Shattered Mask

One/Two

Alfred sipped his coffee, on the way to the meeting. He had visited Canada (Both the country and his brother) for the weekend before the conference, so he had picked up Tim Hortons. He ate a honey dip Timbit as he got out of the car. He licked the sugar off his fingers and entered the building.

Once he reached the room, he saw his brother sitting in his chair, holding Kumajiro and muttering. Alfred sat next to him and ruffled his hair. "Hey Canadia!" He says, a wide grin on his face. Matthew looked at his brother with a look he couldn't read. "What?" The blue-eyed country asked.

"You haven't called me Canadia in a long time..."

"It hasn't been that long!" He spoke, whining a bit. Canada frowned, "Four months."

"Since all of that happened..." He leaned back in his chair, putting his arms behind his head. "Feels like years." Other nations began to enter the room, sitting in their seats and beginning to chat with each other. Alfred rested his face in his hands, feeling a little bored. He felt his phone vibrate and took it out. A news article about an alliance between some two countries was on the screen.

He tucked it away as the meeting began. That's when he noticed something odd. Russia and China walked in together, smiling and laughing. Alfred stiffened and almost scowled. His heart tightened in his chest, some anxiety bubbling up.
They were almost like a couple. Jealousy bubbled inside of America, but he quickly put it to rest. Maybe they were just friends now, he thought, but when they sat next to each other, blushing and giggling...He almost deflated. They couldn't possibly be dating... They just... Please no. He pleaded.

Best friends maybe. I mean, I've sat next to Russia a couple of times. Yeah, that's it. And with that, the voices that he hadn't heard in four months vanished.

//////
The meeting had ended, though Alfred hadn't really paid any attention. He was busy keeping his sky blue eyes trained on Yao and Ivan.

Alfred stood, up walking over to the two that were still talking. "Hey Russia, do you want to hang out? I've invited the others and-" Ivan didn't even let him finish that sentence.

"Sorry, Fredka. Yao and I are going to catch a movie" he said in the accented voice that Alfred loved. Alfred hid his disappointment and rising frustration behind a small smile. "I hope you have a nice time." He lied, striding out the door. An envious voice began to murmur in his ear, along with suspicion.

"Maybe they are an item"

"He should be yours."

"Maybe we should get rid of him-"

Alfred resisted the urge to shout for the voices to shut up. He rubbed his head, feeling like a tornado was destroying all of his common sense. Ivan would tell him if he got into a relationship...right?

Seeds of doubt began to sprout inside of his mind. The way those two acted...

Alfred pov

I bit my lip, forcing tears back into my ducts. I wouldn't cry. I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned to see Arthur. "You look a little unfocused today. Is there something wrong?"

"...It's..." I couldn't say it.

"It's Russia and China right?" I looked around frantically, making sure nobody had heard. " How did you-?"

"Well, dating one of the most romantic/annoying nations on earth makes you a little more aware of feelings and relationships." He had a sombre look now. "And it really does seem like they are-"

"Don't say it. And do not tell anyone about my...feelings" he nodded, walking with me. France and Canada joined after a while and England told them I was just in a bad mood. They seemed to buy it. When we got to the bar, I made an excuse. England looked at me with a knowing glance and whispered in my ear. "Be careful. You might not like what you find out." He took the others inside.