The Thirty Day Roommates

by nicetwin123

America and Russia have a tense relationship, so in an attempt to improve it America's boss makes America host Russia in one of his houses for a month. Neither one of them is thrilled with this, but try and not fight the best they can. Even though they clash on just about everything they can't help but both agree that they can't wait for the thirty days to end.

38. The Christmas Party : Part 2

A/N: WELL, WELL, WELL! MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! It only makes sense that a Christmas story should have its climax published on CHRISTMAS! :D Any who, we have 34,000 words to read through, so let's get right into it!

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The ballroom looked even more impressive with the other nations mingling around the room. Some of them naturally separated into their own little groups, while others left to check out the food and beverages. Even more had made their way over to the dance floor after the musicians had started up some simple waltzes about half an hour into the party.

Ivan observed the room with passive interest. He was currently standing by one of the many refreshment tables, next to the vodka fountain that Alfred had mentioned before. He was currently watching his date from across the room as he quietly sipped on his glass of Vodka, slightly amused by the fact that he probably looked like a walking stereotype. Not that he cared, as the vodka was excellent and he was enjoying himself as he waited for Alfred to join him again.

He and Alfred had been walking around the room together for the first hour of the party to mingle with some of the guests and late arrivals they hadn't spoken with yet. This had brought him no end of entertainment as the other nations all seemed to have interesting reactions to his looming presence behind the shorter nation, who had taken over most of the talking for both of them.

While some of the nations like Lithuania and Estonia had still acted nervous and cautious around him, he was highly amused by the fact that some of the more curious and daring nations had actually plucked up the courage to actually acknowledge his presence, and some had even been bold enough to strike up little conversations with him while Alfred was talking to someone else. Ivan had no doubt they were only being so bold due to the fact that Alfred was happily breaking the tension of the situation with his happy ramblings, but he still found their new found courage fascinating.

Interestingly, none of the other nations had dared to ask them if they were dating or not, but not from a lack of trying. Some of them had seemed like they were going to bring up the subject, only to lose their nerve at the last moment when Ivan had shot them a warning smile from behind Alfred's shoulder. He was sure Alfred was aware of this, as he wasn't being subtle about it, but Alfred didn't seem to be in any hurry to correct his behavior either. In fact, Alfred seemed to be highly amused as he watched the others trip over themselves to change the topic.

Ivan mused that Alfred was secretly enjoying the fact that he could use Ivan as a shield from uncomfortable topics and personal questions. For all his power, Alfred was surprisingly lenient about the others criticizing and badgering him about his day to day life, which was a privilege the others seemed to abuse on a regular basis. Alfred was probably enjoying the fact that the others were being forced to pick their words carefully for once while he still came off as the good guy in the situation. Ivan had to admit that it was a clever way to take advantage of his intimidating nature.

Not that Ivan minded. It was amusing to see the usually kinder nation enjoy the others' distress. With a small smile, he had wondered if he could somehow convince Alfred to intimidate some of the other nations more often. He doubted it, but it would be funny.

At some point, Alfred had wandered off to talk with his brothers, leaving Ivan by himself for the first time that evening. As soon as he had left Ivan's side, the other nations had become much more hesitant to approach him without the American to act as a human shield. Ivan had taken advantage of their hesitancy to finally wander over to some of the snack bars, as he hadn't eaten much that day and he needed a break anyways.

That was where he was currently, watching Alfred getting chewed out by his twin across the room, looking completely done with his brother's nonsense. Alfred wasn't even fighting him, just laughing loudly as his brother tried to strangle him.

Glancing around the room again, he took note of where the other nations were currently. He spotted France talking to a few of the waiters. As he was gesturing the food with a curious look on his face, Ivan assumed he was asking for some of the recipes.

England was standing at a nearby table, deep in conversation with his older sister. Ivan couldn't see them well enough to decipher what they were saying, but he had a sneaking suspicion that they were trading baby stories as his sister looked a little too amused and England was laughing hysterically as he spoke to her. Ivan made a mental note to ask his sister about that later as he continued to look around the room.

Across the room on the dance floor were a number of the nations, including Germany and Italy, Sweden and Finland, and even Prussia and Hungary. Although, he couldn't say that the last pair was dancing as much as they were having a stomping contest as they tried to step on each other's toes.

He honestly couldn't tell if those two were flirting or if they just liked to mess with each other. It could be either with them.

Austria and Switzerland were bickering near one of the snack tables. Apparently, they were arguing about the best kind of cheese. Switzerland was trying to convince

Austria that cheaper cheese tasted better, although it was clear Austria wasn't convinced.

The South American countries were spread across the room. Many of them were either gossiping away or dancing like everyone else, but in one case he saw them having a drinking contest. Apparently it was Brazil and Ecuador against Wales and Scotland. Impressively they seemed to be on their fifth round of drinks already with no signs of slowing down, much to the delight of the small crowd around them.

Near the main Christmas tree were some of the Asian countries. S. Korea was admiring the ornaments and Vietnam and Singapore were sneakily trying to shake their presents to figure out what was in them. China, India, and Turkey were having a passionate debate about different ways to brew different kinds of tea. Philippines was trying to convince some of the other nations to take some group pictures by the tree, with moderate success.

Belgium, Liechtenstein, Seychelles, Panama, and many of the other female nations were talking to each other in a large group. They were busy admiring each other's dresses and discussing the differences in their styles and swapping beauty tips. Apparently at the moment they were admiring some of the African nation's jewelry, squealing over how vibrant they were.

Noticeably missing from the group was his younger sister, which didn't surprise him much. While she usually wasn't one to turn down a chance to hang out with the other female nations, she probably wasn't in the mood to be festive. He guessed she was sulking somewhere nearby after being embarrassed in front of the crowd earlier.

Scanning the whole room again, it took him a moment to find her as she was partially hidden behind a large column across the room near France. He finally spotted her near the waiters station, leaning against the column with a sour look on her face. She was currently scowling at Alfred, not that he was surprised. Shaking his head, he turned back to watch Alfred now that he knew his sister wasn't a threat at the moment.

Alfred was currently trying to get his brother to stop nagging him, and Ivan couldn't help but snicker as Alfred was once again berated by his twin.

Deciding that Alfred had suffered enough, he had just put down his drink when Canada suddenly stopped. Apparently he had given up as he dramatically shook his head as Alfred shrugged and gave him a goofy grin. After a playful wack on Alfred's arm, Canada walked away into the crowd, still shaking his head.

Ivan chuckled slightly as Alfred stuck his tongue out at his brother when he was sure he wouldn't see. As soon as Alfred was sure he was in the clear, Ivan saw him looking around for something. As it turned out, that something was Ivan, because as soon as he spotted him his eyes lit up and he started to make his way over to him.

Ivan smiled back, and he had only started to walk towards him when he saw his younger sister, who he had now only realized was much closer to Alfred than he was, storming over towards Alfred at an alarming speed. While she didn't seem to be going for an attack, she didn't look like she wanted to have a pleasant chat with the other nation either.

Panicking slightly at the thought of his sister causing a scene, as Alfred couldn't see her approaching with his back to her, he looked around for help. He quickly realized, with growing horror, that England and Ukraine were also too far away to help and Canada also had his back to the situation. France was nearby, but he had only just realized what was going on.

With how fast his sister was moving, they wouldn't make it in time.

However, before his sister could take more than a few steps a waiter seemed to teleport in front of her, stopping her dead in her tracks. Bewildered, she was bombarded by the waiter as he asked her about which drinks she would like to try.

Ivan saw France smirking from the waiters station, and after France gave him a knowing wink and turned back to talk to the wait staff, it dawned on Ivan that the connections France had mentioned earlier were the catering companies themselves. He must have used his fame as a food critic to help keep an eye on his sister. Ivan had no idea how the other nation had pulled that off, but he didn't question it as he let out the breath he hadn't realized he had been holding.

Not wasting the opportunity France had given him, Ivan hurried over to Alfred, who still didn't realize how close he was to getting in trouble.

"Hey, what's with the pale face?" Alfred asked as soon as Ivan got close to him. "You look like you just saw a ghost."

"She just tried to ambush you from behind." Ivan whispered, and Alfred's smile slipped a little as he glanced over his shoulder.

Belarus had shooed off the waiter at this point, but as soon as she realized she had lost her opportunity to corner Alfred, she glared at them. With a huff, she turned around and walked into the crowd, playing it off as her simply just checking out a nearby snack table.

"Yikes. I literally just stepped away from Mattie." Alfred said, slightly annoyed as he turned back to Ivan. "She really doesn't waste time, does she?"

"No, she does not."

"Don't tell Mattie please. If he hears I was almost murdered right after he yelled at me for almost getting murdered he's never going to let me live it down." Alfred said with a slight grimace.

"You have my word. Perhaps we should not stray too far from each other from now on." Ivan suggested.

"Fine by me." Alfred said, brightening up again at the suggestion. "I was actually just about to suggest that we go dance. I've pretty much finished greeting everyone."

Ivan smiled at that. "It would be my honor. Of course," he teased lightly as he offered his hand to Alfred, "I will lead again?"

"You know, just because you're taller than me doesn't mean you have to rub it in." Alfred shot back playfully, but he still accepted Ivan's hand anyways.

"It is a rare privilege of mine to abuse." Ivan joked back as they walked over to the dance floor. "Forgive me if I take advantage of it."

Alfred just laughed in response, and Ivan beamed.

As they got closer to the dance floor, some of the other nations took notice. While they both ignored them, it was hard to miss that some of the other nations were craning their necks to try and watch them. Switzerland in particular watched them very closely, and Ivan supposed that some of the others must have bet on them dancing at some point.

Well, he thought with a smirk, if they wanted a show he would give them one.

The musicians, realizing the host of the party was about to dance, flipped through their music sheets until they found the correct piece. They then waited for everyone to get into position as the conductor announced the waltz and name of the piece they were playing. As he did so, quite a few nations decided to join in for this dance. Including Ivan and Alfred, there were almost twenty different couples with them on the dance floor. As they waited on the music, Ivan looked down at Alfred with a knowing smile.

"Tchaikovsky?" Ivan asked in amusement. "I did not realize you enjoyed his work."

"What? He's a Christmas classic." Alfred hummed casually, though Ivan didn't miss the small smile on his face. "Nothing unusual about that."

"I see. But why the Waltz of the Flowers?"

"It seemed appropriate." Alfred said, looking up at the other nation with a slightly mischievous twinkle in his eyes.

Ivan let out a small huff of amusement at that, but he didn't comment further as they got into the starting position for the song. Instead, he asked,

"Do you still remember how to waltz? I have not seen you dance properly in one since the first time we met."

Just like at the cabin, Ivan rested his hand firmly on the small of Alfred's back, while Alfred held his shoulder. They both held each other's free hand. As Ivan pulled him closer, Alfred seemed to blush a little, but it wasn't too noticeable as he grinned nervously up at Ivan.

"I may be a bit rusty, but I probably still have muscle memory to back me up. God knows I attended enough parties with the music when I was younger. What about you?" Alfred teased back. "I've never seen you waltz during a party."

"I am an excellent dancer." Ivan said with a small smile as the conductor raised his baton. "I was one of the best dancers at court when I still had a monarchy. I was quite popular." Ivan hummed playfully.

"Is that so? Well then, we'll just have to see if that's true." Alfred said, his heart fluttering slightly as the first notes started to play.

As the music began, they started the dance with a small sway, their bodies pressed close together. When the first true beats of the song started, they started to actually move around the floor.

At first, they felt out the first couple of steps, making sure that they were able to keep up with each other. As soon as it was clear that they could, they seemed to melt into each other, both of them smoothly falling into a well worn dance they had no doubtfully practiced a thousand times before.

Their movements were unrushed and deliberate, and as they danced they created a smooth and uninterrupted path through the dance floor. Their feet slid gracefully as they followed a well worn pattern. First a step forward, then a step to the side, and then a closing step. It was a rather simple waltz, but as they spun around the floor they almost seemed to float, giving them an almost otherworldly feeling to them.

As they turned, they seemed to move as one, their eyes never leaving each other as they grinned giddly. Their steps were gentle, but also held power in them. It seemed to be a perfect balance of give and take, neither one of them overpowering the other. Occasionally, they would break apart as they added variety into the dance, but never for long. They would always eventually end up back together, once again eye to eye. It was almost as if they were reluctant to let each other go for even a moment.

To the onlookers around them, they looked as though they had fallen under a strange spell, seemingly lost in their own little world as they forgot about the world around them as they stared into each other's eyes with barely hidden joy. As they danced the crowd seemed to become enamored by the couple, as most of the room had paused their activities to watch them. A few of the younger nations even squealed with delight as they watched the couple, so taken by the sight of a new romance developing in front of them that they forgot themselves for a moment.

Some of the nations, such as Canada, Ukraine, and France absolutely beamed at the scene, while others like England and Japan looked on with a mixture of disappointment and resignation. The South American nations seemed to get more frenzied by the minute, seemingly getting more and more agitated as they argued about whose kissing bet would come true.

Switzerland was carefully writing something down in his little black book. As he did so, some of the other nations excitedly spoke to him about the things they saw them do earlier. The rest either watched on with silent curiosity or were excitedly whispering among themselves about all of the rumors they had heard in the last few weeks. As they whispered in hushed tones, they didn't notice a dark shadow walking among them, scowling at the scene in front of her.

Just behind the crowd, Belarus fumed as she watched the scene playing out in front of her. She was holding the champagne glass in her hand so tightly that she was leaving scratch marks on it from her nails. It was bad enough that she had had to listen to the others whispering excitedly about the absurd rumors about her brother and America for the last hour, but now she had to watch this disgusting display as the others watched on like laughing hyenas? It was too much for her.

With a snarl, she slammed the glass down on the table next to her. She was just about to leave the room, unable to bear watching them dance when she heard a pair of voices talking next to her from the other side of the pillar she was standing next to.

"Ah, l'amour." France sighed. "Isn't it beautiful?"

"It is." Japan agreed wistfully.

Belarus paused, but attempted to keep walking. She did not want to hear the other nation gush about his weird love theories, but she froze when she overheard France's next words.

"It is magnifique, non?" France continued, and Belarus could hear the smile in his voice as he watched Alfred and Ivan. "To think that just a month ago they were at each other's throats. To think that Alfred would even come to me about his feelings about Russia! The world is full of surprises my friend." France mused.

Belarus sucked in a sharp breath, hardly daring to believe her ears. America had done what? Deciding that she needed to hear more, she quietly crept back behind the column so that they wouldn't see her, not wanting to get caught eavesdropping on their conversation. She impatiently waited for to them to continue their conversation, and she didn't have to wait for long as Japan asked,

"He came to you about it? Was that when he came to visit a few days ago?"

"Oui! He was very distraught. He had so much love, but had no idea what to do with it." France said with a small chuckle. "He was like a small child overwhelmed with emotion. Scared and not sure how to fix the problem."

"I see." Japan said. "I guess that your talk has helped him quite a bit. He doesn't look scared anymore."

"Of course not. He's finally stopped running from his feelings and has embraced them. He is probably the happiest man in the world right now." France said, and his voice sounded far away, as though he were remembering his own happier days.

"Russia looks happy. I wonder if he finally realized that Alfred loves him yet." Japan wondered.

"Perhaps. Perhaps." France hummed. "He must have some idea. Two people do not dance like that without some kind of understanding."

"You know, when you were talking to Alfred that day, Russia asked me something interesting."

"Oh?" France asked, sounding intrigued. "Do tell!"

Belarus felt a sense of dread as Japan spoke. It couldn't be. Her brother wouldn't…

"He asked me if I was going to be an obstacle for him if he were to pursue Alfred romantically." Japan said, and there was no missing the slightly annoyed tone in his voice.

Belarus had to bite down on her fist to stop herself from screaming out in frustration as he spoke. So she had been right! All this time, while she had been stuck in Europe her brother had been being tricked by that God damned American. Not only had that bastard of a man tricked him, he had apparently gone as far to trick himself! She would never forgive him! Never!

"So he is in love with him as well?!" France asked excitedly. "Mon Dieu! You only thought to tell me this now?! What did you say?!"

"That I wouldn't do anything as long as Alfred was happy, but the moment he broke his heart I would curb stomp him." Japan said simply.

"Oh my! How uncharacteristically brutish of you." France said with a loud laugh. "Well then, I suppose we have guaranteed happy news in the future! To think that both of them have been pining unknowingly this whole time! How precious!"

Japan didn't answer, and she heard France pause as well. More than likely Japan was still watching America with a heavy heart.

"It will not hurt forever, mon ami." France said gently.

"I know." Japan said, a surprisingly determined air to his response. She heard him down his drink and then place the empty glass onto the table next to him. "There is something I must do."

"What?"

"I am going to dance with Alfred." Japan said in a matter of fact way, and she heard France choke on his drink.

"Excusez-moi?! Are you trying to become a casualty tonight?!" France hissed frantically. "If you try and take away Alfred now when they are so happy, Russia will not hesitate to kill you!"

"I'm not trying to steal him away." Japan said reassuringly. "I just want to talk to him."

"There are other ways to talk that won't make Russia jealous!"

"Are there? With how closely guarded he is tonight I doubt Russia will let him leave his sight or let him out of arm's reach. Also, it's something personal, and there is no better place than a dance floor to have a private conversation. At least we know we won't be overheard."

Belarus froze, thinking she had been caught, but when she heard France let out an unimpressed click of his tongue she relaxed again.

"Do what you want. It is your funeral." France said, and she heard the French nation turn around and walk away into the crowd.

She heard Japan take a deep breath, bracing himself as the music started to swell, signaling that the current song was about to end. Then he walked away towards the dance floor, and Belarus caught a glimpse of him. He had a look of determination on his face.

Not that Belarus cared about his stupid feelings. Biting her nail in distress, she tried in vain to keep her feelings of outrage under control. However, it was no use as she felt as white hot anger slowly building up inside of her.

She was too late. Everything she had done, all the effort she had taken in order to stop this. Useless! Useless! Useless!

As her nail snapped from the force of her biting, she glared at her sister, who was still watching her brother with an excited smile. If only her sister hadn't stopped her! She was as much to blame as they were. In fact, now that she knew the truth, she came to the terrible conclusion that her sister must have been part of this scheme the whole time.

Some part of her heart raged and broke at the realization. Her own sister, someone who should have been looking after the well being of their brother had been part of this plan to use and trick him. She had even gone as far as to make sure she couldn't do anything to stop it. She had betrayed her! She had betrayed their whole family. How much had she missed? How far had this gone? How much did she not know?

Glaring at the people around her, she felt frustrated as she realized she was truly alone. She could turn to no one. In fact, it seemed as if the whole world was celebrating the fact that America had finally tamed her brother, as they excitedly gossiped and watched them dance as though they found the whole thing amusing. Like it was all some great game to them.

As the first song finally ended, Belarus could barely hold herself back as her brother smiled down at America with a look of complete adoration. He didn't even hesitate to dance with him again as the second song started to play, sweeping the shorter nation into the next song without a care in the world. As she watched her brother lift up and spin America, causing the shorter nation to laugh with delight, she felt the column she was leaning on crumble under her ever growing grip on it as she lost control of her strength.

Now that she knew the truth, it was obvious that he liked that God damned pig. Disgustily obvious. He was completely smitten. How could she not have seen it before? She felt herself becoming physically ill at the thought. She didn't know what America had done to fool him, but she would figure that out later. Right now, her brother had no idea that he was being used. That America was only doing this to break his heart. Why couldn't he see it? Surely he knew?

