A/N: Field discovered that the last name Williams is actually more popular in America than Canada. So she's all spazzy about it and I'm quietly amused. WHY IS MY AMUSEMENT QUIET IT'S NOT NORMAL

Actually, that's not true. Or at least, I don't know if it's true. What I ACTUALLY discovered was that the last name Williams is more popular than the last name Jones in America. Heheh… Sneaky Canadians. XD (Or well, sneaky Canadian, singular…) (Or actually, sneaky Himaruya…) (Or, well, you know what? Screw logistics! I'll just go to my happy amused corner and "spaz", as Sera puts it.)

Also, I think I know why China has the -aru accent. *not sure if people who don't speak Chinese will get this* LET'S GO~ So, you know words like 這(这) or 那, and it's relatively common maybe to add the 兒 (儿) on the end. That 兒 (儿) makes the 'ar' sound, and combined with 這 or 那 it is 'zhar' or 'nar'.

I THINK I'M ON TO SOMETHING HERE :D

Yes, and because of the complexities of the Japanese language, the -ar sound changes into an -aru sound, because all consonants must be followed by a vowel. Makes sense. Although the tendency to say 儿 (兒) is more common in the north of China, and not so much in the south, I believe…

Chinese linguistics lesson aside, this chapter is a direct continuation of chapter 7 (Will you remain?), so have fun reading~! (That squiggly was not intentional… my finger slipped. But whatever, it works!)

Oh, and we're not shipping Ivan's friend and Ivan. But I imagine if he had friends in the canon, he would think a lot of them and care about them. Ehehe… Russia has no friends…*hugs him*

Chapter 9: Revelations

For a few seconds, the room was bathed in silence.

Then Sergeant Braginski sighed, sitting back down with a thump.

"Sir…?" Alfred ventured.

"What is it, Alfred?" replied the sergeant, sounding more tired than they'd ever heard him sound.

"Who is that? Isn't he the enemy?" The American's blue eyes were riveted to that bright red armband.

The Russian sighed. "We are on opposing sides, but we are not enemies."

Cody's mouth dropped open. "But, sir! He's… He's a… He's a German!"

"Romanian, actually," Braginski responded offhandedly. Then his expression turned soft. "Andrei. That's his name. Andrei Kogalniceanu. I met him a long time ago, when we were only about eighteen years old. We'd both just joined the military, and were assigned to the same general area, a reserve base of sorts for both Romanian and Soviet forces, along the border between the two countries. This was before I switched to the air force, mind you," Braginski added, seeing Alfred and Cody's confused expression.

"But sir-"

"Let me finish."

"But-"

"That's an order, Simms." Cody lapsed back into silence, trying to hide a scowl.

"Back then… well, everything was simpler. Sure, we were part of the military, but it was calm then. Well, calm-er," he corrected with a wry grin. "War is never calm. I was rather serious and dedicated to my land, and Andrei was known for being a joker, setting up pranks and having little 'magic' tricks. How we became friends, we never really understood. Me, the strong, serious soldier, and him, the careless trickster… We were the most unlikely of pairs. But get along we did, and soon we became the best of friends.

"We stayed like that for a few years, before we both started to feel that the army was too limiting, and I enlisted in the Военно-воздушные силы, the Military Air Force of the Soviet Union. I was still on the same base, but I'd moved away from our old barracks, and Andrei and I barely saw each other anymore. Andrei himself had become friends with another man, Gilbert, a self-proclaimed Prussian Nazi who was transferred temporarily as part of a sign of friendship between Romania, the Soviet Union, and Germany."

