Well, here we are guys. The end of the line. The last stop. Another analogy for the end of something.

Thanks to everyone who has stuck with us so far! Though this story didn't garner a lot of reviews or favorites, we had a few people who were loyal enough to stick with it. And for that, we thank you. And no, that was no a Tosh.0 reference. XD

Thanks again to my RP partner Usagi323 for co-writing this with me. This was our first full-blown story together. And I have to say, it was awfully fun writing it with her. Thanks, dear!

In this chapter, the group reunites after some time apart and reflects on all they had been through together.

Alfred woke up the next morning nice and slowly, the light that crept through the blinds warm and not harsh, making it easy to wake up to. There was also the pleasant feeling of calloused fingers stroking his back slowly, gently, even reverently. Letting out a happy hum, Alfred blinked sleep fogged blue eyes and crossed his arms to put his head on as he looked up at the Russian stroking his back absentmindedly. Alfred mumbled in voice thick with sleep as a sleepy and lazy smile spread on his face, "Mornin' babe."

"Good morning, darling." Ivan spoke softly, still a bit sleepy himself. He had woken up just a couple of minutes ago, but not wanting to rustle Alfred, he decided to stay in bed until the other woke up. "How are you feeling today?" He wondered if Alfred would be sore. Their love-making last night hadn't been as rough as it usually was, but it still lasted a long while. Even though their house was nice and cool at all times, Ivan felt sticky from sweat and some other anonymous liquids. He continued stroking absentminded patterns on Alfred's smooth back.

At the request, Alfred blinked then looked up in thought as he gave his hips a test wiggle. Looking back at Ivan he gave him a slightly wider smile, "A bit sore, but you've done worse and I don't think I'll be walking with a limp. So overall, not too bad." Honestly the first month they lived here the neighbors thought there was something seriously wrong going on in their house from the way Alfred would limp around sometimes. When they realized however they were a couple and not just house mates it all seemed to make sense to them. The people around their neighborhood were great, completely accepting the couple. There were a couple homophobes they usually just chose to ignore Ivan and Alfred. The mothers and children simply adored Alfred, considering how good with kids he was and the guys would often playfully tease Ivan or Alfred...more so Alfred for obvious reasons. One time Ivan got jokingly scolded by one of the mothers to treat Alfred more gently, to which Alfred affirmed he was a manly man who could handle what Ivan dished out...and then he squealed and ran after a passing ice cream truck.

Leaning up a bit Alfred kissed Ivan on the neck softly, mumbling. "That feels nice." In reference to Ivan petting his back.

"Mmhmm." Ivan hummed in response. Placing his fingers against Alfred's chin, he angled the blonde's head up so he could bend down and kiss him. He merely pressed his lips softly against Alfred's, relishing in the warmth and softness of them. They remained that way for a while, sharing gentle kisses before it began to morph into something else. Half of Alfred's body was slung over Ivan's as the said Russian's mouth was being assaulted by his lover. Ivan felt a tongue on his lips and eagerly opened to mouth to join their tongues in a searing kissing. Licks and nips were passed between the two as the tone became slightly more urgent. Ivan could feel Alfred rutting up against his thigh a little, his cock half hard and leaving a small trail of wetness on his bare skin.

And then came dreadfully familiar sound. A loud grumbling sound filled the room. Blushing brightly at the horribly loud and monstrous growl emitting from his stomach, Alfred pulled away from their almost round of morning sex and just sat on Ivan's lap. Face flushed and avoiding eye contact with the Russian, Alfred rubbed the back of his head and mumbled sheepishly. "Um...I'm hungry." Now most people could normally ignore that and get on with business, but unfortunately for the both of them, they knew Alfred's stomach would continue growling like that all through their love making and that really killed the mood. "So, um...wanna make pancakes and um...bal-bil-blini? For...brunch?" Alfred stumbled trying to remember what that Russian pancake dish Ivan liked so much was called, and then glanced to the clock seeing it was only 11: 30 am.

"Blini." Ivan corrected Alfred with a smile. "Of course. Afterwards, we can take a shower together, da?" Morning showers were always so heavenly. There was no better way to wake up than to stand under a constant stream of warm water and let yourself relax until you felt content enough to present yourself to the world. Well…then again, by the time they would be done eating, it was be noon time. Either way, it would still be good. Heaving himself out of bed, Ivan looked around on the floor for his and Alfred's boxers, slipping his own on whenever he found them and tossing Alfred's pair to him. After Alfred was dressed, Ivan quickly slipped his arms underneath him, earning a surprised yelp and a couple of protests, and then made his way quickly to the kitchen with Alfred in his arms. He set the blonde down as soon as his feet touched the familiar tile of their kitchen. "Now go sit down, and I will be done shortly. By the way, strawberry, blueberry, or grape jam?"

