Series: APH Hetalia Pairing: Ivan x Yao (Russia x China, 露中) | Genre: Romance, Lemon | Rating: R-18

Synopsis: Ivan decides that the day of the official declaration of the Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship and Alliance is an appropriate day to bring their friendship one step further. No, make that several steps, da.

My take on Ivan and Yao's first time together.

Disclaimer: The following story is a derivative work of APH and shares no relation to actual countries, political ideologies, history or events. Characters are copyright to Hidekaz Hiramuya, but the storyline and writing are copyright to me. You may share the link to my story page, but you may not repost my writings without my permission.

Chapter 1: The Important Treaty

1950, February 14

Ivan Braginski was extremely bored.

He was at the moment, being forced to sit through a discussion in the stifling conference hall of the Kremlin Building about the Sino-Soviet Friendship and Alliance Treaty. It was excruciatingly long and horribly uninteresting as nobody seemed to be able to come to a consensus.

He wondered why his presence was required at such meetings when his views were never taken into consideration. All he was ever expected to do was to remain informed about his boss' latest decisions and policies and make sure that they were adequately carried out, never mind if he disagreed with them. Such was the fate of nations.

If Ivan had his way, rather than bother with these troublesome alliance treaties, he would just marry Wang Yao, his Chinese neighbour whom he was supposed to carry out this treaty with. Not that he had never tried. He had asked his boss to ask for Wang Yao's hand in marriage on his behalf, but his boss had said that if they tried to impose Soviet rule on China, they might end up as enemies. Furthermore, given the current state of affairs, with parts of the country in shambles from the World War and Alfred Jones showing off new nuclear technology every now and then, they had more than enough on their plate without having to govern another large country as well. Satellite states and allies were good enough to protect his interests for now.

Ivan failed to understand why his boss had so many concerns about unrelated issues. All he wanted was to be with Yao. But the Chinese nation apparently shared his boss' view, and often lost his temper at him or ran away when Ivan brought up the subject of becoming one.

Ivan sat sulking across Yao at the rectangular oak conference table, listening half-heartedly to their bosses debating over the terms of the treaty. Yao, on the contrary, was listening to their discussion with rapt attention, his eyes trained on the Soviet leader who sat diagonally opposite him, eyebrows knitted together as the speaker droned on about something that obviously worried him.

Ivan thought Yao was the most beautiful and intriguing being he had ever met. He enjoyed stalking him, even if it meant having to wear a hot and bulky panda suit. But he did not like it when Yao looked serious and worried. He had learnt the hard way, when he tried to harass Yao into submission, that an anxious and aggressive Yao only made both of them miserable. When Yao smiled at him, it gave him butterflies in his stomach. Not even an entire sunflower field or a whole day of beating up the Baltic trio with his waterpipe could afford such great pleasure.

In recent years, Ivan had tried hard to mend their relationship that had soured during his imperialist era. If there was any good that came out of World War Two, it was that they had drawn closer than ever during their alliance, most animosity forgotten. Today, they would finally establish their friendship officially. Unfortunately, his boss seemed reluctant to give his blessings. With each discrepancy he pointed out, the Chinese leader had a disgruntled retort, while Yao's frown deepened.

Frowns did not suit Yao's baby face, he thought. Underneath the table, he stretched out his long legs, and prodded them around. Eventually, he found what he wanted. He rubbed his boot against Yao's ankle. The ticklish sensation that ensued caused Yao to give an audible gasp of surprise as he looked under the table to identify the source of disturbance.

"What's the matter?" his boss asked, surprised by Yao's sudden exclamation and movement.

"Nothing aru, please continue," Smiling sheepishly, Yao hastily sat upright.

As the two nation heads returned to deep conversation, Yao glared across the table at the culprit. Ivan smiled at him innocently. Yao flinched when Ivan's boot continued to rub against his ankle, more vigorously this time.

"Stop it," Yao mouthed irritably at him. Far from heeding his request, Ivan slid the side of his boot up and down Yao's inner calf repetitively, causing Yao to squirm. He dragged his chair further away. Friction between the heavy oak chair and the ground resulted in a loud scraping noise that echoed through the large, empty hall, inciting the two nation heads to halt conversation and turn to stare at him.

"I'm sorry!" Yao placed a hand over his mouth. "I didn't mean to do that."

The two leaders resumed discussion, although there was a definite trace of irritation in his boss' eyes. Yao glowered at Ivan, annoyed to see him sniggering voicelessly into his hand. He tried to turn his focus back to the discussion, but after a few seconds, he realized he was completely lost. He shot a look of indignation at Ivan, who grinned even more widely. Ivan did not like Yao's serious face, but he thought that Yao's angry face was adorable. Besides, getting mad was a good way to release pent-up frustration.