But as she watched the two, she slowly came to the horrible realization that, no, he didn't. He was truly happy. There was no hiding his real smile, his real laugh, or the way he seemed to look at America as though he had finally found the first winds of spring. He was truly, honestly happy. He had completely fallen into America's spell, and he would be completely defenseless to protect himself whenever America decided he was finally bored with him and tore out his heart for his own selfish needs.

She had to fix this. She still had time. If she could just talk to her brother…if she could just open his eyes to what was going on…

As she watched Japan walk away, an idea came to her. If Japan was going to be dancing with that wretched American, that meant that her brother would be alone for a few minutes. Knowing how scared the rest of the world was of him, there was no way anyone else would approach him. It also meant that America wouldn't be there to block her from reaching him.

Forcing herself to at least remain calm for a little while longer, she swallowed her rage as she made herself walk over to the dance floor as well. Surely her brother would listen to her. Surely he wasn't too far gone.

He couldn't be….right?

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As soon as their third dance ended, Alfred and Ivan had intended to go straight into the next one when they heard someone clearing their throat behind them.

Alfred looked behind him, and to his surprise he saw Japan looking up at him with a slightly apologetic smile.

"Kiku! What's up dude?" Alfred asked, beaming at Japan, causing Ivan to scowl at the Asian nation as a result.

"May we help you?" Ivan asked, clearly annoyed as he glared at Japan with a suspicious frown.

"I was wondering if I could borrow my best friend for a few minutes?" Japan asked, making sure to put a clear emphasis on the word friend.

"Su-" Alfred tried to reply, but to his amusement Ivan cut him off as he pulled Alfred closer to him.

"Nyet. I do not share." Ivan said firmly, glaring at the shorter nation. Alfred had to duck his head down to hide the pleased grin on his face as Japan gave Ivan an exasperated eye roll.

"I mean no harm." Japan said. "I merely wish to speak with him for a little."

"I do not believe you." Ivan huffed back.

"Be that as it may, it is not for you to decide. I am not asking you to dance with me." Japan pointed out.

"I would have already killed you if you had."

"The feeling is mutual." Japan shot back.

As they continued to bicker, Alfred shook his head in amusement. Well, it looks like he wasn't the only jealous one tonight. Deciding to put a stop to their squabbling before it got too petty, Alfred reached up and tapped Ivan's shoulder playfully.

"Do I get a say in this?" He asked, cutting off the argument.

Ivan pretended to think about it for a moment. "I suppose." Ivan hummed reluctantly, pouting slightly as Alfred shot him an apologetic smile.

"Don't look at me like that." Alfred teased, jokingly tapping Ivan's chest. "I didn't promise you every single dance."

"Then I will just have to claim the rest, da?" Ivan said simply, causing Alfred to smile and Japan to silently gag behind him.

As Ivan stared daggers at the Asian nation, Alfred gently pushed Ivan away with a fond shake of his head.

"We'll see." Alfred said with a quick wink as he turned to face Japan.

Japan quickly stopped gagging as Alfred turned to face him, schooling his expression into one of polite indifference. Ivan might have been impressed by the act if he didn't want to throw the Asian nation through the nearby windows. Little shit.

"Sure, let's dance." Alfred said, holding his hand out to Japan.

With a slightly bittersweet smile, Japan accepted it and they walked towards the center of the dance floor, leaving Ivan behind on the sidelines.

Ivan let out another dissatisfied hum as he watched them go, but he allowed himself to let it go as he walked back into the crowd and towards the drink table. As much as he disliked Japan, even he knew that Japan wouldn't try anything when Alfred had made his feelings clear to him. Still, he didn't have to be happy about it.

Deciding to ignore the situation for now, Ivan had only made it halfway to the drink table when he heard a furious set of footsteps coming up behind him. Realizing that there were only two other people in the room besides Alfred who would brazenly approach him, and only one who would sound that angry, Ivan cringed slightly as he turned around to greet his younger sister.

He had expected to be approached by her at some point, but even he was taken aback by the frantic expression on her face. Her usually neat appearance was slightly disheveled, with her nails slightly broken and her hair slightly ruffled out of place, as though she had been running her hands through it. Even her skirt was bunched up in some spots, as though she had been clinging onto it tightly.

"Natalia? Are you okay?" Ivan asked, alarmed at her clear distress. "What is the matter?"

"Come with me. Now." She hissed, grabbing his arm and pulling him towards the hallway. "We need to talk."

Ivan frowned, but allowed her to pull him out of the room. As they left, he spotted his older sister watching them with a clearly concerned expression, but he sent her a reassuring smile. She didn't look very convinced by the gesture, but it was too late for her to do anything as Belarus finally pulled him into the hallway.

They walked down a nearby hall until she finally pulled him around a corner. While they were still close enough to the ballroom to hear the music, they were hidden away from anyone who might have gone into the hall after them.

With an irritated scowl, Belarus finally let go of her brother's arm. Taking a step back, she looked around them with a paranoid expression, as though she were making sure no one was eavesdropping, causing Ivan to grow more concerned.

"Natalia, what on earth is going on? Why are you-?" He started to ask, only for his sister's head to whip back violently towards him with a fierce scowl, causing him to flinch slightly as she raised an accusing finger at him.

"Did you really think I would not figure out what was going on?!" She growled.

Ivan froze, his heart almost stopping as he felt an icy wave of terror wash over him at her words. Forcing himself to remain calm, he played stupid as he merely raised a confused eyebrow down at her.

"I am not sure what you mean." He said casually, but it didn't work as his sister seemed to become even angrier at his clear dismissal of her words.

"Do not take me for an idiot!" She half yelled, half whispered as she forcefully poked his chest with her nails, causing Ivan to wince slightly. "Even a fool could see that you have fallen for that…that…" She struggled to finish the sentence, clearly too upset to even come up with a good enough insult to describe the other nation.

"Natalia-" Ivan started to say, but she cut him off, pushing him away from her as she glared up at him, tears welling up in her eyes.

"How could you?!" She asked, her voice cracking slightly. "How could you even tolerate him after everything he's done to us?! To our family!"

Ivan sighed in frustration as she continued to look up at him with a look of betrayal. Of course she would figure it out. How could she not? They weren't exactly being subtle in there. Still, he tried to salvage the situation as he tried to calm her down again.

"It is not what it looks like." He said. "Just because we shared a dance does not mean-"

"Bullshit! Do I look blind to you?!" His sister said, violently gesturing towards the ballroom. "Do you think I am deaf?! Do you want to know what I heard in there?! What the others have been whispering about?!"

Ivan grimaced as she glared up at him, seemingly daring him to deny her accusations. Taking his silence as an invitation to continue, she lowered her voice to a barely contained whisper, her voice shaking with rage as she spoke.

"Apparently, you and that disgusting capitalist have been getting very close to each other lately. Enough to go to dinner together at fancy restaurants. And go to the ice rink. And the theater." She said, snarling the last words, and Ivan felt himself go pale as she let out a humorless laugh.

"Oh yes, I heard them saying you whisked America away like a love sick fool! I did not think it was true, but then I heard something very interesting. Apparently, Japan was telling France that you had asked him if he were to be a problem if-"

"Enough." Ivan snapped, growing more irritated with every word. "You have made your point!"

"Have I?!" She snapped back.

"You have." Ivan said, scowling down at her as he finally dropped his oblivious act. Screw it. If she knew everything already he had no reason to hide anymore.

"It seems to me that you already know what is going on." He whispered, barely contained rage dripping off every word as he leaned down towards his sister threateningly. "So let me make something very clear. If you so much as touch a single hair on his head I will never forgive you. Never."

Belarus sucked in a shocked breath, her eyes growing large in disbelief as he continued to scowl down at her. It was one thing to hear someone else say it, but hearing her older brother confess that he actually liked America was too much.

"What has he done to make you like this?" She asked in horror. "You could not even stand to hear his name a few weeks ago! What games has he been playing to make you so oblivious?! You hate America! You have always hated him!"

Ivan's scowl deepened as she spoke. "I do not like America the country. I like Alfred the human. There is a significant difference between the two."

Belarus let out a sharp cruel laugh at that, a look of understanding spreading across her face as he spoke. Just as suddenly as she started, she stopped laughing, glaring up at her brother again with a clearly unimpressed scowl again.

"So that is how he convinced you! He has been convincing you that you can separate our human side from our nation side." She said, clearly enraged by the very thought. "How naive. Do not tell me you actually believe that? You should know better than anyone that isn't possible!"

"Why can it not be possible?" Ivan argued back. "Am I not a human being? Do you think I want to be like this? Just a tool to be used by those in power?!" He asked, angrily gesturing to himself, unable to hide the bitterness in his voice as he spoke. "A plaything to be broken over and over again, never having my own opinions and desires?"

"Of course I don't!" She snapped back, actually looking hurt by her brother's accusation. "I did not mean-"

"What else could you have meant?" Ivan asked her angrily.

"You cannot be with America! You may be a human, but you are also the representation of your people! As is he! As long as Russia and America remain enemies, you two will never have a happy ending!" She yelled. "All you will do by liking that idiot will be setting yourself up for heartache! You are just going to hurt yourself!"

"I know that!" Ivan yelled back with such venom in his voice that they both froze in shock. As Belarus stared at him in horror, he let out a defeated laugh as he forced himself to calm down. "I know that." He repeated, softer this time.

"Then why-?"

"He makes me happy. So, so happy." Ivan explained, and Belarus saw his expression soften as he spoke.

"That does not change-" She started to argue, only for Ivan to cut her off.

"Yes, you are right. We could be enemies again." He admitted reluctantly. "As far as I know, we could have only weeks to spend together before we are ripped apart. I know this may end in disaster one day."

"Then-!"

"However, the future is not set in stone. We are not enemies at this moment. If we are lucky, we could also have months, years, maybe even decades of happiness. Natalia, I do not care for the what-if's of the future when right now, he makes me feel like I am more than just the embodiment of Russia. He makes me happy as Ivan, and right now that is all I care about."

"He makes you happy?" Belarus whispered, unable to comprehend his words, her hands balling into fists at the very idea. "Happy? Do not make me laugh! How could he ever love you?! He has never loved anyone other than himself! The only thing you will get out of a relationship with that snake is a lifetime of misery! All he is trying to do is trick you!"

"So what if he is?" Ivan spat back.

"Listen to yourself!" She said frantically, trying to grab his arm as she desperately tried to make him listen. "I am trying to help you! If you go through with this hopeless romance you will only end up getting stabbed in the back by him again. Just like the last time you left!"

Ivan's eyes flared up with unmistakable rage as she spoke. "Last time? What did he have to do with that?" Ivan snarled, wrenching his arm out her grip and backing away from her.

"It was all his fault you left that day! It was all his fault that you almost died! Ivan, please! You cannot-"

"It was my choice to leave that day!" Ivan said angrily, but he did look away from her with a slightly guilty expression as she froze. "It was my choice, and my choice alone."

"No, he forced-"

"I ran away, Natalia." Ivan confessed. "I ran away because I could not face the consequences of my own actions. He was just a convenient excuse to use at that time. Hell, even he was trying to run away from the situation at the time." He said with a bitter laugh. "He did not even try to win our fight. He was just looking for a place to die. We both were."

"No!" She yelled, shaking her head and staring at her brother in clear denial. "That is not true!"

"It is." Ivan said firmly as she continued to shake her head frantically.

"No! He has always been the one to tear us apart! He caused our family to fall apart! He is the one tearing it apart now!" She screamed, stamping her foot as she spoke, breaking the tiled floor under her foot as tears threatened to fall down her face.

"The only one who is trying to tear this family apart right now is you!" Ivan yelled back. "What you are talking about happened decades ago! Alfred and I have already agreed to leave it in the past! It is time to move on!"

"How can I move on when you are about to fall for the same tricks as before?!" She yelled as tears started to fall down her face. "I will not allow it! I do not care how happy he makes you in the short term! As long as I draw breath I will never accept you two being together!"

"Then leave!" Ivan roared, pointing towards the exit. "If you can not change then leave and for once in your life let me be happy!"

Belarus stared at him in disbelief as his words rang around her, unable to comprehend his words. For the first time that evening she truly looked shaken.

"What? What did you say?" She finally asked, her voice shaking as she spoke.

"Leave!" Ivan spat.

It took another moment for her to process his words, but as she finally realized what he was implying, a true look of terror grew on her face and she took a step back, physically reeling from his words.

"How could you?" She asked, her voice rising in pitch as she tried to stop herself from sobbing, a look of complete betrayal on her face as she clutched her hands to her chest. "How could you say that? Everything I've ever done in my life was to make you happy!"

"If that were true, you would have been happy for me when you found out I loved Alfred!" Ivan argued, still pointing at the exit. "Katya was happy when she found out! Alfred's family was happy for him when we became friends! The only one not happy is you! The only one trying to stop this is you!"

"I am the only one trying to help you!" She pleaded, reaching out her arms desperately towards her brother. "Please, you cannot go with him. You cannot leave again! You cannot leave me alone like Katya did when she left! You are the only one I have left!" Sobbing now, she tried to cling onto Ivan again. "You cannot let him take anymore from me! I cannot lose you too!"

As she cried, Ivan couldn't help himself from feeling a little bit sorry for her. Still, her actions did not move him, nor did they douse the anger he was feeling towards her. Pushing her off of him, he backed away from her with a conflicted, but still clearly angry expression.

"Go home, Natalia." He said. There was no more anger behind the words. Only a tone of disappointment and sadness. "We will talk about this later when you have calmed down. I will tell Katya what has happened."

At his words, she slowly fell to the floor, still crying as she shook her head. As she reached out for him one more time, he continued to back away, shaking his head as well.

"Please, just…go." He said with a bitter look as he turned away from her. "You have done enough damage tonight." As he walked away, Belarus started to wail, but he didn't look back. He didn't think his heart could take it if he did.

_BELARUS_

It took the better part of ten minutes for her to calm down, wiping her tears and makeup onto her already ruined dress as she tried to stifle her sobs.

Everything had gone so wrong. Her plans. Her connections. Even her relationship with her family. All ruined. All because that God damned American could never leave her and her family alone! He couldn't even be satisfied with just being friends with her sister! No, he had to take her brother as well!

Wiping another tear from her face, she couldn't help but feel defeated. What was she supposed to do now? She couldn't go back to the party looking like this, and even if she did her brother would just stop her anyways. Even her last resort plan was useless now she couldn't get close to America. There was no way for her to corner him alone and her brother would no doubt keep that devil of a man close in order to keep him safe from her.

Glowering at her reflection in the broken tiles below her, she felt herself getting angry again, but even that small flame died as she realized there was nothing else she could do. She had lost. America had won. Just like every other time they had clashed in the past.

Wiping the tears from her eyes again, she slowly picked herself off the floor and reluctantly made her way down the hall and towards a nearby office. While she had clearly lost this battle, she still needed to make sure no one found her little gift she had ordered the mafia to leave for her. After all, there was no point in getting in trouble over nothing.

As she was about to turn the corner of one of the hallways, she paused as she heard a pair of voices approaching from down another hall. Not wanting to talk to anyone else right now, she slinked back into the shadows as she waited for whoever it was to pass by.

As the voices got closer, she realized she didn't recognize them. She relaxed a little at the realization. Well, at least no one she knew would see her like this.

"God damn pest." The first voice grumbled, sounding annoyed about something. "First he changes the guest list, then he changes the catering, and now he wants me to unlock a meeting room for him? Brat."

"Sir, I don't think we should be talking about the guests like that." A younger, and much more hesitant voice replied.

"To hell with that! I can say whatever I Goddamn want about him!" The first voice said, and she heard him huff as he pulled out what sounded like keys from his belt.

Daring to take a look at who her unwanted company was, she peaked around the corner and saw a gruff looking old man in a security uniform, as well as a younger security guard, who looked barely older than twenty, unlocking an office.

"That Jones better just be grateful that I'm in a good mood tonight." The older man grumbled, and Belarus quickly pulled her head back around, her heart rate spiking as she realized she may have stumbled onto something she wasn't supposed to see.

"What time did he ask us to notify him that the room was ready?" The old man asked the other man. "I forgot."

"9pm for his date and 9:10pm for him, sir." The younger man said, glancing at the paper in his hand. "He wanted to start it around the time the secret Santa event started."

"That's right." The older man grumbled, "He said something about staggering the times due to a crazy ex or something."

"It was his date's sister, sir."

"Details, details." The older man huffed, waving the younger man's words away as he turned around and shuffled back up the hall with a shake of his head. "Who cares? Just let Veronica know about the times and room number so she can let that Jones brat know everything is ready."

"Yes, sir!" The man said, brightening up at the order.

"And don't go hitting on her! She's too classy a lady for you."

"Yes, sir." The younger man said, though he didn't look too put off by the last order as they turned the corner and vanished from view.

Belarus hid for a few more seconds, making sure they were truly gone. As soon as the coast was clear, she came out of her hiding spot, hardly daring to believe her luck. Rushing over to the office as quietly as she could, she tried the door handle, and smiled coldly when it opened.

She quickly shut it, and hurried down the hall to the left, over to a very similar looking door where she had ordered her men to leave her package. When she tried it, she was thrilled to see that it was still open, per her orders that previous day. Glancing up at the door, she saw that the room number was just a slip of paper pushed into the plastic holder.

Pulling the sheet of paper out of the plastic holder, her smile grew larger as a new idea slowly formed in her head.

She couldn't let this opportunity go. She knew her brother would never forgive her for what she was going to do, and it broke her heart, but it would be worth it. She could live with him hating her if it meant he was safe and away from that blond haired hick. It was better for him to see the truth now instead of getting his hopes up.

With an unstable smile, she couldn't help but feel elated by the fact that once again, America's downfall would be by his own actions. He had been the one to invite her here. He was the one who unwittingly revealed his plan to her. He had been the one who always underestimated her. He had even supplied her with the weapon that would destroy him. It was his own fault for surrendering it to her brother when they had fought all those years ago. After all, if he hadn't surrendered it she wouldn't have been able to take it from her brother's desk.

She would show them all his true nature soon. She would prove to her brother his true intentions. She would bring him down with her bare hands if she had to. She would finally complete her mission, and then they would be a family again. Just like they used to be. This time, there was no one to stop her.

She would not fail again.

_Ten Minutes Before in the Ballroom_

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Alfred asked Japan as they danced to a slightly faster paced song.

Unlike his last few dances, Alfred was leading this dance. While he and Japan weren't as in sync as he and Ivan had been, they were still able to keep with each other easily as they danced.

Japan didn't answer right away, seemingly lost in thought as they danced. It took a few beats of the music before he looked up at Alfred with a slightly bittersweet smile.

"First, I wanted to apologize for everything again. I know that we have already discussed this, but I still want you to know that I truly regret my actions. I know what I did hurt you, and I promise to do whatever it takes to make it up to you. Even if it takes a hundred years."

Alfred's expression softened as Japan spoke.

"You don't have to-"

"I know I don't. But I want to. You may have started to forgive me, but it is going to be awhile before I forgive myself." Japan admitted. "I still feel as though I have not earned the kindness you have shown me."

"Kiku, has anyone ever told you that you're too hard on yourself?" Alfred asked with a slightly exasperated shake of his head.

"Has anyone ever told you that you forgive too easily?"

