That moment when you lost track of time so much that almost a whole ass month went by without updating the chapter. Oops. Wait, fuck, IT'S ALMOST THE END OF MARCH?! Brain, why is my internal clock so fucked up?! Also, my phone broke and I had to get a new one. So, yeah. ANY WHO, WHO WANTS TO SEE TWO IDIOTS IN LOVE WHO DON'T KNOW HOW TO FLIRT WITH EACH OTHER?! :D I sure do! HOORAY! (Yes, I am off my ADHD medication, how could you tell? lol.)
Contrary to what others may think, Ivan wasn't as unobservant as some people thought. Between the call from his sister earlier, England and Canada's strange behavior towards him, the weak excuse for forcing Alfred to leave with him, and Alfred doing everything in his power to not look him in the eye for the last five minutes, he was aware that something odd was going on. Of course, without context, he was very much in the dark but he had a few theories.
Namely, that Alfred's brothers were up to something and were probably trying to mess with him somehow. Probably because they heard about his little stunt at the play. He wasn't sure what trap they were trying to set up, but he found himself not minding much when he would glance over at Alfred, who was still in that suit. If this was their idea of a joke, he wasn't going to complain. Quite the contrary.
Then again, as he and Alfred walked down the road, he couldn't help but frown slightly as he watched Alfred silently walking next to him, still avoiding his eyes. Ever since last night, Alfred had been avoiding looking at him. It seemed like Alfred was doing it subconsciously, because when Ivan spoke directly to the younger nation he would act like normal, but as soon as Ivan would pretend to look away Alfred seemed to have trouble looking at him again.
To be frank, it was driving Ivan crazy. If this was about the damned soup, then Alfred would have just said so! He couldn't help but panic slightly as he tried to figure out why Alfred's behavior had shifted so quickly. Did England and Canada say something to him that made Alfred decide to not be his friend anymore? Did they put Alfred in a suit to taunt him? Did Alfred figure out he liked him and become uncomfortable with him?!
Taking a deep breath, Ivan had to force himself to stop his thoughts from getting ahead of him. There wasn't any point in over thinking things. If Alfred had a problem with something, he would let him know. So instead, to calm his nerves, he reached over and poked Alfred in a ticklish spot. This made Alfred squawk as he jumped away from Ivan, which cheered Ivan up slightly. That was better.
"Hey, what did you do that for?" Alfred asked with a huff, giving Ivan a glare, although there was no real annoyance behind it. Ivan felt his mood improving now that the shorter nation was paying attention to him.
"You were being too quiet. I was starting to think you had become mute." Ivan said with a cheerful hum. "I was just making sure your mouth still worked."
"You could have just said something." Alfred said, poking Ivan back. Ivan couldn't completely hide the flinch from Alfred's poke, but he still chuckled when he saw Alfred pout slightly when he saw Ivan wasn't going to react in a fun way.
"You're a killjoy." Alfred whined, poking Ivan a few more times, which just made Ivan laugh.
"You will just have to work harder." Ivan teased, giving Alfred a warm smile. "Da?"
"Don't you, Da, me." Alfred said, puffing his cheeks out slightly. This just made Ivan laugh harder, which finally made Alfred crack a smile. Rolling his eyes playfully, Alfred just gave Ivan a final poke and he turned away again.
Ivan wasn't having that though. He waited until Alfred wasn't looking, and then he quickly grabbed the younger nation and pulled him into a sideways bear hug. Alfred, who had gotten used to being manhandled by now, didn't even fight it. He did, however, give Ivan an surprisingly fond look.
"Ivan, I thought we talked about kidnapping people for hugs."
"Holding hostage." Ivan corrected happily as he rested his chin on top of Alfred's head with a grin.
"Same difference." Alfred said, waving away Ivan's words. "I told you to just ask for hugs."
"I like this better." Ivan said happily.
"You like kidnapping me for hugs?"
"Holding hostage."
"Whatever. Just answer the damned question."
"I do." Ivan hummed. "However, I like carrying you better."
Alfred's cheeks turned a light shade of pink as he shot Ivan a warning look.
"Now who is the killjoy?" Ivan asked, his eyes shining with mischief. "You are still unwell, Da? I can carry you to the restaurant-"
"Ivan…"
"You can even sit in my lap!" Ivan teased. "It would be very comfy, no? I could even feed you!"
Alfred, whose heart had already had one great shock in the last twenty four hours, suddenly felt like it was going to explode again. Unable to escape, he just covered his now burning face as he tried not to look at Ivan. "If you do that I swear to god I'm going to kick your ass." He said, his voice an octave higher than before. Whether that was from his poor fried nerves or his face trying to betray his still conflicted feeling, he didn't know.