Both Cody and Alfred opened their mouths, intent on asking how the Soviet Union and Germany could be friends when they were at war, but Braginski just plowed on, and they shut their mouths again. "I never liked Gilbert, and I don't think he liked me, either. Especially after he managed to convince Andrei to join the Nazi party, and become part of the Einsatzgruppen, the German special task forces mostly dedicated to the persecution of Jews. But even though I didn't agree with his decision, we still remained best friends. It wasn't until a few weeks before Germany broke the non-aggression pact in early 1941 that our friendship was officially torn apart. We had a massive argument, just like so many of our comrades had been having, as our two sides became increasingly alienated. Afterward, we wouldn't speak to each other at all. If we saw each other, we would turn away or pretend not to see the other person. Then… Then it happened."

Braginski took a deep breath before continuing. "The day the Axis broke the pact, there was a relatively minor battle at our base. Or at least, compared to the rest of the war, it was minor. For us, it was the world.

"I was dedicated to fighting for Russia. For the Soviet Union. I shot every Romanian or other Axis member on sight. I ran forward with my gun amidst the gas and dirt and dust, wounding or killing whomever I saw, and I thought it was right."

Alfred frowned. Surely the best thing to do is to fight for your country?

"I was on the side of the opposition, and he was there, and I had my gun aimed right at his head-" The Sergeant paused and rubbed his face, and Cody sat forwards in his seat.

"What happened then, sir?"

Alfred slanted a look towards his enemy, surprised to note that he, too was enjoying the Sergeant's story.

Braginski quirked the corner of his mouth. "A miracle. Now, you should know that most of the men didn't really want to fight, but the generals and the ones like me were still working for the others' eradication. They'd started using the heavy artillery on the opposing side. I heard the whistling of the shells overhead, and I looked right up and saw the shell coming, and I knew - right then - I was going to die."

The American almost asked if he died, but then he realized that it was stupid question and kept his mouth shut.

"Andrei and I looked at each other, our fear evident. That kind of fear could unite or re-unite anyone, so we just waited for the end, and I remembered thinking, You? You're the one I'm to die with?

"And then - the miracle. The shell landed right between us, and I closed my eyes."

The Russian chuckled. "Nothing happened. I opened my eyes, looked at the missile, and then poked it. Still, nothing happened. Andrei picked it up and twirled it on his finger, and it wobbled like an ungainly toy and we laughed. He hurled it away from us, and it landed, bounced a few times, and then detonated no more than ten feet away. The building next to us took the brunt of the blast, and we were only showered with dirt and a few pieces of debris. We exchanged a glance, wide-eyed, and then started to laugh harder.

"We made up in an instant," concluded their sergeant, "but there was still the reality of war, and the fact that we were enemies, now. So I requested a transfer, and a spot in the American Air Force was open to train new enlistees. And here I am now."

There was silence for a few moments. Then, Alfred tentatively asked, "Do you still talk to him?"

"Нет. It is not possible." Braginski shook his head sadly. "We haven't communicated in more than a year."

Both Alfred and Cody were noticeably more subdued after they left their sergeant's office. Alfred badly wanted to say, "I told you so," but bit down on the urge to. What if it was Kiku and I who didn't communicate for over a year?

Actually, that's fairly possible. As Kiku told me not to write letters to him, I assume that means he won't write letters back. Alfred tilted his head to the side, pondering the issue. When I write to Francis, Arthur, and Mattie, I can add a side note for Kiku.

Decided on this issue, Alfred hurried to catch up with Cody.

"What do you want?" the Australian asked without turning as Alfred ran up to him.

"I… I just wanted to say sorry," Alfred said sheepishly.

"Yeah? What for? I'm the one who accused you of being a traitor." Cody still hadn't turned around.

"Well, I, um… I wanted to apologize for yelling… and for giving you that bruise." Alfred pointed to the purplish blob on Cody's cheek. "I just… I was kinda hoping that we could… um… you know… put this behind us? My offer of a truce still stands."

Cody sighed, rubbing his face. "I should apologize too. I'm sorry I didn't believe you, and that I lost my temper. I shouldn't have reacted that way. It's just… when I saw the picture… I was reminded of… of… my little brother…"

Suddenly, Cody burst into tears. Startled, Alfred froze for a second, then started awkwardly patting the other man on the back.

