A/N This one-shot is a part of my AU I created for another multi-chaptered story, That Song Called Love. It isn't necessary to read that one first or at all to understand this fic. For those of you who have read That Song Called Love, this one-shot takes place about two years after the main story line. I hope you enjoy. :)

Prussia/Canada is a set pairing. Linh is Vietnam.

"Popcorn!" cheered Alfred as Linh plopped onto the couch next to him with the bowl of popcorn balanced on her knees. Ivan made a disgusted face as Alfred snatched a handful of popcorn and shoved it in his mouth.

"That is disgusting," Ivan announced in his heavily-accented English.

"Yer jus' jealouf tha' yer commie count'y nefer made 'nyfing as dilethous," Alfred countered, spewing bits of chewed-up popcorn all over Ivan, who was unfortunately sitting right next to him. Linh and Ivan both shared a shudder.

"I can't believe you used to put up with that," Ivan commented to Linh.

"I know," she muttered.

"Hey!" Alfred whined, indignant at the challenge of his relationship skills.

"Let's just put on the movie," Linh suggested.

"No!" Alfred said, crossing his arms. "Not until you admit I was the most heroic boyfriend imaginable!"

"'Imaginable', that's quite a long word, Alfred. You need ice for your head now, da?"

Alfred chucked a piece of popcorn at Ivan.

"Calm down," Linh admonished them.

"Not until you say it!" Alfred retorted childishly.

"Fine," she sighed. "You were the sweetest boyfriend I've ever had."

"Ha! Take that!" Alfred cried out in triumph, sticking his tongue out at Ivan, who had a slightly pained look on his face.

"Why do I put up with you two?" Linh muttered to herself before getting up to pop the DVD in the machine Alfred had brought to their sleepover at Ivan's apartment. Grabbing the remote, she settled back against Alfred's side. They might have been broken up–for good this time–but he was still comfortable to lean against. And the look of jealousy on Ivan's face made Linh giggle on the inside and wonder just how much longer the two were going to skirt around their feelings for each other. Not much, if her plan for tonight worked.

And judging by the way Alfred's grip tightened on her waist when the opening credits of the horror movie began, there was a very good likelihood that it would.

By the end of the film, Alfred was both clinging to her and Ivan desperately in terror. Linh was internally celebrating. She had put on the next movie, also a horror film, when her cell phone signaled that she had received a text message. Linh was tempted to let out a Light Yagami-esque "Exactly as planned!" but refrained.

"Aw, my dad's here to pick me up already," she said in feigned disappointment after checking the message she had received.

"That is understandable," Ivan replied. "It has grown quite late."

Linh masked her glee and disentangled herself from Alfred before grabbing her purse and heading down to her father's car.

"Are you sure you want to come home so early?" her father asked as his adopted daughter climbed in his truck. "You know I don't mind if you spend the night with your friends. I trust you."

An earsplitting shriek came from the open window of Ivan's apartment, along with a cry of "SAVE ME, IVAN!"

"Oh, I'm sure, Daddy."

"WAAAH!" Alfred screamed, throwing himself across the couch to clutch at Ivan frantically as another character in the movie was ripped apart with a chainsaw. He buried his face in Ivan's lap, peeking up occasionally to watch the movie, completely unaware of how uncomfortable he was making his Russian friend feel. After what felt like an eternity, the second film ended and Alfred managed to sit up, though he was still leaning against Ivan, his face pressed against his warm chest.

"That movie was scary!" he whined before tilting his head up and looking at Ivan cheerfully. "It was fun though, wasn't mmfph!"

And he suddenly found himself cut off by something hard and warm pressed against his lips. His brain short-circuited completely when he realized it was Ivan's lips pressed against his. The shock from what was happening to him turned his body to jelly and the close physical contact made his body flush with heat. The shock was so great that he couldn't even move as Ivan tilted his jaw and squeezed gently, causing his lips to part and give the Russian better access to his mouth. Ivan's tongue probed shyly into his mouth, then when he met no resistance, swept more forcefully against his teeth and tongue. Alfred was still too deep in shock to do anything; it was as if voices were screaming frantically at him from somewhere deep in his brain: Move! Bite him! Get him off!

Alfred was finally broken from his state of shock when Ivan's other hand, which until then had been hanging awkwardly in the air, slid around his waist and pulled him flush against Ivan. Their chests brushed and Alfred's heart began pounding wildly and another part of his brain seemed to awake, crying out, "Kiss him back, you moron!"

The terror Alfred felt at his own thought of actually kissing back jolted him back into control of his body. Finally, finally, he was able to move his limbs and wildly swung his arm, drawing back after he heard the crunch that told him that his fist had made contact with Ivan's face. Not even checking to see if he was all right, Alfred snatched up his duffle bag and sprinted out of the apartment and down the stairs until, lungs burning, he had reached his car. His skin was still on fire as he threw himself into the driver's seat and with shaking hands, turned the car on and sped away.

After a few blocks, Alfred slowed down the car, his mind still spinning.

