According to the guidelines of the site, I'm not supposed to include 'real' people in my stories. So. Obama isn't supposed to be in here. But, I doubt he'd be very offended by how he was included. So. Just. Please don't report me.

I spent most of today learning how to play 'The Devil Went Down to Georgia' on my violin. So, that'll probably show up in this story eventually. You get a freaky adrenaline rush by playing it…seriously. It's…just awesome, your fingers feel like they're gonna catch fire.

Yea…I can actually do stuff besides writing this and doodling. (Shocking! .)

Songs-

'It's been a long time' by Cake

'That Year' by Brandie Carlile- (this song's got some deep meaning that doesn't really fit the story…like seriously)

'Oh Dear' by Brandie Carlile (Brandie overload!)

'The Oh Song' by Wakey!Wakey! - yeah, I like them.

"I'll tell ya what tho…" Alfred slurred. "You're like a superhero or somethin. Cause, I ain't afraid of nuthin right now."

Ivan just smirked, wrapping an arm over the American's lap. "Da, pьяnый." Of course he wasn't scared right now. But, having Belarus crash through the window and try to take you away to her rape-cave, seemed a lot scarier than it really being 'Bloody Mary'. Ivan would officially allow Alfred to call himself a 'hero' from now on.

Alfred kicked his feet onto the coffee table, knocking over some magazines and paperwork. He was getting hungry. "I'll tell'ya…" the American was starting again. "You were an asshole back in the day. You're cool now though." He petted the Russian's hair. "I bet people like you. They haatteee me, though cause they don't want any help. I dun geddit. I'm just helpin them. Ain't that my job?"

Ivan just grunted his reply. He was getting sleepy for three reasons. First, the alcohol had his brain going fuzzy. Second, his head was propped comfortably on the American's side. And third, the warm, calloused hands that were playing in his hair were comforting.

The plane was touching down. Alfred could just barely feel the turbulence. Ivan was out cold already. The congress people were getting out to their respective location. Alfred hardly cared where they were right now or what the senators were doing; he just knew there were a few hours until the plane would take them up to their destination since they were stopping everywhere else. Since when did they hold meetings like this on Air Force One?

Someone came in to check on them after they'd landed. "Hey, Al?" a small voice said quietly. He looked up to see the two nations passed out on the couch and the floor littered with papers and bottles of Jack Daniels. "Goddamnit…you hoser. I'm not letting you into my country when you're drunk off your ass…"

The mystery nation walked across the room and shook the American. Nope. He was out cold. The quiet country just frowned. "Alright, you can just stay on your side until you sober up."

He looked at the two on the couch. Why was Russia here? Al had said nothing about him. Well…he hadn't said anything about visiting either, and he was here anyway.

He just returned from the cabin into the hall. His boss was waiting patiently on the other side of the door.

"Just have him stay on his side until tomorrow. He called reservations at the Embassy Hotel where I work this morning. But…there's no way he'll get across the border like that," the northern country said blandly.

The Prime Minister just nodded and went off to get someone to carry them off the plane. The blonde just sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "You idiots…" he muttered affectionately.

…

"Ugh...fuck…"

"Vould you like coffee? I've heard it helps."

Alfred sat up, rubbing his head. Hangovers and Jetlag combined into one was like riding through the small intestines of a giant goat that was on fire…and there were bricks attacked to your head by nails. Yeah. That exact image.

The American just held his hand out for the cardboard Starbucks cup. "Where are we?" he wondered, trying to catch his bearings. There were people everywhere and what looked like a wall made entirely out of colorful jelly beans… "Rainbow Sweets…" he read aloud from the sign over the candy store.

Ivan took a seat on the bench next to the American and handed him the coffee. "Ve're in the velcome center- or theater…I think they show movies in here or somezing."

Alfred turned. He took a sip of his coffee and let his head fall back into the blue-painted wall. "Ugh…what the hell's up with you?" he said bitterly. "Do you just…not get hangovers or whatever?"

The Russian just laughed. "I've conditioned myself, I guess you could say. Drink to keep warm, as you would drink to have fun."

"Ugh…figures," Alfred muttered. "But, that was two-hundred years ago wasn't it? Before heating systems…"

Ivan just nodded. "Or vhen the pipes freeze and there is no water."

Alfred just laughed. Too many stereotypes. "D'you think they've got aspirin in the gift shop?" he wondered quietly. He didn't like all the noise these tourists were making, so he tried not to add to it. His head was pounding with a migraine. He wanted to yell at them all to shut up.

Ivan got to his feet. "I highly doubt it, but I vill check if you'd like?"

