Chapter Five: Tip-Toeing Truth

Things were bad. Things were reallybad. When Russia thought things were bad, they were usually really bad. Bad as in it would have to be post-apocalyptic bad. Bad as in Russia was pretty sure that soon, the world would be in very great danger of a nuclear holocaust when America finally got word of the articles floating around about them being a couple and what everyone believed they did to each other…Sort and simple, he was screwed. Royally.

But he tried to move on and get some much needed rest before he faced the inevitable and was subjected to more of his leader's anger and America's wrath. But in the early morning, around five or so, his phone started chiming, preluding his doom. Initially, Ivan tried to ignore it, absolutely hating technology at that moment, but was thankful that it had only been a text message he could check later…or he was until it chimed again.

Rolling over away from the phone, Ivan was too tired to think about just turning the stupid thing off, but was convinced that whoever was texting him this early in the morning could wait until it was a more appropriate hour. It chimed again.

And again.

…And again.

The Slav was nearly beside himself with rage. He was not a morning person, and anyone who tried to wake him was usually in worse shape than when they entered his room. When he was awake, most of the time, Ivan acknowledged that this hatred was irrational, but while waking, he felt it was completely justified in wishing his tormenter eternal damnation to face their own personal hell. Whoever was trying to rouse him that morning, the Russian believe, unkindly, that they should be cast into the center of hell, where they would freeze to death over and over again. That's where General Winter lived, after all.

But the texting stopped and was soon replaced by the phone actually ringing. Fed up with the events, Ivan snarled turning over, and grabbed his phone. He nearly hissed at the light from the stupid little device as it blinded him, but he opened the phone and growled, "What?" His damning purple aura came out to play.

"Knock knock!"

Blinking in surprise at the cheery voice assaulting his ears, clashing so terrible with his own sour snarl, Ivan found his anger deflating. "A-Amelia?" he stammered slightly, his face pale. Automatically his thoughts went to that horrid magazine he'd see the day before. No doubt she had seen it, or the American equivalents, which could very well be even worse if that was possible. He was so worried, he did not take into account the cheer in her tone.

"No!" the girl cried, the reception between them surprisingly crisp and clear. "You're supposed to say, 'who's there!'"

Ivan frowned in utter confusion. "What?"

"Say, 'Who's there'!" the American encouraged, sounding a bit frustrated and completely impatient.

Not knowing what else he should do, his head still fogged with sleep while his heart beat rapidly in his chest, the Russian relented, albeit perplexed. "Who is there?" he repeated warily.

"I am! So let me in!"

Once more, Ivan felt his stomach drop and he, for a brief moment, wondered if his heart had fallen into it again. "W-what?" Amelia was here? Here? As in, she was in Russia? As in, she was in Novosibirsk? As in, she was at his door step? America could not be here! He wasn't ready for her yet, and not just because he wasn't properly dressed either.

"Get your commie ass down here, and let me in!" the girl demanded, snapping Ivan from his panicked musings.

Shit. This was bad. This was really, really bad. If Amelia was here, that meant he would receive her full ire, not just threats over the phone or scathing e-mails. Oh no, it seemed life was against him, and for whatever reason, the blonde bane of his existence had come in person without warning. There was just no telling what the girl had seen in the media, what she'd heard.

Throwing off his covers as fast as he could, Ivan stumbled and tripped to his bedroom door, phone still in hand. His steps must have been quite heavy, as Amelia's voice fluttered in and out, asking what all the noise was about. The Russian didn't really hear her though. Instead, he kept on his panicked, hasty journey to the front door.

Once there, he ripped it open without a second thought, startling America on the other side. Upon seeing her face, Ivan found that all he could do was stare at her, those gorgeous eyes that he adored, so blue and clear, stopped him sort. There was no anger in them, no frustration, no fear, no…nothing. Just surprise, which quickly melted as she pushed past him to enter his house without so much as an invitation.

"Brrr!" she shivered once inside, rubbing her arms, to keep her warm. "It's freezing out there!"

Ivan looked out at the spring day, still waking up from its own slumber, back over to the girl that had invaded not only his peace, but his home as well. The way she was acting one might have thought that it was the winter, but the Russian was quite sure that his girlfriend would never come to Siberia during that season. Still, seeing her here as she was only served to increase his confusion all the way around.

