Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia

The evening sky was shrouded in gray along with the clouds occasionally doubling abnormally twice its usual size.

The smell of incoming rain was becoming heavy in the air, the expectation of an incoming thunderstorm.

Regardless of the weather, the inviting atmosphere around the grand three-story building remained intact, with its stainless steel design often described to be exquisite and complex. Surrounding the large glass pivot doors were a collection of decorative pots containing ornamental grasses. Patches of various flowers of different hues flooded the open area, mirroring that of a small placid oasis. Red-roped stanchions are lined up symmetrically, leading to a sweeping miniature staircase in front of the entrance.

This is Himaruya Hall; the place that every single musician hopes to someday perform in. No other concert hall in the entire world can match its sleek curves and intricate structural patterns. With this in mind, it's no surprise that it preserves its number one title as its striking appearance is known to alluring musicians, spectators and as well as tourists from far and wide.

No matter how many times Alfred experiences the majesty of the Hall, it never failed to produce a smile on his face, causing a wave of adrenaline pumping excitedly through his veins.

This was not one of those days.

At the far corner of the lounge room, the bespectacled young man in question casually sat cross-legged on the burgundy floor. Shortly after rejecting some of his band mates who willingly offered their seats for him to sit on, Alfred went straight back to cleaning his golden trumpet.

A clap of thunder roared, causing a faint quake in which shook the chandeliers on top of his head.

'Of all days, why did it have to rain?' Alfred pondered, clamping his lips together.

It's been a few days since the practice session at Kiku's place. As much as his best friend had hoped, his proposal to rehearse for the second round turned out to be an unfortunate disaster. In the end, they never once touched their instruments whatsoever (unknown to Kiku, Xiao Mei had secretly stashed them inside her room). To summarize, the entire day was filled with nothing but a tornado of endless pillow fights in which ironically, Kiku was unexpectedly more than pleased to take part of.

Alfred paused, frowning a little.

And then there's Lien.

Though she may not admit it, Alfred knew that she had a blast spending time with him.

Though it had only been several days, he enjoyed every single moment with her. Even if it was just a brief conversation between them – to him, listening to her voice or getting to see her beautiful face always seemed to brighten his day. At the same time, he kept resisting himself from kissing her whenever she looks up at him with her big amber colored eyes.

Sighing, Alfred hung his head in defeat.

Seriously, what is this feeling?

"You okay there, Alfred?"

Lifting his chin up, Alfred forced a laugh. "Yeah, I'm fine." He assured, emitting a grin. "What's up, Francis?"

Francis gave him a weird look before sighing in disbelief. "Come on, Alfred. I've known you since you were small." He said as he then proceeded to sit down next to him. He hoisted one leg over the other with his back leaning against the cream-tinted walls. "Tell me what's bothering you."

It only took five words to make Alfred's bright and optimistic mask slightly crack. Carefully placing his trumpet back inside of its respective case, Alfred faced Francis once more. "Francis, what do you know about love?"

Francis stared at him, bemused. "Love?"

Alfred nodded. "Yeah! You seem to look like the type to know a whole lot of it." He reasoned to the older man while trying to keep a poker face.

Francis folded his arms, snickering.

Well, this was getting interesting.

"Alfred, are you in love?"

"I don't know," Alfred quickly answers while looking elsewhere. Though he tried his best to hide his reddened cheeks, Francis had already caught sight of it. "Am I?"

"Well, let's see. Do you think about them a lot?"

Alfred nodded.

"Whenever you're around them, do you feel funny?"

"Sort of."

"There you have it then!" Francis said, nudging him on the shoulder. "You are in love."

Alfred lifted a questionable brow, unconvinced. "Isn't there more?"

"What do you mean?"

"If you're in love, shouldn't there be a reason for it?"

Francis heaved a sigh. This was going to be harder than he thought.

"Okay, let me start again. First off, love does not come with instructions. It just happens. For some people, it makes sense. But really, it doesn't have to." He explained in the best possible way. "When you're in love, you just can't help but feel safe around them. You can't stop thinking about them. You want to make them happy and sometimes sacrifice things, whether it's big or small, you just do. And you won't regret it."