"I didn't hear a no." Ivan said with a smile. In response, Alfred pushed Ivan off with a forceful, but gentle shove.
"Enough, Mr. sexy." Alfred said, hoping his face wasn't too red. "There will be no sappy, lovey dovey junk."
"Mr. sexy?" Ivan asked, blinking in surprise.
"Mr. Sexy, da?" Alfred joked with a smirk. "What, you don't like it?"
Ivan scrunched up his nose, which made Alfred laugh as Ivan shook his head. "I do not think that will work."
"How about Honey?" Alfred asked with a grin.
Ivan gave Alfred a flat look.
"Darling? Dear? My terrifying love?"
"You are very bad at this." Ivan said, looking unimpressed.
"Hmm. I admit, those were pretty bad." Alfred said with a grin. Reaching up, he pinched Ivan's cheek playfully. "You'll have to forgive me, Моя луна. I'm not very good at this yet."
Chuckling at his own words, Alfred let Ivan go and turned back around and continued down the street. As he did so, he missed the look of surprise on Ivan's face, which quickly turned into a look of delight.
"My moon?" Ivan asked with a hum, as he followed Alfred.
"Do you not like it?"
"Quite the opposite. I find it oddly fitting. A very good choice, Подсолнух."
Alfred raised an eyebrow at Ivan. "Really? Sunflower?"
"Do you not like it?"
Alfred hummed for a moment. "I don't hate it. Who knows, maybe it'll grow on me." Alfred joked, winking up at Ivan.
Ivan paused for a moment, before giving Alfred an exasperated look. "Really?"
"What, you're not the only one around here who can make bad puns." Alfred said, grinning up at Ivan.
Ivan didn't even grace Alfred with a reply, instead opting to raise an unimpressed eyebrow at Alfred. When Alfred continued to grin back at him, Ivan merely shook his head.
"I am not going to encourage you." Ivan said, playfully shoving Alfred away from him. "Go away."
"What, did my puns not leaf a good impression on you?" Alfred asked, grinning widely as he playfully leaned onto Ivan's side. "Oh, come on, I'm only pollen on your leg. Don't leaf me hanging."
Ivan, who was having none of Alfred's nonsense, clapped a hand over Alfred's mouth and gave him a half amused expression. "I think you should leaf the puns to me."
Alfred grinned in response as he pushed Ivan's hand away. "I thought I was treemendous."
Ivan stared at Alfreds beaming face for a moment, before with a sigh, he gave Alfred a small mischievous smile. "Well, it seems to me that your fever has gotten worse, as you are speaking nonsense. It seems like I am going to have to carry you to the restaurant." Before Alfred could even register what Ivan had said, he had already grabbed Alfred and just like before, Alfred found himself being carried by the taller nation. Unlike last time though, Alfred found himself thrown over Ivan's shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
It took a moment before Alfred had realized what had actually happened, as he wasn't used to being swung around like that, but once he had realized what Ivan had done he couldn't help but let out a shout of protest.
"Ivan Braginsky! You put me down this instant!" Alfred yelled, trying, and failing, to squirm out of the older nation's grip. "Didn't I tell you I'd kick your ass if you picked me up again?!"
"I never did hear you say no." Ivan said with a pleased hum as he carried him down the street. "It is not my fault you were not clear with your answers. Also, someone who is sick should not be pushing themselves too hard." He added, giving Alfred a quick teasing smile. "Your face has even flushed up again."
"I'm not sick anymore!" Alfred argued back, trying to ignore his poor burning face. He was starting to get frustrated by his face's traitorous habit of trying to betray his feelings.
Ivan just shook his head, suddenly frowning slightly. "Are you sure? You have been looking a little feverish for the last day." He asked, actually giving Alfred a slightly worried look. "It is not usual for you to get sick…"
Alfred stopped squirming, and looked over at Ivan in surprise. "Huh?"
"You have been off since yesterday." Ivan explained, suddenly looking a little guilty. "You have been acting out of character, your brother came over to check on you, and you feel like you have a temperature." Ivan said as he put the back of hand on Alfreds forehead, and his frown deepened slightly. "You have not even eaten anything today. Are you sure you are okay?"
Alfred felt a spike of guilt go through him at Ivan's worried expression. Oh shit, he had forgotten he had gotten sick while he had been eating Ivan's meal. Ivan was probably blaming himself for it, and It had completely slipped his mind as he had been in the middle of a melt down. Whoops.
Alfred allowed himself to relax slightly. Sighing, he brushed Ivan's hand off his head. "I'll be fine." Alfred admitted reluctantly. "It's not life threatening, and I'll get over it. It just came out of nowhere, and… I'm not used to feeling like that, so I didn't know what to do. That's why Mattie came over. He was just worried is all. Also, your cooking doesn't have anything to do with this. Your soup is just an innocent victim in this." Alfred said, throwing Ivan a small grin. Well, he wasn't lying.
