Canada and Japan stared at each other for a few moments, not knowing what to say. Clearly, Japan hadn't been expecting him to open the door, and Canada realized that gaping at the older nation probably wasn't helping. That, and it didn't help that he had his brother's face. Poor guy probably thought he was facing down his worst fear right now. Canada couldn't help but feel kind of bad for Japan as the shorter nation stared at him like he was some harbinger of death.
"Um, hello Japan. I didn't expect you to show up here." Canada said kindly, attempting to break the awkward silence. "Is there something I can help you with? By the way, I'm not America. I'm his brother, Canada."
"Yes, I know who you are." Japan said with a slight grimace, glancing down the hall longingly like he wanted nothing more than to bolt. "Is France here?"
"Oh." Canada said, shaking his head slightly. "No, he disappeared after the meeting. I think he went into hiding."
"I am sorry, I was under the impression that France was still here. I am sorry for the interruption. If he is not here I will just go…" Japan said, quickly stooping down to grab his bags, but Canada held out a hand to stop him.
"Japan, wait. I've actually been wanting to talk to you." Canada said, and Japan froze. If it was possible, Japan's face lost even more color, and when he glanced up at him, Canada saw a hint of fear in his eyes. Taken aback at Japan's behavior, Canada studied the usually calm nation worriedly. He had dark circles under his eyes, his clothes were crumpled, his usually neat hair was messy, and now that he thought about it, why on earth did he have his suitcases with him? "Is everything okay? Did something happen? Why are you looking for France?" Canada asked worriedly, leaning over to examine Japan closer.
Japan just shook his head quickly, backing away from Canada. "I am sorry, I must go." Japan he muttered, grabbing his bags and turning to make his escape. But before he had even made it two steps down the hall, Canada had grabbed one of his shoulders.
"I don't think so." Canada said firmly, but also kindly. "Japan, I don't know what's going on between you and my brother right now, but I'm not going to take sides. You're clearly not doing well, and I'm not going to let you go off alone in the state you're in. Come inside."
Japan hesitated, glancing back at Canada with a nervous look, but Canada gave him a soft smile. "America is not in there, is he?" Japan asked quietly, and Canada shook his head. Japan glanced down the hall again for a moment, weighing his options. "You will not tell him I was here?" Japan asked, and Canada could make out the silent plea behind his words.
"I won't lie to him if he asks." Canada said slowly, a slight frown on his face. "But if he doesn't bring it up, I won't tell."
Japan hesitated for a few more seconds, and then with a sigh he closed his eyes, and turned to face Canada with a grim look. When he opened his eyes, Canada saw a broken man looking back at him. "I suppose I can stay for a few moments…"
"I was just making lunch." Canada said kindly, gently guiding Japan into his hotel room. He led Japan into the kitchen area, and sat him down at the table. After offering Japan something to drink, and Japan reluctantly agreeing to some tea, Canada found himself quietly chewing on his sandwich across from Japan as Japan stared blankly into his cup. He waited for Japan to explain himself, but it was pretty clear the older nation wasn't going to speak if he didn't have to. So, internally sighing, Canada put his plate down and fixed Japan with a firm look.
"So, why are you looking for France?" Canada asked.
"I am in a similar situation as France." Japan explained with a grimace, picking up his cup and taking a small sip. "After the meeting I got into an argument with China, and I ended leaving my hotel in order to avoid him. Then further complications came up, and I am in need of a place to stay."
"Complications?" Canada asked with a small frown.
"I had intended to head straight home, however my boss had contacted me with instructions to stay in the country until after the meeting in new years. Apparently, America's boss had contacted him and requested I stay until some issues are sorted on their end. I had ended my reservations at my previous hotel and I knew that the others were searching for me, so I thought-"
"That you could hide out with France so the other's wouldn't be able to find you." Canada finished, and Japan nodded guiltily. "Hai."
"Are you sure you're not just hiding because of what you did to Al?" Canada asked bluntly, and Japan flinched slightly. "Of course it is." Canada said with a sigh, leaning back in his chair and giving Japan neutral look over. "So…this thing with my brother. How long has this been going on?"
Japan didn't answer right away, mulling over the question for a few moments. "I am not sure." He finally said, glancing up at Canada with tired eyes. Sighing, he put the cup down on the table, and leaning over so that his elbows were resting on the table, he rubbed his face tiredly. "If I had to guess, I would say I realized I had feelings for him about a few decades after the Second World War."
