Disclaimer: I have received no notice yet saying that I am the owner of Hetalia—therefore I don't own it!

Summary: "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" Alfred's boss was a charismatic man—and he knew the wall was separating more than just two sides of a city. It was separating two people in love; and they themselves didn't even know it.

Warnings: Nyo!Germancest, Child!Germany, Cold War themes, shoujo ai (girlxgirl fluff)

"Schwester Preussen?"

The albino looked up from her desk at the little blonde-haired girl who had tottered into her office, and was now sleepily rubbing her eyes, trying to suppress a yawn. The older woman smiled warmly at her. "Yes, kleine?"

"Will you read me a story tonight, Schwester?"

The Prussian hesitated, her scarlet gaze darting down to the various maps and documents that were scattered across her desk. If she left her work now, she'd be in a lot of trouble. And yet…

"Please, Schwester? You promised."

And yet it was just so hard to resist those sparkling blue eyes peeking out from adorable blonde bangs. The albino woman chuckled. "You're right, I did promise. Alright; I'll come and read you a story."

The little blonde smiled, a rare occurrence for her. "Danke, Schwester!" she said sweetly. The Prussian woman found her heart melting when she met the gaze of her little companion. If only she had known then just how powerful the young German's hold on her would become…

Maria was thrown out of her memory by a loud voice calling her name. She turned her head to see Ivan, his chilly purple gaze unsettlingly close to her face. She took a small, involuntary step back. "Yes, sir?" she greeted him through clenched teeth, as if the small title of respect pained her to say.

Ivan smiled innocently. "I just wanted to say hello," he said simply. "And to give you an update on the situation with your sister."

Maria immediately changed from resentful to concerned. "Deutschland? How is she?"

Ivan smiled. "She is fine, da? The dirty capitalists are taking care of her better than I thought they would."

She doesn't need to be taken care of, not by them, Maria thought bitterly. However, instead of voicing this, she asked, "When can I see her?"

"Alfred would not say. I cannot hope it will be soon."

Maria looked away. "Thank you, Ivan."

A gloved hand rested on her shoulder, more gently than she expected. "I understand your concern for your sister. I will do everything in my power to help you see her again. In the meantime, don't do anything rash, please. Only time can resolve this issue."

Maria looked up at him, expertly hiding the guilt she felt at his words. "You know me. When do I ever do anything rash?"

Ivan chuckled. "I do know you, Maria, and that is why I am worried." She opened her mouth to retort, but he cut her off. "My boss needs me in one of the smaller towns near the border. He says that American idiot was seen by the town just before a supposed terrorist movement. I'm going down to make sure everything's alright. Stay in Berlin, and stay safe," he instructed, before leaving. Maria stood still for a moment, listening to the telltale sounds of his car being started and pulling out of the drive, then taking off down the street. She waited for a few seconds, contemplating the action she was about to take, but then she remembered her sister's words to her all those years ago:

"You promised."

She sighed. There was no other choice. Resolutely, she stepped out of the house, closing the front door behind her. Putting her hands in the pocket of her coat, she started to walk. Ivan told me I had to stay in Berlin… he thinks the American can't come here. How wrong he is…

She rounded a corner, and immediately stopped, as she found herself face-to-face with the barrel of a gun. She sighed wearily. "Alfred, put it down, it's just me."

The gun lowered slowly, revealing the dirty blonde hair and sky-blue eyes of Alfred F. Jones. "You're alone?"

"Didn't you see Ivan's car just now? He's headed out to the border following the bait you left him. I'm alone."

"Good." Alfred looked at her, caution still clear in his eyes. "You'd better have a good reason for asking me to come all the way out here. It wasn't easy even crossing the border, let alone getting out in the middle of nowhere like this."

Maria decided to ignore his insult. "I want to see mein Schwester, you idiot," she said very calmly. "I have an offer to make."

"Offer?" He looked skeptical. "Let's hear it, then."

"If you let me see my sister, I could feed false information through to Ivan. It would be easy to set a trap for him and possibly end the war—in your favor, of course."

If anything, this made Alfred look even more wary. "And why would you help me? You're a communist, so is Ivan, and as far as I know you guys take care of your own."

"Because Ivan isn't getting me to my sister fast enough!" Maria shouted, before taking a breath to calm herself down. "You may be a capitalist, and I may think that's wrong, but you're the one right now who has the power to give Monika back. You're the one who can help. Ivan's trying and he's failing and I just can't bear that. We have differences, but if you can work past those, then so can I. For Monika's sake."

Alfred nodded slowly. "I'd do the same for Matthew." He looked at her seriously, then put his gun back in his pocket and offered a hand to her. "Alright. A deal's a deal."

Maria nodded and shook his hand. "When can I see Monika?"

"When's the next time you can get away from Ivan?"

Maria thought for a moment. "I should be able to get away around lunchtime tomorrow. He needs to go out to the market and then he has a meeting with his boss."

"Make some excuse for your absence. I'll be waiting here. I can't bring Monika to you, so I'll have to take you to her. You could be gone for a while," Alfred warned.

Maria nodded. "I'll think of something." Alfred turned to leave, but she called, "Wait!" and he turned back around. Her crimson gaze was serious as she looked right into his eyes. "Thank you, Alfred. You don't know how much this means to me." To be completely honest, Maria herself didn't even know exactly how much it meant.

Alfred gave his usual goofy grin. "Hey, no problem. Just doing my job as the hero!"

AN: So, here I am with the first chapter of my new story, Walls. Microsoft Word apparently hates my grammar. XD Anyway, hope you like it so far! Reviews make me happy. c: This is probably going to be a rather short story… But I'm in the process of writing the next chapter, and it's almost done~ Happy reading!

Translations:

Schwester Preussen—Sister Prussia

Kleine—little one

Danke—Thank you

Deutschland—Germany