Ivan looked up at Alfred in slight surprise. He hadn't actually expected Alfred to give in so easily. He had half expected the younger nation to tell him to mind his own business or deny till his dying breath that he was sick. So seeing Alfred looking at him with a surprisingly honest expression, he couldn't help but feel…well, he wasn't sure. Still, he found himself nodding at Alfreds words. "I see. Well, in that case, should we just go home? If you are still not feeling well-"
He was suddenly cut off by a large growl from Alfred's stomach, which made Alfred laugh as he finally gave in to the situation and just threw his hands up in defeat. Ivan couldn't stop the sudden laugh that escaped him at the sound. It was, quite honestly, a rather ridiculous situation.
"Nah, fuck that dude. I don't know about you, but now that I actually think about it I'm starving." Alfred admitted.
"I can tell." Ivan agreed. "Well, it looks like I might end up feeding you after all." He said, suddenly looking much happier than before. "You can still sit on-"
"If you finish that sentence I will kick you in your vital regions." Alfred threatened happily.
"Noted."
"Are you going to put me down now?"
"Hmm… I shall put you down when we get to the restaurant."
"Is that the best deal I'm going to get?"
"You really need to ask?"
"It never hurts to know my options."
Ivan just shook his head fondly as Alfred smiled down at him. Ivan couldn't help but feel his heart soften at the sight. If only they could stay like this forever…
Alas, all too soon they made it to the restaurant. Ivan, reluctantly, finally put Alfred back down on the ground. As Alfred regained his footing, Ivan couldn't stop himself from admiring the younger nation. Alfred's suit, which had been pristine when they left the hotel, was now a bit crumpled in the front, and his hair was a bit messier than before, and his glasses were crooked. But that didn't bother Ivan. If anything, it just made Alfred look better. Honestly, Alfred always seemed to thrive in chaos anyways, so it suited him.
Ivan, not even bothering to stop himself from touching the other nation anymore, (to hell with it, why shouldn't he?!), reached over and fixed Alfred's glasses, which made Alfred look at him in amusement.
"Is it me, or are you getting a little too touchy these days?" Alfred joked as he tried to straighten out his jacket.
"I like touching you." Ivan said with a large smile.
Alfred paused for a moment. Then he raised an eyebrow at Ivan.
"Wording much?" Alfred joked, lightly whacking Ivan's chest with his hand as he turned around and walked into the restaurant, but Ivan noticed that the other nation's ears had turned slightly pink as he walked away.
Pleased with the result, Ivan happily followed Alfred into the restaurant. Well, he still had some time before he had to go home. He couldn't help but wonder how much he could get away with before he had to leave. He always was one for pushing boundaries, he thought with a large smile. Why not have fun with it while he could still get away with it?
_A little later_
As it turned out, the restaurant that England had picked out hadn't been a bad one. Much to Alfred's bemusement, he noticed that the menu was full of different kinds of soup, so he guessed that his brother had picked this place due his upset stomach earlier. That was just like him. It fit his sense of humor perfectly. He actually debated ordering some, but he chose to get something else at the last second. He didn't think he could face any kind of soup so soon after last night.
Speaking of last night, Alfred was still a little nervous about everything that happened. While the talk with his brothers had helped some, he still found himself floundering at the thought of actually confronting his feelings head on, especially now he found himself sitting with the said person who his feelings were for. Worse still, he was doing a shit job of hiding his new emotions from Ivan, and he had no idea what to do to fix it. How the hell was he going to last more than a day when his damn face turned into a tomato everytime he looked at or touched Ivan? It wasn't like he had practice for hiding these kind emotions before. Anger? Sadness? Envy? He could handle that, but this was something he had never dealt with before, so had no mask ready. So, unfortunately for him, he found his true emotions slipping out more than he liked.
Ivan, for his part, hadn't seemed to notice Alfred's new feelings yet, and for that Alfred was thankful. He didn't think his heart was ready to face him anytime soon. But…he knew it wasn't going to last long. Ivan wasn't stupid. He was going to pick up on it sooner than he liked, so he had to get his shit together and deal with the situation before it came and bit him in the ass.
Alfred had to stop himself from frowning as he picked at his food with his fork. Glancing over at Ivan, who also seemed to be lost in thought about something, Alfred couldn't help but wonder what to do about his situation. He couldn't help but glance at Ivan's hand, which was resting on the table, but he quickly looked away again. Damn it, why was this so hard? Hell, he had already snuggled the bastard before, so why was the thought of holding his hand too much for him? Stupid emotions. Why did they have to be so complicated?He didn't realize it, but he had started stabbing his food with a bit too much force out of frustration, which had caused Ivan to break out of his thoughts and give Alfred an amused glance.