After closing the door, the big man looked over at the blonde. "Kalinka," he began carefully, using her pet name in case she really was mad and was just hiding it under that queer charm of hers. "What are you doing in Novosibirsk?" he asked, aware of her moods.

Throwing him an utterly brilliant smile, Amelia shrugged, before taking off her jacket and looking around the small, private home of her old rival-turned-boyfriend. "I'm on my way to China to check on the equipment I sent him for the factories and to negotiate some deals."

The big man scowled. "Wouldn't it have been faster to go from California and fly west instead of looping around Europe?"

"Of course it would!" the girl agreed, making herself at home, walking around in his rarely used house curiously. "But then I wouldn't have found an excuse to come visit you~" She winked playfully, stirring a rested longing in the Russian's bones. Though he was brought out of the warmth and arousal by a simple thought, the one that had kept him pacing and unable to sleep well: Amelia had yet to discover the magazines.

Glancing warily over at the blonde, Ivan knew he had to think fast to protect himself. Perhaps he should just tell her, tell her all that had happened yesterday and warn her about what she might experience when she goes farther east to see China. But then there was just enough cowardice in him to have him hold his tongue. This whole pushing their relationship further, faster—while there was really nothing wrong with what they were doing!— was his idea, despite how Amelia fought against it. If things blew up in their faces, it would ultimately his fault, or that's how she would see it. There would be no appeasing her once she found out, her fury was assured, and quite honestly, it scared the shit out of Ivan. America was a demon in war, what would she be like in personal revenge?

Realizing she was expecting a response, Ivan nodded stupidly. "Th-that's nice. How…thoughtful." He winced.

Amelia beamed. "I am, aren't I? I know I can only spend about an hour or so here before I gotta leave again, but that's better than no time at all, right?" she shrugged with a slight blush.

The sentiment touched the older nation, it really did. Despite being a narcissistic idiot half the time, Amelia really was sweet. She really was trying to think of others, and Ivan found that her efforts to include him daily in her life, whether it was just a text or phone call, or making efforts to come see him across the world, showed her true character. That character that was often lost behind the glamour and power, the one that was actually sweet and endearing and very caring. All the panic he had felt a moment before seemed to melt away at that moment, and it left the Slav feeling warm.

Reflecting that warmth with a tender smile, Ivan walked towards the girl that was quickly becoming more and more precious to him as time went on, and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her close. There was only a split second where she was tense, before she melted into the embrace and hugged him back, though not quite as tightly as he hugged her. Her timid nature in romantics no longer distressed him quite as badly, as he realized more and more how much she was trying to please him, to do the things he wanted. This was a big step for her, but she was doing all this for him.

Without a second thought, without thinking about those ghastly magazines, Russia planted a kiss on top of the girl's golden hair, as though bestowing a blessing in his own reverence. "Ti takaya prelestnaya," he chuckled at her sudden shyness.

The blonde wiggled out of her boyfriend's arms a bit to stare up at him. "Am not," she pouted, only disproving her claim.

To answer her, he let his giggles tell her otherwise.

America frowned at this, before she took on a thoughtful expression. "Can I ask you a question?"

Ivan smiled down at her, loving that she hadn't pulled completely away from him. She warded off the morning chill. "With your inclinations towards stupidity, I encourage it," he teased, earning a dark glare.

But surprisingly, she didn't pull away. Instead, she stared up at him with an almost bored expression, pouting her lips out just a bit. "Any reason why you're not wearing a shirt?"

It was then that the Slav remembered just what had happened not five minutes ago, how he had been woken from his slumber by his annoying girlfriend. He had been so worried about her finding out about the magazines and then with letting her in, he'd forgotten to dress himself properly.

But instead of letting go to put on a shirt, as no doubt Amelia wanted, Ivan squeezed her closer to him, crushing her against him until they were almost smashed into one person with no division between them. Chuckling darkly, he leaned forward, and whispered, "Would you like to see more?"

He didn't need to see her face in order to know she was blushing. He could feel it. It was almost as though someone had turned on a hot lamp against his chest. But he did not let go, even as she struggled against him, scolding him, though it was muffed. It was only until she unfairly pinched him that he at last let go.

"Ow!" he stepped back, frowning. "What was that for?"

The blonde was still flushed as she crossed her arms. "You know perfectly well what that was for."

There was already an angry red mark on his side, and the Russian rubbed at it ruefully. "That wasn't so nice."