Raising one of his fingers, he slightly swayed it back and forth between him and Alfred. "Without love, there wouldn't be you or me. In fact, there wouldn't even be humanity. Love is what makes the world go 'round, which is what binds us all. It's complex and disastrous. When really, it's laughably simple." Francis then took another deep breath.

Glancing up toward the glass ceiling, he continued, "I thought I had found mi amour. But in the end, the universe just didn't want us to be together. Every now and then, I would think of her and I still do." He averts his attention from the ceiling and to his sister who was busy chatting with Alfred's older brother across the room. "And now I'm here, supporting my dear sister because just like you, she's still new to learning what love is. You and my sister are just starting to bud."

Alfred blinked. Choosing his words carefully, he began, "So that's love, huh?"

Francis smiled, ruffling Alfred's sandy blonde hair just like how he used to. "Not exactly scientific, but pretty much." After a moment of silence, he spoke again, "Well, who is it?"

Alfred slightly stiffened, laughing nervously. "Who is what?"

"Don't play dumb with me, Alfred." Francis chuckled. "Who's the lucky lady in your life?"

Alfred grinned. "Someone like you should know by now."

Francis grew silent, thinking it over. Suddenly, his eyes widened. "Hold on, you mean to say that it's—"

"Big brother!"

The two men stopped to look up and find Michelle approaching them. "Oh hey, Alfred's here too!"

"'Sup, Michelle?" Alfred greeted, bringing a hand up.

"Nothing much!" Michelle replied back merrily, stretching her arm outward to give him a high-five.

"What's the emergency?" Francis wondered, getting his sister's attention.

Michelle shrugged while smiling sheepishly, "Huh? Oh, Lucille needs your help with something,"

Francis shook his head, rising from the ground. Slanting his head slightly, he mouthed to Alfred, "Good luck." And just like that, he left with his sister forcedly dragging him toward the center of the lounge room.

Grinning, Alfred eventually stood up as well.

Love was a sensitive topic for him.

But thanks to Francis's informative speech, he was able to grasp the meaning of it pretty quickly.

Something in him wanted, no—his heart was practically screaming for him to do something about it. At that very moment, his body and mind began to work in unison. He knew what to do.

Looking around the area, he spotted his best friends Kiku and Gilbert near the punchbowl.

Taking his instrument case from the ground, he ran toward them.

"Dudes, can you take care of this for awhile?" Alfred asked almost in a hurry, practically shoving his case over to them. "There's something that I got to do."

Kiku frowned. Regardless, he took it. "It better be quick," He warned sternly. "We will be performing in less than ten minutes."

Alfred nodded. "I'll be back as soon as possible!" He cried before storming off once more.

Sipping the last drop of soda, Gilbert proceeded to crush the plastic can with his bare hand. "The hell's up with him?"

Kiku shrugged. "Who knows?"

Lien couldn't believe it.

Here she was – in one of the most renowned concert halls – the Himaruya Hall.

Like most musicians, getting the chance to play a performance here was the ideal dream. Hoping that she wasn't fantasizing, she pinched her nose.

Pain swelled in her nostrils, causing her to wince.

Fluttering her eyes open, she gasped.

She wasn't dreaming. This was actually happening.

"Having fun, I see."

Lien blinked. Looking over her shoulder, she held her breath. "Katyusha." She greeted the familiar tall woman who was coming toward her. Her short platinum blonde hair, which was kept back with a white headband and hair clips, slightly tousled from side to side prior to her advancement.

Once Katyusha was merely standing a few inches away from her, Lien stammered, "D-did you see that?"

Katyusha tilted her head innocently, crossing her arms. "You mean that little act?" She asked, causing Lien to avoid eye contact due to embarrassment. "Don't worry, I won't tell."

Hearing this, Lien sighed in relief, bowing her head. "Thank you,"

Katyusha giggled. It wasn't every day that you get to catch a glimpse of someone as quiet and focused as Lien, the rookie ace of Star Fest, to be doing something foolish. Then again, who wouldn't blame her? If Katyusha were all by herself, she probably would have done the same. "Can you believe it's already the second round?" She asked, starting the conversation.

Lien shook her head. "I am still having a hard time believing it myself."

