Hello everyone !
This chapter was more of a pain to translate than I thought it would be, but I think I did okay. Spent most of my day off working on it, so it better be worth it x)
Less than two months later, the White House sent an invitation to the president of the Russian Federation. The American communication department had been adamant in showing off how this was a new era for the United States, and the way it treated with other countries. Unfortunately, it meant showing off how Anderson could hold her ground in front of well-established leaders all around the world. In these conditions, a meeting with Putin was simply unavoidable, and Anderson opted to fight him on her own terms.
Moscow answered positively less than twenty-four hours after receiving the official invitation. The organisation followed swiftly, and both governments settled for a couple of days, two weeks from then. As a show of good intentions, a Canadian delegation was invited as well, including Matthew. Officially, it would be a great way to remind everyone the links between the three countries.
Behind closed doors, however, it was mostly to ensure one person would be able to stop two particular members of the diplomatic teams, should things go south between them. Unfortunately, given the latest reports on that side, the risk of a fight between the two nations was so high it was basically considered inevitable.
From Matthew's point of view, the past two months had indeed be hell.
Everything had started not even two weeks after he had talked with his twin. During what should have been a short diplomatic mission in Europe, Alfred had noticed Ivan's seemingly unaffected behaviour at his presence and usual flirting with other nations.
The American had been taken by surprise at first, but had quickly decided to up his game to force a reaction from his ex-nemesis. When Russia had been invited to an event in South America, along with Yao and Kiku, Ivan had very coincidently stumbled upon Alfred and Miguel making out in a meeting room.
The door had not survived the incident, and as a matter of fact, neither had the room. Mexico had wisely ran away, looking very satisfied with the way things had turned out for him. Alfred had had a vindictive glint in the eye, and after a few hurtful exchanges from both sides, the two powerful nations had started a legendary fight.
It had been the start of a new habit. While Alfred managed to remain charming and efficient during most of the meetings, he wasn't holding back his jabs toward the Russian anymore. Ivan inevitably met him halfway, resulting in a tension that most nations didn't know how to handle save from running away, not making a sound, or calling for Germany, China or Canada's help. It was collectively assumed and accepted they had gone back to being adversaries.
Matthew wanted to pull his hair out and bang his head on the nearest hard surface every time. The Canadian nation could simply not believe that no one but him was able to see past their act. He could not believe no one else saw the bags under Alfred's slightly puffy eyes, a silent proof that he had cried himself to sleep again. He could not believe no one else saw how Ivan's vodka flask was empty most of the time, and suspiciously full again at odd hours of the day.
No one was seeing anything, because no one wanted to see. Even his parents and Ivan's sisters were at a loss of what to do, because they had no idea of the root of the problem. Matthew knew, but his last attempt had had disastrous results and he simply didn't know how to make things better. He was forced to witness his brother and his friend destroying themselves and each other, and he hated it.
Which is why Matthew had eventually given up, and discreetly reached to his brother's president and asked for her help. Fortunately, the rather young politician had noticed how Alfred's well-being was deteriorating as well, and was all in favour of helping him. It took them some time to come up with a plan that had an actual chance of success and set it up as flawlessly as was humanly possible, but they managed.
All they had to do now was to put it in motion, and pray it wouldn't blow up to their faces.
-o-oOo-o-
The Russian delegation arrived on a Friday morning. Ivan had very strongly considered ditching the entire trip, but his pride and the knowledge that Matthew would be present managed to be just enough of an incentive to convince him otherwise. As much as the Russian nation would rather avoid any situation where himself and Alfred would be in immediate vicinity of each other, he was aware of his duties and reputation.
It didn't mean Ivan would hide his displeasure, though.
When their plane landed, they discovered that an impressive group of people had been gathered to welcome them. Alice Anderson herself was here, flanked by Alfred on her right side and the Secretary of Foreign Affairs on her left. A dozen of various diplomats of lesser importance were standing behind them.
"What an honour to be welcomed by the president of the United States herself" Putin stated with a smile that was everything but warm.
His American counterpart gave him a similar smile, all cold agressivity under a charming demeanour. "It's only natural" she assured him politely. "You are a visiting Head of State. To not welcome you myself would have been quite disrespectful, don't you think ?"
