Prologue: How it all began

"This meeting sucked," Canada sighed as he walked towards his usual hang-out after a hard day of nation work.

He entered the shady bar, filled with cigarette smoke and cheap booze, went straight to the bar and ordered a beer.

The bar-keep nodded and prepared his drink. The waiter recognize his usual customer and placed his drink on the table, which the Canadian paid for. He took a long sip. Canada, slightly buzzed and pissed off, tookanother gulp and muttered harshly, "I was forgotten yet again...stupid hosers." Canada frowned and his eyebrows furrowed on his slightly flushed face.

He could have been depressed, but he was tired of moping and had instead decided to go for a drink. It was uncharacteristic of him, seeing how he had a pet to take care of and how he had to get ready for bed in preparation for another long day of work. Canada was not in the mood to be verbally slapped by his own bear's forgetfulness. He did not look forward to his workload for tomorrow, either.

He sighed again and mumbled to himself, "Why do I even bother...I always try to get myself noticed and it always fails."

Canada released his drink and lowered his head, feeling more depressed. He knew that drinking too much would cause him trouble. He understood that from that one time during Alfred's Christmas party. He was going to drink his one beer and watch some hockey on the T.V., followed by a cab ride to vent out his frustration.

Canada tried to watch the game, but he was too irritated at what had happened at the meeting, so he shifted his attention to observe the room. He discovered that there was another nation in the same bar. He raised an eyebrow in puzzlement.

"How come I didn't notice him here?" Canada thought hazily.

Perhaps he had been too self-absorbed in his own problems to scan his surroundings.

Russia was drinking and sitting at a table at the far end of the room. Canada felt sympathy for the winter nation. He did not know him as well as he should have. They both had the same love for hockey and had harsh, cold climate conditions.

He had had his own share of loneliness, which he could relate to the Russian. During meetings, he saw how Russia's smiles masked his true feelings of despair. He had tried to get closer to Russia by any means, but it was extremely hard to do so when America still had his 'Cold War' mentality, and his need to 'be the Hero' prevented any opportunity the Canadian had.

Canada, still somewhat coherent, decided to talk to the nation. It could be the alcohol running through his veins that was giving him the courage to face the scary nation, but he had a chance to interact with the larger nation,so he might as well give it a shot. Russia did not seem to mind.

There was a welcoming smile on his face as he acknowledged his new-found visitor.

"Privet, Canada," Russia greeted.

"May I sit with you?" Canada asked, and Russia nodded.

Canada took his seat and placed his half-filled drink on the table. He looked at Russia to see that he appeared to be sober. Russia had his closed-eye smile on his face, so Canada couldn't decipher what he was thinking of. He could have tried to strike up a conversation. He instead awkwardly drank from his mug and Russia did the same.

Canada could smell the vodka from Russia: he assumed that Russia was the type to hold his alcohol well.

Some moments later, Russia said with a bit of a giggle, "It is nice to see Comrade Canada here."

Canada replied with a sheepish tone, fiddling with his drink which was almost done, "Well...I needed to unwind...I was too stressed out."

Russia had a worried look on his face. "What happened, Comrade?"

Canada was taken aback at how concerned his friend was. Canada took another sip before answering.

Russia waved his hand to signal the waiter to get more drinks. "Wait, Russia! It's fine, I don't need any more drinks!"

Russia shook his head in disagreement. "Nyet, we drink Vodka...my treat."

Canada smiled at the Russian's kindness. A gut feeling was telling Canada that something was off. His brain, already damaged by the booze, gave up trying to figure out Ivan's intentions.

"I've never had Vodka before..." Canada commented, and Russia smiled back, "It is Russian water!"

Canada hiccuped, which told Russia that he was halfway to being drunk. Canada felt happy that someone was showering attention on him. Canada convinced himself that he would enjoy himself, even though a small part of him would forget all of this. Russia smiled as Canada drank his shot of vodka.

The smaller male coughed out and gasped, "Its too strong."

Russia chuckled, "Da...it very hard liquor."

Canada felt embarrassed that he unable to drink it without choking. It did taste very bitter! He did not want to offend the Russian and his treat, so he finished his shot in one go.

That made Russia surprised and he said, "I did not expect that."

Canada smiled back with a humorous tone, "Well..there is a lot more to me than meets the eye, eh?"

Russia smiled. "Da."