The American smiled. "Thanks…"

He watched the Russian get up and move to the other side of the center, through the crowd of people and into the gift shop. He seemed too tall surrounded by all the racks of sweatshirts, key-chains, and mugs reading 'Niagara Falls, New York' with little American and Canadian flags all over them.

He was wearing his scarf again and a pair of jeans. Alfred smiled with a fond memory of the first time he'd introduced Ivan to Levi's. The Russian hated to admit that he'd liked them. It was just like Coca-Cola. The man was stubborn, but his smile would become warmer and it was easy to tell he was truly happy.

Alfred let his head rest against the wall while he watched the Russian looking through the trinkets. He walked over to the checkout desk to ask for aspirin.

Alfred smiled when the Russian glanced back at him. He wasn't going to find any painkiller, but it was sweet that he was trying.

It was nice to feel like they could start over. If he could go back, Alfred would change everything from 1905 on. He would've killed Hitler and Stalin; he would've made amends with Arthur much earlier instead of trying to use him. He would've intervened in Ivan's revolution and tried to help bring democracy. But…he wasn't sure if he could've even done any of that.

That was the problem with being the hero. You can't predict it. You can't handle everything. You can't save anything permanently. You can't even protect yourself.

There were a lot of things that could've been done differently; they could've been handled better. Alfred knew that, somehow, he could've salvaged them. He'd spent the last century blaming Ivan for ruining their friendship- for throwing everything away and trying to cut them all off.

But…Alfred was starting to realize now. He didn't have much of a say. Ivan was Russia, he wasn't Stalin. He'd never liked being communist and he'd only suffered because of it. He was just lonely. They all were.

Alfred was just trying to prove himself. He felt like the whole world was constantly watching him because of his new status as superpower. He was only "sixteen" -(169) at the Yalta Conference- at least, he called himself that because it made it easier to remember how many years had passed. The other's were way to old for how young they looked.

After Yalta, there were forty-six years of lonely valentine's days, twenty years of awkward Christmas' at Arthur's house- arguing about Vietnam, and after all was said and done- twenty years of tense meetings.

Things had never been the same. Alfred was more alone than ever. He still had some friends like Arthur and Kiku, but now…he was the only superpower. He was more powerful than most of the countries that were hundreds of years older than him. And, it made things tense and…weird.

Their stares became more critical than ever.

Ivan was heading back now. Empty-handed of course. Or…maybe-

Alfred watched him walk. He sort of wished that Ivan could have been a superpower too. At least it wouldn't be so lonely. The American tilted back his cup of coffee. No creamer. He smiled. Ivan remembered how he took it.

Why the hell was Alfred even thinking about this stuff? It must've been the after-effect of that alcohol. He hadn't even considered Ivan for the last twenty years. But, looking back on it…

He should've just taken time to set his government back up instead of letting Stalin take control…it was like suicide. And, the man hated America… That had sort of stung a little. Ivan would completely turn his back on his old ally just for some stability…

But…after fighting for fifty years, Alfred was happy to forgive it. Countries were more changeable than humans. They forgave easier; they just tended to forget slower…

The Russian returned, smiling pleasantly. "The woman at de register had some Tylenol in her bag. I asked for some and she let me have it!"

Alfred laughed. "Yeah right, more like you smiled in your creepy little way and she shit her pants and handed it over."

Ivan just sighed and took his seat again. "Always the tone of distrust vith you."

Alfred grinned and held out his hand for a pill. "And that's not changin' for awhile," he drawled, looking up into light violet eyes.

Ivan uncapped the canister and poured two into the American's hand. "Understandable," he said, nodding. "Vhen you feel better…we should go walk around the park. I don't think I have ever been to dis park."

Alfred grinned. "Oh, you'll love it! Iggy comes over here all the time with his royal families to take pictures at the falls. We should do the Cave of the Winds tour."

Ivan frowned a little hearing about the Brit. He didn't understand how he and Alfred were such good friends…they bickered so much…

But, it's not like his relations to the American were any better, most likely much worse.

They walked out, Alfred chatting away happily about people who had braved the falls and survived. He was talking about some kid who fell down the drop only wearing a lifejacket and had lived to be picked up by a Maid of the Mist boat.

"Wait…why're we on my side…?" Alfred wondered finally. "I thought we were being dropped off on the northern half that…I don't own…who owns it? …dang…I forgot"

"There vas a man who vas sitting vith us before you voke. He said that we vere not granted passage to the other country until we vere sober."

Alfred sighed. He still felt a bit dizzy and nauseous, so maybe it would be fine to just chill on this side for awhile. Plus, there was some cool stuff to do over here, and he wanted to show Ivan the Cave of the Winds tour.