Putin's smile tensed up a bit, barely noticeable, but enough for those who would look closely. In one sentence, the current resident of the White House had politely insulted him by reminding him how he had received Trump every time her predecessor had come to Russia. According to the hard glint in the woman's brown eyes, this was merely a warning shot. She was obviously nothing like the obnoxious millionaire and would not be as easily manipulated.
Ivan shot a glance at Alfred. The American nation was smiling widely, standing proud and tall behind his President. He was displaying his full support and showing how confident he was in her abilities against Putin. Ivan was only more aware of how somber and annoyed he must look. His willingness to put up with the trip somehow dropped even lower than it had been.
After this first exchange, both delegations walked to the cars waiting for them, all the while talking amicably about neutral subjects, such as the quality of the flight and mundane details about their agenda for the upcoming days. Fortunately, whoever had supervised the repartition had put the nations in separate cars.
-o-oOo-o-
They were at the White House since less than five minutes when Matthew arrived, and as soon as the photographs were done, the Canadian hugged his brother tightly.
"Alfie ! It's been too long !" Matthew exclaims joyfully, then laughed when his twin swirled them around.
"Matt, it's so good to see you, you've no idea !" Alfred all but beamed, then let his brother's feet touch the floor again. Canada watched him intently, then frowned.
"You all right ? You look like you haven't slept in a week."
"Lots of things to work on and a bit of insomnia" Alfred dismissed lightly. "Nothing I can't manage, don't worry about it."
Matthew arched an eyebrow, but didn't push further. He knew Alfred, and the words were too carefully chosen. His brother had made sure to not lie to him, but even with the amount of - perfectly applied - concealer, the Canadian nation could see the bags under his eyes. Which meant Alfred had spent the past days, probably weeks, either working until he'd pass out on his office's couch or crying himself to sleep.
However, if he wanted his and Alice's plan to work, Matthew had to keep his brother in a good enough mood. Therefore, he let it go, and left shortly to greet Ivan as well, noticing how on edge he already was. Keeping him and Alfred from fighting for the entire day was going to be a challenge. Even with the fact that Matthew had reviewed the seated positions of everyone three times beforehand, he had a feeling that he would need all the patience and innocent cuteness he could muster to prevent a disaster.
-o-oOo-o-
The rest of the day proved Matthew right, but thanks to some careful planning and devious interventions, things stayed under control until the end of the meeting session. Lunchtime had been tricky, but the Canadian nation had brought hockey on the table, and no one had dared going against him on the matter.
The last discussion ended about the delicate question of uranium reserves and nuclear energy, but both leaders ended it on a promising compromise before standing up. Everyone else imitated them, relieved that the day had come to an end without any incident.
It was the very moment the President of the United States chose to turn to her nation, a bright smile on her lips.
"Alfred, since we were talking about this particular matter, would you mind doing a tour of our nuclear fallout shelter for your colleagues Williams and Braginsky ?" she asked warmly, barely disguising the order under a polite phrasing. Then, the young politician looked at her counterpart with a small apologetic expression. "Please don't take offense, we have very strict limitations about this part of the White House. Due to their... special status" she said with a knowing look, "I can make an exception for them, but this is about it. I hope you won't mind."
"Not at all. On the contrary, I trust mister Braginsky realises what an exceptional opportunity this is" Putin answered, with a clear warning in his eyes when he looked at his own nation. The implications were clear for everyone in the room, and two nations out of the three cringed. Only Canada remained perfectly calm, and nodded almost imperceptibly to the brown-haired woman.
Alfred's jaw remained clipped, but he motionned to his brother and his nemesis to follow him anyway. No one said a word during most of the walk. After a bunch of corridors, one elevator, more corridors, stairs, and even more corridors, they arrived in front of three huge armored doors, each one taking almost a full wall. For a minute, Matthew forgot about the plan and the labyrinth-like path they had follow, and whistled.
"Damn, they're impressive" the Canadian nation admitted. "They almost look like vault doors."
"Yeah, we had Switzerland on it for part of the design" Alfred chuckled. "I called in a favour he owed me for protecting Lily once during World War Two" he added, then winked to his twin. "So, which one do you want to see ?"