"Has your salad done something to offend you for you to abuse it like that?" Ivan asked lightly, causing Alfred to freeze for a moment, before he forced himself to relax.
"Not really, just got carried away." Alfred admitted, putting down his fork as he gave up on his food. He wasn't really that hungry anymore.
"Is something bothering you?" Ivan asked curiously, giving Alfred a slightly worried look.' Are you not feeling well again?"
"Not really. I was just thinking about the upcoming party." Alfred said, frowning slightly as he lied. He didn't like that he lied to Ivan, but it was better than telling the truth at the moment. Ivan nodded in understanding, which just made Alfred feel worse. Fucking hell, he wasn't going to make it a day at this rate.
"Is there a lot left for you to do?" Ivan asked.
"Uh, no. I've pretty much taken care of everything at this point. You know, except for sending out the final instructions for the last minute guests."
"How many people showed up this year?" Ivan asked, genuinely curious about it. "Is there going to be a lot of people this year?"
"Dude, you have no idea. I've actually never had so many people want an invitation before!" Alfred said, waving an exasperated hand at Ivan. "Usually I only have, like, at max a hundred people in a good year, but I have almost the whole world here this year. Seriously, this whole thing between us has caused all the gossip circles to come out of the woodwork. Hell, Switzerland even asked for an invitation this year!"
"Really? I thought he did not like your parties?" Ivan asked, looking mildly surprised.
"He said it was because he wanted to keep an eye on Lichtenstein because she asked for an invite this year and that might be partially true, but he's probably only going because a ridiculous amount of people have been making bets on our non-existent relationship." Alfred grumbled. "He probably wants to make sure his little black book is up to date."
"Where did you hear about all these people making bets about us? I thought it calmed down already?" Ivan asked.
"That's because you-" Alfred said with a huff, pointing a finger at Ivan, "Stirred up the gossip mills by carrying me off at that damned play! Mattie told me about it at the hotel today. Apparently you've made Panama a very wealthy woman."
"Oh good, she deserves it." Ivan said, trying and failing to hide his satisfied smirk.
Alfred hummed in agreement.
"Your brother seems to know a lot about these betting pools." Ivan noted.
"Oh, he likes to keep up to date on them. I have no idea why, they aren't that exciting." Alfred said with a shrug. "It's usually only about other nations' love lives. It's not even that useful for getting any useful information or secrets from others either. Half the time the information isn't even true, or it's so out of date that it's not useful."
"I thought you like gambling?" Ivan asked with a frown. "I thought you'd enjoy betting with the others."
"Oh, I like gambling now and then, but that's on a round of cards or at the table, not on people's lives." Alfred said with a shrug. "Seems kinda like a dick move to make money on people's personal lives. Plus, if I'm actually curious about something, usually Mattie or France will tell me about it later, so I don't bother joining in."
"I see. Does your brother make a lot of bets?"
"Nah, he usually only watches. The only time he makes bets is when he's sure he'll win."
"So, has he bet on us yet?" Ivan asked, only half joking.
"Probably." Alfred admitted. "But to be fair, he's been watching us interact since day one, so he probably felt like he could make a quick buck. I'll have to ask him about it next time I see him at the party."
"Ah, about the party-" Ivan said, suddenly perking up again, "Will we be going together?"
"Huh?" Alfred asked, suddenly feeling his heart rate spike. "Yeah, of course we are. You're my plus one. Why wouldn't we go together?" Alfred asked a little too quickly. "Why? Did you not want to go with me anymore?"
Ivan chuckled at Alfreds words. "Of course I do. I was simply asking if we were going to drive there together or if we wanted to meet up with our families first and meet up later."
Alfred felt like kicking himself. Could he have been more obvious? He quickly cleared his throat as he forced himself to not blush out of embarrassment. "Oh. Um, I'm not sure. Why? Did you have something planned?"
"Ukraine wants to meet up with me before I go to the party, so I was thinking about stopping by her hotel before I head over to the party." Ivan explained, shooting Alfred a slightly apologetic look. "She wants to make sure our outfits match, and she can get surprisingly pushy about things like that, so I might leave a little ahead of you. That, and I need to work some damage control with Belarus."
"Wait, is she still coming?" Alfred asked, looking up sharply at Ivan, quickly forgetting his embarrassment.
"You never took away her invitation." Ivan reminded him. "I am sure she is coming, as she has not seen me in weeks, and I have been ignoring her calls. She will no doubt come if only to make sure I am well."
