying the diamonds, unaware of the two men that had just left.


The night was warm, the only respite being a cool breeze that floated past. A dark haired boy walked down the road, shifting the backpack on his shoulder; running a hand through his hair and wishing the night was over quickly so he could get rid of the wig. It was doing things to him. Things that really made his head itch. Sighing, he ran a hand through his hair again before glancing around. The streets were rather empty. After all, why would someone be around the Auction hall at this time of the night? Blue eyes glinting, the teen easily scaled a wall, jumping onto the terrace of the house. The light from a nearby street lamp caught on the frames of his silver glasses, making them shine out briefly, before he took a jog forward and leaped onto the adjoining roof.

"Are you there yet, Captain America?" asked a voice, mocking lightly. The teen jumped over the next roof with ease, barely slowing down his jog.

"I think you know. You are stalking me."

"Well, I can't really deny that. Come on. Faster. You know we've only got fifteen minutes to carry this out."

"I know, I know. Don't get your panties in a twist."

"Very amusing, Alfred."

"Thank you."

There was silence for a second, only broken by a dull thud as Alfred jumped to the ground, landing with a jarring thump. The American paused, glancing around, before mentally reviewing where he was.

"Straight up and turn left."

Alfred followed the voice, quickly going in the direction, shifting the backpack on his shoulder with a shrug. He came to a stop in front the metal gate that blocked the back entrance to the Auction house.

"You did bring the tools, right?"

"No shit."

There was a small whir as the teen tapped out the passcode on the keypad, letting himself in and shutting the gate behind himself silently.

"I've diverted the cameras here for about two minutes. You'd better walk faster."

"Mattie, sometimes I really wonder about you."

"You must think of me an awful lot. Are going to go at this pace all night?"

Alfred rolled his eyes and quietly stood in front of the back entrance, studying the card swiping machine and pulling out a card.

"Pickpocketing is getting too easy. I worry about these people," he said under his breath, swiping the card and holding his breath. The machine flashed a small green light and a small whir indicated that the door was open. He silently stepped inside, shutting the door behind himself.

"Well, they don't really look out for you, now do they? The cameras are back in place outside. I've managed to feed the security cameras in here a loop. You've got five minutes like I promised. All the alarms are deactivated too," said Mattie, the sound of keys clattering from his side. The American in the museum chuckled quietly and swiftly made his way to where he had seen the diamonds. The glass case was still there, glowing a soft blue from the lights underneath it. Alfred paused to study it before moving quickly.

"Are there any guards here?"

"No. Two outside are still knocked out. The other two are far from where you are. Disable the alarms and work quickly. I don't want to find out you've been caught. It'll be tedious, eh?"

"Don't worry. I'll try to come home safe."

He took out a small diamond cutter from his bag, brushing his gloved fingers over it lovingly before turning on the glass. Blue eyes keenly studied the glass for hidden alarms before pressing the diamond cutter to the material and turning it on. There was the softest of whirs as the small machine started cutting the glass. Soon enough, the glass had been cut in a neat circle and Alfred was stowing the machine away again, blowing a strand of black hair from his face.

"I really hate this wig."

"Its necessary. Get the diamonds out. Three minutes till the alarms go off."

"Good."

The diamond case as taken out and closely examined with a practiced eye. The pink diamonds glittered faintly in the dark. Alfred let a small grin take over his face as he put the diamond case on the ground and took out a spray can. He shook it and let his grin turn into a smirk.

One minute later the words 'Captain America Was Here' were sprawled across the glass case, along with the Captain America shield. Alfred picked the diamond case up and hurried to the nearest set of stairs. Bounding up them, he mentally checked his map of the auction house and rushed out of a door to his left. It led to the glass terrace. As he stepped out, he spotted another person on the roof.

The person was dressed in skintight black clothes and had just climbed out of a loose glass piece in the roof. Even as he watched, the person put the glass back and turned to him, the top half of his face covered by a mask, and froze completely. Alfred froze too, thanking the heavens that he had pulled his hood up. The person then decided to ignore him and rushed past him, jostling him in the shoulder as they ran by with their bag. Without any noise, then person jumped off the edge of the roof. Alfred stared after them with wide eyes when the alarm system suddenly came on. There was a cacophony of noises in the museum. Suddenly remembering where he was, Alfred ran across the roof and to the tree he had spotted out before. Huddling in its branches, he slowly made his way to the tree next to it, and finally jumped to the ground, running again.

After a few minutes of running, and once he was at a safe distance, he realized Mattie was talking to him.

"…Alfred! Al! Are you even listening?" shouted the boy in his ear.

"Yo, Mattie, bro, I'm listening. What happened?"

"Don't you 'bro' me, mister. I've been shouting at you for the past few minutes. You went unusually silent and had stopped on the roof. What happened?"

"Nothing… I just saw this person there. I think it was a girl. She looked pretty flexible."

"... Alfred, that could be detective or something. Are you honestly dumb?"

"She came out of the glass. I don't think detectives do that."

"Just get back to the hotel, hoser."

"You and your Canadian lingo."

Alfred sighed and walked off again, catching a taxi back to his hotel.


Hotel Room Number 178 [Milan, Italy]

The door swung open and revealed a concerned looking boy. He had blond hair, with one curl that bounced in the air, deep violet eyes and was also wearing glasses. The boy shoved Alfred inside the room, locking the door and dusting his hands on his jeans. He had headphones slung around his neck, and was wearing a weary but excited look.

"Did you get them?" he asked with interest, turning the lights brighter in their room. As the lights brightened, Alfred looked around and noticed the laptop that was on and was displaying the museum. People were running around, screeching in Italian, and searching the place for him. He raised a hand.

"Let me take this wig off first. Man, it totally itches," he complained as he took the dark haired wig off. As the fake hair came off, it revealed his wheat hair, which gleamed in the light. There was a strand that was defying the laws of physics happily, much like the one on the other boy's head.

"Geez, Mattie. The least you could do is offer me water. I'm dying of dehydration here," pouted Alfred.

"Its Matthew. And Alfred F. Jones, next time reply when I'm shouting down your ear. It could've been something important." Matthew stood up nonetheless and tossed a bottle of water at his brother. Alfred snorted and made some half-assed promise before chugging the water down and gesturing at his bag.

"Should be in there."

Matthew took the bag eagerly and opened it up, pulling out the case. He flipped it open, expecting to see six pink diamonds glittering up at him. What he saw wasn't anything like it.

In place of the six diamonds sat six rubies. And a card. Blue eyes peered over the Canadian's shoulder, filled with confusion, and Alfred reached around to pick the card up.

The card was plain white. On one side was a strange symbol and on the other was a big yellow smiley face. There was only one word next to the smiley face. 'Tinker'. Matthew had let out a groan of recognition. Alfred grinned.

A challenge. Another one like him. How exciting.


So… what do you think? I've got the whole story already planned out. I think about seven chapters unless I do something. Please tell me what you thought about this. REVIEWS! ^^

.:|Silver|:.