Surreptitiously, Ivan stretched a long arm across the table and shoved a small piece of paper towards Yao. It was folded into half. Reluctantly, Yao picked it up and opened it to unveil Ivan's childish handwriting.

I am bored.

Yao rolled his eyes and crumpled up the paper.

A couple of minutes later, during which Yao attempted to pay attention to the discussion, Ivan passed another piece of paper towards him. Yao ignored it, but Ivan began drumming his fingers softly on the table. Frightened that the bosses would be distracted, he grabbed the paper.

I am so, so bored. How can you stand listening to these old fogies speak for so long?

Yao fumed inwardly. It greatly annoyed him that Ivan did not seem to take the matter of the treaty seriously. Though logically speaking, it was a rational attitude since Ivan was not the one who needed assistance, Yao thought bitterly.

Yao flipped the paper over and scrawled some words, watched on by Ivan eagerly. When he was sure that the bosses were still absorbed in conversation, he shoved the paper back.

If our bosses are old, what does that make us? Please act your age.

Ivan kol'ed softly. Yao's reaction was so predictably cute. He wrote his reply on another piece of paper in his memo pad, tore it out and slid it towards Yao.

I am still young by nation's standards. Can't say the same about you though. ^ J ^

Yao was positively irritated now. He crumpled up the paper and turned his back on Ivan as best as he could.

Ivan felt slightly disappointed when Yao did not make further response. He shoved another message to Yao, which Yao opened grudgingly.

Let's get out of here. I want to bring you to somewhere special. ^ J ^

This time, Yao took a little more time to scrawl a longer reply and shoved it moodily back to him. Ivan, who had mistaken Yao's long response for enthusiasm, felt his heart sink when he read the cold reply.

You may not care about this treaty, but it is very important to me. If you can't sit still, please go out by yourself and stop disturbing me.

Undeterred, Ivan wrote back.

If you become one with me, you won't have to worry about the dumb treaty.

Ivan had trodden on a raw nerve. Instantaneously, Yao crumpled the paper with a loud crackling sound and tossed the paper ball hard at Ivan. It hit him square on the nose, causing him to give a shout of surprise.

Yao regretted too late, what he had done. Two pairs of aged but sharp eyes swiveled towards him. Yao hung his head low while his boss lectured him for his impudence. Across the table, he heard Ivan's boss ask Ivan repeatedly if he was all right.

"I'm all right, but poor China lost his temper because you're taking such a long time to sign the treaty da~" Ivan said sympathetically.

"What! I didn't…!" Yao exclaimed, but his boss gestured for him to shush up.

"It was wrong of China to vent his frustration on Mr Russia. However, he has good reason to be upset. I believe we have discussed all that needed to be discussed since this treaty was first drawn up. Are you even sincere about working with us?" The Chinese leader said calmly, although impatience was evident in his voice.

"Of course I am, but this is a long-term treaty of alliance that we're talking about. We cannot be hasty," the Soviet leader replied.

At this, the Chinese leader opened his mouth to launch a retort, but Ivan had beaten him to it.

"We should really sign the treaty now da~ It would be a disaster if China decides to join America's camp. Kolkolkolkol~"

"We don't have any intentions to do that," the Chinese leader frowned. But Ivan's words seemed to have triggered an alarm bell. After several minutes of deliberation, he said abruptly, "You're right. We have discussed all that needed to be discussed. All that is required now is our signatures."

In spite of his relief, Yao could scarcely believe it as he watched the two leaders shake hands in recognition of their partnership. After so many detailed proposals and negotiations, all it took was a few blunt remarks from Ivan to push his boss into signing the treaty. Indeed, one could not be subtle when dealing with Westerners.

After the signing of the treaty, Yao politely turned down the Soviet leader's invitation for tea, put on a warm jacket and headed for the exit. The interior of the Kremlin was fascinating, but the atmosphere was stifling. He needed to go out for fresh air. No sooner had he reached the main door when his view was obscured by what felt like a large hand placed over his eyes.

"Guess who da?" a saccharine sweet voice hissed into his ear. Yao stumbled forward in shock, but a strong arm around his waist broke his fall.

"Ivan Braginski!" Yao protested as he regained his footing. "This isn't funny! Not to mention, it's very childish aru!"

"You have no sense of fun da!" the culprit grinned as he removed his hand from Yao's face, although his other arm remained encircled around Yao's slender waist. Feeling greatly discomfited by such intimacy, Yao struggled and tried to push Ivan away.

"Release me aru! This is embarrassing behavior!" Yao demanded. He noticed that the guards by the door were determinedly looking away.

"Why didn't you wait for me? If your legs weren't so short, I wouldn't have been able to catch up with you~" Ivan whined as he rested his chin on Yao's head.

