Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia.

AN: Beginnings of HongIce and RoChu.

Iceland was so confused.

He knew something had happened. Denmark had made enough pastries to feed a small army. He had lived with the man long enough to know that was a sign of him being stressed about something. His brother, which he only called that in the safety of his mind, was also on edge. Finland kept leaving in the middle of conversations because an idea occurred to him about this unknown development. Sweden was being even more quiet than normal.

It was like the month leading up to his surprise birthday party all over again.

In hindsight, he wished it was another surprise birthday party.

He looked at the paintball gun in his hands and sighed. He hadn't had a standing army…well, he'd never had one as an independent nation. The only wars he had fought in were either so long ago he'd been too small to fight in, or against England on sea. He looked around and knew he was going to be slaughtered. The other Nordics at least knew what they were doing.

"Look alive, Iceman!"America smiled as he nudged him.

He could not match the superpower's enthusiasm,"How much does it hurt when you get shot?"

"Don't get shot."The nation that was younger than him but looked older laughed.

"Thanks."He muttered, wondering if it was too late to back out.

"Don't worry, Icey."Finland smiled,"We'll protect you."

He failed to see how Tino was going to protect him. He kept his doubts to himself. The other three Nordics were on the other team. The Viking Trio, all against them. Guns weren't their first choice of weapon, but they had fired them before. They also had Germany, though he hoped Italy would keep the man occupied. His team had Prussia and Romano, so he wasn't sure they were any better off strength wise.

"This is gonna be awesome!"The albino declared.

"This is going to be a disaster."He muttered.

"Hey,"He was nudged again by the other teen,"We get enough negativity from Romano."

"I will shoot you."The Italian glared,"I won't even feel guilty."

"You can't shoot your teammates."America scolded, as if that would stop him.

He was going to get shot. He'd never been shot before. Prussia threw an arm over his shoulders,"Don't worry, kid."He scowled at being called a kid. It wasn't his fault he hadn't been independent that long,"Stick close to Finny here and you'll be fine."He turned away and out of the ex-nation's grasp.

Like Finland would be much help. Still, he moved to his designated partner. At least when the others found them he wouldn't get hurt too badly. Sweden would murder anyone that hurt his boyfriend, same team or no. Finland looked up from his gun, and his focused expression softened,"It's easy, Icey. Just point it at the target and pull trigger. America already got your safety, and you shouldn't have to reload."

He nodded but remained apprehensive. The easternmost of the Nordics was always excited about the strangest things. He tested holding the gun the way he saw the others holding theirs. Was there a kickback? What was a kickback? Was that even the right word? He took in a shaky breath as the buzzer went off, signaling they were starting.

This was nothing compared to real war. If he panicked here he would be treated like a kid forever.

"Get down."Finland dove for cover. He quickly followed as paint splattered on the wall behind them. He could hear America and Prussia laughing somewhere, but when he peaked over his cover he saw it was Denmark shooting at them. He struggled to remember the layout of the course. Could they be ambushed from behind?

He tried to fire a shot. He didn't even see where it went. Great, so he wasn't a natural.

At least his former guardian was focusing on Tino. The smaller man glanced over the cover, not flinching even when the paint of the shot hitting the wall got in his hair. The island nation watched him take a deep breath, and then roll onto the ground, the gun in front of him.

Finland fired once, and the blue paint splatted on Denmark's vest.

"What the heck?"He looked around, but didn't see anyone else. He abandoned cover to stand next to his friend,"How'd you do that?"

Tino smiled,"I'm used to a sniper rifle, but this isn't that bad."

Right, because he was the only one of the five of them that was useless in a fight. He didn't have time to ask before they were on the move,"Cover me."Finland smirked, before going around the corner.

If cover him meant shoot at the others and hope they didn't realize he had no aim, he covered him until he got where he wanted.

He was soon distracted by the sight of Finland maniacally laughing as he chased Sweden. He'd have to rethink his image of the smallest Nordic.

Something pressed into him from behind,"Call me big brother and I won't shoot."

That was it. He was officially in a nightmare. This was not happening.

"You have got to be kidding me."He let the gun hang from the strap around his neck, turning to face his psychotic sibling. He had a newfound sympathy for Russia. Was this what he felt like when Belarus proposed to him with a knife?

Norge was smirking,"Well?"

He really didn't want to get shot, but years of avoiding saying that tempted him to.

"Am I the only sane one?"He muttered, staring at the gun.

"You should be more aware of your surroundings."The older man said.

"This is not normal."Hong Kong didn't have to put up with any of this stuff from the other Asian nations. Not for the first time, he wished he had invited the other teen along,"You know this isn't normal, right?"