"I see." Canada said, nodding his head slightly, giving Japan a slightly sympathetic look. "Any particular reason why?"
"I…" Japan said helplessly, looking up at Canada with a lost look. "I do not know why. I just know that I have always been happier when he is around. He always made me feel like I was important, he was always excited to see me or to talk to me, and he made time for me when I wanted to share something with him. He was my best friend. " As Japan spoke, his eyes started to mist up a bit, and he lowered his head so he wasn't looking into Canada's eyes anymore, but into his cup again.
"If you felt that way, why didn't you say anything? Al would have understood, even if he didn't feel the same way. He wouldn't have hated you for that." Canada asked. "If anything, he might have been flattered. Sure, it would have been awkward between you two for awhile, but he would have gotten over it. Why just get jealous when you saw him with other people and follow him around?"
"I could not put our friendship at risk." Japan said miserably. "If he had said no, I did not want him to think I was just trying to be close to him because I had a crush on him. He was my friend first, and I valued our friendship above anything else. But I suppose that was all for nothing." Japan said bitterly, glaring at his reflection in his cup. "It seems due to my foolishness, that our friendship has been turned into ash."
"Hey, I wouldn't say that." Canada said, trying to sound encouraging. "Sure, you messed up, but you can still apologize."
"I cannot. I have burned the bridge already." Japan said, sounding like he was about the cry again. "I cut our ties in a moment of panic and now I do not know what to do."
"What do you mean? What did you do?" Canada asked, feeling dread pool into his stomach.
"After the meeting, I did not want America to confront me before I could get myself together, so I fled from my hotel so he would not track me down. But he must have found out what I did, because he started to call me. I tried to ignore him…I really tired…" As Japan spoke, his words started to tumble out of his mouth in a panic and he looked up at Canada like he was begging him to believe him. "But he would not stop calling. I was not ready to talk to him, and I was… I was scared. I was not ready to tell him how I truly felt about him, so I sent him a text telling him not to talk to me anymore, and then I turned off my phone."
Canada sucked in a breath at that, and stared at Japan in shock. Oh shit. "Please tell me you didn't." Canada begged, and Japan just hung his head in shame and shook his head. "God damn it Japan." Canada said, running a hand through his hair in frustration. "This is even worse than I thought. Well, I guess this complicates things. I mean, you don't really need to tell Alfred how you feel because Russia already told him about that-"
"What? What do you mean?" Japan asked in horror, his head snapping up to look at Canada. "What do you mean America already knows about how I feel about him? What do you mean RUSSIA told him?!"
"Oh yeah, you wouldn't have known about that… oops?" Canada said with a nervous laugh. Shit, Al was going to kill him. "Um, yeah, after Al stormed out of the meeting Russia told me he kind of had a mini mental break down because he couldn't comprehend why you would have helped France screw him over, and Russia kind of spilled the beans about your crush on Al to help him understand why you did what you did. Al… didn't take it very well…" Canada said, grimacing as Japan's face fell, and Canada could almost see his heart shattering into pieces.
"What have I done?" Japan asked in horror covering his mouth and tears building up in the corners of his eyes. "And then I told him I did not want to talk to him…what have I done?" Japan suddenly stood up, and turning around he tried to hide the fact that he was trying to rub the tears out of his eyes.
"Um, the bathroom is down the hall and on the left if you need a moment." Canada said, painfully aware of how awkward this situation was. Japan just nodded his head and he quickly left the room to try and compose himself. As the door slammed shut, Canada sat at the table with a frown on his face. All he had wanted was one peaceful day. All he had fucking wanted was a God damn sandwich. Looking down at his sandwich, he scowled at it. It didn't look very appetizing anymore.
What was his brother was going through right now? Knowing him, he had probably locked himself in his room and had probably chosen to hide from the whole situation or blame it on himself. He never was one to handle emotions very well, especially rejection. Sighing, he leaned back in his chair and stared up at the ceiling with a worried frown. Poor Al. After all of this was over, he needed to go and check on him. He was going to over think this without someone talking him down. He just hoped that he hadn't been alone when he had gotten that text…
Looking down at his phone, he considered calling him, but then he shook his head. He didn't need to dump Japan on him right now. After he had gotten the full story from Japan he would make his decision. Instead, another idea popped into his head. Clearly, Japan had nowhere to go right now. He and France were on everyone's shit list, and it was pretty clear that Japan had been looking for France for a place to stay and hide out. Clearly, him returning home was no longer an option. So, if he could just get a hold of France…
Nodding to himself, he picked up his phone and opened up his contacts. He couldn't help Japan with his emotional problems, but he could at least find him a place to stay.
