Author's Note: Alright! Time to see some major plot development! Whoop! There is going to be a heavy focus on America in this chapter and not quite so much on Italy, but that's mostly to get the plot moving.

Also, the shorter author's note in the beginning is made up for in the end. Seriously, it's long. That's why this chapter is over 5000 words… (Although without it it's still over 4000…)

Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia or the characters of the manga/anime.

XXX

Chapter 5: Swapping of Secrets

XXX

The phone lay there, unmoving and completely unintimidating. However, from the way Alfred was looking at it someone might think it was about to jump off the table and start biting her ankles like some deranged toy dog. She heard her brother sigh, and looked up at him, her nervousness plainly seen.

"Just do it Al. You already said you would. The sooner you call the sooner you can start planning what you're going to actually tell her." Matthew reasoned, slightly exasperated at his sister's behavior.

This did little to comfort her, however. "I know, I know. Just, give me a moment." She went back to her silent staring contest with the phone, and to be honest, the phone was winning.

Alfred really did like Matthew's idea. Sure, it had scared her a little at first, but after thinking about it for a while she had started to see the reasoning behind it. This didn't mean, however, that it made her any less nervous. Mexico had found out completely on accident, and she couldn't honestly remember what they had told him afterwards to explain the situation and keep him quiet.

She hadn't ever willingly told another nation her secret.

Finally, after what felt like hours (in reality it was just about a minute and a half) Alfred picked up the phone and picked out the number from her contacts. Her finger hovered over the call button for a second, before she hit it at last.

Matthew watched as Alfred shifted personalities, and he knew that he was now looking at America. Even when talking on the phone she never failed to stay in character.

After a few rings the phone at the other end picked up, and an accented, "Hello?" could be heard.

"Yo, Hungary! Glad you picked up! This is America! I actually wanted to talk to you about something."

XXX

To say that Hungary was a little suspicious was a bit of an understatement. Sure, America and her shared fantastic political relations (their relations had been excellent ever since the return of the Holy Crown of Hungary in 1978) and the two of them had always gotten along fairly well; however, never before had he out of the blue requested a private meeting with her. Just her. No bosses, no other nations, just a one-on-one meeting, face-to-face. It was a little bizarre to say the least.

Despite her confusion, Hungary had agreed to the eccentric American's strange request and was currently waiting for her guest to arrive. She had decided that, as a sign of goodwill, she would invite him to her home for their meeting, where they would be able to have a truly private conversation.

She had asked America if he wanted anything to eat when he came over (he always complained about being hungry during their meetings together with their bosses), he had surprised her by declining the offer and simply asking if she had any coffee for when he showed up. Hungary trusted the well-meaning American, he had never given her reason not to; however, he was acting very out of the ordinary and the whole thing made her slightly wary.

Regardless, she figured that whatever the meeting was about it was had to be something serious, although what it could be she had absolutely no idea. Finally there was a quick rapping on her front door and she quickly answered it, smiling at the taller blond nation.

"Hello America, come in and welcome to my home. I've already started the coffee." She welcomed her guest in and led him to the living room. He sat down on the couch, looking around the room with the curiosity of a first-time guest in a friend's home. "Thanks for having me over, Hungary. You have a pretty cool house!"

Pleased by the compliment, Hungary remembered the coffee and figured it should be about done. So, being a good host she addressed her guest, "Thank you, I'm glad you like it. I'm going to go get the coffee, how would you like yours?"

America's trademark smile spread across his face, "Dude, thanks Hungary! I'll take lots of sugar in mine." Hungary wasn't surprised and left to go fetch two cups of coffee.

After fixing up the drinks Hungary headed back to the living room, but paused before entering, lingering in the doorway. The American looked to be in thought and looked slightly nervous. Again Hungary could help but think, What is it he wants to talk about anyway? Why is he here?

Putting on a cheery smile she announced her presence, "Here is the coffee. This one has extra sugar just for you." America started slightly, he hadn't noticed her watching him, and his smile quickly resumed its rightful place, but now Hungary noticed it didn't quite reach his eyes. "Great, thanks."

After handing him his coffee she sat down in one of her chairs across the coffee table from the couch. For a moment they simply sat there, sipping a little on their still hot drinks.

America seemed to be in thought again and Hungary's natural curiosity was beginning to eat at her. Deciding the direct approach she finally asked, "So, mind if I ask why the sudden visit?"

America tensed slightly, and the nervousness from earlier had returned and he seemed to be avoiding looking her in the eye. Now Hungary was really curious. It seemed like he was about to make some kind of confession. In an attempt to buy himself time he took a sudden drink of his coffee, only to quickly pull back. He had probably forgotten the coffee was still hot.