"I'm not hearing it."His finger tightened on the trigger.

"I am not saying that!"He shouted back.

Alright. Getting shot was not as bad as he thought it would be. He'd have a bruise that would heal in a matter of hours, but it was worth it. He still limped slightly on his way to the dead zone. Did he have to shoot him in the leg? He sat down across from Denmark,"Your boyfriend needs therapy."

The happy man just laughed.

Insane, all of them.

And he still didn't know why they were doing this!


Hong Kong tried not to laugh as Japan chased South Korea through the house with his katana. The peninsular nation was screaming, hugging his laptop close to his chest as he ran. The island nation had an unusually determined look on his face as he cornered their brother, holding the blade to his neck,"Hand over the computer, Yong Soo."He said in a deadly serious tone.

"Should we do something?"Taiwan asked.

Macau shrugged,"A thousand yuan Kiku injures Yong Soo."

"You're on."The island grinned.

"Never!"The tallest of them shouted.

"This isn't a debate."Japan pressed,"I do not trust you to destroy the video."

"I promised I would!"

The former British territory wouldn't believe Yong Soo either. The video was too good. He still couldn't believe America had done that. He was curious why the island nation had waited a few months before wanting it to be destroyed for his friend's honor, but South Korea had panicked when it had taken down by Estonia and that had distracted him. He quickly took a snapchat video of the standoff.

He sent that to Iceland.

Maybe this was connected to his friend's paintball incident.

At the very least he would know he wasn't the only one with an insane family.

"The computer."Kiku insisted.

"I'd rather die, da ze!"Yong Soo replied dramatically.

Leon rolled his eyes as the younger of the two used his device to move the sword away, and then attempted to kick Japan. Japan and China shared the title of best fighter in the family. In a matter of seconds it was over, with the older holding the computer in his other hand,"Arigatou, otouto."He smirked.

"I don't know why America's friends with you."South Korea glared.

Another mention of America. Hong Kong followed his stoic brother out of the room while Taiwan went to nurse the other's injured pride. Japan set up in the kitchen, quickly going through the device to erase all memory of that video,"Is something wrong?"

"It is a personal matter."The island nation didn't even look at him.

Suspicious. He sat down,"Iceland told me his family is being nicer to America."

"Hn."

"Should we be nicer to America?"He was the world's superpower. If something was going on where his closest allies felt the need to ingratiate themselves…

"Only if you want."Japan answered in a distracted voice.

He mentioned it to China when his father figure got back. He was never good at getting answers out of anyone, but his suspicions were enough to make the old man suspicious, and as soon as dinner was served he focused on the island nation,"What's this I hear about everyone acting nicer to America?"

"It is not everyone."Japan answered.

"Enough people to be noticeable."The ancient nation amended,"I had to change the time of my phone call with France because he's staying with America indefinitely."

"It is a personal matter."The stoic nation repeated.

"Even more reason for me to be concerned."China set down his chopsticks,"Often personal issues reflect national ones."

"That is not the case here."Japan shook his head,"I assure you."

"Then, as your older brother, I demand to know how this is affecting you. Personally."

This was not what he wanted. He looked at his other siblings, hoping they might have a plan to intervene. Macau just kept eating, ignoring what was going on alongside Mongolia. Taiwan seemed as invested in the conversation as China. South Korea was glaring at Japan, probably happy he was about to be on the receiving end of China's ire. Seeing no help, he sat back. He wasn't getting involved without backup.

"It has made me realize I should strive to be a better friend to Alfred."The island nation maintained his composure.

"If anyone was the bad friend between you two, it was America."Yao frowned.

"I would disagree."Kiku shook his head,"You do not know all the facts."

"Enlighten me."China leaned forward.

"As I have said, it is a personal matter."Japan was unfazed,"You will have to ask America."

"He will not tell me anything and you know it."The old man narrowed his eyes.

"Then it is not yours to know."The island nation smoothly went back to eating.

China smacked the table,"Why all the secrecy, aru?! Nothing remains secret!"

"Usually."Taiwan muttered.

"I will find out."Yao vowed.

"You are free to try."

Privacy was important to Kiku. Leon doubted there was any way around that, and he hoped the old man realized that before they had another fight in the house.

South Korea pulled his phone out,"Why don't I just call Alfred and ask if you can tell us?"

China and Japan didn't look away from each other. Hong Kong nodded,"Do that."

He went into the other room to make the call, and came back with a wide smile,"Alfred says it's fine. He didn't think it was going to stay secret."

Japan slowly nodded, relaxing in preparation for an explanation.

