A/N: This is a longer chapter, and I'm kinda happy about that. The last few chapters have been a little cheap, so I'm hoping this one will make up for it. And don't worry, it's not all fluff... just a bit. Hey, I'm taking my time here! Don't worry though, I have a plan!

think.

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It seemed like as soon as the rest of the world discovered the strange new land in the Atlantic, the phones at the cozy Finnish cabin were ringing non-stop. Peter, of course, didn't like that. Everyone was so business-like, taking notes about stuff, and talking non-stop about boring things. He'd barely been able to make Denmark keep his promise to play with him. Mathias, Ravis, Lili and himself had just stepped in through the back door, shaking the snow from their boots, after an hour outside.

He had expected to see everyone relaxing at this point. Hanging out in the living room, playing board games, or at least something entertaining, but no. The older nations were still scattered about, huddled around papers, and computers, and cell phones. He frowned, putting his coat and boots in the back closet.

Lounging across the couch with his head hanging off the side, blackberry in hand, was Alfred. Peter walked over to him, leaning to the side as if he were upside down to face him. "You look like your head is going to explode." He commented.

Alfred laughed, quickly turning into a cough due to his unusual position. He flipped over, ignoring the dizziness that came over him. "Feels like it." He shook his head.

"Why are all of you so serious and boring all of the sudden?" He asked.

Alfred pushed himself so he was sitting up. "Well... some really cool stuff has come up that could be really good for everyone. That is, of course, if we all agree on my idea."

Peter tilted his head. "And what's that?"

This seemed to get Alfred excited. He rarely passed up an opportunity to brag. "Okay, so my idea is that we fix up this new land thingy that popped up in the ocean. Then we all put some work into it, make a sort of settlement for every country involved. And this place could act like an ambassador thing to the entire world! Sounds cool, right?"

Peter shrugged. "Sure, I guess." Looking around the room, he realized there wasn't much to do. Lili had gone off to find her brother and Ravis had gone to his room to call home. He blew a lock of hair out of his face, planting himself on the floor by the couch.

America had continued going through e-mails of updates his boss and Maria had given him, until he peeked over the edge of the sofa to see Peter playing with the tassells of Finland's rug. The poor kid had been perking up ever since the earthquake, but he just wasn't quite there yet. It was understandable, his whole life's dream was to become recognized as a nation... and now he really had no nation to be recognized. Alfred frowned, he knew what it felt like to be a kid just wanting to be recognized.

"Hey, Peter."

He looked up at the older nation, quirking his semi-thick eyebrows. "Yeah?"

"You want to get in on a secret?"

This seemed to catch his attention. "Oh! Yes! Tell me!"

Alfred made a show of looking around the room, leaning over to whisper in Peter's ear. "Not here, there might be spies. Come on, I'll tell you in the barn." Shoving his blackberry in his pocket, Alfred dramatically tiptoed out of the living room, into the foyer where he grabbed his coat and boots, and out the front door, Peter matching his movements the entire way. The two walked through the shovelled path out to the barn, where Alfred led him up into a warm loft. He stopped just before opening the doors to a small room. "Okay, so the secret is England's present. I figured this would help him have a little more fun, and stop being such a stiff all the time. I'm going to give it to him on Christmas morning, and I'm going to need your help. Now you have to cross your heart and promise that you won't speak a word of this to anyone. "

Peter eagerly obeyed. "I promise!"

Alfred grinned, opening the doors. "Okay then..."

XXXXXXXX

One can only spend so much time going over boring conversations and issues with one's boss. It wasn't long before the nations became restless, so Tino suggested they go down into the valley to a small restaurant he enjoyed. It was having a "Christmas Eve-Eve" party, because it wouldn't be open for Christmas eve itself. Everyone had all to eagerly agreed to get out of the cabin and away from work.

It was a small building in the middle of town. The inside was dimly lit, just enough to create a cozy atmosphere. Garland with lights and white and red flowers were strung up on the walls, giving the restaurant a christmas-y glow. Tables were set up with golden clothes along the sides of the room, leaving a small dance floor in the middle. The nations of course had to get a larger table, conveniently right beside the dance floor.

"This is a nice place." Hungary commented as she took a seat.

"It is, I come here a lot when I'm not in the city." Tino smiled.

"Whatever, I just hope the food is good!" Alfred said excitedly as he picked up a menu, only to be elbowed in the side by both his brother and Arthur.

The table dissolved into idle chatter as they waited to be served. Finnish christmas carols played quietly in the background, just loud enough to be heard without overpowering the conversations of the customers. They hadn't been seated for five minutes before a waitress came sauntering toward their table. She was young, probably about 23, with a pretty freckled face and bottle-black hair. As she walked toward them, her eyes glanced over the table, stopping for a moment on Arthur. She smirked to herself, taking out her notepad and pen.

"Oletko valmis tilaamaan?" She asked the table.

"Kyllä, Kalevala." Tino said, obviously familiar with the girl, as he began to rattle off the food everyone had chosen. It wasn't much, just drinks and appetizers, but Tino of course new the language, and restaurant better, so he was elected to order.

