Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia

The cries of vendors in their respective stores and the bustling congregation of customers, all clustered in one secluded area, was exactly what Alfred thought a shopping complex would be. He took a deep breath in, the strong odor of herbs and spices combined with fresh meat and delicacies whiffing in his nostrils, something he found to be both exciting and overwhelming.

Pressing his specs to the bridge of his nose, he began, "So, where should we start?" When Alfred didn't get an answer, he continued, "Lien?" He turned around only to discover that the woman in question was missing.

Looking back and forth, his expression changed to concern. Without thinking, he resorted to raising his voice, "Lien!"

"Over here, Alfred!"

The bespectacled young man froze, turning to the direction that called his name. Upon realization, Alfred stifled a chuckle when he found her swallowed up in the midst of the crowd. Although she was tall than her younger sister, she was but a mere needle in a haystack compared to the pedestrians around her. Luckily for him, she lifted her arm high, notifying him of where she was.

Smiling, he ran toward her. "So this is where you are." He said as he approached her, scratching the back of his neck sheepishly. "Hahaha! For a second, I thought I lost you."

Lien blinked, "Really? I thought I lost you."

Alfred grinned cheekily. "Guess that means we're even, huh?"

Hearing this, Lien let out a measured sigh. "We really don't have time to fool around, Alfred." Fishing out a folded piece of paper from the pocket of her green sweater, she unfolded it, her amber colored eyes skimming through the list of ingredients that were written on it. Looking back up, Lien scanned the various markets and joints presented to them before eventually setting her mind toward a particular one. "Let's go there first."

Before she could take a step forward, Lien was suddenly stopped midway by a familiar strong force. From the corner of her eye, she noticed Alfred holding her wrist. Ignoring the burning sensation on her cheeks, Lien was the first to speak up, "Something wrong?"

"I don't want us to get separated again," He explained to her.

The next thing she knew, she felt something warm press against her other hand. Dropping her head down, Lien bit her bottom lip.

They were holding hands.

"Lead the way, Lien," Alfred began, prompting the woman to quickly look back up in wonder.

Nodding her head, Lien led the way. Alfred smiled lovingly, admiring the back of his crush before gripping her small hand in response, enclosing it with his large ones. It was common amongst musicians to acquire bumps and blisters on their hands due to the countless amount of practices wasted to perfect their performance.

And yet, Lien was different.

Unlike his that were adorned with a few nicks and scars, her hands felt smooth and delicate with barely any traces of injuries whatsoever. Taking note of this, Alfred made sure to exert less pressure on her, gently and carefully, in fear that if he gripped her a bit too tightly, she'll break into pieces.

"Is that Antonio?" Lien asked as she pointed to the nearby tomato joint, causing Alfred to break out from his reverie state. Standing next to the tomato joint was a curly brown haired young man skillfully juggling a bundle of tomatoes. He wore a short-sleeved green shirt, khaki pants and a brown colored waist apron strapped around his midriff, indicating his status as a member of the staff.

Squinting his eyes, Alfred emitted a smile. "Hey, you're right." Suddenly, he began running ahead, causing the woman in front of him to get forcedly pulled along. "Yo, Antonio!"

Perceiving the sound of his name, the man called Antonio turned, greeting back. "Ah, mi amigos!" He slowed his pace and one by one, successfully caught the tomatoes within his grasp. "Bel, Lovino! We got customers!"

A female emerged from the background on cue, wearing an identical uniform as Antonio. Her curly, blonde hair was adorned with a green ribbon. In her arms was a large crate of freshly picked tomatoes. "Antonio, Lovino is getting the rest of the load." She informed to her companion of the other's absence. As soon as she caught sight of the two individuals in front of her, her lips curved in the shape of a cat's mouth, "Well, this is a surprise!"

Lien bowed her head in respect. "Nice to see you again, Bel."

"Nice to see you too! What brings you here?" Bel asked curiously. Noticing their joined hands, a mischievous grin surfaced on her face, "Oh my gosh, are you guys on a date?"

"No, we are not!" Lien quickly remarked.