Matthew tilted his head, and answered before Ivan could. "I don't know, that one ?" he asked innocently while pointing at the one on the right. "They're all the same anyway, right ?"
"They should be" America approved. "Although I believe Alice asked for some modifications in one of them recently" the blond remembered with a light frown, then shrugged it off. "Worst case scenario, I'll show you another one."
"Wonderful" Ivan snapped in a clipped voice. "Maybe you could get on with it so some of us could leave this place and get some needed rest ?"
Alfred's blue eyes turned to a stormy sea, but his twin's hand on his shoulder convinced him to keep his calm just a little longer. Just a few more minutes, and then Ivan would be gone for the day. America inhaled deeply, and told himself he could do it. He scolded his features into a blasé expression, and put his right hand on the right door's control panel.
To his surprise, a red access denied appeared on the screen, and his brows arched up, then settled on a confused frown.
"Something wrong ?" Matthew asked gently, with a tiny bit of worry in his voice.
"Give me a minute" Alfred answered, and picked up his phone, his thumb already reaching for his president's personal number. She answered in less than five seconds. "Alice ? Yeah, there's something weird with the shelters' clearance, did something happened recently ?"
There was almost an entire minute of silence, while the young politician was obviously explaining the situation, and Alfred relaxed completely, his lips stretching in a comprehensive smile.
"All right, got it" he eventually said. "Yeah, don't worry, we've all been busy lately. I probably missed the notification, so it's on me."
Another silence happened, shorter this time, then the American nation got closer to the panel. "Okay, I'm ready for the temporary code."
An impressive number of clics later, they all heard a couple of noises, followed by the door unlocking. "All good" Alfred smiled on the phone. "No worries, Alice, really. See you tonight for the debriefing. Bye."
America pocketed his phone in his black jacket, then turned and smiled brightly to his twin, completely ignoring the other person in the room.
"Everything's fine. The tech department has been doing a major update recently and I missed the notice somehow. Alice had to gave me a one-use code so we could enter" the blond nation explained.
"Oh, makes sense" Matthew agreed. "By the way" he added mischievously, "not to pry or anything, but you're on first-name basis with your President ?"
Alfred laughed wildly, then winked to his twin. "The first time I tried to call her by her title, she threatened me with a four-hundred pages report. Apparently, coaching her a bit means I'm not allowed to be formal with her ever again."
"She seems to be a good person" the Canadian stated with a warm smile.
"That she is" Alfred approved just as warmly, and started opening the massive door to reveal the first small room of the shelter. "She's smart, dedicated, hard-working, she really wants the best for everyone and she's good with the media."
"True, she's pretty great with them. Having a young powerful politician in power in the States has been quite the earthquake. She's very charismatic too" the Canadian nation added with a knowing wink, then giggled with his brother.
Matthew used the few seconds during which Alfred entered the first chamber to glance quickly at Ivan. Russia had remained silent, but Matthew knew his murderous aura had darkened with every compliment on Alfred's President. Phase two was working perfectly. The last, and more tricky part of the plan, could begin.
"Come on, the faster we're in, the faster we can all leave" Alfred called them.
Both nations came in the small room, and Alfred kept a close eye on the vault-like door.
"Just being careful" he explained with a serious look. "Since my access is denied for now and we can't use the same code to get out, I'd rather avoid being locked in."
Beside him, Matthew made a face, then nodded approvingly and slided his hands in his own pocket, only to frown. The American nation stopped to look at his twin.
"You all right, Matt ?" he asked in light worry.
"I can't find my phone" Canada answered, and started slightly panicking.
"Shit, you want me to call you ?" Alfred immediately offered.
"I put it on silent mode before the meetings" Matthew said while shaking his head. "I must have lost it on the way. You know what, just check this without me, I'm going to check the corridors in case I dropped it on the way."
The American nation looked dubious for an instant, then sighed. "You think you can find your way back alone ?"
The close to insulted look Canada gave his brother convinced the latter to backpedal just as quickly. "Okay, just be careful, and give me a call when you find it ?"
"Of course !" Matthew smiled happily, then rushed out the door.
Alfred sighed inwardly. His twin was the only reason he hadn't snapped to Ivan yet, and he had no desire to stay alone with his nemesis. He turned toward the next door to enter the main room of the shelter when he heard a noise.