*Japan's P.O.V.*
It took a while for him to collect his emotions, but finally he was able to gather himself up enough to get cleaned up a little. As he was rinsing his face in the sink, Japan couldn't help but let his mind wander over to America. So America finally knew how he felt about him. That was…not good. Japan glanced at his refection, and looking into his reflection he couldn't help but feel angry at himself. All of this wouldn't have happened if he had only told America how he had felt. If only he had been stronger. If only he had been a little bit braver. Sighing, Japan looked back down at the sink, unable to even look at himself. He had been a terrible friend, and now he had no idea what to do to fix this…
Not only that, but it had been Russia who had told him about his little crush. Japan couldn't help but feel a jealous anger as he thought about Russia. Fucking Russia. It always seemed to come back to him, didn't it? None of this would have ever happened if he hadn't moved in with America. Japan couldn't help but glower at the thought. He wondered what the other nation had told America when he had told America about his crush. When he had given out a secret he had no right to give out. Did he try and make it out so he sounded worse than he really was? Did he try and make himself look better by putting him down? Did he make it sound like he was only using America's friendship just so he could date America?
Japan scowled at the thought. It wouldn't be the first time Russia had gotten in the way. Russia always seemed to take up America's time in one way or another. Whether that be trying to spy on America, or trying to nuke him out of existence, or causing the poor nation to go insane from paranoia. Oh yes, people liked to pretend that didn't happen, but Japan remembered. America had lost his mind for a few years during the red scare due to the mind games Russia had been playing. And then Russia had the nerve to pretend those things never happened and that he could just become friends with America overnight?! Who did he think he was fooling?! Russia just didn't make friends. Not without some ulterior motive. He was up to something, but due to his stupidity, Japan knew that he couldn't prove it. After all, he had all but given up his credibility as soon as he agreed to follow America around.
Guiltily, Japan realized that due to his poor behavior, he had pretty much left his friend alone with one of his worst enemies without an ally. He had let his emotions get in the way, and that had put his friend in harm's way. And before he could confront Russia, he had to make things right between America and himself. But, that was the problem, wasn't it. After all, after all he had done, was he truly any better than Russia? Japan didn't know. Although he had a sinking feeling that somehow he had done something worse. After all, betrayal from an enemy is one thing, but when it comes from a close friend it's much more wounding.
How on earth was he going to make things right?
*Canada's P.O.V.*
When Japan finally returned from the bathroom, Canada filled him in on what Al had going through since those photos had gone viral, and Japan listened with a heavy expression. When he was done, Japan didn't say anything, but just nodded his head in acceptance.
"So, what are you going to make this right?" Canada asked, crossing his arms and raising an unimpressed eyebrow at Japan. "I know I said that I wasn't going to take sides, and I'm not, but you have caused my brother a lot of emotional stress this last week, and I think you owe him an explanation. Don't you?"
"I do." Japan said firmly. "But do you think I should talk to him now, or in a few days? I think that it might be best to let things settle and for tempers to lower before I approach him."
"That's up to you, but if you want my personal opinion I would say do it before the end of this week. If you still aren't ready to talk to him by then though, at least send him a text explaining yourself. You at least owe him that much, and if you let things settle to much you might end up having your situation set in stone."
"I see. I will consider that." Japan said with a sigh as he finished his drink. As he did so, Canada handed him a piece of paper. Japan took it, and to his confusion he saw that Canada had written down an address. When he shot Canada a confused glance, Canada smiled a bit. "I got in touch with France, and due to your circumstances he was willing to give me the address of his hotel room so I could give it to you. He would have sent to you earlier, but he said that you haven't turned your phone on in a while."
"You did not have to do that." Japan said sheepishly as he put the paper in his pocket.