Bel tilted her head to the side innocently, "Really?" She motioned to their jointed hands, "Then care to explain why you guys are holding hands?"

As soon as she finished her sentence, Lien looked down, her eyes slightly widening to find that Alfred's hands were still wrapped around hers. She looked over to Alfred who was busy talking to Antonio. Lien lightly tapped him on the shoulder, getting his attention.

"'Sup, Lien?"

Clearing her throat, Lien softly murmured, "You can let go now."

Alfred raised an eyebrow. It didn't take long before realization dawned upon him. "Shit," He muttered under his breath and just like that, he released his hold on her. He laughed to suppress the awkward tension between them. "Hahaha, my bad!"

Witnessing this, Bel grinned from ear to ear. Setting the crate of tomatoes aside, she took this moment to drag Lien to the side. "You sure?"

"Alfred is just a friend," Lien reasoned to her.

"Rightttt…" Bel trailed off, letting the word roll on her tongue. Tugging the other girl closer toward her, Bel whispered in her ear, "You know he is quite the catch."

"Pardon?"

"Come on, haven't you notice?" Bel pressed on, directing her toward the bespectacled young man. "Alfred F. Jones, the famous trumpeter of World Orchestra is easily listed as the third best-looking performer with his older brother Arthur Kirkland being the first runner and Francis Bonnefoy as second." She explained further, "If I were you, Lien, I'll do what I can to keep him around before someone takes him away."

Lien sighed, "For the last time, Bel, Alfred is just a friend." She reaffirmed. "Anyway, I would like to have five tomatoes, please."

Bel rolled her eyes teasingly, "If you say so," She murmured lowly. Slipping on plastic gloves, she hovered over one of the large crates, counting the tomatoes before gathering them together in one plastic bag. Afterward, she put the plastic bag on the balance scale, measuring how much it cost.

Lien took out her purse, counting the coins in her palms. "How much?"

"On the house," Bel stated casually as she handed the bag toward her bewildered friend.

"Are you sure? You really don't need to, Bel."

Bel put her hands on her hips, smiling cheerfully, "It's fine!"

"Hey, Lien! Check this out!"

Hearing her name, Lien paused and turned around. In front of her stood Alfred who was struggling to juggle a group of four tomatoes. "Isn't this awesome?" He cried, laughing once more. The instant his words had left his mouth, his hand slipped, and all at once, the vegetables began showering down on him.

"Are you alright?" Lien asked, stifling a giggle. She didn't bother to wait for his response as she casually took his glasses off of his face, surprising not only him but also Bel, and proceeded to clean the lenses with the hem of her green sweater. Meanwhile, Alfred stopped moving and instead, stared intensively at her actions.

Noticing this, Bel couldn't help but smile.

Quickly, Antonio shoved a hand into the pocket of his waist apron, pulling out a white cloth and lending it over to Alfred who took it earnestly. "Stay here, I'll get more!" He declared and then left to go inside of the tomato joint.

Once she finished cleaning, Lien gently tucked the glasses behind his ears. "Is that better?"

"Yeah, thanks a bunch, Lien!" Alfred said and leisurely started to wipe the minor stains of tomato juice on his leather bomber jacket.

Lien watched Alfred clean himself, sighing. A thought popped into her head. Averting her attention back to her friend, Lien asked, "Bel, what time is it?"

Bel blinked. Checking her wristwatch, she announced, "1:40 pm."

"Thank you so much," Lien said before turning to face Alfred once more. "If you are ready, let's move on. We still have more ingredients to buy."

Alfred nodded. "Ready when you are, Lien," He replied, exposing his white teeth.

Bidding their goodbyes to the other female, the pair ran off. All Bel could simply do was wave, her eyes fixated on their silhouettes as they gradually merged into the crowd.

"Hey, I got the—" Antonio paused in his tracks with a washcloth grasped in his hands. He stared blankly at the empty area where Alfred and Lien once stood for a moment. "Huh? Where'd they go?" Antonio asked himself, scratching his head.