"Neither was crushing me to death," America rolled her eyes.

Even though he knew he'd get in trouble, the large nation just couldn't stop himself from being a pest. "You liked it," he smirked playfully. "You liked it and you know it."

It was really amazing how much self-control Amelia seemed to have gained since dating him, because in the past, the blonde might have punched him so hard that not only would he be missing teeth, he'd quite literally probably have been sent through the wall. Instead, she pouted as she crossed her arms moodily, sending him a dirty scowl. A great improvement indeed. He could live with her scowls, he could not live with her constantly wanting to beat him senseless. As fun as that was, it did get kind of old if done too often.

Knowing that he had perhaps pushed his luck as far as he could for the time being, Ivan chuckled before he spread his arm to the girl. "Come sit down. I will go change."

The blonde eyed him suspiciously, but did as she was told. "You better be changing into clothes and not out of them."

The Russian laughed, having not considered that, and wished that he had…and Amelia hadn't. Oh, he knew nothing would happen if he were to do so, but it would have been amusing to see her freak out. The girl needed to loosen up when it came to nudity and the like. Americans were all wild about sex on television and movies, but when it came to real life, it was as though they were squeamish to even think about the possibility of nakedness or sex. Such an odd culture.

Shaking his head in response to his amusement, Ivan went back up the stairs and quickly changed into black slack, and a dress shirt which he promptly put a nice, dark blue sweater over before adjusting his scarf and pulling on his nicer shoes. He looked at himself in the mirror and noticed he was wearing a sincere sort of smile. For once, he thought he looked good. For once when he looked in the mirror, he didn't get the sense of staring at a lonely stranger. There was no depression in his eyes, no emptiness. Strange that America should help him improve thus.

The smell of fire cracking in the fireplace assaulted Russia's nose as he walked back down the stairs. As he peeked around the corner, he found Amelia leaning forward, dropping a little log on, before straightening up, smiling. She looked so pretty, Ivan thought, the whole setting completely domestic. His house here was less business-like, being smaller and cozy, and seeing his Kalinka here like this, well, it made his heart warm. Such a beautiful girl, it really was dangerous how much he liked her.

After dusting off her hands, the blonde turned around and jumped ever so slightly at the sight of her boyfriend. "Oh! Ivan. When did you come back down?" she asked, a big smile already naturally coming to her lips. He loved that about her.

"Just a moment ago," he shrugged before going to sit on the couch. Amelia followed suit. "Glad you were able to make yourself at home."

The girl had the decency to blush. "Sorry," she laughed, rubbing the back of her neck. "It was a little drafty in here and I just thought a fire was a good idea."

"No, no, you misunderstand," Ivan held up his hands. "I was being serious. I am glad you were making yourself at home." Because if the Russian were to have his way, then he and Amelia would be sharing their living spaces much more intimately soon, and he wanted the girl to be comfortable in his home. He wanted her to like it so badly, it almost hurt.

"Oh," the girl chirped, beaming. "Well, good! Thanks! I just love the smell of a good fire, don't you?" she started up her rambling. "It reminds me a lot of the times me and Mattie would go camping."

"'Would go'?" Ivan questioned.

"Yeah," the smiled on the blonde's lips lessened just a bit. "We haven't been for a long time. Things have been…a lot busier for both of us nowadays. Plus his people always freak a little bit when I come over and don't like me out by myself in the woods with fire for some reason."

Russia rolled his eyes. He could understand the Canadians reasoning, but he still found himself a bit sad on her behalf. He had never noticed how close America and her brother were until the competition had started. They loved one another like a brother and sister should, and they always tried to be there for one another, even if they had strongly different points of view politically. But they still made time to be brother and sister. Ivan thought that was nice. Very nice. He was actually jealous that he could not have that with his own sisters anymore.

"So," Amelia started back up. "What have you got going on today?"

"Hmm?" the Russian blinked out of his musings.

"I said, 'what are you doing today?' I mean, I gotta leave for China soon, but what have you got planned? Anything interesting?"

And that's when reality came slamming back into Russia so hard, he thought his head had been smashed in. "O-oh, right. China. Y-you're going there in an hour you said?"

"Yeah," the blonde frowned slightly. "You okay there, Big Guy? You're looking a little…green."

"Fine, fine," he waved her off, his mind racing through how he was going to handle this.