"Hey, I'm not going to send you out into the streets. I'm not completely heartless you know." Canada said with a small smile as they got up. When they got to the door, Canada paused just he was about to open the door. "Let me tell you something Japan." He said, suddenly becoming more serious. Japan nodded nervously, and Canada turned around and fixed Japan with a serious look. "Al is going to forgive you for this. And don't think he won't." He added as Japan opened his mouth to protest. "You know why he's going to forgive you? He's going to forgive you because he misses his best friend. You mean a hell of a lot to him. You know you make him happy too right? Every time you hang out with him, or show him your stuff, or just talk to him you cheer him up, because he never had a real best friend before you. He does love you, you know. Platonically, mind you, but he still loves you as one of his dearest friends. And that's very rare for him to care about someone so deeply outside of his family."
Canada narrowed his eyes at Japan. "I'm saying this because I want you to know what you mean to him. I hope you realize that what you've done has really hurt him. I'm not saying that loving him is wrong, but what you did was wrong. I really hope you two make up, but don't ever do this to him again. Because if you do this to him again, know that I'm not just going to sit on the sidelines next time. Do you understand?"
"I do." Japan said, and Canada nodded and opened the door.
"Good luck then." Canada said, and with a final nod, Japan left the hotel room. When he closed the door, Canada let out a relieved sigh and turned back to his sandwich. Finally peace at last. Hopefully that would be the last nerve wracking thing that would happen for the rest of this mess. Now, he thought with a grin, where did he leave that book?
*ALFRED/IVAN P.O.V.*
"Is it done yet?"
"No."
"Is it done yet?"
"No."
"Is it done yet?"
Ivan sighed, and turned around from where he was cooking dinner and gave Alfred, who was watching him cook from the kitchen table, a mildly annoyed look. "Asking that question over and over again will not speed up my cooking or time. No." As he turned back around to watch the pot, he heard Alfred let out an annoyed huff.
"But it smells so good." He whined, making grabby motions with his hands at the pot. "Gimme."
"What are you, a child?" Ivan asked with a shake of his head. "It will be ready when it is ready."
"But look at us." Alfred said, picking up Hero, who had been dozing on the table, and holding next to his own face. "Come on dude, it's been two hours already. We're practically wasting away here."
Ivan chuckled at the sight of Hero blinking tiredly at him and Alfred trying to look pathetic, and just shook his head again. "Then I am afraid you will both have to starve for a little longer."
"This is animal abuse. I'm going to call P.E.T.A on you."
"I will be sad to see you go." Ivan said with a smirk. Alfred stuck his tongue out in response. Hero, irritated that his nap was ruined, lightly nipped at Alfred's hand which prompted Alfred to let the cat go. With a huff, Hero jumped off the table and ran out of the room, leaving Alfred to rub his hand.
"Look at that, he's starting to eat me."Alfred said, pointing an accusing finger at Ivan with a small pout. "This all your fault. Why on earth did you choose something that takes hours to make?"
"Maybe you should do something else while you wait?" Ivan suggested, said as he opened the oven to check on his food. "Sitting in here and watching me is not very entertaining, and the smell is just going to make you hungrier."
"Well, there's not much to do, is there?" Alfred asked with a shrug. "I don't have any more official work until after New Years due to us living together, and honestly I'm kind of getting sick of watching movies all the time. You're the most interesting thing in this place right now, so I'm going to keep bugging you."
"I would think watching paint dry would be more interesting." Ivan said with a small laugh. "I am only cutting up potatoes."
"Yeah, I know." Alfred said with another shrug.
"Is it because you think I'm handsome?" Ivan teased, and Alfred rolled his eyes and pretended to gag again, which caused Ivan to start laughing.
"You're never going to let that go, are you?" Alfred asked, and Ivan shook his head happily.
"No, I am not. I shall use it against you forever." Ivan said with a smile. Then he tilted his head slightly, glancing down at his phone which he had put on the counter next to his cooking. "If I were to text England right now and tell him that you said that, how fast do you think he would get here and try and kill me?"
"Oh man, he'd probably teleport here with a shotgun in his hand on sheer anger alone." Alfred said with a shake of his head. There was a brief pause, then Alfred narrowed his eyes at Ivan, who was still looking at the phone. "Why?"
"No reason." Ivan said, slowly reaching his hand over to his phone.
"Don't you dare!"
"What? It would be funny to see him so angry again." Ivan said with a slight smirk, his finger hovering over the call button.
"If you do that, I'm going to unblock your sister and tell her you kissed me."
Ivan's hand quickly pulled away from his phone, and he turned around and pouted at Alfred. "You are a spoil sport."
"No, I'm being the responsible one in this relationship." Alfred said with a smirk of his own. "No need to bring in the In-laws if we don't have to."