Alfred, still blushing and pouting at being carried, just nodded and scurried over to the dining room table. Despite his pouting and protesting, the Russian knew that Alfred enjoyed being carried like that. "Um...strawberry, please!" Alfred answered after a moment of thought. As Ivan began to make their breakfast, Alfred just kicked his feet as he sat in the dining room and listened to the sound of Ivan singing some Russian folk song quietly. Alfred closed his eyes and relaxed, listening to Ivan's soft and baritone voice singing. That was another thing Alfred quite enjoyed listening to: Ivan singing and when he spoke in Russian. When he spoke Russian, his voice get lower and a bit harsher. It sent pleasant chills up Alfred's spine. Also the fact that Ivan didn't sing often unless Alfred begged him to made this an even better treat. It wasn't long until the singing stopped and Alfred heard Ivan approaching. He opened his eyes just as Ivan placed a plate of blini in front of him. Grinning like kid in a candy store, Alfred dressed up his pancake like dish and dug right in. Mouth slightly full Alfred asked, "Hey when should we call everyone to plan where we'll meet up this year?"

Taking a bite of his own blini – Ivan preferred his with grape jam – he waited to swallow before answering. It was still something he was working on with Alfred. He was, of course, talking about table manners. "We can wait until after our shower to do it. If everyone has a relatively empty schedule today, perhaps we could meet up at that nice little café in town." It had been a while since they had all gotten together. Sure, one or two of them would talk and spend time together every once in a while, but it had been a long time since they had spent time together as an entire group. "We better do it soon, regardless. With the fall season in, the work flow will increase by a lot soon."

Alfred nodded in understanding as he devoured his meal at a record pace. Soon he was done and placing his plate and fork in the sink to be washed at some point during the day. Alfred plopped down in his seat again and waited for Ivan to finish at a much more normal pace. Alfred almost looked like a puppy waiting for his owner to take him for a walk or pet his head.

Ivan looked up and noticed the silent smile Alfred was shooting him. At first, he tried ignoring it, going about his leisurely pace of eating his food. It wasn't soon, though, that he sighed, giving in. "Fine. I will hurry." He quickly finished off his blini, a little disappointed that he didn't get to savor it longer. Finishing off his breakfast, he placed his dish in the sink along with Alfred's, licking the residue of the sticky, sweet jam off of his lips. A pair of tan arms wrapped around his waist, and not even a second later, he was being dragged off towards the bathroom. "You should really learn the meaning of patience, Alfred." Ivan tried to sound put out with him, but it didn't work. Sometimes Alfred's impatience and almost childish energy was cute. This was one of those instances.

Alfred laughed and kissed Ivan's shoulder, nuzzling him, "Yeah, yeah. You've told me a million times big guy." As soon as they got to their bathroom, he stripped himself of his boxers and stepped toward the shower. It was a walk in one with an almost see through door. When they bought it, they were pleasantly surprised to find it fit the both of them quite comfortably, even though it was built to supposedly fit only one person. Turning the water on, he left his hand under the stream of water to feel for when it warmed up. Letting out a pleased noise from the back of his throat when the water finally turned comfortably warm, he the stepped into the water, not bothering to wait for Ivan. Soon we was joined by the Russian and he felt wrap Ivan's own pale arms around Alfred like the American had done while dragging him here. Alfred eased into his hold and grabbed some shampoo. Turning in Ivan's arms, he squirted some in his hands. "Close your eyes." Alfred commanded and smiled as Ivan complied, gently massaging and scratching his scalp as he washed the Russian's soft hair. Leaning up he rubbed his nose to Ivan's in an eskimo kiss and said, "I love you." Alfred didn't know why, but he felt extra cuddly today. Probably left over pleasant feelings from their amazing night last night.

"You are making it your job to be extra adorable today, hmm?" Ivan joked playfully as he let Alfred wash his hair. He resorted to resting his hands on the blonde's hips while Alfred finished washing his hair. Soon it was his turn, and he returned the favor, only this time, Alfred hugged him close and rested his head against Ivan's chest. It was a comfortable embrace, wet skin against skin and warm water cascading over their bodies. Ivan would have to be sure to hurry quickly before Alfred became too drowsy and fell asleep. He'd done it before while they were showering and almost toppled over a couple times. Ivan still had no idea how he could fall asleep standing up like that.