"This is your first time being here, right?" Katyusha pressed on, receiving a nod. "Well? How are you feeling?"

"I would be lying if I said I was fine," Lien confessed, folding her arms. "Honestly, I am quite nervous."

Katyusha put her hand on the younger woman's shoulder in assurance. "Don't fret." She said tenderly. "And to tell you the truth, you aren't the only one nervous." She then let out a light chuckle. "As a matter of fact, I'm having the jitters as well."

"Really?"

Katyusha beamed. "Why, yes."

"Well, well. If it isn't our ace, da."

Lien turned around, meeting face to face with the Russian man standing in front of her. Next to him, or rather—clinging onto him for dear life was none other than Natalya.

Removing her hold on Lien, Katyusha resorted to placing her hands on her hips. "What took you so long?" She pouted to her siblings.

Before Ivan could answer, Natalya had already beaten him to it. "Yao wanted to talk to big brother," She said flatly.

Katyusha sighed. "Knowing you, you didn't like the way our brother was conversing with our Conductor." She said, "From the looks of it, I'm guessing you just took him away and came here."

Natalya nodded, "You know me well, sister."

"Natalya," Ivan began, his usual calm voice tinted with fear. "You really didn't have to—"

"But I did!" She cried all of a sudden, not giving him the chance to finish his sentence. "I love you more than anything, big brother!"

Lien slightly cringed. Of all the various forms of the relatives that she had witnessed, the three Russian siblings before her were, in her opinion the most interesting. Aside from being members of the same orchestra band, the way they individually displayed their affections with one another, particularly Natalya, was something in which she was secretly grateful to be blessed with a sister like Xiao Mei.

Then again, their unusual way of interacting shouldn't be something that she should worry of. If anything, it should be the question that's been in her head for some time now. Clearing her throat to get their notice, Lien spoke, "I would like to talk to Ivan privately."

"HELL NO!" Natalya shouted. She tightens her hold onto her brother, much to her Ivan's discomfort.

"Natalya, please." Katyusha coaxed her. This only caused Natalya to strengthen her grip while shaking her head in retort.

Katyusha sighed, "You're leaving me no choice," She said and ever so gently, began to detach her sister's death grip off their brother's arm. With both hands, she proceeded to pull her along, despite the younger's protests. "Come, we best be going," She cooed, her soft voice resembling that of a mother.

Ignoring the obvious glares that were being thrown at her, Lien fixated her attention on the Russian man beside her once more.

"What is it that you want to talk about, da?"

With no time to lose, Lien went straight to the point, "What's your relationship with Alfred?"

Ivan chuckled, "The famous trumpeter? He is simply a rival."

"Why is that?"

"Well, there are plenty of reasons." Ivan casually answered as he shoved one of his hands into the pockets of his black vest with his other clinging on the hem of his tan scarf around his neck. "Hmm…you know that our band, Star Fest has always been World gig's rival for years, correct?" Receiving a nod of confirmation, he continued. "Believe it or not, but it wasn't always like that, da."

Lien's eyes widened, sparkling with interest. "Really?"

"Before Alfred, his older brother, Arthur Kirkland was the original ace of World gig," Ivan explained further. "Rumor has it that the original Conductor of their band abused the members, challenging them to go beyond their limitations until they collapsed. Weeks after their last performance, someone filed a report of this and the Conductor left, leaving Arthur to take his place."

"World gig was a mess and Arthur did what he could to bring his band mates go back on their feet again." He drew a breath in, "That's when he came along."

"You mean when Alfred joined World gig?"

Ivan bobbed his head. "He may believe that every member of his band was what caused them to be famous. When really, his presence was what kept them together and united as one. Because of him, Star Fest had begun to lose everything. As you may know, Yao recently lost his brother over to them, da."

Collecting her hands together in a tight grip, Lien murmured quietly, "I-I never knew,"

Raising a hand, Ivan pointed upwards, directing to the top of his head. "Arthur Kirkland may be the mastermind of World gig," He began before motioning to the right side of his chest. "But Alfred F. Jones? He is the heart, the driving force." He then pointed toward her. "The same thing goes for you, Lien."

Lien stood still for a moment. In spite of her fears, Lien remained headstrong and voiced her opinion. "Then what would you be?"