"I suppose you have a point." Ivan said with a sigh, and turning back to his cooking. "It still would have been funny to hear him threatening me though."
"Yeah, until he breaks down my door and Mrs. Graves has to call the cops on us because that "Crazy Drunk Man" is trying to murder the guy who just called her a nosy woman this morning. The last thing I need is the cops on my ass."
"Because you sell drugs?" Ivan asked, and Alfred rolled his eyes again.
"Yeah, all the drugs. So many drugs." Alfred said sarcastically, waving at an empty corner of the kitchen. "I honestly don't know what to do with all of them. Look at all of the space they're taking up!"
"Very impressive." Ivan agreed with a small chuckle.
"I have no idea what goes through that woman's head sometimes, honesty." Alfred grumbled. "I swear, from the way she acts you'd think she owned the place. Even Mrs. Carol can't stand her, and that woman has the patience of a saint."
"Speaking of Mrs. Carol, when are you going to volunteer at the soup kitchen?" Ivan asked as he tipped the potatoes into the soup.
"Hmm, I think I'll probably head over after Ukraine visits. I'll be helping set things up, so I'll probably be heading in sometime early in the morning." Alfred explained.
"What do you do there?" Ivan asked as he stirred the pot.
"Me? Nothing much really. I just carry around some of the heaver boxes and equipment to where they're needed, or help prepare the food for the day. You know, peeling potatoes, cleaning dishes, taking out trash, that sort of thing." Alfred said with a slight shrug. "If it's not too busy I'll sometimes sit with the homeless folk who are eating and let them tell me their stories. If I can, I try to set up connections for them."
"That is very kind of you." Ivan said, turning around and giving Alfred a small smile. "Not many of the nations who are as busy as you can put aside time to help their citizens personally. It is very kind of you to set aside time to help others yourself when it would be easier to just send in some money to charity."
"I'm just doing what's best for my citizens." Alfred said sheepishly, brushing off Ivan's complement with a small wave of his hand. "Sure, I send in money as well, but it doesn't feel like enough, you know? I mean, money's great and all, but I like getting my hands dirty as well. It makes me happy when I can make someone's day by just doing something as simple as talking to them. But really, I'm only doing the small things. It's really Mrs. Carol who's making the difference. After all, she's the one who opened the soup kitchen."
"She could not do it alone." Ivan pointed out.
"I mean, there are other volunteers too…" Alfred said awkwardly, and Ivan just shook his head fondly at Alfred's behavior. "Hey," Alfred said suddenly, looking up at Ivan with a slightly hopeful look. "why don't you join me? At the soup kitchen, I mean. I know Greg already invited you, but you didn't seem sure then. It'll be fun!"
"Me?" Ivan asked in surprise.
"Sure! It would be great to have another person there who could do some more of the heavy lifting, and we're always a little understaffed so we could use the extra hands! Mrs. Carol would be thrilled to have you of course, and if you want we can do something afterwards!" Alfred said with a big smile, starting to get excited at the idea. "There's this really cool little antique store about a block away from the place that we can take a look at, or if you want we could go sightseeing! There are a few places where you can take a guided tour of some of the older parts of the city, or we if the weather is good we can go take that trip to Liberty Island! Oh, we could also-"
Ivan studied Alfred as he rambled, and for some reason he felt a sudden fondness for the younger nation as he continued to chatter happily away, his eyes sparkling excitedly as he described a restaurant he wanted to take him too. It was nice to see him so happy after how miserable he had been for the last week. Ivan had always preferred it when Alfred was cheerful, as it suited his character better. He couldn't help but smile a little as Alfred started to use wild hand gestures to describe how good the food was. He was so used to the people being quiet, reserved, distant, or angry around him, or just being alone. It was nice to be around someone who was not only able to be cheerful and happy around him, but also wasn't scared of him.
"Anyways, you'll come, right?" Alfred asked eagerly, looking at Ivan expectantly. "It would nice to have a friend there with me."
Ivan paused for a moment. "Friend?" He asked Alfred slowly, his heart stuttering a bit at the word. Did he really mean…?