There was a comfortable silence, and soon there were a few empty drinks on the table. Russia stared at Canada and saw his friend's drunken state. Russia's eyes gleamed and his lips formed a devilish smirk on his face. Canada was too intoxicated to notice, feeling the euphoria flowing through his body.

"Comrade...what was bothering you that made you come here?" Russia asked innocently.

Canada paused to think of something to say.

He slurred in a irritated tone, "Bad day at the world meeting..." Canada growled.

It surprised Russia to see the meek nation angered.

The Russian stayed quiet, waiting for the younger male to continue speaking. "Alfred forgot my name again...He usually gets it right...and he always bugs me when he wants something."

Canada leaned back on his seat and looked back at Russia. Russia was still smiling: his head was resting on his hands and his elbows were placed on the table.

"Also, England mistook me for Alfred, and Cuba attacked me again!" Canada growled in frustration, and Ivan patted him gently to comfort him.

Canada did not mind. He took another shot and rambled on. Russia was carefully listening to all the Canadian's complaints with a creepy smile.

"Lastly, France skipped our meeting to hang around with his friends, and Kumataki disrespected me: he never gets my name right!"

Russia was quiet as he listened to all of the Canadian's problems. "I'm so sorry...I feel terrible, ranting about all my problems to you."

Canada felt inconsiderate revealing his problems to Russia without any regard for the Russian's enjoyment.

"Canada, do you want to play a game?" Russia asked, which confused Canada at how random it was.

"Okay..." Canada felt he had made his friend bored. He wanted to be a good guest and entertain the Russian.

Russia said, "We pretend that I was able to help you get rid of all your problems with a small fee."

Canada listened with a curious look on his face. "What if I told you I could kill them all?"

Canada paled at the thought. "Ummm...Russia...what do you mean?" Canada questioned. A shiver ran down his spine at the undertone of his so-called proposal. Russia saw this and chuckled.

"Do not worry, it is pretend da?" Russia said innocently, and soon brought out a pen and a small piece of paper. This made Canada uneasy, but he looked at Russia's face to see he meant no harm. His impaired judgement egged him on to continue.

"I mean what I always say," Russia stated, and Canada assumed that he meant his previous comment.

Russia was the master of word-play.

Russia smiled as he continued speaking. "You write down the five people you want gone, and Mother Russia will handle everything."

Canada shyly took the pencil from his hand and soon scribbled on the parchment. Since he was playing, he might as well humour him. After a few minutes, Canada slid the paper back and Russia scanned the list. His smile grew wider, already pleased at the answer. It read:

The hit list

1. America

2. England

3. France

4. Kumajirou

5. Cuba

Russia said as he hid the paper into his coat pocket, "You know that I work from the bottom to the top."

Canada asked why, playing the 'client' role. He was getting tipsy, and being under the influence made him act out of character.

"Because the last person is usually the one you want dead first...the first one is the top priority, the one that caused most pain."

Canada nodded and said in a happy tone, "What about your fee? I don't have any money to give you"

Russia had forgotten to collect his fee. "What do you have to offer me, Comrade?"

Canada had a coy smile on his face as he leaned closer to the Russian.

"Here it is." Canada hiccuped, intoxicated, and he pressed a kiss to Russia's cheek.

Russia did not expect that.

He now liked Drunk Canada very much.

Canada excused himself, leaving the Russian with his thoughts. "Little Matvey...this will be very fun game." Russia placed the cash to pay for the vodka and his friend's cab ride home on the table.

"I always mean what I say," were Ivan's last words before he left the room.

Ten minutes later, Canada went back to his seat to find Russia missing.

Canada sat down, already feeling depressed.

"I think I scared him away...arghhhhhh!" Canada rested his head on his arms.

He muttered out, before the feeling of intoxication consumed him, "I'm never drinking again."

He later passed out, and the bar-keep approached the sleepy male. He took the money on the table and called a cab for his usual customer.


A/N: I had this idea for sometime and I wanted to try something different, very bold and edgy. Don't worry, the romance will develop, but this seemed like an interesting plot. Comments? If this is well-received then I may continue this story. For those who are reading Taking Lessons, I still have a writer's block so please be patient. I will try to update as soon as possible. If anyone did not read my latest drabble, Russian Seduction, then check it out!

This has been beta'ed by fakiagirl.