"Don't change the topic. I'm being serious dude. You're your own worst enemy." Alfred said. "You need to stop being so hard on yourself. If you really want me to forgive you, why don't you do me a favor and try to be a little more forgiving towards yourself. You're a human being dude. You're allowed to make mistakes, and you're allowed to be forgiven for making them."

Japan shook his head as Alfred spoke. "Not when it comes to hurting you, Al. You are my friend. My best friend. I hurt you. I almost destroyed our friendship."

"Yeah. You did." Alfred agreed, and Japan lowered his gaze to the floor with a guilty expression.

"I-"

"However, I don't want you to feel guilty forever dude. You already apologized. I know you meant it. I know you won't do it again. So let's start to move on now. Okay?" Alfred asked, giving Japan a sad smile. "I want us to go back to how we were before. I want us to be comfortable with each other again. I want my best friend back, and the only way that's going to happen is if you let yourself move on."

As he spoke, Japan finally lifted his gaze back up towards Alfred, fighting back tears as he did so.

"I'm going to forgive you Kiku." Alfred said gently. "So please, start to forgive yourself, okay?"

"I will try." Japan said, his voice cracking slightly as he struggled to keep his emotions in check.

"Good. Come here dude. No one needs to see you like this." Alfred said, taking advantage of the quick pace of the song to pull them off the dance floor and into an empty corner of the room. Hiding behind a nearby Christmas tree, he gave Japan his handkerchief to silently wipe his tears away from prying eyes.

"So, what was the other thing you wanted to talk to me about?" Alfred asked once Japan had collected himself a little bit.

Japan hesitated for a moment, glancing around them to make sure no one was listening. Once he was satisfied, he turned to Alfred and with a melancholy smile, he asked, "Alfred, are you happy with Russia?"

"Huh?"

"You like him, right?" Japan asked, giving Alfred a knowing look.

"Um…" Alfred said, glancing away from Japan with a slightly guilty look on his face. "I…um…yeah. I do." Alfred finally admitted, his shoulders slumping slightly as he cringed away from Japan. "You're not mad at me, are you?"

"Why would I be mad at you?" Japan asked, clearly bewildered by his question.

"Because…I like Ivan like that but not you?" Alfred asked, and Japan felt his heart break slightly at the scared look on Alfred's face as he glanced back at Japan.

"I am not mad. I would never be angry at you for that." Japan said gently.

"You're not?" Alfred asked, still looking a little nervous. "Not even a little?"

"I would be lying if I said I was not a little jealous." Japan admitted with a slightly rueful smile. "After all, my wound is still a little fresh." He joked, gesturing to his heart.

"Oh." Alfred said with a grimace. "Um, sorry?"

"You have nothing to apologize for. I was the one who brought it up first." Japan said reassuringly. At Alfred's still unsure expression, he added, "You know, I was told by a close friend that it will get better with time."

"Yeah?" Alfred asked, a slightly hopeful look growing on his face.

"Yeah. In fact, I am sure it will now that we can be friends again." Japan said, glancing down with a small smile. "You know, if you are still up to it, perhaps we could hang out after the meeting next month? Like we used to? I just got a new demo release from nintendo. I was waiting to play it with you." He asked hopefully. "If it is okay with you, maybe we can start over again?"

When Alfred didn't answer right away, he glanced up at the other nation, only to grin slightly when he saw Alfred looking like he was about to cry with relief.

"Bruh, don't make me get emotional in front of all these people. Screw you." He said as he held back tears.

"Is that a yes?"

"Of course it is, idiot." Alfred said, ducking his head slightly to hide the wobble in his voice. "Damn it, dude. You know I don't do mushy feelings."

"I will not tell anyone." Japan reassured him, patting his back in a playful way.

"You better not." Alfred said as he tried to get his emotions under control.

"So. Are you happy with him?" Japan asked again once Alfred had collected himself slightly.

"Yeah. I am." Alfred said, his expression softening as he spoke. "Really happy."

Japan hummed in a neutral way. "Then I am happy for you. Although I cannot say I am pleased with the fact that I may have to spend more time with Russia."

"I'll make a calendar so you two don't have to interact." Alfred said with a huff. "Geez. Can't you two even pretend to get along?"

"That is asking a lot from me, even as your best friend." Japan said with a grimace.

"Fair enough."

"That said," Japan added, his face suddenly becoming serious, "If he ever breaks your heart, I will not hesitate to cut his stomach open."

"Why does everyone assume he'll be the one breaking my heart?" Alfred asked, throwing his hands up in exasperation. "Maybe I'll be the asshole in the relationship! You don't know!"

"Al, you cry whenever you watch cute whale videos. I do not think you have it in you to be an abusive partner." Japan said flatly.

"Dude! You promised not to talk about that again!" Alfred said, looking down at Japan with a look of betrayal. "Not cool! What if someone hears you!"

"My point stands." Japan said with a shake of his head as the music started to slow down, signaling the end of the current song. Glancing back towards the rest of the room, Japan gave Alfred a genuine smile as he pushed him back towards the crowd.

"Well, do not let me keep you Al." He said, reluctantly letting Alfred go. "I know you want to get back to Russia. You did promise him the rest of your dances after all."

"Yeah. But really, thanks dude. I'm glad we're friends again. I missed you." Alfred said, pausing just long enough to give Japan a slightly awkward, but genuine smile. "See you in a little bit?"

"Just go." Japan huffed, waving him away with a shake of his head.

Throwing Japan one last look of thanks, Alfred quickly turned and walked into the crowd, leaving Japan by himself.

Sighing, Japan turned to also leave when he heard someone cheerfully calling his name. Before he could even turn around he felt Italy jumping on top of him.

"Kiku! I saw you dancing with America! Have you two made up?" He asked eagerly as Germany joined them.

"Hai. We have." Japan said with a slight smile.

"Yay! I was worried that you would be sad forever!" Italy said, beaming at the Asian nation. "It's a relief to see you smiling again!"

"It is nice to see you in better spirits." Germany agreed with a slight hum, a neutral look on his face. "Hopefully you will be able to enjoy the rest of the evening now."

"I hope so." Japan agreed easily.

"Speaking of partying-" Italy said cheerfully, letting Japan go and gesturing to the dance floor. "-now that you're feeling better, do you want to join me and Germany in the next dance? It'll be fun!"

"They are going to start with group dancing next." Germany explained at Japan's confused glance towards him. "You do not have to." He added sympathetically. "If you need a minute-"

"You know what? I think I will." Japan said, cutting off Germany gently with a small smile. "I could use the change of pace."

"Yay! I knew you wouldn't let us down! This will be so much fun! It'll be just like the old days!" Italy said, gesturing at the other two with a big smile. Grabbing the other two by the wrists, he pulled them towards the dance floor. "Come on! Let's go!"

"Yes, I suppose it will." Japan said, his heart feeling a little lighter as he spoke. "I suppose it will."

_LINEBREAK_

Alfred found himself feeling a little lost as he walked around the room looking for Ivan. For some reason he couldn't seem to locate the other nation, which was odd seeing as it was rather hard to lose a man who literally towered over everyone else.

When he failed to find him after a few more minutes, he wandered over to England who was sampling some of the sugar cookies from the dessert table.

"Hey Iggy, have you seen Ivan?" He asked with a slight frown. "I can't find him."

"Hmm? No, I can't say I've seen him." England hummed, still munching on his cookie as he glanced around the room. "Last time I saw him, he was dancing with you."

"Oh. Bummer."

"Speaking of him, weren't you two supposed to be exchanging 'gifts' right about now?" England asked, playfully elbowing Alfred with a knowing smirk. "For someone who couldn't keep his hands off of him earlier you sure are taking your sweet time getting that kiss."

"First of all," Alfred huffed, his face going slightly pink as he glanced at his watch, "I was not being handsy with him. Second of all, it's only 8:45. The gift exchange isn't for at least another fifteen minutes."

"Could have fooled me." England hummed with a slightly mischievous twinkle in his eyes. "Weren't you the one talking about how much of a good hugger he was? Are you sure you weren't trying to get a feel for those muscles?"

"Oh my god, stop. You're actually hurting my soul right now." Alfred said, covering his ears as he cringed at England's words. "I don't need to hear this from you."

"What? It's only natural for you to want to get intimate with someone you like." England said with a knowing nod as Alfred continued to shrivel up next to him from embarrassment. "It's nothing to be ashamed about."

"Please stop."

"You know if you have any questions-" England started to say with a shit eating grin, only for Alfred to grab one of the cookies off the table and forcefully shove it in England's mouth, stopping him mid sentence.

"Well, I'm going to go find Ukraine. Maybe she knows where he went." Alfred said quickly, turning around and all but fleeing into the crowd again as England pulled the cookie out of his mouth, looking a little too amused with himself.

Making sure to put as much distance between him and England as possible, he quickly scanned the room for Ukraine. It didn't take him very long to find her, as she was standing near the entrance of the room. As he got closer to her, he saw that she was speaking to Ivan, whose face was turned away from him.

At first Alfred had been excited to finally find the taller nation, but as he got closer he found himself growing concerned as he realized that Ivan's shoulders were slumped down in a defeated way, and Ukraine was pressing her lips together into a thin worried line as she looked up at him with a clearly concerned expression.

Alfred slowed down, a little unsure if he should interrupt what looked to be a private conversation, and was just about to turn around and leave when Ukraine spotted him. Ukraine gestured for him to stay where he was, and as she did so she said something to Ivan, causing him to turn around.

Alfred's concern only grew when he saw the melancholy expression on Ivan's face. Clearly something had happened while he had been talking with Japan.

As soon as Ivan spotted him, he gave him a small smile, and turning back to his sister they exchanged a few more words before they finally went their separate ways. As soon as Ivan had joined Alfred again, he let out a long sigh, leaning over and resting his head on Alfred's shoulder.

"Ivan? Are you okay? What's going on?" Alfred asked, now really worried about the other nation's odd behavior.

"I had a fight with my younger sister." Ivan said, and Alfred frowned at the tired tone in his voice as he spoke.

"What about?"

"Us."

"Oh."

"She found out about all the rumors."

"All of them?!"

"All of them."

"Well shit."

Even in his upset state, Ivan couldn't help but laugh a little at the last comment. "That is an understatement."

"Be honest with me. How long do I have left to live?" Alfred asked, grimacing as he quickly scanned the room for a knife welding Belarus.

"You do not have to worry about that at the moment."

"Umm…no offense but did you get hit in the head or something while I was gone? This is when she's going to want me dead the most dude."

Sighing again, Ivan pulled his head off of Alfred's shoulder and shook his head with a strangely resigned expression.

"She is no longer here. After our fight I made her go home."

"Say what now?" Alfred asked, giving Ivan a look of disbelief.

"She has gone home. She was in no condition to remain here."

"She just gave up?! Seriously? Just like that?!"

"I would not say that she has given up as much as she has retreated for the time being." Ivan explained.

This didn't seem to convince Alfred much however, as he still continued to give Ivan a skeptical look. Seeing that he wasn't making much progress, Ivan tried again.

"I would not lie about this. She was very distraught about the news and she could not have stayed even if she wanted to. After everything she has done to anger me tonight she will not try anything else." Ivan explained, glancing down at the ground again, and it was hard to miss the hurt look behind his eyes.

"It's not that I don't believe you…" Alfred said slowly, "I just find it hard to believe that she would give up on trying to get revenge. Are you sure she really left? She could still be waiting outside the building or something."

"Even if she is, she does not know about us meeting up separately this evening. She does not know our meeting time or place, and when we leave tonight we will do so together, so she will have no opportunity to strike. I assure you, you are safe for now." Ivan said with a small comforting smile. "There shall be no stabbing tonight."

As he spoke, Alfred relaxed slightly, but he still didn't let down his guard completely.

"Never say never, big guy." Alfred said with a low hum, nervously tapping Ivan's arm. "I've been attacked before after being told it was safe. Even if she's actually gone, let's keep an eye out, okay? Better safe than sorry. I'll ask the security to do a quick sweep of the building again to make sure she's not waiting for us outside or something."

"That is fine by me." Ivan agreed easily.

"Okay. That said, are you going to be okay?" Alfred asked, looking up sympathetically at Ivan.

"Why would I not be okay?" Ivan asked, slightly confused by the question.

"I know what it's like to have a serious fight with a sibling. Especially about having different opinions about something. It's not fun." Alfred explained, reaching over and placing a comforting hand on Ivan's back. "If you need a minute to yourself, I wouldn't be offended."

At Alfred's touch, Ivan felt a part of himself falter slightly, but he didn't let himself show it as he gave Alfred a bitter smile as he shook his head.

"That will not be necessary. I am used to having a turbulent relationship with my sister. It will pass."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean you can't feel awful about it." Alfred said, giving Ivan a real look of understanding. "You might still be mad at her, but she's still your family. It still hurts to fight with them. Just know that I'm here if you ever need to talk about it, okay?"

Ivan didn't reply right away, instead glancing back at his older sister, who was currently having a conversation with Canada with a heavy expression.

"I will be fine." He said again, gently pushing Alfred's arm off with another rueful smile. "It is not unusual for my family to fall apart once in a while. It is my older sister that I am worried about. She was very much looking forward to us being together tonight."

"Will she be okay?" Alfred asked, glancing her way with a sympathetic look.

"She will most likely be in lower spirits, but she will recover." Ivan said with another sigh. "I am actually more worried about how my younger sister will treat her after the party. She will most likely need to find another hotel to sleep in tonight."

"Because Belarus will stab her?"

"Contrary to popular belief, my younger sister does not only stab people." Ivan said in exasperation, causing Alfred to grin slightly.

"What? She usually carries a knife on her and threatens people. Forgive me for jumping to the obvious conclusion." Alfred said, causing Ivan to roll his eyes slightly.

"She would not stab Katya. She does not stab her family members often."

"Often?!" Alfred asked incredulously, only for Ivan to ignore him as he continued to talk.

"I am more worried about them getting into a fight and them saying something they will regret. My younger sister can be quite cruel when she is not thinking straight and while I do not mind her taking out her frustrations on me, Katya does not deserve that."

"Ivan. I say this with all the love in the world but have you ever considered that your family is really messed up?" Alfred said bluntly, causing Ivan to let out an involuntary bark of laughter.

"I am well aware that my family situation is unhealthy. Still, it is ironic that I am being told this by the one who had his older brother pour boiling water on him for decades, another close relation that spys on people's love lives for fun, and a twin brother who threatens people on a regular basis."

"Huh? When has Mattie ever threatened people?" Alfred asked, shooting Ivan a slightly confused frown.

"Your twin is surprisingly brutal about your health." Ivan said with an unimpressed hum. "He is very protective of you."

"I mean, he exaggerates sometimes and can have a sharp tongue, but he's usually harmless." Alfred said with a shrug, waving away Ivan's words. "The only time I've ever seen him truly upset is when we're either fighting or during hockey. He wouldn't hurt a fly otherwise."

Ivan stared down at Alfred in disbelief, only for Alfred to stare up at him blankly.

"What?" Alfred asked with a frown when Ivan didn't say anything. "What am I missing?"

"I…never mind." Ivan said, dismissing the topic with a shake of his head. "I will not be the one to tell you."

"Tell me what?" Alfred asked again, still looking confused. "What, did you tell him you didn't like his maple syrup or something? I thought I told you not to do that!"

"I did not tell him that. Forget it." Ivan said.

Alfred opened his mouth to ask him another question, but as he did so his watch suddenly started to go off, causing him to stop mid word and perk up considerably.

"Oh! It's almost nine! The secret Santa is about to start. After I announce the start of the event we should be able to sneak out to exchange our own gifts."

"Already?" Ivan asked, glancing down at his own watch.

"I know right? Time sure flies when you're having fun." Alfred joked.

"I see. That said, have you heard back from security yet?" Ivan asked. "I have not received the meet up location from them yet."

"No, I haven't. But that's fine, if they followed my instructions they should give you the meetup spot when they give you your present back." Alfred said, shooting Ivan a nervous smile. "So. You ready for this? It's been a long time since we've given each other a gift you know."

Ivan's expression softened at the question. "Da. I am ready. Are you?"

"Yeah. I'm stoked dude." Alfred said, though he still ran a nervous hand through his hair as he spoke. He hesitated for a moment before he spoke again, but seemingly coming to a decision he reached out and laid a comforting hand on Ivans shoulder.

"Hey, listen. I know that you're bummed out about you and your sister fighting, but try to not let it get you down, okay? I promise that it'll get better, and we can still make this evening a fun one. For both you and Ukraine. We'll figure out how to deal with Belarus later." He said, and Ivan smiled as he saw the sincere look in Alfred's eyes. "I'm here for you."

"I know." Ivan said with a warm smile. "The evening can only get better from here, da? After all, we still have a few more dances left."

"Hmm. I don't remember actually agreeing to that." Alfred teased, removing his hand from Ivan's shoulder and winking up at him. "I might consider it if my present is good enough though."

"If that is the case, I assure you I have already claimed them." Ivan shot back with a smirk.

"We'll see." Alfred hummed back. "I mean, if it's not a ring I might not be impressed."

"It is better than a ring."

"I'll have to see it to believe it." Alfred said with an excited sparkle in his eyes. "That said, I have to go and announce that the event is about to start. Wait about five minutes after the announcement for security to check the building again, and then go to the big Christmas tree. Veronica should have someone from the security staff waiting for you with your present. I'll see you in a bit, okay?"

"Do not take too long. I tend to become impatient when I'm away from you." Ivan said, his smirk growing as Alfred's cheeks turned pink at his words.

"O-oh. Well then." Alfred said with a slightly embarrassed cough, looking away from Ivan to hide the blush creeping down his neck, causing the taller nation to beam down at him. "Whatever, you flirt. I'll see you in a bit. Don't be late." He huffed, playfully pushing Ivan away as he quickly walked towards the crowd.

As Alfred walked off, Ivan continued to beam after him. He was quite fond of the younger nation's reactions to his words. As he turned around and walked over to the nearby Christmas tree, he couldn't help but hope that he would still be able to enjoy them after their little exchange.

He lingered near the tree for a few minutes, watching the other nations passing presents around as he waited on the security team. It didn't take him very long to spot the security officer he was supposed to meet near the tree, as the young man stuck out from the rest of the finely dressed crowd in his security uniform. Not only that, but he also stuck out due to the fact he was currently hitting on the party coordinator, who seemed rather amused by his advances.

To his relief, Ivan didn't have to interrupt the rather awkward scene as his present was on top of one of the piles under the tree, next to a lumpy package that looked suspiciously like a fruit cake. He was slightly tempted to take it with him as a joke, but seeing as Alfred would most likely not be amused if he was asked out with a supposedly fifty year old fruitcake, he chose to just grab his present instead.

Under the ribbon was a small piece of paper neatly folded up, and pulling it out he saw a set of directions and a room number scribbled down. As soon as he read it, he folded the paper up and quickly put it into his jacket pocket. He didn't need anyone else following them.

He wandered casually back towards the large double doors, fully intending to slip out of the room while the other nations were busy looking for their presents when he heard someone clear their throat expectantly behind him.

"Ivan, I hope you are not planning on meeting up with America looking like that." She teased, and turning around he saw his sister looking up at him with a slightly sad smile, though her eyes shone with something akin to pride.

"Da, I did. Is something wrong?" Ivan asked, glancing down at his outfit with a frown.

"Your tie is crooked silly." Ukraine said with a soft laugh, reaching over and pulling her brother down so she could reach his tie.