"Oh hell, I forgot about that." Alfred said with a grimace. "You don't think that's going to cause any problems, do you?"
"I do not think so. Even she is not so crazy as to cause a scene in front of the whole world." Ivan pointed out. "Short of us kissing, she would not dare try anything with so many people watching. As long as we act as we always have, we will be fine." Ivan said happily, glancing down at his plate.
Of course, as Ivan looked down he missed the stony expression on Alfred's face. Alfred, of course, was having a full on meltdown in his head. Of course he had to develop feelings for Ivan just as his freaking murderous sister was coming into town. When he couldn't hide his feelings to save his life. When she was going to be watching him like a hawk for the whole evening, looking for any excuse to kill him on the spot. Not only that, now that he thought about it, if he couldn't even hide his feelings in front of Ivan, there was no way the rest of the world wouldn't notice his feelings either. Oh, he was screwed, So, sooooooo screwed. Fuck his life.
Ivan glanced back up, and he quickly frowned as he saw Alfred's face, which had been fine a second ago, had suddenly lost most of its color, and the younger nation seemed to be staring out into space with a rather alarming expression.
"Alfred…are you okay?" Ivan asked slowly, scanning the room for a nearby trash bin just in case Alfred puked again.
Alfred just slowly nodded his head, slowly pushing his food away with a grimace. "Yeah, just not hungry." Alfred muttered.
"It will be fine." Ivan said gently, trying to reassure Alfred. "Ukraine and I will not allow her to get close to you. Plus, I doubt your family will allow Belarus to harm you in any way. Even then, if you do not feel safe you can just take away her invitation."
"I'm not going to do that." Alfred said quickly, a frown growing on his face at the thought. "She hasn't actually done anything wrong yet, so I don't have a valid reason to take it away. Just because she might do something doesn't mean she will. That, and Ukraine would be sad if I messed up her holiday plans. She seemed so excited to have all three of you show up to the party together this year. It would break her heart if I did that."
Ivan didn't look convinced. "I am sure she would understand if you felt unsafe. She would not hold it against you if you told her it was for your own safety."
"No, it's fine. It'll be fine." Alfred said, forcing himself to calm down. "You're probably right, she won't be able to pull anything in front of everyone, and there'll be enough security to make sure she can't bring her knives. She might be rude to me, but that's fine." Alfred took a deep breath, then nodded. It would be fine. He still had time to run damage control. He had this under control.
Ivan looked like he wanted to say something, but at the last second he decided against it. Instead he asked, "So, what time will we meet up at the United Nations building?"
"The party won't start until around 7pm, but I have to be there early to make sure all the preparations are done and to greet the catering company." Alfred explained, jumping on the change of topic. "Plus, Arthur and Mattie want to meet up with me just before the party. Apparently they don't approve of my choice of suits." Alfred added with a slight pout.
"What is wrong with your suits?" Ivan asked.
"Apparently wearing the same suit twice in a row to an important event is frowned on." Alfred said with a slight scoff. "Please, all suits look the same anyways. I don't see what the big deal is."
Ivan stared at Alfred in slight disbelief for a moment. "Are you being serious?" He asked.
"What?! They do!" Alfred said defensively. "They just have different colors to choose from! What's the big deal? If it were up to me I'd just wear the same dang suit to every event and be done with it. It'd save me time and money."
Ivan put down his utensils and gave Alfred a serious look. "Are you sure you are related to England and France?"
"Huh?"
"I am serious." Ivan said, looking more and more baffled. "You are the least fashion centric person I have ever met. You do not care for any kind of fashion trend, you don't care at all for taking proper care of your hair-"
"For god's sake, stop bringing up my shampoo habits!"
"-making you dress up for any reason is like pulling teeth, and I am now starting to become convinced that the only reason you wear clothes at all is not to be naked! How did you come from two nations that are so fashion centric and have no fashion sense?"
"It's annoying! And for your information, I look damn good in a pair of jeans and a hoodie! Anything else is just overkill!"
"It is important to be properly dressed! No one is going to take you seriously if you don't dress the part."
"I've said this to Arthur, and I'll say it again! I'm not dressing to the nines just to buy a fucking gallon of milk from the store, just to get dressed down again! Screw that shit!"
"You dress like a grandpa!"
"I am an old fart! So what does it matter?"
Ivan hung his head and just shook it in disbelief. He suddenly found himself having a new appreciation for Alfred's family for their determination to make Alfred presentable. "Your family genes have failed you."
"And I'm all the better for it." Alfred said with a slight smirk. "Plus, I don't want to hear anything about fashion from you. I know that when you're at home all you wear are tracksuits. You can't fool me."
