The Rare Pair Files (Hetalia)
Author: Ashynarr
Summary: Since there are a lot of rare pair that are, well, rare, I decided to dedicate a little side collection of all the ones I write from here on out, however often I end up doing so. Mostly America or Canada centric pairings.
Disclaimer: Hetalia's not mine.
Warning: KorCan, canonverse
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Despite his outward cheer, Yong Soo was fairly annoyed at the moment.
Annoyance wasn't something he felt too often - he'd felt it when Japan had attacked him and big brother Yao, he'd felt it when Ivan and Alfred had thought it a smart idea to split him in two, and he felt it whenever his bosses were being especially stubborn. But like most things, the moments passed and he returned to his usual cheer for life in general.
Today's annoyance however, had less to do with politics and more to do with the people he was sitting in the diner with. Well, more person than people, but one was here because of the other, so maybe it still counted, he wasn't sure.
You see, Yong Soo had a not so small crush on one Matthew Williams, and had finally worked himself up to flying over to visit and maybe, just maybe ask him out on a few friendly lunch dates, just to test the waters. He'd had it all planned out - a week exploring the west coast and its various exhibits, even if he was sure the Canadian had seen them all before, with stops into whatever cute cafes or restaurants they could find. They would chat it up, get to know each other better, and soon the blond would be swooning into his arms.
(He even forwent the usual extravagances of his romantic dramas, mostly because a lot of the tropes weren't very applicable. There was little chance of them being related in any way, and Nations didn't get things as extreme as cancer even at their sickliest. Colds, on the other hand…)
Of course, all of those were derailed when he arrived only to find out Alfred was visiting as well, and thought it brilliant to all 'hang out together' since they were all there anyways. Had he heard about Yong Soo coming over from his brother and sniffed out his true intentions? He didn't see how, but why else would the guy attempt to come along on all of their outings like an eager puppy?
To be fair, he didn't hate Alfred - they were good friends, and played video games together all the time! - but it was getting very frustrating that he couldn't really have more than five minutes alone with Matthew without being interrupted. Really, he needed to have a talk with the American already and get this sorted out before it became a five season comedy drama where the guy always got interrupted while trying to ask the pretty girl- er, boy - down the street out.
(No, he was not obsessed with his drama shows!)
"Hey dudes, I need to use the bathroom," Alfred spoke up, having finished off his lunch already. "Be back in a sec!"
"Actually I need to go too," Yong Soo stood up as well, following Alfred until they were around the corner in the short hall to the bathrooms.
"Alfred, can we speak for a minute?"
The American blinked, looking to his friend. "Sure dude, what's up?"
"I was just wondering what brought you up to visit your brother."
"Oh, that?" Alfred grinned. "I got two weeks off of work, so I thought I'd invite Mattie to come with me on vacation somewhere, but when I you and him were gonna be exploring BC, I figured that sounded fun and I'd tag along too."
"That's it? Nothing about keeping an eye on us?" He prodded, not seeing the streaks of older brother protectiveness he was expecting in the blond's expression.
"No? Why'd I do that? It's not like you guys are sick or anything, right?"
"No, nothing like that. I was just sort of hoping I would have some private time with your brother, to put it mildly."
Blink blink. "Private time? Like, get drunk and complain about family stuff?"
...holy shit, he really didn't know. Yong Soo didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Alfred, I was hoping to ask your brother out, as in a date. Or several."
One could actually see the process of this sinking in, eyes blank for a moment before the concept clicked. "Oh."
His eyes lit up, jaw dropping just a bit. "Oh."
And then he laughed, far more amused at the situation than Yong Soo. "Oh my god, and I was just- holy shit that's amazing I can't even-"
After a minute to calm back down, lips still twitching up occasionally, Alfred turned back to his friend. "Dude, why didn't you say that earlier? If I'd known that's what you were here for, I would've just gone to visit Sue instead and left you two to it."
"You aren't going to defend your brother's honor or something like that?"
Alfred shrugged. "If I didn't know you that well, I might've been a bit more leery, yeah, but we've been friend for like a century now, so I think I know you well enough to trust you to not do anything stupid. Besides, why bother when we both know Mattie'd kick your ass before I could even catch a flight over to do it for him."
"Point," Yong Soo conceded, smiling again. "So we're alright then?"
"Pssh, never even had an issue," The American waved off. "But seriously, I still need to use the bathroom, so go back and talk to him while I'm not around. And seriously dude, just tell him what you want, it'll go a lot better than dancing around the subject and having him wondering if he's reading you right."
"Right, got it," Yong Soo felt a bit insulted that the guy who completely failed to pick up his intentions was giving him advice, before internally conceding that it would probably be a bit easier to just know now if the Canadian was interested. It would really suck to find out in a few months his friend wasn't gay, after all.
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AN: Because while there's lots of fics with Alfred being the big bad overprotective brother, there's far fewer where Alfred like genuinely respects that his brother can make his own decisions and protect himself, though he still reserves rights to kick the ass of people who hurt Mattie and didn't get enough payback from the Canadian in question.