America could not go to China. Apparently she must have left for Russia before the leak of their relationship had gotten out. It was apparent to the Russian that the Americans had probably tried to contain the information as long as they could if Amelia hadn't seen it while at the airport, but since Canada had found out…well, he wondered how bad it was in the States as well as her neighboring countries. And if Amelia went to China and found out, it would be ten times worse! China wasn't always the most tactful when he freaked out about something, and the news of Russia's alleged abuse of his biggest trading partner would not settle well for the Asian nation. And since China would no doubt bring it up, then America would freak out, and if she did that, then there was no way Ivan could save himself. She would demand to know why he hadn't told her, because no doubt she would accuse him of knowing. And because he had seen her in person, he could not really use the excuse of, "I didn't know how to tell you" since she was there in person, it was his duty to tell…

He was doomed. There was no other way of describing it. If Amelia didn't kill him for dragging her into this scandal, the topic she had been so proud of escaping since her existence, then no doubt Ivan would want to kill himself for hurting her. She would no doubt be hurt by the roamers, horrified by the gossip of abuse. If only he could just cover it all up!

"You sure?" he barely heard Amelia ask as she touched his arm, leaning forward in concern. "You're lookin' really green. Did you eat something bad?"

"Nyet," the Russian shook his head. "No, I…I was just thinking. I…I'm going to come to China with you."

As the American beamed, Russia realized that perhaps his mind was finally getting dull. What a terrible idea, and there was no way he could back out now, considering how happy Amelia looked. He would never be able to justify this with Putin, not after the chewing out he'd gotten from the president yesterday, but really, it was the only way Ivan could monitor the interactions in China. Perhaps he could hide this a little bit longer? Spare Amelia the heartache?

"Really?" the girl asked, eyes positively aglow.

She looked so lovely then, so full of hope that Ivan found himself nodding. "Da, of course," he gave a smile he hoped didn't look like a grimace. "I remember I have some business to take care of with him too."

"All right!" the blonde exclaimed jumping in her seat. "This is gunna be so awesome! Long plane rides are just so boring when you're by yourself or with your boss, but if you're there, then it'll be fifty billions time better!"

Ivan was amazed he hadn't gotten sick yet. "Oh…yay!" His smile did turn into a wince.

So, after making some coffee for the two of them, Ivan let Amelia chatter away about this and that, nothing of particular interest coming from the girl's mouth, but as long as she talked, then that meant Ivan didn't have to, and he couldn't slip up and tell her about those articles. Eventually, the Russian showed her to his car, and he made sure to put in a CD so that the radio wouldn't be on and somehow America could find out about the wild roamers. As they drove and the blonde kept up her chattering, the Russian tried desperately to think of a way that their being together in the airport wouldn't spark too much attention, or how he was going to keep Amelia from somehow seeing something.

He could always pull rank, he thought to himself. He could use all the special security ways, and justify it because technically Amelia was a visiting diplomat. That would take care of a lot of people, and the workers he could intimidate into silence. He could also order that there be no TVs on while they waited and he could keep away the newer magazines. Yes, perhaps he could do this. On the flight, they would be isolated from everyone else if he desired to pull such special treatment, perhaps he could even get them on their own jet? Putin would be furious with him for wasting the resources and all, but dammit, Ivan wasn't about to create more roamers, nor was he willing for Amelia to find out just yet.

So, once the airport came into view, America was bouncing in her seat she was so happy, still prattling away about some story where France had gotten his head stuck in the stair rails or something. With her still distracted, Ivan drove to the back, to the special diplomats' gate, and stopped when he had to show his I.D. The guards nodded solemnly to their nation before turning to look at the girl next to him.

Ivan held out his hand and Amelia obediently handed over her special I.D. "Hi there!" she chirped and smiled at the guard, who looked a bit surprised at the lively girl, but didn't respond other than nodding to her as well. Quickly, he scanned over the foreigner's pass before waving Ivan through the gates. "Have a good morning!" she called as they pulled through.

As they exited the vehicle, he was quick to guide his girlfriend through the passages and to the airport through the special tunnels. The blonde, at first, kept smiling, singing something about a "secret tunnel" and skipped along, her bag in hand. It might have embarrassed Ivan, how childish she was being, but at the moment, he wasn't really thinking about that. He was worried about what would happen. Amelia just couldn't find out about those damn roamers!

