He led America to his house. It was old and was crumbling. He stood at the door noticing it stayed jarred open. He looked at it not fully comprehending if he had left it in that state or if someone had broken into his house. There was nothing left to steal in that house. It had been robbed too many times.

"Looks like someone broke in." America's voice broke him from his thoughts. Their bosses decided it was best if America stayed in Russia to gain a bit of the culture. Russia would stay in America after a month of America staying here and then Russia would stay three months at America's. He figured his boss just wanted rid of him and why shouldn't he?

"Da. There was nothing left to steal though." He walked in to see the house trashed and empty with graffiti all over the walls. Коммунист sprayed all over the walls. The fire place was destroyed. He shrugged it off and went to his fridge. It wasn't there anymore.

"This place is a dump, Ivan." His eyes widened. America had just used his human name. He stared at him in shock not caring what he had remarked about his house.

"America…" He whispered the word. His voice failing him now. He wished he hadn't said it. It reminded him of the olden days where they sat looking at the blue sky together on the soft grass.

"Well, if we're gonna be living together for four months we might as well start using them. You can start calling me Alfred as well. Even if it's an old man's name." He closed his eyes and trudged up the stairs nodding at Amer… Alfred's words. He needed to check if his bed was still there.

He opened the door to his bedroom. There were dead birds everywhere. He Looked around and saw no bed. Shutting the door he went to the guest bedroom. The twin bed was still there. Still too small for Ivan. It would fit Alfred well enough he supposed.

"Ivan? Whatcha doin' up there?" He could hear the other calling for him. He walked to the edge of the stairs and could see America looking up at him.

"You can have the guest bed. It is too small for me. The other rooms don't have anything left." He stood tall and straight. He almost looked proud if it wasn't for that dead glare in his eyes.

"What about your room?" Alfred had already started up the stairs.

"It had nothing you would want to see." Alfred stood beside him now. He looked the young man in the eye. They were still sparkling. He almost wanted to gouge them out and put them up so no one could ever see them again besides him. He smiled slowly at the thought. How nice that would be!

"What? Whatcha got in there? Dead animals or somethin'?" He nodded. There was no reason for hiding it. They would soon stink up the house. There were no hotels around here. Those things cost too much money. He could not stay with anyone else. No one liked him. He was still a communist in their eyes.

"Really?! Hey, why don't we go stay in some hotel?" He shook his head. Ivan was too tired to explain, but he figured it necessary.

"None around here. No one will allow me in there house. You may go if you wish." He turned ready to go sleep in his bedroom with the dead crows.

"Ivan, where are you going?" Alfred's tone was serious. The boy wasn't afraid of the big bad Soviet Union anymore. The big bad Soviet Union didn't exist.

"I'm going to sleep. I am tired." He felt Alfred grab his arm. He pulled it away and turned to his fellow nation.

"You're sleeping with me." He nodded and went into the guest bedroom. He had no covers to offer. It was still winter. The window was broken as were all of them.

Alfred looked around and he knew he was inspecting a dump. This house was not worth looking at. It was old and torn apart by many robbers and vandals. He didn't have anywhere else to go. He didn't deserve anywhere else. He sat down on the broken twin mattress.

"We're gonna have to do something about that window." Alfred said and Ivan just shrugged. He dealt with them. There was no point in fixing them. They were just going to be broken again.

"I can find a dead tree. They stole my axe. I can maybe use the broken marble from the fire place." Alfred shook his head.

"Teach me Russian. I'll get an axe from the neighbors. I'll go get some hay too. That mattress doesn't look like it'll hold up both of us." He nodded and laid down on it. A spring digging into his back. He did not readjust himself. The cold was already setting in. He just wanted to sleep. He wanted to sleep forever. He was useless as it was.

"Hey, Ruski, no sleeping. You gotta get up and go find me a suitable tree for chopping up. We gotta fix that window before both of us freeze to death." He stood and smiled. A real smile. It had been quite a while since he had done that.

"I will find you a tree, Alfred. I cannot say it will be a good one." He stretched his arms and headed out for a tree leaving Alfred to do as he pleased. The window was going to be destroyed again. There really was no sense in fixing it. He shook his head. He shouldn't be feeling a bit pleased.

He saw a fallen tree. Walking over to it he noticed a small bear cub. He could not get this tree without alerting mother bear. He smiled slowly. He deserved this… He really did… Even if he didn't quite believe it yet…

Alfred received an axe from an elderly looking woman when he heard a scream. He couldn't decipher if it was a pain filled scream or something else.

"Uhm, do you got some hay or something to fill a broken mattress?" He asked nicely. His voice was honey sweet as it usually was when he was dealing with old people. The woman nodded and gave him some. It was dried out which he was thankful for.

"Thanks!" He ran off in the opposite direction of Ivan's house then circled back around to it. He didn't want anyone knowing he was staying with Ivan. That'd just end badly and he knew it.

He threw the axe down on the ground and went up and started stuff the mattress from the hole he found in it. He'd go looking for Ivan if he didn't turn up soon. He look at the sunset out the window. He really hoped he returned soon…

A/N: Yeah, so another chapter. Things are starting to look up in it, no? Oh well, continue reading if you please.

Disclaimer: I still own nothing of Hetalia except a few manga which I purchased meaning that they are totally mine.