Ivan's head shot up and he looked at Alfred in shock. "How did you know that?"
"Your sister told me." Alfred said, looking a bit too pleased with himself.
"What? When?"
"When you were having that staring contest with that pigeon. She mentioned it when we walked past a store. She was wondering if she should get you some as a present. Oh, and yes, I saw you lose that staring contest." Alfred added, grinning at Ivan's growing unimpressed expression.
"First, I did not lose. Pigeons do not blink, so it was not a fair contest. Second, that is cheating."
"It was a perfectly fair way to get information on you. Don't forget, you already talked to Mattie before, so if anything I'd say we're even. Plus, it wasn't like I asked about it, she just let it slip."
"What else did she tell you?"
"A few things." Alfred admitted, enjoying the fact that he finally had something over Ivan for once. "But I'm not telling unless you say that all in one shampoo is the best way to clean your hair."
"I refuse."
"Well then, I guess you'll never know then." They sat there in silence for a few seconds, staring each other down as Alfred continued to grin at Ivan. When Ivan refused to budge, Alfred leaded in closer to Ivan and whispered, "She showed me pictures, you know."
"She did not."
"She did too."
"Prove it."
"One of your black tracksuits has a ripped seam on the left sleeve."
Ivan didn't react, but that was all the confirmation Alfred needed as he started to giggle at Ivan's poker face. Ivan, to his credit, only leaned back in his chair and continued to stare Alfred down.
"How many pictures?" Ivan finally asked.
"I'm not telling." Alfred said smugly. "But you already know how to get your info."
"I will not compromise my beliefs just for some information."
"Your loss."
Ivan let out an unsatisfied hum, and refused to look at Alfred anymore, instead looking down at his plate with a small huff. It took a few moments of Ivan obviously ignoring Alfred before Alfred realized what he was doing.
Alfred, instead of getting annoyed like Ivan thought he would, instead scooted closer to the older nation with a huge grin. "Oh my god, are you pouting? You totally are!"
"I am not." Ivan denied.
"Yes you are! Aw, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to make you upset."
"I am not upset." Ivan denied again, though he kept looking away from Alfred.
"Oh come on, who are you fooling?" Alfred teased, reaching over and pinching one of Ivan's cheeks with a laugh. "Come on, just say it!"
"No."
"Say it."
"Nyet."
"You know you want to."
"I will bite your hand."
"I bet you won't."
Ivan, without thinking, grabbed Alfred's hand and pulling it towards him he bit it lightly, staring down Alfred in playful defiance as he did so.
He had only done it as a joke, but when he saw Alfred's shocked expression he paused. He had expected Alfred to pull his hand away and yell at him about germs or something, but not to sit there like a statue as his mouth hung open like Ivan had just slapped him. They sat like that for a moment, Alfred just staring at him and Ivan staring back, neither of them daring to move a muscle, before Ivan slowly let go of Alfred's hand.
"Sorry." Ivan said with an embarrassed cough, sensing that he might have done something wrong.
Ivan hadn't expected to Alfred to react like that, nor had he expected Alfred's whole body, from the roots of his hair down to his finger tips, to suddenly erupt into the deepest shade of red he had ever seen as he started to sputter, yanking his hand away from Ivan like he had burned it. Alfred seemed to flounder in his seat for a second, looking between Ivan and his hand like he wasn't sure what he was supposed to do, before he let out a strange sound that sounded like a strange mixture of embarrassment, terror, and bewilderment.
"Um, are you-" Ivan started to ask, before Alfred shot up out of his seat and with an almost incoherent excuse of going to the bathroom, the younger nation all but fled from him, leaving Ivan all alone at the table. Ivan sat there in shock, not sure what was going on, staring at the empty seat next to him, before he heard a chuckle behind him.
Glancing behind him, he saw an older gentleman shaking his head in amusement. Noticing Ivan looking at him, the older man gave him a bemused look and said in a low voice, "You came on too strong there son. Perhaps try finishing the meal first before trying to do that again. It's just good manners." The older man suggested with a wink.
Ivan just stared at him, his mouth now hanging open as the older man again chuckled, going back to his newspaper. Ivan, finally realizing what his actions might have implied, felt his face start to burn as he let out another embarrassed cough and slunk into his seat a bit.
Ivan guessed he didn't so much as push his boundaries as bulldozed through them. Shit.
_Alfred_
He couldn't do this. He just couldn't do this. It was killing him. If he had any more shocks like this today, he was going to die. Alfred was leaning against one of the sinks in the bathroom, having, for what felt like the hundredth time that day, an emotional breakdown. (Why did he keep breaking down in bathrooms?) He was having a meltdown because for some god damned reason, Ivan had just had to bite him, while giving him that…look. What the hell had that been? He had liked it, but at the same time he didn't?! What the hell, why weren't his damn thoughts working? And of course, he just had to make it worse by fleeing. God damn, no one ever told him how hard this was going to be! This was stupid. This whole goddamn situation was stupid! He was so stupid! What the fuck was going on?