But the thing that struck Alfred as weird while he watched Kalevala's quick pen scribbles, was that although Tino was the one talking to her, her eyes kept drifting over to Arthur, who sat beside him. The look in her eyes was one that he decided he did not like. There was something off about this girl, like she wasn't as sweet as she pretended to be. Though maybe that was just his over active imagination.

"Earth to Alfred F. Jones!" Matthew waved his hand in front of his face, causing him to jump.

"Uh, what?" He blinked

Matt smirked. "You were staring off into space with a really grouchy look on your face."

"Oh," Alfred scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. "I guess I was just thinking about... how much I hate salads." He lied through his teeth. "It's like rabbit food."

His brother quirked an eyebrow but didn't push it. "Okay."

Looking around, Alfred frowned when he realized that Kalevala or whatever her name was, had already left. He couldn't get comfortable with it though, because soon enough she was back, a large black tray with multiple glasses balanced in one hand. Show off. She placed everyone's drink in front of them, and was off again, but not before sending an obvious wink Arthur's way that just... Alfred didn't like it. He didn't know why, he just didn't.

"What's gotten into you?" Arthur asked him, noticing the slight glare he was sending Kalevala's retreating back.

"Nothing." Alfred answered quickly, a little harsher than he meant.

Arthur frowned. "I saw that. You were glaring at the girl like she'd run over your toe with a steam roller."

"Well, did you see her?"

"See her what?"

Alfred rolled his eyes. "Oh please, there is no way you could have missed that. Her eyes were all over you!"

"Alfred, you are being ridiculous." Arthur hissed. "It was a simple wink-"

"So you did notice?"

"That's not the bloody point!" Arthur nearly shouted, trying not to draw attention to their spat. "The point is, it was harmless, and I-...what's this?" He trailed off, finding a small, blue piece of notepad paper stuck under his glass. He lifted his glass, peeling it off. Through the water marks left from touching the wet glass, a simple message was scrawled in shaky English.

583-765-9374

Call if want Hook Up ;)

That was the final straw. With a huff, Alfred pushed himself out of his chair, storming out of the restaurant and into the cold winter night. He was just going to take a walk around the town to calm himself down... he'd just have to think of some excuse of why he had to leave when he went back. So he began wandering aimlessly, wishing he'd had enough sense to grab his jacket. Damn, it was cold.

Why was he getting so worked up? There was something churning in his gut, something... well, he still didn't know. For the life of him, he couldn't figure it out. Just the thought of that girl trying to get all over Arthur... he felt like there should be no one trying to do that. Not while he was there. Besides, Arthur deserved better than that. Arthur was stiff, stubborn, and sometimes just boring. They argued and bickered all the time, but despite all this... Alfred knew he had a different side. He was caring, hard working and brave. He stood up for himself through thick and thin. He was... well, he'd always just been there for him. Yeah, Arthur deserved better than some girl who'd wheel him for a Hook Up and drop him. He deserved...

Shit.

It was suddenly too quiet. The crunching of snow underneath his boots ceased as the realization hit, causing him to stop in mid step. The freezing wind cut at his skin, snow falling at a blinding pace. Alfred took a deep breath of cold air in an attempt to get his mind working again. He... he had feelings for Arthur. He didn't know what was more surprising; the fact that he liked England, or the fact that he just figured out he was gay.

Well.

His mind getting off track as usual, Alfred glanced around, finally taking in his surroundings- the middle of nowhere. He could barely see two feet in front of him, but from the lack of light, he knew he wasn't in town anymore. Damn, he must have started walking up the valley, but which side? The cold bit at him, causing shivers to rack his body. Oh, this sucked...

XXXXXXXX

Needless to say, after Alfred had stormed out, things got quiet. No one really understood what had happened. They saw that America and England were bickering about something, but they couldn't hear what it was all about. Soon enough though, conversation resumed, and things got back to normal.

But not for Arthur. He settled on staring off into space, only snapping back into reality when someone spoke to him. It wasn't long before Kalevala brought them their food, and this time, she wasn't so subtle. Arthur had to politely tell her he wasn't interested, to which she pouted for a moment before quietly walking off. He ate in silence, glancing at the front door every so often, waiting for America to burst in with that idiotic grin plastered all over his face.

It never happened. As the evening continued, the nations finished their meals and headed off to the dance floor, leaving Arthur at the table. It'd been almost two hours now, where could that dolt have gone? With a frustrated sigh, he stood up, grabbing his coat and Alfred's before heading over to the others, huddled in the centre of the dance floor.

"I'm going to go find Alfred." He shouted over the music.

The first to hear him, Francis turned around. "He's probably gone back to the house by now, mon ami. I'm sure he's fine." He answered.

Arthur shook his head. "He seemed upset about something. I'm just going to check up on him is all."

"If you insist." Francis shrugged. He knew very well there was no convincing England to stay at that point. He had his mind made up, and there was no stopping him now.

