Summary: Shortly after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, America finds himself trying to break through the shell of a stubborn Belarus.

Alfred F. Jones—also known as the personification of the United States of America—stood back and watched as the people around him mingled. It wasn't often that the boisterous young man did not force himself into the multiple conversations; these dinner parties hosted both the personifications and their human leaders which allowed for relaxed conversation rather than the pressured arguments which often defined their world meetings. All the same, Alfred had grown bored and taken to simply observe those around him.

Already he'd watched his older brother Arthur Kirkland, commonly referred to as England slip away with his long-time frenemy Francis Bonnefoy, also known as France. Alfred's twin brother, Matthew Williams—Canada—sat in the corner with his polar bear Kumajiro. His boss was beside him, conversing with Alfred's boss on some random topic or another, while Mattie silently nodded along. Alfred continued to scan the room, finding nothing out of the ordinary—a hero always had to be on alert after all.

The personification of Italy hung on Germany's arm while trying to coax the stubborn man into eating another plate of pasta. China sat at a table with the other Asian nations, while Japan stood nearby trading photographs with Hungary. Alfred's eyes continued around the room, and as he mentally did his own roll call, he made a slightly alarming realization. A certain communist country was missing.

And by communist, Alfred means former communist, though in all honesty he did not see much change in the deranged man.

"It is much more peaceful than the last meeting, da?"

Alfred jumped and whirled around, taking on a battle stance as he sized up his old ally-turned-enemy. "Dude! Don't do that!"

Ivan Braginski, commonly referred to as Russia, smiled in amusement. "Did I scare you, comrade?"

"Of course not!"

Ivan chuckled and looked back to the rest of the room. Alfred's eyes narrowed as he examined his enemy, searching for any signs of danger. Feeling the self-proclaimed hero's eyes on him, Ivan finally returned his gaze to Alfred.

"I did not bring bomb if that is what you are thinking."

Alfred scoffed, "I wasn't."

"Your mistrust of me is no secret."

"Dude, you tried taking over half of Europe."

"Nyet. My boss tried that. I had nothing to do with it."

"You didn't try to stop it."

"I advised him of consequences. That is all we can do, America. Haven't you learned?"

"I haven't had to."

Russia arched a brow. "Your nation is no better."

"Only you would insult your host nation."

"Only you would start an argument with a guest. Like child."

"Hey, man, you started it. Shouldn't you be hiding or something like you usually do at these?"

"Nyet. I do not know where my sestra went. No one has seen her. I looked for her, but she did not answer the door to her room."

"She was here earlier." Alfred frowned, looking again over the crowd and cursing himself for not noticing the second missing nation.

"You noticed my sestra?" Ivan's eyes narrowed on the blonde.

"I…knew she was here."

Ivan took a threatening step toward him. "You stay away from my little sestra, da? It would be shame for your nation if you disappeared."

"My boss is already in talks with hers about reaching agreements, she's not behind your walls anymore, commie."

"She is her own nation now."

"And there's nothing wrong with offering her help and a friendly ally, da?"

Ivan glared at him but looked away. Alfred stood for a moment, waiting for the Russian to say more before starting to walk away.

"Where are you going?" Ivan asked.

Alfred shrugged. "Fresh air?"

"If you see Natalya—"

"I'll tell her you're looking for her," Alfred finished. "Later, commie!"

With a slight wave, he wandered from the party and into the lobby of the hotel in which the gathering was held. He had some desire to simply go to his room for the evening, but at the same time knew that would result in his boss giving him a strict lecture on the responsibilities of being the host nation. As much as Alfred hated the formal gatherings, he hated the lectures more. Still, fresh air would be better than returning to the hot, stuffy banquet room.

Venturing to the rooftop, Alfred relaxed against the cool breeze and walked to lean against the railing along the edge. The New York City skyline stretched out before him. While the hotel was not the tallest building in the vast city, it was enough to create a spectacular view.

It wasn't until Alfred turned to move to the other side that he noticed the young beauty standing just a short distance away. She did not seem to notice that Alfred was even there. Dark eyes stared at the city lights around them, and for a moment Alfred considered silently leaving the rooftop escape. The notion of leaving the young girl alone up there quickly stopped him.

"Belarus?"

Natalya jumped slightly, suddenly realizing that she was no longer alone. "Mr. America?"

Alfred nodded. "Yeah. You can call me Alfred if you'd like, I only go by America at meetings. I meant to find you earlier, to congratulate you on your independence."

"Thank you." Natalya turned back to the city view.