A couple minutes later, and the duo was out of the shower, toweled off, and dressed comfortably for the day. While checking the school's website on his computer, Ivan mentioned off handedly. "I think you should try calling the others now." It wasn't like he couldn't do it himself, but Alfred just had a way with casual conversation while Ivan sounded stiff with his words. After all, his lover seemed to suffer a huge case of word vomit while Ivan chose his words carefully. It would take a bit of meaningless stories and ideas, but eventually Alfred would get his point across to the others. "You better do it before it gets too late into the day."

Alfred who had been playing with the DS Ivan got him for Christmas last year, looked up and shrugged. "Sure. So should we set up a time for like a late lunch/early dinner, at like three?" Alfred asked as he padded to where their home phone was in their room, while Ivan was on his Laptop on the bed. He heard Ivan hum his approval at the time and so he dialed the first number he thought of, that being Arthur and Francis' flat number. The phone rang a couple times before a familiar British accent was heard. "Yeah, hey Artie!" And thus came a long discussion as Arthur checked both his and Francis' agenda for the day, and they generally caught up with each other and bickered a bit over the spelling of "color". Apparently Arthur had read his newest novel and started nagging Alfred about using the Queen's English, but said he over all enjoyed the short adventure novel. "Well see ya then!" With that he called Kiku with whom he also had a conversation about new video games that were being released, and confirmed that Kiku was free to meet them as well. When he called Yao, that discussion was by far the shortest, but still friendly and conversational. Yao was free as well and even promised to give Alfred some of his tasty snacks too, which Alfred whooped in excitement and thanked him before hanging up. When he called Ludwig and Feliciano's number, he was greeted by the serious German. "Hey! Ludwig are you and Feli-" Alfred was interrupted by the faint sound of Feliciano asking "Ve~ Luddy who is it?" Ludwig scolded the Italian a little, "Feli, you shouldn't interrupt people on the phone, and It's Alfred-" This time Ludwig was caught off by the excitable Italian confiscating the phone from him and declaring, "Ve~ Let me talk to him! Hello Alfie~!" And with that the sounds of an exasperated German faded, causing Alfred to assume he left the room. The two of them were having the longest conversation yet, both babbling about this and that. Alfred did, though, remember to get the information he needed across and it turns out that they could make it, too. Then suddenly Alfred blushed bright red and became very flustered, "Feli, you can't just ask me that! …Because it's private! Gah, you're hopeless." Sitting next to Ivan on the bed, he thrust the phone in his in front of the Russian, scowling with a heavy blush on his face. "He wants to talk to you." That was another thing that had developed over the past few years. Ivan had become pretty close to both Matthew and surprisingly Feliciano. Though it made Alfred happy knowing Ivan had become close to people he was close to as well, and was capable of making friends.

"здравствуйте, Feliciano. Ah? You want to know about what? Oh!" Ivan smiled at Alfred, only causing him to blush harder. "Yes. He rather likes it when I do that. Hmm? Oh yes, you should try it. It feel so nice, too~! Is that so? I am sure you can convince Ludwig otherwise." Ivan continued chatting on, as if Alfred wasn't even there. While he didn't say anything too explicit, he was sure the American knew exactly what he was talking about. It was worth teasing the blonde, making him blush and stutter and demand to have the phone back. "Well, I should really be going. So you can come, right? Ah, good. I will see you later, Feliciano." With that, Ivan pressed the 'end' button on the phone. Taking in Alfred's flustered appearance, he merely asked, an innocent edge to his tone. "What?"

Alfred just glared at him, the intimidation effect being nullified by his pout and blush. "You know what, you jerk." He mumbled, pushing Ivan's shoulder playfully. The Russian just chuckled and continued doing what he was doing before while handing the phone back to Alfred. Alfred stared at the device for a second. He knew he was forgetting someone..."Dammit, Ivan who am I forgetting? I called Arthur and Francis, Kiku, Yao, Feli and Ludwig..." Even though he was addressing Ivan, Alfred was more rambling to himself. After a second of thought, he face palmed. "Mattie! I need to call Mattie!, can't believe I forgot him..." And with that, he dialed his brother's number. After talking for a while and confirming that Matthew could make it, Alfred put his hand over the bottom of the phone. "Hey Ivan, Mattie wants to know if you're still game for a bit of a hockey scrimmage next weekend." Upon his therapist's request, Ivan joined a local hockey team a couple years ago. It wasn't a very serious one, but one none the less. It was meant to be a way for Ivan to safely vent his anger and stress, and Ivan quite enjoyed practicing every Sunday with Matthew and their little makeshift team. They even played games sometimes at a public rink with some other local rag-tag teams. And Alfred would be lying if he said Ivan didn't look damn hot in his jersey, especially when he was all sweaty, bruised and exhausted. They've had some very good locker room sex before, after one of those games.