Finally he spoke, giving a thick swallow beforehand, "Actually, I um.. came here because my brother suggested it."

Hungary gave him a blank stare. America blinked, and then added quickly, "You know, Canada. My brother Canada."

"Oh right! Sorry, I always forget about him."

"It's alright, you're not the only one. Anyway, I kind of, have this… thing that I.. ugh how do I explain this? I want to tell you something but.. it's just hard to… explain. I've never actually told, um, anyone but I… err…"

Hungary was very confused at this point. What on earth was America talking about? The yoai fan in her began to make conclusions of its own. Is he trying to tell me he's… gay? She had always had suspicions that he was (although, in all honesty, she had suspicions about nearly every country's sexuality, even some of the female nations).

America was still struggling for words so Hungary decided to ask some of her own questions. "America, are you trying to tell me you're gay?"

At this the blond nation made a choking sound and looked like he had just had a brick thrown at his head, his blue eyes wide. "Wha-NO! That's, what made you think that!? That's not at all what I'm trying to say!" This only seemed to fluster him even more.

"It's alright if you are America, I won't tell anyone."

"No, I'm not gay Hungary! I'm trying to tell you something else entirely!"

Getting slightly exasperated with the difficult nation she wondered if threatening him with her frying pan would get him to spit out whatever it was he apparently needed to tell her. "Well then, what is it? Just tell me," she gave him a slightly stern look, similar to one a mother would give a troublesome child.

America looked away, unable to look her in the eyes. "Why does this have to be so hard," he mumbled to himself.

He then sighed, and when he spoke, his voice was different. It was suddenly feminine and he sounded like a girl. "Alright, I'm just going to come out and say it. I'm not really a guy. I'm actually a girl."

Wait… what?

Hungary blinked. Did she just hear him right? Did he just tell her he was… a girl? And what just happened to his voice?

Her shock must have been visible on her face, because America suddenly groaned and ran his (her?) hand through his (her?) hair. Again, he (she?) spoke in that same feminine voice, "Yeah, yeah, you probably don't really believe me, but it's the truth. I've been keeping my true gender a secret, even before England and France found me as a colony. It's been a secret between my brother, Canada, and I since we were very little. I've always been a girl, by the way, I just, have been pretending to be a guy for the past couple centuries. Hehe.." She (Hungary's brain had finally picked up again and had processed everything America was saying) gave a nervous laugh, seeming unsure about Hungary's reaction, no longer able to hide all of her anxiety.

Hungary at that point wasn't really sure what to think. She knew that America was telling the truth; she could see it in those clear blue eyes and hear the sincerity in her voice. However, that didn't make it any less confusing. So she decided to think about the whole thing in a logical manner in order to try and make sense of it all.

Fact: America was a woman.

Reality: America has been living as a man and had the entire world convinced she was one.

Fact: America has just told Hungary what is probably one of her most closely guarded secrets.

Reality: America didn't have to tell Hungary in the first place, she came here by choice.

Seeming to regain her voice, Hungary asked the most pressing question she could think of, "Why are you telling me this?"

Suddenly, there was a look on America's face that Hungary had never seen before, at least, not on America. It took her a moment to realize what it was, and when she did she felt a jolt of shock.

America looked… vulnerable.

"I… was hoping you would understand."

At this, understanding did begin to bloom as Hungary's mind began to work on hyper drive. America had been keeping this secret for nearly her whole life, ever since she was little. Hungary was again reminded of the fact that America was still very young by nation's standards, only a couple centuries old. That kind of secret, that kind of burden, could not have been easy to handle. She would have certainly reached a point where she felt the need to tell someone, a point where the support of her brother (Canadia?) wasn't enough.

A moment ago Hungary had been questioning, "Why tell me?" Now, the question was, "Who else could she tell?" Who else could America trust with this secret? Hungary knew she had made herself many enemies around the world that would use this kind of information against her. Heck, even some of her allies might try to use it to their advantage. As far as Hungary knew, she didn't have many close friends among the nations to begin with, and all of them were male. Hungary was the closet thing America had to a female friend.

Her thoughts were broken when she heard a small noise. She looked up at America. Her shoulders were shaking slightly and it looked like she was fighting to keep control of her emotions, a horribly distressed look marred her usually sunny face. Instinct took over and Hungary quickly got up, moved around the coffee table, and sat down on the couch next to the emotional nation and pulled her into a comforting hug.

The larger nation resisted at first, unused to this kind of contact from other countries other than her brother, but after a moment of struggling with herself she finally accepted the comfort and began to hug Hungary in return (once again startling the Hungarian as she had forgotten about the other girl's strength).