"He kissed me he kissed me he kissed me!" he wailed repeatedly in disgust, wiping his mouth forcefully with the sleeve of his sweatshirt. It did nothing. He could still feel and taste Ivan on his tongue. The hot feeling erupted in full force once again under his skin as he found himself relishing the taste and wishing Ivan would do that to him again. At that thought he panicked.

"I didn't enjoy it I didn't enjoy it I DIDNT ENJOY IT!"

Still panicking, he drove haphazardly until he had reached his own driveway. A sudden realization hit him: he had told his mother he was staying the night at Ivan's place. She would want to know what had happened to make Alfred come home in the middle of the night and he was too bad of a liar to make something up to tell her instead of what had really happened. So Alfred pulled back out of the driveway and headed to the one person who might understand what he was feeling.

He banged loudly on his brother's apartment door until it was finally opened by an irate albino.

"Oh," Alfred mumbled. "I forgot that you live here, too."

Gilbert snorted.

"I'm the one who pays the rent!" he informed him. "And why are you here at one A.M. anyway?"

"I need to talk to Matt," Alfred announced.

Gilbert scratched his head.

"I'm not sure if Mattie can walk right now," he said, "but come on in."

Alfred entered the apartment, deciding not to try to figure out what Gilbert meant about his brother not being able to walk and instead sat down on their couch. After a few moments, his brother limped out of the bedroom, looking quite rumpled, his clothing apparently having been thrown on quickly.

"Matt, are you okay?" Alfred yelled as soon as he saw his brother. "Did you twist your ankle or something?"

Oddly enough, his brother flushed red.

"Uh, yeah, sure," Matthew mumbled before joining his brother on the couch. "Alfred, what are you doing here so early in the morning?"

"Eh..."

It had never occurred to Alfred that even at Matt's place he'd be asked about what had happened. And he did not want to talk about Ivan invading his mouth. A shiver went through him a he remembered the fantas-WRONG sensation of Ivan's tongue curling against his own; warmth rose in his skin.

"I couldn't sleep," he said lamely, trying desperately to chase off the strange things he was feeling.

"So you decided to drive all the way out here to bother Gil and me?" Matthew asked, narrowing his eyes in annoyance. Alfred quickly racked his brain, trying to come up with an excuse that warranted driving nearly an hour to his brother's apartment at one in the morning just because he couldn't sleep.

"Well, since I couldn't sleep I was thinking about some stuff. You know, stuff we never got a chance to talk about."

Matthew raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"What kind of stuff?"

"...Gilbert," Alfred made up, since it was the only other thing he could think of at the moment.

"Oh," Matthew said, looking away slightly. "What about him?"

"Um..." Crap. He'd dug himself right into this hole. But at least he could use the opportunity to ask Matthew some questions he'd really wanted to have answered a long time ago. "Well, how did you know you were... you know."

"Gay?" Matthew supplied wryly. Alfred nodded. Matthew shrugged. "It just happened. I was hanging out with Gilbert and I suddenly realized I was attracted to him and that I wanted more than to just be friends."

"Then what?" Alfred prompted when Matthew didn't continue.

"Well, first I started freaking out about how you and Mom and Arthur would react. I was afraid you would all shun me or kick me out of the house."

There was a short, awkward pause before Alfred spoke up.

"I've told you that I'm really sorry about that, right?"

"Lots of times, Alfred. I've told you before, stop worrying about it. It was almost two years ago."

Another silence followed, though this one was much more comfortable. It was strangely soothing to have such an honest talk with his brother. Feeling braver, Alfred ventured with another question he had always wondered about.

"How'd you guys get together?"

Matthew smiled.

"Well, after I realized I liked him, I decided to keep it a secret because I didn't want to ruin our friendship. Turned out Gilbert felt the same way and one day he accidentally kissed me and we've been together ever since."

Alfred fought back a gag at the love struck look on his older brother's face. And because the whole "accidental kiss" thing sounded a little too close to his own experience earlier for his comfort.

"Why are you suddenly so curious, anyway?" Matthew asked. Alfred grinned, although it was strained.

"No reason!" he responded, though his heart was sinking into his chest. If an accidental kiss made his brother get together with his friend, did that mean the same thing would happen to him?

"Is that all?" Matthew asked.

"Yup," Alfred said.

"Then can I please go back to sleep now?"

Alfred, too, was exhausted after all of the commotion and nodded at his brother.

"I'll get Gil to set up the couch so you can sleep there," Matthew announced, getting up slowly and limping back toward his bedroom. At this point, a passing shadow reminded Alfred of just what he'd been watching earlier and he ran after his brother, grabbing his upper arm before he could leave the room.

"Can I sleep with you?" Alfred asked in a small voice.

"No," Matthew replied immediately and forcefully, turning an interesting shade of red.

"Why not?" Alfred whined.

"I'm not sleeping in the same bed as my brother and my boyfriend!" Matthew exclaimed. "That's too disturbing for words!"

"But I was watching Saw earlier!" Alfred wailed. "I'm scared!"

"No!" Matthew insisted. Alfred, seeing defeat looming before him, let out a well-timed sniff and looked at Matthew with the teary eyes he knew his big brother couldn't resist. Matthew sighed. "I'll sleep out in the living room with you, okay?"