England threw his coat on as he walked out the door, hit immediately with the violent snow storm. Alfred's stubbornness knew no bounds if he really walked back to the cabin in this weather. Taking shelter in the restaurant's doorway, he pulled out his cellphone and dialled Alfred's number, praying that he remembered to bring the damn thing.

The other end picked up, but nothing was said. The only thing coming from Alfred's line was the wind howling and a soft fumbling. Now he was getting worried. "Alfred? Are you there?"

"...A-Arthur?" The voice on the other end was quiet, trembling.

Arthur frowned. "Yes, where are you?"

"D-Dunn-no..."

"What the bloody hell do you mean you don't know?"

"Wa-andered off-ff. C-Can't find-d-d my way back." A sharp gasp from Alfred had Arthur's heart pounding with growing fear. This did not sound good.

"Are you alright?" He asked, voice softening.

"Just-t... cold."

Arthur shut his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath to calm his steadily racing heart. "Alright, you have a GPS on your phone, right?" He asked clearly, snapping into military mode.

"Mhm."

"I need you to turn it on for me. I can type in your number from my phone and find where you are. Can you do that?"

"Y-Yeah..."

"Okay, I'm going to have to hang up to use the GPS, but I'll be there soon okay? Just try to find some kind of shelter... Alfred?" The last word was choked, fear squeezing his throat. Alfred never answered, the line soon cut off. "Bollocks..." The Brit cursed under his breathe as he quickly turned his GPS on and punched in Alfred's number. Waiting for the damn thing to receive a signal was like torture, but that was nothing compared to when it display's Alfred's location- the damn fool was on the wrong side of the valley.

Thankfully it wasn't too far away, a twenty minute jog up the mountain. Alfred must have walked in circles for the past two hours to get so lost. The snow and wind didn't exactly cooperate either, nearly causing him to slip several times. But he kept pushing on, fighting against the mountain until his map told him he'd arrived. Stopping dead in his tracks in what seemed like the middle of a forest though he couldn't tell, Arthur whirled around, looking for that familiar blonde hair.

Panic set in when he couldn't see him. Had he dropped his phone? He could be buried under all this snow by now. Whirling around, his eyes scanned the area, until his eyes landed on a barely noticable form, huddled in the corner of a small cave up ahead of him. He nearly tripped in the snow, running toward the figure, praying he'd found Alfred. Entering the cave, he breathed a sigh of slight relief, finding America curled up as far in as possible.

"Mother Mary..." Arthur trailed off as he dropped to his knees beside the American, cupping his face to get his attention. He was shivering uncontrollably, eyes staring off at noting, lips slowly turning a pale blue. England had to act fast if he wanted to save him from hypothermia. "Alfred, can you hear me?" He asked, placing one hand on his shoulder. Al nodded stiffly in response. "I'm going to get you warmed up, okay? But you have to let me." Once again, all he received in reply was a weak nod.

Arthur quickly jumped into action. He'd stuffed Alfred's jacket between his own coat and his body before begining his treck up the mountain so it wouldn't be cold when he got it to him. He quickly pulled it over Alfred's shoulders, making sure it was secure, before wrapping his arms around him. Arthur brought Alfred close, using his own body heat to keep him warm. He rubbed his shoulders and back, reaching into his coat pocket with one hand to call the idiot's brother.

Obviously, Matthew had been expecting the call, because he picked up after one ring. "Arthur? Where are you? We're all back at the cabin already, we thought you and Al would be here." Matthew answered.

"Slight change in plans I'm afraid. Alfred got himself lost and half dying from the cold on the other side of the valley. I need someone to come with a car, I'll send you the map. And make sure the heater is on."

The concern clearly leaked it's way into Matthew's voice."On our way."

Once the directions were sent, Arthur replaced his phone in his pocket and continued his attempts to warm Alfred. "Bloody hell, you're freezing." He whispered. "How do you get yourself into these messes?"

"C-Cunning wit an-nd ch-charm..." America muttered into Arthur's embrace, voice barely audible.

"I'm sure." Arthur allowed himself a small smile, slowly feeling it drop when Alfred didn't respond. "Alfred?"

"Mhm?"

"I'd feel better if you kept talking to me." He said honestly. He knew it was important to keep hypothermia victims talking and awake. Falling asleep was too dangerous, and although Alfred was a nation and couldn't really die, he didn't want any sort of damage coming from this.

"U-Usually you want-t-t me to shut up." Alfred grinned half heartedly.

"This is the only exception." He waited for a response, but once again, it seemed like none would come. He was about to resort to yelling to keep him awake, when he heard him call out quietly.

"H-Hey Iggy?"

"Yes Alfred?"

"'M sorry f-for bein' a jackass ba-ack there."

Dear lord, Alfred really was disoriented. Normally he'd never apologize so quickly. Arthur didn't know whether to be proud or worried. So, he just nodded, whispering "All is forgiven," and continued to rub Alfred's shoulders, until bright headlights came their way from up the mountain.

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Aaannndddd I think that'll do for now!