One second he could talk to Ivan like it was no big deal, and in another he felt like he was going to die from the lack of oxygen. Ivan could hug and carry him without him batting an eye, but the moment he tried to think about holding Ivan's hand, or if Ivan teased him he was a sputtering mess. Even worse, he couldn't turn off his reactions, and it was honestly starting to freak him out. He couldn't believe his body was betraying him like this. What the hell was he supposed to do? It was taking all his self control to not go running off into the night screaming. Wasn't love supposed to be easy? Why did it feel like he was dying? What was he going to do?
As he was trying to process his emotions, the sink beneath his hands started cracking from how hard he was gripping it, and he had to force himself to let go of it before it broke in two. Glancing up into the mirror, he let out a groan as he saw his reflection. He was red. Dark red. He could have been mistaken for a god damned stop light at this rate. He took a shaky breath, and covered his face as he tried to get his brain to shut up for a moment. He needed to think.
He needed help. He wasn't going to make it to the Christmas party let alone the next day at this rate. Even if he tried to hide it, even Ivan wasn't that stupid to not notice his odd behavior. He supposed he should call Mattie and Arthur again, but he had just spoken to them, and he really didn't want to be made fun of again, even if their intentions were good. He needed someone who would take this seriously. He sure as shit wasn't to talk to Ivan about this. He would honestly throw himself onto a live bomb first.
Usually, if he had a serious problem he couldn't talk to his family about, he'd talk to Kiku, but he wasn't going to do that to him right after he had just broken his heart a few days ago. He was desperate, but not enough to do that.
Maybe Ukraine? No, that was a disaster waiting to happen. She might tell Ivan what he was feeling, or let it slip by accident. That, if Belarus caught wind about what was going on he might as well just dig his own grave at that point. He couldn't take that risk.
So who the hell could he talk to? There was nobody left! He didn't have anyone else that close to him that he could talk to. The longer he thought about it, the more he started to resign himself to the fact that he would most likely have to tell Ivan that he liked him, if only to just get the whole thing over with. At least if Ivan told him he didn't like him he would just leave and then Alfred could beat the shit out of France for putting him in…this…
Alfred's head snapped up. That was it! That was who he could talk to! France! Even if he still wanted to punch France in the face for putting him in this situation, (oh, he would enjoy that), and even if France could be a bastard sometimes, he always took relationship advice seriously. He would never laugh at someone for having problems with their feelings for others. Plus, that fucking idiot owed him for all the shit he had caused, so this he would have no choice but to help him out. Not unless he wanted him to crush his spine into little splinters. Alfred paused for a second at that last thought. Huh. Maybe he had been hanging out with Ivan too much. He usually wasn't that violent. Oh well.
Nodding slowly, Alfred relaxed a little bit. Okay, cool. He had a plan now. But he still had one problem. He didn't know where the hell France was. He had disappeared weeks ago, and while he knew Mattie knew where he was, he had a feeling his twin wouldn't give up that information for fear of him killing France. But there was one lead…
Groaning, Alfred glanced back at the door behind him with a grimace. He knew who was the last person to see France, and that person just happened to be the reason he needed France in the first place. And the reason he was hiding in the bathroom. Fuck him, why couldn't anything be easy for him?
_Ivan_
When Alfred finally came back after five of the longest minutes Ivan had ever sat through, Ivan was relieved to see that he looked better, even if he was still a little pink around the cheeks. Thankfully, the younger nation didn't look angry, just exasperated. Before he sat down, Alfred lightly, but firmly whacked Ivan across the back of his head, causing Ivan to wince slightly.
"What was that for?" Ivan asked, although with one unimpressed look from Alfred he shrunk a little into his seat.
"You know what. Don't do that again, it's gross." Alfred said with a huff as he sat down. "If you need to bite something next time, bite your own hand."
"But yours was closer." Ivan joked weakly, causing Alfred to shoot him an even more unimpressed look.
"Ivan, I'm not joking this time. Don't pull that again, or else we're going to have problems."
"Understood." Ivan said, holding up his hands in defeat. "I will not do it again."
"Good. Now that that's settled, I have a question for you." Alfred said, crossing his arms with a frown.
Ivan frowned slightly at the serious look on Alfred's face. For some reason, he got a feeling that Alfred wouldn't appreciate him joking around at the moment. Internally sighing, Ivan said, "Of course. What is it?"