"Oh. I had not noticed."

"You never do. It's because you're always wearing that scarf." Ukraine teased lightly as she worked.

"Well, it was a gift from someone very special to me." Ivan replied with a soft smile. "I do not want to lose it."

Ukraine's smile softened as Ivan spoke, and as soon as she was done fixing his tie she reached up and cradled Ivan's face in her hands, gently running a thumb over his cheek with a bittersweet shake of her head.

"Oh Vanya. It feels like just yesterday that you were clinging onto my skirt and crying for me to not let go of you. Now look at you. All grown up and finally finding happiness."

"Katya, please." Ivan said, looking slightly embarrassed as she spoke.

"I am so happy for you." Ukraine continued, and Ivan felt his heart squeeze as she smiled up at him with a wobbly smile. "So proud of my dear little baby brother. I knew you would smile again one day. I really did."

"Katya…"

"Remember to smile for him whenever he looks at you, okay? He will bring you all the happiness in the world if you do."

Ivan smiled softly down at her, reaching up and holding her hands in his for a moment. "Of course."

"Good. I know that he will say yes. So do not worry too much." She said, and she reluctantly let go of Ivan's face and took a step back. "But know if the impossible does happen I will be here for you."

"I know you will." Ivan said softly.

"Oh, and one more thing?"

"Da?"

"Please don't forget to be Ivan again?"

"I do not think that will be a problem. I do not plan on leaving for that long again."

"Good. The world is so much better when you're like this." She said, relaxing slightly as she looked back towards the crowd behind her. "I suppose I should let you go. I do not want you to be late to your big moment."

"Katya?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you." Ivan said sincerely. "For everything. I could not have done this without you."

"What are you thanking me for? I only did what any good older sister would have done." She said, though Ivan didn't miss the way her mouth twitched up. "But if you really are serious about being thankful, you should prove it by bringing me some good news in the next hour." She teased, giving her brother a quick wink as she turned around. "But don't rush either. I know you'll want to spend some alone time together." She added with a quick giggle as she walked away, leaving Ivan to shake his head in bemusement.

Only his sister.

Shaking his head again, he walked out of the room, and though a part of him was still upset about his fight, he found his heart slowly lightning at the thought that even if everything did go wrong, he at least had one person on his side.

It did not take him long to find the meeting room, as it had been just a few hallways away from where he and his sister had been arguing before. Pausing when the hallway split into two directions, he remembered that the room number was 508, and looking up the hallway he saw that the room was to his right.

He took an extra minute to walk up and down the hall to make sure no one was lurking around, checking that each door was locked just in case someone was hiding. He had had enough of eavesdroppers for one lifetime, he thought with a small huff. Only after he tried each door did he feel satisfied enough to return to the meeting room, which easily opened for him.

He quickly slipped into the room, quietly closing the door behind him so it didn't alert anyone nearby. Finally alone, he took a moment to relax as he scanned the room.

The room was completely dark, save for the light that shone in from the windows from the city lights in the distance. The only thing other than himself in the room was a large table with about ten chairs surrounding it.

Too anxious to sit down and wait, Ivan slowly walked over to the window and watched the snow fall, taking a moment to admire it as it fell. Reaching out to touch the glass, he couldn't help but think back to Alfred smiling up at him as he sat in the snow in the park.

Smiling at the memory, Ivan hugged his present closer to him as his heart seemed to beat faster as he thought of him. In just a few minutes, he would hopefully get to see that smile again. Hopefully, he thought as he closed his eyes and smiled, he would get to see that smile for many years to come.

He could only hope.

As he stood there, lost in his thoughts, he missed the sound of a paper being pulled out of its holder behind him, and the almost silent sound of footsteps sneaking away. He also missed the sound of a nearby door opening and closing as he opened his eyes and continued to stare out hopefully into the night.

_LineBreak_

Alfred took a moment to watch Ivan leave the room, but as soon as the other nation was out of sight he forced himself to look away as his twin walked up next to him with a small smirk, clapping him on back.

"You good Al? You're not going to puke again are you? Do you need me to get you a barf bag?" Canada teased, causing Alfred to pout slightly.

"You're never going to let that go, are you?"

"Nope."

"You're an ass."

"I wouldn't be your brother if I wasn't." Canada said with a grin, reaching into his jacket pocket and handing Alfred his present. "Here. Security gave this to me by mistake."

"Of course they did." Alfred said with an eye roll as he accepted the gift from his brother, briefly glancing down at the paper hidden under the sunflower. "Sorry, I should have told them what colors I was wearing."

"It's fine. It's not their fault they got confused. After all, they would be looking for the better looking twin." Canada joked.

"Mattie, we have the same damn face."

"Says who?"

"Everyone."

"I'm still better looking." Canada hummed. "My hair is nicer than yours."

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that. Whatever helps you sleep at night, ugly." Alfred scoffed as he tucked the present into his jacket.

"Did you just call us both ugly?" Canada asked with an amused shake of his head.

"Nope. Just you."

"Rude."

"You started it."

"Whatever. Hey, I've been meaning to ask. What did you get Russia?" Canada asked, giving his brother a curious eyebrow raise. "I've been dying to know."

"Oh. I haven't told you yet?" Alfred asked with a frown.

"Nope."

"Huh. I could have sworn I told you already."

"Well, you probably forgot due to the fact that you've been too busy ogling your soon to be boyfriend."

"You're just jealous because no one loves you." Alfred shot back.

"Ouch. That actually hurt my feelings." Canada joked.

"You deserve it." Alfred hummed easily, glancing around them quickly as he spoke. Lowering his voice slightly, he leaned towards Canada and said, "If you really want to know what I got him I'll tell you. Do you remember that empty picture frame I had on my bookcase for years?"

"Oh, the silver one? Yeah, I remember it. Why?"

"Well, I finally found a good use for it. It's going to be part of Ivan's gift."

"Wait. You got Ivan a picture frame for Christmas?" Canada asked, a look of disappointment growing on his face as he spoke. "And a regifted one to boot? Al, that's so lame."

"I'm not giving him a God damn picture frame, you idiot! It's the picture in it that's the gift!" Alfred said defensively. "Don't be stupid!"

"Oh. I knew that." Canada said quickly, trying to play off his mistake. "What's the picture of?"

"Sure you did." Alfred scoffed. "Anyways, it's a picture of us on the ferry ride when we went to the Statue of liberty. When we were on the ride I got a funny picture of us together, and seeing as he's going home soon I thought he might like something to remember our time together. You know, have a reminder that we can get along as friends if we try. That-" Alfred said, his expression softening as he spoke, "-and I know he's always been a little bit jealous of other people having pictures of their friends. This way he'll finally have his own picture."

"Wait. Really? He doesn't have any pictures like that?" Canada asked in disbelief.

"No, he doesn't. He didn't have any friends before."

"Oh. Right. How did you even figure that out?"

"I kind of figured it out when we were on the ferry. He got defensive about taking pictures together and I noticed that he had moved the pictures on my bookshelf, so he must have been looking at them. That, and I texted Ukraine to confirm it when I was getting the pictures developed. She told me he always wanted a few. Apparently he's always kept an empty spot on his desk at his house just in case he ever got one."

"Oh my god. That's actually weirdly sweet." Canada said with a conflicted expression. "I mean, totally sad, but sweet."

"Right? Not only that, but it's got a secret special meaning with it." Alfred said, puffing out his chest and beaming proudly at his brother.

"Really?"

"Yep. It's a picture of the day when I first started liking him for real."

Canada almost choked on his tongue as Alfred struggled to control the over excited smile on his face.

"Wait! What the hell? I thought you only recently started to like him! Have you been lying this whole time?" Canada demanded, his head snapping to look at his brother with a completely dumbstruck look.

"No, I only realized I liked him recently. I actually first felt feelings for him when we went out drinking later that night." Alfred said with a shrug.

"The fuck?!"

"Yeah. I hadn't realized that I was actually starting to like him till later. I just thought it was the booze talking."

"Wait. Stop. You can't just drop this on me!" Canada said, grabbing his head in disbelief as he pointed an accusing finger at his brother. "You went drinking with him? Alone? And had enough booze to actually kinda admit to yourself that you could have feelings for someone?"

"I mean…I didn't mean too…" Alfred said, deliberately looking away from his twin's burning gaze. "We were playing a drinking game and he kept asking really dumb questions I couldn't answer. I mean, how the hell am I supposed to know how many types of planes I've flown?"

Canada only continued to stare at his brother in disbelief.

"Just how drunk are we talking about here?" Canada asked suspiciously.

"An amount." Alfred said, deliberately avoiding the question as he started to scoot away from his twin.

"Oh no. That's not an answer and you know it." Canada said, reaching over grabbing the back of his brother's jacket so he couldn't escape. "How drunk were you?"

"Not that much." Alfred said defensively. "Just enough to get a buzz going, I swear."

"Al."

"A little toasted?"

"Do you want me to tattle to big brother?"

"Okay, fine. I was drunk enough to break a chair and about a thousand dollars of booze." Alfred huffed. "But I swear I didn't get blitzed. I could still think straight for the most part."

"For the most part?!"

"Mattie. I swear I was careful with it." Alfred said with a sigh. "Stop being such a mother hen. I haven't done any real hard drinking since-"

"The Cuban missile crisis?" Canada asked humorlessly, causing Alfred to snap his mouth close.

"Oh."

Yeah. Oh."

"So…you know?"

"I know."

"Huh. Well shit."

"So, Alaska?" Canada asked, and Alfred felt himself shrinking into himself slightly as his brother looked over at him with a neutral expression. "I thought D.C. was on the other side of your country. Get lost, did you?"

Letting out a defeated sigh, Alfred gave up and with a sulky expression asked, "Okay, who snitched? Was It Cuba? I bet it was Cuba. He always was bad at keeping a secret."

"It was, actually."

"I knew I should have blown him up." Alfred grumbled.

"Al."

"What? Come on! He promised not to tell you!"

"Wait, he actually promised you that?"

"No. I threatened him into staying quiet. Clearly it didn't work."

"Al!"

"What?!"

"What is wrong with you?"

"Do you want that list chronologically or in alphabetical order? Either way-"

"I'm being serious, Alfred."

"Oh, come on dude. Not the full name. Don't do that to me." Alfred whined.

"Nope. I'm mad at you." Canada huffed, though he did finally let his brother go, crossing his arms and giving his brother a stern glare. "No nicknames for you."

"Seriously?! Dude, it happened half a century ago!" Alfred said in exasperation.

"Yes, but I only found out a few days ago."

"Bruh. Come on. I was going to tell you eventually."

"No you weren't."

"Yes I was!"

"Yeah? When?"

"In about fifty years. I was kinda hoping if I told you when it was ancient history you wouldn't be mad at me." Alfred admitted, looking slightly guilty.

"Did you really expect that to work?" Canada asked, clearly not impressed with his brother's explanation.

"Well, it would have worked if Cuba had kept his mouth shut. Damn it, why did he even bring it up? I thought we all agreed not to talk about that shit show." Alfred grumbled, looking over his shoulder and glaring at said nation, who was chatting to Greece across the room. "I'm going to poison his ice cream for this."

"Alfred, don't touch his ice cream."

"Stop calling me that! It's weird!" Alfred said, turning back around and pouting at his brother again.

"Nah."

"Mattie!"

"Nope. I'm going to keep using your real name until we have a proper conversation about this." Canada said with a huff.

"I'd rather you just yell at me." Alfred said, sulking again. "Come on, don't get all passive aggressive about this. You're insufferable when you do that. Just punch me or something."

"That's exactly why I do it."

When Alfred didn't answer him, Canada glanced over at him. Seeing the dissatisfied frown on his twin's face, he decided to take slight pity on the other nation.

"Look, I'm not going to bum you out too much before you go and talk to Russia, but we are going to have a conversation about what happened before I go home." Canada said, which only caused Alfred to pout harder.

"You're a killjoy, you know that?"

"Only when it comes to you being a dumbass with your health." Canada shot back, and reaching over and forcing his brother to straighten up his posture, he quickly gave his brother a quick look over. "You'll survive. That said, it's about time you went and met up with Russia. You ready?"

"I was before somebody-" Alfred said accusingly, shooting his brother a slightly annoyed look, -ruined the mood by being an overprotective dork."

"Yeah, an overprotective dork that worries about you." Canada hummed. "Speaking of which, I heard from Ukraine that her sister went AWOL. Do you need me to escort you to the meeting place? She might still be lurking around here."

"No. I'll be fine. I don't need a dang chaperone like I'm a little kid." Alfred huffed, crossing his arms and shooting his brother a slightly irritated glare.

"Well, at least let security do a quick sweep of the building to make sure she left-"

"God Mattie! I already did! It'll. Be. Fine. She's gone. Gone home to plan her plans of revenge against me like some weird cartoon villain. She won't try anything until I let my guard down, meaning I'll probably stabbed as soon as I go to the next meeting and Germany will yell at me for interrupting another useless meeting and then my boss will yell at me for getting stabbed, and even everyone else will be annoying about it and then-"

"Alfred, you're rambling." Canada said, patting his brother on the back sympathetically. "If you're that nervous you could have just said so."

"I'm not nervous." Alfred denied, though the small frown tugging on his face said otherwise. "And don't call me Alfred."

"Yeah, sure thing Fred."

"No. Absolutely not. That's so much fucking worse." Alfred said, cringing as his twin gave him a quick smirk.

"Come on, just let me walk you to the meeting point."

"No."

"Do you really want to get stabbed in the hallway of your own party just because you were too proud to accept help?" Canada asked, giving his brother an unimpressed eyebrow raise.

"I'm not-!" Alfred started to say, before he stopped himself, closing his eyes and letting out a long, irritated sigh. "Look, I'll be okay. Ivan went ahead of me to make sure she's not lurking around, security gave me the all clear, and you'll be guarding my back. Even if she comes after me in the hallway I'll just run towards whoever is closest, okay?"

"Or you could just let me walk you to the meet up point." Canada repeated, not budging.

"Mattie, I do not want you to come with me. I want to go alone. As in, by myself. As in, I want you to give me a little privacy? You know, because…" Alfred said awkwardly, gesturing towards the door with a slightly embarrassed frown.

"Because…?" Canada prompted, still not looking convinced.

"You know…kinda gonna be…getting hopefully together romantically…with someone I like…intimately…"

"Oh. Oh!" Canada said, his eyebrows shooting up as he realized what his brother was implying.

"Yeah. So can you please leave?" Alfred asked again, still looking embarrassed as Canada quickly backed off with a way too amused look in his eyes.

"Geez, that's all you had to say. Sorry, didn't mean to cock block-"

"Will you just fucking leave!? Gawd, I can't stand you! You're just as bad as Arthur, I swear to god!" Alfred said, clearly flustered as he pushed his twin away. "Go on, Git!"

"Aw, you're so flustered that your southern accent slipped!" Canada cooed, causing Alfred's face to go pink. "That's adorable! You must really be nervous!"

"Shut the fuck up!"

"You know, Russia might really like a deep southern drawl. He might find it sexy-" Canada said, barely holding back his laughter as Alfred's face went red.

"Nope. We are not doing this." He said defensively. Pointing an accusing finger at his brother with a scowl, he asked, "Why the hell are all ya'll so perverted? I swear, there ain't a clean thought between you and Iggy!"

"You're still slipping Al." Canada pointed out with a shit eating grin, earning him a crude hand gesture from Alfred.

"Shut it, will you! I'm leaving now, and don't you dare follow me!" He snapped, causing Canada to finally start laughing uncontrollably.

"Aw, don't be like that. I didn't mean to cause the sheriff to come out!" He wheezed as Alfred turned around and stalked off towards the doors. "Aw, come on Al. I'm just joking." Canada called after his rapidly retreating brother. "Don't go!"

Alfred didn't grace him with an answer as he stormed off, causing Canada to burst out laughing again.

"That was not very nice, Matthieu." A voice hummed from behind him. "You know you shouldn't push him when he gets agitated enough for his drawl to come out."

"What? Come on, it was a little funny." Canada said, still chuckling as he glanced back at France, who was leaning against a nearby column with a slightly amused expression on his face.

"Matthieu, you should not be riling up your brother just before he is about to do something this important." France lightly chided, causing Canada to smile guiltily at him.

"Yeah, I shouldn't. But he just makes it so easy to tease him."

"That he does." France hummed in agreement, watching Alfred quickly walk through the doors and out of sight. "Well, I suppose that there is nothing we can do now but wait for happy news, yes?"

"I guess." Canada said. "But I'm still going to check in on him if he doesn't come back within fifteen minutes."

"That goes without saying."

"Good."

"That said, do you actually know where they are meeting up?" France asked with a small smirk. "I would not have thought he would have told you."

"Yeah, I saw it on the slip of paper attached to his present."

"I see. Well, I'll pretend I didn't hear you say that. I do not need to get in trouble with your twin for spying on him again." France said with a quick wink. "In the meantime, I suggest we give them some privacy. Shall we go update Angleterre on the current situation?"

"Yeah. That'll work." Canada agreed, and they both made their way over to the dessert table where England was still hanging out.

_Alfred_

It took a couple of minutes for Alfred to calm himself down enough for his face to return back to normal, but he eventually did make his way down the hallway and towards the meeting spot.

While he had told his brother he wasn't nervous, in truth he actually was. Honestly, he was ridiculously nervous and while he was sure in the knowledge that Ivan actually liked him back, there was still a part of him that was scared that Ivan would reject him. There wasn't a way to guarantee he'd say yes after all, even if he did like him back. What if Ivan decided that they couldn't be together due to political or personal reasons? It wasn't out of the realm of possibility.

Biting his lip nervously, he forced himself to push those thoughts to the back of his head. No. He was done with doubting himself. He knew Ivan liked him. He knew he would say yes. He knew that Ivan wouldn't push him away, and he wasn't going to push him away either. He was done running away.

Shaking his head, he forced himself to stop overthinking as he hurried up his pace slightly. Screw it. He couldn't have any more doubts if he didn't give himself time to think about them! It was foolproof!

It didn't take him much longer to turn down a nearby hall, and pausing at the split, he glanced up and down the hall. Each side looked almost identical, except for the room numbers. To his left, he saw the meeting room. Huh. That was odd. Didn't the paper say to go right? Just to make sure he wasn't misremembering, he pulled out the slip of paper from pocket and confirmed that, yes, room 508 was on the right, not the left.

Alfred paused for another moment, before he shrugged. Oh well. It was probably a mistake by the security team. He shouldn't over think it. Quickly putting the paper back into his pocket, Alfred took a moment to quickly straighten out his jacket and after making sure his hair wasn't too messy, he gave himself a moment to calm his screaming nerves.

Taking one final calming breath, he quietly walked over and grabbed the door handle. Slowly turning it, he pushed open the door, and he looked inside only to be taken aback when he saw…nothing.

Alfred paused in confusion at the empty room in front of him. He had been expecting Ivan to be waiting for him, but the only thing in the room was an old office desk and a couple of shabby arm chairs. There wasn't even anything on the desk. Not even a lamp. There weren't even any lights on in the room, which was being dimly lit by the city lights from the window.

Ivan wasn't there.

Alfred stared blankly at the scene in front of him. Unable to comprehend the situation, he leaned back and squinted at the number on the door again. Yup. It was still room 508. The hell?

