Hey, guys! It's time for another chapter! I hope you guys have liked the story so far! We're probably nearing the end of the story. We have a few more chapters to go! I hope you guys have liked it so far! Finally, here's the chapter!

Ch. 67: Confessions

(Year: 1943)

Scarlett looked out over the Strait of Sicily and admired the color of the water, as well as how the sun's light made it sparkle. Even though the water was covered in warships, she still found beauty in the setting. A glimpse of what life was like before the war flashed in her mind, and she blinked in surprise. Upon opening her eyes again, the warships had not disappeared.

"Damn…" she mumbled to herself. She spun around in place after looking at the water one last time, and joined the other countries who were there with her. The group consisted of three men: America, Britain, and France. Canada and India were here too, but they were busy in another area. The six of them had just successfully invaded Sicilily, which is the tip of the boot of Italy. It wasn't easy and it took a lot of planning, but they finally were able to get to the finish line.

"I'm going to see if my men need any help with the trucks. I'll be right back," she heard America say as she walked up to them. She watched him jog to soldiers and smiled. He was physically only nineteen, but he seemed so mature when it came to supporting his people. He had good leadership skills, despite being the jokester in the group. Britain also had good leadership skills, but he typically had a stick up his ass most of the time. He took everything personally, and it was either his way or the highway. France…Well, he was at least a good cook.

"America! Wait! I wasn't done explaining the next part of the plan! You yank wanker!" Britain yelled, running after him, leaving just Scarlett and France. France had his arms crossed over his chest as he watched the two men argue with each other.

"Even in times of war, those two can't seem to get along, eh?"

Scarlett smirked and sighed.

"Yeah, well, Britain can be an overbearing parent sometimes; so overbearing that we had to start a revolution against him some time ago."

That made the Frenchman laugh.

"Ah, oui! The cost of tea was ridiculous back then! I can't tell you how proud I was of you two when you beat that stupid brit. I think it brought a tear to my eye," he said, wiping his eye with a napkin. Scarlett rolled her eyes at the dramatic gesture.

This guy…

"We couldn't have done it without you, Francis."

His eyes widened at the use of his human name. He rarely heard anybody call him that.

"Why my human name all of a sudden?" he asked.

"I think I prefer calling countries by their human names. Everyone except Britain since he's kind of like my dad but not really. It would be too weird if I called him 'Arthur' all the time," she said, shivers running down her entire body.

"I agree. I prefer to call him the 'Black Sheep of Europe'. It has a nice ring to it, don't you think?"

She narrowed her eyes at him and put her hand on her hip.

"You're never going to let it go, are you?"

He shook his head with that same shit-eating grin he always had on his face. She rolled her eyes and began looking over the maps of Sicily Britain had laid out for all of them. She had a few places she wanted to visit before moving on to the rest of Italy. France put his arms behind his back and looked over her shoulder.

"So, how are things between you and Alfred?"

If she was drinking something, she would've spat it out.

"W-What?"

"Why so surprised!? Every time you two are around each other, I feel something. A vibe? Oui, a vibe."

She turned to him with suspicion and raised one of her eyebrows.

"What kind of vibe?"

France grinned and leaned in closer to her.

"A romantic one, mademoiselle."

Scarlett blushed and backed away.

"Umm, no!"

"Hmm, are you sure? France is the romantic capital of the world, after all. It's my specialty."

That night at the oasis flashed in her mind, and she stopped resisting France's questioning.

"Well…There was this one time a while ago that we kind of sort of did something romantic. I at least saw it that way. We layed next to each other and cuddled while watching the stars before we both fell asleep…" she told him. He nodded his head and hummed.

"That does sound like a romantic thing to do…Anything else?" he asked. She shook her head.

"No. We haven't had any time to hang out or do anything because of the war. We've been so busy fighting that I bet he's probably forgotten all about that night," she said, sounding more depressed than she meant to.

"Have you spoken to him about it?"

"No, same thing with that too. I got too busy with everything else that I haven't been able to," she said, "...I would like to, though. I care more about Alfred than anybody else in the world. No offense, Francis," she laughed. He waved her off, telling her it was no big deal.

"We should be slowing down a bit soon. The war feels like it's nearing its end. If I were you, I would try to talk to him soon before it ends. That way, he would have someone to make out with during the celebration party," France told her, going from serious to his usual perverted self. Her face became a crimson red, and she pushed him away from her.

"Why do you think about stuff like that all the time!?"

"Nothing is better than the mouth of another, especially one who you love," he said, giving her a perverse smirk. She rolled her eyes and tried not to think about it. Alfred, the literal United States of America, kissing her…? His lips did look super soft and inviting, though…

"N-No they don't!" she yelled out loud. France looked at her weird, and she began to walk away from him.