"That was rude aru!" Yao snapped. "And it's none of your business where I go to!"

"It is da~ Yao is my guest. Of course I must take care of you. There are many traps and ambushes in this building~ You don't want to accidentally set something off~ Kolkolkolkol~"

Yao felt a chill engulf him. Suddenly, the guards at the door did not seem as harmless as before.

"Therefore, you must stick closely to me da!" Ivan concluded gleefully. He released Yao and whirled him around so that he was facing him.

"Come with me da? I want to show you something special~" Ivan said excitedly.

"I'm hungry. I just want to get some Chinese food," Yao said curtly. He was still upset about how Ivan had embarrassed him in front of their bosses and did not feel like granting him any favours for now.

"You're hungry? But the place I'm bringing you to is perfect for a picnic!" Ivan's violet eyes shone brightly.

"A picnic in winter? You must be mad. I'm not going to sit out there on the cold, wet ground and eat while snowflakes fall into my food aru."

"It's not going to be like that. Trust me! My special place looks and feels llke being outdoors, but it's really an indoor place that's snug and warm. Oh it's difficult to explain. You must see it for yourself da! I have food and vodka in my car that I bought this morning! We can have a fine celebration!"

"What's there to celebrate?" Yao frowned.

"Why, the fact that our friendship is now public and official of course da! For which I proudly take all credit for~"

"You? I spent many sleepless nights just to write the first draft of the treaty aru!"

"Aww I'm so pleased that Yao was so desperate for our bosses to accept our relationship, but if it wasn't for me, we would still be inside being bored to tears by those old men da~!"

"Who's desperate aru! And I don't want Vodka! I want Chinese food!"

"Isn't there a saying in your tongue "嫁鸡随鸡，嫁狗随狗"? Even if your husband's a chicken or a dog, you'll still have to adopt its lifestyle, is that right? So if you marry a Russian, you'll have to embrace a Russian lifestyle da! And Vodka is very important to the Russian lifestyle da!"

"I think the proverb you're looking for is "入乡随俗", to adopt the culture of the place that you settle down in aru! However, I have no desire to settle down in your freezing country, so I do not see a need to embrace your nasty Vodka aru!"

"But sooner or later, you'll become one with Russia, so you must start getting used to it da~"

"Never! Not in a million years aru!"

With that, they bantered energetically all the way as they travelled by car to Ivan's special place.

To be continued...

Free Talk

Ivan: Dear readers, we apologize on behalf of H-chan for not posting this story on Valentine's Day as promised da. She got distracted with making a video about us. But we're really excited because finally, we're movie stars da!

Yao: Aiya don't exaggerate aru. It's just a simple and short video! And I can't believe that even in such a simple and short video, she can still include some elements of pervasion. This girl really needs to get her head checked!

Ivan: Don't be so mean da! Our fans love to see us being lovey dovey. There's nothing wrong with that! Anyway, our little movie is on http : / / haragurotan . blog132 . fc2blog . net / blog-entry-48 . html Copy the url, remove the spaces and paste it to your browser to access it ^J^

Yao: Please support our video debut!

Ivan: We'd also like to promote her new domain www . raburabu-rochu . com . Again, join up the spaces because Fanfiction Net is a prude. She will be posting all her fics and drafts to that website first. As you can see, the next two chapters are already up there.

Yao: Right, commercial time's over. Back to this story. The setting was on 14 Feb 1950, on the day of the official declaration of the Sino-Soviet Friendship Treaty. Our relationship was not all that cordial in those days, and according to some history articles, my boss indeed had a hard time getting Ivan's boss to sign the treaty. Still, while H-chan likes including elements of history in her stories, I assure you that the scene at the signing of the treaty was her figment of perverse imagination.

Ivan: Or not~ Who knows da! Only we know what we did there. Kolkolkolkol~

Yao: Don't spoil my reputation aru!

Ivan: H-chan has always fancied writing about us playing footsie under the table at all our meetings, hence she incorporated it in this story~ To tell the truth, it's really how we pass our time at the meetings when the other three dummies are being stupid.

Yao: We'd like to take this opportunity to thank the readers who'd left such encouraging and enthusiastic comments (you know who you are) on Taming the Polar Bear recently. H-chan was practically floating with joy and she promises to write the new chapter as soon as she can! Thank you for making her day!

Ivan: Yao, that was a really obvious way of changing the subject.

Yao: I wasn't changing the subject! My gratitude is genuine!

Ivan: Ah ha! Because Yao wants H-chan to write faster so that we can do more lovey dovey things together da? We don't have to wait for H-chan to update you know. We can do lovey dovey stuff in our own time~ Kolkolkolkol!

Yao: What are you doing! Keep your hands off my pants! Nooooo aru!

Ivan: Remember to leave a review da~ Thanks for your time~