Disclaimer- Nothing is mine except the plot.

Chapter 3

He had arrived five minutes after leaving the meeting, wanting to get there well before Al was expected, to see if he could help out in any way.

When he had reached the small family-owned restaurant, he was surprised to find a closed sign on the door.

Confused he walked up to the window to look inside.

Hadn't he called beforehand to have something set up when they came?

The owners couldn't have forgotten, could they?

Suddenly, a hand grasped his coat sleeve and started pulling him.

Startled he was about to slap the person's hand away, when he saw the familiar uniform of the employees who worked there.

He looked at the employees face and recognized her as the cashier.

She motioned for him to follow her quickly and quietly.

"So what do you think?" she asked arms spread wide as if showing off a precious treasure.

In the middle of the restaurant was a lone table with a nice burgundy tablecloth and in the center was a vase with artificial sunflowers.

The table was set with fine china and some light music was playing in the background.

The lights were dimmed making the atmosphere of the room seem warm and comforting, without being overbearing.

He couldn't believe that they had closed the whole place down so that it would be just him and Al.

They had even put his favorite flowers up as a centerpiece; he would greatly repay them for this.

He stood there stunned at the sight until the cashier started talking again.

"Good isn't it. So, we all decided that since our two most valued customers were coming today that we could close the place for an hour or so , and let them enjoy the day together." she said rubbing the back of her head.

"We care for Al a lot, all of us here, and since he has been dating you he seems as if he believes there is no sadness or troubles in the world. We care for you too of course, but we have a certain loyalty or connection with Al and if you don't treat him right you will pay." she said tone serious, eyes narrowed slightly and finger pointing at his chest.

She then smiled and slapped his back "But none of us believe you would, it's just a warning." Ivan stared at the woman that had just threatened him openly, with no fear and nothing held back.

A look of curiosity graced his face.

That these people, his lover's people were that loyal amazed him.

His citizens wouldn't dare to do this for him.

America was just so loved.

Finally, he smiled at the woman and said "Thanks for everything and I promise I will love him and treat him right."

"Good, now all we have to do is wait for him to arrive right?"

"Da!"

Ivan fidgeted in his seat and played with the end of his scarf; he was anxious and worried.

It had already been 45 minutes since they had left the meeting, and the lunch break lasted only an hour more or less.

Alfred had assured that he would be back in 15 to 20 minutes to eat with him.

That should have left them with enough time to enjoy each other's company.

Ivan pulled out his cell phone again and called the number that he had already tried multiple times hoping this time it would work.

The call went through but no one picked up.

He heard "It's me, Alfred F. Jones, the Hero. I am most likely saving someone or playing a video game…" before he hung up, knowing the call would not be answered.

A waitress came up to him and smiled shyly "Maybe, he is just held up in traffic and left his phone somewhere." she said trying to reassure him.

Ivan nodded at her, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something was not quite right.

His gut was churning with unease, and he just wanted Al to come in with an apologetic smile on saying something like "Sorry, I'm late. I saw an old friend and lost track of time talking with them." or something of that nature.

The churning rendered him unable to eat, appetite lost.

By the time the lunch break ended he just wanted to get out of there and see if Al had headed to the meeting instead.

He hurried got up and thanked everyone again while heading for the door.

The untouched food was still on the table getting colder by the second.

He pulled out a few hundreds to pay for everything, and to make up for the money they had lost doing this favor for him.

The waitresses and cashier looked at him worriedly and were reluctant to receive the payment, but he laid it down on the counter and left before any of them could refuse it.

Ivan opened the doors to the meeting room hoping that Alfred was already there talking with one of the several nations.

He quickly scanned the room and saw a familiar shade of blonde hair; he breathed a sigh of relief.

Alfred was just talking to France.

The nations noticed that he was just standing in the door way and one by one turned to stare at him, perplexed.

Then Alfred turned, and when he looked into his purplish-blue eyes, he realized that he was wrong.

That wasn't his sunflower, his sunflower wasn't here.

A knot that had started forming tightened and he grimaced.

"Russia wasn't Amerique with you? Where is he?" France asked.

"Nyet, I don't know where he is; we were supposed to meet for lunch."

All the nations turned questioning glances at each other wondering where the hyper-active blond could be.

It wasn't like him to skip a meeting or a date, he was more likely than not to be late, but never absent.

That's when England got up, so violently that his chair fell backwards clattering to the ground.

"Liar, you most likely just taken him and expect us to believe you are just as worried about his disappearance as the rest of us." he spit out vehemently, blood rushing to his face from the sudden anger.

Stomping up to Ivan he yelled profanities and threats.

France got up seeing Russia's need of assistance and held Arthur back, not really believing Russia was to blame.

England tried shaking France off yelling and pointing to Russia saying that he was to blame; it was all Russia's fault that America wasn't there.

"Non!" was finally heard over England's screaming and all eyes turned to see Matthew was standing in front of Arthur disagreeing with him.

No one had noticed when he had got there, some not even realizing that he had been at the meeting the whole time.

"I don't think that Ivan caused this. They both left the meeting by their selves, and during the lunch break and even now a feeling that's something is wrong with my brother has appeared. So I'm going to drive Ivan home and then help him look for my brother."

And with that Matthew left pulling Ivan out with him, leaving a silenced audience behind them.

The car ride to Alfred's place was quiet but more comfortable than awkward.

"Why?" was heard suddenly and Matthew turned to look at Ivan who had his head down.

"Why what?" he asked, pretty sure what was being asked, but wanting to make sure.

"Why do you believe me, instead of siding with your brother, England?"

Matthew turned to look back at the road, thinking for a second before saying "Because, my brother Al trusts you and that's good enough for me. Plus you looked so worried when you entered; I don't think anyone can fake that expression with such a passion."

With that said the car was returned to its initial silence.

A little more than halfway there, they both spotted two cars on opposite sides of the street parked on the side.

One looked totaled and the other on closer inspection like Al's car.

Both gasped at this and Matt sped up to get there quicker and park in front of it.

There they noticed the trail of blood, which started on the other side of the street and lead to what was confirmed as Al's car.

They looked for clues or anything out of place but except for his briefcase missing nothing was wrong with the car.

Ivan's eyes steeled themselves and he became stiff.

He knew that Alfred had been taken, along with his briefcase.

He had seen it before and whoever had taken him would pay.

When he was done with them, they would wish that they could die because hell would be better.

The miasma of evil that he had thought would never come back, came with a vengeance.

Though for now all he could do was wait, search, and hope that he would be able to reach his sunflower in time.

A/N- Alright, so I have a few things to say:

1. There are some clues in earlier chapters as to what's going on but not many.

2. Sorry, if some of my characters seem OOC, I am still trying to get them right. But, thanks for the critique.

3. I hope that I have taken care of the spacing issue that was mentioned but if not then I don't know how you mean it.

4. Umm, I think I am doing an ok job editing my work but mistakes do pass me by so if anyone wants to me a beta for this story, just let me know.

5. Lastly, sorry I haven't been able to answer reviews but all of them make me extremely happy an I squeal and giggle whenever I get one. I usually know a few minutes after one is posted and am happy all day, even if I am awakened by one which has happened.

Please review.