A few seconds later, an Italian man appeared, frowning. The wild long curl on the right side of his head slightly swayed as he proceeded to tilt his chin. Compared to his companions, he wore a white apron over his uniform.

Bel snorted, folding her arms, "Took you long enough, Lovino."

Glancing the other way, Lovino met face to face with Bel, blushing furiously. "Hey, it ain't my fault! You two didn't bother to help me with the stocks!" He protested in defense.

Noticing Antonio's current state of confusion, Lovino decided to ask an obvious question, "The hell's up with him?" He wondered. "Did I miss anything?"

With a ghost of a smile, Bel winked, "Only the most charming love story you won't get to hear."

Shortly after their coincidental meeting with Antonio and Bel at the tomato joint, Alfred and Lien leisurely took their time purchasing ingredients essential for tonight's dinner. As much as Lien wanted to take her time in the shopping complex, she couldn't. Her duty to be in charge of providing the meals for Kiku and his visitors resurfaced in her mind, applying more workload in her agenda.

"Lien, try this out!"

"Hahaha, Lien, look at this!"

"There's a mega sale over there! Let's check it out, Lien!"

Lien's left eye twitched in annoyance.

Unfortunately, a certain bespectacled young man could not stand still for even a minute, breaking almost every rule in her strict schedule. One minute he was interested in something and then the next thing she knew, he was already off running to another booth with the bags of groceries. A couple of days before Kiku's proposed practice session, he advised her of his friends that he was inviting over. Lien brushed the thought off, assuring herself that if she could handle her own sister, what's the harm of managing another?

Oh, how she was dead wrong.

"Alfred."

"Yeah, Lien?"

'Here goes!' Lien thought, encouraging herself. She wanted to lecture him on the spot and hoped for the best that for once, he would comply with her. Prying her mouth open, Lien froze before closing it. As much as she wanted to, she didn't have the heart to.

She couldn't.

No, not when he was looking at her with such childlike wonder.

"Lien? You okay?"

Lien sighed, "Yeah."

"All right, if you say so!"

There it was again, that eccentric smile.

Sure, he was annoying but just seeing his happy face brought a smile to her lips as well.

How was it possible for someone like him to keep smiling? If anything, his smile was infectious and without knowing, Lien was slowly showing symptoms of it. Not that she seemed to mind.

'If I were you, Lien, I would do what I can to keep him around before someone takes him away.'

Bel's words rang in her head, prompting the poor woman to start losing her sense of surroundings.

Of all things to worry about, why did this particular one made her feel queasy? It was obvious that Lien viewed Alfred as a friend and if not, maybe a close acquaintance. No, it could be because they play for different gigs that she feels nervous around him. Alfred is the ace of World Orchestra and therefore, was her rival.

Yeah, that was probably it.

Distracted by her thoughts, Lien had accidentally collided with a random individual. Dusting the invisible dirt off of her, she dropped her head respectfully. "My apologizes, good sir."

"No need for formalities," The masculine voice consoled, followed by a low chuckle. "We are members of the same band, da."

Recognizing the familiar accent, Lien lifted her chin. "Ivan!" She greeted the Russian, "How are you?"

"Good, actually," Ivan replied before frowning. "Though Natalya isn't doing so well."

Lien knitted her eyebrows, "What do you mean? Is she sick?"

Ivan shook his head, explaining, "No. There's this guy who's been showing up lately on our doorstep to court her every now and then."

"Shouldn't you call the police?"

"Tempting, yes, but I don't think we have much to worry." Ivan assured to her, "Knowing Natalya, she has her own way of punishing others."

Lien fractured a tiny smile, "I see."

Shoving his gloved hands into his pockets, Ivan continued, "Oh, Yao got in contact with your mother, da."

Lien narrowed her eyes, tightening her hold on the grocery bags within her arms. "He did?"

"Since he's too busy with work, he asked me to deliver you the message," Ivan explained. "I was actually going to visit your place. Guess now, I don't have to, da."

"What did my mother say?" Lien asked almost too quickly.