But as they entered into the private waiting room, after Russia quickly gave instructions to the attendants and other officials there about their destination, he noticed that Amelia was looking bored. "You know," she said as she inspected the pristine room, "we could have just flown with the humans like I'd planned. There's no need for you to waste the special treatment."

"Nyet, it's no problem," Ivan reassured quickly. "I…I actually prefer private flights. A lot less screaming infants."

America smiled. "Well…okay, if you're sure."

The girl sat down and Ivan turned away to speak again privately with the flight attendant. He didn't notice Amelia pick up the remote. The girl turned on the television and the sound of a news reporter filled the room. "…there is still no word on the man's whereabouts. In other news," the report went on, a picture of Russia flashing before the screen, not looking too happy, "the speculated report on our nation's current involvement with the Un—"

Faster than a man with his bulk should have been able to, the Russian flew forward and turned off the television, his hands shaking just a bit.

"Hey!" Amelia cried. "I was watching that!"

"Well, now you're not," Ivan smiled, sitting down next to her. At the girl's annoyed expression, the larger nation decided to distract her by putting his arm around her. That affectively shut her up. "Besides," he went on, "I want to be selfish and have all of your attention."

The blonde blushed, before snorting. "Y-yeah, whatever. So…if you want my attention, you better be at least entertaining."

"Of course!" Ivan nodded. "I was just wondering…well, perhaps we should get together again very soon? Whatever you want to go!"

It took only a blink before the blonde was one again beaming at her boyfriend, nearly bouncing in her seat, taken with the idea. "Okay!" she exclaimed. "I wonder what we should do? I know! We could go to the Bahamas or something. I haven't talked to her in a while, but I'm sure she wouldn't mind if we went down there. Or we could go to—"

"Let us not get too far ahead of ourselves," Ivan interjected quickly, terrified not only of their paparazzi, but of other foreign press as well. "Perhaps somewhere in the mountains at one of our places? Nice, quiet, and away?"

Amelia perked up significantly, but before she could reply, they were called to the private jet that was now leaving for Beijing, China. The nearly four hour flight seemed to take forever, not fast enough for Ivan, as he sat next to Amelia, who babbled on the whole time, mostly about planning their mountain retreat, but other subjects slipped in there too. When she mentioned her brother, "Mattie", and how he had acted weird before she left, it had the Russian nearly in a panic. Of course, the other North American hadn't told his sister, and opted instead to chew him out, and it still didn't settle well with the large nation. It wasn't that he was afraid of Canada or anything, but it was the fact that Amelia would get caught in the middle if ever a fight broke out between the two men, and quite frankly, Russian knew very well that America, in the end, would chose Canada's side in any fight. Family loyalties, allied promises and all…

When they landed, they were treated with special care, though the security was obviously confused as to why Russia and America were together. They would send these suspicious looks towards the nations, but Russia would stop it with a terrifying smile. It stopped the security, but Ivan was wondering if he still had the power to frighten the Chinese officials as well. He hoped so, for Amelia's sake.

The large nation made quick work of pushing the blonde ahead of him, making sure she didn't stop, at a near sprint. Of course Amelia was confused, repeating phrases such as, "Where's the fire, Big Guy?" but Ivan didn't slow. His own people had to nearly run to keep up. He thought he'd seen a magazine with his and Amelia picture on it, a scandalous piece he was sure, and redoubled his efforts to keep her moving.

Once they grabbed their bags, they were greeted by an official sent to escort America to the company she would be inspecting with China. The man was completely surprised to see that Russia had tagged along with the Superpower, but to his credit, schooled his features considerably well. Amelia, of course, beamed at the man, asking him all manner of polite questions, before she seemed to remember that Ivan wasn't supposed to be there.

"Oh! Yeah," she looked a bit guilty, but the official pressed them forward, to the limo. "I made a quick pit stop in Russia, and, well, he had some business to discuss with China as well, so we thought we'd carpool." She laughed at her own joke.

Neither Ivan, nor the Chinese official quite understood.

When they got to the limo, the official smiled politely at the nations, before turning to the Russians that had been silently trailing behind. "I am afraid that there is not enough room for everyone," he looked apologetic. "I can escort your nation, but I could call another vehicle to come and pick you up?"

"That won't be necessary," a Russian official shook his head slightly. "We have already contacted someone from the embassy. They will be here shortly."