Alfred's face fell a little at Ivan's hesitance. "Yeah, we're friends now, right? I mean, I know we don't get along well as America and Russian, but we're friends as Alfred and Ivan, right? I mean, you didn't argue with me the other day when I said you were my friend, so I just assumed…" Alfred said awkwardly, suddenly looking embarrassed. "Sorry, I shouldn't have jump to conclusions, I just thought-"
"No! We are friends!" Ivan said quickly, a panicked look spreading over his face as his heart rate skyrocketed in terror at the thought of Alfred leaving before he had a chance to explain himself. "We are friends, but I did not think that you meant that we were real friends then, because you were half asleep and I was not sure you meant what you said!"
Alfred blinked in surprise at Ivan's panicked reaction, clearly not expecting him to have such an extreme reaction to his words. Then he relaxed a little and let out an amused chuckle, shaking his head. "Of course I meant what I said, doofus. Why else would I say that? Plus, I've cried on you way to many times now for us to not be considered friends." Alfred joked.
Ivan didn't respond right away, instead looking down at the floor as he struggled with the sudden explosion of feelings that had erupted in his chest at Alfred's words. He honestly didn't know if he should laugh or cry. They were friends. He had a friend. He actually had a real friend. Not because he had threatened or scared someone into staying with him, but because they had genuinely wanted to be friends with him. He had a friend who would joke around with him without being scared of him, a friend who was more than happy to have deep and stupid conversations with him, and best of all he had a friend who didn't only see him as Russia, but as Ivan too.
Ivan felt his eyes misting up, and before he could stop them, tears started to silently stream down his face. He tried to lower his face down further to hide them as he tried to wipe them away, but Alfred had already noticed and a look of panic rapidly grew across the younger nations face as he started to stand up.
"Oh shit, I'm sorry!" Alfred said in a panic, quickly getting out of his chair and awkwardly hovering in front of Ivan, who was now full on ugly crying and desperately trying to wipe away his tears, unsure about what to do. "I swear, I didn't mean it when I called you a doofus! I swear, I didn't mean it! If it makes you feel better, you can punch me or something! Please just don't cry, I'm horrible at comforting people too you know!" Alfred pleaded, looking around the room for his phone. "Shit, if I knew you would react like that to being called doofus I wouldn't have said anything! Hell, where is my phone, I need to call Mattie. He's better at this then I am."
Ivan let out a watery laugh, and shook his head. "I am not crying because you called me a doofus."
"Then what did I do? God damn it, I can't do anything right when it comes to people, can I?" Alfred said, giving Ivan a lost look. In response, Ivan reached over and pulled Alfred into a bone crushing hug, and Alfred felt all of the air in his lungs leave his body.
"Why is it always hugs with you?!" Alfred wheezed in mild frustration as Ivan buried his face into Alfred's shoulder. "Am I just your personal teddy bear now?! Stop squishing me, I'm not a bug! Don't you dare drip snot on me!" Alfred shrieked as Ivan half laughed half cried into his shoulder. "Oh my god, use a tissue not my shirt!"
"But you were closer." Ivan joked weakly.
"You're so gross! That's it, get out of my house!" Alfred said, trying to escape from Ivan's grip, but he wasn't really trying that hard to escape, and was struggling to hide the small smile that was spreading over his face. "I draw the line at being used as a tissue!"
"I let you cry on me." Ivan said with a wobbly smile. "I think you owe me at least one shirt."
"I'm going to tell everyone you're just a softy who likes to cuddle." Alfred threatened, but Ivan just laughed in response. "No one will believe you." Ivan said, and Alfred let out an exaggerated sigh.
"I guess you're right." Alfred said, and to Ivan surprise and delight, Alfred stopped fighting him and gave him a quick hug back, patting him on the back. "And no one is going to believe you about this. Now come on you big lug, stop crying. It doesn't suit you. You're supposed to be the scary grizzly bear, not the soft teddy bear, remember?" Alfred said. "And for the love of god, will you please let me go?! You're going to bruise my ribs!"
"What, the powerful America can't handle a hug?" Ivan joked as he let Alfred go.
"Not the ones you give!" Alfred wheezed as he stumbled back slightly, rubbing his ribs. "What the hell are they feeding you over there? Steroids? "
"Vodka." Ivan said with a small smile as he rubbed his eyes. Alfred let out a snort of laughter as he reached over to the counter and grabbed a few napkins and handed them to Ivan. As Ivan blew his nose, Alfred shook his head in exasperation.