For a moment they just stayed that way, Hungary doing her best to comfort the choked-up nation while she gained control of her emotions. Finally, she pulled away from the hug and Hungary let her. America avoided looking at her, and looked almost a little ashamed as she stared at her now lukewarm coffee. "Sorry..."

"Don't be."

The blond looked at her, and Hungary gave her what she hoped was a sincere smile. It seemed to convince her as she gave a small sigh, "I've never willingly told another nation before. I didn't realize how… good it would feel."

At this Hungary really did smile, before frowning in confusion. "Willingly?"

America gave an honest laugh and an amused smile replaced the previous somber one. "Hahaha, yeah. There are only three nations who know now: you, Canada, and Mexico. Mexico was never supposed to know in the first place, he actually found out completely by accident. Don't ask me how, it was sometime during all the drama with Texas. After he found out Canada and I threatened him and made him promise not to tell anyone."

The somber look returned to replace the earlier amusement and she was suddenly quiet, as if not sure what to say.

Feeling the need to say something, Hungary placed a comforting hand on her arm and told her, being completely honest, "Don't worry, you won't have to threaten me to keep this quiet. This will be just between you and me, America."

"Alfred."

Hungary was a little startled and blinked in surprise (the American was just full of surprises today). Amer-Alfred cleared her throat, and then gave what Hungary thought had to be the most sincere smile she had ever given her. "Please, just call me Alfred. Or Al if you prefer, since Alfred isn't very feminine."

To give another nation permission to use one's human name was a recognizable sign of trust among nations, especially with those outside of their accepted "families." Hungary felt a surge of warmth towards the other female. She had just shown her a high amount of confidence and trust in one day. Although, had Hungary thought about it, she would have realized she had shown her a great level of trust beforehand as well, simply by inviting her over to her house, alone, without any idea of what was really going on.

Returning the smile and the favor Hungary replied simply. "Same to you. You may call me Elizabeta if you like." At this Alfred smiled a huge, sunny smile.

With the somber mood lifting Hungary felt a jolt of excitement as she began to realize the implications of the situation. There was another female nation! There really were too few of them and the fact that one of the top superpowers in the world was actually female made Hungary feel very, very satisfied (girl power!). Oh, if only Feli knew!

Hungary suddenly gasped and grabbed the American's arm, excitement bubbling over. "Oh my gosh!"

Alfred, startled by the Hungarian's sudden energy and the death grip she now had on her arm, gave her a slightly worried look. "Dude, what was that for?"

It took a moment before Hungary could respond; she was too busy squealing with elation. This is so exciting!

Finally she addressed the still slightly worried American, a huge grin splitting her face. "This is so wonderful! Alfred, you aren't the only female nation who's been hiding her true gender!"

A shocked stare, then a brilliantly hopeful smile. "R-really!? I'm not?"

Hungary felt some momentary guilt. She had just given away something that was supposed to be secret. Technically it wasn't her secret to tell. However, the cat was already out of the bag, and besides, Hungary was sure Italy wouldn't mind in the end, not with the plans Hungary's brain was already hatching.

"You're not! My sweet little Italy has been doing the same thing, ever since she was just half a country under the control and care of Austria and I."

America laughed in exhilaration (she had never even considered the idea that another nation could be doing the same thing she had). "That's so exciting! I thought I was the only one! Oh wow, this is so cool!" She was practically bouncing where she sat, the sugar and caffeine starting to take effect.

Hungary laughed. Apparently, regardless of gender, America was still an energetic child at heart. The more she thought about it the more excited Hungary became as well. "This is wonderful! I've really been meaning to spend more time with Feli and this is the perfect excuse to start up girl time again! We haven't just spent time together in decades, it's way over due, and now, you can come with us! Oh, we could go shopping and get manicures and go to the movies and ohmygosh SLEEPOVERS!" Hungary felt her feminine side taking over as she began to think about all the fun girl things the three of them could do together. She began to happily squeal again from excitement.

During her babbling she hadn't noticed the now apprehensive look Alfred was giving her. "… shopping … manicures … sleepovers …" She hadn't ever actually done any of those things before (well, she had shopped before, but never as a girl) and the thought of going out in public, as a woman and not a man actually kind of scared her. But at the same time it was an exhilarating feeling. It felt kind of like the anticipation one feels while waiting in line to ride a super tall, super fast, super scary roller coaster that everyone can't stop talking about. It scares you half to death thinking about doing it, but you know that if you chicken out you'll regret it the rest of the day.