Alfred slowly approached her, leaning forward against the railing beside her. "So, what are you doing up here all alone? Everyone else is downstairs. Usually you're not far from Russia."

"I could ask you the same thing." The two fell into silence for a moment before Natalya continued. "I wanted to be alone."

"Why would you want that? Nobody wants to be alone."

Natalya glanced at him from the corner of her eye. "It was…too loud down there."

"The city's not much quieter," Alfred pointed out.

"Lithuania was annoying me."

"He's been with Poland all evening."

With a huff, Natalya turned to face him, her hand twitching and wishing that her sister hadn't forced her to wear such a dress that made bringing her knives impossible. The cocky grin on Alfred's face did nothing to quell her anger.

"Are you going to argue with everything I say?" she snapped.

"I'm just trying to figure out why such a beautiful lady would want to be all alone up here."

Unable to form an English response, Natalya turned to hide her blush from the compliment. Amused, Alfred pretended not to see and tore his eyes from her.

"Weren't you having fun?" Alfred asked, breaking the silence once more.

"It was…not too boring. I am not used to politics yet. Brother always handled that."

"That's the good thing about these parties, the politics is given up for discussion of golf and gossiping about which world leaders show up to meetings without pants."

The edges of her lips turned up ever so slightly. "Do you enjoy countering everything I say?"

"Well, it got you to smile."

Quickly forcing a frown, Natalya crossed her arms.

"Come on, Nat, you just gained your independence. You should be happy."

"Do not call me Nat. My name is Natalya."

"You're avoiding the topic."

"I am not avoiding anything."

"Sure, Natalya."

Her eyes narrowed. "Are you mocking me?"

"Of course not."

"I do not believe you."

"I have no reason to lie to you."

Pursing her lips, Natalya let it go. "Your city is very beautiful."

"Thanks."

"Don't you ever miss the stars?"

"Sometimes." Alfred looked up at the dark sky above them. "I don't always live in the city. Usually I stay far enough away that the lights don't block it all out."

"I see…"

"Do you see the stars a lot at home?"

Natalya shook her head. "I do not look for them."

"Why not?"

"They bring back memories."

"That's a bad thing?"

"It…depends on the memory."

"You should make good memories then."

"You say that like it's simple."

Alfred shrugged. "Don't you ever have fun?"

"There are more important things."

"More important than having fun once in a while? Don't you ever go out and do something just because you want to?"

"No."

"Really?"

"My personal life is no business of yours, Mr. America."

Alfred frowned. "Of course. But seriously, you can't just be all work. Visit some of your allies once in a while, pick up a hobby or something."

"I do not have…hobbies. Or allies."

"You and I can be allies."

"But…we are enemies."

"Not officially. New country, new international relations. The choice is yours, doll. What do ya say?" Alfred held out a hand.

Natalya eyed the gesture warily before placing her hand in his. Alfred widely grinned.

"See, that wasn't so hard now, was it?"

Natalya rolled her eyes and pulled her hand away. The two stood for a few more minutes in amicable silence until the nearby church bell tower rang out the hour.

"Well, I suppose I'll leave you to being alone again then?" Alfred said, glancing at the young woman before stepping away.

Natalya hummed in acknowledgement.

Alfred hesitated. "If you need anything, let me know, 'kay?"

Finally facing him again, Natalya spared him a questioning glance. "Amer—….Alfred, why are you being so nice to me?"

"Why shouldn't I be?" he shrugged.

"Until recently we were enemies."

"Russia and I were enemies. You and I didn't even really know each other."

"You're avoiding my question."

Alfred's eyes widened. "I…know what it's like to have everyone watching and waiting for you to fail. I like to see those people proven wrong. So, if you need help, I'm here for you."

"I…thank you."

"No problem. I'll see you around then?"

Without waiting for a response, Alfred started towards the door. A moment later a small hand clasped around his arm.

"I…I actually got lost and somehow ended up here," she admitted, looking down. "I want to go back downstairs now. Can you show me the way?"

"Only if you smile for me."

Natalya glared up at him. "I don't want to."

"Yes you do."

"I do not."

"Come on. One smile?"

"No."

"Seriously, how could anyone resist smiling while in the presence of the world's greatest hero?"

Natalya covered her mouth to hide a soft laugh, earning a cocky grin from Alfred.

"See? Told you so," he said.

Before she could argue, Alfred reached out to take her hand and gently pulled her back inside, striking up a casual conversation with the Belarusian beauty as they made their way down to the banquet room.

Meanwhile, a certain Russian watched the pair from the shadows.

Next chapter: "Teardrops"