"Yay!" Alfred cheered before Matthew disappeared into the bedroom. Alfred went back to sit on the couch and wait for his brother, who emerged a few minutes later carrying a wad of bedding, looking strangely more rumpled, with Gilbert, who was scowling. Alfred felt a bit of glee as he watched Gilbert struggle to move the coffee table and unfold the bed hidden in the couch. Matthew dumped his armful of quilts on the couch bed before he kissed Gilbert good night while Alfred turned around and made retching noises. He had left his pajamas in his car, but was too tired to get them so he just stripped to his boxers and joined his brother in sleep.

He dreamed about how pale Ivan's eyelashes were when he had kissed him and strangely enough, the dream filled him with happiness.

Alfred woke up to the delicious smell of pancakes cooking. Still sleepy, he stumbled into the kitchen to find his brother lip-locked with Gilbert in front of the stove. They broke apart at the sound of Alfred's anguished scream. His appetite gone, and reminded of just why he had spent the night there in the first place, he shoveled down some food anyway before leaving his brother's apartment as quickly as possible. He shuddered as he settled into the driver's seat.

"I am never spending the night there again."

Alfred had just started the car when he heard The Star-Spangled Banner come blasting from his duffle bag. He reached inside and noticed that Linh was calling him.

"Hey, Linh. What's up?"

"Alfred! Thank God you picked up!" her voice came loudly from the speaker. Alfred held the phone at arm's length from himself. "Do you have any idea what you've done to Ivan?"

"What I've done?" Alfred screeched indignantly. "He was the one who kissed me out of nowhere!"

"Maybe, but you didn't have to break his nose! I had to go back and take the poor guy to the emergency room! We only just got back!"

Guilt quickly built up in Alfred's chest. He hadn't broken Ivan's nose on purpose.

"I wasn't trying to hurt him," he murmured. "I was just freaking out!"

"He's not mad at you, but you really need to apologize to him! And talk about whatever happened after I left."

"I don't want to!" Alfred wailed.

"You have to!" Linh snapped darkly.

"But I don't know what to say," Alfred admitted, embarrassed.

"Then just say that."

"..." Alfred had run out of excuses. "Do I have to?" he repeated weakly.

"YES!"

"Okay," he squeaked in terror before hanging up. His heart started pounding as he drove closer to Ivan's apartment. His legs wobbled as he climbed the stairs to Ivan's apartment and it took him at least five minutes of standing in front of Ivan's door before he mustered the courage to knock. Ivan opened the door quickly. Alfred winced when he saw the bloodied bandage wrapped around his face and the absence of Ivan's normal smile. He cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Uh, I'm really sorry about your nose," he mumbled.

"It was my fault," Ivan muttered back. "I should not have kissed you. I apologize."

Ivan's mournful tone tugged at Alfred's heartstrings. There were dark bags under his eyes and Alfred felt bad about having slept mostly soundly the night before.

"Can I come in?"

Ivan looked surprised at Alfred's request, but stepped aside and let him in. Alfred sat down on Ivan's couch, his face flushing as he remembered what had happened on the couch the night before. Ivan followed him awkwardly and Alfred patted the spot next to him so that Ivan would sit. He did and they sat in silence for a moment.

"Can we talk about last night?" Alfred said after it was clear that Ivan wasn't going to start this conversation.

"What is there to talk about?" Ivan said bitterly. "I kissed you and you did not want me to."

Alfred twiddled his thumbs nervously.

"I might've liked it anyway," he admitted quietly.

Ivan's head jerked up. Embarrassed, Alfred avoided looking at him. He could feel an awkward blush blooming across his face.

"And m-maybe I want to be more than just friends," he whispered before burying his face in his hands. He felt relief in saying the words, as if a weight he'd been carrying for years had finally been lifted. Alfred risked a peek at Ivan and was surprised to see him looking almost angry.

"You don't have to lie to make me feel better," Ivan growled. Alfred looked up in surprise and annoyance.

"I'm not lying!" he cried out. "I mean it! A hero doesn't jerk around with people's feelings!"

Ivan coughed into his sleeve but Alfred was sure he saw a hint of a smile. Alfred turned away from Ivan on the couch, pouting. He had admitted something huge and difficult to himself and Ivan hadn't even believed him.

"I'm still pretty confused," he admitted to Ivan. "But I wanna try this. I do like you," he said simply before looking over at Ivan, who appeared to be struggling to decide what to say.

"You are serious," Ivan said, though it sounded more like a question. Alfred chucked a pillow at him.

"God," he wailed. "How many times are you going to make me say it? I'm homo for you! Happy now?"

Ivan snickered and Alfred grabbed another pillow and hit Ivan repeatedly with it until Ivan managed to wrestle the pillow from him and pin him down on the couch.

"Yes. I am," he said before placing a soft kiss to Alfred's lips. This time, he responded, reveling in the giddy feeling blossoming in his chest.

"You're a jerk," Alfred said as Ivan pulled away, although the stupid grin on his face ruined the effect.

"I am your jerk though, da?"

"Da."

*Linh is so devious. I love her.

*Large portions of this were written at the beach.

*I hope Alfred's bipolarness wasn't too random.