Alfred hesitated again, a little unsure on what to do. Maybe Ivan was still scouting out the area? Did he get lost? Did he get the wrong directions or something? Maybe he was in the wrong room 508? Growing more nervous about the whole situation by the minute, Alfred called out into the room.

"Ivan? Are you here?" Alfred asked slowly, carefully walking into the room. Frowning when he got no response, he quickly looked behind the door just in case Ivan was hiding behind it, only to feel a little ridiculous when he saw nothing there. Of course he wouldn't be there.

Feeling slightly stupid, he quickly cleared his throat and called out again, "Ivan, are you playing a joke on me or something? Cause if you are, it's kinda of lame." He joked nervously. "Come on out."

When he again didn't get any kind of response, he frowned. Pulling out his phone, he checked his messages to see if Ivan had left him any texts, but he didn't see anything there either. He typed a quick text to Ivan asking where he was, but when he didn't get a response after a minute he slid the phone back into his pocket, glancing around the room for any sign of the other nation.

Alfred eyed the desk on the other side of the room. Well, it wasn't like there was anywhere else to hide.

"Dude, seriously. This isn't funny." He said, starting to become really unnerved as he walked over to the desk and looked over the other side of it. "This is really stupid. Come on, get out from-"

However, he stopped mid sentence when he saw nothing there again. Ivan wasn't there. It looked like he was never here.

Alfred stared at the empty spot for a moment in disbelief. What the hell? Where the heck was Ivan? Now utterly baffled, he leaned back, nervously tapping his hand on the desk as something in his stomach seemed to drop as he realized that something was really wrong about this situation.

Nothing was making sense. The information wasn't matching up. He knew Ivan had gone ahead of him. He had seen him leave. He wouldn't have abandoned him here. He was also pretty sure he wouldn't have gotten lost either. The building wasn't that big. Plus, he knew Ivan wouldn't have ever left him alone like this without supervision. Not while his sister might still be…still be…

Alfred's eyes went wide as he finally realized what was going on. He had been lured here. Someone had figured out their plan. They must have changed the door numbers. This was a trap and he had fallen for it, hook, line, and sinker. He was separated from Ivan and alone, and to make it worse he had helped whoever had set this up by foolishly turning his back on the exit by looking for someone who wasn't there.

Alfred let out a quick curse, but before he could even hope to turn around to escape he heard the door shut and lock behind him, causing the room to go dark as the light from the hallway was cut off with a snap. He was trapped.

"You are a hard man to meet, America. One might have thought you have been avoiding me."

Alfred slowly turned around, and he felt an icy wave of dread roll over him as Belarus stepped out from the shadows and into the weak light from the windows, smiling at him with a cold look of triumph.

Unlike the last time he saw her, when she had looked powerful and put together, she now looked completely unhinged. Her makeup was smeared from crying, her dress had been wrinkled and covered in makeup stains, and her hair was completely ruffled. Even her eyes seemed manic, her gaze never leaving his face, watching him like a hunter that had finally cornered a particularly elusive prey. However, to Alfred the most unnerving thing about her was the present she was holding in her hand.

He had almost missed it at first, as it had blended into the dark. It was a black and white box, with a lid that had a small bow on top of it. It wouldn't have been so concerning, but Alfred knew for a fact that she hadn't brought a present into the building. That present hadn't been brought in by her. Which meant it had never been approved by security.

When Alfred didn't answer her, she tilted her head, giving him a sarcastic smile.

"What? The ever vocal America has nothing to say?"

"How?" He asked, still staring at the present in her hands, trying and failing to hide the disbelief in his voice. "I made sure no one could bring weapons into the building! You didn't have a weapon! No one did!"

"Well! You are not as stupid as you look. I am surprised you figured it out so fast." She said with a slightly unstable laugh as she pulled off the top of the present and reached into the box. "And here I was hoping to surprise you with your very own gift. What a shame."

Alfred made to lunge at the present, only to freeze when he heard the unmistakable sound of the safety being clicked off a firearm.

"Ah, ah, ah. You stay right there." Belarus said, and to Alfred's horror she pulled out a side arm and pointed it straight at his heart. "I would not recommend you move, unless you want to receive your gift early. Now, I think we are overdue for a conversation, don't you?"

Alfred's mind kicked into overdrive as he stared down the barrel. Almost like clockwork, his brain started to analyze the situation. She was using a Colt Python revolver. One of his models. How ironic. The safety was off. Her finger was on the trigger. The gun was fully loaded. She was not bluffing. He would never be able to reach her in time before she pulled the trigger. He had no idea where Ivan was, and his brothers were too far away to know what was going on unless he sent them a signal.

In other words, he was totally and royally screwed. Damn it, Mattie was going to kill him.

"I thought you only used knives." Alfred bit back, glowering as he spoke, lowering his hands in defeat as he started to nervously tap on his pocket. "What, leave the knife sharpener at home?"

"Even I am not stupid enough to take you on with just a knife. You are stronger than me. However, that strength does not mean much when you are not bulletproof." She said with a wicked smile. Glancing at his hands, she added, "Put your hands up. I do not trust you not to have your own weapon."

"I don't bring my guns to God damn Christmas parties. Unlike some crazy people, I actually have standards." Alfred snapped, but he reluctantly lifted his hands up to his chest. "There, happy?"

"More than you know." She said, her eyes shining with glee.

When Alfred didn't reply, choosing to silently scowl at her instead, her smile quickly turned into a smirk.

"I see you are all out of jokes now."

"This isn't something I find funny. Forgive me, I tend to get a little testy about gun safety." Alfred said curtly. "Immortal or not, those things hurt."

"I know." Belarus replied, slowly walking closer to Alfred, forcing him back up into the desk. "That is the point. I had to make you fall for the same trick you pulled on my brother. I even went as far as to acquire the same gun you used. All to see your face when your actions finally caught up with you."

"I lost that gun decades ago. There's no way that's the same one." Alfred bit back, although he faltered slightly when he actually examined it. It did look kinda familiar, and when he squinted he could barely make out a faded pair of initials carved onto the side of the barrel. He couldn't read them in the dark, but he didn't have to.

He remembered putting them there.

"It is." She said coldly. "My brother never threw it away after he returned from your attack. I am not sure why, but he chose to keep it locked in his desk for all these years. Regardless of his reasons, it is fitting that you should be stopped by your very own weapon."

"Great." Alfred said sarcastically. "Glad you thought this through."

"I did. Now, would you like to sit down?" She said, gesturing to one of the nearby chairs. "I would not want you to be uncomfortable while we chat."

"No thanks. But I do want to know how you got that gun past security." Alfred said bluntly. "I had a perfect record of catching them, you know. I'm kinda offended that you ruined it."

"I suppose you deserve an explanation on how I got this in here." She hummed, stopping just out of Alfred's reach. "It was rather easy. Tell me, do you remember someone called Lebedev?"

"Wait, the Russian mobster?" Alfred asked with a confused frown. "That guy? Seriously? That loser?"

"He had a lot of friends in high places. I have been using him to keep an eye on you, seeing as my siblings have been conspiring to keep me away from you. He was more than happy to help. He was not pleased by the fact that you lied to him." She said with a sly smile. "You have a lovely apartment."

"Wait, are you telling me my building is compromised?! You told them where I live?! How much did you tell them about us?! What the hell did you do?!" Alfred asked, clearly shaken at the news as his face lost color. "We aren't supposed to bring normal people into our squabbles! You could have exposed all of us!"

"Relax. I have already taken care of it." She said smoothly. "I already turned him in. His whole group should be rounded up by the end of the week."

"That doesn't make it any better! You could have put us all in danger with that stunt!" Alfred argued, clearly still distressed at the idea of being watched again. "God damn, I thought what Kiku and France did was bad, but lady you sure take the cake! What you did broke so many laws, normal and otherwise, that I'm shocked your boss hasn't locked you up in an insane asylum! Just how stupid are you?"

As he spoke, her smirk slowly turned into a scowl. "I said it has been taken care of. Now, sit down." She jerked her head towards one of the chairs.

"I'd prefer not to, thanks."

"Sit. Down." She growled, tightening her grip on the trigger threateningly. "I will not ask again."

Reluctantly, Alfred backed away from the desk and forced himself to sit down on one of the very uncomfortable armchairs, Belarus making sure the barrel of the gun stayed pointing at him the whole time. As soon as he was seated, Belarus smiled coldly again at him.

"Very good. Was that so hard?" She asked in a sickeningly sweet voice.

Alfred chose not to answer her again, choosing instead to glance at the door behind her. Not missing where he was looking, Belarus scowled again.

"Do not bother trying to escape." She snapped, stepping between him and the door. "You will not be getting out of this room unless you are dead or have met my demands."

"Seriously, what is your problem?!" Alfred snapped back, glowering up at her. "Don't you think someone is going to notice that i've gone missing? In fact, I know Ivan will notice me disappearing into thin air. After all, I am supposed to be meeting up with him right now." Alfred pointed out, his scowl deepening as he spoke. "Or did you forget that, little miss perfect?"

"Of course I know that. But he will not miss you for long. After all, we are just having a little chat about your relationship with him." She said, suddenly becoming calm again and smiling pleasantly at him. "I am not unreasonable. There is still time for us to fix this problem, yes?"

Alfred eyed her warily as she started to pace up and down in front of him. He was rather unnerved by her weird mood swings.

"Problem? What problem?" He asked cautiously.

Belarus stopped suddenly, and before Alfred could do anything she had already reached out and grabbed him by the chin tightly, causing him to flinch as her broken nails dug into his skin. She dragged his face towards her, fury dancing in her eyes as she forced him to look at her.

"Do not try to act dumb. It did not work for my brother and it will not work for you." She hissed. "I know that he loves you. He has already said as much when I spoke to him. Whatever scheme you pulled on him has worked, and now he has fooled himself into believing he loves you, regardless of the fact that you two are enemies."

Alfred stared up at her, too shocked to respond as she glowered down at him. Ivan had said that? Ivan had said he liked him? He didn't care about the politics? He wanted to be together? He loved him? He really loved him?!

He honestly would have been over the moon at this news, but considering his circumstances and the fact that he suddenly realized with growing horror that Belarus knew everything, he tried to hide any reaction of joy from showing on his face.

However, he must not have been able to hide his feelings completely, as the glower on Belarus's face grew as her grip tightened on his face, and Alfred grimaced as he felt a sting on his cheek as one of her nails cut into it.

"Does that make you happy?" She asked darkly, her eyes narrowing in displeasure. "Are you happy that you were able to play with his heart like a toy?"

Alfred wisely didn't answer her, and after a few seconds of silence she let out an annoyed huff, and yanking her hand away from Alfred's face she took a step back so she was out of reach again, pointing the gun at his heart again.

"It is no matter. After all, you have the power to stop this little game. All you have to do is tell him that you do not love him. Admit to him that it was nothing more than a game. Then he will see that he was a fool to believe you and your lies." She said, smiling darkly. "You can do that, yes? You have had your fun?"

Alfred stared up at her in silence, but he couldn't stop the scowl growing on his face as she spoke. A game? She thought this was all a game? Their whole relationship, their whole friendship, their feelings? She thought that he had been leading Ivan on for a cheap laugh?!

Something inside Alfred's heart screamed in outrage at the very thought, and in a moment of impulse induced rage he asked in a pissy tone, "Are you stupid? I'm not going to do that."

She stared down at him, seemingly too shocked by his response to reply for a couple of seconds. Taking advantage of this, Alfred continued.

"News flash, but Ivan isn't being manipulated. Ivan is a grown ass man, and he can love or hate whoever he wants. Also, seeing as I like Ivan and you've just confirmed that he likes me too, I'll be damned if I tell him I don't like him now. So fuck off, I'm not doing that."

The words rang through the silent room as Alfred continued to scowl at her. Belarus stared at him for a few more moments, her face completely blank of emotion, but it didn't last long. She suddenly regained her composure and before Alfred could stop her she grabbed him violently by the hair, shaking his head hard enough to pull out some of his hair.

He tried to stop her, but he was forced to stop as she put the gun under his chin, and he glared up at her through tears of pain as she screamed at him.

"I gave you a chance! I gave you a chance to make up for your schemes, and what do you do?! You continue to scheme! You continue to try and play with his heart!"

"I'm not scheming anything, you maniac!"

"LIAR!"

Throwing him back against the chair, she backed up again, her face twisted up in rage.

"I gave you a chance. Now, you will not leave this room alive."

"Good luck with that. At this rate Ivan has probably noticed that I've disappeared." Alfred spat, holding his head as it throbbed in pain. "Good fucking luck talking your way out of this mess. Ivan's gonna be pissed when he realizes what you've pulled. He's probably already heading this way."

"Oh, I am sure he is. In fact, that is what I am counting on." She said darkly, picking the present box off the floor and crushing it in her hands. "I want him to come looking for you."

"Uh…what?" Alfred asked, staring at her in disbelief. "Why?! I would have thought you wouldn't want him to realize what you're doing? Aren't you just going to make him hate you for the rest of your life? What's the point?"

"It is simple. I not only want to cause you as much pain as you caused him, but I also need to make sure you will not be able to play with his heart again." She said, her expression darkening as she spoke. "I need to make sure when I shoot you, that he is here to watch the light leave your eyes. Only when he holds your dead body will he understand what you are dooming him too. Only then will he realize that is the only path your so-called romance will lead to! Only then will he realize what I was trying to protect him from!"

As she spoke, Alfred stared up at her in disbelief, feelings of terror and white hot anger burning in his heart as she spoke. Terror for Ivan, and rage from hearing the bullshit she was spewing. He knew she was crazy, but he never thought she'd be crazy enough to do that to her own brother!

Ignoring Alfred's look of fury, she continued her rant.

"Not only that, but once you are dead your governments will have no choice but to keep you two separated! After all, if a mild scuffle is enough to make them consider calling off your little project, what would a murder do?!" She asked, pacing up and down the room again, gesturing wildly with her free hand but never taking the gun off Alfred.

"They would not even let you two be close to each other for at least another decade. By that time, I will have fixed the brainwashing that you put my brother through. You will no longer matter to him!"

Alfred felt his whole body growing cold as she spoke. Oh. Oh shit. No. No! No, no, no, no, no! He could live with being beaten, he could live with being tortured, but he didn't think his heart could survive if Ivan was forcefully taken from him before he told him feelings. Not now that he knew. Not now when there was a chance they could be happy.

"You're getting our governments involved in our personal business?! Have you gone insane?!" He asked, not even bothering to hide the terror in his voice. "Not only could that start a real war, but if the other nations find out you're trying to let our governments dictate our personal relationships they'll try and kill you! Do you think any of us will let you get away with that?! You can't do that! It'll destroy everything!"

"It will be worth it!" She said, stopping dead in her tracks and Alfred physically recoiled at the insane smile on her face. "After all, who do you think our governments are going to listen to? You, the brainwashed victim who will not even wake up for at least a week after you die, or the countless reports that my brother was the cause of your death? After all, some of the others still think he is threatening you into a relationship, and once they see you dead and your blood on his hands, no one will ever support you two ever being together again!"

"You're insane!" Alfred said with a panicked laugh, hardly daring to believe his ears. "You're actually insane!"

"Yes, but you will never hurt my brother ever again!" She said, staring down at him triumphantly. "He will finally be safe! You will never be able to break his heart again!"

"That doesn't make any sense! How can you be protecting him when you're the one causing the heartbreak? That won't do anything but make him angrier at you!" He shouted, unable to control the rising anger boiling in his body, a roaring noise filling his ears as white hot fury overtook his better judgment.

"I do not care!"

"You're not helping him, you're hurting him! You're his sister! You're supposed to be his family! You're not supposed to be making him miserable in order to protect him! What kind of person does that to someone they care for?!"

"It is worth it! I do not care if he hates me for the rest of his life, as long as he is safe from you!" She screamed, her eyes flashing with fury.

"I'm not the one trying to hurt him, you stupid bitch! Open your Goddamn eyes!" Alfred roared back, his eyes burning with his own angry fire as he slammed his hands down on the arm rests of his chair, crushing them. "The only one hurting him is you! You, you fucking psycho! YOU!"

This was, apparently, the wrong thing to say. Belarus' expression turned murderous at his words, and throwing down the empty box in her hand onto the ground, she used her now empty hand to deliver a powerful strike across Alfred's face, causing his head to snap back as a cracking sound filled the room. His glasses flew across the room as a result, landing in a nearby corner, the frames partially bent from the impact.

"Do not dare-", she screamed, pulling her hand back for another blow, "-try and blame me for your schemes!"

Taken aback by the unexpected power of her strike, Alfred reflexively covered his face as his vision swam. Holy hell, had Belarus always been that strong?! Trying to stop the second blow, he tried to stand up, but he was quickly stopped by Belarus, who pushed him down again with an alarming amount of strength. Pinning him to the chair by his throat, she loomed over him, sticking her gun between his ribs in order to make sure he didn't move again.

"I did not give you permission to get up." She hissed as she tightened her grip around his throat, causing him to start to lose airflow as he tried to push her off, desperately trying to push the barrel of the gun away from him.

Unfortunately for him, she had caught onto his plan and pulled the gun out of his reach as she continued to strangle him. He couldn't even push her off as she was using her whole body weight to pin him down in a strange angle, and while she was small she was surprisingly heavy.

"Fuck you! I don't need your permiss-!" Alfred choked out, only for her to tighten her grip again, completely blocking off his airways.

"Shut up!" She hissed.

Giving up on the gun for the moment as he rapidly ran out of air, he instead clawed desperately at her hand to try and get it away from his throat. However, she was way stronger than she looked and he was rapidly running out of strength as he started to become light headed.

In response to his struggle, Belarus pulled back the gun and struck him across his face again with the butt of the gun, causing Alfred to let out a silent cry of pain as stars erupted across his vision. As the taste of blood filled his mouth from his teeth cutting his cheek, he forced his eyes open again, trying to fight off his growing dizziness as it became harder and harder to stay conscious.

As he looked up at his attacker, he saw that Belarus was looking down at him with a look of absolute hatred, and to Alfred's horror he saw that she was starting to lift the gun up again. But this time, it didn't look like she was going to strike him. No, this time she was starting to take aim. She wasn't waiting anymore.

Adrenaline flooded his body, and in an act of desperation he let go of the hand that was holding his neck. In a last ditch effort to free himself, he pulled back his arm as far as possible, then swung up as hard as he could and punched her squarely between her ribs.

It wasn't nearly enough to send her flying, but it did make a sharp cracking noise as it made contact. Screaming from the pain, Belarus doubled over, and as a result her grip loosened on his neck enough for him to breathe again.

Gasping for air, Alfred took advantage of the situation and with all the strength he could muster he threw her off of him and onto the floor. She screamed out again as she landed on her battered ribs, but as Alfred scrambled off of the chair, he realized to his frustration that she had still somwhow managed to keep a hold of the gun.

"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" She screamed, pushing herself off the ground, looking up at Alfred with a terrifying rage. "MY BROTHER SHOULD HAVE KILLED YOU WHEN HE HAD THE CHANCE!"

Still trying to catch his breath, Alfred tried lunging for the door, but before he could take more than a step towards it Belarus's hand shot out and grabbed his ankle mid-step, causing him to crash to the ground, knocking the wind out of him again. He didn't have much time to recover, as before he could even attempt to get up he felt a searing pain in his left ankle as she attempted to crush it, causing him to yell out in pain again.