"Your mother wanted to let you know that everything is fine," Ivan said before frowning as he tried to recite the exact same speech Yao told him through the phone. "And that Yeung might call off the wedding."

Lien tightened her hands into fists, suppressing the urge to punch something. "Bullshit,"

"I don't mean to pry over your privacy," Ivan said rather softly, "But what is this Yeung business about, da?"

Lien shook her head, her bangs covering her eyes. "It's really nothing for you to worry about," She assured him, waving it off. The noticeable quiver in her voice, however, said otherwise.

"Are you alone?" Ivan began, breaking the awkward silence between them.

"No."

"Where's your partner then?" Ivan pressed on, much to Lien's growing discomfort.

Lien slightly turned the other way to avoid eye contact. "He's somewhere."

"Oh? Who might it be?" Ivan asked, putting a finger under his chin. "Is it someone I know?"

When he noticed how stiff she was, Ivan continued, "My first assumption would be your sister, but then again I could be wrong."

"Ivan, it's really not important," Lien advised him.

The Russian shook his head. "Is it?" He asked again, his voice becoming softer. "Tell me, are you on a date?"

Lien's cheeks became a shade of salmon. "No!"

"Hmm." Thinking about the possible candidates, a pleasant smile appeared on his face. "From the way you are reacting now, I have a hunch of who it may be."

"It really doesn't matter," She groaned, desperate for their conversation to change the topic.

Ivan tilted his head, "Are you sure? Well, let's experiment then, shall we?" He said, causing Lien to give him a weird look. Placing a hand on the top of her head, he used his other to gently brush the loose strands from her forehead. He then proceeded to stroke one of her rosy cheeks, causing the woman to stiffen from the unexpected contact.

Though his action frightened her, Lien retained her assertive expression. "Ivan, what are you doing?"

Ivan ignored her. "If my calculations are correct, I bet they'll show up if I do this."

Before Ivan could dip downward to peck her cheek, an unknown force drew his arm back, reaching all the way to his back, enough to possibly cause a fatal injury. Disregarding the swelling of the pain in his back, Ivan's lips widened. Speak of the devil. Without bothering to turn, he raised his voice, "What is this now?" He wondered out loud. "Playing the superhero, are we?"

Lien furrowed her eyebrows, slanting her head to get a better view of the person behind Ivan. "Alfred?"

"Sorry for being late, Lien," Alfred said, flashing her one of his smiles. The way he managed to grapple the tall Russian without breaking a sweat made Lien question his surprisingly inhuman strength. "Is this guy bothering you?"

"No, Ivan was just⎯"

"Leaving." Ivan cut her off, at the same time slipping his hold on her shoulder.

In response, Alfred released his firm grip on Ivan's other arm.

Ivan glances at Lien, who stared back at him with slight fear. "I will see you in three days time, da."

And then began walking ahead before abruptly pausing in his tracks, standing in silence. Finally, he turned to confront the pair once more, periwinkle orbs clashing with sky blue. His grin broadened. "As for you, Alfred," He began, chuckling lightly. His next set of words startled Alfred in which only added more fuel to the existing fire.

"I will be looking forward to an excellent performance."

"What? I lost again?" Gilbert yelled, aggressively throwing the video game controller against the carpet floor. He dramatically lay down, kicking his legs childishly. "No fair, no fair!"

"Snooze, you lose~" Xiao Mei sang, bouncing up and down on the couch with an arm stretched high with a fist. "Ain't that right, Kiku?" Taking note of his silence, her expression converted into concern. "Hey, you okay?"

Hearing his name, the onyx-haired man looked over to his shoulder and moaned, "When do you suppose we'll get to practice?"

Xiao Mei snorted, "Are you kidding me? That's what you're whining about?" Looking around, she then pointed toward the digital clock on the far left corner of the room. "Look! We still got time!"

His eyes followed her finger and squinting his eyes, he frowned. "That clock is wrong. It's an hour off." He said matter-of-factly, causing the girl next to him to gasp dramatically.

Great, now it was Xiao Mei's turn to complain. "Wait, so this whole time I was reading the clock wrong?"