If Hong Kong didn't know his brother, he would have thought what he told them was a lie. Russia and America? A romantic couple? It was so different from his perception of the two he couldn't wrap his mind around it. He did spare a moment to give props where they were due. America was good if he got Japan, patient, serene Kiku, to take the initiative. Then he went back to his confusion.

"I can see why you think you've been a bad friend."Taiwan said.

"Told you."South Korea crossed his arms.

"He does not want your pity."Japan closed his eyes,"Unless you genuinely care, please do not change how you act towards him."

"I can't believe he would ever…"China muttered, his expression darkening,"With that capitalist pig…"

He tuned that out. They returned to their meal. Hong Kong wouldn't consider himself close to America, but he was decent friends with Canada and Australia from their time in the British Empire, and they were close to the superpower. He typed the explanation to Iceland as he thought. It would be weird for him to do anything, but he'd been successful in getting a lot of European nations together…

Maybe he could help him with his own Iceman.

And if they were friends maybe he'd be forgiven for all his copyright infringements.


America knew giving permission to South Korea would mean the entire world knew by the end of the day. Still, he gave it.

It was like a game of telephone. With each iteration, the information became less correct, and the last thing he wanted to do was look like he was trying to slander Russia's name. Yes, he'd been hurt when they broke up. It took him a long time to understand. But that was hardly the cause of his issues, and yes, Mattie, he was thinking of them as issues.

He sighed as he rang the doorbell. The last few days had been great, but the lack of being alone made it difficult to slip away. He waited patiently. It was a big house, meant to house all the nations in the USSR, but now it only had one occupant. One occupant that wasn't expecting visitors, so was probably making a detour to get his magic metal pipe of pain.

It finally opened, Russia raising an eyebrow,"America?"

"The one and only."He smiled tightly,"Can we talk?"

"Yes."He stepped aside to let him pass,"What about?"

"The world found out we used to have a thing."He stayed in the front hallway, hoping to keep this short so rumors didn't start about that thing only being in the past,"I'll try to control it on my end, but people are going to ask you questions. Thought you should be prepared."

"How did they find out?"Russia tilted his head,"Was it because of your matchmaking?"

"So you noticed."He laughed,"And yes. They've taken an almost unhealthy interest in my life now that they've noticed."

A chuckle,"I am used to being bad guy, America. I can handle these rumors."

"But you don't deserve them."He shook his head.

"I will be fine."

Wow, was this what Mattie felt like when he confronted him? Cause he was beginning to understand all the shouting that occurred,"You know I recently learned that just because you think you're fine doesn't actually make you fine."

Purple eyes narrowed,"What is the saying? Ah, those who live in glass houses should not throw stones, da?"

"Fair enough."He'd just ask Mattie to tell Kat to do something. Or maybe China, they were pretty close,"I hope this blows over fast."

Another raised eyebrow,"Do you regret it?"

"No."He answered after a small pause,"Do you?"

Another hesitation,"No."

"Then we're good?"He held out a hand.

"As good as we can be."Russia shook it, his grip firm,"Though rumors would be set to rest sooner if we were both in relationships ourselves."

"You have someone in mind?"

People always said how difficult it was to talk to their exes. That the emotions either never went away or never existed in the first place. He refused to believe the latter, so he had to admit a small part of him still loved Russia. But he also loved his people, his nation, and that meant this couldn't be. He wasn't Francis, he wouldn't wait centuries for a better time. He had to keep moving forward.

He had moved on.

"Do you?"

He contemplated the question. With his family now staying with him he'd begun rethinking his position on a lot of his relationships. He was getting a clearer understanding of the differences between America and Alfred. He'd been wrong about why people wanted him around, maybe he was also wrong in thinking he couldn't have love?

Francis had cornered him on this one. Did he not want to be in a relationship because he assumed no one wanted him? Or was he truly not interested in anyone? It was another distinction he hadn't made himself. Then there was the added fear of it going badly again, a fear of being hurt. The nation of love had insisted he not let fear hold him back from the pleasures of life.

He was going to need brain bleach if they had more conversations about life's 'pleasures'.

It was complicated. He was, as Lovino had told him many times, a fucking mess.

"I don't know."He shrugged.

"I suggest figuring it out."Russia smiled, patting him on the shoulder.

That was the moment the door was kicked open. China stood there, looking like he had just made the run across the entire continent. He took one look at them and summoned his wok into his hand,"So the rumors are true."

That was his cue to get the hell out of dodge.


China contemplated running after the superpower, but decided to stay with the nation that hadn't run. Russia was inspecting his door,"You could have knocked."

"You apparently had company."He narrowed his eyes.

"America was warning me about rumors."

The ancient nation crossed his arms,"Are they true?"