He violently kicked his good leg back in response, and he couldn't help but feel a little satisfaction when he felt his foot make contact with her face with a sickening crunch, causing her to scream again. He had probably just broken her nose. Unfortunately though, it wasn't enough force to make her let go.

""IT IS ALWAYS YOU! IT'S ALWAYS YOU WHO TRIES TO TEAR APART MY FAMILY!" She continued to scream, dragging him back towards her. Alfred screamed in agony as his vision went fuzzy from the pain from his now probably broken ankle being pulled. Forcing himself to ignore the pain, Alfred grit his teeth and swung another kick towards Belarus.

Putting all his strength into it, he was able to crush her hand this time, which finally got her to let go of him. Still, it didn't do him much good, as when he tried to get back on his feet he realized that he was never going to be able support his weight on his now fucked up ankle.

He didn't give up though, as he still tried to hobble over to the door. However, it was too late, as Belarus had already recovered from his last attack. While her free hand was now clearly broken, she was still able to pull herself off the ground and onto her feet, and taking advantage of his battered state, she grabbed him by the back of his jacket.

"YOU WILL NEVER LEAVE HERE ALIVE!" She howled through the pain, grabbing him and throwing him headfirst into the nearby desk, causing the back of Alfred's head to bang off of it so violently that the desk cracked where he had hit it, a bang reverberating around the room as splinters flew in the air around him.

It was all Alfred could do to not black out as his vision went white from the pain, and he crumbled onto the floor as his body screamed from the trauma. Coughing up blood as he laid on the ground, it took all his remaining willpower to keep himself from passing out.

Breathing heavily as he resisted the urge to throw up as the room spun, Alfred forced himself to move as he heard Belarus stumbling closer to him again.

His throat felt as though someone had poured fire down it. He couldn't even scream out in pain as his throat had swollen up to the point where he couldn't speak anymore. His head felt like he had been run over by that damn train again, and he was sure he had a serious concussion from how bad his vision was swimming. He wouldn't even be able to walk for at least a while, as his ankle couldn't even hold his weight anymore.

But he still tried to pull himself up again, refusing for even a second to surrender.

He couldn't give up. He would never forgive himself if he didn't die trying to make it back to Ivan. He had to do everything he could to make sure Ivan didn't have to bear the guilt of failing him. As long as he drew breath, he would never allow Ivan to hold his dead body. He at least owed him that much after failing to keep his word about keeping himself safe.

Slowly pulling himself up, he had to lean against the broken desk in order to keep himself standing, but stand he did. Forcing himself to stay awake, he slowly turned around, and he wasn't even surprised to see Belarus holding the gun up again over his heart.

She wasn't in much better shape than him. The hand that he had broken hung uselessly at her side, and her face was covered in blood from her heavily bleeding nose. Her breathing was just as ragged as his. Between her cracked ribs and broken nose, she was probably having a hard time catching her breath.

Good. Fuck her.

They both stood there for a moment, breathing heavily as they stared each other down. Alfred was the first to break eye contact as his eyes slowly fell on the gun again. He seemed to be having trouble concentrating on it, his eyes unfocused as he tried to stop himself from swaying. Apparently his head injury was worse than it seemed, as it was becoming quite clear that he was rapidly getting worse with every passing second.

But before Belarus could respond to his odd behavior, his face suddenly screwed up from pain, and he slumped down the desk slightly as he started coughing violently, holding his spasming throat.

"Surrender." She demanded coldly, taking a step towards Alfred.

Gasping for breath, Alfred slowly opened his eyes again, glaring back at Belarus with a strange expression she couldn't read. With some effort, he made sure to keep his eyes firmly on hers, and he very deliberately shook his head no.

"Why?!" She screamed, spraying blood everywhere as she did so. "Why are you fighting so hard? You do not even really love him!"

Alfred just kept defiantly shaking his head no, vainly trying to push himself back off the desk as he did so.

In response, her hand tightened around the gun again and just as she was about to pull the trigger, Alfred stubbornly staring down the barrel in defiance, they heard a crashing sound as the door violently opened behind them, flooding the room with light. Opening in the loosest term of the word, because the door more or less exploded as Ivan burst into the room, his face chalk white as he frantically scanned the room, holding a crushed cell phone in his hand.

Close behind him were England, Canada, and Ukraine. England looked as if he was about to either start crying or start screaming, Canada looked straight up murderous, and Ukraine was covering her mouth as she stared at the scene in front of her with a look of absolute horror.

They all wore terrified expressions, but none so more than Ivan, and as his eyes fell upon Alfred's broken figure, he stumbled back slightly as his already pale face lost the little color it had to begin with.

Whipping around to face them, Belarus's eyes went wide as soon as she saw the other nations behind Ivan and the phone in her brother's hand. Realizing what must have happened, she snapped her head back towards Alfred. She watched in horror as he shakingly reached into his pocket and pulled out a broken phone, but one that still was intact enough to show that someone had recently hung up a phone call.

He shot her a smug grin, weakly showing it off before he finally closed his eyes and allowed himself to sink to the ground, unable to keep standing anymore. As he slumped against the side of the broken desk, he couldn't even be bothered to keep holding his phone, letting it slip out of his hands and clatter onto the floor as he started coughing violently again, curling in on himself with a clearly pained grimace.

Seeing Alfred fall caused Ivan to finally move, and before the others could even react Ivan was already lunging forwards, trying to stop his sister from doing anymore damage as he desperately tried to grab the gun out from her hands.

"STOP! NATALIA, STOP!" He shouted, desperation in every word, his eyes full of unspoken terror. "PLEASE!"

But it was too late. Just as he had taken hold of her, Belarus aimed for Alfred's heart and with a final scream of fury, she finally pulled the trigger.

Time seemed to slow down as the hammer of the gun slammed down, and Ivan could do nothing to stop it. He was too late.

"ALFRED!"

With an almighty bang that seemed to shake the room, Belarus's gun exploded in her hand, causing her to scream out in pain as it burned and ripped her hand apart. It was as if the gun had turned into a grenade, spraying sharp, hot metal around the room. She fell to the floor, dropping the lump of metal that had once been a gun, curling around both of her useless hands with another shriek of pain.

Ivan wasn't completely spared as searing chunks of hot metal flew across his face, but he didn't care. He barely even noticed as his skin was shredded, instead choosing to stare in horror at Alfred, who hadn't been able to move out of the way fast enough.

Belarus wasn't the only one who had received critical damage from the gun.

Alfred wasn't spared as his face screwed up in pain as he jerked back from something hitting his chest. Doubling over as the wind was knocked out of him yet again, Alfred only had enough time for his eyes to go wide in realization of what had happened before everyone froze, staring at him with a mix of terror, devastation, and in Belarus's case a look of bitter glee.

No one even dared to breathe as he weakly clutched his chest, covering his heart with a look of terror. His terror quickly turned into one of confusion as he winced, and pulling his hand back his face lost color as they saw blood on his hand. Alfred stared down at his hand blankly, as if he couldn't even comprehend the fact that he could have actually been shot.

Slowly, oh so painfully slowly, he looked up at Ivan, who had frozen in place as he watched Alfred in horror. As blue eyes met violet, Alfred desperately tried to speak, trying to mouth something to the older nation as his voice failed to work. Even to someone who didn't know how to read lips, it was obvious what he was trying to say.

"It's okay. It'll be okay. I lov-"

Alfred wasn't able to finish as he was stopped by another cough, cutting off what he was trying to say. He tried to reach out to Ivan, trying in vain to speak again, but he was only able to let out one last devastatingly heartbroken whimper before his eyes rolled back and he finally collapsed to the floor. With an almost too quiet thud as he hit the carpet, he finally went limp.

No one moved. They stood as still as statues as they watched Alfred, waiting for him to move, to speak, to do anything to show them that he was alive.

He didn't.

Ivan's scream tore through the room. It tore out from the very depths of his soul, from a place in his heart he thought had died centuries ago. A deep, haunting, primal scream of a man who had already lost everything, and was about to lose everything again. A scream of a man who had seen the man he loved die in front of his very eyes.

"NO! NO! ALFRED!"

Ivan was moving before his brain had even realized what he was doing, throwing his sister away and falling to the floor next to Alfred, pulling him into his arms as he frantically tried to try to do something, anything to save him. Not even bothering to hide the tears that were starting to stream down his face, he desperately started to remove Alfred's jacket in a last ditch effort to save him.

As he did so, Canada flew into the room and with a snarl he gave Belarus a vicious right hook, sending her flying into the opposite wall. With a sickening crunch as she hit the wall, Belarus ragdolled to the ground, and she didn't get back up again.

"You bitch!" He roared, his face completely twisted with rage as he stormed over to a now crumbled figure of Belarus, and was about to hit her again when Ukraine flew in after him, grabbing his arm and preventing him from doing anymore damage as Canada struggled to hit Belarus again.

"Canada! That is enough! She has already passed out!" She begged. "If you kill her you will only be playing into her hands!"

"Let me go! She killed Al!" He snarled, hot tears falling down his face as he struggled against her. "She doesn't deserve pity! She deserves to die!"

"Matthew, stop. She's already down!" England yelled, and while he looked equally upset he grabbed Canada around the waist and together they dragged the raging nation back away from Belarus. "She's no longer a threat! Stand down!"

"No! This wouldn't have happened if I had just gone with him! I should have gone with him!" Canada sobbed, still frantically trying to push the others off of him. "You heard what she did to him! You saw what she did! You all did! Let me go Arthur! I need to kill her!"

"Matthew, please! Alfred needs you now!" Engalnd begged, tears in his own eyes as he spoke. "Stand down!"

Canada let out another sob, and it took another minute of him struggling against them before they were able to force him into the only unbroken chair in the room. As soon as he realized he wasn't going anywhere, Canada finally broke down completely, putting his head in his hands.

"I should have gone with him!" He yelled again, and England pulled him into a side hug, wearing an equally defestated expression as he forced himself not to break down as well.

As soon as Ukraine was sure Canada wouldn't go off on her sister again, she hurried over to her sister, checking on her injuries with a worried expression. Tearing off the fabric from her own dress, she started to wipe the blood off her sister's face as she tried to determine how broken she was.

On the other side of the room, Ivan was still frantically removing Alfred's jacket as the other nation laid limply his arms. At this point, he did not know if Alfred had simply passed out from the pain or if he had actually died. He didn't know if he was still alive, or if he still had time to save him.

He was not a religious man, but at this moment he frantically prayed to any god or devil that would listen to him. He even prayed to the universe itself, knowing that it had never given him anything before. He prayed that it was the first option, and that he wasn't too late to save him. That just this once he could have a miracle.

Finally, he was able to tear away the jacket. He braced himself for the blood that would cover Alfred's bright yellow shirt, and he was already starting to tear strips of fabric off the jacket in order to pack the wound when he froze.

Alfred wasn't bleeding. In fact, besides the crumpled fabric and the occasional blood splatter from his earlier fight, the shirt was completely clear from any stains. As this realization dawned on him, he also realized Alfred was breathing. Alfred's chest was rising and falling with shallow breaths. It was much weaker than he would have liked, and he was struggling slightly, but he was breathing. He was hurt. He was broken. But he was still with him. He was safe.

He was alive.

Ivan continued to stare down in complete disbelief, frantically running a hand over Alfred's chest to make sure he truly hadn't been shot. It was impossible. He had seen the gun go off. He had seen Alfred get hit with the bullet. He had seen the blood on Alfred's hands. How was he unharmed?

It was only then that he felt something move in the jacket that he had been holding. Pulling the jacket toward him, he pulled the fabric out to get a better look at it, and it finally dawned on him what had happened.

The sunflower pin that Alfred had been wearing had taken the bullet at full force, and while it had still gone through it, it must have slowed it down enough where it had lost most of its momentum. However, that was not what had saved Alfred.

Falling out of the jacket as he held it up was a now crumbled present. The once intact sunflower shredded into pieces, the carefully wrapped paper torn, and the now visible frame folded into itself from where the bullet had punched into it. As it clattered to the ground, Ivan could hear the sound of broken glass rattling within the paper.

Shakily, Ivan reached down and carefully picked up the present. Careful to not let the glass fall out of the paper, he tore it back just enough to see that the bullet had been stopped just before it had fully pierced the back of the frame. It was also where he saw a shard of glass with blood on it from where Alfred must have gotten cut.

A one and a million shot. A lifetime amount of random events. A series of coincidences, of choices, of a single choice he had made that night. If he hadn't placed the pin on Alfred, if they hadn't agreed to give each other gifts, if Alfred hadn't been able to call him in time, if Alfred had not fought so hard, if he hadn't made it just in time to change the direction of the shot, he would not have been alive right now.

Taking a deep breath of his own as his face crumbled from relief, he let the frame drop to the ground again as he pulled Alfred closer to him, carefully cradling Alfred to his chest as he completely broke down.

It seemed as if the universe had finally granted him his miracle.

Ivan didn't know how long he sat there holding Alfred, nor did he care. He was only pulled out of his thoughts when he felt a heavy hand rest on his shoulder. Glancing up, he saw the worried face of England looking back at him. When he saw Ivan's tear streaked face, his expression only grew more concerned.

"How is he? Is he…?" He asked, letting the rest of the sentence hang in the air as his already heavy expression grew heavier, looking over his younger brother's body hesitantly.

"He is hurt, but he is alive." Ivan said, his voice hoarse from crying.

England closed his eyes in relief as the stress bled out of his shoulders, and Canada froze, his eyes going wide with disbelief as his head snapped towards Ivan.

"He's alive? You're sure?" Canada asked, and when Ivan nodded, he bit down on his lip as he struggled not to let out another sob. Covering his face, Canada let out a broken, but relieved laugh as he collapsed back into his chair.

"Of course he's alive! I should have known! He never dies." Canada choked out hysterically. "He's always been like a cockroach."

"Thank god." England muttered as he removed his hand from Ivan's shoulder. "Thank god."

He took a long calming breath, and opening his eyes again, Ivan saw that he was wearing a surprisingly calm and firm expression on his face. England's whole demeanor changed, and where a broken and worried brother once stood, a former empire now looked down at Ivan as he took control of the situation.

"How hurt is he?" He asked. "Will you be able to move him?"

"He is hurt, but not enough where moving him would do too much more damage."

"Good. In that case, the next few minutes are going to be crucial." England said sternly, glancing towards the door with a frown. "We need to get you two out of here."

"Wh-?" Ivan started to ask, only for England to click his tongue at him.

"To make sure no one finds out about this of course. I'm sure you're rattled right now, but keep up will you?" He asked, gesturing at Ivan impatiently. "Do you want your sister's plan to work? Do you want the others to see you in the middle of a crime scene?"

Ivan glanced around the room, and he cringed slightly as he realized that the other nation was right. Between the destroyed furniture, the blood splatters, and the broken pieces of the gun laying at his feet, it didn't do much to prove his innocence.

"Ah." Ivan said awkwardly. "No, I do not."

"Good. Now, we still have time to salvage this situation. Right now, we are the only ones who know what has happened, but if the others find out what happened here tonight there's going to be chaos. I know Francis has stayed behind to make sure no one followed us, but he's probably having a bugger of a time explaining where everyone went about now." England said with a sigh.

"Oh shit. I completely forgot about him." Canada said, looking back towards the hallway guilty. "He's probably freaking out right now."

"I'll go update him on the situation. I'm sure that between the two of us we can think of a decent excuse on why Alfred and you have disappeared. In the meantime, can you do me a favor, Ukraine?"

"You do not have to ask. I will take care of my sister." She said darkly as she glanced back towards them.

While she had tears in her eyes, Ivan was rather taken aback by the raw fury in her eyes. Her hands were balled into fists, and Ivan saw that her nails were cutting into the palms of her hands as she tried to suppress her feelings.

"Katya…" Ivan started to say, only for his sister to shake her head firmly.

"I will deal with her properly this time, Ivan." She said in a low voice, although she wasn't able to fully look her brother in the eyes as she spoke. Turning to glare back down at her sister again, she added, "Do not worry. By the time I am done with her she will not be able to tell anyone what happened here tonight."

"Thank you. Matthew, could you try and distract the security teams for a few minutes so they can leave?" England asked, turning to face Canada, who was wiping his remaining tears off his face. "Also, once they leave, could you come back here and try and get rid of some of the evidence of this fight? Normal people might freak out if they see this mess."

"On it." Canada said. Finally standing up, he was about to leave when he paused. Looking down at something by his foot, he slowly reached down and picked up his brother's glasses off the floor. His face fell again when he noticed the bent frames, but he didn't allow himself to dwell on it.

Instead, he walked over to Ivan and handed them to the taller nation, who took them without question.

"Take care of them. They're one of his most important belongings. Even more than his jacket." He muttered. "They're kinda like your scarf. He doesn't just let anyone touch them."

Ivan nodded solemnly, and seemingly satisfied with his answer, Canada turned and finally stepped back into the hallway and back towards the stairs and out of sight.

"Do you have somewhere safe you can go while Alfred heals?" England asked, turning to Ivan with a frown as Ivan carefully placed the glasses into his suit jacket. "It may not be a good idea to bring him straight home, seeing as I know his president has a nasty habit of posting guards around his houses and he might find out about the scuffle if he gets a report that Alfred was injured. Also, your flat may not be safe right now seeing as Belarus knows where it's located."

Ivan frowned as he ran through different options in his head.

"It doesn't have to be for too long, just for a few hours so his bruises fade away. It shouldn't take too long. He's always been really good with healing bruises. Goodness knows he dealt with them enough as a child." England hummed, and Ivan saw a small smile pulling on the corner of England's mouth.

"I have one place in mind…" Ivan admitted with a frown. "Though it might not be the most comfortable place for an injured person."

"It'll have to do for now. Lord knows we can't bring him to a hotel or hospital. People would ask too many questions." England grumbled. "As much as I like regular folk, they can be a pain to deal with sometimes."

"What about you, Katya? Will you be able to get Natalia back to the hotel without raising any alarms?" Ivan asked as his sister let out a tired sigh, leaning back from her sister and nodding her head.

"I will manage. Though I must say, Canada did not make it any easier when he broke her jaw." She said with a slightly annoyed hum.

"He broke her jaw?!" England asked incredulously. "He really didn't hold back? I knew she tried to kill Alfred and all, but he could have taken her head off!" She's strong, but she's still physically weaker then-!"

"She is not." Ivan said darkly, cutting England off as he shot his younger sister a cautious frown. "She is not always this strong, but whenever she becomes enraged she can sometimes even take me on. Do not pity her. She knew what she was getting into."

England looked over at Ukraine in disbelief, but she just nodded her head in agreement, causing him to gape at her.

"You're only mentioning this now?!" He asked. "That's kind of important!"

"We did not think she would be able to get to Alfred. So we did not think it was important at the time." Ukraine said with a slightly guilty grimace. "That, and she only becomes this strong when she has completely gone insane. She was doing well earlier…"

"Still, you could have at least mentioned it! If I had fought her I could have died!" England protested.

"I'm with England on this one." Canada said as he walked back into the room, throwing Ivan his and Alfred's coats. Also, to Ivan's surprise, the Christmas present he had planned to give Alfred earlier. "It would have been nice to know."

"Sorry. We will try and mention any abilities she has in the future." Ukraine said reluctantly.

"It's fine. I'm not sorry I broke her jaw though." Canada huffed, and England shot him a withering look.

"Matthew!"

"She had it coming."

"You do not hit people at full strength! You could have killed her!"

