Natalya sighed as she closed her eyes and skated backwards, hair flapping gently on either side of her face. The brisk air was welcome, as it always cleared her thoughts. When it was cold like this, most people shivered and complained, but she found comfort in it. Along with the chill in the air, all around her was silent, the only real noise being the sound of her ice skates gracing over the frozen surface of the pond.

She loved ice skating. She could be alone. Left to her thoughts. It was cold. It was silent. Only her, and no one else.

"HEY, BELA!"

...AND NO ONE ELSE, Natalya thought, gritting her teeth as she opened her eyes to see who was intruding on her alone time. ...Oh. Of course it would be him. She scowled as America stepped onto the ice a small distance away and immediately headed for her. How had she not seen him coming down the hill before? She cursed herself as he drew nearer and called her name again.

"BELA!"

She debated whether or not to just skate away to the opposite side and return to the academy, but that really would be a pain. She wasn't quite ready to abandon her skating... Perhaps she could drive him away to the other end. Surely he wouldn't bother her too much from there. "If you're going to skate, do it from that end," she stated flatly as he came to a stop in front of her.

Rather than being hurt by her statement, he seemed to find it amusing, much to her dismay. "Aw, but that wouldn't be any fun! Skating alone's no fun, you know!"

"You should try it. In fact, I recommend it." Belarus began to skate away, only to have Alfred follow after her. Her scowl deepened. "...What are you doing, America?" she asked coldly.

"Following you," was his reply.

"I see that. Why are you following me?"

He shrugged. "Maybe if I stick with you you'll teach me some of those tricks."

Natalya came to a slow stop, balancing perfectly on the ice. He also came to a stop, though his was just a tad wobbly. "What tricks?"

He shoved his gloved hands in his coat pockets, grinning. "You know, those super cool tricks you do. The spins and the loops, and that jumpy spin thing."

Belarus frowned. She hadn't done any of her normal practice routine yet... "...Have you been watching me skate?" she asked, turning to face him with clear suspicion written on her face.

He laughed, though now he looked a bit nervous. "Ah... You got me! Yeah, I've seen you practice a few times," he admitted. "I just stay up there, though," he added, bringing a hand out of his pocket to point up at the hill.

Natalya didn't know what was worse: him watching her practice, or her not noticing him watching her. She crossed her arms, hoping to intimidate him. "Do that again and I'll-"

"You're pretty good!"

The compliment caught her off guard, and she blinked in surprise.

"No, more like really good! You could go pro!" Alfred beamed down at her and she looked away. What was he doing? "I've always wanted to do all those frickin' awesome spins and jumps, but I always fall flat on my ass!" He laughed loudly, causing the sound to echo around the otherwise silent pond.

She wasn't sure how to respond. So she kept her face blank and hoped he wouldn't see the warmth in her cheeks.

"You must have been doing this for awhile, then, huh?" he asked, sounding genuinely curious.

Belarus slowly brought her hand up to her scarf, readjusting it so it covered more of her neck. "...Yeah," she finally answered. "...My brother and sister taught me when we were little."

At the mention of Russia, America's eyes darted away, looking back up at the hill. "I see... Huh." They were silent for a moment, then he leaned back, stretching and looking up at the sky. "I used to skate with my bro when we were younger, too, but I'm out of practice. I can barely-! Gyahh!" he cried, losing his balance and falling backwards. Natalya glanced down at him as he winced and massaged his rear. He seemed to be exaggerating the extent of his soreness, and she rolled her eyes as he muttered, "Stupid ice..."

"If you can't even balance right don't lean back. Idiot," she said, frowning.

He looked up at her with a mopey expression. "Well... Maybe if someone taught me how to balance... I wouldn't fall... That would be nice..." His sad pout quickly turned into a hopeful grin. "Whaddya say?"

Natalya stared at him as his eyes shined brightly back at her. He really was an idiot. But as he continued to look up at her with that stupid expression, the more her irritation at his antics diminished. And that irritated her more. Finally, she sighed and turned her head. "...Fine. Get up." The sooner she taught him what he wanted to learn, the sooner he would quit annoying her.

"Yes! Ergh... Hold on... Crap!" He attempted to get back on his feet and slipped.

Belarus stared at him, then slowly uncrossed her arms and held out her hand. "Here," she grumbled.

He took it, and she pulled him up. He wobbled a little on his skates as he stood, and she waited until he was steady before pulling her hand away. He laughed, brushing himself off. "Thanks, Nat!"

Her brow twitched. "Don't call me that."

"Why not?"

She wanted to say 'Because no one calls me that but you', but she swallowed her words. Having no real response, she skated back and recrossed her arms. "Stand straighter. You're slouching. Throws your balance off." He corrected his posture and she skated back around, circling him. Satisfied with his stance, she came to a halt in front of him. "There. Done." She turned to skate away but wasn't entirely surprised to hear him following her again. "You wanted me to teach you proper stance and I did. You can go now," she called behind her.

"But what about the spins and loops? And the jumpy thing?"

"It's called a triple axel," she replied, her words slow and seeping with irritation. She didn't understand why he was so fixated on her teaching him to skate... He could learn the basics from Canada again. Why did he have to learn from her? He had to know he was nowhere near close to being able to perform her tricks...

"Yeah, that thing! Teach me how to do that!"

She spun around abruptly, almost making him collide with her. What part of 'you can go now' didn't he understand?! "Leave me alone!" she burst angrily. That was all she wanted! To be left alone, to skate to her heart's content ALONE.

His eyes darted over her face, and dropped to the ice between their feet. "...Sorry. I didn't know I was bothering you. I'll go." He turned, and Natalya watched him go, eyes narrowed and fists clenched.

But as she watched him unsteadily skate off, her fists loosened and her eyes softened. He had been bothering her, but it was for a different reason she couldn't explain. But watching him go like that... It made him look lonely, too...

She closed her eyes. She supposed he wasn't that much of a pest... "...AMERICA, WAIT," she called, sounding like she wasn't happy with her own words.

Alfred let out a loud whoop and hurried to spin around. The tip of his one blade caught on the ice and he fell again, this time on his side. "OOF!"

Natalya blinked, then skated to him, sighing as she stopped in front of him. "Idiot," she muttered.

He looked up at her excitedly, beaming. "So you'll teach me all your tricks?!" he exclaimed.

She paused. "...A few, maybe. ...You'll need more grace than that to pull off an axel, though," she replied, with just the tiniest of smirks as she held out her hand again.