"It is true America and I had a relationship, but that is in the past."The Siberian nation smiled,"People change over time, da?"

The longer haired personification paused, before relaxing. He had found the USSR-leading Russia creepy, but since the fall of the Union he had been getting closer to Russia. People were starting to say they had a special relationship, a far cry from the wars they had gotten into with each other a century ago. Together, they opposed America, and it was nice to have support as he clawed his way back to being a dominant world power.

"Yes."He then turned to look at the door,"I hope I didn't break it."

"You didn't."Russia assured him,"I'm sorry the rumors upset you."

"I wasn't upset."He denied immediately. Upset was too close to jealous, and what he had felt was more akin to protectiveness.

The Siberian nation kept smiling,"Of course you weren't."

He glowered,"Ivan…"

The smile widened,"I forgot how cute your annoyed expression is."

"Ivan!"He blushed,"You make that sound creepy!"

"Even though I mean it?"His eyes opened as the smile dropped a little.

"That makes it worse."China complained, looking away. A nation as strong as Russia should not be able to look that cute!

The taller man turned away and started walking down the hall,"Then I guess I won't ask you out."

What?! "…what?"

"I intended to ask you if you would like to be my lover,"The jerk kept walking,"But I see that will have to wait for another time."

Honestly, nations these days,"I just found out you had a relationship with America."

That made him pause and turn back,"I ended it, if that helps."

That did. Slightly. "And you are asking me now…why?"He stared at him, glad for the distance so he didn't have to look up.

"I won't lie. It would help put these rumors down if I were to be in a relationship with someone else."His purple eyes met his,"But you are the only one I considered asking."

"What if it wasn't helpful?"He had been used by too many people in his long life to put up with it anymore.

"My feelings would be the same."Ivan promised,"However, I would likely not act on them."

"Why?"He took a few steps towards him.

"You are the older one of us. I expected you to make the first move."A meek shrug. Adorable.

He moved so there was little space between them, before punching him in the arm,"If this relationship is going to work you cannot call me old."He got enough of that from Hong Kong. Russia chuckled, so he hit him on the arm again,"I'm serious, aru!"

The Siberian nation just pulled him in for a hug, and he grumbled nonsense into his coat.

It wasn't the ideal start, but it was a start.


Iceland was slightly less confused.

It was complicated, okay? He'd known Denmark felt guilty about not paying America back for helping him get his brother. He hadn't known that guilt was multiplied by the knowledge that America had his heart broken by Russia. He also didn't know a lot more nations were involved. If the new video going around the nations showing Japan out to murder South Korea was any indication, there were a lot more nations involved.

He thanked Leon for what he knew now.

Was it always like this? He knew his own family had plenty of drama over the centuries, but he'd been young enough to largely ignore it. The most painful thing he remembered was watching Denmark cry when Sweden took away Norway. It was one of the few times he let his guardian cuddle him.

He looked at America's unicorn. It had a collar, which informed him the being's name was Llamrei.

He'd just been trying to find a bathroom, but considering how the rest of his day went he was fine just sitting here with the magical creature he typically pretended he couldn't see. Hopefully, it couldn't get any weirder.

He jinxed himself. Llamrei had come over for pets when his brother found him.

Lukas stared at him, then at the magical being currently nuzzling his hand,"You can see him?"

Why was this his life? He blushed, and nodded. He'd always been able to see them, but when he was younger he'd wanted to be big and strong like Denmark and Sweden. So he'd pretended he couldn't. He wanted to be someone who wielded a battle axe or a heavy weapon, not a sorcerer who only needed words. It was silly, childish, hero worship, but it stuck.

"That explains a lot."His brother came and sat next to him,"You were always suspiciously good at avoiding the creatures I sent to watch you."

He said nothing to that, letting the silence lapse. He wasn't sensing any silent judgment, so he hadn't angered him. He finally sighed,"What's with the name Llamrei?"

"It was the name of King Arthur's steed, according to legend."Lukas smiled softly.

Iceland had gone and named his puffin Mr. Puffin. He snorted,"Can he…?"

"No. America has as much magical ability as Dan."Norway huffed.

"Llamrei looks healthy though."The unicorn neighed and bobbed his head in agreement.

America took care of a creature he couldn't see because his brother had gifted it to him. He inwardly sighed. He could have that close of a bond to his own brother, if he would just acknowledge they were related.

Norway had just insisted on big brother, and he didn't like how demeaning little brother sounded.

"He's sweet."He continued, looking anywhere but at the other Nordic,"Now that you know…I'd be interested in meeting some of your other companions, brother."

"They'll be delighted to meet you, brother."