Lifting his chin a little, a smile emerged on his lips. From the corner of his eye, Ivan saw him.

'Just in time,' Ivan thought to himself.

Lowering his head, Ivan leaned in until his lips were close enough to her ear. "You really wanna know, da?

Taking a quick glimpse back at his rival, his smile widened.

He was trembling. Oh, what a spectacle!

As Ivan watched his rival hurriedly vanish from the scene, he withdrew back, facing her once more. "In a deck of cards, our conductor Yao and Arthur are kings. Alfred and you are the aces." He explained.

Crossing his arms, his smile expanded. "And me? I am just a wild card, da."

Everything was spinning for Alfred.

As he ran aimlessly through the halls, he failed to notice the amusing stares and worried looks of those around him. More importantly, his close friends and family.

"Hey, you alright, dude?"

He needed to get out of here.

"Al, you okay?"

Fast.

"Bloody idiot! Come back here!"

Regardless of their comments, Alfred kept running. He didn't bother to look back.

He ran as fast as he can and as far away as his legs could take him. He breathed in and out, at the same time desperately trying to catch his breath, his heart pounding thunderously against his chest. Pushing the doors of the entrance wide open, Alfred kept going.

After what seemed like hours, he finally stopped, panting for being out of breath. A trickle of rain brushed his cheeks, triggering Alfred back to reality.

Taking in his surroundings, his eyes widened. He was so focused on getting out of there, he didn't bother to realize that he was outside—standing all alone in the pouring rain. For a moment, he just stood there, letting the water wash away all the negativity that weighed his shoulders, giving him time to think and reflect.

First, it was Francis and now Ivan.

What more could he do next to make a fool of himself?

Slowly but surely, it was becoming clearer to him. His feelings.

How he desperately yearned to hear her angelic voice, her intoxicating amber eyes, and her hair like the color of chocolate—everything about that woman made him crazy.

And he loves it.

He loves her.

Out of nowhere, an umbrella hovered above his head. Alfred furrowed his eyebrows. Turning around, he froze.

A light giggle escaped from her lips, "You're so unpredictable, you know that?"

Long and behold—here she was.

Alfred wanted to say her name but when he tried, his throat was too dry to make out a word.

Taking note of his silence, Lien continued, "Everyone is worried about you, Alfred," She reasoned to him, raising the umbrella higher to shield the young man and her from the rain. "Come, let's go back."

A stream of voiceless words forms out of his mouth, "Why are you here?"

Lien frowned. "Pardon?"

Lifting his head up, he stared back at her with confidence etched in his voice, "Why are you here, Lien?"

Lien bit her bottom lip. She then inhaled deeply, "You are my friend, Alfred. Why would I not be here?" She answered casually. Tilting her head to the side, she added in, "Besides that, I really cannot stand seeing you without a smile."

Alfred's eyes softened.

This beautiful woman in front of him would surely be the cause of his death.

Knowing that, he would happily approve.

Wasting no time, Alfred kissed her.

Author's Note:

Here it is! The moment that we've all been waiting for! The ninth installment to World Goes Round! Just like the previous chapter, this one gave me such a hard time. I kept drafting and revising (the one that you've read is my fifth draft) before finally deciding on which one I should edit and publish.

Many have you were curious about the title of my fanfiction. Welp, here is your answer! (courtesy by Francis/France)

Damn it, finally! Alfred realizes his feelings for Lien! The question now is, what about her?

This time, Katyusha (Ukraine) appears! Also, Lucille (Monaco) though she is only mentioned. Yay, more interactions with Ivan and his siblings!

More background on World gig! (sort of based it off of the movie Whiplash - it's amazing! check it out if you can!)

If I have to be honest, the ending of this chapter gave me the shivers. I actually had another ending in mind but like Alfred, I tend to break the rules of my own schedule. Well, why not?

I'm looking forward for more character requests!

Again, your opinions are much appreciated!

P.S. I'm not sure if you are aware of this but I changed the rating from K+ to T (though I don't think it matters whatsoever)

P.S.S. Himaruya hall is based off of the actual building, Walt Disney Hall (check it, it's awesome!) and Himaruya is in tribute to the actual author of Hetalia series!