They walked down the cement path through the foliage of the state park. There were a few visitors, riding bikes and jogging. "First stop! The Observation deck!" Alfred said happily, pounding a fist into the air.

He led his friend to the gate. The guard almost asked for tickets, but he recognized Alfred when he looked up. He just grinned and let the American pass.

Ivan just smiled, watching Alfred jump from side to side of the observation deck, trying to look at everything all at once. "Oh oohh! Look, look! That's the Rainbow Bridge! Oh, and that little spot right there, ya' see?" he pointed to the falls. "Ya see the spot that's separated right there? By that huge rock?"

"Da," Ivan said patiently.

"That's the bridal falls. And, right next to it there's the American falls! And the Horseshoe Falls are the ones over there that curve around in a big 'U'! We can stand on the deck on that huge rock. It's so cool, there're falls on both sides of you! The ground looks miles away"

Ivan just smiled. The American was so refreshingly energetic. He'd forgotten how light his mood felt around Alfred. "It is very beautiful," he admitted. He turned to his ally. "Even more so in person."

Alfred grinned, pushing his glasses up on his nose. It was sunny outside, but the water kept the air nice and cool. It wasn't as stifling as it was back in Wyoming. "Wait…this is just the view from this deck. We can get closer…"

The American grabbed Ivan's hand and pulled him to the elevators. The doors opened and the two stepped in. The operator just narrated about the history of the observation deck. The doors opened again several-hundred feet down, on the ground.

Alfred took the Russian's hand again and pulled him on the path. Ivan tried to slow down to watch the water and the tour ferry that left from the shore. The boat was packed with people in blue rain ponchos. They waved to the shore excitedly.

Alfred elbowed Ivan in the side. Ivan turned, about to tell him off, but the American was waving happily at the passengers of the boat, so Ivan figured he should wave too.

They walked up a long flight of concrete stairs, passing tourists in the blue ponchos. The pathway led into the steam coming off the falls. The sound was earth-shaking.

After returning to the park level, they crossed a bridge to the 'Three Sister's Island' so Ivan could stand on the ledge to the Bridal Falls. While there, Alfred saw some Buddhist tourists wearing their long red and gold robes with their heads shaved. He did a little spasm-dance and shoved a camera into Ivan's hands to take a picture with them.

They walked to the third overlook that hung over the Horseshoe Falls. Alfred sat on the retaining wall on the edge of the path and hugged his knees. "I'm sore now…" he admitted. "We've been walking all day…"

Ivan just laughed. "It vould probably help if you had gotten sleep that did not require liquor."

The American just nodded. "You still got that Tylenol?"

They bought tickets to the Cave of the Winds finally. Alfred just prattled endlessly while he tucked his shoes into a trash bag and put on the sandals they gave you when you bought tickets.

Ivan pulled the poncho over his head. "I take it dat ve are going to get wet?"

Alfred just grinned, "I don't know 'bout you, but I know I will."

"It is optional then," Ivan completed calmly.

So, they followed the path. Alfred flipped off the camera man. He insisted that there was one at every attraction; they were just trying to make a buck for the park by selling photographs to gullible tourists. He just didn't want his picture taken- yet.

They took the next elevator down to another cement path that lead to the maze of wooden decks and bridges where the best 'photo opportunities' were. Alfred was taking pictures every three or four feet. He told Ivan to 'go ahead without me, I'll be a minute'.

They climbed staircase after staircase until the mist in their faces became like a tornado, trying to blow them off the decks.

Ivan didn't like the warm wind. He had bad balance on a wet, slippery surface. It was so much easier to walk in snow or on ice. Alfred seemed to be handling it just fine. He was running up the last staircase.

"Hurricane deck~!" he sang happily, running to the very edge of the space, directly under the Bridal Falls, and holding his arms out so the wind pressed his poncho flat against his skin. His hood flew back and water poured over his head. He was just grinning. "Take a picture, Ruski!" he shouted over the wind.

Little children were trying to plow into the wind to get to where Alfred was standing. The Russian quickly snapped a photo. "Can we go?" Ivan pleaded.

…

Later, Alfred was drying his wallet out by putting it over his head as they walked. It didn't do much, though since his hair was wet. They were both thoroughly soaked. Ivan was trying to wring out his scarf as they followed the gravel path to the bridge.

Alfred flipped through the photos on his camera. Nantucket managed to stand up proudly despite being so wet. The American had take his glasses off, complaining that they were all foggy. "Ah…damnit…I got photo-bombed," he said moodily.