"It's nothing! I have things to do! See you later!"

The French country shrugged with a knowing smile and looked around for a woman to flirt with. Some countries never change. Scarlett hastened to her tent and let out a huge breath. Why, of all people, did she have to get into a conversation with France? And why did it have to be about her love life? She should have known better!

"That's fine! I'll just do something to take my mind off of everything. I'll talk to Alfred about that night at some point. Not anytime soon though!" she told herself. Plopping herself down at her desk, she rolled out her map of Sicily and began mapping stuff out. She labeled special locations that she had noted during the invasion and made sure to update any blank spots. Working was the only way she was going to get her mind off Alfred and what happened that night. Damn you, France, for making her bring it up!

A couple hours passed by, and she set her pen down. She stretched her arms and sighed.

"At least I got some things done before bed," she muttered to herself. She stood up from her chair and started putting everything away in her bag. She suddenly heard footsteps approaching her tent, and she turned to see Alfred jog in.

"What's up, dudette! I haven't seen you for a few hours, and I got worried," he said to her. He wasn't wearing his bomber jacket and only had on a black tank top. Under that was a pair of camo pants and brown army boots for shoes. His skin glistened a bit from sweat. If she had to guess, he was probably out for a run or playing a sport with his men. Whatever it was, he looked really good right now. She hoped her face wasn't as red as a tomato again like it was with France.

"S-Sorry, I just felt like I needed to be by myself for a bit."

His face turned to one of concern, and he crouched down beside her. He was now eye level with her, and she appreciated that.

"Oh, are you okay?" he asked her, his voice soft. She slowly smiled and nodded her head.

"Yeah, just been thinking about some things."

"Do you want to talk about anything? I'm all ears," he replied with a grin. She felt her heart race at the prospect of telling him what she was actually thinking about. Would she be making it weird between them if she did? She knew Alfred was a very understanding guy, but it still scared her.

"Umm…" she started but then went quiet. His grin dropped a bit, and he rested his hand on her arm.

"It's cool, Scarlett. You can talk to me."

She sighed and turned in the chair towards him. She found it hard to keep eye contact with him as she spoke.

"I've just been thinking…about us."

She looked at him and saw his blue eyes light up.

"Us?"

"Yeah, I mean, I've been thinking a lot about that night we had at the oasis. The night we were in Africa and watched the stars together. You know what I'm talking about?" she asked, hoping he did. He smiled at the ground and then at her.

"I remember."

"Okay, good. I just…I don't know, I really liked how that went. And…I've always cared about you ever since we first met. You're like my best friend, Alfie. But lately I've had this weird feeling in my chest that I don't want to go away. I only get the feeling when I'm around you. I get extremely happy every time I see you, and you're probably the only reason I'm still here, to be honest," she admitted quietly.

Alfred looked like he didn't know what to say. Like hers, his cheeks were bright red, and his voice came out quiet. Considering this is America we're talking about, that was the biggest shock to her.

"I…I feel the same way, Scarlett. You're like the only country I've ever truly liked through and through. Every time I hang out with you, I have the greatest time! You always know how to carry a conversation, and you're really easy to talk to! I know I'm kinda quiet and stuttery right now, but it's just because I'm a little nervous," he said with a chuckle. She smiled and put her hand in his.

'God, he's so cute,' she thought to herself.

"That's okay. You're doing great," she reassured him. He grinned and rubbed the back of his head.

"Thanks. I guess what I'm trying to say is…I really like you, Scarlett. I've liked you for a while, actually. I just haven't been able to tell you, is all. I talked to a couple countries like Australia, and he told me just to tell you. It's not that easy!"

She giggled and nodded.

"I know, it was really hard for me to say what I said too! I'm really glad you feel the same way. I mentioned that night at the oasis, but I've been thinking about everything before that. There's been so many moments where we clicked and just didn't realize it. Are we really that clueless?"" she asked.

"Yep!" he confirmed humorously. They both laughed and held each other's hand even tighter. Alfred sighed after a moment of silence and looked down at the ground like something was bothering him.

"What is it?"

He looked back up at her.

"The only thing is…I planned on telling you everything after the war ended. That way, we would have time to go on dates and hang out and…do other stuff…" he trailed off. Her heart started beating fast again once she figured out what he meant. "...With the war still going on, we don't have time for anything other than fighting Germany, Italy, and Japan. It's basically what happened with the oasis. That night was cool for me too, but everything just took over our lives ever since," he explained to her, slightly depressed. She bit her lip and tried to think of something that would work for the both of them.

"I know what you mean. It fucking sucks…But how about this! How about we wait to do that stuff until after the war like you planned. We can focus on the war until it's won, and then we can focus on relationship-type stuff. That way, we won't be distracted as much so we can end this thing as quickly as possible. Sound like a plan?" she asked him. The look on his face told her that he loved the idea.