The American nation paled drastically. Then he rushed to the armored door, only to find it closed. One pull confirmed the hard truth, and sudden fear let way to anger.
"FUCK ! Matthew, what the hell are you playing at !?" the blue-eyed nation shouted.
"I'm fairly confident he can't hear you from here" Ivan supplied sarcastically.
Alfred glared at him. "Shut the fuck up. Matthew locked us in, and now I'm stuck with you until someone else open the door ! Even I can't break through that door" he added in frustration, his jaw and fist clenched.
Russia kept his face guarded, but his eyes were burning with a dark emotion and when he spoke, venom was laced in every word. "Then you have no reason to worry. Your beloved President will assuredly come to your rescue when she'll notice your absence to your little rendez-vous."
Alfred's eyes turned to Ivan's, whose tall frame was nonchalantly leaned against the wall. His arms were crossed on his chest, but there was no mistaking the fury emanating from him. It only fueled America's own anger further, and the fragile peace they had maintained so far disappeared.
"What the fuck are you implying, asshole ?" Alfred snapped.
"Don't play dumb with me" Ivan snorted. "You're not the first nation to sleep with their leader. Her charisma is undoubtedly higher than Trump's was" the older nation added in mocking contempt.
Russia avoided the punch by an inch, and didn't flinch at the sound of the crackling concrete on the left side of his head. His dark smile only grew more provocative.
"Looks like I hit the mark, didn't I ?"
"Listen to me very carefully, bastard" Alfred growled threateningly, his fist still on the wall. "I have a huge respect for that woman, and my affection for her has nothing to do with romance. Don't you dare talk shit about her."
Ivan tried his best to focus on the words, but Alfred's sudden proximity, his eyes whose intensity could rival a stormy sea's, the way his lips moved when he spoke, a stray hair falling out of place, the warmth of his body so close to his, were as many things that made thinking a more difficult activity than usual.
Russia's mind was barely able to focus on anything else than how hot and attractive Alfred was when he was acting all dark and angry. Which is why, when the words finally registered, they were like a knife turning in his heart, and out of reflex, the tall nation replied in the only way he knew when he was hurt. Hurting back.
"My apologies, I suppose it was wrong of me to assume she'd agree to an open relationship... unless she didn't and you simply cheated on her with that dear Mexico ?" Ivan said in a sugary sweet voice.
Alfred froze, and his eyes darkened in absolute fury and outrage. Ivan was more than aware that he had gone too far with that last blow. Alfred was not the cheating type, if anything, he was too loyal to the few people he cared for. But as unfair as it was, it gave Russia the opportunity to be the only thing the American was focusing on now. It was pathetic, really, but these small moments where Alfred was furious against him were moments where the young nation had only eyes for him.
How pitiful, that his frozen heart would ache for even the smallet piece of attention from a man who felt nothing but justified hatred toward him.
"I'm going to kill you" Alfred all but growled.
"As tempting as your offer is" Ivan answered with the fakest innocent smile he could muster, "we still have a shelter to see. Would you mind delaying this charming project by a few minutes ? I will have to write a report on this place, after all."
Ivan could see the very second Alfred realised he had a duty as well, the way his jaw clenched in frustration, and the small hesitation before he drew back his arm from the wall.
"You got five minutes. Then you'll be drowning in your blood" the blond warned with a glare.
Ivan rolled his eyes as soon as the young nation stepped back. He hoped the American would either be quicker or more creative in his execution. Not that he planned to go down without a fight, but still.
Alfred very obviously refused to turn his back to him, and Ivan took it upon himself to turn the handle. There was little doubt as to why was waiting for them behind it, anyway. All nuclear shelters were basically the same. Makeshift beds, a couple of tables and chairs to work on, water and non-perishable goods stocked in a few cupboards, a bathroom, and so on. Those things were organised to be as practical as possible in case a catastrophe would occur, not to be cosy and comfortable.
Ivan sighed when he felt the murderous glare on his back, and opened the door.
A/N : we enter the last five chapters. Unfortunately, there is a lot for me to change/improve in those, and as much as I'm going to do my best to keep to my current updating schedule, it's not impossible that some chapters end up being delayed. I apologise in advance for the inconvenience...