Kiku scratched the back of his neck, snickering. "I am afraid so."

TWACK!

"Ahhh!" Kiku cried, quickly brushing the item off his face. Taking hold of it, he soon relaxed when he learned that the item was a pillow. He didn't have time to protest as Xiao Mei interrupts his train of thought with pillows on both hands.

"Mei, what are you doing with that?" Kiku asked her, getting frightened.

The girl grinned rather sinisterly before proclaiming, "This is your punishment!"

Kiku stiffened. Taking note of the albino laying on the floor, he automatically slipped from the couch and took shelter in the back of his best friend.

"Huh? Something wrong, buddy?" Gilbert asked his best friend who was cowering behind him.

"There is no time to explain. We must take action," Kiku said to him, his dark colored eyes filled with ambition.

"Time out!" Gilbert cried, not grasping the idea. "I don't understand what you're—"

"Think fast!"

Before he knew it, his words were replaced by a rather unpleasant shriek, as he was bombarded with the pillows that Xiao Mei threw on him. Emerging from the sea of pillows, Gilbert only grinned. "Ooooh, you asked for it!" Grabbing the closest pillow, he then launched it toward Xiao Mei. "COUNTERATTACK!"

Alas, Xiao Mei easily dodged the incoming assault. Using two fingers, she then pulled down one eyelid and at the same time, stuck out her tongue. "Is that all you got, boys?"

Gilbert clenched his teeth, "Kiku! More pillows!"

"On it!" Kiku saluted and began collecting the pillows in his surroundings.

"Hah! You will never take me from my throne! I am the queen of this fortress!" Xiao Mei declared followed by a hysterical laughter. "I am invincible! The destructible! It is I, the ever so beautiful Queen plum blossom! The almighty Xiao—oof!"

"Hahaha, talk all you want," The albino cried, interrupting her speech. "Queen plum blossom or not, nobody can stop the awesome and powerful Gilbert of the Iron Cross and his trusty partner-in-crime, Kiku the Godzilla Lord!"

Kiku raised an eyebrow. "Godzilla Lord?"

"Enough yapping, more pounding!" Xiao Mei protested and once again, threw pillows in their direction.

Instinctively, Gilbert caught one of the pillows and used it as a means of protection. He called over to his best friend, "KIKU!"

Kiku nodded, equipped with an assortment of pillows. "Ready!"

"Strike when the iron is hot!" Gilbert cried. Raising an arm up high, he began counting down in his head. "On your mark, set…" He said and once reaching zero, yelled at the top of his lungs, "NOW!"

"…What's going on?"

The three froze, hurling their heads to find Alfred and Lien standing in front of them with groceries with some set down on the floor.

After what seemed to be a few minutes of awkwardness, Xiao Mei finally spoke, "How long have you two been standing there?"

"Long enough to see you guys beat yourselves to death." Alfred chimed in, prompting the woman beside him to smack her hand on her forehead.

Both Xiao Mei and Gilbert pointed at each other in accusation, yelling in unison.

"He started it!"

"She started it!"

"Have any of you eaten?" Lien asked out of the blue.

When she received a unanimous shake of heads, she then crossed her arms. "I'll start preparing then." Gathering the grocery bags from the floor, she headed toward the kitchen. "Alfred, can you get the others?"

Alfred nodded, taking the rest of the bags in his disposal. Laughing, he turned the other way, "You know, you can continue where you left off." He advised to them before leaving.

Xiao Mei and the two best friends exchanged weird looks.

"Should we?" She wondered, almost hesitantly.

"I think we should call it a day," Kiku said, being the voice of reason. "Gilbert, your thoughts?"

His answer, however, resulted in a one-hit knockout as a pillow strike him down.

"Suck it up, will ya?" The albino cried, getting angry. "Now are you guys gonna fight or be a bunch of sissies?"

Rising from the carpet floor with the assistance of Xiao Mei, Kiku glared at his best friend menacingly. "You just sparked a war, dear friend," Kiku grumbled before turning to face his childhood friend once more. "Queen plum blossom, right here and now, I hereby swore my loyalty toward you."