The Chinese official nodded before gesturing for the two nations to enter the limo. "Bye! Thanks!" America chirped at the Eastern Europeans, who merely stared at her and their own nation strangely. As ordered, they had said nothing about the articles as Russia had instructed, but it was clear that they were curious, even a bit angry with the American, as some of the lies about her manipulation had settled over them. Ivan hoped they would come to see how ridiculous it all was.

The limo was hardly a silent affair, but Ivan didn't have to worry as Amelia dominated the conversation yet again. The official asked her polite, generic question, but of course the American went on and on about everything known to man, and then some. For the most part, Russia was glad of this, as the topic of their relationship remained out of the way, yet he was getting tired of her ramblings about how "American ideal just wasn't the same…" But Ivan remained silent, and the official remained polite as he nodded and allowed the American to speak.

At last, after about an hour drive through the thick traffic, the nations finally found themselves outside of the large American company Amelia was supposed to oversee and check the equipment for. Ivan followed behind the blonde warily, sending deadly glares at anyone that gawked too much. Thankfully, as they entered, there didn't seem to be any of those horrid magazines lying about, and all the TVs were stationed on the news, which was, thankfully, for once talking about news worthy subjects.

As they made their way towards the back, where the machines were, Russia spied China, talking to several of his people, before he turned to greet America who he no doubt, heard coming a mile away. There was a light smile on his face as he prepared himself for an interaction with Amelia, but the moment his dark eyes caught sight of Russia, he seemed to freeze, a horribly panicked expression coming over him before it was shoved down and his face was blank. Ivan winced, peeking down at his girlfriend only to discover that she must not have seen it.

"Hi, China!" Amelia called, waving. "What's up, dude? How've you been?" she held out her hand.

China responded in turn, shaking the taller nation's hand before bowing. "Well, America." He gave a slight smile again before turning and eyeing Russia. "And…Russia? I was not expecting you. Hello," he bowed to the largest nation.

"Privyet, China," Ivan smiled brightly, threateningly. "I had a few things I wished to discuss with you." A silent threat hung in the air over the two easterners, but thankfully, America didn't catch on.

"All right!" the girl cheered. "So, let's get this inspection done and out of the way, huh? Then we can leave and grab a bite to eat. I'm starving!"

The Asian nation smiled politely, before nodding. "Shì, that would be acceptable. America, if you would follow me?" China asked, and threw Ivan a mean glare, one that surprised the bigger nation. "You will have to wait here,Èluósī."

"Oh! Right!" America nodded. "Sorry, Big Guy, this is legit business. No spying, 'kay?"

Ivan plastered on his most innocent expression, and even though China wasn't buying it, their past experiences with each other not changing much, Amelia was more willing to believe it. "Da, of course! I will remain right here," he lied.

Amelia didn't seem to notice the tension between the other two nations and happily nodded before taking out an electronic notepad to take notes on her inspection. Russia stood smiling as they walked away to get started on their inspection, but the moment they had turned the corner, Ivan took off, trying to find a hiding spot. China knew something was up, but the Russian didn't know what conclusions the Asian had made. News of his and America's relationship had leaked out here too, but it was unclear to the big nation who China felt more sympathy for…though at the moment, it seemed to be America. He wanted to listen in not to spy as a nation, but to make sure Amelia didn't find out…and maybe to spy a little as a nation…maybe…

He found a place soon enough, and as he settled down, he could hear America's pen swiping across her notepad quickly as she inspected the equipment. China stood next to her, hands clasped behind his back as he watched her work. "This machine's been turned off. How did that happen?" she asked, all business now.

"A few workers were not being careful and bumped into it," China supplied calmly, his dark eyes watching the blonde's move as she began retyping in the passcodes and starting the machine back up secretly before taking a few notes afterwards.

"Try and tell them to be more careful," she muttered. "You know it looks bad."

China nodded, before his features twisted into a thoughtful expression. "You know, America…we may not have always been the…best of friends," America stopped to stare down at the other nation in confusion. "—but I want you to know that when I heard the rumors, I didn't believe them for an instant." Behind machinery, Ivan began to sweat.

"Rumors?" Amelia asked carefully.

"Yes," the old nation nodded. "Though I must confess I was surprised that you brought Russia here. Very…bold of you. It is perhaps good of you to have him travel with you. To discredit these silly rumors."

Ivan peeked out just enough to see Amelia's face turn completely red. "O-oh," she muttered. "Guess you heard…D-does everyone know?"