"Good, fuck her." Canada said with a scowl, and Ivan couldn't help but feel slightly conflicted as England started to sputter at Canada's words.

While he still was truly angry at his sister for what she had done, he still didn't like the idea of her being killed. At the same time, after what she had done he also couldn't muster up the strength to be truly angry about what Canada had said.

Glancing over at his older sister, she seemed to be thinking along the same lines as him, as she was also wearing a slightly conflicted frown. She also chose not to comment on it as Canada and England started to bicker quietly in the corner

Canada let out another huff, and ignoring his now fuming older brother he turned to Ivan and said, "Everything is set up. I texted France and after telling him Al is okay, he's agreed to cause a scene in order to attract securities attention."

"What kind of scene?" England asked suspiciously.

"Oh, you know." Canada said with a sigh. "Something about starting a strip tease with Spain and Prussia. As soon as the pants come off you know security is going to blow their tops, so you'll have about five minutes to leave."

"Why am I even surprised?" England muttered, clearly not impressed as he heard a faint cheer of a crowd down the hall.

"Look, you asked for a distraction and I got you one. You're welcome." Canada said with a huff.

"In that case, I'm going to make sure Francis at least gets a proper update about the situation before he gets thrown out the building. Make sure to keep in contact with us about Alfred's health." England added, turning to Ivan.

"How? I have destroyed my phone." Ivan pointed out.

"Is Al's phone still working?" Canada asked, pointing to the shattered phone next to his leg.

Ivan picked it up and pressed the power button. The screen came to life. He was barely able to see the screen behind the cracks, but he could still access the calling function.

"Well, at least that takes care of one problem. Now, I really have to go. Text us as soon as Alfred wakes up." England said as there was another roar from the crowd, as well as a few shrill whistles from the security team.

"You guys better get going. Remember, you have five minutes max." Canada said.

Ivan nodded, and as soon as England left Ivan took his coat and made sure the worst of Alfred's injuries were covered and that his face was tilted so no one would be able to see the bruises on his face. He carefully tucked his present under Alfred's hands so it would not fall, and put Alfred's broken present into his own pocket for now. As soon as he was sure Alfred would be comfortable he finally stood up.

It did not take much effort, and Ivan couldn't help but feel his heart break slightly as he thought back to the last time he had picked the other up nation like this. Just like before, Alfred looked as though he were merely sleeping, and if it weren't for the tense lines around his eyes he might have thought he was.

Pushing that thought out of his head, he turned around and finally, they both left that wrenched room and stepped into the hallway and into the light.

They would be leaving. Together this time.

_Alfred_

When Alfred finally came back to his senses, it took him less than a half of a second to realize that, no, he hadn't died. How, you ask? Well, if he had been dead he wouldn't feel like he had been run over by a God damned truck. At least when you came back from being dead you were fully healed. Plus, coming back from the dead felt more like dragging his brain through a fog, so he would have been really confused for a while. He was far too with it for that to be the case.

That left him with three options. First, he had just hallucinated the future and he was back in the hospital in the year 1850 after getting run over by that stupid train. Unlikely. Second, his brother had beat the ever loving shit out of him because he did something stupid. Much more likely. Third…

Actually, he wasn't sure. As his senses started to wake back up, he was suddenly aware of the fact that he smelled…whiskey? The fuck? Where the fuck was he? This wasn't the U.N. building. That building smelled like paper work and depression. Not to mention, now that he was thinking of it, why did he feel so warm and cozy? He felt like he was lying on something soft? Why did the soft thing smell like Vodka?

Huh. He always thought heaven was alcohol free. Neat.

On a more serious note, he felt himself frown as he tried to piece together the broken shards of his memory.

The last thing he remembered was being in an office in the U.N. building. He had been meeting up with Ivan when he had been jumped by Belarus. He remembered her bashing his head in against a desk, but after that it started to get a bit fuzzy. Something had exploded? Someone screaming his name? He vaguely remembered something purple…

At that last thought, a vivid memory of Ivan's terrified face flashed across his mind, and Alfred felt his heart drop as he remembered what happened. Oh. Right. He had been shot.

Any humor in his scattered thoughts instantly vanished as he realized that despite all his efforts, he wasn't able to stop anything. After all of the security he had set up, after all his precautions, even with so many people watching him, he had failed. Hell, even his own strength had been useless in the end. And wasn't that a fucking joke? He was supposed to be the strongest, yet he was rendered helpless by his very own gun. He couldn't even keep his promise to stay safe.

Some Hero he turned out to be.

Worst of all, there was no way that Ivan would want to be with him now. Even if Ivan did love him, there was no way he would agree to his confession. Not after they had come so close to causing a major international crisis. Even if it wasn't their fault, who in their right mind would put themselves into a position where that scenario could be repeated? Who would stay in a relationship if it could cause World War Three?

Alfred's heart started to break at the realization, but he forced himself to keep it together as he took a deep breath. Well, it could be worse. It wasn't like they had actually confessed yet. It wasn't too late to pretend that it never happened. Perhaps it was for the best that they left their relationship where it was before they both got hurt. Hell, maybe they could even laugh about the whole situation one day.

It would be the smartest and most logical move to take after everything.

But… he didn't want to be logical. He didn't want to pretend it didn't happen. He didn't want to laugh it off. He didn't want to say goodbye. He didn't want to let go of one of the happiest things that he had ever felt. He wanted to be selfish. He wanted to tell the rest of the world to go fuck itself. He wanted Ivan to tell him he loved him. He didn't want to see Ivan leave just when they were about to be happy together.

Today was supposed to be the happiest of his life, but all Alfred felt like doing was crying. Holding back tears, he wondered if this had been what Kiku felt before he had rejected him. Had he been this scared as well? If so, he finally understood why Kiku had been too scared to confess to him before. The thought of being rejected was absolutely terrifying.

He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he almost didn't notice someone softly calling his name, and it was only when he felt someone gently shaking him that Alfred tried to open his eyes.

He suddenly realized that was a bad idea when the light dug into his eyeballs like fire and he had to close them again. Damn it, why did he always come too in bright rooms after passing out? Why couldn't he ever wake up in a nice, dark room? Was that too much to ask for?!

Letting out a pained whine as his head seemed to explode at the onslaught of new sensations, he tried to cover his eyes, only to realize something was wrapped around his arms, which was preventing him from moving.

Now thoroughly confused and still in pain, Alfred almost didn't notice the soft thing under him move. Not that he cared, as he tried to bury his face in the soft thing to escape the light. The soft thing seemed to let out a huff of amusement at his actions, and to his relief the soft thing put a hand over his eyes, and he relaxed slightly.

"Is that better?" A familiar voice asked him.

Alfred tried to respond, but finding that his voice still wasn't working well, he just nodded response, only to wince as his head throbbed again.

"Do not move your head. You have received a rather nasty concussion." The voice said gently, running a soothing hand through his hair.

Alfred subconsciously leaned into the touch as his headache subsided slightly. Huh. He had kinda expected those hands to be cold. But they were warm. And so was his voice. In fact, he seemed to be hugging him…

Alfred froze as he suddenly realized who must be holding him. There…there was no way. Not after everything that happened. It couldn't…it didn't…but no one else would have a freaking Russian accent and cuddle him!

Against his better judgment, Alfred reached up to remove the hand from over his eyes, only to be gently stopped by Ivan.

"That is not a good idea." Ivan said softly, taking Alfred's hand and carefully pulling it away from his eyes. "It will only hurt you again if you open them."

"Ivan?" Alfred croaked out hopefully, and Ivan sucked in a quick breath of shock, clearly not expecting Alfred to actually respond to him.

Alfred felt himself slowly smiling as he realized that he had been wrong. Of course Ivan had stayed. Of course he had. He should have known better. After all, it wasn't like either of them were sane enough to actually think about the logical part of their relationship. He really should have known better. He needed to stop overthinking already.

Letting out a watery laugh of relief, Alfred slumped against Ivan as the stress of the situation finally bled out of him. As he did so, he felt Ivan worriedly pull him closer as he examined him, mistaking his laugh for a sob.

"What is wrong? Are you still badly hurt?" Ivan asked. "Are you still in pain?"

"No. No, I'm okay." Alfred finally said, not caring that his voice sounded a little rough.

"You are fully awake now?" Ivan asked, still sounding worried. "You are not going to fall asleep again?"

"I think?" Alfred answered, slightly confused by the question.

Sensing his confusion, Ivan answered his unspoken question.

"You have woken up a few times. This is the first time you have actually spoken back to me."

"Oh. I did?"

"Da. I am not surprised you do not remember. You were rather out of it." Ivan said, and Alfred heard his concern as he spoke.

Alfred felt himself pause at that information. Huh. Weird. He really couldn't remember any of that. Must have been one hell of a head injury.

"Did I do anything embarrassing?" He asked hesitantly, only for him to feel Ivan struggling not to laugh in response.

"What?! Did I?" Alfred asked again, only for Ivan to actually laugh this time.

"Of all the things that have happened, that is the first thing you ask about?"

"Well, it is a valid concern. People do weird things when they're loopy." Alfred grumbled.

"No, you did not." Ivan reassured him. "You were simply groggy and kept falling back asleep."

Satisfied by that answer, he reached up again and finally pulled Ivan's hand off his eyes. Ivan didn't stop him this time, and after blinking a few times he was able to make out a fuzzy image of Ivan looking down at him with an exhausted, but soft smile.

His eyes had dark circles under them, his neat hair was now slightly disheveled from running his hands through it, and to Alfred's confusion he also had scratches and what looked like burn marks across one of his cheeks. However, it didn't seem like Ivan knew or cared, as even through his clear exhaustion he gazed at him with a hesitantly hopeful expression.

"Hello, мой подсолнух." He said warmly. "It is good to see you again.

Alfred didn't expect those words to break him, but suddenly the weight of that greeting hit him full force as he realized that despite everything, Ivan still loved him. Loved him enough to still want him to be his sunflower.

Alfred felt his face crumble as he stared into those brilliant purple eyes, and before he could even attempt to stop the tidal wave of emotions that had suddenly overwhelmed his heart, he was suddenly fully breaking down, tears streaming down his face as he dropped his head against Ivan's shoulder as he unashamedly sobbed.

To Ivan's credit, he simply pulled Alfred info a comforting hug as he also blinked tears from his eyes.

"It is alright. I am here. I am not going anywhere." Ivan said soothingly, running a calming hand through his hair again. "I would never leave."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean-" Alfred cried, trying to speak between sobs. "I didn't-"

"I know. It was not your fault." Ivan said firmly. "If anything, I am more to blame. I should not have assumed my sister's actions."

"I almost ruined everything-"

"My sister almost ruined everything. All you did was show up at the wrong place at the wrong time. It was not your fault, you were tricked."

"I didn't listen to Mattie-"

"Alfred, stop. You are not to blame for being attacked." Ivan said, softly pulling Alfred away and forcing him to look at him again. "No one could have predicted she would have figured out our meeting location. If we did not even know it, how were we to suspect that she would?"

"But I wasn't strong enough." Alfred hiccuped in distress. "I couldn't stop her."

"Do not be silly. Fists do not work against guns." Ivan huffed. "I should have known my sister would not play fair. She never has."

"But-"

"Do you think I do any better against her at home?" Ivan asked simply. "There is a reason I run away when she comes after me. There is no winning against insanity."

Alfred didn't look convinced, and with a sigh Ivan reached over and cradled Alfred's face in his hands. This seemed to work, as Alfred relaxed slightly as he leaned into his touch.

"Do you even remember what you did to her?" Ivan asked, wiping the tears from Alfred's face. When Alfred shook his head, Ivan smiled slightly.

"You broke most of her ribs, her nose, and every bone in her left hand except for her pinky. For someone who claims that their strength did nothing, it seems as if you did a lot of damage with just three punches. Frankly, I am shocked that she was still standing by the time I arrived."

"Oh. Um…"

"I am not angry about you hurting her."

"Oh thank god."

Ivan chuckled at his response. "I would never be upset with you for defending yourself. Now your twin brother on the other hand…"

"Mattie?"

"He broke her jaw."

"Seriously! Mattie did?!" Alfred asked, clearly shocked.

"It took both your older brother and my older sister to stop him from murdering her right there and there after you passed out." Ivan reaffirmed. "He was very angry about your supposed death."

"Wait, how am I not dead?!" Alfred asked, suddenly pulling away from Ivan and frantically checking his chest. Now that he thought about it, wasn't he shot? Shouldn't he be dead?

It was then he realized that he wasn't wearing his suit jacket anymore. In fact, he wasn't even wearing his vest or tie anymore. The only thing left of the top part of his suit was his yellow shirt, and even the top buttons of it had been undone. He was also covered in his and Ivan's coats, which explained why he hadn't been able to reach his face before.

"Where did my stuff go?" Alfred asked with another confused frown.

"I removed it to help you breathe better. Your breathing was a little rough after my sister strangled you."

"Oh. Makes sense. But seriously, how am I not dead?" Alfred asked again.

At that, Ivan's smile dimmed slightly. Glancing across the room guiltily, Alfred followed his gaze.

That was when he finally realized where he was. They were back at his secret office. They were sitting in an old booth in the back corner of the room. Ivan was leaning against the wall, and he had seemingly been holding Alfred in his lap this whole time.

Alfred looked towards the bar, and he saw that the mess they had left before had been cleaned up, and on the cleared bar sat his torn jacket, tie, glasses, keys, and wallet. Well that explained where his stuff went.

But that wasn't what Ivan had been looking at. No, he had been looking at the ripped up and broken present that sat next to an intact red present on the table next to them. As well as the broken remains of the sunflower. Alfred felt his heart drop as he finally realized what must have happened.

"Your present. It's ruined." He said, looking like he was about to cry again. "I spent all night wrapping that."

"You did?" Ivan asked, and Alfred nodded miserably as he slumped back against Ivan.

"What am I supposed to do now? Everythings been ruined."

"Ruined?" Ivan asked, raising a slightly confused eyebrow. "How?"

"Isn't it obvious? The party was a disaster, I almost died, everyone probably knows that Belarus attacked me by now, my boss is probably canceling our project together as we speak, and based on how long I've been out, it's already halfway through Christmas and I have nothing to give you because your present has been blown up."

Alfred had been expecting Ivan to maybe try and comfort him again or maybe just stay silent, but he was rather taken aback by Ivan trying, and failing to stop himself from snickering loudly.

Feeling slightly hurt by Ivans behavior, he glared up at Ivan, who upon seeing Alfred's unimpressed expression, burst out laughing as he quickly started to shake his head, trying and failing to say anything as he continued to laugh.

"What? What's so funny?" Alfred asked, scowling at the other nation. "This isn't funny!"

"Nyet! Nyet! I am not laughing at you." Ivan quickly said, pulling Alfred closer again as he continued to chuckle. "I agree, your distress is not funny. It is simply that I realized you have not heard yet."

"Huh? Heard what?" Alfred asked, slowly becoming less annoyed and more concerned at Ivan's behavior. "Wait, what did I miss?"

"Apparently, you and I have run off to get married." Ivan said happily, beaming down at Alfred. "We have become quite the romantic story it seems!"

"I'm sorry, what?!" Alfred asked, and Ivan started to giggle again at his God smacked expression. "Did we suddenly get married in Vegas or something? How long have I been out for?"

"Only for about seven or so hours."

"Then how the hell-"

"Before you ask, it was surprisingly not France's fault." Ivan said. He let go of Alfred for just a moment as he reached into his jacket pocket, and pulling out Alfred's phone he opened up the app to the nations betting group chat and handed it to Alfred.

"See for yourself." He said with another huff of laughter.

Alfred took the phone, and scrolling down the group chat he couldn't help but gawk at what the others were saying.

"Wait. Wait! Hold up a second!" Alfred said, his face slowly growing pinker and pinker with every passing moment as he read the messages. "That's not what happened at all!"

"I am aware. Still, I am rather impressed by their imagination." Ivan said, trying and failing to hide the pleased expression on his face. "Apparently we are rather passionate lovers. At least, that is what they took from all the broken furniture."

"Oh my fucking Christ."

"Da!"

"No! You hush!" Alfred said, clearly flustered as Ivan started to giggle again. "Wait! Wh-what on earth is this?! They're making bets on who's on…damn I didn't even know Lichtenstein knew those kinds of words…"

"Apparently Switzerland was just as shocked as you."

"I…wait, who even started these rumors if it wasn't France?!" Alfred asked, his face still burning as he quickly turned off his phone, not having enough bravery to keep reading what the others were saying.

"Apparently, after France had been kicked out for streaking-"

"Wha-?"

"I will explain later. Anyways, one of your secret service members got concerned when they had not seen us in awhile, so they asked your twin where we had gone. When he implied that we had left to deal with something else, apparently Hungary overheard and went to look for us. Apparently she stumbled upon the broken room, and after Prussia claimed to have seen us making a rather passionate run from the building-"

"What the hell do you mean-?!"

"-the others came to the conclusion that we had finally confessed our undying love for each other, had rather passionate relations, and then ran off to either get married or-"

"Stop! I don't need to hear the rest of that sentence!" Alfred squeaked, quickly putting a hand over Ivan's mouth, looking completely mortified. "Oh my god, what is my boss going to think?! He's probably going to die from shock if he hears about these rumors!"

"He did leave you quite a few messages." Ivan said cheerfully, causing Alfred to look like he was about to either start screaming or pass out again.

"Oh my god. My life is over." Alfred said, seemingly giving up as he leaned back against the back of the booth, staring off into space with a blank expression. "I've been wooed by and run off with the enemy, I've fallen completely off the grid, and I've been ignoring his texts for at least a third of the day. He's going to lock me up in D.C. forever after this."

"You are rather shy for someone who has been wooed." Ivan teased.

"Ivan, I wouldn't be laughing if I were you. Isn't your boss going to flip when he hears about this?"

"I can simply say it is all capitalist propaganda and he will most likely believe me." Ivan said cheerfully.

"What about Belarus? Isn't she going to tell on us?"

"Apparently my older sister has taken steps to take care of that. She has not given me details, but she says that my boss has decided to ignore the situation for now."

"Huh. So that means I'm the only one whose boss is flipping out?"

"Apparently."

"Just my luck." Alfred said, and Ivan was rather amused by the pout growing on the shorter nation's face. "Damn it. I just know he's going to be giving me so much paperwork for this."

"It is not all bad." Ivan hummed, pulling a now sulking Alfred back onto his lap. "At least now they will not be upset by your attempted assassination. I would rather not have us go to war again, мой подсолнух."

"Hmm. I guess so. Still, we're going to have to come up with some kind of cover story." Alfred grumbled. "Maybe about how your gift got messed up and we went out to look for a new one?"

"That is not far from the truth." Ivan agreed.

Alfred still didn't look very happy, causing Ivan to frown as well.

"What is wrong? I thought you would be relieved to hear that we have successfully escaped from the consequences of my sister's actions." He asked.

"But your present." Alfred said, glancing over at it again with a melancholy expression. "I was really excited to give it to you, and I was going to…and we were…and now everything's ruined…" Alfred mumbled, his eyes dropping to the floor as he avoided Ivan's gaze.

Ivan studied the other nation for a moment with a slightly confused frown, before he glanced over at the presents again. Glancing between the two presents, he slowly realized what Alfred was implying. Ah, so his present was also going to be used to confess. With that and Alfred's already existing obsession with Christmas, it was understandable why he was so upset.

"What am I supposed to do now? It's Christmas and I don't have anything to give you." Alfred asked, looking more and more upset.

