Woot! Back to over 2K words :D Ack, I'm sorry... I know this chapter seems sorta filler-ish but no worries everyone! Every single word is very important :D

(Sorry for taking so long... again... -fails-)

DISCLAIMER: Hetalia season five. OMG. Everyone. Hetalia isn't over. My life has just been made. -Angelic chorus from the heavens-

Chapter Nine: Bonding with Friends

"Mr. Ivan! So good to see you again!" I blinked and watched Vanya and the man behind the ice cream parlor's counter awkwardly exchange a hug over the tasting area. The man had longer brown hair and kind green eyes; his name tag read 'Toris'. "You've never come with company before, is this your friend?"

"Da, this is Alfred," Vanya answered happily; indicating me with a backwards motion and stepping to the side, allowing me to come forward. The clerk, Toris, smiled at me and extended a frail looking hand. I smiled back a little unsuredly, and shook his hand.

"Toris. It is SO good to see Mr. Ivan bring friends, he seems like such a lonely person," he smiled brightly again at me and I couldn't help the little chuckle from escaping at Vanya's blushing face. I let go of the nice guy's hand and skimmed over the various ice cream flavors, seeing a few that sounded pretty good. On second thought, they all looked pretty good...

"So, Vanya comes here often then?" Toris blinked and shared a look with Vanya, before smiling like a sun and laughing a bit. Vanya's blush darkened just a little. I glanced up from my hunched over viewing of the ice cream flavors.

"Vanya? What a lucky guy!" I blinked at his mirthful tone, his radiant smile dissuading any possible sarcasm. "Anything you want is on the house!"

"Woah! Serious? Dang Vanya, keep this guy as a friend!" I scanned the flavors with more excitement, missing Vanya shaking his head quickly and Toris mouthing a startled and hasty apology. "Oh! This one sounds good. Can I get a scoop of rocky road and uh... Pralines and Cream on a waffle cone?" I smiled up at Toris as I straightened my back, reveling in the feel of my shoulders cracking. Toris smiled a bit nervously in response and selected a cone, readying a scooper in hot water.

"I think I'll try the pistachio this time, the regular please," Vanya ordered quietly, nodding joyfully when Toris acknowledged his request. Vanya clapped a hand onto my shoulder and we exchanged gleeful smiles before wandering over to an empty table in the relatively bare shop. A gaggle of girls whispered excitedly to each other in the far corner table, and I waved at them when I met their eyes. They paused momentarily in their gossip before going back at it with even more energy. I blinked before shrugging it off, turning back to a red faced Vanya. My face scrunched.

"Dude, you okay? The heat getting to you or something?" Vanya gave me a perplexed look.

"You mean you didn't get-... Something indeed..." he adjusted his shirt to let some air under it, glancing about and visibly relaxing as the kind Toris delivered our frozen treats. Vanya pulled forth a leather billfold, but Toris quickly waved it off and smiled.

"On the house," he stated as he passed me my precariously balanced cone and a small cup of green ice cream with a tasting spoon to my friend before going back over to the counter. Vanya looked a little uncertain but made no argument, instead opting to taste his food. We sat in silence for a few minutes, me taking small bites and licking the melting edges of my ice cream and Vanya spooning frozen deliciousness into his mouth. He seemed to be having a hard time looking at me and his face was still rather red...

"So, you live around here?" I asked, taking a long lick up the side of the Pralines and Cream scoop. Dang, was it good... Vanya's face got a little redder as he fumbled for words.

"Ah, ah... Just a few blocks from here actually," he mumbled, dropping his gaze to his spoon as he took another bite. I glanced up at him and smiled expectantly. Vanya blinked before catching on with a gentle gasp. "Oh. Would you like to... Come over?"

"Of course!" I laughed good naturedly and nodded yes, taking a large bite to swallow the last of the top scoop as the bottom one dribbled over the edges and onto my hands in a few places. Vanya smiled a small smile as he took another spoonful of his own dessert. I stared at his ice cream with a certain curious intensity.

"Say... I've seen pistachio flavors in a lot of shops but it always sounded kinda weird so I never tried it... Can I taste some of yours?" Vanya blinked, glanced down, nodded, and passed his cup over to me. I smiled and held my cone out. "Want any of mine?"

We exchanged desserts and took a few bites each. The pistachio wasn't actually all that bad... Vanya gave a small hum of satisfaction before we switched again. I smiled brightly at him as he finished what was left of his ice cream, continuing to devour my own at a faster rate. Working my way around the waffle cone, eating it layer by layer, I stood up and waved at Toris before glancing back at Vanya expectantly. Taking his cue, he stood up and walked to my side. I smiled at him.

"Lead the way, big guy."

"And dude, mom wasn't kidding! The pancakes were seriously green! Mattie cried for the rest of the day, which kinda sucked, but those pancakes man! I still don't get how she got them that color without adding anything to them!" I rambled off, recounting a random day in April of my sixth grade year to my chuckling friend. He laughed as we continued walking down the sidewalk, having forgone the car for the beautiful (and hot) weather. "Oh, and then there was this one other time that Mattie and I were in class and then alluva sudden-"

"Alfie," my friend held a delicate finger up to my lips in a shushing manner, my story fading as I silenced myself and stared up with wide eyes. "We're here."

I looked around at the nice neighborhood, the houses not quite as large as the ones in Arthur's area but not small like the rest of the city's. The one Vanya walked up to was a well-kept little place with a creamy white color and a flushed out green lawn. The two stories looked inviting with the numerous windows and flowers around the pathway, and over all the place had a homey atmosphere to it. I sidled up next to my friend as he fiddled with his keys.