"It's OK…"

Cody whirled on him "No, it's not! It will NEVER be OK! He's gone, forever! Your words can't change that!"

Alfred drew back, a look of uncertainty on his face, but then Cody continued. "But… thanks for trying, anyways." Wiping his eyes, the Australian man held out a hand, a small, bitter smile on his features. "Truce?"

Alfred clasped the proffered hand. "Truce."

They shook, and together walked back to their room to pack.

Later that night, Alfred sat down to write a letter to his family.

Mattie, Arthur, and Francis,

So… It's been a while. How are you? Mattie, I hope you're not closing yourself off in your room again. You're not supposed to do that! I'll be perfectly fine, just you watch.

I got a promotion today! It was me, Binh, Carlos, and Cody. You know, the guys in my training group I told you about? I'm just waiting to be assigned my new squadron, then I'll probably actually get to fly, instead of just sitting here with nothing really to do. I know, Francis, that you would tell me it is not such a great thing, but I can't help but be excited. Sure, I might get sent off to fight, but… Well, I just feel so giddy!

So, you know Cody, the Australian guy? Well, we finally agreed to stop fighting, and formed a truce. Sure, it took him accusing me of treason and a long, heartfelt talk with Sergeant Braginski to get him to come around, but I feel that we'll become good friends. Everything's starting to look up, you know?

I do wish I could see you again, though. I miss you a lot. I hope everything's fine at home. Give my best wishes to Kiku and his family. I know they must be taking this hard. Oh, and if you do see Kiku, can you ask him how he is for me?

Sincerely,

Alfred

P.S. I ate 5 hamburgers in a row last Wednesday! See, I told you I could do it, Mattie

P.P.S. Arthur, you'd better not be poisoning Mattie and Francis while the HERO isn't there to protect them!

A/N: Soooo, we're late again. 'Pologies. We had a crapload of studying, Field more so than me, as I opted not to take all the AP classes (which is probably not good in the long run). Plus, the PSAT was this past week! I actually fell asleep while they spent an hour telling us how to fill in the answer sheet… Puh, I say.

Heh. PSAT. So FUN! *cough*sarcasm*cough* And AP classes are what you take to get into Ivy League schools (especially if you're Asian). Sad, but true. Plus you have to have a bunch of random extracurriculars and leadership thingies. Oh, and don't forget the 'good character'. Ah, the things we're willing to do to get into a good university…Oh joy.

Also we had an… interesting conversation following the line "Both Alfred and Cody were noticeably more subdued after they left their sergeant's office." I plead surprise buttsecks, but Field disagrees. Our 'Author's Notes on Author's Notes' conversations (that we don't put up here for good reason) are...interesting.

NO, SERA! Just… no. Don't go there. There is a very good reason this fic is labeled "Friendship" and rated T, not "Romance" and rated M! We promised no icky romance, remember? :(

Potato.

Oh, yeah, and Sera also wrote a random omake [during] to go with this chapter. It starts after the part where Alfred thinks about letters to Kiku. So here, have some funny.

OMAKE! by Sera (as you know) who got bored.

Alfred tilted his head to the side, pondering the issue. When I write to Francis, Arthur, and Mattie, I can add a side note for Kiku.

Decided on this issue, he turned into a pony and flew away while Cody watched, utterly perplexed.

After a moment he flew back, a human arm clenched in his teeth, alighted on the ground, and morphed into a human again. He gave Cody a good knock on the head with the arm to clear out his memory of ponies. Then he proceeded to skip around the prone form dribbling blood in a circle and screeching evil demonic songs he'd learned from his brother (Arthur. Not Mattie. Why would Mattie know those things? Or maybe he does…? O.e).

Suddenly, in a whoosh of flame, all the lights went out and Sergeant Braginski's head popped out of the ground. "You called?"

Scarred for life, Alfred screamed, dropped the human arm, and ran back home. THE END :D