"I do not know," China frowned at the blonde's behavior. "I would assume so with all the publicity it's been getting."

The America laughed nervously, rubbing the back of her neck. "W-well thanks, China, but…uh…it's true, actually."

Even with the humming of the machinery, the whole room seemed to have fallen silent, and the horror that spread across the Chinese nation's face reflected the upmost dismay and disgust. "I-it's true-aru?" China hissed, the speech tic he'd been trying so hard to cover finally slipping out.

Again, Amelia laughed anxiously. "Y-yeah…ain't that something?"

The old nation grabbed America's upper arm, before looking at her face carefully, scrutinizing, even as the American was surprised. "I…I cannot believe it-aru. What are you going to do about it?"

Russia didn't know if he should be amused, annoyed, terrified, or just plain sick. It was apparent that Amelia was horribly confused. She had no idea of the horrors the magazines were saying about both of them, and it was only too clear that China was concerned at the moment about those blasted gossip pieces. They were talking about the same thing, yet so different it was no wonder confusion had settled in over them.

After a moment of gathering her wit again, Amelia stepped away from the other nation before shrugging, her face still red. "I-I don't know. I mean, I—we—were just going to see how this all played out."

Ivan could have fainted he was so horrified at the proceedings. From China's furious expression to America's embarrassed one, Russia wasn't sure what was worse. They had no idea what the other was really talking about.

"I see-aru," the Asian mumbled quietly. "America-aru, again I say that we have not always been the best of friends, but I…I know what it is like to be…subject to his…persuasions. If you ever need any help, please, please let me know," his eyes shown with sincerity. "Nationhood aside, I will help you-aru."

The blonde blushed once more, before laughing. "G-geeze, China! It's like you think I'm dating him against my will or something! Haha!"

When China's eyes widened in shock, that's when Russia knew he couldn't let this go on. "Ah, Kalinka," he stepped around the corner, smiling, ignoring the smaller man's still stunned expression. "Are you almost finished with this inspection? It's getting late and I would like lunch very soon."

"Crap, dude!" she cried, turning to see her boyfriend. "I thought we told you to stay put?"

The Asian nation's eyes narrowed, but Russia ignored it. "Like I said, I am hungry. Can you not take a break now?"

America looked torn between wanting to get the job finished and getting away from China for a moment, to allow the embarrassment to fade just a bit. "Well…yeah, okay. I am pretty hungry. That okay with you, China?"

The smaller man nodded slowly. "That should be fine-aru."

"Awesome!" Amelia beamed. "Okay, let's go get some awesome food! Let's go, Big Guy!" she grabbed Russia's hand and started tugging him to the door.

He allowed her to do so, and soon the three nations were in the limo on their way to a restaurant China had picked. Amelia was chattering on about something ridiculous with the driver while Russia and China sat next to each other awkwardly, each eying the other distrustfully.

The moment America's attention was completely captured by something, China leaned towards the Russian and whispered quietly, "Kalinka?" Ivan winced. "You and I have a lotto discussion later on-aru."

"Hey, Big Guy!" Amelia turned around, blue eyes shining. "When we go on our vacation, do you think we can parachute off buildings too? Wouldn't that be great?!"

"A lot to discuss-aru."

Ivan winced.

Author's Note: Back from the dead! Sorry for the long wait, I know a lot of you were angry with me, but seriously, since coming back to school, I've had a LONG string of horrible things happen to me and to my family and friends, so postponing fanfiction was a necessity. That's all I'm going to say, except if I don't update right away, please don't send me angry reviews. Seriously guys, I've had a pretty terrible last couple of months. Reading anonymous reviews yelling at me didn't help. Thanks everyone else for being patient with me!

Russian: Ti takaya prelestnaya- Ты такая прелестная- You are so cute/charming.

Chinese: Shì-是- Yes. Èluósī- 俄罗斯- Russia. (** If my Chinese is wrong, PLEASE tell me!)

Random Fact: While I left the company up to the imagination, I do have a friend whose uncle works on American machinery in China, and pretty much the Chinese are not allowed to fix any machines that Americans have given them. If something breaks or the machines are moved even an inch, they shut down and Americans are sent over to China to fix and reset the machinery. Not making this up. Just thought I'd share this random fact.

'Nother Note:. Hope this will suffice until next time. Please leave a review on your way out. It really would make me smile. :) Thanks!