Ivan thought for a moment, before he smiled at a sudden idea growing in his head. Reaching down, he gently lifted Alfred's face up so he was looking up at him.

"Nothing to give? Mой подсолнух, you have already given me a gift." Ivan said with a small smile. "Do you not remember?"

"Uh, no?" Alfred said with a confused frown. "What did I give you?"

"A confession." Ivan hummed softly, leaning down and pressing his forehead gently against Alfred's. "Granted, I could not hear it, but I knew what you were trying to say."

"Oh. Oh! Oh my god, I actually did that?!" Alfred squeaked, and to Ivan's delight his face went scarlet as he stared into his eyes. Ivan could actually feel the heat radiating off of Alfred's face as his brain seemed to blue screen.

How cute.

"Not to mention I heard you telling my sister you liked me." He added, causing Alfred to sputter in embarrassment.

"I…I thought…oh hell. I thought that was just a fever dream that my brain made up, and I didnt know you heard that. Um, I mean I really do like you, but…SHIT!" Alfred sputtered, his eyes going wide as he unintentionally blurted out his feelings.

Alfred's brain seemed to fry in real time as Ivan's smile grew larger by the second.

"Oh?" Ivan teased, pulling a now very flustered Alfred closer. "You are confessing again?"

"Damn it! You're not playing fair!" Alfred protested, his face still getting redder by the second. "No fair!"

"Well, who ever said I was supposed to?"

"You're a bully."

"You are very cute when you get flustered." Ivan replied happily, and Alfred actually looked like he was about to pass out again.

"Oh my Lawd. Stop." He said, and Ivan noticeably perked up at the change of accent.

"Do you change accents when you are romantically flustered?" He asked, and Alfred refused to speak, turning away from Ivan with a clearly embarrassed pout.

"Can you do it again?" Ivan pressed.

"Naw. I mean no!" He said, desperately trying not to look at Ivan, whose eyes were sparkling at this new fun information.

"Please?"

"Why should I? You haven't even told me you like me back." Alfred said stubbornly, careful to not let his accent slip again as he spoke. "I know you do."

Ivan's eyes could not have been any brighter as he grinned down at Alfred. "Oh, you do?"

"Yup."

"In that case, all I have to do to hear you speak like that again is to confess as well?"

"Wait. I never said that-" Alfred started to protest, only to be cut off when Ivan leaned over and gently pressed his lips against his, cutting him off.

Alfred's mind went completely blank for a moment, his brain completely unable to comprehend what was going on. That was, until his heart let out a victory cry as it seemed to explode with joy. Completely throwing logic to the wind, Alfred allowed his eyes to close as he completely relaxed into Ivan's embrace.

As he felt Ivan's smile on his lips as he pulled him closer, he couldn't help but feel a swooping sensation in his stomach, and he couldn't help but feel slightly excited as he realized that even Ivan's lips were warm. They were also very, very soft. Just like his teddy bear heart.

It was a good minute before they finally separated, both gasping for breath as they stared at each with giddy smiles.

"Will that work?" Ivan asked, his eyes sparkling as he grinned down at Alfred.

Alfred just laughed, and grabbing Ivan's face he pulled him down into another kiss, and Ivan felt his heart sing as he felt the enormous smile on Alfred's face. Unlike his kiss, Alfred's kiss was like the sun. Passionate, powerful, and so, so, captivating. And it was all his.

Ivan's heart could not have been fuller as he was pulled into Alfred's arms, and they sunk into the second kiss, lost in their shared joy.

It took them quite a while to separate again, as neither one of them were in much hurry to end their kiss. Eventually though, they did separate again, but they still were nose to nose as they looked into each other's eyes with nothing but admiration and joy for each other.

"For how long?" Alfred asked with a huge smile.

"I am not sure for how long, but I realized I was fond of you during the play." Ivan admitted. "I must admit, I had a hard time not letting myself carry you all the way home that day."

"Oh please, that's exactly what you did. Who are you kidding." Alfred teased, causing Ivan to happily shrug.

"Well, I did wish to hold you a little bit longer…"

"Hmm. Maybe if you're good I might let you carry me around." Alfred hummed back, causing Ivan to beam at him.

"And what about you, Mой подсолнух? When did you release you liked me?"

"Uh. Okay, you can't laugh at me…" Alfred said, suddenly looking rather embarrassed again.

"Why would I laugh at you?" Ivan asked, raising a suspicious eyebrow.

"Well…I mean…it's kind of stupid." Alfred admitted, suddenly avoiding looking at Ivan as he struggled not to laugh. "So, it was when you made me that soup-"

"You threw up when you realized you liked me?!" Ivan asked, looking both scandalized and amused at the same time.

"I mean, it had nothing to do with you or the soup, I promise! I just panicked because I've never liked someone before and didn't know what to do!"

"You…is that why you were acting strangely after that?" Ivan asked and Alfred shot him an apologetic smile.

"Well, it wasn't like I was gonna tell you." Alfred said with a shrug. "I did eventually stop panicking though, so it worked out in the end."

"Was it after you talked to France?" Ivan asked, remembering the shorter nation's more relaxed attitude that day.

"Yeah. It was. Dude's an idiot, but I'll admit he knows what he was talking about." Alfred said. "At least he didn't stuff me in a suit and trick me into going on a date with you like England and Mattie did."

"I see…so that is what happened…" Ivan hummed, making a mental note to be pleasant towards France again when they met again.

"By the way, now that we both know we like each other now, I have a question about that so-called date. Why the hell did you put my hand in your mouth?"

"That never happened." Ivan said curtly. "I have no idea what you are talking about."

"Oh no you don't! I told you my embarrassing story! Now it's your turn!" Alfred demanded as Ivan suddenly found the ceiling to be much more interesting than his date.

"I seem to have gone deaf." Ivan said simply, causing Alfred to roll his eyes.

"Even if you have, I know you can read lips dummy." Alfred playfully huffed, tapping on Ivan's forehead. "Come on, spill."

"It…was supposed to be funny." Ivan admitted, his cheeks slowly turning a light shade of pink as he continued to avoid the shorter nation's gaze. "If I had known you would have such an interesting reaction…"

"I was still panicking at the time! Don't judge me!" Alfred protested. "It's not my fault you have a weird sense of humor!"

"When you left the table, an old man told me I should have waited till after we ate dinner to bite you." Ivan admitted, a small smirk growing on his face.

"Wait, really?!"

"Da. I am curious now. Would it have worked?"

"Hell no! I'm not into biting!"

"Then what are you into?" Ivan asked with a cheeky grin, causing Alfred to sputter again as his face flushed again.

"You're unbelievable! Get off me, you're clearly delusional." Alfred huffed, playfully trying to push the taller nation off of him, only for Ivan to laugh as he pulled him closer again.

"I am sorry. I will not bite you again." Ivan said, playfully kissing Alfred's cheek as the shorter nation let out a fake huff.

"You'd better not. But I guess I can forgive you just this once." Alfred relented, looking rather pleased by the affection he was receiving, much to Ivan's delight. "It is Christmas after all."

Ivan merely beamed at him, leaning over and planting another kiss on his nose, causing Alfred to laugh again.

Completely giving into his impulses now that he knew the other nation wouldn't stop his advances anymore, Ivan simply kept smothering the shorter nation with kisses, and Alfred didn't do much to stop it. However, after a few minutes he did pull away and with a slightly rueful smile, he reached up and pinched Ivan's cheek affectionately.

"You know, this is really nice and all, but we really do need to have a proper conversation about what happened today. There are a few things I need clarification on." He said.

"I am aware." Ivan hummed happily, seemingly not bothered by his words as he continued to snuggle him.

"Ivan…"

"There is no rush, Моя любовь." Ivan said, causing Alfred to raise an eyebrow at the new affectionate term. "We have the rest of our lives to try and figure out what we should do. However, at this moment we are alone, Da? We should take this moment to enjoy ourselves and our happiness. Tomorrow's problems can wait."

"Is that right?" Alfred asked with another hum, although he did relax again.

"It is."

"You know, you should take this a little bit more seriously. This isn't going to be an easy relationship." Alfred said, reaching up and lightly poking Ivan's chest.

"I am aware." Ivan said, reaching up and lightly holding Alfred's hand in his own and giving it a comforting squeeze.

"We'll never be able to know how long we can be together due to our political relationship."Alfred continued, avoiding Ivan's gaze for a moment, seemingly lost in thought. "We would have to keep things on the down low so our bosses don't get involved."

"Of course."

"We won't be able to spend a lot of time together, and if we break up on bad terms we might start World War Three." Alfred paused for a moment, before finally looking back up at Ivan with a small, but surprisingly confident smile. "Do you think you can handle all that, Моя луна?"

Ivan's smile started to grow as he realized what Alfred was actually asking him.

"Of course. If I could not do that much, мой подсолнух, I would have not accepted your confession in the first place."

Alfred smiled, and resting his head on Ivan's shoulder again he closed his eyes as the remaining stress finally bled out of his shoulders.

"Okay, good. I don't do one night stands. I only sleep with people who are serious about long term relationships."

Ivan stared down at Alfred in disbelief for a moment as the other nation struggled not to laugh.

"Что?! Ты серьезно?!" Ivan blurted out, forgetting to speak English as his face quickly turned pink as Alfred opened his eyes and grinned up at him.

"Well…maybe. It depends. We'll see." Alfred said with a quick wink. "But you have to make me a promise."

"Что?" Ivan asked, still blushing as Alfred reached over and ran a hand through his hair with a fond expression.

"I like you calling me your sunflower more than you calling me love. So keep calling me that for now, okay? The other one doesn't sound quite right." Alfred said, leaning over and giving Ivan another quick kiss.

When he pulled away again, Ivan's face was a dark pink, but he was possibly beaming at the shorter nation.

"Now, that said…" Alfred said, reaching over and picking up the broken present with a thoughtful hum, "I really need to replace this. I really didn't mean to bleed all over it, you know."

"I would prefer you did not." Ivan said, surprising Alfred slightly as he took the broken frame from Alfred's hands, looking at the present with a small smile.

"Why not?"

"This present means quite a lot to me. After all, it is what saved your life and our relationship. To me, it is priceless." Ivan said, and before Alfred could protest Ivan quickly put the frame into his jacket pocket and out of Alfred's reach.

"At least let me replace the picture." Alfred said with a fond huff. "Don't you want one that doesn't have scratches and blood on it?"

"It is more interesting that way." Ivan said cheerfully. "Though I would not say no to another one to carry around."

"You're so weird." Alfred said, still amused by his boyfriend's behavior. "Well, at least let me tell you the reason I gave you that picture in particular. You remember that day when we last came here?"

"Da, I do. You were very silly that day. Ironically, that day you also cut your hand on glass."

"Huh. Oh yeah, I did."

"Perhaps we should keep you away from glass. You do not have much luck with it." Ivan said with a chuckle.

"As if. It was because of the alcohol and that tumble that I first felt feelings for you. I mean, I didn't realize till later what I was feeling, but when I first felt it." Alfred explained.

Ivan blinked in surprise, before he tilted his head curiously at the shorter nation. "You were fond of me that early?"

"I mean, we were having a lot of fun, and you're really a fun guy when we're just acting like ourselves. Plus, it helps that you're very attractive." Alfred said with a shrug. "I'm not surprised."

Ivan's cheeks went bright pink at the compliment, but he looked very pleased with Alfred's words.

"You think I am attractive?" Ivan asked with a small teasing smile.

"Well, duh. You're tall, you have a nice smile, you look good in everything you wear, your hugs are really nice, you like cats, you're warm, you-", Alfred started to list off, not realizing Ivan was teasing him.

Ivan's cheeks finally started to turn red and he started to become flustered as Alfred kept talking. Not used to getting so much praise, he started to hide his face in his scarf as Alfred kept talking.

"-you have a weird but interesting sense of humor, you can cook really well, your eyes are really pretty-"

"Alfred-"

"-you love space like me, you can dance really well, you super fun to tease even if you pout about it-"

"Mой подсолнух-!"

"-plus, you're a really good kisser." Alfred finished with a giant grin. "What's not to love?"

Ivan's face was now just as scarlet as Alfred's had been before, and he was trying and failing to hide it by pulling his scarf over his face.

"You could have just said yes…" Ivan mumbled, unable to look at Alfred.

"Nah, that'd be too easy." Alfred said with a laugh, amused by Ivan's sudden shyness. "Aw, don't hide your face. How else am I supposed to admire you?"

"I thought you were bad at romance?" Ivan huffed, though he did pull down the scarf slightly.

"Well, I can adapt." Alfred joked. "Plus, who said you were the only one who could make people blush?"

"I see. In that case, I think it is time for you to open your present." Ivan said, side stepping Alfred's question much to Alfred's amusement.

Picking up the red present, Ivan handed it to Alfred, who took it eagerly.

"Well, it's too big to be a ring." Alfred joked. "What a shame."

"I think it is too early to propose." Ivan said with a laugh as Alfred tore at the wrapping paper.

"Nonsense. How long have we known each other? If anything, we're way behind schedule."

Ivan shook his head in amusement as Alfred finally opened the box.

Alfred paused for a moment as he tried to figure out what he was looking at, but as soon as he pulled out the scarf, he looked like he was on the verge of tears again. But unlike last time, he looked like he was about to cry from happiness.

"Ivan. Did you make this?" He asked, running a hand across the knit work as he examined the flowers.

"I did, Da." Ivan said, his expression softening slightly as Alfred continued to stare down at the scarf.

"It's so detailed. How long did it take to make this? This must have taken weeks."

"Not very long. I have centuries of practice." Ivan said happily.

"You…you even put in consolations." Alfred said, his voice wobbling slightly as he noticed the star patterns hidden in the design. "Are these the northern ones?"

"Da. They are the ones that we can both see from our homes." Ivan explained. "It is for when we are apart. After all, we share the same sky, so we are really never too far away from each other. Also, it will keep you warm even if I am not around to lend you my body heat." Ivan teased.

Alfred sat there for a few seconds, unable to lift his eyes up from the scarf. Just as Ivan was starting to get a little nervous from his lack of response, Alfred reached up and after wiping away the mist out of his eyes, he turned to Ivan with a look of absolute adoration and said, "Ivan, have I ever told you that I love you? Because I really do."

Ivan felt his heart melt slightly as Alfred put the scarf back into the box like it was made of the most precious jewels in the world, before he pulled him into a bone crushing hug.

"Я люблю тебя, моя луна." Alfred said, beaming up at Ivan.

"Я тоже тебя люблю, мой подсолнух." Ivan said, resting his head against Alfred's again. "Though, I believe this is the second time you have told me."

"Nope. That didn't count. You couldn't hear me last time." Alfred said, as Ivan picked up the scarf and gently tied it around Alfred's neck.

"I see. Then we will make this the official declaration of our love then." Ivan said. "I suppose it would be more romantic than you passing out from a concussion."

"Oh yeah, totally. I'd rather not be reminded of that." Alfred admitted as Ivan finished fiddling with the scarf. Pulling back away from Ivan for a moment, he showed off the scarf with a beaming smile. "So, how do I look?"

"Beautiful." Ivan said, looking down at Alfred with a completely smitten smile.

"You flirt." Alfred said with a laugh, snuggling back into Ivan's side.

They sat in happy silence for a few minutes, enjoying each other's presence. For the first time in a long time, they sat with no stress, no other nations, and no emergency to interrupt them, and they took full advantage of it.

About a half an hour later, Alfred, who had been very comfortable and warm being held by Ivan, started to doze off again as the exhaustion of the day caught up with him. Unable to stifle a yawn, he heard Ivan chuckle.

"You are already going back to sleep, мой подсолнух?"

"I didn't get much sleep last night, and you know being knocked out isn't the same as sleeping." He hummed, not bothering to open his eyes. "Plus, my body's going to need a few more days to recover. My ankle is still messed up, you know."

"Do you want to go back home? I think you will be more comfortable in your own bed."

"Are you just looking for an excuse to carry me?"

"Perhaps." Ivan admitted happily.

"You know Greg will tattle to the president if he sees me injured."

"Your bruises have mostly faded, and with your scarf covering the ones around your neck and me carrying you he will not notice. After all, if he has heard the rumors he will believe we are just being affectionate."

"I guess that would be okay then."

Ivan nodded, only to pause as he finally realized what Alfred just said. Alfred opened an eye and gave Ivan an amused smirk as Ivan looked at him in disbelief.

"What? Did you think I didn't know?" Alfred asked with a laugh at Ivan's face. "Please, I have access to all levels of top secret information. I know the only reason I got a good deal on the apartment was because of the secret service. It was obvious that they were the ones watching me. I mean, they just so happened to have a family member who just so happened to be willing to give them the building I was renting from? Unlikely."

"Why did you pretend not to know?!"

"For two reasons. First, I like Carol and Greg better than all the other secret service members that they have watching me, and if I let on that I knew they were planted there to watch me they would have been sent away. That's annoying because they usually send a kill joy that follows me everywhere instead of just at my house if I don't play along."

"And the second reason?"

"It was funny watching you and Greg bicker while you thought I didn't know." Alfred said with a huff of laughter. "Seriously, you two get along as well as fire and water."

"You are very mean."

"You'll love me regardless." Alfred said with a grin.

Ivan merely shook his head in amusement, causing Alfred to laugh again.

After that, it didn't take them long to gather their things. After sending a few text messages to his brothers and Ukraine updating them about his condition, Alfred finally let Ivan pick him up from the booth.

"You are enjoying this way too much." Alfred hummed as Ivan carried him to the door with a huge smile.

"I can not deny it. After all, it will be at least another day until your ankle is fixed, Da? I will be able to hold you for a long time!"

"You're such a sap." Alfred huffed. "Don't get used to it. Once I'm healed up I'm not letting you carry me anymore."

"We shall see about that." Ivan hummed with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes as he opened the door.

Fondly rolling his eyes, Alfred leaned over and giving Ivan a quick kiss on the cheek, he said, "Merry Christmas Ivan."

"Merry Christmas." Ivan replied warmly.

With that, they finally left, the lights finally turning off as the door snapped shut, cutting off the lights from the alley outside.

A/N: MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! IT'S ONLY TAKEN 5 YEARS, BUT WE FINALLY GOT OUR KISS! LET'S FUCKING GO! WE MADE IT GUYS! WE ACTUALLY FUCKING MADE IT! I ACTUALLY WROTE A CLIMAX TO A LONG STORY!

I'm so, so happy. I honestly never thought I'd be able to finish the freaking saga of a story, but we made it. Of course, we still have a few chapters left to wrap up the plot. After all, we still need to see how Alfred and Ivan will deal with their bosses, and we still have the betting pool, and most importantly, what the hell happened with Belarus?!

But seriously, thank you so much for waiting so long for this romance arc to come to a close. Just for the record, I am never writing a long chapter like this again. It takes too long and the editing takes forever. I'll stick to my usual 10000 words from now on, thanks, lol!

After I'm done with this story, I'm actually going to add a few bonus chapters about some of the scenes in the past that were mentioned in the story. I want to write one for the cold war meet up between Alfred and Ivan, and a few other things. So stay tuned.

I HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED THIS CHRISTMAS GIFT, AND I WISH YOU ALL A MERRY CHRISTMAS, AND FOR THOSE WHO DON'T CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS, HAVE A HAPPY HOLIDAY SEASON! HAPPY NEW YEARS, AND GOODNIGHT!