Hungary, who had just turned to actually talk to Alfred for the first time since she began rambling, grabbed both her hands and began to bounce up and down. "Oh this is going to be so much fun! You, Italy, and I can have a girl's night out! We'll go shopping and watch a romantic comedy and do each other's nails and hair and tell each other girly secrets and oh I can't wait to call Feli!"

There was a pause. Hungary quickly sobered up. "Oh, sorry. I… never mind. I mean, we don't have to tell Feli. It's your secret after all." Hungary corrected, a little put out. She shouldn't have assumed so much. She really hadn't asked if Alfred was ok with this after all.

Alfred, however, responded very quickly, "Oh no, it's fine. I mean, you told me Feli's secret. It's only fair that she knows about mine. I'm sure she'll think it's totally cool, since we're both, ya know, in the same boat so to speak. Besides, it's not like she's going to tell anyone… right?" She was giving Hungary a somewhat unsure smile, like she wasn't totally comfortable with the idea, but she wasn't going to back out now. This was, after all, the intent of coming to Hungary in the first place, so she could have some quality time with another girl as a girl. Also, it really was made better knowing that another country had been going through the same thing she was. She was still a little apprehensive, though. She had only planned on letting one other nation in on the secret.

Hungary gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. Feli may be a bit of an airhead, but she's managed to keep her own gender a secret much longer than you have, hasn't she? She won't tell a soul, except maybe her brother Romano, but he probably wouldn't believe her anyways and just think she's making stuff up. Besides, he knows that the both of us would hunt him down and skin him alive if he ever did tell." At this the two shared a laugh, and it finally seemed like Alfred was truly relaxing, beginning to really warm up to the idea.

"Wow, this is just so.. I'm not even sure how to feel about this! I can't wait!" The hyper-excitable Alfred was coming back, her enthusiasm along with her. She suddenly turned to Hungary and once again surprised her with a near crushing hug. "Thanks so much Elizabeta!"

Gasping for breath, the brunette returned the hug as best she could with her arms pinned to her sides. "No… problem… Al… fred…" She took a good gulp of air as soon as her lungs were free.

Quickly deciding what needed to be done, she announced, "Alright. First things first, I need to call Feli and let her know we're going to have a girl's night out. We can work out a date now since you're already here. We need to schedule for a day that all three of us are free." With that said, she quickly got up and looked around for her phone. Now, where did I last see it?

As she began looking around, Alfred thought of something. Quickly gaining the attention of her host she said, "Hey, don't tell Feli about me yet. It's best to explain it in person. That way she doesn't accidently say something beforehand."

At this, Hungary gave an approving nod with her phone now in hand. "That's a good thought, I'll tell her it'll be just the two of us, since no one else is supposed to know about her secret anyways. Then she won't chicken out on me either."

Hungary paused, her finger hovering over the call button, and added as an afterthought, "You know, it's not going to be easy to tell her in the first place. She's actually kind of afraid of you, since you're such a powerful nation in the first place." Alfred gave a small shrug and smile in a 'what can you do?' kind of manner, "We can work that out later, I guess." Hungary gave a shrug in return, hit the call button, and brought her phone up to her ear.

XXX

"Ve~ Ludwig, we should go do something fun."

"Not now, I'm working."

"But Ludddddy, I'm borrred."

"If you're so bored why not do some work to keep yourself busy."

"But working isn't fun."

The normally cheerful Feli gave a small pout, causing her blond friend to sigh tiredly. Ludwig had been attempting to get work done, but was finding it very difficult with the clingy Italian constantly distracting him. It was a gorgeous day outside, however, this would not sway the serious nation. He had work to get done, documents that needed to be signed or looked over, stuff he needed to read, etcetera etcetera.

Feli on the other hand was quite and utterly bored. Ludwig was being even more unyielding than normal. Usually she would have gotten her way by now. Why does he have to waste this perfectly good day inside doing work! Of course, she knew that it was important, and she also had plenty of her own work to do, but she just couldn't focus with the sun shining through the window and the chirping of birds filling the air.

Feli had just opened her mouth to say something again when they were both startled by her phone ringing. A little flustered at the sudden call it took her a moment to actually find her cell phone and answer.

"Ciao, this is Italy!" She greeted cheerfully, happy for the distraction.

"Hello Feli, this is Elizabeta."

At this Feli quickly stood up and began to excitedly chatter very rapidly. "Elizabeta! Oh how are you? I haven't heard from you since the last world meeting. We really should talk more often. I'm so glad you called I was getting so bored and Ludwig is being so boring just sitting there doing work and telling me to do work and I don't want to work an-"

"Feli, please! Calm down, I actually was just going to ask you about hanging out sometime in the near future."