"Now come on, why are you crying? Was it something I said? Did I insult you somehow? Is friend a Russia code word for some kind of swear word? Come on buddy, talk to me." Alfred said half jokingly, half guiltily as he pushed Ivan over to the table and sat him down. "Um, and is the pot going to be okay if I leave it on, or do you want me to turn it off? Cause I don't want to ruin your cooking because I made you cry and-"
"Wow, you are bad at this." Ivan chuckled, and Alfred puffed his cheeks out in irritation.
"Come on man! I'm really trying!" Alfred whined, which caused Ivan to laugh again. "You know I suck at all this emotional bullshit! Work with me here!"
"I am not upset. I am happy." Ivan said as he rubbed his eyes, and Alfred gave him a blank look.
"You're crying….because you're happy?" Alfred said slowly, and Ivan nodded.
"No one has ever told me that they are my friend before that was not under my control. I am sorry for confusing you, I got a little overwhelmed." Ivan explained, and Alfred's face softened a little.
"Hey, it's fine. I was just a little worried is all. I felt the same way when Japan said he wanted to be my friend for the first time after the Second World War. I know what's it's like." Alfred said, sitting back down across from Ivan.
"You did?" Ivan asked in surprise, and Alfred nodded slowly, gazing down at the table with a slightly sad smile.
"Yeah. I mean, it's not like I didn't have any allies before that, but after the bombs I honestly didn't think he'd want to have anything to do with me. And it's not like I treated him the greatest before that either. I mean, I did kind of kick down his front door and demand he talk to me or else." Alfred said with a small laugh. "I don't know how, but somehow even after all my bullshit he came up to me after a meeting one day and asked me if I wanted to come over to his place for a cup of tea."
Ivan saw Alfred's smile grow a little sadder as he talked, but didn't interrupt him as he continued.
"It kind of became a thing after awhile. If I was in Asia, we went to his house afterwards and hung out, and if we were in North America he would come over to my house. It went like that for a few years, and then one day while we were playing a board game at his house, he suddenly thanked me for being a good friend. I just smiled and said no problem, but I was really excited. I've had a lot of people thank me for being a good ally, but I had never been thanked for being a friend. If you think about it, it's not too different from how we became friends." Alfred said with a grin, and he gave Ivan a real smile. "Except in our case, we became friends faster because we've been living in the same house, and have had to put up with each other's and other peoples bullshit!"
Ivan let out a bark of laughter at that, and Alfred beamed back at him. "So," Ivan asked in amusement, "when did you become best friends?"
"Honestly? I have no idea." Alfred said with a shrug. "There isn't just one moment where you can tell, you know?"
"No, I cannot." Ivan said with a huff, and Alfred rolled his eyes.
"It's a figure of speech! God!" Alfred huffed back. "Stop killing the mood! You have a friend now, you don't have to sulk anymore!"
"But I like to sulk." Ivan said with a small smile. "It gives me something to do on those, long, cold nights when I cry myself to sleep because no one loves me."
"Now you're just being dramatic. I know for a fact your sisters loves you." Alfred said, pointing an accusing finger at Ivan.
"Ukraine? Yes. Belarus?" Ivan said, a grimace growing on his face. "That is a…complicated topic I'd rather not talk about."
"Speaking of which, don't think I've forgotten my question! Are you coming or not! To the soup kitchen?" Alfred asked, staring at Ivan in determination. "Come on, I know you want to! Please? Pretty please? Pretty please with sprinkles on top? Pretty please-"
"Are you going to annoy me until I say yes?" Ivan asked.
"Yes." Alfred said, and Ivan rolled his eyes.
"This is how you get your brother to follow your stupid ideas, isn't it?"
"Maybe…"
"I suppose so. But I see any other nation there I will leave." Ivan warned, and Alfred let out a cheer.
"Yay for friendship!" Alfred said, and Ivan couldn't help but grimace.
"If you start to sing about rainbows and how friendship can save the world, I will not be your friend anymore." Ivan warned. "I will pretend I do not know you."
"Kill joy." Alfred said with a chuckle. "Oh, and the pot is starting to catch fire."
"WHAT!?"
A/N: My poor brain. Do you guys have any idea how many freaking notes I've had to write for myself to keep track of everything? Too many… ANYWAYS! I know times sucks right now due to quarantine. I have never had to clean so much in my life. I have done nothing but binge watch movies and t.v shows for the last two weeks. I am now currently unemployed. :( But at least I have more time to write! :D Next time, Ukraine comes to visit, and England starts to make his move!