"Tell him I said da." Ivan chuckled a bit, wondering if Alfred would actually say that or just stick to 'yes'. Before hockey, he had done quite a bit of ice-skating as a child. During their time at the camp, he had to give up that beloved hobby, but made sure to pick right back up on it whenever they came to America. It wasn't too hard getting used to the ice again, but Ivan was back to top performance with a little practice. Matthew, though quiet and timid on the outside, was a completely different person on the ice. Whenever they practiced together, Ivan was pleasantly surprised to find that he was quite the force to be reckoned with and could even make him break a bit of a sweat with his effort. Together, as a team though, they were close to unstoppable.

"He said, 'da'." He reported back to his brother, and talked for a couple more minutes before hanging up. Looking at the digital clock in their room, he'd say that killed about an hour. Sighing since they still had two hours until they met everyone, Alfred decided to lay his head down on the little bit of lap that Ivan's laptop wasn't taking up. Playing with the ends of Ivan's scarf, Alfred asked "Hey Ivan, where do you see us another five years from now? Or ten?"

Ivan kept the same small smile plastered to his face. His eyes never left his computer. "I can only see us for an eternity." He expected a laugh from Alfred, but instead got an intent stare. Ignoring the anxiety that was slowly building in his gut, he continued to type away at the computer, anxiously waiting for Alfred to react, laugh, or just say something please.

Alfred stared at Ivan, weighing his response and rather it was a serious enough reply or not. After a few seconds of staring, he nodded his head as if coming to a decision. Leaning a bit and pulling Ivan down the rest of the way by his scarf, he gave Ivan a soft kiss before pulling back a bit. He gave Ivan a serious look, "Do you mean that Vanya?"

The Russian blinked a bit, but resumed his usual warm smile. "Of course. I do not say thing likes that without meaning it. Why would I ever lead you on this long if it was not true?" He returned the chaste kiss, flicking Alfred playfully on the ear. "You wear your emotions in the open, Alfred. Just because I do not does not mean that I do not love you with all my heart. I will go to hell and back for you, if it ever came down to that. I have done it before, I will not hesitate to do it again."

Alfred returned the smile and threw his arms around Ivan's neck. Nuzzling into his scarfed neck, he felt light and happy as warmth spread through his chest at the sweet words. Alfred stated, though his words were a bit muffled by Ivan's scarf, "For eternity then. I'm holding you to that then, big guy." Who would have thought five years ago they'd be this happy? And the best part was they still had a long time to live this happily, and Alfred would fight tooth and nail to keep them together like this. Through the ups and downs he'd stay by Ivan's side. It was a promise.

A few short hours later and they were pulling into the parking lot of a local café. The weather was still pretty hot considering it was only early August. As soon as Ivan stepped out of the cool air-conditioned car, he was met with the blazing heat of the sun. He could make out Alfred groaning and covering his eyes. As hot as it was, Ivan didn't mind the temperature. He would never take the sun for granted again. As far as he was concerned, being a little hot was better than nearly freezing to death in the wilderness of Siberia. Grabbing Alfred's hand, they began crossing the parking lot to the café. "Come on now. If you are going to complain, then do not stand out here longer than you have to."

Alfred protested, "Hey! I wasn't complaining! It was only groan!" He huffed, but allowed himself to be led by the Russian, squeezing his hand and smiling when Ivan squeezed back. When they made it inside the quaint little café, they were greeted to the sight of Francis and Arthur bickering. Arthur had already ordered some tea apparently, making Alfred wonder how long they'd been here since he and Ivan had gotten here five minutes early. "Hey guys!" Alfred called, interrupting their banter. Looking up at the American in surprise, they blinked for a moment.

Arthur was the first to snap out of it. With a snort, the Brit stated. "About time you showed up."

When Alfred and Ivan arrived at the big table the other two were at, Alfred just whined back. "Hey, we're here five minutes early!"

Before Arthur could argue his point, Francis put a finger to his lips. "Now Arthur, where are those gentlemanly manners you always claim to have, hmm? Not even greeting them before scolding, how rude, non?" Francis chuckled as the Brit sputtered. Turning to Alfred and Ivan, he flashed them a smile. "Bon après-midi mes amis."

Alfred waved and simply stated, "Hey Francis." before moving to sit down, which was stopped by Ivan placing his hands on the American's hips and then proceeding to pull the smaller blonde onto his lap as he sat down. Ivan always amped up the PDA whenever Francis or Arthur was around.