"Do you know where France is hiding out? I need to speak to him about something time sensitive, and before you ask, no I can't tell you what it's about. It's a private matter."
Ivan raised an eyebrow at that. France? He hadn't been expecting that of all things. Where had that come from?
"I confess, I have no idea where he may be hiding out." Ivan said with a small hum, looking up slightly as he thought. "The last time I saw him was when I saw him outside a store a little ways from here. He did not mention where he was staying in our talk, although…" a frown pulled down on Ivan's face as recalled his and Japan's spat.
"Yes?" Alfred pressed, leaning closer to Ivan in anticipation.
"He did mention that he was with Japan at the time, so he might be staying with him at the moment." Ivan said, glancing back at Alfred, whose face turned stony at Japan's name.
"That…actually makes a lot of sense." Alfred sighed, taking off his glasses and rubbing his eyes in frustration. "I was so busy avoiding Kiku, that I didn't even think to check to see if France had hid at his place. That's actually quite smart of France."
"Hmm, now that you say it, it does seem obvious now." Ivan admitted, looking slightly impressed.
"I wasn't expecting to have to talk to Kiku so soon after our last meeting, but this does make it a lot easier if France is rooming with him."
"How so?"
"Because," Alfred said with a tired sigh, "after we spoke the other day he gave me his hotel address. He gave it to me just in case I wanted to ask him any more questions about what happened between us."
That made Ivan pause. "Oh, is that so?" Ivan asked casually, but his eyes narrowed slightly at the news. "How nice of him."
"Yeah." Alfred agreed as he lowered his hand and put his glasses back on, missing the look on Ivan's face. "Okay, that's not a bad place to start. I'll text Kiku later and ask him if I can come over."
"Why let him know that you're coming?" Ivan asked casually, but cutting into his food with a bit more force than necessary. "If France is there, won't he run if he knows you're coming?'
"I'll just ask Kiku if he's there or not. If he is, I'm sure if I ask Kiku not to tell France I'm coming, he won't."
"In that case, may I come along with you?" Ivan asked, making Alfred give him a puzzled look. Before Alfred could even question him, Ivan held up a hand to stop him. "I am aware you want to talk to France in private, but I actually wish to speak to Japan about something."
"Huh? How come?" Alfred asked, giving Ivan a baffled look. "No offense, but I thought you hated Japan?"
"Oh, I do." Ivan admitted with a small smile.
Alfred let out a small laugh. "Wow, you're not going to even try to hide it, are you?"
"He is well aware of how I feel about him. There is no need to hide my dislike of him. As for why, we still have not discussed his behavior towards me during the world meeting. That, and I also have some private business to take care of with him."
"I hope it isn't going to be a violent discussion?" Alfred said, shooting Ivan a warning look.
"Of course not." Ivan reassured him. At Alfred's look of doubt, Ivan chuckled. "I am being honest. I have no intention of harming him. I just wish to speak to him, and sort some things out before the party so that we may all have a good time."
"Hmm, I'm not sure I believe you, but I'll give the benefit of the doubt." Alfred said, leaning back into his chair.
"So, are you going to ask him now?"
"Well, I would, but I'm going to be honest with you, I'm not up to it today." Alfred admitted, and Ivan noticed that Alfred seemed to be drooping slightly in his chair. He hadn't noticed it earlier due to Alfreds excitable nature, but he had bags under his eyes and to be frank, he looked tired. Ivan knew that Alfred had been out of the house for most of the day, and between that and him being sick the previous night, he was slightly surprised Alfred was trucking along.
"In that case, should we head back home?" Ivan asked, and Alfred nodded.
"Yeah, that's a good idea."
"I'll get the waiter." Ivan said, waving over at a nearby waiter for the bill.
As he did, Alfred closed his eyes for a moment, wondering when his life got so complicated.
A/N: Yeah, so I lost track of time and somehow two and half months went by without me noticing. Sorry. I will do it again. Anyways, looks like we're finally getting to the end game for this story. Just a few more chapters till the much anticipated Christmas party. And we got that good, SPICY fluff. Hmm, I usually don't write about such things, but It is kinda fun. ;P We'll see.
Poor Alfred. He's not prepared for this at all. Of course, when you've been actively avoiding romance for almost two centuries, you're not going to prepared for when it smashes into you like a frying pan to the face. France! Finally France is coming back! :D I am so freaking excited, he's one of my absolute favorite characters to write!
Ivan do be seeing Alfred as a snack though. So much so that he just wants a bite, lol. Did I write that whole section just so I could make that joke? I'll leave that answer up to you. (Yes. The answer is yes.)
Also, what could Ivan be planning? I wonder…
Anyways, see you all next time! I'm so tired. T~T I stayed up late again. I regret nothing.