"Really, oh this is wonderful! We definitely need to get together soon."

"That's why I'm calling, silly. Now, do you have your planner nearby and are you still around Ludwig?"

It was then that Feli realized that Ludwig was still in the room. Feli could be a real scatterbrain sometimes and didn't always know what things were acceptable to talk about and what things are better left unsaid. However, she did have enough sense to realize she should probably take this conversation somewhere else, she didn't want him to overhear something he shouldn't after all.

"Yes, just a moment Elizabeta."

Addressing her German friend, she held the phone away from her ear, "I'm going to talk to Hungary for awhile, but don't worry, I'll be back as soon as I'm done! Then we can go do something fun! Ve~!" With that said, she skipped away, happily chatting to her phone.

Germany just stared for a moment and then gave another tired sigh. He really should take this opportunity to get some work done without the distraction. However, even as he resumed working he couldn't help but feel a little curious as to what the two could possibly be talking about. Does it matter? Knowing Feli they're probably talking about something meaningless and trivial. Honestly, sometimes he can behave so much like a girl. He needs to stop spending so much time with Hungary…

Germany chose to ignore the fact that Italy actually spent more time with him than with Hungary.

XXX

Uber Long and Over Explained Author's Note: I wonder how many of you guessed Hungary. (For further explanation as to why I chose Hungary check the notes a little farther down). One of the reviews for the last chapter inquired about the relationship between America and Italy and how I planned to build on that. Well, I think you can see where this is going and how I plan to develop that.

Although there weren't many people who proposed theories about what Canada had planned I think the best was one involving Ukraine. I honestly hadn't thought about taking that angle, but I don't think America would have warmed up to that plan very well. I don't think Canada, although being close to Ukraine (romantically or otherwise, however you perceive it), wouldn't trust her with that kind of secret simply because of her relationship to Russia, who he doesn't trust at all (who does really?). Anyways, although it would create a lot more drama I'm not sure how I would write that out plot wise. (Although, had this been a RusAme fic it might have been more logical to take it that direction… hmmm.)

Also, just a note on the plot, I actually have 85% of the main plot planned already, with the other 15% being the extra bits and pieces and how all the loose ends fit together as a whole. It's not all written down, but I know what needs to happen and generally how I want things to turn out. Like for instance when Germany and England find out Italy's and America's secrets respectively, since that's going to be a major point of contention for the characters. Basically what I'm saying is: trust me, I have plan and know where I'm taking this story.

Notes:

* Why Hungary?

1) She provided a direct link between America and Italy. My plan was/is that the two of them figure out the truth about each other which would start a friendship/companionship of sorts. This is a major plot point, that they help each other out and such stuff and the like.

2) I needed a female character that America was on good terms with. I researched the political relations between Hungary and America and was surprised to find that the two countries actually share a great relationship politically in real life and don't have any majorly bad history with each other (from what I read, correct me if I'm wrong). This only made the choice that much better.

3) I see Hungary as an empathetic character. I think she would be willing to reach out to America and provide her the extra support she needs.

4) Hungary is a strong female nation who has already made her own among a world filled with male nations. Part of it stems from the fact that when she was young she actually believed she was a boy and so did everyone else. Also, she had (and in my mind still has) the support and protection of her ex-husband (still lover in my headcanon but you don't have to agree) Austria (and Prussia and Germany too). She's had time to earn the respect of the other nations and has a longer history with them than America does.

5) I like Hungary. She's a super rad chick with a frying pan (she was using it before Rapunzel made it cool).

* Regarding the Holy Crown of Hungary. Basically, Hungary has this Holy Crown that has been a major national symbol for the Hungarian people throughout their history (it was worn by their kings in the past). The crown was lost, stolen, returned, and basically juggled around for a long period of time. After WWII it was recovered by a U.S. Infantry Division in Austria. It was then later given to the U.S. for safekeeping from the Soviet Union and was kept in Fort Knox with other priceless artifacts until it was returned to Hungary on January 6, 1978. It was also entrusted with the Hungarian people, rather than the Communist government. It's a really fascinating story and I'm constantly thanking Wikipedia for its massive amount of information (seriously, without I wouldn't know a thing about America-Hungary relations or the Holy Crown story).

* Why is America opening up to Hungary. Well, think about it. She's been keeping this a secret for centuries. She's probably bursting to tell someone the truth. Just so she doesn't have to lie anymore. I realize there are probably other female nations that America could have turned to, but as I mentioned above I had reasons why I chose Hungary for the story. I just hope that all of it is believable and that they are still in character.

Ok, now you lovely readers all get to wait for the upcoming Girl's Night. Expect general girlish fun. Ciao!