Arthur just scowled and gave Ivan a nod in acknowledgement, "Ivan." He muttered. Ivan and Arthur were tense at best with each other, unless they were ganging up on Alfred to scold him or tease him. Ivan also did that with Matthew, Feliciano and- '...Wait a second...those traitors!' Alfred thought.

Ivan kept his face relatively clear of emotion as he sent a nod towards Arthur. Even in their five years of being in America, they still hadn't resolved their ill feelings about each other. The Brit was just as over protective of Alfred as the day he first met him. Apparently, his sense of trust in Ivan hadn't improved either. Ivan smirked to himself, wrapping his arms around Alfred's waist and lacing his fingers together on the other side. One would think that someone like Arthur would appreciate Ivan for the way he treated Alfred. But he supposed there were just some people you could never please.

It was a few minutes later that Kiku and Yao arrived as well. The Chinese designer had a box of what looked like exotic pastries, just as he promised Alfred across the phone. Kiku was carrying what seemed to be a couple game cases, obviously meant for Alfred as well. "Konnichiwa." Japan greeted in his soft monotone voice. "Alfred-san, I brought you some of the new releases that are coming out soon. I was able to get them sooner for you." Handing the game cases to Alfred, he turned to Francis and Arthur and bowed politely. "Ah, hello as well. It is good to see all of you." Looking around, he noticed that Feliciano and Ludwig hadn't arrived yet. "Well, most of you, it seems."

"Yeah, Feli and Ludwig haven't shown up yet." Alfred admitted. Even though Ludwig was a very straight laced person and very punctual, sometimes the Italian was able to make even him late. A few more minutes later Matthew and the late couple walked in together, apparently having arrived at the same time. When the air headed Italian saw his friends he pattered over to them excitedly, hugging first the Japanese man despite his aversion to physical contact.

"Ve~ Ciao Kiku!" He chirped then released the uncomfortable Asian.

"Greetings Feliciano-san." Kiku greeted back slightly flustered. Feli then moved on to hug Ivan and Alfred at the same time, "Ve~ You two are so cute!" Alfred blushed lightly but hugged the Italian back.

Reciprocating the hug with one arm, Ivan replied. "It is good to see you again, Feliciano. Thank you." The bouncy Italian stepped back with a smile.

Having finally assembled everyone together, they each took a seat around the table, ordering a drink of their choice. Later, as the waiter brought them their drinks, Feliciano began with a happy sigh. "Hey everyone, I think we've been here for five years now. Isn't that neat?" He took a drink of his hot chocolate. Despite Ludwig's protests and the high temperatures outside, Feliciano had demanded that he wanted to drink hot chocolate.

"Oh, has it really been that long?" Francis sighed dramatically, looking wistfully in a random direction, somehow materializing a rose from out of nowhere.

Arthur put his tea cup down and with an almost nostalgic look in his eyes, "I hate to admit it, but I agree with the bloody frog. It seems almost like yesterday we were risking our neck to escape that bloody place."

Yao chimed in with a rather an amused smile, "Only going off our own capabilities and Alfred's blind optimism."

Alfred didn't know rather or not to feel offended by the optimism comment and just decided to just brush it off with his usual grin and boisterous laugh. "Hey, it got us here didn't it?"

"Da, it did." Ivan answered happily with a small smile. He pressed a kiss to Alfred's cheek, pulling back and laughing a bit after he felt the skin heat up under his lips. "This," He motioned to where they were sitting, all free men with prosperous lives. "It was all worth it for this."

Kiku, nodded and said quietly, but with a small smile on his face. "I agree with Ivan-san and Alfred-san."

And then a chorus voices blended together. "Convenu." Francis smiled and winked.

"Agreed." Arthur mumbled with a satisfied smirk as he sipped his tea.

"Tóngyì." Yao said over the rim of his own tea cup.

"Ve~Concordato!" Feliciano chirped with an airy expression.

"Vereinbart." Ludwig said, raising his mug of coffee, the corners his mouth twitching upwards.

Alfred just smiled warmly and turned his body enough on Ivan's lap to kiss him softly on the lips, taking the Russian by surprise. Alfred mumbled against Ivan's lips, "I couldn't agree more, big guy."

These moments of happiness, warmth and levity were worth all the hard work, stress, fear and tension on their journey. Their pain and sorrow in that camp made these moments sweeter and worth all the tears shed, but you know what the best part was? The fact that these moments will continue on throughout their lives, because no one was stopping them now.