"Hell yeah! As long as you don't mind, that is!"

She shook her head.

"I don't mind! I've never dated anyone in my life, I think I can wait just a little bit longer," she told him with another smile crossing her lips. He flashed a grin back at her.

"Me too," he replied. She continued.

"But as soon as the war's over, I want to go on my first date and have my first kiss. I've literally been waiting 300 years to have it with the perfect person!"

She could've gone on a date and kissed anyone, but she wanted it to be with the right guy. She didn't want it to go to waste even though she knew it probably wouldn't be the best the first time around. That didn't matter to her, though. At this moment, she knew she had made the right decision to wait. She felt the most comfortable with the boy sitting next to her. No other guy came even close.

"Alright, I promise we will as soon as we get the news. It'll be freaking awesome! This actually gives me time to plan it all out!" he joked.

"Exactly!" she chimed in, "That doesn't mean I can't still give you some affection."

She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. It was an extremely affectionate peck of the cheek, followed by a hug. She wrapped her arms around him and laid her head on his shoulder. He hugged her back tightly, and they stayed like that for a few seconds. When she pulled away, she saw that Alfred had the biggest smile on his face. It was as if all the stress had left his body right then and there. He then leaned in and kissed her cheek this time, his lips soft on her face.

"I can't believe this is real," she muttered to him. It all felt too perfect to her. Sure, they weren't going to make out or anything, but she appreciated the fact that they could start out slow. A kiss on the cheek was a perfect starting point.

"Me neither. Thank you so much for telling me that you liked me, Scarlett. That was really brave of you. You could almost say it was…heroic?" he said, referring to the fact that he loves anything superhero-related. She laughed and pushed him playfully.

"You and your heroes. I wouldn't have said anything if you hadn't asked me what was on my mind. Again, you're so easy to talk to. You and Leon. Oh shit! I can't wait to tell Leon about us!" she exclaimed with excitement. Alfred tilted his head.

"He doesn't know we like each other?"

"Well, he knows that I like you, but it was always sort of a 'me ranting to my pet' type thing. I don't even know if he was actually listening to me. You can never tell with red pandas. I feel like he got at least 50% of what I was telling him."

"Better than nothing," Alfred said, "...Do you think we should tell anybody about us? On the one hand, I don't want any rumors going around the camp. On the other, everyone probably assumes we're together anyway by how much time we hang out."

Scarlett had the same feeling. Honestly, she didn't care if people knew about them. In fact, she liked the idea of being able to say she had a special someone or boyfriend. She was getting flustered just thinking about it.

"I don't mind if you tell people! Maybe that will keep a few soldiers from asking me out. It's sweet, but it gets annoying after a while. Do any girls hit on you at all?" she asked out of curiosity. He shrugged with a smirk.

"Here and there. I always turned them down."

"Good," she replied with a smile. He laughed as she stood up from the chair she had been sitting on. Alfred lifted himself up from his crouched position, and he was now taller than her again. Whether it was the invasion from earlier or the confession the two had just made to each other, exhaustion was beginning to wash over them. Her eyes were starting to burn, and her muscles ached.

"I'm starting to get tired. You?"

Alfred thought about it for a minute and then stretched his arms.

"Yeah, same. It's been a long day…I would say it's been a pretty good one though," he said with a big grin on his face. She couldn't help but return the smile, and she gave him another hug.

"I think so too. Do you want to sleep in here tonight? I could use the company!"

"Yeah, that'd be cool. Can your bed fit the both of us?"

"Only if we cuddle," she responded.

"I guess I can make it work."

The amount of flirting that was happening was off the charts!

They both took off some of the gear they still had strapped to their belts and set it beside the bed in the tent. The volume outside had gotten quiet, so it looked like everyone else was settling in for the night as well. Alfred and Scarlett slipped into the bed and immediately started cuddling. It felt right for them to be so close to one another. The confusion the both of them had had around each other before was now gone. Even though they wouldn't be doing anything romantic until the end of the war, they could still cuddle and sleep in the other's embrace every now and then.

That was enough for them.

The next plan was to invade the mainland of Italy and then move on to Germany. They were so close to ending the war, and now they had the motivation to finish it even faster. Whether they would be able to or not remained to be seen.

And that is the end of the chapter! Yes, this is a short chapter but an important one! I thought it would be more natural if they just confessed to each other randomly rather than having a special event for it. I will say that they will still have romantic things that will happen in the next few chapters. I plan on them being more in-depth as well. This chapter just focused on them telling their feelings to each other. Hopefully, you guys liked it! Please review or comment on the chapter and let me know what you think! Finally, I'll see you guys next time!