Vanya blinked at me once, gave a short little sigh, and then opened the door. "Hero! I'm back!" he called into the seemingly empty house, taking off his shoes before stepping inside. I replicated his motions and entered as well, shifting to close the door behind me when something fluffy collided with my jean covered legs. I looked down.

And stared into the most adorable face I had ever seen. Gasping back a squeal, I blinked excitedly at those bright blue eyes, the fuzzy white cat blinking back at me. It considered my legs for a minute before jumping up onto them, Vanya giving a startled yelp as I stumbled backwards under the sudden weight. The white ball of fur with the creamiest chocolate brown tail and scruff bounded up my body, weaving in and out of my flailing limbs as it stealthily latched onto my back with well trimmed claws. I paused momentarily, startled and frankly too confused to do much else, as the white cat scrambled onto my shoulders and made itself comfortable into something akin to a living scarf. I blinked as the blue eyed cat purred and seemed content to just fall asleep right then and there, the rumbling noise filling the awkwardly startled atmosphere. Vanya sighed and reached to loosen his scarf as I stood a little taller, recovering from my shock and trying my hardest not to cuddle the cute little thing around my neck.

"I-I apologize for Hero's behavior, normally he is such a shy kitty," Vanya mumbled, clicking his tongue twice at the end and making a beckoning motion with his hands. The cat, Hero I suppose, perked up immediately before pouncing from my shoulders and leaping towards his owner's open arms. I blinked again and couldn't hold back a gleeful little giggle as Hero circled around Vanya's neck (which must be over heating greatly since he still wore his scarf in the hot summer weather) and licked his cheek before settling down again once more. The chocolate tail's tip whipped back and forth and curled up close to Vanya's face, brushing in what I imagined to be a ticklish fashion against his chin. My best friend smiled softly at his pet, gliding his fingers over the remarkably soft fur.

"Wow, what a fluffy little guy!" I reached out and stroked the top of the cat's head, the purring starting up again with a vengeance. "Must get hot though, with all of that winter fur..."

Vanya laughed and scratched his red cheek. "No, it is more that Hero is just fat."

The cat and I both stared up at him. He looked a little taken aback. I went on petting the kitty, ignoring my friend's comment. "Such a cutie pie! Aren't you just the fluffiest kitty to ever live? Yes, you are!" I leaned in close and rubbed noses with the happy cat, a habit I had picked up with all animals from when I worked at pet shelters as a volunteer. I glanced back up at Vanya, smiling as he smiled back. "So, wanna give me the grand tour of your mansion?"

"Oh, not a mansion... But sure, follow me," Vanya replied with a small chuckle, moving away from the entryway and into the depths of the comfortable house.

I laughed in my seat at Vanya's small kitchen table as he moved about the small room preparing a simple meal, Hero rubbing his white face against my hands. Vanya recounted tale after tale about cooking incidents he had experienced with his family growing up, a fair share of failures and major successes. His house was plain and simple with enough furnishings to prove evidence of life without being overly cluttered or extravagant. Apparently Vanya decided not too long ago after a lot of consideration to stay in the area more permanently and had recently purchased the house for a manageable sum. I reflected back on how peaceful it was here, and how much I longed to go back to when it was like this with Arthur.

I thanked my friend profusely as he set the dinner out on the table, a nice mixed salad and delicious smelling meat. "I'm sorry it is not much, I am a single man and was not expecting company... Please, eat as much as you like!"

"Wow, that smells really good... Thank you so much for having me, sorry for staying so long!" I laughed and thanked him again as he set the tall glass of water I had asked for instead of an alcoholic choice by my plate before going back to get into the kitchenette to get himself a glass and a bottle of vodka for himself. He sat down and we raised our cups in a toast before digging into the wonderful food. "Say, I kind of remember this taste from somewhere..." I mumbled after a few bites of the marinated steak.

"Ah, a friend of mine had given this to me just a few days ago from a meat locker nearby, saying I might need it... I guess he was right!" Vanya smiled cheerfully back, taking a quick swig of his vodka.

"A friend, huh..." I thought of Francis, and then of Arthur. Even with the amazing food and comfortable atmosphere, I suddenly felt sick to my stomach. I swallowed and chugged a bit of my water, washing down some salad as I tried to gather my courage. Vanya glanced down when Hero rubbed up against his leg and begged with a loud mewl for him to share his dinner. Watching the exchange, something inside me clicked and I felt as if I could just forget all of my fears, at least for a while longer. I put on a smile and took another bite, formulating my question. "Say... I know we haven't seen each other in such a long time, and I'd hate to impose... But, do you think I could spend the night here? There's some stuff going on at my house that I'd rather not think about," I felt like bashing my head against a wall as my resolve started crumbling towards the end of my request, ending with me staring into my plate and nibbling on a piece of lettuce.

Vanya blinked up at me, down at Hero, and back again at me before smiling softly in understanding, seeming to catch on to not pry into the matter. "Of course, you are always welcome in my home."

Hahaha. Next chapter will be super important guys! Stay with me!

And I want to apologize in advance. After today, my free time will be remarkably diminished with school and marching band (we're going to the Macy's Parade so training will be INTENSE). HOWEVER! I have every intention of giving you guys updates as often as I can!

Big thanks to my record eleven reviewers: 91RedRoses, cuzimafreak, Fynniona, Trypheria, Awww, my Guest, purple-ripples, easha, ninjaco0kieXD and of course to my SUPER AMAZING Alpha Kats With Shamrocks! If you haven't already, definitely check out her works! (I'm beta-ing for her, so I can vouch when I say they are all as awesome if not more so than Prussia! So you should read them!)

Thanks for reading everyone, you guys rock!