"Dude, no!" Gilbert shouted, stomping his feet immaturely. "I trusted you!"

Regardless of his outcries, there was no turning back.

Leisurely grabbing hold of a pillow from the floor, Kiku expressed a smile toward Xiao Mei. "Shall we, my queen?"

Xiao Mei's face brightened, his words music to her ears. "We shall!"

Sounds of enthusiastic screams echoed through the halls, much to Lien's dismay.

"Of course, they would do something as idiotic as this," She mumbled under her breath as she began to put on her apron.

Alfred smiled, "Don't get started with my buddy Kiku," He said with the shake of his head. "Just like his older brother Yao, he can be unpredictable." Digging out the ingredients from the grocery bags, he began arranging them in order on the dining table.

"Alfred, can I ask you a question?"

Alfred shrugged, "Fire away."

"Is it strange that we are hanging out like this?"

"What do you mean?"

Lien took a moment to sigh before continuing, "You are the trumpeter of World Orchestra." She began, "And I am the violinist of Star Fest."

Alfred raised an eyebrow. "So?"

"We're aces of two world-renowned orchestra bands, Alfred," Lien explained thoroughly. "Which means that we are rivals. May I ask you, do you find it weird?"

Alfred pursed his lips. "I don't mind." He answered, slowly approaching her. "What about you?"

Lien didn't respond.

"Lien?"

"I do not know." She quickly replied, turning her back toward him. Opening one of the cabinets, she stretches an arm outward, revealing the same green tinted kitchen knife from earlier.

"Lien, it's okay," Alfred assured her. "Be honest with me. Do you find it weird?"

Lien bit her bottom lip. Putting the kitchen knife on the marble counter, she turned to face him once more. "If you want me to be honest, then I will. Yes, I do find it weird." She confessed before adding in, "But that does not mean that I don't value our budding friendship because I do."

Noting his lack of response, Lien peered up at his blank face. "Are you offended?"

Alfred hesitated. Was he?

"No."

Content with his reassurance, Lien shook her head. "All right then."

As she focused on taking out the rest of the other utensils and the cutting board from the cupboards, she didn't seem to catch Alfred's face falter to sour for a split second. Turning back to look at him, Lien tilted her head to the side, giggling, "Hey, where's that smile?"

Unconsciously tightening his hands into fists, Alfred gazed immensely on the woman before him.

Doesn't she realize how much she was affecting him?

Even so, he remained strong, preserving his smile.

The words that left his mouth were uncertain to reach her.

"For you, I will."

Damn it, I'm supposed to be studying! (Oh well)

Just as I promised, the eighth installment is here! Oh my god, that last part crushed me. Shortly after I finished writing, I started crying. Hopefully I was able to somehow pull your heartstrings (even if it's a tiny bit). As requested, I inserted Antonio (Spain) and added in Bel (Belgium) for fun. Lovino reappears again (appeared first time back in ch.3).

This chapter was quite a roller coaster ride. We just went from fluff, to suspense, to comedy and ending with oh so sweet angst. Two chapters passed and Ivan is back in the game. Yao is mentioned as well. Lien's background is revealed a little bit.

Tell me, was Alfred and Lien's outing a date or not? I would love to hear your opinions about this!

During Ivan and Lien's conversation, there was an indication of a certain someone courting Natalya. Can you guess who?

Quite honestly, I had the most fun writing the pillow fight. The plum blossom was a reference to Taiwan's national flower. The Iron Cross was a famous decoration from Prussia and as for Japan, I couldn't find a proper allusion so I just got stuck with Godzilla.

As I mentioned in the previous chapter, this one was going to trigger the next scenario for the next chapter (hopefully I did it right).

Once again, I am open for more character requests!

Your opinions are much appreciated!

P.S. For more feels, check out the song: Find You by Boyce Avenue beautifully and perfectly explains the complex relationship between Alfred and Lien.

P.P.S. Check out my best friend, kayochin's one shot, enthrall! (It's awesome!)