"Vhat?"

"At the Hurricane deck. When you took that picture of me doing the 'thumbs up'…" he pointed to the photo. "That guy photo-bombed me. I'd thought you already had the picture…"

Ivan looked at the small image on the screen. A large man had run into Alfred's picture with his hands up in the air. You could still see the American behind him, but he just looked startled instead of happy.

"It is fine," Ivan said calmly. Alfred seemed pissed off, and he didn't want to provoke him. "You have plenty of pictures, da?"

Alfred just muttered to himself angrily. "Let's just get to the hotel," he ground out. He peeled his wallet off his head. "Damnit! Still wet!"

"At least you are so broke dat you did not have any paper money on you," Ivan pointed out, smiling.

"Are you trying to be an asshole?" Alfred muttered, grinning back blithely.

So, they walked in silence across the bridge. Their country identifications worked the same as passports to cross into the other country. What the hell was it called again? Alfred tried to read the tags on the border patrol officer's shirt, but the man distracted him with candy. Why were people so nice in the country above his?

Their hotel was six blocks away and they had no car. Alfred was getting grumpy- probably due to the exercise and the lack of food. So, Ivan bought some ice cream, took one lick, and pretended to be disgusted so that Alfred would think he was doing a favor by taking it.

The American cheered up quite a bit after that, and Ivan didn't have to hear his bitching. The Russian smirked at how easy it was.

"Why're there maple leaves like…fucking everywhere?" Alfred wondered, looking at the pavement and licking at his ice cream. "Like…even imprinted in the sidewalk? The fuck?"

"I think it's the national symbol of this place?" Ivan said, really contemplating the American's question. He had been wondering the same thing. Where were they anyway? He knew where the hotel was, but this place was so…odd… He looked up. Even the 'o' in 'Ihop' had a maple leaf to fill it out.

"It's on their flag…" Alfred pointed out, motioning with his ice cream to a bank that was flying a flag.

"Da, you are right. It is definitely their symbol then."

"Who uses a maple leaf as their national symbol? Eagles are like…five times as badass." Alfred licked his ice cream.

Ivan just smirked. "A bear vould win in a fight, da?"

"Like hell! The eagle can fly! He'd like…peck its eyes out then claw it up into cat food!" The American replied brightly. He fisted the air in victory. "Fuck yeah!"

"Nyet, dat is nonsense," Ivan reasoned. "The Kamchatka vould hear it coming, da?"

"The 'Camsha-'? Psh, no! Eagles are the ninjas of the sky. They're like invisible. That's why you never see them. It would totally win."

"And the maple tree would sit back and watch them kill each other…" a quiet voice said behind them. Alfred jumped and gripped for Ivan's hand. "And it would laugh," the ghost concluded.

"Who…w-who's there?" Alfred said tentatively. He waved his arm where the voice was coming from and his hand met something, mid-air. But nothing was there!

Wait…slowly…very slowly.

"MATTIE!" the American cried, leaning forward and hugging his brother tightly. "Dude, don't freak me out like that, bro!"

Ivan just stood there and contemplated. Alfred had a brother?

"You bloody git!"

Well, then there was that 'brother'. Ivan cringed at the very sound of his voice. Oh how he hated that voice. The fucking Brit and the American and their 'Special Relationship'- Bullshit.

Alfred had already turned. "Iggy~!" he said happily, pulling the shorter Brit into the hug as well. "What're you doing here?"

"Japan said that you were with…that," the Brit said, looking over Ivan with an air of disgust. "Ready to let me drill some of that oil you're hoarding?" he demanded.

Ivan just smiled 'plesantly' (with a thirst for blood) and said, "Nyet. Is NATO is disbanded yet?" Seriously? Had this guy come just to piss him off?

Alfred looked back and forth between his two friends, waiting to see who'd throw the first punch. Matthew just stole what was left of his ice cream while he was distracted. He liked ice cream…

Translation-

Da, pьяnый- yes, drunk

Wow. So, that' brought on some déjà-vu. Our family went to Niagara falls a few weeks ago. That's the trip where this whole story started. I had my laptop and started writing in our hotel room. It's nice to finally include it in the story.

And yay! Canada and Iggy! Canadians are like the nicest people ever…I don't get how they can be such pure souls…I would snap and have to kill a puppy or something…

I promise there will be a LOT of angst next chapter. Because i'm a sunny person inside.

Please review! Otherwise, i may start feeling unloved...because apparently i'm an attention whore. aHAHA (Yeah, thanx bro, ur cool)

ugh...don't pay attention to any of ^that. My brother's just an asshole.